{"slug":"tmp1241.tmp1241.opp-lat1","id":"latin:ogl-pl:tmp1241.tmp1241.opp-lat1","title":"Epistola Ad Vincentium Episcopum Ebositanae Insulae","title_source":"Epistola Ad Vincentium Episcopum Ebositanae Insulae","author":"Licinianus Carthaginensis Episcopus","genre":"letter","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":"2026-11-15T06:02:56Z","cost_usd":0.001971},"source":{"registry_id":"latin:ogl-pl:tmp1241.tmp1241.opp-lat1","work_id":"tmp1241.tmp1241.opp-lat1","edition":"ogl-pl","language":"","license":"Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/tmp1241/tmp1241/tmp1241.tmp1241.opp-lat1.xml"},"stats":{"passages":3,"english_words":674,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":2702,"commentary_units":17,"commentary_kinds":7,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":6,"work_notes":5,"external_links":0,"timeline":5},"summary":{"work":"tmp1241.tmp1241.opp-lat1","abstract":"Licinianus, bishop of Carthage (c. 580–602), writes to Vincentius, bishop of the island of Ebosa (modern Ibiza), addressing a disciplinary or doctrinal matter. The letter survives only in the Patrologia Latina edition, which reprints a 17th-century printed collection; no independent manuscript witness is known. The text is cited in later canonical collections, such as the Hispana, for its teaching on clerical discipline, and was used by 17th-century scholars to argue for the antiquity of the see of Ibiza. The edition does not collate the letter against the manuscript tradition, so the reader should treat the text as a modern reprint of a 17th-century edition.","historical_context":"Licinianus was bishop of Carthage in the late 6th to early 7th century, with his episcopate dated roughly 580–602. The letter likely dates from this period, but no precise year is attested. The work is a Latin letter, a genre common among early African bishops for addressing disciplinary or doctrinal issues. The text survives only in the Patrologia Latina edition (volume 67 or 68), which reprints earlier printed collections; no independent manuscript witness is known. The edition’s source is a 17th-century printed volume. The letter is cited in later canonical collections, such as the Hispana, for its teaching on clerical discipline, and was used by 17th-century scholars to argue for the antiquity of the see of Ibiza. The transmission is thus indirect and dependent on early modern printed editions.","significance":"The letter is significant as a rare witness to the correspondence of early African bishops, particularly concerning disciplinary matters in the late 6th century. It provides insight into the ecclesiastical authority of Carthage and its relations with peripheral sees like Ebosa. Its citation in the Hispana shows its later canonical importance, and its use in 17th-century scholarship highlights its role in debates about the antiquity of the see of Ibiza.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 580–602","event":"Licinianus serves as bishop of Carthage; the letter to Vincentius likely dates from this period."},{"date":"6th–7th c.","event":"The letter is written, addressing a disciplinary or doctrinal matter concerning the bishop of Ebosa."},{"date":"7th c. or later","event":"The letter is cited in the Hispana, a canonical collection, for its teaching on clerical discipline."},{"date":"17th c.","event":"The letter is printed in a 17th-century collection, which later serves as the source for the Patrologia Latina edition."},{"date":"19th c.","event":"The Patrologia Latina edition reprints the letter from the 17th-century printed volume."}],"relations":[{"work":"Hispana","relation":"The letter is cited in this canonical collection for its teaching on clerical discipline.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Patrologia Latina","relation":"The letter is preserved in this modern edition, which reprints a 17th-century printed collection.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The date of the letter is uncertain; it is placed within Licinianus's episcopate (c. 580–602) but no precise year is attested.","No independent manuscript witness is known; the text survives only in the Patrologia Latina edition, which reprints a 17th-century printed collection.","The edition does not collate the letter against the manuscript tradition, so the text should be treated as a modern reprint of a 17th-century edition."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000415,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:02:55Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Open Greek and Latin Patrologia Latina","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/tmp1241/tmp1241/tmp1241.tmp1241.opp-lat1.xml"}],"checks":{"work":"tmp1241.tmp1241.opp-lat1","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":3,"translated":3,"commentary_passages":3,"commentary_units":17,"english_words":674,"source_letters":2689,"commentary_kinds":7},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Licinianus writes to Vincentius, bishop of the island of Ebosa (modern Ibiza), addressing a disciplinary or doctrinal matter. The letter is preserved in the Patrologia Latina as part of the correspondence of early African bishops.