De Correctione Rusticorum

(On the Correction of the Rustic)

by St. Martin of Braga
Translated with a Historical Introduction
by Hlio Pires
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Historical Introduction

The Germanic Invasions
In the 5th century the Roman Empire suffered the Great Barbarian Invasions: several Germanic tribes crossed the Rhine and
the Danube and rode free through Roman territory. Rome, lacking the political and military strength to make any serious
opposition to the tribes, allowed them to live inside the borders of the Empire in a "federated" condition: slowly, they
began replacing the imperial political authority and from 475 onwards the so far mutable borders of the Germanic territories
inside the Empire were more stable. In 476, the last western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, still a child, was brought down
and the emperial authority was transferred to Constatinople. In the Iberian Peninsula, there were four tribes: the Alani, the
Suevi, the Vandals and the Visigoths. The first ones never actually formed a kingdom, the Suevi occupied the North west
territory by a agreement with the emperor Honorius in 411 but lost and gained territory constantly, the Vandals made their
way to Northern Africa and the Visigoths formed the kingdom of Toledo, eventually occupying the entire peninsula when
they defeated the Suevi.
The Suevians and Religion
When the Suevian established themselves in the Northwest of Iberian Peninsula they were heathens, but shortly thereafter
they were converted to Christianity: according to the sources of information we have, King Requiarius (448-456) was the
first Suevian Christian ruler. However, in the year 465, an Aryan priest came from Gaul, arrived at the territory with the
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support of the Visigoths and converted the Suevian to Aryanism. Apart from this, and since the Aryan religion kept several
pagan elements, in the rural areas people were still deeply heathen. Some decades latter, another king named Charrarico was
confronted by his son's grave illness. Hearing of the miracles of St. Martin of Tours, he sent his emissaries to Gaul twice
in order for them to request for the saint's help in healing his son: he promised that if his son was cured he would convert
himself to the religion of the saint of Tours, that is, Catholic Christianity.
St. Martin
St. Martin was born in the present day Hungary. When young he left to the Oriental lands where he studied Greek and
several ecclesiastical matters to the point of being taken in consideration as a great scholar. We know that latter he went to
Rome and from there to Gaul where he gained the friendship of people such as the Bishop of Poitiers. Latter he went to
visit the tomb of St. Martin of Tours and there he found the emissaries of king Charrarico in their second trip to Tours.
Trough them he became aware of the religious situation of the Suevians and decided to follow the emissaries on their
journey back, which took to the Iberian Peninsula the relics of St. Martin of Tours, as requested by the king. When they
arrived, in 550, the king's son was cured and Charrarico became a Catholic Christian. This description of what happen is
mixed up with legendary details (most of them I ignored) and its highly likely that the king's decision of converting to
Catholicism was motivated by political reasons rather then by an illness of his son (we must not forget that the Suevian
monarchy was elective and not hereditary): Charrarico needed the help of the Catholic Gaul against the Aryan Visigoths. At
Dume, near the capital city, Braga, the king built a church to St. Martin of Tours and next to it Martin founded a monastery
of which de became Abbot. Latter he was made bishop and around 569 he succeeded Lucrecius as the Bishop of Braga,
convoking a Council in the same city in 572. From this year onward, until his death in 579 or 580, he concentrated most of
his work in pastoral activities and the Correctione was written in this period of time. It was directed to another Bishop,
Polemius of Astorga, who might have asked St. Martin to write him a sermon, which could be read to those present in
mass. Some, however, refuse this theory of the request of Polemius.
De Correctione Rusticorum
St. Martin had one issue in his mind when he wrote the sermon: the rural populations that, despite the baptism that some of
them were subject to, kept following the old ways. The text makes a short exposure of Genesis and includes Church's
traditions on the origin of the angels and of the Devil. He reminds the rustic (that is, the rural people) of the meaning of
baptism and then points out several pagan practices which he considers to be evil doing. However, the author does not seen
to make any distinction between the heathen and the Roman pagan practices (Lusitan practices are not likely to be
distinguishable from those pointed out) in most of the cases. Some are clearly Roman, such as the Vulcans, others are more
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or less common to both Suevian and Romans, such as the throwing of food to the fire, and some are of a more Germanic
origin, like the lighting of candles by the trees and fountains. St. Martin also doesn't make any distinction between the
Germanic and the Roman gods/goddesses. The reason for this may be twofold: first, he was a Christian that considered all
non- Catholic Christian beliefs as work of the Devil and, as far as he was concerned, there was no need to make a
distinction of pantheons, to him just mere names to refer to the same demons; secondly, he was instructed in a classical
surrounding and the ideal of the Inperium was still present in present that time, so he might have taken the Roman gods as a
reference (remember that he gives their names to the demons), just like Julius Caesar names de Gaelic ones after Rome's
deities. Just as a curiosity, one of the texts I consulted on St. Martin included a briefing on the practices that St. Martin
refers, which still survive here in Portugal: in the North people use the laurel as a protection against the thundering, the
calends survive as the Janeiras (the songs of January), and in some rural parts of the country people still keep the belief
that marriages should take place at Friday, which may be connected with the association with Frigg with the family and life
at home.
De Correctione Rusticorum On the Correction of the Rustic
Domino beatissimo ac mihi desiderantissimo in Christo
fratri Polemio episcopo Martinus episcopus.
Martin Bishop, to the much venerable lord and beloved
brother in Christ, the Bishop Polmio.
1. Epistolam tuae sanctae caritatis accepi, in qua scribis ad
m e ut pro castigatione rusticorum, qui adhuc pristina
paganorum superstitione detenti cultum venerationis plus
daemoniis quam deo persolvunt, aliqua de origine
idolorum et sceleribus ipsorum vel pauca de multis ad te
scripta dirigerem. Sed quia oportet ab initio mundi vel
modicam illis rationis notitiam quasi pro gustu porrigere,
necesse me fuit ingentem praeteritorum temporum
gestorumque silvam breviato tenuis compendii sermone
contingere et cibum rusticis rustico sermone condire. Ita
ergo, opitul.
