I’ve just discovered this link:
It includes masses of Greek, including Adamantius; plus the Syriac New Testament, and much else. Thanks to Evangelical Textual Criticism for this one.
Tag: Patristics
Adamantius, De recta in deum fide
One stray ante-Nicene work that never appeared in the Ante-Nicene Fathers collection is a dialogue On the true faith in God attributed in the manuscripts to an otherwise unknown Adamantius. Of course Origen was known as Adamantius also, but the author of this work holds anti-Origenist views.
The work consists of a dialogue in two parts, held with the pagan Eutropius as arbiter, on which is the real Christianity. In the first part, the author disputes with two Marcionites. In the second a follower of Bardesanes is refuted.
The text makes use of now lost works by Methodius, and therefore cannot be much earlier than 300 AD. It is extant in the original Greek in at least ten manuscripts, and also in a translation by Rufinus. It was published in the Patrologia Graeca 11, and a critical text exists in the GCS vol. 4 (1901) which is online, albeit only to Americans and contains both the Greek and Rufinus’ Latin. An English translation by Robert A. Pretty was published in 1997 by Peeters, but sadly is offline.
I have been sent a quotation from the work, or rather what is apparently a paraphrase of a passage from it, which is as follows:
“What right has he [a heretic] to assert that the Messiah wrote the gospel? The gospel writer did not refer to himself as the Christ but to Jesus who he is proclaiming.”
I have no idea where in the dialogue this can be found. Does anyone have any ideas?
Medieval library catalogues
One of the most interesting books to delve into, if you have a little Latin, is Gustav Becker’s Catalogi bibliothecarum antiqui. This was published in 1885 and consists of reprints of all the catalogues of medieval abbeys. Books were treasures in medieval abbeys, which could be pawned for cash, and inventories were therefore taken of what books the abbey owned.
You can see three such catalogues, all for the very well-endowed abbey of Corbie in Northern France here. Here is the first one, the shortest, from the 11th century, with Becker’s note of where he was reprinting it from:
§55. Corbeia = Corbie. saec. XI.
HI CODICES [LIBRI Delisle] REPERTI SUNT IN ARMARIO
SANCTI PETRI.1-3. Expositio Cassiodori super psalterium in tribus libris. — 4. Hieronymus in Isaiam prophetam. — 5. item Hieronymus super Ezechielem libri V. — 6. Herenei [Irenaei Mai] episcopi Ludunensis [Lugdun. Mai.] contra omnes hereses. — 7. Augustinus de natura et origine animae ad Renatum. — 8. epithalamium Origenis in cantica canticorum. — 9. lex Romana ab Alarico rege abbreviata. — 10. libri veterum sedecim. — 11. Libri Novellarum sex Theodosii I, Valentiniani I, Martiani I. — 12. lex Burgundionum. — 13. lex Gothorum. — 14. Iulius Frontinus de geometria. in eodem Siculus Flaccus de agris. — 15. Chigenus [Hyginus. Mai.] Augustus de limitibus statuendis. — 16. Euclides de figuris geometricis. — 17. item Augustinus de solutionibus diversarum quaestionum. — 18. concordiae evangelistarum libri IIII sancti Augustini.
19. ecclesiastica historia Eusebii. — 20. excerptiones Eugypii. — 21. retractatio in libris confessionum Augustini. — 22. tractatus sancti Ambrosii de officiis. — 23. expositio Hesychii presbyteri super leviticum. — 24. Rufinus in librum numeri. — 25. historia Hegesippi. — 26. codex pragmaticus Tiberii Augustii. — 27. tripertita historia. — 28. Augustinus de opere monachorum. — 29. liber sancti Ambrosii de trinitate ad Gratianum imperatorem. — 30. homiliae Origenis de Balaam et Balac et in eodem Iohannis de reparatione lapsi. — 31. Tertullianus de resurrectione carnis, de trinitate, de spectaculis, de munere, de prescriptionibus ereticorum, de ieiuniis adversus fisicos, de monogamia, de pudicitia. — 32. Augustinus de utilitate credendi. — 33. Salvianus episcopus de gubernatione Dei.
34-43. libri sancti Clementis numero decem. — 44. Hieronymi libri tres in Zachariam prophetam. — 45. item Hieronymus in Hieremiam prophetam. — 46. collationes abbatis Piamon de tribus generibus monachorum. — 47. Ambrosius episcopus de fide ad Gratianum imperatorem. — 48. Augustinus de trinitate. — 49. homeliae Origenis in genesim. — 50. Hieronymus de nominibus urbium vel locorum. — 51. Ratbertus Paschasius de corpore et sanguine Domini. — 52. Fulgentius episcopus de remissione peccatorum. — 53. altercatio Atici [Attici Mai.] orthodoxi et Cretoboli [Critobuli Mai.] heretici. — 54. Hieronymus in Danihelem prophetam. — 55. Optati Milibitani [milivetani Mai.] episcopi libri septem ad Parmenianum scismaticam. — 56. Eusebius de fide adversus Sabellium. — 57. Augustinus de singularitate clericorum. — 58. libri duo Hieronymi contra Rufinum presbyterum. — 59. item Hieronymus contra lovinianum. — 60. Firmiani Lactantii liber de falsa religione.
