Fr. Sixtus of Siena, O.P. (1520–1569) was himself of Jewish birth and upbringing, converted to Christianity in youth, and became a Dominican friar. He is best known for coining the term deuterocanonical. His monumental Bibliotheca Sancta (1566) — a comprehensive guide to Sacred Scripture and its interpreters — contains extensive material on the Jews, the Talmud, Jewish sects, the supersession of the Mosaic Law, and the divine reprobation of the Jewish nation. Pope Pius V sent him personally to Cremona in 1559 to oversee the destruction of Talmudic books. The passages below are taken verbatim from the Latin text.
I. Sixtus’s Own Background: Born Jewish, Steeped in “Jewish Superstition”
“Fr. Sixtus Senensis Etruscus a patria sic nuncupatus, quod Senis natus fit Anno MDXX. Hebraeus genere, Judaïsque parentibus ortus, ac Judaica superstitione a puero imbutus, a qua revocatus adolescens, atque ad Christi fidem conversus, Ordinis Minorum habitum, regulamque demum professus est…”
Translation: “Fr. Sixtus of Siena, called ‘Etruscan’ from his homeland because he was born at Siena in the year 1520, was of Hebrew race, born of Jewish parents, and imbued with Jewish superstition from boyhood; from which he was recalled as a young man, and having been converted to the faith of Christ, he professed the habit and rule of the Order of Minors…”
(Vol. I — biographical preface by Echard)
II. Sixtus Described as a Most Fierce Champion Against Jewish Perfidy
“…Judaicae perfidiae vindex acerrimus, & profligator, Ghislerii exemplo familiarïque convictu, & consortio cultus, & eruditus, non inutilem eidem paulo post praestitit operam contra Judaeos…”
Translation: “…the most fierce avenger and destroyer of Jewish perfidy, instructed and formed by the example and familiar company and association of Ghislerius, he rendered no small service against the Jews a little later…”
(Vol. I — biographical preface by Echard)
III. Sixtus’s Own Account: Sent by Pope Pius V to Destroy the Talmud
“Pius V. P.m., inquit, cum ante Pontificatum ei divinitus collatum amplissimo ac sacro totius Inquisitionis Senatui praesset, Anno videlicet humanae salutis MDLIX. misit me Cremonam ad abolendos Thalmudicos Hebraeorum libros impiae ac prodigiosae doctrinae, quos Judaei ex omni fere Italia in eam urbem tanquam in commune Judaicae nationis asylum convexerant. Cum igitur ea de causa coepissem diligenter evolvere universas ipsorum Bibliothecas, & Typographicas officinas omnium, quae tum in Italia erant, copiosissimas, reperi infinitum numerum Hebraicorum voluminum…”
Translation: “Pope Pius V, of pious memory, he says, when before his Pontificate divinely conferred upon him he presided over the most ample and sacred Senate of the whole Inquisition, namely in the year of human salvation 1559, sent me to Cremona to abolish the Talmudic books of the Hebrews, of impious and monstrous doctrine, which the Jews from virtually all of Italy had conveyed to that city as a common asylum of the Jewish nation. When therefore for this reason I had begun diligently to search through all their Libraries, and the printing offices of all those then existing in Italy, most abundantly stocked, I found an infinite number of Hebrew volumes…”
(Vol. I, Lib. IV, ad calcem)
IV. Papal Condemnations of the Talmud
“…visum est summis Pontificibus, & aliis Christianis principibus, ut tam nefariae doctrinae lectio, atque usus, omnibus Judaeis, qui sub ditione Christianorum vivunt, interdiceretur; & omnes libri Thalmudici, toto Christianorum orbe ignibus traderentur: quod etiam saepe factum esse nonnulli fide digni scriptores testantur: inter quos Bernardus Luzenburgius in Catalogo haereticorum libro 2. refert Gregorium Pontificem, ejus nominis Nonum, anno Domini MCCXXX. omnia Thalmudica volumina flammis adjudicasse; atque itidem iterum fecisse Innocentium Papam, ejus nominis Quartum, anno Salutis nostrae MCCXLIIII. Rursus cum eadem volumina a Judaeis instaurata fuissent, & auxilio artis impressoriae, in infinitum pene numerum propagata, Julius Papa Tertius novo edicto promulgato inquiri jussit, & anno MDLIII. cum festa Tabernaculorum a Judaeis Septembri mense celebrarentur, per omnes Italiae urbes exuri. Paulus Papa Quartus, una cum sacrosanctae Romanae Inquisitionis Senatu, anno MDLIX. rursum idem fieri jussit, & Thalmudicos libros inter scripta ab Ecclesia Catholica damnata connumerari voluit.”