1. I have received the letter of your holy charity in which
you ask me to write you on the instruction of the rustic
whom, still tied to the ancient superstitions of the
heathens, pay more worshiping cult to the demons than to
God, and also on other things about the origin of the idols
and of their crimes, that is, that I write you on many
things in few words. But, because it is convenient to
develop a brief report of what happened since the
beginning of the world, so that they shall understand, it
was necessary for me to summarize the enormous forest
of past times and happenings in a simple treaty and thus
bring prepared the feeding of the rustic with a rustic
language. Thus shall then be, with the help of God, the
structure of your prelection:
2. Desideramus, filii karissimi, adnuntiare vobis in nomine 2. We wish, beloved children, to announce you, in the name
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domini quae aut minime audistis aut audita fortasse
oblivioni dedistis. Petimus ergo caritatem vestram ut,
quae pro salute vestra dicuntur, adtentius audiatis. Longus
quidem per divinas scripturas ordo dirigitur, sed ut vel
aliquantulum in memoriam teneatis, pauca vobis de
pluribus commendamus.
of the Lord, those things which you haven't yet heard or, if
you have, maybe thou hast forgotten it. We appeal,
therefore, to your charity to hear what concernes of your
salvation. All this comes expressly in the Divine Scriptures,
but shortly we recommend you what follows, so that you
may keep it in your mind.
3. Cum fecisset in principio deus caelum et terram, in illa
caelesti habitatione fecit spiritales creaturas, id est
angelos, qui in conspectu ipsius adstantes laudarent illum.
Ex quibus unus, qui primus omnium archangelus fuerat
factus, videns se in tanta gloria praefulgentem, non dedit
honorem deo creatori suo, sed similem se illi dixit; et pro
hac superbia cum aliis plurimis angelis qui illi
consenserunt de illa caelesti sede in aere isto qui est sub
caelo deiectus est; et ille, qui fuerat prius archangelus,
perdita luce gloriae suae, factus est tenebrosus et
horribilis diabolus. Similiter et illi alii angeli qui
consentientes illi fuerant cum ipso de caelo proiecti sunt et,
perdito splendore suo, facti sunt daemones. Reliqui autem
angeli qui subditi fuerunt deo in suae claritatis gloria in
conspectu domini perseverant; et ipsi dicuntur angeli
sancti. Nam illi qui cum principe suo Satan pro superbia
sua iactati sunt angeli refugae et daemonia appellantur.
3. In the beginning, having God created Heaven and the
Earth, he made for the dwelling heavenly spiritual
creatures, that is, angels, so that they would worship Him
in His presence. One of them, which had first been made
archangel, seing himself in the splendour of so much
glory, honored not God, his creator, but considered
himself equal to Him. By this loftiness he was expelled
from that celestial residence to this air under the heavens,
in the company of many other angels which had been
solidary to him. He, which had been the first archangel,
having lost the glory of his light, became a dark and
horrible devil. In the same way, the other angels, which
made a common cause with him, were also brought down
and, losing their splendour, became demons. However, the
remaining angels, which kept faithful to God, retained the
glory of their light before the face of God: them we call
holy angels. On the other hand, those which, with Satan,
their prince, were expelled for their loftiness are called
rebel angels or demons.
4. Post istam ruinam angelicam placuit deo de limo terrae
hominem plasmare, quem posuit in paradiso; et dixit ei ut,
si praeceptum domini servasset, in loco illo caelesti sine
morte succederet, unde angeli illi refugae ceciderunt, si
autem praeterisset dei praeceptum, morte moreretur.
Videns ergo diabolus quia propterea factus fuerat homo,
4. After this angelic defection, God made man from the
earth's clay, putting him in the Eden. And He said to him,
that if he would follow the rule of the Lord, he would live,
without being subordinated to death, in that heavenly place
from which the rebel angels had been expelled; however,
if he would break the commandment of God, he would be
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ut in loco ipsius, unde ipse cecidit, in regno dei succederet,
invidia ductus suasit homini ut mandata dei transcenderet.
Pro qua offensa iactatus est homo de paradiso in exilio
mundi istius, ubi multos labores et dolores pateretur.
subordinated to death. But the Devil, seeing that man had
been created to fill, in the Kingdom of God, the place
from which he had been brought down, full of envy,
persuaded man to break the commandments of the Lord.
By this falt man was expelled from Eden into exile in the
world, where he would suffer many toils and pains.
5. Fuit autem primus homo dictus Adam, et mulier eius
quam de ipsius carne deus creavit dicta est Eva. Ex istis
duobus hominibus omne genus hominum propagatum est.
Qui, obliti creatorem suum deum multa scelera facientes,
inritaverunt deum ad iracundiam. Pro qua re inmisit deus
diluvium et perdidit omnes, excepto uno iusto, nomine
Noe, quem cum suis filiis pro reparando humano genere
reservavit. A primo ergo homine Adam usque ad
diluvium transierunt anni duo milia ducenti quadraginta
duo.
5. Indeed, the first man was named Adam, and his wife,
which God created from the flesh of the same man, was
called Eve. All mankind was originated from these two
human beings, which, forgotten of God their creator,
committing many crimes, provoked the anger of God. By
this God sent the Flod and made all perish except one,
that was just, named Noah, which He kept, with his sons, to
reestablish the human kind. Since the first man, Adam,
until the Flood, two thousand two hundred and forty two
years have passed.
6. Post diluvium iterum recuperatum est genus humanum
per tres filios Noe, reservatos cum uxoribus suis. Et cum
coepisset multitudo subcrescens mundum implere,
obliviscentes iterum homines creatorem mundi deum,
coeperunt, dimisso creatore, colere creaturas. Alii
adorabant solem, alii lunam vel stellas, alii ignem, alii
aquam profundam vel fontes aquarum, credentes haec
omnia non a deo esse facta ad usum hominum, sed ipsa ex
se orta deos esse.
