# Eleven Tractates - Author: [Priscillian](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/priscillian/) - Latin title: *Tractatus undecim* - Date: ca. 380–385 (approximate) - Source: Georgius Schepss, ed., Priscilliani quae supersunt, CSEL 18 (Vienna: Tempsky, 1889), pp. 3-106 (Latin text: G. Schepss (CSEL 18, 1889), digitized by Open Greek and Latin, University of Leipzig (csel-dev), CC BY-SA 4.0) - Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/ - Passages: 145 ## Eleven Tractates 1.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-1 - Source: CSEL 18:-–4 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Priscillian and his companions, though they have often condemned all heresies in writing, agree to state their faith again before the bishops. ### Latin text Etsi fides nostra nullis uitae offendiculis inpedita securum catholicae dispositionis iter tendens ad deum libera sit, tamen, quia zabolica obtrectatione pulsata in eo quod percutitur plus probatur, gloriosum nobis uidimus, beatissimi sacerdotes, ut non redarguente conscientia, quamuis frequentibus libellis locuti fidem nostram hereticorum omnium docmata damnauerimus et libello fratrum nostrorum Tiberiani, Asarbi et ceterorum, cum quibus nobis una fides et unus est sensus, cuncta docmata quae contra Christum uideantur esse damnata sint et probata quae pro Christo, tamen etiam nunc, quia id uultis, sicut scribtum est parati semper ad confessionem omni poscenti nos rationem de fide et spe quae est in nobis tacere noluimus, quod iubetis. Etenim confessione repetita licet in oculis uestris sit omne quod uiuimus et constituti in fidei luce nulla tenebrosae conuersationis secreta sectemur, non abnuimus tamen, ut etiam ignorantibus nos satisfieret, ne quis in nos credens male alteris inueniabili errore peccaret, non recusantes quin ostenderemus ore quod credebamus in corde. ### English translation (Claude) Although our faith, hindered by no stumbling blocks of life and travelling the secure road of catholic order toward God, is free, yet, because when it is assailed by the devil's slander it is proved the more at the very point where it is struck, we have thought it glorious for us, most blessed bishops, that—with no conscience accusing us—although in frequent pamphlets we have spoken out our faith and condemned the doctrines of all heretics, and although in the pamphlet of our brothers Tiberianus, Asarbus, and the rest, with whom we have one faith and one mind, every doctrine that seems to be against Christ has been condemned and whatever is for Christ approved, yet even now, because you wish it, as it is written, "ready always to make confession to everyone who asks us for a reason concerning the faith and hope that is in us," we did not wish to keep silent about what you command. For although, with our confession repeated, all that we live is before your eyes, and, set in the light of faith, we pursue no secrets of a dark way of life, we nevertheless do not refuse, so that satisfaction may be given even to those who do not know us, lest anyone, believing evil of us, should sin by another's unpardonable error; we do not decline to show with the mouth what we have believed in the heart. ### Scripture references - 1 Pet 3:15: quotation, high confidence - Rom 10:10: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Addressed to an assembly of bishops (probably the Council of Saragossa, 380, or its sequel). "Ready always …": 1 Pet 3:15. "With the mouth … in the heart": Rom 10:10. Tiberianus and Asarbus are companions of Priscillian. The sense of "alteris inueniabili errore" ("by another's unpardonable error") is uncertain. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.1 (CSEL 18:-–4; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-1). ## Eleven Tractates 1.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-2 - Source: CSEL 18:4–5 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Having left their former life for the faith, they were baptized and received the catholic creed, which they hold. ### Latin text Quamuis enim gloriari in his quae fuimus non oporteat, tamen non ita obscuro editi ad saeculum loco aut insipientes uocati sumus, ut fides Christi et eruditio credendi mortem nobis potius adferre potuerit quam salutem. Ad haec enim, ut ipsi nouistis, peractis omnibus humanae uitae experimentis et malorum nostrorum conuersationibus repudiatis tamquam in portum securae quietis intrauimus. Agnoscentes enim quoniam nemo nisi ex aqua et spiritu sancto renatus ascenderet in regna caelorum, castificauimus animas nostras ad obaudiendum fidei per spiritum et repudiatis prioris uitae desideriis, in quibus erubescebamus, ad innouatae iter gratiae simbolum catolicae obseruationis accepimus, quod tenemus, ut intrantes lauacrum, redemptionem corporis nostri, et baptizati in Christo induti Christum inanem saeculi gloriam respuentes ipsi uni uitam nostram sicut dedimus dederemus, qui peccatorum remissione concessa passus ipse pro nobis et redemptionem animis nostris praestitit et salutem. Quis enim est qui legens scribturas et unam fidem unum ### English translation (Claude) For although one ought not to glory in what we were, yet we were not born into the world in so obscure a place, nor were we called so foolish, that the faith of Christ and instruction in believing could have brought us death rather than salvation. For to this, as you yourselves know, after every experience of human life had been gone through and our evil ways of living rejected, we entered as into a harbour of secure rest. For recognizing that no one unless reborn of water and the Holy Spirit would ascend into the kingdom of heaven, we purified our souls for obedience to the faith through the Spirit, and, having rejected the desires of our former life, of which we were ashamed, we received for the road of renewed grace the creed of catholic observance, which we hold, so that, entering the washing, the redemption of our body, and baptized into Christ and having put on Christ, rejecting the empty glory of the world, we might give our life to him alone, as we had already given it—to him who, having granted forgiveness of sins, himself suffered for us and has furnished both redemption and salvation to our souls. For who is there who, reading the Scriptures and believing one faith, one ### Scripture references - John 3:5: allusion, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:22: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 6:21: echo, low confidence - Rom 8:23: allusion, medium confidence - Gal 3:27: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:5: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Reborn of water and the Spirit: John 3:5. "Purified our souls for obedience": 1 Pet 1:22. "Of which we were ashamed": Rom 6:21. "Redemption of our body": Rom 8:23. "Baptized into Christ … put on Christ": Gal 3:27. The sentence continues in the next section. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.2 (CSEL 18:4–5; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-2). ## Eleven Tractates 1.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-3 - Source: CSEL 18:5–6 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They condemn heretics who divide the one divine substance, citing texts on the oneness of God and confessing the incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Word. ### Latin text baptisma unum deum credens hereticorum dogmata stulta non damnet, qui, dum uolunt humanis conparare diuina, diuidunt unitam in dei uirtute substantiam et magnitudinem Christi tripertito eclesiae fonte uenerabilem Binionitarum scelere partiuntur, cum scribtum sit: ego sum deus et non est alius praeter me iustus et saluator non est praeter me, et: ego primus et ego posthaec et praeter me non est deus; quis sicut ego? item alibi: ego sum et ante me non fuit alius et post me non erit similis mihi; ego deus et non est praeter me qui saluos faciat; et iterum Moyse dicente: dominus deus noster deus unus est, et Hieremias ait: hic est deus noster nec reputabitur alius absque eum qui inuenit omnem uiam sapientiae et dedit eam Iacob puero suo et Istrahel dilecto suo; posthaec in terris uisus est et cum hominibus conuersatus est. Ipse est enim qui fuit est et futurus est et uisus a saeculis uerbum caro factus inhabitauit in nobis et crucifixus deuicta morte uitae heres effectus est ac tertia die resurgens factus futuri forma spem nostrae resurrectionis ostendit et ascendens ### English translation (Claude) baptism, one God, does not condemn the foolish doctrines of the heretics, who, wishing to compare divine things with human, divide the substance united in the power of God, and by the crime of the Binionites split up the greatness of Christ, venerable in the threefold font of the church? For it is written: "I am God and there is no other besides me; a righteous one and a saviour there is none besides me"; and: "I am first and I am hereafter, and besides me there is no God; who is like me?" Likewise elsewhere: "I am, and before me there was no other, and after me there will be none like me; I am God, and there is none besides me who saves." And again Moses says: "The Lord our God is one God"; and Jeremiah says: "This is our God, and no other will be reckoned beside him, who found every way of wisdom and gave it to Jacob his servant and to Israel his beloved; afterward he was seen on earth and lived among men." For he is the one who was and is and is to come, and, seen from the ages, the Word made flesh dwelt among us, and, crucified, having conquered death, became heir of life, and rising on the third day, made the pattern of what is to come, he showed the hope of our resurrection, and ascending ### Scripture references - Isa 45:21: quotation, high confidence - Isa 44:6: quotation, high confidence - Isa 44:7: quotation, medium confidence - Isa 43:10: quotation, high confidence - Isa 43:11: quotation, high confidence - Deut 6:4: quotation, high confidence - Rev 1:8: allusion, high confidence - John 1:14: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Bar 3:36-38 (Baruch): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - "Binionites" (those who make God two) is Priscillian's own label; the group is not otherwise identified. Quotations: Isa 45:21; Isa 44:6–7; Isa 43:10–11; Deut 6:4; "Jeremiah" = Bar 3:36–38 (Baruch circulated under Jeremiah's name); Rev 1:4, 8; John 1:14. The Trinitarian language here was later read as modalist by Priscillian's accusers; it is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.3 (CSEL 18:5–6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-3). ## Eleven Tractates 1.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-4 - Source: CSEL 18:6 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ ascended and opened the way to heaven; three bear witness in heaven and on earth; they will answer point by point, and they anathematize the Patripassian heresy. ### Latin text in caelos uenientibus ad se iter construit totus in patre et pater in ipso, ut manifestaretur quod scribtum est: gloria in excelsis deo et pax hominibus in terra bonae uoluntatis; sicut Iohannes ait: tria sunt quae testimonium dicunt in terra aqua caro et sanguis et haec tria in unum sunt, et tria sunt quae testimonium dicunt in caelo pater uerbum et spiritus et haec tria unum sunt in Christo Iesu. Et quia uultis nos ire per singula ut quod credimus eloquamur, licet nostrum sit studere de uobis, tamen, quia secundum institutum dei, qui, cum operibus quis esset ostenderet, uoluit tamen quis esset a discipulis suis uel quis crederetur audire: quia uultis etiam nos uobis probare quod nostis, ueniam petimus si aut adserentes fidem nostram aut distruentes ea, quae ad deprauandas mentes infidelium error insinuat, latius eloquemur. Illorum enim culpa est, qui, dum plura in Christi homines mentiuntur, prolixius nos respuere ea, quae sibimet ipsis obiciunt, fecerunt. Anathema enim sit qui Patripassianae heresis malum credens catholicam fidem ### English translation (Claude) into the heavens he builds a road for those who come to him, wholly in the Father and the Father in him, so that what is written might be made manifest: "Glory in the highest to God, and on earth peace to men of good will"; as John says: "There are three that bear witness on earth: the water, the flesh, and the blood, and these three are in one; and there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Spirit, and these three are one in Christ Jesus." And because you wish us to go through each point, so that we may declare what we believe—although it is our part to be zealous concerning you—yet since it accords with the ordinance of God, who, though he showed by his works who he was, still wished to hear from his disciples who he was, or who he was believed to be: because you wish us also to prove to you what you already know, we ask pardon if, in asserting our faith or in demolishing what error insinuates to deprave the minds of unbelievers, we speak at some length. For the fault is theirs who, by telling many lies against Christ's people, have made us reject at greater length the charges they themselves bring. Let him be anathema who, believing the evil of the Patripassian heresy, harasses the catholic faith, ### Scripture references - Luke 2:14: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 5:7: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 5:8: quotation, high confidence - John 14:10: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 16:15: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Luke 2:14. The quotation of 1 John 5:7–8 includes the "heavenly witnesses" (the Johannine Comma), here in a form ending "one in Christ Jesus" and with the earthly witnesses first; this passage is the earliest clear witness to the Comma, which is absent from the Greek manuscripts and early Latin tradition. "Wholly in the Father and the Father in him": John 14:10. God asking his disciples who he was: Matt 16:13–15. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.4 (CSEL 18:6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-4). ## Eleven Tractates 1.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-5 - Source: CSEL 18:6–7 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Against the Patripassians they cite the Father–Son texts; against the Novatians, who rebaptize, they confess one baptism. ### Latin text uexat, cum scribtum sit dicente Petro: tu es Christus, filius dei uiui, et alibi: qui habet filium, habet uitam, qui non habet filium, non habet uitam, et iterum ipso dicente: ego et pater unum sumus, adque alibi: ego in patre et pater in me; ad cuius rei testimonium accessit etiam in euuangelio daemoniaca confessio dicens: tu es Christus filius dei; quid uenisti ante tempus perdere nos? Quod ideo positum nouimus, non quod daemonum testimonium deus uellet, sed ut homines ad imaginem et similitudinem dei facti deterioribus tormentis obligarentur, si ista nescirent, quae etiam daemones confitentur. I Nobis autem unus deus pater, ex quo omnia et nos in ipso, et unus dominus Iesus Christus, per quem omnia et nos per ipsum. Ad quorum stultitiam Nouatiana accedit heresis, quasi uero crudescente semper errore peccati repetitis baptismatibus purgarentur, cum unum baptisma unam fidem unum deum apostolica scriptura testetur et sciamus praeter id quam quod euangelizatum est nobis nec angelum de caelis si aliud dixerit audiendum. Nos autem semel baptizati in Christo relinquentes ea quae praeterita sunt in priora nos extendentes ### English translation (Claude) since it is written, Peter saying: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"; and elsewhere: "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life"; and again, he himself saying: "I and the Father are one"; and elsewhere: "I am in the Father and the Father in me." To testify to this there was added in the gospel even the confession of demons, saying: "You are the Christ, the Son of God; why have you come before the time to destroy us?" We know that this was set down not because God wanted the testimony of demons, but so that men, made in the image and likeness of God, would be bound over to worse torments if they did not know the things that even demons confess. But for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him. To their folly is added the Novatian heresy, as though, with the error of sin always growing more savage, people were cleansed by repeated baptisms, although the apostolic Scripture testifies to one baptism, one faith, one God, and we know that, beyond what has been preached to us, not even an angel from heaven is to be heard if he says anything else. But we, baptized once in Christ, leaving behind what is past and stretching out toward what lies ahead, ### Scripture references - Matt 16:16: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 5:12: quotation, high confidence - John 10:30: quotation, high confidence - John 14:10: quotation, high confidence - Matt 8:29: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:26: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 8:6: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:5: allusion, high confidence - Gal 1:8: allusion, high confidence - Phil 3:13: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Matt 16:16; 1 John 5:12; John 10:30; John 14:10; Matt 8:29 (with Mark 1:24; Luke 4:41); Gen 1:26; 1 Cor 8:6; Eph 4:5–6; Gal 1:8; Phil 3:13. Priscillian charges the Novatians with repeating baptism. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.5 (CSEL 18:6–7; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-5). ## Eleven Tractates 1.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-6 - Source: CSEL 18:7–8 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They confess Christ come in the flesh and anathematize the Nicolaitans and those who make a religious mystery of animal figures. ### Latin text adprehendere uolumus in quo adprehensi sumus, quoniam praeter unum Christum Iesum uniti in fide aliut quam unius baptismatis praesidium non habemus, scientes quoniam Christus uenit in carne, ut peccatores saluos faceret et redemptos in sese ad perennis uitae instituta repararet. Qui autem negat Iesum Christum in carnem uenisse, hic antechristus est et perditio eius non indormiet dicente apostolo: qui negat filium nec patrem habet, qui autem confitetur filium et filium et patrem habet. I Anethema autem sit doctrina Nicholaitarum partemque cum Sodoma habeat et Gomora quisque odibilia deo sacrilegia aut instituit aut sequitur. Anethema sit qui legens grifos aquilas asinos elefantos serpentes et bestias superuacuas confusibilis obseruantiae uanitate captiuus uelut mysterium diuinae religionis adstruxerit, quorum opera et formarum detestabilitas natura daemoniorum, non diuinarum ueritas gloriarum est. Hi sunt enim quorum deus uenter est et gloria in pudendis eorum; hi sunt qui dubios euertunt ### English translation (Claude) wish to lay hold of that for which we were laid hold of, since, apart from the one Christ Jesus, united in faith, we have no protection other than the one baptism, knowing that Christ came in the flesh to save sinners and to restore those redeemed in himself to the ordinances of everlasting life. But whoever denies that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is antichrist, and his destruction does not slumber, as the apostle says: "Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; but whoever confesses the Son has both the Son and the Father." Anathema be the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, and whoever either institutes or follows sacrileges hateful to God, let him have his share with Sodom and Gomorrah. Anathema be he who, reading of griffins, eagles, asses, elephants, serpents, and useless beasts, and held captive by the vanity of a shameful observance, has set them up as a mystery of divine religion; their works and the hideousness of their forms are the nature of demons, not the truth of divine glories. For these are they whose god is the belly and whose glory is in their shame; these are they who overturn the wavering ### Scripture references - Phil 3:12: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 1:15: allusion, high confidence - 1 John 4:3: allusion, high confidence - 2 John 1:7: allusion, high confidence - 2 Pet 2:3: allusion, medium confidence - 1 John 2:23: quotation, high confidence - Rev 2:6: allusion, medium confidence - Phil 3:19: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Phil 3:12; 1 Tim 1:15; 1 John 4:3; 2 John 7; 2 Pet 2:3 ("destruction does not slumber"); 1 John 2:23; Rev 2:6, 15; Phil 3:19. The animal names (griffins, eagles, asses …) refer to Gnostic or astrological figures of which Priscillian had been accused; he condemns them. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.6 (CSEL 18:7–8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-6). ## Eleven Tractates 1.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-7 - Source: CSEL 18:8 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Those who make a sacrament of such figures are lost; Christians, who know idols are nothing, keep the figure of beasts out of themselves. ### Latin text et ad perditionis suae excidia deducunt et sacramentum uocant, quod secundum scripturas dei perditionis nesciunt esse mysterium, et euntes in praecipitium, sicut profeta ait, facti sunt uelut spiritus in pinnis uolatilium et ideo confundentur ex sacrariis suis facti sicut equus et mulus quibus non est intellectus et digni sunt quorum deus Sol sit. Nos autem diuinarum scripturarum edocti uerbis etsi scimus quia nihil idolum est in hoc mundo, sed quae sacrificant daemoniis sacrificant et non deo, elaboramus tamen, ut sicut scribtum est intellegentes uersutias sermonum et interpraetationes parabolarum et operantes, quod in deo sumus, nihil in nobis bestiarum figura habeat, sed totum Christi dei teneat disciplina, quia nulla communicatio est mensae domini et mensae daemoniorum, luci et tenebris, Christo et Beliae. Sicut et Iohannis de huiusmodi loquens ait: si quis adorat bestiam et imaginem eius, hic accepit notam in fronte sua et in manu sua, et ipse alibi: uidi de mari bestiam ascendentem habentem cornua decem ### English translation (Claude) and lead them to the ruin of their own perdition, and call it a sacrament, not knowing that according to the Scriptures of God it is a mystery of perdition; and going over the precipice, as the prophet says, they have become like a wind in the wings of birds, and therefore they will be put to shame by their shrines, having become like the horse and mule, which have no understanding, and they deserve to have the Sun as their god. But we, taught by the words of the divine Scriptures, though we know that an idol is nothing in this world, but that what they sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, nevertheless labour, as it is written, understanding the subtleties of words and the interpretations of parables, and working because we are in God, that the figure of beasts may have nothing in us, but the discipline of Christ, God, may hold the whole, because there is no communion between the table of the Lord and the table of demons, between light and darkness, Christ and Belial. As John too says, speaking of such things: "If anyone worships the beast and its image, he has received a mark on his forehead and on his hand"; and elsewhere he says: "I saw a beast rising from the sea, having ten horns ### Scripture references - Hos 4:19: quotation, medium confidence - Ps 32:9 (31:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 8:4: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:20: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:21: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 6:14: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 6:15: allusion, high confidence - Prov 1:6: allusion, low confidence - Rev 14:9: quotation, high confidence - Rev 13:1: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 8:8 (Wisdom of Solomon): allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - "Like a wind in the wings": Hos 4:19 (Old Latin, from the Greek). Ps 32:9. 1 Cor 8:4; 10:20–21; 2 Cor 6:14–15. "Subtleties of words … interpretations of parables": compare Wis 8:8 and Prov 1:6. Rev 14:9; 13:1. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.7 (CSEL 18:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-7). ## Eleven Tractates 1.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-8 - Source: CSEL 18:8–9 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The beasts of Revelation and Daniel are written so that, once understood, they may be shunned. ### Latin text et capita septem et in capitibus eius decem diademata et nomen blasphemiae et erat similis pardo et pedes eius sicut ursi et os eius sicut os leonis et dedit ei draco sedem suam et uirtutem suam. Sicut et Daniel de hoc ipso ait: uidebam ecce quattuor uenti mittebant in mare magnum et quattuor bestiae ascendebant de mari magnitudine alterutrum se excedentes et prima erat ut lea et pinnae eius ut aquilae et surrexit a terra et supra hominis pedes stetit et cor hominis datum est ei, et ecce alia bestia similis urso et una parte stetit et tria latera in ore eius et in medio dentium eius et dictum est ei surge et manduca carnes multorum, et ecce alia bestia ut pardus et alae ei quattuor uolucres et quattuor capita bestiae et potestas data est ei, et ecce bestia quarta horribilis et admirabilis et fortis uehementer et dentes eius ferrei et ungues aerei. Quae omnia posita in uisionibus suis profetae legi ab omnibus uoluerunt et intellecta uitari et ideo, qui ista cognoscentes quid esset quod legerent non intellexerunt recte, cor eorum datum est bestiae ### English translation (Claude) and seven heads, and on its heads ten diadems and the name of blasphemy; and it was like a leopard, and its feet like a bear's, and its mouth like a lion's mouth; and the dragon gave it his throne and his power." As Daniel too says of this very thing: "I was watching, and behold, four winds were striking the great sea, and four beasts came up from the sea, each exceeding the other in size; and the first was like a lioness, and its wings like an eagle's, and it rose from the earth and stood on a man's feet, and a man's heart was given to it; and behold, another beast like a bear, and it stood on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth and among its teeth, and it was told: Arise, eat the flesh of many; and behold, another beast like a leopard, and it had four wings of a bird, and the beast had four heads, and power was given to it; and behold, a fourth beast, terrible and wonderful and exceedingly strong, and its teeth were of iron and its claws of bronze." All these things the prophets set down in their visions, wishing them to be read by all and, once understood, to be shunned; and therefore those who knew them but did not rightly understand what they were reading—their heart has been given to the beast ### Scripture references - Rev 13:1: quotation, high confidence - Rev 13:2: quotation, high confidence - Dan 7:2: quotation, high confidence - Dan 7:3: quotation, high confidence - Dan 7:4: quotation, high confidence - Dan 7:5: quotation, high confidence - Dan 7:6: quotation, high confidence - Dan 7:7: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Rev 13:1–2; Dan 7:2–7 (Old Latin). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.8 (CSEL 18:8–9; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-8). ## Eleven Tractates 1.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-9 - Source: CSEL 18:9–10 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Those who misread the beasts fall into idolatry; Christians, interpreting prophecy through Christ, reject all such covenants with beasts. ### Latin text et carnes deuorabuntur eorum; euanuerunt enim in cogitationibus suis et obscuratum est insipiens cor eorum et dicentes se esse sapientes stulti facti sunt et inmutauerunt gloriam incorruptibilis dei in similitudinem imaginis corruptibilis hominis et uolucrum et quadripedum et serpentium et configurantes se prioribus ignorantiae uitae desideriis in ea quae non intellegunt inciderunt. Nos autem scientes quia lex spiritalis est et omnis profetia interpraetatione indiget, habentes Christum deum in sensu demonstratorem, per quem etiam si aliter sentiremus et haec nobis reuelabantur, seruire instituimus iustitiae domini in sanctificationem, ut, sicut profeta ait, eradicatis nominibus Baalim ex ore nostro et exterminatis appellationibus eorum abiciamus a nobis, sicut scriptum est, testamentum quod est cum besteis agri et uolatilibus caeli et reptilibus terrae, agnoscentes quod haec omnia stipendia peccati sunt, quorum finis mors est, gratia autem et pax uita aeterna in Christo Iesu domino nostro. Sicut et Solomon ait: ### English translation (Claude) and their flesh will be devoured; for they became futile in their thoughts, and their senseless heart was darkened, and claiming to be wise they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed beasts and serpents; and conforming themselves to the former desires of a life of ignorance they have fallen into things they do not understand. But we, knowing that the law is spiritual and that all prophecy needs interpretation, having Christ, God, as the guide of our understanding, through whom, even if we thought otherwise, these things too were revealed to us, have resolved to serve the righteousness of the Lord for sanctification, so that, as the prophet says, having rooted the names of the Baals out of our mouth and blotted out their titles, we may cast away from us, as it is written, the covenant that is with the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven and the creeping things of the earth, recognizing that all these are the wages of sin, whose end is death, but grace and peace are eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. As Solomon also says: ### Scripture references - Rom 1:21: quotation, high confidence - Rom 1:22: quotation, high confidence - Rom 1:23: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:14: allusion, high confidence - Rom 7:14: quotation, high confidence - Phil 3:15: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 6:19: allusion, high confidence - Hos 2:17: quotation, high confidence - Hos 2:18: quotation, high confidence - Rom 6:23: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Dan 7:5 ("eat flesh"); Rom 1:21–23; 1 Pet 1:14; Rom 7:14; Phil 3:15; Rom 6:19; Hos 2:17–18 (Hebrew 2:19–20); Rom 6:21–23. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.9 (CSEL 18:9–10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-9). ## Eleven Tractates 1.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-10 - Source: CSEL 18:10–11 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Solomon knew all of nature from God; Wisdom and the Psalms show that beasts in Scripture signify sins and enemies, not objects of worship. ### Latin text deus mihi dedit horum omnium quae sunt scientiam ueram, ut sciam dispositionem orbis terrarum et uirtutem aelementorum, initium et consummationem et medietatem mensuum, mutationes et diuisiones temporum, anni cursus et stellarum dispositiones, naturas animalium et iras bestiarum, uim uentorum et cogitationes hominum, differentias arborum et uirtutes radicum, et omnia quae sunt absconsa et manifesta cognovi. Sicut et ipse ait: colebant quidam errantes muta reptilia et serpentes et bestias superuacuas et misit super illos multitudinem mutorum animalium in uindictam, ut scirent quia per quae peccat quis per haec et torquetur; sicut et Dauid ait: circumdederunt me uituli multi, tauri pingues obsederunt me, aperuerunt in me os suum sicut leo rapiens et rugiens. Quod legens inpurus scismaticorum sensus aduertat et, si conuerti potest et potest non perire, non pereat, quoniam Dauid sanctus non tauros timebat aut uitulos, sed sicut scriptum est: ### English translation (Claude) "God gave me true knowledge of all things that are, that I might know the structure of the world and the power of the elements, the beginning and end and middle of the months, the changes and divisions of seasons, the courses of the year and the arrangements of the stars, the natures of animals and the rages of beasts, the force of winds and the thoughts of men, the differences of trees and the powers of roots; and all things that are hidden and manifest I have known." As he himself also says: "Some, going astray, worshipped dumb reptiles and serpents and useless beasts, and he sent on them a multitude of dumb animals for vengeance, that they might know that by what things a man sins, by these he is also tormented." As David also says: "Many calves surrounded me, fat bulls besieged me; they opened their mouth against me like a lion ravening and roaring." Let the impure mind of the schismatics, reading this, take notice, and if it can be converted and can avoid perishing, let it not perish; for holy David did not fear bulls or calves, but, as it is written: ### Scripture references - Ps 22:12 (21:13 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 22:13 (21:14 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 7:17-21 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence - Wis 11:15-16 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Wis 7:17–21; Wis 11:15–16; Ps 22:12–13 (LXX/Vulg. 21:13–14). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.10 (CSEL 18:10–11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-10). ## Eleven Tractates 1.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-11 - Source: CSEL 18:11 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Lions, bulls, and dogs in Scripture stand for the devil and for sinners. ### Latin text aduersarius uester diabolus sicut leo rapiens et rugiens circuit quaerens quem transuoret, cui resistite firmes in fide. Sicut et alibi scriptum est: noli esse leo in domo tua euertens domesticos tuos; sicut et ibi ait: non te extollas in cogitatione animae tuae uelut taurus, ne forte elidatur uirtus tua et per stultitiam folia tua comedat. Sicut et Dauid ait: lingua mea adhaesit faucibus meis et in puluerem mortis deduxisti me, quoniam circumdederunt me canes multi; in quo tamen Dauid sanctus, ut ostenderet quid in superiori exclamatione edixisset, subiecit synagoga peccantium obsedit me. Sicut et Eseias ait: canes sunt animae nescientes satietatem; sic denique et dominus deus noster loquens ad Iob profetam dixit: ostende mihi si iam adquiescit tibi leo aut monucerus seruiet tibi aut dormiet in cubili suo; et alibi ad ipsum deus: tu capies Leosiboram, animas quoque draconum timore inplebis, ut timeant in cubilibus suis sedentes in siluis et dolum facientes; et iterum alibi ad ipsum dicit dominus: ### English translation (Claude) "Your adversary the devil, like a lion ravening and roaring, goes about seeking whom he may devour; resist him, firm in the faith." As it is written elsewhere: "Do not be a lion in your house, overturning your household"; as it also says there: "Do not exalt yourself in the thought of your soul like a bull, lest your strength be dashed down through folly and it eat your leaves." As David also says: "My tongue clung to my jaws, and you brought me down into the dust of death, for many dogs surrounded me"; in which, however, holy David, to show what he had meant in the earlier outcry, added: "the assembly of evildoers besieged me." As Isaiah says: "They are dogs, souls that know no satisfaction." So too the Lord our God, speaking to the prophet Job, said: "Show me whether the lion is now at rest with you, or whether the unicorn will serve you or sleep in its stall"; and elsewhere God says to him: "You will capture Leosibora, and you will fill the souls of dragons with fear, so that they fear, sitting in their dens in the woods and laying snares"; and again elsewhere the Lord says to him: ### Scripture references - 1 Pet 5:8: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 5:9: quotation, high confidence - Ps 22:15 (21:16 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 22:16 (21:17 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 56:11: quotation, high confidence - Job 39:9: quotation, medium confidence - Job 38:39: allusion, low confidence - Job 38:40: allusion, low confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 4:30 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence - Sir 6:2-3 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Pet 5:8–9; Sir 4:30; Sir 6:2–3; Ps 22:15–16 (LXX/Vulg. 21:16–17); Isa 56:11; Job 39:9 (with 38:39–40). "Leosiboram" is corrupt in the manuscript (perhaps a garbled Old Latin rendering of Job 38:39, "prey for lions"); it is transliterated. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.11 (CSEL 18:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-11). ## Eleven Tractates 1.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-12 - Source: CSEL 18:11–12 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God's speeches to Job about the dragon and the beast are expounded as parables about overcoming pride and the ungodly. ### Latin text tu adduces draconem In ancistro aut inpones ducatorium in nare eius aut pertundes labia ipsius et loquetur tibi molliter, ut constituat testamentum tecum et habeas eum in seruum aeternum; in quo Iob sanctus intellegens loquentem dominum et uolens etiam nobis intellectum aperire dictorum: quid, inquid, adhuc ego iudicor, domine, dum corripior et arguor, aut quod, domine, dabo responsum ad talia uerba, cum sim nihil? Et tunc dominus etiam nobis post futuris ad intellegendum se opus uerbi tribuens parabulam dicti per se sermonis exposuit dicens: noli, inquid, abalienare iudicium meum nec aestimes me aliter decreuisse nisi ut tu minus appareas iniustus; sed suscipe altitudinem et uirtutem et claritatem et honorem induere; relinque angelos irae et omnem in te iniuriosum et superbum extingue; disrumpe a te inpios et absconde in terra et facies eorum ignominia reple, ut sint sine honore, et tunc confiteberis quoniam potens est dextera mea saluare te. Etiam coram te fera sicut bos factus faenum manducat, cuius fortitudo in lumbis eius et uirtus in umbilico uentris et cauda erecta sicut cyparissus ### English translation (Claude) "Will you draw out the dragon with a hook, or put a halter in its nose, or pierce its lips? Will it speak gently to you, so as to make a covenant with you, and will you have it as a slave for ever?" In this holy Job, understanding that the Lord was speaking and wishing to open the understanding of the words to us too, says: "Why am I still judged, Lord, while I am rebuked and reproved? Or what answer, Lord, shall I give to such words, since I am nothing?" And then the Lord, granting to us also who were to come after the work of understanding him, expounded the parable of the speech he had spoken, saying: "Do not set aside my judgment, and do not think that I have decreed otherwise than that you might appear less unrighteous; but take on loftiness and power, put on glory and honour; let loose the angels of wrath and extinguish everything insolent and proud in you; break the ungodly away from you and hide them in the earth, and fill their faces with disgrace, that they may be without honour; and then you will confess that my right hand is able to save you. Even before you the wild beast, made like an ox, eats hay; its strength is in its loins and its power in the navel of its belly, and its tail is erect like a cypress." ### Scripture references - Job 41:1 (40:25 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 41:2 (40:26 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 41:4 (40:28 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 40:4: quotation, medium confidence - Job 40:8: quotation, high confidence - Job 40:10: quotation, high confidence - Job 40:11: quotation, high confidence - Job 40:12: quotation, high confidence - Job 40:13: quotation, high confidence - Job 40:14: quotation, high confidence - Job 40:15: quotation, high confidence - Job 40:16: quotation, high confidence - Job 40:17: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Job 41:1–4 (LXX 40:25–28); Job 40:4–5 (Old Latin form); Job 40:8–17 (Old Latin, close to the LXX: "let loose the angels of wrath"). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.12 (CSEL 18:11–12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-12). ## Eleven Tractates 1.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-13 - Source: CSEL 18:12–13 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The beasts of Scripture are parables written for us, so that we may reject the vices they signify; Revelation and Paul identify them with spiritual powers of evil. ### Latin text et nerui contorti sicut funes et latera eius petrae aereae et spina illius sicut paries ferreus, et hoc est initium factum angelis ad inludendum plasmae meae. Quae tamen omnia scrutantes scripturas, beatissimi sacerdotes, scimus quia propter nos scripta sunt, ut, qui bestiarum naturas dictas in parabolis intellegit, repudians quae sunt saeculi morum in se uitia castiget, sicut scribtum est in apocalypsi: ecce aquae, quas uidisti ubi sedet meretrix, populi et turbae sunt et gentes et linguae. Sicut et ibi Iohannis ait:cecidit cecidit Babylon magna et facta est habitatio daemoniorum, quia de ira fornicationis eius biberunt gentes; et ipse ibi: et flebunt plangentes se super illa, quia cum ipsa fornicati sunt et in deliciis eius uixerunt. Sicut et apostolus ait: non est uobis conluctatio contra carnem et sanguinem, sed contra principes et potestates mundi huius rectores harum tenebrarum, aduersus spiritales nequitias in caelestibus. Sicut et Iohannis ait: uidi de ore draconis et de ore bestiae et de ore pseudoprofetae spiritus ### English translation (Claude) "and its sinews are twisted like ropes, and its sides are rocks of bronze, and its spine like a wall of iron; and this is the beginning made for the angels to mock my creature." Yet, searching all these Scriptures, most blessed bishops, we know that they were written for our sake, so that whoever understands the natures of beasts spoken of in parables may reject the vices of the world's ways and chastise them in himself, as it is written in the Apocalypse: "Behold, the waters that you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples and crowds and nations and tongues." As John says there too: "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and has become a dwelling of demons, because the nations have drunk of the wrath of her sexual immorality"; and there again: "And they will weep, beating their breasts over her, because they committed sexual immorality with her and lived in her luxury." As the apostle too says: "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers of this world, the rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavens." As John too says: "I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet ### Scripture references - Job 40:18: quotation, high confidence - Job 40:19: quotation, high confidence - Rev 17:15: quotation, high confidence - Rev 18:2: quotation, high confidence - Rev 18:3: quotation, high confidence - Rev 18:9: quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:12: quotation, high confidence - Rev 16:13: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Job 40:18–19 (Old Latin, close to LXX 40:13–14); Rev 17:15; Rev 18:2–3, 9; Eph 6:12; Rev 16:13. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.13 (CSEL 18:12–13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-13). ## Eleven Tractates 1.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-14 - Source: CSEL 18:13–14 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They hold to the creed and renunciation of the devil made at baptism, and read Scripture's beasts as figures of the devil. ### Latin text tres inmundos sicut ranas et hi sunt spiritus daemoniorum, qui facientes signa procedunt ad conturbandos reges orbis terrae. Denique, sicut initiati in Christo prima acceptae fidei rudimenta retinemus, scimus nos credidisse quod credimus deo et renuntiasse quod renuntiauimus zabulo et illud esse quod fera dicitur, deum autem esse quod Christus Iesus est. Sicut et apostolus ait: nec enim de bubus cura est deo, sed de nobis dicit, quoniam qui arat in spe debet arare et triturans spei suae fructum percipere. Nemo ergo nobis intellectum propriae peruersitatis adscribat; unusquisque uerbis suis condemnabitur et uerbis suis iustificabitur; nos quod credimus confitemur et scrutantes scripturas speciem daemoniorum respuentes intellegimus, sicut scribtum est, altitudinem satanae, scientes sicut apostolus ait, quoniam nemo nos liberauit de corpore mortis huius nisi gratia domini Iesu Christi, quia scribtum est: nisi credideritis, non intellegetis et alibi: intellectus bonus omnibus facientibus eum. ### English translation (Claude) three unclean spirits like frogs; and these are spirits of demons, who go out working signs to throw the kings of the world into confusion." In short, as those initiated in Christ, we keep the first rudiments of the faith we received: we know that we have believed what we believe in God and renounced what we renounced in the devil, and that it is he who is called "the beast," and that God is he who is Christ Jesus. As the apostle too says: "For God is not concerned about oxen, but he speaks of us, since he who ploughs ought to plough in hope, and he who threshes to receive the fruit of his hope." Let no one, then, ascribe to us the understanding of his own perversity; each one will be condemned by his own words and justified by his own words. We confess what we believe, and searching the Scriptures and rejecting the appearance of demons, we understand, as it is written, "the depth of Satan," knowing, as the apostle says, that no one has set us free from the body of this death except the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ; for it is written: "Unless you believe, you will not understand"; and elsewhere: "Good understanding to all who do it." ### Scripture references - Rev 16:13: quotation, high confidence - Rev 16:14: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 9:9: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 9:10: quotation, high confidence - Matt 12:37: allusion, high confidence - Rev 2:24: quotation, high confidence - Rom 7:24: allusion, high confidence - Rom 7:25: allusion, high confidence - Isa 7:9: quotation, high confidence - Ps 111:10 (110:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Rev 16:13–14; 1 Cor 9:9–10; Matt 12:37; Rev 2:24; Rom 7:24–25; Isa 7:9 (Old Latin, from the LXX); Ps 111:10 (LXX/Vulg. 110:10). "The first rudiments" refers to the baptismal creed and renunciation. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.14 (CSEL 18:13–14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-14). ## Eleven Tractates 1.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-15 - Source: CSEL 18:14–15 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They had already rejected the pagan planetary gods before their conversion, and they anathematize anyone who calls the sun, moon, and planets gods. ### Latin text Illud autem, beatissimi sacerdotes, quod idolicas formas, Saturnum Uenerem Mercurium Iouem Martem ceterosque deos gentilium protulerunt, etiamsi tam otiosi ad deum et nulla eruditi per scribturas fide uiueremus, tamen cum adhuc in conuersatione mundialis stultitiae delectaremur, sapientia saeculari licet adhuc inutiles nobis, haec tamen fidei nostrae aduersa cognouimus et deos gentilium depraehendentes risimus stultitias saeculares et infelicitates, quorum tamquam ad ingenii instructionem opera legebamus. I Sed si etiam in his professionis nostrae fides quaeritur, anathema sit et fiat mensa eorum in laqueum et in scandalum his, qui Solem et Lunam, Iouem Martem Mercurium Uenerem uel Saturnum omnemque militiam caeli, quos sibi in caerimoniis sacrorum ritus et ignarus deo gentilium error adsciuit, deos dixerit et qui eos, cum sint idola detestanda gehennae digna, ueneratur, cum scribtum sit: uae illi, qui dicit ligno uigila et surge et lapidi exaltare; pereant cum diis suis, qui dicuntur siue in caelo siue in terra; exterminet uitim sensus eorum, sicut scribtum est, aper de ### English translation (Claude) As for the fact, most blessed bishops, that they have brought forward idol forms—Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, and the other gods of the pagans—even if we had lived so idle toward God and instructed by no faith through the Scriptures, yet while we still delighted in the ways of worldly folly, by worldly wisdom (though then of no use to us) we recognized these things as hostile to our faith, and, seeing through the gods of the pagans, we laughed at the follies and wretchednesses of the world, whose works we used to read as if for the training of the mind. But if the faith of our profession is asked for even on these matters: anathema be he, and let their table become a snare and a stumbling block to those who call gods the Sun and Moon, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Venus, or Saturn, and all the host of heaven, whom the error of the pagans, ignorant of God, took up for itself in the ceremonies of its rites, and to him who venerates them, though they are detestable idols worthy of hell; for it is written: "Woe to him who says to the wood, Wake up, and rise, and to the stone, Be lifted up"; let them perish with their gods, those who are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth; let their mind be laid waste by vice, as it is written, "the boar from ### Scripture references - Ps 69:22 (68:23 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Deut 4:19: allusion, medium confidence - Hab 2:19: quotation, high confidence - Jer 10:11: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 8:5: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 80:13 (79:14 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Priscillian answers the charge of astrology. Ps 69:22 (LXX/Vulg. 68:23; Rom 11:9); Deut 4:19; Hab 2:19; Jer 10:11 with 1 Cor 8:5; Ps 80:13 (LXX/Vulg. 79:14), continued in the next section. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.15 (CSEL 18:14–15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-15). ## Eleven Tractates 1.16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-16 - Source: CSEL 18:15 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Freed by Christ, believers trample the powers that idols represent; Scripture names idols and demons so that we may reject them. ### Latin text silua et singularis ferus depascatur eam. Nobis autem per gratiam domini Iesu Christi absolutis a corpore mortis huius, sicut scribtum est, cadent a latere mille et decem milia a dextris, ut secundum scribturas induti armis dei ascendentes super basiliscum et aspidem conculcemus leonem et draconem, nullae similitudini idolicae infelicitatis obnoxii; de quo scribtum est: quid prodest sculptili quia sculptum est? finxerunt illud conflatile, fantasma mendum et qui plasmauerunt illud, confusi sunt supra figmentum suum, surda enim erant idola. Quorum propterea uel idolorum superstitiones stultae uel formae peccaminum uel nomina daemonum uel mors ostenditur uitiorum, ut intellegentes tenebras desideremus lucem domini et exclamantes scitote gentes, nobiscum deus disrumpamus uincula eorum et proiciamus a nobis iugum ipsorum nec in Aegyptiorum, sicut scribtum est, studiis polluamur, quoniam dominus deridebit eos et dominus subsannabit eos; de quibus Iohannis principem idolicae infelicitatis ostendens ait: ex septem est et octauus in perditione ibit; ### English translation (Claude) the forest and the solitary wild beast ravage it." But for us, set free through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ from the body of this death, as it is written, "a thousand will fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand," so that, according to the Scriptures, clothed in the armour of God, treading on the basilisk and the asp, we may trample on the lion and the dragon, subject to no likeness of idolatrous wretchedness, of which it is written: "What does the carved image profit, because it has been carved? They have fashioned it as a molten thing, a lying phantom, and those who formed it were put to shame over their own fiction, for the idols were deaf." The foolish superstitions of these idols, or the forms of sins, or the names of demons, or the death of vices are therefore shown, so that, understanding the darkness, we may long for the light of the Lord, and crying out, "Know, you nations, God is with us," we may break their bonds and cast their yoke away from us, and not be polluted by the pursuits of the Egyptians, as it is written; for "the Lord will laugh at them and the Lord will mock them." Of these John, showing the prince of idolatrous wretchedness, says: "He is of the seven, and the eighth, and he goes to destruction." ### Scripture references - Ps 80:13 (79:14 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 91:7 (90:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 91:13 (90:13 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:11: allusion, high confidence - Hab 2:18: quotation, medium confidence - Isa 8:9: quotation, medium confidence - Ps 2:3: quotation, high confidence - Ps 2:4: quotation, high confidence - Rev 17:11: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 80:13; Rom 7:24–25; Ps 91:7, 13 (LXX/Vulg. 90:7, 13); Eph 6:11; Hab 2:18 (Old Latin, mixed with other idol texts); Isa 8:9–10 (LXX); Ps 2:3–4; Rev 17:11. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.16 (CSEL 18:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-16). ## Eleven Tractates 1.17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-17 - Source: CSEL 18:15–16 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christians, redeemed by Christ's blood, reject the planetary gods: Saturn's golden age, the Sun, and the Moon are idols of those who love the world. ### Latin text de quibus et Solomon ait: non semines in sulcis iniquitatis et non metas illa in septuplum; sic enim et ipse alibi: ante hominem uita et mors, aqua et ignis; ad quod uult porrigat manum. Hi sunt enim septem pastores et octo morsus hominum, secundum quod scribtum est operantes in filiis diffidentiae. Nobis autem uiuere Christus est, uita Christus est, fides Christus est, scientes quod chrisma habemus a sancto et non corruptibilibus argento et auro redempti sumus de uana nostra conuersatione paternae traditionis, sed (pretioso sanguine) quasi agni incontaminati et inmaculati Iesu Christi; in quo constitutos nemo nos depraedatur secundum philosofiam mundi et non secundum Christum. Fingant enim sibi Saturni aureum saeculum qui diligunt aurum: nobis diuina sapientia omni auro et argento et pretiosior lapide pretioso est; dicant deum suum Solem quibus gehennae ignis habitatio est et eius se confiteantur aelementum, qui deum Christum nolunt sibi esse principium: nobis omnia quae sub sole sunt uana sunt et praesumptio peruersi spiritus, scientes eum cum mundo esse periturum; confiteantur in malis suis deum Lunam qui circumducti omni uento doctrinae ### English translation (Claude) Of these Solomon too says: "Do not sow in the furrows of iniquity, and you will not reap them sevenfold"; for so he says elsewhere: "Before man are life and death, water and fire; let him stretch out his hand to whichever he wishes." For these are the seven shepherds and the eight bites of men, working, as it is written, in the sons of disobedience. But for us, to live is Christ, life is Christ, faith is Christ, knowing that we have an anointing from the Holy One, and that we were redeemed from our futile way of life inherited from our fathers not with corruptible silver and gold, but with the precious blood, as of a lamb unstained and spotless, Jesus Christ; and since we stand in him, let no one plunder us according to the philosophy of the world and not according to Christ. Let those who love gold invent for themselves the golden age of Saturn: for us the divine wisdom is more precious than all gold and silver and precious stone. Let those whose dwelling is the fire of hell call the Sun their god, and confess themselves his element, who do not want Christ God to be their beginning: for us, all things under the sun are vanity and the presumption of a perverse spirit, since we know that it will perish with the world. Let those confess the Moon as god in their evils who, carried about by every wind of doctrine, ### Scripture references - Mic 5:5: quotation, medium confidence - Eph 2:2: quotation, high confidence - Phil 1:21: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 2:20: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:18: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:19: quotation, high confidence - Col 2:8: quotation, high confidence - Prov 3:14: allusion, medium confidence - Eccl 1:14: allusion, medium confidence - Eph 4:14: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 7:3 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence - Sir 15:17 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Sir 7:3; Sir 15:17 (with 15:16); Mic 5:5 ("seven shepherds and eight bites of men", Old Latin of the LXX, where "bites" renders δήγματα for "leaders"); Eph 2:2; Phil 1:21; 1 John 2:20; 1 Pet 1:18–19; Col 2:8; Prov 3:14–15; Eccl 1:14; Eph 4:14. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.17 (CSEL 18:15–16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-17). ## Eleven Tractates 1.18 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-18 - Source: CSEL 18:16–17 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Those who worship Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury are slaves of lust and money; Christians have Christ, who cancelled their debt on the cross. ### Latin text dies tempora et annos et menses obseruare disponunt; dicant sibi deum Martem qui adultero sibi Marte placuerunt et concupiscentiae carnis addicti fornicationibus obligantur, et facti uelut aeramentum sonans aut cymbalum tinniens deum suum Iouem iudicent patre suo sicut ille auctore perituri: nobis autem deus Christus Iesus est, qui, cum mortui essemus delictis, conuiuificauit nos, donans nobis omnia delicta et delens quod aduersus nos erat chirographum quod erat decretis contrarium, et tulit illud de medio adfigens cruci; principatus et potestates transduxit fiducialiter, triumphans eos in semetipso. Qui enim daemonia talia colunt, similes diis suis percutientur gladio domini et nescientes uerum patrem et Christum deum dei filium similes idolis suis facti apparebunt, sicut scribtum est: pater super filium, filius super patrem, nurus super socrum, socrus super nurum et inimici hominis domestici eius. Colant Mercurium deum qui terrenorum thensaurorum tiniantes sacculos adquirentes caduceum eius uenerantur aut sacculum: nos requirimus thensauros in caelis absconsos et ### English translation (Claude) arrange to observe days and seasons and years and months; let those call Mars their god who have taken pleasure in Mars the adulterer and, given over to the lust of the flesh, are bound by acts of sexual immorality; and having become like sounding brass or a clanging cymbal, let them judge Jupiter their god, destined to perish with their father as their author: but for us God is Christ Jesus, who, when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together, forgiving us all our trespasses and blotting out the handwritten bond that was against us, which was contrary to us by its decrees, and took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross; he boldly led away the principalities and powers, triumphing over them in himself. For those who worship such demons will be struck, like their gods, by the sword of the Lord, and, not knowing the true Father and Christ God, the Son of God, they will appear made like their idols, as it is written: "Father against son, son against father, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and a man's enemies will be those of his own household." Let those worship Mercury as god who, gathering moth-eaten bags of earthly treasures, venerate his staff or his purse: we seek treasures hidden in heaven and ### Scripture references - Gal 4:10: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 13:1: allusion, high confidence - Col 2:13: quotation, high confidence - Col 2:14: quotation, high confidence - Col 2:15: quotation, high confidence - Ps 115:8 (113:16 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Luke 12:53: quotation, high confidence - Matt 10:36: quotation, high confidence - Matt 6:20: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Gal 4:10; 1 Cor 13:1; Col 2:13–15; Isa 27:1 ("sword of the Lord"); Ps 115:8; Luke 12:53 with Matt 10:36; Matt 6:20. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.18 (CSEL 18:16–17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-18). ## Eleven Tractates 1.19 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-19 - Source: CSEL 18:17 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christians seek heavenly treasure and, born of the church, grow toward the fullness of Christ instead of serving Venus. ### Latin text inuisos, quos nec erugo adpraehendit nec tinia corrumpit, scientes quoniam diues non intrauit in regna caelorum, sicut scribtum est: agenunc, diuites, plangite ululantes super miserias uestras quae superueniunt diuitiis uestris; putruerunt et tiniauerunt uestes uestrae; aurum uestrum et argentum uestrum, quod reposuistis, in nouissimis diebus eruginabit et erugo eorum in testimonium uobis erit et comedet carnes uestras sicut ignis. Nos autem scimus quia deus elegit pauperes mundi diuites fidei heredes regni. I Uenerem autem uelut deum uenerentur qui operantur turpitudines et reciprocam mercedem erroris secundum quod oportet expectant: nos autem respicientes in Abraham patrem nostrum et in Sarram parturientem, nos eclesia matre editi et sapientia obstetricante producti tendimus ad consummationem sanctorum, in opus ministerii, in aedificationem corporis Christi, donec occurramus omnes in unitatem fidei et agnitionem filii dei in uirum perfectum, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi. Et quamuis ad haec nemo idoneus sit, ### English translation (Claude) unseen, which neither rust seizes nor moth corrupts, knowing that the rich man has not entered the kingdom of heaven, as it is written: "Come now, you rich, weep, howling over the miseries that are coming upon your riches; your garments have rotted and been eaten by moths; your gold and your silver, which you have stored up, will rust in the last days, and their rust will be a testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire." But we know that God chose the poor of the world, rich in faith, heirs of the kingdom. Let those venerate Venus as a god who commit shameful acts and await the due recompense of their error: but we, looking to Abraham our father and to Sarah who bore us, born of the church as mother and brought forth by wisdom as midwife, press on toward the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And although no one is sufficient for these things, ### Scripture references - Matt 6:20: quotation, high confidence - Matt 19:23: allusion, medium confidence - Jas 5:1: quotation, high confidence - Jas 5:2: quotation, high confidence - Jas 5:3: quotation, high confidence - Jas 2:5: quotation, high confidence - Rom 1:27: allusion, high confidence - Isa 51:2: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:12: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:13: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 2:16: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Matt 6:20; Matt 19:23; Jas 5:1–3; Jas 2:5; Rom 1:27; Isa 51:2; Eph 4:12–13; 2 Cor 2:16. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.19 (CSEL 18:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-19). ## Eleven Tractates 1.20 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-20 - Source: CSEL 18:17–18 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They anathematize the veneration of Saclas and other demons named in Gnostic and Manichaean writings; whatever the name, it is the devil. ### Latin text nostrum tamen potentem scimus deum, quoniam qui promisit potens est et facere; ipse enim dixit: quis sperauit in domino et confusus est, permansit in mandatis illius et derelictus est? Anathema sit qui Saclam Nebroel Samael Belzebuth Nasbodeum Beliam omnesque tales, quia daemones sunt, infelici caerimoniarum sanctificatione uenerantur aut dicunt esse uenerandos; quos omnes, sicut in scripturis dei legimus, contempta daemoniacae sapientiae adseueratione damnamus; in quaslibet enim se species formas nun zabolus inmutet, scimus quia nihil aliut potest esse quam zabolus, et siue Abaddon hebreice siue Apolleon grece siue latine Exterminans nuncupetur, siue bestia habens septem capita et decem cornua siue serpens ponatur aut draco, scimus quia zabolus est et secundum principem aeris huius spiritus qui operatur in filiis diffidentiae, in quibus et nos omnes conuersati sumus aliquando in desideriis carnis nostrae et facientes uoluntates carnis et cogitationum; de quo scribtum est in apocalypsi: et proiectus est de caelo draco magnus, serpens antiquus qui uocatur zabolus satanas, qui seduxit orbem uniuersum et proiectus est in terram et angeli eius cum eo proiecti sunt. ### English translation (Claude) yet we know that our God is mighty, since he who promised is able also to do it; for he himself said: "Who has hoped in the Lord and been put to shame, or remained in his commandments and been forsaken?" Anathema be he who venerates Saclas, Nebroel, Samael, Beelzebub, Nasbodeus, Belial, and all such—since they are demons—with the wretched sanctification of ceremonies, or says that they are to be venerated. All of these, as we read in the Scriptures of God, we condemn, scorning the claims of demonic wisdom; for into whatever species or forms the devil may now change himself, we know that he can be nothing other than the devil; and whether he is called Abaddon in Hebrew, or Apollyon in Greek, or in Latin Exterminans, or whether he is presented as a beast having seven heads and ten horns, or as a serpent or a dragon, we know that he is the devil, and according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that works in the sons of disobedience, among whom we too all once lived in the desires of our flesh, doing the wills of the flesh and of the thoughts; of whom it is written in the Apocalypse: "And the great dragon was cast down from heaven, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil, Satan, who deceived the whole world, and he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him." ### Scripture references - Rom 4:21: quotation, high confidence - Rev 9:11: allusion, high confidence - Rev 12:3: allusion, high confidence - Eph 2:2: quotation, high confidence - Eph 2:3: quotation, high confidence - Rev 12:9: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 2:10 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 4:21; Sir 2:10; Rev 9:11; Rev 12:3; Eph 2:2–3; Rev 12:9. Saclas and Nebroel are demon names from Gnostic and Manichaean myth; Samael from Jewish and Gnostic tradition; Nasbodeus is otherwise unknown. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.20 (CSEL 18:17–18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-20). ## Eleven Tractates 1.21 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-21 - Source: CSEL 18:18–19 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Those who ascribe man's making to demons belong to the earthly, not the spiritual, man. ### Latin text Et ideo qui talibus credunt uel qui tali se auctore sanctificant natura fili irae et perditionis ambulantes in tenebris, non mirum est, si in se imaginem dei et similitudinem denegantes et facti zabolo similes in uitiis facturam hominis daemonibus adscribunt, de quibus bene apostolus ait: animalis, inquid, homo non percipit ea quae sunt spiritus dei; nec enim potest; stultitiae enim illi est et non potest diiudicare; spiritalis autem disiudicat omnia, ipse autem a nemine disiudicatur, et sicut scribtum est: qui carnis sunt quae carnis sunt sapiunt, qui uero spiritus quae sunt spiritus, et prudentia carnis mors est, prudentia autem spiritus uita et pax. Ac si uolunt scire, quid de singulis quae scribta sunt sentiamus, recte talibus cum Adam terreno et fera facto tenebrosae uitae unita cognatio est, sicut scribtum est: qualis terrenus, tales et terreni, qualis caelestis, tales et caelestes. Digni sunt quos in forma Cain et Lamec Euua parturiens, quae facta fuerat ### English translation (Claude) And therefore it is no wonder if those who believe such things, or who sanctify themselves by such an author—by nature children of wrath and perdition, walking in darkness—denying in themselves the image and likeness of God and having become like the devil in their vices, ascribe the making of man to demons. Of them the apostle rightly says: "The natural man does not perceive the things of the Spirit of God, for he cannot; they are foolishness to him, and he cannot judge them; but the spiritual man judges all things, and he himself is judged by no one"; and as it is written: "Those who are of the flesh mind the things of the flesh, but those who are of the Spirit the things of the Spirit; and the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace." And if they wish to know what we think of each of the things that are written: such people rightly have kinship with the earthly Adam, made a beast of a dark life, as it is written: "As is the earthly man, so are the earthly; as is the heavenly man, so are the heavenly." They deserve to be those whom Eve, in the form of Cain and Lamech, brought forth—she who had been made ### Scripture references - Eph 2:3: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:14: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:15: quotation, high confidence - Rom 8:5: quotation, high confidence - Rom 8:6: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:48: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Eph 2:3; 1 Cor 2:14–15; Rom 8:5–6; 1 Cor 15:48. Some Gnostic and Manichaean myths made demons the makers of the human body; Priscillian rejects this. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.21 (CSEL 18:18–19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-21). ## Eleven Tractates 1.22 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-22 - Source: CSEL 18:19 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Those who follow the myth that Eve took the demon Saclas as husband belong to a mother Scripture calls adulterous; believers have learned Christ differently. ### Latin text mater omnium uiuentium, adulterata in deum et zabolicae seductioni consentiens Saclam sibi daemonem et deum dixerit et maritum, sicut scribtum est in profeta: ecce iudicium ad matrem uestram iudicate, quia haec non est uxor mea nec ego sum uir eius et auferam fornicationem illius a facie plebis meae et moecationem eius a medio mamillarum eius; item ibi: et auferam uestimenta mea et linteamina mea, ut non cooperiat turpitudinem suam, et denudabo spurcitiam eius in conspectu amatorum ipsius; et in Hieremia increpans dominus Hierusalem, quae facta est seruiens cum filiis suis, dicit ad eam: quomodo dicis, non sum polluta et post Bahal non abii? ecce respice in multitudine uias tuas et uide, ubi non fornicata sis. Et Ezechiel ait: haec dicit dominus radix tua de terra Canaam, pater tuus Amorreus et mater tua Cetthea; sicut et alibi: nocti adsimilaui matrem uestram, similis est plebs mea non habenti scientiam. Sicut et in euangelio talibus dicit deus: uos estis fili zabuli et patrem zabulum habetis. Nos autem non ita didicimus Christum, sed in ### English translation (Claude) the mother of all the living, but who committed adultery against God and, consenting to the devil's seduction, called the demon Saclas her god and her husband, as it is written in the prophet: "Behold, bring judgment against your mother, judge her, for she is not my wife and I am not her husband; and I will remove her sexual immorality from the face of my people and her adultery from between her breasts"; likewise there: "And I will take away my garments and my linens, so that she may not cover her shame, and I will lay bare her filth in the sight of her lovers"; and in Jeremiah the Lord, rebuking Jerusalem, who had become a slave with her children, says to her: "How do you say, I am not defiled, and I have not gone after Baal? Behold, look at your many ways and see where you have not committed sexual immorality." And Ezekiel says: "Thus says the Lord: your root is from the land of Canaan, your father an Amorite and your mother a Hittite"; as also elsewhere: "I have likened your mother to the night; my people is like one who has no knowledge." As God also says to such people in the gospel: "You are sons of the devil and have the devil as your father." But we did not so learn Christ, but, taught ### Scripture references - Gen 3:20: allusion, high confidence - Hos 2:2: quotation, high confidence - Hos 2:9: quotation, high confidence - Hos 2:10: quotation, high confidence - Gal 4:25: allusion, medium confidence - Jer 2:23: quotation, high confidence - Jer 3:2: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 16:3: quotation, high confidence - Hos 4:5: quotation, medium confidence - Hos 4:6: quotation, medium confidence - John 8:44: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Gen 3:20. The story of Eve and Saclas belongs to Gnostic/Manichaean myth; Priscillian applies to its followers the prophets' language of an unfaithful mother. Hos 2:2 (Hebrew 2:4); Hos 2:9–10; Gal 4:25; Jer 2:23; Jer 3:2; Ezek 16:3; Hos 4:5–6 (Old Latin); John 8:44; Eph 4:20–21. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.22 (CSEL 18:19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-22). ## Eleven Tractates 1.23 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-23 - Source: CSEL 18:19–20 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Taught by Christ, believers put off the old man and put on the new; God, not demons, made man in his image, and Eve is saved through childbearing and returns to her husband. ### Latin text illo edocti, sicut est ueritas in Iesu, intellegimus quoniam lex spiritalis est, nos autem carnales uenundati sub peccato, et spiritalibus spiritalia conparantes elaboramus, ut sicut portauimus imaginem eius qui de limo est, cum uicti delictis ambulabamus in uitia, ita portemus eius qui est de caelo, et deponentes secundum priorem conuersationem ueterem hominem, qui corrumpitur secundum desideria erroris, renouemur in spiritu mentis nostrae induentes nouum hominem, qui secundum deum creatus est in sanctitate et iustitia et ueritate. Scimus enim et nouimus quoniam dei figmentum sumus in operibus bonis, quae praeparauit deus, ut (in) illis ambulemus; sicut et Moyses ait: fecit deus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem suam et inspirauit in faciem eius inspiramentum uitae et factus est homo in animam uiuam, et scimus quoniam Euua, quae seducta est et facta est in praeuaricatione, saluabitur per filiorum procreatione, si permanserit in fide et recognoscens quod ex uiro suo sumpta est, et pariens filios in tristitia ad uirum eius erit conuersio illius; ### English translation (Claude) in him, as the truth is in Jesus, we understand that the law is spiritual, but we are fleshly, sold under sin; and comparing spiritual things with spiritual, we labour so that, as we have borne the image of him who is from the clay, when, overcome by our offences, we walked in vices, so we may bear the image of him who is from heaven; and putting off, according to our former way of life, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desires of error, we may be renewed in the spirit of our mind, putting on the new man, who has been created according to God in holiness and righteousness and truth. For we know and are aware that we are God's workmanship in good works, which God prepared that we should walk in them; as Moses also says: "God made man in his image and likeness, and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul." And we know that Eve, who was deceived and fell into transgression, will be saved through the bearing of children, if she remains in the faith, and recognizing that she was taken from her husband, and bearing children in sorrow, her turning will be to her husband; ### Scripture references - Eph 4:21: quotation, high confidence - Rom 7:14: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:13: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:49: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:22: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:23: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:24: quotation, high confidence - Eph 2:10: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:26: quotation, high confidence - Gen 2:7: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 2:14: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 2:15: quotation, high confidence - Gen 2:23: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 3:16: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Eph 4:21–24; Rom 7:14; 1 Cor 2:13; 1 Cor 15:49; Eph 2:10; Gen 1:26–27; Gen 2:7; 1 Tim 2:14–15; Gen 2:23; Gen 3:16. "(in)" is the editor's supplement. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.23 (CSEL 18:19–20; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-23). ## Eleven Tractates 1.24 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-24 - Source: CSEL 18:20–21 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Like the unfaithful wife of Hosea returning to her husband, believers turn from the works of the flesh, where demons such as Saclas belong. ### Latin text sicut scribtum est in profeta: propter hoc ecce ego, dicit dominus, concludam uiam matris uestrae sudibus et non aedificabo iter eius et semitas suas non inueniet; persequetur amatores suos et non conprehendet eos et dicet ibo et reuertar ad uirum meum priorem quia melius mihi tunc erat quam modo. In quo nos intellegentes, liberati sicut scribtum est ab utero matris nostrae nec adquiescentes carni et sanguini, elaboramus et sicut eramus serui peccati in mortem, ita serui iustitiae sumus ad iustitiam, scientes quia etsi is qui a foris est homo noster corrumpitur, sed qui intus est renouatur et, sicut primus homo de terra de limo, ita manifestata sunt opera carnis, quae sunt adulteria fornicatio inmunditia inpudicitia luxuria idolatria ueneficia inimicitiae contentiones emulationes irae rixae dissensiones hereses inuidiae homicidia ebrietates comisationes et his similia. Inter quae Saclas et Nebroel daemones partem inter suos habeant; nam locum inter pudica et religiosa non quaerant. ### English translation (Claude) as it is written in the prophet: "Therefore, behold, says the Lord, I will hedge up your mother's way with stakes, and I will not build her road, and she will not find her paths; she will pursue her lovers and not overtake them, and she will say: I will go and return to my former husband, for it was better for me then than now." Understanding this, freed, as it is written, from our mother's womb and not consulting flesh and blood, we labour, and as we were slaves of sin unto death, so we are slaves of righteousness unto righteousness, knowing that though our outer man is being corrupted, yet the inner man is being renewed; and as the first man was from the earth, of clay, so the works of the flesh are manifest, which are adulteries, sexual immorality, impurity, unchastity, luxury, idolatry, sorceries, enmities, strifes, jealousies, angers, quarrels, dissensions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, carousings, and the like. Among these let the demons Saclas and Nebroel have their part among their own; for let them not seek a place among things chaste and religious. ### Scripture references - Hos 2:6: quotation, high confidence - Hos 2:7: quotation, high confidence - Gal 1:15: allusion, medium confidence - Gal 1:16: allusion, high confidence - Rom 6:19: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 4:16: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:47: quotation, high confidence - Gal 5:19: quotation, high confidence - Gal 5:20: quotation, high confidence - Gal 5:21: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Hos 2:6–7 (Hebrew 2:8–9); Gal 1:15–16; Rom 6:16–19; 2 Cor 4:16; 1 Cor 15:47; Gal 5:19–21. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.24 (CSEL 18:20–21; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-24). ## Eleven Tractates 1.25 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-1/#p-1-25 - Source: CSEL 18:21–22 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The fruit of the Spirit makes believers Christ's temple; they anathematize anyone who denies Christ's coming in the flesh and his crucifixion. ### Latin text Ac sicut secundus homo de caelo caelestis, ita manifesta sunt opera spiritus, quae sunt caritas gaudium pax patientia longanimitas bonitas mansuetudo fides continentia castitas benignitas et dilectio; in qua Christus apparens deus templum suum esse nos dixit et in eo, quod in nobis ipse sibi fecerat, habitare in nobis uoluit, sicut et profeta Iob ait: manus tuae finxerunt et fecerunt me; posthaec demutans deiecisti me; memor esto quoniam de luto finctum a terra iterum reuocasti me et sicut lac me mulsisti et coagolasti sicut caseum; pelle et carne me induisti, ossa et ner disposuisti; uitam uero et misericordiam posuisti aput me et uisitatio tua custodiuit spiritum meum. Et ideo repetito semper sermone: anathema sit qui negat Iesum Christum in carne uenisse, quia hic antechristus est; anathema sit qui negat Christum Iesum deum dei filium crucifixum pro nobis, dicente profeta: hic peccata nostra portat et pro nobis dolet, et iterum Paulus nihil se aliut scire testatur nisi Iesum Christum et hunc crucifixum; anathema sit qui negat clauis adfixum uel aceto potatum uel felle dominum deum nostrum, cum ipse dixerit ad discentes suos: ### English translation (Claude) And as the second man is from heaven, heavenly, so the works of the Spirit are manifest, which are love, joy, peace, patience, long-suffering, goodness, gentleness, faith, self-control, chastity, kindness, and love; in which Christ, appearing as God, said that we are his temple, and in that which he himself had made for himself in us he willed to dwell in us, as the prophet Job also says: "Your hands formed me and made me; afterward, changing, you cast me down; remember that you formed me from clay and will return me again to the earth; and you milked me like milk and curdled me like cheese; you clothed me with skin and flesh, you arranged bones and sinews; you put life and mercy with me, and your visitation guarded my spirit." And therefore, the word always repeated: anathema be he who denies that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, for this one is antichrist; anathema be he who denies that Christ Jesus, God, the Son of God, was crucified for us, as the prophet says: "He bears our sins and suffers pain for us"; and again Paul testifies that he knows nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified; anathema be he who denies that the Lord our God was fastened with nails or given vinegar or gall to drink, since he himself said to his disciples: ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 15:47: quotation, high confidence - Gal 5:22: quotation, high confidence - Gal 5:23: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:16: allusion, high confidence - Job 10:8: quotation, high confidence - Job 10:9: quotation, high confidence - Job 10:10: quotation, high confidence - Job 10:11: quotation, high confidence - Job 10:12: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 4:3: quotation, high confidence - Isa 53:4: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 2:2: allusion, high confidence - Matt 27:34: allusion, medium confidence - John 20:25: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 15:47; Gal 5:22–23; 1 Cor 3:16; Job 10:8–12 (Old Latin; "you cast me down" and "return me again" are the Latin's form); 1 John 4:3; Isa 53:4; 1 Cor 2:2; Matt 27:34, 48; John 20:25. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.25 (CSEL 18:21–22; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-25). ## Eleven Tractates 1.26 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-26 - Source: CSEL 18:22–23 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ truly suffered; heretics have mixed lies into the Scriptures; Priscillian anathematizes Mani and his followers, whose worship of sun and moon and whose crimes have been exposed even in civil courts. ### Latin text mitte manus in fissuras plagarum manum mearum, et scribtum in euangelio legimus: et acceperunt spungiam plenam aceto et felle et potauerunt eum et dixit consummatum est. Quae omnia secundum institutum suum scismatici uel heretici interpolantes scribturas et sensum infelicitatis suae diuinis sermonibus inserentes falsa ueris et catholicis mendacia miscuerunt. Anathema sit qui Manetem et opera eius doctrinas adque instituta non damnat; cuius peculiariter turpitudines persequentes gladio, si fieri posset, ad inferos mitteremus ac si quid est deterius gehennae tormentoque peruigili, ubi neque ignis extinguitur neque uermis emoritur. Quorum diuino iudicio ut inpuritas non lateret, etiam saecularibus iudiciis mala prodita sunt. Extra enim ea quae erraticis sensibus adserentes Solem et Lunam rectores orbis terrarum deos putauerunt, cum scribtum sit quid lucidius sole et hic deficiet: ita infelicium sacrilegiorum stultitias ampliarunt, ut obpressas caecitate mentes, quo nefarius obligarent, religiosius consecrare se dicerent. Anathema sit qui Nicolaitarum fornicationes et multimoda ### English translation (Claude) "Put your hands into the clefts of the wounds of my hands"; and we read written in the gospel: "And they took a sponge full of vinegar and gall and gave him to drink, and he said: It is finished." All these things the schismatics or heretics, interpolating the Scriptures according to their own scheme and inserting the sense of their own wretchedness into the divine words, have mixed—falsehoods with truths and lies with catholic things. Anathema be he who does not condemn Mani and his works, doctrines, and institutions; pursuing their shameful deeds in particular, we would send them, if it were possible, with the sword to the underworld, or to anything worse than hell and its sleepless torment, where neither the fire is quenched nor the worm dies. So that their impurity might not escape the divine judgment, their evils have been exposed even by the courts of the world. For apart from the fact that, asserting things with wandering minds, they thought the Sun and Moon to be gods, rulers of the world—although it is written: "What is brighter than the sun? And yet it will fail"—they so enlarged the follies of their wretched sacrileges that they claimed that the minds weighed down with blindness, the more wickedly they bound them, the more religiously they consecrated themselves. Anathema be he who does not condemn the acts of sexual immorality of the Nicolaitans and the manifold ### Scripture references - John 20:27: allusion, high confidence - Matt 27:34: allusion, high confidence - John 19:30: quotation, high confidence - Mark 9:48: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 17:31 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - John 20:25, 27; Matt 27:34, 48 with John 19:29–30; Mark 9:48; Sir 17:31. Priscillian himself was later accused of Manichaeism; here he condemns it in the strongest terms. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.26 (CSEL 18:22–23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-26). ## Eleven Tractates 1.27 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-27 - Source: CSEL 18:23 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They condemn the Ophites and all heresies by name, whether drawn from canonical or apocryphal writings. ### Latin text ostensa in scribturis cum discipulis et doctoribus suis daemonia non damnat uel qui eorum opera sectantur. Pereant qui Ofitarum in se perfidiam receperunt et fili uiperarum facti similem sibi deum suum et dominum confitentur. Et quia longum est ire per singula, omnes hereses, quas sibi homines mente corrupti et naufragi a fide uel ex canonicis scripturis uel ex apocrifis fabricarunt supra ea quae scripta sunt, unus aduersus alterum inflatus pro alio, et quidquid aut Saturnina heresis induxit aut Nouatiana protulit aut Basilide docente monstrauit aut Arriana collegit aut Patrepassiana erudiit aut Homuncionita mentita est aut Catafriga persuasit aut arripuit Borborita: catolico et deo Christo credenti ore cum omnibus, qui haec sequuntur aut docent aut uoluerint adserere, damnamus; quorum dogmata omnia diuinorum testimoniorum apud nos luce dissoluimus, non quod sufficientes simus cogitare aliquid nobis tamquam ex nobis ipsis, sed sufficientia nostra ex deo est. Inter quae tamen nouum dictum et non dicam facto, sed et relatione damnabile nec ullo ### English translation (Claude) demons shown in the Scriptures, together with their disciples and teachers, or those who follow their works. Let those perish who have received into themselves the faithlessness of the Ophites and, having become sons of vipers, confess as their god and lord one like themselves. And because it is long to go through each one: all heresies, which men corrupted in mind and shipwrecked from the faith have fabricated for themselves, whether from the canonical Scriptures or from the apocrypha, beyond what is written, each puffed up for one against another—and whatever the Saturninian heresy introduced, or the Novatian put forward, or Basilides showed in his teaching, or the Arian collected, or the Patripassian taught, or the Homuncionite falsely declared, or the Cataphrygian persuaded, or the Borborite seized on—we condemn with a catholic mouth that believes in Christ, God, together with all who follow or teach these things or wish to assert them. All their doctrines we refute among ourselves by the light of the divine testimonies, not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves as from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. Among these, however, a new saying, damnable I will not say in deed but even in the telling, and put forward by no ### Scripture references - Matt 3:7: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Tim 6:5: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Tim 1:19: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 4:6: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 3:5: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Matt 3:7; 1 Tim 6:5; 1 Tim 1:19; 1 Cor 4:6; 2 Cor 3:5. The Homuncionites ("little-man" people) are those who held Christ to be a mere man (or, in another report, that the image of God is bodily). The Cataphrygians are the Montanists; the Borborites a libertine Gnostic group. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.27 (CSEL 18:23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-27). ## Eleven Tractates 1.28 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-28 - Source: CSEL 18:23–24 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They condemn as worthy of death the magical consecration of first fruits and ointments that Ithacius read out against them; for Christians, the Scriptures' unicorn, rock, and cornerstone are Christ. ### Latin text ante hoc heretico auctore prolatum sacrilegii nefas in aures nostras legens Itacius induxit magicis praecantationibus primitiuorum fructuum uel expiari uel consecrari oportere gustatus unguentumque maledicti Soli et Lunae, cum quibus deficiet, consecrandum: quod qui legit protulit credidit fecit habuit induxit, non solum anathema maranatha, sed etiam gladio persequendus est, quoniam scriptum est: maleficos non sinetis uiuere. Sibi itaque habeant adinuentiones hereticorum nefarias et dignas gehennae interpraetationes, sibi teneant scismaticorum calumniae multiuolas uoluntates: tabernaculum Christi dei et templum quod est in nobis nemo conuellet. Illi legentes scripturas saxeum corneum lapideum deum putent: nobis in omni scriptura, sicut scriptum est, unicornis est deus, nobis petra Christus, nobis lapis angularis Iesus, nobis hominum homo Christus. Illi tamquam fili perditionis et zaboli credant se zaboli inbre saturari: nobis omnipotens deus est, qui aduocat aquam maris et spargit eam super faciem totius terrae et pluuiam matutini et serotini in indulget. ### English translation (Claude) heretical author before this: the outrage of sacrilege that Ithacius brought to our ears, reading that the tasting of first fruits ought to be either expiated or consecrated by magical incantations, and that an ointment of malediction should be consecrated to the Sun and the Moon, with which it will fail. Whoever has read, put forward, believed, done, possessed, or introduced this is not only anathema maranatha but is also to be pursued with the sword, since it is written: "You shall not allow sorcerers to live." So let them keep for themselves the wicked inventions of the heretics and their interpretations worthy of hell; let the calumnies of the schismatics keep their manifold wishes: no one will tear down the tabernacle of Christ, God, and the temple that is in us. Let them, reading the Scriptures, think God to be made of rock, of horn, of stone: for us, in all Scripture, as it is written, God is the unicorn; for us, Christ is the rock; for us, Jesus is the cornerstone; for us, Christ is the man of men. Let them, as sons of perdition and of the devil, believe that they are filled with the devil's rain: for us there is the almighty God, who calls the water of the sea and pours it on the face of the whole earth, and grants the early and the late rain. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 16:22: allusion, high confidence - Exod 22:18: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 6:16: allusion, medium confidence - Num 23:22: allusion, low confidence - 1 Cor 10:4: allusion, high confidence - Eph 2:20: allusion, high confidence - Amos 5:8: quotation, high confidence - Joel 2:23: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Ithacius of Ossonuba was Priscillian's chief accuser. 1 Cor 16:22; Exod 22:18; 2 Cor 6:16; Num 23:22 and Ps 92:10 ("unicorn" in the Latin); 1 Cor 10:4; Eph 2:20; Amos 5:8; Joel 2:23 with Jas 5:7. Priscillian's call for the sword against sorcerers is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.28 (CSEL 18:23–24; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-28). ## Eleven Tractates 1.29 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-29 - Source: CSEL 18:24–25 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The god of such heretics is the beast and Leviathan of Job. ### Latin text Et si uolunt infelices ipsi nosse, qualis sit deus eorum cui credunt: ipse est, sicut scribtum est in profeta, fera quae sub omni arbore dormit secundum siluam et papyron et butomon; ipse est secundum quod scribtum est in Iob dicente domino: in gyro dentium eius timor, uiscera eius aspedes aereae et uinculum eius sicut myritis lapis; non transiet eum spiritus; in aesternutatione eius adaperietur splendor; oculi eius similes Lucifero; de ore eius exeunt lampades ardentes et globus ignis; nares eius efflant fumum furnacis ignis ardentis; flammae carbonum anima eius et incendia de lingua eius procedunt; in collo eius conmoratur uirtus et ante illum praecurrit perditio; ipse est, sicut et alibi profeta ait, qui reputat petram sicut stipulam et inridet terrae motum; cubile eius est sodes acutae et omne aurum quod est sicut mare tamquam lutum sub ipso est; feruere facit pontum sicut aeneum et fretum sicut speculum aestimat, tartarum uero abyssi sicut captiuum aeternale; non est factum quicquam simile illi in terra ### English translation (Claude) And if these wretched people wish to know what kind of god it is in whom they believe: he is, as it is written in the prophet, the beast that sleeps under every tree, by the forest and the papyrus and the reed; he is, according to what is written in Job, where the Lord says: "Terror is around his teeth; his entrails are shields of bronze, and his bond is like the smyrite stone; no breath passes through him; at his sneezing light will break forth; his eyes are like the morning star; from his mouth go burning lamps and a ball of fire; his nostrils breathe out the smoke of a furnace of burning fire; his breath is flames of coals, and blazes go forth from his tongue; in his neck power dwells, and destruction runs before him"; he is, as the prophet says elsewhere, the one who counts rock as stubble and laughs at the earthquake; his bed is sharp stakes, and all the gold that is like the sea is like mud beneath him; he makes the deep boil like a bronze cauldron and reckons the strait like a mirror, and the underworld of the abyss as his eternal captive; nothing has been made like him on earth ### Scripture references - Job 40:21: allusion, medium confidence - Job 41:14 (41:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 41:18 (41:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 41:29 (41:21 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 41:31 (41:23 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 41:33 (41:25 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Job 40:21–22 ("sleeps under every tree", LXX 40:16–17); Job 41:14–34 (LXX 41:6–25), in an Old Latin form close to the LXX. The text's stray letter j before "furnacis" is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.29 (CSEL 18:24–25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-29). ## Eleven Tractates 1.30 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-30 - Source: CSEL 18:25–26 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Unlike the beast, the Christians' God is Christ as seen in Revelation, whose name is written on the white stone. ### Latin text quod inludatur ab angelis meis; omnem excelsum uidet et ipse est rex omnium quae in aquis sunt. Nobis autem deus Christus Iesus est qui dixit: omne meum est quod est sub caelo, et testis fidelis primogenitus ex mortuis in medio candelabrorum aureorum similis filio hominis apparuit uestitus tunica talari et praecinctus ad ubera zona aurea et capilli capitis eius albi tamquam lana et tamquam nix et, sicut scriptum est, oculi eius tamquam flamma ignis et pedes eius similes aeramento turino eiecto furnace et uox eius sicut uox aquarum multarum et in dextera manu sua tenet stellas septem et de ore eius exit gladius ex utraque parte acutus et facies eius sicut sol lucens in uirtute sua. Hic est qui habet claues mortis et inferni; hic est cuius nomen in calculo nouo albo scribtum est, quod nemo habet nisi qui accepit. Si enim scismaticis non facimus scandalum, quod nomen deus in calculo nouo legimus inscribtum, qui in omni littera siue hebrea siue latina siue graeca in omne quod uidetur aut dicitur rex regum et dominorum ### English translation (Claude) "to be mocked by my angels; he sees every high thing, and he is king of all that are in the waters." But for us God is Christ Jesus, who said: "All that is under heaven is mine," and, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, appeared in the midst of the golden lampstands like a son of man, clothed in a robe to the feet and girded at the breasts with a golden sash; and the hairs of his head were white as wool and as snow, and, as it is written, his eyes were like a flame of fire, and his feet like burnished bronze from a furnace, and his voice like the sound of many waters, and in his right hand he holds seven stars, and from his mouth comes a sharp two-edged sword, and his face is like the sun shining in its strength. This is he who has the keys of death and of hell; this is he whose name is written on a new white stone, which no one has except him who has received it. For we give no offence to the schismatics in reading that the name of God is inscribed on a new stone—he who in every letter, Hebrew, Latin, or Greek, in everything that is seen or said, is King of kings and Lord of lords. ### Scripture references - Job 41:34 (41:26 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 41:11 (41:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Rev 1:5: quotation, high confidence - Rev 1:13: quotation, high confidence - Rev 1:14: quotation, high confidence - Rev 1:15: quotation, high confidence - Rev 1:16: quotation, high confidence - Rev 1:18: quotation, high confidence - Rev 2:17: quotation, high confidence - Rev 19:16: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Job 41:33–34 (LXX 41:25–26); Job 41:11; Rev 1:5, 13–16, 18; Rev 2:17; Rev 19:16. The section ends mid-sentence. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.30 (CSEL 18:25–26; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-30). ## Eleven Tractates 1.31 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-31 - Source: CSEL 18:26 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The name of God written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin is Christ; Scripture's lion, stag, and stars are figures of him, and baptism frees from the 'wheel of birth.' ### Latin text dominus est; in quibus linguis etsi titulus crucis ponitur, diuinum tamen deo testimonium litteratur sicut et in profetis dei; in quo Hieremias proposito hebreicae litterae caractere fleuit in planctibus, Dauid exultauit in psalmis, ut in nomine Iesu omne genu curuetur caelestium et terrestrium et inferorum et omnis lingua confiteatur deo. Ipse est enim de quo scribtum est: uicit leo de tribu Iuda; sed nobis leo non est deus, sed sicut scribtum est quid dulcius melle et quid fortius leone? ipse est de quo scribtum est: ceruus amicitiae et pullus gratiarum sermonetur tibi; sed nobis non est deus ceruus aut pullus, sed sicut scribtum est: priusquam dicas domine domine, dicit ecce adsum, et sicut alibi: ex ore lactantium praeparasti laudem; ipse est qui, sicut scriptum est in profeta, solus potens est colligere uinculum Pliadae et Orionis septa reserare, sciens demutationem firmamenti et distruens rotam geniturae reparatione baptismatis diem nostrae natiuitatis euicit; ipse est cuius nomen dedit in mari uiam et in fluctibus semitam firmissimam, ### English translation (Claude) In these languages, though the title of the cross was set up, the divine testimony is nevertheless written in letters for God, as also in the prophets of God: in which Jeremiah, setting out the character of the Hebrew letters, wept in his lamentations, and David exulted in his psalms, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess to God. For he is the one of whom it is written: "The lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered"; but for us God is not a lion, but, as it is written: "What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?" He is the one of whom it is written: "Let the stag of friendship and the foal of graces converse with you"; but for us God is not a stag or a foal, but, as it is written: "Before you say, Lord, Lord, he says, Here I am"; and as elsewhere: "Out of the mouth of nursing infants you have prepared praise." He is the one who, as it is written in the prophet, alone is able to gather the bond of the Pleiades and open the enclosure of Orion; knowing the changes of the firmament and destroying the wheel of birth, he has overcome the day of our birth by the renewal of baptism. He is the one whose name made a way in the sea and a most firm path in the waves, ### Scripture references - John 19:20: allusion, high confidence - Phil 2:10: quotation, high confidence - Phil 2:11: quotation, high confidence - Rev 5:5: quotation, high confidence - Judg 14:18: quotation, high confidence - Prov 5:19: quotation, medium confidence - Isa 58:9: quotation, medium confidence - Ps 8:2 (8:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 38:31: quotation, high confidence - Isa 43:16: allusion, medium confidence - Jas 3:6: echo, low confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 14:3 (Wisdom of Solomon): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - John 19:20; the acrostic Lamentations (Lam 1–4) and alphabetic psalms (e.g. Ps 119); Phil 2:10–11; Rev 5:5; Judg 14:18; Prov 5:19 (Old Latin of the LXX); Isa 58:9; Ps 8:2 (Matt 21:16); Job 38:31; Wis 14:3 with Isa 43:16. "The wheel of birth" (rota geniturae) is the astrological cycle of fate, which baptism is said to overcome; compare Jas 3:6. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.31 (CSEL 18:26; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-31). ## Eleven Tractates 1.32 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-32 - Source: CSEL 18:26–27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Even Balaam, an idolater, prophesied Christ, and Scripture keeps his words; testimony to Christ is accepted from whatever source. ### Latin text cuius nomini uictum camini cessit incendium. Quem etiam Balaam idolorum cultor et daemonum in infelicitatis suae testimonium profetauit dicens: exiet homo ex semine Iuda et dominabitur gentium multarum et exaltabitur regnum eius; dominus enim deus adduxit eum ex Aegypto; sicut honor unicorni cornua eius, comedet gentes inimicorum suorum et cubitos eorum emedullauit et iaculis suis concutiet inimicos et conquiescens refrigerabitur sicut leo et sicut catulus leonis; quis suscitauit eum? Qui benedicunt eum benedicti sunt et qui maledicunt eum maledicti sunt. Cuius quamuis uerba propter id, quod erat ipse inter iustorum profetias, nemo susciperet, tamen prohiberi ab scripturis domini et id damnari scribtura nefas duxit, quidquid etiam in huiusmodi ad dei Christi testimonium profetarunt, sicut scribtum est: cum sit timida nequitia, dat testimonium deo condemnata, et alibi: credes quia unus deus est; hoc et daemonia faciunt et perhorrescunt. Et si scire desiderant, quod est nomen quod in omnem uirtutem et in omnem linguam potentiae ### English translation (Claude) to whose name the conquered blaze of the furnace gave way. Him even Balaam, worshipper of idols and demons, prophesied in testimony against his own wretchedness, saying: "A man shall come forth from the seed of Judah and shall rule over many nations, and his kingdom shall be exalted; for the Lord God brought him out of Egypt; like the glory of the unicorn are his horns; he shall devour the nations of his enemies and has drained the marrow of their elbows and will shake his enemies with his darts; and resting he will lie down like a lion and like a lion's whelp; who has roused him? Those who bless him are blessed, and those who curse him are cursed." Although no one would receive his words, because he was himself not among the prophecies of the righteous, yet Scripture thought it wrong that whatever such men too prophesied in testimony to Christ, God, should be barred from the Scriptures of the Lord and condemned, as it is written: "Wickedness, being cowardly, gives testimony to God when condemned"; and elsewhere: "You believe that God is one; the demons also do this and shudder." And if they wish to know what is the name that has given the work of its power to every virtue and every tongue, ### Scripture references - Dan 3:25: allusion, medium confidence - Num 24:7: quotation, high confidence - Num 24:8: quotation, high confidence - Num 24:9: quotation, high confidence - Jas 2:19: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 17:11 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Dan 3 (the furnace); Num 24:7–9 (Old Latin of the LXX: "a man shall come forth from his seed"); Wis 17:11 (Old Latin); Jas 2:19. This principle—that true testimony to Christ may be accepted even from a doubtful source—prepares Priscillian's defence of reading non-canonical books (Tractate 3). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.32 (CSEL 18:26–27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-32). ## Eleven Tractates 1.33 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-33 - Source: CSEL 18:27–28 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The name of power is Jesus; the schismatic accuser is called to repent. ### Latin text suae opus tribuit, hoc est quod est Christus Iesus, sicut scribtum est: aurum adque argentum non est mihi; quid autem habeo, hoc do tibi; in nomine Iesu surge et ambula; sicut et alibi: ego sum dominus deus, hoc est nomen meum; gloriam meam alteri non dabo; et alibi dicente Iohanne: et uestimentum eius erat asparsum sanguine et uocabatur nomen eius uerbum dei; et alibi: ecce uirgo in utero accipiet et pariet filium et uocabitur nomen eius Immanuel quod interpraetatur nobiscum deus. Conuertere itaque aliquando, infelix scismatice, conuertere et nomen domini, quod omnis etiam ferarum et bestiarum natura timuit, expauesce, quia scribtum est: oportet quidem scandala esse, sed uae illi, per quem facta fuerint; utinam enim aut callidus esses aut frigidus, sed quoniam tepidus es, euomeris ab ore domini; sed, sicut scribtum est, console tibi et paenitentiam age et eme tibi aurum igne probatum, ut id quod ipse emeris factus tamquam aurum expurgatum igne, scribatur in te nomen domini quod est Iesus, cum in ea quae agis paenitens nomen domini saluatoris, quia per ipsum saluatus fueris, ostendis, quia scribtum est: ### English translation (Claude) it is that which is Christ Jesus, as it is written: "Gold and silver I have none, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus, rise and walk"; as also elsewhere: "I am the Lord God; this is my name; my glory I will not give to another"; and elsewhere, John saying: "And his garment was sprinkled with blood, and his name was called the Word of God"; and elsewhere: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb and bear a son, and his name shall be called Immanuel, which is interpreted, God with us." Be converted, therefore, at last, wretched schismatic, be converted, and dread the name of the Lord, which every nature even of wild beasts and animals has feared, for it is written: "Offences must indeed come, but woe to him through whom they come"; "would that you were either hot or cold; but because you are lukewarm, you will be vomited out of the mouth of the Lord"; but, as it is written, take counsel for yourself and do penance, and buy for yourself gold refined by fire, so that, made like gold purged by fire through what you yourself have bought, the name of the Lord, which is Jesus, may be written on you, when, repenting of what you are doing, you show the name of the Lord the Saviour, because through him you will have been saved, for it is written: ### Scripture references - Acts 3:6: quotation, high confidence - Isa 42:8: quotation, high confidence - Rev 19:13: quotation, high confidence - Isa 7:14: quotation, high confidence - Matt 1:23: quotation, high confidence - Matt 18:7: quotation, high confidence - Rev 3:15: quotation, high confidence - Rev 3:16: quotation, high confidence - Rev 3:18: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Acts 3:6; Isa 42:8; Rev 19:13; Isa 7:14 with Matt 1:23; Matt 18:7; Rev 3:15–18 ("hot" and "cold" reversed in order and "callidus" for "calidus" in the text). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.33 (CSEL 18:27–28; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-33). ## Eleven Tractates 1.34 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-34 - Source: CSEL 18:28 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Jesus' name means salvation; against those who call God male-female, the Spirit of God is in men and women alike, who are all one in Christ. ### Latin text et appellabitur nomen eius Iesus, quia hic est qui saluabit omnem populum, et intellege parabolas et obscuros sermones et dictiones prudentium et obscuritates, quia potens est qui dixit: cum conuersus ingemueris, tunc saluus eris, quoniam deus noster id quod multifarie ac multis modis saluans ab initio populum suum patribus nostris in opere monstrauit, ueniens in carnem ostendit in nomine appellatus Iesus. Si quis autem aliter sentit, portabit iudicium, quicumque ille; illis enim, sicut ab infelicibus dicitur, masculofemina putetur deus: nobis autem et in masculis et in feminis dei spiritus est, sicut scribtum est: fecit deus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem suam, masculum et feminam; fecit eos et benedixit eos; sicut et de ipso apostolus ait: Christus dei uirtus et dei sapientia; cuius cum simus uiri et ipse uir et caput nostrum, desponsatos nos in fide exhibiturum se apostolus uni uiro castam nos uirginem repromisit, quia non est masculus neque femina, sed omnes unum sumus in Christo Iesu. Illis ergo confusio sit omne quod legerint, nobis eruditio intellegere quod scribtum est uimque uiuentis scire uerbi. ### English translation (Claude) "And his name shall be called Jesus, for he it is who will save all the people"; and understand parables and obscure words and the sayings of the wise and their riddles, for he is mighty who said: "When you turn and groan, then you will be saved"; since our God, who in many and various ways saving his people from the beginning showed it in deed to our fathers, coming in the flesh showed it in his name, being called Jesus. But if anyone thinks otherwise, he will bear his judgment, whoever he is. For to them, as the wretched say, God may be thought to be male-female: but for us the Spirit of God is in males and in females, as it is written: "God made man in his image and likeness, male and female he made them, and blessed them"; as the apostle also says of him: "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God"; since we are his men and he is our husband and head, the apostle promised that he would present us, betrothed in faith, to one husband as a chaste virgin, for there is neither male nor female, but we are all one in Christ Jesus. For them, then, let all that they read be confusion; for us let it be instruction, to understand what is written and to know the power of the living word. ### Scripture references - Matt 1:21: quotation, high confidence - Prov 1:6: quotation, high confidence - Isa 30:15: quotation, medium confidence - Heb 1:1: allusion, high confidence - Gal 5:10: allusion, high confidence - Gen 1:27: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:28: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:24: quotation, high confidence - Eph 5:23: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Cor 11:2: allusion, high confidence - Gal 3:28: quotation, high confidence - Heb 4:12: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Matt 1:21; Prov 1:6; Isa 30:15 (LXX); Heb 1:1; Gal 5:10; Gen 1:27–28; 1 Cor 1:24; Eph 5:23; 2 Cor 11:2; Gal 3:28; Heb 4:12. "Male-female" (masculofemina) refers to androgynous divine beings in Gnostic systems. The text's "cos" is corrected to "eos". ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.34 (CSEL 18:28; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-34). ## Eleven Tractates 1.35 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-35 - Source: CSEL 18:28–29 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Heretics turn Scripture into lust and deny the resurrection; the names of Gnostic powers—Armaziel, Barbilon and the rest—are not God; only Christ saves. ### Latin text Opus non erratico et carnis sensu confusibilibus carnalium luxuriarum typis diuini sermonis aestimare naturam, sed, sicut scribtum est, inuisibilia dei a creatura mundi per ea quae facta sunt posse cognosci. Hi sunt enim qui carnis maculatam tunicam portantes diuini sermonis gratiam in libidines transtulerunt et dominationes spernunt, dignitates blasfeman, profetationes contemnunt, resurrectionem negant; sicut scribtum est: magis magisque post carnis uoluntates euntes pietatem contemnunt audacia praedurati et propter unanimitatem, quia ig, non metuunt blasphemare, quibus perditio non indormiet. Nobis autem scientibus quoniam non est aliut nomen praeter Christum Iesum sub caelo datum hominibus, in quo oporteat saluos fieri, neque Armaziel neque Mariame neque Ioel neque Balsamus neque Barbilon deus est, sed Christus Iesus de quo scribtum est: et adorent eum omnes angeli dei, et ipse est qui facit angelos suos spiritus et ministros suos ignem urentem et omnia in omnibus adinpletur, et ipse est semen quod repromissum est dispositum per angelos ### English translation (Claude) It is needful not to judge the nature of the divine word by a wandering, fleshly mind and by the shameful figures of fleshly luxuries, but, as it is written, that the invisible things of God can be known from the creation of the world through the things that have been made. For these are they who, wearing the tunic stained by the flesh, have turned the grace of the divine word into lusts, and despise lordships, blaspheme dignities, scorn prophecies, deny the resurrection; as it is written: going more and more after the desires of the flesh, they despise godliness, hardened in audacity, and because of their unanimity … they do not fear to blaspheme; their destruction will not slumber. But we know that there is no other name under heaven given among men, besides Christ Jesus, by which we must be saved; neither Armaziel nor Mariame nor Joel nor Balsamus nor Barbilon is God, but Christ Jesus, of whom it is written: "And let all the angels of God worship him"; and he is the one who makes his angels spirits and his ministers a burning fire, and is filled in all things, and he is the seed that was promised, ordained through angels ### Scripture references - Rom 1:20: quotation, high confidence - Jude 1:23: allusion, medium confidence - Jude 1:8: allusion, high confidence - 2 Pet 2:10: allusion, high confidence - 2 Pet 2:3: allusion, medium confidence - Acts 4:12: quotation, high confidence - Heb 1:6: quotation, high confidence - Heb 1:7: quotation, high confidence - Ps 104:4 (103:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Eph 1:23: allusion, medium confidence - Gal 3:19: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 1:20; Jude 23; Jude 8; 2 Pet 2:10; 2 Pet 2:3; Acts 4:12; Heb 1:6–7 (Ps 104:4); Eph 1:23; Gal 3:19. Armaziel (Armozel), Barbilon (Barbelo), and Balsamus are names from Gnostic (Sethian) systems. "quia ig" is corrupt in the text and is left untranslated (marked …). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.35 (CSEL 18:28–29; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-35). ## Eleven Tractates 1.36 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-36 - Source: CSEL 18:29–30 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ is head over all; whatever writing, under any name, preaches Christ as God in agreement with Moses, the prophets, and the gospels is accepted, and whatever denies him is rejected. ### Latin text in manu mediatoris; ipse est qui est super omnem principatum et potestatem et uirtutem et dominationem et supra omnem nomen quod nominatur non solum in hoc saeculo, sed etiam in futuro; ipse est deus noster nec alius reputabitur absque eum, quis est caput super omnem eclesiam, quae est corpus ipsius et plenitudo eius, qui omnia et in omnibus adinpletur. Siue autem Paulus siue Apollo siue Cefas siue mundus siue uita siue mors siue praesentia siue futura: omnia nostra, nos autem Christi, Christus autem dei. Et haec est omnium nostrum una sententia, ut, siue profetae seu apostoli seu angeli quid dictum a quoquam nomine proferatur, si Christum deum profetat aut praedicat et secundum Moysen et profetas et euuangelia mundialia uitia condemnans deum loquitur, si catholicae fidei consentit, amplectimur; si autem, quod nefas est, Iesum deum negat et dissentiens Moysi euuangeliis uel profetis infelicium, quod non licet, dogmatum sacrilegia persuadit, neque profeta neque apostolus neque angelus, etiamsi sibi nomen praeferat sanctum, sed tamquam anathema a nobis habetur et refuga, ### English translation (Claude) in the hand of a mediator; he is the one who is above every principality and power and might and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come; he is our God, and no other will be reckoned beside him, who is head over the whole church, which is his body and his fullness, who fills all things in all. Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come: all are ours, and we are Christ's, and Christ is God's. And this is the one judgment of us all: that whether it is prophets or apostles or angels, if something said by anyone under any name is put forward, if it prophesies or preaches Christ as God, and, condemning worldly vices according to Moses and the prophets and the gospels, speaks of God—if it agrees with the catholic faith—we embrace it; but if, which is wicked, it denies Jesus as God and, disagreeing with Moses, the gospels, or the prophets, urges the sacrileges of wretched doctrines, which is not permitted, it is held by us to be neither prophet nor apostle nor angel, even if it puts forward a holy name, but as anathema and a renegade, ### Scripture references - Gal 3:19: quotation, high confidence - Eph 1:21: quotation, high confidence - Eph 1:22: quotation, high confidence - Eph 1:23: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:22: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:23: quotation, high confidence - Gal 1:8: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Bar 3:36 (Baruch): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Gal 3:19; Eph 1:21–23; Bar 3:36; 1 Cor 3:22–23; Gal 1:8. This is Priscillian's stated criterion for writings outside the canon. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.36 (CSEL 18:29–30; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-36). ## Eleven Tractates 1.37 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-37 - Source: CSEL 18:30–31 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A message is judged by whether it confesses Christ, as Joshua tested the angel and as the angel refused John's worship. ### Latin text sicut scribtum est quia nemo in spiritu sancto dicit anathema Iesu et nemo nisi (in) spiritu sancto loquitur dominum Iesum; sicut et Iohannes ait: omnis spiritus qui confitetur Christum Iesum in carnem uenisse, de deo est et omnis spiritus qui soluit Iesum, de deo non est et hic est antechristus; sicut et ipse alibi: qui non confitentur Christum Iesum in carne uenisse, hi sunt seductores et antechristi. Sicut et Hiesu Naue profeta domini et dux in Istrahel apparente sibi angelo non solae apparentiae, sed uerborum confessionibus credens exclamauit ad angelum: noster es aut aduersariorum? et ille, ut fides sermonibus illius haberetur, principem se militiae domini esse confessus est et sic factum est, ut Iesus qui nihil aliud extra deum crederet tunc sermonibus angeli loquentis ad se fidem daret, cum esse se ille de militia domini non negasset. Sicut et Iohanni apostolo in apocalypsi, cum loquentem ad se angelum adorare uellet, ostensum est deum non angelos adorandum dicente angelo ad ipsum: ne feceris, Iohannis; conseruus enim tuus sum et fratrum tuorum qui habent testimonium; Iesum deum uero adora! ### English translation (Claude) as it is written that no one in the Holy Spirit says "Jesus is anathema," and no one except in the Holy Spirit says "Lord Jesus"; as John too says: "Every spirit that confesses that Christ Jesus has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that dissolves Jesus is not from God, and this is antichrist"; as he also says elsewhere: "Those who do not confess that Christ Jesus has come in the flesh, these are deceivers and antichrists." So too Joshua son of Nun, prophet of the Lord and leader in Israel, when an angel appeared to him, believing not the appearance alone but the confession of his words, cried out to the angel: "Are you ours or our enemies'?" And he, so that faith might be given to his words, confessed that he was the prince of the army of the Lord; and so it came about that Joshua, who believed in nothing apart from God, then gave faith to the words of the angel speaking to him, when he did not deny that he was of the army of the Lord. So too it was shown to the apostle John in the Apocalypse, when he wished to worship the angel speaking to him, that God, not angels, is to be worshipped, the angel saying to him: "Do not do it, John; for I am your fellow servant and your brothers' who have the testimony; worship Jesus, God!" ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 12:3: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 4:2: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 4:3: quotation, high confidence - 2 John 1:7: quotation, high confidence - Josh 5:13: quotation, high confidence - Josh 5:14: allusion, high confidence - Rev 19:10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 12:3; 1 John 4:2–3 ("dissolves Jesus", the Latin reading); 2 John 7; Josh 5:13–14; Rev 19:10 ("worship Jesus, God" in Priscillian's text, where the usual text has "worship God"). "(in)" is the editor's supplement. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.37 (CSEL 18:30–31; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-37). ## Eleven Tractates 1.38 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-38 - Source: CSEL 18:31–32 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They reject any 'fifth gospel' and hold the four gospels and the creed of the church. ### Latin text testimonium autem Iesu spiritus est et profetiae; sicut et Eseias ait: neque nuntius neque angelus, sed ipse dominus ueniet et saluos nos faciet. Si qui autem inflati sunt nihil scientes et extra quattuor euangelia quintum aliquod euangelium uel fingunt uel confitentur, cur hoc ad nostram, qui talium respuimus infelicitates, profertur inuidiam? Hi sunt enim in quibus deus saeculi huius excaecauit sensus infidelium, ut non resplendeat in illis inluminatio euuangelii gloriae Christi qui est imago dei, et ueniat super eum omnis ira domini, qui hoc aut scribit in titulis aut confitetur aut credit. I Nos autem uenerabilis eclesiae dei per symbolum corpus ingressi indissolubilem fidem uno fonte tripertito rigatam in quattuor euangeliorum dispositione cognouimus, nullum alium deum esse credentes nisi Christum deum dei filium, qui pro nobis crucifixus in nomine suo baptismum remissionis ostendit, praedestinans a principio saeculi in profetia electos suos, ex quibus Christus secundum carnem sicut et generatio domini in euuangelio per eos disposita et edicta retinetur, per quos profetans se dominus aduentus sui iter praestitit, sicut scribtum est: effundam de spiritu ### English translation (Claude) "For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy"; as Isaiah too says: "Neither messenger nor angel, but the Lord himself will come and save us." But if some are puffed up, knowing nothing, and beyond the four gospels either invent or confess some fifth gospel, why is this brought forward to stir ill will against us, who reject the wretchedness of such people? For these are they in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not shine in them; and may the whole wrath of the Lord come upon him who either writes this in titles or confesses or believes it. But we, having entered the body of the venerable church of God through the creed, have come to know the indissoluble faith, watered by one threefold font, in the arrangement of the four gospels, believing that there is no other God except Christ, God, the Son of God, who, crucified for us, showed baptism of forgiveness in his name, predestining from the beginning of the world his elect in prophecy, from whom Christ came according to the flesh, as the generation of the Lord too is kept, arranged and declared through them in the gospel; through whom the Lord, prophesying himself, prepared the road of his coming, as it is written: "I will pour out of my ### Scripture references - Rev 19:10: quotation, high confidence - Isa 63:9: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 6:4: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Cor 4:4: quotation, high confidence - Rom 9:5: allusion, high confidence - Matt 1:1: allusion, medium confidence - Joel 2:28 (3:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Rev 19:10; Isa 63:9 (LXX); 1 Tim 6:4; 2 Cor 4:4; Rom 9:5; Matt 1:1–17; Joel 2:28 (continued). "No other God except Christ" is Priscillian's own wording, translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.38 (CSEL 18:31–32; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-38). ## Eleven Tractates 1.39 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-39 - Source: CSEL 18:32–33 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Prophecy was not closed at a fixed limit; Scripture itself (Luke, Tobit, Jude citing Enoch) shows prophets beyond the canonical books. ### Latin text meo super omnem carnem et profetabunt filii et filiae eorum et iuuenes eorum uisa uidebunt et senes somnia somniabunt, et quidem super seruos et ancillas meas effundam de spiritu meo et dabo prodigia in caelo susum et signa deorsum; sol conuertetur in tenebris et luna in sanguinem, priusquam ueniat dies magnus domini; et erit: quicumque inuocauerit nomen domini saluus erit. In quo et nos non desperamus loqui de eo, quia nullius prohibens aut intercipiens spiritum certo profetiae fine conclusit, sed ut omnes qui credent eum libere de eo loquerentur indulsit; sicut et in euuangelio scribtum est: benedictus deus qui uisitauit et fecit redemptionem plebis suae et erexit cornum in domo Dauid, sicut locutus est per os sanctorum suorum prophetarum qui ab aeuo sunt; sicut et Tobi profeta ait ad filium suum: nos fili profetarum sumus; Noe profeta fuit, Abraham Isac et Iacob et omnes patres nostri qui ab initio saeculi profetauerunt; sicut et Iudas apostolus ait: profetauit de his septimus ab Adam Enoc dicens: ecce uenit dominus in sanctis milibus suis facere iudicium; sicut et apostolus nulli loquendi de deo iter claudens cum ad plebes quibus praedicabat scriberet: ### English translation (Claude) Spirit on all flesh, and their sons and daughters will prophesy, and their young men will see visions, and their old men will dream dreams; and on my servants and my handmaids I will pour out of my Spirit, and I will give wonders in heaven above and signs below; the sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great day of the Lord comes; and it shall be: whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." In this we too do not despair of speaking about him, because, forbidding or cutting off no one's spirit, he did not close prophecy at a fixed end, but granted that all who believe in him may speak freely about him; as it is also written in the gospel: "Blessed be God, who has visited and wrought redemption for his people and raised up a horn in the house of David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who are from of old"; as the prophet Tobit too says to his son: "We are sons of the prophets: Noah was a prophet, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all our fathers who prophesied from the beginning of the world"; as the apostle Jude too says: "Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying: Behold, the Lord comes with his holy thousands to execute judgment"; as the apostle too, closing to no one the road of speaking about God, when he wrote to the peoples to whom he preached: ### Scripture references - Joel 2:28 (3:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Joel 2:29 (3:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Joel 2:30 (3:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Joel 2:31 (3:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Joel 2:32 (3:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Luke 1:68: quotation, high confidence - Luke 1:69: quotation, high confidence - Luke 1:70: quotation, high confidence - Jude 1:14: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Tob 4:12 (Tobit): quotation, high confidence - 1 En. 1.9 (1 Enoch): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Joel 2:28–32 (LXX/Hebrew 3:1–5); Luke 1:68–70; Tob 4:12; Jude 14–15 (quoting 1 En. 1:9). This prepares Priscillian's defence of reading prophetic books outside the canon. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.39 (CSEL 18:32–33; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-39). ## Eleven Tractates 1.40 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/1-26/#p-1-40 - Source: CSEL 18:33–34 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Paul allows all believers to prophesy; Priscillian asks the bishops to clear him of slander. ### Latin text potestis, inquid, singuli quique profetare, ut omnes discant et omnes exhortentur, sed et alibi: spiritus profetarum profetis subiecti sunt, ut qui deo Christo crederet profetandi de deo desperationem in eo quod omnibus suis promiserat non haberet. Et ideo, beatissimi sacerdotes, si satisfactum, damnatis heresibus et dogmatibus et fidei expedita abseratione, et deo putatis et uobis, dantes testimonium ueritati inuidia nos maliuolae obtrectationis absoluite et referentes ad fratres uestros ea quae maledicorum sunt uerbis uexata sanate, quoniam fructus uitae est probari ab his qui fidem ueri expetunt, non qui sub nomine religiosorum domesticas inimicitias persequuntur. ### English translation (Claude) "You can all prophesy one by one," he says, "so that all may learn and all be exhorted"; and elsewhere: "The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets"; so that whoever believes in Christ, God, should not despair of prophesying about God in what he had promised to all his own. And therefore, most blessed bishops, if you think that satisfaction has been given both to God and to you, now that the heresies and doctrines have been condemned and the assertion of our faith set out, bear witness to the truth and absolve us from the ill will of malicious slander, and, reporting to your brothers, heal what has been troubled by the words of slanderers; for it is the fruit of life to be approved by those who seek the faith of truth, not by those who, under the name of religious men, pursue private enmities. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 14:31: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 14:32: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 14:31–32. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 1.40 (CSEL 18:33–34; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/1-40). ## Eleven Tractates 2.41 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-41 - Source: CSEL 18:34–35 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Priscillian addresses the bishop of Rome, explaining that Bishop Hydatius's attacks force him to state his faith before him. ### Latin text Etsi catholica fides dati per deum symboli iter possidens credendi gloriam potius expetit quam loquendi, quoniam quae ueritate sui enixa sunt interpraetandi ingenium non requirunt, dicente apostolo: contentiones legis deuita, tamen temporis necessitate cogente, quam nobis inrogata per Hydatium episcopum inposuit iniuria, licet semper patientiae partes secuti simus fueritque in studio sustinere potius aliquem quam mouere, gratulamur sic rerum uenisse rationem, ut apud te, qui senior omnium nostrum es et ad apostolicae sedis gloriam uitae experimentis nutritus beato Petro exhortatore uenisti, quod credimus et loquamur, adinplentes apud te apostolici sermonis fidem dicentis: corde creditur ad iustitiam, ore autem confessio fit ad salutem. In quo et nos, baptizati in Christo Christum induentes, et fidem ueri multiplici quidem dispositione sublimem sed unita unius dei potestate uenerabilem, sicut corde credimus, ita ad omnium salutem qui falsiloquio sermonum in scandalum missi sunt confitemur. Nam cum ante conplures annos uiui lauacri regeneratione reparati et sordentes saecularium ### English translation (Claude) Although the catholic faith, keeping to the road of the creed given by God, seeks the glory of believing rather than of speaking—since things that have been brought forth by their own truth need no talent for interpreting, as the apostle says: "Avoid quarrels about the law"—yet, since the necessity of the time compels us, which the injury inflicted on us by bishop Hydatius has imposed, although we have always followed the part of patience and our endeavour was rather to bear with someone than to provoke him, we rejoice that matters have come about in such a way that before you, who are the senior of us all and who came to the glory of the apostolic see nourished by the experiences of life, with blessed Peter as your encourager, we may also say what we believe, fulfilling before you the faith of the apostle's saying: "With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." In this we too, baptized in Christ and putting on Christ, confess the faith of the truth—sublime indeed in its manifold arrangement but venerable in the united power of one God—as we believe it in the heart, for the salvation of all who have been made to stumble by the false talk of others. For when, many years ago, renewed by the regeneration of the living washing and rejecting the filthy darkness of worldly ### Scripture references - Titus 3:9: quotation, high confidence - Rom 10:10: quotation, high confidence - Gal 3:27: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - This tractate is addressed to Pope Damasus (bishop of Rome 366–384). Hydatius was bishop of Emerita (Mérida), one of Priscillian's accusers. Titus 3:9; Rom 10:10; Gal 3:27. "Bishop" renders sacerdos where it clearly means a bishop, as here and below. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.41 (CSEL 18:34–35; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-41). ## Eleven Tractates 2.42 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-42 - Source: CSEL 18:35 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Priscillian and his companions had devoted themselves to God; at the Council of Saragossa none of them was accused or condemned. ### Latin text actuum tenebras respuentes totos nos dedissemus deo, legentes quod qui quemquam amplius quam deum diligeret discipulus eius esse non posset, alii nostrum iam in eclesiis electi deo, alii uita elaborantes ut eligeremur, catholicae pacis sequebamur quietem; uerum cum repente siue necessaria redargutione siue aemulatione uitae seu nouissimi temporis potestate orirentur contentiones, nos caritatem Christi dei optantes et pacem etsi conscientia confidebamus, timebamus tamen, ne quid, sicut factum est, contentio animorum faceret quod pax eclesiastica non teneret. Deo tamen qui unus et in omnibus uerus est inter haec gratias, quod nullus e nostris qui libellum tradidimus usque in hoc tempus uel accusatorem reprehensibilis adhuc uitae potuit habere uel iudicem, licet obtrectari non semper nocentium sit, sed sit aliquotiens quietorum. Denique in conuentu episcopali qui Caesaraugustae fuit nemo e nostris reus factus tenetur, nemo accusatus, nemo conuictus, nemo damnatus est, nullum nomini nostro uel proposito uel uitae crimen obiectum est, nemo ut euocaretur non dicam necessitatem sed nec sollicitudinem habuit. ### English translation (Claude) deeds, we had given ourselves wholly to God, reading that whoever loved anyone more than God could not be his disciple, some of us already chosen for God in the churches, others labouring in our life so that we might be chosen, we were following the quiet of catholic peace. But when suddenly—whether by necessary rebuke, or by rivalry over our way of life, or by the power of the last time—quarrels arose, we, desiring the love of Christ, God, and peace, although we were confident in our conscience, nevertheless feared that, as has happened, the contention of minds might bring about what church peace would not hold. Yet thanks be to God, who alone is true and true in all, amid these things, that none of us who have handed over this pamphlet has up to this time been able to have an accuser or a judge of a blameworthy life, although to be slandered is not always the lot of the guilty but sometimes of the peaceable. Indeed, at the assembly of bishops held at Saragossa, none of us was held as a defendant, none accused, none convicted, none condemned; no crime was charged against our name, our way of life, or our conduct; no one had any need—I will not say to be summoned—not even any anxiety about it. ### Scripture references - Luke 14:26: allusion, high confidence - Matt 10:37: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Luke 14:26 with Matt 10:37. The Council of Saragossa met in 380. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.42 (CSEL 18:35; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-42). ## Eleven Tractates 2.43 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-43 - Source: CSEL 18:35–36 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Saragossa's memorandum censured none of them; they teach that those who renounce all for God should not be hindered, while those who achieve less still have hope. ### Latin text Datum nescio quod ab Hy ibi commonitorium est quod uelut agendae uitae poneret disciplinam: nemo illic nostrum inter illa repraehensus tua potissimum epistula contra inprobos praeualente, in qua iuxta euangelica iussa praeceperas, ne quid in absentes et inauditos decerneretur. Nos tamen, etsi absentes ibi fuimus, semper hoc in eclesiis et admonuimus et admonemus, ut inprobi mores et indecentia instituta uiuendi uel quae contra Christi dei fidem pugnant probabilis et Christianae uitae amore damnentur, nec prohibere si quis contemptis parentibus liberis facultatibus dignitate et adhuc et anima sua deum malluerit amare quam saeculum, nec spem ueniae tollere his, qui, si ea quae prima sunt non quaeunt, uel in mediis tertiisque consistunt, quoniam multis mansionibus apud deum patrem positis, si fides symboli incorrupta teneatur, teneri debere propositam nobis in Christo spem, etiamsi adinplendi perfecti operis non habeant facultatem, sequentes apostolum Paulum, qui aliis secundum imperium praecipere, alios secundum ueniam admonere, alios sine auctoritate praecepti consilio informare se dixit, ut omnes lucrifaceret qui ad Christi fidem diuersa misericordiae uocatione uenissent. ### English translation (Claude) A memorandum of some kind was issued there by Hy[datius], which was to lay down, as it were, a discipline for leading one's life: none of us was censured among those points, your letter in particular prevailing against the wicked, in which, according to the commands of the gospel, you had directed that nothing be decreed against the absent and unheard. Yet even though we were absent there, we have always urged in the churches, and still urge, that wicked morals and unseemly ways of living, or things that fight against the faith of Christ, God, be condemned out of love for an upright and Christian life; and that no one should be forbidden, if, scorning parents, children, wealth, rank, and even his own life, he prefers to love God rather than the world; nor should hope of pardon be taken from those who, if they cannot attain what is first, stand among the middle or the third ranks, since, there being many mansions with God the Father, if the faith of the creed is kept uncorrupted, the hope set before us in Christ must be held, even if they lack the means to fulfil the perfect work. We follow the apostle Paul, who said that he commanded some by authority, admonished others by concession, and instructed others by counsel without the authority of a command, so that he might win all who had come to the faith of Christ by the varied calling of mercy. ### Scripture references - Luke 14:26: allusion, medium confidence - John 14:2: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 7:6: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 7:25: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 9:22: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 13:8: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The "memorandum" (commonitorium) is the set of canons of Saragossa (380). "Hy" is apparently an abbreviation or mutilation of Hydatius's name in the manuscript. Luke 14:26; John 14:2; 1 Cor 7:6, 25; 1 Cor 9:19–22. "First … middle … third ranks" echoes the hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold of Matt 13:8. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.43 (CSEL 18:35–36; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-43). ## Eleven Tractates 2.44 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-44 - Source: CSEL 18:36–37 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Priscillian sets out the creed article by article, each with a Scripture proof. ### Latin text Fidem uero sicut accepimus, ita et tenemus et tradimus, credentes unum deum patrem omnipotentem, sicut scribtum est: ex quo omnia et nos per ipsum, et unum dominum Iesum Christum, sicut scribtum est: per quem omnia et nos per ipsum, natum ex Maria uirgine ex spiritu sancto, sicut scribtum est: ecce uirgo accipiet in utero et pariet filium et uocabitis nomen eius Emmanuel quod interpraetatur nobiscum deus, et iterum de eo: spiritus sanctus ueniet in te et uirtus altissimi obumbrauit te ideoque et quod nascetur sanctum uocabitur filius dei, passum sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixum, sicut scribtum est: et inter iniquos deputabitur, sepultum, tertia die resurrexisse, sicut scribtum est in profetis: sustinete me in diem resurrectionis meae, ascendisse in caelos, sedere ad dexteram dei patris omnipotentis, sicut scriptum est: ecce uidi caelos apertos et filium hominis sedentem ad dexteram dei, inde uenturum et iudicaturum de uiuis et mortuis, sicut scribtum est: sic ueniet quemadmodum uidistis illum euntem in caelum, credentes in sanctam eclesiam, sanctum spiritum, baptismum salutare, sicut scribtum est: nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et spiritu sancto, non ascendet in regna caelorum, ### English translation (Claude) The faith, as we received it, so we hold and hand on, believing in one God the Father almighty, as it is written: "from whom are all things, and we through him"; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, as it is written: "through whom are all things, and we through him"; born of the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, as it is written: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel, which is interpreted, God with us"; and again of him: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and therefore the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God"; suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, as it is written: "And he will be reckoned among the lawless"; buried; rose on the third day, as it is written in the prophets: "Wait for me on the day of my resurrection"; ascended into the heavens; sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty, as it is written: "Behold, I saw the heavens opened and the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God"; thence he will come and judge the living and the dead, as it is written: "He will come in the same way as you saw him going into heaven"; believing in the holy church, the Holy Spirit, saving baptism, as it is written: "Unless one is reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, he will not ascend into the kingdom of heaven"; ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 8:6: quotation, high confidence - Isa 7:14: quotation, high confidence - Matt 1:23: quotation, high confidence - Luke 1:35: quotation, high confidence - Isa 53:12: quotation, high confidence - Zeph 3:8: quotation, high confidence - Acts 7:56: quotation, high confidence - Acts 1:11: quotation, high confidence - John 3:5: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The creed is close to the Old Roman/Spanish baptismal creed. 1 Cor 8:6; Isa 7:14 with Matt 1:23; Luke 1:35; Isa 53:12 (Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37); Zeph 3:8 (LXX, "on the day of my resurrection"); Acts 7:56 ("sitting" for "standing"); Acts 1:11; John 3:5. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.44 (CSEL 18:36–37; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-44). ## Eleven Tractates 2.45 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-45 - Source: CSEL 18:37–38 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The creed continues with forgiveness and the resurrection of the flesh; baptism in the one name of Father, Son, and Spirit shows the one God in threefold power. ### Latin text credentes remissionem peccatorum, sicut scribtum est: dico uobis, filioli, quia remittuntur uobis peccata propter nomen eius, credentes in resurrectionem carnis, sicut scribtum est: resurrectionem autem futuram etiam Moyses adnuntiauit dicente domino ego sum deus Abraham, deus Isac, deus Iacob; non est deus mortuorum, sed uiuentium; omnes enim illi uiuunt. Cuius symboli iter custodientes omnes hereses doctrinas instituta uel dogmata, quae sibi altercationem non ingenia, sed studia fecerunt, catholico ore damnamus, bapti, sicut scribtum est, in nomine patris et fili et spiritus sancti; non dicit autem in nominibus tamquam in multis, sed in uno, quia unus deus trina potestate uenerabilis omnia et in omnibus Christus est, sicut scribtum est: Abrahae dictae sunt repromissiones et semini eius; non dicit et seminibus tamquam in multis, sed quasi in uno et semini tuo quod est Christus; de qua re loquens profeta ait: hic est deus noster nec reputabitur alius absque eo qui accepit legem et dedit eam Iacob puero suo et Istrahel dilecto suo; posthaec in terris uisus est et cum hominibus conuersatus est. ### English translation (Claude) believing in the forgiveness of sins, as it is written: "I say to you, little children, that your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake"; believing in the resurrection of the flesh, as it is written: "And Moses too announced the future resurrection, the Lord saying: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob; he is not God of the dead but of the living; for all live to him." Keeping to the road of this creed, we condemn with a catholic mouth all heresies, doctrines, institutions, or dogmas that not talent but partisanship has made into wrangling for itself—we who were baptized, as it is written, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; and it does not say "in the names," as of many, but "in one," because one God, venerable in threefold power, is all things, and Christ is in all, as it is written: "The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed; it does not say 'and to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'and to your seed,' which is Christ"; speaking of which the prophet says: "This is our God, and no other will be reckoned beside him, who received the law and gave it to Jacob his servant and to Israel his beloved; afterward he was seen on earth and lived among men." ### Scripture references - 1 John 2:12: quotation, high confidence - Luke 20:37: quotation, high confidence - Luke 20:38: quotation, high confidence - Matt 22:32: quotation, high confidence - Matt 28:19: quotation, high confidence - Col 3:11: allusion, high confidence - Gal 3:16: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Bar 3:36-38 (Baruch): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 John 2:12; Luke 20:37–38 with Matt 22:32; Matt 28:19; Col 3:11; Gal 3:16; Bar 3:36–38 (cited as "the prophet"). "bapti" in the text is read as "baptized" (abbreviated or damaged). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.45 (CSEL 18:37–38; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-45). ## Eleven Tractates 2.46 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-46 - Source: CSEL 18:38 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They condemn the Arians, Photinus, and the Patripassians, citing Scripture against each. ### Latin text Et quamuis longum sit ire per singula et aspernabile sit Christianis sensibus talium miseriarum uel repetere doctrinas, tamen haec ideo apud uenerabilem coronam tuam dicimus, ut, si in ea quae damnamus incurrimus, ipsa libelli nostri professione damnemur. Quis enim potest catholicis auribus Arrianae heresis nefas credere, qui diuidentes quod unum est et plures uolentes deos profetici sermonis lumen incestant, non legentes dicente Moyse: audi, Istrahel, dominus deus tuus deus unus est; cui testimonium in euangelio tulit dominus dicens: Moyses quae scribsit, de me scribsit. Cuius tamen infelicitatis Fotinus adfinis non uult tenere quod lectum est: maledictus homo qui in homine spem suam ponit; de quo ipse etiam deus noster loquens ad eum quem ex infirmitate sanauerat, quem se credi uellet ostendit dicens: uade et dicito quanta tibi fecerit deus, et testimonium hoc uerum est. Quis Patripassianos hereticos ferat dicente scribtura: qui credit in filio habet uitam, qui non credit in filio non habet uitam? Quorum tanta infelicitas est, ut etiam daemoniaca confessione damnentur dicente ad deum in euangelio daemone: quid nobis et tibi est, ### English translation (Claude) And although it is long to go through each point, and it is distasteful to Christian minds even to repeat the doctrines of such miserable people, yet we say these things before your venerable crown so that, if we fall into the things we condemn, we may be condemned by the very profession of our pamphlet. For who, with catholic ears, can believe the wickedness of the Arian heresy, whose adherents, dividing what is one and wanting many gods, defile the light of the prophetic word, not reading what Moses says: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one God"—to which the Lord bore testimony in the gospel, saying: "What Moses wrote, he wrote of me"? Photinus, akin to their wretchedness, does not want to hold what has been read: "Cursed is the man who puts his hope in man"; of which our God himself, speaking to the man he had healed of infirmity, showed what he wanted to be believed of him, saying: "Go and tell how much God has done for you"; and this testimony is true. Who would put up with the Patripassian heretics, when Scripture says: "He who believes in the Son has life; he who does not believe in the Son does not have life"? Their wretchedness is so great that they are condemned even by the confession of a demon, who in the gospel says to God: "What have we to do with you, ### Scripture references - Deut 6:4: quotation, high confidence - John 5:46: quotation, high confidence - Jer 17:5: quotation, high confidence - Luke 8:39: quotation, high confidence - John 3:36: quotation, high confidence - Matt 8:29: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Deut 6:4; John 5:46; Jer 17:5; Luke 8:39 (said to the healed demoniac); John 3:36; Mark 1:24 with Matt 8:29. Photinus of Sirmium held Christ to be a mere man. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.46 (CSEL 18:38; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-46). ## Eleven Tractates 2.47 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-47 - Source: CSEL 18:38–39 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They condemn the Ophites, the Novatians, and above all the Manichaeans, whom they know only by report. ### Latin text Iesu fili dei uiui, quid uenisti ante tempus perdere nos? Quis Ofitas uel insipiens incidat uolens deum habere serpentem, cum scribtum sit: ego sum dominus deus tuus qui eduxi te de domo seruitutis; non erunt tibi dii alii praeter me; non facies tibi idolum nec ullam similitudinem ex his quae in caelo susum neque quae in terra deorsum neque (quae) sub aquis neque quae sub terra. Quis uellit Nouatianorum baptismata repetita, cum scribtum sit: una fides unum baptisma unus deus. Quarum tamen sectarum infelicitatem teste deo Christo quia ex fabulis uulgi, non ex aliqua contentionis conlatione cogno, quia cum his uel contendisse peccare est, unum hoc scientes quod qui sibi sectarum nomen inponunt Christiani nomen amittunt: inter quae tamen omnia Manicaeos, iam non hereticos, sed idololatras et maleficos seruos Solis et Lunae, inuictiacos daemones cum omnibus auctoribus sectis moribus institutis libris doctoribus discipulisque damnamus, quia de his scribtum est: cum tali nec quidem cibum sumere. Nobis enim Christus deus dei filius passus in carnem secundum fidem symboli baptizatis et electis ad sacerdotium in nomine patris et fili et spiritus sancti tota fides, ### English translation (Claude) Jesus, Son of the living God? Why have you come before the time to destroy us?" Who, even a fool, would fall in with the Ophites, wanting to have a serpent as god, when it is written: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods besides me; you shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of the things that are in heaven above or on earth below or under the waters or under the earth"? Who would want the repeated baptisms of the Novatians, when it is written: "One faith, one baptism, one God"? The wretchedness of these sects—God, Christ, is witness—we know from the tales of the common people, not from any engagement in dispute, because even to have disputed with them is a sin, knowing this one thing, that those who give themselves the names of sects lose the name of Christian. Among all of these we condemn the Manichaeans, no longer heretics but idolaters and sorcerers, slaves of the Sun and Moon, invincible demons, together with all their authors, sects, morals, institutions, books, teachers, and disciples, because of such it is written: "With such a one do not even eat." For us, Christ, God, the Son of God, who suffered in the flesh according to the faith of the creed—we who have been baptized and chosen for the priesthood in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit—is our whole faith, ### Scripture references - Exod 20:2: quotation, high confidence - Exod 20:3: quotation, high confidence - Exod 20:4: quotation, high confidence - Eph 4:5: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 5:11: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Exod 20:2–4; Eph 4:5–6; 1 Cor 5:11. "inuictiacos" is read as "invincible" (perhaps alluding to the Sol Invictus cult); the form is uncertain. "cogno" ("we know") is incomplete in the text. