Augustine in His Own Words
vent anyone from listening to it in safety or choosing it voluntarily. Do not hiss and stir up your minds; think tolerantly, if you can, over what we say; call to memory the deeds of your Circumcellions and the clerics who have always been their leaders, and you will see what brought this on you. Your complaints are baseless because you forced the enactment of all these decrees. Not to go back over numerous past instances, consider, at least, your recent conduct. Mark, a presbyter of Casphaliana, became a Catholic of his own free will, without compulsion from anybody; thereupon your people pursued him and would almost have killed him, if the hand of God had not restrained their violence by means of some passersby. Restitutus of Victoriana came over to the Catholic faith without any compulsion, and was dragged from his house, beaten, rolled in the water, clothed in reeds, kept in custody I-don't-knowhow-long, and would probably not have been restored to liberty if Proculeian had not seen himself threatened with a showdown, largely on his account.47 Marcian of Urga chose Catholic unity of his own free will, and when he went into hiding, your clerics took his subdeacon, beat him almost to death, and stoned him. For this crime their houses were destroyed.
(2.4) What is the use of saying more? Lately, you sent a herald to proclaim at Sinitus: "If anyone remains in communion with Maximinus, his house will be burned down." Why? Before he had been converted to the Catholic faith, when he had not yet returned from overseas, why else did we send there a presbyter of Sinitus, except to visit our people without troubling anyone, and, from his lawful dwelling, to preach Catholic unity to those who were willing to hear him? But your people expelled him, and did him a great wrong. What other purpose did we have when one of ours, Possidius, bishop of Calama, was traveling to the estate of Figulina to visit our flock, few as they were, and to give an opportunity to any who wished it to hear the word of God and return to the unity of Christ? But while he was on his way, they lay in wait for him like a band of brigands, and, failing to catch him in their toils, they attacked him violently at the farm of Oliveta, left him half-dead, and tried to burn down the house from which he had escaped. They would have done it, too, if the tenants of that same farm had not three times put out the flames that endangered their own safety. Yet when Crispinus was convicted in the proconsular court as a heretic of this very deed, he was let off the fine of ten pounds of gold, at the request of this same Bishop Possidius.48 Crispinus not only showed no gratitude for this kindly indulgence, but he even went so far as to appeal to the Catholic emperors. This is what has brought down on you
47. Proculeian was the Donatist bishop of Hippo. 48. Crispinus was the Donatist bishop of Calama, and thus Possidius's local rival. The fine of 10 librae of gold, a formidable sum, was a fine associated with the heresy laws. On this and other attacks Possidius faced, see Hermanowicz, Possidius of Calama, 108–20, 132–87.