GENNADIUS -- LIST OF THE AUTHORS WHOM GENNADIUS ADDED, AFTER THE DEATH OF THE BLESSED JEROME
1.James; surnamed the Wise. 50..Eutropius the presbyter.
51.Another Evagrius.
2.Julius, bishop of Rome.
3.Paulonas the presbyter. 53..Vigilius the deacon.
4.Vitellius the African. 53.Atticus the holy bishop.
5.Macrobius the presbyter. 54.Nestorius the heresiarch.
6.Heliodorus the presbyter. 55.Caelestinus the bishop.
7.Pachomius the presbyter-monk. 56.Theodorus the bishop.
8.Theodorus, his successor. 57.Fastidius the bishop.
9.Oresiesis the monk. 58..Cyrillus the bishop.
10.Macarius the monk. 59.Timotheus the bishop.
11.Evagrius the monk. 60.Leporius the presbyter.
12.Theodorus the presbyter. 61.Victorinus the rhetorician.
13.Prudentius. 62.Cassianus the deacon.
14.Audentius the bishop. 63.Philippus the presbyter.
15.Commodianus. 64.Eucherius the bishop.
16.Faustinus the presbyter. 65.Vincentius the Gaul.
1 7.Rufinus the presbyter. 66.Syagrius.
18.Tichonius the African. 67.Isaac the presbyter.
19.Severus the presbyter. 68.Salvianus the presbyter.
20.Antiochus the bishop. 69.Paulinus the bishop.
21.Severianus the bishop. 70.Hilarius the bishop.
22.Nicaeas the bishop. 71.Leo the bishop.
23.Olympius the bishop. 72.Mochimus the presbyter.
24.Bachiarius. 73.Timotheus the bishop.
25.Sabbatius the bishop. 74.Asclepius the bishop.
26.Isaac. 75.Peter the presbyter,
27.Ursinus. 76.Paul the presbyter.
Pastor the bishop.
28.Another Macarius. 77.Victor the bishop.
29.Heliodorus the presbyter.
30.John, bishop of Constantinople. 79.Voconius the bishop.
31.John, another bishop. 80.Musaeus the presbyter.
32.Paulus the bishop. 81.Vincentius the presbyter.
33.Helvidius. 82.Cyrus the monk.
34.Theophilus the bishop. 83.Samuel the presbyter.
35.Eusebius the bishop. 84.Claudianus the presbyter.
36.Vigilantius the presbyter. 85.Prosper.
37.Simplicianus the bishop. 86.Faustus the bishop.
38.Vigilius the bishop. 87.Servus Dei the bishop.
39.Augustine the bishop. 88.Victorius.
40.Orosius the presbyter. 89.Theodoritus the bishop.
41.Maximus the bishop. 90.Gennadius the bishop.
42.Petronius the bishop. 91.Theodulus the presbyter.
43.Pelagius the heresiarch. 92.John the presbyter.
44.Innocentius the bishop. 93.Sidonius the bishop.
45.Caelestius, follower of Pelagius. 94.Gelasius the bishop.
46.Julianus the bishop. 95.Honoratus the bishop.
47.Lucianus the presbyter. 96.Cerealis the bishop.
48.Avitus the presbyter. 97.Eugenius the bishop.
49.Paulinus the bishop. 98.Pomerius the bishop.
99.Gennadius.
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CHAPTER I.
JAMES, surnamed the Wise, was bishop of Nisibis the famous city of the
Persians and one of the confessors under Maximinus the persecutor. He was also
one of those who, in the Nicean council, by their opposition overthrew the
Arian perversity of the Homoousia. That the blessed Jerome mentions this man
in his Chronicle as a man of great virtues and yet does not place him in his
catalogue of writers, will be easily explained if we note that of the three or
four Syrians whom he mentions he says that he read them translated into the
Greek. From this it is evident that, at that period, be did not know the
Syriac language or literature and therefore he did not know a writer who had
not yet been translated into another language. All his writings are contained
in twenty-six books namely On faith, Against all heresies, On charity towards
all, On
fasting, On prayer, On particular affection towards our neighbor, On the
resurrec-
tion, On the life after death, On humility, On penitence, On satisfaction,
On virginity, On the worth of the soul, On circumcision, On the blessed
grapes, On the saying in Isaiah, "the grape cluster shall not be destroyed,"
That Christ is the son of God and consubstantial with the Father On chastity,
Against the Nations, On the construction of the tabernacle, On the
conversation of the nations, On the Persian kingdom, On the persecution of the
Christians. He composed also a Chronicle of little interest indeed to the
Greeks, but of great reliability in that it is constructed only on the
authority of the Divine Scriptures. It shuts the mouths of those who, on some
daring guess, idly philosophize concerning the advent of Antichrist, or of our
Lord. This man died in the time of Constantius and according to the direction
of his father Constantine was buried within the walls of Nisibis, for the
protection evidently of the city, and it turned out as Constantine had
expected. For many years after, Julian having entered Nisibis and grudging
either the glory of him who was buried there or the faith of Constantine,
whose family he persecuted on account of this envy, ordered the remains of the
saint to be carried out of the city, and a few months later, as a matter
succeeded Julian, gave over to the barbarians the city which, with the
adjoining territory, is subject unto the Persian rule until this day.
CHAPTER II.
Julius, bishop of Rome, wrote to one Dionysius a single epistle On the
incarnation of Our Lord, which at that time was regarded as useful against
those who asserted that, as by incarnation there were two persons in Christ,
so also there were two natures, but now this too is regarded as injurious for
it nourishes the Eutychian and Timothean heresies.
CHAPTER III.
Paulonas, the Presbyter, disciple of the blessed deacon Ephraim a man
of very energetic character and learned in the holy scriptures was
distinguished among the doctors of the church while his master was still
living and especially as an extempora-neous orator. After the death of his
master, overcome by love of reputation, separating himself from the church, he
wrote many things opposed to the faith. The blessed Ephraim when on the point
of death is reported to have said to him as he stood by his side--See to it,
Paulonas that you do not yield yourself to your own ideas, but when you shall
think that you understand God wholly, believe that you have not known,-for he
felt beforehand from the studies or the words of Paulonus, that he was
investigating new things, and was stretching out his mind to the illimitable,
whence also he frequently called him the new Bardesanes.
CHAPTER IV.
Vitellius the African, defending the Donatist schism wrote Why the
servants of God are hated by the world, in which, except in speaking of us as
persecutors, he published excellent doctrine. He wrote also Against the
nations and against us as tradi-tors of the Holy Scriptures in times of
persecution, and wrote much On ecclesiastical procedure. He was distinguished
during the reign of Constans son of the emperor Con-stantinus.
CHAPTER V.
Macrobius the Presbyter was likewise as I learned from the writings of
Optatus, afterwards secretly bishop of the Donatians in Rome. He wrote, having
been up to this
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time a presbyter in the church of God, a work To confessors and virgins, a
work of ethics indeed, but of Very necessary doctrine as well and fortified
with sentiments well fitted for the preservation of chastity. He was
distinguished first in our party in Africa and afterwards in his own, that is
among the Donatians or Montanists at Rome.
CHAPTER VI.
Heliodorus the Presbyter wrote a book entitled An introductory
treatise on the nature of things, in which he showed that the beginning of
things was one, that nothing was coaeval with God, that God was not the
creator of evil, but in such wise the creator of all good, that matter, which
is used for evil, was created by God after evil was discovered, and that
nothing material whatever can be regarded as established in any other way than
by God, and that there was no other creator than God, who, when by His
foreknowledge He knew that nature was to be changed, warned of punishment.