Translation: “…it seemed good to the Supreme Pontiffs and other Christian princes that the reading and use of so wicked a doctrine should be forbidden to all Jews living under Christian dominion, and that all Talmudic books should be delivered to the flames throughout the whole Christian world. That this was done many times, not a few trustworthy writers attest: among whom Bernard of Luxembourg, in his Catalogue of Heretics, Book 2, reports that Pope Gregory IX, in the year of Our Lord 1230, condemned all Talmudic volumes to the flames; and likewise that Pope Innocent IV did the same again in the year of our salvation 1244. Then again, when the same volumes had been restored by the Jews and multiplied to nearly infinite number by the aid of the printing press, Pope Julius III issued a new edict ordering them to be sought out and burned throughout all the cities of Italy in the year 1553, when the feast of Tabernacles was being celebrated by the Jews in the month of September. Pope Paul IV, together with the Senate of the most holy Roman Inquisition, in the year 1559 ordered the same to be done again, and wished the Talmudic books to be numbered among the writings condemned by the Catholic Church.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II)
V. Twelve Thousand Talmudic Manuscripts Burned
“…quorum cum mille fere exemplaria, innumeris Thalmudicarum impietatibus referta, ad nos fuissent perlata, mandante Sacro Romanae Inquisitionis Senatu, una cum aliis decem millibus Thalmudici scriptorum voluminibus exusta fuerunt.”
Translation: “…of which when nearly a thousand copies, crammed with innumerable Talmudic impieties, had been brought to us, they were burned by order of the Sacred Senate of the Roman Inquisition, together with another ten thousand volumes of Talmudic writings.”
(Vol. I, Lib. IV)
VI. The Nature of the Talmud: History and Condemnation
“Thomas Aquinas in Commentariis utriusque epistolae ad Timotheum semel atque iterum asserverat, nomine Traditionum significari ingens ac vastum illud Opus Judaïcarum traditionum, a Judaeis תלמוד Thalmud, hoc est, Disciplinationem appellatum; in quo collecti sunt decreta omnia praedictorum magistrorum, Sammai, Hillel, Akiba, Joseph, & filiorum Asamonaei, una cum aliis innumeris Rabbinorum statutis, sententiis, & tam divinarum, quam humanarum legum expositionibus, quibus nunc tota Judaeorum natio regitur.”
Translation: “Thomas Aquinas, in his commentaries on both epistles to Timothy, asserted once and again that by the name ‘Traditions’ is meant that immense and vast Work of Jewish traditions, called by the Jews Thalmud, that is, Disciplination; in which are collected all the decrees of the aforesaid masters, Shammai, Hillel, Akiba, Joseph, and the sons of the Asmoneans, together with innumerable other Rabbinic statutes, sentences, and expositions of both divine and human laws, by which the whole nation of the Jews is now governed.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II)
VII. The Talmud as a Hydra: It Revives Unless Constantly Destroyed
“Decreveram ipse profecto, nullam talium librorum habere mentionem, & omnem doctrinae hujus memoriam, quantum fieri potuisset, silentio abolere: sed quoniam me praeteritorum temporum experientia docuit, hujusmodi volumina toties extincta, iterum instar hydrae capita reviviscere, permittente id Christianorum principum avaritia, qui quovis parvo precio inducti, facultatem instaurandi hos libros Judaeis vendunt; ideo me operae pretium facturum existimavi, si turpitudines, impietates, & blasphemias nonnullas Thalmudicis voluminibus comprehensas, aliqua ex parte manifestarem…”
Translation: “I had truly resolved to make no mention at all of such books, and to abolish every memory of this doctrine in silence as much as could be done: but since the experience of past times taught me that volumes of this kind, extinguished so many times, revive again like heads of a hydra, this being permitted by the avarice of Christian princes, who for any small price are induced to sell the Jews the power to restore these books — for this reason I judged it would be worth the effort to expose in some part the obscenities, impieties, and blasphemies contained in the Talmudic volumes…”
(Vol. I, Lib. II)
VIII. Index of Talmudic Blasphemies Against Christ
“ADVERSUS CHRISTUM DEUM NOSTRUM.
