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Delphi Complete Works of Cyprian of Carthage
Saint Cyprian was a third century theologian and bishop of Carthage, who led the Christians of North Africa during a period of intense persecution from Rome. Upon his execution he became the first bishop-martyr of Africa. His refined Latin rhetoric led to his being considered the pre-eminent Latin writer of Western Christianity until Jerome and Augustine. His theology was chiefly based on the central idea of the unity and uniqueness of the church. Delphi’s Ancient Classics series provides eReaders with the wisdom of the Classical world, with both English translations and the original Latin and Greek texts. This eBook presents Cyprian’s complete works, with illustrations, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1)
* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Cyprian's life and works
* Features the complete extant works of Cyprian, in both English translation and the original Latin
* Concise introduction to the works
* Provides Robert Ernest Wallis’ 1886 translations of Cyprian for ‘Ante-Nicene Fathers’
* Excellent formatting of the texts
* Easily locate the sections you want to read with individual contents tables
* Includes rare disputed works
* Provides a special dual English and Latin text, allowing readers to compare the sections paragraph by paragraph — ideal for students
* Features three bonus biographies, including the original third century biography by Pontius of Carthage — discover Cyprian's ancient world
* Ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres
The Translations
Introduction to Cyprian (1885) by Robert Ernest Wallis
On the Unity of the Church
On the Dress of Virgins
On the Lapsed
On the Lord’s Prayer
An Address to Demetrianus
On the Vanity of Idols
On the Plague (De mortalitate)
On Works and Alms
On the Advantage of Patience
On Jealousy and Envy
Exhortation to Martyrdom, Addressed to Fortunatus
Three Books of Testimonies against the Jews
On the Baptism of Heretics
Epistles
Disputed Works
On the Public Shows
On the Glory of Martyrdom
Of the Discipline and Advantage of Chastity
Exhortation to Repentance
Elucidations
The Latin Texts
List of Latin Texts
The Dual Texts
Dual Latin and English Texts
The Biographies
Life and Passion of Saint Cyprian (258) by Pontius of Carthage
Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus (1911) by Edward White Benson
Saint Cyprian of Carthage (1913) by Henry Palmer Chapman
* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Cyprian's life and works
* Features the complete extant works of Cyprian, in both English translation and the original Latin
* Concise introduction to the works
* Provides Robert Ernest Wallis’ 1886 translations of Cyprian for ‘Ante-Nicene Fathers’
* Excellent formatting of the texts
* Easily locate the sections you want to read with individual contents tables
* Includes rare disputed works
* Provides a special dual English and Latin text, allowing readers to compare the sections paragraph by paragraph — ideal for students
* Features three bonus biographies, including the original third century biography by Pontius of Carthage — discover Cyprian's ancient world
* Ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres
The Translations
Introduction to Cyprian (1885) by Robert Ernest Wallis
On the Unity of the Church
On the Dress of Virgins
On the Lapsed
On the Lord’s Prayer
An Address to Demetrianus
On the Vanity of Idols
On the Plague (De mortalitate)
On Works and Alms
On the Advantage of Patience
On Jealousy and Envy
Exhortation to Martyrdom, Addressed to Fortunatus
Three Books of Testimonies against the Jews
On the Baptism of Heretics
Epistles
Disputed Works
On the Public Shows
On the Glory of Martyrdom
Of the Discipline and Advantage of Chastity
Exhortation to Repentance
Elucidations
The Latin Texts
List of Latin Texts
The Dual Texts
Dual Latin and English Texts
The Biographies
Life and Passion of Saint Cyprian (258) by Pontius of Carthage
Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus (1911) by Edward White Benson
Saint Cyprian of Carthage (1913) by Henry Palmer Chapman
- GenresChristianity
2948 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 16, 2023
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 13, 2025
Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus, better known to us as Cyprian, definitely got thrown into the deep end.
Born into a rich pagan Roman African family in Carthage, and of Berber descent, Cyprian was converted and baptized into Christ at 35 years old around 245. By 249, he was elected Bishop of Carthage (in a contested election). In 250, Emperor Decius persecuted the church, and Cyprian elected to withdraw into a form of hiding, for which he would receive censure from many. From 251-256, Cyprian would be forced to address what to do with the many Christians who had lapsed in their faith in that persecution, the indulgence of some of those who had suffered greatly, and contested elections and baptisms from rivals and those whom Cyprian deemed as heretics and schismatics. In 256, Emperor Valerian kindled a new persecution of the church, in which Sixtus II of Rome was martyred; this time, Cyprian would not withdraw, and he was martyred in Carthage on 14 September 258.
Oh, and throughout his tenure as Bishop of Carthage, the Roman Empire was ravaged by a plague which has come to be called the Plague of Cyprian since he wrote about it in his De mortalitate (On the Plague). It was probably a hemorrhagic fever, something like Ebola, and probably had a similar 50% mortality rate.
For someone who had not long been a Christian before elevated to high leadership, elevated under quite dire circumstances, and who would maintain that position less than a decade before his own martyrdom, Cyprian proved quite prolific in his correspondence, exhortations, and treatises, preserved over time, part of the Ante-Nicene Fathers Volume 5, and comprising The Complete Works of Cyprian.
In the many letters he sent and received which have been preserved, as well as in his discourses like On the Unity of the Church and On the Lapsed, we see Cyprian try to work out the various challenges presented to him. What do you do with those who proved willing to sacrifice to avoid suffering and death, or those who paid off an official to get a certificate of sacrifice, and now prove contrite? What happens when a rival faction elects a different bishop, and what is the fate of all those who are baptized under their regime?
