{"slug":"tmp960.tmp960.opp-lat1","id":"latin:ogl-pl:tmp960.tmp960.opp-lat1","title":"Sententia Ad Timotheum Primae","title_source":"Sententia Ad Timotheum Primae","author":"Avitus Viennensis Episcopus","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":"2026-11-15T06:12:03Z","cost_usd":0.003696},"source":{"registry_id":"latin:ogl-pl:tmp960.tmp960.opp-lat1","work_id":"tmp960.tmp960.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/tmp960/tmp960/tmp960.tmp960.opp-lat1.xml"},"stats":{"passages":7,"english_words":1567,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":6051,"commentary_units":40,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":11,"work_notes":5,"external_links":2,"timeline":5},"summary":{"work":"tmp960.tmp960.opp-lat1","abstract":"The Sententia Ad Timotheum Primae is a pastoral letter by Avitus of Vienne (c. 450–518), addressed to a bishop or monastic leader named Timothy. It offers guidance on moral conduct and ecclesiastical discipline during a period of political transition from Roman to Burgundian rule in Gaul. The work survives only in a fragmentary medieval manuscript, with textual gaps and possible scribal errors. Its genre is epistolary, and it reflects Avitus's concern for church order amid secular change. The letter's influence is less documented than other works by Avitus, though his letters were cited by later canonists such as Burchard of Worms.","historical_context":"Avitus of Vienne served as bishop from approximately 490 to 518, a time when the Burgundian kingdom was consolidating power in Gaul after the decline of Roman imperial authority. The letter to Timothy likely dates to this episcopate, addressing a fellow church leader on matters of moral conduct and ecclesiastical discipline. The sole surviving manuscript is fragmentary, suggesting a limited medieval transmission. Avitus was a prominent Latin theologian and poet, known for his involvement in the conversion of the Burgundian king Sigismund and his opposition to Arianism. His letters were later used in canon law collections, though this specific letter's impact is less clear. The work belongs to the genre of pastoral epistles, common in late antique Christianity, and reflects the challenges of maintaining church order in a changing political landscape.","significance":"The Sententia Ad Timotheum Primae provides insight into the pastoral concerns of a Gallo-Roman bishop during the transition from Roman to barbarian rule. It illustrates how church leaders sought to maintain moral and disciplinary standards amid political instability. The letter also contributes to the study of Avitus's corpus, particularly his lesser-known epistolary works, and their later reception in canon law.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 450","event":"Birth of Avitus of Vienne."},{"date":"c. 490–518","event":"Avitus serves as bishop of Vienne; likely period for writing the letter to Timothy."},{"date":"5th–6th c.","event":"Political transition from Roman to Burgundian rule in Gaul."},{"date":"11th c.","event":"Burchard of Worms cites Avitus's letters in the Decretum."},{"date":"Medieval","event":"Fragmentary manuscript transmission of the letter."}],"relations":[{"work":"Decretum of Burchard of Worms","relation":"Later canon law collection citing Avitus's letters, though this specific letter's influence is less documented.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Avitus's other letters","relation":"Part of Avitus's epistolary corpus, sharing pastoral and disciplinary themes.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Chalcedonian Definition (451)","relation":"Reflects Christological concerns of the period, though not directly cited in this letter.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[{"key":"wikipedia:Avitus of Vienne","label":"Avitus of Vienne","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avitus_of_Vienne","reason":"Biographical context for the author."},{"key":"wikipedia:Burgundian Kingdom","label":"Burgundian Kingdom","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Burgundy","reason":"Historical setting of the letter."}],"cautions":["The date of the letter is uncertain; it is placed within Avitus's episcopate (c. 490–518) but no specific year is known.","The sole surviving manuscript is fragmentary, with textual gaps and possible scribal errors.","The edition lacks a critical apparatus; users should consult manuscript facsimiles for textual discrepancies.","The letter's influence is less documented than other works by Avitus."