OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Native Flowers of New Zealand/Plate 1

Native Name:—PUAWHANANGA.
Clematis indivisa, Willd.
Common large-flowered Clematis.
This beautiful climber, one of the finest of the genus, is found throughout the whole of the lowland districts of New Zealand. It is thus a familiar plant to the colonist; and its pure white flowers, often produced in immense abundance, are welcomed as the harbinger of spring. They usually appear in August; but the maximum of bloom is not attained until the end of September. The curious feathery, tassel-like fruits are ripe about the end of the year. Considering the beauty of the plant, it is singular that it is seldom cultivated; but this is perhaps explained by the fact that it is so generally distributed as to be easily obtained in a wild state.
| Clematis indivisa Willd | Leighton Brothers Lith |
| PLATE 1 ||
# Native Flowers of New Zealand/Plate 10

Geranium Traversii, Hook, fil.
A beautiful plant, confined to the Chatham Islands. It is allied to the world-wide G. dissectum but is easily distinguished by the larger size, stiffer leaves, covered with almost hoary down, and by the much larger flowers. It is well worthy of more general cultivation as a garden plant. It flowers in January.
| Geranium Traversii | Leighton Brothers Lith |
| PLATE 10 ||
# Native Flowers of New Zealand/Plate 11

MOUNTAIN LILY.
Ranunculus Lyallii, Hook, fil.
The finest known species of Buttercup, and one of the most magnificent plants native to New Zealand. The leaves are perfectly round, with the stalk affixed to the centre. They are often from one to two feet in diameter, and are concave on the upper surface, so as to somewhat resemble large soup-plates. The stem is often over four feet in height, and is usually much branched. The flowers are very numerous, pure white, and from two to three inches in diameter. It is confined to the South Island, and is purely an Alpine plant, being most abundant at an altitude of three thousand feet. In some of the valleys in the central portion of the Canterbury Alps it is exceedingly plentiful, and during the flowering season the slopes of the mountains are often whitened from the abundance of its blossoms. It flowers in January.
| Mountain Lily Ranunculus Lyallii | Leighton Brothers Lith |
| PLATE 11 ||
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XII/Gregory the Great/Register of Epistles/Book III/Chapter 4

Epistle V.
To Peter, Subdeacon.
Gregory to Peter, Subdeacon of Campania.
As we have no wish to disturb the privileges of laymen in their judgments, so, when they judge wrongfully, we desire thee to resist them with moderate authority. For to restrain violent laymen is not to act against the laws, but to support law. Since then Deusdedit, the son-in-law of Felix of Orticellum, is said to have done violent wrong to the bearer of these presents, and still unlawfully to detain her property, in such sort that the dejection of her widowhood is found not to move his compassion, but to confirm his malice, we charge thy Experience that against the aforesaid man, as well as in other cases wherein the aforesaid woman asserts that she suffers prejudice, thou afford her the succour of thy protection, and not allow her to be oppressed by any one whatever, lest either thou be found to neglect what without prejudice to equity is commanded thee, or widows and other poor persons, finding no help where they are, be put to expense by the length of the journey hither.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XII/Gregory the Great/Register of Epistles/Book III/Chapter 7

Epistle VIII.
To Natalis, Archbishop.
Gregory to Natalis, archbishop of Salona.
Whilst every kind of business demands anxious investigation of the truth, what pertains to deposition from sacerdotal rank should be considered with especial strictness, since here the matter in hand is not concerning persons constituted in a humble position, but, as it were, concerning reversal of divine benediction. This consideration has also moved us to exhort your Fraternity with respect to the person of Florentius, bishop of the city of Epidaurus. For indeed we have been told that he had been accused on certain criminal charges, and that, without any canonical proof being sought, and without previous sentence of any sacerdotal council, he has been deposed from his office of dignity, not by law, but by authority. Inasmuch, then, as no man can be removed from the rank of episcopacy except for just causes by the concordant sentence of priests, we exhort your Fraternity to cause the aforesaid man to be recalled from the banishment into which he has been driven, and his case enquired into in a consultation of bishops. And, should he be convicted by canonical proof of the charges brought against him, without doubt he must be visited with canonical punishment. But, should the facts be found by the synodical inquisition to be otherwise than had been supposed, it is necessary both that his accusers should dread the rigour of justice, and that the incriminated person should have the approbation of his innocence preserved inviolate. But we have committed by our order the execution of the above-mentioned business to Antoninus, our subdeacon, to the end that decisions may be come to in accordance with the laws and
canons, and, with the help of the Lord, be carried into effect.

