Epistle XXI.162    Oxford ed.: Ep. xxii. a.d. 250.

Lucian Replies to Celerinus.

Argument.—Lucian Assents to the Petition of Celerinus.

1. Lucian to Celerinus, his lord, and (if I shall be worthy to be called so) colleague in Christ, greeting. I have received your letter, most dearly beloved lord and brother, in which you have so laden me with expressions of kindness, that by reason of your so burdening me I was almost overcome with such excessive joy; so that I exulted in reading, by the benefit of your so great humility, the letter, which I also earnestly desired after so long a time to read, in which you deigned to call me to remembrance, saying to me in your writing, “if I may be worthy to be called your brother,” of a man such as I am who confessed the name of God with trembling before the inferior magistrates. For you, by God’s will, when you confessed, not only frightened back the great serpent himself, the pioneer of Antichrist,163    The emperor Decius. (but) have conquered him, by that voice and those divine words, whereby I know how you love the faith, and how zealous you are for Christ’s discipline, in which I know and rejoice that you are actively occupied.164    The passage is hopelessly confused. Now beloved, already to be esteemed among the martyrs, you have wished to overload me with your letter, in which you told us concerning our sisters, on whose behalf I wish that we could by possibility mention them without remembering also so great a crime committed. Assuredly we should not then think of them with so many tears as we do now.

2. You ought to know what has been done concerning us. When the blessed martyr Paulus was still in the body, he called me and said to me: “Lucian, in the presence of Christ I say to you, If any one, after my being called away, shall ask for peace from you, grant it in my name.” Moreover, all of us whom the Lord has condescended in such tribulation to call away, by our letters, by mutual agreement, have given peace to all. You see, then, brother, how (I have done this) in part of what Paulus bade me, as what we in all cases decreed when we were in this tribulation, wherein by the command of the emperor we were ordered to be put to death by hunger and thirst, and were shut up in two cells, that so they might weaken us by hunger and thirst. Moreover, the fire from the effect of our torture was so intolerable165    “And, moreover, by the smoke of fire, and our suffering was so intolerable,” etc.; v. l. that nobody could bear it. But now we have attained the brightness itself. And therefore, beloved brother, greet Numeria and Candida, who (shall have peace166    These parenthical words are necessary to the sense, but are omitted in the original.) according to the precept of Paulus, and the rest of the martyrs whose names I subjoin: viz., Bassus in the dungeon of the perjured,167    “Pejerario.” There are many conjectures as to the meaning of this. Perhaps the most plausible is the emendation, “Petrario”—“in the mines.” Mappalicus at the torture, Fortunio in prison, Paulus after torture, Fortunata, Victorinus, Victor, Herennius, Julia, Martial, and Aristo, who by God’s will were put to death in the prison by hunger, of whom in a few days you will hear of me as a companion. For now there are eight days, from the day in which I was shut up again, to the day in which I wrote my letter to you. For before these eight days, for five intervening days, I received a morsel of bread and water by measure. And therefore, brother, as here, since the Lord has begun to give peace to the Church itself, according to the precept of Paulus, and our tractate, the case being set forth before the bishop, and confession being made, I ask that not only these may have peace, but also (all) those whom you know to be very near to our heart.

3. All my colleagues greet you. Do you greet the confessors of the Lord who are there with you, whose names you have intimated, among whom also are Saturninus, with his companions, but who also is my colleague, and Maris, Collecta, and Emerita, Calphurnius and Maria, Sabina, Spesina, and the sisters, Januaria, Dativa, Donata. We greet Saturus with his family, Bassianus and all the clergy, Uranius, Alexius, Quintianus, Colonica, and all whose names I have not written, because I am already weary. Therefore they must pardon me. I bid you heartily farewell, and Alexius, and Getulicus, and the money-changers, and the sisters. My sisters Januaria and Sophia, whom I commend to you, greet you.168    This epistle, as well as the preceding, seems to be very imperfect, having probably been “written,” says the Oxford translator, “by persons little versed in writing,—confessors, probably, of the less instructed sort.” The meaning in many places is very unsatisfactory.

