Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On the Church Triumphant, Book II: On the Relics and Images of the Saints
Chapter 3: The Truth Is Asserted and Proved
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. II, De Ecclesia quae Triumphat in Coelis, the fourth general controversy. The Latin source text is public domain; this English rendering is released with the site. Scripture quotations follow Bellarmine's Vulgate citations, rendered in Douay-Rheims wording where he quotes exactly. Click “Show the Latin” for the original (raw OCR of the scan; scanning errors remain — the scan itself is the authority).
Now let us come to the arguments for the truth. The first can be taken from the examples of the Scriptures. In Exodus 13 Moses, about to depart with the people out of Egypt into Palestine, would not leave there the bones of holy Joseph, long since dead, but carried them away with him with honour and brought them into the land of promise. It is not, then, superstitious or new to translate the bones of the saints, as the Magdeburgers cry out in every Century. Likewise in Deuteronomy, the last chapter, God himself (as Jerome argues against Vigilantius) honoured the body of Moses when he buried it with his own hands. Likewise in 4 Kings 13 the bones of Eliseus, when they had touched a certain dead man, at once called him back to life. God, then, does not despise the bones of the saints, but honours them and wishes them honoured, since he wrought so notable a miracle through them. Likewise in 4 Kings 23, when Josias overthrew the shrines of the idols and wished to destroy all idolatry, he was so far from thinking the relics of the saints were to be destroyed that, when he had dug up the bones of other dead men and burnt them to ashes, he yet ordered the bones of the holy prophet found in the same place to be kept.
Besides, of the sepulchre of the Lord we read in Isaias 11: “Him” (namely the Messias) “the Gentiles shall beseech, and his sepulchre shall be glorious.” That this place is understood of the sepulchre of Christ is certain, both from the words themselves and from the Apostle, Romans 15. And that it is not understood only of the sepulchre for the time when Christ lay there, but also for time to come, and so that relics are to be honoured, Jerome teaches in the letter to Marcella that she should move to Bethlehem, where he teaches that Isaias foretold what is now done, that the sepulchre of the Lord is honoured by all. From which is refuted the blasphemy of Luther, who in the book On Abolishing the Mass says that God has no more care of the sepulchre of the Lord than of oxen.
Lastly, if Christ were here and we devoutly kissed his garment, Luther and Calvin would at once say we were idolaters. But the woman with the issue of blood touched only the hem of Christ's garment with faith, and was healed, Matthew 9. Nor in Acts 5 are the people rebuked who ran in crowds to touch the shadow of Peter in whatever way they could; rather they are said to have carried off the reward of their faith. And yet what meaner relics can be thought of than a shadow? Nor in Acts 19 were they held superstitious who carried Paul's handkerchiefs and aprons to the sick, as we too do now; rather God confirmed their religion by miracles.
The second argument is from the councils of the different parts of the world. From the East we have the second Council of Nicaea, action [5?], which calls relics saving fountains, through which God grants many benefits to men; and action 7, in the last definition, it orders the cleric to be deposed and the layman excommunicated who despises the relics of the martyrs and does not handle them with honour as a sacred thing.
Likewise from the East we have the Council of Gangra, twelve hundred years ago, the last canon, where it says anathema to those who hold the memorials of the martyrs, that is, the places where the relics of the martyrs are, in abomination. For the Eustathians, against whom the council was gathered, would not enter the basilicas of the martyrs, lest they should seem to venerate the bodies of the martyrs, which they thought unclean.
From Africa, the fifth Council of Carthage, canon 14, orders that no altars or memorials of martyrs be dedicated unless there are some relics of martyrs there; and that those otherwise dedicated be overthrown, or the people be warned not to frequent those places, lest they be held by some superstition, if, namely, they honour as a martyr's tomb what is not truly the body of a martyr. But if it is superstition to honour as a martyr's body what is not truly such, then it will be religion to honour the body of a true martyr; for superstition is opposed to religion.
From Spain we have the third Council of Braga, canon [5?], where it is decreed that in processions the case of the relics ought to be carried in the hands of the bishops or of other priests, the people going before and following.
The Council of Epaone, held in Gaul, canon 25, orders that the relics of the saints be not placed in churches where there are no clerics to serve the sacred ashes with frequent psalmody.
From Germany we have the Council of Mainz, held in the time of Charlemagne, in whose canon 51 it is decreed that the bodies of the saints be not translated from place to place without the counsel of the bishop and the leave of the holy synod; which surely belongs to no small honour of the holy relics.
We have lastly from Italy the Lateran Council under Innocent III, chapter 62, where it is provided, because of the danger of frauds, that no one begin to venerate new relics publicly without the authority of the supreme pontiff. From which comes the canon law, chapter Cum ex eo, on relics and the veneration of the saints; like which is the civil law too, in the Code, on bishops and clerics, the law Decernimus.
Third, it is proved from the Fathers. Eusebius, book 7 of the History, chapter 15, of the wooden chair of St. James the apostle: “It is kept,” he says, “with great care, as a memorial of holiness handed down from their forefathers, and is held in great veneration.” So he. Let not the Lutherans laugh, then, whenever they hear that the wooden chair of St. Peter is honoured at Rome.
St. Athanasius, in the Life of blessed Antony, writes that a worn cloak was left him by Antony, and adds: “The heir of blessed Antony, who had deserved by his command to receive the worn cloak with the sheepskin, embraces Antony in Antony's gifts, and as if enriched with a great inheritance, gladly recalls through the garment the image of holiness.” Of the same great Antony Jerome reports in the Life of Paul the first hermit that when Antony had got Paul's tunic woven of palm leaves, he wore it, out of reverence for Paul, on the solemn days of Easter and Pentecost.
St. Basil, on Psalm 115, on that, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints”: “Formerly,” he says, “when anyone touched a dead body he was unclean; but now, the death being for Christ, the relics of the saints are precious. Formerly it was said to the priests and Nazarites, He shall not be defiled by any dead body; but now he who touches the bones of a martyr takes on a share of holiness from the grace dwelling in the body.” And in the oration on the forty martyrs, speaking of their relics spread through that whole region: “These are they,” he says, “who hold our region, and like towers joined together give safety against the incursion of enemies; not shutting themselves up in one place, but already guests in many places, adorning many fatherlands.” [The top of page 467 is merged across columns in the scan; these two quotations are rendered from what reads.]
Gregory of Nyssa, in the oration on Theodore the martyr, at the beginning of the oration: “The soul indeed,” he says, “having gone up on high, rests in its own place, and freed from the body lives with its like. But the body, the venerable and spotless instrument of it, with much honour and care, composed and adorned, is laid in an august and holy place.” Then he tells at length how those who enter the churches of the martyrs first wonder at the size of the building, then at the walls and pavement beautifully adorned, then at the various statues and pictures; and he adds at once: “When he has delighted his eyes with these, he desires thereafter to draw near the tomb itself, believing that the touching of it is sanctification and blessing. And if anyone allows him to carry off even the dust with which the tomb where the martyr's body rests is covered, it is taken as a gift, and gathered like a treasure to be kept. For to touch the relics themselves, if ever some such good fortune befalls, how much it is to be desired and wished, and a gift of the highest prayers, those know who have experienced it and been granted that desire.”
Gregory Nazianzen, oration 1 against Julian, a little before the middle, finding fault with Julian because, while he venerated the monuments of the false gods, he despised the bodies of the true friends of God and martyrs: “You did not revere the victims slain for Christ?” he says; and after some words between: “whose bodies alone can do the same as their holy souls, whether they are touched with the hands or honoured; whose mere drops of blood and small signs of their suffering can do the same as their bodies. These you do not honour, but despise and spurn, you who admire the pyre of Hercules, raised out of calamity and wrongs done to women.”
Eusebius of Emesa, or rather Caesarius of Arles, or whoever is the author of those homilies, in the homily on St. Blandina: “Where are they,” he says, “who say that veneration is not to be paid to the sacred bodies of the martyrs?” and so on.
St. Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, catechesis 18: “That not only the soul of the saints should be honoured and believed,” he says, “but that there is power in the bodies of the dead too: the dead man cast into the tomb of Eliseus, touching the body of the dead prophet, was brought to life.”
