Lucifer of Cagliari, Concerning Athanasius: Why no one must judge or condemn a man in his absence (Brepols Library of Christian Sources) 9782503592831, 250359283X

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Brepols Library of Christian Sources Patristic and Medieval Texts with English Translations The cry ‘ad fontes!’ has been a constant among theologians of every variety since the mid-twentieth century. This is no simple process. Each generation needs to engage with the ancient and medieval sources afresh in a great act of cultural, intellectual, and linguistic translation. More than reproducing an historical artefact or transferring it into a new linguistic code, it requires engaging in a dialogue with the text. One dialogical pole is to acknowledge the inherited text’s distance from us by reading it in its original language, the other is to explore what it says within our world and language. Here the facing-pages of text and translation express this. These editions respect the original context by providing the best currently available Greek or Latin text, while the task of stating what it says today is found alongside it the translation and in the notes and commentaries. The process testifies to the living nature of these texts within traditions. Each volume represents our generation’s attempt to restate the source in our language, cognisant that English is now the most widely used language among theologians either as their first language or their adopted language for scholarly communication.

Brepols Library of Christian Sources Patristic and Medieval Texts with English Translations

2 EDITORIAL BOARD Professor Thomas O’Loughlin, Director Dr Andreas Andreopoulos Professor Lewis Ayres Dr Lavinia Cerioni Professor Hugh Houghton Professor Doug Lee Professor Joseph Lössl Dr Elena Narinskaya Dr Sara Parks

Lucifer of Cagliari, Concerning Athanasius Why no one must judge or condemn a man in his absence

Edited and translated by Ashley Beck

F

Cover image: Ebstorfer Mappa mundi © Kloster Ebstorf. Used with permission. © 2020, Brepols Publishers n. v., Turnhout, Belgium. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. D/2020/0095/329 ISBN 978-2-503-59283-1 eISBN 978-2-503-59284-8 DOI 10.1484/M.BLCS-EB.5.122048 Printed in the EU on acid-free paper.

The tomb of Lucifer of Cagliari in the cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Cecilia in Cagliari. Reproduced by kind permission of the Administrator of the cathedral.

Galileans take pride in acts of defiance, especially if the enemy is the emperor Gore Vidal, Julian

Table of Contents

Preface

9

Abbreviations

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Introduction The Life of Lucifer of Cagliari Works and Chronology The Luciferian Schism Lucifer’s Latin Lucifer’s Bible Lucifer’s Theology and His Importance Today Manuscript Tradition Athanasius and Constantius The Character of Theological Invective Translating Lucifer

13 13 17 17 18 19 23 28 28 29 30

Text and Translation Book I Book II

33 34 140

Bibliography 221 Lucifer’s Works 221 Studies of Lucifer 221 Contemporary Theologians 222 Scripture Versions 222 Theological and Historical Background 223 Latin Language and Literature 224 Fiction224 Index Index of Scripture Passages Index of Ancient Authors and Texts Index of Modern Authors

225 225 229 231

Preface

In his introduction to the 1978 Brepols edition of the works of Lucifer of Cagliari, which remains one of the best modern summaries of the life and importance of the fourth century Sardinian bishop, G. F. Diercks wrote that the time was ripe for his subject to be reassessed and, ‘without doubt, judged less severely’.1 For some time many have been apt to dismiss Lucifer as an intemperate extremist, but this new edition of one of his most substantial works is offered as part of such a reassessment; furthermore until very recently nothing had been written in English about Lucifer for many decades and most modern studies are in French, Spanish and Italian.2 In any assessment of the ‘orthodox’ bishops who fought against ‘Arianism’ and the Emperor Constantius II3 for the best part of twenty years, no one would argue that Lucifer should be ranked alongside Hilary of Poitiers or Athanasius, but he is still a figure of some significance. In England at any rate his striking name (which in his time was not unusual for Christians4) at least excites some initial interest, if not disbelief when one explains that in Sardinia he is venerated as a saint. 1 Lucferi Calaritani Opera quae supersunt, ed. G. F. Diercks, Turnhout: Brepols 1978, p. xxxvii. He also expresses the hope in his introduction that younger scholars would take up the task of reviving interest in Lucifer. The introduction to this edition remains the authoritative contemporary text about Lucifer and is very comprehensive. 2 As far as I am aware there are only four modern critical editions of any of Lucifer’s works, three in Italian and one in Spanish (details in the bibliography); a patristics conference in Rome in 2001 was dedicated to him. The only recent book in English about any aspect of Lucifer’s writings is the detailed study of his use of 1–2 Kings by the Finnish scholar Tuukka Kauhanen. 3 The father of the Emperor Constantine, Constantius Chlorus, held only the rank of Caesar under Diocletian and was never sole ruler of the Roman Empire but was seen as the founder of the Constantinian dynasty as consequently his grandson was known as Constantius II, although that title is not universally used now. 4 Lucifer simply means ‘bearer of light’ or as an adjective ‘light-bearing’. The term is used to describe the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14:12, and in Lk 10:18 of ‘Satan’ – hence it is applied to him by St Jerome and other patristic writers. However it is also applied to Christ in some liturgical texts: in the ancient morning hymn Aeterne rerum conditor, still in use today in the Latin Officium Divinum; verse three is as follows: ‘Hoc excitatus Lucifer | solvit polum caligine; | hoc omnis errorum chorus | vias nocendi deserit’. (‘Now the bearer of light, having awoken, releases the North Pole from darkness; now the whole chorus deserts ways of doing harm’). Most importantly of all it is used of the risen Christ in the liturgical chant used at the Easter Vigil known as the Exultet: ‘Flammas eius lucifer matutinus inveniat: ille, inquam, lucifer, qui nescit occasum…’ (‘May the morning light-bearer find the light [of the candle]; that light-bearer, I say, who knows no setting’). This also reflects the Greek text of 2 Peter 1:19 and Apoc 22:16. Also in the intercessions for Lauds on 31 December Christ is addressed thus: ‘Fili consubstantialis Patri, ante luciferum genite, qui in Bethlehem natus es’…(‘Son consubstantial with the Father, begotten before the light-bearer, who was born in Bethlehem’ [the current English

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Modern technology has made the Latin originals of Lucifer’s works more accessible, through both the internet and the publication in the USA of facsimile editions of books originally produced in the nineteenth century (such as Hartel’s 1886 edition). However amongst theologians it is a sad truth that one reason why he is little known is that compared to Hartel’s era comparatively few in Europe these days are able to read Latin; it is also true that rigorous Patristic studies don’t form as large a part of theology degree programmes in European universities as in the past. On the other hand, since the 1980s there has been a revival of interest in the doctrine of the Trinity, the big issue of the fourth century;5 this means that those studying the Trinity should know as much as possible of what happened. I will also suggest in the introduction other reasons why the Trinity, and indeed covert contemporary Arianism, are important in the twenty-first century and also crucial for understanding divisions among Christians and maintaining authentic Christian witness, sometimes against contemporary rulers not unlike Constantius II. In line with the aims of this series the primary purpose of this book is not to produce a full critical edition (like that of Piras of De Non Conveniendo) but rather a readable English translation alongside the Latin text, modelled on the Loeb Classical Library, with a full introduction and brief explanatory footnotes. The introduction draws on the editions by Diercks and Piras, and for a fuller treatment of some topics (such as the textual tradition or the details of peculiarities in Lucifer’s Latin) the reader is referred to them. I wish to thank primarily Professor O’Loughlin for encouraging me to pursue this project and his unfailing support, and to my colleagues at St Mary’s University for their advice, particularly Professor Peter Tyler and the Head of the Institute of Theology and Liberal Arts, Dr Jacob Phillips. The material in the introduction relating to Lucifer’s use of the Vetus Latina in the New Testament was originally prepared as a paper for a colloquium on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament in the University of Birmingham in March 2019 and I am indebted to Professor Hugh Houghton for inviting me to take part. I am also grateful to Mrs Louisa Warren in translating German passages in the secondary literature. Finally my thanks must go to my wife Caroline and our daughters Martha and Iris for their patience in sharing our lives with the angry Sardinian. St Mary’s University, Twickenham November 2020



translation (the Divine Office) avoids this reference] which reflects also this hymn in the Office for the feast of the Assumption, written by St Peter Damian (Aurora velut fulgida: Verse 2): ‘Regina mundi hodie | thronum conscendit gloriae | illum enixa Filium | qui est ante luciferum’ (‘The Queen of the world today ascends to a throne of glory, having given birth to that Son, who existed before the light-bearer’). 5 This revival and the reasons for it are explored by G. O’Collins The Trinity (ed. Stephen T. Davis, Daniel Kendall SJ and Gerald O’Collins SJ), Oxford 1999 (based on a ‘summit’ held in 1998).

Abbreviations

For works of Lucifer I follow the simple and clear system adopted by Diercks in the 1978 Brepols edition: De Athanasio I and II: A1, A2 De Regibus: R De non Conveniendo cum Haereticis: C De non Parcendo in Deum Delinquentibus: P Moriundum Esse pro Dei Filio: M Where I have quoted Diercks’ introduction, page numbered in upper case Roman numerals in his edition, I have used lower case numerals to avoid confusion with the chapter numbers of Lucifer’s documents. Where appropriate line numbers are given according to Diercks’ edition. For books of the Bible and other Patristic authors I have followed common conventions. Following the conventions of the CCSL edition, italics are used to identify Biblical text in both Latin and English. Also: VL: Vetus Latina – usually the Latin text Lucifer is using himself MT: Massoretic (Hebrew) text Vg: Vulgate LXX: Septuagint

Introduction

The Life of Lucifer of Cagliari Lucifer was bishop of the city now known as Cagliari (Calaritanum), the principal city of the island of Sardinia, in the middle of the fourth century ad. Here I give an outline of his life, returning briefly later in this introduction to some of the controversial issues surrounding Lucifer’s hero St Athanasius. Nothing is known for certain of his early life or background; for him to have been a bishop by the early 350s he was probably born at the end of the third century, just before the final outbreak of persecution against the Christian Church under the Emperor Diocletian. In his classic work The Arians of the Fourth Century St John Henry Newman refers, when discussing the events of 353, to ‘the famous Lucifer’;1 since he had no more knowledge of Lucifer’s life before then than we do, he is presumably transposing back his later fame.2 We can say that the pope would have had his reasons for choosing him as a legate at the Council of Milan in 353; it has been suggested that there might have been close relationship between the island of Sardinia and Rome3. His writings offer the only clues to his background. On the one hand, he writes in a basic and simple Latin style, and there are certainly ‘rough’ sides to this. His writing is part of a development in Latin towards greater grammatical flexibility and simplicity (a process which most classical Latin scholars would see as a sad decline); on the other hand he makes extensive use of rhetorical devices which suggest a thorough education in these techniques, as was also true of other Christian writers of this period and earlier. Diercks suggests that a way of holding these sets of facts together is to suggest that his early upbringing was in Sardinia, but his subsequent higher education was in Rome, which would also explain why he was known to Pope Liberius in the 350s and trusted by him.4 It is therefore likely that he was, like his friend and ally St Eusebius of Vercelli, born and raised in Sardinia. This might partly account for a ‘roughness’ not only in his Latin style but in his personality. While Sardinia by this period had been under Roman rule for some centuries there were people from an indigenous Phoenician/ Carthaginian background: educated members of the Roman ruling class would

1 Notre Dame: Gracewing. 2001, with introduction by R. Williams (first published 1833), p. 316. Newman describes the arrival in Rome of Lucifer and Eusebius of Vercelli as ‘unexpected’. 2 Lucifer was better known among Patristic scholars in the nineteenth century than now. 3 Diercks p. x, citing earlier scholars. 4 Diercks commends the view of one scholar that some aspects of his rhetorical style might indicate some education in North Africa.

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have looked down on Sardinians. We know that in the third century Christians were imprisoned on the island (two saints venerated as martyrs in the Christian calendar, Pontian and Hippolytos, died there in the 230s); as a place it might have nurtured in Lucifer a streetwise aggressiveness and consciousness of exclusion and persecution. Did he have a legal background? In the De Athanasio, even allowing for a very repetitive style, there is one crime of Constantius to which Lucifer repeatedly returns: the condemnation of Athanasius by the Council of Milan without a trial and in his absence. It is possible that Lucifer’s obsession with this indicates a legal background, but I am not aware of any other indications. The tone of most of his attacks on the emperor is forensic; indeed a dramatic and lively courtroom seems to be invoked. Although he may have been active in the battles between two factions within Christianity5 in the years after the first Council of Nicaea in 326 his name does not appear in lists of western bishops backing Athanasius in the 330s and 340s; the faction of which Lucifer was a part is generally termed as ‘Orthodox’ or ‘Catholic’ largely because it was in the end triumphant; their opponents are known as ‘Arians’ or ‘Semi-Arians’.6 The first ecumenical Council of the Christian Church had been summoned by the Emperor Constantine, not long after the end of persecution against the Church, to settle disputes about the relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ. These disputes had been prompted most recently by the activities of a priest from Alexandria, Arius.7 Since almost our entire view of Arius’ beliefs and writings come from his opponents it is hard to form an objective picture, but we can say that he held that Jesus, while the divine Son of God, was a ‘created’ being; he and those who followed his beliefs were accused by their opponents of denying that he shared the same substance as God the Father, and that ‘there was a time when he was not’. The Council’s decrees included a profession or ‘symbol’ of faith, signed up to by all the bishops present, which became most of what is still the Creed recited in Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican churches every Sunday and on many other days, called ‘Nicene’ after the Council (although the section covering the Holy Spirit and the Church was added fifty years later at the first Council of Constantinople). At the time the formula agreed was seen as a defeat for Arius and his faction, and he was condemned by the council. The key phrase which in English versions is ‘consubstantial’ or ‘of one substance’, describing the relationship between Jesus and his father, the Greek word homoousios, appeared to settle the dispute. However in the years those who continued to adhere to Arius’ views, or who held to them in a modified form, exerted considerable influence on the emperor Constantine in the closing years of his reign. The emperor, not himself baptised until



5 At the time protagonists in the argument would not have described in these terms – for Lucifer and his allies the Arians were not Christians who had got things wrong: they weren’t Christians at all and had abandoned the faith. 6 The distinctions between different terms are complex, especially as they are always pejorative and used by the opponents of Arius and his followers. The fullest examination of these terms is to be found in Professor Lewis Ayres’ comprehensive study listed in the bibliography. 7 A very fair picture of his life is given in the study of Arius by Rowan Williams (details in the bibliography).

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he was close to death, was more interested in settling a dispute which was dividing the Church than in the points at issue. Like many a politician since, the theology did not interest him. This became even more marked in the reign of his son Constantius, particularly after the death of his brother Constans in 350; we can see clear signs of a firmer opposition to Athanasius and those who supported the definitions of the Council of Nicaea from this point. Following growing attacks on Athanasius Lucifer enters history as part of negotiations between Pope Liberius, who had succeeded Julius as Bishop of Rome in 352, and the emperor, stationed with his troops in the Gallic town of Arles. The pope sent a delegate to the emperor to ask for a Council of the Church at Aquileia; however, the delegates, Vincent of Capua and Marcellus of Campagna, were compelled in a gathering of bishops in Arles to condemn Athanasius.8 The pope then sent Lucifer together with St Eusebius of Vercelli (who was also a native of Sardinia) to the emperor – it is clear from his letters that he held both bishops in high regard.9 The emperor wanted the gathering’s decisions to be confirmed by a General Council, but everyone involved went from Arles to Milan because of an attack of Germanic tribes in 354; it is possible that in the interim Lucifer and Eusebius went to Rome for further consultations with the pope. The council met in Milan in the summer of 355. It is generally thought that the attendance of bishops was small, in that only thirty bishops seemed to have signed a letter calling on others to subscribe to its condemnation of Marcellus, Photinus and Athanasius. Lucifer, Eusebius and the local Bishop of Milan, Dionysius, refused to subscribe to the condemnation and were exiled; not long after so was Pope Liberius. Lucifer went first in his exile to Germanicia in Asia Minor10 (modern day Kahramanmaraş), where the bishop, Eudoxius, was one of those most opposed to Athanasius, and then to Eleutheropolis in Palestine (the present-day kibbutz of Beit Guvrin). Here it seems that Lucifer found supporters and was almost able to ‘hold court’ as a bishop celebrating customary liturgical rites. Perhaps as a result the emperor had him exiled further away, to the Thebaid in Egypt.11 He was thus removed from the scene in 359 when Constantius secured further support for the ‘semi-Arian’ position at the councils he summoned in 359 at Rimini and Seleucia. While we do know of cases in the Roman Empire where exile could be a brutal imprisonment leading to death, we should bear in mind that in the case of Lucifer, although he12 identifies exile with suffering, we should really imagine a fairly comfortable ‘house arrest’. He had two deacons and other servants such as scribes with him, and certainly access to biblical and other texts. Moreover in Egypt he was



8 See the detailed account in the study of Athanasius by Timothy Barnes detailed in the bibliography (pp. 116–120, henceforward ‘Barnes), drawing on Athanasius Hist Ar. 31.2. 9 See the references to Liberius’ letters in Migne (vol. VIII) in Diercks pp. viii–ix. 10 A1 IX 43. 11 He may also have spent some time in Cappadocia but there is uncertainty as to when this took place. 12 And Pope Liberius in a letter sent to him, Eusebius and Dionysius, (Letter VIII in the Diercks edition of Lucifer).

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in the centre of the region most loyal to Athanasius, where Athanasius himself was living in hiding among monks who were his supporters. In November 361 Constantius died of a fever while campaigning in Cilicia. One of the first acts of Constantius’ successor as emperor, Julian, was to allow the return from exile of bishops who had opposed Constantius’ pro-Arian policies – in addition to Lucifer the central figure of Athanasius himself, Hilary of Poitiers, Eusebius of Vercelli and others. Julian, known in Christian historiography as ‘the Apostate’, in his short reign made a strong but doomed attempt to restore traditional Roman religion and remove the privileges given to Christians by his predecessors. Allowing bishops to return from exile was not an act of altruism or religious toleration: it is clear that he thought Christianity would be weakened by the divisions which would break out again in the sees to which the exiles returned. To some extent he was right,13 although his action also contributed to the defeat of the Arian faction. Lucifer, however, did not go straight home to Sardinia from the Thebaid. In exile he would have had secretaries and deacons with him, and he certainly knew what was going on in the region. Not one to avoid trouble spots, Lucifer went to Antioch, where the Christian community was divided not in two, but in three. There had been an Arian faction with a bishop, Euzoius, and an opponent of the Arians, Meletius; but his appointment as bishop was opposed by supporters of Eustathius, the previous bishop, who seem to have thought his anti-Arianism was lukewarm. Lucifer arrived and gave his support to them, consecrating a bishop, Paulinus, without canonical authority. The ‘Melitian’ schism lasted well into the fifth century. The divisions here and elsewhere hinged on one crucial question – what should be done about bishops and priests who had compromised with Arianism and with Constantius? In Alexandria Athanasius and Eusebius judged that those who were not leading Arians but who had merely given in to threats should be allowed to continue in office after abjuring heresy and affirming the Nicene creed14 and a Tomus ad Antiochenos was written to this effect, in the corpus of Athanasius’ writings, which also attempted to resolve the schism in Antioch. This caused a rift between Lucifer and Eusebius, since Lucifer in one of his treatises (De non parcendo) had ruled out such compromises. He then returned to Sardinia, via Naples and Rome (though not meeting Pope Zozimus who had wanted to honour him). After his eventual return to Sardinia we have no details of his remaining life, even though the political and theological atmosphere in the Empire did not become calmer following Julian’s death. In this period, leading up to the Council of Constantinople in 381, we know that disputes about the Holy Spirit became more important, shown in the writings of St Basil the Great and others, but Lucifer is not involved in this. Like his friend and ally Eusebius of Vercelli Lucifer is thought to have died in 370 or 371; the cathedral in Cagliari contains what tradition holds to be his tomb.

13 The fictional account of Athanasius’ return to Alexandria in Gore Vidal’s novel Julian, coupled with attempts to restore traditional Roman religion, captures the febrile atmosphere well. 14 Diercks p. xxix.

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Works and Chronology All Lucifer’s extant works date from the period of his exile between 355 and 361. Apart from the letters (and those bearing his name in the corpus are not thought to be authentic) they take the form of treatises addressed to the Emperor Constantius, and in tone very hostile to the emperor. The chronology of the principal works is not entirely clear, as the content gives few internal clues. This is the chronology suggested by the Coleti brothers, the earliest modern editors of Lucifer, and broadly adopted by Diercks: De non Conveniendo cum Haereticis De Regibus Apostacicis De Athanasio De non Parcendo in Deum Delinqentibus Moriundum15 Esse pro Dei Filio

357–58 358 359–60 360 360–61

There are a number of letters attributed to Lucifer or to his correspondents but those under his name are not thought to be authentic. Some scholars have dated the two books De Athanasio earlier, but the consensus certainly is now that De non Conveniendo is the earliest work we have.16 The letters attributed to Lucifer are spread over the period, letters I and II coming at the beginning and the others towards the end.17 A drawback to thorough studies of Lucifer’s works is that they are all rather similar; Moriendum has the character of a work which sums up and brings together many of the points made in earlier works. Because of their length and the systematic way in which Lucifer uses scripture it is reasonable to see the books De Athanasio as his most important work.

The Luciferian Schism We saw above that Lucifer was responsible for making the ‘Meletian’ schism in Antioch considerably worse than it needed to be, and he set himself in opposition to his hero Athanasius and his friend and fellow Sardinian Eusebius. In the years after his death we are aware of a sect in Sardinia known as Luciferiani, largely because this group has the dubious honour of having a treatise from the formidable St Jerome directed against them. The most intractable historical problem about Lucifer centres on this group: was he responsible for the schism, or did the schismatics after his death simply claim his name? In the seventeenth century arguments about this became so heated that the pope closed down the discussion, threatening anyone who raised it again

15 This is a corruption of the correct classic gerund ‘moriendum’. 16 So Piras in his modern edition of that work. 17 Diercks p. xxiv.

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with excommunication. Since many bishops who opposed the Arians were more or less automatically considered saints in subsequent years, this question mark, along with his earlier actions in Antioch, account partly for his not being seen as a saint except in Sardinia. Here his tomb is the cathedral and there is a church dedicated to him elsewhere in the island; his feast day is on 13 or 20 May. On the other hand, if he had been responsible for the schism, one might have expected some of those who criticised his earlier actions in Antioch, such as Jerome, who was probably in Antioch at the time and who was not himself a conciliatory or ‘soft’ figure, to have said so. Lucifer’s intransigence in relation to reconciling Arian or semi-Arian bishops set him apart from others, and in the 360s and 370s many wanted to try and end rifts rather than prolong them; but no one actually claims he began a breakaway church in his own diocese. Scholars who have worked on Lucifer acknowledge his faults, but the consensus is that there is simply not enough evidence to decide one way or another whether he was responsible for a schism in his own island, which was the judgment of Urban VIII and Innocent X – who made no attempt to curtail veneration of him as a saint in Sardinia itself.

Lucifer’s Latin Beyond his historical role in the Church of the 350s and 360s there are a number of reasons for seeing Lucifer as a figure of some (but not great) importance. The first is his place within the development of the Latin language, and this has occupied some contemporary scholars – for example, it is the main focus of Piras’ edition of De Non Conveniendo. Just as cracks were appearing in the edifice of the Roman Empire in the fourth century, symbolised perhaps by the decline and rapid disappearance of the unifying State religion after persecution of Christianity ceased, so also Latin, as a unifying cultural force, is generally considered in this period to have been in a state of flux or even decline, although perhaps this view is conditioned by seeing the ‘classical’ period of Virgil and Cicero, four centuries before, as a golden age. However the ‘roughness’ of Lucifer’s Latin – when compared to slightly later figures such as St Ambrose and St Augustine – gives him a place in an assessment of grammatical and syntactical developments which in due course led to Latin being effectively replaced in much of western Europe by dialectical developments of it in the Romance languages. While we can see signs of a rhetorical education, the liberties Lucifer takes with the rules of Latin grammar, once beaten into schoolchildren all over the world, give him a place in this historical development which is distinct, for example, from the careful Latin prose of Augustine in the Confessions or his many sermons. Both Diercks and Piras (Lucifer’s Latin is really the primary focus of his edition) give detailed analysis of this: changed or careless case endings for nouns and adjectives, flexible use of moods and tenses in verbs, made-up words, extended use of relative clauses, and so on – actions which would have led a Victorian schoolboy to be punished if writing such Latin prose. I have noted some of these in the text in this edition. What is harder to be sure about is the reason for these features, beyond the rapidly changing historical context of the fourth century. To some extent we can

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point to the nature of his work: all his genuine surviving works are basically in the form of speeches directed against the emperor. Lucifer’s works are not theological treatises or sermons. This ‘ranting’ form to some extent does mould his style, and perhaps we should not be surprised that some of the rules of how to write Latin recede into the background; he was of course also (almost certainly) dictating to a scribe. Jerome tells us slightly later that in Palestine it was hard to get stenographers skilled in Latin, so it is possible that some of the linguistic features can be blamed on others. Another possible explanation is Lucifer’s own background in Sardinia. Though not exactly remote at this period the island still seems to have had a slightly ‘offbeat’ character in terms of mainstream Roman culture, and it is possible that a bishop from there would be less interested in correct Latin grammar. Some scholars of the Latin language attribute the shifts to Christian writers in general (and many from a period much earlier than Lucifer), because they were writing for people in a religious community who were not well educated. So the Hungarian scholar József Herman gives as an example of this the tendency to replace the dative and ablative cases with the accusative (in Ps-Cyprian De laude martryrii 6 and, in the text of this edition, A1 XX frui felicitatem perpetuam)18 Moreover although in this period in the West people were educated in the Latin and Greek classics, for devout Christians this was done with some reluctance.19 It is thought that by the fourth century more people (like Lucifer) from the West were still familiar with Greek than would have been the case with Greek-speakers in the East in relation to Latin.20 Readers who wish to look more closely at the oddities of Lucifer’s Latin are referred to the extensive discussions in the editions of Diercks and Piras.

Lucifer’s Bible ‘Luciferian’ scholars over the years, a compact bunch of people, have always agreed that one of his real claims to fame is that he is a significant source for our knowledge of Latin versions of the Bible prior to St Jerome’s Vulgate (and just prior – Jerome started work on correcting the Vetus Latina about a decade after the Sardinian bishop’s death in 371, and almost certainly knew him and was characteristically negative about his followers). This might conjure up a relatively straightforward picture of Lucifer simply using existing Latin texts. In some cases we can assert this, when his version resembles closely the Vulgate (as is the case with most NT citations) or where we have the same versions from other sources. However it is also clear, and this has been detailed in recent research21 how in some instances in OT passages (for example, the long extracts from 1 (3) Kings in A1) Lucifer is using various good textual witnesses 18 Vulgar Latin tr. R. Wright (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000), p. 54. 19 See the details in A. M. H Jones The Later Roman Empire 284–602 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins 1986) vol. two, pp. 1005–10. 20 Ibid., chapter XXIV. 21 T. Kauhanen, Lucifer of Cagliari and the Text of 1–2 Kings (Atlanta: SBL Press 2018), especially the Introduction, who also acknowledges the work done in this area by the LXX editor Rahlfs.

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of the Septuagint and either taking them into account while using existing Latin versions or making his own translation into the Latin.22 I have noted this, drawing on Dr Kauhanen’s recent work, at relevant points in the text of A1; those OT books are also quoted extensively by Lucifer in De Regibus Apostaticis. This use of the Greek Old Testament should not be surprising. As much of Lucifer’s exile, particularly the latter part when it seems De Athanasio was written, was spent in Egypt, LXX texts would have been more available than in Sardinia or elsewhere in the west; an ability to translate Greek or understand it is what one would expect of someone with Lucifer’s background. Kauhanen draws attention to characteristics of Lucifer’s rendition of the LXX which accord with other aspects of his writing style: so at times he is ‘free’ in his version, and he also has a tendency to shorten the text23. In addition, looking back at the OT citations, his text of 1 Kings is at times close to that of the ‘Vienna palimpsest’ (L115), another witness we have for the VL. With regard to New Testament passages, which are dominant in A2, the issues are different. Here there are fewer differences with Jerome’s Vulgate; what it striking is the picture we have of the NT books to which he had access and the big variation is the way he uses them. As far as the gospels are concerned Lucifer uses Matthew more than other gospels (about 40 in A2) and also uses John extensively and Luke less so; he rarely draws on Mark at all and never in A2. In this treatise he also draws frequently on Acts; from the Pauline corpus he makes use of Romans, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Ephesians, 1 Timothy and Titus. Of non-Pauline letters only 1 John is used in A2. In the other works Lucifer also uses Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 2 John, Jude, 2 Timothy, 1 Peter and Hebrews (treated by him as Pauline). He does not quote directly in any of his works the gospel of Mark, Philemon, 2 Peter, 3 John, James or the book of the Apocalypse. The nineteenth century Luciferian scholar Gustav Krüger takes the view that we cannot form any picture of the order of NT books in the codex or codices which Lucifer used; however the great Adolf von Harnack concluded that they would have been in the order: Gospels (probably in the order Matthew, John, Luke and Mark), Pauline letters, Acts and Catholic epistles (with the Johannine letters standing out from the rest). I cannot find any sign of the evidence which the two scholars took for their view. There are further issues we can identify in Lucifer’s use of the New Testament. First, Lucifer uses very strong language against the emperor (in contrast, for example, to the very polite contemporary addresses to Constantius by his anti-Arian ally St Hilary of Poitiers, or those from an earlier period of Athanasius himself24), never

22 Kauhanen makes it clear that we cannot conclude which is more likely. 23 Kauhanen p. 9. 24 Until Historia Arrianorum, where the tone becomes much more hostile; and this is roughly contemporary with De Athanasio.

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letting slip an opportunity to identify his opponent with biblical villains (such as Ahab) or the Antichrist/Satan. It is therefore surprising that he doesn’t draw on the book of the Apocalypse. Krüger does not think that Lucifer didn’t have the text of Apocalypse; rather ‘Lucifer must have deliberately looked away from the John Apocalypse; he refers countless times in his pamphlets to the Antichrist, without mentioning the Apocalypse anywhere. In order to explain this situation, it ought to be remembered that Lucifer wrote his tract when in exile in the Orient. He would definitely have taken his Latin Bible there with him, as well as Cyprian’s writings. But he allowed himself to be influenced to suppress the Apocalypse…’25 I find this picture rather puzzling. Lucifer, for all his faults, has a deep knowledge and love of the scriptures, making connections with his focus and purpose (attacking the emperor for his unjust treatment of St Athanasius and his followers); applying a self-denying ordinance in relation to a biblical text which would have bolstered his arguments considerably seems unconvincing. Diercks stresses in his introduction that deeper study is needed of the versions of the Latin Bible which Lucifer uses, and Kauhanen’s work is an example of this for the OT. In relation to the NT we can say that (a) Following P. Corssen, Lucifer’s text of Acts accords with the thirteenth century Codex Holmiensis, the so-called Gigas librorum in the Royal Library in Stockholm; (b) Drawing on A. Souter26 (beginning of the last century) Lucifer’s text of the Pauline letters (which include Hebrews) is the same as the fifth/sixth-century Codex Claromontanus. This codex is thought to be ‘contaminated’ with the Vulgate in the text of the longer epistles; the German inter-war scholar K. Th. Schafer takes the same view of Lucifer’s version of Hebrews. The agreement is not precise, but it is very close – for details see Coleman’s study in relation to the Pastorals.27 (c) Lucifer’s text of Luke is close to that of the fifth-century Codex Veronensis (d) There has been no study of the text he uses of Matthew, John and the Catholic epistles; (e) We cannot conclude much from Lucifer about what are known as the Konstanzer fragments of the VL; nor can we tell whether his codex or codices originated in Sardinia. We have already seen that Lucifer, a western Latin bishop writing exclusively in Latin in defence of a Greek speaking bishop and theologian, many of whose allies were also western Latin bishops, knew Greek and had access to different biblical texts in Greek; and he must have had a rhetorical education;28 and it is at least possible that he translated some LXX passages himself. With regard to the NT we can, for example, discern that he was aware of a Greek text behind A2 XXVII 30–31 where Lucifer says ‘Conspicis interea mandasse apostolum, ut vos veritati resistentes indentemini episcopi interventu’… (‘You take care meanwhile to have commanded an apostle, to the effect that you will be silenced for having resisted the truth, because 25 G. Krüger Lucifer, Bischof von Calaris und das Schisma der Luciferianer (Leipzig 1886 Reprografischer Nachdruck 1969). My thanks to Louisa Warren for translating the German. 26 The Original Home of Codex Claromontanus 241 JTS 6 (1905). 27 A. M. Coleman The Biblical Text of Lucifer of Cagliari (Oxford: Broome 1946). 28 One of the best examples in the De Athanasio would be the tirade at A1 XIX 42, an example of the breathtaking ‘list’ known to rhetoricians as a πνιγός.

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of the intervention of a bishop…’) Dierks points out that Lucifer, like his near contemporary Pacian (Ep. 2.7), uses ‘indentemini’ to capture the meaning of the Greek in Titus 1:11 ἐπιστομίζειν. Quoting scripture is common in Patristic authors. Lucifer’s style is ‘runaway’ – he gets carried away by his own rhetoric, and he uses scripture in the same impassioned way. He would be thrown into exile yet again as a punishment had his works been entered into Turnitin; like Tertullian Lucifer sometimes blurs the edges between direct quotation and his own writing inspired by the Bible. For example, A2 XIV 50–54: ‘Tu fieri praecipis contra dei mandatum contra apostolus dicit quia qui non custodierit praecepta eius nec quidem congnoverit eum, quia, inquit, si dicit: Cognovi eum, et mandata eius non custodit, mendax est, et in eo veritas non est’ (‘You’ve commanded things to be done which are against God’s commandments – against you the apostle says that he who doesn’t maintain his precepts or is ignorant of them, as he says: The man who claims knowledge of him without keeping his commandments is a liar; truth does not dwell in such as man as that’ [1 John 2:4]). Lucifer’s writing is passionate; and if you write passionately you cut corners about correcting referencing, as we all know.29 Another example is C XIII 43–49: ‘Quis enim tam stultus est, ut cum audierit deum dicere: Quoniam inhabitabo in illis et inter eos ambulabo, et ero illorum deus, et ipsi erunt mihi populus; propter quod exite de medio eorum et separamini, dicit dominus, et immundum ne tetigeritis, et ego recipiam vos et ero vobis in patrem, et vos mihi eritis in filios et filias, dicit dominus deus dominus, quis, diximus, tam stultus set, ut nolit in se deum inhabitare’.(‘Who is so stupid, that when he hears God say: Because I will live with them and walk among them, I will be their God and they will be my people; because of this go from their midst and be separated, says the Lord, so that you won’t touch anyone unclear, and I will recover you and will be a father for you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the all-powerful Lord, [2 Corinthians 6:16–18] who, we’ve said, is so stupid, that he should not want God to dwell with him…’) We can see in Lucifer, in his use of both the OT and NT, a Christian with a deep and passionate knowledge of the Scriptures. From our perspective much of the way in which he uses the Bible seems crude and simplistic, although it accords with how most of his contemporaries drew on Scripture to support arguments, as preachers always have. While he has texts to hand his acquaintance with the texts shows a confidence which is striking, testifying to many years of preaching about biblical passages.

29 Other examples of this are as follows: A1 XLIII 29–32; R I 33–36; P V 49–52; M V 73–78. He also likes to join up succeeding citations et infra and et iterum and sometimes he misses out bits of text (e.g. A2 XVI 43, XXVI 50, XXIII 6, R II 38, III 29, VIII 8, C II 60, III 6, P XXXII 10); he also comes back to the middle of a quotation – A1 XIII 7, XXXI 30. Sometimes he mixes up passages: A2 XIV 24: Ac 12:11 + 18; XXIX 19: Phil 3:19 + 1 Thess 5:21 – sometimes this contamination goes too far! There are also surprising interpretation of passages. A2 XVI 8–11, notably (based on Mt 22:39) encourages Constantius to love himself in Athanasius; also at A2 XVIII 32–33, drawing on Mt 18:16, he suggests that the Lord talks of three Catholic witnesses! So also C XI 46–49, using 1 Co 6:18, identifies Arians as adulterers and fornicators.

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Lucifer’s Theology and His Importance Today The career and writings of Athanasius are crucial to our understanding of Christianity in the fourth century. The period of his third exile from Alexandria, sometimes called his ‘flight to the desert’ from 356 to 362,30 see in the latter years a distinct shift in his attitude towards Constantius; having been respectful, in the Historia Arianorum of 357 the tone changes completely and the emperor is depicted openly as the friend and abetter of heretics. This period, when Athanasius did not leave Egypt to go to the west but remained in hiding, partly among the hermits and monks of the Egyptian desert, corresponds exactly to the years of Lucifer’s writings; indeed for the last part of the period (361–02)31 he was in Egypt himself. Lucifer does not seem to have had a ‘moderate’ period in relation to his writings addressed to Constantius; perhaps his example encouraged to his hero to abandon restraint; many of the writing and rhetorical techniques of the two writers are similar. De Athanasio is the longest and most sustained attack on the emperor. In this period Athanasius reaches the most mature expression of his view that all the battles he had fought as bishop of Alexandria over twenty years were really about the same thing: Arius’ false view of Christianity. Whether we see this view as accurate or not, if Athanasius is important in the late 350s then so are his friends and supporters. Many of Lucifer’s colleagues in the battles against the Arians – such as Eusebius of Vercelli, Jerome, Hilary of Poitiers and the great Athanasius himself – are canonised saints and in some cases ‘Doctors of the Church’, venerated in the Church both east and west, year by year. However the Bishop of Cagliari is only so venerated in his own see, in the island of Sardinia. His feast day is on 13 May in Cagliari and 20 May elsewhere on the island. His tomb is in the cathedral where there is a chapel dedicated to him, significant as the burial place also of the French Queen Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, wife of King Louis XVIII; there is in addition at least one church dedicated to him on the island, built in the seventeenth century. He remains important for the island’s cultural identity in modern Italy: Piras’ edition of De Non Conveniendo has received funding from the regional government of the island and is now published under the name of the Pontifical university press in Cagliari.32 His status remains a matter of uncertainty and controversy – was he a saint, a champion of orthodoxy, or a schismatic who died excommunicate? The little historical evidence is unlikely to settle the matter, although we do know that his fellow Orthodox bishops criticised his intransigence in relation to Arian prelates. Chief among these was Jerome, hardly a fence-sitting liberal; in the years after Lucifer’s death we have from his pen, a Dialogue against the Lucferians. Jerome’s argument in this work is that harshness is inappropriate because the bishops concerned had been pressurised by the Emperor and were acting under duress.

30 So Gwynn Athanasius of Alexandria (Oxford 2012) pp. 43–49. 31 Diercks p. xiv. 32 The edition was originally published by Herder in Rome in 1992 but a new label giving the ‘new’ publisher and date has been stuck over the earlier details.

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There was controversy even on the island at a later stage. Many years later in Sardinia successive archbishops argued for and against his sanctity and in the end silence was imposed on both parties by the Inquisition in Rome, which however also decreed that veneration of him in Sardinia could continue,33 and this compromise prevails: he’s a saint on the island but there are no moves to widen devotion to him or insert him into the universal calendar of the Church. The existence of a schismatic group bearing his name for a few decades does not necessarily mean that he was responsible for it, and if it were known that he had definitely gone into schism one would have expected his opponents to have said so rather than simply hinted at it. On the other hand his consecration in 362 in Antioch of the Eustathian Paulinus was done without licence or approval from other bishops, and such an act would normally be seen as itself schismatic.34 I referred above to the revival of theological interest and study relating to the Trinity in the last thirty years. Part of what this involves is a growing realisation among all Christians of the bearing which the doctrine has on all aspects of Christian life, not simply what we believe about the nature of God. The Eastern Orthodox theologian and bishop Kallistos Ware has written: Our social programme, said the Russian thinker Fedorov, is a dogma of the Trinity. Orthodoxy believes that the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not a piece of ‘high theology’ reserved for the professional scholar, but something that has a living, practical importance for every Christian. Man, so the Bible teaches, is made in the image of God, and to Christians God means the Trinity: thus it is only in the light of the dogma of the Trinity that man can understand who he is and what God intends him to be. Our private lives, our personal relations, and all our plans of forming a Christian society depend upon a right theology of the Trinity. ‘Between the Trinity and Hell there lies no other choice’.35 So for Christians one of the reasons why the doctrine of the Trinity is important is that our lives and the world in which we live should reflect the nature and attributes of God – equality, balance, self-giving love. This is also summed up in these words by the famous Anglican Vicar of Thaxted in Essex at the beginning of the last century, Conrad Noel: Let us consider the blessed Trinity as the source of our own personal lives, and of the life of the world. Each one of us is a trinity in unity-body, mind and spirit: the disunity between these is not according to the original intention of the Triune God. The world has in it plenty of variety, but the variety is not always healthy, is often antagonistic and discordant, because it is not a variety in unity, and does not

33 John Henry Blunt, Dictionary of Sects, Heresies, Ecclesiastical Parties, and Schools of Religious Thought (1874). 34 As happened in the 1980s when Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated bishops for the Society of St Pius X. 35 The Orthodox Church (rev. ed., Harmondsworth: Penguin 1980), p. 216, quoting at the end V. Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Orthodox Church (London: 1957), p. 66.

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yet express the ‘Three in One and One in Three’. It cannot be said of the world as at present constituted that it contains no differences or inequalities, or that within it ‘none is afore or after another; none is greater or less than another’. We look forward to a world of infinite variety in harmony, of living unity, not of dead uniformity; if man is to create so delightful a world he must ‘thus think of the Trinity’, for it is the will of the Triune God to inspire men to renew the world in such a way as to make it the perfect expression of his own Being.36 Therefore Christians are expected to work for a world which reflects God’s nature: this has been stressed in recent years by Pope Francis in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si, where there is a whole section relating the Trinity to Creation, drawing on St Bonaventure.37 Belief in the equality of the three persons of the Trinity is linked closely to the doctrine of the Incarnation, explored in Lucifer’s time but also in the following centuries. Jesus Christ is both God and man, a single person with two natures and wills, human and divine. Because of this humanity is deified and glorified because of the action of God in Jesus Christ; and the gulf between humanity and God is bridged. By contrast many Christians, paying lip-service to the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation, often don’t seem to take this seriously. These words were written by one of the most popular spiritual writers of the last century in England, C. S. Lewis: Unless Christianity is wholly false, the perception of ourselves which we’ve in moments of shame must be the only true one…Christ takes it for granted that men are bad. The real test of being in the presence of God is that you either forget about yourself or see yourself as a small dirty object.38 One of the great theologians of the Trinity and the Incarnation of the generation after Lucifer of Cagliari, St John Chrysostom, had a rather different view of humanity: What is it that is about to be created, that enjoys such honour? It is man – that great and wonderful living creature, more precious in the eyes of God than all other creatures! For him the heavens and the earth, the sea and all the rest of creation exist. God attached so much importance to his salvation that he did not spare his own Son for the sake of man. Nor does he ever cease to work, trying every possible means, until he has raised man up to himself and made him sit at his right hand.39 So often Christians have diminished sense of their dignity and sacredness as children of God. Like Lewis (who was from a Northern Irish Protestant background) they 36 Jesus the Heretic (Religious Book Club 1939), p. 2, quoted in Kenneth Leech, True God (London: Sheldon 1985), pp. 383–84. 37 Section 238–40. See on this A. Beck ‘Prophecy and Hope – An initial appraisal of Laudato Si’, The Pastoral Review vol. 11 issue 5 (September/October 2015). Francis’ focus on the Trinity reflects earlier writings of Benedict XVI, particularly in his 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate. 38 Christian Behaviour (London: Geoffrey Bles 1943), p. 45. 39 In Gentes sermo 2.1, PG 54.587D–588A, quoted in Catechism of the Catholic Church section 358.

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see themselves as dirty and worthless in God’s sight. This is often linked to a view of God which sees him as a harsh, authoritarian and remote figure. For Athanasius, Lucifer and other opponents of the Emperor Constantius, this was the god of the Arians, and it was no accident that such a deity was promoted by the emperor. Arius taught that Jesus, while being the Son of God, was nevertheless a created being, not equal with his Father. God remains transcendent, and his Son is really simply part of humanity rather than being equally God and man. An absolute monarch (who only a few decades before would have been venerated as a god himself) is the viceroy of such a deity, unthreatened by Jesus Christ, who recedes into the background. So Lucifer’s hero Athanasius wrote: ‘Human nature is prone to pity and sympathizes with the poor. But these men have lost even the common sentiments of humanity’.40 However, this last quote from Athanasius perhaps shows us what is lacking in Lucifer’s theology. Particularly in the treatises De Athanasio, Lucifer argues again and again that his hero is the victim of an injustice, being condemned in his absence, without a proper trial. Linked to this his invective against Constantius often portrays him as tyrannical; and for all the hyperbole to see fourth-century emperors in these terms is not controversial. The sympathies of the family of Constantine for Christianity in one form or another did not stop brutal blood-letting, even within the imperial family41 – but Lucifer does not really link this unjust behaviour to the Arians’ defective Christology. Indeed he fails to examine what is wrong with his opponents’ beliefs: he simply resorts to comparisons with idolaters and basic abuse. Compared to contemporary figures like Athanasius and Hilary, Lucifer’s often breathless invective does not attempt to be calmly argued dogmatic theology. However we can discern some definite traits within the overall group of those who by the 350s saw defending the formulas of Nicaea essential to Christian belief and salvation. In the 1940s Claudio Zedda took up Lucifer’s cause as a theologian42 and stresses that a simple faith in the homoousion as defined by Nicaea was central to Lucifer’s writing. His virtue lies precisely in his lack of interest in the subtle distinctions between different types of people who questioned this (‘delle varie suddivisione di un’unica eresia’43) – for Lucifer, the simplicity of the doctrine is sufficient. Diercks also points out44 the use by Lucifer of a particular theological term – filius, erat quando non erat (‘there was a time when the Son was not’) to illustrate the Arian heresy,45 which show his technical knowledge of the debates, although it is not clear whether Arius himself did use this language

40 Historia Arianorum 62. 41 Constantius had a number of relatives killed after succeeding as co-emperor. 42 ‘La teologia trinitaria di Lucifero di Cagliari’, Divus Thomas 52 (1949) (= La dottrina trinitaria di Lucifero di Cagliari, Rome 1950) pp. 276–329. 43 p. 328. 44 pp. cxvi–cxvii. 45 A2 I 25–29, C IX 44–46, C XII 37–41, P XVIII 32–36, P XXIV 36–39, P XXXIV 49–50 and other passages where the reference is more oblique.

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We can also see in Lucifer the importance of the place of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. An example of this is C V.21: ‘Si non est concilium vestrum vanitatis, convince me. Non est vanum concilium, in quo omne concilium non est, nisi ut dei negetur filius, ut deus pater non esse verus pater defendatur, ut spiritus sanctus paracletus non esse verus dei spiritus adseveretur, ut apostolica atque evangelica traditio destruatur, ut traditio Arrii firmetur?’ (‘Convince me that your council is not false! Surely it is only not a false council, in which there is no trace of what a real council would be, if the Son of God were not denied, and if God the Father were not defended as a true father, and if the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, were not affirmed as true God – assertions which the tradition from the gospels and the apostles would demolish, and which the tradition from Arius would affirm?’) As Piras points out in his commentary it is striking that the normal Trinitarian order is changed and God the Son comes first. Moreover Lucifer asserts that this is part of ‘apostolic and evangelical tradition’. So also, for example, in this edition A1 XVI 12: ‘David liber et trinitatem loquitur perfectam et unam narrat deitatem patris et filii et spiritus sancti; et tu esse inveniris apostata’. (‘The book of David also speaks of the perfect Trinity, and talks of the single Godhead of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; so you’re found to be an apostate!’). This is all written before St Basil the Great’s On the Holy Spirit, so we can see a sign of a theology of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity which sees the Spirit’s place as essential. Much of this is well known as part of contemporary Trinitarian theology and Christology. But at the centre of Lucifer’s challenge to Constantius are two related accusations: first, that the emperor is a tyrant; and secondly – and this is given much more importance – he has acted unjustly by condemning a man in his absence, without a proper trial. That indeed is the primary title of this work in the texts. The rigged and intimidated council in Milan was not a legal trial; as tyrants have so often done in human history, the emperor bypassed proper procedures through bullying and the exercise of fear. This is why it is important for Lucifer to compare his hero with figures unjustly accused in the Bible, such as Naboth (A1 XVI–XVII) and Susannah (A2 VII–VIII). This strengthens the case for seeing Lucifer as a figure of some importance, at a time when among Christians how the Church should respond to the power of the State is a real issue. For all Lucifer’s faults, there are very few Christian leaders in the world today who feel able to challenge those in power with anything like the same passion and courage. This was discerned many years ago by one of the most significant and original theologians of the last sixty years, Jürgen Moltmann: No emperor can guarantee that peace of God which is beyond all understanding: only Christ can do this. The political consequence is a struggle for the freedom and independence of the church from the Christian emperor. Trinitarian theologians like Athanasius and Lucifer of Cagliari thus incurred banishment and persecution.46

46 The Crucified God (London: SCM Press, 1974) p. 326.

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Manuscript Tradition The manuscript tradition for Lucifer’s writings is very simple. There are two late manuscripts: the ninth century Vaticanus Reginensis Latinus 133 (V) and the much later (sixteenth century) Genovensis 1351 (G). In his edition Diercks lists where he has amended the text of Hartel’s nineteenth-century edition. Readers who wish to pursue this aspect of study of Lucifer’s work are referred to his extensive discussion and the briefer summary of the position in Piras’ edition of De Non Conveniendo.

Athanasius and Constantius De Athanasio is focussed on the great Patriarch, or Pope, of Alexandria; Lucifer portrays him as a living saint, unjustly accused and threatened with death by a tyrannical emperor who is basically in league with Satan. How far is the picture we are given true to the facts? Athanasius, in contrast to his supporter from Sardinia, is one of the most important theological figures of the fourth century. Venerated as a saint and a Doctor of the Church, his tenacity in resisting ‘Arians’ and ‘Semi-Arians’ is put forward as an example to the whole Church,47 and this is even more striking because he was persecuted by two successive Roman emperors and at odds, for much of his career, with most bishops of the Church: the phrase Athanasius contra mundum is proverbial. At a time when western Christians are more aware than in the past of the pressures being faced by Coptic Christians, he is even more important as a witness to the historical importance of Christianity in Egypt. His place within the theological tradition of Christianity is assured, but at the same time we do have to acknowledge that most of the sources about his life and teaching, and in particular his own extensive writings, do not claim to give a fair picture of his opponents. The studies by Timothy Barnes48 and David Gwynn49 examine the evidence in great detail; what we can say, for the purposes of this edition, is that while Athanasius was not without his faults his commitment to the same doctrinal beliefs as Lucifer, and his personal courage, cannot really be doubted. Moreover the basic truth of Lucifer’s case in De Athanasio is clear: while earlier in his career Athanasius was condemned by councils of bishops among whom he was able to defend himself, he was not present in Milan in 355, and moreover Constantius certainly put pressure on the bishops to condemn Athanasius. Lucifer was there, and was exiled because of his refusal to do what the emperor wanted.

47 So in the current Missale Romanum the collect for his feast day (2 May), the Catholic Church prays: ‘Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui beatum Athanasium episcopum divinitatis Filii tui propugnatorem eximium suscitasti, concede propitius, ut, eius doctrina et protectione gaudentes, in tui cognitione et amore sine intermissione crescamus’ (‘Almighty and eternal God, who raised up the blessed bishop Athanasius as a distinguished defender of your Son’s divinity, graciously grant that, rejoicing in his teaching and protection, we may grow continuously in knowledge and love of you’). 48 Athanasius and Constantius Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire London: Harvard University Press 1993. 49 Athanasius of Alexandria Bishop, Theologian, Ascetic, Father Oxford: Oxford University Press 2012.

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The Character of Theological Invective Much of the work for this edition was done at a time in the cultural history of the United Kingdom marked by a sharp polarisation in political and public life and a sharp decline in civility in public discourse, lamented by leading figures in the churches, for good reasons. It has been instructive to study the intemperate and at times violent language of a bishop addressing a Roman Emperor. It is perhaps difficult even for professional theologians and historians to appreciate exactly how strongly people felt in the fourth century about beliefs such as the Trinity and the Incarnation. After all that Christians had suffered under persecution, getting convictions right about the nature of God, and about how humanity is saved through Jesus Christ, was not something academic or remote – it went to the heart of discipleship. For bishops like Athanasius and Lucifer, those whose beliefs were false were no better than Christians who had apostasised under persecution. Indeed for Lucifer, the followers of Arius, including the emperor, were no better than Devil worshippers. Since the faith of many people depended on who would win the battle, passions in these writings run high. Nevertheless even by the standards of the day Lucifer was an extremist in his use of language – and in his inflexibility which went with this, as identified by men like Jerome who were instinctively ‘on his side’. On the other hand we can see in the OT prophets (quoted particularly in A1 XXXV) a similar approach. Perhaps it is not right for Church leaders, in challenging those in power, to be fearful of condemnatory language when it might be needed: so at times there is a place for strong invective. There is one example of his invective which we do have to address in our own age as profoundly flawed – his attacks, as a way of insulting Constantius, on the Jews. We need to be aware of the context here, since the ways in which many early Church fathers write about the Jews, including many who are (unlike Lucifer) canonised saints and Doctors of the Church, is shocking and in many respects offensive (the most notorious example is probably St John Chrysostom). In Lucifer’s case there seems to be no inconsistency between this hostility and his deep knowledge of the Old Testament, particularly evident in A1. It is possible that in the passages in which Lucifer accuses Constantius of being like the Jews, he is trying to wound him since we know that the emperor introduced significant anti-Jewish legislation (forbidding, for example, marriages between Jews and Christians). If we are to ‘live with’ the language Lucifer uses we do need to be clear about certain things. Christian churches in our own age are much more aware than at any time in the history of Christianity of how deep the legacy is of anti-Jewish sentiment in Christian theology and sources. Exposure to patristic examples of this is a good reminder of how far back this goes. Being aware of it should strengthen efforts to overcome this now. However, we need to be careful. It is, for example, anachronistic and inaccurate to describe this as ‘anti-Semitic’. Lucifer is not trying to expunge Jewish history from Christianity like the ‘German Christians’ in the 1930s, or he wouldn’t quote the Jewish scriptures so much. For him the theological issue is different – the Jews were the chosen people of God, but they lost this character by rejecting Christ. This sentiment, widely shared by Christians until the twentieth century (and sadly still

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believed by some today), helped to prepare the ground for what we see as antisemitism, but it’s not the same thing. Another point to make about the context relates to the fast-changing and insecure relationships between different religious groups in the Roman Empire in the fourth century. Christians, coming out of persecution and suddenly enjoying, in varying ways, privileges in the Roman State which had until recently been trying to wipe them out, were suspicious of all other groups, at least at the level of the official teachings of bishops. Lucifer’s anti-Jewish rhetoric, while very difficult for us, is no worse than that of other leading Christians who have been much more important theologically and historically.

Translating Lucifer As far as I am aware there only one other translation into English of any of Lucifer’s works, of Moriendum Esse pro Dei Filio50. Antonio Piras’ 1992 edition of the De Non Conveniendo contains a translation of the text into everyday and passionate Italian – he also has fresh translations of the biblical texts in the same style.51 In contrast to the writings of other opponents of the Emperor Constantius – the great Athanasius himself, Hilary of Poitiers and Eusebius of Vercelli, Lucifer’s style in all his writings makes a translator’s task difficult, even though much of his grammatical style is simple. This is because he is sparing in his use of what we would recognise as theological argument, the characteristics which make Athanasius and Hilary, alongside other great writers of this period (e.g. Gregory Nazianzen, Basil, Jerome, Ambrose and, shortly afterwards, Augustine) important theologians. Lucifer never really varies his style or pulls back from angry invective. Some of it has reminded me of the way Jesus is portrayed in Pasolini’s great film of the Gospel of St Matthew, shouting at great speed into a close-up camera. The difference is that this is not the Sermon on the Mount, and it goes on much longer: it is basically a rant. In some ways this style means that Lucifer’s Latin is not subtle or complex, although as I have noted above he does take considerable liberties with the rules of classical Latin grammar (as modern editors have noted and catalogued exhaustively). Lucifer combines a very ‘basic’ late Latin style, which is sometimes described as sermo humilis and is characteristic of Christian authors often addressing Christians from poor backgrounds with a limited education, with real signs of a rhetorical and classical education. But it also means that to make the ‘rant’ at all readable I have had to take some liberties myself. For example, just as Lucifer often breaks down some of the accepted ways in which the subjunctive is used, so I have not always reproduced it literally if it simply obscures what I think he is trying to say; I have also broken up long sentences, simplified grammatical structure and liberally used exclamation marks and italics to try and capture the bishop’s passion. In addition Lucifer varies the tenses he uses for

50 In R. Flower (ed.) Imperial Invectives against Constantius II (Translated Texts for Historians 67), Liverpool: Liverpool University Press 2016. 51 See pp. 55–56 of Piras’ edition.

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rhetorical effect, but to reproduce this practice accurately makes the English very ponderous, so I have tended to simplify to maintain a better English idiom (frequently making other tenses into the present tense); in the same way he uses repeatedly some auxiliary verbs to make a point, like Italian (such as velle) which at times I have simply omitted to maintain the flow of an English sentence. Although the treatises probably were not read out loud, as far as we’re aware, they were written in a speech-like style (like many similar works such as the apologetic treatises of Lucifer’s hero Athanasius) so I have portrayed them as speeches to capture the spirit. One oratorical technique which Lucifer uses – the constant use of questions – I have retained, which does weary the reader after a time. If this means that parts of this translation sometimes read like a parody in Private Eye, I think this has to be accepted. If the reader feels exhausted at times, that is simply ‘how it is’. The reactions of Constantius, if he read these works, are not recorded. There is no evidence that he responded to the constant calls by Lucifer to change his ways. A characteristic of Lucifer’s writing, to some extent shared with other writers, is his use of Scripture which I have discussed above. In terms of his writing technique, I think this was how he gave himself a rest, a drawing of the breath, and the ways in which he uses the Bible shows his deep familiarity with biblical texts. The passages are important here, since Lucifer is a major source for our knowledge of the Vetus Latina, and I have based the translations on Monsignor Ronald Knox’s translation of the Vulgate, amending them to align them to the text Lucifer was using. Since Lucifer’s own invective and the way I have tried to render this are stylistically distant from the masterful way in which Knox wrote English, this should emphasise for the reader the distinctiveness of the scriptural text, and provide much needed relief to the reader. The principles which Knox outlined after he produced his translating in On Englishing the Bible52 are useful for any translator. I am aware that making use of Knox in this way might be open to criticism. As I noted above it is sometimes claimed that the growth in Christianity contributed to a decline in classical Latin, because Christians, particularly in the earliest centuries of its existence, were drawn from poorer sections of society; so versions of the Christian scriptures in Latin would not have been good examples of classical Latin style; so, therefore, is not a more elevated diction for an English version, which was certainly the expectation when Knox produced his translation in the Bible in the 1940s and 1950s, appropriate? What we can say is that there are no grounds for claiming that Jerome’s Vulgate is more or less elevated than what we know of Vetus Latina texts to which Lucifer had access. There are often differences in vocabulary, but the ‘tone’ of the two Latin versions is similar, characterised by directness and a ‘noble simplicity’. In the Old Testament there are many places where the VL seems to follow the Septuagint more closely than Jerome, who took great care to consult the Hebrew, but this does not affect the overall Latin style. In the context of Lucifer’s writing I think using a more elevated tone for the Scripture passages shows how he uses the Bible to reinforce his arguments: he is self-consciously quoting Scripture in a direct way as other patristic 52 London: Burns and Oates 1949.

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writers do; in any case, Knox’s ‘timeless’ English, as it was called at the time, is not elevated or grand in the way that most contemporary English people would see the Authorised Version, although we do have to acknowledge that seventy years on at times it does seem quaint.53 From the point of view of the translator, I think quoting the Scriptures in this way has advantages, as I have suggested above. Following the example set by Fr Nicholas King’s fine new translation of the Septuagint, I have both in Lucifer’s text and in biblical quotations changed the Latin or Greek forms of proper names in the Old Testament to the Hebrew forms now universally familiar to English readers, and I have also amended the names of biblical books and the numbering of the psalms to harmonise with modern translations based on the Hebrew text – so I refer, for example, to Elijah rather than Elias and the first book of Chronicles rather than the first book of Paralipomenon. In some cases standard texts show an alternative verse numbering based on the Septuagint and I have included this in the references.

53 I have been unable to resist retaining, for example, his phrase ‘gods of the country-side’ for Baalim. This seems to evoke the rural Shropshire or Somerset where he was living when he translated the Bible.

Text and Translation

LUCIFERI CALARITANI QUIA ABSENTEM NEMO DEBET IUDICARE NEC DAMNARE vel DE ATHANASIO LIBER I I. Cogis nos, Constanti, absentem damnare consacerdotem nostrum religiosum Athanasium, sed diuina id facere prohibemur lege. inpellis auctoritate latius regali domini sacerdotes ad effundendum cruorem, ignorans iura iustitiae tradita nobis diuinitus te conatum ex nostris auferre mentibus. an diuinitus poteris adserere permissum absentem inauditum et, quod est maximum, innocentem damnari? quomodo etenim arbitraris diuinitus permissum puniri inauditos, quando uideas Adam et euam principes nostri generis auditos sententia percussos dei? et uocauit deus Adam, et dixit ei: Adam, ubi es? et dixit: uocem tuam audiui, domine, in paradiso et timui, quoniam nudus sum, et abscondi me. et dixit illi deus: quis tibi indicauit quia nudus es, nisi de ligno, de quo praeceperam tibi, de hoc solo ne manducares, ex eo manducasti? et dixit Adam: mulier, quam dedisti, ipsa mihi dedit de ligno, et manducaui. et dixit deus mulieri: quid hoc fecisti? et dixit mulier: serpens persuasit mihi, et manducaui.(Gn 3:9–13) cum igitur huiusmodi formam iudicandi dedisse deum aduertens, cum a latebris euocatis confessis que deum sententiam dedisse de sacris scripturarum collegeris fontibus, cuius fuisti atque es inpudentiae iudicandi dei seruis eam dare formam, quae non fuisset de lege ueniens domini? nec timuisti, ne fuisset dictum ad deum a nobis de te, quomodo fuerit dictum de refuga illo angelo serpens suasit me, Constantius imperator seduxit nos; credidimus ei eum arbitrati fuisse hominem? non uidere potuisti quia possis tali percuti dei indignantis sententia qua percussus uidetur et serpens? cui dicitur: quia tu fecisti hoc, maledictus tu ab omnibus pecudibus et ab omnibus bestiis terrae, quae sunt super terram; super pectus et uentrem tuum repes et terram edes omnibus diebus uitae tuae. et inimicitiam ponam inter te et mulierem et inter semen tuum et inter semen eius; ipse tuum obseruabit caput, et tu eius obseruabis calcaneum. (3:15–15) non ita et te dei offensam incurrere potuisse, ut ille incucurrerit angelus, ex hac una sententia domini debueras reminisci, praesertim cum cognosceres tuum etiam opus fuisse serpentinum? an cum ille serpens fuerit factus ex angelis, tu ex hominibus serpentem fieri potuisse es arbitratus minime? sed dicas uelim, quid intersit inter tuum atque huius angeli refugae apostatae factum. si ille mendacio seduxit rudes homines, et tu, et quidem tu non rudes; si ille utilitatis gratia ad arboris eorum inlexit mentes fructos edendos, et tu, pacis causa te facere cum adstruxeris.

LUCIFER OF CAGLIARI Why no one should judge or condemn someone who is absent Or Concerning Athanasius BOOK I I. Constantius, you know perfectly well that you’ve condemned in his absence our fellow priest and Christian Athanasius! You’ve done this even though the law has always forbidden us from doing such a thing. Backed up by your power as a monarch you oppress those of us who are priests, inciting us to shed blood, showing your ignorance of just laws which have been handed down; and you try to drive out of our minds awareness of God. On the basis of your allegedly divine power can you usurp the right to condemn a man in his absence, without hearing what he has to say? What’s more, and this is the worst thing of all, he is innocent! So how many times have you – again on the basis of your allegedly divine power – judged against and punished people whose voices are unheard? Shouldn’t you look at Adam and Eve, the forbears of our race, who were heard by God and then punished by him because of the reasoned judgment he made against them? And the Lord God called to Adam; Where art thou? he asked. I heard thy voice, Adam said, in the garden, and I was afraid, because of my nakedness, so I hid myself. And God said to him, Why, who told thee of thy nakedness? Or hadst thou eaten of the tree, whose fruit I forbade thee to eat? The woman, said Adam, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, she herself it was who offered me fruit from the tree, and so I came to chew at it. Then the Lord God said to the woman, What made thee do this? The serpent, she said, persuaded me, and so I took it.1 (Gn 3:9–13) You’re aware that God has given you the ability to make judgments. You cull the sacred sources of Scripture to give us your opinion about God; and although these come from darkness you argue that your opinion is certain. God, that is, who’s given you the ability to make judgments; you come to judge God’s servants on the basis of acts which would not have come from God’s law. Even though we call you to account before God, you’ve no fear of how often was said, concerning the exile from the garden and the fallen angel, the serpent persuaded me. Therefore we would say ‘The emperor Constantius seduced us; we believed him to be a man of good judgment’. Can’t you see that you’re struck down by such a view of God? This means that God will be indignant and attack you and the serpent! In response to this Scripture says: And the Lord God said to the serpent, For this work of thine, thou, alone among all the cattle and all the wild beasts, shalt bear a curse; thou shalt crawl on thy belly and eat dust all thy life long. And I will establish a feud between thee and the woman, between thy offspring and hers; she is to crush thy head, while thou dost lie in ambush at her heels. (3:14–15) So you were able to offend God, and his fallen angel agreed with this; and you should remember this about God, since the serpent was originally one of the community of angels: were you not aware that you would become a serpent, since your work is

1 Here I have used three English words to render ‘manducare’ (Vg has ‘comedere’).

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II. Cumque omnium Christianorum bono te hoc opus dixeris adgressum, utique inspecta opera tua datur intellegi serpentem te illum esse imitatum. cupiens dei mandatorum fieri transgressores, dedisti praecepta damnandum esse inauditum absentem negandam que audientiam purgare posse se de crimine obiecto proclamanti. Abel interficitur iustus et interrogatus Cain sumit sententiam; et tu domini inauditum uis puniri sacerdotem? factus est, inquit, Abel pastor ouium, Cain autem erat operans terram. et factum est, post dies obtulit Cain de fructu terrae sacrificium domino, et Abel obtulit et ipse de primitiis ouium suarum, et respexit deus super Abel et super munera eius, super Cain uero et super sacrificia eius non respexit. et contristatus est Cain ualde, et concidit uultus eius. et dixit dominus deus ad Cain: quare tristis factus es et quare concidit uultus tuus? quare non recte obtulisti? peccasti, quiesce et cetera, et infra: dixit Cain ad Abel fratrem suum: eamus in campum. et factum est, cum essent ipsi in campo, insurrexit Cain super Abel fratrem suum et occidit eum. et dixit deus ad Cain: ubi est frater tuus? et dixit: nescio; numquid custos fratris mei sum ego? et dixit deus: quid fecisti hoc? uox sanguinis fratris tui clamat ad me de terra. (4:2–7) numquid non licuerat deo, priusquam Cain conuocaret atque interrogaret, punire? sed noluit, dans formam, quo inciperemus genere iudicare commissos nobis, nobis, inquam, de quibus per hieremiam prophetam dicit ad populos suae maiestati dicatos: et dabo uobis pastores secundum cor meum, et pascent uos pascentes cum disciplina. damnate, inquis, eum quem ignoratis deliquisse. ( Jr 3:15) cur? nempe ad hoc, ut iam non episcopi, sed mereremur nuncupari uesani atque carnifices. non metuis, oro, haec mandans domini ad Noe sanctissimum dicentis uocem? sicut olera faeni dedi uobis omnia. praeter carnem et sanguinem animae non edetis. etenim uestrum sanguinem animarum uestrarum exquiram de manibus omnium bestiarum, exquiram animam hominis. qui effuderit sanguinem hominis, pro sanguine hominis effundetur, quia ad imaginem dei feci hominem. (Gn 9:3–6) non metuis, oro, tantorum te qui uideas interfectorem dei extitisse seruorum, ut adhuc et ipse innocentes iugules et nos participes fieri tuorum cogas funerum? cum dictum a socero suo Iethro fuisset Moysi, cur tota detineret populum die: uenit ad me, inquit, populus quaerens iudicium a deo. (Ex 18:15) igitur si iudicium dei antestitum tam decet esse

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the serpent’s work? Or since that serpent had been made from the community of angels, have you decided that you should be able to minister to a serpent drawn from men? But I would like it if you could say something about what might come between you and the acts of this unfaithful, fugitive fallen angel, especially if he seduced by his deceit men who are uncouth – and indeed you, who are not uncouth; or if he misled the minds of Adam and Eve who should have known better than to seek the fruit of the tree. And I’d like you to do this because you yourself have tried to do this, allegedly for the sake of peace.2 II. You’ve clearly committed an act of aggression against the well-being of all Christians; so you should understand that your actions show that you’ve modelled yourself on the serpent. You clearly want to act against God’s commandments, so you order that a person should be condemned in his absence, without being heard, without an audience; and yet you try to purge yourself of any charge laid against you. Abel was murdered, a just man; and Cain, when interrogated, does not deny it. And yet you want to punish without a hearing a priest of the Lord? The Lord says in Scripture: Abel became a shepherd, while Cain tilled the ground.3 Time passed, and Cain brought the Lord an offering out of the crops the land had given him; Abel, too, brought an offering, and his offering was out of the first-born of his flock. On Abel, and on his offering, the Lord looked with favour, but not upon Cain, or his offering; so that Cain was much saddened, and his looks were lowering. But the Lord asked Cain, What does this anger mean, this frowning face of thine? Why hast thou not made your offering in the right way?4 Thou has sinned; be at peace! and so on. (4:2–7) And again: Then Cain said to his brother, Let us go out together to the fields; and while they were out in the open, Cain turned upon his brother Abel and killed him. Lord said to Cain, Where is thy brother Abel? I cannot όtell, said he; is it for me to keep watch over my brother? But the answer came, What is this thou hast done? The blood of thy brother has found a voice that cries out to me from the ground. (4:8–10) Does such a man not value God? Especially as Cain called people together and asked them whether there would be punishment?5 But it was not God’s will when he made us that should judge people in this way, people entrusted to us. Jeremiah said of such people when he prophesied to those who were given to him for protection and you shall have shepherds of his own choice to guide you with discipline. ( Jr 3:15) ‘Condemn him’, you say, ‘even though you don’t know what he has done wrong!’ Why? This now means that we would deserve to be considered not bishops but madmen and executioners. You’re not afraid to command us to do this, in spite of what the holy Lord said to Noah I make food all over to you, by the same title as the green grass that has growth. Only, you must not eat the flesh with the blood still in it. The shedder of your own life-blood shall be held to account for it, whether man or beast; whoever



2 Because Athanasius was seen as a divisive figure Lucifer is arguing here that Constantius wants him out of the way for the sake of peace. 3 Vg ‘agricola’, LXX ἐργαζόμενος τὴν γῆν. 4 This question is not in Vg, but LXX has ἐάν ὀρθῶς προσενέγκης. 5 The biblical text which is the basis of this tradition is not given.

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iustum, quod dei esse dicatur iudicio terminatum, quomodo tu inauditum iubebas damnari a nobis, cum Moysen inueneris dixisse: uenit ad me populus quaerens iudicium a domino? si populus idcirco ad nos confluit, ut secundum dei legem iudicetur, cur tu inquies: ‘damnate innocentem’? itaque cum hoc praeceptum, quod prolatum est a te, non sit ueniens ex lege dei, sed sit plane ex uoluntate firmatum diaboli, tandem intellege quisnam sis.

III. Uxor Loth conuersa in salem est, cur implere nequiuerit imperata; nobis, credo interuentu tuo, quia uidelicet sis rex romani imperii, nihil accideret malorum, si falsis praegrauatum criminibus damnaremus? sacra scriptura in Exodo, Moyses, inquit, ascendit in montem dei, et uocauit eum deus de monte dicens: haec dices domui Iacob et adnuntiabis filiis Israel: ipsi uidistis quanta fecerim aegyptiis, et adsumpsi uos tamquam supra pinnas aquilae et adduxi uos ad me. et nunc si auditu audieritis uocem meam et custodieritis testamentum meum, eritis mihi populus abundans prae omnibus gentibus. mea est enim uniuersa terra. uos autem eritis mihi regnum sacratissimum et gens sancta. (19:3–6) quomodo gens sancta, si innocentium fuerimus necatores? quomodo regnum deo sacratissimum, si praecepta praetereamus eius? item dicit deus: non moechaberis, non occides, non falsum testimonium dices aduersus proximum tuum. (20:13–16) tu inquis contra: ‘crede mihi dicenti falsa et macta innocentem’. monens deus dicit in Exodo: non credes auditui uano, non consenties cum iniquo fieri testis iniustus, non eris cum conpluribus in malitia. non adpones cum conpluribus declinare cum turba, ut declines iudicium et pauperi non miserearis in iudicio eius, et infra: non subuertes iudicium pauperis in iudicio eius, ab omni uerbo iniquo recedes, innocentem et iustum non occides, non iustificabis impium pro muneribus; et munera enim excaecant oculos uidentium et pestiferant sermones iustos. (23:1–3, 6–8) ad haec tu excludenda praecepta subuertere iudicium eius seruos conpellis iustum, temptans etiam muneribus nostram corrumpere dicatam conscientiam deo. si auditu, dicit deus, audieris uocis meae et feceris omnia quae dixero tibi, inimicus ero inimicis tuis et restituam contrariis tuis. (23:22) iam tuum sit probare praecepisse deum innocentes esse percutiendos, apostolicam deserendam fidem et tuam suscipiendam perfidiam. cur haec, quae mandatis domini aduersantur, fieri praecipiendum putasti, cum etiam in leuitico dominum memineris dixisse ad

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takes the life of his brother-man shall answer for it to me. Man was made in God’s image, and whoever sheds a man’s blood must shed his own blood in return. (Gn 9:3–6) Does it not worry you that you would plainly be the killer of so many of God’s servants? That you’re see fit to gather together innocent people to join in funeral rites? I say this because of what Moses said to his brother in law Jethro, explaining why they had detained the people for a whole day: They come to me to find out what God’s judgment is. (Ex 18:15) So if it is acceptable for a just man to undergo God’s judgment without any witnesses, and then be executed because of that judgment, how can you order someone to be condemned by us without a hearing, when you know that Moses said? They come to me to find out what God’s judgment is. If the people have seen through you and come over to our side, as they would rather be judged according to the law of God, why do you say ‘condemn an innocent man’?6 Therefore as this order which you’ve given is not in line with God’s law, but rather has been done so vigorously as willed by Satan, at least be aware of the sort of person you are. III. Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt because she couldn’t obey the command not to look back. You may be ruler of the Roman empire, but surely because of what you’ve done these evils have come down on us, if we’re to be condemned on the basis of false charges imposed on us? Sacred Scripture says in Exodus: Here Moses went up to meet God, and the voice of God came to him from the mountain, A message to the race of Jacob; to Israel’s sons proclaim it: You’ve seen for yourselves what I did to the Egyptians, how I took you up as if on eagle’s wings, and took you up into my care. Listen, then, to my voice, and keep your covenant with me; and I, to whom all the earth belongs, will single you out among its peoples to be my own. You shall serve me as a most holy kingdom, as a consecrated nation. (19:3–6) How can people be holy if we’re the killers of those who are innocent? How is God’s kingdom sacred if we’ve ignored his commandments? So again God says: Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. (20:13, 15, 16) In response to this you say: ‘Believe me when I say something which is not true – and slay an innocent man!’ God, however, says in Exodus Never must thou take up a false cry, or join hands with the guilty by giving false witness in their favour. Never must thou follow with the crowd in doing wrong, or be swayed by many voices so as to give false judgement; even pity for the poor must not sway thee when judgement is to be given. (23:1–3) and below: Don’t subvert true judgement when the cause of the poor is tried. Keep clear of untruth. Don’t bring death on an innocent man that has justice on his side; thou shalt not give a judgment in favour of a wrong-doer in return for bribes; they blind those who can see and infect7 just words (23:6–8) You compel your servants to go against their better judgment or reject God’s commandments, tempting us to corrupt our consciences in relation to God, consciences which have been formed in justice and obedience to



6 Throughout both books Lucifer makes use of imaginary quotations from Constantius. This may be modelled on the more extensive imaginary dialogues in Athanasius History of the Arians. 7 LXX αὐμαίνεται Vg ‘subvertunt verba justorum’. Coleti suggests that Lucifer read or mid-read the Greek to be λοιμαίνεται, based on the Greek word λοιμός, ‘pest’.

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Moysen: loquere filiis Israel et dices ad eos: ego dominus deus uester, secundum studia terrae aegypti, in qua inhabitastis, in ea non facietis, et secundum studia terrae chananaeorum, in quam ego induxero uos, ibi non facietis et in legitima eorum non ambulabitis. iudicia mea facietis et praecepta mea custodite et ambulate in eis. ego dominus deus uester. custodite omnia praecepta mea et omnia iudicia mea et facietis ea; qui fecerit ea homo uiuet in ipsis. ego dominus deus uester (Lv 18:2–5) si in praeceptis domini docere uales conscriptum iustos esse ad iniustorum suggestiones puniendos, recte cuncta te egisse atque agere poteris aduertere. doce in mandatis dei conscriptum calumniis petitos eius cultores a te domus eius persecutore per nos episcopos esse interimendos.

