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124 CredibiUlij of the Gospel History.
presbyter of Rome : for Cyprian's presbyter is never reckoned
a writer. And though the Benedictine editors of Ambrose
affirm that, in the manuscripts of that father's work
de Pcenitentia, the name of this person is Avritten Novatian ;
yet there are certainly t^^ o or more Latin authors, who write
it Novatus : those Benedictines seem not able to deny it.
They blame Petavius for reckoning- Ambrose among" the
fathers, by whom these two presbyters have been confounded:
but they were not pleased to cite Petavius, nor to refer to tlie
place where he speaks of this matter. 1 shall therefore
transcribe here the passage which I suppose to be intended
by those Benedictines : Sic igitur Novatianorum secta ab
ambobus illis auctoribus piofectn, a posteriore prsesertim,
hoc est, Novatiano. magnum incrementum accepit. Sed
Graeci, uti dixi, Patres unum duntaxat sectce conditorem
nominant, Novatum sive NavaTov, Romanum presbyterum
quemadmodum Euseb. 1. 6. cap. 45. Theodoretus, Epiphanius
hoc loco, Gregorius Nazianz. adeoque Socrates, et
complures alii. Imo etiam e Latinis Aug'ustin. 1. de Hser.
Philastrius, Ambr. in L. de Pcen. Distinguit autem Cyprianus
passim in Epist. etPacianus, ac Latini omnes, qui de
hac haeresi subtilius disputarunt. Petav. Animadv. ad Hser.
lix. T. ii. Epiphan. p. 226. Here then are two more Latin
authors to be added to the foregoing, Philaster and Augustine:
their words are these : Novatiani surrexerunt post persecutionem
postremam a Novato quodam Philast. de Hoer.
cap. 82. Cathari, qui seipsos isto nomine, quasi propter munditiam,
superbissime atqvie odiosissime nominant, secundas
nuptias non admittunt, poenitentiam denegant, Novatum
sectantes hoereticum : unde ctiani Novatiani appellantur.
Aug\ de Hoer. cap. 38. Vid. eund. De Utilit. Jejun. cap. 9.
n. IE et contr. Crescon. 1. ii. c. 1. n. 2. These are two
material witnesses, LatiTi authors, who wrote professedly of
heresies; and the latter of them a man of great learning. I
must add here that Rufinus, not only in his version of Eusebius
before taken notice of, but in his explication of the
creed likewise, has Novatus: Et quod Novatus sollicitavit,
lapsis poenitentiam denegando, et secundas nuptias, cum
forte iniri eas necessitas exegerit, condemnando. Symb. Ruf.
ap. Hieron. T. v. p. 130. f. Pelagius Miitesthe name in the
sanie manner: Quamvis ergo tota epistola contra Novatum
sit, &c. Pelag. in 2 Cor. cap. 2. ap. Hieron. T. v. p. 1015.
Li the decree of Gelasius his name is Avritten Novatus. Ap.
Labb. Cone. T. iv. p.
12(i5. I shall mention one author
more: Euerunt hi enim aliquando nobiscum, sed quodam
Novato auctore disrupti sunt : non tamen htereticis cose-
: