Proceedings with Emeritus · §3 · Augustine of Hippo

Why did you come?

Click or tap any sentence to jump there. The side buttons skip a paragraph.

Augustine has just asked Emeritus to explain why he came, and now addresses him directly, pressing him to speak if he thinks he was not defeated at the conference.

Brother Emeritus, you are here. You took part in the conference with us. If you were defeated, why did you come? But if you do not think you were defeated, tell us why you consider yourself the victor. You were defeated only if you were defeated by truth. But if you seemed defeated by power and you conquered by truth, there is no power here by which you seemed defeated. Let your fellow citizens hear why you presume you are the victor. And if you know that truth was victorious against you, why do you still reject unity?

Emeritus, bishop of the Donatist party, said: The records show whether I was defeated or I conquered, whether I was defeated by truth or crushed by power.

Augustine, bishop of the Catholic Church, said: Then why did you come?

Emeritus, bishop of the Donatist party, said: To say what you are asking.

Augustine, bishop of the Catholic Church, said: I am asking why you came. I would not be asking this if you had not come.

Emeritus, bishop of the Donatist party, said to the notary who was taking it down: Do it.

Latin

Frater Emerite, praesens es. collationi (no)biscum interfuisti. si uictus es, quare uenisti? si autem te uictum esse non putas, loquere unde tibi uictor esse uidearis. tunc enim uictus es, si ueritate uictus es. si autem uideris uictus potestate et uicisti ueritate, non est hic potestas qua uictus uideris; audiant ciues tui unde te uictorem praesumis esse. at si nosti aduersus te uictricem fuisse ueritatem, quid adhuc respuis unitatem? Emeritus episcopus partis Donati dixit: Gesta indicant si uictus sum aut uici, si ueritate uictus sum aut potestate oppressus sum. Augustinus episcopus ecclesiae catholicae dixit: Quare ergo uenisti? Emeritus episcopus partis Donati dixit: Ut hoc dicerem quod requiris. Augustinus episcopus ecclesiae catholicae dixit: Requiro quare ueneris. hoc non quaererem, si non uenisses. Emeritus episcopus partis Donati dixit notario qui excipiebat: Fac.

About this text

Emeritus, a Donatist bishop, came to the city two days earlier and agreed to enter the Catholic church.

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) wrote this dialogue for the Catholic congregation at Caesarea in Mauretania, with Emeritus the Donatist bishop present. Emeritus had come to the city two days earlier and agreed to enter the Catholic church. The Catholic bishops, with Deuterius the metropolitan of Caesarea presiding alongside Augustine and others, held a public session to question him about why he came and to expose the weakness of the Donatist position before the people.

Augustine publicly confronts Emeritus, who remains largely silent, and argues that the Donatists were defeated at the Conference of Carthage not by power but by truth. He says their treatment of the Maximianist schism proves inconsistency, because they received Felicianus and Praetextatus back in their honors without rebaptizing them after condemning them with Maximianus, while refusing communion with the worldwide Catholic Church over the long settled case of Caecilian. The reader also meets the Catholic bishops Deuterius, Alypius, Possidius, Rusticus and Palladius, the judge Marcellinus, Primianus, Donatus, Optatus and Rogatus, and hears Alypius read the bishops letter to Marcellinus with Augustine interrupting to comment, while Augustine quotes and argues against the words of Emeritus himself condemning the Maximianists, and closes by urging prayer for the conversion of Emeritus.

Here conference means the formal public debate between Catholic and Donatist bishops held at Carthage, and judge means Marcellinus the imperial official appointed to decide it. Communion means full fellowship sharing the Eucharist, unity means the visible unity of the Church throughout the world, and Catholic peace is contrasted with schism and dissension. To rebaptize means to baptize again those coming from the Catholic Church, Maximianists means the followers of Maximianus who split from Primianus, and Circumcellions means violent Donatist bands. Old Testament names follow the Septuagint, so Dathan, Chore and Abiron appear as Dathan, Korah and Abiram, and Psalms follow Septuagint numbering with a note where it differs from the Hebrew used in modern Bibles.

New English from the Latin base text; no published English used as wording.

Printed text used

Translated from CSEL 53 (1910) (Latin)

This work has passed this project's source check. This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.