CHAPTER VII.
Pachomius the monk, a man endowed with apostolic grace both in
teaching and in performing miracles, and founder of the Egyptian monasteries,
wrote an Order of discipline suited to both classes of monks, which he
received by angelic dictation. He wrote letters also to the associated bishops
of his district, in an alphabet concealed by mystic sacraments so as to
surpass customary human knowledge and only manifest to those of special grace
or desert, that is To the Abbot Cornelius one, To the Abbot Syrus one, and one
To the heads of all monasteries exhorting that, gathered together to one very
ancient monastery which is called in the Egyptian language Bau, they should
celebrate the day of the Passover together as by everlasting law. He urged
likewise in another letter that on the day of remission, which is celebrated
in the month of August, the chief bishops should be gathered together to one
place, and wrote one other letter to the brethren who had been sent to work
outside the monasteries.
CHAPTER VIII.
Theodorus, successor to the grace and the headship of the above
mentioned Abbot Pachomius, addressed to other monasteries
letters written in the language of Holy Script-
ure, in which nevertheless he frequently men-
tions his master and teacher Pachomius and
sets forth his doctrine and life as examples.
This he had been taught he said by an Angel
that he himself might teach again. He
likewise exhorts them to remain by the pur-
pose of their heart and desire, and to restore
to harmony and unity those who, a dissen-
sion having arisen after the death of the Abbot,
had broken the unity by separating them-
selves from the community.Three horta-
tory epistles of his are extant.
CHAPTER IX.
Oresiesis the monk, the colleague of both Pachomius and Theodorus, a
man learned to perfection in Scripture, composed a book seasoned with
divine salt and formed of the essentials of all monastic discipline and to
speak moderately, in which almost the whole Old and New Testament is found set
forth in compact dissertations--all, at least, which relates to the special
needs of monks. This he gave to his brethren almost on the very day of his
death leaving, as it were, a legacy.
CHAPTER X.
Macarius, the Egyptian monk, distinguished for his miracles and
virtues, wrote one letter which was addressed to the younger men of his
profession. In this he taught them that he could serve God perfectly who,
knowing the condition of his creation, should devote himself to all labours,
and by wrestling against every thing which is agreeable in this life, and at
the same time imploring the aid of God would attain also to natural purity and
obtain continence, as a well merited gift of nature.
CHAPTER XI.
Evagrius the monk, the intimate disciple of the above mentioned
Macarius, educated in sacred and profane literature and distinguished,
whom the book which is called the Lives of the fathers mentions as a most
continent and erudite man, wrote many things of use to monks among which are
these: Suggestions against the eight principal sins. He was first to mention
or among the first at least to teach these setting against them eight books
taken from the testimony of the Holy Scriptures only, after the example of our
Lord, who always met
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his tempter with quotations from Scripture, so that every suggestion, whether
of the devil or of depraved nature had a testimony against it. This work I
have, under instructions, translated into Latin translating with the same
simplicity which I found in the Greek. He composed also a book of One hundred
sentiments for those living simply as anchorites, arranged by chapters, and
one of Fifty sentiments for the erudite and studious, which I first translated
into Latin. The former one, translated before, I restored, partly by
retranslating and partly by emendation, so as to represent the true meaning of
the author, because I saw that the translation was vitiated and confused
time. He composed also a doctrine of the common-life suited to Cenobites and
Syno-dites, and to the virgin consecrated to God, a little book suitable
to her religion and sex. He published also a few collections of opinions very
obscure and, as he himself says of them, only to be understood by the hearts
of monks, and these likewise I published in Latin. He lived to old age, mighty
in signs and miracles.
CHAPTER XII.
Theodorus, presbyter of the church at Antioch, a cautious investigator
and clever of tongue, wrote against the Apollinarians and Anomians On the
incarnation of the Lord, fifteen books containing as many as fifteen thousand
verses, in which he showed by the clearest reasoning and by the testimony of
Scripture that just as the Lord Jesus had a plenitude of deity, so he had a
plenitude of humanity. He taught also that man consists only of two
substances, soul and body and that sense and spirit are not different
substances, but inherent inborn faculties of the soul through which it is
inspired and has rationality and through which it makes the body capable of
feeling. Moreover the fourteenth book of this work treats wholly of the
uncreated and alone incorporeal and ruling nature of the holy Trinity and of
the rationality of animals which he explains in a devotional spirit, on the
authority of Holy Scriptures. In the fifteenth volume he confirms and
fortifies the whole body of his work by citing the traditions of the fathers.
CHAPTER XIII.
Prudentius, a man well versed in secu-
lar literature, composed a Trocheum of selected persons from the whole Old
and New Testament. He wrote a commentary also, after the fashion of the
Greeks, On the six days of creation from creation of the world until the
creation of the first man and his fall. He wrote also short books which are
entitled in the Greek, Apotheosis,
chomachia and Hamartigenia, that is On divinity, On spiritual conflict, On the
origin of sin. He wrote also In praise of martyrs, an invitation to martyrdom
in one book citing several as examples and another of Hymns, but specially
directed Against Symmachus who defended idolatry, from which we learn that
Palatinus was a soldier.
CHAPTER XIV.
Audentius, bishop of Spain, wrote a book against the Manicheans,
Sabellians and Arians and very particularly against the Photinians who are now
called Bonosiacians. This book he entitled On faith against heretics, and in
it he showed the Son to have been coeternal with the Father and that He did
not receive the beginning of his deity from God the Father, at the time when
conceived by the act of God, he was born of the Virgin Mary his mother in true
humanity.
CHAPTER XV.
Commodianus, while he was engaged in secular literature read also our
writings and, finding opportunity, accepted the faith. Having become a
Christian thus and wishing to offer the fruit of his studies to Christ the
author of his salvation, he wrote, in barely tolerable semi-versified
language, Against the pagans, and because he was very little acquainted with
our literature he was better able to overthrow their [doctrine] than to
establish ours. Whence also, contending against them concerning the divine
counterpromises, he discoursed in a sufficiently wretched and so to speak,
gross fashion, to their stupefaction and our despair. Following Tertullian,
Lactantius and Papias as authorities he adopted and incul-
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cated in his students good ethical principles and especially a voluntary love
of poverty.
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CHAPTER. XVI.
Faustinus the presbyter wrote to Queen Flaccilla seven books Against
the Arians
and Macedonians, arguing anti convicting them by the testimonies of the very
Scriptures which they used, in perverted meaning, for blasphemy. He wrote also
a book which, together with a certain presbyter named Mar-cellinus, he
addressed to the emperors Valen-tinianus; Theodosius anti Arcadius, in defence
of their fellow Christians. From this it appears that he acquiesced in the
Luciferian schism, in that in this same book he blames Hilary of Poitiers and
Damasus, bishop of Rome, for giving ill-advised counsel to the church,
advising that the apostate bishops should be received into communion for
the sake of restoring the peace. For it was as displeasing to the Luciferians
to receive the bishops who in the Ariminian council had communed with Arius,
as it was to the Nova- tians to receive the penitent apostates.
CHAPTER XVII.
Rufinus, presbyter of the church at
Aquileia, was not the least among the doc-
tots of the church and bad a fine talent for
elegant translation from Greek into Latin.
