Tractates of Maximus of Turin (Bruni's collection) 4.2–4.3
Authorship disputed: Bruni's 1784 collection as printed in Migne; modern scholarship (Mutzenbecher, CCSL 23, 1962) judges a number of these pieces to be by other authors. The individual pieces are not yet sorted on this site.
Latin text: Migne, PL 57 (Latin text: Migne, Patrologia Latina, digitized by Open Greek and Latin (patrologia_latina-dev, University of Leipzig), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 4
4.2PL 57:781c–783c
Sed dicunt : Facimus ista, ne noceant. Quibus dicimus : Quomodo possunt nocere, qui non possunt præstare? Et quia vere nihil nee nocere nee prestare possunt , canum custodia circa eos deos quos dicitis vestros, et custodum vigilantia contestatur. Quando enim eos inveniunt fores, abripiunt atque confractos distrabunt. Tu dicis fato omnia fleri; sed quae tu dicis fato fieri, nescio qua opinione incerta ; ego dico voluntate vel permissu Dei fieri; quia Deus Pater omnia posuit in sua potestate (Act. I), el nihil fit quod Dominus ipse voluerit, vel fieri posse permiserit. Vis videre prophetas et aposlolos nostros, quanta faciebant, non fati Virtute, sed fidei et adjutono summi Dei, et divina potentia Christi. Ecce et confractos restituebant, quos dicitis fato vexari; pariter et infirmos curabant, mortuos suscitabant, OBcos illuminabant et claudos erigebant; et nihil a fato petebant, sed totum, ut dixi, sinceritate fidei et divinis opibus, et miserationibus adimplebant. Fato dicis omnia fieri? Sed stultus stulta loquitur, et cor ejus vana intelligit, et, sicut ille aiebat Tullius in Horlensio dicens : Aria mea dicebat hoc quod dicis, fato omnia fieri; mater autem mulier sapiens non existimavit. Et nos possumus dicere in veritate, quia avia nostra, id est error antiquus et genlilis stultitia hoc dicebal. Nam mater mulier sapiens, mater scilicet Ecclesia, quæ nos spiritali genuit partu, nunquam hoc arbilrata est, quæ scit Filium accepisse a Patre omnem potestatem in coelo et in lerra. Ideo in nomine ejus tantas virtutes fecerunt discipuli ipsius, qui et dicebat : Petite, et accipietis; quærite , et invenietis; pulsate, et aperietur vobis ( Joan. XVI). Utique quando hoc dicebat erroribus et dæmonibus opponebat, qui fata fingunt, et nihil preces valere contendunt, ne Deus rogelur, et eorum opera dissolvantur. Ideo populos Dominus ad se trahebat, ut fides in Deum plurimum posset, et non diffidentia prævaleret. Fatodicis, impudens, omnia lieri ? Addis et nihil preces, nihil orationes valere? Quantum vero preces vel orationes fidelium valeant, sacra omniuin divinorum voluminum monumenta loquuntur, et volentibus noscere facilis aditus conceditur ad salutem. Ergo non lato quidquam geritur, sed omnia factoris inundi providentia gubernantur.
But they say: 'We do these things so that they may not harm us.' To them we say: how can those harm who cannot help? And that they truly can neither harm nor help, the guarding by dogs around those whom you call your gods, and the watchfulness of guards, bears witness. For when thieves find them, they carry them off and break them up and sell them. You say that all things happen by fate; but the things that you say happen by fate, by I know not what uncertain opinion, I say happen by the will or permission of God; because God the Father has placed all things in his own power, and nothing happens except what the Lord himself has willed or permitted to be able to happen. Do you wish to see our prophets and apostles, how great things they did, not by the power of fate but by the help of faith and of the supreme God, and by the divine power of Christ? See, they restored the broken, whom you say are troubled by fate; likewise they cured the sick, raised the dead, gave light to the blind and set the lame upright; and they asked nothing from fate, but, as I said, accomplished everything by sincerity of faith and by divine resources and mercies. Do you say that all things happen by fate? But the fool speaks foolish things, and his heart understands vain things; and, as that Tullius said in the Hortensius: 'My grandmother used to say what you say, that all things happen by fate; but my mother, a wise woman, did not think so.' And we too can say in truth that our grandmother, that is, the ancient error and Gentile folly, said this. For our mother, a wise woman, namely mother Church, who bore us by a spiritual birth, never thought so, for she knows that the Son received from the Father all power in heaven and on earth. Therefore in his name his disciples did such great mighty works, he who also said: "Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." Certainly when he said this he was opposing errors and demons, who invent fates and maintain that prayers avail nothing, so that God may not be asked and their works may not be undone. Therefore the Lord drew the peoples to himself, so that faith in God might avail very much and distrust might not prevail. Do you say, shameless man, that all things happen by fate? Do you add that prayers and supplications avail nothing? How much the prayers and supplications of the faithful avail, the sacred records of all the divine books declare, and to those who wish to know, easy access to salvation is granted. Nothing, then, is done by fate, but all things are governed by the providence of the maker of the world.
Acts 1:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 11:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · Isa 32:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 28:18 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 7:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The pagans' gods can neither harm nor help; all things happen by God's will or permission, not by fate, as the prophets' and apostles' miracles and the power of prayer show; the Church, unlike the 'grandmother' of pagan error, never believed in fate.
- The saying from Cicero's lost dialogue Hortensius (a known fragment) is applied to the Church as the wise 'mother'. 'The fool speaks foolish things' is Isa 32:6. 'Ask, and you will receive' is Matt 7:7 (printed reference 'Joan. XVI'; compare John 16:24).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray footnote letter): præstare? a Et quia → præstare? Et quia.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Hortensius (Cicero; quotation)
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Maximus of Turin, Tract. 4.2 (PL 57:781c–783c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/maximus-taurinensis-tractatus/4-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/maximus-taurinensis-tractatus/4-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Bruni's Latin text as printed in Migne PL 57 (Open Greek and Latin digitization). No public-domain English translation exists and no modern English was available for checking, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
4.3PL 57:783c–793a
Nam de idolis, vel de elementis, quæ pagani æstimant deos, audite breviter, fratres, beatum prophetam nostrum paganos istos deridentem dc supervacuis eorum, et dicenlem : Idola gentium argentum et aurum , opus manuum hominum : os habent, et non loquuntur ; oculos habent, et non vident; aures habent, et non audiunt (Psal. CXXXIV), et cætera quæ ibi sequuntur. Interrogo te, pagane, si velis talis esse quales illi quos colis, sine anima, sine sensu, sine motu, sine aliquo vitali intellectu. Hoc ergo male- dictum putas; desine igitur tales colere quorum te similitudo sollicitat, et quorum cultus te honeslat. Sed dicunt pagani: Nos solem et lunam, vel stellas, et universa elementa colirnus et veneramur ; quibus iterum dicitur : Vani autem sunt omnes homines quibus non subest scientia Dei, et de his quæ videntur bona, non potuerunt intelligere eum qui est; nec operibus attendentes, agnoverunt quis esset artifex; sed aut ignem, aut spiritum, aut citatum aerem, aut gyrum stellarum, aut nimiam aquam, aut solem, aut lunam, deos putaverunt (Sap. XIII); quorum si propter spedem hoc aestimaverunt, sciant quanlo his Dominus speciosior est; speciei enim Creator omnia constituit, aut si in virtute et operibus eorum Durantur, intelligant ab ipsis quoniam qui haec constituit fortia, fortior est illis. Et Paulus apostolus dicit : Invisibilia enim Dei a creatura mundi, per ea quæ facta sunt, intellecta conspiciuntur, sempiterna quoque ejus virtus atque divinita, ut sint inexcusabiles; quia cum cognovissent Deum, non ut Deum venerati sunt, aut gratias egerunt, sed evanuerunt in cogitationibus suis, et obscuratum est insipiens cor illorum : dicentes enim se esse sapientes, stulti facti sunt. Et mutaverunt gloriam incorruptibilis Dei in imaginem corruptibilis hominis et volucrum, et quadrupedum, et serpentium (Rom. I), etc. Ergo aut ignem, ait, aut spiritum, aut citatum aerem, aut gyrum stellarum, aut nimiam aquam, aut solem, aut lunam,deos pulaverunt. Ignem colunt pagani,et deum dicunt, qui aqua restinguitur, aut terræ jactu comprimitur. Ignem colunt pagani, qui ligni fomento nutritur. Ignem colunt pagani, æterno igne arsuri. Sed forte fulgura colunt: ut quid ista colunt? non eniti motibus, sed imperio Dei aguntur, sicut sol et luna, pluviæ æque et stellarum cursus, ventorum motus et Dubium transitus. Spiritum ergo aeris et ventorum veneranlur. Sed isla rerum Domino famulantur, sicut scriptum est, flabit spiritus ejus, et fluent aquæ (Psat. CXLVII).... ................. ignis, grando, nix, glacies, spiritus procellarum, quæ faciunt verbum ejus (I bid). Gyrum stellarum colant pagani ab artilice Deo perfectum, ad mundi ornatum discriminato decore compositum. Aquam colunt, quæ ad.usum non solum hominum, sed et pecorum, et cæterarum rerum largitate Creatoris effunditur. Solem et lunam colunt, cum videamus et orientem et occidentem solem sic currere ut ei constitutam est. Unde intelligitur neminem posse indesinenter currere, et servitio suo insistere, nisi qui sub Domino sit, et qui habcat imperantem. Nam neque luna erementum vel detrimentum pateretur, nisi voluntate et arbitrio Conditoris; et sol si in sua potestate esset, perpetua luce fulgeret ........ .................. .................. famulari, et stellas suum ordinem sequi; mare etiam suis finibus contineri. Et ideo clamat propheta san- ctissimus, dicens ad Dominum Deum nostrum : Quam magnificata sunt opera tua, Domine! omnia in sapientia fecisti; repleta est terra creatura tua. Hoc mare magnum et spatiosum , illic repentia, quorum non est numcrua, animalia pusilla et magna (Psal x). Hic est Dominus Deus noster, de quo quidam sanctorum dicebat : Qui coelum alta sublimitate suspendit, terrena dejecta mole solidavit, maria soluto liquore diffudit, et hæc omnia propriis et condignis instrumentis plena et ornata digessit. Cum ergo videris ............... ................ Colunt adhuc pagani montes, et arbores, et fontes, et flumina, ubi et boves, et oves, et universæ bestiæ pascuntur, et ambulant, atque labantur. Nam simulacra et idola eorum digno honore ab araneis obteguntur, et a tineis vel vermibus perforantur, et a muribus habitantur, et a muscis conculcantur; nec se ab igne vel a pluvia defendunt, nec a latronibus vel furibus vindicant. Et ideo S. Cyprianus ad Demetrianum paganum bene dicebat: Pudeat te eos colere quos ipse defendis; pudeat te de eis auxilium sperare quos luem. Aut quid enim praestare colentibus se possent, qui se de non colentibus vindicare non possunt; sicut enim ad eos non pertinet quo colunlur; sic non sen- tiunt quo læduntur. Sed dicunt pagani: Nos deos colimus, vel deas quæ in coelo habentur. Quibus dicimus : Si deos illos dicitis vel colitis quos in vestris libris audimus recitare, id est Saturnum, Jovem, Mercurium, Martem, Apollinem, Vulcanum, Æsculapium cæterosque innumeros; et deas dicitis Junonern, Minervam, Dianam, Cybelem, Latonam, vel cæteras; ergo si omnes illos dicitis