Letter CL. From Procopius to Jerome.
This letter is extant also among those of Procopius of Gaza, to whose
works it properly belongs. As this Procopius flourished a century later
than Jerome, the letter cannot be addressed to him.
Treatises.
The Life of Paulus the First Hermit.
------------------------
The Life of Paulus was written in the year 374 or 375 during Jerome's
stay in the desert of Syria, as is seen from c. 6, and was dedicated to
Paulus of Concordia as stated in Jerome's Ep. x. c. 3.
1. It has been a subject of wide-spread and frequent discussion what
monk was the first to give a signal example of the hermit life. For
some going back too far have found a beginning in those holy men Elias
and John, of whom the former seems to have been more than a monk and
the latter to have begun to prophesy before his birth. Others, and
their opinion is that commonly received, maintain that Antony was the
originator of this mode of life, which view is partly true. Partly I
say, for the fact is not so much that he preceded the rest as that they
all derived from him the necessary stimulus. But it is asserted even at
the present day by Amathas and Macarius, two of Antony's disciples, the
former of whom laid his master in the grave, that a certain Paul of
Thebes was the leader in the movement, though not the first to bear the
name, and this opinion has my approval also. Some as they think fit
circulate stories such as this--that he was a man living in an
underground cave with flowing hair down to his feet, and invent many
incredible tales which it would be useless to detail. Nor does the
opinion of men who lie without any sense of shame seem worthy of
refutation. So then inasmuch as both Greek and Roman writers have
handed down careful accounts of Antony, I have determined to write a
short history of Paul's early and latter days, more because the thing
has been passed over than from confidence in my own ability. What his
middle life was like, and what snares of Satan he experienced, no man,
it is thought, has yet discovered.
2. During the persecutions of Decius and Valerian, [4014] when
Cornelius at Rome and Cyprian at Carthage shed their blood in blessed
martyrdom, many churches in Egypt and the Thebaid were laid waste by
the fury of the storm. At that time the Christians would often pray
that they might be smitten with the sword for the name of Christ. But
the desire of the crafty foe was to slay the soul, not the body; and
this he did by searching diligently for slow but deadly tortures. In
the words of Cyprian himself who suffered at his hands: they who wished
to die were not suffered to be slain. We give two illustrations, both
as specially noteworthy and to make the cruelty of the enemy better
known.
3. A martyr, steadfast in faith, who stood fast as a conqueror amidst
the racks and burning plates, was ordered by him to be smeared with
honey and to be made to lie under a blazing sun with his hands tied
behind his back, so that he who had already surmounted the heat of the
frying-pan might be vanquished by the stings of flies. Another who was
in the bloom of youth was taken by his command to some delightful
pleasure gardens, and there amid white lilies and blushing roses, close
by a gently murmuring stream, while overhead the soft whisper of the
wind played among the leaves of the trees, was laid upon a deep
luxurious feather-bed, bound with fetters of sweet garlands to prevent
his escape. When all had withdrawn from him a harlot of great beauty
drew near and began with voluptuous embrace to throw her arms around
his neck, and, wicked even to relate! to handle his person, so that
when once the lusts of the flesh were roused, she might accomplish her
licentious purpose. What to do, and whither to turn, the soldier of
Christ knew not. Unconquered by tortures he was being overcome by
pleasure. At last with an inspiration from heaven he bit off the end of
his tongue and spat it in her face as she kissed him. Thus the
sensations of lust were subdued by the intense pain which followed.
4. While such enormities were being perpetrated in the lower part of
the Thebaid, Paul and his newly married sister were bereaved of both
their parents, he being about sixteen years of age. He was heir to a
rich inheritance, highly skilled in both Greek and Egyptian learning,
gifted with a gentle disposition and a deep love for God. Amid the
thunders of persecution he retired to a house at a considerable
distance and in a more secluded spot. But to what crimes does not the
"accursed thirst for gold" impel the human heart? His brother-in-law
conceived the thought of betraying the youth whom he was bound to
conceal. Neither a wife's tears which so often prevail, nor the ties of
blood, nor the all-seeing eye of God above him could turn the traitor
from his wickedness. "He came, he was urgent, he acted with cruelty
while seeming only to press the claims of affection."
5. The young man had the tact to understand this, and, conforming his
will to the necessity, fled to the mountain wilds to wait for the end
of the persecution. He began with easy stages, and repeated halts, to
advance into the desert. At length he found a rocky mountain, at the
foot of which, closed by a stone, was a cave of no great size. He
removed the stone (so eager are men to learn what is hidden), made
eager search, and saw within a large hall, open to the sky, but shaded
by the wide-spread branches of an ancient palm. The tree, however, did
not conceal a fountain of transparent clearness, the waters whereof no
sooner gushed forth than the stream was swallowed up in a small opening
of the same ground which gave it birth. There were besides in the
mountain, which was full of cavities, many habitable places, in which
were seen, now rough with rust, anvils and hammers for stamping money.
The place, Egyptian writers relate, was a secret mint at the time of
Antony's union with Cleopatra.
6. Accordingly, regarding his abode as a gift from God, he fell in love
with it, and there in prayer and solitude spent all the rest of his
life. The palm afforded him food and clothing. And, that no one may
deem this impossible, I call to witness Jesus and His holy angels that
I have seen and still see in that part of the desert which lies between
Syria and the Saracens' country, monks of whom one was shut up for
thirty years and lived on barley bread and muddy water, while another
in an old cistern (called in the country dialect of Syria Gubba) kept
himself alive on five dried figs a day. What I relate then is so
strange that it will appear incredible to those who do not believe the
words that "all things are possible to him that believeth."
7. But to return to the point at which I digressed. The blessed Paul
had already lived on earth the life of heaven for a hundred and
thirteen years, and Antony at the age of ninety was dwelling in another
place of solitude (as he himself was wont to declare), when the thought
occurred to the latter, that no monk more perfect than himself had
settled in the desert. However, in the stillness of the night it was
revealed to him that there was farther in the desert a much better man
than he, and that he ought to go and visit him. So then at break of day
the venerable old man, supporting and guiding his weak limbs with a
staff, started to go: but what direction to choose he knew not.
Scorching noontide came, with a broiling sun overhead, but still he did
not suffer himself to be turned from the journey he had begun. Said he,
"I believe in my God: some time or other He will shew me the
fellow-servant whom He promised me." He said no more. All at once he
beholds a creature of mingled shape, half horse half man, called by the
poets Hippocentaur. At the sight of this he arms himself by making on
his forehead the sign of salvation, and then exclaims, "Holloa! Where
in these parts is a servant of God living?" The monster after gnashing
out some kind of outlandish utterance, in words broken rather than
spoken through his bristling lips, at length finds a friendly mode of
communication, and extending his right hand points out the way desired.
Then with swift flight he crosses the spreading plain and vanishes from
the sight of his wondering companion. But whether the devil took this
shape to terrify him, or whether it be that the desert which is known
to abound in monstrous animals engenders that kind of creature also, we
cannot decide.
8. Antony was amazed, and thinking over what he had seen went on his
way. Before long in a small rocky valley shut in on all sides he sees a
mannikin with hooked snout, horned forehead, and extremities like
goats' feet. When he saw this, Antony like a good soldier seized the
shield of faith and the helmet of hope: the creature none the less
began to offer to him the fruit of the palm-trees to support him on his
journey and as it were pledges of peace. Antony perceiving this stopped
and asked who he was. The answer he received from him was this: "I am a
mortal being and one of those inhabitants of the desert whom the
Gentiles deluded by various forms of error worship under the names of
Fauns, Satyrs, and Incubi. I am sent to represent my tribe. We pray you
in our behalf to entreat the favour of your Lord and ours, who, we have
learnt, came once to save the world, and whose sound has gone forth
into all the earth.'" As he uttered such words as these, the aged
traveller's cheeks streamed with tears, the marks of his deep feeling,
which he shed in the fulness of his joy. He rejoiced over the Glory of
Christ and the destruction of Satan, and marvelling all the while that
he could understand the Satyr's language, and striking the ground with
his staff, he said, "Woe to thee, Alexandria, who instead of God
worshippest monsters! Woe to thee, harlot city, into which have flowed
together the demons of the whole world! What will you say now? Beasts
speak of Christ, and you instead of God worship monsters." He had not
finished speaking when, as if on wings, the wild creature fled away.
Let no one scruple to believe this incident; its truth is supported by
what took place when Constantine was on the throne, a matter of which
the whole world was witness. For a man of that kind was brought alive
to Alexandria and shewn as a wonderful sight to the people. Afterwards
his lifeless body, to prevent its decay through the summer heat, was
preserved in salt and brought to Antioch that the Emperor might see it.
9. To pursue my proposed story. Antony traversed the region on which he
had entered, seeing only the traces of wild beasts, and the wide waste
of the desert. What to do, whither to wend his way, he knew not.
Another day had now passed. One thing alone was left him, his confident
belief that he could not be forsaken by Christ. The darkness of the
second night he wore away in prayer. While it was still twilight, he
saw not far away a she-wolf gasping with parching thirst and creeping
to the foot of the mountain. He followed it with his eyes; and after
the beast had disappeared in a cave he drew near and began to look
within. His curiosity profited nothing: the darkness hindered vision.
But, as the Scripture saith, perfect love casteth out fear. With
halting step and bated breath he entered, carefully feeling his way; he
advanced little by little and repeatedly listened for the sound. At
length through the fearful midnight darkness a light appeared in the
distance. In his eager haste he struck his foot against a stone and
roused the echoes; whereupon the blessed Paul closed the open door and
made it fast with a bar. Then Antony sank to the ground at the entrance
and until the sixth hour or later craved admission, saying, "Who I am,
whence, and why I have come, you know. I know I am not worthy to look
upon you: yet unless I see you I will not go away. You welcome beasts:
why not a man? I asked and I have found: I knock that it may be opened
to me. But if I do not succeed, I will die here on your threshold. You
will surely bury me when I am dead."
"Such was his constant cry: unmoved he stood.
To whom the hero thus brief answer made" [4015]
"Prayers like these do not mean threats; there is no trickery in tears.
Are you surprised at my not welcoming you when you have come here to
die?" Thus with smiles Paul gave him access, and, the door being
opened, they threw themselves into each other's arms, greeted one
another by name, and joined in thanksgiving to God.
10. After the sacred kiss Paul sat down and thus began to address
Antony. "Behold the man whom you have sought with so much toil, his
limbs decayed with age, his gray hairs unkempt. You see before you a
man who ere long will be dust. But love endures all things. Tell me
therefore, I pray you, how fares the human race? Are new homes
springing up in the ancient cities? What government directs the world?
Are there still some remaining for the demons to carry away by their
delusions?" Thus conversing they noticed with wonder a raven which had
settled on the bough of a tree, and was then flying gently down till it
came and laid a whole loaf of bread before them. They were astonished,
and when it had gone, "See," said Paul, "the Lord truly loving, truly
merciful, has sent us a meal. For the last sixty years I have always
received half a loaf: but at your coming Christ has doubled his
soldier's rations."
11. Accordingly, having returned thanks to the Lord, they sat down
together on the brink of the glassy spring. At this point a dispute
arose as to who should break the bread, and nearly the whole day until
eventide was spent in the discussion. Paul urged in support of his view
the rites of hospitality, Antony pleaded age. At length it was arranged
that each should seize the loaf on the side nearest to himself, pull
towards him, and keep for his own the part left in his hands. Then on
hands and knees they drank a little water from the spring, and offering
to God the sacrifice of praise passed the night in vigil. At the return
of day the blessed Paul thus spoke to Antony: "I knew long since,
brother, that you were dwelling in those parts: long ago God promised
you to me for a fellow-servant; but the time of my falling asleep now
draws nigh; I have always longed to be dissolved and to be with Christ;
my course is finished, and there remains for me a crown of
righteousness. Therefore you have been sent by the Lord to lay my poor
body in the ground, yea to return earth to earth."
12. On hearing this Antony with tears and groans began to pray that he
would not desert him, but would take him for a companion on that
journey. His friend replied: "You ought not to seek your own, but
another man's good. It is expedient for you to lay aside the burden of
the flesh and to follow the Lamb; but it is expedient for the rest of
the brethren to be trained by your example. Wherefore be so good as to
go and fetch the cloak Bishop Athanasius gave you, to wrap my poor body
in." The blessed Paul asked this favour not because he cared much
whether his corpse when it decayed were clothed or naked (why should he
indeed, when he had so long worn a garment of palm-leaves stitched
together?); but that he might soften his friend's regrets at his
decease. Antony was astonished to find Paul had heard of Athanasius and
his cloak; and, seeing as it were Christ Himself in him, he mentally
worshipped God without venturing to add a single word; then silently
weeping he once more kissed his eyes and hands, and set out on his
return to the monastery which was afterwards seized by the Saracens.
His steps lagged behind his will. Yet, exhausted as he was with fasting
and broken by age, his courage proved victorious over his years.
13. At last wearied and panting for breath he completed his journey and
reached his little dwelling. Here he was met by two disciples who had
begun to wait upon him in his advanced age. Said they, "Where have you
stayed so long, father?" He replied, "Woe to me a sinner! I do not
deserve the name of monk. I have seen Elias, I have seen John in the
desert, and I have really seen Paul in Paradise." He then closed his
lips, beat upon his breast, and brought out the cloak from his cell.
When his disciples asked him to explain the matter somewhat more fully
he said, "There is a time to keep silence, and a time to speak." [4016]
14. He then went out, and without taking so much as a morsel of food
returned the same way he came, longing for him alone, thirsting to see
him, having eyes and thought for none but him. For he was afraid, and
the event proved his anticipations correct, that in his absence his
friend might yield up his spirit to Christ. And now another day had
dawned and a three hours' journey still remained, when he saw Paul in
robes of snowy white ascending on high among the bands of angels, and
the choirs of prophets and apostles. Immediately he fell on his face,
and threw the coarse sand upon his head, weeping and wailing as he
cried, "Why do you cast me from you, Paul? Why go without one farewell?
Have you made yourself known so late only to depart so soon?"
15. The blessed Antony used afterwards to relate that he traversed the
rest of the distance at such speed that he flew along like a bird; and
not without reason: for on entering the cave he saw the lifeless body
in a kneeling attitude, with head erect and hands uplifted. The first
thing he did, supposing him to be alive, was to pray by his side. But
when he did not hear the sighs which usually come from one in prayer,
he fell to kisses and tears, and he then understood that even the dead
body of the saint with duteous gestures was praying to God unto whom
all things live.
16. Then having wrapped up the body and carried it forth, all the while
chanting hymns and psalms according to the Christian tradition, Antony
began to lament that he had no implement for digging the ground. So in
a surging sea of thought and pondering many plans he said: "If I return
to the monastery, there is a four days' journey: if I stay here I shall
do no good. I will die then, as is fitting, beside Thy warrior, O
Christ, and will quickly breathe my last breath. While he turned these
things over in his mind, behold, two lions from the recesses of the
desert with manes flying on their necks came rushing along. At first he
was horrified at the sight, but again turning his thoughts to God, he
waited without alarm, as though they were doves that he saw. They came
straight to the corpse of the blessed old man and there stopped, fawned
upon it and lay down at its feet, roaring aloud as if to make it known
that they were mourning in the only way possible to them. Then they
began to paw the ground close by, and vie with one another in
excavating the sand, until they dug out a place just large enough to
hold a man. And immediately, as if demanding a reward for their work,
pricking up their ears while they lowered their heads, they came to
Antony and began to lick his hands and feet. He perceived that they
were begging a blessing from him, and at once with an outburst of
praise to Christ that even dumb animals felt His divinity, he said,
"Lord, without whose command not a leaf drops from the tree, not a
sparrow falls to the ground, grant them what thou knowest to be best."
Then he waved his hand and bade them depart. When they were gone he
bent his aged shoulders beneath the burden of the saint's body, laid it
in the grave, covered it with the excavated soil, and raised over it
the customary mound. Another day dawned, and then, that the
affectionate heir might not be without something belonging to the
intestate dead, he took for himself the tunic which after the manner of
wicker-work the saint had woven out of palm-leaves. And so returning to
the monastery he unfolded everything in order to his disciples, and on
the feast-days of Easter and Pentecost he always wore Paul's tunic.
17. I may be permitted at the end of this little treatise to ask those
who do not know the extent of their possessions, who adorn their homes
with marble, who string house to house and field to field, what did
this old man in his nakedness ever lack? Your drinking vessels are of
precious stones; he satisfied his thirst with the hollow of his hand.
Your tunics are of wrought gold; he had not the raiment of the meanest
of your slaves. But on the other hand, poor though he was, Paradise is
open to him; you with all your gold will be received into Gehenna. He
though naked yet kept the robe of Christ; you, clad in your silks, have
lost the vesture of Christ. Paul lies covered with worthless dust, but
will rise again to glory; over you are raised costly tombs, but both
you and your wealth are doomed to the burning. Have a care, I pray you,
at least have a care for the riches you love. Why are even the
grave-clothes of your dead made of gold? Why does not your vaunting
cease even amid mourning and tears? Cannot the carcases of rich men
decay except in silk?
18. I beseech you, reader, whoever you may be, to remember Jerome the
sinner. He, if God would give him his choice, would much sooner take
Paul's tunic with his merits, than the purple of kings with their
punishment.
[4014] a.d. 249-260.
[4015] Virg. Æn. ii, 650, and vi, 672.
[4016] Eccl. iii. 7.
The Life of S. Hilarion.
------------------------
The life of Hilarion was written by Jerome in 390 at Bethlehem. Its
object was to further the ascetic life to which he was devoted. It
contains, amidst much that is legendary, some statements which attach
it to genuine history, and is in any case a curious record of the state
of the human mind in the 4th century. A theory started in Germany, that
it was a sort of religious romance, seems destitute of foundation. It
may possibly have been, in Jerome's intention, a contribution to the
church history the writing of which he proposed but never executed.
(See the Life of Malchus, c. 1.)
1. Before I begin to write the life of the blessed Hilarion I invoke
the aid of the Holy Spirit who dwelt in him, that He who bestowed upon
the saint his virtues may grant me such power of speech to relate them
that my words may be adequate to his deeds. For the virtue of those who
have done great deeds is esteemed in proportion to the ability with
which it has been praised by men of genius. Alexander the Great of
Macedon who is spoken of by Daniel as the ram, or the panther, or the
he-goat, on reaching the grave of Achilles exclaimed "Happy Youth! to
have the privilege of a great herald of your worth," meaning, of
course, Homer. I, however, have to tell the story of the life and
conversation of a man so renowned that even Homer were he here would
either envy me the theme or prove unequal to it. It is true that that
holy man Epiphanius, bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, who had much
intercourse with Hilarion, set forth his praises in a short but widely
circulated letter. Yet it is one thing to praise the dead in general
terms, another to relate their characteristic virtues. And so we in
taking up the work begun by him do him service rather than wrong: we
despise the abuse of some who as they once disparaged my hero Paulus,
[4017] will now perhaps disparage Hilarion; the former they censured
for his solitary life; they may find fault with the latter for his
intercourse with the world; the one was always out of sight, therefore
they think he had no existence; the other was seen by many, therefore
he is deemed of no account. It is just what their ancestors the
Pharisees did of old! they were not pleased with [4018] John fasting in
the desert, nor with our Lord and Saviour in the busy throng, eating
and drinking. But I will put my hand to the work on which I have
resolved, and go on my way closing my ears to the barking of Scylla's
hounds.
2. The birth place of Hilarion was the village Thabatha, situate about
five miles to the south of Gaza, a city of Palestine. His parents were
idolaters, and therefore, as the saying is, the rose blossomed on the
thorn. By them he was committed to the charge of a Grammarian at
Alexandria, where, so far as his age allowed, he gave proofs of
remarkable ability and character: and in a short time endeared himself
to all and became an accomplished speaker. More important than all
this, he was a believer in the Lord Jesus, and took no delight in the
madness of the circus, the blood of the arena, the excesses of the
theatre: his whole pleasure was in the assemblies of the Church.
