{"slug":"stoa0040.stoa072.opp-lat1","id":"latin:ogl-csel:stoa0040.stoa072.opp-lat1","title":"Psalmus Contra Partem Donati","title_source":"Psalmus Contra Partem Donati","author":"Augustine","genre":"poetry","date":"","tradition":"latin","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T05:37:14Z","cost_usd":0.006625},"source":{"registry_id":"latin:ogl-csel:stoa0040.stoa072.opp-lat1","work_id":"stoa0040.stoa072.opp-lat1","edition":"ogl-csel","language":"","license":"Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/csel-dev/blob/master/data/data/stoa0040/stoa072/stoa0040.stoa072.opp-lat1.xml"},"stats":{"passages":14,"english_words":3281,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":12828,"commentary_units":77,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":2,"ambiguities":17,"work_notes":4,"external_links":3,"timeline":5},"summary":{"work":"stoa0040.stoa072.opp-lat1","abstract":"Augustine's Psalmus Contra Partem Donati is an abecedarian polemical song composed around 393–394 CE, early in his episcopate, to counter Donatist popular verse. Designed for congregational singing, it survives in a single 9th-century manuscript within the African collection, transmitted in the CSEL edition. The text employs accentual trochaic septenarius, inferred from later Latin hymnody, and its stanzaic structure shows signs of scribal regularization. The psalm calls for popular judgment against Donatism, using biblical allusions to condemn schism and the Donatist charge of traditio.","historical_context":"Composed in North Africa around 393–394 CE, early in Augustine's episcopate, this psalm targets the Donatist schism, which arose after the Diocletian persecution (303–305 CE). Donatists claimed exclusive legitimacy, accusing Catholics of being traditores who surrendered scriptures. Augustine wrote the psalm for congregational singing to sway public opinion, reflecting his strategy of using popular verse against Donatist propaganda. The text survives in a single 9th-century manuscript from the African collection, with no earlier witnesses, limiting its medieval influence. The CSEL edition preserves it, but the original musical setting and performance practice are lost. The metrical scheme is inferred from later hymnody, not contemporary notation.","significance":"This psalm is a rare example of early Christian polemical poetry designed for popular performance, illustrating Augustine's pastoral and rhetorical strategies against Donatism. It provides insight into late 4th-century North African Christianity, the use of song in religious conflict, and the transmission of anti-Donatist texts. Its survival in a single manuscript highlights the fragility of such works.","timeline":[{"date":"303–305 CE","event":"Diocletian persecution; Christians who surrendered scriptures become traditores, a key Donatist charge."},{"date":"ca. 393–394 CE","event":"Augustine composes Psalmus Contra Partem Donati early in his episcopate."},{"date":"4th–5th c.","event":"Donatist controversy peaks in North Africa; Augustine writes numerous anti-Donatist works."},{"date":"9th c.","event":"Earliest surviving manuscript of the psalm copied, likely in an African or European scriptorium."},{"date":"19th–20th c.","event":"CSEL edition published, based on the 9th-century manuscript."}],"relations":[{"work":"Contra Epistulam Parmeniani","relation":"Augustine's later prose work against Donatism, expanding on themes in the psalm.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"De Baptismo Contra Donatistas","relation":"Augustine's treatise on Donatist baptism, part of the same polemical corpus.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Donatist popular verse","relation":"The psalm was composed to counter Donatist songs, reflecting a contemporary genre.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Matthew 13:47-50","relation":"Allusion to the dragnet parable, used to argue for Catholic unity against schism.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[{"key":"wikipedia:Augustine of Hippo","label":"Augustine of Hippo","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo","reason":"Provides context on Augustine's life and anti-Donatist writings."},{"key":"wikipedia:Donatism","label":"Donatism","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donatism","reason":"Explains the schism and its historical background."},{"key":"wikipedia:Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum","label":"CSEL","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Scriptorum_Ecclesiasticorum_Latinorum","reason":"Source of the modern edition of the psalm."}],"cautions":["The date of composition (ca. 393–394 CE) is inferred from internal references and Augustine's retrospective mentions, not explicitly stated in contemporary sources.","The original musical setting and performance practice cannot be reconstructed; the metrical scheme is inferred from later hymnody.","The text survives in a single 9th-century manuscript, with no earlier witnesses, limiting certainty about the original form.","The stanzaic structure shows signs of scribal regularization, possibly altering the original composition."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000432,"generated":"2026-11-15T05:37:14Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Open Greek and Latin CSEL","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/csel-dev/blob/master/data/data/stoa0040/stoa072/stoa0040.stoa072.opp-lat1.xml"}],"checks":{"work":"stoa0040.stoa072.opp-lat1","status":"warn","blocking":[],"warnings":[{"code":"ratio-warn","i":13,"ratio":0.057}],"stats":{"passages":14,"translated":14,"commentary_passages":14,"commentary_units":77,"english_words":3281,"source_letters":12828,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Augustine composed this abecedarian psalm around 393–394 CE, early in his episcopate, as a polemical song to counter Donatist popular verse. The dating rests on internal references and Augustine's own retrospective mentions.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The psalm was designed for congregational singing, not liturgical ritual. It survives in a single manuscript tradition (the African collection) and was rarely copied outside anti-Donatist contexts, limiting its medieval influence.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text is transmitted in the CSEL edition (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum) from a single 9th-century manuscript. No earlier witness survives, and the stanzaic structure shows signs of scribal regularization.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"This edition cannot reconstruct the original musical setting or performance practice. The metrical scheme (accentual trochaic septenarius) is inferred from later Latin hymnody, not from contemporary notation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: poetry in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 14 narrative."},{"kind":"caution","severity":"caution","text":"1 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: ogl-csel — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":14},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"I. PSALMUS CONTRA PARTEM DONATI.\n\nOmnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Abundantia peccatorum solet fratres conturbare. propter hoc dominus noster uoluit nos praemonere\ncomparans regnum caelorum reticulo misso in mare\ncongreganti multos pisces omne genus hinc et inde. quos cum traxissent ad litus, tunc coeperunt separare,\nbonos in uasa miserunt, reliquos malos in mare. quisquis nouit euangelium, recognoscat cum timore. uidet reticulum ecclesiam, uidet hoc saeculum mare;\ngenus autem mixtum piscis iustus est cum peccatore;\nsaeculi finis est litus: tunc est tempus separare;\nqui modo retia ruperunt, multum dilexerunt mare;\nuasa sunt sedes sanctorum, quo non possunt peruenire.\n\nOmnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Bonus auditor fortasse quaerit, qui ruperint rete. homines multum superbi, qui iustos se dicunt esse. sic fecerunt (et) scissuram et altare contra altare. diabolo se tradiderunt, cum pugnant de traditione\net crimen quod commiserunt in alios uolunt transferre. ipsi tradiderunt libros et nos audent accusare,","english":"I. A Psalm Against the Party of Donatus.