Traduction Masquer
The Prescription Against Heretics

Chapter XXIX.--The Truth Not Indebted to the Care of the Heretics; It Had Free Course Before They Appeared. Priority of the Church's Doctrine a Mark of Its Truth.

In whatever manner error came, it reigned of course ¹ only as long as there was an absence of heresies? Truth had to wait for certain Marcionites and Valentinians to set it free. During the interval the gospel was wrongly ² preached; men wrongly believed; so many thousands were wrongly baptized; so many works of faith were wrongly wrought; so many miraculous gifts, ³ so many spiritual endowments, ⁴ were wrongly set in operation; so many priestly functions, so many ministries, ⁵ were wrongly executed; and, to sum up the whole, so many martyrs wrongly received their crowns! Else, if not wrongly done, and to no purpose, how comes it to pass that the things of God were on their course before it was known to what God they belonged? that there were Christians before Christ was found? that there were heresies before true doctrine? Not so; for in all cases truth precedes its copy, the likeness succeeds the reality. Absurd enough, however, is it, that heresy should be deemed to have preceded its own prior doctrine, even on this account, because it is that (doctrine) itself which foretold that there should be heresies against which men would have to guard! To a church which possessed this doctrine, it was written--yea, the doctrine itself writes to its own church--"Though an angel from heaven preach any other gospel than that which we have preached, let him be accursed." ⁶

Traduction Masquer
Les prescriptions contre les Hérétiques

XXIX.

Mais de quelque part que vienne l'erreur, elle a donc régné jusqu'à ce qu'elle ait été détruite par l'hérésie. La vérité attendait donc que les Marcionites et les Valentiniens vinssent la délivrer! Cependant on prêchait mal, on croyait mal, tant de milliers de milliers d'hommes étaient mal baptisés, tant d'œuvres de foi mal faites, tant de prodiges mal opérés, tant de dons surnaturels mal conférés, tant de sacerdoces et de ministères mal exercés, tant de martyrs enfin mal couronnés! Et si ce n'était ni mal ni en vain, comment pouvait-il y avoir une religion, un culte de Dieu avant que Dieu fût connu des Chrétiens, avant qu'on eût trouvé le Christ? Comment l'hérésie existait-elle avant la véritable doctrine, puisqu'en toutes choses la vérité précède l'image, l'ombre suit le corps? Mais quelle absurdité de prétendre que l'hérésie est antérieure à la véritable doctrine qui nous a annoncé qu'il y aurait des hérésies, et qui nous avertit de les éviter! C'est à l'Eglise, dépositaire de cette doctrine, qu'il est dit, ou plutôt c'est cette doctrine même qui dit à l'Eglise: « Si un ange vient du ciel vous annoncer un autre Evangile que celui que je vous ai annoncé, qu'il soit anathème. »