6. After the Flood again humankind spread by the three
sons of Noah which had been saved along with their wives.
And as the growing population began filling the earth,
men, once again forgotten of their God, author of the
world, despizing their creator, began worshiping
creatures. Some worshiped the Sun, others the Moon or
the stars, some the fire, others the deep waters or the
fountains, believing that all these things were not made by
God for the use of men, but that they originated from
themselves like gods.
7. Tunc diabolus vel ministri ipsius, daemones, qui de caelo
deiecti sunt, videntes ignaros homines dimisso Deo
creatore suo, per creaturas errare, coeperunt se illis in
diversas formas ostendere et loqui cum eis et expetere ab
eis, ut in excelsis montibus et in silvis frondosis sacrificia
7. Then the Devil or his ministers, the demons, which had
been brought down from Heaven, seeing men's ignorance,
forgotten of their creator, wondering through the
creatures, began manifesting to them in different ways,
spesking and influecing them, making them offer them
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sibi offerrent et ipsos colerent pro deo, imponentes sibi
vocabula sceleratorum hominum, qui in omnibus
criminibus et sceleribus suam egerant vitam, ut alius
Iovem se esse diceret, qui fuerat magus et in tantis
adulteriis incestus ut sororem suam haberet uxorem, quae
dicta est Iuno, Minervam et Venerem filias suas
corruperit, neptes quoque et omnem parentelam suam
turpiter incestaverit. Alius autem daemon Martem se
nominavit, qui fuit litigiorum et discordiae commissor.
Alius deinde daemon Mercurium se appellare voluit, qui
fuit omnis furti et fraudis dolosus inventor; cui homines
cupidi quasi deo lucri, in quadriviis transeuntes, iactatis
lapidibus acervos petrarum pro sacrificio reddunt. Alius
quoque daemon Saturni sibi nomen adscripsit, qui, in omni
crudelitate vivens, etiam nascentes suos filios devorabat.
Alius etiam daemon Venerem se esse confinxit, quae fuit
mulier meretrix. Non solum cum innumerabilibus
adulteris, sed etiam cum patre suo Iove et cum fratre suo
Marte meretricata est.
sacrifices in the high hills and in the leafy woods and
considered them as gods, calling themsleves names of
bandit men, which spent their lives in crimes and evilness.
Thus, one called himself Jupiter, which was a magician
and had tarnish himself with so many adultery, daring to
have as wife his own sister, named Juno, corrupting his
daughters Minerva and Venus and vilely dishonouring his
grandchildren and all his family. Other demon called
himself Mars, which was the instigator of the litigation
and of discord. Another named himself Mercury, the
inventor of all the theft and all the deceit to which greedy
men offer sacrifices, as if he was the god of profit,
forming piles of rocks when passing through the
crossroads. Another also called himself Saturn, which,
living in all his cruelty, devoured even his own children, as
soon as they were born. Other pretended to be Venus,
which was a woman of ill life.
8. Ecce quales fuerunt illo tempore isti perditi homines,
quo s ignorantes rustici per adinventiones suas pessime
honorabant, quorum vocabula ideo sibi daemones
adposuerunt, ut ipsos quasi deos colerent et sacrificia illis
offerrent et ipsorum facta imitarentur, quorum nomina
invocabant. Suaserunt etiam illis daemones ut templa illis
facerent et imagines vel statuas sceleratorum hominum ibi
ponerent et aras illis constituerent, in quibus non solum
animalium sed etiam hominum sanguinem illis funderent.
Praeter haec autem multi daemones ex illis qui de caelo
expulsi sunt aut in mare aut in fluminibus aut in fontibus
aut in silvis praesident, quos similiter homines ignorantes
deum quasi deos colunt et sacrificant illis. Et in mare
8. Here is what were, in those days, these lost men, whom
the ignorant rustic honored for their terrible inventions
and whose names were used by demons so that they would
worship them as gods, would offer them sacrifices and
imitate the actions of those whose names they invoked.
Equally, those demons were also capable that temples
were built to them, that in them images or statues of
bandit men were set and altars erected, in which they
would sacrifice them blood, not only of animals, but of
humans as well. Besides this, many demons among those
that were expelled from Heaven preside to the rivers, the
fountains and to the forests and to them in the same way
do men, ignorant of God, worship them as they were gods
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quidem Neptunum appellant, in fluminibus Lamias, in
fontibus Nymphas, in silvis Dianas, quae omnia maligni
daemones et spiritus nequam sunt, qui homines infideles,
qui signaculo crucis nesciunt se munire, nocent et vexant.
Non tamen sine permissione dei nocent, quia deum habent
iratum et non ex toto corde in fide Christi credunt, sed
sunt dubii in tantum ut nomina ipsa daemoniorum in
singulos dies nominent, et appellent diem Martis et
Mercurii et Iovis et Veneris et Saturni, qui nullum diem
fecerunt, sed fuerunt homines pessimi et scelerati in gente
Graecorum.
and offer them sacrifices. And in the sea they call them
Neptune, in the rivers Lames, in the fountains Nymphs, in
the forests Dianes, which are no more than demons and
evil spirits damaging and tormenting the infidel men which
no not to defend themselves with the sign of the cross.
However, they cannot harm without the permission of
God, for they have angered God. They [men] do not
believe with all their heart in the faith of Christ, but carry
their doubts to such a point that they give the name of the
demons to each one of the days, saying the day of Mars,
of Mercury, of Jupiter, of Venus and of Saturn, whom
didn't make any day, but were terrible and criminal men
among the Greeks.
9. Deus autem omnipotens, quando caelum et terram fecit,
ipse tunc creavit lucem, quae per distinctionem operum
dei septies revoluta est. Nam primo deus lucem fecit, quae
appellata est dies; secundo firmamentum caeli factum est;
tertio terra a mare divisa est; quarto sol et luna et stellae
factae sunt; quinto quadrupedia et volatilia et natatilia;
sexto homo plasmatus est; septimo autem die, completo
omni mundo et ornamento ipsius, requiem deus appellavit.
