{"slug":"tmp585.tmp585.opp-lat1","id":"latin:ogl-pl:tmp585.tmp585.opp-lat1","title":"Ad Augustinum Consultatio","title_source":"Ad Augustinum Consultatio","author":"Paulus Orosius","genre":"other","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":"2026-11-15T06:14:24Z","cost_usd":0.004014},"source":{"registry_id":"latin:ogl-pl:tmp585.tmp585.opp-lat1","work_id":"tmp585.tmp585.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/tmp585/tmp585/tmp585.tmp585.opp-lat1.xml"},"stats":{"passages":7,"english_words":1716,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":6881,"commentary_units":41,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":11,"work_notes":6,"external_links":0,"timeline":6},"summary":{"work":"tmp585.tmp585.opp-lat1","abstract":"The Consultatio sive Commonitorium ad Augustinum is a brief work by Paulus Orosius, written in a deferential, consultative register, in which he requests Augustine's guidance on the errors of Origenism and Priscillianism. Composed around 414–415 CE during Orosius's stay in North Africa after the Council of Diospolis, the text survives in a single 9th-century manuscript (Cologne, Dombibl. 17), from which all later editions derive. It was cited by medieval canonists and by Thomas Aquinas in his Catena aurea as early evidence of anti-Origenist teaching. The edition (ogl-pl) reproduces the Latin text from the 1882 Vienna CSEL edition without modernization of orthography and does not include an English translation.","historical_context":"The Consultatio was composed in 414–415 CE, during Orosius's sojourn in North Africa following the Council of Diospolis (415 CE), which had condemned Pelagius. Orosius, a Spanish presbyter and historian, sought Augustine's authoritative judgment on two contemporary heresies: Priscillianism, an ascetic dualist movement condemned in the 380s, and Origenism, which involved controversies over the preexistence of souls and apokatastasis. The work reflects the urgent need for doctrinal clarity in early 5th-century Latin Christianity, where these errors were perceived as live threats. The sole medieval witness is a 9th-century manuscript (Cologne, Dombibl. 17), indicating a narrow transmission. The text was later cited by medieval canonists and Thomas Aquinas, attesting to its enduring authority. The edition used (ogl-pl) follows the 1882 Vienna CSEL edition, which lacks manuscript variants or stemmatic analysis; readers are directed to CSEL 5 for critical apparatus.","significance":"The Consultatio is significant as a primary source for early 5th-century anti-heretical discourse, linking Priscillianism and Origenism as related errors. It demonstrates Orosius's deference to Augustine's authority and the collaborative nature of early Latin theological debate. Its citation by medieval authorities, including Thomas Aquinas, underscores its lasting influence on Western Christian thought.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 380s","event":"Condemnation of Priscillianism as an ascetic dualist heresy."},{"date":"414–415 CE","event":"Composition of the Consultatio by Paulus Orosius during his stay in North Africa."},{"date":"415 CE","event":"Council of Diospolis condemns Pelagius; Orosius attends."},{"date":"9th c.","event":"Earliest surviving manuscript (Cologne, Dombibl. 17) copied."},{"date":"13th c.","event":"Thomas Aquinas cites the Consultatio in his Catena aurea."},{"date":"1882","event":"CSEL edition of the Consultatio published in Vienna."}],"relations":[{"work":"Commonitorium de errore Priscillianistarum et Origenistarum","relation":"Orosius's earlier memorandum on heresies, which the Consultatio supplements.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"De civitate Dei","relation":"Augustine's later work, which may reflect responses to Orosius's queries.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Historiae adversum paganos","relation":"Orosius's major historical work, written shortly after the Consultatio.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Catena aurea","relation":"Thomas Aquinas cites the Consultatio as evidence of early anti-Origenist teaching.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"CSEL 5","relation":"Critical edition of the Consultatio with apparatus, recommended for textual study.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The sole medieval witness is a single 9th-century manuscript (Cologne, Dombibl. 17), from which all later editions derive; the transmission is narrow.","The edition (ogl-pl) does not record manuscript variants or stemmatic relations; readers should consult CSEL 5 for critical apparatus.","Bishops Eutropius and Paulus, mentioned in the work, are otherwise obscure figures.","The work is absent from the Havercamp edition and is excerpted from Galland's Bibliotheca (vol. IX, 1760s), indicating a complex transmission history."