(Mai Spicilegium Roman. V, 202-3. ex Ms. 520 reginae Christinae, parvam partem dedit Delisle Mém. de l’institut de France. Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres. t. 24, 339. vel in Bibliothèque de l’école des chartes Ser.V. tom.Ip.512. cf. Montfaucon bibl. Mss. II, 1406.)
Many of these books and names will mean little to most of us. Irenaeus Against Heresies is there; a rare Tertullian also. Eusebius’ Church History is there, plus Eusebius “Adversus Sabellium” must mean his five books Against Marcellus, in a Latin version; I had not known until this moment that such existed. Augustine and Ambrose and Jerome are all well represented. Origen’s Homilies on Genesis are present. And so is Euclid, amazingly enough!
Paging through Becker is to gain an idea of what books were really circulating in the west in the Middle ages, at least before 1300 when he ends.
But what about the Greek East? What sort of inventories exist for Greek monastic collections? I would very much like to know; because I don’t know of any equivalent book for these.
Book lists do exist. A 16th century list — probably part of a bookseller’s bait-and-switch scam — is here. But what about the abbey inventories?
Cyril of Alexandria – commentaries on Paul’s letters
Ben Blackwell is thinking about translating the commentaries of Cyril of Alexander on Romans and the other letters, as part of a post-doctoral project. Doing so could only benefit everyone. He discusses how he is going about it, and (excitingly) how the online TLG now has parsing information (if you can access it!) Computer-based resources must be increasingly important in translation, I think.
One wry thought: the “standard” edition is that of Philip Pusey; who died in 1880! So neglected is Cyril in the West. A new critical text would seem a desideratum; or at least, a few papers on the manuscript tradition. It is unlikely that Pusey had access to the best mss.
Still, the first step in making a new edition would be to become conversant with the text and its problems, and the best way to do that is to make a translation of it into some other language. So Ben might be beginning a life’s work here! Either way, for a scholar setting out, it would seem that he is looking at unexplored territory. Go for it, Ben!
Severus Sebokht and “Arabic” numbers
A bunch of Syriac works on scientific subjects are preserved in a single manuscript in the BNF in Paris. Most are by Severus Sebokht, the 6th century monk and bishop at the monastery of Kinnesrin, where Greek studies thrived.
I have a microfilm of this manuscript, and it contains a number of letters by Severus. One of these is of wide interest; it defends Syriac science against the Greeks, and incidentally mentions (for the first time) the numbers that we today call “Arabic” numbers. But it has never been translated; all our knowledge of it is from a small excerpt.
This is a reminder to myself; I need to get this transcribed and translated and put online! That’s why I got the microfilm!
The destruction of the apocryphal Acts of John
Burning books with which one disagrees is such fun! At least, we might infer this, from the universality of the practice in all ages, including our own. A discussion on this subject elsewhere raised the question of the apocryphal Acts of John, and caused me to read the relevant sections in volume 2 of Schneemelcher’s “New Testament Apocrypha” (2003). Page 156 indicates:
At its fifth session the Nicene council of 787 pronounced on the Acts of John: “No-one is to copy (this book): not only so, but we consider that it deserves to be consigned to the fire.” 49
49. Conc. Nic. II, actio V (Mansi vol. 13, col. 176 A)
In the West Leo the Great had given a similar verdict to the entire compass of the apocryphal literature used by the Priscillianists: “The apocryphal writings, however, which under the names of the apostles contain a hotbed of manifold perversity, should not only be forbidden but altogether removed and burnt with fire.” 50
50. Leo the Great, Letter to Turribius of Astorga on 21 July 447, c. 15; PL 54, col. 688A.
These judgments sufficiently explain why the Acts of John have survived only in fragmentary form.
Leaving aside the somewhat doubtful logic of the latter, I thought it might be useful to examine these references. Leo the Great, Letter 15 (to Turribius, against the Priscillianists) is online in English here:
And on this subject your remarks under the fifteenth head make a complaint, and express a well-deserved abhorrence of their devilish presumption, for we too have ascertained this from the accounts of trustworthy witnesses, and have found many of their copies most corrupt, though they are entitled canonical. For how could they deceive the simple-minded unless they sweetened their poisoned cups with a little honey, lest what was meant to be deadly should be detected by its over-nastiness?
