5. Five Books in Reply to Marcion.: 306
308 I hope I have succeeded in giving some intelligible sense; but the passage as it stands in the Latin is nearly hopeless.
309 I read "legem" for "leges."
310 I read "valle" for "calle."
313 i.e., "the gifts of baptism."
314 This seems to give sense to a very obscure passage, in which I have been guided more by Migne's pointing than by Oehler's.
315 I read here "quid" for "quod."
316 i.e., to make men live by recognising that. Comp. the Psalmist's prayer: "Give me understanding and I shall live" (Ps. cxix. 144; in LXX., Ps. cxviii. 144).
317 The "furentes" of Pam. and Rig. is preferred to Oehler's "ferentes."
318 "Complexis," lit. "embracing."
319 i.e., both Jews and Gentile heretics, the "senseless frantic men" just referred to probably: or possibly the "ambo" may mean "both sects," viz., the Marcionites and Manichees, against whom the writer whom Oehler supposes to be the probable author of these "Five Books," Victorinus, a rhetorician of Marseilles, directed his efforts. But it may again be the acc. neut. pl., and mean "let them" - i.e., the "senseless frantic men" - "learn to believe as to both facts," i.e., the incarnation and the resurrection; (see vers. 179, 180;) "the testimony at least of human reason."
" ... quia summa voluntas
In cujus manu regnantis cor legibus esset,"something like this,
" ... quia summa voluntas,
In cujus manu regnantis cor regis, egisset,"which would only add one more to our author's false quantities. "Regum egisset" would avoid even that, while it would give some sense. Comp. Prov. xxi. 1.
321 Maria cum conjuge feta. What follows seems to decide the meaning of "feta," as a child could hardly be included in a census before birth.
322 Again I have had to attempt to amend the text of the Latin in order to extract any sense, and am far from sure that I have extracted the right one.
323 "Fatentur," unless our author use it passively = "are confessed."