A PSALM AGAINST THE PARTY OF DONATUS. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth. The abundance of sinners is wont to trouble the brethren. For this reason our Lord willed to forewarn us, comparing the kingdom of heaven to a net cast into the sea, gathering many fish of every kind from here and there. When they had drawn them to the shore, then they began to separate: the good they put into vessels, the rest, the bad, back into the sea. Whoever knows the gospel, let him recognize it with fear. He sees the net—the Church; he sees this world—the sea; the mixed kind of fish is the righteous together with the sinner; the shore is the end of the age: then is the time to separate; they who have now broken the nets have loved the sea greatly; the vessels are the seats of the saints, whither they cannot come.
All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth. A good hearer perhaps asks who broke the net. Men very proud, who say they are righteous. Thus they made both the rent and altar against altar. They handed themselves over to the devil, while they wrangle about the handing-over of the Scriptures, and wish to transfer to others the crime which they themselves committed. They themselves handed over the books, and dare to accuse us, so that they commit a worse crime than they committed before. They who could excuse the matter of the books by fear—since Peter denied Christ while he was terrified of death—by what pact will they now excuse the setting of altar against altar, and, the peace of Christ having been rent asunder, put their hope in man? What persecution did not do, they themselves have done in time of peace.
All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth. Our Guardian, great God, You are able to free us from these false prophets, who seek to devour us. Their accursed wolfish heart they cover with a sheep's skin. The name of 'the righteous' is the sheep's skin; the schism is in the wolfish heart. Those who do not know the Scriptures they are wont to deceive; for they hear 'traditors' and do not know what happened before. If I say to them, 'Prove it,' they have nothing to answer. They say they believed their own leaders; I say they have lied—for we too have believed our own, who say that those men handed over the Scriptures. Do you wish to know who speak falsely? Those who are not in unity. Long ago the case was already finished; the proof is that you do not stand in peace. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth.
Our elders spoke, and made records thereof—they who then examined the case, so that they could prove it while it was fresh: there were certain betrayers of the books of the holy Law—bishops from Numidia, and not just anyone of the common folk. When they had come to Carthage to ordain a bishop, they found Caecilianus already ordained in his own see. They were angry, because they themselves could not do the ordaining. Botrus and Caelestius were great enemies of Caecilianus—impious, thievish, proud men, of whom it is long to tell. They all joined together to forge a charge against him; they say that the one who ordained him had handed over the holy books. Thus they broke the nets of peace, and now they wander through the sea. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Hear the voice of the prophet, that you may be in unity. Who proved to us the old charge of the handing-over? Who brought it forward in the court of judgment? Who sat to judge? By what witnesses did he convict? Who dared to affirm it? But they gladly feigned that which they knew they themselves had done. Because rumor was already speaking of the handing-over of the books, but those who had done it lay hidden in that turmoil, they therefore defamed others, that they might conceal themselves. Through them the rest of the leaders of that party went astray, because they thought it shameful to themselves not to believe their colleagues. Now, brethren, let the error be ended, and let us be in unity. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth. They did then what they wished, in that blindness.
No judges sat, no priests according to custom—by which, gathered together, they are wont to judge in great cases; no accuser and defendant stood in the inquiry, no witness, no document by which they could prove the charge, but fury, deceit, tumult—which reign in falsehood. Let the acts be brought forth for us, such as are wont to be made in a council; let us see what matter compelled altar to be set against altar. If the priest was bad, he ought first to have been deposed; if he could not be deposed, he ought to have been tolerated within the net—just as you now openly tolerate so many bad men; and you who bear them with pious indignation might have borne one for the sake of peace. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth. It would be a great joy to us, if only you were then unwilling to err;
but if the truth was not seen then, at least now, having learned it by experience, see it. You now have many depraved men who displease you greatly, and yet you do not separate these from your communion. I do not speak of those sins which you can even deny: I speak of the cudgels, the fires, the killings, which your people commit in broad daylight, and yet you bear with them, whether through error or through fear. How little a thing it was, that your fathers should have borne with one man for the sake of unity, even if the tumult was so great that they could not depose him! Add that he was innocent and they could prove nothing. But lest the crime be sought out where they saw themselves to be at fault, they feigned themselves excessively righteous, though they wished to throw everything into confusion. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth.
He who seeks empty honours does not wish to reign with Christ, but rather with the prince of this evil, to whose party they are summoned. For Donatus at that time wished to gain possession of all Africa; then he sought judges from across the sea from the emperor. But this seemingly just petition did not spring from charity. This the very Truth proclaims, which I now wish to relate. For the emperor gave his consent, and sent bishops to sit at Rome, who could then hear Caecilianus together with him. The case was argued, and nothing was proved against him; yet Donatus dared both to appeal and, after the tribunal of his colleagues, to be heard by the emperor. Hence that petition is shown to have sprung not from charity. Then, defeated on every side, he began to rebaptize Christians. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth.
