DEDICATORY EPISTLE
TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS AND MOST REVEREND
FRANCIS, CARDINAL OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH, DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD,
BISHOP OF SENLIS,
GREAT ALMONER OF FRANCE, AND ABBOT OF SAINT GENEVIEVE AT PARIS.
Whether it be better and more expedient, most illustrious Cardinal, to commit to writing the nefarious dogmas of pestiferous heresies, or to be entirely silent about them, is a question rightly debated among the wise. Some are ill-pleased by the description A of these sects, especially when it is diligent and minute. Others judge that there is need for a certain caution and selection, such that only those should be omitted which have already grown obsolete through antiquity, or which have been contaminated by notable filth and obscenity. The cause that chiefly moves both parties is this: because while the recollection of such decrees is universally pernicious, the deadly contagion of them, which in part lures the unwary with the enticements of obscene pleasure, and in part nevertheless suffuses those unwilling and resistant with a certain effluvium and odor of turpitude. Wherefore, B because Epiphanius has so diligently set forth the secret and detestable debaucheries of the Gnostics, Basilidians, Carpocratians, and Origenists, they do not indeed reprehend the deed and intent of such a most holy man, but they think it would have been better for the memory of all these things to be blotted out by oblivion; and they decree that they should be left only in the Greek, as they were written, and that they ought to be read only by those more skilled. Therefore, they contend that it is by no means to be approved that we should interpret these things into Latin, and make a promiscuous knowledge of scandals common to all.
Against all these I think it necessary to dispute briefly, both for the sake of our Epiphanius C and for our own. And the former, indeed—those to whom this whole business is displeasing—remove, in their own opinion, the highest and unique bulwark of the truth by committing the abstruse and recondite mysteries of heresies to writing. For they extort this from us: that sects of lies, as they are born again and again, may be most powerfully repelled and overturned by us. It is true that the mind of one who has applied himself to the framing or defending of heresy is cast into every audacity without any shame. But yet, there is no one among those patrons of absurd opinions who, once convicted and condemned, is not in some measure ashamed of his error. Let the heretics be iron-willed, as they are: let them be stubborn: let them D frame themselves to resist more fiercely in the very heat and agitation of arguing: yet he who has learned this, and who has discovered through the sure testimonies of the ancients that those dogmas were long ago acknowledged and repudiated by the ancient Fathers and councils and by the common consent of Christians, before those very men whom he follows, the interpolators of these things, ever existed—there will scarce be any, I think, whose contumacy, unless it could be broken and tamed, would not have at least more languid eruptions and impulses, and gradually, of itself, cooled and enervated, fall away. Therefore, those commentaries that are written about heresies have this fruit: that in every age the supporters of perfidy and their satellites may recognize in them the primary authors whom they themselves would blush to own.
Now, those who order that certain heresies—and those either obliterated or infamous for their turpitude—be omitted, demand a certain difficult moderation: the use of which, even if asked by us, they cannot explain. For if they could certainly promise that those portents of opinions, once they were suppressed and buried, would never again emerge unless they stood in books, nor be stirred from their tombs and ashes, then I would think nothing to be preferred to this counsel of theirs.
A But since, nevertheless, at stated intervals of time, those very same monsters—though cut down and slaughtered so many times—revive; since the devil, the architect and inventor of those heresies, persists, even when all memory of books has been extinguished; since he is endowed with the same arts and machinations, and the same cunning and wickedness to restore them: our choice of these things does not help us; and against the danger of a returning malady, those ancient and most certain safeguards must be provided. Truly, that design for writing and the opportunity regarding certain heresies could have been cast out some years, or even centuries, ago when they were still fewer in number and not composed of such diverse and dissimilar forms and monstrosities. At this present time, however, when we see the long-dead heresies of former ages called back to light and renewed, no room has been left even for doubt or questioning. For what kind of opinion or sect in all antiquity was so horrible, so unusual, and so obsolete? What error so foul and detestable? What kind of treachery so openly condemned by the voice of all, which has not had some supporters or followers in the memory of our parents? It is little to complain of those Arians, or Macedonians, Eunomians, Nestorians, and even those more ancient Manichaeans, Sabellians, and Samosatenes, or to follow after the other plagues B and storms of the old Church, in which, besides the falsity of their dogma, there was no, or only obscure, foulness of practice; for all of these are said even to this day to be rampant and increasing in Germany, Poland, Pannonia, Russia, and finally in other places where they have been reborn. Those very heresies, the inventors and masters of the filthiest lusts, which boasted of promiscuous intercourse and all other bodily turpitude, and which are sometimes wont to be contained under the single term of Gnostics, have in the same places abounded under the names of Adamites, Picards, Waldensians, Poor Men of Lyons, and other monsters rather than names. I will come to our own Gaul, and to the most recent stain and plague of the Calvinian dogma which has settled in its bosom. Of this, I believe I can most truly say: that it is like the bilge-water of the whole world, into which the collection of ancient and modern sects and errors has flowed together; and that whatever has hitherto existed of heresies, about which we have been able to read or hear, has been sampled and derived from it; and that out of the abhorrent parts and figures of all monsters, that final one has been formed, more horrible than the rest.
