Free English Translation
The Correspondence of Lucifer of Cagliari and Florentius
Epistolae cum Florentio
3 chapters · ~1 min read · by Lucifer and Florentius
About The Correspondence of Lucifer of Cagliari and Florentius
This short exchange preserves two letters between Florentius, Master of the Offices at the imperial court, and Lucifer, the exiled bishop of Cagliari, written during Lucifer's years away from his see in the later 350s to 360s AD. Florentius writes first, reporting that a man has presented a codex bearing Lucifer's name to the emperor and asking Lucifer to confirm in writing whether he truly sent it, so that it may be returned to the emperor. Lucifer replies that the bearer did act on his behalf, that the codex had been carefully examined and entrusted to a man named Bonosus for delivery, and that he stands ready to defend it against those working for his ruin. The pair offers a small window into how Lucifer's writings moved between his place of exile and the imperial court.
By Lucifer and Florentius. Collected in Patrologia Latina, Volume 13.
In this work
Letter of Florentius to Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari
· Letter · Letter of Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari, to Florentius · LetterLetter of Florentius to Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari
Letter
Florentius to the most kindly lord Lucifer. A certain man has presented to our lord and august sovereign a codex bearing your name: he has directed that it be carried to your holiness, and he desires to know whether this same codex was in fact sent by you. This, therefore, according to the truth of the matter, you ought to write back in full, and return the codex, so that it may be presented anew to his eternity.
Letter of Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari, to Florentius
Letter
Lucifer the Bishop to Florentius, Master of the Offices. That the bearer of the codex whom your honor mentions approached the emperor in my name, was indeed sent by my humble self; and that the codex itself, as you have deigned to point out, was carefully examined and entrusted to Bonosus, who is engaged in such matters, to be carried onward—with these facts your devout prudence, dearest son, was to be furnished. It will now be for your nobility, once you have recognized this from me, to defend it without any hesitation. For we, by God’s favor, stand rejoicing against those things which are being prepared for our destruction, and when he begins to examine the reasons why I have written in such a manner, he will find them.
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