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.47 (CSEL 18:38–39; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-47). ## Eleven Tractates 2.48 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-48 - Source: CSEL 18:39–40 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: After Saragossa, Hydatius was accused by his own presbyter and deserted by many of his clergy; Priscillian's party consulted the bishops Hyginus and Symposius. ### Latin text tota uita, tota ueneratio est. In hac ergo ueritate fidei et in hac simplicitate uiuentibus nobis a Caesaraugustana synhodo Hydatius redit, nihil contra nos referens, quippe quos et ipse in eclesiis nostris secum etiam communicantes demiserat et quos nemo nec absentes quidem praesumpta accusatione damnauerat. Sed ut sciat corona uenerabilitatis tuae, unde excandescentiae eius dolor, unde debaccans toto orbe etiam in eclesias furor fuerit: reuersus e synhodo et in media eclesia sedens reus a presbytero suo actis eclesiasticis petitur; datur etiam post dies paruos in eclesiis nostris a quibusdam libellus et deteriora quam prius a praesbytero obiecta fuerant obponuntur; segregant se de clericis ipsius plurimi, profitentes non nisi purgato sacerdoti se communicaturos. Hinc nos conuenti damus ad Hyginum et Symposium episcopos quorum uitam ipse nouisti huiusmodi litteras: omnia subito fuisse turbata; prouideri oportere, qualiter eclesiarum pax conposita duraret. Rescribtum est, ut uerbis ipsis loquamur: quantum ad laicos pertineret, ### English translation (Claude) our whole life, our whole worship. While we were living in this truth of faith and in this simplicity, Hydatius returned from the synod of Saragossa, reporting nothing against us—indeed, he himself had left us in our churches, even in communion with him, and no one had condemned us, not even in our absence, by any presumptuous accusation. But so that the crown of your venerability may know where the pain of his rage came from, and where the fury came from that has raged through the whole world and even into the churches: having returned from the synod and sitting in the middle of the church, he was arraigned as a defendant by his own presbyter in church proceedings; a few days later a pamphlet was also given by certain people in our churches, and charges worse than those the presbyter had raised before were brought against him; very many of his clergy separated themselves from him, declaring that they would not communicate except with a bishop who had been cleared. At this point, being approached, we sent to the bishops Hyginus and Symposius, whose lives you yourself know, a letter of this kind: that everything had suddenly been thrown into confusion, and that provision should be made for how the settled peace of the churches might last. The reply was, to quote its very words: as far as the laity were concerned, ### Translation notes - Hyginus was bishop of Corduba; Symposius bishop of Asturica (Astorga). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.48 (CSEL 18:39–40; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-48). ## Eleven Tractates 2.49 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-49 - Source: CSEL 18:40 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: When they went to Emerita to make peace with Hydatius, they were refused entry and beaten. ### Latin text si illis suspectus Hydatius esset, sufficeret apud nos sola de catholica professione testatio; de reliquo dandum pro eclesiarum pace concilium; nullum autem in Caesaraugustana synhodo fuisse damnatum. Quis non consacerdotibus crederet, praesertim cum in eadem synhodo uir religiosus qui haec scribebat Symposius adfuisset? Capimus tamen inter ista consilium, ut euntes ad Hemeretensium ciuitatem praesentes ipsi uideremus Hydatium, pacis potius deo teste quam contentionis auctores. Si enim iniuria et non obsequium fuit consulere potius praesentem tamquam fratrem uelle quam uelut reum euocare, rei sumus; sin uero uenientes et ingredientes in eclesiam turbis et populis concitatis non solum in praesbyterium non admissi, sed etiam adflicti uerberibus sumus, putamus caedentem potius iniuriam fecisse, non caesos. ### English translation (Claude) if Hydatius was suspect to them, a testimony of catholic profession before us would suffice; as to the rest, a council should be granted for the peace of the churches; but no one had been condemned at the synod of Saragossa. Who would not believe his fellow bishops, especially since Symposius, the religious man who wrote this, had been present at that same synod? Meanwhile we took counsel to go to the city of Emerita and to see Hydatius in person, as authors—God is witness—of peace rather than of strife. For if it was an injury and not a courtesy to wish to consult him in person as a brother rather than to summon him as a defendant, then we are guilty; but if, when we came and were entering the church, the crowds and people were stirred up, and we were not only not admitted to the presbytery but even afflicted with blows, we think that it was the one who struck, not those who were struck, who did the injury. ### Translation notes - Emerita = Mérida. "The presbytery" is the clergy's place in the church. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.49 (CSEL 18:40; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-49). ## Eleven Tractates 2.50 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-50 - Source: CSEL 18:40–41 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Hydatius obtained an imperial rescript against 'pseudo-bishops and Manichaeans' by misrepresenting the case, and lied to Ambrose. ### Latin text Nos tamen quibus cordi pax erat accipientes professionem laicorum, quam reprobare, quia esset catholica, non poteramus, ad omnes prope coepiscopos nostros, quid sacerdotalis reuerentia passa fuisset, scribsimus mittentes etiam gesta rerum et fidem professionum nec hoc tacentes, quod multi ex his post professionem ad sacerdotium peterentur. Rescribitur ad nos dandum super ista concilium; credendum habitae professioni et sicut dedicationem sacerdotis in sacerdote, sic electionem consistere petitionis (in) plebe. Hinc ille plus quam oportebat timens concinnat preces falso et rei gestae fabulam texens dissimulatis nominibus nostris rescribtum contra pseudoepiscopos et Manichaeos petit et necessario inpetrat, quia nemo non, qui pseudoepiscopos et Manichaeos audiret, odisset. Uiro etiam spectabili fratri tuo Ambrosio episcopo tota mentitur et, cum relato sibi rescribto sub specie sectae quam nostrum nemo non damnat in ### English translation (Claude) Yet we, who cared for peace, accepted the profession of the laity, which we could not reject because it was catholic, and wrote to nearly all our fellow bishops about what episcopal reverence had suffered, sending also the record of events and the faith of the professions, and not keeping silent about the fact that many of them, after their profession, were being asked for the priesthood. The reply to us was that a council should be granted on these matters; that the profession made should be believed; and that, as the consecration of a bishop rests with the bishop, so the election rests with the petition of the people. Then he, more afraid than he need have been, contrives petitions with falsehood and, weaving a tale of what had happened while concealing our names, seeks and of course obtains a rescript against pseudo-bishops and Manichaeans, since no one who heard "pseudo-bishops and Manichaeans" would not hate them. To that eminent man, your brother bishop Ambrose, he also lied about everything, and when, with the rescript brought back to him, under the pretext of a sect that every one of us condemns, he ### Translation notes - The rescript was issued by the emperor Gratian (381). Ambrose was bishop of Milan. "(in)" is the editor's supplement. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.50 (CSEL 18:40–41; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-50). ## Eleven Tractates 2.51 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-51 - Source: CSEL 18:41 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Hydatius slandered even Bishop Hyginus; Priscillian's party brought letters of communion from their churches and came to Rome to seek a hearing before bishops. ### Latin text omnes rueret Christianos, hereticum etiam Hyginum nobiscum uocans, sicut epistulae ipsius missae ad eclesias prolocuntur, agens scilicet, ne iudices haberet, si omnes diuersis obtrectationibus infamasset, eclesias nostras commendauimus deo, quarum communicatorias ad te epistulas detulimus totius cleri et plebis suscribtione transmissas, et ad te qui potuimus uenientes uoluimus quidem absentes supplicare, ut si haberet quod Hydatius obiceret sacerdotum audientiam postulantes nec refugientes tamen iudicium publicum, si ipse malluisset. De nullo autem metuit audiri qui optat probari; sed studio factum fuerit an malo uoto, deus iudicabit, ut quaestor, cum iustas praeces diceret, respondere tardaret. Nos tamen, non omittentes in causa fidei sanctorum iudicium malle quam saeculi, uenimus Romam, nulli graues, hoc solum desiderantes, ut te primum adiremus, ne taciturnitas metus conscientiae iudicaretur, ### English translation (Claude) rushed against all Christians, calling even Hyginus a heretic along with us, as his letters sent to the churches declare—acting, no doubt, so that he would have no judges if he had defamed everyone with various slanders—we commended our churches to God (their letters of communion to you, sent with the signatures of the whole clergy and people, we have brought), and those of us who could came to you. We wished indeed, while absent, to beg that, if Hydatius had anything to charge, we might ask for a hearing before bishops, though not refusing a public trial either, if he preferred it. No one who wishes to be proved fears being heard on any matter; but whether it was done by partisanship or by ill will God will judge, that the quaestor, when he was presenting just petitions, delayed to answer. We, however, not neglecting to prefer the judgment of the saints to that of the world in a cause of faith, came to Rome, burdensome to no one, desiring only this: to come first to you, so that our silence might not be judged as the fear of a guilty conscience, ### Translation notes - The quaestor is the imperial official who received petitions. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.51 (CSEL 18:41; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-51). ## Eleven Tractates 2.52 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-52 - Source: CSEL 18:41–42 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: On the disputed writings, they hold that whatever preaches Christ in agreement with the canon cannot be condemned, and whatever contradicts it must be. ### Latin text sed magis libellum tradentes rei gestae ordinem et, quod omnibus maius est, fidem catholicam in qua uiuimus panderemus. Nam si et de scribturis quibusdam, quas Hydatius de armario suo proferens in calumniosas fabulas misit, quaeritur de nobis sententia, id nobis cordi est et semper fuit, ut omnia in scribturis sub cuiuslibet apostoli profetae episcopi auctoritate prolatis, quae Christum deum dei filium profetant aut praedicant et consentiunt canoni euangeliis uel profetis, non posse damnari; quae autem contra canonem et contra fidem catholicam sentiunt uel loquuntur, cum omnibus doctoribus discipulisque damnanda, quia scribtum est: omnis spiritus qui confitetur Christum de deo est, qui autem non confitetur de deo non est, et alibi: nemo loquens in spiritu sancto dicit anathema Iesu et nemo nisi in spiritu sancto loquitur dominum Iesum. Nec enim nos damnari debemus qui catholici sumus, si scibturas de deo loquentes secundum se haeretici falsauerunt; ### English translation (Claude) but rather that, handing over a pamphlet, we might set out the order of events and, what is greater than all, the catholic faith in which we live. For if our opinion is also sought about certain writings which Hydatius, bringing them out of his own cupboard, has sent forth into slanderous tales, this is and always has been our conviction: that everything in writings put forward under the authority of any apostle, prophet, or bishop, which prophesies or preaches Christ, God, the Son of God, and agrees with the canon, the gospels, or the prophets, cannot be condemned; but whatever thinks or speaks against the canon and against the catholic faith is to be condemned together with all its teachers and disciples, for it is written: "Every spirit that confesses Christ is from God, but whoever does not confess is not from God"; and elsewhere: "No one speaking in the Holy Spirit says 'Jesus is anathema,' and no one except in the Holy Spirit says 'Lord Jesus.'" For we who are catholics ought not to be condemned if heretics have falsified for their own purposes writings that speak of God; ### Scripture references - 1 John 4:2: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 4:3: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 12:3: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The "writings" are apocryphal books that Priscillian's opponents used against him. 1 John 4:2–3; 1 Cor 12:3. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.52 (CSEL 18:41–42; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-52). ## Eleven Tractates 2.53 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-53 - Source: CSEL 18:42 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Hydatius himself said at Saragossa only that superfluous writings should not be read; Priscillian asks Damasus for a hearing. ### Latin text de quibus et ipse Hydatius, qui se minus purgans infamari per haec mauult quos metuit audiri, in concilio Caesaraugustano sic ait: damnanda damnentur, superflua non legantur. In quo corona tua perspicit moris illius esse, non nostri criminis, si quorum una sententia est fides dicatur esse diuersa. Propter quod uenerabiles sensus tuos petimus, ut, si fides professionis nostrae, secundum quod tu relictam tibi de apostolis tradis, in deo constat, si eclesiarum nostrarum testimonia pacificis epistulis scribta non desunt, si de scribturis aliud nec sentire possumus nec debemus, si nemo nostrum reus factus, nemo auditus, nemo in concilio depositus, nemo etiam cum esset laicus, obiecti criminis probatione damnatus est, licet noxio sacerdotium nihil prosit et possit sacerdos deponi qui laicus meruit ante damnari, praestes audientiam, depraecamur, quia omnibus senior et primus es; ### English translation (Claude) about which Hydatius himself, who, clearing himself too little, prefers to defame through these things those he fears to have heard, said at the council of Saragossa: "Let what is to be condemned be condemned; let what is superfluous not be read." In this your crown perceives that it is his habit, not our crime, if the faith of those who hold one judgment is said to be different. For this reason we ask your venerable mind that, if the faith of our profession, according to what you hand on as left to you by the apostles, stands firm in God; if the testimonies of our churches written in letters of peace are not lacking; if we neither can nor should hold any other view about the writings; if none of us was made a defendant, none heard, none deposed in council, none—even while still a layman—condemned by proof of a charge laid against him (though the priesthood profits a guilty man nothing, and a bishop can be deposed who deserved to be condemned before, as a layman): grant us a hearing, we beg, since you are senior to all and first; ### Translation notes - The ruling quoted from Saragossa is not among its surviving canons. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.53 (CSEL 18:42; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-53). ## Eleven Tractates 2.54 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-54 - Source: CSEL 18:42–43 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Priscillian asks Damasus either to summon Hydatius or to write to the Spanish bishops for a council at which the accused are heard. ### Latin text Hydatium facias conueniri ac si confidet aliquid probare de nobis, coronam aeterni sacerdotii non omittat, si zelum domini usque ad finem fuerit persecutus. Uel si insitae tibi benignitatis adfectu nulli uis iniuriam quam ille nobis inposuit inrogare, des ad fratres tuos Hispanienses episcopos litteras depraecamur. Omnes enim petimus, ne cui iniuriam fecerimus, ut concilio constituto et Hydatio euocato quos reos factos inpraesentes legerint non audiant inauditos. Tamen nemo condemnet ita, ut omnia Hydatius quae epistulis missis intulit probet, et solam probandae accusationis neccessitatem habeat; timorem reatus omittat, quoniam illum de nobis nullus accusat; nam et peccatum in nos facile ignoscimus, si probamur, quoniam nouimus et ex nobis discimus, quid deceat sacerdotes, tantum ut probata fide et uita nostra scribto quod contra Manichaeos datum est, ### English translation (Claude) have Hydatius summoned, and if he is confident of proving anything about us, let him not lose the crown of the eternal priesthood, if he has pursued the zeal of the Lord to the end. Or if, by the affection of your innate kindness, you wish to inflict on no one the injury he has inflicted on us, give letters, we beg, to your brothers the Spanish bishops. For we all ask—so that we may do injury to no one—that, a council having been convened and Hydatius summoned, they not hear unheard those whom they read have been made defendants in their absence. Yet let no one condemn in such a way that Hydatius need prove all that he alleged in the letters he sent, and let him have only the necessity of proving the accusation; let him put aside fear of being found guilty, since no one accuses him concerning us; for we readily forgive a sin against us, if we are proved right, since we know and learn from ourselves what befits bishops—only that, our faith and life being proved, with the rescript that was issued against the Manichaeans, ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.54 (CSEL 18:42–43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-54). ## Eleven Tractates 2.55 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/2-41/#p-2-55 - Source: CSEL 18:43–44 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They ask that churches not be deprived of their bishops under a rescript meant for the guilty. ### Latin text dato testimonio sacerdotum qui interfuerint concilio, repugnemus, ne sub nomine noxiorum in diebus uestris, quod nefas scitis, aut eclesiae catholicis uiduentur sacerdotibus aut eclesiis sacerdotes. ### English translation (Claude) and with the testimony of the bishops who attended the council, we may resist, lest in your days—which you know to be wicked—under the name of the guilty either churches be widowed of catholic bishops or bishops of their churches. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 2.55 (CSEL 18:43–44; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/2-55). ## Eleven Tractates 3.56 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-56 - Source: CSEL 18:44–45 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The apostles read books outside the canon: Jude quotes the prophecy of Enoch. ### Latin text ....... damnet, quoniam nouitas ingenii contentionis est mater, eruditio scandali auctor, schismatis alimentum, heresis nutrimentum, delicti forma peccati. Omne enim quod aut a deo aut ab apostolis dictum uidetur aut factum uel ut fieret adprobatum, hoc est de quo scribtum est: est est, non non; quod autem ex nouo ingeniis et calumniis repperitur, hinc testimonium diuinae uirtutis ostenditur dicentis: quod superabundat ex malo est. Uideamus ergo, si apostoli Christi Iesu magistri nostrae conuersationis et uitae extra canonem nil legerunt. I Ait Iuda apostolus clamans ille didymus domini, ille qui deum Christum post passionis insignia cum putatur temptasse plus credidit, ille qui uinculorum pressa uestigia et diuinae crucis laudes et uidit et tetigit: prophetauit de his, inquid, septimus ab Adam Enoc dicens ecce uenit dominus in sanctis milibus facere iudicium et arguere omnem et de omnibus duris quae locuti sunt contra eum peccatores. Quis est hic Enoc quem in testimonium profetiae apostolus Iudas adsumpsit? An qui profetasset de deo, alium non habebat nisi profetiam huius poneret, quam, si uera dicuntur, canonica ipse ordinatione damnasset? ### English translation (Claude) … condemn, since novelty of mind is the mother of contention, the teacher of offence, the food of schism, the nourishment of heresy, the shape of the sin of transgression. For everything that appears to have been said or done by God or by the apostles, or approved to be done, is that of which it is written: "Yes, yes; no, no"; but whatever is devised anew from cleverness and slander—on this the testimony of the divine power is shown, which says: "Whatever is more than this comes from evil." Let us see, then, whether the apostles of Christ Jesus, the teachers of our way of life, read nothing outside the canon. The apostle Judas cries out—that twin of the Lord, the one who, when he is thought to have tested Christ, God, after the marks of the passion, believed the more, the one who both saw and touched the pressed traces of the bonds and the glories of the divine cross: "Enoch, the seventh from Adam," he says, "prophesied of these, saying: Behold, the Lord comes with his holy thousands to execute judgment and to convict everyone concerning all the harsh things that sinners have spoken against him." Who is this Enoch whom the apostle Judas took up in testimony of prophecy? Did he, wishing to prophesy of God, have no other to cite than the prophecy of this man—whom, if what is said is true, he would himself have condemned by the ordering of the canon? ### Scripture references - Matt 5:37: quotation, high confidence - Jude 1:14: quotation, high confidence - Jude 1:15: quotation, high confidence - John 20:27: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - 1 En. 1.9 (1 Enoch): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The beginning of this tractate is lost. Matt 5:37; Jude 14–15 (quoting 1 En. 1:9). Priscillian identifies Jude ("Judas") with Judas Thomas, "the twin" (Didymus), who touched the risen Christ's wounds (John 20:24–29); this identification is his own. His argument for reading non-canonical books is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.56 (CSEL 18:44–45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-56). ## Eleven Tractates 3.57 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-57 - Source: CSEL 18:45 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Enoch is attested as a prophet by Hebrews; condemning a prophet whom the apostles accept for the sake of quarrels is not peace but rashness. ### Latin text Aut fortassis Enoc profeta esse non meruit quem Paulus in epistula ad Hebreos facta ante translationem testimonium habuisse testatur aut quem in principio generis, cum adhuc mundi forma et natura rudis saeculi, peccatum decepti hominis retinens, futuram conuersionem ad deum post peccata non crederet, transferre inter suos deus maluit quam perire? De quo si non ambigitur et apostolis creditur quod profeta est, qualiter consultatio potius quam tumultus, consilium quam temeritas, fides quam perfidia dicitur, ubi, dum in ultionem simultatum sententia tenditur, praedicans deum propheta damnatur? Aut numquid de triuialibus rebus agimus aut tali et tesserae inter manus nostras sunt aut scaenae ludibria tractamus, ut, dum homines huius saeculi sequimur, apostolorum dicta damnemus? Aut quae constituendae pacis est gratia, hominibus quae uoluerint credere et dicta apostolica non tenere? Sed fortassis aliquis in haec ingenia se iactet, ut, quamuis etiam unum testimonium ad confirmandam sanctorum fidem in deo ualeat, ### English translation (Claude) Or perhaps Enoch did not deserve to be a prophet—he whom Paul, in the letter to the Hebrews, testifies had received the testimony before his translation, or whom, at the beginning of the race, when the form of the world and the nature of the age were still rough, holding the sin of deceived man, and when man would not believe in a future conversion to God after sins, God preferred to translate among his own rather than let perish? If there is no doubt about him, and the apostles are believed that he is a prophet, how can it be called consultation rather than uproar, counsel rather than rashness, faith rather than faithlessness, when, while a sentence is aimed at the avenging of grudges, a prophet who preaches God is condemned? Or are we dealing with trivial matters, or have we dice and knucklebones in our hands, or are we handling the farces of the stage, that, while we follow men of this world, we condemn the sayings of the apostles? Or what grace of establishing peace is it to believe what men like and not to hold to the apostles' words? But perhaps someone may boast of his cleverness in these matters, so that, although even one testimony is enough to confirm the saints' faith in God, ### Scripture references - Heb 11:5: allusion, high confidence - Gen 5:24: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Heb 11:5; Gen 5:24. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.57 (CSEL 18:45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-57). ## Eleven Tractates 3.58 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-58 - Source: CSEL 18:45–46 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Tobit calls Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob prophets, though no prophetic books of theirs stand in the canon. ### Latin text tamen dicat uni rei non esse credendum, sed in duobus et tribus testibus totius uerbi constare rationem. Conuertat itaque sese quilibet qui huiusmodi est, et utrum uera dicamus diligens scripturarum scrutator inquirat. Quid est quod Tobi sanctus futurae uitae ad filium praecepta disponens, cum quid custodiret ediceret, ait: nos fili prophetarum sumus; Noe profeta fuit et Abraham et Isac et Iacob et omnes patres nostri qui ab initio saeculi profetauerunt. Quando in canone profetae Noe liber lectus est? quis inter profetas dispositi canonis Abrahae librum legit? quis quod aliquando Isac profetasset edocuit? quis profetiam Iacob quod in canone poneretur audiuit? Quos si Tobia legit et testimonium prophetiae in canone promeruit, qualiter, quod illi ad testimonium emeritae uirtutis datur, alteris ad occasionem iustae damnationis adscribitur? Inter quae ignoscant singuli quique, si damnari cum prophetis dei malumus, quam cum his qui incauta praesumunt ea quae sunt religiosa damnemus. Quis enim accusatore Noe diuini iudicii disceptatione non timeat? De quo apostolus ait: ### English translation (Claude) he may still say that one should not believe a single witness, but that the account of every word stands on two or three witnesses. Let whoever is of this kind turn round, then, and let him, as a diligent searcher of the Scriptures, inquire whether we speak the truth. What does it mean that holy Tobit, setting out precepts of the life to come for his son, when he declared what he should keep, said: "We are sons of the prophets: Noah was a prophet, and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all our fathers who prophesied from the beginning of the world"? When was a book of the prophet Noah read in the canon? Who has read a book of Abraham among the prophets of the established canon? Who has taught that Isaac once prophesied? Who has heard of a prophecy of Jacob placed in the canon? If Tobit read them and earned the testimony of prophecy in the canon, how is it that what is given to him as a testimony of proven virtue is ascribed to others as an occasion for just condemnation? Amid these things, let each one forgive us if we prefer to be condemned with the prophets of God rather than, with those who rashly presume, to condemn things that are religious. For who would not fear, with Noah as his accuser, the trial of the divine judgment? Of him the apostle says: ### Scripture references - Deut 19:15: allusion, high confidence - Matt 18:16: allusion, medium confidence - John 5:39: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Tob 4:12 (Tobit): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Deut 19:15 with Matt 18:16; John 5:39; Tob 4:12. Priscillian counts Tobit among the canonical books, as many in the Latin West did. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.58 (CSEL 18:45–46; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-58). ## Eleven Tractates 3.59 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-59 - Source: CSEL 18:46–47 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The patriarchs are honoured in Scripture; in non-canonical books, heretical insertions should be removed like tares, not the whole book rejected. ### Latin text Noe iustum iustitiae praeconem custodiuit cataclismum mundo super impios inducens. Quis Abrahae profetae sinum ad quietis testimonium non requirat? quis reputari in Isac semen nolit? quis Iacob dictum a deo Faraonis deum non amet? aut quis non memorias sanctorum respuens intremescat, cum scribtum sit: amen dico uobis quod qui scandalizauerit minimum ex his qui crediderunt in nomine meo bonum est illi ligari molam asinariam et in profundum maris mitti. Quod si de minimis dicitur, uolo scire, quid de his qui ad fidem primi sunt pronuntiatur. In quibus tamen omnibus libris non est metus, si qua ab infelicibus hereticis sunt inserta, delere et (quae) profetis uel euangeliis non inueniuntur consentire respuere. Nec enim illi ipsi deo sancti mendacium in ueris et sacrilega amplectuntur uel detestabilia pro sanctis, meliusque est zezania de frugibus tollere quam spem boni fructus propter zizania perdidisse, quod propterea cum suis inter sancta zabulus inseruit, ut, nisi sub cauto messore, cum zezaniis frux periret et bona faceret occidere cum pessimis, ### English translation (Claude) "He preserved Noah, a righteous man, a herald of righteousness, bringing a flood upon the world of the ungodly." Who would not seek the bosom of the prophet Abraham as a testimony of rest? Who would not want to be reckoned in the seed of Isaac? Who would not love Jacob, called by God the god of Pharaoh? Or who, rejecting the memory of the saints, would not tremble, since it is written: "Truly I say to you, whoever offends one of the least of these who have believed in my name, it is better for him that a millstone be tied to him and that he be thrown into the depth of the sea"? If this is said of the least, I want to know what is pronounced about those who are first in the faith. Yet in all these books there is no fear in deleting whatever may have been inserted by wretched heretics, and in rejecting whatever is not found to agree with the prophets or the gospels. For the saints themselves do not embrace, for God, falsehood among truths, or sacrilegious and detestable things in place of holy ones; and it is better to take the tares out of the grain than to have lost the hope of good fruit because of the tares—which the devil sowed among holy things for this very reason, so that, unless under a careful reaper, the grain would perish with the tares, and he would make good things die with the worst, ### Scripture references - 2 Pet 2:5: quotation, high confidence - Luke 16:22: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 9:7: allusion, medium confidence - Exod 7:1: allusion, low confidence - Matt 18:6: quotation, high confidence - Matt 13:30: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - 2 Pet 2:5; Luke 16:22; Rom 9:7; Exod 7:1 (where it is Moses who is made "god to Pharaoh"; Priscillian's "Jacob" may be a slip); Matt 18:6; Matt 13:24–30. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.59 (CSEL 18:46–47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-59). ## Eleven Tractates 3.60 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-60 - Source: CSEL 18:47 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Jesus' words about the blood of all the prophets, and Elijah's complaint, presuppose histories of martyred prophets that the canon does not record. ### Latin text una sententia adstringens eum qui pessima cum bonis iungit quam qui bona cum malis perdit. Denique in euangelio cata Lucanum dicente euangelista testatur deus dicens: inquiretur sanguis omnium profetarum qui effusus est a constitutione mundi, a sanguine Abel usque ad sanguinem Zacchariae qui occisus est inter altare et aedem; et Helias in regnorum ait: altaria tua suffoderunt, profetas tuos occiderunt et ego relictus sum solus et quaerunt animam meam. Quis est iste Abel profeta, ex quo sanguis profetarum sumpsit exordium, cuius principium in Zacchariam finit? Qui sunt illi medii qui uidentur occisi? Si enim omne quod dicitur in libris canonis quaeritur et plus legisse peccare est, nullum ab his qui in canone constituti sunt profetam legimus occisum, ac si extra auctoritatem canonis nihil uel adsumendum est uel tenendum, non possumus tantum fabulis credere et non historiam scripti factorum probatione retinere. Fortasse enim aliquis exsiliat et dicat Eseiam fuisse dissectum; si quis ille est inter huiusmodi qui ista ### English translation (Claude) binding with one sentence both him who joins the worst with the good and him who destroys the good with the bad. Indeed, in the gospel according to Luke, the evangelist speaking, God testifies, saying: "The blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world will be required, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary"; and Elijah says in Kingdoms: "They have dug down your altars, they have killed your prophets, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." Who is this prophet Abel, with whom the blood of the prophets began, and whose beginning ends in Zechariah? Who are those in between who appear to have been killed? For if everything that is said is sought in the books of the canon, and to have read more is a sin, we read of no prophet killed among those set in the canon; and if nothing outside the authority of the canon is either to be taken up or held, we cannot believe mere tales and not keep the history of what was written by the proof of the deeds. For perhaps someone will jump up and say that Isaiah was sawn in two; if anyone among those of this kind who ### Scripture references - Luke 11:50: quotation, high confidence - Luke 11:51: quotation, high confidence - 1 Kgs 19:10: quotation, high confidence - Rom 11:3: quotation, high confidence - Heb 11:37: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Ascen. Isa. 5.1-14 (Ascension of Isaiah): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Luke 11:50–51; 1 Kgs 19:10 (LXX 3 Kgdms; Rom 11:3). Isaiah's being sawn in two is told in the Ascension of Isaiah (5.1–14) and alluded to in Heb 11:37. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.60 (CSEL 18:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-60). ## Eleven Tractates 3.61 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-61 - Source: CSEL 18:47–48 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Matthew's 'out of Egypt I called my son' is cited from a prophet that Priscillian does not find in the canon. ### Latin text damnauerint, os suum claudat aut certe historiam factae rei proferens picturis se dicat credere uel poetis, quoniam iam facilius admittunt quod philosoforum studia mentiuntur, certe ut huiusmodi rei testimonium et occisorum profetarum a constitutione mundi sanguis requiratur. Quae si euangelista legens recte ad testimonium protulit dicens: scrutate scribturas, etiam me ut ea legerem quae legerat traxit. Non possum autem dicere quod loqui cogor, ut mihi apostolum sequi non eruditio fidei fuerit, sed muscipula decepti. I Nam et rursus in euangelio cata Mattheum tenetur scribtum: surgens autem Ioseph accepit puerum et matrem eius noctu et abiit in Aegyptum et erat ibi usque ad consummationem Herodis, ut adinpleretur quod dictum est a domino per profetam dicentem: ex Aegypto uocaui filium meum. Quis est iste profeta, quem in canonem non legimus, cuius profetiae fidem uelut fideiiussor promissi muneris dominus inpleuit? Certe non modica indulti operis magnitudo est passurum deum credere et testimoniis prophetiae tamquam ### English translation (Claude) condemn these things is of that kind, let him shut his mouth, or certainly, producing the history of the event, let him say that he believes paintings or poets—since they now more easily admit what the studies of the philosophers falsely tell—so that at least for testimony of such a thing the blood of the prophets killed since the foundation of the world may be required. If the evangelist, reading these things, rightly brought them forward as testimony, saying: "Search the Scriptures," he has drawn me too to read what he had read. Nor can I say what I would be forced to say, that following the apostle was for me not the instruction of faith but the trap of someone deceived. For again in the gospel according to Matthew it is written: "Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and went away into Egypt, and he was there until the death of Herod, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying: Out of Egypt I called my son." Who is this prophet, whom we do not read in the canon, the faith of whose prophecy the Lord fulfilled as guarantor of a promised gift? Certainly it is no small greatness of the work granted, to believe that God would suffer, and by the testimonies of prophecy, as it were, ### Scripture references - John 5:39: quotation, high confidence - Matt 2:14: quotation, high confidence - Matt 2:15: quotation, high confidence - Hos 11:1: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - John 5:39; Matt 2:14–15. The quotation is from Hos 11:1, but Priscillian treats its source as a prophet outside the canon; his argument is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.61 (CSEL 18:47–48; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-61). ## Eleven Tractates 3.62 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-62 - Source: CSEL 18:48–49 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A book whose testimony fulfils the canon cannot be condemned; heresy arises from disputing the creed instead of believing it. ### Latin text (uiam) diuini itineris praeparare, de qua deuertere deus nollet, ut locutum se in eo qui profetauerat conprobaret; certe damnari liber non potest cuius testimonium canonicae elocutionis fidem conplet, nec potest tamquam inter aepularum mortalium uoluntates aliud eligi et aliud repudiari, nec de sofisticis quaestio est, ubi quod quis adsumpserit sequitur et, dum dialecticum ingeniorum opus uolunt, sectas de persuasione fecerunt. Scribtura dei res solida, res uera est nec ab homine electa, sed homini de deo tradita, cuius si dilibatio sancta est et massa sancta est. I Inde denique heresis, dum singuli quique ingenio suo potius quam deo seruiunt et non sequi symbolum, sed de symbolo disputare disponunt, cum, si fidem nossent, extra symbolum nil tenerent. Symbolum enim signatura rei uerae est et designare symbolum est disputare de symbolo malle quam credere; symbolum opus domini est in nomine patris et fili et spiritus sancti, fides unius dei, ex quo Christus deus dei filius saluator natus in carne passus resurrexit propter hominis amorem; qui apostolis suis symbolum tradens, quod fuit est et futurum erat, in se et in symbolo suo monstrans nomen patris filium itemque fili patrem, ### English translation (Claude) to prepare the (road) of the divine journey, from which God would not turn aside, so as to prove that he had spoken in him who had prophesied. Certainly a book cannot be condemned whose testimony fulfils the faith of a canonical statement; nor, as among the choices of mortal banquets, can one thing be chosen and another rejected; nor is the question about sophistries, where each follows what he has taken up and, while they want a dialectical work of cleverness, they have made sects out of persuasion. The Scripture of God is a solid thing, a true thing, not chosen by man but handed down to man from God; if its firstfruits are holy, the lump also is holy. From this, in short, comes heresy, when each one serves his own cleverness rather than God and arranges not to follow the creed but to dispute about the creed, whereas, if they knew the faith, they would hold nothing outside the creed. For the creed is the seal of the true thing, and to deface the creed is to prefer to dispute about the creed rather than to believe it. The creed is the work of the Lord in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the faith of one God, from whom Christ, God, the Son of God, the Saviour, born in the flesh, suffered and rose again for love of man; who, handing the creed to his apostles—what was, is, and was to come—showing in himself and in his creed the name of the Father, the Son, and likewise of the Son, the Father, ### Scripture references - Rom 11:16: quotation, high confidence - Rev 1:8: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 11:16; Rev 1:8. "(uiam)" is the editor's supplement. "designare" is read as "deface" (the sense of the passage requires something like this). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.62 (CSEL 18:48–49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-62). ## Eleven Tractates 3.63 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-63 - Source: CSEL 18:49 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ is one, not divided; Paul and Daniel both quote words of God not found elsewhere in the canon. ### Latin text ne Binionitarum error ualeret, edocuit; nam qui requirentibus apostolis omne id quod nominabatur se esse monstrauit, unum se credi uoluit non diuisum, dicente profeta: hic est deus noster nec reputabitur alius absque eum qui ostendit uiam disciplinae et dedit eam Iacob puero suo et Istrahel dilecto suo; posthaec in terris uisus est et cum hominibus conuersatus est, dominus deus nomen eius. Sed ne amore fidei ducti ad alia nos quam proposueramus conuertisse dicamur, licet ex abun contra diuersas hereses uincendi locus pateat, tamen de hoc specialiter susceptum opus uolumus, ut infidele mendacium testimoniorum nube uincamus. Nunc uero ad illa redeundum est, ut, si probabiles in eo in quo repraehendimur inuenimur, recte etiam de reliquis disputasse uideamur. Sic namque et Paulus dixisse deum ait: beatius est dare magis quam accipere, et hoc locutum deum in canone non legimus. Et Daniel deum locutum fuisse testatur dicens: quoniam exiet iniquitas de Babylone ex presbyteris qui uidebantur regere plebem. ### English translation (Claude) taught it, so that the error of the Binionites might not prevail; for he who, when the apostles asked, showed that he was all that was named, wished himself to be believed as one, not divided, as the prophet says: "This is our God, and no other will be reckoned beside him, who showed the way of discipline and gave it to Jacob his servant and to Israel his beloved; afterward he was seen on earth and lived among men; the Lord God is his name." But lest we be said to have turned, led by love of the faith, to other things than we had proposed—although from this abundance there lies open a place for conquering various heresies—we wish the work undertaken to be specifically about this: that we may conquer faithless falsehood with a cloud of testimonies. Now we must return to those points, so that, if we are found acceptable in that for which we are blamed, we may be seen to have argued rightly about the rest too. For thus Paul too says that God said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive," and we do not read in the canon that God said this. And Daniel testifies that God had spoken, saying: "For iniquity will come out of Babylon from the elders who seemed to govern the people." ### Scripture references - John 14:9: allusion, medium confidence - Amos 4:13: allusion, low confidence - Heb 12:1: echo, low confidence - Acts 20:35: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Bar 3:36-38 (Baruch): quotation, high confidence - Sus 5 (Susanna): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - John 14:8–9; Bar 3:36–38 (with Amos 4:13 "the Lord God is his name"); Heb 12:1 ("cloud of witnesses"); Acts 20:35; Sus 5 (Daniel 13:5 in the Greek and Latin Bible). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.63 (CSEL 18:49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-63). ## Eleven Tractates 3.64 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-64 - Source: CSEL 18:49–50 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Canonical writers cite prophecies not found in the canon, such as Ezekiel's reference to earlier prophets about Gog. ### Latin text Et cum ista facta dicta uel scribta et in euangelistae uerbis et apostoli eloquio et diuinis sermonibus crederemus, ecce nunc tempus adlatum est, ubi, dum disceptatio superfluarum rerum quaeritur, stupor fidelibus inseratur. Non enim possumus dicere deum non dixisse quod eum dixisse apostolus dixit aut non prophetatum fuisse quod scribtura profetam dixisse testatur. Et cum haec recte ad fidem credimus, scribta haec in canonem non uidemus et ideo, si extra canonem tota damnanda sunt aut qualiter uel damnatorum testimonium recipitur, uel in his quae scribta sunt scribentis auctoritas non tenetur. Sic denique et Ezechiel profeta ait: haec dicit dominus ad Gog tu es de quo locutus sum in diebus antiquis per manus seruorum meorum profetarum. Credo quod dixit nec tam perfidus mihi sum, ut aut profetam finxisse quod dixerit deus aut deum mentitum fuisse confirmem; qui sit tamen ille profeta, per quem hoc deus locutus sit, in canone non uideo et, cum dictorum habeamus fidem, scribti in canone non inuenimus auctorem. ### English translation (Claude) And whereas we believed these things that were done, said, or written, in the words of the evangelist and in the speech of the apostle and in the divine words, behold, now a time has come when, while a dispute about superfluous things is sought, bewilderment is put into the faithful. For we cannot say that God did not say what the apostle said he said, or that what Scripture testifies a prophet said was not prophesied. And while we rightly believe these things for faith, we do not see them written in the canon; and therefore, if everything outside the canon must be condemned, how is either the testimony of condemned writings received, or, in what is written, is the writer's authority not kept? So too the prophet Ezekiel says: "Thus says the Lord to Gog: You are he of whom I spoke in ancient days by the hands of my servants the prophets." I believe that he said it, and I am not so faithless as to affirm either that the prophet invented what God said or that God lied; yet who that prophet is through whom God said this, I do not see in the canon; and while we have faith in the sayings, we do not find their writer in the canon. ### Scripture references - Ezek 38:17: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ezek 38:17. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.64 (CSEL 18:49–50; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-64). ## Eleven Tractates 3.65 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-65 - Source: CSEL 18:50–51 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Chronicles cites the books of many prophets—Nathan, Ahijah, Iddo, Jehu—that are not in the canon. ### Latin text Sic et in libris Paralipomenon Natham profetam, Achiam Selonitam, uisiones Laedam, uerba Zeu fili Anani ad fidem ueri et eorum quae gesserunt auctoritatem inuenimus edicta, dicente scriptura: et reliqui sermones Iosafat primi et nouissimi ecce scribti sunt in sermonibus Zeu fili Anani qui perscribsit in libro reges Istrahel, et haec scripta in libris canonis non legimus, sed recepta a canone conprobamus; sicut et ibi ait: et reliqui sermones Solomonis primi et nouissimi ecce scribti sunt in uerbis Nathae profetae et in uerbis I Achiae Selonitae et in uisionibus Laedam, quae uidebat de Heiorobeam filio Nabat; et item ibi: et reliqui sermones Roboam primi et nouissimi nonne scripti sunt in uerbis Sameae profetae et Edom uidentis et omnes actus eius? et item ibi: et reliqui sermones Abdiae et actus eius et uerba eius scribta sunt in libro Edom profetae; et item ibi: et reliqui sermones Amessiae primi et nouissimi nonne ecce scripti sunt in libro dierum regum Iudae et Istrahel? item ibi: nonne haec scripta sunt in libro dierum regum Iuda? item ibi: et reliqui sermones ### English translation (Claude) So too in the books of Chronicles we find Nathan the prophet, Ahijah the Shilonite, the visions of Iddo, the words of Jehu son of Hanani, declared as warrant for the truth and for the authority of what they did, Scripture saying: "And the rest of the words of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the words of Jehu son of Hanani, who wrote them in the book of the kings of Israel"; and we do not read these things written in the books of the canon, but we confirm that they are received by the canon. As it says there too: "And the rest of the words of Solomon, first and last, behold, they are written in the words of Nathan the prophet and in the words of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo, which he saw concerning Jeroboam son of Nebat"; and likewise there: "And the rest of the words of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the words of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, and all his acts?"; and likewise there: "And the rest of the words of Abijah, and his acts and his words, are written in the book of the prophet Iddo"; and likewise there: "And the rest of the words of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the days of the kings of Judah and Israel?"; likewise there: "Are these not written in the book of the days of the kings of Judah?"; likewise there: "And the rest of the words ### Scripture references - 2 Chr 20:34: quotation, high confidence - 2 Chr 9:29: quotation, high confidence - 2 Chr 12:15: quotation, high confidence - 2 Chr 13:22: quotation, high confidence - 2 Chr 25:26: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 2 Chr 20:34; 2 Chr 9:29; 2 Chr 12:15; 2 Chr 13:22; 2 Chr 25:26; 2 Chr 16:11 or similar. The Latin gives the names in forms such as "Laedam" (Iddo), "Zeu" (Jehu), "Edom" (Iddo). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.65 (CSEL 18:50–51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-65). ## Eleven Tractates 3.66 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-66 - Source: CSEL 18:51 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Faced with opponents who demand that unread books be condemned, Priscillian follows Christ's command to search the Scriptures, keeping the better and rejecting the worse. ### Latin text Manasse et oratio eius quam orauit ad dominum in nomine dei Istrahel ecce scribta sunt in sermonibus orationis eius et in sermonibus uidentium. Quis ergo huiusmodi fluctuus patienter accipiat? Hinc una ex parte indocta urget insania, furor exigit inperitus nihil dicens aliut nisi sint catholica necne quae dicis; damna quae ego nescio, damna quod ego non lego, damna quod studio pigriscentis otii non requiro. Hinc ex parte altera diuinum urget eloquium: scrutate, inquid, scripturas, illud peculiariter monens, ut quorum sanguis ad testimonium uin quaeritur eorum eloquia non negentur. Inter quae positi necessario confidentiam iam uolumus esse quod dicebamus antea esse cautelam. Habeo testimonium dei, habeo apostolorum, habeo profetarum: si quaero quod Christiani hominis est, si quod eclesiasticae dispositionis, si quod dei Christi est, in his inuenio qui deum praedicant, in his inuenio qui profetant. Non est timor, fides est, quod diligimus meliora et deteriora respuimus, unum inter ista seruantes, ut, quoniam in huiusmodi libris, ### English translation (Claude) of Manasseh and his prayer which he prayed to the Lord in the name of the God of Israel, behold, they are written in the words of his prayer and in the words of the seers." Who, then, would patiently accept such waves? On one side unlearned madness presses, ignorant fury demands, saying nothing but: "Are the things you say catholic or not? Condemn what I do not know; condemn what I do not read; condemn what, from zeal for lazy idleness, I do not look into." On the other side the divine word presses: "Search the Scriptures," it says, warning in particular that the words of those whose blood is required in testimony should not be denied. Placed between these, we now necessarily wish to be confidence what we earlier called caution. I have the testimony of God, I have that of the apostles, I have that of the prophets: if I seek what belongs to a Christian man, what belongs to the order of the church, what belongs to Christ, God, I find it in those who preach God, I find it in those who prophesy. It is not fear but faith that we love the better and reject the worse, keeping this one thing among them: that since in books of this kind, ### Scripture references - 2 Chr 33:18: quotation, high confidence - 2 Chr 33:19: quotation, high confidence - John 5:39: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 2 Chr 33:18–19; John 5:39; Luke 11:50. "uin" in the text is a stray fragment and is not translated. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.66 (CSEL 18:51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-66). ## Eleven Tractates 3.67 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-67 - Source: CSEL 18:51–52 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Heretics have falsified some non-canonical books, so they must be tested by the confession of Christ; Ezra, preserved by God, rewrote the burned Scriptures. ### Latin text quos extra canonicorum librorum numerum ad legendi laborem diligentia retentabat adque ad conprobanda ea quae scripta in canone legimus adsumpti sunt, hereticorum in pleraque sensus inuadens pugnam catholicis parans falsare maluit quam tenere, illam apostolicam feramus iure sententiam omnem spiritum qui negat Iesum de deo non esse et omnem spiritum qui confitetur Christum Iesum de deo esse, sicut scribtum est: nemo enim dicit in spiritu sancto anathema Iesu et nemo nisi in spiritu sancto loquitur dominum Iesum. Denique in antiquis librorum monumentis cum testamentum scribturarum diabolus inuideret, Hierusalem capta polluto altario domini distrui templum satis non fuit; nam quia facile erat, ut quae manufacta erant in manufactis homo redderet, arca incensa est testamenti, sciente diabolo quod facile natura hominum obligata saeculo fidem perderet, si ad praedicationem diuini nominis scribturarum testimonia non haberet. Sed argutior diuini mysterii natura quam diabuli, quae, ut quid deus in homine posset ostenderet, reseruari Hesdram uoluit qui illa quae fuerant incensa rescribsit. Quae si uere incensa et uere credimus fuisse rescribta, quamuis incensum testamentum legatur in canone, ### English translation (Claude) which diligence retained, beyond the number of the canonical books, for the labour of reading, and which were taken up to confirm what we read written in the canon, the mind of heretics, invading many of them and preparing battle for the catholics, preferred to falsify rather than keep them, let us rightly bear that apostolic judgment: that every spirit that denies Jesus is not from God, and every spirit that confesses Christ Jesus is from God, as it is written: "For no one says in the Holy Spirit 'Jesus is anathema,' and no one except in the Holy Spirit says 'Lord Jesus.'" Indeed, in the ancient records of books, when the devil envied the testament of the Scriptures, it was not enough for him that, Jerusalem being captured and the altar of the Lord polluted, the temple was destroyed; for because it was easy for man to restore with handmade things what had been made by hand, the ark of the testament was burned, the devil knowing that human nature, bound to the world, would easily lose faith if it did not have the testimonies of the Scriptures for proclaiming the divine name. But the nature of the divine mystery is shrewder than the devil's: to show what God could do in a man, it willed that Ezra be preserved, who rewrote what had been burned. If we believe that they were truly burned and truly rewritten—although the burning of the testament is read in the canon, ### Scripture references - 1 John 4:2: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 4:3: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 12:3: quotation, high confidence - 2 Kgs 25:9: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - 2 Esd 14:21-48 (2 Esdras): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 John 4:2–3; 1 Cor 12:3; 2 Kgs 25:9; Ezra's rewriting of the burned law is told in 2 Esd 14:21–48 (4 Ezra). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.67 (CSEL 18:51–52; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-67). ## Eleven Tractates 3.68 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-68 - Source: CSEL 18:52–53 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The book telling of Ezra's rewriting of the Scriptures is not canonical, yet must be trusted, since the canon could not otherwise have been restored. ### Latin text rescriptum ab Hesdra in canone non legitur, tamen, quia post incensum testamentum reddi non potuit nisi fuisset scribtum, recte illi libro fidem damus, qui Hesdra auctore prolatus, etsi in canone non ponitur, ad elogium redditi diuini testamenti digna rerum ueneratione retinetur; in quo tamen legimus scriptum spiritum sanctum ab initio saeculi et hominum et rerum gesta retinentem cor electi hominis intrasse et, quod uix ad humanam memoriam scribti forma retineret, ordine numero ratione repetita, cum per diem loquens et nocte non tacens scriberet, omnia quae gesta uidentur esse uel legimus scribta ad humanam memoriam condidisse. In quo libet exclamare: est! liceat! qualiter, rogo, pauca ex his legentes culpabiles sumus, cum magis ob hoc rei sumus, quod omnia quae de deo sunt profetata non legimus? Non dubito autem quemquam ex his qui calumnias potius quam fidem diligunt esse dicturum: ultra nihil quaeras! sufficit te legere quod in canone scribtum est. Cuius quidem uerbis facile ingenio humanae naturae quae otium potius quam laborem requirit adsurgerem, ### English translation (Claude) its rewriting by Ezra is not read in the canon—yet because, after the testament had been burned, it could not have been restored unless this had been written, we rightly give faith to that book which, brought forth with Ezra as its author, even though it is not placed in the canon, is kept with due reverence as a record of the restoration of the divine testament. In it we read written that the Holy Spirit, keeping the deeds of men and of things from the beginning of the world, entered the heart of a chosen man, and that—what the form of writing could scarcely keep for human memory—repeated in order, number, and reckoning, when he wrote speaking by day and not silent by night, he composed for human memory all things that appear to have been done or that we read written. Here one may well exclaim: Is it so? Is it allowed? How, I ask, are we guilty for reading a few of these, when we are rather guilty for not reading all that has been prophesied of God? I do not doubt that one of those who love slanders more than faith will say: "Seek nothing further! It is enough for you to read what is written in the canon." To his words I would easily rise, by the bent of human nature, which seeks rest rather than labour, ### Extrabiblical texts - 2 Esd 14:37-48 (2 Esdras): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - 2 Esd 14:37–48 (4 Ezra): Ezra dictates by day and night the books lost in the burning. "est! liceat!" is read as exclamations. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.68 (CSEL 18:52–53; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-68). ## Eleven Tractates 3.69 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-69 - Source: CSEL 18:53 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Following the Bereans who checked the Scriptures, Priscillian reads prophecies cited by Scripture, delighting that Christ was foretold by all. ### Latin text nisi me Lucae euangelistae testimonium perurgeret dicentis in actibus apostolorum: addiscipuli pariter conferebant inter se scribturas, si ita esset, quemadmodum locutus fuerat ad eos Paulus, et ea quorum cognitionem uolo testimonium prophetiae in canone accepisse cognosco. Quamuis enim crimen sit apostolicis non credidisse sermonibus, non est tamen damnabilis culpae firmamentum fidei scriptorum probatione construere et nihil in quo nos infirmes redarguitio diaboli faciat reseruare. Potuit enim sermo diuinus, quoniam ipsius erat omne quod dixerat, tamquam ab se loquens non scribtum ab alio dicere, sed ex se ipse proferre; dicens autem scribtum esse, necessario proponens nobis legendi sollicitudinem, et suam de quo profetatum fuerat gloriam et illius qui profetauerat debitam posteritati gratiam non omisit. Ego certe inter utrosque utrisque debitor sum, ut et illum qui ad memoriam diuinam profetauerit legam et deo credam. Quis enim non delectetur Christum ante saecula non a paucis, sed ab omnibus profetatum? aut quis diuinae magnitudinis et tam incredibilis miraculi deum nasci habere et uirginalem metram in ### English translation (Claude) were not the testimony of Luke the evangelist pressing me, who says in the Acts of the Apostles: "The disciples together compared the Scriptures among themselves, whether it was so, as Paul had spoken to them"; and I recognize that the things I wish to know have received the testimony of prophecy in the canon. For although it is a crime not to have believed the apostles' words, it is no damnable fault to build the foundation of faith by the proof of the writings and to keep nothing in which the devil's rebuke could make us weak. The divine word could have—since all that it had said was its own—spoken as if from itself, not saying that it was written by another, but bringing it forth from itself; but by saying that it is written, necessarily setting before us the care of reading, it did not omit either its own glory, of which there had been prophecy, or the gratitude owed by posterity to him who had prophesied. I, certainly, between both am debtor to both, so that I both read him who prophesied for the memory of God and believe God. For who would not delight that Christ was prophesied before the ages, not by a few but by all? Or who is so barren a judge of the divine greatness and of so incredible a miracle—God to be born and to have flesh, and the virgin womb to have opened for the ministry of the divine Word as the dwelling of a body for conceiving and bearing— ### Scripture references - Acts 17:11: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Acts 17:11. "nasci habere" is defective in the text and is rendered by sense ("to be born and to have flesh"). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.69 (CSEL 18:53; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-69). ## Eleven Tractates 3.70 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-70 - Source: CSEL 18:53–54 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As the stones would cry out, so the saints cannot be silenced from testifying to Christ; even pagans trust their omens. ### Latin text ministerium diuini uerbi ad concipiendum uel parturiendum habitaculum corporis patuisse tam sterilis aestimator est, ut putet non in omnem terram adque in omnem hominem diuini sensus secreta clamasse, cum scribtum sit: omnis lingua confiteatur quoniam dominus Iesus in gloriam dei patris? Et ideo, quilibet ille sit qui haec neget, ego certe scio quod eius pharisaei recipiet mercedem qui adueniente domino, cum omnis turba cum apostolis iuncta clamaret: osanna, osanna in caelis, benedictus qui uenit in nomine domini, corripi oportere eos dixit qui tam indubitanter praesentis dei glorias non tacebant. Sed uideat qui huiusmodi est dixisse dominum: etiamsi isti tacuerint, lapides clamabunt, et intellegat quoniam, si duritia petrarum naturaliter praemortua ad dandum testimonium deo in usum humani sermonis animatur, quomodo sanctorum lingua praecluditur quae ad confitendum et suapte natura et diuina gratia perurgetur? Si enim gentiles animae idolorum formis et caerimoniis inpeditae auium praepetes transitus et dedita uentis itinera pinnarum uelut ad praescientiam futuri prouentus loquuntur et extarum uenas animatione terreni ### English translation (Claude) as to think that the secrets of the divine mind did not cry out into all the earth and to every man, when it is written: "Let every tongue confess that the Lord Jesus is in the glory of God the Father"? And therefore, whoever it is that denies these things, I certainly know that he will receive the reward of that Pharisee who, when the Lord came and the whole crowd together with the apostles cried out, "Hosanna, hosanna in the heavens; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," said that they ought to be rebuked who so unhesitatingly did not keep silent about the glories of God present. But let one who is of this kind see that the Lord said: "Even if these keep silent, the stones will cry out," and let him understand that, if the hardness of rocks, naturally dead, is brought to life into the use of human speech to give testimony to God, how is the tongue of the saints shut, which is urged to confess both by its own nature and by divine grace? For if pagan souls, entangled in the forms and ceremonies of idols, speak of the swift passages of birds and the paths of wings given to the winds as if for foreknowledge of a future outcome, and of the veins of entrails throbbing with the animation of an earthly ### Scripture references - Phil 2:11: quotation, high confidence - Matt 21:9: quotation, high confidence - Luke 19:39: allusion, high confidence - Luke 19:40: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Phil 2:11; Matt 21:9; Luke 19:39–40. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.70 (CSEL 18:53–54; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-70). ## Eleven Tractates 3.71 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-71 - Source: CSEL 18:54–55 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Pagans trust their augurs; Christians must not quench prophecy, for Christ was foretold by all the patriarchs from Adam on. ### Latin text spiritus palpitantes, dum fidem daemonibus dant, moritura post momentum animalium uiscera futura praenuntiare confirmant et de uita mortuos rogant dicentes lapidi surge et ligno uigila, sicque sacrilegium ab his studium dicitur, inperitia sapientia nuncupatur nescientibus his non deo se sacrificare sed daemoni: in quo si talibus apud se gloria est, quomodo nos diuinas sanctorum respuimus profetationes et, dum oboedimus uoluntatibus nostris, his qui deum profetauerint inuidemus relinquentes apostolica praecepta dicentia: spiritus nolite extinguere, profetias nolite repudiare? Et ideo, quia ubi libertas ibi Christus, libet me unum clamare pro totis, quia et ego spiritum domini habeo: cesset inuidia diaboli! ab omnibus adnuntiatus est dominus, ab omnibus profetatus est Christus, (ab) Adam Sed Noe Abraham Isac Iacob et a ceteris qui ab initio saeculi profetauerunt, et intrepidus dico quod inuidet diabolus: uenturum in carne deum omnis homo sciuit, non dicam hii quos in dispositione generationis suae in euangelio deus posuit et diuinae naturae fidem et numerum canoni praestaturos. Quod sicut scientibus et negantibus maior poena est, ### English translation (Claude) spirit, while they give faith to demons, they assert that the entrails of animals, about to die a moment later, foretell the future, and they ask the dead about life, saying to the stone "Rise" and to the wood "Awake"; and so sacrilege is called devotion by them, and ignorance is called wisdom, while they do not know that they sacrifice not to God but to a demon. If such people have glory among themselves in this, how can we reject the divine prophecies of the saints and, obeying our own wishes, envy those who have prophesied God, abandoning the apostolic precepts that say: "Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophecies"? And therefore, because where there is liberty there is Christ, I wish to cry out, one for all, because I too have the Spirit of the Lord: let the envy of the devil cease! The Lord has been announced by all, Christ has been prophesied by all—by Adam, Seth, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and by the others who have prophesied from the beginning of the world; and I say fearlessly what the devil envies: every man knew that God would come in the flesh—not to speak of those whom God placed in the gospel in the order of his genealogy, who were to supply both faith in the divine nature and the number for the canon. As for those who know and deny, the punishment is greater, ### Scripture references - Hab 2:19: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:20: allusion, high confidence - 1 Thess 5:19: quotation, high confidence - 1 Thess 5:20: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 3:17: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 7:40: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 3:38: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Hab 2:19; 1 Cor 10:20; 1 Thess 5:19–20; 2 Cor 3:17; 1 Cor 7:40; Luke 3:23–38. "(ab)" is the editor's supplement; "Sed" in the text is Seth. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.71 (CSEL 18:54–55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-71). ## Eleven Tractates 3.72 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-72 - Source: CSEL 18:55–56 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The apostle himself told the Colossians to read the letter from Laodicea, which is not in the canon. ### Latin text sic et perfecta gloria est non solum corde credere, sed et ore confessionis gloriam non negare, dicente Dauid: credidi, propter quod locutus sum. In quo et apostolus Petrus sciens conscientiam in libris canonicis numeri rationem et relaxans legendi ea quae de Christo scripta sunt libertatem, cum ad Colosenses epistulam daret, dixit: cum lecta fuerit apud uos epistula haec, facite, ut et in Laodicensium eclesia legatur, et eam quae Laodicensium est uos legatis. Aut numquid damnabilis apud uos apostolus fuit, qui epistulam quae in canone non erat discipulos suos legere permisit aut nobis maior cura pro Christo est sicque uoluntates uestras agitis, ut iniustum iudicium etiam in ea quae ante uos sunt decreta tendatis? Omnibus enim nobis qui deum Christum credimus plenitudo fidei dies domini est et lex uitae apostolici forma praecepti est, quoniam, si fides ex auditu, auditus autem per fidem constat, qualiter nobis futurorum spes ponitur, si quae ante docentur scribta uel dicta de Christo et in memoriam reseruata nec umquam ab apostolis repudiata sed lecta, non solum respuantur a nobis, sed tamquam sacrilega damnentur, cum in euangelio scribtum sit: ### English translation (Claude) so too it is perfect glory not only to believe in the heart but also not to deny the glory of confession with the mouth, as David says: "I believed, therefore I have spoken." In this the apostle Peter too, knowing the principle of number in the canonical books, and loosening the liberty of reading what was written of Christ, when he sent a letter to the Colossians, said: "When this letter has been read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you read the one that is the Laodiceans'." Or was the apostle damnable in your eyes, who permitted his disciples to read a letter that was not in the canon? Or have we greater care for Christ, and do you so act on your wishes that you aim an unjust judgment even at what was decreed before you? For to all of us who believe in Christ as God, the fullness of faith is the day of the Lord, and the law of life is the form of the apostolic precept; since, if faith comes from hearing, and hearing stands through faith, how is the hope of things to come set before us, if what was taught before, written or said of Christ and kept in memory, never rejected by the apostles but read, is not only rejected by us but condemned as sacrilegious, when it is written in the gospel: ### Scripture references - Ps 116:10 (115:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 4:13: quotation, high confidence - Col 4:16: quotation, high confidence - Rom 10:17: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 116:10 (LXX/Vulg. 115:1; 2 Cor 4:13); Col 4:16. Priscillian names "Peter" as the author of Colossians, which is Paul's; translated as written. Rom 10:17. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.72 (CSEL 18:55–56; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-72). ## Eleven Tractates 3.73 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-73 - Source: CSEL 18:56 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Such books should not be given to the unskilled, since heretics have falsified many, but they are no more to be condemned than Scripture itself, which heretics also misuse. ### Latin text quicumque fecerit in nomine meo uirtutem, non potest de me male loqui? In quo illud tamen non recuso nec respuo inperitis haec non committenda auribus, ne, quia ab hereticis pleraque falsata sunt, dum praetitulato nomine prophetarum in uerbis sanctorum diuinum opus quaerunt, haereticae falsitatis inruant foueam, dum apostolici sermonis non ad plenum retinent disciplinam. Sed nec propter nequitias pessimorum prophetia dam sanctorum est; nam in omnibus heresibus cunctarum scribturarum interpraetatione peruersa infelicium sectarum instituta de persuasione fecerunt omnesque se Christum deum credere et Christianos esse confirmant. Nec ideo diuina scribtura damnanda est aut repudianda fides Christi est aut nomen refugiendum est Christianum, si, dum adserere sacrilegia sua uolunt, catholici nominis audent usurpare consortium. ### English translation (Claude) "Whoever has done a mighty work in my name cannot speak evil of me"? In this, however, I do not refuse or reject the view that these things are not to be entrusted to unskilled ears, lest, since many of them have been falsified by heretics, while under the prefixed name of the prophets they seek a divine work in the words of the saints, they fall into the pit of heretical falsehood, not keeping fully the discipline of the apostolic word. But neither is the prophecy of the saints to be condemned because of the wickedness of the worst; for in all heresies they have made the institutions of wretched sects out of persuasion by a perverse interpretation of all the Scriptures, and all of them affirm that they believe Christ is God and that they are Christians. Nor for that reason is divine Scripture to be condemned, or faith in Christ repudiated, or the name of Christian shunned, if, while they wish to assert their sacrileges, they dare to usurp a share in the catholic name. ### Scripture references - Mark 9:39: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Mark 9:39. "prophetia dam sanctorum" is defective in the text; read by sense as "the prophecy of the saints (is) to be condemned". ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.73 (CSEL 18:56; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-73). ## Eleven Tractates 3.74 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-3-74 - Source: CSEL 18:56–57 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: It is the heretical interpretation, not the writing, that should be condemned. ### Latin text Si enim omnia quae legunt damnare uolumus, certe quae etiam in canone sunt relata damnamus, unde melius est interpraetationem funestam et institutionem sacrilegam quam scribturam damnare diuinam, quoniam scribtum est: uobis datum est scire mysterium regni dei, ceteris autem in parabolis loquar, ut uidentes non uideant et audientes non audiant. Mihi certe seruo domini consideranti haec unus hic sensus est quoniam qui non amat Christum anathema maranata. ### English translation (Claude) For if we wish to condemn everything they read, we certainly condemn even what is recorded in the canon; hence it is better to condemn the deadly interpretation and the sacrilegious teaching than divine Scripture, since it is written: "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to the rest I will speak in parables, so that seeing they may not see and hearing they may not hear." For me, certainly, a servant of the Lord, considering these things, this is the one conviction: that whoever does not love Christ, let him be anathema, maranatha. ### Scripture references - Luke 8:10: quotation, high confidence - Mark 4:11: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 16:22: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Luke 8:10 with Mark 4:11–12; 1 Cor 16:22. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 3.74 (CSEL 18:56–57; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/3-74). ## Eleven Tractates 4.75 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-4-75 - Source: CSEL 18:57 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A homily for the start of Lent: because people neglect daily devotion, God appointed the yearly Pasch to recall them. ### Latin text Etsi ipsa natura nos docet inter inexploratas humanae uitae conuersationes et indignas deo saeculi mensurabiles pugnas nihil utilius esse homini quam per omnes dies ea quae saeculi sunt amica respuere et diuinae institutionis praecepta seruare, dicente apostolo: omnis amicitia mundi inimica est dei, et iterum profeta dicente: non tardes conuerti ad dominum et ne differas de die in die, tamen mortalium sensuus rerum saecularium familiaritate captiui intra humanae inbecilli clauduntur errorem et semper diuina miseratio inter tot inconsulta naufragio uelut fine periclitantibus statio et optabilis portus occurrit. Unicum diuinae sententiae modum profeticis uocibus adpraehendens gloriosum pascharum diem deus posuit, ut, quamuis per omnes dies seruire sibi homines suos deus uellet, tamen, quia omnis mundus in maligno positus est et dum nullus infinitis est finis fixo in lubricis gressu modum non constituimus incertis, ### English translation (Claude) Although nature itself teaches us that, amid the unexplored ways of human life and the measurable battles of the world unworthy of God, nothing is more useful to man than every day to reject what is friendly to the world and to keep the precepts of the divine ordinance—as the apostle says: "All friendship with the world is enmity with God," and again the prophet says: "Do not delay to turn to the Lord, and do not put it off from day to day"—yet the minds of mortals, held captive by familiarity with worldly things, are shut within the error of human weakness, and always the divine mercy, amid so many ill-considered courses, meets those in danger of shipwreck as an anchorage and a longed-for harbour. Grasping in the prophetic voices the single measure of the divine sentence, God appointed the glorious day of the Pasch, so that—although God wished his people to serve him every day, yet, because the whole world lies in the evil one, and while there is no end to things endless we set no measure with a foot planted on slippery ground among uncertainties— ### Scripture references - Jas 4:4: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 5:19: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 5:7 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jas 4:4; Sir 5:7; 1 John 5:19. "Pasch" (pascha) is Easter. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 4.75 (CSEL 18:57; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/4-75). ## Eleven Tractates 4.76 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-4-76 - Source: CSEL 18:58 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Lent is a time when the faithful should strive for better things and the careless be recalled at least by keeping the solemn days. ### Latin text in commemorationem inpensae pro nobis passionis exhortans uel anniuersaria uice ad obaudiendum nos fidei cogeret, quos omne quod uiuimus sibi soli debere meminisset, dicente apostolo: siue mors siue uita siue praesentia siue futura, omnia uestra sunt, uos autem Christi, Christus autem dei. Et ideo, dilectissimi in deo, quia in hoc positi sumus, ut sensuus uestros intra angustias humanae inbecillitatis obsessos tamquam in nouam lucem religiosa docendi exhortatione laxemus, neccessario inchoantibus in praeparationem suscipiendae paschae diebus quadragensimarum, sicut scribtum est, tamquam boni procuratores multiformis gratiae dei aliut ne fiat secundum imperium praecipimus, aliud secundum ueniam depraecamur, quoniam in hoc tempore et qui iam se a malis abstinet adsuescens bonis debet uelle meliora et qui adhuc indisciplinato mundi errore constringitur reuocari ab alienis uel solemnium dierum obseruatione suadetur, ut adueniente pascha domini et qui fidelis est custodisse se acceptam semel mandatorum fidem ### English translation (Claude) exhorting us to the commemoration of the passion he endured for us, he might compel us, at least once a year, to obey the faith—us whom he remembered owe all that we live to him alone, as the apostle says: "Whether death or life or things present or things to come, all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's." And therefore, beloved in God, since we have been placed for this, to release your minds, besieged within the narrow straits of human weakness, as into a new light by the religious exhortation of teaching, necessarily, as the forty days begin in preparation for receiving the Pasch, as it is written, like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, we command one thing by authority and beg another by concession; for in this season both he who already abstains from evil, accustoming himself to good, ought to want better things, and he who is still bound by the undisciplined error of the world is urged to be called back from what is foreign, at least by observing the solemn days, so that, when the Lord's Pasch comes, both the faithful may rejoice ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 3:22: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:23: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 4:10: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 7:6: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 3:22–23; 1 Pet 4:10; 1 Cor 7:6. "The forty days" (dies quadragesimarum) is Lent. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 4.76 (CSEL 18:58; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/4-76). ## Eleven Tractates 4.77 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-4-77 - Source: CSEL 18:58–59 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: At Easter the faithful, penitents, and catechumens all have hope; the Lenten fast must be accompanied by justice and love, not quarrels and greed. ### Latin text gaudeat et paenitens salutem repetat et catecuminus futurae remissionis confidentiam non amittat, ut adinpleatur quod scribtum est: ecce dies domini et salutare eius! aperite portas, ut intret populum custodiens iustitiam et ueritatem, quia amplectentes intellectum perceperunt pacem sperantes in domino. Propter quod, dilectissimi, caelestis uocationis participes castificate animas uestras deo et, sicut scribtum est, abstinentes a corporalibus desideriis quae militant aduersus uos in membris uestris ieiunantes deo non in turpibus lucris neque in incerto auaritiae aut in regis et contentionibus ieiunetis, quoniam, etsi abstinentiam diliciarum et occallationem corporis diuinum in his diebus opus quaerit, tale tamen ieiunium non requirit, sed, sicud scribtum est, castificati corpore et spiritu caritatem in dilectione simplicem ex corde uero et diuites uos in operibus bonis diuinis gloriis exhibete et, sicut profeta ait, soluite omnem conligationem iniustitiae et respuite oblegatio inpotentium commerciorum, ### English translation (Claude) that he has kept the faith of the commandments once received, and the penitent may seek salvation again, and the catechumen may not lose confidence in the forgiveness to come, so that what is written may be fulfilled: "Behold the day of the Lord and his salvation! Open the gates, that a people may enter that keeps righteousness and truth, for, embracing understanding, they have received peace, hoping in the Lord." For this reason, beloved, sharers in the heavenly calling, purify your souls for God, and, as it is written, abstaining from bodily desires which war against you in your members, fasting for God, do not fast in shameful gains, nor in the uncertainty of avarice, nor in quarrels and strifes; for though the divine work in these days seeks abstinence from delicacies and the hardening of the body, it does not seek such a fast; but, as it is written, purified in body and spirit, show love simple in affection from a true heart, and show yourselves rich in good works for the divine glories, and, as the prophet says, loose every bond of injustice and reject the obligation of oppressive dealings, ### Scripture references - Isa 26:2: quotation, medium confidence - Heb 3:1: allusion, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:22: allusion, high confidence - 1 Pet 2:11: quotation, high confidence - Isa 58:4: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 7:1: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Tim 6:18: allusion, medium confidence - Isa 58:6: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Isa 26:1–3 (Old Latin, mixed); Heb 3:1; 1 Pet 1:22; 1 Pet 2:11; Isa 58:4; 2 Cor 7:1; 1 Tim 6:18; Isa 58:6. "Penitent" refers to those doing public penance, to be reconciled at Easter. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 4.77 (CSEL 18:58–59; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/4-77). ## Eleven Tractates 4.78 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-4-78 - Source: CSEL 18:59–60 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Fasting means works of mercy; Christ, our Passover, took on the full shame of human birth. ### Latin text eripite iniuriam accipientem, iudicate pupillum, iustificate uiduam, demittite confractos in remissionem et omnem conscribtionem iniquam disrumpite, frangite panem uestrum esurientibus, aegenos et non habentes tectum inducite in domos uestras; si uideritis nudos operite et laborantes ne dispexeritis; sic enim scribtum est: si dederis esurienti panem tuum ex animo et humiliatam satiaueris animam, orietur in tenebris lumen tuum et erit deus tuus tecum et satiaberis omnibus bonis in omnia quae desiderat anima tua. Considerate enim, quid sit pascha domini, dicente apostolo: pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus, ostendens rerum praesentium tolerantiam ad praemium beatae inmortalitatis proficientem, in quo uirginis partus et in adsumptionem corporis omnipotens deus pudorem humani exordii non recusans, dum multimoda ueritatis in se sustinens argumenta humanae natiuitatis uitia castigat, ### English translation (Claude) rescue the one who receives injury, judge for the orphan, vindicate the widow, set free the broken, tear up every unjust contract; break your bread for the hungry, bring the needy and homeless into your houses; if you see the naked, cover them, and do not despise those who toil; for so it is written: "If you give your bread to the hungry from the heart and satisfy the humbled soul, your light will rise in the darkness, and your God will be with you, and you will be satisfied with all good things in all that your soul desires." For consider what the Lord's Pasch is, as the apostle says: "Christ our Pasch has been sacrificed," showing that the endurance of present things leads to the reward of blessed immortality; in which the almighty God, born of a virgin and taking a body, not refusing the shame of a human beginning, while bearing in himself manifold proofs of the truth of human birth, chastises the faults of human nature, ### Scripture references - Isa 58:7: quotation, high confidence - Isa 1:17: quotation, high confidence - Isa 58:10: quotation, high confidence - Isa 58:11: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 5:7: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Isa 58:6–7; Isa 1:17; Isa 58:10–11 (Old Latin); 1 Cor 5:7. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 4.78 (CSEL 18:59–60; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/4-78). ## Eleven Tractates 4.79 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-4-79 - Source: CSEL 18:60 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ endured every human indignity and the cross; the baptized and catechumens alike should keep the Lord's forty-day fast before Easter. ### Latin text conceptione partu uagitibus cunis omnes naturae nostrae contumelias transcurrerit, ut, ueniens in carnem constitutionem decreti anterioris euerteret (et) in patibulum gloriosae crucis maledicta terrenae dominationis adfigens inmortalis ipse neque morte uincendus pro morientum aeternitate moreretur. Cum quo (si) alteri consepulti in mortem in baptismum sumus, alteri ut commoriamur et consepeliamur optamus, sic in diem paschae uenire debemus, ut, quia contumelia illius honor noster est, quadragenta dierum erimum domini in euuangelio ieiunantis imitati ambulantes in carne non secundum carnem uiuamus, ut, si uicti ad modicum sumus, tamen in conpaginationem corporis Christi diuina praeceptorum luce reparemur, quoniam tamquam misericordiam consecutus ego consiliator, ego testis sum quod liberi a peccatis esse non possumus, nisi remissione baptismatis et diuinae crucis redemptione saluemur. ### English translation (Claude) he passed through all the indignities of our nature—conception, birth, wailing, cradle—so that, coming in the flesh, he might overturn the order of the earlier decree, and, fastening to the gibbet of the glorious cross the curses of earthly dominion, he, immortal and not to be conquered by death, might die for the eternity of the dying. Since, with him, some of us have been buried into death in baptism, and others long to die and be buried with him, we ought to come to the day of the Pasch in such a way that—because his shame is our honour—imitating the forty days' desert of the Lord fasting in the gospel, walking in the flesh we may not live according to the flesh, so that, even if we have been overcome a little, we may still be restored by the divine light of the commandments into the framework of the body of Christ; for, as one who has obtained mercy, I am counsellor, I am witness, that we cannot be free from sins unless we are saved by the forgiveness of baptism and the redemption of the divine cross. ### Scripture references - Col 2:14: allusion, high confidence - Rom 6:4: quotation, high confidence - Matt 4:2: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 10:3: allusion, high confidence - Rom 8:4: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 7:25: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Col 2:14; Rom 6:4; Matt 4:2; 2 Cor 10:3 with Rom 8:4; 1 Cor 7:25. "(et)" and "(si)" are the editor's supplements. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 4.79 (CSEL 18:60; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/4-79). ## Eleven Tractates 4.80 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-4-80 - Source: CSEL 18:60–61 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The forty days recall Moses' fast before receiving the law, Joshua's crossing of the Jordan, and Christ's fast and temptation after his baptism. ### Latin text Hii sunt enim dies quos Moyses quadragensimo nummero ieiunans ad accipiendam legem diuini sermonis meruit eloquium, cum adnuntiatum pascha domini mare timuit et potentissimum in terris aelementum cui ipsa pro tempestate natura est diuisis aquis puluereum populo iter praestitit et contra solitos usuus saeculo datura miraculum herbarum pastuus sterilis herena produxit. Hii sunt dies quos Iesus Naue similiter in ieiuniis agens terram promissionis ingressus cum induto fidei armis dei po stante in medio aquarum arca domini plenus in omnes crepidines Iordanis siccum populo iter praebuit et in priora decurrens uel in posteriora sua reluens ne diuinae iussioni natura contrairet expauit. Hii sunt dies quos adueniens in carnem deus post locuplitatum baptismatis fontem constitutus in eremo ieiunans diebus et noctibus uicit et temptatus a zabulo est nunc neccessitate ieiunii, nunc ambitione mortalium, nunc timore; in quo et(si) temptari non potuit deus, ### English translation (Claude) For these are the days in which Moses, fasting for the number forty, merited the utterance of the divine word to receive the law, when the sea feared the announced Pasch of the Lord, and the mightiest element on earth, whose very nature is storm, divided its waters and gave the people a dusty road, and the barren sand, about to give the world a miracle against its usual uses, produced pasture of grass. These are the days in which Joshua son of Nun, likewise spending them in fasting, entered the land of promise, when, clad in the armour of faith, with the ark of the Lord standing in the midst of the waters, the Jordan, full to all its banks, gave the people a dry road, and, running forward and flowing back on itself, it feared lest nature oppose the divine command. These are the days in which God, coming in the flesh, after enriching the font of baptism, stationed in the desert and fasting days and nights, conquered, and was tempted by the devil, now by the need of the fast, now by the ambition of mortals, now by fear; in which, although God could not be tempted, ### Scripture references - Exod 34:28: allusion, high confidence - Exod 14:21: allusion, high confidence - Josh 3:15: allusion, high confidence - Josh 3:16: allusion, high confidence - Matt 4:1: allusion, high confidence - Matt 4:2: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Exod 34:28; Exod 14:21–22; Josh 3:14–17; Matt 4:1–11. Joshua's fasting is not in the biblical text. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 4.80 (CSEL 18:60–61; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/4-80). ## Eleven Tractates 4.81 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/3-56/#p-4-81 - Source: CSEL 18:61–62 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ's answers to the tempter show what Christians must reject during Lent. ### Latin text tamen saluationis nostrae praeparans passionem et adinplens in se pascharum decreta, non soluens, in eo quod temptari uoluit quae in diebus hiis repudiari a nobis oporteret ostendit, et quod illum temptanti diabolo respondisse ad fidem legimus nos ad distructionem diabolicae temptationis utamur. ### English translation (Claude) yet, preparing the passion of our salvation and fulfilling in himself the decrees of the Pasch, not abolishing them, by being willing to be tempted he showed what we ought to reject in these days; and what we read that he answered the tempting devil for our faith, let us use for the destruction of the devil's temptation. ### Scripture references - Jas 1:13: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 5:17: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 4:4: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jas 1:13; Matt 5:17; Matt 4:4, 7, 10. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 4.81 (CSEL 18:61–62; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/4-81). ## Eleven Tractates 5.82 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-5-82 - Source: CSEL 18:62–63 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A homily on Genesis 1: Moses, raised by his enemies and made God's friend, began the canon. ### Latin text nobis potestate seruata rebus praetereuntibus finis, peccantibus poena et mortalibus promittantur aeterna, sicut scribtum est: caeli ipsi perient, tu autem permanebis et omnis tamquam uestimentum ueterescit et tamquam amictum plicabis illos, tu autem ipse es et anni tui non deficient. Denique Moyses sanctus diuinis edoctus uerbis et in opus euuangelicae dispositionis electus, qui initio nascendi tale uenientis in carne meruit exordium, ut qui uitae eius insi tenderent ab his educationis blandimenta sentiret et postea percusso Aegypto et dei populo liberato signorum prior faceret exordium et consortio cum deo iuncto diuinorum praeceptorum incrementis nutritus principium daret canoni, cuius in se plenitudinem ad testimonium protulerat, scribti uerbis scilicet edocens et opus uerbi factorum operibus ostendens; sic denique et de eo scribtum est: et locutus est dominus ad Moysen facies ad faciem tamquam qui loquitur ad amicum suum. ### English translation (Claude) … while the power is kept for us, an end is promised to passing things, punishment to sinners, and eternal things to mortals, as it is written: "The heavens themselves will perish, but you will remain, and all will grow old like a garment, and like a cloak you will fold them up; but you are the same, and your years will not fail." Indeed holy Moses, taught by the divine words and chosen for the work of the gospel dispensation, who at the beginning of his birth merited such a beginning as one who comes in the flesh, so that he experienced the caresses of upbringing from those who set snares for his life, and afterwards, Egypt having been struck and the people of God freed, made the first beginning of signs, and, joined in fellowship with God and nourished by the increase of divine precepts, gave the beginning to the canon, whose fullness he had brought forward in himself as testimony, teaching, that is, by the words of what he wrote, and showing the work of the word by the works of his deeds; so it is written of him: "And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as one speaks to his friend." ### Scripture references - Ps 102:26 (101:27 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 102:27 (101:28 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Heb 1:11: quotation, high confidence - Exod 2:10: allusion, medium confidence - Exod 33:11: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The beginning of this tractate is lost. Ps 102:26–27 (LXX/Vulg. 101:27–28; Heb 1:11–12); Exod 2:1–10; Exod 33:11. "insi tenderent" is read as "insidias tenderent" ("set snares"). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 5.82 (CSEL 18:62–63; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/5-82). ## Eleven Tractates 5.83 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-5-83 - Source: CSEL 18:63 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Moses foresaw heretics who would deny that the world was made, or blame the devil for their own sins and ascribe their bodies to him. ### Latin text Uidens ergo futura haereticorum dogmata et diuersa ingenia disputantum, quod alii amant non factum sed perpetuum fuisse mundum et ideo cuius non sit initium futurum semper aeternum, alii sibimet ipsi in uoluptatibus blandientes, dum omne quod peccant non sibi sed malitiae diaboli uolunt inputare uel saeculi, cum scribtum sit: Efrem ipse sibi posuit scandalum amans Channaneos et alibi apostolo dicente: unde bella, unde rixae in uobis? nonne de uoluntatibus uestris?, sic mundi per haec accusantes naturam, propter quod hoc malum iudicant, nihil in his quae apparent deum fecisse confirmant et corporalibus concupiscentiis delectantes facturam corporis sui adsignantes diabolo putant se nescire quae faciunt et quae in corporibus suis peccant diuinae dispositionis sollicitudine non teneri, cum scribtum sit: corpus quod corrumpitur adgrauat animam et deprimit terrena inhabitatio sensum multa cogitantem, ### English translation (Claude) Seeing, then, the future doctrines of heretics and the various cleverness of disputers—that some like to think the world was not made but always existed, and therefore that what has no beginning will always be eternal; others, flattering themselves in pleasures, want to impute every sin they commit not to themselves but to the malice of the devil or of the world, although it is written: "Ephraim himself set a stumbling block for himself, loving the Canaanites," and elsewhere, the apostle saying: "Where do wars, where do quarrels among you come from? Is it not from your desires?"—so, accusing the nature of the world through these things, because they judge it evil, they affirm that God made nothing of what appears, and, delighting in bodily lusts and assigning the making of their body to the devil, they think that they do not know what they do and that the sins they commit in their bodies are not held under the care of the divine order, although it is written: "The corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly dwelling presses down the mind that thinks many things," ### Scripture references - Hos 12:7: quotation, low confidence - Jas 4:1: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 9:15 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Hos 12:7–8 (Old Latin, garbled); Jas 4:1; Wis 9:15. The views rejected are those of philosophers (an eternal world) and dualists (Manichaeans) who ascribe the body to an evil power. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 5.83 (CSEL 18:63; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/5-83). ## Eleven Tractates 5.84 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-5-84 - Source: CSEL 18:63–64 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Others make gods of the sun and moon; all such teachers are the false teachers described by Jude and Peter. ### Latin text alii Solem et Lunam luminaria ad ministerium hominum constituta aestimantes deos principatibus mundi aelementorum tribuunt potestatem, cum scribtum sit: quid lucidius sole? et hic deficiet, et alibi: qui aduocat aquam maris et spargit eam super faciem totius terrae; dominus deus omnipotens nomen est ei, — sed hii omnes, dilectissimi fratres, ignorantiae tenebris inuoluti dubios euertunt et consentientes ad perditionis suae pericla deducunt. Hii sunt enim, sicut scribtum est, nubes sine aqua quae a uentis circumferuntur, arbores autumni sine fructibus mortuae et exstirpatae et fluctus faeroces maris spumantes suas turpitudines, sidera fallacia quibus tempestas et caligo tenebrarum reseruata sunt; quorum iudicium olim uix sufficit et perditio eis non indormiet. Nescientes enim omne hoc quod uidetur proposito per deum fine periturum et ideo inluminatas fuisse tenebras et facturae inuentam esse naturam, ### English translation (Claude) others, thinking that the Sun and Moon, lights established for the service of men, are gods, attribute power to the principalities of the world's elements, although it is written: "What is brighter than the sun? And yet it will fail"; and elsewhere: "He who calls the water of the sea and pours it on the face of the whole earth, the Lord God almighty is his name." But all these, dearest brothers, wrapped in the darkness of ignorance, overturn the wavering and lead those who agree with them into the perils of their own perdition. For these are, as it is written, clouds without water, carried about by the winds, autumn trees without fruit, dead and uprooted, and fierce waves of the sea foaming out their own shame, deceitful stars for whom the storm and the gloom of darkness have been reserved; whose judgment from of old scarcely suffices, and their destruction will not slumber. For they do not know that all this that is seen will perish at an end set by God, and that therefore the darkness was illuminated and the nature of the creation was devised, ### Scripture references - Gen 1:16: allusion, medium confidence - Amos 5:8: quotation, high confidence - Jude 1:12: quotation, high confidence - Jude 1:13: quotation, high confidence - 2 Pet 2:17: allusion, high confidence - 2 Pet 2:3: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 17:31 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Gen 1:16; Sir 17:31; Amos 5:8; Jude 12–13; 2 Pet 2:17, 3. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 5.84 (CSEL 18:63–64; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/5-84). ## Eleven Tractates 5.85 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-5-85 - Source: CSEL 18:64–65 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The creation was ordered to serve man; Christians should reject worldly philosophy and believe that God made all things, as Genesis 1:1 says. ### Latin text ut diuisa temporum numeris et dierum habitaculum praestarent homini laboranti in opus Christi nec constitutum diuinae uoluntatis excederet, qui ad praebendum nostri ministerium diuina instituta seruare uoluisset; sic enim scribtum est de hiis: pater uester diabolus ab initio mendax fuit, et necesse est, cuius initium mendacii natura dedit, uiam ueritatis tenere non possit. Propter quod uos hortor et moneo, ut qui baptizati in Christo I Christum induistis reiectis saeculi tenebris tamquam in die honeste ambuletis et, sicut apostolus ait, nemo uos depraedetur secundum philosophiam mundi huius et non secundum Christum; sapientia enim huius mundi stultitia est apud deum et quae uidentur mortalia sunt; nam quae non uidentur aeterna. Animaduertentes enim sensum lectae lectionis dicentis: in principio fecit deus caelum et terram, scitote omnia deum fecisse quae facta sunt et conpactis inter ### English translation (Claude) so that, divided by the numbers of seasons and days, it might provide a dwelling for man labouring at the work of Christ, and not exceed what the divine will had established, since he had wished it to keep the divine ordinances in order to provide its service to us; for so it is written of them: "Your father the devil was a liar from the beginning"; and necessarily one to whom nature gave the beginning of lying cannot keep the way of truth. For this reason I urge and admonish you, who, baptized in Christ, have put on Christ, to cast off the darkness of the world and walk honestly as in the day, and, as the apostle says, let no one plunder you according to the philosophy of this world and not according to Christ; for the wisdom of this world is folly with God, and the things that are seen are mortal, but the things that are not seen are eternal. Paying attention to the sense of the reading that has been read, which says: "In the beginning God made heaven and earth," know that God made all things that have been made, and, the elements having been joined ### Scripture references - John 8:44: quotation, high confidence - Gal 3:27: allusion, high confidence - Rom 13:13: allusion, high confidence - Col 2:8: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:19: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 4:18: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:1: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - John 8:44; Gal 3:27; Rom 13:12–13; Col 2:8; 1 Cor 3:19; 2 Cor 4:18; Gen 1:1 (the lesson read in church). