Caution in giving absolution; it precludes not Judgment of Christ. 327 careful pondering and much balancing, after many groans and much shedding of tears, after the prayers of the whole Church, pardon is in such wise not refused to true penitence, as that no one thereby prejudgeth the future Judgment of Christ. If, brother, thou wouldest write thy sentiments more openly, thou shalt be more fully instructed. EPISTLE II. CONCERNING NOVATIAN'S LETTER. Pacian the Bishop to Sympronian his brother, greeting. 44. 1. On a prolix question I will, as far as I can, seek brevity. Nor will I, brother, make thee any return of evil, although, under plea of fair questioning, casting and directing at me hidden arrows in thy speech, of thine own framing. We are bidden to pray for those that persecute us, and to bless those Mat. 5, who curse us. Deceit belongeth as it were to the fox, violence1 to the lion. Either is most alien from the nature 1 autem of man, but deceit is deservedly the most odious. For om. V. whereas thou deemest thou art best informed, thou ques- 2 nosse tionest as if ignorant; when thou thinkest that thou art te for teaching, thou pretendest to be taught. The Pharisees of V. R. old were wont to call the Lord, Rabbi, when they were setting before Him ambiguous questions of the law; they 3 ænigentitled Him Master, when they would claim all mastery for themselves. But do what thou wilt, brother, thou shalt hear all in return from me without guile. I had rather be thought unskilful, than malicious. I had rather be judged foolish, than crafty. k 2. Wherefore, before I assign the grounds of our faith, (about which thou art anxious,) hear a few words on your letter, which you put as a front to your treatise. You say that you were refreshed by our former Epistle, and then straightway add that my answer was couched in bitter terms. If bitter things refresh, I know not what would be the effect * prætulisti, perhaps as a false front. [Tr.] nocere mata EP.II.3.. 328 Novatians claimed to be called Christians only, not Catholics; S. PAC. of sweet; unless it be that, as in a draught of medicine, what is bitter is wont to cure more than what is sweet. But, I 1 repetas beg, look again' at my letters and see whether they are at added V. all sprinkled with gall; what there was haughty, what unsweet in my answer. Thou sayest that I named many heresies, about which no one enquired. Well, how did this affect thee, if thou wert not an heretic? You raised a question concerning our faith, and said that you wished for instruction; I wrote that the causes of ignorance were manifold, in order that you might shew which one especially had influence on you, to save perplexity in opening a large number. added V. 6 6 6 3. On the name Catholic I answered fully and with calmness. For I said, that it mattered to neither, what the other was called. And if you demanded the meaning of the 2 esset name, I said that, whatever it might be, it was wonderful, whether it was one in all,' or one over all,' or (an interpretation which I have not mentioned before,) the king's son,' that is, the Christian people.' Certainly too that was no accessory name which endured through so many ages. And indeed I am glad for thee that although thou mayest have preferred others, yet thou agreest that the name attaches to us. What, should you deny? Nature would cry out. But and if you still have doubts, let us hold our peace. We will both be that which we shall be named, witness the antiquity of the name. If, however, thou perseverest in asking, beware lest that man of might exclaim, Why askest thou thus after My Name, seeing it is wonderful? I next added, that we need not consider, whence Catholics derived this name, because neither was it wont to be any imputation against the Valentinians, if they were called after Valentinus, nor the Phrygians, if from Phrygia, nor the Novatians, if after Novatian. At this you are grievously excited, and rouse yourself as if pierced with a sting. For in your wrath you thus exclaim,' Is it ever any objection to that holy man Cyprian, that his people bear the name of Apostaticum, Capitolinum', or Synedrium? Thou revilest, but lo! I am not moved. Have we been called by any of Judg. 13, 18. intended, doubtless, to refer to the admission of the lapsed, who had sacri ficed in the Capitol. see ab. on S. Cypr. Ep. 8. §. 2. p. 18. n. u. cannot get rid of their human name; or affix any on the Catholics. 329 these names? Ask a century, brother, and all its years in succession, whether this name has adhered to us; whether the people of Cyprian have been called other than Catholic? No one of these names have I ever heard. Consider now, if a man can be called by a name, which he knows not to have been given him. What then? These are taunts, not names, and taunts of the angry, taunts of the petulant. I too could call you by as many names as you will, were it lawful to be angry. Callest thou Cyprian holy, and his people apostatizing? How so? If the first-fruit be holy, the lump is also Rom. holy; and if the root be holy, so are the branches. Am I 11, 16. Apostate, or Novatus? I, I say, or Novatus who forsook his father, abandoned the Church, and caused his wife to miscarry? Am I Apostate, or Novatian, whom a letter in his absence made a feigned Bishop", whom the Episcopal seat received without consecration from any? But of these points hereafter. In the mean time, tell me yourselves what ye are called. Do ye deny that the Novatians are called from Novatian? Impose on them' whatever name you like ; 1 illis that will ever adhere to them. Search, if it please you, added whole annals, and trust so many ages. You will answer, "Christian." But if I enquire the genus of the sect, you will not deny that it is Novatian. And yet it is not the name of thy Novatian which I censure, and which, so often sought after, thou envelopest in lines of circumlocution, and, if I may so speak, in closed bosom. Confess it without deceit. There is no wickedness in the name. Why, when so often enquired for, do you hide yourself? Why ashamed of the origin of your name? When you first wrote, I thought you a Cataphrygian. Dost thou acknowledge it in thy 2 tune second letter? Dost thou grudge me my name, and yet for tune shun thine own? Think what there is of shame in a cause which shrinks from its own name. 5. But what is this thy criticism on which thou art so busy? As though I had applied to a Rhetorician, or had to m see ab. S. Cypr. Ep. 52. §. 