Blasphemiae, quas impii Judaei in Christum Deum nostrum emittunt, adeo sunt execrabiles, ut animus horreat, manusque refugiat eas scribere; proinde tantum sufficiet hic indicasse loca quaedam, ubi haec habeantur.
QUO partu Christus natus sit, & quam habuerit matrem ac patrem. Ordine primo, tractatu nono, versu 49. incipiendo a verbo, Menila.
QUAE fuerit Christi professio, studium, & ars. Ordine quarto, tractatu quarto, distinctione quinta, charta decimaseptima.
QUEM Deum Christus coluerit; Ordine quarto, tractatu quarto, distinctione secunda, charta 107.
QUA de causa, & quo supplicio Judaei Christum interfecerint. Ordine quarto, tractatu quarto, distinctione sexta, charta 43.
QUO nunc loco detineatur anima Christi. Ordine tertio, tractatu sexto, charta quinquagesima septima.”
Translation: “AGAINST CHRIST OUR GOD.
The blasphemies which the impious Jews hurl against Christ our God are so execrable that the mind shudders and the hand shrinks from writing them; therefore it will suffice here only to indicate certain places where these things are to be found.
OF WHAT BIRTH Christ was born, and what mother and father he had. Order 1, Tractate 9, verse 49, beginning from the word Menila.
WHAT was the profession, study, and trade of Christ. Order 4, Tractate 4, distinction 5, folio 17.
WHICH God Christ worshipped. Order 4, Tractate 4, distinction 2, folio 107.
FOR WHAT REASON and by what punishment the Jews killed Christ. Order 4, Tractate 4, distinction 6, folio 43.
IN WHAT place the soul of Christ is now detained. Order 3, Tractate 6, folio 57.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II — Index errorum Thalmud)
IX. Talmudic Commandment to Curse Christians Three Times Daily
“STATUIMUS, ut quilibet Judaeus ter in die blasphemet omnem Christianorum gentem; ac Deum precetur, ut conterdat, exterminctque ipsam cum regibus, & principibus suis; atque hoc maxime faciant sacerdotes Judaeorum in Synagoga ter quotidie orantes, in odium Jesu Nazareni. Ordine primo, tractatu primo, distinctione quarta.”
Translation: “WE DECREE that every Jew shall three times a day blaspheme the entire race of Christians; and shall pray to God to crush and exterminate it together with its kings and princes; and above all the priests of the Jews shall do this in the Synagogue, praying three times daily, out of hatred for Jesus of Nazareth. Order 1, Tractate 1, distinction 4.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II — Index errorum Thalmud)
X. Talmudic Teaching: God Commanded Jews to Seize Christian Property
“DEUM praecepisse Judaeis, ut quovis modo, sive dolo, seu vi, sive usura, sive furto facultates Christianorum sibi vendicent. Ibidem.”
Translation: “GOD HAS COMMANDED the Jews that by whatever means — whether by fraud, or by force, or by usury, or by theft — they should appropriate the property of Christians for themselves. Ibid.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II — Index errorum Thalmud)
XI. Talmudic Teaching: Jews Must Treat Christians as Brute Animals
“PRAECIPTUR item omnibus Judaeis, ut Christianos omnes loco brutorum habeant; nec aliter eos tractent, quam bruta animalia. Ordine quarto, tractatu octavo.”
