§8Donatista dixit: Aut si unum putas cum reis aliqua permixtione coniunctum sacramentum baptismi, audi prophetas quibus sit recte dispensum, dicente Salomone: fons uitae in manibus iusti. Catholicus respondit: Bene de uobis dominus dixit; qui errorem uestrum ante praeuidit: uos qui iustificatis uos coram hominibus, deus autem nouit corda uestra, quia quod altum est hominibus abominabile est apud deum.
Donatista dixit: Or if you think that the sacrament of baptism, which is one, is joined with guilty men by some mixture, listen from the prophets to whom it has been rightly dispensed, Solomon saying: "The fountain of life is in the hands of the righteous." Catholicus respondit: Well did the Lord speak of you, He who foresaw your error beforehand: "You who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts, because what is exalted among men is an abomination before God." If you are righteous and the fountain of life is in your hand, you are not a man, but God.
si iustus es et fons uitae in manu tua est, non homo, sed deus es.
Let refuge be sought in you, let you be believed, let all hope of life be placed in you, let baptism itself be given in your name and let there be silence concerning the Lord.
ad te confugiatur, tibi credatur, in te spes omnis uitae ponatur, ipsum baptisma in nomine tuo detur et de domino taceatur, uis scire ubi hunc fontem uitae requiras? in psalmo habes: apud te est fons uitae et in lumine tuo uidebimus lumen.
Do you wish to know where you should seek this fountain of life? In the psalm you have it: "With You is the fountain of life, and in Your light we shall see light." Have you not read: "The evil son has proud eyes; the evil son calls himself righteous, but he will not wash away his going forth"?
non legisti: filius malus superbos oculos habet, filius malus ipse se iustum dicit, exitus autem suos non abluet? nisi (te) ut hominem reum esse cognoueris, nisi te peccatorem ueraci corde clamaueris, iustificari omnino non poteris, dicente propheta: dic tu iniquitates tuas, ut iustificeris. et Iohannes apostolus: si dixerimus quia peccatum non habemus, nos ipsos decipimus et ueritas in nobis non est. §9Donatista dixit: Et Dauid dicit: oleum autem peccatoris non inpinguet caput meum. Catholicus respondit: Da ergo mihi aliquem tuorum quem probes non esse peccatorem, ut oleum uestrum non possit esse peccatoris, cum scriptum sit: nullus est hominum qui non peccet.
Unless you recognize that you are guilty as a man, unless you cry out with a truthful heart that you are a sinner, you cannot be justified at all, as the prophet says: "Declare your iniquities, that you may be justified." And John the apostle: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Donatista dixit: And David says: "But let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head." Catholicus respondit: Show me then someone of yours whom you can prove not to be a sinner, so that your oil cannot be that of a sinner, since it is written: "There is no man who does not sin." You interpret badly; read from above, so that you can grasp the sense.
interpres male, desuper lege, ut sensum possis accipere. sic ait: corripiet me iustus in misericordia et increpabit me; oleum autem peccatoris non unguat caput meum, hoc est: melior est misericors increpatio quam lenis adulatio, sicut et illud: meliora sunt uulnera amici quam uoluntaria oscula inimici. oleum peccatoris blandimentum est adulatoris, de quo alibi dicit: molliti sunt sermones eius super oleum et ipsi sunt iacula. oleum iusti spiritus est dei, dicente Petro: Iesum a Nazareth, quem unxit deus spiritu sancto. desine itaque spiritum sanctum oleum dicere peccatoris, ne deum incipias asserere peccatorem.
He says thus: "The righteous shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me; but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head." That is: a merciful reproof is better than smooth flattery, just as that other saying: "Better are the wounds of a friend than the deceitful kisses of an enemy." The oil of the sinner is the smooth talk of the flatterer, of which he says elsewhere: "His words were softened above oil, and they are darts." The oil of the righteous is the Spirit of God, as Peter says: "Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit." Cease, therefore, to call the Holy Spirit the oil of the sinner, lest you begin to assert that God is a sinner.
§10Donatista dixit: Aperta confectio perfidorum isto loco monstratur, quae inimica praesumptione a facinoroso sacerdote contacta polluitur, cuius sacrificium uelut oleum uoce diuina respuitur.
Donatista dixit: The open preparation of the treacherous is shown in this place, which, touched with hostile presumption by a wicked priest, is polluted, whose sacrifice, like oil, is rejected by the divine voice.
facineros u s, inquit, qui sacrificatmihi (uitulum) uelut quicanem occidat, et qui offert similaginem quasi sanguinem porcinum, et qui offert thus in memoria quasi blasphemus. Catholicus respondit: Certum est quod sacerdotis et plebis execretur deus ac despiciat holocausta, si bona non affuerit conscientia.
"The wicked man," he says, "who sacrifices (a calf) to me, is as if he killed a dog; and he who offers fine flour is as if he offered swine's blood; and he who offers frankincense for a memorial is as if he blasphemed." Catholicus respondit: It is certain that God detests and despises the burnt offerings of the priest and the people if a good conscience is not present.
aut si de sacerdotibus solum dictum cupis intellegi, quomodo apud uos facinorosorum non polluitur confectio sacerdotum? dicis: \'quamdiu mali latent inquinare non possunt, propter quod scriptum est: quae occulta, mihi, quae manifesta sunt, uobis\'.
Or if you wish this saying to be understood of priests alone, how is the preparation of wicked priests not polluted among you? You say: 'As long as the evil are hidden, they cannot defile; on account of which it is written: "The secret things are to me, the manifest things are to you."' If therefore, as long as the evil are hidden, they cannot defile, why do you not fear to rebaptize far-off nations to whom the names of Donatus and Caecilian are unknown?
si ergo quamdiu mali latent inquinare non possunt, cur longe positas nationes, quibus nomen Donati et Caeciliani habetur incognitum, rebaptizare non times? quis uestrum aliquorum mala in eorum pertulit aliquando notitia? et si pertulisset et non probasset, in nullo prorsus obesset iuxta illud: quae occulta sunt, mihi, quae manifesta sunt, uobis. §11Donatista dixit: Adhuc eius aquas Ambacum propheta spiritu manifestat: inposuisti, inquit, in mari equos tuos turbantes aquas multas.
Which of you ever brought the evils of any persons to their knowledge? And if he had brought them and not proved them, it would have been of no hindrance at all, according to that saying: "The secret things are to me, the manifest things are to you." Donatista dixit: Still, the prophet Habakkuk manifests its waters by the Spirit: "You have placed," he says, "your horses in the sea, disturbing many waters.
me contempsit Galaat ciuitas, quae operatur stulta turbans aquas.
The city of Gilead has despised me, she which works foolish things, disturbing the waters.
et fortitudo tua sicut hominis piratae. Catholicus respondit: Agnosce in te tua tela, sicut scriptum est: gladius eorum intret in corda ipsorum et arcus eorum confringatur.
And your strength is like that of a pirate." Catholicus respondit: Recognize your own weapons in yourself, as it is written: "Let their sword enter into their own hearts, and let their bow be broken." Your strength, O Donatist, is like that of a pirate, you who rebaptize by force, fight in the water by force, kill in the water by force.
fortitudo tua, Donatista, sicut hominis piratae, qui uiribus rebaptizas, uiribus in aqua pugnas, uiribus in aqua necas. ista gerens pirata captus occideris, nisi conuersus paenitueris et regi Christo in catholica militaris.
Doing these things, you, a pirate, will be killed when captured, unless you are converted and repent, and serve as a soldier for King Christ in the Catholic Church.