Letters 211-270, 1*-29*
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EPISTOLA 211
LETTER 211
Ep211-2701. Sicut parata est severitas peccata quae invenerit vindicare; ita non vult caritas quod vindicet invenire. Haec causa fecit ut ad vos non venirem, cum meam praesentiam quaereretis, non ad pacis vestrae gaudium, sed ad dissensionis vestrae augmentum. Quomodo enim contemnerem, et impunitum relinquerem, si et me praesente tantus vester tumultus exsisteret, quantus me absente, etsi oculos meos latuit, tamen aures meas vestris vocibus verberavit? Nam fortassis etiam maior esset vestra seditio in praesentia mea, cum necesse esset vobis non concedi, quae in perniciosissimum exemplum contra sanam disciplinam, quod vobis non expedit, petebatis; ac sic quales non volo, invenirem vos, et ipse invenirer a vobis qualem non volebatis. A. monialibus parcere voluit.
1. Just as severity stands ready to punish the sins it finds, so love does not wish to find anything to punish. This is the reason I did not come to you when you were seeking my presence, not for the joy of your peace but for the increase of your dissension. For how could I have overlooked it and left it unpunished, if so great a tumult had arisen among you in my presence as arose in my absence, which, though it escaped my eyes, nonetheless battered my ears with your voices? Indeed, your rebellion might perhaps have been even greater in my presence, since it would have been necessary not to grant you what you were demanding—things most ruinous in their example, contrary to sound discipline, and not to your advantage; and so I would have found you such as I do not want, and I myself would have been found by you such as you did not want.
Ep211-270.12. Cum ergo scribat Apostolus ad Corinthios, dicens: Testem Deum facio super animam meam, quia parcens vobis nondum veni Corinthum; non quia dominamur fidei vestrae, sed cooperatores sumus gaudii vestri ; hoc ego etiam dico vobis, quia parcens vobis non ad vos veni. Peperci etiam mihi, ne tristitiam super tristitiam haberem ; et elegi non ut exhiberem faciem meam vobis, sed effunderem cor meum Deo pro vobis , et causam magni periculi vestri, non apud vos verbis, sed apud Deum lacrymis agerem, ne convertat in luctum gaudium meum quo soleo gaudere de vobis, et inter tanta scandala quibus ubique abundat hic mundus aliquando consolari, cogitans copiosam congregationem, et castam dilectionem, et sanctam conversationem vestram, et largiorem gratiam Dei, quae data est vobis, ut non solum carnales nuptias contemneretis, verum etiam eligeretis in domo societatem unanimes habitandi, ut sit vobis anima una et cor unum in Deum . Contentiones, aemulationes quam noxiae monasterio.
2. Since, then, the Apostle writes to the Corinthians, saying, I call God to witness against my soul that it was to spare you that I have not yet come to Corinth; not because we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy (2 Cor 1:23-24), I too say this to you, that it was to spare you that I have not come to you. I also spared myself, that I might not have sorrow upon sorrow (See 2 Cor 2:1; Phil 2:27); and I chose not to show my face to you, but to pour out my heart to God for you, and to plead the cause of your great peril not before you in words, but before God in tears, lest he turn into grief that joy of mine by which I am accustomed to rejoice over you and, amid the great scandals with which this world everywhere abounds, sometimes to find consolation, when I consider your abundant community, your chaste love, and your holy manner of life, and the more generous grace of God that has been given you, so that you have not only scorned carnal marriage but have also chosen to live together of one mind in a household, so that you have one soul and one heart toward God. (See Acts 4:32)
Ep211-270.23. Haec in vobis bona, haec Dei dona considerans, inter multas tempestates quibus ex aliis malis quatitur cor meum, solet utcumque requiescere. Currebatis bene; quis vos fascinavit? Suasio illa non est ex Deo qui vocavit vos . Modicum fermenti ... nolo dicere quod sequitur; hoc enim magis cupio, et oro, et hortor, ut ipsum fermentum convertatur in melius, ne tota massa, sicut pene iam fecerat, convertatur in peius. Si ergo repullulastis sanum sapere, orate ne intretis in tentationem , ne iterum in contentiones, aemulationes, animositates, dissensiones, detractiones, seditiones, susurrationes . Non enim sic plantavimus et rigavimus hortum dominicum in vobis , ut spinas metamus istas ex vobis . Si autem adhuc vestra tumultuatur infirmitas, orate ut eruamini de tentatione . Quae autem conturbant vos, si adhuc conturbant vos, nisi correxerint se, portabunt iudicium, quaecumque illae fuerint . Quam lugenda schismata in monasterio.
3. When I consider these good things in you, these gifts of God, my heart, amid the many storms by which it is shaken from other evils, is wont to find some rest. You were running well; who has bewitched you? This persuasion is not from God, who called you (See Gal 5:7; 3:1; 5:8). A little leaven...—I do not want to say what follows (See Gal 5:9); for I rather desire and pray and exhort that this very leaven be changed for the better, lest the whole lump, as it had almost already done, be changed for the worse. If, therefore, you have sprouted again into sound thinking, pray that you may not enter into temptation (Matt 26:41), lest you fall again into quarrels, jealousies, animosities, dissensions, slanders, seditions, whisperings (See 2 Cor 12:20). For we did not so plant and water the Lord's garden in you that we should reap such thorns from you. But if your weakness is still in turmoil, pray that you may be delivered from temptation. Yet those who disturb you, if they still disturb you, unless they correct themselves, will bear their judgment, whoever they may be. (See Gal 5:10)
Ep211-270.34. Cogitate quid mali sit, ut cum de Donatistis in unitate gaudeamus , interna schismata in monasterio lugeamus. Perseverate in bono proposito, et non desiderabitis mutare praepositam, qua in monasterio illo per tam multos annos perseverante et numero et aetate crevistis; quae vos mater non utero, sed animo suscepit. Omnes enim quae illuc venistis, ibi eam aut sanctae praepositae sorori meae servientem, placentem, aut etiam ipsam praepositam quae vos suscepit, invenistis: sub illa estis eruditae, sub illa velatae, sub illa multiplicatae; et sic tumultuamini, ut ea vobis mutetur, cum lugere deberetis, si eam vobis mutare vellemus. Ipsa est enim quam nostis, ipsa est ad quam venistis, ipsa est quam per tot annos habendo crevistis. Novum non accepistis, nisi praepositum: aut si propter illum quaeritis novitatem, et in eius invidiam contra matrem vestram sic rebellastis, cur non potius id petistis, ut ipse vobis mutetur? Si autem hoc exhorretis; quia novi quomodo eum in Christo venerabiliter diligatis, cur non potius illam? In vobis namque regendis sic praepositi rudimenta turbantur, ut magis velit vos ipse deserere, quam istam ex vobis famam et invidiam sustinere, ut dicatur non vos aliam quaesituras fuisse praepositam, nisi ipsum coepissetis habere praepositum. Tranquillet ergo Deus et componat animos vestros; non in vobis praevaleat opus diaboli, sed pax Christi vincat in cordibus vestris ; nec dolore animi, quia non fit quod vultis, vel quia pudet voluisse quod velle non debuistis , erubescendo curratis in mortem; sed potius poenitendo resumatis virtutem , nec habeatis poenitentiam Iudae traditoris, sed potius lacrymas Petri pastoris . Regula monialibus praescripta: Omnia sint communia.
4. Consider what an evil it is that, while we rejoice over the Donatists' return to unity, we should mourn internal schisms within the monastery. Persevere in your good purpose, and you will not desire to change the superior under whom, abiding in that monastery through so many years, you have grown both in number and in age—she who received you as a mother, not in her womb but in her heart. For all of you who came there found her either serving and pleasing my holy sister the superior, or already herself the superior who received you: under her you were instructed, under her you were veiled, under her you were multiplied; and yet you make such an uproar that she should be changed for you, when you ought rather to mourn if we wished to change her for you. For she is the one you know, she is the one to whom you came, she is the one by having whom for so many years you have grown. You have received nothing new except a superior; or if it is on his account that you seek novelty, and out of resentment against him you have rebelled in this way against your mother, why did you not rather ask that he be changed for you? But if you shrink from this—because I know how reverently you love him in Christ—why not rather her? For in governing you, the new superior's first efforts are so disturbed that he would rather abandon you himself than endure this reputation and resentment from you, so that it might be said that you would not have sought another superior had you not begun to have him as superior. May God therefore calm and compose your minds; let not the work of the devil prevail in you, but let the peace of Christ conquer in your hearts (See Col 3:15); and do not, out of grief of mind because what you want is not done, or out of shame at having wanted what you ought not to have wanted, blushing run to your death, but rather by repenting take up your strength again, and do not have the repentance of Judas the traitor, but rather the tears of Peter the shepherd. (See Matt 27:3-5; 26:75)
Ep211-270.45. Haec sunt quae ut observetis praecipimus in monasterio constitutae. Primum propter quod estis in unum congregatae, ut unanimes habitetis in domo, et sit vobis cor unum et anima una in Deum . Et non dicatis aliquid proprium, sed sint vobis omnia communia: et distribuatur unicuique vestrum a praeposita vestra victus et tegumentum; non aequaliter omnibus, quia non aequaliter valetis omnes, sed unicuique sicut opus fuerit. Sic enim legitis in Actibus Apostolorum: Quia erant eis omnia communia, et distribuebatur singulis prout cuique opus erat . Quae aliquid habebant in saeculo, quando ingressae sunt monasterium, libenter velint illud esse commune. Quae autem non habebant, non ea quaerant in monasterio, quae nec foris habere potuerunt: sed tamen earum infirmitati quod opus est tribuatur, etiamsi pauperies earum, quando foris erant, nec ipsa necessaria poterat invenire; ac nunc non ideo putent se esse felices, quia invenerunt victum et tegumentum, quale foris invenire non potuerunt. Superbia fugienda.
5. These are the things we command you to observe, you who have been established in the monastery. First, the reason you have been gathered into one is that you may dwell together of one mind in the household and have one heart and one soul toward God (See Acts 4:32). And do not call anything your own, but let all things be common to you, and let food and clothing be distributed to each of you by your superior, not equally to all, because you are not all equally strong, but to each according to her need. For so you read in the Acts of the Apostles: They had all things in common, and distribution was made to each as anyone had need (Acts 4:32, 35). Those who had anything in the world, when they entered the monastery, should willingly want it to be held in common. But those who had nothing should not seek in the monastery what they could not have outside; nevertheless, what their weakness requires should be supplied to them, even if their poverty, when they were outside, could not find even the necessities; only let them not on that account think themselves happy because they have found food and clothing of a kind they could not find outside.
Ep211-270.56. Nec erigant cervicem quia sociantur eis, ad quas foris accedere non audebant; sed sursum cor habeant, et terrena bona non quaerant, ne incipiant monasteria esse divitibus utilia, non pauperibus, si divites illic humiliantur, et pauperes illic inflantur . Sed rursus etiam illae quae aliquid esse videbantur in saeculo, non habeant fastidio sorores suas, quae ad illam sanctam societatem ex paupertate venerunt: magis autem studeant non de parentum divitum dignitate, sed de pauperum sororum societate gloriari. Nec extollantur, si communi vitae de suis facultatibus aliquid contulerunt; ne de suis divitiis magis superbiant, quia eas monasterio partiuntur, quam si eis in saeculo fruerentur. Alia quippe quaecumque iniquitas in malis operibus exercetur ut fiant; superbia vero etiam bonis operibus insidiatur ut pereant: et quid prodest dispergere dando pauperibus et pauperem fieri, si anima misera superbior efficiatur contemnendo, quam fuerat possidendo? Omnes ergo unanimiter et concorditer vivite; et honorate in vobis invicem Deum, cuius templa factae estis . Preces et cantus.
6. And let them not lift up their necks because they are now associated with those whom they did not dare to approach outside, but let them have their hearts on high and not seek earthly goods, lest monasteries begin to be useful to the rich and not to the poor, if the rich are humbled there and the poor are puffed up there. But again, those too who seemed to be something in the world should not look down on their sisters who have come to that holy community out of poverty; rather, let them be eager to glory not in the rank of their wealthy parents but in the fellowship of their poor sisters. And let them not be exalted if they have contributed something of their own resources to the common life, lest they be prouder of their wealth because they share it with the monastery than if they were to enjoy it in the world. For every other kind of iniquity is exercised in evil works so that they may be done; but pride lies in wait even for good works so that they may perish. And what does it profit to scatter by giving to the poor and to become poor, if the wretched soul is made prouder by despising riches than it had been by possessing them? Live therefore all of you of one mind and in concord, and honor in one another God, whose temples you have become. (See 2 Cor 6:16)
Ep211-270.67. Orationibus instate horis et temporibus constitutis . In oratorio nemo aliquid agat, nisi ad quod est factum, unde et nomen accepit; ut si aliquae etiam praeter horas constitutas, si eis vacat, orare voluerint, non eis sint impedimento, quae ibi aliquid agere voluerint. Psalmis et hymnis cum oratis Deum, hoc versetur in corde quod profertur in voce: et nolite cantare, nisi quod legitis esse cantandum; quod autem non ita scriptum est ut cantetur, non cantetur. Abstinentia ac refectio; lectio inter caenam.
7. Be diligent in prayers at the appointed hours and times. In the oratory let no one do anything but that for which it was made, from which it also takes its name; so that if any, even apart from the appointed hours, should wish to pray when they have leisure, they may not be hindered by those who think they may do something else there. When you pray to God with psalms and hymns, let what is uttered with the voice be turned over in the heart; and do not sing anything except what you read is to be sung; but what is not so written that it should be sung, let it not be sung.
Ep211-270.78. Carnem vestram domate ieiuniis et abstinentia escae et potus, quantum valetudo permittit. Quando autem aliqua non potest ieiunare, non tamen extra horam prandii aliquid alimentorum sumat, nisi cum aegrotat. Cum acceditis ad mensam, donec inde surgatis, quod vobis secundum consuetudinem legitur, sine tumultu et contentionibus audite: nec solae vobis fauces sumant cibum, sed et aures percipiant Dei verbum. De infirmarum cura.
8. Subdue your flesh by fasting and by abstinence from food and drink, as far as your health permits. But when someone cannot fast, let her nonetheless take no food outside the hour of the meal, unless she is sick. When you come to table, until you rise from it, listen without uproar and quarreling to what is read to you according to custom; and let not your throats alone take food, but let your ears also receive the word of God.
Ep211-270.89. Quae infirmae sunt ex pristina consuetudine, si aliter tractantur in victu, non debet aliis molestum esse, nec iniustum videri, quas fecit alia consuetudo fortiores. Nec illas feliciores putent, quia sumunt quod non sumunt ipsae: sed sibi potius gratulentur, quia valent quod non valent illae. Et si eis quae venerunt ex moribus delicatioribus ad monasterium, aliquid alimentorum, vestimentorum, stramentorum, operimentorum datur, quod aliis fortioribus, et ideo felicioribus non datur; cogitare debent quibus non datur, quantum de sua saeculari vita illae ad istam descenderint, quamvis usque ad aliarum quae sunt corpore fortiores, frugalitatem pervenire nequiverint. Nec illae debent conturbari, quod eas vident amplius, non quia honorantur, sed quia tolerantur, accipere; ne contingat detestanda perversitas, ut in monasterio, ubi, quantum possunt, fiunt divites laboriosae, fiant pauperes delicatae. Sane quemadmodum aegrotantes necesse habent minus accipere ne graventur; ita post aegritudinem sic tractandae sunt ut citius recreentur, etiamsi de humillima saeculi paupertate venerunt, tamquam hoc illis contulerit recentior aegritudo, quod divitibus anterior consuetudo. Sed cum vires pristinas reparaverint, redeant ad feliciorem consuetudinem suam, quae famulas Dei tanto amplius decet, quanto minus indigent: nec ibi eas teneat voluntas iam vegetas, quo necessitas levarat infirmas. Illae se existiment ditiores, quae fuerint in sustinenda parcitate fortiores. Melius est enim minus egere, quam plus habere. Habitus corporisque exterior compositio.
9. Those who are weak from a previous habit, if they are treated differently in their diet, ought not to be a source of annoyance to the others, nor should it seem unjust to those whom a different habit has made stronger. And let these not think the others happier because they take what they themselves do not take, but let them rather congratulate themselves that they are strong where the others are not. And if to those who have come to the monastery from a more delicate way of life there is given something in food, clothing, bedding, or coverings that is not given to others who are stronger and therefore happier, those to whom it is not given ought to consider how far those others have come down from their worldly life to this one, even though they have not been able to attain to the frugality of others who are stronger in body. Nor should the latter be disturbed that they see the former receiving more—not because they are honored, but because they are tolerated—lest there arise that detestable perversity whereby in the monastery, where the strong become as rich as they can in toil, the delicate become poor. Indeed, just as the sick must necessarily take less lest they be weighed down, so after sickness they must be so treated that they may recover more quickly, even if they came from the lowliest poverty of the world, as though the more recent illness had conferred on them what an earlier habit conferred on the wealthy. But when they have regained their former strength, let them return to their happier habit, which befits the servants of God all the more the less they are in need; nor let the will keep them, now vigorous, where necessity had relieved them when they were weak. Let those count themselves richer who are stronger in bearing scarcity. For it is better to need less than to have more.
Ep211-270.910. Non sit notabilis habitus vester; nec affectetis vestibus placere, sed moribus. Nec sint vobis tam tenera capitum tegmina ut retiola subter appareant. Capillos ex nulla parte nudos habeatis, nec foris vel spargat neglegentia, vel componat industria. Quando proceditis, simul ambulate: cum veneritis quo itis, simul state. In incessu, in statu, in habitu, in omnibus motibus vestris nihil fiat quod illiciat cuiusquam libidinem, sed quod vestram deceat sanctitatem. Oculi vestri etsi iaciuntur in aliquem, figantur in neminem. Neque enim quando proceditis, viros videre prohibemini, sed appetere, aut ipsis appeti velle. Nec solo tactu, sed affectu quoque et aspectu appetitur, et appetit femina. Nec dicatis vos habere animos pudicos, si habeatis oculos impudicos: quia impudicus oculus impudici cordis est nuntius. Et cum se invicem sibi, etiam tacente lingua, conspectu mutuo corda nuntiant impudica, et secundum concupiscentiam carnis alterutro delectantur ardore; etiam intactis ab immunda violatione corporibus, fugit castitas ipsa de moribus. Nec putare debet quae in masculum figit oculum, et illius in seipsam diligit fixum, non ab aliis videri, cum hoc facit; videtur omnino et a quibus videri non arbitratur. Sed ecce lateat, et a nemine hominum videatur, quid faciet de illo superno inspectore quem latere nihil potest? An ideo putandus est non videre, quia tanto videt patientius, quanto sapientius? Illi ergo timeat sancta femina displicere, ne velit viro male placere: illum cogitet omnia videre, ne velit virum male videre. Illius namque et in hac causa commendatus est timor, ubi scriptum est: Abominatio est Domino defigens oculum . Quando ergo simul estis in ecclesia, et ubicumque ubi et viri sunt, invicem vestram pudicitiam custodite. Deus enim qui habitat in vobis, etiam isto modo custodiet vos ex vobis . Correptionis ordo.
10. Let your dress not be conspicuous; and do not seek to please by your clothes, but by your conduct. Let your head coverings not be so thin that the hairnets beneath show through. Keep your hair covered on every side, and let it neither be scattered by carelessness nor arranged by effort. When you go out, walk together; when you come to where you are going, stand together. In your gait, in your bearing, in your dress, in all your movements let nothing be done that would entice anyone's lust, but only what befits your holiness. Even if your eyes are cast upon some man, let them be fixed on none. For when you go out, you are not forbidden to see men, but to desire them or to wish to be desired by them. It is not by touch alone but also by feeling and by gaze that a woman is desired and desires. And do not say that you have chaste minds if you have unchaste eyes, for an unchaste eye is the messenger of an unchaste heart. And when, even with the tongue silent, hearts announce themselves to one another by mutual gaze as unchaste, and according to the desire of the flesh they delight in one another with ardor, then, even though the bodies remain untouched by any unclean violation, chastity itself flees from their conduct. Nor ought she who fixes her eye upon a man and loves to have his fixed upon herself to think that she is not seen by others when she does this; she is seen indeed, and by those by whom she does not suppose herself to be seen. But suppose she is hidden and seen by no human being—what will she do about that observer on high, from whom nothing can be hidden? Or is he to be thought not to see because he sees with the more patience the more wisely he sees? Let the holy woman, then, fear to displease him, lest she wish to please a man wrongly; let her consider that he sees all things, lest she wish to look on a man wrongly. For in this matter too the fear of him has been commended, where it is written: An abomination to the Lord is one who fixes the eye (See Prov 27:20 LXX). When, therefore, you are together in church, and wherever men are also present, guard your chastity for one another. For God, who dwells in you, will in this way also guard you by means of yourselves.
Ep211-270.1011. Et si hanc de qua loquor, oculi petulantiam in aliqua vestrum adverteritis, statim admonete, ne coepta progrediantur, sed ex proximo corrigantur. Si autem et post admonitionem iterum, vel alio quocumque die idipsum eam facere videritis, iam velut vulneratam sanandam prodat quaecumque invenire potuit hoc, prius tamen et alteri vel tertiae demonstratam, ut duarum vel trium possit ore convinci , et competenti severitate coerceri. Nec vos iudicetis esse malevolas, quando hoc indicatis. Magis quippe innocentes non estis, si sorores vestras, quas indicando corrigere potestis, tacendo perire permittitis. Si enim soror tua vulnus haberet in corpore, quod vellet occultari, dum timeret secari, nonne crudeliter abs te sileretur, et misericorditer indicaretur? Quanto ergo potius eam debes manifestare, ne perniciosius putrescat in corde? Sed antequam aliis demonstretur, per quas convincenda est si negaverit, praepositae debet ostendi, si admonita neglexerit corrigi, ne forte possit secretius correpta non innotescere caeteris. Si autem negaverit, tunc neganti adhibendae sunt aliae, ut iam coram omnibus possit, non ab una teste argui, sed a duabus tribusve convinci. Convicta vero, secundum praepositae vel presbyteri arbitrium debet emendatoriam sustinere vindictam: quam si ferre recusaverit, et si ipsa non abscesserit, de vestra societate proiciatur. Non enim et hoc fit crudeliter, sed misericorditer, ne contagione pestifera plurimas perdat. Et hoc quod dixi de oculo non figendo, etiam in caeteris inveniendis, prohibendis, indicandis, convincendis, vindicandisque peccatis diligenter observetur, cum dilectione hominum et odio vitiorum. Quaecumque autem in tantum progressa fuerit malum, ut occulte ab aliquo litteras vel quaelibet munuscula accipiat, si hoc ultro confitetur, parcatur illi, et oretur pro ea. Si autem deprehenditur atque convincitur, secundum arbitrium praepositae vel presbyteri, vel etiam episcopi, gravius emendetur. Vestium usus.
11. And if you notice in any of you this wantonness of the eyes of which I speak, admonish her at once, so that what has begun may not go further but be corrected immediately. But if after the admonition you see her doing the same thing again, on whatever other day, then whoever has been able to discover this must, as with one already wounded, bring her forward to be healed—yet only after the matter has first been shown to a second or a third, so that she may be convicted by the mouth of two or three (See Matt 18:16) and restrained with fitting severity. And do not judge yourselves to be ill-disposed when you report this. For indeed you are rather not innocent if by your silence you allow your sisters to perish, whom you could correct by reporting them. For if your sister had a wound on her body that she wanted to hide because she feared to have it lanced, would it not be cruel of you to keep silent, and merciful to disclose it? How much more, then, ought you to make it known, lest it fester more ruinously in her heart? But before it is shown to the others, by whom she is to be convicted if she denies it, it ought to be disclosed to the superior, if she has neglected to be corrected after being admonished, in case she can be more privately reproved and not become known to the rest. But if she denies it, then others are to be brought in to the one denying, so that now before all she may be charged not by one witness but convicted by two or three. (See Matt 18:16; 2 Cor 13:1) And once convicted, she ought to undergo a corrective punishment at the discretion of the superior or the priest; and if she refuses to bear it, and does not herself depart, let her be cast out of your community. For this too is done not cruelly but mercifully, lest by a pestilent contagion she destroy many. And what I have said about not fixing the eye should also be diligently observed in detecting, forbidding, reporting, convicting, and punishing the other sins, with love for the persons and hatred for the vices. But whoever has gone so far into evil as to receive letters or any little gifts secretly from anyone, if she confesses this of her own accord, let her be pardoned and prayed for. But if she is caught and convicted, let her be more severely corrected at the discretion of the superior or the priest, or even the bishop.
Ep211-270.1112. Vestes vestras in uno loco habete sub una custode, vel duabus, vel quot sufficere potuerint ad eas excutiendas, ne a tinea laedantur: et sicut pascimini ex uno cellario, sic induamini ex uno vestiario. Et si fieri potest, non ad vos pertineat quid vobis induendum pro temporis congruentia proferatur, utrum hoc recipiat unaquaeque vestrum quod deposuerat, an aliud quod altera habuerat, dum tamen unicuique quod opus est non negetur. Si autem hinc inter vos contentiones et murmura oriuntur, et conqueritur aliqua deterius aliquid se accepisse quam prius habuerat, et indignam se iudicat esse quae ita vestiatur, sicut alia soror eius vestiebatur; hinc vos probate quantum vobis desit in illo interiore sancto habitu cordis, quae pro habitu corporis litigatis. Tamen si vestra toleratur infirmitas, ut hoc recipiatis quod posueratis, in uno tamen loco sub communibus custodibus habete quod ponitis; ita sane ut nulla sibi aliquid operetur, sive unde induatur, sive ubi iaceat, sive unde cingatur, vel operiatur, vel caput contegat; sed omnia opera vestra in commune fiant maiore studio et frequentiori alacritate, quam si vobis propria faceretis. Caritas enim de qua scriptum est quod non quaerit quae sua sunt , sic intellegitur, quia communia propriis, non propria communibus anteponit. Et ideo quanto amplius rem communem quam propriam curaveritis, tanto amplius vos profecisse noveritis; ut in omnibus quibus utitur transitura necessitas, superemineat quae permanet caritas . Consequens ergo est ut etiam illud quod suis vel filiabus vel aliqua necessitudine ad se pertinentibus in monasterio constitutis aliquis vel aliqua contulerit, sive vestem, sive quodlibet aliud inter necessaria deputandum, non occulte accipiatur; sed sit in potestate praepositae, ut in commune redactum, cui necessarium fuerit, praebeatur. Quod si aliqua rem sibi collatam celaverit, furti iudicio condemnetur. Vestium corporisque munditia et cura erga aegrotas.
12. Keep your clothes in one place under one or two custodians, or as many as can suffice to shake them out lest they be damaged by moths; and just as you are fed from one storeroom, so be clothed from one wardrobe. And if it can be so, let it not concern you which garment is brought out for you to wear as the season requires—whether each of you receives the one she had laid aside or another that someone else had had—provided that what each one needs is not denied her. But if from this quarrels and grumbling arise among you, and someone complains that she has received something worse than she had before, and judges herself unworthy to be clothed as her sister was clothed, then test yourselves by this to see how much you lack in that inner holy garment (See 1 Pet 3:4) of the heart, you who quarrel over the garment of the body. Yet if your weakness is tolerated, so that you receive what you had laid aside, still keep in one place under common custodians what you lay aside; in such a way, to be sure, that no one works at anything for herself—whether what she is to wear, or where she is to lie, or what she is to be girded or covered with, or to cover her head—but let all your work be done in common, with greater zeal and more frequent eagerness than if you were making things for yourselves. For love, of which it is written that it does not seek its own (1 Cor 13:5), is understood in this way: that it sets common things before its own, not its own before the common. And therefore the more you care for the common property rather than your own, the more you will know that you have made progress, so that in all the things that passing necessity uses, the love that abides may surpass them. The consequence, then, is that if anyone, man or woman, has conferred on his own daughters or on any relatives established in the monastery something—whether a garment or anything else to be reckoned among necessities—it should not be received secretly, but it should be in the power of the superior, so that, brought into the common store, it may be furnished to whoever needs it. But if anyone conceals a thing conferred on her, let her be condemned by the judgment of theft.
Ep211-270.1213. Indumenta vestra secundum arbitrium praepositae laventur, sive a vobis, sive a fullonibus, ne interiores animae sordes contrahat mundae vestis nimius appetitus. Lavacrum etiam corporum, ususque balnearum non sit assiduus, sed eo quo solet intervallo temporis tribuatur, hoc est, semel in mense. Cuius autem infirmitatis necessitas cogit lavandum corpus, non longius differatur: fiat sine murmure de consilio medici, ita ut etiam si nolit, iubente praeposita faciat quod faciendum est pro salute. Si autem velit, et forte non expedit, suae cupiditati non obediatur: aliquando enim etiamsi noceat, prodesse creditur quod delectat. Denique si latens est dolor in corpore famulae Dei, dicenti quid sibi doleat, sine dubitatione credatur: sed tamen utrum sanando illi dolori, quod delectat, expediat, si non est certum, medicus consulatur. Nec eant ad balneas, sive quocumque ire necesse fuerit, minus quam tres. Nec illa quae habet aliquo eundi necessitatem, cum quibus ipsa voluerit, sed cum quibus praeposita iusserit, ire debebit. Aegrotantium cura sive post aegritudinem reficiendarum, sive aliqua imbecillitate etiam sine febribus laborantium, alicui debet iniungi, ut ipsa de cellario petat quod cuique opus esse perspexerit; sive autem quae cellario, sive quae vestibus, sive quae codicibus praeponuntur, sine murmure serviant sororibus suis. Codices certa hora singulis diebus petantur; extra horam quae petiverint non accipiant. Vestimenta vero et calceamenta quando fuerint indigenti necessaria, dare non differant sub quarum custodia sunt quae poscuntur. Caritatis officia.
13. Let your garments be washed at the discretion of the superior, whether by yourselves or by launderers, lest an excessive craving for clean clothing contract inner stains of the soul. Let the washing of bodies too, and the use of baths, not be constant, but be allowed at the customary interval of time, that is, once a month. But where the necessity of an illness compels the body to be washed, let it not be put off longer; let it be done without grumbling on the advice of the physician, so that, even if she is unwilling, she does at the superior's bidding what must be done for her health. But if she is willing, and perhaps it is not expedient, let her craving not be obeyed; for sometimes, even if it does harm, what gives pleasure is believed to do good. Finally, if there is a hidden pain in the body of a servant of God, let her be believed without doubt when she says what is paining her; yet if it is not certain whether what gives her pleasure is expedient for healing that pain, let the physician be consulted. And let them not go to the baths, or wherever it is necessary to go, fewer than three. Nor should she who has need to go somewhere go with those she herself wishes, but with those the superior orders. The care of the sick, whether of those recovering after illness or of those laboring under some infirmity even without fever, ought to be entrusted to someone, so that she herself may request from the storeroom what she sees each one needs. And let those who are in charge of the storeroom, or of the clothing, or of the books, serve their sisters without grumbling. Let books be requested at a fixed hour each day; let those who request them outside that hour not receive them. But let those under whose custody are the things requested not delay to give clothing and footwear when they are necessary to one in need.
Ep211-270.1314. Lites aut nullas habeatis, aut quam celerrime finiatis, ne ira crescat in odium, et trabem faciat de festuca, et animam faciat homicidam . Neque enim ad solos viros pertinet quod scriptum est: Qui odit fratrem suum, homicida est : sed sexu masculino, quem primum Deus fecit, etiam femineus praeceptum sexus accepit. Quaecumque convicio, vel maledicto, vel etiam criminis obiectu, alteram laeserit, meminerit satisfactione quantocius curare quod fecit, et illa quae laesa est, sine disceptatione dimittere. Si autem invicem se laeserunt, invicem sibi debita relaxare debebunt, propter orationes vestras; quas utique quanto crebriores habetis, tanto sanctiores habere debetis. Melior est autem quae quamvis ira saepe tentatur, tamen impetrare festinat ut sibi dimittat cui se fecisse agnoscit iniuriam, quam quae tardius irascitur, et ad veniam petendam difficilius inclinatur. Quae non vult dimittere sorori, non speret accipere orationis effectum: quae autem numquam vult petere veniam, aut non ex animo petit, sine causa est in monasterio, etiamsi non inde proiciatur. Proinde vobis a verbis durioribus parcite; quae si emissa fuerint ex ore vestro, non pigeat ex ipso ore proferre medicamenta, ex quo facta sunt vulnera. Quando autem necessitas disciplinae minoribus coercendis dicere vos verba dura compellit, si etiam in ipsis modum vos excessisse sentitis, non a vobis exigitur ut ab eis veniam postuletis, ne apud eas quas oportet esse subiectas, dum nimia servatur humilitas, regendi frangatur auctoritas: sed tamen petenda est venia ab omnium Domino, qui novit etiam eas quas plus iusto forte corripitis, quanta benevolentia diligatis. Non autem carnalis, sed spiritalis inter vos debet esse dilectio: nam quae faciunt pudoris immemores, etiam feminis feminae, iocando turpiter et ludendo, non solum a viduis et intactis ancillis Christi in sancto proposito constitutis, sed omnino nec a mulieribus nuptis, nec a virginibus sunt facienda nupturis. Praepositae munus.
14. Either have no quarrels, or end them as quickly as possible, lest anger grow into hatred, and make a beam out of a splinter (See Matt 7:3-5), and make the soul a murderer. For it is not to men alone that what is written pertains: Whoever hates his brother is a murderer (1 John 3:15); rather, the female sex too received this precept with the male sex, which God made first. Whoever has injured another by insult, or curse, or even by charging her with a crime, let her remember to cure what she has done by making amends as quickly as possible, and let the one who was injured forgive without dispute. But if they have injured one another, they ought to remit their debts to one another, for the sake of your prayers; and the more often you have them, the holier you ought to have them. Better is she who, though often tempted by anger, yet hastens to obtain forgiveness from the one to whom she acknowledges she has done a wrong, than she who grows angry more slowly and is more reluctantly inclined to ask pardon. She who is unwilling to forgive a sister should not hope to receive the effect of her prayer; but she who is never willing to ask pardon, or does not ask it from the heart, is without reason in the monastery, even if she is not cast out of it. Accordingly, refrain from harsh words; and if they have issued from your mouth, do not be reluctant to bring forth remedies from the same mouth from which the wounds were made. But when the necessity of discipline compels you to say harsh words in restraining the younger ones, even if you feel that you have exceeded the measure in those very words, it is not required of you to beg pardon of them, lest, while excessive humility is preserved among those who ought to be subject, the authority of governing be broken; nevertheless, pardon is to be sought from the Lord of all, who knows with how much goodwill you love even those whom you have perhaps rebuked more than is just. But the love among you ought to be not carnal but spiritual; for the things that women do who are forgetful of modesty, even women with women, jesting shamefully and playing, ought not to be done not only by widows and untouched handmaids of Christ established in a holy purpose, but not at all by married women either, nor by virgins about to marry.
Ep211-270.1415. Praepositae tamquam matri obediatur, honore servato, ne in illa offendatur Deus: multo magis presbytero qui omnium vestrum curam gerit. Ut ergo cuncta ista serventur, et si quid servatum non fuerit, non neglegenter praetereatur, sed emendandum corrigendumque curetur, ad praepositam praecipue pertinet, ita ut ad presbyterum qui vobis intendit, referat quod modum vel vires eius excedit . Ipsa vero non se existimet potestate dominante, sed caritate serviente felicem. Honore coram hominibus praelata sit vobis; timore coram Deo substrata sit pedibus vestris. Circa omnes se ipsam bonorum operum praebeat exemplum . Corripiat inquietas, consoletur pusillanimes, suscipiat infirmas, patiens sit ad omnes , disciplinam libens habeat, metuens imponat. Et quamvis utrumque sit necessarium, tamen plus a vobis amari appetat quam timeri; semper cogitans Deo se pro vobis reddituram esse rationem. Unde magis obediendo non solum vestri, verum etiam ipsius miseremini; quia inter vos quanto in loco superiore, tanto in periculo maiore versatur. Regulae liberalis observantia et frequens lectio.
15. Let the superior be obeyed as a mother, with due honor preserved, lest in her God be offended; much more the priest, who has the care of you all. That all these things, then, may be observed, and that, if anything has not been observed, it may not be carelessly passed over but be seen to and set right, pertains chiefly to the superior, in such a way that she refers to the priest who watches over you whatever exceeds her measure or her strength. But let her not count herself happy in a power that dominates, but in a love that serves. In honor before men let her be set above you; in fear before God let her be laid beneath your feet. Toward all let her show herself a pattern of good works. (See Titus 2:7) Let her rebuke the restless, console the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient toward all (See 1 Thess 5:14); let her hold discipline gladly, impose it with fear. And although both are necessary, yet let her seek more to be loved by you than feared, always considering that she will render an account of you to God. Hence by obeying you have mercy not only on yourselves but also on her, since the higher the place she holds among you, the greater the peril in which she stands.
Ep211-270.1516. Donet Dominus ut observetis haec omnia cum dilectione tamquam spiritalis pulchritudinis amatrices, et bono Christi odore de bona conversatione fragrantes, non sicut ancillae sub lege, sed sicut liberae sub gratia constitutae . Ut autem in hoc libello tamquam in speculo vos possitis inspicere, ne per oblivionem aliquid neglegatis, semel in septimana vobis legatur: et ubi vos inveneritis ea quae scripta sunt facientes, agite gratias Domino bonorum omnium largitori; ubi autem sibi quaecumque vestrum videt deesse aliquid, doleat de praeterito, caveat de futuro, orans ut et debitum dimittatur, et in tentationem non inducatur .
16. May the Lord grant that you observe all these things with love, as lovers of spiritual beauty, breathing forth the good fragrance of Christ by a good manner of life, not as bondwomen under the law, but as women established free under grace. (See 2 Cor 2:15; Rom 6:14) And that you may be able to look at yourselves in this little book as in a mirror, lest through forgetfulness you neglect anything, let it be read to you once a week; and where you find yourselves doing the things that are written, give thanks to the Lord, the giver of all good things; but where any of you sees that something is lacking to her, let her grieve over the past and be on guard for the future, praying that the debt may be forgiven and that she may not be led into temptation. (See Matt 6:12-13)
Ep211-270.16EPISTOLA 212
DOMINO BEATISSIMO, ET MERITO VENERABILI FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO QUINTILIANO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO BEATISSIMO, ET MERITO VENERABILI FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO QUINTILIANO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 212
TO THE MOST BLESSED LORD AND DESERVEDLY VENERABLE BROTHER AND FELLOW BISHOP QUINTILIAN, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.16TO THE MOST BLESSED LORD AND DESERVEDLY VENERABLE BROTHER AND FELLOW BISHOP QUINTILIAN, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Honorabiles Dei famulas, et pretiosa Christi membra, Gallam viduam sancti propositi, et eius filiam Simpliciolam virginem sacram, matri aetate subditam, sanctitate praelatam, quas verbo Domini aluimus ut potuimus, Venerationi tuae in Christi dilectione commendo, et tamquam mea manu per hanc epistolam trado consolandas, et in omnibus adiuvandas, quae utilitas earum vel necessitas postulat: quod et sine mea commendatione procul dubio faceret Sanctitas tua. Si enim nos propter supernam Ierusalem, cuius nos omnes cives sumus, et in qua concupierunt habere excellentioris sanctitatis locum, non solum civicum, verum etiam fraternum eis debemus affectum: quanto magis vos, apud quos earum etiam carnalis est patria, in qua saecularem nobilitatem pro Christi amore contemnunt dominae illae? Officium quoque salutationis per illas meum ea caritate peto digneris sumere qua direxi, et meminisse nostri in orationibus tuis. Portant sane secum reliquias beatissimi et gloriosissimi martyris Stephani, quas non ignorat Sanctitas vestra, sicut et nos fecimus, quam convenienter honorare debeatis.
1. I commend to Your Reverence, in the love of Christ, the honorable servants of God and precious members of Christ: Galla, a widow of holy purpose, and her daughter Simpliciola, a consecrated virgin, subject to her mother in age, set above her in holiness—whom we have nourished with the word of the Lord as we could. By this letter I hand them over, as it were by my own hand, to be consoled and helped in all things that their advantage or necessity requires—which, without doubt, Your Holiness would do even without my commendation. For if we, for the sake of the heavenly Jerusalem, of which we are all citizens and in which they have desired to have a place of more excellent holiness, owe them not only a citizen's but also a brotherly affection, how much more do you, among whom is even their earthly homeland, in which those ladies despise their worldly nobility for the love of Christ? I ask too that you deign to receive through them the duty of my greeting with the same love with which I have sent it, and to remember us in your prayers. They carry with them, indeed, relics of the most blessed and most glorious martyr Stephen, which Your Holiness is not unaware—as we have also done—how fittingly you ought to honor.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 212/A
DOMINO EXIMIO MERITOQUE HONORABILI AC SUSCIPIENDO FILIO FIRMO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO EXIMIO MERITOQUE HONORABILI AC SUSCIPIENDO FILIO FIRMO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 212A
TO THE DISTINGUISHED LORD AND DESERVEDLY HONORABLE SON, TO BE RECEIVED WITH ALL HONOR, FIRMUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO THE DISTINGUISHED LORD AND DESERVEDLY HONORABLE SON, TO BE RECEIVED WITH ALL HONOR, FIRMUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Libros De civitate Dei quos a me studiosissime flagitasti etiam mihi relectos sicut promiseram misi, quod ut fieret, adiuvante quidem Deo, filius meus germanus tuus Cyprianus vere sic institit quemadmodum mihi ut instaretur volebam. Quaterniones sunt XXII quos in unum corpus redigere multum est. Et si duos vis codices fieri, ita dividendi sunt ut decem libros habeat unus, alius duodecim. Decem quippe illis vanitates refutatae sunt impiorum, reliquis autem demonstrata atque defensa est nostra religio, quamvis et in illis hoc factum sit ubi opportunius fuit, et in istis illud. Si autem corpora malueris esse plura quam duo, iam quinque oportet codices facias, quorum primus contineat quinque libros propres quibus adversus eos est disputatum qui felicitati vitae huius non plane deorum sed daemoniorum cultum prodesse contendunt, secundus sequentes alios quinque, qui vel tales vel qualescumque plurimos deos propter vitam quae post mortem futura est per sacra et sacrificia colendos putant. Iam tres alii codices qui sequuntur quaternos libros habere debebunt. Sic enim a nobis pars eadem distributa est ut quattuor ostenderent exortum illius civitatis totidemque procursum sive dicere maluimus excursum, quattuor vero ultimi debitos fines. Si ut fuisti diligens ab habendos hos libros ita fueris ad legendos, quantum adiuvent experimento potius tuo quam mea promissione cognosces. Quos tamen nostri fratres ibi apud Carthaginem ad hoc opus pertinentes quod est De civitate Dei nondum habent, rogo ut petentibus ad describendum dignanter libenterque concedas. Non enim multis dabis sed vix uni vel duobus et ipsi iam ceteris dabunt. Amicis vero tuis sive in populo Christiano se desiderent instrui sive qualibet superstitione teneantur unde videbuntur posse per hunc nostrum laborem Dei gratia liberari, quomodo impertias ipse videris. Ego scriptis meis, si Dominus voluerit, crebro curabo requirere quantum accesseris in legendo. Non te autem latet ut eruditum virum quantum adiuvet ad cognoscendum quod legitur repetitio lectionis. Aut enim nulla aut certe minima est intellegendi difficultas ubi est legendi facilitas, quae tanto maior fit quanto magis iteratur, ut assiduitate [maturescat quod indiligentia] fuerat immaturum. Domine eximie meritoque honorabilis ac suscipiende fili Firme, ad eos sane libros quod De Academicis recenti nostra conversione conscripsi, quoniam eximietati tuae prioribus ad me litteris innotuisse monstrasti, quomodo perveneris quaeso rescribas. Quantum autem collegerit viginti duorum librorum conscriptio missus breviculus indicabit.
1. The books The City of God, which you most eagerly demanded of me, I have sent, reread by me as I had promised; and that this might be done, with God's help, my son Cyprian, your own brother, truly pressed me in just the way I wanted to be pressed. There are twenty-two quires, which it is a great deal to bring together into a single volume. And if you wish two books to be made, they should be so divided that one has ten books and the other twelve. For in those ten the vanities of the impious are refuted, while in the rest our religion is demonstrated and defended—although this was also done in the former where it was more opportune, and that in the latter. But if you should prefer the volumes to be more than two, then you ought to make five books: of these let the first contain the first five books, in which the argument is made against those who contend that the worship not properly of gods but of demons profits the happiness of this life; let the second contain the other five that follow, which hold that gods of this sort, or of any sort whatever, however many, are to be worshiped by rites and sacrifices for the sake of the life that is to come after death. Now the three other volumes that follow ought to have four books each. For we have so divided that same part that four set forth the rise of that city, the same number its course—or, as we preferred to say, its progress—and the last four its due ends. If you are as diligent in reading these books as you were in obtaining them, you will learn how much they help more by your own experience than by my promise. Yet the books pertaining to this work, which is The City of God, our brothers there at Carthage do not yet have; I ask that you graciously and gladly grant them to those who request them for copying. For you will not be giving to many, but scarcely to one or two, and they will then give to the rest. As for your friends, whether they desire to be instructed in the Christian people or are held by some superstition from which they will seem able, by God's grace, to be freed through this labor of ours, you yourself will see how to share it. I, by my writings, if the Lord wills, will frequently take care to inquire how far you have advanced in reading. And it does not escape you, as an educated man, how much a repeated reading helps toward understanding what is read. For there is either no difficulty in understanding, or certainly very little, where there is ease in reading, and this becomes the greater the more it is repeated, so that by diligence what had been unripe through negligence may ripen. Distinguished lord and deservedly honorable son, to be received with all honor, Firmus: as for those books which I composed On the Academics (Against the Skeptics) at the time of my recent conversion, since you have shown that they became known to Your Excellency in your earlier letters to me, I ask you to write back how you came by them. And how much the composition of twenty-two books has gathered together, the brief summary I have sent will show.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 213
ACTA ECCLESIASTICA
ACTA ECCLESIASTICA
LETTER 213
ECCLESIASTICAL PROCEEDINGS
Ep211-270.1ECCLESIASTICAL PROCEEDINGS
1. Gloriosissimo Theodosio duodecies et Valentiniano Augusto iterum consulibus, sexto calendas octobris, cum Augustinus episcopus una cum Religiano et Martiniano coepiscopis suis consedisset in ecclesia Pacis Hipponensium Regiorum, praesentibus Saturnino, Leporio, Barnaba, Fortunatiano, Rustico, Lazaro, et Eraclio presbyteris, astante clero et frequenti populo, Augustinus episcopus dixit:
Quod hesterno die promisi Caritati vestrae, propter quod vos volui frequentius convenire, et video frequentius convenisse, mora omni postposita hoc agendum est. Si enim aliud velim loqui, in illud suspensi minus auditis. Omnes in hac vita mortales sumus, et dies huius vitae ultimus, omni homini est semper incertus: verumtamen in infantia speratur pueritia; et in pueritia speratur adolescentia; et in adolescentia speratur iuventus; et in iuventute speratur gravitas; et in gravitate speratur senectus: utrum contingat incertum est; est tamen quod speretur. Senectus autem aliam aetatem quam speret, non habet: incertum est etiam ipsa senectus quamdiu sit homini; illud tamen certum est, nullam remanere aetatem quae possit succedere senectuti. Quia voluit Deus, ad istam civitatem cum vigore aetatis adveni; sed tamen iuvenis fui, et senui . Scio post obitus episcoporum, per ambitiosos aut contentiosos solere Ecclesias perturbari; et quod saepe expertus sum et dolui, debeo quantum ad me attinet, ne contingat, huic prospicere civitati. Sicuti novit Caritas vestra, in Milevitana Ecclesia modo fui: petierunt enim me fratres, et maxime servi Dei qui ibi sunt, ut venirem; quia post obitum beatae memoriae fratris et coepiscopi mei Severi, nonnulla ibi perturbatio timebatur. Veni; et quomodo voluit Dominus, adiuvit nos pro sua misericordia, ut cum pace episcopum acciperent, quem vivus designaverat episcopus eorum: hoc enim eis cum innotuisset, voluntatem praecedentis et decedentis episcopi sui libenter amplexi sunt. Minus tamen aliquid factum erat, unde nonnulli contristabantur, quia frater Severus credidit posse sufficere ut successorem suum apud clericos designaret, ad populum inde non est locutus; et erat inde aliquorum nonnulla tristitia. Quid plura? Deo placuit; tristitia fugata est, gaudium successit: ordinatus est episcopus, quem praecedens episcopus designaverat. Ergo ne aliquis de me queratur, voluntatem meam, quam credo Dei esse, in omnium vestrum notitiam perfero: presbyterum Eraclium mihi successorem volo.
A populo acclamatum est: "Deo gratias, Christo laudes; dictum est vicies terties. Exaudi Christe, Augustino vita"; dictum est sexies decies. "Te patrem, te episcopum"; dictum est octies. Gesta de populi placitis.
Quod hesterno die promisi Caritati vestrae, propter quod vos volui frequentius convenire, et video frequentius convenisse, mora omni postposita hoc agendum est. Si enim aliud velim loqui, in illud suspensi minus auditis. Omnes in hac vita mortales sumus, et dies huius vitae ultimus, omni homini est semper incertus: verumtamen in infantia speratur pueritia; et in pueritia speratur adolescentia; et in adolescentia speratur iuventus; et in iuventute speratur gravitas; et in gravitate speratur senectus: utrum contingat incertum est; est tamen quod speretur. Senectus autem aliam aetatem quam speret, non habet: incertum est etiam ipsa senectus quamdiu sit homini; illud tamen certum est, nullam remanere aetatem quae possit succedere senectuti. Quia voluit Deus, ad istam civitatem cum vigore aetatis adveni; sed tamen iuvenis fui, et senui . Scio post obitus episcoporum, per ambitiosos aut contentiosos solere Ecclesias perturbari; et quod saepe expertus sum et dolui, debeo quantum ad me attinet, ne contingat, huic prospicere civitati. Sicuti novit Caritas vestra, in Milevitana Ecclesia modo fui: petierunt enim me fratres, et maxime servi Dei qui ibi sunt, ut venirem; quia post obitum beatae memoriae fratris et coepiscopi mei Severi, nonnulla ibi perturbatio timebatur. Veni; et quomodo voluit Dominus, adiuvit nos pro sua misericordia, ut cum pace episcopum acciperent, quem vivus designaverat episcopus eorum: hoc enim eis cum innotuisset, voluntatem praecedentis et decedentis episcopi sui libenter amplexi sunt. Minus tamen aliquid factum erat, unde nonnulli contristabantur, quia frater Severus credidit posse sufficere ut successorem suum apud clericos designaret, ad populum inde non est locutus; et erat inde aliquorum nonnulla tristitia. Quid plura? Deo placuit; tristitia fugata est, gaudium successit: ordinatus est episcopus, quem praecedens episcopus designaverat. Ergo ne aliquis de me queratur, voluntatem meam, quam credo Dei esse, in omnium vestrum notitiam perfero: presbyterum Eraclium mihi successorem volo.
A populo acclamatum est: "Deo gratias, Christo laudes; dictum est vicies terties. Exaudi Christe, Augustino vita"; dictum est sexies decies. "Te patrem, te episcopum"; dictum est octies. Gesta de populi placitis.
1. In the consulship of the most glorious Theodosius for the twelfth time and of Valentinian Augustus for the second time, on the sixth day before the kalends of October, when Bishop Augustine had taken his seat, together with his fellow bishops Religianus and Martinianus, in the Church of Peace of Hippo Regius, in the presence of the priests Saturninus, Leporius, Barnabas, Fortunatianus, Rusticus, Lazarus, and Eraclius, with the clergy standing by and a crowded congregation, Bishop Augustine said:
What I promised your Charity yesterday—on account of which I wished you to gather more frequently, and I see that you have gathered more frequently—must be done now, all delay set aside. For if I should wish to speak of something else, you would, being in suspense about this, listen to it less. We are all mortal in this life, and the last day of this life is always uncertain for every person; yet in infancy childhood is hoped for, and in childhood adolescence is hoped for, and in adolescence youth is hoped for, and in youth maturity is hoped for, and in maturity old age is hoped for: whether it will come is uncertain, yet there is something to be hoped for. But old age has no other age to hope for: it is uncertain even how long old age itself may last for a person; this much, however, is certain, that no age remains that could succeed old age. Because God willed it, I came to this city in the vigor of my age; yet I was young, and I have grown old. I know that after the deaths of bishops the churches are wont to be disturbed by the ambitious or the contentious; and what I have often experienced and grieved over, I ought, as far as it concerns me, to provide against, lest it befall this city. As your Charity knows, I was lately in the church of Milevis: for the brothers, and especially the servants of God who are there, asked me to come, because after the death of my brother and fellow bishop Severus, of blessed memory, some disturbance was feared there. I came; and, as the Lord willed, he helped us by his mercy, so that they received in peace the bishop whom their bishop had designated while still alive: for when this had become known to them, they gladly embraced the will of their preceding and departed bishop. Yet something had been done too little, on account of which some were saddened, because brother Severus believed it could suffice to designate his successor before the clergy, and did not speak of it to the people; and from this there was some sadness among certain ones. What more? It pleased God; the sadness was put to flight, joy succeeded: the bishop was ordained whom the preceding bishop had designated. Therefore, lest anyone complain about me, I bring my will, which I believe to be God's, to the knowledge of you all: I want the priest Eraclius as my successor.
The people acclaimed: "Thanks be to God, praise to Christ"; this was said twenty-three times. "Hear, O Christ; long life to Augustine"; this was said sixteen times. "You our father, you our bishop"; this was said eight times.
Ep211-270.1What I promised your Charity yesterday—on account of which I wished you to gather more frequently, and I see that you have gathered more frequently—must be done now, all delay set aside. For if I should wish to speak of something else, you would, being in suspense about this, listen to it less. We are all mortal in this life, and the last day of this life is always uncertain for every person; yet in infancy childhood is hoped for, and in childhood adolescence is hoped for, and in adolescence youth is hoped for, and in youth maturity is hoped for, and in maturity old age is hoped for: whether it will come is uncertain, yet there is something to be hoped for. But old age has no other age to hope for: it is uncertain even how long old age itself may last for a person; this much, however, is certain, that no age remains that could succeed old age. Because God willed it, I came to this city in the vigor of my age; yet I was young, and I have grown old. I know that after the deaths of bishops the churches are wont to be disturbed by the ambitious or the contentious; and what I have often experienced and grieved over, I ought, as far as it concerns me, to provide against, lest it befall this city. As your Charity knows, I was lately in the church of Milevis: for the brothers, and especially the servants of God who are there, asked me to come, because after the death of my brother and fellow bishop Severus, of blessed memory, some disturbance was feared there. I came; and, as the Lord willed, he helped us by his mercy, so that they received in peace the bishop whom their bishop had designated while still alive: for when this had become known to them, they gladly embraced the will of their preceding and departed bishop. Yet something had been done too little, on account of which some were saddened, because brother Severus believed it could suffice to designate his successor before the clergy, and did not speak of it to the people; and from this there was some sadness among certain ones. What more? It pleased God; the sadness was put to flight, joy succeeded: the bishop was ordained whom the preceding bishop had designated. Therefore, lest anyone complain about me, I bring my will, which I believe to be God's, to the knowledge of you all: I want the priest Eraclius as my successor.
The people acclaimed: "Thanks be to God, praise to Christ"; this was said twenty-three times. "Hear, O Christ; long life to Augustine"; this was said sixteen times. "You our father, you our bishop"; this was said eight times.
2. Cumque reticeretur, Augustinus episcopus dixit: Non opus est me de laudibus eius aliquid dicere; faveo sapientiae, et parco verecundiae: sufficit quia nostis eum; et hoc me velle dico quod vos velle scio; et si ante nescirem, hodie probarem. Hoc ergo volo: hoc a Domino Deo nostro, nunc etiam in aetate frigida, votis ferventibus posco; hoc ut mecum oretis exhortor, admoneo, rogo, ut omnium in pace Christi collatis et conflatis mentibus confirmet Deus quod operatus est in nobis. Qui misit mihi eum, servet eum; servet incolumem, servet sine crimine, ut qui facit gaudium viventis, locum suppleat morientis. A notariis Ecclesiae, sicut cernitis, excipiuntur quae dicimus, excipiuntur quae dicitis; et meus sermo, et vestrae acclamationes in terram non cadunt. Apertius ut dicam, ecclesiastica nunc Gesta conficimus: sic enim hoc esse, quantum ad homines attinet, confirmatum volo. A populo acclamatum est trigesies sexies: "Deo gratias, Christo laudes". "Exaudi, Christe, Augustino vita"; dictum est tredecies. "Te patrem, te episcopum"; dictum est octies. "Dignus et iustus est"; dictum est vicies. "Bene meritus, bene dignus"; dictum est quinquies." Dignus et iustus est"; dictum est sexies. Augustini consilium populo acceptum.
2. And when there was silence, Bishop Augustine said: There is no need for me to say anything about his praises; I defer to his wisdom, and I spare his modesty: it is enough that you know him; and I say that I want this which I know you want; and if I did not know it before, I would prove it today. This, therefore, I want: this I ask of the Lord our God, now even in the chill of age, with fervent prayers; this I exhort, admonish, and beg you to pray for with me, that, with the minds of all gathered and fused together in the peace of Christ, God may confirm what he has wrought in us. May he who sent him to me keep him; may he keep him unharmed, keep him without crime, so that he who gives joy to the living may fill the place of the dying. By the notaries of the church, as you see, what we say is taken down, and what you say is taken down; and my discourse and your acclamations do not fall to the ground. To say it more openly, we are now drawing up ecclesiastical proceedings; for I want this to be confirmed, as far as it concerns men, that it is so. The people acclaimed thirty-six times: "Thanks be to God, praise to Christ." "Hear, O Christ; long life to Augustine"; this was said thirteen times. "You our father, you our bishop"; this was said eight times. "He is worthy and just"; this was said twenty times. "Well deserving, well worthy"; this was said five times. "He is worthy and just"; this was said six times.
Ep211-270.23. Cumque reticeretur, Augustinus episcopus dixit:
Ergo, ut dicebam, voluntatem meam et voluntatem vestram Gestis ecclesiasticis, quantum ad homines attinet, confirmatam volo: quantum vero ad latentem Omnipotentis voluntatem, omnes, ut dixi, oremus ut confirmet Deus quod operatus est in nobis.
A populo acclamatum est: "Iudicio tuo gratias agimus"; dictum est sedecies. "Fiat, fiat"; dictum est duodecies. "Te patrem, Eraclium episcopum"; dictum est sexies. A. ordinatus episcopus a Valerio Nicena decreta nesciente.
Ergo, ut dicebam, voluntatem meam et voluntatem vestram Gestis ecclesiasticis, quantum ad homines attinet, confirmatam volo: quantum vero ad latentem Omnipotentis voluntatem, omnes, ut dixi, oremus ut confirmet Deus quod operatus est in nobis.
A populo acclamatum est: "Iudicio tuo gratias agimus"; dictum est sedecies. "Fiat, fiat"; dictum est duodecies. "Te patrem, Eraclium episcopum"; dictum est sexies. A. ordinatus episcopus a Valerio Nicena decreta nesciente.
3. And when there was silence, Bishop Augustine said:
Therefore, as I was saying, I want my will and your will confirmed by ecclesiastical proceedings, as far as it concerns men; but as far as it concerns the hidden will of the Almighty, let us all, as I have said, pray that God may confirm what he has wrought in us.
The people acclaimed: "We give thanks for your judgment"; this was said sixteen times. "So be it, so be it"; this was said twelve times. "You our father, Eraclius our bishop"; this was said six times.
Ep211-270.3Therefore, as I was saying, I want my will and your will confirmed by ecclesiastical proceedings, as far as it concerns men; but as far as it concerns the hidden will of the Almighty, let us all, as I have said, pray that God may confirm what he has wrought in us.
The people acclaimed: "We give thanks for your judgment"; this was said sixteen times. "So be it, so be it"; this was said twelve times. "You our father, Eraclius our bishop"; this was said six times.
4. Cumque reticeretur, Augustinus episcopus dixit: Scio quod scitis et vos, sed nolo de illo fieri quod de me factum est. Quid autem factum sit multi scitis; illi soli nesciunt qui tunc aut nondum nati erant, aut nondum habebant aetatem sciendi. Adhuc in corpore posito beatae memoriae patre et episcopo meo sene Valerio, episcopus ordinatus sum, et sedi cum illo: quod concilio Nicaeno prohibitum fuisse nesciebam, nec ipse sciebat. Quod ergo reprehensum est in me, nolo reprehendi in filio meo. A populo acclamatum est: "Deo gratias; Christo laudes"; dictum est tredecies. A. totus Scripturae sanctae incumbere cupit.
4. And when there was silence, Bishop Augustine said: I know what you too know, but I do not want done concerning him what was done concerning me. What was done, many of you know; only those do not know it who at that time either were not yet born or were not yet of an age to know. While my father and bishop, the aged Valerius of blessed memory, was still in the body, I was ordained bishop, and I sat with him: I did not know that this had been forbidden by the Council of Nicaea, nor did he himself know it. What therefore was found blameworthy in me, I do not want to be blameworthy in my son. The people acclaimed: "Thanks be to God; praise to Christ"; this was said thirteen times.
Ep211-270.45. Cumque reticeretur, Augustinus episcopus dixit:
Erit presbyter ut est; quando Deus voluerit, futurus episcopus. Sed plane modo facturus sum adiuvante misericordia Christi, quod adhuc usque non feci. Nostis ante aliquot annos quid facere voluerim, et non permisistis. Placuit mihi et vobis propter curam Scripturarum, quam mihi fratres et patres mei coepiscopi duobus conciliis Numidiae et Carthaginis imponere dignati sunt, ut per quinque dies nemo mihi molestus esset. Gesta confecta sunt, placuit, acclamastis: recitatur placitum vestrum, et acclamationes vestrae. Parvo tempore servatum est circa me; et postea violenter irruptum est, et non permittor ad quod volo, vacare: ante meridiem et post meridiem occupationibus hominum implicor. Obsecro vos et obstringo per Christum, ut huic iuveni, hoc est Eraclio presbytero, quem hodie in nomine Christi designo episcopum successorem mihi, patiamini me refundere onera occupationum mearum.
A populo acclamatum est: "Iudicio tuo gratias agimus"; dictum est vicies sexies. Populus rogatur ut gestis subscribat.
Erit presbyter ut est; quando Deus voluerit, futurus episcopus. Sed plane modo facturus sum adiuvante misericordia Christi, quod adhuc usque non feci. Nostis ante aliquot annos quid facere voluerim, et non permisistis. Placuit mihi et vobis propter curam Scripturarum, quam mihi fratres et patres mei coepiscopi duobus conciliis Numidiae et Carthaginis imponere dignati sunt, ut per quinque dies nemo mihi molestus esset. Gesta confecta sunt, placuit, acclamastis: recitatur placitum vestrum, et acclamationes vestrae. Parvo tempore servatum est circa me; et postea violenter irruptum est, et non permittor ad quod volo, vacare: ante meridiem et post meridiem occupationibus hominum implicor. Obsecro vos et obstringo per Christum, ut huic iuveni, hoc est Eraclio presbytero, quem hodie in nomine Christi designo episcopum successorem mihi, patiamini me refundere onera occupationum mearum.
A populo acclamatum est: "Iudicio tuo gratias agimus"; dictum est vicies sexies. Populus rogatur ut gestis subscribat.
5. And when there was silence, Bishop Augustine said:
He will be a priest as he is; when God wills, a bishop to come. But plainly I am now going to do, with the help of Christ's mercy, what until now I have not done. You know what I wished to do some years ago, and you did not permit it. It was agreed by me and by you, on account of the care of the Scriptures, which my brothers and fathers, my fellow bishops, deigned to lay upon me in two councils, of Numidia and of Carthage, that for five days no one should trouble me. The proceedings were drawn up, it was agreed, you acclaimed: your decision is read out, and your acclamations. For a short time it was observed in my regard; and afterward it was violently broken in upon, and I am not permitted to have leisure for what I wish: before noon and after noon I am entangled in the affairs of men. I beseech you and bind you by Christ to allow me to pour back the burdens of my occupations upon this young man, that is, upon the priest Eraclius, whom today, in the name of Christ, I designate bishop as my successor.
The people acclaimed: "We give thanks for your judgment"; this was said twenty-six times.
Ep211-270.5He will be a priest as he is; when God wills, a bishop to come. But plainly I am now going to do, with the help of Christ's mercy, what until now I have not done. You know what I wished to do some years ago, and you did not permit it. It was agreed by me and by you, on account of the care of the Scriptures, which my brothers and fathers, my fellow bishops, deigned to lay upon me in two councils, of Numidia and of Carthage, that for five days no one should trouble me. The proceedings were drawn up, it was agreed, you acclaimed: your decision is read out, and your acclamations. For a short time it was observed in my regard; and afterward it was violently broken in upon, and I am not permitted to have leisure for what I wish: before noon and after noon I am entangled in the affairs of men. I beseech you and bind you by Christ to allow me to pour back the burdens of my occupations upon this young man, that is, upon the priest Eraclius, whom today, in the name of Christ, I designate bishop as my successor.
The people acclaimed: "We give thanks for your judgment"; this was said twenty-six times.
6. Cumque reticeretur, Augustinus episcopus dixit:
Ego caritati et benevolentiae vestrae apud Dominum Deum nostrum gratias ago, imo de illa Deo gratias ago. Ergo, fratres, quidquid est quod ad me perferebatur, ad illum perferatur: ubi necessarium habuerit consilium, meum non negabo auxilium; absit ut subtraham. Tamen quidquid illud est quod ad me perferebatur, ad illum perferatur. Ipse me aut consulat, si forte non invenerit quid facere debeat, aut poscat adiutorem quem novit patrem: ut et vobis nihil desit, et ego tandem aliquando, si quantulumcumque spatium mihi huius vitae donaverit Deus, ipsam meam quantulamcumque vitam non dem segnitiei, nec donem inertiae, sed in sanctis Scripturis, quantum ipse permittit et largitur, exerceam; hoc et ipsi proderit, et per ipsum etiam vobis. Nemo ergo invideat otio meo, quia meum otium magnum habet negotium. Video me de hac re propter quam vos invitavi, omnia vobiscum egisse quae debui: hoc ad ultimum rogo, ut Gestis istis dignemini subscribere qui potestis. Hic mihi responsione vestra opus est: teneam responsionem vestram; de hac assensione aliquid acclamate.
A populo acclamatum est: "Fiat, fiat"; dictum vicies quinquies. "Dignum est, iustum est"; dictum vicies octies. "Fiat, fiat"; dictum quater decies. "Olim dignus, olim meritus"; dictum vicies quinquies. "Iudicio tuo gratias agimus"; dictum tredecies. "Exaudi, Christe, Eraclium conserva"; dictum octies decies. Populus monetur ut oret inter Missae sacrificium.
Ego caritati et benevolentiae vestrae apud Dominum Deum nostrum gratias ago, imo de illa Deo gratias ago. Ergo, fratres, quidquid est quod ad me perferebatur, ad illum perferatur: ubi necessarium habuerit consilium, meum non negabo auxilium; absit ut subtraham. Tamen quidquid illud est quod ad me perferebatur, ad illum perferatur. Ipse me aut consulat, si forte non invenerit quid facere debeat, aut poscat adiutorem quem novit patrem: ut et vobis nihil desit, et ego tandem aliquando, si quantulumcumque spatium mihi huius vitae donaverit Deus, ipsam meam quantulamcumque vitam non dem segnitiei, nec donem inertiae, sed in sanctis Scripturis, quantum ipse permittit et largitur, exerceam; hoc et ipsi proderit, et per ipsum etiam vobis. Nemo ergo invideat otio meo, quia meum otium magnum habet negotium. Video me de hac re propter quam vos invitavi, omnia vobiscum egisse quae debui: hoc ad ultimum rogo, ut Gestis istis dignemini subscribere qui potestis. Hic mihi responsione vestra opus est: teneam responsionem vestram; de hac assensione aliquid acclamate.
A populo acclamatum est: "Fiat, fiat"; dictum vicies quinquies. "Dignum est, iustum est"; dictum vicies octies. "Fiat, fiat"; dictum quater decies. "Olim dignus, olim meritus"; dictum vicies quinquies. "Iudicio tuo gratias agimus"; dictum tredecies. "Exaudi, Christe, Eraclium conserva"; dictum octies decies. Populus monetur ut oret inter Missae sacrificium.
6. And when there was silence, Bishop Augustine said:
I give thanks for your charity and goodwill before the Lord our God—nay rather, I give thanks to God for it. Therefore, brothers, whatever it is that used to be brought to me, let it be brought to him: where he has need of counsel, I will not deny my help; far be it that I should withhold it. Yet whatever it is that used to be brought to me, let it be brought to him. Let him either consult me, if perhaps he does not find what he ought to do, or call for the helper whom he knows as a father: so that both nothing may be lacking to you, and I, at last someday, if God grants me some little span of this life, may give my own little life, such as it is, not to sloth, nor surrender it to idleness, but exercise it in the holy Scriptures, as far as he himself permits and grants; this will profit him too, and through him also you. Let no one, then, begrudge my leisure, for my leisure has great business. I see that concerning this matter, for which I invited you, I have done with you all that I ought. This last thing I ask: that those of you who can deign to subscribe to these proceedings. Here I have need of your response: let me hold your response; about this assent acclaim something.
The people acclaimed: "So be it, so be it"; this was said twenty-five times. "It is worthy, it is just"; this was said twenty-eight times. "So be it, so be it"; this was said fourteen times. "Long worthy, long deserving"; this was said twenty-five times. "We give thanks for your judgment"; this was said thirteen times. "Hear, O Christ; preserve Eraclius"; this was said eighteen times.
Ep211-270.6I give thanks for your charity and goodwill before the Lord our God—nay rather, I give thanks to God for it. Therefore, brothers, whatever it is that used to be brought to me, let it be brought to him: where he has need of counsel, I will not deny my help; far be it that I should withhold it. Yet whatever it is that used to be brought to me, let it be brought to him. Let him either consult me, if perhaps he does not find what he ought to do, or call for the helper whom he knows as a father: so that both nothing may be lacking to you, and I, at last someday, if God grants me some little span of this life, may give my own little life, such as it is, not to sloth, nor surrender it to idleness, but exercise it in the holy Scriptures, as far as he himself permits and grants; this will profit him too, and through him also you. Let no one, then, begrudge my leisure, for my leisure has great business. I see that concerning this matter, for which I invited you, I have done with you all that I ought. This last thing I ask: that those of you who can deign to subscribe to these proceedings. Here I have need of your response: let me hold your response; about this assent acclaim something.
The people acclaimed: "So be it, so be it"; this was said twenty-five times. "It is worthy, it is just"; this was said twenty-eight times. "So be it, so be it"; this was said fourteen times. "Long worthy, long deserving"; this was said twenty-five times. "We give thanks for your judgment"; this was said thirteen times. "Hear, O Christ; preserve Eraclius"; this was said eighteen times.
7. Cumque reticeretur, Augustinus episcopus dixit:
Bene habet ut ea quae Dei sunt, circa sacrificium eius agere valeamus; in qua hora supplicationis nostrae maxime commendo Caritati vestrae ut omnes vestras causas et negotia intermittatis, et pro ista Ecclesia, et pro me, et pro presbytero Eraclio, Domino precem fundatis.
Bene habet ut ea quae Dei sunt, circa sacrificium eius agere valeamus; in qua hora supplicationis nostrae maxime commendo Caritati vestrae ut omnes vestras causas et negotia intermittatis, et pro ista Ecclesia, et pro me, et pro presbytero Eraclio, Domino precem fundatis.
7. And when there was silence, Bishop Augustine said:
It is well that we may be able to do the things that are God's around his sacrifice; in which hour of our supplication I especially commend to your Charity that you set aside all your affairs and business, and pour out a prayer to the Lord for this church, and for me, and for the priest Eraclius.
Ep211-270.7It is well that we may be able to do the things that are God's around his sacrifice; in which hour of our supplication I especially commend to your Charity that you set aside all your affairs and business, and pour out a prayer to the Lord for this church, and for me, and for the priest Eraclius.
EPISTOLA 214
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET IN CHRISTI MEMBRIS HONORANDO FRATRI VALENTINO, ET FRATRIBUS QUI TECUM SUNT, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET IN CHRISTI MEMBRIS HONORANDO FRATRI VALENTINO, ET FRATRIBUS QUI TECUM SUNT, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 214
TO THE MOST BELOVED LORD AND BROTHER VALENTINUS, TO BE HONORED IN THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, AND TO THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.7TO THE MOST BELOVED LORD AND BROTHER VALENTINUS, TO BE HONORED IN THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, AND TO THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Venerunt ad nos duo iuvenes, Cresconius et Felix, de vestra congregatione se esse dicentes, qui nobis retulerunt monasterium vestrum nonnulla dissensione turbatum, eo quod quidam in vobis sic gratiam praedicent, ut negent hominis esse liberum arbitrium; et, quod est gravius, dicant quod in die iudicii non sit redditurus Deus unicuique secundum opera eius . Etiam hoc tamen indicaverunt, quod plures vestrum non ita sentiant, sed liberum arbitrium adiuvari fateantur per Dei gratiam, ut recta sapiamus atque faciamus; ut cum venerit Dominus reddere unicuique secundum opera eius, inveniat opera nostra bona, quae praeparavit Deus ut in illis ambulemus . Hoc qui sentiunt, bene sentiunt. Quatenus voluntas et gratia defendendae.
1. There came to us two young men, Cresconius and Felix, saying that they were of your community, who reported to us that your monastery was disturbed by some dissension, because certain ones among you preach grace in such a way as to deny that man has free choice and—what is more serious—say that on the day of judgment God will not render to each according to his works. (See Rom 2:6) Yet they also indicated this, that many of you do not think so, but acknowledge that free choice is helped by the grace of God so that we may think and do rightly; so that, when the Lord comes to render to each according to his works, he may find our good works, which God has prepared that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10). Those who think this think rightly.
Ep211-270.12. Obsecro itaque vos, fratres, sicut Corinthios obsecravit Apostolus, per nomen Domini nostri Iesu Christi, ut idipsum dicatis omnes, et non sint in vobis schismata . Primo enim Dominus Iesus, sicut scriptum est in Evangelio Ioannis apostoli, non venit ut iudicaret mundum, sed ut salvaretur mundus per ipsum . Postea vero, sicut scribit apostolus Paulus, iudicabit Deus mundum , quando venturus est, sicut tota Ecclesia in Symbolo confitetur, iudicare vivos et mortuos . Si igitur non est Dei gratia, quomodo salvat mundum? et si non est liberum arbitrium, quomodo iudicat mundum? Proinde librum vel epistolam meam, quam secum ad nos supradicti attulerunt, secundum hanc fidem intellegite, ut neque negetis Dei gratiam, neque liberum arbitrium sic defendatis, ut a Dei gratia separetis, tamquam sine illa vel cogitare aliquid vel agere secundum Deum ulla ratione possimus; quod omnino non possumus. Propter hoc enim Dominus cum de fructu iustitiae loqueretur, ait discipulis suis: Sine me nihil potestis facere . Ad Sixtum epistola contra Pelagianos.
2. I beseech you, therefore, brothers, as the Apostle besought the Corinthians, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all say the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you (1 Cor 1:10). For first the Lord Jesus, as it is written in the Gospel of the Apostle John, did not come to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:17). But afterward, as the apostle Paul writes, God will judge the world (See Rom 3:6), when he is to come, as the whole Church confesses in the Creed, to judge the living and the dead. If, therefore, there is no grace of God, how does he save the world? And if there is no free choice, how does he judge the world? Accordingly, understand the book or letter of mine, which the aforesaid men brought with them to us, according to this faith: that you neither deny the grace of God, nor so defend free choice that you separate it from the grace of God, as though without it we could by any reasoning either think anything or do anything according to God—which we are altogether unable to do. For on this account the Lord, when he was speaking of the fruit of righteousness, said to his disciples: Without me you can do nothing (John 15:5).
Ep211-270.23. Unde supradictam epistolam ad Sixtum Romanae Ecclesiae presbyterum, contra novos haereticos Pelagianos noveritis esse conscriptam, qui dicunt gratiam Dei secundum merita nostra dari, ut qui gloriatur, non in Domino, sed in seipso glorietur, hoc est in homine, non in Domino. Quod prohibet Apostolus, dicens: Nemo glorietur in homine ; et alio loco: Qui gloriatur, inquit, in Domino glorietur . Illi vero haeretici seipsos a seipsis iustos fieri putantes, quasi hoc eis non dederit Deus, sed ipsi sibi; non utique in Domino, sed in semetipsis gloriantur. Talibus enim dicit Apostolus: Quis enim te discernit? Quod ideo dicit, quia de massa illius perditionis quae facta est ex Adam , non discernit hominem, ut eum faciat vas in honorem, non in contumeliam, nisi Deus. Sed quoniam homo carnalis et inaniter inflatus cum audisset: Quis enim te discernit? posset respondere vel voce vel cogitatione et dicere: "Discernit me fides mea, discernit me oratio mea", discernit me iustitia mea; mox Apostolus occurrit cogitationibus eius et dixit: Quid enim habes quod non accepisti? Si autem accepisti, quid gloriaris, quasi non acceperis? Sic autem gloriantur quasi non acceperint, qui se a seipsis iustificari putant; ac per hoc in semetipsis, non in Domino gloriantur. Gratiam nullis meritis promereri.
3. Hence you should know that the aforesaid letter to Sixtus, a priest of the Roman Church, was written against the new heretics, the Pelagians, who say that the grace of God is given according to our merits, so that he who glories may glory not in the Lord but in himself, that is, in man, not in the Lord. This the Apostle forbids, saying: Let no one glory in man (1 Cor 3:21); and in another place: He who glories, he says, let him glory in the Lord (1 Cor 1:31). But those heretics, thinking that they are made righteous by themselves, as though God had not given this to them but they to themselves, glory not at all in the Lord but in themselves. For to such the Apostle says: For who distinguishes you? (1 Cor 4:7) He says this because no one but God distinguishes a man out of that mass of perdition which came from Adam, so as to make him a vessel unto honor, not unto dishonor. (See Rom 9:21) But because a carnal man, vainly puffed up, when he had heard, For who distinguishes you? might answer, whether in voice or in thought, and say, "My faith distinguishes me, my prayer distinguishes me, my righteousness distinguishes me," the Apostle at once meets his thoughts and says: For what have you that you have not received? But if you have received it, why do you glory as if you had not received it? (1 Cor 4:7) And those who think themselves justified by themselves glory as though they had not received, and thereby glory in themselves, not in the Lord.
Ep211-270.34. Propter quod ego in hac epistola quae ad vos pervenit, probavi per testimonia sanctarum Scripturarum, quae ibi potestis inspicere, et bona opera nostra, et pias orationes, et rectam fidem nullo modo in nobis esse potuisse, nisi haec acciperemus ab illo de quo dicit apostolus Iacobus: Omne datum optimum, et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens a patre luminum ; ne quisquam dicat meritis operum suorum, vel meritis orationum suarum, vel meritis fidei suae, sibi traditam Dei gratiam, et putetur verum esse quod illi haeretici dicunt, gratiam Dei secundum merita nostra dari; quod omnino falsissimum est: non quia nullum est meritum, vel bonum piorum, vel malum impiorum; alioquin quomodo iudicabit Deus mundum? sed misericordia et gratia Dei convertit hominem, de qua Psalmus dicit: Deus meus, misericordia eius praeveniet me ; ut iustificetur impius, hoc est ex impio fiat iustus, et incipiat habere meritum bonum, quod Dominus coronabit, quando iudicabitur mundus. Cur A. totam Pelagii causam explanare nequiverit.
4. Therefore in this letter that has reached you I have proved, by the testimonies of the holy Scriptures, which you can examine there, that our good works, our devout prayers, and our right faith could in no way have been in us unless we had received these from him of whom the apostle James says: Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (Jas 1:17); lest anyone say that the grace of God was handed over to him by the merits of his works, or by the merits of his prayers, or by the merits of his faith, and lest it be thought true, as those heretics say, that the grace of God is given according to our merits—which is altogether most false: not because there is no merit, whether the good merit of the devout or the evil merit of the impious—otherwise how will God judge the world?—but because the mercy and grace of God converts a man, of which the Psalm says: My God, his mercy will go before me (Ps 59:10 (58:11)); so that the impious one may be justified, that is, may be made righteous out of impious, and may begin to have good merit, which the Lord will crown when the world is judged.
Ep211-270.45. Multa erant quae vobis mittere cupiebam, quibus lectis, totam ipsam causam quae conciliis episcopalibus acta est adversus eosdem Pelagianos haereticos, diligentius et plenius nosse possetis; sed festinaverunt fratres, qui ex numero vestro ad nos venerunt, per quos vobis non rescripsimus ista, sed scripsimus. Nullas enim ad nos vestrae Caritatis litteras attulerunt: tamen suscepimus eos, quoniam simplicitas eorum satis indicabat nihil illos nobis potuisse confingere. Ideo autem festinaverunt, ut apud vos agerent Pascha, quo possit, adiuvante Domino, tam sanctus dies vestram pacem quam dissensionem potius invenire. Quaestio de gratia perpaucis intellegibilis.
5. There were many things I desired to send you, by reading which you might be able to know more carefully and fully the whole case that was conducted in the councils of bishops against these same Pelagian heretics; but the brothers who came to us from your number were in haste, by whom we have not written these things back to you, but written to you. For they brought no letter of your Charity to us; yet we received them, since their simplicity sufficiently indicated that they could have fabricated nothing to us. They were in haste, moreover, so as to keep Easter among you, that, with the Lord's help, so holy a day might find your peace rather than your dissension.
Ep211-270.56. Melius autem facitis (quod multum rogo), si ipsum a quo dicunt se fuisse turbatos, ad me mittere non gravemini. Aut enim non intellegit librum meum, aut forte ipse non intellegitur, quando difficillimam quaestionem et paucis intellegibilem solvere atque enodare conatur. Ipsa est enim quaestio de gratia Dei, quae fecit ut homines non intellegentes putarent apostolum Paulum dicere: Faciamus mala, ut veniant bona . Unde apostolus Petrus in secunda Epistola sua: Quapropter, inquit, carissimi, haec exspectantes satagite inviolati et immaculati apud eum reperiri in pace; et Domini nostri patientiam salutem existimate: sicut et dilectissimus frater noster Paulus, secundum eam quae data est ei sapientiam, scripsit vobis, ut et in omnibus epistolis loquens in eis de his; in quibus sunt quaedam difficilia intellectu, quae indocti et instabiles homines pervertunt, sicut et caeteras Scripturas, ad proprium suum interitum . Sapienter intellegere quae credimus ex Deo est et ex nobis.
6. But you do better (which I greatly ask) if you do not find it burdensome to send to me the very one by whom they say they were disturbed. For either he does not understand my book, or perhaps he himself is not understood, when he tries to solve and unravel a most difficult question, intelligible to few. For this very question is the one about the grace of God, which has caused men who do not understand to suppose that the apostle Paul says: Let us do evil, that good may come (Rom 3:8). Hence the apostle Peter, in his second Letter: Wherefore, he says, beloved, while you wait for these things, be diligent to be found by him without spot and blameless, in peace; and count the patience of our Lord as salvation, as also our most beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as he does also in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters; in which there are some things hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (2 Pet 3:14-16).
Ep211-270.67. Cavete ergo quod tantus apostolus tam terribiliter dicit; et ubi sentitis vos non intellegere, interim credite divinis eloquiis, quia et liberum est hominis arbitrium, et gratia Dei, sine cuius adiutorio liberum arbitrium nec converti potest ad Deum, nec proficere in Deo. Et quod pie creditis, ut etiam sapienter intellegatis orate. Et ad hoc ipsum enim, id est, ut sapienter intellegamus, est utique liberum arbitrium. Nisi enim libero arbitrio intellegeremus atque saperemus, non nobis praeciperetur dicente Scriptura: Intellegite ergo qui insipientes estis in populo, et stulti aliquando sapite . Eo ipso quippe quo praeceptum et imperatum est ut intellegamus atque sapiamus, obedientia nostra requiritur, quae nulla potest esse sine libero arbitrio. Sed si posset hoc ipsum sine adiutorio Dei gratiae fieri per liberum arbitrium, ut intellegeremus atque saperemus, non diceretur Deo: Da mihi intellectum, et discam mandata tua ; neque in Evangelio scriptum esset: Tunc aperuit illis sensum, ut intellegerent Scripturas ; nec Iacobus apostolus diceret: Si quis autem vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet a Deo, qui dat omnibus affluenter, et non improperat; et dabitur ei . Potens est autem Dominus qui et vobis donet et nobis, ut de vestra pace et pia consensione nuntiis celerrimis gaudeamus. Saluto vos, non solum meo nomine, sed etiam fratrum qui mecum sunt, et rogo ut pro nobis concorditer atque instanter oretis. Sit vobiscum Dominus. Amen.
7. Beware, therefore, of what so great an apostle says so terribly; and where you feel that you do not understand, for the time believe the divine words, that both man's choice is free, and there is the grace of God, without whose help free choice can neither be converted to God nor make progress in God. And what you devoutly believe, pray that you may also wisely understand. For to this very end—that is, that we may wisely understand—free choice certainly exists. For unless we understood and were wise by free choice, it would not be commanded us, since Scripture says: Understand, therefore, you who are foolish among the people, and you fools, be wise at last (Ps 94:8 (93:8)). Indeed, by the very fact that it is commanded and enjoined that we understand and be wise, our obedience is required, which can be none without free choice. But if this very thing could be done through free choice without the help of God's grace—that we should understand and be wise—it would not be said to God: Give me understanding, and I will learn your commandments (Ps 119:73 (118:73)); nor would it be written in the Gospel: Then he opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45); nor would the apostle James say: But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and does not reproach; and it will be given him (Jas 1:5). But the Lord is able to grant both to you and to us that we may rejoice with the swiftest messengers over your peace and devout agreement. I greet you, not only in my own name, but also in the name of the brothers who are with me, and I ask that you pray for us harmoniously and earnestly. May the Lord be with you. Amen.
Ep211-270.7EPISTOLA 215
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET IN CHRISTI MEMBRIS HONORANDO FRATRI VALENTINO, ET FRATRIBUS QUI TECUM SUNT, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET IN CHRISTI MEMBRIS HONORANDO FRATRI VALENTINO, ET FRATRIBUS QUI TECUM SUNT, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 215
TO THE MOST BELOVED LORD AND BROTHER VALENTINUS, TO BE HONORED IN THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, AND TO THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.7TO THE MOST BELOVED LORD AND BROTHER VALENTINUS, TO BE HONORED IN THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, AND TO THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Cresconium, Felicem et alium Felicem Dei servos, qui ex vestra congregatione ad nos venerunt, nobiscum egisse Pascha, noverit Caritas vestra. Quos ideo tenuimus aliquanto diutius, ut instructiores ad vos redirent adversus novos haereticos Pelagianos, in quorum errorem cadit qui putat secundum aliqua merita humana dari gratiam Dei, quae sola hominem liberat per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum. Sed rursum qui putat, quando ad iudicium Dominus venerit, non iudicari hominem secundum opera sua, qui iam per aetatem uti potuit libero voluntatis arbitrio, nihilominus in errore est. Soli enim parvuli qui nondum habent opera propria vel bona vel mala, secundum solum originale peccatum damnabuntur, quibus per lavacrum regenerationis non subvenit gratia Salvatoris. Caeteri autem omnes qui iam utentes libero arbitrio, sua propria peccata originali peccato insuper addiderunt, si de potestate tenebrarum per gratiam Dei non eruuntur, nec transferuntur ad regnum Christi , non solum secundum originis, verum etiam secundum propriae voluntatis merita, iudicium reportabunt. Boni vero etiam ipsi quidem secundum suae bonae voluntatis merita praemium consequentur, sed etiam ipsam bonam voluntatem per Dei gratiam consecuti sunt. Ac sic impletur quod scriptum est: Ira et indignatio, tribulatio et angustia in omnem animam hominis operantis malum, Iudaei primum, et Graeci: gloria autem, et honor, et pax operanti bonum, Iudaeo primum, et Graeco . L. De gratia et lib. arb. aliaque scripta contra Pelagium.
1. Let your Charity know that Cresconius, Felix, and another Felix, servants of God who came to us from your community, kept Easter with us. We held them somewhat longer, so that they might return to you better instructed against the new heretics, the Pelagians, into whose error he falls who thinks that the grace of God—which alone sets man free through our Lord Jesus Christ—is given according to any human merits. But again, he who thinks that, when the Lord comes to judgment, a man is not judged according to his works—a man who through his age has already been able to use free choice of the will—is nonetheless in error. For only little children, who do not yet have works of their own, whether good or evil, will be condemned according to original sin alone, those for whom the grace of the Savior does not come to aid through the washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5). But all the rest, who, already using free choice, have added their own sins on top of original sin, if they are not rescued from the power of darkness by the grace of God and transferred to the kingdom of Christ (See Col 1:13), will bring back judgment not only according to the merits of their origin but also according to the merits of their own will. But the good too will indeed obtain a reward according to the merits of their good will, but they have obtained that good will itself through the grace of God. And thus is fulfilled what is written: Wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that works evil, the Jew first and the Greek; but glory and honor and peace to everyone who works good, to the Jew first and the Greek (Rom 2:8-10).
Ep211-270.12. De qua difficillima quaestione, hoc est de voluntate et gratia, non opus habui etiam in hac epistola diutius disputare; quoniam et aliam iam eis dederam, tamquam citius redituris. Et scripsi ad vos etiam librum, quem si, adiuvante Domino, diligenter legeritis, et vivaciter intellexeritis, nullas existimo inter vos de hac re dissensiones ulterius iam futuras. Portant autem secum et alia, quae vobis dirigenda esse credidimus, quibus cognoscatis quemadmodum catholica Ecclesia, in Dei misericordia, Pelagianae haeresis venena repulerit. Quod enim scriptum est ad papam Innocentium Romanae urbis episcopum, de concilio provinciae Carthaginensis et de concilio Numidiae, et aliquanto diligentius a quinque episcopis, et quae ipse ad tria ista rescripsit; item quod papae Zosimo de Africano concilio scriptum est, eiusque rescriptum ad universos totius orbis episcopos missum; et quod posteriori concilio plenario totius Africae contra ipsum errorem breviter constituimus; et supra memoratum librum meum, quem modo ad vos scripsi: haec omnia et in praesenti legimus cum ipsis, et per eos misimus vobis. B. Cypriani De Domin. orat. Pelagianos confutat.
2. About this most difficult question, that is, about the will and grace, I had no need to dispute at greater length even in this letter, since I had already given them another, as they were to return rather soon. And I have also written you a book, which, if with the Lord's help you read it diligently and grasp it keenly, I think there will no longer be any dissensions among you about this matter. They carry with them other things too, which we believed should be sent to you, by which you may know how the Catholic Church, in the mercy of God, has repelled the poisons of the Pelagian heresy. For what was written to Pope Innocent, bishop of the city of Rome, from the council of the province of Carthage and from the council of Numidia, and somewhat more carefully by five bishops, and what he wrote back to these three; likewise what was written to Pope Zosimus from the African council, and his rescript sent to all the bishops of the whole world; and what we briefly determined against that error in a later plenary council of all Africa; and the book of mine mentioned above, which I have just now written to you: all these we have both read in the present with them, and have sent to you through them.
Ep211-270.23. Legimus eis etiam librum beatissimi martyris Cypriani de Oratione Dominica, et ostendimus quemadmodum docuerit omnia quae ad mores nostros pertinent, quibus recte vivimus, a Patre nostro qui in coelis est, esse poscenda, ne de libero praesumentes arbitrio, a divina gratia decidamus. Ubi etiam demonstravimus quomodo admonuerit idem gloriosissimus martyr, etiam pro inimicis nostris, qui nondum in Christum crediderunt, nos ut credant orare debere: quod utique inaniter fieret, nisi Ecclesia crederet etiam malas atque infideles hominum voluntates, per Dei gratiam in bonum posse converti. Sed hunc librum sancti Cypriani, quia dixerunt etiam illic apud vos esse, non misimus. Meam quoque epistolam ad Sixtum Romanae Ecclesiae presbyterum datam, quam secum ad nos attulerunt, legimus cum eis; et ostendimus adversus eos esse conscriptam, qui dicunt gratiam Dei secundum merita nostra dari, hoc est adversus eosdem Pelagianos. Recta fides de gratia et libero arbitrio.
3. We also read to them the book of the most blessed martyr Cyprian on the Lord's Prayer (Cyprian, On the Lord's Prayer), and we showed how he taught that all the things that pertain to our conduct, by which we live rightly, are to be sought from our Father who is in heaven, lest, presuming on free choice, we fall away from divine grace. There too we demonstrated how that same most glorious martyr admonished that we ought to pray even for our enemies, who have not yet believed in Christ, that they may believe—which would surely be done in vain unless the Church believed that even the evil and unbelieving wills of men can, through the grace of God, be converted to good. But this book of holy Cyprian we did not send, because they said it was also there among you. We also read with them my letter given to Sixtus, a priest of the Roman Church, which they brought with them to us; and we showed that it was written against those who say that the grace of God is given according to our merits, that is, against the same Pelagians.
Ep211-270.34. Quantum ergo potuimus, egimus cum istis et vestris et nostris fratribus, ut in fide sana catholica perseverent: quae neque liberum arbitrium negat, sive in vitam malam sive in bonam, neque tantum ei tribuit, ut sine gratia Dei valeat aliquid, sive ut ex malo convertatur in bonum, sive ut in bono perseveranter proficiat, sive ut ad bonum sempiternum perveniat, ubi iam non timeat ne deficiat. Vos quoque, carissimi, etiam in hac epistola exhortor, quod nos omnes exhortatur Apostolus, non plus sapere quam oportet sapere; sed sapere ad temperantiam, sicut unicuique Deus partitus est mensuram fidei . Liberi arbitrii et gratiae concursus in Proverbiorum 1.
4. As far, then, as we could, we dealt with these brothers, both yours and ours, that they might persevere in the sound Catholic faith—which neither denies free choice, whether to an evil life or to a good one, nor attributes so much to it that it can do anything without the grace of God, whether to be converted from evil to good, or to make progress perseveringly in good, or to attain to the everlasting good where it no longer fears that it may fail. You too, dearest ones, I exhort even in this letter, as the Apostle exhorts us all, not to be wiser than you ought to be wise, but to be wise unto moderation, as God has apportioned to each the measure of faith (Rom 12:3).
Ep211-270.45. Attendite quid per Salomonem moneat Spiritus sanctus: Rectos cursus, inquit, fac pedibus tuis, et vias tuas dirige: ne declines in dexteram, neque in sinistram; averte autem pedem tuum a via mala. Vias enim quae a dextris sunt, novit Dominus: perversae vero sunt quae a sinistris sunt. Ipse autem rectos faciet cursus tuos; itinera autem tua in pace producet . In his verbis sanctae Scripturae considerate, fratres, quia si non esset liberum arbitrium, non diceretur: Rectos cursus fac pedibus tuis, et vias tuas dirige; ne declines in dexteram, neque in sinistram. Et tamen sine Dei gratia, si posset hoc fieri, non postea diceretur: Ipse autem rectos faciet cursus tuos, et itinera tua in pace producet . Bonorum operum auctor Deus, malorum vero homo.
5. Attend to what the Holy Spirit warns through Solomon: Make straight courses, he says, for your feet, and direct your ways; turn not aside to the right hand nor to the left; but turn your foot away from the evil way. For the ways that are on the right hand the Lord knows; but those on the left are perverse. And he himself will make your courses straight; and your journeys he will bring forth in peace (Prov 4:27 LXX). In these words of holy Scripture consider, brothers, that if there were no free choice, it would not be said: Make straight courses for your feet, and direct your ways; turn not aside to the right hand nor to the left. And yet, if this could be done without the grace of God, it would not afterward be said: And he himself will make your courses straight, and will bring forth your journeys in peace.
Ep211-270.56. Nolite ergo declinare in dexteram neque in sinistram; quamvis laudentur viae quae a dextris sunt, et vituperentur quae sunt a sinistris. Hoc est enim propter quod addidit: Averte autem pedem tuum a via mala, hoc est a sinistra: quod manifestat in consequentibus, dicens: Vias enim quae a dextris sunt, novit Dominus: perversae vero sunt quae a sinistris sunt. Eas utique vias ambulare debemus, quas novit Dominus: de quibus in Psalmo legitur: Novit Dominus viam iustorum, et via impiorum peribit . Hanc enim non novit Dominus, quia sinistra est: sicut dicturus est etiam illis ad sinistram constitutis: Non novi vos. Quid est autem quod ille non novit, qui utique novit omnia sive bona hominum, sive mala? Sed quid est: Non vos novi , nisi "tales vos ego non feci"? Quemadmodum illud quod dictum est de ipso Domino Iesu Christo, quia non noverat peccatum ; quid est non noverat, nisi quia "non fecerat"? Ac per hoc quod dictum est: Vias quae a dextris sunt, novit Dominus , quomodo intellegendum est, nisi quia ipse fecit vias dextras, id est vias iustorum, quae sunt utique opera bona, quae praeparavit Deus, sicut dicit Apostolus, ut in illis ambulemus ? Vias autem sinistras perversas, id est vias impiorum, non utique novit, quia non eas ipse fecit homini, sed homo sibi: propter quod dicit: Odivi autem ego perversas vias malorum , ipsae sunt a sinistris. A Deo praestari ut bonum faciamus.
6. Do not, therefore, turn aside to the right hand nor to the left; even though the ways that are on the right hand are praised, and those on the left are blamed. For this is why he added: But turn your foot away from the evil way, that is, from the left—which he makes plain in what follows, saying: For the ways that are on the right hand the Lord knows; but those on the left are perverse. We ought surely to walk in those ways that the Lord knows, of which it is read in the Psalm: The Lord knows the way of the righteous, and the way of the impious will perish (Ps 1:6). For this latter the Lord does not know, because it is on the left: just as he is also to say to those set on the left: I do not know you (See Matt 25:12; 7:23). But what is it that he does not know, who surely knows all things, whether the good of men or the evil? But what is I do not know you, except "such as you I did not make"? Just as that which was said of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, that he knew no sin (2 Cor 5:21)—what is he knew not, except "he had not done it"? And so what was said—The ways that are on the right hand the Lord knows—how is it to be understood, except that he himself made the right ways, that is, the ways of the righteous, which are surely the good works that God has prepared, as the Apostle says, that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10)? But the perverse ways on the left, that is, the ways of the impious, he does not know, because he himself did not make them for man, but man made them for himself; on which account he says: But I have hated the perverse ways of the wicked (See Ps 119:113 (118:113))—these are the ones on the left.
Ep211-270.67. Sed respondetur nobis: "Cur ergo dixit: Ne declines in dexteram, neque in sinistram ; cum potius dicere debuisse videatur, Tene dexteram, et ne declines in sinistram; si bonae sunt viae quae a dextris sunt?" Cur, putamus, nisi quia ita viae sunt bonae quae a dextris sunt, ut in dexteram tamen declinare non sit bonum? Declinare quippe ille est intellegendus in dexteram, qui bona ipsa opera, quae ad vias dexteras pertinent, sibi vult assignare, non Deo. Et ideo cum dixisset: Vias enim quae a dextris sunt, novit Dominus: perversae autem sunt quae a sinistris sunt; tamquam diceretur ei: "Quomodo ergo non vis ut declinemus ad dexteram?"; secutus adiunxit: Ipse autem rectos faciet cursus tuos; itinera autem tua in pace producet . Sic ergo intellege, quod tibi praeceptum est: Rectos cursus fac pedibus tuis, et vias tuas dirige, ut noveris, cum hoc facis, a Domino Deo tibi praestari ut hoc facias; et non declinabis ad dexteram, quamvis ambules in viis dextris, non confidens in virtute tua: et ipse erit virtus tua, qui rectos faciet cursus tuos, et itinera tua in pace producet. Multum errat qui gratia fisus mala patrat.
7. But it is answered to us: "Why then did he say, Turn not aside to the right hand nor to the left, when he seems rather to have ought to say, Hold to the right hand and turn not aside to the left, if the ways that are on the right hand are good?" Why, do we suppose, except that the ways on the right hand are good in such a way that nevertheless to turn aside to the right hand is not good? For he is to be understood as turning aside to the right hand who wishes to assign to himself, and not to God, those good works themselves which belong to the right-hand ways. And therefore, when he had said, For the ways that are on the right hand the Lord knows; but those on the left are perverse, as though it were said to him, "How then do you not want us to turn aside to the right hand?" he went on to add: And he himself will make your courses straight; and your journeys he will bring forth in peace. Understand, then, in this way what is commanded you—Make straight courses for your feet, and direct your ways—so that you may know that, when you do this, it is granted you by the Lord God that you do it; and you will not turn aside to the right hand, even though you walk in the right-hand ways, by not trusting in your own strength: and he himself will be your strength, who will make your courses straight, and will bring forth your journeys in peace.
Ep211-270.78. Quapropter, dilectissimi, quicumque dicit: "Voluntas mea mihi sufficit ad facienda opera bona", declinat in dexteram. Sed rursus illi qui putant bonam vitam esse deserendam, quando audiunt sic Dei gratiam praedicari, ut credatur et intellegatur voluntates hominum ipsa ex malis bonas facere, ipsa etiam quas fecerit custodire, et propterea dicunt: Faciamus mala, ut veniant bona ; in sinistram declinant. Ideo vobis dixit: Non declinetis in dexteram, neque in sinistram, hoc est, non sic defendatis liberum arbitrium, ut ei bona opera sine Dei gratia tribuatis; nec sic defendatis gratiam, ut quasi de illa securi, mala opera diligatis: quod ipsa gratia Dei avertat a vobis. Talium quippe verba sibi proponens Apostolus ait: Quid ergo dicemus? permanebimus in peccato, ut gratia abundet? atque his verbis hominum errantium, et Dei gratiam non intellegentium, respondit ut debuit, dicens: Absit. Si enim mortui sumus peccato, quomodo vivemus in eo? Nihil potuit dici brevius et melius. Quid enim nobis gratia Dei utilius confert in hoc praesenti saeculo maligno, nisi ut moriamur peccato? Ac per hoc ipsi gratiae invenietur ingratus, qui propter illam vult vivere in peccato, per quam morimur peccato. Deus autem qui dives est in misericordia , det vobis et sanum sapere, et usque in finem proficienter in bono proposito permanere. Hoc pro vobis, hoc pro nobis, hoc pro omnibus qui vos diligunt, et pro eis qui vos oderunt, instanter in pace fraterna et vigilanter orate. Deo vivatis. Si quid de vobis mereor, veniat ad me frater Florus.
8. Wherefore, most beloved, whoever says, "My will suffices for me to do good works," turns aside to the right hand. But again, those who think that a good life is to be abandoned, when they hear the grace of God so preached that it is believed and understood that grace itself makes men's wills good out of evil, and itself keeps even those it has made, and therefore say, Let us do evil, that good may come (Rom 3:8), turn aside to the left. For this reason he said to you: Turn not aside to the right hand nor to the left, that is, do not so defend free choice that you attribute good works to it without the grace of God; nor so defend grace that, as though secure on account of it, you love evil works—which may the grace of God itself turn away from you. Indeed, the Apostle, setting before himself the words of such people, says: What then shall we say? Shall we remain in sin, that grace may abound? And to these words of erring men, who do not understand the grace of God, he replied as he ought, saying: God forbid. For if we have died to sin, how shall we live in it? (Rom 6:1-2) Nothing could be said more briefly and better. For what does the grace of God confer on us more usefully in this present evil world than that we should die to sin? And therefore he will be found ungrateful to that very grace who, on account of it, wishes to live in the sin to which through it we die. But God, who is rich in mercy (Eph 2:4), grant you both to be soundly wise, and to persevere progressively to the end in your good purpose. This for you, this for us, this for all who love you, and for those who hate you, pray earnestly in brotherly peace and watchfully. May you live for God. If I deserve anything of you, let brother Florus come to me.
Ep211-270.8EPISTOLA 215/A
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ET IN CHRISTI VISCERIBUS AMPLECTENDO FRATRI VALENTINO, AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ET IN CHRISTI VISCERIBUS AMPLECTENDO FRATRI VALENTINO, AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 215A
TO THE MOST BELOVED LORD AND BROTHER VALENTINUS, TO BE EMBRACED IN THE HEART OF CHRIST, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.8TO THE MOST BELOVED LORD AND BROTHER VALENTINUS, TO BE EMBRACED IN THE HEART OF CHRIST, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Magnas quidem ago gratias Caritati tuae, quod mihi desideranti fratrem Florum misisti, et Deo nostro uberiores, quia cum talem repperi, qualem optaveram. Sed quamvis tardius ad vos remeasse videatur, minus tamen, quam vellem, mecum fuit. Praesente quippe ipso me imbecillitas corporis et talis et tam multis diebus tenuit, ut cum illo esse non possem, domine dilectissime et in Christi visceribus amplectende frater. Unde iterum rogo, ut iam non meum solum sed utriusque nostrum desiderium implere digneris et eum rursus mittere, ut aliquamdiu nobiscum sit. Existimo enim hoc et ipsi et nobis non infructuosum futurum et eius, quae per nos esse Domino adiuvante potuerit, abundantiorem instructionem etiam fratribus profuturam. Semper Deo placeas.
1. I give great thanks indeed to your Charity, that you sent me brother Florus when I desired him, and fuller thanks to our God, because I found him such as I had hoped. But although he seems to have returned to you rather late, he was nonetheless with me less than I would have wished. For while he was present, an infirmity of body, of such a kind and lasting so many days, kept me, so that I could not be with him, most beloved lord and brother, to be embraced in the heart of Christ. Hence I ask again that you deign to fulfill now not my desire only but that of us both, and to send him again, that he may be with us for some time. For I think this will not be unfruitful either for him or for us, and that his more abundant instruction in whatever he may, with the Lord's help, be able to be for the Lord through us, will profit the brothers also. May you ever please God.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 216
DOMINO VERE SANCTO, AC NOBIS VENERABILITER SUPER OMNIA PRAEFERENDO, ET PIA EXSULTATIONE COLENDO BEATISSIMO PAPAE AUGUSTINO, VALENTINUS SERVUS TUAE SANCTITATIS, ET OMNIS CONGREGATIO QUAE TUIS ORATIONIBUS MECUM SPERAT, IN DOMINO, SALUTEM
DOMINO VERE SANCTO, AC NOBIS VENERABILITER SUPER OMNIA PRAEFERENDO, ET PIA EXSULTATIONE COLENDO BEATISSIMO PAPAE AUGUSTINO, VALENTINUS SERVUS TUAE SANCTITATIS, ET OMNIS CONGREGATIO QUAE TUIS ORATIONIBUS MECUM SPERAT, IN DOMINO, SALUTEM
LETTER 216
TO THE TRULY HOLY LORD, TO BE VENERABLY SET ABOVE ALL FOR US, AND TO BE HONORED WITH DEVOUT EXULTATION, THE MOST BLESSED POPE AUGUSTINE, VALENTINUS, A SERVANT OF YOUR HOLINESS, AND THE WHOLE COMMUNITY THAT HOPES WITH ME THROUGH YOUR PRAYERS, SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO THE TRULY HOLY LORD, TO BE VENERABLY SET ABOVE ALL FOR US, AND TO BE HONORED WITH DEVOUT EXULTATION, THE MOST BLESSED POPE AUGUSTINE, VALENTINUS, A SERVANT OF YOUR HOLINESS, AND THE WHOLE COMMUNITY THAT HOPES WITH ME THROUGH YOUR PRAYERS, SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Venerabilia scripta, et librum tuae Sanctitatis, ita tremebundo corde suscepimus, ut sicut beatus Elias, cum in speluncae limine staret , faciem suam gloria Domini transeunte velavit; ita nos obiurgatos oculos teximus, quia per rusticitatem fratrum nostrorum nostro iudicio erubuimus, quorum inordinata profectione tuam metuimus Beatitudinem salutare; quia tempus loquendi, et tempus tacendi , ne dum per dubitantes et de veritate fluctuantes scriberemus, de dictis sapientiae tuae, quae est sicut angeli Dei, dubitare cum dubitantibus videremur . Non enim erat nobis necessarium interrogare de beatitudine, et de sapientia tua, quae est nobis nota per Dei gratiam. Nam ad librum dulcissimae Sanctitatis tuae ita sumus alacriter iucundati, ut sicut Apostoli Dominum post resurrectionem prandentem secum non audebant interrogare quis esset; (sciebant enim quia Iesus est) : ita et nos nec voluimus, nec ausi sumus interrogare de libro, utrum tuae Sanctitatis esset; cum ipsa fidelis gratia quae in eo liberaliter commendatur, nobis tuum, domine sancte papa, eloquiis vivacissimis contestetur. Cur monachi turbati fuerint.
1. Your venerable writings, and the book of Your Holiness, we received with a heart so trembling that, just as blessed Elijah, when he stood at the mouth of the cave (See 1 Kgs 19:13), veiled his face as the glory of the Lord passed by, so we covered our rebuked eyes, because in our own judgment we blushed at the boorishness of our brothers, whose disorderly departure made us fear to greet Your Beatitude; for there is a time to speak and a time to keep silence (See Eccl 3:7), lest, while we wrote through men who doubt and waver about the truth, we should seem to doubt, along with the doubters, about the sayings of your wisdom, which is like an angel of God (See 2 Sam 14:17). For we had no need to inquire about your beatitude and your wisdom, which is known to us by the grace of God. For at the book of Your most sweet Holiness we were so eagerly gladdened that, just as the Apostles, when the Lord was dining with them after the resurrection, did not dare to ask him who he was (for they knew that it was Jesus) (See John 21:12): so we too neither wished nor dared to ask about the book, whether it was Your Holiness's; since the very faithful grace that is generously commended in it bears witness to us, holy lord pope, by its most lively words, that it is yours.
Ep211-270.12. Incipiamus autem, domine beatissime papa, ipsius ordinem perturbationis exponere. Carissimus frater noster Florus servus Paternitatis tuae, cum ad Uzalensem patriam fuisset suadente caritate profectus, eulogias monasterii inter suae civitatis moras, de opusculis nobis tuae attulit Sanctitatis, uno fratre Felice, qui ad tuam Sanctitatem tarde post comites suos venisse dignoscitur, eumdem librum devote dictante; ventum est ad monasterium cum eodem libello, fratre Floro ad Carthaginem de Uzalensi civitate profecto. Mihi non monstrato libro, imperitis fratribus recitare coeperunt; qui quorumdam non intellegentium corda commovit, quia cum diceret Dominus: Qui non manducaverit carnem filii hominis, neque biberit sanguinem eius, non habebit vitam in semetipso , discesserunt qui impie intellexerunt, non culpa Domini dicentis, sed duritia impiissimi cordis. Quomodo fratres ab errore revocati sint.
2. But let us begin, most blessed lord pope, to set forth the course of the disturbance itself. Our dearest brother Florus, the servant of Your Paternity, when at the prompting of love he had set out for his homeland of Uzalis, brought us, during his stay in his own city, blessings from the monastery, from the little works of Your Holiness—one brother, Felix, who is known to have come to Your Holiness late, after his companions, devoutly dictating that same book. They came to the monastery with that same little book, brother Florus having set out for Carthage from the city of Uzalis. Without the book being shown to me, they began to recite it to inexperienced brothers; and it stirred up the hearts of certain ones who did not understand, because, when the Lord said, Whoever does not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood will not have life in himself (See John 6:53), those departed who understood it impiously—not through any fault of the Lord who spoke, but through the hardness of a most impious heart.
Ep211-270.23. Coeperunt memorati fratres, qui omnia subverterunt, innocentum animas commovere, mea parvitate penitus ignorante; in tantum conventus illorum murmurantis nescii, ut nisi frater Florus de Carthagine repedans, eorum perturbationes agnoscens, mihi sollicite nuntiasset... furtiva et tamquam servilis erat inter eos de non intellegenda veritate contentio. Proposui ad auferendas impias quaestiones, ut ad dominum sanctum patrem Evodium mitteremus, ut ipse nobis de hoc sacrosancto libro propter ignaros aliquid certius rescripsisset. Nec hoc patientius accipere voluerunt; sed arripuerunt profectionem nobis taliter non optatam: fratre Floro furore illorum propemodum conturbato, in quem saeviebant, quia ipse illis, ut putabant, vulnera libri huius attulisset; in quo non poterant medicinam infirmi cognoscere. Unde et sanctum presbyterum Sabinum ad maiorem auctoritatem rogavimus, et ipsius Sanctitas librum cum liquidis interpretationibus legit; nec sic anima sauciata curata est. Quibus propter ipsam pietatem sumptus dedimus, ne vulnera ipsorum cumularemus, quae posset sanare libri huius gratia, in qua refulget tua sancta praesentia. Quibus profectis, quies et pax per omnes fratres exsultavit in Domino. Quinque enim, vel amplius fratrum animositate ista est innata contentio. Augustini librum medicinam fuisse ad sanam fidem.
3. The aforementioned brothers, who overturned everything, began to stir up the souls of the innocent, while my lowliness was entirely unaware; so far did their gathering of grumblers escape my notice that, had not brother Florus, returning from Carthage and learning of their disturbances, anxiously reported it to me... there was among them a furtive and, as it were, servile quarreling over a truth they would not understand. I proposed, in order to remove these impious questions, that we should send to the holy lord and father Evodius, so that he himself might write us back something more certain about this most sacred book, for the sake of the ignorant. But they were unwilling to accept even this with any patience; instead they seized upon a departure so unwished-for by us—brother Florus being almost thrown into confusion by their fury, against whom they raged because he, as they supposed, had brought them the wounds of this book, in which the sick could not recognize their medicine. Hence we asked the holy priest Sabinus, for greater authority, and His Holiness too read the book with clear interpretations; yet not even so was the wounded soul healed. We gave them, for the sake of piety itself, provisions for the journey, lest we heap up their wounds, which the grace of this book—in which your holy presence shines forth—could heal. When they had departed, quiet and peace exulted in the Lord among all the brothers. For this quarreling sprang from the animosity of five brothers, or a few more.
Ep211-270.34. Sed quia interdum, domine papa, provenit gaudium ex tristitia, non adeo maestificamur, quia per ignaros et curiosos suavissimis monitionibus tuae Sanctitatis illuminari meruimus. Nam et dubitatio beati Thomae apostoli foramina clavorum quaerentis , confirmatio fuit Ecclesiae universalis. Accepimus igitur, domine papa, medicamentum pie curantium tuarum cum gratia litterarum, et contudimus pectora nostra, ut saltem sic sanetur conscientia nostra, quam per liberum arbitrium nostrum, quod donat misericordia, curat et vivificat gratia; sed in hoc tempore, quando adhuc misericordiam cum dilatione cantamus . Nam cum coeperimus iudicium cantare Domino, reportaturi sumus mercedem pro opere nostro, quia misericors et iustus Dominus, miserator et rectus . Quia sicut docet nos Sanctitas tua, repraesentari nos oportet ante tribunal Christi, ut recipiat unusquisque nostrum propria corporis, prout gessit, sive bonum, sive malum : quia veniet Dominus, et merces eius cum ipso : quia stabit homo et opus eius ante ipsum: quia veniet Dominus sicut clibanus ardens, ut incendat impios tamquam stipulam ; et timentibus nomen Domini orietur sol iustitiae, quando impii punientur iudicio iustitiae . Hoc iustus, cuius tu amicus es, domine papa, exclamat, contremiscit, et suppliciter dicit: Domine, ne intres in iudicium cum servo tuo . Si gratia esset remunerantis, non timeret iustus secretarium iudicium maiestatis . Servi tui Flori haec fides est, pater; non sicut fratres isti sunt locuti. In praesentiarum audierunt ab illo dictum, non iuxta merita nostra dari donum pietatis, sed per gratiam Redemptoris: nam de illo die, quis dubitet longe esse gratiam, cum coeperit irasci iustitia? Hoc clamamus, pater, hoc te docente canimus, non securi, sed trepidi: Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tua corripias me . Hoc dicimus: "Emenda nos, Domine, et de lege tua erudi nos, ut mitiges nos a diebus malis" . Hoc credimus docente te, venerabilis pater, quia Deus interrogat iustum et impium, quia a dexteris et a sinistris positis bonis et malis, imputat remuneranda opera pietatis, enumerat puniendam tenacitatem impietatis. Ubi erit gratia, quando pro sui qualitate dispungentur opera, sive bona, sive mala ? Quam miseri qui nudam voluntatem iactant.
4. But because sometimes, lord pope, joy comes forth out of sadness, we are not greatly saddened, since through the ignorant and the meddlesome we have been made worthy to be enlightened by the most sweet admonitions of Your Holiness. For the doubt of the blessed apostle Thomas, seeking the marks of the nails (See John 20:25), was the confirmation of the universal Church. We have received, therefore, lord pope, the medicine of your devout healing with the grace of your letters, and we have beaten our breasts (See Luke 18:13), that at least in this way our conscience may be healed—which grace heals and gives life through our free choice, that the mercy of God bestows; but in this time, when we still sing of mercy with delay (See Ps 101:1 (100:1)). For when we begin to sing of judgment to the Lord, we shall carry back the wage for our work, because the Lord is merciful and just, compassionate and upright (See Ps 116:5 (114:5)). For, as Your Holiness teaches us, we must be presented before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one of us may receive the proper things of the body, according as he has done, whether good or evil (See 2 Cor 5:10): for the Lord will come, and his reward with him (See Isa 40:10): for a man and his work will stand before him: for the Lord will come like a burning oven, to set the impious ablaze like stubble (See Mal 4:1); and for those who fear the name of the Lord the sun of righteousness will rise (See Mal 4:2), when the impious are punished by the judgment of righteousness. This the righteous man, whose friend you are, lord pope, cries out, and trembles, and says as a suppliant: Lord, do not enter into judgment with your servant (Ps 143:2 (142:2)). If grace were a matter of one who rewards, the righteous man would not fear the secret judgment of the majesty. This is the faith of your servant Florus, father; not as these brothers have spoken. In our presence they heard him say that the gift of devotion is given not according to our merits, but through the grace of the Redeemer: for as to that day, who would doubt that grace is far off, when righteousness has begun to be angry? This we cry out, father; this we sing, with you teaching us, not secure but trembling: Lord, do not rebuke me in your fury, nor chasten me in your anger (Ps 6:1 (6:2)). This we say: "Amend us, Lord, and instruct us out of your law, that you may give us rest from evil days" (See Ps 94:12-13 (93:12-13)). This we believe, with you teaching us, venerable father, that God questions the righteous and the impious, that, with the good set on the right and the evil on the left, he imputes the works of devotion to be rewarded and counts up the obstinacy of impiety to be punished. Where will grace be, when works will be discharged according to their quality, whether good or evil?
Ep211-270.45. Sed cur non directum non timet proferri mendacium? Liberum arbitrium Dei gratia curatum non negamus; sed per Christi quotidianam gratiam proficere credimus, et adiuvari confidimus. Quid homines dicunt: "In mea est potestate ut faciam bonum"? si tamen homines facerent bonum. O inanis gloriatio miserorum! quotidie peccata arguunt, et ipsi sibi assumunt nudum liberum iactantes arbitrium; non discutientes conscientiam suam, quae non potest curari nisi per gratiam, ut dicerent: Miserere mei; sana animam meam, quia peccavi tibi . Quid facerent qui de libero sibi gloriantur arbitrio (quod non negatur cum Dei dumtaxat adiutorio), si iam absorpta esset mors in victoriam, si iam mortale nostrum indueret immortalitatem, et corruptibile nostrum indueret incorruptionem ? Ecce foetent vulnera, et superbe petitur medicina. Non dicunt sicut iustus: Nisi Dominus adiuvisset me, paulo minus habitasset in inferno anima mea : non dicunt sicut sanctus: Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, frustra vigilat qui custodit eam . A. oret pro Valentino eiusque monachis.
5. But why does an undirected lie not fear to be brought forth? We do not deny that free choice is healed by the grace of God; but we believe that it makes progress through the daily grace of Christ, and we trust that it is helped. What do men mean when they say, "It is in my power to do good"?—if only men did do good. O empty boasting of wretches! Daily they convict their own sins, and yet they take to themselves bare free choice as their boast, not examining their own conscience, which cannot be healed except through grace, so that they might say: Have mercy on me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you (See Ps 41:4 (40:5)). What would they do, who glory in their own free choice (which is not denied, with at least the help of God), if death were already swallowed up in victory, if our mortal already put on immortality, and our corruptible put on incorruption (See 1 Cor 15:54)? Behold, their wounds stink, and proudly is the medicine sought. They do not say, as the righteous man does: Unless the Lord had helped me, my soul would almost have dwelt in hell (See Ps 94:17 (93:17)): they do not say, as the holy man does: Unless the Lord guards the city, in vain does he keep watch who guards it (See Ps 127:1 (126:1)).
Ep211-270.56. Sed ora, piissime pater, ut iam non curam geramus, nisi pro peccato nostro lacrymis expiando, et Dei gratia commendanda. Ora, domine pater, ut non urgeat super nos puteus os suum , ut salvemur a descendentibus in lacum , ut non pereat cum impiis anima nostra per superbiam nostram, sed sanetur per Domini gratiam. Sicut ergo praecepisti, domine papa, frater noster Florus, servus Sanctitatis tuae, omni alacritate perrexit, cui non impedit, sed proficit fatigatio, ut accedat ei dilucidata cordis instructio; quem tuae Sanctimoniae suppliciter commendamus, pariterque deposcimus, ut et ignaros tuis orationibus Domino commendes mansuetissime componendos. Ora, domine et dulcissime pater, ut fugiat diabolus de congregatione nostra, et amota omni alienarum quaestionum procella, navis propositi nostri epibatis quietis onusta intra stationem tutissimi portus secure consistat, dum navigat per hoc mare magnum et immensum, et in illo portu, intra quem iam non erit metuendum vitae navigium, mercium indiscrepans accipiat pretium placitarum. Hoc tuae Sanctitatis impetraturos nos confidimus adiutorio, per gratiam quae est in Christo Iesu Domino nostro. Omnes filios apostolatus tui dominos nostros clericos, ac sanctos in congregatione propositi servientes deprecamur ut digneris nostro officio salutare, ut cum tua Beatitudine omnes pro nobis orare dignentur. Indiscrepans Trinitas Domini Dei nostri apostolatum tuum, quem elegit per gratiam, conservet nobis in Ecclesia sua, et nostri memorem coronet in Ecclesia magna; quod optamus, domine. Si quid autem famulus tuae Sanctitatis frater suggesserit Florus, pro regula monasterii, digneris pater, petimus, libenter accipere, et per omnia nos infirmos instruere.
6. But pray, most devout father, that we may now have no care except to expiate our sin with tears, and to commend the grace of God. Pray, lord father, that the pit may not close its mouth over us (See Ps 69:15 (68:16)), that we may be saved from those going down into the lake (See Ps 28:1 (27:1)), that our soul may not perish with the impious (See Ps 26:9 (25:9)) through our pride, but be healed through the grace of the Lord. As you have commanded, then, lord pope, our brother Florus, the servant of Your Holiness, has gone forth with all eagerness—one for whom fatigue is no hindrance but a help, so that an enlightened instruction of heart may come to him; whom we humbly commend to Your Sanctity, and likewise beg that you commend the ignorant too in your prayers to the Lord, to be most gently set in order. Pray, lord and most sweet father, that the devil may flee from our community, and that, with every storm of alien questions removed, the ship of our purpose, laden with passengers of quiet, may stand securely within the station of a most safe harbor while it sails through this great and immense sea, and that in that harbor, within which the vessel of life will no longer have anything to fear, it may receive the undiminished price of its pleasing wares. This we trust to obtain by the help of Your Holiness, through the grace that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We beg all the sons of your apostolate, our lords the clergy, and the holy ones serving in the community of our purpose, that you deign to greet them on our behalf, that with Your Beatitude they may all deign to pray for us. May the undivided Trinity of the Lord our God preserve for us in his Church your apostolate, which he chose through grace, and crown it, mindful of us, in the great Church; which is our wish, lord. But if your servant, brother Florus, should suggest anything regarding the rule of the monastery, we ask, father, that you deign to receive it gladly and to instruct us, the weak, in all things.
Ep211-270.6EPISTOLA 217
AUGUSTINUS EPISCOPUS SERVUS CHRISTI, ET PER IPSUM SERVUS SERVORUM IPSIUS, VITALI FRATRI, IN IPSO SALUTEM.
AUGUSTINUS EPISCOPUS SERVUS CHRISTI, ET PER IPSUM SERVUS SERVORUM IPSIUS, VITALI FRATRI, IN IPSO SALUTEM.
LETTER 217
AUGUSTINE, A BISHOP, A SERVANT OF CHRIST, AND THROUGH HIM A SERVANT OF HIS SERVANTS, TO BROTHER VITALIS, GREETINGS IN HIM.
Ep211-270.6AUGUSTINE, A BISHOP, A SERVANT OF CHRIST, AND THROUGH HIM A SERVANT OF HIS SERVANTS, TO BROTHER VITALIS, GREETINGS IN HIM.
1. 1. Cum de te mihi essent nuntiata non bona, et rogavi Dominum, et donec mihi bona nuntientur, adhuc rogo ut litteras meas nec aspernanter sumas, et salubriter legas. Si hanc exaudit pro te orationem meam, etiam de te gratiarum actionem donat ut offeram. Quod si impetro, procul dubio non contradices huic ipsi principio epistolae meae. Hoc enim pro te oro, ut sis rectae fidei. Si hoc ergo pro caris nostris non tibi displicet ut oremus, si hanc orationem recognoscis esse christianam, si et tu pro caris tuis talia vel orare te recolis, vel orare te debere cognoscis; quomodo dicis quod te audio dicere: "Ut recte credamus in Deum et Evangelio consentiamus, non esse donum Dei, sed hoc nobis esse a nobis, id est ex propria voluntate, quam nobis in nostro corde non operatus est ipse?" Et ad hoc, cum audieris: "Quid est ergo quod ait Apostolus: Deus in vobis operatur et velle, et perficere? " respondes: "Per legem suam, per Scripturas suas, Deum operari ut velimus, quas vel legimus vel audimus: sed eis consentire vel non consentire ita nostrum est, ut, si velimus, fiat; si autem nolimus, nihil in nobis operationem Dei valere faciamus. Operatur quippe ille, dicis, quantum in ipso est ut velimus, cum nobis nota fiunt eius eloquia: sed si eis acquiescere nolumus, nos ut operatio eius nihil in nobis prosit efficimus". Quae si dicis, profecto nostris orationibus contradicis. Lex credendi legem statuit supplicandi.
1. 1. When things not good were reported to me about you, I both asked the Lord, and, until good things are reported to me, I still ask, that you receive my letter not disdainfully and read it with profit. If he hears this prayer of mine for you, he also grants that I may offer thanksgiving for you. And if I obtain this, you will without doubt not contradict this very beginning of my letter. For I pray this for you, that you may be of right faith. If, then, it does not displease you that we should pray thus for those dear to us, if you recognize this prayer to be Christian, if you too either recall praying such things for those dear to you, or know that you ought to pray them, how do you say what I hear you say: "That for us to believe rightly in God and to assent to the Gospel is not a gift of God, but this is to us from ourselves, that is, from our own will, which he himself did not work in us in our heart"? And to this, when you have heard, "What then is it that the Apostle says: God works in you both to will and to accomplish (Phil 2:13)?" you answer: "That God works, by his law, by his Scriptures, that we may will, which we either read or hear; but to assent to them or not to assent is so ours that, if we will, it comes about; but if we are unwilling, we make the working of God avail nothing in us. For he works, you say, as far as in him lies, that we may will, when his words become known to us; but if we are unwilling to acquiesce in them, we bring it about that his working profits nothing in us." If you say these things, you assuredly contradict our prayers.
Ep211-270.1.11. 2. Dic ergo apertissime nos pro iis quibus Evangelium praedicamus, non debere orare ut credant, sed eis tantummodo praedicare. Exsere contra orationes Ecclesiae disputationes tuas: et quando audis sacerdotem Dei ad altare exhortantem populum Dei orare pro incredulis, ut eos Deus convertat ad fidem, et pro catechumenis, ut eis desiderium regenerationis inspiret, et pro fidelibus, ut in eo quod esse coeperunt, eius munere perseverent; subsanna pias voces, et dic te non facere quod hortatur, id est, Deum pro infidelibus, ut eos fideles faciat, non rogare, eo quod non sint ista divinae miserationis beneficia, sed humanae officia voluntatis. Et homo in Carthaginensi eruditus Ecclesia, etiam beatissimi Cypriani librum de Dominica Oratione condemna; quam doctor ille cum exponeret, ea petenda esse ostendit a Deo patre, quae tu dicis esse homini ab homine, hoc est a seipso. Dei dono incipit quis velle credere.
1. 2. Say then most openly that we ought not to pray for those to whom we preach the Gospel that they may believe, but only to preach to them. Bring forth your arguments against the prayers of the Church; and when you hear a priest of God at the altar exhorting the people of God to pray for unbelievers, that God may convert them to the faith, and for catechumens, that he may breathe into them a desire for regeneration, and for the faithful, that they may persevere by his gift in what they have begun to be, mock these devout words and say that you do not do what he urges, that is, that you do not ask God for the unbelievers, that he may make them believers, on the ground that these are not benefits of the divine compassion but services of the human will. And, a man educated in the Church of Carthage, condemn too the book of the most blessed Cyprian On the Lord's Prayer (Cyprian, On the Lord's Prayer); for in expounding it that teacher showed that those things are to be asked of God the Father which you say a man has from a man, that is, from himself.
Ep211-270.1.21. 3. Quod si de precibus Ecclesiae et de martyre Cypriano parum putas esse quod dixi, aude maiora, reprehende Apostolum, qui dixit: Oramus ad Deum, ne quid faciatis mali . Neque enim dicturus es nihil mali eum facere qui non credit in Christum, aut qui fidem deserit Christi; ac per hoc qui dicit, ne quid faciatis mali, nec ista vult fieri: satisque illi non est praecipere, sed confitetur se Deum rogare ne fiant, sciens hominis voluntatem ab ipso corrigi ac dirigi, ut ista non faciat. A Domino enim gressus hominis diriguntur, et viam eius volet : non dixit: "Et viam eius discet", aut, "tenebit", aut, "ambulabit", aut aliquid huiusmodi quod posses dicere a Domino quidem dari, sed homini iam volenti; ut scilicet beneficium Dei quo gressus hominis dirigit, ut viam eius discat, teneat, gradiatur, sua homo voluntate praecedat, et hoc Dei donum praecedente sua voluntate mereatur. Sed ideo dixit: A Domino gressus hominis diriguntur, et viam eius volet, ut intellegeremus ipsam voluntatem bonam qua incipimus velle credere (quoniam Dei via quid est, nisi fides recta?) illius esse donum qui gressus nostros propterea dirigit primitus ut velimus. Non enim ait Scriptura: "A Domino gressus hominis diriguntur, quia viam eius voluit"; sed: Diriguntur, inquit, et volet. Non igitur quia voluit, diriguntur; sed quia diriguntur, volet. Vitalis sententiam esse pelagianam.
1. 3. But if you think what I have said about the prayers of the Church and about the martyr Cyprian is too little, dare greater things: blame the Apostle, who said: We pray to God that you may do no evil (2 Cor 13:7). For you will not say that he does no evil who does not believe in Christ, or who deserts the faith of Christ; and so he who says, that you may do no evil, does not want these things to be done either: and it is not enough for him to command, but he confesses that he asks God that they not be done, knowing that the will of man is corrected and directed by him, so that he may not do them. For by the Lord the steps of a man are directed, and he will desire his way (See Ps 37:23 (36:23)): he did not say, "And he will learn his way," or "will hold," or "will walk," or anything of this sort that you might say is indeed given by the Lord, but to a man already willing—so that, namely, the benefit of God by which he directs a man's steps, that he may learn, hold, and walk his way, the man might anticipate by his own will, and might merit this gift of God by his own preceding will. But for this reason he said: By the Lord the steps of a man are directed, and he will desire his way, that we might understand that the good will itself, by which we begin to will to believe (since what is the way of God but right faith?), is the gift of him who directs our steps for this very purpose first, that we may will. For Scripture does not say: "By the Lord the steps of a man are directed, because he willed his way"; but: They are directed, it says, and he will desire. Therefore it is not because he willed that they are directed, but because they are directed that he will desire.
Ep211-270.1.32. 4. Hic tu rursus fortasse dicturus es hoc fieri a Domino, dum doctrina eius legitur vel auditur, si homo veritati quam legit vel audit, sua consentiat voluntate. "Si enim lateret eum, inquis, doctrina Dei, non dirigerentur gressus eius, quibus directis vellet viam Dei". Ac per hoc sic tantum putas a Domino gressus hominis dirigi ad eligendam viam Dei, quia sine doctrina Dei non ei potest innotescere veritas, cui propria voluntate consentiat. "Cui si consentit, inquis (quod in eius libero arbitrio constitutum est), recte utique dicuntur ab illo dirigi gressus eius ut viam eius velit, cuius doctrinam, suasione praecedente, subsequente consensione sectatur; quod libertate naturali, si vult, facit, si non vult, non facit; pro eo quod fecerit, praemium, vel supplicium recepturus". Haec est illa Pelagianorum mala, male diffamata meritoque reprobata, et ab ipso etiam Pelagio, timente damnari in orientalium episcoporum iudicio, damnata sententia , qua dicunt gratiam Dei non ad singulos actus dari, sed in libero arbitrio esse, vel in lege atque doctrina: et usque adeo, frater, erimus graves corde , ut de gratia Dei, imo adversus gratiam Dei, eam pelagianam sententiam teneamus, quam pectore quidem ficto, sed tamen catholicos iudices timens Pelagius ipse damnavit? Voluntatem Dei gratia moveri.
2. 4. Here again you will perhaps say that this is done by the Lord while his teaching is read or heard, if a man assents by his own will to the truth he reads or hears. "For if the teaching of God were hidden from him," you say, "his steps would not be directed, by which, once directed, he would desire the way of God." And thereby you suppose that a man's steps are directed by the Lord to choosing the way of God only in this sense: that without the teaching of God the truth cannot become known to him, to which he assents by his own will. "And if he assents to it," you say (which is established in his free choice), "then surely his steps are rightly said to be directed by him, so that he desires his way, whose teaching, by a preceding persuasion and a following consent, he follows; which he does by natural liberty, if he wills, and does not do, if he does not will; about to receive a reward or a punishment for what he has done." This is that evil opinion of the Pelagians, ill-famed and deservedly reproved, and condemned even by Pelagius himself, who feared to be condemned in the judgment of the eastern bishops—the opinion by which they say that the grace of God is given not for individual acts, but lies in free choice, or in the law and teaching. And shall we, brother, be so heavy of heart that, concerning the grace of God—nay rather, against the grace of God—we should hold that Pelagian opinion which Pelagius himself condemned, with a feigned heart indeed, but nevertheless fearing his Catholic judges?
Ep211-270.2.42. 5. Et quomodo, inquies, respondebitur? Quomodo censes facilius et apertius, quam ut illud quod de orando Deo superius egimus, sic amplectamur, ut hoc menti nostrae nulla subtrahat oblivionis irreptio, nulla calliditas argumentationis extorqueat? Si enim, quod scriptum est: A Domino gressus hominis diriguntur, et viam eius volet ; et: Praeparatur voluntas a Domino ; et: Deus est enim qui operatur in vobis et velle : et multa huiusmodi, quibus commendatur vera Dei gratia, hoc est, quae non secundum merita nostra datur, sed dat merita ipsa cum datur; quia praevenit hominis voluntatem bonam, nec eam cuiusquam invenit in corde, sed facit: si ergo ita praepararet atque ita operaretur Deus hominis voluntatem, ut tantummodo legem suam atque doctrinam libero eius adhiberet arbitrio, nec vocatione illa alta atque secreta sic eius ageret sensum, ut eidem legi atque doctrinae accommodaret assensum; procul dubio eam legere, vel intellegere legendo, vel etiam exponere ac praedicare sufficeret, nec opus esset orare ut Deus ad fidem suam infidelium corda converteret, et conversis proficientem perseverantiam eiusdem gratiae suae largitate donaret. Si ergo haec a Domino poscenda esse non renuis, quid restat, frater Vitalis, nisi ut ab illo ea donari fatearis, a quo poscenda esse consentis? Si autem negas ab illo nos poscere ista debere, eidem doctrinae ipsius contradicis; quia et hoc in ea didicimus, ut ab illo ista poscamus. Eminens gratiae opus, conversio peccatorum.
2. 5. And how, you will say, shall it be answered? In what way do you think more easily and openly than that we should so embrace what we treated above about praying to God that no creeping in of forgetfulness may withdraw it from our mind, and no cleverness of argument may wrest it away? For if—as is written, By the Lord the steps of a man are directed, and he will desire his way (See Ps 37:23 (36:23)); and, The will is prepared by the Lord (Prov 8:35 LXX); and, For it is God who works in you even to will (Phil 2:13); and many things of this kind, by which the true grace of God is commended, that is, the grace which is given not according to our merits, but which itself gives the merits when it is given, because it anticipates a man's good will and does not find it in anyone's heart but makes it—if, then, God so prepared and so worked a man's will that he only applied his law and teaching to the man's free choice, and did not by that deep and secret calling so move his understanding that he might accommodate his assent to that same law and teaching, then without doubt it would be enough to read it, or to understand it by reading, or even to expound and preach it, and there would be no need to pray that God might convert the hearts of unbelievers to his faith, and grant to those converted, by the bounty of that same grace of his, a progressing perseverance. If, then, you do not refuse that these things are to be asked of the Lord, what remains, brother Vitalis, but that you confess them to be given by him from whom you agree they are to be asked? But if you deny that we ought to ask these things of him, you contradict his very teaching, because in it too we have learned to ask these things of him.
Ep211-270.2.52. 6. Orationem dominicam nosti, nec dubito te Deo dicere: Pater noster, qui es in coelis , etc. Lege expositorem eius beatissimum Cyprianum, et quemadmodum exposuerit quod ibi dicitur: Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in coelo, et in terra , diligenter attende, et obedienter intellege: profecto docebit te orare pro infidelibus inimicis Ecclesiae, secundum praeceptum Domini, dicentis: Orate pro inimicis vestris ; et hoc orare, ut fiat voluntas Dei, sicut in eis qui iam fideles sunt et portant imaginem coelestis hominis, et propterea coeli nomine digni sunt; ita et in eis qui per infidelitatem nonnisi imaginem terreni hominis portant , et ob hoc terra merito nuncupantur. Nempe isti, pro quibus inimicis Dominus nos iussit orare, et gloriosissimus martyr sic exposuit quod in oratione dicimus: Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in coelo, et in terra , ut ipsis etiam poscamus fidem quam fideles habent: nempe ergo isti christianae pietatis inimici, legem Dei atque doctrinam qua Christi praedicatur fides, vel omnino audire nolunt, vel ad hoc audiunt sive etiam legunt ut irrideant et detestentur, et quanta possunt contradictione blasphement. Inaniter igitur et perfunctorie potius quam veraciter pro eis, ut doctrinae cui adversantur, credendo consentiant, Deo fundimus preces, si ad eius non pertinet gratiam convertere ad fidem suam ipsi fidei contrarias hominum voluntates. Inaniter etiam et perfunctorie potius quam veraciter magnas cum exsultatione agimus Deo gratias, quando aliqui eorum credunt, si hoc in eis ipse non facit. Ne defendatur liberum arbitrium ut perdatur Dei auxilium.
2. 6. You know the Lord's Prayer, and I do not doubt that you say to God: Our Father, who are in heaven (Matt 6:9), and so on. Read its expositor, the most blessed Cyprian, and attend diligently and understand obediently how he expounded what is said there: Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth (Matt 6:10); he will surely teach you to pray for unbelieving enemies of the Church, according to the precept of the Lord, who says, Pray for your enemies (See Matt 5:44); and to pray this, that the will of God may be done, as in those who are already faithful and bear the image of the heavenly man, and are therefore worthy of the name of heaven, so also in those who through unbelief bear only the image of the earthly man (See 1 Cor 15:49), and on this account are deservedly called earth. Surely these, for whom as enemies the Lord commanded us to pray, and concerning whom the most glorious martyr so expounded what we say in the prayer—Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth—that we may ask even for them the faith that the faithful have: surely, then, these enemies of Christian devotion either are altogether unwilling to hear the law and teaching of God by which the faith of Christ is preached, or hear or even read it for this purpose, to mock and detest it and to blaspheme it with all the contradiction they can. In vain, therefore, and perfunctorily rather than truly, do we pour out prayers to God for them, that they may by believing assent to the teaching they oppose, if it does not pertain to his grace to convert to his faith the wills of men that are contrary to that faith. In vain too, and perfunctorily rather than truly, do we give great thanks to God with exultation when any of them believe, if he himself does not work this in them.
Ep211-270.2.62. 7. Non fallamus homines, nam Deum fallere non valemus. Prorsus non oramus Deum, sed orare nos fingimus, si nos ipsos, non illum, credimus facere quod oramus. Prorsus non gratias Deo agimus, sed nos agere fingimus, si unde illi gratias agimus, ipsum facere non putamus. Labia dolosa si in hominum quibuscumque sermonibus sunt, saltem in orationibus non sint. Absit ut quod facere Deum rogamus oribus et vocibus nostris, eum facere negemus cordibus nostris: et, quod est gravius, ad alios etiam decipiendos, hoc non taceamus disputationibus nostris; et dum volumus apud homines defendere liberum arbitrium, apud Deum perdamus orationis auxilium, et gratiarum actionem non habeamus veram, dum veram non agnoscimus gratiam. Fidelis quis fit Dei gratia et libero arbitrio.
2. 7. Let us not deceive men, for we cannot deceive God. We do not pray to God at all, but only pretend to pray, if we believe that we ourselves, and not he, do what we pray for. We do not give thanks to God at all, but only pretend to give thanks, if we suppose that he does not do that for which we give him thanks. If lying lips are present in any human discourses, at least let them not be present in prayers. Far be it that what we ask God to do with our mouths and our voices we should deny that he does in our hearts; and—what is more serious—that, to deceive others as well, we should not be silent about this in our arguments, and that, while we wish to defend free choice before men, we should lose before God the help of prayer, and not have a true thanksgiving while we do not recognize true grace.
Ep211-270.2.73. 8. Si vere volumus defendere liberum arbitrium, non oppugnemus unde fit liberum. Nam qui oppugnat gratiam, qua nostrum ad declinandum a malo et faciendum bonum liberatur arbitrium, ipse arbitrium suum adhuc vult esse captivum. Responde, obsecro, quomodo dicit Apostolus: Gratias agentes Patri, idoneos facienti nos in parte sortis sanctorum in lumine; qui eruit nos de potestate tenebrarum, et transtulit in regnum Filii caritatis suae ; si non ipse arbitrium nostrum, sed ipsum arbitrium se liberat? Mendaciter ergo agimus gratias Patri, tamquam ipse faciat quod ipse non facit: et erravit qui dixit quod ipse nos faciat idoneos in parte sortis sanctorum in lumine, quia ipse nos eruit de potestate tenebrarum, et transtulit in regnum Filii caritatis suae. Responde quomodo ad declinandum a malo, et faciendum bonum liberum habebamus arbitrium, quando erat sub potestate tenebrarum? unde nos si, quemadmodum dicit Apostolus, Deus eruit, ipse utique illud liberum fecit. Quod tam magnum nostrum bonum, si per suae doctrinae praedicationem tantummodo facit; quid de iis dicemus, quos de ipsa tenebrarum potestate nondum eruit? praedicanda tantum illis est doctrina divina, an etiam orandum pro eis, ut de tenebrarum potestate divinitus eruantur? Si tantummodo praedicandum esse dicis, iussioni Domini et orationibus Ecclesiae contradicis: si autem fateris pro eis orandum, id utique orandum fateris, ut eidem doctrinae, arbitrio liberato a tenebrarum potestate, consentiant. Ita fit ut neque fideles fiant, nisi libero arbitrio, et tamen illius gratia fideles fiant, qui eorum a potestate tenebrarum liberavit arbitrium. Sic et Dei gratia non negatur, sed sine ullis humanis praecedentibus meritis vera monstratur; et liberum ita defenditur, ut humilitate solidetur, non elatione praecipitetur arbitrium, et qui gloriatur, non in homine, vel quolibet alio, vel seipso, sed in Domino glorietur . De diaboli potestate parvulos quoque erui baptismo.
