Pseudo-Cyprian is the conventional designation for the anonymous authors of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

works falsely attributed to

Cyprian of Carthage Cyprian (; la, Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus; 210 – 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christ ...

(died 258). These works do not have a common transmission history. Most are not forgeries, but were texts mistakenly attributed to Cyprian from an early date in their transmission. In many cases the works were taken to be authentic until modern times.Laetitia Ciccolini, "Scripture in the North African Treatises of Pseudo-Cyprian", in Jonathan Yates and Anthony Dupont (eds.), ''The Bible in Christian North Africa, Part I: Commencement to the Confessiones of Augustine (ca. 180 to 400 CE)'' (De Gruyter, 2020), pp. 142–167. Her discussion of the whole corpus, including lists, is on 142–146. The translations presented here of the titles of the first two groups are hers. The Pseudo-Cyprianic corpus can be divided into four groups. The first group is a set of treatises that was copied from an early date alongside authentic letters and became part of larger letter collections, acquiring Cyprianic attribution along the way. These include: *''De laude martyrii'' (On the Glory of Martyrdom), mentioned in a

stichometry Stichometry is the practice of counting lines in texts: Ancient Greeks and Romans measured the length of their books in lines, just as modern books are measured in pages. This practice was rediscovered by German and French scholars in the 19th ...

of a Cyprianic manuscript from 365 *''De rebaptismate'' (On Rebaptism) *''De aleatoribus'' (On Gamblers) *''De duobus montibus Sina et Sion'' (On the Two Mountains Sinai and Zion) *''De centesima, sexagesima, tricesima'' (On the Hundredfold, the Sixtyfold and the Thirtyfold Reward) *''Ad Vigilium episcopum de Judaica incredulitate'' (To Bishop Vigilius Concerning Jewish Unbelief) *''De bono pudicitiae'' (On the Benefit of Purity), now ascribed to

Novatian Novatian (c. 200–258) was a scholar, priest, and theologian. He is considered by the Catholic Church to have been an antipope between 251 and 258. Some Greek authors give his name as Novatus, who was an African presbyter. He was a noted theolo ...

*''De spectaculis'' (On the Public Shows), now ascribed to Novatian *''Adversus Judaeos'' (Against the Jews), also mentioned in the stichometry of 365 *''

Ad Novatianum Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

'' (To Novatian) *''Ad plebem Carthaginis'' (To the People of Carthage), actually a

Donatist Donatism was a Christian sect leading to a schism in the Church, in the region of the Church of Carthage, from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and t ...

forgery The second group consists of

late antique Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English has ...

texts that circulated independently of Cyprian's authentic letters. It includes: *''Exhortatio de paenitentia'' (Exhortation to Repentance) *''Carmen ad quendam senatorem'' (Poem to a Senator) *''Carmen ad Flavium Felicem de resurrectione mortuorum'' (Poem to Flavius Felix on the Resurrection of the Dead) *''Hymnus de pascha'' or ''De cruce Domini'' (Hymn on the Pascha, or On the Cross of the Lord) *''De pascha computus'' (On Computing the Paschal Feast) *'' Cena Cypriani'' (Cyprian's Feast) *two prayers, called ''Oratio I'' and ''II'' The third group consists of texts that only came to be attributed to Cyprian at a relatively late date. It includes: *''Ad Turasium'' (To Turasius), attributed to Cyprian from the 11th century, also attributed to

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...

*''De singularitate clericorum'' (On the Singularity of Clerics), attributed to Cyprian in the 12th century *''Expositio symboli'' (Exposition of the Symbol), actually written by

Rufinus of Aquileia Tyrannius Rufinus, also called Rufinus of Aquileia (''Rufinus Aquileiensis'') or Rufinus of Concordia (344/345–411), anglicized as Tyrann Rufine, was a monk, historian, and theologian. He is best known as a translator of Greek patristic materi ...

, mistakenly attributed to Cyprian from the 12th century *'' De duodecim abusivis saeculi'' (On the Twelve Abuses of the World), a 7th-century work attributed to Cyprian during the

Carolingian Renaissance The Carolingian Renaissance was the first of three medieval renaissances, a period of cultural activity in the Carolingian Empire. It occurred from the late 8th century to the 9th century, taking inspiration from the State church of the Roman Emp ...

, sometimes attributed to

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

*''De voluntate Dei'' (On the Will of God), sermon from a single manuscript of the 8th or 9th century The fourth group consists of texts first attributed to Cyprian only in printed editions of his works. It includes: *''Revelatio capitis beati Johannis Baptistae'' (Revelation of the Head of Blessed John the Baptist), published in the first edition of Cyprian's works by

Giovanni Andrea Bussi Giovanni Andrea Bussi (1417–1475), also Giovan de' Bussi or Joannes Andreae, was an Italian Renaissance humanist and the Bishop of Aleria (from 1469). He was a major editor of classical texts and produced many incunabular ''editiones princip ...

in 1471 *''Ad Fortunatum de duplici martyrio'' (To Fortunatus on the Twofold Martyrdom), published by

Desiderius Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

in 1530 and probably also forged by him *several works of Arnold of Bonneval were published under Cyprian's name for better sales and sometimes taken as authentic by later editors Two works attributed to Cyprian are of disputed authenticity: *'' Quod idola dii non sint'' (That Idols are Not Gods), not generally accepted as Cyprian's *''Ad Silvanum'', a letter that is generally accepted as Cyprian's In addition, the works of

Cyprianus Gallus Cyprianus Gallus (fl. c. 397–430) was a fifth-century poet who wrote a Late Latin epic versification of the historical books of the ''Vetus Latina'', though only the Heptateuch (''Heptateuchos'') has survived to the present day. He, along wi ...

have sometimes been published with those of Cyprian of Carthage, but there is no reason to think the two authors to be the same person.

References

{{reflist Latin pseudepigrapha