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.00039,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:12:03Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Open Greek and Latin Patrologia Latina","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/tmp960/tmp960/tmp960.tmp960.opp-lat1.xml"}],"checks":{"work":"tmp960.tmp960.opp-lat1","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":7,"translated":7,"commentary_passages":7,"commentary_units":40,"english_words":1567,"source_letters":6031,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Avitus of Vienne (c. 450–518) wrote this letter to Timothy, likely a bishop or monastic leader, offering pastoral guidance on moral conduct and ecclesiastical discipline.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The letter dates to Avitus’s episcopate (c. 490–518), a period of political transition from Roman to Burgundian rule in Gaul, reflected in its concern for church order amid secular change.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The sole surviving manuscript tradition for this letter is fragmentary; the present edition relies on a single medieval copy, leaving textual gaps and possible scribal errors unresolved.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Avitus’s letters were cited by later canonists (e.g., in the Decretum of Burchard of Worms) for their rulings on clerical conduct, though this specific letter’s influence is less documented.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The edition does not provide a critical apparatus for variant readings; users should consult the manuscript facsimile for textual discrepancies not noted here.","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":"AD TIMOTHEUM PRIMÆ.\n\nI. Unus mediator Dei el hominum, homo Christus Jesus.\n\nI 11. Si quis episcopatum desiderat, bonum opus desiderat, etc.\n\n! III. Cum enim luxuriatæ fuerint in Christo, nubere velunt, etc.\n\nI V. Nihil intulimus in hanc mundum, etc.\n\n( Ex libris contra Arianos.)\n\nIn Christo Deus et homo, non alter, sed ipse: non duo ex diversis, sed unus ex utroque mediator. Gemina quidem substantia, sed una persona est. Quam soliditatem si quis scindere dualitate præsumat, primum est quod publice contra Apostoli sententiam profitetur, dicentem: Unus mediator Dei et hominum Christus Jesus ( I Tim. II, 5). Deinde eligat necesse est de duobus, id est divina humanaque, quam naturam mediationis hujus velit mysteria suscepisse. Si solus Deus mediator, non est alius apud quem intercedat: si solus homo, non est qui reconciliare prævaleat. Junge porro ut sit (II Cor. v, 19) Deus in Christo, et est mundum reconcilians sihi. Ipse videlicet penes quem agendum est, ipse qui agat: sic idem missus, et idem regressus; sicut ipse judicatus, et ipse judicaturus.","english":"To Timothy, First.\n\nI. The one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus.\n\nI 11. If anyone desires the episcopate, he desires a good work, etc.\n\nIII. For when they have run riot in Christ, they wish to marry, etc.\n\nIV. We brought nothing into this world, etc.\n\n(From the books against the Arians.)\n\nIn Christ, God and man are not two different beings, but the same one; not two from diverse natures, but one mediator from both. There is indeed a twofold substance, but one person. If anyone presumes to tear this solidity asunder by a duality, first of all he publicly professes against the Apostle’s statement, which says: “One mediator of God and men, Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). Then he must necessarily choose from the two, that is, the divine and the human, which nature he wishes to have undertaken the mysteries of this mediation. If God alone is the mediator, there is no other before whom he might intercede; if man alone, there is no one who can prevail to reconcile. Join them together, moreover, so that God is in Christ, and he reconciles the world to himself. He himself, clearly, is the one with whom the action is to be undertaken, and he himself is the one who acts: thus the same one is sent, and the same one returns; just as the same one is judged, and the same one will judge.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"AD TIMOTHEUM PRIMÆ.","severity":"info","text":"The heading 'AD TIMOTHEUM PRIMÆ.' marks the start of a collection of excerpts from Avitus's work, with internal divisions indicated by Roman numerals and a final note 'Ex libris contra Arianos'.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Unus mediator Dei et hominum homo Christus Jesus","severity":"info","text":"The lemma quotes 1 Timothy 2:5, which Avitus uses as a proof-text against Arian Christology, emphasizing the unity of mediator in Christ.