Everyone can find something to justify themselves from Cyprian’s positions. Overall he remains quite the strict disciplinarian; it is not hard to understand how the Donatists could arise in Carthage a century or so after Cyprian, and claim Cyprian as a supporter for their rigorous strictness regarding the fate and condition of the lapsed and those who proved disobedient. At times he remains a strong champion of the church hierarchy and of the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, which Roman Catholics have emphasized ever since, and would be the mantle Augustine would take up in his resistance to those Donatists. And yet he would also take the Bishop of Rome and others to task in regards to certain doctrinal matters and in terms of church discipline.
It would be interesting to see what would happen if you took Cyprian around 255 and dropped him into the world of 395 to see how all kinds of disputants attempted to claim him as their own. Would he maintain sympathy with the discipline of the Donatists, or would their schism from “catholicity” be too much for him? Could he still affirm the legitimacy of the Bishop of Rome and the “catholic consensus” even as it proved far more lenient in welcoming those baptized by “heretics” and receiving back the lapsed?
Yet such remains too much a burden to bear for Cyprian: it is highly unlikely he was thinking much of how his exhortations and emphases would be understood a century later, let alone after 1750 years. He was doing what he could based on what he had learned and attempted to deal with the situations with which he was confronted in the ways he thought would best honor God and work toward His purposes in the church. To that end there is a lot of benefit in considering the works of Cyprian. The Delphi Classics edition here reviewed is a re-publication of the 1885 Wallis translation featured in Ante-Nicene Fathers Volume 5. I appreciated the Delphi Classics edition because of how well formatted it was for reading on my Kindle, and especially because it also provided Latin texts and dual Latin and English texts where available. I would not consistently read the Latin, but it was nice to be able to check back regarding the Latin if I found a certain word or turn of phrase sufficiently notable for such investigation.
Born into a rich pagan Roman African family in Carthage, and of Berber descent, Cyprian was converted and baptized into Christ at 35 years old around 245. By 249, he was elected Bishop of Carthage (in a contested election). In 250, Emperor Decius persecuted the church, and Cyprian elected to withdraw into a form of hiding, for which he would receive censure from many. From 251-256, Cyprian would be forced to address what to do with the many Christians who had lapsed in their faith in that persecution, the indulgence of some of those who had suffered greatly, and contested elections and baptisms from rivals and those whom Cyprian deemed as heretics and schismatics. In 256, Emperor Valerian kindled a new persecution of the church, in which Sixtus II of Rome was martyred; this time, Cyprian would not withdraw, and he was martyred in Carthage on 14 September 258.
Oh, and throughout his tenure as Bishop of Carthage, the Roman Empire was ravaged by a plague which has come to be called the Plague of Cyprian since he wrote about it in his De mortalitate (On the Plague). It was probably a hemorrhagic fever, something like Ebola, and probably had a similar 50% mortality rate.
For someone who had not long been a Christian before elevated to high leadership, elevated under quite dire circumstances, and who would maintain that position less than a decade before his own martyrdom, Cyprian proved quite prolific in his correspondence, exhortations, and treatises, preserved over time, part of the Ante-Nicene Fathers Volume 5, and comprising The Complete Works of Cyprian.
In the many letters he sent and received which have been preserved, as well as in his discourses like On the Unity of the Church and On the Lapsed, we see Cyprian try to work out the various challenges presented to him. What do you do with those who proved willing to sacrifice to avoid suffering and death, or those who paid off an official to get a certificate of sacrifice, and now prove contrite? What happens when a rival faction elects a different bishop, and what is the fate of all those who are baptized under their regime?
Everyone can find something to justify themselves from Cyprian’s positions. Overall he remains quite the strict disciplinarian; it is not hard to understand how the Donatists could arise in Carthage a century or so after Cyprian, and claim Cyprian as a supporter for their rigorous strictness regarding the fate and condition of the lapsed and those who proved disobedient. At times he remains a strong champion of the church hierarchy and of the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, which Roman Catholics have emphasized ever since, and would be the mantle Augustine would take up in his resistance to those Donatists. And yet he would also take the Bishop of Rome and others to task in regards to certain doctrinal matters and in terms of church discipline.
It would be interesting to see what would happen if you took Cyprian around 255 and dropped him into the world of 395 to see how all kinds of disputants attempted to claim him as their own. Would he maintain sympathy with the discipline of the Donatists, or would their schism from “catholicity” be too much for him? Could he still affirm the legitimacy of the Bishop of Rome and the “catholic consensus” even as it proved far more lenient in welcoming those baptized by “heretics” and receiving back the lapsed?
Yet such remains too much a burden to bear for Cyprian: it is highly unlikely he was thinking much of how his exhortations and emphases would be understood a century later, let alone after 1750 years. He was doing what he could based on what he had learned and attempted to deal with the situations with which he was confronted in the ways he thought would best honor God and work toward His purposes in the church. To that end there is a lot of benefit in considering the works of Cyprian. The Delphi Classics edition here reviewed is a re-publication of the 1885 Wallis translation featured in Ante-Nicene Fathers Volume 5. I appreciated the Delphi Classics edition because of how well formatted it was for reading on my Kindle, and especially because it also provided Latin texts and dual Latin and English texts where available. I would not consistently read the Latin, but it was nice to be able to check back regarding the Latin if I found a certain word or turn of phrase sufficiently notable for such investigation.
Displaying 1 of 1 review