Wherefore, since the poisons of the ancient heresies and sects are diffusing themselves everywhere in the world and here among us, let us flee to those safeguards I mentioned above, and let us imitate the industry of physicians. Their ancestors, when they understood that the same diseases were attacking and recurring in human bodies, carefully noted in books their origins, progressions, properties, cases, and examples of events—which, when their descendants read them, they arm themselves against those very diseases by the experience and usage of others. Thus for us, to whom it is constant to enter into the struggle against those same errors, as if they were diseases that revive at intervals and are already known, the commentaries on ancient heresies are useful; from them we not only obtain knowledge of them, but we also prepare the same aids for defeating them where they have been reborn, by which they were extinguished when they were first born.
In this kind of work, although the effort of many Fathers has been excellent and has been carried out with praise, yet if you compare whom you will—whether in diligence or in the richness, abundance, and copy of erudition—with Epiphanius, you will find no one in all antiquity. For he did not merely write a short index of heresies in the manner of others, as Augustine, Philastrius, Jerome, Damascenus, and even the more copious Theodoret, and many others have done; nor did he set forth most accurately only their opinions and dogmas, but also the things done by their authors and leaders. Moreover, he demonstrated most richly and learnedly with what arms their petitions might be repelled, or conversely, how they might be attacked and refuted. For which reasons he inscribed that work C Panarion, or, as Anastasius Sinaita in his *Questions* and Photius with other Greeks have it, *Panaria*—that is, a medical chest, or a box and vessel—so that we might know that in it are contained the most wholesome remedies against the deadly and poisonous bites of serpents, and thus against all the diseases of the heresies.
Therefore, for my part, I have very often wondered at Augustine, who, in his book *On Heresies* to Quodvultdeus, when he mentions Epiphanius, placed this about him in his Preface: "Our Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, who not long ago departed from human affairs, speaking of eighty heresies, wrote also six books, commemorating them in historical narrative."
"» A everything, struggling for the truth against falsehood without any disputation. These little books are indeed brief; and even if they were gathered into one volume, it would not be comparable in length to our own books or those of others. If I were to imitate this brevity in commemorating heresies, you would have nothing to demand or expect from me that is briefer. Is this, I ask, what Augustine wrote concerning the *Panarion* of Epiphanius? To affirm that the work is very brief; and that, if gathered into one volume, it would be of such moderate bulk and size? To deny, finally, that there is anything in those books other than a simple history of heresies, treated without any refutation of falsehood? And yet, the books of Epiphanius concerning heresies are very rich: and he disputes diffusely and accurately against each one; nor did Augustine himself perform in that little book *De haeresibus*, or in another, that very thing which he said had been omitted by Epiphanius and would be done by himself, namely, to discuss each heresy individually. For he included nothing beyond a summary of all sects and the headings of their errors. B This last point, as it increases wonder, so the former creates no small suspicion that Augustine had not yet seen the *Panarion* of Epiphanius itself, nor the work *Adversus haereses* entire when he was bringing his own writings forward, but only an epitome of it, and perhaps its *Anacephalaeosis*, or a Breviary collected from the arguments and headings of the individual tomes and heresies. Although this also bothers me: that he asserts the work of Epiphanius is divided into six books. But it is otherwise. For it is distributed into only three books. All the books are in seven tomes. Therefore, it is peculiar to Augustine that he appended to the LVII heresy, which he calls the Psalliani, the Massaliani of Epiphanius. Consequently, he calculated twenty heresies that he thought existed before the advent of the Lord, while he comprised the remaining sixty, which arose after the Lord's ascension, in five very brief books, and he made them all conclude in six books of his entire work. The whole *Panarion* is divided into three books. The first contains three tomes, in the former of which are those twenty heresies older than Christ. The second collects thirteen of those which arose after Christ. The last, just as many. And if by the name of books Augustine understands tomes, with the exception of the higher one, which consists of twenty heresies, the remaining will be six, not seven. Therefore, there must be another plan and partition of that work or epitome, which Augustine demonstrates he had read and wished to imitate.
Sedate from that minute and narrow investigation, I return to that which I had begun to argue concerning the commendation and fruit of the *Panarion*. For it provides countless opportunities and aids for that which was being discussed: the patronage of the Catholic religion and the overturning of modern heresies. First, because of its authority, due both to the antiquity of the writer and the illustrious place of his dignity among the Fathers, not even the detractors of antiquity and enemies of all good things themselves doubt it. C Then, because all the chief decrees of the faith, which opinionated men in these times dare to deny, are approved by such express testimonies from him; while those things which they defend contrary to them are so gravely and frequently refuted by being recalled to their own authors, that is, to the ancient heretics, that whoever is not yet ashamed of this falsehood has lost common sense sooner than modesty and shame.
