* Tertul. Apol. t, 50. Licet nunc Sarmentitios et Semaxios
appelletis, quia ad stipitem dimidii axis re-vincti,
sarmentorum ambitu exurimur.
** Minuc. Octav. p. 25. Latebrosa et lucifugax natio, in
publicum muta, in angulis garrula.
*** Origen. c. Cel. lib. 1. p. 5.
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scurrilous name more, which it is not very easy to guess the meaning of.
He calls them _Plautinians_*,--_homines Plautinae prosapiae_. Rigaltius**
takes it for a ridicule upon the poverty and simplicity of the
Christians, whom the heathens commonly represented as a company of
poor ignorant mechanics, bakers, tailors, and the like; men of the same
quality with Plautus, who, as St. Jerome*** observes, was so poor, that
at a time of famine he was forced to hire out himself to a baker to
grind at his mill, during which time he wrote three of his Plays in the
intervals of his labour. Such sort of men Coecilius says the Christians
were; and therefore he styles Octavius in the dialogue, _homo Plautinae
prosapiae et pistorum praecipuus_, 'a Plautinian, a chief man among the
illiterate bakers,' but no philosopher. The same reflection is often
made by Celsus. "You shall see," says he****, "weavers, tailors,fullers,
and the most illiterate and rustic fellows, who dare not speak a word
before wise men, when they can get a company of children and silly women
together, set up to teach strange paradoxes amongst
* Minuc. p. 37. Quid ad haec audet Octavius homo Plautinae
Prosapiae, ut Pistorum praecipuus ita postremus
Philosophorum?
** Rigalt. in loc.
*** Hieron. Chronic, an. 1. Olymp. 145.
**** Origen. c Cels. lib. 3. p. 144.
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them." "This is one of their rules," says he again*,--"Let no man that
is learned, wise, or prudent come among us; but if any be unlearned, or
a child, or an ideot, let him freely come. So they openly declare, that
none but fools and sots, and such as want sense, slaves, women, and
children, are fit disciples for the God they worship***."
Nor was it only the heathens that thus reviled them, but commonly every
perverse sect among the Christians had some reproachful name to cast
upon them. The Novatian party called them _Cornelieans_*** because they
communicated with Cornelius bishop of Rome, rather than with Novatianus
his antagonist. They also termed them _Apostates, Capitolins,
Synedrians_, because**** they charitably decreed in their synods to
receive apostates, and such as went to the Capitol to sacrifice, into
their communion again upon their sincere repentance. The Nestorians(v)
termed the orthodox _Cyrillians_; and the Arians(vi) called them
_Eustathians_ and
* Origen. c. Cels. lib. 3. p. 137. f See the preceding
translation of Celsus, p. 19. f Eulog. ap. Phot. Cod. 280. Sec.
Facian. Ep. 2. ad Sympronian. || Ep. Legat. Schismat ad suos
in Epheso in Act. Con. Ephes. Con. t S. p. 746. f Sozora,
lib, 6. c. 21.
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_Paulinions_, from Eustathius and Paulin us bishops of Antioch. As also
_Homousians_, because they kept to the doctrine of the [--------], which
declared the Son of God to be of the same substance with the Father.
The author of the _Opus Imperfection_ on St. Matthew, under the name
of Chrysostom*, styles them expressly, _Haeresis Homoousianorum_,'
the heresy of the Homoousians.' And so Serapion in his conflict with
Arnobius** calls them _Homousianates_,which the printed copy reads
corruptly _Homuncionates_, which was a name for the Nestorians.
The Cataphrygians or Montanists commonly called the orthodox
[--------], 'carnal'; because they rejected the prophecies and pretexted
inspirations of Montanus, and would not receive his rigid laws about
fasting, nor abstain from second marriages, and observe four Lents in a
year, &c. This was Tertullian's ordinary compliment to the Christians in
all his books** written after he was fallen into the errors of Montanus.
He calls his own party the _spiritual_, and the orthodox the _carnal_:
and
* Opus Imperf. Horn. 48.
** Conflict. Arnob. et Serap. ad cakem Irenaei, p. 519.
*** Tertul. adv. Prax. c. 1. Nos quidem agnitio Paracleti
disjunxit a Psychicis. Id. de Monogam. c. 1. Haeretici
nuptias auferunt, Psychici ingerunt. See also c. 11. and 16.
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some of his books* are expressly entitled, _Adversus Psychicos_. Clemens
Alexandrinus** observes, the same reproach was also used by other
heretics beside the Montanists. And it appears from Irenaeus, that this
was an ancient calumny of the Valentinians, who styled themselves
the _spiritual_ and the _perfect_, and the orthodox the _secular and
carnal_***, who had need of abstinence and good works, which were not
necessary for them that were perfect.
The Millenaries styled them _Allegorists_, because they expounded the
prophecy of the saints reigning a thousand years with Christ, (Rev. xx.