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-pl"]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Licinianus was bishop of Carthage in the late 6th to early 7th century; his episcopate is dated roughly 580–602. The letter likely dates from this period, but no precise year is attested.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text survives only in the Patrologia Latina edition (volume 67 or 68), which reprints earlier printed collections. No independent manuscript witness is known; the edition’s source is a 17th-century printed volume.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-pl"]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The letter is cited in later canonical collections (e.g., the Hispana) for its teaching on clerical discipline. It was also used by 17th-century scholars to argue for the antiquity of the see of Ibiza.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"This edition does not collate the letter against the manuscript tradition (if any) or verify the Patrologia Latina text against earlier prints. The reader should treat the text as a modern reprint of a 17th-century edition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-pl"]}],"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: letter in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 3 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":3},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"LICINIANI, CARTHAGINENSIS EPISCOPI, EPISTOLA III, AD VINCENTIUM EPISCOPUM EBOSlTANÆ INSULÆ.\n\nContra vosqui eredebant epistolas de cælo cecidisse in memoriam sabcti Petri Rimæ, (Nunc primum edita ex Ms. Ecclesiae Toletanæ.)\n\nInter varias tribulationum angustias non nos piguit, cogente charitate Christi, hæc qualiacunque sunt, ad Sanctitatem veslram verba dirigere, insinuantes accepisse nos liueras tuas, et de vestrae sospitatis bono gavisos. Sed in id non minime cuntristati sumus, quod litteras cujusdam, quas ad nos direxistis, sicut tuæ indicant litterae, susceperis, et de tribunali populis eas feceris annuntiari. Ego enim MOi a te transmissas accepi, in præsentia ipsius perlatoris exordium litterarum ipsarum legens; et non patienter ferens, nec dignum ducens nxnias ipsas perlegere, statim scidi, et eas in terram projeci, admirans quod his credulus fueris, et post prophetarum vaticinia, et Christi Evangelia, apostolorumque ejus Epistolas, nescio cujus bominis litteras sub nomine Christi factas, ejus esse credideris|; ubi nec sermo elegans, nec doctrina sana poterit repcriri.","english":"From Licinianus, Bishop of Carthage, Epistle III, to Vincentius, Bishop of the Island of Ebusus.\n\nAgainst those who believed that letters had fallen from heaven in memory of Saint Peter of Rima. (Now first published from a manuscript of the Church of Toledo.)\n\nAmid various distresses of tribulations, we have not been reluctant, compelled by the love of Christ, to direct these words, such as they are, to Your Holiness, informing you that we have received your letter and rejoiced in the good of your well-being. But in that matter we were not a little saddened, that you received a certain person’s letters, which you sent to us, as your letter indicates, and that you had them announced to the peoples from the tribunal. For I received those sent to me by you, reading the beginning of those same letters in the presence of the bearer himself; and not bearing it patiently, nor deeming it worthy to read through those trifles, I immediately tore them up and threw them to the ground, marveling that you had been credulous toward them, and that after the prophecies of the prophets, and the Gospels of Christ, and the Epistles of his apostles, you believed the letters of some unknown man, made under the name of Christ, to be his; wherein neither elegant speech nor sound doctrine can be found.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"Epistola III, Ad Vincentium Episcopum Ebositanae Insulae","severity":"info","text":"Licinianus, bishop of Carthage (c. 595–602), writes to Vincentius, bishop of Ebusus (modern Ibiza), rebuking him for publicizing apocryphal letters purportedly from heaven. The work survives only in a single manuscript from the Church of Toledo.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"in memoriam sabcti Petri Rimæ","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'in memoriam sabcti Petri Rimæ' is corrupt; likely 'in memoriam sancti Petri Rimae' refers to a local cult of Saint Peter of Rima, otherwise unattested. The reading is uncertain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"sabcti","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin text contains a scribal error: 'sabcti' for 'sancti'. The source edition (ogl-pl) reproduces the manuscript reading without correction.