To Florus 1.75
What Babylon's shameful betrayal has undertaken is so wicked that, when we charge you with it, you deny it. What we believe is so holy that you wish to hide in its shade, though your minds oppose it. For when I drew out what was scattered throughout the parts of your argument and compressed the issue into a brief statement, so that the extent and character of the cause of the Church's division would appear without smoke or mist, I said that you deny both free choice and God as the Creator of newborn children, while we defend both. That is why you raise an empty din in uneducated ears about the names of catholic men who struggle alongside us for the apostolic faith we defend. Those afraid of being called Caelestians by you lose the dignity of heavenly faith; those terrified of being called Pelagians plunge into the sea of Manichaeism. Uneducated people come to think they cannot be called Christians if the advocates of inherited sin have called them Pelagians. Sensible people, by contrast, decide that they must endure any hatred or insult attached to names rather than abandon the catholic faith.
But do not boast that even this type of abuse was invented by your ingenuity. Remember that all heretics commonly give us different names. At the council of Rimini it became especially clear what wickedness an ambiguous word or the threat of a new label can achieve in leaden minds. Under an Arian ruler, Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, a man of great steadfastness and thoroughly sound faith, resisted after almost the whole world had slipped away from the apostles' faith and the times had become impious. For this he was driven into exile. Out of six hundred and fifty bishops, as the report goes, scarcely seven were found who valued God's commands more than the king's: they would neither agree to Athanasius's condemnation nor deny the confession of the Trinity. Besides fear of mistreatment, the entire crowd of those broken spirits was deceived chiefly either by the threatening label “Athanasian” or by a cunning question.
Latin
Tam enim scelestum est, quod suscepit praevaricatio pudenda Babylonis, ut cum a nobis obicitur, a vobis negetur; et tam sanctum est, quod a nobis creditur, ut sub umbra eius delitescere, licet adversaria mente, cupiatis. Nam cum ego quidquid disputationis vestrae sparsim membris tenebatur exprimerem, et summam quaestionis in brevitatem cogerem, ut ecclesiasticae dissensionis causa, quanta et qualis esset, sine fumo et nebulis proderetur, dixi liberum a vobis arbitrium negari, et Deum nascentium conditorem; porro a nobis id utrumque defendi, et ob hoc vos imperitis auribus de nominibus catholicorum virorum, qui propter fidem apostolicam quam tuemur, nobiscum laborant, ciere inanem fragorem, ut qui timuissent Caelestiani a vobis dici, amitterent caelestis fidei dignitatem; et qui expavissent ne a vobis Pelagiani dicerentur, in Manichaeorum pelagus praecipitarentur; putarentque se imperiti quique non posse Christianos appellari, si eos Traduciani Pelagianos vocassent; cum e regione prudentes statuerent, quamvis nominum invidiam sibi et iniuriam sustinendam magis, quam fidem catholicam relinquendam. Sed ne vel hoc ipsum convicii genus vestro inventum ingenio glorieris; recordamini, ab omnibus quidem haereticis diversa nos vocabula solere suscipere; sed in Synodo Ariminensi vehementius claruisse, quid apud plumbeos animos vel ambiguitas verbi, vel comminatio novi vocabuli possit sceleris obtinere. Nam cum sub Ariano principe, vir magnae constantiae, fidei sanissimae, Athanasius Alexandrinus episcopus, dilapso a fide Apostolorum omni pene mundo, et impiatis temporibus obstitisset, atque ob hoc in exsilia coactus esset; de sescentis et quinquaginta, ut fertur, episcopis, vix septem inventi sunt, quibus cariora essent Dei praecepta quam regis; videlicet ut nec in Athanasii damnationem convenirent, nec Trinitatis confessionem negarent. Illa vero omnis deiectorum pectorum multitudo, extra iniuriarum metum, hac est potissimum vel nominis comminatione, ne Athanasiana vocaretur, vel interrogationis calliditate decepta.
About this text
Julian’s six preserved books to Florus, quoted section by section in Augustine’s unfinished reply. Augustine’s refutations are omitted. Latin of Julian’s words is on each section.
Julian’s own books do not survive as a separate manuscript. English follows his words as Augustine quotes them in the Unfinished Work Against Julian. Augustine’s replies are omitted. We do not restore a Julian text independent of Augustine.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Augustine, Unfinished Work Against Julian (Latin · Julian’s words as quoted, Books 1–6)
- Checked print Augustinus.it Latin of the Unfinished Work (Latin · Same work)
- Checked print Migne PL 45 (Latin · Hard cases)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.