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 5.85 (CSEL 18:64–65; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/5-85). ## Eleven Tractates 5.86 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-5-86 - Source: CSEL 18:65 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God's Word ordered light, sky, seasons, and earth; the elements have no power of their own but serve the divine word. ### Latin text se aelementis solidatam caeli extendisse naturam sicque usu aeris uentorum potestatibus dato quadripertita temporum uice anni cursus et stellarum constitutas dispositiones. Cum enim uerbum diuinae uirtutis apparuit dicens: fiat lux, uniuersa quae erant intenebrata patuerunt et nocte uesperis ab splendore lucis diuisa, singulis quibusque rebus in locum dispositi ordinis segregatis, terra solidata est, ut alterutro aelementorum ministerio praecurrente par temporum uice usum dispositi operis spiritu uitae animata proferret, non quod terra uel caelum aut datis ex cognatis aelementis terrigenis principatibus spiritus propriae potestatis aliquid acceperit, sed ut rerum materia praeparata sermo diuinus facturae opus intrans sapientium praeceptorum instituta conpleret, tenens forum saeculi in habitaculum hominum constitutum. Denique his omnibus quae conuersatio mundi possidet secundum genus suum factis hominem ### English translation (Claude) together, he stretched out the solid nature of the heaven, and so, the use of the air being given to the powers of the winds, he established, in the fourfold change of seasons, the course of the year and the arrangements of the stars. For when the Word of the divine power appeared, saying, "Let there be light," all things that were in darkness lay open, and, the night of evening being divided from the splendour of the light, and each thing set apart into the place of the appointed order, the earth was made solid, so that, with the ministry of the elements running before one another in equal change of seasons, it might bring forth, animated by the spirit of life, the use of the appointed work—not that earth or heaven, or the earthborn principalities given from kindred elements, received anything of the spirit of their own power, but that, the matter of things being prepared, the divine word, entering the work of creation, might fulfil the ordinances of its wise precepts, keeping the forum of the world established as a dwelling for men. Finally, all these things which the order of the world possesses having been made according to their kind, ### Scripture references - Gen 1:3: quotation, high confidence - Gen 1:4: allusion, high confidence - Gen 1:9: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 1:24: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Gen 1:3–25. Priscillian denies that the elements or heavenly bodies have their own spiritual power. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 5.86 (CSEL 18:65; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/5-86). ## Eleven Tractates 5.87 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-5-87 - Source: CSEL 18:65–66 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God made man in his image to be his rest (sabbath) and a temple; through all Scripture God wishes to be called by every name. ### Latin text ad imaginem et similitudinem suam deus fecit acceptoque limo terreni habitaculi nostrum corpus animauit, ut domino rerum omnium homine praeposito in eo sabbatum idest requiem suam poneret, ubi imaginem suam et similitudinem corporasset, ac post traduce natura hospitium corporale homo ex homine praesumens caro nasceretur ex carne, in quo constitutis nobis et diuinorum mandatorum iussa sectantibus mundi opus et terrenae materiae naturam castificata caro uinceret, (et) homo ministerio saeculi usus non concupiscentiae uoluntate deceptus haberet in se testimonium imaginis et similitudinis dei et clarificatus in corpore templum fieret domini, ut sabbatizato in omnibus mundo requiem, quam in se deo promiserat, praesentaret. Denique ipse deus noster per omnem scribturam in se cuncta disponens dici se omne quod dicitur uoluit, ut solus potens saluare perdere in unoquoque opere nuncupati uerbi peccantibus ### English translation (Claude) God made man in his image and likeness, and, taking the clay of the earthly dwelling, he animated our body, so that, man being set over as lord of all things, he might place in him his sabbath, that is, his rest, where he had embodied his image and likeness; and that afterwards, nature being passed on, man taking from man the bodily lodging, flesh might be born of flesh; so that in us, placed in it and following the commands of the divine precepts, purified flesh might overcome the work of the world and the nature of earthly matter, and man, using the service of the world, not deceived by the will of lust, might have in himself the testimony of the image and likeness of God, and, glorified in body, might become a temple of the Lord, so that, the world being sabbathed in all things, he might present the rest that he had promised to God in himself. Indeed, our God himself, arranging all things in himself through all Scripture, wished himself to be called everything that is said, so that he alone, able to save and to destroy, in each work of the named word, might not deny punishment to sinners ### Scripture references - Gen 1:26: quotation, high confidence - Gen 2:7: allusion, high confidence - Gen 2:2: allusion, high confidence - John 3:6: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 6:19: allusion, high confidence - Jas 4:12: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Gen 1:26–27; Gen 2:7; Gen 2:2; John 3:6; 1 Cor 6:19; Jas 4:12. "(et)" is the editor's supplement. The derivation of the soul with the body ("nature being passed on", traduce) is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 5.87 (CSEL 18:65–66; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/5-87). ## Eleven Tractates 5.88 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-5-88 - Source: CSEL 18:66 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ is the cornerstone, door, way, fountain, bread, and vine; all names belong to the one God, Christ. ### Latin text poenam et laborantibus in se gloriam non negaret, sicut scribtum est: ecce pono in Sion lapidem summum angularem electum et qui crediderit in eo non erubescet; uobis autem hic honor credentibus; non credentibus uero lapidem quem reprobauerunt aedificantes hic factus est in capud anguli et lapis offensionis et petra scandali, qui offendunt uerbo nec credunt, ut intellegatis, qualiter unius rei nomen alteris in incrementum fidei esset, alteris in offensionem poena peccati. Ipse namque se intrantibus ianuam, ipse in praeceptis dei ambulantibus uiam, ipse sitientibus iustitiae fontem, ipse esurientibus panem, ipse se uineam credentibus posuit in salutem, sicut scribtum est in euuangelio: ego uitis, uos autem sarmenta, ut, qui omnia in omnibus agnosceret, Christum nulli nomini uel potestati parte concessa unum deum crederet, quem unum in omnibus inueniret, sicut scribtum est: ### English translation (Claude) and glory to those who labour in him, as it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen, and whoever believes in it will not be put to shame; to you who believe, then, is this honour; but to those who do not believe, the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence; they stumble at the word and do not believe"; so that you may understand how the name of one thing was for some an increase of faith, for others an offence, the punishment of sin. For he made himself the door for those who enter, the way for those who walk in God's precepts, the fountain of righteousness for the thirsty, the bread for the hungry, the vine for believers unto salvation, as it is written in the gospel: "I am the vine, you are the branches"; so that whoever recognized all in all might believe that Christ is one God, with no part of name or power granted to anyone else, whom he would find one in all things, as it is written: ### Scripture references - 1 Pet 2:6: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 2:7: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 2:8: quotation, high confidence - Isa 28:16: quotation, high confidence - Ps 118:22 (117:22 LXX): quotation, high confidence - John 10:9: allusion, high confidence - John 14:6: allusion, high confidence - John 6:35: allusion, high confidence - John 15:5: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Pet 2:6–8 (Isa 28:16; Ps 118:22; Isa 8:14); John 10:9; John 14:6; Matt 5:6; John 6:35; John 15:5. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 5.88 (CSEL 18:66; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/5-88). ## Eleven Tractates 5.89 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-5-89 - Source: CSEL 18:66–67 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Every knee bows to Jesus, the one God of the prophets; believers should put on the new man and apply the Genesis reading spiritually to themselves. ### Latin text ut in nomine Iesu omne genu curuetur caelestium et terrestrium et inferorum et omnis lingua confiteatur quoniam dominus Iesus Christus in gloriam dei patris, sicut et ipse per profetam ait: ego sum deus et ante me non fuit alius et post me non erit similis mihi; ego deus et non est praeter me qui saluos faciat; item ibi: ego primus et ego posthaec et praeter me non est deus; quis sicut ego? item per Hieremiam: hic est deus noster et non reputabitur alius absque eum qui inuenit omnem uiam sapientiae et dedit eam Iacob puero suo et Istrahel dilecto suo; posthaec in terris uisus est et cum hominibus conuersatus est. Et ideo et uos, dilectissimi mihi, castificate animas uestras ad obaudiendum fidei et exuentes a uobis ueterem hominem cum omnibus actibus et concupiscentiis suis induite in uobis nouum hominem et per intellectum spiritalium uirtutum in opus lectae lectionis intrantes parate in uobis ### English translation (Claude) "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father"; as he himself says through the prophet: "I am God, and before me there was no other, and after me there will be none like me; I am God, and there is none besides me who saves"; likewise there: "I am first and I am hereafter, and besides me there is no God; who is like me?"; likewise through Jeremiah: "This is our God, and no other will be reckoned beside him, who found every way of wisdom and gave it to Jacob his servant and to Israel his beloved; afterward he was seen on earth and lived among men." And therefore you too, my dearest ones, purify your souls for obedience to the faith, and, putting off from you the old man with all his acts and lusts, put on in yourselves the new man, and, entering through the understanding of spiritual powers into the work of the lesson that has been read, prepare in yourselves ### Scripture references - Phil 2:10: quotation, high confidence - Phil 2:11: quotation, high confidence - Isa 43:10: quotation, high confidence - Isa 43:11: quotation, high confidence - Isa 44:6: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:22: allusion, high confidence - Col 3:9: allusion, high confidence - Col 3:10: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Bar 3:36-38 (Baruch): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Phil 2:10–11; Isa 43:10–11; Isa 44:6–7; Bar 3:36–38 ("Jeremiah"); 1 Pet 1:22; Col 3:9–10. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 5.89 (CSEL 18:66–67; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/5-89). ## Eleven Tractates 5.90 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-5-90 - Source: CSEL 18:67–68 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The days of creation are applied to the soul: light of knowledge, the firmament of the commandments, fruitfulness, and the perfect week of the church. ### Latin text caelum et terram domini, sicut scribtum est: caelum caeli domino, et alibi domino dicente: estote mihi terra uoluntaria, ut ignorantiae uespero dissoluto exclametur in uobis: fiat lux, sicut scribtum est: inluminare, inluminare Hierusalem, ac tenebra corruptibilis corporis castigata et diuini spiritus in uobis luce composita appellemini dies domini. Qui enim haec in operibus agit Christi, primum in agnitionem sui diem conplens secundo in gradu positus recte omnium mandatorum discit firmamentum, ut illud quod in se fuerit sterile uerbo domini fecundatum pluuia diuinae praedicationis excepta in omnem gratiam catholicae professionis erudit sicque arans in spe fidei suae fructus colligens, in gloriam perfectae septimanae et opus crescens, reformans in se eclesiam domini per fidem Christi, sicut scribtum est: sapientia aedificauit sibi domum et fundauit illam columnis septem; in quam domum et uos tamquam lapides ### English translation (Claude) the heaven and earth of the Lord, as it is written: "The heaven of heaven is the Lord's," and elsewhere, the Lord saying: "Be to me a willing land," so that, the evening of ignorance being dissolved, it may be cried out in you: "Let there be light," as it is written: "Be enlightened, be enlightened, Jerusalem," and, the darkness of the corruptible body being chastised and set in order by the light of the divine Spirit in you, you may be called days of the Lord. For whoever does these things in the works of Christ, first completing the day in the knowledge of himself, placed on the second step rightly learns the firmament of all the commandments, so that what was barren in him, made fruitful by the word of the Lord and receiving the rain of divine preaching, may grow into every grace of catholic profession; and so, ploughing in hope and gathering the fruits of his faith, and growing in work to the glory of the perfect week, he reforms in himself the church of the Lord through the faith of Christ, as it is written: "Wisdom has built herself a house and founded it on seven pillars"; in which house you too, as stones ### Scripture references - Ps 115:16 (113:24 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Mal 3:12: quotation, medium confidence - Gen 1:3: quotation, high confidence - Isa 60:1: quotation, high confidence - Prov 9:1: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 115:16 (LXX/Vulg. 113:24); Mal 3:12 (Old Latin, "a willing land"); Gen 1:3; Isa 60:1; Prov 9:1. The days of Genesis 1 are read allegorically as stages of the soul. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 5.90 (CSEL 18:67–68; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/5-90). ## Eleven Tractates 5.91 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-5-91 - Source: CSEL 18:68–69 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Believers are living stones and, as the Lord's sabbath, rest in Christ. ### Latin text uiui aedificamini in domos spiritales, offerentes hostias inmaculatas acceptabiles deo, tamquam renati non ex semine corruptibili sed incorruptibili, uerbo dei uiui et permanentes in aeternum, ut facti sabbatum domini et ab omnibus mundi actibus feriati nihil debeatis saeculo, sed requiescatis in Christo. ### English translation (Claude) living, are built into spiritual houses, offering unblemished sacrifices acceptable to God, as those reborn not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, through the word of the living God that abides for ever, so that, having become the Lord's sabbath and resting from all the works of the world, you may owe nothing to the world, but rest in Christ. ### Scripture references - 1 Pet 2:5: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:23: quotation, high confidence - Heb 4:10: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Pet 2:5; 1 Pet 1:23; Heb 4:9–10. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 5.91 (CSEL 18:68–69; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/5-91). ## Eleven Tractates 6.92 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-92 - Source: CSEL 18:69–70 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A homily on the Passover of Exodus 12: Scripture must be interpreted, and it has a threefold sense, the first of which disciplines the flesh. ### Latin text tamen, quia omnis scribtura interpraetationem indiget et humanae intellegentiae infirmitas cogit rerum species terrenarum tamquam superiorum indices quaerere, ut uisibilium consuetudine familiariter admonente ad insolitos sensus religiosus (sensus) intellegentiae construatur, necessarium est nobis propter uos humilitatem sermonis nostri in ea quae inenarrabilia uidentur extendere, ut, cum uisibile quid in lege dei ponitur, non id deus quod ponitur habeatur, sed, quia ser omnis ex sensu est, secundum habitum neccessarii sermonis, dum natura petitae rei agnoscitur, hoc quod in nobis deus quaerit sensus sibi intellegens eloquatur. Hoc enim primum intellegere uos oportet, quod omnis scribtura in omne quod dicitur aut loquitur triformi intellectus opera diuisa aut mundi in nobis opus destruens terrenae carnis in concupiscentiis castigat habitaculum dicente profeta: castitas custodiet et iustificabit cor, ### English translation (Claude) … yet, because all Scripture needs interpretation, and the weakness of human understanding compels us to seek the appearances of earthly things as indicators of higher ones, so that, with the familiarity of visible things gently admonishing us, a religious sense of understanding may be built up toward unaccustomed meanings, it is necessary for us, for your sake, to extend the lowliness of our speech to things that seem unspeakable, so that, when something visible is set down in the law of God, what is set down may not be taken to be God, but—since all speech comes from meaning—according to the manner of necessary speech, while the nature of the thing sought is recognized, the understanding mind may express for itself what God seeks in us. For this you must understand first: that all Scripture, in everything that is said or spoken, is divided into a threefold work of understanding: either, destroying the work of the world in us, it chastises the dwelling of earthly flesh in its lusts, as the prophet says: "Chastity will guard and justify the heart," ### Scripture references - Prov 2:11: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - The beginning of this tractate is lost. "Chastity will guard …": compare Prov 2:11 and Prov 4:23 (Old Latin, uncertain). "(sensus)" is the editor's supplement; "ser" in the text is read as "sermo" (speech). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.92 (CSEL 18:69–70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-92). ## Eleven Tractates 6.93 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-93 - Source: CSEL 18:70–71 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Scripture's second sense forms the soul, the third shows God in man; the law's offerings of days, animals, and fruits signify the purification of body and spirit. ### Latin text aut diuinum animae genus repetens ea quae in nobis dierum mensuum temporum uoluntatum et idolicis terrenae natiuitatis uitiis districta uidentur informat dicente apostolo: si spiritu, uiuimus, spiritu ambulemus, aut certe deum in homine cottidianum sui testem passum pro nobis et nostri iudicem monstrat, ut, quia nos diuinae consortes esse uoluit naturae, ita nos corpore anima et spiritu triformi praeceptorum obseruatione distringat, ut per legis umbram reformati in spiritu et desecandae carnis operibus inbuti sollemnia paschae caelestis intremus et excitati ex morte, Christo pro nobis ex inmortalitate moriente, intellegamus quod factus pro nobis omnia, dum in oblationes suas dies menses formas pecorum, animalium naturas, differentias arborum, fructus terrenorum seminum poscit, non quae sunt aelementorum aut terrena desiderat, sed omnia sua esse demonstrans castificationem terrenae carnis et spiritus, ### English translation (Claude) or, recalling the divine kind of the soul, it shapes those things in us that seem bound by days, months, seasons, wishes, and the idolatrous vices of earthly birth, as the apostle says: "If we live by the Spirit, let us walk by the Spirit"; or certainly it shows God in man, daily his own witness, who suffered for us and is our judge, so that, since he willed us to be partakers of the divine nature, he binds us in body, soul, and spirit by a threefold observance of the precepts, so that, reformed in spirit through the shadow of the law and trained in the works of cutting away the flesh, we may enter the solemnities of the heavenly Pasch, and, raised from death, Christ dying for us out of immortality, we may understand that, having become all things for us, when he asks for days, months, the forms of cattle, the natures of animals, the varieties of trees, the fruits of earthly seeds in his offerings, he does not desire things of the elements or earthly things, but, showing that all are his own, he demands the purification of earthly flesh and spirit, ### Scripture references - Gal 5:25: quotation, high confidence - 2 Pet 1:4: allusion, high confidence - 1 Thess 5:23: allusion, medium confidence - Heb 10:1: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Gal 5:25; 2 Pet 1:4; 1 Thess 5:23; Heb 10:1 ("shadow of the law"). The threefold scheme is body, soul, and spirit. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.93 (CSEL 18:70–71; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-93). ## Eleven Tractates 6.94 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-94 - Source: CSEL 18:71 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Passover lamb foreshadows Christ, though the earthly animal and the God of glory are utterly different. ### Latin text propter quod et ipse pro nobis passus in carne est, in triumfum peccati operantis exposcit et per omnium rerum natura totum se loquens non tam coli uult mundi instituta quam distrui, ut manifestetur quod scribtum est: homo cum esset in honore, non intellexit et adsimilatus est iumentis. Quamuis enim diuini gratia sacramenti paschalis mysterii opus dirigens et testamenti ueteris lege praemissa uelut futurum salutis nostrae iter construens uenientis in nouam lucem passuri dei constituat ingressum et in praeparationem paschalis diei occidi agnum postulet loquens Christum hocque pascha domini, illud Christi inmolatio nuncupetur ac satis a se diuersum sit pecus terrae et deus gloriae, quoniam quidem hoc terrenum mortale deciduum et in usum formati saeculi praecepto animae uiuentis animatum est, Christus autem origo omnium totus in sese nec quod est aliunde praesumens sine principio, ### English translation (Claude) for which reason he himself also suffered for us in the flesh, in triumph over sin at work; and, speaking himself wholly through the nature of all things, he wishes the institutions of the world not so much to be worshipped as destroyed, so that what is written may be made manifest: "Man, when he was in honour, did not understand, and was made like the beasts." For although the grace of the divine sacrament, directing the work of the paschal mystery and sending ahead the law of the old testament, as if building the future road of our salvation, establishes the entry of the God who was to suffer, coming into new light, and, in preparation for the paschal day, demands that a lamb be killed, speaking of Christ—and this is called the Lord's Pasch, that the sacrifice of Christ—and the beast of the earth and the God of glory are very different from each other, since indeed the one is earthly, mortal, perishable, and animated for the use of the formed world by the command of a living soul, while Christ, the origin of all things, is wholly in himself, taking what he is from nowhere else, without beginning, ### Scripture references - 1 Pet 4:1: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 49:20 (48:21 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Exod 12:3: allusion, high confidence - Exod 12:6: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 5:7: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Pet 4:1; Ps 49:12, 20 (LXX/Vulg. 48:13, 21); Exod 12:3–6; 1 Cor 5:7. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.94 (CSEL 18:71; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-94). ## Eleven Tractates 6.95 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-95 - Source: CSEL 18:71–72 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The two testaments have one author and agree: the old purifies the body, the new instructs the soul. ### Latin text sine fine, quem si per uniuersa consideres, unum inuenies in totis et facilius de eo sermo deficiet quam natura, quoniam quod semper est nec desistentis terminum in deo nec inchoare coepit exhordium, sed omne hoc pro nobis uenturus in carnem uel passus in carne est: intellegere nos deus uoluit in nobis, ut, quia unus dicti auctor utriusque est et necesse est diuinorum dictorum pacificam intellegentiam ita singulis quibusque causarum generibus aptari, ut consentiens testamentum nouum ueteri, etsi utraque unum sunt, tamen, quia et ipsa institutione legis et tempore diuisa putantur et nomine et in uetere testamento oblatio pecorum et circumcisio carnis, in nouo sola animi fides petitur, nos cognoscamus in nobis quod, dum in utrisque testamentis corpore et spiritu, sicut fuit Christus in carne, uelut in duobus perfectus homo quaeritur, uetus testamentum castificandi corporis deo et nouum animae institutione ### English translation (Claude) without end; if you consider him through all things, you will find one in all, and speech about him will fail sooner than his nature, since what always is has neither the end of ceasing in God nor began with a beginning; yet all this, he who was to come in the flesh or who suffered in the flesh did for us. God wished us to understand in ourselves that, since there is one author of both sayings, and the peaceable understanding of the divine sayings must be so fitted to each kind of cause that the new testament agrees with the old—even if both are one, yet because they are thought to be divided by the very institution of the law, by time, and by name, and in the old testament the offering of cattle and the circumcision of the flesh are sought, in the new only the faith of the mind—we may recognize in ourselves that, since in both testaments a perfect man is sought in body and spirit, as Christ was in the flesh, as in two parts, the old testament is assigned to purifying the body for God and the new to the instruction of the soul, ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.95 (CSEL 18:71–72; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-95). ## Eleven Tractates 6.96 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-96 - Source: CSEL 18:72–73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In the old testament the Passover required animals and dates; in the new, Christ himself is offered on the cross. ### Latin text mancipatur et non dissentaneum sibi sed ratione diuisum est, ut, sicut haec duo testamenta deus unus est, sic in nobis perfectio boni gloria sit, si castificatio corporis fructu diuinae excolitur uoluntatis, sicut apostolus ait: ecce transierunt uetera et facta sunt omnia noua, et alibi ipse ait: sicut portauimus imaginem eius qui de limo est, sic portemus imaginem eius qui est de caelo. Denique in eo testamento quod prius est, sicut lectio praesens docet, ut percusso Aegypto populus dei in laetitiam transferretur, ad caelebrandum pascha formae pecorum, dies mensuum, tempus petitur annorum; in eo autem quod nouum dicitur eiectis in euuangelio pecoribus e templo et mundo in crucem fixo ascendens pro nobis in patibulum Christus offertur illudque pascha domini uocatur, hoc nostrum, ut intellecta dispensatione sermonum omne quod fit et factum est in salute hominum ### English translation (Claude) and it is not at variance with itself but divided by reason, so that, as God is one in these two testaments, so in us the perfection of the good may be glory, if the purification of the body is cultivated by the fruit of the divine will, as the apostle says: "Behold, the old things have passed away, and all things have become new"; and elsewhere he says: "As we have borne the image of him who is from the clay, so let us bear the image of him who is from heaven." Indeed, in the testament that comes first, as the present lesson teaches, so that, Egypt having been struck, the people of God might be brought into joy, the forms of cattle, the days of months, the season of years are required for celebrating the Pasch; but in the one called new, when the cattle had been driven out of the temple in the gospel and the world nailed to the cross, Christ, ascending to the gibbet for us, is offered, and that is called the Lord's Pasch, this one ours, so that, understanding the dispensation of the words, we may understand that everything that is done and has been done is shown for the salvation of men, ### Scripture references - 2 Cor 5:17: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:49: quotation, high confidence - Exod 12:2: allusion, medium confidence - John 2:15: allusion, high confidence - Gal 6:14: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 2 Cor 5:17; 1 Cor 15:49; Exod 12 (the lesson read); John 2:15; Gal 6:14. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.96 (CSEL 18:72–73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-96). ## Eleven Tractates 6.97 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-97 - Source: CSEL 18:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The body, made by God but bound to the world, must be purified by the law and die to sin like the spotless lamb on Christ's cross. ### Latin text intellegamus ostensum, ut natura corporis quae per apostolum figura mundi et uetus homo dicitur, etsi dei manu facta est, tamen, quia terrenae natiuitati limi adpraehensione germana est et diebus et temporibus annis mensibus omnibusque quae sub sole sunt uitiorum diuisa naturis diuinum genus hominum muscipulis terrenae habitationis hebetauit, dicente profeta: corpus quod corrumpitur adgrauat animam et deprimit terrena inhabitatio sensum multa cogitantem, necessario castigata per legem ueteris testamenti et oblata in tabernaculum dei nihil iam diebus et temporibus debeat, sed sicut caro Christi consors uirginalis corporis facta ante conspectum domini formam peccati in se operantis occidat et sicut in crucem Christi uelut agnus perfectus masculus inmaculatus cum uniuersa uitiorum abolitione moriatur, sicut apostolus ait: ### English translation (Claude) so that the nature of the body, which through the apostle is called the form of the world and the old man, although it was made by the hand of God, yet, because by its taking from the clay it is akin to earthly birth and, divided among the natures of vices by days and seasons, years, months, and all things under the sun, has dulled the divine race of men in the traps of the earthly dwelling—as the prophet says: "The corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly dwelling presses down the mind that thinks many things"—necessarily chastised by the law of the old testament and offered in the tabernacle of God, may owe nothing any longer to days and seasons, but, as the flesh of Christ, made sharer of the virginal body, may kill before the face of the Lord the form of sin working in itself, and, as on the cross of Christ, like a perfect, male, spotless lamb, may die with the complete abolition of vices, as the apostle says: ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 7:31: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 6:6: allusion, high confidence - Exod 12:5: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 9:15 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 7:31; Rom 6:6; Eph 4:22; Wis 9:15; Exod 12:5. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.97 (CSEL 18:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-97). ## Eleven Tractates 6.98 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-98 - Source: CSEL 18:73–74 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The baptized, dead with Christ to sin, become the Lord's Passover; Christ took both the form of God and the form of man. ### Latin text Christo adfixus sum cruci et uiuo iam non ego, sed uiuit in me Christus. Qui enim haec intellegit, confirmatus ad fidem et consepultus Christo in baptismum per mortem, absolutus diebus temporibus mensibus numerum dei meretur esse non saeculi et ea quae uiuunt terraena despiciens ambulans in carne nec secundum carnem militans pascha fit domini et regeneratus in nouo testamento consimilatus corpori dei, ubi se in olochaustum obtulerit deo, tunc in eo quod patiebatur pascha suum Christum inmolatum esse cognoscit, dicente Paulo: si conplantati facti sumus similitudini mortis eius, simul et resurrectionis erimus, scientes hoc quia uetus homo noster simul cruci confixus est, ut destruatur corpus peccati et ultra non seruiamus peccato, et alibi ipse: quod enim mortuus est peccato mortuus est semel, quod autem uiuit uiuit deo. Denique deus noster adsumens carnem, formam in se dei et hominis idest diuinae animae et terrenae carnis adsig, ### English translation (Claude) "I have been fastened with Christ to the cross, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." For whoever understands these things, confirmed in faith and buried with Christ by baptism into death, freed from days, seasons, and months, deserves to be of God's number, not the world's; and, despising the earthly things that live, walking in the flesh but not warring according to the flesh, he becomes the Lord's Pasch, and, reborn in the new testament and made like the body of God, when he has offered himself to God as a whole burnt offering, then, in what he suffered, he knows that Christ his Pasch has been sacrificed, as Paul says: "If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, so that the body of sin might be destroyed and we might no longer serve sin"; and elsewhere he says: "For the death he died, he died to sin once; but the life he lives, he lives to God." Indeed our God, taking flesh, assigning in himself the form of God and of man, that is, of a divine soul and earthly flesh, ### Scripture references - Gal 2:20: quotation, high confidence - Rom 6:4: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 10:3: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 5:7: allusion, high confidence - Rom 6:5: quotation, high confidence - Rom 6:6: quotation, high confidence - Rom 6:10: quotation, high confidence - Phil 2:7: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Gal 2:19–20; Rom 6:4; 2 Cor 10:3; 1 Cor 5:7; Rom 6:5–6; Rom 6:10; Phil 2:6–7. "A divine soul and earthly flesh" is Priscillian's own phrasing for the two forms, translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.98 (CSEL 18:73–74; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-98). ## Eleven Tractates 6.99 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-99 - Source: CSEL 18:74 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In Christ, the Word made flesh, the human and the divine appear side by side: fear and confidence, death and resurrection, a virgin mother before, in, and after the birth. ### Latin text dum aliud ex his peccati formam, aliud diuinam ostendit esse naturam, illudque arma iniquitatis peccato, hoc iustitiae arma demonstrat in salutem nostram uerbum caro factus, dum inuisibilis cernitur, innascibilis nascitur, inconpraehensibilis adtinetur, dum moritur homo resurgit ut deus et nunc tristem sibi animam usque ad mortem quasi timens queritur, nunc ultra humanam confidentiam sessurum se ad dei dexteram profitetur, nunc auferri si possibile sit calicem expetit passionis, nunc confidenter tamquam acceptum de patre bibiturum se eum esse contendit, nunc relictum se in passionibus a deo tamquam homo queritur, nunc confitenti latroni tamquam deus paradisum pollicetur; dum filius dicitur et Ioseph pater non est, dum filius dicitur et Maria uirgo ante conceptum uirgo concipiens et edita carne saeculo datura miraculum uirgo post partum, ### English translation (Claude) while he shows that one of these is the form of sin and the other the divine nature, and shows the one as weapons of iniquity for sin, the other as weapons of righteousness for our salvation, the Word made flesh—while the invisible is seen, the unbegotten is born, the incomprehensible is held, while he dies as man he rises as God—now complains, as if afraid, that his soul is sorrowful even to death, now declares, beyond human confidence, that he will sit at the right hand of God; now asks that the cup of the passion be taken away if it is possible, now confidently insists that he will drink it as received from the Father; now complains as a man that he has been forsaken by God in his sufferings, now as God promises paradise to the confessing thief; while he is called son and Joseph is not his father, while he is called son and Mary is a virgin before conception, a virgin in conceiving, and, when the flesh was brought forth, about to give the world a miracle, a virgin after the birth, ### Scripture references - Rom 6:13: allusion, high confidence - John 1:14: allusion, high confidence - Matt 26:38: allusion, high confidence - Matt 26:64: allusion, high confidence - Matt 26:39: allusion, high confidence - John 18:11: allusion, high confidence - Matt 27:46: allusion, high confidence - Luke 23:43: allusion, high confidence - Luke 3:23: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 6:13; John 1:14; Matt 26:38; Matt 26:64; Matt 26:39; John 18:11; Matt 27:46; Luke 23:43; Luke 3:23. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.99 (CSEL 18:74; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-99). ## Eleven Tractates 6.100 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-100 - Source: CSEL 18:74–75 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The one God is found under every name—Son, Father, Wisdom, angel, man—so that he is believed to be one. ### Latin text quoniam inter ista tam diuersa, tam dissona secundum intellegentiam humanae creaturae non conueniret uirginitas partitudini, aeternitati mors, adhortationi diffidentia, trepidatio libertati, dum aliud secundum spiritum promptum, aliud secundum carne infirme demonstrat: sic se pro hominibus patientem intellegi deum uoluit in carne, ut, si sensus quaeratur in nobis: unus deus est, si sermo: unus est Christus, si opus: unus Iesus, si natura quaeritur: filius est, si principium quaeritur: pater dicitur, si creatura: sapientia est, si ministerium: angelus, si potestas: homo, si dignatio: filius hominis, si quod factum est per illum: uita est, si quod extra illum: nihil, — sic uniuersa disponens, ut, cum unus esset in totis unum in se uolens hominem, aliud genus perfecti operis scrutator eius habere non posset, nisi ut unum eum deum crederet, quem omnipotentem in se quod est et quod dicitur inueniret. Nec enim putetis pertinere ad contumeliam uerae diuinitatis, ### English translation (Claude) since among these things so different and so discordant, according to the understanding of a human creature, virginity would not agree with childbirth, death with eternity, distrust with exhortation, trembling with freedom, while he shows one thing to be ready according to the spirit, another weak according to the flesh: so God willed himself to be understood as suffering for men in the flesh, so that, if the mind is sought in us, God is one; if the word, Christ is one; if the work, Jesus is one; if the nature is sought, he is the Son; if the source is sought, he is called the Father; if the creature, he is Wisdom; if the ministry, an angel; if power, a man; if condescension, the Son of Man; if what has been made through him, he is life; if what is outside him, nothing—so ordering all things that, since he was one in all, willing in himself one man, the one who searches him out could have no other kind of perfect work than to believe him one God, whom he would find almighty in what he is and in what he is called. For do not think that it belongs to the dishonour of true divinity, ### Scripture references - Matt 26:41: allusion, high confidence - John 1:3: allusion, high confidence - John 1:4: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Matt 26:41; John 1:3–4. The series "if the source, he is called Father" is the kind of statement later read as modalism; it is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.100 (CSEL 18:74–75; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-100). ## Eleven Tractates 6.101 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-101 - Source: CSEL 18:75–76 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God's asking for earthly offerings teaches man to discern in himself what must be crucified, what offered, and what kept impassible. ### Latin text si commendans caritatem suam in nobis deus et infirmitates nostras pro nobis portans sic terrenae natiuitatis oblationes petit, ut in nullo se secundum mundi aelementa discernens, in quantum terrenae mentis amplexu potestas aeternae infinitatis excederet, conprobaret, sed ut per haec intellegens deum fides constans captiosas mundi et inutiles respuat quaestiones et pecca quod in nostro mortali corpore operatur agnoscat et ipse se homo diuidens, deo in se cuncta monstrante, depraehendat, quid ad distruendum opus mundi castigato corpore in crucem figi (oporteat), quid inmaculatum in se deo tribui, quid, quia diuinum habitat in nobis, inpassibile seruari, ut, sicut supra diximus, corpore anima et spiritu triformi in deo opere perfecti adinpleamus quod scribtum est dicente Paulo: ### English translation (Claude) if God, commending his love in us and bearing our infirmities for us, asks for the offerings of earthly birth in such a way that he does not distinguish himself in anything according to the elements of the world, so as to prove how far the power of eternal infinity exceeds the grasp of the earthly mind, but so that, understanding God through these things, steadfast faith may reject the captious and useless questions of the world and recognize the sin that works in our mortal body, and man, dividing himself, God showing all things in himself, may discover what must be nailed to the cross, with the body chastised, to destroy the work of the world; what must be given to God spotless in himself; what, because the divine dwells in us, must be kept impassible; so that, as we said above, perfected in body, soul, and spirit in the threefold work in God, we may fulfil what is written, Paul saying: ### Scripture references - Rom 5:8: allusion, high confidence - Matt 8:17: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 6:12: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Thess 5:23: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 5:8; Matt 8:17 (Isa 53:4); Rom 6:12; 1 Thess 5:23. "(oporteat)" is the editor's supplement. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.101 (CSEL 18:75–76; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-101). ## Eleven Tractates 6.102 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-102 - Source: CSEL 18:76 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God needs no offerings; the law's regulations answer the confusion idolatry had brought, when men gave God's name to days, animals, and stones. ### Latin text sicut exhibuistis membra uestra seruire inmunditiae ad iniquitatem, ita nunc exhibete membra uestra seruire iustitiae in sanctificationem, quoniam stipendia peccati mors est, gratia autem dei uita aeterna in Christo Iesu domino nostro. Et ideo intuentes in uobis omnia, quamuis dispensationem mundialium rerum alterutro naturae suae motu speciosa conmendet operatio, tamen, quia totius creaturae sensum longe necesse est ad gloriam praecedat operator, scitote quia nihil in huiusmodi pro se deus aeguit, sed, quia homine decepto diuinorum operum simplicem dispositionem loco tempore numero die mense ratione diuisam daemoniaca idolorum natura confuderat, dum incertorum deorum familias introducens incommunicabile dei nomen diebus mensibus pecoribus uolucribus lignis et lapidibus adscribit eratque tale fidei bellum, ut relicto tanti muneris deo corporeas creaturae conspicabilesque formas in ae ### English translation (Claude) "As you presented your members to serve uncleanness for iniquity, so now present your members to serve righteousness for sanctification, since the wages of sin is death, but the grace of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." And therefore, looking at all things in yourselves—although the working of the world, by the mutual motion of its nature, commends the dispensation of worldly things as beautiful, yet, because the maker must far surpass in glory the sense of the whole creation—know that God needed nothing of this kind for himself; but, because, when man had been deceived, the demonic nature of idols had confounded the simple arrangement of the divine works, divided by place, time, number, day, month, and reckoning, by introducing households of uncertain gods and ascribing the incommunicable name of God to days, months, cattle, birds, wood, and stones, and the war against faith was such that, abandoning God, the giver of so great a gift, they worshipped bodily and visible forms of the creation in things ### Scripture references - Rom 6:19: quotation, high confidence - Rom 6:23: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 14:21 (Wisdom of Solomon): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 6:19, 23; Wis 14:21 ("the incommunicable name"). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.102 (CSEL 18:76; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-102). ## Eleven Tractates 6.103 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-103 - Source: CSEL 18:76–77 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Against idolatry God first gave the law through Moses; the sacrifices he asked for meant the killing of vices, not of animals. ### Latin text terrenis et caelestibus adorarent, dicente de his apostolo: euanuerunt in cogitationibus suis et obscuratum est insipiens cor eorum et commutauerunt gloriam incorruptibilis dei in similitudinem imaginis corruptibilis hominis et uolucrum et quadripedum et serpentium, necessario deus noster religiosae sententiae modum temperans, ut arduum diuinae intellegentiae iter uelut cliuo molliore leniret, primum per I Moysen data lege, prohibens omne idolum quod esset in caelo siue in terra siue in aquis, detestans militiam principatum saeculi quae operatur in cogitationibus nociuis et castificans in his opus carnis, ne quid homo extra unum deum uelut deum uellet, praecepti fine conpescuit et, cum unumquid in sacrificium peteret, occidi non pecorum sanguinem uoluit, sed occidi in nobis ea quae uitiorum natura idolicis in carne formis occupauerat, dicente de huiusmodi apostolo: ### English translation (Claude) earthly and heavenly—as the apostle says of them: "They became futile in their thoughts, and their senseless heart was darkened, and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed beasts and serpents"—necessarily our God, tempering the measure of his religious sentence so as to soften the steep road of divine understanding as by a gentler slope, first, the law having been given through Moses, forbidding every idol that was in heaven or on earth or in the waters, detesting the host and principality of the world that works in harmful thoughts and purifying the work of the flesh in them, so that man might want nothing as god apart from the one God, restrained them by the limit of a precept; and when he asked for anything in sacrifice, he did not want the blood of cattle to be shed, but that there be killed in us those things that the nature of vices had occupied with idolatrous forms in the flesh, as the apostle says of such things: ### Scripture references - Rom 1:21: quotation, high confidence - Rom 1:23: quotation, high confidence - Exod 20:4: allusion, high confidence - Eph 6:12: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 1:21–23; Exod 20:4; Eph 6:12. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.103 (CSEL 18:76–77; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-103). ## Eleven Tractates 6.104 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-104 - Source: CSEL 18:77 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ, born of the virgin, offered his own blood; the 'first month' of the Passover signifies Christ the firstfruits. ### Latin text non quod idolum sit aliquid, sed quae sacrificant daemoniis sacrificant et non deo, ut his scilicet in homine correctis post ipse bonorum natura facturam uelut perfecti hominis locum uterum uirginalis carnis ingressus idolorum formis in pecoribus occisis suum sanguinem in redemptionem humanae expiationis offerret et conceptione partu uagitibus cunis omnes naturae nostrae transcurrens contumelias mundo in cruce fixo saluato in se et per se sibi homine gauderet. Nam quod primus mensis petitur in pascha, non ut adtendatur mensis, cuius numerum constat cum saeculo numerabili esse periturum, sed quia omnium creator in totis est, agnoscatur quod scribtum est: primitiae omnium Christus, et de propiato inimici transitu, ubi primus mensis ad inmolandum petitur, ibi, quia, sicut scribtum est, numerus hominis numerus est bestiae, ### English translation (Claude) "Not that an idol is anything, but what they sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God"; so that, these things being corrected in man, afterward the very nature of good things, entering the virgin's womb as the place of a perfect man's making, the forms of idols in the slain cattle, might offer his own blood for the redemption of human atonement, and, passing through all the indignities of our nature—conception, birth, wailing, cradle—with the world nailed to the cross, might rejoice in man saved in himself and through himself for himself. As for the first month being required at the Pasch, it is not so that attention may be paid to the month, whose number will certainly perish with the countable world, but so that, because the creator of all is in all, what is written may be recognized: "Christ the firstfruits of all"; and of the propitiated passage of the enemy: where the first month is required for the sacrifice, there, because, as it is written, the number of man is the number of the beast, ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 10:19: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:20: quotation, high confidence - Exod 12:2: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:20: quotation, medium confidence - Rev 13:18: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 10:19–20; Exod 12:2; 1 Cor 15:20, 23; Rev 13:18. "de propiato inimici transitu" is obscure; rendered literally. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.104 (CSEL 18:77; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-104). ## Eleven Tractates 6.105 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-105 - Source: CSEL 18:77–78 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The true 'first month' is the day of rebirth in baptism; the moon's phases show that the heavenly bodies have no power of their own. ### Latin text opus mundi et na in nobis prima uincatur et deo potius incipientes quam saeculo debere quod nascimur intellegamus hunc esse primum mensem et diem nostrum, non in quo apparemus in saeculum, sed in quo deuicto Aegypto idest repudiato mundo diuina in deum natiuitate reparamur. Adtendi autem lunaris ideo cursus iubetur, non ut in eo obseruatio religionis sit, sed, quia in ea quae uidentur omnis homo uincitur et germana aelementis caro diebus et tem oblegata rectores orbis terrarum deos aestimat, necessario aelementorum circumscribta per deum numeri intellegatur natura et, quod minuitur aut crescit, primum potestatis suae non esse credantur quae uoluntarii operis non habent libertatem, post sapientiae saecularis institutione reiecta corpore anima et spiritu in quibus homo uincitur triformi decalogi in nobis lege reparata mensis fiat domini et natiuitas tempore ### English translation (Claude) the work of the world and of [birth] in us may first be conquered, and, beginning to owe our being born to God rather than to the world, we may understand that this is our first month and day—not the one in which we appear in the world, but the one in which, Egypt having been conquered, that is, the world rejected, we are restored by a divine birth into God. The course of the moon is ordered to be observed, not so that observance of religion may lie in it, but because every man is conquered by visible things, and flesh, akin to the elements and bound to days and seasons, thinks the rulers of the world to be gods; necessarily the nature of the elements, circumscribed by God in number, must be understood, and, because it wanes or waxes, the elements must be believed, first, not to be of their own power, having no freedom of voluntary action; then, the teaching of worldly wisdom rejected, body, soul, and spirit, in which man is conquered, being restored in us by the threefold law of the decalogue, the month may become the Lord's, and birth, circumscribed by time, ### Scripture references - Exod 12:2: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Exod 12:2–6. "na" in the text is incomplete (perhaps "natiuitatis", birth); "tem" is read as "temporibus". The polemic is against astrology. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.105 (CSEL 18:77–78; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-105). ## Eleven Tractates 6.106 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-106 - Source: CSEL 18:78–79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The tenth day of the month and the tithe signify the ten commandments overcoming the world; the heavenly bodies are not lords of human fate. ### Latin text circumscribta uincatur in nobis, quoniam, sicut scribtum est, constitutis terminis gentium secundum numeros angelorum, cum decada saeculi uincitur, dominicae decadae mandata reparantur, et inde est, quod in mysterio domini aut decimae fructuum petuntur in lege aut in uincendo Aegypto ad praeparandum pascha mensis decima postulatur, quoniam qui in tribus potens initium medietatem et consummationem mundi in se operantis evice, non ut oblegaretur tempore uenisse se, sed ut uinceret recognoscit et credens aeternis intemporabilis factus intellegit quod omne quod sol diei luna nocti minuitur aut crescit non inperium captiuitatis nostrae, sed operabilis constitutio sit naturae, totumque quod uiximus reuertentibus nobis ad genus nostrum uocabitur pascha domini, non opus mundi, sicut scribtum est: ego creaui omnem militiam caeli et non iussi, ut adoraretis ei. ### English translation (Claude) may be conquered in us, since, as it is written, the boundaries of the nations having been set according to the number of the angels, when the decad of the world is conquered, the commandments of the Lord's decad are restored; and hence it is that, in the mystery of the Lord, either tithes of the fruits are required in the law, or, in conquering Egypt, the tenth of the month is demanded for preparing the Pasch, since he who is mighty in three recognizes that he came to conquer the beginning, middle, and end of the world working in him, not to be bound by time, and, believing in eternal things and made timeless, he understands that all that waxes or wanes, the sun by day, the moon by night, is not the rule of our captivity but the working constitution of nature, and all that we have lived, as we return to our kind, will be called the Lord's Pasch, not the work of the world, as it is written: "I created all the host of heaven, and I did not command you to worship it." ### Scripture references - Deut 32:8: quotation, high confidence - Exod 12:3: allusion, high confidence - Deut 4:19: quotation, medium confidence - Isa 45:12: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 7:18 (Wisdom of Solomon): allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Deut 32:8 (LXX: "according to the number of the angels of God"); Exod 12:3; Wis 7:18; Deut 4:19 (compare Isa 45:12). "evice" in the text is defective. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.106 (CSEL 18:78–79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-106). ## Eleven Tractates 6.107 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-107 - Source: CSEL 18:79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The spotless lamb from the flock signifies body and spirit joined in the new man; the house to be purified is the believer. ### Latin text Quod autem agnus inmaculatus anniculus ex agnis et haedis petitur adsumptus, ut, sicut scribtum est, imitantes opus Christi malitia paruoli et inmaculati legem domini inbuentes operemur et, dum homo deo redditur, totius mundi in anno numero deuicto innumerabilis Christi natura teneatur sicque ex agnis et haedis idest ex duobus in unum hominem nouum corporis et spiritus castificatione suscepta pascha domini et pascha nostrum hoc est Christus in homine et homo in.:. inatur in Christo et adinpleatur quod scribtum est: qui sanctificat et qui sanctificatur omnis ex uno. Quod autem expiatio domus petitur, non domus manufactae, quae ipsa temporis uetustate decidua est, emundatio postulatur, sed sicut scribtum est: quae domus nos sumus, si usque ad finem inculpata fidei uirtute nitamur, nec liminaria uel postes lignis et lapidibus instructa occisi pecoris uult deus cruore contingi, nec enim de talibus cura est deo, ### English translation (Claude) As for a spotless year-old lamb being required, taken from the lambs and the kids: it is so that, as it is written, imitating the work of Christ, as little children in malice and spotless, we may work, imbuing ourselves with the law of the Lord, and, while man is returned to God, with the whole world conquered in the number of a year, the innumerable nature of Christ may be held; and so from the lambs and the kids, that is, from two into one new man, the purification of body and spirit being undertaken, the Lord's Pasch and our Pasch, that is, Christ in man and man … in Christ, and what is written may be fulfilled: "He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one." As for the purification of the house being required: not the cleansing of a house made by hands, which itself falls with the age of time, is demanded, but, as it is written: "whose house we are, if we hold fast to the end in blameless strength of faith"; nor does God want lintels or doorposts made of wood and stones to be touched with the blood of a slain animal, for God is not concerned about such things, ### Scripture references - Exod 12:5: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 14:20: allusion, high confidence - Eph 2:15: allusion, high confidence - Heb 2:11: quotation, high confidence - Heb 3:6: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 9:9: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Exod 12:5; 1 Cor 14:20; Eph 2:15; Heb 2:11; Heb 3:6; 1 Cor 9:9. "in.:. inatur" is corrupt in the text (perhaps "dominatur" or "inhabitatur") and is marked …. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.107 (CSEL 18:79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-107). ## Eleven Tractates 6.108 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-108 - Source: CSEL 18:79–80 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The blood on the doorposts signifies the senses of the body signed with the cross, so that the body becomes God's house. ### Latin text sed dicente Paulo: omnis uiri caput Christus, Christi autem caput deus mysterium futuri baptismatis diuini sanguinis effusione ditandum prophetat in nobis, ac, sicut iam alii cognouistis, alii ut cognoscatis optatis, omnia [in] quae uidemus audimus oramus aut loquimur uel in postibus aut in liminaribus animati corporis data uult in introitum diuini sermonis aptari idest non in uagos saeculi errores rapi, sed consignantibus nobis in gloriam crucis Christi uelut sanguine inmaculati agni diuinae passionis testificatione signari, ut ambulantibus nobis in nouitate uitae et non in uestustate litterae acceptum in uictoria a nobis corpus non appelletur iam terra saeculi sed domus dei nec fornicationis habitaculum sed imago corporis Christi. Propter quod et uos intellegentes quoniam lex spiritalis est, nos autem carnales, uenumdati sub peccato, ### English translation (Claude) but, Paul saying, "Christ is the head of every man, and God the head of Christ," it prophesies in us the mystery of the future baptism, to be enriched by the outpouring of the divine blood; and, as some of you already know and others hope to know, he wants all things that we see, hear, pray, or speak—given in the doorposts or lintels of the animated body—to be fitted for the entrance of the divine word, that is, not to be carried off into the wandering errors of the world, but, as we sign ourselves to the glory of the cross of Christ, to be signed as with the blood of the spotless lamb by the testimony of the divine passion; so that, as we walk in newness of life and not in the oldness of the letter, the body received by us in victory may no longer be called the earth of the world but the house of God, not a dwelling of sexual immorality but the image of the body of Christ. For this reason you too, understanding that the law is spiritual, but we are fleshly, sold under sin, ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 11:3: quotation, high confidence - Exod 12:7: allusion, high confidence - Rom 6:4: allusion, high confidence - Rom 7:6: allusion, high confidence - Rom 7:14: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 11:3; Exod 12:7; Rom 6:4; Rom 7:6; Rom 7:14. "[in]" is bracketed by the editor as a deletion and is left out. "Some of you already know, others hope to know" addresses baptized and catechumens. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.108 (CSEL 18:79–80; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-108). ## Eleven Tractates 6.109 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-109 - Source: CSEL 18:80 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The girded loins mean a sober mind; as the Passover was eaten before morning, believers should complete their offering with the help of the indwelling Spirit. ### Latin text castificate animas uestras ad obaudiendum et offerte uos tamquam spiritales hostias, acceptabile sacrificium placens deo, et intellegentes praesentem lectionem non lumbos corporis praecingatis, sed, sicut apostolus ait, praecincti lumbos mentis uestrae sobrii in omnibus perfecte credite in quo signati estis spiritu et uelut mundantes domum dignum mandatis dei carnis uestrae habitaculum praeparate, ut delegatas in pascha domini uigilias imitantes conuersantes in ignorantiae nocte peruigeletis ad deum et omne quod offertur a uobis, priusquam dies domini mane ueniat, consummatis, ac, si non statim possibile est consummare quod uultis, uicinum proximum idest cohabitantem uobiscum intellegentes spiritu in auxilium perficiendi operis aduocate, quoniam, sicut Paulus ait, ipsius est et uelle et operari in nobis et perficere. ### English translation (Claude) purify your souls for obedience, and offer yourselves as spiritual sacrifices, an acceptable sacrifice pleasing to God; and, understanding the present lesson, do not gird the loins of the body, but, as the apostle says, girding the loins of your mind, sober in all things, believe perfectly in him in whom you have been sealed with the Spirit, and, as if cleaning a house, prepare the dwelling of your flesh worthy of the commandments of God, so that, imitating the vigils appointed at the Lord's Pasch, living in the night of ignorance, you may keep watch for God, and finish everything that is offered by you before the day of the Lord comes in the morning; and if it is not possible at once to finish what you wish, call your nearest neighbour—that is, understanding the Spirit who dwells with you—to help in completing the work, since, as Paul says, it is his to will and to work in us and to accomplish. ### Scripture references - 1 Pet 1:22: allusion, high confidence - Rom 12:1: allusion, high confidence - Exod 12:11: allusion, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:13: quotation, high confidence - Eph 1:13: allusion, high confidence - Exod 12:4: allusion, high confidence - Exod 12:10: allusion, high confidence - Phil 2:13: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Pet 1:22; Rom 12:1; Exod 12:11; 1 Pet 1:13; Eph 1:13; Exod 12:4, 10; Phil 2:13. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.109 (CSEL 18:80; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-109). ## Eleven Tractates 6.110 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-110 - Source: CSEL 18:80–81 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The blood on the doors means Christ's blood sealing believers for the judgment; the seven days of unleavened bread mean a life without vice. ### Latin text Et sicut praesens lectio ait dicente domino: et erit in testimonio sanguis quem in postibus et liminaribus posuistis; ego enim uidens sanguinem hunc protegam uos nec erit plaga exterminii in uos, cum percutio terram Aegypti, sic nos adueniente in iudicium domino ipso testimonium reddente pro nobis et in cordibus nostris clamante: abba pater non cum hoc mundo damnemur, sed signati frontibus praetiosi sanguinis testimonio absoluamur in Christo. Inter quae omnia, licet aper scribturae dei loquantur ad uos, tamen, quia et ego testis uester habeor in Christo Iesu, consilium do tamquam misericordiam consecutus a domino, ut exsuentes ueterem hominem cum omnibus actibus et concupiscentiis suis facti pascha et in diebus septem, quibus aut inchoatur mundus aut agitur aut finitur, sine fermento idest sine uitio sinceres idest azymi et diebus saeculi nil debentes, naturam in uobis dei custodientes et legem idest carne domini uiuamus et sanguine, ### English translation (Claude) And as the present lesson says, the Lord speaking: "And the blood which you have put on the doorposts and lintels will be for a testimony; for I, seeing this blood, will protect you, and there will be no plague of destruction on you when I strike the land of Egypt"; so, when the Lord comes to judgment, he himself bearing testimony for us and crying out in our hearts, "Abba, Father," we may not be condemned with this world, but, sealed on our foreheads with the testimony of the precious blood, may be acquitted in Christ. Among all these things, although the Scriptures of God speak openly to you, yet, because I too am held as your witness in Christ Jesus, I give counsel as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord: that, putting off the old man with all his acts and lusts, having become a Pasch, and in the seven days, in which the world either begins or goes on or ends, without leaven, that is, without vice, sincere, that is, unleavened, owing nothing to the days of the world, keeping the nature of God and his law in yourselves, we may live by the flesh and blood of the Lord, ### Scripture references - Exod 12:13: quotation, high confidence - Gal 4:6: quotation, high confidence - Rev 7:3: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 7:25: allusion, medium confidence - Col 3:9: allusion, high confidence - Exod 12:15: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 5:8: allusion, high confidence - John 6:54: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Exod 12:13; Gal 4:6; Rev 7:3; 1 Cor 7:25; Col 3:9; Exod 12:15; 1 Cor 5:7–8; John 6:53–57. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.110 (CSEL 18:80–81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-110). ## Eleven Tractates 6.111 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/5-82/#p-6-111 - Source: CSEL 18:81–82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: At the judgment believers will be a book of heavenly teaching, sealed among the twelve thousand, and like the angels, who neither marry nor beget. ### Latin text ut, cum uenerit in iudicium deus, sicut in apocalypsi legitis, non numerus bestiae nec mesura saeculi simus, sed, in quibus etiam Iohannem fleuisse legitis de signatis signaculis septem, uelut liber doctrinae caelestis habeamur et inter duodecim milia signatorum patriarcharum numeris mancipati non numerus bestiae sed mensura hominis quod est angelus nuncupemur, adinpleto quod dominus in euuangelio ait: filii huius saeculi nubunt et nubuntur, generant et generantur, filii autem dei neque nubunt neque nubuntur neque generant neque generantur, sed similes sunt angelis dei. ### English translation (Claude) so that, when God comes to judgment, as you read in the Apocalypse, we may not be the number of the beast or the measure of the world, but—where you read that John too wept over the seven sealed seals—we may be held as a book of heavenly teaching, and, enrolled among the twelve thousand sealed in the numbers of the patriarchs, may be called not the number of the beast but the measure of a man, which is an angel; that what the Lord said in the gospel may be fulfilled: "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, beget and are begotten; but the sons of God neither marry nor are given in marriage, neither beget nor are begotten, but are like the angels of God." ### Scripture references - Rev 13:18: allusion, high confidence - Rev 5:4: allusion, high confidence - Rev 7:4: allusion, high confidence - Rev 21:17: quotation, high confidence - Luke 20:34: quotation, high confidence - Luke 20:35: quotation, high confidence - Luke 20:36: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Rev 13:18; Rev 5:1–5; Rev 7:4–8; Rev 21:17 ("the measure of a man, which is an angel's"); Luke 20:34–36 (with Old Latin additions on begetting). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 6.111 (CSEL 18:81–82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/6-111). ## Eleven Tractates 7.112 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-7-112 - Source: CSEL 18:82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A homily on Psalm 1: the first psalm, without a title, teaches the blessed life fully achieved by God alone but required of us. ### Latin text Dauid sanctus magisterium diuinae instituens eruditionis et (in)dissolubilis uerbi in hominibus constituens fundamentum, dum omne in se in quod electus fuerat exultat, primi psalmi opus dirigens et diuinae naturae ostendit gloriam et uiuendi omnibus posuit disciplinam dicens: beatus uir qui non abiit in consilio inpiorum et in uia peccatorum non stetit et in cathedra pestilentiae non sedit. Cui necessario psalmo, quia primus est omni principium est, titulus in superscribtione non ponitur, quoniam qui id quod primum fuit nouit et ita non fecerit, possidentis peccati titulus non tenetur, sicut scribtum est: quis enim uocat per se uocitum? et alibi: iusto lex posita non est. Quod quamuis profeticus sermo deo soli qui solus hoc potuit adsignet, tamen et nos ita deo Christo seruire persuadit, ut peccatorum nube detersa et Christi in nos natiuitate reparata, ### English translation (Claude) Holy David, establishing the teaching of divine instruction and laying among men the foundation of the indissoluble word, while he exults in all that he had been chosen for, directing the work of the first psalm, both showed the glory of the divine nature and set down a discipline of living for all, saying: "Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of pestilence." To this psalm, necessarily, since it is first and the beginning of all, no title is placed in the superscription; for whoever has known what was first and has not acted otherwise is not held by the title of sin possessing him, as it is written: "For who calls himself by name?" and elsewhere: "The law is not laid down for the righteous." Although the prophetic word assigns this to God alone, who alone was able to do it, it nevertheless persuades us too so to serve Christ, God, that, the cloud of sins wiped away and Christ's birth renewed in us, ### Scripture references - Ps 1:1: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 1:9: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 1:1 ("seat of pestilence" in the Latin from the LXX); 1 Tim 1:9. "Who calls himself by name?" is unidentified. "(in)" is the editor's supplement. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 7.112 (CSEL 18:82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/7-112). ## Eleven Tractates 7.113 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-7-113 - Source: CSEL 18:82–83 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Since Christ dwells in believers as his temple, they must keep it pure, knowing he is both witness and judge. ### Latin text si Christum omnium scimus esse principium et hominem Christi agnoscamus habitaculum, dignum tali habitatori domicilium praeparemus quod non ambitionis saecularis error inclinet aut concupiscentia deprauet aut auaritia decoloret, sed quod perennis uitae splendore ditatum et Christi dei templum et legis testamentum et saluatoris dignum inuenietur habitaculum dicente Paulo: templum dei estis et deus habitat in uobis, et alibi: scitote quia, si quis uiolauerit templum dei quod estis uos, disperdet illum deus. Quod intellegentes scimus quoniam templum dei sumus et deus habitat in nobis; maior metus criminis est et euidentior poena peccati eundem cotidianum testem habere quem iudicem illique debere mortem quem uitae intellegimus auctorem. Omnes enim corpus Christi sumus et membra ex parte; nam quod renascimur in salutem, misericordiae est, non naturae, ### English translation (Claude) if we know that Christ is the beginning of all things and recognize man as Christ's dwelling, we may prepare a home worthy of such an inhabitant, which the error of worldly ambition does not bend, nor lust deprave, nor avarice discolour, but which, enriched with the splendour of everlasting life, will be found a temple of Christ, God, a testament of the law, and a dwelling worthy of the Saviour, as Paul says: "You are the temple of God, and God dwells in you"; and elsewhere: "Know that if anyone violates the temple of God, which you are, God will destroy him." Understanding this, we know that we are the temple of God and God dwells in us; the fear of crime is greater and the punishment of sin more evident when we have the same one as our daily witness and as our judge, and owe death to him whom we understand to be the author of life. For we are all the body of Christ and members in part; for that we are reborn to salvation is a matter of mercy, not of nature, ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 3:16: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:17: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 12:27: quotation, high confidence - Titus 3:5: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 3:16–17; 1 Cor 12:27; Titus 3:5. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 7.113 (CSEL 18:82–83; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/7-113). ## Eleven Tractates 7.114 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-7-114 - Source: CSEL 18:83–84 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Believers renounced the devil at baptism and must remain the image of God, avoiding the 'counsel of the ungodly,' which is the cunning of corrupt flesh. ### Latin text ut, si natiuitate carnis adstricti et mundialis mali uitiis obligati peccatorum uiam et consilia non euasimus inpiorum uel baptizati in Christo Christum induentes, ita perennis uitae sequamur heredem, ut nec cui renuntiauimus inueniamur participes nec cui credimus infideles. Et ideo profetici sermonis intellegentes eloquium estote tales, quales uos pater deus fecit, estote tales, quales uos manus patris instituit, quoniam imago et similitudo dei, quod estis uos, corruptelae inlecebras et blandimenta non quaerit, omneque impiorum consilium et peccatorum uiae, cathedrae pestilentiae, corruptae carnis astutia et polluti corporis officina, sicut scribtum est: corpus quod corrumpitur adgrauat animam et deprimit terrena inhabitatio sensum multa cogitantem. Haec est enim modulatio cupiditatis, irae ictus, pollicitatio insanabilis, arma serpentis, calliditas inimici, adulatio extrarii, subiugatio nostri, corruptela sui. Per hanc expugnator inimicus ### English translation (Claude) so that, if, bound by the birth of the flesh and tied to the vices of the world's evil, we did not escape the way of sinners and the counsels of the ungodly, or, baptized in Christ and putting on Christ, we may so follow the heir of everlasting life that we are found neither sharers of him whom we renounced nor faithless to him in whom we believe. And therefore, understanding the speech of the prophetic word, be such as God the Father made you, be such as the hand of the Father formed you; since the image and likeness of God, which you are, does not seek the enticements and blandishments of corruption, and every counsel of the ungodly and way of sinners, the seat of pestilence, is the cunning of corrupt flesh and the workshop of a polluted body, as it is written: "The corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly dwelling presses down the mind that thinks many things." For this is the tune of desire, the blow of anger, the incurable promise, the weapon of the serpent, the craft of the enemy, the flattery of a stranger, the subjugation of ourselves, its own corruption. Through this the assailing enemy ### Scripture references - Gal 3:27: allusion, high confidence - Gen 1:26: allusion, high confidence - Ps 1:1: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 9:15 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Gal 3:27; Gen 1:26; Wis 9:15. The construction of the first sentence is incomplete in the text. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 7.114 (CSEL 18:83–84; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/7-114). ## Eleven Tractates 7.115 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-7-115 - Source: CSEL 18:84 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Through the flesh the devil attacks; Paul and the prophets describe this conflict and the transience of the flesh. ### Latin text artes suas inserit et insidiis suis per occulta fallentibus zabolus obrepit, dum percutit ut terreat uel dum blanditur ut fallat. Sic denique apostolus Paulus, quid ipse uellet ostendens et quid ne fieret repugnaret, dixit: uideo aliam legem in membris meis repugnantem legi mentis meae et captiuum ducentem me in lege peccati, et alibi: scio quia non inhabitat in me, hoc est in carne mea, bonum; nam mente seruio legi dei, carne autem legi peccati. Sic et profeta de hoc loquens ait: in montem altum ascende, qui euangelizas Sion; exalta uiribus uocem tuam qui euangelizas Hierusalem; exalta, ne timeas; dic populo huic omnis caro ut faenum et omnis gloria hominis ut flos faeni; aruit faenum et flos decidit, uerbum autem domini manet in aeternum. Et alibi ait: ego stabo super speculationem meam, ut uideam et audiam, quis loquatur in me et quid respondeam in accusatione mea; et alibi: ### English translation (Claude) inserts his arts, and the devil creeps in with his snares deceiving in secret, now striking to terrify, now flattering to deceive. So the apostle Paul, showing what he himself willed and resisting what should not be done, said: "I see another law in my members fighting against the law of my mind and leading me captive in the law of sin"; and elsewhere: "I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for with the mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." So too the prophet, speaking of this, says: "Go up on a high mountain, you who bring good news to Zion; lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good news to Jerusalem; lift it up, do not fear; say to this people: All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man like the flower of grass; the grass has withered and the flower has fallen, but the word of the Lord remains for ever." And elsewhere he says: "I will stand upon my watchtower, to see and hear who speaks in me and what I shall answer in my accusation"; and elsewhere: ### Scripture references - Rom 7:23: quotation, high confidence - Rom 7:18: quotation, high confidence - Rom 7:25: quotation, high confidence - Isa 40:9: quotation, high confidence - Isa 40:6: quotation, high confidence - Isa 40:8: quotation, high confidence - Hab 2:1: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 7:23; Rom 7:18, 25; Isa 40:9, 6–8; Hab 2:1. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 7.115 (CSEL 18:84; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/7-115). ## Eleven Tractates 7.116 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-7-116 - Source: CSEL 18:84–85 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Like Rebecca's twins, flesh and spirit struggle; believers should walk in the law of the Lord like the tree of Psalm 1. ### Latin text audi, populus meus, qui beatificant uos seducunt uos et semitas pedum uestrorum conturbant. Quorum si naturam intellegimus et uitiorum consortium non habemus, necessario regnum quod caro et sanguis non percipiet, consequimur. Sic denique Rebecca ad fidem mysterii operantis electa duorum in utero suo populorum pugnas uidens Esau dolore partus sui edidit, qui primitiua sua perderet, et Iacob protulit in salutem, quem Christus faceret heredem. In quo et uos, dilectissimi fratres, tamquam fideles serui et, sicut scribtum est, fili dei et coheredes Christi operantes in testimonio loquendorum castificate animas uestras ad obaudiendum fidei nec configurantes uos ignorantes uitae desideriis in quibus erubescitis stipendia uellitis accipere peccati, sed iter psalmidici sermonis intrantes ambulate in lege domini, ut tamquam lignum quod plantatum est iuxta decursus aquarum diuinorum ### English translation (Claude) "Hear, my people: those who call you blessed lead you astray and confuse the paths of your feet." If we understand their nature and have no fellowship with vices, we necessarily attain the kingdom which flesh and blood will not inherit. So Rebecca, chosen for the faith of the working mystery, seeing the battles of two peoples in her womb, bore Esau in the pain of her childbirth, who would lose his birthright, and brought forth Jacob to salvation, whom Christ would make heir. In this you too, dearest brothers, as faithful servants and, as it is written, sons of God and fellow heirs with Christ, working in the testimony of what is to be spoken, purify your souls for obedience to the faith, and, not conforming yourselves to the desires of a life of ignorance, of which you are ashamed, do not want to receive the wages of sin, but, entering on the road of the psalmist's word, walk in the law of the Lord, so that, like a tree planted beside the streams of the waters of the divine ### Scripture references - Isa 3:12: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:50: allusion, high confidence - Gen 25:22: allusion, high confidence - Gen 25:34: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 8:17: allusion, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:22: allusion, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:14: allusion, high confidence - Rom 6:23: allusion, high confidence - Ps 1:2: allusion, high confidence - Ps 1:3: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Isa 3:12; 1 Cor 15:50; Gen 25:22–26, 34; Rom 8:17; 1 Pet 1:22, 14; Rom 6:21, 23; Ps 1:2–3. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 7.116 (CSEL 18:84–85; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/7-116). ## Eleven Tractates 7.117 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-7-117 - Source: CSEL 18:85–86 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Watered by Scripture, believers bear lasting fruit and attain the rest of the righteous. ### Latin text sermonum fontibus inrigati uirentis intellectus palmites proferatis maturos et permanentes honestae uitae fructus, quos non corruptibilis habitaculi uoluptarium tempus eduxit, sed quos diuini sermonis eruditio fecundarit, ut non decidentibus foliis mandatorum perpetua luce contecti peccatorum supplicia respuere et requiem possimus habere iustorum per Iesum Christum. ### English translation (Claude) words, watered by their springs, you may bring forth the branches of a flourishing understanding and the ripe and lasting fruits of an honourable life, which the pleasure-loving time of a corruptible dwelling did not bring forth but the instruction of the divine word made fruitful; so that, as the leaves of the commandments do not fall, covered with perpetual light, we may reject the punishments of sinners and have the rest of the righteous through Jesus Christ. ### Scripture references - Ps 1:3: allusion, high confidence - Ps 1:6: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 1:3–6. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 7.117 (CSEL 18:85–86; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/7-117). ## Eleven Tractates 8.118 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-8-118 - Source: CSEL 18:86–87 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A homily on Psalm 3: the story of David fleeing Absalom must be read spiritually, as a figure of ourselves. ### Latin text Domine, quid multiplicati sunt qui tribulant me? multi insurgunt aduersus me et reliqua. Licet psalmi titulus gestorum ordinem teneat, cur Dauid sanctus animi a facie Abessalon fili declinauerit, nobis tamen caelestia opera dicentibus non rerum carnalium perscrutanda sunt, ut inuenta in secretum inquisitionis indagine inuenti praemia operis adsequamur, sicut scribtum est: quaerite, inquid, et inuenietis, pulsate et aperietur uobis, et alibi: omnia possibilia credenti. Acta itaque per speciem per fidem colligere debemus et uisibilia opera inuisibili mentis indagare secreto. Omnia enim in figura gesta apostolus adseuerat et nostri typum anteacta monstrare, ut opus laboris per scientiam legis inluminet, quos ignorantia tenebris ante uelabat, ut apostoli ad Efesios dictum est: eratis enim aliquando tenebrae, nunc autem lux in domino; ut fili lucis ambulate. Agere ergo nos oportet excubias, ### English translation (Claude) "Lord, why have they multiplied who trouble me? Many rise up against me," and the rest. Although the title of the psalm keeps the order of events—why holy David turned aside from the face of his son Absalom—yet we, who speak of heavenly works, must not search out fleshly matters, so that, having found by the tracking of inquiry what is in secret, we may attain the rewards of the work discovered, as it is written: "Seek," he says, "and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you"; and elsewhere: "All things are possible to him who believes." We must therefore gather by faith what was done in appearance, and track visible works by the invisible secret of the mind. For the apostle asserts that all things were done in a figure, and that the things done before show a type of us, so that the labour of the work might enlighten through the knowledge of the law those whom ignorance had previously veiled in darkness, as was said by the apostle to the Ephesians: "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light." We must therefore keep watch, ### Scripture references - Ps 3:1 (3:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Matt 7:7: quotation, high confidence - Mark 9:23: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:11: allusion, high confidence - Eph 5:8: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 3:1 (title: when David fled from Absalom his son); Matt 7:7; Mark 9:23; 1 Cor 10:11; Eph 5:8. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 8.118 (CSEL 18:86–87; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/8-118). ## Eleven Tractates 8.119 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-8-119 - Source: CSEL 18:87 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The inner man must be renewed by meditating on Scripture; the order of the psalms is itself meaningful. ### Latin text qui iunctus est, qui si temporis mutatione corrumpitur, sed in dies ille renouatur, ut non quae in oculos sed quae in mentem ueniunt magnifica ducamus, non studentes corporalibus sed spiritalibus, laborantes, ut apostolus Paulus, electum uas Christi, gentium doctor, ponit et dicit: lex, inquid, spiritalis est, ego uero carnalis, et beatissimus Petrus: omnis, ait, profetia uel scribtura interpraetationem indiget. Hinc nobis nocte ac die in dominica lege meditatio, hinc in eam, quantum meriti est, curiosae mentis intentio, hinc nostri agnitio, hinc fiducia gloriandi repudiare quae carnis sunt et elegere quae spiritus, argutiam cordis in agnitionem ueritatis intendere, praeceptorum caelestium secreta cognoscere, utilitati animae, dum tempus sufficit, prouidere. Unde mihi, fratres, sacrae lectionis prouidentiam curiosius intuenti non (in)merito per profetam ordo psalmorum digestus uidetur nec incondite quae spiritus dei dictauit exposita, ### English translation (Claude) [the inner man] who is joined to us, which, though [the outer] is corrupted by the change of time, is renewed day by day, so that we may count great not what comes before the eyes but what comes into the mind, not devoted to bodily things but to spiritual, labouring as the apostle Paul, the chosen vessel of Christ, the teacher of the nations, sets down and says: "The law," he says, "is spiritual, but I am fleshly"; and most blessed Peter: "All prophecy or Scripture," he says, "needs interpretation." Hence our meditation night and day in the law of the Lord; hence the attention of an inquiring mind upon it, as far as merit allows; hence the knowledge of ourselves; hence the confidence of glorying to reject what is of the flesh and choose what is of the Spirit, to direct the sharpness of the heart to the knowledge of the truth, to know the secrets of the heavenly precepts, to provide for the good of the soul while there is time. Hence, brothers, as I look more carefully at the providence of the sacred reading, the order of the psalms seems to me not undeservedly arranged by the prophet, nor what the Spirit of God dictated set out without order, ### Scripture references - 2 Cor 4:16: allusion, high confidence - Acts 9:15: allusion, high confidence - Rom 7:14: quotation, high confidence - 2 Pet 1:20: quotation, medium confidence - Ps 1:2: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The opening is damaged in the text; the bracketed words are supplied from the sense (2 Cor 4:16). Acts 9:15; Rom 7:14; 2 Pet 1:20 (in a free form: "needs interpretation"); Ps 1:2. "(in)" is the editor's supplement; "le" in the text is read as "lege". ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 8.119 (CSEL 18:87; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/8-119). ## Eleven Tractates 8.120 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-8-120 - Source: CSEL 18:87–88 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Psalms 1–3 trace human life: innocence, envy, then rebellion like Absalom's against his father; David prays for forgiveness of the sins of youth. ### Latin text cum rudem hominis natiuitatem simplici innocentiae puritate formatam parem beatis, si in his maneat, ostendit dicens: beatus uir, qui non abiit in consilio inpiorum et in uia peccatorum non stetit; secundo incorporatum inuidiae uirus exspauit, cum ait: quare fremuerunt gentes et populi meditati sunt inania? hoc in tertio odium fili in patrem docet a nobis nasci, quae nos persequantur ostendens. Tum et illud, carissimi: sensum legentis admonuit et sollicitam mentem ueri inquisitione tardauit, cum in principiis posuit, quae regni sui fine perpessus est, profetiam credo uitae hominis aptando et saecularis mali circumscribendo naturam. Formae uel aetatis ignorantiae iactata turbinibus peccatis acerba sunt, tranquillo aeui fiunt scientiae emendatione matura, pro quibus idem praecatur: peccata, inquid, iuuentutis meae et ignorantiae ne memineris, deus; ### English translation (Claude) since it shows that man's rude birth, formed in the simple purity of innocence, is equal to the blessed if it remains in these things, saying: "Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly nor stood in the way of sinners"; in the second it shuddered at the poison of envy incorporated in us, when it says: "Why have the nations raged and the peoples meditated vain things?"; this, in the third, teaches that hatred of the son against the father is born from us, showing the things that persecute us. And that too, dearest ones, has warned the reader's mind and slowed the anxious mind in its inquiry into the truth: that he placed at the beginnings what he suffered at the end of his reign, fitting, I believe, a prophecy to the life of man and circumscribing the nature of worldly evil. The things of youth or of the age of ignorance, tossed by whirlwinds, are bitter with sins; in the calm of age they become ripe by the correction of knowledge; for which the same man prays: "The sins of my youth and of my ignorance do not remember, O God"; ### Scripture references - Ps 1:1: quotation, high confidence - Ps 2:1: quotation, high confidence - Ps 25:7 (24:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 1:1; Ps 2:1; Ps 3 (Absalom, though his revolt came late in David's reign); Ps 25:7 (LXX/Vulg. 24:7). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 8.120 (CSEL 18:87–88; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/8-120). ## Eleven Tractates 8.121 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-8-121 - Source: CSEL 18:88–89 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Absalom, David's third son, figures the sins born from us; sin proceeds from desire, to consent, to the deed. ### Latin text et apostolus ad libertatem iustitiae nos excitans peccati in nobis redarguens seruitutem sic ait: cum enim serui essetis peccati, liberi fuistis a iustitia; quem ergo fructum habuistis tunc in his in quibus nunc erubescitis? Tertius enim hic psalmus est, ut Abessalon tertius filius inpius crudelis iniustus, qui occiso fratre ueniam consecutus religiosum et indulgentissimum patrem bello persequi, regno exuere, uita priuare conatus est. Quae omnia ad nos formam arbitror esse referenda nobisque contraria, quae a nobis generantur, existere. Hinc prima inlecebra nutrit reatum et apparentiae malum occasionem praestat inimico; tum in decliue scelerum inpulsu uoluntatis urguetur et homo idest filius perditionis ostenditur. Prima enim concupiscentiae culpa est, secunda uoluntatis adiectio, tertia desiderati operis inpletio. Quae e contrario in operibus bonis lectione cognouimus.... ### English translation (Claude) and the apostle, rousing us to the liberty of righteousness and reproving the slavery of sin in us, says: "For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness; what fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed?" For this is the third psalm, as Absalom was the third son, ungodly, cruel, unjust, who, having killed his brother and obtained pardon, tried to pursue in war his religious and most indulgent father, to strip him of his kingdom, to deprive him of life. All these things, I think, must be referred to us as a figure, and the things generated by us prove to be our enemies. Hence the first enticement nourishes guilt, and the appearance of evil gives occasion to the enemy; then by the impulse of the will a man is urged down the slope of crimes and is shown to be a man, that is, a son of perdition. For the first fault is of lust, the second the addition of the will, the third the fulfilment of the desired deed. These, conversely, in good works we have learned by reading … ### Scripture references - Rom 6:20: quotation, high confidence - Rom 6:21: quotation, high confidence - 2 Sam 3:3: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Sam 13:28: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Sam 15:10: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Thess 2:3: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 6:20–21; 2 Sam 3:3; 2 Sam 13:28–29; 2 Sam 14:33; 2 Sam 15; 2 Thess 2:3. The text breaks off after "we have learned" (garbled repetitions in the digital text removed); a gap follows. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 8.121 (CSEL 18:88–89; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/8-121). ## Eleven Tractates 9.122 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-9-122 - Source: CSEL 18:90 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A fragment of a homily on Psalm 59: God's ways are right; the narrow door means that love of the world shuts out the promise of the life to come. ### Latin text ........ facere non posse monstraret, sicut profeta ait: quis sapiens et percipiet haec et intelleget et sciet ea? quia rectae sunt uiae domini et iusti ibunt in illas, inpii autem languiscent in eis. Propter quod et uos induti fidei armis castificate animas uestras ad obaudiendum per spiritum et aedificantes uos in templum domini caritatem in fraternitate simplicem in gloriam diuinae dilectionis adhibete, quoniam sic scribtum est: omnis caro ut faenum et omnis gloria hominis ut flos faeni; aruit faenum et flos decidit, uerbum autem domini manet in aeternum, ut in euuangelio ait dominus: intrate per angustum ostium, quia dico uobis multi quaerunt introire et non poterunt. In quo non quod angustus sanctorum constituatur ingressus, sed quia omnis amicitia mundi inimica est dei et humana natura facilius oblectatione quam labore suadetur, nos intellegamus quod, ubi rerum praesentium uoluntas quaeritur, futurae uitae promissio non habetur. ### English translation (Claude) … to show that he could not do it, as the prophet says: "Who is wise and will perceive these things, and understand and know them? For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but the ungodly will grow faint in them." For this reason you too, clothed in the armour of faith, purify your souls for obedience through the Spirit, and, building yourselves into a temple of the Lord, show a simple love in brotherhood to the glory of the divine love; for so it is written: "All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man like the flower of grass; the grass has withered and the flower has fallen, but the word of the Lord remains for ever"; as the Lord says in the gospel: "Enter through the narrow door, for I tell you, many seek to enter and will not be able." In this we should understand, not that the entrance of the saints is set narrow, but that, because all friendship with the world is enmity with God, and human nature is persuaded more easily by pleasure than by labour, where the will for present things is sought, the promise of the future life is not held. ### Scripture references - Hos 14:9: quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:11: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Pet 1:22: allusion, high confidence - 1 Pet 2:5: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Pet 1:24: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 1:25: quotation, high confidence - Luke 13:24: quotation, high confidence - Jas 4:4: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The beginning of this tractate is lost. Hos 14:9 (Hebrew 14:10); Eph 6:11; 1 Pet 1:22; 1 Pet 2:5; 1 Pet 1:24–25 (Isa 40:6–8); Luke 13:24; Jas 4:4. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 9.122 (CSEL 18:90; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/9-122). ## Eleven Tractates 9.123 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-9-123 - Source: CSEL 18:90–92 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The gospel favours the poor, but the rich are not without hope if they are rich in good works and climb step by step toward God. ### Latin text Sic denique in euuangelio gratior est dracma pauperis; requietio Abrahae sinus dicitur et Finees; inmisericordis diuitis gehennae ignis habitaculum repperitur, non quod absolute diuitibus poena ponatur et reuertendi ad dominum desperatio constituta locupletibus sit, sed quia nihil in principiis statutum est nec ullus per praerupta conscensus est, sicut apostolus ait: diuitibus huius saeculi praecipe non superbe sapere neque sperare in incerto diuitiarum, sed diuites esse in operibus bonis, ut, dum per elemosynas et bonam uitam tendendi ad dominum iter facimus, tamquam subtractis paulatim gradibus ad ea quae sunt summa ueniamus. ### English translation (Claude) So in the gospel the poor woman's drachma is more welcome; the bosom of Abraham is called rest, and that of Phinehas; the dwelling of the unmerciful rich man is found to be the fire of hell—not that punishment is laid down absolutely for the rich and despair of returning to the Lord is established for the wealthy, but because nothing is settled at the beginnings, and no one climbs by sheer cliffs, as the apostle says: "Command the rich of this world not to be proud, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches, but to be rich in good works," so that, while through almsgiving and a good life we make the road toward the Lord, we may come to the highest things as by steps gradually taken. ### Scripture references - Luke 21:2: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 16:22: allusion, high confidence - Luke 16:24: allusion, high confidence - 1 Tim 6:17: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 6:18: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Luke 21:1–4 (the widow's coins, here called a drachma); Luke 16:22–24; 1 Tim 6:17–18. "and that of Phinehas" (et Finees) is obscure; rendered as written. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 9.123 (CSEL 18:90–92; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/9-123). ## Eleven Tractates 10.124 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-124 - Source: CSEL 18:92 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A homily on Psalm 60: the psalm's wars are written to teach us to keep a pure conscience amid the wars of the vices. ### Latin text Profetici historia sermonis diuinis inbuta uerbis et pronuntiantis tituli uelut propositi thematis gesta disponens non memoriam mortalium temporum, quae conhiuentia humano sensui fortuitis semper motibus in aliquid existunt, tamquam ad doctrinam publicae opinionis eloquitur, sed referens gesta regnorum, dum alter alium ut uincat inpugnat, hoc quod unicum in nobis profetici operis munus est docet post euasio eorum quae sunt in mundo in cupiditate perditae uitae inter tot bella uitiorum conscientiam ab omni culpa liberam conseruare et sic tanti muneris deum parentemque debere cognosci, ut, qui omne, quod profeta in persecutione sustinuit et Christus deus in passionem suam uicit, ad doctrinam nostram scribta esse cognouerit, utili ac necessaria ad intellegendum mandatorum uia nitens inter tot inexploratas humanae uitae molestias et ### English translation (Claude) The history of the prophetic word, steeped in divine words and arranging events as the theme proposed by the title it announces, does not speak of the memory of mortal times—which, with the connivance of human sense, always come into being through chance movements—as if for the instruction of public opinion; but, recounting the deeds of kingdoms, as one attacks another in order to conquer, it teaches what is the one gift of the prophetic work in us: after escaping the things that are in the world in the lust of a lost life, to keep a conscience free from all fault amid so many wars of vices; and so to recognize that we owe God, the giver of so great a gift, as our parent, so that whoever has recognized that all that the prophet endured in persecution and that Christ, God, conquered in his passion was written for our instruction, striving along the road of the commandments, useful and necessary for understanding, amid so many unexplored troubles of human life and ### Scripture references - 2 Pet 1:4: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 15:4: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - 2 Pet 1:4; Rom 15:4. The title of Psalm 60 (LXX 59) speaks of David's wars against Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah ("the two Syrias"). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.124 (CSEL 18:92; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-124). ## Eleven Tractates 10.125 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-125 - Source: CSEL 18:92–93 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Armed by faith, the believer returns wholly to God; all Scripture describes the whole man, and we are gathered after death with those whose example we follow. ### Latin text indignas deo saeculi mensurabiles pugnas luricam iustitiae, confidentiae galeam, scutum aequitatis et, sicut scribtum est, gladium ex utraque parte acutum diuini oris adsumat et indutus fidei armis studio animi flagrantis (in)census disruptis saeculi uinculis totum se diuinae unde profectus est naturae e deo Christo, cuius similiter debitor et imagini testis est, reddat intellegens quod inter diuinorum deambulacra uerborum omnis scribtura homo totus est, euuangelico sermone testante omnem narrationem rerum in nobis fuisse conpletam, sicut et Paulus ait: siue Paulus siue Apollo siue Caefas siue mundus siue mors siue uita, omnia uestra sunt, uos autem Christi, Christus autem dei; quoniam in quorum exemplarium uiuentes in saeculo siue instituto bonae indolis siue cupiditate uitae praeuaricantis intramus, eorum post mortem siue in gloriam consortiis congregamur... ### English translation (Claude) the measurable battles of the world unworthy of God, may take up the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of confidence, the shield of equity, and, as it is written, the two-edged sword of the divine mouth, and, clothed in the armour of faith, set on fire with the zeal of a burning mind, the bonds of the world broken, may give himself wholly back to the divine nature from which he came forth, from Christ, God, of whom he is likewise debtor and witness to his image, understanding that among the walks of the divine words all Scripture is the whole man, the gospel word testifying that every narrative of events has been fulfilled in us, as Paul too says: "Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or death or life, all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's"; since, in whatever examples we enter while living in the world, whether by the training of a good disposition or by the lust of a transgressing life, after death we are gathered into their company, whether in glory … ### Scripture references - Eph 6:14: allusion, high confidence - Eph 6:17: allusion, high confidence - Rev 1:16: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 1:1: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 3:22: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:23: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Eph 6:14–17; Rev 1:16; Luke 1:1; 1 Cor 3:22–23. "(in)" is the editor's supplement. The section ends incomplete ("or in punishment" is implied). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.125 (CSEL 18:92–93; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-125). ## Eleven Tractates 10.126 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-126 - Source: CSEL 18:93–94 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The convert reads David's wars as the inner wars of sin against which he must struggle. ### Latin text Et ideo qui conuersus ad fidem Christi prima media postrema omnia quae per dominum facta et quae post sunt futura cognouerit, necessario temporaria de perpetuis, falsa de ueris et segregans caduca de certis, ubi se diuinum genus uiderit, unum et indifferentem sibi deum retinens in ea quae neque in exordio neque fini obnoxiantur exultat; sed omne quod Dauid sanctus inter incerta certaminum et alienigenorum excidia bellorum confidens deo egit, non tamquam memoriale sae scribtum accipit, sed quid in nobis partim nostro partim corporis metu cotidianorum bella peccaminum et saecularium uarietas uoluntatum, dum pro certis incerta sectamur et inter aliena contendimus, ualeat recognoscit, dicente ipso Dauid in psalmis: domine, ab occultis meis libera me et ab alienis parce seruo tuo, quoniam iniquitatem meam ego agnosco et peccatum meum contra me est semper. Omnia enim, ### English translation (Claude) And therefore whoever, converted to the faith of Christ, has come to know the first, middle, and last of all things done through the Lord and those that are to come after, necessarily separating temporary things from perpetual, false from true, and perishable from certain, when he sees himself to be of the divine race, holding to one God undivided for himself, exults in the things that are subject neither to beginning nor to end; and all that holy David did, trusting in God amid the uncertainties of contests and the slaughters of wars with foreigners, he receives not as a memorial written of the world, but recognizes what in us—partly from our own fear, partly from the body's—the daily wars of sins and the variety of worldly wishes can do, as we pursue uncertain things in place of certain and contend among things that are another's, as David himself says in the psalms: "Lord, free me from my hidden faults, and spare your servant from those of others; for I acknowledge my iniquity, and my sin is always before me." For all things ### Scripture references - Ps 19:12 (18:13 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 19:13 (18:14 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 51:3 (50:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 19:12–13 (LXX/Vulg. 18:13–14); Ps 51:3 (LXX/Vulg. 50:5). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.126 (CSEL 18:93–94; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-126). ## Eleven Tractates 10.127 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-127 - Source: CSEL 18:94 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Scripture speaks through visible things so that every believer may recognize that it was written about himself, and that friendship with the world is enmity with God. ### Latin text quae uel gesta uel scribta sunt, ideo sic scribta sunt, ut dei sensus uisibilibus inuisibilia demonstrans aptissimo ad humanam intellegentiam sermone loqueretur omnisque homo qui deum uellet, quidquid in electione populi patriae profetarum loco tempore die mense oblectatione certamine acceptabile in scribturis deo cerneret, si se per ea quae sunt per deum prouisa disponens ad opinionem religiosae intellegentiae profecisset, omne quod scribtum est de se scribtum esse cognosceret et ambulans in nouitate uitae, siue quid potestatibus daretur aut regibus, unicum hoc profeticis uocibus adpraehenderet quod quidquid amicum saeculo est Christo inuenitur inimicum, dicente apostolo: omnis amicitia mundi inimica est dei, et iterum: omnis concupiscentia carnis et uoluntas oculorum et ambitio humanae uitae non sunt de patre sed de hoc mundo sunt et mundus praeterit et concupiscentia eius, ### English translation (Claude) that were done or written were written so for this reason: that the mind of God, showing invisible things by visible ones, might speak in the language best suited to human understanding, and every man who wanted God, whatever he saw in the Scriptures as acceptable to God—in the election of a people, a fatherland, prophets, place, time, day, month, delight, contest—if, arranging himself by the things provided through God, he had advanced to the level of religious understanding, might recognize that all that is written was written about himself; and, walking in newness of life, whether something was given to powers or to kings, he might grasp from the prophetic voices this one thing: that whatever is friendly to the world is found hostile to Christ, as the apostle says: "All friendship with the world is enmity with God"; and again: "All lust of the flesh and desire of the eyes and ambition of human life are not from the Father but are from this world, and the world passes away, and its lust, ### Scripture references - Rom 1:20: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 6:4: allusion, high confidence - Jas 4:4: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 2:16: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 2:17: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 1:20; Rom 6:4; Jas 4:4; 1 John 2:16–17. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.127 (CSEL 18:94; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-127). ## Eleven Tractates 10.128 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-128 - Source: CSEL 18:94–95 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Both fear and prosperity can draw converts back to what they renounced; prosperity is the greater danger. ### Latin text uerbum autem domini manet in aeternum. Quamuis enim humani intellectus infirmitas cogat profetici sermonis eloquia rerum species terrenarum tamquam superiorum uirtutum indices quaerere, ut uisibilium consuetudine familiariter admonente in insolitos sensus humanae inbecillitatis angustias religiosa discendi exspectatione laxemus, tamen ipsa natura nos docet quod haec sunt quae conuer. ad fidem aut pugnant aut dominantur in nobis tribulatione formidinum seu adolatione felicium, (ut) quae distrucximus instruentes ad ea quibus renuntiauimus reuertamur, quoniam nihil interest diabolo, utrum metu malorum an persuasione felicium alienatae a deo uitae peccati occasio et materia praestetur, nisi quod iam in captiuitatibus nostris tolerabilior est consuetudo miseriarum quam ruina felicium, ### English translation (Claude) but the word of the Lord remains for ever." For although the weakness of human understanding compels the utterances of the prophetic word to seek the appearances of earthly things as indicators of higher powers, so that, with the familiarity of visible things gently admonishing us, we may widen the narrow straits of human weakness toward unaccustomed meanings by a religious expectation of learning, yet nature itself teaches us that these are the things which, in those converted to the faith, either fight or rule in us, by the tribulation of fears or the flattery of good fortune, (so that) we may return, rebuilding what we destroyed, to the things we renounced; since it makes no difference to the devil whether occasion and material for the sin of a life estranged from God is supplied by fear of evils or by the persuasion of prosperity—except that in our captivities the habit of miseries is now more bearable than the ruin of prosperity, ### Scripture references - 1 Pet 1:25: quotation, high confidence - Isa 40:8: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Pet 1:25 (Isa 40:8). "conuer." in the text is read as "conuersis" (converted). "(ut)" is the editor's supplement. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.128 (CSEL 18:94–95; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-128). ## Eleven Tractates 10.129 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-129 - Source: CSEL 18:95 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The title of Psalm 60, 'for instruction,' after the defeat of the two Syrias, signifies victory over the two sources of sin, in soul and in body. ### Latin text dicente de hoc profeta: audi me, populus meus, quoniam sicut exactores uestri circumscribunt uos, ita et qui beatificant uos seducunt uos, ut semitas pedum uestrorum conturbent. Et ideo Dauid sanctus titulum psalmi in doctrinam conuersorum positi post deuictas duas Syrias in exultationem triumfantis inducit, ut, qui titulum psalmi in doctrinam positi et gratulationem Dauid inter bella saluati in intellectum profetici sermonis agnosce, diuinae intellegentiae opus moliens et uoluntatum suarum in se uidens bella humanae inbecillitatis respueret errores et duas Syrias hoc est duo peccaminum principia, quod aliud animi aliud corporis officio datur saeculare aliquid uelle uel facere, deuincens indutus, sicut scribtum est, fidei armis uitiorum ageret triumphum et dedicatae in Christo conuersationis inmarcescibilem coronam uelut quibusdam uictricis militiae stipendiis mereretur, ### English translation (Claude) as the prophet says of this: "Hear me, my people: for as your oppressors circumscribe you, so too those who call you blessed lead you astray, to confuse the paths of your feet." And therefore holy David brings in the title of the psalm, set for the instruction of converts, after the two Syrias had been conquered, for the exultation of one triumphing, so that whoever recognizes the title of the psalm set for instruction, and the thanksgiving of David saved amid wars, into the understanding of the prophetic word, working at the task of divine understanding and seeing in himself the wars of his own wishes, might reject the errors of human weakness, and, conquering the two Syrias—that is, the two sources of sins, since to will or to do something worldly is given, the one to the office of the soul, the other to that of the body—clothed, as it is written, in the armour of faith, might celebrate a triumph over the vices and earn, as wages of a victorious campaign, the unfading crown of a life dedicated in Christ, ### Scripture references - Isa 3:12: quotation, high confidence - Ps 60:1 (59:1 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Eph 6:11: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Pet 5:4: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Isa 3:12 (Old Latin); Ps 60 title (LXX 59:1–2: "for instruction … when he burned Mesopotamia of Syria and Syria of Zobal"); Eph 6:11; 1 Pet 5:4; 2 Tim 2:4–5. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.129 (CSEL 18:95; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-129). ## Eleven Tractates 10.130 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-130 - Source: CSEL 18:95–96 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Paul teaches that the flesh and the spirit are at war in us, and that behind the flesh are spiritual powers of evil. ### Latin text quoniam haec perfecti boni gloria est, si, sicut scribtum est, castificatio corporis pretio excolitur uoluntatis. Denique dum nullus aput nos infinitis finis est et fixo in lubricum gressu modum non constituimus incertis, cotidianorum in nobis fieri bella certaminum etiam apostolicis uocibus edocemur dicente ad nos Paulo: caro concupiscit aduersus spiritum, spiritus autem aduersus carnem; haec inuicem sibi altercantur, ut non quae uolumus faciamus, et quia humanae intellegentiae sensus et ratio communium opinionum non statim apostolici sermonis et caelestis consilii capax esset, insequenter apostolus Paulus, cur peccantibus nobis deuicta uitiis caro et humanae uitae ambitio subiaceret, ostendit dicens: non est uobis conluctatio contra carnem et sanguinem, sed aduersus principes et potestates mundi huius rectores harum tenebrarum, ### English translation (Claude) since this is the glory of perfect good, if, as it is written, the purification of the body is cultivated by the price of the will. Indeed, since with us there is no end to things endless, and with a foot planted on slippery ground we set no measure for uncertain things, we are taught even by apostolic voices that the wars of daily contests take place in us, Paul saying to us: "The flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; these quarrel with one another, so that we do not do what we want"; and because the sense of human understanding and the reasoning of common opinions would not at once be capable of the apostolic word and the heavenly counsel, the apostle Paul next shows why, when we sin, the flesh, conquered by vices, and the ambition of human life lie subject, saying: "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the princes and powers of this world, the rulers of this darkness, ### Scripture references - Gal 5:17: quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:12: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Gal 5:17; Eph 6:12. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.130 (CSEL 18:95–96; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-130). ## Eleven Tractates 10.131 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-131 - Source: CSEL 18:96 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Revelation, David, and James all show the war within; the believer must abstain from lusts of the thoughts as well as of the flesh. ### Latin text aduersus spiritalia nequitiae in caelestibus; sicut et Iohannis ait: uidi tres spiritus inmundos tamquam tres ranas exeuntes de ore pseudoprofetae et de ore bestiae et hii sunt tres spiritus daemoniorum qui procedunt ad conturbandos reges terrae, et iterum ipse Dauid quid in nobis pugnaret ostendens ait: domine, iniquitatem meam ego agnosco et delictum meum contra me est semper, et apostolus de eo loquens ait: unde bella, unde rixae in uobis? nonne de uoluntatibus uestris, quae militant in membris uestris? ut, qui diuinorum praeceptorum in se opus uellet, uniuersa in se uitiorum bella deuincens non solum carnis sed et cogitationum idest spiritalium nequitiarum concupiscentiis abstineret et gentilium daemonum in se ueneficia despiciens, cui tributa peccaminum, cui stipendia uitiorum, cui timores formidinum, cui honores praetereuntium dignitatum deditus saeculo homo deberet, ### English translation (Claude) against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavens"; as John too says: "I saw three unclean spirits like three frogs coming out of the mouth of the false prophet and out of the mouth of the beast; and these are three spirits of demons, who go out to throw the kings of the earth into confusion"; and again David himself, showing what fights in us, says: "Lord, I acknowledge my iniquity, and my offence is always before me"; and the apostle, speaking of it, says: "Where do wars, where do quarrels among you come from? Is it not from your desires, which war in your members?"; so that whoever wanted the work of the divine precepts in himself, conquering all the wars of vices in himself, might abstain not only from the lusts of the flesh but also of the thoughts, that is, of spiritual wickedness, and, despising the sorceries of pagan demons in himself, might recognize to whom man, given over to the world, would owe the tributes of sins, the wages of vices, the fears of terrors, the honours of passing dignities, ### Scripture references - Eph 6:12: quotation, high confidence - Rev 16:13: quotation, high confidence - Rev 16:14: quotation, high confidence - Ps 51:3 (50:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Jas 4:1: quotation, high confidence - Rom 13:7: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - Eph 6:12; Rev 16:13–14; Ps 51:3 (LXX/Vulg. 50:5); Jas 4:1; Rom 13:7. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.131 (CSEL 18:96; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-131). ## Eleven Tractates 10.132 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-132 - Source: CSEL 18:96–97 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Psalm 60:1, 'you rejected us and had mercy,' shows that God's rebuke is love; the saved can mock death's sting. ### Latin text agnosceret et repudiatis omnibus quorum finis mors est et in quibus corripitur edoctus, totum se debens deo, factus ipse quod psalmus est in exultationem psalmidici sermonis intraret dicente Dauid: deus, repulisti nos et distruxisti, iratus es et misertus es nostri. In quo tamen sermone psalmi ultra naturalis intellegentiae sensum mens ad deum conuersa prouehitur et unicuique intellegenti se incorruptae beatitudinis per haec cam aperitur. Libet enim hoc loco in tali sermone psalmi aduersus diaboli insidiantis astutias libera saluati in Christo hominis uoce clamare: ubi est, mors, aculeus tuus? ubi est, mors, uictoria tua? ecce deus, dum corripit, diligit et erudit potius peccati agnitione quam plectit, et, cum alia tua non sit natura, nisi aut in peccati mala cogere aut post percussum captum ueneno in ea quae ipse persuaseris perurguere, Christo docente cognoscimus quod baptizati in Christo, ### English translation (Claude) and, having rejected all things whose end is death and by which he is instructed when rebuked, owing himself wholly to God, having himself become what the psalm is, he might enter into the exultation of the psalmist's word, David saying: "O God, you have rejected us and destroyed us; you were angry and had mercy on us." In this word of the psalm the mind turned to God is carried beyond the sense of natural understanding, and through these things the … of incorruptible blessedness is opened to everyone who understands himself. For here it is pleasing, in such a word of the psalm, against the cunning of the devil lying in wait, to cry out with the free voice of a man saved in Christ: "Where, O death, is your sting? Where, O death, is your victory?" Behold, God, when he rebukes, loves, and teaches by the knowledge of sin rather than punishes; and since your nature is nothing else than either to drive into the evils of sin or, after striking, to urge the one caught by poison into the things you have persuaded, we know, Christ teaching, that the baptized in Christ, ### Scripture references - Rom 6:21: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 60:1 (59:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:55: quotation, high confidence - Heb 12:6: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 6:21; Ps 60:1 (LXX/Vulg. 59:3); 1 Cor 15:55; Heb 12:6. "cam" in the text is defective (perhaps "causa" or "ianua", door); marked …. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.132 (CSEL 18:96–97; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-132). ## Eleven Tractates 10.133 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-133 - Source: CSEL 18:97–98 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God's rebuke reforms the converted; Scripture uses examples and parables to show the conflict within us. ### Latin text cum in his quae sunt deo aliena distruimur, in ea quae sunt nobis propria reformamur et quod usque ad finem peccantibus poena est et conuersis nobis in redarguitione doctrina est, ipso Dauid dicente: quis similis tibi, domine? quia ostendisti mihi tribulationes et conuersum uiuificans docuisti me, et iterum Eseias ait: domine, in utero accepimus et parturiuimus spiritum salutis quem dedisti super terram. In quo quamuis nos ipsi probemus in nobis, qualis esse homo debeat qui in nouam natiuitatem per fidem uiuens sensum suum ad ea quae dei substantiae sunt digna moderetur, tamen, ut scribturarum dispositio ad intellegentiam nostram factorum exemplis tamquam incorruptis testimoniis uteretur et caritatem dei commendans in nobis conpugnantes rerum mortalium in nobis opiniones facilius ostenderet, si dictus uerborum formis et rerum parabolis adprobaret, ### English translation (Claude) when we are destroyed in the things foreign to God, are reformed in the things proper to us; and what is punishment for those who sin to the end is, for us who have turned, teaching through rebuke, as David himself says: "Who is like you, Lord? For you showed me tribulations, and, giving life to me when I turned, you taught me"; and again Isaiah says: "Lord, in the womb we have received and brought forth the spirit of salvation which you gave upon the earth." In this, although we ourselves prove in ourselves what kind of man he ought to be who, living by faith into a new birth, governs his mind toward things worthy of God's substance, yet, so that the arrangement of the Scriptures might use, for our understanding, examples of deeds as uncorrupted testimonies, and, commending the love of God in us, might more easily show the opinions of mortal things fighting in us, if it proved its sayings by forms of words and parables of things— ### Scripture references - Ps 71:19 (70:19 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 71:20 (70:20 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 26:18: quotation, high confidence - Rom 5:8: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 71:19–20 (LXX/Vulg. 70:19–20); Isa 26:18 (LXX); Rom 5:8. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.133 (CSEL 18:97–98; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-133). ## Eleven Tractates 10.134 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-134 - Source: CSEL 18:98 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Rebecca's twins figure the two peoples within us, flesh and spirit, as Paul describes. ### Latin text sic Rebecca, felicis mater uteri et diuinae promissionis decreta parturiens, conluctantia inter se mundi et dei in nobis opera demonstrans, dum pugnantiam uiscerum inpatienter acciperet, in profetiam liberi doloris erupit dicens: quo mihi ista, si sic sunt? Cui uox domini respondit et docuit: duo populi sunt et duae gentes in utero tuo. De quo et apostolus Paulus manifestans enarrans ait: uideo aliam legem repugnantem in membris meis legi mentis meae et captiuum ducentem me in legem peccati, et, ut in duabus gentibus et duobus populis, quid populus et gens dei, quid uitiorum populus esset, ostenderet, ueterem a nobis hominem exui cum omnibus actibus et concupiscentiis suis et in nouum nos uoluit reformari dicens: sicut portauimus imaginem eius qui est de limo, portemus imaginem eius qui est de caelo, ut qui se diuinum genus crederet ea quae sunt terrena despiciens sequens Christum in caelestes se glorias consecraret. ### English translation (Claude) so Rebecca, mother of a happy womb and bringing forth the decrees of the divine promise, showing the works of the world and of God wrestling with each other in us, when she bore impatiently the fighting in her womb, broke out into a prophecy of free sorrow, saying: "What are these to me, if they are so?" The voice of the Lord answered her and taught her: "Two peoples and two nations are in your womb." Of which the apostle Paul too, making it plain and explaining, says: "I see another law fighting in my members against the law of my mind and leading me captive in the law of sin"; and, to show in the two nations and two peoples what the people and nation of God was and what the people of vices, he wished the old man to be put off from us with all his acts and lusts and us to be reformed into the new, saying: "As we have borne the image of him who is from the clay, let us bear the image of him who is from heaven"; so that whoever believed himself to be of the divine race, despising earthly things and following Christ, might consecrate himself to heavenly glories. ### Scripture references - Gen 25:22: quotation, high confidence - Gen 25:23: quotation, high confidence - Rom 7:23: quotation, high confidence - Col 3:9: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:49: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Gen 25:22–23; Rom 7:23; Col 3:9–10; 1 Cor 15:49. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.134 (CSEL 18:98; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-134). ## Eleven Tractates 10.135 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-135 - Source: CSEL 18:98–99 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The two testaments correspond to discipline and grace; our life lies between two kingdoms, the world's and God's. ### Latin text Sic duo testamenta ad fidem posita, unum seruitutis iugum soluens, aliut gratiae opus diuidens, ueteris et noui nomen habuerunt, ut in utrisque unus homo positus diuinae in se naturae et terrenae carnis opus possidens, quia nulla societas luci cum tenebris, Christo et Beliae est, id quod erat carnis disciplinae lege cohiberet et se deo cuius imago et similitudo apparuit non negaret. Sic, intellege, ex alia parte maledic disciplina, ex alia benedictionum gratia constituta est, ut, quamuis diuersae mansiones sint apud deum nostrum omnesque uellit saluos fieri et ad agnitionem ueritatis uenire, uestrum tamen nullus ignoret quod inter duo regna, inter sinagogam satanae et ecclesiam mandatorum dei, idest saeculi opera et dei uerba, conuersatio uitae nostrae est et hoc quod dei est nostrum dicitur, ### English translation (Claude) So the two testaments, set for faith—one loosing the yoke of slavery, the other distributing the work of grace—received the names of old and new, so that in both one man is placed, possessing in himself the work of the divine nature and of the earthly flesh; since light has no fellowship with darkness, nor Christ with Belial, he would restrain what belonged to the flesh by the law of discipline and not deny himself to God, whose image and likeness he appeared. So, understand, on one side the discipline of curse, on the other the grace of blessings was established, so that, although there are various mansions with our God, and he wills all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, yet none of you may be unaware that our life's conduct lies between two kingdoms—between the synagogue of Satan and the church of the commandments of God, that is, the works of the world and the words of God—and what is God's is called ours, ### Scripture references - Gal 5:1: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Cor 6:14: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 6:15: quotation, high confidence - Deut 11:26: allusion, medium confidence - John 14:2: allusion, high confidence - 1 Tim 2:4: quotation, high confidence - Rev 2:9: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Gal 5:1; 2 Cor 6:14–15; Gen 1:26; Deut 11:26–28 (blessing and curse); John 14:2; 1 Tim 2:4; Rev 2:9. "maledic" in the text is read as "maledictionum" (of curses). ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.135 (CSEL 18:98–99; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-135). ## Eleven Tractates 10.136 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-136 - Source: CSEL 18:99 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Between the two kingdoms stand the virtues of the Spirit and the vices of the world; we are safe while we hold to the Lord's words. ### Latin text illud uero quod saeculi est quia contrarium deo ideo et a nobis inuenitur alienum, et illud renuntiamus, hoc credimus. Sicque inter huiusmodi constitutis hinc diuinorum promissio mandatorum, inde zabolicae temptationis instat intentio, hinc fides Christi, inde saeculi perfidia persuadit, hinc pax patientia longanimitas mansuetudo cetera quae huiusmodi sunt, inde ira auaritiae germana, furnicatio amica tenebrarum, ambitio fortunae suae nescia, diui infelicior cupiditate custodia, furor inperitus deo, oblectatio uentris et gutturis, gloria pudendorum, oculorum uoluntas et zabolicae pompae uelut simplex in exspectaculorum deceptione persuasio. In quae cum per diuersa homo rapitur, uitae et mortis ante nos condicione proposita, tam diu in nobis pugnas saeculi et bella nescimus, quamdiu conuersantes in (deo), aliena redarguentes, domini uerba teneamus; ### English translation (Claude) but what is the world's, because it is contrary to God, is therefore found to be foreign to us as well; and that we renounce, this we believe. And so, for those placed between such things, on this side the promise of the divine commandments presses, on that the aim of the devil's temptation; on this side the faith of Christ, on that the faithlessness of the world persuades; on this side peace, patience, long-suffering, gentleness, and the rest of this kind; on that anger, sister of avarice; sexual immorality, friend of darkness; ambition, ignorant of its own fortune; the guarding of wealth, more wretched than its lust; fury, ignorant of God; pleasure of the belly and throat; glory in shame; desire of the eyes and the persuasion, as if simple, of the devil's pomp in the deception of spectacles. When a man is pulled in different directions among these, the condition of life and death being set before us, we do not know the struggles and wars of the world in us so long as, living in (God) and rebuking what is foreign, we hold to the words of the Lord; ### Scripture references - Gal 5:22: allusion, high confidence - Phil 3:19: allusion, high confidence - 1 John 2:16: allusion, high confidence - Deut 30:15: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Gal 5:22–23; Phil 3:19; 1 John 2:16; Deut 30:15; the renunciation of the devil's "pomps" at baptism. "(deo)" is the editor's supplement. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.136 (CSEL 18:99; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-136). ## Eleven Tractates 10.137 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-137 - Source: CSEL 18:99–100 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The 'wine of compunction' and the bow of Psalm 60 signify repentance and the devil's attacks; the psalm leads converts gently from knowledge of sin upward. ### Latin text nam si quod corripimur agnoscimus et quae sunt aduersa uincamus, necessario ambulantes in nouitate, sicut psalmi textus ostendit, uino conpunctionis accepto arcum persequentis zaboli et iacula uitamus, agnoscentes quia liberi a peccatis esse non possumus, nisi remissione baptismatis et diuinae crucis redemptione saluemur. In hac parte psalmidici sermonis, quos fides constans ad studium ueritatis uocat, non tantum excipere auditu, sed introspicere sensu conuenit, qualiter ad omnem se intellegentiae nostrae inbecillitatem psalmus adcommodet et dispositione sermonis profetici operis modum temperans arduum diuinae intellegentiae iter uelut cliuo molliens leniori faciliori instituit ascensu, ut, quia conuersis ad fidem facilius est peccatorum suorum mala nosse quam dispensationem diuinae in se intellegere naturae promptiusque est homini peccatum nolle quam uelle diuinum, ### English translation (Claude) for if we recognize why we are rebuked and conquer what is hostile, necessarily, walking in newness, as the text of the psalm shows, having received the wine of compunction, we avoid the bow and darts of the devil who pursues us, recognizing that we cannot be free from sins unless we are saved by the forgiveness of baptism and the redemption of the divine cross. In this part of the psalmist's word, those whom steadfast faith calls to the pursuit of truth should not only receive it by hearing but look into it with the mind: how the psalm adapts itself to every weakness of our understanding, and, tempering the measure of the prophetic work by the arrangement of its words, softens the steep road of divine understanding as by a gentler slope and makes the ascent easier, so that—since for converts it is easier to know the evils of their sins than to understand the dispensation of the divine nature in themselves, and it is readier for a man not to will sin than to will what is divine— ### Scripture references - Ps 60:3 (59:5 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 60:4 (59:6 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Eph 6:16: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 60:3–4 (LXX/Vulg. 59:5–6: "you gave us to drink the wine of compunction; you gave a sign to those who fear you, to flee from the bow"); Eph 6:16. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.137 (CSEL 18:99–100; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-137). ## Eleven Tractates 10.138 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-138 - Source: CSEL 18:100–101 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: After rebuke and repentance the psalm says 'God has spoken in his holy one': God speaks in the sanctified believer. ### Latin text ita in psalmo aptissimus profectibus legentium ordo succederet, ut reseruata in processu psalmi cognitione sui deo, qui nisi per se cognitus non est, primum redarguitio domini agnitio peccati diuino muneri faceret ingressum et, ubi homo naturae suae locus factus quid deus uellet agnosceret, sensatae historiae sermo sequeretur dicens: deus locutus est in sancto suo, ut qui se sanctificasset deo, loquente in se domino, deum loqui audiret in sanc et omne quod in historiis sanctorum uirtus fecisse putabatur humana, naturae suae legibus metiens inter diuinas professiones habitae de se protestationis expenderet, ut profeticus sermo semel loquens et duo praedicans exultationem saluati hominis in Christo et gloriam Christi in homine triumfantis uelut germanum insigne circumferens ad doctrinam nostrae eruditionis aperiret, ut, dum sanctorum gesta cognoscimus, ### English translation (Claude) so in the psalm an order most suited to the progress of readers follows, so that, the knowledge of himself being kept for God in the course of the psalm—since he is not known except through himself—first the Lord's rebuke, the recognition of sin, might make an entrance for the divine gift, and when man had become a place for his nature and recognized what God wanted, the word of the understood history might follow, saying: "God has spoken in his holy one," so that whoever had sanctified himself to God, the Lord speaking in him, might hear God speaking in the holy one; and all that the virtue of men was thought to have done in the histories of the saints, measuring by the laws of its own nature, he might weigh among the divine declarations of the testimony made about himself; so that the prophetic word, speaking once and proclaiming two things, carrying round as a twin emblem the exultation of man saved in Christ and the glory of Christ triumphing in man, might open them for the instruction of our learning, so that, as we come to know the deeds of the saints, ### Scripture references - Ps 60:6 (59:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 62:11 (61:12 LXX): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 60:6 (LXX/Vulg. 59:8); Ps 62:11 ("once God has spoken, two things I have heard"). "in sanc" is read as "in sancto". ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.138 (CSEL 18:100–101; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-138). ## Eleven Tractates 10.139 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-139 - Source: CSEL 18:101 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The places of Psalm 60:6–8—Shechem, Ephraim, Manasseh, Gilead, Judah, Moab—are explained by stories of Scripture. ### Latin text triumphum bonae uitae absoluta dictorum dispensatione teneamus. Sicima namque, cuius diuisio gaudium hominis et Christi est, alienigenarum terra regionum est, ubi Iacob electi hominis filia praetereuntis iteneris occansione correpta, dum oculorum uisibus capta aliena miratur, et electi generis dignitatem et gloriam uirginitatis amisit, quae in uindictam facinoris admissi punita diuiditur et ad testimonium memoriae, ne quid tale dei populus in alienis in, subiugatur. Efrem et Manasses duo Ioseph sancti filii sunt quos subiugato sibi Aegypto in fecunditatem subolis tamquam ad fructum perfectae meruit ueritatis. Galaad horum primitiua possedit; ex Iuda, unde rex quaeritur, deus natus in carne est, et quia Ruth Moabitidis perseuerantia fidei diuinum in conceptibus genus meruit, Moab spei tabernaculum nuncupatur. ### English translation (Claude) we may hold the triumph of a good life, with the dispensation of the sayings explained. For Shechem, whose division is the joy of man and of Christ, is a land of foreign regions, where the daughter of Jacob, the chosen man, seized on the occasion of a passing journey, captured by what her eyes saw and admiring foreign things, lost both the dignity of the chosen race and the glory of virginity; Shechem, punished in vengeance for the crime committed, is divided, and, as a testimony to memory lest the people of God [do] any such thing among foreigners, is subjugated. Ephraim and Manasseh are the two sons of holy Joseph, whom, having subjected Egypt to himself, he earned for the fruitfulness of offspring as for the fruit of perfect truth. Gilead possessed their firstfruits; from Judah, from whom the king is sought, God was born in the flesh; and because Ruth the Moabite earned by the perseverance of her faith a divine race in her offspring, Moab is called the tabernacle of hope. ### Scripture references - Ps 60:6 (59:8 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 60:7 (59:9 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 60:8 (59:10 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Gen 34:2: allusion, high confidence - Gen 41:52: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 49:10: allusion, medium confidence - Ruth 4:13: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 60:6–8 (LXX/Vulg. 59:8–10); Gen 34 (Dinah at Shechem); Gen 41:50–52; Gen 49:10; Ruth 4:13–17; Matt 1:5. The Latin calls Moab "the pot of my hope" (olla spei), which Priscillian renders as "tabernacle of hope". ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.139 (CSEL 18:101; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-139). ## Eleven Tractates 10.140 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-140 - Source: CSEL 18:101–102 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Edom, the Philistines, and Dagon's fall are applied to the believer's victory over lust and the world, with Christ from Judah as leader. ### Latin text Idumea terra perfidiae est, ubi calciamentum diuini iteneris extenditur. Allofili in absolutionem arcae domini deuicto Dagon idolo diuinis apparatibus subiugantur. Per quae uniuersa doctrinae nostrae ratio se tendens opus dei saluantis in Christo et sanctificati hominis iter monstrat, quoniam Sicima uincitur et tabernaculorum conuallia metiuntur, si credentibus nobis nato per uirginem Christo et ea, quae corruptelae causa exstitit, concupiscentiae carnalis natura uincatur et redditum corpus non fornicationi sed domino, per immortalia praeceptorum uerba diuisum, dignum tabernaculis Christi et gloriis futurae resurrectionis habeatur. Sicque deuicto mundo uelut subiugato Aegypto in Efrem et Manasse laborantibus datur fructus nec alius nisi ex Iuda dux quaeritur, quando Christi passione saluatis nihil aliud in ducatum, nisi quod deus in carnem uenire uoluit, ### English translation (Claude) Idumea is the land of faithlessness, over which the shoe of the divine journey is stretched out. The Philistines, when the ark of the Lord was released and the idol Dagon defeated, are subjected to the divine instruments. Through all these things the reasoning of our teaching, extending itself, shows the work of God saving in Christ and the road of the sanctified man: since Shechem is conquered and the valleys of the tents are measured, if, as we believe in Christ born of the virgin, the nature of fleshly lust, which was the cause of corruption, is conquered, and the body, given back not to sexual immorality but to the Lord and divided by the immortal words of the precepts, is held worthy of the tabernacles of Christ and of the glories of the future resurrection. And so, the world having been conquered, as Egypt subdued, fruit is given in Ephraim and Manasseh to those who labour, and no leader is sought except from Judah, since for those saved by the passion of Christ nothing else is found as leadership except that God willed to come into flesh, ### Scripture references - Ps 60:8 (59:10 LXX): allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 5:3: allusion, high confidence - Ps 60:6 (59:8 LXX): allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 6:13: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ps 60:8 (LXX/Vulg. 59:10); 1 Sam 5:1–5; Ps 60:6; 1 Cor 6:13. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.140 (CSEL 18:101–102; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-140). ## Eleven Tractates 10.141 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/7-112/#p-10-141 - Source: CSEL 18:102–103 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The psalm's victories become a pattern for the believer, who overcomes the vices by the gospel of peace. ### Latin text inuenitur nec alia perseuerantibus spes est, nisi ut circumuersura mundi idest perfidiae terra uincatur, ut calciamento pedum domini hoc est euuangelio pacis ostenso distruatur Dagon, opus saeculi, et absoluta testamenti arca, quod nos sumus, Allofilorum aliena suadentium loquella superetur, (ut), qui ea quae in regionibus posita, in locis dicta, in regibus sunt praedicata cognouerit, uitiorum in se loca regna regiones disciplinato opere deuin, etsi profetatum de deo intellegat, sibi tamen uelut quoddam uitae exemplarium positum recognoscat, quoniam ab initio usque ad finem uenientes in hunc mundum sicut unitis malitiae uiis fallimur, ita unita fide et correctione saluamur, ### English translation (Claude) nor is there any other hope for those who persevere except that the circling of the world, that is, the land of faithlessness, be conquered; that, the shoe of the Lord's feet, that is, the gospel of peace, being shown, Dagon, the work of the world, be destroyed; and that, the ark of the testament—which we are—being released, the speech of the Philistines urging foreign things be overcome; (so that) whoever has come to know what is set in regions, spoken in places, and proclaimed of kings, conquering in himself by disciplined work the places, kingdoms, and regions of vices, though he understands that it was prophesied of God, may yet recognize it as set before himself as a pattern of life; since from the beginning to the end, those coming into this world, as we are deceived by the united ways of malice, so we are saved by united faith and correction. ### Scripture references - Eph 6:15: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Eph 6:15. "(ut)" is the editor's supplement; "deuin" in the text is read as "deuincens". ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 10.141 (CSEL 18:102–103; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/10-141). ## Eleven Tractates 11.142 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/11-142/#p-11-142 - Source: CSEL 18:103 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A blessing (benediction) addressed to God the Father: there is one entrance to God, through Christ, by the working of the Spirit. ### Latin text Sancte pater, omnipotens deus, qui multiformis gratiae tuae templum et dispositae in te ecclesiae tabernaculum formans inmensurabilis gloriae extendens mensuras Christo in te auctore docuisti, ut in te uno et inuisibilitatis plenitudo, quod pater filio, et uisibilitas agnoscentiae, quod filius patri in operatione sancti spiritus deberet, ageretur, sic in te omni definitae rei terminum et infinitorum receptaculum ponens, ut ex te uno uenientibus nobis unum profectum et reuertentibus ad te unum aditum in ortum fili in te orientis aperires, et quamuis ex diuersis uocationum uiis in tabernaculum tuum tenderent, omnes tamen uno ingressu ad te Christi operantis intrarent, ut, cui se ille clausisset, accessum ad te, quia patrem fili in filio et filium patris in patre ignorauerat, non haberet. Tu enim es deus, qui cum in omnibus originibus uirtutum intra extraque et supereminens ### English translation (Claude) Holy Father, almighty God, who, forming the temple of your manifold grace and the tabernacle of the church arranged in you, stretching out the measures of immeasurable glory, taught, with Christ in you as author, that in you alone both the fullness of invisibility—which the Father owed to the Son—and the visibility of recognition—which the Son owed to the Father—should be wrought in the working of the Holy Spirit; so placing in you the boundary of every defined thing and the receptacle of things infinite, that for us coming from you alone you opened one going forth, and for us returning to you one entrance, into the rising of the Son rising in you; and although they would make for your tabernacle by various roads of calling, all would yet enter to you by the one entrance of Christ at work, so that one to whom he had shut himself would have no access to you, because he had not known the Father of the Son in the Son and the Son of the Father in the Father. For you are God, who, in all the origins of powers, within and without and surpassing, ### Scripture references - John 10:9: allusion, high confidence - John 14:6: allusion, high confidence - John 14:10: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - This tractate is a prayer of blessing. John 10:7–9; John 14:6, 10. Its Trinitarian language is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 11.142 (CSEL 18:103; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/11-142). ## Eleven Tractates 11.143 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/11-142/#p-11-143 - Source: CSEL 18:103–104 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The prayer confesses one God, invisible in the Father, visible in the Son, the Spirit united in the work of both, present in and through all things. ### Latin text et internus et circumfusus et infusus in omnia unus deus crederis, inuisibilis in patre, uisibilis in filio et unitus in opus duorum sanctus spiritus inueniris, quia tu tibi ad id quod es auctor es et nihil extra te quod praestantius tibi uideatur ostendis, et quamuis mens nostra inexplicabilis intellegentiae opus moliens intra humanae inbecillitatis claudatur errore, unicum tamen de te religiosae sententiae modum profeticis uocibus adpraehendit, quod sic te unum deum in omnibus nouimus, ut nullum non in te neque ullum extra te locum et facti et operantis habeamus; sicque cum habes adque haberis neque extra totum in aliquo neque non in omnibus inueniris. In te enim et per te processuum tota procuratio: tu animarum pater, tu frater filiis, tu filius fratribus, tu electis amicus, tu propinquantibus proximus, tu operatio spirituum, ### English translation (Claude) and inward and poured round and poured into all things, are believed one God, invisible in the Father, visible in the Son, and found the Holy Spirit united in the work of the two; for you are author to yourself of what you are, and you show nothing outside yourself that seems more excellent than you; and although our mind, labouring at the work of an inexplicable understanding, is shut within the error of human weakness, it yet grasps from the prophetic voices the one measure of religious judgment about you: that we know you as one God in all things in such a way that we have no place of the made or of the maker not in you nor any outside you; and so, as you hold and are held, you are found neither outside the whole in anything nor not in all things. For in you and through you is the whole management of all proceedings: you are the father of souls, you the brother to the sons, you the son to the brothers, you the friend to the elect, you the neighbour to those who draw near, you the working of spirits, ### Scripture references - Rom 11:36: allusion, medium confidence - Acts 17:28: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 11:36; Acts 17:28. Phrases such as "invisible in the Father, visible in the Son" and "you the father … you the son" were among those later read as modalist; translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 11.143 (CSEL 18:103–104; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/11-143). ## Eleven Tractates 11.144 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/11-142/#p-11-144 - Source: CSEL 18:104 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The prayer praises God as maker of angels, elements, and living things out of nothing. ### Latin text tu principium archangelorum, tu angelorum opus, tu uirtutificatio tota uirtutum es, per te disposita sunt opera cunctorum, tu distincxisti singularum rerum partes et inter se elementa conpingens disciplinati operis terminos conlocasti, dans in eis spiritum uitae, ut, quae etsi ex se facere nil possent, magnitudine tamen operantis animata ministerium deligatae per te seruitutis inplerent. Et posthaec respiciens in terram eduxisti animam uiuam; quae etsi ex se ipsa non esset, tamen, ne uacuus esset [et] sermo praecepti, ubi iussio tua initium eorum quae non erant fuit, animatione praecepti protulit terra quod ipsa non habuit. Et iussio tua in apparabilium facta natura est, ut ex nihilo opus proferens primum inconposita et intenebrata parerent, postea insensibilibus sensibilitatem, tenebrosis uisum, brutis odoratum, sonum duris et obduratis distribueres auditum, ### English translation (Claude) you the beginning of the archangels, you the work of the angels, you the whole empowering of the powers; through you the works of all things were arranged; you distinguished the parts of each thing, and, joining the elements together, set the limits of a disciplined work, giving them the spirit of life, so that, though they could do nothing of themselves, yet, animated by the greatness of the worker, they might fulfil the ministry of the service bound to them through you. And after this, looking upon the earth, you brought forth a living soul; and though it was not from itself, yet, lest the word of the command be empty, where your command was the beginning of things that were not, by the animation of the command the earth brought forth what it did not itself have. And your command became the nature of things that could appear, so that, bringing forth the work from nothing, they first appeared unformed and darkened; afterward you distributed feeling to the unfeeling, sight to the dark, smell to the brute, sound to the hard, and hearing to the hardened, ### Scripture references - Gen 1:2: allusion, high confidence - Gen 1:24: allusion, high confidence - Gen 2:7: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Gen 1:2, 24; Gen 2:7. "[et]" is bracketed by the editor as a deletion and is left out. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 11.144 (CSEL 18:104; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/11-144). ## Eleven Tractates 11.145 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/priscillian-tractatus/11-142/#p-11-145 - Source: CSEL 18:104–107 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: All creation praises God; humans, God's workmanship, can give him nothing worthy except praise. The text breaks off. ### Latin text ut ubique te praestans materiam rerum, quam iussio protulerat informem, in usum operis tui sermo disponeret et unumquid uocans nomine suo, si sublimaret erecta, diuexa uergeret, praessa plenaret, aperiret campestria, siluarum tegeret occulta, tibi soli ad agnitionem scientiae tuae factorum gloria tota concineret, cui etsi confiteri in loquellam muta non possent, tamen dispositionibus rerum loquens ratio omnipotentiae testimonium non negaret. I In(?)............... bulacra (?) statutum (?) qua. commutationem tibi dignam dabimus pro animabus nostris, sancte pater, omnipotens deus, aut quid est homo quod memor es eius aut filius hominis propter quod uisitas eum, nisi quod in gloriam tanti operis emissi agnoscimus quia figmentum tuum sumus in operibus bonis quae praeparasti, ut in illis ambulemus? Et ideo te sensus noster loquitur et sermo, quia per te inexterminabiles facti, ubi simi........ ### English translation (Claude) so that, presenting yourself everywhere, the word might arrange for the use of your work the matter of things that the command had brought forth unformed, and, calling each thing by its name—raising the lofty, inclining the sloping, filling the pressed, opening the plains, covering the secrets of the woods—the whole glory of the things made might sing in harmony to you alone, for the knowledge of your knowledge; and though dumb things could not confess you in speech, yet reason, speaking through the arrangements of things, would not deny its testimony to your omnipotence. … What exchange worthy of you shall we give for our souls, holy Father, almighty God? Or what is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you visit him, except that, sent forth into the glory of so great a work, we recognize that we are your workmanship in good works, which you prepared that we should walk in them? And therefore our mind and our speech speak of you, because, made indestructible through you, where … ### Scripture references - Ps 19:1 (18:2 LXX): echo, low confidence - Matt 16:26: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 8:4 (8:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Eph 2:10: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 2:23 (Wisdom of Solomon): allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Gen 1:5–10; Ps 19:1–3; Matt 16:26; Ps 8:4 (LXX/Vulg. 8:5); Eph 2:10; Wis 2:23 ("indestructible"). The manuscript is damaged in the middle and at the end; the gaps are marked …. ### Citation (SBL) Priscillian, Tract. 11.145 (CSEL 18:104–107; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/priscillian-tractatus/11-145).