IV. Cur ad hanc per coArrianos tuos deductus es implendam malitiam? quae coegit te causa imperatorem petere calumniis dei hominem? numquid non legeras in leuitico dixisse deum: nolite mendacio petere neque calumniemini unusquisque proximum? et infra: non mentiemini neque calumniam facietis proximo, et non profanabitis nomen domini dei uestri. ego sum dominus deus uester. non nocebis proximo tuo, et timebis dominum deum tuum. ego sum dominus deus tuus. non facietis iniquum in iudicio, non accipias personam pauperis neque miratus fueris ad personam potentis; in iustitia iudicabis proximum tuum. non ambulabis in dolo in gente tua. non consenties in sanguinem proximi tui. ego sum dominus deus uester. non odies fratrem tuum sensu tuo, corripiens corripies proximum tuum et diliges proximum tuum sicut te ipsum. ego dominus deus uester. legem meam custodite. (19:11–19) haec cum scripta memineris, existimas acceptatores personae nos tuae futuros? ad innocentis rogasti necem et cum te contemptum aduertisses, tetendisti temet ad genera omnia ingerenda poenarum. dicit deus: a facie diuitis ne timeas, et honorabis faciem presbyteri et timebis dominum deum tuum. ego sum dominus deus tuus. (19:15, 32) et tu timeri te potuisse es arbitratus et exhonorari Athanasium, quem deus praeceperit honorandum? non legeras dixisse deum: non facietis iniuste in iudicio in mensura et in penso et in stateris; statera iusta pensabitis (19:35–36) et mensura iusta, ut statuisses fuisse per nos necandum absentem? si iustum est iudicium audiri se proclamantem absentem puniri, tuae erunt iustae etiam allegationes apud deum

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him God says If thou wilt listen to my warnings, and do all I bid thee, then thy enemies shall find an enemy in me, and I will restore your fortunes over and against your foes. (23:22) Now it looks as if you want to try and prove that God has commanded that innocent people be struck down – this would mean that the faith of the apostles has been abandoned and your treachery vindicated. Why do you think you’re able to order these things to happen which are at odds with God’s commandments? Surely you remember what God said to Moses in Leviticus? Say this to the sons of Israel this message: I am the Lord your God; it is not for you to live by the way of life 1of that Egyptian land in which you once dwelt, or to imitate the men of Canaan, the new home I am giving you, and follow their observances. It is my decrees you will execute, my commands you will obey, following them closely; am I not the Lord your God? It is my commands, my decrees you must keep; they give life to the man who lives by them; am I not your Lord? (Lv 18:2–5) You can only take the view that you’ve acted rightly in your own eyes about all these things you’ve done because you think you can teach, according to your false understanding of God’s precepts, that I should be justly punished because unjust men have accused me. In your falsified version of God’s commands you teach that those who want to be his faithful worshippers should be killed by those of us who are bishops – all because of you, the persecutor of God’s house! IV. Why have you been led astray to bring about this evil with the help of your fellow Arians?8 Why would you, a man full of insults towards God, seek to be emperor? Why have you not read what God said in Leviticus? Don’t lie and deceive one another. And further on: don’t lie or wrong thy neighbour, and don’t profane the name of the Lord thy God. I am the Lord thy God. Don’t despoil thy neighbour by violence, and fear the Lord thy God. Don’t pervert justice by giving false awards, whether by taking a man’s poverty into account, or by flattering the great; give every man his just due. Don’t walk in the way of deception among thy people. Don’t consent to the shedding of thy neighbour’s blood. I am the Lord thy God. Don’t nurse resentment against thy brother; put thyself in the right by confronting him with his fault. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; I am the Lord thy God. Keep true to my law. (19:11–19) Do you remember what was written? Do you think people in the future will not see through your mask?9 You’ve asked for an innocent man to be killed. Determined to be contemptible, you’re now moving towards carrying out all sorts of other punishments. God says Don’t fear the face of a rich man, but honour rather the face of thine elder, and fear the Lord thy God.10 (19:15, 32) And you think you should be feared? You think you can lecture Athanasius, a man whom God has commanded should be honoured? Have you not read what God said in Leviticus? There must be no tampering with justice, with the rule or the weight or the measure you employ; an even scale, a true balance, a full bushel,



8 The word Lucifer uses here, ‘coariannos’ is one of the derogatory terms he coins in his treatises. Making up words like this is a characteristic of his style. See the discussion in the introduction of the ‘loaded’ character of the term. 9 That is, ‘be taken in by your deceit’. 10 The Vg here lacks the reference to the rich man and the elder.

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contra nos, qui tuae temeritatis praecepta respuerimus. in Deuteronomio repetit gloriosus Moyses dixisse ad iudices quos populo dederat: audite inter fratres uestros et iudicate iuste inter medium uiri et inter medium fratris et in medio proselyti eius. non accipietis personam in iudicio, aduersus minorem aut aduersus maiorem iudicabis, non sumas personam hominis, quoniam iudicium est dei. (Dt 1:16–17) et uis, Constantius, credo quia sis in sublimitate degens regali, accipi tuam personam; es magnopere cupiens eum, cuius sis sanguinem sitiens, mactari per nos domini sacerdotes. hinc apud te itaque nos detestabiles, quoniam iudicium ad dei sumus uoluntatem promentes, hinc ad gladium putasti tendendam carnificem dexteram tuam, tamquam possis gladio uincere quos uideres propter dei filium nec praesentem dubitare amittere uitam nec perhorrescere mortem. ad filios Israel narrat sanctissimus Moyses ex praecepto dei: uidete, tradidit uobis dominus deus uester ante faciem uestram terram; ascendentes possidete, quemadmodum dixit dominus deus patrum nostrorum nobis. nolite timere neque formidemini. (1:21) si illis neminem praeter deum timendum mandatum est, illis imaginem nostrae uocationis portantibus, quanto magis praeter deum neminem metuere condecet qui non terras Chananaeorum, Iebusaeorum et Gergesaeorum atque Amorrhaeorum simus desiderantes consequi, sed caelestia regna, sed dei perpetuum amorem? quomodo etenim uigor inanis dignitatis tuae nos ab hoc potuit aut potest proposito flectere, cum praeter deum statuerimus metuendum neminem?

V. Non sumus Christiani ex illis qui dixerunt: propter quod odiit nos dominus eduxit nos de terra Aegypti, tradere nos in manus Amorrhaeorum et disperdere nos, (1:27) sed sumus ex illis qui dixerunt ac dicunt ad deum: propter te occidimur tota die, aestimati sumus ut oues occisionis, sed in his omnibus superamus propter eum qui dilexit nos.(Rm 8:36) non timuimus neque timemus minas tuas nos, qui nouimus nihil posse deo resistere, ne ut illi pereamus qui audiunt a Moysi: fratres uestri auerterunt cor uestrum dicentes: gens magna est et dura multa et potentior uobis et ciuitates magnae et muratae usque ad caelum, sed et filios gigantum uidimus illic. (Dt 1:28) non timemus gladium tuum Christiani, qui praesumamus prostratis uobis, dei religionis inimicis, uenturos nos ad conuiuium patriarcharum, prophetarum, apostolorum ac martyrum. non metuimus uirtutem caduci regni tui milites dei uiui. non sumus ex illis diffidentiae filiis, qui plus inimicos suos quam deum fuerant arbitrati potuisse, ut tuam fragilem uereamur potentiam; si enim non ita Iudaei credidissent, quod uidelicet plus

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a full pint-measure;(19:25–36) Are the scales just if you lay down that a man should be condemned by us to death in his absence? If it is right that someone should be proclaimed to have been heard when he hasn’t been, and then condemned in his absence, then your claims against us are just in God’s sight. This is because we’ve spat out your commands, the fruit of your arrogance. In Deuteronomy the glorious Moses says to the judges whom he had given to the people: Listen to the pleadings of each man, and give a just award to citizen and to stranger alike. Listen impartially to great and small, without undue regard for any man; it is God’s justice you’re administering. (Dt 1:16–17) Constantius, I think you want to take up your mask, because you would pass your time in regal splendour; you really want Athanasius, thirsting for his blood, so that he should be slaughtered at our hands, we who are priests of the Lord. So to you we’re detestable, because we want him to be judged according to the will of God; so you’ve decided to stretch out your murderous right hand and take up the sword, in the same way as you think you can conquer by the sword those who don’t doubt that the Son of God is present with them. They are not worried about losing their lives, nor are they afraid of death. Moses, who is most holy, tells this story to the children of Israel on basis of what God commanded: The land you see before you is the Lord’s gift to you, a divine gift; march in and take possession of it, in fulfilment of the promises he made to your fathers; let there be no cowardice, no shrinking here. (Dt 1:21) If the people of Israel were commanded to fear no one except God, and they are the model for our vocation, how fitting it is for us to fear no one save God! We don’t want to follow the Canaanites, the Jebusites, the Gergesenes11 and the Amorites, but rather the kingdom of heaven, the everlasting love of God! How could the vacuous strength of your vanity deflect us from our wish, since it’s our decision that we fear no one except God? V. As Christians we’re not those who say The Lord wishes us ill; that is why he has brought us away from Egypt, to leave us at the mercy of the Amorites, and so make an end of us. (Dt 1:27); but rather we clearly say12 to God For thy sake, says the scripture, we face death at every moment, reckoned no better than sheep marked down for slaughter; Yet in all this we’re conquerors, through him who has granted us his love.(Rm 8:36) We’re simply not afraid of your threats; we know that we can do nothing to resist God, lest we perish like those who heard Moses say The brothers we sent have taken the heart out of us, with their tales of a great multitude of men, taller in stature than we’re, of cities walled up to the skies, of the sons of giants they saw there. (Dt 1:28) As Christians we don’t fear your sword! We’re superior to you – you’re prostrate before us, the enemies of the religion of God; you dare to try and come to the banquet of the patriarchs, the apostles and the martyrs. We’re not afraid of the fake virtue of your fallen kingdom, as we’re the soldiers of God. We’re not sons of cowardice, who thought they were

11 Presumably the place of the event with the swine recounted in Mark 5:1–20 and parallels. 12 A habit of Lucifer’s is to give greater emphasis to a phrase by using two tenses; so here the literal translation is ‘have said and say’ to God. He does this so often that it makes the text less readable in English so I have generally kept to the present tense and tried to impart the emphasis in other ways.

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possent Chananaei, Iebusaei et Amorrhaei et ceteri inimici quam deus, numquam profecto Moysi uocem insuperhabuissent dicentis: ne loquamini neque formidemini ab eis. dominus deus uester, qui antecedit ante faciem uestram, ipse simul expugnabit eos uobis cum secundum omnia quaecumque fecit uobis in terra aegypti, et in deserto hoc quod uidetis quomodo fouit te dominus deus tuus, sicut quis foueat homo filium suum, in omnem uiam quam ambulatis, quoadusque uenistis ad hunc locum, deducens uos in igni nocte, ostendens uobis iter, ut ambularetis in eam et in nube diei. (1:29–33) si non post haec salutaria monita plus potuisse quos contra pugnam gerebant quam deum filii Israel fuissent credentes, numquam profecto ad omnem deuenissent interitum. potentem igitur esse nouimus deum ad eripiendos nos de manibus tuis ad caeleste nobis regnum promissum tendentes. timere tuam crudelitatem non poterimus, maxime qui elegerimus a te, non a deo puniri.

VI. Dixisti: ‘damnate Athanasium’. quem eramus, Constanti, damnaturi? illum ne, quem uidemus dei filium confiteri, ut sunt confessi patriarchae, prophetae, apostoli ac martyres, an te, qui sis negans, ut negauit magister tuus Arrius, ut negauerunt Scarioth Iudas et cuncti Iudaei? dicit deus ad Moysen: non erunt tibi dii alii praeter me. non facies tibi sculptilem neque omnem similitudinem eorum, quaecumque sunt in caelo sursum et eorum, quae sunt in terra deorsum, et quaecumque sunt in aquis subtus terram. non adorabis illis neque seruies eis, quoniam ego sum dominus deus tuus, deus zelans, reddens peccata patrum in filiis in tertiam et quartam progeniem eis qui oderunt me, et faciens misericordiam in milibus his qui diligunt me et his qui custodiunt praecepta mea. (5:7–11) et haec dicis diuina mandata calcanda: suscipite idololatriam meam, derelinquite deum, interficite inimicum meum, non dei Athanasium, quo possitis inueniri inter eos qui oderunt deum, quibus promiserit se in tertiam et quartam progeniem redditurum; date operam, ne cum illis diligamini a deo, propter quos dicit: faciens misericordiam in milia his qui diligunt me et his qui custodiunt praecepta mea. (5:10) conspicis, prudentissime imperator, hoc tibi bonum uideri quod si malum et hoc malum quod bonum? aut [negabis bonum, aut] negabis bona te mala esse intellegere et mala bona? si negas, responde. bonum est damnare innocentem an malum? bonum est derelinquere deum et ire post idololatriam an malum? si dixeris malum, dicetur tibi a nobis: cur haec tu geris? iterum clamat in Deuteronomio Moyses dicens: custodite mandata domini dei tui et testimonia et iustificationes quascumque mandauit tibi, et facies quod placitum est et quod bonum ante dominum deum tuum, ut benefiat tibi. et intrabis et hereditate possidebis terram bonam, quam iurauit dominus patribus uestris. (6:17–18) et tu haec esse bona elegisti, haec deo placita, ut in contumeliam eius maiestatis idololatria firmetur per tui regni uirtutem et iugulentur hi qui se eius fuerint confessi cultores. ecce ego, dicit Moyses, dedi ante conspectum uestrum hodie benedictionem et maledictionem, benedictionem, si audieritis mandata domini dei uestri quaecumque ego mando uobis hodie. (11:26–27) cum utique illi sint benedicti qui innocentem non

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more powerful than God as his enemies, which would mean that we would be afraid of your flimsy power. So if the Jews had not believed this, how much more would the Canaanites, the Jebusites, the Amorites and God’s other foes have thought themselves more powerful than he. Otherwise Moses would not have raised his voice when he said: Don’t speak with them, don’t shrink before them; will not the Lord God who is your leader fight on your side, as he did in Egypt for all to see? Your own eyes have witnessed how the Lord your God carried you through the desert as a man carries his little son, all the long road you’ve travelled to reach this spot, guiding you on your journey in fire by night, in cloud by day. (1:29–33)13 If they had received this salutary advice, showed their belief in God and then not been able to carry on fighting more than the children of Israel, then they would certainly never have come to destruction. Consequently we’re confident that God can make sure we’re rescued from your clutches, since we hold on to the hope of the promise of the kingdom of heaven. We couldn’t fear your cruelty, since we choose to take punishment from God, not you. VI. You’ve said: ‘Condemn Athanasius!’ Constantius, who are we meant to condemn? Do you mean the man who clearly confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, just as patriarchs, prophets, apostles and martyrs have done? Shouldn’t we condemn you, as you deny him, just like your master Arius did, as Judas Iscariot and all the Jews did? Thou shalt not defy me by making other gods thy own. Thou shalt not carve thyself images, or fashion the likeness of anything in heaven above, or on earth beneath, or in the waters at the roots of earth, to bow down and serve it. I, thy God, the Lord Almighty, am zealous in my love; be my enemy, and thy children, to the third and fourth generation, shall make amends; love me, keep my commandments, and mercy shall be thine a thousand-fold. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God lightly on thy lips; if a man uses that name lightly, he will not go unpunished. (5:7–11) And you say that these commandments from God should be trampled on! ‘Worship idols! Desert God! Kill Athanasius – my enemy, not God’s!’ This means that you will be clearly among those who hate God, and he promised that he would visit punishment on you to the third and fourth generations. Pay attention to this, or else we will be loved by God; we will be like those about whom God says: love me, keep my commandments, and mercy shall be thine a thousand-fold. (5:10) Most prudent emperor, be aware that what you think to be good is in fact bad, and what you think to be bad is good. Or do you deny that which is good, or deny that you think that good things are bad? Answer: do you deny that bad things are good? Is it a good thing or a bad thing to condemn an innocent man? Is it a good or a bad thing to desert God and embrace idolatry? If you say it is bad, then we should say to you: ‘Why then are doing these things?’ Again Moses cries out against you in Deuteronomy: It is for thee to live by his commandments, by the decrees and observances he has enjoined on thee to obey the Lord’s good pleasure. So shalt thou prosper, and the fair land which the Lord promised to thy fathers shall be thine to have and to hold (6:17–18) And you make the choice in your mind that these things are good! You do this to strengthen idolatry and God’s 13 The Vg is longer and more elaborate here.

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sint punientes, illi domini seruantes mandata qui inauditum damnare noluerint, tu quomodo te benedictum putas, cum per opus tuum te probes inter maledictos constitutum? aut si non inter maledictos es, cur Moysen spernis dicentem: si autem inueniatur in te in una ciuitatum tuarum, quas dominus deus tuus dabit tibi, uir aut mulier qui fecerit malignum ante dominum deum tuum transire in testamentum eius, et uenientes seruierint diis alienis et adorauerint eos aut soli aut lunae aut omni, qui sunt in mundo de caelo,(17:2–3) et infra: produces uirum illum aut mulierem illam, et lapidabitis eos in lapidibus, et morientur. in duobus testibus aut in tribus morietur moriens. non morietur in uno teste. et manus testium erit super eum in primis ad occidendum illum, et manus totius plebis postremo. et tolles malignum ex uobis ipsis (17:5–7)? si non es, Constanti, currens cum maledictis, cur non mandatis dei serui paruisti Moysi? cur, cum ille dicat duobus tribus ue testibus etiam idololatrem perire, tu nec quidem audientiam uolueris praeberi uiro deo dicato, ei negare fecisti audientiam, cui sis traditus a deo, ei cui si iusta defendenti restiteris, morte mori iussus ore fueris Moysi? ut enim iudicia sacerdotis maneant inuiolata, dicit sic: exsurgens ascendes in locum quocumque elegerit dominus deus tuus inuocari nomen eius ibi. et loquere ad sacerdotes, leuitas aut ad iudicem, quicumque factus fuerit in diebus illis, et requirentes nuntiabunt tibi iudicium et facies secundum omnem praeceptum, quodcumque nuntiauerint tibi qui sunt in loco illo, in quo elegit dominus deus tuus inuocari nomen illius ibi, et obserua te nimis. facies secundum omnia quaecumque constituerunt tibi. secundum legem et secundum iudicium quodcumque dixerint facies, non declinabis a uerbo quodcumque nuntiauerint tibi, facies quodcumque iudicauerint tibi, non declinabis dextra aut sinistra. et homo quicumque fecerit in superbia, ne audiat sacerdotes adstantes officia exhibere in nomine domini dei aut iudex quicumque fuerit in diebus illis, morietur homo ille, et tolles malum de Israel. et omnis populus audiens timebit et non impie aget ultra. (17:8–13)

VII. Sed dicis: ‘isto in loco deo deuotissimus Moyses quomodo sacerdotum fecit mentionem, sic et iudicis’. proba te super nos factum iudicem, proba ad hoc te constitutum imperatorem, ut nos armis tuis ad omnem implendam uoluntatem amici tui diaboli perduceres. cum probare non possis, quia praeceptum sit tibi non solum non dominari episcopis, sed et ita eorum oboedire statutis, ut si subuertere eorum decreta temptaueris, si fueris in superbia conprehensus, morte mori iussus sis, quomodo dicere poteris iudicare te posse de episcopis, quibus nisi oboedieris, iam, quantum apud deum, mortis poena fueris multatus? cum haec ita sint, tu quis es profanus, ad dei domesticos quasi quis tu tibi sumis dei sacerdotum auctoritatem, cum etiam ipsos iudices Iudaeos tunc, quando lege manebant dei, ex genere habere permiserit

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majesty be held in contempt – all this because of the so-called virtue of your empire! You do this so that these men, who’ve b1elieved in God and worshipped him, can be butchered. Moses says Such is the choice I set before you this day, blessing or curse: a blessing, if you will hear the commands I now give you from the Lord your God; (11:26) Therefore since people who punish an innocent man should not be considered blessed in God’s sight – and people are blessed if they are obedient to God’s commands because they won’t condemn an innocent man without a hearing – how can you think of yourself as blessed? How can you claim this as your actions show that you’re an evildoer? If you’re not an evildoer, why do you reject Moses when he: It may be that, in one of the cities the Lord thy God gives thee, men and women of thy race will be found so defiant and transgress against to his covenant, that they will forsake him, and enslave themselves to the worship of other gods, the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, in contempt of my commandment.14 (17:2–3) or further on: Away with such recreant men or women; let them be killed by stoning. But there must be two witnesses or more if the death penalty is inflicted; one witness will not suffice when a man’s life is in question. First the witnesses, then the rest of the people must put a hand to the deed, and so thou wilt rid thyself of the plague that infects thy company (17:5–7), Constantius, why don’t you obey the commands of God’s servant, Moses? Why, since he lays down that an idolater should perish on the strength of the testimony of two or three witnesses, aren’t you willing to grant a hearing to a man to whom you’ve been handed over by God? I say this: shouldn’t you recompense this man justly, you who deserve to be put to death because of what Moses said? In order to protect the legal rights of priests he said: Up, then, make thy way to the place the Lord thy God has chosen, and have recourse to the priests of Levi’s race, to the judge who has been made a judge at that time; thou hast but to ask them, and they will make the right decision known to thee. Thou must needs give effect to the sentence they pronounce, these officers of the Lord’s chosen sanctuary; when they have told thee what the divine law prescribes, thou shalt abide by their award, without swerving. If anyone is contumacious, rejecting the authority of the priest who then ministers to the Lord thy God, and the judge’s sentence, his life must pay for it. Rid Israel of this plague, so that all the people may take warning when they hear it and not act impiously in the future. (17:8–13) VII. But you say this: ‘Make your judgement on the basis of how in this very place Moses mentions priests’. Prove that you’ve been made a judge over us! Prove that you’ve been established as emperor for this purpose, to continue carrying out the wishes of your friend the devil, as far as we’re concerned, with all your military power! You cannot prove this: you should be condemned to death in that you’ve tried not only to dominate bishops but those who are meant to obey the bishops, and in your pride you constantly subvert their decrees. How can you say that you’ve the power to judge bishops, since you should be punished by death in God’s sight for not being obedient to them? Since this is so, how can you, who are shown to be profane as far as God’s servants are concerned, attempt to grab such authority in 14 Vg is longer here.

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suo? si enim, inquit Moyses, dixeris, statuam supra me principem, quomodo et reliquae gentes quae in circuitu meo, constituens constitues super te ipsum principem quemcumque elegerit dominus deus tuus. ipsum de fratribus uestris constitues. non poteris constituere super te hominem alienigenam, quoniam non est frater uester. (17:14–15) et subsequitur, cur noluerit alienigenam fieri principem, ne scilicet ad sectam suam traheret alios. propterea dicit: ne reuoces nos in Aegyptum (17:16), hoc est ad idolorum cultum. quasi quis, inquam, tibi usurpasti hanc auctoritatem quam tibi deus non tradidit? et si traderet et inter te esse permitteret, primo in loco Christianum te esse oportuerat, quia scelus esset alienigenam dei seruos iudicare, inimicum religionis domesticos dei. deinde si fuisses Christianus et te participem censuisset deus sacerdotibus fieri ad gerendum populum eius, accipe qualem te esse praeceperit. et erit cum sederit in principatu suo, scribet ei deuteronomium hoc in libro ante sacerdotes et leuitas, et erit cum ipso, et legetis ei omnes dies uitae eius, ut discant timere dominum deum tuum, custodire omnia mandata haec et iustificationes has facere, ut non extollatur cor eius a fratribus eius et non transgrediatur a mandatis dextra aut sinistra, ut longiturni temporis sit in principatu suo ipse et filii eius cum ipso in filiis Israel. (17:18–20) quid tu huiusmodi habes nisi omnia contraria, nisi cuncta quae dei inpugnent domum? primo es haereticus, deinde persecutor dei domesticorum; conatus es ac conaris ad Athanasium iugulandum, tamquam is homo, qui non memineris scriptum: si fuerit homo odiens proximum et insidiatur eum et surrexerit in eum et percusserit eum animo et mortuus fuerit et fugerit in unam ciuitatium harum, mittent seniores ciuitatis illius, et accipient eum inde et tradent eum in manus exquirentium sanguinem, et morietur. non parces oculo tuo super eum et mundabis sanguinem innocentis ex illis, et bene tibi erit,(19:11–13) et iterum: non manebit testis unus in testificationem aduersus hominem secundum omnem iniquitatem et secundum omne peccatum quodcumque peccatur. in ore duum testium aut trium stabit omnis sermo. si autem steterit testis iniustus aduersus hominem detrahens ei iniquitatem, stabunt duo homines, quibus est ipsis contradictio, ante dominum et ante sacerdotem et in conspectu iudicis quicumque fuerit in diebus illis. et interrogabunt diligenter iudices, et ecce testis iniustus testificatus est iniqua, resistens aduersus fratrem suum, et facite ei, quemadmodum nequiter egit facere aduersus fratrem suum et auferes iniquum ex uobis ipsis. et ceteri audientes timebunt, et non adponent amplius facere uerbum malignum hoc in uobis. non parces oculis tuis super eum, animam pro anima, oculum pro oculo, dentem pro dente, manum pro manu, pedem pro pede.(19:15–20) cum cernas haec fieri de te homicida deum statuisse, dicas quaeso, quid sit aliud dicere: ‘damnate eum, quem scitis innocentem, facite contra dei mandata, nisi euellite corda, tollite uobismet sensus, ultro iugulate uestras animas, licet uidentes quia fouea sit fingite uos caecos, praecipites que uosmet date in aeternam uoraginem, mergite in eam foueam, a qua non uos eripi posse cernitis, uobis ipsis uitam auferte, sumite perpetuam mortem’? quid est aliud dicere: ‘fac quod deus fieri prohibuit’ nisi ‘estote inimici deo, adquirite

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relation to one of God’s priests? This is especially so since God allowed the Jewish people to have judges, while remaining subject to God’s law, so Moses says: If you say ‘I will set up a ruler over me, like the nations about me. The king you appoint must be the man the Lord your God chooses, one of your own race; you must not let an alien, who is not of your blood, bear rule over you. (17:14–15) So the reason why he wouldn’t allow a foreigner to rule over the people was that he might drag other people into his false religion. Later on he says You must not turn the people’s eyes back towards Egypt. (17:16) In relation to the cult of idols, it’s as if he were to say – ‘Who are you, I say, who’ve usurped this authority to yourself?’ God hasn’t given it to you; if he were to have done so, you would have to be a Christian, since it would be wicked for a foreigner to sit in judgment over God’s servants, as you’re an enemy of the servants of God’s religion. So if you had been a Christian, and if God had thought you were part of the Church, in order that people should take the right action15 in relation to his priests, then you should accept that you’re the sort of person God tells us about in Deuteronomy: And now he sits enthroned in his kingdom; let his first act be to borrow this schedule of the law from the priests of Levi’s race, and have a second copy made of it. And that scroll he will keep by him, studying it all his life long, so that he may learn to serve the Lord his God, and follow all the rules and legal provisions which the law enjoins. Never let his heart, puffed up with pride, disdain his brethren; never let him swerve from these commandments to right or left, if he and his sons are to enjoy long dominion over the race of Israel. (17:18–20) You’re the opposite of this – all you’re about is attacking the house of God! To begin with you’re a heretic, and then you go on to persecute the servants of God; and you’re trying16 to have Athanasius strangled, even though he’s a man about whom this is written in Deuteronomy (you seem to have forgotten this): But it may be that someone who has a grudge against his neighbour will plot against his life, starting up out of an ambush and inflicting on him a mortal hurt, and then flee to one of these cities for refuge. Then let the elders of that city send and dislodge him from his place of retreat, and so hand him over to the dead man’s next of kin, to die. Don’t look on him with a kindly eye;17 rather, thou shalt cleanse the blood of an innocent man from these people, and it shall go well with thee. (19:11–13) and again: Whatever be the offence or crime a man is charged with, it shall not suffice for one witness to appear against him; every question must be settled by the voice of two witnesses or more. It may be that a false witness will appear, accusing a man of this or that misdeed. When such a claim is made, the two parties will be brought forward in the Lord’s presence, before the priests and judges then in office; and if these find that the witness gave false evidence against his brother, they must inflict on him the same punishment he would have brought on this brother of his. Thou must rid thyself of the plague, so that others may be warned by hearing of it, and none dare to do the like again. Don’t look on him with a kindly eye; life must answer for the life he would have sworn away, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

15 Textual variant: regendum in Hartel’s text instead of gerendum would give a rather different meaning. 16 Here again he uses two tenses, as above under note 8. He is using ‘strangled’ metaphorically, as at C XI, 55, and also Tertullian De Anima 33.1, Lactantius Inst. 5.19.1. 17 The VL here (and below in v 21) is ‘parce oculo’ as opposed to Vg ‘misereberis’.

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uobis diabolum amicum, date operam ne consequamini paradisum, ne denique regnum caelorum quod uobis promisit, si mandata eius seruaueritis, deus; amate inferna, diligite stagnum ardentem, desiderate esse cum omnibus qui sunt semper dantes poenas, desiderate dici homines diaboli’.

VIII. Haec sunt praemia quae tua egregia conquirunt consilia, haec illa optima quae mortem pariant sempiternam, haec quae demergant hominem caelo iam proximum ad inferna. adhuc non sciebas scriptum, ut ad haec nos rogares mala gerenda: non erit in sacco tuo pondus et pondus, maius aut minus. non erit in domo tua mensura et mensura maior et minor. pondus uerum et iustum erit tibi, et mensura uera et iusta erit tibi, ut multorum dierum sis et bene tibi sit super terram, quam dominus deus tuus dabit tibi in sorte, quoniam abominabilis est domino deo tuo omnis qui facit haec, omnis qui facit iniqua? (25:13–16) pondera integra et mensuras iustas qui non seruauerit, abominabilis cum esse sacris referatur litteris, credo nos acceptissimos tunc fore putasti, si iniuste in eum protulissemus iudicium. Moyses, maledictus, inquit qui transfert terminos proximi. proximi auellere et de loco transferre in locum prohibemur terminos, et tu ‘egredimini’, dicis, ‘dei sacerdotes, terminos iustitiae. ‘maledictus, inquit spiritus sanctus ore Moysi, quicumque declinauerit iudicium aduenae, orphani et uiduae,(27:19) et tu ludos tibi praebens de nostro sanguine dixisti: ‘punite eum quem ignoratis deliquisse’. noluimus, Constanti, esse te cum maledicti, te magis cupientes sumus nobis cum benedictum in sancta inueniri ecclesia. non tuam audimus uocem, quae nos dei incurrere offensam prouocat, sed audimus Moysi serui domini dicentis: et erit, si non audieritis uocem domini dei uestri, custodire et facere omnia mandata eius, quaecumque ego mando tibi hodie, et uenient super te omnes maledictiones hae et inuenient te. maledictus tu in ciuitate, maledictus tu in agro, maledictae apothecae tuae et quae sunt reliqua tua, et maledicti filii tui uentris et nascentia terrae tuae, armenta boum tuorum et greges ouium tuarum, maledictus tu in ingressu tuo. mittet tibi dominus taedium et thlipsem et anxietatem in omnia, quocumque inmiseris manum tuam, quaecumque facies, quoadusque disperdat te in breui propter nequitiam studiorum tuorum. (28:15–20) si non sunt mala studia falsa mittere crimina, persequi dei cultores, dei idololatriam

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(15–21)18 You can see that this is the case, and yet you seem to say that God has laid these things down about yourself, you murderer! I ask you, what else would this mean? ‘Condemn the man whom you know to be innocent, act against God’s commands!’, if not ‘Rend your hearts, bring yourselves back to your senses, strangle your souls further; it is acceptable for those who see what a pit you have dug for the blind; cast yourselves headlong into an eternal abyss; sink into that pit, from which you can see you can’t be rescued, take away life for yourselves, take up instead eternal death!’ What else do the words ‘Do what God has commanded should not happen!’ mean than ‘Become enemies of God, take the devil for your friend, make sure you never go to Paradise or indeed the kingdom of heaven which God promised you were you to follow his commands! love hell, aspire to be in the burning pool, desire to be with all those who will be punished for ever, desire to be called the men of the devil!’19 VIII. These are the prizes your outstanding plans have won! These wonderful things which bring about everlasting death, things which plunge a man into hell, hitherto so close to heaven! Didn’t you know what is written in Scripture, since you sought for these evil things to be done? Thou shalt not carry two different weights in thy wallet, one heavy and one light, or keep two bushel-measures in thy house, one great and one small. A just weight and a true, a full bushel-measure and a true thou shalt use always, if thou wouldst have long enjoyment of the land the Lord thy God means to give thee by lot. All such knavery is hateful to the Lord thy God; he is the enemy of wrong-doing. (25:13–14)20 Someone who falsifies weights and measures is abominable – and if we sentence a man unjustly, which is what you want us to do, then we’re the same. Moses says Cursed be the man who moves his neighbour’s land-mark, Amen. (27:17) – so we prohibit boundary stones being taken up and moved and you say ‘Go away, priests of God, to the boundary stones of justice’ On the other hand, the Holy Spirit, speaking through the mouth of Moses, says: Cursed be the man who denies justice to alien, orphan and widow, Amen. (27:19) Constantius, we’re not willing to be cursed alongside you; rather we would like you to be blessed by holy Church. We’re not listening to you voice, which provokes to rush after things which are offensive to God; rather, we listen to Moses, servant of God: I will come to pass that if thou dost refuse to listen to him, and carry out faithfully all the commandments and observances I now enjoin on thee, all these curses that follow shall come to meet thee instead. Cursed shalt thou be in town and country, cursed shall be thy store-rooms and thy remains, cursed shalt thou be with barrenness of womb and of soil, with leanness of thy stock in byre and sheep-fold, cursed in thy journey and cursed in thy coming home. Weariness and sadness the Lord will send thee, and depression in all thy enterprises, to crush thee down and make a quick end of thee, still faithless, still following thy own devices. (28:15–21) If it is not a bad use

18 This is the crux of Lucifer’s legal argument against the emperor. 19 ‘Stagnum ardentem’ cf. Tertullian De Pudicitia 19.7 ‘in stagnum ignis’. 20 Lucifer’s symbolic use of this very practical passage in Deuteronomy is a little forced. In the Old Testament tampering with weights and measures is a classic way in which the poor are exploited (e.g. Amos 8:4–5).

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introducere in ecclesiam, manu militari iugulare credentes in unicum dei filium, poterunt haec maledicta non te ac te cum adprehendere currentes.

IX. Conuocasti nos ad dei sacerdotem iugulandum, ad eum interimendum, per quem te praecepta sua audire sanxerit deus. et scripsit Moyses uerba legis huius in libro, et dedit eum sacerdotibus et leuitis, qui tollunt arcam testamenti domini, et presbyteris Israel. et mandauit eis Moyses in illa die dicens: post septem annos in tempore anni remissionis in die festo scenopegiae in coeundo omnem Israel apparere in conspectu domini dei tui in loco quem elegerit legetis hanc legem in conspectu Israel in auribus eorum, conuocatis in ecclesiam uiris et mulieribus et natis et proselyto qui fuerit in ciuitatibus uestris, ut audiant et discant timere dominum deum uestrum et audiant facere omnia uerba legis huius. et filii eorum, qui nesciunt, audientes discent dominum deum uestrum omnibus diebus quibus ipsi uiuunt super terram. (31:9–13) persequeris eum, per quem te audire praeceperit dominus; agente eo in rebus humanis cohaereticum tuum Georgium mittis successorem, cum, tametsi fuisset liberatus iam Athanasius ex corpore, tibi non licuerit mittere, sed fuerit ac sit in dei manu, quem fuisset dignatus, populo suo antistitem instituere, per seruos uidelicet suos, hoc est catholicos episcopos. neque enim posset impleri uirtutem spiritus sancti ad dei gubernandum populum nisi is quem deus allegisset cui que manus per catholicos episcopos fuisset inposita, sicut defuncto moyse impletum spiritu sancto inuenimus successorem eius Iesum Naue. loquitur scriptura sancta dicens: et Iesus filius naue impletus est spiritu intellegentiae; inposuerat enim Moyses manum super eum. et audierunt eum filii Israel et fecerunt secundum quod mandauit dominus Moysi. (34:9) conspicis ordinationi dei te obuiam isse contra dei faciendo uoluntatem, temet mucrone gladii tui iugulatum, siquidem non licuerit ordinari, nisi fuisset defunctus Athanasius, et defuncto Athanasio catholicus debuerit per catholicos ordinari episcopos? loquitur sacra scriptura dixisse ad Iesum Naue deum: Moyses seruus meus defunctus est. nunc itaque surgens transi iordanem tu et omnis populus iste in terra quam ego dabo illis. omnem locum, quemcumque ingressi fueritis uestigio pedum tuorum, uobis dabo illum, sicut dixeram Moysi. desertum et ante libanum usque ad flumen magnum eufraten et usque ad mare magnum, usque ad solis occasum erunt fines termini uestri. non resistet homo in conspectu tuo per omnes dies

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of intelligence to inflict false charges, to persecute those who worship God, to bring idolatry into God’s Church, to strangle with your military might those who believe in the only begotten Son of God21 - these cursed things can take hold of these people, not you and those who follow you! IX. You’ve summoned us so that a priest of God can be strangled, so he can be destroyed, a man whom God has made holy so that we should listen to his commandments: And now Moses committed the words of this law to writing, and gave it to the priests and Levites, bearers of the ark that attested the Lord’s covenant, and to the elders of Israel. Every seven years, Moses told them, when the year of discharge comes round, and with it the feast of Tabernacles,22 at the time when all Israel meets in the place the Lord has chosen, to present themselves before him, their Lord and God, the terms of this law must be read out in the presence and in the hearing of the whole people. All alike will be assembled there, not only men but women and children, and the aliens too that dwell among you; all alike must listen, and learn to fear the Lord your God, and carry out faithfully all the terms of this law. And their sons, who are unaware of this, must also listen and learn more about the Lord your God all the days they live on the earth23 (31:9–12) You persecute him, even though God has commanded you to listen to him; and while Athanasius is occupied in helping other people you impose your fellow heretic George24 as his successor, even though Athanasius has just been physically released. It was not lawful for you to impose him – rather it was in God’s hands! It was not lawful for you to set this man up as bishop over God’s people; rather, it was our responsibility as Catholic bishops. Such a man couldn’t be filled with virtue, the gift of the Holy Spirit in order to govern God’s people unless he had been so designated by God and ordained by having hands laid on him by Catholic bishops – in just the same way as when Moses died he was succeeded by Joshua, the son of Nun, a man filled with the Holy Spirit. It says in Sacred Scripture: and Joshua the son of Nun, full of the gift of intelligence since Moses laid his hand on him, took command of the Israelites; and they obeyed him, as the Lord through Moses had bidden them. (34:9) Deep down you know that you’ve acted contrary to God’s will and his commands, having been made to act like this by the lure of violence. If it was illegal for Athanasius to have been ordained as one who was disbarred, so after that a Catholic would have to have been ordained by Catholic bishops. Sacred Scripture says that God said to Joshua, son of Nun: Now that my

21 Lucifer frequently uses this phrase to describe Orthodox Catholic Christians, as opposed to Arians. 22 VL has ‘scenopegiae’ the usual word for the feast of Tabernacles (Vg has ‘tabernaculorum’) but I have changed Knox’s word as more readers now would be aware of what the feast is called normally now than in the 1950s. 23 This last sentence is not in Vg. 24 George of Cappadocia (d. 361) violently took possession of the see of Alexandria in 356 after Athanasius’ exile. He is portrayed negatively by Athanasius (De Fuga 6, Apol. Ad Constant. 30, 31, Hist. Ar. 72), as one would expect, and also by Gregory of Nazianzen (Orat. 21.16) and Sozomen (HE 4.10, 30). He violently suppressed pagan worship, and as a result on the accession of Julian as Emperor in 361 he was imprisoned and beaten to death by adherents of traditional Roman religion (Socrates HE. iii. 2). Edward Gibbon identified him with St George, patron of England!

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uitae tuae, et sicut eram cum Moysi, sic ero te cum et non derelinquam te neque despiciam te. ( Josh 1:2–5) numquid potest deus esse cum inimico suo Georgio? numquid ei, quem non ordinauerit, quem non elegerit, poterit esse propitius? talis est Georgius, qualis fuerit Arrius quales que sunt Valens et Ursacius uel ad quem me destinasti Germanensium Adoxius; neque enim possent nisi de spinis spinae procedere. haec ita se habere ex actibus ipsius Georgii legens contestationes Alexandrinorum poteris colligere; et quamuis tibi sceleratum blasphemum illum esse placeat neque enim aliter tibi esset amantissimus, nisi quia sit sceleratus, tamen haec eo protulerim, ut eximiam possis cernere operam tuam. cum igitur non esse deum cognoscas cum Georgio, sed esse aduertas cum Athanasio, quem populo suo instituerit antistitem, cognoscere tandem poteris dei te ordinationem fuisse conatum destruere, deum te fuisse in Athanasio persecutum. audis enim dicere deum ad Moysi successorem: sicut eram cum Moysi, sic ero te cum et non derelinquam te neque despiciam te. ecce alio loco: inualesce et uiriliter age custodire et facere sicut praecepit tibi Moyses puer meus. et non declinabis ex illa dextra aut sinistra, ut intellegas in omnibus quaecumque agis. et non recedet liber legis huius ex ore tuo, et meditaberis in eo die ac nocte, ut custodias facere uniuersa quae scripta sunt. tunc dirigam uias tuas et tunc intelleges. ecce praecepi tibi, inualesce et uiriliter age; non est quod expauescas neque timeas, quoniam te cum est dominus deus tuus in omni loco.

X. Iam superest te, siue tu siue Georgius quae geritis, si sunt uenientia ex dei mandatis, probare. audis enim promittere se deum futurum cum successore Moysi, quomodo fuerit et cum Moyse, si modo quae sunt in libro legis scripta seruauerit. si igitur ut haec geras scriptum non inueneris, tuae erit aequitatis tandem aduertere uobis

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servant Moses is dead, he told him, it is for thee to cross yonder stream of Jordan, taking the Israelites with thee into the land25 I am giving them for their own. My promise to Moses holds good; there is no piece of ground your feet shall tread but I will make it yours, that has the desert, and Lebanon, and the great river Euphrates, and the open sea on the west for its frontiers. While thou yet livest, there shall be no man withstanding Israel’s onset; I will be with thee as with Moses, never leave nor let thee. ( Josh 1:2–5) For how can God be alongside his enemy, George? How could he show favour to one whom he had not ordained, whom he had not chosen? Such is George, and so was Arius! such were Valens,26 Ursacius27 and Adoxius,28 to whom you sent me when he was among the Germans: for they too would not have been able to get on in the world without being thorns, growing from a thorn bush. So, you should have been aware of this because of what George himself did; you could have known about them by reading about the arguments among people in Alexandria. Although he was a blasphemer he was pleasing to you; although he was wicked he couldn’t have been more loved by you than he was. I should make these things clear with regard to him, so you can see your precious handiwork! Like George you denied the existence of God; and you should recognize that together with Athanasius, whom God had appointed as bishop for his people, and be aware that you had tried to destroy God’s command and that as a result in persecuting Athanasius you were persecuting God himself. Listen to what God says to the successor of Moses: While thou yet livest, there shall be no withstanding Israel’s onset; I will be with thee as with Moses, never leave nor let thee. (1:5) Look at what the Bible says in another place: Be strong and play the man thou must, and keep thy courage high, carrying out faithfully the law my servant Moses enjoined on thee; never swerve to right or left, and thou shalt order thy life truly. The book of the law thou hast in writing must govern every utterance of thine; night and day thou must ponder over it, so as to carry out all the terms of it faithfully; so wilt thou guide thy steps truly and prosper. Courage and a man’s part, that is what I ask of thee; no room for fear and shrinking back, when the Lord thy God is at thy side wherever thou goest. (1:7–9) X. Now all that remains is for you – you or George – simply to prove that your actions are based on God’s commandments. You’ve heard God promise that he will be with Moses’ successor, just as he had been with Moses himself – provided Joshua was obedient to what’s in the book of the Law. Therefore if you can’t find authority in

25 Strangely the VL has ablative ‘terra’ rather than ‘in terram’ – presumably Jerome corrected it and I think the meaning is the same. 26 Bishop of Mursae in Illyricum. 27 Bishop of Singidunum (modern Belgrade). 28 This refers to the ‘Arian’ bishop Eudoxius, bishop of Antioch where Lucifer was sent early on in his exile. Coleti thinks Lucifer deliberately mis-spells the bishop’s name ‘Adoxius’ as a pun, the word meaning ‘inglorious’. He was originally from Germanica and uncanonically took over the see of Antioch. In spite of the irregularities Constantius confirmed his election, perhaps because of his loyalty to the emperor’s position. He backed the ‘semi-Arian’ creed of Sirmium; there is a hostile picture of him from Hilary, and he was subsequently deposed at the Council of Seleucia in 359. He fled to Constantinople where he secured his appointment as bishop.

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cum Arrianis non esse deum, sed illum in uobis mansitare, qui manserit et in Cain. quae te causa ad haec, Constanti, inpulit gerenda, ut potentia regni tui ad tantam perductus superbiam statuisses eum necandum, quem deus sibi in sacerdotali honore elegerit? non inueneras in primo Regnorum libro scriptum: non glorietur sapiens in sapientia sua, neque glorietur potens in uirtute sua, neque glorietur diues in diuitiis suis; sed in hoc glorietur qui gloriatur, scire et intellegere deum et facere iudicium et iustitiam in medio terrae? (1 Sam 2:10) cur haec praeteriens, qui in omni tempore iudicium iustum facere debueras, iniustitiam te cum etiam nos facere cogebas? deponi per nos decreueras catholicum, firmari uero haereticum; sed quando istud sanae fecissent mentis homines? si enim Heli sacerdos, cur filios in sacerdotii honore constituisset indignos, illa audiit quae perpessus est a domino, quid nos audire ac perpeti mereremur, si catholicum episcopum damnantes et quidem inauditum sineremus Georgium fieri Arrianum Alexandrinis episcopum? et uenit, inquit, homo dei et dixit: haec dicit dominus: manifeste ostendi me ad domum patris tui ex omnibus tribus Israel mihi in sacerdotium, ut ascenderent ad sacrificium meum et incenderent incensum et tollerent ephod. et dedi in domo patris tui omnia frumenta filiorum Israel in escam. et tu quare respexisti in incensum meum ac sacrificium meum inprobo oculo, et honorificasti filios tuos plus quam me, ut benediceres eos a primordio in omnibus sacrificiis Israel coram me? propter hoc haec dicit dominus Israel: dixi, domus tua et domus patris tui transiet coram me usque in aeternum, et nunc non est. sic dicit dominus: nequaquam mihi, non sic erit a me, quoniam qui honorificant me, honorificabo eos, et qui spernit me ad nihilum redigetur. et ecce dies ueniunt, et disperdam semen tuum et semen patris tui, et non erit tibi senex in domo mea omnibus diebus, et uirum disperdam tibi a sacrario meo, ut deficiant oculi eius, et defluet anima eius. et omnis quae superauerit multitudo e domo tua decidet in gladio uirorum. et hoc tibi signum, quod ueniet super duos filios tuos hos Ofni et Finees, in uno die morientur ambo gladio uirorum. (2:27–34) si hanc ille accepit increpationem pro filiis a deo, qualem nos mereremur accipere pro te, Constanti? credo dictum fuisset nobis: ‘plus honorificastis Constantium quam me’, quomodo illi dictum est quod plus honorificauerit filios quam deum. qua, inquis, de re? quia si tua fecissemus praecepta, domini inueniebamur spreuisse, quia Georgius sit, ut fuerint filii Heli, filius pestilentiae, quem tu loco dei hominis Athanasii conlocandum per nos censueras. deinde cum dicat deus: qui me honorificauerit honorificabitur, et qui me spernit ad nihilum redigetur,(2:30) si tuam contra ipsius diuina mandata prolatam uocem sacrilegam audiremus, honorificaueramus deum an si te nihil esse iudicantes illius tantum sacris statutis parere niteremur? interea tu gaude, quia sis

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Scripture for your actions, then in effect you Arians are claiming that God doesn’t exist, but rather he is within you, just as he was in the heart of Cain. Constantius, what made you do this? Why did you make your kingdom so proud and powerful that you should decree that Athanasius should be killed, after God had given him the honour of being a priest? Couldn’t you find this passage in the first book of Kings? The wise man will not glory in his wisdom, nor the powerful man in his prowess, nor the rich man in his wealth: but will he glory who glories in this, to know and understand God and do right and do justice in the midst of the earth?29 (1 Sam 2:10 LXX)30 Although you’ve overlooked all this, you should always make judgements that are just; did you yourself conclude that it was right for you to act unjustly towards us? You had taken the decision to put aside the Catholic way which we had pursued, and rather to strengthen the way followed by heretics; but when have men of sound mind done such a thing? If the priest Eli – who had tried to organise things to enable his unworthy sons to succeed him in the honour of the priesthood – was able to hear these words of the Lord, how on earth could we be able to hear this if we condemned a Catholic bishop and allowed the Arian George to become the Bishop of Alexandria? And now a messenger from the Lord came, and this was the Lord’s warning to him: It was to men of thy clan that I revealed myself openly and I chose31 Levi among all the tribes of Israel to hold the priestly office, mounting up to my altar and burning incense before me, and wearing the sacred mantle in my presence; to this clan of thine I gave all the fruits of the sacrifices which Israel should offer, for food. And now you spurn32 the due ordering of sacrifice and oblation in my sanctuary; your sons must have a privilege higher than my own; yours must be the first taste of every sacrifice my people Israel bring to me! Listen, then, to the Lord’s decree. My purpose was that thou and thy clan should be my ministers for ever, but now no longer. Thus says the Lord: such a man shall by no means be honoured by me; honour is for those that honour me, for those that make light of me, only contempt. Behold, a time is coming when I mean to scatter thy seed and the seed of thy father; no kinsman of thine shall reach old age. I will scatter thy race from my sanctuary, so that their eyes fail and their minds faint. The whole multitude which prevails from thy clan will perish at the sword of men. And for a token of this, thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are destined to fall, both of them, in a single day. (2:27–35) If Eli was able to accept reproof from God because of his sons, how much could we be worthy to accept reproof from you, Constantius? I believe it has been said to us: ‘You’ve given more honour to Constantius than to me; how then is it said that Eli gave more honour to his sons than to God? You ask –‘how can this be so?’ I will tell you why: if we were to carry out your commands,

29 The LXX here is not in the form of a question; the last part of the sentence reads ἀλλ’ ἡ ἐν τούτῳ καυχάσθω ὁ καυχώμενος, συνίειν κρίμα καὶ γινώσκειν τὸν κύριον καὶ ποιεῖν κρίμα καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς. 30 Compare Jeremiah 9:23–24 (22–23 LXX), which is inserted here in one of the Hebrew manuscripts. The VL text here, closely following LXX, is different from the Vg which follows the longer Hebrew text. 31 The name Levi does not appear in either the VL or the Vg; Knox has supplied the word here to make the meaning clear and I have kept this. 32 Both VL and Vg form this sentence as a question, but Knox has changed this and I have followed him.

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exhonorans deum. audis enim ipsum dicentem quod uenturi sint ad nihilum omnes eum spernentes. an negabis te exhonorasse deum tollendo sacerdotes e plebibus quos ordinauit ille? an negabis te exhonorasse dominum, quando contra sancita ipsius coegeris sacerdotes eius damnare absentem inauditum et quidem falsis criminibus per te ac tuos petitum? non ergo exhonorasti deum, quando tuleris apostolicam atque euangelicam traditionem et idololatriam, quam arrii aedificauerit in corde diabolus, statueris ab omnibus cultoribus teneri dei?

XI. Cum haec ita sint, iam tuae erit prudentiae aestimare, quid tibi agendum expediat, utrumne hic corrigens errores tuos, consecutus ueniam tantorum scelerum, inter dei inueniri statuas domesticos, an redactus ad nihilum, sicut promittit spernentibus se dominus, incipias in perpetuum dare poenas, quas dant hi quorum tenere delegeris itinera. et ut plene uidere possis quae te maneant pericula, propterea quod sis exhonorans diuinitatem, accipe Samuheli etiam quae dicantur propter Heli filios: et dixit dominus ad Samuhel: ecce ego facio uerba mea in Israel, et omnis qui audierit ea, tinnient utraeque aures eius, in illo die quo suscitabo super Heli omnia quae locutus sum in domo eius et consummabo quae praedixi ei, quoniam ego ulciscor in domo eius usque in aeternum propter iniquitates filiorum eius, quas ego scio, quoniam contemnentes dominum mala locuti sunt filii eius, et non monuit eos neque castigauit. et nunc sic iuraui domui Heli, si propitiabitur iniquitas in domo Heli in incenso aut in sacrificiis in sempiternum.(3:11–14) si haec Heli sunt promissa propter delictum filiorum, quid tibi propter sacrilegium tuum? si illi haec in aeternum sunt promissa, quid tibi agenti tanta? si filios Heli dixit deus male locutos de se, quanto magis dicat te, qui susceperis Arrii blasphemiam ad inpugnandam scilicet fidem, quam patriarchae, prophetae, apostoli et omnes tenuerunt martyres? rogamus te inter haec gerere factorum tuorum paenitentiam, considerans saltem quae filiis Heli exhonorantibus deum acciderint. Heli, inquit scriptura, senex erat ualde, et filii eius euntes abierant, et erat maligna uia eorum coram domino. et factum est in diebus illis, et conuenerunt alienigenae in pugnam ad Israel (3:21–4:1), et infra: et inclinauit pugna, et cecidit uir Israel coram alienigenis, et uulnerati sunt in acie in campo quattuor milia hominum. et uenit populus in castra, et dixerunt maiores natu Israel: propter quid deficere fecit nos hodie dominus coram alienigenis? tollamus igitur

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we would clearly have rejected God, because George would be, like Eli’s sons, a son of pestilence, a man who you thought to put in authority over us, supplanting Athanasius, a man of God. This is so because later on God says: Honour is for those that honour me, for those that make light of me, only contempt. (2:30) If we were to obey your sacrilegious voice, raised against the commandments of God himself, would we be giving glory to God? Or rather, if we judged you to be nothing at all, would we not shine brightly if we were to obey commands that are sacred? In the meantime you’re happy because you’re the sort of person who dishonours God! This is so even though you’re aware of God himself, speaking to you and telling you that those who reject him will come to nothing. Or do you deny that you dishonour the Lord by removing priests from their people, priests whom he has ordained, when, contrary to the laws of God himself you coerce his priests into condemning a man, without a hearing, in his absence, a man who has been pursued on false charges by you and your men? So have you not dishonoured God, as you’ve removed traditions received from the apostles and the gospels, and in their place have set up idolatry? Idolatry which Arius constructed – a devil in his heart33 - idolatry which should be kept away from those of us who worship God! XI. Since this is so, it would be wise for you to think about what may happen because of what you’ve done. Are you going to be a man who corrects his errors and is pardoned for such terrible crimes, and will be found among God’s servants; or rather are you going to experience eternal punishment, as revenues for nothing, as God promises to those who reject him, punishment made for the people whose path you follow? In order that you may see plainly the dangers that await you, because you’re a person who dishonours God, pay attention to what Samuel says about the sons of Eli: And this was the Lord’s message to Samuel: Here is doom I mean to bring on Israel that shall ring in the ears of all that hear of it. For Eli it shall bring fulfilment of all the threats I have uttered against his clan; from first to last, they shall be accomplished. I would be avenged against that clan of his, for his sons’ wickedness, whom he did not advise or reprimand; and now I have taken an oath against all his line, no incense or sacrifice shall ever atone for their sin. (3:11–14) If this is what Eli was told would happen because of the sins of his sons, what will happen to you because of your sacrilege? If these men end up like this because of what has been promised, how much worse will be what befalls you because of your actions? If God has said that Eli’s sons have been cursed because of their acts, how much more should he lay down a punishment for you, as you adopted the blasphemy of Arius! You attack authentic faith, the faith held by patriarchs, prophets, apostles and martyrs! In the midst of all this we urge you to do penance on account of your deeds; take account, at least, of what happened to Eli’s sons because they dishonoured God. Scripture says: Eli was now a man of great age, but his sons went away from him, and they brought about great wickedness in the Lord’s house. It happened in those days that34 foreigners came together to fight against

33 Cf. C VII 28 ‘diaboli monumentum’. 34 Here and elsewhere the VL, following the LXX, uses this word rather than ‘Philistines’.

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arcam domini dei nostri ex Selon, et exeat in medio nostrum et liberabit nos de manibus inimicorum nostrorum. et misit populus ad Selon, et sustulerunt inde arcam domini, ubi sedebat Cherubin. et ambo filii Heli cum arca dei ibant, Ofni et Finees,(4:2–5) et infra: expugnauerunt illos, et defecit uir Israel a conspectu alienigenarum, et fugit unusquisque in tabernaculum suum. et facta est plaga magna ualde, et ceciderunt ex Israel triginta milia uirorum. et arca dei capta est, et ambo filii Heli mortui sunt (4:10–11), et infra: et uir properans accessit ad Heli dixit que ei; ego sum qui ueni de castris fugiens de proelio hodie. et dixit Heli: qui sermo factus est, filiole? et respondit uir et dixit: fugit uir Israel a facie alienigenarum, et facta est plaga magna in populo, et ambo filii tui mortui sunt, et arca dei capta est. et factum est cum audisset, arca dei capta est, cecidit supinus de sella iuxta portam, et contribulatum est dorsum eius, et mortuus est, quoniam senex erat et grauis homo, et ipse iudicabat in Israel uiginti annis. (4:16–18) si haec mala Heli, sacerdoti et iudici Israelitarum, uno die uenerunt, propterea quod non, ut fuerat dignum, suos castigasset filios, quid tibi religionis dei destructori cernis uenturum, isto in loco probandum tibi censui. quod enim ex dei ueniat uoluntate, ut nos eius serui subiciamur uobis persecutoribus nostris, dixisse te non negabis: ‘nisi nostra fides, hoc est haec quae dicitur a Lucifero Arriana, fuisset catholica, numquam in omnes plebes accepissem potestatem’. si ita est, potuit et illorum allophilorum, qui arcam ceperant dei, fuisse melior quam est dei cultorum.

XII. Tu dicis fidem tuam, quam nos nouimus haereticam, hoc tibi praestitisse, sed et Maxentius, Nero et cuncti illi persecutores domus dei dixerunt deorum suorum potentia fuisse factum, ut Christiani sub illorum ditionem ueniremus. percurre quae acciderint illis, qui arcam se dei cepisse laetabantur, qui uirtute deorum suorum uicisse se Israelitas dicebant, et inuenies unum te ex illis, qui dei fuerint domum persecuti. et alienigenae abstulerunt arcam dei ex Abenezer et intulerunt illam in Azotum. et sustulerunt alienigenae arcam dei et intulerunt illam in domum Dagon et collocauerunt illam iuxta Dagon. et mane uigilauerunt Azoti et intrauerunt in domum Dagon et uiderunt. et ecce Dagon cecidit in faciem suam ante arcam dei. et sustulerunt Dagon et statuerunt in locum suum. et grauata est manus domini super Azotos et cruciabat illos. et percussit illos in

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Israel (4:1), and further on: Battle was joined, and the manhood of Israel fell against the foreigners, and four thousand men were wounded,35 scattered across the countryside. So the army fell back upon its encampment; and now the elders of Israel were at a loss; why had the Lord so left them at the mercy of the foreigners? Let us send to Silo for the ark that bore record of the Lord’s covenant; surely he would come into our midst, and save us from the power of our enemies. The people sent to Shiloh and brought the ark of the Lord, who sits enthroned above the Cherubim! They brought it there all the way from Shiloh; and with the ark came the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas. And further on: And the foreigners fought so well that Israel was utterly defeated in their sight, every man making for his own home in flight; here was a great disaster, in which thirty thousand of Israel’s warriors fell. The ark of God, too, was taken by the enemy, and Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed. And further on: With all speed a man came up to Eli and told his news. I come with news of the battle, he said; this very day I have run back from the battle. And the news, my son, asked Eli; what is the news? The manhood of Israel has been routed in the face of the foreigners, the messenger answered, and there is great wound inflicted upon the people; and thy two sons are dead; and the ark of God was taken. And Eli, when he heard mention made of God’s ark, fell backwards from his seat, there in the door-way, and broke his back,36 and died; so old a man was he, so heavy. For twenty years he had ruled37 Israel. (2:22, 17; 4:1, 4:2–4, 4:10–11, 4:14, 16–18)38 If these evils befell Eli, a priest and judge of the Israelites, because he hadn’t punished his own sons as he should have done, I think it’s clear that this will happen to you in this very place. Is it God’s will that we, his servants, should be subjected to you because of those who persecute us? Or do you deny that you’ve said: ‘Unless this faith of ours – which Lucifer says is Arian – is seen as Catholic, I won’t accept power in relation to all the people’. If so, such a person would no better than the sons of those who had seized the ark of God, and he would be better than one who is one of the worshippers of God. XII. At any rate you say that our faith, which we know is heretical, has been excellent for you; but that’s rather like Maxentius, and Nero too, and all those who’ve persecuted the house of God; they said that what they did was based on the alleged power of their gods, so that we Christians would come under their authority. Pay attention to what happened to those people who rejoiced that they had attempted to seize the ark of God, who thought they had defeated the Israelites because of the power of their gods, and you will find that you’re one of those who has persecuted the house of God. The foreigners had carried off the ark of God, taking it from Ebenezer to Ashdod; and when it reached Ashdod it was carried into the temple of Dagon and set down there in front of Dagon’s statue. Next morning, the men of Ashdod woke and went into the temple 35 The Vg says they were killed. 36 The Vg gives a rather more accurate picture of the old man’s death than the VL, telling us that Eli broke his neck rather than his back, a more certain cause of death. 37 Lit ‘judged’ in both VL and Vg, although he was not strictly speaking a judge. Vg and MT have forty years but this seems to be a ‘round number’ describing a generation. The VL figure of twenty is from LXX and is probably more accurate. 38 Here Lucifer is pasting together various verses to build a complete picture to serve his argument.

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domibus eorum, in Azotum et regiones eius. et factum est, cum ante lucem uigilassent, et Dagon ceciderat in faciem ante arcam testamenti domini et caput Dagon et amba uestigia manus eius ablata erant per partes centum et ambo articuli manus illius ceciderunt in limen (5:1–4), et infra: et grauata est manus domini super Azotum, et induxit illis mures, et facta est confusio mortis magna in ciuitate. et uiderunt uiri Azoti quoniam sic est, et dixerunt quoniam non sedebit arca domini dei Israel nobis cum quoniam dura est manus illius super nos et super Dagon dominum nostrum. et mittunt et conuocant regulos alienigenarum ad se et dicunt: quid faciemus arca dei Israel? et dixerunt Gethaei: transeat arca dei Israel in Geth. et factum est, postquam translata est arca dei, et facta est manus domini in ciuitate, et facta est turbatio magna ualde. et percussit uiros ciuitatis a minimo usque ad maximum, et ebulliuit illis mures in sedibus, et fecerunt sibi Gethaei sedes pellicias, et miserunt arcam dei in Ascalonem. et factum est, ut intrauit arca dei Israel in Ascalonem, exclamauerunt Ascalonenses dicentes: ut quid misistis arcam dei Israel ad nos, ut morti tradat nos et populum nostrum? et mittunt et conuocant regulos alienigenarum et dixerunt: remittite arcam dei Israel, et reducatur in locum suum, et non morti dabit nos et populum nostrum, quia acta est confusio grauis in ciuitate tota, grauis ualde, ut intrauit arca dei ibi. et qui uiuebant et non sunt mortui percussi sunt sedibus suis, et ascendit clamor ciuitatium usque ad caelum. (5:6–12) uides, Constanti, quomodo sinat deus noster humiliatam uideri religionem suam a uobis alienigenis et eo quidem usque humiliatam, donec etiam uos persecutores uerae religionis uideatis non esse deum alium praeter deum nostrum.

XIII. Sed ut iterum ad Athanasii redeam causam, numquid non sciebas scriptum in Regnorum libro primo: et Samuhel iudicabat populum Israel in omnibus sanctificationibus. (7:16) ut imperandum putares per domini sacerdotes fuisse damnandum innocentem? legisti Samuhel quod in omni sanctificatione iudicarit populum dei; et quia nolumus ab hac recedere iusta uia iudicandi, perpetimur persecutionem a te. non nouum, quando Saul persecutus fuerit iustum Samuhelem, cur ei uera dixerit, et quidem eum, per quem fuerit in regem unctus, per quem eum dominus ad tantam prouexerit gloriam. persequebatur Saul domini prophetam atque sacerdotem, quia non compos fuerit mentis Saul; alioquin quando sospes persequeretur eum quem sciret dei ministrum, dei spiritu plenum? persequebatur eum quem iugiter propter persecutoris ignorabat ingemuisse salutem. loquitur in libro primo Regnorum scriptura dixisse dominum ad Samuhel: usque quando luges tu in Saul? ecce expello illum, ne regnet super Israel. imple cornu tuo oleo et ueni, mittam te in domo Iesse usque in Bethlehem, quoniam uidi in filiis Iesse mihi in regem. et dixit Samuhel: quomodo ibo, ne audiat Saul et occidat me?

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to find Dagon lying face downwards in front of the ark of God; and they put the statue back in its place. The hand of the Lord lay heavy on the people of Ashdod and tormented them. The hand of the Lord struck them in their homes, in Ashdod and the nearby regions. The second day shewed a worse sight still; Dagon was face downwards in front of the ark of the Lord, and his head and both feet and his hands were broken into a hundred pieces and both his joints were lying in the door-way and further on, below: And the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and it inflicted on them a plague of rats, so that there was great disorder and death in the city. And the men of Ashdod saw that this was so, and said ‘The ark of the Lord God of Israel will not stay in our midst, because his hand is harsh upon us and our Lord Dagon’. So they summoned a gathering of all the chiefs of the foreigners, and put the question what should be done with the ark of the God of Israel. It must be carried about, the men of Gath told them, from place to place; and carry it about they did, but the hand of the Lord struck them in the city and there was great confusion. And God’s hand struck the men of the city from the least to the greatest, so that rats in their fury attacked the men so that they couldn’t sit down comfortably; the men of Gath had to make seats of leather.39 So now they sent the ark of God on to Ekron; but no sooner had it reached them than the men of Ekron began crying out, They have brought the ark of Israel’s God here, for our death! And they summoned all the chiefs of the foreigners, who said: ‘Send the ark of the God of Israel back to its proper place, before it brings death on us and our people, because there is great disruption in our city, really serious, because the ark has come here’. Even those who survived had shameful sores to tend, and everywhere cries of anguish went up to heaven. (5:6–12) You see, Constantius, how our God allows our humility to be seen as a religion which is distant from you, who are alien from it, but that this humility may enable you, even now, to see that there is no God but our God. XIII. But again, to return to Athanasius, do you not know what’s written in the first book of Kings? Samuel held assize for the people of Israel all the holy places (7:16) So do you think it’s right to rule when an innocent man is condemned by the priests of the Lord? You’ve read about Samuel, about how he was holy and set over the people of God as Judge – and yet because we’re not willing to abandon this way of exercising judgement, we endure persecution from you. But this is nothing new. Saul persecuted the just man, Samuel, because he spoke the truth, even though he had been anointed by him as king, even though it was through him that the Lord had propelled him to glory. Saul persecuted the Lord’s prophet and his priest, because he was not of sound mind. Why would Saul, in other respects a healthy man, persecute him when he knew he was God’s servant and filled with God’s spirit? He was straightaway ignorant that this man had been groaning amid suffering as a result of the people who were persecuting him. In the first book of Kings Scripture says that the Lord said to Samuel: But now the Lord said to Samuel, What, still lamenting over Saul? I have cast

39 This lurid passage has to be paraphrased both in the Vg by Knox and here. Lit. ‘the hand of God boiled up rats in their seats, and they made leather chairs’. The LXX is more opaque in that there are no rats.

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(16:1–2) eum quaerebat consumere, quem iam multis meminerat modis dei esse hominem. homo dei ueniam persecutori poscendo non desistit, contra pestilentiae factus filius eius auferre animam quaerit; eo etenim usque persecutor extitit Samuhelis domini sacerdotis Saul, ut dixerit domino dicenti sibi ueni, mittam te. et quomodo ibo? audiet Saul et occidet me. conspicis, Constanti, recedentibus uobis a deo non uos homines, sed feras, sed beluas atque latrones aestimari. aut numquid in hoc, quod Athanasium iniuste persequeris, non eris Sauli conparandus, quando sis ita iugulare cupiens innocentem Athanasium, quomodo et ille fuerit interficere desiderans non solum Samuhelem, sed et Dauid? eos Saul nempe interficere minabatur, cum quibus cognoscebat esse deum. et uidit, inquit scriptura, Saul quoniam dominus cum Dauid est et omnis Israel diligebat eum. et magis adiecit Saul timere a facie Dauid. et locutus est Saul ad ionatham filium suum et ad omnes pueros suos, occidere Dauid. (18:28–19:1) responde, imperator inpudentissime, si haec gerere potest dei habens spiritum. quo Saul coepit haec gerere tempore? nempe quo per Samuhel maledictus reprobatus est; eodem etenim tempore scriptum est recessisse deum ab eo, cum Dauid uero fuisse. quibus rebus probatur uos esse Arrianos sine spiritu dei, qui persequimini Athanasium uirum plenum spiritu sancto. et erat, inquit, Dauid in omnibus uiis suis sapiens, et dominus erat cum illo, et omnis Israel et iuda diligebant Dauid, (18:14, 16) igitur ut ea te agere possis cognoscere circa Athanasium quae egerit Saul circa Dauid, accipe scriptum: et Ionathan filius Saul diligebat Dauid ualde, et indicauit ionatha Dauid dicens: Saul quaerit occidere te, et infra: et locutus est Ionatha ad patrem suum dicens: noli peccare, rex, in seruum tuum Dauid, quoniam non peccauit in te, et facta eius bona sunt ualde. et posuit animam suam in manibus suis et occidit alienigenam, et fecit dominus salutem in Israel, et omnis Israel uiderunt et gauisi sunt. et ut quid peccas in sanguinem innocentem et occidere Dauid sine causa? et audiuit Saul uocem Ionathae filii sui, et iurauit Saul dicens: uiuit dominus, si mortuus fuerit Dauid, (19:4–6) et infra: et adiectum est bellum fieri, et inualuit Dauid et expugnauit alienigenas et percussit illos plaga magna, et fugerunt a facie Dauid. et factus est in Saul spiritus malus, et ipse in domo sua dormiebat, et erat in manu eius lancea, et ecce psallebat in manibus suis. et quaerebat Saul percutere lancea Dauid et percussit, et declinauit Dauid a facie Saul et percussit lancea in parietem, et Dauid fugit et saluus factus est. et factum est in illa nocte, et misit Saul nuntios ad domum Dauid, ut custodirent illum, quo mane occideret illum. et Dauid fugit et saluus factus est. et uenit ad Samuhel in Armathen, et renuntiauit ei omnia quae fecit Saul, (19:8–12, 18) et infra: et factus est iratus in Ionathan Saul ualde, (20:30) et infra: et dixit: mitte haec, accipe iuuenem, quoniam filius mortis est. et respondit Ionathan patri suo: quare moritur? quid fecit? et sustulit Saul lanceam in ionatham, ut occideret eum. (20:31–33) cui parceret Saul uera sibi dicenti, quando nec filio pepercerit? sic estis praetereuntes mandata atque uestra statuentes. denique non miramur, si, quia dicitur: ‘non potest damnari absens’, domini persequaris sacerdotes, quando uideamus sic fuisse deo famulantes persecutum Saul. loquitur scriptura dicens: et dixit rex: morte morieris, abimelech, et tu et omnis domus patris tui (22:16), et infra: et dixit rex cursoribus et stantibus sibi:

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him off; he is to be king of Israel no longer. Come, put oil in that phial of thine, and go on an errand for me to Jesse of Bethlehem; in one of his sons I have looked myself out a king. ‘How can I undertake such a journey’, asked Samuel, ‘without Saul coming to hear of it, and killing me? (16:1–2) He sought to destroy him, even though he remembered that he was a man of God: the man of God did not refuse pardon to the persecutor who had to pursue him; on the contrary he was made a son of pestilence and tried to take away his soul: for up to that point Saul had been a persecutor of Samuel, the Lord’s priest: Come, I will send you. ‘How can I undertake such a journey, asked Samuel, without Saul coming to hear of it, and killing me? (16:2) Look, Constantius! Since you people have turned your backs on God you’re seen not to be men but rather wild beasts, monsters, brigands! Because you persecute Athanasius unjustly why shouldn’t you be compared to Saul? When you want to strangle the innocent man Athanasius, just as Saul wanted to kill not just Samuel, but David too! Saul threatened to kill them, even though he knew they were friends of God. Scripture says: That the Lord was with David and that all Israel loved him,40 Saul could tell beyond doubt; Saul put his mind to be afraid of the face of David, and gave the word to Jonathan and to all his servants that they must put David to death. (18:28, 19:1) Answer this, most impudent emperor: how someone who’s capable of doing these things have God’s spirit? How would Saul go about doing these things in our own age? Indeed we know how much he was proved to have been cursed because of the actions he took against Samuel, since Scripture tells us that God withdrew his Spirit from him and went over to David’s side We can prove because of this that you Arians don’t have God’s Spirit – because you’ve persecuted Athanasius, a man filled with the Holy Spirit. Scripture says David was wise in all his undertakings, and the Lord was with him; in high favour, too, with the men of Israel and Judah. (18:16) Pay attention to what’s written in Scripture so that you know that what you’re doing to Athanasius is the same as what Saul did to David: Saul’s son Jonathan, who loved David well, told him: Saul means thy death (19:1), and further on Jonathan pleaded David’s cause with his father Saul; Do no wrong he said, to thy servant David, that has done thee no wrong, but is much thy benefactor. Did he not put his life in peril, that day when he slew the foreigner, and the Lord gave the whole army of Israel a great victory, and the whole of Israel saw it and rejoiced? Why do you sin by seeking to take innocent blood and kill David without cause? Saul heard the voice of Jonathan his son and swore: As the Lord is a living God, David shall not die! (19:4–6) and further on again And when war broke out afresh, David went into battle against the foreigners, and won a great victory, putting them to rout. One day, Saul was sitting in his house, lance in hand, with the evil spirit upon him, divinely sent; and David was playing the harp before him. He tried to pin David to the wall, and David escaped and was saved, while the lance stuck in the wall, baulked of its aim. Saul that same night sent armed men to his house to make sure of him, for on the morrow he must die. But David escaped and was saved. He went to Ramah, to find Samuel, and tell him of Saul’s doings; (19:8–15, 18) and further on He said: ‘Send and bring him to me, here and now; he is a

40 In the Vg it is David’s wife Michal (Saul’s daughter) who loves him, not Israel. VL follows the LXX in which Michal does not feature in the story at this point.

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adducite et occidite sacerdotes domini, quoniam manus eorum cum Dauid est, quoniam cognouerant quod Dauid fugeret et non decooperuerunt aurem meam. et noluerunt pueri regis ingerere manus suas aduersus sacerdotes domini. (22:17)

XIV. Quid dicis, aequissime rex? si illi regis pueri noluisse referuntur oboedire imperio regis, si illi contempsisse monstrantur praecepta Saul, ne contra dei fecissent mandata, nos episcopos fuerat dignum domini calcantes praecepta inplere tua sacrilegi homicidae? idcirco ergo nos dignaris persequi, quia non domini mandatis tua anteponamus. haec fecit et Saul. quae ita esse probat sacra scriptura dicens: et dixit Saul ad Doeg: conuerte te in obuiam sacerdotibus domini. et conuersus est Doeg Syrus, et mortificauit ipse sacerdotes domini, et occidit illa die trecentos quinque uiros et omnes portantes Ephod, in Nonbam ciuitatem sacerdotum occidit in ore gladii a uiro usque ad mulierem et ab infante usque ad nutrientem. (22:18–19) simili nunc modo conatus es atque conaris eorum laniare corpora, quos uideas praeceptorum dei memores tuo reniti praecepto. non itaque mirari poterimus, si tu nos persequaris, quando uideamus Saul, cur non seruum domini Dauid in manus tradiderint eius, non solum trecentos quinque sacerdotes, sed et totam perdidisse ciuitatem. persequebatur Saul Dauid eum, in cuius ditionem cum fuerit, saepe tamen ei ignouerit. et factum, dicit scriptura, cum reuersus esset Saul post alienigenas, et renuntiauerunt ei dicentes: ecce Dauid in deserto Gaddi est. et sumpsit tria milia uirorum se cum electorum ex omni Israel, et abiit quaerere Dauid et uiros eius ante faciem uenationis ceruorum. et uenit ad greges ouium quae erant ad uiam, et erat ibi spelunca, et introiuit Saul ad sellam, et Dauid et pueri eius interius speluncae sedebant. et dixerunt uiri Dauid ad eum: ecce dies hic quem dixit dominus: tibi dabo inimicum tuum in manibus tuis, et facies ei quae placita sunt ante oculos tuos. et exsurrexit Dauid, et dempsit pinnam chlamidis Saul occulte. et factum est post haec, et percussit cor Dauid eo quod dempsisset pinnam chlamidis. et dixit Dauid ad pueros suos: non mihi contingat a domino, si fecero hoc uerbum domino meo Christo domini, inferre manum meam in eum, quia christus domini hic est. et suasit Dauid uiros suos uerbis et non permisit illis, ut surgentes occiderent Saul. et surrexit Saul et descendit in uiam. et exiit Dauid post Saul dicens: domine rex. et respexit Saul post se, et inclinauit se Dauid in faciem suam super

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dead man’. ‘And why must be die?’ Jonathan asked of his father. What wrong has he done?’ Thereupon Saul caught up a lance as if to kill him. (20:30, 31) Who would Saul pardon for speaking the truth to him, when he hadn’t pardoned his son? In the same way you break God’s commandments and you set up your own commandments in their place. What’s more, we’re not surprised that since it’s laid down that ‘a man cannot be condemned in his absence you persecute God’s priests, since we see that Saul had been a persecutor of God’s servants.41 Scripture says And the king said, Abimelech, thou must die for it; thou and all thy kindred; and further on: He bade his retainers, that stood about him, set to and kill the Lord’s priests, men who had helped David by being privy to his flight and giving no tidings of it. But the king’s retainers were afraid to lay hands on the priests of the Lord. (22:16–17) XIV. You’re a king who’s very like this man – what do you say? If the king’s own sons wouldn’t obey his authority, if they had contempt for his orders, because they were not willing to infringe God’s commands, surely as bishops we would be unworthy if we trampled on God’s commands order to obey you when you ask us to commit sacrilegious murder? So you see fit to persecute us, because we won’t put your commands above the Lord’s. Saul did this too, as sacred Scripture shows: The king bade Doeg set to and fall upon the priests. Fall upon them he did, Doeg the man of Syria, and slew that day three hundred and five42 men that wore the linen mantle. Nob, too, the city of the priests, the king put to the sword; man and woman, child and infant.43 (22:18–19) Similarly you’re trying44 to tear to pieces the bodies of those whom you see remember God’s commandments and resist your orders. So we’re not surprised that you persecute us, when we see that Saul destroyed three hundred and five priests because they didn’t hand over to his hands David, the Lord’s servants – and he destroyed their whole town as well. Saul persecuted David when he was under his authority, but often he also didn’t notice him. Scripture says: So, when Sau l returned from driving the foreigners away, word was brought to him, David is over yonder, in the desert of Engedi; and with three thousand picked men from the Israelite ranks he went to hunt out David and his followers, though it were among rocks so steep that only the wild goats could find a footing. Close by some sheep-folds that met him on his way, there was a cave, into which Saul45 went to ease himself; and in the inner part of this same cave, David and his men lay hidden. Now, David’s servants told him, the time has come which the Lord foretold to thee, when he promised he would put thy enemy at thy mercy. Whereupon David rose to his feet, and silently cut off the skirt of Saul’s cloak. Then his heart smote him, that he had even mutilated Saul’s cloak; God be merciful to me, said he to his men, never may I do such despite to the Lord’s unction, as to lay hands on the king he has anointed! So, with a word, he checked his men, and would not let them kill Saul. 41 Cf. ‘domini famuli…servi diaboli’, C XI 68. 42 Vg has eighty; VL follows the LXX; MT is eighty-five. 43 Vg adds animals, also in LXX, but Lucifer has probably simply ended the reference with the human victims. 44 See note 8 above. 45 VL ‘ad sellam’, meaning here, so to speak, a toilet seat.

