§1Libellum, quem mihi religio tua, frater Fulgenti, direxit, non aspernatus accepi; quem utrum ipse dictaueris an aliunde quaesieris, non satis iam moror.
The booklet which your piety, brother Fulgentius, sent to me, I have received without disdain; whether you yourself composed it or sought it from elsewhere, I do not now much concern myself.
est enim et hoc nostrae religionis officium, non personas intendere, sed ueritatem in omnibus quaerere, inuentam cognoscere et agnitam custodire.
For it is also the duty of our religion not to attend to persons, but to seek the truth in all things, to acknowledge it when found, and to guard it when acknowledged.
sic enim Paulus apostolus dicit: omnia probate, quod bonum est tenete; ab omni specie mala abstinete uos. breuiter igitur dicam quod ingeniosius litteris dilatasti.
For so the apostle Paul says: "Test all things, hold fast what is good; abstain from every evil appearance." Briefly, therefore, I shall state what you have more ingeniously expanded in your letter.
dixisti unum esse baptisma, quod Samaritanus, id est haereticus, habere non meruit; unum hortum conclusum, quod est ecclesia, fontem habere signatum, de quo nullus alienus attingit; unum oleum, quod est chrisma sanctissimum, quod moriturae muscae corrumpunt et peccatores omnino non dabunt.
You said that there is one baptism, which the Samaritan, that is, the heretic, did not deserve to have; that there is one enclosed garden, which is the church, having a sealed fountain, from which no stranger may partake; that there is one oil, which is the most holy chrism, which dying flies corrupt and which sinners shall by no means bestow.
contra haec mihi in adiutorio domini paranda responsio est nec aliunde sumenda nisi ex lectione diuina.
Against these points, I must prepare an answer with the help of the Lord, to be drawn from nowhere else but divine reading.
uerbi ergo principium iam sumamus, immo ipsum uerbum principium legum dominum ducem ac principem caelestis militiae teneamus, bella geramus et eius manu sacrata tuba petamus muros ualidissimos ciuitatis nefariae Hiericho, id est altitudinem mundanae sapientiae testamentis dominicis circumdemus, ueritatis et libertatis uocibus concrepemus, aduersarios in domo Raab, id est ecclesiae, quae nuntios eius suscipit, propter mundi excidium confugere conpellamus, pertinaces anathema condemnemus, ut hactenus uictores esse possimus.
Let us therefore now take up the beginning of the word, indeed, let us hold the Word itself, the beginning of laws, as Lord, leader, and prince of the heavenly host, let us wage wars, and from His consecrated hand let us take the trumpet and attack the most powerful walls of the impious city of Jericho, that is, let us surround the height of worldly wisdom with the Lord’s testaments, and let us resound with the voices of truth and freedom, let us compel our adversaries to flee for refuge, on account of the destruction of the world, into the house of Rahab, that is, of the church, which receives his messengers, and let us condemn the obstinate with anathema, so that we may be victorious thus far.
haec ergo ex lege aduersus legem, ex dei testamento aduersus dei testamentum, ex ueritatis fonte aduersus ueritatis fontem tam obice forte prima fronte sumpsisti, quasi possit ueritas a semet ipsa deuinci aut gloria luminis sua luce fuscari.
These things, therefore, you have taken up from the law against the law, from the testament of God against the testament of God, from the fountain of truth against the fountain of truth, as a barrier perhaps so strong at first sight, as if truth could be defeated by itself, or the glory of light be darkened by its own light.
§2Donatista dixit: Dominus et saluator noster Iesus Christus, unici baptismi doctor et custos, ne sitientes animae per aridos lacus mentis error adduceret, perennes haustus sibi esse proclamans in euangelio suo ita testatus est, dicens: qui sitit ueniat et bibat, qui credit in me, sicut Esaias dicit. Catholicus respondit: Non habet: sicut dicit Esaias, sed: sicut dicit scriptura. sed ista uelut impedimenta despiciam, non longo sermone utilitatem legentis excludam.