Una ergo lux, quae prima in operibus dei facta est, per
distinctionem operum dei septies revoluta, septimana est
appellata. Qualis ergo amentia est ut homo baptizatus in
fide Christi diem dominicum, in quo Christus resurrexit,
non colat et dicat se diem Iovis colere et Mercurii et
Veneris et Saturni, qui nullum diem habent, sed fuerunt
adulteri et magi et iniqui et male mortui in provincia sua!
Sed, sicut diximus, sub specie nominum istorum ab
hominibus stultis veneratio et honor daemonibus
exhibetur.
9. When He made Heaven and the Earth, omnipotent God
created also the light that, by the distinction of the works
of God, manifested it self in seven days. Because, in the
first day God made light itself, which as called day. In the
second, the firmament of the sky was made. In the third
the earth was separated from the sea. In the fourth the
Sun, the Moon and the stars were made. In the fifth, the
quadrupeds, the birds and the fishes. In the sixth, man was
made. To the seventh day, completing all the world and its
ornament, God called rest. Indeed light, which was the
first among the works of God, manifested seven times by
the distinction of the same works, was called week. What
alienation isn't then that men, baptised in the faith of
Christ, honours not the day of Sunday in which Christ
resurrected and says to honour the day of Jupiter, of
Mercury, of Venus and of Saturn, which have no day, but
were rather adulterous and iniquos, and died
ignominiously in their land! But, as we've saying, under the
appearance of these names is the worship and honour
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given by the foolish to the demons.
10. Similiter et ille error ignorantibus et rusticis subrepit,
ut Kalendas Ianuarias putent anni esse initium, quod
omnino falsissimum est. Nam, sicut scriptura sancta dicit,
VIII Kal. Aprilis in ipso aequinoctio initium primi anni est
factum. Nam sic legitur: et divisit deus inter lucem et
tenebras. Omnis autem recta divisio aequalitatem habet,
sicut et in VIII Kal. Aprilis tantum spatium horarum dies
habet quantum et nox. Et ideo falsum est ut Ianuariae
Kalendae initium anni sint.
10. In the same way it was introduced among the ignorant
and the rustic that mistake of thinking that the year has its
beginning at the Calends of January, which is entirely
fake. For, as the Holy Scripture says, the first year of the
year was at the equinox of the 25th of March. In fact, this
is what one may read: And God divided light from the
darkness. As in all strait division there is equalness, so at
the 25th of March as many hours has the day, so has the
night. And that is why it is false that the beginning of the
year is at the Calends of January.
11. Iam quid de illo stultissimo errore cum dolore
dicendum est, quia dies tinearum et murium observant et,
si dici fas est, homo Christianus pro deo mures et tineas
veneratur? Quibus si per tutelam cupelli aut arculae non
subducatur aut panis aut pannus, nullo modo pro feriis sibi
exhibitis, quod invenerint, parcent. Sine causa autem sibi
miser homo istas praefigurationes ipse facit, ut, quasi sicut
in introitu anni satur est et laetus ex omnibus, ita illi et in
toto anno contingat. Observationes istae omnes
paganorum sunt per adinventiones daemonum exquisitae.
Sed vae illi homini qui deum non habuerit propitium et ab
ipso saturitatem panis et securitatem vitae non habuerit
datam! Ecce istas superstitiones vanas aut occulte aut
palam facitis, et numquam cessatis ab istis sacrificiis
daemonum. Et quare vobis non praestant ut semper saturi
sitis et securi et laeti? Quare, quando deus iratus fuerit,
non vos defendunt sacrificia vana de locusta, de mure, et
de multis aliis tribulationibus, quas vobis deus iratus
immittit?
11. And with what grief must we refer to that foolish
error of honoring the day of the clothes moths and of the
mice? And is it allowed to say that a Christian worships
the mice and the clothes moths instead of God? If they
close to these animals the locker or the chest, if they hide
from them the bread and the clothes they will spear
nothing of what they find. The miserable man believes in
these mistakes without any basis, just as he believes that, if
he is fed up and joyful in the first day of January, thus he
shall kept himself throughout the year. All these
observations are from the heathens and inspired by
inventions of the demons. But beware he who has not God
propitious and sees not in Him the cause of the abundance
of bread or the safety of life! Thus you observe the vain
superstitions, hidden or in public, and never put an end to
these evil sacrifices! And why do they not protect you so
that you will be always fed up, safe and joyful? Why, when
God is angered, the vain sacrifices do not defend you
from the locust, the mice and of many other plagues,
which, when He is angered, God sends you?
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12. Non intellegitis aperte quia mentiuntur vobis
daemones in istis observationibus vestris quas vane tenetis,
et in auguriis quae adtenditis frequentius vos inludunt?
Nam sicut dicit sapientissimus Salomon: divinationes et
auguria vana sunt; et quantum timuerit homo in illis,
tantum magis fallitur cor eius. Ne dederis in illis cor tuum,
quoniam multos scandalizaverunt. Ecce hoc scriptura
sancta dicit, et certissime sic est, quia tamdiu infelices
homines per avium voces daemonia suadunt, donec per
res frivolas et vanas et fidem Christi perdant, et ipsi in
interitum mortis suae de improviso incurrant. Non iussit
deus hominem futura cognoscere, sed ut, semper in
timore illius vivens, ab ipso gubernationem et auxilium
vitae suae expeteret. Solius dei est antequam aliquid fiat
scire, homines autem vanos daemones diversis argumentis
inludunt, donec illos in offensam dei perducant et animas
illorum secum pertrahant in infernum, sicut ab initio
fecerunt per invidiam suam, ne homo regnum caelorum
intraret, de quo illi deiecti sunt.