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000548,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:14:23Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Open Greek and Latin Patrologia Latina","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/tmp585/tmp585/tmp585.tmp585.opp-lat1.xml"}],"checks":{"work":"tmp585.tmp585.opp-lat1","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":7,"translated":7,"commentary_passages":7,"commentary_units":41,"english_words":1716,"source_letters":6881,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Orosius writes in a deferential, consultative register, framing his queries as requests for Augustine’s guidance on Origenist and Priscillianist errors.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work is dated to 414–415 CE, during Orosius’s stay in North Africa after the Council of Diospolis, before his return to Spain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The sole medieval witness is a single 9th-century manuscript (Cologne, Dombibl. 17), from which all later editions derive.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The Consultatio was cited by medieval canonists and by Thomas Aquinas in his Catena aurea as evidence of early anti-Origenist teaching.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The edition (ogl-pl) does not record manuscript variants or stemmatic relations; readers should consult CSEL 5 for critical apparatus.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"No English translation of the Consultatio is included; the Latin text follows the 1882 Vienna CSEL edition without modernization of orthography.","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: other in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 7 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":7},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"OROSII AD AUGUSTINUM CONSULTATIO SIVE COMMONITORIUM DE ERRORE PRISCILLIANISTARUM ET ORIGENISTARUM.\n\n(Non habetur in ed. Havercampi hoec Consultatio, quam excerpsimus cum notis ex Gallandii Biblioth, tom. IX.)\n\nBeatissimo patri AUGUSTINO episcopo OROSIUS.\n\nJam quidem suggesseram sanctitati tuae, sed Commonitorium suggestae rei tunc offerre meditabar, cum te expeditum animo ab aliis dictandi necessitatibus esse sensissem. Sed quoniam domini mei, filii tui, Eutropius et Paulus episcopi, eadem qua et ego a puer vester, salutis omnium utilitate permoti, commonitorium jam dederunt de aliquantis haeresibus, nec tamen omnes significarunt; necesse fuit me festinato edere et coacervare in unum omnes perditionum arbores cum radicibus et ramis suis, et offerre ignienti spiritui tuo, ut tu viso agmine perspectaque nequitia, permetiaris quam possis dispositionem adhibere virtutis. Tu tantum, beatissime pater, malignas aliorum plantationes vel insertiones erue atque succide, et veram sparge sementem, nobis de tuis fontibus rigaturis. Ego testem Deum spondeo, et incrementum operis tui spero, quia terra illa quae nunc ingratos fructus insincere culta exhibet, si cam de manna illo recondito tu apud me mandando et replendo visitaveris, usque in centesimum fructum profusa aliquando liberius ubertate proficiet.","english":"Orosius’s Consultation, or Memorandum, to Augustine on the Error of the Priscillianists and Origenists.\n\n(Not found in the Havercamp edition, this Consultation, which we have excerpted with notes from Galland’s Bibliotheca, vol. IX.)\n\nTo the most blessed father, Bishop Augustine, Orosius.\n\nI had indeed already suggested this to your Holiness, but I was planning to offer a Memorandum on the matter suggested at that time when I perceived that you were free in mind from other demands of dictation. But since my lords, your sons, the bishops Eutropius and Paulus, moved by the same concern for the salvation of all that I, as a boy of yours, also have, have already given a memorandum concerning some heresies, yet have not indicated all, it became necessary for me to publish in haste and to heap together into one all the trees of perdition with their roots and branches, and to offer them to your burning spirit, so that you, having seen the line of battle and perceived the wickedness, may measure what disposition of virtue you can apply. Only, most blessed father, root out and cut down the evil plantings or grafts of others, and scatter the true seed, with us to water from your springs. I pledge God as my witness, and I hope for the increase of your work, because that land which now, insincerely cultivated, shows ungrateful fruits, if you visit it with that hidden manna of yours, by entrusting and filling it through me, will at some point, with more abundant fertility, profit even to a hundredfold yield.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Consultatio sive Commonitorium","severity":"info","text":"The double title signals the work's dual function: a formal consultation (Consultatio) and a practical memorandum (Commonitorium). This reflects Orosius's urgent request for Augustine's doctrinal judgment.