If you wish to follow justice, consider the whole cause. Why was that not done earlier, which Donatus did afterward? The bishops were in dispute throughout the whole African region: bishops from overseas could judge the matter thence. Why then did you rush into schism, altar set against altar, so that what was afterward decided you were now no longer able to hear, and were forced to appeal from your own judges — all because you wished by any means to confirm the reign of your error? Even now you all know the whole matter, yet you pretend not to know it; and when the truth presses upon you, you say your fathers erred — as though anyone forbade you now to withdraw from the error. But pride has bound you fast in the chair of pestilence. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth.
He who has the charity of Christ cannot hate peace. Do you at least now listen, O people, and be reconciled with us — you who hold no chair for which you might unjustly fight. If your own bishops from some single region had a dispute among themselves, whom would you wish to judge it but men of other regions who had no part in that dispute? But when they had examined the case and pronounced for one side, you would never keep communion with those who refused to consent to them. Why then have you kept communion with these men, who did this very thing before? For they too did not consent to the sentence of the overseas judges, who judged in our favour; and now they are joined to us this day. If Christ the judge should say this, what have you to answer? All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth.
If the light of the heart is in you, you can see the truth. There are the petitions of Donatus and the records, by which prove what has been said. And if you refuse to believe these, then bring forward something of your own here. And if we too do not believe those, the quarrel will be without end. Let us therefore embrace peace. What is it to us, what was done before? You cast up to us the surrender of the Scriptures: we answer that you did it. You cry out to us about Macarius: and we about the circumcellion. That deed of ours is now past and done: your deeds do not cease even to this day. Our threshing-floor has its chaff: you alone wish to be that chaff, for you do not wish for peace. Those men threaten with the club: and would that they only threatened and did not batter daily. If your men expel these, they have none through whom to reign. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth.
If Macarius exceeded the measure prescribed in the Christian law, at least he was carrying out the law of the king, that he might contend for unity. I do not say that this man sinned in nothing, but that yours are worse. For who commanded them to rage thus throughout Africa? Neither Christ nor the emperor is shown to have permitted these things — clubs and private fires and madness without any law. For because it is written, 'Put back the sword,' they reckon it no crime to use the club — not that a man should die, but that he should be beaten to a pulp and afterward die of it, already tormented by the wasting away. Yet if they show mercy, they even kill with a single blow of the club. Their clubs they call 'Israels,' a name they used with honour, so that they lay waste that very name more than the body they strike with them. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth.
Do not now, brethren, charge us with the time of Macarius. If those men were cruel, they too displease us greatly; but if they speak falsehoods about them, God is able to judge. Let us love the peace of Christ, let us rejoice in unity. If there are any evil men in the Church, they can do us no harm. If they cannot be with us, let them be shut out while peace is preserved. If they cannot be shut out, let them be shut out at least from the heart. The holy Ezekiel said that certain men were marked with a sign, who groan over the sins of their brethren and yet do not separate themselves from them. So let us not, because of evil brethren, separate ourselves from the Mother — which the impious then did, raising up an altar outside, only to have now men worse than those they pretend to have fled. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth.
Everyone who reads the Scriptures knows what I wish to disclose. John the Baptist said then openly to the Jews that Christ could winnow them like his own threshing-floor. He sent his disciples as labourers into the harvest to preach, through whom the floor was gathered and winnowed by the cross. Then the just, like wheat, filled the churches, chastely selling what they possessed and bidding the world farewell. They were like seed, which was scattered over the whole world, that another harvest might spring up, to be winnowed at the end. This grows up among the tares, for there are heresies everywhere; its chaff are the unjust, who are not in unity. If Macarius was one of these, why do you wish to rebaptize us? All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth.
Set in your heart two threshing-floors, that you may see what I say. Surely the earlier people too had holy men, as the Scriptures show. For God said that he had left himself seven thousand men, and many priests and kings are just under the Law. There you have so many prophets, you have many also from the common folk. Tell me, which of the just then set up a separate altar for himself. That wicked people committed many crimes: sacrifice was offered to idols, so many prophets were slain — and yet no one of the just withdrew from unity. The just bore with the unjust, awaiting the coming Winnower; they were mingled in one temple, but mingled they were not in heart; they said such things against them, and yet held one altar. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth. What do you think of these things?
The second harvest, that of the Church, which grows throughout the whole world, must endure yet more: it has moreover the Lord's own example in Judas the traitor. This man he bore among the good, this man he sent even to preach. The evil servant preached, but Christ was in the faith, because those who believed the Judge cared nothing for the herald. When he gave the holy Supper, not even then did he shut him out from it, though he could be betrayed through him — even if he had gone out from it before. But an example is given us to tolerate evil brethren, so that, when they cannot be shut out, we be separated from them by the heart alone. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth. I beg you, answer us: whom do you wish to rebaptize?
You expel your lapsed priests from communion, and yet no one after them dared to rebaptize, and all whom those men baptized are in communion with you today. What did they receive from them, if they had nothing to give? Read how adulterers are punished in the holy Law; for they cannot say that they sinned out of fear. If only the holy baptize, then rebaptize after these your own priests. Why do you bring false charges against us, because we are in unity — we who were not yet born in that persecution? It is written that the sins of the fathers do not belong to the sons; but no one bears good fruit if he has been cut off from the vine. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth. You know what 'catholic' means, and what it means to be cut off from the vine.