12. Don't you clearly understand that the demons lie to
you with these practices that you in vain follow, and that
they delude you frequently in the auguries to which
answer? Indeed, just like the most wise Solomon: Vain are
the auguries and the foretellings. And the more men will
fear them, the more their heart will weaken. Give them
not your heart for many they lead astray. This says the
Holly Scripture and thus, in truth, it is, for so many times
do the demons persuade the unfortunate men to be aware
to the singing of the birds that they end up losing their
faith in Christ by these frivolous and vain things and risk
themselves to an unfortunate death. God did not allowed
men to know the future but, instead, that he would live in
fear of Him and of Him expected the government and
help for his life. It is exclusive of God to know things
before they happen. However, the demons delude the vain
men with several arguments until they lead them to offend
God and drag with them their souls to hell, like they did in
the beginning, for envy, so that man would not enter in the
Kingdom of Heaven, from which they, the demons, were
expelled.
13. Pro qua etiam causa, dum vidisset deus miseros
homines ita a diabolo et angelis eius malis inludi ut,
obliviscentes creatorem suum, pro deo daemones
adorarent, misit filium suum, id est sapientiam et verbum
suum, ut illos ad cultum veri dei de diaboli errore
reduceret. Et quia non poterat divinitas filii dei ab
hominibus videri, accepit carnem humanam ex utero
Mariae virginis, non ex coniugio viri, sed ex spiritu sancto
conceptam. Natus ergo in humanam carnem filius dei,
intus latens invisibilis deus, foris autem visibilis homo,
praedicavit hominibus: docuit illos, relictis idolis et malis
13. By this cause, as God saw miserable men so iluded by
the Devil and his evil angels that they [men], forgotten of
their creator, worshiped the demons instead of God, sent
His Son, that is, His Wisdom, His Word, so that it would
lead them back from the error of the Devil to the worship
of the true God. And as men could not contemplate the
divinity of the Son of God, He assumed a human body in
the womb of Virgin Mary, without human interference,
but by the work of the Holy Ghost. So born the Son of
God in human flesh, enclosing hidden the invisible God
and showing the visible Man, He preached for men. Tough
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operibus, de potestate diaboli exire et ad cultum creatoris
sui reverti. Postquam docuit, voluit pro humano genere
mori. Passus est mortem voluntarie, non invitus; crucifixus
est a Iudaeis sub iudice Pilato Pontio, qui de Ponto
provincia natus illo tempore provinciae Syriae
praesidebat; depositus de cruce, positus est in sepulchro;
tertia die resurrexit vivus a mortuis, et diebus
quadraginta cum duodecim discipulis suis conversatus est,
e t , ut veram carnem suam resurrexisse monstraret,
manducavit post resurrectionem ante discipulos suos.
Transactis autem quadraginta diebus, praecepit discipulis
suis ut adnuntiarent omnibus gentibus resurrectionem filii
dei, et baptizarent eos in nomine patris et filii et spiritus
sancti in remissionem peccatorum, et docerent illos qui
baptizati fuissent recedere a malis operibus, id est ab
idolis, ab homicidiis, a furtis, a periurio, a fornicatione, et
quod sibi nollent fieri aliis non facerent. Et postquam haec
praecepit, videntibus ipsis discipulis, ascendit in caelum, et
ibi sedet ad dexteram patris, et inde in fine istius mundi
venturus est cum ipsa carne quam secum levavit in caelis.
them to leave the idols and the bad doings, to come out of
the bondage of the devil and to return to the worship of
his creator. After teaching He wished to die for the human
kind. He suffered death voluntarily, was not constrained.
He was crucified by the Jews under the government of
Poncius Pilate, which, born in the province of Ponto,
presided at that time to the province of Syria. Once down
from the cross He was laid on a tomb. At the third day He
resurrected from the dead, lived among His disciples for
forty days and, to show them that His true body had
resurrected, He ate before them, after the Resurrection.
Once the forty days were gone He ordered His disciples
to announce to all the people the Resurrection of the Son
of God and to baptise them in the name of the Father, the
Son and of the Holly Ghost, for the forgiveness of their
sin, and to those already baptise to run escape from the
bad doings, that is, from the idols, homicides, robbery,
perjury, impurity and not to do to others what they wish
not for themselves. And after he ordered these things,
sought by the disciples themselves, He went up to Heaven,
where he his siting at the right of the Father and from
where, at the end of this world, He shall return with the
same body He took with Him to Heaven.
14. Cum autem finis mundi istius venerit, omnes gentes et
omnis homo qui ex illis primis hominibus, id est ex Adam
et Eva, ducit originem omnes resurgent et boni et mali; et
omnes ante iudicium Christi venturi sunt, et tunc qui
fuerunt in vita sua fideles et boni separantur a malis et
intrant in regno dei cum angelis sanctis, et erunt animae
illorum cum carne sua in requiem aeternam, numquam
amplius morituri, ubi iam nullus illis erit aut labor aut
dolor, non tristitia, non famis aut sitis, non calor aut frigus,
14. When the end of the world comes all the people and
all the men originated from those first, that is, Adam and
Eve, shall resurrect, both good and evil ones. All shall be
brought before the Judgement of Christ and then, all
those that were faithful and good in their lives will be
separated from the evil ones, entering in the Kingdom of
God with the holy angels. Their souls will be with their
bodies in the eternal rest, no more shall they die. No more
will they have toils or pain, hunger or thirst, heat or cold,
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non tenebrae aut nox, sed, semper laeti, saturi, in luce, in
gloria, similes erunt angelis dei, quia iam in illo loco
meruerunt intrare unde diabolus cum sibi consentientibus
angelis cecidit. Ibi ergo omnes qui fideles deo fuerunt
permanent in aeternum. Nam illi qui increduli fuerunt aut
non fuerunt baptizati aut certe, si baptizati fuerint, post
baptismum suum iterum ad idola et homicidia vel
adulteria vel ad periuria et ad alia mala reversi sunt et
s i ne poenitentia sunt defuncti, omnes qui tales fuerint
inventi damnantur cum diabolo et cum omnibus daemoniis
quos coluerunt et quorum opera fecerunt, et in aeterno
igne cum carne sua in inferno mittuntur, ubi ignis ille
inextinguibilis in perpetuum vivit, et caro illa iam de
resurrectione recepta in aeternum cruciatur gemens.