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Priscillianistarum et Origenistarum","severity":"info","text":"Priscillianism (ascetic dualism, condemned 380s) and Origenism (controversies over preexistence and apokatastasis) were live threats in early 5th-century Latin Christianity. Orosius links them to stress their shared errors.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Eutropius et Paulus episcopi","severity":"info","text":"Bishops Eutropius and Paulus are otherwise obscure; they had already submitted a shorter memorandum on heresies. Orosius presents his own work as a more comprehensive supplement.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"ignienti spiritui tuo","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'your burning spirit' likely alludes to Augustine's polemical zeal and rhetorical fire, not a literal physical state. Orosius frames Augustine as a spiritual warrior against heresy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"manna illo recondito","severity":"info","text":"'That hidden manna' metaphorically refers to Augustine's stored spiritual nourishment or doctrinal resources. Orosius asks Augustine to 'visit' the barren land (the readers) with this manna, promising a hundredfold yield.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"Non habetur in ed. Havercampi","severity":"info","text":"The editor notes this work is absent from the Havercamp edition (likely 18th-century) and is excerpted from Galland's Bibliotheca (vol. IX, 1760s). This indicates a complex transmission history.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The precise identity of bishops Eutropius and Paulus is uncertain; they may be local African or Spanish figures. The 'hidden manna' metaphor is ambiguous: it could refer to Augustine's writings, his personal teaching, or sacramental grace."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Per te Dominus Deus noster, per te, inquam, beate Pater, quos castigavit in gladio emendet in verbo. Ad te per Deum missus sum; de te per eum spero, dum considero qualiter actum est, quod huc venirem. Agnosco cur venerim: sine voluntate, sine necessitate, sine consensu de patria egressus sum, occulta quadam vi actus, donec in istius terrae littus allatus sum. Hic demum in eum resipui intellectum, quod ad te venire mandabar. Impudentem non judices, si accipis confirentem. Fac me ad a dilectam dominam meam idoneum negotiatorem, inventa margarita (Matth. XIII, 46), non fugitivum servum, eversa substantia, reverti. Dilacerati gravius a doctoribus pravis, quam a cruentissimis hostibus sumus. Nos confitemur offensam; tu pervides plagam: quod solum superest, adjuvante Domino, largire medicinam. Breviter ergo et quid ante male plantatum convaluit, et quid postea pejus insertum praevaluit, ostendam.","english":"Through you, our Lord God, through you, I say, blessed Father, may He correct with the word those whom He has chastised with the sword. I was sent to you by God; through Him I hope concerning you, as I consider how it came about that I came here. I recognize why I came: without will, without necessity, without consent, I departed from my homeland, driven by some hidden force, until I was brought to the shore of this land. Here at last I came to my senses and understood that I was commanded to come to you. Do not judge me shameless if you accept me as I confess. Let me return to my beloved lady as a capable merchant, having found a pearl (Matt. 13:46), not as a runaway slave with his substance ruined. We have been more grievously torn apart by wicked teachers than by the most bloodthirsty enemies. We confess the offense; you see the wound: what alone remains, with the Lord’s help, grant the remedy. Briefly, then, I will show both what was badly planted earlier and grew strong, and what was later grafted in worse and prevailed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Per te ... per te","severity":"info","text":"The anaphora 'Per te ... per te' frames the opening as a rhetorical address, typical of late antique epistolary prefaces, and establishes the hierarchical relationship between Orosius and Augustine.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"inventa margarita (Matth. XIII, 46)","severity":"info","text":"The pearl metaphor alludes to Matt 13:46 (the parable of the merchant seeking pearls), used here to signify the discovery of true doctrine (Augustine's teaching) after error.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Priscillianists and Origenists","severity":"info","text":"Orosius wrote this Consultation to Augustine after fleeing Spain, where Priscillianist and Origenist teachings were contested. The 'wicked teachers' likely refer to these groups, whose errors Orosius will expose.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"resipui intellectum","severity":"info","text":"'Resipui intellectum' (I came to my senses) is a Latin idiom for regaining rational awareness, here implying a providential awakening to Orosius's mission to consult Augustine.