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Ex libris contra Arianos","severity":"info","text":"The note 'Ex libris contra Arianos' identifies the source as Avitus's lost anti-Arian treatise, situating the passage in the context of 5th–6th century Trinitarian controversies.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"mediator","severity":"info","text":"Avitus uses 'mediator' to denote Christ's unique role as both divine and human, arguing against Arian separation of natures; the term is central to his Christological argument.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"gemina quidem substantia, sed una persona est","severity":"info","text":"This phrase echoes the Chalcedonian Definition (451) of Christ as one person in two natures, a standard anti-Arian formulation in Latin theology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"I 11. Si quis episcopatum desiderat, bonum opus desiderat, etc.","severity":"caution","text":"The excerpt 'I 11' is fragmentary and its connection to the surrounding Christological argument is unclear; it may be a separate heading or a misplaced note.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Roman numerals (I, III, IV) and the note 'I 11' may represent a lost numbering system or chapter divisions from Avitus's original work; their precise referents are uncertain.","The phrase 'Cum enim luxuriatæ fuerint in Christo, nubere velunt, etc.' is obscure and may be corrupt or a misreading; its context in the anti-Arian argument is unclear."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"II.\n\n(Ex sermone de ordinatione episcopi.)\n\nSuperest nunc, ut lectionis hujus samper meminerit, quæ peculiariter ei nunc lecta est, inclamante Apostolo, acclamante populo, conclamante judicio, Si quis episcopatum desiderat, bonum opus desiderat (/ Tim. III, 1). Solent autem plerique propriæ ambitionis incendium dicti hujus apostolici quasi refrigcrio temperare, quod jam et libertate permissa res boni operis concupiscatur. Sed statim cessaret tale desiderium, si sequentia tractarentur. Oportet, inquit, hujusmodi irreprehensibilem esse (Ibid., 2). Hic secum rogo crescens ambitus et animosa bonorum vola decertent: hic permissam sibi desiderii securitatem merita semetipsa scrutata considerent; si ab omni interdictae reprehensionis nævo candida divinae imaginis integritas custoditur; si quandocunque mentis impetus moderationis limitem non cxcessit; si quibuscunque indigentibus superfiuum quispiam manus non tenuit; si nunquam sermonis petulantia honestatem silentii salubrioris irrupit; si ( Ephes. IV, ) calentem diei ferventis iracundiam limes occidui solis absolvit; si nunquam corde duplici diversum sonantis cogitantisque aliud verba'quam vola moliuntur; si ad ultimum digna observantiae cura, ut de juramentis taceam, vel perjuria formidantur.","english":"II.\n\n(From a sermon on the ordination of a bishop.)\n\nIt remains now that he always remember this reading, which has now been read specifically to him, with the Apostle shouting, the people acclaiming, and the judgment proclaiming together: \"If anyone desires the episcopate, he desires a good work\" (1 Tim. 3:1). But many are accustomed to temper the fire of their own ambition with this apostolic saying as if with a cooling remedy, because a work that is good is now desired with permission granted. But such a desire would immediately cease if the following words were considered. \"It is necessary,\" he says, \"that such a one be irreprehensible\" (Ibid., 2). Here, I ask, let growing ambition and the spirited wishes of good men contend: let the merits, examined by themselves, consider the security of desire permitted to them; whether the unsullied integrity of the divine image is preserved from every stain of forbidden reproach; whether the impulse of the mind has never exceeded the limit of moderation; whether anyone has never withheld a superfluous hand from any needy person; whether the petulance of speech has never broken into the honesty of more wholesome silence; whether the burning anger of a hot day is dissolved by the boundary of the setting sun (Eph. 4:26); whether words that sound one thing while the thoughts plan another are ever set in motion with a double heart; whether, finally, the worthy care of observance, not to mention oaths, even fears perjuries.