deos, cur aliquos in stellis ponitis, et aliquos non ponitis ? Dicitis enim Saturnum, Joyem, Martem, vel Mercurium in coelo esse, et Neptunum, Apollinem, Yulcanum, Æsculapium et caeteros non dicitis. An forte isti aliquid peccaverunt, et illi nihil peccaverunt, ideoque supernas regiones asseritis possidere, cum magis constet omnes.... homines, et .... hominibus. Ecce Saturnum, vel Jovem, Martem etiam, et Mercurium, etc., nefanda facinora commisisse scimus. Nonne Virgilius vester poeta ille præcipuus, cujus cannina hodieque veneramini sic clamat de Saturno dicens : Arnia Jovis fugiens, et regnis exsul ademptis; unde et Latium de latebra ejus nomen accepit, eo quod latuisset tutus in oris, id est fugiens in Italiæ Onibus latuisset; et iterum ait: ..... Fauno Picus pater; hisque parentem Te, Saturne, refert, tu sanguinis ultimus auctor. Hic litteras imprimere, et signare nummos in Italia primus instituit; inde ærarium Saturni vocatur; et rusticitatis hic cultor fuit, inde falcem ferens pingi- tur. Hic, cum vesano furore raperetur, filios devoravit suos; qui et operto capite, ne agnosceretur, effugit et ita in delubris vestris formatur. Jovem ejus filium a matre subtractum insula habet sepulcrum... despectus jacet..... unde Virgilius dixit: cremedio jacet insulade criminibus.... breviter commemorat dicens : Jovisque et soror, et conjux, et rapti, inquit, Ganymedis honores. Viic quam exsecrabilis habendus sit, imo potius quam detestabilis iste Jupiter, qui sororem voluerit habere uxorem, ut de cæteris ejus criminibus taceamus. Proh dolor! quæ inter homines sanctos habentur pietatis nomina, inter deos paganorum facta sunt foeda sacrilegia. Nam de Marte quid dicam, qui opud Thraces natus ................. ................ ................. infernis, sed... dicitur possidere. Ergo iste nullas proprias habet sedes, sed ut.... et miser in- certis, et nullissedibus Usus semper ex... citis filios et filias genuisse, quod non ex legitimis nuptiis, sed de nefandis incestis et adulteriis, sicut et ipsi nati sunt; adhuc autem non erubescilis et solem dicere filiam habuisse, et lunam amasse Endymionem. Quis fidelium ad tantam insaniam vestram non irascatur? Quis vos in talibus perseverantes non omni poena dignos existimet? sicut et Saturnum dicitis filium coeli, et Jovem ejus filium iterum dicitis, vel polius mentiniini Minervain ex capite genuisse... femore, et multa alia... Nam deæ vestræ..... asseritis veneranda. obscenitatis vitio continehtur: ex quibus unam solam Venerem dicitis esse in coelo, et in astris ponitis. Cur non (interrogo) et Junonem, et Minervam, vel Dianam, vel caeteras? An quia Vfnerem dicitis speciosam, ideo eam in coelo habitare memoratis..... fœditatis terrenis sedibus deputatis? Quid illam impudentissimam feminam inter tot viros facitis in coelo, quid sibi vindicat? Uxor est alicujus, an mater, an soror, an filia Sed si nihil horum est, et propter pulchritudinem tantum eam dicitis esse in coelo, quae fuerit fornicaria, vide quam nefarium sit criminosam pulchritudinem dicere esse in coelo, et Minervam non dicitis, quam dicitis castam et sapientem? Apparet vos quia carnales estis potius quam spiritales ..... .............. religionem qUe a vobis antiqui lib..... lumina cum bu.....picturis et signis et insa..... vestris talibus delectamini. Cur hodie quae in theatris ad acclamationes vestras impurissimi histriones exprimunt ipsam impudicam Venerem et adulterum Martem, Jovem illum principem vitiorum in terrenos amores cum suis fulminibus, id est magiis immutatum albescere; nunc aureo imbre defluere .......... ........ ............... Quicunque enim sine lege peccaverunt, sine lege peribunt, et quicunque in lege peccaverunt, per legem judicabunlur (Rom. II); et non erubescunt pagani tot deos et deas dicere, Saturnum genuisse et Jovem vel cæteros. Sed si tunc nati sunt dii, cur non hodieque nascuntur? nisi forlc, ut iterum sanctus Cyprianus dicebat, aut Jupiter senuit, aut partus in Junone de. fecit. Item pagani volatus avium observant et voces conorum vel cornicularum, et in fibris. ................. ............... ............... tionibus inquirunt sed din.•..... mus quod caver..... præterire nec es.... qua imminent vi..... clinare, quibus dicimus; si ergo vitari possunt per observautiam quæ futura sunt, jam ergo non sub fati sorte agitur homo et immobilis decreti, qui arbitrio suo et cautela poterit declinare quod imminet. Sed dicunt: Non poterunt declinari. Dicamus ad eos iterum : Cur ergo inquiri- tis? cur frustra sacrificia celebratis? cur voces avium? cur volatus attenditis. ................ .................. .. ingemueris...... Vis scire quantum preces valeant, quantum placeant Domino Deo orationes fidelium; inquire in libris nostris, in libris clara veritate perspicuis; inquire de Noe, inquire de Moyse, inquire do Jesu filio Nave, inquire de Elia vel Eliseo, inquire de Jona vel cæteris sanctis prophetis et beatis apostolis Christi discipulis, quibus totum Dominus dedit quidquid eorum fidelis oratio postulavit; inde ergo invenies quanta a te poterunt impetrari......... que......... iloto....... naufragio inter fu- rentes undas et strepitus..... ludentium etiam undique procellarum, per maris... discrimina perexcellentium aquarum metuenda cacumina fretus de Domini pietate feliciter evaserit, .... quique precibus fusis ad Dominum meruerit incolumis, cum suis omnibus reservari, ut miraretur et ipsa tempestas. omnibus ubique pereuntibus, unum solummodo cum suis superstitem evasisse. Dicant pagani, si possunt, quid hic fatum facere peluit : nunquid.omnes in illo diluvio fatum occidit, aut isli uni fatum vitam dona- vit? Si omnes fatum occidit, cur non et istum? si huic fatum vitam donavit, cur non et omnibus? Sed vere virtus et potentia omnipotentis Dei hæc sine dubio fecit, qui pervicacibus et contemnentibus Iribuit prenas, et justis et sua precepta servantibus salutem .............. ............. ............. .... .................... . dicam