3. 8. If we truly wish to defend free choice, let us not attack that from which it becomes free. For he who attacks the grace by which our choice is freed to turn aside from evil and to do good himself wishes his choice still to be captive. Answer, I beg you, how the Apostle says: Giving thanks to the Father, who has made us fit for a share in the lot of the saints in light; who has rescued us from the power of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love (Col 1:12-13)—if it is not he who frees our choice, but the choice frees itself? Falsely, then, do we give thanks to the Father, as though he does what he does not do; and he erred who said that he himself makes us fit for a share in the lot of the saints in light, because he himself rescued us from the power of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love. Answer how we had free choice to turn aside from evil and to do good, when it was under the power of darkness; from which, if, as the Apostle says, God rescued us, he himself surely made it free. And if he works this so great good of ours only through the preaching of his teaching, what shall we say of those whom he has not yet rescued from that power of darkness? Is the divine teaching only to be preached to them, or must we also pray for them, that they may be divinely rescued from the power of darkness? If you say it is only to be preached, you contradict the command of the Lord and the prayers of the Church; but if you confess that we must pray for them, you confess surely that this is to be prayed for, that they may assent to that teaching, their choice freed from the power of darkness. So it comes about that they neither become faithful except by free choice, and yet they become faithful by the grace of him who freed their choice from the power of darkness. Thus the grace of God is not denied, but is shown to be true without any preceding human merits; and free choice is so defended that it is made firm by humility, not cast down by pride, and that he who glories may glory not in man, or in anything else, or in himself, but in the Lord (1 Cor 1:31).
Ep211-270.3.83. 9. Potestas enim tenebrarum quid est, nisi potestas diaboli et angelorum eius , qui cum fuissent angeli lucis , in veritate per liberum arbitrium non stantes , sed inde cadentes, facti sunt tenebrae? Non te ista doceo, sed quae nosti ut recorderis admoneo. Huic igitur potestati tenebrarum, per illius ruinam, cui primo homini ab ea potestate praevaricatio persuasa est , et in quo omnes cecidimus, subiectum est genus humanum: propter quod de hac potestate tenebrarum eruuntur et parvuli, cum regenerantur in Christo. Neque hoc apparet in eorum arbitrio liberato, nisi cum ad annos pervenerint ratione utentis aetatis, habentes consentientem doctrinae salutari, in qua nutriti sunt, voluntatem, et in ea finientes istam vitam, si electi sunt in Christo ante constitutionem mundi ut essent sancti et immaculati in conspectu eius in caritate, praedestinati in adoptionem filiorum . Apostatae angeli homines arcent a fide.
3. 9. For what is the power of darkness, but the power of the devil and his angels (See Matt 25:41), who, although they had been angels of light (See 2 Cor 11:14), not standing in the truth through free choice (See John 8:44) but falling from it, became darkness? I do not teach you these things, but admonish you to recall what you know. To this power of darkness, then, through the ruin of him by whom the transgression was urged upon the first man from that power (See Gen 3), and in whom we all fell, the human race was made subject; on which account little children too are rescued from this power of darkness when they are reborn in Christ. Nor does this appear in their freed choice except when they have come to the years of an age that uses reason, having a will that assents to the saving teaching in which they have been nourished, and ending this life in it, if they were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world that they might be holy and immaculate in his sight in love, predestined unto the adoption of sons (See Eph 1:4-5).
Ep211-270.3.93. 10. Haec autem potestas tenebrarum, id est diabolus, qui dicitur etiam princeps potestatis aeris, operatur in filiis diffidentiae , princeps iste rector tenebrarum , id est ipsorum diffidentiae filiorum, regens eos ad arbitrium suum, quod neque ipse habet liberum ad benefaciendum, sed ad maximam malevolentiam poena sui sceleris obduratum : unde nemo sanae fidei credit, aut dicit, hos apostatas angelos ad pristinam pietatem correcta aliquando voluntate converti. Quid ergo operatur haec potestas in filiis diffidentiae, nisi opera sua mala, et in primis maximeque ipsam diffidentiam et infidelitatem qua sunt inimici fidei; per quam scit eos posse mundari, posse sanari, posse perfectissime liberos, quod eis vehementer invidet, in aeternitate regnare? Itaque aliquos eorum, per quos amplius decipere affectat, sinit habere nonnulla velut opera bona, in quibus laudantur, per quasque gentes, praecipueque in gente Romana, qui praeclare gloriosissimeque vixerunt. Sed quoniam, sicut veracissima Scriptura dicit: Omne quod non est ex fide, peccatum est ; et: Sine fide impossibile est utique placere Deo , non hominibus; nihil sic agit hic princeps, quam ut non credatur in Deum, nec ad Mediatorem, a quo solvuntur opera eius, credendo veniatur. Gratiam non contineri Lege, libero arbitrio vel doctrina.
3. 10. But this power of darkness, that is, the devil, who is also called the prince of the power of the air, works in the sons of unbelief (See Eph 2:2)—this prince, the ruler of the darkness (See Eph 6:12), that is, of those sons of unbelief themselves, ruling them according to his own will, which not even he has free for doing good, but hardened to the utmost malevolence by the punishment of his own crime: hence no one of sound faith believes, or says, that these apostate angels are ever converted to their former devotion by a corrected will. What then does this power work in the sons of unbelief, but its own evil works, and first and foremost that very unbelief and faithlessness by which they are enemies of the faith—through which it knows that they could be cleansed, could be healed, could most perfectly reign free in eternity, which it vehemently envies them? And so it allows some of them, through whom it strives to deceive the more, to have certain seemingly good works, for which they are praised among the various nations, and especially in the Roman nation, who have lived in an illustrious and most glorious manner. But since, as most truthful Scripture says, Everything that is not of faith is sin (Rom 14:23), and, Without faith it is impossible indeed to please God (Heb 11:6)—not men—this prince does nothing so much as work that men may not believe in God, nor come by believing to the Mediator, by whom his works are undone.
Ep211-270.3.103. 11. Sed ipse Mediator intrat in domum fortis , id est in hoc saeculum mortalium sub potestate diaboli, quantum ad ipsum pertinet, constitutum; de ipso quippe scriptum est, quod potestatem habeat mortis . Intrat in domum fortis , id est, in suo dominatu habentis genus humanum; et prius alligat eum, id est, eius coercet et cohibet potestatem, potestatis suae fortioribus vinculis; et sic eripit vasa eius, quaecumque praedestinavit eripere, arbitrium eorum ab eius potestate liberans, ut illo non impediente credant in istum libera voluntate. Proinde hoc opus est gratiae, non naturae. Opus est, inquam, gratiae, quam nobis attulit secundus Adam; non naturae, quam totam perdidit in semetipso primus Adam. Opus est gratiae tollentis peccatum, et vivificantis mortuum peccatorem; non opus legis ostendentis peccatum, nec a peccato vivificantis. Nam ille magnus gratiae praedicator: Peccatum, inquit, non cognovi, nisi per legem : et: Si data esset, inquit, lex quae posset vivificare, omnino ex lege esset iustitia . Opus est hoc gratiae, quam qui accipiunt, doctrinae salutari Scripturarum sanctarum, etsi fuerint inimici, fiunt amici; non opus eiusdem doctrinae, quam qui audiunt et legunt sine gratia Dei, peiores eius efficiuntur inimici. Gratiam ad singulos actus dari.
3. 11. But the Mediator himself enters into the house of the strong man (See Matt 12:29), that is, into this world of mortals established, as far as concerns him, under the power of the devil; for of him it is written that he has the power of death (See Heb 2:14). He enters into the house of the strong man, that is, into the one who holds the human race in his domination; and first he binds him, that is, restrains and confines his power, with the stronger bonds of his own power; and so he snatches away his vessels, whomever he has predestined to snatch, freeing their choice from his power, so that, with the strong man not hindering, they may believe in him by a free will. Accordingly, this is a work of grace, not of nature. It is a work, I say, of grace, which the second Adam brought us; not of nature, which the first Adam wholly ruined in himself. It is a work of grace that takes away sin and gives life to the dead sinner; not a work of the law that shows sin and does not give life from sin. For that great preacher of grace says: I did not know sin except through the law (See Rom 7:7); and: If a law had been given that could give life, he says, righteousness would altogether be from the law (Gal 3:21). This is a work of grace, by receiving which men become friends of the saving teaching of the holy Scriptures even if they were enemies; not a work of the same teaching, by which those who hear and read it without the grace of God are made its worse enemies.
Ep211-270.3.114. 12. Non est igitur gratia Dei in natura liberi arbitrii et in lege atque doctrina, sicut pelagiana perversitas desipit; sed ad singulos actus datur illius voluntate, de quo scriptum est: Pluviam voluntariam segregabis, Deus, haereditati tuae : quia et liberum arbitrium ad diligendum Deum primi peccati granditate perdidimus, et lex Dei atque doctrina, quamvis sancta et iusta et bona , tamen occidit, si non vivificet Spiritus , per quem fit, non ut audiendo, sed ut obediendo, neque ut lectione, sed ut dilectione teneatur. Quapropter ut in Deum credamus, et pie vivamus, non volentis neque currentis, sed miserentis est Dei : non quia velle non debemus et currere; sed quia ipse in nobis et velle operatur et currere. Unde et ipse Dominus Iesus credentes a non credentibus, id est, ab irae vasis vasa misericordiae discernens : Nemo, inquit, venit ad me, nisi fuerit ei datum a Patre meo : et utique, ut hoc diceret, in eius doctrina fuerant scandalizati discipuli eius, qui eum postea non sunt secuti . Non ergo gratiam dicamus esse doctrinam, sed agnoscamus gratiam, quae facit prodesse doctrinam: quae gratia si desit, videmus etiam obesse doctrinam. Oramus ut voluntas corrigatur doctrinae consentiatur, natura sanetur.
4. 12. The grace of God, therefore, is not in the nature of free choice and in the law and teaching, as Pelagian perversity foolishly thinks; but it is given for individual acts by the will of him of whom it is written: You will set apart a voluntary rain, O God, for your inheritance (See Ps 68:9 (67:10)): because we both lost free choice for loving God through the greatness of the first sin, and the law and teaching of God, though holy and just and good (See Rom 7:12), nevertheless kills, if the Spirit does not give life (See 2 Cor 3:6), through whom it comes about that it is held not by hearing but by obeying, not by reading but by loving. Wherefore, that we may believe in God and live devoutly, it is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy (Rom 9:16): not because we ought not to will and run, but because he himself works in us both to will and to run. Hence the Lord Jesus himself too, distinguishing believers from unbelievers, that is, the vessels of mercy from the vessels of wrath (See Rom 9:22-23), says: No one comes to me unless it has been given him by my Father (John 6:65): and surely, that he might say this, his disciples had been scandalized at his teaching, who afterward did not follow him (See John 6:60-66). Let us not, then, say that grace is teaching, but let us acknowledge the grace that makes the teaching profitable; and if this grace is lacking, we see that the teaching even does harm.
Ep211-270.4.124. 13. Propterea Deus ut omnia futura opera sua in praedestinatione praesciverit, sic illa disposuit, ut quosdam non credentes ad fidem suam, orationes credentium pro eis exaudiendo, convertat; unde refutentur, et, si ille est eis propitius, corrigantur qui putant gratiam Dei esse naturam liberi arbitrii, cum qua nascimur; aut gratiam Dei esse doctrinam, quamvis utilem, quae per linguas et litteras praedicatur. Non enim hoc oramus pro infidelibus, ut fiat eorum natura, id est ut homines sint; aut ut doctrina eis praedicetur, quam malo suo audiunt, si non credunt; et plerumque pro eis oramus, qui cum legant vel audiant, nolunt credere: sed oramus ut voluntas corrigatur, doctrinae consentiatur, natura sanetur. Cur orandum ut perseveretur in finem.
4. 13. For this reason God, as he foreknew in his predestination all his future works, so disposed them that he converts certain unbelievers to his faith by hearing the prayers of believers for them; so that those may be refuted, and, if he is favorable to them, corrected, who think that the grace of God is the nature of free choice, with which we are born, or that the grace of God is teaching—useful though it be—which is preached through tongues and letters. For we do not pray this for unbelievers, that their nature may come to be, that is, that they may be men; or that teaching may be preached to them, which to their own harm they hear if they do not believe; and very often we pray for those who, though they read or hear, are unwilling to believe: but we pray that the will may be corrected, that the teaching may be assented to, that the nature may be healed.
Ep211-270.4.134. 14. Iamvero ut perseverent in eo quod esse coeperunt, etiam pro se ipsis orant fideles. Utile est quippe omnibus vel pene omnibus propter humilitatem saluberrimam, ut quales futuri sint, scire non possint. Ad hoc dicitur: Qui videtur stare, videat ne cadat . Propter huius timoris utilitatem, ne regenerati et pie vivere incipientes, tamquam securi alta sapiamus , quidam non perseveraturi perseveraturis Dei permissione vel provisione ac dispositione miscentur; quibus cadentibus territi cum timore et tremore gradiamur viam iustam, donec ex hac vita, quae tentatio est super terram , transeamus ad aliam, ubi iam non sit elatio comprimenda, nec contra eius suggestiones tentationesque luctandum. Perseverantia finalis omnes latet.
4. 14. But now, that they may persevere in what they have begun to be, the faithful pray even for themselves. For it is useful for all, or nearly all, on account of a most wholesome humility, that they should not be able to know what they will be. To this end it is said: Let him who seems to stand take heed lest he fall (1 Cor 10:12). On account of the usefulness of this fear—lest, having been reborn and having begun to live devoutly, we should be high-minded as though secure (See Rom 11:20)—certain ones who will not persevere are, by God's permission or provision and arrangement, mingled with those who will persevere; so that, terrified by their falling, we may walk the just way with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12), until from this life, which is a temptation upon earth (See Job 7:1 LXX), we pass to another, where there will no longer be pride to be repressed, nor must we struggle against its suggestions and temptations.
Ep211-270.4.144. 15. Sed de hac re, id est, cur quidam non permansuri in fide et sanctitate christiana, tamen accipiant ad tempus hanc gratiam, et dimittantur hic vivere donec cadant, cum possint rapi de hac vita, ne malitia mutet intellectum eorum, quod de sancto immatura aetate defuncto scriptum est in libro Sapientiae ; quaerat quisque ut potuerit, et si invenerit praeter hanc quae a me reddita est, aliam probabilem rationem, a rectae fidei regula non recedens, teneat eam, et ego cum illo, si me non latuerit: verumtamen in quod pervenimus, in eo ambulemus donec nobis Deus revelet, si quid aliter sapimus, sicut apostolicis Litteris admonemur . Pervenimus autem in ea quae ad fidem veram et catholicam pertinere firmissime scimus, in quibus ita nobis ambulandum est, adiuvante illo atque miserante, cui dicimus: Deduc me, Domine, in via tua, et ambulabo in veritate tua , ut ab eis nullo modo deviemus. DUODECIM SENTENTIAE CONTRA PELAGIANOS. Duodecim sententiae antipelagianae.
4. 15. But about this matter, that is, why certain ones who will not remain in the faith and in Christian holiness nevertheless receive this grace for a time, and are allowed to live here until they fall, when they could be snatched from this life lest malice change their understanding—which is written in the book of Wisdom about a holy man who died at an immature age (See Wis 4:11)—let each one inquire as he can; and if he finds, besides the one I have given, another probable explanation, not departing from the rule of right faith, let him hold it, and I with him, if it does not escape me: nevertheless, in that to which we have come, let us walk in it until God reveals to us, if we are wise in anything otherwise, as we are admonished by the apostolic Letters (See Phil 3:15-16). But we have come into those things that we most firmly know to pertain to the true and Catholic faith, in which we must so walk, with him helping and showing mercy, to whom we say, Lead me, Lord, in your way, and I will walk in your truth (Ps 86:11 (85:11)), that we may in no way deviate from them. TWELVE PROPOSITIONS AGAINST THE PELAGIANS.
Ep211-270.4.155. 16. Quoniam ergo propitio Christo Christiani catholici sumus:
1º Scimus nondum natos nihil egisse in vita propria boni seu mali , nec secundum merita prioris alicuius vitae, quam nullam propriam singuli habere potuerunt, in huius vitae venire miserias: sed tamen secundum Adam carnaliter natos contagium mortis antiquae prima nativitate contrahere, nec liberari a supplicio mortis aeternae, quod trahit ex uno in omnes transiens iusta damnatio, nisi per gratiam renascantur in Christo .
2º Scimus gratiam Dei nec parvulis nec maioribus secundum merita nostra dari.
3º Scimus maioribus ad singulos actus dari.
4º Scimus non omnibus hominibus dari, et quibus datur, non solum secundum merita operum non dari, sed nec secundum merita voluntatis eorum quibus datur: quod maxime apparet in parvulis.
5º Scimus eis quibus datur, misericordia Dei gratuita dari.
6º Scimus eis quibus non datur, iusto iudicio Dei non dari.
7º Scimus quod omnes astabimus ante tribunal Christi, ut ferat unusquisque secundum ea quae per corpus gessit, non secundum ea quae, si diutius viveret, gesturus fuit, sive bonum sive malum .
8º Scimus etiam parvulos secundum ea quae per corpus gesserunt, recepturos vel bonum vel malum. Gesserunt autem non per seipsos, sed per eos quibus pro illis respondentibus et renuntiare diabolo dicuntur et credere in Deum; unde et in numero fidelium computantur, pertinentes ad sententiam Domini dicentis: Qui crediderit et baptizatus fuerit, salvus erit. Propter quod et illis qui hoc Sacramentum non accipiunt, contingit quod sequitur: Qui autem non crediderit, condemnabitur . Unde et ipsi, sicut dixi, si in illa parva aetate moriuntur, utique secundum ea quae per corpus gesserunt, id est tempore quo in corpore fuerunt, quando per corda et ora gestantium crediderunt vel non crediderunt, quando baptizati vel non baptizati sunt, quando carnem Christi manducaverunt vel non manducaverunt, quando et sanguinem biberunt vel non biberunt; secundum haec ergo quae per corpus gesserunt, non secundum ea quae, si diu hic viverent, gesturi fuerant, iudicantur .
9º Scimus felices esse mortuos qui in Domino moriuntur , nec ad eos pertinere quidquid acturi fuerant, si tempore diuturniore vixissent.
10º Scimus eos qui corde proprio credunt in Dominum, sua id facere voluntate ac libero arbitrio.
11º Scimus pro eis qui nolunt credere, nos qui iam credimus, recta fide agere, cum Deum oramus ut velint.
12º Scimus pro eis qui ex illis crediderunt, tamquam de beneficiis, recte atque veraciter et debere nos Deo agere gratias, et solere. Gratiam reddi meritis Pelagius ipse negavit.
1º Scimus nondum natos nihil egisse in vita propria boni seu mali , nec secundum merita prioris alicuius vitae, quam nullam propriam singuli habere potuerunt, in huius vitae venire miserias: sed tamen secundum Adam carnaliter natos contagium mortis antiquae prima nativitate contrahere, nec liberari a supplicio mortis aeternae, quod trahit ex uno in omnes transiens iusta damnatio, nisi per gratiam renascantur in Christo .
2º Scimus gratiam Dei nec parvulis nec maioribus secundum merita nostra dari.
3º Scimus maioribus ad singulos actus dari.
4º Scimus non omnibus hominibus dari, et quibus datur, non solum secundum merita operum non dari, sed nec secundum merita voluntatis eorum quibus datur: quod maxime apparet in parvulis.
5º Scimus eis quibus datur, misericordia Dei gratuita dari.
6º Scimus eis quibus non datur, iusto iudicio Dei non dari.
7º Scimus quod omnes astabimus ante tribunal Christi, ut ferat unusquisque secundum ea quae per corpus gessit, non secundum ea quae, si diutius viveret, gesturus fuit, sive bonum sive malum .
8º Scimus etiam parvulos secundum ea quae per corpus gesserunt, recepturos vel bonum vel malum. Gesserunt autem non per seipsos, sed per eos quibus pro illis respondentibus et renuntiare diabolo dicuntur et credere in Deum; unde et in numero fidelium computantur, pertinentes ad sententiam Domini dicentis: Qui crediderit et baptizatus fuerit, salvus erit. Propter quod et illis qui hoc Sacramentum non accipiunt, contingit quod sequitur: Qui autem non crediderit, condemnabitur . Unde et ipsi, sicut dixi, si in illa parva aetate moriuntur, utique secundum ea quae per corpus gesserunt, id est tempore quo in corpore fuerunt, quando per corda et ora gestantium crediderunt vel non crediderunt, quando baptizati vel non baptizati sunt, quando carnem Christi manducaverunt vel non manducaverunt, quando et sanguinem biberunt vel non biberunt; secundum haec ergo quae per corpus gesserunt, non secundum ea quae, si diu hic viverent, gesturi fuerant, iudicantur .
9º Scimus felices esse mortuos qui in Domino moriuntur , nec ad eos pertinere quidquid acturi fuerant, si tempore diuturniore vixissent.
10º Scimus eos qui corde proprio credunt in Dominum, sua id facere voluntate ac libero arbitrio.
11º Scimus pro eis qui nolunt credere, nos qui iam credimus, recta fide agere, cum Deum oramus ut velint.
12º Scimus pro eis qui ex illis crediderunt, tamquam de beneficiis, recte atque veraciter et debere nos Deo agere gratias, et solere. Gratiam reddi meritis Pelagius ipse negavit.
5. 16. Since, then, by the favor of Christ we are Catholic Christians:
1. We know that the unborn have done nothing good or evil in their own life (See Rom 9:11), nor come into the miseries of this life according to the merits of some prior life, which no one of them individually could have had as his own; but that, born carnally according to Adam, they contract the contagion of the ancient death at their first birth, and are not freed from the punishment of eternal death, which a just condemnation, passing from one into all, brings, except they are reborn in Christ (See Rom 5:12, 18).
2. We know that the grace of God is given neither to little children nor to adults according to our merits.
3. We know that it is given to adults for individual acts.
4. We know that it is not given to all men, and that to those to whom it is given, it is given not only not according to the merits of works, but not even according to the merits of the will of those to whom it is given: which appears most of all in little children.
5. We know that to those to whom it is given, it is given by the free mercy of God.
6. We know that to those to whom it is not given, it is not given by the just judgment of God.
7. We know that we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may bear according to the things he has done through the body, not according to the things he would have done if he had lived longer, whether good or evil (See 2 Cor 5:10).
8. We know that little children too will receive either good or evil according to the things they have done through the body. But they have done them not through themselves, but through those who, answering for them, are said both to renounce the devil and to believe in God; whence they are also counted in the number of the faithful, pertaining to the saying of the Lord: He who believes and is baptized will be saved. On account of which to those also who do not receive this Sacrament happens what follows: But he who does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:16). Hence they too, as I have said, if they die at that tender age, are surely judged according to the things they have done through the body, that is, during the time they were in the body, when through the hearts and mouths of those carrying them they believed or did not believe, when they were baptized or not baptized, when they ate or did not eat the flesh of Christ, when they drank or did not drink his blood; according to these things, then, which they have done through the body, not according to the things they would have done if they had lived here long, they are judged (See John 6:53).
9. We know that those are happy who die in the Lord (See Rev 14:13), and that nothing pertains to them of whatever they would have done had they lived a longer time.
10. We know that those who believe in the Lord with their own heart do this by their own will and free choice.
11. We know that for those who are unwilling to believe, we who already believe act with right faith, when we pray God that they may be willing.
12. We know that for those of them who have come to believe, we both ought, and are accustomed, rightly and truly to give thanks to God, as for benefits.
Ep211-270.5.161. We know that the unborn have done nothing good or evil in their own life (See Rom 9:11), nor come into the miseries of this life according to the merits of some prior life, which no one of them individually could have had as his own; but that, born carnally according to Adam, they contract the contagion of the ancient death at their first birth, and are not freed from the punishment of eternal death, which a just condemnation, passing from one into all, brings, except they are reborn in Christ (See Rom 5:12, 18).
2. We know that the grace of God is given neither to little children nor to adults according to our merits.
3. We know that it is given to adults for individual acts.
4. We know that it is not given to all men, and that to those to whom it is given, it is given not only not according to the merits of works, but not even according to the merits of the will of those to whom it is given: which appears most of all in little children.
5. We know that to those to whom it is given, it is given by the free mercy of God.
6. We know that to those to whom it is not given, it is not given by the just judgment of God.
7. We know that we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may bear according to the things he has done through the body, not according to the things he would have done if he had lived longer, whether good or evil (See 2 Cor 5:10).
8. We know that little children too will receive either good or evil according to the things they have done through the body. But they have done them not through themselves, but through those who, answering for them, are said both to renounce the devil and to believe in God; whence they are also counted in the number of the faithful, pertaining to the saying of the Lord: He who believes and is baptized will be saved. On account of which to those also who do not receive this Sacrament happens what follows: But he who does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:16). Hence they too, as I have said, if they die at that tender age, are surely judged according to the things they have done through the body, that is, during the time they were in the body, when through the hearts and mouths of those carrying them they believed or did not believe, when they were baptized or not baptized, when they ate or did not eat the flesh of Christ, when they drank or did not drink his blood; according to these things, then, which they have done through the body, not according to the things they would have done if they had lived here long, they are judged (See John 6:53).
9. We know that those are happy who die in the Lord (See Rev 14:13), and that nothing pertains to them of whatever they would have done had they lived a longer time.
10. We know that those who believe in the Lord with their own heart do this by their own will and free choice.
11. We know that for those who are unwilling to believe, we who already believe act with right faith, when we pray God that they may be willing.
12. We know that for those of them who have come to believe, we both ought, and are accustomed, rightly and truly to give thanks to God, as for benefits.
5. 17. Recognoscis me, ut puto, in iis quae nos scire dixi, non omnia quae ad fidem catholicam pertinent commemorare voluisse, sed ea tantum quae ad istam, quae inter nos agitur, de Dei gratia quaestionem, utrum praecedat haec gratia, an subsequatur hominis voluntatem; hoc est, ut planius id eloquar, utrum ideo nobis detur, quia volumus, an per ipsam Deus etiam hoc efficiat ut velimus. Si ergo istas duodecim sententias, quas nos dixi scire ad fidem rectam et catholicam pertinere, etiam tu, frater, nobiscum tenes, ago Deo gratias; quas profecto non veraciter agerem, nisi gratia Dei fieret ut teneres. Quae tibi tenenti nullum omnino remanet nobiscum de hac quaestione certamen. Patet in parvulis gratiam gratuitam esse.
5. 17. You recognize me, I think, in those things I have said that we know, as not having wished to mention everything that pertains to the Catholic faith, but only those things that pertain to this question, which is being treated between us, about the grace of God: whether this grace precedes or follows the will of man; that is, to say it more plainly, whether it is given to us because we will, or whether through it God brings it about even that we will. If, then, these twelve propositions, which I have said we know to pertain to right and Catholic faith, you too, brother, hold with us, I give thanks to God; which I would assuredly not give truly, unless it came about by the grace of God that you held them. And if you hold them, no contest at all remains between us about this question.
Ep211-270.5.176. 18. Ut enim eadem duodecim brevi expositione percurram: quomodo voluntatis humanae meritum sequitur gratia; cum detur et parvulis, qui hoc nondum possunt velle seu nolle? Quomodo gratiam vel in maioribus dicuntur praecedere merita voluntatis; si gratia, ut vera sit gratia, non secundum merita nostra datur? Quam sententiam catholicam Pelagius ipse sic timuit, ut eos qui dicunt gratiam Dei secundum merita nostra dari, sine dubitatione damnaret, ne a catholicis iudicibus damnaretur. Quomodo dicitur gratia Dei in natura esse liberi arbitrii vel in lege atque doctrina; cum et istam sententiam Pelagius ipse damnaverit, procul dubio confitens gratiam Dei ad singulos actus dari, eis utique qui iam libero arbitrio utuntur? Qui salvi fiant sola gratia fieri.
6. 18. For, to run through those same twelve in a brief exposition: how does grace follow the merit of the human will, when it is given even to little children, who cannot yet will or not will this? How are the merits of the will said to precede grace even in adults, if grace, that it may be true grace, is not given according to our merits? Which Catholic proposition Pelagius himself so feared that he condemned without hesitation those who say that the grace of God is given according to our merits, lest he be condemned by Catholic judges. How is the grace of God said to be in the nature of free choice or in the law and teaching, when Pelagius himself condemned this opinion too, without doubt confessing that the grace of God is given for individual acts, surely to those who already use free choice?
Ep211-270.6.186. 19. Quomodo dicitur omnes homines eam fuisse accepturos, si non illi quibus non donatur, eam sua voluntate respuerent, quoniam Deus vult omnes homines salvos fieri ; cum multis non detur parvulis, et sine illa plerique moriantur, qui non habent contrariam voluntatem, et aliquando cupientibus festinantibusque parentibus, ministris quoque volentibus ac paratis, Deo nolente non detur, cum repente, antequam detur, exspirat, pro quo, ut acciperet, currebatur? Unde manifestum est eos qui huic resistunt tam perspicuae veritati, non intellegere omnino qua locutione sit dictum quod omnes homines vult Deus salvos fieri; cum tam multi salvi non fiant, non quia ipsi, sed quia Deus non vult, quod sine ulla caligine manifestatur in parvulis. Sed sicut illud quod dictum est: Omnes in Christo vivificabuntur , cum tam multi aeterna morte puniantur, ideo dictum est, quia omnes quicumque vitam aeternam percipiunt, non percipiunt nisi in Christo: ita quod dictum est, omnes homines vult Deus salvos fieri, cum tam multos nolit salvos fieri, ideo dictum est, quia omnes qui salvi fiunt, nisi ipso volente non fiunt; et si quo alio modo illa verba apostolica intellegi possunt, ut tamen huic apertissimae veritati, in qua videmus tam multos, volentibus hominibus, sed Deo nolente, salvos non fieri, contraria esse non possint. Gratiam gratuita misericordia tribui.
6. 19. How is it said that all men would have received it, if those to whom it is not given did not refuse it by their own will, since God wills all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:4); when it is not given to many little children, and most die without it who have no contrary will, and sometimes, though parents desire and hasten, and ministers too are willing and ready, it is not given because God is unwilling, when suddenly, before it is given, the child expires for whom it was being run to receive? Hence it is manifest that those who resist so clear a truth do not understand at all by what manner of speaking it was said that God wills all men to be saved; when so many are not saved, not because they themselves, but because God is unwilling, which is manifested without any obscurity in little children. But just as what was said—All will be made alive in Christ (1 Cor 15:22)—when so many are punished with eternal death, was said for this reason, that all whoever receive eternal life do not receive it except in Christ: so what was said—God wills all men to be saved—when he is unwilling that so many be saved, was said for this reason, that all who are saved are not saved except by his willing; and if in some other way those apostolic words can be understood, yet so that they cannot be contrary to this most clear truth, in which we see that so many are not saved, men being willing but God unwilling.
Ep211-270.6.196. 20. Quomodo ut detur gratia divina, voluntas meretur humana; si eis quibus datur, gratuita misericordia datur, ut vera sit gratia? Quomodo in hac re merita pensantur voluntatis humanae; quandoquidem illis quibus gratia ista non datur, nullo plerumque merito, nulla voluntate distantibus, sed unam cum eis quibus datur, habentibus causam, iusto tamen iudicio Dei non datur (non enim est iniquitas apud Deum ); ut intellegant quibus datur, quam gratis eis detur, quando iuste utique non daretur, quoniam similem habentibus causam iuste non datur? Gratiae donum si quis vult et in finem perseverat.
6. 20. How does the human will merit that divine grace be given, if to those to whom it is given it is given by free mercy, that it may be true grace? How in this matter are the merits of the human will weighed, since to those to whom this grace is not given—differing for the most part by no merit, by no will, but having one and the same cause with those to whom it is given—it is nevertheless not given by the just judgment of God (for there is no iniquity with God (See Rom 9:14)); so that those to whom it is given may understand how freely it is given them, when it would surely not be given justly, since to those having a like cause it is justly not given?
Ep211-270.6.206. 21. Quomodo non gratiae Dei est, non solum credendi voluntas ab initio, verum etiam perseverandi usque in finem ; cum finis ipse vitae huius non in hominis, sed in Dei sit potestate, et possit utique Deus etiam hoc beneficium non perseveraturo conferre, ut rapiatur ex corpore, ne malitia mutet intellectum illius ? Non enim recipiet homo seu bonum seu malum , nisi secundum ea quae per corpus gessit, non secundum ea quae, si diutius viveret, gesturus fuit. Gratiam et iudicium non pendere a futuribilibus.
6. 21. How is it not of the grace of God—not only the will to believe from the beginning, but also to persevere to the end (See Matt 10:22)—when the very end of this life is not in the power of man but of God, and God can surely confer even this benefit on one who will not persevere, that he be snatched from the body lest malice change his understanding (See Wis 4:11)? For a man will not receive either good or evil (See 2 Cor 5:10) except according to the things he has done through the body, not according to the things he would have done if he had lived longer.
Ep211-270.6.216. 22. Quomodo dicitur propterea quibusdam non dari, quibusdam morituris parvulis Dei gratia dari, quia eorum futuras praevidet voluntates, quas habituri essent si viverent; cum secundum ea quae per corpus gessit, non secundum ea quae gesturus esset, si diutius fuisset in corpore, unusquisque recipiat sive bonum sive malum, sicut Apostolus definit ? Quomodo secundum voluntates suas futuras homines iudicantur, quas habituri fuisse dicuntur, si diutius tenerentur in carne; cum dicat Scriptura: Felices mortui qui in Domino moriuntur ? quorum sine dubio certa et secura felicitas non est, si et ea quae non egerunt, sed acturi fuerant, si esset eis haec vita prolixior, iudicabit Deus: nullumque accipit beneficium, qui rapitur ne malitia mutet intellectum eius ; quia et pro illa malitia, cui forsitan imminenti subtractus est, poenas luit: nec gaudendum est de iis quos in fide recta et vita bona novimus esse defunctos, ne secundum aliqua scelera iudicentur, quae fuerant, si viverent, fortasse facturi: nec dolendi vel detestandi sunt ii qui vitam istam in infidelitate ac perditis moribus finierunt, quia forte, si viverent, acturi fuerant poenitentiam, pieque victuri, et secundum ista sunt iudicandi: totusque ille De Mortalitate liber gloriosissimi martyris Cypriani reprobandus et abiciendus est , in quo tota eius intentio est, ut sciamus bonis fidelibus gratulandum esse morientibus, quando huius vitae tentationibus auferuntur, deinceps in beatissima securitate mansuri. Sed quoniam hoc falsum non est, et sine dubitatione felices sunt mortui qui in Domino moriuntur ; ridendus est et exsecrandus error quo putatur quod homines secundum suas futuras, quae morientium non sunt futurae, iudicandi sunt voluntates. Quisquis nonnisi sua voluntate credit in Deum.
6. 22. How is it said that for this reason the grace of God is not given to some little children about to die and is given to others, because he foresees their future wills, which they would have if they lived; when each one receives either good or evil according to the things he has done through the body, not according to the things he would do if he had been longer in the body, as the Apostle determines (See 2 Cor 5:10)? How are men judged according to their future wills, which they are said to have been about to have if they were kept longer in the flesh, when Scripture says, Happy are the dead who die in the Lord (Rev 14:13)? Whose sure and secure happiness is no happiness at all, if God will judge even the things they did not do but were about to do, had this life been more prolonged for them; and he who is snatched away lest malice change his understanding (See Wis 4:11) receives no benefit, because he pays the penalties even for that malice from which perhaps, as it threatened, he was withdrawn: nor should we rejoice over those whom we have known to have died in right faith and a good life, lest they be judged according to certain crimes which they would perhaps have committed had they lived: nor are those to be grieved over or detested who ended this life in unbelief and lost morals, because perhaps, had they lived, they were about to do penance and live devoutly, and are to be judged according to these things: and that whole book On Mortality of the most glorious martyr Cyprian is to be rejected and cast aside (Cyprian, On Mortality), in which his whole aim is that we should know that good faithful are to be congratulated when they die, since they are taken away from the temptations of this life, henceforth to abide in most blessed security. But since this is not false, and without doubt happy are the dead who die in the Lord, that error is to be laughed at and execrated by which it is thought that men are to be judged according to their future wills, which are not the future wills of those who die.
Ep211-270.6.226. 23. Quomodo dicuntur negare liberum voluntatis arbitrium, qui confitentur omnem hominem, quisquis suo corde credit in Deum, nonnisi sua libera credere voluntate; cum potius illi oppugnent arbitrium liberum, qui oppugnant Dei gratiam, qua vere ad bona eligenda et agenda fit liberum? Quomodo dicitur quod per legem Dei atque doctrinam Scripturarum fiat, quod eadem Scriptura dixit: Praeparatur voluntas a Domino ; ac non potius per occultam inspirationem gratiae Dei: quandoquidem pro eis qui eidem doctrinae contradicentes nolunt ei credere, ipsum Deum fide recta rogamus ut velint? Qui credit, Deo gratias agere debet.
6. 23. How are those said to deny the free choice of the will who confess that every man, whoever believes in God with his own heart, believes only by his own free will; when rather those attack free choice who attack the grace of God, by which it truly becomes free for choosing and doing good things? How is it said that it comes about through the law of God and the teaching of the Scriptures, when that same Scripture said, The will is prepared by the Lord (Prov 8:35 LXX); and not rather through the hidden inspiration of the grace of God—since for those who, contradicting that same teaching, are unwilling to believe it, we ask God himself with right faith that they may be willing?
Ep211-270.6.236. 24. Quomodo Deus exspectat voluntates hominum, ut praeveniant eum quibus det gratiam; cum gratias ei non immerito agamus de iis quibus non ei credentibus, et eius doctrinam voluntate impia persequentibus, misericordiam praerogavit, eosque ad seipsum omnipotentissima facilitate convertit, ac volentes ex nolentibus fecit? Utquid ei inde gratias agimus, si hoc ipse non fecit? Utquid tanto magis eum magnificamus, quanto magis nolebant credere, quos credidisse gaudemus, si gratia divina voluntas in melius non mutatur humana? Apostolus Paulus: Eram, inquit, ignotus facie Ecclesiis Iudaeae, quae sunt in Christo; tantum autem audiebant quia qui aliquando nos persequebatur, nunc evangelizat fidem quam aliquando vastabat; et in me magnificabant Deum . Utquid magnificabant Deum, si non Deus ad seipsum cor illius viri suae gratiae bonitate converterat, quando, ut ipse confitetur, misericordiam consecutus est, ut fidelis esset , ea fide quam aliquando vastabat? Ipsum etiam verbum quod posuit, quem nisi Deum hoc tam magnum bonum fecisse declarat? Quid est enim, in me magnificabant Deum, nisi: "in me Deum magnificum praedicabant"? Quomodo autem eum magnificum praedicabant, si magnum illud factum de Pauli conversione ipse non fecerat? et quo pacto ipse fecerat, si volentem credere ex nolente ipse non fecerat? Voluntatem gratia praeveniri.
6. 24. How does God wait for the wills of men, so that they may anticipate him, to whom he may give grace; when we not undeservedly give him thanks for those to whom, not believing in him and persecuting his teaching with an impious will, he extended mercy in advance, and converted them to himself with most almighty ease, and made them willing out of unwilling? Why do we give him thanks for this, if he himself did not do it? Why do we magnify him the more, the more they were unwilling to believe, whom we rejoice to have believed, if the human will is not changed for the better by divine grace? The apostle Paul says: I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea, which are in Christ; only they were hearing that he who once persecuted us now preaches the faith he once ravaged; and they glorified God in me (Gal 1:22-24). Why did they glorify God, if God had not converted to himself the heart of that man by the goodness of his grace, when, as he himself confesses, he obtained mercy that he might be faithful (See 1 Cor 7:25), with that faith he once ravaged? Even the very word he used—whom but God does it declare to have done this so great good? For what is they glorified God in me, but "in me they preached God as glorious"? But how did they preach him as glorious, if he himself had not done that great deed concerning Paul's conversion? And in what way had he himself done it, if he had not himself made him willing to believe out of unwilling?
Ep211-270.6.246. 25. Nempe manifestum est ex illis duodecim sententiis, quas pertinere ad catholicam fidem negare non sineris, non solum omnibus, verum etiam singulis id confici, ut confiteamur gratia Dei praeveniri hominum voluntates, et per hanc eas potius praeparari, quam propter earum meritum dari. Aut si aliquid earum duodecim esse verum negas, quarum propterea commendo etiam numerum, ut facilius memoriae mandentur, distinctiusque teneantur; non te pigeat rescribere ut sciam, et ea quam mihi Dominus dederit, facultate respondeam. Ego enim haereticum quidem pelagianum te esse non credo; sed ita te esse volo, ut nihil illius ad te transeat, vel in te relinquatur erroris. Quam harum sententiarum Valentinus improbat?
6. 25. Surely it is manifest from those twelve propositions, which you will not be permitted to deny pertain to the Catholic faith, that it is established not only for all but also for each individual, that we confess the wills of men to be anticipated by the grace of God, and through it to be rather prepared than given on account of their merit. Or if you deny that any of those twelve is true—the number of which I commend for this reason, that they may be more easily committed to memory and more distinctly held—do not be reluctant to write back, that I may know, and may answer with whatever faculty the Lord has given me. For I do not indeed believe you to be a Pelagian heretic; but I want you to be such that nothing of that error passes over to you, or is left in you.
Ep211-270.6.257. 26. Sed inter haec duodecim reperies fortasse aliquid, quod negandum vel dubitandum putes, et unde nos operosius disputare compellas. Numquid et orare prohibebis Ecclesiam pro infidelibus, ut sint fideles; pro iis qui nolunt credere, ut velint credere; pro iis qui ab eius lege doctrinaque dissentiunt, ut legi eius doctrinaeque consentiant, ut det illis Deus quod per prophetam promisit, cor cognoscendi eum, et aures audiendi , quas utique acceperant, de quibus Salvator ipse dicebat: Qui habet aures audiendi, audiat ? Numquid ubi audieris sacerdotem Dei ad eius altare populum hortantem ad Deum orandum, vel ipsum clara voce orantem, ut incredulas gentes ad fidem suam venire compellat, non respondebis: "Amen?" An etiam huius fidei sanitati contraria disputabis? Numquid beatissimum Cyprianum in hoc errasse clamabis vel susurrabis, ubi pro inimicis fidei christianae, ut etiam ipsi ad eam convertantur, orare nos docet ? Deum facere quod rogari se praecipit.
7. 26. But among these twelve you will perhaps find something that you think must be denied or doubted, and on which you compel us to argue more laboriously. Will you also forbid the Church to pray for unbelievers, that they may be faithful; for those who are unwilling to believe, that they may be willing to believe; for those who dissent from his law and teaching, that they may assent to his law and teaching, that God may give them what he promised through the prophet, a heart to know him, and ears to hear (See Deut 29:4; Bar 2:31), which they had surely received, of which the Savior himself said: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Matt 11:15)? When you hear a priest of God at his altar exhorting the people to pray to God, or himself praying with a clear voice, that he may compel unbelieving nations to come to his faith, will you not answer "Amen"? Or will you even argue things contrary to the soundness of this faith? Will you cry out or whisper that the most blessed Cyprian erred in this, where he teaches us to pray for the enemies of the Christian faith, that they too may be converted to it (Cyprian, On the Lord's Prayer)?
Ep211-270.7.267. 27. Numquid postremo apostolum Paulum pro Iudaeis infidelibus habentem talia vota culpabis? de quibus ait: Bona voluntas quidem cordis mei, et deprecatio ad Deum fit pro illis in salutem . Qui etiam Thessalonicensibus dicit: De caetero, fratres, orate pro nobis, ut verbum Domini currat et glorificetur, sicut etiam apud vos; et ut eruamur ab iniquis et malis hominibus: non enim omnium est fides . Quomodo curreret et glorificaretur verbum Dei, nisi ad fidem conversis eis quibus praedicaretur; quandoquidem iam credentibus dicit: Quemadmodum et apud vos? Scit certe hoc ab illo fieri, quem vult rogari ut hoc faciat, ut etiam eruatur ab iniquis et malis hominibus; qui profecto et illis orantibus non erant credituri. Propter quod addidit: Non enim est omnium fides; tamquam diceret, "Non enim apud omnes etiam vobis orantibus glorificabitur verbum Dei": quia ipsi utique fuerant credituri qui ordinati erant in vitam aeternam , praedestinati in adoptionem filiorum per Iesum Christum in ipsum, et electi in ipso ante mundi constitutionem ; sed ideo Deus per orationes credentium nondum credentes credere facit, ut ostendat quia ipse facit. Nemo est enim tam imperitus, tam carnalis, tam tardus ingenio, qui non videat Deum facere quod rogari se praecipit ut faciat. A Deo esse initium fidei.
7. 27. Will you, finally, blame the apostle Paul, who had such vows for unbelieving Jews? Of whom he says: The good will indeed of my heart, and my prayer to God, is made for them unto salvation (See Rom 10:1). He also says to the Thessalonians: For the rest, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run and be glorified, as also among you; and that we may be rescued from wicked and evil men: for not all have faith (2 Thess 3:1-2). How would the word of God run and be glorified, unless those to whom it was preached were converted to the faith—since to those already believing he says, as also among you? He surely knows that this is done by him whom he wishes to be asked to do it, that he may also be rescued from wicked and evil men, who, even with these praying, were not going to believe. On account of which he added: For not all have faith; as if he said, "For not among all, even with you praying, will the word of God be glorified": because surely those were going to believe who were ordained to eternal life (Acts 13:48), predestined unto the adoption of sons through Jesus Christ in himself, and chosen in him before the foundation of the world (See Eph 1:4-5); but for this reason God, through the prayers of believers, makes those not yet believing to believe, that he may show that he himself does it. For no one is so unlearned, so carnal, so slow of wit, as not to see that God does what he commands himself to be asked to do.
Ep211-270.7.277. 28. Haec et alia testimonia divina, quae commemorare longum est, ostendunt Deum gratia sua auferre infidelibus cor lapideum , et praevenire in hominibus bonarum merita voluntatum; ita ut voluntas per antecedentem gratiam praeparetur, non ut gratia merito voluntatis antecedente donetur. Hoc et gratiarum actio indicat quod oratio; oratio pro infidelibus, gratiarum actio pro fidelibus. Qui enim est orandus ut faciat, illi est actio gratiarum reddenda cum fecerit: unde idem dicit apostolus ad Ephesios: Propter hoc et ego, audita fide vestra in Domino Iesu, et dilectione in omnes sanctos, non cesso gratias agere pro vobis . Fides donum est Dei.
7. 28. These and other divine testimonies, which it would be long to recount, show that God by his grace takes away the heart of stone from unbelievers (See Ezek 11:19), and anticipates in men the merits of good wills; so that the will is prepared by a preceding grace, not that grace is given by a preceding merit of the will. This thanksgiving too indicates, as does prayer; prayer for unbelievers, thanksgiving for believers. For he who is to be prayed to that he may do it is to be given thanks when he has done it: whence the same Apostle says to the Ephesians: For this reason I too, having heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love toward all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you (Eph 1:15-16).
Ep211-270.7.287. 29. Loquimur autem nunc de ipsis initiis, cum homines qui erant aversi et adversi, convertuntur ad Deum, et velle incipiunt quod nolebant, et habere fidem quam non habebant; quod ut fiat in eis, oratur pro eis, quamvis non oretur ab eis: ipsi enim quomodo invocabunt, in quem non crediderunt ? Cum vero factum fuerit quod oratur, ei qui fecit aguntur gratiae, et pro eis et ab eis. Deo rationibus autem iam fidelium, quas et pro se et pro aliis fidelibus faciunt, ut proficiant in eo quod esse coeperunt, et de gratiarum actionibus, quia proficiunt, confligendum esse tecum non puto; contra Pelagianos est iste conflictus tibi nobisque communis. Illi quippe omnia ad fidelem piamque vitam hominum pertinentia ita tribuunt libero voluntatis arbitrio, ut habenda ex nobis, non a Domino putent esse poscenda: tu autem, si ea quae de te audio vera sunt, initium fidei, ubi est etiam initium bonae, hoc est piae voluntatis, non vis donum esse Dei, sed ex nobis nos habere contendis ut credere incipiamus; caetera autem religiosae vitae bona Deum per gratiam suam iam ex fide petentibus, quaerentibus, pulsantibus, donare consentis. Nec attendis ideo pro infidelibus Deum rogari ut credant, quoniam Deus donat et fidem; ideo pro eis et qui crediderint, Deo gratias agi, quoniam donavit et fidem . Cur Deus rogandus eique gratiae agendae.
7. 29. But we are now speaking of the very beginnings, when men who were turned away and opposed are converted to God, and begin to will what they did not will, and to have the faith they did not have; and that this may come about in them, prayer is made for them, although it is not made by them: for they themselves, how shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed (Rom 10:14)? But when what is prayed for has been done, thanks are given to him who did it, both for them and by them. But about the prayers of those now faithful, which they make both for themselves and for other faithful, that they may make progress in what they have begun to be, and about the thanksgivings, because they make progress, I do not think I must contend with you; that contest, against the Pelagians, is common to you and to us. For they attribute everything pertaining to the faithful and devout life of men so much to the free choice of the will that they think these things are to be had from ourselves, not to be asked of the Lord: but you, if what I hear about you is true, are unwilling that the beginning of faith—where there is also the beginning of a good, that is, a devout will—be a gift of God, but contend that we have from ourselves that we begin to believe; while you agree that God, through his grace, gives the other goods of a religious life to those who now ask, seek, and knock from faith. Nor do you attend to the fact that for this reason God is asked for unbelievers that they may believe, since God gives faith too; and for this reason thanks are given to God for those who have believed, since he gave faith too (See Phil 1:29).
Ep211-270.7.297. 30. Quamobrem ut hunc ad te sermonem aliquando concludam: si negas orandum esse ut qui nolunt credere, velint credere, si negas agendas esse Deo gratias, quoniam credere voluerunt qui nolebant credere; aliter tecum agendum est, ut non sic erres, aut, si errare persistis, ne mittas alios in errorem. Si autem, quod de te magis credo, sentis atque consentis orare nos Deum debere ac solere pro nolentibus credere, ut velint credere, et pro eis qui adversantur et contradicunt legi eius atque doctrinae, ut ei credant eamque sectentur; si sentis atque consentis debere nos etiam Deo agere gratias ac solere pro talibus, cum ad fidem eius doctrinamque conversi, volentes ex nolentibus fiunt, oportet sine dubitatione fatearis voluntates hominum Dei gratia praeveniri, et ut bonum velint homines quod nolebant, Deum facere, qui rogatur ut faciat, et cui nos novimus agere gratias dignum et iustum esse cum fecerit. Dominus tibi det intellectum in omnibus, domine frater.
7. 30. Wherefore, that I may at last conclude this discourse to you: if you deny that we must pray that those who are unwilling to believe may be willing to believe, if you deny that thanks must be given to God because those who were unwilling to believe willed to believe, you must be dealt with otherwise, so that you may not so err, or, if you persist in erring, may not send others into error. But if—what I rather believe of you—you think and agree that we ought and are accustomed to pray to God for those unwilling to believe, that they may be willing to believe, and for those who oppose and contradict his law and teaching, that they may believe it and follow it; if you think and agree that we ought also and are accustomed to give thanks to God for such people, when, converted to his faith and teaching, they become willing out of unwilling, you must without doubt confess that the wills of men are anticipated by the grace of God, and that God, who is asked to do it, brings it about that men will the good they did not will, and that we know it is fitting and just to give him thanks when he has done it. May the Lord give you understanding in all things, lord brother.
Ep211-270.7.30EPISTOLA 218
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET DESIDERATISSIMO FILIO PALATINO, AUGUSTINUS.
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET DESIDERATISSIMO FILIO PALATINO, AUGUSTINUS.
LETTER 218
TO THE MOST BELOVED AND MOST LONGED-FOR SON PALATINUS, AUGUSTINE.
Ep211-270.7.30TO THE MOST BELOVED AND MOST LONGED-FOR SON PALATINUS, AUGUSTINE.
1. Conversatio tua fortior atque fructuosior ad Dominum Deum nostrum, magnum nobis attulit gaudium. Elegisti enim a iuventute doctrinam, ut invenias usque ad canos sapientiam . Cani sunt ergo sensus hominis, et senectutis aetas vita immaculata . Quam donet tibi Dominus petenti, quaerenti atque pulsanti, qui novit bona data dare filiis suis . Quamvis enim abundent tibi exhortatores et exhortationes ad viam salutis et gloriae sempiternae, maxime ipsa gratia Christi, quae tibi tam salubriter in corde tuo locuta est; tamen etiam nos pro dilectionis officio, quam tibi debemus, afferimus aliquid exhortationis in hac resalutatione nostra, qua te non pigrum vel dormientem excitemus, sed provocemus incitemusque currentem . Non suae virtuti sed Deo fidendum.
1. Your manner of life, stronger and more fruitful toward the Lord our God, has brought us great joy. For you have chosen learning from your youth, that you may find wisdom even to gray hairs (See Sir 6:18). Gray hairs, then, are the understanding of a man, and the age of old age is an immaculate life (See Wis 4:8-9). May the Lord grant it to you, who ask, seek, and knock (See Matt 7:7-8), who knows how to give good gifts to his sons (See Matt 7:11). For although you abound in exhorters and exhortations to the way of salvation and everlasting glory—above all the grace of Christ itself, which has spoken to you so wholesomely in your heart—nevertheless we too, for the duty of love which we owe you, bring some exhortation in this return greeting of ours, by which we may rouse you not as one slothful or sleeping, but provoke and incite you as one running (See Phil 3:13-14).
Ep211-270.12. Sapere te oportet, fili, ut perseveres, quia sapuisti ut eligeres. Sit hoc ipsum sapientiae tuae, scire cuius donum hoc est. Revela ad Dominum viam tuam, et spera in eum: et ipse faciet, et deducet velut lumen iustitiam tuam, et iudicium tuum velut meridiem . Ipse faciet rectos cursus tuos, et itinera tua in pace producet . Sicut sprevisti quod sperabas in saeculo, ne in abundantia divitiarum gloriareris, quas more filiorum saeculi huius concupiscere coeperas; ita nunc ad tollendum iugum Domini et sarcinam eius, in virtute tua non confidas; et illud lene erit, et haec levis . Pariter quippe improbantur in Psalmo et qui confidunt in virtute sua, et qui in abundantia divitiarum suarum gloriantur . Ergo divitiarum gloriam non iam habebas, sed quam habere cupiebas, prudentissime contempsisti. Cave ne tibi subrepat in tua virtute confidere; homo es enim, et maledictus omnis qui spem suam ponit in homine . Sed plane in Deo tuo toto corde confide, et ipse erit virtus tua, in qua pius gratusque confidas, cui dicas humiliter et fideliter: Diligam te, Domine, virtus mea : quia et ipsa caritas Dei, quae perfecta foras mittit timorem , non per vires nostras, id est humanas, diffunditur in cordibus nostris, sed sicut dicit Apostolus, per Spiritum sanctum qui datus est nobis . Ad peccatum vitandum non sufficere voluntatem.
2. You ought to be wise, son, that you may persevere, because you have been wise to choose. Let this very thing belong to your wisdom: to know whose gift this is. Reveal your way to the Lord, and hope in him; and he will act, and will bring forth your righteousness like light, and your judgment like noonday (See Ps 37:5-6 (36:5-6)). He will make your courses straight, and will bring forth your journeys in peace (See Prov 4:27 LXX). As you scorned what you were hoping for in the world, lest you should glory in the abundance of riches, which after the manner of the sons of this world you had begun to covet, so now, to take up the yoke of the Lord and his burden, do not trust in your own strength; and that will be gentle, and this light (See Matt 11:30). For in the Psalm both those who trust in their own strength, and those who glory in the abundance of their riches, are alike reproved (See Ps 49:6 (48:7)). Therefore you did not yet have the glory of riches, but you most prudently despised the glory you were desiring to have. Beware lest it creep upon you to trust in your own strength; for you are a man, and cursed is everyone who places his hope in man (Jer 17:5). But plainly trust in your God with all your heart, and he will be your strength, in which devoutly and gratefully you may trust, to whom you may humbly and faithfully say, I will love you, O Lord, my strength (Ps 18:1 (17:2)): for the love of God itself, which when perfect casts out fear (1 John 4:18), is poured out in our hearts not through our own, that is, human powers, but, as the Apostle says, through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Rom 5:5).
Ep211-270.23. Vigila ergo et ora, ne intres in tentationem . Ipsa quippe oratio admonet te quod indigeas adiutorio Domini tui, ne spem bene vivendi in te ponas. Oras enim non iam ut accipias divitias et honores praesentis saeculi, aut aliquid vanitatis humanae, sed ne intres in tentationem: quod utique si homo sibi praestare posset volendo, non posceretur orando. Quapropter, ut non intremus in tentationem, si voluntas sufficeret, non oraremus; quae tamen si deesset, nec orare possemus. Adsit ergo ut velimus, oremus autem ut valeamus quod voluerimus, cum ipso donante recte sapuerimus. Quod bonum quoniam iam coepisti, est unde gratias agas. Quid enim habes quod non accepisti? Si autem accepisti, cave ne glorieris quasi non acceperis , hoc est, quasi ex te ipso habere potueris. Sciens autem unde acceperis, ab illo pete ut perficiatur, a quo datum est ut inciperetur. Cum timore itaque et tremore tuam salutem operare. Deus est enim qui operatur in te et velle, et perficere, pro bona voluntate : quoniam praeparatur voluntas a Domino , atque ab ipso gressus hominis diriguntur, et viam eius volet . Haec cogitatio sancta servabit te, ut sapientia tua pietas sit ; id est, ut ex Deo sis bonus, et Christi gratiae non ingratus. Animorum communio perfecta in Dei Spiritu.
3. Watch, therefore, and pray, that you may not enter into temptation (See Matt 26:41). For that very prayer admonishes you that you have need of the help of your Lord, lest you place your hope of living well in yourself. For you pray now not to receive riches and honors of the present world, or any human vanity, but not to enter into temptation: which surely, if a man could grant it to himself by willing, would not be asked for in prayer. Wherefore, that we may not enter into temptation, if the will were enough, we would not pray; yet if the will were lacking, neither could we pray. Let it be present, then, that we may will; but let us pray that we may be able to do what we have willed, when by his gift we have been rightly wise. And since you have already begun this good, here is something for which to give thanks. For what have you that you have not received? But if you have received it, beware lest you glory as if you had not received it (See 1 Cor 4:7), that is, as if you could have had it from yourself. But knowing from whom you have received it, ask of him that it may be perfected, by whom it was given that it might be begun. With fear, therefore, and trembling work out your salvation. For it is God who works in you both to will and to accomplish, for the good will (Phil 2:12-13): since the will is prepared by the Lord (Prov 8:35 LXX), and by him the steps of a man are directed, and he will desire his way (See Ps 37:23 (36:23)). This holy thought will keep you, so that your wisdom may be devotion (See Job 28:28 LXX); that is, that you may be good from God, and not ungrateful to the grace of Christ.
Ep211-270.34. Desiderant te parentes tui, fideliter congratulantes meliori spei tuae quam in Domino habere coepisti . Nos autem te sive absentem corpore sive praesentem, in uno spiritu habere cupimus, per quem diffunditur caritas in cordibus nostris , ut quolibet loco fuerit caro nostra, nullo modo separata possit esse anima nostra. Gratissime accepimus cilicia quae misisti, ubi nos de frequentanda et servanda humilitate orationum prior ipse monuisti.
4. Your parents long for you, faithfully congratulating you on the better hope you have begun to have in the Lord (See Col 1:5). But we desire to have you, whether absent in body or present, in one spirit, through which love is poured out in our hearts (See Rom 5:5), so that wherever our flesh may be, our soul can in no way be separated. We received most gratefully the haircloth garments you sent, by which you yourself first admonished us about the frequenting and keeping of the humility of prayers.
Ep211-270.4EPISTOLA 219
DILECTISSIMIS ET HONORABILIBUS FRATRIBUS ET CONSACERDOTIBUS PROCULO ET CYLINNIO, AURELIUS, AUGUSTINUS, FLORENTIUS, ET SECUNDINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DILECTISSIMIS ET HONORABILIBUS FRATRIBUS ET CONSACERDOTIBUS PROCULO ET CYLINNIO, AURELIUS, AUGUSTINUS, FLORENTIUS, ET SECUNDINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 219
TO THE MOST BELOVED AND HONORABLE BROTHERS AND FELLOW PRIESTS PROCULUS AND CYLINNIUS, AURELIUS, AUGUSTINE, FLORENTIUS, AND SECUNDINUS SEND GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.4TO THE MOST BELOVED AND HONORABLE BROTHERS AND FELLOW PRIESTS PROCULUS AND CYLINNIUS, AURELIUS, AUGUSTINE, FLORENTIUS, AND SECUNDINUS SEND GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Filium nostrum Leporium apud vestram Sanctitatem pro sui erroris praesumptione merito idoneeque correptum, cum ad nos, posteaquam inde exturbatus est, venisset, salubriter perturbatum, corrigendum sanandumque suscepimus. Nam sicut vos obedistis Apostolo ut corriperetis inquietos; ita et nos ut consolaremur pusillanimes ac susciperemus infirmos . Cum enim praeoccupatus esset sicut homo in aliquo delicto , eodemque non parvo, ut de unigenito Filio Dei, quod erat in principio Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum , cum autem venit plenitudo temporis Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis , non recta quaedam saperet, nec vera sentiret; negans Deum hominem factum, ne videlicet substantiae divinae, qua aequalis est Patri , indigna mutatio vel corruptio sequeretur ; nec videns quartam se subintroducere in Trinitate personam, quod a sanitate symboli catholicaeque veritatis prorsus alienum est; cum, sicuti potuimus, adiuvante Domino instruximus in spiritu lenitatis : praesertim quia cum hoc admoneret: Vas electionis ; adiecit: Intendens teipsum, ne et tu tenteris , ne ita se quidam ad provectum spiritalem pervenisse gauderent, ut se iam non posse tentari tamquam homines putarent; addiditque salubrem pacificamque sententiam, ut alter alterius onera portemus, quoniam sic adimplebimus legem Christi: Qui enim putat se esse aliquid, cum sit nihil, seipsum seducit , dilectissimi et honorabiles fratres. Necessaria tumentis correptio lacta dolentis sanatio.
1. Our son Leporius, deservedly and fittingly rebuked before Your Holiness for the presumption of his error, when he had come to us after being driven out from there, we received—wholesomely disturbed—to be corrected and healed. For just as you obeyed the Apostle in rebuking the restless, so we too in consoling the fainthearted and receiving the weak (See 1 Thess 5:14). For since he had been overtaken, as a man in some fault (See Gal 6:1), and that no small one, in that concerning the only-begotten Son of God—who in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1), but when the fullness of time came (See Gal 4:4) the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14)—he was not wise in certain matters, nor did he think true things; denying that God was made man, lest, namely, an unworthy change or corruption should follow in the divine substance, by which he is equal to the Father (See Phil 2:6); nor seeing that he was bringing in a fourth person into the Trinity, which is utterly foreign to the soundness of the Creed and of Catholic truth; we instructed him, as we could, with the Lord's help, in a spirit of gentleness (Gal 6:1): especially since, when he admonished this—the chosen vessel (See Acts 9:15)—he added: Watching yourself, lest you too be tempted (Gal 6:1), lest certain ones should so rejoice to have come to spiritual advancement that they should think themselves no longer able to be tempted, as though they were not men; and he added the wholesome and peaceful sentence, that we should bear one another's burdens, since thus we shall fulfill the law of Christ: For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself (Gal 6:2-3), most beloved and honorable brothers.
Ep211-270.12. Quam tamen eius emendationem nequaquam forte implere possemus, nisi vos ante, quae in eo mendosa fuerant, damnaretis. Idem igitur et Dominus et medicus noster utens vasis ac ministris suis, qui dixit: Ego percutiam, et ego sanabo , per vos percussit tumentem, per nos sanavit dolentem. Idem suae domus administrator atque provisor, per vos destruxit male constructa; per nos bene composita restauravit. Idem diligens agricola possessionis suae sterilia per vos eradicavit, et noxia; utilia per nos et fecunda plantavit. Non itaque nobis, sed eius misericordiae demus gloriam, in cuius manu sumus et nos et sermones nostri . Et sicut in supradicto filio nostro ministerium vestrum humilitas nostra laudavit; sic etiam Sanctitas vestra nostro ministerio gratuletur. Paterno igitur et fraterno corde suscipite a nobis misericordi lenitate correctum, sicut nos suscepimus a vobis misericordi severitate correptum. Etsi enim aliud per nos, aliud per vos; utrumque tamen fraternae saluti necessarium una caritas fecit. Unus ergo Deus fecit, quoniam Deus caritas est . Libellus emendationis Leporii fide dignus.
2. Yet this amendment of his we could perhaps by no means have accomplished, had you not first condemned the things that were faulty in him. The same one, therefore, both our Lord and our physician, using his vessels and ministers, who said, I will strike, and I will heal (See Deut 32:39), through you struck the swollen one, through us healed the grieving one. The same administrator and provider of his house, through you tore down what was ill-constructed; through us restored what was well-composed. The same diligent husbandman of his estate, through you uprooted the barren and harmful things; through us planted the useful and fruitful. Let us therefore give glory not to ourselves, but to his mercy, in whose hand are both we and our words (See Wis 7:16). And just as in our aforesaid son our lowliness praised your ministry, so let Your Holiness too rejoice in our ministry. With a fatherly and brotherly heart, then, receive from us one corrected with merciful gentleness, as we received from you one rebuked with merciful severity. For although one thing was done through us and another through you, yet one love made both necessary to a brother's salvation. One God, therefore, did it, since God is love (1 John 4:8).
Ep211-270.23. Proinde sicut per suam poenitentiam susceptus est a nobis, sic per suam epistolam suscipiatur a vobis: cui quidem epistolae nostra etiam manu subscribendum putavimus, ipsius esse testantes. [Admonitus quippe facile vidit Deum hominem factum, quia Verbum caro factum est, et Deus erat Verbum , eumque Apostolus docuit hoc esse factum non perdendo quod erat, sed adsumendo quod non erat; semet ipsum enim exinanivit non formam Dei amittens, sed formam servi accipiens . Hoc namque iste metuebat, quando nolebat fateri Deum natum ex femina, Deum crucifixum et alia humana perpessum, ne divinitas in homine commutata vel hominis permixtione corrupta crederetur; pius timor sed incautus error; pie vidit divinitatem non posse mutare sed incaute praesumpsit filium hominis a Filio Dei posse separari, ut alius iste alius ille sit et ut alter eorum Christus non sit aut Christi duo sint. Sed posteaquam cognovit Dei Verbum, hoc est unigenitum Dei Filium sic esse factum hominis filium, ut neutrum in alterum versum sit, sed utroque in sua substantia permanente sic Deus in homine pateretur humana, ut in se ipso integra divina servaret, Christum Deum hominem sine ullo timore confessus est magisque timuit Trinitate quartae personae additamentum quam in divinitate illud substantiae detrimentum.] Hanc eius correctionem dilectionem vestram minime dubitamus et gratanter accipere, et eis notam facere quibus eius error scandalum fuit. Quia et illi qui cum eo venerunt ad nos, cum illo correcti atque sanati sunt, sicut eorum subscriptionibus, quae coram nobis factae sunt, tenetur expressum. Superest ut de fraterna salute laetati, rescriptis Beatitudinis vestrae nos vicissim laetificare dignemini. Optamus vos, dilectissimi et honorabiles fratres, in Domino bene valere memores nostri.
3. Accordingly, just as through his penitence he was received by us, so through his letter let him be received by you: to which letter we thought we should also subscribe with our own hand, attesting that it is his. [For, once admonished, he easily saw that God was made man, because the Word was made flesh, and the Word was God (See John 1:14, 1), and the Apostle taught him that this was done not by losing what he was but by assuming what he was not; for he emptied himself not by losing the form of God, but by taking the form of a servant (Phil 2:7). For this is what that man feared, when he was unwilling to confess that God was born of a woman, that God was crucified and suffered other human things, lest the divinity be believed to be changed in the man or corrupted by the admixture of the man; a devout fear, but an incautious error; devoutly he saw that the divinity cannot change, but incautiously he presumed that the son of man could be separated from the Son of God, so that the one would be one and the other another, and so that one of them would not be Christ, or there would be two Christs. But after he came to know that the Word of God, that is, the only-begotten Son of God, was so made the son of man that neither was turned into the other, but, with each remaining in its own substance, God so suffered human things in the man that he kept the divine things whole in himself, he confessed Christ to be God and man without any fear, and feared more the addition of a fourth person to the Trinity than that detriment of substance in the divinity.] This correction of his we in no way doubt that your love will both gratefully accept and make known to those to whom his error was a scandal. For those too who came with him to us were corrected and healed along with him, as is expressed and held by their subscriptions, which were made in our presence. It remains that, having rejoiced over a brother's salvation, you deign in turn to gladden us by a rescript of Your Beatitude. We wish you, most beloved and honorable brothers, to fare well in the Lord, mindful of us.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 220
DOMINO FILIO IN PRAESENTEM ET IN AETERNAM SALUTEM DEI MISERICORDIA PROTEGENDO ET REGENDO BONIFACIO, AUGUSTINUS.
DOMINO FILIO IN PRAESENTEM ET IN AETERNAM SALUTEM DEI MISERICORDIA PROTEGENDO ET REGENDO BONIFACIO, AUGUSTINUS.
LETTER 220
TO BONIFACE, MY LORD AND SON, TO BE PROTECTED AND RULED BY THE MERCY OF GOD UNTO PRESENT AND ETERNAL SALVATION, AUGUSTINE.
Ep211-270.3TO BONIFACE, MY LORD AND SON, TO BE PROTECTED AND RULED BY THE MERCY OF GOD UNTO PRESENT AND ETERNAL SALVATION, AUGUSTINE.
1. Fideliorem hominem, et qui faciliores haberet accessus ad aures tuas ferens litteras meas, numquam potui reperire, quam nunc obtulit Dominus servum et ministrum Christi, diaconum Paulum, ambobus nobis carissimum, ut aliquid tibi loquerer, non pro potentia tua, et honore quem geris in isto saeculo maligno; nec pro incolumitate carnis tuae corruptibilis atque mortalis , quia et ipsa transitoria est, et quamdiu sit, semper incertum est; sed pro illa salute quam nobis promisit Christus: qui propterea hic exhonoratus atque crucifixus est, ut doceret nos bona huius saeculi magis contemnere quam diligere, et hoc amare et sperare ab illo, quod in sua resurrectione monstravit. Resurrexit enim a mortuis, nec iam moritur, et mors ei ultra non dominabitur . A. pro Bonifacio sollicitus.
1. A more faithful man, and one who would have easier access to your ears, to carry my letter, I could never have found than the Lord has now offered—a servant and minister of Christ, the deacon Paul, most dear to us both—that I might say something to you, not about your power and the honor you bear in this evil world; nor about the safety of your corruptible and mortal flesh (See 1 Cor 15:53), since it too is transitory, and how long it may last is always uncertain; but about that salvation which Christ has promised us: who for this reason was here dishonored and crucified, that he might teach us to despise rather than to love the goods of this world, and to love and hope from him for that which he showed in his resurrection. For he rose from the dead, and dies no more, and death will no longer have dominion over him (Rom 6:9).
Ep211-270.12. Scio non deesse homines qui te secundum vitam mundi huius diligunt, et secundum ipsam tibi dant consilia, aliquando utilia, aliquando inutilia; quia homines sunt, et sicut possunt ad praesens sapiunt, nescientes quid contingat sequenti die. Secundum autem Deum ne pereat anima tua, non facile tibi quisquam consulit; non quia desunt qui hoc faciant, sed quia difficile est invenire quando tecum ista possunt loqui. Nam et ego semper desideravi, et numquam inveni locum vel tempus, ut agerem tecum quod me agere oportebat cum homine quem multum diligo in Christo. Scis autem qualem me apud Hipponem videris, quando ad me venire dignatus es, quia vix loquebar, imbecillitate corporis fatigatus. Nunc ergo, fili, audi me, saltem per litteras tibi sermocinantem, quas in periculis tuis numquam tibi mittere potui, periculum cogitans perlatoris, et cavens ne ad eos ad quos nollem, mea epistola perveniret. Unde peto ut ignoscas, si me putas plus timuisse quam debui: tamen dixi quod timui. Quid demoverit B. a monachismi proposito.
2. I know there is no lack of men who love you according to the life of this world, and according to it give you counsel, sometimes useful, sometimes useless; because they are men, and are wise for the present as best they can, not knowing what may happen the next day. But that your soul may not perish, no one easily counsels you according to God; not because there are none who would do this, but because it is difficult to find when they can speak of these things with you. For I too have always desired, and never found, place or time to deal with you as I ought to deal with a man whom I greatly love in Christ. And you know what sort of man you saw me at Hippo, when you deigned to come to me, that I could scarcely speak, worn out by weakness of body. Now, then, son, hear me, at least speaking to you through a letter, which in your perils I could never send to you, considering the danger to the bearer, and taking care lest my letter reach those to whom I would not want it to come. Hence I ask you to pardon me, if you think I feared more than I ought; yet I have said what I feared.
Ep211-270.23. Audi ergo me, imo Dominum Deum nostrum per ministerium infirmitatis meae. Recole qualis fueris, adhuc in corpore constituta religiosae memoriae priore coniuge tua, et recenti eius obitu quomodo tibi vanitas saeculi huius horruerit, et quomodo concupieris servitutem Dei. Nos novimus, nos testes sumus quid nobiscum apud Tubunas de animo et voluntate tua fueris collocutus. Soli tecum eramus, ego et frater Alypius. Non enim existimo tantum valuisse terrenas curas quibus impletus es, ut hoc de memoria tua penitus delere potuerint. Nempe omnes actus publicos, quibus occupatus eras, relinquere cupiebas, et te in otium sanctum conferre, atque in ea vita vivere in qua servi Dei monachi vivunt. Ut autem non faceres, quid te revocavit, nisi quia considerasti, ostendentibus nobis, quantum prodesset Christi Ecclesiis quod agebas, si ea sola intentione ageres, ut defensae ab infestationibus barbarorum quietam et tranquillam vitam agerent, sicut dicit Apostolus: In omni pietate et castitate ; tu autem ex hoc mundo nihil quaereres, nisi ea quae necessaria essent huic vitae sustentandae tuae ac tuorum, accinctus balteo castissimae continentiae, et inter arma corporalia spiritalibus armis tutius fortiusque munitus? B. haeresi vitiisque inquinatus.
3. Hear me, then—nay, the Lord our God through the ministry of my weakness. Recall what sort of man you were while your former wife, of religious memory, was still in the body, and how, at her recent death, the vanity of this world made you shudder, and how you longed for the service of God. We know, we are witnesses, what you discussed with us at Tubunae concerning your mind and will. We alone were with you, I and brother Alypius. For I do not suppose that the earthly cares with which you have been filled have had such power as to be able utterly to delete this from your memory. Indeed, you desired to leave all the public actions in which you were occupied, and to betake yourself to holy leisure, and to live in that life in which the servants of God, the monks, live. But what called you back from doing so, except that you considered, as we pointed out, how much it profited the churches of Christ that you did what you were doing, if you did it with this intention alone: that, defended from the assaults of the barbarians, they might lead a quiet and tranquil life, as the Apostle says, in all devotion and chastity (See 1 Tim 2:2); while you yourself sought nothing from this world except what was necessary for sustaining this life of yours and your people, girded with the belt of a most chaste continence, and among bodily arms more safely and strongly fortified with spiritual arms?
Ep211-270.34. Cum ergo te esse in hoc proposito gauderemus, navigasti, uxoremque duxisti: sed navigasse obedientiae fuit, quam secundum Apostolum debebas sublimioribus potestatibus ; uxorem autem non duxisses, nisi susceptam deserens continentiam concupiscentia victus esses. Quod ego cum comperissem, fateor, miratus obstupui: dolorem autem meum ex aliqua parte consolabatur, quod audivi te illam ducere noluisse, nisi prius catholica fuisset facta; et tamen haeresis eorum qui verum Filium Dei negant, tantum praevaluit in domo tua, ut ab ipsis filia tua baptizaretur. Iamvero, si ad nos non falsa perlata sunt, quae utinam falsa sint, quod ab ipsis haereticis etiam ancillae Deo dicatae rebaptizatae sint, quantis tantum malum plangendum est fontibus lacrymarum? Ipsam quoque uxorem non tibi suffecisse, sed concubinarum nescio quarum commixtione pollutum loquuntur homines, et forsitan mentiuntur. Saeculi amore a Deo cor averti.
4. When, therefore, we were rejoicing that you were in this purpose, you took ship and married a wife: but the voyage was a matter of obedience, which according to the Apostle you owed to the higher powers (See Rom 13:1); the wife, however, you would not have married, had you not, deserting the continence you had taken up, been overcome by concupiscence. When I learned this, I confess, I was struck with amazement; yet my grief was in some part consoled by my hearing that you had been unwilling to marry her unless she were first made a Catholic; and yet the heresy of those who deny the true Son of God prevailed so far in your house that your daughter was baptized by them. And now, if no false things have been reported to us—would that they were false!—that even handmaids dedicated to God were rebaptized by those same heretics, with what great fountains of tears is so great an evil to be lamented? Men also say—and perhaps they lie—that your wife did not suffice for you, but that you were polluted by intercourse with concubines, I know not whose.
Ep211-270.45. Ista quae omnibus patent tot et tanta mala, quae a te, posteaquam coniugatus es, consecuta sunt, quid ego dicam? Christianus es, cor habes, Deum times: tu ipse considera quae nolo dicere, et invenies de quantis malis debeas agere poenitentiam, propter quam tibi credo Dominum parcere, et a periculis omnibus liberare, ut agas eam sicut agenda est; sed si illud audias quod scriptum est: Ne tardes converti ad Dominum, neque differas de die in diem . Iustam quidem dicis habere te causam, cuius iudex ego non sum, quoniam partes ambas audire non possum: sed qualiscumque sit tua causa, de qua modo quaerere vel disputare non opus est; numquid coram Deo potes negare quod in istam necessitatem non pervenisses, nisi bona saeculi huius dilexisses, quae tamquam servus Dei, quem te ante noveramus, contemnere omnino et pro nihilo habere debuisti; et oblata quidem sumere, ut eis utereris ad pietatem, non autem negata vel delegata sic quaerere, ut propter illa in istam necessitatem perducereris: ubi cum amantur vana, perpetrantur mala, pauca quidem a te, sed multa propter te; et cum timentur quae ad exiguum tempus nocent, si tamen nocent, committuntur ea quae vere in aeternum noceant? Cupiditates quomodo refrenandae.
5. Of these so many and so great evils that are open to all, which followed from you after you were married, what shall I say? You are a Christian, you have a heart, you fear God: consider yourself the things I do not wish to say, and you will find how great are the evils for which you ought to do penance—on account of which I believe the Lord spares you and frees you from all dangers, that you may do it as it ought to be done; but only if you heed what is written: Do not delay to be converted to the Lord, nor put it off from day to day (See Sir 5:7). You say indeed that you have a just cause, of which I am not the judge, since I cannot hear both sides: but whatever your cause may be—about which there is now no need to inquire or dispute—can you, before God, deny that you would not have come into this necessity had you not loved the goods of this world, which, as a servant of God, such as we knew you to be before, you ought to have utterly despised and counted as nothing; and indeed to take them when offered, that you might use them for devotion, but not so to seek them when denied or assigned elsewhere that on their account you should be led into this necessity—where, when vain things are loved, evils are perpetrated, a few indeed by you, but many on your account; and when those things are feared which harm for a brief time, if they harm at all, those things are committed which truly harm forever?
Ep211-270.56. De quibus ut unum aliquid dicam, quis non videat quod multi homines tibi cohaereant ad tuendam tuam potentiam vel salutem, qui, etiamsi tibi omnes fideles sint, nec ab aliquo eorum ullae timeantur insidiae, nempe tamen ad ea bona quae ipsi quoque non secundum Deum, sed secundum saeculum diligunt, per te cupiunt pervenire; ac per hoc qui refrenare et compescere debuisti cupiditates tuas, explere cogeris alienas? Quod ut fiat, necesse est multa quae Deo displicent, fiant: nec sic tamen explentur tales cupiditates; nam facilius resecantur in eis qui Deum diligunt, quam in eis qui mundum diligunt, aliquando satiantur. Propter quod dicit divina Scriptura: Nolite diligere mundum, nec ea quae in mundo sunt. Si quis dilexerit mundum, dilectio Patris non est in eo: quia omne quod in mundo est, concupiscentia carnis est, et concupiscentia oculorum, et ambitio saeculi; quae non est a Patre, sed ex mundo est. Et mundus transit et concupiscentia eius: qui autem facit voluntatem Dei, manet in aeternum, sicut et Deus manet in aeternum . Quando ergo poteris tot hominum armatorum, quorum fovenda est cupiditas, timetur atrocitas; quando, inquam, poteris eorum concupiscentiam, qui diligunt mundum, non dico satiare, quod fieri nullo modo potest, sed aliqua ex parte pascere, ne universa plus pereant, nisi tu facias quae Deus prohibet, et facientibus comminatur? Propter quod vides tam multa contrita, ut iam vile aliquid quod rapiatur, vix inveniatur. Bonifacio imputandi barbarorum horrores.
6. To say one thing of these: who does not see that many men cling to you for the protection of your power or safety, who, even if they are all faithful to you, and no plots are feared from any of them, nevertheless desire to attain through you those goods which they too love not according to God but according to the world; and thereby you, who ought to have curbed and restrained your own desires, are compelled to fulfill the desires of others? And for this to come about, it is necessary that many things be done which displease God: nor even so are such desires fulfilled; for they are more easily pruned away in those who love God than satisfied, as they sometimes are, in those who love the world. On account of which divine Scripture says: Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him: because everything that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the ambition of the age; which is not from the Father, but from the world. And the world passes away, and its concupiscence; but he who does the will of God abides forever, as God also abides forever (1 John 2:15-17). When, then, will you be able—of so many armed men, whose desire must be fostered, whose ferocity is feared—when, I say, will you be able not, indeed, to satisfy the concupiscence of those who love the world, which can in no way be done, but in some part to feed it, lest the whole perish the more—unless you do the things God forbids and threatens those who do them? On account of which you see so many things laid waste that scarcely anything cheap is now found to be plundered.
Ep211-270.67. Quid autem dicam de vastatione Africae, quam faciunt Afri barbari, resistente nullo, dum tu talibus tuis necessitatibus occuparis, nec aliquid ordinas unde ista calamitas avertatur? Quis autem crederet, quis timeret, Bonifacio domesticorum et Africae comite in Africa constituto cum tam magno exercitu et potestate, qui tribunus cum paucis foederatis omnes ipsas gentes expugnando et terrendo pacaverat, nunc tantum fuisse barbaros ausuros, tantum progressuros, tanta vastaturos, tanta rapturos, tanta loca quae plena populis fuerant, deserta facturos? Qui non dicebant quandocumque tu comitivam sumeres potestatem, Afros barbaros, non solum domitos, sed etiam tributarios futuros Romanae reipublicae? Et nunc quam in contrarium versa sit spes hominum vides; nec diutius hinc tecum loquendum est, quia plus ea tu potes cogitare quam nos dicere. Bona pro malis reddenda.
7. But what shall I say of the devastation of Africa, which the African barbarians are causing, with no one resisting, while you are occupied with such necessities of yours and arrange nothing whereby this calamity may be averted? Who would have believed, who would have feared, that, with Boniface count of the household and of Africa established in Africa with so great an army and power—he who as a tribune with a few allied troops had subdued and terrified and pacified all those very nations—the barbarians would now dare so much, advance so far, lay waste so much, plunder so much, make deserts of so many places that had been full of peoples? Who did not say that whenever you took up the power of the countship, the African barbarians would be not only subdued but even tributaries to the Roman commonwealth? And now you see how the hope of men has been turned to its opposite; nor need I speak with you longer about this, because you can think more of these things than we can say.
Ep211-270.78. Sed forte ad ea respondes, illis hoc esse potius imputandum, qui te laeserunt, qui tuis officiosis virtutibus non paria, sed contraria reddiderunt. Quas causas ego audire et iudicare non possum: tuam causam potius aspice et inspice, quam non cum hominibus quibuslibet, sed cum Deo habere te cognoscis; quia in Christo fideliter vivis, ipsum debes timere ne offendas. Nam causas ego superiores potius attendo, quia ut Africa tanta mala patiatur, suis debent homines imputare peccatis. Verumtamen nolim te ad eorum numerum pertinere, per quos malos et iniquos Deus flagellat poenis temporalibus quos voluerit. Ipsis namque iniquis, si correcti non fuerint, servat aeterna supplicia, qui eorum malitia iuste utitur, ut aliis mala ingerat temporalia. Tu Deum attende, tu Christum considera, qui tanta bona praestitit, et tanta mala pertulit. Quicumque ad eius regnum cupiunt pertinere, et cum illo ac sub illo semper beate vivere, diligunt etiam inimicos suos, benefaciunt illis qui eos oderunt, et orant pro eis a quibus persecutionem patiuntur : et si quando adhibent pro disciplina molestam severitatem, non tamen amittunt sincerissimam caritatem. Si ergo tibi bona sunt praestita, quamvis terrena, transitoria, ab imperio Romano, quia et ipsum terrenum est, non coeleste, nec potest praestare nisi quod habet in potestate; si ergo bona in te collata sunt, noli reddere mala pro bonis: si autem mala tibi irrogata sunt, noli reddere mala pro malis . Quid istorum duorum sit, nec discutere volo, nec valeo iudicare; ego christiano loquor: noli reddere vel mala pro bonis, vel mala pro malis. Cupiditates vincendae, praeteritorum agenda poenitentia.
8. But perhaps you answer to these things that this is rather to be imputed to those who injured you, who repaid your dutiful services not in kind but with the contrary. These causes I can neither hear nor judge: look rather at your own cause, and examine it—the cause you know you have not with any men whatever, but with God; for since you live faithfully in Christ, you ought to fear to offend him. For I attend rather to higher causes, because, for Africa to suffer such great evils, men ought to impute it to their own sins. Nevertheless I would not have you belong to the number of those evil and wicked men through whom God scourges with temporal punishments whom he wills. For to those very wicked men, if they are not corrected, he reserves eternal punishments, who justly uses their malice to bring temporal evils upon others. Attend to God, consider Christ, who bestowed such great goods and endured such great evils. Whoever desire to belong to his kingdom, and to live ever blessedly with him and under him, love even their enemies, do good to those who hate them, and pray for those by whom they suffer persecution (See Matt 5:44): and if sometimes they apply troublesome severity for discipline, yet they do not lose the most sincere love. If, then, goods have been bestowed on you, though earthly, transitory, by the Roman empire—since it too is earthly, not heavenly, and cannot bestow except what it has in its power—if, then, goods have been conferred on you, do not repay evil for good; but if evils have been inflicted on you, do not repay evil for evil (See 1 Thess 5:15). Which of these two it is, I neither wish to discuss nor am able to judge; I speak to a Christian: do not repay either evil for good, or evil for evil.
Ep211-270.89. Dicis mihi fortasse: "In tanta necessitate quid vis ut faciam?" Si consilium a me secundum hoc saeculum quaeris, quomodo ista salus tua transitoria tuta sit, et potentia atque opulentia vel ista servetur quam nunc habes, vel etiam maior addatur; quid tibi respondeam nescio : incerta quippe ista certum consilium habere non possunt. Si autem secundum Deum me consulis, ne anima tua pereat, et times verba veritatis, dicentis: Quid prodest homini, si totum mundum lucretur, animae autem suae detrimentum patiatur ? habeo plane quod dicam; est apud me consilium quod a me audias. Quid autem opus est ut aliud dicam, quam illud quod supra dixi? Noli diligere mundum, nec ea quae in mundo sunt. Si quis enim dilexerit mundum, non est caritas Patris in illo: quoniam omnia quae in mundo sunt, concupiscentia carnis est, et concupiscentia oculorum, et ambitio saeculi; quae non est a Patre, sed ex mundo est. Et mundus transit, et concupiscentia eius: qui autem fecerit voluntatem Dei, manet in aeternum, sicut et Deus manet in aeternum . Ecce consilium; arripe, et age. Hic appareat si vir fortis es; vince cupiditates quibus iste diligitur mundus, age poenitentiam de praeteritis malis, quando ab eis cupiditatibus victus per desideria non bona trahebaris. Hoc consilium si acceperis, si tenueris atque servaveris, et ad bona illa certa pervenies, et cum salute animae tuae inter ista incerta versaberis. Deus orandus ad hostes invisibiles vincendos.
9. You will perhaps say to me: "In such great necessity, what do you want me to do?" If you seek counsel from me according to this world—how your transitory safety may be secure, and how the power and wealth you now have may be preserved, or even greater be added—I do not know what to answer you: for these uncertain things can have no certain counsel. But if you consult me according to God, lest your soul perish, and you fear the words of truth, which says, What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but suffers the loss of his own soul (See Matt 16:26)? then I plainly have something to say; there is with me a counsel for you to hear from me. But what need is there for me to say anything other than what I said above? Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world. For if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him: because all the things that are in the world are the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the ambition of the age; which is not from the Father, but from the world. And the world passes away, and its concupiscence; but he who does the will of God abides forever, as God also abides forever (1 John 2:15-17). Behold the counsel; seize it, and act. Here let it appear whether you are a brave man; conquer the desires by which this world is loved, do penance for the past evils, when, overcome by those desires, you were dragged along by no good longings. If you take this counsel, if you hold and keep it, you will both attain to those sure goods and pass amid these uncertain things with the salvation of your soul.
Ep211-270.910. Sed forte iterum quaeris a me, quomodo ista facias tantis mundi huius necessitatibus implicatus. Ora fortiter, et dic Deo quod habes in Psalmo: De necessitatibus meis erue me : tunc enim finiuntur istae necessitates, quando vincuntur illae cupiditates. Qui exaudivit te, et nos pro te, ut liberareris de tot tantisque periculis visibilium corporaliumque bellorum, ubi sola ista vita quandoque finienda periclitatur, anima vero non perit, si non malignis cupiditatibus captiva teneatur; ipse te exaudiet ut interiores et invisibiles hostes, id est ipsas cupiditates invisibiliter et spiritaliter vincas, et sic utaris hoc mundo tamquam non utens ; ut ex bonis eius bona facias, non malus fias: quia et ipsa bona sunt, nec dantur hominibus nisi ab illo qui habet omnium coelestium et terrestrium potestatem. Sed ne putentur mala, dantur et bonis: ne putentur magna vel summa bona, dantur et malis. Itemque auferuntur ista et bonis ut probentur, et malis ut crucientur. Aeterna bona a solis bonis acquiri.
10. But perhaps you ask me again, how you are to do these things, entangled as you are in such great necessities of this world. Pray strongly, and say to God what you have in the Psalm: Rescue me from my necessities (See Ps 25:17 (24:17)): for these necessities are ended when those desires are conquered. He who heard you, and us for you, that you might be freed from so many and such great perils of visible and bodily wars, where only this life, one day to be ended, is endangered, while the soul does not perish unless it is held captive by malignant desires—he himself will hear you, that you may invisibly and spiritually conquer the inner and invisible enemies, that is, the desires themselves, and so use this world as not using it (See 1 Cor 7:31); that out of its goods you may do good, not become evil: for these things too are good, and are not given to men except by him who has power over all things heavenly and earthly. But lest they be thought evils, they are given to the good too; lest they be thought great or supreme goods, they are given to the evil too. Likewise they are taken away both from the good, that they may be tested, and from the evil, that they may be tormented.
Ep211-270.1011. Quis enim nesciat, quis ita sit stultus, ut non videat quod salus huius mortalis corporis, et membrorum corruptibilium virtus, et victoria de hominibus inimicis, et honor atque potentia temporalis, et caetera ista bona terrena, et bonis dentur et malis, et bonis auferantur et malis? Salus vero animae cum immortalitate corporis, virtusque iustitiae, et victoria de cupiditatibus inimicis, et gloria et honor et pax in aeternum, non dantur nisi bonis. Ista ergo dilige, ista concupisce, ista omnibus modis quaere. Propter haec acquirenda et obtinenda fac eleemosynas, funde orationes, exerce ieiunia, quantum sine laesione corporis tui potes. Bona vero illa terrena noli diligere, quantalibet tibi abundent: sic eis utere, ut bona multa ex illis, nullum autem malum facias propter illa. Omnia quippe talia peribunt; sed bona opera non pereunt, etiam quae de bonis pereuntibus fiunt. Ad continentiam revertat si sinat uxor.
11. For who does not know, who is so foolish as not to see, that the health of this mortal body, and the strength of corruptible members, and victory over enemy men, and temporal honor and power, and the other earthly goods, are given both to the good and to the evil, and taken away both from the good and from the evil? But the salvation of the soul with the immortality of the body, and the strength of righteousness, and victory over enemy desires, and glory and honor and peace forever, are given only to the good. These, then, love; these covet; these seek in every way. To acquire and obtain these, give alms, pour out prayers, practice fasts, as far as you can without harm to your body. But those earthly goods, do not love, however much they abound for you: so use them that out of them you may do many good things, but no evil thing on their account. For all such things will perish; but good works do not perish, even those that are done out of perishing goods.
Ep211-270.1112. Si enim coniugem non haberes, dicerem tibi quod et Tubunis diximus, ut in sanctitate continentiae viveres: adderem, quod tunc fieri prohibuimus, ut iam te, quantum rerum humanarum salva pace potuisses, ab istis rebus bellicis abstraheres, et ei vitae vacares in societate sanctorum, cui tunc vacare cupiebas; ubi in silentio pugnant milites Christi, non ut occidant homines, sed ut expugnent principes et potestates et spiritalia nequitiae , id est diabolum et angelos eius . Hos enim hostes sancti vincunt, quos videre non possunt; et tamen quos non vident, vincunt, ista vincendo quae sentiunt. Sed ut te ad istam vitam non exhorter, coniux impedimento est, sine cuius consensione continenter tibi non licet vivere; quia etsi tu eam post illa tua verba Tubunensia ducere non debebas, illa tibi tamen, nihil eorum sciens, innocenter et simpliciter nupsit. Atque utinam posses ei persuadere continentiam, ut sine impedimento redderes Deo quod te debere cognoscis. Sed si cum illa agere non potes, serva saltem pudicitiam coniugalem, et roga Deum, qui te de necessitatibus eruet, ut quod non potes modo, possis aliquando. Verumtamen ut Deum diligas, non diligas mundum; ut in ipsis bellis, si adhuc in eis te versari opus est, fidem teneas, pacem quaeras; ut ex mundi bonis facias bona opera, et propter mundi bona non facias opera mala, aut non impedit coniux, aut impedire non debet. Haec ad te, fili dilectissime, ut scriberem caritas iussit, qua te secundum Deum, non secundum hoc saeculum diligo: quia et cogitans quod scriptum est: Corripe sapientem, et amabit te; corripe stultum, et adiciet odisse te ; non te utique stultum, sed sapientem debui cogitare.
12. For if you had no wife, I would say to you what we also said at Tubunae, that you should live in the holiness of continence: I would add—what we then forbade to be done—that you should now, as far as you could with the peace of human affairs preserved, withdraw yourself from these warlike matters, and be free for that life, in the company of the saints, for which you then desired to be free; where the soldiers of Christ fight in silence, not to kill men, but to overcome the principalities and powers and spirits of wickedness (See Eph 6:12), that is, the devil and his angels (See Matt 25:41). For these are the enemies the saints conquer, whom they cannot see; and yet they conquer those they do not see, by conquering the things they do perceive. But that I should not exhort you to this life, your wife is an impediment, without whose consent it is not lawful for you to live in continence; for although you ought not to have married her after those words of yours at Tubunae, she nonetheless, knowing none of these things, married you innocently and simply. And would that you could persuade her to continence, so that without impediment you might render to God what you know you owe. But if you cannot deal with her in this, at least keep conjugal chastity, and ask God, who will rescue you from your necessities, that what you cannot do now you may be able to do someday. Nevertheless, that you may love God, not love the world; that in these very wars, if you must still be engaged in them, you may keep faith, seek peace; that out of the goods of the world you may do good works, and on account of the goods of the world may not do evil works—either your wife is no impediment, or she ought not to be one. Love commanded me to write these things to you, most beloved son, by which I love you according to God, not according to this world: for, considering too what is written—Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you; rebuke a fool, and he will go on to hate you (Prov 9:8)—I ought surely to have thought you not a fool, but wise.
Ep211-270.12EPISTOLA 221
DOMINO MERITO VENERABILI, ET VERE BEATISSIMO PATRI AUGUSTINO EPISCOPO, QUODVULTDEUS DIACONUS.
DOMINO MERITO VENERABILI, ET VERE BEATISSIMO PATRI AUGUSTINO EPISCOPO, QUODVULTDEUS DIACONUS.
LETTER 221
TO AUGUSTINE, A BISHOP, A LORD DESERVEDLY VENERABLE AND TRULY MOST BLESSED FATHER, QUODVULTDEUS, A DEACON.
Ep211-270.12TO AUGUSTINE, A BISHOP, A LORD DESERVEDLY VENERABLE AND TRULY MOST BLESSED FATHER, QUODVULTDEUS, A DEACON.
1. Diu trepidus fui, et ausus hos meos aliquoties distuli: sed me principaliter, ut dici assolet, animavit Beatitudinis tuae benevolentia omnibus comprobata: quam dum considero, magis timui ne non petendo superbus, non quaerendo desidiosus, non pulsando piger a Domino iudicarer. Sufficere autem mihi crederem huiusmodi tantummodo voluntatem, si fructum adipisci non possem: cum autem pro certo noverim, ostium divini sermonis , quod Venerationi tuae coelestis gratia patefecit, paratam esse mentem tuam sanctam, quam possidet Christus, non solum cunctis volentibus pandere, verum etiam nolentibus, ut introire non pigeat, persuadere; occupationi Reverentiae tuae multiloquio superfluo moram non faciam, sed desiderium obsecrationis meae breviter indicabo. Perstrictus haeresum catalogus flagitatur.
1. For a long time I was anxious, and several times I put off this venture of mine: but I was chiefly emboldened, as is commonly said, by the goodwill of Your Beatitude, attested by all; and while I consider it, I feared the more that I might be judged by the Lord proud for not asking, slothful for not seeking, lazy for not knocking (See Matt 7:7-8). I would have believed such a will alone to suffice for me, if I could not obtain the fruit: but since I know for certain that the door of the divine word (See Col 4:3), which heavenly grace has opened to Your Reverence, has made your holy mind, which Christ possesses, ready not only to open it to all who are willing, but even to persuade the unwilling that they should not be reluctant to enter, I will not, by superfluous wordiness, delay the occupation of Your Reverence, but will briefly indicate the desire of my entreaty.
Ep211-270.12. Nonnullos in clero huiusce etiam amplissimae civitatis esse imperitos, ex meipso conicio, et quantum universo illi ordini profuturum sit quod expeto, considerationi Sanctitatis tuae discutiendum offero. Privilegium namque cunctorum qui hoc de spiritalibus tuis laboribus promerentur, etiam me indignum consecuturum esse praesumo, domine merito venerabilis, et vere beatissime pater. Precor igitur Pietatem tuam, ut ex quo Christiana religio haereditatis promissae nomen accepit, quae haereses fuerint, sint; quos errores intulerint, inferant; quid adversus catholicam Ecclesiam senserint, sentiant, de fide, de Trinitate, de Baptismo, de Poenitentia, de homine Christo, de Deo Christo, de resurrectione, de Novo et Vetere Testamento; et omnia omnino, quibus a veritate dissentiunt: quae etiam Baptismum habeant, quaeve non habeant; et post quas baptizet, nec tamen rebaptizet Ecclesia; qualiter suscipiat venientes, et quid singulis lege, auctoritate, atque ratione respondeat, digneris exponere. Compendiarie A. exponat cuiuslibet haeresis sententias.
2. That there are some in the clergy even of this most great city who are unskilled, I conjecture from myself; and how much it will profit that whole order, what I seek, I offer to be weighed by the consideration of Your Holiness. For I presume that even I, unworthy, shall obtain the privilege of all who deserve this from your spiritual labors, lord deservedly venerable and truly most blessed father. I beg, therefore, Your Piety, that you would deign to set forth what heresies there have been, and are, from the time the Christian religion received the name of the promised inheritance; what errors they introduced, and introduce; what they held, and hold, against the Catholic Church, concerning faith, the Trinity, baptism, penance, Christ as man, Christ as God, the resurrection, the New and Old Testament; and absolutely everything in which they dissent from the truth: which of them have baptism, and which do not; and after which the Church baptizes, and yet does not rebaptize; how it receives those who come, and what it answers to each by law, authority, and reason.
Ep211-270.23. Nec me tantae Beatitudo tua credat ineptiae, ut non inspiciam quantis et quam ingentibus voluminibus opus sit, ut possint ista dissolvi. Verum hoc ego fieri non expeto; id enim multipliciter factum esse non dubito: sed breviter, perstricte atque summatim, et opiniones rogo cuiuslibet haeresis exponi, et quid contra teneat Ecclesia catholica, quantum instructioni satis est, subdi: ut velut quodam ex omnibus concepto commonitorio, si quis aliquam obiectionem aut convictionem uberius, plenius ac planius nosse voluerit, ad opulenta et magnifica volumina transmittatur, quibus a diversis, et praecipue a Veneratione tua in hoc ipsum constat elaboratum. Sufficiet autem admonitio talis, ut puto, doctis et imperitis, otiosis et occupatis, et ad cuiuslibet gradus ministerium Ecclesiae undecumque promotis; dum et ille qui multa legit, eadem breviter recordatur, et compendio ignarus instruitur, ut noverit quid teneat, quid evitet quid aversetur ne faciat, quid ut faciat assequatur. Fortassis autem, si tamen quod arbitror verum est, etiam adversus calumniantium malignas mentes et dolosa labia opus hoc parvum inter caetera magnifica testimonio coronae tuae non deerit: ut quibus patet campus calumniandi profusior, validis et ex omni parte conclusis fidei limitibus coarctati, omnibusque veritatis telorum generibus circumacti, etiam uno multiformi iaculo repente prostrati, morticinos spiritus non audeant anhelare. Quantopere utile omnibus futurum opus A.
3. Let not Your Beatitude believe me of such great folly that I do not see how many and how huge volumes would be needed for these things to be unraveled. But this I do not seek to be done; for I do not doubt that it has been done in many ways: but I ask that the opinions of each heresy be set forth briefly, concisely, and summarily, and that what the Catholic Church holds against them be added, as far as is enough for instruction: so that, as by a kind of reminder conceived from all of them, if anyone should wish to know some objection or refutation more fully, completely, and plainly, he may be referred to the rich and magnificent volumes on which it is established that work has been done by various authors, and especially by Your Reverence, on this very subject. Such an admonition will suffice, I think, for the learned and the unlearned, for the leisured and the busy, and for those promoted from anywhere to the ministry of any rank of the Church; since both he who has read much briefly recalls the same things, and the ignorant is instructed by a summary, so that he may know what to hold, what to avoid, what to shun lest he do it, what to pursue that he may do it. But perhaps, if what I judge is true, even against the malicious minds and deceitful lips (See Ps 12:2 (11:3)) of slanderers, this little work, among the other magnificent ones, will not be lacking to the testimony of your crown: so that those for whom a more abundant field of slandering lies open, hemmed in by the strong and on every side enclosed boundaries of the faith, and surrounded by every kind of the darts of truth, and suddenly laid low even by a single multiform javelin, may not dare to breathe out their carrion spirits.
Ep211-270.34. Video quam onerosus exsistam, meliora cogitanti, et disponenti maiora sancto seni, et querelas corporis sustinenti. Sed per Christum Dominum rogo, qui te participem sapientiae suae sine invidia esse concessit, ut hanc gratiam dones indoctis Ecclesiae, qui te agnoscis sapientibus atque insipientibus debitorem , merito ac iure dicturus: Videte quoniam non mihi soli laboravi, sed omnibus exquirentibus veritatem . Potui adhuc offerre supplices et multiplices preces, et mecum imperitorum classes adsciscere; sed malui iam audire dictantem, quam adhuc occupare legentem.
4. I see how burdensome I prove to be to one thinking of better things and arranging greater things, a holy old man who endures the complaints of the body. But through Christ the Lord, who granted you to be a partaker of his wisdom without envy, I ask that you give this grace to the unlearned of the Church, you who acknowledge yourself a debtor to the wise and the foolish (See Rom 1:14), who can deservedly and rightly say: See that I have not labored for myself alone, but for all who seek the truth (See Sir 24:34 (24:47); 33:18). I could still offer suppliant and manifold prayers, and enlist with me the throngs of the unskilled; but I preferred now to hear you dictating rather than to occupy you still in reading.
Ep211-270.4EPISTOLA 222
DILECTISSIMO FILIO ET CONDIACONO QUODVULTDEO, AUGUSTINUS EPISCOPUS.
DILECTISSIMO FILIO ET CONDIACONO QUODVULTDEO, AUGUSTINUS EPISCOPUS.
LETTER 222
TO QUODVULTDEUS, MY MOST BELOVED SON AND FELLOW DEACON, AUGUSTINE, A BISHOP.
Ep211-270.4TO QUODVULTDEUS, MY MOST BELOVED SON AND FELLOW DEACON, AUGUSTINE, A BISHOP.
1. Acceptis litteris Caritatis tuae, ubi a me ardentissimo studio postulasti ut de omnibus haeresibus quae post Domini Salvatoris adventum adversus eius doctrinam pullulaverunt, aliquid breviter scriberem; quam sit hoc difficile, continuo reperta occasione rescripsi per filium meum Hipponensium primarium Philocalum: mox autem etiam ista oblata est, qua nunc rescribo, et breviter difficultatem operis eius ostendo. Philastri Epiphanique catalogi.
1. Having received the letter of your Charity, in which you asked me with most ardent zeal to write something briefly about all the heresies which, since the coming of the Lord Savior, have sprung up against his teaching, I wrote back at once, an opportunity having been found, how difficult this is, through my son Philocalus, a leading man of Hippo; but soon this occasion too was offered, by which I now write back and briefly show the difficulty of its accomplishment.
Ep211-270.12. Philastrius quidam Brixiensis episcopus, quem cum sancto Ambrosio Mediolani etiam ipse vidi, scripsit hinc librum; nec illas haereses praetermittens, quae in populo Iudaeo fuerunt ante adventum Domini, easque viginti octo commemoravit; et post Domini adventum centum viginti octo. Scripsit hinc etiam graece episcopus Cyprius Epiphanius, in doctrina catholicae fidei laudabiliter diffamatus: sed ipse utriusque temporis haereses colligens, octoginta complexus est. Cum ergo ambo id vellent facere quod a me petis, quantum tamen inter se differant de numero interim sectarum, vides: quod utique non evenisset, nisi aliud uni eorum videretur esse haeresis, et aliud alteri. Neque enim putandum est aliquas ignorasse Epiphanium, quas noverat Philastrius, cum Epiphanium longe Philastrio doctiorem invenerimus; ita ut Philastrium potius dicere deberemus latuisse plurimas, si tam plures esset ille complexus, et iste pauciores. Sed procul dubio in ea quaestione ubi disceptatur quid sit haeresis, non idem videbatur ambobus; et revera hoc omnino definire difficile est: et ideo cavendum, cum omnes in numerum redigere conamur, ne praetermittamus aliquas, quamvis haereses sint; aut annumeremus aliquas, cum haereses non sint. Vide ergo ne forte librum sancti Epiphanii tibi mittere debeam: ipsum enim arbitror Philastrio doctius hinc locutum; qui possit apud Carthaginem in latinam linguam verti facilius atque commodius, ut tu potius praestes nobis quod quaeris a nobis. Epistolae lator commendatur.
2. A certain Philastrius, bishop of Brescia, whom I myself also saw at Milan with holy Ambrose, wrote a book on this subject; not omitting even those heresies which were among the Jewish people before the coming of the Lord, of which he recounted twenty-eight, and after the coming of the Lord, one hundred and twenty-eight. On this subject Epiphanius too, the bishop of Cyprus, laudably renowned in the doctrine of the Catholic faith, wrote in Greek: but he, gathering the heresies of both periods, included eighty. Since, then, both wished to do what you ask of me, you see how much they differ between themselves about the number of sects: which surely would not have happened, unless one thing seemed a heresy to one of them and another thing to the other. For it is not to be thought that Epiphanius was ignorant of any that Philastrius knew, since we have found Epiphanius far more learned than Philastrius; so that we ought rather to say that very many escaped Philastrius, if the former included so many more and the latter fewer. But without doubt, in that question where it is disputed what a heresy is, the same thing did not seem so to both; and indeed it is altogether difficult to define this: and therefore care must be taken, when we try to reduce them all to a number, lest we omit some, although they are heresies, or count some, when they are not heresies. See, then, whether perhaps I ought to send you the book of holy Epiphanius: for I think he spoke more learnedly on this subject than Philastrius; which book could be more easily and conveniently translated into the Latin language at Carthage, so that you may rather supply us with what you ask of us.
Ep211-270.23. Perlatorem multum commendo. Subdiaconus est de nostra dioecesi; de fundo autem viri spectabilis, nobisque carissimi Orontii. Pro illo autem, et pro eius patre, a quo adoptatus est, etiam ad ipsum scripsi: quas litteras cum legerit christiana Benignitas tua, peto ut eas apud memoratum virum tua intercessione adiuvare digneris. Misi autem cum illo etiam hominem Ecclesiae, ne ad tuam Sanctitatem difficilis ei esset accessus: non enim parum de illo sollicitus sum; a qua me sollicitudine Dominus, ut spero, per tuae caritatis instantiam liberabit. Peto etiam mihi rescribere non graveris, quemadmodum sit in fide catholica ille Theodosius per quem Manichaei nonnulli sunt proditi; et ipsi quos ab eo proditos, putamus esse correctos. Si quid etiam de profectione sanctorum episcoporum forte audivisti, fac ut noverim. Deo vivas.
3. I greatly commend the bearer. He is a subdeacon of our diocese; from the estate, moreover, of the honorable man, most dear to us, Orontius. For him, and for his father, by whom he was adopted, I have also written to that man himself: which letter, when your Christian Kindness has read it, I ask that you deign to support it before the aforesaid man by your intercession. I have also sent with him a man of the Church, lest access to Your Holiness be difficult for him: for I am not a little anxious about him; from which anxiety the Lord, I hope, will free me through the earnestness of your love. I ask too that you not find it burdensome to write back to me how that Theodosius is in the Catholic faith, through whom some Manichees were betrayed; and how those very ones whom we suppose to have been betrayed by him are corrected. If you have perhaps heard anything about the departure of the holy bishops, let me know. May you live for God.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 223
DOMINO MERITO VENERABILI, AC VERE BEATISSIMO SANCTO PATRI AUGUSTINO QUODVULTDEUS DIACONUS
DOMINO MERITO VENERABILI, AC VERE BEATISSIMO SANCTO PATRI AUGUSTINO QUODVULTDEUS DIACONUS
LETTER 223
TO AUGUSTINE, A LORD DESERVEDLY VENERABLE AND TRULY MOST BLESSED HOLY FATHER, QUODVULTDEUS, A DEACON.
Ep211-270.3TO AUGUSTINE, A LORD DESERVEDLY VENERABLE AND TRULY MOST BLESSED HOLY FATHER, QUODVULTDEUS, A DEACON.
1. Unum quidem Reverentiae tuae commonitorium, quod per ecclesiasticum dignatus es destinare, suscepi. Nam quod prius directum esse Beatitudo tua significavit, per virum honorabilem Philocalum, necdum ad me pervenit. Verum quamvis conscius propriorum semper fuerim peccatorum, nunc tamen evidenter agnovi adipiscendo illi quod exoravi muneri, meam toti Ecclesiae impedimento esse personam. Sed omnino confido quoniam qui per Unici sui gratiam, humani generis dignatus est delere facinora, nec mea in perniciem cunctorum praevalere permittet, potiusque ubi abundavit peccatum, gratiam faciet redundare , domine merito venerabilis, ac vere beatissime sancte pater. Difficultatem operis quod instruendis imperitissimis nobis per tuam beneficentiam praestari suppliciter exoravi, nec ipse ignorans ante praedixi; sed de divini fontis ubertate quam tibi Dominus tribuit, veraci corde praesumpsi. Philastri Epiphanique compendia longe alio spectare.
1. One reminder, indeed, of Your Reverence, which you deigned to send by an ecclesiastic, I have received. For the one which Your Beatitude indicated was sent earlier, through the honorable man Philocalus, has not yet reached me. But although I have always been conscious of my own sins, now I have plainly recognized, in obtaining that gift which I begged for, that my person is an impediment to the whole Church. But I entirely trust that he who, through the grace of his Only-begotten, deigned to blot out the crimes of the human race, will not permit my person to prevail to the ruin of all, but rather will make grace overflow where sin abounded (See Rom 5:20), lord deservedly venerable and truly most blessed holy father. I myself, not ignorant, foretold the difficulty of the work which I suppliantly begged to be supplied through your beneficence for the instruction of us most unskilled; but from the abundance of the divine fountain which the Lord has granted you, I presumed with a truthful heart.
Ep211-270.12. Nam etsi Philastrius et Epiphanius venerandi episcopi tale aliquid scripsisse memorantur, quod procul dubio me inter caetera, imo sicut omnia, latet; non tamen arbitror eos hanc curam diligentiamque adhibuisse, ut singulis quibusque opinionibus contrarias etiam opiniones adiungerent, ritusque subiicerent; tum denique opus illud utriusque qualecumque sit, non habet fortassis eam quam desidero brevitatem. Frustra etiam homini qui latina non didicit, graeca facundia delegatur; quia non ego tantummodo consilium, sed et auxilium postulavi. Quid autem Venerationem tuam de interpretum non solum difficultate, sed etiam obscuritate admoneam, cum ipse hoc magis, ac plene diiudices? Accedit ad causam, quod nonnullae etiam post illorum obitum haereses emersisse doceantur, quarum nullam illi fecerint mentionem. A. satisfaciat amico.
2. For even if Philastrius and Epiphanius, venerable bishops, are recorded to have written something of this kind—which without doubt escapes me among other things, indeed like everything—I do not think, nevertheless, that they applied this care and diligence, namely to add to each opinion the contrary opinions as well, and to subjoin the rites; and then, finally, that work of either of them, of whatever kind it may be, does not perhaps have the brevity I desire. In vain, too, is Greek eloquence assigned to a man who has not learned Latin; because I asked not only for counsel but also for help. But why should I admonish Your Reverence about the difficulty, and even the obscurity, of translators, when you yourself judge this better and fully? There is added to the case that some heresies too are taught to have emerged even after their death, of none of which they made any mention.
Ep211-270.23. Quamobrem ad peculiare patrocinium pietatis tuae confugio, et voce mea, sed universali desiderio, paratum ad misericordiam sacrosanctum pietatis pectus appello; sequestratis saporibus peregrinis, considerato textu prioris epistolae, panem Afrum, quem nostra provincia solet habere praecipuum, coelesti etiam manna conditum, sero pulsanti , et famem patienti non deneges. Profecto enim nec ego pulsare cessabo, donec ipse concedas; ut quod non impetrat privilegium, quod nullum est meritorum, saltem indefessa importunitas mereatur.
3. Wherefore I flee to the special patronage of your piety, and with my own voice, but with a universal desire, I appeal to the sacred breast of your piety, ready for mercy; setting aside foreign flavors, with the text of my former letter considered, do not deny African bread—which our province is accustomed to have as something special—seasoned even with heavenly manna, to one knocking late (See Luke 11:5-8) and suffering hunger. For indeed I too will not cease to knock until you yourself grant it; so that what privilege does not obtain—which is nothing of merits—at least unwearied importunity may merit.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 224
DOMINO SINCERITER DILECTISSIMO, FRATRI ET CONDIACONO QUODVULTDEO, AUGUSTINUS EPISCOPUS.
DOMINO SINCERITER DILECTISSIMO, FRATRI ET CONDIACONO QUODVULTDEO, AUGUSTINUS EPISCOPUS.
LETTER 224
TO QUODVULTDEUS, A LORD SINCERELY MOST BELOVED, MY BROTHER AND FELLOW DEACON, AUGUSTINE, A BISHOP.
Ep211-270.3TO QUODVULTDEUS, A LORD SINCERELY MOST BELOVED, MY BROTHER AND FELLOW DEACON, AUGUSTINE, A BISHOP.
1. Cum mihi haec scribendi offerretur occasio per Fussalensem presbyterum, quem commendo caritati tuae, recensui epistolam tuam, in qua petis ut de haeresibus quae oriri potuerunt ex quo Domini in carne nuntiari coepit adventus, aliquid scriberem. Hoc autem feci, ut viderem utrum iam deberem opus ipsum aggredi, et inde tibi aliquid mittere; ubi considerares tanto esse difficilius, quanto vis effici brevius. Sed ne hoc quidem potui, talibus curis supervenientibus impeditus, a quibus omnino dissimulare non possem: nam me et ab eo quod habebam in manibus, averterunt. A. urgetur ut respondeat Iuliano dum suos retractat libros.
1. When this occasion for writing was offered me through the priest of Fussala, whom I commend to your Charity, I reviewed your letter, in which you ask that I write something about the heresies that could have arisen from the time the coming of the Lord in the flesh began to be announced. This I did, to see whether I ought now to undertake the work itself, and to send you something of it, where you might consider that it is the more difficult the more you wish it to be made brief. But I could not do even this, hindered by such cares supervening, from which I could in no way pretend to be free: for they turned me away even from what I had in hand.
Ep211-270.12. Hoc autem est, ubi respondeo libris Iuliani, quos octo edidit post illos quatuor quibus ante respondi. Hos enim cum Romae accepisset frater Alypius, nondum omnes descripserat, cum oblatam occasionem noluit praeterire, per quam mihi quinque transmisit; promittens alios tres cito se esse missurum, et multum instans ne respondere differrem. Cuius instantia coactus sum remissius agere quod agebam; ut operi utrique non deessem, uni diebus, alteri noctibus, quando mihi ab aliis occupationibus hinc atque hinc venire non desistentibus parceretur. Agebam vero rem plurimum necessariam: nam retractabam opuscula mea; et si quid in eis me offenderet, vel alios offendere posset, partim reprehendendo, partim defendendo quod legi deberet et posset, operabar. Et duo volumina iam absolveram, retractatis omnibus libris meis, quorum numerum nesciebam: eosque ducentos triginta duos esse cognovi. Restabant epistolae, deinde tractatus populares, quos Graeci homilias vocant. Et plurimas iam epistolarum legeram, sed adhuc nihil inde dictaveram, cum me etiam isti Iuliani libri occupare coeperunt, quorum nunc quarto respondere coepi. Quando ergo id explicavero, quintoque respondero, si tres non supervenerint, dispono (si Deus voluerit) et quod poscis incipere, simul agens utrumque, et hoc scilicet, et illud de retractatione opusculorum meorum, nocturnis et diurnis temporibus in singula distributis. A. perlatorem commendat.
2. This is where I am answering the books of Julian, which he published—eight of them, after those four to which I previously responded. For when brother Alypius had received them at Rome, he had not yet copied them all when he was unwilling to let pass the occasion offered, through which he sent me five; promising that he would soon send the other three, and urging much that I not delay to answer. Compelled by his urging, I have been carrying on more remissly the work I was doing; so that I might not fail either work, the one by day, the other by night, when I was spared by other occupations that do not cease to come upon me from this side and that. But I was carrying on a most necessary matter: for I was revising my little works; and if anything in them offended me, or could offend others, I was at work, partly by reproving, partly by defending what ought to and could be read. And I had already finished two volumes, all my books having been revised, whose number I did not know: and I learned that they were two hundred and thirty-two. There remained the letters, then the popular discourses, which the Greeks call homilies. And I had already read very many of the letters, but had as yet dictated nothing from them, when these books of Julian too began to occupy me, the fourth of which I have now begun to answer. When, then, I have unfolded this, and have answered the fifth, if the three do not supervene, I plan (if God wills) to begin also what you ask, doing both at once—this, namely, and that revision of my little works—at nighttime and daytime hours distributed among the several tasks.
Ep211-270.23. Hoc ideo insinuavi Sanctitati tuae, ut quantum tibi desiderium est sumendi quod poscis, tanto flagrantius a Domino mihi poscas adiutorium, quo serviam laudabili studio tuo, atque utilitati eorum quibus id existimas profuturum, domine sinceriter dilectissime frater. Commendo iterum perlatorem, et negotium propter quod eo perrexit; si cognoveris apud quem agendum sit, peto ne pigeat adiuvare. Non enim possumus necessitates hominum eiusmodi deserere, qui nostri non coloni, sed quod maius est, fratres sunt, et in caritate Christi ad curam pertinent nostram. Deo vivas.
3. This I have intimated to Your Holiness for this reason, that, as great as your desire is to receive what you ask, so much the more ardently you may ask of the Lord help for me, by which I may serve your praiseworthy zeal, and the advantage of those whom you judge it will profit, lord sincerely most beloved brother. I commend again the bearer, and the business for which he has gone there; if you learn before whom it must be conducted, I ask that you not be reluctant to help. For we cannot abandon the necessities of men of this kind, who are not our tenants, but—what is greater—our brothers, and in the love of Christ pertain to our care. May you live for God.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 225
DOMINO BEATISSIMO PAPAE, INEFFABILITER MIRABILI, INCOMPARABILITER HONORANDO, PRAESTANTISSIMO PATRONO AUGUSTINO, PROSPER.
DOMINO BEATISSIMO PAPAE, INEFFABILITER MIRABILI, INCOMPARABILITER HONORANDO, PRAESTANTISSIMO PATRONO AUGUSTINO, PROSPER.
LETTER 225
TO AUGUSTINE, A MOST BLESSED LORD POPE, INEFFABLY WONDERFUL, INCOMPARABLY TO BE HONORED, A MOST EXCELLENT PATRON, PROSPER.
Ep211-270.3TO AUGUSTINE, A MOST BLESSED LORD POPE, INEFFABLY WONDERFUL, INCOMPARABLY TO BE HONORED, A MOST EXCELLENT PATRON, PROSPER.
1. Ignotus quidem tibi facie, sed iam aliquatenus, si reminiscaris, animo ac sermone compertus; nam per sanctum fratrem meum Leontium diaconum misi epistolas et recepi; nunc quoque Beatitudini tuae scribere audeo, non solum salutationis, ut tunc, studio, sed etiam fidei, qua Ecclesia vivit, affectu. Excubante enim pro universis membris corporis Christi vigilantissima industria tua, et adversus haereticarum doctrinarum insidias veritatis virtute pugnante, nullo modo mihi verendum putavi ne onerosus tibi, aut importunus essem in eo quod ad multorum salutem, ac perinde ad pietatem tuam pertinet: cum potius reum futurum esse me crederem, si ea, quae valde perniciosa esse intellego, ad specialem patronum fidei non referrem. Massimilienses monachi cur doctrinam A. reiciant.
1. Unknown indeed to you by face, but already to some extent, if you recall, known to you in mind and speech—for through my holy brother the deacon Leontius I sent letters and received them—now too I dare to write to Your Beatitude, not only out of zeal for greeting, as then, but also out of affection for the faith by which the Church lives. For since your most vigilant industry keeps watch over all the members of the body of Christ (See 1 Cor 12:27), and fights against the snares of heretical doctrines by the power of truth, I thought I need in no way fear to be burdensome or importunate to you in that which pertains to the salvation of many, and accordingly to your piety: since I would rather believe myself to be guilty in the future, if I did not refer to the special patron of the faith those things which I understand to be very pernicious.
Ep211-270.12. Multi ergo servorum Christi qui in Massiliensi urbe consistunt, in Sanctitatis tuae scriptis quae adversus Pelagianos haereticos condidisti, contrarium putant patrum opinioni et ecclesiastico sensui, quidquid in eis de vocatione electorum secundum Dei propositum disputasti. Et cum aliquandiu tarditatem suam culpare maluerint, quam non intellecta reprehendere, quidamque eorum lucidiorem super hoc atque apertiorem Beatitudinis tuae expositionem voluerint postulare; evenit ex dispositione misericordiae Dei, ut cum quosdam intra Africam similia movissent, librum de Correptione et Gratia, plenum divinae auctoritatis emitteres. Quo in notitiam nostram insperata opportunitate delato, putavimus omnes querelas resistentium sopiendas; quia universis quaestionibus de quibus consulenda erat Sanctitas tua, tam plene illic absoluteque responsum est, quasi hoc specialiter studueris, ut quae apud nos erant turbata componeres. Recensito autem hoc Beatitudinis tuae libro, sicut qui sanctam atque apostolicam doctrinae tuae auctoritatem antea sequebantur, intellegentiores multo instructioresque sunt facti; ita qui persuasionis suae impediebantur obscuro, aversiores quam fuerant, recesserunt. Quorum tam abrupta dissensio primum propter ipsos metuenda est, ne tam claris tamque egregiis in omnium virtutum studio viris spiritus pelagianae impietatis illudat: deinde ne simpliciores quique, apud quos horum magna est de probitatis contemplatione reverentia, hoc tutissimum sibi aestiment quod audiant eos, quorum auctoritatem sine iudicio sequuntur, asserere. Cur praedestinatio ab A. explanata reiciatur.
2. Many servants of Christ, then, who reside in the city of Marseilles, think that, in the writings of Your Holiness which you composed against the Pelagian heretics, whatever you argued in them about the calling of the elect according to the purpose of God is contrary to the opinion of the fathers and to the ecclesiastical understanding. And when for some time they had preferred to blame their own slowness rather than to reprehend things they did not understand, and certain of them had wished to ask for a clearer and more open exposition of Your Beatitude on this matter, it came about, by the dispensation of God's mercy, that, when certain people within Africa had stirred up similar things, you published the book On Rebuke and Grace, full of divine authority. When this had been brought to our notice by an unhoped-for opportunity, we thought all the complaints of those resisting would be put to rest; because to all the questions about which Your Holiness was to be consulted, it was there so fully and completely answered, as if you had specially striven to compose what was disturbed among us. But when this book of Your Beatitude had been reviewed, just as those who previously followed the holy and apostolic authority of your teaching were made much more intelligent and instructed, so those who were hindered by the obscurity of their own conviction departed more averse than they had been. Their so abrupt dissent is first to be feared on their own account, lest the spirit of Pelagian impiety should mock men so renowned and so distinguished in the pursuit of all virtues: then, lest the simpler folk—among whom there is great reverence for these men from the contemplation of their probity—should think this safest for themselves, that they hear those whose authority they follow without judgment to assert it.
Ep211-270.23. Haec enim ipsorum definitio ac professio est: Omnem quidem hominem Adam peccante peccasse; et neminem per opera sua, sed per Dei gratiam regeneratione salvari: universis tamen hominibus propitiationem, quae est in Sacramento sanguinis Christi, sine exceptione esse propositam, ut quicumque ad fidem et ad Baptismum accedere voluerint, salvi esse possint. Qui autem credituri sunt, quive in ea fide, quae deinceps per gratiam sit iuvanda, mansuri sunt, praescisse ante mundi constitutionem Deum, et eos praedestinasse in regnum suum , quos gratis vocatos, dignos futuros electione, et de hac vita bono fine excessuros esse praeviderit. Ideoque omnem hominem ad credendum et ad operandum divinis institutionibus admoneri, ut de apprehendenda vita aeterna nemo desperet, cum voluntariae devotioni remuneratio sit parata. Hoc autem propositum vocationis Dei, quo vel ante mundi initium, vel in ipsa conditione generis humani, eligendorum et reiiciendorum dicitur facta discretio, ut secundum quod placuit Creatori, alii vasa honoris, alii vasa contumeliae sint creati , et lapsis curam resurgendi adimere, et sanctis occasionem teporis afferre; eo quod in utraque parte superfluus labor sit, si neque reiectus ulla industria possit intrare, neque electus ulla neglegentia possit excidere: quoquo enim modo se egerint, non posse aliud erga eos quam Deus definivit, accidere; et sub incerta spe cursum non posse esse constantem, cum, si aliud habeat praedestinantis electio, cassa sit adnitentis intentio. Removeri itaque omnem industriam, tollique virtutes, si Dei constitutio humanas praeveniat voluntates: et sub hoc praedestinationis nomine, fatalem quamdam induci necessitatem; aut diversarum naturarum dici Dominum conditorem, si nemo aliud possit esse quam factus est. Atque ut brevius ac plenius quod opinantur exponam, quidquid in libro hoc ex contradicentium sensu Sanctitas tua sibi opposuit, quidquid etiam in libris contra Iulianum ab ipso sub hac quaestione obiectum, potentissime debellasti; hoc totum ab istis sanctis intentiosissime conclamatur. Et cum contra eos scripta Beatitudinis tuae validissimis et innumeris testimoniis divinarum Scripturarum instructa proferimus, ac secundum formam disputationum tuarum, aliquid etiam ipsi quo concludantur astruimus; obstinationem suam vetustate defendunt: et ea quae de Epistola apostoli Pauli Romanis scribentis , ad manifestationem divinae gratiae praevenientis electorum merita proferuntur, a nullo umquam ecclesiasticorum ita esse intellecta, ut nunc sentiuntur, affirmant. Cumque ut ipsi ea exponant secundum quorum velint sensa, deposcimus, nihil se profitentur invenisse quod placeat, et de his taceri exigunt, quorum altitudinem nullus attigerit. Eo postremo pervicacia tota descendit, ut fidem nostram aedificationi audientium contrariam esse definiant, ac sic, etiamsi vera sit, non promendam: quia et perniciose non recipienda tradantur; et nullo periculo, quae intellegi nequeant, conticeantur. Alia sententia multo magis pelagianizans.
3. For this is their definition and profession: that every man indeed sinned when Adam sinned; and that no one is saved by his own works, but by the grace of God through regeneration: that nevertheless the propitiation which is in the Sacrament of the blood of Christ is set forth without exception for all men, so that whoever wish to come to faith and to baptism can be saved. But that those who will believe, and those who will remain in that faith which thereafter is to be helped by grace, God foreknew before the foundation of the world, and predestined to his kingdom (See Eph 1:4-5) those whom, called freely, he foresaw would be worthy of election and would depart this life with a good end. And therefore every man is admonished to believe and to act by the divine institutions, so that no one may despair of laying hold of eternal life, since a reward is prepared for voluntary devotion. But this purpose of God's calling, by which the distinction of those to be chosen and those to be rejected is said to have been made either before the beginning of the world or in the very founding of the human race, so that, according as it pleased the Creator, some were created vessels of honor, others vessels of dishonor (See Rom 9:21), both removes from the fallen the care of rising again and brings to the saints an occasion of lukewarmness; for the reason that on both sides the labor is superfluous, if neither the rejected can by any industry enter, nor the elect by any negligence fall away: for in whatever way they conduct themselves, nothing can happen to them other than what God has determined; and under an uncertain hope the course cannot be steady, since, if the election of the one predestining holds otherwise, the intention of the one striving is empty. Thus all industry is removed, and virtues are taken away, if God's decree anticipates human wills: and under this name of predestination a kind of fatal necessity is introduced; or else the Lord is called the founder of diverse natures, if no one can be anything other than he was made. And, to set forth more briefly and fully what they think: whatever in this book Your Holiness set against yourself from the understanding of opponents, whatever too in the books against Julian was objected by him under this question, you most powerfully overthrew; all this is most contentiously cried out by these holy men. And when we bring forth the writings of Your Beatitude against them, furnished with most powerful and innumerable testimonies of the divine Scriptures, and according to the form of your disputations also construct something by which they may be concluded, they defend their obstinacy by antiquity: and they affirm that those things which are brought forth from the Letter of the apostle Paul writing to the Romans (See Rom 9), to manifest the divine grace anticipating the merits of the elect, were never so understood by any of the ecclesiastics as they are now perceived. And when we demand that they themselves expound these passages according to whatever sense they wish, they profess to have found nothing that pleases, and require that silence be kept about those things whose depth no one has reached. At last the whole obstinacy comes down to this: that they define our faith to be contrary to the edification of hearers, and so, even if it is true, it is not to be brought forth: because both things perniciously not to be received are handed down; and with no danger are those things kept silent which cannot be understood.
Ep211-270.34. Quidam vero horum in tantum a pelagianis semitis non declinant, ut cum ad confitendam eam Christi gratiam quae omnia praeveniant merita humana, cogantur, ne si meritis redditur, frustra gratia nominetur; ad conditionem hanc velint uniuscuiusque hominis pertinere, in qua eum nihil prius merentem, quia nec existentem, liberi arbitrii et rationalem gratia Creatoris instituat, ut per discretionem boni et mali , et ad cognitionem Dei et ad obedientiam mandatorum eius possit suam dirigere voluntatem, atque ad hanc gratiam qua in Christo renascimur, pervenire, per naturalem scilicet facultatem, petendo, quaerendo, pulsando : ut ideo accipiat, ideo inveniat, ideo introeat, quia bono naturae bene usus, ad istam salvantem gratiam, initialis gratiae ope meruerit pervenire. Propositum autem vocantis gratiae in hoc omnino definiunt, quod Deus constituerit nullum in regnum suum, nisi per Sacramentum regenerationis assumere, et ad hoc salutis donum omnes homines universaliter, sive per naturalem, sive per scriptam legem, sive per evangelicam praedicationem vocari: ut et qui voluerint, fiant filii Dei, et inexcusabiles sint qui fideles esse noluerint; quia iustitia Dei in eo sit, ut qui non crediderint, pereant ; bonitas in eo appareat, si neminem repellat a vita, sed indifferenter universos velit salvos fieri et in agnitionem veritatis venire . Iam hic proferunt testimonia quibus divinarum Scripturarum cohortatio ad obediendum incitat hominum voluntates, qui ex libero arbitrio, aut faciant quae iubentur, aut neglegant: et consequens putant ut quia praevaricator ideo dicitur non obedisse, quia noluit, fidelis quoque non dubitetur ob hoc devotus fuisse, quia voluit; et quantum quisque ad malum, tantum habeat facultatis ad bonum; parique momento animum se vel ad vitia, vel ad virtutes movere, quem bona appetentem gratia Dei foveat, mala sectantem damnatio iusta suscipiat. Dei praescientia et futuribilia.
4. But certain of these so far do not turn aside from the Pelagian paths that, when they are compelled to confess that grace of Christ which anticipates all human merits—lest, if it is repaid to merits, grace be named in vain—they want this to pertain to the condition of each man, in which the grace of the Creator establishes him, meriting nothing prior (since he does not even yet exist), as endowed with free choice and rational, so that through the discernment of good and evil (See Gen 2:9, 17) he may be able both to direct his will to the knowledge of God and to the obedience of his commandments, and to arrive at this grace by which we are reborn in Christ—namely, by the natural faculty, asking, seeking, knocking (See Matt 7:7-8): so that for this reason he receives, for this reason he finds, for this reason he enters, because, having used the good of nature well, he has merited, by the help of an initial grace, to arrive at that saving grace. But the purpose of the calling grace they define altogether thus: that God has determined to take no one into his kingdom except through the Sacrament of regeneration, and that to this gift of salvation all men universally are called, whether through the natural, or the written law, or evangelical preaching: so that both those who are willing may become sons of God, and those who have been unwilling to be faithful may be inexcusable; because the justice of God is in this, that those who have not believed perish (See John 3:18); his goodness appears in this, if he repels no one from life, but indifferently wills all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (See 1 Tim 2:4). Here now they bring forth testimonies by which the exhortation of the divine Scriptures incites the wills of men to obey, who out of free choice either do what is commanded or neglect it: and they think it follows that, because the transgressor is said not to have obeyed for the reason that he was unwilling, so too the faithful man is not to be doubted to have been devout for the reason that he was willing; and that each has as much faculty for good as for evil; and that with equal weight the mind moves itself either to vices or to virtues—the mind which, desiring good things, the grace of God fosters, and, pursuing evil things, a just damnation receives.
Ep211-270.45. Cumque inter haec innumerabilium illis multitudo obicitur parvulorum, qui utique excepto originali peccato, sub quo omnes homines similiter in primi hominis damnatione nascuntur, nullas adhuc habentes voluntates. nullas proprias actiones, non sine Dei iudicio secernuntur; ut ante discretionem boni ac mali de usu vitae istius auferendi, alii per regenerationem inter coelestis regni assumantur haeredes, alii sine Baptismo inter mortis perpetuae transeant debitores: tales aiunt perdi, talesque salvari, quales futuros illos in annis maioribus, si ad activam servarentur aetatem, scientia divina praeviderit Nec considerant se gratiam Dei, quam comitem, non praeviam humanorum volunt esse meritorum, etiam illis voluntatibus subdere, quas ab ea, secundum suam phantasiam, non negant esse praeventas. Sed in tantum quibuscumque commentitiis meritis electionem Dei subiciunt, ut quia praeterita non exstant, futura, quae non sint futura, confingant, novoque apud illos absurditatis genere, et non agenda praescita sint, et praescita non acta sint. Hanc sane de humanis meritis praescientiam Dei, secundum quam gratia vocantis operetur, multo sibi rationabilius videntur astruere, cum ad earum nationum contemplationem venitur, quae vel in praeteritis saeculis dimissae sunt ingredi vias suas , vel nunc quoque adhuc in veteris ignorantiae impietate depereunt, nec ulla eis aut Legis aut Evangelii illuminatio coruscavit; cum tamen, in quantum praedicatoribus ostium apertum est et via facta est, gentium populus, qui sedebat in tenebris et in umbra mortis , lucem viderit magnam; et qui quondam non populus, nunc autem populus Dei sit; et quorum aliquando non misertus est, nunc autem misereatur : praevisos inquiunt a Domino credituros, et ad unamquamque gentem ita dispensata tempora ac ministeria magistrorum, ut exortura erat bonarum credulitas voluntatum: nec vacillare illud, quod Deus omnes homines velit salvos fieri, et in agnitionem veritatis venire ; quandoquidem inexcusabiles sint qui et ad unius veri Dei cultum potuerint instrui intellegentia naturali, et Evangelium ideo non audierint, quia nec fuerint recepturi. Priorem dicunt hominis oboedientiam quam gratiam.
5. And when, among these things, the multitude of innumerable little children is set against them, who surely—apart from original sin, under which all men are alike born in the damnation of the first man—having as yet no wills, no proper actions, are not separated without the judgment of God; so that, to be taken from the use of this life before the discernment of good and evil, some, through regeneration (See Titus 3:5), are received among the heirs of the heavenly kingdom, others, without baptism, pass over among the debtors of perpetual death: they say that such are lost, and such are saved, as the divine knowledge has foreseen they would be in their later years, if they were preserved to the active age. Nor do they consider that they subject the grace of God—which they want to be the companion, not the forerunner, of human merits—even to those wills which, according to their fancy, they do not deny to have been anticipated by it. But to such an extent do they subject God's election to any sort of fabricated merits, that, because past ones do not exist, they invent future ones that will not be, and, by a new kind of absurdity among them, both things not to be done are foreknown, and things foreknown are not done. This foreknowledge of God concerning human merits, according to which the grace of the one calling operates, they seem to themselves to construct much more reasonably, when one comes to the contemplation of those nations which either in past ages were allowed to walk in their own ways (See Acts 14:16), or even now still perish in the impiety of their old ignorance, and on whom no illumination of either the Law or the Gospel has flashed; while nevertheless, insofar as a door has been opened to the preachers and a way made, the people of the nations, who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death (See Matt 4:16; Isa 9:2), have seen a great light; and those who once were not a people are now the people of God; and those on whom he once had no mercy he now has mercy (See 1 Pet 2:10; Hos 2:23): they say that these were foreseen by the Lord as about to believe, and that the times and ministries of teachers were so dispensed to each nation as the belief of good wills was about to arise: and that it does not waver, that God wills all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4); since those are inexcusable who could have been instructed by natural intelligence to the worship of the one true God, and did not hear the Gospel for this reason, that they were not going to receive it.
Ep211-270.56. Pro universo autem humano genere mortuum esse Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, et neminem prorsus a redemptione sanguinis eius exceptum, etiamsi omnem hanc vitam alienissima ab eo mente pertranseat; quia ad omnes homines pertineat divinae misericordiae Sacramentum: quo ideo plurimi non renoventur, quia quod nec renovari velle habeant, praenoscantur. Itaque, quantum ad Deum pertinet, omnibus paratam vitam aeternam; quantum autem ad arbitrii libertatem, ab his eam apprehendi, qui Deo sponte crediderint, et auxilium gratiae merito credulitatis acceperint. In istam vero talis gratiae praedicationem hi, quorum contradictione offendimur, cum prius meliora sentirent, ideo se vel maxime contulerunt, quia si profiterentur ab ea omnia bona merita praeveniri, et ab ipsa ut possint esse, donari; necessitate concederent Deum secundum propositum et consilium voluntatis suae, occulto iudicio, et opere manifesto, aliud vas condere in honorem, aliud in contumeliam ; quia nemo nisi per gratiam iustificetur, et nemo nisi in praevaricatione nascatur . Sed refugiunt istud fateri, divinoque adscribere operi sanctorum merita formidant; nec acquiescunt praedestinatum electorum numerum nec augeri posse nec minui, ne locum apud infideles ac neglegentes cohortantium incitamenta non habeant, ac superflua sit industriae ac laboris indictio, cuius studium cessante electione frustrandum sit: ita demum enim posse unumquemque ad correctionem aut ad profectum vocari, si se sciat sua diligentia bonum esse posse, et libertatem suam ob hoc Dei auxilio iuvandam, si quod Deus mandat, elegerit. Ac sic, cum in his qui tempus acceperunt liberae voluntatis, duo sint quae humanam operentur salutem, Dei scilicet gratia et hominis obedientia; priorem volunt obedientiam esse quam gratiam, ut initium salutis ex eo qui salvatur, non ex eo credendum sit stare qui salvat, et voluntas hominis divinae gratiae sibi pariat opem, non gratia sibi humanam subiciat voluntatem. Quam perniciosae pelagianae haereseos reliquiae.
6. But that our Lord Jesus Christ died for the whole human race, and that absolutely no one is excepted from the redemption of his blood, even if he passes through all this life with a mind most alien to him; because the Sacrament of divine mercy pertains to all men: and that very many are for this reason not renewed, because they are foreknown as those who will not even be willing to be renewed. And so, as far as pertains to God, eternal life is prepared for all; but as far as pertains to the freedom of choice, it is laid hold of by those who have voluntarily believed in God, and have received the help of grace by the merit of their belief. But into this preaching of such a grace those whose contradiction offends us, although they previously thought better things, have for this reason most of all betaken themselves, because, if they professed that all good merits are anticipated by it, and that by it they are granted the power even to exist, they would by necessity grant that God, according to the purpose and counsel of his will, by a hidden judgment and a manifest work, fashions one vessel unto honor, another unto dishonor (See Rom 9:21); because no one is justified except by grace, and no one is born except in transgression (See Ps 51:5 (50:7)). But they shrink from confessing this, and dread to ascribe the merits of the saints to the divine work; nor do they acquiesce that the predestined number of the elect can neither be increased nor diminished, lest the incitements of those exhorting should have no place among the unbelieving and negligent, and the injunction of industry and labor should be superfluous, whose zeal, with election ceasing, would have to be frustrated: for thus at last, they say, can each one be called to correction or to advancement, if he knows that by his own diligence he can be good, and that his liberty is for this reason to be helped by God's aid, if he chooses what God commands. And so, since in those who have received the time of free will there are two things that work human salvation, namely the grace of God and the obedience of man, they want obedience to be prior to grace, so that the beginning of salvation is to be believed to stand from him who is saved, not from him who saves, and the will of man begets for itself the help of divine grace, rather than grace subjecting to itself the human will.
