Chapter 1.26

< Vt īdem in Cantiā prīmitīvae ecclēsiae et doctrīnam sit imitātus et vītam atque in urbe rēgis sēdem epīscopātūs accēperit.>

[1] At ubi datam sibi mānsiōnem intrāverant, coepērunt apostolicam prīmitīvae ecclēsiae vītam imitārī; ōrātiōnibus vidēlicet assiduīs, vigiliīs ac ieiūniīs serviendō, verbum vītae quibus poterant praedicandō, cūncta huius mundī velut aliēna spernendō, ea tantum quae victuī necessāria vidēbantur ab eīs quōs docēbant accipiendō, secundum ea quae docēbant ipsī per omnia vīvendō, et parātum ad patiendum adversa quaeque vel etiam moriendum prō eā quam praedicābant vēritāte animum habendō. [2] Quid mora? [3] Crēdidērunt nōnnūllī et baptīzābantur, mīrantēs simplicitātem innocentis vītae ac dulcēdinem doctrīnae eōrum caelestis. [4] Erat autem prope ipsam cīvitātem ad orientem ecclēsia in honōrem sānctī Martīnī antīquitus facta, dum adhūc Rōmānī Brittaniam incolerent, in quā rēgīna, quam Chrīstiānam fuisse praedīximus, ōrāre cōnsuērat. [5] In hāc ergō et ipsī prīmō convenīre, psallere, ōrāre, missās facere, praedicāre, et baptīzāre coepērunt, dōnec rēge ad fidem conversō maiōrem praedicandī per omnia et ecclēsiās fabricandī vel restaurandī licentiam acciperent.

[6] At ubi ipse etiam inter aliōs dēlectātus vītā mundissimā sānctōrum et prōmissīs eōrum suāvissimīs, quae vēra esse mīrāculōrum quoque multōrum ostēnsiōne firmāverant, crēdēns baptīzātus est, coepēre plūrēs cotīdiē ad audiendum verbum cōnfluere ac, relictō gentīlitātis rītū, ūnitātī sē sānctae Chrīstī ecclēsiae crēdendō sociāre. [7] Quōrum fideī et conversiōnī ita congrātulātus esse rēx perhibētur, ut nūllum tamen cōgeret ad Chrīstiānismum, sed tantummodo crēdentēs artiōrī dīlēctiōne, quasi concīvēs sibi rēgnī caelestis, amplecterētur. [8] Didicerat enim ā doctōribus auctōribusque suae salūtis servitium Chrīstī voluntārium, nōn coacticium esse dēbēre. [9] Nec distulit quīn etiam ipsīs doctōribus suīs locum sēdis eōrum graduī congruum in Doruvernī mētropolī suā dōnāret, simul et necessāriās in dīversīs speciēbus possessiōnēs cōnferret.

AUGUSTINE CONVERTS THE PEOPLE OF KENT TO CHRISTIANITY

(1) ōrātiōnibus … vigiliīs: datives after serviendō. Orātio means “prayer.”

serviendō ... praedicandō ... spernendō ... accipiendō ... vīvendō ... habendō: all ablatives of means (AG 507), explaining how Augustine and his followers imitated the life of the primitive church.

videlicet: “that is,” “namely”

vigiliīs … ieiūniīs: “fasts” (literally, “fasting vigils”)

verbum vītae: direct object of praedicāndō.

quibus poterant: quibus is an indefinite relative (AG 310): “to anyone they could”

ea tantum: “only those things”: the direct object of accipiēndō.

victūi necessāria: “necessary to sustain life” (i.e., the bare essentials)

vidēbantur: supply esse.

secundum: preposition, “according to”

parātum … animum habendō: animum is the direct object of habendō, and is modified by parātum: “by having a mind prepared ... ”

ad patiendum adversa: the expected construction is ad patienda adversa; ad with the gerund/gerundive expresses purpose (AG 506)

adversa quaeque: “every adversity”

vel etiam: “even”

moriendum: this gerund also goes with paratum ad (“even [prepared] to die…”)

prō eā ... vēritāte: pro = “on behalf of,” “for”: with ad moriendum (“to die for that truth ... ”)

(2) Quid mora?: “why a delay,” meaning something like, “in short,” “to cut to the chase.”

(4) prope ipsam cīvitātem ad orientem: “just to the east of the city”

sanctī Martīnī: St. Martin of Tours (see the DCC commentary on Sulpicius Severus’s Life of St. Martin of Tours). The Church of St. Martin in Canterbury is believed to be the oldest parish church in England. The chancel dates to the 7th century, and is constructed in part with Roman building materials. See Taylor, Anglo-Saxon Architecture I.143–145 for a description of the church.

antīquitus facta: “built long ago”

dum ... incolerent: With dum meaning “while,” “during or at the time when,” Bede prefers the subjunctive, though the indicative is also normal in later Latin (DMLBS, dum 2). Classical Latin authors would prefer a temporal dum- or cum-clause with the indicative (see AG 556 and 544).

praedīximus: “we mentioned before” (in chapter 25).

cōnsuerat: > cōnsuēscere, “to accustom oneself.” cōnsuerat is plupf., “was accustomed to.”

(5) missās facere: “to say mass”

maiōrem: modifies licentiam in hyperbaton.

praedicandī, fabricandī, restaurandī: the gerunds are objective genitives (AG 348) after licentiam (“freedom of preaching”: i.e., freedom to preach).