Translation: “IT IS LIKEWISE COMMANDED to all Jews that they hold all Christians in the place of brute animals; and treat them no differently than brute animals. Order 4, Tractate 8.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II — Index errorum Thalmud)
XII. Talmudic Teaching: Jews Must Strive to Kill Christians
“JUDAEUS gentilibus neque boni, neque mali, quicquam faciat: Christianum vero omni studio atque industria conetur de vita tollere. Ordine quarto, tractatu octavo, distinctione secunda.”
Translation: “A Jew shall do neither good nor evil to pagans: but a Christian he shall strive with all diligence and industry to remove from life. Order 4, Tractate 8, distinction 2.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II — Index errorum Thalmud)
XIII. Talmudic Teaching: Push a Christian into a Pit
“SI quis Judaeus Christianum praecipitio propinquum inspexerit, ipsum statim praecipitare tenetur. Ordine quarto, tractatu octavo: cui in eodem tractatu concordat auctor Ravalsez, distinctione 2. charta 355. facie 2. & volumen Arba Turim libro Joradea, capite 138.”
Translation: “IF any Jew should see a Christian near a precipice, he is obliged to push him over it immediately. Order 4, Tractate 8: with which in the same tractate the author Ravalsez agrees, distinction 2, folio 355, side 2; and the volume Arba Turim, book Joradea, chapter 138.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II — Index errorum Thalmud)
XIV. Talmudic Teaching: Christian Rule More Execrable Than Pagan Rule
“IMPERIUM Christianorum execrabilius est imperio caeterarum gentium; & levius peccatum est servire principi gentili, quam Christiano. Ordine secundo, tractatu primo, distinctione quinta, charta undecima & quintadecima.”
Translation: “THE RULE of Christians is more execrable than the rule of other nations; and it is a lesser sin to serve a pagan prince than a Christian one. Order 2, Tractate 1, distinction 5, folios 11 and 15.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II — Index errorum Thalmud)
XV. Talmudic Teaching: Destroy Christian Churches
“TEMPLA Christianorum esse domus perditionis, & loca idololatriae, quae Judaei tenentur destruere. Ordine secundo, tractatu primo, distinctione secunda.”
Translation: “THE TEMPLES of Christians are houses of perdition and places of idolatry, which the Jews are obliged to destroy. Order 2, Tractate 1, distinction 2.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II — Index errorum Thalmud)
XVI. Talmudic Teaching: Burn the Gospels
“EVANGELIA Christianorum, quae inscribi debent, iniquitas revelata, & peccatum manifestum, a Judaeis comburi debent; etiam si in eis nomen Dei contineretur: ibidem.”
Translation: “THE GOSPELS of Christians, which ought to be inscribed ‘revealed iniquity’ and ‘manifest sin,’ must be burned by the Jews; even if the name of God is contained in them. Ibid.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II — Index errorum Thalmud)
XVII. Talmudic Teaching: Rabbinic Authority Supersedes the Law of Moses
“GRAVIUS plectendos esse cos, qui contradicunt verbis Scribarum, quam verbis Mosaicae legis, quibus qui contradixerit, absolvi potest; qui vero verbis Rabbinorum contradixerit, morte moriatur. Ordine quarto, tractatu quarto, distinctione decima.”
Translation: “THOSE WHO contradict the words of the Scribes are to be punished more severely than those who contradict the words of the Mosaic Law — for whoever contradicts the latter may be absolved; but whoever contradicts the words of the Rabbis, let him die the death. Order 4, Tractate 4, distinction 10.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II — Index errorum Thalmud)
XVIII. Talmudic Teaching: To Deny the Talmud Is to Deny God
“SI QUIS negaverit libros Thalmudicos, in quibus scripta continentur praedicta sanctissima praecepta, Deum ipsum negat. Praefatione totius Thalmud.”