Ep211-270.67. Quod cum perversissimum esse, revelante Dei misericordia, et instruente nos tua Beatitudine noverimus; possumus quidem ad non credendum esse constantes, sed ad auctoritatem talia sentientium non sumus pares: quia multum nos et vitae meritis antecellunt, et aliqui eorum, adepto nuper summi sacerdotii honore, supereminent; nec facile quisquam praeter paucos perfectae gratiae intrepidos amatores, tanto superiorum disputationibus ausus est contraire. Ex quo non solum his qui eos audiunt, verum etiam ipsis qui audiuntur, cum dignitatibus crevit periculum; dum et multos reverentia eorum aut inutili cohibet silentio, aut incurioso ducit assensu; et saluberrimum ipsis videtur quod pene nullius contradictione reprehenditur. Unde, quia in istis pelagianae pravitatis reliquiis non mediocris virulentiae fibra nutritur, si principium salutis male in homine collocatur; si divinae voluntati impie voluntas humana praefertur, ut ideo quis adiuvetur quia voluit, non ideo quia adiuvatur, velit; si originaliter malus receptionem boni non a summo bono, sed a semetipso inchoare male creditur; si aliunde Deo placetur, nisi ex eo quod ipse donaverit: tribue nobis in hac causa, papa beatissime, pater optime, quantum iuvante Domino potes, diligentiam pietatis tuae, ut quae in istis quaestionibus obscuriora, et ad percipiendum difficiliora sunt, quam lucidissimis expositionibus digneris aperire. Quaedam magis explicanda.
7. Since we have come to know, by the revelation of God's mercy and the instruction of Your Beatitude, that this is most perverse, we can indeed be steadfast in not believing it, but we are not equal to the authority of those who think such things: because they far excel us both in the merits of their life, and some of them, having lately attained the honor of the highest priesthood, are eminent above us; nor has anyone easily, except a few intrepid lovers of perfect grace, dared to go against the disputations of such great superiors. From which not only to those who hear them, but even to those very ones who are heard, the danger has grown along with their dignities; while reverence for them either restrains many in useless silence or leads them to incautious assent; and what is reprehended by the contradiction of almost no one seems to them most wholesome. Hence, because in these remnants of Pelagian depravity a fiber of no slight virulence is nourished, if the beginning of salvation is wrongly placed in man; if the human will is impiously preferred to the divine will, so that one is helped for the reason that he was willing, not is willing for the reason that he is helped; if one originally evil is wrongly believed to begin the reception of good not from the highest good but from himself; if God is pleased from any other source than from that which he himself has given: grant us in this cause, most blessed pope, best father, as much as you can with the Lord's help, the diligence of your piety, so that the things which in these questions are more obscure and more difficult to grasp, you may deign to open with the clearest expositions.
Ep211-270.78. Ac primum, quia plerique non putant christianam fidem hac dissensione violari, quantum periculi sit in eorum persuasione patefacias. Deinde, quomodo per istam praeoperantem et cooperantem gratiam liberum non impediatur arbitrium. Tum, utrum praescientia Dei ita secundum propositum maneat, ut ea ipsa quae sunt proposita, sint accipienda praescita: an per genera causarum et species personarum ista varientur; ut quia diversae sunt vocationes in his qui nihil operaturi salvantur, quasi solum Dei propositum videatur existere; in his autem qui aliquid boni acturi sunt, per praescientiam possit stare propositum: an vero uniformiter, licet dividi praescientia a proposito temporali distinctione non possit, praescientia tamen quodam ordine sit subnixa proposito; et sicut nihil sit quorumcumque negotiorum, quod non scientia divina praevenerit, ita nihil sit boni, quod in nostram participationem non Deo auctore defluxerit. Postremo, quemadmodum per hanc praedicationem propositi Dei, quo fideles fiunt qui praeordinati sunt ad vitam aeternam, nemo eorum qui cohortandi sunt impediatur, nec occasionem neglegentiae habeant, si se praedestinatos esse desperent. Illud etiam qualiter diluatur, quaesumus, patienter insipientiam nostram ferendo demonstres, quod retractatis priorum de hac re opinionibus, pene omnium par invenitur et una sententia, qua propositum et praedestinationem Dei secundum praescientiam receperunt; ut ob hoc Deus alios vasa honoris, alios contumeliae fecerit , quia finem uniuscuiusque praeviderit, et sub ipso gratiae adiutorio in qua futurus esset voluntate et actione praescierit. A. fidem catholicam tueatur periclitantem.
8. And first, because very many do not think the Christian faith is violated by this dissension, make plain how much danger there is in their conviction. Then, how through this grace that works beforehand and works together, free choice is not hindered. Then, whether the foreknowledge of God so remains according to the purpose that the very things which are purposed are to be taken as foreknown: or whether these things are varied through the kinds of causes and the species of persons; so that, because the callings are diverse in those who are saved though they will do nothing, the purpose of God alone seems to exist; but in those who will do some good, the purpose can stand through foreknowledge: or rather, uniformly—although foreknowledge cannot be divided from the purpose by a temporal distinction—foreknowledge is nevertheless in a certain order supported on the purpose; and just as there is nothing of any affairs whatever which the divine knowledge has not anticipated, so there is nothing of good which has not flowed into our participation with God as its author. Finally, how, through this preaching of God's purpose—by which those become faithful who are preordained to eternal life—none of those who are to be exhorted is hindered, nor do they have an occasion of negligence, if they despair of being predestined. We ask too that you demonstrate, by patiently bearing our foolishness, how that is to be dissolved which, when the opinions of earlier writers on this matter are reviewed, is found to be the like and one sentence of almost all, by which they received the purpose and predestination of God according to foreknowledge; so that for this reason God made some vessels of honor, others of dishonor (See Rom 9:21), because he foresaw the end of each one, and foreknew under that very help of grace in what will and action he would be.
Ep211-270.89. Quibus omnibus enodatis, et multis insuper, quae altiore intuitu ad causam hanc pertinentia magis potes videre, discussis; credimus et speramus non solum tenuitatem nostram disputationum tuarum praesidio roborandam, sed etiam ipsos quos meritis atque honoribus claros caligo istius opinionis obscurat, defaecatissimum lumen gratiae recepturos. Nam unum eorum praecipuae auctoritatis et spiritalium studiorum virum, sanctum Hilarium Arelatensem episcopum, sciat Beatitudo tua admiratorem sectatoremque in aliis omnibus tuae esse doctrinae; et de hoc quod in querelam trahit, iampridem apud Sanctitatem tuam sensum suum per litteras velle conferre. Sed quia utrum hoc facturus, aut quo fine sit facturus incertum est, et omnium nostrum fatigatio, providente hoc praesenti saeculo Dei gratia, in tuae caritatis et scientiae vigore respirat; adde eruditionem humilibus, adde increpationem superbis. Necessarium et utile est etiam quae scripta sunt scribere, ne leve existimetur quod non frequenter arguitur. Sanum enim putant esse quod non dolet, nec vulnus superductum cute sentiunt: sed intellegant perventurum ad sectionem, quod habuerit perseverantem tumorem. Gratia Dei et pax Domini nostri Iesu Christi coronet te in omni tempore, et ambulantem de virtute in virtutem glorificet in aeternum, domine papa beatissime, ineffabiliter mirabilis, incomparabiliter honorande, praestantissime patrone.
9. All these things being unraveled, and many besides—pertaining to this cause, which with a deeper insight you can better see—being discussed, we believe and hope that not only our slightness will be strengthened by the support of your disputations, but that even those whom the mist of this opinion, men renowned for merits and honors, obscures, will receive the most purified light of grace. For let Your Beatitude know that one of them, a man of especial authority and of spiritual pursuits, the holy Hilary, bishop of Arles, is an admirer and follower in all other things of your teaching; and that concerning this which he draws into complaint, he has for some time wished to convey his own view to Your Holiness by letter. But because it is uncertain whether he will do this, or with what end he will do it, and the weariness of us all, by the grace of God providing this for the present age, breathes again in the vigor of your love and knowledge; add learning to the humble, add rebuke to the proud. It is necessary and useful to write even the things that have been written, lest that be thought light which is not frequently rebuked. For they think that to be sound which does not hurt, nor do they feel a wound covered over by skin: but let them understand that it will come to the lancing, which has had a persistent swelling. May the grace of God and the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ crown you at all times, and glorify you forever as you walk from virtue to virtue (See Ps 84:7 (83:8)), most blessed lord pope, ineffably wonderful, incomparably to be honored, most excellent patron.
Ep211-270.9EPISTOLA 226
Domino beatissimo ac toto affectu desiderando, et multum in Christo suscipiendo patri Augustino, Hilarius
Domino beatissimo ac toto affectu desiderando, et multum in Christo suscipiendo patri Augustino, Hilarius
LETTER 226
To Augustine, a most blessed lord, to be longed for with all affection, and much to be received in Christ, a father, Hilary.
Ep211-270.9To Augustine, a most blessed lord, to be longed for with all affection, and much to be received in Christ, a father, Hilary.
1. Si cessantibus contradicentium quaestionibus gratae sunt plerumque studiosorum inquisitiones, ut etiam illa quae absque periculo ignorarentur, ediscant; arbitror gratiorem fore sedulitatem nostrae relationis, quae dum indicat secundum quorumdam prosecutiones quaedam adversantia veritati, non tam sibi quam illis qui turbantur et turbant, per consilium sanctitatis tuae satagit provideri, domine beatissime ac toto affectu desiderande, et multum in Christo suscipiende pater. Quousque homo sit lapsus.
1. If, when the questions of opponents cease, the inquiries of the studious are for the most part welcome, so that they may learn even those things which could be unknown without danger, I think the diligence of our report will be more welcome, which, while it indicates, according to the pursuits of certain ones, some things adverse to truth, strives, through the counsel of Your Holiness, to provide not so much for itself as for those who are disturbed and who disturb, most blessed lord, to be longed for with all affection, and much to be received in Christ, a father.
Ep211-270.12. Haec sunt itaque quae Massiliae, vel aliis etiam locis in Gallia ventilantur. Novum et inutile esse praedicationi quod quidam secundum propositum eligendi dicantur, ut id nec arripere valeant nec tenere, nisi credendi voluntate donata. Excludi putant omnem praedicandi vigorem, si nihil quod per eum excitetur, in hominibus remansisse dicatur. Consentiunt omnem hominem in Adam periisse, nec inde quemquam posse proprio arbitrio liberari: sed id conveniens asserunt veritati, vel congruum praedicationi, ut, cum prostratis et numquam suis viribus surrecturis annuntiatur obtinendae salutis occasio, eo merito quo voluerint et crediderint a suo morbo se posse sanari, et ipsius fidei augmentum, et totius sanitatis suae consequantur effectum. Caeterum ad nullum opus vel incipiendum, nedum perficiendum, quemquam sibi sufficere posse consentiunt: neque enim alicui operi curationis eorum annumerandum putant, exterrita et supplici voluntate, unumquemque aegrotum velle sanari. Quod enim dicitur: Crede, et salvus eris ; unum horum exigi asserunt, aliud offerri; ut propter id quod exigitur, si redditum fuerit, id quod offertur deinceps tribuatur. Unde consequens putant exhibendam ab eo fidem, cuius naturae id voluntate Conditoris concessum est; et nullam ita depravatam vel exstinctam putant, ut non debeat vel possit se velle sanari; propter quod vel sanetur quis a sua, vel, si noluerit, cum sua aegritudine puniatur. Nec negari gratiam, si praecedere dicatur talis voluntas, quae tantum medicum quaerat, non autem quidquam ipsa iam valeat. Nam illa testimonia, ut est illud: Sicut unicuique partitus est mensuram fidei , et similia, ad id volunt valere, ut adiuvetur qui coeperit velle, non ut etiam donetur ut velit; reiectis ab hoc dono aliis pariter reis, et qui possent similiter liberari, si ea quae pariter indignis praestatur credendi voluntas, etiam ipsis similiter praestaretur. Si autem, aiunt, dicatur vel talem omnibus remansisse, qua vel contemnere quis valeat, vel obedire, de compendio putant rationem reddi electorum vel reiectorum in eo quod unicuique meritum propriae voluntatis adiungitur. Gratiam a Deo dari secundum praescientiam fidei.
2. These, then, are the things that are ventilated at Marseilles, or in other places too in Gaul. That it is novel and useless to preaching that certain ones are said to be chosen according to a purpose, so that they can neither lay hold of it nor hold it, unless the will of believing is given. They think that all force of preaching is excluded, if it is said that nothing has remained in men which could be roused by it. They agree that every man perished in Adam, and that no one can thence be freed by his own choice: but they assert this to be in agreement with truth, or suited to preaching, that, when to those laid low and never about to rise by their own strength the occasion of obtaining salvation is announced, by that merit by which they have willed and believed that they can be healed of their disease, they may obtain both the increase of faith itself and the effect of their whole healing. But as for any work, whether to be begun, much less perfected, they agree that no one can suffice for himself: for they do not think that any work of their cure is to be reckoned to a sick man's being willing, with a terrified and suppliant will, to be healed. For as to what is said, Believe, and you will be saved (See Acts 16:31), they assert that one of these is exacted, the other offered; so that on account of that which is exacted, if it has been rendered, that which is offered may thereafter be granted. Hence they think it follows that faith is to be exhibited by him to whose nature this was granted by the will of the Creator; and they think none so depraved or extinguished that it ought not, or cannot, will itself to be healed; on account of which either one is healed of his own disease, or, if he is unwilling, is punished with his disease. Nor is grace denied, if such a will is said to precede, which only seeks the physician, but is not itself yet able to do anything. For those testimonies, such as that, As to each one he has apportioned the measure of faith (See Rom 12:3), and the like, they want to avail to this, that he is helped who has begun to will, not also that it is given that he will; with others equally guilty rejected from this gift, who could likewise be freed, if that will of believing which is equally bestowed on the unworthy were likewise bestowed on them too. But if, they say, such a will be said to have remained in all, by which one is able either to despise or to obey, they think the account of the elect and the rejected is rendered by a shortcut, in that to each is joined the merit of his own will.
Ep211-270.23. Cum autem dicitur eis quare aliis vel alicubi praedicetur, vel non praedicetur, vel nunc praedicetur quod aliquando pene omnibus, sicut nunc aliquibus gentibus non praedicatum sit; dicunt id praescientiae esse divinae, ut eo tempore, et ibi, et illis veritas annuntiaretur, vel annuntietur, quando et ubi praenoscebatur esse credenda. Et hoc non solum aliorum catholicorum testimoniis, sed etiam Sanctitatis tuae disputatione antiquiore se probare testantur; ubi tamen eamdem gratiam non minore veritatis perspicuitate docueris: ut est illud quod dixit Sanctitas tua in quaestione contra Porphyrium, de tempore christianae religionis, "Tunc voluisse hominibus apparere Christum, et apud eos praedicari doctrinam suam, quando sciebat et ubi sciebat esse qui in eum fuerant credituri ": vel illud de libro in Epistolam ad Romanos: Dicis itaque mihi, quid adhuc conqueritur? nam voluntati eius quis resistit? "Cui sane inquisitioni, inquis, sic respondet, ut intellegamus spiritalibus viris, etiam non secundum terrenum hominem viventibus, patere posse prima merita fidei et impietatis, quomodo Deus praescientia eligat credituros, et damnet incredulos: nec illos ex operibus eligens, nec istos ex operibus damnans; sed et illorum fidei praestans, ut bene operentur, et istorum impietatem deserendo obdurans, ut male operentur"; et iterum in eodem libro superius, "Aequales omnes sunt ante meritum, nec potest in rebus omni modo aequalibus electio nominari. Sed quoniam Spiritus sanctus non datur nisi credentibus; non quidem Deus eligit opera quae ipse largitur, cum dat Spiritum sanctum, ut per caritatem bona operemur: sed tamen eligit fidem, quia nisi quis credat, et in accipiendi voluntate permaneat, non accipit donum Dei, id est Spiritum sanctum, per quem infusa caritate bonum possit operari. Non ergo eligit opera cuiusquam in praescientia, quae ipse donaturus est: sed fidem eligit in praescientia; ut quem crediturum esse praescivit, ipsum elegerit cui Spiritum sanctum daret, ut bona operando etiam aeternam vitam consequeretur. Dicit enim Apostolus: Idem Deus qui operatur omnia in omnibus . Nusquam autem dictum est, Deus credit omnia in omnibus: quod enim credimus, nostrum est; quod autem operamur, illius" ; et caetera in eodem opere; quae se acceptare et probare testantur, tamquam convenientia evangelicae veritati. Quid de praedestinatione ac perseverantia sentiant contra A.
3. But when it is said to them why it is preached to others, or in some place, or not preached, or why that is now preached which once was preached to almost none, just as now it is not preached to certain nations; they say this is a matter of the divine foreknowledge, so that at that time, and there, and to those, the truth was, or is, announced, when and where it was foreknown to be about to be believed. And this they testify to prove not only by the testimonies of other Catholics, but even by an older disputation of Your Holiness; where nevertheless you taught the same grace with no less perspicuity of truth: as is that which Your Holiness said in the question against Porphyry, about the time of the Christian religion: "That Christ then willed to appear to men, and his teaching to be preached among them, when he knew and where he knew there would be those who were going to believe in him" (See Augustine, Letter 102.14): or that from the book on the Letter to the Romans: You will say to me then, why does he still find fault? For who resists his will? (Rom 9:19) "To which inquiry, you say, he so answers that we may understand that to spiritual men, living not according to the earthly man, the first merits of faith and impiety can lie open: how God by foreknowledge chooses those who will believe, and condemns unbelievers: neither choosing the former from works, nor condemning the latter from works; but both granting to the faith of the former that they may work well, and, by abandoning the impiety of the latter, hardening them, that they may work evil"; and again in the same book, above, "All are equal before merit, nor can there be a choice named in things in every way equal. But because the Holy Spirit is not given except to believers, God does not indeed choose the works which he himself bestows, when he gives the Holy Spirit, that through love we may work good things: but nevertheless he chooses faith, because unless one believes, and remains in the will of receiving, he does not receive the gift of God, that is, the Holy Spirit, through whom, love being poured in, he can work good. He does not therefore choose anyone's works in foreknowledge, which he himself is about to give: but he chooses faith in foreknowledge; so that whom he foreknew would believe, him he chose to whom he would give the Holy Spirit, that by working good he might also attain eternal life. For the Apostle says: The same God who works all things in all (1 Cor 12:6). But nowhere has it been said, God believes all things in all: for what we believe is ours; but what we work is his" See Augustine, On Eighty-three Varied Questions 68.5; Exposition of Certain Statements from the Letter to the Romans 60; and the rest in the same work; which they testify they accept and approve, as agreeing with evangelical truth.
Ep211-270.34. Caeterum praescientiam, et praedestinationem, vel propositum, ad id valere contendunt, ut eos praescierit, vel praedestinaverit, vel proposuerit eligere qui fuerant credituri: nec de hac fide posse dici: Quid habes quod non accepisti? cum in eadem natura remanserit, licet vitiata, quae prius sana ac perfecta donata sit. Quod autem dicit Sanctitas tua, neminem perseverare, nisi perseverandi virtute percepta; hactenus accipiunt, ut quibus datur, inerti licet, praecedenti tamen proprio arbitrio tribuatur: quod ad hoc tantum liberum asserunt, ut velit vel nolit admittere medicinam. Caeterum et ipsi abominari se et damnare testantur, si quis quidquam virium in aliquo remansisse, quo ad sanitatem progredi possit, existimet. Nolunt autem ita hanc perseverantiam praedicari, ut non vel suppliciter emereri, vel amitti contumaciter possit. Nec ad incertum voluntatis Dei deduci se volunt, ubi eis quantum putant ad obtinendum vel admittendum, evidens est qualecumque initium voluntatis. Illud etiam testimonium quod posuisti: Raptus est ne malitia mutaret intellectum eius ; tamquam non canonicum definiunt omittendum. Unde illam praescientiam sic accipiunt, ut propter fidem futuram intellegendi sint praesciti: nec cuiquam talem dari perseverantiam, a qua non permittatur praevaricari; sed a qua possit sua voluntate deficere et infirmari. Quid de gratia sentiant contra A.
4. But foreknowledge, and predestination, or purpose, they contend avail to this, that he foreknew, or predestined, or purposed to choose those who were going to believe: nor can it be said of this faith, What have you that you have not received? (1 Cor 4:7) since it remained in the same nature, though vitiated, which earlier was given sound and perfect. But what Your Holiness says, that no one perseveres unless he has received the power of persevering, they accept thus far: that it is granted to those to whom it is given by their own preceding choice, inert though it be: which they assert to be free only to this, that one may will or be unwilling to admit the medicine. But they too testify that they abominate and condemn it, if anyone supposes that any strength has remained in someone by which he can advance to health. But they do not want this perseverance to be so preached that it cannot be either suppliantly merited or contumaciously lost. Nor do they want themselves to be led to the uncertainty of God's will, where it is, as they think, evident to them—as to obtaining or admitting—what sort of beginning of will there is. That testimony too which you set down, He was snatched away lest malice change his understanding (See Wis 4:11); they define as not canonical, to be omitted. Hence they so take that foreknowledge that men are to be understood to have been foreknown on account of their future faith: and that to no one is such a perseverance given that he is not permitted to transgress; but one from which he can by his own will fall away and be weakened.
Ep211-270.45. Asserunt inutilem exhortandi consuetudinem, si nihil in homine remansisse dicatur, quod correptio valeat excitare: quod quidem inesse naturae sic se dicere confitentur, ut hoc ipso quod ignoranti veritas praedicatur, ad beneficium praesentis gratiae referendum sit. Nam si sic praedestinati sunt, inquiunt, ad utramque partem, ut de aliis ad alios nullus possit accedere; quo pertinet tanta extrinsecus correptionis instantia? Si ab homine, etsi non fides integra, saltem vel dolor compunctae infirmitatis exoritur, aut periculum demonstratae mortis horretur. Nam si non potest timere quis unde terretur, nisi ea voluntate quae sumitur; non ex eo culpandus quod nunc non vult: sed in eo et cum eo qui sic aliquando noluit, ut eam damnationem cum suis posteris mereretur incurrere, ut numquam recta, semper autem prava vellet appetere. Si autem est qualiscumque dolor qui ad exhortationem corripientis oriatur: hanc ipsam dicunt causam, propter quam vel reiiciatur alius, vel alius assumatur: atque ita non opus esse partes constitui, quibus nec adiciendum sit aliquid, nec detrahendum. Frustra distingui inter Adami et nostram.
5. They assert that the practice of exhorting is useless, if it is said that nothing has remained in man which rebuke could rouse: which indeed they confess they say is in nature in such a way that, by the very fact that the truth is preached to one ignorant of it, this is to be referred to the benefit of present grace. For if they are so predestined, they say, to either side, that no one can cross over from one to the other, to what does so great an insistence of rebuke from without pertain? If from man, even if not whole faith, at least some grief of a compunctious infirmity arises, or the peril of demonstrated death is dreaded. For if one cannot fear that by which he is terrified, except by that will which is received; he is not to be blamed for the fact that he now is unwilling: but in him and with him who once was so unwilling that he merited to incur, with his posterity, that damnation, that he should never will to desire right things, but always perverse. But if there is some grief, of whatever kind, which arises at the exhortation of the one rebuking: this very thing they say is the cause on account of which one is rejected, or another taken up: and so there is no need for portions to be established, to which nothing is either to be added or to be taken away.
Ep211-270.56. Deinde moleste ferunt ita dividi gratiam, quae vel tunc primo homini data est, vel nunc omnibus datur, "Ut ille acceperit perseverantiam, non qua fieret ut perseveraret, sed sine qua per liberum arbitrium perseverare non posset: nunc vero sanctis in regnum per gratiam praedestinatis non tale adiutorium perseverantiae detur, sed tale ut eis perseverantia ipsa donetur; non solum ut sine isto dono perseverantes esse non possint, verum etiam ut per hoc donum nonnisi perseverantes sint" . His verbis Sanctitatis tuae ita moventur, ut dicant quamdam desperationem hominibus exhiberi. Si enim, aiunt, ita Adam adiutus est, ut et stare posset in iustitia et a iustitia declinare, et nunc ita sancti iuvantur, ut declinare non possint, siquidem eam acceperunt volendi perseverantiam, ut aliud velle non possint; vel sic quidam deseruntur, ut aut nec accedant, aut, si accesserint, et recedant: ad illam voluntatem pertinuisse dicunt exhortationis vel comminationis utilitatem, quae et persistendi et desistendi obtinebat liberam potestatem; non ad hanc cui nolle iustitiam inevitabili necessitate coniunctum est, praeter illos qui sic concreati sunt his qui cum universa massa damnati sunt, ut exciperentur per gratiam liberandi. Unde in hoc solo volunt a primo homine omnium distare naturam, ut illum integris viribus voluntatis iuvaret gratia volentem, sine qua perseverare non poterat: hos autem amissis et perditis viribus credentes tantum, non solum erigat prostratos, verum etiam suffulciat ambulantes. Caeterum quidquidlibet donatum sit praedestinatis, id posse et amitti et retineri propria voluntate contendunt: quod tunc falsum esset, si verum putarent eam quosdam perseverantiam percepisse, ut nisi perseverantes esse non possint. Eligendorum et reiciendorum definitum numerum nolunt.
6. Then they take it ill that grace is so divided—the grace that was either then given to the first man, or now given to all: "That he received a perseverance not by which it should come about that he persevere, but without which he could not persevere through free choice: but now to the saints predestined to the kingdom through grace there is given not such a help of perseverance, but such that perseverance itself is given to them; not only that without this gift they could not be persevering, but even that through this gift they are nothing but persevering" (See Augustine, On Rebuke and Grace 12.34). By these words of Your Holiness they are so moved that they say a kind of despair is shown to men. For if, they say, Adam was so helped that he could both stand in righteousness and turn aside from righteousness, and now the saints are so helped that they cannot turn aside, since indeed they have received such a perseverance of willing that they cannot will otherwise; or if certain ones are so abandoned that they either do not come near, or, if they have come near, even withdraw: they say that the usefulness of exhortation or of threatening pertained to that will which held the free power both of persisting and of desisting; not to this will, to which unwillingness toward righteousness is joined by an inevitable necessity, except for those who were so created together with those who were damned with the whole mass, that they were excepted, to be freed by grace. Hence in this alone they want the nature of all to differ from the first man, that grace was to help him willing, with the powers of his will whole, without which he could not persevere: but these, with their powers lost and ruined, only believing, it not only raises up prostrate, but even supports as they walk. But whatever has been given to the predestined, they contend that it can be both lost and retained by one's own will: which would then be false, if they thought it true that certain ones have received such a perseverance that they cannot but be persevering.
Ep211-270.67. Inde est quod et illud pariter non accipiunt, ut eligendorum reiiciendorumque esse definitum numerum nolint: atque illius sententiae expositionem, non eam quae a te est deprompta, suscipiant , id est, ut nonnisi omnes homines salvos fieri velit; et non eos tantum qui ad sanctorum numerum pertinebunt, sed omnes omnino, ut nullus habeatur exceptus . Nec hoc timendum, quod quidam eo invito perire dicantur: sed quomodo, aiunt, non vult a quoquam peccari vel deseri iustitiam, et tamen iugiter illa deseritur contra eius voluntatem, committunturque peccata; ita eum salvari velle omnes homines, nec tamen omnes homines salvari. Testimonia etiam Scripturae quae de Saüle vel de David posuisti , non pertinere putant ad quaestionem quae de exhortatione versatur: alia autem ad id referunt, ut ex his eam gratiam accipiant commendari, qua unusquisque post voluntatem iuvatur; vel ad ipsam vocationem, quae praestatur indignis. Hoc enim et illis locis tuorum opusculorum et aliorum, quae persequi longum est, se demonstrare testantur. Parvulorum causa ad maiorum exemplum ne afferatur.
7. Hence it is that they likewise do not accept this, namely that they are unwilling there be a fixed number of those to be chosen and those to be rejected: and that they take up an exposition of that sentence other than the one drawn out by you (See 1 Tim 2:4), that is, that he wills not only all men to be saved; and not only those who will belong to the number of the saints, but absolutely all, so that no one is held excepted (See Augustine, On Rebuke and Grace 14.44; On the Spirit and the Letter 33.58). Nor is this to be feared, that someone is said to perish against his will: but, they say, just as he does not will sin to be committed or righteousness deserted by anyone, and yet righteousness is continually deserted against his will, and sins are committed; so he wills all men to be saved, and yet not all men are saved. The testimonies too of Scripture which you set down about Saul or about David (See Augustine, On Rebuke and Grace 7.14; 9.20-23), they think do not pertain to the question that turns on exhortation: but others they refer to this, that from them they take it that that grace is commended by which each one is helped after his will; or to the calling itself, which is bestowed on the unworthy. For this they testify they demonstrate both from those places of your little works and of others, which it would be long to follow.
Ep211-270.78. Parvulorum autem causam ad exemplum maiorum non patiuntur afferri: quam et tuam Sanctitatem dicunt eatenus attigisse, ut incertum esse volueris, ac potius de eorum poenis malueris dubitari. Quod in libro tertio de Libero Arbitrio ita positum meministi , ut hanc eis occasionem potuerit exhibere. Hoc etiam de aliorum libris quorum est in Ecclesia auctoritas, faciunt quod perspicit Sanctitas tua non parum posse iuvare contradictores, nisi maiora, aut certe vel paria proferantur a nobis: non enim ignorat prudentissima pietas tua quanto plures sint in Ecclesia, qui auctoritate nominum in sententia teneantur, aut a sententia transferantur. Ad summam, fatigatis omnibus nobis, ad id prosecutio eorum, vel potius querela convertitur, consentientibus etiam his qui hanc definitionem improbare non audent, ut dicant: Quid opus fuit huiuscemodi disputationis incerto tot minus intellegentium corda turbari? Neque enim minus utiliter sine hac definitione, aiunt, tot annis a tot tractatoribus, tot praecedentibus libris et tuis et aliorum, cum contra alios, tum maxime contra Pelagianos, catholicam fidem fuisse defensam. Quanta sit A. auctoritas in haeresibus refellendis.
8. But they do not allow the case of little children to be brought forward as an example for adults: which they say Your Holiness too touched on only so far as to be willing that it be uncertain, and rather to prefer that there be doubt about their punishments. Which you will remember was so placed in the third book on Free Will (See Augustine, On Free Will 3.23.66-68) that it could afford them this occasion. This too they do with the books of others whose authority is in the Church—which Your Holiness perceives can not a little help the opponents, unless greater things, or at least equal ones, are brought forth by us: for your most prudent piety is not ignorant how many more there are in the Church who are held in an opinion by the authority of names, or are transferred from an opinion. In short, with all of us wearied, their pursuit, or rather complaint, turns to this—with even those agreeing who do not dare to disapprove this definition—that they say: What need was there that by the uncertainty of such a disputation the hearts of so many less intelligent people should be disturbed? For no less usefully, they say, without this definition, for so many years, by so many treatise-writers, by so many preceding books both of yours and of others, both against others and especially against the Pelagians, was the Catholic faith defended.
Ep211-270.89. Haec, mi pater, et alia interminabiliter plura, ut summa mea vota confitear, per me deferre maluissem; vel, quia hoc non merui, saltem prolixiore tempore omnia quibus moventur, collecta dirigere: ut quidquid de hac re contradicitur, quatenus refelli, vel si ia non potest, tolerari deberet, audirem. Sed quia neutrum ex voto provenit, malui quomodo potui haec comprehensa dirigere, quam penitus de tanta quorumdam contradictione reticere. Sunt ex parte tales personae, ut his, consuetudine ecclesiastica, laicos summam reverentiam necesse sit exhibere. Quod quidem ita curavimus Deo iuvante servare, ut, cum opus fuit, non taceremus quae ad quaestionis huius assertionem exiguitas nostrarum virium suggerebat. Sed nunc summatim, quantum festinatio perlatoris admisit, haec velut commonendo suggessi. Tuae sanctae prudentiae est dispicere quid facto opus sit, ut talium et tantorum superetur vel temperetur intentio. Cui ego iam parum prodesse existimo te reddere rationem, nisi et addatur auctoritas quam transgredi infatigabiliter contentiosa corda non possint. Sed plane illud tacere non debeo, quod se dicant tuam Sanctitatem, hoc excepto, in factis et dictis omnibus admirari. Tuum erit decernere quomodo sit in hoc eorum contradictio toleranda. Nec mireris quod aliter vel aliqua in hac epistola addidi, quantum puto, quae in superiore non dixeram; talis est enim nunc eorum definitio, praeter illa quae per festinationem aut oblivionem fortasse praeterii. Petit Retractationes ac De gratia et libero arbitrio.
9. These things, my father, and innumerably many others—to confess my highest wishes—I would rather have conveyed in person; or, since I did not merit this, at least, over a more ample time, have directed all the things by which they are moved, collected together: so that I might hear whatever is contradicted about this matter, and how far it ought to be refuted, or, if it cannot now be refuted, to be tolerated. But because neither came about as I wished, I preferred to direct these things, comprehended as I could, rather than to keep utterly silent about so great a contradiction of certain ones. There are in part such persons that to them, by ecclesiastical custom, laymen must show the highest reverence. This indeed we have taken care, with God's help, so to preserve, that, when there was need, we did not keep silent about the things which the slightness of our powers suggested for the assertion of this question. But now summarily, as far as the haste of the bearer allowed, I have suggested these things as if by way of reminding. It is for your holy prudence to discern what needs to be done, so that the intention of such great men may be overcome or tempered. To which I now think it of little profit that you render an account, unless there be added also the authority which contentious hearts cannot untiringly transgress. But plainly I ought not to keep silent about this, that they say they admire Your Holiness, this excepted, in all your deeds and words. It will be yours to decide how their contradiction in this matter is to be tolerated. And do not wonder that I have added otherwise, or some things in this letter which, as I think, I had not said in the former; for such is now their definition, besides those things which through haste or forgetfulness I have perhaps passed over.
Ep211-270.910. Libros, cum editi fuerint, quos de universo opere tuo moliris, quaeso habere mereamur; maxime ut per eorum auctoritatem, si qua tibi in tuis displicent, a dignitate tui nominis iam non trepidi sequestremus. Librum etiam de Gratia et Libero Arbitrio non habemus; superest ut eum, quia utilem quaestioni confidimus, mereamur accipere. Nolo autem Sanctitas tua sic me arbitretur haec scribere, quasi de iis quae nunc edidisti, ego dubitem. Sufficiat mihi poena mea, quod a praesentiae tuae deliciis exsulatus, ubi salubribus tuis uberibus nutriebar, non solum absentia tua crucior, verum etiam pervicacia quorumdam, qui non tantum manifesta respuunt, sed etiam non intellecta reprehendunt. Caeterum hac suspicione in tantum careo, ut potius infirmitatem meam, qua tales parum patienter fero, notabilem putem. Qualiter autem ad haec consulendum iudices, ut dixi, tuae sapientiae derelinquo. Nam ad me hoc pertinere credidi, pro ea quam Christo vel tibi debeo caritate, ut quae in quaestionem veniunt, non tacerem. Quidquid pro ea gratia quam in te pusilli cum magnis miramur, volueris aut valueris, gratissime accipiemus, tamquam a nobis carissima et reverendissima auctoritate decretum. Sane quia, urgente perlatore, timui ne vel non omnia, vel haec ipsa minus digne, conscius mearum virium, possem dirigere; egi cum viro, tum moribus tum eloquio et studio claro, ut quanta posset collecta suis litteris intimaret: quas coniunctas his destinare curavi. Est enim talis qui, etiam praeter hanc necessitatem, dignus tuae Sanctitatis notitia iudicetur. Sanctus Leontius diaconus cultor tuus, cum meis parentibus multum te salutat. Memorem mei Paternitatem tuam Dominus Christus Ecclesiae suae annis pluribus donare dignetur, domine pater. Et infra: Sciat Sanctitas tua, fratrem meum, cuius maxime causa hinc discessimus, cum matrona sua ex consensu perfectam Deo continentiam devovisse. Unde rogamus Sanctitatem tuam, ut orare digneris quo hoc ipsum in eis Dominus confirmare et custodire dignetur.
10. The books which you are working on concerning your whole work, when they have been published (See Augustine, Revisions), I beg that we may be worthy to have; especially that through their authority, if anything in your writings displeases you, we may, no longer trembling, set it apart from the dignity of your name. The book too On Grace and Free Will we do not have; it remains that, because we trust it is useful to the question, we may be worthy to receive it. But I do not want Your Holiness to think I write these things as if I doubted those things which you have now published. Let my own punishment suffice for me, that, exiled from the delights of your presence, where I was nourished by your wholesome breasts, I am tortured not only by your absence, but also by the obstinacy of certain ones, who not only reject manifest things, but even reprehend things not understood. But from this suspicion I am so far that I rather think my own weakness notable, by which I bear such people with too little patience. But how you judge these things are to be advised on, as I said, I leave to your wisdom. For I believed this pertained to me, for that love which I owe to Christ or to you, that I should not keep silent about the things that come into question. Whatever, for that grace which we, small with the great, admire in you, you shall will or be able to do, we shall most gratefully receive, as decreed by an authority most dear and most reverend to us. Indeed, because, with the bearer pressing, I feared that, conscious of my powers, I might be able to direct either not all things, or these very things less worthily, I dealt with a man renowned both in character and in eloquence and zeal, that he might convey in his own letter as many things as he could, collected together: which, joined to these, I have taken care to send. For he is such a one that, even apart from this necessity, he is judged worthy of the notice of Your Holiness. The holy deacon Leontius, your devotee, with my parents, greets you much. May Christ the Lord deign to grant your Paternity, mindful of me, to his Church for many years, lord father. And below: Let Your Holiness know that my brother, on whose account chiefly we departed from here, has, by consent with his wife, vowed perfect continence to God. Hence we ask Your Holiness that you would deign to pray that the Lord may deign to confirm and guard this very thing in them.
Ep211-270.10EPISTOLA 227
AUGUSTINUS, ALYPIO
AUGUSTINUS, ALYPIO
LETTER 227
AUGUSTINE, TO ALYPIUS
Ep211-270.10AUGUSTINE, TO ALYPIUS
1. Frater Paulus hic est incolumis, apportat negotiorum suorum secundas curas; praestabit Dominus ut etiam ipsae ultimae sint. Multum vos salutat, et narrat gaudia de Gabiniano, quod ab illa sua causa misericordia Dei liberatus, non solum christianus, sed etiam fidelis sit valde bonus, per Pascha proxime baptizatus, in corde atque in ore habens gratiam quam percepit . Quantum eum desiderem, quando explicabo? sed nosti ut eum diligam. Archiater etiam Dioscorus christianus fidelis est, simul gratiam consecutus; audi etiam quemadmodum: neque enim cervicula illa vel lingua, nisi aliquo prodigio domaretur. Filia eius in qua unica acquiescebat, aegrotabat, et usque ad totam desperationem salutis temporalis, eodem ipso patre renuntiante, pervenit. Dicitur ergo; et constat, cum mihi hoc et ante fratris Pauli reditum, comes Peregrinus, vir laudabilis et bene christianus, qui cum eis eodem tempore baptizatus est, indicarit: dicitur ergo ille senex tandem conversus ad implorandam Christi misericordiam, voto se obligasse, christianum fore, si illam salvam videret. Factum est. At ille quod voverat dissimulabat exsolvere: sed adhuc manus excelsa . Nam repentina caecitate suffunditur: statimque venit in mentem unde illud esset; exclamavit confitens, atque iterum vovit, se recepto lumine impleturum esse quod voverat. Recepit, implevit: et adhuc manus excelsa. Symbolum non tenuerat, aut fortasse tenere recusaverat, et se non potuisse excusaverat: Deus viderat. Iam tum post festa omnia receptionis suae in paralysim solvitur multis ac pene omnibus membris, et etiam lingua. Tunc somnio admonitus confitetur per scripturam ob hoc sibi dictum esse accidisse, quod symbolum non reddiderit. Post illam confessionem redduntur officia omnium membrorum, nisi linguae solius; se tamen didicisse symbolum, ideoque memoria iam tenere nihilominus in eadem tentatione litteris fassus est: sicque omnis est ab eo deleta nugacitas, quae, ut scis, multum decolorabat naturalem quamdam eius benignitatem, eumque insultantem Christianis faciebat valde sacrilegum. Quid dicam, nisi, Domino hymnum canamus , et superexaltemus eum in saecula, Amen?
1. Brother Paul is here safe and sound; he brings the second round of cares for his affairs; the Lord will grant that these too be the last. He greets you much, and tells of joys about Gabinianus, that, freed by the mercy of God from that cause of his, he is not only a Christian but even a faithful one, very good, baptized recently at Easter, having in his heart and in his mouth the grace he has received. How much I long for him—when shall I unfold it? But you know how I love him. The chief physician Dioscorus too is a faithful Christian, having obtained grace at the same time; hear, too, in what manner: for that little neck of his, or that tongue, would not have been subdued except by some prodigy. His daughter, in whom alone he found rest, was sick, and came even to the utter despair of temporal safety, the father himself reporting it. It is said, then—and it is established, since both before brother Paul's return Count Peregrinus, a praiseworthy man and a good Christian, who was baptized with them at the same time, told me this—it is said, then, that that old man, at last converted to imploring the mercy of Christ, bound himself by a vow that he would be a Christian, if he saw her safe. It came about. But he dissembled to discharge what he had vowed: but the hand was still upraised (See Isa 5:25). For he is suddenly suffused with blindness: and at once it came to his mind whence that was; he cried out, confessing, and again vowed that, his sight recovered, he would fulfill what he had vowed. He recovered it, fulfilled it: and the hand was still upraised. He had not held the Creed, or had perhaps refused to hold it, and had excused himself that he could not: God had seen. Then, after all the festivities of his reception, he is dissolved into paralysis in many, indeed nearly all, his members, and even his tongue. Then, admonished by a dream, he confesses in writing that this had been said to him to have happened on this account, that he had not rendered the Creed. After that confession, the functions of all his members are restored, except of the tongue alone; yet that he had learned the Creed, and therefore now held it by memory, he nonetheless confessed in writing, in that same trial: and so all that frivolity was deleted from him which, as you know, much discolored a certain natural kindness of his, and made him, insulting Christians, very sacrilegious. What shall I say, but, to the Lord let us sing a hymn (See Dan 3:57 LXX), and exalt him above all forever, Amen?
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 228
SANCTO FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO HONORATO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
SANCTO FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO HONORATO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 228
TO HONORATUS, A HOLY BROTHER AND FELLOW BISHOP, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO HONORATUS, A HOLY BROTHER AND FELLOW BISHOP, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Caritati tuae misso exemplo epistolae quam fratri Quodvultdeo nostro coepiscopo scripsi , putabam me hoc onere caruisse quod mihi imposuisti, quaerendo consilium quid in his periculis quae tempora nostra invenerunt, facere debeatis. Quamvis enim epistolam illam breviter scripserim, nihil me tamen praetermisisse arbitror, quod et respondenti dicere, et quaerenti audire sufficeret: quandoquidem dixi nec eos esse prohibendos qui ad loca, si possunt, munita migrare desiderant; et ministerii nostri vincula, quibus nos Christi caritas alligavit, ne deseramus Ecclesias quibus servire debemus, non esse rumpenda. Ista quippe verba sunt quae in illa epistola posui: "Restat ergo, inquam, ut nos quorum ministerium quantulaecumque plebi Dei ubi sumus manenti, ita necessarium est, ut sine hoc eam non oporteat remanere, dicamus Domino, Esto nobis in Deum protectorem, et in locum munitum ". Christi grex non deserendus pastoribus in persecutione.
1. Having sent your Charity a copy of the letter I wrote to brother Quodvultdeus, our fellow bishop, I thought I had been freed of this burden which you laid upon me, by asking counsel as to what you ought to do in these perils which our times have brought upon us. For although I wrote that letter briefly, I think I nonetheless omitted nothing that would suffice both for the one answering to say and for the one asking to hear: since I said both that those are not to be forbidden who desire to migrate, if they can, to fortified places; and that the bonds of our ministry, by which the love of Christ has bound us, are not to be broken, that we may not desert the churches we ought to serve. For these are the words I set down in that letter: "It remains, then," I said, "that we, whose ministry is so necessary to however small a people of God remaining where we are, that it is not right for it to remain without this ministry, should say to the Lord, Be to us a protecting God, and a fortified place (See Ps 31:2-3 (30:3-4))."
Ep211-270.12. Sed hoc consilium tibi propterea non sufficit, ut scribis, ne contra Domini praeceptum vel exemplum facere nitamur, ubi fugiendum esse de civitate in civitatem monet. Recolimus enim verba dicentis: Cum autem persequentur vos in civitate ista, fugite in aliam ; quis autem credat ita hoc Dominum fieri voluisse, ut necessario ministerio, sine quo vivere nequeunt, deserantur greges, quos suo sanguine comparavit? Numquid hoc fecit ipse, quando portantibus parentibus in Aegyptum parvulus fugit , qui nondum Ecclesias congregaverat, quas ab eo desertas fuisse dicamus? Numquid quando apostolus Paulus, ne illum comprehenderet inimicus, per fenestram in sporta submissus est, et effugit manus eius , deserta est quae ibi erat Ecclesia necessario ministerio, et non ab aliis fratribus ibidem constitutis quod oportebat impletum est? Eis quippe volentibus hoc Apostolus fecerat, ut seipsum servaret Ecclesiae, quem proprie persecutor ille quaerebat. Faciant ergo servi Christi, ministri verbi et Sacramenti eius, quod praecepit sive permisit. Fugiant omnino de civitate in civitatem, quando eorum quisquam specialiter a persecutoribus quaeritur, ut ab aliis qui non ita requiruntur, non deseratur Ecclesia, sed praebeant cibaria conservis suis, quos aliter vivere non posse noverunt. Cum autem omnium, id est episcoporum, clericorum et laicorum est commune periculum, hi qui aliis indigent, non deserantur ab his quibus indigent. Aut igitur ad loca munita omnes transeant; aut qui habent remanendi necessitatem, non relinquantur ab eis per quos illorum est ecclesiastica supplenda necessitas, ut aut pariter vivant, aut pariter sufferant quod eos paterfamilias volet perpeti. In periculis amor in fratres probatur.
2. But this counsel does not suffice for you, as you write, lest we strive to act against the precept or example of the Lord, where he warns that one must flee from city to city. For we recall the words of him who says: But when they persecute you in this city, flee to another (Matt 10:23); yet who would believe that the Lord willed this to be done in such a way that the flocks, which he purchased with his own blood, should be deserted by the ministry necessary to them, without which they cannot live? Did he himself do this, when, his parents carrying him, he fled as a little child into Egypt (See Matt 2:13-14)—he who had not yet gathered the churches that we might say were deserted by him? When the apostle Paul, lest the enemy seize him, was let down through a window in a basket and escaped his hands (See 2 Cor 11:32-33; Acts 9:24-25), was the church that was there deserted by the necessary ministry, and was what was needful not fulfilled by other brothers established in the same place? For the Apostle had done this at their wish, that he might preserve himself for the Church, since the persecutor was seeking him in particular. Let the servants of Christ, then, the ministers of his word and Sacrament, do what he commanded or permitted. Let them flee altogether from city to city, when any one of them is specially sought by the persecutors, so that the Church may not be deserted by the others who are not so sought, but that these may furnish food to their fellow servants, whom they know cannot live otherwise. But when the peril is common to all, that is, to bishops, clergy, and laity, let those who need others not be deserted by those whom they need. Either, therefore, let all cross over to fortified places; or let those who have a necessity of remaining not be left by those through whom their ecclesiastical need is to be supplied, so that they may either live together, or together suffer what the householder will have them endure.
Ep211-270.23. Quod si contigerit ut sive alii minus, alii maius, sive omnes aequaliter patiantur, qui eorum sint qui pro aliis patiuntur, apparet; illi scilicet qui cum se possent talibus malis eripere fugiendo, ne aliorum necessitatem desererent, manere maluerunt. Hinc maxime probatur illa caritas quam Ioannes apostolus commendat, dicens: Sicut Christus animam suam pro nobis posuit, sic et nos debemus animas pro fratribus ponere . Nam qui fugiunt, vel suis devincti necessitatibus fugere non possunt; si comprehensi patiuntur, pro seipsis, non pro fratribus, utique patiuntur: qui vero propterea patiuntur, quia fratres, qui eis ad christianam salutem indigebant, deserere noluerunt, sine dubio suas animas pro fratribus ponunt. Episcopi adsint gregi in persecutione.
3. But if it should happen that, whether some suffer less and others more, or all suffer equally, it becomes clear which of them are those who suffer for others; namely those who, when they could have rescued themselves from such evils by fleeing, preferred to remain, lest they desert the need of others. By this most of all is proved that love which the apostle John commends, saying: As Christ laid down his life for us, so we too ought to lay down our lives for our brothers (See 1 John 3:16). For those who flee, or who, bound by their own necessities, cannot flee, if, caught, they suffer, surely suffer for themselves, not for their brothers: but those who suffer for this reason, that they were unwilling to desert the brothers who needed them for Christian salvation, without doubt lay down their lives for their brothers.
Ep211-270.34. Unde illud quod episcopum quemdam dixisse audivimus: "Si Dominus nobis imperavit fugam in eis persecutionibus, ubi potest fructus esse martyrii; quanto magis debemus fugere steriles passiones, quando est barbaricus et hostilis incursus?" verum est quidem et acceptabile, sed his quos ecclesiastici officii non tenent vincula. Nam qui clades hostiles ideo non fugit, cum possit effugere, ne deserat ministerium Christi, sine quo non possunt homines vel fieri vel vivere christiani, maiorem caritatis invenit fructum, quam qui non propter fratres, sed propter seipsum fugiens, atque comprehensus non negat Christum, suscipitque martyrium. Grege fugiente non est cur maneat pastor.
4. Hence that which we have heard a certain bishop said: "If the Lord commanded us to flee in those persecutions where there can be the fruit of martyrdom, how much more ought we to flee barren sufferings, when there is a barbarian and hostile incursion?"—this is indeed true and acceptable, but for those whom the bonds of ecclesiastical office do not hold. For he who, for this reason, does not flee a hostile attack, though he could escape, lest he desert the ministry of Christ, without which men can neither be made nor live as Christians, finds a greater fruit of love than he who, fleeing not for the sake of his brothers but for his own sake, and, when caught, does not deny Christ, and undergoes martyrdom.
Ep211-270.45. Quid est ergo quod in epistola tua priore posuisti? dicis enim: "Si in Ecclesiis persistendum est, quid simus nobis vel populo profuturi non video, nisi ut ante oculos nostros viri cadant, feminae constuprentur, incendantur ecclesiae, nos ipsi in tormentis deficiamus, cum de nobis quaeritur quod non habemus". Potens est quidem Deus audire preces familiae suae, et haec, quae formidantur, avertere; nec ideo tamen propter ista, quae incerta sunt, debet nostri officii esse certa desertio, sine quo est plebi certa pernicies, non in rebus vitae huius, sed alterius incomparabiliter diligentius sollicitiusque curandae. Nam si certa essent ista mala, quae timentur ne in locis in quibus sumus, forte contingant, prius inde fugerent omnes propter quos ibi manendum est, et nos a manendi necessitate liberos redderent: non enim quisquam est qui dicat ministros manere oportere, ubi iam non fuerint quibus necesse sit ministrare. Ita quidam sancti episcopi de Hispania profugerunt, prius plebibus partim fuga lapsis, partim peremptis, partim obsidione consumptis, partim captivitate dispersis: sed multo plures, illic manentibus propter quos manerent, sub eorumdem periculorum densitate manserunt. Et si aliqui deseruerunt plebes suas, hoc est quod dicimus fieri non debere: neque enim tales docti auctoritate divina, sed humano vel errore decepti, vel timore sunt victi. Clarum Athanasii episcopi exemplum.
5. What, then, is it that you set down in your earlier letter? For you say: "If we must persist in the churches, I do not see what we shall profit ourselves or the people, except that before our eyes men fall, women are ravished, churches are burned, and we ourselves fail under torments, when there is demanded of us what we do not have." God is indeed able to hear the prayers of his household, and to avert these things that are dreaded; nor, nevertheless, on account of these things, which are uncertain, ought there to be a certain desertion of our office, without which there is certain ruin for the people—not in the matters of this life, but of another, incomparably more diligently and anxiously to be cared for. For if these evils that are feared lest they perhaps befall the places where we are were certain, all those for whose sake we must remain there would flee from there first, and would render us free from the necessity of remaining: for there is no one who would say that ministers ought to remain where there are no longer those who need to be ministered to. So certain holy bishops fled from Spain, when the peoples had first partly slipped away in flight, partly perished, partly been consumed by siege, partly been scattered into captivity: but far more remained, those for whom they would remain remaining there, under the density of those same perils. And if some deserted their peoples, this is what we say ought not to be done: for such men were not taught by divine authority, but deceived by human error, or overcome by fear.
Ep211-270.56. Cur enim sibi putant indifferenter obtemperandum esse praecepto, ubi legunt de civitate in civitatem esse fugiendum ; et mercenarium non exhorrent, qui videt lupum venientem et fugit, quoniam non est ei cura de ovibus ? Cur non istas duas dominicas verasque sententias, unam scilicet ubi fuga sinitur aut iubetur, alteram ubi arguitur atque culpatur, sic intellegere student, ut inter se reperiantur non esse contrariae, sicut non sunt? Et hoc quomodo reperitur, nisi attendatur quod iam superius disputavi, tunc de locis in quibus sumus, premente persecutione fugiendum esse Christi ministris, quando ibi aut plebs Christi non fuerit cui ministretur; aut etiam fuerit, et potest impleri per alios necessarium ministerium, quibus eadem non est causa fugiendi: sicut in sporta submissus, quod supra memoravi, fugit Apostolus, cum a persecutore proprie ipse quaereretur, aliis utique necessitatem similem non habentibus, a quibus illic ministerium absit ut desereretur Ecclesiae; sicut fugit sanctus Athanasius Alexandrinus episcopus, cum eum specialiter apprehendere Constantius cuperet imperator, nequaquam a caeteris ministris deserta plebe catholica quae in Alexandria commanebat. Cum autem plebs manet, et ministri fugiunt, ministeriumque subtrahitur; quid erit nisi mercenariorum illa fuga damnabilis, quibus non est cura de ovibus? Veniet enim lupus; non homo, sed diabolus, qui plerumque fideles apostatas esse persuasit, quibus quotidianum ministerium dominici corporis defuit; et peribit infirmus in tua non scientia, sed ignorantia frater, propter quem Christus mortuus est . Magis spiritalia quam corporalia damna timenda.
6. For why do they think the precept is to be obeyed indifferently, where they read that one must flee from city to city, and do not shudder at the hireling, who sees the wolf coming and flees, because he has no care for the sheep (See John 10:12-13)? Why do they not strive so to understand these two dominical and true sentences—the one, namely, where flight is permitted or commanded, the other where it is reproved and blamed—that they may be found not to be contrary to one another, as they are not? And how is this found, except by attending to what I have already argued above: that Christ's ministers must then flee, when persecution presses, from the places where they are, when either there is no people of Christ there to be ministered to, or there is, and the necessary ministry can be fulfilled through others who do not have the same cause for fleeing—just as the Apostle, let down in a basket, as I mentioned above, fled, when he himself in particular was sought by the persecutor, others surely not having a like necessity, by whom—far be it—the ministry to the Church there would be deserted; just as holy Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, fled, when the emperor Constantius desired specially to seize him, the Catholic people who dwelt in Alexandria being in no way deserted by the rest of the ministers? But when the people remain and the ministers flee and the ministry is withdrawn, what will it be but that damnable flight of hirelings, who have no care for the sheep? For the wolf will come; not a man, but the devil, who has very often persuaded the faithful to be apostates, those to whom the daily ministry of the Lord's body was lacking; and the weak brother, for whom Christ died, will perish—not through your knowledge, but through your ignorance (See 1 Cor 8:11).
Ep211-270.67. Quod autem ad eos attinet, qui in hac re non falluntur errore, sed formidine superantur; quare non potius contra suum timorem Domino miserante atque adiuvante fortiter dimicant, ne mala sine comparatione graviora, quae multo amplius sunt tremenda, contingant? Fit hoc ubi Dei caritas flagrat, non mundi cupiditas fumat. Caritas enim dicit: Quis infirmatur, et non ego infirmor? quis scandalizatur, et non ego uror ? Sed caritas ex Deo est. Oremus ergo ut ab illo detur, a quo iubetur: et per hanc magis timeamus ne oves Christi spiritalis nequitiae gladio in corde, quam ne ferro in corpore trucidentur, ubi quandocumque, quocumque mortis genere, morituri sunt. Magis timeamus ne sensu interiori corrupto, pereat castitas fidei, quam ne feminae violenter constuprentur in carne: quia violentia non violatur pudicitia, si mente servatur; quoniam nec in carne violatur, quando voluntas patientis sua turpiter carne non utitur, sed sine consensione tolerat quod alius operatur. Magis timeamus ne lapides vivi exstinguantur deserentibus nobis, quam ne lapides et ligna terrenorum aedificiorum incendantur praesentibus nobis. Magis timeamus ne membra corporis Christi destituta spiritali victu necentur, quam ne membra corporis nostri oppressa hostili impetu torqueantur. Non quia ista non sunt vitanda cum possunt; sed quia potius ferenda sunt, quando vitari sine impietate non possunt: nisi forte quisquam contenderit non esse ministrum impium, qui tunc subtrahit ministerium pietati necessarium, quando magis est necessarium. Quantum animarum exitium ex Dei ministris fugientibus.
7. But as for those who in this matter are not deceived by error, but are overcome by dread, why do they not rather fight bravely against their fear, by the Lord's mercy and help, lest evils incomparably more grievous, which are far more to be dreaded, befall? This comes about where the love of God burns, not where the desire of the world smolders. For love says: Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I do not burn? (2 Cor 11:29) But love is from God. Let us pray, then, that it may be given by him by whom it is commanded; and through it let us fear more lest the sheep of Christ be slaughtered by the sword of spiritual wickedness in the heart, than by the steel in the body, where, whenever and by whatever kind of death, they are to die. Let us fear more lest, the inner sense being corrupted, the chastity of faith perish, than lest women be violently ravished in the flesh: because chastity is not violated by violence, if it is preserved in the mind; since not even in the flesh is it violated, when the will of the one suffering does not basely use her own flesh, but without consent endures what another does. Let us fear more lest the living stones be extinguished while we desert them, than lest the stones and wood of earthly buildings be burned while we are present. Let us fear more lest the members of the body of Christ, deprived of spiritual nourishment, be killed, than lest the members of our own body, overcome by hostile assault, be tortured. Not because these things are not to be avoided when they can be; but because they are rather to be borne, when they cannot be avoided without impiety: unless perhaps someone should contend that he is not an impious minister who then withdraws the ministry necessary to piety, when it is most necessary.
Ep211-270.78. An non cogitamus, cum ad istorum periculorum pervenitur extrema, nec est potestas ulla fugiendi, quantus in Ecclesia fieri soleat ab utroque sexu, atque ab omni aetate concursus; aliis Baptismum flagitantibus, aliis reconciliationem, aliis etiam poenitentiae ipsius actionem, omnibus consolationem et sacramentorum confectionem et erogationem? Ubi si ministri desint, quantum exitium sequitur eos, qui de isto saeculo vel non regenerati exeunt vel ligati! quantus est etiam luctus fidelium suorum, qui eos secum in vitae aeternae requie non habebunt! quantus denique gemitus omnium, et quorumdam quanta blasphemia de absentia ministeriorum et ministrorum! Vide quid faciat malorum temporalium timor, et quanta in eo sit acquisitio malorum aeternorum. Si autem ministri adsint, pro viribus quas eis Dominus subministrat, omnibus subvenitur: alii baptizantur, alii reconciliantur, nulli Dominici corporis communione fraudantur, omnes consolantur, aedificantur, exhortantur, ut Deum rogent, qui potens est omnia quae timentur, avertere; parati ad utrumque, ut si non potest ab eis calix iste transire, fiat voluntas eius qui mali aliquid non potest velle. Scripturae testimonia.
8. Or do we not consider, when one comes to the extreme of these perils, and there is no power of fleeing, how great a concourse is wont to be made in the church of both sexes and of every age; some demanding baptism, others reconciliation, others even the very performance of penance, all consolation and the confecting and dispensing of the sacraments? And if the ministers are lacking there, how great a ruin follows those who go forth from this world either not regenerated or bound! how great too the grief of their faithful, who will not have them with them in the rest of eternal life! how great, finally, the groaning of all, and how great the blasphemy of some, over the absence of the ministries and the ministers! See what the fear of temporal evils does, and how great is the acquisition of eternal evils in it. But if the ministers are present, by the strength which the Lord supplies them, all are helped: some are baptized, others reconciled, none are defrauded of the communion of the Lord's body, all are consoled, edified, exhorted to ask God, who is able to avert all the things that are feared; prepared for either outcome, so that, if this cup cannot pass from them, the will be done of him who can will nothing evil.
Ep211-270.89. Certe iam vides quod te scripseras non videre, quantum boni consequantur populi Christiani, si in praesentibus malis non eis desit praesentia ministrorum Christi: quorum vides etiam quantum obsit absentia, dum sua quaerunt non quae Iesu Christi ; nec habent illam de qua dictum est: Non quaerit quae sua sunt ; nec imitantur eum qui dixit: Non quaerens quod mihi utile, sed quod multis, ut salvi fiant . Qui etiam persecutoris principis illius insidias non fugisset, nisi se aliis quibus necessarius erat, servare voluisset : propter quod ait: Compellor autem ex duobus: concupiscentiam habens dissolvi et esse cum Christo, multo magis optimum; manere autem in carne, necessarium propter vos . Quomodo sacerdotibus fugere liceat.
9. Surely you now see what you had written that you did not see—how much good Christian peoples obtain, if in present evils the presence of the ministers of Christ is not lacking to them: whose absence too you see how much it harms, while they seek their own things, not the things that are of Jesus Christ (See Phil 2:21); nor do they have that of which it is said: It does not seek its own things (1 Cor 13:5); nor do they imitate him who said: Not seeking what is useful to me, but what is useful to many, that they may be saved (See 1 Cor 10:33). He too would not have fled the snares of that persecuting prince, had he not wished to preserve himself for others to whom he was necessary (See 2 Cor 11:32-33): on account of which he says: But I am pressed between the two: having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, which is by far the best; but to remain in the flesh is necessary on your account (Phil 1:23-24).
Ep211-270.910. Hic forte quis dicat ideo debere Dei ministros fugere talibus imminentibus malis, ut se pro utilitate Ecclesiae temporibus tranquillioribus servent. Recte hoc fit a quibusdam, quando non desunt alii per quos suppleatur ecclesiasticum ministerium, ne ab omnibus deseratur; quod fecisse Athanasium supra diximus: nam quantum necessarium fuerit Ecclesiae, quantumque profuerit, quod vir ille mansit in carne, catholica fides novit, quae adversus Arianos haereticos ore illius et amore defensa est. Sed quando est commune periculum, magisque timendum est ne quisquam id facere credatur, non consulendi voluntate, sed timore moriendi, magisque fugiendi obsit exemplo, quam vivendi prosit officio, nulla ratione faciendum est. Denique sanctus David, ne se committeret periculis praeliorum, et fortassis exstingueretur, sicut ibi dictum est, lucerna Israel , a suis hoc petentibus sumpsit, non ipse praesumpsit; alioquin multos imitatores fecisset ignaviae, qui eum crederent hoc fecisse non consideratione utilitatis aliorum, sed suae perturbatione formidinis. Quid agendum in communi omnium periculo.
10. Here perhaps someone may say that the ministers of God ought for this reason to flee when such evils threaten, that they may preserve themselves for the advantage of the Church in more tranquil times. This is rightly done by certain ones, when there is no lack of others through whom the ecclesiastical ministry may be supplied, so that it not be deserted by all; which we said above that Athanasius did: for how necessary it was to the Church, and how much it profited, that that man remained in the flesh, the Catholic faith knows, which was defended against the Arian heretics by his mouth and his love. But when the peril is common, and it is rather to be feared lest anyone be believed to do this not from a will to take counsel but from a fear of dying, and lest he do more harm by the example of fleeing than good by the duty of living, it must by no means be done. Finally, holy David, lest he commit himself to the perils of battles, and perhaps the lamp of Israel be extinguished (See 2 Sam 21:17), as it is there said, took this course at the asking of his own men, and did not himself presume it; otherwise he would have made many imitators of cowardice, who would believe he had done this not from consideration of the advantage of others, but from the disturbance of his own dread.
Ep211-270.1011. Occurrit autem alia quaestio quam contemnere non debemus. Si enim haec utilitas neglegenda non est, ut aliqui ministri propterea fugiant imminente aliqua vastitate, ut serventur qui ministrent eis quos post illam cladem residuos potuerint invenire; quid fiet ubi omnes videntur interituri, nisi aliqui fugiant? quid si enim hactenus saeviat illa pernicies, ut solos ministros Ecclesiae persequatur? Quid dicemus? an relinquenda est a ministris fugientibus Ecclesia, ne a morientibus miserabilius relinquatur? Sed si laici non quaeruntur ad mortem, possunt occultare quoquo modo episcopos et clericos suos, sicut ille adiuverit in cuius potestate sunt omnia, qui potest et non fugientem per mirabilem conservare potentiam. Sed ideo quaerimus quid nos facere debeamus, ne in omnibus exspectando divina miracula tentare Dominum iudicemur. Non quidem talis est ista tempestas, quando laicorum et clericorum est commune periculum, sicut in navi una commune periculum est mercatorum atque nautarum. Verum absit ut tanti pendenda sit haec navis nostra, ut debeant eam nautae, et maxime gubernator, periclitantem deserere, etiamsi in scapham transiliendo vel etiam natando possint effugere. Quibus enim metuimus ne nostra desertione pereant, non temporalem mortem, quae quandoque ventura est, sed aeternam, quae potest, si non caveatur, venire, et potest, si caveatur, etiam non venire, metuimus. In communi autem periculo vitae huius cur existimamus, ubicumque fuerit hostilis incursus, omnes clericos et non etiam omnes laicos esse morituros, ut simul finiant hanc vitam, cui sunt clerici necessarii? aut cur non speremus sicut laicos aliquos, sic etiam clericos remansuros, a quibus eis necessarium ministerium valeat exhiberi? In communi omnium periculo sors adhiberi potest.
11. But another question occurs that we ought not to despise. For if this advantage is not to be neglected, that some ministers should flee when some devastation threatens, so that those may be preserved who will minister to those whom, after that disaster, they can find remaining; what shall be done where all seem about to perish, unless some flee? What if, indeed, that destruction rages so far that it persecutes only the ministers of the Church? What shall we say? Is the Church to be left by ministers fleeing, lest it be more miserably left by those dying? But if the laity are not sought for death, they can in some way conceal their bishops and clergy, just as he will help in whose power are all things, who can also preserve, by his wonderful power, even one not fleeing. But for this reason we ask what we ought to do, lest, by awaiting divine miracles in all things, we be judged to tempt the Lord. This storm, indeed, is not such that the peril of the laity and the clergy is common, as in one ship the peril of merchants and sailors is common. But far be it that this ship of ours should be reckoned of such value that the sailors, and especially the helmsman, ought to desert it in peril, even if by leaping into the skiff or even by swimming they could escape. For those whom we fear may perish by our desertion, we fear may perish not by temporal death, which is to come someday, but by eternal death, which can, if it is not guarded against, come, and can, if it is guarded against, also not come. But in the common peril of this life, why do we suppose that, wherever there is a hostile incursion, all the clergy and not also all the laity will die, so that they may end at the same time this life for which the clergy are necessary? Or why do we not hope that, as some laity, so also some clergy, will remain, by whom the necessary ministry may be furnished to them?
Ep211-270.1112. Quamquam, o si inter Dei ministros inde sit disceptatio, qui eorum maneant, ne fuga omnium, et qui eorum fugiant, ne morte omnium deseratur Ecclesia! Tale quippe certamen erit inter eos, ubi utrique ferveant caritate, et utrique placeant caritati. Quae disceptatio si aliter non potuerit terminari, quantum mihi videtur, qui maneant et qui fugiant, sorte legendi sunt. Qui enim dixerint se potius fugere debere, aut timidi videbuntur, quia imminens malum sustinere noluerunt; aut arrogantes, quia se magis qui servandi essent, necessarios Ecclesiae iudicarunt. Deinde, fortassis ii qui meliores sunt, eligent pro fratribus animas ponere ; et hi servabuntur fugiendo, quorum est minus utilis vita, quia minor consulendi et gubernandi peritia: qui tamen si pie sapiunt, contradicent eis quos vident et vivere potius oportere, et magis mori malle quam fugere. Ideo, sicut scriptum est: Contradictiones sedat sortitio, et inter potentes definit : melius enim Deus in huiuscemodi ambagibus, quam homines, iudicat; sive dignetur ad passionis fructum vocare meliores et parcere infirmis, sive istos facere ad mala perferenda fortiores, et huic vitae subtrahere, quorum non potest Dei Ecclesiae tantum quantum illorum vita prodesse. Res quidem fiet minus usitata, si fiat ista sortitio: sed si facta fuerit, quis eam reprehendere audebit? Quis non eam, nisi imperitus, aut invidus, congrua praedicatione laudabit? Quod si non placet facere, cuius facti non occurrit exemplum, nullius fuga faciat ut Ecclesiae ministerium, maxime in tantis periculis necessarium ac debitum, desit. Nemo excipiat personam suam, ut si aliqua gratia videtur excellere, ideo se dicat vita, et ob hoc fuga, esse digniorem. Quisquis enim hoc putat, nimium sibi placet: quisquis autem etiam hoc dicit, omnibus displicet. Fideles admonendi cur sacerdotes maneant.
12. And yet—oh, if among the ministers of God there should be a dispute about it, which of them should remain, lest the Church be deserted by the flight of all, and which of them should flee, lest it be deserted by the death of all! For such a contest will be among them, where both burn with love, and both please love. If this dispute cannot be ended otherwise, then, as it seems to me, those who are to remain and those who are to flee must be chosen by lot. For those who say that they rather ought to flee will seem either timid, because they were unwilling to bear the impending evil, or arrogant, because they judged themselves the more necessary to the Church, as those who ought to be preserved. Then, perhaps those who are the better will choose to lay down their lives for their brothers; and those will be preserved by fleeing whose life is less useful, because of less skill in counseling and governing: who nevertheless, if they are devoutly wise, will contradict those whom they see both ought rather to live, and would rather die than flee. Therefore, as it is written: The casting of lots settles disputes, and decides among the powerful (Prov 18:18): for God judges better in ambiguities of this kind than men do; whether he deign to call the better to the fruit of suffering and to spare the weak, or to make the latter stronger for enduring evils, and to withdraw from this life those whose life cannot profit the Church of God as much as theirs. The matter will indeed be done less customarily, if this casting of lots is done: but if it is done, who will dare to reprehend it? Who, except the unskilled or the envious, will not praise it with fitting commendation? But if it does not please to do this, of the doing of which no example occurs, let no one's flight cause the ministry of the Church—especially in such great perils necessary and owed—to be lacking. Let no one except his own person, so that, if he seems to excel by some grace, he should for that reason say he is the more worthy of life, and on this account of flight. For whoever thinks this is too pleased with himself: and whoever even says this displeases all.
Ep211-270.1213. Sunt sane qui arbitrantur episcopos et clericos non fugientes in talibus periculis, sed manentes, facere ut plebes decipiantur, cum ideo non fugiunt, quia manere suos praepositos cernunt. Sed facile est hanc responsionem vel invidiam declinare, alloquendo easdem plebes, atque dicendo: "Non vos decipiat, quod de loco isto non fugimus: non enim propter nos, sed propter vos potius hic manemus, ne vobis non ministremus quidquid saluti vestrae, quae in Christo est, novimus necessarium. Si ergo fugere volueritis, et nos ab istis, quibus tenemur, vinculis solvistis". Quod tunc puto esse dicendum, quando vere videtur utile esse ad loca tutiora migrare. Quo audito, si vel omnes vel aliqui dixerint: "In illius potestate sumus, cuius iram nullus, quocumque vadit, evadit; cuius misericordiam, ubicumque sit, potest invenire qui nusquam vult ire, sive certis necessitatibus impeditus, sive laborare nolens ad incerta suffugia, et non ad finienda, sed ad mutanda pericula": procul dubio isti deserendi non sunt ministerio christiano. Si autem, hoc audito, abire maluerint, nec illis manendum est, qui propter illos manebant; quia ibi iam non sunt propter quos manere adhuc debeant. In rerum angustiis melius esse Deum precari.
13. There are indeed some who think that bishops and clergy, by not fleeing in such perils but remaining, cause the peoples to be deceived, since the latter do not flee for this reason, that they see their own superiors remaining. But it is easy to avoid this objection, or this ill will, by addressing those same peoples and saying: "Do not let it deceive you that we do not flee from this place: for it is not for our own sake, but rather for yours, that we remain here, lest we fail to minister to you whatever we know necessary to your salvation, which is in Christ. If, therefore, you wish to flee, you have also loosed us from these bonds by which we are held." Which I think is then to be said, when it truly seems useful to migrate to safer places. Which having been heard, if either all or some say: "We are in the power of him whose wrath no one escapes wherever he goes; whose mercy, wherever it be, he can find who wishes to go nowhere, whether hindered by certain necessities, or unwilling to labor toward uncertain refuges, and not to ending but to changing perils": without doubt these are not to be deserted by Christian ministry. But if, this having been heard, they prefer to depart, neither must those remain who were remaining on their account; because there are no longer there those for whose sake they ought still to remain.
Ep211-270.1314. Quicumque igitur isto modo fugit, ut Ecclesiae necessarium ministerium illo fugiente non desit, facit quod Dominus praecepit, sive permisit. Qui autem sic fugit, ut gregi Christi ea quibus spiritaliter vivit, alimenta subtrahantur, mercenarius ille est, qui videt lupum venientem, et fugit, quoniam non est ei cura de ovibus . Haec tibi, quia me consuluisti, frater dilectissime, qua existimavi veritate et certa caritate rescripsi; sed ne meliorem, si inveneris, sequaris sententiam, non praescripsi. Melius tamen quod in his periculis faciamus, invenire non possumus, quam orationes ad Dominum Deum nostrum, ut misereatur nostri. Quod ipsum, ut scilicet Dei Ecclesias non desererent, Dei dono nonnulli prudentes et sancti viri et velle et facere meruerunt, et inter dentes obtrectantium a sui propositi intentione minime defecerunt.
14. Whoever, therefore, flees in such a way that the ministry necessary to the Church is not lacking by his fleeing, does what the Lord commanded or permitted. But he who flees in such a way that from the flock of Christ are withdrawn those nourishments by which it lives spiritually, that man is the hireling who sees the wolf coming and flees, because he has no care for the sheep (See John 10:12-13). These things, because you consulted me, most beloved brother, I have written back with what truth I judged and with sure love; but I have not prescribed that you should not follow a better opinion, if you find one. Yet we cannot find anything better to do in these perils than prayers to the Lord our God, that he may have mercy on us. And this very thing—namely, not to desert the churches of God—by the gift of God certain prudent and holy men have merited both to will and to do, and amid the teeth of detractors have in no way fallen away from the intention of their purpose.
Ep211-270.14EPISTOLA 229
DOMINO MERITO ILLUSTRI, ET MAGNIFICENTISSIMO ATQUE IN CHRISTO CARISSIMO FILIO DARIO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO MERITO ILLUSTRI, ET MAGNIFICENTISSIMO ATQUE IN CHRISTO CARISSIMO FILIO DARIO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 229
TO DARIUS, A LORD DESERVEDLY ILLUSTRIOUS, AND MOST MAGNIFICENT, AND MOST DEAR IN CHRIST, A SON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.14TO DARIUS, A LORD DESERVEDLY ILLUSTRIOUS, AND MOST MAGNIFICENT, AND MOST DEAR IN CHRIST, A SON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. A sanctis fratribus et coepiscopis meis Urbano et Novato, qualis sis vir et quantus, accepi: quorum alteri apud Carthaginem in Hilarensi oppido, et modo in Siccensi; alteri autem apud Sitifim te nosse provenit. Per hos ergo factum est, ut nec ego te habere incognitum possem. Neque enim quia me infirmitas corporis, et geminum frigus, id est, hiemis et aetatis non sinit coram tecum colloqui, ideo non te vidi: nam et iste mihi praesens, quando ad me venire dignatus est, ille autem litteris, non faciem tuae carnis, sed cordis ostendit, ut tanto suavius, quanto interius te viderem. Hanc faciem tuam et in sancto Evangelio, et nos, et tu ipse, propitio Deo, tamquam in speculo laetissimus inspicis, ubi scriptum est a veritate dicente: Beati pacifici; quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur . Praestat pacem pace quam bello parare.
1. From the holy brothers and my fellow bishops Urbanus and Novatus I have learned what sort of man and how great you are: one of whom came to know you at Carthage, in the town of Hilara, and lately at Sicca; the other at Sitifis. Through these, then, it has come about that I too could not have you unknown. For not because weakness of body, and a twofold cold—that is, of winter and of age—does not allow me to converse with you in person, have I therefore not seen you: for the one, present with me, when he deigned to come to me, and the other by letters, showed me not the face of your flesh, but of your heart, that I might see you the more sweetly the more inwardly. This face of yours both we and you yourself, God being favorable, behold most gladly, as in a mirror, in the holy Gospel too, where it is written by the Truth speaking: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God (Matt 5:9).
Ep211-270.12. Magni quidem sunt, et habent gloriam suam, non solum fortissimi, sed etiam, quod verioris genus est laudis, fidelissimi bellatores, quorum laboribus atque periculis, Dei protegentis atque opitulantis auxilio, hostis indomitus vincitur, et quies reipublicae pacatisque provinciis comparatur: sed maioris est gloriae, ipsa bella verbo occidere, quam homines ferro; et acquirere vel obtinere pacem pace, non bello. Nam et hi qui pugnant, si boni sunt, procul dubio pacem, sed tamen per sanguinem quaerunt; tu autem ne cuiusquam sanguis quaereretur, es missus: est itaque aliis illa necessitas, tibi ista felicitas. Proinde, domine merito illustris et magnificentissime, atque in Christo carissime fili, gaude isto tuo tam magno et vere bono, et fruere in Deo unde sumpsisti, ut talis esses, et talia gerenda susciperes. Confirmet Deus quod per te operatus est nobis . Accipe hanc salutationem nostram, et tuam dignare rependere. Sicut mihi scripsit frater Novatus, egit ut me excellentia et eruditio tua etiam in meis opusculis nosset. Si ergo legisti quae dedit, ego quoque innotui interioribus tuis sensibus. Non multum displicent, quantum existimo, si propensiore caritate, quam severitate legisti. Non est multum; sed multum gratum, si pro litteris nostris, et his et illis, unam nobis epistolam reddas. Saluto et pignus pacis, quod Domino Deo nostro adiuvante feliciter accepisti, ea dilectione qua debeo.
2. Great indeed they are, and have their own glory—not only the bravest, but also, what is a kind of truer praise, the most faithful warriors, by whose labors and perils, with the help of God protecting and aiding, the untamed enemy is conquered, and quiet for the commonwealth and pacified provinces are procured: but it is of greater glory to slay wars themselves with a word, than men with the sword, and to acquire or obtain peace by peace, not by war. For even those who fight, if they are good, without doubt seek peace, but yet through blood; you, however, were sent that no one's blood should be sought: and so for others there is that necessity, for you this happiness. Accordingly, lord deservedly illustrious and most magnificent, and most dear in Christ, son, rejoice in this so great and truly good thing of yours, and enjoy in God whence you received it, that you should be such a man and should undertake such things to be done. May God confirm what he has wrought in us through you. Receive this greeting of ours, and deign to repay your own. As brother Novatus wrote to me, he brought it about that your excellence and erudition should come to know me even in my little works. If, then, you have read what he gave, I too have become known to your inner senses. They do not, as I think, much displease, if you have read with a more inclined love than with severity. It is not much; but it is much appreciated, if for our letters, both these and those, you render us one letter. I greet also the pledge of peace, which, with the help of the Lord our God, you have happily received, with that love which I owe.
Ep211-270.2EPISTOLA 230
DARIUS AUGUSTINO DOMINO SUO SALUTEM.
DARIUS AUGUSTINO DOMINO SUO SALUTEM.
LETTER 230
DARIUS, TO AUGUSTINE HIS LORD, GREETINGS.
Ep211-270.2DARIUS, TO AUGUSTINE HIS LORD, GREETINGS.
1. Utinam, domine sancte pater, ut meum nomen ad aures tuas, coepiscoporum, ut ais, tuorum Urbani et Novati benigna erga me gratia faciente, perlatum est; ita memetipsum Deus omnium, Deus tuus, manibus tuis atque oculis obtulisset: non quo maiorem, aut forsitan talem, qualem tantorum virorum apud te benevolus sermo, et litterarum commentatio fecerat, tui me probasset melior lima iudicii; sed ut coelestis sapientiae tuae verissimos atque immortales fructus, ore tuo potius, veluti cuiusdam purae aquae dulcedinem, ab ipso fontis praesenti ac perpetuo liquore sumpsissem. O me, non modo ter aut quater, ut apud nescio quem est, sed millies, et omni numero plus beatum! si mihi datum esset praesenti intueri tuos vere sidereos vultus, vocemque divinam, ac divina canentem, et non solum mentis fructus, sed etiam cum aurium iucunditate sumere et haurire licuisset. Putarem profecto me quasdam immortalitatis leges, non modo de coelo, sed in ipso constitutum coelo suscipere, et quasdam Dei voces non longe de templo, sed prope ipsum Dei astantem tribunal audire. D. gratus Augustino pro accepta epistola.
1. Would, holy lord father, that, as my name was brought to your ears—by the kindly favor toward me of your fellow bishops, as you say, Urbanus and Novatus—so the God of all, your God, had offered my very self to your hands and eyes: not that a better file of your judgment would have proved me greater, or perhaps such as the benevolent speech and the commentary of letters of such great men had made me out to you; but that I might have taken in the most true and immortal fruits of your heavenly wisdom rather from your own mouth, like the sweetness of some pure water, from the very present and perpetual stream of the fountain. O me, not only three or four times, as it is in I-know-not-whom, but a thousand times and more than any number blessed! (See Virgil, Aeneid 1.94) if it had been given me to behold in person your truly star-like countenance, and your divine voice singing divine things, and it had been permitted to take and drink not only the fruits of the mind, but also with the delight of the ears. I would surely think that I was receiving certain laws of immortality, not only from heaven, but established in heaven itself, and hearing certain words of God not far from the temple, but near the very judgment seat of God, standing by it.
Ep211-270.12. Hoc ut mihi contingeret, propter ardentissimum tui desiderium forsitan merebar; propter conscientiam, fateor, non merebar. Sed absens quoque cepi fructus cupiditatis bonae non minimos, et est mihi de secundis bonis bonorum summa perfectio. Commendatus sum ei cui vellem, ore sanctorum et duorum locis ac regionibus inter se distantium sacerdotum; unius, quod iam dixi, de me benevolus sermo, et praesens, ut ita dicam, testimonium; alterius eiusdem sensus parilisque sententiae volantia ad te scripta concurrunt. Coronam mihi apud te quamdam, tanti ac tales viri, non viridantium florum germine, sed gloriosae vocis testimonio tamquam quibusdam perpetuitatis gemmulis texuerunt. Propter quod Deum summum oro pro te, et tuam intercessionem, sancte pater, expostulo, ut quoniam minime mihi testimonii tanti sum conscius, esse mihi talem vel quandoque proveniat. Iam illa nonne omnia absentiae meae detrimenta vicerunt, quod ipse nos alloqui, quod scribere, quod salutare dignaris, et absente me, absentem esse non pateris. Dolebam me modo post Deum non visum: attamen non carnis faciem, sic enim ais, sed quod plus est, cordis attendis; eoque visus sum tibi esse iucundior, quo penitius inspexisti. Faxit Deus, ut iudicio, mi pater, tuo respondeam, nec sim apud meam conscientiam reus, cum talem me, qualem tibi ipse formasti, interius ego non videam. Semper se navasse in bello extinguendo vel differendo.
2. That this should befall me, perhaps I deserved on account of my most ardent desire for you; on account of my conscience, I confess, I did not deserve it. But absent too I have gathered no small fruits of a good longing, and I have, from the secondary goods of good men, the highest perfection. I have been commended to him to whom I would wish, by the mouth of holy men, and of two priests distant from each other in places and regions; the one, as I have already said, by his benevolent and, so to speak, present testimony about me; the other, by writings flying to you of the same mind and a like opinion, concurring. Such great and such men have woven for me a kind of crown before you, not from the germ of green flowers, but by the testimony of a glorious voice, as by certain little gems of perpetuity. On account of which I pray to the Most High God for you, and demand your intercession, holy father, so that, since I am by no means conscious to myself of so great a testimony, it may someday come about that I am such. Have not those things now overcome all the losses of my absence—that you yourself deign to address us, to write, to greet, and, with me absent, do not allow me to be absent? I grieved that I had now not been seen, after God: but you attend not to the face of the flesh—for so you say—but, what is more, to that of the heart; and I have seemed to you the more delightful the more deeply you looked. May God grant that I correspond to your judgment, my father, and that I be not guilty before my own conscience, since I do not inwardly see myself such as you yourself have fashioned me to you.
Ep211-270.23. Bella me in eadem divina ac coelesti epistola tua , ex more tibi, quod laudare velles, eloquentia ministrante, bella me, inquam, verbo ais occidere. Hic vero, mi sancte pater, animus mihi tamquam e quibusdam cogitationum tenebris, quasi veras sui laudes recognovisset, emersit. Ut enim totum breviter ac simpliciter Beatitudini tuae confitear, si non exstinximus bella, certe distulimus; et Deo opitulante omnium principe, quae iam usque ad quemdam calamitatum apicem increverant mala, sopita sunt. Spero tamen ab eo, a quo quidquid bonum est totum sperare debemus, quin etiam epistolae tuae auguror benedictionem tam largam, tam certam, ut haec ipsa bellorum, quam dixi, dilatio, pacis habeat teneatque perennem ac perpetuam firmitatem. Dixisti enim, et perpetua Dei lege fixisti, ut gaudeam isto, ut tu ais, meo tam magno ac vere bono, et fruar in Deo, unde sumpsisse me dicis, ut et talis essem, et talia gerenda susciperem. Connectis deinde: "Confirmet, inquis, Deus quod per te operatus est nobis." O vota non modo pro me, sed pro salute omnium nuncupata! Nec enim mea ista gloria separari a salute omnium potest, et ut ego orationibus tuis felix esse possim, una mecum omnes felices esse necesse est. Diu, pater, pro Romano imperio, pro Romana republica, pro his etiam, quos dignos esse tibi occurrerit, talia vota sumas ac nuncupes; quandoque te serus in coelum tollis , tradas posteris, mandesque sequentibus. Cupit sibi mitti Confessionum libros.
3. In that same divine and heavenly letter of yours, with eloquence ministering to you, as is your custom, in what you wished to praise, you say that I slay wars—I say, slay wars—with a word. Here indeed, my holy father, my mind emerged, as it were, from certain shadows of thoughts, as though it had recognized its own true praises. For, to confess the whole to Your Beatitude briefly and simply: if we have not extinguished wars, certainly we have deferred them; and, with the prince of all aiding, the evils which had already grown to a certain summit of calamities have been put to rest. Yet I hope from him from whom whatever is good we ought wholly to hope—nay, I even augur of your letter a blessing so generous, so sure, that this very deferral of wars, of which I spoke, may have and hold the perennial and perpetual firmness of peace. For you have said, and by the perpetual law of God you have fixed it, that I should rejoice in this, as you say, my so great and truly good thing, and enjoy in God, from whom you say I received it, that I should be such, and should undertake such things to be done. You then connect: "May God confirm," you say, "what he has wrought in us through you." O vows pronounced not only for me, but for the salvation of all! For this glory of mine cannot be separated from the salvation of all, and, that I may by your prayers be happy, it is necessary that all be happy together with me. May you, father, long take up and pronounce such vows for the Roman empire, for the Roman commonwealth, for those too whom it may occur to you are worthy; whenever, late, you raise yourself to heaven (See Virgil, Georgics 1.503; Aeneid 9.641), may you hand them down to posterity and command them to those who follow.
Ep211-270.34. Satis progressus sum fortasse quam debui, sed parum locutus certe quam volui. Confiteor enim, scribens ad te vultus mihi tuos tamquam praesentis imaginor; et cum olim me sermo rudis et inops lingua deficiat, tamen quasi coram tecum colloquar fabulerque, non satior. Proinde hinc etiam nostra in te desideria metire. Cum iamdiu finem mereretur epistolaris paginae forsitan ingrata verbositas, subtrahimus verecundiam; dum cupiditati consulimus, et sermonem relinquere, esse a te recedere suspicamur. Nolo ergo non desinere, sed non possum: si enim credis, mi pater, adeo nostris sensibus ac praecordiis inhaesisti, ex quo non contenti tua fama tam gloriosa, tam maxima, scriptis te tuis intueri maluimus, cum una mihi, atque haec brevis epistola tua, ardoris tantas flammas, incendiaque commoverit. Unde deprecamur te, ac tota mente deposcimus, ut quoniam gentiles ritus te etiam legendo, ut numquam alias, abunde affatimque contempsimus (quamquam enim a parentibus, ab avis, et postrema usque gentis prole Christi iura percepimus, tamen aliquoties sensibus nostris superfluae superstitionis superba vanitas inerrabat); peto ut etiam Confessionum libros a te perscriptos, nobis mittere ac donare digneris. Si enim alii quoque, prono animo ac benigna mente, tua nobis scripta largiti sunt, quanto magis de tuis ipse excusare non debes? Abgaris regis epistola ad Christum.
4. I have gone on perhaps further than I ought, but spoken certainly less than I wished. For I confess that, writing to you, I imagine your countenance to me as if you were present; and although my rude speech and my poor tongue have long been failing me, yet, as if conversing and talking with you in person, I am not sated. Accordingly, measure hence too our longings for you. When the perhaps unwelcome wordiness of an epistolary page had long deserved an end, we set aside shame; while we take counsel for our longing, and suspect that to leave off the discourse is to withdraw from you. I do not wish, then, not to cease, but I cannot: for, if you believe, my father, you have so clung to our senses and our heart, from the time when, not content with your fame so glorious, so great, we preferred to behold you in your writings, since this one and brief letter of yours has stirred up such flames and conflagrations of ardor. Hence we beseech you, and with our whole mind demand, that—since, even by reading you, as never otherwise, we have abundantly and amply despised the gentile rites (for although we received the laws of Christ from our parents, from our grandparents, and even to the last offspring of the line, yet sometimes the proud vanity of superfluous superstition crept into our senses)—I ask that you deign also to send and grant us the books of the Confessions written out by you. For if others too, with a ready spirit and a kindly mind, have lavished your writings on us, how much more ought you yourself not to excuse yourself concerning your own?
Ep211-270.45. Fertur satrapae, seu regis potius cuiusdam epistola : Deum Dominum Christum deprecantis, cum intra Iudaeae regiones adhuc versaretur, et necdum in coelum suum remeaverat, quoniam is ad eum ire ac pergere per aegritudinem praepediretur, et sanari aliter se posse non crederet, ad se, si dignaretur, mundi salus ac medicina decurreret; et ne tantae maiestati, quam ignarus rex provida, sed non perfecta mente, conceperat, iniuria fieri videretur, laudasse insuper suam dicitur civitatem, ut pulchritudine urbis et regis hospitio Deus illectus, preces supplicis non dedignaretur. Adfuit Deus regi; sanatus est: et amplificato petitionis munere, per epistolam non modo salutem ut supplici, sed etiam securitatem ut regi transmisit; iussit insuper eius urbem ab hostibus in perpetuum esse ac semper immunem. Quid his addi beneficiis potest? Ego humilis, et regum servus, a te meo domino peto ut apud istum Christum ac principem Deum quotidie pro meis peccatis intercedere ne cuncteris, ac pro me indefessus ores, ac petas quidquid ipse volueris. Benevoli gratique animi attestationes.
5. There is reported a letter of a satrap, or rather of a certain king (See Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 1.13): beseeching the Lord God Christ, while he was still dwelling within the regions of Judea, and had not yet returned to his heaven, since he himself was hindered by illness from going and proceeding to him, and did not believe he could be healed otherwise, that the salvation and medicine of the world might hasten to him, if he would deign; and lest an injury should seem to be done to so great a majesty, which the king, ignorant, had conceived with a provident but not perfect mind, he is said moreover to have praised his own city, so that God, allured by the beauty of the city and the hospitality of the king, might not disdain the prayers of the suppliant. God came to the aid of the king; he was healed: and, the gift of the petition being amplified, by a letter he transmitted not only health, as to a suppliant, but also security, as to a king; he commanded moreover that his city be forever and always immune from enemies. What can be added to these benefits? I, lowly, and a servant of kings, ask of you my lord that you would not delay to intercede daily with this Christ and the prince God for my sins, and that you would pray unwearied for me, and ask whatever you yourself shall will.
Ep211-270.56. Si tibi taedium affert longa epistola mea, hoc tuae magnanimitatis patientia moderare, et tibi imputa, quoniam ipse iussisti. Oramus tamen, atque identidem deprecamur, ut iterum scribas; sic enim fiet ut libenter suscepisse te scripta mea suspicari possimus. Deus donet nobis Beatitudinem tuam per multos annos pro nobis orantem, domine vere sancte pater. Filius noster Verimodus salutat Beatitudinem tuam, qui admodum gratulatus est quod in epistola ad nos tua eius mentionem fecisse dignatus es. Nescio quae medicamenta ab archiatro, qui nobiscum est, accepta dedimus Lazaro sacro presbytero, ad tuam Beatitudinem deferenda; quae, ut vir memoratus affirmat, ad alleviationem doloris et morbi curationem non parum proficient.
6. If my long letter brings you weariness, moderate this by the patience of your magnanimity, and impute it to yourself, since you yourself commanded it. Yet we pray, and again and again beseech, that you write again; for so it will come about that we may suspect you to have gladly received my writings. May God grant us Your Beatitude, praying for us through many years, lord truly holy father. Our son Verimodus greets Your Beatitude, who was very glad that in your letter to us you deigned to make mention of him. Some medicines, I know not what, received from the chief physician who is with us, we have given to Lazarus, the holy priest, to be carried to Your Beatitude; which, as the aforesaid man affirms, will profit not a little toward the alleviation of pain and the cure of disease.
Ep211-270.6EPISTOLA 231
AUGUSTINUS SERVUS CHRISTI MEMBRORUMQUE CHRISTI, DARIO FILIO MEMBRO CHRISTI, IN IPSO SALUTEM.
AUGUSTINUS SERVUS CHRISTI MEMBRORUMQUE CHRISTI, DARIO FILIO MEMBRO CHRISTI, IN IPSO SALUTEM.
LETTER 231
AUGUSTINE, A SERVANT OF CHRIST AND OF THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, TO DARIUS, A SON, A MEMBER OF CHRIST, GREETINGS IN HIM.
Ep211-270.6AUGUSTINE, A SERVANT OF CHRIST AND OF THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, TO DARIUS, A SON, A MEMBER OF CHRIST, GREETINGS IN HIM.
1. Quod acceperim libenter litteras tuas, mea rescripta indicio esse voluisti. Ecce rescribo, et tamen rescriptis hoc indicare non possum, vel istis, vel quibuslibet aliis, sive breviter, sive prolixissime scribam: neque enim aut paucis aut multis verbis indicari potest quod indicari verbis non potest. Et ego quidem parum eloquor, etsi multum loquar: sed nulli eloquenti omnino concesserim, ut qualicumque et quantacumque epistola sua affectum explicet, quem fecit in me tua, quod non possum ego, etsi eum possit ita in animo meo videre sicut ego. Restat ergo sic tibi indicare quod scire voluisti, ut in verbis meis, et quod non indicant, sentias. Quid igitur dicam, nisi delectatum me esse litteris tuis, delectatum valde valde? Repetitio verbi huius, non est repetitio, sed quasi perpetua dictio: quia fieri non posset, ut semper diceretur, ideo factum est ut saltem repeteretur; sic enim fortasse dici potest, quod dici non potest. Quibus laudibus permulceatur.
1. That I received your letter gladly, you wished my reply to be the indication. Behold, I write back, and yet by my reply I cannot indicate this, whether by this one or by any others, whether I write briefly or most at length: for what cannot be indicated by words can be indicated neither by few words nor by many. And I indeed say too little, even if I speak much: but I would not grant to any eloquent man at all that he could, by any letter of his, however worded and however long, explain the affection which yours has wrought in me—which I cannot do, even if he could see it in my mind as I do. It remains, then, so to indicate to you what you wished to know, that in my words you may perceive even what they do not indicate. What, then, shall I say, except that I was delighted by your letter, delighted very, very much? The repetition of this word is not a repetition, but, as it were, a perpetual saying: because it could not come about that it should always be said, therefore it has come about that it should at least be repeated; for so, perhaps, can be said what cannot be said.
Ep211-270.12. Hic si quaerat aliquis, quid me tandem in tuis tam valde litteris delectaverit; utrum eloquium? respondebo, "Non": et ille forsitan respondebit: "Ergo laudes tuae"; sed de his quoque respondebo, "Non": nec ideo, quia non sint ista in illa epistola; nam et eloquium ibi tantum est, ut et optimo te natum ingenio, et talibus disciplinis satis eruditum praeclarissime luceat, et prorsus plena est meis laudibus. "Ergone, ait quispiam, non te ista delectant?". Imo vero. Neque enim mihi, ut ait quidam, cornea fibra est , ut haec non sentiam, vel sine delectatione sentiam. Delectant et ista; sed ad illud quo me valde dixi esse delectatum, quid sunt ista? Nam eloquium tuum me delectat, quoniam graviter suave est, vel suaviter grave: meis autem laudibus, cum profecto nec omnibus delecter, nec ab omnibus, sed eis qualibus me dignum esse arbitratus es, et ab eis qualis es, id est qui propter Christum diligunt servos eius; etiam laudibus meis me delectatum in litteris tuis negare non possum. Themistoclis vanitas.
2. Here, if someone should ask what in your letter so greatly delighted me—whether the eloquence? I will answer, "No": and he perhaps will answer: "Then your praises"; but about these too I will answer, "No": and not because these things are not in that letter; for both the eloquence there is so great that it shines forth most clearly that you were born with an excellent genius and are sufficiently educated in such disciplines, and it is altogether full of my praises. "Then," someone says, "do these things not delight you?" On the contrary indeed. For I have not, as a certain one says, a heart of horn (See Persius, Satires 1.47), that I should not perceive these things, or perceive them without delight. These things too delight; but compared to that by which I said I was greatly delighted, what are these? For your eloquence delights me, because it is gravely sweet, or sweetly grave: but by my praises—since indeed I am neither delighted by all praises nor delighted from all, but by such as you judged me worthy of, and from such a one as you are, that is, those who love the servants of God for the sake of Christ—even by my praises in your letter I cannot deny that I was delighted.
Ep211-270.23. Viderint graves et periti viri quid de illo Themistocle sentiant, si tamen hominis nomen verum recolo, qui cum in epulis, quod clari et eruditi Graeciae facere solebant, canere fidibus recusasset, et ob hoc indoctior haberetur, totumque illud iucunditatis genus aspernatus esset; dictum illi est: Quid ergo audire te delectat? Ad quod ille respondisse fertur: Laudes meas. Viderint ergo quo fine et qua intentione illud dixisse crediderint, vel ipse qua dixerit. Erat enim secundum hoc saeculum vir magnificus. Nam etiam cum ei dictum fuisset: Quid igitur nosti? Rempublicam, inquit, ex parva magnam facere . Ego autem quod ait Ennius: Omnes mortales sese laudari exoptant , partim puto approbandum, partim cavendum. Ut enim appetenda est veritas, quae procul dubio est, etiamsi non laudetur, sola laudabilis; sic etiam ea, quae facile subrepit, vanitas in hominum laude fugienda est: haec est autem, vel cum ipsa bona, quae laudatione digna sunt, non putantur habenda, nisi laudetur ab hominibus homo; vel ea quoque vult in se multum quisque laudari, quae aut exigua laude, aut etiam vituperatione digniora sunt. Unde Horatius Ennio vigilantior ait: Laudis amore tumes? Sunt certa piacula, quae te Ter pure lecto poterunt recreare libello . Paulus de humanis laudibus.
3. Let grave and learned men see what they think of that Themistocles—if indeed I rightly recall the man's name—who, when at a banquet (which the renowned and learned of Greece were wont to do) he had refused to sing to the lyre, and on this account was held more unlearned, and had spurned that whole kind of pleasantry, it was said to him: What then do you delight to hear? To which he is reported to have answered: My own praises. Let them see, then, with what end and with what intention they have believed he said this, or he himself with what intention he said it. For he was, according to this world, a magnificent man. For even when it had been said to him: What, then, do you know? he said, To make a commonwealth great out of a small one (See Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 1.4.7-8). But as for what Ennius says—All mortals wish themselves to be praised (See Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 1.15.34)—I think it is partly to be approved, partly to be guarded against. For just as truth is to be sought, which without doubt, even if it is not praised, is alone praiseworthy; so too that vanity which easily creeps in is to be fled in the praise of men: and this vanity is either when the good things themselves, which are worthy of praise, are not thought to be possessed, unless a man is praised by men; or when each one wishes also those things to be much praised in himself which are worthy either of slight praise, or even of blame. Hence Horace, more wakeful than Ennius, says: Do you swell with the love of praise? There are sure expiations, which, the little book read three times with a pure heart, will be able to restore you (See Horace, Epistles 1.1.36-37).
Ep211-270.34. Ita tumorem de amore laudis humanae, velut serpentis morsum medicinalibus verbis quasi excantandum putavit. Docuit itaque nos per Apostolum suum Magister bonus, neque propterea nos recte facere, ut laudemur ab hominibus, id est, finem recti nostri non in hominum laudibus ponere; et tamen propter ipsos homines quaerere laudes hominum . Etenim cum laudantur boni, non laudatis, sed laudantibus prodest. Nam illis, quantum ad ipsos attinet, quod boni sunt sufficit: sed eis, quibus expedit imitari bonos, gratulandum est, cum ab eis laudantur boni; quoniam sic indicant eos sibi placere, quos veraciter laudant. Dicit ergo Apostolus quodam loco: Si hominibus placerem, Christi servus non essem : et idem dicit alio loco: Placete omnibus per omnia, sicut et ego omnibus per omnia placeo; sed adiungens causam, non quaerens quod mihi utile est, sed quod multis, ut salvi fiant . Ecce quid quaerebat in laude hominum, ubi etiam dicebat: De caetero, fratres, quaecumque sunt vera, quaecumque pudica, quaecumque casta, quaecumque sancta, quaecumque carissima, quaecumque bonae famae, si qua virtus, si qua laus, haec cogitate: quae didicistis, et accepistis, et audistis et vidistis in me, haec agite; et Deus pacis erit vobiscum . Caetera igitur, quae supra commemoravi, virtutis nomine amplexus est, dicens, si qua virtus: illud autem quod subiecit, quaecumque bonae famae, alio uno verbo congruo prosecutus est dicendo, si qua laus. Quod itaque ait: Si hominibus placerem, Christi servus non essem, sic utique accipiendum tamquam dixerit: "Si bona quae facio, fine laudis humanae facerem, laudis amore tumescerem". Volebat ergo Apostolus placere omnibus, et eis placere gaudebat, non quorum laudibus tumescebat in seipso, sed quos laudatus aedificabat in Christo. Cur ergo me non delectet laudari abs te, cum et vir bonus sis ne me fallas, et ea laudes quae ames, et quae amare utile ac salubre est, etiamsi non sint in me? neque hoc tibi tantum, sed etiam mihi prodest. Si enim non sunt in me, salubriter erubesco, atque ut sint inardesco. Ac per quod agnosco mea in laude tua, gaudeo me habere, et abs te illa ac meipsum diligi propter illa: quae autem non agnosco, non solum ut ipse habeam, desidero consequi, verum etiam ne semper in mea laude fallantur, qui me sinceriter diligunt. Augustini opuscola per Darium diffusa permultos adiutura.
4. Thus he thought the swelling from the love of human praise was to be charmed away, as it were, by medicinal words, like the bite of a serpent. So the good Master taught us through his Apostle, both that we do not for this reason act rightly, that we may be praised by men—that is, that we should not place the end of our rightness in the praises of men—and yet that, for the sake of those very men, we should seek the praises of men. For when the good are praised, it profits not those praised but those praising. For to the former, as far as concerns themselves, it suffices that they are good: but those for whom it is expedient to imitate the good are to be congratulated when the good are praised by them; since they thus indicate that those please them whom they truly praise. The Apostle therefore says in a certain place: If I were pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ (Gal 1:10): and the same one says in another place: Please all men in all things, as I too please all in all things; but adding the cause, not seeking what is useful to me, but what is useful to many, that they may be saved (1 Cor 10:33). Behold what he sought in the praise of men, where he also said: For the rest, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever modest, whatever chaste, whatever holy, whatever most dear, whatever of good report, if there is any virtue, if there is any praise, think on these things: the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do these; and the God of peace will be with you (Phil 4:8-9). The other things, then, which I mentioned above, he embraced under the name of virtue, saying, if there is any virtue: but that which he subjoined, whatever of good report, he followed up with another single fitting word, by saying, if there is any praise. What he says, then—If I were pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ—is surely to be taken as if he had said: "If I did the good things I do with the end of human praise, I would swell with the love of praise." The Apostle, then, wished to please all, and rejoiced to please those—not by whose praises he swelled in himself, but whom, being praised, he edified in Christ. Why, then, should I not be delighted to be praised by you, since you are both a good man, so as not to deceive me, and you praise the things that you love, and that it is useful and wholesome to love, even if they are not in me? Nor does this profit you alone, but me also. For if they are not in me, I wholesomely blush, and burn that they may be. And through that which I recognize as mine in your praise, I rejoice that I have it, and that it, and I myself on account of it, are loved by you: but the things I do not recognize, I desire not only to obtain myself, but also that those who sincerely love me may not always be deceived in my praise.
Ep211-270.45. Ecce quam multa dixi, et quid sit illud quod me longe amplius eloquio tuo, longe amplius laudibus meis in tuis litteris delectavit, non adhuc dixi. Quid autem putas esse, o bone homo, nisi quod te talem virum, et non visum feci amicum; si tamen non visum dicere debeo, cuius non corpus, sed animam in ipsis tuis litteris vidi, ubi de te, non sicut antea fratribus meis, sed mihi credidi? Quis enim esses iam quidem acceperam, sed qualis erga me esses, nondum tenebam. Ex hac amicitia tua etiam laudes meas, quae me quo fine delectent satis dixi, multo uberius Ecclesiae Christi non dubito profuturas; quandoquidem etiam labores meos in defensione Evangelii adversus reliquias impiorum daemonicolarum sic habes, sic legis, sic amas, sic praedicas, ut in eis tanto fiam notior, quanto es ipse nobilior: eos enim latenter illustris illustras, clarusque declaras, et ubi prodesse posse perspicies, ignorari omnino non sines. Si unde id sciam quaeris: talis mihi apparuisti in litteris tuis. Hinc iam vide quantum me illae litterae delectare potuerint: si bene de me existimas, cogitas quantum me Christi lucra delectent. Iamvero quod te ipsum, qui, ut scribis: "a parentibus, ab avis, et postrema usque gentis prole Christi iura percipere potuisti" , tamen adversus gentiles ritus, ut numquam alias, eisdem laboribus meis adiutum esse significas; parumne cogito quantum boni aliis, et quam multis, quam claris, et quam facile, quamque salubriter per illos caeteris quibus talia conveniunt, possint scripta nostra te commendante atque disseminante conferre? aut hoc cogitans possumne parvorum vel mediocrium gaudiorum iucunditate perfundi? Confessiones sui animi speculum esse.
5. Behold how many things I have said, and what that is which delighted me in your letter far more than your eloquence, far more than my praises, I have not yet said. But what do you think it is, O good man, except that I have made you, such a man, and unseen, my friend—if indeed I ought to say "unseen," whose not body but soul I saw in those very letters of yours, where about you I believed, not as before my brothers, but myself? For who you were I had indeed already learned, but what you were toward me I did not yet hold. From this friendship of yours I do not doubt that even my praises—the end with which they delight me I have said enough—will profit the Church of Christ far more richly; since you so regard, so read, so love, so proclaim even my labors in the defense of the Gospel against the remnants of the impious demon-worshipers, that in them I become the better known the nobler you yourself are: for, illustrious, you secretly make them illustrious, and, renowned, you declare them, and where you perceive they can profit, you will not at all allow them to be unknown. If you ask whence I know this: such you appeared to me in your letters. Hence now see how much those letters could delight me: if you think well of me, you consider how much the gains of Christ delight me. And now, as for the fact that you yourself, who, as you write, "could receive the laws of Christ from your parents, from your grandparents, and even to the last offspring of the line," yet signify that you have been helped, against the gentile rites, as never otherwise, by these same labors of mine; do I think too little how much good, to others—and to how many, how renowned, and how easily, and how wholesomely through them to the rest to whom such things are fitting—our writings can confer, with you commending and disseminating them? Or, thinking this, can I be flooded with the delightfulness of small or middling joys?
Ep211-270.56. Quia igitur non potui verbis explicare quantam delectationem de tuis litteris ceperim, unde me delectaverint, dixi: iam quod nequivi satis dicere, id est, quantum delectaverint, tibi coniciendum relinquo. Sume itaque, mi fili, sume, vir bone et non in superficie, sed in christiana caritate christiane; sume, inquam, libros, quos desiderasti, Confessionum mearum: ibi me inspice, ne me laudes ultra quam sum; ibi non aliis de me crede, sed mihi; ibi me attende, et vide quid fuerim in meipso, per meipsum; et si quid in me tibi placuerit, lauda ibi mecum, quem laudari volui de me; neque enim me. Quoniam ipse fecit nos, et non ipsi nos ; nos autem perdideramus nos, sed qui fecit, refecit. Cum autem ibi me inveneris, ora pro me ne deficiam, sed perficiar; ora fili, ora. Sentio quid dicam, scio quid petam; non tibi videatur indignum, et quasi ultra merita tua: fraudabis me magno adiutorio, si non feceris. Non solum tu, sed etiam omnes qui ex ore tuo dilexerint, orate pro me: hoc eis me petivisse indica, et si multum nobis tribuitis, iussisse nos existimate quod petimus, et tamen date petentibus, vel obtemperate iubentibus. Orate pro nobis. Lege Litteras divinas, et invenies ipsos arietes nostros Apostolos petiisse hoc a filiis suis, sive praecepisse auditoribus suis. Ego certe quoniam hoc a me petiisti pro te, quantum faciam, videt qui exaudiat, qui videbat quia et ante faciebam: sed redde etiam in hac re dilectionis vicem. Praepositi vestri sumus; grex Dei estis : considerate et videte pericula nostra maiora esse quam vestra, et orate pro nobis. Hoc enim et nobis condecet et vobis, ut bonam rationem de vobis reddamus pastorum principi et omnium nostrum capiti , pariterque evadamus huius mundi periculosiores blanditias quam molestias, nisi cum pax eius ad hoc proficit, quod Apostolus orare nos monuit, ut quietam vitam et tranquillam agamus in omni pietate et caritate . Si enim desit pietas et caritas, quid est ab illis et a caeteris mundi malis tranquillitas et quies, nisi luxuriae perditionisque materies, sive invitamentum, sive adiumentum? Ut ergo habeamus quietam et tranquillam vitam in omni pietate et caritate, quod oro pro vobis, orate pro nobis, ubicumque estis, ubicumque sumus nusquam enim non est, cuius sumus. A. gratus pro medicamentis aliisque subsidiis.
6. Since, then, I could not explain in words how great a delight I took from your letter, I have said whence they delighted me: now what I could not say enough—that is, how much they delighted me—I leave to you to conjecture. Take, therefore, my son, take, good man, and not on the surface but in Christian love, as a Christian; take, I say, the books you desired, of my Confessions: there look upon me, lest you praise me beyond what I am; there believe not others about me, but me; there attend to me, and see what I have been in myself, through myself; and if anything in me pleases you, praise there with me him whom I wished to be praised concerning me—for I did not wish myself to be praised. For he made us, and not we ourselves (Ps 100:3 (99:3)); but we had lost ourselves, yet he who made us remade us. But when you have found me there, pray for me that I may not fail, but be perfected; pray, son, pray. I feel what I say, I know what I ask; let it not seem to you unworthy, and as it were beyond your merits: you will defraud me of a great help, if you do not do it. Not only you, but all who from your mouth have loved me, pray for me: indicate to them that I have asked this of them; and if you attribute much to us, suppose that we have commanded what we ask, and yet give to those asking, or obey those commanding. Pray for us. Read the divine Scriptures, and you will find that our very rams, the Apostles, asked this of their sons, or commanded it to their hearers. I certainly, since you asked this of me for you, how much I do it, he sees who hears, who saw that I did it even before: but render also in this matter the return of love. We are your superiors; you are the flock of God (See 1 Pet 5:2-3): consider and see that our perils are greater than yours, and pray for us. For this is fitting both for us and for you, that we may render a good account of you to the chief of shepherds and the head of us all (See 1 Pet 5:4), and that we may alike escape this world's more perilous flatteries than its troubles, except when its peace profits to this, that, as the Apostle admonished us to pray, we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and love (See 1 Tim 2:2). For if devotion and love are lacking, what is tranquillity and quiet from those and from the other evils of the world, but the matter of luxury and perdition, whether the inducement or the support? That, then, we may have a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and love—which I pray for you—pray for us, wherever you are, wherever we are: for nowhere is he not, whose we are.
Ep211-270.67. Misi et alios libros quos non petisti, ne hoc tantummodo facerem quod petisti; de Fide rerum quae non videntur, de Patientia, de Continentia, de Providentia, et unum grandem de Fide et Spe et Caritate. Hos omnes si dum es intra Africam legeris, iudicium tuum mitte de illis; aut mitte nobis, aut quo nobis a domino sene Aurelio mittatur, ibi dimitte: quamquam et ubicumque fueris speramus inde litteras tuas, et hinc tu, dum possumus, nostras. Suscepi gratissime quae misisti; ubi et salutem meam quamvis corporalem, quoniam vis me utique sine impedimento malae valetudinis Deo vacare, et bibliothecam nostram, ut sint unde libri vel parentur vel reparentur, adiuvare dignatus es. Rependat tibi Dominus et hic et in futuro saeculo bona, quae talibus qualem te esse voluit, praeparavit . Pignus pacis apud te depositum, nostrumque utrique dulcissimum, sicut ante a me salutari, ita nunc resalutari peto.
7. I have sent also other books which you did not ask for, that I might not do only what you asked: Faith in the Unseen, Patience, Continence, Providence, and one large one On Faith, Hope, and Charity. All these, if you read them while you are within Africa, send your judgment about them; either send it to us, or leave it where it may be sent to us by the aged lord Aurelius: although wherever you are, we hope for your letters from there, and you for ours from here, while we are able. I received most gratefully what you sent; in which you deigned to help both my health, though bodily—since you wish me at any rate to be free for God without the impediment of bad health—and our library, that there may be means whence books may be either procured or restored. May the Lord repay you, both here and in the future world, with the good things he has prepared for such as he willed you to be (See 1 Cor 2:9). The pledge of peace deposited with you, and most sweet to us both, as it was greeted by me before, so now I ask to be greeted in return.
Ep211-270.7EPISTOLA 232
DOMINIS PRAEDICABILIBUS, ET DILECTISSIMIS FRATRIBUS MAURENSIBUS, QUORUM PER FRATREM FLORENTINUM EPISTOLAM ACCEPI, AUGUSTINUS.
DOMINIS PRAEDICABILIBUS, ET DILECTISSIMIS FRATRIBUS MAURENSIBUS, QUORUM PER FRATREM FLORENTINUM EPISTOLAM ACCEPI, AUGUSTINUS.
LETTER 232
TO THE PRAISEWORTHY LORDS AND MOST BELOVED BROTHERS OF MADAUROS, WHOSE LETTER I RECEIVED THROUGH BROTHER FLORENTINUS, AUGUSTINE.
Ep211-270.7TO THE PRAISEWORTHY LORDS AND MOST BELOVED BROTHERS OF MADAUROS, WHOSE LETTER I RECEIVED THROUGH BROTHER FLORENTINUS, AUGUSTINE.
1. Si forte illi qui inter vos catholici christiani sunt, talia mihi scripta miserunt, hoc tantum miror, quod non suo potius quam ordinis nomine. Si autem revera omnes aut prope omnes ordinis viri ad me dignati estis litteras dare, miror quod "patri", et "in Domino salutem" scripsistis; quorum mihi superstitiosus cultus idolorum, contra quae idola facilius templa vestra quam corda clauduntur, vel potius quae idola non magis in templis quam in vestris cordibus includuntur, cum magno est dolore notissimus: nisi forte iam de salute ipsa, quae in Domino est, per quem me salutare voluistis, tandem prudenti consideratione cogitatis. Nam si non ita est, quaeso vos, quid laesi, quid offendi benevolentiam vestram, ut me titulo epistolae vestrae irridendum potius quam honorandum esse putaretis, domini praedicabiles, et dilectissimi fratres? A. dolet se a Paganis Christi nomine salutari.
1. If perhaps those among you who are Catholic Christians sent me such writings, I wonder only at this, that they did so not rather in their own name than in the name of the council. But if in truth all, or nearly all, the men of the council deigned to send me a letter, I wonder that you wrote "to the father" and "greetings in the Lord"; whose superstitious worship of idols—against which idols your temples are more easily closed than your hearts, or rather which idols are shut up not so much in your temples as in your hearts—is most well known to me with great grief: unless perhaps you are now at last thinking, with prudent consideration, about that very salvation which is in the Lord, through whom you wished to greet me. For if it is not so, I ask you, how have I injured, how have I offended your goodwill, that you should think me to be mocked rather than honored by the title of your letter, praiseworthy lords and most beloved brothers?
Ep211-270.12. Quod enim scripsistis: "Patri Augustino, in Domino aeternam salutem", cum legerem, tanta spe subito erectus sum, ut crederem vos ad ipsum Dominum, et ad ipsam aeternam salutem aut iam esse conversos, aut per nostrum ministerium desiderare converti. Sed ubi legi caetera, refriguit animus meus: quaesivi tamen ab epistolae perlatore utrum iam vel essetis christiani, vel esse cuperetis. Cuius responsione posteaquam comperi nequaquam vos esse mutatos, gravius dolui quod Christi nomen, cui iam totum orbem subiectum esse conspicitis, non solum a vobis repellendum, sed etiam in nobis irridendum esse credidistis. Non enim potui cogitare alterum Dominum, secundum quem posset episcopus "pater" a vobis vocari, praeter Dominum Christum: et si esset hinc aliqua de interpretatione vestrae sententiae dubitatio, subscriptione epistolae tolleretur, ubi aperte posuistis: "Optamus te, domine, in Deo et Christo eius, per multos annos semper in clero tuo gaudere". Quibus omnibus perlectis atque discussis, quid mihi aliud occurrere potuit, aut cuilibet homini potest, nisi aut veridico aut fallaci scribentium animo haec esse conscripta? Sed si veridico animo ista scribitis, quis vobis ad hanc veritatem interclusit viam? quis aspera dumeta substravit? quis rupium praerupta inimicus opposuit? postremo quis basilicae ianuam ingredi cupientibus clausit, ut in eodem Domino per quem nos salutatis, eamdem salutem nobiscum habere nolitis? Si autem fallaciter atque irridenter haec scribitis, itane tandem mihi negotia vestra curanda imponitis, ut nomen eius per quem aliquid possum, audeatis non veneratione debita attollere, sed insultatione adulatoria ventilare? Christianae religionis veritas ex prophetiis adimpletis
2. For when I read what you wrote—"To father Augustine, eternal salvation in the Lord"—I was suddenly raised up by such great hope that I believed you either to be already converted to the Lord himself and to that eternal salvation, or to desire to be converted through our ministry. But when I read the rest, my mind grew cold: yet I asked the bearer of the letter whether you were already either Christians or desirous of being. After, by his answer, I learned that you were by no means changed, I grieved the more grievously that the name of Christ, to which you see the whole world now subjected, you believed was to be not only repelled by you, but even mocked in us. For I could not think of any other Lord, according to whom a bishop could be called "father" by you, except the Lord Christ: and if there were any doubt hence about the interpretation of your sentence, it would be removed by the subscription of the letter, where you openly set down: "We wish you, lord, in God and his Christ, ever to rejoice for many years in your clergy." All these things having been read through and discussed, what else could occur to me, or can occur to any man, except that these things were written with either a truthful or a deceitful mind of the writers? But if you write these things with a truthful mind, who has barred you the way to this truth? who has strewn rough thickets beneath? what enemy has set the crags of cliffs against you? finally, who has closed the door of the basilica to you desiring to enter, that in the same Lord through whom you greet us, you should be unwilling to have the same salvation with us? But if you write these things deceitfully and mockingly, do you then so lay upon me the care of your affairs that you dare to lift up the name of him through whom I can do anything, not with the veneration that is owed, but to fan it about with flattering insult?
Ep211-270.23. Sciatis me, carissimi, cum ineffabili pro vobis tremore cordis haec dicere: novi enim quanto graviorem et perniciosiorem causam sitis habituri apud Deum, si frustra vobis haec dixero. Omnia quae praeteritis temporibus erga humanum genus maiores nostri gesta esse meminerunt, nobisque tradiderunt; omnia etiam quae nos videmus, et posteris tradimus, quae tamen pertinent ad veram religionem quaerendam et tenendam, divina Scriptura non tacuit; sed ita omnino cuncta transeunt, ut transitura esse praedicta sunt. Videtis certe populum Iudaeorum avulsum a sedibus suis, per omnes fere terras disseminatum atque diffusum: et origo eiusdem populi, et incrementa, et regni amissio, et per cuncta dispersio, sicut praedicta, ita facta sunt. Videtis certe ex ipso populo verbum Dei legemque prodeuntem per Christum, qui ex illis mirabiliter natus est, omnium gentium fidem occupasse atque tenuisse: ita haec omnia praenuntiata legimus, ut videmus. Videtis certe multos praecisos a radice christianae societatis, quae per Sedes Apostolorum et successiones episcoporum certa per orbem propagatione diffunditur, de sola figura originis, sub christiano nomine, quasi arescentia sarmenta gloriari, quas haereses et schismata nominamus: praevisa, praedicta, scripta sunt omnia. Videtis certe simulacrorum templa partim sine reparatione collapsa, partim diruta, partim clausa, partim in usus alios commutata; ipsaque simulacra vel confringi, vel incendi, vel includi, vel destrui: atque ipsas huius saeculi potestates, quae aliquando pro simulacris populum christianum persequebantur, victas et domitas, non a repugnantibus, sed a morientibus Christianis, et contra eadem simulacra pro quibus Christianos occidebant, impetus suos legesque vertisse, et imperii nobilissimi eminentissimum culmen ad sepulcrum piscatoris Petri, submisso diademate, supplicare. Omnes, Pagani quoque, Christum cantant.
3. Know, most dear ones, that I say these things with an ineffable trembling of heart for you: for I know how much more grievous and more pernicious a cause you will have before God, if I have said these things to you in vain. All the things that in past times our ancestors remembered to have been done concerning the human race, and handed down to us; all the things too that we see and hand down to posterity—which nevertheless pertain to the seeking and holding of the true religion—divine Scripture has not been silent about; but all things so pass away that they were foretold as about to pass away. You see surely the Jewish people torn from their seats, scattered and diffused through almost all lands: and the origin of that same people, and its increases, and the loss of its kingdom, and its dispersion through all places, as they were foretold, so were they done. You see surely the word of God and the law going forth from that very people through Christ, who was born from them wondrously, having occupied and held the faith of all nations: so we read all these things foretold as we see them. You see surely many cut off from the root of the Christian society—which through the Sees of the Apostles and the successions of bishops is diffused with a sure propagation throughout the world—glorying, from the mere figure of their origin, under the Christian name, like withering branches: which we call heresies and schisms; all things foreseen, foretold, written. You see surely the temples of idols partly collapsed without repair, partly demolished, partly closed, partly converted to other uses; and the idols themselves either broken, or burned, or shut up, or destroyed: and the very powers of this world, which once persecuted the Christian people for the idols, conquered and tamed, not by those resisting but by those dying, and turning their assaults and laws against the very idols for which they killed Christians, and the most eminent summit of the most noble empire, with its diadem laid aside, supplicating at the tomb of the fisherman Peter.
Ep211-270.34. Haec omnia Scripturae divinae, quae in manus omnium iam venerunt, ante longissima tempora futura esse testatae sunt. Haec omnia tanto robustiore fide laetamur fieri, quanto maiore auctoritate praedicata esse in sanctis Litteris invenimus. Numquidnam, obsecro vos, numquidnam solum iudicium Dei, quod inter fideles atque infideles futurum esse in eisdem Litteris legimus , cum illa omnia sicut praedicta sunt venerint; numquidnam solum iudicium Dei venturum non esse putabimus? Imo vero veniet, sicut illa omnia venerunt. Nec quisquam erit homo nostrorum temporum, qui se in illo iudicio de sua possit infidelitate defendere; cum Christum cantet et iustus ad aequitatem, et periurus ad fraudem, et rex ad imperium, et miles ad pugnam, et maritus propter regimen, et uxor propter obsequium, et pater propter praeceptum, et filius propter obedientiam, et dominus propter dominationem, et servus propter famulatum, et humilis ad pietatem, et superbus ad aemulationem, et dives ut porrigat, et pauper ut sumat, et ebriosus ad phialam, et mendicus ad ianuam, et bonus ut praestet, et malus ut fallat; et christianus venerator, et paganus adulator, omnes Christum cantant, et qua voluntate atque ore cantent, eidem ipsi quem cantant rationem sine dubio reddituri sunt. Trinitatis atque Incarnationis mysterium.
4. All these things the divine Scriptures, which have now come into the hands of all, testified would be, long ages before. All these things we rejoice come to pass with a faith the more robust the greater the authority with which we find them foretold in the holy Scriptures. Is it then, I beseech you, is it then only the judgment of God—which we read in those same Scriptures will be between the faithful and the unfaithful (See 2 Cor 5:10)—that, when all those things have come as they were foretold, we shall suppose only the judgment of God is not to come? On the contrary, it will come, just as all those things have come. Nor will there be any man of our times who could in that judgment defend himself concerning his unbelief; since Christ is sung both by the just man toward equity, and by the perjurer toward fraud, and by the king toward rule, and by the soldier toward battle, and by the husband for governance, and by the wife for compliance, and by the father for command, and by the son for obedience, and by the master for dominion, and by the slave for service, and by the humble toward devotion, and by the proud toward emulation, and by the rich that he may give, and by the poor that he may receive, and by the drunkard toward the cup, and by the beggar toward the door, and by the good that he may bestow, and by the evil that he may deceive; both the Christian as a worshiper, and the pagan as a flatterer—all sing Christ, and with what will and mouth they sing, they will without doubt render an account to that very one whom they sing.
Ep211-270.45. Est quiddam invisibile, ex quo Creatore principio sunt omnia quae videmus, summum, aeternum, incommutabile et nulli effabile nisi tantum sibi. Est quiddam, quo se ipsa summitas maiestatis narrat et praedicat, non impar gignenti atque narranti Verbum, quo ille qui Verbum gignit, ostenditur. Est quaedam sanctitas, omnium quae sancta fiunt sanctificatrix, ipsius incommutabilis Verbi per quod narratur illud principium, et ipsius principii quod pari se Verbo narrat, inseparabilis et indivisa communio. Quis autem hoc totum, quod non dicendo dicere conatus sum, et dicendo non dicere; quis hoc possit serenissima et sincerissima mente contueri, eoque contuitu beatitudinem ducere, atque in id quod intuetur deficiens quodammodo se oblivisci, et pergere in illud cuius visio nobis invisibilis est, quod est immortalitate indui, et obtinere aeternam salutem, per quam me salutare dignamini? Quis hoc possit, nisi qui omnes superbiae suae toros inanes, peccata sua confitens, complanaverit, seque substraverit mitem atque humilem ad excipiendum Deum doctorem? Christus crucifixus per totum mundum praedicari.
5. There is something invisible, from which, as from the Creator and beginning, are all the things we see—highest, eternal, unchangeable, and utterable to none but only to itself. There is something by which that very summit of majesty narrates and proclaims itself, the Word not unequal to the one begetting and narrating, by which he who begets the Word is shown. There is a certain holiness, the sanctifier of all things that are made holy, the inseparable and undivided communion of that unchangeable Word through which that beginning is narrated, and of that beginning itself which narrates itself by an equal Word. But who could behold, with a most serene and most sincere mind, this whole which I have tried to say by not saying, and by saying not to say; who could behold it, and by that beholding lead a blessedness, and, in a manner failing into that which it beholds, forget itself, and proceed into that whose vision is invisible to us—which is to be clothed with immortality, and to obtain the eternal salvation through which you deign to greet me? Who could do this, except one who, leveling all the empty couches of his pride, confessing his sins, has laid himself low, meek and humble, to receive God as teacher?
Ep211-270.56. Quoniam ergo a vanitate superbiae prius ad humilitatem deponendi sumus, ut inde surgentes solidam celsitudinem teneamus; non potuit hoc nobis tanto magnificentius, quanto blandius inspirari, ut nostra ferocitas non vi, sed persuasione sedaretur, nisi verbum illud, per quod se Angelis indicat Deus Pater, quod Virtus et Sapientia eius est , quod corde humano visibilium rerum cupiditate caecato videri non poterat, personam suam in homine agere atque ostendere dignaretur, ut magis homo timeret extolli fastu hominis, quam humiliari exemplo Dei. Itaque non Christus regno terreno decoratus, nec Christus terrenis opibus dives, nec Christus illa terrena felicitate praefulgens; sed Christus crucifixus, per totum terrarum orbem praedicatur . Quod riserunt prius populi superborum, et adhuc rident reliquiae: crediderunt autem prius pauci, nunc populi; quia tunc ad fidem paucorum, et contra irrisionem populorum, cum Christus crucifixus praedicaretur , claudi ambulabant, muti loquebantur, surdi audiebant, caeci videbant, mortui resurgebant. Sic tandem animadvertit terrena superbia, nihil in ipsis terrenis esse potentius humilitate divina , ut etiam saluberrima humilitas humana, contra insultantem sibi superbiam, divinae imitationis patrocinio tueretur. Madaurenses christianam religionem amplectantur.
6. Since, therefore, we are first to be brought down from the vanity of pride to humility, so that, rising from there, we may hold a solid loftiness; this could not be breathed into us the more magnificently the more gently—so that our fierceness might be calmed not by force but by persuasion—unless that Word, through which God the Father makes himself known to the angels, which is his Power and Wisdom (See 1 Cor 1:24), which could not be seen by the human heart blinded by desire of visible things, deigned to enact and show his person in a man, so that a man might fear more to be lifted up by the pride of man, than to be humbled by the example of God. And so it is not Christ adorned with an earthly kingdom, nor Christ rich with earthly resources, nor Christ resplendent with that earthly happiness, but Christ crucified, that is preached throughout the whole world (See 1 Cor 1:23). Which the peoples of the proud first laughed at, and the remnants still laugh: but first few believed, now peoples; because then, for the faith of the few and against the mockery of the peoples, when Christ crucified was preached (See 1 Cor 1:23), the lame walked, the mute spoke, the deaf heard, the blind saw, the dead rose again. So at last earthly pride took notice that there is nothing in earthly things themselves more powerful than divine humility (See Phil 2:8), so that even the most wholesome human humility might be protected, against the pride that insults it, by the patronage of the divine imitation.
Ep211-270.67. Expergiscimini aliquando, fratres mei, et parentes mei Madaurenses; hanc occasionem scribendi vobis Deus mihi obtulit. Quantum potui quidem in negotio fratris Florentini, per quem litteras misistis, sicut Deus voluit, adfui et adiuvi; sed tale negotium erat, quod etiam sine opera mea facile peragi posset: prope omnes enim domus ipsius homines, qui apud Hipponem sunt, noverunt Florentinum, et multum eius orbitatem dolent. Sed epistola mihi a vobis missa est, ut non impudens esset epistola mea, cum, occasione a vobis accepta, idolorum cultoribus de Christo aliquid loqueretur. Sed obsecro vos, si eum non inaniter in ea epistola nominastis, ut non inaniter vobis ista scripserim. Si autem me irridere voluistis, timete illum quem prius iudicatum irrisit superbus orbis terrarum, et nunc iudicem subiectus exspectat: erit enim testis affectus in vos cordis mei, per hanc, quantum potui paginam expressus; erit testis vobis in iudicio eius qui credentes sibi confirmaturus est, et incredulos confusurus. Deus unus et verus vos ab omni huius saeculi vanitate liberatos convertat ad se, domini praedicabiles, et dilectissimi fratres.
7. Awake at last, my brothers and my kinsmen of Madauros; God has offered me this occasion of writing to you. As far as I could indeed, in the business of brother Florentinus, through whom you sent the letter, as God willed, I was present and helped; but it was such a business as could easily be carried through even without my work: for nearly all the men of his own household who are at Hippo know Florentinus, and much grieve his bereavement. But the letter was sent to me by you, so that my letter might not be shameless, when, an occasion having been received from you, it should speak something about Christ to the worshipers of idols. But I beseech you, if you did not name him in vain in that letter, that I have not written these things to you in vain. But if you wished to mock me, fear him whom, first judged, the proud world mocked, and now, subjected, awaits as judge: for the affection of my heart toward you, expressed through this page as far as I could, will be a witness; it will be a witness to you in the judgment of him who will confirm those who believe in him, and confound the unbelieving. May the one and true God, freeing you from all the vanity of this world, convert you to himself, praiseworthy lords and most beloved brothers.
Ep211-270.7EPISTOLA 233
Longiniano Augustinus
Longiniano Augustinus
LETTER 233
AUGUSTINE, TO LONGINIANUS
Ep211-270.7AUGUSTINE, TO LONGINIANUS
1. Solere aiunt quemdam veterum dicere, quibus satis persuasum esset ut nihil mallent se esse quam viros bonos, his reliquam facilem esse doctrinam. Hanc sententiam (nam, si rite recolo, Socratica est) longe antiquior prophetica iam praecesserat, praecipiens homini breviter et simul, non tantum ut se nihil malit esse quam bonum, verum etiam unde fiat bonus: Diliges, inquit: Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota anima tua, et ex tota mente tua ; et: Diliges proximum tuum tamquam teipsum . Hoc cui persuasum esset, non ei reliquam facilem, sed eam totam esse doctrinam dumtaxat utilem ac salubrem. Multae enim doctrinae sunt, si tamen doctrinae dicendae sunt, vel superfluae, vel noxiae. Veterum Libris Christus attestans: In his, inquit, duobus praeceptis tota lex pendet et Prophetae . Proinde, quia mihi videor inspexisse tamquam in speculo sermocinationis mecum tuae, nihil te esse malle quam virum bonum; Deum, quo nihil est melius, et unde humanus animus haurit ut bonus sit, quonam modo colendum credas, audeo percontari: nam quod eum colendum credas, iam teneo. Quaero etiam quid de Christo sentias. Quod enim eum non parvipendas, adverti: sed utrum ea et sola via quae ab illo demonstrata est, ad vitam beatam perveniri posse existimes, et aliqua ex causa non eam neglegas ire, sed differas; an et aliam vel alias ad tam opimam et prae omnibus appetendam possessionem vias esse arbitreris, et aliquam earum iam te ingredi credas, nosse cupio, ut opinor, non impudenter. Diligo enim te propter id quod supra dixi, meque abs te diligi non temere existimo; nec ulla de re alia inter eos qui se benevole noverunt, sermo fructuosior, vel impenditur, vel reposcitur, vel accipitur, vel recipitur, quam unde boni beatique sumus.
1. They say that a certain one of the ancients was wont to say that, for those who were sufficiently persuaded to prefer nothing to being good men, the rest of learning was easy for them. This sentence (for, if I rightly recall, it is Socratic) the prophetic one, far more ancient, had already preceded, enjoining a man briefly and at once, not only to prefer nothing to being good, but also whence he becomes good: You shall love, it says, the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind (Deut 6:5; Matt 22:37); and: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Lev 19:18; Matt 22:39). For one persuaded of this, the rest of learning is not merely easy, but that is the whole of learning—the useful and wholesome, at least. For there are many learnings, if indeed they are to be called learnings, that are either superfluous or harmful. Christ, attesting to the Books of the ancients, says: On these two precepts the whole law and the Prophets depend (Matt 22:40). Accordingly, because I seem to myself to have seen, as in a mirror of your conversation with me, that you prefer nothing to being a good man, I dare to ask in what manner you believe God—than whom nothing is better, and from whom the human mind draws that it may be good—is to be worshiped: for that you believe he is to be worshiped I already hold. I ask too what you think about Christ. For I noticed that you do not make little of him: but whether you think that the way which was shown by him, and that way alone, can arrive at the blessed life, and from some cause neglect not to go by it, but defer it; or whether you think there is another way, or other ways, to so rich a possession, to be desired before all, and believe you are already entering upon one of them, I desire to know, as I think, not shamelessly. For I love you on account of what I said above, and I do not rashly suppose that I am loved by you; nor on any other matter, among those who know one another benevolently, is discourse more fruitful, whether expended, or demanded, or accepted, or received, than that whence we are good and blessed.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 234
DOMINO VENERANDO, ET VERE AC MERITO PERCOLENDO SANCTO PATRI AUGUSTINO, LONGINIANUS.
DOMINO VENERANDO, ET VERE AC MERITO PERCOLENDO SANCTO PATRI AUGUSTINO, LONGINIANUS.
LETTER 234
TO AUGUSTINE, A LORD TO BE VENERATED, AND TRULY AND DESERVEDLY TO BE HONORED, A HOLY FATHER, LONGINIANUS.
Ep211-270.1TO AUGUSTINE, A LORD TO BE VENERATED, AND TRULY AND DESERVEDLY TO BE HONORED, A HOLY FATHER, LONGINIANUS.
1. Beatus sum, et relucentis puro virtutis tuae lumine admodum illustratus, qui dignum me divini tui affaminis honore cumulandum esse duxisti. Sed grave mihi onus et difficillimam respondendi provinciam, domine venerande, satis imponis, praecipue tuis percontationibus, et sub hoc tempore in talibus explicandis, per meae opinionis sententiam, id est, a pagano homine. Quaestionibus siquidem abundet quod ex parte vel iamdudum inter nos convenerit, vel nunc identidem litteris magis magisque conveniat praeceptis, non dicam tantum Socraticis, nec tuis, Romanorum vir vere optime, propheticis, aut paucis Ierosolymiticis; sed etiam Orpheicis atque Ageticis, et Trimegisticis, longe ante illis antiquioribus, et pene rudibus adhuc saeculis diis auctoribus enatis, et toti orbi terrae certis limitibus partitae trifariam divinitus ostensis, priusquam nomen aut Europa caperet, aut Asia acciperet, aut Libya possideret virum bonum, ut tu, medius fidius, et eris et fuisti. Siquidem adhuc post hominum memoriam nisi Xenophontis figmentis compositae fabulae schema concedas, adhuc audierim, legerim, viderim neminem, aut certe post unum, nullum, quod, Deo teste, bono periculo certoque dixerim, nisi te, Deum et conniti semper agnoscere, et posse puritate animi, corporisque proiecta gravedine sectari facillime, et spe perfectae conscientiae, non dubia credulitate tenere. Qua via ad Deum perveniatur Gentilium placitis.
1. I am blessed, and much enlightened by the pure light of your shining virtue, you who have judged me worthy to be heaped with the honor of your divine address. But you lay upon me, lord to be venerated, a heavy burden and a most difficult task of answering, especially in your inquiries, and at this time, in explaining such things, through the opinion of my own view—that is, by a pagan man. Since indeed it abounds in questions, which in part either has long since been agreed between us, or now again and again agrees by letters more and more with precepts—I will not say only Socratic, nor your prophetic ones, O truly best of Romans, or the few of Jerusalem; but also the Orphic and the Agetic and the Trismegistic, far more ancient than those, born when the world was still almost untrained, with gods as authors, and the whole world divided into three parts shown by divine appointment with fixed boundaries, before either Europe took, or Asia received, or Libya possessed a good man, such as you, so help me God, both will be and have been. For indeed, since the memory of men—unless you grant the schema of fables composed in the fictions of Xenophon—I have as yet heard, read, seen no one, or certainly after one, none, which, God being witness, I would say at a good and sure risk, except you, who both ever strive to acknowledge God, and can, with purity of mind and the heaviness of the body cast off, follow him most easily, and hold him in the hope of a perfect conscience, with no doubtful credulity.
Ep211-270.12. Verum qua via effici possit, magis est ut tu non nescias, et mihi non insinuato extrinsecus aliquo dissertes, quam ut a me, domine percolende, scias. Quia tunc, fateor, huius boni in sedem profecturus sufficiens, ut mea expetunt sacerdotia, minime necdum, et si tamen potuero, viaticum colligo. Verum quid traditum sancte atque antiquitus teneam atque custodiam, ut potuero paucis edicam. Via est in Deum melior, qua vir bonus, piis, puris, iustis, castis, veris dictis factisque, sine ulla temporum mutatorum captata iactatione probatus, et deorum comitatu vallatus, Dei utique potestatibus emeritus; id est, eius unius, et universi, et incomprehensibilis, et ineffabilis, infatigabilisque Creatoris impletis virtutibus, quod, ut vestrum est Angelos dicitis, vel quid alterum post Deum vel cum Deo, aut a Deo, aut in Deum intentione animi mentisque ire festinat. Via est, inquam, qua purgati antiquorum sacrorum piis praeceptis expiationibusque purissimis, et abstemiis observationibus decocti, anima et corpore constantes deproperant. De Christo quid dicat nescit.
2. But by what way it can be brought about is rather for you, who are not ignorant of it, to discourse on—and that without anything being suggested to me from without—than for you to learn from me, lord to be honored. Because then, I confess, although about to set out for the seat of this good, sufficient, as my priesthoods require, I am by no means there yet, and, if I can at all, I gather provisions for the journey. But what I hold and keep as handed down holily and from antiquity, I will declare in a few words as I can. There is a better way to God, by which a good man—proved by devout, pure, just, chaste, true words and deeds, without any catching at the boasting of changed times, and walled about by the company of the gods, having at any rate earned merit by the powers of God; that is, the powers being fulfilled of him who is one, and universal, and incomprehensible, and ineffable, and untiring Creator, which, as is your custom, you call angels, or whatever else there is after God, or with God, or from God—hastens to go to God by the intention of mind and soul. There is a way, I say, by which those purified hasten, refined by the devout precepts and most pure expiations of the ancient rites, and by abstemious observances, steadfast in soul and body.
Ep211-270.23. De Christo autem tuae iam credulitatis carnali et spiritu Deo, per quem in illum summum, beatum, verum, et patrem omnium ire securus es, domine pater percolende, non audeo nec valeo quid sentiam exprimere; quia quod nescio, difficillimum credo definire. Ut autem me cultorem tuarum virtutum dignatus es iam olim scienti insinuare quod diligas, satis ad bonae vitae testimonium habeo, quam cum ne tibi displiceam, qui Deo te animamque tuam quotidie insinuas, custodio: intellegis procul dubio quod et ego te delectabiliter diligam, cum tui iudicii de me habiti normam lineamque accipiens teneam. Sed ante omnia, quaeso te, ut exiguissimae opinioni meae veniam concedas, et sermoni meo ad te, quia coegisti, remisso forte, incongruo facile indulgeas, et me quid de his existimes, vel tu quid sentias, sanctis scriptis tuis, ut ille ait, iam non melle, sed nectare dulcioribus , si mereor, informare digneris. Dei pietate perfruaris, domine pater, ac perpetua sanctitate Deo placeas, quod necesse est.