\n\nAll who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth. An abundance of sins is wont to disturb the brethren. Because of this, our Lord wished to forewarn us, comparing the kingdom of heaven to a net cast into the sea, gathering many fish of every kind from here and there. When they had drawn them to the shore, then they began to separate them: they put the good into vessels, the rest, the bad, into the sea. Whoever knows the Gospel, let him recognize with fear. He sees the net as the Church, he sees this world as the sea; but the mixed kind of fish is the just man with the sinner; the end of the world is the shore: then is the time to separate; those who have now broken the nets have greatly loved the sea; the vessels are the seats of the saints, which they cannot reach.\n\nAll who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth. A good hearer perhaps asks who broke the net. Very proud men, who claim to be just. Thus they made a schism and an altar against an altar. They delivered themselves to the devil, while they fight about the tradition and the crime which they committed they wish to transfer onto others. They themselves handed over the books, and they dare to accuse us.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Psalmus Contra Partem Donati","severity":"info","text":"The title identifies the work as a psalm (a sung acrostic poem) directed against the Donatist party, establishing its polemical and liturgical character.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-csel"]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"reticulo misso in mare","severity":"info","text":"The net cast into the sea alludes to Matthew 13:47-50, where the kingdom of heaven is compared to a dragnet gathering fish, which are then separated.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-csel"]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"scissuram et altare contra altare","severity":"info","text":"The schism and altar against altar refer to the Donatist separation from the Catholic Church, establishing rival altars and claiming exclusive legitimacy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-csel"]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"tradiderunt libros","severity":"info","text":"The accusation of handing over books refers to the traditores, Christians who surrendered scriptures during the Diocletian persecution, a key charge Donatists leveled against Catholics.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-csel"]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"modo uerum iudicate","severity":"info","text":"The repeated refrain 'now judge the truth' frames the psalm as a call for popular judgment, reflecting Augustine's strategy to sway public opinion against Donatism.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-csel"]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin text has no Coptic cues; the structural classification 'narrative' is given deterministically from the Coptic cues, but the passage is a poetic allegory with exhortation."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"ut peius committant scelus quam commiserunt et ante. qui possent causam librorum excusare de timore,\nquia Petrus Christum negauit, dum terreretur de morte,\nmodo quo pacto excusabunt factum altare contra altare\net pace Christi conscissa spem reponunt in homine? quod persecutio non fecit, ipsi fecerunt in pace.\n\nOmnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Custos noster, deus magne, tu nos potes liberare\na pseudoprophetis istis, qui nos quaerunt deuorare. maledictum cor lupinum contegunt ouina pelle. nomen iusti ouina pellis, schisma est in lupino corde. qui non nouerunt scripturas, hos solent circumuenire;\naudiunt enim 'traditores' et nesciunt quid gestum est ante. quibus si dicam: 'probate', non habent quid respondere. suis se dicunt credidisse: dico ego mentitos esse;\nquia et nos credidimus nostris, qui eos dicunt tradidisse. uis nosse qui dicant falsum? qui non sunt in unitate. olim iam causa finita est, quod uos non statis in pace.","english":"so that they commit a worse crime than they had committed before. Those who could excuse the case of the books out of fear—because Peter denied Christ when he was terrified of death—how will they now excuse the deed of setting up altar against altar, and, having torn apart the peace of Christ, place their hope in a man? What persecution did not do, they themselves have done in peace.\n\nAll who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth. Our guardian, great God, you alone can free us from these false prophets, who seek to devour us. They conceal a wolfish heart under a sheep’s skin. The name of the righteous is the sheep’s skin; the schism is in the wolfish heart. They are accustomed to deceive those who do not know the Scriptures; for they hear the word “traitors” and do not know what was done before. If I say to them, “Prove it,” they have nothing to answer. They say they have believed their own; I say they have been deceived, because we too have believed our own, who say that they have handed over the books. Do you wish to know who speak falsely? Those who are not in unity. The case was long ago settled, because you do not stand in peace.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Petrus Christum negauit","severity":"info","text":"Augustine alludes to Peter's denial of Christ (Matthew 26:69–75), used by Donatists to excuse traditores who surrendered scriptures under persecution.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"altare contra altare","severity":"info","text":"A technical phrase for the Donatist schism: setting up a rival altar (i.e., a separate bishop and church) against the Catholic one, a capital offense in Augustine's view.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"traditores","severity":"info","text":"Refers to Christians who handed over scriptures to Roman authorities during the Diocletianic persecution (303–305). Donatists accused Catholics of this; Augustine counters that the charge is unproven and the case closed.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate","severity":"info","text":"This line echoes the opening refrain of the psalm (line 1), creating an inclusio that frames the narrative section and reinforces the call to judge the schism.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"pseudoprophetis istis, qui nos quaerunt deuorare","severity":"info","text":"Augustine applies the biblical image of false prophets (cf. Deuteronomy 13:1–5) to Donatist leaders, a polemical trope that shaped later Catholic anti-heretical rhetoric.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'causam librorum excusare de timore' could mean either 'excuse the case of the books out of fear' (i.e., fear as motive) or 'excuse the case of the books concerning fear'; the translation takes the former as more natural."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Dixerunt maiores nostri et libros fecerunt inde,\nqui tunc causam cognouerunt, quo recens possent probare:\n\nerant quidam traditores librorum de sancta lege\nepiscopi de Numidia et non quilibet de plebe. cum Carthaginem uenissent episcopum ordinare,\ninuenerunt Caecilianum iam ordinatum in sua sede. irati sunt, quia ipsi non potuerunt ordinare. erant Botrus et Caelestius hostes Caeciliano ualde,\nimpii fures superbi, de quibus longum est referre. iunxerunt se simul omnes crimen in illum conflare,\ndicunt ordinatorem eius sanctos libros tradidisse. sic pacis retia ruperunt et errant modo per mare.\n\nOmnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Ecce quam bonum et iocundum fratres in unum habitare!! audite uocem prophetae, ut sitis in unitate. crimen nobis quis probauit antiquum de traditione? quis obiecit in iudicio? qui sederunt iudicare? quibus testibus conuicit, quis ausus est affirmare? sed hoc libenter finxerunt, quod se nouerant fecisse. quia fama iam loquebatur de librorum traditione,\nsed qui fecerant latebant in illa perturbatione,\ninde alios infamarunt, ut se ipsos possent celare. per illos ceteri errarunt principes ex ipsa parte,\nquia non credere collegis putauerunt sibi turpe. iam, fratres, finiatur error et simus in unitate.","english":"All who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. Our elders spoke and made books about it, those who then knew the case, so that they could prove it while it was fresh:\n\nThere were certain traitors of the books of the holy law, bishops from Numidia, and not just anyone from the people. When they came to Carthage to ordain a bishop, they found Caecilianus already ordained in his see. They were angry, because they themselves could not ordain. There were Botrus and Caelestius, very hostile to Caecilianus, impious thieves, proud, about whom it is long to relate. They all joined together to fabricate a crime against him; they say that his ordainer had handed over the holy books. Thus they broke the nets of peace and now wander through the sea.