The Patrologia Latina · Volume X
On the Trinity
Volume 10 completes Hilary of Poitiers: On the Trinity — the twelve books written in Phrygian exile that became the Latin West’s first great answer to Arianism — with On the Councils, his appeals to and open defiance of the emperor Constantius, the documents of the Arian controversy, and the letter and morning hymn sent to his daughter Abra. We are translating every one into English.
About this volume
Twelve books from exile
Exiled to Phrygia in 356 AD for refusing the Arian settlement of Constantius II, Hilary spent the exile writing On the Trinity: twelve books defending the eternal generation and full divinity of the Son from Scripture, the first Latin synthesis of Nicene doctrine on that scale. Beside it stands On the Councils, written to the bishops of Gaul in 358 to 359 AD, translating the eastern creeds and arguing that the homoiousian East stood nearer the faith than the West had feared — with the brief Apologetic Responses he added when critics pressed him.
The rest of the volume is the fight itself: two books of appeal To Constantius, the open blast Against Constantius that calls the emperor a persecutor who fights with flattery instead of the sword, Against Auxentius on the Arian bishop of Milan, and the fragments of his historical work — the raw council documents of Sardica and Ariminum strung on Hilary’s narrative. The letter and morning hymn traditionally printed with his works, sent to his daughter Abra, and a dedication sermon by the fifth-century Hilary of Arles close the volume.
As across the whole project, we translate the original works only, in fresh English, and give them away free to read.
Where to start
Three to begin with
The summa
On the Trinity
De Trinitate
Twelve books written in exile — the Latin West’s first full-scale defense of the divinity of Christ.
Read →The defiance
Against the Emperor Constantius
Contra Constantium Imperatorem
A bishop tells a living emperor to his face that he is Antichrist’s forerunner — persecution by flattery instead of the sword.
Read →The curiosity
The Letter to His Daughter Abra
Epistola ad Abram Filiam Suam
A father in exile writes home to his young daughter — with a morning hymn enclosed, among the earliest in Latin.
Read →The contents
12 works
Each is a fresh English translation from the Latin, free to read online, in the order Migne printed them.
- 01
On the Trinity De Trinitate libri duodecim
Twelve books composed during exile in Phrygia, marshaling Scripture against Arian and Sabellian errors to defend Christ's eternal generation as true God from true God.
554 ch. Read free → - 02
On the Councils Liber de Synodis seu de Fide Orientalium
Hilary's survey and defense of the Eastern creeds, written to reconcile Gaul's bishops with Eastern churches still divided by the word "homoousios."
159 ch. Read free → - 03
Answers to the Critics of the Book on the Synods Apologetica ad reprehensores libri de Synodis responsa
Twelve short replies in which Hilary defends disputed phrases from his Book on the Synods, especially his use of "homoeousion."
4 min Read free → - 04
Letter to His Daughter Abra Epistola ad Abram filiam suam
An allegorical letter urging Hilary's young daughter to reserve herself for a costly garment and pearl symbolizing eternal salvation.
7 ch. Read free → - 05
A Hymn Sent to His Daughter Abra Hymnus filiae suae Abrae missus
A morning hymn invoking Christ as the true light, traditionally sent by Hilary of Poitiers to his daughter Abra.
1 min Read free → - 06
To Constantius Augustus Ad Constantium Augustum libri duo
Two appeals from Hilary of Poitiers to Emperor Constantius II, one pleading for toleration of exiled Catholics and one defending the Nicene faith in person.
19 ch. Read free → - 07
Against Constantius Liber contra Constantium Imperatorem
Hilary's fiercest attack on Constantius II, written after witnessing the Arian synod of Seleucia, naming the flattering emperor antichrist for persecuting without martyrdom.
27 ch. Read free → - 08
Against Auxentius Liber contra Arianos vel Auxentium
Hilary's public exposure of the bishop of Milan as a covert Arian, complete with the disputed profession of faith itself.
16 ch. Read free → - 09
Fragments of the Historical Work Fragmenta ex opere historico
A dossier of council letters, creeds, and correspondence assembled by Hilary to document the Arian controversy from Nicaea through the Council of Sardica.
21 ch. Read free → - 10
Fragments from Other Works Fragmenta ex aliis S. Hilarii operibus
Surviving quotations from Hilary's lost commentaries on Job, Matthew, and Timothy, preserved only because later writers copied his words.
9 ch. Read free → - 11
A Letter, or Short Treatise, on Instruction in the Faith Epistola seu Libellus
A catechetical manual attributed to Hilary of Poitiers, guiding new believers from the creed through duties of rich and poor, young and old.
22 ch. Read free → - 12
Sermon on the Dedication of the Church Sermo de dedicatione ecclesiae
A dedication-day sermon that reads Solomon's Temple, stone by stone, as a figure of the Church's faith, love, and hope.
11 min Read free →
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