3. But about Christ—now of your faith, both carnal and in spirit, God, through whom you go secure to that highest, blessed, true Father of all—lord father to be honored, I neither dare nor am able to express what I think; because what I do not know, I believe most difficult to define. But since you have deigned to suggest to me, already knowing, that you love me as a cultivator of your virtues, I have enough for the testimony of a good life, which I keep, lest I displease you, who daily commend God and your soul to yourself: you understand without doubt that I too love you delightedly, since I take and hold the rule and line of your judgment formed about me. But before all things, I ask you to grant pardon to my most slight opinion, and easily to indulge my discourse to you, perhaps loose and incongruous, because you compelled it; and to deign, if I deserve it, to inform me both what you think about these matters, and what you yourself feel, by your holy writings—which, as that one says, are now sweeter not than honey but than nectar (See Homer, Iliad 1.249). May you fully enjoy the goodness of God, lord father, and may you please God by perpetual holiness—which is necessary.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 235
LONGINIANO AUGUSTINUS.
LONGINIANO AUGUSTINUS.
LETTER 235
AUGUSTINE, TO LONGINIANUS.
Ep211-270.3AUGUSTINE, TO LONGINIANUS.
1. Cepi fructum scripti mei, rescriptum scilicet Benevolentiae tuae. Unde iam video exortum et exorsum inter nos magnae hac de re magna disputationis quasi sementum: hoc est quod volebam prius, deinde quod adhuc volo, Deus adiuvabit. Id autem est, ut hoc coeptum debito ac salubri fine claudatur. Proinde, quod de Christo nihil temere tibi vel negandum vel affirmandum putasti, hoc in pagani animo temperamentum non invitus acceperim. Quod vero etiam scriptis meis doceri te cupis de hac re, nequaquam abnuam, neque desistam huic tam bonae mihique carissimae servire voluntati tuae. Sed prius opus est eliquare quodammodo, perspicuamque sumere sententiam tuam de antiquis sacris. Cum enim dixisses eam viam in Deum esse meliorem, "qua vir bonus, piis, iustis, puris, castis, veris dictis factisque sine ulla temporum mutatorum captata iactatione probatus, et deorum comitatu vallatus, Dei utique potestatibus emeritus; id est, eius unius, et universi, et incomprehensibilis, et infatigabilis, ineffabilisque Creatoris adimpletus virtutibus, quos, ut verum est, Angelos dicitis, vel quid alterum post Deum, vel a Deo, vel cum Deo, aut in Deum intentione animi mentisque ire festinat" (quae verba ex epistola tua recognoscis); tum addidisti, et aisti: "Via est, inquam, qua purgati antiquorum sacrorum piis praeceptis, expiationibusque purissimis, et abstemiis observationibus decocti, anima et corpore constantes deproperant" . Pure viventi nil opus esse expiatoriis sacris.
1. I have taken the fruit of my writing, namely the reply of your Benevolence. Hence I now see arisen and begun between us, as it were, the sowing of a great disputation about this great matter: this is what I wished first, then what I still wish, God will help. And it is this: that this thing begun be closed with a due and wholesome end. Accordingly, that you thought nothing about Christ was rashly to be either denied or affirmed by you, this temperateness in the mind of a pagan I would not unwillingly accept. But that you also desire to be taught by my writings about this matter, I will by no means refuse, nor will I cease to serve this so good will of yours, most dear to me. But first it is necessary somehow to clarify, and to take a clear sense of, your opinion about the ancient rites. For when you had said that the better way to God is that "by which a good man—proved by devout, just, pure, chaste, true words and deeds, without any catching at the boasting of changed times, and walled about by the company of the gods, having at any rate earned merit by the powers of God; that is, fulfilled with the powers of him who is one, and universal, and incomprehensible, and untiring, and ineffable Creator, whom, as is true, you call angels, or whatever else there is after God, or from God, or with God, or into God—hastens to go by the intention of mind and soul" (which words you recognize from your letter); then you added and said: "There is a way, I say, by which those purified hasten, refined by the devout precepts and most pure expiations of the ancient rites, and by abstemious observances, steadfast in soul and body."
Ep211-270.12. In his verbis sentio, ni fallor, videri tibi non sufficere ad viam qua itur ad Deum, uti vir bonus, piis, iustis, puris, castis, veris dictis factisque promereatur deos, quorum comitatu vallatus in illum summum Deum omnium creatorem ire festinet, nisi etiam sacrorum antiquorum piis praeceptis expiationibusque purgetur . Quamobrem velim scire quid arbitreris esse per sacra purgandum in eo qui pie, iuste, pure, veraciterque vivendo promeretur deos, et per eos unum illum deorum Deum. Si enim adhuc sacris purgandus est, utique mundus non est: et si mundus non est, pie, iuste, pure casteque non vivit. Si enim iam ita vivit, iam mundus est: porro iam mundum atque purum, quid opus est sacris expiando purgari? Itaque hic nodus est disputationis nostrae, quo soluto consequentia videbimus: vivatne homo bene, ut sacris purgetur; an sacris purgetur, ut bene vivat: an ipse quantuscumque bene vivendi in homine modus nondum sit idoneus ad beatam vitam, quae ex Deo capitur, nisi accedant adiumenta sacrorum; an bene vivendi quaedam velut portio sit etiam sacra percipere, scilicet ut non aliud sit bene vivere, aliud sacrate vivere, sed bene vivendi terminis etiam sacrata vita claudatur. Horum quatuor quae proposui, quod potissimum probes, quaeso te litteris aperire non pigeat. Plurimum quippe interest ad id quod suscepimus inter nos colloquendo peragere, ne cum multa non necessaria, tamquam ea sentias quae forte non sentis, refellere molior, tempus necessarium in superfluis insumatur. Onerare te itaque epistola nolui, ut te cito rescribente caetera contexamus.
2. In these words I perceive, unless I am mistaken, that it seems to you not to suffice, for the way by which one goes to God, that a good man should, by devout, just, pure, chaste, true words and deeds, earn the favor of the gods, by whose company walled about he may hasten to go to that highest God, the creator of all, unless he be also purified by the devout precepts and expiations of the ancient rites. Wherefore I would wish to know what you think is to be purified by the rites in him who, by living devoutly, justly, purely, and truthfully, earns the favor of the gods, and through them that one God of gods. For if he is still to be purified by rites, surely he is not clean: and if he is not clean, he does not live devoutly, justly, purely, and chastely. For if he already so lives, he is already clean: further, what need is there that one already clean and pure should be purified by being expiated through rites? And so here is the knot of our disputation, which loosed, we shall see the consequences: whether a man lives well, that he may be purified by the rites; or is purified by the rites, that he may live well; or whether any measure whatever of living well in a man is not yet fit for the blessed life, which is received from God, unless the aids of the rites be added; or whether to receive the rites too is a kind of portion, as it were, of living well, namely so that it is not one thing to live well and another to live sacredly, but the sacred life too is enclosed within the bounds of living well. Of these four which I have proposed, which you most approve, I ask you not to be reluctant to make clear by letter. For it makes a very great difference toward carrying through what we have undertaken in conversing between us, lest, while I strive to refute many unnecessary things—as though you thought what perhaps you do not think—the necessary time be consumed on superfluous matters. So I did not wish to burden you with a letter, that, by your writing back quickly, we may weave the rest together.
Ep211-270.2EPISTOLA 236
DOMINO BEATISSIMO, ET VENERABILITER CARISSIMO FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO DEUTERIO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO BEATISSIMO, ET VENERABILITER CARISSIMO FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO DEUTERIO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 236
TO DEUTERIUS, A MOST BLESSED LORD AND VENERABLY MOST DEAR BROTHER AND FELLOW BISHOP, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.2TO DEUTERIUS, A MOST BLESSED LORD AND VENERABLY MOST DEAR BROTHER AND FELLOW BISHOP, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Nihil melius me facere posse arbitratus sum, quam ut tuae Sanctitati potissimum scriberem, ne per neglegentiam in vestra provincia Domini nostri Iesu Christi ovile vastet inimicus, qui non desinit insidiari, ut perdat animas tam magno pretio comparatas. Mallianensem quemdam subdiaconum Victorinum, apud nos constitit esse Manichaeum, et in tam sacrilego errore sub nomine clerici latitabat: nam est etiam aetate iam senex. Ita est autem manifestatus, ut etiam ipse a me interrogatus, antequam a testibus coargueretur, negare non posset. Tot enim et tales esse iam sciebat, quibus se incautus effuderat, ut nihil aliud, si negare tentaret, quam, non dico impudentissimus, sed insanissimus appareret. Auditorem sane Manichaeorum, non electum se esse confessus est. Qui auditores, qui electi apud Manichaeos.
1. I thought I could do nothing better than to write above all to Your Holiness, lest through negligence the enemy lay waste, in your province, the sheepfold of our Lord Jesus Christ—the enemy who does not cease to lie in wait, that he may destroy souls purchased at so great a price. It has been established before us that a certain subdeacon of Malliana, Victorinus, is a Manichee, and was lurking in so sacrilegious an error under the name of a cleric: for he is also now an old man in age. And he was so exposed that even he himself, questioned by me before he was convicted by witnesses, could not deny it. For he already knew that those were so many and such, to whom he had incautiously poured himself out, that, if he tried to deny it, he would appear nothing other than—I do not say most shameless, but—most insane. He confessed indeed that he was a Hearer of the Manichees, not one of the Elect.
Ep211-270.12. Auditores autem qui appellantur apud eos, et carnibus vescuntur, et agros colunt, et, si voluerint, uxores habent; quorum nihil faciunt qui vocantur electi. Sed ipsi auditores ante electos genua figunt, ut eis manus supplicibus imponantur non a solis presbyteris, vel episcopis, aut diaconibus eorum, sed a quibuslibet electis. Solem etiam et lunam cum eis adorant et orant. Die quoque dominico cum illis ieiunant, et omnes blasphemias cum illis credunt, quibus Manichaeorum haeresis detestanda est; negantes scilicet Christum natum esse de virgine, nec eius carnem veram confitentes fuisse, sed falsam: ac per hoc et falsam eius passionem, et nullam resurrectionem fuisse contendunt. Patriarchas Prophetasque blasphemant. Legem per famulum Dei Moysen datam, non a vero Deo dicunt, sed a principe tenebrarum. Animas non solum hominum, sed etiam pecorum, de Dei esse substantia, et omnino partes Dei esse arbitrantur. Deum denique bonum et verum dicunt cum tenebrarum gente pugnasse, et partem suam tenebrarum principibus miscuisse, eamque toto mundo inquinatam et ligatam per cibos electorum suorum, ac per solem et lunam purgari asseverant: et quod purgari de ipsa parte Dei non potuerit, in fine saeculi aeterno ac poenali vinculo colligari; ut non solum violabilis et corruptibilis et contaminabilis credatur Deus, cuius pars potuit ad mala tanta perduci, sed non possit saltem totus a tanta coinquinatione et immunditia et miseria vel in fine saeculi purgari. Victorinus, excommunicatus, quibus condicionibus recipiendus.
2. Now those who are called Hearers among them both eat flesh, and till fields, and, if they wish, have wives; none of which things those do who are called the Elect. But the Hearers themselves bend their knees before the Elect, that hands may be laid on them as suppliants, not by their priests alone, or bishops, or deacons, but by any of the Elect. They also adore and pray to the sun and moon with them. On the Lord's day too they fast with them, and they believe with them all the blasphemies by which the heresy of the Manichees is to be detested; namely, denying that Christ was born of a virgin, and not confessing that his flesh was true, but false: and thereby they contend that his Passion too was false, and that there was no resurrection. They blaspheme the patriarchs and the prophets. The law given through Moses the servant of God they say was given not by the true God but by the prince of darkness. They suppose that the souls not only of men but also of cattle are of the substance of God, and are altogether parts of God. Finally, they say that the good and true God fought with the race of darkness, and mingled a part of himself with the princes of darkness, and they assert that this part, defiled and bound throughout the whole world, is purified through the foods of their Elect, and through the sun and the moon: and that what could not be purified of that part of God is, at the end of the age, bound by an eternal and penal chain; so that God is believed not only violable and corruptible and contaminable—God, a part of whom could be led to such great evils—but cannot even, in his entirety, be purified from such great defilement and uncleanness and misery, even at the end of the age.
Ep211-270.23. Has cum illis intolerabiles blasphemias, subdiaconus iste quasi catholicus, non solum credebat, sed quibus viribus poterat, et docebat. Nam docens patefactus est, cum se quasi discentibus credidit. Rogavit me quidem, posteaquam se Manichaeorum auditorem esse confessus est, ut eum in viam veritatis doctrinae catholicae revocarem: sed, fateor, eius fictionem sub clerici specie vehementer exhorrui, eumque coercitum pellendum de civitate curavi. Nec mihi hoc satis fuit, nisi et tuae Sanctitati eum meis litteris intimarem, ut a clericorum gradu congrue ecclesiastica severitate deiectus, cavendus omnibus innotescat. Petenti autem poenitentiae locum, tunc credatur, si et alios quos illic novit esse, manifestaverit vobis, non solum in Malliana, sed in ipsa tota omnino provincia.
3. These intolerable blasphemies, along with them, this subdeacon, as though a Catholic, not only believed but taught with what powers he could. For he was uncovered as he was teaching, when he trusted himself, as it were, to learners. He asked me indeed, after he confessed himself to be a Hearer of the Manichees, that I would recall him to the way of the truth of Catholic teaching: but, I confess, I vehemently shuddered at his pretense under the appearance of a cleric, and, having coerced him, I took care to have him driven from the city. Nor was this enough for me, unless I also made him known to Your Holiness by my letter, so that, fittingly cast down from the rank of the clergy by ecclesiastical severity, he might become known to all as one to be guarded against. But when he asks for a place of penance, let him then be believed, if he also makes known to you the others whom he knows to be there, not only in Malliana, but in the whole province altogether.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 237
DOMINO BEATISSIMO, ET MERITO VENERABILI FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO CERETIO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO BEATISSIMO, ET MERITO VENERABILI FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO CERETIO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 237
TO CERETIUS, A MOST BLESSED LORD AND DESERVEDLY VENERABLE BROTHER AND FELLOW BISHOP, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.3TO CERETIUS, A MOST BLESSED LORD AND DESERVEDLY VENERABLE BROTHER AND FELLOW BISHOP, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Lectis his quae misit Sanctitas tua, videtur mihi Argirius in Priscillianistas aut nesciens irruisse, ita ut omnino utrum ipsi essent Priscillianistae ignoraret, aut iam eiusdem haeresis retibus implicatus. Nam scripturas illas Priscillianistarum esse non dubito. Vix autem mihi vacare utcumque potuit, aliis atque aliis sine intermissione necessitatibus superantibus, ut unus mihi saltem totus ex duobus ipsis codicibus legeretur. Nescio quo enim modo alius aberravit, et diligentissime inter nostros requisitus nullo modo potuit inveniri, domine beatissime, et merito venerabilis pater. A multis haereticis solum accipi apocryphas Scripturas.
1. Having read what Your Holiness sent, it seems to me that Argirius either fell among the Priscillianists unknowingly, so that he was altogether ignorant whether they were Priscillianists, or was already entangled in the nets of that same heresy. For I do not doubt that those writings are of the Priscillianists. But scarcely could I find leisure, somehow, with one necessity after another without intermission overcoming me, for even one whole one of those two books to be read to me. For somehow the other went astray, and, most diligently sought among our people, could in no way be found, most blessed lord and deservedly venerable father.
Ep211-270.12. Hymnus sane quem dicunt esse Domini nostri Iesu Christi, qui maxime permovit Venerationem tuam, in scripturis solet apocryphis inveniri. Quae non propriae Priscillianistarum sunt, sed alii quoque haeretici eis nonnullarum sectarum impietate vanitatis utuntur; inter se quidem diversa sentientes, unde suas quisque varias haereses sunt secuti, sed scripturas istas habent in sua diversitate communes, easque illi praecipue frequentare assolent, qui Legem veterem et Prophetas canonicos non accipiunt. Negant enim haec ad Deum bonum, et ad Christum eius Filium pertinere; sicut Manichaei, sicut Marcionistae, et caeteri quibus haec blasphemia damnabilis placuit. Qui etiam in Scripturis canonicis Testamenti Novi, hoc est in veris evangelicis et apostolicis Litteris, non accipiunt omnia, sed quod volunt, et libros eligunt quos accipiant, aliis improbatis. Sed et in singulis quibusque libris loca distinguunt quae putant suis erroribus convenire: caetera in eis pro falsis habent. Nam quidam Manichaei canonicum librum, cuius titulus est Actus Apostolorum, repudiant. Timent enim evidentissimam veritatem, ubi apparet sanctus Spiritus missus, qui est a Domino Iesu Christo in evangelica veritate promissus . Sub eius quippe Spiritus nomine, a quo penitus alieni sunt, indocta hominum corda decipiunt, mira caecitate asserentes eamdem Domini promissionem in suo haeresiarcha Manichaeo esse completam. Quod et illi haeretici faciunt, qui vocantur Cataphryges, dicentes, per nescio quos insanos, Montanum scilicet et Priscillam, quos et proprios suos prophetas habent, venisse Spiritum sanctum, quem Dominus missurum se esse promisit . Scripturas canonicas et apocryphas fraudolenter exponi a Priscillianistis.
2. The hymn indeed which they say is of our Lord Jesus Christ, which especially moved Your Reverence, is wont to be found in the apocryphal writings. These are not proper to the Priscillianists, but other heretics too use them with the impiety of the vanity of various sects; thinking indeed diverse things among themselves, whence each followed his own various heresies, but they have these writings in common in their diversity, and those especially are wont to frequent them who do not accept the old Law and the canonical prophets. For they deny that these pertain to the good God and to Christ his Son; as do the Manichees, as do the Marcionites, and the rest to whom this damnable blasphemy was pleasing. These too, even in the canonical Scriptures of the New Testament, that is, in the true evangelical and apostolic writings, do not accept everything, but what they wish, and they choose the books they accept, the others being rejected. But even in each single book they distinguish the places that they think suit their errors: the rest in them they hold for false. For certain Manichees repudiate the canonical book whose title is The Acts of the Apostles. For they fear the most evident truth, where the Holy Spirit appears sent, who is promised by the Lord Jesus Christ in the evangelical truth (See Acts 2; John 14:16-17, 26). For under the name of that Spirit, from whom they are utterly alien, they deceive the unlearned hearts of men, asserting with wondrous blindness that the same promise of the Lord was fulfilled in their heresiarch Mani. This those heretics too do who are called Cataphrygians, saying that through certain madmen, namely Montanus and Priscilla, whom they have as their own prophets, came the Holy Spirit whom the Lord promised he would send (See John 16:7).
Ep211-270.23. Priscillianistae vero accipiunt omnia, et canonica et apocrypha simul. Sed quaecumque quae contra eos sunt, in suae perversitatis sensus aliquando callida et astuta, aliquando ridicula et hebeti expositione pervertunt. Nec saltem ita ut ea ipsa, quae exponunt ab suae sectae hominibus alienis, vera esse credant; alioquin aut catholici essent, aut non multum a veritate alieni, qui et in ipsis scripturis apocryphis sensus catholicos invenirent, aut invenire velle viderentur: sed cum ipsi alia cum suis sentiant, atque inter suos doceant, sive discant, quae non audent prodere, quoniam re vera nefaria sunt et detestanda; tamen fidem catholicam eis quos timent, praedicant, non quam teneant, sed sub qua lateant. Possunt enim aliqui haeretici reperiri fortasse immundiores, sed nullus istis fallacia comparatur. Alii quippe, ut sunt hominum vitia, de huius vitae consuetudine vel infirmitate mentiuntur: isti autem in ipsa nefaria doctrina haeresis suae praeceptum habere perhibentur, ut occultandorum dogmatum suorum causa, etiam cum falsa iuratione mentiantur. Hi qui eos experti sunt, et ipsorum fuerant, atque ab eis Dei misericordia liberati sunt, etiam verba ipsa praecepti huius ista commemorant: Iura, periura, secretum prodere noli. Canonicas Scripturas Dei veritate carere secundum Priscillianistas.
3. The Priscillianists, however, accept everything, both canonical and apocryphal together. But whatever things are against them, they pervert into the senses of their own perversity by an exposition sometimes crafty and cunning, sometimes ridiculous and dull. Nor even so do they believe that those very things which they expound to people outside their sect are true; otherwise they would either be Catholics, or not much alien from the truth, who would find Catholic senses even in those apocryphal writings, or would seem to wish to find them: but since they themselves think other things with their own, and among their own teach or learn things they do not dare to bring forth—because they are in truth wicked and detestable—nevertheless they preach the Catholic faith to those they fear, not the faith they hold, but the faith under which they hide. For some heretics can perhaps be found more unclean, but none is comparable to these in falsehood. For others, as are the vices of men, lie from the custom or weakness of this life: but these are reported to have, in the very wicked teaching of their heresy, a precept that, for the sake of concealing their dogmas, they should lie even with false swearing. Those who have had experience of them, and had been of them, and were freed from them by the mercy of God, recall even the very words of this precept: Swear, forswear, but do not betray the secret.
Ep211-270.34. Proinde ut sine ulla difficultate videatur quam non hoc sentiunt de scripturis apocryphis, quod se exponere simulant, ratio consideranda est quam reddere videntur, ut eisdem scripturis tamquam divina tribuatur auctoritas, ut quod scelestius est, etiam canonicis praeferant. Habes verba eorum in illo codice ita posita: "Hymnus Domini, quem dixit secrete sanctis Apostolis discipulis suis, quia scriptum est in Evangelio; Hymno dicto, ascendit in montem ; et qui in canone non est positus, propter eos qui secundum se sentiunt, et non secundum spiritum et veritatem Dei, eo quod scriptum est: Sacramentum regis bonum est abscondere; opera autem Dei revelare honorificum est ." Ista est magna eorum ratio cur iste hymnus non sit in canone, quia velut sacramentum regis abscondendum fuit his qui secundum carnem sentiunt, et non secundum spiritum et veritatem Dei . Ergo Scripturae canonicae non pertinent ad sacramentum regis, quod istis abscondendum videtur; et eis conscriptae sunt, qui secundum carnem sentiunt, et non secundum spiritum et veritatem Dei. Quod quid est aliud, quam dicere Scripturas sanctas canonicas nec secundum spiritum Dei sapere, nec pertinere ad veritatem Dei? Quis hoc audiat? quis valeat sustinere tantae impietatis horrorem? Aut si Scripturae canonicae spiritaliter a spiritalibus, carnaliter a carnalibus sentiuntur; cur non est et iste hymnus in canone, si et ipsum spiritales spiritaliter, carnales carnaliter sentiunt? Obscurissimus hymnus Christo adscriptus.
4. Accordingly, that it may be seen without any difficulty how they do not think about the apocryphal writings what they pretend to expound, the reason must be considered which they seem to render, that divine authority, as it were, is attributed to those same writings—so that, what is more wicked, they even prefer them to the canonical ones. You have their words in that book set down thus: "A hymn of the Lord, which he said secretly to the holy Apostles his disciples, because it is written in the Gospel, A hymn having been said, he went up into the mountain (See Matt 26:30); and which is not placed in the canon, on account of those who think according to themselves, and not according to the spirit and truth of God, for the reason that it is written: It is good to hide the secret of the king; but to reveal the works of God is honorable (See Tob 12:7)." This is their great reason why this hymn is not in the canon: that, like the secret of the king, it had to be hidden from those who think according to the flesh, and not according to the spirit and truth of God. Therefore the canonical Scriptures do not pertain to the secret of the king, which to these seems to be hidden; and they were written for those who think according to the flesh, and not according to the spirit and truth of God. What is this but to say that the holy canonical Scriptures neither savor according to the Spirit of God, nor pertain to the truth of God? Who could hear this? who could bear the horror of so great an impiety? Or if the canonical Scriptures are understood spiritually by the spiritual, carnally by the carnal, why is this hymn too not in the canon, if the spiritual too understand it spiritually, the carnal carnally?
Ep211-270.45. Deinde quid causae est ut eumdem hymnum isti secundum Scripturas canonicas conentur exponere? Si enim propterea non est in Scripturis canonicis, quia illae Scripturae carnalibus, hymnus autem iste spiritalibus scriptus est; quomodo de Scripturis ad carnales homines pertinentibus exponitur hymnus, qui non pertinet ad carnales? Si enim, verbi gratia, propterea in isto hymno cantatur et dicitur: Solvere volo, et solvi volo, quia, sicut isti haec verba exponunt, solvit nos Dominus Christus a conversatione saeculi, ut non iterum ligemur in eo; haec in Scripturis canonicis utique didicimus, quod solvat nos Dominus a conversatione saeculi, et quia in eo non debemus iterum colligari. Nam quid est aliud: Dirupisti vincula mea ? quid est aliud: Dominus solvit compeditos ? Iam solutos autem Apostolus admonet dicens: State ergo, et ne iterum servitutis iugo detineamini : et apostolus Petrus dicit: Si enim refugientes coinquinationes mundi in cognitione Domini nostri et Salvatoris Iesu Christi, his rursus impliciti superantur; facta sunt eis posteriora deteriora prioribus ; sic ostendens, cum soluti fuerimus, alligari nos mundo iterum non debere. Cum itaque ista in canone, sive ex his testimoniis quae commemoravi, sive ex aliis plurimis manifesta sint, et legi et praedicari non cessent; quid est quod isti hunc hymnum, ubi, ut secundum ipsos loquar, verba obscurissime sunt posita, propterea dicunt in canone non esse, ne velarentur carnalibus? cum potius ea videamus in canone revelata, in hoc autem hymno omnino velata, sicut ipsi asserunt; nam sicut magis credendum est, prorsus non sunt ipsa, sed nescio quae alia, quae tali expositione multo amplius velant, et revelare formidant. Quam absurde hymnus ille explanetur ab haereticis.
5. Then what cause is there that these people try to expound this same hymn according to the canonical Scriptures? For if it is not in the canonical Scriptures for this reason, that those Scriptures were written for the carnal, but this hymn for the spiritual; how is a hymn that does not pertain to the carnal expounded from Scriptures pertaining to carnal men? For if, for example, in this hymn it is sung and said, I wish to loose, and I wish to be loosed—because, as these people expound these words, the Lord Christ looses us from the conversation of the world, that we may not again be bound in it—this we have surely learned in the canonical Scriptures, that the Lord looses us from the conversation of the world, and that in it we ought not again to be bound. For what else is, You have broken my bonds (Ps 116:16 (115:16))? what else is, The Lord looses those in chains (Ps 146:7 (145:7))? And those already loosed the Apostle admonishes, saying: Stand therefore, and be not again held under the yoke of servitude (Gal 5:1): and the apostle Peter says: For if, having fled the defilements of the world in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, their last state has become worse for them than the former (2 Pet 2:20); thus showing that, when we have been loosed, we ought not again to be bound to the world. Since, then, these things are manifest in the canon—whether from these testimonies which I have mentioned, or from very many others—and do not cease to be read and preached; what is it that these people say that this hymn, where, to speak according to them, the words are most obscurely set down, is therefore not in the canon, lest they be veiled from the carnal? when we rather see those things revealed in the canon, but in this hymn altogether veiled, as they themselves assert; for, as is rather to be believed, they are not those things at all, but I-know-not-what others, which by such an exposition they much more veil, and dread to reveal.
Ep211-270.56. Nam utique si hoc illis verbis significatur, quod nos solvit Dominus a conversatione saeculi, et ut non iterum ligemur in eo; non diceretur: "Solvere volo, et solvi volo", sed, "Solvere volo, et eos quos solvero, ligari nolo". Aut si membra sua, id est, fideles suos in se transfigurat, quemadmodum ait: Esurivi, et dedistis mihi manducare ; diceret potius, Solvi volo, et ligari nolo. Aut si propterea ipse solvit, et ipse solvitur, quia solvit caput, membra solvuntur, quae persequebatur cui clamavit de coelo: Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris? hoc quidem verborum istorum expositor iste non dixit; sed etiamsi dixisset, id ei responderemus quod paulo ante respondimus: quoniam haec in Scripturis canonicis legimus, ibi intellegimus, inde firmamus, inde quotidie praedicamus. Quid est igitur quod iste hymnus dicitur carnalibus fuisse subtractus, ut non poneretur in canone, cum quod in illo opertum est, in canone apertum sit? An usque adeo desipiunt, imo insaniunt, ut audeant dicere sacramentum regis in hoc hymno absconditum esse spiritalibus, in canone autem manifestum esse carnalibus? Hymni illius sententias apertissimas esse in canonicis Scripturis.
6. For surely if by those words this is signified, that the Lord looses us from the conversation of the world, and that we may not again be bound in it, it would not be said, "I wish to loose, and I wish to be loosed," but, "I wish to loose, and those whom I have loosed I wish not to be bound." Or if he transfigures his members, that is, his faithful, into himself—just as he says, I was hungry, and you gave me to eat (Matt 25:35)—he would rather say, I wish to be loosed, and I wish not to be bound. Or if he himself looses, and he himself is loosed, for this reason, that, the head being loosed, the members are loosed, the members which he was persecuting, to whom he cried from heaven, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? (Acts 9:4)—this indeed the expositor of these words did not say; but even if he had said it, we would answer him what we answered a little before: since we read these things in the canonical Scriptures, there we understand them, thence we confirm them, thence we daily preach them. What is it, then, that this hymn is said to have been withdrawn from the carnal, so as not to be placed in the canon, when what is covered in it is open in the canon? Or are they so foolish—nay, so insane—that they dare to say that the secret of the king is hidden in this hymn from the spiritual, but manifest in the canon to the carnal?
Ep211-270.67. Hoc de superioribus eiusdem hymni verbis dici potest, ubi ait: "Salvare volo, et salvari volo". Si enim, sicut ipsi exponunt, hoc ista verba significant, quod salvamur a Domino per Baptismum, et salvamus, id est custodimus in nobis Spiritum datum nobis per Baptismum; nonne istum sensum Scriptura canonica clamat, ubi legimus: Salvos nos fecit per lavacrum regenerationis ? et ubi nobis dicitur: Spiritum nolite exstinguere ? Quomodo ergo iste hymnus in canone ideo non est, ne carnalibus innotescat, cum id quod in illo obscurum est, in canone luceat; nisi quia sub hac qualicumque expositione, quam quibuslibet aliis obtendunt, illud quod hic ipsi sapiunt, occultare conantur? qui tamen usque adeo caeci sunt, ut etiam quaedam verba de ipso canone adhibeant ad exponendum hymnum, quem propterea dicunt in canone non esse, ne sacramentum regis carnalibus proderetur. Quid ergo faciunt in canone clarius posita, per quae in isto hymno aperiantur obscura? Alia illius hymni vana stultaque.
7. This can be said of the earlier words of the same hymn, where it says, "I wish to save, and I wish to be saved." For if, as they themselves expound, these words signify this, that we are saved by the Lord through baptism, and that we save, that is, guard in ourselves, the Spirit given to us through baptism; does not the canonical Scripture cry out this sense, where we read: He saved us through the washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5)? and where it is said to us: Do not extinguish the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19)? How, then, is this hymn not in the canon, lest it become known to the carnal, when that which is obscure in it shines in the canon; unless because, under this exposition, whatever it is, which they hold out to others, they try to conceal that which they themselves here understand? Who nevertheless are so blind that they even apply certain words from the canon itself to expounding a hymn which for that reason they say is not in the canon, lest the secret of the king be betrayed to the carnal. What, then, do the things more clearly set down in the canon accomplish, through which the obscure things in this hymn are opened up?
Ep211-270.78. Nam si hoc, ut dicunt, intellegendum est in isto hymno, ubi ait: "Generari volo", quod in canonica Epistola Pauli apostoli scriptum est: Quos iterum parturio donec Christus formetur in vobis : si hoc intellegendum est in isto hymno ubi ait: "Cantare volo", quod in Psalmo canonico scriptum est: Cantate Domino canticum novum : si hoc intellegendum est in isto hymno, ubi ait: "Saltate cuncti", quod scriptum est in cantico evangelico: Cantavimus vobis, et non saltastis ; si hoc intellegendum est in isto hymno: "Plangere volo, tundite vos omnes", quod scriptum est in cantico evangelico: Planximus vobis, et non luxistis ; si: Ornare volo, et ornari volo, hoc significat in isto hymno, quod scriptum est in canone: Habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris ; et: Vos estis templum Dei, et Spiritus Dei habitat in vobis ; si quod ait in isto hymno: Lucerna sum tibi, ille qui me vides, hoc significat, quod scriptum est in Psalmo canonico: In lumine tuo videbimus lumen ; si quod ait in isto hymno: "Ianua sum tibi quicumque me pulsas", hoc significat quod in Psalmo canonico legitur: Aperite mihi portas iustitiae; ingressus in eis, confitebor Domino ; et in alio psalmo: Tollite portas principes vestri, et elevamini portae aeternales, et introibit rex gloriae : si quod ait in isto hymno: "Qui vides quod ago, tace opera mea", hoc significat quod scriptum est in libro Tobiae: Sacramentum regis bonum est abscondere : cur iste hymnus non esse in canone propterea dicitur, ut sacramentum regis abscondatur carnalibus; cum ea quae in isto hymno exponuntur, etiam in canone legantur, et sic ibi reperiantur manifesta, ut per haec illa exponantur obscura: nisi quia istas expositiones habent in quibus lateant; in verbis vero illius hymni, quem exponere se simulant, hoc sapiunt quod alienis exponere timeant? Priscillianistae vaniloqui mentium seductores.
8. For if this, as they say, is to be understood in this hymn, where it says, "I wish to be begotten," what is written in the canonical Letter of the apostle Paul: For whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you (Gal 4:19); if this is to be understood in this hymn, where it says, "I wish to sing," what is written in the canonical Psalm: Sing to the Lord a new song (Ps 96:1 (95:1)); if this is to be understood in this hymn, where it says, "Dance, all of you," what is written in the evangelical song: We sang to you, and you did not dance (Matt 11:17); if this is to be understood in this hymn, "I wish to mourn, beat yourselves all of you," what is written in the evangelical song: We mourned to you, and you did not lament (Matt 11:17); if "I wish to adorn, and I wish to be adorned" signifies in this hymn what is written in the canon: That Christ may dwell through faith in your hearts (Eph 3:17); and: You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you (1 Cor 3:16); if what it says in this hymn, "I am a lamp to you, you who see me," signifies what is written in the canonical Psalm: In your light we shall see light (Ps 36:9 (35:10)); if what it says in this hymn, "I am a door to you, whoever knocks at me," signifies what is read in the canonical Psalm: Open to me the gates of righteousness; entering into them, I will confess to the Lord (Ps 118:19 (117:19)); and in another psalm: Lift up your gates, you princes, and be lifted up, eternal gates, and the king of glory will enter in (Ps 24:7 (23:7)); if what it says in this hymn, "You who see what I do, keep silent about my works," signifies what is written in the book of Tobit: It is good to hide the secret of the king (See Tob 12:7): why is this hymn said to be not in the canon for this reason, that the secret of the king may be hidden from the carnal; when the things expounded in this hymn are read even in the canon, and are there found so manifest that through them the obscure things of the hymn are expounded: unless because they have these expositions in which they hide; but in the words of that hymn, which they pretend to expound, they understand what they fear to expound to outsiders?
Ep211-270.89. Longum est cuncta disputando monstrare. Verum ex his quae diximus, caetera considerare facillimum est, et videre ea quae in expositione huius hymni bona et honesta dicunt, etiam in canone reperiri. Unde illa eorum non ratio, sed tergiversatio est, ideo illum esse a canone separatum, quia carnalibus hominibus abscondendum regis fuerat sacramentum. Unde non immerito creduntur istis expositionibus non aperire velle quod legunt, sed potius operire quod sentiunt. Nec mirum, quandoquidem ipsum Dominum Iesum loquentem, non per ora Prophetarum, vel Apostolorum, vel Angelorum, sed per os proprium, illusorem potius quam veritatis doctorem fuisse crediderunt. Huic utique hymno divinam tribuentes auctoritatem, ubi eum dixisse nescio quis eiusdem hymni conditor finxit: Verbo illusi cuncta, et non sum illusus in totum; respondeant, si possunt, egregii spiritales, quo eamus, cui aures aperiamus, cui loquenti utcumque credamus, in cuius promissione spem ponamus, si verbo cuncta Christus illusit, si verbo cuncta omnipotens magister illusit, si verbo cuncta ille qui est Unigenitus Verbum Dei Patris illusit. Quid ulterius loquar de perditis vaniloquis, et mentis seductoribus, primum suae, deinde caeterorum, quos sibi ad interitum praedestinatos aeternum consociare potuerunt? Rescripsi Venerationi tuae, et multo serius quam volueram, et plura quam disposueram. Optime facitis vigilanter lupos cavere; sed etiam pro sanandis ovibus, si quas forte violaverint, sive iam vulneraverint, pastorali diligentia, ipso adiuvante pastorum Domino, laborate.
9. It would be long to show everything by disputing. But from the things we have said, it is most easy to consider the rest, and to see that the things which they say in the exposition of this hymn that are good and honorable are found in the canon too. Hence that is not their reason but their evasion: that it was separated from the canon for this reason, that the secret of the king had to be hidden from carnal men. Hence not undeservedly are they believed, by these expositions, not to wish to open what they read, but rather to cover what they think. Nor is it any wonder, since they have believed that the Lord Jesus himself, speaking not through the mouths of the prophets, or of the apostles, or of angels, but through his own mouth, was a mocker rather than a teacher of truth. Attributing, at any rate, divine authority to this hymn, where some composer of that same hymn feigned him to have said, "By a word I mocked all things, and I was not mocked at all": let them answer, if they can, those excellent spiritual men, where we are to go, to whom we are to open our ears, whom, speaking, we are at all to believe, in whose promise we are to place hope, if by a word Christ mocked all things, if by a word the omnipotent master mocked all things, if by a word he who is the Only-begotten Word of God the Father mocked all things. What more shall I say of these lost vaniloquent men and seducers of the mind—first of their own mind, then of the rest, whom they have been able to associate with themselves, predestined to eternal destruction? I have written back to Your Reverence, both much later than I had wished, and more than I had arranged. You do most rightly to watchfully guard against the wolves; but also for the healing of the sheep, if perhaps they have violated, or already wounded, any, labor with pastoral diligence, with the Lord of shepherds himself helping.
Ep211-270.9EPISTOLA 238
PASCENTIO AUGUSTINUS
PASCENTIO AUGUSTINUS
LETTER 238
AUGUSTINE, TO PASCENTIUS
Ep211-270.9AUGUSTINE, TO PASCENTIUS
1. 1. Volueram quidem, petente te atque instante, ut meminisse dignaris, immo vero pro merito aetatis ac dignitatis tuae iubente te, de fide christiana etiam praesens cum praesente, in quantum mihi facultatem Dominus largiretur, conferre sermonem. Sed quia tibi post prandium displicuit quod inter nos mane placuerat, ut a notariis verba nostra exciperentur; ne ulterius dicas, quod te audio non tacere, non me fuisse ausum tibi dicere fidem meam, his litteris accipe quod et tu legas, et cui volueris legendum tradas, et quod volueris vicissim scribendo ipse respondeas. Iniquum est enim ut quisque de alio iudicare velit, et iudicari de se nolit. Cur P. noluerit litteris mandare suam fidem.
1. 1. I had indeed wished, at your asking and insisting—that you may deign to remember it, or rather at your commanding, by the merit of your age and dignity—to confer a discourse on the Christian faith even in person, with you present, as far as the Lord granted me the means. But because after the midday meal what had pleased between us in the morning displeased you—that our words should be taken down by notaries—lest you should further say, what I hear you do not keep silent about, that I did not dare to tell you my faith, receive in this letter what you may both read, and hand over to whomever you wish for reading, and what you wish in turn to answer by writing yourself. For it is unjust that anyone should wish to judge about another, and be unwilling to be judged about himself.
Ep211-270.1.11. 2. Et de praeterito quidem placito nostro, quod condicto meridiano implere noluisti, facile existimari potest quis nostrum fidei suae fiduciam non habuerit: utrum qui volebat ut diceretur, et timebat ne teneretur; an qui usque adeo nolebat eam disceptantium iudicio subtrahi, ut mandata litteris vellet etiam legentium memoriae commendari, ne quisquam vel oblivione opinatus, vel dissensione irritatus, diceret ab aliquo nostrum aut non esse dictum quod dictum erat, aut dictum esse quod dictum non erat. In his enim solent latebras suae malae defensionis inquirere, qui contentionis sunt cupidiores quam veritatis. Hoc autem nec a te nec a me, nec de te nec de me dici posset, si in fide condicti permaneres, ut verba nostra exciperentur et scriberentur; praesertim quia tu ipse in iis verbis quibus fidem tuam pronuntiasti, quoties ea repetisti, toties variasti, quod nulla credo fraude, sed oblivione factum esse. Callidae Pascentii artes ad fallendum.
1. 2. And concerning our past agreement, which you were unwilling to fulfill at the midday appointment, it can easily be judged which of us did not have confidence in his own faith: whether the one who wished it to be said, and feared lest he be held to it; or the one who was so unwilling that it be withdrawn from the judgment of those debating that he wished it, committed to writing, to be even committed to the memory of readers, lest anyone, whether supposing by forgetfulness, or irritated by disagreement, should say that something was either not said by one of us which had been said, or said which had not been said. For in these things those are wont to seek the hiding places of their bad defense who are more desirous of contention than of truth. But this could be said neither by you nor by me, neither about you nor about me, if you had stood in the faith of our agreement, that our words should be taken down and written; especially since you yourself, in those very words by which you pronounced your faith, as often as you repeated them, so often varied them—which I believe was done by no fraud, but by forgetfulness.
Ep211-270.1.21. 3. Nam primo dixisti: "Credere te in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, invisibilem, ingenitum, incapabilem: et in Iesum Christum Filium eius, Deum, natum ante saecula, per quem facta sunt omnia; et in Spiritum sanctum". Quibus ego auditis, cum respondissem nondum a te quidquam dictum quod meae fidei repugnaret, et ideo, si ea scripsisses, me his etiam posse subscribere; ad hoc nescio quomodo res perducta est, ut accepta charta, ea ipsa quae dixeras, velles etiam litteris tua manu exprimere. Quod cum mihi ad legendum dedisses, animadverti minus te scripsisse: "Patrem", cum scripsisses: "Deum omnipotentem, invisibilem, ingenitum, innatum". Quod ubi commemoravi, non post multam altercationem addidisti: "Patrem": et "incapabilem" quidem, quod verbis dixeras, scripto praetermiseras; sed nulla hinc a me facta commemoratio est. Inconsequentia et inconstantia in verbo ὁμοούσιον adhibendo.
1. 3. For first you said: "That you believe in God the Father almighty, invisible, unbegotten, incomprehensible: and in Jesus Christ his Son, God, born before the ages, through whom all things were made; and in the Holy Spirit." Hearing which, when I had answered that nothing had yet been said by you that conflicted with my faith, and therefore, if you had written these things, I could even subscribe to them; somehow the matter was brought to this, that, a sheet having been taken, you wished to express in writing too, by your own hand, those very things you had said. And when you had given this to me to read, I noticed that you had written too little: "the Father," when you had written "God almighty, invisible, unbegotten, unborn." When I mentioned this, after no little altercation you added "the Father": and "incomprehensible" indeed, which you had said in words, you had omitted in writing; but no mention was made of this by me.
Ep211-270.1.31. 4. Deinde cum dixissem me paratum esse subscribere adhuc illa verba etiam mea esse posse, prius quaesivi, ne quod in mentem venerat, laberetur, utrum alicubi Scripturarum divinarum legeretur: "Pater ingenitus". Hoc autem feci, quia in exordio sermonis nostri cum Arius et Eunomius commemorati essent, non a me, sed a fratre meo Alypio, requirente quemnam eorum secutus esset Auxentius, qui abs te fuerat non parva praedicatione laudatus; exclamando anathematizasti et Arium et Eunomium: tum continuo flagitasti ut et nos anathematizaremus ὁμοούσιον, quasi quisquam homo esset, qui hoc vocaretur, sicut Arius et Eunomius. Deinde vehementer exigebas ut hoc verbum tibi in Scripturis ostenderemus, et statim nobis communicares. Respondebatur a nobis, quia nos latine loqueremur, et illud graecum esset, prius quaerendum esse quid sit ὁμοούσιον, et tunc exigendum ut in Libris sanctis ostenderetur. Tu contra, verbum ipsum crebro repetens, et invidiose ventilans, atque in conciliis maiorum nostrorum conscriptum commemorans, vehementer urgebas ut ipsum omnino verbum quod est ὁμοούσιον, in sanctis Libris ostenderemus; nobis etiam atque etiam revocantibus, quia lingua nostra graeca non esset, prius interpretandum et exponendum esse quid sit ὁμοούσιον, tum demum in divinis Litteris requirendum: quia etsi fortasse nomen ipsum non inveniretur, res tamen ipsa inveniretur. Quid est enim contentiosius, quam, ubi de re constat, certare de nomine? Non omnes theologicas voces inveniri in Scripturis.
1. 4. Then, when I had said that I was prepared to subscribe, that those words could still be mine too, I first asked, lest what had come to mind should slip away, whether anywhere in the divine Scriptures was read, "Father unbegotten." But I did this because, in the beginning of our discourse, when Arius and Eunomius had been mentioned—not by me, but by my brother Alypius, inquiring which of them Auxentius had followed, who had been praised by you with no small commendation—you, crying out, anathematized both Arius and Eunomius; then immediately you demanded that we too anathematize the ὁμοούσιον [consubstantial], as though there were any man who was called this, as Arius and Eunomius were. Then you vehemently insisted that we show you this word in the Scriptures, and at once communicate it to us. It was answered by us that, since we spoke Latin, and that was Greek, it must first be asked what ὁμοούσιον is, and then it must be demanded that it be shown in the holy Books. You, on the contrary, repeating that very word often, and bandying it about invidiously, and mentioning that it was written in the councils of our elders, vehemently urged that we show that very word which is ὁμοούσιον in the holy Books; though we again and again called back that, since our tongue was not Greek, it must first be interpreted and expounded what ὁμοούσιον is, and only then sought in the divine writings: because even if perhaps the name itself were not found, the thing itself nevertheless would be found. For what is more contentious than, when the thing is established, to contend about the name?
Ep211-270.1.41. 5. Haec ergo quia inter nos iam collocuti fueramus, posteaquam ad id ventum est ut fidem tuam, sicut commemoravi, scriberes, quamquam nihil in eis verbis viderem nostrae fidei esse contrarium, et propterea me dicerem paratum esse subscribere; quaesivi, ut dixi, utrum Scriptura Dei contineret hoc verbum, quod "Pater esset ingenitus": et cum scriptum esse respondisses, instantius quaerebam ut ostenderes. Tunc unus ex iis qui aderant, quantum intellegi datur, fidei tuae socius, ait mihi: "Quid ergo? tu patrem genitum dicis?" Respondi: "Non dico. Et ille: "Si ergo genitus non est, inquit, utique ingenitus est". Cui ego: "Vides, inquam, posse fieri ut etiam de verbo quod in Scriptura Dei non est, reddatur tamen ratio unde recte dici ostendatur. Sic ergo et ὁμοούσιον quod in auctoritate divinorum Librorum cogebamur ostendere, etiamsi vocabulum ipsum ibi non inveniamus, fieri posse ut illud inveniamus cui hoc vocabulum recte adhibitum iudicetur". Pascentii ambiguitas atque impotentia
1. 5. These things, then, because we had already conversed about them between us, after it came to this, that you should write your faith, as I mentioned, although I saw nothing in those words contrary to our faith, and therefore said I was prepared to subscribe; I asked, as I said, whether the Scripture of God contained this word, that "the Father is unbegotten": and when you had answered that it was written, I asked more insistently that you show it. Then one of those who were present, as far as can be understood, an associate of your faith, said to me: "What then? do you call the Father begotten?" I answered: "I do not." And he: "If, then, he is not begotten," he says, "surely he is unbegotten." To whom I: "You see," I say, "that it can come about that even of a word which is not in the Scripture of God, an account may nevertheless be rendered whence it is shown to be rightly said. So, then, the ὁμοούσιον too, which we were being compelled to show in the authority of the divine Books, even if we do not find the word itself there, it can come about that we find that to which this word is judged to be rightly applied."
Ep211-270.1.51. 6. Quibus dictis, quid hinc tibi videretur attendi ut audirem, et aisti: "Recte factum esse ut ingenitus Pater in Scripturis sanctis non diceretur, ne illi vel tali verbo fieret iniuria". "Ergo, inquam, modo facta est iniuria Deo, et hoc manu tua". Quo audito, fateri iam coepisti nec te hoc dicere debuisse. Sed cum admonerem ut, si tibi tale videretur hoc verbum ut ad Dei pertineret iniuriam, deleres illud inde ubi scripseras; considerasti, credo, posse id recte dici, et posse defendi; et rursus aisti: "Prorsus ego hoc dico". Tum ego illud quod iam dixeram repetivi, ita fieri posse ut etiam ὁμοούσιον neque scriptum in sanctis Paginis inveniatur, et tamen dictum in assertione fidei defendatur; sicut Patrem in illis Libris nusquam ingenitum legimus, et tamen dicendum esse defenditur. Tunc a me chartam, quam dederas, abstulisti et conscidisti. Et constituimus, post meridianum tempus ut adessent notarii ad excipienda verba nostra, atque inter nos ista, quantum possemus, diligentius tractaremus. Infidus Pascentius in disputando.
1. 6. These things having been said, I attended, that I might hear, what hence seemed to you, and you said: "That it was rightly done that the unbegotten Father should not be said in the holy Scriptures, lest an injury be done to him even by such a word." "Then," I say, "an injury has just now been done to God, and that by your hand." Hearing which, you now began to confess that you ought not to have said this. But when I admonished you that, if such a word seemed to you to pertain to an injury to God, you should delete it from where you had written it; you considered, I believe, that it could be rightly said, and could be defended; and again you said: "I altogether say this." Then I repeated what I had already said, that it can so come about that even the ὁμοούσιον is found neither written in the holy Pages, and yet, said in the assertion of faith, is defended; just as we nowhere read in those Books that the Father is unbegotten, and yet it is defended that it must be said. Then you took from me the sheet you had given, and tore it up. And we determined that, after the midday time, notaries should be present to take down our words, and that we should treat these matters between us as carefully as we could.
Ep211-270.1.61. 7. Venimus, ut nosti, ad horam condictam, notarios adduximus; ut et tui adessent, consedimus. Dixisti rursus fidem tuam, atque in verbis tuis non audivi "ingenitum Patrem". Credo quod cogitaveris quid inde mane dictum fuerit, et praecavere volueris. Deinde poposcisti ut ego etiam dicerem fidem meam. Ubi cum postulassem, commemorans antemeridianum placitum nostrum, ut ea quae dixeras, dictare potius dignareris; tunc exclamasti calumniam parare nos tibi, et ideo verba tua conscripta velle retinere. Ibi quid responderim recordari non libet, atque utinam nec tu memineris. Servavi tamen debitam honorificentiam honori tuo, nec maledictum deputavi, quod non a veritate, sed a potestate audire meruissem. Tamen quia vel ipsa verba repetivi, ut pressa voce dicerem, Itane calumniam paramus nos tibi? ut ignoscas peto. Verborum rixa inter theologicam disputationem.
1. 7. We came, as you know, at the appointed hour; we brought notaries; that yours too might be present, we sat down. You said your faith again, and in your words I did not hear "the unbegotten Father." I believe that you considered what had been said about it in the morning, and wished to take precaution. Then you demanded that I too say my faith. When I requested, mentioning our forenoon agreement, that you would rather deign to dictate the things you had said; then you cried out that we were preparing a calumny for you, and therefore wished to keep your words written down. What I answered there it does not please me to recall, and would that you did not remember it either. Yet I preserved the honor due to your rank, and did not reckon as a curse what I had deserved to hear not from truth but from power. Nevertheless, because I repeated those very words, so as to say with a subdued voice, "Are we then preparing a calumny for you?" I ask that you pardon me.
Ep211-270.1.71. 8. Sed tu, his auditis, rursus fidem tuam sono clariore repetisti, atque in verbis tuis non audivi: "Deum Filium"; quod numquam, quoties eam dixisti, tacueras. Hic ego tam modeste ut poteram, postularem, ut de excipiendis verbis nostris quod inter nos placuerat impleretur, etiam ipsam utilitatem de praesenti experimento suggessi, dicens teipsum non potuisse in memoria verba tua tibi usitatissima retinere, quando numquam ea repetere valuisse videbamus, cum non aliquid maxime necessarium praeterires; quanto minus posse illos qui nos audirent, ita nostrorum meminisse verborum, ut si quid forte vel tu de meis, vel ego de tuis verbis vellem retractare atque discutere, valerent seu dictum seu non dictum liquido recordari; in qua nobis difficultate facile notariorum recitatio subveniret. Tunc indignanter dixisti: "Melius fuisse ut meam famam semper audires, eo quod longe inferiorem me expertus esses, quam tibi illa iactasset". Tunc ego commemoravi, cum te ante prandium salutaremus, et eam famam nobis praedicasses, hoc me dixisse, quod de me illa mentita sit: Hic sane aisti: "Verum me dixisse". Proinde cum duo tibi de me diversa locuti sint, aliud fama mea, et aliud ego; magis utique gaudere debeo, me potius quam illam repertum esse veracem. Sed quia scriptum est: Solus Deus verax, omnis autem homo mendax ; vereor ne hoc quoque de me temere dixerim: neque enim in nobis ipsis, vel per nos ipsos veraces sumus, cum sumus; sed cum ille in servis suis loquitur, qui solus est verax. Cur P. nollet verba sua a notariis excipi.
1. 8. But you, hearing these things, again repeated your faith with a clearer sound, and in your words I did not hear "God the Son"; which you had never, as often as you said it, kept silent. Here I, as modestly as I could, would ask that what had pleased between us about taking down our words should be fulfilled, and I suggested the usefulness itself from the present experience, saying that you yourself could not retain in memory your own most familiar words, since we saw that you were never able to repeat them without passing over something most necessary; how much less could those who heard us so remember our words that, if perhaps either you about mine, or I about yours, should wish to reconsider and discuss something, they would be able clearly to recall what was said or not said; in which difficulty the recitation of the notaries would easily help us. Then you said indignantly: "It would have been better that you should always hear my reputation, since you had found me far inferior to what it had boasted to you." Then I mentioned that, when we greeted you before the meal, and you had proclaimed that reputation to us, I had said that it had lied about me: here indeed you said: "That I had spoken truly." Accordingly, since two things diverse about me have spoken to you—one my reputation, and another I myself—I ought surely to rejoice the more that I, rather than it, was found truthful. But because it is written: God alone is truthful, but every man a liar (See Rom 3:4; Ps 116:11 (115:11)); I fear lest I have said this too about myself rashly: for we are not truthful in ourselves, or through ourselves, when we are; but when he speaks in his servants who alone is truthful.
Ep211-270.1.81. 9. Haec si, ut narravi, gesta esse recolis, vides quam non debeas iactare apud homines quod non ausus sim tibi asserere fidem meam; quandoquidem in fide nostri placiti stare noluisti; et vir tantus qui pro fide quam reipublicae debes, non times maledicta provincialium, pro fide quam Christo debes, times calumnias episcoporum. Deinde cum disputationi nostrae etiam honoratos viros interesse cupiveris, miror quomodo in ipsa devitatione calumniae verba tua times a notariis conscribi, et ex ore tuo a clarissimis testibus non times audiri. Nonne consideras difficile esse ut homines suspicentur te a nobis ullam formidasse calumniam, ut verba tua excipi nolles; sed cum cogitasses retentum te fuisse in verbo ante prandium manu tua conscripto, simul etiam cogitasse non tam facile te notariorum tabulas delere potuisse, quam facile illam chartulam conscidisti? Si autem dicis non illa ita gesta esse ut a me narrata sunt, aut tu oblivione falleris, non enim audeo dicere "mentiris"; aut ego vel similiter fallor, vel mentior. Vides ergo quam recte dicam ea quae de his maxime rebus geruntur, excipi atque conscribi oportere, et quam tibi quoque hoc ipsum recte placuerat, nisi postmeridianus timor antemeridianum placitum frangeret. Fides Augustini.
1. 9. If you recall that these things were done as I have narrated, you see how you ought not to boast among men that I did not dare to assert my faith to you; since you were unwilling to stand in the faith of our agreement; and so great a man, who, for the faith you owe to the commonwealth, do not fear the curses of provincials, for the faith you owe to Christ, fear the calumnies of bishops. Then, since you desired that even honorable men be present at our disputation, I wonder how, in that very avoidance of calumny, you fear that your words be written by notaries, and do not fear that they be heard from your mouth by most illustrious witnesses. Do you not consider that it is difficult for men to suspect that you feared any calumny from us, so that you were unwilling that your words be taken down; but that, when you had considered that you had been held to the word written by your own hand before the meal, you considered at the same time that you could not so easily delete the tablets of the notaries as easily as you tore up that little sheet? But if you say that those things were not done as they have been narrated by me, either you are deceived by forgetfulness—for I do not dare to say "you lie"—or I am either likewise deceived, or I lie. You see, then, how rightly I say that the things which are done especially about these matters ought to be taken down and written, and how rightly this very thing had pleased you too, had not the afternoon fear broken the forenoon agreement.
Ep211-270.1.92. 10. Audi ergo iam fidem meam: potens est misericordia Domini Dei nostri, quae praestet me quod credidi sic loqui, ut nec eius offendam veritatem, nec humanitatem tuam. In omnipotentem Deum Patrem me credere profiteor, eumque aeternum ea aeternitate, hoc est, immortalitate, dico, quam solus Deus habet; hoc et de Filio eius unigenito credo in forma Dei; hoc et de Spiritu sancto, qui Spiritus est Dei Patris et Filii eius unigeniti. Sed quia ipse Dei Patris unigenitus Filius, Dominus et Deus noster Iesus Christus, posteaquam venit plenitudo temporis , opportunus ad diem salutis nostrae formam servi accepit , multa de illo in Scripturis secundum formam Dei dicuntur, multa secundum formam servi. Quorum, exempli gratia, duo quaedam commemoro, ut singula ad singula referantur. Secundum formam Dei de se ipse dixit: Ego et Pater unum sumus : Secundum formam servi: Quoniam Pater maior me est . Idiomatum quae dicitur communicatio.
2. 10. Hear, then, now my faith: the mercy of the Lord our God is powerful, which may grant that I so speak what I have believed that I offend neither his truth nor your humanity. I profess that I believe in the almighty God the Father, and I say that he is eternal with that eternity, that is, immortality, which God alone has; this I believe also of his only-begotten Son, in the form of God; this also of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of God the Father and of his only-begotten Son. But because the only-begotten Son himself of God the Father, our Lord and God Jesus Christ, after the fullness of time came (See Gal 4:4), opportune for the day of our salvation, took the form of a servant (See Phil 2:7), many things are said of him in the Scriptures according to the form of God, many according to the form of a servant. Of which, for example, I mention two, that the single may be referred to the single. According to the form of God he himself said of himself: I and the Father are one (John 10:30): according to the form of a servant: For the Father is greater than I (John 14:28).
Ep211-270.2.102. 11. Quod autem de Deo scriptum est: Qui solus habet immortalitatem ; et: Invisibili, soli Deo honor et gloria ; et caetera huiusmodi, non de Patre tantum accipimus, sed etiam de Filio, quod ad formam Dei attinet, et de Spiritu sancto. Pater enim et Filius et Spiritus sanctus unus Deus est, et solus verus Deus, et solus immortalis secundum incommutabilem omnino substantiam. Si enim de carne diversi sexus dictum est: Qui adhaeret meretrici, unum corpus est ; et de spiritu hominis, qui non est quod Dominus, consequenter scriptum est: Qui autem adhaeret Domino, unus spiritus est ; quanto magis Deus Pater in Filio, et Deus Filius in Patre, et Deus Spiritus Patris et Filii unus Deus est, ubi nulla est diversa natura; cum pro diversis modo quodam sibi cohaerentibus dicatur vel spiritus unus vel corpus unum? Patris Filiique natura: analoga corporis animaeque unitas.
2. 11. But what is written of God: Who alone has immortality (1 Tim 6:16); and: To the invisible, the only God, be honor and glory (See 1 Tim 1:17); and other things of this kind, we take not of the Father only, but also of the Son, as pertains to the form of God, and of the Holy Spirit. For the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one God, and the only true God, and alone immortal according to an altogether unchangeable substance. For if it is said of flesh of diverse sex, He who clings to a harlot is one body (1 Cor 6:16); and of the spirit of a man, who is not what the Lord is, it is consequently written: But he who clings to the Lord is one spirit (1 Cor 6:17); how much more is God the Father in the Son, and God the Son in the Father, and God the Spirit of the Father and the Son one God, where there is no diverse nature; when for diverse things in a certain way cohering to each other there is said to be either one spirit or one body?
Ep211-270.2.112. 12. Et cum pro anima et corpore sibi cohaerentibus dicatur unus homo; cur non multo magis de Patre et Filio sibi cohaerentibus dicatur unus Deus, cum sibimet inseparabiliter cohaereant quomodo non corpus et anima? Et cum corpus et anima sit unus homo, quamvis corpus et anima non sint unum; cur non multo magis sit Pater et Filius unus Deus, cum Pater et Filius unum sint, secundum illam Veritatis vocem: Ego et Pater unum sumus ? Item cum homo interior et homo exterior non sint unum, neque enim eiusdem naturae est exterior cuius interior, quia exterior cum nuncupato corpore dicitur homo, interior autem in sola rationali anima intellegitur; utrumque tamen simul non homines duo, sed unus dicitur: quanto magis Pater et Filius unus Deus est, cum Pater et Filius unum sint; quia eiusdem naturae vel substantiae sunt, vel si quo alio vocabulo congruentius dicitur id quod Deus est, unde dictum est: Ego et Pater unum sumus? Itaque unus Spiritus Domini, et unus spiritus hominis, et non sunt unum; et tamen ille cum cohaeret Domino, non sunt duo, sed unus spiritus: et unus homo interior, et unus homo exterior, et non sunt unum; et tamen eius connexione vinculi naturalis simul utrumque non duo, sed unus est homo. Multo magis igitur cum Filius Dei dicat: Ego et Pater unum sumus, unus est Deus Pater, et unus est Deus Filius; et tamen simul utrumque non duo, sed unus Deus. Cur Pater Filiusque unus sit Deus.
2. 12. And since for soul and body cohering to each other there is said to be one man; why is there not much more, for the Father and the Son cohering to each other, said to be one God, since they cohere to each other inseparably, in a way that body and soul do not? And since body and soul are one man, although body and soul are not one thing; why is not the Father and the Son much more one God, since the Father and the Son are one, according to that voice of the Truth: I and the Father are one (John 10:30)? Likewise, since the inner man and the outer man are not one thing—for the outer is not of the same nature as the inner, because the outer, with what is called the body, is called a man, but the inner is understood in the rational soul alone—yet both together are called not two men, but one: how much more is the Father and the Son one God, since the Father and the Son are one; because they are of the same nature or substance, or, if by any other word more fittingly is said that which God is, whence it was said, I and the Father are one? And so, there is one Spirit of the Lord, and one spirit of man, and they are not one thing; and yet that one, when it clings to the Lord, they are not two, but one spirit: and there is one inner man, and one outer man, and they are not one thing; and yet by the connection of a natural bond both together are not two, but one man. Much more, therefore, since the Son of God says, I and the Father are one, there is one God the Father, and one God the Son; and yet both together are not two, but one God.
Ep211-270.2.122. 13. Quod enim fecit in multis sanctis in adoptionem filiorum vocatis cohaeredibus Christi una fides et una spes et una caritas , ut esset eis una anima et cor unum in Deum; hoc praecipue cogit intellegi una eademque Patris et Filii natura, si ita dicendum est, deitatis, ut Pater et Filius qui unum sunt, et inseparabiliter unum sunt, et sempiterne unum sunt, non sint duo dii, sed unus Deus. Illi enim homines per consortium et communionem unius eiusdemque naturae, qua omnes homines erant, unum erant: et si aliquando secundum diversitates voluntatum et sententiarum, opinionum morumque dissimilitudines non erant unum; erunt autem plene perfecteque unum, cum perventum fuerit ad eum finem, ut sit Deus omnia in omnibus . Deus autem Pater et Filius eius, Verbum eius Deus apud Deum , semper atque ineffabiliter unum sunt; unde magis non duo dii, sed unus Deus. Quid inter substantiam relationesque intersit.
2. 13. For that which, in many saints called unto the adoption of sons (See Rom 8:15), coheirs of Christ, one faith and one hope and one love (See 1 Cor 13:13) wrought, that there should be in them one soul and one heart (See Acts 4:32) toward God; this especially compels us to understand the one and the same nature of the Father and the Son—if so it must be said—of deity, so that the Father and the Son, who are one, and inseparably are one, and eternally are one, are not two gods, but one God. For those men, by the consortium and communion of one and the same nature, by which they were all men, were one: and if at some time, according to the diversities of wills and opinions, and the dissimilarities of views and morals, they were not one; yet they will be fully and perfectly one, when it has been arrived at that end, that God may be all in all (1 Cor 15:28). But God the Father and his Son, his Word, God with God (See John 1:1), are always and ineffably one; whence the more they are not two gods, but one God.
Ep211-270.2.132. 14. Homines autem minus intellegentes, quid propter quid dicatur, praecipites volunt habere sententias: et Scripturis non diligenter scrutatis, cum arripiunt defensionem cuiusque opinionis, et ab ea vel numquam vel difficile deflectuntur, dum docti atque sapientes magis putari quam esse concupiscunt; ea quae propter formam servi dicta sunt, volunt transferre ad formam Dei; et rursus quae dicta sunt ut ad se invicem personae referantur, volunt nomina esse naturae atque substantiae. Fides autem nostra est, Patrem et Filium et Spiritum sanctum unum Deum credere et confiteri; nec tamen eum qui Filius est, Patrem dicere; nec eum qui Pater est, Filium; nec eum qui Spiritus Patris et Filii est, aut Patrem aut Filium nuncupare. His enim appellationibus hoc significatur quo ad se invicem referuntur, non ipsa substantia qua unum sunt. Nam et pater cum dicitur, nonnisi alicuius filii dicitur; et filius nonnisi alicuius patris intellegitur; et spiritus secundum id quod ad aliquid refertur, spirantis alicuius est, et spirans utique spiritum spirans est. Multiplices verbi spiritus sensus.
2. 14. But men, understanding too little why a thing is said for what reason, wish to have headlong opinions: and, the Scriptures not having been diligently scrutinized, when they seize upon the defense of any opinion, they are either never or with difficulty turned from it, while they desire to be thought learned and wise rather than to be so; the things that are said on account of the form of a servant they wish to transfer to the form of God; and again, the things that are said so that the persons may be referred to one another, they wish to be names of nature and substance. But our faith is to believe and confess the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit one God; nor yet to call him who is the Son the Father; nor him who is the Father the Son; nor to name him who is the Spirit of the Father and the Son either the Father or the Son. For by these appellations is signified that by which they are referred to one another, not the substance itself by which they are one. For both a father, when he is called so, is called only the father of some son; and a son is understood only as of some father; and a spirit, according to that by which it is referred to something, is the spirit of someone breathing, and one breathing is surely breathing a spirit.
Ep211-270.2.142. 15. Non autem ista corporaliter sentiuntur, nec usitato more intelleguntur in Deo: Qui potens est facere, sicut dicit Apostolus, supra quam petimus et intellegimus : si autem facere, quanto magis esse? Nam hoc nomen quod "spiritus" dicitur, non secundum id quod refertur ad aliquid, sed secundum id quod aliqua natura significatur, omnis incorporea natura spiritus in Scripturis appellatur; unde non tantum Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto, sed omni rationali creaturae et animae hoc vocabulum congruit. Unde Dominus dicit: Spiritus est Deus; et ideo qui adorant Deum, in spiritu et veritate oportet adorare : Scriptum est etiam: Qui facit Angelos suos spiritus : dictum est de hominibus quibusdam: Quoniam caro sunt, et spiritus ambulans, et non revertens : et Apostolus ait: Nemo scit quid agatur in homine, nisi spiritus hominis, qui in ipso est : item scriptum est: Quis scit spiritus filiorum hominis si ascendat ipse sursum, et spiritus pecoris, descendat ipse deorsum in terram? Dicitur etiam spiritus in Scripturis secundum quamdam distinctionem in ipsa una unius hominis anima: unde Apostolus dicit: Et integer spiritus vester, et anima, et corpus in diem Domini nostri Iesu Christi servetur : item alio loco: Si oravero lingua, spiritus meus orat; mens autem mea infructuosa est. Quid ergo est? Orabo spiritu, orabo et mente . Proprio autem modo quodam dicitur Spiritus sanctus, secundum quod refertur ad Patrem et Filium, quod eorum Spiritus sanctus sit. Nam secundum substantiam, quoniam semel dictum est: Spiritus est Deus , et Pater spiritus est, et Filius, et ipse Spiritus sanctus, nec tamen tres spiritus, sed unus spiritus; sicut non tres dii, sed unus Deus. Personarum in Deo unitas, concordiae inter fideles figura.
2. 15. But these things are not perceived corporeally, nor are they understood in God in the customary manner: who is able to do, as the Apostle says, beyond what we ask and understand (See Eph 3:20): but if to do, how much more to be? For this name which is called "spirit," not according to that by which it is referred to something, but according to that by which some nature is signified, every incorporeal nature is called spirit in the Scriptures; whence this word befits not only the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, but every rational creature and soul. Whence the Lord says: God is a Spirit; and therefore those who adore God must adore in spirit and truth (John 4:24): it is written also: Who makes his angels spirits (Ps 104:4 (103:4)): it is said of certain men: For they are flesh, a spirit going and not returning (Ps 78:39 (77:39)): and the Apostle says: No one knows what is done in a man, except the spirit of the man, which is in him (1 Cor 2:11): likewise it is written: Who knows whether the spirit of the sons of man ascends upward, and the spirit of the beast descends downward to the earth? (Eccl 3:21) Spirit is also called in the Scriptures, according to a certain distinction, in the one soul itself of one man: whence the Apostle says: And may your whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved unto the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess 5:23): likewise in another place: If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays; but my mind is unfruitful. What then is it? I will pray with the spirit, I will pray also with the mind (1 Cor 14:14-15). But in a certain proper way the Holy Spirit is so called, according to that by which it is referred to the Father and the Son, that it is their Holy Spirit. For according to substance, since it has once been said, God is a Spirit, both the Father is spirit, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit itself, and yet not three spirits, but one spirit; just as not three gods, but one God.
Ep211-270.2.152. 16. Quid miraris? Tantum valet pax, non qualiscumque, ut solet intellegi, nec talis qualis laudatur in hac vita per concordiam caritatemque fidelium; sed illa pax Dei, quae, sicut dicit Apostolus, supergreditur omnem intellectum : quem, nisi nostrum, id est, omnis rationalis creaturae? Quapropter considerantes infirmitatem nostram, et audientes Apostolum confitentem et dicentem: Fratres, ego me non arbitror apprehendisse ; et: Qui se putat aliquid scire, nondum scit quemadmodum oporteat eum scire ; cum divinis Scripturis, quantum possumus, colloquamur sine contentione pacati, non inani ac puerili animositate studentes alterutrum vincere, ut pax Christi potius vincat in cordibus nostris , quantum eam nobis et in hac vita percipere posse donavit: ut cogitantes quid eadem pax inter fratres egerit, quorum ex tam multis animis et multis cordibus fecit animam unam et cor unum in Deum , debita pietate credamus multo maxime in illa pace Dei, quae superat omnem intellectum , et Patrem et Filium et Spiritum sanctum non esse tres deos, sed unum Deum; tanto excellentius quam istorum erat anima et cor unum, quanto illa pax quae superat omnem intellectum, excellentior est ista pace quam tenebat omnium illorum cor unum et una anima in Deum . Qua ratione Filius et Deus sit et homo.
2. 16. Why do you wonder? So great is the power of peace—not any sort whatever, as it is wont to be understood, nor such as is praised in this life through the concord and love of the faithful; but that peace of God which, as the Apostle says, surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7): whose, but ours, that is, of every rational creature? Wherefore, considering our weakness, and hearing the Apostle confessing and saying: Brothers, I do not consider myself to have laid hold (Phil 3:13); and: He who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know (1 Cor 8:2); let us, as far as we can, converse with the divine Scriptures peaceably, without contention, not, with empty and childish animosity, striving to conquer one another, but that the peace of Christ may rather conquer in our hearts (See Col 3:15), as much as he has granted us to be able to perceive it even in this life: so that, considering what the same peace has wrought among brothers, of whose so many minds and many hearts it made one soul and one heart toward God (See Acts 4:32), we may believe with due devotion much most of all that in that peace of God which surpasses all understanding, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are not three gods, but one God; the more excellently than the soul and heart of those men was one, the more excellent that peace which surpasses all understanding is than this peace by which the one heart and one soul toward God of all those held together.
Ep211-270.2.162. 17. Filium autem hominis eumdem dicimus quem Filium Dei; non tamen propter formam Dei, in qua est aequalis Deo Patri, sed propter acceptam formam servi, qua minor est Patre . Et quia eumdem Filium hominis dicimus, propter hoc et Filium Dei crucifixum fatemur, non ex virtute divinitatis, sed ex infirmitate humanitatis; non ex suae naturae permansione, sed ex nostrae susceptione. Eadem natura distinctaeque personae in Deo.
2. 17. But we call the same one the Son of man whom we call the Son of God; not however on account of the form of God, in which he is equal to God the Father, but on account of the form of a servant which he took, by which he is less than the Father (See Phil 2:6-7). And because we call the same one the Son of man, on this account we confess the Son of God crucified too, not from the power of the divinity, but from the weakness of the humanity; not from the permanence of his own nature, but from the assumption of ours.
Ep211-270.2.173. 18. Iam nunc paululum intuere quae Scripturarum eloquia nos cogant unum Dominum Deum confiteri, sive tantum de Patre, sive tantum de Filio, sive tantum de Spiritu sancto, sive simul de Patre et Filio et Spiritu sancto interrogemur. Certe scriptum est: Audi, Israel, Dominus Deus tuus Dominus unus est ; de quo dictum putas? Si tantum de Patre, non est Dominus Deus noster Iesus Christus: et ubi est vox illa tangentis et clamantis: Dominus meus et Deus meus; quam Christus ipse non reprehendit, sed approbavit, dicens: Quia vidisti me, credidisti? Porro si et Filius Dominus Deus est, et Pater Dominus Deus est, et ambo iam duo domini et duo dii, quomodo erit verum: Dominus Deus tuus Dominus unus est ? An forte Pater est unus Dominus, Filius autem non unus Dominus, sed tantum Dominus, sicut sunt dii multi et domini multi, non sicut ille unus de quo scriptum est: Dominus Deus tuus, Dominus unus est? Quid ergo respondebimus Apostolo dicenti: Nam etsi sunt qui dicuntur dii, sive in coelo, sive in terra, sicut sunt dii multi et domini multi; nobis tamen unus Deus Pater, ex quo omnia, et nos in ipso; et unus Dominus noster Iesus Christus, per quem omnia, et nos per ipsum ? Porro si quod de uno Deo Patre dicitur, cogit inde Filium separare, dicant qui audent, non posse iam intellegi Dominum Patrem, quia unus, inquit: Dominus noster Iesus Christus. Nam si unus, utique solus: si solus, quomodo et Pater; nisi quia et ipse et Pater, unus Deus et solus Deus, non separato Spiritu sancto? Unus ergo Deus Pater, et cum illo Filius unus Deus, quamvis non cum illo unus Pater. Itemque unus Dominus Iesus Christus, et cum illo unus Dominus Pater, quamvis non cum illo unus Iesus Christus tamquam et Pater sit Iesus Christus. Hoc enim nomen ex dispensatione misericordiae susceptaeque humanitatis assumptum est. Pater et Filius unus idemque Deus.
3. 18. Now then behold for a little what eloquences of the Scriptures compel us to confess one Lord God, whether we are questioned only about the Father, or only about the Son, or only about the Holy Spirit, or at once about the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Certainly it is written: Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord (Deut 6:4); of whom do you think it was said? If only of the Father, our Lord God Jesus Christ is not the Lord: and where is that voice of him who touched and cried out: My Lord and my God; which Christ himself did not reprehend but approved, saying: Because you have seen me, you have believed? (John 20:28-29) Further, if both the Son is Lord God, and the Father is Lord God, and both now two lords and two gods, how will it be true: The Lord your God is one Lord? Or is the Father perhaps one Lord, but the Son not one Lord, but only Lord, as there are many gods and many lords, not as that one of whom it is written: The Lord your God is one Lord? What, then, shall we answer the Apostle saying: For although there are those that are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods and many lords; yet for us there is one God the Father, from whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord our Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him (1 Cor 8:5-6)? Further, if what is said of the one God the Father compels us thence to separate the Son, let them say who dare, that the Father can no longer be understood as Lord, because he says, one Lord, our Jesus Christ. For if one, surely sole: if sole, how is the Father also; unless because both he and the Father are one God and sole God, the Holy Spirit not being separated? There is, then, one God the Father, and with him the Son one God, although not with him one Father. Likewise there is one Lord Jesus Christ, and with him one Lord the Father, although not with him one Jesus Christ, as though the Father too were Jesus Christ. For this name was assumed from the dispensation of mercy and the assumed humanity.
Ep211-270.3.183. 19. An forte quod ait Apostolus: Unus Dominus noster Iesus Christus, per quem omnia, non vultis adiungi quod dictum est unus, ad id quod est Dominus, sed ad id quod ait, per quem omnia; ut non unus Dominus, sed unus per quem omnia intellegatur, ut non sit Pater per quem omnia, sed Pater solus ex quo omnia, et Filius solus per quem omnia? Si ita est, iam tandem fatemini unum Dominum et Deum nostrum esse Patrem et Filium. Quis enim cognovit sensum Domini? aut quis consiliarius eius fuit? Aut quis prior dedit illi, et retribuetur ei? Quoniam ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso sunt omnia; ipsi gloria . Neque enim dixit: "Ex Patre omnia, et per Filium omnia"; sed, ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso; quo? nisi Domino, de quo ait: Quis enim cognovit sensum Domini? Ex Domino ergo et per Dominum et in Domino omnia, non alio illo et alio isto, sed uno Domino; quia non dixit: "Ipsis gloria", sed, ipsi gloria. In doctrina de Trinitate quae videantur contradictiones.
3. 19. Or do you perhaps not wish what the Apostle says—one Lord our Jesus Christ, through whom are all things—the "one" that was said to be joined to the "Lord," but to the "through whom are all things"; so that there is understood not one Lord, but one through whom are all things, so that the Father is not the one through whom are all things, but the Father alone from whom are all things, and the Son alone through whom are all things? If it is so, then at last confess that the Father and the Son are our one Lord and God. For who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been his counselor? Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him? For from him, and through him, and in him are all things; to him be glory (Rom 11:34-36). For he did not say, "From the Father all things, and through the Son all things"; but, from him, and through him, and in him; whom? but the Lord, of whom he says, For who has known the mind of the Lord? From the Lord, then, and through the Lord, and in the Lord are all things, not one being one and another being the other, but one Lord; because he did not say, "To them be glory," but, to him be glory.
Ep211-270.3.193. 20. Quod si quisquam dicit, id quod ait Apostolus, unus Dominus Iesus Christus per quem omnia , non intellegi "unus Dominus", nec "unus per quem omnia", sed unus Iesus Christus, qui unus Iesus Christus etiam Dominus dicitur, non tamen ut unus Dominus sit unus, sed ut unus Iesus Christus; quid dicturus est cum audierit eumdem apostolum clamantem: Unus Dominus, una fides, unum Baptisma, unus Deus et Pater omnium ? Cum enim Deum Patrem hic commemoret, ubi ait: Unus Deus et Pater omnium; procul dubio id quod ibi dixit: Unus Dominus, quem, nisi Iesum Christum voluit intellegi? Si ergo eis placet, desinat esse Dominus Pater, quia unus est Dominus Iesus Christus. Quod si absurdum et impium est opinari, discamus intellegere unitatem Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti; ut quod de uno solo Deo dictum fuerit, non continuo prohibeamur de Filio vel de Spiritu sancto intellegere: quia Pater quidem non est Filius, et Filius non est Pater, et Spiritus utriusque non est Pater aut Filius; sed tamen et Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus, unus solus et verus est Dominus Deus. Nec Spiritus Sanctus minor Filio nec Filius Patre.
3. 20. But if anyone says that what the Apostle says, one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things (See 1 Cor 8:6), is understood neither as "one Lord," nor "one through whom are all things," but one Jesus Christ, who is also called the one Jesus Christ Lord, yet not so that he is one as one Lord, but as one Jesus Christ; what will he say when he hears the same Apostle crying out: One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all (Eph 4:5-6)? For when he here mentions God the Father, where he says, One God and Father of all; without doubt that which he said there, One Lord, whom did he wish to be understood but Jesus Christ? If, then, it pleases them, let the Father cease to be Lord, because there is one Lord Jesus Christ. But if it is absurd and impious to suppose this, let us learn to understand the unity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; so that what has been said of the one sole God we may not at once be prohibited from understanding of the Son or of the Holy Spirit: because the Father indeed is not the Son, and the Son is not the Father, and the Spirit of both is not the Father or the Son; but yet both the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are the one sole and true Lord God.
Ep211-270.3.204. 21. Neque enim Spiritus sanctus si aut Deus aut verus Deus non esset, templum eius essent corpora nostra. Nescitis, inquit, quia corpora vestra templum in vobis est Spiritus sancti, quem habetis a Deo? et ne quisquam ipsum Spiritum negaret Deum, continuo secutus ait: Et non estis vestri: empti enim estis pretio magno. Glorificate ergo et portate Deum in corpore vestro, eum scilicet cuius templum corpora nostra esse praedixerat. Iam hoc mirabile est, si verum est quod vos audio dicere, ita esse Spiritum sanctum minorem Filio, sicut Patre minor est Filius. Cum enim corpora nostra membra sint Christi, sicut dicit Apostolus; itemque corpora nostra templum sint Spiritus santi, sicut idem ipse dicit Apostolus , nimium miror quomodo sint membra maioris, templum minoris. An forte iam placet dicere Spiritum sanctum Domino Iesu Christo esse maiorem? Videtur enim suffragari huic opinioni etiam illa sententia: Quoniam qui dixerit verbum adversum Filium hominis, remittetur ei: qui autem dixerit adversus Spiritum sanctum, non remittetur ei, neque in hoc saeculo, neque in futuro . Periculosius enim peccatur in maiorem quam in minorem: nec separari fas est Filium hominis a Filio Dei, quia ipse Filius Dei factus est Filius hominis, non mutando quod erat, sed assumendo quod non erat. Sed absit etiam talis impietas, ut Spiritus sanctus maior Filio esse credatur. Non ergo facile in perversum moveant quae ita dicuntur, quasi ostendant alterum altero esse maiorem. Filius veritas ex Dio vero genita.
4. 21. For the Holy Spirit, if he were not either God or true God, our bodies would not be his temple. Do you not know, he says, that your bodies are a temple within you of the Holy Spirit, whom you have from God? (See 1 Cor 6:19) And lest anyone deny that the Spirit himself is God, he immediately went on and said: And you are not your own: for you have been bought at a great price. Glorify, therefore, and bear God in your body (1 Cor 6:19-20)—him, namely, whose temple he had foretold our bodies to be. Now this is marvelous, if it is true what I hear you say, that the Holy Spirit is so less than the Son, as the Son is less than the Father. For since our bodies are members of Christ, as the Apostle says; and likewise our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, as the same Apostle says (See 1 Cor 6:15, 19), I greatly wonder how they are members of the greater, the temple of the lesser. Or does it perhaps now please to say that the Holy Spirit is greater than the Lord Jesus Christ? For that sentence too seems to favor this opinion: For whoever says a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him: but whoever says it against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the future (See Matt 12:32). For one sins more dangerously against the greater than against the lesser: nor is it right to separate the Son of man from the Son of God, because the Son of God himself was made the Son of man, not by changing what he was, but by assuming what he was not. But far be even such impiety, that the Holy Spirit be believed greater than the Son. Let not, therefore, the things that are said as though they showed one to be greater than the other easily move us into perversity.
Ep211-270.4.214. 22. Nam quaedam etiam sic dicuntur, ut hominibus parum intellegentibus et ipse Filius maior Patre videatur. Quis enim cum fuerit interrogatus, quid sit maius, verum an veritas, non potius respondeat veritatem esse maiorem? ab illa enim vera sunt quaecumque vera sunt. Non autem ita est in Deo. Nam Filium maiorem Patre utique non dicimus; et tamen Filius dicitur esse veritas: Ego sum, inquit, via, et veritas, et vita . De Patre autem tantummodo vos vultis intellegi quod ait: Ut cognoscant te unum verum Deum, et quem misisti Iesum Christum ; ubi nos subaudimus etiam Iesum Christum verum Deum, ut haec sit sententia: "Te et quem misisti Iesum Christum cognoscant unum verum Deum"; ne illa consequatur absurditas, ut si propterea non est verus Deus Iesus Christus, quia dictum est Patri: Te unum verum Deum; propterea non sit Dominus Pater, quia dictum est de Christo: Unus Dominus . Verumtamen secundum pravum intellectum, vel potius errorem, maior est Deus veritas, quam Deus verus; quia verus a veritate est: maior ergo Patre Filius, quia iste est veritas, ille verus. Hanc perversitatem pellit ex animo, qui didicerit Patrem verum Deum esse gignendo veritatem, non participando: non est autem alia substantia veri gignentis, et alia genitae veritatis. Quaedam a P. temere dicta.
4. 22. For certain things are even said in such a way that, to men understanding too little, the Son himself seems greater than the Father. For who, when he has been asked which is greater, the true or the truth, would not rather answer that the truth is greater? For from it are true whatever things are true. But it is not so in God. For we surely do not call the Son greater than the Father; and yet the Son is said to be the truth: I am, he says, the way, and the truth, and the life (John 14:6). But you wish to be understood of the Father only what he says: That they may know you the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent (John 17:3); where we supply that Jesus Christ too is the true God, so that this is the sense: "That they may know you, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent, the one true God"; lest that absurdity follow, that, if Jesus Christ is for this reason not true God, because it was said to the Father, you the one true God; for this reason the Father be not Lord, because it was said of Christ, one Lord. Nevertheless, according to the perverse understanding, or rather error, God the truth is greater than God the true; because the true is from the truth: the Son, therefore, greater than the Father, because the latter is the truth, the former the true. This perversity he drives from his mind who has learned that the Father is the true God by begetting truth, not by participating: but there is not one substance of the true one begetting, and another of the begotten truth.
Ep211-270.4.224. 23. Sed cum ad haec contemplanda infirmus sit oculus cordis humani, accedit ut de contentione etiam turbulentus sit. Et quando ista conspiciet? Dicit Scriptura Filium Dei, Dominum et Salvatorem nostrum Iesum Christum, Verbum Dei esse, et veritatem, et sapientiam; et homines eum ante incarnationem, quam de Maria virgine accepit, sine ulla omnino susceptione corporeae creaturae per ipsam naturam et substantiam suam, qua Verbum Dei est, et sapientia Dei, visibilem et corruptibilem dicunt, dum sibi volunt constare quod sentiunt, de Patre tantummodo esse dictum: Invisibili, incorruptibili, soli Deo . Rogo te, verbum hominis non est visibile, nedum Verbum Dei. Iam vero sapientia illa, de qua dictum est: Attingit ubique propter suam munditiam; et: Nihil inquinatum in eam incurrit; et: In seipsa manens innovat omnia , et si qua similia quae numerari non possunt; si corruptibilis est, nescio quid dicam, nisi ut doleam praesumptionem humanam, et mirer patientiam divinam. Pater et Filius individui ut lux et splendor.
4. 23. But since the eye of the human heart is weak for contemplating these things, it comes about that it is even turbulent from contention. And when will it behold these things? Scripture says that the Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is the Word of God, and the truth, and the wisdom; and men say that before the incarnation which he received from the Virgin Mary, without any assumption at all of corporeal creation, through his very nature and substance by which he is the Word of God and the wisdom of God, he was visible and corruptible, while they wish to be consistent in what they think, that it was said of the Father only: To the invisible, the incorruptible, the only God (See 1 Tim 1:17). I ask you, the word of a man is not visible, much less the Word of God. And now that wisdom, of which it was said: It reaches everywhere on account of its purity (See Wis 7:24); and: Nothing defiled runs into it (Wis 7:25); and: Remaining in itself, it renews all things (Wis 7:27), and whatever like things which cannot be numbered; if it is corruptible, I know not what to say, except to grieve human presumption, and to wonder at the divine patience.
Ep211-270.4.234. 24. Cum vero de illa dictum sit: Candor est enim lucis aeternae ; nec vestri, ut arbitror, iam dicunt lucem Patris (quae quid est, nisi eius substantia?) fuisse aliquando sine candore a se genito, sicut ista in divinis et spiritalibus et incorporeis et incommutabilibus credi, et utcumque intellegi possunt: audio enim iam eos emendasse. An forte falsum est hoc eos aliquando dixisse, quod fuerit aliquando Pater sine Filio, tamquam fuerit lux aeterna sine candore quem genuit? Quid ergo dicimus? Si natus est Filius Dei de Patre, iam Pater destitit gignere; et si destitit, coepit: si autem coepit gignere, fuit aliquando sine Filio; sed numquam fuit sine Filio, quia Filius eius sapientia eius est, quae candor est lucis aeternae. Ergo semper gignit Pater, et semper nascitur Filius. Hic rursus timendum est ne putetur imperfecta generatio, si non dicimus natum esse, sed nasci. Compatere mecum, obsecro, in his angustiis humanae cogitationis et linguae, et pariter confugiamus ad Spiritum Dei per prophetam dicentem: Generationem eius quis enarrabit . Aeterna verbi generatio.
4. 24. But since it was said of it: For it is the brightness of the eternal light (Wis 7:26); not even yours, as I think, now say that the light of the Father (which what is it, but his substance?) was ever without the brightness begotten by it, as these things can be believed, and somehow understood, in divine and spiritual and incorporeal and unchangeable things: for I hear that they have now corrected themselves. Or is it perhaps false that they once said this, that the Father was once without the Son, as though there were eternal light without the brightness which it begot? What, then, do we say? If the Son of God was born of the Father, the Father has now ceased to beget; and if he ceased, he began: but if he began to beget, he was at some time without the Son; but he was never without the Son, because his Son is his wisdom, which is the brightness of the eternal light. Therefore the Father always begets, and the Son is always born. Here again it must be feared lest the generation be thought imperfect, if we say not that he was born, but that he is born. Suffer with me, I beseech you, in these straits of human thought and tongue, and let us alike flee to the Spirit of God saying through the prophet: His generation who shall declare? (Isa 53:8)
Ep211-270.4.244. 25. Hoc unum peto interim ut diligenter exquiras, utrum alicubi divina Scriptura de diversis substantiis dixerit quod unum sint. Si enim non invenitur dictum, nisi de iis rebus quas constat esse unius eiusdemque substantiae; quid opus est ut rebellemus adversus veram et catholicam fidem? Si autem inveneris alicubi hoc scriptum etiam de diversis substantiis; tunc aliud cogar inquirere, unde ostendam recte ὁμοούσιον dictum Patrem et Filium. Nam si illi qui Scripturas nostras aut nesciunt, aut non laboriose scrutantur, et tamen Filium eiusdem substantiae et aequalem Patri credunt, dicant eis qui hoc nolunt credere, cum tamen Deum Patrem Filium habere unigenitum credant: "Noluit Deus habere aequalem Filium, an non potuit? si noluit, invidus est; si non potuit, infirmus est; utrumvis autem horum de Deo sentire sacrilegum est": nescio utrum possint invenire quid dicant, si nolint res absurdissimas et stultissimas dicere. P. scribat ac subscribat suam fidem.
4. 25. This one thing I ask in the meantime, that you diligently inquire whether anywhere the divine Scripture has said of diverse substances that they are one. For if it is not found said, except of those things which are established to be of one and the same substance; what need is there that we rebel against the true and Catholic faith? But if you find this written anywhere even of diverse substances, then I shall be compelled to inquire something else, whence I may show that the Father and the Son are rightly called ὁμοούσιον. For if those who either do not know our Scriptures, or do not laboriously scrutinize them, and yet believe the Son to be of the same substance and equal to the Father, say to those who are unwilling to believe this, while they nevertheless believe that God the Father has an only-begotten Son: "Did God not wish to have an equal Son, or could he not? if he did not wish, he is envious; if he could not, he is weak; but to think either of these of God is sacrilegious": I know not whether they can find what to say, if they are unwilling to say things most absurd and most foolish.
Ep211-270.4.255. 26. Ecce quantum potui, exposui tibi fidem meam. Et plura quidem dici possunt, et diligentius disputari; sed vereor ne ista ipsa quae dixi, oneri sint occupationibus tuis: tamen ea non solum dictata conscribi volui, sed etiam manu mea subscribenda curavi; quod quidem et antea volueram, si quod inter nos placuerat, servaretur. Sed modo certe puto iam non a te debere dici timuisse me tibi dicere fidem meam, quando non solum dixi, sed scriptam subscripsi, ne me quisquam dicat aut dixisse quod non dixi, aut non dixisse quod dixi. Hoc fac et tu, si iudices quaeris, non qui in ore tuo revereantur personam tuam, sed qui in litteris tuis exserant libertatem suam. Si enim calumniam times (quod nullo modo auderem dicere, nisi hoc ipse dixisses), licet tibi non subscribere: nam et ego propterea nolui nomen tuum scribi in his meis litteris, ne hoc forte noluisses. A. ludificatur P. iactantem se ipsum vicisse.
5. 26. Behold, as far as I could, I have set forth my faith to you. And more things indeed could be said, and more diligently disputed; but I fear lest these very things which I have said be a burden to your occupations: yet I wished them not only to be dictated and written, but also took care that they be subscribed by my hand; which indeed I had wished even before, if what had pleased between us had been kept. But now certainly I think it ought no longer to be said by you that I feared to tell you my faith, when I have not only said it, but, written, have subscribed it, lest anyone say of me either that I said what I did not say, or did not say what I said. Do this too, if you seek judges—not those who in your presence revere your person, but those who in your writings exercise their freedom. For if you fear calumny (which I would by no means dare to say, unless you yourself had said this), you may not subscribe: for I too for this reason did not wish your name to be written in this letter of mine, lest perhaps you would have been unwilling.
Ep211-270.5.265. 27. Facile est ut quisque Augustinum vincat; videris utrum veritate an clamore. Non est meum dicere, nisi quia facile est ut quisque Augustinum vincat: quanto magis ut vicisse videatur; aut etsi non videatur vicisse, tamen dicatur? Facile est hoc: nolo magnum putes, nolo; nolo pro magno appetas. Nam cum adverterint homines in hac re tam ingentem flammam cordis tui, multi gaudebunt se invenisse occasionem ut ad pauca "Euge, Euge", tam potentem virum faciant amicum. Nolo dicere quia si non faveant, vel si contrariam sententiam proferant, etiam formidare poterunt inimicum; inepte quidem et stulte, sed tamen plerique homines ita sunt. De divinarum unitate in essentia.
5. 27. It is easy for anyone to conquer Augustine; you will see whether by truth or by clamor. It is not for me to say, except that it is easy for anyone to conquer Augustine: how much more that he should seem to have conquered; or, even if he does not seem to have conquered, that it nevertheless be said? This is easy: I do not want you to think it great, I do not; I do not want you to desire it as a great thing. For when men notice in this matter so huge a flame of your heart, many will rejoice that they have found an occasion to make so powerful a man a friend with a few "Bravo, bravo." I do not want to say that, if they do not favor him, or if they bring forth a contrary opinion, they will even be able to dread him as an enemy; foolishly indeed and stupidly, but yet very many men are so.
Ep211-270.5.275. 28. Noli ergo attendere quomodo vincatur Augustinus, qualiscumque unus homo; sed attende potius utrum vinci possit ὁμοούσιον, non ipsum verbum graecum, quod facile est non intellegentibus irridere, sed illud quod scriptum est: Ego et Pater unum sumus ; et: Pater sancte, serva eos in nomine tuo, quos dedisti mihi; ut sint unum, sicut et nos . Item paulo post: Non pro his autem rogo tantum, inquit, sed et pro eis qui credituri sunt per verbum eorum in me: ut omnes unum sint, sicut tu, Pater, in me, et ego in te, ut et ipsi in nobis unum sint; ut mundus credat quia tu me misisti. Et ego claritatem quam dedisti mihi, dedi illis, ut sint unum, sicut et nos unum sumus: ego in eis, et tu in me, ut sint consummati in unum . Vide quoties dixit: sint unum, sicut et nos unum sumus; nusquam tamen dixit. Ipsi et nos sumus unum; sed, sicut ego et tu sumus unum, sic et ipsi in nobis sint unum: quia sicut illi erant unius eiusdemque substantiae, quos etiam unius participes vitae aeternae facere volebat; ita de Patre et Filio propterea dictum est: Unum sumus, quia unius sunt eiusdemque substantiae, et non participes vitae aeternae, sed ipsa principaliter vita aeterna. Et poterat dicere secundum formam servi: "Ego et ipsi unum sumus, aut, unum simus"; nec tamen hoc dixit, quia unam substantiam Patris et suam, et unam illorum volebat ostendere. Si autem dixisset: "Ut tu et ipsi unum sitis, sicut ego et tu unum sumus"; aut: "Ut tu et ego et ipsi unum simus, sicut ego et tu unum sumus"; nemo nostrum recusaret posse dici, Unum sunt, etiam diversas substantias. Nunc autem vides quam non ita sit, quia non ita dixit, et saepe dicendo vehementer commendavit quod dixit. Nemo beatus quin veritati subiciatur.
5. 28. Do not, therefore, attend to how Augustine, whatever sort of single man he is, is conquered; but attend rather to whether the ὁμοούσιον can be conquered—not the Greek word itself, which it is easy for those who do not understand to mock, but that which is written: I and the Father are one (John 10:30); and: Holy Father, keep them in your name, whom you have given me; that they may be one, as we also are (John 17:11). Likewise a little after: But I do not ask for these only, he says, but also for those who are going to believe in me through their word: that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they too may be one in us; that the world may believe that you have sent me. And the glory which you have given me, I have given to them, that they may be one, as we also are one: I in them, and you in me, that they may be perfected into one (John 17:20-23). See how often he said: may they be one, as we also are one; yet nowhere did he say, "They and we are one"; but, as I and you are one, so may they too be one in us: because, just as those were of one and the same substance, whom he also wished to make partakers of the one eternal life; so of the Father and the Son it was said for this reason, "We are one," because they are of one and the same substance, and not partakers of eternal life, but principally eternal life itself. And he could have said, according to the form of a servant: "I and they are one, or, may we be one"; yet he did not say this, because he wished to show one substance of the Father and his own, and one of theirs. But if he had said: "That you and they may be one, as I and you are one"; or: "That you and I and they may be one, as I and you are one"; none of us would refuse that it could be said, "They are one," even of diverse substances. But now you see how it is not so, because he did not say so, and by often saying it he vehemently commended what he said.
Ep211-270.5.285. 29. Invenis ergo in Scripturis aliquid unum de diversis naturis, sicut supra ostendimus, sed additur vel subauditur quid unum: sicut ex anima et corpore dicimus, unum animal, et una persona, et unus homo vel est, vel sunt. Sine aliqua vero adiunctione dici: Unum sunt, si inveneris in Scripturis, nisi de iis quae unius substantiae sunt, iustissime flagitabis ut aliud proferamus, unde ὁμοούσιον demonstremus. Sunt enim et alia multa; sed interim de hoc uno cogita, deposito studio contentionis, ut habeas propitium Deum. Non enim bonum hominis est hominem vincere, sed bonum est homini ut eum veritas vincat volentem; quia malum est homini ut eum veritas vincat invitum. Nam ipsa vincat necesse est, sive negantem sive confitentem. Da veniam, si quid liberius dixi, non ad contumeliam tuam, sed ad defensionem meam. Praesumpsi enim de gravitate et prudentia tua, quia potes considerare quantam mihi respondendi necessitatem imposueris; aut si et hoc non recte feci, et hinc da veniam. Huic scripturae a me dictatae et relectae ego Augustinus subscripsi.
5. 29. You find, then, in the Scriptures something one of diverse natures, as we have shown above, but there is added or supplied what is one: just as from soul and body we say, one animal, and one person, and there is or are one man. But to be said without any addition, they are one, if you find in the Scriptures, except of those things which are of one substance, you will most justly demand that we bring forth something else, whence we may demonstrate the ὁμοούσιον. For there are also many other things; but in the meantime think of this one, the zeal for contention laid aside, that you may have God favorable. For it is not a man's good to conquer a man, but it is good for a man that the truth conquer him willing; because it is evil for a man that the truth conquer him unwilling. For the truth itself must necessarily conquer, whether one denying or confessing. Grant pardon, if I have said anything too freely, not to your contumely, but to my defense. For I presumed upon your gravity and prudence, because you can consider how great a necessity of answering you have imposed on me; or, if I have not done even this rightly, grant pardon for this too. To this writing dictated and reread by me, I, Augustine, have subscribed.
Ep211-270.5.29EPISTOLA 239
PASCENTIO AUGUSTINUS
PASCENTIO AUGUSTINUS
LETTER 239
AUGUSTINE, TO PASCENTIUS
Ep211-270.5.29AUGUSTINE, TO PASCENTIUS
1. Si dicis te mihi dixisse fidem tuam, et me tibi noluisse dicere fidem meam, quod te audio non tacere; recordare, obsecro, quam utrumque sit falsum. Nam nec tu mihi voluisti dicere fidem tuam, et ego tibi fidem meam non dicere nolui; sed ita dicere volui ut nemo posset dicere, aut dixisse me aliquid quod non dixerim, aut non dixisse quod dixerim. Diceres autem mihi fidem tuam, si hoc diceres unde dissentis a nobis; si diceres: "Credo in Deum Patrem, qui Filium fecit primam creaturam ante omnes caeteras creaturas; et in ipsum Filium, nec aequalem Patri, nec similem, nec verum Deum; et in Spiritum sanctum, factum per Filium post Filium": haec enim vos audio dicere. Aut si forte falsum est quod ista dicatis, hoc potius abs te volo scire. Si autem verum est quod ista dicitis, volo scire quemadmodum ea de Scripturis sanctis defendatis. Nunc autem dixisti credere te "in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, invisibilem, immortalem, non ab aliquo genitum, et ex quo sunt omnia. Et in Filium eius Iesum Christum, Deum natum ante saecula, per quem facta sunt omnia. Et in Spiritum Sanctum". Haec fides non est tua, sed utriusque nostrum; quemadmodum si adiungeres quod eumdem Filium Dei Iesum Christum etiam Maria virgo peperit, quod pariter credimus, et si qua alia communiter confitemur. Si voluisses ergo tuam dicere, non istam diceres quae communis est nobis, sed illam potius in qua dissentimus a vobis. Cur P. refutaverit fidem suam a notariis excipi.
1. If you say that you told me your faith, and that I was unwilling to tell you my faith, which I hear you do not keep silent about; recall, I beseech you, how each is false. For you neither wished to tell me your faith, nor was I unwilling to tell you my faith; but I wished to tell it in such a way that no one could say either that I had said something which I had not said, or had not said what I had said. But you would tell me your faith, if you said that wherein you dissent from us; if you said: "I believe in God the Father, who made the Son the first creature before all the other creatures; and in the Son himself, neither equal to the Father, nor like, nor true God; and in the Holy Spirit, made through the Son after the Son": for these things I hear you say. Or if it is perhaps false that you say these things, this I rather wish to know from you. But if it is true that you say these things, I wish to know how you defend them from the holy Scriptures. But now you said that you believe "in God the Father almighty, invisible, immortal, not begotten by anyone, and from whom are all things. And in his Son Jesus Christ, God born before the ages, through whom all things were made. And in the Holy Spirit." This faith is not yours, but of us both; just as if you added that the Virgin Mary too bore the same Son of God, Jesus Christ, which we equally believe, and whatever else we confess in common. If, then, you had wished to tell your own, you would not tell this which is common to us, but rather that in which we dissent from you.
Ep211-270.12. Haec et praesens dicerem, si quemadmodum placuerat, verba nostra exciperentur. Sed quia hoc noluisti, dicens te a nobis timere calumniam, et a placito cui mane consenseras, post prandium recessisti; utquid dicerem quod, quemadmodum velles, me dixisse narrares, et ego non haberem unde ostenderem quid vel quemadmodum dixerim? Noli ergo ulterius iactare quod tu fidem tuam dixeris, et ego meam non dixerim; quia sunt homines qui considerent me potius habuisse fiduciam fidei meae, qui eam scribi voluerim; te autem non habuisse, dum quasi calumniam pertimescis. Paratus ergo eras negare, si tibi obiceretur quod contra fidem meam aliquid dixeris. Vide ergo quid de te ipse sentiri feceris. Quod si obiectum non eras negaturus, cur dictum scribi noluisti; praesertim cum magnopere voluisses etiam honoratos viros nostro interesse sermoni? Cur ergo volens calumniam devitare, notariorum stilum timebas, et clarissimorum virorum testimonium non timebas? A. fidem suam iterum explanat.
2. These things I would say even in person, if, as had pleased, our words were taken down. But because you were unwilling for this, saying that you feared calumny from us, and withdrew after the meal from the agreement to which you had consented in the morning; why should I say what you would narrate that I had said, in whatever way you wished, and I would have nothing whence to show what or how I had said? Do not, then, boast further that you told your faith, and I did not tell mine; because there are men who consider that I rather had confidence in my faith, who wished it to be written; but you did not have it, while you, as it were, dread calumny. You were ready, then, to deny, if it were objected to you that you had said something against my faith. See, then, what you have caused to be thought about yourself. But if you were not going to deny what was objected, why were you unwilling for what was said to be written; especially since you had greatly wished that even honorable men be present at our discourse? Why, then, wishing to avoid calumny, did you fear the pen of the notaries, and not fear the testimony of most illustrious men?
Ep211-270.23. Si autem sic vis ut etiam ego dicam fidem meam, quomodo te dicis dixisse tuam, ego etiam brevius possum dicere, credere me in Patrem et Filium et Spiritum sanctum. Si autem proprium aliquid unde dissentis a me, vis audire: credo in Patrem et Filium et Spiritum sanctum, nec Filium dicens Patrem, nec Patrem Filium, nec utrumque Spiritum vel Patrem vel Filium; et tamen Patrem Deum, et Filium Deum, et Spiritum sanctum Deum, solum aeternum et immortalem propria sua substantia, sicut Deus solus et aeternus et immortalis est, ea divinitate quae est ante saecula. Hoc si tibi displicet, et placet a me audire quemadmodum de Scripturis sanctis asseratur, lege etiam illud quod prolixius conscriptum misi Benignitati tuae. Si autem illud tibi non vacat legere, nec mihi vacat frustra verba iactare. Possum tamen, quantum Dominus dederit facultatis, vel dictandi tibi vel scribendi ego quoque vel dictando vel scribendo ad quod volueris respondere. Huic scripturae a me dictatae et relectae ego Augustinus subscripsi.
3. But if you so wish that I too tell my faith, as you say you told yours, I too can say it more briefly: that I believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. But if you wish to hear something proper, whence you dissent from me: I believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, calling neither the Son the Father, nor the Father the Son, nor either the Spirit—either the Father or the Son; and yet the Father God, and the Son God, and the Holy Spirit God, alone eternal and immortal by his own substance, just as God alone is eternal and immortal, by that divinity which is before the ages. If this displeases you, and it pleases you to hear from me how it is asserted from the holy Scriptures, read that too which I sent, written more at length, to your Kindness. But if you have no leisure to read that, neither have I leisure to bandy words in vain. Yet I can, as far as the Lord has given me the means, whether of dictating or of writing to you, I too, whether by dictating or by writing, answer whatever you wish. To this writing dictated and reread by me, I, Augustine, have subscribed.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 240
AUGUSTINO PASCENTIUS
AUGUSTINO PASCENTIUS
LETTER 240
PASCENTIUS, TO AUGUSTINE
Ep211-270.3PASCENTIUS, TO AUGUSTINE
1. Optaveram te, frater dilectissime, pristini erroris tui consilium deponere; nunc miror te in ipso adhuc permanere, sicut epistola quam ad me misisti, clamat. Nam ita est Dignatio tua, sicut sitiens nimio calore accensus, si invenerit aquam caenosam et se inde ingurgitaverit; postea, etiamsi limpidam et frigidam reperiens biberit, non satis proficere potest, quandoquidem caeno semel eius cor et anima obruitur. Denique, quod pace tua dicam, ita est consilium Praestantiae tuae, sicut arbor / curva et nodosa, quae nihil in se rectum habet, et aciem pervertit oculorum. Rescribit mihi Sanctitas tua Patrem Deum, Filium Deum, Spiritum Sanctum Deum, sed unum Deum. Quis e tribus unus Deus? an forte est una persona triformis, quae hoc nomine nuncupetur? Tu si voluisses et confideres de professione tua, resideres mecum cum coepiscopis tuis puro ac pacifico animo et spiritu, et conferres de iis quae sunt Dei, et quae ad gloriam et gratiam spiritalem pertinent. Unde, quid opus est scribere et rescribere quod nos non aedificat?
1. I had wished, most beloved brother, that you would lay aside the counsel of your former error; now I wonder that you still remain in it, as the letter you sent me cries out. For Your Dignity is like one thirsting, kindled by too great heat, who, if he finds muddy water and gorges himself on it; afterward, even if, finding clear and cold water, he drinks, cannot profit enough, since his heart and soul are once overwhelmed with mud. Finally, by your leave I shall say it, the counsel of Your Excellence is like a tree crooked and knotty, which has nothing straight in it, and perverts the keenness of the eyes. Your Holiness writes back to me that the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, but one God. Which of the three is the one God? or is there perhaps one person, threefold, which is named by this name? You, if you had wished and trusted in your profession, would sit with me, with your fellow bishops, with a pure and peaceful mind and spirit, and confer about the things that are of God, and that pertain to glory and spiritual grace. Hence, what need is there to write and write back what does not edify us?
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 241
PASCENTIO AUGUSTINUS
PASCENTIO AUGUSTINUS
LETTER 241
AUGUSTINE, TO PASCENTIUS
Ep211-270.1AUGUSTINE, TO PASCENTIUS
1. Litterae tuae nec ad reddenda convicia me provocare, nec a reddendis litteris revocare potuerunt. Ea quippe quae scripsisti, moverent me, si a veritate Dei non a potestate hominis dicerentur. Dixisti: "consilium meum arborem curvam et nodosam, quae nihil in se rectum habet, et aciem pervertit oculorum" . Quid in me diceres, si a placito quod inter nos mane statueramus, ego recessissem, et in re facillima quae recte placuerat, curvam refragationem et nodos difficultatis posuissem? Neque enim aqua coenosa ingurgitatum me iudicares, sed perfidiae, quod multo peius est, ebrietate submersum, si non talis post prandium rediissem, qualis ante prandium recessissem. Sed ecce numquid non rescripsisti quod voluisti, et nullam calumniam formidasti? Sic ergo potes et caetera, ut sit quod vel nos ipsi, vel alii possint considerare et iudicare. Quod enim dicis triformem Dei personam me credere, si legere dignatus fuisses quod aliud aliquanto prolixius misi, et ad ea quae ibi scripta sunt respondere voluisses; hoc fortasse non diceres. Sed tamen ecce et hoc ipsum quod triformem Dei personam dicam, et dictasti, et conscriptum misisti, et nullam calumniam timuisti: ecce ostendisti verum esse quod dico, non ideo te, sicut placuerat cum simul essemus, verba tua dictare noluisse, quia calumniam timebas, sed quia de veritate non confidebas. Modo quia iam tibi placuit dictare an triformem Dei personam credam; respondeo me non ita credere: una quippe forma est, quia una, ut ita dicam, deitas, et ideo unus Deus Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus. Tres divinas personas esse unum Deum.
1. Your letter could neither provoke me to return abuse, nor call me back from returning a letter. For the things you wrote would move me, if they were said from the truth of God, not from the power of a man. You said "that my counsel is a crooked and knotty tree, which has nothing straight in it, and perverts the keenness of the eyes." What would you say against me, if I had withdrawn from the agreement we had established between us in the morning, and in a most easy matter that had rightly pleased had set up a crooked opposition and the knots of difficulty? For you would judge me not gorged with muddy water, but—what is much worse—submerged in the drunkenness of perfidy, if I had not returned after the meal such as I had withdrawn before the meal. But behold, did you not write back what you wished, and dread no calumny? So, then, you can do the rest too, so that there may be something which either we ourselves or others can consider and judge. For as to your saying that I believe in a threefold person of God, if you had deigned to read the other, somewhat longer thing I sent, and had wished to answer the things written there, you would perhaps not say this. But yet behold, this very thing—that I say God's person is threefold—you both dictated, and sent written, and feared no calumny: behold, you have shown that what I say is true, that it was not for this reason that you were unwilling, as had pleased when we were together, to dictate your words, because you feared calumny, but because you did not trust in the truth. Now, because it has now pleased you to dictate whether I believe in a threefold person of God; I answer that I do not so believe: for there is one form, because there is one, so to speak, deity, and therefore one God, Father and Son and Holy Spirit.
Ep211-270.12. Tu autem, peto, digneris breviter respondere quomodo accipias quod ait Apostolus: Qui adhaeret meretrici, unum corpus est; qui autem adhaeret Domino, unus spiritus est . Diversi enim sexus corpora sibi adhaerentia, unum corpus dixit. Et cum spiritus humanus nullo modo possit dicere: "Ego et Dominus unum sumus"; tamen cum adhaeret Domino, unus spiritus est: quanto magis ille qui verissime dixit: Ego et Pater unum sumus , quia inseparabiliter Patri cohaeret, ipse et Pater unus Deus est? Si tamen vel hoc verbum admittitur in illa divinitate, ut dicamus, cohaeret, quod numquam omnino vel fuit vel esse poterit ulla distantia separatum. Ad hoc responde, utrum tibi placeat biformem spiritum dici, quando qui adhaeret Domino, unus spiritus est. Quod si tibi non placet, nec ego triformem Deum dixi Patrem et Filium et Spiritum sanctum, sed unum Deum. Si autem in praesentia vis ut colloquamur, gratiam quidem habeo dignationi et benevolentiae tuae. Sed sicut iam mihi aliud quod voluisti rescribere dignatus es; ita dignare rescribere dictaturos nos esse quae dicturi sumus, et non deero voluntati tuae, quantum me adiuverit Dominus. Nam "si scribis et scribo" non nos aedificat; quomodo nos aedificat "dicis et dico", ubi post verborum strepitum non inveniamus quod legendo recenseamus? Augustinus haec dictavi, et relectis subscripsi. Abstineamus nos a conviciis, ne tempus inaniter impendamus; et ad id quod agitur inter nos potius advertamus.
2. But you, I ask, deign to answer briefly how you take what the Apostle says: He who clings to a harlot is one body; but he who clings to the Lord is one spirit (1 Cor 6:16-17). For bodies of diverse sex clinging to each other he called one body. And although the human spirit can in no way say, "I and the Lord are one"; yet when it clings to the Lord, it is one spirit: how much more is he who most truly said, I and the Father are one (John 10:30), because he inseparably coheres to the Father, himself and the Father one God? If indeed even this word is admitted in that divinity, that we say "coheres," which was never at all, nor could ever be, separated by any distance. To this answer, whether it pleases you to say that the spirit is twofold, when he who clings to the Lord is one spirit. But if this does not please you, neither did I call God—Father and Son and Holy Spirit—threefold, but one God. But if you wish that we converse in person, I am indeed grateful for your dignity and goodwill. But just as you deigned to write back to me the other thing you wished; so deign to write back that we are going to dictate the things we are going to say, and I will not fail your will, as far as the Lord helps me. For "if you write and I write" does not edify us; how does "you say and I say" edify us, where, after the din of words, we may not find what to review by reading? I, Augustine, dictated these things, and, the things being reread, subscribed. Let us refrain from abuse, lest we expend time in vain; and let us rather attend to that which is being treated between us.
Ep211-270.2EPISTOLA 242
DOMINO EXIMIO MERITOQUE HONORABILI ET DESIDERABILI ELPIDIO, AUGUSTINUS.
DOMINO EXIMIO MERITOQUE HONORABILI ET DESIDERABILI ELPIDIO, AUGUSTINUS.
LETTER 242
TO ELPIDIUS, A DISTINGUISHED AND DESERVEDLY HONORABLE AND DESIRABLE LORD, AUGUSTINE.
Ep211-270.2TO ELPIDIUS, A DISTINGUISHED AND DESERVEDLY HONORABLE AND DESIRABLE LORD, AUGUSTINE.
1. Quis nostrum erret in fide vel in cognitione Trinitatis, alia quaestio est. Gratum sane habeo quod me, quamvis incognitum facie, tamen quia errare credidisti, revocare ab errore conatus es. Huius tibi benevolentiae mercedem retribuat Deus, et nosse te faciat quod nosse te putas: res enim ardua est, ut existimo. Et quaeso te ne in ullam contumeliae partem acceperis, quod tibi tantae cognitionis munus optavi. Vereor enim ne opinatae scientiae praeiudicium, si non praecepta vera, quae nequaquam ad te mihi arrogaverim, at certe bona vota nostra, quae mihi etiam indocto habere de te licet (non enim perite, sed amice exhibenda sunt), repellat ab auribus tuis, potiusque mihi succenseas quod non tibi iam sicut sapienti gratulatus, quam gratias agas quod tibi sapientiam deprecatus sim. Verumtamen si ego portans episcopalis nominis sarcinam, libentissime amplector benevolentiam tuam, quod me Bonoso et Iasoni, ut scribis, doctissimis viris, etiam trans mare mittere dignatus es, ad reportandos ex eorum disputationibus uberes fructus; quod denique ad detergendas totius erroris caligines, libellum cuiusdam episcopi vestri ingenio et viribus elaboratum, ad me perferendum sollicita benignitate curasti: quanto est aequius te bono animo accipere, quod ea quae nullo humano ingenio et viribus dari possunt, a Domino Deo tibi ut concedantur optavi? Apostolus enim inquit: Non spiritum huius mundi accepimus, sed Spiritum qui ex Deo est; ut sciamus quae a Deo donata sunt nobis: quae et loquimur non in doctis humanae sapientiae verbis, sed docti Spiritu, spiritalibus spiritalia comparantes. Animalis autem homo non percipit quae sunt Spiritus Dei: stultitia est enim illi . Dei Filium Deo aequalem esse et increatum.
1. Which of us errs in the faith or in the knowledge of the Trinity is another question. I am indeed grateful that you, although you did not know me by face, yet because you believed me to err, tried to recall me from error. May God repay you the reward of this goodwill, and make you know what you think you know: for the matter is, as I judge, an arduous one. And I beg you not to take it in any sense of contumely, that I have wished for you the gift of so great a knowledge. For I fear lest the prejudice of supposed knowledge should repel from your ears, if not true precepts, which I would by no means arrogate to myself toward you, yet at least our good wishes, which it is permitted me, even unlearned, to have for you (for they are to be shown not skillfully, but in a friendly way), and lest you should rather be angry at me that I did not congratulate you as already wise, than give thanks that I prayed wisdom for you. Nevertheless, if I, bearing the burden of the episcopal name, most gladly embrace your goodwill, that you deigned to send me even across the sea to Bonosus and Jason, most learned men, as you write, to carry back rich fruits from their disputations; that, finally, to wipe away the mists of all error, you took care, with anxious kindness, to have brought to me a little book elaborated by the genius and powers of a certain bishop of yours: how much more just is it that you take with a good spirit that I wished those things, which can be given by no human genius and powers, to be granted to you by the Lord God? For the Apostle says: We have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is from God; that we may know the things that have been given to us by God: which things we also speak, not in the learned words of human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him (1 Cor 2:12-14).
Ep211-270.12. Magis ergo tecum, si fieri posset, mallem quaerere quousque appellandus sit animalis homo, ut si eum iam transcendimus, recte fortasse illa quae supra humanam mentem atque intellegentiam incommutabiliter manent, aliqua ex parte nos attigisse gaudeamus. Cavendum est enim ne propterea videatur stultum, cum Filium Patri audimus aequalem , quia hominem animalem adhuc agimus, de quo dictum est quod stultitia sunt illi quae sunt Spiritus Dei . Quamquam sane maiestas illa supra cuncta sublimis a spiritalibus cogitari possit, a nullo autem possit effari; videre tamen, quantum arbitror, facile est non esse factum per quem facta sunt omnia, et sine quo factum est nihil. Si enim per seipsum factus est, erat antequam fieret, ut fieri per se posset: quod certe tanto absurdius dicitur, quanto vanius cogitatur. Si autem non per se factus est, non est factus omnino; quoniam quidquid factum est, per ipsum factum est: Omnia enim per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil . Dei Filum increatum ex Patre natum esse.
2. I would rather, then, with you, if it could be, inquire how far the natural man is to be so called, so that, if we have now transcended him, we may rightly perhaps rejoice that we have in some part touched those things which abide unchangeably above the human mind and intelligence. For care must be taken lest it seem foolish, when we hear that the Son is equal to the Father (See Phil 2:6), because we still act as the natural man, of whom it was said that the things which are of the Spirit of God are foolishness to him (See 1 Cor 2:14). Although indeed that majesty, sublime above all things, can be thought of by the spiritual, but can be uttered by no one; yet it is, as I judge, easy to see that he is not made through whom all things were made, and without whom nothing was made. For if he was made through himself, he was before he was made, that he could be made through himself: which is surely said the more absurdly the more vainly it is thought. But if he was not made through himself, he was not made at all; since whatever was made was made through him: For all things were made through him, and without him was made nothing (John 1:3).
Ep211-270.23. Miror parum attendi quae tam expresse Evangelista voluit intimare, ut neminem dissimulare permitteret: non enim satis fuit dicere: Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, nisi adderet, et sine ipso factum est nihil. At ego quamvis tardus, et nondum detersa caligine, saucium mentis oculum gerens ad intuendam Patris et Filii incomparabilem ineffabilemque praestantiam; tamen hoc tota facilitate complector, quod nobis in Evangelio propterea praeseminatum est, non ut hinc comprehenderemus illam divinitatem, sed ut hinc admoneremur non oportere nos de temeraria comprehensione iactare. Si enim omnia per ipsum facta sunt; quidquid non per ipsum factum est, non est factum. Ipse autem per se factus non est: non est igitur factus. Et omnia per ipsum facta esse ab Evangelista credere cogimur: ab eodem ergo cogimur eum factum esse non credere. Item, si sine ipso factum est nihil, ipse ergo nihil est, quia sine se factus est. Quod si opinari sacrilegum est; restat ut fateamur, non sine se factum esse, aut factum non esse. Non autem sine se factum esse, non possumus dicere. Si enim ipse se fecit, iam erat antequam fieret: si autem ac se faciendum alteri, a quo factus est, adiutorium praebuit; nihilominus ut se adiuvante ipse fieret, iam erat antequam fieret. Relinquitur itaque ut sine se factus sit. Quidquid autem sine illo factum est, nihil est. Aut nihil est igitur, aut factus non est: sed non est nihil, factus igitur non est. At si factus non est, et tamen Filius est, sine dubio natus est. De Verbi, Patri aequalis, generatione.
3. I wonder that too little attention is paid to the things the Evangelist wished so expressly to intimate, that he permitted no one to dissemble: for it was not enough to say, All things were made through him, unless he added, and without him was made nothing. But I, although slow, and bearing, the mist not yet wiped away, a wounded eye of the mind toward beholding the incomparable and ineffable preeminence of the Father and the Son; yet embrace with all ease this, which was for this reason sown beforehand for us in the Gospel, not that we should hence comprehend that divinity, but that we should hence be admonished that we ought not to boast of a rash comprehension. For if all things were made through him; whatever was not made through him was not made. But he himself was not made through himself: therefore he was not made. And we are compelled by the Evangelist to believe that all things were made through him: by the same one, therefore, we are compelled not to believe that he was made. Likewise, if without him was made nothing, then he himself is nothing, because he was made without himself. But if it is sacrilegious to suppose this; it remains that we confess that he was either not made without himself, or not made. But that he was made without himself, we cannot say. For if he made himself, he already was before he was made: but if he furnished help to another by whom he was made, to make himself; nonetheless, that he himself should be made with himself helping, he already was before he was made. It remains, therefore, that he was made without himself. But whatever was made without him is nothing. Either, then, he is nothing, or he was not made: but he is not nothing, therefore he was not made. But if he was not made, and yet is the Son, without doubt he was born.
Ep211-270.34. "Quomodo, inquis, potuit de solo Patre nasci Filius aequalis ei de quo natus est?". Iam hoc enarrare non possum, et cedo prophetae dicenti: Generationem eius quis enarrabit ? Quod si tu de humana generatione qua per virginem natus est, accipiendum putas; ipse te discute, et interroga animam tuam, utrum si in generatione humana defecit, audeat enarrare divinam. "Noli ergo, inquis, dicere aequalem". Cur non dicam quod dixit Apostolus? Non rapinam, inquit, arbitratus est esse aequalis Deo . Etsi enim aequalitatem illam non explicavit humanae menti nondum purgatae, posuit tamen in Verbo, quod in re possit inveniri purgata. Demus itaque operam mundando cordi nostro, ut inde exsurgat acies qua ista videre valeamus: Beati enim, inquit, mundicordes; quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt . Ita excedentes animalis hominis caliginosas imagines, ad serenitatem illam sinceritatemque veniemus, qua videre possimus quod dici non posse videmus. Arianorum arrogantia reprobatur.
4. "How," you say, "could a Son be born of the Father alone equal to him from whom he was born?" This now I cannot narrate, and I yield to the prophet saying: His generation who shall declare? (Isa 53:8) But if you think it should be taken of the human generation by which he was born through the Virgin; examine yourself, and ask your soul whether, if it failed in the human generation, it would dare to narrate the divine. "Do not, then," you say, "call him equal." Why should I not say what the Apostle said? He did not consider it robbery, he says, to be equal to God (Phil 2:6). For although he did not unfold that equality to the human mind not yet purged, he nevertheless set it down in the Word, that it can be found in the purged reality. Let us, then, give effort to cleansing our heart, that thence may arise the keenness by which we may be able to see these things: For blessed, he says, are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matt 5:8). So, leaving behind the misty images of the natural man, we shall come to that serenity and sincerity by which we may be able to see what we see cannot be said.
Ep211-270.45. Nam libello quem dignatus es mittere, si mihi sit otium, facultasque tribuatur ad singula respondere, arbitror te cogniturum tanto minus quemque vestiri lumine veritatis, quanto magis sibi videtur nudam depromere veritatem. Quis enim ferat, ut alia omittam, et hoc solum interim commemorem quod maxime ingemui, cum apostolus Paulus dicat: Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate; tunc autem facie ad faciem ; istum iam dicere "omni integumento retecto nudam se depromere veritatem?". Qui si diceret: "Nudam videmus veritatem", nihil esset caecius ista arrogantia visionis: non autem dixit: "Videmus", sed, "depromimus"; ut non solum iam veritas inventioni mentis patere, sed etiam potestati linguae subiacere videatur. Multa sunt quae de Trinitatis ineffabilitate dicantur; non ut ipsa dicatur, alioquin non est ineffabilis, sed ut illis dictis illa dici non posse intellegatur. Verum iam, ut arbitror, modum excessit epistola mea, cum per tuam me admonueris breviter scribere: sed quia institutione veterum te excusare dignatus es, non tibi absurdus videbor, si modum quarumdam epistolarum Ciceronis, quia eius quoque in litteris tuis mentionem fecisti, non te pigeat recordari.
5. For as to the little book you deigned to send, if I have leisure, and the means are granted to answer each point, I think you will come to know that each one is the less clothed with the light of truth the more he seems to himself to bring forth naked truth. For who would bear—to omit other things, and mention for now only this one which I groaned at most, since the apostle Paul says: We see now through a mirror in an enigma; but then face to face (1 Cor 13:12)—that this man now says "with every covering removed, I bring forth truth naked"? Who, if he said, "We see naked truth," there would be nothing more blind than that arrogance of vision: but he did not say, "We see," but, "we bring forth"; so that now not only truth seems to lie open to the discovery of the mind, but even to lie subject to the power of the tongue. There are many things that may be said about the ineffability of the Trinity; not that it itself may be said—otherwise it is not ineffable—but that by those things said it may be understood that it cannot be said. But now, as I judge, my letter has exceeded its measure, since you admonished me through yours to write briefly: but because you deigned to excuse yourself by the practice of the ancients, I shall not seem absurd to you, if you would not be reluctant to recall the measure of certain letters of Cicero, since you made mention of him too in your letter.
Ep211-270.5EPISTOLA 243
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ET DESIDERANTISSIMO FRATRI LAETO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ET DESIDERANTISSIMO FRATRI LAETO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 243
TO LAETUS, A MOST BELOVED AND MOST LONGED-FOR LORD AND BROTHER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.5TO LAETUS, A MOST BELOVED AND MOST LONGED-FOR LORD AND BROTHER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Legi epistolam quam misisti fratribus, consolari te cupiens quod multis tentationibus tua tirocinia quatiantur; in qua etiam insinuasti desiderare te litteras meas. Condolui, frater, et cessare ab scribendo non potui, ne non solum tuo, sed etiam meo desiderio negarem quod me videbam officio debere caritatis. Si te igitur tironem Christi profiteris, castra ne deseras; in quibus tibi etiam aedificanda turris est illa, de qua in Evangelio Dominus loquitur . In ea quippe stantem, et sub armis verbi Dei militantem, nulla ex parte penetrare ullae tentationes valent: inde et iacta in adversarium tela gravi pondere veniunt, et prospecta firmo munimine devitantur. Considera etiam Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, cum sit rex noster, tamen ea societate qua etiam frater esse dignatus est, reges appellasse milites suos, et unumquemque ad bellandum cum rege qui habet viginti millia, instructione decem millium idoneum esse debere praemonuit . Quid Christus doceat sui sectatores
1. I read the letter you sent to the brothers, desiring to console you because your first trials are shaken by many temptations; in which you also indicated that you desire my letter. I suffered with you, brother, and could not cease from writing, lest I deny not only your desire but also mine what I saw I owed to the duty of love. If, then, you profess yourself a recruit of Christ, do not desert the camp; in which there is to be built by you also that tower of which the Lord speaks in the Gospel (See Luke 14:28). For one standing in it, and serving under the arms of the word of God, no temptations can penetrate from any side: thence the darts hurled at the adversary come with grave weight, and, foreseen by a firm fortification, are avoided. Consider also our Lord Jesus Christ, since he is our king, yet, by that fellowship by which he deigned to be also a brother, called his soldiers kings, and forewarned that each one, to make war with a king who has twenty thousand, ought to be fit by the equipping of ten thousand (See Luke 14:31).
Ep211-270.12. Sed paulo antequam de turre et de rege exhortatorias similitudines praeponeret, attende quid dixerit: Si quis venit ad me, et non odit patrem suum, et matrem, et uxorem, et filios, et fratres, et sorores, adhuc et animam suam, non potest meus esse discipulus. Et si non tulerit crucem suam et venerit post me, non potest meus esse discipulus. Deinde subiungit: Quis ex vobis volens turrim aedificare, non primo sedet, et computat si sumptus habet ad consummationem, nequando, cum posuerit fundamentum, non possit aedificare; et omnes qui transeunt et vident, incipiant dicere: "Hic homo coepit aedificare, et non potuit perficere"? Aut quis rex vadens committere bellum cum alio rege, non primum sedet, et cogitat si potens est cum decem millibus ei occurrere, qui cum viginti millibus venit ad illum? Caeterum dum adhuc longe est, mittit legationem, rogans pacem . Quo autem pertinerent istae similitudines, ipsa conclusione satis aperuit: ait enim: Sic ergo omnis ex vobis qui non renuntiat omnibus quae sunt eius, non potest meus esse discipulus . Cognatos bonaque mundi Deo postponenda.
2. But a little before he set forth the exhortatory similitudes about the tower and the king, attend to what he said: If anyone comes to me, and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and his own soul too, he cannot be my disciple. And if he does not carry his cross and come after me, he cannot be my disciple. Then he subjoins: Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and reckon whether he has the means for its completion, lest, when he has laid the foundation, he be unable to build, and all who pass by and see begin to say, "This man began to build, and could not finish"? Or what king, going to wage war with another king, does not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Otherwise, while he is still far off, he sends an embassy, asking for peace (Luke 14:26-32). But to what these similitudes pertained, he sufficiently opened by the very conclusion: for he says: So, therefore, everyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:33).
Ep211-270.23. Itaque et sumptus ad turrim aedificandam, et bellantium valentia decem millium adversus regem qui viginti habet, nihil est aliud quam ut renuntiet unusquisque omnibus quae sunt eius. Praelocutio autem superior cum extrema conclusione concordat. In eo enim quod unusquisque renuntiat omnibus quae sunt eius, etiam illud continetur, ut oderit patrem suum, et matrem, et uxorem, et filios, et fratres, et sorores, adhuc et animam suam. Omnia enim haec propria eius sunt, quae plerumque implicant et impediunt ad obtinenda, non ista propria temporaliter transitura, sed in aeternum mansura communia. Quo enim tibi nunc quaedam mulier mater est, hoc ipso utique non est et mihi. Quapropter hoc temporale ac transitorium est: sicut transisse iam vides quod te concepit, quod gestavit utero, quod peperit, quod lacte nutrivit. Quod autem soror in Christo est, et tibi est et mihi, et omnibus quibus una coelestis haereditas, et pater Deus, et frater Christus, in eadem caritatis societate promittitur . Haec aeterna sunt; haec nulla temporis labe deteruntur; haec tanto firmius tenenda sperantur, quanto minus privato, sed communi potius iure obtinenda praedicantur. Carnalis matris amor ne impediat Christi discipulum.
3. And so both the means to build the tower, and the strength of ten thousand warriors against a king who has twenty thousand, are nothing other than that each one should renounce all that he has. But the earlier preface accords with the final conclusion. For in the fact that each one renounces all that he has, there is also contained this, that he should hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and his own soul too. For all these are his own, which for the most part entangle and impede toward obtaining—not these things, his own, about to pass away in time, but those things, common, about to abide forever. For that by which a certain woman is now your mother, by that very thing she is surely not also mine. Wherefore this is temporal and transitory: just as you now see to have passed away the fact that she conceived you, that she carried you in the womb, that she bore you, that she nourished you with milk. But that she is a sister in Christ, is so both to you and to me, and to all to whom one heavenly inheritance, and God as father, and Christ as brother, are promised in the same fellowship of love (See Rom 8:17). These are eternal; these are worn away by no decay of time; these are hoped to be held the more firmly the more they are proclaimed to be obtained by no private but rather a common right.
Ep211-270.34. Potes hoc facillime in ipsa tua matre cognoscere. Nam unde te nunc irretitum involvit, et ab instituto cursu retardatum reflectit et curvat, nisi ex quo tua propria mater est? Nam ex quo soror est omnium, quibus est pater Deus et mater Ecclesia, iam te non impedit, quam neque me, neque omnes fratres nostros, qui eam non privata, sicut tu in domo vestra, sed publica in domo Dei caritate diligimus. Quod ergo tu illi etiam carnali necessitudine annecteris, ad sortem valere debet familiarius colloquendi, et apertiore ianua consulendi ut hoc ipsum, quo te privatim diligit, interficiatur in ea, ne quod ex utero suo te genuit, pluris pendat, quam quod ex utero Ecclesiae genita est tecum. Quod autem de matre dixi, hoc de tali caetera propinquitate intellegendum est. Hoc etiam quisque de anima sua cogitet, ut etiam in ipsa privatum affectum oderit, qui procul dubio temporalis est: diligat autem in ea communionem societatemque illam, de qua dictum est: Erat illis in Deum anima una et cor unum . Sic enim anima tua non est propria, sed omnium fratrum; quorum etiam animae tuae sunt, vel potius quorum animae cum tua non animae, sed anima una est, Christi unica, quae de manu canis ut eruatur, cantatur in Psalmis . Inde ad contemptum mortis facillime pervenitur. Quid sibi velit illud Christi: Qui non odit vitam etc.
4. You can recognize this most easily in your own mother. For whence does she now entangle and involve you, and, retarded from your appointed course, bend you back and curve you, except from the fact that she is your own mother? For from the fact that she is a sister of all to whom God is father and the Church mother, she now does not impede you, any more than me, or all our brothers, who love her not with a private love, as you in your house, but with a public love in the house of God. As to the fact, then, that you are bound to her by a carnal relationship too, it ought to avail toward the lot of conversing more familiarly, and of counseling by a more open door, that this very thing by which she loves you privately may be slain in her, lest she weigh more the fact that she begot you from her womb than the fact that she was begotten with you from the womb of the Church. But what I have said of a mother, this is to be understood of any such other kinship. Let each one also think this of his own soul, that even in it he should hate the private affection, which is without doubt temporal: but let him love in it that communion and fellowship of which it was said: They had one soul and one heart toward God (See Acts 4:32). For so your soul is not your own, but of all the brothers; whose souls too are yours, or rather whose souls with yours are not souls, but one soul—the one soul of Christ, which, that it may be rescued from the hand of the dog, is sung in the Psalms (See Ps 22:20 (21:21)). Thence one arrives most easily at the contempt of death.
Ep211-270.45. Nec succenseant parentes hoc praecipere Dominum ut eos oderimus, quando nobis hoc de anima nostra praecipitur . Nam sicut nunc de anima iubetur, ut eam propter Christum cum parentibus oderimus; ita quod alio loco de anima idem Dominus dicit, in parentes quoque potest congruentissime convenire: Qui amat, inquit, animam suam, perdet eam . Dicam etiam fidenter: Qui amat parentes suos, perdet eos. De anima quippe hoc ibi dixit, oderit, quod hic, perdet. Sicut autem hoc praeceptum, quo perdere iubemur animam nostram, non ad id valet ut se quisque interimat, quod inexpiabile nefas est; et tamen valet ut interimat in se carnalem animae affectum, quo cum impedimento futurae vitae praesens vita delectat; hoc est enim quod dictum est: oderit animam suam, et, perdet eam: quod tamen diligendo fit; quandoquidem apertissime fructum eiusdem animae acquirendae, in eodem praecepto commemorat dicens: Qui perdiderit eam in isto saeculo, in vitam aeternam inveniet eam: ita de parentibus rectissime dicitur ut qui eos amat, perdat eos; non more parricidarum interficiens, sed spiritali gladio verbi Dei carnalem affectum eorum, quo et seipsos, et eos quos genuerunt implicamentis huius saeculi obligare conantur, pie fidenterque percutiens et occidens, illud in eis vivere faciat, quo fratres sunt, quo cum filiis suis temporalibus, parentes aeternos Deum Ecclesiamque cognoscunt. Quomodo in filios se gerere debeat pia mater.
5. Nor let parents be angry that the Lord commands this, that we should hate them, when this is commanded us about our own soul (See Luke 14:26). For just as it is now commanded about the soul, that we should hate it, along with our parents, for Christ's sake; so what the same Lord says in another place about the soul can most fittingly apply to parents too: He who loves, he says, his soul will lose it (John 12:25). I will also say confidently: He who loves his parents will lose them. For about the soul he there said hate, what here he said lose. But just as this precept, by which we are commanded to lose our soul, does not avail to this, that each one should kill himself, which is an inexpiable crime; and yet avails to this, that he should kill in himself the carnal affection of the soul, by which the present life delights with the impediment of the future life—for this is what was said, let him hate his soul, and, he will lose it—which nevertheless is done by loving; since most openly he mentions, in the same precept, the fruit of acquiring that same soul, saying: He who loses it in this world will find it unto eternal life: so of parents it is most rightly said that he who loves them loses them; not killing them in the manner of parricides, but, with the spiritual sword of the word of God, devoutly and confidently striking and slaying their carnal affection, by which they try to bind both themselves and those they have begotten with the entanglements of this world, making that to live in them by which they are brothers, by which, with their temporal children, they come to know their eternal parents, God and the Church.
Ep211-270.56. Ecce rapit te studium veritatis, et cognoscendae atque percipiendae voluntatis Dei in Scripturis sanctis; rapit evangelicae praedicationis officium. Dat signum Dominus ut vigilemus in castris, ut aedificemus turrim, de qua hostem sempiternae vitae et prospicere et propellere valeamus. Rapit militem Christi tuba coelestis ad praelium, et retinet mater! non plane talis, qualis Machabaeorum fuit, nec saltem similis Lacedaemoniis matribus , de quibus memoriae proditum est quod filios suos, ut pro terrena patria sanguinem funderent, multo amplius atque ardentius in certamina bellica, quam signorum sonitus excitabant . Nam mater quae te ad discendam vitam removeri a curis saecularibus non permittit, satis ostendit quemadmodum te, si opus esset, ad obeundam mortem penitus saeculum repudiare permitteret. Quosque carnales parentes amandi.
6. Behold, the zeal for truth seizes you, and for knowing and perceiving the will of God in the holy Scriptures; the office of evangelical preaching seizes you. The Lord gives the signal that we keep watch in the camp, that we build the tower from which we may be able both to look out for and to drive off the enemy of eternal life. The heavenly trumpet seizes the soldier of Christ to battle, and a mother holds him back!—not at all such as the mother of the Maccabees was, nor even like the Lacedaemonian mothers, of whom it has been handed down to memory that they roused their sons, to shed their blood for the earthly fatherland, into the battles of war much more and more ardently than the sound of the trumpets (See 2 Macc 7). For a mother who does not permit you to be removed from worldly cares to learn life, sufficiently shows how she would permit you, if it were needful, utterly to repudiate the world to meet death.
Ep211-270.67. Sed quid dicit, aut quid allegat? Forte decem illos menses quibus viscera eius onerasti, et dolores parturitionis, ac labores educationis. Hoc, hoc interfice verbo salutari; hoc perde matris, ut in vitam aeternam invenias eam . Hoc memento ut oderis in ea, si diligis eam, si tiro Christi es, si turris fundamenta posuisti; ne dicant transeuntes: Hic homo coepit aedificare, et non potuit perficere . Carnalis enim affectus est iste, et adhuc veterem hominem sonat . Hunc carnalem affectum, et in nobis et in nostris, militia christiana ut perimamus hortatur; nec tamen ita ut ingratus sit quisque parentibus, et eadem ipsa beneficia quibus in vitam hanc editus, susceptus atque nutritus est, enumerata derideat. Servet potius ubique pietatem: habeant haec locum ubi maiora non vocant. Quae matris terrenae, quae Ecclesia sint iura.
7. But what does she say, or what does she allege? Perhaps those ten months in which you burdened her womb, and the pains of childbearing, and the labors of upbringing. This, this slay with the saving word; this of your mother lose, that you may find her unto eternal life (See Luke 14:26; John 12:25). Remember to hate this in her, if you love her, if you are a recruit of Christ, if you have laid the foundations of the tower; lest those passing by say, This man began to build, and could not finish (Luke 14:30). For this is a carnal affection, and still sounds of the old man (See Eph 4:22). This carnal affection, both in ourselves and in our own, Christian warfare exhorts us to destroy; not, however, so that anyone be ungrateful to his parents, and, having counted up those very benefits by which he was brought forth into this life, received, and nourished, mock them. Let him rather everywhere preserve devotion: let these things have their place where greater things do not call.
Ep211-270.78. Mater Ecclesia, mater est etiam matris tuae. Haec vos de Christo concepit, haec martyrum sanguine parturivit, haec in sempiternam lucem peperit, haec fidei lacte nutrivit et nutrit, cibosque maiores praeparans, quod adhuc parvuli et sine dentibus vagire vultis, horrescit. Haec mater toto orbe diffusa, tam variis et multiplicibus errorum infestationibus agitatur, ut abortivi iam filii eius adversus eam infrenis armis belligerare non dubitent. Ignavia etiam atque torpore quorumdam quos gremio continet, membra sua frigescere plurimis locis et fovendis parvulis minus idonea fieri dolet. Unde nisi per alios filios, unde nisi per alia membra, quorum e numero es, iustum ac debitum poscit auxilium? Huiusne tu necessitates deserens, ad carnalia verba converteris? Nonne haec gravioribus querelis insonat auribus? nonne haec cariora viscera, et coelestia ubera ostentat? Adde viri eius susceptionem carnis, ne carnalibus inhaereres, et a Verbo aeterno universa quae tibi mater improperat, ne his implicareris assumpta; adde contumelias, flagella, mortem, mortem autem crucis . Quomodo Christus se gesserit erga matrem suam.