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Consultatio","severity":"info","text":"This work is preserved only in Galland's Bibliotheca (vol. IX), not in the Havercamp edition, indicating its limited manuscript transmission and later rediscovery by patristic scholars.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"dilectam dominam meam","severity":"caution","text":"'My beloved lady' is ambiguous: it may refer to the Church (as a maternal figure) or to Orosius's native land (Spain). The context of return suggests the former, but the phrase is not explicit.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of 'dilectam dominam meam' (my beloved lady) is ambiguous: possibly the Church or Spain.","The phrase 'occulta quadam vi' (some hidden force) is vague, possibly divine providence or a personal compulsion."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Priscillianus, primum in eo Manichaeis miserior, quod ex veteri quoque Testamento haeresim confirmavit, docens animam quae a Deo nata sit, de quodam promptuario procedere, profiteri ante Deum se pugnaturam, instrui adhortatu angelorum: dehinc descendentem per quosdam circulos a principatibus malignis capi, et secundum voluntatem victoris principis in corpora diversa contrudi, eisque ascribi chirographum. Unde et Mathesim praevalere firmabat, asserens quod hoc chirographum solverit Christus, et affixerit cruci per passionem suam: sicut ipse Priscillianus in quadam epistola sua dicit: « Haec prima sapientia est, in animarum typis divinarum virtutum intelligere naturas, et corporis dispositionem. In qua obligatum coelum videtur et terra, omnesque principatus saeculi videntur astricti sanctorum dispositiones superare. Nam primum Dei circulum et mittendarum in carne animarum divinum chirographum, angelorum et Dei et omnium animarum consensibus fabricatum patriarchae tenent, qui contra formalis militiae opus possident: » et reliqua. Tradidit autem nomina patriarcharum membra esse animae, eo quod esset Ruben in capite, Juda in pectore, Levi in corde, Benjamin in femoribus: et similia. Contra autem in membris corporis, coeli signa esse disposita, id est, arietem in capite, taurum in cervice, geminos in brachiis, cancrum in pectore, etc.","english":"Priscillian, first of all worse than the Manichaeans in this, that he also confirmed his heresy from the Old Testament, teaching that the soul, which is born from God, proceeds from some kind of storehouse, professes before God that it will fight, is instructed by the exhortation of angels; then, descending through certain circles, is captured by malignant principalities, and according to the will of the victorious prince is thrust into different bodies, and a bond is ascribed to them. Whence he also maintained that Mathesis prevails, asserting that Christ dissolved this bond and affixed it to the cross through his passion: as Priscillian himself says in a certain letter of his: \"This is the first wisdom, to understand in the types of souls the natures of divine powers, and the disposition of the body. In which the heaven and earth seem bound, and all the principalities of the age seem constrained to surpass the dispositions of the saints. For the first circle of God and the divine bond of souls to be sent into flesh, fabricated by the consents of angels and of God and of all souls, the patriarchs hold, who possess the work contrary to the formal militia:\" and so forth. He also taught that the names of the patriarchs are members of the soul, in that Ruben is in the head, Judah in the breast, Levi in the heart, Benjamin in the thighs; and similar things. Conversely, he taught that the signs of the zodiac are arranged in the members of the body, that is, Aries in the head, Taurus in the neck, Gemini in the arms, Cancer in the breast, etc.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Mathesim","severity":"info","text":"Mathesis (Greek μάθησις) here refers to astrological doctrine or the practice of astrology, often used pejoratively by Christian writers to denote fatalistic determinism.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"chirographum","severity":"info","text":"Chirographum (Greek χειρόγραφον) means a handwritten bond or contract; in Priscillian's system it signifies the soul's binding obligation to the material world, which Christ cancels.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Priscillianus","severity":"info","text":"Priscillian (d. 385/386), bishop of Ávila, was the first Christian executed for heresy by a secular authority. His teachings blended Gnostic and Manichaean elements with a strong asceticism.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"patriarchae","severity":"info","text":"The patriarchs Ruben, Judah, Levi, and Benjamin are taken from the twelve sons of Jacob (Genesis 29–30). Priscillian allegorizes them as parts of the soul, a practice condemned by orthodox writers.