St. John Chrysostom, in the sermon on Saints Juventinus and Maximus, first praises those who piously carried off those bodies, left unburied, even at the peril of their lives; then he adds: “Therefore let us often visit them, let us adore their tombs, and with great faith touch their relics, that we may draw some blessing from them.” See the same in the last homily on the epistle to the Romans, where he says that Rome excels all cities because of the bodies of Peter and Paul. Likewise homily 66 to the people, where he compares the tomb and relics of the saints with the tombs and burial places of emperors and kings, and shows that these lie deserted and cast aside in the deepest silence; and he says finely that the Emperor Constantine received the highest honour in being able to become the doorkeeper of blessed Peter, since he was buried at the doors of his basilica, where some small portions of blessed Peter's relics were laid up.
Theodoret, book 8 to the Greeks, on the martyrs: “The souls of the triumphant martyrs,” he says, “now range the heavens and stand among the choirs of the incorporeal; and their bodies are not each laid up in single tombs, but cities and towns have divided them among themselves by lot, and calling them preservers of souls and physicians of bodies, do not cease to honour them.”
Lastly John Damascene, book 4 On the Orthodox Faith, chapter 16, disputes at length on venerating the relics of the martyrs.
Now from the Latins. St. Ambrose, sermon [93?], on Saints Nazarius and Celsus, at the end: “If you say to me,” he says, “What do you honour in flesh already dissolved and consumed? I honour in the martyr's flesh the scars received for the name of Christ; I honour the memory of one who lives by the everlastingness of virtue; I honour ashes made sacred by the confession of the Lord; I honour in the ashes the seeds of eternity; I honour the body which showed me how to love the Lord, which taught me not to fear death for the Lord's sake. And why should the faithful not honour that body which even the demons revere, which they afflicted in torment but glorify in the tomb? I honour, then, the body which honoured Christ under the sword, which will reign with Christ in heaven.”
Maximus, in the sermon on Saints Octavius, Adventor and Solutor: “All the martyrs,” he says, “are to be honoured most devoutly, but those especially are to be venerated by us whose relics we possess.”
Gaudentius, bishop of Brescia, in the treatise on the dedication of a basilica: “That we should have the venerable relics of the saints our God granted; then, that we might be able to found this basilica for their honour, he himself bestowed,” and so on. See the whole treatise, where he speaks much of the cult of relics.
St. Paulinus, in the third birthday poem of St. Felix, speaking of the city of Rome because of the relics of the apostles, says thus:
For before you were first of lands by empire only and victorious arms;
now you are first by the apostolic tombs as well.
In the same place:
And to the martyr's tomb you too, O earth, owe crowns.
Prudentius, in the hymn on St. Lawrence:
O thrice, four times, seven times
blessed the dweller in the city,
who honours thee, and the seat
of thy bones close at hand;
who may cast himself down near,
who sprinkles the place with his tears,
who presses his breast to the earth,
who pours out his vows in a murmur.
Scarcely does fame know, so hidden are they,
how full of saints is Rome,
how richly the soil of the city
flowers with sacred tombs.
St. Jerome, in the book against Vigilantius: “It grieves him,” he says, “that the relics of the martyrs are covered with a precious veil, and not bound up in rags or haircloth, or thrown on the dunghill, so that Vigilantius alone, drunk and sleeping, may be adored.” The same, in the letter to Marcella which he wrote in the name of Paula and Eustochium, counts among the other good things there are in Palestine that one can adore the sacred ashes of John the Baptist, Eliseus and Abdias, which are kept there.
Rufinus, book 2 of the History, chapter 28, when the heathens in the time of Julian were burning the bones of blessed John the Baptist at Sebaste in Palestine: “Some,” he says, “seeing so great a crime done by hands that were human but with a bestial mind, holding it better to die than to be defiled by such an abomination, mingled among those who were gathering the bones to burn them, gathered them more carefully and religiously, and stealthily slipped away from those who were either dazed or raving, and carried the venerable relics to the religious father Philip,” and so on. See the same, same book, chapter [33?].
St. Augustine, letter 103, to Quintianus: “They bring” (the bearers of the letter) “relics of the most blessed and most glorious martyr Stephen; your holiness is not ignorant, as we too have done, how fittingly you ought to honour them.”
The author of the book On Church Dogmas, chapter 73: “The bodies of the saints, and especially the relics of the blessed martyrs, we believe are to be honoured most sincerely, as the members of Christ.”
St. Leo, in the sermon on St. Lawrence, speaking of his gridiron: “Did your cunning find anything,” he says, “that did not serve the glory of the victor, when even the instruments of torture passed into the honour of the triumph?”
St. Gregory, book 5, letter 50, to Palladius: “Since we have provided with veneration,” he says, “relics of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and also of the martyrs Lawrence and Pancras, we exhort you to receive and place them with reverence, the Lord helping.” He repeats the same in the following letter. The same, book 3, letter 30, answers the Empress Constantina, who asked for the head of St. Paul, that it is sacrilege to touch or look upon the bodies of such great saints. And in the same place he tells that many died a sudden death because they had presumed to come near to touch or look upon the bodies of the saints; and at last he promises to send something of the filings of the chains of St. Paul, if indeed he can take anything off by filing. For such, he says, is the condition of those chains, that according to the worthiness or unworthiness of those who ask, either filings are struck off from the chains by the file without delay, or nothing at all can be struck off, even if one labours at filing with all his strength.
St. Gregory of Tours, in the book On the Glory of the Martyrs and Confessors, treats of hardly anything else, so that it would be superfluous to wish to pluck anything from there. I pass over Bede, Bernard and the later writers, since even the adversaries do not doubt of their faith.
Fourth, it is proved from the miracles done at relics, which surely would not be done if the cult of relics did not please God. St. Epiphanius, in the lives of Isaias, Ezechiel and Jeremias, writes that their tombs were wont to be honoured by very many because of the many benefits which God bestowed in those places for the merits of those same prophets.
St. Basil, in the oration on Mamas, says that the miracles are known to all by which the martyr gave health to some and life to others. And in the oration on Julitta he writes that when the relics of St. Julitta had been brought to a certain place which suffered from want of water, at once a spring of the sweetest water broke out of the earth, so that that holy woman seemed, like a common mother or nurse, to feed that whole region with her milk.
St. Gregory Nazianzen, in the oration on Cyprian: “The dust of Cyprian,” he says, “can do all things with faith, as those know who have experienced it and have handed down the miracle even to us.”
St. Chrysostom, in the book against the Gentiles, on the relics of St. Babylas the martyr: “The miracles,” he says, “which are done daily by the martyrs make abundant proof of our opinion.”
Palladius, in the Lausiac History, chapter 62, tells of many miracles done at the relics of Philemon. St. Ambrose, in the sermon on Saints Gervasius and Protasius, and in the letter to his sister on the same, among many miracles done reports also that a blind man named Severus, a butcher by trade, very well known to all, was cured at the touch of the covering in which the relics were carried. Where too the same blessed Ambrose does not keep silent that the Arians most shamelessly dared to deny those miracles which the whole people saw.
St. Jerome, in the book against Vigilantius: “You,” he says, “have often been tortured by this most vile dust”; where he speaks to the demon who through the mouth of Vigilantius had called the relics of the saints most vile dust. And in the letter to Eustochium on the life of Paula he tells that at the tombs of Eliseus, John the Baptist and Abdias the demons were wont to roar. In the Life of Hilarion he says that great signs are done daily at his tomb.
St. Augustine, book 22 of the City of God, chapter 8, says that so many miracles were done in a very short time at the relics of St. Stephen that many books would have to be written if all were to be reported. Sulpicius, in the Life of Martin, says that a woman was cured of an issue of blood by the mere touch of his garment. Other things of this kind without number could be reported.
Fifth, it is proved from the miracles which are often seen in the dead bodies of the saints themselves, by which God invites us most openly to venerate them. St. John Chrysostom writes, in the sermon on Saints Juventinus and Maximus, that the faces of their bodies shone with such splendour that none could look on them without a certain honour, and that they were plainly such as Luke describes the face of Stephen, Acts 6, where he says: “They saw his face as if it had been the face of an angel.”