8. Mother Church is the mother also of your mother. She conceived you both of Christ, she bore you in travail by the blood of the martyrs, she brought you forth into everlasting light, she nourished and nourishes you with the milk of faith; and, preparing greater foods, she shudders that you wish still, as little ones and without teeth, to wail. This mother, diffused throughout the whole world, is shaken by so various and manifold infestations of errors that her now abortive sons do not hesitate to make war against her with unbridled arms. By the cowardice too and torpor of certain ones whom she holds in her bosom, she grieves that her members grow cold in very many places and become less fit for warming the little ones. Whence, except through other sons, whence except through other members, of whose number you are, does she demand just and owed help? Will you, deserting her necessities, turn to carnal words? Does she not sound in your ears with graver complaints? does she not show more precious entrails, and heavenly breasts? Add the assumption of flesh by her husband, lest you cling to carnal things, and, by the eternal Word, all the things your mother reproaches you with, lest you be entangled in them, having been assumed; add the contumelies, the scourges, the death, even the death of the cross (Phil 2:8).
Ep211-270.89. Talibus concepte seminibus, talique in vitam novam connubio procreate, languescis et contabescis in veterem hominem ! Itane matrem terrenam non habebat Imperator tuus? Quae tamen cum ei nuntiaretur agenti coelestia, respondit: Quae mihi mater, aut qui fratres? Et extendens manum in discipulos suos, dixit non pertinere ad cognationem suam, nisi qui facerent voluntatem Patris eius . In quo numero profecto etiam ipsam Mariam benignus inclusit; faciebat enim et illa voluntatem Patris. Ita optimus Magister atque divinus, et maternum nomen, quod ei quasi privatum propriumque nuntiaverant, quia terrenum erat, in comparatione coelestis propinquitatis abiecit: et eamdem coelestem propinquitatem in discipulis suis commemorans, quo sibi rursum consortio generis cum caeteris sanctis virgo illa cohaereret, ostendit. Et ne isto saluberrimo magisterio quo contemni carnalem affectum in parentibus docuit, adminiculum error acciperet, quo matrem habuisse a quibusdam negatur, alio loco discipulos monuit ne se patrem in terris dicant habere , ut quomodo illos manifestum est habuisse patres, sic se habuisse matrem manifestaret, cuius tamen terrena cognatione contempta, contemnendarum talium necessitudinum discipulis praeberet exemplum. Malus matris amor ex originali peccato.
9. Conceived from such seeds, and procreated into a new life by such a marriage, you grow languid and waste away into the old man (See Eph 4:22)! Did your Emperor, then, not have an earthly mother? Who nevertheless, when she was announced to him as he was doing heavenly things, answered: Who is my mother, or who are my brothers? And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said that none pertained to his kinship except those who did the will of his Father (See Matt 12:48-50). In which number indeed he kindly included Mary herself too; for she too did the will of the Father. So the best and divine Master cast aside, in comparison with the heavenly kinship, even the maternal name, which they had announced to him as though private and proper, because it was earthly: and, mentioning that same heavenly kinship in his disciples, he showed by what fellowship of kind that virgin again cohered to him along with the other saints. And lest, by this most wholesome teaching by which he taught that the carnal affection in parents is to be despised, error should receive support, by which the having of a mother is denied by certain ones, in another place he admonished his disciples not to call themselves to have a father on earth (See Matt 23:9), so that, as it is manifest that they had fathers, so he might make it manifest that he had a mother—whose earthly kinship nevertheless being despised, he might afford his disciples an example of despising such relationships.
Ep211-270.910. Haec ergo interrumpuntur vocibus matris tuae, et inter haec locum invenit commemoratio praegnantis atque lactantis, ut de Adam et Eva, alius Adam nascereris et nutrireris? Respice potius, respice Adam secundum de coelo, et porta iam coelestis imaginem, sicut terreni portasti . Imo et hic habeant locum materna ipsa beneficia, quae tibi ad enervationem cordis enumerantur: habeant prorsus locum; noli esse ingratus, repende gratiam matri tuae, repende spiritalia pro carnalibus, pro temporalibus sempiterna. Sed non vult sequi? non impediat. Non vult converti in melius? cave ne te in deterius pervertat, et evertat. Quid interest utrum in uxore, an in matre, dum tamen Eva in qualibet muliere caveatur ? Nam ista umbra pietatis de foliis illius arboris venit, quibus se primum parentes nostri in illa damnabili nuditate texerunt. Et quidquid in illis verbis atque suggestione quasi officium tibi caritatis obtendit, ut a germanissima atque sincerissima Evangelii caritate te detorqueat, ad astutiam serpentis pertinet, et ad duplicitatem regis illius qui habet viginti millia, quam nos docemur decem millium, hoc est, cordis, in qua Deum quaerimus, simplicitate superare . Quae sit crux quam portare iubemur.
10. These things, then, are interrupted by the voices of your mother, and amid these the mention of the pregnant and nursing woman finds a place, so that from Adam and Eve another Adam might be born and nourished? Look rather, look upon the second Adam from heaven, and now bear the image of the heavenly, as you have borne that of the earthly (See 1 Cor 15:47-49). Nay, here too let those maternal benefits themselves have a place, which are counted up to you for the enervating of your heart: let them have a place indeed; do not be ungrateful, repay grace to your mother, repay spiritual things for carnal, eternal for temporal. But does she not wish to follow? let her not impede. Does she not wish to be converted for the better? beware lest she pervert and overturn you for the worse. What does it matter whether in a wife or in a mother, provided that Eve be guarded against in any woman whatever (See Gen 3)? For this shadow of devotion comes from the leaves of that tree, with which our first parents first covered themselves in that damnable nakedness. And whatever, in those words and that suggestion, she holds out to you as though a duty of love, in order to twist you from the most genuine and most sincere love of the Gospel, pertains to the cunning of the serpent, and to the duplicity of that king who has twenty thousand, which we are taught to overcome by the ten thousand, that is, by the simplicity of the heart, in which we seek God (See Luke 14:31).
Ep211-270.1011. His potius intende, carissime, et tolle crucem tuam, et sequere Dominum . Nam cum te praesens animadverterem domesticis curis a divino studio retardari, ferri te potius et duci a cruce tua, non eam te ferre ac ducere sentiebam. Crux enim nostra quam Dominus portari a nobis iubet, ut eum expeditissimi sequamur, quid aliud quam mortalitatem carnis huius significat? Ipsa enim nos cruciat donec absorbeatur mors in victoriam . Crux ergo haec ipsa crucifigenda est, et transfigenda est clavis timoris Dei , ne solutis et liberis membris reluctantem portare non possimus. Sequi enim Dominum nisi eam portans, omnino non vales: nam quomodo eum sequeris, si non es eius? Qui autem Iesu Christi sunt, ait Apostolus, carnem suam crucifixerunt cum passionibus et desideriis . Saeculo renuntians familiae necessitatibus provideat.
11. Attend rather to these things, most dear one, and take up your cross, and follow the Lord (See Matt 16:24). For when, present, I noticed that you were retarded from divine study by domestic cares, I perceived that you were rather carried and led by your cross, not that you carried and led it. For our cross, which the Lord commands to be carried by us, that we may follow him most unencumbered, what else does it signify but the mortality of this flesh? For it itself torments us until death is swallowed up in victory (See 1 Cor 15:54). This cross itself, therefore, is to be crucified, and to be transfixed with the nails of the fear of God (See Ps 119:120 (118:120)), lest, with the members loosed and free, we be unable to carry it as it resists. For to follow the Lord, except carrying it, you are altogether unable: for how will you follow him, if you are not his? But those who are of Jesus Christ, says the Apostle, have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires (Gal 5:24).
Ep211-270.1112. Si quid sane pecuniae res tua familiaris habet, cuius te implicari negotio nec oportet nec decet, revera tribuendum est matri et domesticis tuis. Horum quippe indigentia, si pauperibus, ut sis perfectus, instituisti distribuere talia tua, primum apud te locum obtinere debet: Si quis enim suis et maxime domesticis, ait Apostolus, non providet, fidem negavit, et est infideli deterior . Quibus ordinandis rebus, si, ut collum exueres induendum sapientiae vinculis, profectus a nobis es; quid tibi nocent, aut quo pacto te pervellunt matris lacrymae fluentes carne, aut servi fuga, aut mors ancillarum, aut fratrum morbosa valetudo? Si est in te caritas ordinata, sciens praeponere maiora minoribus, et misericordia moveri, ut pauperes evangelizentur , ne messis Domini copiosa, operariorum inopia, in praedam volucribus iaceat, et paratum habere cor ad sequendum Domini voluntatem , in eo quod vel flagellando vel parcendo agere statuerit cum servis suis: haec meditare, in his esto, ut provectus tuus manifestus sit in omnibus . Obsecro te ut caveas ne maiorem tristitiam des bonis fratribus torpore tuo, quam laetitiam alacritate iam dederas. Commendare te autem litteris quibus voluisti, tam superfluum putavi, quam si quisquam te mihi eodem modo commendare voluisset.
12. If indeed your household property has any money, with the business of which you ought not and it does not befit you to be entangled, it must in truth be given to your mother and your household. For their indigence, if you have determined to distribute such things of yours to the poor, that you may be perfect, ought to hold the first place with you: For if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for his household, says the Apostle, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim 5:8). For ordering which affairs, if you set out from us to free your neck for the chains of wisdom to be put on, how do they harm you, or in what way do they pluck at you, the tears of your mother flowing with the flesh, or the flight of a slave, or the death of handmaids, or the sickly health of brothers? If there is in you an ordered love, knowing how to set the greater before the lesser, and to be moved by mercy, that the poor may have the Gospel preached to them (See Matt 11:5), lest the abundant harvest of the Lord, by the lack of workers, lie as prey for the birds, and to have a heart ready to follow the will of the Lord, in what he shall determine to do, whether by scourging or by sparing, with his servants: meditate on these things, be in these things, that your progress may be manifest to all (1 Tim 4:15). I beseech you to beware lest you give greater sadness to the good brothers by your torpor than the gladness you had already given by your eagerness. But to commend you by the letters you wished, I thought as superfluous as if anyone had wished to commend you to me in the same way.
Ep211-270.12EPISTOLA 244
DOMINO VERE AC MERITO CARISSIMO, ET PRAEDICANDO FRATRI CHRISIMO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO VERE AC MERITO CARISSIMO, ET PRAEDICANDO FRATRI CHRISIMO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 244
TO CHRISIMUS, A TRULY AND DESERVEDLY MOST DEAR LORD, AND A PRAISEWORTHY BROTHER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.12TO CHRISIMUS, A TRULY AND DESERVEDLY MOST DEAR LORD, AND A PRAISEWORTHY BROTHER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Rumor ad me detulit (Deus faciat ut non sit) sic te animo perturbatum, ut multum mirer prudentiam tuam et christianum animum parum cogitare rerum terrenarum conditionem nullo modo aequari posse coelestibus, ubi cor nostrum et spes nostra collocanda est. Vir cordate, numquid aut totum bonum tuum in his rebus erat, quas nunc videris amittere; aut tam magnum bonum illic deputabas, ut eo subtracto sic tenebrescat mens nimia tristitia, quasi lumen eius, non Deus, sed terra sit? Audivi enim (iam dixi: Deus faciat ut falsum audierim) quod tibi manus etiam velles inferre; quod melius non credo aut ascendisse in cor tuum, aut exisse de ore tuo. Sed tamen quia ita perturbatus es, ut hoc de te dici potuerit, graviter de te contristatus, hoc litterarum alloquio putavi consolandam Caritatem tuam; quamquam non dubitem Dominum Deum nostrum in corde tuo loqui meliora: novi enim quam pio studio semper audieris verbum eius. Res adversae tolerandae aeternae mercedis gratia.
1. Rumor has reported to me (may God grant it not be so) that you are so disturbed in mind that I much wonder that your prudence and Christian spirit think too little of the condition of earthly things, which can in no way be equaled to the heavenly, where our heart and our hope are to be placed. Man of heart, was either your whole good in these things which you now seem to lose; or did you reckon there so great a good that, with it withdrawn, your mind is so darkened by excessive sadness, as though its light were not God, but earth? For I have heard (I have already said: may God grant that I heard what is false) that you even wished to lay hands on yourself; which I rather do not believe either ascended into your heart, or went forth from your mouth. But yet, because you are so disturbed that this could be said of you, gravely saddened about you, I thought your Charity should be consoled by this address of a letter; although I do not doubt that the Lord our God speaks better things in your heart: for I know with how devout a zeal you have always heard his word.
Ep211-270.12. Erige itaque animum, frater in Christo carissime; Deus noster nec perit a suis, nec perdet suos: vult autem monere nos quam sint haec fragilia et incerta, quae nimis diligunt homines, ut solvamus ab eis vinculum cupiditatis, per quod implicatos nos trahunt, et totum amorem nostrum consuefaciamus in eum currere, in quo nulla damna timeamus. Ipse te hortatur per ministerium nostrum, viriliter cogites te fidelem esse christianum, et eius redemptum esse sanguine, qui non solum aeterna sapientia, sed etiam humana praesentia docuit nos temperanter prospera saeculi huius contemnere, et fortiter adversa tolerare; eius felicitatis mercedem pollicens, quam nemo possit a nobis auferre. Scripsi sane etiam ad virum laudabilem comitem; quam epistolam, in tuo erit arbitrio utrum dari velis. Nam per quem detur, non dubito deesse non posse, adiuvante Domino, vel episcopum, vel presbyterum, vel quemlibet.
2. Lift up your mind, therefore, most dear brother in Christ; our God neither perishes from his own, nor will destroy his own: but he wishes to admonish us how fragile and uncertain are these things which men love too much, that we may loose from them the bond of desire, by which, entangled, they drag us, and accustom all our love to run toward him in whom we may fear no losses. He himself exhorts you, through our ministry, manfully to consider that you are a faithful Christian, and redeemed by the blood of him who taught us, not only by eternal wisdom but also by human presence, temperately to despise the prosperity of this world, and bravely to bear adversity; promising the reward of that happiness which no one can take away from us. I have indeed written also to the praiseworthy man the count; which letter it will be in your discretion whether you wish to be given. For one through whom it may be given, I do not doubt, cannot be lacking, with the Lord helping—whether a bishop, or a priest, or anyone.
Ep211-270.2EPISTOLA 245
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET VENERABILI FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI POSSIDIO, ET QUI TECUM SUNT FRATRIBUS, AUGUSTINUS, ET QUI MECUM SUNT FRATRES, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET VENERABILI FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI POSSIDIO, ET QUI TECUM SUNT FRATRIBUS, AUGUSTINUS, ET QUI MECUM SUNT FRATRES, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 245
TO POSSIDIUS, A MOST BELOVED LORD AND VENERABLE BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST, AND TO THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE, AND THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH ME, SEND GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.2TO POSSIDIUS, A MOST BELOVED LORD AND VENERABLE BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST, AND TO THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE, AND THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH ME, SEND GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Magis quid agas cum eis qui obtemperare nolunt, cogitandum est, quam quemadmodum eis ostendas non licere quod faciunt. Sed nunc epistola Sanctitatis tuae, et occupatissimum me reperit, et celerrimus baiuli reditus neque non rescribere tibi, neque ad ea quae consuluisti, ita ut oportet, respondere permisit. Nolo tamen de ornamentis auri vel vestis praeproperam habeas in prohibendo sententiam, nisi in eos qui neque coniugati, neque coniugari cupientes, cogitare debent quomodo placeant Deo. Illi autem cogitant quae sunt mundi, quomodo placeant vel viri uxoribus, vel mulieres maritis . Nisi quod capillos nudare feminas, quas etiam caput velare Apostolus iubet , nec maritatas decet. Fucari autem pigmentis, quo vel rubicundior vel candidior appareat, adulterina fallacia est, qua non dubito etiam ipsos maritos se nolle decipi, quibus solis permittendae sunt feminae ornari, secundum veniam, non secundum imperium. Nam verus ornatus maxime Christianorum et Christianarum, non tantum nullus fucus mendax, verum ne auri quidem vestisque pompa, sed mores boni sunt. Inaurium superstitionem, diaboli servitutem, damnandam.
1. What you are to do with those who are unwilling to obey is rather to be considered, than how you may show them that what they do is not lawful. But now the letter of Your Holiness both found me most occupied, and the most swift return of the bearer permitted me neither not to write back to you, nor to answer the things you consulted me about as it ought to be done. Yet I would not have you hold a too hasty opinion in forbidding the ornaments of gold or of dress, except against those who, being neither married nor desiring to marry, ought to think how they may please God. But those think of the things that are of the world, how they may please, whether men their wives, or women their husbands (See 1 Cor 7:32-34). Except that it does not befit even married women to bare their hair, whom the Apostle even commands to veil the head (See 1 Cor 11:5-6). But to paint with pigments, so that one may appear either ruddier or whiter, is an adulterous falsehood, by which I do not doubt that even the husbands themselves are unwilling to be deceived, to whom alone women are to be permitted to be adorned, according to indulgence, not according to command. For the true adornment, especially of Christian men and women, is not only no lying paint, but not even the pomp of gold and dress, but good morals.
Ep211-270.12. Exsecranda autem superstitio ligaturarum, in quibus etiam inaures virorum in summis ex una parte auriculis suspensae deputantur, non ad placendum hominibus, sed ad serviendum daemonibus adhibetur. Quis autem possit speciales nefariarum superstitionum prohibitiones in Scripturis invenire, cum generaliter Apostolus dicat: Nolo vos socios fieri daemoniorum ; et iterum: Quae enim consonantia Christi ad Belial? Nisi forte quia Belial nominavit, et generalem societatem daemoniorum prohibuit, licet Christianis sacrificare Neptuno, quia nihil proprie de Neptuno vetitum legimus! Moneantur interim miseri, ut si obtemperare nolunt praeceptis salubrioribus, saltem sacrilegia sua non defendant, ne maiori se scelere implicent. Quid autem cum eis agendum sit, si solvere inaures timent, et corpus Christi cum signo diaboli accipere non timent? De ordinando autem qui in parte Donati baptizatus est, auctor tibi esse non possum: aliud est enim facere si cogaris, aliud consulere ut facias.
2. But the execrable superstition of amulets, among which the earrings of men too, hung from the tops of the ears on one side, are reckoned, is applied not for pleasing men, but for serving demons. But who could find special prohibitions of wicked superstitions in the Scriptures, when the Apostle says generally: I do not want you to become associates of demons (1 Cor 10:20); and again: For what concord has Christ with Belial? (2 Cor 6:15) Unless perhaps, because he named Belial, and forbade the general fellowship of demons, it is lawful for Christians to sacrifice to Neptune, because we read nothing forbidden specifically about Neptune! Let the wretches in the meantime be admonished that, if they are unwilling to obey the more wholesome precepts, they at least not defend their sacrileges, lest they entangle themselves in a greater crime. But what is to be done with them, if they fear to loose their earrings, and do not fear to receive the body of Christ with the sign of the devil? But concerning ordaining one who was baptized in the party of Donatus, I cannot be an adviser to you: for it is one thing to do it if you are compelled, another to counsel that you do it.
Ep211-270.2EPISTOLA 246
AUGUSTINUS LAMPADIO.
AUGUSTINUS LAMPADIO.
LETTER 246
AUGUSTINE, TO LAMPADIUS.
Ep211-270.2AUGUSTINE, TO LAMPADIUS.
1. De quaestione fati ac fortunae, qua tuum animum non leviter moveri, et cum praesens essem adverti, et nunc tuis litteris gratius certiusque cognovi, rescriptum tibi non parvi voluminis debeo; quod Dominus praestabit ut ita explicem, quemadmodum novit tibi congruere ad salutem fidei tuae. Non enim parvum malum est, perversis opinionibus non solum ad committendum blandimento voluptatis adduci, sed etiam ad defendendum peccatum a medicamento confessionis averti. Voluntas, non stellae, causa peccandi.
1. About the question of fate and fortune, by which I noticed your mind to be not lightly moved both when I was present, and now have learned more pleasingly and certainly from your letter, I owe you a reply of no small volume; which the Lord will grant that I so unfold as he knows befits you for the salvation of your faith. For it is no small evil to be brought, by perverse opinions, not only to commit by the flattery of pleasure, but also to be turned away, toward defending sin, from the medicine of confession.
Ep211-270.12. Illud sane quantocius ac breviter noveris, omnes leges atque omnia instituta disciplinae, laudes, vituperationes, exhortationes, terrores, praemia, supplicia, caeteraque omnia quibus humanum genus administratur et regitur, penitus labefactari atque subverti, nihilque in eis omnino iustitiae remanere, nisi voluntas sit causa peccandi. Quanto ergo licentius et aequius mathematicorum improbamus errores, quam divinas leges, vel etiam domorum nostrarum curam damnare atque abicere cogimur; quod nec ipsi mathematici faciunt? Nam cum aliquis eorum hominibus nummatis fatua fata vendiderit; mox ut oculum a tabellis eburneis ad domus suae moderamen ac sollicitudinem revocaverit, non solum vocibus, sed etiam plagis emendat uxorem; non dico si petulantius iocantem, sed si immoderatius per fenestram aspicientem animadverterit. Quae tamen si ei dicat: "Quid me caedis? Venerem caede si potes, a qua cogor hoc facere": tum vero ille non curat quam vana verba componat fallendis extraneis, sed quam iusta verbera imponat corrigendis suis. In familia regenda ipsos mathematicos nil fatum curare.
2. This indeed you will know, as briefly as quickly, that all laws and all institutions of discipline, praises, blames, exhortations, terrors, rewards, punishments, and all the other things by which the human race is administered and governed, are utterly weakened and subverted, and nothing of justice at all remains in them, unless the will is the cause of sinning. With how much more license and equity, then, do we disapprove the errors of the astrologers, than we are compelled to condemn and cast away the divine laws, or even the care of our households; which not even the astrologers themselves do? For when one of them has sold foolish fates to moneyed men; as soon as he has recalled his eye from the ivory tablets to the management and care of his own house, he corrects his wife not only with words but even with blows; I do not say if he notices her jesting too wantonly, but if she looks too immoderately through the window. Yet if she should say to him: "Why do you beat me? beat Venus if you can, by whom I am compelled to do this": then indeed he does not care what vain words he composes for deceiving outsiders, but what just blows he lays on for correcting his own.
Ep211-270.23. Quando ergo quisque, cum reprehendi coeperit, causam convertit in fatum, et ideo se culpari non vult, quia fato se dicit coactum fecisse id quod arguitur; redeat ad seipsum, servet hoc in suis, non castiget servum furem, non de contumelioso filio conqueratur, vicino improbo non minetur. Quid enim horum faciens, iuste facit, si omnes a quibus iniurias patitur, non culpa sua, sed fato impelluntur ut faciant? Si autem iure proprio et patrisfamilias diligentia, quoscumque homines pro tempore in potestate habet, hortatur ad bonum, deterret a malo, imperat suae voluntati ut obtemperent, honorat eos qui sibi ad nutum obediunt, vindicat in eos qui se contemnunt, rependit gratiam beneficis, odio ingratos; egone exspectabo ut contra fata disputem, cum tanta eum non verbis, sed factis eloqui deprehendam, ut prope manibus suis omnes mathematicorum lapillos super capita eorum frangere videatur? His itaque paucis si aviditas tua contenta non est, et librum aliquem de hac re, quem diutius legat, desiderat; patienter tibi sunt exspectandae vacationes nostrae, et rogandus Deus, qui et otium et facultatem satiando de hac re animo tuo tribuere dignetur. Ero tamen alacrior, si et saepe commemorare me litteris tuam non piguerit caritatem, et quid de hac epistola sentias rescribendo docueris.
3. When, therefore, anyone, when he has begun to be reprehended, turns the cause to fate, and therefore does not wish to be blamed, because he says he was compelled by fate to do that for which he is accused; let him return to himself, let him keep this in his own household, let him not chastise a thieving slave, let him not complain of a contumelious son, let him not threaten a wicked neighbor. For doing which of these does he act justly, if all those by whom he suffers injuries are impelled to do it not by their own fault but by fate? But if by his own right and with the diligence of a householder he exhorts to good, and deters from evil, whatever men he has for the time in his power, commands his will to obey, honors those who obey him at his nod, takes vengeance on those who despise him, repays grace to the well-doing, hatred to the ungrateful; shall I wait to dispute against fate, when I find that he expresses so much, not by words but by deeds, that he seems almost to break with his own hands all the pebbles of the astrologers over their heads? If, then, your avidity is not content with these few things, and desires some book about this matter for it to read at greater length; you must patiently await our vacations, and God must be asked, who would deign to grant both leisure and the means of satisfying your mind on this matter. Yet I shall be more eager, if you would not be reluctant both often to remind me by your letters of your love, and to teach me by writing back what you think of this letter.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 247
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ROMULO FILIO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ROMULO FILIO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 247
TO ROMULUS, A MOST BELOVED LORD AND SON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.3TO ROMULUS, A MOST BELOVED LORD AND SON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Veritas et dulcis est et amara. Quando dulcis est, parcit; et quando amara, curat. Si non recusas bibere quod in hac epistola offero, probabis quod dixi. Utinam sicut mihi non obest, sic nec tibi obesset quidquid contumeliarum mihi irrogas: et utinam vel tantum tibi obesset iniquitas quam miseris et pauperibus facis, quantum obest ipsis quibus eam facis. Illi enim ad tempus laborant, tu autem vide quid tibi thesaurizes in die irae et revelationis iusti iudicii Dei, qui reddet unicuique secundum opera sua . Cuius misericordiam deprecor ut hic te corrigat quomodo ipse novit, potius quam reservet in illum diem quando nullus iam erit correctionis locus; ut qui tibi dedit timorem suum , propter quem de te non despero, aperiat tibi sensum, ut videas quae facis, et exhorreas, et emendes. Parva enim et quasi nulla tibi videntur, quae tam magna mala sunt, ut quando te domita cupiditas ea considerare permiserit, riges lacrymis terram, ut Deus misereatur tui. Aut si ego iniquus sum, qui hoc tecum ago ne miseri et egeni homines bis reddant quod debent, cum coloni actori suo dederint, subdito praeposito et iubenti servientes, nec ille se accepisse negare potuerit: si ergo ego iniquus sum, quia mihi videtur iniustum ut bis exigantur, qui vix semel reddere sufficiunt; fac quod vis. Si autem tu vides quia iniustum est; fac quod decet, fac quod Deus iubet, et ego rogo. A. ignoscit Romulo.
1. Truth is both sweet and bitter. When it is sweet, it spares; and when it is bitter, it heals. If you do not refuse to drink what I offer in this letter, you will prove what I have said. Would that, as whatever contumelies you inflict on me do me no harm, so they did you no harm: and would that the iniquity which you do to the wretched and the poor harmed you at least as much as it harms those very ones to whom you do it. For they labor for a time, but you, see what you treasure up for yourself in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the just judgment of God, who will repay each one according to his works (See Rom 2:5-6). Whose mercy I beseech, that he correct you here as he himself knows how, rather than reserve it for that day when there will no longer be any place for correction; so that he who has given you his fear (See Ps 86:11 (85:11)), on account of which I do not despair of you, may open your understanding, that you may see what you do, and shudder, and amend it. For things seem small to you, and as it were nothing, which are such great evils that, when subdued desire permits you to consider them, you would wet the earth with tears, that God may have mercy on you. Or if I am wicked, who deal with you in this so that wretched and needy men may not twice repay what they owe, when the tenants have given it to your agent, serving the deputy set over them and commanding, and he could not deny that he had received it: if, then, I am wicked, because it seems to me unjust that those be twice required who scarcely suffice to pay once; do what you wish. But if you yourself see that it is unjust; do what is fitting, do what God commands, and what I ask.
Ep211-270.12. Non pro illis magis (novit ille quem timeo), sed pro teipso teipsum rogo, ut, quomodo scriptum est: Miserearis animae tuae placens Deo . Et modo quidem non rogandus, sed obiurgandus es: nam et hoc scriptum est: Ego quem amo, redarguo, et castigo . Ego tamen si pro me rogandus esses, forte non te rogarem: quia vero pro te rogandus es, rogo te iratum ut parcas tibi, ut placeris tibi, ut tibi placetur ille quem rogas. Misi ad te die sabbati, cum adhuc pranderes, ut non proficiscereris, nisi me vidisses: renuntiasti ita te esse facturum. Surrexisti die dominico, et, ut audivi, venisti in ecclesiam, et orasti, et profectus es, et me videre noluisti. Deus tibi ignoscat. Quid enim aliud tibi dicam, nisi quod ipse novit quia cupio? sed scio quia nisi te correxeris, ille iustus est. Cum autem tibi parcis, et mihi parcis: neque enim tam miser sum et alienus a visceribus Christi, ut non gravissimo vulnere feriatur cor meum, quando sic agunt, quos in eius Evangelio genui . Praedium a R. fraude procuratum.
2. Not for them more (he knows whom I fear), but for yourself I ask you yourself, that, as it is written, You may have mercy on your own soul, pleasing God (See Sir 30:23). And now indeed you are not to be asked, but to be rebuked: for this too is written: I rebuke and chastise those whom I love (See Rev 3:19). Yet if you were to be asked for me, perhaps I would not ask you: but because you are to be asked for yourself, I ask you, though angry, to spare yourself, to be pleasing to yourself, that he whom you ask may be pleased with you. I sent to you on the Sabbath day, when you were still at your meal, that you should not set out unless you had seen me: you reported that you would do so. You rose on the Lord's day, and, as I heard, came to church, and prayed, and set out, and were unwilling to see me. May God pardon you. For what else shall I say to you, but what he himself knows that I desire? but I know that, unless you correct yourself, he is just. But when you spare yourself, you spare me too: for I am not so wretched and alien from the heart of Christ that my heart is not struck with a most grievous wound, when those whom I have begotten in his Gospel (See 1 Cor 4:15) act so.
Ep211-270.23. Iterum dicturus es: "Non eis iussi ut darent Ponticano". Respondetur tibi: "Sed iussisti ut servirent Ponticano"; nec possent distinguere quousque servirent, et quousque non servirent, maxime cum ea peteret quae se debere sciebant. Tuas autem litteras habere debuerunt, quas proferrent actori, si te nolente exigebat, et relegerent ei non se debere dare, nisi cum tuas litteras accepissent. Nam si verbo aliquando iussisti ne actori aliquid darent, multum est ut meminerint; multum est ut tu ipse memineris an vere iusseris, an ipsis iusseris, an aliis, an omnibus: maxime quia etiam nunc alteri actori audisti datam et salvam esse ipsam pecuniam, et non tibi displicuit quia dederunt. Sed cum ego dixissem: "Quid si et iste intervertisset, ab ipsis iterum exigendum erat? rursus tibi coepit displicere quia dederunt: et cum mihi saepe dixisses, numquam te iniunxisse vices tuas vel Valerio vel Aginesi, subito cum de vino ageretur, quia debuerunt ostendere si acescere coeperat, et diceretur tibi quod absens erat; credo, excidit tibi quid mihi toties dixeras, et dixisti, quia habuerunt Aginesi ostendere, et ex ipsius agere arbitrio. Ibi ego cum dixissem: "Certe vices tuas istis non soles iniungere"; respondisti: "Sed litteras meas habebat Aginesis": quasi semper illi quibus aliquid iniungis, litteras tuas recitent rusticanis hominibus, ut credant quia tu iussisti. Sed quia eos vident tibi sic iniungi, non utique credunt temere illos aliquid audere praesumere, nisi a te data potestate. Ideoque inter ista incerta non apparet quid iubeas, nec possunt firmum aliquid retinere, nisi litteras tuas habuerint, quas omnibus proferant, et nonnisi tuis litteris prolatis obtemperent, quando eis aliquid dandum est. A. magis Romulo timet quam colonis, quorum mura tuetur.
3. Again you will say: "I did not order them to give to Ponticanus." It is answered you: "But you ordered them to serve Ponticanus"; nor could they distinguish how far they should serve, and how far not serve, especially when he demanded the things they knew they owed. But they ought to have had your letters, which they would produce to the agent, if he exacted against your will, and would read back to him that they ought not to give unless they had received your letters. For if you ever by word ordered that they give nothing to the agent, it is much that they should remember; it is much that you yourself should remember whether you truly ordered, or ordered them, or others, or all: especially because even now you heard that the same money was given and was safe with another agent, and it did not displease you that they gave it. But when I had said: "What if this one too had embezzled, would it have to be exacted from them again?" again it began to displease you that they gave it: and when you had often said to me that you had never enjoined your duties either on Valerius or on Aginesus, suddenly, when it was about the wine, because they ought to have shown whether it had begun to turn sour, and it was said to you that he was absent; I believe it slipped your mind what you had so often said to me, and you said that they had Aginesus to show it to, and to act at his discretion. There, when I had said: "Surely you are not accustomed to enjoin your duties on these men"; you answered: "But Aginesus had my letters": as though always those on whom you enjoin something recite your letters to country men, that they may believe that you ordered. But because they see them so enjoined by you, they surely do not believe that those dare to presume anything rashly, unless power had been given by you. And therefore amid these uncertainties it does not appear what you command, nor can they hold anything firm, unless they have your letters, which they may produce to all, and obey only when your letters are produced, when something is to be given them.
Ep211-270.34. Sed quid opus est tam diu tecum disputare, et onerare verbis occupationes tuas, ut forte cum irasceris verbis meis, velis saevire in homines miseros? Illis imputabitur ad meritum bonum, quia pro salute tua, propter quam tibi tanta loquor, te patiuntur iratum: tibi autem nolo aliquid gravius dicere, ne putes me non timendo, sed male optando tale aliquid loqui. Time Deum si non vis decipi: ipsum testem invoco super animam meam , plus me tibi timere cum haec dico, quam illis pro quibus apud te intercedere videor. Si credis, Deo gratias: si autem non credis, consolatur me quod Dominus ait: Dicite: "Pax huic domui"; et si est tibi filius pacis, requiescet super eum pax vestra; si quo minus, ad vos revertetur . Dei misericordia te tueatur, domine dilectissime fili.
4. But what need is there to dispute with you so long, and to burden your occupations with words, so that perhaps, when you are angry at my words, you may wish to rage against wretched men? It will be imputed to them for good merit, that for your salvation, on account of which I say so much to you, they bear you angry: but to you I do not wish to say anything heavier, lest you think I say any such thing not from fear, but from wishing you ill. Fear God if you do not wish to be deceived: I call him to witness against my soul (See 2 Cor 1:23) that I fear more for you when I say these things, than for those for whom I seem to intercede with you. If you believe, thanks be to God: but if you do not believe, it consoles me that the Lord says: Say: "Peace to this house"; and if there is a son of peace there, your peace will rest upon him; if not, it will return to you (See Luke 10:5-6). May the mercy of God protect you, most beloved lord and son.
Ep211-270.4EPISTOLA 248
DOMINO SANCTO DESIDERABILI, ET IN CHRISTI HONORE SUAVISSIMO FRATRI SEBASTIANO AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO SANCTO DESIDERABILI, ET IN CHRISTI HONORE SUAVISSIMO FRATRI SEBASTIANO AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 248
TO SEBASTIAN, A HOLY AND DESIRABLE LORD, AND, IN THE HONOR OF CHRIST, A MOST SWEET BROTHER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.4TO SEBASTIAN, A HOLY AND DESIRABLE LORD, AND, IN THE HONOR OF CHRIST, A MOST SWEET BROTHER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Quamvis ab animo nostro nullo modo te separatum esse permittat dulce vinculum caritatis, et indesinenter tuos sanctos mores atque colloquia recolamus; tamen bene fecisti, et gratias agimus quod nobis etiam corporalis salutis tuae nuntios apices mittendo, nos plurimum exhilarasti. Sensi autem in epistola tua quod taedium te detinuerit a peccatoribus relinquentibus legem Dei : illo enim spiritu vivis, quo dictum est: Vidi insensatos, et tabescebam . Pia est ista tristitia, et, si dici potest, beata miseria, vitiis alienis tribulari, non implicari; moerere, non haerere; dolore contrahi, non amore attrahi. Haec est persecutio quam patiuntur omnes qui volunt in Christo pie vivere, secundum apostolicam mordacem veracemque sententiam . Quid enim hic magis persequitur vitam bonorum, quam vita iniquorum; non cum cogit imitari quod displicet, sed cum cogit dolere quod videt? Quoniam coram pio vivens impie, etsi non obligat consentientem, cruciat sentientem. Nam saepe et diu impiorum corporibus a saecularibus potestatibus, et quorumlibet vexationibus parcitur; piorum autem cordibus a malis hominum moribus numquam usque ad huius saeculi finem. Sic ergo potius impletur quod commemoravi dixisse Apostolum: Quia omnes qui volunt in Christo pie vivere, persecutionem patientur ; et tanto amarius quanto interius, donec diluvium transeat, ubi arca continet corvum et columbam . Quid Christianum soletur inter malos viventem.
1. Although the sweet bond of love by no means permits you to be separated from our mind, and we unceasingly recall your holy morals and conversations; yet you did well, and we give thanks, that, by sending us notes that are messengers also of your bodily health, you have greatly gladdened us. But I perceived in your letter that a weariness held you back from the sinners who forsake the law of God (See Ps 119:53 (118:53)): for you live by that spirit by which it was said: I saw the senseless, and I wasted away (See Ps 119:158 (118:158)). That is a devout sadness, and, if it may be said, a blessed wretchedness—to be troubled by others' vices, not entangled in them; to mourn, not to cling; to be drawn together by grief, not drawn in by love. This is the persecution which all who wish to live devoutly in Christ suffer, according to the biting and truthful apostolic sentence (See 2 Tim 3:12). For what here more persecutes the life of the good than the life of the wicked; not when it compels to imitate what displeases, but when it compels to grieve at what it sees? Since one living impiously before the devout, even if it does not bind the consenting, tortures the perceiving. For often and long the bodies of the impious are spared by the secular powers and from the vexations of all sorts; but the hearts of the devout are never, even to the end of this world, spared the evil morals of men. So, then, is rather fulfilled what I mentioned the Apostle said: That all who wish to live devoutly in Christ will suffer persecution (2 Tim 3:12); and the more bitterly the more inwardly, until the flood passes, where the ark holds the raven and the dove (See Gen 7-8).
Ep211-270.12. Sed inhaere, frater, illi a quo audisti: Qui perseveraverit usque in finem, hic salvus erit . Coniungere Domino, ut crescat in novissimis vita tua . Scio enim non deesse recreationem cordis de fratribus bonis. Huc adiunge promissiones Dei fideles, magnas, certas, sempiternas, ipsiusque tolerantiae imperturbabilem ineffabilemque mercedem: et vide quam verum Domino cantes: Secundum multitudinem dolorum meorum in corde meo, consolationes tuae iucundaverunt animam meam . Mitte fratri Firmo litteras nostras. Sanctitatem tuam et familiam Dei, quae tuo ministerio gubernatur, fratres et sorores quae apud nos sunt nobiscum, in Domino resalutant. (Et alia manu): Incolumes pro nobis oretis, dilectissimi et sancti fratres. Ego Alypius impensissime saluto Sinceritatem tuam, omnesque tibi in Domino coniunctos; atque ut hanc tamquam meam epistolam deputes, peto: etsi enim aliam propriam mittere potuissem, tamen malui huic subscribere, ut unanimitatem nostram una etiam pagina testaretur.
2. But cling, brother, to him from whom you have heard: He who perseveres to the end, he will be saved (Matt 10:22). Join yourself to the Lord, that your life may increase in the last days (See Sir 6:28; 2:3). For I know that there is no lack of refreshment of heart from the good brothers. To this add the faithful, great, sure, eternal promises of God, and the imperturbable and ineffable reward of that very endurance: and see how truly you sing to the Lord: According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, your consolations have gladdened my soul (Ps 94:19 (93:19)). Send our letter to brother Firmus. Your Holiness, and the household of God which is governed by your ministry, the brothers and sisters who are with us greet in return, along with us, in the Lord. (And in another hand): May you, safe and sound, pray for us, most beloved and holy brothers. I, Alypius, greet most lavishly your Sincerity, and all who are joined to you in the Lord; and I ask that you reckon this letter as my own: for although I could have sent another of my own, yet I preferred to subscribe to this one, that one page too might testify our unanimity.
Ep211-270.2EPISTOLA 249
DOMINO DESIDERANTISSIMO, ET HONORIFICA SINCERITATE CARISSIMO FRATRI, ET CONDIACONO RESTITUTO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO DESIDERANTISSIMO, ET HONORIFICA SINCERITATE CARISSIMO FRATRI, ET CONDIACONO RESTITUTO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 249
TO RESTITUTUS, A MOST LONGED-FOR LORD, AND, WITH HONORABLE SINCERITY, A MOST DEAR BROTHER AND FELLOW DEACON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.2TO RESTITUTUS, A MOST LONGED-FOR LORD, AND, WITH HONORABLE SINCERITY, A MOST DEAR BROTHER AND FELLOW DEACON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Aestus indicantes piam flammam cordis tui, indicavit mihi fidelissimus, ut scis, particeps eorum, frater Deogratias. Lege itaque Tychonium quem bene nosti, non quidem omnia probaturus; nam quae in illo cavenda sint, bene nosti. Hanc tamen quaestionem, quomodo in Ecclesia Dei si qua forte perversa vel etiam scelerata corrigere aut exstinguere non valemus, salvo unitatis vinculo toleranda sint, strenue videtur mihi tractavisse atque solvisse. Quamquam in eius litteris tantummodo intentione correcta, ad ipsos divinarum Scripturarum fontes recurrere nos oportet, ut ibi videamus quam pauca de hac re testimonia sententiarum, vel exempla gestorum posuerit, et quam nemo possit omnia ponere, nisi qui pene omnes sanctorum Librorum paginas in sua scripta transferre voluerit: ita prope nulla est quae nos non admoneat, intus in ipsa societate Sacramentorum quibus imbuimur ad vitam aeternam, cum his qui oderunt pacem esse debere pacificos, donec ingemiscendo nostra longinqua peregrinatio transeat ; atque in virtute Ierusalem matris aeternae securissima pace perfruamur, et in turribus eius abundantia verorum fratrum , quorum nunc inter multos falsos gemimus paucitatem. Quae est autem virtus illius civitatis, nisi Deus eius Deus noster? Vides igitur in quo solo fiat pax, et singulis hominibus, qui secum sine illo bellum gerunt, etiam nullo extrinsecus oborto scandalo; et omnibus simul, qui quamquam in hac se vita diligant, et amicitiae fidae nexibus teneantur, tamen nec praesentia corporis nec consensione animi summe perfecteque copulantur. Confortetur cor tuum in Domino, memor nostri.
1. The ardors indicating the devout flame of your heart, the most faithful sharer of them, as you know, brother Deogratias, indicated to me. Read, therefore, Tychonius, whom you know well—not indeed about to approve everything; for what is to be guarded against in him, you know well. Yet this question—how, in the Church of God, if perhaps we are unable to correct or extinguish certain perverse or even wicked things, they are to be tolerated with the bond of unity preserved—he seems to me to have treated and resolved vigorously. Although, the intention in his writings being only corrected, we ought to run back to the very fountains of the divine Scriptures, that there we may see how few testimonies of sentences, or examples of deeds, he set down about this matter, and how no one could set down all, except one who wished to transfer almost all the pages of the holy Books into his own writings: so nearly is there none that does not admonish us that, within, in the very fellowship of the Sacraments with which we are imbued for eternal life, we ought to be peaceable with those who hate peace, until, groaning, our far pilgrimage passes (See Ps 120:6-7 (119:6-7)); and in the strength of Jerusalem our eternal mother we may fully enjoy a most secure peace, and in her towers an abundance of true brothers (See Ps 122:7 (121:7)), whose fewness we now groan over amid many false ones. But what is the strength of that city, but its God our God? You see, therefore, in whom alone peace comes to be, both for individual men who wage war with themselves without him, even with no scandal arising from without; and for all together, who, although in this life they love one another, and are held by the bonds of faithful friendship, yet are not coupled, neither by the presence of the body nor by consent of mind, supremely and perfectly. May your heart be strengthened in the Lord, mindful of us.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 250
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET VENERABILI FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI AUXILIO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET VENERABILI FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI AUXILIO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 250
TO AUXILIUS, A MOST BELOVED LORD AND VENERABLE BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO AUXILIUS, A MOST BELOVED LORD AND VENERABLE BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Vir spectabilis filius noster Classicianus graviter apud me litteris questus est, quod sit anathematis iniuriam a tua Sanctitate perpessus: narrans quod venerit ad ecclesiam apparitione paucorum suae potestati congrua comitatus, et egerit tecum, ne contra salutem suam faveres eis qui per Evangelia peierando, adiutorium violandae fidei in ipsa fidei domo requirebant; quos tamen considerantes quid mali fecerint, non inde violenter abductos, sed sponte dicit egressos, atque hinc Venerationem tuam ita sibi succensuisse, ut ecclesiasticorum confectione Gestorum cum omni domo sua anathematis sententia feriretur. Quibus litteris eius lectis, non mediocriter aestuans, cogitationibus magna cordis tempestate fluctuantibus, apud Caritatem tuam tacere non potui; ut si habes de hac re sententiam certis rationibus vel Scripturarum testimoniis exploratam, nos quoque docere digneris quomodo recte anathemetur pro patris peccato filius, aut pro mariti uxor, aut pro domini servus, aut quisquam in domo etiam nondum natus, si eodem tempore, quo universa domus est anathemate obligata, nascatur, nec ei possit per lavacrum regenerationis in mortis periculo subveniri. Neque enim haec corporalis est poena qua legimus quosdam contemptores Dei cum suis omnibus, qui eiusdem impietatis participes non fuerunt, pariter interfectos. Tunc quidem ad terrorem viventium mortalia corpora perimebantur, quandoque utique moritura: spiritalis autem poena, qua fit quod scriptum est: Quae ligaveris in terra, erunt ligata et in coelo , animas obligat, de quibus dictum est: Anima patris mea est, et anima filii mea est: anima quae peccaverit, ipsa morietur . Innocentes minime excommunicandi.
1. The distinguished man, our son Classicianus, has gravely complained to me by letter that he has suffered the injury of anathema from Your Holiness: narrating that he came to the church accompanied by an escort of a few befitting his power, and dealt with you, that you would not, against his salvation, favor those who, by forswearing through the Gospels, sought aid for violating their pledge in the very house of faith; whom nevertheless, considering what evil they had done, he says were not violently dragged out thence, but went out of their own accord, and that hence Your Reverence was so angered at him that, by the drawing up of ecclesiastical proceedings, he was struck with the sentence of anathema along with his whole household. Having read this letter of his, no little troubled, with thoughts fluctuating in a great storm of the heart, I could not keep silent with your Charity; so that, if you have on this matter an opinion explored by sure reasons or testimonies of the Scriptures, you would deign to teach us too how rightly a son is anathematized for the sin of his father, or a wife for her husband, or a slave for his master, or anyone in the house even not yet born, if at the same time at which the whole house is bound by anathema, he be born, and cannot be helped, through the washing of regeneration, in the peril of death. For this is not a bodily punishment, by which we read that certain despisers of God were slain together with all their own who were not partakers of the same impiety. Then indeed, for the terror of the living, mortal bodies were destroyed, surely about to die someday: but a spiritual punishment, by which comes about what is written, Whatever you bind on earth will be bound also in heaven (Matt 16:19), binds souls, of which it was said: The soul of the father is mine, and the soul of the son is mine: the soul that has sinned, it will die (Ezek 18:4).
Ep211-270.12. Audisti fortasse aliquos magni nominis sacerdotes cum domo sua quempiam anathemasse peccantium: sed forte si essent interrogati, reperirentur idonei reddere inde rationem. Ego autem, quoniam si quis ex me quaerat utrum recte fiat, quid ei respondeam non invenio; numquam hoc facere ausus sum, cum de quorumdam facinoribus immaniter adversus Ecclesiam perpetratis, gravissime permoverer. Sed si tibi forte quam iuste fiat, Dominus revelavit nequaquam iuvenilem aetatem tuam, et honoris ecclesiastici rudimenta contemno: en adsum, senex a iuvene et episcopus tot annorum a collega necdum anniculo paratus sum discere, quomodo vel Deo vel hominibus iustam possumus reddere rationem, si animas innocentes pro scelere alieno, ex quo non trahunt sicut ex Adam, in quo omnes peccaverunt , originale peccatum, spiritali supplicio puniamus. Etenim Classiciani filius, etsi traxit ex patre primi hominis culpam sacro fonte Baptismatis expiandam; tamen quidquid, posteaquam genuit eum, peccati pater eius admisit, ubi particeps ipse non fuit, ad eum non pertinere quis ambigit? Quid dicam de coniuge? quid de tot animabus in universa familia? unde si una anima per istam severitatem qua tota domus ista anathemata est, sine Baptismate de corpore exeundo perierit; innumerabilium mors corporum, si de ecclesia homines innocentes violenter abstrahantur et interficiantur, huic damno non potest comparari. Si ergo de hac re potes reddere rationem, utinam et nobis rescribendo praestes ut possimus et nos: si autem non potes, quid tibi est inconsulta commotione animi facere, unde si fueris interrogatus, rectam responsionem non vales invenire? Auxilium deleat sententiam quam perturbatior forte dixerat.
2. You have perhaps heard that certain priests of great name have anathematized some sinner along with his household: but perhaps, if they were questioned, they would be found able to render a reason for it. But I, since, if anyone asks of me whether it is rightly done, I do not find what to answer him; have never dared to do this, although I have been most gravely moved by the deeds of certain ones perpetrated monstrously against the Church. But if perhaps the Lord has revealed to you how justly it is done, I by no means despise your youthful age and the first beginnings of your ecclesiastical honor: behold, I am here, an old man ready to learn from a young one, and a bishop of so many years from a colleague not yet a year old, how we can render either to God or to men a just reason, if we punish innocent souls with a spiritual punishment for another's crime, from which they do not draw, as from Adam, in whom all have sinned (See Rom 5:12), original sin. For Classicianus's son, although he drew from his father the fault of the first man, to be expiated by the sacred font of baptism; yet whatever sin his father committed after he begot him, where he himself was not a partaker, who doubts that it does not pertain to him? What shall I say of the wife? what of so many souls in the whole family? whence, if one soul, through that severity by which this whole house is anathematized, perish by going out of the body without baptism; the death of innumerable bodies, if innocent men be violently dragged from the church and killed, cannot be compared to this loss. If, then, you can render a reason about this matter, would that you also grant it to us by writing back, that we too may be able to: but if you cannot, what is it for you to do, by an ill-advised commotion of mind, that whence, if you were questioned, you cannot find a right answer?
Ep211-270.23. Haec autem dixi, etiamsi filius noster Classicianus aliquid admisit, quod tibi anathemate plectendum iustissime videretur. Caeterum si veras ad me litteras misit, nec solus in domo sua debuit ista correptione coerceri. Sed hinc cum tua Sanctitate nihil ago, nisi tantum peto ignoscas petenti veniam, si agnoverit culpam: si autem nihil eum peccasse prudenter agnoscis, quoniam ipse in domo fidei iustius flagitabat fidem debere servari, ne ibi frangeretur ubi docetur; fac quod sanctum virum facere oportet, ut si tibi contigit tamquam homini, quod utique homo Dei dicit in Psalmo: Turbatus est prae ira oculus meus, exclames ad Dominum: Miserere mei, Domine, quoniam infirmus sum ; ut porrigat tibi dexteram suam, et comprimat iracundiam tuam, et tranquillet mentem tuam ad videndam faciendamque iustitiam. Sicut enim scriptum est: Iracundia viri iustitiam Dei non operatur . Nec arbitreris ideo nobis non posse subrepere iniustam commotionem, quia episcopi sumus: sed potius cogitemus inter laqueos tentationum nos periculosissime vivere, quia homines sumus. Aufer itaque Gesta ecclesiastica quae perturbatior fortasse fecisti, et redeat inter vos caritas quam cum illo et catechumenus habuisti: aufer litem et revoca pacem, ne tibi pereat homo amicus, et de vobis gaudeat diabolus inimicus. Potens est autem misericordia Dei nostri, quae et me exaudiat orantem, ne mea tristitia de vobis augeatur, sed potius quae est exorta sanetur; et erigat per gratiam suam, et laetificet iuventutem tuam non contemnentem senectutem meam. Vale.
3. But I have said these things, even if our son Classicianus committed something which seemed to you most justly to be punished by anathema. But for the rest, if he sent me a true letter, neither ought he alone in his household to have been coerced by that rebuke. But hence I deal with Your Holiness in nothing, except only I ask that you pardon one asking pardon, if he acknowledges his fault: but if you prudently acknowledge that he sinned in nothing, since he himself, in the house of faith, more justly demanded that faith ought to be kept, lest it be broken where it is taught; do what it befits a holy man to do, so that, if it has befallen you as a man, what surely a man of God says in the Psalm, My eye has been troubled because of anger, you may cry out to the Lord: Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak (See Ps 6:7 (6:8); 6:2 (6:3)); that he may stretch out to you his right hand, and repress your wrath, and make tranquil your mind for seeing and doing justice. For as it is written: The wrath of a man does not work the justice of God (Jas 1:20). And do not think that an unjust commotion cannot creep upon us for the reason that we are bishops: but let us rather consider that we live most perilously among the snares of temptations, because we are men. Take away, therefore, the ecclesiastical proceedings which, more disturbed perhaps, you made, and let there return between you the love which you had with him even as a catechumen: take away the quarrel and recall peace, lest a friend, a man, perish for you, and the devil, the enemy, rejoice over you. But the mercy of our God is powerful, which may both hear me praying, that my sadness about you may not be increased, but rather that which has arisen may be healed; and may raise up by his grace, and gladden, your youth not despising my old age. Farewell.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 250/A
[AD CLASSICIANUM]
[AD CLASSICIANUM]
LETTER 250A
[TO CLASSICIANUS]
Ep211-270.3[TO CLASSICIANUS]
1. Ego propter eos qui pro peccato unius animae, totam domum eius, id est plurimas animas anathemate ligant, maxime ne ibi quisquam sine Baptismate de corpore abscedat; et utrum non etiam de ecclesia pellendi sunt, qui eo confugiunt quo fidem fideiussoribus frangant, adiuvante Domino, et in concilio nostro agere cupio, et si opus fuerit ad Sedem apostolicam scribere; ut in his causis quid sequi debeamus concordi omnium auctoritate constituatur, atque firmetur. Illud plane non temere dixerim, quod si quisquam fidelium fuerit anathematus iniuste, ei potius oberit qui faciet, quam ei qui hanc patietur iniuriam . Spiritus enim Sanctus habitans in sanctis, per quem quisque ligatur aut solvitur, immeritam nulli poenam ingerit: per eum quippe diffunditur caritas in cordibus nostris , quae non agit perperam .
1. I, on account of those who, for the sin of one soul, bind the whole household of it, that is, very many souls, with anathema—especially lest anyone there depart from the body without baptism; and whether those too are not to be expelled from the church who flee there to break faith with their sureties—desire, with the Lord helping, both to deal with it in our council, and, if it is needful, to write to the Apostolic See; so that in these cases what we ought to follow may be established and confirmed by the concordant authority of all. This indeed I would not rashly say, that if any of the faithful has been anathematized unjustly, it will rather harm him who does it than him who suffers this injury. For the Holy Spirit dwelling in the saints, through whom each one is bound or loosed, inflicts an undeserved punishment on no one: for through him love is poured out in our hearts (See Rom 5:5), which does not act wrongly (See 1 Cor 13:4-5).
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 251
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, MERITOQUE HONORABILI FILIO PANCARIO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, MERITOQUE HONORABILI FILIO PANCARIO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 251
TO PANCARIUS, A MOST BELOVED LORD AND DESERVEDLY HONORABLE SON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO PANCARIUS, A MOST BELOVED LORD AND DESERVEDLY HONORABLE SON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Cum, antequam veniret Religio tua, presbyter Secundinus Germanicianensibus non displiceret, unde modo factum est ut eum, sicut scripsisti, etiam de nescio quibus criminibus accusare parati sint, nescio, domine dilectissime, meritoque honorabilis fili. Verumtamen nullo modo nos possumus contemnere quod presbytero videntur obiicere, tantum si catholici sunt qui obiciunt: nam haereticorum accusationes contra catholicum presbyterum admittere, nec possumus, nec debemus. Proinde hoc primo agat prudentia tua, ut haeretici non sint, ubi ante adventum tuum non fuerunt; et audiemus causam presbyteri, sicut eam oportet audiri. Illud sane moneo, quia dignaris, quoniam et salus et existimatio tua carissima nobis est, et ipsi Germanicianenses pertinent ad curam humilitatis nostrae, ut ea quae a gloriosissimis Imperatoribus impetrasti, et ea quae apud competentes iudices egisti, fidenter allegare digneris; ut appareat omnibus nihil te inordinate agere, ne iterum in causa vestra, qui de possessione contenditis, ipsi miseri fatigentur, et gravius afflicti dispereant. Simul etiam commendo ut eiusdem presbyteri domus non diripiatur, neque vastetur: nam de ecclesia sua nuntiatum est nobis, quod eam nescio qui velint deponere; sed non puto quod ullo pacto possit hoc a tua religione permitti.
1. Since, before your Reverence came, the priest Secundinus did not displease the people of Germaniciana, whence it has now come about that, as you wrote, they are ready to accuse him even of I-know-not-what crimes, I do not know, most beloved and deservedly honorable son. Nevertheless, we can in no way despise what they seem to object against the priest, provided only those who object are Catholics: for to admit the accusations of heretics against a Catholic priest we neither can nor ought. Accordingly, let your prudence first see to this, that there be no heretics where, before your coming, there were none; and we will hear the priest's case, as it ought to be heard. This indeed I admonish, since you deign it, because both your safety and your reputation are most dear to us, and the people of Germaniciana themselves pertain to the care of our lowliness, that the things you obtained from the most glorious Emperors, and the things you did before the competent judges, you would deign confidently to allege; so that it may appear to all that you do nothing inordinately, lest again in your case, who contend about possession, the wretches themselves be worn out, and, more grievously afflicted, perish. At the same time I also commend that the same priest's house not be plundered or laid waste: for it has been reported to us about his church, that certain people, I know not who, wish to pull it down; but I do not think that this could in any way be permitted by your religion.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 252
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO MERITOQUE HONORABILI, ET PRAEFERENDO FRATRI FELICI, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO MERITOQUE HONORABILI, ET PRAEFERENDO FRATRI FELICI, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 252
TO FELIX, A MOST BELOVED AND DESERVEDLY HONORABLE LORD AND BROTHER TO BE PREFERRED, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO FELIX, A MOST BELOVED AND DESERVEDLY HONORABLE LORD AND BROTHER TO BE PREFERRED, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Novit optime Religio tua quam curam tuendis cum omnibus hominibus, tum maxime pupillis Ecclesia vel episcopi debeant. Unde receptis litteris tuis, et exemplo litterarum viri spectabilis fratris nostri, nec potui nec debui passim puellam cuiquam committere: praesertim quia eam Ecclesiae commendavit, domine dilectissime meritoque honorabilis, et praeferende frater. Proinde adventum eius exspecto, ut si quid fieri oporteat, eius praesentia deliberem, et faciam quod Dominus faciendum esse inspiraverit.
1. Your Reverence knows very well how much care the Church or the bishops owe to protecting all men, but most of all orphans. Hence, having received your letter, and a copy of the letter of the distinguished man, our brother, I neither could nor ought to entrust the girl indiscriminately to anyone: especially because he commended her to the Church, most beloved and deservedly honorable lord, and brother to be preferred. Accordingly, I await her coming, so that, if anything ought to be done, I may deliberate by her presence, and do what the Lord inspires ought to be done.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 253
DOMINO BEATISSIMO, ET VENERABILI AC DESIDERABILI FRATRI BENENATO, ET QUI TECUM SUNT FRATRIBUS, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO BEATISSIMO, ET VENERABILI AC DESIDERABILI FRATRI BENENATO, ET QUI TECUM SUNT FRATRIBUS, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 253
TO BENENATUS, A MOST BLESSED AND VENERABLE AND DESIRABLE LORD AND BROTHER, AND TO THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO BENENATUS, A MOST BLESSED AND VENERABLE AND DESIRABLE LORD AND BROTHER, AND TO THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Per quem saluto Sanctitatem tuam, de fide eius et bono circa Ecclesiam studio gratulamur. Voluit autem ad tuam Benignitatem cum litteris meis venire, domine dilectissime ac venerabilis frater. Et quoniam audivi quod de negotio illo transigere cogitas, si verum est (quod miror, si verum est), nosti quemadmodum debeas episcopali paternitate catholicae Ecclesiae providere; ut non cum quolibet id agas, si tamen, ut dixi, verum est quod audivi, sed potius cum domo catholica, cuius non solum nullam adversitatem, verum etiam fidele adiutorium habere possit Ecclesia.
1. Through the one by whom I greet Your Holiness, we rejoice over his faith and good zeal for the Church. He wished, moreover, to come to your Kindness with my letter, most beloved and venerable lord and brother. And since I have heard that you are thinking of settling that business—if it is true (which I wonder at, if it is true)—you know how you ought, with episcopal fatherly care, to provide for the Catholic Church; so that you do it not with just anyone, if indeed, as I said, what I have heard is true, but rather with a Catholic household, of which the Church can have not only no adversity, but even faithful help.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 254
DOMINO BEATISSIMO, ET VENERABILI AC DESIDERABILI FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI BENENATO, ET QUI TECUM SUNT FRATRIBUS, AUGUSTINUS ET QUI MECUM SUNT FRATRES, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO BEATISSIMO, ET VENERABILI AC DESIDERABILI FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI BENENATO, ET QUI TECUM SUNT FRATRIBUS, AUGUSTINUS ET QUI MECUM SUNT FRATRES, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 254
TO BENENATUS, A MOST BLESSED AND VENERABLE AND DESIRABLE LORD AND BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST, AND TO THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE AND THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH ME SEND GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO BENENATUS, A MOST BLESSED AND VENERABLE AND DESIRABLE LORD AND BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST, AND TO THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE AND THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH ME SEND GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Puella de qua mihi scripsit Sanctitas tua, in ea voluntate est, ut si aetas ei iam matura esset, nulli in nuptiis conveniret. In ea vero aetate est, ut si voluntatem nubendi haberet, nulli adhuc dari vel promitti deberet. Huc accedit quia eam Deus in Ecclesia sic tuetur, ut contra improbos tueatur; non ut cui voluero tradi possit, sed ut a quo non oportet, rapi non possit, domine Benenate dilectissime et venerabilis frater. Conditio itaque quam insinuare dignatus es, non mihi displicet, si nuptura est: utrum autem nuptura sit, etsi illud quod in ore habet magis optamus, nunc tamen ignoramus; quia in his annis est, ut et quod se dicit velle esse sanctimonialem, iocus sit potius garrientis, quam sponsio profitentis. Deinde habet materteram, cuius vir honorabilis frater noster Felix, dum de hac re contulissem cum illo (neque enim possem aliter, vel deberem) non quidem invitus accepit, imo etiam gratulatus est; sed iure amicitiae non importune doluit quod eis nihil inde sit scriptum. Fortassis enim quae nunc non apparet, apparebit et mater, cuius voluntatem in tradenda filia, omnibus, ut arbitror, natura praeponit; nisi eadem puella in ea iam aetate fuerit, ut iure licentiore sibi eligat ipsa quod velit. Illud quoque cogitet Sinceritas tua, quia si mihi de nuptiis eius potestas summa ac tota tribuatur, atque ipsa quoque iam matura et nubere volens, cui voluero se tradendam sub Deo iudice mihi committat; sic dico, et verum dico, mihi placere istam conditionem, ut propter Deum iudicem non possim respuere meliorem: quae utrum adventura sit, utique incertum est. Quapropter videt Caritas tua quanta consideranda concurrant, ut nunc a me cuiquam promitti omnino non possit.
1. The girl about whom Your Holiness wrote to me is of such a will that, if her age were already mature, she would consent to marriage with no one. But she is of such an age that, if she had a will to marry, she ought not yet to be given or promised to anyone. To this is added that God so protects her in the Church that he protects her against the wicked; not so that she can be handed over to whomever I wish, but so that she cannot be carried off by one by whom she ought not, most beloved lord Benenatus and venerable brother. And so the match which you deigned to suggest does not displease me, if she is to marry: but whether she is to marry, although what she has in her mouth we rather hope for, we are nevertheless now ignorant; because she is of such years that even what she says she wishes—to be a nun—is rather the jest of one prattling than the pledge of one professing. Then she has an aunt, whose husband is the honorable man our brother Felix, with whom, when I had conferred about this matter (for I could not, nor ought to, do otherwise), he received it not at all unwillingly—nay, even rejoiced; but, by the right of friendship, he grieved not inopportunely that nothing had been written to them about it. For perhaps her mother, who now does not appear, will also appear, whose will in handing over a daughter nature, as I think, sets before all; unless the same girl be already of such an age that, by a freer right, she chooses for herself what she wishes. Let your Sincerity also consider this, that if the highest and full power over her marriage were granted to me, and she herself too, now mature and wishing to marry, were to entrust herself to me, with God as judge, to be handed over to whomever I wished; I say thus, and say truly, that this match pleases me, in such a way that, on account of God the judge, I could not reject a better one: whether which is to come is surely uncertain. Wherefore your Charity sees how many things to be considered concur, so that now nothing can at all be promised by me to anyone.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 255
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET MERITO PRAEDICABILI AC SUSPICIENDO FILIO RUSTICO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET MERITO PRAEDICABILI AC SUSPICIENDO FILIO RUSTICO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 255
TO RUSTICUS, A MOST BELOVED AND DESERVEDLY PRAISEWORTHY AND ESTEEMED LORD AND SON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO RUSTICUS, A MOST BELOVED AND DESERVEDLY PRAISEWORTHY AND ESTEEMED LORD AND SON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Quamvis tibi et universae domui tuae omnia bona optem, nec tantum ad felicitatem praesentis saeculi pertinentia, verum etiam ad vitam futuram atque sempiternam, quae tibi nondum credenda persuasa est; tamen quae me moveant, ut de puella quam petis, nihil adhuc audeam polliceri, quantum sufficere visum est, sancto fratri et coepiscopo meo Benenato rescripsi, domine dilectissime et venerabilis fili. Si enim tu, cum certissime noveris, etiamsi nostrae absolutae sit potestatis quamlibet puellam in coniugium tradere, tradi a nobis christianam nisi christiano non posse; nihil tamen mihi tale de filio tuo, quem adhuc paganum audio, promittere voluisti: quanto magis ego, propter illa quae in epistola memorati fratris mei legere poteris, quidquam de illius puellae connubio spondere non debeo, etiamsi quod dixi de filio tuo non tantum promissum tenerem, sed iam etiam factum esse gauderem?
1. Although I wish all good things for you and your whole household—not only those pertaining to the happiness of the present world, but also those pertaining to the future and eternal life, which you have not yet been persuaded to believe—yet the things that move me, so that I dare to promise nothing as yet about the girl you ask for, I have written back to my holy brother and fellow bishop Benenatus, as far as seemed sufficient, most beloved lord and venerable son. For if you, although you most certainly know that, even if it were in our absolute power to hand over any girl in marriage, a Christian woman cannot be given by us except to a Christian man, nevertheless wished to promise me nothing of the kind about your son, whom I hear is still a pagan: how much more ought I not, on account of those things which you can read in the letter of my aforesaid brother, to pledge anything about the marriage of that girl, even if I held what I said about your son not only as promised, but rejoiced that it had already been done?
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 256
DOMINO MERITO PRAEDICANDO, SINCERITERQUE CARISSIMO AC DESIDERANTISSIMO FRATRI CHRISTINO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO MERITO PRAEDICANDO, SINCERITERQUE CARISSIMO AC DESIDERANTISSIMO FRATRI CHRISTINO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 256
TO CHRISTINUS, A DESERVEDLY PRAISEWORTHY AND SINCERELY MOST DEAR AND MOST LONGED-FOR LORD AND BROTHER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO CHRISTINUS, A DESERVEDLY PRAISEWORTHY AND SINCERELY MOST DEAR AND MOST LONGED-FOR LORD AND BROTHER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Epistolam meam desiderare te, mihi tua epistola nuntiavit. Frater autem Iacobus eius desiderii erga nos tui locupletior testis accessit, quia plura mihi de te suavia atque in seipso experta locutus est, quam illa parva chartula potuit. Unde tuae benignitati congratulor, et de tuo pectore christiano Domino Deo nostro, cuius haec dona sunt, gratias ago, domine merito praedicande, sinceriterque carissime ac desiderantissime frater. Quod autem petis, ut litteris te quaeram; ego te affectu quaero, qui omnes litteras superat: et ubi te quaeram quod bene intellegas, novi. Quantum autem ad me legendum attinet, magis vereor in manibus vestris loquacitatem meam reprehendi, quam eloquium requiri. Illud breviter dixerim, quod diuturna cogitatione si ruminaveris, senties quid sapiat: cum in itinere Dei faciliora et fructuosa ignava formidine fugiuntur, in itinere saeculari duriora et sterilia aerumnoso labore tolerantur. Incolumis in Christo vigeas et proficias, domine merito praedicande, sinceriterque carissime ac desiderantissime frater.
1. That you desire my letter, your letter announced to me. But brother James came as a richer witness of that desire of yours toward us, because he spoke to me more sweet things about you, and things experienced in himself, than that little sheet could. Hence I congratulate your kindness, and give thanks to the Lord our God, whose gifts these are, for your Christian heart, deservedly praiseworthy and sincerely most dear and most longed-for lord and brother. But as for your asking that I seek you by letters; I seek you by affection, which surpasses all letters: and where I seek you, in a way you well understand, I know. But as far as my being read is concerned, I rather fear that my loquacity be reprehended in your hands, than that eloquence be required. This one thing I would say briefly, which, if you ruminate on it with long thought, you will perceive what it savors of: that, on the way of God, easier and fruitful things are fled by slothful dread, while, on the worldly way, harder and barren things are borne with toilsome labor. May you, safe and sound, flourish and make progress in Christ, deservedly praiseworthy and sincerely most dear and most longed-for lord and brother.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 257
DOMINO EXIMIO MERITOQUE HONORABILI, ET SUSCIPIENDO FILIO ORONTIO, AUGUSTINUS.
DOMINO EXIMIO MERITOQUE HONORABILI, ET SUSCIPIENDO FILIO ORONTIO, AUGUSTINUS.
LETTER 257
TO ORONTIUS, A DISTINGUISHED AND DESERVEDLY HONORABLE LORD AND SON TO BE RECEIVED, AUGUSTINE.
Ep211-270.1TO ORONTIUS, A DISTINGUISHED AND DESERVEDLY HONORABLE LORD AND SON TO BE RECEIVED, AUGUSTINE.
1. Ago gratias quod adventum Eximietatis tuae litteris etiam praevenire dignatus es, et ante contuitum misisti colloquium, ut tuo prius affatu quam aspectu frueremur, et diu desideratam notitiam epistolari solatio quodammodo praegustantes, exspectaremus avidius et ardentius, quod iucundius gratiusque caperemus, domine eximie meritoque honorabilis, et suspiciende fili. Reddo itaque meritis tuis et praecurrentibus officiis debitum resalutationis obsequium, incolumitatem tuam gaudens nuntiatam, optansque continuam. Et quod rescripta exiguitatis meae iure praerogatae benevolentiae reposcendo addidisti, dicens: "Si tamen id de tanta sanctitate possumus promereri"; nullo modo audeo desperare, sanctitatis eiusdem, cuius haustu pro nostro modulo aliquid sumus, ipsum fontem non solum laudandum, verum etiam nobiscum participandum, et tuae prudentiae placiturum; ut Deus incomparabiliter atque incommutabiliter bonus, per suam potentiam tam bonae tuae mentis est institutor, sit etiam per gratiam restitutor. Incolumen te Deus omnipotens felicioremque tueatur, domine eximie meritoque honorabilis, ac suscipiende fili.
1. I give thanks that you deigned even to anticipate the coming of Your Excellence by a letter, and sent conversation before sight, so that we might enjoy your address before your countenance, and, somehow foretasting by the epistolary solace the acquaintance long desired, await the more avidly and ardently what we should the more pleasantly and gratefully receive, distinguished and deservedly honorable lord and son to be received. I therefore render to your merits and anticipating services the owed duty of a return greeting, rejoicing that your safety is announced, and wishing it continual. And as for what you added, demanding back, by the right of a goodwill bestowed in advance, a reply of my slightness, saying, "If indeed we can merit this from so great a holiness"; I by no means dare to despair that the very fountain of that same holiness—by drinking from which, according to our small measure, we are something—is not only to be praised, but also to be shared with us, and will please your prudence; so that God, incomparably and unchangeably good, who through his power is the founder of your so good mind, may also through grace be its restorer. May almighty God protect you safe and happier, distinguished and deservedly honorable lord and son to be received.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 258
DOMINO MERITO SUSCIPIENDO, ET IN CHRISTO DILECTISSIMO AC DESIDERANTISSIMO FRATRI MARTIANO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO MERITO SUSCIPIENDO, ET IN CHRISTO DILECTISSIMO AC DESIDERANTISSIMO FRATRI MARTIANO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 258
TO MARTIANUS, A LORD DESERVEDLY TO BE RECEIVED, AND IN CHRIST A MOST BELOVED AND MOST LONGED-FOR BROTHER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO MARTIANUS, A LORD DESERVEDLY TO BE RECEIVED, AND IN CHRIST A MOST BELOVED AND MOST LONGED-FOR BROTHER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Abripui, vel potius surripui, et quodammodo furatus sum memetipsum multis occupationibus meis, ut tibi scriberem antiquissimo amico, quem tamen non habebam, quamdiu in Christo non tenebam. Nosti quippe ut definierit amicitiam Romani, ut ait quidam, maximus auctor Tullius eloquii . Dixit enim, et verissime dixit: Amicitia est rerum humanarum et divinarum cum benevolentia et caritate consensio . Tu autem, mi carissime, aliquando mihi consentiebas in rebus humanis, cum eis more vulgi frui cuperem; et mihi ad ea capessenda quorum me poenitet, favendo velificabas, imo vero vela cupiditatum mearum, cum caeteris tunc dilectoribus meis, inter praecipuos aura laudis inflabas. Porro in rebus divinis, quarum mihi illo tempore nulla eluxerat veritas, utique in maiore illius definitionis parte nostra amicitia claudicabat: erat enim rerum tantummodo humanarum, non etiam divinarum, quamvis cum benevolentia et caritate consensio. Quomodo obsit inter amicos dissensio.
1. I have snatched, or rather stolen, and in a way pilfered, myself from my many occupations, to write to you, a most ancient friend, whom nevertheless I did not have, so long as I did not hold you in Christ. For you know how friendship was defined by Tullius, the greatest author of Roman eloquence, as someone says (See Lucan, Pharsalia 7.62-63). For he said, and most truly said: Friendship is agreement, with goodwill and love, on things human and divine (Cicero, On Friendship 6.20). But you, my most dear one, once agreed with me in things human, when I desired to enjoy them in the manner of the crowd; and, by favoring me, you set sail for my pursuit of the things I now repent of—nay rather, the sails of my desires, along with my other lovers then, you, among the foremost, filled with the breeze of praise. But in things divine, of which at that time no truth had shone for me, surely in the greater part of that definition our friendship was limping: for it was agreement, with goodwill and love, on things only human, not also divine.
Ep211-270.12. Et posteaquam illa cupere destiti, tu quidem perseverante benevolentia, salvum me esse cupiebas salute mortali, et ea rerum prosperitate felicem, quam mundus optare consuevit. Et iam sic itaque aliquantum tibi erat mecum rerum humanarum benevola et cara consensio. Nunc vero quantum de te gaudeo, quibus explicem verbis, quando eum quem quoquo modo habui diu amicum, habeo iam verum amicum? Accessit enim etiam rerum consensio divinarum; quoniam qui mecum temporalem vitam quondam iucundissima benignitate duxisti, nunc spe vitae aeternae mecum esse coepisti. Modo vero etiam de rebus humanis inter nos nulla dissensio est, qui eas rerum divinarum cognitione pensamus, ne plus eis tribuamus, quam modus earum iustissime postulat; nec eas iniquo contemptu abiciendo, creatori earum Domino rerum coelestium atque terrestrium faciamus iniuriam. Ita fit ut inter quos amicos non est rerum consensio divinarum, nec humanarum plena esse possit ac vera. Necesse est enim ut aliter quam oportet humana aestimet qui divina contemnit, nec hominem recte diligere noverit quisquis eum non diligit qui hominem fecit. Proinde non dico, nunc mihi plenius amicus es, qui eras ex parte; sed quantum ratio indicat, nec ex parte eras, quando nec in rebus humanis mecum amicitiam veram tenebas. Rerum quippe divinarum, ex quibus recte humana pensantur, socius mihi nondum eras; sive quando nec ipse in eis eram, sive posteaquam ego eas utcumque sapere coepi, a quibus tu longe abhorrebas. Quid amicus vero amico optet.
2. And after I ceased to desire those things, you indeed, with persevering goodwill, desired that I be safe with mortal safety, and happy with that prosperity of things which the world is wont to wish for. And so even then there was somewhat between us a benevolent and dear agreement on things human. But now, with what words shall I explain how much I rejoice over you, when him whom I in some way long had as a friend, I now have as a true friend? For there has been added even agreement on things divine; since you, who once led the temporal life with me with most pleasant kindness, have now begun to be with me in the hope of eternal life. And now indeed even about things human there is no disagreement between us, who weigh them by the knowledge of things divine, so that we may not attribute to them more than their measure most justly demands; nor, by casting them away with unjust contempt, do injury to their creator, the Lord of things heavenly and earthly. So it comes about that, among those friends among whom there is no agreement on things divine, neither can the agreement on things human be full and true. For it is necessary that he estimate things human otherwise than he ought who despises things divine, nor would anyone know how to love a man rightly who does not love him who made man. Accordingly I do not say, you are now more fully my friend, who were so in part; but, as much as reason indicates, you were not even in part, when you did not even hold true friendship with me in things human. For you were not yet my partner in things divine, by which things human are rightly weighed; whether when I myself was not in them, or after I had somehow begun to savor those things from which you far recoiled.
Ep211-270.23. Nolo autem succenseas, nec tibi videatur absurdum quod illo tempore cum in vana huius mundi aestuarem, quamvis me multum amare videreris, nondum eras amicus meus; quando nec ipse mihi amicus eram, sed potius inimicus: diligebam quippe iniquitatem; et vera quia divina sententia est qua scriptum est in sanctis Libris: Qui autem diligit iniquitatem, odit animam suam . Cum ergo odissem animam meam, verum amicum quomodo habere poteram, ea mihi optantem in quibus ipse meipsum patiebar inimicum? Cum vero benignitas et gratia Salvatoris nostri illuxit mihi, non secundum merita mea, sed secundum ipsius misericordiam ; tu ab hac alienus, quomodo esse poteras amicus meus, qui unde beatus esse possem penitus ignorabas, et non in hoc me amabas, in quo mihi ipse iam fueram utcumque amicus effectus? Vera amicitia quo fundamento nitatur.
3. But I do not want you to be angry, nor let it seem absurd to you, that at that time, when I was seething amid the vain things of this world, although you seemed to love me much, you were not yet my friend; when I myself was not my own friend, but rather my enemy: for I loved iniquity; and true—because divine—is the sentence by which it is written in the holy Books: But he who loves iniquity hates his own soul (Ps 11:5 (10:6)). Since, then, I hated my own soul, how could I have a true friend, wishing me those things in which I myself suffered myself as an enemy? But when the kindness and grace of our Savior shone on me, not according to my merits, but according to his own mercy (See Titus 3:4-5); you, alien to this, how could you be my friend, who utterly did not know whence I could be blessed, and did not love me in that wherein I had somehow already been made a friend to myself?
Ep211-270.34. Gratias itaque Deo, quod te mihi amicum facere tandem aliquando dignatur. Nunc enim nobis est rerum humanarum et divinarum cum benevolentia et caritate consensio in Christo Iesu Domino nostro, verissima pace nostra. Qui duobus praeceptis cuncta praeconia divina conclusit, dicens: Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota anima tua, et ex tota mente tua; et: Diliges proximum tuum tamquam teipsum. In iis duobus praeceptis tota Lex pendet et Prophetae . In illo primo rerum divinarum, in hoc secundo rerum humanarum est cum benevolentia et caritate consensio. Haec duo si mecum firmissime teneas, amicitia nostra vera ac sempiterna erit; et non solum nos invicem, sed ipsi etiam Domino sociabit. Baptisma percipiat ad novam capessendam vitam.
4. Thanks, therefore, to God, that he deigns at last sometime to make you my friend. For now there is between us agreement, with goodwill and love, on things human and divine in Christ Jesus our Lord, our most true peace. Who concluded all the divine proclamations in two precepts, saying: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind; and: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two precepts the whole Law and the Prophets depend (Matt 22:37-40). In that first is agreement, with goodwill and love, on things divine; in this second, on things human. If you hold these two most firmly with me, our friendship will be true and everlasting; and will associate us not only with one another, but also with the Lord himself.
Ep211-270.45. Quod ut fiat, exhortor gravitatem et prudentiam tuam ut iam etiam fidelium Sacramenta percipias: decet enim aetatem, et congruit, quantum credo, moribus tuis. Memento quid mihi dixeris profecturo, comicum quidem de Terentio, recolens, versum, sed tamen aptissimum et utilissimum:
Nunc hic dies vitam aliam affert, alios mores postulat .
Quod si veraciter dixisti, sicut de te dubitare non debeo; iam profecto sic vivis ut sis dignus Baptismo salutari remissionem praeteritorum accipere peccatorum. Nam omnino non est cui alteri praeter Dominum Christum dicat genus humanum:
Te duce si qua manent sceleris vestigia nostri,
Irrita perpetua solvent formidine terras .
Quod ex Cumaeo, id est, ex Sibyllino carmine se fassus est transtulisse Virgilius; quoniam fortassis etiam illa vates aliquid de unico Salvatore in spiritu audierat, quod necesse habuit confiteri. Haec tibi, domine merito suscipiende, et in Christo dilectissime ac desiderantissime frater, sive pauca, sive forsitan multa sint, utcumque occupatissimus scripsi: tua sumere rescripta desidero, et te nomen dedisse inter competentes, vel daturum esse, iamiamque cognoscere. Dominus Deus noster, in quem credidisti, et hic et in futuro saeculo te conservet, domine merito suscipiende, et in Christo dilectissime ac desiderantissime frater.
Nunc hic dies vitam aliam affert, alios mores postulat .
Quod si veraciter dixisti, sicut de te dubitare non debeo; iam profecto sic vivis ut sis dignus Baptismo salutari remissionem praeteritorum accipere peccatorum. Nam omnino non est cui alteri praeter Dominum Christum dicat genus humanum:
Te duce si qua manent sceleris vestigia nostri,
Irrita perpetua solvent formidine terras .
Quod ex Cumaeo, id est, ex Sibyllino carmine se fassus est transtulisse Virgilius; quoniam fortassis etiam illa vates aliquid de unico Salvatore in spiritu audierat, quod necesse habuit confiteri. Haec tibi, domine merito suscipiende, et in Christo dilectissime ac desiderantissime frater, sive pauca, sive forsitan multa sint, utcumque occupatissimus scripsi: tua sumere rescripta desidero, et te nomen dedisse inter competentes, vel daturum esse, iamiamque cognoscere. Dominus Deus noster, in quem credidisti, et hic et in futuro saeculo te conservet, domine merito suscipiende, et in Christo dilectissime ac desiderantissime frater.
5. That this may come about, I exhort your gravity and prudence now to receive even the Sacraments of the faithful: for it befits your age, and accords, as I believe, with your morals. Remember what you said to me as I was setting out, recalling a verse, comic indeed, from Terence, but yet most apt and most useful:
Now this day brings another life, demands other morals (Terence, Andria 189).
Which if you said truly, as I ought not to doubt about you; you already surely live in such a way that you are worthy to receive, by the saving baptism, the remission of past sins. For there is altogether none other than the Lord Christ to whom the human race may say:
Under your leadership, if any traces of our sin remain,
made void, they will free the lands from perpetual dread (Virgil, Eclogues 4.13-14).
Which Virgil confessed he translated from the Cumaean, that is, from the Sibylline song; since perhaps that prophetess too had heard in spirit something about the one Savior, which she had need to confess. These things to you, lord deservedly to be received, and in Christ most beloved and most longed-for brother, whether they be few, or perhaps many, I have written, most occupied as I am: I desire to receive your reply, and to learn now and now that you have given your name among the candidates for baptism, or are going to give it. May the Lord our God, in whom you have believed, preserve you both here and in the future world, lord deservedly to be received, and in Christ most beloved and most longed-for brother.
Ep211-270.5Now this day brings another life, demands other morals (Terence, Andria 189).
Which if you said truly, as I ought not to doubt about you; you already surely live in such a way that you are worthy to receive, by the saving baptism, the remission of past sins. For there is altogether none other than the Lord Christ to whom the human race may say:
Under your leadership, if any traces of our sin remain,
made void, they will free the lands from perpetual dread (Virgil, Eclogues 4.13-14).
Which Virgil confessed he translated from the Cumaean, that is, from the Sibylline song; since perhaps that prophetess too had heard in spirit something about the one Savior, which she had need to confess. These things to you, lord deservedly to be received, and in Christ most beloved and most longed-for brother, whether they be few, or perhaps many, I have written, most occupied as I am: I desire to receive your reply, and to learn now and now that you have given your name among the candidates for baptism, or are going to give it. May the Lord our God, in whom you have believed, preserve you both here and in the future world, lord deservedly to be received, and in Christ most beloved and most longed-for brother.
EPISTOLA 259
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET HONORABILI FRATRI CORNELIO, AUGUSTINUS.
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO, ET HONORABILI FRATRI CORNELIO, AUGUSTINUS.
LETTER 259
TO CORNELIUS, A MOST BELOVED AND HONORABLE LORD AND BROTHER, AUGUSTINE.
Ep211-270.5TO CORNELIUS, A MOST BELOVED AND HONORABLE LORD AND BROTHER, AUGUSTINE.
1. Scripsisti mihi ut ad te aliquam prolixam epistolam consolatoriam darem, quod graviter optimae uxoris morte movereris, sicut sanctum Paulinum ad Macarium fecisse meministi. Et illa quidem anima in societatem recepta fidelium atque castarum, laudes nec curat, nec quaerit humanas; sed quia propter eos fiunt ista, qui vivunt, prius est ut tu, qui consolari eius laude desideras, ita vivas, ut illic ubi ipsa est, esse merearis. Neque enim dubito quod eam non credas ibi esse, ubi illae sunt quae vel adulteriis lectulum coniugalem polluerunt, vel nullo coniugio deligatae fornicatione fluxerunt. Quare, de illius laude viro longe dissimili quasi fugare velle moestitiam, adulatio est, non consolatio. Nam si eam diligeres sicut ipsa te dilexit, servasses ei quod tibi ipsa servavit. Et cum illa, si prior obisses, nullo modo credenda sit cuiquam fuisse nuptura; nonne si vere obitum eius laudibus eius consolandus doleres, ne unam quidem ac licitam post illam coniugem quaereres? Cur Aug. dissoluto amico satisfacere nolit.
1. You wrote to me that I should give you some long consolatory letter, because you were gravely moved by the death of your excellent wife, as you recalled that holy Paulinus did to Macarius. And that soul indeed, received into the fellowship of the faithful and the chaste, neither cares for nor seeks human praises; but because these things are done for the sake of those who live, it is first necessary that you, who desire to be consoled by her praise, so live that you may merit to be where she herself is. For I do not doubt that you do not believe her to be there where those women are who either polluted the conjugal bed with adulteries, or, bound by no marriage, flowed away in fornication. Wherefore, to wish, as it were, to drive away sadness by her praise from a husband far unlike her, is flattery, not consolation. For if you loved her as she herself loved you, you would have kept for her what she herself kept for you. And since she, if you had died first, is by no means to be believed to have been about to marry anyone; would you not, if you truly grieved her death, to be consoled by her praises, seek not even one and lawful wife after her?
Ep211-270.12. Hic tu dicturus es: "Quid mecum aspere agis? quid dure obiurgas?" Nonne inter haec verba ecce senuimus, dum vita ducitur prius finienda quam corrigenda? Vis ut ignoscam exitiabili securitati tuae: quanto satius tu ignoscis, si non amabili, certe miserabili sollicitudini meae? Inimico quidem animo Tullius invehebatur, et longe alia erat terrenam rempublicam gubernantis intentio, et tamen ait: Cupio, Patres conscripti, me esse clementem; cupio in tantis reipublicae periculis non dissolutum videri . Quanto iustius ego dico, cum ipse noveris quam tibi amicum animum geram, in aeternae civitatis servitio constitutus minister verbi sacramentique divini: "Cupio, frater Corneli, me esse clementem; cupio in tantis tuis meisque periculis non dissolutum videri"! Cornelius scortis diffluens atque impudens.
2. Here you will say: "Why do you deal harshly with me? why do you rebuke me sternly?" Have we not, amid these words, behold, grown old, while life is led, to be ended before it is corrected? You wish me to pardon your deadly security: how much better is it that you pardon, if not my lovable, certainly my pitiable anxiety for you? Tullius indeed inveighed with a hostile mind, and far other was the intention of one governing an earthly commonwealth, and yet he says: I desire, Conscript Fathers, to be merciful; I desire, in such great perils of the commonwealth, not to seem dissolute (See Cicero, In Catilinam 1.2.4). How much more justly do I say, since you yourself know what a friendly mind I bear toward you, established in the service of the eternal city, a minister of the divine word and Sacrament: "I desire, brother Cornelius, to be merciful; I desire, in such great perils of yours and mine, not to seem dissolute"!
Ep211-270.23. Plebs mulierum excubat lateribus tuis, crescit in dies pellicum numerus; eiusdem autem numeri dominum, imo vero servum insatiabili per tot scorta libidine diffluentem, et laudes defunctae castae coniugis a nobis, velut ad mitigandam moestitiam suam, iure amicitiae flagitantem episcopi patienter audimus? Qui cum esses, non dicam catechumenus, sed in errore nobiscum perniciosissimo constitutus iuvenis, iunioribus nobis, ab hoc te vitio temperantissima voluntate correxeras, quo non post longum tempus sordidius revolutus, deinde in extremo vitae periculo baptizatus, non dicam, te fideli, sed etiam nobis certe iam senibus et insuper episcopis, nondum emendaris. Vis de bonae uxoris morte per nos consolari: nos de hac tua veriore morte quis consolatur? An quia non possumus oblivisci tanta erga nos merita tua, ideo cruciandi adhuc sumus moribus tuis, ideo contemnendi, et pro nihilo habendi, quando gemimus ad te de te? Sed fatemur nos non esse aliquid ad te corrigendum ac sanandum; Deus attendatur, Christus cogitetur, Apostolus audiatur dicens: Tollens ergo membra Christi, faciam membra meretricis Si qualiscumque episcopi amici tui verba spernis in corde tuo, corpus Domini tui cogita in corpore tuo: postremo, quomodo de die in diem differendo peccas, cum extremum diem tuum nescias? C. imitetur defunctae uxoris pudicitiam.
3. A crowd of women keeps watch at your sides, the number of concubines grows by the day; but the lord—nay rather, the slave—of that same number, flowing away through so many harlots with insatiable lust, and demanding from us, by the right of friendship, as if to mitigate his sadness, the praises of his dead chaste wife, do we, a bishop, patiently hear? You who, when you were—I will not say a catechumen, but a young man established with us in a most pernicious error—had, by a most temperate will, corrected yourself from this vice in your younger days, with us younger: into which, after no long time, you rolled back more foully, then, baptized in the extreme peril of life, you have not yet—I will not say as one of the faithful, but even with us now surely old men and besides bishops—amended yourself. You wish to be consoled by us about the death of your good wife: who consoles us about this truer death of yours? Or, because we cannot forget your so great merits toward us, are we therefore still to be tormented by your morals, therefore to be despised and held for nothing, when we groan to you about you? But we confess that we are nothing toward correcting and healing you; let God be attended to, let Christ be thought of, let the Apostle be heard saying: Taking, then, the members of Christ, shall I make them the members of a harlot? (1 Cor 6:15) If you spurn in your heart the words of a bishop, whatever sort, your friend, think of the body of your Lord in your body: finally, how you sin by deferring from day to day, when you do not know your last day?
Ep211-270.34. Nunc probabo quantum tu ab ore nostro laudes Cyprianae desideres. Certe si adhuc in schola rhetorum verba discipulis venderem, prius ab eis mercedem sumerem. Vendere tibi volo laudem pudicissimae coniugis tuae; prius mihi mercedem da, pudicitiam tuam: da, inquam, et accipe. Humanum dico propter infirmitatem tuam ; puto quod non sit a te digna Cypriana, cuius laudibus anteponis amorem concubinarum tuarum: quod utique facies, si permanere in illo amore, quam ad istas laudes pervenire malueris. Quid mihi vis extorquere poscendo, cum pro te videas esse quod posco? quid precaris subiectus, quod potes iubere correctus? Mittamus munera spiritui coniugis tuae; tu imitationem, ego laudem. Quamquam, sicut supra dixi, laudem ab hominibus iam illa non quaerat; imitationem vero tuam tantum quaerit etiam defuncta, quantum te dilexit etiam dissimilem viva. Faciam de illa quod vis, cum tu feceris quod et ego volo et illa. C. caste vivat ut cum casta uxore semper vivat.
4. Now I will prove how much you desire from our mouth the praises of Cypriana. Certainly, if I still sold words to pupils in the school of rhetoric, I would first take the fee from them. I wish to sell you the praise of your most chaste wife; first give me the fee, your chastity: give it, I say, and receive it. I speak after the manner of men, on account of your weakness (See Rom 6:19); I think that Cypriana is not worthy of you, to whose praises you prefer the love of your concubines: which you will surely do, if you prefer to remain in that love rather than to come to these praises. What do you wish to extort from me by demanding, when you see that what I demand is for your sake? why do you, subject, beg for what you, corrected, can command? Let us send gifts to the spirit of your wife; you, imitation, I, praise. Although, as I said above, she now does not seek praise from men; but your imitation she seeks, even dead, as much as she loved you, even unlike her, while alive. I will do about her what you wish, when you have done what both I and she wish.
Ep211-270.45. Si enim dives ille superbus atque impius, sicut in Evangelio Dominus loquitur, qui induebatur purpura et bysso, et epulabatur quotidie splendide, cum malorum meritorum poenas apud inferos lueret, neque de digito contempti ante ianuam suam pauperis aquae stillam impetrare valuisset; recordatus est quinque fratres suos, et rogavit ad eos eumdem pauperem mitti, cuius requiem in sinu Abrahae longe prospiciebat, ne et ipsi venirent in illum locum tormentorum : quanto magis tua coniux te recordatur? quanto magis te casta non vult ad poenas venire moechorum, si fratres suos nec superbus ad poenas venire voluit superborum? et cum frater nollet fratribus in malis se esse coniunctum, quanto minus vult in bonis constituta coniux virum in malis habere separatum? Lege ipsum locum in Evangelio: Christi est vox pia; crede Deo . Doles videlicet coniugem mortuam, et putas, si eam laudavero, quod meis affatibus consolaberis; disce quod doleas, si cum illa non eris. An magis tibi dolendum est quod a me nondum laudatur, quam mihi quod a te non amatur? Nam utique si amares, cum illa esse post mortem desiderares, quo profecto non eris, si qualis es talis eris. Ama ergo cuius exigis laudem, ne quod mendaciter exigis, iuste denegem. (Et alia manu:) Dominus nobis praestet de tua salute gaudere, domine dilectissime, et honorabilis frater.
5. For if that rich man, proud and impious, as the Lord says in the Gospel, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted splendidly every day, when he was paying the penalties of his evil merits among the dead, and could not obtain a drop of water from the finger of the poor man despised before his door; he remembered his five brothers, and asked that the same poor man, whose rest in Abraham's bosom he saw far off, be sent to them, lest they too come into that place of torments (See Luke 16:19-28): how much more does your wife remember you? how much more does she, chaste, not want you to come to the punishments of adulterers, if the proud man did not want even his brothers to come to the punishments of the proud? and since a brother did not want his brothers to be joined with him in evils, how much less does a wife, established in good things, want her husband to be separated in evils? Read the very place in the Gospel: It is the devout voice of Christ; believe God. You grieve, no doubt, your dead wife, and think that, if I praise her, you will be consoled by my addresses; learn what you should grieve, if you will not be with her. Or should you grieve more that she is not yet praised by me, than I that she is not loved by you? For surely, if you loved her, you would desire to be with her after death, where you certainly will not be, if, as you are, such you remain. Love, then, her whose praise you demand, lest what you demand falsely, I justly deny. (And in another hand:) May the Lord grant us to rejoice over your salvation, most beloved lord and honorable brother.
Ep211-270.5EPISTOLA 260
DOMINO VERE PRAEDICABILI AC NIMIUM SUSPICIENDO, OMNIQUE LAUDUM GENERE PROSEQUENDO PATRI AUGUSTINO, AUDAX, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO VERE PRAEDICABILI AC NIMIUM SUSPICIENDO, OMNIQUE LAUDUM GENERE PROSEQUENDO PATRI AUGUSTINO, AUDAX, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 260
TO AUGUSTINE, A LORD TRULY PRAISEWORTHY AND EXCEEDINGLY TO BE ESTEEMED, AND TO BE PURSUED WITH EVERY KIND OF PRAISE, A FATHER, AUDAX, GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.5TO AUGUSTINE, A LORD TRULY PRAISEWORTHY AND EXCEEDINGLY TO BE ESTEEMED, AND TO BE PURSUED WITH EVERY KIND OF PRAISE, A FATHER, AUDAX, GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Habeo gratiam Beatitudini tuae, quod libenter mei sumpseris tentamenta sermonis: tunc enim bonae fidei filiis datur audacia, cum paterni fontis imbribus fuerit irrorata. Provocavi itaque te, dulcis antistes, non ut praelargi pectoris pusillum libamen acciperem, sed ut ingens divitis ubertim flumen haurirem. Thesaurum sapientiae desideravi, sed minus accepi quam volui, licet minus non debet dici, sed munus, quod oraculum legis contulerit Augustinus, sacrator iustitiae, instaurator spiritalis gloriae, dispensator salutis aeternae. Tam tibi mundanus orbis notus est, quam notatus; tam tu ei cognitus, quam probatus. Opto itaque sapientiae floribus pasci, et vivi fontis haustibus irrigari: praesta cupienti quod utique prosit. Potest enim seminudi roboris velamen genitale viridari, si meruerit tuis sensim fluentis augeri. Itaque humilitatis meae praesentiam spondeo non tam stilo quam voto, si Venerabilitatis tuae scripta pro visu, relegero. Divina te clementia tueatur annis innumeris, domine venerabilis. Cur mihi fons orbis parvo sermone meavit?
An minus apta suis speravit corda fluentis?
Cum pateat mens omnis aquis, spectetque loquacem
Religionis opem gratos da sensibus imbres,
Exspectat quos plena fides Christi de stipite pendens.
An minus apta suis speravit corda fluentis?
Cum pateat mens omnis aquis, spectetque loquacem
Religionis opem gratos da sensibus imbres,
Exspectat quos plena fides Christi de stipite pendens.
1. I am grateful to Your Beatitude that you gladly received the attempts of my discourse: for then is boldness given to the sons of good faith, when it has been bedewed by the showers of the paternal fountain. I have therefore challenged you, sweet bishop, not that I might receive a tiny libation from your most generous breast, but that I might drink abundantly the huge river of the rich one. I desired the treasure of wisdom, but I received less than I wished—although it ought not to be called less, but a gift, that the oracle of the law conferred Augustine, the consecrator of justice, the restorer of spiritual glory, the dispenser of eternal salvation. The worldly globe is as known to you as it is noted by you; you are as known to it as you are approved. I wish, therefore, to be fed on the flowers of wisdom, and to be watered by draughts of the living fountain: grant to one desiring what will surely profit. For the genital covering of the half-bared oak can be made green, if it merit to be increased by your gradual streams. And so I pledge the presence of my humility not so much by pen as by vow, if I shall reread the writings of Your Venerability as in sight. May the divine clemency protect you for innumerable years, venerable lord.
Why has the fountain of the world flowed to me in scant speech?
Or has it hoped that the hearts apt for its streams are too few?
Since every mind lies open to the waters, and beholds the eloquent
help of religion, give grateful showers to the senses,
which a full faith awaits, hanging from the trunk of Christ.
Ep211-270.1Why has the fountain of the world flowed to me in scant speech?
Or has it hoped that the hearts apt for its streams are too few?
Since every mind lies open to the waters, and beholds the eloquent
help of religion, give grateful showers to the senses,
which a full faith awaits, hanging from the trunk of Christ.
EPISTOLA 261
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ET IN CHRISTO PRAEDICANDO, NIMIUMQUE DESIDERABILI FRATRI AUDACI, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ET IN CHRISTO PRAEDICANDO, NIMIUMQUE DESIDERABILI FRATRI AUDACI, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 261
TO AUDAX, A MOST BELOVED AND IN CHRIST PRAISEWORTHY AND EXCEEDINGLY DESIRABLE LORD AND BROTHER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO AUDAX, A MOST BELOVED AND IN CHRIST PRAISEWORTHY AND EXCEEDINGLY DESIRABLE LORD AND BROTHER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Brevem epistolam tuam, sed plane vehementem flagitatricem prolixae epistolae meae, non invitus, imo etiam laetus accepi. Non quod facile sufficerem aviditati, sed quod gratularer Caritati tuae; quia etsi non de idoneo expetis, bonum est tamen quod expetis. Et ad longam quidem epistolam conscribendam magis mihi otium quam facultas defit; occupatissimo scilicet ecclesiasticis curis, a quibus pauculae temporum stillae vix recreant, vel cogitantem aliquid, vel ea quae magis urgent et mihi videntur pluribus profutura dictantem, vel reficientem corporis vires nostrae necessarias servituti. Nam verba non desunt, quibus possit multa carta compleri; sed quod a nobis in eadem sermonis prolixitate desideras, ad hoc me idoneum non esse respondeo. Thesaurum enim sapientiae te desiderasse dixisti, sed minus accepisse quam voluisti, cum ego ex illo thesauro mendicabunda prece quotidianam stipem rogem, vixque impetrem. Effusis Audacis laudibus Aug. se indignum dicit.
1. Your brief letter, but plainly a vehement demander of a long letter from me, I received not unwillingly—nay, even gladly. Not that I could easily suffice for your avidity, but that I rejoiced for your Charity; because, although you seek from one not fit, yet it is good what you seek. And indeed for writing a long letter, leisure rather than ability is lacking to me; most occupied, namely, with ecclesiastical cares, from which a few little drops of time scarcely refresh me, whether thinking something, or dictating those things which more press and seem to me to be about to profit more people, or restoring the strength of the body necessary to our servitude. For words are not lacking by which much paper could be filled; but what you desire from us in that same length of discourse, to this I answer that I am not fit. For you said you had desired the treasure of wisdom, but had received less than you wished, when I, from that treasure, ask with a beggarly prayer a daily dole, and scarcely obtain it.
Ep211-270.12. "Oraculum autem Legis" quomodo sum, de cuius latis atque abditis penetralibus nescio longe plura quam scio, eiusque multiplices sinus opacosque secessus adire ac penetrare non valeo sicut volo, et me non aliud quam minus dignum esse cognosco? Porro "sacrator iustitiae" quis ego, cui me sacratum esse permagnum est? Iamvero quod "instauratorem spiritalis gloriae" me appellas; da veniam, multum cui loquaris ignoras: ipse quippe adhuc in hac gloria sic instauror, ut de die in diem non solum quantum accedam, sed utrum omnino aliquid accedam, latere me fatear. "Dispensator plane salutis aeternae", cum caeteris innumerabilibus conservis meis sum. Quod si volens facio, mercedem habeo: si autem invitus, tantum dispensatio mihi credita est ; neque enim esse salutis illius dispensatorem per verbum ac Sacramentum, iam hoc est etiam esse participem. Nam si per bonos non dispensaretur, non recte Apostolus diceret: Imitatores mei estote sicut et ego Christi . Rursus si per malos non dispensaretur, non de quibusdam Dominus diceret: Quae dicunt, facite; quae autem faciunt, facere nolite: dicunt enim, et non faciunt . Multi ergo dispensatores sunt, per quorum ministerium pervenitur ad aeternam salutem: sed quaeritur inter dispensatores ut fidelis quis inveniatur ; et inter ipsos fideles, in quorum me numero ille qui non fallitur computet, alius est sic, alius autem sic , sicut unicuique Deus partitus est mensuram fidei . Quomodo Audax voti compos esse possit.
2. But how am I "the oracle of the Law," of whose broad and hidden inner chambers I know far more than I know, and whose manifold recesses and shadowy retreats I am not able to approach and penetrate as I wish, and I know myself to be nothing other than less worthy? Further, "consecrator of justice"—who am I, to whom it is a very great thing to have been consecrated? And now, as for your calling me "restorer of spiritual glory"; grant pardon, you do not know to whom, in great part, you speak: for I myself am as yet so restored in this glory that, from day to day, I confess that not only how much I advance, but even whether I advance at all, escapes me. "Dispenser plainly of eternal salvation" I am, with my other innumerable fellow servants. But if I do it willingly, I have a reward: but if unwillingly, a dispensation has been entrusted to me (See 1 Cor 9:17); for to be a dispenser of that salvation through word and Sacrament is not already to be also a partaker of it. For if it were not dispensed through the good, the Apostle would not rightly say: Be imitators of me, as I too of Christ (1 Cor 11:1). Again, if it were not dispensed through the evil, the Lord would not say of certain ones: What they say, do; but what they do, do not do: for they say, and do not do (See Matt 23:3). There are, then, many dispensers, through whose ministry one arrives at eternal salvation: but it is sought among dispensers that one be found faithful (See 1 Cor 4:2); and among those faithful themselves, in whose number may he who is not deceived count me, one is so, another so (See 1 Cor 7:7), as God has apportioned to each the measure of faith (See Rom 12:3).
Ep211-270.23. Itaque, frater carissime atque dulcissime, pascat te Dominus potius sapientiae floribus, et vivi fontis haustibus irriget. Si quid autem per operulam meam religiosissimo studio tuo conferri posse arbitraris, quia et capacem te esse intellego, et avidum sentio; magis in alia nostra opuscula, quae multis voluminibus comprehenduntur, tibi animus intendendus est, quam per epistolas aliquid sperandum quod tuum desiderium possit explere. Aut certe in praesentia sume quod potero, quam te puto tuam nobis ideo non exhibere, quia non vis: quid enim magnum est, adiuvante Domino, ut homo liber a cuiusquam loci munere venias ad nos, sive nobiscum diu futurus, sive peracto saltem pauxillo temporis rediturus? De metricis legibus quaestiuncula
3. And so, most dear and most sweet brother, may the Lord rather feed you on the flowers of wisdom, and water you with draughts of the living fountain. But if you think anything can be conferred, through my little work, on your most religious zeal, since I understand you to be both capacious and perceive you to be avid; your mind is rather to be directed to other little works of ours, which are comprised in many volumes, than that anything be hoped through letters which could fulfill your desire. Or certainly take in the present what I can give, since I think you do not exhibit yourself to us for this reason, that you do not wish to: for what great thing is it, with the Lord helping, that you, a man free from the duty of any place, should come to us, whether to be with us for a long while, or, a little time having been spent, at least to return?
Ep211-270.34. Ecce pene factum est, quod in quinque versuum tuorum tertio posuisti, ut magis loquacem quam eloquentem haberes epistolam meam. Quod autem in quinto atque ultimo versu septem pedes sunt, nescio utrum numerus tuum fefellit auditum, an experiri voluisti utrum ego adhuc ista diiudicare meminerim, quae forte iam obliti sunt qui talium aliquando studiosi, postea plurimum in ecclesiasticis litteris profecerunt. Psalmos a Hieronymo translatos ab Aug. emendatos esse.
4. Behold, what you set down in the third of your five verses has nearly come to pass, that you would have my letter more loquacious than eloquent. But as for the fact that in the fifth and last verse there are seven feet, I do not know whether the number deceived your ear, or whether you wished to test whether I still remember to judge these things, which perhaps those have already forgotten who, once students of such matters, afterward made very great progress in ecclesiastical letters.
Ep211-270.45. Psalterium a sancto Hieronymo translatum ex hebraeo non habeo. Nos autem non interpretati sumus, sed codicum latinorum nonnullas mendositates ex graecis exemplaribus emendavimus. Unde fortassis fecerimus aliquid commodius quam erat, non tamen tale quale esse debebat. Nam etiam nunc, quae forte nos tunc praeterierunt, si legentes moverint, collatis codicibus emendamus. Ita illud quod perfectum est, tecum nos quoque requirimus.
5. The Psalter translated by holy Jerome from the Hebrew I do not have. But we have not translated, but corrected some of the faults of the Latin codices from the Greek copies. Whence perhaps we have made something more serviceable than it was, yet not such as it ought to be. For even now, the things which perhaps then escaped us, if, as we read, they move us, we correct by collating the codices. So that which is perfect, we too, with you, seek.
Ep211-270.5EPISTOLA 262
DOMINAE RELIGIOSISSIMAE FILIAE ECDICIAE, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINAE RELIGIOSISSIMAE FILIAE ECDICIAE, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 262
TO ECDICIA, A MOST RELIGIOUS LADY AND DAUGHTER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.5TO ECDICIA, A MOST RELIGIOUS LADY AND DAUGHTER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Lectis litteris Reverentiae tuae, et earum perlatore interrogato quae interroganda restabant, vehementer dolui sic te voluisse agere cum marito, ut aedificium continentiae, quod in eo iam construi coeperat, amissa perseverantia in adulterii ruinam miserabiliter laberetur. Cum enim lugendus esset, si post continentiam votam Deo, iamque actu ipso moribusque susceptam, reverteretur ad coniugis carnem; quanto magis nunc demersus in interitum profundiorem lugendus est, qui tam abrupta dissolutione moechatur, iratus tibi, perniciosus sibi, tamquam in te acerbius saeviat, si ipse pereat? Hoc autem tantum mali accidit, dum tu eius animum non qua debuisti moderatione tractasti: quia etsi carnali consortio iam ex consensu vobis non miscebamini, in caeteris tamen rebus coniugali obsequio viro tuo mulier servire debuisti; praesertim cum ambo essetis membra corporis Christi . Et utique si maritum infidelem fidelis habuisses , agere te conversatione subdita oportuit, ut eum Domino lucrareris, sicut Apostoli monuerunt. Mutua coniugum munera et iura.
1. Having read the letter of your Reverence, and questioned its bearer about what remained to be asked, I grieved vehemently that you wished so to deal with your husband that the building of continence, which had already begun to be constructed in him, slipped miserably, perseverance being lost, into the ruin of adultery. For while he would be to be mourned, if, after continence vowed to God, and already taken up in act itself and in morals, he returned to the flesh of his wife; how much more now is he to be mourned, sunk into a deeper destruction, who, by so abrupt a dissolution, commits adultery, angry with you, ruinous to himself, as though he rage more bitterly against you, if he himself perish? But this so great an evil happened, while you treated his mind not with the moderation you ought: because, although you were now by consent no longer joined in carnal consortium, yet in the other things, as a woman you ought to have served your husband with conjugal compliance; especially since you were both members of the body of Christ. And surely, if, faithful, you had had an unbelieving husband, you ought to have acted in subject conduct, that you might gain him for the Lord, as the Apostles admonished (See 1 Cor 7:13-16; 1 Pet 3:1).
Ep211-270.12. Omitto enim quod ipsam continentiam, illo nondum volente, non secundum sanam doctrinam te suscepisse cognovi. Neque enim corporis tui debito fraudandus fuit, priusquam ad illud bonum, quod superat pudicitiam coniugalem, tuae voluntati voluntas quoque eius accederet; nisi forte non legeras nec audieras, vel non attenderas Apostolum dicentem: Bonum est homini mulierem non tangere: propter fornicationes autem unusquisque uxorem suam habeat, et unaquaeque suum virum habeat. Uxori vir debitum reddat, similiter autem et uxor viro. Uxor non habet potestatem corporis sui, sed vir: similiter autem et vir non habet potestatem corporis sui, sed mulier. Nolite fraudare invicem, nisi ex consensu ad tempus, ut vacetis orationi; et iterum ad idipsum estote, ne vos tentet Satanas propter intemperantiam vestram . Secundum haec verba apostolica, etiamsi se ipse continere voluisset, et tu noluisses, debitum tibi reddere cogeretur; et illi Deus imputaret continentiam, si non suae, sed tuae cedens infirmitati, ne in adulterii damnabile flagitium caderes, maritalem tibi concubitum non negaret: quanto magis te, quam magis subiectam esse decuerat, ne ipse quoque in adulterium diabolica tentatione traheretur, in reddendo huiusmodi debito voluntati eius obtemperare convenerat, cum tibi voluntatem continendi acceptaret Deus, quia propterea non faceres, ne periret maritus? Continentiae inter coniuges pacta servanda.
2. For I pass over that I have learned that you took up continence itself, while he was not yet willing, not according to sound doctrine. For he ought not to have been defrauded of the debt of your body, before his will too acceded to your will toward that good which surpasses conjugal chastity; unless perhaps you had not read or heard, or had not attended to, the Apostle saying: It is good for a man not to touch a woman: but on account of fornications let each have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render the debt to the wife, and likewise the wife to the husband. The wife has not power over her own body, but the husband: and likewise the husband has not power over his own body, but the woman. Do not defraud one another, except by consent for a time, that you may have leisure for prayer; and come together again, lest Satan tempt you on account of your incontinence (1 Cor 7:1-5). According to these apostolic words, even if he himself had wished to be continent, and you had been unwilling, he would be compelled to render the debt to you; and God would impute continence to him, if, yielding not to his own but to your weakness, lest you fall into the damnable crime of adultery, he did not deny you marital intercourse: how much more did it befit you—who ought rather to be subject—lest he too be drawn into adultery by diabolical temptation, to obey his will in rendering a debt of this kind, when God accepted from you the will of being continent, because you would not do it, lest your husband perish?
Ep211-270.23. Sed hoc, ut dixi, omitto, quoniam postea tibi nolenti sibi ad reddenda coniugalia debita consentire, ad eadem continentiae pacta ipse consensit, et tecum continentissime diu vixit, suoque consensu a peccato illo quo ei debitum carnis negabas, ipse te absolvit. Non ergo iam in tua causa ista vertitur quaestio, utrum redire debeas ad concubitum viri. Quod enim Deo pari consensu ambo voveratis, perseveranter usque in finem reddere ambo debuistis: a quo proposito si lapsus est ille, tu saltem constantissime persevera. Quod te non exhortarer, nisi quia tibi ad hoc ipse consenserat. Nam si numquam tenuisses eius assensum, numerus te nullus defendisset annorum, sed post quantumlibet tempus me consuluisses, nihil tibi aliud responderem, nisi quod ait Apostolus: Uxor non habet potestatem corporis sui, sed vir : de qua potestate sic tibi iam permiserat continentiam, ut eam tecum et ipse susciperet. Bonis moribus uxor placeat marito.
3. But this, as I said, I pass over, since afterward, you being unwilling to consent to him for rendering the conjugal debts, he himself consented to the same pacts of continence, and lived most continently with you for a long time, and by his own consent absolved you from that sin by which you denied him the debt of the flesh. This question, therefore, is no longer turned in your case, whether you ought to return to intercourse with your husband. For what you both had vowed to God by equal consent, you both ought to have rendered perseveringly to the end: from which purpose if he has lapsed, you at least most constantly persevere. Which I would not exhort you to, except because he himself had consented to you in this. For if you had never held his assent, no number of years would have defended you, but, after however long a time, had you consulted me, I would answer you nothing else than what the Apostle says: The wife has not power over her own body, but the husband (1 Cor 7:4): over which power he had already so permitted you continence, that he himself too took it up with you.
Ep211-270.34. Sed illud est quod minus te observasse contristor, quia tanto humilius et obedientius ei obsequi in domestica conversatione debuisti, quanto ille religiosius tibi rem tam magnam etiam imitando concesserat. Non enim quia pariter temperabatis a commixtione carnali, ideo tuus maritus esse destiterat; imo vero tanto sanctius inter vos coniuges manebatis, quanto sanctiora concorditer placita servabatis. Nihil ergo de tua veste, nihil de tuo auro vel argento vel quacumque pecunia, aut rebus ullis terrenis tuis sine arbitrio eius facere debuisti, ne scandalizares hominem qui Deo tecum maiora voverat, et ab eo quod de tua carne licita potestate posset exigere, continenter abstinuerat. Quam funesta bonorum profusio inconsiderata.
4. But it is this that I am saddened you observed too little, that you ought to have served and obeyed him in domestic conduct so much the more humbly and obediently, the more religiously he had conceded to you, even by imitating, so great a thing. For not because you alike abstained from carnal intercourse had he therefore ceased to be your husband; nay rather, you remained spouses among yourselves the more holily, the more you concordantly preserved holier pacts. Nothing, therefore, of your clothing, nothing of your gold or silver or any money, or any earthly things of yours, ought you to have done without his discretion, lest you scandalize a man who had vowed with you to God greater things, and had continently abstained from that which he could exact from your flesh by lawful power.
Ep211-270.45. Denique factum est ut vinculum continentiae, quo se dilectus ille innexuerat, contemptus abrumperet, et iratus tibi non parceret sibi. Sicut enim mihi retulit perlator epistolae tuae, cum cognovisset quod omnia vel pene omnia quae habebas, nescio quibus duobus transeuntibus monachis tamquam pauperibus eroganda donaveris; tunc ille detestans eos tecum, et non Dei servos, sed domus alienae penetratores, et tuos captivatores et depraedatores putans, tam sanctam sarcinam quam tecum subierat, indignatus abiecit. Infirmus enim erat, et ideo tibi, quae in communi proposito fortior videbaris, non erat praesumptione turbandus, sed dilectione portandus: quia etiamsi ad ipsas eleemosynas largius faciendas forte pigrius movebatur, posset et ista condiscere, si tuis inopinatis non feriretur expensis, sed exspectatis invitaretur obsequiis, ut etiam hoc quod temere sola fecisti, multo consultius dilectione concordi, multoque ordinatius et honestius ambo faceretis; nec blasphemarentur servi Dei, si tamen hoc fuerunt, qui marito absente atque nesciente, ab ignota muliere et ab aliena uxore tanta sumpserunt; et laudaretur Deus in operibus vestris, quorum esset tam fida societas, ut a vobis communiter teneretur, non solum summa castitas, verum etiam gloriosa paupertas. Spiritalis eleemosyna pretiosior quam corporea.
5. Finally, it came about that the bond of continence, with which that beloved man had bound himself, despised, he broke off, and, angry with you, did not spare himself. For, as the bearer of your letter reported to me, when he had learned that you had given all, or nearly all, that you had, to be distributed as to the poor to some two passing monks, I know not who; then he, detesting them along with you, and thinking them not servants of God, but penetrators of another's house, and your captivators and despoilers, indignantly cast away the so holy burden which he had undertaken with you. For he was weak, and therefore was not to be disturbed by you—who seemed stronger in the common purpose—by presumption, but to be borne by love: because, even if he was perhaps moved too sluggishly toward giving alms more generously, he could learn these things too, if he were not struck by your unexpected expenses, but invited by awaited compliances, so that even this which you rashly did alone, you might both do much more advisedly with concordant love, and much more orderly and honorably; nor would the servants of God be blasphemed (if indeed they were such) who, with the husband absent and unknowing, took so much from an unknown woman and another's wife; and God would be praised in your works, whose fellowship was so faithful that, by you in common, not only the highest chastity, but even a glorious poverty, was held.
Ep211-270.56. Nunc autem inconsiderata festinatione attende quid feceris. Ut enim de illis monachis, a quibus te ipse non aedificatam, sed spoliatam esse conqueritur, ego bene sentiam, nec homini prae ira turbatum oculum habenti, contra Dei fortasse famulos facile consentiam; numquid tantum bonum est, quod pauperum carnem largioribus eleemosynis refecisti, quantum malum est, quod viri tui mentem a tam bono proposito subruisti? An cuiusquam tibi temporalis salus carior esse debuerat, quam huius aeterna? Nonne si ampliorem misericordiam cogitans, ideo pauperibus res tuas erogare differres, ne scandalizatus maritus tuus Deo periret, uberiores tibi Deus eleemosynas imputaret? Proinde si recolis quid acquisiveras, quando lucrata fueras virum tuum, ut tecum Christo sanctiore castitate serviret; intellege per illas eleemosynas tuas, quibus cor eius eversum est, quanto graviore damno percussa fueris, quam sunt illa lucra, quae coelestia cogitabas. Si enim habet ibi magnum locum panis fractus esurienti , quantum locum ibi credenda est habere misericordia, qua homo eripitur diabolo, tamquam leoni rugienti, et quem devoret inquirenti ? Uxores viris subiectas esse debere.
6. But now, by inconsiderate haste, consider what you have done. For, even though I think well of those monks, by whom your husband complains that you were not edified but despoiled, and would not easily consent against the servants of God, perhaps, to a man having an eye troubled by anger; is it so great a good that you refreshed the flesh of the poor by more generous alms, as it is so great an evil that you undermined your husband's mind from so good a purpose? Or ought anyone's temporal safety to be dearer to you than his eternal? Would not God, if, thinking of a more ample mercy, you deferred to give your things to the poor for this reason, lest your husband, scandalized, perish to God, impute to you more abundant alms? Accordingly, if you recall what you had acquired, when you had gained your husband, to serve Christ with you with a holier chastity; understand, by those alms of yours, by which his heart was overturned, with how much heavier a loss you have been struck, than are those gains which you thought heavenly. For if bread broken to the hungry has a great place there (See Isa 58:7), how great a place there is the mercy to be believed to have, by which a man is snatched from the devil, like a roaring lion, and one seeking whom he may devour (See 1 Pet 5:8)?
Ep211-270.67. Neque hoc ita dicimus, ut si quisquam scandalizatus fuerit de bonis operibus nostris, ab eis desistendum putemus; sed alia causa est alienarum, alia necessariarum in societate aliqua personarum; alia fidelis, alia infidelis; alia parentum erga filios, alia filiorum erga parentes: alia postremo ea, quae in his rebus vel maxime intuenda est, viri et uxoris, ubi mulierem coniugatam non licet dicere: "Facio quod volo de meo"; cum et ipsa non sit sua, sed capitis sui, hoc est viri sui . Nam sic quaedam, ut commemorat apostolus Petrus, mulieres sanctae quae in Deum sperabant, ornabant se, subiectae suis viris: sicut Sara obsequebatur Abrahae, dominum eum vocans , cuius, inquit, factae estis filiae ; cum ad Christianas, non ad Iudaeas feminas loqueretur. In eleemosynis fundendis providendum esse liberis.
7. Nor do we say this in such a way that, if anyone be scandalized at our good works, we should think we must desist from them; but one cause is of strangers, another of necessary persons in some fellowship; one of the faithful, another of the unbeliever; one of parents toward children, another of children toward parents: another, finally, that which in these matters is most of all to be regarded, of husband and wife, where it is not lawful for a married woman to say, "I do what I will with my own"; since she herself is not her own, but her head's, that is, her husband's (See 1 Cor 11:3). For so certain, as the apostle Peter mentions, holy women who hoped in God adorned themselves, subject to their husbands: as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters, he says, you have become (See 1 Pet 3:5-6); since he was speaking to Christian, not to Jewish, women.
Ep211-270.78. Quid autem mirum si pater communem filium nolebat huius vitae sustentaculis a matre nudari, ignorans quid sectaturus esset, cum in aetate grandiuscula esse coepisset; utrum monachi professionem, an ecclesiasticum ministerium, an coniugalis necessitudinis vinculum? Quamvis enim ad meliora excitandi et erudiendi sint filii sanctorum, unusquisque tamen proprium donum habet a Deo; alius sic, alius autem sic . Nisi forte talia prospiciens et praecavens reprehendendus est pater, cum beatus Apostolus dicat: Quisquis autem suis et maxime domesticis non providet, fidem denegat, et est infideli deterior . Cum vero de faciendis ipsis eleemosynis loqueretur, ait: Non ut aliis refectio sit, vobis autem angustia . Pariter ergo consilium de omnibus haberetis, pariter moderaremini quid thesaurizandum esset in coelo, quid ad vitae huius sufficientiam vobis et vestris vestroque filio relinquendum, ne aliis esset refectio, vobis autem angustia. Et in his disponendis atque faciendis, si quid tibi forte melius videretur, suggereres viro reverenter, eiusdemque auctoritatem tamquam tui capitis sequereris obedienter; ut omnes qui sanum sapiunt, ad quos posset hoc bonum vestrum fama perferre, de domus vestrae fructu ac pace gauderent, et adversarius revereretur nihil habens de vobis dicere pravi. Uxores viris obtemperent et corporis quoad cultum habitumque.
8. But what wonder if the father did not want his common son to be stripped by the mother of the supports of this life, not knowing what he would pursue, when he had begun to be of a somewhat greater age—whether the profession of a monk, or the ecclesiastical ministry, or the bond of conjugal relationship? For although the sons of the holy are to be roused and instructed toward better things, yet each has his own gift from God; one so, another so (1 Cor 7:7). Unless perhaps, foreseeing and taking precaution against such things, the father is to be reprehended, when the blessed Apostle says: But whoever does not provide for his own, and especially for his household, denies the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim 5:8). But when he was speaking about the giving of alms themselves, he says: Not that there be refreshment to others, but straits to you (See 2 Cor 8:13). Together, then, you would have taken counsel about all things, together you would have moderated what was to be treasured up in heaven, what to be left for the sufficiency of this life to you and yours and your son, lest there be refreshment to others, but straits to you. And in disposing and doing these things, if anything perhaps seemed better to you, you would suggest it reverently to your husband, and follow his authority, as that of your head, obediently; so that all who are soundly wise, to whom fame could carry this good of yours, would rejoice over the fruit and peace of your house, and the adversary would be in awe, having nothing depraved to say about you.
Ep211-270.89. Porro si de faciendis eleemosynis et in pauperes impendendis rebus tuis, de quo bono opere et magno tam evidentia praecepta sunt Domini, cum viro tuo fideli et tecum sancta continentiae pacta servante consilium communicare deberes, eiusdemque non spernere voluntatem; quanto magis de habitu atque vestitu nihil tibi praeter eius arbitrium mutandum vel usurpandum fuit, unde nihil divinitus legimus imperatum? Scriptum est quidem, mulieres esse debere in habitu ornato; aurique circumpositio, et intortio crinium, et caetera huiusmodi quae vel ad inanem pompam vel ad illecebram formae adhiberi solent, merito reprehensa sunt . Sed est quidam pro modulo personae habitus matronalis a viduali veste distinctus, qui potest fidelibus coniugatis salva religionis observantia convenire. Hunc te maritus si deponere noluit, ne te velut viduam illo vivente iactares, puto quia non fuerat in hac re usque ad dissensionis scandalum perducendus, magis inobedientiae malo, quam ullius abstinentiae bono. Quid enim est absurdius, quam mulierem de humili veste viro superbire, cui te potius expediret obtemperare candidis moribus, quam nigellis vestibus repugnare? Quia etsi te indumentum monachae delectabat, etiam hoc gratius posset marito observato exoratoque sumi, quam illo inconsulto contemptoque praesumi. Quod si omnino non sineret, quid tuo proposito deperiret? Absit ut hinc displiceres Deo, quod coniuge tuo nondum defuncto, non induereris sicut Anna, sed sicut Susanna. Et in cultu superbo posse cor humile servari.
9. Further, if about giving alms and expending your things on the poor—about which good and great work there are such evident precepts of the Lord—you ought to share counsel with your faithful husband, who kept with you the holy pacts of continence, and not spurn his will; how much more, about your dress and clothing, ought nothing to have been changed or appropriated by you beyond his discretion, about which we read nothing commanded divinely? It is written indeed that women ought to be in an ornate habit; and the putting on of gold, and the twisting of hair, and the other things of this kind which are wont to be applied either for empty pomp or for the allurement of beauty, are deservedly reprehended (See 1 Tim 2:9; 1 Pet 3:3). But there is, according to the measure of one's person, a certain matronly habit distinct from a widow's dress, which can befit faithful married women with the observance of religion preserved. If your husband did not want you to lay this aside, lest you boast yourself as a widow while he lived, I think that in this matter it was not to be carried to the scandal of dissension, rather toward the evil of disobedience than the good of any abstinence. For what is more absurd than for a woman to be proud over a husband about a humble garment, whom it would rather profit you to obey with bright morals, than to resist with blackish garments? For even if the dress of a nun delighted you, even this could be taken up more pleasingly with the husband observed and entreated, than presumed with him unconsulted and despised. But if he altogether did not permit it, what would perish from your purpose? Far be it that you should hence displease God, because, your husband not yet dead, you were clothed not like Anna, but like Susanna.
Ep211-270.910. Neque enim et ille, qui tecum iam coeperat custodire tam magnum continentiae bonum, etiamsi coniugale non viduale voluisset ut acciperes indumentum, ad indecentem quoque te compulisset ornatum: quo etsi aliqua dura conditione cogereris, posses habere in superbo cultu cor humile. Nempe apud patres, Esther illa regina Deum timens, Deum colens, Deo subdita, marito regi alienigenae non eumdem secum colenti Deum, tamen subiecta serviebat; quae cum in extremo periculo, non suo tantum, sed etiam gentis suae, qui tunc erat populus Dei, Domino prosterneretur orando, in ipsa oratione sua dixit, ita sibi esse ornatum regium, sicut pannum menstrualem ; et ita orantem confestim exaudivit, qui cordis inspector eam verum dicere scivit. Et utique maritum habebat multarum mulierum virum, et deorum alienorum falsorumque cultorem. Tu autem si et ille in proposito quod tecum susceperat, perduraret, nec a te offensus in flagitium corruisset, maritum habebas non solum fidelem, et verum Deum tecum colentem, sed etiam continentem; qui procul dubio propositi vestri non immemor, etsi ad coniugalia te cogeret indumenta, ad superba tamen ornamenta non cogeret. Filios matri patrique subiectos esse.
10. For not even he, who had already begun with you to keep so great a good of continence, even if he had wished that you take a conjugal, not a widow's, garment, would have compelled you also to an unbecoming adornment: by which, even if you were compelled by some hard condition, you could have, in a proud dress, a humble heart. Surely, among the fathers, that Esther, a queen fearing God, worshiping God, subject to God, yet served, subject, an alien king as husband, who did not worship the same God with her; who, when, in the extreme peril, not only her own but also of her people, who then was the people of God, she prostrated herself to the Lord in prayer, in her very prayer said that her royal adornment was to her like a menstrual rag (See Esth 14:16 (Vg)); and him praying thus he immediately heard, who, the inspector of the heart (See 1 Sam 16:7), knew she spoke truly. And surely she had a husband who was the man of many women, and a worshiper of alien and false gods. But you, if he too had endured in the purpose he had undertaken with you, and, offended by you, had not collapsed into crime, had a husband not only faithful, and worshiping the true God with you, but even continent; who without doubt, not unmindful of your purpose, even if he compelled you to conjugal garments, would yet not compel you to proud ornaments.
Ep211-270.1011. Haec tibi scripsi, quoniam me consulendum putasti, non ut tuum rectum institutum sermone meo frangerem, sed quod te inordinate et incaute agente, viri tui factum dolerem. De cuius reparatione debes vehementissime cogitare, si vere ad Christum vis pertinere. Indue itaque humilitatem mentis, et ut te Deus conservet perseverantem, noli maritum contemnere pereuntem. Funde pro illo pias et assiduas orationes, sacrifica lacrymas tamquam vulnerati sanguinem cordis. Et scribe ad eum satisfactionem, petens veniam, quia in eum peccasti, quod praeter eius consilium et voluntatem de rebus tuis fecisti, quod faciendum putasti, non ut te poeniteat tribuisse pauperibus, sed eum tui boni operis participem et moderatorem habere noluisse. Promitte de caetero in adiutorio Domini, si et illum suae turpitudinis poenituerit, et continentiam quam deseruit repetiverit, te illi, sicut decet, in omnibus servituram; ne forte, ut ait Apostolus, det illi Deus poenitentiam, et resipiscat de diaboli laqueis, a quo captivus tenetur secundum ipsius voluntatem . Filium autem vestrum, quoniam de legitimis eum et honestis nuptiis suscepistis, magis in patris quam in tua esse potestate quis nesciat? Et ideo ei negari non potest, ubicumque illum esse cognoverit, et iure poposcerit: ac per hoc ut secundum tuam voluntatem in Dei possit nutriri et erudiri sapientia, necessaria est illi etiam vestra concordia.
11. These things I have written to you, since you thought I should be consulted, not that I should break your right purpose by my discourse, but that I grieved your husband's deed, while you acted inordinately and incautiously. About whose recovery you ought most vehemently to think, if you truly wish to belong to Christ. Put on, therefore, humility of mind, and, that God may keep you persevering, do not despise your perishing husband. Pour out for him devout and assiduous prayers, sacrifice tears as the blood of a wounded heart. And write to him a satisfaction, asking pardon, because you sinned against him, in that, beyond his counsel and will, you did with your things what you thought ought to be done—not that you repent of having given to the poor, but of having been unwilling to have him as a partaker and moderator of your good work. Promise for the future, with the Lord's help, that, if he too repents of his shamefulness, and seeks again the continence he deserted, you will serve him, as is fitting, in all things; lest perhaps, as the Apostle says, God give him repentance, and he come to his senses from the snares of the devil, by whom he is held captive according to his will (See 2 Tim 2:25-26). But who does not know that your son, since you received him from legitimate and honorable marriage, is rather in the father's power than in yours? And therefore he cannot be denied to him, wherever he learns him to be, and lawfully demands him: and thereby, that he may, according to your will, be nourished and instructed in the wisdom of God, your concord too is necessary for him.
Ep211-270.11EPISTOLA 263
DOMINAE RELIGIOSISSIMAE ET SANCTAE FILIAE SAPIDAE, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINAE RELIGIOSISSIMAE ET SANCTAE FILIAE SAPIDAE, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 263
TO SAPIDA, A MOST RELIGIOUS AND HOLY LADY AND DAUGHTER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.11TO SAPIDA, A MOST RELIGIOUS AND HOLY LADY AND DAUGHTER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Accepi quod de iustis et piis laboribus manuum tuarum me accipere voluisti, ne te gravius contristarem, quam potius consolandam viderem: praesertim quia hoc ipsum tuum non parvum deputasti esse solatium, si eam, quam germano tuo sancto Dei ministro feceras tunicam, ego induerer; cum iam a terra morientium recedens nullis rebus corruptibilibus indigeret. Feci ergo quod desiderasti, et qualecumque hoc existima veris, vel quantulumcumque solatium, tuo erga fratrem pectori non negavi. Missam abs te tunicam accepi, et quando haec ad te scripsi, ea me vestire iam coeperam. Bono animo esto; sed multo melioribus, multoque maioribus consolationibus utere, ut nubilum tui cordis humana infirmitate contractum, serenetur auctoritate divina: et perseveranter ita vive, ut cum fratre vivas; quoniam sic mortuus est tuus frater, ut vivat. Caros non amissos esse sed ad caelum praemissos.
1. I have received what, from the just and devout labors of your hands, you wished me to receive, lest I should sadden you more gravely than I should rather see you to be consoled: especially because you reckoned this very thing to be your no small solace, if the tunic which you had made for your brother, the holy minister of God, I should put on; since he, now departing from the land of the dying, has need of no corruptible things. I did, therefore, what you desired, and, whatever you may esteem this, or however small a solace, I did not deny it to your heart toward your brother. I received the tunic sent by you, and when I wrote these things to you, I had already begun to clothe myself with it. Be of good spirit; but use much better and much greater consolations, that the cloud of your heart, contracted by human weakness, may be made serene by divine authority: and live perseveringly so that you may live with your brother; since your brother so died that he lives.
Ep211-270.12. Est quidem materies lacrymarum, quod germanum dilectorem tuum, teque plurimum pro tua vita et sacrae virginitatis professione reverentem, diaconum Carthaginensis Ecclesiae non vides, sicut solebas, intrantem et exeuntem, et in sui ecclesiastici officii strenuitate versantem; et honorifica illa ab eo verba non audis, quae tuae germanitatis sanctitati, morigero, pio et officioso impendebat affectu. Haec cum cogitantur, et consuetudinis violentia requiritur, cor pungitur, et tamquam sanguis cordis fletus exoritur. Sed sursum sit cor, et sicci erunt oculi. Neque enim quia ista, quae tibi maeres esse subtracta, suo temporali cursu praeterierunt, ideo periit illa caritas qua Timotheus Sapidam dilexit, et diligit; manet illa servata in thesauro suo, et abscondita est cum Christo in Domino. Qui diligunt aurum, numquid perdunt quando recondunt? nonne tunc de illo, quantum fieri potest, securiores fiunt, cum remotum a suis oculis loculis tutioribus servant? Itane vero terrena cupiditas munitius se habere putat, si non videat id quod amat; et coelestis caritas dolet, tamquam amiserit quod in horrea superna praemiserit. Sapida, quod vocaris attende, et quae sursum sunt sape, ubi Christus est ad dexteram Dei sedens ; qui pro nobis dignatus est mori, ut viveremus etiam mortui; et ne mors ipsa ab homine, tamquam consumptura hominem, timeretur; nec mortuorum quisquam, pro quibus vita mortua est, tamquam vitam perdiderit, doleretur. Haec atque huiusmodi tua sint divina solatia quibus erubescat et cedat humana tristitia. Quatenus suos defunctos liceat Christianis flere.
2. There is indeed matter for tears, that you do not see your beloved brother—who reverenced you greatly for your life and your profession of sacred virginity—the deacon of the Church of Carthage, as you used to, entering and going out, and busying himself in the strenuousness of his ecclesiastical office; and you do not hear from him those honorable words, which he expended on the holiness of your sisterly bond with a compliant, devout, and dutiful affection. When these things are thought of, and the violence of habit is felt, the heart is pierced, and, as it were, the blood of the heart, weeping, arises. But let the heart be on high, and the eyes will be dry. For not because these things, which you grieve to have been withdrawn from you, have passed away in their temporal course, has that love perished by which Timothy loved Sapida, and loves her; it abides preserved in its treasure, and is hidden with Christ in God (See Col 3:3). Those who love gold, do they lose it when they store it away? are they not then, as far as can be, more secure about it, when they keep it, removed from their eyes, in safer caskets? Does, then, earthly desire think it has its thing more securely guarded, if it does not see what it loves; and does heavenly love grieve, as though it had lost what it sent ahead into the heavenly granaries? Sapida, attend to what you are called, and savor the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (See Col 3:1-2); who deigned to die for us, that we might live even dead; and lest death itself be feared by a man, as though about to consume the man; nor any of the dead, for whom life died, be grieved as though he had lost life. Let these and such be your divine consolations, before which human sadness should blush and yield.
Ep211-270.23. Non quidem succensendum est de caris mortuis dolori mortalium; sed diuturnus dolor non debet esse fidelium. Si ergo contristata es, iam sit satis; nec sic contristeris quemadmodum Gentes, quae spem non habent . Non enim constristari prohibuit Paulus apostolus, cum hoc diceret, sed sic contristari quemadmodum Gentes, quae spem non habent. Nam et Martha et Maria, piae sorores et fideles, resurrecturum suum fratrem Lazarum flebant , quamvis eum tunc ad hanc vitam rediturum esse nescirent: et ipse Dominus eumdem, quem fuerat resuscitaturus, Lazarum flevit ; nimirum ut fleamus etiam nos eos mortuos quos ad veram vitam resurrecturos credimus, etsi non iussit praecepto, concessit exemplo. Nec frustra Scriptura dicit in libro Ecclesiastico: In mortuo produc lacrymas, et quasi dira perpessus incipe lamentationem : sed paulo post ait, et consolare propter tristitiam; a tristitia enim procedit mors, et tristitia cordis flectet fortitudinem . Aeternitatis spes Christianis est magno solacio.
3. Grief over dear dead ones is indeed not to be reproached in mortals; but a long-lasting grief ought not to be that of the faithful. If, then, you have been saddened, let it now be enough; nor be saddened as the Gentiles, who have no hope (1 Thess 4:13). For the apostle Paul did not forbid being saddened, when he said this, but being saddened as the Gentiles, who have no hope. For both Martha and Mary, devout and faithful sisters, wept for their brother Lazarus, who was to rise again (See John 11:1-44), although they did not then know he was about to return to this life: and the Lord himself wept for the same Lazarus, whom he was about to raise up (See John 11:35); doubtless so that we too may weep for those dead whom we believe will rise to true life—even if he did not command it by precept, he conceded it by example. Nor in vain does Scripture say in the book of Ecclesiasticus: For the dead bring forth tears, and, as one having suffered dire things, begin lamentation: but a little after it says, and console yourself on account of the sadness; for from sadness death proceeds, and the sadness of the heart bends strength (See Sir 38:16-18).
Ep211-270.34. Frater tuus, filia, mente vivit, carne dormit; numquid qui dormit, non adiciet ut resurgat ? Deus qui spiritum eius iam suscepit, restituet ei corpus suum, quod non perdendum abstulit, sed reddendum distulit. Nulla est igitur causa tristitiae diuturnae, quia potior est causa laetitiae sempiternae. Quandoquidem germani tui nec pars ipsa mortalis, quae in terra sepulta est, tibi peribit; in qua tibi praesentabatur, per quam te alloquebatur, tecumque colloquebatur; ex qua promebat vocem sic tuis auribus notam, quemadmodum faciem tuis oculis offerebat, ita ut ubicumque sonuisset, etiam non visus soleret agnosci. Haec enim vivorum sensibus subtrahuntur, ut dolorem faciat absentia mortuorum. Sed quando nec ipsa in aeternum corpora peribunt, uti nec capillus capitis peribit , et ad tempus deposita sic recipientur, ut numquam ulterius deponantur, sed in melius demutata firmentur; profecto maior est causa gratulationis in spe inaestimabilis aeternitatis, quam causa moeroris in re brevissimi temporis. Hanc spem non habent Gentes, nescientes Scripturas neque virtutem Dei ; qui potest perdita reparare, et vivificare mortua, et redintegrare corrupta, et separata iterum iungere, et corrupta atque finita deinceps sine fine servare. Haec facturum se esse promisit, qui ex his fidem fecit, quae iam promissa perfecit. Haec tecum sermocinetur fides tua, quoniam non fraudabitur spes tua, etsi nunc differatur caritas tua: haec meditare; his uberius et verius consolare. Si enim, quia vestior (quoniam ille non potuit) ea veste quam fratri texueras, te aliquid consolatur; quanto debes amplius et certius consolari, quia cui fuerat praeparata, tunc incorruptibili indumento nullo egens, incorruptione atque immortalitate vestietur!
4. Your brother, daughter, lives in mind, sleeps in flesh; shall he who sleeps not add that he rise again? (See Ps 41:8 (40:9)) God, who has already received his spirit, will restore to him his body, which he took away not to destroy but deferred to return. There is, therefore, no cause for long-lasting sadness, because there is a stronger cause for everlasting gladness. Since not even that mortal part itself of your brother, which is buried in the earth, will perish for you; in which he was presented to you, through which he addressed you and conversed with you; from which he brought forth a voice so known to your ears, as he offered his face to your eyes, so that wherever it sounded, even unseen he was wont to be recognized. For these things are withdrawn from the senses of the living, so that the absence of the dead may cause grief. But since not even those bodies will perish forever, just as not a hair of the head will perish (See Luke 21:18), and, laid aside for a time, will be so received that they will never henceforth be laid aside, but, changed for the better, be made firm; surely there is a greater cause for congratulation in the hope of inestimable eternity, than a cause for mourning in a matter of the briefest time. This hope the Gentiles do not have, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God (See Matt 22:29); who is able to repair things lost, and give life to things dead, and reintegrate things corrupted, and join again things separated, and henceforth keep without end things corrupted and ended. These things he promised he would do, who made faith from these things which he has already accomplished, having promised them. May your faith converse these things with you, since your hope will not be defrauded, even if your love is now deferred: meditate on these things; by these be more abundantly and more truly consoled. For if, because I am clothed (since he could not be) with that garment which you had woven for your brother, this consoles you something; how much more ought you to be consoled, and more surely, because he for whom it had been prepared will then, needing no incorruptible garment, be clothed with incorruption and immortality!