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terram et adorauit eum, et dixit Dauid ad Saul: quare audis uerba populi dicentium: ecce Dauid quaerit animam tuam? et ecce in hac die uiderunt oculi tui, quomodo tradidit te dominus hodie in manibus meis in spelaeo, et nolui te occidere et peperci tibi et dixi: non iniciam manum meam in dominum meum, quoniam christus domini est. qui accepi pinnam chlamidis tuae [et] in manu mea, et ego abscidi laciniam chlamidis tuae, et non occidi te. cognosce et uide hodie quoniam non est in manu mea malitia neque iniustitia, et non peccaui in te, et tu quaeris animam meam accipere. iudicet dominus inter me et te, et uindicabit me de te, manus autem mea non erit in te. sicuti dicitur parabola antiqua: ex iniquis exiet nequitia, manus autem mea non erit in te. retro quem tu persequeris? canem mortuum et retro pulicem unum? fiat dominus in iudicem et in uindicem inter me et inter te. uideat dominus et iudicet iudicium meum et iustificet me ex manu tua. (24:2–16) talis mos est dei cultoribus totum reseruare deo, scientes esse magnum uindicari ab eo.

XV. Interea, sicuti superius dixi, uide Saul, ubi compos mentis est, quae dicat, at ubi inpos efficitur, quomodo sitiens sit Dauid iusti et innocentis sanguinem: et factum est, inquit, cum consummasset Dauid uerba haec loquens ad Saul, dixit Saul: uox tua haec, fili Dauid? et exclamauit Saul et plorauit. et dixit ad Dauid: iustus es tu quam ego, quoniam tu reddidisti mihi bona, ego autem retribui mala tibi. et renuntiasti mihi hodie quae fecisti mihi bona, sicut conclusit me dominus in manibus tuis, et non occidisti me. et sicut inueniat quis amicum suum et praemittat eum in uiam bonam, et dominus retribuat tibi bona pro quibus fecisti mihi hodie. et nunc ecce ego scio quoniam regnando regnabis et constituetur in manu tua regnum Israel, et nunc iura tu mihi in domino, si non eradicabis semen meum post me et si non exterminabis nomen de domo patris mei. et iurauit Dauid Saul. (24:17–23) post haec utique debuerat iam mutari Saul, sed adhuc nec iste desinit persequi nec deficit parcere Dauid. et surrexit, dicit scriptura, Saul et descendit in desertum opacum et cum eo tria milia uirorum electorum ex Israel quaerere Dauid, et infra: et misit Dauid exploratores et cognouit quoniam uenit Saul in sicelet. et surrexit Dauid occulte et abiit in locum, ubi dormiebat Saul et Abner filius Ner princeps militiae eius. et Saul dormiebat in stragulis praeclaris, et plebs erat circa eum. et Dauid dixit ad Amalec Cethaeum et Abessa filium Saruiae fratrem Ioab dicens: quis introibit me cum in castris ad Saul? et dixit Abessa ad Dauid: ego ibi te cum. et intrauerunt Dauid et Abessa ad populum nocte, et ecce Saul dormiebat in stragulis pretiosis, et lancea fixa ad caput eius praeclara, et Abner dormiebat circa eum. et dixit Abessa ad Dauid: conclusit dominus hodie inimicum tuum in manibus tuis, et nunc occidam de lancea semel in terram figens et non repetam illam. et dixit Dauid ad Abessa: non continges illum, quoniam quis iniciet manum suam in christum domini et purus erit? et dixit Dauid: uiuit dominus, quoniam nisi dominus percusserit illum aut nisi hora illius uenerit et moriatur uel in pugnam descenderit et adponatur, mihi autem non sit a domino inicere manum meam in christum domini. et nunc accipe lanceam quae est ad caput illius et lentem aquae, et recedamus nos. et accepit Dauid lanceam et lentem aquae a capite eius, et abierunt ipsi.

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When Saul left the cave, to go forward on his march, David followed him; he too left the cave, crying out after him, My lord king! And when Saul looked behind him, there was David bowing to the earth in reverence. Why wouldst thou lend an ear, David asked him, to such as tell thee David is thy enemy? Thou canst see with thy own eyes that the Lord put thee at my mercy, yonder in the cave, and the thought came to me that I might kill thee. But no, I looked down and spared thee; Never will I lift a hand, thought I, against the king the Lord has anointed. Do but look, my father, on what I hold in my hand; dost thou recognize the skirt of thy cloak? The skirt of thy cloak I cut off; kill thee I would not. Think on this, and tell thyself that there was never malice or unrighteousness on my part, never a fault committed against thee; it is thou that art plotting against me, ready to compass my death. The Lord pass sentence between us; it is for the Lord to avenge me on thee; this hand shall never be lifted against thee. (So the old proverb says, Leave wrong to the wrong-doer, my hand shall not touch thee). Who art thou hunting? A dead dog, a flea, is all thy quest. The Lord give sentence between us; the Lord witness and redress my wrongs, and do justice for me, rescuing me from thy power. (24:2–16) This is what happens to God’s faithful worshippers – they preserve the whole of their lives for God and know that it’s a great thing to be vindicated by him. XV. Meanwhile, as I have already said, look at Saul: on the one hand look at what he said when he was sane; and on the other hand look at him when he was out of his mind, thirsting after David’s blood, the blood of an innocent and just man! Scripture says: It came to pass that all this David said to him, and then Saul asked, Is it thy voice I hear, my son David? and wept aloud. Thou givest better measure, he said, than I; thou returnest good for evil, and I evil for good. And thou hast shewn thyself a true friend this day, sparing my life when the Lord had put it at thy mercy; should a man meet his enemy, and let him go unharmed? The Lord reward thee for this day’s kindness. This I know past all doubt, that one day thou wilt be king, and have this realm of Israel in thy power; swear to me in the Lord’s name that thou wilt not destroy the posterity which survives me, wilt not leave my name forgotten in the record of my father’s race. So David bound himself to Saul by oath. (24:17–23) After all this Saul’s behaviour should have changed; but on the contrary, while he didn’t fail to pardon David he didn’t stop persecuting him either. Scripture says Saul set out (26:2) and further on and descended to a dark and deserted place and had three thousand picked men of Israel seeking him and further on David sent men to watch his movements, and it was Hachilah they reported as Saul’s halting-place. Then David himself went on a secret journey, and made his way to the spot; looked down at the place where Saul lay, where Abner lay, the commander of his army. Saul was sleeping on very fine rugs, with all the rest of his men camped about him. Thereupon David said to his companions, Achimelech the Hittite and Abishai, Zeruaih’s son, that was brother to Joab, Which of you comes down with me to the camp where Saul lies? And Abishai said, I will bear thee company. So, at dead of night, David and Abishai passed through into the army, and found Saul asleep on his precious rugs, with his fine spear driven into the ground by his pillow; all around him, Abner and the rest of his army lay sleeping too. Now, said Abishai, the Lord has left thy enemy at thy mercy! Let me pin him to the ground as he lies with one thrust of yonder spear; there will be no need for a second. Nay, answered David, kill him thou must not; none can lay hands on the king

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et non erat qui uideret neque qui sciret, et non erat qui uigilaret; omnes enim dormiebant, quoniam timor domini inruerat in illos. et transiuit Dauid contra et stetit in cacumine montis longe, et erat magnum iter inter eos. et deprecatus est Dauid populum et Abner et locutus est dicens: non respondis, Abner? et respondit abner et dixit: quis es tu qui uocas me? quid est? et dixit Dauid ad Abner: uir tu es, et quis sicut tu in Israel? quare non custodis dominum tuum regem? quoniam intrauit unus de populo disperdere dominum tuum regem. non est bonum hoc quod fecisti. uiuit dominus, quoniam filii mortificationis uos estis, qui non custodistis dominum regem uestrum, christum domini. et nunc uide ubi est lancea regis et lentis aquae quae erat ad caput eius. et cognouit rex Saul uocem Dauid et dixit: uox tua haec, fili Dauid? seruus tuus, domine rex. et adiecit Dauid: ut quid hoc persequitur dominus meus retro seruum suum? quoniam quid deliqui et quae est a me malitia? et nunc audiat dominus meus rex uerba serui sui, si dominus deus incutit te in meum dolorem et uictimam immolationis; quod si filii hominum, maledicti hi in conspectu domini, quoniam eiecerunt me hodie non confirmatum esse in testamentum domini dicentes: uade, serui diis alienis. et nunc non cadet sanguis meus in terram ante conspectum domini, quoniam exiit rex Israel quaerere pulicem unum, sicut persequitur noctua in montibus. et dixit Saul: peccaui, conuerte, fili Dauid, quoniam non malignabor in te iam, ideo quoniam anima mea accepta est ante oculos tuos in diem hunc, in quo stultus factus sum, et ignoraui multa uehementer. et respondit Dauid dicens: ecce lancea regis, accedat unus ex pueris et accipiat eam. et dominus restituat unicuique iustitias et fidem suam, sicut tradidit te hodie in manibus meis et nolui inicere manum meam in christum domini. ecce sicut exaltauit se anima tua in diem hunc ante oculos meos, sic significetur anima mea in conspectum domini, et abripiat me et eruat me ex omnibus tribulationibus. et dixit Saul ad Dauid: benedictus tu, fili, et faciens et potens poteris. (26:4–25) XVI. Haec idcirco indidi, ut tandem posses conicere sic te siue Athanasium siue nos iniuste persequi, sic te stimulari in tuae salutis necem, sic tibimet mortis apud diuinitatem contrahere pericula, ut sibi per haec quae egerit contraxerit Saul. si haec non ita sunt, dic cur nos persequaris; nempe quia non fundamus sanguinem innocentem. quem uis imitemur, te ne aut Dauid? de Dauid enim scriptum inuenio: et Dauid regnauit in Israel, et erat faciens iudicium et iustitiam in toto populo suo, (2 Sam 8:15) te uero esse cernimus iniustum iudicem, cultorum dei interfectorem. cur nos

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whom the Lord has anointed but he incurs guilt. As the Lord is a living God, David said, I will wait for the Lord to smite him down, till death comes to him, or he falls on the field of battle. The Lord be merciful to me, never will I lay hands on the king he has anointed! Come, take up the spear that is by his head, and yonder46 glass of water, and let us begone47 With that, Saul himself recognized David’s voice; Is it thy voice I hear, he asked, my son David? And David answered, It is mine, my lord king, no other. My lord, said he, why wouldst thou hunt down this poor servant of thine? What have I done amiss, what guilt lies at my door? My lord king, give thy servant a hearing. If it is the Lord that inspires thee with such hatred of me, then let him be appeased by sacrifice. But if it is the work of men, the Lord’s curse be on them; they have exiled me this day from the Lord’s domain, bidden me go and worship alien gods. Why must the earth be stained with my blood, under the Lord’s eye? A fine quarry for the king of Israel! A flea in the night, like one which an owl pursues, were as well worth his chase. I have done thee wrong, Saul answered; return, my son David, return. Never again will I do thee hurt, after this day when thou hast spared my life. My folly, I see it now; my great ignorance, I see it now. Here is the king’s spear, said David; best that one of the king’s men should come across and take it. The Lord will make every man the return his own faith and honour have deserved; this day the Lord put thee at my mercy, and I would not lift a hand against the king he has anointed. I held thy life precious; may the Lord hold mine precious, and deliver me at all time of peril. A blessing on thee, my son David, Saul answered; much thou shalt achieve, much win. (26:4–25) XVI. This is why I have made all these things publicly known, so you can take notice of them and be aware that your salvation will be snuffed out because of your actions against Athanasius or us (unjustly persecuted) and that you will be in danger of death as far as your divinity is concerned; these were dangers which Saul brought on himself because of his actions. If all this isn’t the case, then tell me why you’re persecuting us! Surely it’s because we won’t shed innocent blood! Who would you’ve us imitate – you or David? I find that Scripture says about David: The whole of Israel was under his rule, and to all his people he administered justice and gave award. (2 Sam 8:15) You, on the other hand, are seen to be an unjust judge, the murderer of those who worship God. Why do you persecute us? Surely it’s because we’re not willing, as you are, to become apostates, we’re not willing to deny the48 only-begotten Son of God! The book of David49 also speaks of the perfect Trinity, and talks of the single Godhead 46 Lit. ‘lens’; the VL seems to translate LXX φακός; Vg has ‘scyphum’. 47 The VL text here (but not the LXX) account is rather shorter at this point, leaving out the dialogue between David and Abner from the other side of the camp. This either means that the VL text is itself shorter or that Lucifer omitted it; the latter is more likely. 48 ‘Unicum Dei Filium’ is used by Lucifer as a technical and formulaic credal expression to identify orthodox beliefs about Jesus as opposed to those of Arius and people associated with him; this is found at various points in this treatise and in C II 16 (see Piras’ note, p. 122 of his commentary). 49 The Psalms. Given his liking for long scriptural quotations, it is odd that here Lucifer does not tell us what the Trinitarian references are in the Psalms, especially as he is explicit about the nature of the references. Usually these are identified as passages in which God appears to be engaging in internal dialogue, implying persons within the Godhead. Psalm 2:2 and Psalm 110 (109):1 are the passages usually cited. Contemporary theologians of the Trinity would place less emphasis on these passages

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persequeris? nempe quia noluerimus, ut tu es, fieri apostatae, quia noluerimus unicum dei negare filium. Dauid liber et trinitatem loquitur perfectam et unam narrat deitatem patris et filii et spiritus sancti; et tu esse inueniris apostata. quem, inquam, sequar, te ne an Dauid? illum ne cultorem domini, misericordiae amatorem an te sacrilegum carnificem? cuius sapientiae homo persequeris Athanasium? mirarer te haec agere, si non et Achab rex sic Heliam et ceteros domini prophetas fuisset persecutus; mirarer te persequi dei hominem, si non in omnibus te Achab esse cernerem. denique talia tibi dicuntur a nobis, qualia et illi a dei dicta sint domesticis: ‘noli Baal colere, noli idolis seruire, sed deo; serui deo Abrahae, deo Isaac, deo Iacob, serui deo Israel’. si talia meministi dixisse Heliam et ceteros prophetas domini ad Achab apostatam regem, aduerte similia tibi ab eis, quibus docendi dederit auctoritatem dominus, dici. noli, Constanti, cum Arrianis pugnare contra dei domum, noli idololatriam arrii introducere in ecclesiam, noli negare unicum filium dei, desine persequi apostolicam atque euangelicam fidem. haec quia dicamus, uidemur esse tibi inimici. sic fuerunt regi uera sibi dicentes inimici. percurramus denique quaenam fuerint orta, quae facta inter Heliam domini prophetam et Achab tuum coapostatam, et inuenies te esse hodie Achab. uiuit, inquit Helias, dominus, cui adsisto conspectum, ante si erit annis istis ros et pluuia, nisi per uerbum oris mei. (1 Kgs 17:1) quod utique cum impletum fuisset, debuerat uecors cognoscere uere deum solum potentem totum non fuisse nisi illum cui seruiret Helias. quid agit Achab? uidet per triennium et eo amplius non esse pluuiam, et magis est idolis seruiens, magis est cupiens interficere Heliam. audit dei propheta ore sacrilegi Achab: si tu es ipse, qui euertis Israel? (18:17) sic et tu dicis Athanasio uel nobis, quod enim nos sumus uertentes dei populum, cum tu sis ad tuam suscipiendam haeresim Christianos conuocans. sed audis a nobis quae audiit Achab ille cultor idololatriae ab Helia glorioso: ‘non nos euertimus dei domum, sed euertis tu et domus patris tui’. aut negabis nihil te cogitare, nisi ut omnes nos coapostatas efficias tuos?

XVII. Sed ut coeperam de Heliae et Achab dicere actibus: et dixit Helias: ego non uerto Israel, sed euertis tu et domus patris tui, dum relinquitis uos dominum deum nostrum et itis post Baal. et nunc mitte et congrega ad me omnem Israel in montem Carmeli et prophetas confusionis quadringentos quinquaginta et prophetas lucorum quadringentos,

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of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; so you’re found to be an apostate! I say again, whom should I follow? You or David? David, the worshipper of God, the lover of mercy, or you, one guilt of sacrilege, an executioner? Where is the wisdom which leads you, a mere mortal, to persecute Athanasius? I would wonder that you act in this way, were it not that King Ahab had persecuted Elijah and the other prophets of the Lord. I would be amazed that you persecute a man of God, were I not able to see you as Ahab in all respects: accordingly we say the same things to you as were said to him by God’s servants: ‘Don’t worship Baal, or serve idols – worship God! Be servants of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! Serve the God of Israel!’ If you take notice that Elijah and the other prophets of God had said such things to Ahab the apostate king, then pay attention to the same sort of things these men said, men to whom the Lord gave authority to teach – tell us! Constantius, don’t fight alongside the Arians against God’s house! Don’t bring the idolatry of Arius into the Church! Don’t deny the only-begotten Son of God! Stop persecuting the apostolic and evangelical faith! We’ve to say these things, so we’re seen to be your enemies. So we pass swiftly over the things that went on between Elijah, prophet of the Lord and Ahab, your fellow apostate50 - you’ll find that you’re Ahab today! Elijah said: As the Lord before whom I stand is a living God, in these years that are coming neither dew nor rain shall fall, except by word of my mouth.51 (1 Kgs 17:1) Because in the end this was fulfilled, so the madman had to recognise that there was only one God and he was simply the God whom Elijah served. What did Ahab do? He saw that for three years and more there hadn’t been any rain; the more he served idols, the more he wanted to kill Elijah. The prophet of God heard this from the mouth of the sacrilegious Ahab, So it is thou, the man that perverts Israel? (18:17) So you say the same to Athanasius and to us, telling us that we’re the people destroying God’s people, even though you’re the one who has called on Christians to adopt heresy. But you can hear from us what Ahab, that worshipper of idolatry, heard from the glorious Elijah Nay, I am not perverting Israel; the fault lies not with us, but with thee and with thy father’s house, when you did forsake the Lord thy God and betaken yourselves to the gods of the country-side.52 (18:18) Or do you deny that you think nothing of making us all your fellow apostates? XVII. But so I might begin to speak about the actions of Elijah and Ahab: Nay, I am not perverting Israel; the fault lies not with us, but with thee and with thy father’s house, when you did forsake the Lord thy God and betaken yourselves to the gods of the country-side. But there is work to do; send out couriers, and gather me all Israel on mount

than early Church Fathers. See also on this C. Zedda La teologia trinitaria di Lucifero di Cagliari in Divus Thomas. Commentarium de philosophia et theologica LII (XXVI ser. IIIae) (Piacenza, 1949), p. 304. 50 As elsewhere a characteristic of Lucifer’s style is the making up of ‘co’- words, as here. 51 Lucifer’s text omits ‘The God of hosts, the God of Israel’ in MT. 52 This is Knox’s characteristic rendition of Baalim or Baal in Vg, also in LXX and VL.

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manducantes et bibentes in mensa Iezabel. et misit rex Achab ad omnem Israel et collegit omnes prophetas in montem Carmeli. et accessit Helias ad omnes et dixit eis: usquequo uos claudicatis sensu uestro? si est dominus deus, ite post ipsum. si autem Baal est, ite post illum. et non respondit illi populus uerbum. et dixit Helias ad populum dicens: ego superaui solus prophetarum domini unus, et prophetae huius Baal quadringenti quinquaginta uiri et prophetae lucorum quadringenti; dentur ergo nobis duo boues, et eligant sibi illi unum et demembrent, et inponant eum super lignum et ignem non subponant; et ego faciam bouem alterum, et ignem non supponam. et clamate in nomine deorum uestrorum, et ego clamabo in nomine dei mei, et erit hic deus quicumque exaudierit nos in igne, hic erit deus. et respondit omnis populus, et dixerunt: bonum uerbum quod locutus est Helias. et dixit Helias ad prophetas confusionis: eligite uobis uitulum unum et facite priores, quoniam uos multi estis, et clamate in nomine deorum uestrorum, et ignem nolite supponere. et acceperunt uitulum et fecerunt, et inuocabant in nomine Baal a mane usque ad uesperum, et dicebant: exaudi nos, Baal, exaudi nos. et non fuit istis uox neque auditio. et apposuit Helias Thesbites dicens: inuocate in uoce magna pariter, ne forte occupatus sit uel dormiat ipse, et suscitabitur. et illum uocabant in uocem magnam, et secabant se secundum consuetudinem suam gladiis et nouaculis usque ad effusionem sanguinis super se, et prophetabant usque dum transiret meridies. et factum est quomodo tempus erat ut ascenderet sacrificium, et locutus est Helias thesbites ad prophetas dicens: discedite amodo, et ego faciam holocaustomata. et discesserunt et abierunt. et dixit Helias ad populum: accedite ad me. et accesserunt omnes populi ad eum. et accepit Helias duodecim lapides secundum numerum tribus Israel, sicut locutus est dominus ad eum dicens: Israel erit nomen tuum. et aedificauit lapides et restituit altare domini, quod dissipatum fuerat, et fecit foueam, quae caperet duas metretas semis in gyro altaris et constipauit scizas super altare quod fecit, et demembrauit holocaustum et inposuit scizam et stipauit super altare, et dixit: accipite mihi quattuor hydrias aquae et effundite super holocaustum et super scizam. et dixit: iterum adferte. et iterum adtulerunt. et dixit: repetite tertio. et repetierunt tertio, et manabat aqua in circuitu sacrarii, et foueam impleuerunt aqua. et

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Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of disorder,53 and those four hundred prophets of the forest-shrines, that feed and drink on Jezebel’s bounty. So Ahab sent word to all the men of Israel, and gathered the prophets together, there on mount Carmel. And now Elijah appeared before the whole of Israel, and thus reproached them, Will you never cease to waver in your judgments? If the Lord is God, then take his part; if Baal is, then take his. No word did the people give him in answer, and Elijah began speaking to them again; Here am I, he said, the only prophet of the Lord left, while Baal has four hundred and fifty, together with the four hundred prophets of the forest-shrines. Bring us two bulls; let them choose which they will, cut it up into pieces, and set these upon fire-wood, without kindling it. I will prepare the other bull, and I too will set it on fire-wood still unkindled. Then call upon the names of your gods, and I will call on the name of my God; and the God who sends fire in answer shall be acknowledged as God. Well said, cried all the people, well said! Thereupon Elijah bade them: ‘Choose your bull, and offer sacrifice first, since yours is the greater number; call upon the names of your gods as you wish, but kindle no fire’. And they, accepting one of the bulls he offered them, prepared it for sacrifice; all day long they cried out on the name of Baal, ‘Lord Baal, hear us!’ but never a sound came, and there was none to answer.54 Elijah the Tishbite said: ‘Cry louder in the same way; it maybe he is busy55 or has fallen asleep and will get up’.56 Cry louder they did, cutting themselves with knives and lancets after their custom, till they were all bathed in blood; but mid-day passed, and they were still prophesying; and now it was time for the evening sacrifice to be offered.57 Then Elijah the Tishbite bade the people come near; and when they were standing close to him, he began repairing the altar of the Lord,58 that was broken down. Twelve stones he took, one for each tribe that sprang from the sons of Jacob, to whom the divine voice gave the surname of Israel; and with these stones he built up the altar again.59 Then he made a trench round the altar, with enough space to take eighteen gallons of water;60 piled the wood high, cut the bull into joints, and laid these on the wood. Now, he said, fill four buckets with water, and pour it over victim and wood alike.61 And he bade them: ‘Do it again’, and when they had finished, he said: ‘Do it a third time’. When they had poured

53 VL ‘confusionis’, as opposed to Baal; this translates αἰσχύνης in LXX. King points out that this is a common practice in LXX in relation to the word Baal and names including the word Baal (cf. 2 Sam 11:21, Jg 6:32). 54 Here the words ‘and they ran about on the altar that they had made. And it happened at noon.’ are omitted by Lucifer and in the Vienna palimpsest of the VL (La115). 55 Kauhanen thinks Lucifer has coined ‘occupatus sit’ to reproduce the basic idea from the Greek text; King thinks the LXX word is a euphemism for defecating, to underline how insulting Elijah wishes to be. 56 Here Lucifer and La115 omit the words ‘for he is a god’ and later on ‘and at the same time he is perhaps giving an oracle’. 57 Lucifer’s text omits the phrase, but still no sound came; there was none to answer them or listen to their supplications. 58 Here ‘of the Lord’ is added. 59 Another omission, of ‘in the name of the Lord’. 60 Lucifer here repeats the LXX μετρητάς which is a liquid measure, unlike aratiaunculas in Vg (‘furlongs’ in Knox). 61 Omits ‘and they did so’.

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clamauit Helias in caelum et dixit: dominus deus Abraham et Isaac et Israel, exaudi me, domine, exaudi me hodie in igne, ut sciant omnis populus hic quoniam tu es dominus deus Israel et ego seruus tuus, et propter te feci haec opera, et tu uersasti cor populi huius retro. et cecidit ignis a domino de caelo, et comedit holocausta et scizas et aquam quae erat in altare, et lapides et terram linxit ignis. et cecidit totus populus super faciem suam et dixit: uere dominus deus ipse est deus. et dixit Helias ad populum: suscipite prophetas Baal, nemo sit saluus ex illis. et susceperunt illos, et deduxit illos Helias ad torrentem Cison et occidit illos ibi, et dixit ad Achab: manduca et bibe, quoniam uox est pedum pluuiae. et ascendit Achab, ut manducaret et biberet. et Helias ascendit in Carmelum, et inclinauit se in terram et posuit faciem suam inter genua et dixit puero suo: ascende et prospice uiam maris. et respexit puer, et dixit puer: non est nihil. circumage te septies. et factum est in septimo, et ecce nubs pusilla quasi uestigium hominis adducens aquam de mari. et dixit illi Helias: ascende et dic ad Achab: iunge currum tuum et ascende, ne conprehendat te pluuia. et factum est hinc et inde, et caelum contenebricauit nubibus et uentis, et facta est pluuia magna. et plorabat et ibat Achab in Israel, et manus domini erat in Heliam. (18:18–46)

XVIII. Cognoscis in qua peruersitate hodie tu sis manens, in qua manserit et Achab; de tantis etenim signis ac prodigiis exhibitis non dignatur gaudere cum populo, sed dolet, cur Helias sacerdotes ac prophetas fuerit idolorum ausus interficere, nec post tanta dignatur semet uertere ad deum, sed magis adhuc eius persequitur cultorem. uidet quia est deus in Helia, et magis quaerit eius animam. conspicit prophetas Baal et lucorum fuisse daemoniorum cultores, et illos magis etiam extinctos diligit quam eum quem tot modis aduerterat dei domesticum. ita et tu eos dignaris diligere, quos haeresis Arrianae sectae uides homines, et es dei cultores quam acerrime persequens. pauca de multis gestis inter Achab et Heliam idcirco duxi tibi ingerenda, ut possis noscere uos, ex quo deum derelinquitis, neque signis neque prodigiis facile conuerti ad eum, sed magis in uestris durantes erroribus ut bestias inmanes saeuire in necem dei cultorum. deprecamur te, Constanti, ne adhuc in his tuis malis digneris demorari, sed magis emergas a turbinibus diaboli, ne illa conprehendant te mala quae Achab

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it out a third time, the water was running all round the sanctuary,62 and the trench he had dug for it was full. Elijah cried out to heaven: ‘Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, answer me today with fire, O Lord,63 and give proof this day that thou art the Lord God, and I am thy servant, and all I have done was done at thy command. Audience, Lord, give audience! Prove to all the people that thou art the Lord God, and art calling their hearts back to thee! With that, the divine fire fell, consuming victim and wood and stones and dust, and swallowing up the very water in the trench. At the sight, the whole people fell face to earth, and raised a cry, ‘It is the Lord is God, it is the Lord is God!’ ‘Seize the prophets of Baal’, Elijah told them, ‘let none of them be safe!’. Seize them they did, and Elijah took them down to the valley of Kishon, where he put them to death; and he said to Ahab, Go back now, eat and drink; I hear a noise like the patter of raindrops.64 So Ahab went back to eat and drink, while Elijah climbed the heights of mount Carmel, and there sat, his face bowed to the ground between his knees. And he bade his servant go to the hill-top and look out seawards; so he went and looked, but came back with word that he had seen nothing. Seven times he must go back on the same errand; and at the seventh time, a little cloud shewed, no bigger than a man’s foot-print, rising up out of the sea. ‘Go back’, Elijah said, ‘and bid Ahab mount his chariot and return home, before the rain overtakes him’. This way and that he turned; and now the whole sky was dark, and clouds came, and a wind with the clouds, and a great storm of rain began. So he wept and Ahab betook himself to Israel; as for Elijah, the power of the Lord came upon him. (18:18–46) XVIII. You should know how perverse it is for you to stay like this, just as Ahab did; after all the signs and portents you’ve been shown it’s not right for us to rejoice with the people, but rather, it’s a source of sorrow that after Elijah dared to kill the priests and prophets of the idols Ahab did not see fit to turn back to God, but persecuted God’s worshipper even more. He sees that God is in Elijah, and yet seeks his life even more. He sees the prophets of Baal, he sees that they worship demons in groves of trees – and yet he loves them, even when they are dead; and he loves them more than him whom he had changed by such methods into an effective servant of God.65 So in your turn you see fit to love those who are Arian heretics, and you’re still the man who persecutes as quickly as you can the worshippers of God. As a result I have brought forward only a few things66 which I need to throw at you concerning what went on between Ahab and Elijah; I’m doing this so that you and your friends should know how it is that you’ve abandoned God; what’s more, in spite of being

62 The word Lucifer uses is ‘sacrarii’. Kauhanen points out that this word might reflect the bishop’s familiarity with the sanctuary in a Christian church. 63 ‘Answer me today, O Lord, with fire’ is in L and LXX but not Vg. I have followed King’s translation of the phrase. 64 Lucifer has ‘pedum pluviae’, following LXX, which seems a rather gentler sound than the Vg ‘sonus multae pluviae’. 65 The argument here is that Elijah, like other prophets, is a rather reluctant opponent of the powerful who is ‘radicalised’ by the king’s actions. 66 This echoes Virgil Aeneid 3.377–79 ‘pauca tibi e multis…expediam dictis’; also echoed at A2 XVII 1 ‘haec conspice pauca de multis’.

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et Iezabel. nec in eo dicas felicem te, quia potens sis ad dei persequendos homines, quando uideas potuisse ad petitum Heliae extingui Achab et Iezabel et tamen fuerint reseruati, ut plenius et Heliae dei hominis tolerantia fuisset beatificata et illorum impleta inpietatis mensura, quasi uero non posset Helias petere deum, ut arderent persecutores religionis eius, idolorum cultores. ignem petit dare de caelo ad sacrificia consumenda, ilico descendit; pluuiam, quae triennio fuerat ablata et mensibus sex, petit, et ilico datur. alia quam plurima signa fiunt; et extingui dei inimici ad petitum Heliae non potuerunt, cum etiam illos honoratos quinquagenarios ad Heliae dictum descendens ignis consumpserit? uides hodie posse, quia persequaris Athanasium uel nos, te fulmine aut quolibet modo extingui, sed reseruari ad hoc, ut aut te conuertas aut omnis possit impleri iniquitatis tuae mensura. persequebatur Achab rex Heliam, ut tu persequeris nunc Athanasium. dixit nempe Iezabel ad domini prophetam, posteaquam conperisset per Heliam illas uirtutes exhibitas et prophetas confusionis atque religionum sacerdotes interfectos: haec mihi faciant dii et haec mihi adaugeant, si non in hac hora cras posuero animam tuam, quemadmodum animam unius ex illis. (19:2) sed quid audit Helias a deo post quadraginta dierum ac noctium celebratum ieiunium? nempe ut ungueret reges, per quos Achab et socii extinguerentur. est cum Helia misericordia dei, cognoscit Helias diligi se a deo; contra Achab, Heliae persecutor, ita est miser, ut in diaboli semper potestate fuerit. sic Athanasium iuste puniri mandasti, quomodo et Iezabel Nabutheum Iezraelitem; sic tu ueros testes produxisti contra Athanasium, ut illi produxerunt ad quos scripserat Iezabel dicens: ieiunate ieiunium, et sedeat nabutheus in primo populo, et conlocate duos uiros filios iniquorum contra eum, et testentur aduersus eum dicentes: maledixisti dominum et regem, et deducite eum, et lapidetur et moriatur. (21:9–10)

XIX. Talia sunt opera nunc uestra Arrianorum. reos nos dicitis, inpingitis multa nec testibus falsis egetis; ipsi enim testes in omnibus falsi estis. sic uos filii perditionis Arriani interficere temptatis Athanasium, quomodo Nabutheum Iezabel, tamquam possetis omnia conspicientis effugere manum. scis uindicasse deum sanguinem Nabuthei,

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warned by signs and portents you can’t easily be turned back towards God; rather you grow hardened in your errors, in same way as monstrous beasts show violence to the worshippers of God, even to death. Constantius, we ask you to escape the devil’s whirlwinds, lest you stay in the midst of such wicked deeds and are engulfed by evil like Ahab and Jezebel. You can’t claim that you’re happy about this, about being able to persecute those who worship God, since you can see that Ahab and Jezebel wanted to exterminate Elijah but were held back from doing so; this happened so that the sufferings of the man of God Elijah might in some ways be beneficial, to show up their impiety; they behaved in this way as if Elijah hadn’t been able to ask God to burn up the persecutors of true religion, idol worshippers.67 Elijah requests fire from heaven to consume the sacrifices and it comes down; he asks for rain, absent for three and a half years, and it is given. There were many other signs. Could God’s enemies not kill Elijah because of his prayer (?) since the fire descended, at his request, on the fifty men honoured in this way?68 So in the same way today you know that you can kill us in your anger, because you’re persecuting Athanasius and us, but you’re held back from doing so, either so that you might have the chance to be converted, or so that the whole of your wickedness can be made plain. King Ahab persecuted Elijah, and now you persecute Athanasius. We know for certain that Jezebel, after she’d learnt for certain that Elijah had had the priests of confusion and false religions killed, said to the prophet of the Lord: The gods punish me as I deserve, and more, if by this time tomorrow I have not sent thee the way yonder prophets went.(19:2) But what did Elijah hear from God after he’d fasted for forty days and forty nights? That he should anoint new kings, so that Ahab and his friends would be blotted out. With Elijah there’s always God’s mercy, and Elijah knows that he’s loved by God. On the other hand Ahab, the persecutor of Elijah, is so mean-spirited that he’s totally in the power of the Devil. So it is that you’ve ordered that Athanasius be ‘justly’ punished, just as Jezebel did to Naboth69 of Jezreel; similarly you’ve pit ‘true’ witnesses against Athanasius, who can come forward like those to whom Jezebel wrote, saying: Proclaim a solemn fast,70 and where the greatest of the townspeople sat, there must be a seat for Naboth. Then two sons of trangressors71 must be suborned to bear false witness against him, accusing him of blasphemous speech about God and the king; take him out, and let him be stoned to death. (21:9–10) XIX. This is what you Arians do! You say we’re guilty; you make false charges against us and you need false witnesses; and you’re a false witness in every way. So it is that you Arians are sons of perdition as you try to kill Athanasius, just as Jezebel tried to kill Naboth; and you will no more escape the hand of anyone looking at you than 67 This is poetic licence, so to speak; the narrative in 1 Kings has the sacrifice consumed by fire and the priests of Baal slaughtered after this. 68 Again the number of the priests in 1 Kings is greater than fifty. 69 For Naboth cf. Jos. Ant. 8.13.8. 70 Cf. Vg ‘Praedicate ieiunium’; also Lucifer is closer to the LXX in the next phrase ἐν ἀρχῂ τοῦ λαοῦ than the Vg ‘inter primos populi’. 71 King ‘of criminal type’. Vg has ‘filii Belial’. I have used Kauhanen’s phrase.

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mortem eius de manibus interfectorum exquisiuisse; et arbitraris ex tuis manibus non deum exquisiturum sanguinem sacerdotis sui Athanasii? et dixit dominus ad Heliam thesbitem dicens: surge et descende in obuiam Achab regi Israel, qui est in Samariam, quia hic in uineam Nabuthei descendit, ut possideat eam. et dices ad eum: haec dicit dominus: quomodo occidisti Nabutheum et possedisti uineam eius, propter hoc haec dicit dominus: in loco in quo linxerunt canes et sues sanguinem Nabuthei, ibi lingent canes sanguinem tuum, et fornicariae lauabunt in sanguine tuo. et dixit Achab ad Heliam: si inuenisti me, inimicus meus? et dixit Helias: inueni, quoniam cogitasti facere maligne ante conspectum domini, ut exacerbares eum. haec dicit dominus: ecce ego induco super te mala, et succendam post te ignem, et disperdam tuum Achab mingentem ad parietem et contemptum et reliquum in Israel. et dabo domum tuam sicut domum Hieroboam filii Nabath, sicut domum Saba filii Acia, pro omnibus exacerbationibus quibus exacerbasti et peccatum dedisti in Israel. et ad Iezabel locutus est dominus dicens: canes manducabunt eam ante murum Iezrahel, et mortuos tuos in ciuitate manducabunt uolucres caeli. (21:17–23) quid tu, Constanti, dicis ad haec? minora astruis esse peccata tua quam fuerunt Achab et Iezabel? illi sacerdotes dei sunt persecuti, interemerunt dei domesticos, religionem dei tulerunt et idololatriam statuerunt, populum auerterunt a deo. et tu haec omnia fecisti ac facis. sic nos tu uocas inimicos tuos, quomodo et Achab Heliam, qui, cum audisset ore prophetae domini indignationem, dixerit: ‘si inuenisti me, inimicus Achab regi?’ nempe quia diceret: ‘noli idolis seruire, sed deo soli Abrahae, Isaac et Israel’. et nunc quia tibi dicatur: ‘noli esse haereticus, sed esto Christianus’, inimicos uocas, cur tibi idololatriam tradenti haec ingerantur quae fuerint ingesta et per Heliam regi Achab; qui Achab dilexisset profecto Heliam, si eius idolis domini propheta censuisset seruiendum, derelinquendum uero deum. negare et tu totidem non potes, quod enim, si esse delegissemus quod ipse es, fuisses nos singulari dilecturus affectu. quibus rebus intellegeris esse filius pestilentiae, tenebrarum fons, gurgis omnium malorum, caput totius nequitiae, sentina omnium blasphemorum, haereticorum fomes, radix amaritudinis, arbos igni destinata quippe adferens fructos mortiferos, inimicus dei, hostis ecclesiae, ueritatis interpolator, prauitatis concinnator, iniustitiae amator, iustitiae aduersarius, totus in tenebras et quidem inextricabiles conuersus, factus uero uerius templum omnium daemonum, quorum instinctu haec cuncta, ut Achab, perpetratus fueris mala ac perpetreris. sed non diu, nisi te conuerteris ad deum, esse poteris inpunitus, cum cernas quae receperint Achab et Iezabel. si enim Achab, sicut ei fuerat promissum ore Heliae, interit, si canes comedunt Iezabel, tu eris a tantis inpunitus facinoribus, qui non solum non doles interfecisse te deo mancipatos, sed et adhuc glorieris, existimans bene te fecisse? nec mirum, cum praescius futurorum, cuius tu negator es, dixerit in euangelio: ueniet hora, ut omnis qui uos occiderit putet se officium deo facere; sed hoc faciunt, quia nesciunt neque patrem neque unicum filium eius. ( Jn 16:2)

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she did; for you know that God avenged the blood of Naboth and brought about the death of those who had killed him. Do you really think that God will not avenge the blood on your hands of his priest Athanasius? Thereupon the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, ‘Up, and go to meet Ahab, king of Israel, that dwells in Samaria; thou wilt find him now in the vineyard of Naboth; he has gone to take possession of it. Because of this the Lord says: “Here, where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, they shall lick thine, and prostitutes will wash themselves in thy blood”’. ‘Hast thou found me’, was Ahab’s greeting, ‘my enemy’.72 ‘I have found thee’, said Elijah, ‘because thou hast thought to do such things which are hateful in the Lord’s sight and angered him. Thus says the Lord: hateful is the ruin I mean to bring on thee, and I will render thy house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, like the house of Sabah son of Achiah, for all the provocations which thou has provoked, and the sin which thou didn’t set up in Israel’. And to Jezebel the Lord said ‘The dogs shall eat her before the wall of Jezreel, and your dead in the city shall be food for the birds of heaven’. (21:17–24) What do you say to this, Constantius? Do you think your crimes are less serious than those of Ahab and Jezebel? They persecuted God’s priests, they killed God’s servants, they removed true religion, the worship of the one God and established idolatry; they turned people away from God. And you’ve done all these things and you’re still doing them. Therefore you call us your enemies, just as Ahab called Elijah his enemy; he’d heard of God’s anger against him through the mouth of the prophet, so he said to him Hast thou found me, my enemy? (21:20) He also saw Elijah as his foe because he said ‘Don’t serve idols, but only the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel!’ So now, because people ought to say to you, ‘Don’t be a heretic, but be a Christian!’ you call us your enemies, because you’ve acted in the same idolatrous way as Ahab did towards Elijah. Assuredly Ahab would have loved Elijah, had the prophet of the Lord believed that idols should be served and that God be abandoned. You can’t deny all this; if we were to love what you’ve become, you would love us greatly. Because of all this you know, deep down, that you’re a son of pestilence, the fount of darkness, the whirlpool of all evils, the source of moral turpitude, the bilge-water of all blasphemies, the chips of wood for heretics,73 the root of bitterness, the tree destined to be burnt because its fruits lead to death, the enemy of God, the foe of the Church, the twister of truth, one who makes depravity elegant, the lover of injustice, the adversary of justice, a man who is totally and inextricably turned towards darkness because you’ve built a temple for all the demons in the world – and you’ve instinctively, like Ahab, perpetrated all these things and are still doing so!74 You will not go unpunished for long – unless you turn back to God, when you see what happened to Ahab and Jezebel. For if – as it had been promised by Elijah – Ahab died and dogs ate Jezebel, do you think you’ll be unpunished for crimes which are just as bad, especially as you’ve not only been

72 Lucifer follows the LXX ὁ ἐχθρὸς μου, whereas the Vg ‘me inimicum me’ makes Ahab Elijah’s foe. 73 As it was not the custom in the fourth century to burn heretics this phrase in Lucifer’s tirade is disturbingly prescient. 74 This tour de force shows Lucifer’s rhetorical education, an example of the technique known as πνιγός,‘a choker’.

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XX. Sciens tu degens sine notitia dei persequeris Athanasium uera tibi dicentem, ex toto amantem deum corde. sic et Achab persecutus Heliam. sed uide exitum Heliae atque inimici eius Achab. Helia conspice translatum ad amicitias dei perfruendas aeternas, et nunc Achab torquetur in exterioribus tenebris. est Helias de dei gaudens amicitiis et est Achab exsoluens perpetuas poenas. erit sine dubioAthanasius in conuiuio, ubi est Helias; et tu eris in loco illo tormentorum, nisi tibi consulueris, in quo detinetur Achab, cuius in omnibus imitator reperiris. istud est sapere, ut elegisses infelicitatem aeternam Achab regis quam frui felicitatem perpetuam, quam est consecutus Helias? cuius translationem loquitur scriptura in quarto Regnorum libro dicens: euntibus autem illis et loquentibus ecce currus igneus et equi ignei, et separauit inter utrosque. et ascendit Helias in commotionem quasi in caelum. et Helisaeus uidebat, et ipse clamabat et dixit: pater, pater, agitator Israel. et non uidit eum amplius. (2 Kgs 2:11–12) non nouum nobis tuum haeretici factum poterit uideri, si nos persequaris domini sacerdotes, cum in libro Paralipomenon secundo inueniamus Hieroboam et eius filios haec egisse. sacra scriptura, Iuda, inquit, et Beniamin et leuitae et sacerdotes, qui erant in omni Israel, conuenerunt ex omnibus finibus, quoniam dereliquerunt leuitae et tabernacula sua et possessiones suas et abierunt ad Roboam in Hierusalem, quoniam repellit eos Hieroboam et filii eius, ut non seruirent domino. et constituit ibi sacerdotes excelsorum et simulacris et daemoniis et uitulis, quae fecit Hieroboam. et proiecit eos a filiis Israel et a tribubus Israel, qui dederant cor suum quaerere dominum deum Israel. (2 Chr 11:12–15) non erit itaque admirandum, si tu nos uel nobis diuinitus commissos persequeris, si de re nobis commissa nos pellis, si denique locis nostris ordines dei inimicos eos, qui te cum dereliquerunt deum, quando uideas haec te implere quae fecerit Hieroboas. quid est enim dicere: ‘fidem apud niciam damnate conscriptam et suscipite meam’, nisi hoc quod dixit Hieroboas: ‘et relinquite deum et seruite simulacris meis?’ quis homo dicis: ‘damnate absentem inauditum innocentem’? certe is, qui iam fidem apostolicam negaueras atque euangelicam, nempe is, qui traditionem beatorum destruxeras, quantum apud te ac tuos est, apostolorum. inde denique factum est, ut ad tantam uenires uecordiam, quia fueris ut hieroboas sine deo. ceterum si deum

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happy to kill those who’ve been consecrated for service to God but you even glory in all this, thinking you’ve behaved well? When you can see ahead what’s going to happen to you, no wonder you deny him who is said in the gospel: The time is coming when anyone who puts you to death will claim that he is performing and act of duty towards God; such things they will do to you, because they have no knowledge of the Father, or of75 his only begotten Son. ( Jn 16:2–3) XX. You know, deep down, that you pass your life without merit in God’s eyes. This is because you’re persecuting Athanasius for speaking the truth to you and for loving God with all his heart. In the same way Ahab persecuted Elijah. But look at the way Elijah left this world and the way his enemy left this world! See how Elijah was assumed into heaven to enjoy for ever God’s friendship, and how Ahab is being tortured in utter darkness. Elijah rejoices in the friendship of God and Ahab is undergoing endless punishment. Be sure of this – Athanasius will be at the banquet where Elijah is, and you will be in the place of torments where Ahab is imprisoned, as you’ve mimicked him in every way. So will you not have a taste of this as you’ve chosen to enjoy King Ahab’s eternal misery rather than Elijah’s eternal happiness? Scripture tells us of Elijah’s assumption in the fourth book of Kings,76 when it says: And they were still going on, and talking as they went, when all at once, between them, a flaming chariot appeared, drawn by flaming horses, and Elijah went up in a77 commotion into heaven. Elisha watched it, crying out, ‘My father, my father, Israel’s charioteer!’ But now he had sight of him no longer. (2 Kgs 2:11–12) As far as we’re concerned there’s nothing new about your conduct as a heretic, since you persecute the priests of the Lord, just as we find in the second book of Paralipomenon78 that Jeroboam and his sons did this: From their homes in Judah and Benjamin the priests and Levites rallied to hi m. Precincts and lands must be left behind, to Rheoboam79 in Jerusalem they must betake themselves, now that Jeroboam and his heirs would have none of their divinely appointed ministrations; Jeroboam must have his own priests, to serve the hill-shrines, and the devil-gods, and the calves he had made. He expelled from the people and tribes of Israel those who with dedicated hearts had recourse still to the Lord God of Israel.(2 Chr 11:13–16) Therefore what you’re doing is not something which should be admired, if you persecute us or those who’ve entrusted to us by God, or if you drive us into exile because of truths which have been entrusted to us, or finally if you sent up in our place the enemies of God, those who’ve abandoned God: rather you should know that you’re doing what Jeroboam did. That’s what you do when you say ‘Condemn the faith defined at Nicaea and take up my faith instead!’ just as Jeroboam did when

75 The apparent VL text here, ‘unicum filium’, as opposed to the Vg ‘me’ (which follows the Greek) is significant as this is a stock anti-Arian term used by Lucifer. Possibly Lucifer took liberties and added the adjective himself to the words of Jesus. 76 That is 2 Kings in the Hebrew and most modern versions. 77 VL ‘in commotione’ LXX συσσεισμῷ Vg ‘per turbinem’. 78 The appellation in LXX and Vg for the books named Chronicles in the Hebrew and most modern versions. 79 Vg following MT and LXX πρὸς Ἰούδαμ εἰς Ἱερουσολὴμ has ‘Iudam et Ierusalem’.

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habuisses, si te eius meminisses cultorem, numquam profecto diceres: ‘damnate innocentem, percutite inauditum absentem consacerdotem uestrum’.

XXI. Et ut uideas te esse sine deo, unde et talia fieri mandaris, accipe regem, cum quo pro meritis fuerit deus suus, accipe et eius obsecrationem ad domini sacerdotes, quos populo dei inpellebat iustum iudicare iudicium, conspice etiam tuorum a te contra ecclesiam institutorum iudicum et illius ministrorum actus; et poteris perpendere, si te cum non inmundi spiritus sunt qui fuerint cum Hieroboam. et habitauit, inquit in libro secundo Paralipomenon, Iosafat in Hierusalem, et conuersus est et exiit in populo a Bersabee usque ad montem Ephrem, et conuertit eos ad dominum deum patrum suorum. et statuit iudices in omnibus ciuitatibus Iuda munitis et per singulas ciuitates. dixit iudicibus: uidete quid uobis facietis; non enim homini iudicabitis, sed domino, et uobis cum est in uerbo. et nunc sit timor domini super uos, ut seruetis et faciatis; neque enim est cum domino deo nostro iniquitas neque personae acceptio neque munerum acceptio. et quidem in Hierusalem statuit Iosafat de leuitis et sacerdotibus et principibus Israel in iudicium domini et iudicare habitantes in Hierusalem. et mandauit super eos dicens: ita facietis in timore domini, in corde perfecto; et omne iudicium, quod acceptum fuerit super uos a fratribus uestris, qui habitant in ciuitatibus suis, inter medium sanguinis et sanguinis, inter medium legis, in mandatis ac iustificationibus et ad iudicia. et distinguetis eis, et non peccabunt domino, et non erit ira super uos et fratres uestros. sic facite, et non peccabitis. ecce Amarias sacerdos princeps super uos in omne uerbum domini, et Iabadias, filius Zmabel, qui princeps est domui iuda in omnem uerbum regis, et scribae et leuitae in conspectu uestro. confortamini et facite, et erit dominus uobis cum cum bono. (19:4–11) numquid dixit ad domini sacerdotes uel ad regni sui principes uel ad ceteros iudices: ‘condemnate iustum, persequimini innocentem, damnate, interficite omnes credentes in deum’? numquid dixit: ‘amate quod non amat deus, odite iustitiam, diligite iniustitiam’, sicuti dicis tu? aut numquid negare poteris te dixisse: ‘damnate Athanasium absentem inauditum’? Iosafat deo dicatus rex Iudae dicit secundum domini iudicandum legem, et tu dicis in apostasiam conuersus rex: ‘damnate inauditum’.

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he said ‘Abandon God and serve my graven images!’ What sort of man are you, to say ‘Condemn an innocent man, without a hearing, in his absence.’? You’re that man! You’ve denied the faith which comes from the apostles and the gospels, you’ve destroyed things handed down to us by the blessed apostles, and you and your friends have done this as much as you can. You do this in great frenzy, because like Jeroboam you’re without God! If you still possessed God, if you still remembered him as one who worships him, you wouldn’t have said ‘Condemn an innocent man without a hearing, in his absence, a fellow priest80 of yours!’ XXI. So that you can see that you’re without God, and see the basis for what you’ve commanded to take place, accept your real king: his God and Father has been with him because of his merits; accept that you need to ask forgiveness of the priests of the Lord, whom the right judgement of God’s people has urged on; consider your acts against the Church, and those of your friends, of judges you’ve set up, of their stooges – and then you might be able to think about how you will avoid unclean spirits dwelling with you as they did with Jeroboam: And now, returned to Jerusalem capital, Josaphat set out on a progress all through his kingdom, from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, recalling the Lord God of their fathers to his people’s minds anew. In every fortified city he appointed judges; and this was the charge he gave them: ‘Take heed how you perform your office; it is the Lord’s commission you hold, not man’s, and according to the award you make, yourselves will be judged. As you fear the Lord’s vengeance, don’t spare yourselves any pains; when the Lord our God gives sentence, there is no wrongful award, no room for flattery of the great, or for bribery’. At Jerusalem, too, Josaphat set up courts, under Levites, and priests, and the heads of families of Israel, to give sentence and award in the Lord’s name to the citizens of Jerusalem. ‘As you fear the Lord’s vengeance’, he warned them, go about your work faithfully, with sincere hearts. Suits will be remitted to you by your brethren in the other cities, of feud between clan and clan, of issues between law and decree, between statute and award given; yours to resolve their doubts, lest they should incur guilt in the Lord’s eyes, and bring punishment on you and themselves alike. So shall your duty be done faultlessly; where God’s rights are concerned, your high priest Amariah will preside over you, and Zebediah son of Ishmael, Judah’s own chieftain, will have charge of every case that touches the king’s prerogative. The scribes and the Levites are at your side to instruct you; boldly and carefully set about your task, and the Lord will be with you to defend the right.(2 Chr 19:4–11) Surely even Jeroboam didn’t say to the Lord’s priests, to the princes of the kingdom or to the other judges ‘Condemn the just man, persecute the innocent, condemn and kill all those who believe in God’? Surely he didn’t say ‘Love that which God doesn’t love, hate justice, love injustice’ as you do? Surely you don’t deny that you’ve said ‘Condemn Athanasius in his absence without a hearing’? Josaphat, king of Judah, a man dedicated to God, speaks to us according to the laws of God laid down for us, and you, a king who’s turned away to apostasy, say ‘Condemn a man without a hearing!’

80 ‘Cosacerdotem’: Lucifer’s ‘co-words’ are not always pejorative.

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XXII. Pone interea, Constanti, hodie in corpore esse Iosafat regem et utrosque uos dicere ad nos, ille quidem haec: uidete quid uos facietis; non enim homini iudicabitis, sed domino, et uobis cum est in uerbo. et nunc sit timor domini super uos, ut seruetis et faciatis; neque enim est cum domino deo nostro iniquitas neque personae acceptio, (19:6–7) tu contra esse damnandum dicas inauditum et eum quidem, quem etiam ipse scias innocentem. cui oboedire potueramus nos antestites dei, nos quos ante populo suo ore Hieremiae promiserat dicens: et dabo uobis pastores secundum cor meum, et pascent uos pascentes cum disciplina? ( Jr 3:15) cui, inquam, oboediremus, tibi ne an iosafat dicato deo uiro, qui id nos facere conpelleret quod meminissemus fieri mandasse deum? si itaque illum cognoscis domini implere praecepisse mandata, te uero extitisse non solum dei mandatorum destructorem, uerum etiam ipsius desertorem, superest ut uideas, quis uestrum fuerit homo dei, quis eius clementiae fecerit uoluntatem. legimus scriptum sic de illo: et factus est dominus cum Iosafat, quoniam ambulauit in uiis patris sui primis, et non quaesiuit simulacra, sed dominum deum patris sui, et in mandatis eius ambulauit, et non sic opera Israel. et direxit dominus regnum eius, et dedit omnis Iuda munera Iosafat, et factae sunt illi diuitiae et gloria multa. et exaltatum est cor eius in uiis domini, et adhuc amputauit et lucos a Iuda. et tertio anno regni sui misit duces suos et filios uirtutum,(2 Chr 17:3–7) et infra: et cum illis Elimasat et Ioram sacerdotes, et docebant Iudam, et cum illis liber legis domini, et pertransierunt in ciuitates Iuda et docebant populum. et factus est pauor domini in regnis terrae et in circuitu Iuda, et non bellauerunt Iosafat. et ab alienigenis adferebant Iosafae munera et argentum et dona, et Arabes adferebant illi arietes ouium septem milia septingentos. et erat Iosafat ambulans magnificatus usque in altum. (17:8–12) quid tu tale facis? nempe misisti per omne regnum tuum, ut cuncti mandata dei despueremus susciperemus que praeceptum tuum, quod temptaret inpugnare domini praeceptum. iosafat misit principes uirtutis regni sui, misit consiliarios suos, misit leuitas ac domini sacerdotes, obsecrans, ut cuncti cultores domini fuissent in regno suo, ut omnes unianimes deo tantum semet praeberent famulos; mittit etiam librum sacrae legis per gloriosum Moysen traditum, ut nihil extra fecissent quam quae fieri mandasset deus. tu non solum legem domini inueniris inpugnasse, quae praecepit innocentem et iustum non necandum, sed et ipsum dereliquisse deum, siquidem non sis apostolicam tenens fidem, sed Arrii perfidiam. ille populum errantem ab idolis conuertit ad deum, tu populum deo dicatum conatus es facere apostatam, quod es tu, hoc est sacrilegus.

XXIII. Persecutus es atque persequeris Athanasium, eius sitiens cruorem. sed uide quid spiritus sanctus dicat in nono psalmo, in quo tu mihi specialiter descriptus esse uideris: dixit in corde suo: non mouebor a saeculo in saeculum sine malo. cuius os

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XXII. Constantius, take into account what King Josaphat when he was alive said to the rest of you and to us, when he said and this was the charge he gave them: Take heed how you perform your office; it is the Lord’s commission you hold, not man’s, and according to the award you make, yourselves will be judged. As you fear the Lord’s vengeance, don’t spare yourselves any pains; when the Lord our God gives sentence, there is no wrongful award, no room for flattery of the great, or for bribery. (19:6–7) You, on the other hand, declare that a man’s been condemned without a hearing, a man, moreover, whom you know to be innocent. He’s the man whom we’ve obeyed as high priests of God, to whom he promised through the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah, when he said and you shall have shepherds of his own choice to guide you well and prudently. and you shall have shepherds of his own choice to guide you with discipline. ( Jr 3:15) I repeat, whom should we obey? You, or Josaphat, a man dedicated to God, who would urge us to do what we know has been commanded by God? If you know that Athanasius has carried out God’s commandments, surely it only remains for you to attack the man who is trying to destroy those commandments, who is also the man who will desert you – so that you may realise which one of them is the man of your God, who has done God’s merciful will. We read concerning him: The Lord was with Josaphat, because the first years of his father were the example he followed; he put his trust, not in ghosts,81 but in his own father’s God; kept close to the divine commandments, far from the sins of Israel. So the Lord gave him a firm hold on the reins of government; from all parts of Juda gifts came to Josaphat, till riches and renown were his in abundance. Boldly he upheld the Lord’s commandments, sweeping away hill-shrine and forest sanctuary from Juda. In the third year of his reign, he would have some of his chief officers go out and give instruction in the townships of Judah, Benhail, Obadiah, Zachariah, Nathanael, and Micah. (2 Chr 17:3–7) Which of these things are you going to do? Well, you’ve sent instructions throughout your whole realm that we should all spit out God’s commandments, and that we should follow instead your orders, which lead us to opposed God’s commandments. Josaphat sent virtuous princes throughout his kingdom, he sent his advisers, and he sent Levite and priests of the Lord, asking that all people in his kingdom should worship the one true God, so that all people might be of one mind and servants only of God. He also sent the book of the sacred Law which the glorious Moses handed down to us, so that people shouldn’t do anything which had not been commanded by God. You, however, have not only attacked the law of God, a law which lays down that a just and innocent man should not be killed; you’ve yourself also abandoned God, since you’ve not maintained the faith of the apostles, but instead adopted the perfidy of Arius. Josaphat turned an errant people away from idols and back to God; you’ve tried to make a people dedicated to God into apostates, because you’re sacrilegious, and this is sacrilegious. XXIII. You’ve persecuted Athanasius and are still doing so, thirsting for his blood. But look at what the Holy Spirit says in the ninth psalm, in which, it seems to me, you seem to be aptly described: Endless time, he thinks, cannot shake his untroubled existence. 81 Lucifer has ‘simulacra’, LXX εἴδωλα, as opposed to ‘Baalim’ in Vg and MT.

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maledictione plenum est et amaritudine et dolo, sub lingua eius labor et dolor. sedet in insidiis cum diuitibus in occultis, ut interficiat innocentem. oculi eius in pauperem respiciunt. insidiatur in absconso sicut leo in spelunca sua. insidiatur ut rapiat pauperem, rapere pauperem, donec adducat eum in conuersatione sua. in laqueo suo humiliauit eum, inclinauit se et cadet, dum dominatur pauperum. dixit in corde suo: oblitus est deus, auertit faciem suam, ne uideat usque in finem. (Ps 9B:6–11) an si in hac perseueraueris nequitia, non erit dici dignum de te: auertit faciem suam, ne uideat usque in finem? tanta sunt funera tua, Constanti, ut, cum dicitur in psalmo decimo ex persona populi nostri: in domino confido; quomodo dicitis animae meae, transmigra in montem sicut passer? quoniam ecce peccatores intenderunt arcum, parauerunt sagittas suas in pharetra, ut sagittent in obscuro rectos corde, (11[10]:2–3) tu mihi descriptus esse cum scelerum tuorum participibus uidearis. cognoscimus etenim uos Arrianos esse temporis nostri antiChristos. aut si non is es, qui merearis numerari inter antiChristos, aestima, dei unici filii negator. dicit sanctus spiritus per prophetam: dominus in templo sancto suo, dominus in caelo sedis eius. oculi eius in pauperem respiciunt, et palpebrae eius interrogant filios hominum. dominus interrogat iustum et impium, qui autem diligit iniquitatem odit animam suam. (11[10]: 5–6) et tu statuisti eum puniendum, quem nec ipse cognoueris reum, nisi tantum in eo, quod tuae blasphemiae restiterit, factum apud te mortis reum. audi dicere dei spiritum: qui autem diligit iniquitatem, odit animam suam,(11[10]:6) et cogis iniquitatem amare quam iustitiam. si non est iniustum damnare inauditum accusantibus uobis haereticis catholicum, conuince. ego etenim cum adhuc scriptum inuenio: pluet super peccatores laqueos, ignis et sulphur et spiritus procellarum pars calicis eorum, quoniam iustus dominus et iustitiam dilexit, aequitatem uidit uultus eius,(11[10]:7–80 te atque omnes te cum facientes in hac parte esse cognosco. ueniet utique super uos ignis et sulphur et spiritus procellarum, nisi conuersi fueritis ad deum, quia sit pars calicis uestri negatorum unici filii dei, eius diuinae maiestatis dicatorum persecutoribus, qui cum sciatis deum iustum iustitiam diligere, amare aequitatem, uos censueritis damnare innocentem, persequi domini fidelissimum sacerdotem. diligite, inquit, dominum, in psalmo XXX spiritus sanctus, omnes sancti eius, quoniam ueritatem requirit dominus, et retribuet facientibus abundanter superbiam. (31[30]:24) et tu nos inpuleras ad interficiendum innocentem, ad superbiam te cum possidendam. non enim te negare posses esse superbum, cum et in dei cultores funestas miseris manus et euangelicam fidem destruere fueris conatus atque firmare haereticam. in XXXII psalmo non legeras: diligit dominus misericordiam et iudicium, et misericordia domini plena est terra,(33[32]:5) ut iuberes damnari absentem? cognosce per haec opera tua quam sis inconsideratus quam que tuae salutis hostis, qui cum scriptum memineris: quis est homo qui uult uitam et amat uidere dies bonos? prohibe linguam tuam a malo, et labia tua ne loquantur dolum, et auerte a malo et fac bonum,(34 [33]:13–15) tu tamen non quietem capias haec gerendo quae te prohibuerit gerere deus. hoc est nolle uidere dies bonos, hoc est nolle uitam, hoc est petere sibi tribui mortem. cum itaque sis talis, qui ad mortem aeternam hauriendam curras, etiam in XXXV tu mihi uideris esse praeostensus. dixit iniustus, ut delinquat in semet ipsum, non est timor dei ante

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His mouth overflows with curses, and calumny, and deceit; his tongue is a storehouse of dissension and mischief. Ambushed he lies at the village gate, to kill unawares the man who never wronged him; his eyes are continually on his prey; like a lion in its lair, he watches from his hiding-place, to surprise his defenceless foe, safe in the net. So he catches him in the toils; stands there bowing and scraping, till the prey falls by his onset. Why not? he thinks to himself, God has forgotten about it; God still turns his face away, and sees nothing.82 (Ps 9B: 6–11 [= LXX 9:27–32]) Or else, since you’ve carried on acting badly, isn’t this really about you? Why not? he thinks to himself, God has forgotten about it; God still turns his face away, and sees nothing. (9B: 11 [LXX 9:32]) This is your funeral, Constantius! I say this because of what is said in the tenth psalm about our people’s character: My trust is in the Lord; how is it that you say to me, Escape, like a frightened sparrow, to the hill-side? Escape; the rebels have strung their bows, have arrows ready on the string, to shoot from their hiding-places at an unoffending heart. (11[10]: 2–3 [LXX 1–2]); it describes well those who’ve taken part in your wickedness. We know that you Arians are the antichrists of our time. Or if you’re not one who deserves to be numbered among those who are antichrists, reflect that at least you’re one who denies the one Son of God. The Holy Spirit says this through the mouth of his prophet: Is not the Lord in his holy shrine, the same Lord whose throne is in heaven, whose eye watches, whose glance can appraise, the deeds of men? Innocent or sinful, he reads every heart, and the friends of wrong-doing are his enemies. (11[10]: 5–6 [LXX 4–5]) You’ve enacted that a man should be punished whom you know is not guilty – simply because he’s said to be guilty of death for resisting your blasphemy. Listen to the Spirit of God say: Is not the Lord in his holy shrine, the same Lord whose throne is in heaven, whose eye watches, whose glance can appraise, the deeds of men? (11[10]:6 [LXX 5]) – so you see fit to love iniquity rather than justice. If it’s not unjust to condemn a Catholic without a hearing simply on the basis of accusations from you heretics, then try and convince me! I find this written against what you’ve done: Innocent or sinful, he reads every heart, and the friends of wrong-doing are his enemies. Pitilessly his weapons rain down upon the offenders; burning coals, and brimstone, and scorching wind; such is the draught he brews for them. (11[10]: 7–8 [LXX 6–7]) and I know that you and those acting with you’re like this. Fire will come upon you, and sulphur, and a great stormy wind, unless you be converted to God; this is the cup from which you will drink, you who deny God’s only Son, being persecutors of those dedicated to God’s majesty. You know, deep down, that a just God loves justice and equity, and yet you condemn him even though he’s innocent, a very faithful priest of the Lord. In Psalm 30 the Holy Spirit says: Love the Lord well, you who worship him; the Lord keeps faith with his servants and repays the actions of the proud above measure. (31[30]:24) And you urge us to kill an innocent man, to bolster up your pride. You can’t deny that you’re proud, as you bring pollution on us by murdering with your wretched hands those who worship God, as you try to destroy the faith we find in the gospel and set up heresy in its place. In Psalm 32 do you not read? Faithfulness he loves, and the just award, the whole earth overflows with the Lord’s goodness. (33[32]:5) and then you 82 The VL and Vg texts of the Psalms are almost identical.

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oculos eius. quoniam dolose egit in conspectu eius, ut inueniatur iniquitas eius et odium. uerba oris eius iniquitas et dolus, noluit intellegere, ut bene ageret, iniquitatem meditatus est in cubili suo, adsistit omni uiae non bonae, malitiam autem non odiuit. (36[35]:2–5)

XXIV. Qualis es aduerte, iustissime imperator, propter quem esse dicta sentiantur etiam illa quae in Scariotham Iudam et populum iudaeorum fuerint dicta. quomodo potueramus, Constanti, damnare innocentem ad superbiae tuae consilium, cum sciremus scriptum apud Dauid: ostende misericordiam tuam scientibus te et iustitiam tuam his qui recto sunt corde. non ueniat mihi pes superbiae, et manus peccatoris non moueat me. ibi ceciderunt omnes qui operantur iniquitatem, expulsi sunt nec poterunt stare? (36[35]:11–13) quid dicis? talis est misericordia dei ac iustitia, ut absentes et inauditi damnentur, et quidem innocentes, quos punire nec praesentes licet? sed quid mirum, si haec fieri mandasti, homo nesciens deum? quid mirum, si ignorans eius misericordiam atque iustitiam praeceperis peruersa fieri, iniqua, iniusta? non te a tanto potuit remouere scelere psalmographi sermo dicentis: ibi ceciderunt omnes qui operantur iniquitatem, expulsi sunt nec poterunt stare? nec ille in XXXVI: desine ab ira et derelinque furorem; noli aemulari ut maligneris, quoniam qui malignantur exterminabuntur? (37[36]:8–9) haec itaque legens quia pro nihilo habenda statuta censueris domini, idcirco te esse iudico illum, de quo, obseruabit, dictum est, peccator iustum et stridet super eum dentibus suis; dominus autem deridebit eum, quia prospicit quia ueniet dies eius. (37[36]:12–13) inter illos te habemus, de quibus dictum cerno: gladium euaginauerunt peccatores, intenderunt arcum suum, ut deiciant inopem et pauperem et trucident rectos corde. gladius eorum intret in corda ipsorum, et arcus eorum confringatur. melius est modicum iustum super diuitias peccatorum multas, quoniam brachia peccatorum conterentur. (37[36]:14–17) tu inter istos inimicos es domini constitutus, quos describit dei spiritus adhuc infra: inimici domini mox ut honorabuntur et exaltabuntur, deficientes ut fumus deficient. (37[36]:20) considera tandem te cum omni tua sublimitate, nisi temet correxeris, ut fumum interiturum, quippe dei inimicum. adhuc de te scriptum uideo quod, nisi conuersus paenitueris, uenturus sis ad nihilum: uidi impium superexaltatum et eleuatum super cedros Libani. et

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order a man to be condemned in his absence? Learn because of what you’ve done that you’re an enemy of salvation, by recalling these words of Scripture: Long life, and prosperous days, who would have these for the asking? My counsel is, keep thy tongue clear of harm, and thy lips free from every treacherous word. Naught of evil cherish thou, but rather do good; let peace be all thy quest and aim. (34[33]:13–15) You won’t give up doing what God has forbidden you to do. All this is being unwilling to see good days, all this is not wanting life, all this is seeking death for yourself! Since you’re like this, you’re racing to eternal death, as is foreshadowed for you in Psalm 35: Deep in his heart the sinner hears the whispering of evil, and loses sight of the fear of God; flatters himself with the thought that his misdoings go undiscovered, earn no reproof. No word on his lips but is cruel and false; never a wise thought, a kindly deed. He lies awake plotting mischief, and lends himself to every evil course, never weary of wrong-doing. (36[35]:3–5) XXIV. Take heed of the sort of person you are, most just83 emperor; it can be seen that what has been written in the Scriptures about Judas Iscariot84 and the Jews is also about you. Constantius, how could we condemn an innocent man because of your pride, when we know what is written about David? Still let thy mercy dwell with those who acknowledge thee, thy favour with upright hearts; don’t suffer the proud to trample on me, the wicked to dispossess me. See what a fall awaits the wrong-doers, how they are cast down to earth, and can keep their feet no more! (36[35]: 11–13) What are you saying? Is God’s mercy and justice such that men should be condemned in their absence and without a hearing, innocent men at that, men whom it would not be licit to condemn even if they were present? But why should we be surprised, when you’ve commanded this, a man who is ignorant of God? Why should we be surprised if you, a man ignorant of God’s mercy and justice, order things to be done which are perverse, iniquitous and unjust? These words don’t take away your wickedness, words of the psalmist who wrote: See what a fall awaits the wrong-doers, how they are cast down to earth, and can keep their feet no more! (36[35]:13), nor his later words; you should read these passages, as you think nothing of the commands which God has established – so this passage is about you: Gnashing his teeth with envy, the wrong-doer plots against the innocent, and cannot see his own turn coming; but the Lord sees it, and laughs at his malice. (37[36]:12–13) We’re clear that you’re one of these people, of whom it is written: How they draw the sword, how they bend the bow, these sinners, to bring ruin on helpless poverty, to murder the upright; swords that will pierce their own hearts, bows that will break in pieces! Innocence, ill endowed, has the better of the wicked in their abundance; soon fails the strength of their arms, and still the Lord has the just in his keeping. (37[36]: 14–17) So it’s clear that you’re one of the Lord’s enemies, described by God’s Spirit, later on as: Knavery will yet come to an end; like the spring’s finery they will die, the Lord’s enemies, vanish away like smoke.

83 While Coleti thinks this appellation is an eirenic gesture to the emperor sarcasm is the more likely explanation. 84 The word Lucifer uses is a corruption omitting the initial ‘I-’ or ‘Hi’-which is not uncommon (the most obvious example is the shift from ‘Hispanicus’ to ‘Spanicus’.

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transiui, et ecce non erat. et quaesiui eum, et non est inuentus locus eius. (37[36]:35–36) tu es, inquam, ille, Constanti, de quo etiam haec dicta uideo: conspicit peccator iustum, et quaerit mortificare eum; dominus autem non derelinquet eum in manibus eius. dicit propheta plenus spiritu sancto: noli aemulari inter malignantes neque zelaueris facientes iniquitatem, quoniam tamquam fenum uelociter arescent et sicut olera herbarum cito decident. (37[36]:1–2) et dicitur a te Constantio destructore dei religionis: ‘meos imitamini’. quis uos imitetur nisi qui uelit uobis cum tamquam olera herbarum arescere? quis nisi qui uelit dei indignatione deleri? si uere utique, dicit, iustitiam loquimini, iuste iudicate, filii hominum. (58[57]:2) et tu in innocentis exsurgis necem.