Desiderat iterum mori, ut non sentiat poenas, sed non
permittitur mori, ut aeternos perferat cruciatus. Ecce hoc
loquitur lex, hoc loquuntur prophetae, haec evangelium
Christi, haec apostolus, haec omnis scriptura sancta
testatur; quae vobis modo vel pauca ex multis simpliciter
diximus. Vestrum est dehinc, filii karissimi, ea quae per
nos dicta sunt recordare, et aut bene agendo futuram in
regno dei requiem sperare, aut (quod absit!) male agendo
futurum in inferno ignem perpetuum expectare. Nam et
vita aeterna et mors aeterna in arbitrio hominis posita
est. Quod sibi elegerit unusquisque, hoc habebit.
darkness or night but, always happy, satisfied, in the light,
in the glory, shall be alike the angels of God because they
deserved to enter in the place from where the Devil and
the angels that made a common cause with him came
down. There, in fact, all that were faithful to God shall
remain eternally. Now those that were incredulous or
were not baptised or, if they were, went back again, after
Baptism, to the idols, the homicides, the adultery, the
perjury and other evil doings and died without penitence,
all those that this way will be found shall be condemned
with the devil and all demons to whom they served and
whose works they did, being sent to the eternal fire in
Hell, along with their bodies. Here they shall remain
eternally in that inextinguishable fire and the flesh,
recovered in the resurrection, shall suffer moaning
forever. He [a condemned man] will wish that he would
die again in order not to feel the penalty, but he will not be
allowed to die once more so that he will suffer torments
forever. This says the Law, this say the prophets, the
Gospel of Christ, the Apostles, that is, all the Sacred
Scripture of which we have made you a small summary.
Therefor, dearest sons, it is convenient for you to
remember of what we have told you and that, doing the
right, you expect a future accomplishment in the Kingdom
of God or, what must not happen, doing wrong, expect a
future eternal anguish in Hell. Indeed, eternal life and
eternal death are in men's freedom of choice. What each
will chose for himself, he shall have it.
15. Vos ergo, fideles, qui in nomine patris et filii et spiritus
sancti ad Christi baptismum accessistis, considerate quale
in ipso baptismo pactum cum deo fecistis. Nam cum singuli
nomen vestrum dedistis ad fontes, verbi gratia, aut Petrus
15. So you, faithful, that had access to the baptism of
Christ, in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the
Holy Ghost, consider that in that act you've made a pact
with God. Because each one of you gave his name by the
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aut Iohannes aut quodlibet nomen, sic a sacerdote
interrogati fuistis: "Quomodo diceris?" Respondisti aut
tu, si iam poteras respondere, aut certe qui pro te fidem
fecit, qui te de fonte suscepit, et dixit, verbi gratia:
"Iohannes dicitur." Et interrogavit sacerdos: "Iohannes,
abrenuntias diabolo et angelis eius, culturis et idolis eius,
furtis et fraudibus eius, fornicationibus et ebrietatibus eius,
et omnibus operibus eius malis?" Et respondisti:
"Abrenuntio." Post istam abrenuntiationem diaboli
iterum interrogatus es a sacerdote: "Credis in deum
patrem omnipotentem?" Respondisti: "Credo." "Et in
Iesum Christum, filium eius unicum, deum et dominum
nostrum, qui natus est de spiritu sancto ex Maria virgine,
passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus et sepultus, descendit
ad inferna, tertia die resurrexit vivus a mortuis, ascendit
in caelos, sedet ad dexteram patris, inde venturus iudicare
vivos et mortuos? Credis?" Et respondisti: "Credo." Et
iterum interrogatus es: "Credis in spiritum sanctum,
sanctam ecclesiam catholicam, remissionem omnium
peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem, et vitam aeternam?"
Et respondisti: "Credo." Ecce ergo considerate quale
pactum cum deo fecistis in baptismo. Promisistis vos
abrenuntiare diabolo et angelis eius et omnibus operibus
eius malis, et confessi estis credere vos in patrem et filium
et spiritum sanctum et sperare vos in fine saeculi carnis
resurrectionem et vitam aeternam.
baptismal fountains, for example, Peter or John or any
other name and he was questioned by the priest: What will
your name be? You answered, if you could already answer
or certainly it was that which certified for you, which was
your sponsor, that said, for example: his name shall be
John. And the priest asked: John, do you renounce to the
Devil and to his angels, his worships and idols, his deceits
and frauds, to his impurities and greediness and to all his
bad doings? And answered: I do. Then, after this
renouncing to Satan, you were again questioned by the
priest: Do you believe in God Omnipotent Father? You
answered: I do. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, God
and our Lord, which was born by the work of the Holy
Ghost from the Virgin Mary, suffered under Poncius
Pilate, was crucified and entombed, went down to Hell,
resurrected from the dead at the third day, went up to
Heaven, where he is seated at the right side of the Father,
from where he will come to judge the living and the dead?
Do you believe? And you answered: I do. And again you
were questioned: Do you believe in the Holy Ghost, in the
holy Catholic Church, in the forgiveness of all sins, in the
resurrection of the flesh and in the eternal life? And
answered: I do. Consider than that you, in Baptism, made
a pact with God. You promised to renounce to the Devil,
his angels and all his bad doings and confessed to believe
in the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, as well as in
waiting the resurrection of the flesh at the end of the
centuries and in eternal life.
16. Ecce qualis cautio et confessio vestra apud deum
tenetur! Et quomodo aliqui ex vobis, qui abrenuntiaverunt
diabolo et angelis eius et culturis eius et operibus eius
malis, modo iterum ad culturas diaboli revertuntur? Nam
16. Here is your bail and confession by God! And why do
some of you, that renounced to the Devil and to his angels,
his worship and his bad doings, now return again to that
evil worshipping? Indeed, to light candles by the rocks, the
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ad petras et ad arbores et ad fontes et per trivia cereolos
incendere, quid est aliud nisi cultura diaboli? Divinationes
et auguria et dies idolorum observare, quid est aliud nisi
cultura diaboli? Vulcanalia et Kalendas observare, mensas
ornare, et lauros ponere, et pedem observare, et fundere
in foco super truncum frugem et vinum, et panem in
fontem mittere, quid est aliud nisi cultura diaboli?