Ep211-270.4EPISTOLA 264
HONORABILI ET EXIMIAE ATQUE IN MEMBRIS CHRISTI LAUDABILI FAMULAE DEI MAXIMAE, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
HONORABILI ET EXIMIAE ATQUE IN MEMBRIS CHRISTI LAUDABILI FAMULAE DEI MAXIMAE, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 264
TO MAXIMA, AN HONORABLE AND DISTINGUISHED AND, IN THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, PRAISEWORTHY HANDMAID OF GOD, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.4TO MAXIMA, AN HONORABLE AND DISTINGUISHED AND, IN THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, PRAISEWORTHY HANDMAID OF GOD, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Quantum nos tuum studium sanctum laetificat, tantum rursus contristat quod per errores noxios et perniciosissimos provinciam vestram nimium periclitari significas. Sed quia ista futura praedicta sunt, mirandum non est quod exsurgant, sed vigilandum ne noceant. Haec autem Deus liberator noster exsurgere non permitteret, nisi sanctis eius etiam per huiusmodi tentationes erudiri expediret. Comparant sibi quidem illi sua voluntate perversa, et praesentis meritum caecitatis et futuri aeterni supplicii, si per contumaciam indociles fuerint, seque, cum in hac vita sunt, corrigere atque emendare neglexerint. Verumtamen, sicut ipsi male utuntur bonis Dei, qui facit solem suum oriri super bonos et malos, et pluit super iustos et iniustos ; qui eos per patientiam suam ad poenitentiam vocat, cum thesaurizant sibi iram in die irae, et revelationis iusti iudicii Dei : sicut ergo ipsi benignitate et patientia, id est bonis Dei male utuntur, dum non corriguntur; sic contra, Deus etiam malis eorum bene utitur, non solum ad iustitiam suam, quae eis digna in fine retribuet, sed etiam ad exercitationem et provectum sanctorum suorum, ut ex ipsa etiam malorum perversitate boni proficiant, et probentur, et manifestentur; sicut Apostolus ait: Oportet haereses esse, ut probati manifesti fiant inter vos . Pro errantibus orandum, errores autem vitandi.
1. As much as your holy zeal gladdens us, so much in turn it saddens us that you signify your province to be in too great peril through noxious and most pernicious errors. But because these things were foretold as about to be, it is not to be wondered at that they arise, but to be watched lest they harm. But God, our deliverer, would not permit these things to arise, unless it were expedient that his saints be instructed even through temptations of this kind. They indeed procure for themselves, by their own perverse will, both the desert of present blindness and of future eternal punishment, if through obstinacy they are unteachable, and neglect, while they are in this life, to correct and amend themselves. Nevertheless, just as they themselves badly use the good things of God, who makes his sun rise upon the good and the evil, and rains upon the just and the unjust (Matt 5:45); who calls them through his patience to repentance, while they treasure up for themselves wrath in the day of wrath and of the revelation of the just judgment of God (See Rom 2:4-5): just as, then, they themselves badly use the kindness and patience, that is, the good things of God, while they are not corrected; so, on the contrary, God uses even their evils well, not only for his justice, which will repay them worthily in the end, but also for the exercise and advancement of his saints, so that from the very perversity of the evil the good may make progress, and be tested, and be made manifest; as the Apostle says: There must be heresies, that the approved may be made manifest among you (See 1 Cor 11:19).
Ep211-270.12. Nam si nullus etiam malorum bonus usus esset Deo ad utilitatem electorum suorum, qui etiam de malo Iudae tantum bonum nobis praestitit, ut Christi sanguine redimeremur; poterat eos aut nasci non permittere, quos malos futuros esse praesciebat, aut in ipso eorum initio malignitatis exstinguere: sed tantum eos permittit esse, quantum novit expedire atque sufficere admonendae atque exercendae sanctae domui suae. Ideo nostram de illis tristitiam consolatur: quia et ipsa tristitia quam pro illis habemus, nos relevat; illos autem in sua perversitate perseverantes gravat. Gaudium vero quod percipimus quando aliqui ex eis correcti in melius commutantur, et sanctorum societati copulantur, nulli gaudio in hac vita comparari potest. Propterea scriptum est: Fili, si sapiens fueris, tibi sapiens eris et proximis tuis; si autem malus evaseris, solus hauries mala . Quia cum gaudemus de fidelibus et iustis, et illis et nobis prodest bonum eorum; cum autem contristamur de infidelibus et iniquis, illis solis nocet et eorum malitia et nostra tristitia: nos autem etiam hoc plurimum adiuvat apud Deum, quod pro eis misericorditer contristamur, et pro ipsa tristitia congemiscimus et oramus. Unde honorabilis et in Christo laudabilis famula Dei, et moestitiam tuam de talibus, et vigilantiam atque cautelam contra tales, quam tuis litteris expressisti, multum approbo et laudo: atque ut in hac via perseveranter ambules, pro meis viribus, quia hoc exigis, et hortor, et moneo ut miserearis eorum tamquam simplex ut columba, caveas autem illos tamquam astuta sicut serpens ; desque operam, quantum potes, ut qui tibi adhaerent, tecum in recta fide permaneant, aut ad fidem rectam, si forte in aliquo aliqui depravati sunt, corrigantur. Quid spectet Incarnatio quaeque eius sit ratio.
2. For if there were no good use even of the evil, for God, toward the advantage of his elect—he who, even from the evil of Judas, conferred so great a good on us, that we might be redeemed by the blood of Christ—he could either not permit those to be born whom he foreknew would be evil, or extinguish them in the very beginning of their malignity: but he permits them to be only as much as he knows to be expedient and sufficient for admonishing and exercising his holy household. Therefore he consoles our sadness about them: because the very sadness which we have for them relieves us; but it weighs down those persevering in their perversity. But the joy which we receive when some of them, corrected, are changed for the better, and coupled to the fellowship of the saints, can be compared to no joy in this life. For this reason it is written: Son, if you are wise, you will be wise for yourself and for your neighbors; but if you turn out evil, you alone will drink in the evils (See Prov 9:12). For when we rejoice over the faithful and the just, their good profits both them and us; but when we are saddened over the unbelieving and the wicked, it harms only them—both their malice and our sadness: but us this too helps very much with God, that we are mercifully saddened for them, and groan and pray for that very sadness. Hence, honorable and in Christ praiseworthy handmaid of God, both your sadness over such people, and the vigilance and caution against such people, which you expressed in your letter, I much approve and praise: and that you may walk perseveringly in this way, with my strength, since you demand this, I both exhort and admonish you to have mercy on them as simple as a dove, but to beware of them as cunning as a serpent (See Matt 10:16); and to give effort, as much as you can, that those who cling to you may remain with you in the right faith, or, if perhaps any have been depraved in anything, be corrected to the right faith.
Ep211-270.23. De homine autem quem suscepit Verbum Dei, cum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis , emendarem aliquid, si in eo quod credis, falsum aut perversum invenirem. Hoc ergo crede quod credis, quia in illo homine totam naturam nostram suscepit Filius Dei, id est et animam rationalem et carnem mortalem sine peccato. Infirmitatis enim nostrae particeps factus est, non iniquitatis, ut per infirmitatem communem, solveret iniquitatem nostram, et adduceret nos ad iustitiam suam, bibens mortem de nostro, et propinans vitam de suo. Sed si habes aliquam scripturam eorum, in qua asserunt quod huic fidei sit contrarium, dignare eam mittere, ut non solum fidem nostram dicamus, sed eorum quoque perfidiam, quantum possumus, refellamus. Sine dubio enim hoc ipsum, quod perverse et impie sentiunt, aliquibus testimoniis divinarum Scripturarum conantur astruere: in quibus eis ostendendum est quam non recte intellegant Litteras sacras conscriptas ad fidelium salutem; tamquam si quisquam se medicinalibus ferramentis graviter vexet, quae utique non ad vulnerandum, sed ad sanandum sunt instituta. Multum autem laboravimus et laboramus, quantum Dominus donat, contra diversos errores arguendos. Sed laborum nostrorum opuscula si forte habere desideras, mitte qui tibi describant. Voluit enim Deus ut hoc facillime possis, qui tibi dedit unde possis.
3. But about the man whom the Word of God assumed, when he was made flesh and dwelt among us (See John 1:14), I would amend something, if in what you believe I found anything false or perverse. Believe, then, this which you believe, that in that man the Son of God assumed our whole nature, that is, both a rational soul and mortal flesh without sin. For he was made a partaker of our weakness, not of iniquity, that through the common weakness he might dissolve our iniquity, and lead us to his righteousness, drinking death from what is ours, and offering to drink life from what is his. But if you have any writing of theirs, in which they assert what is contrary to this faith, deign to send it, that we may not only state our faith, but also refute their faithlessness, as much as we can. For without doubt this very thing which they perversely and impiously think, they try to construct from some testimonies of the divine Scriptures: in which it is to be shown them how incorrectly they understand the holy Letters written for the salvation of the faithful; just as if anyone should gravely vex himself with medicinal instruments, which surely were instituted not for wounding but for healing. But we have labored much, and labor, as far as the Lord grants, to refute diverse errors. But if you perhaps desire to have the little works of our labors, send those who may copy them for you. For God willed that you could do this most easily, who gave you the means by which you can.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 265
RELIGIOSISSIMAE ET IN CHRISTI DILECTIONE HONORANDAE FAMULAE DEI SELEUCIANAE, AUGUSTINUS EPISCOPUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
RELIGIOSISSIMAE ET IN CHRISTI DILECTIONE HONORANDAE FAMULAE DEI SELEUCIANAE, AUGUSTINUS EPISCOPUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 265
TO SELEUCIANA, A MOST RELIGIOUS HANDMAID OF GOD, TO BE HONORED IN THE LOVE OF CHRIST, AUGUSTINE, A BISHOP, SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.3TO SELEUCIANA, A MOST RELIGIOUS HANDMAID OF GOD, TO BE HONORED IN THE LOVE OF CHRIST, AUGUSTINE, A BISHOP, SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Lectis litteris tuis de salute vestra laetatus, ad ea quae scripsisti, respondere non distuli. Et primum miratus sum quomodo dicat novatianus iste Petrum baptizatum non fuisse, cum paulo superius scripseris eum dixisse quod Apostoli fuerint baptizati. Unde illi videatur quod inter Apostolos baptizatos Petrus non fuerit baptizatus, ignoro: et ideo exemplum epistolae tuae, ne forsitan tu non habeas, misi tibi, in quo diligentius consideres ad ea me respondere quae inveni in litteris tuis; si enim notarius non mendose excepit aut scripsit, nescio quale cor habeat qui cum Apostolos baptizatos dicat, Petrum baptizatum negat. Petrus egit quidem poenitentiam at non ut poenitentes.
1. Having read your letter, rejoicing over your welfare, I did not delay to answer the things you wrote. And first I wondered how that Novatian says Peter was not baptized, when a little above you wrote that he said the Apostles were baptized. Whence it seems to him that, among the baptized Apostles, Peter was not baptized, I do not know: and therefore I have sent you a copy of your letter, lest perhaps you do not have it, in which you may more diligently consider that I am answering the things I found in your letter; for if the notary did not take it down or write it faultily, I do not know what sort of heart he has who, while he says the Apostles were baptized, denies that Peter was baptized.
Ep211-270.12. Quod autem Petrus dicitur egisse poenitentiam, cavendum est ne ita putetur egisse, quomodo agunt in Ecclesia qui proprio paenitentes vocantur. Et quis hoc ferat, ut primum Apostolorum, inter tales poenitentes numerandum putemus? Poenituit enim eum negasse Christum, quod eius indicant lacrymae: sic enim scriptum est, quia flevit amare . Nondum enim fuerant resurrectione Domini confirmati, et illo adventu Spiritus sancti qui apparuit die Pentecostes, vel illa inspiratione quam demonstravit Dominus posteaquam resurrexit a mortuis, cum insufflavit in eorum faciem, dicens: Accipite Spiritum sanctum . Quomodo Apostoli baptizati fuerint.
2. But as for Peter's being said to have done penance, care must be taken lest he be thought to have done it in the way that those do in the Church who are properly called penitents. And who could bear that we should think the first of the Apostles is to be numbered among such penitents? For it repented him to have denied Christ, which his tears indicate: for so it is written, that he wept bitterly (Matt 26:75). For they had not yet been confirmed by the resurrection of the Lord, and by that coming of the Holy Spirit who appeared on the day of Pentecost, or by that inbreathing which the Lord showed after he rose from the dead, when he breathed on their face, saying: Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).
Ep211-270.23. Unde recte dici potest, quia cum Petrus negavit Dominum, nondum fuerant Apostoli baptizati; non tamen aqua, sed Spiritu sancto. Hoc enim eis dixit postquam resurrexit, et conversatus est cum eis: Ioannes quidem baptizavit aqua, vos autem Spiritu sancto baptizabimini, quem et accepturi estis non post multos hos dies usque ad Pentecosten . Aliqui autem codices habent: Vos autem Spiritu sancto incipietis baptizari: sed sive dicatur, baptizabimini, sive dicatur, incipietis baptizari, ad rem nihil interest. Nam in quibuscumque codicibus invenitur, baptizabitis, aut, incipietis baptizare, mendosi sunt; qui ex graecis facillime convincuntur. Si autem dicimus aqua non fuisse baptizatos, metuendum est ne graviter in eis erremus, ne demus hominibus auctoritatem contemnendi Baptismum; quem usque adeo non contemnendum ipsa apostolica disciplina commendat, ut Cornelius centurio et ii qui cum illo erant, etiam iam accepto Spiritu sancto, fuerint baptizati . Baptisma ordinarium et baptisma sanguinis.
3. Hence it can rightly be said that, when Peter denied the Lord, the Apostles had not yet been baptized; not, however, with water, but with the Holy Spirit. For this he said to them after he rose and conversed with them: John indeed baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, whom you are also going to receive not many days hence, up to Pentecost (See Acts 1:5). But some codices have: But you will begin to be baptized with the Holy Spirit: but whether it be said, you will be baptized, or it be said, you will begin to be baptized, it makes no difference to the matter. For in whatever codices is found, you will baptize, or, you will begin to baptize, they are faulty; which are most easily refuted from the Greek. But if we say they were not baptized with water, it is to be feared lest we err gravely about them, lest we give men authority for despising baptism; which the apostolic discipline itself commends as so far not to be despised, that Cornelius the centurion and those who were with him, even having already received the Holy Spirit, were baptized (See Acts 10:44-48).
Ep211-270.34. Sicut antiqui iusti si non circumciderentur, non erat eis peccatum; postea vero quam iussit Deus ut circumcideretur Abraham eiusque posteritas , iam si non fieret, grave peccatum fuit: sic etiam antequam Dominus Christus in Ecclesia sua Sacramentum Novi Testamenti... pro circumcisione carnis sanctum baptismum dedit, et apertissime dixit: Si quis non renatus fuerit ex aqua et Spiritu sancto, non intrabit in regnum coelorum , iam non debemus quaerere quando quisque fuerit baptizatus; sed quoscumque legimus in corpore Christi, quod est Ecclesia , pertinere ad regnum coelorum, nonnisi baptizatos intellegere debemus: nisi forte quos angustia passionis invenit, et nolentes negare Christum, antequam baptizarentur occisi sunt, quibus ipsa passio pro Baptismo. deputata est. Sed numquid hoc possumus de Apostolis dicere, qui usque adeo largum tempus habuerunt quo baptizarentur, ut alios etiam baptizaverint? Sed non omnia quae facta sunt, etiam scripta inveniuntur; verumtamen facta esse ex caeteris documentis probantur. Scriptum est quando baptizatus sit apostolus Paulus , et scriptum non est quando baptizati sint alii Apostoli; verumtamen etiam ipsos baptizatos intellegere debemus: quemadmodum scriptum est quando baptizatae sint plebes Ecclesiarum in Ierusalem et Samaria ; quando autem baptizatae sint aliae plebes gentium, quibus Apostoli Epistolas miserunt, non est utique scriptum, et tamen etiam ipsas baptizatas utique minime dubitamus propter illam Domini sententiam: Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et Spiritu sancto, non intrabit in regnum coelorum . Christum baptizasse per Apostolos.
4. Just as the ancient just men, if they were not circumcised, had no sin; but after God commanded that Abraham and his posterity be circumcised (See Gen 17:9-14), then, if it were not done, it was a grave sin: so also, before the Lord Christ in his Church gave the Sacrament of the New Testament... holy baptism in place of the circumcision of the flesh, and said most openly: If anyone is not reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, he will not enter into the kingdom of heaven (See John 3:5), we ought not now to ask when each one was baptized; but whomever we read to pertain to the kingdom of heaven, in the body of Christ, which is the Church (See Col 1:24), we ought to understand to be only the baptized: unless perhaps those whom the straits of the Passion found, and who, unwilling to deny Christ, were killed before they were baptized, to whom the Passion itself was reckoned for baptism. But can we say this of the Apostles, who had so ample a time in which they might be baptized, that they even baptized others? But not all the things that were done are also found written; nevertheless they are proved to have been done from other documents. It is written when the apostle Paul was baptized (See Acts 9:18), and it is not written when the other Apostles were baptized; nevertheless we ought to understand them too to have been baptized: just as it is written when the peoples of the Churches in Jerusalem and Samaria were baptized (See Acts 2:41; 8:12); but when the other peoples of the nations were baptized, to whom the Apostles sent Letters, it is surely not written, and yet we by no means doubt that they too were surely baptized, on account of that sentence of the Lord: Unless one is reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, he will not enter into the kingdom of heaven (See John 3:5).
Ep211-270.45. Utrumque autem de Domino scriptum est, et quia baptizabat plures quam Ioannes, et quia ipse non baptizabat, sed discipuli eius ; ut intellegeremus et ipsum quidem baptizasse praesentia maiestatis, non tamen ipsum baptizasse manibus suis. Ipsius enim erat Baptismi sacramentum; ad Discipulos autem baptizandi ministerium pertinebat. Tunc ergo quando dicit Ioannes evangelista in Evangelio suo: Post haec exiit Iesus et discipuli eius in Iudaeam terram, et illic morabatur cum eis, et baptizabat : tunc paulo post de illo loquens ait: Ut ergo cognovit Iesus quia audierunt Pharisaei quod Iesus plures discipulos faceret, et baptizaret plures quam Ioannes (quamquam Iesus ipse non baptizaret, sed discipuli eius), reliquit Iudaeam, et abiit iterum in Galilaeam . Tunc ergo quando ab Ierosolymis exiit cum discipulis suis in Iudaeam terram, et illic morabatur cum eis, baptizabat non per seipsum, sed per discipulos suos; quos intellegimus iam fuisse baptizatos, sive baptismo Ioannis, sicut nonnulli arbitrantur, sive quod magis credibile est, baptismo Christi. Neque enim ministerium baptizandi defugeret, ut haberet baptizatos servos, per quos caeteros baptizaret, qui non defugit memorabilis illius humilitatis ministerium, quando eis lavit pedes; et petenti Petro ut non tantum pedes, verum etiam manus et caput ei lavaret, respondit: Qui lotus est non indiget nisi ut pedes lavet, sed est mundus totus : ubi intellegitur quod iam Petrus baptizatus fuerat. Paenitentiam pro baptismo Apostolos minime dedisse.
5. But both are written of the Lord: both that he baptized more than John, and that he himself did not baptize, but his disciples (See John 4:1-2); that we might understand both that he himself indeed baptized by the presence of his majesty, yet that he himself did not baptize with his own hands. For the Sacrament of baptism was his; but the ministry of baptizing pertained to the Disciples. Then, therefore, when John the evangelist says in his Gospel: After these things Jesus and his disciples went out into the land of Judea, and there he stayed with them, and baptized (John 3:22): then, a little after, speaking of him, he says: When, therefore, Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made more disciples and baptized more than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but his disciples), he left Judea, and went again into Galilee (John 4:1-3). Then, therefore, when he went out from Jerusalem with his disciples into the land of Judea, and there stayed with them, he baptized not through himself, but through his disciples; whom we understand to have been already baptized, whether with the baptism of John, as some judge, or, what is more credible, with the baptism of Christ. For he would not shun the ministry of baptizing, so as to have baptized servants through whom he might baptize the rest, who did not shun the ministry of that memorable humility, when he washed their feet; and to Peter asking that he wash for him not only the feet, but also the hands and head, he answered: He who is washed needs only to wash his feet, but is wholly clean (John 13:10): where it is understood that Peter had already been baptized.
Ep211-270.56. Quomodo autem iste dicat, quod in epistola tua posuisti, quod Apostoli dederint poenitentiam pro Baptismo, non evidenter expressum est. Si enim pro Baptismo ideo dicit, quia per poenitentiam remittuntur peccata, habet aliquid rationis quod dicit. Sed talis poenitentia post Baptismum potest utilis esse, si quis peccaverit. Iste autem quoniam negat post Baptismum dari poenitentiae locum, cum dicit, sicut scripsisti, poenitentiam solam ante Baptismum esse; datur intellegi sic eum dixisse quod Apostoli dederint poenitentiam pro Baptismo, ut ante Baptismum eam dederint, atque ii quibus data sit, postea non fuerint baptizati, quia eis illa pro Baptismo fuit: quod Novatianos dicere numquam audivi. Unde quaere diligenter, ne forte alicuius alterius erroris sit, et novatianum se esse confingat, vel putet. Aut si et hoc Novatiani dicunt, nescio: illud tamen scio, quoniam quisquis hoc dicit, a regula fidei catholicae, et a doctrina Christi et Apostolorum prorsus alienus est. Paenitentiam non fungi baptismi vice.
6. But how he says—what you set down in your letter—that the Apostles gave penance in place of baptism, is not evidently expressed. For if he says "in place of baptism" for this reason, that through penance sins are remitted, what he says has some reason. But such penance can be useful after baptism, if anyone has sinned. But he, since he denies that a place of penance is given after baptism, when he says, as you wrote, that penance is only before baptism; one is given to understand that he so said that the Apostles gave penance in place of baptism, that they gave it before baptism, and that those to whom it was given were not afterward baptized, because that was for them in place of baptism: which I have never heard the Novatians say. Hence inquire diligently, lest perhaps it be of some other error, and he feign, or think, himself to be a Novatian. Or whether the Novatians too say this, I do not know: this, however, I do know, that whoever says this is utterly alien from the rule of the Catholic faith, and from the teaching of Christ and the Apostles.
Ep211-270.67. Agunt enim homines ante Baptismum poenitentiam de suis prioribus peccatis, ita tamen ut etiam baptizentur, sicut scriptum est in Actibus Apostolorum, loquente Petro ad Iudaeos et dicente: Agite poenitentiam, et baptizetur unusquisque vestrum in nomine Domini Iesu Christi; et dimittentur vobis peccata vestra . Agunt etiam homines poenitentiam, si post Baptismum ita peccaverint, ut excommunicari et postea reconciliari mereatur; sicut agunt mereantur: sicut in omnibus Ecclesiis illi qui proprie poenitentes appellantur. De tali enim poenitentia locutus est apostolus Paulus, ubi ait: Ne iterum cum venero humiliet me Deus apud vos; et lugeam multos ex iis qui ante peccaverunt, et non egerunt poenitentiam super immunditia, et luxuria, et fornicatione quam egerunt : neque enim scribebat ista, nisi eis qui iam baptizati fuerant. Habemus etiam in Actibus Apostolorum, Simonem iam baptizatum, cum pecunia vellet emere ut per impositionem manus eius daretur Spiritus sanctus, admonitum a Petro ut de hoc gravi peccato ageret poenitentiam . Paenitentia pene quotidiana pro peccatis venialibus.
7. For men do penance before baptism for their former sins, yet in such a way that they are also baptized, as it is written in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter speaking to the Jews and saying: Do penance, and let each of you be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; and your sins will be forgiven you (See Acts 2:38). Men also do penance, if after baptism they have so sinned as to merit to be excommunicated and afterward reconciled; as do those who in all the Churches are properly called penitents. For of such penance the apostle Paul spoke, where he says: Lest again, when I come, God humble me before you; and I mourn many of those who sinned before, and did not do penance over the uncleanness, and luxury, and fornication which they committed (2 Cor 12:21): for he would not write these things, except to those who had already been baptized. We have also in the Acts of the Apostles, Simon, already baptized, when he wished to buy with money that, by the laying on of his hand, the Holy Spirit might be given, admonished by Peter to do penance for this grave sin (See Acts 8:13-22).
Ep211-270.78. Est etiam poenitentia bonorum et humilium fidelium pene quotidiana, in qua pectora tundimus dicentes: Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris . Neque enim ea nobis dimitti volumus, quae dimissa non dubitamus in Baptismo; sed illa utique quae humanae fragilitati, quamvis parva, tamen crebra subrepunt: quae si collecta contra nos fuerint, ita nos gravabunt et oppriment, sicut unum aliquod grande peccatum. Quid enim interest ad naufragium, utrum uno grandi fluctu navis operiatur et obruatur, an paulatim subrepens aqua in sentinam, et per neglegentiam derelicta atque contempta, impleat navem atque submergat? Propter haec ieiunia et eleemosynae et orationes invigilant: in quibus cum dicimus: Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus, manifestamus habere nos quod nobis dimittatur; atque in iis verbis humiliantes animas nostras, quotidianam quodammodo agere poenitentiam non cessamus. Ad ea quae scripsisti, puto me breviter sed sufficienter respondisse: superest ut ille non sit contentiosus, propter quem lucrandum ad me tales litteras destinandas putasti.
8. There is also a penance of the good and humble faithful, almost daily, in which we beat our breasts, saying: Forgive us our debts, as we too forgive our debtors (Matt 6:12). For we do not wish those things to be forgiven us which we do not doubt were forgiven in baptism; but surely those things which, however small, yet frequent, creep upon human frailty: which, if they are collected against us, will so weigh us down and oppress us, as some one great sin. For what difference does it make to a shipwreck, whether the ship is covered and overwhelmed by one great wave, or whether water creeping in little by little into the bilge, and by negligence left and despised, fills the ship and sinks it? On account of these things, fasts and alms and prayers keep watch: in which, when we say, Forgive us our debts, as we too forgive, we manifest that we have what is to be forgiven us; and in these words, humbling our souls, we do not cease in a way to do daily penance. To the things you wrote, I think I have answered briefly but sufficiently: it remains that he not be contentious, for the gaining of whom you thought such a letter should be directed to me.
Ep211-270.8EPISTOLA 266
DOMINAE EXIMIAE, MERITOQUE HONORABILI IN CHRISTO AC SUSCIPIENDAE FILIAE FLORENTINAE, AUGUSTINUS EPISCOPUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINAE EXIMIAE, MERITOQUE HONORABILI IN CHRISTO AC SUSCIPIENDAE FILIAE FLORENTINAE, AUGUSTINUS EPISCOPUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 266
TO FLORENTINA, A DISTINGUISHED LADY AND, DESERVEDLY HONORABLE IN CHRIST, A DAUGHTER TO BE RECEIVED, AUGUSTINE, A BISHOP, SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.8TO FLORENTINA, A DISTINGUISHED LADY AND, DESERVEDLY HONORABLE IN CHRIST, A DAUGHTER TO BE RECEIVED, AUGUSTINE, A BISHOP, SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Sanctum propositum tuum, et invisceratus cordi tuo timor Domini castus permanens in saeculum saeculi , curam pro te nostram non solum in precibus apud Deum, verum etiam in admonitionibus ad te ipsam non mediocriter suscitat. Quod quidem in epistolis meis, quas ad matrem Reverentiae tuae debito mihi cum honore nominandam dedi, non semel feci. Sed quia hoc mihi rescribere dignata est, prius te velle accipere litteras meas; tunc demum, si quid forte opus esset tibi ex ministerio meo, quod venerando studio tuo omniumque talium, quantum possum, libera servitute debere me novi, non te esse tacituram et rescribendo insinuaturam: ecce feci quod te voluisse, quamvis non per te, comperi; ne viderer tibi ostium fiduciae inhumaniter claudere : superest ut promas ipsa, si quid ex me quaerendum putas. Aut enim scio quod inquisieris, et non negabo: aut ita nescio, ut nullo fidei salutisque detrimento nesciam, et de hoc etiam teipsam, si potuero, faciam reddita ratione securam. Aut certe, si et nescio, et tamen sciendum est, vel impetrabo a Domino ne tibi desim; nam saepe officium impertiendi meritum est accipiendi: vel ita tibi respondebo, ut noveris pro hac ipsa re quam pariter nescimus, ad quem pulsare debeamus . In docendo vitandum superbiae vitium.
1. Your holy purpose, and the chaste fear of the Lord, abiding forever and ever (See Ps 19:9 (18:10)), ingrafted in your heart, rouses our care for you, not only in prayers to God, but also in admonitions to you yourself, not a little. Which indeed I have done more than once in my letters, which I gave to the mother of your Reverence, to be named by me with due honor. But because she deigned to write back to me this, that you first wished to receive my letters; then at last, if perhaps anything were needful for you from my ministry, which I know I owe, by a free servitude, to your venerable zeal and that of all such people, as much as I can, you would not keep silent, but would suggest it by writing back: behold, I have done what I learned you wished, although not through you; lest I seem to you inhumanely to close the door of confidence: it remains that you yourself bring forth, if you think anything is to be asked of me. For either I know what you have inquired, and will not deny it: or I am so ignorant that I am ignorant with no detriment to faith and salvation, and about this too I will, if I can, make you secure by a reason rendered. Or certainly, if I both am ignorant, and yet it is to be known, either I will obtain from the Lord that I not fail you; for often the duty of imparting is the merit of receiving: or I will so answer you, that you may know, for this very matter which we alike do not know, on whom we ought to knock (See Matt 7:7-8).
Ep211-270.12. Haec ideo praelocutus sum, ne te pro certo speres quidquid a me quaesiveris audituram, et cum hoc non provenerit, audacter potius quam prudenter me fecisse arbitreris, quod tibi quaerendi si quid voles, facultatem dedi. Hoc enim feci non doctor perfectus, sed cum docendis perficiendus, domina eximia, meritoque honorabilis in Christo ac suscipienda filia. Equidem etiam in iis rebus quas utcumque scio, magis te cupio esse scientem, quam scientiae nostrae indigentem. Neque enim, ut quod scimus doceamus, aliorum ignorantiam optare debemus: multo quippe melius omnes sumus docibiles Deo ; quod utique in illa superna patria, cum in nobis completum fuerit quod promissum est, perficietur, ut non dicat homo proximo suo: Cognosce Dominum: omnes enim cognoscent eum, sicut scriptum est, a minore usque ad maiorem eorum . Et sollicitissime cavendum est in docendo superbiae vitium, quod in discendo non ita est. Unde et sancta Scriptura nos admonet, dicens: Sit omnis homo velox ad audiendum, tardus autem ad loquendum : et ille in Psalmo ait: Auditui meo dabis exsultationem et laetitiam; continuoque subiecit: Et exsultabunt ossa humiliata . Vidit enim in audiendo facillime servari humilitatem, quae difficilis est in docendo; quoniam necesse est ut doctor habeat superiorem locum, ubi laboriosum est obtinere ne subrepat elatio. Quod sit magistri solacium.
2. These things I have prefaced for this reason, lest you hope for certain that you will hear whatever you ask of me, and, when this does not come about, think that I acted boldly rather than prudently, in that I gave you the faculty of asking, if you wish, anything. For I did this not as a perfect teacher, but as one to be perfected along with those to be taught, distinguished lady, and deservedly honorable in Christ, daughter to be received. Indeed, even in those things which I somehow know, I rather desire you to be knowing, than in need of our knowledge. For we ought not, in order to teach what we know, to wish for the ignorance of others: for much better are we all teachable by God (See John 6:45); which surely, in that heavenly fatherland, when what is promised has been completed in us, will be perfected, so that a man may not say to his neighbor: Know the Lord: for all will know him, as it is written, from the least to the greatest of them (See Jer 31:34). And the vice of pride is most anxiously to be guarded against in teaching, which in learning is not so. Hence holy Scripture too admonishes us, saying: Let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak (Jas 1:19): and he in the Psalm says: To my hearing you will give exultation and gladness; and immediately subjoined: And the humbled bones will exult (Ps 51:8 (50:10)). For he saw that in hearing humility is most easily preserved, which is difficult in teaching; since it is necessary that the teacher have the higher place, where it is toilsome to obtain that elation not creep in.
Ep211-270.23. Videsne quemadmodum periclitemur a quibus hoc exspectatur, ut non solum doctores simus, verum etiam cum simus homines, divina doceamus? Sed laborum periculorumque nostrorum singulare est solatium, cum ita proficitis, ut illo perveniatis ubi nullius hominis doctoris egeatis. Isto autem periculo non tantum nos; nam ad illum de quo dicturus sum, quid sumus nos? non ergo nos tantum periculo isto, sed etiam ille Doctor Gentium periclitatum se esse testatur , cum dicit: Ne magnitudine revelationum mearum extollar, datus est mihi stimulus carnis etc. Unde et ipse Dominus, tumoris huius admirabilis medicus: Nolite, inquit, ab hominibus vocari Rabbi; unus est enim magister vester Christus ; quod retinens idem ipse Doctor Gentium dicit: Neque qui plantat est aliquid, neque qui rigat; sed qui incrementum dat Deus . Hoc et ille meminit qui in natis mulierum quanto magnus erat , tanto se in omnibus humiliabat , indignum se affirmans qui Christi calceamenta portaret . Quid enim aliud ostendit ubi ait: Qui habet sponsam, sponsus est; amicus autem sponsi stat et audit eum, et gaudio gaudet propter vocem sponsi ? Hic est ille auditus, de quo paulo ante commemoravi in Psalmo positum: Auditui meo dabis exsultationem et laetitiam, et exsultabunt ossa humiliata . Interioris hominis magister Christus.
3. Do you see how we are imperiled, we of whom this is expected, that we be not only teachers, but, since we are men, teach divine things? But the singular solace of our labors and perils is, when you so make progress that you arrive there where you need no man as teacher. But by this peril not only we; for, compared to him of whom I am about to speak, what are we? not only we, then, by this peril, but even that Teacher of the Gentiles testifies that he was imperiled (See 2 Cor 12:7), when he says: Lest I be exalted by the greatness of my revelations, there was given me a thorn of the flesh etc. (2 Cor 12:7) Hence the Lord himself too, the admirable physician of this swelling: Do not, he says, be called Rabbi by men; for one is your master, Christ (See Matt 23:8); which, retaining, the same Teacher of the Gentiles says: Neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters; but God who gives the increase (1 Cor 3:7). This he too remembered who, great as he was among those born of women (See Matt 11:11), so humbled himself in all things (See John 3:30), affirming himself unworthy to carry the sandals of Christ (See Matt 3:11). For what else does he show where he says: He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom stands and hears him, and rejoices with joy on account of the bridegroom's voice (John 3:29)? This is that hearing, of which I mentioned a little before that it is set down in the Psalm: To my hearing you will give exultation and gladness, and the humbled bones will exult (Ps 51:8 (50:10)).
Ep211-270.34. Proinde tanto me certius, tanto solidius, tanto sanius gaudere scias de fide et spe et dilectione tua, quanto minus indigueris, non tantum a me quidquam discere, sed ab ullo prorsus hominum. Verumtamen, quia cum illic essem, te quidem per aetatem verecundante, boni parentes et amantissimi bonorum studiorum tuorum, quanto pietatis veraeque sapientiae ardore flagrares, mihi intimare dignati sunt, et benevolentissime petierunt ne tibi instruendae, in quo opus esset, meam operulam denegarem; admonendam te his litteris credidi, secundum supra dictas optiones, ut quaeras quod vis, ne sim superfluus, si conatus fuero docere quod scis: dum tamen firmissime teneas, quod etsi aliquid salubriter per me scire potueris, ille te docebit qui est interioris hominis magister interior, qui in corde tuo tibi ostendit verum esse quod dicitur; quia neque qui plantat est aliquid, neque qui rigat, sed qui incrementum dat Deus .
4. Accordingly, know that I rejoice over your faith and hope and love the more certainly, the more solidly, the more soundly, the less you need not only to learn anything from me, but from any man at all. Nevertheless, because, when I was there—you indeed being bashful on account of your age—your good parents, most loving of your good pursuits, deigned to intimate to me with how great an ardor of devotion and true wisdom you burned, and most benevolently asked that I not deny my little work to your instruction, in what was needful; I believed you should be admonished by this letter, according to the above-said options, that you ask what you wish, lest I be superfluous, if I tried to teach what you know: provided only you most firmly hold that, even if you could wholesomely know anything through me, he will teach you who is the inner master of the inner man, who in your heart shows you that what is said is true; because neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase (1 Cor 3:7).
Ep211-270.4EPISTOLA 267
DOMINAE RELIGIOSISSIMAE ET PRAESTANTISSIMAE, ET IN CHRISTI CARITATE LAUDABILI FILIAE FABIOLAE, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINAE RELIGIOSISSIMAE ET PRAESTANTISSIMAE, ET IN CHRISTI CARITATE LAUDABILI FILIAE FABIOLAE, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 267
TO FABIOLA, A MOST RELIGIOUS AND MOST EXCELLENT LADY AND, IN THE LOVE OF CHRIST, PRAISEWORTHY DAUGHTER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.4TO FABIOLA, A MOST RELIGIOUS AND MOST EXCELLENT LADY AND, IN THE LOVE OF CHRIST, PRAISEWORTHY DAUGHTER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Quamquam rescripta reddideris, sic tamen legi litteras Sanctitatis tuae, ut eis respondere debitum duxerim. Doluisti enim peregrinationem, qua contingit perpetuo gaudere cum sanctis; et desiderium supernae patriae, ubi iam non terrarum spatio dividemur, sed semper unius contemplatione laetabimur, merito praetulisti, Felix es talia fideliter cogitando; amando felicior; et ideo eris etiam felicissima consequendo. Sed etiam nunc diligentius intuere unde magis dicamur absentes; utrum quia nostra invicem corpora non videmus, an quia signa non damus et recipimus animorum, quod est colloqui. Puto enim quod, licet longinquis regionibus corpore separati, si nostras cogitationes nosse possemus, magis essemus nobiscum, quam si uno in loco alter alterutrum conspicantes taciti sederemus, nulla in vocibus intimi proferentes, nullis corporum motibus nostros animos indicantes. Quocirca intellegis ideo unumquemque sibi esse praesentiorem quam alterum alteri, quod unusquisque sibi magis quam alteri notus est; non faciem suam, quae, nisi adsit speculum, gestatur et latet, sed conscientiam contuendo, quam et clausis oculis videt. Quanta est igitur etiam vita, quae pro magno habetur, nostra?
1. Although you had sent a reply, yet I so read the letter of Your Holiness that I thought it a debt to answer it. For you grieved over the pilgrimage by which it falls to us to rejoice perpetually with the saints; and you deservedly preferred the desire of the heavenly fatherland, where we shall no longer be divided by the space of lands, but shall ever be glad in the contemplation of the One. You are happy in faithfully thinking such things; happier in loving them; and therefore you will be also most happy in attaining them. But even now look more diligently whence we are rather said to be absent; whether because we do not see each other's bodies, or because we do not give and receive signs of minds, which is to converse. For I think that, although separated in body by distant regions, if we could know each other's thoughts, we would be more with one another, than if, in one place, beholding each other, we sat silent, bringing forth nothing of our inmost selves in words, indicating our minds by no movements of the bodies. Wherefore you understand that each one is more present to himself than one to another, for this reason, that each one is more known to himself than to another; not by beholding his own face, which, unless a mirror be present, is carried about and hidden, but by beholding his conscience, which he sees even with closed eyes. How great, therefore, is even our life, which is held for a great thing?
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 268
DOMINIS DILECTISSIMIS ET DESIDERANTISSIMIS, SANCTAE PLEBIS CUI MINISTRO, MEMBRIS CHRISTI, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
DOMINIS DILECTISSIMIS ET DESIDERANTISSIMIS, SANCTAE PLEBIS CUI MINISTRO, MEMBRIS CHRISTI, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM.
LETTER 268
TO MY MOST BELOVED AND MOST LONGED-FOR LORDS, THE HOLY PEOPLE TO WHOM I MINISTER, THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO MY MOST BELOVED AND MOST LONGED-FOR LORDS, THE HOLY PEOPLE TO WHOM I MINISTER, THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Notissima mihi et probatissima devotio Sanctitatis vestrae in Domino nostro Iesu Christo fiduciam dedit, ut etiam absens praesumerem unde praesens gaudere consuevi: qui semper spiritu vobiscum sum; non solum quia gratia Domini nostri Iesu Christi tantae suavitatis flagrare non cessat, sed etiam quia me ipsum, qui vobis in Evangelio servio, angustiam pati non permittitis. Cum enim frater noster Fascius debito decem et septem solidorum ab opinatoribus urgeretur ut redderet, quod ad praesens unde explicaret se non inveniebat; ne corporalem pateretur iniuriam, ad auxilium sanctae ecclesiae convolavit: illi etiam exactores cum proficisci cogerentur, et ideo dilationem dare non possent, gravissimis me querelis oneraverunt, ita ut eis illum traderem: aut quod sibi deberi ostendebant, unde acciperent providerem. Cumque obtulissem Fascio ut vestram Sanctitatem de necessitatibus eius alloquerer; pudore deterritus, ne facerem deprecatus est. Ita ego maiore necessitate coarctatus, a fratre nostro Macedonio decem et septem solidos accepi, quos in causam eius continuo dedi, promittente illo quod ad certum diem cum eis reddendis posset occurrere; et consentiente ut si non posset occurrere, sermo de illo fieret ad vestram misericordiam, quam fraternam fratribus exhibere consuestis. Misericordiae fructus esse cum usuris aeternis.
1. The most well-known and most well-proven devotion of Your Holiness in our Lord Jesus Christ gave me confidence, that even absent I might presume on that whence, present, I have been wont to rejoice: I who am always with you in spirit; not only because the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ does not cease to breathe forth such great sweetness, but also because you do not permit me myself, who serve you in the Gospel, to suffer straits. For when our brother Fascius was urged by the tax collectors to pay a debt of seventeen solidi, which at present he did not find means to discharge; lest he suffer bodily injury, he flew to the help of the holy church: those collectors too, since they were compelled to set out, and therefore could grant no delay, burdened me with the gravest complaints, so that I should either hand him over to them, or provide whence they might receive what they showed was owed to them. And when I had offered Fascius to address Your Holiness about his necessities; deterred by shame, he begged me not to do it. So I, constrained by a greater necessity, received seventeen solidi from our brother Macedonius, which I at once gave for his cause, he promising that by a certain day he could meet them with the means to repay them; and consenting that, if he could not meet it, the matter about him would be brought to your mercy, which you are wont to show to brothers as fraternal.
Ep211-270.12. Nunc ergo quoniam absens est, restat ut subveniatis, non illi, quem nemo compellat absentem, sed pollicitationi meae, cuius existimatio vobis semper est praesens. Iam enim dies ad quem se promiserat occursurum, transactus est; et ego ei qui solidos suos fidei meae commisit, quid respondeam non invenio, nisi ut faciam quod me facturum esse promisi. Sed quoniam non sum de hac re commonitus, ut die sancto Pentecostes, quando aderat maior vestra frequentia, sermonem inde facerem; peto ut has litteras pro lingua mea praesente habere dignemini, admonente vos et exhortante in cordibus vestris Deo et Domino nostro cui credidistis, qui numquam discedit a vobis timentibus et honorantibus nomen suum. In quo vobis et nos semper coniuncti sumus, quamvis corpore a vobis profecti esse videamur; qui vobis de isto bonorum operum semine messem vitae aeternae promittit, dicente Apostolo: Bonum autem facientes non deficiamus; tempore enim suo metemus infatigabiles. Itaque, dum tempus habemus, operemur bonum ad omnes, maxime autem ad domesticos fidei . Quoniam ergo domesticus fidei est, christianus fidelis, catholicus frater noster, pro cuius supplenda necessitate vos peto ut faciatis quod Dominus imperat; sine tristitia, sine murmuratione, et cum laetitia et hilaritate facite Deo enim creditis, non homini; quia ille promittit vos nihil eorum quae misericorditer facitis, perdituros, sed in illo die cum usuris immortalibus recepturos : et quoniam ipse Apostolus dicit: Hoc autem dico: Qui parce seminat, parce et metet ; intellegere debetis tempus esse ut donum vitae aeternae, cum adhuc in ista vita sumus, festinanter et alacriter comparemus: quia cum finis saeculi venerit, non dabitur nisi eis qui per fidem sibi hoc emerunt, antequam videre potuissent. Pauperibus quomodo subveniendum.
2. Now, then, since he is absent, it remains that you come to the aid, not of him, whom no one presses while absent, but of my promise, the reputation of which is always present to you. For the day on which he had promised he would meet it has now passed; and I do not find what to answer him who entrusted his solidi to my faith, except that I do what I promised I would do. But because I was not reminded of this matter, so as to make a discourse about it on the holy day of Pentecost, when your greater throng was present; I ask that you deign to have this letter in place of my present tongue, with God and our Lord—in whom you have believed, who never departs from you who fear and honor his name—admonishing and exhorting you in your hearts. In whom we too are always joined to you, although we seem to have set out from you in body; who promises you, from this seed of good works, a harvest of eternal life, the Apostle saying: But let us not fail in doing good; for in its own time we shall reap, untiring. And so, while we have time, let us work good to all, but most of all to the household of faith (Gal 6:9-10). Since, therefore, a member of the household of faith, a faithful Christian, a Catholic, is our brother, for the supplying of whose necessity I ask you to do what the Lord commands; without sadness, without murmuring, and with gladness and cheerfulness do it; for you believe God, not a man; because he promises that you will lose none of the things you mercifully do, but will receive them on that day with immortal interest (See 2 Cor 9:6-7): and since the Apostle himself says: But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly (2 Cor 9:6); you ought to understand that it is the time, while we are still in this life, to procure hastily and eagerly the gift of eternal life: because, when the end of the age comes, it will not be given except to those who, by faith, bought this for themselves before they could see it.
Ep211-270.23. Scripsi etiam presbyteris, ut si quid minus fuerit post collationem Sanctitatis vestrae, compleant ex eo quod habet ecclesia, dum tamen vos secundum quod placet, hilariter offeratis: quia sive de vestro sive de ecclesia detur, omnia Dei sunt, et devotio vestra dulcior erit thesauris ecclesiae; sicut Apostolus dicit: Non quia quaero datum, sed requiro fructum . Laetificate ergo cor meum, quia de fructibus vestris gaudere cupio: vos enim estis arbores Dei, quas assiduis imbribus etiam per nostrum ministerium rigare dignatur. Tueatur vos Dominus ab omni malo et hic et in futuro saeculo, domini dilectissimi, et desiderantissimi fratres.
3. I have also written to the priests, that if anything be lacking after the contribution of Your Holiness, they make it up from what the church has, provided only you offer cheerfully according to what pleases: because whether it be given from yours or from the church, all things are God's, and your devotion will be sweeter than the treasures of the church; as the Apostle says: Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit (Phil 4:17). Gladden, therefore, my heart, because I desire to rejoice over your fruits: for you are the trees of God, which he deigns to water with assiduous showers, even through our ministry. May the Lord protect you from all evil, both here and in the future world, most beloved and most longed-for lords and brothers.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 269
BEATISSIMO AC VENERABILI FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI NOBILIO, AUGUSTINUS.
BEATISSIMO AC VENERABILI FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI NOBILIO, AUGUSTINUS.
LETTER 269
TO NOBILIUS, A MOST BLESSED AND VENERABLE BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST, AUGUSTINE.
Ep211-270.3TO NOBILIUS, A MOST BLESSED AND VENERABLE BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST, AUGUSTINE.
1. Tanta est solemnitas ad quam me affectus tuae Fraternitatis invitat, ut corpusculum meum ad vos traheret voluntas, nisi teneret infirmitas. Possem venire si hiems non esset; possem hiemem contemnere, si iuvenis essem: aut enim ferret rigorem temporis fervor aetatis, aut temperaret frigus aetatis fervor aestatis. Nunc hieme iter tam prolixum non suffero cum annositate algida quam mecum fero, domine beatissime, sancte ac venerabilis frater ac consacerdos. Salutationem debitam reddo meritis tuis: salutem vero meam commendo precibus tuis, poscens et ipse a Domino ut dedicationem tantae fabricae pacis prosperitas prosequatur.
1. So great is the solemnity to which the affection of your Fraternity invites me, that the will would drag my poor body to you, did not weakness hold it back. I could come if it were not winter; I could despise the winter, if I were young: for either the fervor of age would bear the rigor of the season, or the fervor of summer would temper the cold of age. Now, in winter, I cannot endure so long a journey, with the chilly oldness which I carry with me, most blessed lord, holy and venerable brother and fellow priest. I render the greeting due to your merits: but my welfare I commend to your prayers, asking myself too of the Lord that the prosperity of peace may attend the dedication of so great a building.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 270
LETTER 270
Ep211-270.11. Cum in urbem Leges anteriori tempore commeassem, nimium sum contristatus quod te totum ibidem minime potui reperire. Inveni enim te medium, et, ut ita dicam, partem animae tuae, Severum carissimum, de quo ex parte gavisus sum. Perfecte enim gauderem, si te totum invenirem: unde ex parte qua te repereram, gratulabar; et propter partem tuam quam nequaquam cernebam, omnibus modis contristabar . Proinde dixi animae meae: "Quare tristis es, et quare conturbas me? Spera in Deo , et faciet praesentem amicum quem diligis". Unde confido in Domino et spero quod me faciet de tua visione gratulari. O si oculis cerni dilectio posset! profecto videres quanta apud te nostra esset dilectio. Aut enim aequiparans dilectioni tuae, magnum tibi afferret gaudium aut, si maior esset, dilectioni tuae, magnum tibi afferret imitationis studium. Ergo, quia in Domino te diligo, dilige diligentem. Et ut caeteri tecum diligant, per ecclesiasticam auctoritatem hortare. Nam quod petis in litteris tuis, ut ego pro te orem; id recte facerem, si ego ipse a peccatis liber essem, ut pro aliis liceret orare. Et ideo te admoneo ut orationes assiduas animi tui pro me emittas ad Dominum: et memor professionis, illam ante oculos tuos constituas diem, in qua iustus ab auditu malo non timebit ; et ideo iustus non timebit, quia non audiet: Vade in ignem aeternum , sed: Veni, benedicte Patris mei, percipe regnum . Ad quod nos perducat qui vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum . Amen.
1. When at an earlier time I had traveled to the city of Leges, I was exceedingly saddened that I could by no means find you whole there. For I found you in half, and, so to speak, a part of your soul, the most dear Severus, over whom I rejoiced in part. For I would rejoice perfectly, if I found you whole: hence over the part in which I had found you, I was glad; and on account of your part which I by no means beheld, I was saddened in every way. Accordingly I said to my soul: "Why are you sad, and why do you disturb me? Hope in God (Ps 42:5 (41:6)), and he will make present the friend you love." Hence I trust in the Lord and hope that he will make me glad over the sight of you. Oh, if love could be perceived by the eyes! surely you would see how great our love for you is. For either, equaling your love, it would bring you great joy; or, if it were greater, it would bring you great zeal for imitation of your love. Therefore, because I love you in the Lord, love one who loves you. And exhort the others, by ecclesiastical authority, to love along with you. For as to what you ask in your letter, that I pray for you; this I would rightly do, if I myself were free from sins, so that it were permitted to pray for others. And therefore I admonish you to send forth assiduous prayers of your mind for me to the Lord: and, mindful of your profession, to set before your eyes that day, on which the just man will not fear from an evil report (See Ps 112:7 (111:7)); and the just man will therefore not fear, because he will not hear: Go into the eternal fire (Matt 25:41), but: Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom (See Matt 25:34). To which may he lead us who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 1*
DOMINO INSIGNI ET PRAESTANTISSIMO AC DILECTISSIMO FILIO CLASSICIANO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO INSIGNI ET PRAESTANTISSIMO AC DILECTISSIMO FILIO CLASSICIANO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 1*
TO CLASSICIANUS, A DISTINGUISHED AND MOST EXCELLENT AND MOST BELOVED LORD AND SON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO CLASSICIANUS, A DISTINGUISHED AND MOST EXCELLENT AND MOST BELOVED LORD AND SON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Graviter me contristaverunt litterae Dilectionis tuae, et diu fluctuanti quid rescriberem, fateor, consilium mihi defuit occurritque animo illud quod scriptum est: Si est tibi consilium, responde proximo, si non est, sit manus tua contra os tuum . Atque utinam ex occasione tuae causae decerneretur aliquid ab episcopis, quod nos in talibus causis sequi deinceps oporteret. Nunc vero decreta quidem conciliorum non sunt aut, si forte sunt, me latent; verumtamen exempla non desunt anathematizatos esse homines non solos qui huiusmodi correctione digni videbantur, sed cum omni domo sua, quamvis sui nihil tale commiserint, nec quisquam episcoporum qui hoc fecerit accusatus aut causas inde praestare compulsus sit faciens in grege Christi, quod expedire ovibus suae dispensationi creditis iudicaret. Quantum autem attinet ad Scripturas sanctas, inveniuntur peccantes cum suis omnibus qui non peccaverunt eiusdem peccati luisse supplicium, sed tempore Veteris Testamenti, quando illa poena fuerat corporalis, non spiritalis. Etsi enim in carne occidebatur sceleratus quisque cum suis qui sceleris participes non fuerant, corpora quandoque moritura moriebantur in omnibus ad incutiendum ceteris magnum timorem, ne ita morerentur ut nullus suorum posterior relinqueretur, animae tamen poena semper ad eum solum pertinuit quicumque peccavit secundum sententiam Domini per Prophetam loquentis: Anima patris mea est et anima filii mea est, anima quae peccaverit ipsa morietur . Tempore igitur Testamenti Novi quando spiritalis poena evidenter in Ecclesia constituta est dicente Christo: Quae solveritis in terra soluta erunt in caelo; quae ligaveritis in terra ligata erunt in caelo , nescio quemadmodum recte fiat, ut simul ligentur pater et filius, cum peccaverit pater nec peccaverit filius; quanto magis uxor, servus, ancilla, parvulus, parvula et universa prorsus domus; in qua etiam si quis nascatur qui, quando anathematizata est domus, nondum erat natus, parum illi sit trahere originale peccatum, secundum quod in uno Adam omnes peccaverunt , sed inveniet novum reatum per alienam iniquitatem quae ante commissa est quam cerneret lucem et, quod est crudelius, si veniat in mortis periculum, non ei subveniatur per baptismi sacramentum. Idem nescit quid de illo "familiari" anathemate dici queat. 2. Haec quoniam vehementer me movent, numquam omnino aliquid huiusmodi feci; et scio plurimos fratres et collegas meos sive praecedentes sive in episcopatu coaevos sive sequentes in hac quae etiam mea est esse sententia. Sed novimus quosdam et in altioris quam tu es saecularis potestatis fastigio collocatos anathematizatos fuisse ab episcopis cum domo sua tota nec eis aliquam facti huius commovisse quaestionem nec ad alios episcopos cum querelis, sed potius ad eos, a quibus ligati essent, ut accepta venia solverentur, cum satisfactione venisse. Haec dixi quare mihi desit consilium tuae aliquid definitum respondere praestantiae ad ea quae scripsisti, quod, etiamsi [ipse] peccasti, non solum [ipse] fueris, sed cum tota tua domo ab episcopis anathematizatus, domine merito insignis et praestantissime ac dilectissime fili. Si vera rettulerit, Classicianus est insons. 3. Iam vero cum causam considero quam mihi litteris intimasti, propter quam vel ipse solus utrum tali cohercitione fueris dignus inquiritur, non invenio culpam tuam, si vera narrasti. Nam qui te peierando fefellerant et fideiussorem suum, sacramenta Christi contemnendo, deceperant atque, ut impune fidem frangerent, ad domum ipsius fidei confugerant, si hoc nefas, hoc scelus, hanc impietatem non violenter abducti de ecclesia, sed exeuntes ipsi sponte correxerant, quamvis ipse ad ecclesiam veneris comitatus militibus, sine quibus propter administrationem tuae potestatis esse non posses, [et] quae te dolor dicere cogebat episcopo dixeris, ne contra fideiussorem perfidis faveretur et adversus eum qui credit iurantibus per Evangelium illi potius qui periuraverunt contra Evangelium in eo loco defensa[re]ntur, ubi cum maxima auctoritate ac veneratione, ut fides habeatur atque servetur, legitur ipsum Evangelium, nihil omnino peccasti. Classicianus ab episcopo veniam petat si hunc offenderit. 4. Sed ignoscas mihi, quaeso, si alteri parti aures aequissimas servo et non facile credo tuae sublimitati contra episcopi sanctitatem. Nihil sane perdis, immo plurimum merito piae humilitatis adquiris ab episcopo veniam postulando, si forte in altercatione quam cum illo te habuisse significasti dixisti aliquid, quod nec te dicere nec illum oportebat audire. Aug. mens est illam causam in Concilio vel apud Apostolicam Sedem agere. 5. Ego autem propter eos qui pro peccato unius animae totam domum eius, id est plurimas animas anathemate ligant, maxime ne ibi quisquam sine baptismo de corpore abscedat, et utrum non etiam de ecclesia pellendi sint qui eo confugiunt, ut fidem fideiussoribus frangant, adiuvante Domino, et in concilio nostro agere cupio et, si opus fuerit, ad Sedem Apostolicam scribere, ut in his causis quid sequi debeamus concordi omnium auctoritate constituatur atque firmetur. Illud plane non temere dixerim, quod, si quisquam fidelium fuerit anathematizatus iniuste, ei potius oberit qui faciet, quam ei qui hanc patietur iniuriam. Spiritus enim Sanctus habitans in sanctis, per quem quisque ligatur aut solvitur, immeritam nulli ingerit poenam; per eum quippe diffunditur caritas in cordibus nostris quae non agit perperam . Aug. Classiciano nuntiat se Auxilio scripsisse. 6. Scripsi autem ad eumdem fratrem et coepiscopum meum, episcopum vestrum, sicut scribendum putavi diu magnis deliberationis coartatus angustiis, utrum hoc facere debuissem. Quod si non sufficit Dilectioni tuae, da veniam; arbitratus sum enim plus me facere non debere.
1. The letter of your Love gravely saddened me, and, long fluctuating as to what I should write back, counsel, I confess, was lacking to me, and there occurred to my mind what is written: If you have counsel, answer your neighbor; if not, let your hand be over your mouth (See Sir 5:12). And would that, from the occasion of your case, something might be decreed by the bishops, which we ought thereafter to follow in such cases. But now indeed there are no decrees of councils, or, if perhaps there are, they escape me; nevertheless examples are not lacking that men have been anathematized—not only those alone who seemed worthy of such correction, but along with their whole household, although they themselves committed nothing of the kind—nor has any of the bishops who did this been accused or compelled to render reasons for it, doing in the flock of Christ what he judged expedient for the sheep entrusted to his dispensation. But as far as concerns the holy Scriptures, sinners are found to have paid the punishment of the same sin along with all their own who did not sin, but in the time of the Old Testament, when that punishment was bodily, not spiritual. For although each wicked man was killed in the flesh along with his own who had not been partakers of the crime, bodies someday to die died in all, to strike great fear into the rest, lest they so die that none of their own be left after them; yet the punishment of the soul always pertained to him alone, whoever sinned, according to the sentence of the Lord speaking through the Prophet: The soul of the father is mine, and the soul of the son is mine, the soul that has sinned, it will die (Ezek 18:4). In the time, therefore, of the New Testament, when a spiritual punishment was evidently established in the Church, Christ saying: What you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven; what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven (See Matt 18:18), I do not know how it is rightly done that father and son be bound at the same time, when the father has sinned and the son has not sinned; how much more a wife, a slave, a maidservant, a little boy, a little girl, and absolutely the whole household; in which, even if anyone is born who, when the household was anathematized, had not yet been born, it would be too little for him to draw original sin, according to which in the one Adam all have sinned (See Rom 5:12), but he will find a new guilt through another's iniquity which was committed before he beheld the light, and—what is more cruel—if he come into the peril of death, he be not helped by the Sacrament of baptism. 2. Since these things vehemently move me, I have never at all done anything of the kind; and I know very many of my brothers and colleagues, whether preceding, or contemporary in the episcopate, or following, to be in this opinion which is also mine. But we know that certain men, placed even on the summit of a secular power higher than yours, were anathematized by bishops along with their whole household, and that these neither raised any question about this deed, nor came to other bishops with complaints, but rather came, with satisfaction, to those by whom they had been bound, that, pardon received, they might be loosed. These things I have said as to why counsel is lacking to me to answer your Excellence anything definite to the things you wrote, that, even if [you yourself] sinned, you were anathematized by the bishops not [yourself] alone, but along with your whole household, lord deservedly distinguished and most excellent and most beloved son. 3. But now, when I consider the case which you intimated to me by letter, on account of which it is inquired whether even you yourself alone were worthy of such coercion, I do not find your fault, if you narrated true things. For those who had deceived you by forswearing, and had deceived their own surety by despising the Sacraments of Christ, and, that they might break faith with impunity, had fled to the house of faith itself—if this wickedness, this crime, this impiety they corrected not by being violently dragged from the church, but by going out themselves of their own accord, although you yourself came to the church accompanied by soldiers, without whom you could not be on account of the administration of your power, [and] said to the bishop what grief compelled you to say, that the faithless not be favored against the surety, and that against him who believes those who swear by the Gospel, those rather who forswore against the Gospel not be defended in that place where, with the greatest authority and veneration, that faith may be held and kept, the Gospel itself is read—you sinned nothing at all. 4. But pardon me, I beg, if I keep most fair ears for the other side, and do not easily believe your Sublimity against the holiness of a bishop. You lose nothing indeed—nay rather, you acquire very much by the merit of devout humility—by asking pardon of the bishop, if perhaps, in the altercation which you signified you had with him, you said something which it neither befitted you to say nor him to hear. 5. But I, on account of those who, for the sin of one soul, bind the whole household of it, that is, very many souls, with anathema—especially lest anyone there depart from the body without baptism, and whether those too are not to be expelled from the church who flee there, that they may break faith with their sureties—desire, with the Lord helping, both to deal with it in our council, and, if it be needful, to write to the Apostolic See, so that in these cases what we ought to follow may be established and confirmed by the concordant authority of all. This indeed I would not rashly say, that, if any of the faithful has been anathematized unjustly, it will rather harm him who does it than him who suffers this injury. For the Holy Spirit dwelling in the saints, through whom each one is bound or loosed, inflicts an undeserved punishment on no one; for through him love is poured out in our hearts, which does not act wrongly (See Rom 5:5; 1 Cor 13:4-5). 6. But I have written to the same brother and my fellow bishop, your bishop, as I thought I should write, long constrained by the great straits of deliberation, whether I ought to do this. But if this does not suffice for your Love, grant pardon; for I judged that I ought not to do more.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 1/A*
DOMINO EXIMIO MERITOQUE HONORABILI AC SUSCIPIENDO FILIO FIRMO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO EXIMIO MERITOQUE HONORABILI AC SUSCIPIENDO FILIO FIRMO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 1A*
TO THE DISTINGUISHED LORD AND DESERVEDLY HONORABLE SON, TO BE RECEIVED WITH ALL HONOR, FIRMUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.1TO THE DISTINGUISHED LORD AND DESERVEDLY HONORABLE SON, TO BE RECEIVED WITH ALL HONOR, FIRMUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Libros De civitate Dei quos a me studiosissime flagitasti etiam mihi relectos, sicut promiseram, misi; quod ut fieret adiuvante quidem Deo, filius meus germanus tuus Cyprianus vere sic institit quemadmodum mihi ut instaretur volebam. Quaterniones sunt XXII quos in unum corpus redigere multum est; et si duos vis codices fieri, ita dividendi sunt, ut decem libros habeat unus, alius duodecim. Decem quippe illis vanitates refutatae sunt impiorum, reliquis autem demonstrata atque defensa est nostra religio, quamvis et in illis hoc factum sit ubi opportunius fuit, et in istis illud. Si autem corpora malueris esse plura quam duo, iam quinque oportet codices facias, quorum primus contineat quinque libros priores quibus adversus eos est disputatum qui felicitati vitae huius non plane deorum sed daemoniorum cultum prodesse contendunt, secundus sequentes alios quinque qui vel tales vel qualescumque plurimos deos propter vitam quae post mortem futura est per sacra et sacrificia colendos putant. Iam tres alii codices qui sequuntur quaternos libros habere debebunt; sic enim a nobis pars eadem distributa est, ut quattuor ostenderent exortum illius civitatis totidemque procursum, sive dicere malumus, excursum, quattuor vero ultimi debitos fines. Firmus eiusdem operis libros det Carthaginiensibus describendos.
1. The books The City of God, which you most eagerly demanded of me, I have sent, reread by me too, as I had promised; and that this might be done, with God's help, my son Cyprian, your own brother, truly pressed me in just the way I wanted to be pressed. There are twenty-two quires, which it is a great deal to bring together into a single volume; and if you wish two books to be made, they should be so divided that one has ten books, the other twelve. For in those ten the vanities of the impious are refuted, while in the rest our religion is demonstrated and defended—although this was also done in the former where it was more opportune, and that in the latter. But if you should prefer the volumes to be more than two, then you ought to make five books: of these let the first contain the first five books, in which the argument is made against those who contend that the worship not properly of gods but of demons profits the happiness of this life; let the second contain the other five that follow, which hold that gods of this sort, or of any sort whatever, however many, are to be worshiped by rites and sacrifices for the sake of the life that is to be after death. Now the three other volumes that follow ought to have four books each; for we have so divided that same part that four set forth the rise of that city, the same number its course—or, as we prefer to say, its progress—and the last four its due ends.
Ep211-270.12. Si ut fuisti diligens ad habendos hos libros, ita fueris ad legendos, quantum adiuvent experimento potius tuo quam mea promissione cognosces. Quos tamen nostri fratres ibi apud Carthaginem ad hoc opus pertinentes quod est De civitate Dei nondum habent, rogo ut petentibus ad describendum dignanter libenterque concedas. Non enim multis dabis, sed vix uni vel duobus et ipsi iam ceteris dabunt; amicis vero tuis, sive in populo christiano se desiderent instrui, sive qualibet superstitione teneantur, unde videbuntur posse per hunc laborem nostrum Dei gratia liberari, quomodo impertias ipse videris. Quomodo ad libros De Academicis Firmus accessit?
2. If you are as diligent in reading these books as you were in obtaining them, you will learn how much they help more by your own experience than by my promise. Yet the books pertaining to this work, which is The City of God, which our brothers there at Carthage do not yet have, I ask that you graciously and gladly grant to those who request them for copying. For you will not be giving to many, but scarcely to one or two, and they will then give to the rest; but as for your friends, whether they desire to be instructed in the Christian people, or are held by some superstition from which they will seem able, by God's grace, to be freed through this labor of ours, you yourself will see how to share it.
Ep211-270.23. Ego scriptis meis, si Dominus voluerit, crebro curabo requirere quantum accesseris in legendo; non te autem latet ut eruditum virum, quantum adiuvet ad cognoscendum quod legitur repetitio lectionis; aut enim nulla aut certe minima est intellegendi difficultas ubi est legendi facilitas, quae tanto maior fit quanto magis iteratur, ut assiduitate [...] fuerat immaturum, domine eximie meritoque honorabilis ac suscipiende fili. Ad eos sane libros quos De Academicis recenti nostra conversatione conscripsi, quoniam eximietati tuae prioribus ad me litteris innotuisse monstrasti, quomodo perveneris quaeso rescribas. Quantum autem collegerit viginti duorum librorum conscriptio missus breviculus indicabit.
3. I, by my writings, if the Lord wills, will frequently take care to inquire how far you have advanced in reading; and it does not escape you, as an educated man, how much a repeated reading helps toward understanding what is read; for there is either no difficulty in understanding, or certainly very little, where there is ease in reading, which becomes the greater the more it is repeated, so that by diligence [what] had been unripe [may ripen], distinguished and deservedly honorable lord and son to be received. As for those books which I composed On the Academics (Against the Skeptics) at the time of our recent conversion, since you have shown that they became known to Your Excellence in your earlier letters to me, I ask you to write back how you came by them. And how much the composition of twenty-two books has gathered together, the brief summary I have sent will show.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 2*
DOMINO MERITO INSIGNI SINCERAE DILECTIONIS AFFECTU MULTUM MIHI HONORANDO FILIO FIRMO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO MERITO INSIGNI SINCERAE DILECTIONIS AFFECTU MULTUM MIHI HONORANDO FILIO FIRMO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 2*
TO THE LORD DESERVEDLY DISTINGUISHED, MUCH TO BE HONORED BY ME WITH THE AFFECTION OF SINCERE LOVE, MY SON FIRMUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.3TO THE LORD DESERVEDLY DISTINGUISHED, MUCH TO BE HONORED BY ME WITH THE AFFECTION OF SINCERE LOVE, MY SON FIRMUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Ut tardius rescripta rependerem, cura necessitatum mearum, non tuae qui ea religiose desiderabas voluntatis contemptus effecit. Neque hoc impedimentum finitum est, ut vacaret aliquando rescribere, sed potius disruptum, ut inter ipsa quae molestissime obstabant id quod gratissime instabat arriperem, ne nimius huius debiti dilator forem, quod mihi optanti factum est ut deberem. Non autem hoc sum solvere aggressus nisi prius inspectis epistolis tuis, una quam post missos a me libros De civitate Dei gratissimam reddidisti, alia quam mihi presbyter Lazarus attulit, ubi distulisti mittere filii nostri quam petiveram dictionem, tertia quam cum eadem dictione misisti. Idem quaerit a Firmo quid de XII posterioribus Civitatis Dei libris senserit.
1. That I repay a reply rather late was caused by the care of my necessities, not by contempt of your will, which religiously desired it. Nor was this impediment ended, so that there should be leisure at some time to write back, but rather broken through, so that, amid the very things which most troublesomely stood in the way, I might snatch that which most gratefully pressed, lest I be too great a deferrer of this debt, which it has come about, to my own wish, that I should owe. But I did not undertake to discharge this except after first inspecting your letters: one which, after the books The City of God were sent by me, you most gratefully returned; another which the priest Lazarus brought me, where you deferred to send the declamation of our son which I had asked for; a third which you sent with that same declamation.
Ep211-270.12. De his trinis litteris tuis his unis meis institui loqui tecum. In ea ergo quam prius commemoravi de XX et duobus decem praecedentes libros te legisse dixisti et de his ita rescripsisti, ut eos quam bene legeris appareret; duodecim autem qui sequuntur quod tunc nondum legeras scio, sed utrum iam legeris nescio; fieri enim potuit, ut benivolentia ductus ante ad describendum omnes amicis dares, quam omnes legendo percurreres datosque nondum reciperes, aut de receptis et lectis ad me iam tacendum putares satis esse existimans, quod de illis decem non transeunter rescripsisti, sed diligenter quodammodo disputasti. Potuisti etiam velle experiri, utrum ego ad flagitandam partem tui debiti animum intenderem quam nondum redditam esse sentirem, an huius rei nequaquam vel advertere vel reposcere complementa curarem. En igitur quod minus abs te factum est et scio et repeto: de duodecim posterioribus libris redde quod debes! Quid sit illius operis fructus.
2. About these three letters of yours I have determined to speak with you by this one of mine. In that, then, which I first mentioned, of the twenty-two you said you had read the ten preceding books, and about these you wrote back in such a way that it appeared how well you had read them; but the twelve that follow I know you had not then yet read, but whether you have now read them I do not know; for it could be that, led by goodwill, you gave them all to friends to copy before you ran through them all by reading, and had not yet received those given back, or that, about those received and read, you now thought you should keep silent to me, judging it enough that about those ten you wrote back not cursorily, but disputed somehow diligently. You could also have wished to test whether I would direct my mind to demanding the part of your debt which I felt had not yet been rendered, or whether I would by no means care either to notice or to demand back the completions of this matter. Behold, then, what was done too little by you both I know and demand: about the twelve later books, render what you owe!
Ep211-270.23. In his est ille textus huius operis octavus decimus, quem nobiscum pomeridiano continuo triduo cum legeretur attentus audisti; et ex hoc omnes ut haberes studio flagrantissimo accensus es neque, donec ad id pervenires, instare cessasti. Non sim, quaeso, molestus frugis exactor qui sementem copiosissimam feci. Nam quod in alia tua epistola te ab accipiendo sacramento regenerationis excusas, totum tot librorum quos amas fructum recusas; neque enim ille fructus est eorum, quod delectant legentem, nec ille, quod multa faciunt scire nescientem, sed ille, quod civitatem Dei persuadent vel incunctanter intrandam vel perseveranter habitandam; quorum duorum primum regeneratione, secundum iustitiae dilectione confertur. Haec in eis a quibus leguntur atque laudantur si non agunt, quid agunt? Horum igitur quantum ad te ipsum attinet, quando nec illud quod prius est in te agere potuerunt, quantumlibet eos praedices, nihil adhuc egerunt. Firmi causa differendi baptismi confutantur: 1) Christianae religionis sarcinam sustineri non posse viribus infirmis.
3. Among these is that eighteenth text of this work, which you attentively heard with us when it was read on three continuous afternoons; and from this you were kindled with a most flaming zeal to have them all, nor did you cease to press until you arrived at it. Let me not, I beg, be a troublesome exactor of fruit, who have made a most copious sowing. For as for the fact that in another of your letters you excuse yourself from receiving the Sacrament of regeneration, you refuse the whole fruit of so many books which you love; for their fruit is not this, that they delight the reader, nor this, that they make one not knowing to know many things, but this, that they persuade one either to enter the city of God without delay, or to dwell in it perseveringly; of which two the first is conferred by regeneration, the second by the love of justice. If these things do not work in those by whom they are read and praised, what do they work? Of these, then, as far as concerns you yourself, since they could not work in you even that which is first, however much you proclaim them, they have as yet worked nothing.
Ep211-270.34. "At enim tanti ponderis sarcina non potest infirmis adhuc et non corroboratis viribus sustineri". Haec est enim prima causa excusationis tuae; nec attenditis, o viri quicumque istam sarcinam formidatis, facillime in ea portanda vos a feminis vinci, quarum fidelium atque castarum religiosa multitudine fructifera fecundat Ecclesia. Nam si attenderetis, necessario pudore timorem superfluum pelleretis. Earum est una (talem quippe illam credere debeo, de qua iam gaudeo) coniunx tua. Non enim metuo ne te offendam, cum exemplo feminae civitatem Dei te exhortor intrare; nam si res est difficilis, iam ibi est sexus infirmior; si autem facilis, nulla causa est, ut non ibi sit fortior. Non ergo pudendum est viro in eam rem quae vires mentis exposcit intrantem feminam sequi, sed potius pudendum est nec illa intrante saltem sequi et illa intus posita, ubi capitur virtus verae salutis atque pietatis, te capaciorem virtutis remorari foris. Nec sane cum intraveris, etiam ibi eam secuturus es, sed ipsa te; praeibis enim virtute quam sequeris tempore. Nam credo, quod etiam, quamquam fideli, catechumenus insinues tamen aliqua ad religionem pertinentia quae legisti et ipsa non legit; quae autem scit illa et adhuc nescis tibi non potest pandere, mysteria quippe regenerationis recte atque ordinate non nisi accipientibus innotescunt; ita cum tu doctrina reperiaris instructior, sacramento est illa securior. Formidanda magis esse pondera peccatorum quae solo baptismo solvuntur.
4. "But indeed a burden of so great a weight cannot be borne by powers still weak and not strengthened." For this is the first cause of your excuse; nor do you consider, O men, whoever you are who dread this burden, that you are most easily surpassed in bearing it by women, by whose religious multitude of faithful and chaste ones the Church is made fruitful. For if you considered it, you would by a necessary shame drive away superfluous fear. One of them (for such I ought to believe her, over whom I now rejoice) is your wife. For I do not fear to offend you, when by the example of a woman I exhort you to enter the city of God; for if the matter is difficult, the weaker sex is already there; but if it is easy, there is no cause why the stronger should not be there. It is not, then, to be ashamed of for a man to follow a woman entering into that thing which demands the powers of the mind, but rather it is to be ashamed of not even to follow her entering, and, with her placed within, where the strength of true salvation and devotion is received, to be detained outside, you the more capacious of strength. Nor indeed, when you have entered, will you follow her even there, but she you; for you will go before in strength what you follow in time. For I believe that, although she is faithful, you, a catechumen, nevertheless suggest to her some things pertaining to religion which you have read and she has not; but the things which she knows and you do not yet, she cannot lay open to you, for the mysteries of regeneration become known, rightly and orderly, only to those receiving them; so, while you are found more instructed in doctrine, she is more secure in the Sacrament.
Ep211-270.45. Quid prodest autem scientia etiam ipsius summi boni, si non accipitur quo solo evaditur quidquid est mali? Sed videlicet [et] difficile est [et] sarcinam novarum sustinere virtutum et facile est premi veterum sarcina peccatorum. Haec sunt potius onera formidanda quae obruendis et in aeternum mergendis hominibus alligantur vel ullo alio modo nisi in Christo regeneratione solvuntur, ut fiat homo mediatoris capitis membrum qui, cum esset divina maiestate discretus a nobis, dignatus est fieri humana infirmitate proximus nobis. 2) Religioni maiorem praestari reverentiam ab eo qui eius mysteriis cunctanter accedat.
5. But what does the knowledge even of the highest good itself profit, if that be not received by which alone whatever is evil is escaped? But evidently it is difficult both to bear the burden of new virtues, and easy to be pressed by the burden of old sins. These are rather the burdens to be dreaded, which are bound for the overwhelming and eternally sinking of men, nor are loosed in any other way except by regeneration in Christ, that a man may become a member of the head, the mediator, who, although he was distinct from us by divine majesty, deigned to become, by human weakness, near to us.
Ep211-270.56. "Et religioni - inquis - hac tarditate proficitur. Nam maiorem fidei reverentiam pollicetur qui in augusta sacri mysterii secreta venturus ad remotiora cunctanter accedit". Hanc enim alteram causam esse dixisti dilationis tuae. Sed nusquam nisi intus est tutum in religione proficere, cum iam propter aeternam vitam non timentur vitae huius incerta. Non enim vana atque damnabili curiositate sciscitandum est, quando quisque moriatur aut utrum morbo dissolvatur hoc corpus an inde anima vi aliqua repentina et inopinata irruente rapiatur. Proinde sicut cogitatur divina illa sententia quae in Evangelio scripta est: Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et spiritu, in intrabit in regnum Dei , ita etiam ut renatus iuste vivat, illa altera cogitanda est, quia et ipsa Christi ore processit: Nisi abundaverit iustitia vestra plus quam scribarum et pharisaeorum non intrabitis in regnum caelorum . Scribas autem et Pharisaeos alio loco ipse demonstrat solere esse bona doctrina, nec tamen bona quae dicerent facere ; ac per hoc plus quam illorum abundat iustitia in eis qui et bona dicunt propter veritatem doctrinae et bona faciunt propter iustitiae caritatem, sicut ait apostolus Iacobus: Fides sine operibus mortua est in semetipsa , quia et daemones credunt et contremiscunt , sicut idem ipse dixit. Non tamen utique salvi erunt, quoniam mala semper operantur. Propter quod etiam apostolus Paulus eam membrorum Christi definivit fidem quae per dilectionem operatur . In ea ergo intus proficiendum est; saeculi quippe huius malesuada cupiditas crescente Dei caritate minuitur, perfecta Dei caritate consumitur. Sic intus proficientem quem comprehenderit qualicumque morte vaporeae vitae huius ultimus dies, quidquid perfectioni eius defuit ex iustitia, impletur ex gratia. Propter eos vero qui differendum putant quod bonum esse non negant, illa est divinarum Scripturarum terribiliter intonata sententia: Ne tardes converti ad Dominum neque differas de die in diem! Subito enim veniet ira eius et in tempore vindictae disperdet te . Hoc, quaeso te, ut absit a te, rumpe moras omnes et munita arripe castra, non quae tu expugnes, sed ubi tutus contra inimicum fortiter pugnes, qui criminando [tunc], nunc etiam subdole laudando christianam religionem ab eius susceptione deterret; qui enim tunc suggerebat mentibus hominum tantum [vel bonum] malum esse [ut ..., nunc autem tantum bonum esse], ut coeptum difficillime impleatur, insidiosa est ista laudatio. Cave lupum ovina pelle vestitum! Ad aggredienda quae ut aspera times in Deo sit spes tua et fient lenia. 3) Expectandam esse Dei voluntatem qua in omnes compellimur appetitus.
6. "And to religion," you say, "by this slowness progress is made. For he promises greater reverence for the faith who, about to come into the august secrets of the sacred mystery, approaches the more remote things hesitantly." For this you said was the other cause of your delay. But nowhere except within is it safe to make progress in religion, since now, on account of eternal life, the uncertainties of this life are not feared. For it is not to be inquired by vain and damnable curiosity, when each one may die, or whether this body be dissolved by disease, or whether the soul be snatched thence by some sudden and unexpected violence rushing in. Accordingly, just as that divine sentence which is written in the Gospel is thought of: Unless one is reborn of water and the Spirit, he will not enter into the kingdom of God (See John 3:5), so also, that, reborn, he may live justly, that other is to be thought of, which also proceeded from the mouth of Christ: Unless your justice abounds more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:20). But the scribes and Pharisees he himself shows in another place to have been wont to say good things by good doctrine, and yet not to do the good things they said (See Matt 23:3); and thereby justice abounds more than theirs in those who both say good things on account of the truth of the doctrine and do good things on account of the love of justice, as the apostle James says: Faith without works is dead in itself (Jas 2:17), because even the demons believe and tremble (Jas 2:19), as he himself said. Yet they will surely not be saved, since they always work evil. On account of which the apostle Paul too defined that faith of the members of Christ which works through love (Gal 5:6). In it, then, within, progress is to be made; for the ill-persuading desire of this world is diminished as the love of God grows, and consumed when the love of God is perfect. One so making progress within, whom the last day of this vaporous life shall seize by whatever kind of death, whatever was lacking to his perfection out of justice is filled up out of grace. But for those who think that should be deferred which they do not deny to be good, there is that terribly thundered sentence of the divine Scriptures: Do not delay to be converted to the Lord, nor put it off from day to day! For suddenly his wrath will come, and in the time of vengeance he will destroy you (See Sir 5:7-9). This, I beg you, that it be far from you: break all delays (See Virgil, Aeneid 4.569) and seize the fortified camp, not which you may storm, but where, safe, you may bravely fight against the enemy, who, by accusing then, now even by craftily praising the Christian religion, deters from its reception; for he who then suggested to the minds of men that it was so great an evil [that ..., now that it is so great a good], that what is begun is most difficultly fulfilled—that is an insidious praise. Beware the wolf clothed in a sheep's skin! For attempting the things which you fear as harsh, let your hope be in God, and they will become gentle.
Ep211-270.67. Nam et illud tertio loco abs te positum excusationis tuae, quod in his rebus eius maxime exspectanda voluntas est, cuius in appetitus omnes voluntate compellimur; ubi addidisti earum rerum hominibus rationem non esse reddendam quas nobis Deus ut velimus insinuat, siquidem sine eo neque actum fuisse quidquam neque fieri posse omnes docti indoctique [con]sentiunt. Hoc ergo totum non ita cogitare debes, ut voluntatem Dei tibi facere videaris, cum eius praecepta facere non vis, quorum et hoc unum est quod modo commemoravi: Ne tardes converti ad Dominum neque differas de die in diem , sed ita potius ista considera, ut non tuis viribus, quod ille praecepit ad tuam sempiternam salutem, sed ipsius adiutorio te facturum esse confidas et ideo te non tibi, Firme, infirmo, sed ei potenti qui omnia potest ad mutandam in melius vitam et suscipiendam regenerationis gratiam sine dilatione committas; nec exspectes quando velit, quasi offensurus eum si ante tu velis, cum ipso adiuvante atque operante velis, quandocumque volueris. Praevenit quidem te misericordia eius, ut velis, sed cum voles, tu utique voles. Nam si nos non volumus, quando volumus, non ergo nobis aliquid ille confert, cum efficit ut velimus. Ego certe quid ago, cum haec tibi loquor, nisi ut velis? Sed ego aliter, ille aliter; ego forinsecus, ille intrinsecus; ego, cum audis aut legis, ille, cum cogites et ut cogites; ego fando, ille ineffabili modo; ego nonnisi donante ipso, ille per se ipsum; ego tamquam eius minister et ab ipso habens hoc ministerium, ille tamquam ministro non indigens et opifex etiam ministrorum et ad hoc utens ministris fidelibus, ut etiam ipsis largiatur huius operis bonum; postremo ego tamquam homo qui plerumque neque suadere possum, ille tamquam Deus cui subest, cum volet [persuadere], posse . Bona Deo operante fieri, mala vero illo solum sinente.
7. For that too, set down by you in the third place of your excuse, that in these matters his will is especially to be awaited, by whose will we are driven into all our appetites; where you added that an account of those things is not to be rendered by men which God suggests to us that we should will, since without him both that nothing has been done and that nothing can be done all, learned and unlearned, agree. This whole thing, then, you ought not so to think, as to seem to yourself to do the will of God, when you are unwilling to do his precepts, of which this too is one which I just now mentioned: Do not delay to be converted to the Lord, nor put it off from day to day (See Sir 5:7), but rather so consider these things, that you trust that, not by your own powers, but by his help, you will do what he commanded for your everlasting salvation, and therefore commit yourself, without delay, not to yourself, Firmus, the weak, but to him, the powerful, who can do all things, to change your life for the better and to receive the grace of regeneration; nor await when he may will, as though about to offend him if you will it first, since, with him helping and working, you will will it, whenever you have willed. His mercy indeed anticipates you, that you may will; but when you will, you surely will it. For if we do not will, when we will, then he does not confer anything on us, when he brings it about that we will. What, certainly, do I do, when I speak these things to you, but that you may will? But I in one way, he in another; I from without, he from within; I, when you hear or read, he, when you think and that you may think; I by speaking, he in an ineffable manner; I only by his giving, he through himself; I as his minister, and having this ministry from him, he as one not needing a minister, and the maker even of ministers, and using faithful ministers to this end, that he may bestow on them too the good of this work; finally, I as a man who for the most part cannot even persuade, he as God who has it in his power to be able [to persuade], when he wills.
Ep211-270.78. Hoc enim de illo sacrae Litterae loquuntur et mens quantulacumque imbuta pietate. Quis enim nisi nimium aversus a vero audeat sentire vel credere Deum quidquam velle persuadere et non posse? Persuadet ergo tibi, cum volet, sive per nostrum ministerium sive alio quali vult modo; quod ut faciat sic a me orandus est, ut et tu sis hortandus. Nam veris salubribusque praeceptis si obtemperes, eius est gratiae, si non obtemperas, tuae culpae; a qua culpa quoscumque liberat, misericordia facit (in quibus esse te volo iamque ut velis te hortor et ipsum rogo) quos autem non liberat, iudicio facit. Iudicia porro eius multa occulta nescimus; hoc tamen scimus, quod nullum eorum esse possit iniustum. Non sane parum suis bene intellegentibus prodesse voluit ad diem regenerationis non differendum, quod fecit diem mortis incertum. In omnes ergo appetitus nos eius voluntate compelli est ita ut dicis. Omnes quippe appetitus earum rerum intellego, de quibus ut hoc diceres loquebaris. Dixisti enim, quod in his rebus, ad quas te utique hortabar et quas differendas putas, eius maxime exspectanda voluntas est, cuius in appetitus omnes voluntate compellimur, et addidisti: "Non est enim earum rerum hominibus reddenda ratio, quas nobis Deus ut velimus insinuat". Si ergo earum rerum appetitus intellegas, verum est; in omnes namque appetitus, etiam impios, eius nos voluntate compelli verum non est; aut si hoc ideo senties, quia eius voluntate fieri non absurde dici videtur quod nisi eo permittente non fieret, non est refutanda sententia. Nihil enim prorsus fit, nisi quod aut ipse facit aut fieri ipse permittit, et quoniam volens facit, volens et permittit, nihil fit omnino, si nolit. Vere tamen dicitur quidquid ei displicet contra eius fieri voluntatem. Permittit tamen, ut fiant mala, quia potens est etiam de malis non suis sua facere bona. Bonum est quippe omne quod iustum est, et iustum est punire peccata; bonum est igitur punire peccata; bonum est et donare peccata; bonum est utilia hominibus liberandis facere; ita bonum est, ne ultra progrediantur, cohibere peccata; bonum est eorum vel aliena peccata a peccatis et a peccatorum meritis liberare. Alia itaque puniendo, alia dimittendo, alia in utilitates piorum atque adiumenta vertendo, his omnibus bona de malis facit qui fieri mala permittit. Nec Deus omnis boni effector potentissimus appareret, si mala esse non sineret, quamquam de illis quid boni faceret invenire non possum. Ea tamen a regno beatorum ingenti separatione demovit ac per hoc nec in malis quae permisit ut fierent, ab omni operatione defecit et, ubi voluit ut nulla sint, fecit; quod si ubique fecisset, non omnia bona in rebus essent, quoniam bona quae de malis facere poterat utique non fuissent. Nec tamen propterea Deo prosumus malis nostris quae de mali vel angeli vel hominis voluntate descendunt, tamquam bonis eius operibus numerum addiderimus; quid enim prosumus etiam quando boni sumus? Nobis ergo profuisset, si numquam fuissemus mali, non Deo qui etiam de malis benefacere novit. Porro si bonitas nostra etiam semper fuisset, nihil Deo profuisset; quanto minus ei prodest nostra malitia, quamvis de illa per omnipotentiam bonitatis suae bona potuerit operari; quae tamen bona non fuissent, si mala nostra non praecessissent, sed etsi non fuissent, nec melius nec peius illi esset, cui nullum malum potest accidere nec bonum accedere, quia nec minuitur eius beatitudo ullo malo nec augetur ullo bono, proinde sic omnia dicamus eius fieri voluntate, ut discernamus permittentem a faciente, quia eum negare non possumus iudicem. Numquid autem iudicans et reddens unicuique secundum opera eius , propter illa opera quae ipse in eo fecit quemquam damnavit? Absit! Verumtamen propter illa quae ut fierent ipse permisit; nam prorsus sine omnipotente non fierent quae nescire non potuit. Nequit quidquam fieri sine Deo sive faciente sive permittente.
8. For this the sacred Letters say of him, and any mind however little imbued with devotion. For who, unless too much turned away from the true, would dare to think or believe that God wishes to persuade anything and cannot? He persuades you, then, when he wills, whether through our ministry or in whatever other way he wills; that he may do this, he is to be prayed to by me, as you are to be exhorted. For if you obey the true and wholesome precepts, it is of his grace; if you do not obey, it is of your fault; from which fault, whomever he frees, he does it by mercy (among whom I want you to be, and now exhort you to will it, and ask him), but whomever he does not free, he does it by judgment. But his many hidden judgments we do not know; this, however, we know, that none of them can be unjust. He surely wished it to profit his own, who understand well, toward not deferring the day of regeneration, that he made the day of death uncertain. That we are driven into all our appetites by his will is so as you say. For I understand all the appetites of those things about which you were speaking when you said this. For you said that in these matters, to which I was surely exhorting you and which you think are to be deferred, his will is especially to be awaited, by whose will we are driven into all our appetites, and you added: "For an account of those things is not to be rendered by men which God suggests to us that we should will." If, then, you understand the appetites of those things, it is true; for that we are driven by his will into all appetites, even impious ones, is not true; or if you understand this for the reason that it does not seem absurd to say that that comes about by his will which would not come about except with him permitting, the sentence is not to be refuted. For nothing at all comes about except what either he himself does or he himself permits to be done, and since, willing, he does it, willing, he also permits, nothing at all comes about if he is unwilling. Yet truly it is said that whatever displeases him comes about against his will. He permits, however, that evils come about, because he is powerful even out of evils not his own to make his own goods. For everything that is just is good, and it is just to punish sins; it is good, therefore, to punish sins; it is good also to pardon sins; it is good to do things useful for freeing men; so it is good to restrain sins, that they go no further; it is good to free [people] from sins, even others' sins, and from the deserts of sins. And so, by punishing some, by forgiving others, by turning others to the advantages and helps of the devout, by all these he makes goods out of evils, he who permits evils to come about. Nor would God, the most powerful maker of every good, appear, if he did not allow evils to be, although what good he makes of them I cannot find. Yet he has removed them, by a vast separation, from the kingdom of the blessed, and thereby, even in the evils which he permitted to come about, he has not failed of all operation, and, where he willed that they not be, he made it so; which if he had done everywhere, not all goods would be in things, since the goods which he could make out of evils surely would not have existed. Nor yet do we therefore profit God by our evils, which descend from the will of either an evil angel or man, as though we had added a number to his good works; for what do we profit even when we are good? It would, then, have profited us, if we had never been evil, not God, who knows even out of evils to do good. Further, if our goodness had even always existed, it would have profited God nothing; how much less does our malice profit him, although out of it, through the omnipotence of his goodness, he could work goods; which goods, nevertheless, would not have existed, if our evils had not preceded, but, even if they had not existed, it would be neither better nor worse for him, to whom no evil can happen nor good accede, because his beatitude is neither diminished by any evil nor increased by any good; accordingly let us so say that all things come about by his will, that we distinguish the one permitting from the one doing, because we cannot deny him to be the judge. But does he, when judging and rendering to each according to his works (See Rom 2:6), condemn anyone on account of those works which he himself did in him? Far be it! But yet on account of those which he himself permitted to come about; for they would surely not come about without the omnipotent one, who could not be ignorant of them. Nothing can come about without God, whether doing or permitting.
Ep211-270.89. Ubi ergo dixisti omnes doctos indoctosque consentire neque factum fuisse sine illo quidquam neque fieri posse, nihil controversiae de indoctorum omnium consensione faciendum est, ne nobis quae inter nos nulla est mora disputationis imploret, quandoquidem sive omnes consentiant sive quidam dissentiant; verumtamen dixisse concedes, si modo ut admonui facientem a permittente discernas, quoniam verissime dicitur nec quidquam fuisse factum neque fieri posse sine omnipotente Deo sive permittente sive faciente. Proinde peccata fieri permittit ille, non facit; etsi pro aliorum peccatorum meritis tradit aliquos in desideria cordis eorum , ut faciant quae non conveniant, vel deserens eos, vel angelos quoque malignos ad eorum deceptionem sive mittens sive permittens, etiam tale omne peccatum ad eos pertinet qui, ut sic peccarent, tradi meruerunt per divinum iustumque iudicium, ad Deum vero non ibi pertinet nisi ipsa quae iusta est vindicta peccati. Regeneratio ad liberandam ex Adam damnata instituta est.
9. Where, then, you said that all, learned and unlearned, agree both that nothing was done without him and that nothing can be done, no controversy is to be made about the agreement of all the unlearned, lest it implore of us a delay of disputation which there is none between us, since whether all agree or some dissent; you will nevertheless grant that it was said, if only, as I admonished, you distinguish the one doing from the one permitting, since it is most truly said that nothing was done nor can be done without the omnipotent God, whether permitting or doing. Accordingly he permits sins to come about, he does not do them; even if, for the deserts of other sins, he hands some over into the desires of their heart (See Rom 1:24), to do what is not fitting, either by deserting them, or by either sending or permitting malignant angels too for their deception, even every such sin pertains to those who, that they might so sin, deserved to be handed over by the divine and just judgment, but to God it does not there pertain except the very vengeance which is just for sin.
Ep211-270.910. Ergo quisque ad illicitos appetitus pellitur concupiscentia sua abstractus et illectus , a quo malo Deus quando liberat miseretur , quando non liberat iudicat, cui misericordiam et iudicium cantat Ecclesia; quando autem illud, quando illud faciat, arbitrium atque consilium penes ipsum est; ad quod eius consilium etiam hoc pertinet, quod ista nescimus et sane semper nos existimo nescituros. Quisquis autem dicit, ut homo peccaret, ab illo non debuisse permitti, parum attendit eam naturam quae peccare non debet et peccare iam potest sine dubio esse meliorem, si permissa quam si non permissa non peccat. Quapropter ille bonus et iustus et talem naturam fecit ab initio quae permissa non peccaret si peccare noluisset, et peccantem sic punivit, ut peccatis dominantibus serviens malis etiam sit angelis subdita, quae sui Domini noluit servire iustitiae, bonis angelis coaequanda. Hinc sunt isti quos videmus errores aerumnaeque mortalium quibus haec vita humana completa est, ubi amatoribus suis peius nocet falsa felicitas, qua perfrui cupientes aggerant peccata peccatis, quam dura et aspera miseria quam ferre omnes volunt nec omnes sciunt; non enim caret ea quisquam nisi post mortem, si hanc pie gesserit vitam, quoniam sicut divina eloquia sese habent, grave iugum est super filios Adam a die exitus de ventre matris eorum usque in diem sepulturae in matrem omnium usque adeo, ut [nec] baptizati parvuli, quibus quod solum de damnata stirpe traxerunt ablutum et ablatum est per lavacrum regenerationis originale peccatum, ab hac sententia reperiantur immunes. Quod enim homines sic accipiunt per gratiam Christi non huius saeculi munus est sed pignus futuri; generatio quippe ista ex Adam tota damnata est; quae damnatio, ut possit evadere regeneratio est instituta. Hanc autem damnationem quantum attinet ad miserias huius saeculi, nemo vel piorum finit nisi post mortem, impii vero nec post mortem; immo et augentur impiis mala post resolutionem huius corporis et post receptionem subtractis eis, quibus hic male utebantur, bonis. Haec autem regeneratio cur non solum aetate maioribus, verum etiam parvulis aliis donetur, aliis non donetur, inscrutabilia sunt iudicia Dei , sed in eis nihil occultum est quod non sit et iustum. Firmus regenerationem suscipiat quam concupiscentia differt.
10. Therefore each one is driven to illicit appetites drawn away and enticed by his own concupiscence (Jas 1:14), from which evil, when God frees, he has mercy, when he does not free, he judges, to whom the Church sings mercy and judgment (See Ps 101:1 (100:1)); but when he does the one, when the other, the discretion and counsel is in his own power; to which counsel of his this too pertains, that we do not know these things, and indeed I think we shall always be ignorant of them. But whoever says that, in order for man to sin, it ought not to have been permitted by him, attends too little to the fact that that nature which ought not to sin and yet can already sin is without doubt better, if, permitted, it does not sin, than if, not permitted, it does not sin. Wherefore he, good and just, both made from the beginning such a nature which, permitted, would not sin if it had been unwilling to sin, and so punished it, sinning, that, serving the sins that dominate, it should also be made subject to evil angels—the nature which was unwilling to serve the justice of its own Lord—being [otherwise] to be made equal to the good angels. Hence are these errors and miseries of mortals which we see, with which this human life is filled, where a false happiness harms its lovers worse—desiring to enjoy which they heap sins upon sins—than the hard and harsh misery which all wish to bear but not all know how; for no one lacks it except after death, if he has led this life devoutly, since, as the divine eloquences have it, a heavy yoke is upon the sons of Adam from the day of their going out from their mother's womb until the day of their burial into the mother of all (See Sir 40:1), so far that [not even] baptized little children—for whom that which alone they drew from the damned stock, original sin, has been washed and taken away through the washing of regeneration—are found immune from this sentence. For that men so receive through the grace of Christ is not a gift of this age but a pledge of the future; for this generation from Adam is wholly damned; which damnation, that one may escape it, regeneration was instituted. But this damnation, as far as concerns the miseries of this age, no one even of the devout ends except after death, but the impious not even after death; nay, evils are even increased for the impious after the dissolution of this body and after the reception [of judgment], the goods being withdrawn from them which here they badly used. But why this regeneration is given not only to those greater in age, but also to some little children and not to others, the judgments of God are inscrutable (See Rom 11:33), but in them there is nothing hidden that is not also just.
Ep211-270.1011. Ad hanc regenerationem suscipiendam cum te exhortor, noli exspectare ut Deus velit, sed fac quod praecipit; et hinc tibi potius innotescat voluisse, quia facere non potuisses nisi ipse voluisset. Caritas enim qua es id facturus ex Deo est, concupiscentia vero, qua id ut nondum facias detineris non est ex Deo. Proinde quamdiu non facis, quia vitio tuo vel nesciens deciperis vel sciens vinceris, non Deo sed tibi tribue; cum vero feceris, Deum tibi affuisse, quoniam verissimum est, crede et hoc divinum adiutorium noli differendo exspectare, sed potius experire faciendo. "Graecus", Firmi filius, fiat "vir bonus dicendi peritus".
11. When I exhort you to receive this regeneration, do not await that God may will it, but do what he commands; and hence let it rather become known to you that he willed it, because you could not have done it unless he himself had willed it. For the love by which you are about to do this is from God, but the concupiscence by which you are detained so as not yet to do it is not from God. Accordingly, as long as you do not do it, because by your own fault you are either, unknowing, deceived or, knowing, overcome, attribute it not to God but to yourself; but when you have done it, believe that God was present to you, since it is most true, and do not await this divine help by deferring, but rather experience it by doing.
Ep211-270.1112. Nunc iam de Graeco nostro, de quo tota est posterior epistola, eximietati tuae dicam quod mihi video esse dicendum. Implevit enim me magno gaudio magna indoles eius, magno excellens ingenio et multum liberali eruditione provecta. Haec autem bona quo referantur magni interesse optime nosti. Quod si in talibus dictionibus appareret, in qualibus nunc exercitationis necessitate versatur, non me eius ingenii potius quam animi iudicem esse voluisses, ut sepositis rationibus quae sibi materiae necessitas vindicavit de sola ferrem facultate sententiam. Haec tua petitione ipse quodammodo iudicasti, quod me nunc iudicare noluisti. Ego vero quanto magis eius delector ingenio et egregia facultate dicendi, tanto sollicitior sum propensius eum diligens quali animo haec tanta bona eius inserviant, quibus ut scis et bene et male uti homines possunt; nec approbo nec volo, ut non se melioribus velit probare quam plurimis, quam conditionem oratoriae artis esse dixisti. Haec enim opinio more inveterato quidem, sed non recto generis humani non ex fonte veritatis emanavit. Quod si ipse nescires, non diceres: "Haec ipsius artis videtur esse condicio", sed diceres: "Haec est artis ipsius condicio". Videtur ergo esse et non est et eis videtur qui meliores eiusdem artis auctores aut non legunt aut non bene intellegunt aut lectis intellectisque non credunt. Nam omnino illud est verum quod eiusdem facultatis doctor et copiosissimus et ornatissimus dixit: Eloquentiam cum sapientia plurimum prodesse civitatibus, eloquentiam vero sine sapientia nimium obesse plerumque, prodesse numquam . Unde non eloquentem (potest enim esse eloquentia sine sapientia) sed ipsum oratorem ita definiendum veteres arbitrati sunt, ut eum esse dicerent: Virum bonum dicendi peritum . Ex qua definitione si quod priore loco positum est auferatur, illud quod obest nimium relinquetur; propter quod senserunt atque dixerunt, cum insipientibus dantur praecepta dicendi, non eos oratores effici sed arma quaedam furentibus dari . "Graecus" quam plurimis placeat non tantum eloquentia sed et moribus.
12. Now then, about our "Greek," about whom the whole latter letter is, I will say to Your Excellence what I see ought to be said by me. For his great natural ability filled me with great joy, excelling in great talent and much advanced by liberal erudition. But to what these good things are referred, you know very well that it matters greatly. For if it appeared in such declamations as those in which he is now engaged by the necessity of exercise, you would have wished me to be the judge not so much of his talent as of his mind, so that, the considerations laid aside which the necessity of the material claimed for itself, I might bring a sentence on his ability alone. By this request of yours you yourself in a way judged, in that you did not want me now to judge. But I, the more I am delighted by his talent and his outstanding ability of speaking, the more anxious I am, loving him the more, as to with what mind these so great goods of his serve—which, as you know, men can use both well and badly; nor do I approve nor wish that he not wish to prove himself to the better rather than to the many, which condition you said belongs to the oratorical art. For this opinion, by an inveterate custom indeed, but not a right one of the human race, did not flow from the fountain of truth. For if you yourself did not know this, you would not say: "This seems to be the condition of the art itself," but you would say: "This is the condition of the art itself." It seems, then, to be, and is not, and it seems so to those who either do not read the better authors of that same art, or do not understand them well, or, having read and understood them, do not believe them. For that is altogether true which the most copious and most ornate teacher of that same ability said: That eloquence with wisdom most profits states, but eloquence without wisdom for the most part too much harms, and never profits (See Cicero, On Invention 1.1). Whence the ancients judged that not the eloquent man (for there can be eloquence without wisdom), but the orator himself was to be so defined, that they said he was: A good man skilled in speaking (See Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria 12.1.1; Cato, in Seneca, Controversiae 1 pr. 9). From which definition, if what is set in the first place be taken away, that which harms too much will be left; on account of which they thought and said that, when precepts of speaking are given to the foolish, they are not made orators, but certain arms are given to madmen.
Ep211-270.1213. Graecus ergo noster volo, opto, exhortor ut, ubi nullum detrimentum est honestatis, placere studeat et bonis et plurimis, ubi autem propter plurimorum perversitatem utrisque non potest, eligat bonis potius placere quam plurimis et hoc non solum in verbis atque dictionibus, verum etiam in vita et actibus; unde maxime scire cupio, de qualibus eius moribus gratuleris, ut me quoque de illo facias tuorum participem gaudiorum. Non enim dubito, quod eum velis in omnibus te ipso esse meliorem; quot annorum etiam ducat aetatem, quas apud magistros utriusque linguae litteras legerit, quas apud te vel etiam tecum, quas forte apud se ipsum, et quibus nunc operam studiosae mentis impendat, non curiosus sed eius curam non ut puto improbe gerens tua rescriptione nosse desidero.
13. Our Greek, therefore, I wish, I desire, I exhort, that, where there is no detriment to honesty, he be eager to please both the good and the many, but where, on account of the perversity of the many, he cannot please both, he choose rather to please the good than the many, and this not only in words and declamations, but also in life and acts; whence I most desire to know about what sort of morals of his you congratulate him, that you may make me too a partaker of your joys about him. For I do not doubt that you wish him to be better in all things than yourself; how many years too he carries in age, what letters he has read with the masters of both languages, what with you or even along with you, what perhaps by himself, and to what he now expends the effort of a studious mind, I desire to know by your reply—not curious, but bearing his care, as I think, not improperly.
Ep211-270.13EPISTOLA 3*
DOMINO SINCERITER DILECTISSIMO FILIO ET CONDIACONO FELICI AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO SINCERITER DILECTISSIMO FILIO ET CONDIACONO FELICI AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 3*
TO FELIX, A SINCERELY MOST BELOVED LORD AND SON AND FELLOW DEACON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.13TO FELIX, A SINCERELY MOST BELOVED LORD AND SON AND FELLOW DEACON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Consultationem tuam magis magisque considerans exclamare compellor: Filii hominum usquequo graves corde utquid diligitis vanitatem et quaeritis mendacium . Quid enim tam vanum quam terrenae posteritatis oblectamento atque desiderio invidere filiae caelestia praemia quae sacris virginibus praeparantur, tot orbitatibus vapulare filiorum et de unica quae remansit, cuius utique sicut omnium hominum salus temporalis incerta est, certa refragatione atque fraude non homini facta sed Deo nepotes mortales et mortalium tot casibus subditos ab ipso Deo velle recipere? Quid autem mendacius quam Deo vovere virginitatem periclitantis infantulae, ut paene mortua suscitetur, et ipsum votum, quoniam illa revixit, occidere atque suam viduitatem Deo quasi nescienti quid sit melius et non valenti duo ista discernere pro filiae subtracta virginitate subponere. Multum terra sapit haec cogitatio; sursum sit cor et omnia ima pro superna felicitate despiciet. Si consurrexistis cum Christo, ait Apostolus, quae sursum sunt quaerite, ubi Christus est in dextera Dei sedens, quae sursum sunt sapite non quae super terram . Mater non debuit filiam detrahere a vota virginitate.
1. Considering your consultation more and more, I am compelled to cry out: Sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart? why do you love vanity and seek a lie? (Ps 4:2 (4:3)) For what is so vain as, out of the delight and desire of earthly posterity, to begrudge a daughter the heavenly rewards which are prepared for sacred virgins, to be beaten with so many bereavements of sons, and, about the one daughter who remains—whose temporal welfare, like that of all men, is surely uncertain—by a sure refusal and fraud done not to a man but to God, to wish to receive from God himself mortal grandchildren, subject to the many chances of mortals? But what is more lying than to vow virginity to God for an infant girl in peril, that, almost dead, she may be raised up, and then to slay that very vow, because she has revived, and to substitute one's own widowhood to God—as though he did not know what is better and were unable to discern these two things—for the daughter's virginity withdrawn? Much of earth does this thought savor; let the heart be on high, and it will despise all lowly things for heavenly happiness. If you have risen with Christ, says the Apostle, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; savor the things that are above, not the things that are on earth (Col 3:1-2).
Ep211-270.12. Proinde filia ista nostra, si se non continet, nubat , et sit in eis, de quibus idem Doctor ait: Volo iuniores nubere, filios procreare, matresfamilias esse, quoniam id quod sequitur: nullam occasionem dare adversario maledicti gratia quae sursum sunt sapere est . Si autem se potest continere, ut sic fiat [filia] eius inferior, quanto magis potest, ut ipsa sit melior, quamvis non aequalis filiae vidua sancta; si illa vidua sit sancta, apponatur ergo ista ad illam, non subponatur pro illa. Non sic offerat bonum suum, ut auferat melius alienum; sed habet de se quid eligat potestatem . Non enim vovisse dicenda est viduitatem suam, quandoquidem proposita conditione adhuc quaerit, utrum servatam suam viduitatem cum filiae non servata virginitate compenset. Sed nulla ratione compensat, non solum quia potior est viduitate virginitas, sed quia illa sua est, haec aliena, et utique non debet lucro suo damnum quaerere alterius . Denique si quod fieri non potest fieri posset, ut sibi virginitatem per continentiam revocaret, nec sic talis compensatio fuerat requirenda. Addere quippe se debuit, non aliam detrahere tanto bono nec ideo in illum superiorem locum mater ascendere, ut inde filiam deiceret. Solius filiae est quid eligat cum adoleverit.
2. Accordingly, this daughter of ours, if she does not contain herself, let her marry (See 1 Cor 7:9), and be among those of whom the same Teacher says: I wish the younger to marry, to bear children, to be mothers of families (1 Tim 5:14), since that which follows—to give no occasion to the adversary for the sake of reviling (See 1 Tim 5:14)—is to savor the things that are above. But if she can contain herself, so that thus [the daughter] becomes her inferior, how much more can it be that she herself be better, although not equal to her daughter, a holy widow; if that one be a holy widow, let this one, then, be added to her, not substituted for her. Let her not so offer her own good as to take away another's better; but she has the power over herself as to what she may choose (See 1 Cor 7:37). For she is not to be said to have vowed her widowhood, since, a condition having been proposed, she still inquires whether she should compensate her preserved widowhood with her daughter's unpreserved virginity. But by no reasoning does she compensate, not only because virginity is preferable to widowhood, but because the one is her own, the other another's, and surely she ought not, for her own gain, to seek another's loss. Finally, if what cannot be done could be done, that she should recall virginity to herself through continence, not even so should such a compensation be sought. For she ought to add herself, not take another away from so great a good, nor for that reason ascend to that higher place, so as thence to cast down her daughter.
Ep211-270.23. Habet ergo se, ut dictum est, in potestate , quia nondum vovit, quod utrum pro tali re vovere debeat adhuc requirit. Quod autem iam vovit reddendum est, non utrum reddi debeat requirendum, quamvis requirenti utrum vovere debeat viduitatem suam verius rectiusque responderem; debes, sed pro auferenda filiae tuae virginitate non debes. Cur autem dixerim: Debes, sed non ea causa quam cogitas debes paulisper attendere; cum Dominus Iesus duram conditionem coniugatorum de non dimittenda uxore monstrasset , responderunt discipuli eius: Si talis est causa cum uxore, non expedit ducere , et ad haec Dominus: Non omnes, inquit, capiunt verbum hoc, sed quibus datum est, et paulo post: Qui potest, inquit, capere capiat . Tu ergo cape, quoniam cum pro tua filia, immo contra tuam filiam, ut illa virgo non sit, [vidua] parata es permanere, convinceris posse, nec est quemadmodum te excuses ab eo qui dixit: Qui potest capere capiat. Cape ergo quia potes, sed attende spadones illos ideo laudatos, quia seipsos castraverunt propter regnum caelorum , non propter fructum solaciumque terrenum; cape ut tu augearis, non ut filia minuatur; cape ut et tu habeas quod voveris, non ut tollas filiae quod vovisti; cape propter habendas plures uberioresque virtutes, non propter nepotes, in quibus quales iam experta es timeas orbitates! De filia vero tua quantum in te est redde vota tua! Melius est enim non vovere, sicut ait Scriptura, quam vovere et non reddere ; et Apostolus: Habentes, inquit, damnationem quia primam fidem irritam fecerunt . Ideo autem dixi: "Quantum in te est, redde vota tua", quia non est in tua potestate quid eligat puella si creverit, cum ad aetatem pervenerit qua debet eligere, sed at te pertinet qua spe nutrias quam vovisti. Non solum autem sine tuo, verum etiam sine suo peccato ante professionem virginitatis, si hoc maluerit, eliget nuptias, hoc tantummodo perditura quod fuerat adeptura, si tuo voto consentiens virgo persisteret. Sicut enim qui parvulus baptizatur, si veniens ad annos aetatis eius, in qua uti potest ratione, improbaverit et respuerit quod in eum parentum voluntate collatum est, hoc perdit quod fuerat adepturus, si in eadem gratia permaneret, id est in vita aeterna esse cum Christo, unde remanebit ei in poena aeterna esse cum diabolo, ita virgo adulta, quae spe futura sacrae virginitatis a parentibus educata est, si forte cum fuerit adulta, antequam profiteatur eamdem sanctitatem, eligat coniugari, detrimentum patietur non sicut ille regni Dei, sed honoris amplioris in regno Dei. Neque enim sicut dictum est: Si quis non renatus fuerit ex aqua et spiritu, non intrabit in regnum Dei , ita etiam dictum est: "Quae non elegerit sacram virginitatem, non introibit in regnum Dei". Sane si post professionem suam ex illo proposito ceciderit, damnabitur quia primam fidem irritam fecit . Quod ergo debet cavere illa, cum professa fuerit, hoc tu debes in eo quod de illius virginitate vovisti; et magis propter voluntatis eius incertum etiam viduitas tua voto de illa tuo debet adiungi ut, si tuo voto concordaverit, maneas cum illa in sancta viduitate, quia in sancta virginitate iam non potes, si autem aliud fortassis elegerit, maneas pro illa in quo potes. Potens est autem Deus qui vos ambas in donis suis faciat permanere. Haec dixerim christianae feminae, de qua me consulendum putasti. Mater poscat ut quod de filia voverit impleatur.
3. She has herself, then, as has been said, in her own power (See 1 Cor 7:37), because she has not yet vowed, since she still inquires whether she ought to vow for such a thing. But what she has already vowed is to be rendered, and it is not to be inquired whether it ought to be rendered, although to one inquiring whether she ought to vow her widowhood I would more truly and rightly answer: you ought, but for the taking away of your daughter's virginity you ought not. But why I have said: You ought, yet not for the cause you think you ought, you should attend a little; when the Lord Jesus had shown the hard condition of the married about not dismissing a wife (See Matt 19:6), his disciples answered: If such is the case with a wife, it is not expedient to marry (Matt 19:10), and to these the Lord: Not all, he says, grasp this word, but those to whom it is given (Matt 19:11), and a little after: He who can grasp it, let him grasp it (Matt 19:12). You, then, grasp it, since, when, for your daughter—nay rather, against your daughter, that she be not a virgin—you are prepared to remain [a widow], you are convicted of being able, nor is there any way you can excuse yourself from him who said: He who can grasp it, let him grasp it. Grasp it, then, because you can, but attend that those eunuchs were praised for this reason, that they castrated themselves for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (See Matt 19:12), not for the sake of earthly fruit and solace; grasp it that you may be increased, not that your daughter be diminished; grasp it that you too may have what you have vowed, not that you may take from your daughter what you have vowed; grasp it for the sake of having more and richer virtues, not for the sake of grandchildren, in whom you fear such bereavements as you have already experienced! But about your daughter, as far as is in you, render your vows! For it is better not to vow, as Scripture says, than to vow and not render (Eccl 5:5 (5:4)); and the Apostle says: Having, he says, damnation, because they made void their first faith (See 1 Tim 5:12). But I have said: "As far as is in you, render your vows," because it is not in your power what the girl may choose if she grows up, when she comes to the age at which she ought to choose, but it pertains to you with what hope you nourish her whom you have vowed. But not only without your, but even without her own, sin, before the profession of virginity, if she has preferred this, she will choose marriage, losing only this, which she would have attained, if, consenting to your vow, she had persisted a virgin. For just as one who is baptized as a little child, if, coming to the years of an age in which he can use reason, he disapproves and rejects what was conferred on him by the will of his parents, loses this, which he would have attained if he had remained in the same grace, that is, to be in eternal life with Christ, whence it will remain for him to be in eternal punishment with the devil; so an adult virgin, who was raised by her parents in the hope of future sacred virginity, if perhaps, when she has become adult, before she professes the same holiness, she chooses to be married, will suffer a detriment not, like that one, of the kingdom of God, but of an ampler honor in the kingdom of God. For just as it was said: If anyone is not reborn of water and the Spirit, he will not enter into the kingdom of God (See John 3:5), it was not also said: "She who has not chosen sacred virginity will not enter into the kingdom of God." But indeed, if after her profession she falls from that purpose, she will be condemned, because she made void her first faith (See 1 Tim 5:12). What, therefore, she ought to beware, when she has professed, this you ought to beware in that which you have vowed about her virginity; and rather, on account of the uncertainty of her will, your widowhood too ought to be joined to your vow about her, so that, if she agrees with your vow, you may remain with her in holy widowhood, since in holy virginity you no longer can, but if she perhaps chooses otherwise, you may remain for her in what you can. But God is powerful, who may make you both abide in his gifts. These things I would say to a Christian woman, about whom you thought I should be consulted.
Ep211-270.34. Tibi autem dico sic agas cum illa, quomodo eam videris amare, quod bonum est propter regnum caelorum. Cavendum est enim ne forte non propter hoc appetens viduitatem, propter quod appetenda est, non possit aetatis impetum sustinere, maxime propter humanos casus semper incertos. Neque enim in eius est potestate, ut filia nubat aut pariat, et utique metuendum est ne, cum aliud forte, quod absit, acciderit, exsistimet se esse fraudatam et quasi mercedem sui propositi perdidisse et ista carnali cogitatione deficiat. Deus autem noster qui dixit: Non omnes capiunt verbum hoc, sed quibus datum est teneat cor eius et sursum levet ut caelestia promissa diligat et terrena experta contemnat. De filia vero sua nihil aliud debet intendere et poscere, nisi ut quod vovit impleatur; quod ei donet in cuius manu sumus et nos et sermones nostri. Aug. quaerit quomodo Innocentiae orphani se habeant in Christi fide.
4. But to you I say that you should deal with her in such a way as you see that you love her, which is good for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. For care must be taken lest perhaps, desiring widowhood not for the reason for which it is to be desired, she be unable to bear the impulse of her age, especially on account of the always uncertain chances of mortals. For it is not in her power that her daughter marry or bear children, and surely it is to be feared lest, when something else perhaps—which God avert—happens, she think herself defrauded and, as it were, to have lost the reward of her purpose, and fail through this carnal thought. But may our God, who said: Not all grasp this word, but those to whom it is given (Matt 19:11), hold her heart and lift it on high, that she may love the heavenly promises and despise the earthly things she has experienced. But about her daughter she ought to intend and ask nothing else, except that what she has vowed be fulfilled; which may he grant her in whose hand are both we and our words (See Wis 7:16).
Ep211-270.45. Nescis, immo vero scis quantum gaudere desiderem de prole religiosae Innocentiae, quam de corpore exisse nonnisi ex his didici recentioribus tuis litteris. Quomodo autem sit in fide Christi omnibus quos de suis visceribus hic reliquit, peto ut rescribere ea quae primum occurrerit occasione non pigeat.
5. You do not know—nay rather, you know—how much I desire to rejoice over the offspring of the religious Innocentia, whom I learned to have departed from the body only from this more recent letter of yours. But how each one is in the faith of Christ whom she here left from her own womb, I ask that you not be reluctant to write back at the first occasion that occurs.
Ep211-270.5EPISTOLA 4*
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET DEBITIS CARITATIS OFFICIIS HONORANDO ATQUE VENERANDO FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI CYRILLO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET DEBITIS CARITATIS OFFICIIS HONORANDO ATQUE VENERANDO FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI CYRILLO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 4*
TO CYRIL, A MOST BLESSED LORD, AND A BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST TO BE HONORED AND VENERATED WITH THE DUE DUTIES OF LOVE, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.5TO CYRIL, A MOST BLESSED LORD, AND A BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST TO BE HONORED AND VENERATED WITH THE DUE DUTIES OF LOVE, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Plurimum commendo me sanctis orationibus tuis reddens venerationi tuae salutationis obsequium per Dei servum Iustum nomine, quem cognovi nuperrime bonum fratrem; qui cum inde ad nos usque venisset atque illo rursus remearet a nobis, occasionem gratissimam praestitit, qua tuae Beatitudini haec officia solveremus. Nec tacendam causam exsistimo quae illum ad nos compulit pergere; ipso eam quippe indicante cognovi. Opere suo De gestis Pelagii Aug. ostendit quomodo Pelagius absolveretur.
1. I most greatly commend myself to your holy prayers, rendering to your reverence the duty of greeting through a servant of God, Justus by name, whom I came to know very recently as a good brother; who, when he had come from there all the way to us, and was returning thence again from us, afforded a most welcome occasion by which we might discharge these duties to Your Beatitude. Nor do I think the cause that drove him to come to us should be kept silent; for I learned it from his own report.
Ep211-270.12. Recolit quantum arbitror sinceritas tua misisse te nobis gesta ecclesiastica habita in provincia Palestina, ubi Pelagius putatus catholicus absolutus est, cum sese callidis verborum latibulis occultasset et fratres nostros qui tunc iudices praesidebant, nullo ex alia parte refellente adversario, fefellisset. Quibus gestis quantum diligenter potui consideratis atque perspectis librum de his ad venerabilem fratrem et consacerdotem nostrum Aurelium ecclesiae Carthaginiensis episcopum scripsi , in quo, sicut Dominus donavit ostendi, quid secuti fuerint catholici iudices in Pelagii responsionibus, ut eum velut catholicum absolverent. Multi quippe iactabant errore illius implicati illo absoluto etiam dogmata eius haeretica iudicio catholicorum episcoporum tamquam catholica esse firmata et haec illis usquequaque iactantibus plurimi quid actum esset ignari cum magno ecclesiarum scandalo ita esse credebant. Iustus codicem suum, cum Aug. collatum, integrum repperit.
2. Your Sincerity recalls, as I think, that you sent us the ecclesiastical proceedings held in the province of Palestine, where Pelagius, thought a Catholic, was acquitted, when he had hidden himself in the cunning hiding places of words and had deceived our brothers who then presided as judges, no adversary on the other side refuting him. These proceedings having been considered and examined as diligently as I could, I wrote a book about them to our venerable brother and fellow priest Aurelius, bishop of the Church of Carthage (Augustine, The Deeds of Pelagius), in which, as the Lord granted, I showed what the Catholic judges followed in Pelagius's answers, so as to acquit him as a Catholic. For many, entangled in his error, boasted that, he having been acquitted, his heretical dogmas too had been confirmed as Catholic by the judgment of Catholic bishops; and, with these boasting everywhere, very many, ignorant of what had been done, believed it was so, with great scandal to the churches.
Ep211-270.23. Propter hanc ergo auferendam opinionem memoratum elaboravi librum, in quo sicut valui demonstravi etiam absoluto Pelagio (non apud Deum quem nemo fallit, sed apud homines quos fallere potuit) illa tamen pestifera dogmata etiam ipso anathematizante omnino esse damnata, hunc autem librum meum cum haberet iste servus Dei Iustus, huius ad tuam venerabilitatem perlator epistolae, offendit quosdam, quod in eo disputatum est non omnes peccatores aeterno igni puniri, et hunc libri locum, sicut mihi rettulit, non a me sic explicatum, sed ab ipso falsatum esse dixerunt . Unde permotus cum eodem ad nos codice navigavit, ne illum haberet fortasse mendosum, cum bene sibi fuisset conscius nihil in eo falsitatis a se fuisse commissum. Conferens itaque illum cum codicibus nostris me quoque percognoscente integrum habere compertus est. Pelagii haereticum dogma omnes peccatores aeterno igne puniri.
3. To take away this opinion, then, I labored over the aforesaid book, in which, as I could, I demonstrated that, even with Pelagius acquitted (not before God, whom no one deceives, but before men, whom he could deceive), those pestilent dogmas were nevertheless altogether damned, even with him himself anathematizing them. But when this servant of God, Justus, the bearer of this letter to your venerability, had this book of mine, he offended certain ones, because in it it is argued that not all sinners are punished by eternal fire, and they said—as he reported to me—that this place of the book was not so explained by me, but falsified by him. Hence, disturbed, he sailed to us with that very codex, lest he have it perhaps faulty, although he was well conscious to himself that no falsity had been committed in it by him. And so, collating it with our codices, with me too coming fully to know it, he found that he had it intact.
Ep211-270.34. Proinde quoniam nos tangit, absit ut malivola sed plena potius caritatis, non tamen contemnenda suspicio hanc sententiam, quam dicimus non omnes, sed quosdam peccatores damnari supplicio sempiterno, eis displicere qui dicunt etiam istam mortalem vitam sanctos habere sine peccato, ut eis ad indulgentiam peccatorum suorum, quoniam nulla sunt, nec oratio dominica sit necessaria, in qua tota clamat Ecclesia: Dimitte nobis debita nostra , procul dubio providet sanctitas tua corrigendos esse a pravitate huius erroris. Nam et haec de Pelagiana illa non sana certum est manare doctrina quae ideo asseverat omnes peccatores aeterno igne puniri, ut his qui veraciter se fatentur non esse sine peccato nulla spes veniae relinquatur, ut sic aut intumescant superbia putantes hanc suam vitam nullum habere peccatum aut desperatione tabescant velut iam destinati ad supplicium sempiternum. Dicit quidem beatus Apostolus: Uniuscuiusque opus quale sit ignis probabit. Si cuius opus permanserit quod superaedificavit, mercedem accipiet; si cuius autem opus exustum fuerit detrimentum patietur, ipse autem salvus erit sic tamen tamquam per ignem , sed haec verba apostolica sunt sic accipienda, ut non de igne novissimi iudicii, sed ante illud iudicium hoc quod dictum est intellegatur sive in hac vita sive post mortem. Tamen omnimodo error ille vitandus est quo putantur omnes peccatores in supplicium sempiterni ignis ituri, si non hic egerint vitam quae nullum habeat omnino peccatum. Videndum etiam ne forte qui hoc sentiunt alia quoque dogmata Pelagiana non minus vel etiam peius insana sapere inveniantur et serpant dira contagia per vulgus incautum, dum non reprimitur nec sanatur malum quod in quibusdam fuerit cura fraternae dilectionis inventum. Cyrillus Iustum defendat pelagianoque veneno Christifideles liberet.
4. Accordingly, since it touches us, far be it that a malevolent—but rather a suspicion full of love, yet not to be despised—should think that this sentence, which we state, that not all, but certain sinners are damned by everlasting punishment, displeases those who say that even this mortal life has the saints without sin, so that, for the indulgence of their sins (since there are none), not even the Lord's Prayer is necessary for them, in which the whole Church cries out: Forgive us our debts (Matt 6:12); without doubt Your Holiness provides that they should be corrected from the depravity of this error. For it is certain that this too flows from that unsound Pelagian doctrine, which asserts that all sinners are punished by eternal fire for this reason, that for those who truly confess they are not without sin no hope of pardon may be left, so that they either swell with pride, thinking that this life of theirs has no sin, or waste away in despair, as though already destined for everlasting punishment. The blessed Apostle says indeed: The fire will test of what sort each one's work is. If anyone's work which he has built upon abides, he will receive a reward; but if anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Cor 3:13-15), but these apostolic words are so to be taken that what is said be understood not of the fire of the last judgment, but, before that judgment, either in this life or after death. Yet by all means that error is to be avoided by which all sinners are thought to be about to go into the punishment of everlasting fire, if they have not led here a life that has no sin at all. It is also to be seen whether perhaps those who think this be found to savor other Pelagian dogmas too, no less or even more unsound, and dire contagions creep through the incautious crowd, while the evil is not repressed nor healed which has, in certain ones, been found out by the care of brotherly love.
Ep211-270.45. Sic ergo tuae piissimae Sanctitati commendo fratrem Iustum, ut non solum eum defendas a calumniantibus, verum etiam ipsos quos non immerito suspectos habet, ne forte et suas animas perdant et in has Pelagianum virus immittant, pastorali digneris diligentia et paterna lenitate vel etiam, si opus est, medicinali asperitate corrigere aut, si eos in fide inveneris sanos , ex huius animo scrupulum istius suspicionis auferre. Latini sunt enim utrique et de Occidentali Ecclesia, in qua et nos sumus, ad loca illa venerunt. Unde a nobis potissimum oportet eos commendari Venerationi tuae, ne illas sibi terras, ut inter Graecos impune latitent, elegisse videantur, ubi cum ista disputant minus intelleguntur et ideo non facile redarguitur error illorum. Hoc autem propterea facimus, ut de nullius contristemur interitu, sed de omnium potius quantum fieri potest salute gaudeamus.
5. So, then, I commend brother Justus to your most devout Holiness, that you not only defend him from those slandering him, but also that those very ones whom he not undeservedly holds suspect—lest perhaps they both lose their own souls and let the Pelagian poison into these—you would deign to correct with pastoral diligence and fatherly gentleness, or even, if it is needful, with medicinal harshness; or, if you find them sound in the faith, take from his mind the scruple of this suspicion. For both are Latins, and they came to those places from the Western Church, in which we too are. Hence they ought above all to be commended by us to Your Reverence, lest they seem to have chosen those lands for themselves, that they may lurk with impunity among the Greeks, where, when they argue these things, they are less understood, and therefore their error is not easily refuted. But we do this for this reason, that we may be saddened over the destruction of no one, but rather rejoice over the salvation of all, as far as it can be done.
Ep211-270.5EPISTOLA 5*
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET VENERABILI AC DESIDERABILI FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO VALENTINIANO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET VENERABILI AC DESIDERABILI FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO VALENTINIANO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 5*
TO VALENTINIANUS, A MOST BLESSED AND VENERABLE AND DESIRABLE LORD AND BROTHER AND FELLOW BISHOP, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.5TO VALENTINIANUS, A MOST BLESSED AND VENERABLE AND DESIRABLE LORD AND BROTHER AND FELLOW BISHOP, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Praesentiam tuam promittis et pro ea nobis quaestiones solvendas quibus, ut scribis, cor tuum quatitur mittis. Ego autem, quamvis adesse te mallem, tamen inter occupationes meas, cui praesenti expeditius per colloquia potuissem, absenti utcumque per Scripturas respondeo. Cur baptizati sibi debita dimitti petant.
1. You promise your presence, and in place of it you send us questions to be resolved, by which, as you write, your heart is shaken. But I, although I would prefer that you be present, yet, amid my occupations, to one to whom, present, I could have answered more readily by conversation, absent I answer as I can by writing.
Ep211-270.12. Prima quaestio tua est cur baptizati continuo in oratione debita fateantur ea quae sibi dimitti petant, cum in ipso baptismo cuncta dimissa sunt; et cum tibi propter noxias cupiditates motusque cordis illicitos, qui humanae infirmitati facillime subrepunt, eamdem quaestionem ipse solvisses, dicis tibi occurrisse de parvulis qui nec cogitare nec loqui possunt, quasi quisquam parvulos praecipiat sive compellat sancto lavacro regenerandos , nisi ablui compellantur propter originale peccatum, aut pro eis maiores aliquid de dominica oratione respondent sicut de symboli fide, [sine] qua baptizari omnino non possunt et ideo qui eos gestant pro eis ad ipsa verba interrogati respondent. Nihil est igitur quod te in parvulis debeat permovere de debitis, quae a baptizatis protinus post ipsum lavacrum, ubi praeterita cuncta dimissa sunt, rursus propter illa quae humanarum cogitationum facilitate subrepunt dimittenda poscuntur. De quo "spiritu" dicatur: non permanebit etc. in Gen 6, 3.
2. Your first question is why the baptized straightway, in prayer, confess as debts the things they ask to be forgiven them, when in baptism itself all things were forgiven; and when you yourself had resolved this same question, on account of the noxious desires and illicit movements of the heart, which most easily creep upon human weakness, you say it occurred to you about little children, who can neither think nor speak; as though anyone bids or compels little children to be regenerated by the holy washing, except they be compelled to be washed on account of original sin, or those greater than they answer something for them about the Lord's Prayer, as about the faith of the Creed, without which they cannot be baptized at all, and therefore those who carry them, questioned at those very words, answer for them. There is, then, nothing about little children that ought to move you concerning the debts, which by the baptized, straightway after that washing—where all past things have been forgiven—are again sought to be forgiven on account of those things which creep in by the easiness of human thoughts.
Ep211-270.23. Item quaeris, quomodo accipiendum sit quod dixit Deus: Non permanebit Spiritus meus in istis hominibus in saeculo, hoc autem codices nostri sic habent: Non permanebit Spiritus meus in hominibus his in aeternum . Emendetur ergo mendositas codicis sive codicum vestrorum et nulla erit quaestio, in qua labores quaerendo quare "in saeculo" posuerit, tamquam significaverit peccatoribus nefandis poenam sufficere praesentis exitii, cum potius aeternum comminatus sit dicens: Non permanebit Spiritus meus in hominibus his in aeternum; sed ambiguitas verbi Graeci fefellit interpretem qui sic transtulit, ut "in saeculo" diceret, quamvis "in saeculum" saltem dicere debuerit, non "in saeculo". Quod enim Graeci dicunt: εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, Latine et "in saeculum", et "in aeternum" dici potest; ubi oportet interpretem sensum Scripturae considerare, ne fallatur ambiguo. Quod enim quaeris, de quo spiritu dictum sit, utrum qui vitam corpori tribuit an qui animam sanctificat, ullam non habet quaestionem, quando audis dicentem: Spiritus meus. Diceret enim: "Spiritus eorum", si illum quo corpus vivit vellet intellegi, quoniam ad naturam hominis pertinet, et de illo utique recte dici potuit: Non permanebit Spiritus meus in hominibus his; qui ad hominum naturam non pertinet, qui permanere in eis posset, nisi carnis voluptate superati deumque deserentes Sanctum Spiritum, quod est donum Dei , mererentur amittere. Nam spiritus eorum, quo homines erant, si ad corpora referas, quomodo in eis permanere posset quandoque morituris, si autem ad eam partem qua sit vivum corpus, quomodo in eis non possit permanere, cum ipsi spiritus sint qui exeunt in morte de corpore, et necesse est, ut sint ubicumque, sive illis bene sit sive male. Arbitror me satis respondisse inquisitionibus tuis. Praesentiam vero corporalem tuam non promissam quidem non exigerem, sed promissam tamquam debitam flagito.
3. Likewise you ask how to take what God said: My Spirit will not remain in these men forever—but our codices have it thus: My Spirit will not remain in these men unto eternity (See Gen 6:3). Let the faultiness of your codex or codices be corrected, then, and there will be no question, in which you labor by inquiring why it set down "forever," as though it signified that for wicked sinners the punishment of present destruction suffices, when he rather threatened an eternal one, saying: My Spirit will not remain in these men unto eternity; but the ambiguity of the Greek word deceived the translator who so rendered it as to say "forever," although he ought at least to have said "for an age," not "forever." For what the Greeks say, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, can in Latin be said both "for an age" and "unto eternity"; where the translator must consider the sense of the Scripture, lest he be deceived by the ambiguity. For as to what you ask, of which spirit it was said, whether the one that gives life to the body or the one that sanctifies the soul, it has no question at all, when you hear him saying: My Spirit. For he would say "their spirit," if he wished the one by which the body lives to be understood, since it pertains to the nature of man, and of that surely it could rightly be said: My Spirit will not remain in these men—which does not pertain to the nature of men, which could remain in them, unless, overcome by the pleasure of the flesh and deserting God, they deserved to lose the Holy Spirit, which is the gift of God. For their spirit, by which they were men, if you refer it to the bodies, how could it remain in them, who are someday to die; but if to that part by which the body is alive, how could it not remain in them, since they themselves are spirits who go out in death from the body, and must, wherever they be, exist, whether it be well or ill with them? I think I have sufficiently answered your inquiries. But your bodily presence, not promised, I would not exact, but, promised, I demand as a debt.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 6*
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET DEBITA VENERATIONE SUSCIPIENDO FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI ATTICO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET DEBITA VENERATIONE SUSCIPIENDO FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI ATTICO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 6*
TO ATTICUS, A MOST BLESSED LORD, AND A BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST TO BE RECEIVED WITH DUE VENERATION, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.3TO ATTICUS, A MOST BLESSED LORD, AND A BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST TO BE RECEIVED WITH DUE VENERATION, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Quamvis tuae Sanctitatis non acceperim litteras per religiosum fratrem et conpresbyterum Innocentium, per quem me accepturum esse praesumpseram, causa tamen ab eo cognita cur id factum sit, ita haec scripsi, tamquam Venerationis tuae scripta sumpserim et rescripta persolverim incolumis propitio Deo et adiutorio orationum tuarum. Nam cum aliud fama iactasset, sicut mihi supradictus frater rettulit, tamquam de homine credidisti; quid enim tam credibile est quam cum dicitur mortuus esse mortalis, quod procul dubio cuilibet in carne viventi quandoque venturum est? Sed cum ab aliis recentioribus nuntiis me vivere audisset atque indicasset dilectioni tuae, plurimum te fuisse gratulatum et Deo gratias egisse narravit, licet vobis adhuc esset incertum. Attici pastoralis cura laudatur ad Pelagianos corrigendos.
1. Although I did not receive the letter of Your Holiness through the religious brother and fellow priest Innocentius, through whom I had presumed I would receive it, yet, the cause why this was so having been learned from him, I have written these things as though I had received the writing of Your Reverence and discharged a reply, safe and sound, by the favor of God and the help of your prayers. For when rumor had spread something else, as the aforesaid brother reported to me, you believed it of a man; for what is so credible as, when it is said that a mortal has died, which without doubt is at some time going to come to anyone living in the flesh? But when, from other more recent messengers, you had heard that I was alive, and had indicated it to your Love, he narrated that you had greatly rejoiced and given thanks to God, although it was still uncertain to you.
Ep211-270.12. Proinde, Domine, quod epistolam meam laetus accipias dubitare non debeo, sed rescriptorum debitum praetermissum fidentior et avidior iure caritatis exposco, tametsi litteras Beatitudinis tuae ad unianimum fratrem meum missas velut ambobus missae fuerint deputaverim, in quibus gaudens comperi pastorali cura egisse Sanctitatem tuam, ut et corrigeretur quorumdam Pelagianorum perversitas et calliditas caveretur. Minime diabolicam esse nuptiarum concupiscentiam.
2. Accordingly, lord, I ought not to doubt that you joyfully receive my letter, but I more confidently and more avidly demand, by the right of love, the owed reply that was omitted, although I have reckoned the letter of Your Beatitude sent to my brother of one mind as if it had been sent to us both; in which, rejoicing, I learned that Your Holiness had acted with pastoral care, both that the perversity of certain Pelagians be corrected and their cunning be guarded against.
Ep211-270.23. Quod vero etiam calumniantur catholicis, non est mirum, si eo modo nituntur reprimere quae ad eorum venenata dogmata redarguenda dicuntur. Quis enim catholicus sic adversus eos defendit fidem rectam, ut improbet nuptias quas mundi Fabricator et Conditor benedixit? Quis catholicus dicat diabolicae operationis esse concupiscentiam nuptiarum, cum per hanc utique propagaretur genus humanum, etiamsi nemo peccasset, ut impleretur illa benedictio: Crescite et multiplicamini ; quae benedictio nec peccato hominis, in quo omnes peccaverunt , perdidit suae bonitatis effectum in tam perspicua tamque mirabili atque laudabili quae ab omnibus cernitur fecunditate naturae? Quis Catholicus in omni creatura omnis animae et omnis carnis opera divina non praedicat eorumque consideratione hymnum Creatori eructat qui non solum tunc ante peccatum fecit, verum etiam nunc facit omnia bona valde ? Nefarie Pelagiani docent parvulos non egere baptismo.
3. But as for the fact that they even slander Catholics, it is no wonder, if in this way they strive to repress the things that are said for refuting their poisoned dogmas. For what Catholic so defends the right faith against them as to disapprove marriage, which the Maker and Founder of the world blessed? What Catholic would say that the concupiscence of marriage is of diabolical operation, since through it the human race would surely have been propagated, even if no one had sinned, so that that blessing might be fulfilled: Increase and multiply (Gen 1:28); which blessing not even the sin of man, in whom all have sinned (See Rom 5:12), deprived of the effect of its goodness, in so clear and so wonderful and praiseworthy a fecundity of nature, which is beheld by all? What Catholic does not, in every creature, proclaim the divine works of every soul and every flesh, and, by the consideration of them, pour forth a hymn to the Creator, who not only then, before sin, made, but even now makes all things very good (See Gen 1:31)?
Ep211-270.34. Sed illi iam mente perversa ea mala quae merito culpae acciderunt naturae cum bonis naturalibus contentiosa caecitate confundunt, ita laudantes hominum Creatorem, ut tamquam nihil mali habentibus negent esse necessarium parvulis salvatorem, quod est eorum dogma damnabile; et putant hunc errorem nefarium roborare se posse laude nuptiarum dicentes damnari etiam nuptias, si id quod ex eis nascitur damnatur nisi renascatur. Non enim vident aliud esse nuptiale bonum, a quo bono nec post peccatum nuptiae defecerunt, aliud autem originale malum quod nuptiae non fecerunt nec modo faciunt, sed iam factum inveniunt eoque bene utuntur, cum de illo non faciunt quidquid libet, sed tantum quod licet. Hoc isti considerare detractant, quoniam praeoccupavit eos error quem malunt defendere quam cavere. Nuptiarum concupiscentiam a carnis concupiscentia Pelagiani non discernunt.
4. But they, now with a perverse mind, confound, with contentious blindness, the evils which befell nature by the desert of fault with natural goods, so praising the Creator of men that they deny that little children, as having nothing evil, need a Savior, which is their damnable dogma; and they think they can strengthen this wicked error by the praise of marriage, saying that marriage too is condemned, if that which is born of it is condemned unless it be reborn. For they do not see that the conjugal good is one thing, from which good marriage did not fail even after sin, but original evil is another, which marriage did not make and does not now make, but finds already made, and uses it well, when out of it they do not whatever they please, but only what is lawful. This these people refuse to consider, since an error has anticipated them which they prefer to defend than to guard against.