XXV. Dubitari itaque non poterit te esse ex illis, ad quos dicit spiritus sanctus: etenim in corde iniquitates operamini, in terram iniquitatem manus uestrae concinnant. alienati sunt peccatores ab utero, errauerunt a uentre, locuti sunt falsa. ira illis secundum similitudinem serpentis, sicut aspidis surdae et obturantis aures suas, quae non exaudiuit uocem incantantium incantatoris, quae incantatur a sapiente. deus conteruit dentes eorum in ore ipsorum, molas leonum confringet dominus. ad nihilum uenientes ut aqua decurrent, intendit arcum suum, donec infirmentur. sicut cera liquefacta auferentur, super eos cecidit ignis, non uiderunt solem. (58[57]:3–9) audis te cum tuis ad nihilum uenturum, ut iam illi uenerunt, quorum esse delegeris imitator, conspicis uos persecutores dei seruorum, unici filii dei negatores serpentibus et aspidibus conparatos; et non tandem temet ad dei transferes domum? non te, qui unus esse monstraris ex illis aspidibus, ita formas ad diaboli calcandum caput, quo possis dignus effici regnare inter eos, quorum Iohannes narrat gloriam: in sua propria uenit, et sui eum non receperunt; quotquot autem receperunt eum, dedit illis potestatem filios fieri dei, qui credunt in nomine eius? ( Jn 1:11) non memineras scriptum in LVIII psalmo: deus Israel, intende ad uisitandas omnes gentes, non miserearis omnibus qui operantur iniquitatem (Ps 59[58]:6), ut iuberes dandam in absentem sententiam? nec LXI commonere pariter atque increpare spiritum sanctum per haec uerba cognoueras: quousque inruitis in hominem? interficitis uniuersos? (62[61]:4) timor, inquit Salomon, domini initium sensus; sapientiam autem et disciplinam impii spernunt.(Prov 1:7) hinc disciplinam et sapientiam spernis, quia sis sine dei timore; hinc impius esse sacris describeris litteris, impius utique, quia non solum ipse deserueris deum, sed et colentes illum tam infeste persequaris. uae tibi, quia cum illis esse inueniris, de quibus in Prouerbiis lego: fili, noli te seducant uiri impii neque uelis, si te rogauerint dicentes: ueni, communica nobis cum sanguinem, abscondamus autem in terra uirum iustum iniuste, deglutiamus autem illum, uelut inferi uiuum. (1:10–12) quid te Arrianorum, Iudaeorum imitatorum, delectauerat, Constanti, ut has illorum impias audiens uoces ad effundendum sanguinem dei seruorum fuisses eosdem secutus? cur non consilia audisti Salomonis dicentis tibi: ne abieris uias cum illis, ne declinaueris pedem tuum ad semitas eorum. non enim inique tenduntur

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(37[36]:20) Take heed, in all your glory, that unless you correct yourself you will as an enemy of God burn as a fire that doesn’t go out. Scripture also writes about you that unless you convert and do penance, you will come to nothing: Until yesterday, I saw the evil-doer throned high as the branching cedars; then, when I passed by, he was there no longer, and I looked in vain to find him. (37[36]: 35–36) Constantius, you’re he, I say, about whom this has been said as well: Sinners lie in wait, plotting against the life of the innocent; but the Lord will never leave him in their power, never find him guilty when he is arraigned (37[36]: 32–33) The prophet, filled with the Holy Spirit, says: Art thou impatient, friend, when the wicked thrive; dost thou envy the lot of evil-doers? They will soon fade like the grass, like the green leaf wither away.(37[36]:1–2) And you, Constantius, destroyer of God’s religion, say this: ‘Imitate my actions’ Who would imitate you, unless he wanted to become dry like you, like the stink of dead flowers? Who would, unless he wanted to be destroyed by God’s anger? Nobles all, are they honest words you utter? And you, common folk, do you make just award? (58[57]:2) And you take action to kill an innocent man! XXV. So there’s no doubt that you’re one of these people, as the Holy Spirit says: See how you devise treachery in your hearts, deal out to this land nothing but oppression! Sinners that left the womb only to go a-straying; renegades and liars their mothers bore them! They are venomous as serpents, as the asp that turns a deaf ear and will not listen to the snake-charmer’s music, skilful player though he be. My God, break their cruel fangs; Lord, shatter their jaws, strong as the jaws of lions. Like spilt water let them run to waste, shoot none but harmless arrows; melt into nothing, the snail’s way, perish like the untimely birth that sees never the light of the sun. (58[57]:3–9) If you listen to the words of Scripture you’ll realise that you’ll come to nothing, like your friends have, whom you’ve chosen to imitate. Do you not see that you’re persecutors of God’s servants, that you’re deniers of the one Son of God – alongside serpents and asps – and that you fail to return to God’s house? Not you: you’re descended from these very asps, as you’re from the devil’s head, the devil who has to be trampled underfoot; if you were to do that, then you could make yourself worthy to rule among those of whom John speaks in his story of glory: He came to what was his own, and they who were his own gave him no welcome. But all those who did welcome him, he empowered to become the children of God, all those who believe in his name. ( Jn 1:11–12) Do you not remember what’s written – Bestir thyself, come to my side and witness my wrongs. Lord of hosts, God of Israel, awake; a world chastise, and shew the treacherous no mercy (Ps 59[58]:6), since you command that a judgment be given against someone in his absence? Or do you not know in Psalm 61 that the Holy Spirit protests and reminds us? Still one man my enemies single out for their onslaught, not gaping hedge or ruinous wall more ripe for overthrow. (62[61]: 4) I am afraid that Solomon says: True wisdom is founded on the fear of the Lord; who but one who is impious would despise such wisdom, and the lessons she teaches? (Prov 1:7) You reject the teaching and wisdom which comes from this source, because you’ve no fear of God; therefore, although you’re impious you what is written in the sacred words, but because you’re impious you not only desert God but persecute in your hostility those who worship him. Woe to you, as you’re among those of whom I read in Proverbs: Turn a deaf ear, my son, to the blandishments

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retia auibus. ipsi enim qui homicidii participes sunt thesaurizant sibimet ipsis mala. hae sunt uiae omnium consummantium iniqua; sua enim impietate suam animam auferunt? (1:15–19) et iterum: quanto tempore innocentes tenuerint iustitiam, non erubescent; insipientes autem dum contumeliae cupidi sunt, impii facti oderunt intellectum, et subiecti facti sunt obprobriis.(1:22–23) tu tibi, Constanti, haec quaesisti obprobria, tu temet damnasti, qui praecepta contemnens dei maledictis iudaeorum discipulis haerere censueris Arrianis, cum quibus digne adhuc haec audis: nam quoniam uocabam, nec oboediebatis, et extendebam uerba, nec adtendebatis. sed inrita faciebatis mea consilia, meis autem increpationibus non intendebatis. itaque et ego uestra perditione ridebo; gratulabor autem aduersum uos, cum uenerit uobis subito tumultus, euersio autem similis procellae, cum aduenerit autem uobis interitus. erit enim cum me inuocabitis, ego autem non exaudiam. quaerent me mali et non inuenient. oderunt enim sapientiam, uerbum autem domini non adsumpserunt, neque uoluerunt meis consiliis intendere; spreuerunt enim meas increpationes. ideo que edent uiae suae fructus et sua impietate saturabunt animas. nam quia decipiebant paruulos, interficientur. (1:24–32)

XXVI. Interfici certe te cum merebamur et quidem a deo, si te cum dei hominem fuissemus persecuti. sed quomodo istud fecissemus, qui sciebamus scriptum: noli fabricare in amicum tuum mala, in incolam et confidentem. noli inimicitias exercere aduersus hominem sine causa, ne quid tibi operetur malum? (3:29–30) aut numquid non erat sine causa, si, prout insanus furor cohaereticorum tuorum per te iusserat, in innocentem mortis tulissemus sententiam? uae tibi, quia dictum de te persecutore nostro uideo: oculus contumeliosus, lingua iniqua, manus sunt effundentes sanguinem iusti, et cor fabricans cogitationes malas, et pedes festinantes ad male faciendum.(6:17–18) legisti: fili, honora dominum, et ualebis; praeter eum ne timeas alterum, (7:1) et tamen te timeri uoluisti, deum uero contemni. unde etenim solum deum potueramus reperiri metuentes, si minis tuis succumbentes absentem inauditum et quidem eum, quem sciremus iustum, damnaremus? Salomon dicit: statera doli abominatio est coram domino, pondus autem aequum acceptum est ei. (11:1) tu contra mandare non dubitas: damnate iniusto iudicio uirum, hoc rectum putans quod peruersum est. adhuc Salomon de te ac tibi similibus: uiae insipientium rectae coram ipsis, exaudit autem consilia sapiens. (12:15) ‘damnate’, inquis, ‘Athanasium’, et quidem ubi ualere non potuisti ingenio

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of the impious that would make thee of their company. There are lives to be had for the ambushing, the lives of unsuspecting folk whose uprightness shall little avail them; there are fortunes to be swallowed up whole, as a man is swallowed up by death when he goes to his grave. (1:10–12) What is it that has given you so much pleasure, Constantius, imitator of the Arians and of the Jews, that you heed the impious voices of these people and plan to shed the blood of God’s servants? Such errands, my son, are not for thee; never stir a foot in their company; and the snare is laid to no purpose if the bird is watching. What do they, but compass their own ruin, build up a treasure of evil for their own lives?85 Such is ever the end of greed; he who cherishes it must fall by it at last in his impiety. And again: However many times the innocent hold on to justice, the impious show no qualms: for while the foolish desire insults, those who’ve become impious despise the intellect. (1:15, 17–19, 22–23) Constantius, you’ve brought this opprobrium on yourself! You’ve condemned yourself! You have contempt for God’s commandments and you’ve decided to be joined to the curses of the Jews and the disciples of Arius; these are men about whom you rightly hear these words: Since my call is unheard, since my hand beckons in vain, since my counsel is despised and all my reproof goes for nothing, it will be mine to laugh, to mock at your ruin, when perils close about you. Close about you they will, affliction and sore distress, disasters that sweep down suddenly, gathering storms of ruin. It will be their turn, then, to call aloud; my turn, then, to refuse an answer. They will be early abroad looking for me, but find me never; for they hated wisdom and did not heed the word of the Lord, nor did they want to follow the direction of my counsel; they spurned all the warnings I gave! Now they must eat of the harvest their own wickedness has reaped, make the best of the cheer their own impious schemes have brought them. For those who deceived little ones will surely die!86 (1:24–32) XXVI. We were found worthy to be killed by God along with you, had we joined you in persecuting a man of God. But how could do this, when we’d seen what is written in Scripture: Never plot harm against the friend that suspects no harm of thee, or pick a quarrel with one who has done thee no injury. (3:29–30) Surely we would be justly condemned if we’d carried out a sentence of death against an innocent me because of the orders given through you of the insane fury of your fellow-heretics? Woe to you, because I see what is written about you, our persecutor The haughty look, the lying tongue, the hands that take innocent life, the heart that ever devises thoughts of mischief, the feet that hasten upon an ill errand (6:17–18) and you read: My son, honour the Lord, and thou shalt prosper; don’t fear anyone else before him (7:1–1a LXX) – and you, in your contempt for God, want to be feared! Would we be able to discover those who fear God alone if we gave in to your threats and condemn someone without a hearing in his absence, and someone who is just, as we’ve written? Solomon says A false balance the Lord hates; nothing but full weight will content him. (11:1) But you, on the other hand, undoubtedly command: ‘Condemn this man with an unjust judgment’; you think it’s right to do so, a perverted action. Again Solomon says, in the same words

85 Cf. Rom 2:5 – the VL follows closely the LXX which St Paul was also drawing on. 86 Here again the VL follows the LXX.

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detestandae subtilitatis tuae, uiribus imperii tui coepisti. de te itaque scriptum accipe: malus cum contumelia agit mala (13:10), et iterum quod temet sic laqueo iam necaueris haerendo Arrianis, sicuti et Iudas Scarioth et Iudaeis: lex sapienti fons est uitae, stultus autem laqueo morietur.(13:14) adhuc dicitur de te: rex audax incidet in mala. (13:17) utique incidisti in haec mala, quia nihil sapientiae tibi reliqueris negando unicum dei filium, sed totum temet uerteris in stultitiam, quae res effecerit te mactare deo caros. scriptum est: sapiens timendo declinabit a malo, insipiens autem miscetur confidens iniquo. (14:16) non legeras scriptum: qui contumeliam faciat pauperi, inritat eum, qui fecit illum,(14:31) ut innocentem te cum nos interficere traheres? si enim contumeliam facienti irascitur deus, quanto magis ei, qui interfecerit eius sacerdotem. scriptum adhuc non retinebas: initium uiae bonae facere iusta; accepta autem sunt apud dominum magis quam immolare hostias, (16:5) ut tu iniusta nos facere cogeres? sed et alio in loco: qui iustum uocat iniustum, iniustum autem ut iustum, abominabilis est apud deum. (17:15) abominabiles sine dubio essemus, si te iustum pronuntiaremus et uirum deo acceptum Athanasium iniustum iudicaremus. mirari, inquit, personam impii non est bonum, neque sanctum declinare iustum in iudicio. (18:5) tu dicis contra, qui in impii personam uideris descriptus: ‘damnate insontem mirati meam iniusti personam’; et licet haec nos facere coegeris, quae nobis possent deum quaerere iratum, tamen hortamur te inimicum sospitatis nostrae ex impio pium fieri, saluum ex aegro, uiuum ex mortuo, religiosum ex sacrilego.

XXVII. Unde, inquis, haec adsequi potero? quibus rebus? desine persequi dei domum, desine proscribere, deportare, interficere eius seruos, fatere te Christianum, execrare nobis cum cateruam commento diaboli quaesitam Arrianorum, crede sicuti credimus nos, qui ex beatorum apostolorum successione sumus episcopi, confitere unicum dei filium, sicuti illi confessi sunt ac nos confitemur, et ueniam consequeris tantorum scelerum. legisti enim apud Salomonem: mors et uita in manibus linguae (18:21), et apud beatum Paulum: corde creditur ad iustitiam, ore autem confessio fit ad salutem. (Rm 10:10) meministi scriptum: testis falsus non inpunitus erit, et qui accusat inique non effugiet, (Prov 19:5) et tamen fuisti ausus infitiari Athanasium. non enim nobis fuerat aliqua causa cum collegis sectae tuae Arrianis, cum eosdem iam pridem dei potentia cum Arrio apud Niciam tempore, quo non solum contra blasphemiam

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as before A fool is ever right to his own thinking; the wise listen to advice. (12:15) You say Condemn Athanasius!’ As you cannot be strong, in spite of your cleverness and your detestable grandeur, you can only begin to do this backed up your empire’s military force. So pay attention to this, which is written about you: The wicked man does wicked things in the midst of insults.(13:10) Again, because you’ve killed yourself with the net which sticks to the followers of Arius, so what is written about Judas Iscariot and the Jews is about you: The teaching of the wise is a fountain where men may drink life, but the fool will die in a noose (13:14) and again it is said about you The reckless king will bring about wickedness (13:17) You’ve brought about this wickedness because you’re left with no wisdom in yourself by denying the only Son of God; rather you turn yourself completely towards stupidity, the thing which compels you to slaughter those who are dear to God. It is written: Caution teaches the wise to shun danger; the fool is carried away by rash confidence. (Prov 14:16) Have you not read where it is written: He who oppresses the poor, insults man’s Maker? (14:31) in that you try to drag us along with you to kill an innocent man? If God is angry with someone who does something arrogant, how much more will be angry with someone who has killed his priest? So have you forgotten this word of Scripture: Doing just things is the beginning of a good path in life: these things are more acceptable to the Lord than sacrificial offerings (16:7 LXX) in that you try to coerce us into acting unjustly? But in another place it says He who calls the innocent man guilty, or the guilty man innocent, such a man is abominable in God’ sight (17:15) We would undoubtedly be abominable if we were to declare that you’re just, and make a judgement that Athanasius is unjust, a man accepted by God: A fool’s talk is for ever embroiling him; let him but open his mouth, blows will follow (18:5) But you, playing the part of an impious man, say ‘Condemn an innocent man, as he’s playing my part of someone who’s unjust!’ (?); and it is somehow lawful for you try and get us to do this, which would lead us to make God angry; however in spite of this we still urge you, the enemy of our Saviour, to turn from being impious to becoming pious, to become healthy after being sick, alive after being dead, and religious after being sacrilegious! XXVII. How, you say, could I understand these things? What events enable me to do so? Stop persecuting the house of God, stop issuing proscriptions,87 stop deporting and killing his servants; acknowledge yourself as a Christian once more and join with us in cursing the Arian crowd who run after the Devil with their schemes; believe what we believe, we who are bishops in succession from the blessed apostles, confess that there is only one Son, just as the apostles confessed and we confess – and if you do this you should obtain pardon for your wickedness which has been so great. You’ve read what Solomon says Of life and death, tongue holds the keys (18:21) and Blessed Paul: The heart has only to believe, if we’re to be justified; the lips have only to make confession, if we’re to be saved. (Rm 10:10) You remember the words of Scripture: Perjury will bring its own punishment; he who accuses unjustly will not escape his doom (Prov 19:5),

87 The standard method in the Roman Empire of issuing condemnations through lists of names, most notoriously by the members of the ‘Second Triumvirate’ after the assassination of Julius Caesar.

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uestram, sed et contra omnes haereses fides descripta est, praeuniuerit. non, inquam, nobis cum illis pseudoepiscopis, inimicis dei, magistris tuis, aliqua fuerat quaestio, ut iterum contra eosdem confligeremus quos semel deus pepulerat de populo suo. itaque nunc nobis te cum est ratio, quia te auctorem institueris, quod enim Athanasius fuisset reus, quem inauditum quia punire noluerimus, homo, qui temet testem scires falsum, ut fera inmanis ac belua coepisti nos cum Athanasio uelle punire, tamquam frendoribus tuis possis seruorum dei uigorem superare. licet enim Salomon dicat: regis minae similes sunt gemitibus leonis, (19:22) tamen gemitus tui leonini contra nos habere uirtutem non poterunt. quare? quia sis tu praecursor antiChristi et nos sumus milites Christi. quare? quia homines dei uincere non uales tu persecutor eius religionis. item alio loco, nihil, inquit, interest inter minas regis et iram leonis. (20:2) quid hoc ad dei seruos, qui praeter deum neminem esse timendum statuerimus, qui in manu dei animas positas nostras meminerimus? possunt rugitos tuos timere coArriani tui, quia sint sine notitia dei, quia sint minime arma dei induti. ceterum dei domestici ridemus rugitos tuos leonis similes. quare? quia feram te cognoscentes, cuius rugitus habere describeris, rideamus te magis sub figura hominis constitutam rabidam feram cernentes quam timeamus necesse est. sed si non es fera sub imagine latens hominis, dicito. legisti apud Salomonem: misericordia et ueritas tutela est regi, et circumeunt iusti sedem eius. (20:28) cum te contra caterua malignorum circumsepserit arrianorum et esse cernamus misericordiae punitorem, ueritatis execratorem, quid esse aliud te iudicabimus nisi feram ac beluam? excitaris in nos ut leo rugiens, cur misericordiam et ueritatem diligamus, cur non innocentem et iustum puniuerimus, et arbitraris non te esse inmanem feram ac beluam saeuissimam?

XXVIII. Sed quae te uoluntas ad haec perpetranda perduxerit, prorsus uidere non possum, ut totius iustitiae episcopum catholicum, domini sacerdotem fuisses tali exitio persecutus. numquid non memineras scriptum: facere iustitiam et ueracem esse placet deo magis quam hostiarum sanguis?(21:3) displicet tibiAthanasius, cur traditionem beatorum apostolorum custodiat, cur se Christianum fateatur, cur nolit esse coapostata tuus. non mirandum, quandoquidem scriptum teneamus: sanctus autem inmundus est apud malos. (21:3) uobis malignis displicet is qui deo placeat, tibi praesertim temerario ac superbo, qui temerarius hinc esse intellegeris ac superbus, quod contra dei ordinationem tetenderis manum, quod apostolicam traditionem putaueris destruendam,

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but in spite of this you dare to disown Athanasius. For us your fellow Arians in your sect have never had a case, because God’s power had already brought about unity with Arius at the time of the Council of Nicaea, at which the faith was defined not only against your blasphemy but against all heresies. As I said, there’s not been for us any examination of those false bishops, enemies of God, your teachers which would lead us to be in conflict again with them after God had expelled them from his people. So our problem with you now is that, as you’ve set yourself up as someone in authority, to make Athanasius a defendant, and because we’re not willing to punish him without a fearing, and you a man who knows yourself to be a false witness; like a savage wild beast you tried to make us punish Athanasius, so you could with the gnashings of your teeth overcome the strength of God’s servants. Is it right that Solomon should say: Of the king’s frown beware, as of lion roaring (19:12); however your lion’s roars can’t have any strength against us. Why? Because you’re the forerunner of the Antichrist and we’re the soldiers of Christ! Why? Because you don’t have the power, persecutor of our religion, to conquer the men of God. Again in other place he says: Beware of the king’s power, as of lion roaring; challenge it, and thy life is forfeit. (20:2) Why are you doing this to the servants of God, who are determined not to fear anyone except God, who remember that our souls are in God’s hands. Your fellow Arians fear the angry wrinkles on your brow because they don’t know God, because they are endued with very few of God’s weapons; we, however, God’s servants, laugh at your angry wrinkles, supposedly88 like those of a lion. Why? Because we know that you’re a wild beast, whose wrinkles you pretend to have – so we should laugh at you all the more, as you’re nothing but a rabid wild beast with a human mask, and we shouldn’t be more afraid of you than is necessary. If you’re not beast hiding under the appearance of a human being, please let us know! You read the words of Solomon: What is a king’s best body-guard? Mercy and truthfulness which surround the throne of a just king.(20:28) However since the Arian rabble has besieged you, and as we see that you’re someone who punishes mercy, and curses the truth, how can we judge you to be anything other than a wild beast and a monster? Are you aroused against us like a gnashing lion, demanding to know why do we love mercy and truth, why haven’t we punished an innocent and just man; asking whether we don’t think that you’re a savage wild beast and a most threatening monster? XXVIII. Your will has made you do these things, although we didn’t see this s­ traightaway, since you’ve persecuted the Catholic episcopate by means of the fullness of the justice system and persecuted a priest of the Lord too with such great mischief. So you don’t remember where it is written? Mercy shewn and justice done win the Lord’s favour beyond the blood of sacrificial offerings (21:3) Let Athanasius teach you why he guards the traditions of the blessed Apostles, and why he professes himself a Christian, why he’s unwilling to be one of your fellow apostles. It’s no wonder, when we see that it is written: The holy man is untainted in the presence of the wicked. (21:15 LXX) He would please God is displeasing to you malignant people, especially to you as you’re arrogant 88 Lucifer is being sarcastic here so the word ‘supposedly’ has been inserted by me to make this clear.

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quod episcopos, sub quorum te sollicitudine agere oportuerat, sub tuam ditionem censueris redigendos. quid igitur sis intellege, audiens per Salomonem quod tibi sit superbo nomen: temerarius et superbus pestilentia uocabitur. (21:15) pestilens licet sis homo, tamen morbo tuo uexare nos non poteris, quia tutelam nobis sit praebens diuina clementia. temptasti denique pestilens facere nos conpestilentes tuos; sed ille, cui dicati uiuimus, non siuit tua temptamenta adire corda recta; suggerit enim scriptum: libera eos qui ducuntur ad mortem et redimere eos qui interficiuntur ne parcas. si autem dixeris: nescio hunc, scito quoniam dominus corda omnium nouit. et qui figurauit spiritum omnibus illis scit omnia, qui reddit unicuique secundum opera eius. (24:11–12) ad haec te dicente: ‘damnate dei cultorem, derelinquite fidem apostolicam, suscipite perfidiam meam’, utique te aperit esse hominem pestilentem. deus nos subuenire uult in pressuris atque angustiis constitutis; et tu eos, quos benefacere oportet, malefacere urgues, et quidem admouens ea quae timere posse existimaris. aduerte iam si non in te sit morbus illa quae uocatur pestis. est morbus ad hoc ualens, ut non solum corpora, sed et animas morbidas possis efficere, eorum uidelicet qui te uelint audire dicentem: ‘damnate domini antestitem, repudiate fidem quam semper tenuit ecclesia et suscipite meam quam tradidit Arrius’. erubescere, inquit sancta scriptura, personam in iudicio non est bonum. et qui dicit impium iustum esse maledictus erit in populis et odibilis gentibus. nam qui arguunt meliora sperabunt, in ipsos autem ueniet benedictio optima.(24:23–25) et tu existimasti erubescere nos potuisse personam tuam et damnare eum, quem scires etiam ipse innocentem, quem retineres esse reum in hoc tantum, quod noluerit se esse negare Christianum.

XXIX. Interea quia te arguamus, te mortis iter tenentem quia corripiamus, conspicis quae nobis mercis promittatur: aperi, dicit propheta, os tuum uerbo dei et iudica omnibus integre; aperi os tuum et iudica iusta. (31:8) et tu dicis: ‘damnate innocentem’. retineo quidem sacris continens scripturis: noli superbire coram rege, (25:6) sed si intra terminos potestatis tuae esse uoluisses et superbus extitissem te contra, re uera ipse me ut praeuaricatorem legis condemnassem. nunc uero quia homicidae tibi ac sacrilego uera dicamus, non utique tamquam superbi puniri merebimur, sed magis praemiis adficiemur caelestibus, cur tibi erranti non pepercerimus. scriptum est: flagellum equo et stimulum asino, uirgam autem genti insipienti.(26:3) uos negatores dei unici filii recte insipientes uocamus, quos uideamus in tanto uersari sacrilegio. nam cum esse scriptum uideo quod sicut canis qui conuertitur ad uomitum suum et odibilis efficitur, ita stultus sua malitia conuersus ad suum peccatum, (26:11) de te specialiter dictum iudico. quare?, inquis. quia litteris tuis iurasti Alexandrinis nihil te mali deinceps facturum Athanasio, et nunc quaeris eum interficere. sed inquis: pater meus illum

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and proud – indeed you’re particularly arrogant and proud – because you’ve stretched out your hand contrary to God’s moral law, because you’ve planned the destruction of the traditions handed down from the apostles, because you’ve planned to bring down bishops, under whose care you should behave. Therefore you should be the one who understands, paying attention to the name given to a proud man, through Solomon Reckless and proud in his plague shall he be called. (21:24 LXX) You’re rightly seen as a source of pestilence, although you can’t threaten us with your plague, because the mercy of God teaches us how to resist. Finally, being a source of pestilence you try to get us to be pestilential with you;89 but God, to whom we’re dedicated and for whom we live, didn’t allow your temptations to enter upright hearts; he suggests this verse of Scripture: Thine to rescue the doomed, to cheat the gallows of its prey; not plead thy lack of strength, when he, the Searcher of all hearts, the Saviour of thy life, knows all, sees all, and requites the actions of men. (24:11–12) In answer to this you’re saying, ‘Condemn the worshipper of God, abandon the faith of the apostles, take up to my treachery!’ – so it’s clear that you’re a source of pestilence! God wants to help us in the pressures and troubles which have come upon us; and yet you urge us to harm those to whom we should do good, and by telling us this you think you can frighten us. Consider whether you’ve in yourself the sickness we call a plague. It’s a sickness which is powerful in that you can affect not only bodies but souls, making them sick, the people who you would like to hear you say: ‘Condemn the high priest of the Lord in his absence, repudiate the faith which the Church has always held, and take up my faith which Arius has handed down to me’. Sacred Scripture says: It is shameful, to let partiality sway thy judgement; if thou acquit the guilty, what race will have a good word for thee, what people will love thee? Condemn him, and thou shalt hope for better things, the best blessings shall fall on thy head. (24:23–25) And you thought that we would blush with shame before your face and condemn him whom you know to be innocent; you see him as guilty only in this one way, that he won’t deny that he is a Christian. XXIX. Meanwhile, because we can prove that you’re set on a path to death, because we can rebuke you, look at what’s promised to us as our reward: Do thou, meanwhile, give thy voice for dumb pleader and for doomed prisoner; ever let that voice of thine pronounce true sentence, giving redress to the friendless and the poor. (31:8–9) And you say ‘Condemn an innocent man!’ I remember also sacred Scripture containing these words Never play the great lord at court (25:6) but if you were to be willing to stay within the limits of your power, and if I were in my pride to make a case against you, then I would have condemned myself in reality to be someone who was avoiding the law. But now, because we would speak the truth to you, a murderous and sacrilegious man, we’re not fit to be punished by a proud man – but rather all the more will we attain the rewards of heaven, rewards which we can’t spare for you in the midst of your errors. It is written Whip for horse, bridle for ass, and never a rod for the fool’s back? (26:3) We call people who deny the one Son of God men who are unaware of what’s right: we see you as versed in every kind of sacrilege. For as we see that it’s been written Like a dog at his vomit, 89 Another made up ‘co’-word, ‘copestilentes’.

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miserat ad exilium, et me oportuit patris mei parere statutis. pone, ut uis, haereticum esse Athanasium; si recte fuerat missus ad exilium, cur eum passus es contra patris tui statuta recipere dignitatem quam ei se tulisse tuus arbitratus fuerat pater? sed inquis: ‘fratris mei Constantis factum est interuentu’. sed potuisti occurrere Constanti dicens: ‘pater noster quem probauit haereticum nisi se correxerit, recipere in partes regni mei non possum’. sed inquis: ‘timui ne inter nos bella fuissent orta’. ergo quia saporinus persarum rex nunc contra te gerit proelium, si tibi dixerit: suscipe religiones meas, et ero te cum pacatus, te oportet cum omnibus in imperio tuo demorantibus facere transitum ad religiones daemonum? daemoniis enim sacrificans est Saporinus. conspicis itaque non te egisse ut dei seruum suscipiendo eum et loco reuocando suo quem meminisses in causam fidei deportatum, primo quod inpotentem iudicaueris deum, tamquam te tueri non potuerit tuentem ueritatem, haereticis resistentem, deinde quod magis tibi propitium esse uolueris Constantem quam deum. quem utique Constantem regem si haereticum factum memineras fauendo Athanasio, quem tu iam probatum habebas sacrilegum, non solum non regnum tuum deo debueras praeponere, sed nec ipsam tuam animam. tu etenim ipse testis es conscientiae tuae, quod enim propter fidem quam semper tenuit ecclesia ac tenet, cur eam damnare noluerit, missus fuerit ad exilium, quia uidelicet noluerit esse Arrianus; idcirco namque Athanasium perosum habitum a patre tuo non fugit te, quandoquidem et tu in ea eum digneris persequi causa, in qua fuerit et tuus pater persecutus. dicat denique se non esse Christianum, fateatur se Arrianum, et erit apud te sapientissimus, magnus. digne itaque conparatus es cani, qui redierit ad uomitum suum; iam enim Christianus aestimabaris, non esse Arrianus, ex quo Athanasium cum talibus litteris diuinitus sibi commissis repraesentaueris. at nunc cum esse conprobaris Arrianus et cupiens haeresem tuam inuenire locum uirum iustum persequaris, quia ille uidelicet sit eandem omni nisu inpugnans, recte es conparatus cani redienti ad suum uomitum.

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clearly hateful, the fool in his malice goes back ever to his own folly (26:11) – it seems to me that is particularly about you. Why? You ask. Because you instructed in the letters you sent to Alexandria that no harm should befall Athanasius – but now you want to kill him. But you say: ‘My father90 sent him into exile, and I should obey my father’s commands’. As you wish – make Athanasius out to be a heretic; but if he was rightly sent into exile, why did you allow him, contrary to your father’s instructions, to receive the dignity which you father had decided to take away from him? However you say, ‘It was done because my brother Constans91 intervened’. But you were able to meet your brother Constans and say ‘Because of our father, whom this man said was a heretic (unless he should correct himself), I cannot receive him in parts of my kingdom’92 But you say: ‘I am afraid in case there should be war between us’ Because if Shapur, the Persian king,93 who is now waging war on you, had said ‘Take up my religion and I will make peace with you’ would you then make the shift to a religion of demons in your empire? For Shapur is someone who sacrifices to demons. So you see, you did not act by accepting the servant of God; you recalled that his place should be restored to him after his exile because of his faith; but you acted the way you did because thought God was powerless – as if he were unable to keep you safe as one who was safeguarding the truth, and as one resisting heretics – and later on because it was more important for you to be at peace with Constans than with God. If you had remembered that King Constans was a heretic, even though Athanasius favoured him, then you would not have failed to give your kingdom over to God and you wouldn’t have given him your soul either. You’re the witness to our conscience: because of the faith which the Church has always held and still holds, so because Athanasius was unwilling to condemn that faith he was sent into exile because in the end he was unwilling to become an Arian. Presumably it hasn’t escaped your notice that Athanasius had been detested by your father, so you saw fit to persecute him because of what he was, and your father had persecuted him as well. In the end he declared himself not to be a Christian, but rather an Arian, and in your sight most wise and ‘Great’.94 Rightly you’re compared to a dog returning to its vomit;95 now you’re considered to be a Christian rather than an Arian because of how you represented Athanasius in the letters which you sent to him with your divine authority96 And now, since you’re proved to be an Arian, one who wants a place for your heresy and wants to persecute a just man (because he resists your every whim), it’s right to compare you to a dog going back to its vomit. 90 This refers to Constantine sending Athanasius into exile in 336. 91 In 348 Constans intervened with his brother to have Athanasius allowed to return from exile; Constantius needed help from him in his Persian campaign. 92 Constans, unlike Constantius, favoured the ‘Orthodox’ and pro-Nicene faction in the Church. 93 Shapur II, ‘the Great’, king of Iran 309–79, one of the greatest Sassanid monarchs. He was responsible for the persecution of Christians and regained control of Armenia; an important military opponent of Constantius. 94 Here Lucifer is acidly referring to the appellation ‘the Great’ attached to Constantine. Whether or not he was on his deathbed baptised an Arian is a disputed historical question. 95 Proverbs 26:11, as quoted above. 96 More sarcasm, as Christian emperors would not have been expected to claim the divine honours of their predecessors.

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XXX. Item etiam in illo facto tuo egregio recte conparandus cani qui redierit ad uomitum suum, quod enim acceperis ueritatem non esse catholicum Adoxium Germaniensium et dederis contra eundem litteras ad Antiochenos et postea hunc eundem Adoxium defendere coeperis ueritatis esse doctorem, ipsius haeresem catholicam uindicans fidem. quare, Constanti, tam leuis? quamobrem in causa fidei ut uentis pulsantibus harundo flecteris huc atque illuc? quid mirum, si tam facilis fuisti ad damnandum Athanasium etiam cunctos dei inuitare sacerdotes, quandoquidem etiam in statu religionis tanta agere per tuam non dubitaris temeritatem? efferbuisti ad innocentis fundendum sanguinem rex piissimus, tamquam non meminisses scriptum: regis in ueritate iudicantis de pauperibus, sedis eius in testimonium resurget (29:14); sed tu hinc putasti te summum, si contra diuinas ires scripturas, si cuncta quae prohibent fecisses. odis Athanasium, cur Christianus sit; cur esse noluerit Arrii, ut tu dicis, discipulus, summo eum persequeris odio; sed talem te circa eum futurum olim spiritus sanctus ostenderat ore Salomonis dicens: abominatio est iustus uiro iniquo. noli, Constanti, adhuc demorari in his malis, noli dei abuti patientia, retine scriptum in LXXVII: excitatus est tamquam dormiens dominus, tamquam potens crapulatus a uino, et percussit omnes inimicos suos in posteriora; obprobrium sempiternum dedit illis. (Ps 78[77]:65–66) in LXXXI psalmo, quousque, dicit spiritus sanctus, iudicastis iniquitatem et facies peccantium sumitis? iudicate pupillum et egenum, humilem et pauperem iustificate. eripite pauperem et egenum de manu peccatoris liberate.(82[81]:2–4) tu interficite me cum, inquis, deo dicatum cupiens nos te cum haberi cum illis, propter quos dicitur: nescierunt neque intellexerunt, in tenebris ambulant. (82[81]:5) mandat deus ne iudicium proferamus iniustum, ne tuam peccatoris reueriti faciem sineremus te punire eum quem persequaris iniuste. praecepit deus humilem iustificari a nobis, eripi pauperem et egenum de manu tua liberari carnificis. et tu inquis: ‘damnate eum quem uoluit deus de mea manu peccatoris erui’. non mirum; nec enim poteras ire contra tuas execrabiles dispositiones. dicit spiritus sanctus in XCVI: qui diligitis dominum, odite malum,(97[96]:10) et tua indicant praecepta te dicere: amate quod est malum. si enim malum esse uidetur deo damnari innocentem, dare aduersus absentem et quidem iustum uirum sententiam, quid est aliud quod nos cogis facere nisi quod odio habeat deus? si igitur quod odit fecerimus deus, utique non erimus ex illis, ad quos dicitur: qui diligitis dominum, odite malum. nempe tu idcirco non odis malum, quia non diligas dominum; sed nos idcirco facere nolumus quod odit deus, quia eum diligamus. facis haec, quia non sis seruus eius, cuius metus atque amor conpellat nos odire malum. neque enim in ecclesia domini persecutor eius ecclesiae inueniris, ut putes ad uos dixisse prophetam in psalmo: qui diligitis dominum, odite malum, (97[96]:10) quando et in centesimo dicat: non habitat in medio domus meae qui facit superbiam; qui loquitur iniqua non direxit in conspectu oculorum (101[00]:7) meorum. non ergo ad uos foris positos dicitur, sed ad nos: qui diligitis dominum, odite malum. odimus

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XXX. Another reason you’re like a dog returning to its vomit is because of this very impressive act of yours: firstly you accepted as a source of truth someone who is not a Catholic, the German Adoxius, then you sent letters attacking him to people in Antioch, and the finally you tried to defend this same Adoxius as a teacher of the truth, Constantius, why are you so fickle? Surely it’s because your faith turns around like a reed in bustling winds, this way and that! No wonder that you’ve so readily condemned Athanasius and ask God’s priests to do so too; in your arrogance you act under the cloak of religion. You’ve burned with rage that an innocent man’s blood be shed, most pious king! It’s as if you haven’t remembered the words of Scripture: There will be a revival in the renown of a king how gives due redress to the poor, his throne unshakeable97 (29:14); but you think that you’re all-powerful, when you go against the divine Scriptures, when you do everything which they forbid. You hate Athanasius, because he’s a Christian; because he’s not willing to do what you tell him and become a disciple of Arius, you persecute him with the strongest type of hatred; but the Holy Spirit has shown through the mouth of Solomon, that you will become this sort of person: The just man is an abomination to the villain (29:27) Constantius, stop committing these evil acts! Don’t abuse God’s patience!98 Remember what is written in Psalm 77: Then suddenly, like a man that wakes up from sleep, like some warrior that lay, till now, bemused with wine, the Lord roused himself; he smote his enemies as they turned to flee, branded them for ever with shame. But he refused, now, to make his dwelling with Joseph, it was not the tribe of Ephraim he would choose (78[77]:65–67) and in Psalm 81: Will you never cease perverting justice, espousing the cause of the wicked? Come, give redress to the poor and the friendless, do right to the afflicted and the destitute; to you need and poverty look for deliverance, rescue them from the hand of the wickedness. (82[81]:2–4) You say, ‘Join me in killing the man dedicated to God!’ wanting us to be among those of whom it is said in Psalm 81: But no, ignorant and unperceiving, they grope their way in darkness; see how unstable are the props of earth! (5) God tells us that we shouldn’t pronounce an unjust judgment, and that we shouldn’t allow you – as if you had the appearance of a sinner who is revered, to punish a man unjustly. God has told us that this humble man should be vindicated by us, that this poor and needy man should be rescued from you and freed from your executioner. And you say: ‘Condemn him whom God wants me to destroy with my own hand, the hand of a sinner!’ No wonder you can’t go against your unspeakable instructions. The Holy Spirit says, in Psalm 96: They are the Lord’s friends, who were never friends to wrong; souls that are true to him he guards ever, rescues them from the power of evil-doers (97[96]:10) and your commands show that you’re saying ‘Love what is evil!’ For if it’s wicked to God to condemn an innocent man, to pronounce a sentence against a just and innocent man in his absence, is it not clear that you’re trying to make us do what God holds to be hateful? If we were to do what God hates, certainly we would

97 The VL text is curious, and not based on LXX. 98 This is an allusion to Cicero In Catilinam I.1 ‘Quousque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?’ An echo is also found in M XII 38 ‘Quousque tandem abuteris dei patientia, Constanti?’ and in P III, 1–2 ‘Quas incurreris errorum tenebras non sentis? Non conspicis quo possis perire modo?’.

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denique malum quod uos idcirco amatis, quia sitis non in ecclesia dei. quomodo etenim te in ecclesiam esse poteris adstruere dei, homo qui non solum ecclesiam sis persequens, sed et ipsum negans qui fundarit ecclesiam? an non es superbus et habitare poteris in domo domini, quamdiu in hoc manseris supercilio? quis enim merito poterit dici superbus, si tu possis humilis iudicari, qui dicis: ‘damnate contra mandata diuina innocentem, calcate praecepta dei, mea seruate’?

XXXI. Sed fortasse non loqueris iniqua et poteris inueniri inter Christianos tu negator patris, negator unici filii eius, negator spiritus sancti paracliti, Arrianae haeresis fundator, destructor apostolicae fidei; non loqueris iniqua labiis tuis uenenatis, nihil ore illo profers sacrilego quod sit inicum. ignorabas in psalmo centesimo secundo spiritum sanctum dixisse de domino: faciens misericordiam dominus et iudicium omnibus iniuriam patientibus,(103[02]:6) ut iniuste mandares iudicari? cuius mandatis parere nos dignum est domini sacerdotes? tuis ne nondum erepti ab inmundis spiritibus an prophetae, per quem moneat spiritus sanctus, ut omnis iniustitiae pars uitetur a nobis cultoribus uerae diuinitatis? non legeras, Constanti, dictum ad uos reges a deo: nolite tangere Christos meos et in prophetas meos nolite malignari, (105[04]:15) ut ad domum dei auderes tendere manus? dicit plenus spiritu sancto Dauid in centesimo quinto psalmo: beati qui custodiunt iudicium et faciunt iustitiam in omni tempore (106[05]:3); et tu ‘facite’, inquis, ‘me cum iniustitiam’. persequeris Athanasium, impius pium, haereticus Christianum; sed oro te dicas, qui uestrum deo esse possit acceptus. tu, negator aeternae maiestatis unici dei filii, aedificator falsae religionis atque institutor Athanasius? legisti in psalmo CXVIII: beati inmaculati in uia qui ambulant in lege domini. beati qui perscrutantur testimonia eius, in toto corde exquirunt eum (119[18]:1–2); et dicito, quis uestrum exquirit deum, quis fideliter eius maiestati famulatum praebet. tu ne, qui facis persecutionem Athanasio, cur se Christianum fateatur, an ille qui te uelit persecutorem suum e laqueis eripi diaboli? tu ne, qui sis destructor catholicae fidei, an ille apostolicae fidei praedicator? si tu es seruiens deo, quomodo infra dicit spiritus sanctus: non enim qui operantur iniquitatem in uiis eius ambulauerunt?(119[18]:3) uos igitur haeretici operarii iniquitatis, cum non in uiis inueniamini domini, utique manifestatis uos operibus uestris esse in uia diaboli. legisti: nolite zelari mortem in errorem uitae uestrae neque adquiratis perditionem in operibus manuum uestrarum, quoniam deus mortem non fecit nec laetatur in perditionem uiuorum (Wis 1:12–13) an

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not be among these people, to whom it is said: They are the Lord’s friends, who were never friends to wrong; souls that are true to him he guards ever, rescues them from the power of evil-doers. (10) That’s why you don’t hate wickedness, because you don’t love the Lord; but it’s also why we won’t do what God hates, because we love him. You do all this, because you’re not his servant; whereas our fear of him and our love for him urges us to hate what’s evil. You’re not in the Church or in the Lord’s company, as you’re the Church’s persecutor; so you should pay heed to what the prophet says to you in Psalm 100: No welcome here for schemers, no standing in my presence for men who talk deceitfully (101[00]:7) What is said to us – but not to you who’ve removed yourself from the Church – is this: They are the Lord’s friends, who were never friends to wrong; souls that are true to him he guards ever, rescues them from the power of evil-doers (97[96]:10) At the end of the day we hate what’s evil, which you in your turn love, because you’re not in the Church of God. How could you bring into God’s Church a man who is not only a persecutor of the Church, but also one who denies the very person who founded the Church? Are you not proud, stuck in this haughty state of mind – and you would make your home in God’s house? How could a proud man be seen as humble when you say ‘Condemn an innocent man! It’s against God’s law, and you’re trampling on God’s laws; but obey mine!’ XXXI. Perhaps you won’t say terrible things, perhaps you can in the end be a Christian – even though now you’re a denier of God the Father, denier of his only begotten Son, denier of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, a founder of the Arian heresy, a destroyer of the faith of the apostles! Perhaps in the future you won’t say terrible things with your poisonous lips, perhaps you won’t utter what is harmful from your sacrilegious mouth! You’ve ignored what the Lord says in Psalm 102: The Lord’s acts are acts of justice, every wronged soul he offers redress. (103[02]:6); is this why you give unjust commands? As the Lord’s priests, whose commands should we obey? Are we not men who’ve been rescued from your unclean spirits? Hasn’t the prophet, through whom the Holy Spirit speaks to us, told us that everything which is unjust should be avoided by us as worshippers of the one true God? Constantius, do you not read what is said by God to you kings? To kings themselves the warning came; Lay no hand on them, never hurt them, servants anointed and true spokesmen of mine. (105[04]:15) in that you dare to stretch out your hands against God’s house? David, filled with the Holy Spirit, says in Psalm 105: Blessed are they who abide ever by his decrees, ever do the right! (3) and you say ‘Act unjustly alongside me!’ You persecute Athanasius, an impious man persecuting one who is pious, the heretic persecuting the Christian; but I will tell you that they can be accepted by this god of yours. You, denier of the eternal majesty of the only begotten Son of God, builder and instigator of a false religion – or Athanasius? You’ve read in Psalm 118: Ah, blessed they, who cherish his decrees, make him the whole quest of their hearts! (119[18]:1–2) and tell us, who is seeking your god, who is proving faithfully to be a servant of his majesty? Is it you, who persecute Athanasius, because he’s a professed Christian, or he, who would like to rescue you, persecutor of his faith, to be rescued from the snares of the Devil? You, who would destroy the Catholic faith, or he, who is the preacher of the apostolic faith? If you’re the one who serves God, how is it that the Holy Spirit

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minime? si legisti, cur praecepisti quaereremus nobismet ipsis mortem? si non legisti, cognosce quid nos facere fueris hortatus, tu qui in sortem delegeris esse illorum, quorum facinora describat ore Salomonis spiritus sanctus dicens: neque mercedem sperauerunt iustitiae nec iudicauerunt honorem animarum sanctarum, quoniam deus creauit hominem inexterminabilem et ad imaginem suae similitudinis fecit illum. inuidia autem diaboli mors introiuit in orbem terrarum. (2:22–23) imitantur ergo illum qui sunt ex parte illius. conspicis te imitatorem esse diaboli, in parte esse constitutum illius; cognoscis tu quod tibimet conquiras mortem, tu qui nolueris in imagine dei, quomodo es factus a deo, manere, sed temet contuleris ad illum, cuius inuidia mors intrauerit in orbem terrarum.

XXXII. Contra accipe quantam felicitatem cupiat consequi Athanasius, unde et nolit esse, quod sis tu, Arrianus apostata; accipe quantam fuerint etiam illi, quos iam, cur se Christianos dixerint, es interficere dignatus, consecuti beatitudinem: iustorum autem animae in manu dei sunt, et non tanget illos tormentum. uisi sunt oculis insipientium mori, et aestimata est malitia exitus illorum. ab itinere iusto abierunt in exterminium, illi autem sunt in pace. etenim si coram hominibus tormenta passi sunt, spes illorum inmortalitate plena est, et in paucis uexati in multis bene disponentur, quoniam deus temptauit illos et inuenit illos dignos se. tamquam aurum in fornace probauit illos, quasi holocaustam hostiam accepit illos, et in tempore erit respectus illorum. fulgebunt, tamquam scintillae in arundineto discurrent. iudicabunt nationes et dominabuntur populis, et regnabit dominus eorum in perpetuum. (3:1–8) desideras interficere Athanasium existimans quod ei, si eum mactaueris, possis aeternum dare malum, ignorans scriptum: condemnat iustus mortuus uiuos impios et iuuentus celerius consummata longaeuitatem iniusti. uidebunt etenim finem sapientis et non intellegent quid cognouerit de illo et quare munierit dominus. uidebunt et contemnent, illos autem dominus inridebit. et erunt post haec decidentes sine honore et in contumelia mortis in perpetuo, quoniam disrumpet illos sine uoce inflatos, et commouebit illos a fundamentis, et usque ad supremum deserentur, et erunt in dolore, et memoria illorum periet. uenient in cognitionem peccatorum suorum timidi, et transducent illos ex aduerso iniquitates eorum. (4:16–20) cernis inter quos sit pars tua constituta, cernis cum qualibus temet feceris stare contra dei domum; Athanasium uero uidebis inter istos, de quibus infra scriptum accipe: tunc stabunt iusti in magna Constantia aduersus eos qui se angustauerunt et abstulerunt labores eorum. uidentes turbabuntur timore horribili et mirabuntur in subitatione insperatae salutis. dicent inter se paenitentiam habentes et per angustiam spiritus gementes: hi sunt quos habuimus aliquando in risum et in similitudinem inproperii. nos insensati uitam illorum aestimabamus insaniam et finem illorum sine honore. quomodo conputati sunt inter filios dei et inter sanctos sors illorum

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says here in Psalm 118: Afar from wrong-doing, thy sure paths they tread (3)? Therefore you heretics are those who bring about evil, while we don’t follow the ways of the Devil. Have you at least read? Death for its goal, is not life’s aim missed? Labours he well, that labours to bring doom about his ears? Death was never of God’s fashioning; not for his pleasure does life cease to be (Wis 1:12–13)99 If you’ve read it, why have you commanded us to seek death for ourselves? If you haven’t read it, learn about what it is you’ve urged us to do, you whose lot it is to be among those whose misdeeds the Holy Spirit describes through the mouth of Solomon: How should they foresee that holiness is requited, how should they pass true award on a blameless life? God, to be sure, framed man for an immortal destiny, the created image of his own endless being; but, since the devil’s envy brought death into the world, they make him their model that take him for their master. (2:22–25) So you see, you’re an imitator of the Devil, set up as being on his side; you seek death for yourself as you don’t want to remain in God’s image, even though you’ve been made by God; rather you turn yourself over to the Devil, by whom invidious death has entered the world! XXXII. On the other hand, consider how happy Athanasius is because he can’t become what you would be, apostate Arian! Consider how happy Christians are, whom you see fit to kill! But the souls of the just are in God’s hands, and no torment, in death itself, has power to reach them. Dead? Fools think so; think their end loss, their leaving us, annihilation; but all is well with them. The world sees nothing but the pains they endure; they themselves have eyes only for what is immortal; so light their suffering, so great the gain they win! God, all the while, did but test them, and testing them found them worthy of him. His gold, tried in the crucible, his burnt-sacrifice, graciously accepted, they do but wait for the time of their deliverance; then they will shine out, these just souls, unconquerable as the sparks that break out, now here, now there, among the stubble. Theirs to sit in judgement on nations, to subdue whole peoples, under a Lord whose reign shall last for ever. (3:1–8) You wanted to kill Athanasius because you thought you could inflict eternal evil on him by slaughtering him, ignorant of the words of Scripture: Did they know it, the death of the just man, with its promise early achieved, is a reproach to the wicked that live yet in late old age. But what see they? Here is a man dead, and all his wisdom couldn’t save him. That the Lord planned all this, and for the saving of him, does not enter their minds. What wonder if the sight fills them with contempt? And they themselves, all the while, are earning the Lord’s contempt; they themselves, doomed to lie there dishonoured among the dead, eternally a laughing-stock! How they will stand aghast, when he pricks the bubble of their pride! Ruins they shall be, overthrown from the foundation, land for ever parched dry; bitter torment shall be theirs, and their name shall perish irrecoverably. Alas, the long tally of their sins! Trembling they shall come forward, and the record of their misdeeds shall rise up to confront them. (4:16–20) Among those with whom you’ve chosen to take your chances are the sort of people who, with you, stand in opposition to God’s house; on the other hand Athanasius is among these people of whom Scripture says: How boldly, then, will the just man appear, to meet his old 99 As with the Psalms, the VL and Vg texts of Wisdom are almost identical.

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est? (5:1–5) tunc haec dicturus, nisi tibi consulueris, quando uideris te demersum in tartarum, tunc dicturus haec quae dicit dicturos uos persecutores militum Christi scriptura sancta: ergo errauimus a uia ueritatis, et iustitiae lumen non luxit nobis, et sol non est ortus nobis; lassati sumus iniquitatis uia et perditionis et ambulauimus heremias difficiles, uiam autem domini ignorauimus. quid nobis profuit superbia aut quid diuitiae cum exultatione contulerunt nobis? transierunt omnia illa tamquam umbra et tamquam nuntius percurrens. (5:6–9) contra Athanasium uisurus inter illos, quorum gloriam narrans spiritus sanctus dicit: iusti autem in perpetuum uiuent, et apud dominum est mercis illorum et cogitatio eorum apud altissimum. ideo accipient regnum decoris et diadema de manu domini, quoniam dextera sua proteget illos et in brachio suo defendet illos. (5:16–17) tu contra si in hac manseris animi obstinatione, si censueris finire fragilem hanc uitam inter Arrianos, eris inter illos, ad quos item loquitur ore prophetae spiritus sanctus: audite ergo, reges, et intellegite; discite, iudices finium terrae; praebete aures uos, qui continetis multitudinem et placetis uobis in turbis nationum; quoniam data est a domino potestas uobis et uirtus ab altissimo, qui interrogabit opera uestra et cogitationes scrutabitur, regni quoniam cum essetis ministri eius, non recte iudicastis neque custodistis legem neque secundum uoluntatem dei ambulastis. horrende et cito apparebit uobis, quoniam iudicium durissimum in his qui praesunt fiet. exiguo enim conceditur misericordia, potentes autem potenter tormenta patiuntur. non subtransiet personam cuiusquam dominus nec reuerebitur magnitudinem cuiusquam, quoniam et pusillum et magnum ipse fecit, et aequaliter cura est illi de omnibus, fortioribus autem fortior instat cruciatio. ad uos ergo, o mali tyranni, sunt sermones mei, ut discatis sapientiam et non excidatis. (6:1–10) tunc, si necdum nos audieris, Constanti, uisurus quae nunc uidere uales minime per incredulitatem tuam; uidebis tunc, cum inter contyrannos tuos fueris conlocatus in illa loca tormentorum, non solum quod iniusta amaueris iudicia, sed et quod dei domum destruere uolueris, quod negator dei filii extiteris, quod aliter fidem praedicari sanxeris per minantem potentiam tuam quam prophetae et apostoli praedicauerunt. nec poteris dicere: ‘non sum inter illos quos describit per Salomonem spiritus sanctus’, quando audias dicere: ‘ad uos ergo, o mali tyranni, sunt sermones mei’.

XXXIII. Non poteris itaque negare te omnium esse contyrannorum tuorum principem, si modo penitus intuearis operam tuam. custoditio, inquit propheta, legum confirmatio incorruptionis est, incorruptio autem faciet te proximum deo. (6:19) tu ad haec ‘corrumpite’, inquis, ‘dei legem’, ut corrupistis uos, persecutores nostri. quis tam uecors est, qui uelit corruptus a te in aeternum perire, qui nolit manendo in integritate proximus

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persecutors, that thwarted all his striving! And they, in what craven fear they will cower at the sight of him, amazed at the sudden reversal of his fortunes! Inward remorse will wring a groan from those hearts: Why, these were the men we made into a laughing-stock and a by-word! We, poor fools, mistook the life they lived for madness, their death for ignominy; and now they are reckoned as God’s own children, now it is among his holy ones that their lot is cast. (5:1–5) Unless you consider at least your own self-interest – since you’ve sunk into hell – then Scripture will say these things of you who are persecutors of Christ’s soldiers: Far, it seems, did our thoughts wander from the true path; never did the ray of justice enlighten them, never the true sun shone. Weary it proved, the reckless way of ruin, lonely were the wastes we travelled, who missed the path the Lord meant for us. What advantage has it brought us, all our pomp and pride? How are we the better for all our vaunted wealth? Nothing of that but is gone, unsubstantial as a shadow, swift as courier upon his errand. (5:6–9) But you’ll see Athanasius among those of whom the Holy Spirit tells a glorious story It is the just that will live for ever; the Lord has their recompense waiting for them, the most high God takes care of them. How glorious is that kingdom, how beautiful that crown, which the Lord will bestow on them! His right hand is there to protect them, his holy arm to be their shield. (5:16–17 [LXX15–16]) But you will remain stuck in the obstinacy of your soul if you think you can complete your brief life among the Arians; you will be one of these to whom the Holy Spirit says this through the mouth of his prophet: A word, then, for kings’ ears to hear, kings’ hearts to heed; a message for you, rulers, wherever you be! Listen well, all you that have multitudes at your command, foreign hordes to do your bidding. Power is none but comes to you from the Lord, nor any royalty but from One who is above all. He it is that will call you to account for your doings, with a scrutiny that reads your inmost thoughts; you that held his commission and were false to it, justice neglected, the law set aside, his divine will transgressed. Swift and terrible shall be his coming; strictly his doom falls where heads rise high. For the meanest, there may be pardon; for greatness, greater torment is reserved. What, should he cringe before high rank, stand in awe of a name, he, the Lord of a universe, that made great and little alike, that cares alike for all? Who most has power, him the sharpest pains await. Do you, then, royal sirs (for my warning touches none so nearly), learn wisdom’s lesson, and save yourselves from ruin. (6:2–10 [LXX 1–9]) Constantius, if you won’t listen to us, you’ll one day see things which you’re not strong enough to see now because of your lack of faith; you’ll see then, when you’re in that place of torments alongside your fellow tyrants, that you’ve loved unjust judgements, you want to destroy God’s house, that you’re a denier of the Son of God, that you’ve sanctified with your power an alien faith – a faith which is not the same as that preached by the prophets and apostles. You simply cannot say ‘I am one of those whom the Spirit describes through the mouth of Solomon’ when you hear the words of Wisdom: O wicked tyrants, listen to my advice! (6:10 [LXX 9]) XXXIII. So you can’t deny that you’re an emperor among your fellow tyrants, if look at yourself and your actions: How should a man love wisdom without heeding its laws, or heed its laws without winning immortality, or win immortality without drawing near to God? (6:19–20) You respond to this ‘Corrupt God’s law!’ as you people, persecutors of us, have done. Who is so mad, who would want to perish eternally because they

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fieri deo? cur haec aut ipse fecisti aut nos facere fueras conpellere ausus? numquid non legeras dixisse in libro Sapientiae Salomonem ad deum: deus parentum et domine misericordiarum, qui fecisti omnia uerbo tuo, et sapientia constituisti hominem, ut dominetur creaturae quae a te facta est, ut disponat orbem terrarum in iustitia et aequitate et in directione animi iudicium iudicet,(9:1–3) et iterum: docuisti populum tuum per talia opera, quoniam oportet iustum esse et humanum, et bonae spei fecisti filios tuos? (12:19) non, inquam, haec scripta inueneras, auderes ad tantam prouocare nos inhumanitatem? quomodo bonae spei filii erimus? quomodo iustos nos et humanos ante deum seruos illius exhibebimus, cum praeuaricatores legis neque iusti neque filii dei dicantur? cognosce itaque a quali nos uolueris pertrahere ad mortem et quidem sempiternam, siquidem omnis qui desinit esse inter eos, quos in filiorum adoptione uocauerit deus, sit amittens uitam, sit perpetuam possidens mortem. cum igitur sitis Arriani inhumani, impii, crudeles, homicidae, quomodo dici Christiani poteritis? sed et cum negetis christum unicum dei filium et confiteamini credidisse uos in antichristum, unde aut quomodo uos poteritis Christi probare seruos, cum manifestaretis uosmet uestra professione esse famulos antiChristi? antichristus etenim, in quem Arrius crediderit, re uera ‘fuit, quando non fuerit’, contra noster saluator dominus ac deus dei unicus filius non est, ut tu uis, Constantius, creatura, sed est dominus creaturae; est aeternus, inaestimabilis, sicut est et cuius est filius; induit sane perfectum hominem nouissimis diebus de utero uirginis, sed et cum suscepisset hominem, talis est inmutabilis, incorruptibilis, inenarrabilis et inconuertibilis, qualis est et cuius est filius; non eum suscepti hominis causa in aliud quod quam semper fuit potuit conuertere, quandoquidem in forma sit dei patris sui, quandoquidem sit aequalis filius patri, ut refert beatissimus apostolus: qui cum in forma dei esset, non est rapinam arbitratus esse se aequalem deo, sed semet ipsum exinaniuit formam accipiens serui. (Phil 2:6) non enim quia dixit: semet ipsum exinaniuit formam serui accipiens, deus dei unicus filius aliud fieri potuit ex illo, quod est incorruptibilis, inenarrabilis, inmutabilis, cum sit semper in eo statu aeternae magnitudinis manens, in quo sit manens et eius pater. sed utique intellegimus quid sit sed semet ipsum exinaniuit, hoc est, cum sit similis atque aequalis patri filius, tamen quod et hominem se propter nostram salutem fieri uoluerit.

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have been corrupted by you, that they wouldn’t want to continue in integrity and remain a neighbour to God? Why have you done these things or dared to try and get us to do these things? Surely you’ve read Solomon say to God in the book of Wisdom: God of our parents, Lord of all mercy, thou by thy word hast made all things, and thou in thy wisdom hast contrived man to rule thy creation, to order the world by a law of right living and of just dealing, and give true award in the honest purpose of his heart. (9:1–3) And again Two lessons thy people were to learn from these dealings of thine; ever should justice and mercy go hand in hand, never should thy own children despair of forestalling thy justice by repentance (12:19) I say again to you, can you not find these things in Scripture, since you dare to provoke us to such inhumanity? How will we be sons of good hope? How we will show ourselves to be just and humane before God and his servants, if neither just men or sons of God are appointed as corrupt lawyers? So learn from the sort of goodness it is from which you want to drag us to our deaths, even eternal death, since everyone who ceases to be with us, whom God has called to be his adopted children, should lose his life, but nevertheless be someone who might possess eternal life. Therefore if you’re inhuman Arians, impious, cruel and murderous, how can you be called Christians? Since you deny that Christ is the only begotten Son of God and profess that you believe in the Antichrist, how on earth can you claim to be servants of Christ, since you show yourselves by what you believe to be servants of the Antichrist? For the Antichrist, in whom Arius believed, indeed ‘was and there was a time when he was not’;100 whereas on the contrary, our Saviour, our Lord and God, the only begotten Son of God, is not a101 creature – whereas you, Constantius, are a creature – rather he’s the Lord of what is created, he’s eternal, he’s inestimable, just like him whose Son he is; he became man completely in the recent past from the womb of the Virgin,102 but since he’s taken on humanity, so he’s unchangeable, incorruptible, inerrant, and not open to contradiction, just like him whose Son he is; he couldn’t change because of his adopted humanity into something other than what he’s always been, when indeed he was in the form103 of his Father, when indeed he as Son was equal with his Father, as the most blessed apostle says: His nature is, from the first, divine, and yet he did not see, in the rank of Godhead, a prize to be coveted; he dispossessed himself, and took the nature of a slave, fashioned in the likeness of men, and presenting himself to us in human form; (Phil 2:6–7) For he didn’t say because he dispossessed himself, and took the nature of a slave, fashioned in the likeness of men, and presenting himself to us in human form. (2:7) God the only begotten Son of God could be something other than what he was, because he’s uncorruptible, inerrant, and unchangeable; since he always remains in the state of eternal greatness he has

100 ‘Fuit, quando non fuit’: this phrase is a classic definition used particularly by opponents of the Arians to describe Arius’ view of the Logos. 101 Another key difference from Arius, who sees the Son as a κτίσμα (Ath. De Synodis 16). 102 Cf. C IX 39, P XXIV 26. 103 This passage is unusual as a summing up of Lucifer’s understanding of ‘orthodox’ Christology at this time, but it is not immediately clear what he means by ‘forma’ here.

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XXXIV. Cum itaque tu antichristum susceperis pro Christo, quia re uera ille ‘fuerit, quando non fuerit’, qua fronte adhuc es resistens Christianis, nisi illa qua solent et adulterae pudicis? ausus fuisti temptare dominari uelle dei populo, subicere uelle ecclesiam dei tuo regno, diuinam maiestatem illius tantum metuentem tuo futtili imperio; et hoc quidem fecisti, quia nesciens sis scriptum esse de uobis tyrannis: propter hoc indisciplinatae animae errauerunt; dum enim persuasum habent iniqui posse se dominari nationi sanctorum, uincti tenebrarum catenis et longa nocte conpediti, inclusi sub tectis, fugitiui. (17:1–2) conspicis iam te esse inter illos dei populi persecutores, de quibus legisti quod una catena tenebrarum sunt omnes conligati, (17:17) et iterum: digni quidem illi carere lumen et pati carcerem tenebrarum, qui inclusos custodiunt filios tuos, per quos incipiebat incorruptum legis lumen uitae omnibus dari. an negabis dei antestites te tenere in claustris? et cur es detinens? ne praedicemus certe dei populo ueritatem? cur nos retines in carcerem? cur mittis ad exilia, nisi quia sis metuens, ne uos lupos Arrianos rapaces canes rabidos atque antiChristos esse temporis nostri manifestemus sacris reuelantibus scripturis? sacrae enim scripturae probant uos ex actibus uestris non esse dei seruos, sed plane filios diaboli. si enim non es unus ex illis, quos tales futuros sacrae clamant scripturae, cum scriptum inueneris in CXXXI psalmo: surge, domine, in requiem tuam, tu et arca sanctificationis tuae, sacerdotes tui induantur iustitiam,(Ps 132[31]:8–9) cur damnari a nobis absentem uoluisti? certe ad hoc ut iustitiam, quam nos induerat dominus, amitteremus. cum enim dicat: sacerdotes tui induantur iustitiam, et tu iniustitiam nos urgueres facere, quid aliud essemus, si fecissemus quod tuae maliuolentiae fuerat uisum, nisi conscelerati tui, nisi totius iniquitatis fontes, hi scilicet, qui deponentes iustitiae officium iniustitiae, ut tibi placeremus, essemus suscepturi? persequeris dei domum, Constanti, ignorans te ipsum deum persequi in domo eius; domus etenim dei est ecclesia, in qua est inhabitans dominus, sicut scriptum est in eodem psalmo: elegit dominus sion, praeelegit eam in habitationem sibi. haec requies mea in saeculum saeculi, hic habitabo, quoniam praeelegi eam. (132[31]:13–14) cum haec itaque sint, temet punire conspice, quando aliquem nostrorum punis, tuam te salutem persequi, quando sis deo repugnans, non nos, in quos audias deum dicere quod enim dignetur requiescere. tu ergo qui templa domini temptas uiolare, nisi te conuerteris, eo disperies genere quo illi, de quibus dicit Dauid in psalmo CXXXV: qui percussit Aegyptum cum primitiuis eorum, quoniam in saecula

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all the time alongside his Father.104 But we know that he dispossessed himself means that since the Son is similar105 to the Father and equal to him, this is what he wants humanity to come for our salvation. XXXIV. Since you’ve adopted the Antichrist in place of Christ, since in fact he ‘was, and there was a time when he was not’, how bold do you have to be to oppose Christians, unless it’s like the way in which adulterous women oppose those who are chaste? You dare to try and dominate God’s people, to suppress God’s Church by your imperial power, to make the Church’s divine majesty fearful of your empty tyranny; indeed you’ve done this because you’re ignorant of the passage of Scripture which has been written about you tyrants: No skill had Egyptian hearts to understand them. They had thought to exercise barbarous tyranny over a nation consecrated to thee. And now they lay, shut close under their own roofs, darkness their dungeon, their sentence a long-drawn night, exiled from the gifts of thy eternal Providence (Wis 17:1–2) So you’re one of the persecutors of God’s people, about whom you read By darkness, like all his fellows, held in thrall (17:17 [16 LXX]) and again A fitting punishment it was for the Egyptians, this loss of light; fitting that they should be imprisoned in darkness, who had kept their own sons in prison; thy own sons, thought whom that law, which is light unfailing, was to be given to the world. (18:4) Or do you deny that you’ve got the high priests of God behind bars? Why are you detaining us? Is it in case we preach clearly the truth to God’s people? Why do you keep us in prison? Why do you send us into exile, unless you’re afraid of us, unless we show up you Arian wolves as rapacious dogs, the Antichrists of our time, because of what’s revealed in Sacred Scripture? For Sacred Scripture proves on the basis of your actions that you’re not God’s servants but clearly the Devil’s! If you’re not one of them, when you find what’s written in Psalm 131: Let thy priests go clad in the vesture of innocence, thy faithful people cry aloud with rejoicing. (132[31]: 9) Why do you condemn us in our absence? If we were to do what you want, we would discard the justice with which God has clothed us. Since God says Let thy priests go clad in the vesture of innocence, thy faithful people cry aloud with rejoicing. (9) and you want us to act unjustly, which is not how it should be. Surely we would become men of injustice who’ve rejected justice, simply to please you, if we went along with you in your malice, if we joined you in your wickedness, if we became sources of all iniquity? Constantius, you persecute God’s house, not knowing that you’re persecuting God in his house; for the Church is God’s house, in which the Lord lives, as Scripture says in the same Psalm The Lord’s choice has fallen upon Sion, this is the dwelling he longed for: Here, for ever, is my resting-place, here

104 This seems to suggest that Lucifer would have been unsympathetic to contemporary ‘kenotic’ Christology. Knox’s word ‘dispossessed’ would seem to capture this as well so I have retained it, as ‘exinanivit’ is in both Latin versions. 105 The Latin word ‘similis’ reproduces the Greek ὅμοιος, a very loaded term in this period. The ‘Homoeans’ were an ‘Arian’ group associated with Acacius of Caesarea, who proposed a Homoean creed at the Council of Seleucia in 359. They sought to avoid the precision of the words involving oὐσία. Lucifer would have avoided any taint of this viewpoint so his adding the word ‘aequalis’ is an attempt to do this.

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misericordia eius, et eduxit Israel de medio eorum, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius. in manu forti et brachio excelso, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius. qui diuisit mare rubrum in diuisionem, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius, et transduxit Israel per medium eius, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius; et excussit Pharaonem et exercitum eius in mare rubrum. (136[35]:10–15) qua de re haec scripta inuenio, nisi ut crederem quia, cum tu me premere temptares, deus meus quod sic potuisset, nisi te conuertisses, extinguere quomodo Pharaonem, et me quod sic fuisset erepturus de manibus tuis quomodo et illos de Pharaonis potestate? idcirco etenim dicit ad singulas uirtutes: quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius, ut mihi aperiret quoniam domini misericordia me cum sit semper permanens, qui ei tantum sim seruiens, te cum uero esse non posse, quia uidelicet inimicus illius sis, quomodo fuit et Pharao.

XXXV. Noluimus damnare absentem, noluimus in eum quem scimus innocentem et in eum quem nouimus catholicae fidei praedicatorem dare iuxta desiderium tuum sententiam. quare? quia nos Christiani in deum porreximus spem nostram, non in te ac regnum tuum caducum. noluimus de gloria regni tui nobis placere, qui gloriam consequi sumus expectantes ab eo, in quem solum confidendum esse atque sperandum docens dicit Dauid in psalmo CXLV: nolite confidere in principibus et in filiis hominum, quibus non est salus. exibit spiritus eius et reuertetur in terra sua. in illa die peribunt omnes cogitationes eorum. beatus cuius deus Iacob adiutor eius, et spes eius in domino deo ipsius qui fecit caelum et terram, mare et omnia quae in eis. qui custodit ueritatem in saeculum facit iudicium iniuriam patientibus.(146[45]:3–6) noluimus iniuste te cum persequi iustitiae plenum fructibus, ne, dum de te uindictam coepisset consequi, fuisset consecutus etiam de nobis; non fecimus quod iniuste praecepisti nos implere, ne te cum ueniremus ad illum locum, qui in Ecclesiastico describitur: et deus requiret eum qui persecutionem patitur,(Eccles 3:15) et adhuc: uidi sub sole locum iudicii, illic impius, et locum iusti, illic pius. (3:16) noluimus uobis coniungi haereticis, noluimus te cum dare manus ad dei inpugnandam domum, noluimus te cum idololatriam suscipere in contumeliam dei, noluimus sacrilegio tuo misceri, ne et nos audire mereremur te cum illa quae ore Oseae prophetae audient sacerdotes, populus et rex Israel, qui cuncti derelicto deo ad idololatriam se contulerant: audite haec sacerdotes et adtendite domus Israel, et domus regis intuemini; ad uos est iudicium, quia ut laqueum facti estis ad insidiam et sicut retia extensa ad auiarium uenantis. (Hos 5:1) apud Amos prophetam sciebas utique scriptum, quando dedisti disciplinam

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is my destined home. (132[131]:13–14) Since this is so, see how you punish yourself! Whenever you punish any of us, you’re yourself punished as far as your salvation is concerned, since you’re repugnant to God – we’re not really punished, as God says that what is worthy is to be found in us. So you try to violate the Lord’s temples – and unless you convert, you’ll perish in the same way as those of whom David speaks in Psalm 135: Eternal his mercy, who smote the Egyptians by smiting their first-born; eternal his mercy, who delivered Israel from their midst, with constraining power, with his arm raised on high, his mercy is eternal. Eternal the mercy that divided the Red Sea in two, eternal the mercy that led Israel through its waters, eternal the mercy that drowned in the Red Sea Pharaoh and Pharaoh’s men. (136[35]:10–15) With regard to all this do I not believe, since you press me, that unless you convert my God can do this and will wipe you out like Pharoah; and he can rescue me from your hands just as he rescued the Israelites from the power of Pharoah? In the end God says, with regard to particular virtues – since his mercy is everlasting – that clearly his mercy is everlasting and will always remain with me, as I am merely his servant. You cannot be because in reality you’re his enemy, just like Pharoah. XXXV. We’re not willing to condemn a man in his absence, we’re not willing to sentence someone we know is innocent and a preacher of the Catholic faith, simply at your whim. Why? Because we’re Christians who put forward to the world a God who is our hope, not you and your tottering realm. We’re not willing to try and please you because of the ‘glory’ of your kingdom, since we’ve attained the glory which we await from him who David teaches us is the one who is alone to be believed in and hoped in Psalm 145: They are but men, they have no power to save. As soon as the breath leaves his body, man goes back to the dust he belongs to; with that, all his designs will come to nothing. Happier the man who turns to the God of Jacob for help, puts no confidence but in the Lord his God, maker of heaven and earth and sea and all they contain; the God who keeps faith for ever, who redresses wrong, and gives food to the hungry. The Lord, who brings release to the prisoner. (146[45]:3–7) We’re not willing to join you in persecuting unjustly someone who is fully just because of the fruits of his labours, lest, while he would be vindicated because of your actions, would be vindicated because of ours as well. We’ve not done what you’ve unjustly commanded us to do, lest we come to the place described in the book of Ecclesiastes: God will search for the persecuted one (Eccles 3:15 LXX) and further on I saw under the sun the place of judgment – and there is the impious one. And the place of justice – and there is the pious one106 (3:16 LXX) We’re not willing to be joined to heretics, we’re not willing to join hands with you to attack God’s house, we’re not willing to join you in taking up idolatry, showing contempt towards Go, we’re not willing to be mixed up in your sacrilege, lest too we’re seen to be fit to hear with you the things which the priests heard through the

106 The best LXX MSS here have ἀσεβής twice, rendered in VL as ‘impius’ first and then ‘pius’, which makes more sense. As Lucifer is close to the LXX here I have reproduced King’s translation. Lucifer has also made a mistake in the book citation (which I have corrected) as it is from Ecclesiastes, not Ecclesiasticus.

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exemplum damnandi scilicet innocentem: qui fecit in excelso iudicium et iustitiam in terra posuit. (Amos 5:7) dei iustitiae uiolator, Michaeam prophetam dixisse numquid ignorabas de Iudaeorum principibus: non leuauerunt ad deum manus suas, et concupiebant agros et diripiebant orphanos et domum per potentiam inuadebant et diripiebant uirum et domum eius, uirum et hereditatem eius. propter hoc haec dicit dominus: ecce ego cognosco super plebem mala, ex quibus non leuabitis ceruices uestras? (Micah 2:1–3) sed tibi, cum proscribere digneris, deportare, mittere in carcerem, torquere, postremo interficere dei cultores, nihil malorum repraesentabitur? noluimus misceri actibus tuis nefandis, ne te cum ad aeternam damnati poenam haec audiremus quae dicuntur apud Michaeam a deo: audite itaque haec, praepositi domus Iacob et residui domus Israel, qui abominamini iudicium et omnia recta peruertitis, qui aedificastis Sion et Hierusalem in sanguinem iniquitatibus. iudices eius cum muneribus iudicabant et sacerdotes eius cum mercede respondebant et prophetae cum pecuniis diuinabant et in domino requiescebant dicentes: dominus in nobis est, et non uenient in nos mala. (3:9–11) non legeras adhuc apud istum sanctissimum prophetam, ut damnari iuberes uirum deo dicatum: in quo conprehendam dominum, adsumam deum meum excelsum? si conprehendam eum in holocaustis aut in uitulis anniculis, aut si suscipiet dominus in milia arietum aut in decem milia haedorum pinguium? aut dabo primogenita mea impietatis, fructum uentris mei pro peccatis animae meae? renuntiandum tibi est, homo, quod sit bonum. aut quid dominus exquisiuit a te aliud nisi ut facias iudicium et iustitiam et diligas misericordiam et paratus sis ire cum domino deo tuo? (6:6–8) nec apud Ambacum inueneras scriptum: impius per potentiam oppressit iustum, (Hab 1:4) ut ita sceleratum fuisses adgressus opus, quod te apud deum posset facere impium? item infra non inueneras positum: cur inspicis super contemptores? tacebis ob hoc, quod deuoret impius iustum? (1:13)

XXXVI. Et idcirco nos uidentes quia tu impius iustum deuorare temptaueras uirum, non solum non tacuimus male te agere, sed nec tacebimus. non enim alius es ab eo, propter quem dicitur: placens et contemptor uir superbus nihil proficiet, qui dilatauit sicut inferus animam suam, et ipse ut mors insatiabilis. (2:5) non poterit dici quod non conueniat dici de te, si digneris me cum recordari scelera facinorum tuorum et si funera tua non fueris

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mouth of the prophet Hosea, alongside the people and the King of Israel, who all led them into idolatry as they abandoned God! Priest and people, hear and heed! And you, too, mark it well, men of the court; whose but yours the blame, if there are snares on every commanding height, like the nets of a hunter over the lair of birds (Hos 5:1) You know that in the prophet Amos it’s written about what happens when you give an example of trying to condemn an innocent man The Lord who judges in the highest heaven sees justice done on earth (Amos 5:7 LXX) Violator of God’s justice, you’re ignorant too of the prophet Micah and what he said about the princes of Judah They have not lifted up their hands to God, but rather they covet house or lands, house or lands by robbery become theirs; ever their oppression comes between orphans and their homes, a man and his inheritance. And I, too, the Lord says, am devising mischief, mischief against the whole people of you; never think to shake it off from your necks (Micah 2:1–3) Do you think you will escape evils in the future, as you see fit to issue proscriptions of condemnation, deport, imprison, torture and in the end kill God’s worshippers? We’re not willing to be mixed up with your nefarious actions lest, damned alongside you to eternal punishment, we hear these words from God written through the prophet: A word with you, chieftains of Jacob’s line, rulers of Israel, that hold right abominable, and all justice pervert; that build up107 strength of Sion, fortunes of Jerusalem, with deeds of bloodshed and of wrong! Never a judge but has his price; never a priest tradition teaches, but for hire; never a prophet but must have his hand lined with silver! And all the while, how lean they on the Lord! Is not he in their midst (they ask)? How should harm befall them? (3:9–11) In the same most holy prophet you’ve missed this too, as you condemned a man dedicated to God: How best may I hold the Lord in affection, and receive God most high? Calf, think you, of a year old, for my burnt-sacrifice? Fall rams by the thousand, fattened kids by the ten thousand, will the Lord be better pleased? Shall gift of first-born for wrong-doing atone, body’s fruit for soul’s assoiling? Nay, son of Adam, what need to ask? Best of all it is, and this above all the Lord demands of thee: right judgment shouldst thou show, the right thou shouldst do, and mercy shouldst thou love, and carry thyself humbly in the presence of thy God. (6:6–8) Have you not found in Habakkuk these words of Scripture? The knave with his power oppresses the just man! (Hab 1:4) – if you had you wouldn’t have undertaken your wicked enterprise which will make you impious in God’s sight. Again, you haven’t found the passage below where it says: Wilt thou brook the sight of contempt? Innocence the prey of malice, and no word from thee? (1:13) XXXVI. Since you in your impiety try to get us to devour a just man and are silent about the evil you’re doing, we will not be silent in the future. For you’re none other than him about whom it’s written: The proud man, complacent and full of contempt, will make no progress, since he has expanded his soul like a dead man, and as death itself is insatiable108 (Hab 2:5) – we cannot fail to say what is inconvenient to you: this should

107 Vg ‘qui aedificatis Sion in sanguinibus, et Ierusalem in iniquitate’ but Knox’ rendition imparts the VL text just as well. 108 Here Knox thinks that the Vg here (‘Sic erit vir superbus, et not decorabitur; et ipse quasi mors, et non adimpletur’) is an attempt to make sense of ‘a passage unintelligible in the Hebrew text’.

