A new history of ecclesiastical writers containing an account of the authors of the several books of the Old and New Testament, of the lives and writings of the primitive fathers, an abridgement and catalogue of their works ... also a compendious history of the councils, with chronological tables of the whole / written in French by Lewis Ellies du Pin.

SIXTUS or XYSTUS. * 1.1

IT is a long time ago, since under the name of Pope Sixtus, who presided in the Roman Chair in the Year 257. Ruffinus published a Book of a certain Pythagorean Philosopher named Sixtus, transla∣ted out of Greek into Latin. a 1.2 St. Jerome often reproaches him with this Imposture; St. Austin suffered himself at first to be deceived by it, and has cited it in his Book of Nature and Grace, as if it had been composed by Pope Sixtus, but afterwards b 1.3 he retracts his Error. Gelasius placed it amongst the Heretical Books, supposing it to have been written by some Christian. c 1.4 It is still extant, being a medley of Philosophical Sentences, useful indeed in themselves, and serviceable to the Truth, but ha∣ving little of the Spirit of Christianity in them. There is no mention made in it either of Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, the Prophets, or the Apostles; and it is full of the Errors of the Pythagoreans and the Stoics. It renders Man equal to God, and affirms that he is made of a Divine Substance, and would have him be without Passion, according to the Principle of the Stoics, and without Sin pur∣suant to the Doctrine of the Pelagians. There are several other Pelagian Errors to be found in it.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Sixtus.
• a 1.2

  Saint Jerome often reproaches him with this Imposture.] Ep. ad Ctesiphont. contra Pelag. in Cap. 22. Jerom. in Cap. 18. Ezechielis.
• b 1.3

  He retracts this Error.] Aug. lib. 2. retract. c. 42.
• c 1.4

  It is still extant.] In the Bibliotheca Patrum, but I cannot tell whether it was ever Printed by it self.