Translation: “WHOEVER denies the Talmudic books, in which the aforesaid most holy precepts are written, denies God himself. From the Preface of the whole Talmud.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II — Index errorum Thalmud)
XIX. Refutation of Petrus Galatinus for Defending the Talmud
“…non possum hic non magnopere mirari inane studium Petri Galatini, ex ordine Minorum, qui, cum in primo de arcanis Catholicae veritatis libro defensionem Thalmudicorum voluminum suscepissset, in eam vanitatem devenit, ut non solum affirmaverit Thalmudica Opera in Latinum verti oportere, & publice in scholis Christianorum explicari…”
Translation: “…I cannot here refrain from greatly marvelling at the empty zeal of Petrus Galatinus of the Order of Minors, who, having undertaken in the first book of his De arcanis Catholicae veritatis the defence of the Talmudic volumes, fell into such vanity that he not only affirmed that the Talmudic Works ought to be translated into Latin and publicly expounded in the schools of Christians…”
(Vol. I, Lib. II)
XX. Pharisaic Sect: Oral Traditions Held Equal to the Law of Moses
“5. Traditiones seniorum, quae inter leges Mosaicas non sunt scriptae, sed a majoribus per manus traditas, summa veneratione recipiendas, & pari cum lege Mosaica honore prosequendas.”
Translation: “5. The traditions of the elders, which are not written among the Mosaic laws but handed down from ancestors by hand, are to be received with the highest veneration and to be followed with honour equal to the Mosaic Law.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II — on the dogmas of the Pharisees)
XXI. Supersessionism: Hosea Prophesied the Calling of the Gentiles and the Reprobation of the Hebrews
“HOSEA, hoc est, Salvator, filius Beeri… scripsit librum… in quo praecaeteris prophetis, de vocatione gentium, & reprobatione Hebraeorum vaticinatus est.”
Translation: “HOSEA, that is, Saviour, son of Beeri… wrote a book… in which, above all other prophets, he prophesied concerning the calling of the Gentiles and the reprobation of the Hebrews.”
(Vol. I, Lib. I — on the Prophet Hosea)
XXII. Jewish Blindness and Captivity as Prophetic Fulfillment
“…de Christianae religionis propagatione… Item de imperatorum fide… de Christi nomine longe lateque in omnes gentes diffuso, de idolorum abolitione, & Judaeorum caecitate, & captivitate: quae omnia si ex prophetarum scripturis ante quam ista facta fuissent, Gentili ingerem…”
Translation: “…concerning the propagation of the Christian religion… likewise concerning the faith of emperors… concerning the name of Christ spread far and wide among all nations, concerning the abolition of idols, and the blindness and captivity of the Jews: all of which, if I were to put before a pagan from the prophetic scriptures before these things had come to pass…”
(Vol. II, Lib. VI)
XXIII. The Apocalypse Contains Prophecies of the Eternal Rejection of the Jewish Nation
“…vaticinia de futuro Hierosolymorum excidio, & Judaicae nationis sempiterna abjectione contineri.”
Translation: “…prophecies are contained therein concerning the future destruction of Jerusalem and the eternal rejection of the Jewish nation.”
(Vol. I, Lib. I — on the Apocalypse)
XXIV. The Book of Divorce: Divine Reprobation of the Jewish Synagogue
“Repudii Liber, matri Judaeorum a Deo traditus, est divinae reprobationis adversus Judaicam Synagogam executio, de qua olim Judaei cum propter scelera nefanda essent a Deo repudiati, & in servitutem barbararum gentium dati, solebant populari quodam querelae genere sub parabola libri repudii, Deum, ut varium, mutabilem, & sibi ipsi minime constantem, accusare, quod matrem & Synagogam Judaicam, sibi matrimonio junctam, & longo tempore ardentissime adamatam, repente mutata animi sententia repudiasset, atque abjecisset…”
Translation: “The Book of Divorce, given to the mother of the Jews by God, is the execution of divine reprobation against the Jewish Synagogue, concerning which the Jews of old, when for their abominable crimes they had been repudiated by God and given into the servitude of barbarian nations, were accustomed in a popular mode of complaint, under the parable of a bill of divorce, to accuse God of being fickle, changeable, and inconstant with himself — that he had suddenly, with a change of mind, repudiated and cast off the mother and the Jewish Synagogue, joined to him in marriage and ardently beloved for a long time…”
(Vol. I, Lib. II)
XXV. God Cast the Jews Out of Synagogue, Temple, Kingdom, and Promised Land
“…temporale repudium, quantum ad ejectionem a temporalibus bonis, quae Deus, veluti dotem, Synagogae concesserat, universam Judaeorum gentem comprehendere; omnes enim tam bonos, quam malos, tam electos, quam reprobos temporaliter Deus abjecit; & de Synagoga, de templo, de regno, de terrae promissae possessione, in captivitatem & servitutem ejecit.”
