On the Lapsed 27
Summary: Those who obtained certificates of sacrifice without actually sacrificing (libellatici) have also denied Christ and must do penance, for God sees the heart.
Latin text · CSEL 3.1:256–257
Nec sibi quo minus agant paenitentiam blandiantur qui etsi nefandis sacrificiis manus non contaminauerunt, libellis tamen conscientiam miscuerunt. et illa professio est denegantis, contestatio est christiani quod fuerat abnuentis. fecisse se dixit quidquid alius faciendo commisit, cumque scriptum sit: non potestis duobus dominis seruire, seruiuit saeculari domino, obtemperauit eius edicto, magis obaudiuit humano inperio quam Deo. uiderit an minore uel dedecore uel crimine aput homines publicauerit quod admisit: Deum tamen iudicem fugere et uitare non poterit, cum dicat Spiritus sanctus in psalmis: quod est inperfectum meum uiderunt oculi tui et in libro tuo omnes scribentur, et iterum: homo uidet in faciem, Deus in cor, ipse quoque Dominus praemoneat et praestruat dicens: et scient omnes ecclesiae quia ego sum scrutator renis et cordis. perspicit ille abdita et secreta adque occulta considerat, nec Dei oculos euadere potest aliquis dicentis: ego Deus adproximans et non Deus de longinquo. si absconditus fuerit homo in absconditis, ego ergo non uidebo eum? uidet ille corda et pectora singulorum, et iudicaturus non tantum de factis sed et de uerbis et de cogitationibus nostris omnium mentes uoluntatesque conceptas in ipsis adhuc clausi pectoris latebris intuetur.
English · Claude translation
Nor let those flatter themselves as needing less to do penance who, though they did not defile their hands with the abominable sacrifices, have yet defiled their conscience with certificates. That too is the profession of one who denies, the attestation of a Christian renouncing what he had been. He said that he had done whatever another committed by doing it; and, though it is written, “You cannot serve two masters,” he served a worldly master, he obeyed his edict, he listened to human command rather than to God. Let him see whether he has published what he did before men with less disgrace or guilt; yet he will not be able to flee and escape God as judge, since the Holy Spirit says in the Psalms, “Your eyes have seen my imperfect being, and in your book all will be written”; and again, “Man sees the face, God the heart”; and the Lord himself also forewarns and prepares us, saying, “And all the churches shall know that I am the searcher of the reins and the heart.” He sees through what is hidden and secret and considers what is concealed; nor can anyone escape the eyes of God, who says, “I am a God at hand and not a God from afar. If a man is hidden in hidden places, shall I then not see him?” He sees the hearts and breasts of each, and, being about to judge not only our deeds but also our words and thoughts, he looks on the minds and conceived intentions of all in the very hiding places of a still closed breast.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The libelli were certificates stating that the bearer had sacrificed, obtained (often by bribery) without actually sacrificing; those who obtained them were called libellatici, those who actually sacrificed sacrificati. The quotations are Matt 6:24, Ps 139:16 (138:16 LXX), 1 Sam 16:7, Rev 2:23, and Jer 23:23–24; the allusion is Acts 5:29.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip for punctuation; joined words in the digital text): sit:nonpotestis → sit: non potestis; uidebo eum P uidet → uidebo eum? uidet.
Cite this passage
Cyprian, Laps. 27 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/cyprian-lapsis/27/).
Plain text
Cyprian, Laps. 27 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/cyprian-lapsis/27/).
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