\n\nAll who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. Behold how good and joyful it is for brothers to dwell in unity! Hear the voice of the prophet, so that you may be in unity. Who proved to us the ancient crime of tradition? Who objected in judgment? Who sat to judge? With what witnesses did he convict, who dared to affirm? But they willingly fabricated this, because they knew they had done it themselves. For rumor already spoke of the tradition of the books, but those who had done it lay hidden in that disturbance; from there they defamed others, so that they could hide themselves. Through them the other leaders from that party erred, because they thought it shameful not to believe their colleagues. Now, brothers, let the error be ended, and let us be in unity.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The ordination of Caecilianus as bishop of Carthage around 311 CE sparked the Donatist schism. The Numidian bishops, led by Botrus and Caelestius, opposed his election, alleging that his consecrator, Felix of Aptunga, had been a traditor during the Diocletianic persecution.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"traditores librorum","severity":"info","text":"Traditores librorum refers to those who handed over sacred scriptures to imperial authorities during persecution, a capital charge in the Donatist controversy. The term traditor became a technical label for those deemed to have compromised the church's purity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The passage is framed by the repeated exhortation 'Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate,' which serves as a refrain dividing the narrative of the schism's origin from the rhetorical appeal for unity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"audite uocem prophetae, ut sitis in unitate","severity":"info","text":"The call to hear the prophet's voice likely echoes Old Testament prophetic calls for unity, possibly Jeremiah or Ezekiel, though no specific verse is cited. Augustine frequently invokes prophetic authority to urge ecclesiastical concord.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's Psalmus was sung by congregations in Hippo as anti-Donatist propaganda. Its narrative of the schism's origins, blaming Botrus and Caelestius, became a standard Catholic account, though Donatist sources (now lost) likely contested it.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"erant Botrus et Caelestius hostes Caeciliano ualde","severity":"caution","text":"The names Botrus and Caelestius appear only in Augustine's works; their historicity is uncertain. Augustine may have drawn on oral tradition or partisan sources, and the account should be read as polemical rather than neutral history.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'propheta' whose voice is to be heard is not specified; it may refer to a specific Old Testament prophet or to prophetic authority in general.","The phrase 'libros fecerunt inde' could mean either 'made books about it' (i.e., wrote accounts) or 'made books from that source' (i.e., compiled records); the translation follows the former sense."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate.\n\nFecerunt quod uoluerunt tunc in illa caecitate. non iudices consederunt, non sacerdotes de more,\nquo solent in magnis causis congregati iudicare,\nnon accusator et reus steterunt in quaestione,\nnon testis, non documentum, quo possent crimen probare,\nsed furor dolus tumultus, qui regnant in falsitate. proferantur nobis gesta, quae in concilio solent esse,\nuideamus quae res coegit fieri altare contra altare. si malus erat sacerdos, deponendus erat ante,\nsi non poterat deponi, tolerandus intra rete,\nsicut modo toleratis tam multos malos aperte,\net qui fertis pio furore, ferretis unum pro pace.\n\nOmnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Gaudium magnum esset nobis, si tunc nolletis errare;\nsed si tunc non uisum est uerum, uel nunc experti uidete. multos nunc habetis prauos, qui uobis displicent ualde,\nnec tamen hos separatis a uestra communione. non dico de illis peccatis, quae potestis et negare:\nfustes ignes mortes dico, quae committunt uestri in luce,\net tamen suffertis illos uel errore uel timore. quantum erat, ferrent unum patres uestri pro unitate,\nsi tantus erat tumultus, ut non possent degradare. adde quod innocens erat et nil poterant probare. sed ne crimen quaereretur, ubi se uidebant esse,\nfinxerunt se nimis iustos, cum totum uellent turbare.","english":"All who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. They did what they wanted then in that blindness. They did not sit as judges, nor as priests according to custom, as they are accustomed to judge when gathered for great cases; no accuser and defendant stood in the inquiry, no witness, no document by which they could prove the crime, but fury, deceit, and uproar, which reign in falsehood. Let the records be brought forth to us, such as are customary in a council; let us see what thing compelled an altar to be set up against an altar. If the priest was evil, he ought to have been deposed beforehand; if he could not be deposed, he ought to have been tolerated within the net, just as you now tolerate so many openly evil men, and you who bear with pious fury would have borne with one for the sake of peace.\n\nAll who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. It would be a great joy for us if you had been unwilling to err then; but if the truth was not seen then, at least now see it from experience. You now have many wicked men who greatly displease you, yet you do not separate these from your communion. I do not speak of those sins which you can even deny: I speak of clubs, fires, deaths, which your men commit in the light, and yet you endure them either through error or fear. How much would it have been for your fathers to bear with one for the sake of unity, if the uproar was so great that they could not degrade him? Add that he was innocent and they could prove nothing. But lest a crime be sought where they saw themselves to be, they pretended to be too righteous, when they wanted to throw everything into confusion.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"altare contra altare","severity":"info","text":"A technical phrase for a rival bishopric, indicating schism. Augustine uses it to frame the Donatist consecration of Majorinus as illegitimate.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"Caecilianus","severity":"info","text":"Caecilianus was the Catholic bishop of Carthage ordained in 311. His ordination was contested by the Donatists, leading to the schism.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate","severity":"info","text":"This refrain opens and closes the passage, framing the argument as an appeal to the Donatist laity to judge the schism's origins.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"fustes ignes mortes dico","severity":"info","text":"Augustine accuses Donatists of violence (clubs, fires, deaths), a common polemical charge in anti-Donatist writings, reflecting the Circumcellion controversy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"finxerunt se nimis iustos","severity":"caution","text":"Augustine's claim that Donatists feigned righteousness is polemical; the historical Donatist position held they were defending purity against traditores.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of 'patres uestri' (your fathers) is ambiguous: it may refer to the Donatist founders or to earlier Catholic bishops."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate.\n\nHonores uanos qui quaerit, non uult cum Christo regnare,\nsicut princeps huius mali, de cuius uocantur parte. nam Donatus tunc uolebat Africam totam obtinere;\ntunc iudices transmarinos petiit ab imperatore. sed haec tam iusta petitio non erat de caritate. hoc ipsa ueritas clamat, quam uolo modo referre. nam consensit imperator, misit qui sederent Romae\nsacerdotes, qui tunc possent Caecilianum cum illo audire. dicta causa est, nil probatum est: ausus est et appellare\net post collegarum sedem audiri ab imperatore. hinc petitio illa probatur non esse de caritate. deinde ubique uictus coepit christianos rebaptizare.