Translation: “…the temporal reprobation, as regards ejection from the temporal goods which God had granted as a dowry to the Synagogue, comprehends the entire Jewish nation; for God cast off all of them temporally — both good and bad, both elect and reprobate alike — and cast them out from the Synagogue, from the Temple, from the Kingdom, and from possession of the Promised Land, into captivity and servitude.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II)
XXVI. The Cause of Jewish Eternal Ruin: Unbelief, Arrogance, Ingratitude, and Obstinacy
“…hujus postremi exitus causa in Judaeis est, nempe ipsorum incredulitas, arrogantia, ingratitudo, obstinatio; ex quibus in damnationem perpetuae perditionis ceciderunt, dicente ad eos Deo per Oseam Prophetam, PERDITIO TUA EX TE Israel, TANTUMMODO EX ME AUXILIUM TUUM.”
Translation: “…the cause of this final outcome lies in the Jews themselves, namely their unbelief, arrogance, ingratitude, and obstinacy; by which they have fallen into the damnation of perpetual perdition, God saying to them through the Prophet Hosea: THY DESTRUCTION IS FROM THYSELF, O Israel; THY HELP IS ONLY FROM ME.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II)
XXVII. The Cause of Jewish Temporal Rejection: Adultery Against God
“DENIQUE si quaeratur, unde sit causa temporalis repudii Judaeorum, hoc est, cur Deus dimiserit a se Judaicum genus, & abjecerit in furore suo universam semen Israel, dederitque illud in praedam & in direptionem cunctis gentibus: respondet ipsemet Deus per Jeremiam: Pro eo quod moechata est adverlatrix Israel, dimisi eam: & dedi ei libellum repudii: & rursus per Esaiam, IN sceleribus vestris dimisi matrem vestram, & in iniquitatibus vestris venundati estis: quia veni, & non erat vir: & vocavi, & non fuit qui responderet.”
Translation: “FINALLY if one asks what is the cause of the temporal reprobation of the Jews — that is, why God has dismissed the Jewish race from himself, and has cast the whole seed of Israel away in his fury, and delivered it as prey and plunder to all nations — God himself answers through Jeremiah: Because the traitress Israel has committed adultery, I have dismissed her, and given her a bill of divorce: and again through Isaiah: IN your crimes I have dismissed your mother, and in your iniquities you have been sold: because I came, and there was no man: and I called, and there was none who answered.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II)
XXVIII. Jewish Sin Written in Their Hearts: Hatred of Christ and the Cross to This Day
“Dicitur autem Scriptum esse tripliciter, primo in corde Judaeorum, quia peccatum illud odii adversus Christum & crucem ejus valde profunde insidet in corde ipsorum tenacissimo, duro, & impoenitente: usque enim in hodiernum diem crux est Judaeis scandalo, & maledicunt ei, approbantes peccatum patrum suorum… & nunc in synagogis suis, & sacris in cornibus altarium est peccatum, eo quod grata occulte Christi memoria, & nativum adhuc odium haeret animo, & velut recens in manu est, & recolendo pristinas patrum abominationes se oblectant, blasphemantes Christum in orationibus suis, & Christianis diris execrationes, tametsi vanas & sine ullo effectu, imprecantes.”
