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A Treatise Against the Heretic Novatian by an Anonymous Bishop

Anonymous

Section 1

About this work

Author: Anonymous

1. While I was meditating and impatiently tossing

‹ A Treatise Against the Heretic Novatian by an Anonymous Bishop.Section 2 ›

in

my

mind

what

I

ought

to

do

concerning

those

pitiable

brethren

who

,

wounded

,

not

of

their

own

will

,

but

by

the

onset

of

a

raging

devil

,

have

lived

until

now

,

that

is

,

through

a

long

course

of

time

,

in

the

endurance

of

their

punishment

;

lo

,

there

appeared

opposed

to

me

another

enemy

,

and

the

adversary

of

his

own

paternal

affection

—

the

heretic

Novatian

—

who

not

only

,

as

it

is

signified

in

the

Gospel

,

passed

by

the

prostrate

wounded

man

,

as

did

the

priest

or

the

Levite

,

but

by

an

ingenious

and

novel

cruelty

rather

would

slay

the

wounded

man

,

by

taking

away

the

hope

of

salvation

,

by

denying

the

mercy

of

his

Father

,

by

rejecting

the

repentance

of

his

brother

.

Marvellous

,

how

bitter

,

how

harsh

,

how

perverse

are

many

things

!

But

one

more

easily

perceives

the

straw

in

another’s

eye

than

the

beam

in

one’s

own

.

Let

not

the

abrupt

madness

of

that

perfidious

heretic

move

or

disturb

us

however

,

beloved

brethren

,

who

,

although

he

is

placed

in

such

great

guilt

of

dissension

and

schism

,

and

is

separated

from

the

Church

,

with

sacrilegious

temerity

does

not

shrink

from

hurling

back

his

charges

upon

us

:

for

although

he

is

now

by

himself

made

unclean

,

defiled

with

the

filth

of

sacrilege

,

he

contends

that

we

are

so

.

And

although

it

is

written

that

the

dogs

should

remain

without

,

and

the

apostle

has

taught

that

these

same

dogs

must

be

shunned

,

as

we

read

,

for

he

says

,

“

Beware

of

dogs

,

beware

of

evil

workers

,

”

he

does

not

cease

stirring

up

his

frenzy

with

barkings

,

after

the

manner

of

wolves

seeking

the

gloomy

darkness

,

where

with

his

brutal

cruelty

he

may

easily

rend

in

his

dark

caves

the

sheep

snatched

away

from

the

Shepherd

.

Certainly

he

declares

that

he

and

his

friends

whom

he

collects

are

gold

.

Nor

do

we

doubt

but

that

deserters

of

the

Church

who

have

become

apostates

could

now

easily

be

converted

into

gold

,

but

it

must

be

that

gold

in

which

the

first

sins

of

the

people

of

Israel

were

designated

.

But

the

gold

and

silver

vessels

which

were

wrested

from

the

Egyptians

continue

in

the

Lord’s

power

,

that

is

,

in

Christ’s

Church

;

in

which

house

if

thou

hadst

continued

,

Novatian

,

thou

hadst

perchance

been

also

a

precious

vessel

;

but

now

thou

neither

perceivest

nor

complainest

that

thou

art

changed

into

chaff

and

straw

.

Notes

1
Phil. iii. 2.