In this way he opened to the Latin speaking
church the greater part of the Greek liter-
ature; translating the works of Basil of
Caesarea in Cappadocia, Gregory Nazian-
zan, that most eloquent man, the Recog-
nitions of Clement of Rome, the Church
history of Eusebius of Caesarea in Palestine,
the Sentences of Xystus, the Sentences of
Evagrius and the work of Pamphilus Martyr
Against the mathematicians. Whatever
among all these which are read by the
Latins have prefatory matter, have been
translated by Rufinus, but those which are
without Prologue have been translated by
some one else who did not choose to write
a prologue. Not all of Origen, however,
is his work, for Jerome translated some
which are identified by his prologue. On
his own account, the same Rufinus, ever
through the grace of God published an Ex-
position of the Apostles creed so excellent
that other expositions are regarded as of no
account in comparison. He also wrote in a
threefold sense. that is, the historical, moral
and mystical sense, on Jacob's blessing on
the patriarchs. He wrote also many epistles
exhorting to fear of God, among which those
which he addressed to Proba are preeminent.
He added also a tenth and eleventh book to
I the ecclesiastical history which we have said
was written by Eusebius and translated by
him. Moreover be responded to a detractor
of his works, in two volumes, arguing and
proving that he exercised his talent with the
aid of the Lord and in the sight of God, for
the good of the church, while he, on the
other hand, incited by jealousy had taken to
polemics.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Tichonius, an African by nationality was, it is said, sufficiently
learned in sacred literature, not wholly unacquainted with secular literature
and zealous in ecclesiastical affairs. He wrote books On internal war and
Expositions of various causes in which for the defence of his friends, he
cites the ancient councils and from all of which he is recognized to have
been a Donatist. He composed also eight Rules for investigating and
ascertaining the meaning of the Scriptures, compressing them into one volume.
He also expounded the Apocalypse of John entire, regarding nothing in it in a
carnal sense, but all in a spiritual sense. In this exposition he maintained
the angelical nature to be corporeal, moreover he doubts that there will
be a reign of the righteous on earth for a thousand years after the
resurrection, or that there will be two resurrections of the dead in the
flesh, one of the righteous and the other of the unrighteous, but maintains
that there will be one simultaneous resurrection of all, at which shall arise
even the aborted and the deformed lest any living human being, however
deformed, should be lost. He makes such distinction to be sure, between the
two resurrections as to make the first, which he calls the apocalypse of the
righteous, only to take place in the growth of the church where, justified by
faith, they are raised from the dead bodies of their sins through baptism to
the service of eternal life. but the second, the general resurrection of all
men in the flesh. This man flourished at the same period with the above
mentioned Rufinus during the reign of Theodosius and his sons.
CHAPTER XIX.
Severus the presbyter, surnamed Sul-
390
pitius, of the province of Aquitania, a man distinguished by his birth, by his
excellent literary work, by his devotion to poverty and by his humility,
beloved also of the sainted men Martin bishop of Tours and Paulinus Nolanus,
wrote small books which are far from despicable. He wrote to his sister many
Letters exhorting to love of God and contempt of the world. These are well
known. He wrote two to the above mentioned Paulinus Nolanus and others to
others, but because, in some, faintly matters are included, they have not been
collected for publication. He composed also a Chronicle, and wrote also to the
profit of many, a Life of the holy Martin, monk and bishop, a man famous for
signs and wonders and virtues. He also wrote a Conference between
Postumianus and Gallus, in which he himself acted as mediator and judge of the
debate. The subject matter was the manner of life of the oriental monks and of
St. Martin--a sort of dialogue in two divisions. In the first of these he
mentions a decree of the bishops at the synod of Alexandria in his own time to
the effect that Origen is to be read, though cautiously, by those who are
wise, for the good that is in him, and is to be rejected by the less able on
account of the evil. In his old age, he was led astray by the Pelagians, and
recognizing the guilt of much speaking, kept silent until his death, in order
that by penitent silence he might atone for the sin which he had contracted by
speaking.
CHAPTER XX.
Antiochus the bishop, wrote one long a
volume Against avarice and he composed a homily, full of godly penitence
and humility On the healing of the blind man whose sight was restored by the
Saviour. He died during the reign of the emperor Arcadius.
CHAPTER XXI.
Severianus, bishop of the church of Gab-ala, was learned in the Holy
Scriptures and a wonderful preacher of homilies. On this account he was
frequently summoned by the bishop John and the emperor Arcadius to preach a
sermon at Constantinople. I have read his Exposition of the epistle to the
Galatians and a most attractive little work On baptism and the feast of
Epiphany. He died in the reign of Theodosius, his son by baptism.
CHAPTER XXII.
Niceas, (1 2) bishop of the city of Romatia, composed, in simple and clear
language, six books of Instruction for neophites. The first of these contains,
How candidates who seek to obtain grace of baptism ought to act, the second,
On the errors of relationship, in which he relates that not far from his own
time a certain Melodius, father of a family, on account of his liberality and
Garadius a peasant, on account of his bravery, were placed, by the
heathen, among the gods. A third book On faith in one sovereign, a fourth
Against genealogy, a fifth On the creed, a sixth On the sacrifice of the
pas-chal lamb. He addressed a work also To the fallen virgin, an incentive to
amendment for all who have fallen.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Olympius the bishop, a Spaniard by nationality, wrote a book of faith
against those who blame nature and not the will, showing that evil was
introduced into nature not by creation but by disobedience.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Bachiarius, a Christian philosopher, prompt and ready and minded to
devote his time to God, chose travel as a means of preserving the integrity of
his purpose. He is said to have published acceptable small works but I have
only read one of them, a work On faith, in which be justified himself to the
chief priest of the city, defending himself against those who complained and
misrepresented his travel, and asserting that he undertook his travel not
through fear of men but for the sake of God, that going forth from his land
and kindred he might become a co-heir with Abraham the patriarch.
CHAPTER XXV.
Sabbatius, bishop of the Gallican province, at the request of a
certain virgin, chaste and devoted to Christ, Secunda by name, composed a book
On faith against Marcion and Valentinus his teacher, also
391
against Eunomius and his Master Aetius, showing, both by reason and by
testimony of the Scriptures, that the origin of the deity is one, that the
Author of his eternity and the Creator of the earth out of nothing, are one
and the same, and likewise concerning Christ, that he did not appear as man in
a phantasm but had real flesh through which eating, drinking, weary and
weeping, suffering, dying, rising again he was demonstrated to be man indeed.
For Marcion and Valentinus had been opposed to these l opinions asserting that
the origin of Deity is twofold and that Christ came in a phantasm. To Aetius
indeed and Eunomius his disciple, he showed that the Father and Son are not of
two natures and equal in divinity but of one essence and the one from the
other, that is the Son from the Father, the one coeternal with the other,
which belief Aneetius and Eunomius opposed.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Isaac wrote On the Holy Trinity and a book On the incarnation of the
Lord, writing in a very obscure style of argument and involved language,
maintaining that three persons exist in one Deity, in such wise that any thing
may be peculiar to each which another does not have, that is to say, that the
Father has this peculiarity that He, himself without source, is the source of
others, that the Son has this peculiarity. that, begotten, He is not posterior
to the begetter, that the Holy Spirit has this peculiarity, that He is neither
made nor begotten but nevertheless is from another. Of the incarnation of the
Lord indeed, he writes that the person of the Son of God is believed to be
one, while yet there are two natures existing in him.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Ursinus the monk wrote against those who say that heretics should be
rebaptized, teaching that it is not legitimate nor honouring God, that
those should be rebaptized who have been baptized either in the name of Christ
alone or h@ the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
though the formula has been used in a vitiated sense. He considers that after
the simple confession of the Holy Trinity and of Christ, the imposition of the
hands of the catholic priest is sufficient for salvation.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Macarius another monk, wrote at Rome books Against the mathematicians,
in which labour he sought the comfort of oriental writings.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Heliodorus, presbyter of Antioch, published an excellent volume
gathered from Holy Scriptures On Virginity.