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tardus recensere. quis etenim alius nostris diebus sibi placens, contemptor, superbus, nihil proficiens, qui dilatauerit sicut inferus animam suam et qui aestimari possit esse ut mors insatiabilis, reperiri potest nisi tu? sed conspice nihil te posse proficere dici tibi a deo. licet enim contemptor dei praeceptorum sis, eius licet religionem cupiens persequi eo usque dilataueris animam tuam ad dei mactandos cultores, ut toto in regno non digneris desinere gregem uexando domini, tamen nihil proficit omnis infestatio tua. cuncti etenim quos persequeris dei semper et sunt et erunt serui. tu uero, nisi tibi prouideris, in aeternum eris periturus, tibi placens, contemptor, superbus, quia sic dilatans animam tuam tamquam inferus ad nos deuorandos pariter et absorbendos, propterea quod male tibi agenti resistamus, factus ut mors insatiabilis, furiis ageris in nostram necem. adeo nequam es, Constanti, ut, cum prophetam inuenio dicere: o qui fundat fundationem malam domui suae, ut conlocet in altum nidum suum, (2:9) tu mihi atque hereditas antiChristi, cui faues, ante oculos obuersetur, cognoscens conatos tuos illos sacrilegos. non enim potest dubitari te conatum et conari, ut toto in regno tuo posset fundari haeresis tua, destrui uero fides catholica. sed et cum audio dicatum deo prophetam dicere: uae qui aedificant ciuitatem in sanguinibus et praeparant ciuitatem in iniquitatibus, (2:12) tu mihi esse uideris qui speluncam latronum sis per sanguinis fusionem aedificans, per necem dei seruorum. aut negabis speluncam latronum esse uestrum malignum concilium Arrianorum? si non estis latrones, quomodo interficere inuenimini deo dicatos? ciuitates in sanguine qui aedificant uae habent. prudentissimus imperator non uidisti uae tibi posse esse, quia haeresem tuam per sanguinis dei hominum fusionem putasti reaedificandam? dicit spiritus sanctus per Sophoniam prophetam: quaerite dominum et omnes humiles terrae iudicium operamini et iustitiam quaerite et respondete ea sic ut tegamini in die irae domini; (Zeph 2:3) tu dicis: ‘damnate innocentem, estote me cum homicidae sacrilegi’. an non haec sunt quae nos facere praecipis? imperasti damnari domini sacerdotem necne? imperasti Arrianam perfidiam tenendam, reiciendam uero fidem apud Niciam conscriptam? si haec inpleri mandasse te refragari non potes, conspice et homicidas et sacrilegos nos efficere uoluisse. dicit deus: et erit in illo die: scrutinabo Hierusalem cum lucerna, defendam super uiros qui contemptores sunt, ne custodiant mandata; (1:12) et tu inquis tua magis atque conblasphemorum tuorum custodienda. quomodo potueramus damnare iniuste iustitiae fructibus plenum domini sacerdotem, cum uideamus qualis comminatio fuerit oborta contra iudaeorum praepositos uel contra omnes eorum conscios, qui haec quae agis egisse noscantur? quae erat splendida et redempta ciuitas, columba. non exaudiuit uocem, non percepit disciplinam, in domino non confidit et ad deum suum non accessit. principes eius sicut leones fremunt, iudices eius sicut lupi arabiae, non subreliqui erunt in mane. prophetae eius spiritales, uiri contemptores, sacerdotes eius contaminant se et impie agunt. dominus autem iustus est in medio eius et non faciet iniuste. (3:1–5)

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lead you to review with me the wickedness you’ve done, so that it’s not too late to review your funeral rites. For who else are you – pleasing to yourself at this time, full of contempt, proud, good for nothing, a man blown in his own soul like a man in hell, someone who’s like insatiable death – surely it’s only you who is like this? Consider how it’s not your interests to be spoken of like this by God! It’s OK for you to have contempt for God’s commandments, it’s OK for you to persecute true religion to make your soul bigger and have the worshippers of God slaughtered – in order that in the whole of your empire you can’t leave God’s flock alone, constantly afflicting it – indeed every infestation of yours does not profit you at all! For all those whom you persecute are and always will be God’s servants. Unless you make provision for your future, you’ll perish eternally109 – pleasing yourself, full of contempt and proud – you’ll perish because enlarging your soul in this way as if you’re from hell, to devour and absorb us in equal measure, simply because we resist you when you’re doing evil. You’re like insatiable death, you act in such an angry way110 to bring about our deaths! Constantius, you’re so worthless that, looking at what the prophet says: Woe to the man who amasses ill-gotten gains for his house; make it an eyrie, too high for envious hands to reach? (2:9) I can see that you’re the descendant of the Antichrist, whom you favour, as I know the sacrilegious acts which you’ve tried to carry out! There’s no doubt about these acts you’re carrying out, in order to set up your heresy in the whole of your realm, to destroy the Catholic faith! When I hear what the prophet says about the man dedicated to God: Woe to thee – city thou wouldst found, city’s walls built up, with deeds of bloodshed and of wrongs? (2:12) – it’s clear that you’re the man building the robbers’ cave by spilling blood, by killing God’s servants. Do you deny that the robbers’ cave is your malignant council of Arians? If you’re not robbers, how is it that you’re killing those dedicated to God? Evils come upon those who build cities on blood. As a most prudent emperor don’t you see that you’re the source of woe, because you build up your heresy by shedding the blood of the man of God? The Holy Spirit says, though the prophet Zephaniah: To honest doing and patient suffering betake you, men of humble heart wherever you be, men obedient to his will; it may be, when the hour of the Lord’s vengeance comes, you shall find refuge. (Zeph 2:3), but you say ‘Condemn the innocent man, join me in sacrilegious murders!’ Are these not the orders you’ve given us to carry out? Have you or have you not commanded us to condemn God’s priest? Have you commanded that the treachery of Arius be believed in, that the creed written at Nicaea be rejected? If you haven’t ordered that heresy be set up and the true faith be broken down,111 look at us, at how we’re not willing to make ourselves murderers and committers of sacrilege! God says: Time, then, to call for lamps, and search Jerusalem through! Trust me, I will defend my people against those who are full of contempt, so much so that they don’t keep my commands 109 ‘Eris periturus’. For this grammatical construction, characteristic of Lucifer, cf. C IV.40, R I.95 and many other examples. While it is found in classical Latin (e.g. Cato De Agri Cultura. 30) it becomes much more common later, e.g. Tert. Fug. 14.3, Adv. Marc. 4.33 and elsewhere. 110 The words ‘furiis ageris’ are an echo of Virgil Aeneid 12.101 ‘his agitur furiis’. This is an indication of Lucifer’s classical education. 111 I have had to insert nouns to make Lucifer’s meaning clear.

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XXXVII. Cum haec ita se habeant et nobis licitum minime sit iniustum proferre iudicium, superest aut unum te facias esse ex eius seruis et discas iudicium proferre aut, si semper dei uis esse inter aduersarios, iudicium tuum solus prome iniustum, desine nos cogere facere quod fieri cernas diuinitus prohibitum. desine iam criminari Athanasium uel nos, quod enim nos dei destruamus domum, quando inuenias apud Zachariam te atque contyrannos tuos esse descriptos, quod enim futuri essetis dei hereditatis persecutores uos, quos dicit supra modum uobis usurpasse potestatem. crudelitatem etenim narrans uestram dicit dominus: zelatus sum Hierusalem et sion zelo magno. et ira magna ego irascor super gentes quae se superponunt uobis, propter quod ego iratus sum minima. ipsi autem conposuerunt se in mala. (Zech 1:14–15) audes tenebrarum amator, execrator luminis dicere: ‘damnate innocentem’, cum dignetur praecipere nobis deus per Zachariam dicens: iudicium iustum iudicate et pietatem et misericordiam facite unusquisque ad fratrem suum. et uiduam et orphanum et proselytum et pauperem per potentiam nolite nocere, et malitiam unusquisque non reminiscatur fratris sui in corde suo.(7:9–10) cum haec sint mandata caelestia, tu cuius usus auctoritate dixisti: ‘laniate conseruum uestrum’? si dei mandatis te protulisse hanc auctoritatem dixeris, non poteris probare, quoniam quidem inueniri non possit in sacris scripturis praeceptum dei innocentem damnandum. cum itaque ea feceris quae lex prohibet dei, constat te hanc auctoritatem ex uoluntate illius protulisse qui uocetur inimicus dei, unde et illis conpareris necesse est, quibus dicitur per prophetam: et dissuaserunt, ne obseruarent, et dederunt dorsum stultitiae et aures suas degrauauerunt, ut non oboedirent legem meam, et cor suum statuerunt insuadibilem, ne oboedirent, (7:11–12) et infra: non exaudierunt; sic clamabunt, et non exaudiam eos, dicit dominus omnipotens. animae, quiestote; haec sunt uerba quae faciatis: loquimini ueritatem unusquisque ad proximum suum et iudicium pacificum et iustum iudicate in portis uestris et unusquisque malitiam proximi tui nolite cogitare in cordibus uestris, et iusiurandum falsum nolite diligere, quoniam haec omnia odi, dicit dominus omnipotens. (7:16–17) quid me cogis facere ea quae odio se habere dicit dominus omnipotens? sed instruens dominus de ieiunio, pacem, inquit, et ueritatem diligite. (8:19) quomodo pacis atque ueritatis amatores esse poteramus, si innocentem falsis per te ac tuos criminibus praegrauatum tamquam reum puniremus? aut quae erat pax, cum haec faciendo etiam a pace [domini] dominica potuissemus

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(1:12) and you say that your actions are to be preserved all the more, along with those of your accomplices in blasphemy! How could we unjustly condemn the Lord’s priest, one who is full of the fruits of justice, as we see the curse which arose against the Jewish princes and their accomplices – when we know what you’ve done? How the city pretends to be splendid and redeemed, like a dove!112 Never the call heard, the warning heeded; trust in the Lord is none; nay, they would keep God at a distance. Here be rulers no better than ravening lions, judges like wolf of Arabiat, and not a bone left on the morrow; prophets that are heedless men and treacherous, priests that profane the sanctuary and act impiously. And all the while the Lord is there in the midst of it! Not his the blame! (3:1–5) XXXVII. Since this is the case, and since we’re not in any way free to deliver an unjust judgment, it makes no sense for you to claim to be of God’s servants. If you’re always going to be one of God’s enemies you can’t lead us to make such a judgment or make your judgment known, or to coerce us to do what divine law forbids. Stop making Athanasius and ourselves criminals! If we were we would destroy God’s house, alongside you and your fellow tyrants described by Zechariah; you will be persecutors of the inheritance of God, as usurpers of limitless power for yourselves. The Lord says, telling the story of your cruelty: Cry it abroad, now, my monitor said to me, this message from the Lord of hosts: Jealous, right jealous my love for Sion’s hill, deep, full deep my anger against the heathen that oppress you! I would have punished Jerusalem but lightly, it was these that devised evil for you.(Zech 1:14–15) You dare to day, you lover of darkness, you curser of the light ‘Condemn an innocent man!’ when God sees fit to command us, speaking through Zechariah: Come now, the just award, the dutiful heart that pities a neighbour’s need! Widow and orphan, the alien and the friendless, wrong no more; brother against brother plot no more! (7:9–10) Since these are heaven’s commands, have you said – on the authority of your practical experience – ‘Tear to pieces your fellow servant!’ If you said that you’ve exceeded your authority according to God’s commandments, and you’d not be able prove that this was right since you can’t find in Sacred Scripture a command from God that an innocent man should be condemned. As you do things which God’s law forbids, it’s clear that you’ve grabbed your authority in line with the will of one who is God’s enemy, to whom you should be compared, to whom it’s said through the prophet Zechariah: And they advise against this, so that they don’t follow this! Shrank every shoulder from the burden, deaf ears they turned him, so that they would not obey his law, hardened their hearts to adamant. Heed his law they would not (7:11–12) and further on But they did not heed me; they will cry out but I will not listen, says the Lord of hosts. But vanquish your fears. And for your part, this do: deal honestly with your neighbours, give even in your market-place the true, the salutary award; harbour no ill thoughts one against another, nor set your hearts on the oath falsely sworn; every deed of wrong is hateful to me, the Lord says (8:15–17) Why do you coerce me into doing what God hates? The Lord says, concerning fasting, Love peace and truth (8:19) How could we be lovers of peace and truth if we were to 112 Knox has omitted ‘columba’ which is in both the VL and the Vg (LXX περιστερά).

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reici? neque enim pax domini dicentis: pacem meam relinquo uobis, pacem meam do uobis,( Jn 14:27) relinqueretur ab eo in nobis, cum alio ipsi tulissemus iniuste. quis ignorat recedente disciplina recedere et gratiam? apud Malachiam dicit deus: filius honorificat patrem et seruus dominum suum. et si pater sum ego, ubi est honor meus? dicit dominus omnipotens. (Mal 1:6)

XXXVIII. Quem igitur timorem atque honorem deo facturi eramus, si fecissemus quae tu fieri mandasti? illa enim tua praecepta et timorem et honorem dei nituntur auferre dicatis eius clementiae. sed et infra tuam specialiter operam manifestans dicit: exacerbatis deum in uerbis uestris et dixistis: in qua re exacerbauimus eum? in eo quod dicatis: omnis qui facit malum, bonum est coram deo, et in ipsis benedicet. et ubi est deus iustitiae? (2:17) propheta dicit: ubi est deus iustitiae, contra eos qui dicunt: ‘qui facit malum, bonum est coram deo, et in ipsis benedicet’; et tu das mandata fundendum cruorem iustorum et adhuc dicis te dei seruum, cum sis ipsius dissipator legis. iustum est damnare absentem et quidem innocentem aut iniustum? si iustum non est, quia cogis facere nos eam rem per quam puniri mereamur a deo? Tobias, omnibus, inquit, diebus uitae tuae, fili, deum in mente habe et noli peccare uelle uel praeterire praecepta illius. iustitiam fac omnibus diebus uitae tuae et noli ambulare per uiam iniquitatis, quoniam agente te ex ueritate erit respectio operibus tuis et omnibus qui faciunt iustitiam. (Tob 4:5–6) dic, Constanti, iustitiam facit qui interficit innocentes, qui seruorum dei fundit sanguinem? si non facit iustitiam, sed magis iniquitatem, restat ut te uideas esse iniquitatis amatorem atque omne iniquum fabricantem opus. etenim cum iustitiam nos in omni tempore facere hortetur sacra lex et tu conpellas facere iniustitiam, quem te alium uelis habeam nisi et iniustitiae amatorem et perpetratorem? ‘omnibus’, inquit, ‘diebus uitae tuae, fili, deum in mente habe’, cum eundem reliqueris haerendo Arrianis. hi etenim non eum derelinquimus qui fidem tenemus apostolicam. quomodo non praecepta eius praeteris, qui interficias seruos eius nomini maiestati que dicatos, cum sis eos cogens derelinquere eum et fieri conserpentes atque coapostatas tuos? nos odio apud te laboramus, quia tibi uera dicamus, quia te uiuere nobis cum uelimus in aeternum; illos uero es diligens qui ad te transitum fecerit, illos qui cum tibi primum contraxerint, postea tamen seruire nefariis meditationibus tuis quam dei parere praeceptis maluerint. gaudens es cur eosdem tua calliditate inliciens ad suscipiendam perduxeris haeresem tuam, quod in omnibus eos habeas subiectos, illos quos iam pridem uideras pro nihilo te ducere, quos cernebas calcare propter ueritatem regni tui auctoritatem. sed scire te uolumus non esse nouum hoc factum, sed saepe ita esse actum a perfidis atque inconsideratis, ab eis quos praescius futurorum ore sanctissimo Malachiae praeostenderit prophetae: grauastis aduersum me consilia uestra, dicit dominus omnipotens. et dixistis: in qua re detraximus de te? quia dixistis: uanus est omnis qui seruit deo. et quid amplius, quod custodiuimus praecepta illius et ambulauimus deprecantes ante conspectum domini omnipotentis? et nunc nos magnificamus alienos, et renouantur omnes facientes iniqua, et restiterunt deo et saluati sunt. haec detraxerunt qui timent deum, unusquisque ad proximum suum. et intendit dominus et exaudiuit et

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punish an innocent man, who’s been burdened with guilt because of your crimes and those of your accomplices? What is peace if we’re rejected from the Lord’s words of peace by doing what you want? It is not the peace of the Lord who says: Peace is my bequest to you, and the peace which I will give you is mine to give ( Jn 14:27); he would take his peace away from us if we acted unjustly towards another person. Who doesn’t know how to withdraw grace, when right teaching is being taken away?113 God says in Malachi: ‘Son to father, servant to master gives his due. Your father I, where is the honour, your master I, where is the reverence you owe me?’ So says the almighty Lord (Mal 1:6) XXXVIII. Therefore how could we give God the honour which is his due if we were to do what you command? These commands of yours are based on taking away fear of God and the honour due to him from those who are dedicated to his mercy. Further on God says, exposing your deeds in particular: Oh, but the Lord is aweary of your doings! And little wonder, when you think so amiss of him; telling yourselves, Foul is fair in the Lord’s sight, and wrong-doing well likes him; God that judges us is none (2:17) and the prophet says: Where is the God of justice? Against those who say: Who does foul things is fair in God’s sight and you command that the blood of just men be shed and then claim that you’re God’s servant, even though you’re the squanderer of his law. Is it just or unjust to condemn a man in his absence, and one who is innocent to boot? If it’s unjust would we not deserve to be punished by God if you coerce us to do it? Tobit says: Do thou, while thou hast life, think ever upon God, nor lend thyself to any sinful design, nor leave his commandments unfulfilled. Act justly all the days of thy life and don’t walk in the path of iniquity, because you and those who do justice will be respected as a result of the virtue thou hast shown, in all thy works. (Tob 4:5–7 LXX) Tell me, Constantius, does a man act justly if he kills innocent people and pours out the blood of God’s servants? If he doesn’t act justly, but rather with wickedness, it only remains today that you’re a lover of iniquity, a manufacturer of every wicked deed. Since the law of holiness encourages us to act justly the whole time, and you try to compel us to act unjustly, should I not rather be a lover and promoter of justice? Do thou, while thou hast life, think ever upon God (4:5 LXX) as you’ve abandoned God and joined Arius. We’re the people who’ve not abandoned him but held fast to the apostolic faith. How can you not break his commandments, since you kill his servants who are dedicated to his name and majesty, since you try to coerce them to abandon God and become your fellow snakes and fellow apostates? We hate it that we’ve to labour in your presence because we speak the truth to you; we would rather you live with us for eternity; but you love those who’ve made a different journey from you, who spoke against you at first, and later on they preferred to serve you with their nefarious opinions rather than obey God’s commands. You rejoice, because you’ve led these people astray, to take up heresy; you’ve allured them with you wiles, so that you might have them under your thumb in every way; these are the people you lead who are as nothing, who were trampling in your authority because of the truth. But we know that your behaviour is nothing new, that you’ve often acted out of perfidious 113 This is a verbal echo of St Cyprian, Ep. 13.2 ‘recedente ab his disciplina dominica recessit et gratia’.

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scripsit librum memorialem coram se timentibus dominum et metuentibus nomen suum. et erit mihi, dicit dominus omnipotens, in die qua ego facio in possessione; et eligam eos, quemadmodum eligit homo filium suum bene seruientem sibi. et conuersi uidebitis quantum sit inter iustum et iniustum, inter seruientem deo et non seruientem. quia ecce dies uenit domini ardens sicut clibanus et uret eos, et erunt omnes alienigenae et omnes qui faciunt scelera ut sarmenta, et succendet eos dies domini quae uenit, dicit dominus omnipotens, et non derelinquetur ex eis radix nec uitis. (3:13–4:1)

XXXIX. Deum dicere haec audiens quia adhuc in malis tuis esse digneris, gaudere te etiam in hoc arbitror, quod cum praeuaricatoribus, cum deum derelinquentibus illa percepturus sis ab eo. uae tibi homicidae atque sacrilego, quoniam, nisi paenitentiam factorum tuorum egeris, eris, ut nunc es, inter illos quos ore Isaiae increpat dicens: uae, gens peccatrix, populus plenus delictis, semen malignum, filii sine lege, dereliquistis dominum et exacerbastis sanctum Israel. (Is 1:4) eris semper unus ex illis, qui propter nequitias studiorum suorum principibus Sodomorum et populis Gomorrhae conparantur, dum dicitur: audite uerbum domini, principes Sodomorum, adtendite legem dei, plebs Gomorrhae. (1:10) cum illis eris, nisi te correxeris, de quibus scriptum legisti: si multiplicaueritis preces, non exaudiam uos; manus enim uestrae sanguine plenae sunt. (1:15) uae tibi, Constanti, qui tantam dei incurreris offensam, ut non uidere potuisses quid tibi fuisset cauendum. cum enim dicat ore Isaiae illis prophetarum sanctorum et omnium iustorum interfectoribus: lauamini, mundi estote, auferte malitias ab animis uestris ante oculos meos, desinite a malitiis uestris, discite bonum facere, inquirite iudicium, eripite iniuriam accipientem, iudicate pupillo et iustificate uiduam, (1:16–17) ad haec tu contra iuberes trucidandos dei cultores, ipsum deserendum deum, suscipiendam uero idololatriam, hoc fuit audisse dei monita et fuisse correctum? qua de re istud cogis nos facere, nisi quia sis cupiens nos te cum gladio consumi? et si uolueritis, dicit deus, et exaudieritis me, bona terrae edetis. si uero nolueritis neque exaudieritis me, gladius uos comedet; os enim domini locutum est ista. (1:19–20) cui temperabimus, deo ne haec dicenti an tibi eius inimico? deus dicit Iudaeis, ut iam derelinquerent errores suos, abicerent malitias suas ex cordibus suis, discerent bonum facere, iustum iudicarent iudicium. tu inquis: ‘damnate iniuste’. qua de re istud suades me facere, nisi quia uelis me effici illiusmodi hominem, quales sint illi, ad quos dixerit deus: uos autem, dicit deus, quid succenditis uineam meam, et rapina pauperum in domibus uestris? quid uos iniuriam facitis populo et faciem inopum confunditis? (3:14–15) et tu ita haec es faciens, ita cuncta gerens, quae quia faciant indignatur facientibus, tamquam placere te non posse sis sciens, nisi et domini succendisses uineam et rapinam pauperum constituisses intra domum tuam et multis modis seruis dei inrogasses iniurias. aut dicere temptabis

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and unconsidered motived, motives predicted for us by God through the holy mouth of the prophet Malachi: Now, says the Lord of hosts, your plans have weighed me down. And you said: ‘How have we disparaged thee?’ ‘Because you said: ‘Who serves God serves him for nothing; what reward is ours for keeping command of his, for walking prayerfully in the sight of the almighty Lord? Here are proud folk more to be envied than we, ill-doers that yet thrive, abusers of his patience that escape all harm!’ So they used to talk among themselves, his true worshippers, till at last the Lord gave them heed and hearing; and now he would have a record kept in his presence of all that so worshipped him, all that prized his renown. ‘They shall be in possession of the land’, says the Lord of hosts, ‘when I declare myself at last: I will choose them, just as a father chooses the son who serves him well. And having been converted you shall be able to tell apart the just and unjust man, the man who serves God and the man who does not. Behold, this is because the fiery day of the Lord comes with smoke and will burn them up, and all foreigners who commit wicked acts will be burnt up as well like brushwood’, says the almighty Lord, ‘and neither root or branch will be left in place’. (Mal 3:13–19 LXX) XXXIX. As you’re determined to carry on doing evil, I think, having heard God’s words, that you rather glory in evil: you do this lest you’re taught by him, with those who are guilty with you, and those who’ve abandoned God with you. Woe to you, murderer and man of sacrilege – unless you do penance for your sins, you will be one of those whom God curses through the mouth of Isaiah: Woe to you, sinful nation, people bowed with guilt, rebellious race, brood foully degenerate! You’ve forsaken the Lord, you’ve exasperated the Holy One of Israel! (Is 1:4) You will always be one of them, like the leaders of Sodom and Gomorrah, because of their iniquitous deeds, while it is said: Listen, then, to this, the Lord’s word, chiefs of the Sodom-city; people of Gomorrah, here is a command from our God for your hearing. (1:10) As you’ll be among them, unless you put yourself right, among those about whom you read this passage of Scripture: Add prayer to prayer, I will not listen; are not those hands stained with blood? (1:15) Woe to you, Constantius, as you offend God so much that you can’t see the warning he’s given you. Although he said this through the mouth of Isaiah to those who killed the holy prophets and all the just men: Wash yourselves clean, spare me the sight of your busy wickedness, of your wrong-doing take farewell. Learn, rather, how to do good, setting your hearts on justice, righting the wrong, protecting the orphan, giving the widow redress (1:16–17) you nevertheless order that the worshippers of God should be massacred; why if you’ve heard God’s advice to be corrected, do you yourself desert God and adopt idolatry? Why do you pressurize us to do this, unless you want us to perish by the sword alongside you? Will you think better of it, and listen, and have rich harvests to feed you? Or will you refuse, and defy me, and yourselves be food for the sword? The Lord has given sentence. (1:19–20) God says. Should we exercise restraint about how we behave in relation to God, who says this, or you, his foe? God says to the Jews – so that they might abandon their errors that they should reject the evil in their hearts, and rather learn to do good and make good judgements. You say: ‘Condemn a man unjustly!’ Why would you try to make me do this unless you want to be like those to whom God says You’ve made spoil of the vineyard, your houses are full of the plunder you’ve taken from the oppressed; what means it, that you ride roughshod over my people,

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haec omnia te non fecisse? numquid non succendisti uineam domini, quando coegisti eam iam non scire dominum Abrahae, deum Isaac, deum Iacob, deum apostolorum, deum prophetarum ac martyrum, sed idololatriam per Arrium inuentam, per te uero exaltatam? numquid non est rapina pauperum haec dei seruorum Christianorum in domo tua, propter quos legisti scriptum: beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum, (Mt 5:3) cum scias te proscripsisse resistentes sacrilegio tuo? numquid dicere audebis: ‘non feci nec facio iniuriam populo dei’? et quis tantam aliquando fecit quantam tu, qui neque omnia genera tormentorum inferendo desis neque uarie puniendo?

XL. Noluimus innocentem tamquam reum punire, ne ista et nos percuteret sententia quae ore adhuc prophetatur Isaiae: uae scribentibus nequitiam; scribentes enim nequitiam scribunt, declinantes iudicium pauperum et rapientes iudicium egentium plebis meae, ut sit illis uidua in rapinam et pupillus in direptionem. et quid facient in diem uisitationis? tribulatio enim uobis a longe superueniet, et ad quem refugietis? (Is 10:1–3) non temperauimus tuo consilio uenenato, cupientes confugere in omnibus tribulationibus nostris atque anxietatibus ad eum, ad quem confugerit ille iustitiae amator in omnibus probationibus Iob; non oboediuimus praecepto tuo crudeli, quia uoluerimus imitatores inueniri istius dei serui Iob dicentis: liberaui pauperem de manu potentis et orphano qui sine adiutorio erat ego eram adiutor. os autem uiduae me semper benedixit. iustitia enim eram uestitus et coopertus iudicium; et eram oculus caecorum et pater infirmorum, iniquorum autem molas confregi et dentibus illorum rapinam abstuli,( Job 29:12–19) et infra: positus sum statera iustitiae, et scit dominus simplicitatem meam, quoniam numquam pes meus exerrauit a uia recta, sed nec oculus meus conspexit. (31:6–7) quae est recta uia, a qua se refert gloriosus Iob non deorbitauisse? utique haec, quae nec innocentem interfecit nec alium scit deum, quia nescit nisi deum angelorum archangelorum que, quem non posse nos sentis eripere de tua potestate. quando enim dicis de fide beatae ecclesiae: ‘si catholica est apud Niciam descripta fides, eripiat eos in quem crediderunt de mea potestate’, non habere utique uirium ad eripiendum nos de manibus tuis deum dicis, non posse te stare contra; adseris ecclesiae apostolicae deum non habere tantam potentiam, quae possit tuam excludere uirtutem. quid enim aliud confitetur beatae ecclesiae fides nisi quia sit credens in deum patrem innatum et in unicum filium eius, natum ex innato et uero patre, et in sanctum spiritum paracletum? quid aliud confitetur fides catholicae ecclesiae nisi quia et trinitas sit perfecta et una sit dealitas patris et filii et spiritus sancti? quid aliud confitetur beatae ecclesiae fides nisi quia neque pater susceperit hominem neque spiritus sanctus paracletus, sed unicus filius dei? quid aliud adstruit gloriosae ecclesiae fides nisi quia sit dei unicus filius inmutabilis, inconuertibilis, inaestimabilis, inmensus, aeternus, sicuti sit et cuius sit filius? credidit sancta ecclesia unam potentiam habere unicam que dominationem patrem et filium et spiritum sanctum, hanc fidem, quam dicis haereticam et tuam adstruis catholicam, illam quae dicat deum non habere uerum filium, quae dicat

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that you spurn the right of friendless folk? (3:14–15) Are you the man doing all this, performing these acts? These are acts unworthy of those who commit them, so you should know that you cannot do as you please, unless you’re determined to set fire to the Lord’s vine, to establish the plundering of the poor within God’s house, to decree in lots of ways injuries for God’s servants! Surely you wouldn’t have set fire to the Lord’s vine if you’d known the Lord of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of the apostles and the God of the prophets and martyrs? But instead you follow the idolatry invented by Arius, a man whom you’ve exalted! Is this not the plundering of the poor, of Christians in God’s house, about which it’s written: Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs (Mt 5:3) – as you know you’ve condemned by proscription those who resist your sacrilege? Surely you’ve heard us say: ‘I am not injuring the people of God!’ But you carry on doing what you’ve done, and don’t cease to inflict in lots of ways torments and punishments on people. XL. We’re unwilling to punish an innocent man as if he were guilty, least this judgment strike us, prophesied through the mouth of Isaiah: Out upon you, that enact ill decrees, and draw up instruments of wrong; suppress the claims of the poor, and refuse redress to humble folk; the widow your spoil, the orphan your prey! What shifts will you be put to, when the day of reckoning comes, when the storm overtakes you that is brewing far away? With whom take refuge? (Is 10:1–3) We’ve not been able to control your venomous plans – rather we’ve fled, in the midst of all our tribulations and anxieties, to him to whom Job fled, that lover of justice, in the midst of all his trials; we’ve not obeyed your cruel decrees, because we’d rather be like the just man Job who said: Poor man nor helpless orphan cried to me in vain; how they blessed me, souls reprieved from instant peril; with what comfort the widow’s heart rejoiced! Dutiful observance was still the vesture I wore; in me, the blind found sight, the poor a father. None so ready to break open the fangs of the wrong-doer and snatch the prey from his teeth. ( Job 29:12–17) and further on: Let God himself bear witness to my innocence! Have I strayed from my course; has my heart followed the lure of my eyes? (31:6–7) What’s the course which Job says he’s not strayed from? Surely it’s this: he’s not killed an innocent man! He knows no other God but the God of the angels and archangels! He is the one whom you can’t snatch from your power! When you say, concerning the blessed Church’s faith: ‘If the Catholic faith is what’s written in the creed of Nicaea, let it rescue those who believe in it from my power!’ – you don’t say that God can rescue us from your clutches, or that we can resist you; you claim that the God of the apostolic Church doesn’t have that power, as this would exclude you in all your virtue! What faith should be believed other than the faith of the blessed Church – that you can’t be saved unless you’re a believer in God the unborn Father and in his only begotten Son, born from the unborn and true Father, and in the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete? What else should be believed as the faith of the Catholic Church, other than that the Trinity is perfect, as is the one Godhead of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit? What faith should be professed other than that the Father did not take to himself human nature, nor the Holy Spirit, but only the only-begotten Son? What other faith of the glorious Church builds on except that the only-begotten Son is unchangeable, incontrovertible, inestimable, immense in glory, eternal – just like him whose Son he is? Holy Church believes

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‘fuisse quando non fuerit’, quae dicat ‘factum ex nihilo’, utique ex illis sensibus, quibus Rabsaces, dux Assyriorum regis, exprobrabat deum Abrahae et deum Isaac et deum Iacob dicens: non uos seducat Ezechias quia possit uos liberare de manibus regis Assyriorum deus uester. (Is 36:14) ita et tu, dux antiChristi, dicis per tuos: ‘non uos seducant uerba episcoporum uestrorum, qui mihi contradicunt quia uos liberare potest fides quam illi praedicant’. licet enim sermonem uarient, tamen res ad hoc perducitur, ut constare possit te sic nobis exprobrare deum, quod enim inpotens sit ad eripiendos nos, quomodo rex exprobrarit Assyriorum: haec dicit rex Assyriorum: si uultis benedici, exite potius ad me et manducabitis unusquisque fructum uestrum uineae et ficus, et bibetis aquam de lacis uestris, donec ueniam et accipiam uos in terra tali, sicut est terra uestra, terra tritici et uini et panis et uinearum. non ergo uos seducat Ezechias dicens: deus uos liberabit,(36:16–18) et infra: quis liberabit Hierusalem de manu mea? (36:20) sed quid contra talis esse tu monstratus es, dicit ore Isaiae deus ad Ezechiam: non est quod paueas a sermonibus istis quos audisti, quibus exprobrauerunt me legati Assyriorum. ecce mitto in eum spiritum, et audito nuntio reuertetur in regione sua et cadet gladio in terra sua. (37:6–7) illa nunc, Constanti, circa te stare cernimus pericula, nisi tibi feceris esse consultum, quae circa illum steterint, circa illum qui dicebat: sic dicetis Ezechiae regi iuda: non te seducat deus tuus, in quo confidis, dicens: non tradetur Hierusalem in manus regis Assyriorum. (37:10) sic in periculis es tu, blaspheme, ut ille, et non uides; contra nos dei cultores uidemus tutos defensos que stare incolumes. unde tuti sumus ac defensi, nisi quia sanctam teneamus fidem quam tenuerint patriarchae, prophetae, apostoli ac martyres, hanc quam iudicasti haereticam?

XLI. Sed ut iterum ad Athanasium redeamus, in quo hanc persequeris sacram fidem, non timuisti, oro te, indignationem domini contra illos prolatam, qui exprobrare temptauerant Iob iustissimum, ut falsis criminibus peteres dei antestitem? non metuis etiam nunc, ne ad te dicat deus quae dixit illi regi loquenti contra Iob sanctissimum: peccasti tu et amici tui ambo. nihil enim ueri locuti estis coram me? ( Job 42:7) interea sic uos Arriani superiores poteritis Athanasio inueniri nunc apud deum, quomodo et illi tunc inuenti sunt qui Iob exprobrant. utile est tibi, Constanti, ut per Athanasium domini sacerdotem pro facinoribus tuis sis supplex deo, per ipsum dirigas uota tua, sicuti et illi per Iob, per Athanasium siue per coepiscopos eius des operam salutarem

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that this faith has potency and the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are a single source of Lordship, and that this faith, which you say is heretical, and which you say is not Catholic – and yet you profess a faith which does not have the true God, which would rather assert that ‘there was a time when he was not’, which would say that he was ‘made from nothing’: from the same meanings with which Rabshakeh, the general of the Assyrian king, tested the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob when he said: No, don’t let Hezekiah stir you to action by telling you that the Lord can deliver you from the hand of the king of Assyria (Is 36:18) So now, general of the Antichrist, say through your men, ‘Don’t let the words of the bishops seduce you; they contradict me when they claim that the faith they preach can liberate them’ It’s OK to vary these words, but it’s clearly possible for you to agree with us that if that were so God would have been powerless to rescue us, as the king of the Assyrians showed: Here are the terms the king of Assyria offers to you. Earn my good will by surrendering to me, and you shall live unmolested; to each the fruit of his own vine and fig-tree, to each the water from his own cistern. Then, when I come back, I will transplant you into a land like your own, which will grudge you neither wheat nor wine, so rich is it in cornfields and vineyards. No, don’t let Hezekiah stir you to action by telling you that the Lord will deliver you. (36:16–18) And further on: Who will free Jerusalem from my hand? (36:20) But what sort of person are you? Surely you’re like the person described by Isaiah to Hezekiah: Don’t be dismayed at hearing the reproaches which the courtiers of the Assyrian king have uttered against me. See if I don’t put him in such a mind, see if do make him hear such news, as will send him back to his own country and cause him to fall by the sword (37:6–7) Now, Constantius, we see these dangers which surround you, unless you think about your future – dangers which also surrounded him (who?) about whom it’s written Give this warning, he said, to Hezekiah king of Judah. Don’t let the God in whom thou puttest such confidence deceive thee with false hopes, telling thee that Jerusalem will never be allowed to fall into the hands of the Assyrian king. (37:10) So you’re in danger, blasphemer, like him, and you don’t see it! On the contrary we, the worshippers of God, are safe, defended, and secure. How is that we’re all safe and defended? Because we hold the holy faith which patriarchs, prophets, apostles and martyrs have held, the faith you judge to be heretical! XLI. To get back to Athanasius, in whom you persecute our sacred faith: I beg you, are you not frightened that you’ll incur the wrath of God against those who tested that just man Job by pursuing the bishop114 of God on false charges? Are you not afraid now, lest God say to you what he said to the king who spoke against most holy Job? You’ve earned my displeasure, thou and these two friends of thine, by speaking amiss of me. ( Job 42:7) So you Arians are superior to Athanasius in God’s sight, like the men who were found to test Job! Constantius, it would be good for you to beg God through his priest Athanasius, because of your crimes – just as those men did through Job; so through Athanasius or his fellow bishops you can make sure you’re saved by being

114 Lucifer uses the word ‘antistitem’, which in classical Latin describes the High Priest. It is also used for bishops, as in the Roman Canon of the Mass, parts of which may date from this period.

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consequi baptismum. ceterum quo uelitis uos torqueatis modo aduersus Athanasium, uos de filiis esse inuenimini, quippe haeretici, illius anguis, colubri refugae desertoris; Athanasius uero est dei domesticus, ut fuit Iob; est de filiis lucis et ipsam tenens iustitiae uiam quam tenuit seruus dei Iob; est ipsam possidens fidem, unde et de filiis Athanasius Abrahae est. sic dei filium confiteturAthanasius, ut confessus est Iob. qui Iob unde de filiis Abrahae, nisi quia sic crediderit, quomodo fuit credens et Abraham? si haec ita se habere ignoras, percurre beatum Paulum apostolum non solum ad Romanos, sed et ad Galatas, et inuenies uera esse quae defendam. aut numquid, quia Iob iusti beatus apostolus nominis specialiter non fecit mentionem, negabitur Iob de filiis esse Abrahae? si non potest negari Iob esse de filiis Israel, dubitari non potest hinc illum tantum factum ac talem, quia crediderit in deum, ut fuerit et credens beatus Abraham. non enim operibus legis, sed per fidem iustificari credentes reuelat apostolus; neque enim illarum temptationum uictoria ei fuisset reputata ad iustitiam, nisi fuisset sic credens in deum, ut crediderit Abraham. aut unde uinceret diabolum, nisi quia fuisset credens in deum patrem innatum et unicum filium eius, natum ex innato et uero patre, et in sanctum paraclitum spiritum? aut si putas quia non ita est semper creditum, ut hodie credimus, proba [b]eatos apostolos ac martyres potuisse superare concarnifices tuos atque uicto amico uestro diabolo consequi regna caelestia nisi credentes in patrem et in filium et in spiritum sanctum. igitur si ita hi credendo uicerunt qui post domini unici filii dei aduentum crediderunt, crede quia et ante aduentum eius qui uicerunt diabolum non aliter crediderunt quam quomodo hodie credimus. neque enim Danihel leones et tres pueri uincerent ignes, nisi quia credentes fuissent, ut hodie credit ecclesia. inde denique Abrahae fidem prouocat apostolus probans, auctoritatem usus sacrarum litterarum, sic credidisse Abraham, quomodo nunc fuerit credens Paulus, tunc uero se fuisse filium irae erroneum, quando cum Iudaeis negabat unicum dei filium.

XLII. Cum haec ita sint, obsecro te ut iam contra dei domum gerere pugnam desinas accipias que hortamenta caelestia, quae te perducere possint ad consequendam salutem perpetuam. ore accipe quae dicat ad uos Isaiae deus: audite me, qui perdidistis cor uestrum, qui longe estis a iustitia. (Is 46:12) aut si cor tuum te cum est, si non a iustitia es longe, cur dicis nobis dei sacerdotibus: ‘damnate absentem, punite innocentem’? si enim cor tuum non amisisti et iustitiae tenes uiam, cur non retines scriptum: custodite iudicium, facite iustitiam. adpropiauit enim salutare meum aduenire et misericordia mea reuelari. beatus uir qui facit eam et homo qui amplectitur eam, sabbata mea non uiolare, custodiens manus suas ne faciat iniustitias, 56:1–2) et iterum: non est gaudere impiis, dicit dominus. exclama in uirtute, ne parcas. sicut tubae exalta uocem tuam et adnuntia populo meo peccata eorum et domui Iacob iniquitates suas. me

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baptized!115 But in this way you try to torture Athanasius – you who are as heretics sons of Satan, of that serpent, of the exiled snake! Athanasius is God’s servant, as Job was; he’s the one who holds the paths of truth and justice which Job, the servant of God, once held. Athanasius possess the faith itself, so he’s one of the sons of Abraham. He confesses the only begotten Son of God, just as Job did. How could this same Job be one of Abraham’s sons, unless he believed what Abraham believed? If you’re ignorant of all this, look at what blessed Paul the apostle writes not only in Romans but in Galatians, and you’ll find that what I am arguing is true! Surely it can’t be denied that Job is one of the children of Abraham just because Paul doesn’t mention him by name? You can’t deny that Job was one of Abraham’s children, so it can’t be doubted that he was a man who believed in God, just as blessed Abraham did. He believed not as a result of the works of the Law, but rather because the apostle reveals that those who believe are justified by faith. Job would not have had the reputation of being victorious over his temptations unless he’d been a believer in God, just like Abraham. Otherwise, how could he have vanquished the Devil unless he believed in God the Father, the unbegotten one, in his only Son, begotten from the true and unbegotten Father, and in the Holy Spirit, the Advocate? Or, if you think that this isn’t what has always been believed – that is, what we believe today, then prove that your fellow executioners can overcome the blessed apostles and martyrs; prove that once your friend the Devil has been defeated you can attain the kingdom of heaven if you don’t believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. So these people, believing this, later on believed in the coming of the only begotten Son, so believe this, as their beliefs were no different before he who overcame the Devil came into the world, and they believed the same things as we believe today. Daniel would not have conquered the lions, and the three young men would not have conquered the flames, if they’d not been believers, believing what the Church believes today! So again the apostle, proving Abraham’s faith, challenges us on the authority of the sacred writings, showing that this was what Abraham believed: such a person would have been son of errors if he were to deny, alongside the Jews, the only begotten Son of God. XLII. Since all this is so, I beg you to stop waging war on God’s house – accept instead the urgings of heaven, which could lead to eternal salvation. Accept what the God of Isaiah says to all of you: Redress far off? Nay, faithless hearts, listen to me (Is 46:12) Or, if your heart is with you, if justice is not too far from you, why do you say to those of us who are priests? ‘Condemn a man in his absence, punish an innocent man!’ For if you haven’t lost your heart, if you hold to the path of justice, why don’t you remember the words of Scripture: Keep right order, the Lord says, faithful to your duty still; ere long I will send deliverance, my own faithfulness shall be revealed. Blessed, every man that so lives, every mother’s son that by this rule holds fast, keeps the sabbath holy, and his own hands clear of mischief. (Is 56:1–2) and again For the rebellious, the Lord says, there is no peace. Cry aloud, never ceasing, raise thy voice like a trumpet-call, and tell my people of

115 The emperor, like his father, had not been baptised by now, and was only baptised, as was not uncommon, on his death bed. Constantius was baptised, as he was dying, by Euzoius of Antioch, in 361.

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de die in diem quaerunt et scire uias meas uolunt, tamquam populus qui iustitiam fecerit et iudicium dei non dereliquerit. petunt a me nunc iudicium iustum et adpropiare deo desiderant. (57:21–58:2) quam, infelix, spem habere potes, nisi paenitentiam malorum tuorum factorum egeris, cum audias deum dicere: non est gaudere impiis? (57:21) aut negabis te impium, dei cultorum cum te non neges fusorem sanguinis? deinde si, tempore ieiuniorum subditos quia percusserint pugnis et aliis iniuriarum generibus laeserint, contra eos huiusmodi increpationes protulit deus, qualem contra nos protulisset, si contra praecepta diuinae magnitudinis eius damnaremus inauditum absentem et quidem innocentem? nec si flectas ut circulum ceruicem tuam et cilicium et cinerem substernas, nec sic uocabitis ieiunium acceptum. (58:5) cernimus per hanc comminationem quanta esse possit aduersus nos dei ira, si innocentem damnaremus. si enim, tempore ieiuniorum pugnis subditos nobis percusserimus, taliter indignatur dominus, quanto magis, si eius cultores mactauerimus. si pugnis non licet mihi percutere subditos tempore ieiuniorum, poterit licere quouis tempore gladio percutere consacerdotem meum? non tale ieiunium elegi, dicit dominus, sed solue obligationes uiolentorum contractorum; dimitte confractos in remissionem et omnem conscriptionem iniquam disrumpe; frange esurienti panem tuum et egenos qui sine tecto sunt induc in domum tuam. si uideris nudum, operi et domesticos seminis tui noli despicere. (58:6–7) quam tenes, rex prudentissime, spem, cum haec omnia uerteris in contrarium? quomodo enim omnem nodum soluisti iniquitatis, cum siue incredulitate tua, qualem te institueris aduersum nos, sis talis permanens et magis magis que sis crescens in maliuolentia tua ad nos disperdendos, siue in blasphemia tua auctor sacrilegii creueris magis etiam edicto blasphemiam tuam catholicam esse adserendo fidem, more scilicet meretricum, quae primo clam scortentur, postea uero ita sint inuerecundae, ita amittentes pudicitiae decus, ut uelint scortari in propatulis? quomodo dissoluisti omnem nodum iniquitatis, cum contra beatum Athanasium susceptum ante annos furorem adhuc ita retineas, ut uelis eius fundi cruorem? quomodo dimisisti confractos in requiem, cum torquendo uarie non desinas seruos dei? et quomodo dimisisti confractos in requiem, quando uideas carceres, metalla exilia uix iam capere posse Christianorum numerum per te damnatorum? quomodo, etiamsi fregeris esurientibus panem tuum, acceptum habebit dominus, cum seruos fame neces dicatos eius aeternitati? quomodo, si inducas egenos sine tecto in domum tuam, respicere dignabitur super opus tuum deus, cum uideat seruos suae claritatis reiectos de domibus priuatis, propterea exules factos, quod noluerint suscipere idololatriam tuam per arrium institutam? quomodo, si nudos texeris, poteris deo placere, cum seruis ipsius patrimonia tuleris et dixeris: ‘si damnaueritis fidem apostolicam atque Arrianam susceperitis, cuncta uestra recipietis’?

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their transgressions, call the sons of Jacob to account. Day after day they besiege me, arraign my dealings with them, a nation, you would think, ever dutiful, one that never swerved from the divine will. Proof they ask of my faithfulness, would fain bring a plea against their God. (57:21–58:2) You’re an unlucky man! What hope have you got (unless you do penance for your crimes) when you hear God say: For the rebellious, the Lord says, there is no peace (57:21); or do you deny that you’re an impious worshipper of God, as you don’t deny that you’re a spiller of blood? If God has cursed clearly people like this, those who’ve been chastened by fasting and fought battle with various kinds of wounds – how much more would he subject us to condemnation if we were, contrary to God’s great commands, to condemn a man in his absence, without a hearing, who’s also innocent? Is it enough that a man should bow down to earth, make his bed on sackcloth and ashes? Think you, by such a fasting-day, to win the Lord’s favour? (58:5) This condemnation shows us how much God’s anger would be upon us if we were to condemn an innocent man! If we were to attack people under our authority who are fasting,116 which would make the Lord indignant, how much more angry would he be with us if we were to kill those who worship him? If I am not allowed to attack those who are fasting, how can I be allowed to strike with a sword a fellow priest? Nay, fast of mine is something other. The false claim learn to forgo, ease the insupportable burden, set free the over-driven; away with every yoke that galls! Share thy bread with the hungry, give the poor and the vagrant a welcome to thy house; meet thou the naked, clothe him; from thy own household turn not away. (58:6–7) Most prudent king, what hope do you’ve, as you twist everything in the wrong direction? How can you ever undo the knot of evil, since because of your lack of belief you attack us? You’re still stuck in wickedness so that we should be dispersed! In your blasphemy, as an author of sacrilege, you get bigger all the time because you’ve made an edict saying that your blasphemy is Catholic! You’re just like prostitutes, initially secret in what they do but later on totally immodest, losing the glory of purity, so that those who wish can cavort with them in public places!117 How could you undo every knot of evil, since you’ve kept up your anger against the blessed Athanasius, an anger you’ve sustained for years, wanting to shed his blood? How do you leave in peace those who’ve been broken, since by torture you don’t leave God’s servants alone? How do you leave in peace those who’ve been broken, when you should see that your prisons can hardly hold those in metal chains, the exiles, the numbers of Christians whom you’ve condemned? How, even if you break bread with those who are hungry,118 will God accept this when you kill by starvation his servants, dedicated to him for all time? How, if you bring those who are in need and homeless into your house, will God look on your work when he sees that the servants of the clarity of his light have been thrown out of their homes 116 This appears to refer to canonical restrictions on imparting penalties on Catholics during penitential seasons. 117 This contrast between hidden and open prostitution, as a way of describing Constantius’ crimes, recalls Hilary De Synodis 78 and Sulpicius Severus Hist. 2.40. 118 There is more to Lucifer’s language here than sarcasm. One of the accusations made by Athanasius and others against the Arians is that they are men without pity for those in need: it is a cold and heartless religion.

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XLIII. Sane unum de his omnibus domini sacris mandatis inueniris implere, quod enim domesticos seminis tui non despicias. non despicis re uera conuiperinos tuos Arrianos, natos uidelicet de inpuderato patre uestro diabolo; diligis fratres tuos, quia hos uideas tibi proximiores; hos amas singulari affectu, his cunctam gloriam regni tui exhibes, hos socios atque participes ad dei delendam hereditatem in tuo regno habes; illos fecisti locupletes, illos extulisti supra omnes constitutos in sublimitate, hoc est eos, qui se uestris miscere consuerunt tenebris. igitur cum sis haec agens quae odio habeat deus, quomodo arbitraris te audiri posse a deo aut, si feceris eleemosynam, posse tibi ferri accepto, cum audias eum dicere: tunc orietur matutinum lumen tuum et sanitas tua cito orietur, et praecedet ante te iustitia et maiestas dei circumdabit te. tunc clamabis, et deus exaudiet te. (58:8–9) adhuc loquenti tibi dicet: ecce adsum? aliquid te eorum posse consequi arbitraris, quandoquidem non ortum tibi fuerit matutinum lumen, sed tenebrae inextricabiles obsederint animum tuum atque pertexerint errorum caligines? quae sanitas tibi oborta est, cum sis positus in omni uulnere mortis, cum cotidie augmenta parias uulneribus tuis, cum dans operam sis, quo possis penitus temet extinguere? nobis etenim non aliunde est sanitas, nisi primo in loco quia crediderimus, ut crediderunt patriarchae, prophetae, apostoli ac martyres. quomodo potest te praecedere iustitia, cum totus in iniustitia sis permanens, cum sentina sis Arriani dogmatis, cum Christianorum sis fusor sanguinis? quomodo te maiestas dei circumdabit, cum expugnans ipsam maiestatem sis, quam derelinquens idololatriam Arriani dogmatis suscipere censueris? quomodo tunc clamabis, et deus exaudiet te, adhuc loquenti tibi dicet: ‘ego adsum’, cum sis negans deum patrem, negans unicum filium eius, negans sanctum paraclitum spiritum? quomodo aut exaudire te poterit aut dicere tibi: ‘ecce adsum’, cum uertis, quantum apud te est, eius religionem, cum eius antestites catholicos remoueris et haereticos constitueris? quomodo te exaudiet quem calcandum putasti modis omnibus, nisi paenitentiam malorum factorum egeris, nisi uias tuas nefarias deserens sanctae ecclesiae iustum iter conprehenderis? tunc utique haec promissa dei consequi poteris. scriptum est enim propter eos. qui corde ex toto sese ad deum conuerterint: haec dicit excelsus in excelsis habitans in aeternum, sanctus in sanctis, nomen ei, dominus altissimus in sanctis requiescens et pusillianimis dans animaequitatem et dans uindictam contribulatis corde. non in aeternum irascar uobis nec semper uindictam de uobis exigam. (57:15–16) sed quibus hoc dicit? nempe eis, qui se conuerterint per satisfactionem ad delicta sua delenda. unde et, non tale ieiunium elegi, dicit dominus, sed solue omnem nodum iniquitatis, sed solue obligationes uiolentorum contractorum; dimitte confractos in remissionem et omnem conscriptionem iniquam disrumpe; frange esurienti panem tuum et pauperes qui sine tecto sunt induc in

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and made exiles, simply because they wouldn’t accept your Arian idolatry? How, if you clothe those who are naked, could you please God, since you rob his servants of their inheritance and say to them ‘If you condemn the faith of the apostles and take up that of Arius, you’ll get back all your own possessions!’ XLIII. Doubtless you can find one person to carry out what you think are the Lord’s sacred commands – you don’t despise the servants of your own race. You don’t despise your Arian fellow-vipers, born from your unclean father the Devil! You love your brothers,119 because they’re nearer to you; you love them with a singular affection, you show them the glory of your kingdom, you’ve them as your companions and accomplices in destroying God’s heritage in your kingdom. You’ve made them rich, you’ve exalter them, raised them up on high, those who’ve decided to mix themselves up in your darkness! Since you do all this, which God hates, how do you think you can be heard by God, even if it were acceptable for you to show mercy? You should hear him say: Then, sudden as the dawn, the welcome light shall rise above thee, in a moment thy health shall find a new spring; divine favour shall lead thee on thy journey, brightness of the Lord’s presence close thy ranks behind. Then the Lord will listen to thee when thou callest on him; cry out, and he will answer, I am here at thy side. (58:8–9) Do you think that something else will happen, when for you no morning star arises, but instead inextinguishable darkness takes over your soul, and the gloom of error covers it up? How can you be healthy, since you’ve every wound of death, since your bring to birth every day new wounds, since you act in such a way as to blot out yourself inside so much? We wouldn’t be healthy unless we believed what we did in the beginning, just like the patriarchs, prophets, apostles and martyrs. How can justice go ahead of you, when you’re totally immersed in injustice, when you’re the bilge-water of Arian doctrine, the shedder of Christian blood? How can God’s majesty surround you, when you throw out the power of his majesty, which you desert and replace with the idolatry of Arian doctrine? How can you cry out that God might hear, when he says to you ‘I am here’ (Is 58:9) since you deny God the Father, you deny God the Son, and you deny God the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete? How can you hear or say to yourself ‘I am present’, when you overturn, as much as you can, his religion? When you remove his Catholic bishops and replace them with heretical ones? How could God listen to you – he whom you’ve assaulted in every way, as if you’ve done penance for your crimes, as if you’d turned away from your evil paths and taken up Holy Church’s paths of justice? But you can follow God’s promises. Scripture says, about those who turn back to God with all their hearts A message from the high God, the great God, whose habitation is eternity, whose name is hallowed! He, dwelling in that high and holy place, dwells also among chastened and humbled souls, bidding the humble spirit, the chastened soul, rise and live! I will not be always claiming my due, I will not cherish my anger eternally (57:15–16) Who does God say this to? Surely those who turn back to him by making recompense for their sins, to blot them out? So the Lord says: Nay, fast of mine is

119 There is probably sarcasm here, since by this time Constantius’ biological brothers were dead, like most of his blood relatives.

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domum tuam. si uideris nudum, operi et domesticos seminis tui non despicies. tunc orietur matutinum lumen tuum et sanitas tua cito orietur, et praecedet ante te iustitia et maiestas dei circumdabit te. tunc clamabis, et deus exaudiet te, et adhuc loquenti tibi dicet: ecce adsum. (58:6–9)

XLIV. Aderit tibi deus, si primo credas in eum, si deinde ad haec uerteris temet quae etiam infra dicit implenda: si auferas a te uinculum iniquitatis et obligationis et uerbum murmurationis et dederis esurienti panem tuum ex animo et animam humiliatam satiaueris, tunc orietur in tenebris lumen tibi, et tenebrae tibi ut meridie erunt. et erit deus tuus te cum semper, et repleberis sicut desiderat anima tua, et omnia ossa tua pinguescent, et erunt sicut hortus ebrius et sicut fons cui non deficit aqua. (58:9–11) haec, ut iam dictum est, consequi poteris, si te ad ecclesiam conferas, si coArrianos tuos uites, si illam malignorum congregationem uestram odire digneris. tunc erit deus te cum semper, tunc in tenebris orietur lumen tibi, tunc tenebrae tibi ut meridie erunt, tunc in bonis dirigetur iter tuum. ceterum si in hac peruicacia manseris, si in hac crudelitate, ut seruos eius crucies, non te cum deus erit, sed ille qui et hodie esse in uestro coeto Arrianorum inuenitur, hoc est diabolus. ista etenim quae agere dignaris non sunt dei, sed diaboli. si opera est illa dei, ut proscribas certos, cur aut Athanasium antistitem dei non damnauerint innocentem aut cur non cohaeretico tuo Georgio communicauerint aut cur se dicant Christianos, cur nolint effici coapostatae tui, possunt sane aestimare, si illa opera deo sit placita, item si eleemosyna est ista quam de lacrimis das alienis, de eorum bonis, qui deportari, interfici proscribi que maluerint a te quam aut innocentem damnare aut negare unicum dei filium, in quem credentes sciebant glorificatos Abraham, Isaac et Iacob et omnes prophetas, apostolos ac martyres. quorum te fieri socium atque omnibus participem me cupere, mea circa te haec esse uota ille est testis qui nobis tribuere hoc potens est.

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something other. The false claim learn to forgo, ease the insupportable burden, set free the over-driven; away with every yoke that galls! Share thy bread with the hungry, give the poor and the vagrant a welcome to thy house; meet thou the naked, clothe him; from thy own household turn not away. Then, sudden as the dawn, the welcome light shall rise above thee, in a moment thy health shall find a new spring; divine favour shall lead thee on thy journey, brightness of the Lord’s presence close thy ranks behind. Then the Lord will listen to thee when thou callest on him; cry out, and he will answer, I am here at thy side. (58:6–9) XLIV. God will be with you, first if you believe in him and then if you turn back to him, in respect of those things which he has said would be fulfilled: Banish from thy midst oppression, and the finger pointed scornfully, and the plotting of harm, spend thyself giving food to the hungry, relieving the afflicted; then shall light spring up for thee in the darkness, and thy dusk shall be noonday; the Lord will give thee rest continually, fill thy soul with comfort, thy body with ease. Not more secure the well-watered garden, the spring whose waters never fail. (58:9–11) As I have already said you can bring about this, if you return to the Church and avoid your fellow Arians, if you can bring yourself to hate that assembly of malign people! The God will be with you always, light will shine over you in place of darkness, your darkness will be as the noon-day, and your way of life will change direction towards goodness. If you remain obstinate, if you remain cruel, torturing his servants, then God will not be with you, but rather he who is now in your company of Arians, that is the Devil. The things you think it’s right to do are not of God but of the Devil. You claim that these people are sure that these deeds are of God, but if so why have they not condemned the innocent Bishop of God, Athanasius, why have they not entered into communion with your fellow heretic, George, why do they call themselves Christians, why don’t they want to become apostates with you –? If your deeds were pleasing to God, and if you extend mercy to other people’s tears120 because of their good deeds, then they are people who’d rather be exiled, killed, or condemned at your hands; they would rather endure this than condemn an innocent man or deny the only-begotten Son of God, in whom they know that Abraham in his glory, and Isaac and Jacob believed, together with all the prophets, apostles and martyrs. As God is my witness, I wish that you should be the friend and companion of all these people, and this is my prayer for you to him, who has the power to bestow this gift on us. END OF BOOK I

120 For another example of the claims of sufferings endured by orthodox bishops see Hilary In Constantium 1 ‘auro republicae sanctum Dei oneras, et vel detracta templis, vel publicata edictis, vel exacta poenis Deo ingeris…Ecclesiae tecta struit, ut fidem destruat’.

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LIBER II I. Audes ad deo dicatos tendere, Constanti, manus ad eos uexandos, quorum felicitatem declaret apostolus dicens: scimus autem quoniam diligentibus deum omnia procedunt in bonum, his qui secundum propositum uocati sunt, quos praesciit et praedestinauit conformes fieri imaginis filii eius. (Rm 8:28–29) procedunt quidem nobis in bonum tuae persecutiones, sed aduerte per Hieremiam quae uobis persecutoribus promittat deus dicens: sanctus Israel; domino initium generationum eius; omnes qui edunt eum paenitebuntur, mala inducam super eos, dicit dominus. ( Jr 2:3) uenient super te mala quae tibi promittit deus, Constanti, nisi temet correxeris, sicut uenerunt super illum populum carnalem conblasphemum tuum, ad quem dicitur: tu malignatus es ut coinquinares uias tuas, et in manibus tuis inuentus est sanguis animarum innocentium. (2:33–34) eris in aeternum inter dei inimicos, nisi audieris audiens eius sanctam dicentis admonitionem: si emendantes emendabitis uias uestras et cogitationes uestras et facientes feceritis iudicium inter uirum et proximum eius, et proselytum et pauperem et uiduam non potentabitis, sanguinem innocentis non effuderitis in hoc loco et post alienos deos non abibitis. (7:5–6) emendabis uias tuas, si iam desinas persequi dei seruos, si te Christianum fueris confessus et esse Arrianum negaueris, si filium dei uerum dei filium credideris, si anathema feceris dicentes: ‘erat quando non erat et factus est ex nihilo’. mutabis uias tuas, si paenitueris pro homicidiis pro que sacrilegio tuo; alioquin eris, ut nunc es, ex illis, in quorum exprobrationem dicitur a deo: numquid spelunca latronum est domus mea, in qua uocatum est nomen meum? (7:11) quos uis esse dei domum, uos ne Arrianos an nos Christianos? si enim uestra maligna congregatio est domus dei, ergo latronum congregatio est domus dei. uos etenim fundendo sanguinem dei seruorum, ut tunc fundebant Iudaei, inspicimini esse latrones. ex fructibus tuis, imperator Constanti, non esse Christianus, sed plane manceps latronum cognosceris. praecipis denique innocentes interimi, habitans scilicet non in ecclesia domini, sed in spelunca latronum. non desinis interficere eos quos uideas interfici paratos pro unici dei filii claritate, pro aeterna illius maiestate. noluimus ad falsas suggestiones tuas dare contra uirum iustum sententiam, ne et nos percuteret te cum et cum Iudaeis ista domini increpatio: extendit linguam suam sicut in arcum in falso, et fides non inualuit super terram, quia de malis mala exierunt, et me nescierunt. (9:3) tu, qui falsorum es criminum concinnator pariter et amator, tu dominum nesciens, nisi te correxeris, ut es, unus eris ex illis, de quibus scriptum legisti: ueritatem non locuntur, didicit lingua eorum loqui mendacium. reuerti noluerunt et non obreliquerunt usuram super usuram,

BOOK II I. Constantius, you dare to stretch out your hands against those dedicated to God, to harass them! The apostle, however, affirms their happiness when he says: Meanwhile, we’re well assured that everything helps to secure the good of those who love God, those whom he has called in fulfilment of his design. All those who from the first were known to him, he has destined from the first to be moulded into the image of his Son (Rm 8:28–29) Your persecutions actually bring us good – but pay attention to what God promises persecutors like you, when he says through the words of Jeremiah: Israel was set apart for the Lord, first-fruits vowed to be his revenue; he lay under a ban that plucked them, and must rue his rashness, the Lord says. ( Jer 2:3) God has promised evils which will come on you, Constantius, unless you correct yourself, and the same will happen to your fellow blasphemers, to whom it’s said: Thou thyself dost blazon so openly thy doings, thy foul misdoings! There is blood on thy hands, the blood of friendless folk and innocent (2:33–34) You’ll be eternally among God’s enemies, unless you hear the holy admonition of him who says: Amend your lives and your likings, giving one man redress against another, not oppressing the alien, the orphan, the widow, nor in these precincts putting innocent men to death, not courting the gods of other nations (7:5–6) You’ll be able to amend your ways if you stop persecuting God’s servants, if you profess that you’re a Christian and deny that you’re an Arian, if you believe in the Son of God as the true Son of God, if you join in the anathema which condemns those who say ‘There was a time when the Word of God was not’ and ‘He was made from nothing’.121 If you do this you will change your ways, if you repent of your murders and your sacrilege; otherwise you will be – as you are now – one of those whom God condemns with these words: What, does this house, the shrine of such a name, count for no more than a den of thieves, in eyes like yours? (7:11) Who do you want to see in God’s house, you Arians or us Christians? For your malign gathering is in God’s house, so it’s a robbers’ den! By shedding the blood of God’s servants, you’re manifestly robbers, like the Jews in the past. Emperor Constantius, from your fruits know that you’re not a Christian, but really the accomplice of robbers. You try to have innocent people killed, as you live not in the Lord’s house by in the robbers’ cave. You don’t stop killing those who are ready to be killed because of the clarity of their belief in the only begotten Son of God, because of his eternal majesty! We’re not prepared to give into your request and give a sentence against a just man; if we did so we’d incur the same curse as you and the Jews: Deceitful tongues, treacherous

121 These formulas associated with Arius were condemned by the Council of Nicaea: ‘First of all concerning the impiety and lawlessness of Arius and his followers was discussed in the presence of the most pious emperor Constantine. It was unanimously agreed that anathemas should be pronounced against his impious opinions and his blasphemous terms and expressions which he has blasphemously applied to the Son of God, saying “he is from things that are not”, and “before he was begotten he was not”, and “there once was a time when he was not”, saying too that by his own power the Son of God is capable of evil and goodness, and calling him a creature and a work’. (Letter to the Egyptians, Conciliorum Oecumenicorum Decreta [ed. J. Alberigo et al., 3rd ed., Bologna 1973], pp. 16–17).

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dolum super dolum. noluerunt me nosse, dicit dominus. propter haec hoc dicit dominus: ecce ego conburo eos et probabo eos, quia sic faciam a facie malignitatis filiae populi mei. sagitta uulnerans lingua eorum, maligna uerba oris eorum. proximo suo loquitur pacifica, et in semet ipsum detinet inimicitiam. numquid in his uisitabo, dicit dominus, aut in gentem talem non uindicabit anima mea? (9:5–9)

II. Eripe te, Constanti, a fouea Arrianae dementiae, ne des aeternas poenas cum sacrilegis tuis. noli gloriari tibi de caduca tua dignitate, considera te mortalem, quia aliter non possis consequi inmortalitatem, nisi deum agnoueris et eius feceris uoluntatem, sicut scriptum est: haec dicit dominus: non glorietur sapiens in sua sapientia, et non glorietur fortis in fortitudine sua, nec glorietur diues in diuitiis suis, sed in hoc glorietur qui gloriatur, inquirere me et intellegere et scire in deum gloriari, quia ego sum dominus qui facio misericordiam et iudicium et iustitiam super terram, quia in his est uoluntas mea, dicit dominus. (9:23–24) cum igitur uideas in his esse uoluntatem domini, quomodo haec quae amare se dicat dominus perosa habere dignaris? in hoc, inquit, glorietur qui gloriatur, inquirere me et intellegere et scire in deum gloriari. (9:24) quomodo poteris te dicere nunc in deum gloriari? quomodo poteris requirere te illum adstruere, cum sis prouocans omnes cultores eius maiestatis ad deserendam fidem apostolorum, ad blasphemiam dogmatis uestrae suscipiendam? in hoc glorietur qui gloriatur, inquirere me et intellegere et scire in dominum gloriari, quia ego sum dominus qui facio misericordiam et iudicium et iustitiam super terram, quia in his est uoluntas meo, dicit dominus. cum itaque iudicium uis iniustum a dei proferri sacerdotibus, cum sis fusor innocentium sanguinis, non es eius seruus qui haec ore loqui dignatus sit prophetae, sed plane es illius famulus qui repleuerit cor Cain, ut iustum puerum primum cultorem interficeret domini. hinc est quod, cum sis tanta in sublimitate positus, unus tamen ex his esse inueniaris, de quibus dominum locutum in euangelio legisti: uos de diabolo patre nati estis et concupiscentiam patris uestri facere uultis; ille enim homicida fuit ab initio et in ueritate non stetit. ( Jn 8:44) es mendax et homicida, mendax, quia crimina falsa obieceris dei seruo Athanasio, mendax, quia haereticam fidem dicas catholicam et catholicam dicas haereticam, homicida, quia et sanguinem persequeris Athanasii et iam interfeceris certum numerum dei cultorum. non stetisti sine dubio in ueritate, quia sis haec gerens, sed es totus in mendacio constitutus, quia et mendax sit pater tuus, qui te cogit ad unicum negandum dei filium, qui te inpellit ad eius seruorum effundendum cruorem. noluimus damnare absentem, noluimus innocentem ferre sententiam, noluimus haeresim suscipere tuam, ne facti tibi similes mereremur audire quae audiunt coerratici tui Iudaei, in quorum obprobrium colligimus per Hieremiam dictum: omnes gentes sine circumcisione sunt, et omnis domus Israel sine

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as the hidden archer’s bow, hearts that lord it over their fellow-countrymen, wrong leading to wrong, and my claims forgotten! (9:3 [2 LXX]) You promote and love crimes based on falsehood, you don’t know the Lord – and unless you correct yourself you will be like these people: All their schooling is in falsehood, all their striving for usury upon usury. In what a nest of treason thou dwellest! And such treason, the Lord says, as will acknowledge no claim of mine. This warning, then, he utters, the Lord of hosts: The fire for them! They must be tried in the crucible; what other choice has my faithless people left me? Tongues that wound like an arrow, with deceit for poison, ever the smooth word of friend laying snare for friend; what, shall I let all this pass me by, the Lord says; shall I not take my fill of vengeance against such a nation as this? (9:5–9 [4–8 LXX]) II. Constantius, take yourself out of the pitfall of Arian madness, lest you suffer eternal punishment for your sacrileges! Don’t glory in your fall from dignity: remember that you’re mortal! You can’t attain immortality unless you acknowledge God and do his will, as it’s written: This, too, is the Lord’s message: Never boast, if thou art wise, of thy wisdom, if thou art strong, of thy strength, if thou art rich, of thy riches; boast is none worth having, save that insight which gives knowledge of me; in all my dealings with mankind so merciful a Lord, the Lord says, so just, so faithful, and a lover of such dealings where they are found. (9:23–24 [22–23 LXX]) You should see this as the Lord’s will, so how can you see fit to love things which the Lord says are detestable? Boast is none worth having, save that insight which gives knowledge of me; in all my dealings with mankind so merciful a Lord, the Lord says, so just, so faithful, and a lover of such dealings where they are found (9:24 [23 LXX]) How can you claim to glory in God? How can you see yourself as building on his glory, if you provoke those who worship his majesty, and try to get them to desert the faith of the apostles and adopt your blasphemous teaching? Boast is none worth having, save that insight which gives knowledge of me; in all my dealings with mankind so merciful a Lord, the Lord says, so just, so faithful, and a lover of such dealings where they are found (9:24 [23LXX]) As you want to make an unjust judgement against God’s priests, and as you spill the blood of innocent people, you’re not God’s servant; you’re not the servant of him who speaks through the prophets, but rather of him who filled the heart of Cain, so that he killed the just young man who was the first worshipper of God. That’s why, since you’ve such power, you will be among those of whom the Lord says in the gospel: You belong to your father, that is, the devil, and are eager to gratify the appetites which are your father’s. He, from the first, was a murderer; and as for truth, he has never taken his stand upon that ( Jn 8:44) You’re a liar and a murderer! A liar because you throw false charges against Athanasius the servant of God, a liar because you dare to say that a heretical faith is Catholic and that the Catholic faith is heretical! A murderer because you seek the blood of Athanasius and you’re killing some of God’s worshippers! Without doubt you’re not grounded in the truth – you’re the sort of person who acts in this way and you’re totally bound up in falsehood, as the Father of Lies is your father! He coerces you to deny the only begotten Son, and causes you to shed the blood122 of his servants. We won’t condemn 122 It is not clear whether any of the bishops who supported Athanasius were actually killed.

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circumcisione sunt cordis. (9:26) es atque eris, nisi te nobis tradideris, inter illos quos contra clamat spiritus sanctus ex persona nostri populi ad deum dicens: scio, domine, quoniam non sunt hominis uiae eius, neque uir ibit et corriget cogitationem suam. doce nos domine, sed in iudicio et non in ira, ne paucos nos facias. effunde iram tuam super gentes quae nesciunt te et super regna quae nomen tuum non inuocauerunt, quia comederunt Iacob et consumpserunt illum et pascua eius exterminauerunt. (10:23–25)

III. Conspicis te unum esse ex illis, contra quos dicit dei spiritus ex persona populi nostri. respicis, nisi te conuerteris, quod ira domini in te alienigenam, in te regem, quia non solum non inuocaueris nomen domini, sed adhuc fueris persecutus, sit uentura. nam et cum dicit: quia comederunt Iacob et consumpserunt eum et pascua eius desolauerunt,(10:25) quis reperiri potest esse inter contyrannos tuos princeps huius pascuae exterminator nisi tu, quidem nec laniando dei destiteris seruos nec blasphemias tuas toto in regno seminans tuo? exterminare etenim te populi dei pascuam conatum non poterit dubitari, quando eius pastores tuleris, de quibus, sicuti saepe diximus, per Hieremiam dixerit deus: et dabo uobis pastores secundum cor meum, et pascent uos pascentes cum disciplina,(3:15) et statueris haereticos, aliis ueros catholicis inponi feceris modum, ut, si in uotis gererent in suis considere sedibus, non auderent fidem praedicare apostolicam, non temptarent te haeresis Arrianae defensore degenti in corpore euangelicam traditionem populis insinuare. haec est causa quae te probat pascuam dei populi exterminare temptasse. omnis etenim sagina animarum Christianarum non est nisi credere, quomodo et crediderint patriarchae, prophetae, apostoli ac martyres, deinde omnem facere iustitiam. tu contra cum et fidem tollere uolueris de cordibus populorum dei et perfidiam tuam inserere, cum † iniustitia dei uis ecclesia fieri, ut absens et innocens damnetur et iustitiae sectatoribus † per sacerdotes puniatur consacerdos eorum catholicus ad tuam haeretici suggestionem, quomodo uideri poteris non esse exterminator pascuae dominicae gregis, quando nostra pascua non sit nisi caelestis doctrina? si uis, inquit dominus, ad uitam uenire, serua mandata,(Mt 19:17) et iterum: si feceritis quae mando uobis, iam non dico uos seruos, sed amicos. ( Jn 15:14–15) cum haec ita sint, debes tu ad te purgandum dare praecepta dominica quae iusserint innocentem catholicum episcopum te haeretico interea imperatore accusante deberi interfici a consacerdotibus suis. fortassis etenim temptabis isto in loco dicere non te pascuam dominici gregis exterminare conatum. si nullum domini praeceptum illiusmodi quale prolatum est a te poteris proferre, superest ut cordis illi tui oculi blasphemia caecati Arrii, patefacti per dei serui hanc increpationem uideant omnia te fecisse quae tibi obiecimus. negare non poteris,

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someone in his absence, we won’t sentence an innocent man, we won’t adopt your heresy – lest we hear like you what your Jewish fellow heretics heard when Jeremiah condemned them: The whole world is uncircumcised; all have hearts uncircumcised, and Israel with the rest ( Jer 9:26) This is what you’re and this is what will happen to you, unless you hand yourself over to us; the Holy Spirit, coming from the character of our people, cries out to God from among us: Lord, I know it well enough, it is not for man to choose his ways; not human wisdom guides our steps aright. Chasten me, Lord, but with due measure kept; not as thy anger demands, or thou wilt grind me to dust. Pour out this anger of thine upon the nations that don’t acknowledge thee, on the tribes that never invoke thy name; by whom Jacob is devoured and devastated (10:23–25) III. You see that you’re one of those against whom God’s Spirit speaks, from the character of our people. Be careful – unless you turn back to us, the anger of the Lord will descend you as if you were a foreigner, even though you’re a king, because not only have you not invoked the Lord’s name, you’ve become his persecutor. Since he says: By whom Jacob is devoured, devoured and devastated, and all his pride scattered to the winds (10:25) Who is to be found among your fellow tyrants but you yourself – as emperor, the slayer of these pastures, and one who doesn’t hesitate to tear to pieces God’s servants and plant your blasphemies in the whole of your kingdom? There’s no doubt that you’ve tried to sacrifice and exterminate God’s people, when you take their pastors, about whom God says through Jeremiah (as we’ve often pointed out) and you shall have shepherds of his own choice to guide you with discipline (3:15); and you set up and impose on us heretics, in place of other Catholics; you do this so that, if they manage as a result of vows to stay in their sees, they don’t dare to preach the apostolic faith, and they don’t try to get you to allow in the tradition of the apostles, based on the gospels, against the defender of the Arian heresy, without integrity.123 This is what proves that you’ve tried to exterminate the pastures of God’s people. For every sacrificial food of Christian souls does not exist except to believe, just as the patriarchs, prophets, apostles and martyrs believed, that in the end one should act justly! On the other hand you want to remove the faith from the hearts of God’s people and insert into your perfidy, you want yourself to become God’s justice to the end that an innocent man should be condemned in his absence by those who follow justice and that he should be punished by his fellow Catholic priests, prompted by you, a heretic! How you cannot see that you’re a destroyer of the pastures of God’s flock, our pastures which are nothing if not heavenly doctrine? If thou hast a mind to enter into life, keep the commandments. (Mt 19:17)124 and later You, if you do all I command you, are my friends. I don’t speak of you any more as my servants ( Jn 15:14–15) Since all this so, you should now give orders from the Lord that you cleanse yourself – you, a heretic, who previously gave orders that an innocent Catholic bishop be killed by his fellow priests. Perhaps you’ll try now to deny that you tried to wipe out the pasture of

123 Lit. ‘lacking in body’. 124 For the most part the NT texts of the VL and Vg are much closer to each other than those from the OT.