The Donatist said: Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the teacher and guardian of the single baptism, lest the error of the mind should lead thirsty souls through dry cisterns, proclaiming that everlasting draughts are in Himself, testified thus in His gospel, saying: "He who thirsts, let him come and drink, he who believes in me, as Isaiah says." The Catholic replied: It does not have "as Isaiah says," but "as the scripture says." But I shall disregard these as minor obstacles, and I will not shut out the benefit of the reader with a long discourse.
Donatista dixit: Qui credit in me, sicut dixit Esaias, flumina de uentre eius fluent aquae uiuae. et ne passim et ubique bibi posse diceretur, merita aquarum ipse discreuit, dum Samariae apostasiae originem in proprio fonte damnauit: qui biberit, inquit, ex hac aqua sitiet iterum; qui biberit ex aqua quam ego dedero, non sitiet in aeternum, sed fiet in eo fons aquae salientis in uitam aeternam. -. Catholicus respondit: Haec utique ideo posuisti, ut nos catholicos quasi Samaritanos et sine baptismo demonstrares.
The Donatist said: "He who believes in me, as Isaiah said, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly." And lest it should be said that one can drink anywhere and everywhere, He himself distinguished the merits of the waters, when He condemned the origin of Samaria’s apostasy in her own fountain: "He who drinks," He said, "of this water will thirst again; but he who drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst, but it will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life." The Catholic replied: You have certainly put these things forward so that you might show us Catholics as being, as it were, Samaritans and without baptism.
iam ergo Donatistas in Samaritanos incipe speculari.
Begin, therefore, now to view the Donatists as the Samaritans.
Samaritanorum dogma Regnorum libro docente tale fuit: deum timebant et simul figmenta colebant; diuinam legem seruabant et patrum errores minime deserebant; circumcisionis signum habebant et Israhelitarum collegium non tenebant.
The dogma of the Samaritans, as the Book of Kings teaches, was this: they feared God and at the same time worshipped idols; they kept the divine law and by no means abandoned the errors of their fathers; they had the sign of circumcision and did not maintain fellowship with the Israelites.
hoc et uos facitis.
This is what you also do.
deum metuitis et figmentum luteum Donatum pariter colitis — et hic enim ex terra figuratus est —; diuinam legem seruatis et parentum errorem non relinquitis; baptismi habetis sacramentum et catholicorum non uultis habere consortium.
You fear God and likewise worship the clay idol Donatus—for he too was formed from the earth—; you keep the divine law and do not relinquish the error of your parents; you have the sacrament of baptism and do not wish to have fellowship with Catholics.
ecce uos eis per omnia similatis.
Behold, you resemble them in all things.
sicut ergo tunc Samaritanorum circumcisio secundo dari non poterat, ita nunc Donatistarum baptisma iterari non debet, domino Christo docente: qui semel lotus est non habet necessitatem iterum lauandi. circumcisio enim Samaritanorum baptisma significat Donatistarum, dicente apostolo: circumcisi estis circumcisione non manu facta in expoliatione corporis carnis, sed in circumcisione Christi, consepulti ei in baptismo. quod autem ait dominus: qui biberit ex hac aqua sitiet iterum, non de baptismate, sed de terreno locutus est elemento.
Therefore, just as the circumcision of the Samaritans could not then be given a second time, so now the baptism of the Donatists ought not to be repeated, as the Lord Christ teaches: "He who has been washed once has no need to wash again." For the circumcision of the Samaritans signifies the baptism of the Donatists, as the apostle says: "You were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the flesh, but in the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism." But as to what the Lord says, "He who drinks of this water will thirst again," He was speaking not of baptism, but of the earthly element.
nam si baptisma hic uellet ostendere, nullo modo a Samaritana muliere posceret bibere.
For if He wished to signify baptism here, He would by no means have asked to drink from the Samaritan woman.
denique puteus ille non Samariae dictus est, sed Iacob, et utique Iacob non fuit haereticus, sed deo dilectus, semper carus, et ipse ex eo bibit et filii eius et pecora eius.
Moreover, that well is not called Samaria’s, but Jacob’s, and certainly Jacob was no heretic, but beloved by God, always dear, and he himself drank from it, and his sons, and his cattle.