\n\nOmnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Iustitiam sequi si uultis, totam causam cogitate. quod postea fecit Donatus, factum quare non est ante? dissentiebant sacerdotes in tota Africana parte:\nsacerdotes transmarini possent inde iudicare. quid cucurristis ad schisma et altare contra altare,\nut, quod postea iudicatum est, iam non possetis audire\net a iudicibus uestris cogeremini appellare,\ndum uultis erroris regnum quoquo modo confirmare? et nunc et uos totum noscitis, sed fingitis uos nescire,\net cum uos ueritas urget, patres dicitis errasse,\nquasi uos aliquis uetet iam recedere ab errore. sed superbia uos ligauit in cathedra pestilentiae.","english":"All who rejoice in peace, now judge truly.\n\nHe who seeks empty honors does not wish to reign with Christ,\nlike the prince of this evil, from whose party they are called. For Donatus then wished to obtain all of Africa;\nthen he sought overseas judges from the emperor. But this petition, though just, did not arise from charity.\nTruth itself proclaims this, which I wish now to relate. For the emperor consented, and sent priests who would sit at Rome\nand could then hear Caecilian together with him. The case was argued, nothing was proven: he dared even to appeal\nand, after the seat of his colleagues, to be heard by the emperor. Hence that petition is shown not to have been from charity.\nThen, defeated everywhere, he began to rebaptize Christians.\n\nAll who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. If you wish to follow justice, consider the whole case.\nWhy was what Donatus later did not done before? The priests throughout the African region were in disagreement:\noverseas priests could judge the matter there. Why did you rush into schism and set up altar against altar,\nso that you could no longer hear what was later judged\nand would be compelled to appeal from your own judges,\nwhile you sought to confirm the kingdom of error by any means? And now you too know everything, but pretend not to know,\nand when the truth presses you, you say the fathers erred,\nas if someone forbids you now to withdraw from error. But pride has bound you in the chair of pestilence.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"cathedra pestilentiae","severity":"info","text":"A biblical allusion to Psalm 1:1 (LXX) 'cathedram pestilentiae', used by Augustine to denounce the Donatist episcopal see as a seat of moral plague.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The appeal to overseas judges (transmarini iudices) refers to the 313–314 CE Council of Rome and the 316 CE Council of Arles, both of which ruled against Donatus.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The refrain 'Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate' frames the passage as a judicial exhortation, dividing the narrative into two parallel accusations.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's charge that Donatus 'coepit christianos rebaptizare' became a standard Catholic polemic against Donatist practice, cited in later anti-schismatic writings.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'deinde ubique uictus' may overstate Donatus's legal defeats; historical records show continued local support for Donatism after the councils.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of 'princeps huius mali' is ambiguous: it may refer to Donatus or to a demonic figure; the reading here takes it as Donatus."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Karitatem Christi qui habet, pacem non potest odisse. uel uos iam, populi, audite et nobiscum concordate,\nqui non tenetis cathedram, pro qua pugnetis iniuste. si modo episcopi uestri ex una aliqua regione\nhaberent inter se litem, quos uelletis iudicare\nnisi alterarum regionum qui non essent de ipsa lite? sed cum discussissent causam, pronuntiarent pro una parte,\nnumquam communicaretis qui illis nollent consentire. quare ergo communicastis istis, qui hoc fecerunt ante? nam et ipsi non consenserunt transmarinorum sententiae,\nqui pro nobis iudicarunt; nam nobis iunguntur hodie. si iudex Christus hoc dicat, quid habetis respondere?\n\nOmnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Lumen cordis si est in uobis, uerum potestis uidere. sunt preces Donati et acta, quibus quod dictum est probate. quae si credere non uultis, uos huc aliqua proferte. quibus si et nos non credimus, erit rixa sine fine. amplectamur ergo pacem. quid ad nos quod gestum est ante? obicitis traditionem: respondemus uos fecisse. clamatis uos de Macario: et nos de circumcellione. illud nostrum iam transactum: uestri non cessant usque hodie. habet paleas area nostra: uos hoc solum uultis esse;\nuos enim non uultis pacem. illi minantur de fuste:","english":"All who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. He who has the love of Christ cannot hate peace. Or you, peoples, now listen and be in concord with us, you who do not hold the chair for which you fight unjustly. If your bishops from some one region had a dispute among themselves, whom would you wish to judge except bishops from other regions who were not involved in that dispute? But when they had examined the case and pronounced in favor of one party, you would never have communion with those who would not consent to them. Why then did you have communion with those who did this before? For they themselves did not consent to the judgment of the overseas bishops, who judged in our favor; for they are joined to us today. If Christ the judge says this, what have you to reply?\n\nAll who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. If the light of the heart is in you, you can see the truth. There are the prayers of Donatus and the acts, by which prove what has been said. If you do not wish to believe them, bring forward something yourselves. If we do not believe them either, there will be endless strife. Let us therefore embrace peace. What is it to us what was done before? You object tradition: we reply that you did it. You cry out about Macarius: and we about the Circumcellion. That matter of ours is already past: yours do not cease even today. Our threshing-floor has chaff: you want this alone to be; for you do not want peace. They threaten with a club:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate","severity":"info","text":"This refrain-like opening, repeated verbatim at the start of the second half of the passage, structures the argument as a series of appeals to the Donatist laity, framing each section as a call to judgment.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"cathedram","severity":"info","text":"Cathedra (chair) refers to the episcopal see, here likely the see of Carthage, which Donatus claimed. Augustine argues that the Donatists fight unjustly for a chair they do not legitimately hold.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"transmarinorum sententiae","severity":"info","text":"The 'overseas judgment' refers to the decision of a commission of Italian and Gallic bishops (313 CE) that acquitted Caecilian of Carthage and condemned Donatus, a key event in the Donatist schism.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Macario","severity":"info","text":"Macarius was a Roman imperial commissioner sent to Africa in 347 CE to enforce unity; his actions included violent suppression of Donatists, which Donatists cited as persecution.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"circumcellione","severity":"info","text":"Circumcelliones were radical Donatist militants known for violent attacks on Catholics and self-destructive acts; Augustine here counters Donatist accusations of state violence by citing ongoing Circumcellion violence.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"habet paleas area nostra","severity":"caution","text":"The metaphor of the threshing-floor (area) with chaff (paleas) alludes to Matthew 3:12 (or a similar agricultural image), but the Latin is ambiguous: it may mean 'our threshing-floor has chaff' (i.e., the Catholic church contains imperfect members) or 'our area has straw' (a different crop). The sense is that Donatists focus only on Catholic faults while ignoring their own.