3. At that time he heard of the famous name of Antony, which was in the
mouth of all the races of Egypt. He was fired with a desire to see him,
and set out for the desert. He no sooner saw him than he changed his
former mode of life and abode with him about two months, studying the
method of his life and the gravity of his conduct: his assiduity in
prayer, his humility in his dealings with the brethren, his severity in
rebuke, his eagerness in exhortation. He noted too that the saint would
never on account of bodily weakness break his rule of abstinence or
deviate from the plainness of his food. At last, unable to endure any
longer the crowds of those who visited the saint because of various
afflictions or the assaults of demons, and deeming it a strange anomaly
that he should have to bear in the desert the crowds of the cities, he
thought it was better for him to begin as Antony had begun. Said he:
"Antony is reaping the reward of victory like a hero who has proved his
bravery. I have not entered on the soldier's career." He therefore
returned with certain monks to his country, and, his parents being now
dead, gave part of his property to his brothers, part to the poor,
keeping nothing at all for himself, for he remembered with awe the
passage in the Acts of the Apostles and dreaded the example and the
punishment of Ananias and Sapphira; above all he was mindful of the
Lord's words, [4019] "whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all
that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." At this time he was about
fifteen years old. Accordingly, stripped bare and armed with the
weapons of Christ, he entered the wilderness which stretches to the
left seven miles from Majoma, the port of Gaza, as you go along the
coast to Egypt. And although the locality had a record of robbery and
of blood, and his relatives and friends warned him of the danger he was
incurring, he despised death that he might escape death.
4. His courage and tender years would have been a marvel to all, were
it not that his heart was on fire and his eyes bright with the gleams
and sparks of faith. His cheeks were smooth, his body thin and
delicate, unfit to bear the slightest injury which cold or heat could
inflict. What then? With no other covering for his limbs but a shirt of
sackcloth, and a cloak of skins which the blessed Antony had given him
when he set out, and a blanket of the coarsest sort, he found pleasure
in the vast and terrible wilderness with the sea on one side and the
marshland on the other. His food was only fifteen dried figs after
sunset. And because the district was notorious for brigandage, it was
his practice never to abide long in the same place. What was the devil
to do? Whither could he turn? He who once boasted and said, [4020] "I
will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of the
sky, I will be like the most High," saw himself conquered and trodden
under foot by a boy whose years did not allow of sin.
5. Satan therefore tickled his senses and, as is his wont, lighted in
his maturing body the fires of lust. This mere beginner in Christ's
school was forced to think of what he knew not, and to revolve whole
trains of thought concerning that of which he had no experience. Angry
with himself and beating his bosom (as if with the blow of his hand he
could shut out his thoughts) "Ass!" he exclaimed, "I'll stop your
kicking, I will not feed you with barley, but with chaff. I will weaken
you with hunger and thirst, I will lade you with heavy burdens, I will
drive you through heat and cold, that you may think more of food than
wantonness." So for three or four days afterwards he sustained his
sinking spirit with the juice of herbs and a few dried figs, praying
frequently and singing, and hoeing the ground that the suffering of
fasting might be doubled by the pain of toil. At the same time he wove
baskets of rushes and emulated the discipline of the Egyptian monks,
and put into practice the Apostle's precept, [4021] "If any will not
work, neither let him eat." By these practices he became so enfeebled
and his frame so wasted, that his bones scarcely held together.
6. One night he began to hear the wailing of infants, the bleating of
flocks, the lowing of oxen, the lament of what seemed to be women, the
roaring of lions, the noise of an army, and moreover various portentous
cries which made him in alarm shrink from the sound ere he had the
sight. He understood that the demons were disporting themselves, and
falling on his knees he made the sign of the cross on his forehead.
Thus armed as he lay he fought the more bravely, half longing to see
those whom he shuddered to hear, and anxiously looking in every
direction. Meanwhile all at once in the bright moonlight he saw a
chariot with dashing steeds rushing upon him. He called upon Jesus, and
suddenly before his eyes, the earth was opened and the whole array was
swallowed up. Then he said, [4022] "The horse and his rider hath He
thrown into the sea." And, [4023] "Some trust in chariots, and some in
horses; but we will triumph in the name of the Lord our God."
7. So many were his temptations and so various the snares of demons
night and day, that if I wished to relate them, a volume would not
suffice. How often when he lay down did naked women appear to him, how
often sumptuous feasts when he was hungry! Sometimes as he prayed a
howling wolf sprang past or a snarling fox, and when he sang a
gladiatorial show was before him, and a man newly slain would seem to
fall at his feet and ask him for burial.
8. Once upon a time he was praying with his head upon the ground. As is
the way with men, his attention was withdrawn from his devotions, and
he was thinking of something else, when a tormentor sprang upon his
back and driving his heels into his sides and beating him across the
neck with a horse-whip cried out "Come! why are you asleep?" Then with
a loud laugh asked if he was tired and would like to have some barley.
9. From his sixteenth to his twentieth year he shielded himself from
heat and rain in a little hut which he had constructed of reeds and
sedge. Afterwards he built himself a small cell which remains to the
present day, five feet in height, that is less than his own height, and
only a little more in length. One might suppose it a tomb rather than a
house.
10. He shaved his hair once a year on Easter Day, and until his death
was accustomed to lie on the bare ground or on a bed of rushes. The
sackcloth which he had once put on he never washed, and he used to say
that it was going too far to look for cleanliness in goats' hair-cloth.
Nor did he change his shirt unless the one he wore was almost in rags.
He had committed the Sacred Writings to memory, and after prayer and
singing was wont to recite them as if in the presence of God. It would
be tedious to narrate singly the successive steps of his spiritual
ascent; I will therefore set them in a summary way before my reader,
and describe his mode of life at each stage, and will afterwards return
to proper historical sequence.
11. From his twentieth to his twenty-seventh year, for three years his
food was half a pint of lentils moistened with cold water, and for the
next three dry bread with salt and water. From his twenty-seventh year
onward to the thirtieth, he supported himself on wild herbs and the raw
roots of certain shrubs. From his thirty-first to his thirty-fifth
year, he had for food six ounces of barley bread, and vegetables
slightly cooked without oil. But finding his eyes growing dim and his
whole body shrivelled with a scabby eruption and dry mange, he added
oil to his former food and up to the sixty-third year of his life
followed this temperate course, tasting neither fruit nor pulse, nor
anything whatsoever besides. Then when he saw that his bodily health
was broken down, and thought death was near, from his sixty-fourth year
to his eightieth he abstained from bread. The fervour of his spirit was
so wonderful, that at times when others are wont to allow themselves
some laxity of living he appeared to be entering like a novice on the
service of the Lord. He made a sort of broth from meal and bruised
herbs, food and drink together scarcely weighing six ounces, and, while
obeying this rule of diet, he never broke his fast before sunset, not
even on festivals nor in severe sickness. But it is now time to return
to the course of event.
12. While still living in the hut, at the age of eighteen, robbers came
to him by night, either supposing that he had something which they
might carry off, or considering that they would be brought into
contempt if a solitary boy felt no dread of their attacks. They
searched up and down between the sea and the marsh from evening until
daybreak without being able to find his resting place. Then, having
discovered the boy by the light of day they asked him, half in jest,
"What would you do if robbers came to you?" He replied, "He that has
nothing does not fear robbers." Said they, "At all events, you might be
killed." "I might," said he, "I might; and therefore I do not fear
robbers because I am prepared to die." Then they marvelled at his
firmness and faith, confessed how they had wandered about in the night,
and how their eyes had been blinded, and promised to lead a stricter
life in the future.
13. He had now spent twenty-two years in the wilderness and was the
common theme in all the cities of Palestine, though everywhere known by
repute only. The first person bold enough to break into the presence of
the blessed Hilarion was a certain woman of Eleutheropolis who found
that she was despised by her husband on account of her sterility (for
in fifteen years she had borne no fruit of wedlock). He had no
expectation of her coming when she suddenly threw herself at his feet.
"Forgive my boldness," she said: "take pity on my necessity. Why do you
turn away your eyes? Why shun my entreaties? Do not think of me as a
woman, but as an object of compassion. It was my sex that bore the
Saviour. [4024] They that are whole have no need of a physician, but
they that are sick." At length, after a long time he no longer turned
away, but looked at the woman and asked the cause of her coming and of
her tears. On learning this he raised his eyes to heaven and bade her
have faith, then wept over her as she departed. Within a year he saw
her with a son.
14. This his first miracle was succeeded by another still greater and
more notable. Aristæneté the wife of Elpidius who was afterwards
pretorian prefect, a woman well known among her own people, still
better known among Christians, on her return with her husband, from
visiting the blessed Antony, was delayed at Gaza by the sickness of her
three children; for there, whether it was owing to the vitiated
atmosphere, or whether it was, as afterwards became clear, for the
glory of God's servant Hilarion, they were all alike seized by a
semi-tertian ague and despaired of by the physicians. The mother lay
wailing, or as one might say walked up and down between the corpses of
her three sons not knowing which she should first have to mourn for.
When, however, she knew that there was a certain monk in the
neighbouring wilderness, forgetting her matronly state (she only
remembered she was a mother) she set out accompanied by her handmaids
and eunuchs, and was hardly persuaded by her husband to take an ass to
ride upon. On reaching the saint she said, "I pray you by Jesus our
most merciful God, I beseech you by His cross and blood, to restore to
me my three sons, so that the name of our Lord and Saviour may be
glorified in the city of the Gentiles. Then shall his servants enter
Gaza and the idol Marnas shall fall to the ground." At first he refused
and said that he never left his cell and was not accustomed to enter a
house, much less the city; but she threw herself upon the ground and
cried repeatedly, "Hilarion, servant of Christ, give me back my
children: Antony kept them safe in Egypt, do you save them in Syria."
All present were weeping, and the saint himself wept as he denied her.
What need to say more? the woman did not leave him till he promised
that he would enter Gaza after sunset. On coming thither he made the
sign of the cross over the bed and fevered limbs of each, and called
upon the name of Jesus. Marvellous efficacy of the Name! As if from
three fountains the sweat burst forth at the same time: in that very
hour they took food, recognized their mourning mother, and, with thanks
to God, warmly kissed the saint's hands. When the matter was noised
abroad, and the fame of it spread far and wide, the people flocked to
him from Syria and Egypt, so that many believed in Christ and professed
themselves monks. For as yet there were no monasteries in Palestine,
nor had anyone known a monk in Syria before the saintly Hilarion. It
was he who originated this mode of life and devotion, and who first
trained men to it in that province. The Lord Jesus had in Egypt the
aged Antony: in Palestine He had the youthful Hilarion.
15. Facidia is a hamlet belonging to Rhino-Corura, a city of Egypt.
From this village a woman who had been blind for ten years was brought
to the blessed Hilarion, and on being presented to him by the brethren
(for there were now many monks with him) affirmed that she had spent
all her substance on physicians. The saint replied: "If you had given
to the poor what you have wasted on physicians, the true physician
Jesus would have cured you." But when she cried aloud and entreated
pity, he spat into her eyes, in imitation of the Saviour, and with
similar instant effect.
16. A charioteer, also of Gaza, stricken by a demon in his chariot
became perfectly stiff, so that he could neither move his hand nor bend
his neck. He was brought on a litter, but could only signify his
petition by moving his tongue; and was told that he could not be healed
unless he first believed in Christ and promised to forsake his former
occupation. He believed, he promised, and he was healed: and rejoiced
more in the saving of the soul than in that of the body.
17. Again, a very powerful youth called Marsitas from the neighbourhood
of Jerusalem plumed himself so highly on his strength that he carried
fifteen bushels of grain for a long time and over a considerable
distance, and considered it as his highest glory that he could beat the
asses in endurance. This man was afflicted with a grievous demon and
could not endure chains, or fetters, but broke even the bolts and bars
of the doors. He had bitten off the noses and ears of many: had broken
the feet of some, the legs of others. He had struck such terror of
himself into everybody, that he was laden with chains and dragged by
ropes on all sides like a wild bull to the monastery. As soon as the
brethren saw him they were greatly alarmed (for the man was of gigantic
size) and told the Father. He, seated as he was, commanded him to be
brought to him and released. When he was free, "Bow your head," said
he, "and come." The man began to tremble; he twisted his neck round and
did not dare to look him in the face, but laid aside all his fierceness
and began to lick his feet as he sat. At last the demon which had
possessed the young man being tortured by the saint's adjurations came
forth on the seventh day.
18. Nor must we omit to tell that Orion, a leading man and wealthy
citizen of Aira, on the coast of the Red Sea, being possessed by a
legion of demons was brought to him. Hands, neck, sides, feet were
laden with iron, and his glaring eyes portended an access of raging
madness. As the saint was walking with the brethren and expounding some
passage of Scripture the man broke from the hands of his keepers,
clasped him from behind and raised him aloft. There was a shout from
all, for they feared lest he might crush his limbs wasted as they were
with fasting. The saint smiled and said, "Be quiet, and let me have my
rival in the wrestling match to myself." Then he bent back his hand
over his shoulder till he touched the man's head, seized his hair and
drew him round so as to be foot to foot with him; he then stretched
both his hands in a straight line, and trod on his two feet with both
his own, while he cried out again and again, "To torment with you! ye
crowd of demons, to torment!" The sufferer shouted aloud and bent back
his neck till his head touched the ground, while the saint said, "Lord
Jesus, release this wretched man, release this captive. Thine it is to
conquer many, no less than one." What I now relate is unparalleled:
from one man's lips were heard different voices and as it were the
confused shouts of a multitude. Well, he too was cured, and not long
after came with his wife and children to the monastery bringing many
gifts expressive of his gratitude. The saint thus addressed him--"Have
you not read what befell Gehazi and Simon, one of whom took a reward,
the other offered it, the former in order to sell grace, the latter to
buy it?" And when Orion said with tears, "Take it and give it to the
poor," he replied, "You can best distribute your own gifts, for you
tread the streets of the cities and know the poor. Why should I who
have forsaken my own seek another man's? To many the name of the poor
is a pretext for their avarice; but compassion knows no artifices. No
one better spends than he who keeps nothing for himself." The man was
sad and lay upon the ground. "Be not sad, my son," he said; "what I do
for my own good I do also for yours. If I were to take these gifts I
should myself offend God, and, moreover, the legion would return to
you."
19. There is a story relating to Majomites of Gaza which it is
impossible to pass over in silence. While quarrying building stones on
the shore not far from the monastery he was helplessly paralysed, and
after being carried to the saint by his fellow-workman immediately
returned to his work in perfect health. I ought to explain that the
shore of Palestine and Egypt naturally consists of soft sand and gravel
which gradually becomes consolidated and hardens into rock; and thus
though to the eye it remains the same it is no longer the same to the
touch.
20. Another story relates to Italicus, a citizen of the same town. He
was a Christian and kept horses for the circus to contend against those
of the Duumvir of Gaza who was a votary of the idol god Marnas. This
custom at least in Roman cities was as old as the days of Romulus, and
was instituted in commemoration of the successful seizure of the Sabine
women. The chariots raced seven times round the circus in honour of
Consus in his character of the God of Counsel. [4025] Victory lay with
the team which tired out the horses opposed to them. Now the rival of
Italicus had in his pay a magician to incite his horses by certain
demoniacal incantations, and keep back those of his opponent. Italicus
therefore came to the blessed Hilarion and besought his aid not so much
for the injury of his adversary as for protection for himself. It
seemed absurd for the venerable old man to waste prayers on trifles of
this sort. He therefore smiled and said, "Why do you not rather give
the price of the horses to the poor for the salvation of your soul?"
His visitor replied that his office was a public duty, and that he
acted not so much from choice as from compulsion, that no Christian man
could employ magic, but would rather seek aid from a servant of Christ,
especially against the people of Gaza who were enemies of God, and who
would exult over the Church of Christ more than over him. At the
request therefore of the brethren who were present he ordered an
earthenware cup out of which he was wont to drink to be filled with
water and given to Italicus. The latter took it and sprinkled it over
his stable and horses, his charioteers and his chariot, and the
barriers of the course. The crowd was in a marvellous state of
excitement, for the enemy in derision had published the news of what
was going to be done, and the backers of Italicus were in high spirits
at the victory which they promised themselves. The signal is given; the
one team flies towards the goal, the other sticks fast: the wheels are
glowing hot beneath the chariot of the one, while the other scarce
catches a glimpse of their opponents' backs as they flit past. The
shouts of the crowd swell to a roar, and the heathens themselves with
one voice declare Marnas is conquered by Christ. After this the
opponents in their rage demanded that Hilarion as a Christian magician
should be dragged to execution. This decisive victory and several
others which followed in successive games of the circus caused many to
turn to the faith.
21. There was a youth in the neighbourhood of the same market-town of
Gaza who was desperately in love with one of God's virgins. After he
had tried again and again those touches, jests, nods, and whispers
which so commonly lead to the destruction of virginity, but had made no
progress by these means, he went to a magician at Memphis to whom he
proposed to make known his wretched state, and then, fortified with his
arts, to return to his assault upon the virgin. Accordingly after a
year's instruction by the priest of Æsculapius, who does not heal souls
but destroys them, he came full of the lust which he had previously
allowed his mind to entertain, and buried beneath the threshold of the
girl's house certain magical formulæ and revolting figures engraven on
a plate of Cyprian brass. Thereupon the maid began to show signs of
insanity, to throw away the covering of her head, tear her hair, gnash
her teeth, and loudly call the youth by name. Her intense affection had
become a frenzy. Her parents therefore brought her to the monastery and
delivered her to the aged saint. No sooner was this done than the devil
began to howl and confess. "I was compelled, I was carried off against
my will. How happy I was when I used to beguile the men of Memphis in
their dreams! What crosses, what torture I suffer! You force me to go
out, and I am kept bound under the threshold. I cannot go out unless
the young man who keeps me there lets me go." The old man answered,
"Your strength must be great indeed, if a bit of thread and a plate can
keep you bound. Tell me, how is it that you dared to enter into this
maid who belongs to God?" "That I might preserve her as a virgin," said
he. "You preserve her, betrayer of chastity! Why did you not rather
enter into him who sent you?" "For what purpose," he answers, "should I
enter into one who was in alliance with a comrade of my own, the demon
of love?" But the saint would not command search to be made for either
the young man or the charms till the maiden had undergone a process of
purgation, for fear that it might be thought that the demon had been
released by means of incantations, or that he himself had attached
credit to what he said. He declared that demons are deceitful and well
versed in dissimulation, and sharply rebuked the virgin when she had
recovered her health for having by her conduct given an opportunity for
the demon to enter.
22. It was not only in Palestine and the neighbouring cities of Egypt
or Syria that he was in high repute, but his fame had reached distant
provinces. An officer [4026] of the Emperor Constantius whose golden
hair and personal beauty revealed his country (it lay between the
Saxons and the Alemanni, was of no great extent but powerful, and is
known to historians as Germany, but is now called France), had long,
that is to say from infancy, been pursued by a devil, who forced him in
the night to howl, groan, and gnash his teeth. He therefore secretly
asked the Emperor for a post-warrant, plainly telling him why he wanted
it, and having also obtained letters to the legate at Palestine came
with great pomp and a large retinue to Gaza. On his inquiring of the
local senators where Hilarion the monk dwelt, the people of Gaza were
much alarmed, and supposing that he had been sent by the Emperor,
brought him to the monastery, that they might show respect to one so
highly accredited, and that, if any guilt had been incurred by them by
injuries previously done by them to Hilarion it might be obliterated by
their present dutifulness. The old man at the time was taking a walk on
the soft sands and was humming some passage or other from the psalms.