St. Jerome, in the Life of Hilarion, writes that his body after ten months was found still wholly entire, and with such fragrant odours that it seemed anointed with ointments.
St. Augustine, sermon 2 on St. Vincent, says that his body, exposed to the beasts, was wonderfully defended by a raven, and thrown into the sea could not be sunk. And in book 9 of the Confessions, chapter 7, he says that the bodies of Saints Gervasius and Protasius were kept incorrupt by God for very many years, that they might be brought to light in their own time.
Sulpicius, in the letter to Bassula, his mother-in-law, on the death of St. Martin, says that after his death there appeared in his body the figure of a glorified man: for his flesh was clearer than glass, whiter than milk, so that it showed the comeliness of a boy of seven. Which St. Bonaventure reports of the body of St. Francis too. Of St. Edward, king of the English, who flourished five hundred years ago, the writer of his life, in Surius, in the month of January, writes that [thirty-six?] years after his death his body was found entire, full of sap, supple as if it were still alive; and not only the bones and flesh unharmed in any part, but not even the hairs of the head or beard, nor the very clothes or shoes.
What shall we say of the body of St. Andrew, from which a wonderful liquor flows without ceasing?
I myself saw at Bologna the body of blessed Catherine entire and incorrupt, though more than a hundred years ago that holy virgin departed from this life. I saw also at Montefalco in Umbria the body of blessed Clare, equally entire and incorrupt, though that most happy virgin died three hundred years ago; and, what may seem a still greater miracle, in her heart are seen the instruments of the Lord's passion, formed out of the flesh itself with such wonderful art that all who see them are forced to say, Truly the finger of God is here.
And, to pass over many other things, what shall I say lastly of my fellow citizen and patroness, most blessed Agnes of Montepulciano? She flourished three hundred years ago, and both living and dead was famous for many great miracles, one of which happened when I was a boy, of which not I alone but the whole city was witness. Her body, incorrupt and most beautiful, I have seen more than once. Of her too it is handed down in the writings of approved authors that when St. Catherine of Siena had come to see and venerate her sacred body, a rain of heavenly dew like manna came down from God upon them both. And when the citizens were thinking of embalming that sacred body with spices, that it might be kept longer, at once a most sweet liquor like balsam began to flow and run from that body, so that all understood that the body, embalmed by divine grace, needed no other spices. Remains of that divine liquor are still kept in the church with the body itself.
Sixth, it is proved from the finding and revelation, made by God, of the bodies of the saints. For if the cult of relics did not please God, why would he himself show the bodies of the saints which lay hidden? To St. Ambrose the bodies of Saints Gervasius and Protasius were revealed by God; he himself writes it in the letter on this matter, which is found in the volumes of Surius. Blessed Augustine writes the same, book 9 of the Confessions, chapter 7. There is also the letter of Lucian, in which he makes known that the bodies of the saints Stephen, Nicodemus and others were shown him by God; and that that body of Stephen was the true one countless miracles showed, of which Evodius wrote two books. And blessed Augustine, sermon [?] of the new ones: “His body” (Stephen's), he says, “lay hidden so long; it came forth when God willed; it lit up the lands, it has done such miracles; dead, it makes the dead alive, because it is not dead.”
Besides, Sozomen, book 5, chapter 8, reports that the bones of the holy martyrs Nestabus and Eusebius, brothers, which the people of Gaza had mixed with the bones of camels and asses so that they could not be told apart by the Christians, were shown by divine revelation to a certain holy woman and gathered by her. The same Sozomen, book 7, the last chapter, reports that the bones of Habacuc and Michaeas were revealed by God to a certain bishop. The same Sozomen, book 9, chapter 2, reports the relics of forty martyrs found by divine revelation. Bede, On the Six Ages, under Marcian, reports that the head of John the Baptist was revealed by John himself to two monks; and under Zeno he writes that the body of St. Barnabas was found with the Gospel of Matthew upon his breast, Barnabas himself revealing it.
Seventh, it is proved from the translation of relics from one place to another for honour's sake, which was wont to be celebrated by the ancients. For it cannot be denied that the translations of sacred bones belong to honour. The first and most ancient translation was of the bones of Joseph out of Egypt into Palestine, made by Moses, Exodus 13. Then the translation of the relics of Peter and Paul, which was made at the very time when they suffered, to the catacombs: Gregory, book 3, letter 30. Then the translation of the same bodies from the catacombs, partly to the Vatican, partly to the estate of Lucina on the Ostian Way: Pope Cornelius, letter 1. Rufinus, book 2, chapter 28, describes the translation of the relics of John the Baptist from Palestine to Alexandria.
St. Jerome, in the book against Vigilantius, writes that in the time of the Emperor Constantine the relics of Andrew, Luke and Timothy were translated to Constantinople; and in the time of Arcadius the relics of Samuel the prophet were translated from Judaea into Thrace with such honour that the relics were carried by bishops in a golden vessel, with such a crowd of peoples going with them that from Palestine all the way to Chalcedon the swarms of people were joined together.
St. Ambrose, at the beginning of the Exhortation to Virgins: “I,” he says, “invited to the banquet at Bologna, where the translation of a holy martyr was celebrated, have kept for you gifts full of holiness and grace.” Augustine, book 9 of the Confessions, chapter 7: “When,” he says, “the bodies of Saints Gervasius and Protasius, brought to light and dug up, were being translated with due honour,” and so on. Chrysostom, in the book on St. Babylas, describes with how great honour the relics of the martyr were translated. Sozomen, book 7, chapter 10, describes the translation of the relics of St. Meletius of Antioch. Theodoret, book [5?], chapter [36?], describes the translation of the relics of Chrysostom. Evagrius, book 1, chapter 16, describes the honourable translation of St. Ignatius to Antioch under Theodosius the younger.
Eighth, it is proved from this, that relics are laid up under altars; which St. Ambrose mentions in the Exhortation to Virgins, of the relics of Vitalis and Agricola, and in the letter to his sister, on the finding of the bodies of Gervasius and Protasius; St. Jerome in the book against Vigilantius; Prudentius in hymn 11 On the Crowns of the Saints, which is on St. Hippolytus; St. Augustine, sermon 11 on the saints; Sozomen, book 5, chapter 8; and the fifth Council of Carthage, canon 14. And this custom seems to have begun in the time of the apostles; for the souls of the martyrs were shown to John in heaven under the altar, Apocalypse 6, because their bodies rest on earth under altars, as Augustine hints in the place noted. And that this place assigned to relics belongs to great honour Jerome and Augustine teach in the places noted, and the thing itself teaches it. For altars were always held in great honour, so that they were even in their own way adored; for Tertullian, in the book On Penance, puts among the rites of Christians to kneel before the altars of God.
Ninth, it is proved from the use of candles and lamps with which the sacred relics are honoured. For that light is a sign of honour, and that it is not superstitious to light a light before a lifeless thing, even while the sun is shining, is plain from the lampstand which always burned before the ark of the testimony, Exodus 25. And that there was a use of lighting candles before relics is plain from the objection of Vigilantius in Jerome: “We see,” he says, “masses of candles lit while the sun is shining,” and so on; and from Jerome himself, in the letter to Riparius: “So then the candles lit before their tombs are the marks of idolatry?”
Likewise from Constantine, among whose other gifts which he offered to the sacred relics of Peter, Paul and Lawrence, and of the holy Cross, as is had in the first volume of the councils in the Life of Sylvester, are counted many lampstands and many lamps which were to burn continually. Nor is it credible that Constantine offered anything which was not in use in the Church before. Besides, Theodoret in the History, book [5?], chapter [36?], testifies that in the translation of the relics of St. Chrysostom very many lights were carried before them lit.
Paulinus, in the third birthday poem of Felix, describing the cult which was paid to St. Felix:
Now the golden thresholds are adorned with snowy veils,
the bright altars are crowned with crowded lamps,
fragrant lights are fed with waxen papyrus wicks.
Night and day they flash, so that night gleams with the splendour of day,
and the day itself, bright with heavenly honour,
shines the more with its light doubled by countless lamps.
Gregory, book 3 of the Dialogues, chapter 24, mentions the lamp which burned even at night, while all slept, in the church of St. Peter.
Tenth, it is proved by reason drawn from the useful and from the honourable. The reason drawn from the useful is in Chrysostom, in the book on St. Babylas the martyr. For God, as Chrysostom says, left us hardly anything more useful for salvation than the relics of the saints; for nothing represents and fixes the memory of the saints in the mind more effectively than their tomb. For as soon as we see the tomb of some saint we remember him and his virtues, his patience, charity, chastity and piety; and at the same time we think how great a glory he enjoys in heaven for the very short labour of this life, and so on.
The reason drawn from the honourable is manifold. For first, the bodies of the saints were the instruments of their souls for every good work; see Tertullian On the Resurrection of the Flesh. Second, they were and are instruments of God for miracles. Third, they are the pledges of our patrons. Fourth, they are the remains of those most dear to us. Fifth, they are the trophies of those who have triumphed. Sixth, they are marked out for an incredible glory, namely that after the resurrection they may be bodies brighter than the sun, and so far excel all bodies that they are rightly set above all. For these, then, and other causes the relics of the saints are prized by the faithful and honoured with due cult.
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
CAPUT III.
Asserilur verilas el probalur.
IVunc ad argumcnla pro verilnlc accedamus. Pri-
Muiui sunii [)olcsl ah exemplis Scriplurarum Exo-
di i;?. Moyses discessurus cum populo ex Aeij;yplo
iii Palcslinam, noluil ibi reliiuiuere ossa s. Jose-
plii, jamiludum morlui, sed ca lionorifice secum
as|)orlavil, et Iranslulil iu lerram promissionis
i>'on ergo supersliiiosum neqnc novum est, Irans-
rerrc ossa sanclorum, ul iVIagdehurgenses in sin-
gulis Ceuluriis clamanl. llem Dtuil. ultimo Dcus
ipse ( ut llieronymus conlra Yigilanlium argumcn-
laiur ) corpus 31oysi honoravil, dum illud propriis
inanihus scpelivil. Ilem 4. Reg. 13. ossa Helisaei
cuni teligisscnl morluum quenfiam liominem,con-
liiiuo illum ad vilam revocarunl. Non ergo Deus
coiUenuiil ossa sanclornm, sed ea honoral, el ho-
norari cupil, dnin per illa miraculum liini insigne
palravil. llem 4. Rcg. 23. cum Josias (ieluhra i-
dolorum everlercl, et omnem idololalriam delerc
vellet, lanlum abcsl,ut reliquias sanclorum delen-
das esse exislimaret, ut cuni aliorum mortuornm
ossa elTodisset. ct in cineres redegisset, ossa la-
incn sancti prophctac ihidcm repcrta asservari
jusserit.
Adhaec de sepulchro Domini legimus Isaiae 11.
Iii eum ( Messiam videlicel ) genles sperabunt, el
eril sepulclirum ejus gloriusum. Hunc locum de
sepulchro Christi inlelligi cerlnm est,lum ex ipsis
vcrbis, tum ex apostolo Rom. l.j. quod autem non
inlelliganlur solum de sepulchro pro eo lemporc,
<iUO ihi Chrislus jacehat, sed eliam pro tempore
hiluro, ac proinde reliquias honorandas,(locet Hie-
ronymus in cpistol. ad Marcellam, ut migretRclh-
lehem, ubi docel, Isaiam praedixisse id quod ino-
do fil, ul sepulchrum Domini ab oiniibns honora-
iclur. Ex quo refellitur Lulheri blasphemia. qni
in libro de abolenda missa dicil,Deo non majorem
curam esse de sepulchro Domini, quam de bo-
hns.
Deni(juc, si Chrislns hic adcssel,et nos veslcm
ejus devole oscularemur; conlinuo nos idololalras
("ssc Lulherus et Caivinus dicerent. at mulier
Kmorrhoissa solam fimbriam Christi fideiiter tcti-
gil, et sanala cst, Matlh. 9. Neque Aclor. S. sunt
reprehensi populi, qui certalim ad umbram Pelri
eo modo, quo poteranl, altingendam occurrebant,
sed potius fidei snac praemium retulisse dicuntur,
et tamen quac reliquiae viliorcs ipsa umbra cogi-
lari possunl? Ncque habili sunl Actor. 19. super-
stiliosi, qui Pauli sudaria, ct scraicinctia defere-
hanl ad aegrolos, ut etiam nos modo facimus, scd
potius religionem illorum miraculis confirmabat
Dcus.
Argumentum Secundum exconciliis divcrsarum
partium orbis tcrrae. Ex oricnle habemus conci-
lium nicaenum II. Actor. 3. quod vocal reliquias
fonles saluiares, quihus Deus multa beneficia lio-
minihus praeslat; et Aclor. 7. in ultima definitio-
nc jubct deponi clericum el laicum excommuni-
cari, qui reliquias marlyrum contemnit, et non,ut
rein sacram, cum honore tractal,
llem ex oricnle habemus gangrensc conciliuin
ante annos 12(K). canone ullimo, ubi analhema
dicit iis, qui memorias martyrum, idest. loca, uhi
sunl martyrum rcliquiae, execranlur. Euslalhiani
enim, contra quos coaclum fuit concilium. nole-
bant ingredi marlyrum basilicas, ne corpora raar-
tyrum, (iuae ipsi immunda putabant, venerari vi-
deriuilur.
Kx A!Vica. concilium carlhaginense V. can. 14.
juhet, ut nnlla altaria,vel iiiemoriae martyrum de-
dicenlur. nisi ihi sinl aliqnae rnarlyrura reliquiac:
et alilcr dedicala cverlantur: vel populus admo-
nealur, ne ea loca frequenlel, ne superslitione a-
liqua teneatur, si colat videlicet quasi marlyrisse-
pulchrum, ubi revera non est corpus martyris. At
si cst superstilio colere pro martyris corporc, id
quod non cst revera lale: Rcligio igilur crit cor-
pus vcri marlyris colere; religioni enim opponi-
lur superstilio.
Ex Hispania habemus concilium braccarense
III. caiion. o. ubi slatuilur, in supplicalionibns
Ihecain rcliiiuiaruin gcstari debere nianibus epi-
scnporum, aut aliorum sacerdotum, populo prae-
ccd(.'nle et sequente.
Concilium epaincnse. in Gallia celebralum, ca-
non. 2,'). jiihiit. reliquias sanctorum non poni in
ecclcsiis. ubi non sunt clerici, qui sacris cineri-
bus psallendi frequcntia famulentur.
Fj\ Germania hahemns concilinm moguntinum,
loni|)(ir(! Caroli Magni celebratum, in cujus can.
51. slaluilur, ne corpora sanctorum Iransferanlur
de loco ad locum, sine consilio episcopi, et licen-
lia sanclae synodi.Quod cerle ad honorcm non ex-
igiium sanctarum reliquiarum pertinet.
IIab(!mus dcnique ex Ilalia conciliuni lateranen-
se. suh Innoccnlio III. cap. 62. ubi cavelur pro-
ptcr periculum frandum, nc novas reliquias uUus
piihlice venerari incipiat, sine auctoritate summi
pontificis. Unde est lex canonica cap. Cum ex eo
de ndiquiis, etsanclurura vcneralione; cui sirailis
esl lcx eliara civilis, C. de episcopis el clericis L.
Deceriiimus.
Terlio, probalur ex Patrihus. Eusebius lib. 7.
histor. cap. 15. de sedc lignea s. Jacobi apostoli :
Servdtur. inquit, cum ingenli studio,velul a ma-
joribus tradila memoria sanctilatis, et cum ma-
gna veneratione habetur. llaec ille. Non ergo ri-
deant Lntherani, si quando audiunl Romae cathe-
drain s. Pelri ligneam honorari.
