Monday, 24 June 2013

From Prudentius on Heresy

I am known as Discord and sometimes men call me Heresy. I see God in various ways: now smaller and now greater, now in a twofold manner, now in a single. When I desire, he lacks- substance and is a ghost, or he is my soul when I decide to mock him. Belial is my teacher, the world is my home.'
Faith will tolerate no more of such blasphemy. In a single thrust the queen of the virtues pins with a spear the tongue of Discord and stops her breath. Countless hands tear the deadly body of Discord and each of the virtues throws a bit of her flesh into the breeze or to the dogs or to the crows; pieces of her body are dropped in the sewers and flushed out to sea to be devoured by monsters. At last the entire corpse is fed to unclean beasts. Dreadful Heresy, torn limb from limb, has perished. With this last skirmish all men become free to live in the peace that has been given to all mankind.

And the opposite of Heresy is................Concord, which encompasses all the virtues and brings Peace. And, without rational discourse and reflection, heresy becomes rife.