31. triclinium. It is interesting to see that there was a dining-room attached to the church.
32. dolia.
33. orcae.
34. Proditores, as contrasted with Traditores. They said that they might 'betray' ( tradere ) books, but they were no traitors to give up ( prodere ) their fellow-men.
35. quiniones. Quinio, i.e. a gathering of five leaves. Most MSS. are formed of quaternions, i.e. of four leaves doubled, the smooth face of one to smooth face of the other, hair face to hair face. Usually the outside is hair face. In quinions and ternions it was necessary to have them alternately hair and smooth face outside. (The codices may have been of papyrus; but they are almost sure to have been of parchment, as papyrus was dearer and very brittle. Codices came into frequent use in the course of the third century, and paper rolls quickly became unusual. The old ones soon disappeared, as from eighty to a hundred years was a long life for a roll.)
36. Bovi servo publico.
37. epistulas Episcoporum ( = letters belonging to Bishops) facias a Forte.
38. legit exemplar libelli traditi Episcopis a Nundinario diacono. The words exemplar libelli traditi Episcopis are wanting in the MS., no doubt through the carelessness of a copyist. They have been supplied from St. Augustine ( con. Cresc. iii, 29). The MS. for legit has legitur, and it is thus printed by Ziwsa. Libellus is often used of a petition (e.g. those of heretics to Popes, or of Catholics to Popes against heretics), but it also often means a bill of accusation, as here.
39. i.e. by himself.
40. de quadringentis follibus. Ducange tells us that follis was 'genus monetae, apud Byzantinos potissimum.' He does not specify its relative value.
41. Cf. Optatus i, 16; cf. S. Aug. Ep. clxii; con. Parmen. i, 3.
42. folles viginti.
43. exemplum epistulae.
44. Purpurius of Limata in Numidia. St. Optatus accused him (i, 13), on the strength of the Acts of the Council of Cirta, of having murdered his sister's sons. These Acts have been preserved by St. Augustine ( contra Cresconium iii, 27), where we read as follows: 'Secundus said to Purpurius of Limata: "It is said that you killed the two sons of your sister at Milevis." Purpurius answered him: "Do you think that I am terrified by you, like the rest? . . . I did kill them, and I kill those who act against me. So do not provoke me to say more!"' (Vide p. 418.)
45. amputem.
46. lapidatus. So St. Augustine understands it. But may it not perhaps be understood literally of stoning? Silvanus, no doubt, like Purpurius himself, was capable of anything.
47. verum. Cf. Livy (Book xxxii): 'Ceterum et sociorum audiri postulata verum esse.'
48. ecclesiasticos viros, id est men who belong to the Church, not heretics or schismatics. Purpurius means 'those who belong to our faction,' which he called the Church.
49. ego scio quia auris non est, i.e. I write this to you all, because you know it already. I know there is no ear listening----no danger of the thing leaking out further. Du Pin, however, suggests sileo for scio.
50. Cf. John vii, 24.
51. Dei res agitur.
52. vera sunt. This is the emendation of Du Pin for the vestra sunt of the MS., which Ziwsa preserves. 'Vestra' might mean 'The things in the Libellus are for you alone----tell nobody.' (Cf. supra Ego scio ----I know that there is no eavesdropper.) But in the preceding letter of Purpurius, we have a parallel passage: 'Et scio, quia vera sunt.'
53. Matt. xii, 37.
54. Something evidently is missing here.
55. Gal. iii, 15.