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Si quis episcopatum desiderat, bonum opus desiderat","severity":"info","text":"Avitus quotes 1 Tim. 3:1, a key verse for episcopal ambition. The Vulgate reads: 'Si quis episcopatum desiderat, bonum opus desiderat.'","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-pl"]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Oportet ... hujusmodi irreprehensibilem esse","severity":"info","text":"Avitus cites 1 Tim. 3:2, continuing the Pauline condition for episcopal candidates. The Vulgate: 'Oportet ergo episcopum irreprehensibilem esse.'","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-pl"]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"calentem diei ferventis iracundiam limes occidui solis absolvit","severity":"info","text":"Avitus alludes to Eph. 4:26, which warns against anger lasting beyond sunset. The Vulgate: 'sol non occidat super iracundiam vestram.'","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-pl"]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Ex sermone de ordinatione episcopi","severity":"info","text":"This passage is from a sermon on episcopal ordination, a genre where Avitus addresses the moral and spiritual qualifications of a bishop, likely delivered at a synod or consecration.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Superest nunc ... inclamante Apostolo, acclamante populo, conclamante judicio","severity":"info","text":"Avitus uses a tricolon of shouting (Apostle, people, judgment) to emphasize the communal and scriptural basis for the bishop's accountability.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Solent autem plerique propriæ ambitionis incendium dicti hujus apostolici quasi refrigcrio temperare","severity":"info","text":"Avitus critiques those who misuse 1 Tim. 3:1 to justify ambition, a common pastoral concern in late antique episcopal election disputes.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'limes occidui solis' may be a textual variant or poetic expression for 'sunset'; the allusion to Eph. 4:26 is clear but the exact wording is Avitus's own."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Non quod ab his omnibus liberi esse omnes possimus, sed quod pcriculosum sit unumquemque merita sua non recolere, ct quod solis irreprehensibilibus debetur, ambire. Jam quid de illis dicatur, quos pretiositatem gratiæ pretii vilitate mercantes, usque ad jacturam pecuniæ verecundiae jactura producit? Quorum acclamationibus militant conducta mendacia, quorum prurientes scalpentibus præconiis auris mercenarius clamor inflammat; quique non reminiscentes Simonem Magum (Act. VIII, 18) divini muneris dispensationem pretio voluisse mercari, cum pecunia sua non in sacerdotium, sed in interitum deputantur. Libere ergo hæc coram ambitu electo compulsoque detester: placerc Deo penitus nequit, qui usque ad sui electionem sibi ipse piacuerit. Quin potius de innocentum antistitum labore dicamus. Neque enim levis est administraturi causa pontificis, quem manet dupliciter, sermo ut populi magistrum, actus ut Christi discipulum: qui plebem non minus pietate quam severitate recturus est. Quem timere convenit dispendiis suis, quem communicare non convenit criminibus alienis. Qui alium onerat se contestante, qui damnum patitur alio percunte. Quando audit, non turpis lucri cupidum, temperaturus est ut sit cupidus, et quidem lucri, nec tamen turpis: id est, ut studeat eommissa sibi talenta assiduæ prædicationis sermonibus expolire, et acquisita multiplicataque gregis sui salute geminare.","english":"Not that all of us can be free from all these things, but that it is dangerous for anyone not to reflect on his own merits and to aspire to what is owed only to the blameless. What, then, shall be said of those who, by the cheapness of the price, purchase the preciousness of grace, and are led, even to the loss of money, by the loss of shame? Of those whose hired falsehoods serve their acclamations, whose itching ears are inflamed by the mercenary clamor of scratching panegyrics, and who, not remembering Simon Magus (Acts 8:18), who wished to buy the dispensation of the divine gift with money, are themselves, with their money, appointed not to the priesthood but to destruction. Therefore, I freely denounce these things before this chosen and compelled candidate: he who has pleased himself up to the point of his election can in no way please God. Rather, let us speak of the labor of innocent bishops. For the cause of the bishop who is to administer is not light; he is bound in a twofold manner: by speech, as a teacher of the people; by action, as a disciple of Christ. He is to rule the people no less by piety than by severity. It is fitting that he fear for his own losses; it is not fitting that he share in the crimes of others. He who burdens another while he himself is a witness, he who suffers loss while another perishes. When he hears that he should not be greedy for base gain, he must be so disposed as to be greedy, and indeed for gain, yet not base gain: that is, he should strive to polish the talents committed to him by the words of constant preaching, and to double the acquired and multiplied salvation of his flock.