| Keywords |
- Ethnonym: Aquitani, [wurzel: Aquitan]
- Keyword: barbari, [wurzel: barbar]
- Keyword: caelestis ira, [wurzel: caelestis]
- Keyword: fornicatio, [wurzel: fornicatio]
- Region: Gallia, [wurzel: Galli]
- Keyword: gens, [wurzel: gent]
- Ethnonym: Gothi, [wurzel: Goth]
- Ethnonym: Hispani, [wurzel: Hispan]
- Region: Hispania, [wurzel: Hispani]
- Keyword: impudicitia, [wurzel: impudicitia]
- : impuritas, [wurzel: impurita]
- Keyword: pollutio, [wurzel: pollut]
- Keyword: populus, [wurzel: popul]
- Keyword: res publica, [wurzel: re public]
- Ethnonym: Romani, [wurzel: roman]
- Keyword: sanguis, [wurzel: sang]
- Keyword: tormenta, [wurzel: torment]
- Ethnonym: Vandali, [wurzel: vandal]
|
| ID |
2272 |
| Text |
De gubernatione dei (439 - 451) Salvian of Marseilles |
| Quotation |
Inter pudicos barbaros impudici sumus. Plus adhuc dico: offenduntur barbari ipsi impuritatibus nostris. Esse inter Gothos non licet scortatorem Gothum: soli inter eos praejudicio nationis ac nominis permittuntur impuri esse Romani. Et quae nobis, rogo, spes ante Deum est? Impudicitiam nos diligimus, Gothi exsecrantur; puritatem nos fugimus, illi amant; fornicatio apud illos crimen atque discrimen est, apud nos decus. Et putamus
nos ante Deum posse consistere; putamus posse nos salvos esse, quando omne impuritatis scelus, omnis impudicitiae turpitudo a Romanis admittitur et a barbaris vindicatur? Hic nunc illos requiro qui meliores nos putant esse quam barbaros: dicant quid horum vel paucissimi Gothi faciant, vel quid non horum Romani omnes vel pene omnes? Et miramur si terrae vel Aquitanorum vel nostrorum omnium a Deo barbaris datae sunt, cum eas quas Romani polluerant fornicatione, nunc mundent barbari castitate?
VII. Sed forte hoc in Aquitanicis tantum? Transeamus etiam ad alias mundi partes, ne de solis tantummodo Gallis dixisse videamur. Quid? Hispanias nonne vel eadem vel majora forsitan vitia perdiderunt? quas quidem coelestis ira etiam si aliis quibuslibet barbaris tradidisset, digna flagitiorum tormenta toleraverunt puritatis inimici. Sed accessit hoc ad manifestandum illic impudicitiae damnationem ut Wandalis potissimum, id est pudicis barbaris traderentur. Dupliciter in illa Hispanorum captivitate ostendere Deus voluit, quantum et odisset carnis libidinem et diligeret castitatem, cum et Wandalos ob solam maxime pudicitiam superponeret, et Hispanos ob solam vel maxime impudicitiam subjugaret. Quid enim? Nunquid non erant in omni orbe terrarum Barbari fortiores, quibus Hispaniae traderentur? Multi absque dubio, immo ni fallor, omnes. Sed ideo ille infirmissimis hostibus cuncta tradidit, ut ostenderet scilicet non vires valere, sed causam; neque nos
tunc ignavissimorum quondam hostium fortitudine obrui, sed sola vitiorum nostrorum impuritate superari. Ut vere in nos venerit dictum illud, quo ait Dominus ad Judaeos: Secundum immunditias suas et secundum iniquitates suas feci illis, et averti faciem meam ab eis. Et alibi ad gentem ipsam: Adducet Dominus super te gentem de longinquo: et ungulis, inquit, equorum suorum omnes plateas tuas conculcabunt, et populum tuum gladio interficient. Completa ergo in nos sunt omnia quae dixit sermo divinus, et vim verborum coelestium luit poena cunctorum.