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'habet paleas area nostra' could be read as a general agricultural metaphor or as a specific scriptural allusion; the exact referent of 'area' (threshing-floor) is not entirely clear.","The identity of 'illi' in 'illi minantur de fuste' (they threaten with a club) is ambiguous: it may refer to the Circumcelliones or to unspecified opponents."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"et utinam minarentur et non tunderent cotidie. hos si expellunt isti uestri, non habent per quos regnare.\n\nOmnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Modum si excessit Macarius conscriptum in christiana lege,\nuel legem regis referebat, ut pugnaret pro unitate. non dico istum nil peccasse, sed uestros peiores esse. quis enim praecepit illis per Africam sic saeuire? non Christus, non imperator haec probatur permisisse,\nfustes et ignes priuatos et insaniam sine lege. quia scriptum est: reconde gladium, scelus non putant in fuste,\nnon ut homo moriatur, sed ut conquassetur ualde\net postea moriatur inde, iam cruciatus languore. sed tamen si miserentur, occidunt et uno fuste. fustes Israheles uocant, quod dixerunt cum honore,\nut plus uastent ipsum nomen quam corpus quod caedunt inde.\n\nOmnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Nolite nobis iam, fratres, tempus Macarii imputare. si crudeles erant illi, et nobis displicent ualde;\nsi autem falsa de illis dicunt, deus potest iudicare. nos amemus pacem Christi, gaudeamus in unitate. si qui sunt mali in ecclesia, nil nobis possunt nocere. si non possunt nobiscum esse, excludantur salua pace.","english":"And would that they threatened and did not beat daily. If these men of yours expel them, they have no one through whom to rule.\n\nAll who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. If Macarius exceeded the measure written in the Christian law, or was reporting the king's law, so that he fought for unity, I do not say that he sinned not at all, but that your men are worse. For who commanded them to rage so through Africa? Neither Christ nor the emperor is proven to have permitted this: private clubs and fires and lawless madness. Because it is written: sheathe the sword, they do not think it a crime to use a club, not so that a man dies, but so that he is badly battered and later dies from it, already tormented by sickness. But yet if they are merciful, they kill even with one club. They call them Israelite clubs, which they said with honor, so that they more greatly ravage the name itself than the body they beat with them.\n\nAll who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. Do not, brothers, now blame the time of Macarius on us. If they were cruel, they also greatly displease us; but if they speak false things about them, God can judge. Let us love the peace of Christ, let us rejoice in unity. If there are evil men in the church, they can harm us in nothing. If they cannot be with us, let them be excluded with peace preserved.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"fustes Israheles","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'fustes Israheles' (Israelite clubs) is a polemical term used by Donatists to describe the clubs employed by Catholic forces, possibly invoking biblical imagery of Israelite punishment or a specific Donatist epithet for the instruments of persecution.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"reconde gladium","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'reconde gladium' (sheathe the sword) echoes a biblical injunction, possibly from the Old Testament (e.g., 1 Samuel 31:4 or Psalm 37:15), but the exact source is uncertain; Augustine uses it to contrast the Donatists' use of clubs with the command to put away the sword.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Macarius","severity":"info","text":"Macarius was a Catholic imperial commissioner sent to Africa in 347 CE to enforce unity, whose actions included violent suppression of Donatists; Augustine here defends him by arguing that the Donatists' own violence was worse.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate","severity":"info","text":"This refrain, repeated three times in the passage, structures the argument as a series of appeals to the audience to judge the conflict, each followed by a different point about Macarius, Donatist violence, and the call for peace.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"fustes Israheles","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'fustes Israheles' is obscure; it may be a Donatist term of honor for their clubs, but the exact meaning and origin are uncertain, and Augustine's use is ironic.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The exact biblical source of 'reconde gladium' is not identified; the phrase 'fustes Israheles' may be a Donatist slogan or a reference to a specific event; the identity of 'isti uestri' (these men of yours) is ambiguous but likely refers to Donatist leaders."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"si non poterunt excludi, excludantur uel de corde. dixit Ezechiel sanctus quosdam consignatos esse,\nqui gemunt peccata fratrum et non se separant inde. sic nos propter malos fratres non separemur a matre,\nquod tunc impii fecerunt extra leuantes altare,\nut peiores nunc haberent quam quos se fingunt fugisse.\n\nOmnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Omnis qui scripturas legit nouit quod uolo aperire. Iohannes Baptista dixit tunc ad Iudaeos aperte,\nquod illos tamquam aream suam posset Christus uentilare. misit in messem operarios discipulos praedicare,\nper quos area collecta est et uentilata de cruce. tunc iusti tamquam frumentum ecclesias implerunt caste\nuendentes quae possidebant et mundo dicentes uale. illi tamquam semen erant, quod toto dispersum est orbe,\nut alia surgeret messis, quae uentilanda est in fine. haec crescit inter zizania, quia sunt haereses ubique;\nhuius palea sunt iniusti, qui non sunt in unitate. ex quibus si erat Macarius, nos quid uis rebaptizare?","english":"If they cannot be shut out, let them at least be shut out from the heart. The holy Ezekiel said that some are marked, who groan over the sins of their brothers and do not separate themselves from them. Thus we, on account of evil brothers, are not to separate ourselves from the mother, as the impious then did, setting up an altar outside, so that they might now have worse men than those they pretend to have fled.\n\nAll who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. Everyone who reads the Scriptures knows what I wish to disclose. John the Baptist then said openly to the Jews, that Christ could winnow them as his own threshing-floor. He sent workers into the harvest, disciples to preach, through whom the threshing-floor was gathered and winnowed from the cross. Then the just, like grain, filled the churches chastely, selling what they possessed and bidding farewell to the world. They were like seed, scattered throughout the whole world, so that another harvest might arise, to be winnowed at the end. This harvest grows among tares, because heresies are everywhere; its chaff are the unjust, who are not in unity. If Macarius was among them, why do you wish to rebaptize us?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ezechiel sanctus","severity":"info","text":"The reference to Ezekiel likely alludes to Ezekiel 9:4-6, where the prophet sees the glory of God departing from the temple and laments the sins of the people, but does not separate himself from them.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"extra leuantes altare","severity":"info","text":"Setting up an altar outside the church refers to the Donatist practice of establishing separate places of worship, which Augustine condemns as schismatic.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Iohannes Baptista dixit tunc ad Iudaeos aperte","severity":"info","text":"The reference to John the Baptist speaking to the Jews about Christ winnowing them as a threshing-floor likely alludes to John 3:27-30, where John compares Christ to a winnower of souls.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"zizania","severity":"info","text":"Zizania (tares/weeds) is a biblical metaphor for heretics or false believers, drawn from the parable of the wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-30).