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qualem se praebuerit, talem te praebere circa nos, Herodes ille, cui et in carnificinae rabie et in sacrilegio et in regali dignitate esse inueniris collega, circa illos quos in euangelio legimus propter deum dei filium interfectos paruulos. inuenisti utique scriptam crudelitatem Herodis, quam nunc tu dignaris exhibere, apud Matthaeum euangelistam: tunc Herodes cum uideret quia delusus est a magis, iratus est uehementer et misit occidere omnes infantes in Bethlehem et in omnibus finibus eius a bimatu et infra secundum tempus quod exquisierat a magis. (Mt 2:16) minime adhuc fortassis conspicis sic te iniuste contra nos dei cultores motum, ut contra illos paruulos fuerit motus Herodes. cur nobis dignaris esse infestus? nempe quia fateamur nos Christianos, qui non damnauerimus iustum falsis a te praegrauatum criminibus. quibus rebus quisnam sis ex beati baptistae Iohannis responsis poteris perpendere et temet reconciliare deo per paenitentiam: progenies uiperarum, quis demonstrauit uobis fugere ab ira superuentura? facite ergo dignum paenitentiae fructum et nolite praeferre uos dicentes: patrem habemus Abraham. dico enim uobis quod potens sit deus de lapidibus istis suscitare filios Abrahae. iam etenim ad radices arborum posita est securis. omnis enim arbor quae non facit fructum bonum exciditur et in ignem mittitur. (3:7–10)

IV. Quid sentis ad haec? debuimus damnare innocentem, debuimus dare contra absentem inauditum sententiam? et quomodo, cum hoc fecissemus, potueramus reperiri Christiani, cum illos, quo possint esse Christiani, hortatus fuerit beatissimus Iohannes, ut dignum fructum fecissent paenitentiae? illi qui necdum conprehenderant uiam iustitiae conprehendere cogebantur, nos qui iam tenemus urguebamur atque urguemur a te illud occupare iter iniquitatis, in quo positi noscantur Iudaei. quid igitur nobis posset accidere, si uipereis tuis depasti fuissemus consiliis, nisi ut ex Christianis fuissemus uipereae progenies effecti? cur haec fieri mandasti, nisi quia conserpentes nos tuos effici cupiueris, tu qui, cum scias dixisse dominum in euangelio: beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt iustitiam, quia ipsi saturabuntur. beati misericordes, quia ipsi misericordiam consequentur, (5:6–7) et tamen dixeris necandum innocentem? quomodo etenim beatus potero esse, si damnauero uirum iustum, si reiciens sitim iustitiae concepero ardorem iniustitiae? quomodo propter fructus iustitiae saturabor a deo, cum opus hoc iniustum faciat me Cain fratricidam? quomodo iterum potero inter misericordes fructibus misericordiae locupletatus regnum consequi caelestem, cum, si interfecero iuxta desideria tua dei seruum, inueniar non misericors, sed crudelis atque sceleratus, quippe homicida, cum, sicut ego inmisericors fuerim circa fratrem meum, sic sit et circa me futurus ille misericordiae amator, ille iustitiae exactor qui dicit: beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt iustitiam, quia ipsi saturabuntur. beati misericordes, quia ipsi misericordiam consequentur? quicumque, dicit dominus, soluerit unum ex mandatis

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the Lord’s flock. If the order you’ve given is not one from the Lord, it simply remains that these eyes of your heart, blinded by the blasphemy of Arius, should be opened by means of this reproach of the servant of God and see all the things you’ve done, to which we object. You can’t deny that you’ve tried to do to us what Herod himself attempted – and you’re a colleague of his – in the executioner’s rage, in sacrilege, in regal dignity, to those infants who, the gospel tells us, were killed on account of the Son of God. The cruelty of Herod, which you now see fit to imitate, is written of by the evangelist: Meanwhile, when he found that the wise men had played him false, Herod was angry beyond measure; he sent and made away with all the male children in Bethlehem and in all its neighbourhood, of two years old and less, reckoning the time by the careful enquiry which he had made of the wise men. (Mt 2:16) You don’t seem able to see how you’ve moved against us, God’s worshippers, in the same way as Herod moved against those children. Why do you want to be so dangerous towards us? Well, it’s because we’re Christians who haven’t condemned a just man, already made sick because of false charges. Because of all this why shouldn’t you weigh up the answers of blessed John the Baptist and be reconciled through penance? Who was it that taught you, brood of vipers, to flee from the vengeance that draws near? Come, then, yield the acceptable fruit of repentance; don’t presume to say in your hearts, We’ve Abraham for our father; I tell you, God has power to raise up children to Abraham out of these very stones. Already the axe has been put to the root of the trees, so that every tree which does not shew good fruit will be hewn down and cast into the fire. (3:7–10) IV. What do you feel about this? Do you think we should condemn an innocent man, that we should sentence a man in his absence, unheard? If we were to do this, how could we be Christians, since Blessed John urged that those who would be Christians should first do penance?125 People who didn’t understand him were compelled to understand the way of justice: but we, who do remember this, are urged by you to take up the same path of iniquity which the Jews were immersed and now recognize. If we had allowed ourselves to be ruined by your poisonous plans, what could happen to us other than to become the offspring of snakes, having been Christians in the past? Why do you call us to do this unless with your fellow snakes you want to kill us? Since you know the Lord said this in the gospel Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for holiness; they shall have their fill. Blessed are the merciful; they shall obtain mercy. (5:6–7) and yet you say that an innocent man should be killed. How could I be blessed, if I were to condemn a just man, if I were to reject the thirst of justice and take up instead the heat of injustice? How can I be filled by God with the fruits of justice if Cain makes me unjust, my brother’s killer? How can I follow the kingdom of heaven among those who are merciful, with the fruits of rich mercy, since – if I were to kill a servant of God in line with your wishes – I would be not merciful, but rather wicked and cruel! Indeed I would be a murderer, unmerciful towards my brother, even though he might in the future be merciful towards me, a promotor of justice who says: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for holiness; they shall have 125 Literally ‘perform a fruit worthy of penance’.

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his minimis et docuerit sic homines, minimus uocabitur in regno caelorum; (5:19) et dicis, Constanti, ut, quicumque non fuderit sanguinem innocentis, non potest regnum consequi caelorum. dic, sanctissime, in quo abundare poterit Christianorum iustitia plus quam scribarum et Pharisaeorum, si eum, quem tu, cur se Christianum dicat, cur nolit fieri Arrianus, persequeris, interfecerimus? in quo essemus potiores a scribis et pharisaeis, si extitissemus te cum negatores unici dei filii, si, ut illi repudiant, te cum repudiaremus euangelicam fidem destruxissemus que apostolicam traditionem? ne dixisse memineras dominum: audistis quia dictum est antiquis: non occides; quicumque autem occiderit, reus erit iudicio. ego autem dico uobis quod omnis qui irascitur fratri suo sine causa reus erit iudicio,(5:21–22) ut haec fieri imperares? si iratus fuero sine causa fratri meo, si dixero eum fatuum, reum me dicit futurum unicus dei filius in gehennam; et, imperator Constantius, si fudero cruorem innocentis, dicis requiem aeternam possessurum nec retinere potuisti, quando meditabaris interfici oportuisse Athanasium, sub quali conditione munera iusserit offerri dominus? si igitur offers munus tuum ad altare et ibi rememoratus fueris quod habeas aliquid cum fratre tuo, pone munus tuum ante altare et uade prius reconciliari fratri tuo, et tunc reuersus offers munus tuum. (5:23–24) quid fuerat operatus malorum Athanasius, ut haec transgressus praecepta interfici eum mandares? nempe hoc, quod se Christianum dixerit aut dicat; aliud etenim nihil est quod execraris atque es punire cupiens in Athanasio. non memineras praecepisse dominum etiam inimicos diligendos, ut eum quem neque in te neque in deum scires peccasse tam acerrime fuisses persecutus? audistis quia dictum est: diliges proximum tuum et odio habebis inimicum tuum. ego autem dico uobis: diligite inimicos uestros et benedicite maledicentes uos et benefacite eis, qui persecuntur uos, et orate pro eis, qui uos persecuntur, ut sitis filii patris uestri qui est in caelis, qui solis ortus exhibet super bonos et malos et pluit super iustos et iniustos. si enim dilexeritis eos qui uos diligunt, quam mercedem habebitis? nonne et publicani ita faciunt? et si salutatis amicos uestros tantum, quid plus facitis? nonne et gentiles id ipsum faciunt? eritis ergo et uos perfecti, sicut et pater uester qui est in caelis perfectus est. (5:43–48) diligendos mandat etiam inimicos dominus; et tu nos persequeris, cur innocentis domini sacerdotis cruorem non te cum fuderimus. diuina clamat uox dicens: in quo iudicio iudicaueritis, et de uobis iudicabitur, et in qua mensura mensi fueritis, in eadem remetietur uobis, (7:2) et tu dicis: ‘iugulate quem deliquisse ignoratis’. fontem malorum cum te esse memineris, fuisti tamen ausus de eo quem sciebas false petitum a uobis dicere: ‘reus est mortis’. adeo es excors, Constanti auguste, ut nec dictum illud domini, cum haec mandares fieri, potueris reminisci: quid autem uides festucam in oculo fratris tui, trabem autem in oculo tuo non uides? aut quomodo dicis fratri tuo: sine ut eiciam tibi festucam de oculo tuo, et ecce trabes in oculo tuo est? hypocrita, eice primo trabem de oculo tuo et tunc uidebis eicere festucam de oculo fratris tui.(7:3–5) trabem in oculo tuo dicit esse dominus, et audes dicere Athanasio uiro iustissimo: festucam habes in oculo? ille enim nihil horum commisit, quae ei dignaris obicere; contra tu quaecumque diximus es perpetratus, ‘damnate’ quotiens dixisti ‘innocentem’.

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their fill. Blessed are the merciful; they shall obtain mercy. (5:6–7) You say, Constantius, that whoever doesn’t shed innocent blood can’t inherit the kingdom of heaven. O most holy one, tell me how the justice of Christians can be greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees if we were to kill the man whom you’re persecuting simply because he’s a Christian and unwilling to be an Arian? How could we be better than the scribes and the Pharisees if we were like you to deny the only begotten Son of God, to deny him, repudiate the faith of the gospels and destroy the tradition of the apostles? Perhaps you’ve forgotten that the Lord said: You’ve heard that it was said to the men of old, Thou shalt do no murder; if a man commits murder, he must answer for it before the court of justice.Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. But I tell you that any man who is angry with his brother must answer for it before the court of justice (5:21–22) in that you command this to be done? If I’m angry with my brother, if I say that he’s a fool, then the only begotten Son of God says I am guilty and will go to hell; and, Emperor Constantius, if I were to shed the blood of an innocent man, you say that I’ll possess eternal rest, and you wouldn’t be able to restrain me from doing so when you planned that we should kill Athanasius – then how could the Lord order us to make offerings: If thou art bringing thy gift, then, before the altar, and rememberest there that thy brother has some ground of complaint against thee, leave thy gift lying there before the altar, and go home;126 be reconciled with thy brother first, and then come back to offer thy gift. (5:23–24) What wrong has Athanasius done to you, what orders has he broken, for you to order for him to be killed? True, he is a Christian: but that is all that you curse and want to punish in him. Do you not remember that the Lord has commanded us to love our enemies, in that you’ve persecuted so swiftly this man who (as you know) has done nothing wrong? You’ve heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thy enemy. But I tell you, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute and insult you, that so you may be true sons of your Father in heaven, who makes his sun rise on the evil and equally on the good, his rain fall on the just and equally on the unjust. If you love those who love you, what title have you to a reward? Will not the publicans do as much? If you greet none but your brethren, what are you doing more than others? Will not the very heathen do as much? But you’re to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (5:43–48) The Lord tells us to love our enemies; and yet you persecute us, because we won’t join you in shedding the blood of an innocent priest of the Lord. The voice of God cries out, As you have judged, so you will be judged, by the same rule; award shall be made you as you have made award, in the same measure. (7:2) and you say ‘Cut the throat of a man, even though you don’t know what he’s done wrong!’ You forget that you’re the fount of evil, and yet you dare to say of him whom you know you’ve pursued on false grounds ‘He’s guilty of death!’ So you’re foolish, Constantius Augustus, in that you can’t remember the Lord’s word, ordering these things to take place: How is it that thou canst see the speck of dust which is in thy brother’s eye, and art not aware of the beam which is in thy own? By what right wilt thou say to thy brother, Wait, let me rid thy eye of that speck, when there

126 Cf. Hilary Comm. in Matth. ‘Si ergo offeres…quia frater tuus habet aliquid adversus te: relinque… veniens offeres’.

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V. Quam nos aliam uoluisti conprehendere uiam nisi tuam quam describit dominus dicens: quam lata et spatiosa uia quae ducit ad interitum, et multi sunt qui intrant per illam? (7:13) quia itaque sis in hac lata et spatiosa constitutus uia, praecepisti damnari innocentem, cupiens profecto cunctis reuelari quod tua late perditio dominetur. tempore quo uenisti ad Italiam, sic te lupum finxeras ouem, tamquam non fuissemus ex operibus tuis te reperturi, tamquam fugisset nos domini monella dicentis: adtendite uobis a falsis prophetis, qui ueniunt ad uos in uestitu ouium, intrinsecus autem sunt lupi rapaces; ex fructibus eorum cognoscetis eos. (7:15–16) numquid non luxerunt ilico tristes uenenis diaboli in te inseminati amarissimi fructus tui, ut dicere temptasti damnandum fuisse inauditum? numquidnam non patuerunt confestim insidiae tuae lupi rapacis, quod enim contra dei ouilem machinam construxisses maximam? fructibus ergo tuis quomodo non ouis fuisse lupus agnitus es, sic et quomodo sis, nisi tibi consulueris, arbor igni destinata, probant sacra euangelia. numquid colligunt de spinis uuam aut de tribulis ficus? sic omnis arbor bona bonos fructus facit, mala autem arbor malos fructus facit. non potest arbor bona malos fructus facere neque arbor mala bonos fructus facere. omnis arbor quae non facit fructum bonum excidetur et in ignem mittetur; ex fructibus enim eorum cognoscetis eos. non omnis qui mihi dicit domine domine, intrabit in regnum caelorum, sed qui facit uoluntatem patris mei. (7:16–21) si uoluntatem patris unici dei filii facis, ut eius filium neges unigenitum, ut ipsum patrem dicas non esse uerum patrem, ut fundamenta per apostolos coneris destruere iacta, ut interficeres atque interficias cultores eius, ut antestites ipsius de populis pelleres sibi commissis, ut absentem et inauditum damnari iuberes, ut haeresim tuam quae unam blasphemat diuinitatem patris et filii et spiritus sancti in ecclesiam introduceres, si haec cuncta, ut diximus, placita sunt deo patri, poteris intrare in regnum caelorum. audis enim dicere unicum filium eius: non omnis qui dicit mihi domine domine, intrabit in regnum caelorum, sed qui facit uoluntatem patris mei. (7:21) damnari iubes innocentem; non recolis in Exodo dixisse deum: si rixauerint duo et percusserint mulierem in utero habentem et abortauerit non deformatum, detrimentum patietur. quodcumque aestimauerit uir mulieris dabit cum dignitate. quodsi deformatum fuerit, dabit animam pro anima, oculum pro oculo, dentem pro dente, manum pro manu, pedem pro pede, conbustum pro conbusto, uulnus pro uulnere, liuorem pro liuore. (Ex 21:22–25) credo nihil sacrarum te fugere scripturarum; neque enim posses egregia nobis dare mandata, nisi fuisses legis peritus. legisti utique

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is a beam all the while in thy own? Thou hypocrite, take the beam out of thy own eye first, and so thou shalt have clear sight to rid thy brother’s of the speck. (7:3–5) The Lord says there’s a beam in your eye, and you dare to say to Athanasius, the most just of men ‘You’ve a speck of dust in your eye!’ He’s done none of these things which you try to throw at him; but you, rather, have perpetrated all these things of which we’ve spoken, and you’ve said so many times, ‘Condemn an innocent man!’ V. What other path do you want us to follow other than that described by the Lord when he says It is a broad gate and a wide road that leads on to perdition, and those who go in that way are many indeed; (7:13)? Because you’ve decided like this to be on this wide and specious path, you tell us to condemn an innocent man, clearly wanting that everyone should see how widely127 your damnation should take over! When you came to Italy you portrayed yourself as a sheep, even though you’re a wolf, even though we’d exposed you on account of your deed, even though the Lord’s advice had not passed us by when he said Be on your guard against false prophets, men who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but are ravenous wolves within. You will know them by the fruit they yield. (7:15–16) Surely people in Italy who were saddened because of the Devil’s poison did not shine in your eyes? They had been infected with your most bitter fruit in that you tried to have a man condemned without a hearing. Surely the traps of your grasping wolf were laid open immediately, since you’d constructed a terrible siege engine against God’s flock? So because of what you’ve done you’re plainly a wolf, not a sheep – and so you will remain unless you consider seriously what you’re going to do, and the tree of fire will be in place for you, as the sacred gospels prove: Can grapes be plucked from briers, or figs from thistles? So indeed, any sound tree will bear good fruit, while any tree that is withered will bear fruit that is worthless; that worthless fruit should come from a sound tree, or good fruit from a withered tree, is impossible. Any tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I say therefore, it is by their fruit that you will know them. The kingdom of heaven will not give entrance to every man who calls me Master, Master; only to the man that does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (7:16–21) If you do the will of the only begotten Son, if this is, first,128 to deny that he is the only begotten Son of God; second, that you say the Father is not his real Father; third, that you destroy things set up by the apostles; fourth, that you kill and slaughter those who worship him; fifth, that you expel the priests put in authority over the people; sixth, that you order a man to be condemn in his absence, without a hearing; seventh, that you inject into the Church the heresy which blasphemes and denies that there is one Godhead of Father, Son and Holy Spirit; if, as we’ve said, these things are pleasing to God then you can enter the kingdom of heaven. You hear his only begotten Son say: The kingdom of heaven will not give entrance to every man who calls me Master, Master; only to the man that

127 Lucifier is punning the word ‘lata’, applying both to the road to perdition and how the emperor’s condemnation should be clearly seen. 128 Lucifer’s rhetorical rant here needs breaking up for English readability, so I have introduced numbers into his list.

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etiam haec: omnis qui audit hos sermones meos et facit illos, similem aestimabo illum uiro prudenti, qui aedificauit domum suum super petram. descendit pluuia et uenerunt flumina, flauerunt uenti, inpegerunt in domum illam, et non cecidit; fundata enim erat super petram. et omnis qui audit sermones meos neque illos facit, similem aestimabo illum homini stulto, qui aedificauit domum suam super arenam. descendit pluuia, aduenerunt flumina, flauerunt uenti, inliserunt domui illi, et cecidit, et facta est ruina eius magna. (7:24–27) quem te horum esse dicis, Constanti, sapientem an insipientem? si dixeris sapientem, cur opera tua monstrat te insipientem? cur domus tua inuenitur conlocata super arenam? neque enim poteris supra petram te aedificasse domum tuam dicere, cum omnis sapiens uideat fabricam stultitiae tuae, cum omnis dei seruus conspiciat magnam hanc quam praedixit dominus ruinam salutis tuae. in quo etenim inuenitur stare Christianus, nisi in eo, quod praeceptis pareat domini, nisi in eo quod, omnibus si fuerit uexatus pro nomine dei filii persecutionibus, tamen duret inmobilis? in quo erit perfectus Christianus, nisi si etiam fuerit interfectus pro eo quem tu negare dignaris uerum esse filium dei? tu contra, cum non in ecclesia sis, sed apud Arrianos dei inimicos, cum dei unicum filium negans sis, cum non sis implens eius mandata clementiae, sed magis destruere coneris, cum sis praeuaricator legis, cum desertor sacramenti militiae caelestis, cum persecutor dei religionis, cum te circa eius cultores praebeas carnificem, quomodo poteris sapiens uir inueniri similis illi, quem dixerit dominus supra petram aedificasse domum suam?

VI. Sed inquis contra haec: ‘non sum insipiens, ego noui me sapientem’. si sapiens es, cur ea fecisti atque es faciens, quod soli possunt facere insipientes? si es sapiens, cur damnari mandasti inauditum absentem, cur innocentem praecepisti interfici, cur dei sacerdotes desiderasti hostes dei fieri? neque enim possint dei effici amici per hoc factum, cum dominum scias dixisse apostolis: si feceritis quod mando uobis, iam non dicam uos seruos, sed amicos. ( Jn 15:14–15) si sapiens es, cur † damnantem se † Athanasium dei sacerdos audiri debeo, tu eum causas praestare allegationum suarum minime es passus? si sapiens es, si es dei cultor, cur nos, quia Christianos esse fateamur, persequeris, cur eos qui se non dixerint esse Christianos, sed fateantur se esse Arrianos, uehementer diligis? si sapiens es, cur ad domum dei misisti saepe militem armatum? si prudens es et dei te nosti seruum, cur eius populum armis es persecutus atque persequeris? cur postremo fidem apostolicam atque euangelicam

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does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (7:21) but you order an innocent man to be condemned; you don’t revisit what God says: If men fall out, and one of them strikes a woman who is pregnant, so that the child is still-born but not deformed,129 but she herself lives, he must suffer a loss and pay whatever sum the woman’s husband demands; if the child is deformed,130 then life must pay for life. So it is to be; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot; burning for burning, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. (Ex 21:22–25) I believe that nothing of Sacred Scripture escapes you, as you wouldn’t be able to give us such noble commands unless you were an expert in God’s laws. So doubtless you’ve read this as well: Whoever hears these commandments of mine and carries them out, is like a wise man who built his house upon rock; and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall; it was founded upon rock. But whoever hears these commandments of mine and does not carry them out is like a fool, who built his house upon sand; and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it. (Mt 7:24–27) So, Constantius, who of these people do you say is wise or foolish? If you say he’s wise, why do your actions show you to be foolish? Why is your house above the arena? You can’t say that your house is built on rock, when anyone with any sense can see it’s based on folly, when every servant of God can see that it’s a big building which God has said will ruin your pathway to salvation. For how because of this could a Christian stand with confidence over what’s clear from the Lord’s commands, unless he could be strong and resolute because of the persecutions which the sons of God have endured? How could be a perfect Christian, unless he’d been killed on account of him whom you deny is truly God’s Son? You, on the other hand, as you’re not inside the Church but rather in the company of the Arians who are foes of God, as you deny that he’s the only begotten Son of God, as you don’t act mercifully, as you’ve broken the oaths of the heavenly army, as you’re a persecutor of God’s religion, as you act as an executioner against those who worship God, how can you be a wise man, like the man who, as the Lord says, built his house on rock? VI. But you say in response to all this: ‘I am not foolish; I know that I am wise!’ If you’re wise, why have done this, which only foolish people do? If you’re wise, why do you order a man to be condemned, unheard, in his absence? Why do you want God’s priests to be his enemies? If they did that they couldn’t be God’s friends, since you know that the Lord said to his apostles: You, if you do all that I command you, are my friends. I don’t speak of you any more as my servants. ( Jn 15:14–15) If you’re wise, why should I, a priest of God, hear that Athanasius has condemned himself, and why do you allow him so little chance to disprove the charges against him? If you’re wise, if you’re a worshipper of God, why do you persecute us as we’re counted as Christians, but rather show ardent love towards the Arians, who don’t claim to be Christians? If you’re wise, why have you sent armed troops into God’s house? If you’re prudent, if you know that you’re God’s servant, why do you persecute his people with force

129 This second detail is not in the Vg. 130 In the Vg it is the death of the mother which incurs the harsher sentence; VL follows LXX.

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haereticam dicis et haereticam catholicam pronuntias? tu te dicis sapientem; sed contra nos cernimus nullum posse qui haec faciat esse sapientem. quis etenim sacrilegus poterit dici prudens nisi ab inprudentioribus se? si tu sapiens es, Constanti, quis sit te insipientior, inuenire non potero. tu ne adhuc tibi uideris esse sapiens, qui fueris arbitratus, quod enim prophetae, apostoli ac martyres pro creatura fuerint interfecti? negare enim non audebis cunctos hos pro unico dei interfectos filio. quomodo poteris dici sapiens, qui non solum descendentibus pluuiis, fluminibus inundantibus, flantibus uentis resistere non temptaueris, ne temet, qui domus esse inueniris, pessumdedissent, sed et ipse in pluuias, flumina uentos que te uerteris ad hoc, ut nos tu, turbo atque procella diabolica, te cum ad exteriores traheres tenebras? manifesta autem sunt, dicit apostolus, opera carnis, quae sunt adulteria, fornicationes, inmunditia, inpudicitia, luxuria, idololatria, ueneficia, inimicitiae, contentiones, aemulationes, irae, rixae, dissensiones, haereses, inuidiae, homicidia, ebrietates, comissationes et his similia, quae praedico uobis, sicut praedixi, quia qui talia agunt regnum dei non consequentur.(Gal 5:19–21) et furit in innocentis necem mens tua sapientia uigens? clamat apostolus quod homicidae non sunt possessuri regnum caelorum, et tu Constantius prudentissimus dicis imperator: iugulate absentes, mactate inauditos, interficite innocentes, et uestrum erit dei regnum. hunc datur intellegi, quam sis sapiens, si denique ille sis qui domum tuam aedificaueris supra petram. dixisse etenim te negare non poteris: ego propterea cupio damnare Athanasium, quia desidero placere deo. sic utique et nos placere desiderasti deo, quomodo iam tu placueris, ex quo uidelicet Athanasium es dignatus cogitare interimere in nostra omnium conscientia domini sacerdotum. sic in primordio Cain deo placuit, mox ut interficere meditatus est fratrem, quomodo † uidetur, Constanti, unde sit radix tua, de qua descendisset stirpe. numquidnam poteris denegare post haec te in illo esse choro quem narrat apostolus Romanis? et sicut non probauerunt deum habere in notitiam, tradidit illos deus in reprobum sensum, ut faciant ea quae non conueniunt, repletos omni iniquitate, malitia, inpudicitia, cupiditate, nequitia, plenos inuidia, homicidiis, contentione, dolo, malis mortibus, susurratores, detractores, deo odibiles, contumeliosos, superbos, sibi placentes, gloriantes, inuentores malorum, parentibus non obsequentes, insipientes, inconpositos, sine affectu, sine misericordia, qui cum iustitiam dei cognouerint, non intellexerunt, quoniam qui talia agunt digni sunt morte. non solum qui illa faciunt, sed etiam qui consentiunt facientibus ea.(Rm 1:28–32) ecce nimius amor in te subito circa nos ortus quid nobis contulerat, si tibi temperare auderemus? mortem hauseramus perpetuam. item dicit infra: nulli malum pro malo reddentes, prouidentes bona non solum coram deo, sed etiam coram hominibus. si fieri potest, quod ex uobis ipsis est, cum omnibus hominibus pacem habentes. (12:17–18) sitiens haec calcari salutaria monita es nos hortatus punire innocentem. quomodo etenim bona non solum coram deo, sed et apud homines prouidisse inueniebamur, si damnassemus innocentem, qui dedissemus formam ad sanguinem fundendum iustorum? quomodo cum omnibus inueniebar hominibus pacem desiderans habere, qui suggestione tua falsa haeretici excitus pacem extinxissem consacerdotis mei?

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of arms? Why, in the end, do you claim that the apostolic and evangelical faith is heretical and assert that the heretical faith is Catholic? You say that you’re wise; but we can see that no one who does this can be wise. Who but a sacrilegious man could be said to be prudent by those who are more imprudent than he is? Constantius, if you’re wise, who could be more foolish than you’re? I can’t find any such person. Do you really think it is wise to claim that prophets, apostles and martyrs have been killed on account of someone who is a mere creature? You won’t, surely, dare to deny that they’ve all been killed on account of the only begotten Son of God! How could you claim to be wise? For you haven’t tried to resist the rain which falls, rivers which are flooding, winds which are blowing – in case they131 make life more difficult for you when you’re looking for a house; indeed instead you turn towards rains, rivers and winds in order to drag us along with you, and with hurricanes and fierce winds, to the outer darkness? It is easy to see what effects proceed from corrupt nature; they are such things as adultery, impurity, incontinence, luxury, idolatry, witchcraft, feuds, quarrels, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, dissensions, factions, spite, murder, drunkenness, and debauchery. I warn you, as I have warned you before, that those who live in such a way will not inherit God’s kingdom. (Gal 5:19–21) Does your mind, so strong in its wisdom, really act furiously to bring about the death of an innocent man? The apostle cries out that murderers will not inherit the kingdom of heaven, yet you, Constantius, most prudent emperor, say: ‘Strangle men after a trial in which they are absent,132 kill those who are unheard, slaughter the innocent and God’s kingdom will be yours!’ So you should understand how wise you would be if in the end you were like him who built his house on rock. You can’t deny that you said ‘Because of this I want to condemn Athanasius, because I want to please God!’ You thought you’d please God like this, in that you thought it right that Athanasius should die, and that his death should be on our consciences as the Lord’s priests. But at the beginning of time, Cain pleased God so much that he decided to kill his brother – so, Constantius, it’s clear where your root is from, from what tree your root is descended. How can you deny that you’re in this choir which the apostle describes: As they scorned to keep God in their view, so God has abandoned them to a frame of mind worthy of all scorn, that prompts them to disgraceful acts. They are versed in every kind of injustice, knavery, impurity, avarice, and ill-will; spiteful, murderous, contentious, deceitful, depraved, backbiters, slanderers, God’s enemies; insolent, haughty, vainglorious; inventive in wickedness, disobedient to their parents; without prudence, without honour, without love, without loyalty, without pity. Yet, with the just decree of God before their minds, they never grasped the truth that those who so live are deserving of death; not only those who commit such acts, but those who countenance such a manner of living. (Rm 1:28–32) Look at the love which has so suddenly sprung up towards us, which God has given us in order that we should be lenient towards you? We’ve exhausted perpetual death! In the same part of the Bible the apostle says: Don’t repay injury with injury; study your behaviour in the world’s sight as well as in God’s. Keep peace with all men, where it is possible, for your part. (Rm

131 The word used here is a hapax invented by Lucifer, ‘pessumdedissent’, lit. ‘should make things worse’. 132 Lit. ‘Strangle men in their absence’.

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VII. Dic, Constanti, uerum crimen detulisti de Athanasio ad dei ecclesiam an falsum? si uerum te detulisse certum habes, proba mihi qui te iam falsi criminis cognoui portitorem. arbitraris nihil te malorum in conspectu egisse dei? quae te conpulit ratio fieri testem falsum? cur mendax imperator extitisti? cur non timuisti, ne exemplo Ananiae et Sapphirae fuisses extinctus? loquitur in actibus apostolorum scriptura dixisse beatum Petrum ad Ananiam: ut quid repleuit satanas cor tuum mentiri spiritui sancto, ut subtraheres de pretio praedii? nonne manens tibi manebat et uenditum in tua erat potestate? quid est quod posuisti in corde tuo rem istam? non es mentitus hominibus, sed deo. audiens autem ananias hos sermones cecidit et expirauit. et factus est timor magnus super omnes qui audiebant. surgentes autem adulescentes sustulerunt eum et euntes sepelierunt. factum est autem interuallum horarum fere trium, et uxor eius nesciens quod erat factum intrauit, dixit que ad illam Petrus: dic mihi, si tanto praedium uendidisti. illa uero ait: tanti. quid conuenit inter uos temptare spiritum domini? ecce pedes eorum qui sepelierunt uirum tuum in ostio sunt et efferent te. et protinus cecidit ante pedes eius et expirauit. (Acts 5:3–10) credo legeris haec, et tamen non timueris concinnare mendacium ante domini conspectum. quare istud fecisti, nisi quia sis sapiens? quid tu tibi futurum existimas, qui sis non solum mendax, sed homicida, non solum homicida, sed et haereticus? credis tibi inpune tanta cessura? credis te euadere posse aeterna supplicia? Ananiae dicitur: ut quid repleuit satanas cor tuum, ut fuisses mentitus spiritui sancto?, et dices, Constanti imperator, quia non repleuerit satanas cor uestrum Arrianorum, ut mentiti fuissetis spiritui sancto manenti in dei ecclesia. ecclesiam etenim conuenisti dicens: deliquit in deum Athanasius; et uidebat spiritus sanctus mendaces animas uestras, sicut uidit et Ananiam ac Sapphiram. uidebat, inquam, spiritus sanctus, quando haec fingebatis, quod enim idcirco talia fuissetis commentati circa Athanasium, quo possetis uestram haeresem introducere in ecclesiam, quo possetis apostolicam destruere traditionem. Ananias et Sapphira, propterea quod agrum suum uendentes fraudauerint de pretio, quod ausi fuissent non integre loqui ante dei apostolum, taliter iudicari meruerunt. tu qui non solum crimina falsa dei seruo obiecisti, sed et omnem domum dei fueris persecutus, qui effuderis cruorem cultorum eius, qui sacerdotes eius miseris ad metalla et exilia et haereticos locis ordinaueris eorum, qui euangelicam fidem dixeris haereticam et blasphemiam uestram dixeris catholicam, qui introduxeris idololatriam in ecclesiam, qui deserueris deum Abrahae, deum Isaac, deum Iacob et omnium prophetarum, apostolorum ac martyrum et idololatriam fueris Arrii secutus, existimas, si in hac blasphemia atque crudelitate duraueris, quod non in te

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12:17–18) You’re eager to trample on things which lead to salvation, about which we’ve tried to advise you, and you urge us to punish an innocent man! How could we be seen to provide good things in the presence of God and of men, if we condemn an innocent man – we who had developed a moral character in relation to shedding the blood of just men? Since I’m someone who desires peace with other people, how can I be aroused and stamp out peacefulness with my fellow priests because your heresy urges me to do this? VII. Constantius, tell me: is the charge which you’ve brought against Athanasius and the Church of God true or false? If it’s certain and true, prove it to me, as I know that you’re now peddling a false charge.133 Do you think you’ve done nothing evil in God’s sight? What understanding of reason drives you on to be a false witness? Why did you become a lying emperor? Why are you not frightened of coming to a sorry end, like Ananias and Sapphira? Scripture says in the Acts of the Apostles that blessed Peter said to Ananias: How is it that Satan has filled thy heart, bidding thee defraud the Holy Spirit by keeping back some of the money that was paid thee for the land? Unsold, the property was thine; after the sale, the money was at thy disposal; what has put it into thy heart so to act? It is God, not man, thou hast defrauded. At these words, Ananias fell down and died; and a great fear came upon all those who heard it. So the young men rose and took him up, and carried him out to burial. It was about three hours later that his wife came in, knowing nothing of what had happened; and Peter said to her, Tell me, woman, was it for so much that you sold the estate? Yes, she said, for so much. Then Peter said to her, What is this conspiracy between you, to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Even now I hear at the door the footsteps of those who’ve been burying thy husband; they will carry thee out too. And all at once she fell at his feet and died; so that when the young men came in they found her a corpse, and carried her out to bury her with her husband. (Acts 5:3–10) I think you’ve read this, and yet you’re not afraid to sing of your mendacity in the sight of the Lord! How could you do this, unless you’re ‘wise’? What do you think lies in store for you, a liar, a murderer and a heretic? Do you think you can with impunity stop these things happening to you? Do you think you can avoid eternal punishment? It is said of Ananias: Whereupon Peter said, Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled thy heart, bidding thee defraud the Holy Spirit by keeping back some of the money that was paid thee for the land? (5:3) Constantius, you would deny that Satan has filled the hearts of you Arians, causing you to lie to the Holy Spirit in the Church of God. For you met the bishops of the Church and said ‘Athanasius has offended God!’ – and the Holy Spirit saw that your souls were lying, just as he had seen Ananias and Sapphira lying as well. I say that the Holy Spirit saw this when you made all this up – because you gave a false account about Athanasius, by which you could bring your heresy into the Church, by which you could destroy the tradition of the apostles. Ananias and Sapphira committed fraud by selling their field, in relation to the price they got for it, and they dared to speak without integrity before God’s apostles, so they were justly judged because of what they’d done. You, who not only 133 Lit. ‘that you’re a customs officer of a false charge’.

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maxima sit uindicta futura? deinde si aduersariis Susannae sic est deus uindictam dare dignatus, in te arbitraris non grauiorem processuram? procedet, mihi crede, si non te mature conuerteris. si enim illi, quia Susannae pudicitiam uiolare fuerant conati, haec quae subieci meruerunt consequi, quanto magis tu qui ecclesiae es adgressus uiolare castitatem? petiuerunt illi falso crimine Susannam, et uos totidem petistis non solum Athanasium, sed et cunctos uobis resistentes. aut unum dare poteris e resistentibus, cui non adplicitum fuerit crimen? sic uos fuistis armati ad ecclesiae uiolandam castitatem, sicut illi ad Susannae fuerunt, qui dixerunt: ostia uiridiarii clausa sunt, nemo nos uidet, in concupiscentia tui sumus; propter hoc consenti nobis et esto nobis cum. alioquin falsum testimonium dicemus aduersum te, quoniam erat te cum iuuenis et propter hoc dimisisti puellas a te. (Dan 13:20–21) aut temptabis negare esse dictum: ‘desiderantes sumus nos Arriani et uos Christiani unum effici corpus; derelinquite fidem quam apud Niciam contra nos tenetis conscriptam, adquiescite Arrii doctrinam; alioquin quia nos multum possumus, imperium enim nostrum est, quibus uelimus uos modis grauabimus, et omnes tollemini e uestris sedibus’? non poteris haec ita se habere negare, cum deo perosae meditationes tuae rebus gestis fuerint reuelatae. cur enim cogebamur, etiamsi non damnaremus Athanasium, tamen communioni misceremur Arrianorum, nisi quia tu leno haeresis Arrianae cunctos nos cuperes quouis modo fieri consacrilegos tuos?

VIII. sed credo adhuc temptes negare non te idcirco persequi nos, quia noluerimus Christiani fieri Arriani. quomodo negare poteris, cum sanctissimum Dionysium Mediolanensium episcopum, qui iam tibi falsa adserenti credens damnauerat Athanasium, cur Arrianus esse noluerit, miseris ad exilium? aut si non est Auxentius, quem loco illius tu temerarius ac pestilentia ordinasti, Arrianus, si Auxentius fidem sanctam apud Niciam descriptam tenet, poteris nec tu esse Arrianus, nec haec omnia sicut adsero egisse poteris et non misisse crimen Athanasio falsum. fortassis dicas hinc non esse catholicos, quod Susanna fuerit exaudita, nos uero minime. quantum apud nostram conscientiam est, tunc nos uindicatos nouimus, quando tu serpens publicatus es, quando patuerunt cuncta uenena tua, quando omnis machina tua patefacta est; sic etenim nos uindictam desiderabamus de uobis inimicis dei, ut uos deus esse haereticos reuelaret populo suo. omnis paene cognouit iam mundus false Athanasium petitum per uos, huius esse iniquitatis auctorem; conspectus etenim es aliud te cupientem implere aliud protulisse. ad populum ingemescens dicit Susanna: angustiae mihi undique; si enim hoc egero, mors mihi erit. si autem non fecero, non effugiam manus uestras. melius est mihi non facienti incidere in manus uestras quam

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threw false charges at God’s servant, but also persecuted the whole house of God, who poured out the blood of God’s worshippers, who sent his priests to the mines and replaced them with heretics, who said that the evangelical faith is heretical and that your blasphemy is Catholic, who introduced idolatry into the Church, who deserted the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob and of all the prophets, the apostles and martyrs, and followed instead the idolatry of Arius – do you think that the greatest punishments won’t come upon you if you’re hardened in your blasphemy and cruelty? In the end God gave judgement against the enemies of Susannah; do you not think he’ll bring a more serious judgement against you? Believe me, it will happen if you’re not converted in good time! If those men, who tried to violate Susannah’s purity, deserved the punishment which they got, who much more will you, who’ve tried aggressively to violate the Church’s chastity? They sought out Susannah on a false charge; you in the same way have sought out not only Athanasius but all who resist you! Can you name one person who’s resisted you whom you haven’t tried to charge? You were armed to violate the chastity of the Church, just as those men were against Susannah, who said: See, the garden door is shut, and there is no witness by. We’re both smitten with a desire for thy favours; come, then, let us enjoy thee. Refuse, and we will bear witness that thou hadst a gallant here, and this was the reason thou wouldst rid thyself of thy hand-maidens’ company. (Dan 13:20–21); you try to deny that it was said ‘We desire that we Arians and you Christians should be one body; leave behind the profession of faith which you devised at Nicaea against us, and acquiesce in the teaching of Arius; in any case we can do a great deal because we’ve governing authority and we can oppress you as much as we want, and you will endure this in your dioceses’. You can’t deny that you said this, since your thoughts, detestable to God, will be made clear by your actions. Why would we think this, even if we had not condemned Athanasius but still joined in communion with the Arians, unless you, a brother keeper of the Arian heresy, want all of us to be accomplices with you in your sacrilege? VIII. You can’t possibly deny that you’re persecuting us because as Christians we don’t want to become Arians. How could you deny it, since you exiled Dionysius, the most holy Bishop of Milan,134 who condemned the lies you told about Athanasius, and didn’t want to be an Arian? Or what about Auxentius, whom you ordained in his place, rashly and as a plague on the Church? – an Arian: if he had been able to subscribe to the sacred creed of Nicaea, then you yourself wouldn’t be an Arian, nor could you’ve done all this and falsely charged Athanasius. Perhaps you deny that we’re Catholics, like what happened to Susannah when she wasn’t heard, us even less so. We know that we’ve been vindicated by so much relating to our conscience: this is because you’re revealed publicly as a serpent, your poison is made clear and every artifice of yours made public! That is why we wanted justice against you people who are God’s enemies, so that God could reveal to his people that you are heretics! Now, perhaps,

134 Dionysius of Milan was exiled by Constantius after the local Council there in 355, along with Lucifer and Eusebius of Vercelli.

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peccare in conspectu domini. (13:22–23) et nos crimina mox ut uidissemus inposita a uobis, extincturi eramus faces nostras, quoniam essemus ut estis uos tenebrae? qui Christianus non dicat melius esse sibi interfici a te praecursore antiChristi quam in uestras ire Arrianorum uel quorumlibet haereticorum tenebras? inpingi fecisti crimina non solum Athanasio, sed et nobis, cur noluerimus Christiani effici Arriani. non defuerunt singula quae possunt obici crimina singulis, quo nullus uideretur e nobis propter deum missus ad exilia, sed quod quasi pro criminibus nostris. cum sitis igitur uos rei tantorum criminum, quia non uobis cum habere deum iratum uoluerit Athanasius, dixistis eum reum esse mortis; hoc fecerunt et illi quibus in hoc scelere pares estis presbyteri. loquitur enim scriptura dicens: et factum est in die altero, ut conuenit plebs ad uirum eius Ioachim, uenerunt duo presbyteri pleni iniquae mentis aduersus Susannam, ut mortificarent eam. et dixerunt coram plebe: mittite ad Susannam, filiam Chelchiam, quae est uxor Ioachim. et miserunt, et uenit ipsa et parentes eius et omnes cognati eius. Susanna autem erat tenera nimium et bonae formae. iniusti autem iusserunt reuelari eam (erat enim uelata), ut saturarentur forma eius. flebant autem omnes eius et ceteri qui uidebant eam. adsurgentes igitur duo presbyteri in media plebe posuerunt manus super caput eius, ipsa autem lacrimans aspexit in caelum, quoniam erat cor eius confidens in domino. dixerunt autem presbyteri: ambulantibus nobis in uiridiario solis intrauit haec cum puellis. et dimisit puellas et clusit ostia uiridiarii, et uenit ad eam iuuenis qui erat absconditus et concubuit cum ea. nos autem cum essemus in angulo uiridiarii, uidentes iniquitatem adcurrimus ad eos et uidimus concurrentes eos. illum quidem non potuimus adprehendere, quod fortior nobis esset et quod aperiens ostia prosilierit, hanc autem adprehensam interrogauimus, quis esset iuuenis, et noluit nobis dicere. haec contestamur. et credidit eis omnis synagoga, ut presbyteris plebis et iudicibus, et damnauerunt ut moreretur. (13:28–41)

IX. Considera penitus, Constanti, maledictas adinuentiones uestras arrianorum, si non talia sunt quae geritis uos interim circa Athanasium, qualia et illi egerint circa Susannam. quis etenim non credidisset tibi imperatori dicenti: ‘sacrilegium fecit Athanasius’? sed in eo quia tu detestabilior fuisti ab illis conperditis tuis pseudopresbyteris, tibi non est fides habita a nobis; dicebatur etenim tibi quia absens damnari non posset. illi etenim presbyteri in praesentem dixerunt allegationes criminosas et omnis synagoga in praesentem dedit sententiam; tu contra ad accusationem haereticorum quando inauditum et absentem damnari cogebas catholicum, utique iam uideri coeperat scenae tuae machina. sed iam accipe quid praestitum sit Susannae

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the whole world knows that Athanasius was falsely charged by you, and that you’re responsible for this evil; for you looked at yourself as someone who want to do one thing, but actually in the end did something different. Susannah said to the people, with a groan: There is no escape for me, she said, either way. It is death if I consent, and if I refuse, I shall be at your mercy. Let me rather fall into your power through no act of mine, than commit sin in the Lord’s sight. (13:22–23) Will we see, then, these crimes foisted upon us, will we snuff out our torches, so that we’ll be in as much darkness as you? What Christian would not hold that it’s better for him to be killed by you as the forerunner of the Antichrist, than to be in the same darkness as you, because of the anger of the Arians and other heretics? You’ve had charges brought not only against Athanasius, but on us, because we don’t want to become Arians. Individual charges had not failed which could be brought against individuals, so that we could see that no one had been exiled by God, but rather because of the charges brought against us. Since you’re responsible for bringing such charges, as Athanasius didn’t want God to be angry with him as he is with you, you all said that he was condemned for his life; they did this and so did the priests who were your accomplices in this wickedness. Scripture says: When the second day came, there was a throng of people in Joakim’s house, and the two elders were there, intent upon their malicious design against Susannah’s life. They asked publicly that Susannah, daughter of Hilkiah and wife to Joakim, should be sent for; sent for she was, and came out with her parents and her children and all her kindred. So dainty she was, and so fair, these two knaves would have her let down her veil, the better to enjoy the sight of her charms. All her friends, all her acquaintances, were in tears. Then the two elders rose amidst the throng, and laid their hands upon Susannah’s head, while she, weeping, looked up to heaven, in token that her heart had not lost confidence in the Lord. We were walking in the garden apart, said the elders, when this woman came out with two hand-maidens. She had the garden door shut close, and sent the maidens away; whereupon a young man, who had been in hiding till then, came out and had his will with her. We, from a nook in the garden, saw what foul deed was being done, and ran up close, so that we had full view of their dalliance; but lay hold of the man we couldn’t; he was too strong for us, opening the garden door and springing out. The woman we caught, and asked her who her gallant was, but she would not tell us. To all this, we bear witness. They were elders, they were judges of the people, and they persuaded the assembly, without more ado, to pass the death sentence. (13:28–41) IX. Constantius, look to yourself, at the cursed innovations of the Arians – not so much at the things you’ve done to Athanasius, as what those men did to Susannah. Who wouldn’t believe you as Emperor when you say: ‘Athanasius has committed sacrilege’? Because of this you’re more detestable than those who are lost with you, your false priests, and as far as we’re concerned you don’t have faith. These things were your doing, as a man cannot be condemned in his absence. Those elders made criminal allegations against someone who was present and the assembly sentenced her when she was present; but you, on the other hand, have repeatedly tried to condemn a Catholic man when he was unable to speak in his defence and in his absence, on the

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pudicae ab innocentium defensore, ab oppressorum uindice. accipe quae referat Danihel liber de uindicta Susannae. exclamauit autem Susanna uoce magna et dixit: deus aeternus, qui occultorum cognitor es, qui scis omnia ante generationem eorum, tu scis quoniam falsum testimonium aduersum me dixerunt; et ecce morior, quae nihil feci horum, quae hi maligni finxerunt aduersum me. et exaudiuit dominus uocem eius. et cum duceretur ut periret, excitauit deus spiritum sanctum pueri adulescentis, cui nomen erat Danihel, et exclamauit uoce magna: mundus ego a sanguine huius. et conuersa est omnis plebs ad eum, et dixerunt: quis est iste sermo quem tu locutus es? at ille stans in medio eorum dixit: sic, stulti Israel, non interrogantes neque uerum cognoscentes damnastis filiam Israel? redite in iudicium; falsum enim testimonium aduersum eam dixerunt. (13:43–49) sic etiam nunc exclamante Athanasio ad deum omnes famulos suos deus fecit pro ueritate exsurgere contra uos aduersarios suos. haec cultoribus suis praestitit quae tunc Danihelo deuotissimo suo, quo possemus te falsum esse testem intellegere, te unum esse de uiperarum progenie, te falsa haec cum consacrilegis tuis poetasse. redeunt ad iustum iudicandum iudicium iam cuncti inter haec te torquenti mortis sententiam, etiam illi, quos inscios sua calliditate per te dominator animae tuae diabolus circumscripserat. non enim esse potest praeter corrianos tuos qui non uelit Athanasii uindicari innocentiam a deo, qui non faueat innocentiae Athanasii, sicut et nunc Susannae, posteaquam constitit illam falso crimine petitam, pudicam ab inpudicis, castam ab adulteris, dei ancillam a seruis diaboli. ita a uobis serpentinis filiis satanae pulsatus est status innocentis deo fideliter seruientis; sed estis prostrati. iacent enim omnia uenena uestra uirtute dei mortificata, siquidem omnis anima Christiana sit exorans deum, ut, sicut Susannam, dignetur Athanasium falso eripere crimine, eripere a gladio tuo carnificis, a tua saeuitia homicidae. interea iterum atque iterum urgeo, ut uideas quae uos Arrianos ceperit dementia, quae conprehenderit insania, ut auderetis haec machinari innocentis necem, quando sciretis deum scire omnia priusquam fiant. sed non mirandum, si haec circa Athanasium fuerit per te ac tuos constructa machina, quandoquidem non dubitaueris dicere de deo patre: ‘non est uerus pater; non enim habet uerum filium’. qui enim dicis ex nihilo esse filium dei, quid aliud dicis nisi quia non sit uerus pater? non, inquam, mirum, si in dei seruum Athanasium sic exsurrexeris, quando in eum, cuius est seruus Athanasius, mittere non dubitaris funestas tuas manus. nec enim latro, qui domino domus non pepercerit, poterit eius parcere resistenti sibi familiae.

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basis of accusations made by heretics; this means that the device on your stage135 is made visible. But accept what took place in relation to Susannah, a defendant for all those who are innocent, as one who exacted justice on those who tried to oppress her. Accept what the book of Daniel says about her vindication: Whereupon Susannah cried aloud, Eternal God, no secret is hidden from thee, nothing comes to pass without thy foreknowledge. Thou knowest that these men have borne false witness against me; wilt thou let me die, a woman innocent of all the charges their malice has invented? And the Lord listened to her plea; even as she was being led off to her death, all at once he roused to utterance the holy spirit that dwelt in a young boy there, called Daniel. This Daniel raised his voice and cried out, I will be no party to the death of this woman; and when all the people turned upon him, asking what he meant, he stood there in their midst, and said, Are you such fools, men of Israel, as to condemn an Israelite woman without trial, without investigation of the truth? Go back to the place of judgement; the witness they have borne against her is false witness. (13:42–49) Even now, as Athanasius cries out to God, the same God who has made all his friends rise up against you, God’s foes, in defence of the truth! He’s set all this up for those who worship him as he did for Daniel, who was most devoted to him – so that we can recognize you as a false witness, that you’re descended from snakes, that you’ve made a poetic story of these false claims, along with your accomplices in sacrilege. Everyone will return to judge you justly because of all this and give a sentence which will torment you to death – even people whom the Devil (who dominates your soul) has described as being unaware of his cunning. There’s no one who wouldn’t want the innocence of Athanasius to be vindicated by God, in spite of your fellow Arians, no one who wouldn’t support his innocence, just as there’s no one who wouldn’t support the innocence of Susannah, after her appeal against the false charge had been established; she was an innocent woman accused by dirty old men, a chaste woman accused by adulterers, a handmaid of God accused by slaves of the Devil! The status of an innocent man, a faithful servant of God, has been attacked by you, the serpent-like sons of Satan; but you’re prostrate before him! All your poisons are laid bare but rendered ineffective before God’s virtue, since every Christian soul is praying to God to rescue Athanasius from this false charge, just as he rescued Susannah, and rescue him from your executioner’s sword, from your murderer’s savagery. Meanwhile I repeatedly urge you to see what Arius has begun because of his madness, which he knew full well were insane, leading you to try and bring about the death of an innocent man, when you know that God knows what will happen in advance. This is no wonder, if such a device about Athanasius has been put together by you and your friends, as you’ve clearly sad of God the Father: ‘He is not a true father: for he does not have a true son’. Who are you to say that the Son of God has come from nothing – what else would you be saying if you claimed that he is not a true Father? It’s no wonder that you rise up against Athanasius, God’s servant, when you don’t hesitate to stretch out your murderous hands against him whose servant Athanasius is. For a brigand who has not spared the Lord of the house cannot spare his family who resist him. 135 An allusion to the deus ex machina used in ancient dramas.

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X. Sed iam redeamus ad illud quod nos facere praecipiebas. dixisti: ‘damnate Athanasium’. quid interuenerat, ut non faciem ad faciem illum uidissemus? quid factum fuerat, ut non omnem cardinem rei fuissem perscrutatus? cur idoneis testibus non es passus eundem superari? numquid uel hos sanctissimus Danihel, quin immo per Danihelem spiritus sanctus inauditos damnauit? legimus etenim gloriosum Danihel dixisse ad populum: separate eos ab alterutro. et uocauit unum ex illis et dixit ad illum: inueterate dierum malorum, nunc aduenerunt peccata tua quae ante faciebas, iudicans iudicia iniusta; et innocentes quidem damnabas, nocentes autem dimittebas, dicente domino: innocentem et iustum non occides. nunc tamen hanc si uidisti, dic sub qua arbore uidisti eos tractantes? et dixit: sub lentisco. dixit autem Danihel: recte mentitus es in caput tuum; iam enim angelus domini accipiens praeceptum a deo secabit te medium. et cum remouisset illum, iussit admoueri alterum et dixit ad eum: semen Chanaan et non Iuda, species seduxit te et concupiscentia euertit cor tuum; sic faciebatis filiabus Israel, et illae quidem timentes concumbebant uobis cum. sed non sustinuit filia iuda iniustitiam uestram. nunc autem dic mihi, sub qua arbore conprehendisti eos inuicem tractantes? respondit: sub ilice. dixit autem illi Danihel: recte mentitus es et tu in caput tuum; manens etenim angelus dei gladium habens ad secandum te medium, ut uos perdat. et exclamauit omnis synagoga uoce magna et benedixit deum, qui saluos facit sperantes in eum. et surrexerunt aduersus duos presbyteros, quoniam conprobauerat eos Danihel ex ore ipsorum falsos testes, et fecerunt illis quemadmodum ipsi male proximo facere uoluerunt secundum legem Moysi et occiderunt, et saluus factus est sanguis innocentis in illo die. (13:51–62)

XI. Quid respondere, Constanti, inprudentia tua potest ad haec? conspicis nec reos tanti sceleris passim damnatos nisi omnibus diligentissime discussis, et tu in eum quem innocentem sciebas iubere non dubitasti darent dei sacerdotes mortis sententiam? quid audituri si fecissemus? nempe haec quae illi libidinis scopuli pseudopresbyteri falsi teste audiunt: inueterate dierum malorum, nunc aduenerunt peccata tua quae ante faciebas, iudicans iudicia iniusta; et innocentes quidem damnabas, nocentes autem dimittebas, dicente domino: innocentem et iustum non occides.(13:52–53) haec nonne iure merito que audire mereremur, qui a te sentina Arriani dogmatis aut fuissemus inlecti aut territi ad innocentis damnationem? et idcirco in te haec omnia mala uenerunt. tu cum tuis auditurus quae illi per Danihel audierunt, siue quia falsi criminis obiecti reus sis, siue quia ad innocentis necem omnem chorum inuitaris episcoporum, et quia uolueris omnem dei populum haeresem suscipere tuam, audies et quidem grauius, quia tua sint grauiora facinora, quippe qui dei religionis destructor extiteris, qui ingentem multitudinem Christianos se dicentium interemeris, qui haeresim uestram Arrianam introduxeris in ecclesiam, qui catholicam damnaueris fidem, qui deum patrem negaueris uerum patrem, qui unicum eius filium dixeris non esse uerum filium, spiritum quoque sanctum paracletum adseueraueris non esse uerum dei spiritum, cum te contra et contra omnes dei inimicos clamet sanctae ecclesiae fides credere se in deum uerum patrem innatum et in unicum filium eius, natum ex innato et

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X. Let’s now return to what you command us to do. You’ve said: ‘Condemn Athanasius!’ What’s happened to prevent us from looking from one face to another? What’s happened to prevent me from looking thoroughly at this crucial point? Why don’t you allow the same man to be convicted by suitable witnesses? Surely the most holy Daniel didn’t condemn those men without a hearing, even we the Holy Spirit spoke through him? We read that the glorious Daniel said to the people: ‘Part the two men, at a distance from each other’, while he questioned them. So parted they were, and when the first was summoned, thus Daniel greeted him: ‘Grown so old in years, and years ill spent! Now, that past sinning of thine has found thee out, a man that perverts justice, persecutes innocence, and lets the guilty go free. Has not the Lord said, Never shalt thou put the innocent man, the upright man, to death? Thou foundest her; good; they met under a tree; tell us what kind of tree’. And he answered, ‘Under a mastic-tree I surprised them’. ‘The right word!’ cried Daniel; ‘prized asunder thyself shall be, when God bids his angel requite thee for this calumny’. Then he had this one removed, and bade the other come near. ‘Brood of Canaan, said he, and no true son of Judah, so beauty ensnared thee? So lust drove thy heart astray? Such approaches you’ve made, long since, to women of the other tribes, and they, from very fear, admitted your suit; but you couldn’t bring a woman of Juda to fall in with your wicked design. And now tell me, under what tree it was thou didst find them talking together?’ ‘Under a holm-oak’, said he, ‘I saw them’. ‘The right word again!’ cried Daniel. ‘Saw thee asunder the angel of the Lord will, with the sharp blade he carries yonder; you’re both dead men’. And with that, the whole multitude cried aloud, blessing God that is the deliverer of those who trust in him. And they turned on the two elders, by Daniel’s questioning self-convicted of false witness; served they must be as they would have served others, and the law of Moses obeyed; so they put them to death. That day, an innocent life was saved. (13:51–62) XI. Constantius, what answer can you give in your arrogance? Don’t you see that those defendants were condemned thoroughly and wouldn’t have been if everything hadn’t been discussed at length, and yet you didn’t hesitate to order a man whom you knew to be innocent to be sentenced to death by God’s priests? Surely the false elders, false witnesses, heard this with regard to the dangers of their lust: So parted they were, and when the first was summoned, thus Daniel greeted him: Grown so old in years, and years ill spent! Now, that past sinning of thine has found thee out, a man that perverts justice, persecutes innocence, and lets the guilty go free. Has not the Lord said, Never shalt thou put the innocent man, the upright man, to death? (13:52–53) Surely we deserve to hear this in a court of law, since we’ve not been seduced by you by the scum of Arian dogma, or terrorized into condemning an innocent man? All this wickedness has come upon you. You’re about to hear what these men heard through Daniel, since you’re guilty of bringing a false charge, or you’ve threatened the whole chorus of bishops with an innocent man’s death, and you want the whole people to adopt your heresy! Your crimes are more serious, you set yourself up as a destroyer of religion, a destroyer of the big multitude of those who call themselves Christians, you’ve introduced your Arian heresy into the Church, you condemn the Catholic faith; you deny that God the Father is a true father and that the only begotten Son is a true son, you declare that the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, is not the

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uero patre, hoc est de substantia patris, deum de deo, lumen de lumine, deum uerum de deo uero, natum non factum, unius substantiae cum patre, quod graece dicunt homousion, per quem omnia facta sunt et sine quo factum est nihil, et in spiritum paraclitum uerum dei spiritum. (13:55) tibi ergo falso testi, spiritali adultero, homicidae sacrilego digne grauiora dicentur, digne qui tantis ac talibus criminibus maior sis illis pseudopresbyteris Susannae inimicis. si enim illis dicitur mentientibus: recte mentitus es in caput tuum; iam etenim angelus domini accipiens praeceptum a deo secabit te medium, et: recte mentitus es in caput tuum; manens est angelus dei gladium habens ad secandum te medium, ut uos perdat, (13:59) quanto magis, nisi tibi prospexeris, ad te talia dicentur. esse scriptum: beati qui audiunt uerbum dei et custodiunt, (Lk 11:28) exciderat cordi illi tuo errorum umecto tenebris, ut iuberes damnari innocentem? nisi fallor etenim omni in loco lex sacra innocentem et iustum non condemnandum loquitur. et idcirco qui haec fieri contra dei mandasti praeceptum, unum te habemus ex illis quos dominus percutit in euangelio: uae uobis, scribae et Pharisaei, quia monumenta estis quae non parent, et homines nesciunt ambulantes super ea. (11:44) nesciebant quidem illi, quos ad te sacrilegum inlexisti amandum, qui per conatos tuos non considerauerant te esse monumentum omnibus inmunditiis plenum; arbitrabantur hominem. ceterum nos, statim ut coepisti episcopis inponere necessitatem damnandum absentem, ilico diximus te iniustitiae cultorem, iustitiae uero esse persecutorem. item cum te urgueremus legati nos beatae ecclesiae sectam damnandam Arrii et illam magis dixisti esse catholicam, praenuntiauimus te antiChristi fuisse praecursorem.

XII. Cum persequi Christianos dignaris, cum interficis, similem te, Constanti, illorum facis, ad quos dominus dicit: uae uobis, qui aedificatis monumenta prophetarum, patres autem uestri occiderunt illos. ergo testimonium perhibetis, non consentientes operibus patrum uestrorum, quoniam illi quidem occiderunt eos, uos autem aedificastis sepulcra eorum. ideo mitto prophetas et apostolos, et ex illis occident et persequentur, ut inquiratur sanguis omnis prophetarum qui effusus est a constitutione mundi usque ad generationem istam, a sanguine Abel usque ad sanguinem Zachariae, qui periit inter altare et aedem.

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true Spirit of God; even though the faith of Holy Church against you and the foes of God proclaims that it believes in one God the Father, who is unborn, and in his only begotten Son, born of the unborn and true Father, that is from the substance136 of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God – which they say in Greek is homoousion – through who all things have been made and without whom nothing has been made, and in the Holy Spirit, the Parcalete, who is a true Spirit. So as a false witness more serious things will be correctly attributed to you, since you’re a spiritual adulterer, a sacrilegious murderer, as a result of crimes which are worse than those of the false elders who were Susannah’s enemies. For it was said to those liars: The right word again! cried Daniel. Saw thee asunder the angel of the Lord will, with the sharp blade he carries yonder; you’re both dead men. (13:59) How much more – unless you look out for yourself – will these things be attributed to you. It is written: Blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it? (Lk 11:28) has this cut off that heart because of the deep darkness of your errors,137 in that you order that an innocent man be condemned? Unless I’m mistaken, everywhere the sacred law says that an innocent and just man shouldn’t be condemned. You, who’ve ordered this to be done, contrary to God’s ordinances, so we hold that you’re one of those whom the Lord strikes down in the gospel: Woe upon you, that are like hidden tombs which men walk over without knowing it. (11:44) Indeed those people whom you’ve seduced into loving sacrilege didn’t know or think that you were a monument full of filth, because of your men who’d tried to do this; they thought you were a man! We, however, as you quickly tried to force the bishops to condemn a man in his absence, said then that you were a worshipper of injustice, and indeed a persecutor of justice. Therefore as legates of the blessed Church, we urge you to have the Arian sect condemned – which you’ve said is Catholic, and this is why we’ve proclaimed you to be the forerunner of the Antichrist. XII. Constantius, since you see fit to persecute and destroy Christians you’re like one of those to whom the Lord says: Woe upon you, for building up the tombs of the prophets, the same prophets who were murdered by your fathers; sure witness that you approve what your fathers did, since you build tombs for the men they murdered. Whereupon the wisdom of God warns you, I will send my prophets and my apostles to them, and there will be some they will kill and persecute; so they will be answerable for all the blood of prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from

136 Lat. ‘substantia’, intended to render Greek οὐσία. Here Lucifer begins to quote the Nicene creed directly. It is possible that Lucifer’s use of the word is deliberately tendentious and provocative. In 357, after the capitulation of Pope Liberius and his return to Rome, a group of largely western bishops attempted to outlaw the use of the term (in both Latin and Greek). See Barnes pp. 138–39. It is not known whether Lucifer, in exile, would have seen the ‘Sirmian manifesto’, as it is known; Barnes thinks that it was probably not widely circulated; but if Lucifer had seen it he would certainly have disapproved and would have wanted to challenge it. The manifesto was repudiated by a Council of bishops at Ancyra in 358 and by Gallic bishops in the same year, at the instigation of St Hilary. The term is also ruled out in the later ‘Homoean’ creed. 137 Lit. ‘because of wetness (‘umecto’), with the darkness of your errors’.

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ita dico uobis: requiretur ab hac generatione. (11:47–51) esse ex illis hinc intellegeris, quod enim, cum sis memorias martyrum beatorum instaurans, tamen seruorum unici filii dei cruorem fundas. redi, Constanti, ad domum dei, esto Christianus, ne inuentus foris ecclesia sis semper, ut es hodie, inter illos quos percutiens dicit dominus: contendite intrare per angustum ostium, quia dico uobis: multi quaerunt et non poterunt. cum exsurrexerit pater familias et cluserit ostium, et incipietis foris stare et pulsare dicentes: domine, domine, aperi nobis, et respondens dicet: nescio uos unde sitis, tunc incipietis dicere: manducauimus coram te et bibimus, et in plateis nostris docuisti. et dicet uobis: nescio unde estis, discedite a me, omnes operarii iniquitatis. ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium, cum uideritis Abraham, Isaac et Iacob et omnes prophetas introeuntes in regnum dei, uos autem expelli foras.(13:24–28) noli ita te perosum habere, ut te sinas haec audire inter illos, maxime cum uideas te nequiorem fuisse quam cui digne dicatur: discede a me, operarius iniquitatis. eris, Constanti, si in hac maliuolentia tua manere uolueris, inter illum populum carnalem, cui dicitur: Hierusalem, Hierusalem, quae occidis prophetas et lapidas eos qui mittuntur ad te; (13:34) eris, inquam, inter illos, quia sic sis persecutor eorum qui te hortentur promereri deum, sicut illi fuerint persecuti prophetas atque apostolos.

XIII. Iterum urguet defensio ueritatis quaeri a te, cur absentem damnari praeceperis. dic, quaeso, bene an male id fieri imperaris. si dixeris bene, credo te ad beati Pauli confugere factum, quod enim Corinthiis scripserit iam se illum punisse peccatorem quem conperisset grauiter deliquisse. uideamus nunc, si tu, belua, membra et corpus tantum habens hominis, animum uero ferinum, si ita egeris ut egit apostolus, si tali ordine rem celebraueris quo ille qui dixit sic: omnino auditur inter uos fornicatio, qualis nec inter gentes, ita ut uxorem patris sui aliquis habeat. et uos inflati estis et non potius luctum habuistis, ut tolleretur e medio uestrum qui hoc opus fecit. ego quidem sicut absens corpore, praesens autem spiritu iam iudicaui ut praesens eum, qui sic operatus est, in nomine domini Iesu, congregatis uobis et spiritu meo cum uirtute domini nostri Iesu Christi, tradere huiusmodi hominem satanae in interitum carnis, ut spiritus saluus sit in die domini nostri Iesu Christi. (1 Co 5:1–5) dicis, credo: ‘et ego idcirco uobis mandaueram damnare absentem, quia damnauerat et apostolus’. primo omnium beato apostolo catholici nuntiauerant hi, quos norat fideles, quos deo probauerat deuotos, et testem sciebat esse omnem corinthiorum sanctam ecclesiam. tu contra, tenebra, te atque consacrilegis tuis accusantibus deo odibilibus haereticis nos dignabaris urgere ad absentis damnationem. deinde cum apostolum audis dicere: congregatis uobis et spiritu meo cum uirtute domini Iesu, tradere huiusmodi hominem satanae in interitum carnis,(5:4) tu, tenebra, cur nobis dicentibus: ‘ad ipsum nos nostris inpendiis pergemus, in plebe cui diuinitus constitutus est eundem audiemus, tantum da catholicos accusatores secundum sacrae legis mandatum’, cur detractasti? cur, tamquam gladiatores, non

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the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who was killed between the altar and the temple; yes, I tell you, this generation will be held answerable for it. (11:47–51) You know that you’re one because although you’ve started to set up memorials to the blessed martyrs you’d rather pour out the blood of the servants of the only begotten Son of God. Constantius, return to God’s house, be a Christian – lest you find yourself outside the Church’s domain as you’re today; you’re one of those whom the Lord strikes as he says Fight your way in at the narrow door; I tell you, there are many who will try and will not be able to enter. When the master of the house has gone in and has shut the door, you will fall to beating on the door as you stand without, and saying, Lord, open to us. But this will be his answer, I know nothing of you, nor whence you come. Thereupon you will fall to protesting, We’ve eaten and drunk in thy presence; thou hast taught in our streets. But he will say, I tell you, I know nothing of you, nor whence you come; depart from me, you that traffic in iniquity. Weeping shall be there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets within God’s kingdom, while you yourselves are cast out. (13:24–28) Don’t be detestable, as you allow people to hear these things said, since you’re more worthless than him to whom he rightly says: ‘Depart from me, perpetrator of iniquity!’ Constantius, you will be like this if you’re determined to remain in this culture of malevolence, among people who are carnal, to whom it is said: Jerusalem, Jerusalem, still murdering the prophets, and stoning the messengers that are sent to thee (13:34) I say again, you will be one of them, because you persecute those who urge you to be worthy in God’s sight, just as those people persecuted the prophets and apostles. XIII. Also, defence of the truth compels us to ask you why you asked that a man be condemned in his absence. Tell me whether your ordering this was a good or a bad thing. If you say it was good, you’d take refuge in what Blessed Paul did, because he wrote to the Corinthians saying that he’d already punished a sinner whom he’d found guilty of a more serious offence. Let us see now, you monster, whether you – even though you’ve the limbs and body of a man, but in reality the soul of an animal – would act as the apostle acted, if you celebrate what he meant when he said Why, there are reports of incontinence among you, and such incontinence as is not practised even among the heathen; a man taking to himself his father’s wife. And you, it seems, have been contumacious over it, instead of deploring it, and expelling the man who has been guilty of such a deed from your company. For myself, though I am not with you in person, I am with you in spirit; and, so present with you, I have already passed sentence on the man who has acted thus. Call an assembly, at which I will be present in spirit, with all the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, hand over the person named to Satan, for the overthrow of his corrupt nature, so that his spirit may find salvation in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.(1 Co 5:1–5) As I understand it you say ‘I ordered you to condemn a man in his absence because the apostle also condemned someone like this’. First of all these Catholics told the blessed apostle about those whom he knew to be faithful; God also approved of them as being devoted to him, and he knew that the holy Church of Corinth was a faithful witness. But you, dweller in darkness, saw fit – you and your accomplices in sacrilege, who make accusations against God

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episcopi essemus, tantum iuxta uota tua quo possemus interficere eum, cuius tu olim sitiebas cruorem, operam dabas? interea sic te infelicem traditum satanae pro homicidiis pro que sacrilegio tuo debes scire, ut ille qui in illo reatu apud corinthios inuentus est. neque enim ista tua quae gesseris ac geris minora sunt funera, ut, si se illum tradidisse ore beati apostoli loquitur spiritus sanctus satanae in interitum, et te, nox ut tam grauia commisisti crimina, non tradiderit. si enim non ita esset, meminisses profecto dixisse apostolum: pretio empti estis, nolite fieri serui hominum, (7:23) numquam cogere dei ausus fuisses sacerdotes ad inauditum damnandum. qui enim pretio emptus sum, quia liberatus a lege peccati seruus fuerim factus iustitiae, iam uiuenti mihi in lege iustitiae inponi onus non debuerat a te, ut seruus iterum efficerer iniquitatis atque iniustitiae. inpositum itaque est onus a te, quia traditus fueris satanae in interitum propter homicidia atque sacrilegium. si non fuisses traditus satanae, retineres Timotheo scripsisse apostolum: scimus autem quoniam bona est lex, si quis ea legitime utatur, sciens hoc quia iusto lex non est posita, iniustis autem et non oboedientibus et impiis et peccatoribus et sceleratis et profanis, parricidis et matricidis, inpudicis, masculorum concubitoribus, plagiariis, mendacibus, periuris et si quid aliud sanae doctrinae aduersatur, quae secundum euangelium est gloriae beati dei quod creditum est mihi. (2 Tim 1:8–11) si non es traditus, ex quo filium dei negasti, in interitum satanae, quomodo praeteriens tanta quae te cohibere a tanto potuerant scelere ad haec gerenda exilire dignatus es, quae possint cuncta tollere haec quae noscantur sanae esse doctrinae?

XIV. Haec qui sis faciens, quae sanae aduersentur doctrinae, qui proscribas, torqueas, deportes, mittas in carcerem interficias que dic, obsecro, si sis dissimilis ab Herode illo rege, cuius carnificinam describens ita loquitur sacra scriptura: eodem in tempore remisit Herodes rex manus, ut noceret quosdam de ecclesia. occidit autem Iacobum fratrem Iohannis gladio, et cum uidisset quod placeret hoc iudaeis, addit ut conprehenderet Petrum.

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and are detestable to him as heretics – to pressurize us to condemn a man in his absence. Afterwards when you hear the apostle say: Call an assembly, at which I will be present in spirit, with all the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, hand over the person named to Satan, for the overthrow of his corrupt nature, so that his spirit may find salvation in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (5:4–5), why, dweller in darkness, do you disparage us when we say to you ‘Let us go to him at our expense, let us hear him in the people’s assembly how far divinity has been given to the same person – but only allow prosecutors who are Catholic to make use of the sacred law’. Why do you treat us as if we’re gladiators rather than bishops and order us to kill him, alongside your other sacrificial offerings, the man whose blood you’re thirsting for? You have to know that you’re an unlucky man, handed down from Satan to kill men and promote sacrilege, just like the man in the affair in Corinth.138 These deeds of yours are supposedly not deadly: the Holy Spirit (through the mouth of his blessed apostle) says that he has handed him over to Satan for destruction, whereas you – even though you’ve committed such grave crimes – he hasn’t handed over. Remember as a matter of urgency what the apostle said: A price was paid to redeem you; don’t enslave yourselves to human masters. (7:23) if this were not so you would never have dared to coerce the priests of God to condemn a man without a hearing. What price have I been bought for to become again a slave of iniquity and injustice – having been freed from the law of sin and become the servant of justice and having resisted the burden which you tried to impose on me, as I live in the law of justice? And so you’ve tried to impose this burden, because you’ve been handed over to Satan for destruction owing to your murders and sacrileges! If you’ve not been handed over to Satan, you’ll remember what the apostle wrote to Timothy: The law? It is an excellent thing, where it is applied legitimately; but it must be remembered that the law is not meant for those who live innocent lives. It is meant for the lawless and the refractory; for the godless and the sinner, the unholy and the profane; for those who lay violent hands on father or mother, for murderers, for those who commit fornication or sin against nature, the slave-dealer, the liar, the perjurer. All this and much else is the very opposite of the sound doctrine contained in the gospel I have been entrusted with, that tells us of the blessed God and his glory. (1 Tim 1:8–11) If you’ve not been handed over to Satan owing to your denial of the Son of God, how can you jump up to do this – avoiding what could prevent you from doing such wickedness; and those who believe teachings which are sane are able to bear all these things. XIV. You do these things which are at odds with sane teachings, and you would make lists of condemnations, torture, deport, imprison and kill: tell us, I beg you, whether you’re unlike that King Herod, whose place of torture and execution Sacred Scripture describes when it says: It was at this same time that Herod exerted his authority to persecute some of those who belonged to the Church. James, the brother of John, he beheaded, and

138 1 Cor 5 refers to a member of the community in Corinth who is living with his father’s wife. St Paul makes it clear that he should be excommunicated, or rather, ‘handed over to Satan so that his sensual body may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord’. (5:5).

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erant autem dies azymorum. hunc cum adprehendisset, misit in carcerem traditum quattuor quaternionibus militum custodiendum, uolens post pascha producere eum plebi. Petrus uero custodiebatur in carcere. oratio ergo instantissime fiebat ad dominum pro eo ab ecclesia. et cum futurum esset ut eum Herodes produceret, illa nocte Petrus dormiebat inter milites alligatus catenis duabus, et custodes ante ostium, et custodiebant carcerem. et ecce angelus domini adstitit, et lux ab eo refulsit in illo loco; conpungens autem latus Petri suscitauit eum dicens: surge uelociter. et surrexit, et ceciderunt catenae de manibus eius, (Acts 12:1–7) et infra: et cum transisset primos et secundos custodes, uenit ad portam ferream quae ducit in ciuitatem, quae a se aperta est eis. et cum exissent, processerunt uicum unum, et continuo discessit ab eo angelus. et Petrus in se conuersus ait: nunc scio quia uere misit dominus angelum suum et eripuit me de manibus Herodis et de omni expectatione plebis Iudaeorum. (12:10–11) facta autem die turbatio erat inter milites, quidnam Petrus factus esset. Herodes autem cum requisisset eum et non inuenisset, interrogatos custodes iussit duci. (12:18–19) similem te illi omnibus uidemus siue in crudelitate siue in sacrilegio; ut enim ille Iacobum beatum apostolum interfecit, ita et tu ingentem multitudinem credentium, sicuti credidit Iacobus apostolus, interfecisti; ut ille in Iacobum apostolum dei unicum persequebatur filium, ita et tu et in illos, quos iam interemisti, et in nos persequeris. iterum te et instruimus et hortamur, ut redeas ad dei ecclesiam desinas que iam persequi Athanasium uel nos facientes contra tuam haeresim, ne istius Herodis exemplo disperire incipias, cuius interitum loquitur sacra scriptura dicens: descendit a Iudaea Caesaream ibi que mansit. erat autem infestus Tyriis et Sidoniensibus. et unianimes uenerunt ad eum et persuaso Blasto, qui erat a cubiculo regis, postulabant pacem, eo quod regiones eorum de regia alerentur. statuto autem die Herodes uestitus ueste regali sedit pro tribunali et contionabatur ad eos. populus autem clamabat: dei uoces et non hominis. confestim autem percussit eum angelus domini, quia non dedit honorem deo, et uermibus scatens expirauit. (12:19–23) ignorabas tu, qui te legis peritum uis uideri, dixisse Iohannem beatum apostolum, ut diceres ‘damnate innocentem’: ex hoc intellegimus quoniam cognouimus eum, si mandata eius seruemus. qui autem dicit quoniam cognoui eum, et mandata eius non custodit, mendax est, et in hoc ueritas non est. qui autem seruauerint eius uerbum, uere ab eis caritas dei consummata est. (1 Jn 2:3–5) tu fieri praecipis contra dei mandatum; contra apostolus dicit quia qui non custodierit praecepta eius nec quidem cognouerit eum, quia, inquit, si dicat: cognoui eum, et mandata eius non custodit, mendax est, et in eo ueritas non est. (2:4) uis nos se mendaces, uis homicidas inueniri ad hoc sine dubio, ne Christiani esse reperiamur. neque enim mendaces neque homicidae sunt Christiani. apostolus dicit: qui seruauerint eius uerbum, uere consummata est caritas dei apud illos; (2:5) et apostata praecursor antiChristi dicis: ‘quicumque non custodit mandata illius, uiuet’. adhuc, qui dicit se in lumine esse, inquit, et fratrem suum odit, in tenebris est usque adhuc. qui autem amat fratrem suum, in lumine permanet, et scandalum non est in eo. qui autem odit fratrem suum, in tenebris ambulat et nescit quo eat, quoniam tenebrae obscurauerunt cor eius. (2:9–11) quid a te tenebroso poterit dici ad haec? cur in tenebras constitutos in

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then, finding that this was acceptable to the Jews, he went further, and laid hands on Peter too. It was the time of unleavened bread; and he imprisoned Peter, after arresting him, with a guard of four soldiers, relieved four times a day; when paschal-time was over, he would bring him out in the presence of the people. Peter, then, was well guarded in prison, but there was a continual stream of prayer going up to God from the church on his behalf. And now the day was coming when Herod was to bring him out; that night, Peter was sleeping with two chains on him, between two soldiers, and there were warders at the door guarding his prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood over him, and a light shone in his cell. He smote Peter on the side, to rouse him; Quick, he said, rise up; and thereupon the chains fell from his hands. (Acts 12:1–7) And further on: They passed one party of guards, then a second, and reached the iron gate which leads out into the city; this opened for them of its own accord. They came out, and as soon as they had passed on up one street, the angel left them. At this, Peter came to himself. Now I can tell, he said, that the Lord has certainly139 sent his angel, to deliver me out of Herod’s hands, and from all that the people of the Jews hoped to see. When day broke, there was a great to-do among the soldiers, to know what had become of Peter. Herod, after searching for him without avail, questioned the warders and had them punished. (12:10–11, 18–19) You’re like him in every way, whether in cruelty or sacrilege; as he murdered the blessed apostle James, so you’ve killed a multitude of believers, those who believed what the blessed apostle James believed; just as he persecuted in the blessed apostle James the only begotten Son of God, so you do the same to those whom you’ve killed and persecuted. Again we urge you, come back to the Church of God! Stop persecuting Athanasius or us, just because we’re at odds with your heresy, lest you go to ruin like this same Herod, of whose death Scripture speaks: He went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and spent his time there. He was much out of humour with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and these, since their country depended on the king’s country for its supplies, waited upon him by common consent, and tried (by winning over Blastus, the royal chamberlain) to make their peace. So, on an appointed day, Herod put on his royal finery and sat down on a raised dais to harangue them; whereupon the people cried out in applause, It is no man, it is a god that speaks. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, for not referring the glory to God; and he was eaten up by worms, and so died. (12:19–23) You’re ignorant of this, even though you want to appear to be an expert in the law; when you say ‘Condemn an innocent man!’ you’re unaware that the blessed apostle John said: Have we attained the knowledge of him? The test is, whether we keep his commandments; the man who claims knowledge of him without keeping his commandments is a liar; truth does not dwell in such as man as that. No, if a man keeps true to his word, then it is certain that the love of God has reached its full stature in him (1 Jn 2:3–5) You’ve commanded things to be done which are against God’s commandments – against you the apostle says that he who doesn’t maintain his precepts or is ignorant of them, as he says: The man who claims knowledge of him without keeping his commandments is a liar; truth does not dwell in such as man as that (2:4) You want us to be liars, you want us to be murderers, to ensure that we’re not

139 Lucifer’s text has ‘vere’ (ἀληθῶς) slightly later in the sentence, so Vg is ‘nunc scio vere quia misit Dominus’. Cf. also John Chrysostom Hom. In Acta 26.