That these things, so magnificently and splendidly touted concerning our Epiphanius, are true, I could make plain in the individual errors of the Lutherans and Calvinists, if the brevity of a letter allowed it, or if this oration instituted by us looked to another rather than to you, illustrious Cardinal. But we shall perhaps perform this in another place, or we shall remit to certain modern writers who have studied this part assiduously and indeed usefully. But those things are better known to you than to me; you, who have learned how great a man Epiphanius was, and how great the momentum of this *Panarion* is, not from the commendation of another, but by your own study and experience. And whatever I have explained somewhat verbosely so far, either concerning the excellence of this author or the method of refuting heresies, I did not wish to treat this for your sake, nor that I might teach you that which I ought to learn from you: but that my plan concerning this edition, once exposed to you and approved by you, might flow to others and defend itself by your judgment and authority. Which prerogative of your will and humanity I preferred to obtain by the dignity of the office itself and its value, rather than to gather, as is the worn and commonplace harvest of Prefaces, the adorning of your praises and the proclamation of your virtues. For my speaking of you to you is not permitted by the singular gravity and modesty that is in you. Nor does this little bit of ambition [find place in you], and, that which is said to be the most pleasant of all entertainments.
the proclamation of your ornaments and distinctions delights me. And so, using no other mediator and conciliator of your grace than Epiphanius himself, I have fled to the protection and patronage A of your name. That I trust this will not be wanting to me, is caused, first, by your love toward letters, and then by that ardor for piety and religion which is known and evident to all, from which two pursuits these labors and vigils of ours expended on Epiphanius proceed. The excellent arts of your character and your other virtues—to which the prayers and votes of all have long since assigned the primacy of the Church—contribute to this. Finally, it is caused by your extensive spirit, which has been perceived and explored through many indications in regard to our Society; and also by the access and reception which has long been opened to our own insignificance toward your kindness. The sum of all these things I shall embrace in this brief and most certain statement: that a duty more worthy than the one I now offer you cannot be offered to you, nor could a man more worthy to whom I might offer it be found than you alone. Farewell. Paris, at the beginning of the year 1622, January 15th. Your most devoted, DIONYSIUS PETAVIUS Priest of the Society of Jesus.
TO THE CATHOLIC AND CANDID READER
Since I understand that our Epiphanius has long since been demanded by the persistent complaints of learned and pious men, and that my own delay is even accused by some—namely, that although I held out the hope of this edition many years ago, it has not yet, after so long an interval, been brought to light—it seems that an approach, supported by some apology of ours, must be made to your equity. Yet that approach will be very easy, if you are willing to weigh with your own mind how great, in addition to what I had foreseen at the beginning and for what I had arrived prepared, was the increase of duty and labor. For when I first received this work at the request of friends, and of those who could have the greatest authority with me, I intended only this in my mind: that, with the Greek text diligently corrected and the Latin interpretation of Cornarius amended, I would briefly annotate those things by which the industry of the unlearned could be aided in grasping the author's meaning. But that I should interpret it into Latin myself, I had neither decided nor did I think it necessary. With this hope and on this condition, I had voluntarily B succeeded to that burden; and when that matter had traveled further through the proclamation of friends and also my own announcement than I could honestly abandon the obligation, I soon noticed—once the matter began to be handled—that there was more toil in it than I had promised myself. For after I began to amend the Latin of Cornarius, and made an attempt by reviewing a few pages as to whether it could shine and be polished by some moderate treatment, the matter seemed to be full not only of loathing but also of trouble and a certain illiberal work and labor. So many things then had to be removed, changed, and interpolated that I decided it was more tolerable to construct another from the ground up, and a new one, than to put a plaster over another's, especially a barbaric and nonsensical one. I yielded, therefore, though unwilling and hesitant, and allowed myself to be pushed into this mill and to be packed together: namely, that I should convert into the Latin language the very writer whom, as I said, I had only undertaken to correct and adorn.
Truly, that type of translating books is useful to the liberal arts; and because the greater part either does not know Greek at all, or does not know it in such a way that it can dispense with those aids, it is necessary in this age. But yet, it is the same thing, not only unpleasant in itself, but also, because of the extreme impunity for detraction and licentiousness at this time, anxious and slippery. Since, indeed, for a well-done deed, a moderate approval is proposed; but for an error, without any indulgence, a vehement and harsh reproach is put forth. And this happens to that extent through the importunity and inhumanity of certain men: who, although they themselves write nothing without error, nor suffer themselves to be refuted by anyone, yet usurp this very thing for themselves against others by a tyrannical right. But it is difficult to avoid slips and reproach in transferring from the Greek to the Latin tongue, for the reason that no one is so instructed with the necessary resources for that task; who has either read all Greek authors, or grasps by use and memory the immense store of all arts and materials—from the knowledge of which an interpretation ought to flourish and overflow. For who is there who can, alone, exhaust divine and human disciplines, all parts of theology, philosophy, and mathematics; who can exhaust legal studies and medicine, or even the minute arts; or who can search through the infinite forest and variety of vocabularies which are proper to each? And yet, when that matter is everywhere among the Greeks...
A sprinkled with such things, it is fitting that the ignorance of the same should sometimes cause the translator to hallucinate, and that the faults themselves should be detected by those skilled in that art. But this mutual correction of error and scrutiny brings the greatest utility to our common letters: nor indeed should it seem odious or unjust to him who has erred, if he remembers that he was born a man. Yet what moves many, and deters them from this method of public service, is not the correction of error itself, but a certain insolent and petulant desire to insult another’s fault; so that whenever a stumble occurs in even the slightest matter, if the force and power of a single word escapes the translator, they act as if the safety of the Republic were at stake, and they turn the matter from honest contention into illiberal and sordid brawls, and into the most base personal injuries and insults. Therefore, this battle set forth for fame and honor warns quiet and moderate men—who nevertheless value some fruit of their labors in public commendation—to avoid that task rather than descend into a childish contest with fierce and pugnacious adversaries, who are always prepared to say or hear anything.