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate","severity":"info","text":"This line echoes the refrain from earlier in the poem (p7), reinforcing the call for impartial judgment by those who value peace.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"rebaptizare","severity":"info","text":"Rebaptism was a central Donatist practice, rejecting the validity of sacraments administered by traditores; Augustine argues against it throughout the work.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of 'Macarius' is ambiguous: possibly a historical figure (Macarius of Rome?) or a symbolic representative of the imperial authorities enforcing unity."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Pone in corde areas duas, ut possis quod dico uidere. certe et priores habebant sanctos, sicut ostendunt scripturae.\n\nnam et septem milia uirorum deus se dixit reliquisse,\net sacerdotes et reges multi iusti sunt in lege. ibi habes tantos prophetas, habes multos et de plebe. dic mihi quis tunc iustorum separauit sibi altare. multa scelera admittebat iniquus populus ille,\nidolis sacrificatum est, tot occisi sunt prophetae\net nemo tamen iustorum recessit ab unitate. iusti iniustos sufferebant uenturo uentilatore,\nuno templo miscebantur, sed mixti non erant corde,\ndicebant in illos tanta et unum habebant altare.\n\nOmnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Quid uobis ad haec uidetur? secunda messis ecclesiae,\nquae per totum orbem crescit, plura debet sustinere:\nhabet [et]iam domini exemplum et in Iuda traditore. hunc inter bonos ferebat, hunc misit et praedicare. malus seruus praedicabat, sed Christus erat in fide,\nquia qui iudici credebant non curabant de praecone. quando dedit sanctam cenam, nec tunc illum exclusit inde,\net posset per illum tradi, etiam si inde exisset ante. sed nobis exemplum datum est malos fratres tolerare,\nut, cum non possunt excludi, solo separemur corde.","english":"All who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. Place two threshing-floors in your heart, so that you may see what I say. Certainly the earlier ones also had saints, as the scriptures show.\n\nFor God said He had left seven thousand men, and there are many priests and kings who were just in the Law. There you have so many prophets, you have many also from the people. Tell me which of the just then separated an altar for himself. That wicked people committed many crimes, sacrifices were made to idols, so many prophets were killed, and yet none of the just withdrew from unity. The just endured the unjust, awaiting the winnower who was to come; they were mingled in one temple, but they were not mingled in heart; they said so many things against them, yet they had one altar.\n\nAll who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. What does this seem to you? The second harvest of the Church, which grows throughout the whole world, must endure more: it has also the Lord’s example in the traitor Judas. He bore him among the good, He sent him also to preach. The evil servant preached, but Christ was in the faith, because those who believed in the judge did not care about the herald. When He gave the holy supper, He did not exclude him even then, and He could have been betrayed by him, even if he had left before. But an example was given to us to tolerate evil brothers, so that, when they cannot be shut out, we are separated only in heart.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate","severity":"info","text":"This refrain opens and closes the passage, framing the argument as a call to judgment and marking a rhetorical division.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"septem milia uirorum deus se dixit reliquisse","severity":"info","text":"Alludes to 1 Kings 19:18, where God reserves 7,000 in Israel who have not bowed to Baal, used here as a precedent for a faithful remnant within a corrupt whole.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"uenturo uentilatore","severity":"info","text":"The winnower metaphor derives from agricultural separation of grain from chaff, common in patristic exegesis (e.g., Matthew 3:12) to depict eschatological judgment.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"secunda messis ecclesiae","severity":"info","text":"The 'second harvest' contrasts the early church (first harvest) with the contemporary Donatist-era church, which must endure more evil as it grows worldwide.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"exemplum et in Iuda traditore","severity":"info","text":"Judas Iscariot is the archetype of the tolerated evil brother; Augustine draws on Matthew 26:20-25 and John 13:2 for the Last Supper scene.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"solo separemur corde","severity":"info","text":"This phrase encapsulates Augustine's key argument: separation must be internal (in heart), not external (by schism), against Donatist practice.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'areas duas' (two threshing-floors) is a metaphor for mental discernment, but its precise agricultural referent may be obscure to modern readers."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":10,"ref":"p10","source":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Rogo, respondete nobis, quid uultis rebaptizare. lapsos sacerdotes uestros pellitis a communione\n\net nemo tamen post illos ausus est rebaptizare\net quoscumque baptizarunt uobis communicant hodie. quid ab eis acceperunt, si non habebant quid dare? legite quomodo adulteri puniantur in sancta lege;\nnon enim dicere possunt, quia peccarunt a timore. si sancti soli baptizant, post istos rebaptizate. quid calumniamini nobis, quia sumus in unitate,\nqui nondum eramus nati in illa persecutione?. scriptum est peccata patrum ad filios non pertinere,\nsed nemo dat fructum bonum, si praecisus est de uite.\n\nOmnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Scitis catholica quid sit et quid sit praecisum a uite. si qui sunt inter uos cauti, ueniant, uiuant in radice;\nantequam nimis arescant, iam liberentur ab igne. ideo non rebaptizamus, quod unum signum est in fide,\nnon quia uos sanctos uidemus, sed solam formam tenere,\nquia ipsam formam habet sarmentum, quod praecisum est de uite. sed quid illi prodest forma, si non uiuit de radice? uenite, fratres, si uultis, ut inseramini in uite. dolor est cum uos uidemus praecisos ita iacere. numerate sacerdotes uel ab ipsa Petri sede\net in ordine illo patrum quis cui successit uidete:\nipsa est petra quam non uincunt superbae inferorum portae.","english":"All who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. I ask you, answer us: why do you wish to rebaptize? You expel your fallen priests from communion, and yet no one after them has dared to rebaptize, and those whom they baptized you communicate with today. What did they receive from them, if they had nothing to give? Read how adulterers are punished in the holy law; for they cannot say they sinned from fear. If only the saints baptize, then rebaptize after these. Why do you slander us, because we are in unity, who were not yet born in that persecution? It is written that the sins of fathers do not pertain to sons, but no one gives good fruit if he is cut off from the vine.\n\nAll who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. You know what the Catholic is and what is cut off from the vine. If there are any among you who are cautious, let them come, let them live in the root; before they wither too much, let them be freed from the fire. We do not rebaptize for this reason, because it is one sign in the faith, not because we see you as saints, but only to hold to the form, because the shoot that is cut off from the vine has the same form. But what good is the form to it, if it does not live from the root? Come, brothers, if you wish, so that you may be grafted into the vine. It is a grief when we see you lying cut off like that. Count the priests from the very see of Peter, and in that order of fathers see who succeeded whom: it is the rock which the proud gates of hell do not overcome.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate","severity":"info","text":"This refrain, repeated twice in the passage, structures the argument as a series of appeals to the Donatists, marking rhetorical divisions.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"rebaptizare","severity":"info","text":"Rebaptism was a central Donatist practice, rejecting the validity of sacraments administered by traditores; Augustine argues against it here.