On the Unity of the Catholic Church 24

Latin text · CSEL 3.1:231–232

Monet nos Spiritus sanctus et dicit: quis est homo qui uult uitam et amat uidere dies optimos? contine linguam tuam a malo et labia tua ne loquantur insidiose. declina a malo et fac bonum, quaere pacem et sequere eam. pacem quaerere debet et sequi filius pacis, a dissensionis malo continere linguam suam debet qui nouit et diligit uinculum caritatis. inter sua diuina mandata et magisteria salutaria passioni iam proximus Dominus addidit dicens: pacem uobis dimitto, pacem meam do uobis. hanc nobis hereditatem dedit, dona omnia suae pollicitationis et praemia in pacis conseruatione promisit. si heredes Christi sumus, in Christi pace maneamus: si filii Dei sumus, pacifici esse debemus. beati, inquit, pacifici, quoniam ipsi filii Dei uocabuntur. pacificos esse oportet Dei filios, corde mites, sermone simplices, adfectione concordes, fideliter sibi unanimitatis nexibus cohaerentes.

English · Claude translation

The Holy Spirit warns us and says: "Who is the man who desires life and loves to see the best days? Keep your tongue from evil, and let your lips not speak deceitfully. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." The son of peace ought to seek peace and pursue it; he who knows and loves the bond of charity ought to keep his tongue from the evil of dissension. Among his divine commands and saving teachings, the Lord, when already near his passion, added, saying: "Peace I leave you, my peace I give you." This inheritance he gave us; all the gifts and rewards of his promise he promised in the keeping of peace. If we are heirs of Christ, let us remain in the peace of Christ; if we are sons of God, we ought to be peacemakers. "Blessed," he says, "are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." The sons of God ought to be peacemakers, gentle in heart, simple in speech, concordant in affection, faithfully cleaving to one another in the bonds of unanimity.

About this passage

Source

CSEL 3.1:231–232 · Wilhelm von Hartel, ed., S. Thasci Caecili Cypriani Opera omnia, Pars 1, CSEL 3.1 (Vienna: Gerold, 1868), 209–233 · Latin text: W. von Hartel (CSEL 3.1, 1868), digitized by Open Greek and Latin, University of Leipzig (csel-dev), CC BY-SA 4.0

Text

As printed in CSEL 3.1. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 3.1; made independently of existing English translations.

Compare

Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5 (1886) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)

Scripture

Ps 34:12–14 (33:13-Ps Vulg.) · quotation, high confidence
John 14:27 · quotation, high confidence
Matt 5:9 · quotation, high confidence
Rom 8:17 · echo, low confidence

Topics

Heresy, Ethics

Notes

Translation notes

The quotations are Ps 34:12–14 (33:13–15 Vulg.), John 14:27, and Matt 5:9.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR: "n" for "u" (John 14:27, "to you").): pacem nobis dimitto → pacem uobis dimitto.

Cite this passage

Cyprian, Unit. eccl. 24 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/cyprian-unitate/24/).

Plain text

Cyprian, Unit. eccl. 24 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/cyprian-unitate/24/).