Gregory the Great (Wisigothic)→Unknown|gregory great
From: Gregory the Great, Pope, in Rome
To: Adrianus, notary [in Sicily]
Date: ~601 AD
Context: Gregory instructs Adrianus to continue pursuing enchanters and sorcerers.
Gregory to Adrianus, notary.
I have heard that there are enchanters and sorcerers active in your area. I direct you to continue pursuing them.
The practice of sorcery and enchantment is not merely superstition; it is the active invocation of powers hostile to the Christian faith, and it causes genuine harm to those who are deceived by it. The church has always opposed it, and the law supports this opposition.
Pursue these practitioners. When you find them, apply the appropriate legal and ecclesiastical penalties. Do not be deterred by the fact that some of their clients are people of standing.
Report your findings and actions to me.
Gregory
AD ADRIANUM NOTARIUM.
Incantatores &t sortilegos insequi pergat.
Cregorius Adriano notarjio. ny
Pervenit ad nos (Gret. 26, q, 5, c. 8) quod quos-
dam * jincantatores atque sorulegos ſueris insecutus.
Et omnino nobis sollicitudinem zelumque tuum gra-
tum fuisse cognoscas; sed molesle tulimus quod te
dubitare ne ab eis nobis contra experientiam tuam
subripi potuisset didicimus, cum certus esse ac scire
debueris hoc tibi apud nos ad commendationem
wagis proſicere, non ad culpam ascribi. Ei ideo stu-
dii wi it gollicite querere, et quoscunque hujus-
modi inimicos Chrisfi jnaveneris, ita districta ultione
corrigere, ut et nos de experientia tua melius de-
beamus habere judicium, et Deo nostro te, quod
maxime studendum esl, valeas commendare ».
◆
From:Gregory the Great, Pope, in Rome
To:Adrianus, notary [in Sicily]
Date:~601 AD
Context:Gregory instructs Adrianus to continue pursuing enchanters and sorcerers.
Gregory to Adrianus, notary.
I have heard that there are enchanters and sorcerers active in your area. I direct you to continue pursuing them.
The practice of sorcery and enchantment is not merely superstition; it is the active invocation of powers hostile to the Christian faith, and it causes genuine harm to those who are deceived by it. The church has always opposed it, and the law supports this opposition.
Pursue these practitioners. When you find them, apply the appropriate legal and ecclesiastical penalties. Do not be deterred by the fact that some of their clients are people of standing.
Report your findings and actions to me. Gregory
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.