om the account of it given by Hippolytus,
though this indeed is written in a hostile spirit. Roman Christians were
then split into at least five different sects, and Calixtus left nothing
undone to break up the unfriendly parties and enlarge his own. In all
probability, too, the energetic bishop met with a certain measure of
success. From Euseb., H. E. IV. 23. 6, one might be inclined to conclude
that, even in Marcus Aurelius' time, Dionysius of Corinth had issued lax
injunctions similar to those of Calixtus. But it must not be forgotten
that we have nothing but Eusebius' report; and it is just in questions
of this kind that his accounts are not reliable.]

[Footnote 231: No doubt persecutions were practically unknown in the
period between 220 and 260.]

[Footnote 232: See Cypr., de lapsis.]

[Footnote 233: What scruples were caused by this innovation is shown by
the first 40 letters in Cyprian's collection. He himself had to struggle
with painful doubts.]

[Footnote 234: Apart from some epistles of Cyprian, Socrates, H. E. V.
22, is our chief source of information on this point. See also Conc.
Illib. can. 1, 2, 6-8, 12, 17, 18-47, 70-73, 75.]

[Footnote 235: See my article "Novatian" in Herzog's Real-Encyklopaedie,
2nd ed. One might be tempted to assume that the introduction of the
practice of unlimited forgiveness of sins was an "evangelical reaction"
against the merciless legalism which, in the case of the Gentile Church
indeed, had established itself from the beginning. As a matter of fact
the bishops and the laxer party appealed to the New Testament in
justification of their practice. This had already been done by the
followers of Calixtus and by himself. See Philos. IX. 12: [Greek:
phaskontes Christon aphienai tois eudokousi]; Rom. XIV. 4 and Matt.
XIII. 29 were also quoted. Before this Tertullian's opponents who
favoured laxity had appealed exactly in the same way to numerous Bible
texts, e.g., Matt. X. 23: XI. 19 etc., see de monog, de pudic., de
ieiun. Cyprian is also able to quote many passages from the Gospels.
However, as the bishops and their party did not modify their conception
of baptism, but rather maintained in principle, as before, that baptism
imposes only obligations for the future, the "evangelical reaction" must
not be estimated very highly; (see below, p. 117, and my essay in the
Zeitschrift fur Theologie und Kirche, Vol. I., "Die ehre von der
Seligkeit allein durch den Glauben in der alten