Mulieres in tela sua Minervam nominare et Veneris diem
in nuptias observare et quo die in via exeatur adtendere,
quid est aliud nisi cultura diaboli? Incantare herbas ad
maleficia et invocare nomina daemonum incantando, quid
est aliud nisi cultura diaboli? Et alia multa quae longum
est dicere. Ecce ista omnia post abrenuntiationem diaboli,
post baptismum facitis et, ad culturam daemonum et ad
mala idolorum opera redeuntes, fidem vestram transistis
et pactum quod fecistis cum deo disrupistis. Dimisistis
signum crucis, quod in baptismum accepistis, et alia
diaboli signa per avicellos et sternutos et per alia multa
adtenditis. Quare mihi aut cuilibet recto Christiano non
nocet augurium? Quia, ubi signum crucis praecesserit,
nihil est signum diaboli. Quare vobis nocet? Quia signum
crucis contemnitis, et illud timetis quod vobis ipsi in
s i g num configitis. Similiter dimisistis incantationem
sanctam, id est symbolum quod in baptismum accepistis,
quod est Credo in deum patrem omnipotentem, et
orationem dominicam, id est Pater noster qui es in caelis,
et tenetis diabolicas incantationes et carmina. Quicumque
ergo, contempto signo crucis Christi, alia signa aspicit,
signum crucis, quod in baptismum accepit, perdidit.
Similiter et qui alias incantationes tenet a magis et
maleficis adinventas, incantationem sancti symboli et
orationis dominicae, quae in fide Christi accepit, amisit et
fidem Christi inculcavit, quia non potest et deus simul et
trees, the fountains and in the crossroads of the paths,
what is this if not evil worshipping? To take notice of the
fortellings, auguries and of the days of the idols, what is
this if not evil worshipping? To take notice of the Volcanes
and of the Calends, to garnish to tables, to lay laurel, to
enter with the right foot, to shed in the fire place, over the
burning timber, food and wine and to throw bread into
the fountains, what is this if not Devil worship? The fact
that women invoke Minerva at there looms and chose as
wedding day the day of Venus [Friday] and to remark in
what day one should travel, what is this if not evil
worshipping? To make enchantments with herbs to
damage and to invoke the names of demons when you do
it, what is this if not evil worship? And many other things
that that would take time to tell. Here is that you do all
these things after Baptism and the renouncing of Satan!
Returning to demon worship and to the bad doings of the
idols, you have spoken to your word and broke the pact
you have made with God. You have abandoned the sign of
the cross that you received at Baptism and consider sings
of the Devil the little birds, the sneeze and many other
things. What's the reason that to me or to any other
sincere Christian the augury doesn't harm? Because,
where the sign of the cross stands, nothing is the sign of
the Devil. And why does it harm you? Because you have
despised the sign of the cross and fear what you have
taken as a sign to you. In the same way, you have forgotten
the sacred enchantment, the symbol you received at
Baptism, which is I believe in God Omnipotent Father, the
dominical prayer, which is our Father thou are in Heaven,
and practice evil enchantments and verses. He who,
therefore, disdaining the sign of the cross of Christ, takes
for him other signs, has lost the sign of the cross he
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diabolus coli. received at Baptism. In the same way, he who practices
other enchantments invented by magicians and other evil
ones, lost the enchantment of the holy symbol and of the
dominical prayer, which he had received in the faith of
Christ, trampled at his feet that same faith, because one
cannot serve God and the Devil at the same time.
17. Si ergo agnovistis, dilectissimi filii, omnia ista quae
diximus, si quis se cognoscit post acceptum baptismum
haec fecisse et fidem Christi rupisse, non desperet de se
nec dicat in corde suo: "Quia tanta mala feci post
baptismum, fortasse non mihi indulget deus peccata mea."
Noli dubitare de misericordia dei. Tantum tu fac in corde
tuo pactum cum deo, ut iam amplius culturas daemonum
non colas, nec praeter deum caeli aliquid adores, neque
homicidium facias, neque adulterium aut fornicationem,
non furtum facias, non periures. Et cum hoc deo ex toto
corde tuo promiseris et ulterius peccata ista non feceris,
fiducialiter veniam de deo spera, quia sic dicit deus per
propheticam scripturam: In quacumque die iniustus
oblitus fuerit iniquitates suas et fecerit iustitias, et ego
obliviscar omnes iniquitates eius. Paenitentiam ergo
peccatoris deus expectat. Paenitentia autem ista vera est,
ut iam amplius homo non faciat mala quae fecit, sed de
praeteritis peccatis indulgentiam petat, et de futuro caveat
ne ad ipsa iterum revolvatur, sed magis econtrario bona
opera exerceat, ut esurienti pauperi elemosynam
porrigat, hospitem lassum reficiat, et quicquid sibi ab alio
vult fieri, hoc alteri faciat, et quod sibi non vult fieri, hoc
al t e r i non faciat, quia in hoc verbo mandata dei
complentur.
17. Therefore, dearest sons, if you have understood
everything we said, if anyone recognizes to have done
these things after receiving the Baptism and apostatised
from the faith of Christ, do not despair nor say in your
heart: Because I have done so much evil after Baptism,
maybe God will not forgive my sins. Doubt not of the
mercy of God. Make in your heart a pact with God in
such way that you will return no more to the practices of
the demons, nor worship another that's not God in
Heaven, don't commit homicide, nor adultery or impurity,
do not still, do not commit perjury. If you promise this to
God with all your heart and if do not these sins no more,
wait confidant the forgiveness of God, for thus says the
Lord in the Prophetic Scripture: On the day in which the
unrighteous forgets his iniquities and practices justice, so I
will forget all his faults. In fact, God waits the penitence of
the sinner. This penitence is real when man stops doing the
evil he has done, asks for indulgence for the past sins, has
caution not to return, in the future, to the same faults but,
on the contrary, he practices the good doings, offers help
to the starving poor, cheers the tired traveller, does on to
the other what he wants for himself and does him not what
he doesn't want, for in this the commandments of God are
summed up.
