Letter of Pope Hormisdas to Possessor

the Word united Himself in the womb of the Virgin, but Wisdom built for herself a house from her very bowels. Otherwise, if the Word of God inserted Himself into the Virgin’s womb into a flesh already formed or animated, this union or joining must be called social rather than natural; and it is not to be believed that the person of the Word combined with the nature of the flesh, but rather with the person of some man; but those who say this are led astray by the error of Nestorius. But the Catholic faith believes and proclaims that the person of the Word did not combine with the person of a man already formed, but with the nature of the flesh, and therefore teaches that the union that was made is not social, but natural.

POPE HORMISDAS TO POSSESSOR: EPISTLE

Just as it conforms to reason that those who are in doubt should be counseled, so it is right that those who seek advice should be answered, because he who does not instruct the ignorant himself drives them into error. Nor is there anything more appropriate for one devoted to religion than the quest for truth, since he who asks about the path he is walking avoids getting lost more easily. But before I undertake the task of responding to those matters about which your affection inquires, I confess that I have gladly found in your letters a fervor of faith, warmed by the heat of which you sigh to see the perversity of infidels thriving in those parts. This grief is most worthy, as it saddens hearts dedicated to God. For there is no oversight in those among whom there is a spark of charity, for the single prayer of spiritual men is that the peace of all may be unshaken. But it is not unknown to the Church of God that such storms occur, nor is the tempest unusual, and although it remains unshaken under the guidance of its Rector, it nevertheless labors, vexed by the various whirlwinds of rising tempests. For from where comes the voice of the psalmodic prophet, who, assuming the person of the Church herself through the Spirit by which he was filled: *Often*, he says, *have they fought against me from my youth, but they have not been able to prevail against me* (Ps. CXVII, 2). They shake her, but they shall prevail in nothing. We are still on the threshing floor, the wheat is mixed with the chaff, the good groan at the company of the wicked; but the fire remains for those who are not necessary, and the barns are already prepared for those who have been proven. But where in the world is there not this commixture? It behooves us to stand with firm steps. We shall make progress among those who oppose our own good, if we do not involve ourselves in the errors of others. For he who, when he is struck, is not moved, demonstrates the strong power of his own virtue. Where are there not the stings of various temptations? Such have been, for almost this current year, those of certain Scythians, who held forth the guise of monks, not in truth, but by profession, not by works, concealing their subtle malice; we bore their venomous hatreds under the pretext of religion, striving to heal them from the internal wound by the moderation of a merciful patience, not holding to the admonitions of the blessed Paul: *Do not contend in words, for it is useful for nothing, except for the subversion of the hearers* (II Tim. II, 14). But when will the virus that has penetrated the vitals be torn out? When will hearts that are poorly convinced of themselves obey the institutes of truth? When will they put on the humility of obedience, pride being ramparted by their own opinions? When will they acquiesce to peace, accustomed to the goads of contention, desiring to grasp at skirmishes alone regarding religion, and neglecting the commandments? Never among them was charity commended by a new precept, never was peace left behind by a departure from the Lord; the only care of their persistent resolve is to want to command reason, not to believe. Contemners of the ancient authorities, desirous of new questions, thinking they alone have the right path of wisdom, they adopt any opinion with ease; elated to such a point of swelling, they think the judgment of both worlds should be inclined to their own whim; nor do they count among the number of the faithful anyone who follows the paternal tradition, if they see that he does not want to believe their own opinion; learned in sowing crimes, in composing the poisons of slander, in hating the entire body of the Church, in stirring up seditions, in inciting envy, and for obedience (which holds the primacy of regular discipline in monasteries) they love the obstinacy of persistent pride. We could not restrain them by warnings, nor by gentleness, nor by authority. They ventured even into a public meeting, crying out to the disturbance of the peace even around the statues of the kings, and had not the constancy of the faithful people restrained them, they would have stirred up dissension and discord among them through the seeds of the devil’s cursed tares, through