Therefore care must be taken, and the priestly diligence exercised to the uttermost, to prevent falsified copies that are out of harmony with the pure Truth being used in reading. And the apocryphal scriptures, which, under the names of Apostles, form a nursery-ground for many falsehoods, are not only to be proscribed, but also taken away altogether and burnt to ashes in the fire. For although there are certain things in them which seem to have a show of piety, yet they are never free from poison, and through the allurements of their stories they have the secret effect of first beguiling men with miraculous narratives, and then catching them in the noose of some error.
Wherefore if any bishop has either not forbidden the possession of apocryphal writings in men’s houses, or under the name of being canonical has suffered those copies to be read in church which are vitiated with the spurious alterations of Priscillian, let him know that he is to be accounted heretic, since he who does not reclaim others from error shows that he himself has gone astray.
I can never read materials of this date, expressing themselves in these terms, without hearing an echo of modern political correctness and the exaggerations that this creates. Every right-wing politician in the UK is labelled “fascist” more or less by reflex; yet in truth there are no politicians known to me who advocate the Fuhrerprincip or the policies of Il Duce! The label is intended to demonise, not inform; and somehow I tend to wonder about some of the 5th century denunciations, as being examples of the same phenomenon.
Nothing in Leo’s letter leads us to suppose that any actual burnings took place, nor does it refer specifically to the Acts of John.
The other reference is to the 5th session of the acts of the Council of Nicaea II in 787, the council that condemned iconoclasm. Mansi, vol. 13 is here.
As far as I can make out, the Fifth Session of the synod was spent listening to extracts from the Fathers on the question of icons. On p.90 (col. 167D) there seems to be the start of the discussion of this text. The Acts of John are quoted twice, although not named — the text refers to bogus itineraries of the apostles. The first passage condemns icons; the second asserts various gnostic ideas about Christ. Various members of the synod then point out the obviously heretical nature of the text.
Our bit is right at the bottom of p.93/top of p.94 of the PDF. I find the Greek almost unreadable in this PDF; the Latin translation reads:
Joannes reverendissimus monachus et vicarius orientalium pontificum dixit: Si placet sancta ac universali huic synodo, fiat sententia, ne ulterius scribant aliqui sordidum istum librum. Sancta Synodus dixit: Nemo scribat: non solum hoc, sed igni eum dignum judicamus fore tradendum.
The most reverend John, monk and Pontifical Vicar of the East said, “If it pleases the Holy and Universal Synod, let this be the sentence, that nothing of this sleazy book be copied (lit. written) any more.” The Holy Synod said: “Let no-one copy it; not only that, but we judge it deserving to be thrown into the fire.”
Yet again this does not seem to me to be a general decree; so much as a rejection of the book as evidence for the purposes of the council (which indeed it could not be).
Schneemelcher is an odd book, isn’t it? In some ways it’s very good, but in others quite dreadful. Something must be allowed for the awkwardness of translation from the German. Indeed there are some horribly tangled sentences, which almost suggest that the English editor did not read it carefully enough! But the introduction by Schneemelcher himself to the five surviving apocryphal acts is not very good at all. It consists of a rambling survey of the opinions of various scholars, on subjects that the reader has yet to encounter. It is, indeed, otherwise fact-free. In the English version the prose is nearly unreadable, to make matters worse. A survey of the scholarship is not a bad idea; but this is not well achieved.
I learn from the book that Photius is our source for gathering the five together, as all composed by one Leucius Charinus, and all used by the Manichaeans; the acts of John, Thomas, Paul, Peter and Andrew. Yet it must be questioned whether the text today known as the Acts of Paul is the same text that Photius used. It is, after all, a very different document from the others, all of which have gnostic leanings and would be amenable to Manichaean purposes. It may be telling that the Acts of Paul is condemned separately in the Decretum Gelasianum from the “writings of Leucius”. Was there, perhaps, another “Acts of Paul”, which has perished?
Indexes of ROC now online
The volume of indexes of the Revue de l’Orient Chrétien has now appeared online here. Thanks to Albocicade for the tip.
Nominate Mingana manuscripts for digitisation
Peter Robinson of the Virtual Manuscripts Room at Birmingham has responded here to a post of mine, bewailing the emphasis on Islamic manuscripts so far, with a very interesting response:
We are aware that the only way to satisfy everyone is, simply, to digitize everything. The project was by way of an experiment, to learn about the issues involved in the digitization and to satisfy ourselves that it WOULD be possible to go on and digitize the entire collection.
Now, we believe we can do that. We have developed a plan for this, and it would be very helpful to have the support of people on this list.