For me, however, since the character of the life I have undertaken urges me to refer all my thoughts and plans to something more sublime and divine, and to despise these judgments of the most vain and inept of men, the reason why I feared to touch Epiphanius’s translation was primarily this: that while I saw the task would be slow and wearisome, I realized that as much time would be taken away from higher studies as would be consumed by that occupation. There was added to the common difficulty of translating a certain special difficulty in that author: because his oratory is unpolished and craggy, B and in it occur most frequently those things which the Greeks call *anapodota* and *anacolutha*: a pedestrian and common species of speech. If you wish to achieve this with equal simplicity of language, something somewhat rustic and putrid will emerge; such are, for the most part, the Latin versions of Cornarius, to which we certainly do not wish to be similar. If, however, you employ ornamentation and refinement, you could scarcely achieve that without a great change in the meaning.
The second cause is that these same books of Epiphanius teem with countless errors and stains, which not only infringe upon the translator’s effort, but drive him to divinations and sometimes rash conjectures: while, lest the sentence remain suspended and mutilated, he is compelled to supply many things of his own, or to shape them otherwise than as they were published. In which, even if he find not a few things acutely and skillfully, he nevertheless sometimes errs, and exposes himself to the accusations and calumnies of those I have mentioned. C Nevertheless, the desire to serve you well, Catholic Reader, and the cause of the Church, overcame private considerations. The duty of the new edition, which I had long ago pledged, and the obligation of my promise, overcame them. For it was in the interest of both you and the common Church that that work, which was published by a most grave and holy Father against the Greeks to dissolve heresies, should have any translator rather than a heretic; and it pertained to the splendor of the recent edition that Epiphanius, speaking somewhat more conveniently, and certainly less barbarously and less inaccurately, should be committed to Latin ears by an author not to be suspected.
You have the causes of my delay: now know the rest. We give you Epiphanius, first in complete truth, castigated and reviewed from ancient codices as far as was possible. The chief of these was the Vatican; the various readings of which, collected long ago in Rome, the Rev. Father Andreas Schott, a man endowed with equal humanity and erudition, sent to me of his own accord. By this, very many things have been opportunely restored by us. There was added another, taken from the library of the Most Christian King, with which we compared the Basel edition ourselves. By the authority of both, if you find anything changed in the very context, know that it has been done. The rest, which we could easily improve by judgment, we left as they were in the Basel edition: and we have written our conjectures almost on the margins of the pages, and cast some into our animadversions. For even by our animadversions—that is, by more complete notes and near-commentaries—we have rendered Epiphanius more illustrious. How much effort I have put into these, and how much has been derived from better studies, you will perceive more easily from the thing itself than from my speech.
We indeed thought it necessary to provide that these should not be too dry and meager, or mere thin notes on various readings; but if there was any richer argument in Epiphanius, if there was some somewhat significant question whose difficulty vied with its utility, these we have treated more freely and diffusely, according to our use and capacity. In which genre you have there many things explained concerning the year and day of the Nativity of Christ and the Passion; concerning the Paschal month, the Jewish cycle, the ancient rite of penance, the councils of Sirmium and Ancyra, some customs of the ancient Church, the chronology of the Roman emperors, and other things of that kind. Which, if they seem longer, you may, by passing over those disputations—the title of which we have therefore written at the beginning of the pages—select those things which are necessarily to be prescribed for running through Epiphanius without offense. Although you will recognize that they are generally of such a kind that they cannot seem superfluous or placed in an alien spot. So usually is the argument proposed by Epiphanius perplexing and doubtful, that it requires for its understanding even more things than have been brought forward by us.
Finally, this last convenience was added to the treatment of Epiphanius, that, since the disputations of individual heresies are rather long, and contexted in a continuous flow of speech without any breath or distinction, we have divided each heresy into certain parts and, as it were, chapters: to which we have attached numerical notes on the margin. Which thing will not only relieve the weariness of the readers, but will be most convenient for citing testimonies. For as often as an authority is produced from any Heresy of Epiphanius, if you wish to D recognize it, as is done, the whole disputation, which is sometimes immense, must be perused. Now of the notes
and by a compendium of those chapters, it is possible, not only to identify from which heresy you have brought forward that passage, but also at what number in the list of heresies it stands, and to find it—whether you wish to record it yourself or find it already recorded by others—without any trouble. And if this had occurred to me at the beginning, an idea which came to mind once the work was already in progress, I would have also added the page numbers of the Basle edition to the margin of this edition of ours, for the sake of those authors who, when they cite some passage from Epiphanius, usefully note the page number from that same edition. For this reason, I would advise that this be done in another edition, should the situation arise.
I would have you, Catholic and candid reader (for I shall not detain you with many words), approach this labor of ours in such a way as to understand that it is not the case that we have made no mistakes; and if you detect any faults committed therein, weigh them against the many good things—if indeed there are more good things in it for me—or against an equal number or fewer; and enjoy the latter, while granting pardon for the former; and finally, in accordance with your fairness, look forward to greater and more useful things from us in the future.
CERTAIN TESTIMONIES OF THE ANCIENTS CONCERNING EPIPHANIUS
—
*Jerome, in the book On Ecclesiastical Writers.* Epiphanius, bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, wrote books against all heresies, and many other things, which are read by the learned for their matter, and by the simpler sort for their style. He survives to this day, and in extreme old age he is still crafting various works.