VIII. Sed tamen cum omnes fere barbarae gentes Romanorum sanguinem biberint, omnes viscera nostra laceraverint; quid est quod Deus noster maximas rei publicae opes et locupletissimos Romani nominis populos in jus potissimum ignavissimorum quondam hostium dedit? Quid? nisi ut agnosceremus scilicet quod supra dixi, meritorum hoc fuisse, non virium, utque ipsum hoc nobis in confusionem caderet ac poenam quod ignavissimis traderemur, et vel sic plagam coelestis manus agnosceremus agnosceremus quia nos non fortissimi hostium sed ignauissimi subiugarent. |
| Translation |
Among chaste barbarians, we are unchaste. I say further:
the very barbarians are offended by our impurities. Fornication
of Goths is not lawful among the Goths. Only the Romans
living among them can afford to be impure by prerogative
of nation and name. I ask: What hope is there for us before
God? We love impurity; the Goths abominate it. We flee from
purity; they seek it. Fornication among them is a crime; with
us a distinction and an ornament.
Do we think that we can face God, do we think that we
can be saved, when every crime of impurity, every base and
shameful act, is committed by the Romans and censured by
the barbarians? Here and now I ask them who think we are
better than the barbarians: Tell me which of these vices is
committed even by a very few Goths, or which of them is not
committed by the Romans or by nearly all Romans? And we
wonder when the soil of the Aquitainians, or all of our own
is given by God to the barbarians, since the barbarians are now cleansing by chastity those lands which the Romans polluted by fornication.
(7) Perhaps, this was the case in Aquitaine only. Let me
cross over to other parts of the world, lest I seem to give all
my attention to Gaul. Have not the same or perhaps greater
vices destroyed Spain? Indeed, even if the heavenly anger had
handed Spain over to any barbarian tribe, the enemies of
purity there would have suffered tortures worthy of their
crimes. But in addition, for a manifest condemnation of impurity that country was delivered to the Vandals, that is, to
the most chaste among the barbarians.
By the captivity of the Spaniards, God wished to show in
two ways how much He hated carnal lewdness and loved
chastity, when He put the Vandals in command solely on ac-
count of their great chastity and subjugated the Spaniards
solely on account of their great impurity.
Why did God act thus? Were there not in the whole world
stronger barbarians to whom the Spaniards might be delivered? Doubtless, there were many stronger. Indeed, if I am
not mistaken, all were stronger. God gave all to the weakest
enemies to show that it was not the strength of numbers but
the cause that conquered. He wished to show that neither are
we being overthrown by the valor of our former slothful foes
but we are right now being overcome solely by the impurity of
our vices, so that that saying which the Lord said to the Jews
may come home to us: 'According to their uncleanliness and
according to their iniquities have I done unto them, and I
have turned away My face from them.' Elsewhere, He said
to the same people: 'The Lord shall bring a people over you
from afar' and 'He said, "with the hoofs of their horses they shall tread your streets and they shall kill your people
with the sword." ' Everything spoken of by the Divine Word
is fulfilled in us, and the punishment of all has fulfilled the
force of the heavenly words.
(8) Since almost all barbarian nations have drunk Roman
blood and torn apart our bowels, why is it that our God
delivered the wealthiest State and the richest" people who
bear the Roman name to the most potent jurisdiction of
enemies who were once most cowardly? Why? Unless that we
may acknowledge, as I have said above, that it was a question
of merit not of strength. Also that the fact of being handed
over to the most craven would add to our confusion and
punishment. Also that the fact of being subjected, not by the
bravest, but by the most cowardly of the enemy, would compel us to acknowledge the blow of the heavenly hand. |
| Quotation source |
Lib. 7, Cap. 6-8 (pp. 88-9, trans. O'Sullivan, pp. 192-4) |
| Temporal Coverage |
439 - 451 |
| Associated use case(s) |
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| Spatial Coverage Objects |
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| Comment |
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