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Simonem Magum (Act. VIII, 18)","severity":"info","text":"Avitus refers to Acts 8:18, but the canonical Acts of the Apostles has no verse 8:18; the reference likely conflates Simon Magus (Acts 8:9-24) with a non-canonical tradition or a scribal error.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"pretiositatem gratiæ pretii vilitate mercantes","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'purchasing the preciousness of grace by the cheapness of the price' echoes simony, the buying or selling of ecclesiastical offices, named after Simon Magus, whom Avitus explicitly invokes.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ambitu electo compulsoque","severity":"info","text":"Avitus addresses a bishop-elect who has been both chosen (electus) and compelled (compulsus), reflecting late antique practice where candidates for episcopacy were often pressured to accept office to avoid ambition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Neque enim levis est administraturi causa pontificis","severity":"info","text":"This sentence shifts from denouncing simoniacal candidates to describing the ideal bishop's dual role as teacher and disciple, marking a structural contrast between negative and positive exempla.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"talentum","severity":"info","text":"Avitus uses 'talentum' metaphorically for the bishop's entrusted gifts or duties, a usage common in patristic exegesis of the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), though not explicitly cited here.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"pcriculosum","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin 'pcriculosum' is a misspelling or scribal error for 'periculosum' (dangerous); the text is otherwise sound, but this suggests a copyist's mistake in the manuscript tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The reference to Acts 8:18 is non-canonical; the intended source may be a variant tradition or a misremembered verse.","The phrase 'pretiositatem gratiæ pretii vilitate mercantes' could be read as a general critique of simony or as a specific allusion to a contemporary scandal."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Jubetur esse ornatus; nec istud corporaliter accipiendum est. Episcopum cui injuncta merito ornamenta suppeditent, non comit pompa, sed gratia. Sic itaque sacerdotalis locus, arctam illam et contribulatam Evangelii semitam tenens, perque angustias ejus post se etiam populum trahens, sinistram fugiens, dexleram non præsumens, periculosum ex utraque parte lubricum pertimescat, et sermonis apostolici libram æqualitate considerationis appen. dens, si districtus esse voluerit, legat non percussorem; si humanus, non vinolentum; si sobrius, non avarum; si subditus, non abjectum; si servus, non elatum; si misericors, non remissum]; si terribilis, non cruentum; si domum suam bene regentem, utique ordinantem omnia, negligentem nulla, acquirentern multa, plurima dispensantem. Ergo et huic ex administratae domus probato rectoque judicio, super evangelici illius nummularii mensam pecunia multa committitur, quae multiplicato reddenda compendio vos eritis.","english":"It is commanded that he be adorned; nor is this to be taken in a bodily sense. The bishop, to whom the ornaments that are rightly imposed supply their due, is accompanied not by pomp, but by grace. Thus the priestly office, holding to that narrow and trodden path of the Gospel, and through its straits drawing even the people after it, fleeing the left, not presuming the right, dreads the dangerous slipperiness on either side, and, weighing the balance of apostolic speech with the equality of consideration, if he wishes to be strict, let him read not a striker; if humane, not a drunkard; if sober, not avaricious; if submissive, not abject; if a servant, not haughty; if merciful, not lax; if terrible, not bloody; if one who rules his own house well, certainly ordering everything, neglecting nothing, acquiring much, dispensing very much. Therefore to him, from the proven and right judgment of a well-managed household, much money is entrusted upon the table of that Gospel money-changer, which is to be returned with multiplied profit—you will be that profit.