CHAPTER XXX.
[John bishop of Constantinople, a man of marvelous knowledge and in
sanctity of life, in every respect worthy of imitation, wrote many and very
useful works for all who are hastening to divine things. Among them are the
following On compunction of soul one book, That no one is injured except &
himself, an excellent volume In praise of the blessed Paul the apostle, On the
excesses and ill reputation of Eutropius a praetorian prefect and many others,
as I have said, which may be found by the industrious.]
CHAPTER XXXI.
Another John, bishop of Jerusalem, wrote a book against those who
disparaged his studies, in which he shows that he follows the genius of Origen
not his creed.
CHAPTER XXXII.
Paul the bishop wrote a short work On penitence in which he lays down this
law for penitents; that they ought to repent for their sins in such manner
that they be not beyond measure overwhelmed with despairing sadness.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Helvidius, a disciple of Auxentius and imitator of Symmachus, wrote,
indeed, with zeal for religion but not according to knowledge, a book,
polished neither in language nor in reasoning, a work in which he so attempted
to twist the meaning of the Holy Scriptures to his own perversity, as to
venture to assert on their testimony that Joseph and Mary, after the nativity
of our Lord, had children who were called brothers of the
392
Lord. In reply to his perverseness Jerome, published a book against him, well
filled with scripture proofs.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Theophilus, bishop of the church of Alexandria, wrote one great
volume Against Origen in which he condemns pretty nearly all his sayings and
himself likewise, at the same time saying that he was not original in his
views but derived them from the ancient fathers especially from Heraclas, that
he was deposed from the office of presbyter driven from the church and
compelled to fly from the city. He also wrote Against the Anthropomorphites,
heretics who say that God has the human form and members, confuting in a long
discussion and arguing by testimonies of Divine Scripture and convincing. He
shows that, according to the belief of the Fathers, God is to be thought of
as incorporal, not formed with any suggestion of members at all, and therefore
there is nothing like Him among created things in substance, nor has the
incorruptibility nor unchangeableness nor incorporeality of his nature been
given to any one but that all intellectual natures are corporeal, all
corruptible, all mutable, that He alone should not be subject to
corruptibility or changeableness, who alone has immortality and life. Likewise
the return of the paschal feast which the great council at Nicea had found
would take place after ninety years at the same time, the same month and day
adding some observations on the festival and explanations he gave to the
emperor Theodosius. I have read also three hooks On faith, which bear his name
but, as their language is not like his, I do not very much think they are by
him.
CHAPTER XXXV.
Eusebius wrote On the mystery of our Lord's cross and the faithfulness
of the apostles, and especially of Peter, gained by virtue of the cross.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Vigilantius, a citizen of Gaul, had the church of Barcelona. He wrote also
with some zeal for religion but, overcome by the desire for human praise and
presuming above his strength, being a man of polished language but not
practised in the meaning of
Scriptures, he expounded the vision of Daniel in a perverted sense and said
other frivolous things which are necessarily mentioned in a catalogue of
heretics. [To him also the blessed Jerome the presbyter responded.]
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Simplicianus, the bishop, exhorted Augustine then presbyter, in many
letters, that he should exercise his genius and take time for exposition of
the Scriptures that, as it were, a new Arabrosius, the task master of Origen
might appear. Wherefore also he sent to him many examinations of scriptures.
There is also an epistle of his of Questions in which he teaches by asking
questions as if wishing to learn.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Vigilius the bishop wrote to one Simplicianus a small book In praise of
martyrs and an epistle containing the acts of the martyrs in his time among
the barbarians.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Augustine, of Africa, bishop of Hipporegensis, a man renowned
throughout the world for learning both sacred and secular, unblemished in the
faith, pure in life, wrote works so many that they cannot all be gathered. For
who is there that can boast himself of having all his works, or who reads with
such diligence as to read all he has written? As an old man even, he
published fifteen books On the Trinity which he had begun as a young man. In
which, as scripture says, brought into the chamber of the king and adorned
with the manifold garment of the wisdom of God, he exhibited a church not
having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. In his work On the incarnation of
the Lord also he manifested a peculiar piety. On the resurrection of the dead
he wrote with equal sincerity, and left it to the less able to raise doubts
respecting abortions.
393
CHAPTER XL.
Orosius, a Spanish presbyter, a man most eloquent and learned in
history, wrote eight books against those enemies of the Christians who say
that the decay of the Roman State was caused by the Christian religion. In
these rehearsing the calamities and miseries and disturbances of wars, of
pretty much the whole world from the creation he shows that the Roman
Empire owed to the Christian religion its undeserved continuance and the state
of peace which it enjoyed for the worship of God.
In the first book he described the world situated within the ever flowing
stream of Oceanus and intersected by the Tanais, giving the situations of
places, the names, number and customs of nations, the characteristics of
various regions, the wars begun and the formation of empires sealed with the
blood of kinsmen.
This is the Orosius who, sent by Augustine to Hieronymus to teach the
nature of the soul, returning, was the first to bring to the West relics of
the blessed Stephen the first martyr then recently found. He flourished
almost at the end of the reign of the emperor Honorius.
CHAPTER XLI.
Maximus, bishop of the church at Turin, a man fairly industrious in the
study of the Holy Scripture, and good at teaching the people extemporaneously,
composed treatises In praise of the apostles and John the Baptist, and a
Homily on all the martyrs. Moreover he Wrote many acute comments on passages
from the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. He wrote also two treatises, On
the life of Saint Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli, and confessor, and On
Saint Cyprian, and published a monograph On the grace of baptism. I have read
his On avarice, On hospitality, On the eclipse of the moon, On almsgiving, On
the saying. in Isaiah, Your winedealers mix wine with water, On Our Lord's
Passion, A general treatise On fasting by the servants of God, On the
quadragesimal fast in particular, and That there should be no jesting on fast
day, On Judas, the betrayer, On Our Lord's cross, On His sepulchre, On His
resurrection, On the accusation and trial
of Our Lord before Pontius Pilate, On the Kalends of January, a homily On the
day of Our Lord's Nativity, also homilies On Epiphany, On the Passover, On
Pentecost, many also, On having no fear of carnal Foes, On giving thanks after
meat, On the repentance of the Ninivites, and other homilies of his,
published on various occasions, whose names I do not remember. He died in
the reign of Honorius and Theodosius the younger.
CHAPTER XLII.
Petronius, bishop of Bologna in Italy a man of holy life and from
his youth practised in monastic studies, is reputed to have written the Lives
of the Fathers, to wit of the Egyptian monks, a work which the monks accept
as the mirror and pat tern of their profession. I have read a treatise which
bears his name On the ordination of bishops, a work full of good reasoning and
notable for its humility, but whose polished style shows it not to have been
his, but perhaps, as some say, the work of his father Petronius, a man of
great eloquence and learned in secular literature. This I think is to be
accepted, for the author of the work describes himself as a praetorian
prefect. He died in the reign of Theodosius and Valentinianus.