4.) to a mystical and allegorical sense. Whence Euseubius**** observes
of Nepos the Egyptian bishop, who wrote for the Millenium, that he
entitled his book, [--------], 'A confutation of the Allegorists.'
Aetius the Arian gives them the abusive name of [--------]; by which he
seems to intimate, that their religion was but temporary, and would
* De Jejuniis adv. Psychicos. De Pudicitia, &c.
** Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. 4. p. 511.
*** Iren. lib. 1. c 1. p. 29. Nobis quidem, quos Psychicos
vocant, et de saeculo esse dicunt, necessarian) con-
tinentiam, &c.
**** Euseb. lib. 7. c. 24.
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shortly have an end; whereas the character was much more applicable to
the Arians themselves, whose faith was so lately sprung up in the
world; as the author of the dialogues _de Trinitate_, under the name of
Athanasius, who confutes Aetius *, justly retorts upon him.
The Manichees, as they gave themselves the most glorious names of
_Electi, Macarii, Catharistae_, mentioned by St. Austin**; so they
reproached the Catholics with the most contemptible name of _Simplices_,
'ideots,' which is the term that Manichaeus himself used in his
dispute*** with Archelaus, the Mesopotamian bishop, styling the
Christian teachers, _Simpliciorum magistri_, 'guides of the simple;'
because they could not relish his execrable doctrine concerning two
principles of good and evil.
The Apollinarians were no less injurious to the Catholics, in fixing on
them the odious name of _Anthropolatrae_, 'man-worshippers'; because they
maintained that Christ was a perfect man, and had a reasonable soul and
body, of the same nature with ours; which Apollinarius denied. Gregory
* Athan. Dial. 2. de Trinit. t. 2. p. 193.
** Aug. de Haer. c. 46.
*** Archel. Disp. adv. Manichaeum adcalcem Sozomen. Ed.
Vales, p. 197.
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Nazianzen* takes notice of this abuse, and sharply replies to it;
telling the Apollinarians, that they themselves much better deserved the
name of _Sarcolatrae_, 'flesh-worshippers': for if Christ had no human
soul, they must be concluded to worship his flesh only.
The Origenians, who denied the truth of the resurrection, and asserted
that men should have only aerial and spiritual bodies in the next world,
made jests upon the Catholics, because they maintained the contrary,
that our bodies should be the same individual bodies, and of the same
nature that they are now, with flesh and bones, and all the members in
the same form and structure, only altered in quality, not in substance.
For this they gave them the opprobrious names of _Simplices_ and
_Philosarcae**, 'ideots' and 'lovers of the flesh'; _Carnei, Animales,
Jumenta_, 'carnal, sensual, animals'; _Lutei, 'earthy', Pilosiotae***,
which Erasmus's edition reads
* Naz. Ep. 1. ad Cledon.
** Hieron. Ep. 61. ad Pammach. t. 2. p. 171. Nos Simplices
et Philosarcas dicere, quod eadem ossa, et sanguis, et caro,
id est, vultus et membra, totiusque compago corporis
resurgat in novissima die.
*** Id. Ep. 65, ad Pam. et Ocean, de Error. Orig. p. 192.
Pelusiotas (leg. Pilosiotas) nos appellant, et Luteos,
Animalesque, et Cameos, quod non recipiamus ea quae Spiritus
sunt.
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corruptly _Pelusiotae_, instead of _Pilonotae_; which seems to be a name
formed from _pili_, (hair); because the Catholics asserted, that the
body would rise perfect in all its parts, even with the hair itself to
beautify and adorn it.
But of all others the Luciferians gave the church the rudest language;
styling her the brothel-house, and synagogue of Antichrist and Satan;
because she allowed those bishops to retain their honour and places, who
were cajoled by the Arians to subscribe the fraudulent confession of
the Council of Ariminum. The Luciferian in St. Jerome runs out in this
manner against the church; and St. Jerome says, he spake but the sense
of the whole party, for this was the ordinary style and language of all
the rest.--Hieron. Dial. adv. Lucifer, t. ii. p. 135."
Thus far Bingham: to whose extracts may appropriately be added, what the
Emperor Julian says reproachfully of the Christians, in the fragments
which Cyril has preserved of his Treatise against them. "You do not take
notice (says he) whether any mention is made by the Jews of holiness;
but you emulate their rage and their bitterness, overturning temples and
altars, and cutting the throats, not only of those who remain firm in
paternal
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institutes, but also of those heretics who are equally erroneous with
yourselves, and who do not lament a dead body [i. e. the body of Christ]
in the same manner as you do*. For neither Jesus nor Paul exhorted you
to act in this manner. But the reason is, that neither did they expect
that you would ever arrive at the power which you have obtained. For
they were satisfied if they could deceive maidservants and slaves, and
through these married women, and such men as Cornelius and Sergius;
among whom if you can mention one that was at that time an illustrious
character, (and these things were transacted under the reign of Tiberius
or Claudius) believe that I am a liar in all things**."
* Julian here alludes to the contests between the Arians and
Trinitarians.
** Vid. Cyril, apud Spanh.