S. Alhanasius in vila b. Antonii , scribit sibi ab
Antonio reliclum pallium triium, et addit: Legata-
rius Antonii benedicti, qui trilum pallium cum
melole imperio ejus meruerat acciperc.Antonium
iu Antonii muneribm amplectitur , et tamquam
magna haereditate dilatus , laetanter per vesti-
mentum reeordatur imaginem sanctitatis. De eo-
d(!iTi raagnoAiilonio Hieronymus refert in vila Pau"
li primi ercraiiae, cum Paiili lunicam ex foliis pal-
niarum conlextam Antonius adeptus esset,ob ipsius
Lllll.li Sl.( I .Mils
4m
I*;miII rnMMc.iiliiiiii, ill.iiii iiKJiicrn siijiliiin In <li<'
lnis liiiiliiiil Hiihiiiliiliils |iiisr|iii(> i<l |ii'iiti'iiisli*N.
.'s. iliisiliiis III |isiiliii. 1 |,'i. III illiiil, lM'1'linMii lii
riinN|irrlii hiiiiiiiii iiinrs Siini'l<iriiiii r|iis: QfKimlo.
\\u\u\{, jinttiirn ijUiH iititVivlialiir . (ihiimiiinbilKi
craiil mnrliriniii: nim \>ri> i'liri:<li> iiinr:* rinilin
flil, iirrliiisiii' sunl rilniiuni' ndiiriiinnn riiii*. •■•/i-
Irii. tiicrhiiliirsdrrnliilihuH t'l hm ilirnlin: i\on
niiiliiiiiiiiahilnr r.v nUiinti iniirliin: nunr aiilrni
tfiii rnnliniiil nssa inarliiris, </ui»t(/(n;i .sa/ic/i/i
raUoiiiH surirlalrin assninil r,r tiraUa rtiriinri
inttitlrnlr. V.[ iinitiniin iii (|iiinlra^iiilii niinlyrcs.lo-
(|iiiMis (li*. rrln|niis i|isitriiiii prr lnliiiii illinii rc^Mo-
iiriii (lis|irrsis: lli sunl, iikiiiiI.i/ki' noslrain rrijio-
nriii aibninislranl, r( rrliili liirrrs iiuartlam eo-
harrriilrs srrurilalrm ahliosliiim iiirursu r.rlii-
hriiL noii uno loro srii>sos inrlmlrnlrs.sriL iniil-
lia jam lorin liosjiilrs jtirU, vlniHllas palrias rx-
ornanlrti.
llrc^Miriiis nyssiMiiis or;iliono iirriicoildrmn in:ir-
lyrciii, iuilio oriilionis: .\nima tiuitlnn , iiii|nil ,
i'.xqm suhlimia ahiil, in suo hir.o rrquirsril . cl
rorporr solula rum sui simiUhus iina viril.Hor-
j>us vrrorrnfranduni rl immarulotum iiisius in-
slrumrnlum , cum inuUo liunorr , rl cu/Mi co«i-
posiliim alqur ornaliiin , in auiiuslo , sarroiiut^
loro silum rsL l>ciiiilc niirr;il iiinilis vcrliis cos,
qui lenipla iu;irlyriiin ingrcilinnUir , prinio luirari
iiiolcin aoililicii, ilcimlo pariclcs el paYiinenlnin
pnlclire ornal;i, Inin sl;ilii;is ct piclnras vari;is , cl
siilijnn-^Ml tiuuioin: ihi lUs, iiKinit, orulos ohlrcla-
vU, cupil tlcinceps ipsi comtilorio appropiiKjuii
vr, saurtiliraUonrm dc lirnrdirlionrm,ronlrccta-
lionem rjus cssc crcdrns.Qnod sl quis cliam pul-
verem, quo conditorium , ubi mavUjris corpus
quirsrit. ohsilum esl, imfcvrc pevmitliU, pvo niu-
ncvrpukis accipiluv, ac lamquam vcs inatinl
pvrtii condrnda trvva coUiijUuv:yaniipsas altin-
tjcre rcUquias, si qunndo aUqua ejusmodi pvo-
speva fovtuna conUntjal.iU id facerc liceal.quam
itlsit mullum dcsidcvandum ct oplandum, ac
summarum prccum donum , sciunl experli , el
ejus d.esiderii compotcs facti.
(•regorius naziauzcnns orat. l.in Jnliannin pau-
lo aiile inoiJiuni. rcprohenilens Julianuiu, quod
cnin Dcoruiu ialsoruiu luoniiuenla venerarelur, vc-
li Dei amicoruni el iniirlyrnm oorpora (lespicercl :
!\^onvictiinas, inquit./)jo Clivislo caesas reverilus
es* (el aliquol inierpositis) qf«07'U?)i vel sola cor-
pora idem possunl, quod animac sanctae; sivc
nuinibus contreclentur.sive lionorcntur, quorum
vel solae sanguinis fjullae. atquc exigua passio-
nissigna idempossunt, quod covpora. Haecnon
colis. sed conlemnis el aspevnavis , qui HercuUs
rogum, ex calamitate injuriisque muUevibus il-
lalis excitatum. admiraris.
Eusebius Emissenus, sive potius Caesarius Are-
lalensis. aut quicumque hoiuiliarum illarnm est
auclor.Homilia desanctaBlan(1ina:l/'6isMn/.inquit,
qui venerationem sacris martyvum dicunt defe-
rendam non esse corpovibus etc.
S. Cyrillus episcopus hierosolymilanus,cateche-
si 18. ll autem. inquil. non solum anima san-
Qtovum honoretur credaturque : quod etiam in
rovptnihuH movliiiivuin ineHt vlrliin, ni-u jiutruUn
jamin in srpiililivo KUhiiin miirtnn>i , viorlunm-
qiir proplirlai'. larpUH alltmjrnn, tirifivnlim rnl.
S. Jniinncs CliryMi^lniiim • iriii. i\r s.nnliH Jii-
\ciilio ct .M.iMiiio, |iriiiiiiiii liiinJiii roH, qiii rorporu
ill.i iiiliiiiiiiil.i rclirl.i pic r.ipniriiiil cli.iiii^^l < niii p<!-
iKiilo vil.ic sniic. licinilc snlijiin^Ml: liliirro mu''
]>iuH roH inviHtimuH, tumulon ailorrmuH, viaijna-
qnr fnlr rrliiiiiiiiH rorum loiiliiiijainiin.ut inilfhe-
nrdirUonriu tiUijuam asHriiuainur. Vnle (mijkIciii
hoin. iill. III cpisl. ikI KoiiiiiiKis, iihi iliiMt, Hoiiiiiiii
cxccllnc oiiiiiiliiis nrliilnis, proplcr (M^rporii 1'elri
r[ l*iiiili. Ilcin Itoni. (il. iiil piipnliiiii. iilii cinnpiiral
scpnlrliiii cl irlKpiiiis siiiii loriiin iiiiii scpiilrliriH
et Ciiiliiv(;ril)iis iiiip^Maloriiiii (;t ic^miiii, cl oslitiKlit
illii siiiniiio tiiiiiorc roli.istii ile-.(Mlii (-1 ;il>j(!i:l;i esse,
ct pnlclirc ilii il, siiiiiiikiiii lionorciii (ioiistiiiiliiKi
imperatori rni.ssc, (|iiiiil poliic.ril llcri jiinilor li.Pe-
Iri, ipiiii niiiiinim scpiillns criit iid forcs cjtis liasi-
liciic, nlii coiiilil.ie criiiit idiqiiiii; piirliculiie li. I'e-
Iri rcliqniiirnm.
Tlicinloreliis lih. H. iiil Graecos dfi m;irlyriliiis :
,tr animar tjnitlvm, inqiiit. Iviumphalovnm niar-
lijvum in rorlcsli nunc jxUviaritam agiinl amjti-
lovuin cliovis intersUar: Koruiix vcru cor/iora ,
nonsimjuliKjiiidrmsinfiuUsmonumrnlisrDndun-
tur, srd civitalcs, oppiiUi. paganiijur conrenliui
Jiaec interscsorlilo pavtiti sunt.Uihovantihustjap,
tinimis, ac argvotis covjiovihus salutavia ea con-
jilrvi non rrssanl.
Deiiupio Joannos Damascenus iib. i.cap. Ki.de
lide orlhodo.xa copiosc dispulal de murtyrum reli-
(iniis viMierandis.
