Abstract:The rhetorical significance of sacred books in the North African controversy between Caecilianists and Donatists remains under-explained. In this article, I situate the act of traditio in its historical context by employing insights from the study of material texts. The Acts of the Abitinian Martyrs, the arguments of Augustine and Optatus, and even apotropaic practices reveal a social logic in which the physical book does more than transmit text. I argue that this theology of the book provides a richer account of traditio than the economic and sociological explanations in current scholarship on the North African controversy. The sacred book functions as a metonym for Christian confession, an avatar of divine presence, and a powerful agent of healing. To hand over the sacred books for destruction was thus to destroy objects which embodied divine truth, presence, and power.

中文翻译：

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神圣的真理、临在和力量：罗马北非的基督教书籍

摘要：圣书在北非凯西里安派和多纳托派之间的争论中的修辞意义仍未得到充分解释。在这篇文章中，我运用对材料文本研究的见解，将传统行为置于其历史背景中。Abitinian Martyrs 的行为、Augustine 和 Optatus 的论点，甚至是apotropaic 实践都揭示了一种社会逻辑，在这种逻辑中，实体书不仅仅是传递文本。我认为，与当前关于北非争议的学术研究中的经济和社会学解释相比，本书的这种神学提供了对传统的更丰富的解释。这本圣书是基督徒忏悔的代名词，是神圣临在的化身，也是强大的治愈媒介。