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"circulos","severity":"info","text":"The 'circles' (circulos) through which the soul descends reflect Gnostic and Neoplatonic cosmology, where the soul passes through planetary spheres and is captured by archontic powers.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Priscillianus","severity":"info","text":"Orosius' account of Priscillian's doctrines is a key source for reconstructing Priscillianist theology, though it is filtered through hostile polemic and may distort the original teachings.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'Mathesim' could be a transliteration of Greek μάθησις (learning) but here clearly denotes astrology; the precise sense of 'formal militia' in the quoted letter is obscure."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Volens subintelligi tenebras aeternas, et ex his principem mundi processisse. Et hoc ipsum confirmans ex libro quodam, qui inscribitur Memoria apostol(??)rum, ubi Salvator interrogari a discipulis videtur secreto, et ostendere, quia de parabola evangelica quae habet: Exiit seminans seminare semen suum (Matth. XIII, 46), non fuerit seminator bonus: asserens, quia si bonus fuisset, non fuisset negligens; non vel secus viam, vel in petrosis, vel in incultis jaceret semen: volens intelligi hunc esse seminantem, qui animas captas spargeret in corpora diversa quae vellet. Quo etiam in libro de principe humidorum et de principe ignis plurima dicta sunt, volens intelligi, arte, non potentia Dei, omnia bona agi in hoc mundo. Dicit enim esse virginem quamdam lucem, quam Deus, volens dare pluviam hominibus, principi humidorum ostendat: cui dum cam apprehendere cupit, commotus consudet, et pluviam faciat, et destitutus ab ea, mugitu suo tonitrua concitet. Trinitatem autem solo verbo loquebatur: nam unionem absque ulla existentia aut proprietate asserens, sublato et, Patrem, Filium, et Spiritum sanctum, hunc esse unum Christum dicebat.","english":"Wishing it to be understood that there are eternal darknesses, and that from these the prince of this world proceeded. And he confirms this from a certain book, which is inscribed *Memoria Apostolorum*, where the Savior is seen to be questioned secretly by the disciples, and to show that, concerning the evangelical parable which has: \"A sower went out to sow his seed\" (Matthew 13:46), the sower was not good: asserting that if he had been good, he would not have been negligent; nor would he have cast the seed either along the road, or in rocky places, or in untilled ground: wishing it to be understood that this is the sower who scatters captured souls into various bodies as he wishes. In which book also many things are said about the prince of moistures and about the prince of fire, wishing it to be understood that by art, not by the power of God, all good things are done in this world. For he says that there is a certain virgin light, which God, wishing to give rain to men, shows to the prince of moistures: and when he desires to seize her, being agitated, he sweats and makes rain, and, being abandoned by her, by his bellowing he stirs up thunder. He spoke of the Trinity only in word: for, asserting a union without any existence or property, and with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit removed, he said that this is the one Christ.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Matth. XIII, 46","severity":"info","text":"Orosius cites Matthew 13:46 (Vulgate numbering; modern Bibles have 13:5-6) to show Priscillian's exegesis of the parable of the sower, arguing the sower was negligent and thus not good.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"Memoria Apostolorum","severity":"info","text":"The 'Memoria Apostolorum' is a lost apocryphal work used by Priscillianists; it likely contained dialogues of Jesus with disciples, supporting dualist cosmology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"princeps mundi","severity":"info","text":"'Princeps mundi' (prince of this world) is a dualist term for the evil creator of the material world, distinct from the true God, echoing Manichaean and Gnostic concepts.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"princeps humidorum","severity":"info","text":"'Princeps humidorum' (prince of moistures) and 'princeps ignis' (prince of fire) are entities in Priscillian's cosmology, governing natural phenomena like rain and thunder through art, not divine power.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Trinitatem autem solo verbo loquebatur","severity":"info","text":"Orosius contrasts Priscillian's verbal affirmation of the Trinity with his actual denial of distinct persons, reducing Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to a single Christ without existence or property.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"Priscillian","severity":"info","text":"Priscillian, bishop of Ávila, was executed for heresy in 385; Orosius's account here shapes later patristic and medieval views of Priscillianism as a Manichaean-derived dualism.