Translation: “It is said to be written in three ways: first, in the heart of the Jews, because that sin of hatred against Christ and his Cross resides very deeply in their most tenacious, hardened, and impenitent hearts: for to this very day the Cross is a scandal to the Jews, and they curse it, approving the sin of their fathers… and now in their Synagogues, and at the altars of their sacred rites, the sin is present, in that the memory of Christ secretly abides, and their native hatred still cleaves to their souls, and is as it were fresh in hand, and they delight themselves by recalling the ancient abominations of their fathers, blaspheming Christ in their prayers, and calling down dreadful imprecations upon Christians — though vain and without any effect.”
(Vol. I, Lib. I — on Jeremiah 17)
XXIX. Pilate’s Letter: The Chief Priests Hand Christ Over; Jewish Wickedness Blazes After the Resurrection
“Principes vero sacerdotum, aemulatione & livore instincti, adversabantur illi: captumque illum mihi tradiderunt, ementitis sceleribus eum reum facientes: magum appellabant, atque legis eorum desertorem, & contradictorem. Quibus persuasionibus seductus ipse, fidem querelis eorum adhibui, flagellatumque ipsis tradidi, ut pro arbitrio in eum animadverterent. Crucifixerunt igitur illum… Nequitia autem Judaeorum magis hoc facto exarsit: numeraveruntque magnam pecuniarum vim ipsis militibus, quatenus discipulos ipsius noctu corpus rapuisse praedicarent… Haec autem ideo scripsi, ne quis nugis, ac mendaciis Judaeorum, si de re gesta aliter loquantur, fidem adhibeat.”
Translation: “But the chief priests, driven by jealousy and envy, were opposed to him; and having seized him they handed him over to me, making him guilty of trumped-up crimes: they called him a magician, and a deserter and opponent of their Law. Misled by these persuasions, I gave credence to their complaints, and after scourging him handed him over to them to deal with as they wished. They therefore crucified him… But the wickedness of the Jews blazed hotter still at this deed: and they counted out a great sum of money to the soldiers themselves, so that they would proclaim that his disciples had stolen the body away by night… I have written this so that no one should give credence to the trifles and lies of the Jews, if they tell the story differently.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II — the letter of Pilate to Tiberius, published from Vatican archives by Sixtus)
XXX. The Synagogue vs. the Church: Canon and Scripture
“…nihil ipsis auctoritatis adimi, quia eos Judaei inter apocrypha computent; licet enim eos Judaeorum Synagoga non recipiat, sancta tamen Christi ecclesia in Canone recipit, illosque pari veneratione cum aliis sanctis libris legit atque colit.”
Translation: “…nothing of authority is taken from them because the Jews reckon them among the apocrypha; for although the Synagogue of the Jews does not receive them, the holy Church of Christ receives them in the Canon, and reads and venerates them with equal reverence alongside the other sacred books.”
(Vol. II, Lib. VIII; repeated in Vol. III)
XXXI. God’s Protection of Scripture Withdrawn from the Synagogue and Given to the Church
“Nec etiam credibile est Deum ecclesiae dilecti Filii sui denegare voluisse post Christi adventum, quod ante ejus adventum Synagogae Hebraeorum concesserat, ut nemo auderet scripturis ejus vel adjicere vel auferre…”
Translation: “Nor is it credible that God would have wished to deny to the Church of His beloved Son, after the coming of Christ, that which He had conceded to the Synagogue of the Hebrews before His coming — namely that no one should dare to add to or take from His scriptures…”
(Vol. II, Lib. VIII; repeated in Vol. III)
XXXII. Jews as Our Book-Bearers: A Burden to Themselves, a Benefit to Us
“Sunt enim Judaei geruli nostri, qui sibi libros portant ad onus, nobis vero ad eruditionem ac fidem: ut cum de codicum nostrorum synceritate inciderit dubitatio ex incorrupta Hebraicorum voluminum fide tollatur.”
Translation: “For the Jews are our book-bearers, who carry the books for themselves as a burden, but for us unto instruction and faith: so that when any doubt arises concerning the purity of our codices, it may be removed by the uncorrupted testimony of the Hebrew volumes.”