If there are any among you who are prudent, let them come, let them live in the root; before they wither too far, let them now be freed from the fire. We do not rebaptize for this reason, that in the faith there is one sign — not because we see you as holy, but that you hold the mere form; for even the branch that has been cut from the vine has that same form. But what does the form profit it, if it does not live from the root? Come, brethren, if you will, that you may be grafted into the vine. It is a grief to us when we see you cut off, lying thus. Number the priests even from that very seat of Peter, and in that order of fathers see who succeeded to whom: that is the rock which the proud gates of hell do not overcome. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth.
If such a man should come to you, full of the catholic faith — the kind of holy men we are all accustomed to hear of — and if he should say to you: 'Brother, why do you wish to rebaptize me? What was done before I do not know; but now I am in the faith of Christ. If what I do not know stains me, show me now what sort of man you yourself are: behold, I regard your face, yet I do not know what is in the heart. If what I do not know stains me, perhaps you stain me too; and if I believe you to be holy, see with whom you keep communion. If what we do not know stains, then you cannot be holy — you whom so many sins stain, sins which your people commit in secret. But if you do not trouble over what you do not know, then neither do I over what was done before.' — And yet such a Christian you dare to rebaptize!
All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth. Woe to you who contend thus unjustly for your chairs! You cry out that you alone are holy, yet you say otherwise in your heart, because you too see many evil men abounding everywhere. Can you say: 'We are mingled together within the net'? For it is answered you that you have already burst that net. Nor can you say that you are bearing with the chaff; for again we answer: you would have done this before as well. For those men were no worse than that traitor Judas, with whom the apostles received the first sacrament of the Supper, though they now knew him among them to be guilty of so great a crime; and yet those filthy deeds in another's heart did not defile these. And still you dare to rebaptize Christian brethren. All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth.
Hear, brethren, what I say, and do not be angry with me. Since the things you hear are not false, you can also consider them. What if the Mother Church herself should address you in peace and say: 'O my sons, why do you complain of your mother? Why have you forsaken me? Now I wish to hear it from you. You accuse your brethren, and I am torn asunder greatly. When the nations pressed hard upon me, I bore much with grief. Many forsook me, but they did it in fear; you, however — no one forced you thus to rebel against me. You say that you are with me, but you see that it is false: I am called catholic, and you are of the party of Donatus. The apostle bade me pray for the kings of the world; you envy me, because kings are now in the Christian faith.'
'If you are sons, why do you envy, because my prayers have been heard? For when they sent gifts, you refused to accept them, and you forgot the prophets who foretold this beforehand — that the great kings of the nations would send gifts to the Church. When you spurned these gifts, you showed that you were not mine, and you drove Macarius to avenge his own grief. But what have I done to you, I, your mother throughout the whole world? I expel the evil whom I can; those whom I cannot, I am forced to bear; I bear them until they are healed or are separated at the end. Why then have you left me, and I am tormented over your death? If you hate the evil so greatly, look what sort you yourselves have. And if you too tolerate the evil, why not do so in unity, where no one rebaptizes and there is no altar against altar?'
'You tolerate so many evil men, but with no good reward, because what you owe for Christ's sake, you choose to bear for Donatus.' We have sung peace to you, brethren, if you will hear it. Our Judge is to come: we give, he exacts. — PSALM AGAINST THE PARTY OF DONATUS, BOOK ONE. 1. Wishing also that the cause against the Donatists should reach the knowledge of the very humblest common people and of the wholly untrained and unlettered, and, so far as could be done through me, cleave to their memory, I composed a psalm to be sung to them in Latin letters, but only as far as the letter U — the kind they call abecedarian. The last three letters, however, I omitted, but in their place I added a final section, as it were an epilogue, as though the Mother Church were addressing them.
「你們容忍這許多惡人，卻毫無善報，因為你們本當為基督忍受的，卻情願為多納圖忍受。」弟兄們哪，我們已向你們歌唱了和平，你們若肯聽。我們的審判者將要來臨：我們付出，他必索取。——駁多納圖黨之詩，卷一。一、我也願意這駁斥多納圖派的緣由，能傳到最卑微的平民、以及全然未受訓練、目不識丁之人的認識中，並且盡我所能，使之銘刻在他們記憶裡，於是我作了一首詩，好唱給他們聽，用拉丁字母編排，卻只到 U 字母為止——就是他們所稱的字母詩。至於最後三個字母，我略去了，卻在其位置上加了末段，可算作結語，彷彿母親教會在向他們說話。
The refrain also, which is sung in response, and the prologue of the cause, which we wished to be sung, are not in the order of the letters; for their alphabetical order begins after the prologue. Moreover, I did not wish this to be done in any kind of metrical verse, lest the necessity of metre should compel me to some words that are less commonly used among the common people. 2. This psalm begins thus: 'All you who rejoice in peace, now judge the truth,' which is its refrain.