*The same, in the second Apology Against Rufinus.* Is it not enough for you to slander everyone everywhere, unless you specially direct the lance of your style against a blessed and distinguished priest of the Church? Who is this man, who thinks he has as it were a necessity to evangelize among all nations and in all tongues, speaking ill of Origen: he who confessed, in the hearing of a great multitude of brothers, that he had read six thousand of his volumes? Note. Blame must be cast upon him for knowing Greek, Syriac, Hebrew, and the Egyptian language—in part—as well as Latin, etc. He makes mention of him also in many places, as in Epistle 61 against John of Jerusalem, in the Epitaph of Paula, in the Life of Hilarion, and in other places.
*Augustine, in the book On Heresies, to Quodvultdeus.* Up to these, therefore, the aforementioned Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, carried his work *On Heresies*, held among the Greeks to be among the great, and praised by many for his soundness in the Catholic faith. The rest of what Augustine records in the same book regarding the work of Epiphanius has been brought forward and examined by us in the aforementioned Epistle.
*Sozomen, book VII, ch. 26.* At the same time, Epiphanius was in charge of the metropolitan Church of the Cypriots. Not only did his manner of life and his excellent virtues render him distinguished, but also the miracles themselves, which God performed for his honor, partly while he was still alive, and partly after his passing. For after he died, something that did not happen while he was still among the living, there is a report that even today demons are driven away at his tomb, and certain healings take place. But even while he was still living, many wonders are attributed to him. See the rest in the same place.
Mention is also made of him by Socrates, book VI, ch. 10 and 11, in his history of Chrysostom. Sozomen also in book VIII, ch. 14, and after them Nicephorus, book XII, ch. 12. But those same writers must be treated with caution when they report that Epiphanius at first clung to the dogma of the Anthropomorphites, and that he was taught otherwise by Theophilus, and because of this favored him and condemned Origen. For those historians fall into error, or are deceived, being too much devoted to Origen, and they cast upon a most holy and most learned man the very slander that the Origenists were accustomed to impose upon Catholics; namely, that they impudently asserted that God is fashioned by them as corporeal and consisting of members in the human manner. For Jerome, in Epistle 61 to Pammachius against John of Jerusalem, clears Epiphanius of all this malice. See the Annals of Baronius, especially for the year 392 and 393. But also consult others who follow, in which he pursues the deeds of Epiphanius.
[Furthermore, the Acts of the second council of Nicaea make mention of him.]
TESTIMONIA VETERUM
From the Library of Photius, cod. cxxiv.
A The *Panaria* of the most holy bishop Epiphanius were read, contained in three volumes, seven tomes, and directed against eighty heresies. It begins from Barbarism and extends as far as the Messalians. B It is more copious and useful than the labors of all who have written against heresies before him; for whatever was said by them that contained anything useful, he has not omitted, and if he was able to discover anything further, he added it. His manner of expression is humble, and such as is to be expected of one who is unskilled in Attic learning. In the entanglements of the godless heresies, he is for the most part weak. Sometimes, however, he excels in his arguments, even if the idiom of his words and the structure of his composition are not thereby improved. The *Ancoratus* of the same author was read, which is a sort of summary of the *Panaria*.
From the Menologion of the Greeks.
Eodem mense Maio, die XII, sancti Patris nostri Epiphanii archiepiscopi Constantiæ in Cypro.[Versus.] 1 Epiphanius in Cypro magni nominis dum viveret, 2 Etiam fatis functus apud ipsam magnus habetur. 3 Die duodecima mors Epiphanium tulit.
This great and admirable Epiphanius was born in Phoenicia, in the territory of Eleutheropolis, from poor parents who sought their livelihood through the use of their hands, C and he was raised in a small house, such as those of poor people and farmers are; yet he shone with the splendor of virtue and reached the highest summit of a pious and religious life. For when his parents persevered in the worship and shadow of the Jewish law, and were unable to see the light of grace, he himself, having seized a slight opportunity, fled toward the truth in Christ. For when a certain Cleobius had healed his wound, which he had suffered in his thigh after falling recklessly from a beast upon which he was riding—an animal which then leaped about and was itself killed—his mind at that time began to be agitated by a confused wave of thoughts, so that thereafter he was not so much inclined toward the servitude of the Law. Later, however, having encountered a certain monk named Lucian, he saw him meeting a beggar who was asking him for food to eat; and after he (Lucian) had given away his cloak, he was immediately clothed with a garment sent from heaven. Having seen this, Epiphanius approached the faith of the Christians and received holy baptism from the bishop. To include in a summary all the things he did thereafter is difficult. But this one thing, and a necessary one, we can affirm: when he was still a very young man, as soon as he embraced the faith of Christ, having adopted the institute of the monastic profession, he surpassed all his peers in continence and ascetic labors. D And when he arrived at the fullness of the priesthood, he showed himself engaged in works consistent with his prior life. For whereas in his previous ascetic way of life he had performed many miracles and the healing of many sick people, after he received the episcopate, in addition to all these things, he bestowed sound and
as he joined to it [a] sincere doctrine, he also instructed all people by the abundance of his writings. While intent upon these, he endured many labors from the infidels A and the heretics. Finally, when he had completed one hundred and five years and three months, just as he had answered the Emperor Arcadius when he asked him, he rendered his spirit to the Lord, abroad and outside his own see: this was because Epiphanius had subscribed to the banishment of Chrysostom, as the latter had requested. Conversely, they relate that Epiphanius had written back that neither would he see the place to which he had been ordered to be deported. Now the synaxis which is held in his honor is celebrated in his most holy temple, which is at Saint Philemon. Through his prayers, O God, have mercy on us.