Seeing so great a company approaching he stopped, and having returned
the salutes of all while he raised his hand and gave them his blessing,
after an hour's interval he bade the rest withdraw, but would have his
visitor together with servants and officers remain: for by the man's
eyes and countenance he knew the cause of his coming. Immediately on
being questioned by the servant of God the man sprang up on tiptoe, so
as scarcely to touch the ground with his feet, and with a wild roar
replied in Syriac in which language he had been interrogated. Pure
Syriac was heard flowing from the lips of a barbarian who knew only
French and Latin, and that without the absence of a sibilant, or an
aspirate, or an idiom of the speech of Palestine. The demon then
confessed by what means he had entered into him. Further, that his
interpreters who knew only Greek and Latin might understand, Hilarion
questioned him also in Greek, and when he gave the same answer in the
same words and alleged in excuse many occasions on which spells had
been laid upon him, and how he was bound to yield to magic arts, "I
care not," said the saint, "how you came to enter, but I command you in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to come out." The man, as soon as he
was healed, with a rough simplicity offered him ten pounds of gold. But
the saint took from him only bread, and told him that they who were
nourished on such food regarded gold as mire.
23. It is not enough to speak of men; brute animals were also daily
brought to him in a state of madness, and among them a Bactrian camel
of enormous size amid the shouts of thirty men or more who held him
tight with stout ropes. He had already injured many. His eyes were
bloodshot, his mouth filled with foam, his rolling tongue swollen, and
above every other source of terror was his loud and hideous roar. Well,
the old man ordered him to be let go. At once those who brought him as
well as the attendants of the saint fled away without exception. The
saint went by himself to meet him, and addressing him in Syriac said,
"You do not alarm me, devil, huge though your present body is. Whether
in a fox or a camel you are just the same." Meanwhile he stood with
outstretched hand. The brute raging and looking as if he would devour
Hilarion came up to him, but immediately fell down, laid its head on
the ground, and to the amazement of all present showed suddenly no less
tameness than it had exhibited ferocity before. But the old man
declared to them how the devil, for men's sake, seizes even beasts of
burden; that he is inflamed by such intense hatred for men that he
desires to destroy not only them but what belongs to them. As an
illustration of this he added the fact that before he was permitted to
try the saintly Job, he made an end of all his substance. Nor ought it
to disturb anyone that [4027] by the Lord's command two thousand swine
were slain by the agency of demons, since those who witnessed the
miracle could not have believed that so great a multitude of demons had
gone out of the man unless an equally vast number of swine had rushed
to ruin, showing that it was a legion that impelled them.
24. Time would fail me if I wished to relate all the miracles which
were wrought by him. For to such a pitch of glory was he raised by the
Lord that the blessed Antony among the rest hearing of his life wrote
to him and gladly received his letters. And if ever the sick from Syria
came to him he would say to them, "Why have you taken the trouble to
come so far, when you have there my son Hilarion?" Following his
example, however, innumerable monasteries sprang up throughout the
whole of Palestine, and all the monks flocked to him. When he saw this
he praised the Lord for His grace, and exhorted them individually to
the profit of their souls, telling them that the fashion of this world
passes away, and that the true life is that which is purchased by
suffering in the present.
25. Wishing to set the monks an example of humility and of zeal he was
accustomed on fixed days before the vintage to visit their cells. When
the brethren knew this they would all come together to meet him, and in
company with their distinguished leader go the round of the
monasteries, taking with them provisions, because sometimes as many as
two thousand men were assembled. But, as time went on, all the
settlements round gladly gave food to the neighbouring monks for the
entertainment of the saints. Moreover, the care he took to prevent any
brother however humble or poor being passed over is evidenced by the
journey which he once took into the desert of Cades to visit one of his
disciples. With a great company of monks he reached Elusa, as it
happened on the day when the annual festival had brought all the people
together to the temple of Venus. This, goddess is worshipped on account
of Lucifer to whom the Saracen nation is devoted. The very town too is
to a great extent semi-barbarous, owing to its situation. When
therefore it was heard that Saint Hilarion was passing through (he had
frequently healed many Saracens possessed by demons), they went to meet
him in crowds with their wives and children, bending their heads and
crying in the Syriac tongue Barech, that is, Bless. He received them
with courtesy and humility, and prayed that they might worship God
rather than stones; at the same time, weeping copiously, he looked up
to heaven and promised that if they would believe in Christ he would
visit them often. By the marvellous grace of God they did not suffer
him to depart before he had drawn the outline of a church, and their
priest with his garland upon his head had been signed with the sign of
Christ.
26. Another year, again, when he was setting out to visit the
monasteries and was drawing up a list of those with whom he must stay
and whom he must see in passing, the monks knowing that one of their
number was a niggard, and being at the same time desirous to cure his
complaint, asked the saint to stay with him. He replied, "Do you wish
me to inflict injury on you and annoyance on the brother?" The
niggardly brother on hearing of this was ashamed, and with the
strenuous support of all his brethren, at length obtained from the
saint a reluctant promise to put his monastery on the roll of his
resting places. Ten days after they came to him and found the keepers
already on guard in the vineyard through which their course lay, to
keep off all comers with stones and clods and slings. In the morning
they all departed without having eaten a grape, while the old man
smiled and pretended not to know what had happened.
27. Once when they were being entertained by another monk whose name
was Sabus (we must not of course give the name of the niggard, we may
tell that of this generous man), because it was the Lord's day, they
were all invited by him into the vineyard so that before the hour for
food came they might relieve the toil of the journey by a repast of
grapes. Said the saint, "Cursed be he who looks for the refreshment of
the body before that of the soul. Let us pray, let us sing, let us do
our duty to God, and then we will hasten to the vineyard." When the
service was over, he stood on an eminence and blessed the vineyard and
let his own sheep go to their pasture. Now those who partook were not
less than three thousand. And whereas the whole vineyard had been
estimated at a hundred flagons, within thirty days he made it worth
three hundred. The niggardly brother gathered much less than usual, and
he was grieved to find that even what he had turned to vinegar. The old
man had predicted this to many brethren before it happened. He
particularly abhorred such monks as were led by their lack of faith to
hoard for the future, and were careful about expense, or raiment, or
some other of those things which pass away with the world.
28. Lastly he would not even look at one of the brethren who lived
about five miles off because he ascertained that he very jealously
guarded his bit of ground, and had a little money. The offender wishing
to be reconciled to the old man often came to the brethren, and in
particular to Hesychius who was specially dear to Hilarion. One day
accordingly he brought a bundle of green chick-pea just as it had been
gathered. Hesychius placed it on the table against the evening,
whereupon the old man cried out that he could not bear the stench, and
asked where it came from. Hesychius replied that a certain brother had
sent the brethren the first fruits of his ground. "Don't you notice,"
said he, "the horrid stench, and detect the foul odour of avarice in
the peas? Send it to the cattle, send to the brute-beasts and see
whether they can eat it." No sooner was it in obedience to his command
laid in the manger than the cattle in the wildest alarm and bellowing
loudly broke their fastenings and fled in different directions. For the
old man was enabled by grace to tell from the odour of bodies and
garments, and the things which any one had touched, by what demon or
with what vice the individual was distressed.
29. His sixty-third year found the old man at the head of a grand
monastery and a multitude of resident brethren. There were such crowds
of persons constantly bringing those who suffered from various kinds of
sickness or were possessed of unclean spirits, that the whole circuit
of the wilderness was full of all sorts of people. And as the saint saw
all this he wept daily and called to mind with incredible regret his
former mode of life. When one of the brethren asked him why he was so
dejected he replied, "I have returned again to the world and have
received my reward in my lifetime. The people of Palestine and the
adjoining province think me of some importance, and under pretence of a
monastery for the well-ordering of the brethren I have all the
apparatus of a paltry life about me." The brethren, however, kept watch
over him and in particular Hesychius, who had a marvellously devoted
affection and veneration for the old man. After he had spent two years
in these lamentations Aristæneté the lady of whom we made mention
before, as being then the wife of a prefect though without any of a
prefect's ostentation, came to him intending to pay a visit to Antony
also. He said to her, "I should like to go myself too if I were not
kept a prisoner in this monastery, and if my going could be fruitful.
For it is now two days since mankind was bereaved of him who was so
truly a father to them all." She believed his word and stayed where she
was: and after a few days the news came that Antony had fallen asleep.
30. Some may wonder at the miracles he worked, or his incredible
fasting, knowledge, and humility. Nothing so astonishes me as his power
to tread under foot honour and glory. Bishops, presbyters, crowds of
clergymen and monks, of Christian matrons even (a great temptation),
and a rabble from all quarters in town and country were congregating
about him, and even judges and others holding high positions, that they
might receive at his hands the bread or oil which he had blessed. But
he thought of nothing but solitude, so much so that one day he
determined to be gone, and having procured an ass (he was almost
exhausted with fasting and could scarcely walk) endeavoured to steal
away. The news spread far and wide, and, just as if a public mourning
for the desolation of Palestine were decreed, ten thousand people of
various ages and both sexes came together to prevent his departure. He
was unmoved by entreaties, and striking the sand with his stick kept
saying: "I will not make my Lord a deceiver; I cannot look upon
churches overthrown, Christ's altars trodden down, the blood of my sons
poured out." All who were present began to understand that some secret
had been revealed to him which he was unwilling to confess, but they
none the less kept guard over him that he might not go. He therefore
determined, and publicly called all to witness, that he would take
neither food nor drink unless he were released. Only after seven days
was he relieved from his fasting; when having bidden farewell to
numerous friends, he came to Betilium attended by a countless
multitude. There he prevailed upon the crowd to return and chose as his
companions forty monks who had resources for the journey and were
capable of travelling during fasting-time, that is, after sunset. He
then visited the brethren who were in the neighbouring desert and
sojourning at a place called Lychnos, and after three days came to the
castle of Theubatus to see Dracontius, bishop and confessor, who was in
exile there. The bishop was beyond measure cheered by the presence of
so distinguished a man. At the end of another three days he set out for
Babylon and arrived there after a hard journey. Then he visited Philo
the bishop, who was also a confessor; for the Emperor Constantius who
favoured the Arian heresy had transported both of them to those parts.
Departing thence he came in three days to the town Aphroditon. There he
met with a deacon Baisanes who kept dromedaries which were hired, on
account of the scarcity of water in the desert, to carry travellers who
wished to visit Antony. He then made known to the brethren that the
anniversary of the blessed Antony's decease was at hand, and that he
must spend a whole night in vigil in the very place where the saint had
died. So then after three days journey through the waste and terrible
desert they at length came to a very high mountain, and there found two
monks, Isaac and Pelusianus, the former of whom had been one of
Antony's attendants. [4028]
31. The occasion seems a fitting one, since we are on the spot itself,
to describe the abode of this great man. There is a high and rocky
mountain extending for about a mile, with gushing springs amongst its
spurs, the waters of which are partly absorbed by the sand, partly flow
towards the plain and gradually form a stream shaded on either side by
countless palms which lend much pleasantness and charm to the place.
Here the old man might be seen pacing to and fro with the disciples of
blessed Antony. Here, so they said, Antony himself used to sing, pray,
work, and rest when weary. Those vines and shrubs were planted by his
own hand: that garden bed was his own design. This pool for watering
the garden was made by him after much toil. That hoe was handled by him
for many years. Hilarion would lie upon the saint's bed and as though
it were still warm would affectionately kiss it. The cell was square,
its sides measuring no more than the length of a sleeping man. Moreover
on the lofty mountaintop, the ascent of which was by a zig-zag path
very difficult, were to be seen two cells of the same dimensions, in
which he stayed when he escaped from the crowds of visitors or the
company of his disciples. These were cut out of the live rock and were
only furnished with doors. When they came to the garden, "You see,"
said Isaac, "this garden with its shrubs and green vegetables; about
three years ago it was ravaged by a troop of wild asses. One of their
leaders was hidden by Antony to stand still while he thrashed the
animal's sides with a stick and wanted to know why they devoured what
they had not sown. And ever afterwards, excepting the water which they
were accustomed to come and drink, they never touched anything, not a
bush or a vegetable." The old man further asked to be shown his burial
place, and they thereupon took him aside; but whether they showed him
the tomb or not is unknown. It is related that the motive for secrecy
was compliance with Antony's orders and to prevent Pergamius, a very
wealthy man of the district, from removing the saint's body to his
house and erecting a shrine to his memory.
32. Having returned to Aphroditon and keeping with him only two of the
brethren, he stayed in the neighbouring desert, and practised such
rigid abstinence and silence that he felt that then for the first time
he had begun to serve Christ. Three years had now elapsed since the
heavens had been closed and the land had suffered from drought, and it
was commonly said that even the elements were lamenting the death of
Antony. Hilarion did not remain unknown to the inhabitants of that
place any more than to others, but men and women with ghastly faces and
wasted by hunger earnestly entreated the servant of Christ, as being
the blessed Antony's successor, to give them rain. Hilarion when he saw
them was strangely affected with compassion and, raising his eyes to
heaven and lifting up both his hands, he at once obtained their
petition. But, strange to say, that parched and sandy district, after
the rain had fallen, unexpectedly produced such vast numbers of
serpents and poisonous animals that many who were bitten would have
died at once if they had not run to Hilarion. He therefore blessed some
oil with which all the husbandmen and shepherds touched their wounds,
and found an infallible cure.
33. Seeing that even there surprising respect was paid to him, he went
to Alexandria, intending to cross from thence to the farther oasis of
the desert. And because he had never stayed in cities since he entered
on the monk's life, he turned aside to some brethren at Bruchium, not
far from Alexandria, whom he knew, and who welcomed the old man with
the greatest pleasure. It was now night when all at once they heard his
disciples saddling the ass and making ready for the journey. They
therefore threw themselves at his feet and besought him not to leave
them; they fell prostrate before the door, and declared they would
rather die than lose such a guest. He answered: "My reason for
hastening away is that I may not give you trouble. You will no doubt
afterwards discover that I have not suddenly left without good cause."
Next day the authorities of Gaza with the lictors of the prefect having
heard of his arrival on the previous day, entered the monastery, and
when they failed to find him anywhere they began to say to one another:
"What we heard is true. He is a magician and knows the future." The
fact was that the city of Gaza on Julian's accession to the throne,
after the departure of Hilarion from Palestine and the destruction of
his monastery, had presented a petition to the Emperor requesting that
both Hilarion and Hesychius might be put to death, and a proclamation
had been published everywhere that search should be made for them.
34. Having then left Bruchium, he entered the oasis through the
trackless desert, and there abode for a year, more or less. But,
inasmuch as his fame had travelled thither also, he felt that he could
not be hidden in the East, where he was known to many by report and by
sight, and began to think of taking ship for some solitary island, so
that having been exposed to public view by the land, he might at least
find concealment in the sea. Just about that time Hadrian, his
disciple, arrived from Palestine with information that Julian was slain
and that a Christian emperor [4029] had commenced his reign; he ought
therefore, it was said, to return to the relics of his monastery. But
he, when he heard this, solemnly refused to return; and hiring a camel
crossed the desert waste and reached Paretonium, a city on the coast of
Libya. There the ill-starred Hadrian wishing to return to Palestine and
unwilling to part with the renown so long attaching to his master's
name, heaped reproaches upon him, and at last having packed up the
presents which he had brought him from the brethren, set out without
the knowledge of Hilarion. As I shall have no further opportunity of
referring to this man, I would only record, for the terror of those who
despise their masters, that after a little while he was attacked by the
king's-evil [4030] and turned to a mass of corruption.
35. The old man accompanied by Gazanus went on board a ship which was
sailing to Sicily. Half way across the Adriatic he was preparing to pay
his fare by selling a copy of the Gospels which he had written with his
own hand in his youth, when the son of the master of the ship seized by
a demon began to cry out and say: "Hilarion, servant of God, why is it
that through you we cannot be safe even on the sea? Spare me a little
until I reach land. Let me not be cast out here and thrown into the
deep." The saint replied: "If my God permit you to remain, remain; but
if He casts you out, why bring odium upon me a sinner and a beggar?"
This he said that the sailors and merchants on board might not betray
him on reaching shore. Not long after, the boy was cleansed, his father
and the rest who were present having given their word that they would
not reveal the name of the saint to any one.
36. On approaching Pachynus, a promontory of Sicily, he offered the
master the Gospel for the passage of himself and Gazanus. The man was
unwilling to take it, all the more because he saw that excepting that
volume and the clothes they wore they had nothing, and at last he swore
he would not take it. But the aged saint, ardent and confident in the
consciousness of his poverty, rejoiced exceedingly that he had no
worldly possessions and was accounted a beggar by the people of the
place.
37. Once more, on thinking the matter over and fearing that merchants
coming from the East might make him known, he fled to the interior,
some twenty miles from the sea, and there on an abandoned piece of
ground, every day tied up a bundle of firewood which he laid upon the
back of his disciple, and sold at some neighbouring mansion. They thus
supported themselves and were able to purchase a morsel of bread for
any chance visitors. But that came exactly to pass which is written:
[4031] "a city set on a hill cannot be hid." It happened that one of
the shields-men [4032] who was vexed by a demon was in the basilica of
the blessed Peter at Rome, when the unclean spirit within him cried
out, "A few days ago Christ's servant Hilarion entered Sicily and no
one knew him, and he thinks he is hidden. I will go and betray him."
Immediately he embarked with his attendants in a ship lying in harbour,
sailed to Pachynus and, led by the demon to the old man's hut, there
prostrated himself and was cured on the spot. This, his first miracle
in Sicily, brought the sick to him in countless numbers (but it brought
also a multitude of religious persons); insomuch that one of the
leading men who was swollen with the dropsy was cured the same day that
he came. He afterwards offered the saint gifts without end, but the
saint replied to him in the words of the Saviour to his disciples:
[4033] "Freely ye received, freely give."
38. While this was going on in Sicily Hesychius his disciple was
searching the world over for the old man, traversing the coast,
penetrating deserts, clinging all the while to the belief that wherever
he was he could not long be hidden. At the end of three years he heard
at Methona from a certain Jew, who dealt in old-clothes, that a
Christian prophet had appeared in Sicily, and was working such miracles
and signs, one might think him one of the ancient saints. So he asked
about his dress, gait, and speech, and in particular his age, but could
learn nothing. His informant merely declared that he had heard of the
man by report. He therefore crossed the Adriatic and after a prosperous
voyage came to Pachynus, where he took up his abode in a cottage on the
shore of the bay, and, on inquiring for tidings of the old man,
discovered by the tale which every one told him where he was, and what
he was doing. Nothing about him surprised them all so much as the fact
that after such great signs and wonders he had not accepted even a
crust of bread from any one in the district. And, to cut my story
short, the holy man Hesychius fell down at his master's knees and
bedewed his feet with tears; at length he was gently raised by him, and
when two or three days had been spent in talking over matters, he
learned from Gazanus that Hilarion no longer felt himself able to live
in those parts, but wanted to go to certain barbarous races where his
name and fame were unknown.
39. He therefore brought him to Epidaurus, [4034] a town in Dalmatia,
where he stayed for a few days in the country near, but could not be
hid. An enormous serpent, of the sort which the people of those parts
call boas [4035] because they are so large that they often swallow
oxen, was ravaging the whole province far and wide, and was devouring
not only flocks and herds, but husbandmen and shepherds who were drawn
in by the force of its breathing. He ordered a pyre to be prepared for
it, then sent up a prayer to Christ, called forth the reptile, bade it
climb the pile of wood, and then applied the fire. And so before all
the people he burnt the savage beast to ashes. But now he began
anxiously to ask what he was to do, whither to betake himself. Once
more he prepared for flight, and in thought ranged through solitary
lands, grieving that his miracles could speak of him though his tongue
was silent.