CHAPTER XLIII.
Pelagius the heresiarch, before he was
proclaimed a heretic wrote works of practical value for students: three books
On belief in the Trinity, and one book of Selections from Holy Scriptures
bearing on the Christian life. This latter was preceded by tables of
contents, after the model of Saint Cyprian the martyr. After he was proclaimed
heretic, however, he wrote works bearing on his heresy.
CHAPTER XLIV.
Innocentius, bishop of Rome, wrote the decree which the Western
churches passed against the Pelagians and which his successor, Pope Zosimus,
afterwards widely promulgated.
CHAPTER XLV.
Caelestius, before he joined Pelagius, while yet a very young man,
wrote to his
394
parents three epistles On monastic life, written as short books, and
containing moral maxims suited to every one who is seeking God, containing no
trace of the fault which afterwards appeared but wholly devoted to the
encouragement of virtue.
CHAPTER XLVI.
Julianus the bishop, a man of vigorous character, learned in the Divine
Scriptures, and proficient both in Greek and Latin, was, before he disclosed
his participation in the ungodliness of Pelagius, distinguished among the
doctors of the church. But afterwards, trying to defend the Pelagian heresy,
he wrote four books, Against Augustine, the opponent of Pelagius, and then
again, eight books more. There is also a book containing a discussion, where
each defends his side.
This Julianus, in time of famine and want, attracting many through the
alms which he gave, and the glamour of virtue, which they cast around him,
associated them with him in his heresy. He died during the reign of
Valentinianus, the son of Constantius.
CHAPTER XLVII.
Lucianus the presbyter, a holy man to whom, at the time when Honorius
and Theodosius were Emperors, God revealed the place of the sepulchre and the
remains of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr, wrote out that revelation in Greek,
addressing it to all the churches.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
Avitus the presbyter, a Spaniard by race, translated the above
mentioned work of the presbyter Lucianus into Latin, and sent it with his
letter annexed, by the hand of Orosius the presbyter, to the Western churches.
CHAPTER XLIX.
Paulinus, bishop of Nola in Campania, composed many brief works in
verse, also a consolatory work to Celsus On the death of a christian and
baptized child, a sort of epitaph, well fortified with christian hope, also
many Letters to Severus, and A panegric in prose written before he became
bishop, On victory over tyrants which was addressed to Theadosius and
maintained that victory lay
rather in faith and prayer, than in arms. He wrote also a Sacramentary and
Hymnal.
He also addressed many letters to his sister, On contempt of the world,
and published treatises of different sorts, on various occasions.
The most notable of all his minor works.. are the works On repentance, and
A general panegyric of all the martyrs. He lived in the reign of Honorius and
Valentinianus, and was distinguished, not only for erudition and holiness
of life, but also for his ability to cast out demons.
CHAPTER L.
Eutropius, the presbyter, wrote to two sisters, handmaids of Christ,
who had been disinherited by their parents on account of their devotion to
chastity and their love for religion, two Consolatory letters in the form of
small books, written in polished and clear language and fortified not only by
argument, but also by testimonies from the Scriptures.
CHAPTER LI.
Another Evagrius wrote a Discussion between Simon the Jew and
Theophilus the Christian, a work which is very well known.
CHAPTER LII.
Vigilius the deacon. composed ant of the traditions of the fathers a
Rule for monks, which is accustomed to be read in the monastery for the profit
of the assembled monks. It is written in condensed and clear language and
covers the whole range of monastic duties.
CHAPTER LIII.
Atticus bishop of Constantinople, wrote to the princess daughters of
the Emperor Arcadius, On faith and virginity, a most excellent work, in which
he attacks by anticipation the Nestorian doctrine.
CHAPTER LIV.
Nestorius the heresiarch, was regarded, while presbyter of the
church at Antioch, as a remarkable extemporaneous teacher,(10) and
395
composed a great many treatises on various s Questions, into which already at
that time he infused that subtle evil, which afterwards became the poison
of acknowledged impiety, veiled meanwhile by moral exhortation. But
afterwards, when commended by his eloquence and abstemiousness he had been
made pontiff of the church at Constantinople, showing openly what he had for a
long while concealed, he became a declared enemy of the church, and wrote a
book On the incarnation of the Lord, formed of sixty-two passages from Divine
Scripture, used in a perverted meaning. What he maintained in this book may be
found in the catalogue of heretics.
CHAPTER LV.
Caelestinus, bishop of Rome, addressed a volume to the churches of the
East and West, giving an account of the decree of the synod against the above
mentioned Nestorius and maintaining that while there are two complete natures
in Christ, the person of the Son of God is to be regarded as single. The above
mentioned Nestorius was shown to be opposed to this view. Xystus likewise, the
successor of Caelestinus, wrote on the same subject and to the same Nestorius
and the Eastern bishops, giving the views of the Western bishops against his
error.
CHAPTER LVI.
Theodotus, bishop of Ancyra in Galatia, while at Ephesus, wrote
against Nestorius a work of defence and refutation, written, to be sure, in
dialectic style, but interwoven with passages from the Holy Scriptures. His
method was to make statements and then quote proof texts from the Scriptures.
CHAPTER LVII.
Fastidius, bishop in Britain, wrote to one Fatalis, a book On the
Christian life, and another On preserving the estate of virginity, a work
full of sound doctrine, and doing honour to God.
CHAPTER LVIII.
Cyril, bishop of the church at Alexandria, published various treatises
on various Questions, and also composed many homilies,
which are recommended for preaching by the Greek bishops. Other books of his
are; On the downfall of the synagogue, On faith against the heretics, and a
work directed especially against Nestorius and entitled, A Refutation, in
which all the J secrets of Nestorius are exposed and his published opinions
are refuted.
CHAPTER LIX.
Timotheus, the bishop composed a book On the nativity of Our Lord
according to the flesh, which is supposed to have been written at Epiphany.
CHAPTER LX.
Leporius, formerly monk afterwards presbyter, relying on purity,
through his own free will and unaided effort, instead of depending on the help
of God, began to follow the Pelagian doctrine. But having been admonished by
the Gallican doctors, and corrected by Augustine in Africa, he wrote a book
containing his retraction, in which he both acknowledges his error and returns
thanks for his correction. At the same time in correction of his false view of
the incarnation of Christ, he presented the Catholic view, acknowledging the
single person of the Son of God, and the two natures existing in Christ in his
substance.
CHAPTER LXI.
Victorus, a rhetorician of Marseilles, wrote to his son Etherius, a
commentary On Genesis, commenting, that is, from the beginning of the book to
the death of the patriarch Abraham, and published four books in verse,
words which have a savour of piety indeed, but, in that he was a man busied
with secular literature and quite untrained in the Divine Scriptures, they are
of slight weight, so far as ideas are concerned.
He died in the reign of Theodosius and Valentinianus.
CHAPTER LXII.
