File(s) not publicly available
E07865: Gregory of Tours, in the prologue to his Miracles of the Blessed Apostle Andrew, explains his reasons for editing and rewriting an existing account of miracles carried out by *Andrew (the Apostle, S00288). Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 585/594.
online resource
posted on 2020-03-23, 00:00 authored by dlambertGregory of Tours, Miracles of the Blessed Apostle Andrew (Liber de miraculis beati Andreae apostoli, BHL 430)
Inclita sanctorum apostolorum trophea nulli credo latere fidelium, quia quaedam exinde euangelica dogmata docent, quaedam apostolici actus narrant, de quibusdam vero extant libri, in quibus propriae actiones eorum denotantur. De plerisque enim nihil aliud nisi passionum scripta suscipimus. Nam repperi librum de virtutibus sancti Andreae apostoli, qui propter nimiam verbositatem a nonnullis apocrifus dicebatur; de quo placuit, ut, retractis enucleatisque tantum virtutibus, praetermissis his quae fastidium generabant, uno tantum parvo volumine admiranda miracula clauderentur, quod et legentibus praestaret gratiam et detrahentium auferret invidiam, quia inviolatam fidem non exegit multitudo verbositatis, sed integritas rationis et puritas mentis.
'The illustrious victories of the holy apostles, I believe, go unnoticed by none of the faithful, because the evangelical teachings [i.e. the Gospels] impart some of them, the Acts of the Apostles narrate others, while about some there exist books in which the individual acts of these men are written down. While about many we have received nothing except the accounts of their martyrdoms, I have discovered a book about the miracles of the holy apostle Andrew, which was said by many, because of its excessive verbosity, to be apocryphal. From this it has pleased me, that, having reviewed and summarised so many miracles, and omitted those things which were causing disquiet, the wonderful miracles should be included in one rather small volume, which should both offer benefit to readers and remove ill-feeling from detractors, for it is not a multitude of verbosity that drives inviolate faith, but rather integrity of thought and purity of mind.'
For a summary of the Miracles of Andrew as a whole, see $E07877.
Text: Bonnet 1969. Translation: David Lambert.
Inclita sanctorum apostolorum trophea nulli credo latere fidelium, quia quaedam exinde euangelica dogmata docent, quaedam apostolici actus narrant, de quibusdam vero extant libri, in quibus propriae actiones eorum denotantur. De plerisque enim nihil aliud nisi passionum scripta suscipimus. Nam repperi librum de virtutibus sancti Andreae apostoli, qui propter nimiam verbositatem a nonnullis apocrifus dicebatur; de quo placuit, ut, retractis enucleatisque tantum virtutibus, praetermissis his quae fastidium generabant, uno tantum parvo volumine admiranda miracula clauderentur, quod et legentibus praestaret gratiam et detrahentium auferret invidiam, quia inviolatam fidem non exegit multitudo verbositatis, sed integritas rationis et puritas mentis.
'The illustrious victories of the holy apostles, I believe, go unnoticed by none of the faithful, because the evangelical teachings [i.e. the Gospels] impart some of them, the Acts of the Apostles narrate others, while about some there exist books in which the individual acts of these men are written down. While about many we have received nothing except the accounts of their martyrdoms, I have discovered a book about the miracles of the holy apostle Andrew, which was said by many, because of its excessive verbosity, to be apocryphal. From this it has pleased me, that, having reviewed and summarised so many miracles, and omitted those things which were causing disquiet, the wonderful miracles should be included in one rather small volume, which should both offer benefit to readers and remove ill-feeling from detractors, for it is not a multitude of verbosity that drives inviolate faith, but rather integrity of thought and purity of mind.'
For a summary of the Miracles of Andrew as a whole, see $E07877.
Text: Bonnet 1969. Translation: David Lambert.
History
Evidence ID
E07865Saint Name
Andrew, the Apostle : S00288Saint Name in Source
AndreasRelated Saint Records
Type of Evidence
Literary - Hagiographical - Collections of miraclesLanguage
- Latin