Religious Intolerance in the Later Roman Empire - Bad request ...

either by divine providence or by nature’s serenity” 101 that the punishment should fit
the “delinquents’ wickedness.” 102 He referred to Ursinus as “the disturber of the public
tranquillity” 103 the “application of his precepts” would lead to disorder. 104 Therefore
Ursinus’ exile was necessary to prevent him instilling Rome and its suburbs with “the
infection of his own wickedness.” 105 The named eight were “associates of this error,” 106
and they were those “whom the imitation of wickedness embraces.” 107 Valentinian
indicated that any of the eight who thought they could disregard his order of exile
would be acting with “sacrilegious intention.” 108
His letter to Maximinus was without the strong rhetorical invective of his letter
to Ampelius. The emperor did begin in a similar vein by invoking divine guidance for
his actions and the origin of such guidance was given in a less ambiguous manner: “By
divine providence such appointment has been made for our gentleness.” Only “divine
providence” guides Valentinian in this letter. 109 Valentinian referred to the Ursinians
as “delinquents” although it may be better to use ‘sinner’ for delin quentum . 110 Ursinus’
exile was necessary to ensure the “Christian people’s peace and the obedience owed to
religion and to the laws.” 111 Any infringement by Ursinus of his exile would be an
“unpleasant obstinacy.” 112 More importantly, and in such a case he should no longer
be treated as a Christian since “his spirit’s restlessness separates him from religion’s
fellowship, but as a traitorous [preferred to Coleman-Norton’s use of ‘factious’ for
factiosum ] person and a disturber of public peace and an enemy of laws and religion.” 113
101
iure m ansuetudinis nostrae sen sibus v el div initus datum est v el tranquillitate naturae
102
delinquentum facinore
103
perturbatorem tranquillitatis publicae
104
application e m orum
105
nequitiae suae contagionem conetur infundere
106
erroris eius con sortibus
107
quos nequitiae sim ilitudo com plectitur
108
sacriligia intention e
109
CSEL 35.12: est istuo div initus institutum m ansuetudini nostrae
110
delinquentum in the text, Coleman-Norton prefers delinquents to sinners
111
propter quietem populi christiani et debitam religion i ac legibus disciplinam
112
ingrata pertin acia
113
quippe quem a com m unione religionis m entis inquietudo disterm inat, sed ut hom inem factiosum
perturbatorem que publicae tranquillitatis legum et religionis inim icum
119