Jam o\ Lalinis s. Ambrosius serm. ().'{. de s;iii-
clis Naziirio el Celso iii fine: Quod si dicas milti .
inipiil. fjuiil honovas in cavnejam rcsoluta. at-
quc consuinplay konoro in cavne mavlgvis e.r.ce-
ptas j)vo ClivLsU nonUnecicatvicrsJionovo vivcn-
tis mrmoviam pevennilate virtulis: honoro per
confessionem Domini sacratos cineres:lionoro in
cincribus semina aeterniltUis: lionovo covpus .
quod nulU Dominum ostendit dUigere, quod me
propter Dominum mortem docuit non timerc.Cur
autem non hoiiovent corpus iUud fideles . quod
reverentur et daemoncs? quod et afjUxerunt in
suppUcio, sed glorificant in sepulchro ? Honoro
Uaque corpus, quod Clirislum honoravil in gla-
dio, quod cum Clivisto regnabit in coclo.
Ma.vimus in sermone de sanclis Oclavio, Adven-
lorc, et Soluloro: Cuncti, inquil. ?nar/i/res devotui-
sime pevcolcndi sunt, sed ii jnaecipue vene-
randi sunt a nobis, quovum reliquias posside-
mus.
Gaudentius episcopusBrixiae.tractatu de dedica-
tione hasilicae: It venevandas sanctovuni veli-
quias habevemus. Deus nostcr tvibuit, dcinde ut
lianc honovi eovum basilicam fundavc valevemus
ipsc largilus est ctc.Wde lolum IraclalumjUhi mul-
ta de cullu reliquiarum loquilur.
S. Paulinus nalali terlio s. Fclicis, de urbe Ro-
ma loquens, oh reliquias aposlolorum, sic ail :
^'am prius imperio tanlum, el viclricibus armis,
Nunc et aposloiicis leirarum es prima sepulchris.
4€S
hK HELIQLIIS SANCTORLM
Ibitlom :
AJarlyris ad lumulum dcbes el terra coronas.
Prudcnlius iii hymno dc s. Laurcnlio.
0 tcr, quulerque a seplics
Jiealns urbis incola,
(Jui le, rtc taorum cominus.
Sedem cp.lebrul ossium.
Cui proplcr advolvi liccl,
Qui jlclibus spargil locum,
Qui peclus ia lerram premil,
Qui votn fundit muruiure.
T'ix fauui nola esi abdilis,
Quam plena sanclis Jtoma sit,
()uam divcs Urbanum solum
Sacris sepulchris floreal.
S. Ilicronymiis in lib. advcrsus Vit^iIanlium:/)o-
tel, imiuit, martijrum reUquias j^retLOSo opcriri
velamim, el non vel pannis,vel cilicio collifjari,
velprojici in slerquiliaimn, ut solm Yigllanlius
chrius cl dormiens adoretur. Idcm in cpist. ad
Marcellam, quam scripsil nomine Paidac el Euslo-
<;hii, inlcr alia bona quac sunl in Palacslina, nu-
nicrat. posse adoraresacros cineros Joannis Biipli-
slae. Klisaci el Abdiac, qui ibi scrvanlur.
RulTiuus lib. II. hist. cap.28.cum gcnliles lem-
]iorc Juliaui ossa b. Joaunis Baptistac apud Scba-
stcm Palacstinac igni crcmarenl: Qwidajn, inqait ,
cum tantum nefas humanis quidem manibus.secl
mcnle ferina [ieri viderenl, mori fjratius hahcn-
les, quam hujuscemodi piaculo funesiari , inlcr
eos, qui ossa ad cxurcndum legebant mixli,dili-
genlius ac religiosius congregantes.furtim se vel
stupcnlihus, vcl insanien libus suhlroxcre, et ad
religiosum palrem Philippum venerandas rcli-
quias pcrtulere etc. Yidc eundem libro codcm
cap. ?>:).
S. Augustinus epist. 103. ad Quinlianum: ror-
lanl sane (lalores epistolae) reliquias bcalissimi
ct gloriosissimimarlyrisSlephani.quas noa igno-
ralsanclildsveslra.siculct nos fecimus, quam
convenienter honorare deheatis.
Auclor libri de ecclesiaslicisdogmalibus cap.73.
Sanctorum corpora.ct praecipue bealornrn mar-
lijrum reliquias, ac si Chrisii membra, sinceris-
sime honoranda credimus.
S. L«o in serm. dc s. Laurcntio, dc craticula e-
Jns l(Kiucns: lyamquid, inquil . non ad victoris
(jloriam ingenium luum reperit, quando in ho-
norem transierunt triumphi eliam instrumenta
supplicii?
S. Orcgorius lib.S.episl. 50. ad Palladium: Quia
reUquias, inquit, sanclorum aposlolorum Petri ct
Pauli, necnon LaiLrenlii.atque PancraUimarlg-
rum,cum vciicralionc praebu/imus, hortamur, ut
cum revcrendia suscipcre et collocare, auxili-
anle Domino debeaUs. Idem repetit cpislola se-
quenti. Idem lib. 3. epist. 30. Couslanliac imi)e-
ralrici pclenli caput s. Pauli respondcl : Sacrilc-
gum csse corpora lantorum sanclorum tangerc,vcl
inspiccrc. l']t ibidem narral,mullos rcpentina nior-
l(j obiissc. quod pracsumpsissenl ad corpora sau-
ctorum langenda, vel aspicicnda proprius accc-
(lcre: et tandem pollicetur se missurum aliquid de
rasura calenarum s. Pauli, si tamen limaudo ali-
quid detrahere poleril; eam cnim esse calenarum
illarum conditionem. ul pro dignilate, vel indigni-
tale pctcntium, aul sine mora iilla ramenla de ca-
lenis lima excutiantur. aut nihil oinnino excuti
possil, etiamsi lotis viribus quis limando laboret.
S. Grcgorius luronicus libro dc gloria marty-
rum etconlcssorura, nihil fcre aliud Iractat, ul
supcrvarancum sit aliquid indc velle decerpere.
Omillc Bedam. Bernardiim, ac posleriorcs, quod
dc lide ipsorum nc adversarii quidem dubilent.
Quarto.probaliir ex miraculis factis ad reliquias,
quae eerle non (lerent, si Deo cultus reliqiiiarum
iion placerct. S. Epiphanius iu vila Isaiae, Ezechi-
elis el Hieremiae scribit, a pliirimis coli solita se-
pulchra eorum ob mulla bencllcia. quae in iis lo-
cis propter raerita eorundcin prophetarum Deus
conrerebet.
S. Basilius orationc in Mamantem dicilomnibus
nota cssc miraciila, qiiibus raartyr aliis sanilatem,
aliis vilam reddiderit. Et orationc in Juliltam scri-
bit, cum reliquiae s. Juliltae ad quendani locum
adduclae fuissciit, ubi laborabalur poiuiria aquao,
mox e terra erupisse fontem aquac dulcissimae.ut
viderclur sancla illa, qu;isi inatcr vel nulrix coin-
iuunis, lotam illam regionem lacle suo alcre.
S. Gregorius nazianzenus oratione in Cypria-
num: Omnia potcst. inquit.pu/uts Cypriani, curib
fide, ul sciunt hi, qui ipsi experli sunt et mira-
culum ad nos usquc transmiserunt.
S. Chrysoslomus in lib. contra gcnliles, de reli-
quiis s. Babylae marlyris: Senleniiae, inquit, no-
slrae abunde fidcm faciunt. quae quotidiana a
martyrihus eduniur miracula.
Palladius in hisloria Lausiaca cap. G2. ad rcli-
quias Philemonis, mulla miracula facta narrat. S.
Ambrosius sermone dc sanctis Cervasio et Prola-
sio, el epistola ad sororern dc eisdeni, iulcr mtil-
ta miracula facta rcfert ctiam caccum nomine Se-
verum, arte lanioncm. omnibus nolissimum, fuis-
se cnratuin ad conlaclum rcrelri, quo reliquiae
porlabanlur. Ubi eliam non tacet idera b. Arabro-
sius, Arianos impudenlissime negare ausos illa
miracula, quae lolus populus videbat.
