6.45.1
XLV. Ταῦτα ὁ Διονύσιος. ἴδωμεν δ’ ὁ αὐτὸς ὁποῖα καὶ τῷ Νοουάτῳ διεχάραξεν, ταράττοντι τηνικάδε τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἀδελφότητα· ἐπειδὴ οὗν τῆς ἀποστασίας καὶ τοῦ σχίσματος πρόφασιν ἐποιεῖτο τῶν ἀδελφῶν τινας, ὡς δὴ πρὸς αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τοῦτ’ ἐλθεῖν ἐκβεβιασμένος, ὅρα τίνα τρόπον αὐτῷ γράφει· “Διονύσιος Νοουατιανῷ ἀδελφῷ χαίρειν. εἰ ἄκων, ὡς φῄς, ἤχθης, δείξεις ἀναχωρήσας ἑκών. ἔδει μὲν γὰρ καὶ πᾶν ὅτι οὖν παθεῖν ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ διακόφαι τὴν ἐκκληαίαν τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ἢν οὐκ ἀδοξοτέρα τῆς ἕνεκεν τοῦ μὴ εἰδωλολατρἠααι γινομένης ἡ ἕνεκεν τοῦ μὴ οχίααι μαρτυρία, κατ᾿ ἐμὲ δὲ καὶ μείζων. ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ ὑπὲρ μιᾶς τις τῆς ἑαυτοῦ φυχῆς, ἐνταῦθα δὲ ὑπὲρ ὅλης τῆς ἐκκλησίας μαρτυρεῖ. καὶ νῦν δὲ εἰ πείσαις ἢ βιάσαιο τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς εἰς ὁμόνοιαν ἐλθεῖν, μεῖζον ἔσται ἀοῖ τοῦ σφάλματος τὸ κατκαὶ τὸ μὲν οὐ λογιαθήσεται, τὸ δὲ ἐπαινεθήσεται. εἰ δὲ ἀπειθούντων ἀδυνατοίης, σῴζων Gen. 19, 17 αῷεε τὴν σεαυτοῦ φυχήν. ἐρρῶαθαί σε, ἐχόμενον τῆς εἰρήνης ἐν κυρίῳ, εὔχομαι.
XLV. Such is the account of Dionysius. But let us see the kind of letter that the same person wrote also to Novatus, who was then disturbing the Roman brotherhood. Since, then, he put forward some of the brethren as an excuse for his defection and schism, as having been compelled by them to proceed to this length, see how Dionysius writes to him: “Dionysius to Novatianus, a brother, greeting. If thou wast led on unwillingly, as thou sayest, thou wilt prove it by retiring willingly. For a man ought to suffer anything and everything rather than divide the Church of God, and it were not less glorious to incur martyrdom to avoid schism than to avoid idolatry; nay, in my opinion, it were more so. For in the one case a man is a martyr for the sake of his own single soul, but in the other for the sake of the whole Church. And if thou wert even now to persuade or compel the brethren to come to one mind, thy recovery will be greater than thy fall, and the one will not be reckoned, while the other will be praised. But if they obey thee not, and thou hast no power, by all means save thine own soul. I pray that thou mayest fare well and cleave to peace in the Lord.”