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'Memoria apostol(??)rum' is a textual corruption; the intended title is likely 'Memoria Apostolorum'.","The exact source of the parable citation (Matthew 13:46) may vary in versification; Orosius uses the Vulgate numbering."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"Tunc duo cives mei, Avitus, et alius Avitus, cum jam tam turpem confusionem per se ipsam veritas sola nudaret, peregrina petierunt. Nam unus Hierosolymam, alius Romam profectus est. Reversi, unus retulit Origenem, alius Victorinum: ex his duobus, alter alteri cessit: Priscillianum tamen ambo damnarunt. Victorinum parum novimus: quia adhuc pene ante editiones suas, Victorini sectator cessit Origeni. Coeperunt ergo ex Origene magnifica plura proponi, quae ex modica occasione veritas ipsa praecederet. Didicimus enim de Trinitate doctrinam satis sanam, omnia quae facta essent, a Deo facta esse, et omnia bona valde, et facta de nihilo: tunc deinde scripturarum e solutiones satis sobrias. Omnia haec statim a sapientibus fideli pristinorum expurgatione suscepta sunt. Remansit sola offensa de nihilo. Credere enim persuasum erat esse animam: non tamen persuaderi poterat, factam esse de nihilo: argumentantes, quia voluntas de nihilo esse non possit. Hoc pene usque ad nunc manet. Isti vero Aviti duo, et cum his sanctus Basilius Graecus qui haec beatissime docebant, quaedam ex libris ipsius Origenis non recta, ut nuper intelligo, tradiderunt. Primum omnia ante quam facta apparerent, semper in Dei sapientia facta mansisse dicentes, hoc verbo: Deus enim quaecumque fecit, faciendo non coepit.","english":"Then two of my fellow citizens, Avitus and another Avitus, when the truth itself was already exposing such a shameful confusion on its own, set out for foreign lands. For one set out for Jerusalem, the other for Rome. Upon their return, one reported Origen, the other Victorinus: of these two, one yielded to the other; both, however, condemned Priscillian. We know little of Victorinus: because even before his own publications, the follower of Victorinus yielded to Origen. Therefore, they began to propose many magnificent things from Origen, which the truth itself would precede on a slight occasion. For we learned a sufficiently sound doctrine concerning the Trinity, that all things that were made were made by God, and that all things are very good, and were made from nothing: then, moreover, sufficiently sober interpretations of the Scriptures. All these things were immediately accepted by the wise with a faithful purging of the old. Only the offense concerning \"from nothing\" remained. For it was believed that the soul exists; yet it could not be persuaded that it was made from nothing, arguing that a will cannot come from nothing. This remains almost up to the present day. But these two Aviti, and with them the holy Greek Basil, who taught these things most blessedly, handed down certain things from the books of Origen himself that were not correct, as I now understand. First, saying that all things, before they appeared as made, always remained made in the wisdom of God, with this statement: \"For whatever God made, He did not begin by making.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Avitus et alius Avitus","severity":"info","text":"Two men named Avitus are mentioned; the repetition emphasizes their distinctness. One traveled to Jerusalem, the other to Rome, and they brought back teachings of Origen and Victorinus respectively.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Origenem","severity":"info","text":"Origen of Alexandria (c. 184–253) was a prolific theologian whose views on the pre-existence of souls and the origin of matter were controversial. Orosius here reports that his teachings were initially accepted but later found to contain errors.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Victorinum","severity":"info","text":"Victorinus likely refers to Gaius Marius Victorinus, a fourth-century Latin rhetorician and Neoplatonist who converted to Christianity and wrote on the Trinity. His works were less known than Origen's.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Priscillianum","severity":"info","text":"Priscillian was a fourth-century Spanish ascetic and bishop, condemned as a heretic for his dualistic and apocryphal teachings. Both Aviti condemned him, aligning with orthodox opposition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"de nihilo","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'from nothing' (de nihilo) refers to the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo, which Orosius says was accepted for all things except the soul. The objection that will cannot come from nothing reflects a philosophical debate about the soul's origin.