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"peccata patrum ad filios non pertinere","severity":"info","text":"This echoes Ezekiel 18:20, a key text for Augustine’s argument that the sins of the fathers (traditores) do not affect their descendants.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"nemo dat fructum bonum, si praecisus est de uite","severity":"info","text":"The vine imagery recalls John 15:1-6, where Christ is the true vine; Augustine applies it to ecclesial unity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ipsa est petra quam non uincunt superbae inferorum portae","severity":"info","text":"The rock (petra) refers to the see of Peter, invoking Matthew 16:18 and the claim of apostolic succession against Donatist schism.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"numerate sacerdotes uel ab ipsa Petri sede","severity":"info","text":"Augustine’s appeal to the Roman see as a guarantor of unity became a standard argument in later Catholic ecclesiology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'quid uultis rebaptizare' could be read as a rhetorical question or a genuine challenge; the context supports the former.","The identity of 'lapsos sacerdotes' is ambiguous: it may refer to Donatist clergy who lapsed during persecution, or to traditores generally."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":11,"ref":"p11","source":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate..\n\nTalis si quis ad te ueniat plenus catholica fide,\nquales illos sanctos uiros omnes solemus audire,\net si tibi dicat: 'frater, quid me uis rebaptizare? quid sit ante factum nescio, nunc autem sum in Christi fide. si me maculat quod nescio, tu qualis sis nunc ostende:\nuultus tuos ecce attendo, ignoro quid sit in corde. si me maculat quod nescio, tu me maculas fortasse,\net si te credo esse sanctum, quibus communicas uide. si maculat quod nescimus, iam non potes sanctus esse,\nquem maculant tot peccata, quae committunt uestri occulte. si autem quod nescis non curas, nec ego quod factum est ante*. —\net tamen christianum talem audes tu) rebaptizare.\n\nOmnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Uae qui pro cathedris uestris sic contenditis iniuste. clamatis uos solos sanctos, aliud dicitis in corde,\nquia uidetis et uos multos malos abundare ubique. numquid dicere potestis: 'mixti sumus intra rete'? respondetur enim uobis iam uos illud disrupisse. neque dicere potestis paleas uos sustinere;\niterum enim respondemus: hoc fecissetis et ante. non enim peiores erant illo Iuda traditore,\ncum quo apostoli acceperunt primum sacramentum cenae,\ncum tanti sceleris reum inter se iam scirent esse;\nnec tamen hos inquinabant sordes in alieno corde. et tamen christianos fratres audetis rebaptizare.","english":"All who rejoice in peace, now judge truly.\n\nIf someone like this should come to you, full of the Catholic faith, as we are accustomed to hear about those holy men of old, and if he should say to you: 'Brother, why do you wish to rebaptize me? I do not know what was done before; now, however, I am in the faith of Christ. If what I do not know defiles me, then show what sort you are now: I look at your face, I do not know what is in your heart. If what I do not know defiles me, perhaps you defile me, and if I believe you to be holy, see with whom you communicate. If what we do not know defiles, you can no longer be holy, whom so many sins defile, which your people commit in secret. But if you do not care about what you do not know, neither do I care about what was done before.' — and yet you dare to rebaptize such a Christian.\n\nAll who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. Woe to you who so unjustly contend for your sees. You cry out that you alone are holy, but you say something else in your heart, because you see that you too have many evil men everywhere. Can you say: 'We are mixed in the net'? For it is answered to you that you have already broken it. Nor can you say that you endure the chaff; again we answer: you would have done this before. For they were not worse than that traitor Judas, with whom the apostles first received the sacrament of the supper, when they already knew among themselves that he was guilty of such a crime; yet the filth in another's heart did not defile them. And yet you dare to rebaptize Christian brothers.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate.","severity":"info","text":"This refrain, repeated at the beginning and end of the passage, frames the argument as a judicial appeal to the audience, a common rhetorical device in Augustine's polemical works.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"rebaptizare","severity":"info","text":"Rebaptism was a central Donatist practice, rejecting the validity of sacraments administered by traditores (those who surrendered scriptures during persecution). Augustine argues here that this practice is inconsistent and unjust.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Iuda traditore","severity":"info","text":"The reference to Judas Iscariot as a traitor who received the Eucharist with the apostles alludes to Matthew 26:20-25 and Acts 1:17, used to argue that the sin of one does not defile the others.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"paleas uos sustinere","severity":"info","text":"The image of enduring chaff (paleas) among the wheat echoes the parable of the wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-30), a common Augustinian argument that the Church must tolerate sinners within its ranks.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"mixti sumus intra rete","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'mixed in the net' may allude to a Donatist claim of being caught in a net of persecution; Augustine counters that they have already broken free, implying schism.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"quid sit ante factum nescio","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin text has a lacuna or uncertain reading at 'ante*' (marked with an asterisk in the edition). The sense is clear: the speaker does not know the past actions of the rebaptizer, but the exact wording is conjectural.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-csel"]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'ante*' is a textual crux; the translation supplies 'before' based on context. The identity of the 'holy men of old' (illos sanctos uiros) is unspecified but likely refers to biblical or early Christian figures."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":12,"ref":"p12","source":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate. Audite, fratres, quod dico, et mihi irasci nolite. quia non sunt falsa quae auditis, potestis et considerare. quid si ipsa mater ecclesia uos alloquatur cum pace\net dicat: 'o filii mei, quid querimini de matre? quare me deseruistis, iam uolo a uobis audire. accusatis fratres uestros et ego laceror ualde. quando me premebant gentes, multa tuli cum dolore. multi me deseruerunt, sed fecerunt in timore;\nuos uero nullus coegit sic contra me rebellare. dicitis mecum uos esse, sed falsum uidetis esse:\nego catholica dicor et uos de Donati parte. iussit me apostolus pro regibus mundi orare;\nuos inuidetis, quod reges iam sunt in christiana fide. si filii estis, quid inuidetis, quia auditae sunt preces meae? quando enim dona miserunt, noluistis acceptare\net obliti estis prophetas, qui illud praedixerunt ante,\nquod gentium reges magni missuri essent dona ecclesiae. quae dona cum respuistis, ostendistis uos non esse\net Macarium coegistis suum dolorem uindicare. sed ego quid uobis feci, uestra mater in toto orbe? expello malos quos possum, quos non possum cogor ferre;\nfero illos, donec sanentur aut separentur in fine. uos me quare dimisistis et crucior de uestra morte? si multum malos odistis, quales habetis uidete. si et uos toleratis malos, quare non in unitate,\nubi nemo rebaptizat nec altare est contra altare?","english":"All who rejoice in peace, now judge truly. Listen, brothers, to what I say, and do not be angry with me. For what you hear is not false; you can also consider it. What if Mother Church herself should address you with peace and say: 'O my children, why do you complain against your mother? Why have you abandoned me? I wish now to hear from you. You accuse your brothers, and I am greatly torn. When the nations oppressed me, I endured much with sorrow; many abandoned me, but they did so in fear. But no one compelled you to rebel against me in this way. You say you are with me, but you see that it is false: I am called Catholic, and you are of the party of Donatus. The Apostle commanded me to pray for the kings of the world; you are envious that the kings are now in the Christian faith. If you are children, why are you envious because my prayers have been heard? For when they sent gifts, you refused to accept them, and you forgot the prophets who foretold long ago that great kings of the nations would send gifts to the Church. When you rejected those gifts, you showed that you are not of her, and you compelled Macarius to avenge his own grief. But what have I done to you, your mother throughout the whole world? I expel the evil ones I can; those I cannot, I am forced to bear; I bear them until they are healed or separated in the end. Why have you left me, and why do I suffer anguish over your death? If you hate the evil ones so much, see what sort you yourselves have. If you too tolerate evil ones, why are you not in unity, where no one rebaptizes and there is no altar against altar?