100. una tinctio (cf. Eph. iv, 5).
101. quasi libenter duplicare contenditis.
102. in Marcionis foveas (cf. iv, 5; i, 9).
103. De uno Deo unus est Christus.
104. A man who has been born once, either in the natural or supernatural order, cannot be born again in the same order of things.
105. una fides ab haereticorum erroribus, et ab eorum varia fide fides unica separatur.
106. etiam vobis praescribitur, i.e. the first Baptism is 'in possession.' Cf. infra: quod praescribat praesumptionibus vestris.
107. totum ponendo in dotibus, nihil in Sacramentis (cf. ii, 10, where the thought is more fully developed: 'Cur de solis ecclesiae dotibus loqui voluisti et iam illud respondeas et de sanctis eius membris ac visceribus tacuisti, quae sunt procul dubio in Sacramentis et in Nominibus Trinitatis?').
108. hoc nomen fidei. St. Optatus writes of Nomen Christianum (iii, 8); Catholicum (iii, 1); Ecclesiae (i, 21; iii, 5); Baptismatis (v, 4); Traditorum (i, 28); Legis (vii, 1); fraternitatis (i, 3); pietatis (iii, 10); communionis (vii, 6).
109. pertineat ad credentem, non ad operantem (i.e. minister of the Sacrament).
110. quocumque enim interrogante, qui credidit Deo, credidit.
111. post illius unum 'Credo,' tu exigis alterum 'Credo.' The reference is to the baptismal interrogatories.
112. species. Literally aspects, points of view.
113. in credente (the subject of the Sacrament).
114. in operante (the minister of the Sacrament).
115. non pari libramine ponderandae sunt singulae.
116. quasi necessaria. Cf. 'quasi ecclesia '(iii, 10). 'Contingently necessary' is Mr. Sparrow Simpson's translation ( op. cit. p. 47). It conveys the idea that the appointment of a Minister in Baptism is not absolutely necessary in itself, but contingent on the Will of God. I doubt, however, whether this thought was before the mind of Optatus. His argument proceeds, as we shall see immediately, on somewhat different lines.
117. persona operantis. Persona from the part played by an actor = here the duty which the 'minister' has to perform----the official work assigned to him.
118. fides in singulis una est.
119. persona operantis.
120. duabus prioribus speciebus par esse non posse.
121. eiusdem personae esse distantiam. Persona, sc. operantis (v. supra). In the administration of Baptism, whether Peter baptises or Judas, there can be no real distantia. For distantia, as used by Optatus, cf. v, 3: Nam si esset distantia (i.e. personae, as here); i, 10 ( inter schismaticos et haereticos ); i, 21 (delictorum, i.e. inter delicta ).
122. For they attributed the efficacy of Baptism, not to the work of the Trinity, but to their own sanctity.
123. Baptismatis unicum nomen est. There is only one Baptism. (Cf. Singulare Baptisma, passim.)
124. cui subest proprium corpus.