Mind of the Church

The mind of the Church, faithfully rendered into English

Library / Theological Commentaries, Part III: On the Division of the Divine Will into First and Second, and on the Universal Extent of the Restored Order

CCV–CCLXXVIII · The Corollaries

CCVII. Corollary II

COROLLARY II.

Augustine, contending against Julian for Catholic truth, after commemorating1 certain prelates of the West who had committed to their books the doctrine of transmitted original guilt, adds2: “Do you therefore think that they should be contemned because they all belong to the Western Church, and no bishop of the East has been commemorated among them by us?… I think that that part of the world ought to suffice for you in which the Lord willed to crown the chief of his Apostles with the most glorious martyrdom. Had you willed to hear blessed Innocent presiding over this Church, you would even then have extricated your perilous youth from the Pelagian snares.” And shortly afterward3: “There is therefore no reason why you should appeal to the prelates of the East, because they too are certainly Christians, and this faith of both parts of the earth is one.” Then, after adding the testimony of Gregory Nazianzen4, he continues: “Does the authority of the Eastern bishops appear small to you in the one Gregory? He is indeed so great a person that neither would he say this except from the Christian faith most known to all, nor would they hold him so illustrious and venerable unless they recognized these things said by him from the most familiar rule of truth.” After these things, having further enumerated several doctors of the East5, he finally concludes by inference6: “You are convicted on every side; the testimonies of the saints are clearer than light. Behold the assembly into which I have introduced—

—you. Here is Ambrose of Milan…; here too is John of Constantinople…; here is Basil…; here too are the others, whose great consensus ought to move you… Behold, not I alone, but so many and such great holy and learned doctors answer you, on my behalf or with me, and for the salvation of us all and of your own self, if you are wise.” There is nothing at all among these things which I do not seem to myself able to urge and repeat with even greater right. For I have adduced nearly two hundred witnesses, and testimonies so many and so great that, if they do not suffice, I am plainly ignorant of what ought to be judged sufficient. There is reason, therefore, for those who read to consider within their minds into what assembly I have introduced them.

Here are present the Roman pontiffs7, Clement, Innocent, Celestine, and Leo; present are the apostolic men8, Barnabas, Ignatius, and Polycarp9; present are the most steadfast martyrs Justin10, Irenaeus11, and Methodius12; present are the lights of Egypt13, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Dionysius of Alexandria, Athanasius, Didymus, Antony the Great, both Macarii, Serapion, Theophilus, Peter, Theonas, Phileas, Paphnutius, Orsiesius, Isidore, Cyril, and Synesius; present are the Fathers of Africa14, Tertullian, Minucius Felix, Cyprian, Arnobius, Lactantius, Marius Victorinus, Optatus, Facundus, and Primasius; present from Spain15 are Prudentius, Pacian, Orosius, Marius Mercator, Dracontius, and Isidore16; present from Gaul17 are Hilary of Poitiers, Phoebadius, Sedulius, Caesarius, Valerian, Apollinaris Sidonius, Avitus, Salvianus, and both the Synod of Orange and that of Arles—

—Prosper18, Arnobius the Younger19, Gennadius20, Hincmar21, Paschasius22, and Bernard23; present from Italy24 are Hippolytus, Ambrose, Jerome, Zeno, Chromatius, Paulinus of Nola, Gaudentius25, the anonymous author On the Calling of All Nations26, Peter Chrysologus27, Cassiodorus28, Benedict29, Paulinus of Aquileia30, and Ratherius31; present are the doctors of Antioch32, Theophilus, Nemesius, Titus of Bostra, Jacob of Nisibis, Isaac the Syrian, Theodoret, Basil of Seleucia, Eustathius, Anastasius, and Ephrem; present from Asia, Thrace, and Pontus33 are Athenagoras, the author of the Epistle to Diognetus, Gregory of Neocaesarea, Amphilochius of Iconium, Caesarius, Basil, both Gregories—Nazianzen and Nyssen—Photius, and one who was to be placed after no one, John Chrysostom34; and, that I may not name the rest35 individually, present from Palestine36 are Tatian, Eusebius of Caesarea, Cyril of Jerusalem, and Aeneas of Gaza. The consensus of all these is so great, and the authority proceeding from the consensus so great—

—that no one can be found so senseless as not to be moved by it exceedingly.

Footnotes

  1. Con. Iulian., lib. I, capp. III–IV, nn. 5–13. ↩

  2. Ibid., cap. IV, n. 13. ↩

  3. Ibid., n. 14. ↩

  4. Ibid., cap. V, nn. 15–16. ↩

  5. Ibid., capp. V–VIII, nn. 16–30. ↩

  6. Ibid., cap. VII, n. 30. ↩

  7. §§ CLVI–CLIX. ↩

  8. §§ CLXX–CLXXI. ↩

  9. § CLXXXII. ↩

  10. § CXCVIII. ↩

  11. § CXVIII. ↩

  12. § CC. ↩

  13. §§ LXXII–LXXXIV. ↩

  14. §§ XCIX–CXII. ↩

  15. §§ CXIII–CXVI. ↩

  16. § XLII. ↩

  17. §§ CXVII–CXXXIII. ↩

  18. § LXII. ↩

  19. § XLI. ↩

  20. § XLI. ↩

  21. § XXXV. ↩

  22. § XXXVIII. ↩

  23. § XXX. ↩

  24. §§ CXXXV–CXLV. ↩

  25. § XLVI. ↩

  26. § XLVII. ↩

  27. § L. ↩

  28. § LIII. ↩

  29. § XXXIX. ↩

  30. § XXXIX. ↩

  31. § XXXVIII. ↩

  32. §§ CLXX–CLXXIX. ↩

  33. §§ CLXXXIII–CXCV. ↩

  34. §§ II–XII. ↩

  35. Of this kind are Oecumenius, § VII; John Damascene, § XVII; Theophylact, § XXI; both Anselms, of Canterbury and of Laon, §§ XXV–XXVIII; Rupert, § XXIX; Atto, § XXXIV; Gildas, § XXXVIII; Venantius Fortunatus, § XL; the author of the Praedestinatus, § XLI; and Fastidius, § XLVI. ↩

  36. §§ CXCIX–CCV. ↩

Preview of the quotation image

Drag across the words below to colour them in the picture.

Spotted an error in this section? Report it

To cite this page

Carlo Passaglia, “CCVII. Corollary II,” in Theological Commentaries, Part III: On the Division of the Divine Will into First and Second, and on the Universal Extent of the Restored Order, English translation, Mind of the Church, https://mindofthechurch.com/works/passaglia-commentaries-3/210-ccvii-corollary-ii/.

Receive the new translations

One email when a new work or note is published — nothing else, ever.