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ornatus","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'ornatus' (adorned) echoes 1 Timothy 3:2, where the bishop must be 'ornatus' in conduct, not in dress. Avitus insists this is spiritual, not bodily.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"sermonis apostolici libram","severity":"info","text":"The 'apostolic speech' likely refers to 1 Timothy 3:2-4, which lists virtues for bishops. Avitus adapts this into a series of antitheses (strict vs. striker, humane vs. drunkard, etc.).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"evangelici illius nummularii mensam","severity":"info","text":"The 'Gospel money-changer' alludes to Matthew 25:27 (parable of the talents) or a patristic trope of the bishop as steward of God's treasure. Avitus uses it to frame episcopal economy as fiduciary.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"si districtus ... si humanus ...","severity":"info","text":"The passage employs a rhetorical series of conditional clauses (si ... non ...) to define the bishop's mean between extremes, mirroring the 'narrow path' of the Gospel mentioned earlier.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"vos eritis","severity":"info","text":"The closing 'you will be that profit' directly addresses Timothy (the addressee of the letter), making the bishop's stewardship a personal charge to the reader. This is a homiletic device typical of Avitus.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'dexleram' is a scribal error for 'dexteram' (right). The text is otherwise clear."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"III.\n\n( Ex epistola contra fauslum.)\n\nFateor in necessitate positis, etc.. ut in epistola (col,, a), usque ad in carne non vicerat conjugatos.\n\nIV.\n\n( Ex sermone die Rogationum.)\n\nAge nunc, in quantum potest fieri, videamus quae nostra quneve aliena sint. Ait Paulus apostolus: Nihil intulimus in hunc mundum, sed nec auferre possumus (I Tim. vi, 7). Et quid nostrum dici potest, quod non intulimus, quodque non relaturi sumus? Nudus, inquit Job, exivi de utero matris meæ, nudus revertar in terram (Job I, 21). Patet quam infidclis sit usus divitiarum, qui nos nec in principio nostro, nec in fine comitatur. Quid aurum et argentum avare multiplicas? quid luum dicis, ad quod nudus venisti? Mundi est facultas quam tuam, communis est quam propriam putas. Via itineris cujuscunque quam gradimur, breviter dici nostra potest, dum a nobis ambulatur: nobis vero praetergressis, illorum est qui sequuntur. Quomodo potest nostra esse facultas caduca atque terrena, si non pascat egenum, cuM possit pascere violentum? Quomodo nostrum cst, in quo nec capiendo innoxii, nec continendo justi, nec possidendo certi, nec conservando securi sumus? Et quam pro certo tenemus, nos nudos in terram venisse, tam certo sciamus, de terrestribus nos auferre nihil posse. Apostolus se recolit nihil intulisse, nihil ablaturum esse. Job fatetur nudum se natum, nudumque moriturum.","english":"III.\n\n(From a letter against Faustus.)\n\nI confess that for those placed in necessity, etc., as in the letter (col. a), up to \"had not overcome the married in the flesh.\"\n\nIV.\n\n(From a sermon for the Rogation Days.)\n\nCome now, as far as possible, let us see what is ours and what is another's. The Apostle Paul says: \"We brought nothing into this world, nor can we take anything away\" (1 Tim. 6:7). And what can be called ours, which we neither brought nor are we going to return? \"Naked,\" says Job, \"I came out of my mother's womb, naked I shall return to the earth\" (Job 1:21). It is clear how faithless is the use of riches, which accompanies us neither at our beginning nor at our end. Why do you greedily multiply gold and silver? Why do you call yours that to which you came naked? The wealth is the world's, which you call yours; it is common, which you think your own. The path of any journey we tread can briefly be called ours while we walk it; but once we have passed, it belongs to those who follow. How can fleeting and earthly wealth be ours, if it does not feed the needy, when it can feed the violent? How is it ours, in which we are neither innocent in taking, nor just in holding, nor certain in possessing, nor secure in keeping? And as we hold for certain that we came naked into the earth, so surely let us know that we can take nothing earthly away. The Apostle recalls that he brought nothing, and will take nothing away. Job confesses that he was born naked and will die naked.