Alicia Eelen - 1 Tm. 1, 15: Humanus sermo or fidelis sermo? Augustine's s. 174 and its Christology.

Augustine's sermon 174 is traditionally dated around 413 (Kunzelmann 1931, Verbraken 1976). This dating has been confirmed by Hombert (2000). His main argument is based on Augustine's use of humanus sermo instead of fidelis sermo when quoting 1 Tm. 1, 15. According to Hombert, Augustine first adopted the faulty reading humanus sermo, but, after realizing this reading was mistaken, switched to the correct phrase fidelis sermo. Thus, when establishing a timeline using the switch to fidelis sermo as a reference point, the preaching of s. 174 must be placed before the sermons using 1 Tm. 1, 15, where we can read fidelis sermo, such as ss. 175-176. However, as Hombert remarks himself, this timeline has to be used with precaution. He mentions Dolbeau 30 as a counterexample. This sermon is traditionally dated 416 but still contains humanus sermo instead of fidelis sermo. We can add the example of Contra Iulianum Opus Imperfectum, a work traditionally dated around 429-430 and containing the phrase humanus sermo as well. Since Augustine still uses humanus sermo after the supposed correction to fidelis sermo, I believe we cannot automatically assume that his use of humanus sermo in s. 174 originates in his ignorance of the correct reading. S. 174 provides us with information on Augustine's Christology, paying much attention to Christ's humanity. I will try to show that in this context, the phrase humanus sermo is more functional than fidelis sermo and that Augustine's use of this reading could, thus, just be motivated by the fact he wanted to explicitly state his Christological views.