1439"It is not at all clear who this Idatius is. Two writers named Idatius are indeed mentioned, both Spaniards; one surnamed Clarus, who wrote against Priscillian and ended his days under Theodosius the Elder and Valentinian, as Isidore testifies in chapter 2. The other is Idatius, bishop of the province of Gallaecia, 'a writer of chronicles,' called Lemicensis by Sigebert, who died during the reign of Leo. The former could not have written against that Arian deacon Marivadus, who, as Victor Vitensis says, was intimate with King Huneric, nor will he be the author of the three books against Varimadus; if indeed Maribadus is the same as Varimadus, which is very likely to be true. Therefore, they are more probably ascribed to the other, the chronologist, to whom the name 'Clarus' might perhaps have been added by some librarian. Furthermore, we think only the first eight books pertain to Idatius; for it is unknown by what writer the subsequent minor works were produced; indeed, no manuscript and no writer that has come into our hands indicates to whom they should be ascribed. But the book that is held as the final one in the manuscripts and in earlier editions, with this title: *On the Trinity and on the Holy Spirit*, and which begins with these words: 'To those who profess the Son of God to be a creature,' seems to us to be Athanasius', for it agrees perfectly with his other works, whether you look at the style or the arguments; wherefore it was printed among the genuine works of Athanasius in the first volume, where it is treated more fully."
ON THE HOLY TRINITY, BOOKS XI
(See *Patrologia Latina*, vol. LXII, col. 237–307, in Vigilius of Thapsus.)ADMONITION CONCERNING THE DISPUTATION OF S. ATHANASIUS AGAINST ARIUS
Georgius Cassander long ago claimed this work for Vigilius of Thapsus in his Cologne edition of 1555, and after him the learned Chiffletius, based, clearly, on the explicit testimony of Vigilius himself, who writes in book V *Against Eutyches*, chapter 2: "And although," he says, "concerning the various decrees of the councils and the novelties of terms added religiously, we have written most fully in those books which we composed against Sabellius, Photinus, and Arius, under the name of Athanasius, as if they were present with those present, where the persona of a judge also seems to have been introduced, etc." There are, however, two versions of this work, not differing slightly from one another. The former, which appears in earlier editions of Athanasius, presents a debate between Athanasius and Arius alone; the latter, far lengthier than the former and edited by Chiffletius, inserts Sabellius and Photinus into the disputation, and adds at the end the verdict of the judge Probus. It seemed appropriate to render both of them in their entirety. Chiffletius thinks the former was published by Vigilius at the time when he was still oppressed under the yoke of the Vandals, and therefore did not want its author to be recognized; but the latter when he was outside their power: for in it he openly confesses that he had feigned the person of Athanasius, and that he had confuted the Arians Maribadus and Palladius with his written books. But it is evident that this can only be said by conjecture. Nor is it sufficiently understood what the cause might be for such a great variety between the two versions.DISPUTATION OF ATHANASIUS WITH ARIUS BEFORE PROBUS THE JUDGE
(See *Patrologia Latina*, vol. LXII, col. 155, in Vigilius of Thapsus.)ALTERCATION OF S. ATHANASIUS Against the Heretics Arius, Sabellius, or Photinus
(See *ibid.*, col. 179.)