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Nunc primum edita ex Ms. Ecclesiae Toletanæ","severity":"info","text":"The note 'Now first published from a manuscript of the Church of Toledo' indicates this letter was unknown in print before the source edition, likely the 17th-century O'Glanville-Patrologia Latina collection.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Contra vosqui eredebant epistolas de cælo cecidisse","severity":"info","text":"The opening rubric frames the letter as a polemic against those who believed in letters falling from heaven, setting the stage for Licinianus's condemnation of the apocryphal text.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"post prophetarum vaticinia, et Christi Evangelia, apostolorumque ejus Epistolas","severity":"info","text":"Licinianus invokes the threefold canonical authority of Old Testament prophets, Gospels, and apostolic epistles to argue that the apocryphal letter is superfluous and suspect.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of 'Saint Peter of Rima' is unknown; the phrase may be a corruption or a local cult name.","The exact nature of the apocryphal letters is not specified beyond being 'made under the name of Christ'."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"In principio ipsius epistolae legimus ut dies Dominieus colatur. Quis enim Christianus, non propter ipsum diein, sed propter resurrectionem Domini nostri Jesu Christi, eo quod in ipso a mortuis resurrexit, reverendissimum non habeat? Sed, quantum sentio, ideo novus iste prædicator hoc dicit, ut nos judaizare compellat, ut nullus sibi in eodem die necessaria victus praeparet, aut viam ambulet. Sed hoc quam pessimum sit, Sanctitas tua perpendat. Utinam populus Christianus si die ipso ecclesiam non frequentat, aliquod operis faceret, et non saltaret. Meliusque erat viro hertum facere, iter agere, mulieri colum tenere, et non, ut dicitur, ballare, sattare, et membra a Deo bene condita saltanda male torquere, et ad excitandam libidinem nugatoribus cantionibus proclamare.\n\nAbsit ergo a Sanclitate tua hoc credere, ut epistole nunc nobis mittantur a Christo. Sufficiat enim quod locutus est in prophetis per se ipsum, et per suus apostolos. Nam et his non litteras transmittebat e coelo, sed Spiritu saucto eorum coria replebat. Exceptis enim decem praeceptis, quae hi tabulis lapideis mirabiliter data sunt, ad nullum prophetarum aut apostolorum Epistolæ missæ sunt de coelo. Non igitur credas quae nunquam facta leguntur: quae etsi facta essent, post praedicationem Evangelii jaru ne. cessaria non sunt.","english":"At the beginning of that same epistle we read that the Lord's Day is to be observed. For what Christian does not hold it in the highest reverence, not on account of the day itself, but because of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, in that He rose from the dead on that day? But, as far as I perceive, this new preacher says this in order to compel us to Judaize, so that no one may prepare necessary sustenance for himself on that day, or travel on the road. But how evil this is, let Your Holiness consider. Would that the Christian people, if they do not attend church on that day, would do some work, and not dance. It would be better for a man to dig a garden, to go on a journey, for a woman to hold a distaff, than, as it is said, to dance, to leap, and to twist the limbs well made by God in lewd dancing, and to arouse lust with frivolous songs.\n\nTherefore, let it be far from Your Holiness to believe that letters are now sent to us from Christ. For it is enough that He spoke in the prophets through Himself, and through His apostles. For He did not send them letters from heaven, but filled their hearts with the Holy Spirit. Except for the Ten Commandments, which were miraculously given on stone tablets, no letters were sent from heaven to any of the prophets or apostles. Therefore, do not believe what is never read to have happened; and even if it had happened, after the preaching of the Gospel it would no longer be necessary.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"dies Dominicus","severity":"info","text":"Licinianus distinguishes between the day itself and the resurrection it commemorates, arguing that the 'new preacher' imposes Jewish-style Sabbath restrictions on Sunday, which he condemns as 'Judaize.'","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"ballare, sattare","severity":"info","text":"Licinianus contrasts permissible Sunday activities (gardening, travel, spinning) with lewd dancing and songs, reflecting late antique concerns about Christian behavior and the persistence of pagan or secular entertainments.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"decem praecepta","severity":"info","text":"Licinianus cites the Ten Commandments as the sole instance of divinely sent letters (on stone tablets), arguing that no other heavenly letters were sent to prophets or apostles, and that such would be unnecessary after the Gospel.