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lumine: ‘odite me cum et uos eum quem ego iniuste odi, estote conparticipes insaniae meae, estote ut ego etiam uos homicidae’? deinde si dicit quia qui odit fratrem suum, in tenebris ambulat (2:11) et nesciens sit quo pergat, uidelicet quia tenebrae uiolentiae oculos eius excaecauerint, quid si interfecerit quis fratrem suum, quid si homicida fuerit? sed tibi nihil uidetur homicidae, qui tantorum dei seruorum inueniris fudisse sanguinem. audes haec dei iubere sacerdotibus facere quae soli sunt placita patri uestro diabolo et uobis Arrianis filiis eius.

XV. Hortatur idem sanctissimus apostolus, ut iustitiae iter tenentes in perpetuam mereamur constitui requiem; et tu uir sapientissimus conpellis nos ad aeternos uenire te cum cruciatos. filii, nemo uos fallat. qui facit iustitiam, iustus est; qui autem facit peccatum, a diabolo est, quoniam origine diabolus peccat. ad hoc enim declaratus est filius dei, ut solueret operas diaboli. (3:7–8) igitur cum dicatur ab apostolo quia sit peccatum a diabolo et tu conpellas nos crimina capitalia committere, quid te aliud possum dicere nisi procuratorem diaboli, eum quem uideam ita eius diligere causas, ita eius colere rem, ut cunctos nos in eius cupias inueniri parte? unde etenim omnem dei cultorem conpellis ad ipsum facere transitum, nisi quia delegeris fauere parti eiusdem? audis dicere beatum apostolum: idcirco declaratus est filius dei, ut solueret operam diaboli; (3:8) et tu sis urgens dei cultores opus consummare diaboli. cum haec agis, nonne uideris inpugnatorem te constituisse eius qui soluerit operam diaboli? sed non mirandum si elegeris, ut quae dissoluit unicus filius dei, haec possint reaedificari per te diaboli satellitem, quandoquidem nec ipsum negare dubitaueris, qui opus diaboli destruxerit. hinc tibi est pro nihilo cruorem fundere innocentis, quia iam innocentium amatorem et suorum cultorum defensorem negans contuleris temet ad eum, ad quem se contulerit Scarioth Iudas. si itaque negare non potes quia opus sit diaboli uiri iusti fundere sanguinem, utique est clarum te diaboli operam fecisse et nos ut faceremus hortatum. adhuc loquitur Iohannes deo amantissimus, ut fraterna inuiolata teneatur caritas, dicens: ex hoc apparent filii dei et filii diaboli. omnis qui non est iustus, non est ex deo, et qui non amat fratrem suum, quoniam haec est repromissio quam audistis ab initio, ut amemus alterutrum; et non sicut Cain ex maligno fuit et interfecit fratrem suum. et propter quid interfecit eum? quoniam opera ipsius maligna fuerunt, fratris autem sui iusta. nolite mirari, fratres, si odit nos saeculum. nos scimus quoniam transitum fecimus a morte ad uitam, quoniam amamus fratres; qui autem non amat, manet in mortem. omnis qui odit fratrem suum, homicida est; et scitis quia omnis homicida non habet uitam aeternam in se manentem. (3:10–12) cum itaque omnis qui

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Christians. For Christians are neither liars or murderers! The apostle says: If a man keeps true to his word, then it is certain that the love of God has reached its full stature in him. (2:5) and you say, as forerunner of the Antichrist: ‘Whoever does not keep his commands, let him live!’ Further on: He who claims enlightenment, all the while hates his brother, is in darkness still. It is the man who loves his brother that lives in light; no fear of stumbling haunts him. The man who hates his brother is in the dark, guides his steps in the dark without being able to tell where he is going; darkness has fallen, and blinded his heart.(2:9–11) What can you say – stuck in your darkness – in answer to this? Why do you say to people who are not in darkness, but in light: ‘Hate, with me, those whom I hate unjustly; join me in my insanity; join me in murder!’ If anyone says The man who hates his brother is in the dark. (2:11) and carries on unawares, this is because violent darkness has blinded him; if someone kills his brother, you’ve poured out the blood of so many of God’s servants. You dare to order priests to do this which is only pleasing to your father the Devil and you, sons of Arius. XV. The most holy apostle encourages us to follow the path of justice and so merit eternal rest; but you, most wise man, are trying to make us follow you and be tormented for eternity. Children, don’t allow anybody to mislead you; the man who lives right is the man who is right with God; he, too, is right in all his dealings. The man who lives sinfully takes his character from the devil; the devil was a sinner from the first. If the Son of God was revealed to us, it was so that he might undo what the devil had done (3:7–8) Since the apostle says that such a sin is from the Devil, and you try to get us to commit capital crimes, what else can I say other than that you’re an underling of the Devil, since you love his causes and cultivate his affairs, so that we can be found under his rule as well? What other source do you’ve for making every worshipper of God undertake this journey too, if you don’t favour his rule as well? You hear the blessed apostle say If the Son of God was revealed to us, it was so that he might undo what the devil had done, (3:8) but you urge the worshippers of God to carry out the Devil’s work. As you do all this, surely you see that you’re at war with him who’s conquered140 the Devil’s power? No wonder you’ve chosen this path, since it is the only begotten Son of God who’s overcome the Devil’s power: this is so that the Devil’s power can be rebuilt through you, his accomplice, as you haven’t hesitated to deny him who’s destroyed the Devil’s work! So it’s for nothing that you shed the blood of an innocent man, because you’ve handed yourself over to Satan, as you deny him who loves innocent men and women and defends his worships; to Satan, to whom Judas Iscariot also handed himself over. If you can’t deny that it’s the Devil’s work to shed a just man’s blood, then it’s clear that you’ve done the Devil’s work and urged us to do the same. So John, most beloved of God – since fraternal and inviolate love existed between him and the Lord – says: This, then, is how God’s children and the devil’s children are known apart. A man cannot trace his origin from God if he does not live right, if he does not love his brethren. To love one another; that, from the first, was the charge given to you; you were not to be like Cain, who took his character from the evil one, and murdered 140 Lit ‘dissolved’.

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odire inuenitur fratrem filius dicatur diaboli, homicida, Cain denique fratricidae comparetur, in morte manere designetur, cur me hoc opus implere compellebas, quod me ut Cain fecisset fratricidam et filium diaboli, quod me in mortem perpetuam fecisset manere? cum iam uideas me transitum fecisse de morte ad uitam, cum inter eos quos filios appellare dignatus est me iam constituerit deus, quam ob causam me Cain fieri uoluisti, tenebras etiam et filium diaboli? in quo te laesi, in quibus rebus extiti aduersarius salutis tuae, ut mihi desideraris ita esse nocitum? cur haec iteramus nisi ut aliquando intellegere possis, quod enim quidnam sit bonum sis ignorans? si enim scires, numquam tantum et ipse admisisses facinus et nos perpetrari urgeres. dicas inter haec precor, quamobrem persequeris dei domus antistitem. dicit enim apostolus quia qui odit fratrem suum, homicida est. (3:12) si non uis habere homicidae nomen, cur odis fratrem tuum? proba odio dignum Athanasium, quid malorum operatus sit manifesta, ut sit odiri dignus etiam ab omnibus nobis. profecto non dabis opus commissum aliquod iniustum quod eum faciat odiosum. cum haec ita sint, necesse est te idcirco odisse illum, quia opus tuum sit malignum, Athanasii uero iustum. propterea etenim uis interficere eum, quod non fuerit te sceleratum, facinorosum atque sacrilegum imitatus. constat haec ita esse. cum enim gloriosus apostolus Cain et Abel introducit comparationem, tu mihi esse uideris Cain, Athanasius uero Abel, ex hoc apparent filii, dicens, dei et filii diaboli. omnis qui non est iustus, non est ex deo, et qui non amat fratrem suum, quoniam haec repromissio quam audistis ab origine, ut amemus alterutrum; et non sicut Cain ex maligno fuit et interfecit fratrem suum. et propter quid interfecit eum? quoniam opera illius maligna fuerunt, fratris autem sui iusta. (3:10–12)

XVI. Nec debes dubitare opera tua esse maligna, Athanasii uera iusta. tu etenim es homicida, religionis dei destructor, unici filii dei negator, apostolicae fidei expugnator, idololatriae Arrianae fundator; contra Athanasius est in timore dei ita permanens, ut nihil commisisse, quantum uideri potest, inueniatur quod eum possit a deo dilectissimis separare. cum haec ita sint, hortamur diligas te in Athanasio. retines scriptum: diliges proximum tuum tamquam te ipsum (Mt 22:39) et qui diligit proximum, legem impleuit. (Rm 13:8) ut enim te in ipso odis, ignorans quia malum sit iustum odire iniuste, ita te in eo incipies amare, si haec tua maliuolentia fuerit conuersa in beniuolentiam. tunc poteris eripi e tenebris, in quibus te dicit beatus apostolus mansitare. nolite enim, inquit, mirari, fratres, si odit nos saeculum. nos scimus

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his brother. Why did he murder him? Because his own life was evil, and his brother’s life was acceptable to God. No, brethren, don’t be surprised that the world should hate you. Remember that we’ve changed over from death to life, in loving the brethren as we do; whereas, if a man is without love, he holds fast by death. A man cannot hate his brother without being a murderer, and you may be sure that no murderer has eternal life dwelling in him. (3:10–15) So as everyone who hates his brother can be called a son of the Devil and a murderer, like Cain who killed his own brother, and should be consigned to eternal death, why do you try to get me to do the same thing, which would make me a fratricide like Cain and a son of the Devil, consigning me to perpetual death? Since I’ve made the journey from death to life – as God has decided to number me among his sons – why do you want me to become like Cain, to be in darkness and a son of the Devil? How have I wounded you? In what way have I become hostile to your well-being, that you want to harm me like this? Why do we repeat these things if you can’t understand them in any other way, simply because you’re ignorant of the good? If you knew this, you wouldn’t claim that it was such a good deed and try to get us to do it as well. I beg that you should speak about these things141 as you persecute a high priest of God’s house. The apostle says that he who hates his brother is a murderer. If you don’t want to be named a murderer, why do you hate your brother? Prove that Athanasius deserves your hatred, that he’s openly done evil things and if you can he’ll deservedly be hated by all of us as well. Certainly you can’t come up with anything he’s done which is unjust, which he’d make hateful. Since all this is so, you’ve to hate him because your work is hateful, whereas Athanasius is just. So you want to kill him, because he’s not copied you, a wicked and sacrilegious evil-doer. This all remains the case. As the glorious apostle introduces the comparison n of Cain and Abel, you seem to me to be Cain, and Athanasius indeed Abel. This, then, is how God’s children and the devil’s children are known apart. A man cannot trace his origin from God if he does not live right, if he does not love his brethren. To love one another; that, from the first, was the charge given to you; you were not to be like Cain, who took his character from the evil one, and murdered his brother. Why did he murder him? Because his own life was evil, and his brother’s life was acceptable to God. (3:10–12) XVI. You shouldn’t doubt that your works are malign, and that those of Athanasius are just. For you’re a murderer, a destroyer of God’s religion, a denier of the only begotten Son of God, an142 adversary of the apostolic faith, a founder of Arian idolatry; Athanasius, on the other hand, is constantly in fear of God, so that he would never do anything, as far as possible, which would lead him to be separated from God’s love. Since this is so, we urge you to show love for yourself in Athanasius! Remember Scripture: And the second, its like, is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Mt 22:39) and The man who loves his neighbour has done all that the law demands (Rm 13:8) For as you hate yourself in him, being ignorant about how it’s wicked to hate unjustly a just man, so you should begin to love yourself in this way, if you malevolence can

141 Lit ‘speak among these things’. 142 Cf. ‘expugnatore doctrinae’, C XII, 21, also M XIV, 37 and also Cicero Verr. 2.1.9.

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quoniam transitum fecimus a morte ad uitam, quoniam amamus fratres. qui autem non amat, manet in mortem. omnis qui odit fratrem suum, homicida est et scitis quia omnis homicida non habet uitam in se manentem. (1 Jn 3:13–15) ne audeas iam dicere: damnate innocentem, homo non habens in te uitam manentem, homo qui necdum feceris transitum de morte ad uitam. si enim fecisses, hoc est si in unicum dei filium sicut nos credidisses, nec homicida esse delegisses, ne uidelicet inciperes iterum regredi ad mortem. duplici igitur modo constitutus sine spe uitae dignatus es imperare dei sacerdotibus interficere innocentem. sed fortassis temptes dicere: ‘amo amantes deum et odio habeo odientes eum’. sed haec de Athanasio non poteris dicere, quoniam quidem magis constet te odire deum, quia et dereliqueris illum et transitum feceris ad idololatriam. itaque, quia nullam culpam persequeris in dei sacerdotem, sed solam iustitiam, sed solam dei religionem, superest ut adhuc uideas nos, quos hortabaris innocentes interficere, quales esse iusserit circa conseruos nostros iste beatus apostolus Iohannes: ille propter nos animam suam posuit, et nos debemus pro fratribus animas nostras ponere. (3:16) ab apostolo iubeor animam ponere pro fratre, et a te antiChristi mancipio praecipitur mihi fratrem interimere. et iterum, fiduciam, inquit, habeamus ad deum, et quicquid petierimus accipiemus ab eo, quoniam mandata custodimus; et quae ei placent ante conspectum eius faciamus in nomine filii ipsius Iesu Christi et amemus nos inuicem, sicut dedit mandatum nobis. (3:21–23) sed quomodo potero audiri ab eo in omni obsecratione, qui sim non seruans mandatum eius? ut enim diligam fratrem meum mihi mandauit, non ut interimam. et infra: carissimi, amemus nos alterutrum, quoniam caritas ex deo est. (4:7) et iterum: quicumque non diligit fratrem, non nouit deum, quoniam deus caritas est. ex hoc declarata est caritas dei in nobis, quoniam filium suum misit deus unicum in saeculum, ut uiuamus per eum. in hoc est caritas, non quod nos amauerimus deum, sed quod ipse amauerit nos et miserit filium suum expiatorem peccatorum nostrorum. carissimi, si ergo sic deus amauit nos, et nos debemus alterutrum amare. et iterum: si quis dicit quia diligit deum et fratrem suum odit, mendax est. qui autem fratrem suum non amat, deum quem non uidit non potest amare. (4:3–11) et iterum: hoc mandatum habemus ab ipso, ut qui amat deum, amet et fratrem suum. (4:21) et iterum: ex hoc intellegimus quoniam amamus filios dei, quando deum amamus et mandata ipsius facimus. haec est enim caritas dei, et mandata ipsius grauia non sunt. (5:2–3)

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be changed to good will. So you could snatch yourself from darkness; the apostle says you remain in this darkness. No, brethren, don’t be surprised that the world should hate you. Remember that we’ve changed over from death to life, in loving the brethren as we do; whereas, if a man is without love, he holds fast by death. A man cannot hate his brother without being a murderer, and you may be sure that no murderer has eternal life dwelling in him. (1 Jn 3:13–15) But you may not dare to say: ‘Condemn an innocent man!’ You – a man who has no life left in you, a man who’s not yet made the passage from death to life.143 If you had done this, if 4to be a murderer, lest you go back to death; doubly, and without hope of life, you decided to exercise power over God’s priests and kill an innocent man. Perhaps you’re tempted to say: ‘I love those who love God and I hate those who hate him!’ But you can’t say this about Athanasius, because he’s more constant in his view that you hate God – indeed, because you’ve deserted him and made the transition to idolatry. So, because you can’t follow up any charge against God’s priest, all you can do is persecute justice along, the religion of God alone – that’s how you look at us now, whom you urge to kill innocent men like those whom blessed John said this, concerning our fellow servants: God has proved his love to us by laying down his life for our sakes; we too must be ready to lay down our lives for the sake of our brethren. (3:16) The apostle commands me to lay down my life for my brother, and the Antichrist, through you, his lieutenant, tells me to kill him! Beloved, if conscience does not condemn us, we can appear boldly before God, and he will grant all our requests, since we’re keeping his commandments, and living as he would see us live. What he commands us is, that we should have faith in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and at his command should love one another. (3:21–23) How can I be heard in every public place in my acts of prayer if I am someone who won’t follow his commands?144 For he’s ordered me to love my brother, not kill him. Further on he says: Beloved, let us love one another; love springs from God; no one can love without being born of God, and knowing God. (4:7) and again How can the man who has no love have any knowledge of God, since God is love? What has revealed the love of God, where we’re concerned, is that he has sent his only-begotten Son into the world, so that we might have life through him. That love resides, not in our shewing any love for God, but in his shewing love for us first, when he sent his Son to be an atonement for our sins. Beloved, if God has shewn such love for us, we too must love one another (4:8–11) and again If a man boasts of loving God, while he hates his own brother, he is a liar. He has seen his brother, and has no love for him; what love can he have for the God he has never seen? No, this is the divine command that has been given us; the man who loves God must be one who loves his brother as well. (4:20–21) and If we love God, and keep his commandments, we can be sure of loving God’s children. Loving God means keeping his commandments, and these commandments of his are not a burden to us. (5:2–3)

143 Beyond the vituperation this may refer to the fact that Constantius, like his father, was not baptised until he was close to death, in 361. 144 Lit ‘be a servant of his order’.

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XVII. Haec conspice pauca de multis, et inuenies ad quas nos traxeris tenebras, tu homo tenebrarum. ex hoc intellegimus, dicit, quoniam amamus filios dei, quoniam deum amamus et mandata ipsius facimus. haec est enim caritas dei, ut mandata ipsius custodiamus; et tu me dignaris inpellere ad haec mandata dissipanda, alia contra ipsa quae per te instinctu diaboli prolata sunt instituere. quomodo inueniri potero deum amans qui eius mandatorum aduersarius per te factus inueniar? quibus ex factis quis mihi esse uideris nisi unus ex illis zizaniis destinatis igni? de quibus dominus, sicut ergo, dicit, colliguntur zizania et igni conburuntur, sic erit in consummatione saeculi. mittet filius hominis angelos suos, et congregabunt de regno eius omnia scandala et eos qui faciunt iniquitatem, et mittent eos in camino ignis; ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium. tunc iusti fulgebunt sicut sol in regno patris sui. (Mt 13:40–43) conspicis quia, si te haeretico satis agente damnarem innocentem, te cum essem futurus in gehennam. neque enim possemus consequi dei regnum, in quo possemus fulgere tamquam sol, si aut homicidium fuissemus perpetrati aut apostolicam uiolaremus fidem. gaude adhuc te in his degere malis, noli cognoscere quae geras mala, et inuenies sine dubio te esse inter malignos illos quos designat ad ignem uenturos dominus dicens: exient angeli et separabunt malos a iustorum conuersatione, et mittent illos in caminum ignis; ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium. (13:49–50) dignaris pro nihilo habere persequi seruos unici dei filii, tu membrum diaboli, qui fueras arbitratus quod omnem posses perducere ad scandalum sanctam ecclesiam. sed conspice quae tibi atque omnibus consacrilegis tuis promittat deus: qui acceperit unum puerum talem in nomine meo, me accipit; qui autem scandalizauerit unum de pusillis qui in me credunt, expedit ei ut suspendatur mola asinaria in collo eius et mergatur in profundum maris. uae autem huic mundo ab scandalis. necesse est enim uenire scandala, uerumtamen uae homini illi per quem scandalum uenit. quod si manus tua uel pes tuus scandalizat te, abscide eum et proice abs te, (18:5–8) et infra: uidete ne contemnatis unum ex his pusillis; dico enim uobis, quod angeli eorum in caelis semper uident faciem patris mei qui in caelis est. (18:10) igitur qui non solum sis spernens credentes in eius maiestatem diuinam, sed et es interficiens, quas erit merces repraesentaturus tibi iste quem negas, qui tibi expedire dixerit, si molam asinariam suspenderes collo tuo et in profundum maris fuisses praecipitatus, quam unum ex credentibus in eum perduxisses ad scandalum, quam unum contempsisses ex illis qui sint regnum possessuri caelorum? quae erit repraesentaturus tibi qui ea de causa eius sanctae ecclesiae ex membris scindi merueris, quia sis per quem scandala diabolus inmiserit nostris diebus in dei populum? quia licet concitaris scandala, tamen deceperis eos tantum qui te nesciuerint iam sic aruisse, ut riuus praecisus a fonte, ut fractus ramus ex arbore; ceterum qui te extra ecclesiam cognoscimus positum, qui hostem unici filii dei cernimus, scientes te mortuum conatos tuos deo iuuante subter pedes nostros esse conspicimus. scimus etenim mortuum uiuis dominari non posse. sed qui dicis uiuere te in Christo, unde probare es potens, cum eum sis negans? uiuere etenim non possunt nisi qui illum fateantur uerum deum esse, uerum dei filium. unde es uiuens, cum nos idcirco persequaris, quia eius esse nos fateamur seruos?

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XVII. Look at just a few things145 and you’ll see into what darkness you, a man of darkness, are dragging men. If we love God, and keep his commandments, we can be sure of loving God’s children. Loving God means keeping his commandments, and these commandments of his are not a burden to us. (1 Jn 5:2–3) – you want to get me to squander commands which have not been given by you, at the Devil’s instigation. How can I love God if I am the enemy of his commands, thanks to you? Because of this surely you’re none other than the darnel destined for eternal life? About this the Lord says The tares were gathered together and burned in the fire, and so it will be when the world is brought to an end; the Son of Man will give charge to his angels, and they will gather up all that gives offence in his kingdom, all those who do wickedly in it, and will cast them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping, and gnashing of teeth. Then, at last, the just will shine out, clear as the sun, in their Father’s kingdom. Listen, you that have ears to hear with. (Mt 13:40–43) You see, if I were to condemn an innocent man because of what you’re doing, as a heretic too I would be destined to go to hell with you. We can’t follow the kingdom of God, in which we should shine like the sun, if either we become murderers or violate apostolic faith. Rejoice, then, and carrying on living in evil; don’t understand what evil you’re doing; and you will surely find out that you’re one of the malignant destined by the Lord to go into eternal fire, when he says: The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the just, and will cast them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping, and gnashing of teeth. (13:49–50) You’re determined to persecute for no reason the servants of the only begotten Son of God; you’re the hand146 of the Devil; you think you can lead, as much as you can, Holy Church into every kind of scandal. But look at what God promises you and your accomplices in sacrilege: He who gives a welcome to such a child as this in my name, gives welcome to me. And if anyone hurts the conscience of one of these little ones, that believe in me, he had better have been drowned in the depths of the sea, with a mill-stone hung about his neck. Woe to the world, for the hurt done to consciences! It must needs be that such hurt should come, but woe to the man through whom it comes! If thy hand or thy foot is an occasion of falling to thee, cut it off and cast it away from thee (18:6–7) and further on See that thou dost not treat one of these little ones with contempt; I tell you, they have angels of their own in heaven, which behold the face of my heavenly Father continually (18:7). You not only reject those who believe in God’s divine majesty – you want to kill them! He will have been shown as the ransom – which you deny – and he’s tried to explain this to you, when you’ll have the milestone of an ass hung round your neck and be thrown into the deep sea; how can you lead even one of those who believe in him into scandal, how could you show such contempt for those destined to possess the kingdom of heaven? What will he be shown to be, whom you try to cut off from the limbs of the Church, because through you the Devil thrusts scandals into the people of God? Since it seems right to you to stir up scandals, you deceive others: they don’t know that you’re dry like a river which has dried up after it’s come from

145 An echo of Virgil Aeneid 3.377–179 ‘pauca tibi e multis…expediam dictis’ also found at A2 XVIII 12 ‘pauca de multis gestis inter Acham et Eliam’. 146 Lat ‘membrum’. There might well be a coarser meaning here.

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XVIII. Aut numquid ob aliam nos persequeris causam? numquid fortassis inuenisti nos in te deliquisse et idcirco in nos tam infestus es? nos in te peccasse nosmet non retinemus. quomodo etenim in te peccasse nos probari poterit, cum te de morte uenire ad uitam urgeamus? et tamen si sentis nos in te deliquisse, accipe quae te circa nos facere iusserit dominus dicens: quod si peccauerit in te frater tuus, uade et corripe eum inter te et ipsum solum; et si audierit, lucratus eris fratrem tuum; si autem non te audierit, adhibe te cum adhuc unum uel duos, ut in ore duum uel trium testium stet omne uerbum. quod si non audierit eos, dic ecclesiae; si autem ecclesiam non audierit, sit tibi tamquam ethnicus et publicanus. (18:15–17) cum haec non feceris quae praeceperit dominus fieri, cum non solum tu in te et nos non monueris, quibus praesentibus Athanasium unum e nobis conuincens reum fuisse, sed coegeris eum inauditum a nobis damnari consacerdotibus suis, cum ei audientiam abstuleris, quomodo nos tu iuste poteris incusare, quod enim deliquerimus in te, nihil horum mandatorum domini cum impleueris? cur nos tam infeste persequeris, cum magis tu sis reus praeuaricationis, qui minime circa nos prout tibi dedit mandata dei unicus filius egeris, sed qui prout placuerit inimico nostro diabolo cuncta gesseris? illius etenim est huiusmodi consilium, illius talis uoluntas, ut inauditus damnetur, ut absens interficiatur, ut innocentis cruor fundatur. cum non, inquam, rem egeris eo modo quo iusserit te agere dominus, fuisti ausus perferre ad beatam ecclesiam, fuisti ausus dicere: ‘peccauit Athanasius et debet ab omnibus eius condemnari communio’. sed quid dicere temptabis? in deum deliquit? et ecce inueniri non potest quod in deum deliquerit, siquidem neque tu neque consacrilegi tui filii meretricis haeresis Arrianae possitis testes admitti contra catholicum episcopum. dominus etenim loquebatur de tribus catholicis testibus, de seruis maiestatis suae, ut illis crederet beata ecclesia, non uobis profanis, ex adulterio de meretrice natis. ceterum si non ita acceperimus domini istud praeceptum, poterunt et saturni atque omnium idolorum cultores admitti contra dei domesticos testes, poterunt et conblasphemi tui a deo derelicti, sine lumine ut tu es positi Iudaei. si enim uos haeretici et quidem omnium sectarum admittendi estis testes contra Christianos, debent et ethnici et Iudaei, siquidem siue iudaei siue ethnici siue uos haeretici positi extra domini ecclesiam sitis sine deo, ut tunc illi cuncti qui non fuerint in arca sanctissimi Noe. ut enim illi positi extra arcam

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a spring, like a branch cut off from a tree;147 but we know that you’ve been thrown out of the Church, that you’re the enemy of the only begotten Son of God; we know that you’re a dead man and we see that, thanks to God’s help, those who are trying to do these things with you’re being trodden under our feet. We know that a dead man cannot rule those who are live. How can you say that you live in Christ, how can you prove this, if you deny him? Those who deny that he is true God, and truly the Son of God, cannot live. How is that you’re living when you persecute us because we’re his servants? XVIII. For what other reason do you persecute us? Do you attack us because we’ve offended you? We don’t recall how we’ve sinned against you. How can you prove we’ve sinned against you, when we urge you to come from death into life? If you feel we’ve offended you, accept what the Lord tells us to do about people like you when he says: If thy brother does thee wrong, go at once and tax him with it, as a private matter between thee and him; and so, if he will listen to thee, thou hast won thy brother. If he will not listen to thee, take with thee one or two more, that the whole matter may be certified by the voice of two or three witnesses. If he will not listen to them, then speak of it to the church; and if he will not even listen to the church, then count him all one with the heathen and the publican. (18:15–17) You don’t do what the Lord has told us to do; and you tell us not do them – and at the moment try and find guilty Athanasius, one of us – and you try and force him to be condemned by us his fellow priests without a hearing;148 you’ve driven him away unheard, so how can you accuse us fairly of having offended you, when you don’t follow any of God’s commands? Why do you persecute us with aggression, since you’re more guilty of collusion with evil? Why, when you do so little to follow the commands of the only begotten Son of God, but rather act in a way to please our adversary the Devil? He urges and wants that a man should be condemned unheard, that he should be pursued to death in his absence, that an innocent man’s blood should be shed. As I say, you’ve done anything which the Lord has commanded you to do; you’ve dared to bring evil to the blessed Church, and you’ve dared to say ‘Athanasius has sinned and communion with him should be condemned by all!’ How dare you say this? ‘He has offended God!’ But look, he can’t have offended God, as neither you, or your accomplices in sacrilege, sons of the meretricious Arian heresy, can be witnesses against a Catholic bishop! For the Lord says, with regard to your majesty’s servants, that the blessed Church should believe three Catholic witnesses, not profane men like you, born of meretricious adultery. If we didn’t accept these commands of the Lord, then the witnesses against God’s servants would worshippers of Saturn and all the other idols; so also your fellow heretical blasphemers and members of all other sects would witness against Christians, alongside Gentiles and Jews – as Jews, Gentiles and you heretics are removed from the Church, without God, rather like those who were not in the ark with most holy

147 Cf. Cyprian De Unitate Ecclesiae 5.134–36 (CCL III 253) ‘ab arbore frange ramum, fractus germinare non poterit; a fonte praecide rivum, praecisus arescit’. 148 Athanasius was not invited to the local Council at Milan in 355.

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saluari non potuerunt, ita nec uos, sed sic sitis interituri, nisi credentes in unicum dei filium eius in sancta ecclesia fueritis commanentes nobis cum. si igitur testes neque tu neque conblasphemi tui esse potestis, quomodo fecisti, insulsissime rex, damnari et quidem a consacerdotibus suis totius uirum innocentiae? addo illud, quia iam illum accusaueratis fuisse homicidam apud serdicam in synodo catholicorum, et probare minime ualuerit iniquitas uestra. addo quod tu ipse ad ecclesiam Alexandrinorum dederis litteras adstruens illum uirum iustum, episcopum catholicum. ad ultimum, tametsi peccasset, Athanasius fuerat pellendus a populo sibi commisso, et quidem ut ille populus alium e corpore suo dignum peteret sibi fieri episcopum; non tamen fuerat gladio per te imperatorem petendus. at cum tu loco innocentis, in quem nihil ueri constituerit, loco catholici miseris consacrilegum tuum Georgium et nolentibus eius maculari sacrilegio tantas contumelias tantas que intuleris poenas, ut plurimos proscripseris, relegaueris in exiliis, in metallis, quam plurimos etiam interfeceris et hodieque non desinas ea facere blasphemiam tuam, quae est et Georgii, suscipere nolentibus, quae irati hostes, inmanissimi barbari uix faciant, quomodo te arbitraris posse intellegi Christianum, qui et feris saeuissimis uidearis esse ferocior et beluis omnibus inmanior? fuisti ausus dicere Athanasium percutiendum, non conspiciens tunc uos Arrianos esse punitos et quidem dei uirtute, quando idololatriam introducere estis meditati in domini ecclesiam.

XIX. Sed adhuc dicas fortassis: ‘deliquit in me Athanasius’. ut omittam quia et in hoc mendax sis, non sciebas scriptum, quid circa in te delinquentes agere te praeceperit dominus, ut sic gladio eum fuisses persecutus? tunc accedens ad eum petrus dixit ei: domine, si peccauerit in me frater meus, quotiens remittam ei? usque septies? dicit illi: non dico tibi usque septies, sed usque septuagies septies. (18:21–22) an erubesces audire Athanasium fratrem tuum? si Christianum te profiteris, debes omnes Christianos fratres dicere et quidem non solum Athanasium, sed et eos quos uideris stipem petentes. omnes etenim in ecclesia domini constituti unum sumus ei, apud quem non sit acceptatio personarum. et tamen bene feceris, si nolis illum dici fratrem tuum; tu etenim filius pestilentiae cum sis et ille unus sit de filiis lucis, tu cum mancipium sis nostri inimici et ille sit seruus dei, est iniquissimum si dicaris frater hominis dei praecursor antiChristi. si deliquisse illum in te in aliquo uideras, dimittendum ei fuerat ilico a te, ut tibi dimitteret crimina propria deus. nunc uero quia dimittere nequiuisti propter contumaciam atque maliuolentiam tuam, tibi, qui praeceptum domini inritum fecisti, accipe quae possint repraesentari: tunc accedens ad eum Petrus dixit: domine, si peccauerit in me frater meus, quotiens remittam ei? usque septies? dicit illi: non dico tibi usque septies, sed septuagies septies. ideo simile est habitum regnum caelorum homini regi, qui uoluit rationem ponere cum seruis suis. et cum coepisset rationem

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Noah. They couldn’t be saved outside the ark: so you too will perish in the same way unless you believe in the only begotten Son of God and remain with us in his holy Church. If neither you or your fellow blasphemers can be witnesses, how, most scornful king, can you act in order to have a totally innocent man condemned by his fellow priests? I add this: you accused him falsely of being a murderer at the synod of Catholics at Sardica,149 and your iniquity doesn’t need much evidence for it to be clear. I add also that you sent letters to the Church of the Alexandrians trying to prove this charge against this just man, this Catholic bishop. Anyway, even if had sinned, Athanasius should have been expelled by the people, and the people should have sought another worthy body from their number – they would not have asked for one from you the emperor, threatened by your sword. But in place of an innocent man, about whom you couldn’t make a just decision, and in place of a Catholic, put you accomplice in sacrilege, George; you punished those who were unwilling to be tainted with such crimes; you made lists condemning many people, you sent people into exile in chains, you as many as you could and even today you don’t hold back from continuing your blasphemy; this is also George’s – to take people against their will, which even angry enemies and savage barbarians would scarcely do. How can you be considered Christians, as you’re more fierce than the most savage beasts and more savage than all monsters? You dare to say that Athanasius should be struck down, unaware that you Arians have been punished because of God’s virtue, because you’ve conspired to bring idolatry into God’s Church. XIX. Perhaps you may say: ‘Athanasius offends me!’ I will leave aside why in relation to that statement you’re a liar, but don’t you know the Scripture, where the Lord tells you to do this to those who offend you rather than pursuing them with the sword, which is what you’ve done: Then Peter came to him and asked, Lord, how often must I see my brother do me wrong, and still forgive him; as much as seven times? Jesus said to him, I tell thee to forgive, not seven wrongs, but seventy times seven. (18:21–22) Did you blush with embarrassment to listen to your brother Athanasius? If you call yourself a Christian, you should say that all Christians are your brothers – not only Athanasius, but those you see who are seeking to cooperate with him.150 In the Lord’s church we’re at one with him, and he’s no respecter of persons.151 You’d do well not to be thought of as his brother, as you’re a son of pestilence he’s a son of the light; you’re a lieutenant of the Enemy and he’s a servant of God; so it would be iniquitous for you to be said to be his brother when you’re the forerunner of the Antichrist. If he’d offended you, then she should have been dismissed by you with God laying down the proper charges for you. But now you cannot set down proper charges because of your obstinacy and ill-will, so you should accept what has been made clear to you, that you’ve nullified God’s commands: Then Peter came to him and asked, Lord, how often must I see my brother do me wrong, and still forgive him; as much as seven times?

149 This would have been in the late summer of 343 – see Barnes 71–81 150 ‘Stipem’ would literally mean alms or a charitable levy. 151 Lit ‘in whose presence there is no acceptance of persons’.

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ponere, oblatus est ei unus qui debebat decem milia talenta. cum autem non haberet unde redderet, iussit eum dominus uenundari et uxorem eius et filios et omnia quae habebat et reddi debitum. procidens autem seruus ille orabat eum dicens: patientiam habe in me, et omnia reddam tibi. misertus autem dominus serui illius dimisit eum et debitum dimisit ei. egressus autem seruus ille inuenit unum ex conseruis suis qui debebat ei centum denarios, et tenens suffocabat eum dicens: redde quod debes. et procidens seruus ille rogabat eum dicens: patientiam habe in me, et reddam tibi. ille autem noluit, sed abiit et misit eum in carcerem, donec redderet debitum. uidentes autem conserui eius quae fiebant contristati sunt, et uenerunt et narrauerunt domino suo omnia quae facta erant. tunc uocauit eum dominus suus et ait illi: serue nequam, omne debitum remisi tibi, quia rogasti me; non oportuit te quoque misereri conseruo tuo, sicut et ego misertus sum tibi? et iratus dominus eius tradidit eum tortoribus, quoad usque redderet uniuersum debitum. sic et uobis faciet pater meus qui in caelis est, si non remiseritis unusquisque fratri suo de cordibus uestris. (18:21–35) quid respondis ad haec tu, cuius mentis oculi uidere minime potuerint haec quae praeceperit fieri dominus? ubi ponis illud, quod neque in te neque in deum deliquerit, sed sit sustinens persecutionem, cur apostolicam teneat fidem, cur nolit fieri ut tu es sacrilegus? firmasti interficere ueritatis praedicatorem cupiens in eo te conlocari honore, in quo sunt illi quos in euangelio et prophetarum interfectores designat dominus et impias manus ad ipsum etiam porrecturos aperit dicens: homo erat paterfamilias qui plantauit uineam et sepem circumdedit et fodit in ea torcular et aedificauit turrem et locauit eam colonis, et peregre profectus est. cum tempus autem fructuum adpropinquasset, misit seruos suos ad colonos, ut acciperet de fructibus suis; et coloni adprehensis seruis unum ceciderunt, alium autem lapidauerunt, alium uero occiderunt. iterum misit ad illos seruos plures, et fecerunt eis similiter. nouissime autem misit illis filium suum unicum dicens: uerebuntur filium meum. coloni autem uidentes filium dixerunt inter se: hic est heres, uenite, occidamus illum, et habebimus hereditatem eius. et adprehensum eum occiderunt et eiecerunt extra uineam. cum ergo uenerit dominus uineae, quid faciet colonis illis? dicit illis: malos male perdet illos, uineam locabit aliis colonis, qui reddunt ei fructum temporibus suis. (21:33–41)

XX. ex his quia esse unus magnopere desideraris, et nos socios criminum tuorum suadebas fieri; neque enim alia sunt consilia tua ab illorum nefariis consiliis, qui inueniantur prophetas interemisse, qui denique in unicum dei filium impias porrexerint manus, maxime cum etiam passiones beatorum istorum missorum ad colonos ad

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Jesus said to him, I tell thee to forgive, not seven wrongs, but seventy times seven. Here is an image of the kingdom of heaven; there was a king who resolved to enter into a reckoning with his servants, and had scarcely begun the reckoning, when one was brought before him who was ten thousand talents in his debt. He had no means of making payment; whereupon his master gave orders that he should be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and so the debt should be paid. With that the servant fell at his feet and said, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee in full. And his master, moved with pity for him, let the servant go and discharged him of his debt. So the servant went out, and met with a fellow servant of his, who owed him a hundred pieces of silver; whereupon he caught hold of him and took him by the throat, and said, Pay me all thou owest me. His fellow servant went down on his knees in entreaty; Have patience with me, he said, and I will pay thee in full. But the other refused; he went away and committed him to prison for such time as the debt was unpaid. The rest of the servants were full of indignation when they saw this done, and went in to tell their master what had happened. And so he was summoned by his master, who said to him, I remitted all that debt of thine, thou wicked servant, at thy entreaty; was it not thy duty to have mercy on thy fellow servant, as I had mercy on thee? And his master, in anger, gave him over to be tortured until the debt was paid. It is thus that my heavenly Father will deal with you, if brother does not forgive brother with all his heart. (18:21–35) What answer do you’ve to this, as the eyes of your mind can only see a little what God has prepared for you? Why do you put this in place, when it has not offended either you or God, but rather so that it sustains persecution – why would it hold the apostolic faith, why would it not want to be sacrilegious as you’re? You’ve urged us to kill the preacher of truth, wanting us to put you in his place; if we did this we would be like those whom the Lord says in the gospel are the killers of the prophets; he also exposes those who stretch out impious hands against him when he says There was a rich man who planted a vineyard; he walled it in, and dug a wine-press and built a tower in it, and then let it out to some vine-dressers, while he went on his travels. When vintage-time drew near, he sent his own servants on an errand to the vine-dressers, to claim its revenues. Whereupon the vine-dressers laid hands upon his servants; one they beat, one they killed outright, one they stoned. And he sent other servants on a second errand, more than he had sent at first, but they were used no better. After that, he sent his own son to them; They will have reverence, he said, for my son. But when the vine-dressers found his son coming to them, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and seize upon the inheritance. And they laid hands on him, thrust him out from the vineyard, and killed him. And now, what will the owner of the vineyard do to those vine-dressers when he returns? They said, He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will let out the vineyard to other vine-dressers, who will pay him his due when the season comes. (21:33–41) XX. Since you really want to be one of these, and you tried to persuade us to be accomplices, and since your plans are no different from those of these people who killed the prophets and stretched out their impious hands against the only begotten Son of God, and since you renew the sufferings of the same blessed men who’ve

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nihilum sis redigens, adstruendo illos fuisse interfectos propter eum ‘qui fuerit quando non fuerit’, cum clament sacrae scripturae quia unicus dei filius semper regnauerit ac sit regnans cum patre. unam habere deitatem aperiunt dominicae litterae patrem et unicum eius filium; et dicis eum, pro quo interfecti sunt prophetae gloriosi, factum esse ex nihilo. si enim tu quae dicis uera sunt, constat propter creaturam interfectos beatos prophetas. et ubi erit illud, quod ingenti indignatione irascatur dominus in eos qui seruiant creaturae quam creatori? si pro creatura interfecti sunt beati prophetae, quomodo eos habet carissimos deus? quomodo, quia ipsorum uerbis non crediderunt iudaei, sunt hodie dei inimici? unde dei Iudaei inimici? unde extra domini positi inueniuntur uineam, nisi quia prophetarum interemptores extitissent, nisi quia aeternum deum aeterni dei filium praedicauerint prophetae et illi conblasphemi tui non solum non crediderint prophetiae eorum, sed et eosdem interemerint? quid etenim persecutos fuisse arbitraris in prophetis Iudaeos nisi unicum dei filium, sicut et in apostolis atque martyribus? ex te saltem cognosce uera esse quae dico, siquidem et tu quam in Athanasio nec non et in nobis dei uerum persequaris filium. cum haec ita sint, censueras nos iungendos interfectoribus prophetarum, iustorum sanguinis fusoribus, consacrilegis tuis, hoc est Iudaeis, ipsorum uidelicet quia sis imitator. nec enim alia de re ‘Athanasium damnate’ dixisti, susciperemus etiam Arrii fidem mandasti, nisi ut et in effusione sanguinis iustorum et in negando unicum dei filium pares fuissemus Iudaeorum, quorum iam tu sis in omnibus particeps. si enim illi prophetas interemerunt eos qui de aduentu loquebantur unici dei filii, et tu eos interficis qui sint credentes sicuti crediderunt prophetae. sed quamdiu de his cum incredulo, cum proposuerim tibi manifestare unum te esse ex illis, ad quos dicat dominus: ideo dico uobis quia auferetur a uobis regnum dei, et dabitur genti facienti fructum eius? (21:43) neque enim tu in gente hac es, quae fructus inueniatur facere iustitiae, ut non unus esse pronuntieris ex illis, quos pulsos esse a dei regno propter iustorum necem et incredulitatem suam audias. esse te aduerte haec gerendo inter illos, quorum nequitias aperiens dicit dominus: simile est regnum caelorum homini regi, qui fecit nuptias filio suo et misit seruos suos ad inuitatos ad nuptias, et infra: et noluerunt uenire. iterum misit ad illos seruos dicens: dicite inuitatis: ecce prandium paraui meum; tauri mei et saginata occisa et omnia parata, uenite ad nuptias. illi autem neglexerunt et abierunt alii in uillam suam, alii uero ad negotiationem suam; reliqui uero tenuerunt seruos eius et contumelia adfectos occiderunt. ille rex cum audisset, iratus est et misit exercitum suum et perdidit homicidas illos et ciuitates eorum incendit. tunc ait seruis suis: nuptiae quidem paratae sunt, sed qui erant inuitati non fuerunt digni. ite ergo ad exitus uiarum et quoscumque inueneritis uocate ad nuptias. et egressi serui in uias congregauerunt quotquot inuenerunt, malos et bonos, et impletae sunt nuptiae a discumbentibus. intrauit autem rex, ut uideret discumbentes, et uidit ibi hominem non uestitum ueste nuptiali et ait illi: amice, quomodo huc uenisti non habens uestimentum nuptiale? at ille obmutuit. tunc dixit rex ministris: tollite eum pedibus et manibus et mittite eum in tenebras exteriores; ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium. (22:3–14) quia itaque sine uestitu sis nuptiarum, Constanti, eris in perpetuum, nisi te conuerteris, talis qualis ille cui dicitur: amice, quomodo huc intrasti non habens uestem nuptialem? (22:12) sic uenturus in tenebras exteriores.

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been sent to the vine-dressers,152 by giving orders that they should be killed because of your beliefs about him, that ‘there was a time when he was not’, and when Sacred Scriptures cry out that the only begotten Son will always reign and reign with the Father. The Lord’s writings make clear that the Father and his only begotten Son are one Godhead; yet you say that he, for whom the glorious prophets were killed, was created from nothing. If you claim that this is true, it’s surely the case that the blessed prophets were killed because of a creature. But if this were so, how angry and indignant would the Lord be against those who would serve a creature as if he were the creator? If the blessed prophets were killed because of a creature, how could God hold them to be dear to him? When the Jews didn’t believe the words of these same men, how is it that they’re today the enemies of God? How are the Jews his enemies? How is it they’re outside the Lord’s vineyard, unless they had been exposed as the killers of the prophets, and unless the prophets had foretold that the Son of the eternal God is eternal God; these men, accomplices with you in blasphemy, didn’t believe their prophecies and killed them as well. Why do you think that the Jews were persecutors of the prophets unless they also persecuted the only begotten Son, together with his apostles and martyrs? At least acknowledge that what I’m saying is true about you, since you persecute Athanasius, us and the true Son of God. Since this is so, you think we’re joined to those who killed the prophets, even though you’re an imitator of those who shed the blood of innocent men, your accomplices in sacrilege, that is, the Jews. You say nothing other than ‘Condemn Athanasius!’, in order that we should take up the faith of Arius which you’ve told us to do, to make us equal with the Jews in shedding the blood of just men and in denying the only begotten Son of God, as you’re like them as you take part in all this. If they killed the prophets, who spoke of the coming of the only begotten Son of God, so you too kill those who believe what the prophets believed. I am incredulous about all this and I claim that you’re one of these people to whom the Lord says: The kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and given to a people who yields the revenues that belong to it (21:43) You’re member of this race which is a source of the fruits of injustice; you try to claim that you’re not one of those expelled from the kingdom of God because of the killing of innocent men and because of disbelief. Accept that you’re one of these people, whose wickedness the Lord makes clear when he says Here is an image of the kingdom of heaven; there was once a king, who held a marriage-feast for his son, and sent out his servants with a summons to all those whom he had invited to the wedding; but they would not come. Then he sent other servants with a fresh summons, bidding them tell those who had been invited, By this, I have prepared my feast, the oxen have been killed, and the fatlings, all is ready now; come to the wedding. But still they paid no heed, and went off on other errands, one to his farm in the country, and another to his trading; and the rest laid hands upon his servants, and insulted and killed them. The king fell into a rage when he heard of it, and sent out his troops to put those murderers to death, and burn their city. After this, he said to his servants, Here is the marriage-feast all ready, and those who had been invited have proved unworthy of it. You must go out to the street-corners, and invite all whom you find 152 ‘Colonos’ as in the Scripture text.

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XXI. Nec dubites etenim te uenturum ad exteriores tenebras, quandoquidem iam totus in tenebras sis conuersus. illi etenim, qui iustorum fuderunt sanguinem prophetarum, qui unicum dei negauerunt filium, et tenebrae et filii diaboli uocantur. quia haec sis et ipse agens, utique et tenebrarum et diaboli filius eris perseueraturus, nisi tibi consulueris. ‘quomodo’, dicis, ‘consulere mihi potero’? ut persequi nos desinas et fidem apostolicam suscipias, qui, nisi feceris, ut es nunc, semper futurus inter illos ad quos dicitur: uae uobis, scribae et Pharisaei hypocritae, qui decimatis mentham et anethum et cyminum et reliquistis quae grauiora sunt legis, iudicium et misericordiam et fidem. haec oportuit facere et illa non omittere. duces caeci, liquantes culicem, camelum autem contraglutientes. (23:23–25) si non tu haec digne audis cum illis, ubi est iustum iudicium quod procedit a te, qui iustum uirum, apostolicam cur sit praedicans fidem, nitaris interficere? ubi est iustum iudicium, qui eos sis omnibus uiribus imperii tui persequens, quos uideas neque damnare uelle inauditum neque fidem catholicam deserere, et eos sis diligens, quos cognoscas te cum et sanguinem innocentis fudisse et fidem euangelicam respuisse? quae est apud te et in te constituta misericordia, quae ut exhibeatur lex praecepit sancta? nempe illa quae torquet, proscribit, deportat, mittit in carcerem, deducit ad exilia, conlocat in metalla, illa quae fami, siti, uerberibus, nuditate necat, ad ultimum illa quae gladio punit. haec est, Constanti, tua misericordia quae non ueniat ex lege dei, sed ex praesumptione diaboli. iudicium et misericordiam et fidem, haec, inquit, uos oportuit facere et illa non omittere. (23:23) ubi est fides tua, qui fidem, quam tenuerunt Abraham, Isaac et Iacob beatissimi et cuncti prophetae, apostoli ac martyres, damnaueras et illam statueris suscipiendam a cunctis dei cultoribus, quam contra hanc catholicam fidem diabolus per magistrum uestrum arrium uomuerit? quibus ex rebus esse intellegeris unus ex illis qui dinoscantur audire: uae uobis, scribae et Pharisaei hypocritae, qui decimatis mentham et anethum et cyminum et reliquistis quae grauiora sunt legis, iudicium et misericordiam et fidem. haec oportuit facere et illa non omittere. duces caeci, liquantes culicem et camelum traglutientes. (23:23–25) aut negabis culicem te liquare et camelum transuorare, homo qui, cum stipem non solum rogatus, sed et tribuens sis nonnumquam sponte, tamen, ut est saepe dictum, proscribas Christianos se confitentes, deportes, torqueas, postremo interficias? et idcirco esse te cum illis debes aduertere ad quos dicatur: uae uobis,

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there to the wedding. And his servants went out into the streets, where they mustered all they could find, rogues and honest men together; and so the wedding had its full tale of guests. But when the king came in to look at the company, he saw a man there who had no wedding-garment on; My friend, he said, how didst thou come to be here without a wedding-garment? And he made no reply. Whereupon the king said to his servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the darkness, where there shall be weeping, and gnashing of teeth. (22:3–13) So, Constantius, because you’ll be without a wedding garment for eternity, unless you convert, you’ll be like the man to whom it is said My friend, how didst thou come to be here without a wedding-garment? (22:13) – and so you’ll be case into outer darkness. XXI. You should be in no doubt that you will be in outer darkness, as you’ve completely turned towards it. These men, who poured out the blood of the just prophets, who denied the only begotten Son of God, are also the sons of the Devil and of darkness. As you do these things yourself, you’ll be too a son of the Devil and of darkness, unless you look to yourself;153 ‘How can I look to myself?’ you say. If you stop persecuting us and accept the apostolic faith, you will avoid being one of those, as you’re now, to whom it is said Woe upon you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites that will award to God his tithe, though it be of mint or dill or cummin, and have forgotten the weightier commandments of the law, justice, mercy, and honour; you did ill to forget one duty while you performed the other; you blind leaders, that have a strainer for the gnat, and then swallow the camel! (23:23–24) If you don’t with others listen to this, how can you make a just judgement, when you persecute a just man? How can you proclaim the apostolic faith when you’re intent on killing him? Where is your just judgement, as you persecute with all the power of your imperial authority those who should not be condemned unheard; you should see that the Catholic faith shouldn’t be deserted, but rather you’re someone who loves those who’ve shed the blood of an innocent man and refused the apostolic faith! What mercy has been planted in you which commands that is be shown to be a holy law? Rather, mercy which tortures, issues lists of condemnation, deports, throws into prison, sends into exile, puts into metal chains, which by means of starvation, thirst, blows and nakedness would kill, inflicting the ultimate punishment of the sword. Constantius, this is your mercy which comes not from the law of God, but from the Devil whom you’ve made first in your life! You’ve forgotten law, justice, mercy and honour; you did ill to forget one duty while you performed the other! (23:24) he says. Where is your faith, as you’ve condemned the faith which most blessed Abraham, Isaac and Jacob held, together with all the prophets, apostles and martyrs, the faith which has been accepted by all the worshippers of God? Against this Catholic faith you’ve set up a false faith which the Devil, through your master Arius, has spewed up! From all this you should be aware that you’re among those set apart who hear these words Woe upon you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites that will award to God his tithe, though it be of mint or dill or cummin, and have forgotten the weightier commandments of the law, justice, mercy, 153 Lit ‘take counsel with yourself ’.

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scribae et Pharisaei hypocritae, quia similes estis sepulcris dealbatis, quae aforis parent hominibus speciosa, intus uero plena sunt ossibus mortuorum et omni spurcitia. sic et uos aforis quidem paretis hominibus iusti, intus uero pleni estis hypocrisi et iniquitate. (23:27–28) es ex illis interfectoribus ad quos dicitur: serpentes, generamina uiperarum, quomodo fugietis a iudicio gehennae? ideo ecce mitto ad uos prophetas et sapientes et scribas, et ex illis occidetis et crucifigetis et persequemini de ciuitate in ciuitatem, ut ueniat ad uos omnis sanguis iustorum, qui effusus est super terram, a sanguine Abel iusti usque ad sanguinem Zachariae, filii Barachiae, quem occidistis inter templum et altare. amen uobis dico, uenient haec omnia super generationem istam. (23:33–36)

XXII. Probaris actibus tuis ex illo genere te esse uipereo. inueniris etenim esse unus ex illis, ad quos haec quod perpetraturi essent dicebantur. aut si negas esse te ex illis qui audiunt ore domini: serpentes, generamina uiperarum, proba non te, sed Iudaeos destinasse militem ad Alexandriam, Iudaeorum militem obsedisse fores dei domus, Iudaeorum militum ducem fuisse Syrianum, proba Iudaeos ingressos basilicam cum armis atque certum numerum interfecisse. si probare non potes, quia constet te misisse ad dei inpugnandam religionem, rectissime dicimus te unum esse ex illis, ad quos dictum est: serpentes, generamina uiperarum, quomodo fugietis iudicium gehennae? (23:33) non sine dubio fugies iudicium gehennae, sed eris semper illic ardens cum conserpentibus tuis, nisi tibi prospexeris. tunc, inquit, tradent uos in tribulationem et occident uos, et eritis odio omnibus gentibus propter nomen meum. et tunc scandalizabuntur multi et inuicem tradent et odio habebunt inuicem. et multi pseudoprophetae exsurgent et seducent multos. et quoniam abundabit iniquitas, perfrigescet caritas multorum. (24:9–13) si non mens tua sacrilega scit me propter unicum dei filium pati persecutionem a te, poteris non esse de illo genere, non esse in illorum sententia ad quos dicitur: serpentes, generamina uiperarum, quomodo fugietis a iudicio gehennae? ideo ecce mitto ad uos prophetas et sapientes et scribas et ex illis occidetis et crucifigetis et persequemini de ciuitate in ciuitatem. (23:33) quae cum tu sis gerens hodie, negare non audebis te de uiperae esse progenie. interemisti enim multis in locis plurimos Christianorum, alios detines uinctos in carceribus, in ergastulis. etiam hinc poteris uidere te unum esse ex illis, ad quos dicitur: serpentes, genimina uiperarum, (23:33) et infra: ecce ego mitto ad

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and honour; you did ill to forget one duty while you performed the other; you blind leaders, that have a strainer for the gnat, and then swallow the camel! (23:23–24) Do you deny that you’re straining the gnat and devouring the camel, that you ask for a contribution and also pay tribute at no-one’s request; but you list for condemnation those who profess themselves Christians and you deport, torture and finally kill them? Turn your mind to those to whom it’s said Woe upon you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites that are like whitened sepulchres, fair in outward show, when they are full of dead men’s bones and all manner of corruption within; you too seem exact over your duties, outwardly, to men’s eyes, while there is nothing within but hypocrisy and iniquity. (23:27–28) You’re one of the murderers to whom it’s said: Serpents that you’re, brood of vipers, how should you escape from the award of hell? And now, behold, I am sending prophets and wise men and men of learning to preach to you; some of them you will put to death and crucify, some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city; so that you will make yourselves answerable for all the blood of just men that is shed on the earth, from the blood of the just Abel to the blood of Zachariah the son of Barachiah, whom you slew between the temple and the altar. Believe me, this generation shall be held answerable for all of it. (23:33–36) XXII. You’ve proved by your actions that you were born of the viper’s race. You’ll find yourself one of those to whom these things which will happen have been predicted. If you deny that you’re one of those who hear these words from the Lord’ mouth – serpents, generation of vipers – prove it wasn’t you, but that it was the Jews who arranged for the soldiers to be in Alexandria, that Jewish soldiers laid siege to the house of God, that Syrianus154 was general of Jewish soldiers; prove that the Jews entered the basilica with weapons and killed a certain number of people.155 If you can’t prove this – since it’s clear that you sent soldiers in to attack God’s religion – we rightly say that you’re one of those to whom it is said Serpents that you’re, brood of vipers, how should you escape from the award of hell? (23:33) Undoubtedly you can’t fell the judgement of Hell; you’ll always be burning in that place with your fellow serpents, unless you watch out for yourself: In those days, men will give you up to persecution, and will put you to death; all the world will be hating you because you bear my name; whereupon many will lose heart, will betray and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise, and many will be deceived by them; and the charity of most men will grow cold, as they see wickedness abound everywhere; (24:9–12) If you know in your sacrilegious mind that I have suffered persecution from you because of the only begotten Son of God, how can you not be from that race or from those covered by the same verdict to whom it’s said: Serpents that you’re, brood of vipers, how should you escape from the award of hell? And now, behold, I am sending prophets and wise men and men of learning to preach to you; some of them you will put to death and crucify, some you will scourge

154 Syrianus held the rank of dux and was responsible for entering Alexandria in 355 with the aim of expelling Athanasius from the city (Barnes pp. 118–19). 155 These killings are not mentioned in Athanasius’ own account (see references at Barnes p. 119). Syrianus occupied the church at Thonas, not the basilica.

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uos prophetas et sapientes et scribas, et ex illis occidetis, (23:34) dum non eos dignaris execrari quos uideas per abundantem iniquitatem tuam recessisse ab apostolica fide, illos quorum perfrixerit caritas, sed eos quos uideas permanere in eo statu fidei, in quo manentes beati prophetae, apostoli atque martyres meruerunt aeternas dei consequi amicitias. non enim apud Alexandriam Achetam et Dydimam ex presbyteris execraris, qui noscantur ex Christianis facti Arriani, sed eos quos adhuc cognoscis stare nobis cum. aut si non ita est, cur nunc non execraris Dydimam et Achetam, quos antea execrabaris, nisi quia tunc a te fuissent execrabiles habiti, quia essent adhuc scilicet Christiani, nunc uero sint tibi carissimi, quia uidelicet esse coeperunt, ut tu es, apostata, blasphemi? sed iam credimus te post tantas probationes tibi exhibitas te unum esse ex illis, ad quos dicitur: serpentes, genimina uiperarum, quomodo fugietis a iudicio gehennae? daturum te operam quo possis curare uulnera tibi per diabolum inflicta tam grauia, grauia, quia et homicida sis et sacrilegus; a quibus criminibus si te nolueris liberari, sanguis tuus requiratur a te, nos coram deo mundi futuri a sanguine tuo, qui tibi omnibus ueritatem patefecerimus modis. a te non solum tuus, sed et eorum requiretur sanguis, eorum quos aut ad haeresem perduxisti suscipiendam aut ad innocentem inlexisti iugulandum.

XXIII. Sed si dixeris: ‘arbitrabar illorum catholicam fuisse fidem quos dicitis Arrianos’, si in fidei nutasti causa, si quod hi qui credere se dicant in creaturam ignorasti quod sint haeretici, hi qui dicant deum non habere uerum filium, numquid etiam hoc ignorasti quia non sit iustum gladio persequi innocentem? numquid fugerat te dixisse dominum beato Petro: conuerte gladium tuum in loco suo. omnes enim qui accipiunt gladium gladio peribunt? (26:52) quid interea, Constanti, acturus, qui tantam Christi dei unici filii seruorum interemeris multitudinem? uides etenim eum quem in nos persequeris dicere quod omnes qui gladium accipiunt gladio sunt perituri. quid accepturus, qui nisi ueniam facinorum tuorum credens in eum quem negas fueris consecutus, totiens merearis et quidem dei percuti gladio, quotiens tu percusseris eius clementiae dicatos? quis homo dei sacerdotibus inponendam dixisti necessitatem ad absentem percutiendum, ad inauditum puniendum, ad innocentis fundendum sanguinem? cur noluisti audiri Athanasium consacerdotem nostrum a nobis? cur sic

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in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city; (23:33–34) Since you’re doing this now, you can’t dare to deny that you’re from the serpent’s progeny. You’ve killed very many Christians in very many places, you detain some in prisons, in the prisons of convicts. You can also see that you’re one of those to whom it is said: Serpents that you’re, brood of vipers, how should you escape from the award of hell? (23:33) and below…while you’re not fit to curse those whom you want to be withdrawn from the faith of the apostles because of your abundant wickedness – those people, whose charity has survived, whom you can see remain in a state of faithfulness, in which the blessed prophets, apostles and martyrs remained too; they’re fit to follow the path to eternal friendship with God. You’ve not been cursed by priests because of Machetas156 of Alexandria or Didymas, who were born Christians but became Arian, but because of those whom you know stand alongside us. If this isn’t so, why don’t you curse now Didymas, whom you’d cursed before? Because if they were fit to be cursed by you then, since they’d been Christians, now they’re apparently most dear to you: this is because they’ve started being blasphemers, just like you, you apostate! Now, after all this has been proved, do we believe that you’re one of those to whom it’s said? Serpents that you’re, brood of vipers, how should you escape from the award of hell? (23:33) You will have to work hard to cure the wounds you’ve inflicted on yourself because of the Devil, since you’re a murderer and one who commits sacrilege; if you don’t want to be freed from these crimes, your blood will be required of you and we, in the sight of God, will be cleansed of your blood, as we’ve exposed in every way the truth about you. Not only will your blood be required of you, but also the blood of those whom you’ve led astray to take up heresy, or whom you’ve enticed to try and have an innocent man strangled. XXIII. But if you say ‘I think those whom you call Arians have preserved the Catholic faith’; or if you wavered in your faith, then surely you can’t be ignorant of those who say they believe in a creature, those whom you don’t think are heretics, those who say that God does not have a true Son? You can’t also not know that it cannot be just to pursue an innocent man with the sword! It must escape you that the Lord says to blessed Peter: Whereupon Jesus said to him, Put thy sword back into its place; all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword. (26:52) Constantius, what will you do in the meantime? You’re killing such a great multitude of the servants of Christ, the only begotten Son of God! Do you not see him, whom you persecute in us, here? What will you accept? Will you accept this, unless you seek pardon for your sins and believe in him whom you’ve denied and whom you’ve pursued so many times, whom you’ve tried to strike as often with the sword of God as you will strike those marked out by his mercy? What man of God do you say should be struck down,

156 Machetes may be an error in Lucifer’s text for Achetes, who was a deacon responsible for bringing the message to Athanasius from Constantius in 348 allowing him to return from exile (Socr. HE 2.23, Nichephorus 9.21). Didymus may have been a priest who with him later defected to the Arians. One earlier scholar, Gallandius, speculated that the correct text of Lucifer here may have been ‘Achetem ex diaconis’.

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more latronum occulte nos iugulare dei hominem uolueras, nisi quia sis ex illis, in quorum exprobrationem prolata sint haec: nemo ascendit in caelum nisi qui de caelo descendit, filius hominis qui est in caelis. sicut enim Moyses exaltauit serpentem in deserto, sic oportet exaltari filium hominis, ut omnis qui credit in eum habeat uitam aeternam. sic enim deus mundum dilexit, ut filium suum unicum daret, ut omnis qui credit in eum non pereat, sed uitam aeternam habeat. non enim misit deus filium suum in mundum, ut iudicet mundum, sed ut saluetur mundus per ipsum. ideo qui credit in eum, non iudicatur; qui autem non credit in eum, iam iudicatus est, quia non credidit in nomine unici filii dei. hoc est autem iudicium, quia lux uenit in mundum, et dilexerunt homines potius tenebras quam lucem; erant enim opera illorum mala. omnis qui praua agit, odit lucem et non uenit in lucem, ut non arguatur opera eius. nam qui facit ueritatem, uenit in lucem, ut manifestetur opera eius, quoniam in deo est factum. ( Jn 3:13–21) si seruum te unici cognosceres dei filii, numquam profecto eius maiestatem negares, numquam eius seruos nunc occulte nunc publice iugulari mandares; sed quia sis amator tenebrarum, quippe tenebra, quia sint opera tua mala, noluisti rem quam detuleras plenissime examinari per dei sacerdotes. cur noluisti, nisi quia timueris opus tuum publicari serpentinum? dum sumus in corpore, inquit apostolus, peregrinamur a domino; ex fide enim ambulamus, non per speciem. audemus etiam bonam uoluntatem habentes magis peregrinari a corpore et praesentes esse ad dominum, et contendimus siue absentes siue praesentes placere illi. nam omnes nos oportet manifestari ante tribunal Christi, ut ferat unusquisque propria corporis secundum quod gessit siue bonum siue malum. (2 Co 5:6–10) et Constantius haereticus dicis: ‘damnate, Christiani, Christianum’. cur hoc dicis, nisi quia fundere sanguinem iustorum, derelinquere etiam deum et suscipere idololatriam hoc esse optimum censueris?

XXIV. sed iterum te obsecro, piissime, cognoscas, imperator, cum sis et unici filii dei negator et in eum credentium persecutor, si non conpar illis inueniaris, quorum in Actibus apostolorum describitur nequitia: cum magna dissensio esset inter illos, timens tribunus ne raptus fuisset Paulus ab illis, iussit exercitum descendere et rapere eum in castris. sequenti autem nocte adsistens ei dominus ait: constans esto; sicut enim testificatus es de me in Hierusalem, sic oportet te etiam Romae testificari. facta autem die collegerunt se quidam ex Iudaeis et deuouerunt se dicentes neque manducare neque bibere, donec occiderent Paulum. erant autem fere quadraginta qui hanc coniurationem fecerant, qui et accesserunt ad principes sacerdotum et indicauerunt dicentes: deuotionem uouimus nos nihil gustare in totum, donec occidamus Paulum; nunc ergo uos colligite concilium et notum facite tribuno, ut deducat eum ad uos, quasi de eo diligentius quaesituros; nos uero priusquam adpropiet, parati sumus interficere eum. (Acts 23:10–15) si non dei sacerdotem isto petisti genere Athanasium, [ni]si non aliud finxisti te agere et aliud perficere disposueras, potes te negare non eodem aduerso spiritu te quoque agi, quo sunt acti atque agantur Iudaei.

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after a trial in his absence, a man who has had hands laid on him by priests? Should he be punished unheard, his blood, that of an innocent man, should be shed? Why didn’t you want us to hear our fellow priest Athanasius? Why, in the way bandits act, do you want to kill the man of God in secret? Only if you’re one of those who are reproached in these words: No man has ever gone up into heaven; but there is one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man, who dwells in heaven. And this Son of Man must be lifted up, as the serpent was lifted up by Moses in the wilderness; so that those who believe in him may not perish, but have eternal life. God so loved the world, that he gave up his only-begotten Son, so that those who believe in him may not perish, but have eternal life. When God sent his Son into the world, it was not to reject the world, but so that the world might find salvation through him. For the man who believes in him, there is no rejection; the man who does not believe is already rejected; he has not found faith in the name of God’s only-begotten Son. Rejection lies in this, that when the light came into the world men preferred darkness to light; preferred it, because their doings were evil. Anyone who acts shamefully hates the light, will not come into the light, for fear that his doings will be found out. Whereas the man whose life is true comes to the light, so that his deeds may be seen for what they are, deeds done in God ( Jn 3:13–21) If you think you’re a servant of the only begotten Son of God, you’d never deny his majesty, you’d never order his servants to be killed – one minute secretly, the next minute openly; but because you’re a lover of darkness, and indeed dark things, since your acts are evil, you don’t want these things examined by God’s priests, an affair which you’ve fully reported. Why are you unwilling? Only because We take heart, then, continually, since we recognize that our spirits are exiled from the Lord’s presence so long as they are at home in the body, with faith, instead of a clear view, to guide our steps. We take heart, I say, and have a mind rather to be exiled from the body, and at home with the Lord; to that end, at home or in exile, our ambition is to win his favour. All of us have a scrutiny to undergo before Christ’s judgement-seat, for each to reap what his mortal life has earned, good or ill, according to his deeds. (2 Co 5:6–10) Constantius, as a heretic you say ‘Christians, condemn a Christian!’ Why do you say this? Only because you think it’s best to shed the blood of just men, to desert God and take up idolatry? XXIV. Again I beg you with my whole sense of duty to think, as emperor, about these things. You deny the only begotten Son of God, you persecute those who believe in him – think about whether you won’t be like those whose wickedness is described in the Acts of the Apostles Then dissension rose high; and the captain, who was afraid that they would tear Paul in pieces, ordered his troops to come down and rescue Paul from their midst, and bring him safe to the soldiers’ quarters. On the next night, the Lord came to his side, and told him, Don’t lose heart; thou hast done with bearing me witness in Jerusalem, and now thou must carry the same witness to Rome. When day came, the Jews held a conclave, and bound themselves under a solemn curse that they would not eat or drink until they had killed Paul; more than forty of them joined in this conspiracy. So they went to the chief priests and elders, and told them, We’ve bound ourselves under a solemn curse not to take food until we’ve killed Paul. Your part, then, is to signify to the captain your wish and the Council’s, that he would bring him down before you, as if you meant to examine his cause more precisely; and we’re ready to make away with him before

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nisi etenim illo fuisses excitatus spiritu contra nos deo seruientes, numquam sine dubio absentem damnari et quidem innocentem mandares. sed haec sic ego saepe repeto, tamquam etiam ipse, cum interdum uacas a furoris stimulis, non consideres omnibus te modis ita a iustitiae regula exorbitasse, ut nec in Actibus apostolorum uidere potueris petentibus Iudaeis ad Paulum necandum beatum hominem gentilem praesidem Festum minime coetui Iudaeorum commodasse adsensum, sed tam ipsos nec non et Paulum se in unum auditurum posse pollicitum. gentilis seruauit aequitatis ius, tu uero destruxisti; aut aequitas est damnare inauditum, interficere absentem, audientiam uero negare iusto ei homini cui omnis testis sit dei populus, quod enim false fuerit petitus a te ac tuis, Christianus a uobis Arrianis? ergo, ut dicere coeperam, quae fuerint inter Iudaeos et Paulum beatum gesta a Festo, accipe: Festus autem cum uenisset in prouinciam praeses, ascendit Hierosolymam *** insidias tendentes, ut eum interficerent in uiam. Festus ergo respondit paulum quidem seruari in Caesarea, se autem maturius proficisci. itaque qui inter uos sunt descendant et, si quod est in uiro crimen, accusent eum. demoratus ergo inter eos non plus quam octo aut decem dies descendit Caesaream et altero die sedit pro tribunali et iussit citari Paulum; qui cum adductus esset, circumsteterunt eum Iudaei qui a Hierosolymis descenderant, multa et grauia crimina obicientes quae probare non poterant, paulo autem rationem reddente quod neque in lege Iudaeorum neque in templo neque in Caesarem aliquid deliquerit. (26:1–8) ethnicus aequitatis uiam inter beatum Paulum et cohomicidas tuos Iudaeos tenuit, et tu desideriis malarum meditationum tuarum parere cupiens aequitatem iustitiam que tollendam ex sensibus censueras nostris.

XXV. Sed quomodo istud facere potueramus quod tu fieri cogebas contra iustitiam, qui meminissemus scriptum: nolite iudicare secundum personam, sed iustum iudicium iudicate? damnate inauditum ( Jn 7:24) quo dixisti tempore cur non memoratus es dixisse Nicodemum: numquid lex nostra iudicat de homine, nisi audiat ab ipso et cognoscat quid fecerit? (7:51) cur noluisti audiri quem reum mortis dixisti, nisi quia falsa detulisses? dicit dominus ad Iudaeos: qui loquitur mendacium, de suo loquitur, quoniam mendax est et pater eius. (8:44) et tu, cum mendax esse clarueris, aestimas non te esse filium mendacis et audes filius mendacis resistere ueracibus fallax, domini sacerdotibus sacrilegus? tu audes, quem aduertamus esse latronem atque furem

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he reaches you. (Ac 23:10–15) If you hadn’t pursued the priest of God, Athanasius, if you hadn’t planned to do anything else and carried forward no other course of action, surely you can’t deny that you act with the same hostile spirit which motivated the Jews, and still does? Unless you’ve been aroused by that spirit against those of us who serve God, you wouldn’t order us to condemn a man in his absence, and an innocent man at that. I repeat this, even though you claim to be free from any pretence of anger: you don’t consider the ways in which the rules of justice have been set aside – even though you see that in the Acts of the Apostles this is not so, when the Jews were seeking to have blessed Paul killed, and the gentile court president Festus did not in any way oblige the Jewish crowd, and you see that these people themselves and Paul himself made an offer that he should be heard. The gentile law of justice brought salvation, but you’ve destroyed it. Or is it fair to condemn a man unheard, to sentence someone to be killed in his absence, to deny a just man a hearing – a man to whom the whole people of God is a witness, because he, a Christian, has been falsely pursued by you Arians? So, as I began to say, understand what went on with Festus between the Jews and blessed Paul: And Festus, three days after entering his province, went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem.157 *Here the high priest and the leaders of the Jews put before him their case against Paul, and were urgent with him, asking as a favour, that he would summon Paul to Jerusalem*; meanwhile they were preparing an ambush, so as to make away with him on the journey. But Festus answered that Paul was in safe keeping at Caesarea; he himself would be removing there as soon as possible; Let those of you who are men of influence, he said, travel down with me, and bring your charges against this man, if you’ve anything against him. So, when he had spent a week with them, or ten days at most, he went down to Caesarea; and next day, sitting on the judgement-seat, he gave orders for Paul to be brought in. When he appeared, there were the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem, standing round him and bringing many grave accusations against him, which they couldn’t prove; while Paul said in his defence, I have committed no crime against the Jewish law, or against the temple, or against Caesar. (25:1–8) A pagan stuck to fairness when judging between blessed Paul and the Jews, your fellow murderers; you want to match them in your desires, your evil plans, and you think you can take justice away from us in the sentences you lay down against us! XXV. How could we act in the way you’d want us to act, contrary to justice, as we remember the words of Scripture Be honest in your judgements, instead of judging by appearances ( Jn 7:24) and you say ‘Condemn a man without a hearing!’ why have you forgotten what Nicodemus said: Is it the way of our law to judge a man without giving him a hearing, and finding out what he is about? (7:51) Why didn’t you want to hear him as you’d said he was guilty of death, unless you take on false beliefs? The Lord said to the Jews: When he utters falsehood, he is only uttering what is natural to him; he is all false, and it was he who gave falsehood its birth (8:44) you, since you’re a liar, think that you’re not a son of falsehood, and you dare, as a son of falsehood

157 There is a lacuna here in Lucifer’s text from Acts – so the passage between asterisks has been inserted from the Vg.

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illum quem praeostenderit dominus dicens: amen, amen dico uobis, qui non intrat per ianuam in ouile ouium, sed qui ascendit per aliam partem, ille fur est et latro. (10:1) porrexisti quidem manus ad Christi oues antichristo uindicandas; sed ut es agnitus fur atque latro, es uitatus atque reiectus. cur te uel consacrilegum tuum Georgium non sunt secutae oues dei? cur illum, quem esse Alexandrinorum fortissime es dolens episcopum, secuntur, nisi quia illum quidem instituerit illis episcopum deus, te uero atque Georgium ad mactandas ut latrones et fures inmiserit diabolus? qui intrat per ianuam, inquit, pastor est ouium; huic ostiarius aperit, et oues audiunt [et] uocem eius et suas oues uocat nominatim et educit illas; et cum suas omnes eiecerit, ad illas uadit, et oues eum secuntur, quia nouerunt uocem eius; alterum non secuntur, sed fugiunt ab illo, quia nesciunt eius uocem. (102–05) quia igitur tu non intraueris per ianuam in ecclesiam, latro esse conspiceris atque fur; non enim nosti dei filium, ut dicas te intrasse per ianuam, siquidem ille eos diceret et fures et latrones, quia et tunc non fuerant in eius clementiam diuinam credentes nec deinceps essent credituri et aliter fuissent erudire oues illius temptaturi. igitur cum tu hinc doctrinam spargens insanam sis, quod enim non in eum credideris, utique esse latro ille atque fur, qui iam tunc praeostendebaris, ex blasphemiis tuis manifestissime conprobaris. quod ita esse probat sequentia pronuntiationis; ait ad illos Iesus: amen, amen dico uobis, ego sum ianua ouium. omnes quicumque uenerunt ante me, et fures sunt et latrones, sed non audierunt illos oues. ego sum ianua; si quis per me intrauerit, saluus erit et intrabit et pascua inueniet; fur non uenit, nisi ut furetur. (10:7–10) o tu itaque fur, qui ad hoc intrasse dei inueniaris ouilem, ut uidelicet fuisses furatus et interficeres, qua adhuc uoce poteris dicere: ‘debet non esse episcopus Athanasius Alexandrinorum, sed Georgius’, quando uideas te et Georgium uel cunctos consacrilegos uestros non esse aliud nisi fures ac latrones? suos deus seruos pastores esse uoluit supra gregem, ut te ac tuos cognoscentes latrones esse ac fures pellerent.