S. llieronymus lib. conlra Vigilantium: Tu, in-
quil, sae})ius hoc viiissimo tortus es pulvcrc, ubi
(laemoncm alioquitur, qui per os Vigilanlii reli-
quias sanctorum, vilissimum pulvenun appellave-
rat: et in epist. ad Euslochium de vita Paulae,
narrat ad sepulchra Elisaei et Joannis Bapiislae
atque Abdiae, rugire daemones consuevisse:In vi-
la llilarionis dicit, raagna quotidie signa ficri ad
sepulchrum ejus.
S. Augustinus lib. 22. dc Civit. Dei cap. 8. lot
miracula dicit facta ad reliquias s. Slephani bre-
vissirao terapore, ut multi libri scribendi sinl si
omnia referri debeanl. Sulpitius in vila Marlini di-
cit. solo coutaclu veslis ejiis curatam inulicrem a
lluxu sanguinls. Alia id genus sinc numero refer- jjj
ri possent.
Quinlo,probatur ex miraculis,quac sacpe in ipsis
sarrctorum mortuis corporibus cernunlur. per quae
Illll.ll SKCCMM >^ m
DnnRnpfMllssiinc iiDs iiil tMiniiii vi'iiiM-n(i(iiii'iiii|ii,iAl Snxio, inoltiiiur i\ iiivcnlionn el rnvirlutiunr ili
iiiviliirn viililiii . S. .Iiinnncs (■lirvsiiKlonin.H Mcrihil vlniliis r.irl.i Ntinrloruni nor|ioriini. tti enlm Dno
iii scrmoiii: tln ^;iiic.liN.liivi'iiliiM'lM.i\iiiiii,viilliis i-o- ciillns iclii|iiiiiriiiii non |iliiccr«l, ciir ipHo tcrAiH
rniii coipiMiiiii ili .s|i!i!iiili'rc co(|iisi(iposliiioilnii, siiis coijMtrii siincluruiii. (pi;ic liilclniit.oHlcinlcrcl?
iil iioii posscl iii cos inlciiilusinc lioiiorc (pioiliini, S, Ainlirosio rcvcl.ila illviiiitus corpor.i •jnnctoriifii
cl pliiiic liilcs riiissc, i|tiiili*iii ilcsiriliii viiKiiiii Slc- Ucrviisli cl Prolnsii, «rril»il ipsn In opislolii dc liac
liliiini s. l.iKMs Arliir. C». iinii iiil: InUivhiinlitr viil- rc, ipiiic rcrrliir iii Inmis Snril. Scrilill Imr iilcin
tuni cjun liniKiiKiin. vullinn (i»i(/c//. s. Aiij^ii-liinis lil». •.». Citiifcss. ciij). 7. Kxsi.il cli.iiii
S. ilicroiiymiis m viia llilanonis scrihil, corpns opi.slola l.iiciani. iii (pin sl^Miiiiciil nibi (livinllus
cjiis jiosl ilcccm iiiiMiscs iiilliiic omiiiiio iiilc;^nim o^lciisii curpora s.iiicloniiii, Slcpliaiii , .Nii-oi|(*nil
rcpcrliim, cl laiilis rrii^,'iaiis inloiihiis, iil tlclilm- ct iiliiiriiin.luissc anlctn vcriiiii illti'l Slcpliaiii cor-
Itiin iiii^MitMilis vi(lcrt:liir. |iiis, iiiiiiiiii(>riil)ili;i inirarula oslcnilcriitil, dc r|ui-
S. Aii^;iislimis scriii.-2. i\i' s. Viiicciilio. diill, Ims Kvodins lihros ilinis cunscripsil. Kl 1». Ainjn-
corpiis cjiis cxposiliim fcris, a corvo iniriilnlilcr sliiitis scnii. IM. c\ iiovis: /,(i/;a7,iti'|iiil,/a/i/o /cm-
(ItdtMisiiiir. cl proiccliiin in ikiuiis nitM-^^i non po- jmrc rorpi/.sc/ns(Slcpli;iiii) prorc.s«i7f/»t(i7iri(; /^'u«
luissc. V,[ lil), \). CoiilVss. cap. 7. dicil corporii vohiil, illniniiinvH Irnuis, imild niiniruUt frril ,
Riiiuloriiin litirvasii cl Proliisii iiicorriiplii pcr plii- mnyiinis riv is fiicilvinrluna, (}nia ncc morlunn.
rimo» iiniios u l»co coiiscrviiUi,iil siio ItMiiporc pro- Adliacc rcriMl So/.oimMiiis lih. .'». Cii|». 8. oss.i
pnlaronliir. sincloriim miirlyrnin Ncslabi cl Kiisebil fralrum ,
Siilpiliiis in opistnla ad llassulam Socrmn, dc (jijao (la/.cnscs misciKM-anl cimi o.<ssil)Us camclo-
oliiUi s. I\liirliiii dicil, posl iiiorlcm cjiis iii ipsiiis rnm cl asinorum, nc a Clirisliaiii'? inlcrnosci pos-
corporfl glorillcali liominis appaniissc lijjnram: sonl, sanclac cui'l.im foomin.io divin.i revelalionc
fiiissc ciiirii ciirncm t^jus vilro piiriortMii, laclo ciin- oslcn.sa. cl iib tMdom collcida fuissc. Idorn Sozo-
tlidiorcm. iil soplciims piicri ticcorom osUmuIimoI. iiumuis lib.l. cap. ult. rt^Ujrl ossa Abacliuc cl ,Mi-
Quod idcm ilo corporo s. Krancisci rcfort s. Bona- cliaoao cpiscopo cuidam divinilus rcvolala fuisse.
Vcnliira. Dc s. Kdiiardo rojjc AiTt^lorum. tiui aiito Id.Mii So/oiikmuis lib. 9. cap. 2. roforl qiiadraginla
jiniios AOO. Iloriiil. scribrl niitltM- cjus \ilac apiid marlyiiim roliquias diviiia rovclalionc invonlas.
Siiriiim lucnso jaiiiiiirio . amui lU». ab ciiis obilii, Pcda do sc\ aclalilms in Marliano, rcri.Tl caput
invcnUim csso cor|ms ipsius iiitopnim. ploiuim Joannis naplist.ic ab ipso Joannc rovclalum duo-
surco. ncxibilo, ac si cliain luiic vivcrot. cl iioii bus moiiatdiis; cl in Zciiono scribil. corpiis sanctl
solum ossa ct carnos iii luillo laosas, scd ncc pilos Haruabao cuin cvanjiolio .Matlliaoi supcr cjus pc-
copilis aul barbac, ncc ipsas vcsles aul calccos. clorc invcntum, ipso Barnaba revclantc.
Quid do corporc s. Androao dicimus, cx quo li- Soptimo, probalur cx Iranslalionc rcliquiarum ,
quor mirilloiis porpoluo funditur. do nuo loco ad aliuni, bonoris f;ratia, ab antiquis
Ego i|1se vidi IJonouinc corpus b. Calbarinac colobrari soiita. Nec cnim ncgari polcsl, quin ad
intcgrum, altiuo incorniplum cum anlc annos su- bonorom pcrlinoant sacrnrum ossiiim Iranslalie-
pia ccutum saurla illa virgo dc bac vila migravo- ncs. Prima qiiidcm ct anliqiiissima transialio fuit
ril. Yidi tiuoiiuo apiul Moulom Kalcuin in Umbria ossium Joscpli ox Acgyplo in Palacslinam, a Moy-
cprpus b. Olarac aoquo inlogrum, alquc incorrup- sc facia Exod. 1.*^. Dcindc Iranslalio reliquiarum
lum.cnm anlo aunos 'M)0. virgo illa fclicissima ob- pctri cl Piiuli, quac facta cst ipso lcmpore , quo
ierit: cl. quod majus adliuc iuiraculiim vidori po- passi sunl, ad calacumbas: Grogorius Iib.3. cpist.