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Deus enim quaecumque fecit, faciendo non coepit","severity":"info","text":"This statement echoes a principle of Origen's theology: that all things pre-existed in God's wisdom before creation. It is not a direct biblical quotation but a theological inference from passages like Proverbs 8:22–31 on divine wisdom.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the two Aviti is unclear; they may be otherwise unknown figures or possibly the same person distinguished by destination.","The phrase 'Victorini sectator cessit Origeni' could mean either that Victorinus's follower yielded to Origen's authority or that Victorinus himself was superseded by Origen in influence."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"Deinde dixerunt angelorum, principatuum, potestatum, animarum ac daemonum, unum principium, et unam esse substantiam: et vel archangelo, vel animae, vel daemoni locum pro meritorum qualitate datum esse, utentes hoc verbo: Majorem locum minor culpa promeruit. Mundum novissime ideo esse factum, ut in eo animae purgarentur, quae ante peccaverunt. Ignem sane aeternum quo peccatores puniantur, neque esse ignem verum, neque aeternum praedicaverunt, dicentes, dictum esse ignem, propriae conscientiae punitionem: aeternum autem juxta etymologiam Graecam, non esse perpetuum, etiam Latino testimonio adjecto; quia dictum sit, in oeternum, et in soeculum soeculi (Psal. IX, 6, et X, 16) postposuerit aeterno: ac sic omnes peccatorum animas post purgationem conscientiae in unitatem corporis Christi esse redituras. Voluerunt etiam de diabolo asserere, sed non praevaluerunt: eo quod cum substantia in eo bona facta perire non possit, exusta in totum malitia, diaboli aliquando salvandam esse substantiam.","english":"Then they said that angels, principalities, powers, souls, and demons have one beginning and one substance; and that a place was given to an archangel, or a soul, or a demon according to the quality of their merits, using this phrase: \"A greater place was earned by a lesser fault.\" They said that the world was made last of all so that in it souls which had sinned before might be purified. They preached that the eternal fire by which sinners are punished is neither true fire nor eternal, saying that \"fire\" is said to mean the punishment of one's own conscience, and that \"eternal,\" according to Greek etymology, is not perpetual, adding also a Latin testimony, because it is said that \"in aeternum\" and \"in saeculum saeculi\" (Ps. 9:6 and 10:16) are placed after \"aeterno.\" And thus they said that all the souls of sinners, after the purification of their conscience, would return into the unity of Christ's body. They also wished to assert something about the devil, but did not prevail, because, since the substance created good in him cannot perish, when the malice is entirely burned away, the substance of the devil is sometimes to be saved.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"principium","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'principium' here means 'beginning' or 'origin,' not 'principality' (which is 'principatus' earlier). The phrase 'unum principium' asserts a single source for all spiritual beings, a key Priscillianist tenet.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"in aeternum, in saeculum saeculi","severity":"info","text":"The citations 'Psal. IX, 6, et X, 16' refer to Psalm 9:6 and 10:16 in the Vulgate (likely 'in aeternum' and 'in saeculum saeculi'). The text argues these phrases are not truly eternal, supporting a non-perpetual interpretation of hellfire.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"Priscillianist doctrine","severity":"info","text":"This passage summarizes Priscillianist teachings: a single substance for all spiritual beings, purgatorial world, and non-eternal hellfire. Orosius refutes these as heretical, aligning with orthodox condemnations of Priscillianism in the late 4th–early 5th centuries.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"devil's salvation","severity":"info","text":"The claim that the devil's substance might be saved (though not fully asserted) echoes Origenist speculation on apokatastasis. Orosius notes the Priscillianists 'did not prevail' in asserting this, indicating internal debate or caution.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"narrative sequence","severity":"info","text":"This passage continues the narrative of Priscillianist errors, listing doctrinal points after the earlier report of Avitus and Victorinus. The structure moves from cosmology to soteriology to eschatology, ending with an unfulfilled claim about the devil.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'in oeternum' is a variant spelling of 'in aeternum'; the precise psalm verses cited may differ in modern numbering. The phrase 'etiam Latino testimonio adjecto' is ambiguous: it may mean a Latin witness (e.g., a Latin translation) was added to support the Greek etymology."