(6) ipse: King Æthelbehrt

dēlectātus: “enticed”

vitā … promissīs … ostentātiōne: all ablatives of means

quae vera esse … firmāverant: “which they confirmed to be true.”

confluere … sociāre: both governed by coepēre (=coepērunt)

relictō gentilitātis ritū: ablative absolute (“when the pagan religion had been abandonded…”)

ūnitātī sē … sociāre: is reflexive with sociāre (“to attach themselves,” i.e., to join); ūnitātī is dative after sociāre (“to attach themselves to the union,” i.e., to join the union)

credendō: “by faith” (ablative of means)

(7) fideī et conversiōnī: datives after congrātulātus esse (“was thankful for”).

ita … ut: result clause (“the king was so thankful … that”)

nullum: = neminem, direct object of cogeret

tantummodo: only

credentēs: substantive (“believers”), accusative direct object of amplecterētur.

concīvēs sibi: “fellow citizens”

(8) Didicerat … servitium voluntārium, nōn coacticium esse debēre: accusative-infinitive construction of indirect discourse after didicerat. Servitium is the subject accusative, voluntārium and coacticium are predicates after esse.

(9) Nec distulit, quīn … donāret: quīn after a verb expressing delay (AG 558): “Nor did he put off giving…” Differre here means “to put off,” “to defer.”

locum sēdis: a place for their see.

eōrum graduī congruum: “appropriate to their rank.” Æthelbehrt establishes Canterbury as an episcopal see, the official center of a bishop’s jurisdiction.

in diversīs speciēbus: “of various kinds”

NOTE: Lemmatization of Anglo-Saxon Names
—: declined forms unattested
[ ]: nominative forms unattested (back-formed for purposes of lemmatization)
*: form unattested but hypothesized based on existing patterns


mānsiō –ōnis f.: a dwelling; house for clergy, a manse

apostolicus –a –um: apostolic, of an apostle or the apostles

prīmitīvus –a –um: primitive

ecclēsia –ae f.: church

imitor imitārī imitātus sum: to imitate

vidēlicet: clearly

assiduus –a –um: established, steady

vigilia vigiliae f.: vigil

ieiūnium –ī n.: a fast, hunger

praedicō –āre –āvī –ātum: to preach

spernō spernere sprēvī sprētum: to reject

quī: in what manner? how?

vīctus vīctūs m.: food

necessārius –a –um: necessary, essential

quī: in what manner? how?

quī: in what manner? how?

parātus –a –um: prepared

adversum –ī n.: the opposite direction

quī: in what manner? how?

praedicō –āre –āvī –ātum: to preach

vēritās vēritātis f.: truth

quī: in what manner? how?

nōnnūllus –a –um: some unknown

baptīzo –āre –āvī –ātum: to baptize

simplicitās –ātis f.: simplicity; lack of sophistication, ignorance

innocēns: innocent, harmless

dulcēdō –inis f.: sweetness; delight

doctrīna –ae f.: teaching, doctrine

Oriēns –entis m.: rising; east

ecclēsia –ae f.: church

Mārtīnus –ī m.: St Martin of Tours (316 or 336–397)

antīquitus: in former times

Rōmānus –a –um: Roman

Britannia –ae f.: Britain

incolō incolere incoluī: to inhabit, dwell

quī: in what manner? how?

rēgīna rēgīnae f.: queen

quī: in what manner? how?

Chrīstiānus –a –um: Christian

praedīcō praedīcere praedīxī praedictus: to say beforehand; foretell

cōnsuēscō cōnsuescere cōnsuēvī cōnsuētus: to accustom

prīmō: at first

psallō psallere psallī: to play upon a stringed instrument, sing to the cithara

missa –ae f.: the mass (religious service)

praedicō –āre –āvī –ātum: to preach

baptīzo –āre –āvī –ātum: to baptize

praedicō –āre –āvī –ātum: to preach

ecclēsia –ae f.: church

fabricō fabricāre fabricāvī fabricātus: to construct

restaurō –āre –āvī –ātum: to restore, repair

licentia licentiae f.: licence

dēlectō dēlectāre dēlectāvī dēlectātus: to divert, attract, delight

prōmissum –ī n.: promise

suāvis suāve: agreeable

quī: in what manner? how?

mīrāculum –ī n.: miracle

ostēnsiō –ōnis f.: a showing, exhibiting, manifestation

fīrmō fīrmāre fīrmāvī fīrmātus: to strengthen

baptīzo –āre –āvī –ātum: to baptize

cotīdiē/cottīdiē: daily

cōnfluō –fluere –flūxī –—: to flow together, run together

gentīlitas –ātis f.: kindred; (eccl.) heathen

rītus –ūs m.: farm of religious ceremonial; form

ūnitās –ātis f.: the state of being one, oneness, unity

sanciō sancīre sānxī sānctus: to consecrate

Christus –ī m.: Christ

ecclēsia –ae f.: church

sociō sociāre sociāvī sociātus: to make one a socius; to share

conversiō –ōnis f.: conversion

congrātulor –ārī –ātus: to wish joy, to congratulate

perhibeō –ēre –uī –itus: to hold persistently; maintain

Chrīstiānismus –ī m.: Christianity

artus –a –um: straitened, narrow

dīlectiō dīlectiōnis f.: love, affection

concīvis –is m.: a fellow-citizen

amplector amplectī amplexus sum: to embrace

doctor doctōris m.: teacher

servitium servirti(ī) n.: servitude, slavery

Christus –ī m.: Christ

voluntārius –a –um: voluntary, willing

coāctīcius –a –um: compulsory

doctor doctōris m.: teacher

congruus –a –um: agreeing, fit, suitable; harmonious, concordant

Durovernum –ī n.: Canterbury, the principle episcopal see in the south of England

mētropolis –is f.: a mother-city, the chief city of a province

necessārius –a –um: necessary, essential

possessiō possessiōnis f.: possession

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Suggested Citation

Rob Hardy. Bede: Historia Ecclesiastica Selections. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-947822-20-7. https://dcc.dickinson.edu/bede-historia-ecclesiastica/book-1/chapter-1-26