Bellarmine is wrong: many heretics sold unwritten tradition — Irenaeus and Jerome say so
Bellarmine's premise fails: not every heretic dumped tradition.
Some sneered at unwritten tradition while twisting Scripture; many others sold oral tradition as cover for figments.
Irenaeus: the Marcionites and Valentinians — Bellarmine's alleged tradition-foes — fled Scripture for living-voice tradition.
Jerome and Augustine: heretics forge apostolic tradition and abuse John 16 the same way Rome does now.
Latin
XXIV. Deinde falsum est quod sumit Bellarminus, nempe, haereticos omnes traditiones rejecisse. Nam fuerunt quidem haeretici nonnulli qui traditiones non scriptas contempserunt, & soli Scripturae sese inhaerere profitebantur, quamvis varie illam corrumperent; sed fuerunt quoque multi haeretici qui traditiones quasdam non scriptas venditabant, & eo fuco atque colore utebantur, ut figmenta & somnia sua apud populum commendarent. Id docet Irenaeus lib. 3. c. 2. Haeretici, inquit, resistunt & repugnant saluti suae: quum enim ex Scripturis arguuntur, in accusationem convertuntur ipsarum Scripturarum, quasi non recte habeant, neque sint ex authoritate, & quia varie sint dictae, & quia non possit ex his inveniri veritas ab his qui nesciant traditionem; non enim per literas traditam illam, sed per vivam vocem. Imo haeretici illi, quos hoc in loco perstringit Irenaeus, sunt ipsi Marcionitae, & Valentiniani, aliique similes, quos tanquam traditionum hostes producit Bellarminus. Quibus consona docet Hieronymus commentar. in Aggaeum, De haereticis enim loquens, Quae, inquit, absque authoritate & testimoniis Scripturarum, quasi traditione Apostolica sponte reperiunt & confingunt, percutit gladius Dei. Et supra retulimus Augustini verba, quibus testatur veteres haereticos abusos fuisse, ad traditiones suas confirmandas, illis ipsis Christi verbis, quibus Doctores Ecclesiae Romanae simili modo hodie abutuntur, nempe, Adhuc habeo multa vobis dicere, sed non potestis portare modo.
About this text
Louis Le Blanc de Beaulieu - Sedan Theological Theses, newly rendered from the 1675 London Latin. Covers De Theologia through Angelorum & Hominum Sanctorum Cultu Romana I-LXXVII and Pars Secunda (Reformata) I-XL. Not the collected folio.
English follows locked Pitt Latin through Imaginum CLOSED + Sanctorum Cultu Romana CLOSED + Pars Secunda Reformata I-XL. 1675 PDF ~384-390 (book ~370-376); Vision OCR + pdftotext + tess. No modern English. This slice densifies Sanctorum Pars Secunda I-XL. Next: Pars Secunda XLI–fin (~CI). Claim stays claimed (book densify not done).
Catalogue & scope
ESTC R17887; Wing L802. IA bub_gb_eOkHAW4G0-wC (+ EEBO 1675 for gap leaves). Densify through Sanctorum Cultu Romana I-LXXVII + Pars Secunda Reformata I-XL (Pars Secunda not closed; not whole folio).
Witnesses
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Theologia I-XLIII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Checked print Internet Archive PDF of the 1675 Pitt folio (Latin)
- Checked print pdftotext of De Theologia pages (Latin)
- Checked print Internet Archive DjVu OCR of the 1675 Pitt folio (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Fide I-XXII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Authoritate Scripturae Pars I I-XLVII + Pars II I-XXXV + Pars III I-VIII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Scripturae plenitudine densify (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.