Cassianus, Scythian by race, ordained deacon by bishop John the Great,
at Constantinople, and a presbyter at Marseilles, rounded two monasteries,
that is to say one for men and one for women, which are still
396
standing. He wrote from experience, and in forcible language, or to speak more
clearly, with meaning back of his words, and action back of his talk. He
covered the whole field of practical directions, for monks of all sorts, in
the following works: On dress, also On the canon of prayers, and the Usage in
the saying of Psalms, (for these in the Egyptian monasteries, are said day and
night), three books. One of Institutes, eight books On the origin, nature and
remedies for the eight principal sins, a book on each sin. He also compiled
Conferences with the Egyptian fathers, as follows: On the aim of a monk and
his creed, On discretion, On three vocations to the service of God, On the
warfare of the flesh against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, On
the nature of all sins, On the slaughter of the saints, On fickleness of mind,
On principalities, On the nature of prayer, On the duration of prayer, On
perfection, On chastity, On the protection of God, On the knowledge of
spiritual things, On the Divine graces, On friendship, On whether to define or
not to define, On three ancient kinds of monks and a fourth recently arisen,
On the object of cenobites and hermits, On true satisfaction in repentance, On
the remission of the Quinquagesimal fast, On nocturnal illusions, On the
saying of the apostles, "For the good which I would do. I do not, but the evil
which l would not, that l do," On mortification, and finally at the request of
Leo the archdeacon, afterwards bishop of Rome, he wrote seven books against
Nestorius, On the incarnation of the Lord, and writing this, made an end, both
of writing and living, at Marseilles, in the reign of Theodosius and
Valentinianus.
CHAPTER LXIII.
Philip, the presbyter Jerome's best pupil, published a Commentary on
Job, written in an unaffected style, I have read his Familiar letters,
exceedingly witty, exhorting the endurance of poverty and sufferings. He died
in the reign of Martianus and Avitus.
CHAPTER LXIV.
Eucherius, bishop of the church at Lyons, wrote to his relative
Valerianus, On contempt for the world and worldly philosophy, a single letter,
written in a style which shows sound learning and reasoning. He wrote also to
his sons, Salonius and Veranius, afterward bishops, a discussion On certain
obscure passages of Holy Scriptures, and besides, revising and condensing
certain works of Saint Cassianus, he compressed them into one volume, and
wrote other works suited to ecclesiastical or monastic pursuits. He died in
the reign of Valentinianus and Martianus.
CHAPTER LXV.
Vincentius, the Gaul, presbyter in the Monastery on the Island of
Lerins, a man learned in the Holy Scriptures and very well informed in matters
of ecclesiastical doctrine, composed a powerful disputation, written in
tolerably finished and clear language, which, suppressing his name, he
entitled Peregrinus against heretics. The greater part of the second book of
this work having been stolen, he composed a brief reproduction of the
substance of the original work, and published in one [book]. He died in the
reign of Theodosius and Valentinianus.
CHAPTER LXVI.
Syagrius wrote On faith, against the presumptuous words, which heretics
assume for the purpose of destroying or superseding the names of the Holy
Trinity, for they say that the Father ought not to be called Father; lest the
name, Son should harmonize with that of Father, but that he should be called
the Unbegotten or the Imperishable and the Absolute, in order that whatever
may be distinct from Him in person, may also be separate in nature, showing
that the Father, who is unchangeable in nature may be called the Unbegotten,
though the Scripture may not call Him so, that the person of the Son is
begotten from Him, not made, and that the person of the Holy Spirit proceeds
from Him not begotten, and not made. Under the name of this Syagrius I found
seven books, entitled On Faith and the rules of Faith, but as they did not
agree in style, I did not believe they were written by him.
CHAPTER LXVII.
Isaac, presbyter of the church at Antioch, whose many works cover a
long period, wrote in Syriac especially against the Nestorians and Eutychians.
He lamented the downfall of Antioch in an elegiac poem, taking up the same
strain that Ephraim, the deacon, sounded on the downfall of Nicomedia. He died
during the reign of Leo and Majorianus.
397
CHAPTER LXVIII.
SALVIANUS, presbyter of Marseilles, well informed both in secular and
in sacred literature, and to speak without invidiousness, a master among
bishops, wrote many things in a scholastic and clear style, of which I have
read the following: four books On the Excellence of virginity, to Marcellus
the presbyter, three books Against avarice, five books On the present
judgment, and one book On punishment according to desert, addressed to
Salonius the bishop, also one book of Commentary on the latter part of the
book of Ecclesiastes, addressed to Claudius bishop of Vienne, one book of
Epistles. He also composed one book in verse after the Greek fashion, a
sort of Hexaemeron, covering the period from the beginning of Genesis to the
creation of man, also many Homilies delivered to the bishops, and I am sure I
do not know how many On the sacraments. He is still living at a good old age.
CHAPTER LXIX.
PAULINUS composed treatises On the beginning of the Quadragesimal, of
which I have read two, On the Passover Sabbath, On obedience, On penitence, On
neo-
phytes.
CHAPTER LXX.
HILARY, bishop of the church at Aries, a man learned in Holy
Scriptures, was devoted to poverty, and earnestly anxious to live in narrow
circumstances, not only in religiousness of mind, but also in labour of body.
To secure this estate of poverty, this man of noble race and very differently
brought up, engaged in farming, though it was beyond his strength, and yet did
not neglect spiritual matters. He was an acceptable teacher also, and without
regard to persons administered correction to all. He published some few
things, brief, but showing immortal genius, and indicating an erudite mind, as
well as capacity for vigorous speech; among these that work which is of so
great practical value to many, his Life Saint Honoratus, his predecessor. He
died during the reign of Valentinianus and Mar-tianus.
CHAPTER LXXI.
LEO, bishop of Rome, wrote a letter to Flavianus, bishop of the
church at Constantinople, against Eutyches the presbyter, who at that time, on
account of his ambition for the episcopate was trying to introduce novelties
into the church. In this he advises Flavianus, if Eutyches confesses his error
and promises amendment, to receive him, but if he should persist in the course
he had entered on, that he should be condemned together with his heresy. He
likewise teaches in this epistle and confirms by divine testimony that as the
Lord Jesus Christ is to be considered the true son of the Divine Father, so
likewise he is to be considered true man with human nature, that is, that he
derived a body of flesh from the flesh of the virgin and not as Eutyches
asserted, that be showed a body from heaven. He died in the reign of Leo
and Majorianus.
CHAPTER LXXII.
MOCHIMUS, the Mesopotamian, a presbyter at Antioch, wrote an excellent
book Against Eutyches, and is said to be writing others, which I have not yet
read.
CHAPTER LXXIII.
TIMOTHEUS, when Proterius had been put to death by the
Alexandrians, in response to popular clamour, willingly or unwillingly allowed
himself to be made bishop by a single bishop in the place of him who bad been
put to death. And lest he, having been illegally appointed, should be
deservedly deposed at the will of the people who had bated Pro-terius, he
pronounced all the bishops of his vicinity to be Nestorians, and boldly
presuming to wash out the stain on his conscience by hardihood, wrote a very
persuasive book to the Emperor Leo, which he attempted to fortify by
testimonies of the Fathers, used in a perverted sense, so far as to show, for
the sake of deceiving the emperor and establishing his heresy, that Leo of
Rome, pontiff of the city, and the synod of Chalcedon, and all the Western
bishops were fundamentally Nestorians. But by the grace of God, the enemy of
the church was refuted and overthrown at the Council of Chalcedon. He is said
to be living in exile, still an heresiarch,
398
and it is most likely so. This book of his for learning's sake, I translated
by request of the brethren into Latin and prefixed a caveat.
CHAPTER LXXIV.
ASCLEPIUS, the African, bishop of a large see within the borders
of Bagais, wrote against the Arians, and is said to be now writing against the
Donatists. He is famous for his extemporaneous teaching.
CHAPTER LXXV.