SUIDAS. Epiphanius, bishop of Constantia in Cyprus, formerly of Salamis, wrote discourses against all heresies, which are called the Panaria, and many other things; which are read by the learned for the sake of the subject matter, and by the unlearned for the sake of the diction. He died in extreme old age. Which B Sophronius expressed in nearly the same words from Jerome.
NOTICE. The Life of Epiphanius placed here, formerly edited in Latin by Surius, now appears in Greek for the first time, recognized in many places. Although in most parts it is closer to fable than to history, as Baronius noted long ago in his Annals (a), there will nevertheless be things in that muddy narrative which you might perhaps be able to salvage. And otherwise, it contains many things which are consistent with the true and universally accepted history, but the same are admixed with falsehoods. In distinguishing these, if nothing else, your judgment, most kind reader, and the power of historical criticism may be exercised.
THE LIFE OF SAINT EPIPHANIUS, BISHOP OF THE CITY OF CONSTANTIA IN CYPRUS.
LIFE OF SAINT EPIPHANIUS, BISHOP OF CONSTANTIA IN CYPRUS.
Excerpts from the account of John, one of his disciples.I. Epiphanius was indeed by race a Phoenician, from that region which is near Eleutheropolis; and it is distant from the city by three miles. His father was a husbandman; but the pursuit of his mother was to busy herself with flax. Moreover, there were two children to them: Epiphanius, and one daughter, Callitropos. Now it happened that their father departed from this life; and Epiphanius remained ten years old to his mother when his father died. Now his mother was tormented in spirit, while
A she was anxious about how she might support Epiphanius and his sister, since their means were modest. Since they had a single unruly beast of burden for their service, his mother said to Epiphanius: “Child, since our house provides us with hardships regarding the needs of the body, and we are in need of food, take the beast of burden that is within our house, and go to the market, and sell it; and we will provide for our need for sustenance.” But Epiphanius said to his own mother: “Mother, you know that our beast is unruly; and it will be that if I go to sell it, the men gathered in that place, knowing its unruliness, will punish me, saying: ‘Since you possess an evil thing, you shall suffer evil according to the law.’” His mother said to him: “Go, child; the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, will give intelligence to the beast, so that through its price we may be served for our own need.” And Epiphanius, having called upon God, who gave grace to Moses to perform the greatest signs before the face of Pharaoh, set out, wishing to fulfill the obedience due to his own mother.
B II. And indeed, having entered the market, the unruly beast of burden became orderly and decorated with much gentleness. A certain Jewish man, a merchant by the name of Jacob, was present, and he said to Epiphanius: “Do you wish, child, to sell this beast?” And Epiphanius said: “Yes, father; for this reason I have brought it here.” And Jacob said to Epiphanius: “Of what religion are you?” And Epiphanius said: “A Jew.” Jacob then said: “Since we are of the same race, sin must not come between us; but since our God is just, let us establish a just price for the beast, so that neither you may be wronged nor I suffer loss; so that we do not bring curses upon ourselves afterward, and God becomes angry with us; but rather blessings, for He said 1: ‘He who blesses is blessed, and he who curses is cursed.’” Hearing these things, Epiphanius feared the judgment of Jacob greatly, and said to him: “I no longer wish to sell this beast to you.” But Jacob said to Epiphanius: “For what reason, child?” Epiphanius said to him: “This beast, father, is unruly, and the straits of a most bitter famine have come upon my house; for I have a mother and a sister. For my father has departed from human life. Therefore, a command came from my mother to sell the beast because of our need for food. But now I have heard from you, father, that it is evil to cause loss, and I feared God, lest he curse me, and God punish me through the curse C that came upon me.”
III. Hearing these things, Jacob marveled at the boy's answer; and taking three coins, he gave them to Epiphanius, at the same time teaching him with words of this sort: “Child, take this blessing, and go to your mother; and you shall bring bread into the house
B of your own. But take also this beast of burden with you; and if it changes its bad and unruly disposition, let it remain in your house; but if it persists in its unruliness, cast it out of your house, lest it kill some of your own.” When Epiphanius had heard these things, and having received the three coins from Jacob, he took the beast of burden and set out for his own village. At about a mile’s distance, a Christian man named Cleobius met him and said to him, “Are you selling the beast of burden, child?” Epiphanius answered and said, “No, father.” And Cleobius said, “If you should sell it, take its price and leave it to me.” While Cleobius was saying these things to Epiphanius, the animal rushed insolently, and charging at him, threw Epiphanius down, dashed him to the ground, and went off the path. Epiphanius, because of the force of the animal’s unruliness, suffered in his thigh and lay on the ground, weeping bitterly and unable to rise. Cleobius, however, approached Epiphanius, and holding his thigh in the spot where he had been injured by the unruly beast, and having signed him three times, he immediately stood up, having no harm in him. Cleobius said to the beast, which was filled with every sort of unruliness: “I tell you, because you desired to kill your own master, in the name of Jesus Christ who was crucified, you shall no longer depart from this place.” And at the word of Cleobius, the beast of burden immediately fell to the ground and died. Epiphanius then asked Cleobius, saying: “Who is Jesus who was crucified, father, that such signs are performed through his name?” Cleobius answered and said to Epiphanius: “This Jesus is the Son of God, whom the Jews crucified.” But Epiphanius was afraid to reveal to Cleobius that he was a Jew. Cleobius then went on his way, and Epiphanius entered his own village to his mother. When his mother saw him, she received him with joy, and he explained to her everything that had happened to him because of the unruly beast. Some time later, Epiphanius’s mother said to him: “Behold, child, the land is neglected, and we have no comfort from it.” For they had a small piece of land of their own; and his father, by working it painstakingly, used to have some comfort C from it. Therefore his mother said to him: “Let us sell our little plot to a husbandman, and you go to some God-fearing man, and learn a trade by which you may be able to support yourself, and provide bread for me, and for your sister.”