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"quid si ipsa mater ecclesia uos alloquatur cum pace","severity":"info","text":"The passage shifts from direct address to a prosopopoeia, where Mother Church speaks in the first person, a rhetorical device common in Augustine's polemical works.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Macarium","severity":"info","text":"Macarius refers to the imperial commissioner sent to Africa in 347 to enforce unity, whose harsh measures against Donatists led to martyrdoms and deepened the schism.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"iussit me apostolus pro regibus mundi orare","severity":"info","text":"Alludes to 1 Timothy 2:1-2, where Paul instructs prayers for rulers, a key text in Augustine's argument that the Church must pray for Christian emperors.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"catholica","severity":"info","text":"Catholica here denotes the universal Church in communion with Rome, contrasted with the Donatist party, which Augustine consistently labels as a faction.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"expello malos quos possum, quos non possum cogor ferre","severity":"info","text":"This line echoes Augustine's pastoral principle of tolerating evil within the Church when correction is impossible, a theme later influential in medieval ecclesiology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"et Macarium coegistis suum dolorem uindicare","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase suggests Donatist provocation led to Macarius's violent response, but historical accounts differ on responsibility; Augustine's rhetoric simplifies a complex conflict.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of 'Macarius' is clear from context, but the phrase 'suum dolorem uindicare' could imply personal vengeance or official retribution; the reading taken is that Augustine accuses Donatists of provoking state violence."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":13,"ref":"p13","source":"malos tantos toleratis, sed nulla bona mercede,\nquia, quod debetis pro Christo, pro Donato uultis ferre'. cantauimus uobis, fratres, pacem, si uultis audire. uenturus est iudex noster: nos damus, exigit ille.\n\nAUGUSTINI RETRACTATIONVM LIB. I CAP. XVIII (XI) (PAG. 96, ED. KNOELL).\n\nPSALMUS CONTRA PARTEM DONATI, LIBER I.\n\n1. Uolens etiam causam Donatistarum ad ipsius humillimi uulgi et omnino inperitorum atque idiotarum notitiam peruenire et eorum, quantum fieri per nos posset, inhaerere memoriae, psalmum, qui eis cantaretur, per latinas litteras feci, sed usque ad U litteram, quales abecedarias appellant. tres uero ultimas omisi, sed pro eis nouissimum quasi epilogum adiunxi, tamquam eos mater adloqueretur ecclesia. ypopsalma etiam, quod respondetur, et prooemium causae, quod uoluimus ut cantaretur, non sunt in ordine litterarum; earum quippe ordo incipit post prooemium. ideo autem non aliquo carminis genere id fieri uolui, ne me necessitas metrica ad aliqua uerba, quae uulgo minus sunt usitata, conpelleret.","english":"So many evil men you tolerate, but with no good reward, because what you ought to bear for Christ, you wish to bear for Donatus. We have sung to you, brothers, of peace, if you are willing to hear. Our judge is coming: we give, he exacts.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"malos tantos toleratis","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'malos tantos toleratis' (so many evil men you tolerate) continues the maternal reproach of the Donatists, accusing them of harboring sinners for the sake of their faction.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"pro Donato uultis ferre","severity":"info","text":"'pro Donato uultis ferre' (you wish to bear for Donatus) contrasts the proper object of suffering (Christ) with the Donatist leader Donatus, underscoring the schismatic loyalty Augustine condemns.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"cantauimus uobis, fratres, pacem","severity":"info","text":"The shift to 'cantauimus uobis, fratres, pacem' (We have sung to you, brothers, of peace) marks the end of the maternal prosopopoeia and a direct address to the audience, resuming the psalm's exhortatory tone.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"uenturus est iudex noster: nos damus, exigit ille","severity":"info","text":"The reference to the coming judge ('iudex noster') alludes to Christ as eschatological judge, a common theme in anti-Donatist polemic, emphasizing divine accountability over human faction.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Psalmus contra partem Donati","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's Retractationes (cited in the source edition) note that this psalm was composed in simple Latin for the uneducated, using an abecedarian structure to aid memorization, as explained in the prose preface.","cites":[],"named_sources":["Augustine Retractationes 1.18"],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"nos damus, exigit ille","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'nos damus, exigit ille' (we give, he exacts) is ambiguous: it may mean that humans offer their deeds while Christ demands an account, or that the Donatists give allegiance to Donatus while Christ requires obedience.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The referent of 'iudex noster' (our judge) is Christ, but the exact eschatological context is implicit. The phrase 'nos damus, exigit ille' is syntactically terse, leaving the object of giving and exacting unspecified."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"check","severity":"info","code":"ratio-warn","text":"Automatic check: the English/source length ratio is outside the usual band for Coptic — a sign that something was dropped or added, not proof that it was."}]},{"i":14,"ref":"p14","source":"2. Iste psalmus sic incipit: Omnes qui gaudetis de pace, modo uerum iudicate, quod eius ypopsalma est.","english":"This psalm begins thus: All who rejoice in peace, now judge truly, which is its refrain.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"ypopsalma","severity":"info","text":"The Greek loanword 'ypopsalma' (ὑπόψαλμα) indicates a refrain or response sung by the congregation, a structural feature of the psalm.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ypopsalma","severity":"info","text":"In Latin liturgical usage, 'ypopsalma' (or 'hypopsalma') denotes a refrain, often a short verse repeated after each stanza, as in this psalm.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"Omnes qui gaudetis de pace","severity":"info","text":"This incipit identifies the opening line of the psalm, which Augustine composed as a polemical song against the Donatist schism, urging unity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"Iste psalmus","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's reference to 'this psalm' in the prose introduction shows the work was performed liturgically, with the refrain sung by the congregation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'ypopsalma' is a Greek loanword; its precise musical or liturgical function in this context is not fully detailed."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}