qui a magistro Moyse nullo virtutis merito de generasse cognoscitur, quique ad debellandam Jeria cho civitatem profectus, precibus suis, velu quodam fulmine, Jericho muros sine mora dejecit, et usque ad fundamenta prostravit; qui etiam solis citatissimos cursus supra Gabaon osando tenuit (Jésue x), et lunæ vias supra phalanges, sua interdi- ctione compressit, usquequo omnes adversarios superaret. Quid de Elia sanctissimo dicam, qui merito fidei clavem imbrium gestabat in labiis, de qua clausum ...... naufragorum ab opinione non destitit; ei totum a Domino quidquid postularit accepit, et velut naris fidelis iLla salva fuit, et perductum ad riparo, sicut acceoerat, internum repræsentavit. Omnes etiam san- cti prophetae inerito fidei suae, at diximus, multas virtutes et multa mirabllia perfecerunt. Beati etiam apostoli et confractos viribos restituebant, et nihil a fato petebant, et infirmos curabant, et mortaos suscitabant; sed omnia Dei virtute, et Christi auxilio adimplebant.... Diis pagano .... dilectissimis dicamus est et fidei nostræ ........... loquamur unus est ........... Dominus Deus, et sanctus est dicens................ limitas potest.. em cum sola babeat potestatem, hunc unum Deum credit et veneratur Ecclesia, qui omnia quæcunque sunt, verbo majestatis suæ et sapientia format, ra- tione et omnipotenti virtute consummat; hie non videri potest; visu clarior est, nec restimari; sensu major est; et ideo sic eum digne aestimamus, dum inæstimabilem dicimus.. Hic est, inquam, Dominus Deus noster, quem et ipsi ratione superati paganorum philosophi, etsi non venerantur; tamen agnoscunt Deum. Ideo quidem non vencrantur, quoniam in injuriam ipsius Creatoris multos asserunt deos, et honorem, ut diximus, Greatoris deferunt creaturæ. Ergo nunc Dominum Deum nostrum velint nolit' et ipsi philosophi veritate compressi, et invisibilem asserunt, et omnium praepotentem, in quo præcipuus Sostenes formam hujus mundi negat conspici posse, et angelos veros sedi ejus dicit assistere, in quo et Plato pari ratione consentit, et unum Deum prædicans, Ceteros angelos vel daemones dicit. Hermes quoque Trismegistus unum Deum fatetur, eumque inviaibilem atque incomprehensibilem confiletur. Hunc ergo nos in veritate confitemur, et novimus, et fatemur. Omnipotentem Deum, cujus opus est mundos, qui ooelum suspendit ut cameram, qui terram fundavit super aquam, maria soluto liquore diffudit, et miro libramine ex omni parte compositam totam hujus mundi molem ipse continet fabricator. Ipse solis vaporiferos ........ . .......... ... .................. ....... ipse cuncta animalia cum universis fetibus suis benigne utiliterque praeparavit ? ipse fontes, et flumina concavosque torrentes? ipse spatiosum mare.... rum campos mar. : .. fluctibus longe lateque.... et visibilia, et invisibilia cuncta... Christo Filio suo Domino nostro perfecit: sicut scriptum est, quia in Christo creata sunt omnia, attestante apostolo Paulo, quæ sunt in cælo et quæ sunt in terra visibilia etinvisibilia (Coloss. iv). Ergo unus Deus, fratres, adorandus est solus; sicut scriptum est. Dominum Deum tuum adorabis, et ipsi soli servies (Matth. IV); ipse diligendus est, icente Scriptura: Diliges Domitum Deum tuum ex toto corde IN, ex tota anima tua, et ex omni mente tua, et ex omni sensu tio, et proximum tuum sicut teipsum (Matth. IXII.). Quis etenim, rogo, proximus noster ? quam Dominus noster Jesus Christus, qui cum in forma Dei esset constitutus, formam servi accepit ? Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis (loan. I), quique dicebat: Hcec est vita aeterna, ut cognoscant te solum verum Deum, et quem misisti Jesum Christum (Joan. XVII). Iste Jesus Christus .... in principio erat Verbum apud Deum... a Sibylla ΙΧΘΥΣ, Græco nomine, quod significat piscis, operatus est, eo quod mundi vel sæcult hujus mare ingressurus esset. Nam et litterarum ipsarum Græcarum considera ingens mysterium ΙΧΘΥΣ: iota, hoc est Jesus; chi, id est X pios ; Θ theta, Theu; Y Yios, sigma Soter; quod Latine explanatur Jesus Christus Dei Filius SalMtor : in capite harum quinque litterarum Græcarum mysterium hoc est, quæri ergo magno... ................. ............ ................. ........ •. ... 9 ..• ••...... ..... de Domino Christo ipse beatus Petrus ... sermonem, vere propheta velit-recipere, aut not etiam .... nus ejus, id est mandata.. .. habet in sua potestate liberi, inquit, sumus arbitrii; si hoc esse! audientes eum jam non baberent in potestate aliud facere quam audierant. vis erat quaedam naturæ, per quam liberum non esset ad aliam migrare sententiam; aut si rursus ex audientibus nullus omnino reciperet, et hoc naturæ vis erat, quæ unum aliquid fieri cogeret, et alteri parti................ quia librum ............. velit partem declinare ...... . ... suum, et quam ............ viam constat............. ................. ................. Ab initio enim dum regna ....... et potestatem dedit ..... hominum; ut illius regni fiat portio, cui se ad obediendum ipso subjecerit : et quia definitum est apud Deum non posse unum hominem utriusque regni esse servum, omni studio date operam in boni regis foedus ac jura concurrere. Propter hoc denique verus propheta cum esset praesens nobiscum, et quosdam cx divitibus negligentes erga Dei cultum viderit hujus rei, ita aperuit . ................ et reliqua, usque hic pfrosequitur S. Petrus. Christus ergo dicebat: Hæc est vita æterna, ut cognoscant te solum verum Deum, et quem misisti Jesum Christum (Joan. XVII) ; in hac agnitione, fratres, est vita aeterna. Nam audi Scripturam sanctorum Evangeliorum referentem de summo Deo Patre, et Filio ejus Jesu Christo : In principio, inquit, erat Verbum, id est Filius, et Verbum erat apud Deum (Joan. I), apud genitorem suum ............... .... . . ..... ................................. ................................ ............................... ............................ .................................................. .................................. ................................ ...................... in sequentia .......... dicens, et Verbum caro acum est, ad velamen .. ..... interpretem ser....... docuit voluntatem Patris, ipsumque summum Deum credendum tradidit, et sic. passione completa, ipsum, quem assumpserat, hominem sacrificium obtulit Patri, totius mundi faciens redemptionem. Iterum S. Petri interponimus expositionem : Ac noscite, inquit, veritatem, et separamini ....... decipere ho.............. scriptiones... ......... ......... Deorum..... ...... ..... .......... sicut enim unus .......... habet sub se multos, tu dicis verbi gratia præfectos, consules, tribunos, et caeteras potestates. Similia arbitramur, modo cum unus sit major omnium Deus, et jam istos ad similitudinem earum quas diximus potestatum ordinatos esse in hoc mundo deos; illi quidem majori subjeclos; nOs tamen, et quia in hoc mundo sunt, dispensantes. Audite ergo ad hæc vos, pagani, quomodo in his ipsis quae ad deceptionem ... apponitis veritatis rationibus confitemini. Dicitis siquidem: Cum Cæsaris teneat Deus (sic) judicum vero ejus; et potestatum spectem servent qui dicuntur dii, servate ergo, ut proposuistis, exemplum Caesaris; et scitote quia sicut nulli ex judicibus vel administratoribus, id est præfectis, vel proconsulibus, vel ducibus, vel tribunis fas est Caesaris nomen imponi, alioquin et ille qui susceperit, et illi qui detulerint, pariter interibunt: ita et de hoc debetis advertere. Quod si qui nomen Dei alicui, quam præter ipsum imposuerit, et ille receperit unum eumdemque sortientur interitum, multo deteriorem forte quam ministri Caesaris. Hic enim qui delinquit in Cæsarem, interitum suscipiet temporalem ; qui vero in unum, qui solus est verus Deus, delinquit, in saeculum ........ ........ ..... ..... ..... Alii pagani dicunt, nos adhuc melius facimus, qui et ipsi summo Deo, et omnibus cum ipso gratias agimus, quibus dicendum est. Tale est hoc quale si quis æger ad medelam sui et medicum et venenanum vocet, cum illi quidem nocere quidem possint venenarii, et curare possint. Verus autem mcdicus venenis illorum recuset sua medicamenta miscere, de aut pernicies bono aut san ................. ................. ................ ......... ..... mundi................ ri largiatur ............. doloris sui lucem ........... cæteraque elementa exhibent servitutem. Denique . ... contra bonitatem Conditoris fatigata sceleribus impiorum vincuntur elementa; exiude est, quod aut terrae fructus corrumpitur, aut aeris temperies temcratur, aut supra modum ardor solis incenditur, vel imbrium aut rigorum vis immensa diffunditur. In ..... et mortis facies diversa percurrit; festina enim creatura in impios moveretur ad vindictam; Dei tamen bonitas reprimit eam, et ab indignatione impiorum refrenat, ac suæ misericordke ...... obedire magis quam peccatis hominum et sceleribus inflammari. Exspectat enim patientia Dei, dum in hoc corpore sunt, hominum conversionem, quod si usque ad exitum vitæ in impietate perstiterint, tunc jam discedens anima, quae immortalis est, pro impietatis suæ perseverantia luit poenas immortales. Nos vero, ait ipse sanctus Petrus, cujus hanc assumpsimus disputationem de historia beati Clementis ejus discipuli, et nostris in adjutorium sociavimus dictis. Nos ergo , ait, ad hoc missi sumus, ut prodamus vobis latebras antiqui serpentis, et absolventes inimicitias reconciliemus vos Deo ............. et placeat isti ..... sed fortasse... : . nihil curare, et Deo..... ad notitiam . .... possumus pervenire, quomodo.. ... gerat humanarum rerum ..... ................ ..... .......Dei esse ..... nisi enim potestate ex ..... nunquam po- Hora inferioribus ministraren, et per hoc non solum curam Dei erga homines, sed et grandem quemdam habere docetur affectum, quorum ministerio tam præclara mancipavit elementa. Sed dices : quid enim læditur Deus, si et ista coluntur a nobis, si quis vestrum honorem ......... .................. ................. ............... ............. .............. vel alia ........... Deus non sit .. ....... in his quae facile deprehendere potuistis animum ad discutiendum noluistis intendere, certum est quia in agnitione Dei impediti estis, non impossibilitatis, sed ignaviæ vitio. Nam si voluissetis, ex his ipsis inutilibus simulacris profecto accepissetis intelligentiæ viam ........ ...................... ........... .................. ........... ..... ad nocendum ....... tandum, seducentibus ..... monibus, ut quasi mir .... , utilia perficerent ... ... de est ambulare statuas ..... canes æreos, et lapides, .... per aerem ignis effici, mutari per varias figuras, et cætera, qux Simonem illum Magum vel cæteros fecisse accepimus ; nam et Jamnes et Mambres faciebant magias contra Moysen ..... est , .... diabolo in .... tempus aliqua facere ad seducendum infideles, ut ma ... in fide ... fidelium mens, et perficiat in dilectione et timore Dei, nec vincatur a malo .... tate. Et pithones futura et occulta loquuntur, et no...« colendo aliquoties ....... futura et occulla dicunt, faciunt quidem hæc, non Divinitate, sed malignitate vel curiositate ; ideo, sicut dictum cst, ut seducant, ut decipiant; spiritus sunt vagi et insinceri, pervolantes et perscrutantes. Nam vere illi sunt sancti famuli, et vere illi ministri Dei, qui signa faciunt salutis, et vitam mortuis tribuunt, dæmones fugant : unde et vere ad Deum pertinere noscuntur, cujus lumine illuminant caecos, virtute sanant infirmos, misericordia mortuos resuscitant, qui in nomine Christi ad similitudinem ejus multa et faciunt et fecere virtute fidei. Ergo sectemur horum caritatem, sequamur horum innocentiam, ut indulgentiam et mansuetudinem eorum servemus, et a sempiterno adjuti Deo, æterno et beato Filio ejus semper honorem deferamus et laudes æternas; ipsum Patrem et Filium adorantes et contitentes in Spiritu sancto, cui gloria et majestas in sæcula. Amen. Deo gratias, semoer.