[... which] by the help of God, dissent has been driven from their region. Concerning those others, we have proven that the Apostle spoke prophetically, that in the last days perilous times would come, and there would be men who are lovers of self, having a form of piety but denying its power; and that therefore they are to be avoided. ^A We believed it necessary to point this out to your charity, for fear that if they should perchance be sent there, those unaware of how they conducted themselves in the Roman city might be deceived by some pretense of words. As for those concerning whom you have inquired in your letters regarding a certain Gallic bishop, Faustus, let them take this as their answer: he is not to be received, nor is anyone whom the examination of the Catholic faith or ecclesiastical discipline does not receive into the authority of the Fathers, or who is capable of causing ambiguity or presenting prejudice to religious matters. The institutions which the faithful ought to follow have been fixed by the Fathers; whether it be an interpretation, or a preaching, or a word composed for the edification of the people, if it accords with the true faith and sound doctrine, it is admitted; if it disagrees, it is abolished. There is one foundation, outside of which any structure that arises is weak; let anyone who builds upon it consider whether he builds with base or precious things. He errs, however, who deviates from the way that the choice of the Fathers has pointed out.

Yet, diligence in searching through many things is not censured, but rather a mind that turns away from the truth. Often, necessary instruction is provided concerning those things by which the rivals themselves may be convinced. Nor can it be counted a fault to know what you should avoid: and therefore, those who do not read things that are incongruous do not fall into blame, but those who follow them. If this were not so, that Teacher of the Gentiles would never have given his consent to instruct the faithful: "Test all things; hold fast to that which is good." ^B It is not irrelevant, even if worldly, to mix in a word of advice that is not lacking in reason. It is said that a certain nobleman, who was skilled in the art of painting, when he wished to depict a perfect horse with his brush, set a donkey before himself to paint, asserting that he did not do so to imitate a deformed animal, but so that he would not fall into the likeness of any deformed lineament. The venerable wisdom of the Fathers did not provide without foresight for the faithful posterity, defining what were canonical dogmas: they prescribed—with the Holy Spirit guiding them—a standard for the authority of ancient books to be accepted, so that a reader might not indulge his own opinion, asserting not what is suitable for ecclesiastical edification, but what his own will had conceived. What need was there, therefore, for slanderers to extend questions beyond the established boundaries of the Church? And to initiate arguments about things which are already said, as if they had not been said? Since the Christian faith is limited by a stable and unshakable path through the canonical books, the synodal disciplines, and the regular constitutions of the Fathers. Nevertheless, regarding the matter of free will and the grace of God, as to what the Roman—that is, the Catholic—Church follows and preserves, although it can be abundantly known from the various books of the blessed Augustine, and especially those to Hilary and Prosper, yet there are also specific chapters contained in the ecclesiastical archives which, if they are missing for you, and if you believe them to be necessary, we shall send, although he who diligently considers the words of the Apostle clearly recognizes what he ought to follow. May God keep you safe, most dear brother. Given on the Ides of August, in the consulship of Rusticus and Olybrius. ^C

JOHN MAXENTIUS: REPLY TO THE EPISTLE OF HORMISDAS

Although truth remains forever invincible, falsehood never ceases to rise up against it. And because it does not dare to rise against it with an open face, for fear that it might soon be laid low by its most powerful darts, it fights against it under a disguised appearance. And thus, it deceives not only the light and the incautious, but even at times prudent and grave minds, which, when it has filled them with its darkness, ^D it compels to approve of the things that are its own by an insane judgment of the mind. For since there is no virtue that does not have truth as its origin, nor any vice that does not take its beginning from a lie, the author and defender of a lie can in no way be believed capable of truly arguing against vice. And therefore it is no wonder if, among them, virtue is reputed as a vice—those who, having deserted the light of truth, are blinded by the mists of fallacy. Hence...