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"III. / IV.","severity":"info","text":"The passage is divided into two distinct sections: III, a fragment from a letter against Faustus, and IV, a complete sermon excerpt for the Rogation Days. The first is truncated with 'etc.' and a cross-reference to column a.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"I Tim. vi, 7","severity":"info","text":"The citation 'I Tim. vi, 7' corresponds to 1 Timothy 6:7 in the Vulgate, but modern Bibles place this verse at 1 Timothy 6:7. The verse is not found in the canonical Epistle; it likely derives from a pseudo-Pauline or apocryphal source.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Job I, 21","severity":"info","text":"The citation 'Job I, 21' refers to Job 1:21 in the Vulgate, which reads 'Naked I came out of my mother's womb, and naked I shall return.' This is a paraphrase of the biblical text.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Rogationum","severity":"info","text":"The Rogation Days were days of prayer and fasting in the Latin Church, traditionally observed before Ascension Thursday. Avitus's sermon for this occasion fits the penitential and exhortatory tone of the passage.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Ex epistola contra Faustum","severity":"info","text":"The 'letter against Faustus' likely refers to Avitus's polemic against the semi-Pelagian bishop Faustus of Riez. This fragment shows Avitus engaging with contemporary theological controversies on grace and free will.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ut in epistola (col,, a), usque ad in carne non vicerat conjugatos","severity":"caution","text":"The text is corrupt: 'col,, a' is a scribal or editorial cross-reference, and the phrase 'in carne non vicerat conjugatos' is incomplete. The sense is that the full letter is not reproduced here.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The citation 'I Tim. vi, 7' is not a canonical verse; it may be a misattribution or from a non-canonical source.","The phrase 'in carne non vicerat conjugatos' is fragmentary and its exact meaning is uncertain."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"Salomon omnibus parem clamat interitum et similem exitum. Quantumlibet ambitione velit quisque discerni, principio et fine conjungitur. Nam quod dixit, Unus introitus omnibus ad vitam, et par egressus ad mortem (Sap. VII, 6), non incritorum æqualitatem, sed æqualem docuit condilionem. Unde si apparet, ut opinor, nec infida fidelium, nec peritura esse salvorum, quæ sint nostra paululum discernamus. Ecce, ut supra dixi, cum in hunc mundum veniente, nihil terrenae facultatis in. ferimus, animam tamen arbitrii compotem capacemque rationis, ad eligendum bonum, si Deus inspiraverit, exhibemus. Cumque processu temporis voluntatis nostrae qualitas confirmatur, Dei voluntas est ut bene faciamus, sed nostium est quod fecerimus. An forte dicit aliquis, et hanc ipsam boni actionem potest homo insidiante diabolo perdere. Verum est, quod amittere homo bonum proprium furante adversario potest. Sed hinc magis nostrum conjici debet, quia non violenter aufertur. Non enim taliter perdimus mercedem, qualiler facultatem. Quod enim extra nos est, carnalis inimicus rapiendo auferre potest: quod vero intra nos, non potest spiritualis nisi insidiando furari. Et ideo, ii sciret paterfamilias qua hora fur ienit, vigilaret utique, et non sineret perfodi domum suam (Luc. XII, 39).","english":"Solomon declares that all have the same end and a similar departure. However much anyone may wish to be distinguished by ambition, they are joined in their beginning and their end. For what he said, \"One entrance for all into life, and an equal exit into death\" (Wisdom 7:6), taught not an equality of merit, but an equal condition. Hence, if it appears, as I think, that the faithful are not faithless, nor the saved perishing, let us discern a little what is ours. Behold, as I said above, when we come into this world, we bring nothing of earthly resources, yet we present a soul capable of free will and receptive of reason, for choosing the good, if God inspires. And as time passes, the quality of our will is confirmed; it is God's will that we do good, but what we have done is ours. Or does someone perhaps say that even this very action of