As for the idols, or the elements which the pagans think are gods, hear briefly, brothers, our blessed prophet mocking these pagans for their useless things and saying: "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands; they have mouths and do not speak; they have eyes and do not see; they have ears and do not hear," and the rest that follows there. I ask you, pagan, whether you would wish to be like those you worship, without soul, without sense, without motion, without any living understanding. You think that a curse; stop, then, worshipping such things as you would be troubled to resemble, and whose worship you think honours you. But the pagans say: 'We worship and venerate the sun and moon, or the stars and all the elements.' To them again it is said: "Vain are all men in whom the knowledge of God is not present, and who from the good things that are seen could not understand him who is; nor, attending to the works, did they recognize who was the craftsman; but they thought either fire, or wind, or swift air, or the circle of the stars, or the great water, or the sun, or the moon to be gods"; if they thought this because of their beauty, let them know how much more beautiful than these is their Lord, for the Creator of beauty established all things; or if they marvelled at their power and works, let them understand from them that he who established these strong things is stronger than they. And the apostle Paul says: "For the invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood through the things that are made, also his eternal power and divinity, so that they are without excuse; because when they had known God, they did not venerate him as God or give thanks, but became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened; for saying that they were wise, they became fools. And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the image of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed beasts and serpents," and so on. "They thought," then, he says, "either fire, or wind, or swift air, or the circle of the stars, or the great water, or the sun, or the moon to be gods." The pagans worship fire and call it god, which is put out by water or smothered by throwing earth on it. The pagans worship fire, which is fed by fuel of wood. The pagans worship fire, they who will burn in eternal fire. But perhaps they worship lightning: why do they worship these things? For they are moved not by their own motions but by the command of God, like the sun and moon, the rains too and the courses of the stars, the movements of the winds and the passing of the clouds. They venerate, then, the spirit of the air and of the winds. But these serve the Lord of things, as it is written: "His wind will blow, and the waters will flow" … "fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy wind, which do his word." The pagans worship the circle of the stars, perfected by God the craftsman and composed for the adornment of the world with distinguished beauty. They worship water, which is poured out by the generosity of the Creator for the use not only of men but also of cattle and other things. They worship the sun and moon, though we see the sun rising and setting run as has been appointed for it. From this it is understood that nothing can run unceasingly and persist in its service unless it is under a Lord and has one who commands it. For neither would the moon suffer increase or decrease except by the will and judgment of the Maker; and the sun, if it were in its own power, would shine with perpetual light … to serve, and the stars to follow their order, the sea too to be held within its bounds. And therefore the most holy prophet cries out, saying to the Lord our God: "How magnified are your works, O Lord! You have made all things in wisdom; the earth is filled with your creation. This great and wide sea, there are creeping things without number, living things small and great." This is the Lord our God, of whom one of the saints said: 'Who hung the heaven on high, made firm the earth as a cast-down mass, poured out the seas as a loosened liquid, and arranged all these things full and adorned with their own fitting instruments.' When, then, you see … The pagans also worship mountains and trees and springs and rivers, where oxen and sheep and all the beasts graze and walk and slip. For their images and idols are covered with fitting honour by spiders, pierced by moths or worms, inhabited by mice and trampled by flies; and they do not defend themselves from fire or rain, nor protect themselves from robbers or thieves. And so holy Cyprian well said to the pagan Demetrianus: 'Be ashamed to worship those whom you yourself defend; be ashamed to hope for help from those whom you protect.' For what could they provide to those who worship them, who cannot avenge themselves on those who do not worship them? For as it does not concern them that they are worshipped, so they do not feel that they are injured. But the pagans say: 'We worship the gods or goddesses who are held to be in heaven.' To them we say: if you call gods, or worship, those whom we hear recited in your books, that is, Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Apollo, Vulcan, Aesculapius and countless others, and call goddesses Juno, Minerva, Diana, Cybele, Latona and the rest; if, then, you call all of them gods, why do you place some in the stars and not others? For you say that Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Mercury are in heaven, and you do not say so of Neptune, Apollo, Vulcan, Aesculapius and the rest. Or perhaps these sinned in something and those did not, and therefore you assert that they possess the upper regions, when rather it is agreed that all … men, and … from men. See, we know that Saturn and Jupiter, Mars too, and Mercury and the rest committed abominable crimes. Does not your Virgil, that chief poet, whose songs you venerate even today, cry out thus about Saturn, saying: 'Fleeing the arms of Jove, an exile from his kingdom taken from him'; whence also Latium took its name from his hiding place, because he had lain hidden safe on its shores, that is, fleeing he had hidden in the borders of Italy; and again he says: '… Picus father of Faunus; and he names you, Saturn, as his parent; you are the ultimate author of the blood.' He first established in Italy the stamping of letters and the marking of coins; hence the treasury is called Saturn's; and he was a cultivator of rustic life, hence he is painted carrying a sickle. When he was seized by mad fury, he devoured his own sons; and he fled with his head covered so as not to be recognized, and so he is represented in your shrines. Jupiter his son, stolen away by his mother, has his tomb in an island … he lies despised … whence Virgil said … of his crimes … he briefly recalls, saying: 'Both sister and wife of Jove,' and 'the honours of ravished Ganymede.' See how accursed, or rather how detestable, this Jupiter is to be held, who wished to have his sister as his wife, to say nothing of his other crimes. Alas! the names of kinship that are held holy among men have become foul sacrileges among the gods of the pagans. And what shall I say of Mars, who, born among the Thracians … the underworld … is said to possess. So he has no proper dwelling of his own, but … wretched in uncertain and no dwellings … you say they begot sons and daughters, not from lawful marriages but from abominable incests and adulteries, just as they themselves were born; and still you do not blush to say that the sun had a daughter and that the moon loved Endymion. Which of the faithful would not be angry at such madness of yours? Who would not think you worthy of every punishment when you persist in such things? As you say that Saturn is the son of Heaven, and again you say, or rather lie, that Jupiter his son begot Minerva from his head … from his thigh, and many other things … For your goddesses … you assert are to be venerated … are held by the vice of obscenity; of them you say that only one, Venus, is in heaven, and you place her among the stars. Why not (I ask) Juno and Minerva, or Diana or the rest? Or because you say Venus is beautiful, do you therefore record that she dwells in heaven, and assign … of foulness to earthly seats? What are you doing with that most shameless woman in heaven among so many men? What does she claim for herself? Is she someone's wife, or mother, or sister, or daughter? But if she is none of these, and you say she is in heaven only because of her beauty, she who was a fornicator, see how wicked it is to say that criminal beauty is in heaven, while you do not say so of Minerva, whom you call chaste and wise! It appears that you are fleshly rather than spiritual … the religion which the ancients … you delight in such paintings and images. Why do the most impure actors today represent in the theatres, to your applause, that shameless Venus herself