40. At that time there was an earthquake over the whole world,
following on the death of Julian, which caused the sea to burst its
bounds, and left ships hanging on the edge of mountain steeps. It
seemed as though God were threatening a second deluge, or all things
were returning to original chaos. When the people of Epidaurus saw
this, I mean the roaring waves and heaving waters and the swirling
billows mountain-high dashing on the shore, fearing that what they saw
had happened elsewhere might befall them and their town be utterly
destroyed, they made their way to the old man, and as if preparing for
a battle placed him on the shore. After making the sign of the cross
three times on the sand, he faced the sea, stretched out his hands, and
no one would believe to what a height the swelling sea stood like a
wall before him. It roared for a long time as if indignant at the
barrier, then little by little sank to its level. Epidaurus and all the
region roundabout tell the story to this day, and mothers teach their
children to hand down the remembrance of it to posterity. Verily, what
was said to the Apostles, [4036] "If ye have faith, ye shall say to
this mountain, Remove into the sea, and it shall be done," may be even
literally fulfilled, provided one has such faith as the Lord commanded
the Apostles to have. For what difference does it make whether a
mountain descends into the sea, or huge mountains of waters everywhere
else fluid suddenly become hard as rock at the old man's feet?
41. The whole country marvelled and the fame of the great miracle was
in everyone's mouth, even at Salonæ. [4037] When the old man knew this
was the case he escaped secretly by night in a small cutter, and
finding a merchant ship after two days came to Cyprus. Between [4038]
Malea and [4039] Cythera, the pirates, who had left on the shore that
part of their fleet which is worked by poles instead of sails, bore
down on them with two light vessels of considerable size; and besides
this they were buffeted by the waves on every side. All the rowers
began to be alarmed, to weep, to leave their places, to get out their
poles, and, as though one message was not enough, again and again told
the old man that pirates were at hand. Looking at them in the distance
he gently smiled, then turned to his disciples and said, [4040] "O ye
of little faith, wherefore do ye doubt? Are these more than the army of
Pharaoh? Yet they were all drowned by the will of God." Thus he spake,
but none the less the enemy with foaming prows kept drawing nearer and
were now only a stone's throw distant. He stood upon the prow of the
vessel facing them with out-stretched hand, and said, "Thus far and no
farther." Marvellous to relate, the boats at once bounded back, and
though urged forward by the oars fell farther and farther astern. The
pirates were astonished to find themselves going back, and laboured
with all their strength to reach the vessel, but were carried to the
shore faster by far than they came.
42. I pass by the rest for fear I should seem in my history to be
publishing a volume of miracles. I will only say this, that when
sailing with a fair wind among the Cyclades he heard the voices of
unclean spirits shouting in all directions from towns and villages, and
running in crowds to the shore. Having then entered Paphos, the city of
Cyprus renowned in the songs of the poets, the ruins of whose temples
after frequent earthquakes are the only evidences at the present day of
its former grandeur, he began to live in obscurity about two miles from
the city, and rejoiced in having a few days rest. But not quite twenty
days passed before throughout the whole island whoever had unclean
spirits began to cry out that Hilarion Christ's servant had come, and
that they must go to him with all speed. Salamis, Curium, Lapetha, and
the other cities joined in the cry, while many declared that they knew
Hilarion and that he was indeed the servant of Christ, but where he was
they could not tell. So within a trifle more than thirty days, about
two hundred people, both men and women, came together to him. When he
saw them he lamented that they would not suffer him to be quiet, and
thirsting in a kind of manner to avenge himself, he lashed them with
such urgency of prayer that some immediately, others after two or three
days, all within a week, were cured.
43. Here he stayed two years, always thinking of flight, and in the
meantime sent Hesychius, who was to return in the spring, to Palestine
to salute the brethren and visit the ashes of his monastery. When the
latter returned he found Hilarion longing to sail again to Egypt, that
is to the locality called [4041] Bucolia; but he persuaded him that,
since there were no Christians there, but only a fierce and barbarous
people, he should rather go to a spot in Cyprus itself which was higher
up and more retired. After long and diligent search he found such a
place twelve miles from the sea far off among the recesses of rugged
mountains, the ascent to which could hardly be accomplished by creeping
on hands and knees. Thither he conducted him. The old man entered and
gazed around. It was indeed a lonely and terrible place; for though
surrounded by trees on every side, with water streaming from the brow
of the hill, a delightful bit of garden, and fruit-trees in abundance
(of which, however, he never ate), yet it had close by the ruins of an
ancient temple from which, as he himself was wont to relate and his
disciples testify, the voices of such countless demons re-echoed night
and day, that you might have thought there was an army of them. He was
highly pleased at the idea of having his opponents in the
neighbourhood, and abode there five years, cheered in these his last
days by the frequent visits of Hesychius, for owing to the steep and
rugged ascent, and the numerous ghosts (so the story ran), nobody or
scarcely anybody either could or dared to go up to him. One day,
however, as he was leaving his garden, he saw a man completely
paralysed lying in front of the gates. He asked Hesychius who he was,
or how he had been brought. Hesychius replied that he was the agent at
the country-house to which the garden belonged in which they were
located. Weeping much and stretching out his hand to the prostrate man
he said, "I bid you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ arise and
walk." The words were still on the lips of the speaker, when, with
miraculous speed, the limbs were strengthened and the man arose and
stood firm. Once this was noised abroad the need of many overcame even
the pathless journey and the dangers of the place. The occupants of all
the houses round about had nothing so much in their thoughts as to
prevent the possibility of his escape, a rumour having spread
concerning him to the effect that he could not stay long in the same
place. This habit of his was not due to levity or childishness, but to
the fact that he shunned the worry of publicity and praise, and always
longed for silence and a life of obscurity.
44. In his eightieth year, during the absence of Hesychius, he wrote by
way of a will a short letter with his own hand, and left him all his
riches (that is to say, a copy of the gospels, and his sack-cloth
tunic, cowl and cloak), for his servant had died a few days before.
Many devout men therefore came to the invalid from Paphos, and
specially because they had heard of his saying that he must soon
migrate to the Lord and must be liberated from the bonds of the body.
There came also Constantia a holy woman whose son-in-law and daughter
he had anointed with oil and saved from death. He earnestly entreated
them all not to let him be kept even a moment of time after death, but
to bury him immediately in the same garden, just as he was, clad in his
goat-hair tunic, cowl, and his peasant's cloak.
45. His body was now all but cold, and nought was left of life but
reason. Yet with eyes wide open he kept repeating, "Go forth, what do
you fear? Go forth, my soul, why do you hesitate? You have served
Christ nearly seventy years, and do you fear death?" Thus saying he
breathed his last. He was immediately buried before the city heard of
his death.
46. When the holy man Hesychius heard of his decease, he went to Cyprus
and, to lull the suspicions of the natives who were keeping strict
guard, pretended that he wished to live in the same garden, and then in
the course of about ten months, though at great peril to his life,
stole the saint's body. He carried it to Majuma; and there all the
monks and crowds of towns-folk going in procession laid it to rest in
the ancient monastery. His tunic, cowl and cloak, were uninjured; the
whole body as perfect as if alive, and so fragrant with sweet odours
that one might suppose it to have been embalmed.
47. In bringing my book to an end I think I ought not to omit to
mention the devotion of the holy woman Constantia who, when a message
was brought her that Hilarion's body was in Palestine, immediately
died, proving even by death the sincerity of her love for the servant
of God. For she was accustomed to spend whole nights in vigil at his
tomb, and to converse with him as if he were present in order to
stimulate her prayers. Even at the present day one may see a strange
dispute between the people of Palestine and the Cypriotes, the one
contending that they have the body, the other the spirit of Hilarion.
And yet in both places great miracles are wrought daily, but to a
greater extent in the garden of Cyprus, perhaps because that spot was
dearest to him.
[4017] See life of Paulus above.
[4018] Matt. xi. 18.
[4019] Luke xiv. 33.
[4020] Isa. xiv. 14.
[4021] 2 Thess. iii. 10.
[4022] Exod. xv. 1.
[4023] Ps. xx. 7.
[4024] Luke v. 31.
[4025] He was also the god of agricultural fertility. The festival of
the Consualia, supposed to have been instituted by Romulus, was on
August 21.
[4026] Or secretary--Candidatus, a quæstor appointed by the Emperor to
read his rescripts, etc.
[4027] Matt. viii. and Mark v.
[4028] Interpres. Probably one who spoke for him to the people, as
Elijah had Elisha as his attendant.
[4029] Jovian, a.d., 363-4.
[4030] Morbo regio. The dictionaries give "jaundice" as the meaning,
but it is universally used in modern times for scrofula. Here it seems
to mean leprosy.
[4031] Matt. v. 14.
[4032] Scutarius, one of a corps of guards, whose prominent weapons
were shields.
[4033] Matt. x. 8.
[4034] More properly in Argolis. It was the native town of Æsculapius,
who was worshipped under the form of a serpent.
[4035] Boas because they can swallow oxen (boves).
[4036] Matt. xvii. 20 sq.
[4037] In Dalmatia, three miles from Diocletian's great palace
(Spalatro).
[4038] The southern promontory of Greece.
[4039] Now Cerigo.
[4040] Matt. xiv. 32.
[4041] Probably the place which gave its name to one of the mouths of
the Nile (Bucolicum).
The Life of Malchus, the Captive Monk.
------------------------
The life of Malchus was written at Bethlehem, a.d., 391. Its origin and
purpose are sufficiently described in chapters 1 and 2.
1. They who have to fight a naval battle prepare for it in harbours and
calm waters by adjusting the helm, plying the oars, and making ready
the hooks and grappling irons. They draw up the soldiers on the decks
and accustom them to stand steady with poised foot and on slippery
ground; so that they may not shrink from all this when the real
encounter comes, because they have had experience of it in the sham
fight. And so it is in my case. I have long held my peace, because
silence was imposed on me by one to whom I give pain when I speak of
him. But now, in preparing to write history on a wider scale I desire
to practise myself by means of this little work and as it were to wipe
the rust from my tongue. For I have purposed (if God grant me life, and
if my censurers will at length cease to persecute me, now that I am a
fugitive and shut up in a monastery) to write a history of the church
of Christ [4042] from the advent of our Saviour up to our own age, that
is from the apostles to the dregs of time in which we live, and to show
by what means and through what agents it received its birth, and how,
as it gained strength, it grew by persecution and was crowned with
martyrdom; and then, after reaching the Christian Emperors, how it
increased in influence and in wealth but decreased in Christian
virtues. But of this elsewhere. Now to the matter in hand.
2. Maronia is a little hamlet some thirty miles to the east of Antioch
in Syria. After having many owners or landlords, [4043] at the time
when I was staying as a young man in Syria [4044] it came into the
possession of my intimate friend, the Bishop Evagrius, [4045] whose
name I now give in order to show the source of my information. Well,
there was at the place at that time an old man by name Malchus, which
we might render "king," a Syrian by race and speech, in fact a genuine
son of the soil. His companion was an old woman very decrepit who
seemed to be at death's door, both of them so zealously pious and such
constant frequenters of the Church, they might have been taken for
Zacharias and Elizabeth in the Gospel but for the fact that there was
no John to be seen. With some curiosity I asked the neighbours what was
the link between them; was it marriage, or kindred, or the bond of the
Spirit? All with one accord replied that they were holy people, well
pleasing to God, and gave me a strange account of them. Longing to know
more I began to question the man with much eagerness about the truth of
what I heard, and learnt as follows.
3. My son, said he, I used to farm a bit of ground at Nisibis [4046]
and was an only son. My parents regarding me as the heir and the only
survivor of their race, wished to force me into marriage, but I said I
would rather be a monk. How my father threatened and my mother coaxed
me to betray my chastity requires no other proof than the fact that I
fled from home and parents. I could not go to the East because Persia
was close by and the frontiers were guarded by the soldiers of Rome; I
therefore turned my steps to the West, taking with me some little
provision for the journey, but barely sufficient to ward off
destitution. To be brief, I came at last to the desert of Chalcis
[4047] which is situate between Immæ and Beroa farther south. There,
finding some monks, I placed myself under their direction, earning my
livelihood by the labour of my hands, and curbing the wantonness of the
flesh by fasting. After many years the desire came over me to return to
my country, and stay with my mother and cheer her widowhood while she
lived (for my father, as I had already heard, was dead), and then to
sell the little property and give part to the poor, settle part on the
monasteries and (I blush to confess my faithlessness) keep some to
spend in comforts for myself. My abbot began to cry out that it was a
temptation of the devil, and that under fair pretexts some snare of the
old enemy lay hid. It was, he declared, a case of the dog returning to
his vomit. Many monks, he said, had been deceived by such suggestions,
for the devil never showed himself openly. He set before me many
examples from the Scriptures, and told me that even Adam and Eve in the
beginning had been overthrown by him through the hope of becoming gods.
When he failed to convince me he fell upon his knees and besought me
not to forsake him, nor ruin myself by looking back after putting my
hand to the plough. Unhappily for myself I had the misfortune to
conquer my adviser. I thought he was seeking not my salvation but his
own comfort. So he followed me from the monastery as if he had been
going to a funeral, and at last bade me farewell, saying, "I see that
you bear the brand of a son of Satan. I do not ask your reasons nor
take your excuses. The sheep which forsakes its fellows is at once
exposed to the jaws of the wolf."
4. On the road from Beroa to Edessa [4048] adjoining the high-way is a
waste over which the Saracens roam to and fro without having any fixed
abode. Through fear of them travellers in those parts assemble in
numbers, so that by mutual assistance they may escape impending danger.
There were in my company men, women, old men, youths, children,
altogether about seventy persons. All of a sudden the Ishmaelites on
horses and camels made an assault upon us, with their flowing hair
bound with fillets, their bodies half-naked, with their broad military
boots, their cloaks streaming behind them, and their quivers slung upon
the shoulders. They carried their bows unstrung and brandished their
long spears; for they had come not to fight, but to plunder. We were
seized, dispersed, and carried in different directions. I, meanwhile,
repenting too late of the step I had taken, and far indeed from gaining
possession of my inheritance, was assigned, along with another poor
sufferer, a woman, to the service of one and the same owner. We were
led, or rather carried, high upon the camel's back through a desert
waste, every moment expecting destruction, and suspended, I may say,
rather than seated. Flesh half raw was our food, camel's milk our
drink.
5. At length, after crossing a great river we came to the interior of
the desert, where, being commanded after the custom of the people to
pay reverence to the mistress and her children, we bowed our heads.
Here, as if I were a prisoner, I changed my dress, that is, learnt to
go naked, the heat being so excessive as to allow of no clothing beyond
a covering for the loins. Some sheep were given to me to tend, and,
comparatively speaking, I found this occupation a comfort, for I seldom
saw my masters or fellow slaves. My fate seemed to be like that of
Jacob in sacred history, and reminded me also of Moses; both of whom
were once shepherds in the desert. I fed on fresh cheese and milk,
prayed continually, and sang psalms which I had learnt in the
monastery. I was delighted with my captivity, and thanked God because I
had found in the desert the monk's estate which I was on the point of
losing in my country.
6. But no condition can ever shut out the Devil. How manifold past
expression are his snares! Hid though I was, his malice found me out.
My master seeing his flock increasing and finding no dishonesty in me
(I knew that the Apostle has given command that masters should be as
faithfully served as God Himself), and wishing to reward me in order to
secure my greater fidelity, gave me the woman who was once my fellow
servant in captivity. On my refusing and saying I was a Christian, and
that it was not lawful for me to take a woman to wife so long as her
husband was alive (her husband had been captured with us, but carried
off by another master), my owner was relentless in his rage, drew his
sword and began to make at me. If I had not without delay stretched out
my hand and taken possession of the woman, he would have slain me on
the spot. Well; by this time a darker night than usual had set in and,
for me, all too soon. I led my bride into an old cave; sorrow was
bride's-maid; we shrank from each other but did not confess it. Then I
really felt my captivity; I threw myself down on the ground, and began
to lament the monastic state which I had lost, and said: "Wretched man
that I am! have I been preserved for this? has my wickedness brought me
to this, that in my gray hairs I must lose my virgin state and become a
married man? What is the good of having despised parents, country,
property, for the Lord's sake, if I do the thing I wished to avoid
doing when I despised them? And yet it may be perhaps the case that I
am in this condition because I longed for home. What are we to do, my
soul? are we to perish, or conquer? Are we to wait for the hand of the
Lord, or pierce ourselves with our own sword? Turn your weapon against
yourself; I must fear your death, my soul, more than the death of the
body. Chastity preserved has its own martyrdom. Let the witness for
Christ lie unburied in the desert; I will be at once the persecutor and
the martyr." Thus speaking I drew my sword which glittered even in the
dark, and turning its point towards me said: "Farewell, unhappy woman:
receive me as a martyr not as a husband." She threw herself at my feet
and exclaimed: "I pray you by Jesus Christ, and adjure you by this hour
of trial, do not shed your blood and bring its guilt upon me. If you
choose to die, first turn your sword against me. Let us rather be
united upon these terms. Supposing my husband should return to me, I
would preserve the chastity which I have learnt in captivity; I would
even die rather than lose it. Why should you die to prevent a union
with me? I would die if you desired it. Take me then as the partner of
your chastity; and love me more in this union of the spirit than you
could in that of the body only. Let our master believe that you are my
husband. Christ knows you are my brother. We shall easily convince them
we are married when they see us so loving." I confess, I was astonished
and, much as I had before admired the virtue of the woman, I now loved
her as a wife still more. Yet I never gazed upon her naked person; I
never touched her flesh, for I was afraid of losing in peace what I had
preserved in the conflict. In this strange wedlock many days passed
away. Marriage had made us more pleasing to our masters, and there was
no suspicion of our flight; sometimes I was absent for even a whole
month like a trusty shepherd traversing the wilderness.
7. After a long time as I sat one day by myself in the desert with
nothing in sight save earth and sky, I began quickly to turn things
over in my thoughts, and amongst others called to mind my friends the
monks, and specially the look of the father who had instructed me, kept
me, and lost me. While I was thus musing I saw a crowd of ants swarming
over a narrow path. The loads they carried were clearly larger than
their own bodies. Some with their forceps were dragging along the seeds
of herbs: others were excavating the earth from pits and banking it up
to keep out the water. One party, in view of approaching winter, and
wishing to prevent their store from being converted into grass through
the dampness of the ground, were cutting off the tips of the grains
they had carried in; another with solemn lamentation were removing the
dead. And, what is stranger still in such a host, those coming out did
not hinder those going in; nay rather, if they saw one fall beneath his
burden they would put their shoulders to the load and give him
assistance. In short that day afforded me a delightful entertainment.
So, remembering how Solomon sends us to the shrewdness of the ant and
quickens our sluggish faculties by setting before us such an example, I
began to tire of captivity, and to regret the monk's cell, and long to
imitate those ants and their doings, where toil is for the community,
and, since nothing belongs to any one, all things belong to all.
8. When I returned to my chamber, my wife met me. My looks betrayed the
sadness of my heart. She asked why I was so dispirited. I told her the
reasons, and exhorted her to escape. She did not reject the idea. I
begged her to be silent on the matter. She pledged her word. We
constantly spoke to one another in whispers; and we floated in suspense
betwixt hope and fear. I had in the flock two very fine he-goats: these
I killed, made their skins into bottles, and from their flesh prepared
food for the way. Then in the early evening when our masters thought we
had retired to rest we began our journey, taking with us the bottles
and part of the flesh. When we reached the river which was about ten
miles off, having inflated the skins and got astride upon them, we
intrusted ourselves to the water, slowly propelling ourselves with our
feet, that we might be carried down by the stream to a point on the
opposite bank much below that at which we embarked, and that thus the
pursuers might lose the track. But meanwhile the flesh became sodden
and partly lost, and we could not depend on it for more than three
days' sustenance. We drank till we could drink no more by way of
preparing for the thirst we expected to endure, then hastened away,
constantly looking behind us, and advanced more by night than day, on
account both of the ambushes of the roaming Saracens, and of the
excessive heat of the sun. I grow terrified even as I relate what
happened; and, although my mind is perfectly at rest, yet my frame
shudders from head to foot.