good a man can lose through the devil's plotting? It is true that a man can lose his own good when the adversary steals it. But from this it should be inferred all the more that it is ours, because it is not violently taken away. For we do not lose our reward in the same way as we lose property. For what is outside us, a carnal enemy can take away by snatching; but what is within us, a spiritual enemy can only steal by plotting. And therefore, if the head of a household knew at what hour the thief was coming, he would certainly keep watch and not allow his house to be broken into (Luke 12:39).","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Sap. VII, 6","severity":"info","text":"Avitus cites Wisdom 7:6, but the verse number differs from modern Bibles (Wisdom 7:6 in Vulgate corresponds to Wisdom 7:6 in modern editions). The quotation is exact.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Luc. XII, 39","severity":"info","text":"The reference to Luke 12:39 is a misattribution; the parable of the thief and the householder is not found in Luke. Avitus likely conflates a proverb or a non-canonical source with scripture.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Salomon","severity":"info","text":"Avitus attributes the Wisdom of Solomon to Solomon, a common patristic view. The book is deuterocanonical, accepted in the Latin tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"condilionem","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'condilionem' is a variant spelling of 'condicionem' (condition). Avitus distinguishes 'conditio' (condition) from 'meritum' (merit), emphasizing shared human fate over individual worth.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ecce, ut supra dixi","severity":"info","text":"This phrase marks a return to an earlier argument (the letter against Faustus), creating a rhetorical link between the two passages. It structures the sermon as a continuation of a prior discussion.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"non incritorum æqualitatem","severity":"info","text":"Avitus's reading of Wisdom 7:6 as teaching equal condition, not equal merit, reflects anti-Pelagian concerns. He argues against the idea that all souls are equal in moral standing, a point relevant to debates on grace and free will.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The reference to Luke 12:39 is unclear; no such verse exists in Luke. Avitus may have misremembered or used a non-canonical source."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"illa ergo est domus nostra, quae, si vigilamus, non potest dirui: illa vero prorsus aliena est, quæ potest vigilantibus nobis occupari.","english":"Therefore, that is our home, which, if we are watchful, cannot be destroyed; but that is entirely foreign, which can be seized even while we are watchful.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"domus nostra","severity":"info","text":"The contrast between 'our home' (the eternal, spiritual dwelling) and the 'foreign' one (earthly possessions) echoes the theme of vigilance against worldly distractions, a common ascetic trope.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"dirui","severity":"info","text":"'Dirui' (destroyed) is a strong verb suggesting total ruin, emphasizing the permanence of the spiritual home versus the vulnerability of the foreign one.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"vigilantibus nobis","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'while we are watchful' reflects a monastic or pastoral concern for constant spiritual alertness, a key theme in early Christian exhortation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"illa ... illa","severity":"info","text":"The anaphora 'illa ... illa' (that ... that) structures the sentence as a sharp antithesis between the secure home and the vulnerable one, reinforcing the moral contrast.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"occupari","severity":"info","text":"'Occupari' (seized) may allude to the idea of hostile takeover, paralleling earlier warnings about the fragility of worldly goods in the face of divine or human threat.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'domus' could be read literally as a physical house or metaphorically as a spiritual state; the context favors the latter.","'Vigilantibus nobis' is ambiguous between a temporal clause ('while we are watchful') and a concessive one ('even though we are watchful'); the translation adopts the temporal reading."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}