EPISTOLA XXI. (Pamel., XXII. Rig., Baluz., Paris., XXI. Oxon., Lips., XXII.)LUCIANUS RESPONDET CELERINO.

ARGUMENTUM.---Lucianus Celerini petitioni annuit.

I. Lucianus Celerino domino, si dignus fuero vocari, collega in Christo salutem. Accepi litteras tuas, domine frater dilectissime in quibus me tantum gravasti, ut propter tuam gravationem tanto gaudio pene exciderim, ut litteras quas et ego optabam 0280A post tantum temporis legere, in quibus mei dignatus es memorare , beneficio tantae tuae humilitatis legere exultaverim, qui scribens mihi diceres . Si dignus fuero frater nominarii tuus, hominis qui apud pusilliores nomen Dei cum timore confessus sum. Nam tu, Deo volente, ipsum anguem majorem metatorem antichristi, non tantum confessus deterruisti vocibus illis et verbis deificis quibus scio quasi amatores fidei et zelotypi disciplinae Christi in qua te novi vivacitate versari te gaudeo, vicisti. Nunc, charissime, jam inter martyres deputande , voluisti nos litteris tuis gravare, in quibus significasti de sororibus nostris; pro quibus utinam fieri posset ut sine tanto scelere commisso memoriam faceremus! Non profecto tantis lacrymis incumberemus 0280B ut nunc.

II. Scire debuisti quid circa nos actum sit. Cum benedictus martyr Paulus adhuc in corpore esset, vocavit me, et dixit mihi: Luciane, coram Christo tibi dico ut, si quis post arcessitionem meam abs te pacem petierit, da in nomine meo; sed et omnes quos Dominus in tanta tribulatione arcessire dignatus est, universi litteras ex compacto universis pacem dimisimus. Vides ergo, frater, quoniam partim ejus quod mihi Paulus praecepit quam universis quod censuimus, ex quibus eramus in hac tribulatione, cum jussi sumus secundum praeceptum imperatoris fame et siti necari, et reclusi sumus in duabus cellis, 0281A ita ut nos afficerent fame et siti. Sed et ignis ab opere pressurae nostrae tam intolerabilis erat quam nemo portare posset. Sed nunc ipsam claritatem sumus consecuti. Et ideo, frater charissime, saluta Numeriam et Candidam, quae secundum Pauli praeceptum et caeterorum martyrum, quorum nomina subjicio, Bassi in pejerario, Mappalici in quaestione, Fortunionis in carcere, Pauli a quaestione, Fortunatae, Victorini, Victoris, Herennii, Credulae, Herenae, Donati, Firmi, Venusti, Fructi, Juliae, Martialis et Aristonis, qui Deo volente in carcere fame necati sunt, quorum et nos socios futuros intra dies audietis. Jam enim ex quo iterato reclusi sumus sunt dies octo in die quo tibi litteras scripsi. Nam et ante dies octo per dies quinque medios modicum panis 0281B accepimus et aquam ad mensuram. Et ideo, frater, peto ut, sicut hic cum Dominus coeperit ipsi Ecclesiae pacem dare, secundum praeceptum Pauli et nostrum tractatum, exposita causa apud episcopum et facta exomologesi, habeant pacem, non tantum hae, sed et quas scis ad animum nostrum pertinere.

III. Salutant vos collegae mei universi, Vos, salutate confessores Domini qui ibi vobiscum sunt, quorum nomina significasti; inter quos et Saturninus cum comitibus suis, sed et collega meus, et Maris, Collecta et Emerita, Calphurnius et Maria, Sabina, Spesina, et sorores, Januaria, Dativa, Donata. Salutamus cum suis Saturum, Bassianum, et universum 0282A clerum, Uranium, Alexium, Quintianum, Colonicam, et universos quorum nomina non scripsi, quia jam lassus eram. Ideo ignoscere debent. Opto vos bene valere, Alexium et Getulicum et argentarios et sorores. Salutant vos sorores meae Januaria et Sophia, quas vobis commendo.