(Vol. II, Lib. VIII — citing Augustine)
XXXIII. Jerome’s Motive: Lest the Jews Mock the Churches with Charges of Falsification
“Scit enim Deus (inquit Hieronymus) me in peregrinae linguae eruditione sudasse, ne Judaei de falsitate scripturarum ecclesiis ejus diutius insultarent.”
Translation: “For God knows (says Jerome) that I laboured in the study of a foreign tongue, lest the Jews should any longer mock the churches of God with charges of falsifying the scriptures.”
(Vol. II, Lib. VIII)
XXXIV. Following the Fathers Rather Than Judaizing Heretics and Their Jewish Opinions
“…malumus certam, ac indubitatam omnium Christianorum Patrum in hac re sententiam sequi, quam cum judaizantibus haereticis incertas Judaeorum opiniones sectari.”
Translation: “…we prefer to follow the certain and undoubted opinion of all the Christian Fathers in this matter, rather than to follow the uncertain opinions of the Jews together with the Judaizing heretics.”
(Vol. II, Lib. VIII)
XXXV. Christ Used the Obstinate Unbelief of the Jews as a Reproach
“…ad exprobandos perditissimos mores, & obstinatissimam incredulitatem Judaeorum deflexit, inquiens: VIRI Ninivitae surgent in judicio cum generatione hac, & condemnabunt eam; quia in praedicatione Jonae egerunt poenitentiam; & ecce plus quam Jonas est hic: regina Austri surget in judicio cum generatione hac, & condemnabit eam; quia venit a finibus terrae audire sapientiam Salomonis, & ecce plusquam Salomon hic.”
Translation: “…to reprove the most depraved customs and the most obstinate unbelief of the Jews, [Christ] turned to it, saying: THE MEN OF NINEVEH shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it; because they did penance at the preaching of Jonas; and behold a greater than Jonas is here: the queen of the South shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it; because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold a greater than Solomon is here.”
(Vol. I, Lib. II)
XXXVI. “Jewish Perfidy” in Classical Theological Context
“…vel haeretica pravitate, vel superstitione gentili, vel Judaica perfidia, vel etiam schismate fraterno, quasi vario colore perfusus, Domini gratia caruerit; necesse est ad ecclesiam veniat…”
Translation: “…whether defiled by heretical depravity, pagan superstition, Jewish perfidy, or even fraternal schism, as if tinged by various colours, and has lacked the grace of the Lord; he must come to the Church…”
(Vol. II, Lib. VI — citing Bede on Luke 17)
XXXVII. “Perfidious Jew” Striving to Overturn the Mystery of the Trinity
“…quam adhibuit perfido Judaeo toto conatu (sicut & ceteri de synagoga impraesentiarium ogganniunt, furiunt, blasphemant) evertere curanti Trinitatis mysterium…”
Translation: “…which credence he extended to a perfidious Jew who with full effort strove to overturn the mystery of the Trinity — just as the others from the Synagogue now bark, rage, and blaspheme…”
(Vol. II, Lib. V)
XXXVIII. Talmudic Corruption of Scripture by the Scribes
“…correctionem quandam voluminum Divinorum, quae in libris Thalmudicis frequentissime recolitur תיקון סופרים Thikun Sophrim, hoc est, Correctio Scribarum, appellata, juxta quam Scribae non longe post reditum de Babylone quaedam in libris legis & prophetarum mutaverunt…”
Translation: “…a certain correction of the Divine volumes, which is recalled most frequently in the Talmudic books under the name Thikun Sophrim, that is, the Correction of the Scribes, according to which the Scribes, not long after the return from Babylon, changed certain things in the books of the Law and the Prophets…”
(Vol. I, Lib. II)
XXXIX. The Chaldean Targum Corrupted by Talmudic Fables
“…in ceteris autem divinis voluminibus corruptam esse, & in multis locis conspersam meris fabulis, & Thalmudidarum nugis.”
Translation: “…but in the other divine volumes [the Chaldean Targum] is corrupt, and in many places sprinkled with mere fables and Talmudic trifles.”
(Vol. I, Lib. IV — on the Targum)