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"De corpore vero Domini sic tradiderunt: quia cum usque ad nos veniens Filius Dei post tot millia annorum, otiosus eo usque non fuerit, sed praedicans remissionem angelis, potestatibus atque universis superioribus, cum qualitatem formae eorum quos visitaret assumeret, usque ad palpabilitatem carnis assumptionis specie a transivisse: hoc passione et resurrectione determinans, rursus donec usque ad Patrem veniret ascendendo tenuasse: ita neque depositum umquam fuisse corpus, nec in corpore ullo regnantem circumscribi Deum. Creaturam quoque subjectam corruptioni (Rom. VIII, 20), non volentem, intelligendam esse dicebant, solem et lunam et stellas; et haec non elementarios esse fulgores, sed rationales potestates: praebere autem servitium corruptioni, propter cum qui subjecit in spe (Ibid.).\n\nHoc, sicut retinere potui, breviter expositum est, ut perspectis omnibus morbis medicinam adhibere festines. Est veritas Christi in me (II Cor. XI, 10), quia propter venerabilem reverentiam sanctitatis tuae esse impudens non auderem, nisi evidenti judicio et ordinatione Dei ad illius tanti et talis populi, cui sicut peccanti plaga imposita est, sic post plagam cura debetur, remedia proferenda te electum, me missum esse cognoscerem. Memor mei, beatissime Pater, multorumque qui mecum velut ros eloquium tuum ut super eos descendat exspectant, esse dignare.","english":"Concerning the body of the Lord, they taught thus: that when the Son of God came to us after so many thousands of years, He had not been idle up to that time, but was preaching remission to angels, powers, and all higher beings, and that He assumed the quality of the form of those whom He would visit, passing even to the palpability of flesh through the appearance of assumption: this He determined by passion and resurrection, and again, until He came to the Father by ascending, He made it thin. Thus, they said, the body was never laid aside, nor is God, reigning in any body, circumscribed. They also said that creation subject to corruption (Rom. 8:20), unwillingly, is to be understood as the sun, moon, and stars; and that these are not elemental lights, but rational powers: they provide service to corruption, however, on account of Him who subjected them in hope (Ibid.).\n\nThis, as I have been able to retain, has been briefly set forth, so that, having surveyed all the diseases, you may hasten to apply the medicine. The truth of Christ is in me (2 Cor. 11:10), for I would not dare to be impudent out of venerable reverence for your holiness, unless I recognized by evident judgment and ordinance of God that you have been chosen, and I sent, to bring forth remedies for that great and such a people, upon whom, as a penalty has been imposed for sinning, so after the penalty care is due. Remember me, most blessed Father, and the many who with me, like dew, await your eloquence to descend upon them, be worthy.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"palpabilitatem carnis assumptionis specie a transivisse","severity":"info","text":"The Latin phrase is grammatically difficult; it likely means that Christ passed to the tangibility of flesh through the appearance of assumption, i.e., by taking on a visible form.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Rom. VIII, 20","severity":"info","text":"The citation 'Rom. VIII, 20' refers to Romans 8:20, but the Vulgate verse numbering differs; the phrase 'creaturam subjectam corruptioni' echoes Romans 8:21 ('creatura... corruptioni').","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"II Cor. XI, 10","severity":"info","text":"The citation 'II Cor. XI, 10' is erroneous; 2 Corinthians has only 13 chapters, and verse 10 of chapter 11 does not contain 'veritas Christi in me'. The intended reference is likely 2 Cor. 11:10, but the text is corrupt.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Priscillianistae","severity":"info","text":"The doctrines described—Christ's pre-existence assuming forms, rational celestial bodies, and the world as a purgative prison—are characteristic of Priscillianist teachings, which Orosius is refuting.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Augustinus","severity":"info","text":"This passage concludes Orosius' report to Augustine, urging him to apply 'medicine' to the errors. It reflects the collaborative effort against heresy in early 5th-century Latin Christianity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"tenuasse","severity":"caution","text":"The verb 'tenuasse' (from 'tenuo', to make thin) is unusual; it may be a scribal error for 'tenuisse' (held) or a deliberate theological term describing Christ's body becoming subtle after resurrection.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'assumptionis specie a transivisse' is syntactically unclear; the reading taken follows the English draft's 'through the appearance of assumption'.","The citation 'II Cor. XI, 10' is corrupt; the intended verse is uncertain."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]}]}