PETER, presbyter of the church at Edessa, a famous preacher, wrote
Treatises on various subjects, and Hymns after the manner of Saint Ephrem, the
deacon.
CHAPTER LXXVI.
PAUL the presbyter, a Pannonian by nationality, as I learned from his
own mouth wrote On preserving virginity, and contempt for the world, and the
Ordering of life or the correction of morals, written in a mediocre style, but
flavoured with divine salt. The two books were addressed to a certain noble
virgin devoted to Christ, Constantia by name, and in them he mentions Jovinian
the heretic and preacher of voluptuousness and lusts, who was so far removed
from leading a continent and chaste life, that he belched forth his life in
the midst of luxurious banquets.
CHAPTER LXXVII.
PASTOR the bishop composed a short work, written in the form of a
creed, and containing pretty much the whole round of Ecclesiastical doctrine
in sentences. In this, among other heresies which he anathematizes without
giving the names of their authors, he condemns the Priscillians and their
author.
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
VICTOR, bishop of Cartenna in Mauritania, wrote one long book against
the Arians, which he sent to king Genseric by his followers, as I learned from
the preface to the work, and a work On the repentance of the publican,
(10) in which he drew up a rule of life for the penitent, according to the
authority of Scriptures. He also wrote a consolatory work to one Basilius, On
tHe death of a son, filled with resurrection hope and good counsel. He also
composed many Homilies, which have been arranged as continuous works and are
as I know, made use of by brethren anxious for their own salvation.
CHAPTER LXXIX.
VOCONIUS, bishop of Castellanum in Mauritania, wrote Against the
enemies of the church, Jews, Arians, and other heretics. He composed also an
excellent work On the Sacraments.
CHAPTER LXXX.
MUSAEUS, presbyter of the church at Marseilles, a man learned in
Divine Scriptures and most accurate in their interpretation, as well as master
of an excellent scholastic style, on the request of Saint Venerius the bishop,
selected from Holy Scriptures passages suited to the various feast days of the
year, also passages from the Psalms for responses suited to the season, and
the passages for reading. The readers in the church found this work of the
greatest value, in that it saved them trouble and anxiety in the selection of
passages, and was useful for the instruction of the people as well as for the
dignity of the service. He also addressed to Saint Eustathius the bishop,
successor to the above mentioned man of God, an excellent and sizable volume,
a Sacramentary, divided into various sections, according to the various
offices and seasons, Readings and Psalms, both for reading and chanting, but
also filled throughout with petitions to the Lord, and thanksgiving for
his benefits. By this work we know him to have been a man of strong
intelligence and chaste eloquence. He is said to have also delivered homilies,
which are, as I know, valued by pious men, but which I have not read. He died
in the reign of Leo and Majorianus.
CHAPTER LXXXI.
VINCENTIUS the presbyter, a native of Gaul, practised in Divine
Scripture and possessed of a style polished by speaking
399
and by wide reading, wrote a Commentary On the Psalms. A part of this work,
he: read in my hearing, to a man of God, at Cannatae, promising at the same
time, that if the Lord should spare his life and l strength, he would treat
the whole Psalter in the same way.
CHAPTER LXXXII.
Cyrus, an Alexandrian by race, and a physician by profession, at first
a philosopher then a monk, an expert speaker, at first wrote elegantly and
powerfully against Nestorius, but afterwards, since he began to inveigh
against him too intemperately and dealt in syllogism rather than
Scripture, he began to foster the Timothean doctrine. Finally he declined to
accept the decree of the council of Chalcedon, and did not think the doctrine
that after the incarnation the Son of God comprehended two natures, was to be
acquiesced in.
CHAPTER LXXXIII.
Samuel presbyter of the church at Edessa, is said to have written many
things in Syriac against the enemies of the church, especially against the
Nestorians, the Euty-chians and the Timotheans, new heresies all, but
differing from one another. On this account he frequently speaks of the triple
beast, while he briefly refutes by the opinion of the church, and the
authority of Holy Scriptures, showing to the Nestorians, that the Son was God
in man, not simply man born of a Virgin, to the Eutychians, that he had true
human flesh, taken on by God, and not merely a body made of thick air, or
shown from Heaven; to the Timotheans, that the Word was made flesh in such
wise, that the Word remains Word in substance, and, human nature remaining
human nature, one person of the Son of God is produced by union, not by
mingling. He is said to be still living at Constantinople, for at the
beginning of the reign of Anthemius, I knew his writings, and knew that he was
in the land of the living.
CHAPTER LXXXIV.
Claudianus, presbyter of the church at Vienne, a master speaker, and
shrewd in argument, composed three books, On the condition and substance of
the soul, in which he discusses how far anything is incorporeal excepting God.
[He wrote also some other things, among which are, A Hymn on Our Lord's
Passion, which begins "Pange lingua gloriosi." He was moreover brother of
Mamertus, bishop of Vienne.] (See note.)
CHAPTER LXXXV.
Prosper of Aquitania, a man scholastic in style and vigorous in
statement, is said to have composed many works, of which I have read a
Chronicle, which bears his name, and which extends from the creation of the
first man, according to Divine Scripture, until the death of the Emperor
Valenti-nianus and the taking of Rome by Genseric king of the Vandals. I
regard as his also an anonymous book against certain works of Cassianus, which
the church of God finds salutary, but which he brands as injurious, and in
fact, some of the opinions of Cassian and Prosper on the grace of God and on
free will are at variance with one another. Epistles of Pope Leo against
Eutyches, On the true incarnation of Christ, sent to various persons, are also
thought to have been dictated by him.
CHAPTER LXXXVI.
Faustus, first abbot of the monastery at Lerins, and then made bishop
of Ritz in Gaul, a man studious of the Divine Scriptures, taking his text
from the historic creed of the church, composed a book On the Holy Spirit, in
which he shows from the belief of the fathers, that the Holy Spirit is
consubstantial and coeternal with the Father and the Son, the fulness of the
Trinity and therefore God. He published also an excellent work, On the
grace of God, through which we are saved, in which he teaches that the
grace of God always invites, pre-
400
cedes and helps our will, and whatever gain that freedom of will may attain
for its pious effect, is not its own desert, but the gift of grace, I have
read also a little book of his Against the Arians and Macedonians, in which he
posits a coessential Trinity, and another against those who say that there is
anything incorporeal in created things, in which he maintains from the
testimony of Scriptures, and by quotations from the fathers, that nothing is
to be regarded as incorporeal but God. There is also a letter of his, written
in the form of a little book, and addressed to a certain deacon, named
Graecus, who, leaving the Catholic faith, had gone over to the Nestorian
impiety.
In this epistle he admonishes him to believe that the holy Virgin Mary did
not bring forth a mere human being, who afterwards should receive divinity,
but true God in true man. There are still other works by him, but as I have
not read, I do not care to mention them. This excellent doctor is
enthusiastically believed in and admired. He wrote afterwards also to Felix,
the Prae-tonian prefect, anti a man of Patrician rank son of Magnus the consul
a very pious letter, exhorting to the fear of God, a work well fitted to
induce one to repent with his whole heart.
CHAPTER LXXXVII.
Servus Dei the bishop, wrote against those who say that Christ while
living in this world did not see the Father with his eves of flesh--But after
his resurrection from the dead and his ascension into heaven when he had been
translated into the glory of God the Father as in reward so to speak to him
for his abnegation and a compensation for his martyrdom. In this work he
showed both from his own argument and from the testimony of Sacred Scriptures
that the Lord Jesus from his conception by the Holy Spirit and his birth of
the Virgin through which true God in true man himself also man made God was
born, always beheld with his eyes of flesh both the Father and the Holy Spirit
through the special and complete union of God and man.