3. p. 113. n finxit. Novatian's consecration, although wholly irregular, does not appear to have the irregularity here seemingly ascribed to it. Yet S. Cyprian is thought to speak of the absence of consecration in terms equally strong. • linteata sedes. "used in investi- EP.II.6. 302. 330 Sympronian's captious criticism; all language God's gift. S. PAC. treat of a science, or to expound verses of Virgil? What then had I said? or what verses of Virgil was I expounding?? Having named several heretics, I added, 'Et quos fama re1 En. v. condit obscura'.' And whence thinkest thou this to be quoted from a verse of Virgil, if thou hadst no knowledge at all of Virgil? But I did not set down the verse in order, for I said, 'Quos fama recondit obscura,' just as, when speaking, we are accustomed, out of the abundance of human language, to say any thing which may have been said before. Whereas you requote the verse in its own order, in its rhythm. Hadst thou so much more love for Virgil, as to deem it sacrilege, to make any infringement on his verse? And yet I had learnt this of a little child. What wonder if I stumbled on that which I knew? Is there such a spirit of enterprise then, brother, that now at last thou readest those very things, which thou didst blush should once have been read by others? As well mayest thou accuse one, taught in Latin, for speaking Latin, as thou mightest a Greek for speaking Greek, a Parthian for speaking Parthian, a Carthaginian for speaking Punic. Medes, Egyptians, Hebrews, have each their own language, according to the abundance of the Lord, Who hath harmonized language into an hundred and twenty tongues. A Bishop quote a verse from a Poet! What? Does the Apostle Paul blush, when he hath both quoted and approved of that Athenian verse ? For in the Acts of the Acts 17, Apostles he putteth it thus, As certain also of your own poets have said, For we are His offspring. Since then we are the Tit. 1, offspring of God. And again, to Titus he said, One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are ver. 16. always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. And he added, This witness is true. So we have authority for our error. are we Rhetoricians, but whatever word we use, we believe it to be the rich gift of God. Latium, Egypt, Athens, Thracians, Arabians, Spaniards, acknowledge God. The Holy Spirit understandeth all languages. 28. 12. p"disputandum! Quid ergo dixeram? aut quos Virgilii" inserted from Vat. after Virgilii, omitted through the ὁμοιοτελο a Coteler. (quoted by Galland.) on the Recogn. ii. 42. conjectures, that CXX has been substituted for LXX, Nor according to the distribution of languages into LXXII, or LXXV. see his note, t. i. p. 513. and Abp. Potter on S. Clem. Al. Strom. i. p. 404. Else the number might have been taken from Acts 1, 15. The civil power may punish misbelievers, if with good end. 331 1 7. But why do you say, 'I will smear thy letters with fresh oil of cedar, to protect them from the destructive enemies of the Muses?' What Muses, I pray you? Those who invented letters, and wrote the sheets which are the prey of moths? Tell me, I pray then, brother, did the Muses invent letters? Are not all things through The Lord, and all from God? Besides those hundred and twenty tongues, was there yet another of the Muses? That idea was falsely devised by Hesiod on Helicon, but only to please the Athenians, who', ut om. the Apostle says, had no leisure but to talk. We (the Acts 17, Apostle is our witness) retain the measures of all words, 21. and all kinds of language, as inspired by God. Yet I pardon you, brother, if you rely somewhat upon your own author, and if you join together the philosophy of Novatian, whereby he made shipwreck of religion, with the authority of Hesiod. But thou oughtest to have remembered the words of the Apostle, who saith, Beware lest any man spoil you through Col.2, 8. philosophy and vain deceit. V. 3. 8. And now of what sort is that which you think is to be imputed to Catholics, "if at any time kings or governments have persecuted you?" Then, on the other hand, ought it to be imputed to you, as often as Catholics have had to endure the wickedness and persecution of kings, and pagan princes have persecuted us. Have ye had to bear the odium attached to Christians? But we have had more reason to complain. Let him who did this, see to it with what intention, in what spirit he did it; to procure peace or discord. But and if Rom. 3, some of them have erred, he saith, shall they make the faith of God without effect? And yet think not that there was any reason to complain of us. When through our Faith" princes had begun to be Christians, these very princes, favouring the Catholic, that is their own, side, were moved by their own sorrow; unless it is to be imputed to Daniel, that he was avenged by Darius: or to that most holy woman Esther, when for her a chief minister of the king is put to death or to the three youths, because after they had made trial of the flames, the king of Babylon for their sakes threatens the wicked and unbelieving. Does not Peter put |