9. Three days after we saw in the dim distance two men riding on camels
approaching with all speed. At once foreboding ill I began to think my
master purposed putting us to death, and our sun seemed to grow dark
again. In the midst of our fear, and just as we realized that our
footsteps on the sand had betrayed us, we found on our right hand a
cave which extended far underground. Well, we entered the cave: but we
were afraid of venomous beasts such as vipers, basilisks, scorpions,
and other creatures of the kind, which often resort to such shady
places so as to avoid the heat of the sun. We therefore barely went
inside, and took shelter in a pit on the left, not venturing a step
farther, lest in fleeing from death we should run into death. We
thought thus within ourselves: If the Lord helps us in our misery we
have found safety: if He rejects us for our sins, we have found our
grave. What do you suppose were our feelings? What was our terror, when
in front of the cave, close by, there stood our master and
fellow-servant, brought by the evidence of our footsteps to our hiding
place? How much worse is death expected than death inflicted! Again my
tongue stammers with distress and fear; it seems as if I heard my
master's voice, and I hardly dare mutter a word. He sent his servant to
drag us from the cavern while he himself held the camels and, sword in
hand, waited for us to come. Meanwhile the servant entered about three
or four cubits, and we in our hiding place saw his back though he could
not see us, for the nature of the eye is such that those who go into
the shade out of the sunshine can see nothing. His voice echoed through
the cave: "Come out, you felons; come out and die; why do you stay? Why
do you delay? Come out, your master is calling and patiently waiting
for you." He was still speaking when lo! through the gloom we saw a
lioness seize the man, strangle him, and drag him, covered with blood,
farther in. Good Jesus! how great was our terror now, how intense our
joy! We beheld, though our master knew not of it, our enemy perish. He,
when he saw that he was long in returning, supposed that the fugitives
being two to one were offering resistance. Impatient in his rage, and
sword still in hand, he came to the cavern, and shouted like a madman
as he chided the slowness of his slave, but was seized upon by the wild
beast before he reached our hiding place. Who ever would believe that
before our eyes a brute would fight for us?
One cause of fear was removed, but there was the prospect of a similar
death for ourselves, though the rage of the lion was not so bad to bear
as the anger of the man. Our hearts failed for fear: without venturing
to stir a step we awaited the issue, having no wall of defence in the
midst of so great dangers save the consciousness of our chastity; when,
early in the morning, the lioness, afraid of some snare and aware that
she had been seen took up her cub in her teeth and carried it away,
leaving us in possession of our retreat. Our confidence was not
restored all at once. We did not rush out, but waited for a long time;
for as often as we thought of coming out we pictured to ourselves the
horror of falling in with her.
10. At last we got rid of our fright; and when that day was spent, we
sallied forth towards evening, and saw the camels, on account of their
great speed called dromedaries, quietly chewing the cud. We mounted,
and with the strength gained from the new supply of grain, after ten
days travelling through the desert arrived at the Roman camp. After
being presented to the tribune we told all, and from thence were sent
to Sabianus, who commanded in Mesopotamia, where we sold our camels. My
dear old abbot was now sleeping in the Lord; I betook myself therefore
to this place, and returned to the monastic life, while I entrusted my
companion here to the care of the virgins; for though I loved her as a
sister, I did not commit myself to her as if she were my sister.
Malchus was an old man, I a youth, when he told me these things. I who
have related them to you am now old, and I have set them forth as a
history of chastity for the chaste. Virgins, I exhort you, guard your
chastity. Tell the story to them that come after, that they may realize
that in the midst of swords, and wild beasts of the desert, virtue is
never a captive, and that he who is devoted to the service of Christ
may die, but cannot be conquered.
[4042] This purpose was never carried into effect. These Lives of the
Monks may be regarded as a contribution towards it, and also the book
De Viris Illustribus (translated in Vol. iii. of this series) which was
written in the following year, 392.
[4043] Patronos. Properly defenders or advocates, but passing into the
sense of proprietor, as in the Italian padrone.
[4044] In the year 374.
[4045] See Letters i. 15, iii. 3.
[4046] A populous city in Mesopotamia.
[4047] The desert in which Jerome spent the years 375-80. See Letters
ii., v., xiv., xvii.
[4048] A city of Mesopotamia, formerly the capital of Abgarus' kingdom:
at this time a great centre of Syrian Christianity.
The Dialogue Against the Luciferians.
------------------------
Introduction.
This Dialogue was written about 379, seven years after the death of
Lucifer, and very soon after Jerome's return from his hermit life in
the desert of Chalcis. Though he received ordination from Paulinus, who
had been consecrated by Lucifer, he had no sympathy with Lucifer's
narrower views, as he shows plainly in this Dialogue. Lucifer, who was
bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia, first came into prominent notice about
a.d. 354, when great efforts were being made to procure a condemnation
of S. Athanasius by the Western bishops. He energetically took up the
cause of the saint, and at his own request was sent by Liberius, bishop
of Rome, in company with the priest Pancratius and the deacon Hilarius,
on a mission to the Emperor Constantius. The emperor granted a Council,
which met at Milan in a.d. 354. Lucifer distinguished himself by
resisting a proposition to condemn Athanasius, and did not hesitate to
oppose the emperor with much violence. In consequence of this he was
sent into exile from a.d. 355 to a.d. 361, the greater portion of which
time was spent at Eleutheropolis in Palestine, though he afterwards
removed to the Thebaid. It was at this time that his polemical writings
appeared, the tone and temper of which is indicated by the mere titles
De Regibus Apostaticis (of Apostate Kings), De non Conveniendo cum
Hæreticis, etc. (of not holding communion with heretics). On the death
of Constantius in 361, Julian permitted the exiled bishops to return;
but Lucifer instead of going to Alexandria where a Council was to be
held under the presidency of Athanasius for the healing of a schism in
the Catholic party at Antioch (some of which held to Meletius, while
others followed Eustathius), preferred to go straight to Antioch. There
he ordained Paulinus, the leader of the latter section, as bishop of
the Church. Eusebius of Vercellæ soon arrived with the synodal letters
of the Council of Alexandria, but, finding himself thus anticipated,
and shrinking from a collision with his friend, he retired immediately.
Lucifer stayed, and "declared that he would not hold communion with
Eusebius or any who adopted the moderate policy of the Alexandrian
Council. By this Council it had been determined that actual Arians, if
they renounced their heresy, should be pardoned, but not invested with
ecclesiastical functions; and that those bishops who had merely
consented to Arianism should remain undisturbed. It was this latter
concession which offended Lucifer, and he became henceforth the
champion of the principle that no one who had yielded to any compromise
whatever with Arianism should be allowed to hold an ecclesiastical
office." He was thus brought into antagonism with Athanasius himself,
who, it has been seen, presided at Alexandria. Eventually he returned
to his see in Sardinia where, according to Jerome's Chronicle, he died
in 371. Luciferianism became extinct in the beginning of the following
century, if not earlier. It hardly appears to have been formed into a
separate organization, though an appeal was made to the emperor by some
Luciferian presbyters about the year 384, and both Ambrose and
Augustine speak of him as having fallen into the schism.
The argument of the Dialogue may be thus stated. It has been pointed
out above that Lucifer of Cagliari, who had been banished from his see
in the reign of Constantius because of his adherence to the cause of
Athanasius, had, on the announcement of toleration at the accession of
Julian (361), gone to Antioch and consecrated Paulinus a bishop. There
were then three bishops of Antioch, Dorotheus the Arian (who had
succeeded Euzoius in 376), Meletius who, though an Athanasian in
opinion, had been consecrated by Arians or Semi-Arians, and Paulinus;
besides Vitalis, bishop of a congregation of Apollinarians. Lucifer, in
the earnestness of his anti-Arian opinion, refused to acknowledge as
bishops those who had come over from Arianism, though he accepted the
laymen who had been baptized by Arian bishops. This opinion led to the
Luciferian schism, and forms the subject of the Dialogue.
The point urged by Orthodoxus throughout is that, since the Luciferian
accepts as valid the baptism conferred by Arian bishops, it is
inconsistent in him not to acknowledge the bishops who have repented of
their Arian opinions. The Luciferian at first (2) in his eagerness,
declares the Arians to be no better than heathen; but he sees that he
has gone too far, and retracts this opinion. Still it is one thing, he
says, (3) to admit a penitent neophyte, another to admit a man to be
bishop and celebrate the Eucharist. We do not wish, he says (4) to
preclude individuals who have fallen from repentance. And we, replies
Orthodoxus, by admitting the bishops save not them only but their
flocks also. "The salt," says the Luciferian (5), "which has lost its
savour cannot be salted," and, "What communion has Christ with Belial?"
But this, it is answered (6), would prove that Arians could not confer
baptism at all. Yes, says the objector, they are like John the Baptist,
whose baptism needed to be followed by that of Christ. But, it is
replied, the bishop gives Christ's baptism and confers the Holy Spirit.
The confirmation which follows (9) is rather a custom of the churches
than the necessary means of grace.
The argument is felt to be approaching to a philosophical logomachy
(10, 11), but it is resumed by the Luciferian. There is a real
difference, he says (12), between the man who in his simplicity accepts
baptism from an Arian bishop, and the bishop himself who understands
the heresy. Yet both, it is replied (13), when they are penitent,
should be received.
At this point (14) the Luciferian yields. But he wishes to be assured
that what Orthodoxus recommends has been really the practice of the
Church. This leads to a valuable chapter of Church history. Orthodoxus
recalls the victories of the Church, which the Luciferians speak of as
corrupt (15). The shame is that, though they have the true creed, they
have too little faith. He then describes (17, 18) how the orthodox
bishops were beguiled into accepting the creed of Ariminum, but
afterwards saw their error (19). "The world groaned to find itself
Arian." They did all that was possible to set things right. Why should
they not be received, as all but the authors of heresy had been
received at Nicæa? (20) Lucifer who was a good shepherd, and Hilary the
Deacon, in separating their own small body into a sect have left the
rest a prey to the wolf (20, 21). The wheat and tares must grow
together (22). This has been the principle of the Church (23), as shown
by Scripture (24) and Apostolic custom, and even Cyprian, when he
wished penitent heretics to be re-baptized (25), could not prevail.
Even Hilary by receiving baptism from the Church which always has
re-admitted heretics in repentance (26, 27) acknowledges this
principle. In that Church and its divisions and practice it is our duty
to abide.
1. It happened not long ago that a follower of Lucifer had a dispute
with a son of the Church. His loquacity was odious and the language he
employed most abusive. For he declared that the world belonged to the
devil, and, as is commonly said by them at the present day, that the
Church was turned into a brothel. His opponent on the other hand, with
reason indeed, but without due regard to time and place, urged that
Christ did not die in vain, and that it was for something more than a
Sardinian cloak of skins [4049] that the Son of God came down from
heaven. To be brief, the dispute was not settled when night interrupted
the debate, and the lighting of the street-lamps gave the signal for
the assembly to disperse. The combatants therefore withdrew, almost
spitting in each other's faces, an arrangement having been previously
made by the audience for a meeting in a quiet porch at daybreak.
Thither, accordingly, they all came, and it was resolved that the words
of both speakers should be taken down by reporters.
2. When all were seated, Helladius the Luciferian said, I want an
answer first to my question. Are the Arians Christians or not?
Orthodoxus. I answer with another question, Are all heretics
Christians?
L. If you call a man a heretic you deny that he is a Christian.
O. No heretics, then, are Christians.
L. I told you so before.
O. If they are not Christ's, they belong to the devil.
L. No one doubts that.
O. But if they belong to the devil, it makes no difference whether they
are heretics or heathen.
L. I do not dispute the point.
O. We are then agreed that we must speak of a heretic as we would of a
heathen.
L. Just so.
O. Now it is decided that heretics are heathen, put any question you
please.
L. What I wanted to elicit by my question has been expressly stated,
namely, that heretics are not Christians. Now comes the inference. If
the Arians are heretics, and all heretics are heathen, the Arians are
heathen too. But if the Arians are heathen and it is beyond dispute
that the church has no communion with the Arians, that is with the
heathen, it is clear that your church which welcomes bishops from the
Arians, that is from the heathen, receives priests of the Capitol
[4050] rather than bishops, and accordingly it ought more correctly to
be called the synagogue of Anti-Christ than the Church of Christ.
O. Lo! what the prophet said is fulfilled: [4051] "They have digged a
pit before me, they have fallen into the midst thereof themselves."
L. How so?
O. If the Arians are, as you say, heathen, and the assemblies of the
Arians are the devil's camp, how is it that you receive a person who
has been baptized in the devil's camp?
L. I do receive him, but as a penitent.
O. The fact is you don't know what you are saying. Does any one receive
a penitent heathen?
L. In my simplicity I replied when we began that all heretics are
heathen. But the question was a captious one, and you shall have the
full credit of victory in the first point. I will now proceed to the
second and maintain that a layman coming from the Arians ought to be
received if penitent, but not a cleric.
O. And yet, if you concede me the first point, the second is mine too.
L. Show me how it comes to be yours.
O. Don't you know that the clergy and laity have only one Christ, and
that there is not one God of converts and another of bishops? Why then
should not he who receives laymen receive clerics also?
L. There is a difference between shedding tears for sin, and handling
the body of Christ; there is a difference between lying prostrate at
the feet of the brethren, and from the high altar administering the
Eucharist to the people. It is one thing to lament over the past,
another to abandon sin and live the glorified life in the Church. You
who yesterday impiously declared the Son of God to be a creature, you
who every day, worse than a Jew, were wont to cast the stones of
blasphemy at Christ, you whose hands are full of blood, whose pen was a
soldier's spear, do you, the convert of a single hour, come into the
Church as an adulterer might come to a virgin? If you repent of your
sin, abandon your priestly functions: if you are shameless in your sin,
remain what you were.
O. You are quite a rhetorician, and fly from the thicket of controversy
to the open fields of declamation. But, I entreat you, refrain from
common-places, and return to the ground and the lines marked out;
afterwards, if you like, we will take a wider range.
L. There is no declamation in the case; my indignation is more than I
can bear. Make what statements you please, argue as you please, you
will never convince me that a penitent bishop should be treated like a
penitent layman.
O. Since you put the whole thing in a nutshell and obstinately cling to
your position, that the case of the bishop is different from that of
the layman, I will do what you wish, and I shall not be sorry to avail
myself of the opportunity you offer and come to close quarters. Explain
why you receive a layman coming from the Arians, but do not receive a
bishop.
L. I receive a layman who confesses that he has erred; and the Lord
willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should repent.
O. Receive then also a bishop who, as well as the layman, confesses
that he has erred, and it still holds good that the Lord willeth not
the death of a sinner, but rather that he should repent.
L. If he confesses his error why does he continue a bishop? Let him lay
aside his [4052] episcopal functions, and I grant pardon to the
penitent.
O. I will answer you in your own words. If a layman confesses his
error, how is it he continues a layman? Let him lay aside his
lay-priesthood, that is, his baptism, and I grant pardon to the
penitent. For it is written [4053] "He made us to be a kingdom, to be
priests unto his God and Father." And again, [4054] "A holy nation, a
royal priesthood, an elect race." Everything which is forbidden to a
Christian, is forbidden to both bishop and layman. He who does penance
condemns his former life. If a penitent bishop may not continue what he
was, neither may a penitent layman remain in that state on account of
which he confesses himself a penitent.
L. We receive the laity, because no one will be induced to change, if
he knows he must be baptized again. And then, if they are rejected, we
become the cause of their destruction.
O. By receiving a layman you save a single soul: and I in receiving a
bishop unite to the Church, I will not say the people of one city, but
the whole [4055] province of which he is the head; if I drive him away,
he will drag down many with him to ruin. Wherefore I beseech you to
apply the same reason which you think you have for receiving the few to
the salvation of the whole world. But if you are not satisfied with
this, if you are so hard, or rather so unreasonably unmerciful as to
think him who gave baptism an enemy of Christ, though you account him
who received it a son, we do not so contradict ourselves: we either
receive a bishop as well as the people which is constituted as a
Christian people by him, or if we do not receive a bishop, we know that
we must also reject his people.
5. L. Pray, have you not read what is said concerning the bishops,
[4056] "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its
savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for
nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of man." And then
there is the fact that the priest [4057] intercedes with God for the
sinful people, while there is no one to entreat for the priest. Now
these two passages of Scripture tend to the same conclusion. For as
salt seasons all food and nothing is so pleasant as to please the
palate without it: so the bishop is the seasoning of the whole world
and of his own Church, and if he lose his savour through the denial of
truth, or through heresy, or lust, or, to comprehend all in one word,
through sin of any kind, by what other can he be seasoned, when he was
the seasoning of all? The priest, we know, offers his oblation for the
layman, lays his hand upon him when submissive, invokes the return of
the Holy Spirit, and thus, after inviting the prayers of the people,
reconciles to the altar him who had been delivered to Satan for the
destruction of the flesh that the spirit might he saved; nor does he
restore one member to health until all the members have wept together
with him. For a father easily pardons his son, when the mother entreats
for her offspring. If then it is by the priestly order that a penitent
layman is restored to the Church, and pardon follows where sorrow has
gone before, it is clear that a priest who has been removed from his
order cannot be restored to the place he has forfeited, because either
he will be a penitent and then he cannot be a priest, or if he
continues to hold office he cannot be brought back to the Church by
penitential discipline. Will you dare to spoil the savour of the Church
with the salt which has lost its savour? Will you replace at the altar
the man who having been cast out ought to lie in the mire and be
trodden under foot by all men? What then will become of the Apostle's
command, [4058] "The bishop must be blameless as God's steward"? And
again, [4059] "But let a man prove himself, and so let him come." What
becomes of our Lord's intimation, [4060] "Neither cast your pearls
before the swine"? But if you understand the words as a general
admonition, how much more must care be exercised in the case of priests
when so much precaution is taken where the laity are concerned? [4061]
"Depart, I pray you," says the Lord by Moses, "from the tents of these
wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all
their sins." And again in the Minor Prophets, [4062] "Their sacrifices
shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall
be polluted." And in the Gospel the Lord says, [4063] "The lamp of the
body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall
be full of light." For when the bishop preaches the true faith the
darkness is scattered from the hearts of all. And he gives the reason,
[4064] "Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but
on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house." That is,
God's motive for lighting the fire of His knowledge in the bishop is
that he may not shine for himself only, but for the common benefit. And
in the next sentence [4065] "If," says he, "thine eye be evil, thy
whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in
thee be darkness, how great is the darkness!" And rightly; for since
the bishop is appointed in the Church that he may restrain the people
from error, how great will the error of the people be when he himself
who teaches errs. How can he remit sins, who is himself a sinner? How
can an impious man make a man holy? How shall the light enter into me,
when my eye is blind? O misery! Antichrist's disciple governs the
Church of Christ. And what are we to think of the words, [4066] "No man
can serve two masters"? And that too [4067] "What communion hath light
and darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial?" In the old
testament we read, [4068] "No man that hath a blemish shall come nigh
to offer the offerings of the Lord." And again, [4069] "Let the priests
who come nigh to the Lord their God be clean, lest haply the Lord
forsake them." And in the same place, [4070] "And when they draw nigh
to minister in holy things, let them not bring sin upon themselves,
lest they die." And there are many other passages which it would be an
endless task to detail, and which I omit for the sake of brevity. For
it is not the number of proofs that avails, but their weight. And all
this proves that you with a little leaven have corrupted the whole lump
of the Church, and receive the Eucharist to-day from the hand of one
whom yesterday you loathed like an idol.
