Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On the Sacrament of the Eucharist · Book II: On the Real Presence, from the Testimonies of the Fathers
Chapter 17: The Testimony of Blessed Optatus of Milevis
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. IV, De Sacramento Eucharistiae, Book II: On the Truth of the Body of the Lord in the Eucharist, from the Testimonies of the Fathers. 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).
Optatus of Milevis flourished at the same time as Ambrose and Basil, as is clear from Book 2 against Parmenian, where he writes that he lived in the time of Pope Siricius, who had succeeded Damasus. He, then, in Book 6 against Parmenian, says thus: “For what is so sacrilegious as to break, scrape, remove the altars of God, on which sometimes you too have offered? On which the vows of the people and the members of Christ were borne; whither almighty God was invoked; whither, being asked, the Holy Spirit descended; whence a pledge of eternal salvation, and the safeguard of faith, and the hope of resurrection was received by many.” And below: “What is the altar but the seat of the body and blood of Christ?” And below: “How had Christ offended you, whose body and blood dwelt there through certain moments?” And below: “Yet this monstrous crime was doubled, when you broke also the chalices, bearers of the blood of Christ.” So he.
Now that by the body of Christ, which Optatus so often repeats was wont to remain on the altar, is understood not the body significatively, but truly—that is, not the bread alone, which represents the body of Christ, but the very true and properly-so-called body—can be proved in many ways from this very passage. First, from this, that although he so often repeats it, he never once said that a sign of the body remains or is offered on the altar, but perpetually the body of Christ, or the members of Christ.
Secondly, from this, that he says that almighty God is invoked over the altar, and that the Holy Spirit descends over the same altar; which without doubt must be referred to the consecration; for we see in all the ancient liturgies that the Holy Spirit is invoked to descend and transmute the bread into the body of Christ; nor can another reason be rendered of this descent of the Holy Spirit than for the confecting of the Sacrament. But to what purpose this descent, to what purpose the invocation of the Almighty, if nothing marvelous and supernatural had to be done?
Thirdly, from this, that Optatus calls the Eucharist a pledge of salvation, the safeguard of faith, and the hope of resurrection; for he alludes to that which the ancients—Irenaeus, Hilary, Cyril, Nyssen, and others—are wont to say, that the body of Christ is joined with our body that from it it may draw a certain power to attain blessed immortality.
Fourthly, from this, that he says the body of Christ dwells on the altar through certain moments. For if he spoke of a sign of the body, he would not say “through certain moments,” but always; for the cross is wont to remain always on the altar, as Chrysostom testifies in his oration That Christ is God; nay even (as he there says) on the roofs, on the walls, on the vessels, and so forth. But the cross is a sign of Christ crucified; and the altar itself too is a certain figure and sign of Christ, as Peter Martyr confesses in his book against Gardiner, objection 38. In another manner, then, than by signification, the Eucharist is the body of Christ.
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
CAPUT XVII. Testimonium Beati Optati Mileoitani. Optatus Milevitanus floruit eodem tempore, <[uo Ambrosius, et Basilius, ut patet ex lib. ii .contra Parmenianum , ubi scribit se vixisse tempore Siricii papa}, qui Damaso succes¬ serat. Is igitur in vi lil). contra Parmenianum, sic ait : « Quid enim est tam sacrilegum, quam altaria Dei, in quibus aliquando et vos obtulistis, frangere, radere, removere ? in quibus vota populi, et membra Christi por¬ tata sunt : quo Deus omnipotens invocatus sit, quo postulatus descendit Spiritus sanctus, unde e multis pignus salutis seterncC, et tutela fidei, et spes resurrectionis accepta est ». Et infra : « Quid est altare, nisi sedes corporis et sanguinis Christi » ? Et infra : « Quid vos offenderat Christus , cujus illic per certa momenta corpus, et sanguis habitabat » ? Et infra : « Hoc tamen immane facinus gemi¬ natum est dum fregistis etiam calices Christi sanguinis portatores». IIa3C ille. Quod autem per corpus Christi, quod tam soepe repetit Optatus in altari manere soli¬ tum, non intelligatur corpus significative, sed vere, id est, non solus panis, qui Christi corpus repraesentet, sed ipsum verum , et proprie dictum corpus, multis modis probari potest ex hoc ipso loco. Primo ex eo, quod cum toties id repetat, ne semel quidem dixe¬ rit, signum corporis in altari manere, vel offerri , sed perpetuo corpus Christi , aut membra Christi. Secundo, exeo, quod dicit, invocari super altare Deum omnipotentem, et descendere super idem altare Spiritum sanctum, quod sine dubio referendum est ad consecratio¬ nem : videmus enim in omnibus liturgiis antiquis invocari Spiritum sanctum, ut de¬ scendat , et transmutet panem in corpus Christi; neque potest reddi alia ratio hujus descensus spiritus sancti, nisi ad Sacramen¬ tum conficiendum. At quorsum iste descen¬ sus, quorsum invocatio omnipotentis, si nihil mirabile, et supernaturJc fieri deberet. Tertio ex eo, quod Eucharistiam vocat Optatus, pignus salutis, tutelam fidei, et spem resurre ctionis : alludit enim ad id, quot ve¬ teres, i ren reus, Hilarius, Cyrillus, Nyssenus, et alii dicere solent, ideo conjungi cum cor¬ pore nostro corpus Christi ut ex illo trahat vim quamdam ad beatam immortalitatem assequendam. Quarto ex eo, quod dicit per certa mo¬ menta habitare corpus Christi in altari. Si enim loqueretur de signo corporis, non di¬ ceret : « Per certa momenta », sed semper; semper enim in altari manere solet crux, ut Chrysostomus testatur in orat, quod Christus sit Deus; imo etiam (ut ipse ibidem ait) in culminibus, in parietibus, in vasis etc. Crux autem signum est Christi crucifixi ; et ipsum etiam altera figura queedam est, et signum Christi, ut fatetur Petrus Martyr libro contra Gardin. objecto 38. alio igitur modo quam per significationem , Eucharistia corpus Christi est.