The Patrologia Latina · Volume V
Poets & Apologists
Volume 5 spans the last generation before Constantine: Arnobius’ seven books Against the Heathen, the first Latin commentary on the Apocalypse by Victorinus of Pettau, the acrostic poems of Commodian, and the Trinitarian fragments of the two Dionysii — Alexandria and Rome. We are translating every one into English.
About this volume
The church between Cyprian and Constantine
This volume gathers the Latin church from the martyrdom of Sixtus II in 258 AD to the eve of the Great Persecution. It opens with the correspondence of the two Dionysii — the bishops of Alexandria and Rome whose exchange over Sabellius produced some of the earliest careful language about the Trinity, quoted by Athanasius a century later in defense of Nicaea — alongside the letters and decrees the medieval decretal tradition printed under the popes of these decades.
The heart of the volume belongs to three writers. Commodian, by the traditional dating the first Christian poet in Latin, instructs pagans and believers in eighty acrostic poems. Victorinus, bishop of Pettau and the earliest Latin exegete, expounds the Apocalypse and the days of creation. And Arnobius of Sicca, a teacher of rhetoric converted late in life, answers the charge that Christians brought the world’s calamities in seven books Against the Heathen — a work packed with more detail about Roman religion than almost any other ancient source.
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 heavyweight
Against the Heathen
Adversus Gentes
Seven books answering the charge that Christians caused the world’s disasters — by a rhetor who once argued the other side.
Read →The first commentary
Commentary on the Apocalypse
Scholia in Apocalypsin
The earliest surviving Latin commentary on any book of Scripture, by a bishop martyred under Diocletian.
Read →The first poet
The Instructions of Commodian
Instructiones adversus Gentium Deos
Eighty acrostic poems against the old gods and for Christian discipline — the first Christian poetry in Latin.
Read →The contents
20 works
Each is a fresh English translation from the Latin, free to read online, in the order Migne printed them.
- 01
The Dubious Letters of Pope Sixtus II Sixti Papae II Epistolae Dubiae
Decretal letters on episcopal appeals and church discipline, traditionally printed under Pope Sixtus II's name though composed centuries after his death.
4 ch. Read free → - 02
Fragments of the First Letter to Pope Sixtus II Epistola ad Sixtum Papam Fragmenta
A firsthand account of the baptismal dispute between Rome and the eastern provinces, from the bishop who tried to mediate it.
1 min Read free → - 03
Fragments of the Letter to Philemon Epistola ad Philemonem Sixti Presbyterum Fragmenta
Dionysius of Alexandria defends his habit of studying heretical writings and recalls his predecessor's rule for readmitting the lapsed without a second baptism.
2 min Read free → - 04
Fragment of a Letter to Dionysius, Then a Presbyter of Rome and Afterwards Its Bishop Epistola ad Dionysium Presbyterum Fragmentum
A brief surviving fragment in which Dionysius of Alexandria condemns Novatian for splitting the church and rejecting baptism.
1 min Read free → - 05
Fragment of the Letter to Pope Sixtus II Epistola ad Sixtum II Papam Fragmentum
A bishop asks Rome for counsel after a long-time churchgoer breaks down in tears over the validity of his own baptism.
2 min Read free → - 06
Against the Sabellians Adversus Sabellianos Fragmentum
A rare surviving fragment of a third-century pope's own theology, defending the Trinity against both modalism and tritheism.
4 min Read free → - 07
Fragments of the Letter to Dionysius of Rome Epistola ad Dionysium Romanum Fragmenta
Dionysius of Alexandria defends his account of the Trinity against charges of splitting the Godhead into three separate powers.
9 min Read free → - 08
The Roman Council in the Case of Dionysius of Alexandria Concilium Romanum in Causa Dionysii Alexandrini
A brief notice recording two synods that Dionysius of Alexandria convened, one against Sabellius and one against a bishop who taught an earthly millennial kingdom.
1 min Read free → - 09
Letter to Urban the Prefect Epistola ad Urbanum Praefectum
A pastoral letter of moral exhortation to a Roman prefect, woven almost entirely from the wisdom sayings of Sirach.
5 min Read free → - 10
Letter to Bishop Severus Epistola ad Severum Episcopum
A letter on organizing parish churches and judging accusations against bishops, traditionally attributed to Pope Dionysius of Rome but now recognized as a later composition.
4 min Read free → - 11
The Dubious Letters of Pope Felix I Sancti Felicis Papae Epistolae Dubiae
Four letters traditionally printed under a third-century pope's name, addressing how accused bishops should be tried and defending the Son's full knowledge of the Father.
4 ch. Read free → - 12
Exhortation to the Priests Exhortatio ad Presbyteros
A detailed rule of priestly conduct and liturgical practice, from clean altar linens to memorizing the creed, printed under the name of Pope Eutychian.
10 min Read free → - 13
The Dubious Letters and Decrees of Pope Eutychian Epistola et Decreta Dubia
A doctrinal letter defending Christ's two natures and ten disciplinary decrees on clerical conduct and church order, printed under the name of Pope Eutychian.
12 ch. Read free → - 14
Letter to Bishop Felix Epistola ad Felicem Episcopum
A wide-ranging answer on canon procedure and the two natures of Christ, traditionally printed under the name of Pope Caius.
6 ch. Read free → - 15
The Instructions of Commodian Instructiones adversus Gentium Deos
Eighty short acrostic poems that dismantle the pagan gods one by one, then instruct Jews, gentiles, and Christians in right belief and daily conduct.
80 ch. Read free → - 16
A Poem Against the Heathen Carmen adversus Gentes
A convert's verse tour through pagan idols and scandalous myths, closing in a hymn to Christ the creating Word.
13 min Read free → - 17
On the Creation of the World De Fabrica Mundi
A short treatise reading the six days of Genesis through the numbers seven, four, and twelve, and tying them to the Church's fasting calendar and the life of Christ.
9 min Read free → - 18
Commentary on the Apocalypse Scholia in Apocalypsin Beati Joannis
The earliest surviving Latin commentary on Revelation, working through John's visions verse by verse to explain the seven churches, the four evangelists, and the coming of Antichrist.
19 ch. Read free → - 19
Fragment on the Eucharist Fragmentum de Eucharistia
A vivid defense of the real presence, arguing through the image of a nursing infant that the bread and wine are truly, not merely figuratively, Christ's body and blood.
5 ch. Read free → - 20
Against the Heathen Disputationum adversus Gentes Libri Septem
A former teacher of rhetoric turns his own training against Greco-Roman religion, dismantling the logic of pagan gods, temples, and sacrifices book by book.
347 ch. Read free →
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