18. Rogamus ergo vos, fratres et filii karissimi, ut ista 18. Therefore we praise you, brothers and dearest sons,
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praecepta, quae vobis deus per nos humillimos et exiguos
dare dignatur, in memoria teneatis et cogitetis quomodo
salvetis animas vestras, ut non solum de praesenti ista vita
et de transitoria mundi istius utilitate tractetis, sed illud
magis recordetis quod in symbolo vos credere
promisistis, id est carnis resurrectionem et vitam
aeternam. Si ergo credidistis et creditis quia carnis
resurrectio erit et vita aeterna in regno caelorum inter
angelos dei, sicut vobis supra iam diximus, inde quam
maxime cogitate, et non semper de istius mundi miseria.
Praeparate viam vestram in operibus bonis. Frequentate
ad deprecandum deum in ecclesia vel per loca sanctorum.
Diem dominicum, qui propterea dominicus dicitur, quia
filius dei, dominus noster Iesus Christus, in ipso resurrexit
a mortuis, nolite contemnere, sed cum reverentia colite.
Opus servile, id est agrum, pratum, vineam, vel si qua
gravia sunt, non faciatis in die dominico, praeter tantum
quod ad necessitatem reficiendi corpusculi pro
exquoquendo pertinet cibo et necessitate longinqui itineris.
Et in locis proximis licet viam die dominico facere, non
tamen pro occasionibus malis, sed magis pro bonis, id est
aut ad loca sancta ambulare, aut fratrem vel amicum
visitare, vel infirmum consolare, aut tribulanti consilium
vel adiutorium pro bona causa portare. Sic ergo decet
Christianum hominem diem dominicum venerare. Nam
satis iniquum et turpe est ut illi qui pagani sunt et ignorant
fidem Christianum, idola daemonum colentes, diem Iovis
aut cuiuslibet daemonis colant et ab opere se abstineant,
cum certe nullum diem daemonia nec creassent nec
habeant. Et nos, qui verum deum adoramus et credimus
filium dei resurrexisse a mortuis, diem resurrectionis
eius, id est dominicum, minime veneramus! Nolite ergo
iniuriam facere resurrectioni dominicae, sed honorate et
that you keep in your mind these precepts, which God has
deign to transmit it to you trough us, quite humble and
small, and think on how you should save your souls, so that
you will not only take care of this present life and of the
passing utility of this world, but remember what you
promised to believe in the Creed, that is, the resurrection
of the flesh and eternal life. If, indeed, you have believed
and believe in the resurrection of the flesh and the eternal
life in the Kingdom of Heaven among God's angels, just
like we have told you, think truly on that and less in the
unhappiness of the world. Prepare your life with good
doings. Go to the church or to holy places to pray to God.
Do not despise but keep with respect the Dominic day
[Day of the Lord], by which it's called Sunday, because the
Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, resurrected from the
dead in that day. Do not work at Sunday, in the field, in the
meadow, in the vine or in other labours considered heavy,
unless to satisfy the feeding necessities of the body as it is
to prepare food or a long journey. You may travel to
nearby places at Sunday, not with evil purposes but with
good ones, that is, to got to the holy places, to visit a
brother or a friend, to comfort he who is ill, to take an
advice to the troubled ones or help to a good cause. This
is how the Christian man must honour Sunday. How
innocuous and shameful it is that those who are heathens
and ignore the faith in Christ, worshipping their evil idols,
keep the day of Jupiter or of any other demon and
abstain themselves from working when the demons haven't
created nor have any day and we, who worship the true
God and believe that the Son of God resurrected from
the dead, now keep the badly the day of Resurrection, that
is, Sunday! Do not insult the Resurrection of the Lord, but
honour it and respect it with reverence, in the name of the
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c u m reverentia colite propter spem nostram quam
habemus in illam. Nam sicut ille dominus noster Iesus
Christus, filius dei, qui est caput nostrum, tertia die
resurrexit a mortuis, ita et nos, qui sumus membra ipsius,
resurrecturos nos in carne nostra in fine saeculi speramus,
u t unusquisque sive requiem aeternam sive poenam
aeternam, sicut in corpore suo in saeculo isto egit, ita
recipiat.
hope that we in it keep. For, just like our Lord Jesus
Christ, Son of God, which is our head, resurrected from
the dead at the third day, so we, that are his limbs, hope to
resurrect in our flesh at the end of the centuries, so that
each one will receive the eternal rest or doom, according
to the acting it had, with his body, in the present life.
19. Ecce nos sub testimonio dei et sanctorum angelorum
q ui nos audiunt, modo loquentes, absolvimus caritati
vestrae debitum nostrum, et pecuniam domini, sicut
praeceptum habemus, feneravimus vobis. Vestrum est
amodo cogitare et procurare quomodo unusquisque,
quantum accepit, veniente domino cum usuris in die iudicii
repraesentet. Oramus autem ipsius domini clementiam, ut
vos ab omni malo custodiat et dignos sanctorum
angelorum suorum socios in regno suo perficiat,
praestante ipso qui vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum.
Amen.
19. And thus we, speaking this way, complete the message
that we owned to your Charity, under the look of God
and of the holy angels that are listening to us and we
deliver you the gifts from the Lord, as it was commanded
to us, so that you may yield it. You should think and
endeavour, right now, on how you should return, with the
concerning interest, that which each one of you received,
when the Lord returns, in Judgment Day. We ask,
therefore, for the mercy of the same Lord, so that He will
protect you from all evil and makes you worthy
companions of His holy angels in His Kingdom, with the
help of He who lives and rules through the centuries of
centuries. Amen.

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