tosljn ejus cordc conspiciunlur inslrunicnta do- ;U).Tum eorundom corporum Iranslalio a catacum-
minicac passionis cxipsa carno lam admirabili ar- bis, parlim ad Vaticanum, partim ad praedium Lu-
tcformata, ulomncsqui ca ccrnunl, cogantur di- cinac in via Hosliensi. Cornelius papa opisl.l.Ruf-
ccrc, vcrc digitusDci est liic. Ac, ul alia mulla fmus lib. 2. cap. 28. dcscribit Iranslalioucm reli-
praclcrcimi, quid postrcmo dc civc ac palrona mea quiarum Joannis Baptistae ex Palacstina .\Icxan-
beatissinla Aguctc Politiana dicani? Floruil illa an- driam.
le anuos 300. cl vivens cl morlua mullis magnis- S. Hieronymus libro conlra Yigilanliurn scribit,
quc miraculis, quorum unum me pucro contigil, tempore Conslantini imperatoris irauslnta Conslan-
cujus non cgo solum, scd tola civitas lcstis fuil. linopolim, Andreno, Lucae. el Timolliei reliquias :
Ejus corpus incorruplum, atque puicbcrrimum el lempore Arcadii Iranslatas ox Judaca in Thra-
non seracl vidi. De qua eliam a probaUs auctori- ciam reliquias Samuelis prophclae , tanto honore,
I)us liloris prodilum cst, cum ad ejus sacriim cor- ul in vase aureo ab opiscopisreliquiae porlarenlur
pus viscudum, cl vcncrandum sancla Catharina comitanle tanla populorum frcquenlia. ut a Palae-
senensis acccssisset. pluviam coeleslis roris, in- slina usque aJ Clialccdonem jungerentur populo-
slar inau supra ulramquc divinilus descendisse. rum examina.
Et cum civcs dc sacro illo corporc aromalibus S. Ambrosius inilio exhorlalionis ad virgiues :
condicndo cogitarcnt, ut diutius scrvarclur, con- Ego, \nqui\.,ad Bononiense invilalus conviviuvi,
tinuo suavissimum liquorem instar halsnmi, ab eo nbi sancti marUjris celebrala iranslatio est, apo-
corpore fuudi ac manare cocpisso, ul omncs in- phoreta vobis plona sanclitatis et gratiae resor-
tclligcrenl, corpus diviua gralia condilum nullis vavi. Auguslinus lib. 9. Confess. cap. 7. Cum, in-
aliis aromalibus indigere. Ejus divioi liquoris ad- quit. co?'pora sanctorum Gcrvasii clProtasii pro-
luic rcliquiae in Ecclcsia cum ipso corpore asser- palata et ejfossa cligno cum honorc transferren^
vunlur. iur eic. Chysoslomus lib. de s. BaLyla describit ,-
ijtLi.4Kiii.M. voi. I. ' eo
410
DE llELIOLnS SAiNCTORLM
quanlo honore reliquiae maiiyris Iranslatae sinl.
Sozonipnus lib. 7. cup. 10. (Jescribil Iranslalioneni
roliqiiiarum s. Melclii anlioclicni. Tlicodorelus
lib. li. ciip. 30. (icscril)il Iranslationcni reliquia-
rum Clirysoslomi. Evagrius lib. \. cap. IG.dcscri-
bit lionorilicam Iranslalionem s. Ignalii sub Theo-
dosio juniore Anliochiam.
Octavo, probalur ex eo, quod reliquiae sub alla-
ribus rcconduntur, cujus rei meminilsanclus Am-
brosius in exhortalione ad virgines,de reliquiis Vi-
tajis et Agricolae, el in epislola ad sororem,de in-
ventione corporum Gervasii el Prolasii. Sanctus
Hieronymus libro contra Vigilantium. Prudentius
iu iiyiuno 11. de coronis sanclorura , qui csl de
s. Ilippolylo. Sanctus Auguslinus serm. 11. dc san-
clis. Sozomenus lil). 5. cap. 8. el concilium car-
lliaginonsc V. can. 14. Yidetur autcm ista consue-
tudo apostolorum temporc coepisse;nam ideo Joan-
ni Apociilyp.O.ostensae sunl m coclo aiiimacniar-
lyrum sub altari,qnia corpora eorum in lcrris sub
allaribus requiescunl, ul Auguslinus iusinual loco
notalo. Porro ad magunm honorcm pcrlinere hunc
locum reliquiis assignalum, docent llieronymus ct
Auguslinus locis nolalis , et res ipsa lioc docet.
Seniper cnim allaria in magno honore luerunt, ita
ul etiara suo raodo adorarcntur, nam Terlullianus
libro de poenilcntiii, inler rilus Chrislianorum po-
nil. aris Dci adgeniculari.
?fono, prol)alur ex nsu ccreorum et lampadum,
quibus Iiouorimlur sacrae reliquiae; nam quod lu-
mcn sil honoris signum, nec sil supersliliosum,
lumen accendere anle rem inaniniam, ctiam solc
lucentc, patel ex ciuidelabro, quod semper luce-
bal anle arcam lestinionii,Exod. 25. Fuisse autem
usum accendendi cereos coram reliquiis. palet cx
objectione Vigilanlii apud IIicronymum:yide??M<s,
inquit, moles cereoruin sole fulgente accendi
ctc. Et ex ipso llieronymo episl. ad Riparium: Er-
go accensi ante lumulos eorum cerei idololatri-
ae insignia sunt.
Item ex Conslanlino, qui ut habelur primo to-
mo conciliorum in vila Sylvcslri. inlcr alia dona,
quae obtulil sacris reliquiis Pelri, Pauli, Lauren-
lii, sanctae Crucis, multi numerantur candelabra,
mullae lucernae, quae perpetuo ardere deberenl.
iSec esi credibile, Conalantinum aliquid oblulisse,
quod non esset in usu anlea in Ecclcsia. Practe-
rea Tlicodoretus in hisloria lib. 3. cap. 30. tesla-
lur in Iranslatione reliquiarum s. Chrysostonii,
plurima accensii lumina praelata fuisse.
Paulinus nalali 3. Felicis, describcns cultum,
qui s. Felici habcbalur:
Aurea, inf|uit, nunc niveis ornanlnr limina velis,
Clara coronanlur densis allaria lychnis,
IJmina ceralis adolnnlur odora papyns.
Nocle. dioqne mtKanl, si nox, splendurque diei
Futijel., el ifjsa dics coelesli illa^lris lionore,
Pius micat innumerls luccm fjeminata tucQrnis.
Gregoriu-5 lib. 3. dialogorum cnp. 24. meminit
lampadis, nuae ardcl>iU eliam noclu, dormienti-
busomnibus, in iemplo s. Pelri.
Decimo, probalur ratione ducla ab utili, et ab
honeslo. Puitio duola ab ulili, esl apud Chrysosto-
mum in lib. de sanclo Babyla marlyre. Dcus enim,
ut Chrysoslomus ait, nihil fcre utilius nobis reli-
quil ad salulem, sanctorum reliquiis: nihil enim
cllicacius repraesental, cl infigit in animo mcmo-
riam siuictorum. quam sepulchrum ipsorum,statini
enim alque vidcmus scpulchrum sancti alicujus,
recordamur illius el virlulum ejus, palientiae,
charitalis, casliliilis, pietatis; el siinul cogilamus
quautii gloria frualur in coelis pro labore brevissi-
mo hujus vitac etc.
Pialio ducla ab honeslo est multiplex. Primum
enim corpora sanctorum luerunl organa animarum
ad omnc opus bonum. Yide Tcrtalliiuium de re-
surrcclione carnis. Sccuudo, 1'uerunl et sunt in-
slrumenla Dei ad miraculii. Tertio, sunt piguora
palronorum. Quarlo, sunl exuviiie carissimorum.
Uuinto, suut trophacii Iriumplnuilium, Sexlo, de-
signata sunt ad gloriam incredibilem, nimirum, ut
sial posl rcsurrcclioncm corpora sole clariora; ct
usque adeo cor|)orilius omnibus praeslent, ut su-
pcr omnia merito collocentur. His igilur, aliisque
de caussis sanclorum reliquiae a fidelibus magni fi-
unl, et debilo cultu honoranlur.