IV. Now there was a certain Jewish lawyer in the city of Eleutheropolis, a man admirable and pious according to the Law of Moses. He had estates in the village in which Epiphanius was born, and he knew his father and mother, and likewise also Epiphanius and his sister. When he had come to visit his own estates, he said to the mother of Epiphanius: “Woman, are you willing to give me your son as a son? And you and your daughter shall provide from our house the things which will be of use to you.” Epiphanius’s mother, when she had heard these things from the lawyer, rejoiced greatly, and having taken Ep...
Epiphanius, she immediately gave him to the lawyer as his son. The lawyer’s name was Tryphon. He had an only daughter, and he wished to join her in marriage to Epiphanius. A
V. When Tryphon, therefore, had taken Epiphanius as his son, he taught him diligently the things of the law, and the Hebrew elements with precision. But Tryphon’s daughter died, and Epiphanius remained alone in his house, progressing in age and in Hebrew wisdom. It also happened that Tryphon died, and he left all his possessions to Epiphanius. Epiphanius’s mother also died. Epiphanius then took his own sister into the house that had been left to him by Tryphon, and the two of them were together in the house in great tranquility of life, in accordance with the teaching they had received from Tryphon. B
When Epiphanius went out into the village in which he had been born, in which he also had the property left to him by Tryphon, a certain Christian man met him, by name Lucianus, a wondrous and learned man, who was living the monastic life, possessing the craft of a scribe, and by this he persevered and by it provided his daily bread, and what remained over he bestowed upon the needy. Now Epiphanius had mounted a beast of burden. But the blessed Lucianus was walking on the road, and they both met one another. It happened that a certain poor man seized Lucianus’s feet and said to him, “Man of God, have mercy on me, for I have been fasting for three days, C having nothing for myself.” The blessed Lucianus, having nothing to give the poor man, stripped off his own cloak and gave it to him, saying, “Enter the city, and sell this, and buy yourself bread.”
VI. Epiphanius noticed that as Lucianus had stripped himself and given it to the poor man, he saw a white garment descending from heaven and covering him. And Epiphanius was struck with a great fear; and falling upon his face, having thrown himself from the beast of burden, he said to Lucianus, “I beseech you, man, tell me, who are you?” The blessed Lucianus said to Epiphanius, “Tell me, you, of what religion are you, and I will tell you of mine.” Epiphanius answered and said, “I am a Jew.” D Lucianus then knew that the grace of God had fallen upon Epiphanius, for Lucianus also possessed foreknowledge. Lucianus answered and said to Epiphanius, “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask a Christian to learn who I am? For the Jews are an abomination to the Christians, and the Christians to the Jews. Behold, you have heard that I am a Christian; it is not permitted for you to hear anything else from me.” Epiphanius said to Lucianus, “And what prevents me also from becoming a Christian?” Lucianus answered and said, “The lack of will prevents it; for the will itself is present.” Epiphanius, having been pricked to the heart at the words of Lucianus, no longer went on to inspect his own property, but having taken Lucianus, he brought him into the house that had been left to him, and he showed him all that was in the house, saying:
"These are my possessions, father. But I wish to become a Christian and to lead the monastic life. I also have this sister here; what do you command concerning these things?" The blessed Lucianus said to Epiphanius: "You cannot, my son, having all this wealth, lead the monastic life; but first give your sister in marriage, and give her what is necessary, and give the rest to those in need; then, in this way, you will be able to live the monastic life well." Epiphanius said to Lucianus: "First, father, make me a Christian; then I will do all that has been commanded me by you." Lucianus said to Epiphanius: "It is not permitted for me, apart from the bishop, to make you a Christian." B VII. When Lucianus had said this, he went out of the house of Epiphanius and went to the bishop. Epiphanius, however, without delay, said to his sister: "I wish to become a Christian and to live the monastic life." His sister said to him: "I desire what you desire, and I will do as you do." And Lucianus reported to the bishop about Epiphanius. The bishop said to Lucianus: "Go and catechize him; and when we enter the church, ensure that he prostrates himself before the merciful God." Lucianus went into the house of Epiphanius. Seeing him, both Epiphanius and his sister fell upon their faces and grabbed the feet of Lucianus, crying out and saying: "We beseech you, father, make us Christians." Taking from the divine Scriptures, Lucianus instructed them sufficiently. And they persisted in their request, saying: "Make us Christians." When Lucianus had taken them both together, he went with them to the church. And when the bishop was entering, they fell upon their faces and asked confidently that they be enlightened. When the bishop was entering into the church, they also walked behind Lucianus to hear the divine Scriptures. D VIII. When Epiphanius approached the outer gates of the church, as he stepped onto the first step of the building, the sandal of his left foot fell off. When he stepped with his left foot to plant his right, the right sandal fell off as well; and both were found outside the steps of the church; and Lucianus marveled at this. Epiphanius, therefore, no longer intended to pick up the sandals that had fallen from his feet, nor did he endure to put any other sandals upon his feet for the whole time of his life. As they stood and listened to the holy Scriptures, both Epiphanius and his sister, the bishop noted, as he sat upon his throne, that the countenance of Epiphanius was glorified and a crown was set upon his head. After the conclusion of the Gospel, the bishop went into the baptistery and commanded Epiphanius to enter, and his sister, and with them Lucianus, who also became his father in holy baptism. When the bishop had instructed them in the full sequence, he baptized them. And when they were...
