On the Proceedings of Pelagius 66
Latin text: Urba–Zycha, CSEL 42 (Latin text: Urba–Zycha, De gestis Pelagii (CSEL 42), digitized by Open Greek and Latin (csel-dev, University of Leipzig), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 5 (1887), "A Work on the Proceedings of Pelagius.".
Chapter 66
66CSEL 42:121–122
De his autem quae post hoc iudicium ibi nescio quo cuneo perditorum, qui ualde in peruersum perhibentur Pelagio suffragari, incredibili audacia perpetrata dicuntur, ut dei serui et ancillae ad curam sancti Hieronymi presbyteri pertinentes sceleratissima caede afficerentur, diaconus occideretur, aedificia monasteriorum incenderentur, uix ipsum ab hoc impetu atque incursu impiorum in dei misericordia turris munitior tueretur, tacendum nobis potius uideo et expectandum quid illic fratres nostri episcopi de his tantis malis agendum existiment, quibus eos dissimulare posse quis credat? impia quippe dogmata huiusce modi hominum a quibuslibet catholicis, etiam qui ab illis terris longe absunt, redarguenda sunt, ne ubicumque nocere possint, quo peruenire potuerint; impia uero facta, quorum cohercitio ad episcopalem pertinet disciplinam, ubi committuntur, ibi potissimum a praesentibus uel in proximo constitutis diligentia pastorali et pia seueritate plectenda sunt. nos itaque tam longe positi optare debemus his causis talem illic finem dari, de quo non sit necesse ubilibet ulterius iudicare, sed quem nobis potius praedicare conueniat, ut animi omnium, qui illorum scelerum fama usquequaque uolitante grauiter uulnerati sunt, dei misericordia consequente sanentur. unde iam huius libri terminus iste sit, qui, ut spero, si sensibus tuis placere meruerit, adiuuante domino utilis erit legentibus tuo quam meo nomine commendatior et tua diligentia plurimis notior.
As for what is said to have been perpetrated there after this trial with incredible audacity by some gang or other of lost men, who are said to support Pelagius in a very perverse way (that servants and handmaids of God under the care of the holy presbyter Jerome were attacked with most wicked slaughter, a deacon was killed, the buildings of the monasteries were set on fire, and he himself was barely protected from this assault and attack of the ungodly, by God's mercy, in a well-fortified tower), I think we should rather keep silent and wait to see what our brothers the bishops there think should be done about such great evils; who could believe that they can pretend not to see them? For the ungodly dogmas of men of this kind are to be refuted by any catholics whatever, even those who are far from those lands, so that they may not do harm wherever they can reach; but ungodly deeds, whose restraint belongs to episcopal discipline, are to be punished with pastoral diligence and godly severity where they are committed, above all by those who are present or nearby. We, therefore, placed so far away, should wish that such an end may be given to these cases there that there is no need to judge them further anywhere, but rather an end that it befits us to proclaim, so that the minds of all who have been gravely wounded by the report of those crimes, flying about everywhere, may be healed by the mercy of God that follows. Let this, then, be the end of this book, which, I hope, if it has deserved to please your judgment, will with the Lord's help be useful to its readers, better commended by your name than by mine, and better known to very many through your care.
Notes and citation
Summary: Augustine leaves the violence against Jerome's monasteries to the local bishops and closes the book, commending it to Aurelius.
- The attack on Jerome's monasteries at Bethlehem took place in 416.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Augustine, Gest. Pelag. 66 (CSEL 42:121–122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-gestis-pelagii/66/#p-66). (abbreviation not yet checked)
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-augustine-gestis-pelagii-66) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Latin of Urba and Zycha (CSEL 42, 1902); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in NPNF¹ 5 (1887).