CHAPTER LXXXVIII.
Victorius the Aquitanian, a careful reckoner, on invitation of
St. Hilary bishop of Rome, composed a Paschal cycle with the most careful
investigation following his four predecessors, that is Hippolytus, Eusebius,
Theophilus and Prosper, and extended the series of years to the year five
hundred and thirty-two, reckoning in such wise that in the year 533 the
paschal festival should take place again on the same month and day and the
same moon as on that first year when the Passion and resurrection of our Lord
took place.
CHAPTER LXXXIX.
Theodoretus bishop of Cyrus (for the city founded by Cyrus king of
the Persians preserves until the present day in Syria the name of its founder)
is said to have written many works. Such as have come to my knowledge are the
following: On the incarnation of the Lord, Against Eutyches the presbyter and
Dioscorus bishop of Alexandria who deny that Christ had human flesh; strong
works by which he confirmed through reason and the testimony of Scripture that
He had real flesh from the maternal substance which he derived from His Virgin
mother just as he had true deity which he received at birth by eternal
generation from God the Father. There are ten books of the ecclesiastical
history which he wrote in imitation of Eusebius of Caesarea beginning where
Eusebius ends and extending to his own time, that is from the Vicennalia of
Constantine until the accession of the eider Leo in whose reign he died.
CHAPTER XC.
Gennadius a Patriarch of the church of Constantinople, a man
brilliant in speech and of strong genius, was so richly equipped by his
reading of the ancients that he was able to expound the prophet Daniel entire
commenting on every word.
He composed also many Homilies.He
died while the eider Leo was Emperor.
CHAPTER XCI.
Theodulus, a presbyter in Coelesyria is said to have written many
works, but the only one which has come to my hand, is the one which he
composed On the harmony of divine Scripture, that is, the Scriptures of the
Old and New Testaments, against the ancient heretics who on account of
discrepancies in the injunctions of the ritual, say that the God of the Old
Testament is different
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from the God of the New. In this work he shows it to have been by the
dispensation of one and the same God, the author of both Scriptures, that one
law should be given by Moses to those of old in a ritual of sacrifices anti in
judicial laws, and another to us through the presence of Christ in the holy
mysteries and future promises, that they should not be considered different,
but as dictated by one spirit and one author, since these things which if
observed only according to the letter, would slay, if observed according to
the spirit, would give life to the mind. This writer died three years since
in the reign of Zeno.
CHAPTER XCII.
[Sidonius bishop of the Arverni wrote several acceptable works and
being a man sound in doctrine as well as thoroughly imbued with divine and
human learning and a man of commanding genius wrote a considerable volume of
Letters to different persons written in various metres or in prose and this
showed his ability in literature. Strong in Christian vigour even in the midst
of that barbaric ferocity which at that time oppressed the Gauls he was
regarded as a catholic father and a distinguished doctor. He flourished during
the tempest which marked the rule of Leo and Zenos.]
CHAPTER XCIII.
John of Antioch first grammarian, and then Presbyter, wrote against
those who assert that Christ is to be adored in one substance only and do not
admit that two natures are to be recognized in Christ. He taught according to
the Scriptural account that in Him God and man exist in one person, and not
the flesh and the Word in one nature.
He likewise attacked certain sentiments of Cyril, bishop of Alexandria,
unwisely delivered by Cyril against Nestorius, which now are an
encouragement and give strength to the Timotheans. He is said to be still
living and preaching.
CHAPTER XCIV.
[Gelasius, bishop of Rome wrote Against Eutyches and Nestorius a
great and notable volume, also Treatises on various parts of the scripture and
the sacraments written in a polished style. He also wrote Epistles against
Peter and Acacius which are still preserved in the catholic church. He wrote
also Hymns after the fashion of bishop Ambrosius. He died during the reign of
the emperor Anastasius.
CHAPTER XCV.
Honoratus, bishop of Constantina in Africa wrote a letter to one
Arcadius who on account of his confession of the catholic faith had been
exiled to Africa by King Genseric. This letter was an exhortation to
endure hardness for Christ and fortified by modern examples and scripture
illustrations showing that perseverance in the confession of the faith not
only purges past sins but also procures the blessing of martyrdom.
CHAPTER XCVI.
Cerealis the bishop, an African by birth, was asked by Maximus bishop
of the Arians whether he could establish the catholic faith by a few
testimonies of Divine Scripture and without any controversial assertions. This
he did in the name of the Lord, truth itself helping him, not with a few
testimonies as Maximus had derisively asked, but proving by copious proof
texts from both Old and New Testaments and published in a little book.
CHAPTER XCVII.
Eugenius, bishop of Carthage in Africa and public confessor, commanded
by Hu-neric King of the Vandals to write an exposition of the catholic
faith and especially to discuss the meaning of the word Homoou-sian, with the
consent of all the bishops and confessors of Mauritania in Africa and
Sar-dinia and Corsica, who had remained in the catholic faith, composed a book
of faith, fortified not only by quotations from the Holy Scriptures but by
testimonies of the Fathers, and sent it by his companions in confession. But
now, exiled as a reward for his faithful tongue, like an anxious shep-.
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herd over his sheep he has left behind works urging them to remember the faith
and the one sacred baptism to be preserved at all hazards. He also wrote out
the Discussions which he held through messengers with the leaders of the
Arians and sent them to be given to Huneric by his major domo. Likewise also
he presented to the same, petitions for the peace of the Christians which were
of the nature of an Apology, and he is said to be still living for the
strengthening of the church.
CHAPTER XCVIII.
Pomerius the Mauritanian was ordained presbyter in Gaul. He composed a
dialecti-cal treatise in eight books On the nature of the soul and its
properties, also one On the resurrection and its particular bearing for the
faithful in this life and in general for all men, written in clear language
and style, in the form of a dialogue between Julian the bishop, and Verus the
presbyter. The first book contains discourses on what the soul is and in what
sense it is thought to be created in the image of God, the second, whether the
soul should be thought of as corporeal or incorporeal, the third, how the soul
of the first man was made, fourth, whether the soul which is put in the
body at birth is newly created and without sin, or produced from the substance
of the first man like a shoot from a root it brings also with it the original
sin of the first man, fifth, a review of the fourth book of the discussion,
and an inquiry as to what is the capability of the soul, that is its
possibilities, and that it gains its capability from a single and pure will,
the sixth, whence arises the conflict between flesh and the spirit, spoken of
by the apostle, seventh, on the difference between the flesh and the spirit in
respect of life, of death and of resurrection, the eighth, answers to
questions concerning the things which it is predicted will happen at the end
of the world, to such questions, that is, as are usually propounded concerning
the resurrection. I remember to have once read a hortatory work of his,
addressed to some one named Principius, On contempt of the world, and of
transitory things, and another entitled, On vices and virtues. He is said to
have written yet other works, which have not come to my knowledge, and to be
still writing. He is still living, and his life is worthy of Christian
profession, and his rank in the church.
CHAPTER XCIX.
I Gennadius a presbyter of Marseilles, have written eight books
Against all heresies, five books Against Nestorius, ten books Against
Eutyches, three books Against Pelagius, also treatises On the Millennium and
On the Apocalypse of Saint John, also an epistle On my creed, sent to the
blessed Gelasius, bishop of