had partaken of the divine and immortal mysteries, the bishop bade them dine with him, and likewise remain for seven days in the bishop’s house. After the seven days, Epiphanius took Lucianus and the holy virgin Veronica, who was the sister of Epiphanius’s mother, and brought them into his house; and taking one thousand coins, he gave them to Veronica, and he also entrusted his own sister to her (for she was also the head of other virgins), and he sent her away with her. Epiphanius, however, having sold everything, distributed it to those in need, leaving for himself forty coins for the purchase of divine and life-giving books; and he left the city with Lucianus, because he had built a monastery for himself. He had with him ten monks, who were diligently copying books and earning their own livelihood from them. Epiphanius was sixteen years old when he became a monk. B
IX. Now there was in the monastery of Lucianus a certain monk named Hilarion, second to Lucianus, who was young in years and adorned with many miracles. Following his example, another named Claudius was also trained. Seeing them, Epiphanius zealously strove to emulate them in what is good. For the great Lucianus entrusted Epiphanius to the eminent Hilarion, that he might teach him the divine Scriptures. Epiphanius, devoted to laborious study and fashioning himself after the good character of Hilarion C through instruction, made progress in the grace of God and in that most excellent art. It came to pass, however, that the great Lucianus departed this life. Hilarion then took charge of the choir of brothers, and it was truly possible to see that place not as one where men lived, but as one where holy angels were ministering to the benevolent and all-holy God. The food of the blessed Hilarion was bread, salt, and a measured amount of water. He would eat after two days; often also after three; and very often after four, or even a week. Epiphanius chose this manner of life, and maintained it all the time of his life. And the place was waterless. D
X. Once, when travelers had entered the monastery bringing wine at a time when the heat was most intense, they were nearly perishing from thirst, and they asked for water to drink, but no water was found in that place. For water was five miles away. The brothers would go by night and fetch it. When the travelers were failing because of thirst, the brothers mourned for them. But Epiphanius, having stretched out his hand and grasped the skin where the wine was, said, "Believe, brothers, that He who made water into wine will also make the wine into water." And at the word of Epiphanius, the skins which were full of wine were found to be full of water. When the travelers had received this, they drank, and their beasts of burden also; and their soul was restored within them. All, however, were amazed
A at what had befallen them—the travelers and the brethren alike. From that day, Epiphanius no longer wished to dwell in that place, because he had become widely known to the travelers; so he stole away from the brethren and went off to a wilder place. As for the brethren, because they did not know in which place he was dwelling, they all mourned for Epiphanius. He remained in that place for three days, continuing without food. And that place, too, was arid and without water.
XI. It happened that at that time forty Saracens were passing through that place. When they saw Epiphanius in such a place and in such a state, they both mocked him, taking him to be a ridiculous figure. But one of them, who had only one eye (for his other eye was closed) and was of a beastly character, took his sword from its sheath and came toward Epiphanius. And as he lifted it up to strike Epiphanius, his closed eye was opened. B Being terrified, he cast his sword upon the ground and stood motionless. The others, when they saw the stillness of their companion, came also to Epiphanius and to their friend. And they saw, and behold, his eye that had been closed was opened, and amazement fell upon them both. Epiphanius, therefore, seeing them troubled, addressed words to them. They, having been brought to a settled state by the words of Epiphanius, being changed, said that he was God; and using force upon him, they dragged him with them, saying: "Thou art our God; follow us, and save us from all violence of those who rise up against us." Epiphanius, following them for a period of three months, forbade them every insolence and lack of restraint. When they saw that they were being brought into straits by his admonitions, they all with one mind threw themselves at his feet, begging that he might return to his own place. C He, having laid upon their ears very great admonitions, saying: "Unless you abstain from these things, you cannot be happy in this life," they took him and led him to the place where he had previously dwelt. And when, by their labor and ministry, they had built a house for him and had bidden him farewell, they all departed in peace. I, however, being one of them, remained with Epiphanius; and having been instructed by him in the word of truth, I stayed with him. When a period of six months had passed, Epiphanius took me, and we went to the monastery of the great Hilarion. When all the brethren saw Epiphanius, they were affected with great joy. We remained in the monastery for three days, D and Epiphanius asked the great Hilarion to give me the seal in Christ, since Hilarion had received the rank of the presbyterate. The great Hilarion, therefore, having received me and having taught me the whole order, baptized me in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, having ordered that I be called John. We remained with them for ten days, and the brethren begged Epiphanius that we might dwell together in that place. But he would not, for he wished again to dwell where he had dwelt before.