and the adulterer Mars, and that Jupiter, the prince of vices, changed for his earthly loves, with his thunderbolts, that is, by magic arts, now to grow white, now to flow down as a golden shower … "For whoever have sinned without law will perish without law, and whoever have sinned under the law will be judged by the law"; and the pagans do not blush to speak of so many gods and goddesses, to say that Saturn begot Jupiter and the others. But if gods were born then, why are they not born today too? Unless perhaps, as holy Cyprian again said, either Jupiter has grown old or childbearing has failed in Juno. Likewise the pagans observe the flights of birds and the voices of crows or jackdaws, and in entrails … inquire … to avoid what threatens; to them we say: if, then, what is to come can be avoided by observance, man is no longer under the lot of fate and an immovable decree, since by his own choice and caution he will be able to turn aside what threatens. But they say: 'They cannot be avoided.' Let us say to them again: why then do you inquire? Why do you celebrate sacrifices in vain? Why do you attend to the voices of birds, why to their flights? … Do you wish to know how much prayers avail, how much the supplications of the faithful please the Lord God? Inquire in our books, in books clear with plain truth; inquire about Noah, inquire about Moses, inquire about Jesus the son of Nun, inquire about Elijah or Elisha, inquire about Jonah or the other holy prophets and the blessed apostles, Christ's disciples, to whom the Lord gave whatever their faithful prayer asked; from there you will find how much can be obtained by you … in the shipwreck, among raging waves and the din of storms … on every side, through the perils of the sea and the fearful crests of the waters, relying on the Lord's kindness, he happily escaped … and who by pouring out prayers to the Lord earned to be preserved unharmed with all his family, so that the very storm marvelled that, while all everywhere perished, he alone with his family survived and escaped. Let the pagans say, if they can, what fate could do here: did fate kill all in that flood, or did fate give life to this one man? If fate killed all, why not him too? If fate gave life to him, why not to all? But truly the power and might of almighty God without doubt did these things, who assigns punishments to the obstinate and the despisers, and salvation to the just and those who keep his precepts … Shall I speak of him who is known not to have fallen short in any merit of virtue from his master Moses, who, setting out to subdue the city of Jericho, by his prayers, as by a thunderbolt, cast down the walls of Jericho without delay and laid them flat to the foundations; who also by praying held back the swiftest courses of the sun above Gibeon, and by his prohibition checked the paths of the moon above the battle lines, until he overcame all his adversaries? What shall I say of most holy Elijah, who by the merit of faith carried the key of the rains on his lips … he received from the Lord whatever he asked … All the holy prophets too, by the merit of their faith, as we said, accomplished many mighty works and many wonders. The blessed apostles too restored the broken in strength, and asked nothing from fate, and cured the sick and raised the dead; but they accomplished all things by the power of God and the help of Christ … one is the Lord God, and he is holy … since he alone has power, the Church believes in and venerates this one God, who forms all things that are by the word of his majesty and by wisdom, and perfects them by reason and almighty power. He cannot be seen: he is brighter than sight; nor estimated: he is greater than sense; and so we estimate him worthily when we call him inestimable. This, I say, is the Lord our God, whom even the philosophers of the pagans, overcome by reason, acknowledge as God, even if they do not venerate him. They do not venerate him because, to the injury of the Creator himself, they assert many gods and, as we said, give the honour of the Creator to the creature. So now even the philosophers themselves, whether they will or not, constrained by truth, assert that the Lord our God is invisible and all-powerful; among whom the eminent Sostenes denies that the form of this world can be seen, and says that true angels stand by his throne; in which Plato too agrees with like reason, and, preaching one God, calls the others angels or demons. Hermes Trismegistus too acknowledges one God and confesses him invisible and incomprehensible. Him, then, we confess in truth, and know and acknowledge: the almighty God, whose work is the world, who hung the heaven like a vault, who founded the earth upon the water, poured out the seas as a loosened liquid, and who as maker himself holds together the whole mass of this world, composed on every side with wonderful balance. He the sun's warming … he kindly and usefully prepared all living things with all their young; he the springs and rivers and hollow torrents; he the wide sea … and he perfected all things visible and invisible … in Christ his Son our Lord; as it is written that in Christ all things were created, as the apostle Paul testifies, things in heaven and things on earth, visible and invisible. One God, then, brothers, is alone to be worshipped, as it is written: "You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him alone"; he is to be loved, as Scripture says: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your understanding, and your neighbour as yourself." For who, I ask, is our neighbour but our Lord Jesus Christ, who, being in the form of God, took the form of a servant? "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us"; and he said: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." This Jesus Christ … in the beginning was the Word with God … by the Sibyl he was named ΙΧΘΥΣ, a Greek name which means 'fish', because he was to enter the sea of the world or of this age. And consider the great mystery of these Greek letters, ΙΧΘΥΣ: iota, that is, Jesus; chi, that is, Christ; theta, of God; upsilon, Son; sigma, Saviour; which is explained in Latin: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour. In the initials of these five Greek letters is this mystery … concerning the Lord Christ the blessed Peter himself … whether one is willing to receive the true prophet or not … 'we are,' he says, 'of free will; if this were so, those who heard him would not have it in their power to do otherwise than they had heard; there would be a kind of force of nature by which one would not be free to go over to another opinion; or again, if none of the hearers at all received him, this too would be a force of nature compelling one thing to be done …' … 'For from the beginning, while … kingdoms … and he gave power … of men, so that each becomes a portion of that kingdom to which he has subjected himself to obey; and because it has been determined by God that one man cannot be the servant of both kingdoms, make every effort to run to the covenant and laws of the good king. For this reason, then, when the true prophet was present with us and saw some of the rich negligent about the worship of God, he opened this matter thus …' and the rest, up to this point holy Peter continues. Christ, then, said: "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent"; in this knowledge, brothers, is eternal life. For hear the Scripture of the holy Gospels speaking of the supreme God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ: "In the beginning," it says, "was the Word," that is, the Son, "and the Word was with God," with his begetter … in what follows … saying, "and the Word became flesh" … as a veil … the interpreter … he taught the will of the Father and handed on the supreme God himself to be believed; and so, the passion being completed, he offered the very man whom he had assumed as a sacrifice to the Father, making the redemption of the whole world. Again we insert the exposition of holy Peter: 'Know,' he says, 'the truth, and separate yourselves … to deceive … of the gods … For as one emperor has under him many, you say for example prefects, consuls, tribunes and the other powers, so we suppose that, since there is one God greater than all, these gods have been ordained in this world after the likeness of the powers we have mentioned, subject indeed to the greater, yet, since they are in this world, administering it.' Hear, then, in answer to this, you pagans, how in the very things you put forward for deception you confess by reasons of truth. For you say: as the emperor holds … and those who are called gods keep the appearance of his judges and powers; keep, then, as you have proposed, the example of the emperor, and know that, just as it is not lawful for any of the judges or administrators, that is, prefects or proconsuls or generals or tribunes, to have the emperor's name given to