6. O. Your memory has served you, and you have certainly given us at
great length many quotations from the sacred books: but after going all
round the wood, you are caught in my hunting-nets. Let the case be as
you would have it, that an Arian bishop is the enemy of Christ, let him
be the salt that has lost its savour, let him be a lamp without flame,
let him be an eye without a pupil: no doubt your argument will take you
thus far--that he cannot salt another who himself has no salt: a blind
man cannot enlighten others, nor set them on fire when his own light
has gone out. But why, when you swallow food which he has seasoned, do
you reproach the seasoned with being saltless? Your Church is bright
with his flame, and do you accuse his lamp of being extinguished? He
gives you eyes, and are you blind? Wherefore, I pray you, either give
him the power of sacrificing since you approve his baptism, or reject
his baptism if you do not think him a priest. For it is impossible that
he who is holy in baptism should be a sinner at the altar.
L. But when I receive a lay penitent, it is with laying on of hands,
and invocation of the Holy Spirit, for I know that the Holy Spirit
cannot be given by heretics.
O. All the paths of your propositions lead to the same meeting-point,
and it is with you as with the frightened deer--while you fly from the
feathers fluttering in the wind, you become entangled in the strongest
of nets. For seeing that a man, baptized in the name of the Father and
the Son and the Holy Ghost, becomes a temple of the Lord, and that
while the old abode is destroyed a new shrine is built for the Trinity,
how can you say that sins can be remitted among the Arians without the
coming of the Holy Ghost? How is a soul purged from its former stains
which has not the Holy Ghost? For it is not mere water which washes the
soul, but it is itself first purified by the Spirit that it may be able
to spiritually wash the souls of men. [4071] "The Spirit of the Lord,"
says Moses, "moved upon the face of the waters," from which it appears
that there is no baptism without the Holy Ghost. Bethesda, the pool in
Judea, could not cure the limbs of those who suffered from bodily
weakness without the advent of an angel, [4072] and do you venture to
bring me a soul washed with simple water, as though it had just come
from the bath? Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, of whom it is less
correct to say that He was cleansed by washing than that by the washing
of Himself He cleansed all waters, no sooner raised His head from the
stream than He received the Holy Ghost. Not that He ever was without
the Holy Ghost, inasmuch as He was born in the flesh through the Holy
Ghost; but in order to prove that to be the true baptism by which the
Holy Ghost comes. So then if an Arian cannot give the Holy Spirit, he
cannot even baptize, because there is no baptism of the Church without
the Holy Spirit. And you, when you receive a person baptized by an
Arian and afterwards invoke the Holy Ghost, ought either to baptize
him, because without the Holy Ghost he could not be baptized, or, if he
was baptized in the Spirit, you must not invoke the Holy Ghost for your
convert who received Him at the time of baptism.
7. L. Pray tell me, have you not read [4073] in the Acts of the
Apostles that those who had already been baptized by John, on their
saying in reply to the Apostle's question that they had not even heard
what the Holy Ghost was, afterwards obtained the Holy Ghost? Whence it
is clear that it is possible to be baptized, and yet not to have the
Holy Ghost.
O. I do not think that those who form our audience are so ignorant of
the sacred books that many words are needed to settle this little
question. But before I say anything in support of my assertion, listen
while I point out what confusion, upon your view, is introduced into
Scripture. What do we mean by saying that John in his baptism could not
give the Holy Spirit to others, yet gave him to Christ? And who is that
John? [4074] "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready
the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." He who used to say,
[4075] "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the
world": I say too little, he who from his mother's womb cried out,
[4076] "And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come
unto me," did he not give the Holy Ghost? And did [4077] Ananias give
him to Paul? It perhaps looks like boldness in me to prefer him to all
other men. Hear then the words of our Lord, [4078] "Among them that are
born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist."
For no prophet had the good fortune both to announce the coming of
Christ, and to point Him out with the finger. And what necessity is
there for me to dwell upon the praises of so illustrious a man when God
the Father even calls him an angel? [4079] "Behold, I send my messenger
(angel) before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee." He
must have been an angel who after lodging in his mother's womb at once
began to frequent the desert wilds, and while still an infant played
with serpents; who, when his eyes had once gazed on Christ thought
nothing else worth looking at; who exercised his voice, worthy of a
messenger of God, in the words of the Lord, which are sweeter than
honey and the honey-comb. And, to delay my question no further, thus it
behooved [4080] the Forerunner of the Lord to grow up. Now is it
possible that a man of such character and renown did not give the Holy
Ghost, while Cornelius the centurion received Him before baptism? Tell
me, pray, why could he not give Him? You don't know? Then listen to the
teaching of Scripture: the baptism of John did not so much consist in
the forgiveness of sins as in being a baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins, that is, for a future remission, which was to follow
through the sanctification of Christ. For it is written, [4081] "John
came, who baptized in the wilderness, and preached the baptism of
repentance unto remission of sins." And soon after, [4082] "And they
were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins." For
as he himself preceded Christ as His forerunner, so also his baptism
was the prelude to the Lord's baptism. [4083] "He that is of the
earth," he said, "speaketh of the earth; he that cometh from heaven is
above all." And again, [4084] "I indeed baptize you with water, he
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost." But if John, as he himself
confessed, did not baptize with the Spirit, it follows that he did not
forgive sins either, for no man has his sins remitted without the Holy
Ghost. Or if you contentiously argue that, because the baptism of John
was from heaven, therefore sins were forgiven by it, show me what more
there is for us to get in Christ's baptism. Because it forgives sins,
it releases from Gehenna. Because it releases from Gehenna, it is
perfect. But no baptism can be called perfect except that which depends
on the cross and resurrection of Christ. Thus, although John himself
said, [4085] "He must increase, but I must decrease," in your perverse
scrupulosity you give more than is due to the baptism of the servant,
and destroy that of the master to which you leave no more than to the
other. What is the drift of your assertion? Just this--it does not
strike you as strange that those who had been baptized by John, should
afterwards by the laying on of hands receive the Holy Ghost, although
it is evident that they did not obtain even remission of sins apart
from the faith which was to follow. But you who receive a person
baptized by the Arians and allow him to have perfect baptism, after
that admission do you invoke the Holy Ghost as if this were still some
slight defect, whereas there is no baptism of Christ without the Holy
Ghost? But I have wandered too far, and when I might have met my
opponent face to face and repelled his attack, I have only thrown a few
light darts from a distance. The baptism of John was so far imperfect
that it is plain they who had been baptized by him were afterwards
baptized with the baptism of Christ. For thus the history relates,
[4086] "And it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul
having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus, and found
certain disciples: and he said unto them, Did ye receive the Holy Ghost
when ye believed? And they said unto him, Nay, we did not so much as
hear whether the Holy Ghost was given. And he said, Into what then were
ye baptized? And they said, Into John's baptism. And Paul said, John
baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that
they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is, on
Jesus. And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of
the Lord Jesus: And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, immediately
the Holy Ghost fell on them." If then they were baptized with the true
and lawful baptism of the Church, and thus received the Holy Ghost: do
you follow the apostles and baptize those who have not had Christian
baptism, and you will be able to invoke the Holy Ghost.
8. L. Thirsty men in their dreams eagerly gulp down the water of the
stream, and the more they drink the thirstier they are. In the same way
you appear to me to have searched everywhere for arguments against the
point I raised, and yet to be as far as ever from being satisfied.
Don't you know that the laying on of hands after baptism and then the
invocation of the Holy Spirit is a custom of the Churches? Do you
demand Scripture proof? You may find it in the Acts of the Apostles.
And even if it did not rest on the authority of Scripture the consensus
of the whole world in this respect would have the force of a command.
For many other observances of the Churches, which are due to tradition,
have acquired the authority of the written law, as for instance [4087]
the practice of dipping the head three times in the laver, and then,
after leaving the water, of [4088] tasting mingled milk and honey in
representation of infancy; [4089] and, again, the practices of standing
up in worship on the Lord's day, and ceasing from fasting every
Pentecost; and there are many other unwritten practices which have won
their place through reason and custom. So you see we follow the
practice of the Church, although it may be clear that a person was
baptized before the Spirit was invoked.
9. O. I do not deny that it is the practice of the Churches in the case
of those who living far from the greater towns have been baptized by
presbyters and deacons, for the bishop to visit them, and by the laying
on of hands to invoke the Holy Ghost upon them. But how shall I
describe your habit of applying the laws of the Church to heretics, and
of exposing the virgin entrusted to you in the brothels of harlots? If
a bishop lays his hands on men he lays them on those who have been
baptized in the right faith, and who have believed that the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, are three persons, but one essence. But an Arian
has no faith but this (close your ears, my hearers, that you may not be
defiled by words so grossly impious), that the Father alone is very
God, and that Jesus Christ our Saviour is a [4090] creature, and [4091]
the Holy Ghost the Servant of both. How can he then receive the Holy
Ghost from the Church, who has not yet obtained remission of sins? For
the Holy Ghost must have a clean abode: nor will He become a dweller in
that temple which has not for its chief priest the true faith. But if
you now ask how it is that a person baptized in the Church does not
receive the Holy Ghost, Whom we declare to be given in true baptism,
except by the hands of the bishop, let me tell you that our authority
for the rule is the fact that after our Lord's ascension the Holy Ghost
descended upon the Apostles. And in many places we find it the
practice, more by way of honouring the [4092] episcopate than from any
compulsory law. Otherwise, if the Holy Ghost descends only at the
bishop's prayer, they are greatly to be pitied who in isolated houses,
or in forts, or retired places, after being baptized by the presbyters
and deacons have fallen asleep before the bishop's visitation. The
well-being of a Church depends upon the dignity of its chief-priest,
and unless some extraordinary and unique functions be assigned to him,
we shall have as many schisms in the Churches as there are priests.
Hence it is that without ordination and the bishop's license neither
presbyter nor deacon has the power to baptize. And yet, if necessity so
be, we know that even laymen may, and frequently do, baptize. For as a
man receives, so too he can give; for it will hardly be said that we
must believe that the eunuch whom Philip [4093] baptized lacked the
Holy Spirit. The Scripture thus speaks concerning him, "And they both
went down into the water; and Philip baptized him." And on leaving the
water, "The Holy Spirit fell upon the eunuch." You may perhaps think
that we ought to set against this the passage in which we read, "Now
when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had
received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when
they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy
Ghost: for as yet he was fallen upon none of them." But why this was,
the context tells us,--"Only they had been baptized into the name of
the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received
the Holy Ghost." And if you here say that you do the same, because the
heretics have not baptized into the Holy Spirit, I must remind you that
Philip was not separated from the Apostles, but belonged to the same
Church and preached the same Lord Jesus Christ: that he was without
question a deacon of those who afterwards laid their hands on his
converts. But when you say that the Arians have not a Church, but a
synagogue, and that their clergy do not worship God but creatures and
idols, how can you maintain that you ought to act upon the same
principle in cases so totally different?
L. You repel my attack in front with vigour and firmness: but you are
smitten in the rear and leave your back exposed to the darts. Let us
even grant that the Arians have no baptism, and therefore that the Holy
Ghost cannot be given by them, because they themselves have not yet
received remission of sins; this altogether makes for victory on my
side, and all your argumentative wrestling is but laborious toil to
give me the conqueror's palm. An Arian has no baptism; how is it then
that he has the episcopate? There is not even a layman among them, how
can there be a bishop? I may not receive a beggar, do you receive a
king? You surrender your camp to the enemy, and are we to reject one of
their deserters?
11. O. If you remember what has been said you would know that you have
been already answered; but in yielding to the love of contradiction you
have wandered from the subject, like those persons who are talkative
rather than eloquent, and who, when they cannot argue, still continue
to wrangle. On the present occasion it is not my aim to either accuse
or defend the Arians, but rather to get safely past the turning-post of
the race, and to maintain that we receive a bishop for the same reason
that you receive a layman. If you grant forgiveness to the erring, I
too pardon the penitent. If he that baptizes a person into our belief
has had no injurious effect upon the person baptized, it follows that
he who consecrates a bishop in the same faith causes no defilement to
the person consecrated. Heresy is subtle, and therefore the
simple-minded are easily deceived. To be deceived is the common lot of
both layman and bishop. But you say, a bishop could not have been
mistaken. The truth is, men are elected to the episcopate who come from
the bosom of Plato and Aristophanes. How many can you find among them
who are not fully instructed in these writers? Indeed all, whoever they
may be, that are ordained at the present day from among the literate
class make it their study not how to seek out the marrow of Scripture,
but how to tickle the ears of the people with the flowers of rhetoric.
We must further add that the Arian heresy goes hand in hand with the
wisdom of the world, and [4094] borrows its streams of argument from
the fountains of Aristotle. And so we will act like children when they
try to outdo one another--whatever you say I will say: what you assert,
I will assert: whatever you deny, I will deny. We allow that an Arian
may baptize; then he must be a bishop. [4095] If we agree that Arian
baptism is invalid, you must reject the layman, and I must not accept
the bishop. I will follow you wherever you go; we shall either stick in
the mud together, or shall get out together.
12. L. We pardon a layman because, when he was baptized, he had a
sincere impression that he was joining the Church. He believed and was
baptized in accordance with his faith.
O. That is something new for a man to be made a Christian by one who is
not a Christian. When he joined the Arians into what faith was he
baptized? Of course into that which the Arians held. If on the other
hand we are to suppose that his own faith was correct, but that he was
knowingly baptized by heretics, he does not deserve the indulgence we
grant to the erring. But it is quite absurd to imagine that, going as a
pupil to the master, he understands his art before he has been taught.
Can you suppose that a man who has just turned from worshipping idols
knows Christ better than his teacher does? If you say, he sincerely
believed in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and therefore
obtained baptism, what, let me ask, is the meaning of being sincerely
ignorant of what one believes? He sincerely believed. What did he
believe? Surely when he heard the three names, he believed in three
Gods, and was an idolater; or by the three titles he was led to believe
in a God with three names, and so fell into the [4096] Sabellian
heresy. Or he was perhaps trained by the Arians to believe that there
is one true God, the Father, but that the Son and the Holy Spirit are
creatures. What else he may have believed, I know not: for we can
hardly think that a man brought up in the Capitol would have learnt the
doctrine of the co-essential Trinity. He would have known in that case
that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not divided in nature, but in
person. He would have known also that the name of Son was implied in
that of Father and the name of Father in that of Son. It is ridiculous
to assert that any one can dispute concerning the faith before he
believes it; that he understands a mystery before he has been
initiated; that the baptizer and the baptized hold different views
respecting God. Besides, it is the custom at baptism to ask, after the
confession of faith in the Trinity, do you believe in Holy Church? Do
you believe in the remission of sins? What Church do you say he
believed in? The Church of the Arians? But they have no Church. In
ours? But the man was not baptized into it: he could not believe in
that whereof he was ignorant.
L. I see that you can prattle cleverly about each point that I raise;
and when we let fly a dart you elude it by a harangue which serves you
for a shield; I will therefore hurl a single spear which will be strong
enough to pierce your defences and the hail-storm of your words. I
won't allow strength any longer to be overcome by artifice. Even a
layman baptized without the Church, if he be baptized according to the
faith, is received only as a penitent: but a bishop either does no
penance and remains a bishop, or, if he does penance he ceases to be a
bishop. Wherefore we do right both in welcoming the penitent layman,
and in rejecting the bishop, if he wishes to continue in his office.
O. An arrow which is discharged from the tight-drawn bow is not easy to
avoid, for it reaches him at whom it was aimed before the shield can be
raised to stop it. On the other hand your propositions are pointless
and therefore cannot pierce an opponent. The spear then which you have
hurled with all your might and about which you speak such threatening
words, I turn aside, as the saying is, with my little finger. The point
in dispute is not merely whether a bishop is incapable of penitence and
a layman capable, but whether a heretic has received valid baptism. If
he has not (and this follows from your position), how can he be a
penitent, before he is a Christian? Show me that a layman coming from
the Arians has valid baptism, and then I will not deny him penitence.
But if he is not a Christian, if he had no priest to make him a
Christian, how can he do penance when he is not yet a believer?
14. L. I beseech you lay aside the methods of the philosophers and let
us talk with Christian simplicity; that is, if you are willing to
follow not the logicians, but the Galilean fishermen. Does it seem
right to you that an Arian should be a bishop?
O. You prove him a bishop because you receive those he has baptized.
And it is here that you are to blame:--Why are there walls of
separation between us when we are at one in faith and in receiving
Arians?
L. I asked you before not to talk like a philosopher, but like a
Christian.
O. Do you wish to learn, or to argue?
L. Of course I argue because I want to know the reason for what you do.
O. If you argue, you have already had an answer. I receive an Arian
bishop for the same reason that you receive a person who is only
baptized. If you wish to learn, come over to my side: for an opponent
must be overcome, it is only a disciple who can be taught.
L. Before I can be a disciple, I must hear one preach whom I feel to be
my master.
O. You are not dealing quite fairly: you wish me to be your teacher on
the terms that you may treat me as an opponent whenever you please. I
will teach you therefore in the same spirit. We agree in faith, we
agree in receiving heretics, let us also be at one in our terms of
communion.
L. That is not teaching, but arguing.
O. As you ask for peace with a shield in your hand, I also must carry
my olive branch with a sword grafted in it.
L. I drop my hands in token of submission. You are conqueror. But in
laying down my arms, I ask the meaning of the oath you force me to
take.
O. Certainly, but first I congratulate you, and thank Christ my God for
your good dispositions which have made you turn from the unsavoury
teaching of the [4097] Sardinians to that which the whole world
approves as true; and no longer say as some do, [4098] "Help, Lord; for
the godly man teaseth." By their impious words they make of none effect
the cross of Christ, subject the Son of God to the devil, and would
have us now understand the Lord's lamentation over sinners to apply to
all men, [4099] "What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to
the pit?" But God forbid that our Lord should have died in vain. [4100]
The strong man is bound, and his goods are spoiled. What the Father
says is fulfilled, [4101] "Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations
for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy
possession." [4102] "Then the channels of water appeared, and the
foundations of the world were laid bare." [4103] "In them hath he set a
tabernacle for the sun, and there is nothing hid from the heat
thereof." The Psalmist fully possessed by God sings, [4104] "The swords
of the enemy are come to an end, and the cities which thou hast
overthrown."
15. And what is the position, I should like to know, of those
excessively scrupulous, or rather excessively profane persons, who
assert that there are more synagogues than Churches? How is it that the
devil's kingdoms have been destroyed, and now at last in the
consummation of the ages, the idols have fallen? If Christ has no
Church, or if he has one only, in Sardinia, he has grown very poor. And
if Satan owns Britain, Gaul, the East, the races of India, barbarous
nations, and the whole world at the same time, how is it that the
trophies of the cross have been collected in a mere corner of the
earth? Christ's powerful opponent, forsooth, gave over to him the
[4105] serpent of Spain: he disdained to own a poor province and its
half-starved inhabitants. If they flatter themselves that they have on
their side that verse of the gospel, [4106] "Howbeit when the Son of
man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" let me remind them that
the faith in question is that of which the Lord himself said, [4107]
"Thy faith hath made thee whole." And elsewhere, of the centurion,
[4108] "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." And again,
to the Apostles, [4109] "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" In
another place also, [4110] "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard
seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place,
and it shall remove." For neither the centurion nor that poor woman who
for twelve years was wasting away with a bloody flux, had believed in
the mysteries of the Trinity, for these were revealed to the Apostles
after the resurrection of Christ; so that the faith of such as believe
in the mystery of the Trinity might have its due preeminence: but it
was her singleness of mind and her devotion to her God that met with
our Lord's approval: [4111] "For she said within herself, If I do but
touch his garment, I shall be made whole." This is the faith which our
Lord said was seldom found. This is the faith which even in the case of
those who believe aright is hard to find in perfection. [4112]
"According to your faith, be it done unto you," says God. I do not,
indeed, like the sound of those words. For if it be done unto me
according to my faith, I shall perish. And yet I certainly believe in
God the Father, I believe in God the Son, and I believe in God the Holy
Ghost. I believe in one God; nevertheless, I would not have it done
unto me according to my faith. For the enemy often comes, and sows
tares in the Lord's harvest. I do not mean to imply that anything is
greater than the purity of heart which believes that mystery; but
undoubted faith towards God it is hard indeed to find. To make my
meaning plain, let us suppose a case:--I stand to pray; I could not
pray, if I did not believe; but if I really believed, I should cleanse
that heart of mine with which God is seen, I should beat my hands upon
my breast, the tears would stream down my cheeks, my body would
shudder, my face grow pale, I should lie at my Lord's feet, weep over
them, and wipe them with my hair, I should cling to the cross and not
let go my hold until I obtained mercy. But, as it is, frequently in my
prayers I am either walking in the arcades, or calculating my interest,
or am carried away by base thoughts, so as to be occupied with things
the mere mention of which makes me blush. Where is our faith? Are we to
suppose that it was thus that Jonah prayed? or the three youths? or
Daniel in the lion's den? or the robber on the cross? I have given
these illustrations that you may understand my meaning. But let every
one commune with his own heart, and he will find throughout the whole
of life how rare a thing it is to find a soul so faithful that it does
nothing through the love of glory, nothing on account of the petty
gossip of men. For he who fasts does not as an immediate consequence
fast unto God, nor he who holds out his hand to a poor man, lend to the
Lord. Vice is next-door neighbour to virtue. It is hard to rest content
with God alone for judge.