One way you could do this would be to go send in any mss from Mingana that you would like to see digitized using the form at http://vmr.bham.ac.uk/contact/. The more such requests we gather, the stronger our case for digitizing the whole collection.
This is a very open-minded and sensible approach, and I would encourage people to do just this.
The catalogues are all online here. I know that it is summer, and we all have many things to do involving strawberries, but if you can tear yourself away, mull over what texts you would like to see online. I can think of the manuscript including Cyrus and Thomas of Edessa, without blinking, for instance; and there will be more!
From my diary – Cambridge
Sunshine this morning, so I clambered into my car and drove up the A14 to Cambridge. Only one broken down lorry at Sproughton to delay traffic – police coned off one lane, causing tailbacks. More noticeable is the atrocious state of the roads, worn threadbare and rutted with lack of maintenance. I drive on past Cambridge to the M11 junction, drop down towards London two junctions, and come off with the tower of the University Library in sight. Then a drive through fields, then along a leafy road or two between agreeable large houses of the early twentieth century, down to West Road and into the car park where I even manage to find a space. Normally I have to park by the side of the road!
Into the library, swiping my card as I go to operate the turnstyle. Up to the catalogue room, and a search for Le Monde Copte sends me to South Wing Floor 3. A look at the article tells me that it is of little interest. Down to the machine room on the ground floor to look for Bishop Samuel al Suryani’s edition or translation of Abu Makarim; in vain. The Newton catalogue behaves erratically, as ever, refusing to give results that I know it has. But I do find an entry for “Tawaḍrūs, Ṣamūʾīl, 1911-” as author of a “Guide to ancient Coptic churches & monasteries in Upper Egypt / by Samuel al Syriany, Badii Habib”, 1990. Seems to be Arabic language, tho.
The university library building is well designed, built of brick and obviously intended to resemble an Italian palazzo, or so the architects model in the foyer indicates. I suspect the university was less impressed by the somewhat forbidding appearance that they actually got. Gothic is the only style that looks good in the rain, in my experience.
I still have a bunch of books rejected in Oxford in the boot of my car. I wonder if Oxfam in Cambridge will take them and find homes for them? But it is quite a way from the library on foot into town!
Digest of Roman Law online in English; and Hadrian on castrating your slaves
I’d like to highlight that an out-of-copyright translation of the Pandects, otherwise known as the Digest of Roman Law by Justinian, is actually online here as part of the Corpus Juris Civilis, under the misleading title of “The Civil Law”. Few people seem to know about this.
I thought that I would look at the comments on the Lex Cornelia, in 48.8, which I was discussing earlier in connection with legislation against magic. The law is mainly concerned with assassination and poisonings, and so are the comments. But there were clearly further provisions:
4. Ulpianus, On the Duties of Proconsul, Book VII. …
(2) The Divine Hadrian also stated the following in a Rescript: “It is forbidden by the Imperial Constitutions that eunuchs should be made, and they provide that persons who are convicted of this crime are liable to the penalty of the Cornelian Law, and that their property shall with good reason be confiscated by the Treasury.
“But with reference to slaves who have made eunuchs, they should be punished capitally, and those who are liable to this public crime and do not appear, shall, even when absent, be sentenced under the Cornelian Law. It is clear that if persons who have suffered this injury demand justice, the Governor of the province should hear those who have lost their virility; for no one has a right to castrate a freeman or a slave, either against his consent or with it, and no one can voluntarily offer himself to be castrated. If anyone should violate my Edict, the physician who performed the operation shall be punished with death, as well as anyone who willingly offered himself for emasculation.”
All this is interesting, considering that the priests of the state cult of Magna Mater (Cybele) were eunuchs!
A further interesting provision appears further down:
11. Modestinus, Rules, Book VI.
By a Rescript of the Divine Pius, Jews are permitted to circumcise only their own children, and anyone who performs this operation upon persons of a different religion will incur the penalty for castration.
This rescript of Antoninus Pius is second century, so cannot relate to Paul and Christianity; but if a similar attitude was around, it may explain why circumcision was not favoured by gentile converts.
Finally we get to something related to magic:
By a decree of the Senate it is ordered that anyone who offers sacrifices for the purpose of causing misfortune shall be subjected to the penalty of this law.
But the whole discussion relates to murder, rather than magic; clearly the latter was a minority concern.
Searching further for comments by Ulpian, I find this: 2. Ulpianus, On the Duties of Proconsul, Book VII. This is in 48.22, concerning associations, but again may relate to Christians.
Anyone who becomes a member of an unlawful association is liable to the same penalty to which those are subject who have been convicted of having seized public places or temples by means of armed men.