## Footnotes

* ↑ Natalis was Metropolitan of the province of Dalmatia. See note II. 18, note 3.
* ↑ I.e. episcopal rank. Here, as below in this Epistle and elsewhere, by sacerdotes are meant bishops.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XII/Gregory the Great/Register of Epistles/Book III/Chapter 8

Epistle IX.
To Antoninus, Subdeacon.
Gregory to Antoninus, &c.
It has come to our ears that Florentius, bishop of the city of Epidaurus, his property having first been seized, has been condemned, for certain crimes not proved, without a sacerdotal council. And, inasmuch as he ought not to suffer canonical punishment, no canonical sentence having been pronounced for his condemnation, we enjoin thy Experience to urge upon our brother and fellow-bishop Natalis that he should cause the aforesaid man to be recalled from the banishment into which he is said to have been driven. And a council of bishops having been assembled, if the charges brought against him should be canonically proved, we will that the sentence of our aforesaid brother and fellow-bishop Natalis shall take effect against him. But, should he be absolved by a general judgment, thou must not permit him to be subject to prejudice on the part of any one, and must carefully and rigorously insist on his aforesaid property being restored to him. It is therefore needful that the heavier thou feelest the burden of such negotiations to be, with the maturer and more vigilant execution thou take pains to fulfil them.

## Footnotes

* ↑ I.e. of Dalmatia. The case referred to in this and the preceding letter is interesting as illustrating canonical procedure against incriminated bishops. Natalis as Metropolitan, had entertained a charge against one of his suffragans and pronounced judgment against him on his own authority. Gregory insists that he had no right to do so except in a synod of bishops. It appears that Natalis (as to whose character and relations to Gregory, see II. 18, and reff. in note), paid no regard in this instance to the pope’s remonstrances, and the latter found no means of enforcing his orders. For, in a letter written five years later (a.d. 597), long after the death of Natalis, we find Gregory writing, “The inhabitants of the city of Epidaurus have most urgently demanded that Florentius, who they say is their bishop, should be restored to them by us, asserting that he had been driven into exile invalidly by the mere will of the bishop Natalis.” (Lib. viii. Indict. i. Ep. 11).
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XII/Gregory the Great/Register of Epistles/Book III/Chapter 30

Epistle LIX.
To Secundinus, Bishop.
Gregory to Secundinus, Bishop of Tauromenium. [In Sicily.]
Some time ago we ordered that the baptistery should be removed from the monastery of Saint Andrew, which is above Mascalæ, because of inconvenience to the monks, and that an altar should be erected in the place where the fonts now are. But the carrying out of this order has been put off so far. We therefore admonish thy Fraternity that thou interpose no further delay after receiving this our letter, but that the fonts themselves be filled up, and an altar at once erected there for celebration of the sacred mysteries; to the end that the aforesaid monks may be at liberty to celebrate more securely the work of God, and that our mind be not provoked against thy Fraternity for negligence.

## Footnotes

* ↑ Baptisteries (baptisteria) were anciently separate buildings adjoining churches (cf. VI. 22), the fontes being the pools of water (called also piscinæ and κολυμβήθρα) therein contained. (See Bingham, B. VIII. C. VII. Sect. 1, 4.) The inconvenience to the monks of having a baptistery at their monastery would be from the concourse of people resorting to it, which would interfere with monastic seclusion. For a similar reason Gregory more than once forbids public masses in monasteries. Cf. e.g. II. 41; VI. 46.
* ↑ Fonts were anciently sunken pools. “In medio habet fontem in terra excavatam ad quinque ulnas…tribus gradibus in id descensus est.” Onuphrius, de baptisterio Lateran.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XII/Gregory the Great/Register of Epistles/Book III/Chapter 33

Epistle LXVI.
To Theodorus, Physician.
Gregory to Theodorus, &c.
What benefits I enjoy from Almighty God and my most serene lord the Emperor my tongue cannot fully express. For these benefits what return is it in me to make, but to love their footsteps sincerely? But, on account of my sins, by whose suggestion or counsel I know not, in the past year he has promulged such a law in his republic that whoso loves him sincerely must lament exceedingly. I could not reply to this law at the time, being sick. But I have just now offered some suggestions to my lord. For he enjoins that it shall be lawful for no one to become a monk who has been engaged in any public employment, for no one who is a paymaster, or who has been marked in the hand, or enrolled among the soldiers, unless perchance his military service has been completed. This law, as those say who are acquainted with old laws, Julian was the first to promulge, of whom we all know how opposed he was to God. Now if our most serene lord has done this thing because perhaps many soldiers were becoming monks, and the army was decreasing, was it by the valour of soldiers that Almighty God subjugated to him the empire of the Persians?  Was it not only that his tears were heard, and that God, by an order which he knew not of, subdued to his empire the empire of the Persians?
Now it seems to me exceedingly hard that he should debar his soldiers from the service of Him who both gave him all and granted him to rule not only over soldiers but even over priests. If his purpose is to save property
from being lost, why might not those same monasteries into which soldiers have been received pay their debts, retaining the men only for monastic profession? Since these things grieve me much, I have represented the matter to my lord. But let your Glory take a favourable opportunity of offering him my representation privately. For I am unwilling that it should be given publicly by my representative (responsalis), seeing that you who serve him familiarly can speak more freely and openly of what is for the good of his soul, since he is occupied with many things, and it is not easy to find his mind free from greater cares. Do thou, then, glorious son, speak for Christ. If thou art heard, it will be to the profit of the soul of thy aforesaid lord and of thine own. But if thou art not heard, thou hast profited thine own soul only.