16. L. I was reserving that passage until last, and you have
anticipated my question about it. Almost all our party, or rather not
mine any more, use it as a sort of controversial battering ram: as such
I am exceedingly glad to see it broken to pieces and pulverized. But
will you be so good as to fully explain to me, not in the character of
an opponent but of a disciple, why it is that the Church receives those
who come from the Arians? The truth is I am unable to answer you a
word, but I do not yet give a hearty assent to what you say.
17. O. When Constantius was on the throne and Eusebius and Hypatius
were Consuls, there was composed, under the pretext of unity and faith,
[4113] an unfaithful creed, as it is now acknowledged to have been. For
at that time, nothing seemed so characteristic of piety, nothing so
befitting a servant of God, as to follow after unity, and to shun
separation from communion with the rest of the world. And all the more
because the current profession of faith no longer exhibited on the face
of it anything profane. "We believe," said they, "in one true God, the
Father Almighty. This we also confess: We believe in the only begotten
Son of God, who, before all worlds, and before all their origins,
[4114] was born of God. The only-begotten Son, moreover, we believe to
be born alone of the Father alone, God of God, like to his Father who
begot Him, according to the Scriptures; whose birth no one knows, but
the Father alone who begot Him." Do we find any such words inserted
here as [4115] "There was a time, when he was not?" Or, "The Son of God
is a creature though not made of things which exist." No. This is
surely the perfection of faith to say we believe Him to be God of God.
Moreover, they called Him the only begotten, "born alone of the
Father." What is the meaning of born? Surely, not made. His birth
removed all suspicion of His being a creature. They added further, "Who
came down from heaven, was conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the
Virgin Mary, crucified by Pontius Pilate, rose again the third day from
the dead, ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of the
Father, who will come to judge the quick and the dead." There was the
ring of piety in the words, and no one thought that poison was mingled
with the honey of such a proclamation.
18. As regards the term [4116] Usia, it was not rejected without a show
of reason for so doing. [4117] "Because it is not found in the
Scriptures," they said, "and its novelty is a stumbling-block to many,
we have thought it best to dispense with it." The bishops were not
anxious about the name, so long as that which it implied was secured.
Lastly, at the very time when rumour was rife that there had been some
insincerity in the statement of the faith, Valens, bishop of Mursa, who
had drawn it up, in the presence of Taurus the pretorian prefect who
attended the Synod by imperial command, declared that he was not an
Arian, and that he utterly abhorred their blasphemies. However, the
thing had been done in secret, and it had not extinguished the general
feeling. So on another day, when crowds of bishops and laymen came
together in the Church at Ariminum, Muzonius, bishop of the province of
Byzacena, to whom by reason of seniority the first rank was assigned by
all, spoke as follows: "One of our number has been authorized to read
to you, reverend fathers, what reports are being spread and have
reached us, so that the evil opinions which ought to grate upon our
ears and be banished from our hearts may be condemned with one voice by
us all." The whole body of bishops replied, Agreed. And so when
Claudius, bishop of the province of Picenum, at the request of all
present, began to read the blasphemies attributed to Valens, Valens
denied they were his and cried aloud, "If anyone denies Christ our
Lord, the Son of God, begotten of the Father before the worlds, let him
be anathema." There was a general chorus of approval, "Let him be
anathema." [4118] "If anyone denies that the Son is like the Father
according to the Scriptures, let him be anathema." All replied, "Let
him be anathema." "If anyone does not say that the Son of God is
co-eternal with the Father, let him be anathema." There was again a
chorus of approval, "Let him be anathema." "If anyone says that the Son
of God is a creature, like other creatures, let him be anathema." The
answer was the same, "Let him be anathema." "If anyone says that the
Son was of no existing things, yet not of God the Father, let him be
anathema." All shouted together, "Let him be anathema." "If anyone
says, There was a time when the Son was not, let him be anathema." At
this point all the bishops and the whole Church together received the
words of Valens with clapping of hands and stamping of feet. And if
anyone thinks we have invented the story let him examine the public
records. At all events the muniment-boxes of the Churches are full of
it, and the circumstance is fresh in men's memory. Some of those who
took part in the Synod are still alive, and the Arians themselves (a
fact which may put the truth beyond dispute) do not deny the accuracy
of our account. When, therefore, all extolled Valens to the sky and
penitently condemned themselves for having suspected him, the same
Claudius who before had begun to read, said "There are still a few
points which have escaped the notice of my lord and brother Valens; if
it seem good to you, let us, in order to remove all scruples, pass a
general vote of censure upon them. If anyone says that the Son of God
was indeed before all worlds but was by no means before all time, so
that he puts some thing before Him, let him be anathema." And many
other things which had a suspicious look were condemned by Valens when
Claudius recited them. If anyone wishes to learn more about them he
will find the account in the acts of the Synod of Ariminum, the source
from which I have myself drawn them.
19. After these proceedings the Council was dissolved. All returned in
gladness to their own provinces. For the Emperor and all good men had
one and the same aim, that the East and West should be knit together by
the bond of fellowship. But wickedness does not long lie hid, and the
sore that is healed superficially before the bad humour has been worked
off breaks out again. Valens and [4119] Ursacius and others associated
with them in their wickedness, eminent Christian bishops of course,
began to wave their palms, and to say they had not denied that He was a
creature, but that He was like other creatures. At that moment the term
Usia was abolished: the Nicene Faith stood condemned by acclamation.
The whole world groaned, and was astonished to find itself Arian. Some,
therefore, remained in their own communion, others began to send
letters to those Confessors who as adherents of Athanasius were in
exile; several despairingly bewailed the better relations into which
they had entered. But a few, true to human nature, defended their
mistake as an exhibition of wisdom. The ship of the Apostles was in
peril, she was driven by the wind, her sides beaten with the waves: no
hope was now left. But the Lord awoke and bade the tempest cease; the
[4120] beast died, and there was a calm once again. To speak more
plainly, all the bishops who had been banished from their sees, by the
clemency of the new [4121] emperor returned to their Churches. Then
Egypt welcomed the [4122] triumphant Athanasius; then [4123] Hilary
returned from the battle to the embrace of the Church of Gaul; then
[4124] Eusebius returned and Italy laid aside her mourning weeds. The
bishops who had been caught in the snare at Ariminum and had
unwittingly come to be reported of as heretics, began to assemble,
while they called the Body of our Lord and all that is holy in the
Church to witness that they had not a suspicion of anything faulty in
their own faith. We thought, said they, the words were to be taken in
their natural meaning, and we had no suspicion that in the Church of
God, the very home of simplicity and sincerity in the confession of
truth, one thing could be kept secret in the heart, another uttered by
the lips. We thought too well of bad men and were deceived. We did not
suppose that the bishops of Christ were fighting against Christ. There
was much besides which they said with tears, but I pass it over for
brevity's sake. They were ready to condemn their [4125] former
subscription as well as all the blasphemies of the Arians. Here I ask
our excessively scrupulous friends what they think ought to have been
done with those who made this Confession? Deprive the old bishops, they
will say, and ordain new ones. The plan was tried. But how many whose
conscience does not condemn them will allow themselves to be deprived.
Particularly when all the people who loved their bishops flocked
together, ready to stone and slay those who attempted to deprive them.
The bishops should, it may be said, have kept to themselves within
their own communion. That is to say, with senseless cruelty they would
have surrendered the whole world to the devil. Why condemn those who
were not Arians? Why rend the Church when it was continuing in the
harmony of the faith? Lastly, were they by obstinacy to make Arians of
orthodox believers? We know that at the Council of Nicæa, which was
assembled on account of the Arian perfidy, eight Arian bishops were
welcomed, and there is not a bishop in the world at the present day
whose ordination is not dependent on that Council. This being so, how
could they act in opposition to it, when their loyalty to it had cost
them the pain of exile?
20. L. Were Arians really then received after all? Pray tell me who
they were.
O. [4126] Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, [4127] Theognis, bishop of
Nicæa, Saras, at the time presbyter of Libya, [4128] Eusebius, bishop
of Cæsarea in Palestine, and others whom it would be tedious to
enumerate; Arius also, the presbyter, the original source of all the
trouble; Euzoius the deacon, [4129] who succeeded Eudoxius as bishop of
Antioch, and Achillas, the reader. These three who were clerics of the
Church of Alexandria were the originators of the heresy.
L. Suppose a person were to deny that they were welcomed back, how is
he to be refuted?
O. There are men still living who took part in that Council. And if
that is not enough, because owing to the time that has elapsed they are
but few, and it is impossible for witnesses to be everywhere, if we
read the acts and names of the bishops of the Council of Nicæa, we find
that those who we saw just now were welcomed back, did subscribe the
homoousion along with the rest.
L. Will you point out how, after the Council of Nicæa, they relapsed
into their unfaithfulness?
O. A good suggestion, for unbelievers are in the habit of shutting
their eyes and denying that things which they dislike ever happened.
But how could they afterwards do anything but relapse, when it was
owing to them that the Council was convened, and their letters and
impious treatises which were published before the Council, remain even
to the present day? Seeing, therefore, that at that time three hundred
bishops or more welcomed a few men whom they might have rejected
without injury to the Church, I am surprised that certain persons, who
are certainly upholders of the faith of Nicæa, are so harsh as to think
that [4130] three Confessors returning from exile were not bound in the
interests of the world's salvation to do what so many illustrious men
did of their own accord. But, to go back to our starting point, on the
return of the Confessors it was determined, in a synod afterwards
[4131] held at Alexandria, that, the authors of the heresy excepted
(who could not be excused on the ground of error), penitents should be
admitted to communion with the Church: not that they who had been
heretics could be bishops, but because it was clear that those who were
received had not been heretics. The West assented to this decision, and
it was through this conclusion, which the necessities of the times
demanded, that the world was snatched from the jaws of Satan. I have
reached a very difficult subject, where I am compelled against my
wishes and my purpose, to think somewhat otherwise of that saintly man
Lucifer than his merits demand, and my own courtesy requires. But what
am I to do? Truth opens my mouth and urges my reluctant tongue to utter
the thoughts of my heart. At such a crisis of the Church, when the
wolves were wildly raging, he separated off a few sheep and abandoned
the remnant of the flock. He himself was a good shepherd, but he was
leaving a vast spoil to the beasts of prey. I take no notice of reports
originating with certain evil speakers, though maintained by them to be
authenticated facts; such as that he acted thus through the love of
glory, and the desire of handing down his name to posterity; or again
that he was influenced by the grudge he bore against Eusebius on
account of the [4132] quarrel at Antioch. I believe none of these
reports in the case of such a man; and this I will constantly affirm
even now--that the difference between us and him is one of words, not
of things, if he really does receive those who have been baptized by
the Arians.
21. L. The account I used before to hear given of these things was
widely different, and, as I now think, better calculated to promote
error than hope. But I thank Christ my God for pouring into my heart
the light of truth, that I might no longer profanely call the Church,
which is His Virgin, the harlot of the devil. There is one other point
I should like you to explain. What are we to say about [4133] Hilary
who does not receive even those who have been baptized by the Arians?
O. Since Hilary when he left the Church was only a deacon, and since
the Church is to him, though to him alone, a mere worldly multitude, he
can neither duly celebrate the Eucharist, for he has no bishops or
priests, nor can he give baptism without the Eucharist. And since the
man is now dead, inasmuch as he was a deacon and could ordain no one to
follow him, his sect died with him. For there is no such thing as a
Church without bishops. But passing over a few very insignificant
persons who are in their own esteem both laymen and bishops, let me
point out to you what views we should hold respecting the Church at
large.
L. You have settled a great question in three words, as the saying is,
and indeed while you speak, I feel that I am on your side. But when you
stop, some old misgivings arise as to why we receive those who have
been baptized by heretics.
O. That is just what I had in mind when I said I would point out what
views we ought to hold concerning the Church at large. For many are
exercised by the misgivings you speak of. I shall perhaps be tedious in
my explanation, but it is worth while if the truth gains.
22. Noah's ark was a type of the Church, as the Apostle Peter says--
[4134] "In Noah's ark few, that is, eight souls, were saved through
water: which also after a true likeness doth now save us, even
baptism." As in the ark there were all kinds of animals, so also in the
Church there are men of all races and characters. As in the one there
was the leopard with the kids, the wolf with the lambs, so in the other
there are found the righteous and sinners, that is, [4135] vessels of
gold and silver with those of wood and of earth. The ark had its rooms:
the Church has many mansions. Eight souls were saved in Noah's ark. And
[4136] Ecclesiastes bids us "give a portion to seven yea, even unto
eight," that is to believe both Testaments. This is why some psalms
bear the inscription [4137] for the octave, and why the one hundred and
nineteenth psalm is divided into portions of eight verses each
beginning with its own letter for the instruction of the righteous. The
beatitudes which our Lord spoke to his disciples on the mountain,
thereby delineating the Church, are eight. And Ezekiel for the building
of the temple employs the number eight. And you will find many other
things expressed in the same way in the Scriptures. The raven also is
sent forth from the ark but does not return, and afterwards the dove
announces peace to the earth. So also in the Church's baptism, that
most unclean bird the devil is expelled, and the dove of the Holy
Spirit announces peace to our earth. The construction of the ark was
such that it began with being thirty cubits broad and gradually
narrowed to one. Similarly the Church, consisting of many grades, ends
in deacons, presbyters, and bishops. The ark was in peril in the flood,
the Church is in peril in the world. When Noah left the ark he planted
a vineyard, drank thereof, and was drunken. Christ also, born in the
flesh, planted the Church and suffered. The elder son made sport of his
father's nakedness, the younger covered it: and the Jews mocked God
crucified, the Gentiles honoured Him. The daylight would fail me if I
were to explain all the mysteries of the ark and compare them with the
Church. Who are the eagles amongst us? Who the doves and lions, who the
stags, who the worms and serpents? So far as our subject requires I
will briefly show you. It is not the sheep only who abide in the
Church, nor do clean birds only fly to and fro there; but amid the
grain other seed is sown, [4138] "amidst the neat corn-fields burrs and
caltrops and barren oats lord it in the land." What is the husbandman
to do? Root up the darnel? In that case the whole harvest is destroyed
along with it. Every day the farmer diligently drives the birds away
with strange noises, or frightens them with scarecrows: here he cracks
a whip, there he spreads out some other object to terrify them.
Nevertheless he suffers from the raids of nimble roes or the wantonness
of the wild asses; here the mice convey the corn to their garners
underground, there the ants crowd thickly in and ravage the corn-field.
Thus the case stands. No one who has land is free from care. [4139]
While the householder slept the enemy sowed tares among the wheat, and
when the servants proposed to go and root them up the master forbade
them, reserving for himself the separation of the chaff and the grain.
[4140] There are vessels of wrath and of mercy which the Apostle speaks
of in the house of God. The day then will come when the storehouses of
the Church shall be opened and the Lord will bring forth the vessels of
wrath; and, as they depart, the saints will say, [4141] "They went out
from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us." No one can take to himself the
prerogative of Christ, no one before the day of judgment can pass
judgment upon men. If the Church is already cleansed, what shall we
reserve for the Lord? [4142] "There is a way which seemeth right unto a
man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." When our judgment is
so prone to error, upon whose opinion can we rely?
23. Cyprian of blessed memory tried to avoid broken cisterns and not to
drink of strange waters: and therefore, rejecting heretical baptism, he
summoned his [4143] African synod in opposition to Stephen, [4144] who
was the blessed Peter's twenty-second successor in the see of Rome.
They met to discuss this matter; but the attempt failed. At last those
very bishops who had together with him determined that heretics must be
re-baptized, reverted to the old custom and published a fresh decree.
Do you ask what course we must pursue? What we do our forefathers
handed down to us as their forefathers to them. But why speak of later
times? When the blood of Christ was but lately shed and the apostles
were still in Judæa, the Lord's body was asserted to be a phantom; the
Galatians had been led away to the observance of the law, and the
Apostle was a second time in travail with them; the Corinthians did not
believe the resurrection of the flesh, and he endeavoured by many
arguments to bring them back to the right path. Then came [4145] Simon
Magus and his disciple Menander. They asserted themselves to be [4146]
powers of God. Then [4147] Basilides invented the most high god Abraxas
and the three hundred and sixty-five manifestations of him. Then [4148]
Nicolas, one of the seven Deacons, and one whose lechery knew no rest
by night or day, indulged in his filthy dreams. I say nothing of the
Jewish heretics who before the coming of Christ destroyed the law
delivered to them: of [4149] Dositheus, the leader of the Samaritans
who rejected the prophets: of the Sadducees who sprang from his root
and denied even the resurrection of the flesh: of the Pharisees who
separated themselves from the Jews [4150] on account of certain
superfluous observances, and took their name from the fact of their
dissent: of the Herodians who accepted Herod as the Christ. I come to
those heretics who have mangled the Gospels, [4151] Saturninus, and the
[4152] Ophites, [4153] the Cainites and [4154] Sethites, and [4155]
Carpocrates, and [4156] Cerinthus, and his successor [4157] Ebion, and
the other pests, the most of which broke out while the apostle John was
still alive, and yet we do not read that any of these men were
re-baptized.
24. As we have made mention of that distinguished saint, let us show
also from his Apocalypse that repentance unaccompanied by baptism ought
to be allowed valid in the case of heretics. It is imputed (Rev. ii. 4)
to the angel of Ephesus that he has forsaken his first love. In the
angel of the Church of Pergamum the eating of idol-sacrifices is
censured (Rev. ii. 14), and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans (ib. 15).
Likewise the angel of Thyatira is rebuked (ib. 20) on account of
Jezebel the prophetess, and the idol meats, and fornication. And yet
the Lord encourages all these to repent, and adds a threat, moreover,
of future punishment if they do not turn. Now he would not urge them to
repent unless he intended to grant pardon to the penitents. Is there
any indication of his having said, Let them be re-baptized who have
been baptized in the faith of the Nicolaitans? or let hands be laid
upon those of the people of Pergamum who at that time believed, having
held the doctrine of Balaam? Nay, rather, "Repent therefore," [4158] he
says, "or else I come to thee quickly, and I will make war against them
with the sword of my mouth."
25. If, however, those men who were ordained by Hilary, and who have
lately become sheep without a shepherd, are disposed to allege
Scripture in support of what the blessed Cyprian [4159] left in his
letters advocating the re-baptization of heretics, I beg them to
remember that he did not anathematize those who refused to follow him.
At all events, he remained in communion with such as opposed his views.