XXVI. sed tu idcirco te ac tuos pulsis nobis dei ordinatis iudicio praeesse gregi dominico censuisti, quo possis libere in dei grassari gregem. cum sis talis, mirari non poterimus quia dixeris puniendum absentem dei cultorem. neque enim retinere potueras dixisse dominum: si diligitis me, mandata mea seruate. et ego rogabo patrem, et alium aduocatum dabit uobis, ut uobis cum sit in aeternum, spiritus ueritatis quem mundus non potest accipere, quoniam non uidet illum nec agnoscit; uos agnoscitis eum, quoniam uobis cum manet et in uobis est. (14:15–17) sed dic, oro te, quomodo possit in nobis habitare spiritus sanctus paraclitus, si tuam uel patris tui fecissemus uoluntatem? infra etiam, qui audit, inquit, praecepta mea et custodit illa, ille est qui me diligit. qui autem me diligit, diligetur a patre meo, et ego diligam illum et ostendam illi me ipsum. ait illi Iudas non Scarioth:

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and a liar, to resist the true priests of the Lord? You’re sacrilegious and we know that you’re a robber and a thief, and you dare to do this; you’re the man the Lord showed us when he said: Believe me when I tell you this; the man who climbs into the sheep-fold by some other way, instead of entering by the door, comes to steal and to plunder (10:1) You’ve stretched out your hands against the sheep of Christ to deliver them to the Antichrist. As you’re known to be a robber and a thief, you’ve been avoided and rejected. Why have the sheep of God not followed you or George, your accomplice in sacrilege? Why instead do they follow him who is bishop of the Alexandrians, something which is very painful to you as bishop of the Alexandrians? Unless God had established him as bishop of the Alexandrians, it was the Devil indeed who sent George, so that thieves and vagabonds should be honoured: It is the shepherd, who tends the sheep, that comes in by the door. At his coming the keeper of the door throws it open, and the sheep are attentive to his voice; and so he calls by name the sheep which belong to him, and leads them out with him. When he brought out all the sheep which belong to him, he walks in front of them, and the sheep follow him, recognising his voice. If a stranger comes, they run away from him instead of following him; they cannot recognises the voice of a stranger. (10:2–5) So you won’t enter the Church through the door and you’re seen to be a thief and a robber. You don’t recognize the Son of God, so that you could dedicate yourself and enter through the door. If he said that these people were thieves and robbers, because they didn’t believe in his divine mercy; nor would they become believers in the future or otherwise they might be tempted to educate his sheep. So because of this you’re scattering your insane doctrine everywhere, because you don’t believe in God; you’re shown and proved to be that thief and robber because of your blasphemies. The continuation of the passage proves this, as Jesus says to them: Believe me, he said, it is I who am the door of the sheep-fold. Those others who’ve found their way in are all thieves and robbers; to these, the sheep paid no attention. I am the door; a man will find salvation if he makes his way in through me; he will come and go at will, and find pasture. The thief only comes to steal, to slaughter, to destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and have it more abundantly. (10:7–10) You’re that thief, discovered to have go into God’s sheepfold to kill and steal – so how can you say ‘Athanasius should not be bishop of the Alexandrians, but rather George!’ when you see that you, George and all your accomplices in sacrilege are nothing except thieves and robbers? God wants his servants should be pastors over his flock, to throw out you and your friends, knowing that you’re thieves and robbers. XXVI. You think that you and your friends a superior to the Lord’s flock, having expelled those of us who’ve been ordained according to God’s judgement. As you’re such a person, now wonder you say that a man who worships God should be condemned in his absence. You clearly don’t remember that the Lord has said If you’ve any love for me, you must keep the commandments which I give you; and then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another to befriend you, one who is to dwell continually with you for ever. (14:15–17) But, I beg you, how could the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, dwell in us if we were to do what you or your father want us to do? Indeed below: The man who loves me is the man who keeps the commandments he has from me; and he who loves me will win my Father’s love, and I too will love him, and will reveal myself

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domine, quid factum est, quod manifestas te nobis et non huic mundo? respondit Iesus et dixit illi: si quis me diligit, sermonem meum custodiet, et pater meus diliget illum, et ad illum ueniemus et apud eum manebimus. qui non me diligit, sermones meos non custodit. (14:21–24) ex his domini pronuntiationibus quam inimicus noster extiteris potest conici: qui audit mandata mea et custodit illa, ille est qui me diligit. (14:21) quomodo dilexisse nos eum monstrabamus, si ut tu mandata eius calcaremus? calcans es etenim dominica mandata, cum quae ille seruari sanxerit tu non tantum non esse seruanda mandes, sed et ipsum negari praecipias. aut quomodo me pater ipsius, propterea quod seruauerim mandata filii eius, amare poterit, si damnem innocentem? dicit filius dei: si quis me diligit, sermonem meum custodiet, et pater meus diligit illum, et ad illum ueniemus et apud eum manebimus; (14:23) et tu dicis, esca ignis, apostata: ‘damnate innocentem’. quo genere dei diligere inuenti fuissemus filium, si contra mandata ipsius iugularemus uirum iustum? quomodo fieri poterat, ut diligeret nos pater et uenirent pater et filius et mansitare dignati fuissent in nobis, si rescindentes domini mandata tua sacrilegi praecepta custodiremus? conspice, Constanti, inuidus ille amator tuae uoluntatis diabolus a quali nos gloria per te clientem suum pellere temptauerit, nisi nobis domini subueniret pietas, ut te iam non hominem, quem deus fecit ad imaginem et similitudinem suam, sed caenum esse omnium cloacarum considerantes, calcaremus tuas sacrilegas iussiones. quis etenim nolit nisi uobis Arrianis infelicior a dei unico filio diligi? quis est qui nolit amari ab eius patre, quis qui patris et unici eius filii templum esse recuset? quae utique consequi non potest qui, sicut tu, et homicida fuerit et sacrilegus; consequi sane tu etiam poteris, si conuersus uere paenitearis. dicit adhuc dominus: hoc est mandatum meum, ut diligatis inuicem, sicut dilexi uos. maiorem hac caritatem nemo habet, ut animam suam ponat pro amicis suis. uos amici mei estis, si feceritis quod praecipio uobis. iam non dico uos seruos, sed amicos, et iterum: non uos me elegistis, sed ego uos elegi et posui uos, ut eatis et fructificetis et fructus uester maneat et quodcumque a patre meo petieritis in nomine meo det uobis. (15:12–15)

XXVII. Quomodo poterimus esse amici unici filii dei, si contra interdictum illius pietatis damnauerimus absentem, interfecerimus innocentem? quomodo fructus noster augmenta crementorum facere poterit? quomodo quicquid petierimus in nomine eius accipiemus a patre, si, ut tu cogebas, non solum cultorem eius puniremus, sed et

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to him. Here Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, Lord, how comes it that thou wilt only reveal thyself to us, and not to the world? Jesus answered him, If a man has any love for me, he will be true to my word; and then he will win my Father’s love, and we will both come to him, and make our continual abode with him; whereas the man who has no love for me, lets my sayings pass him by. And this word, which you’ve been hearing from me, comes not from me, but from my Father who sent me. (14:21–24) From what the Lord says we can that you’ve become our foe, this one: The man who loves me is the man who keeps the commandments he has from me; and he who loves me will win my Father’s love, and I too will love him, and will reveal myself to him. (14:21) For you’re the one who tramples on the commandments of the Lord, as you command that what he lays not should not only not be carried out, but that he should be denied! The Son of God says: If a man has any love for me, he will be true to my word; and then he will win my Father’s love, and we will both come to him, and make our continual abode with him; (14:23) and you say – you apostate, you food for fire – ‘Condemn a man who is innocent!’ In what we could we claim to love the Son of God whom we’ve found, if, contrary to God’s commands, we were to strangle a just man? How could it come about that the Father should love us and that the Father and the Son should come to us and remain among us, if, destroying God’s commands, we should instead take on your commands, one who’s sacrilegious? Constantius, consider how the Devil, the invidious lover of your will by means of your self-glorification, has tempted us through you us to expel his client – unless God’s love should come to our aid – so that we see you not to be a man whom God made in his image and likeness but rather the filth from all the drains in the world, and that we should tread underfoot your sacrilegious orders. Who would not want to love the only begotten Son of God, unless he were unhappier than you Arians? Who is there who would not want to be loved by his Father, who is there who’d refuse to be the temple of his only begotten Son? It’s not possible to carry out your orders, and be like you a murderer and one who commits sacrilege. You’d be able to follow us in relation to this if you were to be converted and do penance. Up till now the Lord says: This is my commandment, that you should love one another, as I have loved you. This is the greatest love a man can shew, that he should lay down his life for his friends; and you, if you do all that I command you, are my friends. I don’t speak of you any more as my servants; a servant is one who does not understand what his master is about, whereas I have made known to you all that my Father has told me; and so I have called you my friends. (15:12–15) and again: It was not you that chose me, it was I that chose you. The task I have appointed you is to go out and bear fruit, fruit which will endure; so that every request you make of the Father in my name may be granted you. (15:16) XXVII. How could we be friends of God’s only begotten Son of God, if we were to condemn a man in his absence, contrary to what’s forbidden because of our love for Christ158 and kill an innocent man? How can the fruit we bear cause more dead bodies to be burnt? How – whatever we might seek in his name – can we be accepted by the 158 ‘Illius’ here refers to God the Son rather than to Athanasius.

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ipsum negaremus? Tito uiro deo dicato scripsisse beatum apostolum non inueneras de episcopi inreprehensibili officio, quod sit dignum praebere deo, ut homicidas nos effici cuperes? huius rei gratia reliqui te cretae, ut ea quae deerant corrigas et constituas per ciuitates presbyterium, sicut ego tibi disposui, si quis est sine crimine, unius uxoris uir, filios habens fideles, non in accusationem luxoriae aut non subiectum; oportet enim episcopum sine crimine esse sicut dispensatorem dei, non proteruum, non iracundum, non uinolentum, non percussorem, non turpilucrum, sed hospitalem, benignum, sobrium, iustum, sanctum, continentem, amplectentem id quod secundum doctrinam est fidem uerbi, ut potens sit exhortari in doctrina et contradicentes reuincere. sunt enim multi etiam non subditi, uaniloqui et deceptores, maxime qui ex circumcisione sunt, quos oportet redargui, qui uniuersas domos euertunt docentes quae non oportet turpis lucri gratia. (Tit 1:5–11) cum igitur talem uoluerit episcopum fieri, qui hanc tenentem uiueret uiam iustitiae, qua tu auctoritate ad excludenda mandata beati apostoli noua praecepta dare dignatus es, ea uidelicet quae ex diaboli esse noscantur orta uoluntate? apostolus me non [ad] iracundum, non percussorem uult fieri, et tu me homicidam uis effici. quibus ex rebus potest colligi spiritum sanctum locutum ore beati apostoli, spiritum uero nequam locutum ore uestro Arrianorum. conspicis interea mandasse apostolum, ut uos ueritati resistentes indentemini episcopi interuentu, ut per sanam doctrinam uestra punita esset blasphemia. non ad hoc beati apostoli protuli dictum oportere episcopum sine crimine esse, ut me peccatorem negarem, cum et meam norim conscientiam et dicere audiam Iob illum iustum: quis enim mundus a sordibus? nemo, etiam si unius diei sit uita eius in terra, ( Job 14:4–5) Iohannem etiam beatum aduertam dicere: si dixerimus quia peccatum non habemus, nos ipsos decipimus et ueritas in nobis non est. (1 Jn 1:8) non ergo idcirco apostoli praeceptum protuli, ut qui meminerim me peccatorem praedicarem esse sine sordibus, sed ut tu quam sit malum quod praeceperis fieri posses aduertere. iuuenes, inquit, similiter hortare, ut sobrii sint in omnibus, per omnia te ipsum formam praebens bonorum operum, in doctrina, in integritate, in grauitate, in sermone sanum, inreprehensibilem, ut aduersarius reuereatur, nihil habens quod dicere malum de nobis.(Tit 2:6–8)

XXVIII. Quomodo me formam bonorum operum aliis praebuissem, si sanguinem dei serui fudissem? quomodo doctrinam integram quam tradiderunt apostoli praedicantem me dei populus cognosceret, si haeresim tuam suscepissem, si denique uel in hypocrisi satellitis tuis pseudoepiscopis Arrianis communicarem? quomodo possit sermo meus

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Father, if, as you’ve tried to force us, we were not only to punish his faithful worshipper but also deny his very self? Do you not know what the blessed apostle wrote to Titus, a man dedicated to God, about the blameless office of a bishop, as you want to make us murderers rather to the duty we owe to God? If I left thee behind me in Crete, it was to put all in order, where order is still needed. It is for thee to appoint presbyters, as I enjoined, in each city, always looking for a man who is beyond reproach, faithful to one wife; one whose children hold the faith, not accused of reckless living, not wanting in obedience. A bishop, after all, since he is the steward of God’s house, must needs be beyond reproach. He must not be an obstinate or quarrelsome man, one who drinks deep, or comes to blows, or is grasping over money. He must be hospitable, kindly, discreet, upright, unworldly and continent. He must hold firmly to the truths which have tradition for their warrant; able, therefore, to encourage sound doctrine, and to shew the wayward their error. There are many rebellious spirits abroad, who talk of their own fantasies and lead men’s minds astray; those especially who hold by circumcision; and they must be silenced. They will bring ruin on entire households by false teaching, with an eye to their own base profits. (Tit 1:5–11) So anyone who wanted to become such a bishop would live as one following the path of justice – by what authority do you cut out the blessed apostle’s commands and substitute new ones, which have clearly sprung from the will of the Devil? The apostle does not want me to be an angry person or a violent attacker, but you want to make me a murderer. Because of this we should remember what the Holy Spirit says through the mouth of the blessed apostle, that Spirit which never speaks through the mouth of you Arians.159 Meanwhile you try to command the apostle: the result of this is that you’ll be silenced by a bishop intervening, for having resisted the truth – therefore your blasphemy will be punished by sound doctrine. In response to all this we don’t have to quote the apostle as saying, ‘The bishop should be without fault’, as I couldn’t deny that I’m a sinner: I know my conscience and I’m aware of what the just man Job says: Who can cleanse what is born of tainted stock, save thou alone, who alone hast being?160 Brief, brief are man’s days; thou keepest count of the months left to him, thou dost appoint for him the bound he may not pass. ( Job 14:4–5) I would also remember that blessed John said: Sin is with us; if we deny that, we’re cheating ourselves; it means that truth does not dwell in us. (1 Jn 1:8) I have not raised what the apostle says to remind myself that I’m a sinner and should preach to those who are deaf, but so that you can recall what an evil thing it is that you’re asking us to do. He says: Encourage the young men, too, to live orderly lives. Let them find in all thou doest the model of a life nobly lived; let them find thee disinterested in thy teaching, worthy of their respect, thy doctrine sound beyond all cavil; so that our adversaries may blush to find that they have no opportunity for speaking ill of us. (Tit 2:6–8) XXVIII. How could I prove that I’m like someone who does good to other people if I were to shed the blood of a servant of God? How could the people of God recognize me as a preacher of the complete teachings which the apostles have given to us if I were to adopt your heresy, or if I were to have communion with your false Arian

159 Lit. ‘your mouth’. 160 This phrase also quoted in other places, e.g. Origen De Princp. 4, and Hom. In Lev. 8.

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proferri sanus, inreprehensibilis, si euangelicam atque apostolicam deserens fidem tuam suscepissem blasphemiam? quomodo aduersarius reuereri potuerat? quomodo de me nihil possit dicere mali, cum, si tibi adquiescendum censuissem, et homicidam et sacrilegum me factum conprehendisset? iterum cum moneret seruos dominis suis subditos esse debere, inluxit enim, inquit, gratia dei saluatoris nostri omnibus hominibus, corripiens nos, ut abnegantes impietatem et saecularia desideria sobrie et pie et iuste uiuamus in hoc saeculo, expectantes beatam spem in aduentum gloriae magni dei et saluatoris nostri Iesu Christi, qui dedit pro nobis se ipsum, ut liberaret nos ab omni iniquitate et mundet sibi populum abundantem, aemulatorem bonorum operum. (2:11–14) cum in his nos ambulare praeceperit bonis operibus, quid tibi uisum est, ut inuitaris ad homicidium faciendum? quomodo etenim abnegantes inpietatem pie et iuste uiuentes conspici potueramus, si te cum fudissemus innocentis cruorem? sed et cum dicat idcirco se pro peccatis nostris tradidisse dominum, ut nos eriperet ab operibus satanae et constitueret ad hoc, ut aemulatores essemus bonorum operum, si opus istud tuum et nos te cum perpetrati fuissemus, in qua essemus parte nisi in qua sit Cain? inluxit enim, inquit, gratia dei saluatoris nostri omnibus hominibus, corripiens nos, ut abnegantes impietatem ac desideria saecularia sobrie et iuste et pie uiuamus in hoc saeculo. (2:11–12) et Constantius tu imperator dignaris dicere simus impii, scelerati, perditi, maligni, iniqui, iniusti. ubi hanc spem inueniam beatam quam me expectare oportere docet apostolus beatus, si non solum ipsius, qui omnem beatitudinem tribuere potens est, seruos interemero, sed et ipsum negauero? tu etenim utrumque facis, Constanti, quia et seruos eius persequeris atque interficis et ipsum deserens idolis te mancipandum censueris. cur ista geris, nisi quia tibi non inluxerit gratia dei saluatoris nostri? si enim inluxisset, meminisses apostoli dicentis praeceptorum: uidete itaque quomodo caute ambuletis, non quasi insipientes, sed ut sapientes, redimentes tempus, quia dies mali sunt. propterea nolite effici inprudentes, sed intellegentes quae sit uoluntas domini. (Eph 5:15–17) si uoluntas est domini interficere innocentem, derelinquere fidem euangelicam, poterit non solum haec pars, sed et totum corpus epistularum beati apostoli tuis patrocinium praebere praescriptionibus; sin iis fauet praescriptionibus tuis nulla pars sacrarum scripturarum, est luce clarius manifestum te sub tenebrarum degere potestate; unde et effectum sit, ut nihil de sacris scripturarum hauseris fontibus, quod te potuisset a tantis remouere periculis. si enim non te potestas tenebrarum sub sui redegisset ditione, profecto retineres quae Philippenses audiunt: coimitatores mei estote, fratres, et obseruate eos qui sic ambulant, sicut habetis formam nostram. multi enim ambulant, quos saepe dicebam uobis, nunc autem et flens dico, inimicos crucis Christi, quorum finis est interitus, quorum deus uenter est, et gloria in confusione ipsorum, qui terrena sapiunt. (Phil 3:17–19)

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bishops, your followers in hypocrisy? How could what I say be sane, if I were to take up your blasphemy, deserting the apostolic and evangelical faith? How could my enemy be revered? How could he say nothing evil of me if he understood that I’d become a murderer and someone guilty of sacrilege, if I thought it right to give in to your commands? Since he advises that slaves should be subject to their masters, The grace of God, our Saviour, has dawned on all men alike, schooling us to forgo irreverent thoughts and worldly appetites, and to live, in this present world, a life of order, of justice, and of holiness. We were to look forward, blessed in our hope, to the day when there will be a new dawn of glory, the glory of the great God, the glory of our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, to ransom us from all our guilt, a people set apart for himself, ambitious of noble deeds. (2:11–14) As God has told us to abide in these good deeds161 how is it that you should ask us to have a murder committed? How could we live justly and piously, renouncing impiety, if we were to join you in shedding an innocent man’s blood? Since he decrees that this has been handed down to us by the Lord because of our sins, to rescue us from the works of Satan and make us firm in this, being imitators of good deeds, how could we be different from Cain if we were to join you in doing this? The grace of God, our Saviour, has dawned on all men alike, schooling us to forgo irreverent thoughts and worldly appetites, and to live, in this present world, a life of order, of justice, and of holiness. (2:11–12) Emperor Constantius, you say that we’re impious, wicked, lost, malign, iniquitous and unjust. Where would I find the blessed hope which the blessed apostle teaches that I should expect, if I were not only to kill the servants of him who has the power to give all blessedness, but also to deny him? You do both, Constantius, as you persecute his servants and kill them; you desert him and hand yourself over to idols.162 Why do you do this, unless you haven’t been enlightened by the grace of God our saviour? If he’d done so, you’d have remembered the commands of the apostle when he said: See then, brethren, how carefully you’ve to tread, not as fools, but as wise men do, hoarding the opportunity that is given you, in evil times like these. No, you cannot afford to be reckless; you must grasp what the Lord’s will is for you. (Eph 5:15–17) If it’s the Lord’s will to kill an innocent man and to desert the faith of the gospel, then not only this extract, but the whole body of letters of the blessed apostle could prove who is your father on the basis of what you command; or, if no part of sacred Scripture could favour your commands, then it would be clearer than the light of day that you act under the power of darkness. So it would be brought about that you’d drink nothing from the sacred fountains of the scriptures which would be able to remove you from all dangers. If the power of darkness hasn’t held you under its command, you’d remember what the Philippians heard: Be content, brethren, to follow my example, and mark well those who live by the pattern we’ve given them; I have told you often, and now tell you again with tears, that there are many whose lives make them the enemies of Christ’s cross. Perdition is the end that awaits them, their own hungry bellies are the god they worship, their own shameful doings are their pride; their minds are set on the things of earth. (Phil 3:17–19)

161 Lit. ‘walk in these good deeds’. 162 Cf. ‘idolis mancipatas’ C XV 13 and R III 31.

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XXIX. Dicas cupio, prudentissime imperator, in quibus debemus effici coimitatores apostoli, doce, apostata, si homicida fuit apostolus, si blasphemus, si euangelicae fidei destructor, si sacrilegus; haec etenim omnia et antequam credidisset in unicum dei filium fecisse se profitetur. tu uero qui haec facis hodie, quae ille ante agnitionem unici dei filii faciebat, qua de re ausus fuisti iubere nobis domini sacerdotibus, ut innocentem condemnaremus, ut haeresim tuam suscipientes apostolicam fidem despueremus? tu qua de re haec fieri praecepisti quae contra formam apostoli sunt prolata, nisi quia sis ex inimicis crucis Christi, ex illis qui iam tunc designati fueratis ore sancti apostoli? te ne ac tuos audiremus, quorum finem dicit apostolus esse interitum aut illos tuos satellites qui derelinquentes formam traditam disciplinae et regulam fidei per apostolos tibi semet turpilucri gratia tradiderint, illos qui plus mensae tuae copias fecerunt quam ea quae promittit suis dominus, illos qui tui esse conuiuae delegerint quam patriarcharum, prophetarum, apostolorum uel martyrum, ad quos dicitur rectissime: uester deus uenter est? (Phil 3:19) examinate, dicit apostolus, bonum continete, ab omni specie mala continete uos; (1 Thess 5:21–22) et quia uiderimus maledictam operam uestram Arrianorum et uitauerimus, odio laboramus. sed quam pulchrum est quam que iocundum a te odiri, amari uero a deo. reppulisti nos e re commissa nobis, arbitratus potuisse te quod deus aedificauit destruere. unicuique autem nostrum, ait ephesiis scribens, data est gratia secundum mensuram dignationis Christi. propter quod dicit: ascendens in altum captiuam duxit captiuitatem, dedit dona hominibus. quod autem ascendit, quid est nisi quia et descendit in inferiora terrae? et qui descendit ipse est et qui ascendit super omnes caelos, ut adimpleret omnia. et ipse dedit quosdam quidem apostolos, quosdam autem prophetas, quosdam uero euangelistas, quosdam autem pastores et doctores ad consummationem sanctorum in opus ministerii, in aedificationem corporis Christi, donec occurramus omnes in unitate fidei et agnitione dei in uirum perfectum, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi, ut iam non simus paruuli fluctuantes et circumferamur omni uento doctrinae in nequitia hominum, in astutia ad remedium erroris. ueritatem autem facientes in caritate crescamus in illo per omnia, qui est caput Christus, ex quo totum corpus conpactum et conexum per iuncturam subministrationis in mensuram uniuscuiusque partis incrementum corporis facit in aedificationem sui in caritate. (Eph 4:7–16)

XXX. Cum haec ita esse legis, cur fuisti ausus tollere pastores quos gregi suo deus uoluerit praeesse? cur, nisi ut te cum omni uento doctrinae possent dei circumferri supra dominicum gregem pastores? † ne fuissent ducti tamquam paruuli omni

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XXIX. Most prudent emperor, I wish you could indicate how we, as successors of the apostles, should be fellow imitators with you: teach us, you apostate, if an apostle is a murderer, a blasphemer, a destroyer of evangelical faith, one who commits sacrilege! If someone believed these things in the past it would profit him to believe in the only begotten Son of God. You do all this now, in the face of your ignorance of the only begotten Son of God – why do you dare to order us, priests of the Lord, to condemn an innocent, man, take up your heresy and reject the faith of the apostles? Why do tell us to become people who’d be at odds with the model of an apostle, unless you’re an enemy of the Cross of Christ, named as such by the mouth of the holy apostle? Or should we listen to your men, whose doom has been predicted by the apostle? Those who are your sidekicks, who’ve given up any pretence of discipline, or of the rule of life received from the apostles – they have betrayed themselves, thanks to their low moral character, those who’ve made more abundance on your table than the Lord allows to his own followers, those whom you’ve chosen to be your dinner companions rather than the patriarchs, prophets, apostles and martyrs; it is said justly to these men Their own hungry bellies are the god they worship (Phil 3:19); you must scrutinize it all carefully, retaining only what is good, and rejecting all that has the look of evil about it. (1 Thess 5:21–22) Because see the wicked deeds of you Arians163 and avoid them, we’re burdened with hatred. But how beautiful and joyful it is to be hated by you and loved by God! You’ve rejected us because of what we’ve done and thought that you could destroy what God has built. St Paul, writing to the Ephesians, says: But each of us has received his own special grace, dealt out to him by Christ’s gift. (That is why we’re told, He has mounted up on high; he has captured his spoil; he has brought gifts to men. The words, He has gone up, must mean that he had gone down, first, to the lower regions of earth. And he who so went down is no other than he who has gone up, high above all the heavens, to fill creation with his presence). Some he has appointed to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, or pastors, or teachers. They are to order the lives of the faithful, minister to their needs, build up the frame of Christ’s body, until we all realize our common unity through faith in the Son of God, and fuller knowledge of him. So we shall reach perfect manhood, that maturity which is proportioned to the completed growth of Christ; we’re no longer to be children, no longer to be like storm-tossed sailors, driven before the wind of each new doctrine that human subtlety, human skill in creating the false remedy164 of lies, may propound. We’re to follow the truth, in a spirit of charity, and so grow up, in everything, into a due proportion with Christ, who is our head. On him all the body depends; it is organized and unified by each contact with the source which supplies it; and thus, each limb receiving the active power it needs, it achieves its natural growth, building itself up through charity. (Eph 4:7–16) XXX. As you read this, how dare you remove pastors whom God wants to protect his flock? Why? So you can surround the pastors of the Lord’s flock with every wind of new doctrine? Is it so they can be led astray by every new wind like children, having

163 Lit ‘your wicked deeds of the Arians’. 164 Vg ‘circumventionem’ rather than ‘remedium’, Gk μεθοδείαν.

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uento doctrinae accedentes ad fidem, ne uestra nequissimorum hominum astutia ad diaboli principis uestri remedia recederent ab apostolica euangelica que fide? tulisti episcopos e plebibus quibus praesumus diuina dignatione, ad hoc utique ut doceres doctrinam non apostolicam, sed haereticam. uae tibi misero, per quem haec gerit satanas. inueneras homo sapiens colorem aptum fallaciae tuae, quonam modo posses dei oues patri tuo defendere, qui tibi, ut in his demoreris malis, iam illis iaculis, quibus Euae et Adae mentes sauciauit, cor tuum iaculauit, ad hoc uidelicet, ut in hac temet prauitate constitueret. inueneras, inquam, homo sapiens colorem aptum fallaciae tuae, quonam modo posses dominicum depopulare gregem, dicens: ‘peccauit Athanasius, et idcirco qui illum me cum interemerit erit episcopus; qui insuper habendum censuerit, non erit’; et qui damnabant Athanasium iungebantur pseudoepiscopis dogmatis tuae Arrianae. si qui tuam metuentes iram hoc egissent, triplex per te homicidam atque sacrilegum incurrebant crimen, siue quod innocentem damnarent siue quod catholici haereticis communicarent et in gregem dei uos lupos intrare sinerent, cum dicat apostolus idcirco datos pastores, ut omnis daemonum doctrina, quae per uos haereticos et omnes aduersarios ecclesiae profertur, fuisset exclusa atque in ueritate currentes dei serui eo usque mansissent inmobiles, donec ad summam uenirent perfectionem; et tu, tenebra, auferre dignatus es pastores iudicio constitutos dei, quo possis tu lupus conuertere cunctos in diaboli amatoris tui praedam. ut iam, inquit, non simus paruuli fluctuantes et circumferamur omni uento doctrinae in nequitia hominum, in astutia ad remedium erroris. ueritatem autem facientes in caritate crescamus in illo per omnia, qui est caput Christus. (4:14–15) quomodo possemus crescere in illo, si te secuti tenebram fuissemus, cum sis negans illum uerum deum esse, cum dicas illum non natum de substantia patris, sed astruas factum ex nihilo? quomodo potueramus crescere in illo qui non ambulaturi eramus in ueritate, ex quo te fuissemus apostatam secuti? deinde cum dicat: ueritatem facientes crescamus in caritate,(4:15) et sit manifestum criminibus falsis petitum dei sacerdotem per te ac tuos Athanasium, si ea quae imperas fecissemus, quomodo aut in ueritate aut in caritate currere conspecti fuissemus, qui et caritatem extinxissemus quam tenemus cum coepiscopo nostro Athanasio? et quia falso temperassemus crimini, et ipsi tibi fallaci in innocentis necem iuncti te cum mereremur diuina indignatione percuti. sic ergo, Constanti, aedificatur domus dei per fallaciam, per sanguinis innocentium fusionem, per praedicationem blasphemam? uae tibi qui ad hoc sis uiuens, ut haec cuncta mala per te gerat diabolus.

XXXI. Tu mihi dicis: ‘puni innocentem, derelinque fidem catholicam atque suscipe uenena haeresis meae’, et est apostolus dicens: hoc itaque dico et testificor in domino, ut non amplius ambuletis, sicut et gentes ambulant in uanitate mentis suae, obscurati in

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earlier assented to the true faith? Or is it because of your slyness, the slyness of the most wicked men, so that they should take up the false remedies of your leader the Devil, turning them away from the faith of the apostles? You’ve taken away bishops from the people over whom we preside (in spite of our unworthiness in God’s sight) to try and make sure the people are taught heresy rather than the teachings received from the apostles. Woe to you, wretched man, through whom Satan does this! As a man you’ve found the right colour for your falsehood which could enable you to protect the flock of God from your father the Devil; he has wounded you heart with the spears with which he wounded the minds of Adam and Eve, to confirm your depravity. You’ve found the colour of your falsehood, where you depopulate the Lord’s flock, saying: ‘Athanasius has sinned, and therefore anyone who joins me in trying to kill him can be a bishop; anyone who thinks this shouldn’t happen won’t be a bishop!’ Those who condemned Athanasius are joined to your false Arian bishops. If people afraid of your anger have done this, they’ve committed a threefold crime through you, a murderer and one guilty of sacrilege: they’ve condemned an innocent man, as Catholics they’ve had communion with heretics and they’ve allowed your wolves to invade God’s flock, when the apostle lays down for pastors who’ve adopted all the teachings of demons, put forward by you heretics and the Church’s adversaries, that they should be excluded; he also lays down that the servants of God, running in the path of truth should remain immovable about their faith until they reach the heights of perfection. In your darkness you’ve removed pastors appointed in line with God’s judgement, so that you, as a wolf, can pervert everyone to be the prey of your lover the Devil. Scripture says: we’re no longer to be children, no longer to be like storm-tossed sailors, driven before the wind of each new doctrine that human subtlety, human skill in fabricating lies, may propound. We’re to follow the truth, in a spirit of charity, and so grow up, in everything, into a due proportion with Christ, who is our head. (4:14–15) How could we grow in love of God if we followed your darkness, since you deny that he is true God and say that he was not born of the substance of the Father? Rather you claim that he was created from nothing. How could we grow in love of him if we don’t walk in the truth and instead follow you, an apostate? Since he says: We’re to follow the truth, in a spirit of charity, and so grow up, in everything, into a due proportion with Christ, who is our head. We’re to follow the truth, in a spirit of charity, and so grow up, in everything, into a due proportion with Christ, who is our head. (4:15) what is made clear is your pursuit of Athanasius, God’s priest, on false charges made up by you and your friends; if we do what you command, how could we run in the paths of truth or of love if we were to blot out the love we’ve for our fellow bishop Athanasius? Because we would not have refrained from charging him falsely, we’d we joined to you as someone false, in bringing about the death of an innocent man, and we’d be worthy to be struck down by divine anger. So, Constantius, is this how the house of God is being built through falsehood, through the shedding of the blood of the innocent, through blasphemous preaching? Woe to you that you’re alive for this purpose, that the Devil should carry out these evil acts through you! XXXI. You say to me: ‘Punish an innocent man, abandon your Catholic faith, take up the poison of my heresy!’ and yet the apostle says This, then, is my message to you; I call upon you in the Lord’s name not to live like the Gentiles, who make vain fancies their rule of

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intellectu, alienati a uita dei per ignorantiam quae est in illis, propter caecitatem cordis ipsorum. (4:17–18) cui oboediam uestrum? tibi ne an apostolo? tibi ne apostatae sacrilego an illi qui iam fudisse sanguinem propter unicum dei inueniatur filium? quem uestrum sequar? te ne templum daemonum an illum dei templum? te qui operibus tuis aut Iudaeum aut ethnicum esse declaras an illum qui iam consecutus sit per hanc quam execraris fidem regna caelestia? si enim non tu operibus tuis gentilem te esse manifestas, poteris defendere, quod enim non digne haec te contra proferantur. primo quia sis negans dei filium, gentilis aut Iudaeus nobis es; deinde cum proscribis, deportas, torques, falsis criminibus innocentes oneras, interficis, non inueniri poteris Christianus qui per uitam suam dei esse homo cognoscatur, sed utique unus de illis, de quibus per apostolum dicit dei spiritus, quod enim sint in uanitate mentis suae, insensati, alienati a uita dei per caecitatem cordis ipsorum. (4:18) quando ergo haec caecati gerere corde uoce apostoli manifestentur quae tu geris, qua fronte audes sanis corde ac mente dicere: errastis, fallax ueracibus: mendaces estis? apostolus, sicut est ueritas, dicit, in Iesu, deponentes secundum pristinam conuersationem ueterem hominem eum, qui corrumpitur secundum concupiscentiam erroris. renouamini autem spiritu sensus uestri et induite nouum hominem, qui secundum deum creatus est in iustitiam et sanctitatem et ueritatem. deponentes mendacium loquimini ueritatem unusquisque ad proximum suum. (4:21–25) ubi haec praetermisisti monita salutaria quae non custodire hortatur apostolus? quomodo etenim deposuisse ueterem hominem et nouum hominem eum, qui secundum deum sit, induisse reperiri potueramus? quomodo manentes in iustitia et sanctitate et ueritate conspecti fuissemus, qui iniusta te cum gerentes eum nouum hominem, qui sit creatus secundum deum, extinxissemus et illum ueterem, qui corrumpitur secundum erroris concupiscentiam, ut ante corrumpebatur quam deum nosse coepisset, iterum portare coepissemus? ista etenim cuncta faciunt quae tu facis non dei domestici, sed satellites antichristi. ‘deponentes mendacium loquimini ueritatem unusquisque ad proximum suum, quia sumus inuicem membra’. si fuisses de ecclesiae dei membris, mihi crede quod numquam mendacium pertulisses ad ecclesiam; sed quia sis illius homo, qui deceperit Adam per fallaciam et Euam, idcirco pertulisti mendacium, ut nos sic circumscriberes, quomodo circumscripserit diabolus primoplastos homines; tu dixisti: ‘damnate Athanasium, quia grauiter deliquit, alioquin in reatu eritis maximo apud deum. suscipite arrii fidem, et uiuetis in aeternum’.

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life. Their minds are clouded with darkness; the hardness of their hearts breeds in them an ignorance, which estranges them from the divine life; (4:17–18) Should I pay heed to him or to you people? You or the apostle? You, a sacrilegious apostate, or him, who shed his blood on account of the only begotten Son of God? Which of you should I follow? You, the temple of demons, or him, the temple of God? You, who show by your deeds that you’re either a Jew or a pagan, or him, who follows the path to the heavenly kingdoms through this faith which you curse? For if you’re not shown to be a Gentile because of your deeds, then you can defend yourself: you can do this because these things are known; they’ve not been done worthily, but rather against your interests. First you deny the Son of God, so you’re a Gentile or a Jew; then you put up condemnation lists, deport, torture, lay down burdens and kill those who are innocent on the basis of false charges, so you cannot be a Christian; a Christian is known to be a man of God by virtue of his way of life; you, on the other hand, are one of these about whom the Spirit of God speaks through the apostle, they would be:Their minds are clouded with darkness; the hardness of their hearts breeds in them an ignorance, which estranges them from the divine life. (4:18) How can you suggest that these things are the acts of a man blind in heart, because of the voice of the apostle: If you’ve really listened to him. If true knowledge is to be found in Jesus, you will have learned in his school that you must be quit, now, of the old self whose way of life you remember, the self that wasted its aim on false dreams. There must be a renewal in the inner life of your minds;(4:21–23), which leads you to dare in your effrontery to say to those who are sane in heart and mind ‘You’ve erred!’ the false man speaking to the truthful; whereas the apostle says If you’ve really listened to him. If true knowledge is to be found in Jesus, you will have learned in his school that you must be quit, now, of the old self whose way of life you remember, the self that wasted its aim on false dreams. There must be a renewal in the inner life of your minds; you must be clothed in the new self, which is created in God’s image, justified and sanctified through the truth. Away with falsehood, then; let everyone speak out the truth to his neighbour; membership of the body binds us to one another. (4:21–25) How have you neglected these things which are full of the saving grace about which we’ve been taught, which the apostle urges us to maintain? How could we put aside the old man and put on the new Man, as he is according to God? How can we remain in justice, holiness and truth if we join you in committing injustice against the new Man, claiming that he has been created (according to God), and that we would have blotted out the old man, who’s corrupted because of false desires, just as it had been corrupted before he knew God? How can we take him up again? Those who do what you do are not God’s servants but the sidekicks of the Antichrist: Away with falsehood, then; let everyone speak out the truth to his neighbour; membership of the body binds us to one another. (4:25) If you were a member of God’s Church, believe me, you wouldn’t be bringing falsehood into the Church; if you were such a man who deceived Adam and Eve through falsehood, then you’ve taken up falsehood again, to deceive us just as the Devil deceived our first human parents.165 You say: ‘Condemn Athanasius, because he’s grievously sinned, otherwise you’ll be condemned in God’s sight! Take up the faith of Arius, and you will live for ever!’ 165 ‘Primoplastos’ is a rare word found only elsewhere in Irenaeus and Ambrose.

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XXXII. Accipe quae etiam amantissimus tibi circa Adam et euam egerit, et inuenies haec te nunc gerere circa nos quae et ille tunc gesserit circa illos. et erant, inquit in Genesi Moyses, ambo nudi tunc Adam et mulier eius, et non confundebantur; serpens autem erat sapientior omnibus bestiarum quae erant, (Gn 2:25) et infra: et dixit serpens mulieri: quid quia dixit dominus deus, ne edatis ex omni ligno quod est in paradiso? et dixit mulier serpenti: ex omni ligno quod est in paradiso edemus, de fructu autem ligni quod est in medio paradiso, dixit deus, non manducabitis ex eo, sed nec tangetis eum, ne moriamini. (3:1–3) dicimus tibi loco serpentis persuadenti nobis, ut inauditum damnemus, ut innocentem iugulemus: praecepit dominus innocentem et iustum non interficiendum. et dixit serpens mulieri: non moriemini. sciebat enim deus quia quacumque die manducaueritis ex eo, aperientur oculi uestri, et eritis sicut dii scientes bonum et malum. (3:4–5) dicentem itaque istum serpentem per te ad nos: ‘magis eritis iusti, si fuderitis sanguinem iustum, magis eritis beati, si apostolicam euangelicam que anathematizantes fidem Arrianam susceperitis perfidiam’ calcatur propitio deo in te quidem iam a nobis fallaciam ipsius scientibus. sed tibi nos dolere est testis deus, propterea quod per te semet constituerit ad nos circumscribendos; constat etenim tunc per semet ipsum adgressum Adam et Euam. deprecor te ne haec grauiter accipias quae salutis tuae causa proferantur. dolere etenim te arbitror quod dixerim per te nos adgressum serpentem et quod te multis in locis inter eos posuerim qui fuerint dicti serpentes. considera operam tuam et illorum et, si non unum uos esse cognoueris corpus, dicito me non iuste haec dicere. tuos magistros in perfidia Iudaeos audis certe in sacris euangeliis serpentes saepe dictos a domino: serpentes, generamina uiperarum. (Mt 23:33) unde hoc nomine uocari meruerunt? certe propter nequam opus illorum, certe propter incredulitatem suam. unde et Iohannes baptista, progenies uiperarum, dicit ad eos, quis monstrauit uobis fugere ab ira uentura? facite ergo dignos fructos paenitentiae. (3:7–8) ut ex illis ergo qui in unicum crediderunt filium dei, qui uias correxerunt suas, meruerint filii effici lucis, alii uero serpentes dicuntur, ita et tu, nisi fructus feceris dignos paenitentiae, nisi tuas uias correxeris, filius uiperae atque serpentis diceris. quis etenim dei seruorum non te homicidam atque blasphemum esse cernens non eo uocet nomine quo uocentur Iudaei? quis te e deum timentibus dubitabit quod es pronuntiare, quando uideat scribas, Pharisaeos et principes Iudaeorum idcirco serpentes dici, quia et prophetarum fuderunt sanguinem et unicum negauerint dei filium? XXXIII. Cum haec ita se habeant, superest ut factorum tuorum geras paenitentiam, aduertens deum suae clementiae misericordiam omnibus a uiis recedentibus malis praestitisse, habens formam Nineuitarum, quos si fueris imitatus, ita opem misericordiae consequaris necesse est. quos circa accipe quae fuerint gesta uel ipsi praedicatione Ionae territi quae fecerint. praeceptum est, inquit sacra scriptura, ceto, et reiecit ionam super terram. et factum est uerbum domini ad ionam iterum dicens: surge et uade in Nineue ciuitatem magnam et praedica in ea secundum praedicationem priorem quam ego locutus sum ad te. et surrexit Ionas et abiit in Nineue secundum quae locutus est dominus ei. erat autem Nineue ciuitas magna adeo sicut iter tridui. et coepit ionas introire in ciuitatem sicut iter diei unius, et praedicauit et dixit: adhuc triduo, et Nineue subuertetur. et crediderunt uiri Nineuitae deo

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XXXII. Accept what he – who’s most loved by you – did to Adam and Eve; you’ll find out that you’re doing the same to us as he did to them. Moses says in the book of Genesis: Both went naked, Adam and his wife, and thought it no shame. (Gn 2:25) We say to you, as you try to persuade us in the place of the serpent, that we won’t condemn a man unheard, or strangle an innocent man: the Lord has commanded that a just and innocent man shouldn’t be killed. And the serpent said to her, What is this talk of death? God knows well that as soon as you eat this fruit your eyes will be opened, and you yourselves will be like gods, knowing good and evil. (3:4–5) We also know that the same serpent speaks through you to us: ‘You will be very just if you shed the blood of a just man, you will be greatly blessed if you condemn the apostolic and evangelical faith and take up the treacherous faith of Arius!’ – the serpent is trampled on by a merciful God, and the same will happen to you at our feet, as you’re a source of falsehood for those who can recognize this. God is a witness that we’re a source of sadness for you, because he has enabled us on your account to be surrounded with support; this is in line for God with how Adam and Eve were victims of aggression. I beg you not to accept with seriousness what could be brought to light in relation to your salvation. I think you’re sad because I have said that the serpent has attacked us and because I have identified you in many places with serpents. Look at your actions and their actions and, even if you don’t recognize that you’re all part of the same body, at least tell me that I am not speaking unjustly. Your magistrates, Jewish in their perfidy, are the snakes in the sacred Scriptures said often by the Lord to be Serpents that you’re, brood of vipers, how should you escape from the award of hell? (Mt 23:33) Why do they deserve this name? Because of their actions and their unbelief. So also John the Baptist Many of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees came to his baptizing; and when he saw these, he asked them, Who was it that taught you, brood of vipers, to flee from the vengeance that draws near? Come, then, yield the acceptable fruit of repentance; (3:7–8) Some of these men, who believed in the only begotten Son of God and corrected their way were called serpents but deserved to be made children of light, while you, unless you bear penitent fruits166 and correct your ways, will be called the son of a viper and a serpent. Who of God’s servants couldn’t see that you, a murderer and a blasphemer, are no different from the Jews? Who of those who fear God, doubts about what you’re called, when he sees that the scribes, Pharisees and the princes of the Jews are called serpents, because they shed the blood of the prophets and denied the only begotten Son of God. XXXIII. Since this is so it remains for you to do penance for your deeds, remembering that God in his mercy shows pity to those who turn back from their evil ways; bear in mind the Ninevites whom you need to imitate if you want God’s mercy. Remember their deeds and how they were terrified by the preaching of Jonah. Sacred Scripture says: And now, at the Lord’s bidding, the sea-beast cast Jonas up again, high and dry on the beach. A second time the Lord’s voice came to Jonah: Up, and to the great city of Nineveh make thy way; there preach, what preach I bid thee. That voice he obeyed; rose up and took 166 Lit ‘make your fruits worthy of penitence’.

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et praedicauerunt ieiunium et uestierunt se cilicia a maximo usque ad minimum eorum. et peruenit uerbum usque ad regem Nineue, et surrexit de sede sua et abstulit a se stolam suam et circumdedit se cilicium et sedit super cinerem. et praedicatum est a rege Nineue et a magistratibus illius, dicens: homines et pecudes et boues et oues nihil gustent, sed nec uescantur et aquam non bibant. et circumdederunt se cilicia homines et proclamauerunt homines et pecudes apud deum instanter, et reuersi sunt unusquisque a uia sua mala et ab iniquitate manuum suarum, dicentes: quis scibit si paenitebitur deus et auertet ab ira furoris sui et non peribimus? et uidit deus operam illorum, quia reuersi sunt unusquisque a uia sua mala. et paenituit deum de malignitate, qua locutus est facere eis, et non fecit. et contristatus est Ionas tristitia magna et confundebatur, et orauit apud deum dicens: o domine, nonne haec sunt uerba mea, cum adhuc essem in terra? ideo praeoccupaueram fugere in Tharsis, quoniam sciui quia tu miserator et beniuolus, patiens et misericors et paenitens in malignitatibus,(Jon 2:11–4:2) et infra: et dixit deus ad Ionam: si ualde contristatus es tu super cucurbitam, ualde contristatus sum usque ad mortem. et dixit dominus: tu pepercisti cucurbitae, in qua non laborasti, neque nutristi eam, quae sub nocte nata est et per noctem perit. ego autem non parcam in nineue ciuitatem magnam, in qua habitant plus quam centum uiginti milia hominum qui non sciuerunt dexteram aut sinistram? (4:9–11) et tuam, Constanti, operam malignam si reiecisse te uiderit deus, si uias tuas perditas correctas perspexerit et te in omnibus reformatum esse uiderit, mihi crede quia in ingenti felicitate esse inter dei famulos incipies. XXXIV. Habes praeterea beatissimi Pauli apostoli exemplum, ne forte ut ille geras haec per ignorantiam, quod enim, mox ut te conuerteris ad unicum dei filium confitendum, ueniam tuorum facinorum ut illi ita tibi sit tributurus. ipsum sequere, ipsius adprehende uiam, ipsum Philippensibus loquentem audi et quisnam fuerit ante agnitionem et quantam beatitudinem post agnitionem consequi meruerit. si quis autem putat se fiduciam habere in carne, ego magis circumcisione octaua die de genere Israel, tribu Beniamin, Hebraeus ex Hebraeis, secundum legem Pharisaeus, secundum zelum persequens ecclesiam, secundum iustitiam quae in lege est conuersatus, cum essem sine querella. quae mihi fuerunt lucra, haec existimaui propter Christum detrimenta. uerumtamen omnia arbitror detrimentum esse propter eminentiam scientiae Christi Iesu domini nostri, propter quem omnia detrimentum passus sum et arbitror stercora, ut Christum lucrificiam et inueniar in illo, non habens meam iustitiam quae est ex lege, sed illam quae per fidem Iesu Christi, quae ex deo est iustitia in fide, ad agnoscendum illum et uirtutem resurrectionis eius et communicationem passionum eius, cooneratus morte ipsius, si quo modo occurram in resurrectionem eius quae est a mortuis.(Phil 3:4–11) sicut et iam dictum est, istum imitare, istum sequere, ut, quia et ille fuerat quod tu nunc, hoc est persecutor ecclesiae, negator unici filii dei, inueniaris sic ad consequenda regna caelestia fuisse conuersus, a perfidia ad fidem suscipiendam catholicam, sic te transitum fecisse de morte ad uitam. illum etenim per ignorantiam dei fuisse persecutum ecclesiam adhuc accipe etiam Timotheo aperiente de semet ipso: scimus autem quoniam bona est lex, si quis ea legitime utatur, sciens hoc quia iusto lex non est posita, iniustis autem et non oboedientibus et impiis et peccatoribus et scelestis et profanis, patricidis et matricidis, homicidis, inpudicis, masculorum concubitoribus, plagiariis, mendacibus, periuris et si quid aliud sanae doctrinae aduersatur, quae est secundum euangelium gloriae beati dei quod creditum est mihi. et gratias ago ei qui confortauit me

B OOK II – Te xt and Translat i o n

the road for Nineveh, a great city indeed, three days’ journey from end to end. And when he had advanced into it as far as one day’s journey would carry him, he began crying out, In forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown. With that, the Ninevites shewed faith in God, rich and poor alike, proclaiming a fast and putting on sackcloth; nay, the king of Nineveh himself, when word of it reached him, came down from his throne, cast his robe aside, put on sackcloth, and sat down humbly in the dust. And a cry was raised in Nineveh, at the bidding of the king and his nobles, A fast for man and beast, for herd and flock; no food is to be eaten, no water drunk; let man and beast go covered with sackcloth; cry out lustily to the Lord, and forsake, each of you, his sinful life, his wrongful deeds! God may yet relent and pardon, forgo his avenging anger and spare our lives. Thus, when God saw them amending their lives in good earnest, he spared them, in his mercy, their threatened punishment. As for Jonah, he took it sore amiss, and was an angry man that day. And thus he made his prayer to the Lord: See if this be not the very thought I had, far away in my own country! Good cause had I to seek refuge at Tarshish from such an errand as this. I knew from the first what manner of God thou art, how kind and merciful, how slow to punish, how rich in pardon, vengeance ever ready to forgo. ( Jon 2:11–4:2) Constantius, if God sees that you’ve rejected your evil actions, if he is aware that his ways, which you’ve lost, have been put right again, and sees that you’ve been reformed in every way, believe me – you will begin to be in great happiness, and counted among God’s servants! XXXIV. Moreover you’ve the example of the most blessed apostle Paul, so that you don’t do what he did in ignorance; because you should follow him, so that you should convert soon to believe in the only-begotten Son of God and he should pardon you for your sins as he pardoned him; take that same man’s way, hear him speaking to the Philippians about what sort of person he’d been before he recognized the Lord, and how much blessedness he achieved after he recognized him: Not that I have no outward claims to give me confidence; if others put their trust in outward claims, I can do so with better reason. I was circumcised seven days after I was born; I come from the stock of Israel, from the tribe of Benjamin, Hebrew-speaking as my parents were before me. Over the law, I was a Pharisee; to prove my loyalty, I persecuted the Church of God; in observing what the law commands, I was beyond reproach. And all this, which once stood to my credit, I now write down as loss, for the love of Christ. For that matter, there is nothing I don’t write down as loss compared with the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord; for love of him I have lost everything, treat everything else as refuse, if I may have Christ to my credit. In him I would render my account, not claiming any justification that is my own work, given me by the law, but the justification that comes from believing in Jesus Christ, God’s gift on condition of our faith. Him I would learn to know, and the virtue of his resurrection, and what it means to share his sufferings, moulded into the pattern of his death, in the hope of achieving resurrection from the dead. (Phil 3:4–11) As I have just said, imitate him, follow him; because he was a persecutor of the Church just as you’re now and a denier of the only begotten Son of God, follow him so that you will be converted to attain the heavenly realms and you will be able to take up the Catholic faith again after your treachery, to make the journey from death to life! Take account of him, who had been as a result of ignorance a persecutor of the Church, as he revealed about himself to Timothy: The law? It is an excellent thing, where it is

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Christo Iesu domino, quod fidelem me aestimauit, ponens in ministerium qui prius fueram blasphemus et persecutor et iniuriosus; sed misericordiam sum consecutus, quod ignorans feci in incredulitate. superabundauit autem gratia domini nostri cum fide et dilectione, quae est in Christo Iesu. (1 Tim 1:8–14) ita et tu ex persecutore, ex iniurioso et blasphemo beatus et uere deo carissimus effici poteris, si ut Paulus beatus uerum dei filium esse Iesum christum credideris, si semper illum cum patre regnasse ac regnaturum, hoc est sine initio et sine fine, confessus fueris, si unam aeternitatem habere patrem et filium et spiritum sanctum clamantibus sacris scripturis non restiteris, si denique unam habere deitatem patrem ac filium et spiritum sanctum credideris, crede mihi quod futurus sis in choro patriarcharum, prophetarum, apostolorum ac martyrum, alioquin tibi inputaturus, cum te torqueri cum diabolo et omnibus satellitibus eius uidere coeperis, cur has tam salubres admoniones nostras despexeris.

B OOK II – Te xt and Translat i o n

applied legitimately; but it must be remembered that the law is not meant for those who live innocent lives. It is meant for the lawless and the refractory; for the godless and the sinner, the unholy and the profane; for those who lay violent hands on father or mother, for murderers, for those who commit fornication or sin against nature, the slave-dealer, the liar, the perjurer. All this and much else is the very opposite of the sound doctrine contained in the gospel I have been entrusted with, that tells us of the blessed God and his glory. How I thank our Lord Christ Jesus, the source of all my strength, for shewing confidence in me by appointing me his minister, me, a blasphemer till then, a persecutor, a man of violence, author of outrage, and yet he had mercy on me, because I was acting in the ignorance of unbelief. The grace of the Lord came upon me in a full tide of faith and love, the love that is in Christ Jesus. (1 Tim 1:8–14) So also you, having been a persecutor, an injurer of the Church and a blasphemer, can become blessed and most beloved of God, if like blessed Paul you believe that Jesus Christ is the true Son of God; if you confess that he’s always reigned with the Father and will do so for ever, without beginning or end, and if you don’t resist the belief that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one for eternity,167 as Sacred Scripture acclaims, if you believe that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have a single Godhead – believe me, you will in the chorus of patriarchs, prophets, apostles and martyrs. Otherwise you will work out, when you realise that you’re being tortured with the Devil and all his minions, why you despised our advice, which was put together with such effort to give you salvation. END OF BOOK II

167 Lit. ‘have a single eternity’, so also C III 64.

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Bibliography

The most comprehensive bibliographies are to be found in the editions by Diercks and Piras, and the study by Kauhanen; only a small selection is given here.

Lucifer’s Works Luciferi Calaritani Opera quae Supersunt, ed. G. F. Diercks Turnhout: Brepols, 1978 (Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina VIII) Luciferi Calaritani Opuscula, ed. W. Hartel, CSEL XIV, Vienna, 1886 (facsimile edition) Migne Patrologica Latina XIII, columns 691–1050, ed. J. D. and J. Coleti, Venice, 1778 (available online at https://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/30_10_0347-0354-_ Lucifer_Episcopus.html-) Luciferi Calaritani De Non Conveniendo cum Haereticis, ed. A. Piras, Cagliari: PFTS Press, 2014 (originally Rome: Herder, 1992) Lucifer Calaritanus: De Regibus apostaticis et Moriendum esse pro dei filio, ed. V. Ugenti, Studi e Testi Latini e Greci 1, Lecce: Milella, 1980 El tratado ‘Moriendum esse pro dei filio’ de Lucifer de Cagliari, ed. L. Ferreres, Studia Latina Barcinonensia V, Barcelona, 1982 Moriundum esse pro Dei Filio: introduzione, testo critico e commento filologico-letterario, ed. S. Laconi, Rome: Herder, 1998 R. Flower (ed.) Imperial Invectives against Constantius II (Moriendum esse pro Dei Filio, together with Athanasius History of the Arians and Hilary Against Constantius), translated with an introduction and commentary (Translated Texts for Historians 67), Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2016

Studies of Lucifer A. M. Coleman, The Biblical Text of Lucifer of Cagliari (Acts) (3 vols), Welwyn: Lawrence, 1927 G. Corti, Lucifero di Cagliari: Una voce nel conflitto tra chiesa e impero alla metà del IV secolo, Studia Patristica Mediolnanensia 24, Milan: Vita e Pensiero, 2004 A. Figus, L’enigma di Lucifero di Cagliari. A Ricordo del XVI Centenario della morte, Cagliari, 1973 T. Kauhanen, Lucifer of Cagliari and the Text of 1–2 Kings (Septuagint and cognate studies), Atlanta: SBL Press, 2018 G. Krüger, Lucifer, Bischof von Calaris und das Schisma der Luciferianer, Liepzig, 1886 (Reprografischer Nachdruck 1969)

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S. Laconi (ed.), La figura e l’opera di Lucifero di Cagliari: Una rivisitazione, Studie Ephemeridis Augustinianum 75 (papers from a patristic conference in Rome dedicated to Lucifer) Rome Institutum Patristicum Augustinum, 2001 B. Löfstedt, review of Ugenti’s edition of R and M above, Speculum 57 (1982), 149–51. P. M. Marcello, La posizione de Lucifero di Cagliari nella lotta antiariane del IV secolo, Lodè (Nuoro), 1940 P. Meloni, Lucifero di Cagliari ed Eusebio di Vercelli nel giudizio di Sant’ Ambrogio, Estratto da’Studi in onore di Ottorino Pietro Alberti a cura di E Atzeni, T. Cabizzosu Cagliari, 1998 (https://www.academia.edu/38294948/Lucifero_di_Cagliari_ed_Eusebio_ di_Vercelli_nel_giudizio_di_SantAmbrogio) Pietro Meloni was Bishop of Nuoro in Sardinia until his retirement in 2011 I. Opelt, ‘Formen der Polemik bei Lucifer von Calaris’, Vigiliae Christianae 26, no. 3 (October 1972), 200-226 M. Simonetti, ‘Appunti per una storia dello scisma luciferiano’, in Atti del Convegno di studi religiosi sardi, (Cagliari, 24-26  maggio, 1962) Padova, 1963, pp. 69–81; G. Thörnell, Studia Luciferiana Skrifter utgivna av K. Humansitiska Vetenskaps-Samfundet I Uppsala 28:2, Uppsala-Liepzig, 1933 R. Westall, review of Flower’s translation of Morieundum esse pro Dei Filio, in Plekos vol. 21 (2019), pp. 139-151, http://www.plekos.uni-muenchen.de/2019/r-flower.pdf C. Zedda, ‘La teologia trinitaria di Lucifero di Cagliari, Divus Thomas 52 (1949), 276–329 (= La dottrina trinitaria di Lucifero di Cagliari, Rome, 1950)

Contemporary Theologians St Athanasius, Apologia contra Arianos, tr. M. Atkinson and A. Robertson —, Historia Arianorum, limovia.net 2013, Beloved publishing, 2017 —, Tomus ad Antiochenos https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2818.htm St Hilary of Poitiers, Conflicts of Conscience and Law in the Fourth-century Church (Against Valens and Ursacius and Letter to the Emperor Constantius), translated and edited by L. R. Wickham, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1997 St Jerome, De Viris Illustribus chapter 95, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm —, Liber contra Luciferianos, https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf206.vi.iv.html

Scripture Versions Biblia Sacra iuxta Vulgatam Clementinam, 6th ed., A. Colunga & L. Turrado, Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 1983 Novum Testamentum Latine, ed. J. Wordsworth & H. J. White, corrected ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1920 Nova Vulgata Biblorum Sacrorum Editio, 2nd ed., Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1998 Septuaginta: Id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interpretes, ed. Alfred Rahlfs, Stuttgart: Württembergischer Bibelanstalt, 1935

bi bli o graphy

The Holy Bible translated by from the Latin Vulgate in the light of the Hebrew and Greek originals by Monsignor Ronald Knox, London: Burns and Oates, 1955 The Bible, freshly translated by Nicholas King (from the Septuagint), Buxhall: Kevin Mayhew, 2013 Holy Bible Revised New Jerusalem Bible, study edition, London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 2019 Vetus Latina database, Beuron, http://www.brepolis.net

Theological and Historical Background L. Ayres, Nicaea and its Legacy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004 —, Augustine and the Trinity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010 T. D. Barnes, Athanasius and Constantius: Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire, London: Harvard University Press, 1993 (for a review by Dr David Scourfield see www. casa-kvsa.org.za/ScholiaUpdate/95/95–8bar.htm) —, ‘Emperors and Bishops, ad 324–44 Some Problems’ American Journal of Ancient History 3 (1978), 53 ff. L. Boff ‘The Trinity’, in J. Sobrino, and I. Ellacuría, (eds) Systematic Theology, Maryknoll: Orbis, 1996 pp. 75 ff. D. Brown, The Divine Trinity, London: Duckworth, 1985 S. Bullivant, The Trinity: How not to be a Heretic, Paulist Press, 2015 G. D’Costa, Sexing the Trinity, London: SCM Press, 2000 S. T. Davis, D. Kendall and G. O’Collins, (eds) The Trinity, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999 G. Emery, The Trinity: An Introduction to Catholic Doctrine on the Triune God,  Washington, DC: Catholic University Press, 2011 H. M. Gwatkin, The Arian Controversy, London: Longmans, 1889 (Nabu Public Domain reprint) —, Studies of Arianism 2nd ed., 1900 (First Rate Publishers reprint) D. M Gwynn, Athanasius of Alexandria: Bishop, Theologian, Ascetic, Father Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012 R. P. C. Hanson, The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God, London: T & T Clark, 1988 A. H. M. Jones, The Later Roman Empire, 284–602: a Social, Economic and Administrative Survey 2 vols, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1986 A. Kee, Constantine versus Christ, London: SCM Press, 1982 J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, London: Black, 1977, chapter X K. Leech, True God, London: Sheldon, 1985, chapter 8 A. Meredith, The Cappadocians, London: Chapman, 1995 C. Mowry La Cugna, God for us: The Trinity in Christian Life, New York: Harper One, 1991 J. H. Newman, The Arians of the Fourth Century, with introduction and notes by R. Williams, Leominster: Gracewing, 2001 —, The Church of the Fathers, London and New York: John Lane, 1890 G. O’Collins, The Tripersonal God, London: Chapman, 1999 —, Christology, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009

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P. C. Phan (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Trinity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011 G. L. Prestige, Fathers and Heretics, London: SPCK, 1940, pp. 83–89 K. Rahner, The Trinity, London: Burns and Oates, 1970 J. Quasten, Patrologia III, ed. M. Simonetti, Turin, 1978 K. M. Setton, Christian Attitudes towards the Emperor in the Fourth Century, especially as shown in Addresses to the Emperor, New York, 1941 A. Towey, Introduction to the Christian Faith, London: Continuum, 2013, chapters 13 and 14 K. Ware, The Orthodox Way, London: Mowbray, 1979 —, The Orthodox Church, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1980, pp. 216–23 R. Williams, Arius: Heresy and Tradition, revised edition, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002 —, Christ the Heart of Creation, London: Bloomsbury, 2018

Latin Language and Literature J. W. Binns (ed.), Latin Literature of the Fourth Century, London: Routledge, 1974 J. Herman, Vulgar Latin, tr. R. Wright, University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2000 R. A. Knox, On Englishing the Bible, London: Burns and Oates, 1949 A. Souter, A Glossary of Later Latin to 600AD, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1949

Fiction Gore Vidal, Julian, New York: Heinemann, 1962 (Lucifer does not appear in this novel, but it gives a good flavour of the period from the imagined outlook of Julian ‘the Apostate’ who cynically allowed Lucifer and the other Orthodox bishops to return from exile after the death of Constantius)

Index of Scripture Passages1

Genesis 2:25 A2XXXII 3:3-13 A1I 3:4-5 A2XXXII 3:44-15 A1I 4:2-7 A1II 4:8-10 A1II Exodus 18:15 A1II 19:3-6 A1III 20:13, 15, 16 A1III 21:22-25 A2V 23:1-3 A1III 23:6-8 A1III 23:22 A1III Leviticus 18:2-5 A1III 19:11-19 A1IV 19:15,32 A1IV 19:25-36 A1IV Deuteronomy 1:16-17 A1IV 1:21 A1IV 1:27 A1V 1:28 A1V 1:29-33 A1V 5:7-11 A1VI 5:10 A1VI 6:18-18 A1VI 11:26 A1VI 17:2-3 A1VI 17:8-13 A1VI 17:14-15 A1VII



17:16 A1VII 17:18-20 A1VII 19:11-13 A1VII 19:15-21 A1VII 25:13-14 A1VIII 27:19 A1VIII 28:15-21 A1VIII 31:9-12 A1IX 34:9 A1IX Joshua 1:2-5 A1IX 1:5 A1IX 1:7-9 A1IX Judges 6:32 A1 75 n 53 1 Samuel 2:10 LXX A1X 2:22 A1XI 2:27 A1X 2:30 A1X 3:11-14 A1XI 4:1, 2-4 A1XI 4:10-11,14, 16-18 A1XI 1 5:6-12 A XII 7:16 A1XIII 16:1-2 A1XIII 18:16, 28 A1XIII 19:1, 4-6 A1XIII 20:30, 31 A1XIII 22:16-17 A1XIII 22:18-19 A1XIV 24:2-16 A1XIV 24:17-23 A1XV

1 Roman numerals refer to sections in the text of Lucifer; arabic numerals in bold to pages of the introductory material or the footnotes.

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26:2,4-25 A1XV 2 Samuel 8:15 A1XVI 11:21 A1 75 n 53 1 Kings 17:11 A1XVI 18:17 A1XVI 18:18 A1XVI 18:18-46 A1XVII 19:2 A1XVIII 21:9-10 A1XVIII 21:17-24 A1XIX 21:20 A1XIX 2 Kings 2:11-12 A1XX 2 Chronicles 11:13-16 A1XX 17:3-7 A1XXII 19:4-11 A1XXI 19:6-7 A1XXII Tobit 4:5-7 LXX A1XXXVIII Job 14:4-5 A2XXVII 29:12-17 A1XL 31:6-7 A1XL 42:7 A1XLI Psalms 2:21 A1 71 n 49 9B:6-11 (LXX 9:27-32) A1 XXIII 9B:11 (LXX 9:32) A1XXIII 11 (10):2-8 (LXX 1-7) A1XXIII 33 (32):15 A1XXIII 34 (33):13-15 A1XXIII 1 36 (35):3-5 A XXIII 36 (35):11-13 A1XXIV 37 (36): 1-2, 12-17, 20, 32-36 A1XXIV 38 (37):2 A1XXIV 38 (37):3-9 A1XXV 59 (58):6 A1XXV 62 (61):4 A1XXV 78 (77):65-67 A1XXX 82 (81):2-4, 5 A1XXX

97 (96):10 A1XXX 101 (100):7 A1XXX 103 (102):6 A1XXXI 105 (104):15 A1XXXI 1 106 (105):3 A XXXI 110 (109) A1 71 n 49 119 (118):1-2 A1XXXI 132 (131):8-9, 13-14 A1XXXIV 136 (135):10-15 A1XXXIV 146 (145):3-7 A1XXXV Proverbs 1:10-12, 15, 17-19, 22-32 A1XXV 6:11-18 A1XXVI 7:1-10 LXX A1XXVI 11:1 A1XXVI 12:15 A1XXVI 13:10, 14, 17 A1XXVI 14:16, 31 A1XXVI 16:7 LXX A1XXVI 17:15 A1XXVI 18:5 A1XXVI 18:21 A1XXVII 19:5, 12 A1XXVII 20:2, 28 A1XXVII 21:3 A1XXVIII 21:15, 21 LXX A1XXVIII 24:11-12, 23-25 A1XXVIII 1 25:3, 6, 11 A XXIX 29:14, 27 A1XXX 31:8-9 LXX A1XXIX Ecclesiastes 3:15, 16 LXX A1XXXV Wisdom 1:12-13 A1XXXI 2:22-25 A1XXXI 3:1-8 A1XXXII 4:16-20 A1XXXII 5:1-5, 6-9 A1XXXII 5:16-17 (LXX 15-16) A1XXXII 6:2-10 (LXX 1-9) A1XXXII 1 6:19-20 A XXXIII 9:1-3 A1XXXIII 12:19 A1XXXIII 17:1-2, 17 A1XXXIV 18:4 A1XXXIV

i n d ex o f scri pt u re passage s

Isaiah 1:4, 10, 16-17, 19-20, 25 A1XXXIX 3:14-15 A1XXXIX 10:1-3 A1XL 14:22 A1 9n4 36:4, 16-18 A1XL 37:6-7, 10 A1XL 46:12 A1XLII 56:1-2 A1XLII 57:21-58:2 A1XLII 57:15-16 A1XLIII 58:5, 6-7 A1XLII 58:6-9 A1XLIII 58:9-11 A1XLIV Jeremiah 2:3, 33-34 A2I 3:15 A1XXII A2III 7:5-6, 11 A2I 9:3, 5-9 (LXX 2, 4-8) A2I 9:23-24 A1 57 n 30 9:23-24, 26 (LXX 22-23, 25) A2II 2 10:23-25 A II 10:25 A2III Daniel 13:20-21 A2VII 13:22-23, 28-41 A2VIII 2 13:42-49 A IX 13:51-62 A2X 13:52-53, 59 A2XI Amos 5:7 LXX A1XXXV 8:4-5 A1 51 n 2? Jonah 2:11 – 4:2 A2XXXIII Habakkuk 1:13, 14 A1XXXV 2:5, 9, 12 A1XXXVI Zephaniah 1:12 A1XXXVI 2:3 A1XXXVI 3:1-5 A1XXXVI Zechariah 1:14-15 A1XXXVII 7:9-10 A1XXXVII

8:15-17, 19 A1XXXVII Malachi 1:6 A1XXXVII 2:17 A1XXXVIII 3:13-19 LXX A1XXXVIII Matthew 2:16 A2III 3:7-8 A2XXXII 3:7-10 A2III 5:3 A1XXXIX 5:6-7, 21-22, 23-24, 43-48 A2IV 2 7:2, 3-5 A IV 7:13, 15-21, 24-27 A2V 13:40-43, 49-50 A2XVII 2 18:6-7 A XVII 18:15-17 A2XVIII 18:16 A1 22 n 29 18:21-22, 21-35 A2XIX 19:17 A2III 21:33-41 A2 XIX, XXXII 21:43 A2XX 22:3-13 A2XX 22:39 A1 22 n 29 A2XVI 23:23-24, 27-28, 33-36 A2XXI 23:33 A2XXII 24:9-12 A2XXII 26:52 A2XXIII Mark 5:1-20 A1 43 n 11 Luke 10:18 A1 9n4 11:28 A2XI 11:47-51 A2XII 13:24-28, 34 A2XII John 3:13-21 A2XXIII 7:24, 51 A2XXV 8:44 A2 II, XXV 10:1, 2-5, 7-10 A2XXV 14:15-17, 21-24 A2XXVI 1 14:27 A XXXVII 15:12-16,14-15 A2III, VI, XXVI Acts 5:3-16 A2VII

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12:1-7, 10-11, 18-23 A2XIV 1 12:11 A 22 n 29 23:10-15 A2XXIV 25:1-8 A2XXIV Romans 1:28-32 A2VI 2:5 A1 95 n 85 10:10 A1XXVII 12:17-18 A2VI 13:8 A2XVI 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 A2XIII 5:5 A1 171 n 138 6:16-18 A1 22 n 29 7:23 A2XIII 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 A2XXIII Galatians 5:19-21 A2VI Ephesians 4:7-16 A2XXIX 4:14-15 A2XXX 4:17-18, 21-25 A2XXXI 2 5:15-17 A XXVIII Philippians 2:6-7 A1XXXIII

3:4-11 A2XXXIV 3:17-19 A2XXVIII 3:19 A1 22 n 29 2 A XXIX 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 A2XXIX 5:22 A1 22 n 29 1 Timothy 1:8-11, 8-14 A2 XIII, XXXIV Titus 1:5-11 A2XXVII 2:6-8 A2XXVII 2:11-14 A2XXVIII 2 Peter 1:19 A1 9n4 1 John 1:8 A2XXVII 2:3-5, 9-11 A2XIV 2:4 A1 22 3:7-8, 10-15 A2XV 3:13-16, 21-23 A2XVI 4:7-11, 20-21 A2XVI 2 5:2-3 A XVI 5:2-3 A2XVII Apocalypse 12:16 A1 9n4

Index of Ancient Authors and Texts1

Athanasius HA 31.2 15 n 8, 23 HA 62 26 n 40 HA 72 53 n 24 De Fuga 6, Apol. Ad Const. 30, 31 De Syn. 16 113 n 101 Cato De Agr. Cult. 30 121 n 109 Cicero In Cat. 1.1 105 n 98 Verr. 2.1.9 177 n 142 First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea Letter to the Egyptians 141 n 121 Cyprian Ep. 13.2 125 n 113 De Unit. Eccl. 5. 134-136 183 n 147 Pseudo-Cyprian De Laude Martyrii 6 19 Gregory Nazianzen Orat. 21.16 53 n 24 Hilary De Syn. 78 135 n 117 In Const. 1, Comm. in Matt. 139 n 120 John Chrysostom In Gentes Sermo 2.1 25 n 39 Hom. In Acta 26 173 n 139 Josephus Ant. 8.13.8 79 n 69 Lactantius Inst. 5.19.1 49 n 1 Lucifer A1 I 25-29 26 n 45, IX 43 15 n 10, XIII 7 22 n 29, XIV 24 19 n 22, XVI 12 27, XVI 43 22 n 29, XIX

1 Bold numbers are pages in the text of this edition.

42 21 n 28, XXIII 6 22 n 29, XXXV 29, XXX1X 19 22 n 29, XLIII 29-32 22 n 29 A2 XVII 1 77 n 66, XVIII 12 181 n 145, 32-33 22 n 29 P III 1-2 105 n  98, V 49-52 22 n 29, XVIII 32-36 26 n 45, XXIV 26 113 n 102, 36-39 26 n 45, XXXIV 49-50 26 n 45 M V 73-78 22 n 29, XII 38 105 n 98, XIV 37 177 n 142 R I 33-36, II 38, III 29 22 n 29, I 95 121 n 109, III 31 207 n 162 C II 16 71 n 48, II 60, III 6, V 21 27, XI 46-49 22 n 29, III 64 219 n 167, IV 40 121 n 109, VII 28 59 n 33, IX 39 113 n 102, 44-46 XII 37-41, 26 n 45, XI 55 49 n 16, XII 21 177 n 142, XV 13 207 n 162 Epistula VIII 15 n 9, n 12 Nicephorus of Constantinople Apol. 9. 21 195 n 156 Origen De Princ. 4 205 n 160 Hom. In Lev. 8 205 n 160 Pacian Ep. 2.7 22 Socrates HE 2.23 195 n 156 Sozomen HE 3.2, 4.10, 30 53 n 19 Sulpicius Severus Hist. 2.40 135 n 117

23 0

in d e x o f a n c i e n t au t h o r s an d t e x t s

Tertullian De Anima 33.1 Fuga 14.3 Adv. Marc. 4. 33

49 n 16 121 n 109 121 n 109

De Pud. 19. 7 Virgil Aen. 3. 377-379

51 n 19 77 n 66; 181 n 145

Index of Modern Authors

Ayres, L. 14 n 6 Barnes, T. D.  15 n 8, 28, 167 n 136, 185 n 149, 193 n 154 Coleman A. M.  21 n 27 Coleti, J. D. & J.  17, 91 n 83 Diercks, G. F.  15 n 9, 18, 19, 26, 28 Francis, Pope  25 Gibbon, E.  53 n 24 Gwynn, D. M.  23 n 30, 28 Harnack, A.  20 Hartel, W.  28, 49 n 15 Herman, J.  19 Kauhanen, T.  19 n 21, 20 n 23, 75 n 55, 77 n 62, 79 n 71 King, N.  32, 75 n 53, n 55, 77 n 63, 79 n 71, 117 n 106

Knox, R. A.  31, 32, 57 n 31, n 32, 63 n 39, 73 n 52, 115 n 104, 123 n 112 Kruger, G.  20, 21 n 25 Leech, K.  25 n 36 Lewis, C. S.  25 Lossky, V.  24 n 35 Moltmann, J.  27 Newman, J. H.  13 Noel, C.  24, 25 n 36 Piras, A.  17 n 16, 18, 19, 23, 28, 30, 71 n 48 Vidal, G.  16 n 13 Ware, K.  24 Williams, R.  13 n 1, 14 n 7 Wright, R.  19 n 18 Zedda, C.  26, 73 n 49