Ep211-270.45. Ex hoc errore concupiscentiam nuptiarum, hoc est concupiscentiam pudicitiae coniugalis, concupiscentiam legitime propagandae prolis, concupiscentiam vinculi socialis, quo uterque inter se sexus obstringitur, non discernunt a concupiscentia carnis, quae licitis atque illicitis indifferenter ardescit et per concupiscentiam nuptiarum, quae hac bene utitur, frenatur ab illicitis et ad sola licita relaxatur, contra cuius impetum repugnantem legi mentis omnis castitas pugnat et coniugatorum, ut ea bene utantur, et continentium virginumque sanctarum, ut ea melius et gloriosius non utantur. Hanc ergo concupiscentiam carnis , in qua est solum desiderium concumbendi, non discernentes a concupiscentia nuptiarum, in qua est officium generandi, impudentissime laudant, de qua primi homines erubuerunt, quando foliis ficulneis illa membra texerunt quae ante peccatum pudenda non fuerant; nudi quippe erant et non confundebantur , ut intellegamus istum motum, de quo confusi sunt, in natura humana cum morte fuisse conceptum. Tunc enim habuerunt erubescendi causam, quando etiam necessitatem moriendi habere coeperunt . Hanc ergo concupiscentiam carnis prudenter et sobrie distinguendam a concupiscentia nuptiarum tantis laudibus praedicant, ut existiment, etiamsi in paradiso nemo peccasset, non potuisse sine illa filios procreari in corpore vitae illius, sicut nunc sine illa non procreantur in corpore mortis huius, a quo per Iesum Christum liberari concupiscit Apostolus. Absurdum putare fuisse in progenitoribus carnis concupiscentiam.
5. From this error they do not distinguish the concupiscence of marriage—that is, the concupiscence of conjugal chastity, the concupiscence of lawfully propagating offspring, the concupiscence of the social bond by which each sex is bound to the other—from the concupiscence of the flesh, which burns indifferently for the lawful and the unlawful, and is, through the concupiscence of marriage, which uses it well, bridled from the unlawful and relaxed to the lawful alone; against whose impulse, resisting the law of the mind, all chastity fights, both that of the married, that they may use it well, and that of the continent and of holy virgins, that they may better and more gloriously not use it. This concupiscence of the flesh, then—in which there is only the desire of intercourse—not distinguishing from the concupiscence of marriage—in which there is the office of begetting—they most shamelessly praise; that concupiscence of which the first men were ashamed, when they covered with fig leaves those members which before sin had not been shameful; for they were naked and were not confounded (See Gen 2:25; 3:7), so that we may understand that this movement, of which they were confounded, was conceived in human nature along with death. For then they had cause to blush, when they also began to have the necessity of dying. This concupiscence of the flesh, therefore, prudently and soberly to be distinguished from the concupiscence of marriage, they proclaim with such great praises that they think that, even if no one had sinned in paradise, children could not have been procreated without it in the body of that life, just as now they are not procreated without it in the body of this death, from which the Apostle longs to be freed through Jesus Christ.
Ep211-270.56. Unde fit, ut hanc eorum opinionem de inconsiderata imperitia venientem tanta sequatur absurditas, ut eam nec ipsi, quantacumque impudentia frons ab eis obduretur humana, omnino sustinerent. Nam si erat in paradiso ante peccatum ista carnis concupiscentia, quam sic inordinatum motum habere sentimus, ut castitas frenis aut ab omni usu cohibenda sit aut in usum bonum, quamvis per se ipsam mala sit, nuptiarum bonitate redigenda, profecto in tantae beatitudinis loco aut ei turpiter serviretur, si quotiescumque mota esset totiens cum coniuge coiretur nulla necessitate generandi, sed ut se libidinis appetitus expleret, etiamsi uxor iam gravida occurreret, aut adversus eam, ne ad ista foeda pertraheret, abstinentiae viribus pugnaretur. Horum igitur duorum quod placet eligant; si enim concupiscentiae carnis serviretur ne repugnaretur, non ibi erat honesta libertas; si autem repugnaretur ne serviretur, non ibi erat pacata felicitas; quodlibet horum paradisi beatum decus vel decora beatitudo aversatur. Baptismo reatus originalis peccati solvitur at vis quaedam perturbationis manet.
6. Whence it comes about that so great an absurdity follows this opinion of theirs, coming from inconsiderate inexperience, that not even they themselves—however much human brow be hardened in them with shamelessness—could at all bear it. For if before sin there was in paradise this concupiscence of the flesh, which we perceive to have so disordered a movement that chastity must either restrain it with reins from all use, or reduce it to good use, although it is in itself evil, by the goodness of marriage; surely, in a place of such great happiness, either it would be shamefully served—if, as often as it were moved, so often there were intercourse with the spouse, by no necessity of begetting, but that the appetite of lust might fill itself, even if the wife came already pregnant—or it would be fought against, with the powers of abstinence, lest it drag one to those foul things. Of these two, then, let them choose which pleases; for if the concupiscence of the flesh were served, lest it be resisted, there was no honest liberty there; but if it were resisted, lest it be served, there was no peaceful happiness there; either of these the blessed honor of paradise, or the honorable happiness, turns away from.
Ep211-270.67. Quis hoc non videat? Quis huic veritati manifestissimae nisi impudentissima pervicacia contradicat? Restat itaque, ut aut non ibi fuerit haec carnis concupiscentia quam sentimus turbido et inordinato appetitu contra voluntatem nostram, etiam quando non opus est, commoveri, quamvis ibi fuerit concupiscentia nuptiarum servans tranquillam coniugum caritatem et sicut mentis arbitrium manibus et pedibus ad opera congrua sic ad generandum genitalibus imperans membris, ut proles in paradiso miro modo sine libidinis carnis doloribus seminaretur , sicut etiam miro modo sine parturitionis doloribus nasceretur, aut si fuit illic ista carnis concupiscentia, non utique talis fuit, qualem nunc eam molestissimam et odiosissimam sentiunt qui contra eam sive coniugali sive viduali sive virginali castitate confligunt. Ingerit enim se, ubi non est necessaria, et importunis vel etiam nefariis desideriis et ipsa fidelium atque sanctorum corda sollicitat; quibus eius motibus inquietis etiamsi nullo nutu consensionis adquiescimus, sed potius repugnamus, tamen desiderio sanctiore omnino, si fieri posset, in nobis eos esse nollemus, sicut aliquando non erunt. Ipsa est enim perfectio boni quam sanctis in hac vita adhuc deesse significabat Apostolus dicens: Velle adiacet mihi, perficere autem bonum non , neque enim ait: "facere", sed: perficere, quoniam facit homo bonum desideriis talibus non consentiendo, sed non perficit haec habendo. Non enim quod volo, inquit, facio bonum, sed quod nolo malum, hoc ago . Non utique agebat malum membra sua explendis malis desideriis exhibendo, sed de ipsis concupiscentialibus motibus hoc dicebat, quibus etsi non consentiebat nec perpetrabat quo illi provocabant, tamen eos habendo agebat quos habere nolebat. Denique adiungit: Si autem quod nolo ego hoc facio , id est quamvis concupiscentiae non consentiam (nolo tamen concupiscere et concupisco) iam non ego operor illud sed quod habitat in me peccatum . Huius peccati reatus generatione trahitur, regeneratione retrahitur, cum fit omnium remissio peccatorum. Nonnulla tamen vis eius et quaedam pestifera contagionis affectio in corpore corruptibili atque mortali etiam reatu soluto manet, contra quam regeneratus si proficit pugnet. Nam etsi non omnimodam continentiam sed pudicitiam tenuerit coniugalem, pugnabit etiam ipse adversus istam carnis concupiscentiam, ne moechetur, ne fornicetur ullisque mortiferis et nefariis turpitudinibus inquinetur, postremo ne ipsa coniuge intemperanter utatur, cum qua etiam ex consensu ab opere commiscendae carnis ad tempus abstinere debebit, ut orationibus vacent et iterum in idipsum revertantur, ne tentet eos satanas propter intemperantiam suam, quod eis secundum veniam, non secundum imperium dicit Apostolus. Hoc quidam parum considerantes ipsas nuptias secundum veniam putaverunt esse concessas, sed non est ita; alioquin, quod absit, peccatum erunt nuptiae. Ubi enim datur venia, profecto agnoscitur quia ignoscitur culpa; sed concubitum, ad quem non propagandae prolis cura perducit sed incontinentia satiandae libidinis pertrahit, inter se coniugibus secundum veniam concedit Apostolus, ne peccata damnabilia committantur, dum venia non relaxat. Verumtamen etiamsi aliqui coniugati tanta pudicitia coniugali virtute praepollent, ut sola causa generandi sexus uterque misceatur, iamque baptizati renatique sic vivunt, quidquid prolis ex eis per illam carnis concupiscentiam nascitur, qua non bona ipsi per bonam nuptiarum concupiscentiam bene utuntur, trahit originale peccatum. Quod enim nullo modo nisi sola regeneratione detrahitur, sequitur procul dubio generatum nisi et ipse regeneretur, sicut praeputium quod nonnisi circumcisione detrahitur, sequitur filium circumcisi, nisi et ipse circumcidatur . Carnis concupiscentia si fuit in paradiso, longe alia fuit ac praesens.
7. Who does not see this? Who, except by most shameless obstinacy, would contradict this most manifest truth? It remains, then, either that this concupiscence of the flesh—which we perceive to be moved with a turbid and disordered appetite against our will, even when there is no need—was not there, although there was there the concupiscence of marriage, preserving the tranquil love of the spouses and, just as the will's nod commands the hands and feet to fitting works, so commanding the genital members for begetting, so that offspring in paradise would be sown in a wondrous way without the pains of the concupiscence of the flesh, just as also in a wondrous way it would be born without the pains of childbearing; or, if there was there that concupiscence of the flesh, it was surely not such as those now perceive it, most troublesome and most hateful, who fight against it whether by conjugal or widowed or virginal chastity. For it thrusts itself in where it is not necessary, and with importunate or even wicked desires solicits even the hearts of the faithful and the holy; with whose restless movements, even if we acquiesce by no nod of consent, but rather resist, yet by a holier desire we would altogether, if it could be done, be unwilling that they be in us, just as someday they will not be. For that is the perfection of good which the Apostle signified to be still lacking to the saints in this life, saying: To will lies near to me, but to accomplish the good, no (See Rom 7:18); for he does not say "to do," but to accomplish, since a man does good by not consenting to such desires, but does not accomplish it by having them. For I do not do the good that I will, he says, but the evil that I do not will, this I do (Rom 7:19). He surely was not doing evil by presenting his members to fulfilling evil desires, but he was saying this of those very concupiscential movements, to which, even if he did not consent nor perpetrate what they provoked, yet by having them he was doing what he did not will to have. Finally he adds: But if I do that which I do not will, that is, although I do not consent to concupiscence (yet I do not will to lust, and I lust), it is now not I who work it, but the sin that dwells in me (Rom 7:20). The guilt of this sin is drawn by generation, drawn back by regeneration, when there is made the remission of all sins. Yet some force of it, and a certain pestilent affection of contagion, remains in the corruptible and mortal body even with the guilt loosed, against which let the regenerate, if he makes progress, fight. For even if he holds not entire continence but conjugal chastity, he too will fight against this concupiscence of the flesh, lest he commit adultery, lest he fornicate, lest he be defiled by any deadly and wicked shamefulness, finally lest he use even his own wife intemperately, with whom too, even by consent, he ought for a time to abstain from the work of joining the flesh, that they may have leisure for prayers and again return to the same, lest Satan tempt them on account of their incontinence, which the Apostle says to them according to indulgence, not according to command (See 1 Cor 7:5-6). Some, considering this too little, thought that marriage itself was conceded according to indulgence; but it is not so; otherwise—which far be it—marriage would be a sin. For where indulgence is given, surely it is acknowledged that a fault is pardoned; but the intercourse to which the care of propagating offspring does not lead, but the incontinence of satiating lust drags, the Apostle concedes to spouses between themselves according to indulgence, lest damnable sins be committed, while indulgence does not relax. Nevertheless, even if some married people so excel in the virtue of conjugal chastity that for the sole cause of begetting each sex is joined, and, baptized and reborn, so live, whatever offspring is born of them through that concupiscence of the flesh—which, not being good, they themselves use well through the good concupiscence of marriage—draws original sin. For that which is in no way removed except by regeneration alone follows without doubt the one begotten, unless he too be regenerated; just as the foreskin, which is removed only by circumcision, follows the son of the circumcised, unless he too be circumcised (See Rom 5:12).
Ep211-270.78. Haec ergo concupiscentia carnis si fuit in paradiso ut per illam filii generarentur ad implendam benedictionem nuptiarum multiplicatione hominum, non utique talis qualis nunc est fuit cuius motus et ad licita et ad illicita indifferenter inhiaret; auferretur in multa turpissima, si quocumque moveretur pervenire sineretur, contra quam pugnandum esset, ut castitas servaretur; sed talis esset (si tamen ulla ibi esset) qua numquam caro adversus spiritum concupisceret , sed voluntatis nutum pace mirabili non excederet, ut numquam adesset, nisi cum opus esset, numquam delectatione inordinata vel illicita se animo cogitantis ingereret, nihil haberet improbandum quod habenis temperantiae frenaretur aut expugnaretur labore virtutis, sed utentis voluntatem, quando necessaria fuisset, facili atque concordi oboedientia sequeretur. Nunc ergo quoniam talis non est eiusque adversitatem oportet ut castitas eluctetur, fateantur eam peccato esse vitiatam, ut de motu eius confunderentur qui prius nudi erant et non confundebantur , nec mirentur solum virginis filium, quem non possunt dicere per illam fuisse conceptum, non traxisse originale peccatum. Da veniam quod epistolae prolixitate onerosus fui sanctis sensibus tuis, non ut te facerem doctiorem, sed ut apud te illorum calumnias refutarem.
8. This concupiscence of the flesh, then, if it was in paradise, that through it children might be begotten to fulfill the blessing of marriage by the multiplication of men, was surely not such as it now is, whose movement gapes indifferently both for the lawful and the unlawful; it would be carried off into many most foul things, if, wherever it were moved, it were allowed to arrive, against which one would have to fight, that chastity be preserved; but it would be such (if indeed any were there) by which the flesh would never lust against the spirit (See Gal 5:17), but would not, by a wonderful peace, exceed the nod of the will, so that it would never be present except when there was need, would never thrust itself, by a disordered or unlawful delight, upon the mind of one thinking, would have nothing to be disapproved that should be bridled by the reins of temperance or fought off by the labor of virtue, but would follow the will of the one using it, when it was necessary, by an easy and concordant obedience. Now, then, since it is not such, and chastity must struggle against its adversity, let them confess that it has been vitiated by sin, so that of its movement those should be confounded who before were naked and were not confounded (See Gen 2:25; 3:7); nor let them wonder that the Son of a virgin alone, whom they cannot say to have been conceived through it, did not draw original sin. Grant pardon that I have been burdensome to your holy senses by the length of the letter, not to make you more learned, but to refute their slanders before you.
Ep211-270.8EPISTOLA 7*
COMMONITORIUM DIACONO FAUSTINO
COMMONITORIUM DIACONO FAUSTINO
LETTER 7*
A MEMORANDUM FOR THE DEACON FAUSTINUS
Ep211-270.8A MEMORANDUM FOR THE DEACON FAUSTINUS
1. Quamvis propter imperandam navem ad Gallias in negotio presbyteri Heraclii fueris directus, tamen ex occasione age cum fratre et coepiscopo meo [Novato], ut negotio Ecclesiae adesse dignetur. De illa pecunia quam relicta Bassi petita dilatione usque ad Kalendas Iulias sequestravit, quoniam ad ipsum sequestrem scripsit postea tribunus Felicianus, ut eamdem pecuniam non det Ecclesiae quam scripserat comes Sebastianus dari debere, causa talis est, de qua episcopum debebis instruere; ante istos annos cum adhuc viveret domesticus Florentinus, aliquantam pecuniam comes Bonifatius ita donavit Ecclesiae, ut delegatio fieret ad duos homines, apud quos eam tribunus Bassus de rationibus eius deposuerat et ab eis nomine suo emissa pittacia depositionis acceperat. Unus ergo eorum qui eiusdem pecuniae partem quam apud se habebat reddere paratus erat Ecclesiae, pittacium suum quod Basso emiserat reposcebat. Iam vero idem Bassus obierat et apud eius uxorem pittacia ipsa remanserant. Erogavit inde tamen aliquid Ecclesiae, nisi fallor solidos octoginta plus minus, quos Ecclesia tamquam de suo acceptos, suis necessitatibus erogavit. Deinde etiam ipse collectarius mortuus est relictis heredibus. Postea vero relicta Bassi venit Hipponem et residuam pecuniam, cuius maior summa est, ab heredibus eiusdem collectarii accepit in solidis eisque pittacium depositi reddidit. Ecclesiae vero paratam se dicebat eosdem solidos solvere et pittacium quod apud eam remanserat eius hominis qui habebat alteram pecuniae partem. Diximus enim quoniam ad duos facta fuerat delegatio. Dicebat ergo et solidos quos acceperat ab heredibus unius et pittacium alterius velle se reddere Ecclesiae; chirographum mariti eius quod de hac re comiti emiserat aut redderetur sibi aut, si reddi non posset, evacuaretur. Quod cum factum esset, coepit Ecclesiae nolle reddere quod se antea velle dicebat, sed apud sequestrem seposuit et dilationem usque ad Kalendas Iulias postulavit. Deinde Sitifim ab Hippone profecta est, aut illic aliquid sicut dicebat actura aut etiam Tipasam perrectura. Sed post aliquot dies scripsit ad sequestrem tribunus Felicianus, ne solidos iuxta placitum mulieris Ecclesiae redderet quos ab ea reddi iusserat comes Sebastianus evacuato mariti eius chirographo. Pecunia Bassi viduae reddenda, si huius est.
1. Although you have been sent to the Gauls, on the business of the priest Heraclius, to commandeer a ship, yet take occasion to deal with my brother and fellow bishop [Novatus], that he would deign to attend to the business of the Church. About that money which the widow of Bassus, a delay having been requested, deposited in escrow until the Kalends of July—since the tribune Felicianus afterward wrote to the very escrow-holder that he should not give to the Church that same money which Count Sebastianus had written ought to be given—the case is such, about which you will have to instruct the bishop: some years ago, while the domestic Florentinus was still alive, Count Boniface so gave a certain amount of money to the Church that an order of payment was made to two men, with whom the tribune Bassus had deposited it from his accounts, and from whom he had received notes of deposit issued in his own name. One of them, then, who was ready to repay to the Church the part of that same money which he had with him, demanded back his note which he had issued to Bassus. But by now Bassus had died, and those notes had remained with his wife. Yet she paid out something from there to the Church—if I am not mistaken, about eighty solidi—which the Church, as received from its own, paid out for its own necessities. Then the collector himself too died, leaving heirs. But afterward the widow of Bassus came to Hippo and received the remaining money, of which the greater sum is, from the heirs of that same collector, in solidi, and gave them the note of deposit. But to the Church she said she was prepared to pay the same solidi and the note which had remained with it of that man who had the other part of the money. For we said that the order of payment had been made to two. She said, then, that both the solidi which she had received from the heirs of the one and the note of the other she wished to repay to the Church; and that her husband's bond, which he had issued to the count about this matter, should either be returned to her or, if it could not be returned, be voided. And when this had been done, she began to be unwilling to repay to the Church what she before said she wished, but deposited it with the escrow-holder and requested a delay until the Kalends of July. Then she set out from Hippo to Sitifis, either to do something there, as she said, or even to proceed to Tipasa. But after some days the tribune Felicianus wrote to the escrow-holder that he should not repay to the Church, according to the woman's agreement, the solidi which Count Sebastianus had ordered to be repaid by her, her husband's bond being voided.
Ep211-270.12. Petes itaque fratrem Novatum, ut dignetur ipsam causam diligenter inquirere, maxime ne viduam premere videamur, ut, si ad ipsam cognoverit eamdem pecuniam pertinere, hoc comiti suggerat Sebastiano, maxime propter solidos quos tamquam suos inde iam erogavit Ecclesia. Non enim grave est, ut eos reddi faciat mulieri, ne ab Ecclesia repetantur. Si autem cognoverit episcopus iniustam causam esse mulieris, id agat, ut sequester quod apud eum depositum est remota interdictione tribuni Feliciani reddere iubeatur vel permittatur Ecclesiae. Si autem mulier apud Sitifim non est, videat frater Novatus quid tribunus Felicianus inde respondeat, et ista causa ad comitis Sebastiani notitiam perducatur, qui potest inde statuere quod iustum esse perviderit.
2. You will therefore ask brother Novatus that he deign to inquire into this case diligently, especially lest we seem to press a widow, so that, if he learns that the same money pertains to her, he may suggest this to Count Sebastianus, especially on account of the solidi which the Church has already paid out from there as its own. For it is not a grave thing that he cause them to be repaid to the woman, lest they be demanded back from the Church. But if the bishop learns that the woman's case is unjust, let him bring it about that the escrow-holder be ordered, or permitted, to repay to the Church what is deposited with him, the interdiction of the tribune Felicianus being removed. But if the woman is not at Sitifis, let brother Novatus see what the tribune Felicianus answers about it, and let this case be brought to the notice of Count Sebastianus, who can establish about it what he sees to be just.
Ep211-270.2EPISTOLA 8*
COMMONITORIUM SANCTO FRATRI VICTORI AUGUSTINUS
COMMONITORIUM SANCTO FRATRI VICTORI AUGUSTINUS
LETTER 8*
A MEMORANDUM FOR THE HOLY BROTHER VICTOR, FROM AUGUSTINE
Ep211-270.2A MEMORANDUM FOR THE HOLY BROTHER VICTOR, FROM AUGUSTINE
1. Quantum mihi cara sit et vita et fama Sanctitatis tuae considerare dignaberis; ea quae apud me Iudaeus Licinius deploravit, si verum est, multum me contristant. Probavit quidem mihi per tabulas quas ferebat emisse se nescio quos agellos ab eis quibus mater eius vendiderat et aliquam partem in uxorem suam, quando eam duxit, donatione collatam; sed quod adiunxit in querela valde incredibile est, quod Sanctitas tua ab eadem anicula matre eius omnia emerit et eum qui optimo iure possidebat excluserit et, cum tibi quereretur de te ipso, responderis ei: "Ego emi; [si] male mihi vendidit mater tua, cum ipsa litiga! A me noli aliquid quaerere, quia nihil tibi dabo". Quod si mihi mentitus est, dignare rescribere; si autem per ignorantiam iuris hoc tibi visum est respondendum, noverit caritas tua hoc: possidentem excludi nullo iure potuisse nec illam recte vendidisse quod tamquam proprium suus filius possidebat, etiamsi forte ei aliquid competebat. Prius enim ipsum vincere debuit et tunc vendere quod illo victo potuerat obtinere. Huic enim in rem competit actio; cum matre sua vero prorsus litigare non noscitur, sed cum illo qui res eius invasit, in quo facto nolo inveniatur fraternitas tua. Valde invidiosum est et a tuis moribus alienum. Si ergo vera mihi dixit, dignare illi reddere res suas et pretium recipere ab eius matre, si datum est. Quod pretium si forte illa tibi reddere noluerit, nec iste rem suam perdere poterit; necesse est enim ut eam recipiat intercedente iustitia clamantibus legibus. Rogo te, ut cogites quod ait Apostolus: Sine offensione estote Iudaeis et Graecis et Ecclesiae Dei . Melius est autem, ut a tuo carissimo fratre commonitus facias quod iustum est, quam ut ista causa veniat ad episcopale iudicium. Verberum disciplina corrigendus qui Licinii matrem offenderit.
1. You will deign to consider how dear to me are both the life and the reputation of Your Holiness; the things which the Jew Licinius lamented before me, if they are true, much sadden me. He proved to me indeed, by the documents he carried, that he had bought certain small farms from those to whom his mother had sold them, and that a certain part had been conferred on his wife by donation, when he married her; but what he added in his complaint is very incredible: that Your Holiness bought everything from that same little old woman, his mother, and excluded him who possessed by the best right, and that, when he complained to you about you yourself, you answered him: "I bought it; [if] your mother sold it to me wrongly, dispute with her! Seek nothing from me, because I will give you nothing." But if he lied to me, deign to write back; but if, through ignorance of the law, this seemed to you the thing to answer, let your Charity know this: that one possessing could be excluded by no law, nor did she rightly sell what her own son possessed as his own, even if perhaps something was due to her. For first she ought to have defeated him, and then sold what, with him defeated, she could have obtained. For against him an action in rem lies; but with his mother he is by no means known to dispute, but with him who seized his property—in which deed I would not have your Fraternity found. It is very invidious and alien from your morals. If, then, he told me true things, deign to return his property to him and receive the price from his mother, if it was given. Which price, if perhaps she is unwilling to repay to you, neither will he be able to lose his property; for it is necessary that he receive it, justice intervening and the laws crying out. I ask you to consider what the Apostle says: Be without offense to Jews and Greeks and the Church of God (See 1 Cor 10:32). But it is better that, admonished by your most dear brother, you do what is just, than that this case come to episcopal judgment.
Ep211-270.12. Sane cum quaesissem ab illo ne forte aliquam iniuriam matri suae fecerit et hoc modo eam sine aliqua cupiditate possidendi res huius vindicare voluisti magis hoc ad terrorem huius faciens, iste respondit questam quidem matrem suam fuisse de iniuria uxoris suae et ancillae ipsius, se autem nullam fecisse. Unde peto Sanctitatem tuam, si res ita se habet, ut et huic des verberum disciplinam praesente ipsa matre sua, si eum matri iniuriosum esse cognoveris, quia hoc dixit se libenter pati, aut uxori eius, si ipsa fortassis in culpa est, quia et ipsa potest accipere praesente socru sua, iudicante Veneratione tua, ab ipso marito suo dignam verberum disciplinam. Nam de ancilla facilis est causa, quia de ipsa potest mater huius multo facilius vindicari. Quod propterea se iste non fecisse dicit, quoniam quas iniurias matri suae fecerit ignoravit; postea enim dicit matrem suam iam rebus ipsis venditis fuisse conquestam.
2. Indeed, when I had asked him whether perhaps he had done some injury to his mother, and in this way you had wished to vindicate her, with no desire of possessing his property, doing this rather to terrify him, he answered that his mother had indeed complained about an injury done by his wife and her maidservant, but that he himself had done none. Hence I ask Your Holiness, if the matter is so, that you give him too the discipline of stripes in the presence of his mother herself, if you learn that he is injurious to his mother, because he said he would gladly bear this; or to his wife, if perhaps she is at fault, because she too can receive, in the presence of her mother-in-law, by the judgment of Your Reverence, from her own husband a fitting discipline of stripes. For about the maidservant the case is easy, because over her his mother can much more easily be vindicated. Which he says he did not do for this reason, that he was ignorant of what injuries he had done to his mother; for he says that his mother complained afterward, the property having already been sold.
Ep211-270.2EPISTOLA 9*
COMMONITORIUM SANCTO FRATRI ALYPIO AUGUSTINUS
COMMONITORIUM SANCTO FRATRI ALYPIO AUGUSTINUS
LETTER 9*
A MEMORANDUM FOR THE HOLY BROTHER ALYPIUS, FROM AUGUSTINE
Ep211-270.2A MEMORANDUM FOR THE HOLY BROTHER ALYPIUS, FROM AUGUSTINE
1. Accepi commonitorium Sanctitatis tuae septimo Kalendas Septembris et rescripsi sexto; iam videram presbyterum Commodianum et per eum scripseram non quidem aliquid de ipsa causa, quia nec propterea illum videre volueram ut id facerem, sed sollicitus ne forte aliquid actum fuerit cum homine quod ratione defendere non posset, scire volui quemadmodum res gestae fuerint, de quibus ille conquestus est. Posteaquam mihi rettulit, nihil vidi agendum esse, si ventum fuerit ad iudicium vestrum, nisi ut quod factum est doceatur, quantum attinet ad eiusdem presbyteri causam. Nam de caede illata quam papa Caelestinus solam voluit vindicari nihil mihi dicere potuit, quoniam se nescire respondit. Unde solus mihi remansit de hac re scrupulus, quia difficile mihi videntur qui eum reppererunt cum illa femina, quam professam sanctimonialem ad ludibrium stupri de patria duxerat, ab eius corporali iniuria temperasse. Quam difficile castigare homines honorem curiae vel fori habentes.
1. I received the memorandum of Your Holiness on the seventh day before the Kalends of September, and wrote back on the sixth; I had already seen the priest Commodianus and through him had written—not indeed anything about the case itself, because I had not wished to see him for that reason that I might do so, but, anxious lest perhaps something had been done with the man which could not be defended by reason, I wished to know how the things were done about which he complained. After he reported to me, I saw that nothing was to be done, if it comes to your judgment, except that what was done be shown, as far as concerns that same priest's case. For about the assault that was inflicted, which Pope Caelestinus wished alone to be punished, he could tell me nothing, since he answered that he did not know. Hence only this scruple remained for me about this matter, because it seems to me difficult that those who found him with that woman—whom, a professed nun, he had brought from his homeland for the mockery of debauchery—abstained from bodily injury to her.
Ep211-270.12. Nosti enim quemadmodum nos soleat quaestio ista conterere vel quomodo haec mala impunita salvo regimine Ecclesiae relinquantur vel quomodo debeant ab Ecclesia vindicari, quandoquidem per leges publicas nequeant. Quid ergo facturus est episcopus sive clerici in huiusmodi non qualibuscumque peccatis sed sceleribus hominum? Hoc proinde primo fuerat requirendum ab eis qui corporalem poenam nullo modo cuiquam existimant irrogandam, maxime propter tales qui excommunicationem ecclesiasticam omnino non curant, sive quia Christiani vel Catholici non sunt, sive quia ita vivunt ut propemodum non sint. Si autem honores movent quos quisque gerit vel gessit in saeculo, nec ipsos nobis licet in peccatis talibus cuiquam minuere vel auferre, ut per huiusmodi poenam malefaciendi licentia comprimatur in eis quos vincire seu verberare non possis. Quamquam si, cum honorem vel curiae vel fori habent, quem videtur habere iste de quo agitur, in Ecclesia saltare vellent, non video quomodo eis possent parcere qui propter hoc etiam in manibus ferunt, unde disciplinam verberum imponunt; et utique multo est gravius sanctitatis professionem libidini suae subdere quam intra Ecclesiae parietes audere saltare. Sceleratis huiusmodi hominibus constituenda est ordinata poena.
2. For you know how this question is wont to wear us down—both how these evils are left unpunished with the governance of the Church preserved, or how they ought to be vindicated by the Church, since by the public laws they cannot be. What, then, is a bishop or the clergy to do in such—not just any sins, but—crimes of men? This, accordingly, ought first to be inquired of those who think that a bodily punishment is by no means to be inflicted on anyone, especially on account of such people as care nothing at all for ecclesiastical excommunication, whether because they are not Christians or Catholics, or because they so live as to be practically not so. But if the honors move us which each one bears or has borne in the world, neither is it lawful for us to diminish or take away these from anyone in such sins, so that by punishment of this kind the license of doing evil be repressed in those whom you cannot bind or beat. Although, if, while they have the honor of either the curia or the forum—which the one of whom this matter treats seems to have—they wished to dance in the church, I do not see how those could spare them who, for this very thing, even carry in their hands the means by which they impose the discipline of stripes; and surely it is much graver to subject the profession of holiness to one's lust than to dare to dance within the walls of the Church.
Ep211-270.23. Quid ergo faciendum sit in talibus causis talibusque personis in earum causarum reatu deprehensis, prius debent inquirere atque definire qui volunt, cum haec iudicantur, rectam ferre sententiam; alioquin, si querelis eorum movemur, quando corporalem accipiunt disciplinam, nec movemur factis quando Deo faciunt impiissimam iniuriam et inquietissima nequitia decus honestatis et sanctitatis Ecclesiae quietemque perturbant, aut sic movemur ipsis malefactis nequissimorum hominum quae in Ecclesia nefandis ausibus perpetrant, ut ea quae pro disciplina patiuntur parva puniamus, ea vero quae contra disciplinam magna committunt vel impunita a nobis relinquenda esse censeamus, vel quomodo punienda sint, nequaquam reperire possimus, non sane video qualem rationem iudiciorum nostrorum simus nostro Domino reddituri . Prius ergo quaerenda, invenienda, constituenda est ordinata inquietis perditis poena, tunc demum punienda, si qua eis ingesta probari potuerit inordinata sive immoderata vindicta; quod donec fiat, quae sententia proferenda sit adversus Dei servos qui pro Domini sui domo faciunt aliquid scelerati incomparabiliter minus quam paretur legibus publicis, ut sit utcumque quod timeant qui easdem publicas leges contra se ab episcopis vel clericis moveri posse non timent, omnino non video. In episcopali iudicio apparebit illius scelerati crimen in libello omissum.
3. What, then, is to be done in such cases and with such persons, caught in the guilt of those cases, those ought first to inquire and define who wish, when these things are judged, to bring a right sentence; otherwise, if we are moved by their complaints when they receive bodily discipline, and are not moved by their deeds when they do God a most impious injury and, with most restless wickedness, disturb the honor of the honesty and holiness of the Church and its quiet, or if we are so moved by the very misdeeds of these most worthless men, which they perpetrate in the Church by wicked daring, that we punish as small the things they suffer for discipline's sake, but the great things they commit against discipline we judge are either to be left unpunished by us, or by no means can find how they are to be punished—I do not at all see what account of our judgments we are to render to our Lord (See Rom 14:12). First, then, an ordered punishment for the restless and the lost is to be sought, found, established, then at last is it to be punished, if any disordered or immoderate vengeance can be proved to have been inflicted on them; which, until it be done, what sentence is to be brought against the servants of God who, for the house of their Lord, do something incomparably less wicked than is prepared by the public laws—so that there be at any rate something for those to fear who do not fear that these same public laws can be moved against them by bishops or clergy—I altogether do not see.
Ep211-270.34. Puto tamen, immo non dubito quod, si ille lugendus filius noster in libello suo posuisset quid ipse commiserit, nullo modo eum censeret Papa venerabilis vindicari conquerentem, quod a clericis vapulaverit, nisi forte qui hoc ei fecit mensuram christianae moderationis excessit. Aestimo autem illum in iudicio Sanctitatis vestrae rem tam manifestam, id est factum suum quod in libello suo tacuit, negare non posse. Iam vero in ecclesiasticis iudiciis si nec iustitia ista servatur quam providentissime constituerunt leges publicae, ne quisquam facile per imperiale rescriptum inique pulsetur, ut beneficio careat nec ei sit impunitum quicumque in precibus quae Imperatori dantur aliquid quod ad causam constat pertinere suppresserit, et iste qui hoc fecit in libello tam sanctae Sedi tradito non solum non puniendus episcopis, verum etiam vindicandus videtur, quid dicam nescio.
4. Yet I think—nay rather, I do not doubt—that, if that son of ours to be mourned had set down in his petition what he himself committed, the venerable Pope would by no means judge that he should be vindicated when complaining that he was beaten by clerics, unless perhaps the one who did this to him exceeded the measure of Christian moderation. But I estimate that he, in the judgment of Your Holiness, cannot deny so manifest a thing, that is, his own deed which he kept silent in his petition. But now, in ecclesiastical judgments, if not even that justice is preserved which the public laws most providently established—lest anyone be easily and inequitably impleaded by an imperial rescript, so that he lose the benefit, and that it not be unpunished for whoever, in the petitions given to the emperor, has suppressed something which is established to pertain to the case—and this man who did this, in a petition handed to so holy a See, seems not only not to be punished by the bishops, but even to be vindicated, I do not know what to say.
Ep211-270.4EPISTOLA 10*
COMMONITORIUM SANCTO FRATRI ALYPIO AUGUSTINUS
COMMONITORIUM SANCTO FRATRI ALYPIO AUGUSTINUS
LETTER 10*
A MEMORANDUM FOR THE HOLY BROTHER ALYPIUS, FROM AUGUSTINE
Ep211-270.4A MEMORANDUM FOR THE HOLY BROTHER ALYPIUS, FROM AUGUSTINE
1. Remeantibus sanctis fratribus et coepiscopis nostris, quamvis eos non viderim, eorum tamen ammonitus litteris, ut si aliquid tuae Sanctitati vellem scribere, Carthaginem mitterem, ista dictavi. [Quibus salutaris] germanitatem tuam iam iamque etiam videre desidero accedente spe reditus tui quam significasti litteris tuis. Iam vero rescripseram quod pervenerint ad me cum tuo commonitorio libri Iuliani et Caelestii quos per filium nostrum Commilitonem diaconum direxisti, et quod multum mirarer, quod mihi nihil nuntiasse curaveris de correctione Turbanti, ad quem scripsit libros illos quattuor Iulianus. Hunc enim eamdem haeresem satis humili confessione damnantem et in pacem catholicam a papa Caelestino esse susceptum a tali homine audivi quem non possum dicere fuisse mentitum. Magis enim, cum ad me scriberes, hoc te oblitum fuisse potui suspicari. Quamquam ergo iam ista scripseram, tamen etiam nunc volui commonere, ne fortasse prius haec rescripta quam illa quae prius feci accipiat Sanctitas tua. Interea in quibusdam schedis nostris inveni exemplum commonitorii quod tibi feceras, quando ad comitatum de concilio primitus missus es, eoque perlecto vidi multa necessaria non te potuisse tunc agere, et detractis quibusdam quae vel acta sunt vel non multum videntur urgere mittendum putavi, ne forte nunc agi possint. Mangonum pernicies qui quos mercantur servos reddunt.
1. As the holy brothers and our fellow bishops were returning—although I did not see them, yet, admonished by their letters that, if I wished to write anything to Your Holiness, I should send it to Carthage—I dictated these things. [Greeting them] I desire now and now even to see your Fraternity, with the hope of your return, which you signified in your letter, drawing near. I had indeed already written back that the books of Julian and Caelestius, which you sent through our son the deacon Commilito, reached me with your memorandum, and that I much wondered that you took no care to tell me anything about the correction of Turbantius, to whom Julian wrote those four books. For I heard from such a man—whom I cannot say lied—that he, condemning the same heresy by a sufficiently humble confession, was received into Catholic peace by Pope Caelestinus. For rather, when you wrote to me, I could suspect that you had forgotten this. Although, then, I had already written these things, yet even now I wished to remind you, lest perhaps Your Holiness receive this reply before those things which I did before. Meanwhile, among certain papers of ours I found a copy of the memorandum which you had made for yourself, when you were first sent from the council to the imperial court, and, having read it through, I saw that you could not then do many necessary things, and, certain things being removed which either were done or do not seem much to press, I thought it should be sent, lest perhaps they can now be done.
Ep211-270.12. Addo autem et aliud: Tanta est eorum qui vulgo "mangones" vocantur in Africa multitudo, ut eam ex magna parte humano genere exhauriant, transferendo quos mercantur in provincias transmarinas et paene omnes liberos. Nam vix pauci reperiuntur a parentibus venditi quos tamen non ut leges Romanae sinunt ad operas viginti quinque annorum emunt isti, sed prorsus sic emunt ut servos et vendunt trans mare ut servos; veros autem servos a dominis omnino rarissime. Porro ex hac multitudine mercatorum ita insolevit seducentium et depraedantium multitudo, ita ut gregatim ululantes habitu terribili vel militari vel barbaro et agrestia quaedam loca, in quibus pauci sunt homines, perhibeantur invadere et quos istis mercatoribus vendant violenter abducere. Aug. eiusque Ecclesia quam nitantur in feminis puerisque a mangonibus raptis liberandis.
2. But I add another thing too: So great is the multitude of those who are commonly called "slave-dealers" in Africa, that they drain it in great part of the human race, by transferring those they buy into the provinces across the sea, and almost all of them free. For scarcely a few are found sold by their parents, whom nevertheless these men buy not, as the Roman laws permit, for labor of twenty-five years, but they buy them outright as slaves and sell them across the sea as slaves; but true slaves, from their masters, very rarely indeed. Further, from this multitude of dealers, so has the multitude of those seducing and plundering grown insolent, that they are reported, in herds, howling, in a terrible garb whether military or barbarian, to invade certain rural places, in which there are few men, and violently to carry off those whom they may sell to these dealers.
Ep211-270.23. Omitto quod nuperrime nobis fama nuntiaverat in quadam villula per huiusmodi aggressiones occisis viris feminas et pueros ut venderentur abreptos; sed ubi hoc contigerit, si tamen vere contigit, non dicebatur. Verum ego ipse cum inter illos, cum ex illa miserabili captivitate per nostram ecclesiam liberarentur, a quadam puella quaererem quomodo fuerit mangonibus vendita, raptam se dixit fuisse de domo parentum suorum; deinde quaesivi utrum ibi sola fuisset inventa; respondit praesentibus suis parentibus et fratribus factum. Aderat et frater eius qui venerat ad eam recipiendam et, quia illa parva erat, ipse nobis quomodo factum esset aperuit. Nocte enim dixit huiusmodi irruisse praedones, a quibus magis se quomodo poterant occultarent quam eis resistere auderent barbaros esse credentes. Mercatores autem si non essent, illa non fierent. Nec sane arbitror hoc Africae malum etiam illic ubi estis famam tacere; quod incomparabiliter longe minus fuit, quando tamen imperator Honorius ad praefectum Hadrianum legem dedit huiusmodi cohibens mercaturas talisque impietatis negotiatores plumbo cohercendos et proscribendos et in exilium perpetuum censuit esse mittendos; nec de his loquitur in ea lege, qui seductos depraedatos emunt liberos quod paene solum isti faciunt, sed generaliter de omnibus qui vendendas familias transferunt in provincias transmarinas; ita ut ea quoque mancipia fisco sociari iusserit [vindicari], quod utique nullo modo de liberis diceret. Honorii alia lex plumbi cohercitionem prohibeat.
3. I omit what rumor recently reported to us, that in a certain little villa, by assaults of this kind, the men having been killed, women and children were carried off to be sold; but where this happened, if indeed it truly happened, was not said. But I myself, when, among those who were being freed by our church from that wretched captivity, I asked a certain girl how she had been sold to the dealers, she said she had been carried off from the house of her parents; then I asked whether she had been found there alone; she answered it was done with her parents and brothers present. Her brother too was there, who had come to receive her, and, because she was little, he himself opened to us how it had been done. For he said that at night robbers of this kind broke in, by whom—believing them to be barbarians—they rather, as best they could, hid themselves than dared to resist. But if there were no dealers, those things would not happen. Nor indeed do I think that this evil of Africa keeps silent in fame even there where you are; which was incomparably far less, when nevertheless the emperor Honorius gave to the prefect Hadrian a law restraining commerce of this kind, and decreed that the traffickers of such impiety were to be coerced with lead and proscribed and sent into perpetual exile; nor does he speak in that law of those who buy free men, seduced and plundered—which is practically all these men do—but generally of all who transfer households to be sold into the provinces across the sea; so that he ordered those slaves too to be associated with the fisc [assigned to the treasury], which surely he would by no means say of free men.
Ep211-270.34. Hanc legem subiunxi huic commonitorio meo, quamvis et Romae facilius possit forsitan inveniri; utilis est enim et huic pestilentiae posset mederi, sed in tantum ea nos uti coepimus, in quantum sufficit ad homines liberandos, non ad illos mercatores, propter quos tot et tanta scelera perpetrantur, tali poena cohercendos. Terremus enim quos possumus ista lege nec plectimus, quin etiam metuimus ne forte alii eos homines licet detestabiles atque damnabiles a nobis deprehensos ad poenam per hanc legem debitam trahant. Unde ad hoc magis ista scribo Beatitudini tuae, ut constituatur, si fieri potest, a piissimis christianisque principibus, ne ad periculum damnationis quae hac lege definita est maximeque ad plumbi cohercitionem, unde homines facile moriuntur, isti perveniant, quando per Ecclesiam ab eis homines liberantur; et necesse est ad eosdem comprimendos [...] hanc legem in publicum fortasse proferri, ne nobis haec metuendo cessantibus transportentur miseri liberi in perpetuam servitutem, quoniam nobis nihil pro illis agentibus quis facile inveniri potest qui non, si habet aliquam in litoribus potestatem, eis potius navigationes crudelissimas vendat quam de navi quemquam miserorum christiana vel humana miseratione deponat vel in navi non permittat imponi? Cives romani nulla potestate resistente mangonibus in servos rediguntur.
4. This law I have subjoined to this memorandum of mine, although it could perhaps be found more easily at Rome too; for it is useful and could remedy this pestilence, but we have begun to use it only so far as suffices for freeing men, not for coercing with such a punishment those dealers, on account of whom so many and so great crimes are perpetrated. For we terrify by this law those we can, and do not strike them, nay rather we fear lest perhaps others drag those men—though detestable and damnable—when caught by us, to the punishment owed by this law. Hence I write these things to Your Beatitude rather for this, that it may be established, if it can be done, by the most devout and Christian princes, that these men not come to the peril of damnation which is defined by this law, and especially to the coercion of lead, by which men easily die, when through the Church men are freed from them; and it is necessary, for the repressing of these same men, [...] this law perhaps to be brought into public, lest, while we, fearing these things, cease, the wretched free men be transported into perpetual servitude, since, with us doing nothing for them, who can easily be found who would not, if he has any power on the shores, rather sell them most cruel voyages than, out of Christian or human pity, put any of the wretches down from the ship, or not permit one to be put on the ship?
Ep211-270.45. Quarum autem potestatum vel quorum officiorum cura lex ista, vel si qua alia de hac re lata fuerit, habere possit exsecutionem, ut Africa suis non amplius evacuetur indigenis nec gregatim et catervatim perpetuo quasi fluvio tanta hominum multitudo utriusque sexus peius quam captivitate barbarica amittat propriam libertatem, ipsorum est providere. A barbaris enim plurimi redimuntur, transportati vero in provincias transmarinas nec auxilium redemptionis inveniunt; et barbaris resistitur, cum bene et prospere geritur Romana militia, ne barbarica Romani captivitate teneantur; his vero negotiatoribus non quorumcumque animalium sed hominum, nec quorumcumque barbarorum sed provincialium Romanorum usquequaque dispersis, ut in eorum manus pretia pollicentium vel violenter rapti vel insidiis decepti ubicumque et undecumque ducantur, pro libertate Romana (non dicam communi sed ipsa propria) quis resistit? Quam multi in eumdem nefarium quaestum se proiecerint dici nequit.
5. But of which powers or of which offices the care this law—or any other that may have been passed about this matter—can have its execution, so that Africa be no longer emptied of its natives, nor, in herds and droves, by a perpetual stream as it were, so great a multitude of men of both sexes lose their own liberty worse than by barbarian captivity, is theirs to provide. For from the barbarians very many are ransomed; but those transported into the provinces across the sea find no help of ransom; and resistance is made to the barbarians, when the Roman soldiery is conducted well and prosperously, lest Romans be held in barbarian captivity; but against these traffickers—of not just any animals but of men, and not of just any barbarians but of Roman provincials—dispersed everywhere, so that, into the hands of those promising prices, whether violently carried off or deceived by snares, they may be led anywhere and from anywhere, who resists, for Roman liberty (I will not say the common, but each one's own)?
Ep211-270.56. Immo vero satis dici non potest quam multi in eumdem nefarium quaestum mira caecitate cupiditatis et nescio qua huius velut morbi contagione defluxerint. Quis credit inventam esse mulierem et hoc apud nos apud Hipponem quae Giddabenses feminas velut lignorum emendorum causa seducere, includere, affligere soleret et vendere? Quis credat Ecclesiae nostrae colonum satis idoneum uxorem suam eamdemque matrem filiorum suorum nulla culpa eius offensum solo excitatum fervore huius pestilentiae vendidisse? Adolescens quidam viginti ferme annorum, calculator notarius cordatus de monasterio nostro est seductus et venditus qui vix per Ecclesiam potuit liberari. Ecclesiae Hipponensis caritatis in liberandis mangonum captivis quaedam exempla.
6. Nay rather, it cannot sufficiently be said how many, by a wonderful blindness of desire and by I-know-not-what contagion of this disease as it were, have flowed down into this same wicked gain. Who would believe that a woman was found—and this among us, at Hippo—who used to seduce, shut up, afflict, and sell the women of Giddaba, as though for the sake of buying wood? Who would believe that a sufficiently respectable tenant of our church sold his wife, the mother too of his children, offended by no fault of hers, roused only by the fervor of this pestilence? A certain young man of nearly twenty years, a sensible accountant-notary, was seduced from our monastery and sold, who could scarcely be freed through the Church.
Ep211-270.67. Si velim quae nos tantum experti sumus enumerare talia scelera, nullo modo possum. Unum accipe documentum unde cuncta conicias quae per Africam totam et per omnia eius litora perpetrentur. Ante quattuor fere menses quam ista scriberem, de diversis terris et maxime de Numidia congregati a Galatis mercatoribus (hi enim vel soli vel maxime his quaestibus inhianter incumbunt), ut a litore Hipponiensi transportarentur, adducti sunt. Non defuit fidelis, morem nostrum in eleemosynis huiusmodi sciens, qui hoc nuntiaret Ecclesiae; continuo partim de navi, in qua fuerant impositi, partim de [rebus] loco, ubi occultati fuerant imponendi, a nostris me quidem absente centum ferme et viginti homines liberati sunt, in quibus vix quinque aut sex inventi sunt a parentibus venditi; ceterorum autem varios casus quibus per seductores atque praedones ad Galatas pervenerunt vix ullus audiens a lacrimis temperat. Alypius expetat a supremis potestatibus acrem vigilantiam contra mangones.
7. If I should wish to enumerate such crimes as we alone have experienced, I could by no means do so. Take one document, from which you may conjecture all the things that are perpetrated throughout all Africa and along all its shores. About four months before I wrote these things, men gathered from various lands, and especially from Numidia, by Galatian dealers (for these alone, or most of all, eagerly devote themselves to these gains), were brought, that they might be transported from the shore of Hippo. There was not lacking a faithful person, knowing our custom in alms of this kind, who reported this to the Church; immediately, partly from the ship into which they had been put, partly from the place where they had been hidden to be put on board, about a hundred and twenty men were freed by ours, with me indeed absent; among whom scarcely five or six were found to have been sold by their parents; but of the rest, the various misfortunes by which, through seducers and plunderers, they came to the Galatians, scarcely anyone hearing refrains from tears.
Ep211-270.78. Iam tuae sanctae Prudentiae est cogitare quanta miserarum animarum transportatio ferveat per cetera litora, si apud Hipponem Regium, ubi Deo miserante qualiscumque invigilat Ecclesiae diligentia qua homines miseri de captivitate huiusmodi liberentur et talium mercium negotiatores longe quidem minus quam huius legis severitate, tamen pretiorum saltem amissione plectuntur, tantum ardet cupiditas, tantum audet immanitas Galatarum. Per caritatem obsecro christianam ne frustra haec scripserim ad Caritatem tuam. Non enim desunt patroni Galatis, per quos a nobis repetant quos Dominus per Ecclesiam liberavit etiam suis iam quaerentibus et ad nos cum litteris episcoporum propterea venientibus redditos. Nonnullos autem fideles filios nostros, apud quos quidam eorum commendati tunc remanserunt (non enim sufficit Ecclesia cunctos quos liberat pascere) iam perturbare coeperunt quando ista dictavimus, etsi litteris a potestate quam timere poterant supervenientibus [...]; nec tamen omnimodo ab ista repetitione cessarunt. Salus data redditaque.
8. It is now for your holy Prudence to consider how great a transportation of wretched souls seethes along the other shores, if at Hippo Regius—where, by God's mercy, some diligence of the Church keeps watch, by which wretched men are freed from captivity of this kind, and the traffickers of such merchandise are punished, far less indeed than by the severity of this law, yet at least by the loss of their prices—so great a desire burns, so great a cruelty of the Galatians dares. By Christian love I beseech that I not have written these things to your Charity in vain. For patrons are not lacking to the Galatians, through whom they demand back from us those whom the Lord freed through the Church, given back even to their own people who now sought them and came to us for that reason with the letters of bishops. But certain of our faithful sons, with whom some of them then remained, commended to them (for the Church does not suffice to feed all whom it frees), they have already begun to disturb, when we dictated these things, even though letters having come from a power which they could fear [...]; nor yet have they altogether ceased from this demanding back.
Ep211-270.89. Omnes qui nos per litteras Venerationis tuae [salutare] dignati sunt pro eorum meritis in Christi caritate resaluto. Conservi mei, qui mecum sunt, mecum salutant Sanctitatem tuam.
9. All who deigned to greet us through the letter of Your Reverence I greet in return, according to their merits, in the love of Christ. My fellow servants who are with me greet Your Holiness along with me.
Ep211-270.9EPISTOLA 11*
COMMONITORIUM DOMINO MEO SANCTO PATRI AUGUSTINO CONSENTIUS
COMMONITORIUM DOMINO MEO SANCTO PATRI AUGUSTINO CONSENTIUS
LETTER 11*
A MEMORANDUM TO MY LORD, THE HOLY FATHER AUGUSTINE, FROM CONSENTIUS
Ep211-270.9A MEMORANDUM TO MY LORD, THE HOLY FATHER AUGUSTINE, FROM CONSENTIUS
1. Beatissimus dominus meus, frater Sanctitatis vestrae, Patroclus episcopus adversum Priscillianistas, a quibus iam etiam Galliae vastabantur, quaedam me vel inepta atque absurda conscribere violenta compulit caritate; quae quidem, ne fortasse maiore paternitatem tuam taedio lectionis afficerem, apud me statueram retinere. Verum accidit, ut quidam famulus Christi nomine Fronto cui Spiritus Sanctus flagrantissimas fidelis zeli suggerit flammas subitus adveniret; a quo ego cum quid de iniunctis gessisset inquirerem, multa mihi non solum gaudenda, verum etiam stupenda narravit. Iniunxeram quidem ei anno superiore, ut adversus memoratos Priscillianistas, quibus ita Hispaniae scatent, ut circa eos tantum barbari nihil egisse videantur, innocentissima fretus astutia bella susciperet. Docueram quoque eum, et certas quasque personas qua arte aggredi deberet instruxeram mittens ad eum libros, quos nuper conscribere memorato domino meo, fratre vestro, imperante compulsus sum, praecipueque hunc tertium librum, quem, postquam plenius universa condidici quam ob causam ex persona haeretici scripserim, brevis praefatiunculae sermone signatur. Huc igitur venerabilis frater meus Fronto opportunissime, dum fratrem hic Leonam venturum importunitas detineret, advenit qui mihi rettulit nimium multa, ex quibus ego ad monendum pauca narrabo. Severa, haeretica, trium codicum Severi, presbyteri Priscillianistae, vicissitudines revelat.
1. My most blessed lord, the brother of Your Holiness, Bishop Patroclus, by a violent love compelled me to write certain things, inept and absurd perhaps, against the Priscillianists, by whom even the Gauls were now being laid waste; which indeed, lest perhaps I afflict your Paternity with a greater weariness of reading, I had determined to keep with me. But it happened that a certain servant of Christ, Fronto by name—to whom the Holy Spirit suggests the most flaming flames of faithful zeal—suddenly arrived; from whom, when I inquired what he had done about the things enjoined, he narrated many things to me, not only to be rejoiced at, but even to be astonished at. I had indeed enjoined him the year before, that, relying on a most innocent cunning, he should take up wars against the aforementioned Priscillianists, with whom the Spains so swarm that, concerning them, only the barbarians seem to have done nothing. I had also taught him, and instructed him with what art he ought to approach certain particular persons, sending to him the books which I was lately compelled to write at the command of my aforesaid lord, your brother, and especially this third book, which—after I had more fully learned for what reason I wrote in the person of a heretic—is marked by the discourse of a brief little preface. Hither, then, my venerable brother Fronto came most opportunely, while the inconvenience of brother Leonas's coming here detained him; who reported to me very many things, of which I will narrate a few, for the sake of admonishing.
Ep211-270.12. In civitate - inquit - Tarraconensi, in qua mihi monasterium instruxi, involucrum (quod ad me signatum misisti Agapio episcopo tradente) suscepi; intra quod litteras et commonitoria et libros quos transmiseras repperi; moxque omni ratione atque instructione percepta ad Severam illam haereticam cuius nomen mihi evidenter expresseras transcurri aggressusque eam illa arte quam praefationis tuae illius textus edisserit haereticorum nomina perquisivi. Quae mihi inter cetera ait Severum quemdam presbyterum divitiis atque potentia, litteris etiam clarum, huius principem doctrinae, frustra in defunctam matrem proditionis suae invidiam proiecisse. Nam cum superiore anno idem Severus aestimans barbaros longius abscessisse post obitum matris castellum in quo consistebat expeteret, Dominus nostrum Iesus Christus omnium secretorum inspector, omnium casuum dispensator, sarcinas eius, ut tantum flagitium proderetur, a barbaris voluit comprehendi. Qui omnibus in praedam versis tres codices immanes qui omnia sacrilegiorum genera continebant credentes bonos et ab aliquo forsitan comparandos ad vicinam civitatem, cui Hilerda nomen est, detulerunt; quos cum exsecrabiles cognovissent, apud episcopum ipsius civitatis Sagittium reliquerunt. Ille autem cuncta percurrens cum probatus in conspectu Dei esset malus, data est occasio, per quam fieret etiam hominibus manifestus. Nam cum eidem dulcia dementer venena placuissent et dissimulatione iam contegi res omnibus propalata non posset, quaterniones ex ipsis libris, qui magicorum carminum flagitiosam ac sacrilegam scientiam continebant, fraudulenter exsecuit recensitisque apud se omnibus, unum codicem, de quo quidquid perniciosissimum videbatur absciderat, ad Titianum Tarraconensem, id est metropolitanum episcopum, cum epistolis destinavit; quibus professus est tres codices inter Severi presbyteri sarcinas comprehensos sibique ab hostibus traditos, inter quos istum sibi plurimum displicere, reliquos autem se archivo Ecclesiae condidisse. Eadem muliercula eiusdem Severi fraudem pandit.
2. "In the city of Tarragona," he says, "in which I built a monastery for myself, I received a packet (which you sent to me sealed, Bishop Agapius delivering it); within which I found the letters and memoranda and books you had transmitted; and soon, every plan and instruction having been received, I hastened to that heretic Severa, whose name you had clearly expressed to me, and, approaching her by that art which the text of your preface sets forth, I inquired after the names of the heretics. She, among other things, told me that a certain priest Severus—renowned for riches and power, and also for letters, the chief of this doctrine—had in vain cast the envy of his betrayal upon his dead mother. For when, the year before, the same Severus, supposing that the barbarians had withdrawn further, was making for the fortress in which he resided, after his mother's death, our Lord Jesus Christ, the inspector of all secrets, the dispenser of all chances, willed that his baggage be seized by the barbarians, that so great a crime might be disclosed. They, everything being turned to plunder, carried off three huge codices, which contained all kinds of sacrileges—believing them good, and perhaps to be bought by someone—to the neighboring city, whose name is Lleida; which, when they had recognized as execrable, they left with the bishop of that city, Sagittius. But he, running through everything—since he was proven evil in the sight of God—was given an occasion by which he should be made manifest even to men. For when those sweet poisons had madly pleased him, and the matter, made known to all, could no longer be covered by dissimulation, he fraudulently cut out the quires from those books which contained the shameful and sacrilegious science of magic spells, and, everything having been reviewed by him, he sent one codex—from which he had cut off whatever seemed most pernicious—to Titianus, the bishop of Tarragona, that is, the metropolitan, with letters; in which he professed that three codices had been seized among the baggage of the priest Severus and handed over to him by the enemy, among which this one displeased him most, but the rest he had stored in the archive of the Church."
Ep211-270.23. Acceptum Titianus episcopus codicem Syagrio Oscensi episcopo tradidit, quia in eius ecclesia Severus falsum presbyterii nomen assumpserat, monens ut presbyteri sui fidem cauta examinatione discuteret. Syagrius autem episcopus, vir equidem sanctus atque catholicus, sed nimium credulus et inconsulte benignus Severo sacrilegium suum argumentis, mendaciis, periuriis contegenti ita credidit, ut etiam ceteris persuaderet, quod illos codices ex materna haereditate susceptos aestimans innocentes Severus secum ad castellum suum exportare voluisset, ut illic eos potissimum vacanti animo legeret vel probaret. Cum haec igitur ab omnibus crederentur, Severa illa muliercula, quae mihi tamquam haeretico omnia criminum suorum arcana pandebat, etiam Severum presbyterum prodidit, quod dato praemio illos quos matris fuisse confinxerat licet iam fraudulenter dimidiatos codices a Sagittio episcopo recepisset. Severus et Severa, a Frontone in crimen vocati, ad Asterium comitem confugiunt.
3. "Bishop Titianus handed the received codex to Syagrius, bishop of Huesca, because in his church Severus had assumed the false name of the priesthood, admonishing him to examine the faith of his priest by a cautious investigation. But Bishop Syagrius, a man indeed holy and Catholic, but too credulous and incautiously kind, so believed Severus, covering his sacrilege with arguments, lies, and perjuries, that he even persuaded the others, that Severus, thinking the codices innocent—received from his maternal inheritance—had wished to carry them with him to his fortress, that there especially he might read or examine them with a leisured mind. When, therefore, these things were believed by all, that little woman Severa, who laid open to me—as to a heretic—all the secrets of her crimes, betrayed also the priest Severus: that, a bribe given, he had received back from Bishop Sagittius those codices (which he had pretended were his mother's), though already fraudulently halved."
Ep211-270.34. Ego igitur postquam cuncta cognovi cunctisque indiciis, signis, probationibus, testibus confirmatus sum, ad vigorem ecclesiastici examinis rem deduxi et primum adversus ipsam Severam omnium proditricem, mox adversus Severum presbyterum actionem accusationis institui. Verum Severa primum quidem inopinata rei novitate confusa quaecumque se mihi dixisse meminerat negare non ausa est; post autem cum adversum me Severus illustris atque praecelsi viri, affinis sui, Asterii comitis viribus niteretur, id egit, ut [et] mulier memorata ad neptis suae Asterii comitis filiae, potentissimae feminae auxilium convolaret, receptaque in praetorium eius quod tantis militum vallaretur excubiis omnes confessiones suas adhibitis in praesidium periuriis negaret. In episcopali iudicio Severus suique contra Frontonem populum instigant.
4. "I therefore, after I learned everything and was confirmed by all the indications, signs, proofs, and witnesses, brought the matter to the rigor of an ecclesiastical examination, and instituted an action of accusation first against Severa herself, the betrayer of all, then against the priest Severus. But Severa, at first confused by the unexpected novelty of the matter, did not dare to deny whatever she remembered she had said to me; but afterward, when Severus relied against me on the powers of the illustrious and most lofty man, his kinsman, Count Asterius, she brought it about that the aforementioned woman fled to the aid of her niece, the daughter of Count Asterius, a most powerful woman, and, received into his praetorium—which was fortified by so great a guard of soldiers—denied all her confessions, perjuries being employed for her protection."
Ep211-270.45. Sublatis igitur e medio cunctis cum animadvertisset Severus eiusque fautores me hominem et personae abiectione vilissimum et substantiae tenuitate mendicum, cunctis penitus probationibus destitutum adversum tantae vim factionis nudis latrare sermonibus, etiam propositae mortis formidine me ab accusatione sui abicere voluerunt dicentes: "Statue tibi ipse periculum quod te maneat, si presbyter se probaverit innocentem"! Statimque ego: "Quid - inquam - amplius vultis quam ut, si id quod intendo probare nequivero, ab Ecclesia omni vitae meae tempore tamquam paganus expellar". Tum haeretici in tumultum versi: "Videtisne - inquiunt - o sancti ac venerabiles sacerdotes vosque omnium aetatum et sexuum populi, emersisse hominem substantia egenum, mendaciis locupletem, audacia armatum, innocentia destitutum; cavete ne periculosum omnibus calumniosis hominibus tribuatur exemplum! Si enim in hoc uno qui falsi criminis naevo tam sanctum et tam nobilem virum maculare non timuit aequitatis vestrae inconsulta remissio metuendum ceteris non dederit documentum, necessario omnes falsarios delatores adversus unumquemque vestrum huius certatim accendet impunitas". Severus negat se matris codices vidisse postquam barbari eos rapuerint.
5. "All things, then, having been removed from the midst, when Severus and his supporters had noticed that I was a man both most vile by the abjection of my person and a beggar by the slenderness of my substance, utterly destitute of all proofs, barking with bare words against the force of so great a faction, they wished, even by the dread of death set before me, to make me cast off the accusation of him, saying: 'Set for yourself the peril that awaits you, if the priest proves himself innocent!' And at once I: 'What more,' I said, 'do you wish than that, if I am unable to prove what I intend, I be expelled from the Church for all the time of my life as a pagan?' Then the heretics, turned to an uproar: 'Do you see,' they say, 'O holy and venerable priests, and you peoples of every age and sex, that there has emerged a man needy in substance, rich in lies, armed with audacity, destitute of innocence? Beware lest a perilous example be given to all calumnious men! For if, in this one man—who did not fear to stain so holy and so noble a man with the blemish of a false charge—the ill-advised remission of your equity does not give a fearful warning to the rest, of necessity this impunity will, in rivalry, kindle all false accusers against each one of you."
Ep211-270.56. Talibus adversum me populus Tarraconae haereticorum vocibus incitatus, cum ingentibus in perniciem meam seditionibus saevire coepisset, exclamans ego: "Sufficit - inquam - vobis ut, si vana accusatio mea et recta Severi fides fuerit approbata, me lapidibus trucidetis?". "Sufficit - inquiunt - verum ista conditio actis est praesentibus corroboranda". Ita factum est ut ego sanguinis mei, Severus honoris sui periculum apud ecclesiastica gesta depromptis professionibus legaremus; ubi etiam adhibitis omnibus sacramentis se codices matris suae, postquam a barbaris fuerunt occupati, nec recepisse nec habuisse nec vidisse testatus est. Fronto a Severo insimulatur quod Asterium propinquosque iniuriis affecerit.
6. "By such voices of the heretics the people of Tarragona were incited against me, and when they had begun to rage with huge seditions toward my destruction, I, crying out: 'Does it suffice you,' I said, 'that, if my accusation be vain and the faith of Severus right and approved, you slaughter me with stones?' 'It suffices,' they say, 'but this condition is to be corroborated by present proceedings.' So it came about that we pledged, in the ecclesiastical proceedings, by professions brought forth, I the peril of my blood, Severus the peril of his honor; where also, all the oaths being employed, he testified that, after his mother's codices had been seized by the barbarians, he had neither received them, nor had them, nor seen them."
Ep211-270.67. Consequens fuit, ut statim ad Hilerdensem et Oscensem episcopos litterae mitterentur, scilicet ut Sagittius duos codices quos se iam pridem, missis ad Titianum metropolitanum episcopum litteris, retinuisse firmaverat, Syagrius autem unum quem ab eodem Titiano episcopo coram susceperat secum ipsi, quoniam ita causa deposceret, deferre illico dignarentur. Verum Severus eodem tempore mendacii insimulatione contexta ad affinem suum virum illustrem Asterium comitem ceterosque omnes amicos ac propinquos suos, potentissimos viros, litteras misit, in quibus me iniuriosissimum ac dolosissimum sycophantam intolerandis et ipsum comitem et domum eius ac filiam criminibus impetisse et iniuriis ac violentiis affecisse confinxit. Venit protinus Tarraconam vir illustris Asterius comes cui tanti exercitus cura et tanti belli summa commissa est et cum eo tot potentissimorum virorum fremens adversum me unum pulicem mortuum multitudo; sed multo aliter quam credebat Severo in contrarium universa cesserunt. Fronto renuit Asterii praetorium adire postulaque ut ille veniat ad ecclesiam.
7. "It followed that at once letters were sent to the bishops of Lleida and Huesca, namely that Sagittius, the two codices which he had affirmed by letters sent to the metropolitan bishop Titianus that he had long since retained, and Syagrius the one which he had received from the same Bishop Titianus in person, should deign at once to bring with them, since the case so demanded. But Severus at the same time, a charge of lying being woven together, sent letters to his kinsman, the illustrious man Count Asterius, and to all his other friends and relatives, most powerful men, in which he pretended that I, a most injurious and most deceitful sycophant, had assailed the count himself and his household and his daughter with intolerable charges and afflicted them with injuries and violences. Forthwith there came to Tarragona the illustrious man Count Asterius, to whom the care of so great an army and the command of so great a war had been committed, and with him a multitude of so many most powerful men, raging against me, one dead flea; but far otherwise than he believed, everything turned out contrary to Severus."
Ep211-270.78. Nam licet summa omnium etiam sacerdotum gratia evidentissima partium nostrarum veritatis premeretur, tamen Domini nostri Iesu Christi tanta imbecillitati meae adfuit virtus, ut ipse etiam comes quamvis innocens, quamvis catholicus terreretur. Nam cum Tarraconam veniens me unum invidiosissima et affinis et filiae et omnium amicorum ac famulorum suorum accusatione impeti cognovisset, cum sit homo iustus et Dominum metuens et non valde credens talia, noluit passim truculentissimae suas praesertim vel suorum iniurias vindicare meque, quem licet pauperem tamen noverat Christianum, absque iniuria ad praetorium suum iussit acciri. Ego autem fiducia, quam mihi Domini nostri Iesu Christi auxilium suggerebat, assumpta respondi me ad domum eius, quam haereticorum agminibus refertam esse novissem, ire non posse, ne forte inimicorum insidias qui mihi publicam necem minabantur incurrerem. Verumtamen si quid causae aut verborum esset quod neque nuntiis committi neque litteris posset, ipsum ad ecclesiam si iuberet venire debere, ut illic potius quid illud esset agnoscerem. Comes in ecclesiae secretario audit episcoporum accusationes contra Frontonem.
8. "For although the most evident truth of our side was pressed by the favor of all, even of the priests, yet so great was the power of our Lord Jesus Christ present to my weakness, that even the count himself—though innocent, though Catholic—was made afraid. For when, coming to Tarragona, he had learned that I alone was assailed by the most invidious accusation of his kinsman, his daughter, and all his friends and servants, since he is a just man and one fearing the Lord, and not much believing such things, he was unwilling to vindicate indiscriminately, in a most savage manner, the injuries especially of himself or of his own, and ordered me—whom, though poor, he yet knew to be a Christian—to be summoned, without injury, to his praetorium. But I, taking up the confidence which the help of our Lord Jesus Christ suggested to me, answered that I could not go to his house, which I knew to be filled with bands of heretics, lest perhaps I run into the snares of my enemies, who threatened me with public death; but that, nevertheless, if there were any matter or words which could neither be committed to messengers nor to letters, he himself ought to come to the church, if he bade me, so that there I might rather learn what that was."
Ep211-270.89. Ille autem nihil moratus primo diluculo ab ecclesiam venit et mox secretarium in quo episcopi residebant querelas adversum me etiam ipse cum ceteris deprompturus expetiit; et primum omnes diu cum Titiano et Agapio episcopis collocuti magnam sibi adversum me etiam apud ipsos gratiam locaverunt astruentes me esse dolosissimum ac fallacissimum delatorem, qui incircumspectam ac simplicem mulierculam versutissime decepissem atque ad loquendam de presbytero mendacem fabulam compulissem, et nunc propter inanissimam suspicionis nebulam quam falsam assereret etiam ipsa quae proditrix diceretur totam a me illustrium virorum domum accusatione pulsari, comitem a me iniuriis impetitum filiam comitis infamatam. Fronto renuit Consentii epistolas et commonitorium Agapio tradere.
9. "But he, without delay, at first dawn came to the church, and soon sought the chamber in which the bishops sat, he too with the rest about to bring forth complaints against me; and first they all, conversing long with the bishops Titianus and Agapius, placed great favor for themselves against me even with them, asserting that I was a most deceitful and most false informer, who had most craftily deceived an incautious and simple little woman and compelled her to speak a lying tale about the priest, and that now, on account of a most empty mist of suspicion, which she—who was said to be the betrayer—asserted to be false, the whole house of illustrious men was being assailed by my accusation, the count assailed by me with injuries, the count's daughter defamed."
Ep211-270.910. His atque huiusmodi verbis tanta adversum me omnium odia commoverunt, ut non solum populus sed etiam sacerdotes quidam mihi exitiale minarentur. Accersitus sum illico ad secretarium solus ab episcopis increpandus, a clericis confundendus, ab haereticis discerpendus, a comite arguendus, a militantibus conspuendus, a populis etiam lapidandus. Ubi cum perductus fuissem, statim talium me terrore verborum Agapius episcopus tremefecit: "Ubi - inquit - sunt Consentii epistolae et commonitoria illa nescio quae, quae in saeculo quem ego ipse ad te pertuli repperisti?". Ad haec ego constanter omnia apud me esse respondi; ille autem: "Defer - inquit - protinus universa mihique restitue, ni mavis sententiam prolatae nunc damnationis incurrere!". Ad haec ego absurdissimas eius minas confidenter irridens quam ob causam sibi prodi omnia praeciperet inquirebam. Tum ille: "Ut legamus - inquit - universa et agnoscamus quid illud sit quod te ad persecutionem innocentissimorum hominum subito suscitavit". E contra ego ipse inquam: "Mihi omnia sicut asseris detulisti; qui fieri potest, ut quid detuleris ignores?". Tum ille: "Signata - inquit - mihi omnia ad te Consentius tradidit perferenda; numquid fas erat, ut me ad signaculum reserandum infidelis curiositas stimularet?". Cui ego: "Quid ergo - inquam - nunc tantopere nosse desideras id quod te ille qui misit voluit ignorare? Nam utique si idoneum te elegerat perlatorem, tradere tibi haec quae nunc demum sollicite inquiris signata non debuit; quid ergo mihi imputas, si tibi ea nunc metuo reserare, de cuius fide egregium testimonium etiam ille perhibuit qui per te clausa transmisit?". Asterius tuetur Frontonem eique gratias agit quod fidem catholicam defenderit.
10. "By these and such words they stirred up against me such hatreds of all, that not only the people but even certain priests threatened me with destruction. I was at once summoned to the chamber, alone, to be rebuked by the bishops, confounded by the clergy, torn apart by the heretics, accused by the count, spat upon by the soldiers, and even stoned by the peoples. When I had been led there, at once Bishop Agapius made me tremble with the terror of such words: 'Where,' he says, 'are Consentius's letters and those memoranda, I know not what, which you found in the packet that I myself brought to you?' To this I answered steadfastly that everything was with me; but he: 'Bring forth at once,' he says, 'everything and restore it to me, unless you prefer to incur the sentence of damnation now pronounced!' To this I, confidently mocking his most absurd threats, inquired for what reason he ordered everything to be brought forth to him. Then he: 'That we may read everything,' he says, 'and learn what that is which suddenly roused you to the persecution of most innocent men.' On the contrary, I myself said: 'You delivered everything to me, as you assert; how can it be that you do not know what you delivered?' Then he: 'Consentius handed everything to me sealed, to be carried to you; was it lawful that an unfaithful curiosity should goad me to unseal the seal?' To whom I: 'Why, then,' I said, 'do you now so greatly desire to know that which he who sent it wished you to be ignorant of? For surely, if he had chosen you as a suitable bearer, he ought not to have handed over to you sealed these things which you now at last anxiously inquire after; why, then, do you impute it to me, if I fear now to unseal to you those things whose fidelity even he attested by an excellent testimony who transmitted them, closed, through you?'"
Ep211-270.1011. Quibus dictis tanta adversum me episcopus incitatus est animi saevitate, ut et a cathedra sua cum furore consurgens in conspectu omnium propriis manibus caedem mihi vellet inferre. Sed quis credere audeat? Etiam comite castigante Domini Iesu Christi virtute compressa episcopi conquievit insania. Ipse autem comes prudenter atque moderate quam ob causam domum eius atque affinem presbyterum odiis quibusdam appeterem requirebat. Cui ego: "Hoccine - inquam - vir nobilis et illustris, odium putas quod domum tuam purgare desidero, quod eos quibus mortiferum virus coluber Severus inseruit theriaca clementissimae districtionis infusa ab aeternae periculis mortis cupio liberari". Haec me atque huiusmodi prosequentem, cum terram spectans modeste manu caput tacitus sustineret, non solum patienter comes sed etiam libenter audivit tandemque respondit mihi etiam maximam, si tamen vera esset assertio, pro tanto beneficio gratiam referendam. Tum ego: "Probent - inquam - nunc Severus et ceteri me aliquod verbum vel transitorie protulisse quod ad tuam specialiter infamiam pertineret; et tamen, nisi probatissimo catholicae fidei testimonio fulcireris, numquam Frontonis libera potentiae tuae terror ora clausisset". Tunc comes: "Ago - inquit - tibi gratias, quod testimonium fidei meae ferre digneris. Severi autem et ceterorum fidem, quamvis aliqua mihi consanguinitate iungantur, tamen certum est fidei meae obesse non posse". Familiae comitis servus quidam praevalidus odium capitale habet adversus Frontonem.
11. "By these words the bishop was incited against me with such savagery of mind that, rising with fury even from his chair, he wished, in the sight of all, with his own hands to inflict slaughter on me. But—who would dare to believe it?—even with the count rebuking, the bishop's madness, repressed by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, grew quiet. But the count himself, prudently and moderately, inquired for what reason I assailed his house and his kinsman the priest with certain hatreds. To whom I: 'Do you think this hatred, O noble and illustrious man,' I said, 'that I desire to purge your house, that I desire to free from the perils of eternal death those into whom the serpent Severus inserted a deadly poison, the antidote of a most clement strictness being poured in?' As I followed up these and such things, while, looking at the ground, he modestly held up his head in silence with his hand, the count heard not only patiently but even gladly, and at last answered me that the greatest thanks were to be rendered for so great a benefit—if indeed the assertion were true. Then I: 'Let Severus and the rest prove now,' I said, 'that I brought forth even in passing any word which pertained specially to your defamation; and yet, unless you were supported by a most approved testimony of the Catholic faith, the terror of your power would never have closed the free mouth of Fronto.' Then the count: 'I give you thanks,' he says, 'that you deign to bear testimony to my faith. But the faith of Severus and the rest, although they are joined to me by some kinship, yet it is certain cannot harm my faith."
Ep211-270.1112. Cum hac igitur comes voce consurgens et omnibus interruptis praetorium suum repetens fiduciam quam mihi Dominus suggerebat tanta admiratione suspexit, ut mihi (quod credere nemo potuisset) talia statim mandata transmitteret. "Indulge, obsecro, - ait - Christi famule, si quid forsitan laesimus meque ad proelium, ut vides, cum exercitu properantem orationum tuarum virtute prosequere!". At Severus et ceteri inopinata comitis aequitate confusi illa quidem die paululum quievere; post paucos autem dies tanta adversum me cunctorum odia commoverunt, ut nemo ferme hominum in urbe illa tam piae mentis sanctique propositi inveniri posset qui non me dignum morte decerneret, ita ut fractus desperatione animus nihil speraret validum, nihil non languidum suspiraret. Sed Dominus qui contrita et humiliata corda non despicit quanto maioribus me praesensit hominum studiis impugnari, tanto maiorem gratiam sui erga me manifestavit auxilii; namque potentissimus quidam servus cuius arbitrio non solum omnis familia, verum etiam filia comitis memorati cuius altor fuerat regebatur, cum esset fortissimus corpore, ferocissimus animo, insolentissimus potestate et saepe mihi (qui vitae consulens meae ab Ecclesia minime discedebam) irritas instruxisset insidias, tandem in apertum versus furorem apertissimam defensoris nostri sentire meruit ultionem. Fronto ad supplicium deposcitur quasi servi illius semen fuerit.
12. "Rising, then, with this word, and, all things being interrupted, making for his praetorium, the count looked up to the confidence which the Lord suggested to me with such great admiration that he at once sent me such commands as no one could have believed: 'Pardon, I beseech you,' he says, 'servant of Christ, if perhaps we have injured you anything, and accompany me—who, as you see, am hastening to battle with my army—with the power of your prayers!' But Severus and the rest, confounded by the count's unexpected equity, were indeed quiet a little that day; but after a few days they stirred up against me such hatreds of all, that scarcely any man of so devout a mind and holy a purpose could be found in that city who did not judge me worthy of death, so that my mind, broken by despair, hoped nothing strong, sighed nothing not languid. But the Lord, who does not despise contrite and humbled hearts, the greater the zeal of men by which he foresaw I would be assailed, manifested the greater favor of his help toward me; for a certain most powerful slave—by whose discretion not only the whole household, but even the daughter of the aforesaid count, whose foster-father he had been, was governed, since he was most strong in body, most fierce in mind, most insolent in power, and had often laid futile snares for me (who, taking counsel for my life, by no means departed from the Church)—at last, turned to open fury, deserved to feel the most open vengeance of our defender."
Ep211-270.1213. Medias enim seditiosorum catervas subito armatus irrupit, et ad me protentam tendens manum: "Date - inquit - mihi nunc canem, ego latratum eius digna iam nunc morte compescam". Tunc populi et ipsi etiam qui lapidationem mihi seditiosissime minabantur, cruentissimum furiosum piis ab ecclesia clamoribus reppulerunt. Qui eadem die ad suburbanum profectus iucunde quidem epulatus est, sed vindex meus in matutino tam mortiferae eum plagae dolore percussit, ut nequaquam ad civitatem posset nisi septima die mortuus deportari. Quo facto, fideles quique apertissima signi huius virtute conterriti, ab impugnatione mea paululum destitere, inimici autem et universa comitis domus ad maiorem odii dementiam provocati tamquam homicidam me qui feralibus maledictis hominem peremissem ad supplicium deposcebant; pauci autem infidelissimi qui illud casualiter accidisse dicerent extiterunt. Sagittii machinae ne cogeretur ad exhibendos codices Priscillianistae.
13. "For, armed, he suddenly burst into the midst of the seditious bands, and, stretching out his hand toward me: 'Give me now the dog,' he said, 'and I will silence his barking with a death now well-deserved.' Then the peoples, and even those very ones who most seditiously threatened me with stoning, drove back the most bloody, frenzied man from the church with devout shouts. He, having set out that same day to a suburban estate, feasted pleasantly indeed; but my avenger, in the morning, struck him with the pain of so deadly a blow that he could by no means be carried to the city except dead on the seventh day. When this was done, all the faithful, terrified by the most evident power of this sign, ceased a little from assailing me; but my enemies and the whole household of the count, provoked to a greater madness of hatred, demanded me for punishment as a murderer—who by deadly curses had killed a man; but a few most faithless ones arose who said it had happened by chance."
Ep211-270.1314. Dum haec Tarraconae geruntur, apud Hilerdam Sagittius episcopus ad redhibitionem, immo ad exhibitionem codicum quos apud se esse firmaverat Titiani episcopi litteris cogebatur. Ita enim dispensatione mirabili gestum est ut, cum Severus litteras procul dubio occultas, quibus quid gestum fuisset instruxerat, ad Sagittium illico destinasset, portitor prius ad castellum Severi quod spatio itineris longiore distabat omni pernicitate contenderet, ut Ursitionem quemdam monachum, amicum Severi, codices qui a Sagittio poscebantur a Severi penetralibus proferre et ad Sagittium occulte deferre compelleret. Verum Sagittius qui acceptis occulte muneribus a Severo codices se eidem reddidisse meminisset, cum intimis malae conscientiae ignibus ureretur, stupensque quod nullas Severi sub hac re litteras accepisset, credidit Syagrium Oscensem episcopum, quem similiter Severo codicem suum reddidisse cognoverat, simili hoc avaritiae conscientia commisisse, scribit occultas ad eum litteras, in quibus ait se minime dubitare, quod etiam ipse ad redhibitionem unius codicis similibus metropolitani episcopi litteris cogeretur. Unde quoniam duos quos apud se habuerat codices dudum ad ipsum Syagrium, cui discussio presbyteri sui fuerat delegata, per Paulinum quemdam diaconum destinasset, Paulinus vero, quia ipsum Syagrium episcopum in castello minime repperisset, Severo eos presbytero tradidisset, idcirco se nunc impendio deprecari ut, quia hoc factum cunctis penitus esset incognitum, ne qua forsitan suspicio nasceretur, Severi presbyteri sui penetralia reserare et prolatos occulte secum deferre codices dignaretur, ut ipse in iudicio possit astruere se codices Severo minime tradidisse. Callida Ursitionis Sagittii, Syagrii Titianique consilia.
14. "While these things were being done at Tarragona, at Lleida Bishop Sagittius was being compelled, by the letters of Bishop Titianus, to the restitution—nay, to the exhibition—of the codices which he had affirmed to be with him. For it was so done by a wonderful dispensation that, when Severus had at once sent to Sagittius letters surely secret, in which he had instructed him what had been done, the bearer first hastened with all speed to the fortress of Severus—which was distant by a longer space of journey—to compel a certain monk, Ursitio, a friend of Severus, to bring forth the codices which were demanded from Sagittius from the inner chambers of Severus, and to carry them secretly to Sagittius. But Sagittius, who—having secretly received bribes from Severus—remembered that he had returned the codices to him, when he was being burned by the inner fires of an evil conscience, and was astonished that he had received no letters of Severus about this matter, believed that Syagrius, bishop of Huesca—whom he had likewise learned to have returned his codex to Severus—had committed this with a like consciousness of avarice, and wrote secret letters to him, in which he says that he by no means doubts that he too is being compelled, by similar letters of the metropolitan bishop, to the restitution of one codex. Hence, since the two codices which he had had with him he had long ago sent to the same Syagrius—to whom the examination of his priest had been delegated—through a certain deacon Paulinus, but Paulinus, because he had by no means found Bishop Syagrius in the fortress, had handed them to the priest Severus, he therefore now earnestly entreated that, since this deed was utterly unknown to all—lest perhaps some suspicion arise—Syagrius would deign to unlock the inner chambers of his priest Severus and bring with him secretly the codices brought forth, so that he himself in the judgment might assert that he had by no means handed the codices to Severus."
Ep211-270.1415. Dum istae ad Syagrium Oscensem episcopum litterae deferuntur, Ursitio ille Severi domesticus libros occulte ad Sagittium pertulit; quibus susceptis Sagittius tanto gaudio affectus est quanta dudum maestitia vexabatur, iamque praesumptum animo periurium gerens Tarraconam statim profectus est. Syagrius autem cum et Titiani episcopi conventorias et Sagittii occultas litteras percepisset, videns se qui presbytero suo Severo susceptum codicem inconsulta simplicitate reddiderat reatu maximae suspicionis involvi, cum aliquamdiu anxius aestuaret, illo potius statuerat declinare, ut etiam ipse susceptam mendacii formulam tenens et Severum presbyterum et Sagittium coepiscopum suum a vinculis tantae suspicionis evolveret, cum subito eadem Domini nostri Iesu Christi mirabili visione perterritus vidit se ante tribunal metuendi iudicis constitutum tristem pro tanto conscientiae crimine suscepisse sententiam, moxque trepidus consurrexit tantaque animi consternatione percussus est, ut non solum Sagitti litteras publicaret et Ursitionem illum Severi monachum, qui librorum gerulus fuerat, apud acta ecclesiastica universa compelleret confiteri, verum etiam longissimum et difficillimum insidiosissimumque iter pedibus arripiens, Sagittium Tarraconam tendentem vestigiis sequeretur. Sagittius codices in iudicio praebet peierans eos in suae ecclesiae archivo conditos mansisse.
15. "While these letters were being carried to Syagrius, bishop of Huesca, that Ursitio, the servant of Severus, secretly carried the books to Sagittius; which received, Sagittius was affected with as great joy as he had lately been vexed with sadness, and, now carrying a perjury presumed in his mind, at once set out for Tarragona. But Syagrius, when he had received both the summoning letters of Bishop Titianus and the secret letters of Sagittius, seeing that he—who by an ill-advised simplicity had returned to his priest Severus the codex he had received—was involved in the guilt of the greatest suspicion, when for some time he seethed anxiously, had rather determined to incline to this, that he too, holding to the assumed formula of lying, would extricate both the priest Severus and his fellow bishop Sagittius from the bonds of so great a suspicion; when suddenly, terrified by the same wonderful vision of our Lord Jesus Christ, he saw himself set before the tribunal of the dread judge, having received a sad sentence for so great a crime of conscience, and at once trembling rose, and was struck with such great consternation of mind that he not only published Sagittius's letters and compelled that Ursitio, the monk of Severus, who had been the carrier of the books, to confess everything before the ecclesiastical proceedings, but even, taking up on foot a very long and very difficult and most treacherous journey, followed in the footsteps Sagittius making for Tarragona."
Ep211-270.1516. Sed Sagittius qui Domini ordinatione mirifica multo ante praecesserat, cum in iudicio cum episcopis resedisset: "Ecce - inquit - o beatissimi fratres, codices quos Sanctitas vestra praeceperat exhiberi". Ad haec ego qui, sicut ante praefatus sum, secreta ipsorum Severa illa haeretica prodente cognoveram, astruere coepi Sagittium sine dubio nuper occulte a Severo dudum venditos codices recepisse; scire enim me et quid muneris accepisset et quando vel per quem Severo ad multorum animas perimendas arma impia vendidisset. Tunc Sagittius iure quidem potens et liberalibus litteris eruditus magno adversum me fremitu insurgens poposcit ut, nisi obiecta illico comprobassem, lapidibus interirem. Ipse autem in conspectu totius populi et Evangeliis et omnibus sacramentis testibus non semel sed saepius peieravit affirmans codices in archivo ecclesiae suae iam ab illo tempore conditos permansisse quos Severus penitus nec vidisset. Rursum Severus paribus se periuriis colligavit. Cuncti etiam quoscumque aut testes aut indices producebam uniforme mendacium proferentes me esse sacrilegum venerabilium sacerdotum aemulum conclamabant. Fronto Syagrium episcopum vehementer insimulat mendacii.
16. "But Sagittius, who by the marvelous ordination of the Lord had gone far ahead, when he had sat in judgment with the bishops: 'Behold,' he says, 'O most blessed brothers, the codices which Your Holiness had ordered to be exhibited.' To this I—who, as I said before, had learned their secrets, that heretic Severa betraying them—began to assert that Sagittius had without doubt lately received in secret the codices long ago sold by Severus; for I knew both what bribe he had received and when, or through whom, he had sold to Severus the impious arms for destroying the souls of many. Then Sagittius—a man indeed powerful by right and learned in liberal letters—rising with great roaring against me, demanded that, unless I at once proved the objections, I should die by stones. But he himself, in the sight of the whole people, both by the Gospels and by all the oaths as witnesses, perjured himself not once but often, affirming that the codices had remained stored in the archive of his church from that time, which Severus had not even seen. Again Severus bound himself by like perjuries. All too, whomever I produced either as witnesses or informers, bringing forth a uniform lie, cried out that I was a sacrilegious rival of venerable priests."
Ep211-270.1617. Ipsa imprimis Severa omne indicium suum denegans me inauditi concinnatorem mendacii peierans accusabat. Ad haec ego cum intolerabilis totius populi fragor praesentissimum mihi supplicium minaretur (quod solum remedium consternata atque confusa mens reperit), depoposci ut in diem crastinum iudicium differretur; etenim confidentissime pollicebar quod et Sagittii et Severi et omnium manifesta periuria Christus auctor incorruptissimae veritatis modis quibus vellet in crastinum propalaret. Humanum hoc etiam haereticis visum est, ut lapidationis meae supplicium protelari brevissimo quod poscebam spatio paterentur. Eadem die pomeridianis horis Syagrius episcopus supervenit quem ego, quia Severi presbyteri sui praecipuum esse fautorem et ei occulte codicem reddidisse cognoveram, similiter impetebam; quem postquam pedibus tam longum et tam laboriosum iter exegisse cognovi admirans quid illud esset quod hominem et divitem et senio praegravatum et infirmitate corporis impeditum tanti laboris difficultatem suscipere compulisset, illico ad hospitium ad quod diverterat decucurri et salutatione praemissa: "Placetne - inquam - tibi ut sanguinem meum tu et Sagittius uniformi pariter mendacio sorbeatis negantes vos occulte Severo codices reddidisse, ut ego, quia hoc quod, nisi manifestissime cognovissem, non utique obiecissem, probare non possum, innocens peream". Syagrius iubet Sagittii epistolas afferri quibus codices se Severo tradidisse confessus est.
17. "Severa herself first of all, denying all her information, accused me, perjuring, as the contriver of an unheard-of lie. To this I, when the intolerable roar of the whole people threatened me with most immediate punishment (which alone remedy my dismayed and confused mind found), demanded that the judgment be deferred to the next day; for I most confidently promised that Christ, the author of most incorrupt truth, would in whatever ways he willed make manifest on the morrow the perjuries of Sagittius and Severus and of all. This seemed human even to the heretics, that they should allow the punishment of my stoning to be prolonged by the very brief space which I asked. That same day, in the afternoon hours, Bishop Syagrius arrived, whom I—because I had learned that he was the chief supporter of his priest Severus and had secretly returned the codex to him—was likewise assailing; whom, after I learned that he had made on foot so long and so toilsome a journey, wondering what that was which had compelled a man both rich and weighed down with old age and hindered by infirmity of body to take up the difficulty of so great a labor, I at once ran down to the lodging to which he had turned aside, and, a greeting being premised: 'Does it please you,' I said, 'that you and Sagittius alike, by a uniform lie, drink my blood, denying that you secretly returned the codices to Severus, so that I, because I cannot prove this which—unless I had most manifestly learned it—I would surely not have objected, may perish innocent?"
Ep211-270.1718. Tum ille: "Quis - inquit - tibi, fili, hoc quod occultissime gestum est potuit indicare?". Admiratus ego illum quem ad confirmanda cunctorum periuria venisse credideram, primum statim confessionis emisisse sermonem omnem eidem indicii mei ab exordio seriem replicavi; cumque Sagittium et Severum tanta sacramentorum imploratione id ipsum negasse dixissem, ille indignatione periurii tam nefandi exclamare compulsus: "Defer - inquit - puer quam citius Sagittii epistolas quibus Severo codices tradidisse confessus est; defer etiam gesta quibus per Ursitionem monachum eosdem nuper recepisse convictus est", nec dissimulans se invitum, ut omnia propalaret, Domini terrore compulsum rettulit etiam mihi simplicibus verbis omnem illum ordinem suae mirificae atque terribilis visionis. Crastina die Fronto Sagittii periuria exprobrat.
18. "Then he: 'Who, my son,' he says, 'could disclose to you this which was done most secretly?' I, wondering at him—whom I had believed to have come to confirm the perjuries of all—at once first uttering a word of confession, unfolded to him the whole sequence of my information from the beginning; and when I had said that Sagittius and Severus had denied this very thing with so great an imploring of oaths, he, compelled by indignation at so wicked a perjury to cry out: 'Bring forth, boy,' he says, 'as quickly as possible, Sagittius's letters by which he confessed he had handed the codices to Severus; bring forth also the proceedings by which he was convicted of having lately received them through the monk Ursitio,' nor, dissembling that he, unwilling, was compelled by the terror of the Lord to make everything public, he reported also to me, in simple words, the whole sequence of his marvelous and terrible vision."
Ep211-270.1819. Tum ego: "Quaeso - inquam - venerabilis pater qui tanta Christi gratia ab impiorum societate divulsus es, ut traditis iam nunc mihi cartulis ipse paululum sileas, donec agnoscamus utrum Sagittium vel Severum conscientia sua aliquam vel crastina die altaribus Christi reverentiam deferre compellat". Ventum igitur in crastinum est astantibusque in iudicio cunctis populis, cum vidissem similia aut forte maiora praedictos mendaciorum folles spirare periuria: "Quid - inquam - Sagitti, quid falso episcopi nomine gloriaris? Animam tuam tantis non metuis iugulare periuriis? Nonne tu ad Syagrium episcopum nuper tales litteras direxisti? Nonne per Ursitionem monachum codices recepisti?". Sagittius a Frontone compulsus reddit quaterniones quos ex libris furatus erat.
19. "Then I: 'I beg, venerable father,' I said, 'you who have been torn by so great a grace of Christ from the fellowship of the impious, that, the documents being now handed to me, you yourself be silent a little, until we learn whether Sagittius or Severus, his own conscience, on the morrow too, may compel to bear any reverence to the altars of Christ.' The morrow, then, came, and, with all the peoples standing in judgment, when I had seen the aforesaid bellows of lies breathing like or perhaps greater perjuries: 'What, Sagittius,' I said, 'why do you glory in the false name of bishop? Do you not fear to slaughter your soul with so great perjuries? Did you not lately direct such letters to Bishop Syagrius? Did you not receive the codices through the monk Ursitio?'"
Ep211-270.1920. Haec illa audiens non solum denegans omnia multiplicatis semetipsum periuriis colligabat, sed etiam ad perniciem meam, qui tot incredibilia crimina atque inaudita confingerem, populus incitabat, donec prolatis a me litteris convictus statim iudicium et opprobrium suum fugit. Quo facto cum episcopus Titianus magnis ad damnationem eius populi vocibus urgeretur, ait de episcopi statu nonnisi multos episcopos ferre posse sententiam. Ego autem Sagittium fugientem cum parte populi quadam iam extra urbem vestigiis persecutus, cum de redhibitione quaternionum quos ex libris ipsis furatus fuerat convenirem, iuravit quidem diutissime dissolutos atque districtos se a barbaris codices suscepisse nullique esse dubium, quod omnia quae in illis deesse codicibus dicebamus apud barbaros deperissent. Post autem metu perterritus universa quae deerant redhibere compulsus est; quae cum audiente populo relegi poposcissem, tam inaudita ex eadem lectione crimina procedebant, ut nullae aures tantam veneni ipsius possent violentiam sustinere. In conciliabolo Agapius episcopus Frontonem colaphis pugnisque contundit.
20. "Hearing these things, he not only, denying all things, bound himself by multiplied perjuries, but even incited the people to my destruction—who fabricated so many incredible and unheard-of crimes—until, convicted by the letters brought forth by me, he at once fled judgment and his own disgrace. When this was done, when Bishop Titianus was urged by great voices of the people to his condemnation, he said that of the status of a bishop only many bishops could bear a sentence. But I, following in his footsteps Sagittius fleeing with a certain part of the people now outside the city, when I confronted him about the restitution of the quires which he had stolen from those very books, he swore indeed for a very long time that he had received the codices loosened and cut apart by the barbarians, and that it was doubtful to no one that all the things we said were lacking in those codices had perished among the barbarians. But afterward, terrified by fear, he was compelled to restore everything that was lacking; which, when I had demanded that they be reread in the people's hearing, such unheard-of crimes proceeded from that reading that no ears could bear the violence of that very poison."
Ep211-270.2021. Initum super hac re deinceps constat fuisse concilium sed incredibili cunctorum gratia sic oppressam, immo sic venditam veritatem, ut et sacrilegis communio redderetur et, ne quando post haec posset a nobis causa renovari, tam gesta quam codices incendio cremarentur. Verum cum ego episcopis libere adsisterem et adversus venale iudicium invidiosissime proclamarem, unus e numero septem episcoporum, ille Agapius caedem quam mihi fuerat minitatus opere implevit. Nam cum apprehensum me colaphis pugnisque contunderet et a ceteris coepiscopis suis tantam insaniam detestantibus arceretur: "Eat - inquit - nunc iste, si praevalet qui primarium ex domo comitis hominem orationibus suis gravasse iactatur, me nunc similibus perimat maledictis". Agapius septem post dies obiit, faucium subito dolore correptus.
21. "It is established that a council was thereupon entered upon about this matter, but the truth so suppressed—nay, so sold—by the incredible favor of all, that both communion was returned to the sacrilegious, and, lest the case could ever afterward be renewed by us, both the proceedings and the codices were burned in a fire. But when I freely stood by the bishops and most invidiously protested against the venal judgment, one of the number of seven bishops, that Agapius, fulfilled in deed the slaughter he had threatened me. For when, having seized me, he beat me with slaps and fists, and was restrained by the rest of his fellow bishops, who detested so great madness: 'Let him go now,' he says, 'if he prevails who boasts of having weighed down with his prayers a chief man from the count's house; let him now destroy me with similar curses."
Ep211-270.2122. Ego autem accepta gaudens iniuria: "Audiat - inquam - has voces Christus et iudicet!". Iam ne sequentia memoremus, timor peccati nimius ora concludit. Quis etenim iudiciorum Domini abyssum multam intrepidus audeat aestimare ? Vidimus quidem memoratum episcopum septima circiter die faucium subito dolore correptum non prius spiritum reddidisse quam a me infelicissimo homine facti illius vel dicti sui veniam postularet. Sed numquid sine crimine possimus affirmare episcopum, qui catholicus videbatur, plaga Domini fuisse percussum? Patroclus a Frontone rogatus ad concilium reos iudicesque harum rerum convocavit.
22. "But I, rejoicing at the injury received: 'Let Christ hear these voices,' I said, 'and judge!' Now, not to recount what follows, an excessive fear of sin closes my mouth. For who would dare, intrepid, to estimate the deep abyss of the Lord's judgments (See Ps 36:6 (35:7))? We saw indeed the aforesaid bishop, about the seventh day, struck with a sudden pain of the throat, not give up his spirit before he begged pardon of me, a most unhappy man, for that deed or word of his. But can we, without sin, affirm that a bishop, who seemed Catholic, was struck by a blow of the Lord?"
Ep211-270.2223. Per idem tempus invalescentibus in me cunctorum odiis eo usque compulsus sum, ut longissimi itineris labore suscepto ad sancti ac beatissimi Patrocli Arelatensis episcopi, cuius clarissima in insectatione huius haereseos constantia laudabatur, auxilium convolarem. A quo quidem non difficulter obtinui, ut cuncti tam rei quam iudices qui iniquo examine pondus iustitiae perverterunt ad concilium convenirent quod utrumne in oppido Biterrensi, sicut indictum est, adhuc agitandum sit ignoramus. Interim parvo temporis intervallo comitatum nobis gratissimum largiente ego ad hanc insulam hac tantum ex causa, ut conspectu tuo fruerer et tibi aliquid forsitan instruendus coram ista narrarem, suscepto etiam periculosissimae navigationis labore pertendi". Consentius fidit Gallos episcopos ab imperatore legem contra Priscillianistas impetraturus.
23. "During that same time, the hatreds of all growing strong against me, I was driven so far that, the labor of a very long journey being taken up, I fled to the help of the holy and most blessed Patroclus, bishop of Arles, whose most renowned constancy in the persecution of this heresy was praised. From whom indeed I obtained, not with difficulty, that all—both the accused and the judges who, by an unjust examination, perverted the weight of justice—should convene to a council; which, whether it is still to be held in the town of Béziers, as has been appointed, we do not know. Meanwhile, the imperial court granting us a most welcome short space of time, I made my way to this island, for this cause only, that I might enjoy your sight and might perhaps narrate these things to you in person, to be instructed by you, taking up even the labor of a most perilous voyage."
Ep211-270.2324. His ferme verbis sancti ac venerabilis viri Frontonis finita narratio est quam ego nuperrime, sicut ab eius ore suscepi, ita ad aures vestrae Beatitudinis pertuli. Nunc igitur licet de historiae veritate nulla cunctatio sit, consultationem tamen ad Beatitudinis vestrae caelestem senatum deferens primum illud admoneo quod, etiamsi nullo quamvis incerto rumore sonuisset, tamen certissima ratione credibile est Hispanos episcopos ad concilium, quod sanctus atque beatissimus frater vester Patroclus non potestatis, sed pietatis virtute commotus indixit, nequaquam esse venturos. Sed idem sanctus ac beatissimus frater vester et ceteri episcopi Gallicani, praeclari atque insignes viri, qui tantam Ecclesiae Domini nostri Iesu Christi labem non patiuntur influere, maioris sicut apud me certum est zeli igne succensi fortasse haec etiam ad aures incliti principis referentes elaborabunt ut, quoniam per universum iam orbem huius dogmatis cancer occulte serpendo protentus est, per omnes provincias uniformis sententiae cauteribus amputetur. Aug. cum Patroclo agat ad Priscillianistas debellandos sicut cum Donatistis fecit...
24. With these words, more or less, the narration of the holy and venerable man Fronto was ended, which I, most recently, as I received it from his mouth, have so brought to the ears of Your Beatitude. Now, then, although there is no hesitation about the truth of the history, yet, bringing my consultation to the heavenly senate of Your Beatitude, I first admonish this, that, even if no rumor, however uncertain, had sounded it, yet by most certain reasoning it is credible that the Spanish bishops will by no means come to the council which your holy and most blessed brother Patroclus, moved by the power not of authority but of devotion, has appointed. But the same holy and most blessed brother of yours and the other Gallican bishops—renowned and distinguished men, who do not allow so great a stain to flow into the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ—kindled, as is certain to me, with the fire of a greater zeal, will perhaps, referring these things even to the ears of the renowned prince, labor that—since through the whole world now the cancer of this dogma has spread by creeping secretly—it may be cut off through all the provinces by the cauteries of a uniform sentence.
Ep211-270.2425. Manifesto autem comperi esse nonnullos qui Priscillianistas obscenissimos atque sacrilegos Beatitudinis vestrae tueantur exemplo; dicunt enim: "Africani episcopi Donatistas quoquomodo ad se conversos nequaquam gradu sacerdotii pepulerunt et hoc doctor illustris ac nobilis Augustinus immo ipsa Spiritus Sancti gratia quae per os eius loquitur credidit sanctificandum, cum apud nos tanta crudelitas sit, ut deprehensos in huius dogmatis crimine sacerdotes a sacerdotio detrudamus aut tam inconditam severitatem iudicii statuamus, nemini eorum apud quos haec sacrilegia fuerint deprehensa, nisi per poenitentiam fores Ecclesiae reserandas". ...etsi Priscillianistarum doctrina et ratio nimis differant ad Donatistarum aperto schismate.
25. But I have plainly learned that there are some who defend the most obscene and sacrilegious Priscillianists by the example of Your Beatitude; for they say: "The African bishops by no means thrust from the rank of the priesthood the Donatists who in any way were converted to them, and this the illustrious and noble teacher Augustine—nay, the very grace of the Holy Spirit which speaks through his mouth—believed should be sanctified, whereas among us there is such great cruelty that we thrust from the priesthood priests caught in the crime of this dogma, or establish so unruly a severity of judgment, that the doors of the Church are to be unlocked to none of those among whom these sacrileges have been caught, except through penance."
Ep211-270.2526. Proinde opportuna, ut reor, suggestione ex fiducia familiaritatis et caritatis vestrae, si dignanter admittis, audeo commonere, ut aliquam super hac re sancta ac venerabilis Paternitas tua ad beatissimum fratrem tuum Patroclum episcopum, qui tuis, ut comperi, scriptis desiderat visitari, mittere epistolam iubeat, per quam et provinciarum et personarum et dogmatum diversitas declarata diversam doceat proferri debere sententiam. Multum etenim interest, sicut socordiae videtur meae, inter Hispaniam quae occultum admittit incestum et Africam quae publice fornicatur; ita etiam inter Hispanos qui deprehensi in sacrilegio trepidant et Afros qui etiam pertinaciter in schismate gloriantur magna diversitas est. Eodem modo Priscillianistae omni execratione atque diversa abominatione dignissimi a Donatistis quamvis immitibus atque impacificis distant procul dubio criminum qualitate. Aug. Consentii libro utatur pro se suisque discipulis.
26. Accordingly, by an opportune suggestion, as I think, out of the confidence of your familiarity and love—if you graciously admit it—I dare to advise that your holy and venerable Paternity order some letter on this matter to be sent to your most blessed brother Bishop Patroclus—who, as I have learned, desires to be visited by your writings—through which the diversity of provinces and of persons and of dogmas, being declared, may teach that a diverse sentence ought to be brought. For there is a great difference, as it seems to my dullness, between Spain, which admits a hidden incest, and Africa, which publicly fornicates; so too between the Spaniards, who, caught in sacrilege, tremble, and the Africans, who even obstinately glory in schism, there is a great diversity. In the same way, the Priscillianists, most worthy of all execration and abomination, differ without doubt from the Donatists—however harsh and unpeaceful—by the quality of their crimes.
Ep211-270.2627. Quod si ineptam ac stolidam suggestiunculam meam parvi pendis, deprecor ut audacissimae caritati veniam indulgere digneris. Sane librum cuius mentionem in principio feci prosperitate ipsa tam munda provocatus ad paternitatem tuam credidi destinandum; quem si astutissimis atque electissimis adolescentibus tradi paternitas tua iusserit eosque ita ut oportet instruxerit, arbitror quod multa Priscillianistarum quae in ista praecipue urbe latitant agmina publicentur. Memor mei in aeternum floreas, sancte ac beatissime Domine.
27. But if you weigh my inept and foolish little suggestion as of little worth, I beg that you would deign to grant pardon to a most bold love. Indeed, the book of which I made mention at the beginning, provoked by that very clean prosperity, I believed should be directed to your Paternity; which, if your Paternity orders to be handed to the most cunning and most select young men, and instructs them as is fitting, I think that many bands of Priscillianists, which lurk especially in this city, will be made public. May you flourish forever, mindful of me, holy and most blessed Lord.
Ep211-270.27EPISTOLA 12*
COMMONITORIUM DOMINO SANCTO AC MIHI IN AETERNUM COLENDO AC VENERABILI PATRI AUGUSTINO CONSENTIUS
COMMONITORIUM DOMINO SANCTO AC MIHI IN AETERNUM COLENDO AC VENERABILI PATRI AUGUSTINO CONSENTIUS
LETTER 12*
A MEMORANDUM TO THE HOLY LORD, AND TO ME FOREVER TO BE REVERED, AND VENERABLE FATHER AUGUSTINE, FROM CONSENTIUS
Ep211-270.27A MEMORANDUM TO THE HOLY LORD, AND TO ME FOREVER TO BE REVERED, AND VENERABLE FATHER AUGUSTINE, FROM CONSENTIUS
1. Libros Confessionum aliosque quam plurimos ante annos circiter duodecim habendi potius cupiditate damnabili quam bono atque laudabili doctrinae studio comparavi; hos etiam nunc quasi obsignatos incredibili oppressus stupore possedi; quos nuper admodum legere aggressus quaedam illic, quorum inquisitione aestuans laborabam, absolutissime dicta reperio et multas cogitationum mearum formas quasi pictura monstrante cognoscendo, animadvertere incipio in ediscendis etiam ceteris, quae nosse desidero, non doctorem mihi, sed me deesse doctori . Denique ut in conspectu Domini simpliciter fatear, ante hoc ferme quadriennium, id est priusquam tuae Sanctitatis aspectum expetere cogitarem, duo vel tria, non amplius ex primo Confessionum libro legeram folia, sed sicut Paternitas tua vanorum omnium mentes lippientibus oculis comparare consuevit, molesto sententiarum tuarum splendore percussus, quia nihil illic molle nec tenerum quod vulnera luminum meorum foveret offendi, statim ad iucundissimas mihi imperitiae meae tenebras recucurri et non solum ipsos, sed etiam ceteros libros sanguine viperino cautius evitavi. Consentius tractatorum fastidiebat epistolas, Lactantio uno delectatus.
1. The books of the Confessions and very many others I obtained about twelve years ago, rather from a damnable desire of possessing them than from a good and praiseworthy zeal for learning; these even now, oppressed by an incredible stupor, I have possessed as though sealed up; which, having very lately begun to read, I find certain things there said most fully resolved, over the inquiry of which, seething, I labored, and, recognizing many forms of my thoughts as though a picture displayed them, I begin to perceive, in learning also the other things which I desire to know, that not the teacher is lacking to me, but I to the teacher. Finally, to confess simply in the sight of the Lord, about four years ago, that is, before I thought of seeking the sight of Your Holiness, I had read two or three leaves, not more, from the first book of the Confessions; but, just as Your Paternity is wont to compare the minds of all vain men to bleary eyes, struck by the troublesome splendor of your sentences—because I found there nothing soft or tender that would soothe the wounds of my eyes—I at once ran back to the most pleasant darkness of my ignorance, and not only those, but also the other books I avoided more warily than viper's blood (See Horace, Epistles 1.17.30-31).
Ep211-270.12. Eram siquidem tanti et tam mortalis fastidii, ut omnino exceptis canonicis Libris quos mihi fama venerabiles fecerat ad omnium tractatorum epistolas insanus stomachus nausearet. Lactantius mihi propter planum atque compositum dicendi genus solus placebat; quem tamen, ardentissimo amore desidiae, semel lectum cum ceteris abieceram, cumque inaestimabili fastidio lectionis salus animae meae quasi morbo lethargico premeretur, vix per tot annos Scripturas canonicas semel aut iterum desidiosissime transcurri. Et tamen cum me penitus totum et mente et corpore socordia possideret, si qua ut adsolet divinarum rerum quaestio inter Christi famulos me coram fuisset exorta, eram unus ex illis quos apostolicus sermo depinxit volens esse legis doctor et non intellegens neque quae dicerem neque de quibus affirmarem. Quidquid autem mihi iustius videbatur inanibus verbis defendere laborabam. Consentius Leontii presbyteri defuncti dogmata confutat.
2. For I was of so great and so deadly a fastidiousness, that—the canonical Books alone excepted, which fame had made venerable to me—my insane stomach nauseated at the letters of all treatise-writers. Lactantius alone pleased me, on account of his plain and well-composed manner of speaking; whom nevertheless, by a most ardent love of sloth, once read, I had cast aside with the rest, and, since by an inestimable fastidiousness of reading the health of my soul was pressed as by a lethargic disease, scarcely through so many years did I run through the canonical Scriptures once or twice most slothfully. And yet, although sloth possessed me utterly, both in mind and body, if, as is wont, any question of divine matters had arisen among the servants of Christ in my presence, I was one of those whom the apostolic word depicted, wishing to be a teacher of the law and understanding neither what I was saying nor about what I was affirming (See 1 Tim 1:7). But whatever seemed more just to me I labored to defend with empty words.
Ep211-270.23. Unde etiam factum est, ut adversus sanctae memoriae Leontium presbyterum non doctrinae sed iustitiae naturalis moverer affectu et adversus illam quae Sanctitatis tuae iudicio discussa est quaestionem, in qua visus mihi est non recta sentire, pugnacissime decertarem moxque eius aemulatione succensus et famam tuae Sanctitatis admirans et amore agnoscendae aestuans veritatis illa conscriberem, in quibus multa damnata, pauca laudata sunt; et tamen divino ut reor iudicio omnia, ut vel scriberem vel reprehensibiliter scriberem, gesta sunt. In Balearibus nequit inveniri quemquam doctum christianum quocum quis utiliter colloquatur.
3. Hence it also came about that I was moved against the priest Leontius of holy memory, not by an affection of doctrine but of natural justice, and against that question which was discussed by the judgment of Your Holiness—in which he seemed to me to think not rightly—I contended most pugnaciously, and soon, kindled by rivalry of him, and admiring the fame of Your Holiness, and seething with the love of coming to know the truth, I wrote those things in which many were condemned, few praised; and yet, by a divine judgment, as I think, all things were done—both that I should write, and that I should write reprehensibly.
Ep211-270.34. Talis tunc siquidem me cogitatio impulit ad scribendum, ut mihi insularum Balearium, in quibus non dicam doctum, sed vel fideliter Christianum invenire rarissimum est, solitudine ante oculos collocata, non amore doctrinae quam laboriosissimam esse cognoscens penitus respuebam, sed catholicae fidei quam ignorare mortiferum est ad simplicem scientiam veritatis penitus absque legendi studio vel opera discernendi cuperem pervenire. Quod fieri forsitan potuisset, si aliquid ex his quaestionibus, de quibus praecipue dubitabam, a sapientibus disputatum vel ipse audissem vel eos qui audierant invenissem; legendi etiam parvum laborem dumtaxat forsitan recepissem, si mihi aliquis libros qui proprie nodos, quibus mea specialiter cogitatio ligabatur, absolverent, tradidisset; etenim propter incertam inveniendi spem certum inquirendi laborem suscipere recusabam . Nimius legendi metus nimiam scribendi audaciam in Consentio gignit.
4. For such a thought then impelled me to writing, that—the solitude of the Balearic Islands, in which to find not, I will not say a learned man, but even a faithful Christian, is most rare, being set before my eyes—I utterly rejected, not the love of doctrine, which, knowing it to be most laborious, [I shunned], but I desired to arrive at a simple knowledge of the truth of the Catholic faith, which it is deadly to be ignorant of, utterly without the zeal of reading or the work of discerning. Which perhaps could have been done, if I had either myself heard something of those questions about which I especially doubted disputed by the wise, or had found those who had heard them; I would perhaps have accepted at least the small labor of reading, if anyone had handed me books which properly resolved the knots by which my thought was specially bound; for, on account of the uncertain hope of finding, I refused to take up the certain labor of inquiring.
Ep211-270.45. Cum igitur omnium sapientium scriptis penitus abdicatis tantas et tam arduas quaestiones animo volutarem nullumque etiam nunc in insulis (non dicam qui magna doceat et nebulosa dilucidet, sed vel qui parva intellegat et serena consideret) invenire possibile sit, tam perversa animus meus morborum peste corruptus est, ut per nimium mihi legendi metum nimia scribendi audacia gigneretur. Ita factum est, ut perverse mihi consulens mallem duo volumina ridenda conscribere quam multa multorum admirabilia perscrutari. Visum proinde est, ut omnes cogitationes meas scripta quasi duorum contione producerem, ut dementissima cordis mei rixa litterali officio comprehensa tuis sisteretur obtutibus et doctrinae tuae clementia pacaretur. Nullo autem hoc alio fieri modo quam litteris poterat. Consentius Aug., medico suo, nisi illi scribendo potest languorem suum ostendere.
5. Since, then, with the writings of all the wise utterly renounced, I was turning over in my mind so great and so arduous questions, and it is not possible even now to find in the islands anyone (I will not say who would teach great things and clear up cloudy ones, but even who would understand small things and consider plain ones), my mind was so perversely corrupted by the plague of diseases, that, through too great a fear of reading in me, too great an audacity of writing was begotten. So it came about that, counseling myself perversely, I preferred to write two ridiculous volumes than to scrutinize the many admirable things of many men. It seemed good, accordingly, that I should bring forth all my thoughts in writing, as in an assembly of two, so that the most insane quarrel of my heart, comprehended in a literary office, might be set before your gaze and pacified by the clemency of your teaching. But this could be done in no other way than by letters.
Ep211-270.56. Nam fateor, si me his carnis obtutibus carnali paternitatis tuae frui posse conspectu illo modo credidissem, numquam profecto in conscribendis tam prolixis neniis laborassem. Sed quia tali intentione vel voto ad has insulas veneram, ut hic omne aevi mei tempus in otio atque segnitia quam etiam nunc haud segniter concupisco inglorium tereretur, non poterat tibi medico intimus febrium nostrarum languor ostendi, nisi officia verborum litteris mandarentur. Quod si in illis scriptis meis nihil penitus quod placeret aut nihil quod displiceret fuisset inventum, nullo modo me ad tuum festinare conspectum verecundia permisisset. Tum infirmae enim et tam trepidae sum naturae, ut amplius, si credi fas est, in laudibus quam in vituperationibus erubescam. Discendi desiderium in Consentio a diaconis Maximiano et Caprario suscitatur.
6. For I confess, if I had believed that I could enjoy the bodily sight of your Paternity in those bodily eyes of mine in that way, I would surely never have labored in composing such long ditties. But because I had come to these islands with such an intention or vow, that here all the time of my age might be worn away, inglorious, in a leisure and slothfulness which even now I not slothfully covet, the inmost languor of my fevers could not be shown to you, the physician, unless the offices of words were committed to letters. But if in those writings of mine nothing at all had been found that pleased, or nothing that displeased, by no means would shame have permitted me to hasten to your sight. For I am of so weak and so timid a nature that I blush more, if it is right to believe it, at praises than at reproaches.
Ep211-270.67. Verum ita dispensatione atque iudicio Christi gestum est, ut tam mirabiliter temperatas et per tales baiulos paternitas tua litteras destinaret. Nam nisi Domini mei veneratores atque cultores tui Maximianus et Caprarius diacones violentis mihi caritatis stimulis institissent, numquam nostra segnitia quamvis piis atque dulcissimis scriptorum tuorum illecta consiliis ne exiguo quidem tempore tepidum discendi desiderium flagrantissimis otiandi amoribus praetulisset. Nam si Terentianus ille adolescens , qui adversum meretricem quae amantem excluserat movebatur , ne exiguo quidem tempore, etiam cum contumeliis cogeretur, ab amata et offensus poterat amoveri, ita ut summa intentione virtutis memorabile sibi quiddam facere videretur, si triduo tantum scorto quod offenderat caruisset, quanto magis ego, in cuius medullis maior forsitan otii mei ignis exaestuat, praesertim numquam ab eo offensus, semper dulciter invitatus praeparatae solitudinis voluptate ne paucis quidem diebus carere voluissem, nisi quia ille dominus et auriga qui decem millium multiplicem regit currum [et] occultis ut dictum est frenis mentium nostrarum ora torquebat . Aug. admonitionibus motus Consentius epistolas illius legit sed pauca degustat.
7. But it was so done by the dispensation and judgment of Christ, that your Paternity directed letters so wonderfully tempered, and through such bearers. For unless my Lord's worshipers and your devotees, the deacons Maximianus and Caprarius, had pressed me with the violent goads of love, never would our slothfulness—allured though it was by the devout and most sweet counsels of your writings—have preferred even for a brief time a lukewarm desire of learning to the most flaming loves of being at leisure. For if that young man of Terence, who was moved against the harlot who had shut out her lover, could not, even for a brief time—even when he was compelled by insults—be removed from his beloved and offended, so that with the highest intention of virtue he seemed to himself to do something memorable, if for only three days he lacked the harlot whom he had offended (See Terence, Eunuchus 46-49): how much more should I, in whose marrow a greater fire of leisure perhaps burns—especially never offended by it, always sweetly invited—not have wished to lack, even for a few days, the pleasure of a prepared solitude, except that that Lord and charioteer who rules the manifold chariot of ten thousand was turning, as has been said, by the hidden reins of our minds, the mouths of our minds (See Luke 14:31)?
Ep211-270.78. Veni ergo ad te, immo in camo domini, cum reluctarem, attractus sum ; multis sensum meum colloquiis denudasti, multis occulta cordis mei vulnera disputationibus pertractasti. Vidisti plenam illusionibus animam meam et phantasias praesumptionum mearum quasi putredinem secare voluisti adhibens, quantum in te fuit, et argumentorum acutissima ferramenta et commonitionum ignita cauteria et exhortationum fomenta blandissima. Verum cum me ad legendi studium cogens, utrumne libros quos legendos ipse tradideras lectitassem, frequenter inquireres sicut aegroti qui ad sumendos in fastidio cibos a medicis compelluntur, pauca admodum ex tuis epistolis degustare pudore compulsus sum . Cum a venerabili quodam viro laudetur, Consentius Augustini correctiones neglegit.
8. I came, then, to you—nay rather, in the halter of the Lord, when I struggled, I was dragged (See Ps 32:9 (31:9)); with many conversations you laid bare my mind, with many disputations you handled the hidden wounds of my heart. You saw my soul full of illusions, and you wished to cut away the phantasms of my presumptions like rottenness, applying, as far as was in you, both the sharpest instruments of arguments and the fiery cauteries of admonitions and the most soothing poultices of exhortations. But when, compelling me to the zeal of reading, you frequently inquired whether I had read the books which you yourself had handed to me to read, like sick people who are compelled by physicians to take food in their loathing, I was forced by shame to taste a very little of your letters.
Ep211-270.89. Iamque mihi inutilitas inediae meae coeperat displicere, cum subito accidit, ut cuiusdam sancti ac venerabilis viri animi nimio colligaret affectu, cuius familiaritate constrictus cum omnes eius motus mente perpenderem, animadverti et vehementius adamavi meum in ipso vitium. Gratulabar siquidem mihi invenisse me aliquem summae auctoritatis ac meriti conrivalem qui eiusdem otii amoribus suspiraret, sed vanis conscientia mea gaudiis palpabatur, ut me arborem malam fructifero illo comparans ligno laetarer, quod aliquid in eo sterilitatis meae simile repperissem. Nam foliorum similitudine gloriabar non intuens quantis bona illa arbor virtutum fructibus curvaretur. In illum ergo me virum totis infirmitatis meae viribus resupinans omnia quae adhibebas medicamina depellebam, omnia quae ingerebas pocula respuebam; illud enim mihi suavissimum, illud illecebrosa dulcedine delibutum super omnia videbatur, ut desiderium meum amici sanctissimi ore laudari semper audirem et hoc venerabilis illius viri verba resonarent quod cordis mei execratio volutabat. Vanae gloriae cupidine Consentius eiusque amicus laborabant.
9. And now the uselessness of my fasting had begun to displease me, when suddenly it happened that I was bound by too great an affection to the mind of a certain holy and venerable man, by whose familiarity constrained, when I weighed all his movements in my mind, I noticed and more vehemently loved my own vice in him. For I congratulated myself that I had found someone of the highest authority and merit, a fellow-lover, who sighed with the loves of the same leisure; but my conscience was being flattered with vain joys, that, comparing myself, an evil tree, to that fruitful wood, I rejoiced that I had found in him something like my own sterility. For I gloried in the likeness of the leaves, not seeing with how great fruits of virtues that good tree was bent down. Leaning back, then, upon that man with all the powers of my weakness, I drove off all the medicines you applied, I rejected all the cups you offered; for that seemed to me most sweet, that, anointed with an alluring sweetness above all things, that I might always hear my desire praised by the mouth of a most holy friend, and that the words of that venerable man should re-echo what the execration of my heart was turning over.
Ep211-270.910. Tali siquidem pruritum invicem nostrum scalpebamus alloquio, ut nihil esse doctrinae studio inutilius nihilque periculosius firmaremus dicentes quid tam inutile quam ut hominem christianum tantae vanae gloriae cupido sollicitet, ut Pharisaeorum vitiis fermentatus vocari ab hominibus Rabbi iactantissime concupiscat et, cum ipse forsitan intellegentiae lumine sit caecatus, tamen omnes in foveam procul dubio ruituros conetur attrahere , cum praesertim esse altissima quae inquiri omnino non debeant et scrutatorem sepium a serpente mordendum Scriptura denuntiat . Summus commentatorum, Origenes, in scrutandis illicitis concidit.
10. For with such conversation we scratched each other's itch in turn, that we affirmed nothing to be more useless than the zeal of doctrine and nothing more perilous, saying: what is so useless as that the desire of so great a vain glory should solicit a Christian man, that, leavened with the vices of the Pharisees, he should most boastfully covet to be called Rabbi by men (See Matt 23:7), and, although he himself is perhaps blinded in the light of understanding, yet should try to draw all, without doubt about to fall into the pit (See Matt 15:14); especially since there are most lofty things which ought not to be inquired into at all, and Scripture announces that the searcher of hedges is to be bitten by a serpent (See Eccl 10:8)?
Ep211-270.1011. Quid autem periculosius quam ut homo, cum possit ad vitam absque tanto inutilis doctrinae circuitu pervenire, tamen insanis curiositatis illicitae stimulis incitatus longi atque ardui itineris anfractum, de quo nemo adhuc absque vulnere evasit, arripiat? Quid enim aliud omnium tractatorum maximus Origenes virtute indefessi laboris obtinuit, nisi ut salutem verbi quae prope est et in corde atque ore habitat nostro longae scrutationis vitio praeteriret accideretque ei quod prudentibus gratiae, qui quanto sapientiam studiosius laboriosiusque sectati sunt tanto ab ea longius recesserunt? Denique si doctrinae desiderium non eumdem ad scrutanda illicita in quibus concidit propulisset, potius profecto martyrii gloriam promereri, sed quia insanae doctrinae foveam dum nimium evagatur inciderat , necessario factum est, ut praemium passionis quod indoctus et parvulus concupivit senex doctissimus recusaret. Quis igitur legis doctor fortius, peritius, attentius, prudentius, cautius Origene doctrinae studiis inhaerebit aut quis, tamquam vana curiositas laboriosa scrutatione [...] inveniat, mortem sapienter effugiet quam Origenes insipienter incurrit? Cum irreprehensibilia Aug. docuerit, nescimus quid de eius scriptis iudicaturi sint posteri.
11. But what is more perilous than that a man, although he could arrive at life without so great a circuit of useless doctrine, yet, incited by the insane goads of unlawful curiosity, should take up the winding of a long and arduous journey, from which no one as yet has escaped without a wound? For what else did Origen, the greatest of all treatise-writers, obtain by the power of unwearied labor, except that he passed over, by the vice of long scrutiny, the salvation of the word which is near and dwells in our heart and mouth, and there befell him what befell the prudent of grace, who, the more zealously and laboriously they pursued wisdom, the further they withdrew from it? Finally, if the desire of doctrine had not driven him to scrutinize the unlawful things in which he fell, he would surely rather have merited the glory of martyrdom; but because he had fallen into the pit of insane doctrine while he wandered too much, of necessity it came about that the reward of suffering, which the unlearned and the little one coveted, the most learned old man refused. Who, then, will cling to the zeal of doctrine more bravely, more skillfully, more attentively, more prudently, more cautiously than Origen, or who—as though vain curiosity by laborious scrutiny [might] find [something]—will wisely escape the death which Origen unwisely incurred?
Ep211-270.1112. Recolamus per ordinem ceteros quamvis magnos, quamvis catholicos tractatores! Difficile tamen est, ut non aliquas errorum maculas in pulcherrimo licet eorumdem corpore denotemus. Nam etsi irreprehensibilia scribere Augustinum episcopum dixerimus, ignoramus tamen quid de eius voluminibus sit iudicatura posteritas; neque enim cunctos haereticae perversitatis auctores et praecipue Origenem viventem quispiam reprehendit quem post ducentos vel amplius annos condemnatum esse non dubium est. Talibus nos sibi desidia nostra argumentorum amplexibus colligabat, talium fomenta verborum amoris nostri ignibus suggerebat. Beati Stephani mirabilia conscribit Severus a Consentio verba mutuatus.
12. Let us review in order the other treatise-writers, however great, however Catholic! Yet it is difficult that we should not note some stains of errors in their otherwise most beautiful body. For even if we should say that Bishop Augustine writes irreprehensible things, yet we do not know what posterity is going to judge of his volumes; for no one reprehended all the authors of heretical perversity—and especially Origen—while living, who, it is not doubtful, was condemned after two hundred years or more. With such embraces of arguments did our sloth bind us to itself, with the poultices of such words did it suggest fuel to the fires of our love.
Ep211-270.1213. Inter haec legebam quidem invitus quae acceperam et velut praedictus ille comicus adolescens , cum amatam meam corde complecterer, arreptum tamen legendi iter amens alternis passibus exiebam; cumque per plena fructibus sancti patris rura transirem et ad variam doctrinae tuae frugem demens animus caecaretur, solum desidiae anhelabat ardorem, donec magnis amoris mei viribus repercussus vestigia ad negligentiam meam haud pigra converti tamque volucri cursu fortius amplexurus otium festinavi, ut id longi itineris labore suscepto etiam in Oriente quaerere cogitarem. Hoc siquidem meus ille amantissimus mihi suaserat corrivalis; sed cum votis atque conatibus nostris manum Domini validam obsistere sentiremus, raptus nescio quomodo a proposito itineris arrepti et ad propria revocatus sum id animi atque propositi tenens, ut libros tantum canonicos sine labore transcurrerem, scripta autem mea, si fieri potuisset, etiam in familiaribus litteris abdicarem; quod quidem haud longo tempore gnaviter exsecutus ita canonem transcurri, ut desidiae quam colebam numquam laederetur affectus. Sed sicut ab his quae amamus plurimum iuvat paululum sequestrari, ut renovatis desiderii viribus ardentius appetantur, ita enim ego studio brevissimae et rarissimae lectionis interpolabam otii voluptatem. Eodem tempore accidit, ut quaedam apud nos ex praecepto Domini mirabilia gererentur. Quae cum mihi beatus antistes, frater Paternitatis tuae Severus episcopus cum ceteris qui affuerant rettulisset, irrupit propositum meum summis viribus caritatis et, ut epistolam quae rei gestae ordinem contineret ipse conscriberet, sola a me verba mutuatus est. Crevit exinde legis quam mihi ipse perscripseram maior praevaricatio placuitque, ne quam licet lenta atque tepidissima, tamen recenti canonis lectione memoriae nostrae tarditas iuvaretur, [ut] aliqua adversus Iudaeos, quorum proeliis urgebamur, duci nostro arma producerem, ea tamen lege, ut officio nomen penitus sileretur. Consentius confitetur se miserabiliter desidiae servire.
13. Amid these things I read indeed unwillingly what I had received, and, like that aforesaid comic young man, while I embraced my beloved in my heart, yet, the journey of reading being seized, I went out, mad, with alternating steps; and when I passed through the fields, full of fruits, of the holy father, and my mad mind was blinded to the varied fruit of your doctrine, it panted only for the ardor of sloth, until, struck back by the great powers of my love, I turned my steps, not sluggishly, to my negligence, and with so swift a course hastened to embrace leisure the more strongly, that I thought even of seeking it in the East, the labor of a long journey being taken up. For this my most loving fellow-lover had persuaded me; but when we felt the strong hand of the Lord resisting our vows and attempts, I was, I know not how, snatched from the purpose of the journey seized and recalled to my own affairs, holding this in mind and purpose, that I should only run through the canonical books without labor, but my own writings, if it could be done, I should renounce even in familiar letters; which indeed, having diligently carried out for no long time, I so ran through the canon that the affection of the sloth I cultivated was never injured. But just as it greatly helps to be set apart a little from the things we love, that, with the powers of desire renewed, they may be sought more ardently, so I interpolated the pleasure of leisure with the zeal of a most brief and most rare reading. At the same time it happened that certain marvels were wrought among us by the command of the Lord. When the blessed bishop, the brother of Your Paternity, Bishop Severus, had reported these to me with the rest who had been present, he burst into my purpose with the highest powers of love, and, that he himself might write a letter containing the order of the deed, he borrowed from me only the words. From then on a greater transgression of the law which I had written for myself grew, and it was decided that—lest the slowness of our memory be helped by a recent reading of the canon, however slow and most lukewarm—I should produce for our leader some arms against the Jews, by whose battles we were being pressed, yet on this condition, that the name of the office be utterly kept silent.
Ep211-270.1314. Cum haec dictarem et omnem tibi et voluntatis nostrae perversitatem et cogitationum varietatem et peccatorum incursum et casuum sortem et vitae ordinem et lectionis desidiam et scriptorum temeritatem pandere cogitarem, repente perlator vehementer insistens, omnia, ut statim praeciderentur, extorsit. Proinde longissimum sermonis nostri finem necessaria taciturnitate disrumpens brevium sermonum nodis cuncta constringo indicans me desidiae meae bellum indicere voluisse , sed adversus languidissimam dominam temeraria arma suscipiens id solum profeci, ut ego ille Hercules enervatus gravius Omphalae meae turpiusque subicerer . Denique velut commitigatus sandalio caput illecebrosis eius verberibus inclinavi, ut contumax famulus tanto miserabilius ac dedecorius serviam, quanto magis superbis victoribus victos formido substernit. Idem Aug. XII adversum Iudaeos capitula et unam ad Patroclum epistolam mittit.
14. When I was dictating these things, and thinking to lay open to you both all the perversity of our will, and the variety of our thoughts, and the incursion of sins, and the lot of chances, and the order of life, and the sloth of reading, and the temerity of writing, suddenly the bearer, vehemently insisting, extorted everything, that it might be at once cut short. Accordingly, breaking off the very long end of my discourse by a necessary taciturnity, I bind everything together with the knots of brief words, indicating that I had wished to declare war upon my sloth, but, taking up rash arms against a most languid mistress, I accomplished only this, that I, that enervated Hercules, was more grievously and more basely subjected to my Omphale (See Ovid, Heroides 9). Finally, as though my head softened by the sandal (See Terence, Eunuchus 1028), I bowed to her alluring blows, so that, a contumacious servant, I might serve the more miserably and disgracefully, the more dread lays the conquered low before proud conquerors.
Ep211-270.1415. Scribere autem plurima nescio quae me insaniae meae compulit consuetudo; quae si esset possibile omnia ad tuae Paternitatis examen pervenire voluissem. Nunc autem retentis apud me ceteris duodecim adversus Iudaeos capitula et unam tantum quam nuper ad beatissimum fratrem vestrum Patroclum episcopum misi epistolam destinavi, in qua quidem cum venerabilis Paternitas tua et sensus suos et verba cognoverit porrigat parvulo suo non aequis patrem passibus subsequenti benignitatis ac favoris sui piissimam dexteram et imbecillem ne penitus labatur infantiam fortissimis orationum suarum humeris portare dignetur. Praecipue tamen si mihi talis baiuli qui colloquendi et conferendi omnia aliquam apud te fiduciam posset assumere affuisset occasio, ea quae adversus quaestiones Pelagii scribere audeo vel imperfecta transmittere voluissem. Domi obsignata Consentius servat quae adversum Pelagianos scripsit.
15. But the custom of my insanity has compelled me to write very many things, I know not what; which, if it were possible, I would have wished all to come to the examination of your Paternity. But now, the rest being kept with me, I have directed twelve chapters against the Jews and one letter only, which I lately sent to your most blessed brother Bishop Patroclus; in which, indeed, when your venerable Paternity has come to know both his views and his words, may you stretch forth to your little one—following his father with unequal steps—the most devout right hand of your kindness and favor, and deign to carry on the strongest shoulders of your prayers a weak infancy, lest it utterly slip away. But especially, if there had been afforded me the occasion of such a bearer as could assume some confidence with you of conversing and conferring about everything, I would have wished to transmit, even unfinished, those things which I dare to write against the questions of Pelagius.
Ep211-270.1516. Pervenit enim superiore anno illa ad nos epistola sanctae memoriae Zosimi Romanae urbis episcopi, in qua subditis Pelagii et Caelestii quaestionibus mortiferum ipsorum virus ut evitetur ostenditur. Quibus lectis licet multis saeculi angoribus praepediti, tamen solito ad scribendum furore succensi quartum fere iam librum cudere laboramus, sed tamen negligentiae legem stabiliter retinentes, cum paene universa quae adversum Pelagium scripta sunt domi vel obsignata teneamus. Adiecimus etiam fortissimum quo desidia nostra plurimum nititur argumentum, ut nobis absurdissimum suaderemus nos illa omnia, priusquam ipsi aliquid conscribamus, legere non debere; ita incredibilis perversitate iudicii metus mihi est ne forsitan tortuosus sensus mei impetus dirigatur. Si autem credi scriptoribus potest qui velut patres quaecumque genuerint quamvis extorta atque deformia, cum summa tamen dulcedine complectuntur, Achillem mihi videor parturire Thersiten ceteris prolaturus . Memor mei in aeternum in Christo floreas, Domine sancte ac beatissime Pater.
16. For last year there came to us that letter of Zosimus of holy memory, bishop of the city of Rome, in which, the questions of Pelagius and Caelestius being subjoined, their deadly poison is shown, that it may be avoided. These having been read—although hindered by many anxieties of the world—yet, kindled with the usual fury for writing, we labor to forge now almost a fourth book; but yet, steadfastly retaining the law of negligence, since we keep at home almost all that has been written against Pelagius, either sealed up [or unread]. We have added also a most powerful argument, on which our sloth chiefly relies, that we persuade ourselves of the most absurd thing, that we ought not to read all those things before we ourselves write anything; with so incredible a perversity of judgment is there a fear in me lest perhaps the tortuous impulse of my sense be set straight. But if writers can be believed, who, like fathers, embrace whatever they have begotten—however forced and deformed—yet with the highest sweetness, I seem to myself to bring forth an Achilles, about to produce a Thersites to the rest (See Homer, Iliad 2.216-219). Mindful of me, may you flourish forever in Christ, holy and most blessed Father.
Ep211-270.16EPISTOLA 13*
COMMONITORIUM PRESBYTERO RESTITUTO AUGUSTINUS
COMMONITORIUM PRESBYTERO RESTITUTO AUGUSTINUS
LETTER 13*
A MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRIEST RESTITUTUS, FROM AUGUSTINE
Ep211-270.16A MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRIEST RESTITUTUS, FROM AUGUSTINE
1. Quamvis me litterae tuae graviter commoverint de machinamentis diaboli quibus servos Dei aut in peccatum attrahit, aut eorum existimationem in Ecclesiae scandalum maculat, tamen quantum potui ut homo exploravi hominis mentem non semel sed saepius cum illo agens et terrens de iudicio Dei, ut mihi confiteretur, si forte cum illa, a qua accusatur concubitu aut aliqua immunditia se communicaverit. Si autem verum est quod dicit, cuius magno et sancto viro posset accidere illa tentatio, ut ad eum ubi solus ipse dormisset veniret femina et iuxta cubaret quam ille prodere noluisset maxime nihil sibi loquentem de concupiscentia turpitudinis, sed de solis tribulationibus et necessitatibus suis . Ubi nihil ad se in tali tentatione pertinere arbitraretur, nisi ut eam omnimodo ad se prohiberet accedere; quod si facere illa noluisset, ab eius impudico temperaret complexu et a flagitiosa collocutione. ...seque in solario recumbentem a femina illa imber violenter effusus liberavit.
1. Although your letter gravely moved me about the contrivances of the devil, by which he either draws the servants of God into sin, or stains their reputation for the scandal of the Church, yet, as far as I could as a man, I explored the man's mind, dealing with him not once but often, and terrifying him about the judgment of God, that he should confess to me, if perhaps he had communicated with that woman, by whom he is accused, in intercourse or any uncleanness. But if what he says is true, to what great and holy a man could that temptation befall, that to him—where he himself was sleeping alone—a woman should come and lie down beside him, whom he was unwilling to betray, especially as she said nothing to him of the shamefulness of concupiscence, but only of her own tribulations and necessities? Where he would judge that nothing in such a temptation pertained to him, except to forbid her in every way to approach him; and that, if she had been unwilling to do this, he should abstain from her unchaste embrace and from disgraceful conversation.
Ep211-270.12. Hoc se fecisse iste dicit, cum dormiret solario remotus ab omnibus qui habitabant in domo, quo fuerat susceptus hospitio, cum propter officii sui necessitatem ibi constitutus ita praeveniretur tempore vespertino, ut inde ad domum suam redire non posset. Cum ergo illam ad se venientem, sicut asserit, expergefactus horruisset, quam nondum perisse credebat se perire posse cernebat et ne a se ipso periret aut famam sanctimonialis nondum fortasse perditae clamore improvido laederet praecavebat, passus est eam remorantem iuxta se et de parentibus suis nescio quas querelas immurmurantem continens se ab illa et nihil aliud respondens nisi ut surgeret inde atque discederet. Quod cum aliquanto diutius noluisset, irruisse pluviam atque ita se ab eius colloquio liberatum, cum de solario descendens egressus esset de domo ipsa et ante ostium sub vel udo subgrundio se collocasset, quo illa non auderet accedere, ne ab aliquo suorum exeunte inveniretur aut aperiens ostium sentiretur et, non reversa, in suspicionem veniret eis qui illam exisse sensissent. Si presbyter ille documentis non convincitur de flagitio, maneat in statu suo.
2. This he says he did, when he was sleeping on an upper floor, removed from all who dwelt in the house in which he had been received as a guest, since, established there on account of the necessity of his office, he was so overtaken by the evening time that he could not return thence to his own house. When, therefore, awakened, he had shuddered at her coming to him, as he asserts—he saw that he, whom he did not yet believe to have perished, could perish, and took precaution lest he perish by himself, or, by an ill-advised outcry, injure the reputation of a nun perhaps not yet lost—he allowed her to linger beside him and murmur certain complaints, I know not what, about her parents, containing himself from her and answering nothing else than that she should rise thence and depart. And when she had been unwilling for somewhat too long, [he says] that rain burst in, and so he was freed from her conversation, since, descending from the upper floor, he went out of that house and placed himself before the door, under the still-wet eaves, where she would not dare to approach, lest she be found by any of his people going out, or be perceived opening the door, and, not having returned, come into suspicion among those who had perceived her go out.