He was content with exhorting them, on account of [4160] Novatus and
the numerous other heretics then springing up, to receive no one who
did not condemn his previous error. In fact, he thus concludes the
discussion of the subject with Stephen, the Roman Pontiff: "These
things, dearest brother, I have brought to your knowledge on account of
our mutual respect and love unfeigned, believing, as I do, that from
the sincerity of your piety and your faith you will approve such things
as are alike consonant with piety and true in themselves. But I know
that some persons are unwilling to abandon views which they have once
entertained, and are averse to a change of purpose; they would rather,
without breaking the bond of peace and concord between colleagues,
adhere to their own plans, when once they have been adopted. This is a
matter in which we do not force anyone, or lay down a law for anyone;
let each follow his own free choice in the administration of the
Church: let each be ruler in his own sphere since he must give account
of his action to the Lord." In the letter also to Jubaianus on the
re-baptization of heretics, towards the end, he says this: "I have
written these few remarks, my dearest brother, to the best of my poor
ability, without dictating to anyone, or prejudicing the case of
anyone: I would not hinder a single bishop from doing what he thinks
right with the full exercise of his own judgment. So far as is
possible, we avoid disputes with colleagues and fellow-bishops about
the heretics, and maintain with them a divine harmony and the Lord's
peace, particularly since the Apostle says: [4161] But if any man seem
to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of
God.' With patience and gentleness we preserve charity at heart, the
honour of our order, the bond of faith, the harmony of the episcopate."
26. There is another argument which I shall adduce, and against that
not even Hilary, [4162] the modern Deucalion, will venture to mutter a
syllable. If heretics are not baptized and must be re-baptized because
they were not in the Church, Hilary himself also is not a Christian.
For he was baptized in that Church which always allowed heretical
baptism. Before the Synod of Ariminum was held, before Lucifer went
into exile, Hilary when a deacon of the Roman Church welcomed those who
came over from the heretics on account of the baptism which they had
previously received. It can hardly be that Arians are the only
heretics, and that we are to accept all but those whom they have
baptized. You were a deacon, Hilary (the Church may say), and received
those whom the Manichæans had baptized. You were a deacon, and
acknowledged Ebion's baptism. All at once after Arius arose you began
to be quite out of conceit with yourself. You and your household
separated from us, and opened a new laver of your own. If some angel or
apostle has re-baptized you, I will not disparage your procedure. But
since you who raise your sword against me are the son of my womb, and
nourished on the milk of my breasts, return to me what I gave you, and
be, if you can, a Christian in some other way. Suppose I am a harlot,
still I am your mother. You say, I do not keep the marriage bed
undefiled: still what I am now I was when you were conceived. If I
commit adultery with Arius, I did the same before with Praxias, with
Ebion, with Cerinthus, and Novatus. You think much of them and welcome
them, adulterers as they are, to your mother's home. I don't know why
one adulterer more than others should offend you.
27. But if anyone thinks it open to question whether heretics were
always welcomed by our ancestors, let him read the letters of the
blessed Cyprian in which he applies the lash to Stephen, bishop of
Rome, and his errors which had grown inveterate by usage. [4163] Let
him also read the pamphlets of Hilary on the re-baptization of heretics
which he published against us, and he will there find Hilary himself
confessing that [4164] Julius, Marcus, Sylvester, and the other bishops
of old alike welcomed all heretics to repentance; and, further, to shew
that he could not justly claim possession of the true custom; the
Council of Nicæa also, to which we referred not long ago, welcomed all
heretics with the exception of [4165] the disciples of Paul of
Samosata. And, what is more, it allows a Novatian bishop on conversion
to have the rank of presbyter, [4166] a decision which condemns both
Lucifer and Hilary, since the same person who is ordained is also
baptized.
28. I might spend the day in speaking to the same effect, and dry up
all the streams of argument with the single Sun of the Church. But as
we have already had a long discussion and the protracted controversy
has wearied out the attention of our audience, I will tell you my
opinion briefly and without reserve. We ought to remain in that Church
which was founded by the Apostles and continues to this day. If ever
you hear of any that are called Christians taking their name not from
the Lord Jesus Christ, but from some other, for instance, Marcionites,
Valentinians, Men of the mountain or the plain, [4167] you may be sure
that you have there not the Church of Christ, but the synagogue of
Antichrist. For the fact that they took their rise after the foundation
of the Church is proof that they are those whose coming the Apostle
foretold. And let them not flatter themselves if they think they have
Scripture authority for their assertions, since the devil himself
quoted Scripture, and the essence of the Scriptures is not the letter,
but the meaning. Otherwise, if we follow the letter, we too can concoct
a new dogma and assert that such persons as wear shoes and have two
coats must not be received into the Church.
L. You must not suppose that victory rests with you only. We are both
conquerors, and each of us carries off the palm,--you are victorious
over me, and I over my error. May I always when I argue be so fortunate
as to exchange wrong opinions for better ones. I must, however, make a
confession, because I best know the character of my party, and own that
they are more easily conquered than convinced.
[4049] The Sardinian cloak of skins is contrasted by Cicero (pro
Scauro) with the Royal purple:--Quem purpura regalis non commovit, eum
Sardorum mastruca mutavit. Jerome's meaning is that Christ came not to
win the lowest place on earth, but the highest. The fact that Lucifer
was Bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia gives point to the saying.
[4050] That is, of Jupiter, whose temple was in the Capitol.
[4051] Ps. lvii. 6.
[4052] Sacerdotium.
[4053] Apoc. i. 6.
[4054] 1 Pet. ii. 9.
[4055] That is diocese. The word diocese was in early times the larger
expression, and contained many provinces. See Canon II of
Constantinople, Bright's edition, and note.
[4056] Matt. v. 13.
[4057] Lev. ix. 7.
[4058] Tit. i. 7.
[4059] 1 Cor. xi. 28.
[4060] Matt. vii. 6.
[4061] Numb. xvi. 26.
[4062] Hos. ix. 4.
[4063] Matt. vii. 22.
[4064] Matt. v. 15.
[4065] Matt. vi. 23-24.
[4066] Matt. vi. 23-24.
[4067] 2 Cor. vi. 14, 15.
[4068] Levit. xxi. 17.
[4069] Quoted apparently from memory as giving the general sense of
passages in Lev. xxi, xxii.
[4070] Quoted apparently from memory as giving the general sense of
passages in Lev. xxi, xxii.
[4071] Gen. i. 2.
[4072] John v. 2 sq.
[4073] xix. 2.
[4074] Is. xi. 3; Matt. iii. 3.
[4075] John i. 29.
[4076] Luke i. 43.
[4077] Acts ix. 17.
[4078] Matt. xi. 11.
[4079] Matt. xi. 10.
[4080] We venture to read decebat' instead of dicebat.' Otherwise, we
may render Thus (the Scripture) said that,' etc.
[4081] Mark i. 4.
[4082] Mark i. 5.
[4083] John iii. 31.
[4084] Matt. iii. 11.
[4085] John iii. 30.
[4086] Acts xix. 1, sqq.
[4087] Triple immersion, that is, thrice dipping the head while
standing in the water, was the all but universal rule of the Church in
early times. There is proof of its existence in Africa, Palestine,
Egypt, at Antioch and Constantinople, in Cappadocia and Rome. See
Basil, On the H. Sp. § 66, and Apostolical Canons. Gregory the Great
ruled that either form was allowable, the one symbolizing the Unity of
the Godhead, the other the Trinity of Persons.
[4088] This ceremony together with the kiss of peace and white robes
probably dated from very early times. In the fourth century some new
ceremonies were introduced, such as the use of lights and salt, the
unction with oil before baptism in addition to that with chrism which
continued to be administered after baptism.
[4089] At Holy Communion the first prayer of the faithful was said by
all kneeling. During the rest of the liturgy all stood. At other times
of service the rule was for all to kneel in prayer except on Sundays
and between Easter and Whitsuntide.
[4090] The Arians said He was the creature (made out of nothing)
through whom the Father gave being to all other creatures.
[4091] The Macedonians, who became nearly co-extensive with the
Semi-Arians about 360, held that the Spirit not being very' God must be
a creature and therefore a Servant of God.
[4092] Sacerdotium--often used by Jerome in a special sense for the
Episcopate. He says of Pammachius and of himself (Letter xlv., 3) that
many people thought them digni sacerdotio, meaning the Bishopric of
Rome.
[4093] Acts viii. 26 sq.
[4094] "The philosophical relations of Arianism have been differently
stated. Baur, Newman (The Arians, p. 17), and others, bring it into
connection with Aristotle, and Athanasianism with Plato; Petavius,
Ritter, and Voigt, on the contrary, derive the Arian idea of God from
Platonism and Neo-Platonism. The empirical, rational, logical tendency
of Arianism is certainly more Aristotelian than Platonic, and so far
Baur and Newman are right; but all depends on making either revelation
and faith, or philosophy and reason, the starting point and ruling
power of theology." Doctor Schaff in Dict. of Chris. Biog.
[4095] Baptism was at this time, as a rule, administered by the bishop
alone.
[4096] This was, approximately, the Patripassian form of the heresy,
according to which the person of the Father who is one with the Son,
was incarnate in Christ, and the Father might then be said to have died
upon the cross. The personality of the Holy Ghost appears to have been
denied. With varying shades of opinion and modes of expression the
doctrine was expounded by Praxeas (circ. a.d. 200), Noetius (a.d. 220),
Sabellius (a.d. 225), Beryllus and Paul of Samosata (circ. a.d. 250).
[4097] That is the followers of Lucifer, whose see was in Sardinia.
[4098] Ps. xii. 1. The Luciferians believed that few or none outside
their own sect could be saved.
[4099] Ps. xxx. 9.
[4100] Mark iii. 27.
[4101] Ps. ii. 8.
[4102] Ps. xviii. 15.
[4103] Lit. In the sun hath he placed his tabernacle, and there is none
who can hide himself from the heat thereof. Ps. xix. 6.
[4104] Ps. ix. 6. Sept. Vulg. Syr.
[4105] The allusion is doubtful. It probably refers to some province of
Spain (perhaps that of the Ibera or Ebro), in which the views of
Lucifer prevailed and which his followers considered almost the sole
land of the faithful. The expression, however, is used in a more
general sense by Jerome, Letter VI.
[4106] Luke xviii. 8.
[4107] Matt. ix. 22.
[4108] Matt. viii. 10.
[4109] Matt. viii. 26.
[4110] Matt. xvii. 20.
[4111] Matt. ix. 21.
[4112] Matt. ix. 29.
[4113] For an account of the "Dated Creed" here referred to, and of the
Councils of Seleucia and Ariminum, a.d. 359, see Bright's History of
the Church, a.d. 313-451, fourth edition, pp. 93-100.
[4114] Principium, the equivalent of the Greek 'Arche, which means
beginning, or principle, or power.
[4115] These two propositions constituted the essence of the teaching
of Arius.
[4116] Usia (ousia) is defined by Cyril of Alexandria as that which has
existence in itself, independent of everything else to constitute it. A
discussion of both it and its companion term hypostasis may be found in
Newman's Arians, Appendix p. 432. Around ousia, or some compound of the
word, the great Arian controversy always raged. In asserting that the
son was homoousios with the Father, i.e., consubstantial or
co-essential, the Church affirmed the Godhead of the Son. But the
formula experienced varying fortunes. It was disowned as savouring of
heterodoxy by the Council of Antioch (264-269) which was held to decide
upon the views of Paulus: was imposed at Nicæa (325): considered
inexpedient by the great body of the episcopate in the next generation:
was most cautiously put forward by Athanasius himself (see Stanley's
Hist. of Eastern Church, 1883, p. 240): does not occur in the
catecheses of S. Cyril of Jerusalem (347): was momentarily abandoned by
400 bishops at Ariminum who were "tricked and worried" into the act.
"They had not," says Newman, "yet got it deeply fixed in their minds as
a sort of first principle, that to abandon the formula was to betray
the faith."
[4117] The distinguishing principle of the doctrine of Acacius was
adherence to Scriptural phraseology. See Bright's Hist., p. 69.
[4118] The teaching of Ætius and Eunomius, the Anomoeans, who were the
extremists of the Arians. See Robertson's Hist. of Chris. Ch., fourth
edition, pp. 236-237, etc. The other tenets anathematized are Arian or
Semi-Arian.
[4119] Bishop of Singedunum (Belgrade). "He and Valens, bishop of Mursa
(in Pannonia) appear at every Synod and Council from 330 till about
370, as leaders of the Arian party, both in the East and West...They
are described by Athanasius as the disciples of Arius." Dict. of Chris.
Biog.
[4120] Constantius.
[4121] Julian.
[4122] In August 362, "All Egypt seemed to assemble in the city
(Alexandria), which blazed with lights and rang with acclamations; the
air was fragrant with incense burnt in token of joy; men formed a choir
to precede the Archbishop; to hear his voice, to catch a glimpse of his
face, even to see his shadow, was deemed happiness." Bright, p. 115.
[4123] Bishop of Poictiers (a.d. 350). Died a.d. 368.
[4124] Bishop of Vercellae in N. Italy. Died about a.d. 370. Both he
and Hilary had been sent into exile by Constantius for their opposition
to Arianism.
[4125] That is, the creed of Ariminum.
[4126] Said to have been the "most prominent and most distinguished man
of the entire movement." Athanasius suggested that he was the teacher
rather than the disciple of Arius. He died a.d. 342.
[4127] Regarded as one of the chief opponents of Athanasius. He and
others it is said saved themselves from exile by secretly substituting
omoiousios for homoousios in the sentence of the Council.
[4128] Born probably, about a.d. 260. He was made bishop of Cæsarea
about 313 and lived to be eighty. At the time of the Council he was the
most learned man and most famous living writer. He had great influence
with Constantine, and was among the most moderate Arians.
[4129] Eudoxius was deposed from the bishopric of Antioch by the
Council of Seleucia, a.d. 359; but the immediate predecessor of Euzoius
was Meletius, deposed a.d. 361. Baronius describes him as the worst of
all the Arians. Euzoius had been the companion and intimate friend of
Arius from an early age. Athanasius (Hist. Arian. p. 858) calls him the
"Canaanite."
[4130] Saints Athanasius, Hilary of Poictiers, and Eusebius of
Vercellae.
[4131] a.d. 328, when Athanasius was consecrated bishop.
[4132] See introduction.
[4133] This Hilary was a deacon of Rome, sent by Liberius the bishop
with Lucifer and Pancratius to the Emperor Constantius. He joined the
Luciferians, and wrote in their interest on the re-baptism of heretics.
He appears, however, to have been reconciled before his death.
[4134] 1 Pet. iii. 20.
[4135] 2 Tim. ii. 20.
[4136] Ecc. xi. 2.
[4137] Vulg. for l ssygyt Psa. vi. xii. and 1 Chron. xv. 21. The
meaning is probably "in a lower octave," or, "in the bass." According
to others, an air, or key in which the psalm was to be sung, or a
musical instrument with eight strings.
[4138] Virg, Georg. i. 154.
[4139] S. Matt. xiii. 24 sq.
[4140] Rom. ix. 22, 23; 2 Tim. ii. 20, 21.
[4141] 1 John ii. 19.
[4142] Prov. xiv. 12.
[4143] Stephen was willing to admit all heretical baptism, even that by
Marcionites and Ophites; Cyprian would admit none. The Council was held
at Carthage a.d. 255, and was followed by two in the next year.
[4144] Bishop of Rome from May 12, a.d. 254, to Aug. 2, a.d. 257. See
note on ch. 25.
[4145] The words of 1 John iv. 3 would appear to support Jerome's
remark.
[4146] Acts viii. 10. In the Clementine Homilies and Recognitions Simon
is the constant opponent of St. Peter.
[4147] Commonly regarded as the chief among the Egyptian Gnostics. The
Basilidian system is described by Irenaeus (101f).
[4148] Acts vi. 5, Rev. ii. 6, 15. As to how far Jerome's estimate of
the character of Nicolas is correct, the article Nicolas in Smith's
Dict. of Bible may be consulted.
[4149] Jerome here reproduces almost exactly the remark of
Pseudo-Tertullian. The Dositheans were probably a Jewish or Samaritan
ascetic sect, something akin to the Essenes.
[4150] The name Pharisee implies separation, but in the sense of
dedication to God.
[4151] Of Antioch. One of the earliest of the Gnostics (second
century).
[4152] The Ophites, whose name is derived from ophis, a serpent, were a
sect which lasted from the second century to the sixth. Some of them
believed that the serpent of Gen. iii. was either the Divine Wisdom, or
the Christ himself, come to enlighten mankind. Their errors may in
great measure, like those of the Cainites, be traced to the belief,
common to all systems of Gnosticism, that the Creator of the world, who
was the God of the Jews, was not the same as the Supreme Being, but was
in antagonism to Him. They supposed that the Scriptures were written in
the interest of the Demiurge or Creator, and that a false colouring
being given to the story, the real worthies were those who are
reprobated in the sacred writings.
[4153] The Cainites regarded as saints, Cain, Korah, Dathan, the
Sodomites, and even the traitor Judas.
[4154] The Sethites are said to have looked upon Seth as the same
person as Christ.
[4155] Carpocrates, another Gnostic, held that our Lord was the son of
Joseph and Mary, and was distinguished from other men by nothing except
moral superiority. He also taught the indifference of actions in
themselves, and maintained that they take their quality from opinion or
from legislation; he advocated community of goods and of wives, basing
his views on the doctrine of natural rights. See Mosheim, Cent. ii.
[4156] Cerinthus was a native of Judæa, and after having studied at
Alexandria established himself as a teacher in his own country. He
afterwards removed to Ephesus, and there became prominent. He held that
Jesus and the Christ were not the same person; Jesus was, he said, a
real man, the son of Joseph and Mary; the Christ was an emanation which
descended upon Jesus at his baptism to reveal the Most High, but which
forsook him before the Passion. S. John in his Gospel and Epistles
combats this error. See Westcott's Introduction to 1 John, p. xxxiv.
(second ed.) etc. Cerinthus is said to have been the heretic with whom
S. John refused to be under the same roof at the bath. To him as author
is also referred the doctrine of the Millennium.
[4157] The Ebionites were mere humanitarians. Whether Ebion ever
existed, or whether the sect took its name from the beggarliness of
their doctrine, or their vow of poverty, or the poorness of spirit
which they professed, is disputed.
[4158] Rev. ii. 16.
[4159] Cyprian's opinion as stated in his reply to the Numidian and
Mauritanian bishops (Ep. 71) was that converts must be baptized, unless
they had received the regular baptism of the Church before falling into
heresy or schism, in which case imposition of hands would suffice. The
question was afterwards decided against Cyprian's views by the Council
of Arles (a.d. 314), which ordered that if the baptism had been
administered in the name of the Trinity, converts should be admitted to
the Church by imposition of hands.
[4160] For Novatus and an account of the dispute between Cyprian and
Stephen, see Robertson's "Hist. of Christian Church," fourth ed., vol.
i. pp. 120-127.
[4161] 1 Cor. xi. 16.
[4162] As Deucalion was left alone after the flood, so, Jerome implies,
Hilary imagined himself the sole survivor after the flood of Arianism.
[4163] The advocates on each side could plead immemorial local usage.
If imposition of hands was the rule at Rome, synods held at Iconium and
at Synnada had established the rule of re-baptism nearly throughout
Asia Minor. In Africa the same practice had been sanctioned early in
the third century, but it seems to have fallen into disuse long before
Cyprian's time.
[4164] Bishops of Rome--Julius 337-352; Mark Jan. 18-Oct. 7, 336;
Sylvester 314-335.
[4165] Canon 19.
[4166] Canon 8. The bishop might give him the nominal honour of a
bishop.
[4167] By the "men of the mountain or the plain," Jerome appears to
contemptuously designate the Circumcellions who were an extreme section
of the Donatists. They roamed about the country in bands of both sexes,
and struck terror into the peaceable inhabitants. They were guilty of
the grossest excesses, and no Catholic was safe except in the towns.
Robertson's "Hist. of the Church," vol. i. fourth ed. pp. 200, 419, and
the original authorities there referred to.