## Footnotes

* ↑ Nullus qui optio.—“Optiones: Militaris annonæ eragatores: distribiteurs des vivres aux soldats” (Cod. Th.) D’Arnis Lexicon Manuale.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume III/Theodoret/Letters/Letter 67

LXVII. To Maranas.
It was thy work, my good Sir, to call the rest also to the feast of the dedication. Through thy zeal and energy the holy temple has been built, and the loud-voiced heralds of the truth have come to dwell therein, and guard them that approach thither in faith. Nevertheless I write and signify the season of the feast.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume III/Theodoret/Letters/Letter 70

LXX. To Eustathius, Bishop of Ægæ.
The story of the noble Mary is one fit for a tragic play. As she says herself, and as is attested by several others, she is a daughter of the right honourable Eudæmon. In the catastrophe which has overtaken Libya she has fallen from her father’s free estate, and has become a slave. Some merchants bought her from the barbarians, and have sold her to some of our countrymen. With her was sold a maiden who was once one of her own domestic servants; so at one and the same time the galling yoke of slavery fell on the servant and the mistress. But the servant refused to ignore the difference between them, nor could she forget the old superiority: in their calamity she preserved her kindly feeling, and, after waiting upon their common masters, waited upon her who was reckoned her fellow slave, washed her feet, made her bed, and was mindful of other like offices. This became known to the purchasers. Then through all the town was noised abroad the free estate of the mistress and the servant’s goodness. On these circumstances becoming known to the faithful soldiers who are quartered in our city (I was absent at the time) they paid the purchasers their price, and rescued the woman from slavery. After my return, on being informed of the deplorable circumstances, and the admirable intention of the soldiers, I invoked blessings on their heads, committed the noble damsel to the care of one of the respectable deacons, and ordered a sufficient provision to be made for her. Ten months had gone by when she heard that her father was still alive, and holding high office in the West, and she very naturally expressed a desire to return to him. It was reported that many messengers from the West are on the way to the fair which is now being held in your parts. She requested to be allowed to set out with a letter from me. Under these circumstances I have written this letter, begging your piety to take care of a noble girl, and charge some respectable person to communicate with mariners, pilots, and merchants, and commit her to the care of trusty men who may be able to restore her to her father. There is no doubt that those who, when all hope of recovery has been lost, bring the daughter to the father, will be abundantly rewarded.

## Footnotes

* ↑ On the seaboard of Cilicia, now Ayas. The date may be 443 or 444.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume III/Theodoret/Letters/Letter 66

LXVI. To Aerius the Sophist.
She that gave you birth and nurtured you invites you to the longed-for feast. The holy shrine is crowned by a roof; it is fitly adorned; it is eager for the inhabitants for whom it was erected. These are Apostles and Prophets, loud-voiced heralds of the old and new covenant. Adorn, therefore, the feast with your presence; receive the blessing which swells forth from it, and make the feast more joyous to us.

## Footnotes

* ↑ cf. Ep. XXX. This letter, conveying an invitation to a church which Aerius had built at Cyrus, his native city, was probably written early in the episcopate of Theodoret.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume III/Theodoret/Letters/Letter 69

LXIX. To Eugraphia.
Had I not been unavoidably prevented, I should no sooner have heard that your great and glorious husband had fallen asleep than I should straightway have hurried to your side. I have enjoyed at your hands many and various kinds of honour, and I owe you full many thanks. When hindered, much against my will, from paying my debt, I deemed it ill-advised to send you a letter at the very moment, when your grief was at its height; when it was impossible for my messenger to approach your excellency, and when grief prevented you from reading what I wrote. But now that your reason has had time to wake from the intoxication of grief, to repress your emotion, and to discipline the license of sorrow, I have made bold to write and to beseech your excellency to bethink you of human nature, to reflect how common is the loss you deplore, and, above all, to accept the divine teaching, and not let your distress go beyond the bounds of your faith. For your most excellent husband, as the Lord Himself said, “is not dead but sleepeth”—a sleep a little longer than he was wont. This hope has been given us by the Lord; this promise we have received from the divine oracles. I know indeed how distressing is the separation, how most distressing; and especially so when affection is made stronger by sympathy of character and length of time. But let your grief be for a journey into a far country, not for a life ended. This kind of philosophy is particularly becoming to them that be brought up in piety, and it is of this philosophy that I beseech you, my respected friend, to seek the adornment. And I do not offer you this advice as a man labouring himself under insensibility; in truth my heart was grieved when I learnt of the departure of one I loved so well. But I call to mind the Ruler of the world and His unspeakable wisdom, which ordains everything for our good. I implore your holiness to take these reflections to heart, to rise superior to your sorrow, and praise God who is the Master of us all. It is with ineffable providence that He guides the lives of men.