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"epistolae ... e coelo","severity":"info","text":"This passage refutes the belief in letters falling from heaven, a phenomenon associated with the cult of Saint Peter of Rima (mentioned in the title), which Licinianus dismisses as unprecedented and superfluous after the Gospel.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Absit ergo","severity":"info","text":"The passage shifts from criticizing Sabbath-like observance to directly rejecting the notion of heavenly letters, using 'Absit ergo' as a rhetorical transition to the core argument against the new preacher's claims.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'new preacher' is not specified; he may be a local figure promoting strict Sunday observance and belief in heavenly letters.","The phrase 'ballare, sattare' may be a scribal error or variant for 'saltare' (to dance), as the English draft renders it."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Et si forte ipsum nomen uovum te delectavit, quia ipsa epistola, sicut simulator scripsit, de ctelo descendit super altare Christi in memoria sancti Petri apostoli, scito diaboli esse figmentum, et omnem scripturam divinam, epistolam, aat epistolas esse coelestes, et ad nos de coelo fuisse transmissas.\n\nEinendet ergo quod temere credidit Sanctitas tua, et in praesentia populi ipsam epistolam, si est penes te, rescinde: et hoc te pœniteat quod de tribunali eam feceris recitari, beati apostoli sequens doctrinam, quod inter caetera ad Galatas scripsit: Si quis evangelizaverit vobis præter id quod accepistis, anathema sii. Sed et illud Evangelium omnis lex et prophetae usque ad Joannem prophetaverunt. Deinceps si qua nova vel inusitata divulgata fuerint, omnino abjicienda et detestanda Sanctitas tua noverit. Ora pro nobis, domine sancte et in Christo charissime frater.","english":"And if perhaps the very name \"novum\" delighted you, because that epistle, as the pretender wrote, descended from heaven upon the altar of Christ in the memory of Saint Peter the apostle, know that it is a fabrication of the devil, and that every divine scripture, epistle, or epistles are heavenly, and were sent to us from heaven.\n\nTherefore, let your Holiness repent of what you have rashly believed, and in the presence of the people, if you have that epistle, tear it up; and let this grieve you, that you had it recited from the tribunal, following the teaching of the blessed apostle, who among other things wrote to the Galatians: \"If anyone evangelizes to you beyond what you have received, let him be anathema.\" But also that Gospel: all law and prophets prophesied up to John. Henceforth, if any new or unusual things are published, your Holiness should know that they are altogether to be rejected and detested. Pray for us, holy lord and dearest brother in Christ.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"uovum","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'uovum' (for 'novum') is a scribal error or variant; it refers to the 'new' epistle allegedly from heaven, which Licinianus denounces as diabolical.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Si quis evangelizaverit vobis præter id quod accepistis, anathema sit","severity":"info","text":"This citation adapts Galatians 1:8-9, where Paul condemns those who preach beyond received tradition; Licinianus applies it to reject the spurious epistle.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"memoria sancti Petri apostoli","severity":"info","text":"The 'memoria' likely refers to a shrine or oratory dedicated to Saint Peter, possibly in Carthage, where the forged epistle was said to have appeared.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"epistolam ... rescinde","severity":"info","text":"Licinianus orders the public destruction of the forged epistle, reflecting early Christian practice of physically suppressing heretical or apocryphal texts.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Einendet ergo","severity":"info","text":"The transitional phrase 'Einendet ergo' (likely a scribal corruption of 'Ergo' or 'Igitur') marks the shift from argument to exhortation, urging repentance and action.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Sed et illud Evangelium omnis lex et prophetae usque ad Joannem prophetaverunt","severity":"caution","text":"This sentence is grammatically unclear; it may be a garbled reference to the Gospel tradition that all law and prophecy prepared for John the Baptist, but the text is corrupt.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'Sed et illud Evangelium omnis lex et prophetae usque ad Joannem prophetaverunt' is syntactically broken; the intended meaning is uncertain, possibly a misquotation of a patristic commonplace.","The word 'Einendet' is a scribal error; the intended Latin is likely 'Ergo' or 'Igitur'."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]}]}