him, otherwise both he who has accepted it and they who have conferred it will perish alike, so you ought to notice concerning this. If anyone gives the name of God to someone besides him, and that one accepts it, they will share one and the same destruction, perhaps much worse than the emperor's ministers. For he who offends against the emperor will undergo a temporal destruction; but he who offends against the one who alone is true God, for ever … Other pagans say: 'We do better still, who give thanks both to the supreme God himself and to all with him'; to whom it must be said: this is as if a sick man should call both a physician and a poisoner for his cure, since the poisoners can indeed harm and not cure, while the true physician refuses to mix his medicines with their poisons, lest either ruin … to good … the elements show service … Accordingly … against the goodness of the Maker the elements, wearied by the crimes of the impious, are overcome; hence it is that either the fruit of the earth is spoiled, or the temperateness of the air is disturbed, or the heat of the sun is kindled beyond measure, or an immense force of rains or frosts is poured out. In … and the face of death runs through in various forms; for creation would hasten to move against the impious for vengeance; yet the goodness of God restrains it and reins it in from indignation against the impious, and … of his mercy … to obey rather than be inflamed by the sins and crimes of men. For the patience of God awaits the conversion of men while they are in this body; but if they persist in impiety to the end of life, then the soul, departing, being immortal, pays immortal penalties for its persistence in impiety. 'But we,' says holy Peter himself, whose disputation we have taken from the history of blessed Clement his disciple and joined to our words in support, 'we, then,' he says, 'have been sent for this, to expose to you the hiding places of the ancient serpent and, dissolving the enmities, reconcile you to God …' … we can come to knowledge how … conducts human affairs … for unless by power … the elements would never minister to inferior things; and by this not only God's care for men is taught, but also a certain great affection, since he has made such splendid elements subject to their service. But you will say: 'What harm is done to God if these things too are worshipped by us?' … in things which you could easily grasp, you would not turn your mind to examine; it is certain that you are hindered in the knowledge of God not by the fault of impossibility but of sloth. For if you had wished, you would surely have received from these very useless images the way of understanding … to harm … with demons seducing, so that as though by wonders they might accomplish useful things … statues walking … bronze dogs and stones … fire made through the air, changed into various shapes, and the other things which we have heard that Simon the magician and others did; for Jannes and Mambres too worked magic against Moses … to the devil for a time to do some things to seduce unbelievers, so that … the mind of the faithful … and be perfected in love and fear of God and not be overcome by evil. And the pythons speak of future and hidden things, and … sometimes … speak of future and hidden things; they do these things not by divinity but by malice or curiosity; therefore, as has been said, so that they may seduce, so that they may deceive; they are wandering and insincere spirits, flying about and prying. For truly those are holy servants, and truly those are ministers of God, who do signs of salvation, give life to the dead and put demons to flight; whence they are truly known to belong to God, by whose light they give light to the blind, by whose power they heal the sick, by whose mercy they raise the dead; who in the name of Christ, after his likeness, both do and have done many things by the power of faith. Let us follow, then, their love, let us follow their innocence, so that we may keep their indulgence and gentleness, and, helped by the everlasting God, may always render honour and eternal praises to his eternal and blessed Son, worshipping and confessing the Father himself and the Son in the Holy Spirit, to whom be glory and majesty for ever. Amen. Thanks be to God, always.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Ps 115:4 (113:12 Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 115:5 (113:13 Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 135:15 (134:15 Vulg.) (quotation, medium confidence) · Rom 1:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 1:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 1:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 1:23 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 147:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 148:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 104:24 (103:24 Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 104:25 (103:25 Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 2:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 7:23 (allusion, high confidence) · Josh 6:20 (allusion, high confidence) · Josh 10:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Josh 10:13 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 17:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 1:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 4:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 22:37 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 22:39 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 2:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 2:7 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:14 (quotation, high confidence) · John 17:3 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 8:9 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Tim 3:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 7:11 (allusion, medium confidence) · Acts 16:16 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The treatise continues against pagan worship of idols, elements and the immoral gods of myth (with quotations from Wisdom, Romans, Virgil and Cyprian), refutes fate and augury by the power of prayer in Scripture, cites the philosophers, the Sibyl's ΙΧΘΥΣ acrostic and Peter's speeches from the Clementine Recognitions, and ends with the one God.
- The printed text has many lacunae, marked here with '…'; several sentences are fragmentary and are translated as far as they can be construed. Virgil is quoted from Aeneid 8.320 and 7.48–49, and Aeneid 1.47 and 1.28; Cyprian from To Demetrianus (ch. 14); 'either Jupiter has grown old or childbearing has failed in Juno' is from Minucius Felix, Octavius 24.3, though ascribed to Cyprian. The speeches of 'holy Peter' are taken, as the author says, from 'the history of blessed Clement', the Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions (book 5 in Rufinus's Latin; exact chapters not identified here). 'Sostenes' is probably Ostanes; the identification is uncertain. The ΙΧΘΥΣ acrostic is from the Sibylline Oracles (8.217–250). The Psalm quoted first is Ps 115:4–6 (Vulgate 113:12–14); the printed reference 'Psal. CXXXIV' points to the parallel Ps 135:15–17. The 'neighbour' is identified with Christ.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (leaked column number; stray footnote mark; stray footnote numeral): (Psal x). 725 Hic est → (Psal x). Hic est; iterum ait: 726 ..... → iterum ait: .....; ultimus auctor I. Hic → ultimus auctor. Hic; dicens : 3 Jovisque → dicens : Jovisque; astris ponitis. 4 Cur non → astris ponitis. Cur non; caeteras? 727 An quia → caeteras? An quia; delectamini. 5 Cur hodie → delectamini. Cur hodie; vitam dona- vit? 1 Si omnes → vitam dona- vit? Si omnes; creaturæ. 1 Ergo nunc → creaturæ. Ergo nunc; Deorum..... ...... ..... .......... 732 sicut → Deorum..... ...... ..... .......... sicut.
Extrabiblical texts: Wis 13:1-2 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation); Cyprian, Demetr. 14 (To Demetrian; quotation); Virgil, Aen. 8.320 (Virgil; quotation); Virgil, Aen. 7.48-49 (Virgil; quotation); Virgil, Aen. 1.28 (Virgil; quotation); Virgil, Aen. 1.47 (Virgil; quotation); Minucius Felix, Oct. 24.3 (Octavius; quotation); Sib. Or. 8.217-250 (Sibylline Oracles; allusion); Ps.-Clem. Recogn. 5 (Recognitions; quotation); Plato (Plato (works); allusion); Jan. Jam. (Jannes and Jambres; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Maximus of Turin, Tract. 4.3 (PL 57:783c–793a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/maximus-taurinensis-tractatus/4-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/maximus-taurinensis-tractatus/4-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Bruni's Latin text as printed in Migne PL 57 (Open Greek and Latin digitization). No public-domain English translation exists and no modern English was available for checking, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.