## Footnotes

* ↑ cf. Ep. VIII.
* ↑ Luke viii. 52
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume III/Theodoret/Letters/Letter 72

LXXII. To Hermesigenes the Assessor.
At the time when men were whelmed in the darkness of ignorance, all did not keep the same feasts, but celebrated distinct ceremonies in different cities. In Ælis were the Olympian games, at Delphi the Pythian, at Sparta the Hyacinthian, at Athens the Panathenaic, the Thesmophoria, and the Dionysian. These were the most remarkable, and further some men celebrated the revel feast of some dæmons and some of others. But now that those mists have been scattered by intellectual light, in every land and sea mainlanders and islanders together keep the feast of our God and Saviour, and whithersoever any one may wish to travel abroad, journey he either towards rising or towards setting sun, everywhere he will find the same celebration observed at the same time. There is no longer necessity, in obedience to the law of Moses which was adapted to the infirmity of the Jews, to come together into one city and keep the feast in memory of our blessings, but every town, every village, the country and the farthest frontiers, are filled with the grace of God, and in every spot divine shrines and precincts are consecrated to the God of all. So through every town we observe our several festivals and communicate with one another in the feast. It is the same God and Lord who is honoured in our hymns and to whom our mystic sacrifices are offered. On this account, as is well known, we neighbours address one another by letter and signify the joy that comes to us in the feast. So now do I to you and offer the festal salutation to your excellency. You will without doubt reply and honour the custom of the feast.

## Footnotes

* ↑ “Nullus est sive temporis sive personæ index.” Garnerius.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume III/Theodoret/Letters/Letter 73

LXXIII. To Apollonius.
Themistocles the son of Neocles, the far-famed and admirable general, is described by the admiring historian as endowed with natural virtue alone. Of Pericles, however, the son of Xanthippus, it is said that he also derived ability from his education to charm his hearers by his persuasive eloquence, and was gifted with the power alike of knowing what measures should be taken and of enforcing them by word of mouth. In writing about him there is no impropriety in my using his own words. These things illustrate your magnificence, for God, our Creator, hath given you natural capacity, and your education makes its brilliance the more conspicuous. Nothing then is wanting to the full complement of your high qualities save only knowledge of their Author; be but this added, and the tale of virtues which we shall have will be complete. Thus I write to you on receiving news of your arrival, beseeching the Giver of all good to grant a beam of light to your soul’s eye, to show you the greatness of His boon, to kindle your love of that possession, and to grant the longed for favour to him that longs for it.

## Footnotes

* ↑ cf. Ep. CIII. Apollonius was Comes Sacrarum Largitio. num in 436.
* ↑ Thucydides, (I. 138,) writes of Themistocles that “to a greater degree than any other man he was to be admired for the natural ability which he displayed; for by his inborn capacity, he was an unrivalled judge of what the emergency of the moment required, and unsurpassed in his forecast of the future, and this without the aid of previous or additional instruction.” The same historian (II. 60) records the speech of Pericles in his own vindication in which he says “I think myself inferior to none in knowing what measures should be taken and in enforcing them by word of mouth.”
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume III/Theodoret/Letters/Letter 68

LXVIII. To Epiphanius.
It was my wish to summon you to the feast of holy Apostles and Prophets, not only as a citizen, but as one who shares both my faith and my home. But I am prevented by the state of your opinions. Therefore I put forward no other claims than those of our country, and I invite you to participate in the precious blessing of the holy Apostles and Prophets. This participation no difference of sentiment hinders.
# Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume III/Theodoret/Letters/Letter 7

VII. To Theonilla.
Had I heard of the death of your dignity’s most honourable husband I should have written long ago, and now my object in writing is not to lull your great sorrow to sleep by consolatory words. They are unnecessary. They who have learnt the wisdom of philosophers and consider what this life is, find reason strong enough to meet and break grief’s rising surge. And even while you are remembering your long companionship, reason recognises the divine decrees, and to meet the forces of the tears of sorrow marshals at once the course of nature, the law of God, and the hope of the resurrection. Knowing this as I do, there is no necessity to use many words. I only beseech you to avail yourself of good sense in the hour of need. Think of the death of him who is gone as no more than a long journey, and wait for the promise of our God and Saviour. For He who promised the resurrection cannot lie, and is the fount of truth.