Ep211-270.23. Hactenus mihi confessus est homo, unde non eum iudico esse damnandum, nisi forte de mendacio convincatur et non verba illius feminae audiantur et accipiantur adversus eum, quia sine dubio perdita quaerit cui haereat, sed aliqua existant alia documenta quibus huius flagitiosa detegatur improbitas. Haec autem clericis non facile contigissent, si non soli ambularent propter quaslibet vel proprias vel ecclesiasticas necessitates. Sed cum vix obtineamus de presbyteris maxime in villis, ne ambulent soli, quanto minus hoc de inferioris gradus clericis possumus obtinere. Si ergo plebs cui est ordinatus de hac fama nihil adversus eum movetur nec credidit de illo aliquid turpe et aliis, sicut dictum est, documentis de flagitio non convincatur, maneat in statu suo; si autem alia demonstrantur, de quibus aliquid iudicare possimus, haec noverim; si vero commovetur inde Ecclesia cui presbyter constitutus est, cum hoc dicatur accidisse, quando adhuc diaconus fuit, lege illis has litteras meas et explana illis eas, sicut tibi donaverit Dominus, ut presbyterum suum cui talis tentatio accidit qualis cuicumque sancto accidere potuit, diligant sicut coeperunt, nec eorum caritas circa illum frigescat , ut de pace illorum potius vincatur diabolus cuius esse istae artes et insidiae consuerunt. Si autem videris necessarium esse, ut ego ad illos litteras mittam, intimare curabis.
3. Thus far the man confessed to me, whence I do not judge that he is to be condemned, unless perhaps he be convicted of lying, and the words of that woman not be heard and accepted against him—because without doubt a lost woman seeks one to whom to cling—but some other documents arise by which his disgraceful wickedness be uncovered. But these things would not easily have befallen clerics, if they did not walk alone on account of any necessities, whether their own or the Church's. But since we scarcely obtain it of priests, especially in the country districts, that they not walk alone, how much less can we obtain this of clerics of a lower rank? If, then, the people to whom he was ordained are not moved against him about this rumor, nor have believed anything base about him, and he is not convicted of the disgrace by other documents, as has been said, let him remain in his status; but if other things are demonstrated, about which we can judge something, let me know them; but if the Church to which the priest has been appointed is moved by it—since this is said to have happened when he was still a deacon—read them this letter of mine and explain it to them, as the Lord shall grant you, that they may love, as they began, their priest, to whom such a temptation befell as could befall any holy man, and that their love toward him not grow cold (See Matt 24:12), so that, by their peace, the devil rather be conquered, whose arts and snares these are wont to be. But if you see it to be necessary that I send them a letter, you will take care to intimate it.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 14*
DOMINO EXIMIO ET MERITO INSIGNI ATQUE HONORABILI FILIO DOROTHEO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO EXIMIO ET MERITO INSIGNI ATQUE HONORABILI FILIO DOROTHEO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 14*
TO DOROTHEUS, A DISTINGUISHED AND DESERVEDLY EMINENT AND HONORABLE LORD AND SON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.3TO DOROTHEUS, A DISTINGUISHED AND DESERVEDLY EMINENT AND HONORABLE LORD AND SON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Novi quantum diligas Christum, et quia universa domus tua familia eius est sicut Apostolus dicit: Domestica Ecclesia , quantumque velis in possessionibus tuis possessionem Christi fructificare atque crescere, omnibus nobis qui te novimus notum est, Domine eximie et merito insignis atque honorabilis fili. Dorotheus promittat se in hominem suum sacrilegum moderate vindicaturum.
1. I know how much you love Christ, and, because your whole household is his family—as the Apostle says, a domestic Church (See Rom 16:5)—and how much you wish the possession of Christ to bear fruit and grow in your possessions, is known to all of us who know you, distinguished and deservedly eminent and honorable lord and son.
Ep211-270.12. Habebam quod quererer de homine tuo, cuius nec nomen nec sacrilegum flagitium ausus sum his litteris intimare, ne forte gravius succenseres et atrocius vindicares quam decet atque oportet ad episcopalem querelam adhibere vindictam. Itaque fratribus, a quibus has litteras accipit Eximietas tua, quid illud esset per commonitorium patefeci et rogavi, ut prius teneant promissum fidelissimae religionis tuae quod amplius non vindices quam quousque eodem commonitorio comprehendi, et cum tenuerint, ostendant ut legas. Si autem promittere nolueris, nihil indicent; sed per Christum obsecro, ut magis promittas, ut etiam nos possimus securi ad te perferre quidquid nostrae curae necessitas postulaverit, ut a te, si a nobis non potest, emendetur.
2. I had something to complain of about a man of yours, whose name and sacrilegious crime I did not dare to intimate in this letter, lest perhaps you be more gravely angered and avenge it more atrociously than it is fitting and right to apply vengeance to an episcopal complaint. And so, to the brothers from whom Your Excellence receives this letter, I have made plain through a memorandum what that was, and asked that they first hold the promise of your most faithful religion that you will not avenge it further than what is comprehended in that same memorandum, and, when they hold it, show it to you to read. But if you are unwilling to promise, let them indicate nothing; but through Christ I beseech that you rather promise, so that we too may be able securely to bring to you whatever the necessity of our care demands, that it may be amended by you, if it cannot be by us.
Ep211-270.2EPISTOLA 15*
COMMONITORIUM SANCTIS FRATRIBUS QUORUM NOMINA EPISTOLA MEA CONTINET AUGUSTINUS
COMMONITORIUM SANCTIS FRATRIBUS QUORUM NOMINA EPISTOLA MEA CONTINET AUGUSTINUS
LETTER 15*
A MEMORANDUM FOR THE HOLY BROTHERS WHOSE NAMES MY LETTER CONTAINS, FROM AUGUSTINE
Ep211-270.2A MEMORANDUM FOR THE HOLY BROTHERS WHOSE NAMES MY LETTER CONTAINS, FROM AUGUSTINE
1. Cum paratae iamiam essent litterae a nobis ad vestram benevolentiam dirigendae, venit a fratre Alypio commonitorium quod ad Thagastem dedit, quoniam ad nostrum litus eadem navis appulsa est. Quo commonitorio quid didicerimus, id scire Sanctitatem vestram et eiusdem verba huic meo inserere curavi. COMMONITORIUM PRESBYTERIS ALYPIUS Laeti nuntii quos illud commonitorium continet.
1. When the letter to be directed by us to your benevolence was now ready, there came from brother Alypius a memorandum which he gave to Thagaste, since the same ship put in at our shore. What I learned from that memorandum, this I have taken care that Your Holiness should know, and to insert its words into this letter of mine. A MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRIESTS, FROM ALYPIUS.
Ep211-270.12. [Ita] filius noster Severianus profectus a nobis est. Nos adhuc [ita] rescripta sublimis viri ut eius exspectabamus adventum, quia intra Idus Octobris affuturus nuntiabatur ab his qui certissime illum de Gallia exisse firmaverunt. Adiuvent itaque nos preces Caritatis vestrae, ut Domini adiutorio ante hiemem aliquid peragamus, ut ad vos secundum et vestrum et nostrum desiderium opitulatione Domini ante hiemem remeemus. Sane ad litteras nostras multum iam concessum est; nam cum indulgentia Carthaginiensi populo missa silentiarius eo die quo ista dictavimus ambulavit. De his ergo nobis agendum remansit qui in eadem causa ad Carthaginiensem Ecclesiam confugerunt. Aug. Dorotheo scripsit quomodo hominem suum sacrilegum puniat.
2. "[So] our son Severianus has set out from us. We still await the reply of the exalted man, as well as his coming, because he was announced as about to be present before the Ides of October by those who most certainly affirmed that he had left Gaul. May the prayers of your Charity, then, help us, that, by the Lord's help, we may accomplish something before winter, so that to you, according both to your desire and ours, by the Lord's aid, we may return before winter. Indeed, much has now been granted to our letters; for, with the indulgence sent to the people of Carthage, a court usher set out on the day we dictated these things. It remained, then, for us to deal about those who, in the same case, fled to the Church of Carthage."
Ep211-270.23. Haec sunt quae de commonitorio Thagastem misso necessaria putavi, ut vobis descripta dirigerem. Praeterea peto, ut alias epistolas quas direxi dignemini eis quibus directae sunt reddere easque apud illos vestris intercessionibus adiuvare quisque ut potuerit; si enim omnes simul omnia facere velitis, difficile quod vultis implebitis, quia perrarum est, ut ad unam horam vobis omnibus vacet. Viro autem honorabili et religiosissimo filio nostro Dorotheo [dicite], ut homini suo qui sanctimonialem de villa aliena lanificii causa ad domum suam venientem violenta oppressione violavit non ita succenseat, ut acrius puniat quam per nostram querelam decet; sufficit enim, ut eum ab eiusdem loci ubi eum posuit procuratione removeat, ne alios ad se imitandum, si penitus fuerit impunitus, invitet. Iam quidem agit poenitentiam sed ideo, quia postea quam est convictus et ad confessionem convictione perductus continuo est communione prohibitus. Nam si ultro confessus fuisset et quod ignorabatur nec aliquis obiecerat timore divini iudicii prodidisset, quis tam perverse severus esset, ut emendationem quaereret ampliorem? Sacrilegus homo ille amovendus est ab honore procurationis.
3. These are the things which I thought necessary from the memorandum sent to Thagaste, that I should direct them to you written out. Besides, I ask that you deign to deliver the other letters which I have directed to those to whom they were directed, and to support them before them by your intercessions, each as he can; for if you should all wish to do everything together, you will fulfill what you wish with difficulty, because it is very rare that all of you have leisure at one hour. But to the honorable and most religious man, our son Dorotheus, [say] that he should not so be angered against a man of his—who violated by violent oppression a nun coming from another's estate to his house for the sake of wool-working—as to punish him more severely than is fitting through our complaint; for it suffices that he remove him from the management of that same place where he set him, lest, if he be left utterly unpunished, he invite others to imitate him. He is indeed already doing penance, but for this reason, because, after he was convicted and brought by conviction to confession, he was at once forbidden communion. For if he had confessed of his own accord and, by fear of the divine judgment, had disclosed what was unknown and which no one had objected, who would be so perversely severe as to seek a fuller amendment?
Ep211-270.34. Nunc vero quemadmodum, si clericus esset honorem sui gradus amitteret, sic debet etiam iste honorem procurationis amittere, in qua eius inflatur impunitas, et propterea ne imitatores habeat praecavendum est. Est autem homo iste Cresconius procurator saltus Hispaniensis habens, quod est peius, uxorem; sed nolite iudicare vel factum vel hominem, nisi prius promissum eius sub Dei testificationem tenueritis, quia non amplius vindicabit, nec ipsum vindictae modum ante dicatis, quem promiserit nihil se facturum severius quam id quod in isto commonitorio reppererit. Non enim pro sua fide et religione quam habet in Christo qua possit graviter commoveri [...]; certe si mitius vindicare voluerit quam poposci praeter carnalem poenam non prohibeo, non tamen ut amplius. Hoc ergo promittat prius et cum promiserit, ne insinuando laboretis, huius commonitorii partem ad causam pertinentem facite ut legat.
4. But now, just as, if he were a cleric, he would lose the honor of his rank, so this man too ought to lose the honor of management, in which his impunity is puffed up, and therefore precaution must be taken lest he have imitators. This man is Cresconius, manager of a Spanish estate, having—what is worse—a wife; but do not judge either the deed or the man, unless you first hold his promise, under attestation of God, that he will not avenge it further, nor state to him beforehand the very manner of the vengeance, who has promised that he will do nothing more severe than what he finds in this memorandum. For [it is] not for the sake of his faith and the religion he has in Christ, by which he could be gravely moved [...]; certainly, if he wishes to avenge it more mildly than I have asked, besides a bodily punishment, I do not forbid it, yet not more. Let him, then, first promise this, and, when he has promised—lest you labor in explaining—cause him to read the part of this memorandum pertaining to the case.
Ep211-270.4EPISTOLA 16*
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET DEBITA CARITATE VENERABILI SANCTO FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI PAPAE AURELIO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET DEBITA CARITATE VENERABILI SANCTO FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI PAPAE AURELIO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 16*
TO POPE AURELIUS, A MOST BLESSED LORD AND, WITH DUE LOVE, VENERABLE HOLY BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
Ep211-270.4TO POPE AURELIUS, A MOST BLESSED LORD AND, WITH DUE LOVE, VENERABLE HOLY BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD.
1. Cum fida nulla occurrisset occasio, per nostrum [***] misi sermones duos, unum de Natali Domini, alterum de Epiphania quos furari potui de universis occupationibus meis petens, ut nostrae salutationis obsequium grate sumens pro nobis orare persistas; quod quidem etiamsi non petamus vel commoneamus facis, Domine beatissime et debita caritate venerabilis sancte Papa. Quid forte Sanctitas tua de fratribus, quorum de comitatu reditum operimur, audierit per hunc perlatorem quaeso noverimus. Alypius commonitorio ad Thagastenses nuntiatur, inter alia, Carthaginensibus data indulgentia.
1. Since no trustworthy opportunity had presented itself, I have sent by our [***] two sermons, one on the Birth of the Lord, the other on the Epiphany, which I was able to steal away from all my occupations, asking that you graciously accept this dutiful greeting of ours and continue to pray for us—which indeed you do even if we do not ask or remind you, most blessed lord and holy bishop, to be venerated with the love that is owed you. If your Holiness has perhaps heard anything through this bearer about the brothers whose return from their company we await, I beg that we may be informed of it.
Ep211-270.12. Nos autem per commonitorium fratris Alypii quod ad Thagastem misit, quoniam eadem navis nostro se litori admonuit, hoc comperimus, quod iam silentiarius directus fuerit cum indulgentia Carthaginiensium; et hoc se per litteras impetrasse dixit. Nam necdum de Gallia vir illustrissimus remeaverat, ad cuius praesentiam hoc tantum sibi negotii remansisse indicavit, ut illis quoque auferatur mens qui ad Ecclesiam confugerunt, sed credo iam certum aliquid etiam de ipsis venerationem tuam potuisse condiscere. Non enim defuerunt apud nos indecentiores qui nobis referrent, quod per quemdam Numidiae episcopum nomine Renatum frater Alypius exemplum direxit beneficii quod filio nostro Largo iam dicebant esse concessum. Sed utrum illud potius sit quod per silentiarium missum esse suo ad Thagastem commonitorio nuntiavit, aut aliquid quod etiam ab ipso illis qui sunt in Ecclesia fuerit imperatum, nescio nisi quod arbitror memoratum episcopum iam Carthaginem venire potuisse. Pelagianam haeresim a Bonifacio papa damnatam esse; Aurelii tractoriam nondum in Numidiam pervenisse.
2. But through the memorandum of brother Alypius that he sent to Thagaste—since the same ship put in at our shore—we have learned this much: that an usher has already been dispatched with the pardon of the Carthaginians, and he said that he had obtained this by letter. For the most illustrious man had not yet returned from Gaul, and Alypius indicated that the only business remaining for his presence was that those too who had taken refuge in the Church should have their case removed; but I believe that by now your Reverence has been able to learn something certain about them as well. For there was no lack among us of less than decorous people to report to us that, through a certain bishop of Numidia named Renatus, brother Alypius had sent a copy of the favor that they were already saying had been granted to our son Largus. But whether it is rather the case that, as he announced in his memorandum to Thagaste, it was sent through the usher, or whether something was also commanded by him himself for those who are in the Church, I do not know—except that I think the said bishop has by now been able to come to Carthage.
Ep211-270.23. Et ideo nos inde potius exspectamus per istum iuvenem quem cum his misimus aliquid certi tua Beatitudine rescribente cognoscere. Non dubito autem, quia et ipse nobis hoc rettulit, audisse Sanctitatem tuam ab illo sene Mauritaniae Caesariensis episcopo Prisciano, quid apud Romam venerabilis Papa Bonifatius egerit de Pelagianis quaeque salubri sinceritate ausus fuerit. Ad partes autem Numidiae nostrae, id est Consularis, quare tractatoria Beatitudinis tuae non pervenerit nescio; quam me adhuc apud Carthaginem constituto esse missam scio, nisi forte seni Valentino non putata est esse mittenda, quod suggero ut quaerat Venerabilitas tua, et si neglectum est corrigatur. Debet enim utique et ad primatum Numidiae pervenire, a quo dirigatur ad fratres ad idem concilium pertinentes.
3. And so we rather expect, through this young man whom we have sent with these others, to learn something certain by a reply from your Beatitude. I do not doubt, moreover—for he himself reported this to us—that your Holiness has heard from that old man Priscian, bishop of Mauretania Caesariensis, what the venerable bishop Boniface did at Rome concerning the Pelagians, and what he dared with wholesome sincerity. But why the encyclical letter of your Beatitude has not reached the regions of our Numidia, that is, Consular Numidia, I do not know; I know that it was sent while I was still at Carthage, unless perhaps it was thought not to be sent to old Valentinus—which I suggest your Venerableness inquire into, and if it has been neglected, let it be corrected. For it certainly ought also to reach the primate of Numidia, by whom it may be forwarded to the brothers belonging to the same council.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 17*
DOMINO EXIMIO ET MERITO INSIGNI MULTUMQUE CARISSIMO FILIO BONIFATIO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO EXIMIO ET MERITO INSIGNI MULTUMQUE CARISSIMO FILIO BONIFATIO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 17*
TO THE EXCELLENT LORD, DESERVEDLY DISTINGUISHED AND MOST BELOVED SON BONIFACE, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
Ep211-270.3TO THE EXCELLENT LORD, DESERVEDLY DISTINGUISHED AND MOST BELOVED SON BONIFACE, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
1. Data est mihi occasio salutandi caritatem tuam quod tibi scio esse gratissimum, cum essent ad nostrum litus appulsi quos ad te festinare oportebat. Attendentes ergo in illis et misericordiam ab homine homini debitam et dilectionem tuam suscepimus eos propemodum naufragos eorumque inopiam unde potuimus sustentavimus. Magna quippe violentia caeli et maris graviter iactati et periclitati vix evaserant mortem et quidquid potuerunt habere perdiderant. Salutatur Bonifacius, aeternam pacem et in bellicis negotiis quaerens.
1. An opportunity has been given me to greet your Charity—which I know is most welcome to you—since there had put in at our shore men who had to hurry on to you. Considering, then, in them both the mercy that one man owes another and your love, we took them in, half shipwrecked as they were, and supported their destitution as far as we could. For, gravely tossed and endangered by the great violence of sky and sea, they had barely escaped death and had lost whatever they were able to keep.
Ep211-270.12. Itaque, Domine eximie et merito insignis multumque carissime fili, incolumitatem nostram sinceritati tuae Deo propitio nuntiamus omnia bona de te audientes et semper audire cupientes, quoniam excellentissima tua fama eius est gloria, [in] quo spem tuam posuisti, quem times, colis, diligis et cuius aeternam pacem etiam in ipsis bellicis operibus quaeris, dum fidem servas et iustitiam in rebus omnibus amas.
2. And so, excellent and deservedly distinguished and most beloved son, by God's favor we announce our good health to your Sincerity, hearing all good things about you and ever longing to hear them, since your most excellent reputation is the glory of him in whom you have placed your hope, whom you fear, worship, and love, and whose eternal peace you seek even amid the works of war itself, so long as you keep faith and love justice in all things.
Ep211-270.2EPISTOLA 18*
AUGUSTINUS EPISCOPUS ECCLESIAE QUAE EST MEMBLIBANUM IN DOMINO SALUTEM
AUGUSTINUS EPISCOPUS ECCLESIAE QUAE EST MEMBLIBANUM IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 18*
AUGUSTINE, BISHOP, TO THE CHURCH THAT IS AT MEMBLIBANUM, GREETINGS IN THE LORD
Ep211-270.2AUGUSTINE, BISHOP, TO THE CHURCH THAT IS AT MEMBLIBANUM, GREETINGS IN THE LORD
1. Bene cito apparuit quod vobis dicebam qui mecum eratis Unapompei non vos debere petere presbyterum Gitta, de cuius vita valde sollicitus eram, sed hoc per vos Deus agebat, quod nesciebatis idem, ut etiam de ipso clero Ecclesiae quae est Unapompei per vestram occasionem tolleretur ubi diaconus erat, quia sicut manifestatus est nec diaconus esse debebat. Si enim aliqua [vera] sunt quae de illo mulier dixit, factum est; si autem illa etiam peierat et hoc solum de isto verum est quod ipse confessus est, nec is esse clericus potest, quoniam omnes Christiani, quanto magis clerici non solum ab illicito concubitu puri esse debent, verum etiam ab illicito osculo et ab illicito amplexu et ab omni immunditia. Gittam necesse fuisse de gradu presbyterii removeri.
1. It quickly became clear how right I was in what I was telling you who were with me at Unapompeia—that you ought not to ask for the priest of Gitta, about whose life I was very anxious; but God was bringing this about through you, though you did not know it, so that, by your occasion, he might also be removed from the very clergy of the Church that is at Unapompeia, where he was a deacon, since, as he has been exposed, he ought not even to have been a deacon. For if there is any truth in what the woman said about him, then it is settled; but if she also perjured herself and the only truth about him is what he himself confessed, even so he cannot be a cleric, since all Christians—how much more clerics—ought to be pure not only from unlawful intercourse but also from an unlawful kiss and an unlawful embrace and from all uncleanness.
Ep211-270.12. In his ergo quoniam iste non est mundus inventus secundum etiam confessionem suam, necesse habuimus eum de gradu presbyterii removere. Consoletur vos Dominus, quoniam pro tristitia vestra valde tristes sumus; omnes vos ergo consoletur eius misericordia qui vos collegit et de dominio diaboli eripuit, quia vos non deserit, si nec vos eum deseratis . Quaerite ergo quis vobis presbyter ordinetur aut, si vos non invenitis, nos in nomine Domini et in eius adiutorio providemus. Si scandalis in Ecclesia contristamur, in Dei auditorio ne deficiamus.
2. In these matters, then, since he has not been found clean even by his own confession, we have had to remove him from the rank of the priesthood. May the Lord console you, for we are very sad on account of your sadness; may his mercy console you all—the mercy of him who gathered you together and snatched you from the dominion of the devil, since he does not abandon you, if you also do not abandon him. Look, then, for someone to be ordained your priest, or, if you do not find one, we will provide in the name of the Lord and with his help.
Ep211-270.23. Numquid enim propterea homines pigri sunt seminare , quia non omnia semina exeunt, sed alia formicae trahunt, alia vero aves colligunt, alia diversis casibus pereunt? Aut numquid propterea pigri sunt inserere arbores fructiferas, quia non omnes tenent vel ad fructum perveniunt, sed aliarum surculi arescunt, alias pecora rodunt, aliae variis causis intereunt? Sic et in Ecclesia tamquam in agro tanti patris familias non cessamus operari, Dei est incrementum dare quia, etsi non omnes proficiunt et perseverant usque in finem , tamen, sicut dicit Apostolus: Novit Dominus qui sunt eius , qui omnia ista quae nos contristant scandala futura praedixit et monuit ne deficiamus et promisit nobis in adiutorio suo perseverantibus praemium, ut illic in aeternum cum eo vivamus , ubi tales tentationes et talia scandala esse non poterunt, quia ulla ibi erit tristitia, sed solum gaudium et gaudiorum sempiternorum certa securitas et beata immortalitas et sine fine felicitas. In illo ergo spem vestram ponite, filii et fratres mei, et non frigescat vestra dilectio, ut probati inveniamini in die novissimo, propter quem Christiani facti estis per eius gratiam qui suo sanguine vos redemit . Presbyterum Restitutum cum his litteris ad vos misi quem vix consolatus sum maiore tristitia conturbatum, per quem Dominus et vos consoletur, sicut etiam ipsum per me consolatus est.
3. For are people therefore slow to sow, because not all the seeds come up, but ants drag off some, birds gather others, and others perish by various mishaps? Or are they therefore slow to graft fruit-bearing trees, because not all of them take or come to fruit, but the shoots of some dry up, cattle gnaw at others, and still others die from various causes? So too in the Church, as in the field of so great a father of the household, we do not cease to labor; it is God's to give the increase, since, even if not all make progress and persevere to the end, nevertheless, as the Apostle says, The Lord knows those who are his (2 Tim 2:19)—he who foretold all these scandals that grieve us as things to come, and warned us not to lose heart, and promised a reward to us who persevere with his help, that we may live there forever with him, where such temptations and such scandals can have no place, since there will be no sadness there, but only joy and the sure security of everlasting joys and blessed immortality and happiness without end. In him, then, place your hope, my sons and brothers, and let not your love grow cold, that you may be found approved on the last day, on account of him for whom you became Christians by the grace of the one who redeemed you with his blood. I have sent the priest Restitutus to you with this letter, whom I have scarcely consoled, troubled as he is by a greater sadness; through him may the Lord console you also, just as he has consoled him through me.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 19*
DOMINO MERITO IN CHRISTI VISCERIBUS HONORANDO SANCTO FRATRI ET COMPRESBYTERO HIERONYMO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO MERITO IN CHRISTI VISCERIBUS HONORANDO SANCTO FRATRI ET COMPRESBYTERO HIERONYMO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 19*
TO THE LORD, DESERVEDLY TO BE HONORED IN THE HEART OF CHRIST, THE HOLY BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST JEROME, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
Ep211-270.3TO THE LORD, DESERVEDLY TO BE HONORED IN THE HEART OF CHRIST, THE HOLY BROTHER AND FELLOW PRIEST JEROME, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
1. Accepi per filium nostrum, civem meum, diaconum Palatinum litteras Sanctitatis tuae simul cum alia epistola quam per sanctum episcopum Lazarum dignatus es mittere. Iam vero acceperam et prius per filium nostrum presbyterum Orosium, ex quo plura cognovi, et ante paucos dies alias litteras tuas per Innocentium presbyterum missas; per quem iam rescripseram non solum dilectioni tuae, sed aliis etiam quorum mihi epistolas reddidit et quibusdam qui per eum mihi nihil scripserant rogans eum, ut litterarum mearum exemplaria necessaria quae simul ei edidi ad tuam perferat Sanctitatem; in quibus non tacui quod dicendum putavi de nefario errore hominum, quo non mediocriter perturbatur Ecclesia. Ad comitatum missos esse Hieronymi libros contra Pelagium, qui suam misit Aug. defensionem.
1. I have received, through our son and fellow citizen, the deacon Palatinus, a letter of your Holiness together with another letter that you deigned to send through the holy bishop Lazarus. But I had already received earlier, through our son the priest Orosius—from whom I learned much—and a few days ago another letter of yours sent through the priest Innocentius; through him I had already written back not only to your Love but also to others whose letters he delivered to me, and to certain people who had written nothing to me through him, asking him to carry to your Holiness the necessary copies of my letters that I gave him at the same time. In these I did not pass over in silence what I thought should be said about the wicked error of men, by which the Church is no small disturbed.
Ep211-270.12. Audivi sane iam usque in comitatum pervenisse libros tuos contra eamdem pestem nuper editos eisque innotescentibus multitudinem perversorum qui talia procaciter astruebant multum coepisse iam minui, quia et ipse Pelagius aperte talia non audet defendere sed se ipsum, quod illa non sentiat. Nam egit, ut etiam ad me perveniret recens eius brevisque defensio, sicut scribit contra obiecta Gallorum quorum multa et gravia negat sua, quorumdam vero sensum latebrosa calliditate permutat. Parum itaque non est adiuvante misericordia Dei, quod ea quae ab infirmis credi metuimus iam nec ipse audet aperta fronte defendere. Unde nec ipsum, quia homo est, desperaverim veraci aliquando poenitentia confessurum in errore impio se fuisse versatum, Domine merito in Christi visceribus, honorande sancte Frater. Aug. eiusdem Pelagii librum mittit Hieronymo suamque confutationem.
2. I have indeed heard that your books against the same plague, recently published, have already reached as far as the imperial court, and that, as they become known, the crowd of the perverse who were brazenly building up such doctrines has now begun to be much diminished, since even Pelagius himself does not dare openly to defend such things, but rather himself—claiming that he does not hold them. For he has seen to it that a recent, brief defense of his should reach even me, in which, as he writes against the objections of the Gauls, he denies that much of it, and that grave, is his, while with hidden cunning he twists the meaning of certain points. It is therefore no small thing, with the help of God's mercy, that the things we feared the weak might believe he himself no longer dares to defend with open face. Hence I would not despair even of him—since he is a man—that he may someday, with truthful repentance, confess that he had been involved in impious error, O lord, deservedly to be honored in the heart of Christ, holy brother.
Ep211-270.23. Nunc ergo occasione Lucae servi Dei perlatoris inventa quem sibi optime cognitum Palatinus mihi diaconus intimavit eumque ad nos quantocius rediturum esse promisit ac pro illo mihi fidem fecit, quod ei dubitare non deberem portandas quaslibet litteras tradere, misi per eum librum eiusdem Pelagii; quem mihi dederunt servi Dei Timasius et Iacobus quos per operulam meam Dominus ab illo liberavit errore. Erant autem auditores eius multumque carissimi. Misi etiam eum [librum] quo ei respondi (hoc enim me impendio rogaverant et hoc eis utile ac salubre esse praevideram) ad eos sane scripsi non ad Pelagium, illius tamen operi verbisque respondens eius adhuc tacito nomine, quoniam sicut amicum corrigi cupiebam, quod fateor adhuc cupio, quod nec tuam Sanctitatem ambigo optare. Omnium scriptorum ad Pelagium vel de eo exemplaria manu sua subnotata mittet Aug. Hieronymo.
3. Now, therefore, having found the opportunity of Lucas, a servant of God, the bearer—whom the deacon Palatinus made known to me as very well acquainted with him, and promised that he would return to us as quickly as possible, and gave me his pledge for him that I should not hesitate to entrust to him whatever letters were to be carried—I have sent through him the book of this same Pelagius, which the servants of God Timasius and Jacobus, whom the Lord freed from that error through my little effort, gave me. They were his hearers and very dear to him. I have also sent the book in which I replied to him (for they had earnestly asked this of me, and I had foreseen that it would be useful and wholesome for them); I addressed it, to be sure, to them, not to Pelagius, while nonetheless replying to his work and words, with his name still left unspoken, since I desired him to be corrected as a friend—which I confess I still desire, and which I have no doubt your Holiness also wishes.
Ep211-270.34. Denique nunc scripsi et ad ipsum quod, nisi fallor, acerbe accepturus est, sed ei postea fortasse proficiet ad salutem. Scripsi etiam de illo prolixam epistolam episcopis Eulogio et Ioanni, et breviter sancto presbytero Passerioni; quae ita in mandatis dedi, ut ad tuam Sinceritatem omnia perferantur. Quaecumque autem mihi occasio proxima occurrerit omnium earumdem epistolarum exemplaria manu mea subnotata, quam confido tibi esse notissimam, tuae germanitati, adiuvante Domino, curabo dirigere, ut scias mihique rescribas, utrum ad te non solum cuncta sed etiam integra et vera pervenerint.
4. Finally, I have now also written to the man himself something that, unless I am mistaken, he will take bitterly, but which may perhaps afterward profit him unto salvation. I have also written a lengthy letter about him to the bishops Eulogius and John, and briefly to the holy priest Passerio; and I gave these in charge in such a way that everything should be brought to your Sincerity. And whatever opportunity next presents itself, I will see to it, with the Lord's help, that copies of all those same letters, signed in my own hand—which I trust is very well known to you—are sent to your Brotherhood, so that you may know and write back to me whether all of them, and indeed whole and genuine, have reached you.
Ep211-270.4EPISTOLA 20*
DOMINAE RELIGIOSISSIMAE ET REVERENTISSIMAE AC PRAESTANTISSIMAE FILIAE FABIOLAE AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINAE RELIGIOSISSIMAE ET REVERENTISSIMAE AC PRAESTANTISSIMAE FILIAE FABIOLAE AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 20*
TO THE MOST RELIGIOUS AND MOST REVEREND AND MOST EXCELLENT LADY, HIS DAUGHTER FABIOLA, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
Ep211-270.4TO THE MOST RELIGIOUS AND MOST REVEREND AND MOST EXCELLENT LADY, HIS DAUGHTER FABIOLA, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
1. Per dominum fratrem meum [***] exhilaratus sum rescriptis Sanctitatis tuae, quibus utinam sine taedio rependerem salutationis alloquium. Nunc vero primitus ipse maerore cruciatus, importunus et molestus factus sum sanctae quieti tuae, sed patienter me tolera; sic proficienter usque in finem in Christi gratia perseveres . Numquam enim tibi oneri litteras meas sed potius iucunditati scio. Ignosce huic epistolae, habet enim multa quae doleas atque in Christo mutua caritate communica mecum dolores meos precesque ad Dominum Deum nostrum ut nos consoletur adiunge. Quis sit Antonino Aug. et viceversa.
1. Through my lord and brother [***] I was gladdened by the reply of your Holiness, to which I wish I could repay the discourse of a greeting without weariness. But now, first crucified by grief myself, I have become importunate and troublesome to your holy repose; yet bear with me patiently—so may you persevere with profit to the end in the grace of Christ. For I know that my letters are never a burden to you but rather a delight. Forgive this letter, for it contains much that you will grieve over; and in Christ share my sorrows with me in mutual love, and join your prayers to mine before the Lord our God, that he may console us.
Ep211-270.12. Filium dilectum et coepiscopum meum Antoninum quam benigna pietate susceperis comperi inopemque eius peregrinationem quam christiana fueris humanitate solata. Accipe igitur quis Antonino sim et quis mihi sit Antoninus et quid ei debeam et quid a te petam: parvulus cum matre et vitrico venit Hipponem; ita pauperes erant, ut quotidiano victu indigerent; denique cum ad opem Ecclesiae confugissent et comperissem, quod adhuc pater viveret Antonini atque illa se alteri a viro suo separata iunxisset, ambobus continentiam persuasi; atque ita ille cum puero in monasterio, illa in matricula pauperum quos sustentat Ecclesia, ac per hoc omnes in Dei misericordia sub cura nostra esse coeperunt. Deinde tempore procedente (ne multis immorer) ille obiit, illa senuit, puer crevit; inter consortes suos lectoris fungebatur officio et talis apparere iam coeperat, ut frater Urbanus, qui tunc apud nos presbyter et praepositus monasterii, nunc vero est Ecclesiae Siccensis episcopus, in quodam fundo amplo et in nostra diocesi constituto eum presbyterum fieri me absente voluerit, quia iniunxeram proficiscens, ut aliquem provideret quem loco illo non exspectato meo reditu vicinus episcopus ordinaret. Quod fieri quidem isto refugiente non potuit. Verumtamen cum id postea comperissem, velut necessarium coepi habere tali muneri, non quod mihi esset quantum oportebat cognitus, sed testimonio praepositi sui. Cur Aug. Fussalensi castello Antoninum ordinandum obtulerit.
2. I have learned with what kindly devotion you received my beloved son and fellow bishop Antoninus, and with what Christian humanity you consoled the poverty of his journey. Receive, then, who Antoninus is to me and who I am to him, and what I owe him and what I ask of you. As a small child he came to Hippo with his mother and stepfather; they were so poor that they lacked daily food. At length, when they had taken refuge in the help of the Church, and I had learned that Antoninus's father was still living and that the mother, separated from her own husband, had joined herself to another man, I persuaded both to continence; and so the man with the boy lived in the monastery, the woman among the roll of the poor whom the Church supports, and thus all of them began to be under our care in the mercy of God. Then, as time went on (not to dwell on many details), the man died, the woman grew old, the boy grew up; he discharged the office of reader among his companions and had already begun to show such promise that brother Urbanus—who was then a priest with us and prior of the monastery, but is now bishop of the Church of Sicca—wished, in my absence, to have him made a priest on a certain large estate situated in our diocese, because on setting out I had enjoined him to provide someone whom the neighboring bishop might ordain for that place without waiting for my return. This indeed could not be done, since Antoninus shrank from it. Yet when I afterward learned of it, I began to regard him as suited, as it were, to such a charge—not that he was known to me as fully as he ought to have been, but on the testimony of his prior.
Ep211-270.23. Interea cum regendae sicut necessitas exigebat parochiae latissimae non sufficerem, quoniam non solum in civitatem multi homines, verum etiam in agris multae plebes accesserant ex parte Donati, pertractato cum fratribus consilio visum mihi est, ut in quodam Fussalensi castello quod Hipponiensi cathedrae subiacebat, aliquis ordinaretur episcopus, ad quem cura regionis illius pertineret. Misi ad primae sedis episcopum; venire dignatus est; ad horam nos deseruit presbyter quem mihi habere paratum videbar. Quid tunc si bene agerem, nisi tam magnum opus differre deberem? Sed timens ne sine effectu redeunte a nobis sancto sene, qui vix ad nos de longinquo venerat, animi omnium, quibus illud ut fieret necessarium fuerat, frangerentur et invenirent quos inimici Ecclesiae frustrati nostri operis irrisione deciperent, istum qui aderat, quia et linguam Punicam scire audieram, ordinandum ut offerrem utilem credidi, et cum offerrem creditum est mihi. Neque enim eum ultro petierunt, sed tamquam unum de meis qui mihi placebat repudiare non ausi sunt. Antoninus repentino honore subvectus, dominandi insolentia inflatus.
3. Meanwhile, since I could not, as necessity required, govern so very wide a parish—for not only had many people in the city, but also many congregations in the countryside, come over from the party of Donatus—after deliberating the matter with the brothers, it seemed good to me that in a certain fort called Fussala, which was subject to the see of Hippo, someone should be ordained bishop to whom the care of that region would belong. I sent to the bishop of the first see; he deigned to come; at the very hour the priest whom I thought I had ready deserted me. What was I then to do, if I were to act rightly, except to put off so great a work? But fearing that, if the holy old man—who had barely come to us from afar—returned from us without result, the resolve of all those for whom this had been necessary would be broken, and that they would find people whom the enemies of the Church, mocking the frustration of our effort, might lead astray, I believed it useful to offer for ordination this man who was present, since I had also heard that he knew the Punic tongue; and when I offered him, I was trusted. For they did not ask for him of their own accord, but, since he was one of my own who pleased me, they did not dare to refuse him.
Ep211-270.34. Ingessi ergo tantae sarcinae adolescentem non multo amplius quam viginti aetatis annos agentem nullis ante gestis clericatus gradibus comprobatum et in his mihi quae de illo prius cognosci oportebat ignotum. Vides nempe meum grande peccatum; quae consecuta sunt intuere: expavit adolescentis animus nullis laborum praecedentibus meritis repentino episcopatus honore subvectus; deinde videns clericos et populos sibi esse subiectos, quantum res ipsa docuit, insolentia dominationis inflatus est et nihil docens verbo, se imperio ad cuncta compellens gaudebat se terribilem ubi amabilem non videbat. Idem ad insolentiam exercendam duos monachos adiutores adhibet.
4. I thrust, then, upon so great a burden a young man scarcely more than twenty years of age, proved by no prior grades of the clerical office and, in the very things about him that I ought to have known beforehand, unknown to me. You see, of course, my great sin; look at what followed. The young man's mind took fright, raised by no preceding merits of labor to the sudden honor of the episcopate; then, seeing clergy and people subject to him, he was puffed up—as the matter itself has taught—with the insolence of domination, and, teaching nothing by word but driving himself to everything by command, he rejoiced to be feared where he saw himself not loved.
Ep211-270.45. Quam personam ut impleret, congruos sibi homines inquisivit. Erat in monasterio nostro ex notario meo quidam qui me gemente non bonus evaserat et a praeposito monasterii eo quod inventus fuerit solus hora importuna cum quibusdam sanctimonialibus loquens, plagis coercitus contemptibilis habebatur. Iste deserto monasterio ad episcopum de quo agimus mox ut se contulit, ab illo presbyter ordinatus est me inconsulto atque nesciente. Nam prius audivi factum quam futurum credere potuissem, etiamsi mihi aliquis cui credendum fuerat indicasset. Tum vero cor meum, cum eversionem per eum quandoque affuturam illius Ecclesiae formidarem, quantus maeror invaserit credas velim, quia explicare non possum. Dedi tamen operam occasione comperta eodem ipso episcopo de tali suo presbytero querelas apud me gravissimas depromente, ut illi communio non esset, sed patriae suae unde mihi fuerat datus redderetur. Et factum erat, sed nescio quomodo me rursus inconsulto eum suae coniunctioni amicitiaeque restituit; alium quoque diaconum fecit recto quidem ordine de monasterio sibi datum, sed nisi iam diaconus non apparuit inquietus. Per malos socios multa rapuit depraedatusque est.
5. To fulfill this role, he sought out men suited to himself. There was in our monastery a certain man, formerly one of my notaries, who—to my grief—had turned out not good, and who, because he had been found alone at an improper hour talking with certain consecrated women, had been disciplined with blows and was held in contempt. As soon as this man had deserted the monastery and betaken himself to the bishop of whom we are speaking, he was ordained priest by him, without my counsel and without my knowledge. For I heard the deed done before I could have believed it would happen, even if someone whom I had to believe had told me of it. Then indeed how great a grief invaded my heart—since I dreaded the destruction that would one day come upon that Church through him—I would have you believe, for I cannot put it into words. Yet I took pains, when an opportunity came—the very bishop bringing the gravest complaints to me about such a priest of his—to have him barred from communion and sent back to his own homeland, from which he had been given to me. And it was done; but somehow, again without consulting me, the bishop restored him to his fellowship and friendship. He also made another a deacon—one given to him from the monastery in due order, indeed, but who, once a deacon, proved nothing if not unruly.
Ep211-270.56. Per hos duos clericos, presbyterum et diaconum, et per Ecclesiae defensorem et per quemdam alium sive exmilitem sive desertorem cui familiarius imperabat et per eos quos eiusdem castelli homines ad nocturnas custodias vigiles fecerat eisque, ubi manu aliqua paulo numerosiore opus fuerat, utebatur, quae mala castellum illud et circumquaque vicina pertulerint, potest utcumque cognoscere quem gesta legere non piguerit quae apud episcopos in Ecclesia Hipponiensi, ubi et ipse consedi, multorum per libellos deploratione confecta sunt. Inveniet illic querimonias miserabiles pauperum marium atque feminarum et, quod est gravius, viduarum quas nec ipsum nomen quod praecipue defendendum nobis sancta Scriptura commendat nec saltem senilis aetas potuit a rapinis et depraedationibus et nefandis iniuriis quae per illos fiebant aliquatenus communire. Pecuniam, suppellectilem, vestem, pecora, fructus, ligna, denique et lapides ut quisque in eorum manus incurrerat amittebat; quorumdam occupabantur domus, quorumdam etiam deiciebantur, ut inde auferrentur quae fabricarum novarum constructio postulabat; emebantur aliqua nec pretium reddebatur; quorumdam invadebantur agri et, ablatis per aliquot annos fructibus, reddebantur; quidam vero eorum usque ad episcopale iudicium retenti atque possessi sunt. Florum scelerum perpauca purgata, multa vero partim excusata dilataque sunt.
6. Through these two clerics, the priest and the deacon, and through the defender of the Church, and through a certain other man—whether an ex-soldier or a deserter—whom he commanded more intimately, and through those whom he had made night watchmen from the men of the same fort, and whom he used wherever some slightly larger force of hands was needed: what evils that fort and the neighborhood all around endured, anyone may in some measure learn who does not find it tedious to read the records that were drawn up before the bishops in the Church of Hippo, where I myself also sat, from the laments of many recorded in petitions. He will find there the wretched complaints of poor men and women and—what is graver—of widows, whom not even the very name that Sacred Scripture especially commends to us to defend, nor even old age, could in any degree protect from the robberies and plunderings and unspeakable injuries that were done through these men. Money, household goods, clothing, livestock, crops, timber, finally even stones—whatever fell into their hands a person lost; the houses of some were seized, the houses of others even pulled down, so that from them might be carried off what the construction of new buildings demanded; some things were bought and the price not paid; the fields of some were invaded and, after the crops had been carried off for several years, given back; and certain of their fields were even held and possessed right up to episcopal judgment.
Ep211-270.67. Multa praeter illa quae comprehensa sunt gestis et nos ex aliqua parte cognovimus et per illas terras eorum qui perpessi sunt non murmurantium gemitibus sed vociferantium clamoribus iactitantur et ingeruntur probanda, si iudices ibi sedeant ubi paupertas non fatigetur illorum aut etiam qui sederint audire cuncta sufficiant, cum ista quae nos gestis ecclesiasticis audivimus recensere vix quisquam perduret. Quorum quidem perpauca utcumque purgata sunt, multa vero partim propter eorum, per quos facta sunt, absentiam excusata atque dilata sunt. Illorum autem clericorum, presbyteri scilicet et diaconi, quemadmodum praesentia episcopali iudicio subtracta sit et adhuc usque subtrahatur, longum est dicere. Tenentur tamen verba eius, ubi eos a se admonitos ut venirent, quia cum illo erant, eoque pervenire noluisse ipse confessus est. Antoninus iussus est tantum direpta restituere integra episcopatu.
7. Besides those things that were entered in the records, we have learned in some part of many others as well, and through those lands they are tossed about and pressed for proof by the groans—not the murmurs—of those who suffered them, but rather by their shouted outcries, if only judges would sit there where the poverty of those people is not worn out, or if those who do sit could manage to hear it all, since scarcely anyone can hold out to review even the things we heard in the ecclesiastical records. Of these, indeed, very few were in any way cleared up, while many were partly excused and put off on account of the absence of those through whom they had been done. But how the presence of those clerics—the priest, that is, and the deacon—was withdrawn from episcopal judgment, and is still being withdrawn, would be long to tell. Yet his own words are on record, where he himself confessed that, though they were with him, they refused to come, even though he had warned them to come.
Ep211-270.78. Nos vero restitui quidem direpta praecepimus, sed episcopo episcopatum suum salvum integrumque servavimus, mala illa ne omnino impunita remanerent et adhuc vel illi sequenda vel aliis relinquerentur imitanda, hactenus vindicantes ut sederet quidem episcopus in aliqua cathedrarum suarum, ne in alienam contra canones diceretur esse translatum, non tamen Fussalensibus invitis ulterius praesideret. Hoc vindictae genus puto quod et beneficium deputandum est, ne cum eis nolentibus viveret, quorum amarissima odia periculosissime exulceraret eius ipsa praesentia. Non eum sane communicare censuimus, nisi prius redderentur ablata. Hanc sententiam nostram et ipse amplexus est usque adeo, ut neque provocaverit et post paucissimos dies mutuatos pro direptis solidos reposuerit, ne illi communio diutius negaretur. Et multi fratres ac filii nostri qui eum nobiscum propterea miserabantur, quia de magnis et capitalibus quattuor stuprorum criminibus quae non ei Fussalenses sed alii quidem nonnullis causis ab eo laesi vel obiecerant vel obicienda curaverant valde probabili est veritate purgatus, ita de illo esse iudicatum fraterna exsultatione gratulati sunt. Idem, praeter octo plebes illi deputatas, extorsit et Thogonoetensem.
8. We, for our part, ordered the plundered goods to be restored, but we preserved the bishop's episcopate safe and whole for him—lest those evils remain altogether unpunished and be left either for him to pursue further or for others to imitate—going so far in our punishment only as to require that the bishop should indeed sit in one of his cathedral seats, lest he be said to have been transferred to another contrary to the canons, but should not preside any longer over the people of Fussala against their will. This kind of punishment I think is to be reckoned even a benefit, that he should not live among them against their will and most dangerously inflame by his very presence their most bitter hatreds. We decided, to be sure, that he should not be admitted to communion until the things taken away were first restored. He embraced this sentence of ours to such a degree that he neither appealed and, after very few days, paid back coin borrowed in place of the plunder, lest communion be denied him any longer. And many of our brothers and sons, who pitied him along with us—since, of the great and capital charges of four acts of fornication that not the Fussalans but certain others, injured by him in various matters, had either brought or seen to having brought against him, he was, with a very probable truth, cleared—rejoiced with brotherly exultation that it had been so judged about him.
Ep211-270.89. Rogavit etiam per libellum sanctum senem qui primae sedis est in Numidia, ut Fussalensium desiderium quo sibi ordinari episcopum vehementissime flagitabant differre usque ad concilium dignaretur, et distulit. Quo cum ventum esset et omnibus qui aderant impleri nostra statuta placuisset, nec inde provocavit; quod si fecisset, iam tunc sero utique fecisset, quandoquidem a nobis ante aliquot menses non provocaverat. Deinde maior senex misit Fussalam episcopos, coram quibus eligeretur suffragiis quis eis ordinaretur episcopus et ad se ordinandus dirigeretur, et factum est. Sed ubi dies ordinationis illuxit, tunc isti provocare venit in mentem. Adquievit tamen reddita ei ratione a sancto sene et, quia id post tam longum tempus, ex quo de se iudicatum fuerat, faciebat, frustra se facere intellegens consensit, ut octo plebes quae ad Ecclesiam Fussalensem nonnullis causis ad suffragia de ordinando episcopo ferenda convenerant sibi deputarentur. Sed ut rixas iterum seminaret , ex his etiam plebibus quae ad episcopum postulandum Fussalam venerant unam sibi addendam, ut sancti senis litteris adscriberetur, extorsit fundi scilicet Thogonoetensis, ubi haberet cathedram cui suae ceterae subiacerent. Thogonetenses coloni se migraturos minantur, si Antonino deputentur.
9. He also petitioned, by a written request, the holy old man who holds the first see in Numidia, that he would deign to defer until the council the desire of the Fussalans, who were most vehemently demanding that a bishop be ordained for them; and he deferred it. When the council had been reached and it had pleased all who were present that our decisions be carried out, he did not appeal from there either; and if he had, he would even then certainly have done so too late, since he had not appealed from us several months before. Then the senior elder sent bishops to Fussala, in whose presence it should be chosen by votes who would be ordained bishop for them and sent to him to be ordained; and it was done. But when the day of ordination dawned, then it came into this man's mind to appeal. Yet, after the holy old man had given him an account, he acquiesced; and since he was doing this after so long a time had passed since judgment had been given about him, understanding that he was acting in vain, he consented that the eight congregations that had assembled at the Church of Fussala for various reasons to cast votes about ordaining a bishop should be assigned to him. But, so as to sow quarrels once again, he extorted that one even of those congregations that had come to Fussala to request a bishop should be added to him and entered in the letters of the holy old man—namely, the estate of Thogonoetum, where he might have the cathedral seat to which his other congregations would be subject.
Ep211-270.910. Iste autem fundus ita castello propinquus est, ut nihil in eo nisi occasiones litium quibus Ecclesiae pacem perturbaret quaesisse videretur. Porro idem coloni, quia eum de vicinitate iam senserant et cum aliis mala illa pertulerant, scripserunt ad dominam possessionis, si hoc fieri permisisset, se continuo migraturos et ad me similiter, ut pro eis intervenirem ne fieret; propter quos et illa et ego ad senem scripsimus. Tunc Antoninus Romam petiit deditque Bonifacio papae libellum ubi multa tacuit.
10. Now this estate is so near the fort that he seemed to have sought in it nothing but occasions for lawsuits by which he might disturb the peace of the Church. Moreover, these same tenant farmers, since they had already had a taste of him from the neighborhood and had endured those evils along with others, wrote to the lady who owned the estate that, if she allowed this to be done, they would immediately migrate, and likewise to me, asking that I intervene on their behalf so that it should not happen; and on their account both she and I wrote to the old man.
Ep211-270.1011. Iste ergo ubi vidit hoc sibi non fuisse concessum, navigandum putavit portans commendaticias eiusdem maioris senis non tunc acceptas sed antea, cum ei vir gravis simpliciter credidisset, quod nullas omnino culpas haberet et propter liberandos homines quos vicarius tenebat cuperet navigare, mala vero Fussalensium et eorum iustum dolorem nondum de gestis perspicue cognovisset. Dedit ergo libellum venerabili Papae Bonifatio, ubi se ex die quo de illo iudicatum est communicasse mentitus est (sicut enim supra commemoravi excommunicatus erat, donec ea quae Fussalensibus ablata fuerant redderentur; propter quod post paucos quidem, sed tamen post aliquot dies solidos reposuerat, ut ei communio redderetur) tacuit etiam universum necessarium causae ordinem rerum et impetravit litteras plane cautissimas. Episcopis iudicantibus claruit quid Antoninus praetermiserat in libello ad papam misso.
11. So when this man saw that this had not been granted to him, he thought he should sail, carrying letters of recommendation from the same senior elder—not received then but earlier, when that grave man had simply believed that Antoninus had no faults at all and wished to sail for the sake of freeing men whom the vicar was holding, but had not yet learned clearly from the records the evils done to the Fussalans and their just grief. He gave, then, a petition to the venerable bishop Boniface, in which he lied that, from the day on which judgment was given about him, he had been in communion (for, as I have noted above, he had been excommunicated until the things taken from the Fussalans should be restored; on which account, after a few—but still some—days, he had paid back the coin so that communion might be restored to him); he also kept silent about the whole necessary sequence of the matters of the case, and obtained letters that were certainly most cautiously worded.
Ep211-270.1112. Iudices enim dedit venerandae memoriae Papa Bonifatius, qui cognoscerent utrum ratio fulciretur asserta, utrum ordinem rerum fideliter indicasset, utrum ita res essent quemadmodum in sui libelli tenore posuisset; tum demum ei Fussalensis Ecclesia redderetur tamquam non habenti culpas, propter quas illi iuste fuisset ablata. Convenerunt in quemdam Numidiae locum, hoc est Ecclesiam Tegulatensem, qui venire potuerunt; erant ibi et alii quos non petiverat alias veniendi causas habentes et, quamvis postulatus ab eo numerus episcoporum non fuisset impletus, dixit tamen eos sibi sufficere. Aderamus et nos, frater scilicet Alypius et ego, litteris primatis ammoniti, non ut de illo iudicaremus iterum (quid enim esset improbius), sed ut, si res posceret, rationem nostri iudicii redderemus; quae referrentur ad Apostolicam Sedem. Recitata ergo sunt quae portavit; exposuit causam Numidiae primatus senex Aurelius cur episcopum Fussalensibus ordinasset. In qua eius expositione claruit quae ille praetermiserat, ut tales de Roma litteras impetraret, et quia non fideliter indicavit ordinem rerum. Fussalensium adversus Antoninum querelis lectis, alias iniustas condiciones ille producit.
12. For the bishop Boniface, of venerable memory, appointed judges to determine whether the account he asserted was sound, whether he had faithfully set forth the sequence of events, whether matters were as he had stated in the wording of his petition; and only then would the Church of Fussala be restored to him, as to one having no faults on account of which it had been justly taken from him. Those who could come gathered at a certain place in Numidia, that is, the Church of Tegulata; there were present there also others whom he had not summoned, having other reasons for coming; and, although the number of bishops requested by him had not been met, he nevertheless said that they were sufficient for him. We too were present, namely brother Alypius and I, summoned by the letters of the primate—not to judge him again (for what could be more improper?), but so that, if the matter required, we might render an account of our judgment, which would be reported to the Apostolic See. So the things he had brought were read out; the old man Aurelius, primate of Numidia, set forth the reason why he had ordained a bishop for the Fussalans. And in his exposition there came to light the things this man had omitted in order to obtain such letters from Rome, and that he had not faithfully reported the sequence of events.
Ep211-270.1213. Tum petivit episcopus Antoninus, ut ingrederetur presbyter quem miserant Fussalenses; quo ingresso recitatae sunt litterae presbyterorum et Fussalensium. Quas ubi vidit adversum se miserabilium querelarum esse plenissimas, propter quas eum episcopum recipere modis omnibus recusarent quo iuste recte[que] caruissent, ab eis missas esse non credidit et rogavit sanctum senem, ut ad loca ipsa cum aliquibus e numero episcoporum qui ei concessi fuerant dignaretur ipse accedere et presbyterorum ac populi animos explorare sub illa conditione ut, si Fussalenses de illo suscipiendo referrent, contra voluntatem acciperet plebem Thogonoetensem illis octo additam plebibus quas antea iam tenebat, a me etiam peteret sanctus senex, ut alias de eis quinque, quas illi citra acta promiseram ut Fussalensibus non esset infestus, etiam gestis promittendo firmarem. Aurelius gestis promittit tantum se Fussalam iturum.
13. Then the bishop Antoninus petitioned that the priest whom the Fussalans had sent be admitted; and when he had entered, the letters of the priests and of the Fussalans were read out. When Antoninus saw that these were full of wretched complaints against him, on account of which they refused in every way to receive him as bishop—of whom they had been justly and rightly rid—he did not believe that they had been sent by them, and he asked the holy old man to deign to go himself to those very places with some of the number of bishops who had been granted to him, and to explore the dispositions of the priests and the people, on this condition: that, if the Fussalans should refer to receiving him, he would accept against their will the people of Thogonoetum added to those eight congregations that he already held before; and that the holy old man should also ask of me to confirm, by recording it as well, what I had promised them apart from any formal record concerning five others of those congregations, so that he would not be hostile to the Fussalans.
Ep211-270.1314. Quod cum sine ulla difficultate fecissem, velut cum pace discessum est, nisi quod videbam Thogonoetensem locum non minus quam Fussalenses ei resistere nec eum possessionis dominam concessuram quod et venerabili seni Aurelio videbatur. Denique illis gestis promisit quidem senex, sicut rogatus erat, Fussalam se esse venturum, plebem vero Thogonoetensem illis ei gestis nemo promisit; eiusdemque episcopi Antonini posterior prosecutio talis fuit, ut episcopi ex Fussalensium responsione quid fieri deberet agnoscerent. Antonino, absente Aug., plebes viciniores Fussalae concessae.
14. When I had done this without any difficulty, we parted as if in peace, except that I saw that the place of Thogonoetum was resisting him no less than the Fussalans, and that the lady owner would not grant it—which seemed so also to the venerable old man Aurelius. Finally, the old man promised in those records, as he had been asked, that he would come to Fussala; but no one promised him in those records the people of Thogonoetum; and the bishop Antoninus's further pursuit of the matter was such that the bishops might recognize from the Fussalans' response what ought to be done.
Ep211-270.1415. Post aliquot dies sicut placuerat ventum est Fussalam; aderant cum sene duo episcopi quos ex illis qui fuerant in urbe petiit, itemque concessi [quos] viciniores eidem castello potuit invenire; alii quoque tres pro obsequio sicut fieri solet comitabantur senem. Ego aberam, quia nec Fussalenses videre audeo quibus post nostrum iudicium accepto episcopo iam quietis et per huius inquietudinem denuo sollicitatis etiam ipse odiosus effectus sum; a quo sibi tantam calamitatem importatam non iam presso murmure mussitant, sed apertis vocibus atque ululatibus clamant, et iste ipse me nihil aliud quam inimicum suum nimis ingrato animo suspicatur. Aberat ad propria remeans etiam frater Alypius. Tegulatensis plebs ab episcopis interrogata acerba nimis invenitur.
15. After some days, as had been agreed, they came to Fussala. There were with the old man two bishops whom he had requested from among those who had been in the city, and likewise others granted to him, the nearest to that fort whom he was able to find; three others also accompanied the old man as an escort, as is customary. I was absent, because I do not dare even to see the Fussalans, to whom—now at rest after our judgment, with their bishop accepted, and again disturbed by this man's restlessness—I myself have become hateful; they no longer mutter under suppressed murmur about the great calamity brought upon them by him, but cry out with open voices and wailings; and this very man, with a most ungrateful mind, suspects me to be nothing other than his enemy. Brother Alypius too was absent, returning to his own affairs.
Ep211-270.1516. Itaque sub conspectu sex episcoporum frequenti alacritate concurrens plebs illa interrogata est et talis inventa qualis ad Ecclesiam Thegulatensem presbyterum [cum] litteris miserat, immo etiam vehementior et acerbior. Volens enim eos iste ante terrere quid fecerit non opus est scribere; ipse tibi si obstringatur fortasse fatebitur, quamvis et hi qui nostras litteras tradunt possunt Reverentiae tuae id fideliter indicare. Interrogata itaque multitudo una die cum satis expressisset quid de isto sentiret, episcopi sui praesentiam molestissime flagitavit, quia nec ipse aderat quando prima facta est inquisitio. Interposito itaque uno die suo quoque episcopo iam praesente multa contra istum pro se responderunt, multa clamaverunt, cuncta conscripta sunt. Thogonoetensis fundi domina litteris Antonini aperit fallaciam.
16. And so, under the sight of six bishops, that people, gathering with frequent eagerness, was questioned and found to be such as it had shown itself when it sent a priest with letters to the Church of Tegulata—indeed even more vehement and bitter. For what he did, wishing first to terrify them, there is no need to write; he himself, perhaps, will confess it to you if he is pressed, although those who deliver our letters can also faithfully report it to your Reverence. So when the multitude had been questioned and on one day had sufficiently expressed what it thought of this man, it most insistently demanded the presence of its own bishop, since he had not been present when the first inquiry was made. And so, with one day intervening and their own bishop now present, they answered much against this man on their own behalf, cried out much, and everything was written down.
Ep211-270.1617. Deinde scripsit ad me senex, ut ei ad aliquem locum occurrerem, ubi simul omnes quid fieret videremus. Quo cum pergerem, in itinere litteras clarissimae feminae cuius est Thogonoetensis fundus accepi indicantis scripsisse sibi hominem suum quod ei sanctus senex dixerit ab episcopo Antonino se audisse eam consensisse, ut sit Thogonoeto; "Quod ego - inquit - non novi. Magis cum ad me venisset, ipse me rogavit, ut non consentirem". Hanc religiosae mulieris epistolam mecum portavi, cum valde necessariam perviderem, quamvis iam hoc eum fecisse cognoveram, sed quo certo indicio convinci posset, si negaret absente illa honoranda femina, non videbam. De fallacia frustra se excusare nititur Antoninus.
17. Then the old man wrote to me to meet him at some place where together we might all see what was being done. As I was going there, on the journey I received a letter from the most distinguished woman to whom the estate of Thogonoetum belongs, indicating that her man had written to her that the holy old man had told him he had heard from the bishop Antoninus that she had consented that Thogonoetum should be his. "This," she says, "I never knew. Rather, when he had come to me, he himself asked me not to consent." This letter of the religious woman I carried with me, since I saw it to be very necessary—although I had already come to know that he had done this, but I did not see by what sure proof he could be convicted if he denied it in the absence of that honorable woman.
Ep211-270.1718. Cum igitur convenissemus ad quemdam locum a Fussalensi castello, quo ego venire nolebam, decem milibus remotum, omnes cum illo ut quisque poterat agere coepimus, ne ulterius perturbationem et eversionem catholicus episcopus Christianis catholicis moliretur. Et cum de illo Thogonoetensi fundo agi coeptum esset, dominae possessionis epistolam protuli; qua lecta cum omnes fratres et coepiscopi nostri qui aderant horrere coepissent eumque graviter obiurgare, respondit non se ita dixisse sed, cum illa prior diceret non se illum concessuram locum, se non petentis sed indignantis voce dixisse: "Si non vis, noli concedere; nec ego volo". Inde ad alia verba transitum est quibus agebamus, si fieri posset, ut alia duo loca pro illo fundo acciperet et ex his quae iam coeperant ad Fussalensem episcopum pertinere nemini ulterius esset molestus; sed fieri non potuit omnibus eum vehementissime recusantibus. Thogonoetensis fundi domina altera epistola Antonini fallaciam confirmat.
18. When, therefore, we had come together to a certain place ten miles distant from the fort of Fussala, to which I was unwilling to go, we all began, each as best he could, to plead with him not to contrive any further disturbance and overthrow for catholic Christians, a catholic bishop. And when discussion had begun about that estate of Thogonoetum, I produced the letter of the lady owner; and when, on its being read, all our brothers and fellow bishops who were present began to be horrified and to rebuke him gravely, he answered that he had not said it so, but that, when she said first that she would not grant him the place, he had said, in the voice not of one asking but of one indignant: "If you do not wish to, do not grant it; I do not wish it either." From there we passed to other proposals, by which we sought, if it could be done, that he should accept two other places in exchange for that estate and be no longer troublesome to anyone of those that had already begun to belong to the bishop of Fussala; but it could not be done, since they all most vehemently refused him.
Ep211-270.1819. Fuimus et in quodam loco ex illis octo qui ei fuerant deputati et ubi sine ulla controversia praesidebat. Cunductor enim fundi eius ut conveniremus rogaverat et ibi cum illo multa se frustra egimus. Ubi sane alias dominae possessionis Thogonoetensis litteras sumpsi, quia ei rescripseram quid ille responderit atque petiveram, ut ex ordine ibi per epistolam quemadmodum res gesta fuerit indicaret. Scripsit autem primum per generum suum sibi hoc ab illo esse mandatum quod eam rogaret, ut hoc ei beneficium praesentaretur, ne consentiret ut esset Thogonoeto neque ut in diocesi eius esset, si alibi praeter Fussalam sederet episcopus; postea et ore suo id eum a se petisse firmavit. Huius autem testes non solum generum suum sed etiam episcopum loci ubi tunc erant apertissime scripsit. Aug. primatem orat ut communionem redderet Thogonoetensibus qui apud ipsum tumultuati erant.
19. We were also in a certain one of those eight places that had been assigned to him and where he presided without any controversy. For the manager of his estate had asked us to meet there, and there too we did much with him in vain. There, to be sure, I took another letter from the lady owner of Thogonoetum, since I had written back to her what he had answered and had asked her to indicate in order, by a letter there, how the matter had been carried out. She wrote, first, that through her son-in-law this had been charged to her by him: that he should ask her to grant him this favor, not to consent that Thogonoetum be his, nor that it be in his diocese, if the bishop should sit somewhere other than Fussala; afterward she confirmed that he had asked this of her also with his own mouth. And of this she most openly wrote not only her son-in-law but also the bishop of the place where they then were as witnesses.
Ep211-270.1920. Qua epistola coram fratribus recitata ita perturbatus est, ut nihil mihi praeter convicium responderet. Et quoniam mihi senex dixerat eum fuisse conquestum, quia die, qua posterius interrogatus est populus Fussalensis, praesens eorum episcopus fuit, etiam tertio illos eo absente consuli placuit segregatim colonos uniuscuiusque cum actoribus vel procuratoribus sine conductoribus suis. Sed ad Fussalam per Thogonoetum fuerat transeundum me multum rogante ut eis communionem redderet, quia cum adversus episcopum Antoninum apud eum graviter tumultuarentur, excommunicaverat eos; et vehementer timebam ne per tristitiam rusticanam penitus interirent. Sic enim relicti erant inter ambos episcopos, ut eos in aliquibus apostatare coepisse cognoverim. Unde horrendum vulnus cordis mei augeri metuebam et sanari quantocius festinabam. Cum primates interrogasset Christifideles quid eos Antoninus laesisset, omnes abierunt.
20. When this letter had been read out before the brothers, he was so disturbed that he answered me nothing but abuse. And since the old man had told me that he had complained that, on the day on which the people of Fussala were last questioned, their bishop was present, it was decided that they should be consulted a third time in his absence, the tenant farmers of each estate separately, with their stewards or agents, without their managers. But we had to pass through Thogonoetum on the way to Fussala, with me earnestly asking that he restore communion to them, since, when they had gravely rioted against the bishop Antoninus before him, he had excommunicated them; and I greatly feared that through rustic sadness they might utterly perish. For they had been so left between the two bishops that I had come to know that they had begun to apostatize in some places. Hence I feared that the dreadful wound of my heart would grow, and I hastened to heal it as quickly as possible.
Ep211-270.2021. Quo cum ad vesperam veniremus, alio die vidimus eos in ecclesia congregatos. Sed ubi eis de Antonino episcopo sermonem facere venerandus senex verbis Punicis coepit, voluntatem illam suam magnis clamoribus ediderunt et, cum ab eis quaesisset quid eos laeserit cui tanta obstinatione resisterent, singuli quae passi fuerant coeperunt dicere. Qui cum iuberentur nominatim gestis id agere, responderunt se timere ne innotescerent ei quos singillatim persequeretur et perderet. Verum cum id potius quod dictum fuerat facere iuberentur, repente omnes relictis nobis cum invidiosissimis gemitibus abscesserunt, ita ut nec feminarum saltem sanctimonialium aliqua remaneret. Quis effari valeat quanto sumus omnes timore turbati ne nobis in Christi iudicio perditio eorum gravior ad collum quam mola illa asinaria, quae in Evangelio est , ligaretur. Vix revocati sunt promittente sene de dando eis episcopo nihil facturum se esse quod nollent. Fussalenses dedignant singillatim interrogari de Antonini sceleribus
21. When we had come there toward evening, on the next day we saw them gathered in the church. But when the venerable old man began, in Punic words, to make a discourse to them about the bishop Antoninus, they declared that will of theirs with great outcries; and when he had asked them what wrong he had done them, that they resisted him with such obstinacy, each began to tell what he had suffered. When they were ordered to do this by name in the records, they answered that they were afraid lest those become known to him whom he would persecute and ruin one by one. But when they were ordered rather to do what had been said, suddenly they all, leaving us, departed with most resentful groans, so that not even any of the consecrated women remained. Who can express how greatly we were all troubled with fear, lest in the judgment of Christ their ruin be bound to our neck more heavily than that millstone of the ass that is in the Gospel? (See Matt 18:6)
Ep211-270.2122. Cum igitur de ecclesia post divina peracta egressi fuissemus, invenimus et Fussalenses duos cum libello eorum missos, per quem dixerunt rumorem ad se pervenisse, quod eos segregatim interrogare vellemus, cum voluntas eorum iam totiens sine discrepantia claruisset quem episcopum teneant nec aliud se singillatim esse dicturos quam quod simul universi dicere potuerunt. Sed si hoc ideo fieret, ut eorum noverit inimicus nominibus designatis quos persequi debeat, intellegendum esse nobis hac regula se morti esse tradendos; et utique debere sufficere quod eorum animas occiderimus dando eis Antoninum; non etiam corpora eorum a nobis esse tradenda, ut per Antoninum iterum moriantur. In eodem libello id quoque posuerunt ut, si hoc nobis videretur, denuo causam iuberemus audiri redditis libellis suis quos adversus Antoninum Hippone Regio tradiderunt et cetera quae commemorare longum est. Verum quia dici potuit libellum istum non habuisse populi voluntatem, sed ab aliquo uno vel duobus vel certe a paucissimis esse directum, veniendi ad eos non visum est mutandum esse consilium. Fussalensium quaerelae scriptae etiam adversus Aug. quasi malorum suorum auctorem.
22. When, therefore, we had gone out from the church after the divine offices were finished, we found also two of the Fussalans sent with a petition of theirs, through which they said that a rumor had reached them that we wished to question them separately, although their will had already so often appeared without discrepancy as to which bishop they hold, and that they would say nothing one by one other than what all together had been able to say. But if this were being done in order that their enemy might know by their designated names whom he ought to persecute, then we must understand that by this rule they were being handed over to death; and that surely it ought to be enough that we had killed their souls by giving them Antoninus—their bodies too were not to be handed over by us, so that through Antoninus they might die a second time. In the same petition they also set down this: that, if it seemed good to us, we should order the case to be heard anew, with their petitions restored which they had submitted against Antoninus at Hippo Regius, and other things that it would be long to recount. But since it could be said that this petition did not have the will of the people, but had been sent by some one or two, or at least by very few, it seemed that the plan of coming to them should not be changed.
Ep211-270.2223. Proinde senex cum quibus oportebat Fussalam meridie perrexit, ego et episcopus eorum in eodem loco mansimus; sequenti autem die, quo populum tertio interrogabat senex nos ad quemdam locum, per quem fuerat inde transiturus, occurrimus atque ibi totum diem illo apud Fussalam constituto peregimus. Post haec venerunt inde ad nos episcopi cum sancto sene portantes miserorum gemitus vocesque conscriptas, in quibus nec mihi putaverunt esse parcendum. Clamaverunt enim etiam de me ipso quae merebar audire, quod ego auctor fuerim tantae calamitatis illorum dando eis hominem quem non petierunt, a quo tantis affligerentur malis. Antoninus plebes sibi datas negat se velle sed hoc gestis scribi renuit.
23. Accordingly, the old man, with those whom it was fitting, went on to Fussala at midday; I and their bishop remained in the same place; but the following day, on which the old man questioned the people a third time, we met him at a certain place through which he was going to pass from there, and there we spent the whole day while he was at Fussala. After this the bishops came from there to us with the holy old man, carrying the groans and the recorded voices of the wretched, in which they did not think even I should be spared. For they cried out even about me myself what I deserved to hear: that I had been the author of so great a calamity of theirs by giving them a man whom they had not asked for, by whom they were afflicted with such great evils.
Ep211-270.2324. Deinde scriptum est ad eumdem Antoninum episcopum et nobis ad quoddam Giluense castellum quo senem certa Ecclesiae necessitas venire cogebat, occurrit; sic enim a nobis recesserat, ut quocumque litteris ammonitus esset occurreret. Ubi cum audisset ab ipsis etiam episcopis, quos inter alios iudices postulavit, quae praesentes viderint et audierint, cumque nihil aliud eum facere debere, si se episcopum cogitaret, omnes ut quisque poterat suaderemus nisi ut quietus regeret eas plebes quae illum sine ullo Ecclesiae scandalo et sine ulla perturbatione susceperant, ille respondit etiam ipsas habere se nolle certumque sibi esse consilium sedere quodam secretissimo loco segregatum a turbis, remotum ab invidia, servientem Deo; idque nobis etiam per testes, quibus hoc prius quam nos videret dixisse narravit, si vellemus, probare cupiebat. Quod animi eius tantum bonum cum facile credere noluissem, dixi ei ut, si veraciter talia cogitaret et diceret, non eum pigeret etiam id offerre misericordiae sacrificium Deo nostro, ut eius Ecclesiam faceret, ablato quem de illo haberet timore, securam istam voluntatem suam episcopalibus exprimens gestis; cumque affirmasset nihil se omnino gestis esse dicturum, saltem scriptis suis id exprimeret diximus; cumque ne hoc quidem se responderet esse facturum, audivit quod debuit non eum veraciter cogitare serviturum se Deo, quando eum delectaret eius, cui serviturus esset, Ecclesiam in tanta timoris perturbatione relinquere. Ab episcopis in angustias adductus, Antoninus iterum se ad Apostolicam Sedem denuntiat.
24. Then a letter was written to the same bishop Antoninus, and he met us at a certain fort, Gilva, to which a definite necessity of the Church was compelling the old man to come; for he had so parted from us that he would meet us wherever he was summoned by letter. There, when he had heard from the very bishops whom he had requested among the other judges what they had seen and heard while present, and when we were all urging him, each as best he could, that he ought, if he thought of himself as a bishop, to do nothing else than to govern peaceably those congregations that had received him without any scandal to the Church and without any disturbance, he answered that he did not wish to have even these, and that his plan was fixed: to sit in some most secret place, separated from the crowds, removed from ill will, serving God; and this he was eager, if we wished, to prove to us through witnesses to whom he said he had said this before he saw us. Since I was unwilling to believe so great a good of his mind easily, I told him that, if he truly thought and said such things, it should not irk him to offer this also as a sacrifice of mercy to our God—to make his Church secure, with the fear it had of him removed—by expressing this settled will of his in episcopal records; and when he had affirmed that he would say nothing at all in the records, we said that he should at least express it in his own writing; and when he answered that he would not do even this, he heard what he ought: that he was not truly thinking of serving God, since it pleased him to leave the Church of him whom he was to serve in such a turmoil of fear.
Ep211-270.2425. Tum vero cum se verbis episcoporum quibus respondere non poterat videret urgeri, tandem aliquando in id quod corde abscondebat erupit atque ait vultu et voce terribili nullo modo sibi persuaderi posse, ut non quocumque modo potest ad Ecclesiam Fussalensem redire moliatur. Quo audito instare sancto seni coepi, ut aliquid cum illo secundum gesta Tegulatensia gestis ecclesiasticis ageretur, quod referri posset ad Apostolicam Sedem. "Nihil ego - inquit - gestis loquor", et turbulentus surrexit atque abiit continuoque rediens turbido corporis et animi motu ad Apostolicam Sedem se denuntiavit iturum, quasi nos ad aliam missuri fueramus quidquid cum illo gestis actum fuisset. Episcopi Apostolicam Sedem litteris celeriter instruendam curant.
25. But then, when he saw himself pressed by the words of the bishops to which he could not reply, at last he burst out into what he was hiding in his heart and said, with terrible face and voice, that he could in no way be persuaded not to strive to return to the Church of Fussala by whatever means he could. Hearing this, I began to press the holy old man that something be done with him, according to the records of Tegulata, in ecclesiastical records, which could be reported to the Apostolic See. "I," he said, "will say nothing in the records," and he rose up in turmoil and went off, and immediately returning, with troubled motion of body and mind, declared that he would go to the Apostolic See—as if we were going to send to another whatever had been transacted with him in the records.
Ep211-270.2526. Restabat itaque, ut Apostolica Sedes directis litteris instrueretur et gestis. Quod ut fieret quanta potuimus celeritate curavimus. Ecce quam longa fabula facti sumus Iudaeis et gentilibus et haereticis et quibuscumque etiam interioribus inimicis utinam sine interitu eorum, ex quibus ab haeresi liberatis iamque in aliquod unitatis lumen respirantibus catholicum nomen facimus odiosum, si eorum infirmitas non saltem hactenus consolabitur, ut episcopum non habeant quem se habere non posse iustis doloribus clamant. Fabiola suadeat Antonino ut gaudeat Deo multos adquirere non se iactare per multos.
26. It remained, therefore, that the Apostolic See should be informed by letters sent and by records. To see that this was done we took care with all the speed we could. See what a long tale we have become to Jews and Gentiles and heretics and whatever inner enemies there are—would that it were without the ruin of those who, freed from heresy and now drawing breath into some light of unity, find the catholic name made hateful by us, unless their weakness will be consoled at least to this extent: that they not have a bishop whom they cry out with just sorrows that they cannot have.
Ep211-270.2627. Haec autem ideo scribenda existimavi ad eximietatem tuam ut, si te viderit quid eum monere debeas, non ignores. Multo quippe consilium vitae aeternae quam praesentis sustentaculum tali inopi melius erogabis; illa namque eleemosyna periculosius indiget cuius egestate etiam salva carne cor moritur . Desinat cupere membris Christi aliorum collectis sanguine dominari. Neque enim ex quo illic episcopus esse coepit, aliqua pertulit a Donatistis vel damna vel vulnera sive ipse sive quispiam presbyterorum aut clericorum aut quorumcumque hominum sub eius regimine positorum. Sed ut talem pacem illic inveniret, quae ibi mala nostri pertulerint horroris est dicere; sufficiant ei plebes quas eum voluit Deus sine scandalo accipere, quarum vel unam pie diligenterque regere magnum apud Deum comparat praemium. Sed haec iste non cogitat qui cupit cum blasphemia nominis Christi et letali gemitu hominum miserorum plebium numerositate gaudere non quaerens adquirere Deo multos, sed se iactare per multos. Alioquin non tanto molimine cuperet facere suos quos videt esse iam Christi. Fabiola ut mater ne taceat Antonino quae dicenda Deus dederit.
27. I thought, then, that these things should be written to your Excellency so that, if he comes to see you, you may not be ignorant of what you ought to admonish him. For you will much better bestow upon such a needy man counsel for eternal life than support for the present; for that alms is more dangerously lacking by whose want the heart dies even while the flesh is safe. Let him cease to desire to lord it over the members of Christ gathered by the blood of others. For ever since he began to be bishop there, he has suffered no losses or wounds from the Donatists, neither he himself nor any of his priests or clerics or any of the men placed under his rule. But what evils our people endured in order that he might find such peace there it is horrifying to tell; let the congregations be enough for him that God willed him to receive without scandal, even one of which, ruled piously and diligently, wins a great reward with God. But this man does not consider this, who desires—with blasphemy of the name of Christ and the deadly groaning of wretched men—to rejoice in a multitude of congregations, seeking not to gain many for God but to vaunt himself through many. Otherwise he would not desire with such effort to make his own those whom he sees to be already Christ's.
Ep211-270.2728. Audiat a te ista, obsecro te, et quanta tibi Dominus dicenda donaverit non taceas homini, de cuius mentis cupio sanitate laetari. Hanc enim prae illo aetatem geris, ut ei decenter exhibeas parentis affectum. Si enim non nimis irato Deo vivit, non in te contemnit consilia matris suae; scio te sic resurrexisse cum Christo, ut quae sursum sunt quaeras non quae super terram ; quaerenti ergo episcopo quae sunt super terram dare non trepides consilium fidele. Tu quippe in hoc saeculo quaeris Deum, ille in Ecclesia quaerit hoc saeculum. Antonini malefacta: 1) praedium vilissime emit ipsius dominum privata custodia claudens.
28. Hear these things from me, I beseech you, and whatever the Lord grants you to say, do not keep silent toward a man of whose soundness of mind I long to rejoice. For you are of such an age in relation to him that you may fittingly show him the affection of a parent. For if he does not live with God too greatly angered, he does not despise in you the counsels of his mother; I know that you have so risen with Christ that you seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth (See Col 3:1-2); do not, then, be afraid to give faithful counsel to a bishop who seeks the things that are upon earth. For you in this world seek God; he in the Church seeks this world.
Ep211-270.2829. Nam, quod forte non crederes, si tibi alius indicasset, non dubitavit villas emere suo nomine, non Ecclesiae, homo qui de monasterio episcopus factus est nihil habens praeter quod ipso die vestiebatur. Quaeris fortassis unde emerit; absit ut dicam de illis rapinis quas se Fussalenses queruntur esse perpessos; illa quae ita rapiebantur continuo consumebantur; sed ei dederam propter suam sustentationem et eorum qui cum illo erant fundum Hipponiensis Ecclesiae in eodem Fussalensi territorio constitutum. Hunc locavit et quinquennii totius accepta pensione pretium quo emere posset invenit. Quid autem de illo venditor apud Imperatorem supplicatione conquestus sit et ad quod periculum causae devenerit quove modo defensor Ecclesiae Fussalensis, apud quem se in custodia deploravit fuisse privata, ut episcopo possessionem vilissime venderet, vix laborantibus nobis poenam publicae damnationis evaserit, quia iam confessus fuerat se id episcopo iubente fecisse, quamvis iste non ut premeret ad vendendum sibi praedium sed propter aliam culpam, ut illa custodia teneretur, iussisse se diceret, si velim narrare, litterarum quis erit finis? 2)Aliam possessiunculam emit consortemque dimidiae partis revenditae fraudat.
29. For—what you would perhaps not believe if another had told you—he did not hesitate to buy estates in his own name, not the Church's, a man who was made bishop from the monastery, having nothing beyond what he was wearing on the very day. You ask, perhaps, from what he bought them; far be it from me to say it was from those robberies that the Fussalans complain they suffered; the things thus seized were consumed at once. But for his support and that of those who were with him I had given him an estate of the Church of Hippo situated in the same territory of Fussala. This he leased out and, having received the rent of a whole five years, found the price with which he could buy. And if I should wish to relate what the seller complained of about him in a petition to the emperor, and to what peril of a lawsuit it came, and how the defender of the Church of Fussala—before whom the seller lamented that he had been held in private custody so that he might sell the property to the bishop at the lowest price—scarcely escaped, with our laboring, the penalty of public condemnation, because he had already confessed that he had done this at the bishop's command (although the bishop said that he had given the order not to press him into selling the property to himself, but, on account of another fault, that he be held in that custody)—if I should wish to tell it, what end would there be to the letter?
Ep211-270.2930. Emit et aliam possessiunculam etiam ipsam nomine suo, sed unde nescio; verum in ea quoque ipsa consortem suum, cum quo pro indiviso dimidium possidebat, per libellum eius in nostro iudicio sic tractasse dictus est, ut totos fructus iste caperet domumque communem tegulis exspoliaret. Audivimus, probatum est nobis, iussimus reddi; fratris etiam sui litteras protulit nobis et in nostro iudicio recitatae sunt scribentis, quod ipsam partem possessionis ut venderet ab episcopo fuisset oppressus nec pretium, quantum debuerat, accepisset. Sed quia nobis non ostendebatur utrum re vera fratris eius esset epistola, inter praesentes utcumque finivimus litem, absenti servavimus actionem. 3) Novi domini domum diruit eiusque truncis partibus novam sibi extruxit.
30. He bought another small property, this too in his own name, but from what means I do not know; and in this very one he is said to have so treated, by his petition in our court, his partner—with whom he possessed an undivided half—that he himself took the whole produce and stripped the common house of its roof tiles. We heard it, it was proved to us, we ordered it restored; he also produced for us, and it was read out in our court, a letter of his brother writing that he had been pressured by the bishop to sell that very share of the property and had not received the price he ought to have. But since it was not made clear to us whether the letter was really his brother's, we settled the suit as best we could between those present, and reserved the action for the one absent.
Ep211-270.3031. Sed iste illam possessionem alteri dedit cuius domum deiecit et omnia quibus constructa fuerat ad aedificium suum transtulit; apud quem hominem ego ipse intercessi, ne in nostro iudicio libello et querela sua gravaret episcopum. Atque ita inter illos privata disceptatione causa finita est, ut ab isto pro eius parte praedium illud unde sua damna compensaret acciperet; et adhuc Fussalensibus dicit ex monacho pauperrimo episcopus: "Reddite mihi domum meam quam in vestro castello aedificavi", quam non sibi utique sed Ecclesiae construere videbatur; atque utinam de bono et de iustis oblationibus, non rapinis! Nam nihil paene in illius domus fabrica esse perhibetur quod non de alieno ablatum esse doceatur et unde ablatum fuerit digito demonstretur. Quam grave sit Aug. cordis vulnus Antonini immodestia.
31. But this man gave that property to another, whose house he pulled down, and transferred to his own building everything of which it had been constructed; with which man I myself intervened, lest he burden the bishop with a petition and complaint of his in our court. And so the case was ended between them by private settlement, on the terms that he should receive from this man, for his share, that estate from which he might recover his own losses; and even now he—a bishop from a most poor monk—says to the Fussalans: "Restore to me my house, which I built in your fort"—a house he was seen to be building not for himself, of course, but for the Church; and would that it were from good and just offerings, not robberies! For almost nothing in the fabric of that house is reported to be that is not shown to have been taken from another's property, and the place from which it was taken pointed out with the finger.
Ep211-270.3132. Verum hinc alia quaestio est: illud ego apud tuam Sinceritatem congemiscere volui, quod iuvenis in monasterio nutritus a nobis qui, quando eum suscepimus, nulla sua reliquit vel pauperibus distribuit vel in communem societatem contulit, nunc tamquam de villis suis domoque gloriatur; et non tantum ista vult facere sua sed ipsum etiam gregem Christi, dum vult esse de numero eorum, de quibus Apostolus ait: Quae sua sunt quaerunt, non quae Iesu Christi ; et quantum hoc vulnus sit cordis mei videt qui sanet. Fabiola Aug. adiuvet pro Antonino et Ecclesia.
32. But from here another question arises; this I wished to lament before your Sincerity: that a young man brought up in the monastery by us—who, when we received him, left nothing of his own, neither distributed to the poor nor contributed to the common society—now glories as it were over his estates and his house; and he wishes to make not only these things his own but even the very flock of Christ, while he wishes to be of the number of those of whom the Apostle says, They seek the things that are their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's (Phil 2:21); and how great a wound of my heart this is, he sees who heals it.
Ep211-270.3233. Per Christum te obsecro et per eius misericordiam et iudicium, ut adiuves me in hac causa et pro ipso et pro Ecclesia. Ad hoc enim te instructam esse volui fortasse loquacius quam modestius, non ut eum oderis, sed potius ut ei veraciter et spiritaliter consulas quantum te Dominus posse voluerit non eum sinendo nocere sibi. Nam cui alteri gravius nocebit quam sibi, si perturbare et subvertere tendit Ecclesiam quam Christo debet adquiri velle, non sibi? Credo illum obtemperaturum sanctae Benignitati tuae nec erecturum adversum te fastus suos, si fons misericordiarum exaudiat pro illo tam crebros et largos fletus meos.
33. Through Christ I beseech you, and through his mercy and judgment, that you help me in this case both for his sake and for the sake of the Church. For to this end I wished you to be instructed—perhaps more talkatively than modestly—not that you should hate him, but rather that you should counsel him truly and spiritually, as far as the Lord has willed you to be able, by not allowing him to harm himself. For to whom else will he do graver harm than to himself, if he strives to disturb and overthrow the Church, which he ought to wish to gain for Christ, not for himself? I believe he will obey your holy Kindness and will not raise his pride against you, if the fountain of mercies hears, on his behalf, my tears, so frequent and so abundant.
Ep211-270.33EPISTOLA 21*
DOMINIS DILECTISSIMIS FILIIS SUPPENSIBUS QUORUM LITTERAS ACCEPI AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINIS DILECTISSIMIS FILIIS SUPPENSIBUS QUORUM LITTERAS ACCEPI AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 21*
TO THE MOST BELOVED LORDS, HIS SONS THE PEOPLE OF SUPPA, WHOSE LETTER I HAVE RECEIVED, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
Ep211-270.33TO THE MOST BELOVED LORDS, HIS SONS THE PEOPLE OF SUPPA, WHOSE LETTER I HAVE RECEIVED, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
1. Cum sciam Deo propitio venerabilem fratrem et coepiscopum meum Honoratum episcopum vos habere, non debuistis praeter eius consilium atque praeceptum ad me litteras dare, sed quoniam hoc petistis, in quo ille vobis sciens ecclesiasticam disciplinam consentire non posset, ideo voluistis ad me praeter eius auctoritatem scribere. Sufficiat ergo Dilectioni vestrae brevissima ista responsio. Non est talis quem poscitis, ut ad vos per eum sicut scripsistis temperantia nostrae perveniat disciplinae; cetera quae de illo putavi ad sanctum fratrem meum, episcopum vestrum, scribenda potius arbitratus sum. Quod si eum habere vultis ut civem, non prohibeo, immo etiam commendo, dum tamen sciatis diaconum esse non posse.
1. Since I know that, by God's favor, you have the venerable brother and my fellow bishop, the bishop Honoratus, you ought not to have sent a letter to me apart from his counsel and command; but because you have asked for this, in which he, knowing ecclesiastical discipline, could not consent to you, you therefore wished to write to me apart from his authority. Let this very brief reply, then, suffice for your Love. The man you ask for is not such that, through him, as you have written, the moderation of our discipline should come to you; the rest of what I thought about him I judged should rather be written to my holy brother, your bishop. But if you wish to have him as a fellow citizen, I do not forbid it—indeed I even commend it—provided you know that he cannot be a deacon.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 22*
COMMONITORIUM FRATRIBUS ALYPIO ET PEREGRINO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
COMMONITORIUM FRATRIBUS ALYPIO ET PEREGRINO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 22*
A MEMORANDUM TO THE BROTHERS ALYPIUS AND PEREGRINUS; AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
Ep211-270.1A MEMORANDUM TO THE BROTHERS ALYPIUS AND PEREGRINUS; AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
1. Pridie Nonas Martias in Numidia, apud Mazacos, concilium Numidarum episcoporum fuit, ubi interesse non potui et aliarum rerum causa et frigoris quod me Sanctitas vestra scit aegerrime sustinere. Tanta ibi autem querela fuit de inopia clericorum propter legem quae cogit eos suarum personarum muneribus reddi, ut per fratres qui convenerant legatos inde ad comitatum mittere cogerentur. Quorum unus frater et coepiscopus noster Petrus cum de nostro litore navigare disponeret, petivit ut ad vestram scriberem Caritatem; qui si eo loco vos invenit, ut possitis in Dei misericordia causam ipsam quia contemnenda non est, aliquid adiuvare, non parum labori eorum praestiterit Dominus. Inopia illa maxime in civitatibus est ubi plebis defensores desunt auctoritate pollentes.
1. On the day before the Nones of March, in Numidia, at Mazaca, there was a council of the bishops of Numidia, at which I could not be present, both because of other matters and because of the cold, which your Holiness knows I bear most ill. But there was such a complaint there about the shortage of clergy, on account of the law that compels them to be assigned to the public services of their persons, that they were compelled, through the brothers who had gathered, to send legates from there to the imperial court. One of these, our brother and fellow bishop Peter, when he was arranging to sail from our shore, asked me to write to your Charity; and if he finds you in such a place that you can, in God's mercy, assist this very cause—since it is not to be despised—in any way, the Lord will have rendered no small help to their labor.
Ep211-270.12. Hoc enim est quod gravius angit omnium nostrum considerationem, quoniam cum idolis serviretur non defuit hominum copia immunitates habentium, per quos sacrilegiorum illorum ministeria supplerentur et superflua redundarent. Nos autem in tantas coartamur angustias, ut non inveniatur genus hominum aut vix inveniatur, unde fiat ordinatio clericorum, maxime in civitatibus ubi aut ordinis viri sunt aut plebei; quos a collegiatis non apud nos posse discerni novit Sanctitas vestra, cum posset ita omnibus necessitatibus consuli, ut numerus constitueretur quotam partem hominum de quanta universitate ordinari liceret. Unde autem hoc tempore deficiant ordines parum attenditur; quia scilicet defensores desunt qui eos ab improbitate personarum potentiorum, a quibus conteruntur, utcumque tueantur et leges pro eis latas adversus eos, a quibus contemnuntur, asserere valeant idonea dignitate suffulti et a suis civibus electi, apud quos habuerint existimationem bonam, ut in eis sit et probitas et auctoritas. Qui cum desunt civitatibus vel territoriis ad easdem civitates pertinentibus, nos pro ipsis miseris frustra gemimus quibus subvenire non possumus. Quam difficile sit episcopis pauperes defendere ab improbis nequam.
2. For this is what more gravely vexes the reflection of us all: that, when idols were being served, there was no lack of an abundance of men holding exemptions, through whom the ministries of those sacrilegious rites were supplied and even overflowed; but we are hemmed into such straits that there is found, or scarcely found, no kind of men from whom the ordination of clergy may be made, especially in the cities, where there are either men of the curial order or commoners—men who among us cannot be distinguished from members of guilds, as your Holiness knows—whereas provision could be made for all needs in this way, that a number be fixed determining what proportion of men out of a given total it would be permitted to ordain. But why ordinations should be failing at this time is little attended to; namely, because there are lacking defenders who might in some way protect them from the wickedness of more powerful persons by whom they are ground down, and who, supported by suitable rank and chosen by their fellow citizens, might be able to assert against those by whom they are despised the laws passed on their behalf—men among whom they have a good reputation, so that in them there is both honesty and authority. When these are lacking to the cities, or to the territories belonging to those same cities, we groan in vain for those wretched people whom we cannot help.
Ep211-270.23. Contemnimur enim ab improbis, quia sciunt nos professione ecclesiastica colligatos non posse aliquid agere unde periclitentur sive puniantur. Nam si eorum vim manu ecclesiastica pellere voluerimus, queruntur de nobis eis potestatibus a quibus mittuntur, quod per nos impediantur publicae necessitates, et facile creduntur et securi dicunt quidquid volunt scientes nec in nostra purgatione nobis licere, ut eorum facta nudemus eis, a quibus possunt comperta puniri. Si autem ultro de illis conqueramur, accusatorum personam suscepisse videbimur. Ita fit, ut perpaucis qui confugiunt ad Ecclesiam utcumque solacio vel praesidio esse valeamus; ceteri vero longe plures homines foris inventi vel res eorum nobis gementibus et non valentibus subvenire vastantur. Quosdam optimos viros ut defensores civitatis profert Aug.
3. For we are despised by the wicked, because they know that we, bound by our ecclesiastical profession, cannot do anything by which they might be endangered or punished. For if we wished to repel their violence by an ecclesiastical hand, they complain about us to those authorities by whom they are sent, that public necessities are being hindered through us, and they are readily believed; and feeling secure, they say whatever they wish, knowing that even in our own defense we are not permitted to lay their deeds bare before those by whom, once known, they could be punished. But if we ourselves complain about them unprompted, we shall seem to have taken on the role of accusers. So it comes about that we are able to be of some solace or protection to the very few who take refuge in the Church; but the others, far more numerous men found outside, or their goods, are laid waste while we groan and are unable to help.
Ep211-270.34. Unde nostri Hipponienses volunt quidem et me maxime volente habere defensorem, sed incerti sumus utrum militantem liceat impetrare; quod si licet filium nostrum Ursum Gliyerii generum omnes volumus; si autem non licet nisi privatum, unus ex filiis nostris, id est aut Eusebius aut Eleusinus, existimamus quod possit istam implere personam, quamvis et in ipsis ordinibus civitatum possint inveniri idonei moribus atque sollertia, si eis detur dignitas, in qua esse sufficiens possit auctoritas. Haec ideo scripsi Venerationi vestrae, ut, si vobis Dominus facultatem dederit, etiam hoc agere non gravemini. A seditiosis Caesariensibus ut episcopus poscitur Honorius.
4. Hence our people of Hippo wish—and I most of all wishing it—to have a defender, but we are uncertain whether it is permitted to obtain one who is in military service; and if it is, we all want our son Ursus, the son-in-law of Glyverius; but if it is not permitted except a private citizen, we think that one of our sons, that is, either Eusebius or Eleusinus, could fill this role—although even in the very curial orders of the cities suitable men in character and skill could be found, if there were given to them a rank in which there could be sufficient authority. I have written these things to your Venerableness so that, if the Lord gives you the opportunity, you may not find it burdensome to do this also.
Ep211-270.45. Praeterea Honorius episcopus provinciae Caesariensis quem bene nosti, frater Alypi, cum magno scandalo Ecclesiae a Caesariensibus poscitur post obitum sanctae memoriae fratris nostri Deuterii, ut ipse illic constituatur episcopus. Quidam religiosi scripserunt inde ad nos quantum mali fiat, si hoc factum fuerit. Interim episcopi cum ad ipsam civitatem necessitatis ipsius gratia convenissent, ut eligeret populus quem sibi cuperent ordinari, gravibus etiam iniuriis turbulentae multitudinis compulsi sunt eum illic ponere tamquam vices agentem episcopi proprii, donec consuleretur Sedes Apostolica et antistes Carthaginiensis Ecclesiae, ut tunc fieret, si ipsi voluissent; quod nullo utique pacto velle poterunt contra concilium Nicenum et alia concilia episcoporum. Caesariensis provinciae episcoporum epistolare cum Aug. commercium de causa Honorii.
5. Besides, the bishop Honorius of the province of Caesariensis, whom you well know, brother Alypius, is being demanded by the people of Caesarea, with great scandal to the Church, after the death of our brother of holy memory Deuterius, that he himself be established there as bishop. Certain religious persons have written to us from there how great an evil would be done if this were done. Meanwhile, when the bishops had gathered at that city for the sake of its very need, so that the people might choose whom they desired to have ordained for them, they were compelled, even by the grave injuries of a turbulent multitude, to place him there as if discharging the duties of the proper bishop, until the Apostolic See and the prelate of the Church of Carthage should be consulted, so that it might then be done, if they themselves were willing—which they will in no way be able to will against the Council of Nicaea and the other councils of bishops.
Ep211-270.56. Nos interim scripsimus ad episcopos propterea non a nobis fuisse directum quod [ad] nostram relationem respondit Apostolica Sedes, quia metropolitanus episcopus nondum ibi est constitutus, et ex hac occasione, ne de isto faciant quod seditiosa expetit multitudo, quantum potuimus dissuasimus; rescriptumque nobis est a paucis quidem sed valde bene. Nam quindecim episcopi nobis rescripserunt quamvis unus subscripserit; habet autem nomen etiam primae sedis a capite, sed eum absentem fuisse cognovimus; ideo vero et nomen eius addendum putarunt, quia ipse scripserat, ut aliqui se ad civitatem Castellensem congregarent, per quos nobis cito rescriberetur. Scripserunt etiam ad eumdem episcopum Honorium aut ut discederet a Caesarea aut non ei communicarent clerici et sciret sibi non esse communicandum, et ad ipsam plebem litteras competentes dederunt simul et clericos admonentes, ut episcopum talem postulent qualis eis salva disciplina ecclesiastica debeat ordinari. Honorius Aug. declarat se episcopali iudicio permissurum.
6. We, meanwhile, wrote to the bishops that it had not been sent by us for this reason—that the Apostolic See had replied to our report that a metropolitan bishop was not yet established there—and on this occasion we dissuaded them as far as we could from doing about this man what the seditious multitude demands; and a reply was written to us by few, indeed, but very well. For fifteen bishops wrote back to us, although one signed; it has, moreover, even the name of the first see at the head, but we have learned that he was absent; and they thought his name should be added for this reason, because he himself had written that some should gather at the city of Castellum, through whom a quick reply might be made to us. They also wrote to the same bishop Honorius that he should either depart from Caesarea or the clergy would not be in communion with him and he should know that he was not to be communicated with; and to the people themselves they gave a fitting letter, at the same time admonishing the clergy that they should request such a bishop as ought, with ecclesiastical discipline preserved, to be ordained for them.
Ep211-270.67. Illi autem et maxime pauperes, cum eis ipsae litterae legi coepissent, in seditionem horribilem concitati sunt; quamvis haec illo absente sint gesta, nam postea quam accepit litteras nostras, continuo inde discessit et ad nos venit et apud Hipponem nobiscum erat, quando ista dictavi, pollicens nihil aliud quam id quod vellemus se esse facturum; dixit tamen non se ab eis potuisse dimitti, nisi iurasset ad eos rediturum, si secundum ipsorum voluntatem legatis eorum responderetur a patribus. De ambitione vero eius quam multa iactentur non opus est dicere, quia probari fortasse non possunt. Haec Papae Bonifatio vestra Sanctitas suggerat, quamvis nihil metuendum sit, adiuvante Domino, ne in tali causa tali viro opus sit obrepi. Defensores eius exemplis negligentiae volunt agere causam colligentes undecumque possunt, ubi aliquando talia facta sunt, quasi propterea haec accumulanda sint et non potius reprimenda et ne fiant deinceps praecavenda illo praesertim in Sede Apostolica constituto, apud quem vacat omnis ambitio; et quia in perniciem ecclesiasticae disciplinae poscuntur illicita, temptant sane etiam illud agere, immo in hoc constituunt quasi firmamentum causae suae, quod idem Honorius in ea diocesi fuerat ordinatus quae ad Cartennensem Ecclesiam pertinebat. Illicita et damnanda quaedam declarantur Caesariensis provinciae episcoporum.
7. But they, and especially the poor, when the very letters began to be read to them, were stirred up into a horrible sedition—although these things were done in his absence; for after he received our letters, he immediately departed from there and came to us and was with us at Hippo when I dictated this, promising that he would do nothing other than what we wished; he said, however, that he had not been able to be dismissed by them unless he swore that he would return to them if a reply were made to their legates by the fathers according to their will. As to his ambition, there is no need to say how many things are tossed about, since perhaps they cannot be proved. Let your Holiness suggest these things to the bishop Boniface, although nothing is to be feared, with the Lord's help, that in such a case there is need to creep up on such a man. His defenders wish to plead the case by examples of negligence, gathering from wherever they can places where such things have at some time been done, as if for that reason these things ought to be heaped up and not rather repressed and guarded against from happening hereafter—especially with him established in the Apostolic See, with whom all ambition is idle; and because illicit things are demanded to the ruin of ecclesiastical discipline, they try indeed even this, or rather establish this as it were the bulwark of their case: that the same Honorius had been ordained in that diocese which belonged to the Church of Cartenna.
Ep211-270.78. Sed hoc factum est, ut episcopum adhuc sedere iuberet decessor fratris nostri Rustici qui tunc ibi praesedit, et ipso volente factum est qui tunc habebat in potestate ne fieret. Ibi autem ante istum Honorium pater eius sederat et ad Caesaream fuerat inde translatus atque in loco suo ordinaverat filium. Ideo sibi hoc licere etiam nunc arbitrantur facere de filio quod de patre fecerunt et quod episcopus Rusticus eamdem sibi diocesim postulaverit reddi, sed sicut nosti plebes aliquas repetebat, non ipsam matricem, in qua erat episcopus constitutus. Tenent autem litteras fratris Rustici quas dedisse dicitur ad easdem plebes, ut iam se scirent ad Cartennas deinceps pertinere, tamquam in loco potiore confirmatus fuisset Honorius. Sed nobis rescripsit frater Rusticus falsa de [se] fuisse iactata et eas litteras quas isti habent esse suas negat; quamvis etiamsi ita sit, magis sit utique voluntas Rustici corrigenda qui vult mutare quod sub eius decessore factum est, quam permittendum quod illicite fieri nullus ignorat. Primates Honorio formatam recusavit ut ad comitatum navigaret.
8. But this came about because the predecessor of our brother Rusticus, who then presided there, ordered the bishop still to sit, and it was done with the willing consent of the one who then had it in his power that it should not be done. There, moreover, before this Honorius, his father had sat, and had been transferred from there to Caesarea, and had ordained his son in his own place. Therefore they think it permitted to them even now to do about the son what they did about the father, and that the bishop Rusticus had demanded that the same diocese be restored to him—but, as you know, he was reclaiming certain congregations, not the mother church itself, in which the bishop was established. They hold, moreover, letters of brother Rusticus that he is said to have given to those same congregations, that they should now know that they belonged henceforth to Cartenna, as if Honorius had been confirmed in a more important place. But brother Rusticus wrote back to us that false things had been bandied about concerning him, and he denies that the letters these men hold are his; although, even if it were so, the will of Rusticus, who wishes to change what was done under his predecessor, should certainly rather be corrected than that should be permitted which no one is unaware is being done illicitly.
Ep211-270.89. Facta est autem nomine Caesariensium (utrum vero ipsi scripserint ignoramus) epistola ad primatum eiusdem provinciae, quod in causa publica eumdem episcopum Honorium mittere velint ad comitatum, per quem possunt eorum necessitatibus subvenire; et prorogaverunt, ut ei formatam daret, addentes quod, si dare noluisset, eum etiam sine formata eius navigare compellerent; sed ille non dedit nec ipse in causa publica nobis dixit velle navigare sed in causa propria quam vehementer reddere litis expensas Felici illi vel seni qui vocatur Quietus, qui adversus eum nobis in populo libellum obtulerat. Sed agebamus, si fieri posset, ut apud nos ipsa causa finiretur, si tamen Honorius litteras daret ad Caesarienses, ut sibi episcopum providerent, quales ab eo vellemus dari. Aug. sollicitus ne catholici Honorio adversantes tamquam haeretici a comitatu iudicentur.
9. A letter, moreover, was made in the name of the people of Caesarea (whether they themselves wrote it we do not know) to the primate of that same province, to the effect that in a public cause they wish to send the same bishop Honorius to the imperial court, through whom they can have their needs relieved; and they requested at length that he give him an official pass, adding that, if he were unwilling to give it, they would compel him to sail even without a pass. But he did not give it, nor did Honorius himself tell us that he wished to sail in a public cause, but in his own cause, namely vehemently to repay the costs of a lawsuit to that Felix, or to the old man called Quietus, who had submitted a petition against him before us among the people. But we were dealing, if it could be done, so that the very case might be ended among us, provided that Honorius would give a letter to the people of Caesarea that they should provide a bishop for themselves, such a letter as we wished to be given by him.
Ep211-270.910. Maxime autem sollicitus sum pro his qui nobis de illo litteras inde miserunt, ne forte naviget et eis [ex] comitatu aliqua pericula moliatur, quia, cum cognitum esset apud Caesaream quod ad me scripserint, clamavit de illis seditiosis plurima multitudo et eos pronuntians sedicitus haereticos et de illis gesta fecisse; quae cum edi sibi voluissent, non dedit; et audierunt quod ea secum ipse abstulisset; nobis autem interrogantibus dixit se nulla de illis gesta fecisse. Tamen valde sollicitus sum, quia hoc me litteris petierunt, ut de hac re curam geram, ne aliquod periculum homines catholici incurrant. Aug. putat Honorii causam ab Apostolica Sede solvendam.
10. But I am especially anxious for those who sent us letters from there about him, lest perhaps he sail and contrive some dangers for them from the imperial court; for, when it became known at Caesarea that they had written to me, a very great multitude cried out about those seditious men, declaring them to be heretics and to have made records about them; and when they wished these to be published to them, he did not give them, and they heard that he had carried them off with himself; but when we questioned him, he said that he had made no records about them. Nevertheless I am very anxious, because they asked me by letter to take care in this matter, lest catholic men incur some danger.
Ep211-270.1011. Sane qui ei favent scripserunt illi ad Hipponem sicut nobis rettulit, quod falsae sint litterae quae ad nos de illo ab Ecclesia Caesariensi removendo inde directae sunt habentes quindecim nomina episcoporum; et re vera etiam nos movet, quod subscriptio primatis cuius nomen ab initio positum est nulla legitur et una sola est et cuius incertum est; ac per hoc difficillimum est ut hic possit causa ipsa finiri quam magis iudicio Sedis Apostolicae terminari animositas hominum atque ipsa necessitas cogit. De qua re nihil laboramus, quia certi sumus quid possit ab illa Sede censeri; sed ut dixi hominum periculum me movet, ne Catholici tamquam haeretici aliqua mala patiantur quod avertat Dominus misericordia sua sive per vestram Caritatem sive, quod potissimum est, per [vestram] ipsius Apostolicae Sedis instantiam et misericordissimam atque iustissimam vigilantiam.
11. Indeed, those who favor him have written to him at Hippo, as he reported to us, that the letters sent from there to us about removing him from the Church of Caesarea—bearing the names of fifteen bishops—are false; and in truth it moves even us that no subscription of the primate, whose name is set at the beginning, is read, and there is only one, and that of uncertain authorship; and on this account it is most difficult that this very case can be ended here, which the animosity of men and the very necessity rather compels to be terminated by the judgment of the Apostolic See. About this matter we are not troubled, for we are certain of what can be decided by that See; but, as I have said, the danger to men moves me, lest catholics suffer some evils as if they were heretics—which may the Lord avert by his mercy, whether through your Charity or, what is best of all, through the insistence and most merciful and most just vigilance of the Apostolic See itself.
Ep211-270.11EPISTOLA 23*
DOMINO MERITO CARISSIMO ET IN CHRISTO PRAEDICANDO ATQUE HONORANDO FRATRI RENATO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO MERITO CARISSIMO ET IN CHRISTO PRAEDICANDO ATQUE HONORANDO FRATRI RENATO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 23*
TO THE LORD, DESERVEDLY MOST BELOVED AND TO BE PROCLAIMED AND HONORED IN CHRIST, THE BROTHER RENATUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
Ep211-270.11TO THE LORD, DESERVEDLY MOST BELOVED AND TO BE PROCLAIMED AND HONORED IN CHRIST, THE BROTHER RENATUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
1. Optima occurrit occasio, ut per eum mitterem Sanctitati tuae librum quem promiseram, per quem mihi libros filii nostri Victoris quibus responderem direxeras, [...] Domine merito carissime et in Christo praedicande atque honorande frater. Peto autem, ut post profectionem inde servi Dei Marcellini filii nostri quae fuerint consecuta in eos nos instruere non graveris, celerius cum perlatores comperi redituros. Dubitamus autem de litteris fratrum quas ad nos attulit, quia subscriptionem sancti primatis non agnovimus et in ea congregatione quindecim episcoporum ipsum audivimus non fuisse, quamquam nec ceteri utrum ibi fuerint et ipsi rescripserint certum tenemus. Unde nos petimus aliquibus indiciis, de quibus dubitari non possit, certissimos reddas, Domine.
1. An excellent opportunity has presented itself for me to send to your Holiness, through him, the book I had promised, through whom you had sent to me the books of our son Victor to which I was to reply, [...] O lord, deservedly most beloved and to be proclaimed and honored in Christ, brother. I ask, moreover, that after the departure from there of the servant of God Marcellinus, our son, you not find it burdensome to instruct us about what has followed concerning them, the sooner as I have learned that the bearers will return. We are in doubt, however, about the letter of the brothers that he brought to us, because we did not recognize the subscription of the holy primate, and in that gathering of fifteen bishops we have heard that he was not present, although neither do we hold it certain whether the others were there and themselves wrote back. Hence we ask that you make us most certain by some indications about which there can be no doubt, my lord.
Ep211-270.12. Episcopus Honorius apud nos est pollicens omnino pro Ecclesiae pace et ecclesiastica disciplina nihil aliud quam id quod volumus esse facturum. Praestet Dominus, ut verum dicat. Sicut enim quae de illo mala dicuntur non possumus sic accipere, ut eum iam putemus esse damnandum, quia et hoc non pertinet ad ecclesiasticam formam, ita nec facile illi credimus, nisi factis verba confirmet [...].
2. The bishop Honorius is with us, promising that, for the peace of the Church and ecclesiastical discipline, he will do nothing at all other than what we wish. May the Lord grant that he speak the truth. For just as we cannot take the evils said about him in such a way as to think that he is already to be condemned—since this too does not belong to the ecclesiastical form—so neither do we easily believe him, unless he confirm his words by deeds [...].
Ep211-270.2EPISTOLA 23/A*
Referuntur quae suo commentario nuntiaverat Alypius.
Referuntur quae suo commentario nuntiaverat Alypius.
LETTER 23/A*
Here are reported the things that Alypius had announced in his memorandum.
Ep211-270.2Here are reported the things that Alypius had announced in his memorandum.
1. [...] De fratre Alypio aliquid certi non repperi nisi quod in eius commonitorio legi misso ad Thagastem per filium Severiani Longi qui ad nostrum litus appulsus est. Sic enim contigit, ut legerem quod ferebat multum mirans quod ad me nulla scripta pertulerit. Ibi ergo legi exspectare illos comitis maioris adventum propter eos qui ad Ecclesiam confugerunt. Nam pro Carthaginiensibus, de quorum facto solliciti maxime fueramus, dixit eo die quo scripserat missum fuisse silentiarium cum eorum indulgentia quam potuerunt etiam absentes litteris impetrare. Nam de Carthagine qui veniunt utrum pervenerit se nescire respondent, sed tantummodo audisse missam fuisse Largo indulgentiam et Romae esse quo missi sunt. Quid Iosias presbyter de patricii reditu rettulerit.
1. [...] About brother Alypius I have found nothing certain except what I read in his memorandum sent to Thagaste through the son of Severianus Longus, who put in at our shore. For it so happened that I read what it carried, much wondering that he brought no letter to me. There, then, I read that they were awaiting the arrival of the senior count on account of those who had taken refuge in the Church. For as to the Carthaginians, about whose case we had been especially anxious, he said that on the day on which he wrote, an usher had been sent with their pardon, which they were able, even absent, to obtain by letter. For as to those who come from Carthage, they answer that they do not know whether it has arrived, but only that they have heard that a pardon was sent for Largus and that they are at Rome, where they were sent.
Ep211-270.12. Venit etiam modo quidam Iosias Rusiccadensis parochiae presbyter qui nobis rettulit eo die quo inde profectus est illos occurrisse patricio iam propinquanti. Ex quo autem a nobis digressus est [...]. Quae Aug. dictaverit post reditum Hipponem regium.
2. There came also just now a certain Josias, priest of the parish of Rusicade, who reported to us that on the day on which he set out from there they met the count (patricius), already drawing near. But since he departed from us [...].
Ep211-270.23. [...] quid opuscolorum nostrorum nos dictantes reliqueris nescio. Omnia itaque commemoro quae dictavi, ex quo a Carthagine remeavimus; rescripsi Optato episcopo Hispano iterum de quaestione originis animae; rescripsi Gaudentio Temugadensi Donatistarum episcopo quasi respondenti ad ea quae prius illi responderam; dictavi contra Arianos ad illud quod mihi Dionysius noster de Vico Iuliani miserat et tres sermones mittendos Carthaginem; inter quae cum iam pararem redire ad libros De civitate Dei, subito accepi litteras sancti Renati a Caesarea mittentis mihi duos libros nescio cuius Victoris qui ex Donatista immo ex Rogatista, Vincentii illius quondam discipulus cui aliquando rescripseram Catholicus factus est. Et voluit de anima scribere reprehendens cunctationem nostram, quod non ausus fuerim definire, utrum ex propagine esset an nova insufflaretur singulis quibusque nascentibus, et affirmavit ipse non ex propagine attrahi sed nobis dari. In quibus duobus libris suis dixit plurima falsa et absurda et contra catholicam fidem; et quia valde me rogavit supradictus amicus noster, ut ea refellerem, quia nonnulla ex suavi eloquio multos perverterent, scripsi de hoc unum librum ad eumdem carissimum nostrum et ad ipsum Victorem volo scribere, quoniam valde oportet; et ut faciam de Ioannis quoque Evangelio ea quae restant, dictare iam coepi populares tractatus non prolixos mittendos Carthaginem ea conditione ut, si vult idem senex noster sibi ceteros mitti, [dicat] neque cum dixerit edere differat. Iam sex dictavi; noctes enim sabbati et dominici ipsis proprie deputavi. Itaque dictavi ex quo veni, id est a tertio Idus Septembris usque ad Kalendas Decembres versuum ferme sex milia. Nuntii et munera expleta vel explenda.
3. [...] what of our little works you left while we were dictating I do not know. And so I recall all that I have dictated since we returned from Carthage: I wrote back to Optatus, the Spanish bishop, again about the question of the origin of the soul; I wrote back to Gaudentius of Thamugadi, the Donatist bishop, as he was replying to what I had earlier answered him; I dictated against the Arians a reply to what our Dionysius of Vicus Iuliani had sent me, and three sermons to be sent to Carthage; and amid these, when I was now preparing to return to the books The City of God, suddenly I received a letter from the holy Renatus, sending me from Caesarea two books of I-know-not-what Victor—who, from a Donatist, or rather a Rogatist, a former disciple of that Vincentius to whom I once wrote back, had become a Catholic. And he wished to write about the soul, rebuking our hesitation in not daring to define whether it is from propagation or whether a new one is breathed into each one at birth; and he himself affirmed that it is not drawn from propagation but given to us. In these two books of his he said very many false and absurd things, and against the catholic faith; and because our aforesaid friend earnestly asked me to refute them, since some of them, by their pleasant eloquence, were perverting many, I wrote one book about this to our same most beloved friend, and to Victor himself I wish to write, since it is very necessary. And so that I may do, regarding the Gospel of John too, what remains, I have now begun to dictate popular homilies, not lengthy, to be sent to Carthage on this condition: that, if our same old man wishes the rest to be sent to him, [he should say so], and when he has said so, not delay to publish them. I have already dictated six; for I have assigned to them properly the nights of Saturday and Sunday. So I have dictated, from when I came—that is, from the third day before the Ides of September up to the Kalends of December—nearly six thousand lines.
Ep211-270.34. Quod autem mihi scripsit Sanctitas tua de hunc novisque valde carissimo Donatiano valde volo fieri. Donet Dominus ut fiat. Nescio quid enim addiderunt ipsi fratres ad eamdem quaestionem quod ante non dixerant, ad quod respondere debeamus; quod illi operi inseruissem, nisi iam editum fuisset Hispanis episcopis, carissimis fratribus nostris, ac per hoc opere alio videretur esse dictandum. Sed moleste fero, quod ista quae mihi de transverso hinc atque inde dictanda impinguntur ea quae disposita in manibus habemus impediunt nec quiescunt nec differri possunt. Ecclesiastica gesta in causa fratris Maurenti, mox ut commonitorium Caritatis tuae legi, continuo ut describerentur iussi, ut tibi dirigi possent. Quibus acceptis et ego rogo, ut quod disposuisti sine dilatione, Domino adiuvante, implere digneris. Quod autem nobis per Numedium presbyterum scripserint aut non recolo aut non accepi. Miseramus nisi fallor Venerationi tuae exemplum litterarum Papae Bonifatii quibus respondit relationi nostrae; utrum ad te pervenerit scire cupio. Debemus autem ad eosdem fratres nostros Caesarienses communiter scribere. Honorii episcopi ambitio Caesareae seditionum fons.
4. As to what your Holiness wrote to me about Donatianus, very dear both to you and to us, I very much wish it to be done. May the Lord grant that it be done. For I do not know what those brothers have added to the same question that they had not said before, to which we ought to reply; which I would have inserted into that work, had it not already been published to the Spanish bishops, our most beloved brothers, and on this account it seems it must be dictated in another work. But I take it ill that these things, which are thrust upon me from this side and that to be dictated crosswise, hinder the things we have in hand as arranged, and neither rest nor can be put off. The ecclesiastical records in the case of brother Maurentius—as soon as I read the memorandum of your Charity, I immediately ordered them to be copied out, so that they could be sent to you. And when you have received them, I too ask that you deign, with the Lord's help, to fulfill without delay what you have arranged. As to what they may have written to us through the priest Numedius, either I do not recall it or I did not receive it. We had sent, unless I am mistaken, to your Venerableness a copy of the letter of the bishop Boniface in which he replied to our report; I wish to know whether it reached you. We ought, moreover, to write jointly to those same brothers of ours, the people of Caesarea.
Ep211-270.45. Diaconus qui easdem litteras attulit ex quo de Roma venit hic est apud nos. Ego eum tenui, donec sciat quisnam fuerit in locum fratris Deuterii Caesariensibus ordinatus. Plurimum quippe interest; atque scribatur, ut quemadmodum scribendum sit noverimus. Audivimus sane illum episcopum Honorium, ut eamdem cathedram teneat, vehementer ambire et, quod mireris, multorum corda in eum inclinata dicuntur; sed episcopi consentire noluerunt atque, ut evaderent vim cogentium, responderunt eis nos esse primitus consulendos vel etiam ipsum Papam Bonifatium. Haec ad nos pertulit fama. Interea illa Ecclesia, quod constat, seditionibus agitatur. Priscus episcopus Hippone regio remoratur.
5. The deacon who brought the same letter, ever since he came from Rome, is here with us. I have detained him until he learns who has been ordained for the people of Caesarea in place of brother Deuterius. For it makes a very great difference; and let it be written, so that we may know how it is to be written. We have indeed heard that the bishop Honorius is vehemently striving to hold that same cathedral seat and—what would astonish you—the hearts of many are said to be inclined toward him; but the bishops were unwilling to consent and, to escape the force of those compelling them, answered them that we were first to be consulted, or even the bishop Boniface himself. This rumor has brought to us. Meanwhile that Church, as is evident, is agitated by seditions.
Ep211-270.56. Hic est etiam episcopus Priscillianus qui de Roma prius Carthaginem venit et illic primo in Africa communicare coepit; inde per nos ad vos transire dignatus est, sed ex quo venit placuit remorari, donec sciamus quid ibi de ordinatione novi episcopi factum sit, quoniam ipsius est causa maxima, de qua scribere etiam nos debemus.
6. Here too is the bishop Priscillianus, who came earlier from Rome to Carthage and there first began to be in communion in Africa; thence he deigned to pass through us to you, but ever since he came it has seemed good to wait until we know what has been done there about the ordination of the new bishop, since it is very much his case, about which we too ought to write.
Ep211-270.6EPISTOLA 24*
DOMINO EXIMIO MERITOQUE HONORABILI AC DESIDERANTISSIMO FILIO EUSTOCHIO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO EXIMIO MERITOQUE HONORABILI AC DESIDERANTISSIMO FILIO EUSTOCHIO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 24*
TO THE EXCELLENT LORD, DESERVEDLY HONORABLE AND MOST LONGED-FOR SON EUSTOCHIUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
Ep211-270.6TO THE EXCELLENT LORD, DESERVEDLY HONORABLE AND MOST LONGED-FOR SON EUSTOCHIUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
1. Cum omnibus consultoribus tuis vera responsa fideliter debeas, quanto magis nobis ministris Christi, cuius fide fidelis es, ad capessendam hereditatem, cuius testamentum Evangelium est, Domine ille [...]. Quoniam ergo praecepit Apostolus, ut saecularia iudicia si inter se habuerint Christiani, ea non in foro sed in ecclesia fiant, unde nos necesse est perpeti tales iurgantium quaestiones, in quibus nobis etiam terrena iura quaerenda sint, praecipue de condicione hominum temporali (quod possumus secundum apostolicam disciplinam, ut dominis suis sint subditi , servis praecipere, non autem liberis iugum servitutis imponere), peto sincerissimam Caritatem tuam, ut me digneris instruere quid observandum sit de his qui de libera nascuntur et servo. Nam de ancilla et libero servos nasci iam scio; quid etiam de his quorum patres definito numero annorum operas vendunt? Quaero enim utrum defunctis venditoribus patribus eumdem annorum numerum cogantur implere an eorum a quibus venditi vel potius quodammodo locati fuerant, morte liberantur, quoniam esse iam sui iuris, ut perhibetur, incipiunt; quaero etiam utrum liberi patres possunt vendere filios in perpetuam servitutem et utrum matres possint vel operas vendere filiorum; item quaero utrum, si colonus vendiderit filium, quemadmodum licet ut vendatur a patre, plus in illo qui venditur iuris habeat emptor quam possessionis dominus, unde colonatus originem trahit, et utrum liceat possessori servos facere colonos vel filios colonorum suorum. Quid de actoribus liquido iure vel legibus constitutum est.
1. Since you owe true responses faithfully to all who consult you, how much more to us, the ministers of Christ, by whose faith you are faithful, for the obtaining of that inheritance whose testament is the Gospel, O lord [...]. Since, then, the Apostle has commanded that secular judgments, if Christians have them among themselves, take place not in the forum but in the church, whence we are obliged to endure such questions of those in dispute, in which we must look into even earthly laws—especially concerning the temporal condition of men (for we can, according to apostolic discipline, command slaves that they be subject to their masters (See Titus 2:9), but not lay the yoke of servitude upon free men)—I ask your most sincere Charity that you deign to instruct me what is to be observed concerning those who are born of a free woman and a slave. For that slaves are born of a slave woman and a free man I already know; what too of those whose fathers sell their labor for a fixed number of years? For I ask whether, when the selling fathers have died, they are compelled to complete the same number of years, or are freed by the death of those to whom they had been sold, or rather in a manner hired out, since, as it is held, they begin to be already their own masters; I ask also whether free fathers can sell their sons into perpetual slavery, and whether mothers can sell even the labor of their sons; likewise I ask whether, if a tenant farmer has sold his son—in the way it is permitted that he be sold by his father—the buyer has more right in the one who is sold than the owner of the estate, from whom the status of tenancy takes its origin, and whether it is permitted to an owner to make slaves of tenant farmers or of the sons of his tenant farmers.
Ep211-270.12. [Quaero] etiam quid de his actoribus liquido sit iure vel legibus constitutum, durissimum enim mihi videtur ingenuitati praeiudicari et beneficio suo; nam ut sint actores saepe ingenui homines postulantur et beneficium se praestare existimant, si faciant quod petuntur et re vera praestant usque adeo, ut ille qui petiit etiam gratias agat si impetrare meruerit; quo beneficio suo si homo liber servus efficitur, nullo modo faceret, si hoc sciret, sed nec quisquam hoc ab sciente petere auderet. Moveor tamen quibusdam constitutionibus quae mihi oblatae sunt, cum talis apud nos de cuiusdam filiis quaestio verteretur quem fuisse actorem fortasse probabitur; sed eum qui contendit nolo cogere ut probet, nisi prius noverim quid sequar, si forte probaverit. Proinde easdem constitutiones misi considerandas Eximietati tuae, quarum duas sentio ipsam rem loqui, ceteras autem aut non intellego, aut ad id quod quaeritur omnino non pertinent. Obsecro ut me adiuves etiam corpore absentem, sicut soles adiuvare praesentem.
2. I ask also what has been clearly established by law or by statutes concerning those stewards; for it seems to me very harsh that prejudice be done to free birth and to one's own good deed. For freeborn men are often requested to be stewards, and they think they are conferring a favor if they do what they are asked, and they really do confer it, to such a degree that the one who requested it even gives thanks if he has been deemed worthy to obtain it; and if by this favor of his a free man is made a slave, he would by no means do it if he knew this, nor would anyone dare to ask this of one who knew. Yet I am moved by certain constitutions that have been laid before me, when such a question was being turned over among us about the sons of a certain man who will perhaps be proved to have been a steward; but the one who contends I do not wish to compel to prove it, unless I first know what I am to follow, if perchance he should prove it. Accordingly I have sent these same constitutions to your Excellency to consider, two of which I sense speak to the very matter, but the rest I either do not understand, or they do not pertain at all to what is asked. I beseech you to help me even though absent in body, just as you are accustomed to help me when present.
Ep211-270.2EPISTOLA 25*
DOMINIS CARISSIMIS ET SINCERISSIMIS FRATRIBUS ET COMPRESBYTERIS DEOGRATIAS ET THEODORO ET DIACONIS TITIANO, QUINTIANO, QUODVULTDEO ET CARISSIMO [***] ET FRATRI COMITI AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINIS CARISSIMIS ET SINCERISSIMIS FRATRIBUS ET COMPRESBYTERIS DEOGRATIAS ET THEODORO ET DIACONIS TITIANO, QUINTIANO, QUODVULTDEO ET CARISSIMO [***] ET FRATRI COMITI AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 25*
TO THE MOST BELOVED AND MOST SINCERE LORDS, THE BROTHERS AND FELLOW PRIESTS DEOGRATIAS AND THEODORUS, AND THE DEACONS TITIANUS, QUINTIANUS, AND QUODVULTDEUS, AND THE MOST BELOVED [***], AND BROTHER COMES, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
Ep211-270.2TO THE MOST BELOVED AND MOST SINCERE LORDS, THE BROTHERS AND FELLOW PRIESTS DEOGRATIAS AND THEODORUS, AND THE DEACONS TITIANUS, QUINTIANUS, AND QUODVULTDEUS, AND THE MOST BELOVED [***], AND BROTHER COMES, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
1. Incolumes nos, Deo propitio, ad propria pervenisse, sollemnitatem beatissimi martyris cum populo Dei qui de mea multum absentia murmurabat egisse, quod nobis gratissimum esse confidimus, nuntiamus. Commendo autem perlatorem fratrem nostrum presbyterum Mascelionem quem credo vestram recolere sanctitatem qui te, frater Comes, etiam per me rogat, ut illi hospitium quod poscit facias sine difficultate praestari.
1. We announce that, by God's favor, we have arrived safely home and have celebrated the solemnity of the most blessed martyr with the people of God, who were murmuring much about my absence—which we trust is most welcome to you. I commend, moreover, the bearer, our brother the priest Mascelio, whom I believe your Holiness remembers, who also asks you, brother Comes, through me, that you have provided to him without difficulty the lodging he requests.
Ep211-270.1EPISTOLA 26*
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET MERITO VENERABILI SANCTO FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO HONORIO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET MERITO VENERABILI SANCTO FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO HONORIO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 26*
TO THE MOST BLESSED LORD, DESERVEDLY VENERABLE, THE HOLY BROTHER AND FELLOW BISHOP HONORIUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
Ep211-270.1TO THE MOST BLESSED LORD, DESERVEDLY VENERABLE, THE HOLY BROTHER AND FELLOW BISHOP HONORIUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
1. Donantius quidam Suppensis patre suo apud Hipponem constituto et vitam eleemosynis ecclesiasticis transigente, in monasterio nostro esse coeperat; ubi cum minime durare potuisset, nesciens eius causam beatae memoriae senex Antipho, ut diaconus ordinaretur contra conciliorum episcopalia statuta subrepsit. Sed cum hoc memoratus venerabilis senex per meas litteras didicisset, eum mihi loco remotum mox reddidit; ego autem illi, ne ceteris onere suo praeberet perditionis exemplum, ut ad sanctum Theogenem esset ostiarius non habens unde viveret, utcumque provideram; nec ibi potuit suum digne officium custodire, ita ut inde me absente a presbyteris proiceretur. Donantio lector tantum fieri debet.
1. A certain Donantius of Suppa—his father being established at Hippo and passing his life on the ecclesiastical alms—had begun to be in our monastery; and when he could in no way endure there, the old man Antiphus of blessed memory, not knowing his case, by stealth had him ordained a deacon, contrary to the episcopal statutes of the councils. But when the said venerable old man had learned this through my letters, he soon restored him to me, removed from his place; and I, lest by his burden he should offer the rest an example of perdition, had somehow provided that he be a doorkeeper at the church of holy Theogenes, having nothing from which to live; nor was he able even there to keep his office worthily, so that, in my absence, he was thrown out from there by the priests.
Ep211-270.12. Nunc illum cives sui a me diaconum poscunt qui per tot annos inter laicos communicavit in populo, Domine beatissime et merito venerabili sancte frater. Unde quoniam illi quod postulant nesciunt, tuam commoneo sanctitatem, de cuius quidem modestia et vigilantia, Domino donante, securus sum, quia non eum permittis in perniciem disciplinae qua servi Dei regendi sunt episcopalibus insultare conciliis, ut si in sua civitate (quod non prohibeo) habitare voluerit, nihil amplius ei tribui iubeas nisi forte lectoris officium quod etiam laicis, ubi necesse est, concedi solere meminimus. Si enim aliquid amplius existimares illum esse debere, non utique inviderem nutrimentis meis vel Ecclesiae Dei. De moribus autem eius nolo aliquid dicere, cum ad causam sufficiat quod dicendum putavi; atque utinam, Domino miserante, sic vivat, ut nulla de illo querela sit, satis illi est, ut in loco humili Deo serviens ad eius promissa perveniat ne, cum fuerit quasi ad maiora conatus, et sibi et eis per quos conatur Dei adquirat offensam nitendo frangere quod ad conservandam salubriter constitutum est disciplinam.
2. Now his fellow citizens ask me to make him a deacon—a man who for so many years has been in communion among the laity in the congregation, O most blessed lord, deservedly venerable, holy brother. Hence, since they do not know what they are requesting, I admonish your Holiness—of whose modesty and vigilance, by the Lord's gift, I am secure, since you do not permit him, to the ruin of the discipline by which the servants of God must be governed, to insult episcopal councils—that, if he should wish to live in his own city (which I do not forbid), you order nothing more to be granted to him, except perhaps the office of reader, which we recall is wont to be granted even to laymen where it is necessary. For if you should judge that he ought to be something more, I would certainly not begrudge him my own nurturing or that of the Church of God. About his character, however, I do not wish to say anything, since for the case it suffices what I thought should be said; and would that, by the Lord's mercy, he so live that there be no complaint about him—it is enough for him that, serving God in a humble place, he reach his promises—lest, when he has striven as it were for greater things, he gain for himself and for those through whom he strives the offense of God, by struggling to break what has been wholesomely established for the preservation of discipline.
Ep211-270.2EPISTOLA 27*
DOMINO VERE SANCTO ET BEATISSIMO PAPAE AURELIO HIERONYMUS
DOMINO VERE SANCTO ET BEATISSIMO PAPAE AURELIO HIERONYMUS
LETTER 27*
TO THE TRULY HOLY AND MOST BLESSED LORD, BISHOP AURELIUS, JEROME
Ep211-270.2TO THE TRULY HOLY AND MOST BLESSED LORD, BISHOP AURELIUS, JEROME
1. Qui vincis merito, vincis et officio. Latitanti mihi et mea delicta plangenti unus tuae Dignationis sermo te et sospitem et amicissimum mei et pontificem Carthaginiensis Ecclesiae nuntiavit. Ubi talia necessitudinis principia sunt et amoris tam copiosa sementis, credimus in Christo Deo nostro, quod largissima surrectura sit messis et tanti temporis fames incredibilis maturitate admones, et recordor te cum sancto episcopo ac beatae memoriae Cyro, Carthaginiensis Ecclesiae sacerdotem Romam legatum fuisse directum; cumque quadam die [a] sancto mihi atque venerabili Damaso episcopo sciscitarer quisnam esses (nam acumen ingenii tui silens quoque vultus pollicebatur) respondit archidiaconum Carthaginiensis Ecclesiae, talem virum qualem et tua vita et illius de te testimonium merebatur. Ut autem pleniorem familiaritatem tecum non inirem nec paulatim sermocinando amicitias inirem, pudor nobis prohibuit ne ignotum viderer imprudenter appetere et me ingerere necessitudini hominis qui nullam mihi secum loquendi tribuerat occasionem; verum praeterita damna taceamus et ex sequentibus officiis ostendamus errorem fuisse veterem, non contemptum. Quae Hieronymi opuscola habeat Aurelius quaeque huic ille miserit.
1. You who conquer in merit, conquer also in courtesy. To me, lying hidden and bewailing my own faults, a single discourse of your Dignity announced you to be both safe and most friendly to me and bishop of the Church of Carthage. Where the beginnings of intimacy are such and the seed of love so abundant, we believe, in Christ our God, that a most plentiful harvest is destined to arise, and that you are summoning the famine of so long a time to an incredible ripeness; and I recall that you, with the holy bishop Cyrus of blessed memory, a priest of the Church of Carthage, had been sent to Rome as a legate; and when one day I inquired of the holy and venerable bishop Damasus who you were (for the keenness of your mind your countenance promised even while silent), he answered that you were the archdeacon of the Church of Carthage, such a man as both your life and his testimony about you deserved. But that I might not enter into fuller familiarity with you, nor by gradual conversation enter into friendship, shame prevented us, lest I seem imprudently to seek out one unknown and thrust myself into intimacy with a man who had given me no occasion of speaking with him; but let us pass over the losses of the past in silence, and from the courtesies that follow let us show that it was an old mistake, not contempt.
Ep211-270.12. Scribis te quaedam nostrae parvitatis habere opuscula, id est paucas in Ieremiam Homelias, et duas Cantici canticorum; dum essem adolescentulus cuiusdam fratris rogatu in huiuscemodi exercitationem lusi exceptis duabus homeliis Cantici canticorum quas ammonitu beati Damasi Romae transtuli. Itaque si qua nunc scripsimus maturiora et aetati nostrae convenientia aestimare debes; praeterea quod addis habere te et commentariolos meos in Matthaeum, hoc ego opus edidisse me penitus ignoro, nisi forte caritate qua me diligis quidquid praeclarum videris meum putas. Itaque nunc quia frater Felicissimus ob quasdam domesticas necessitates, quas tibi praesens referre poterit perrexit Africam (perrexit veredo nullaque fuit portandi oneris amplioris facultas) idcirco tibi parva misi opuscula, id est in Psalmum decimum et Quaestionum Hebraicarum in Genesim commentariolos quae legere te volo at quasi amicum, non quasi iudicem. Cetera Hieronymi opuscola apud Bethlehem exscribenda esse.
2. You write that you have certain little works of my smallness, that is, a few Homilies on Jeremiah and two on the Song of Songs; while I was a very young man, at the request of a certain brother, I played in an exercise of this kind, except for the two homilies on the Song of Songs that I translated at Rome at the prompting of the blessed Damasus. So if I have now written anything, you should reckon it more mature and suited to my age; moreover, as to what you add, that you have my little commentaries on Matthew, I am wholly unaware of having published this work, unless perhaps, by the love with which you esteem me, you think whatever you see distinguished to be mine. And so now, since brother Felicissimus has gone on to Africa on account of certain domestic necessities, which he can report to you in person (he went by the post-horse, and there was no means of carrying a larger load), for that reason I have sent you small little works, that is, my little commentaries on the Tenth Psalm and of Hebrew Questions on Genesis, which I wish you to read as a friend, not as a judge.
Ep211-270.23. Alioquin cum in vestra provincia tanti in sanctas Scripturas amnes fluxerunt, Tertullianus, Cyprianus, Lactantius, me quasi arentem rivulum velle nunc ridiculum est; sed quia legimus in Veteri Testamento non solum aurum et argentum et gemmas pretiosas, sed et pelles et caprarum pilos pro offerentum viribus ablata esse in tabernaculo Dei, audemus et nos quasi quosdam caprarum ut diximus pilos nostrae offerre sudorem paenitentiae. Haec pauca de multis; ceterum quia orante te non parva de Scripturis sanctis composuimus, si tibi placet et commodum videtur, fac quod alii de Gallia et alii de Italia fratres tui, sancti episcopi, fecerunt, id est mitte aliquem fidum tibi qui unum annum hic faciat me exemplaria tribuente et deferat ad te cuncta quae scripsimus. Librariorum Latinorum Hierosolymae [non] est penuria; nam ego duos sanctos fratres, quos habeo notarios, vix queunt his quae dictamus occurrere. Sanctus frater meus Paulianus et sanctus frater Eusebius et omnes qui cum nostra sunt parvitate, suppliciter te salutant; tu ut sanctos qui tecum sunt meo obsequio salutes precor. Fratrem tibi Felicissimum commendo et obsecro, ut per ipsum tua scripta suscipiam. Illuminet te memorem mei Christus Deus noster, tueatur omnipotens domine vere sancte et beatisime pater.
3. Otherwise, when in your province so great rivers have flowed into the holy Scriptures—Tertullian, Cyprian, Lactantius—it is ridiculous now to wish for me as a dry little stream; but since we read in the Old Testament that not only gold and silver and precious gems, but also skins and goats' hair were brought, according to the abilities of the offerers, into the tabernacle of God, we too dare to offer as it were certain goats' hair, as we have said, the sweat of our penitence. These few things out of many; but since, at your prayer, we have composed no small things from the holy Scriptures, if it pleases you and seems convenient, do what your other brothers, the holy bishops from Gaul and from Italy, have done: that is, send someone trusted by you to spend a year here—with me supplying copies—and to carry to you all that we have written. Of Latin copyists there is no scarcity at Jerusalem; for I have two holy brothers whom I have as notaries, and they can scarcely keep up with what we dictate. My holy brother Paulianus and my holy brother Eusebius and all who are with our smallness humbly greet you; I pray that you greet, with my service, the holy ones who are with you. I commend brother Felicissimus to you and beseech that through him I may receive your writings. May Christ our God enlighten you, mindful of me; may the Almighty protect you, truly holy and most blessed lord and father.
Ep211-270.3EPISTOLA 28*
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET VENERABILI FRATRI ET SACERDOTI NOVATIO ET CETERIS FRATRIBUS AUGUSTINUS ET MECUM FRATRES IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET VENERABILI FRATRI ET SACERDOTI NOVATIO ET CETERIS FRATRIBUS AUGUSTINUS ET MECUM FRATRES IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 28*
TO THE MOST BLESSED AND VENERABLE LORD, THE BROTHER AND PRIEST NOVATUS, AND THE OTHER BROTHERS, AUGUSTINE AND THE BROTHERS WITH ME SEND GREETINGS IN THE LORD
Ep211-270.3TO THE MOST BLESSED AND VENERABLE LORD, THE BROTHER AND PRIEST NOVATUS, AND THE OTHER BROTHERS, AUGUSTINE AND THE BROTHERS WITH ME SEND GREETINGS IN THE LORD
1. Quamvis valde prolixas in causa Abensium mihi litteras miserit Dilectio tua, onerosae tamen mihi non fuerunt, quoniam vehementer volebam cuncta cognoscere, [et] sic omnino quemadmodum a te exposita accepi. Gratias itaque ago Domino Deo nostro, quia post maximam desperationem communionis et salutis illorum quam mihi fecerat textus superior litterarum quo cuncta narrasti, repentina et inopinata me laetitia perfudisti nuntians et omnes basilicas traditas Ecclesiae catholicae et universam eorum multitudinem ad pacem Christi atque unitatem summa alacritate conversam exceptis paucis ordinis viris quos interlocutio iudicis quem contra salutem suam qua potuerunt astutia fefellerunt fecerat pigriores et quasi a legum vinculis alienos; quamquam et ipsos credo posterioribus eius litteris sumptis, quarum mihi supervenientium exemplum dignatus es mittere amputata excusatione, potuisse converti. Quam utiliter Gesta collationis eorumque Breviculus legantur per Quadragesimam.
1. Although your Love sent me a very lengthy letter in the case of the people of Aba, it was not burdensome to me, since I vehemently wished to know everything, and so I received it wholly as it was set forth by you. I therefore give thanks to the Lord our God, because, after the greatest despair of their communion and salvation that the earlier part of the letter—in which you narrated everything—had caused me, you flooded me with sudden and unhoped-for joy, announcing both that all the basilicas had been handed over to the catholic Church and that their whole multitude had turned to the peace of Christ and to unity with the greatest eagerness, except for a few men of the curial order whom the interlocutory ruling of the judge—whom by what cunning they could they deceived against their own salvation—had made more sluggish and as it were estranged from the bonds of the laws; although these too, I believe, once his later letter was received (a copy of which, when it arrived, you deigned to send me), with the excuse cut away, were able to be converted.
Ep211-270.12. Quod si factum est vel factum fuerit, peto nobis quacumque occasione indicare non negligas; admoneo sane, quamvis te hoc sponte in Domini Spiritu studiosius me curare non nesciam, ut sibi innotescentibus collationis gestis et quibuscumque aliis in hac causa utilibus scriptis discant, de quanto malo per tantam instantiam liberentur, ut non solum timore temporalium molestiarum, sed etiam timore ignis aeterni et dilectione veritatis in catholica pace teneantur. Nam nisi fallor iam me aliquando scripsisse reminiscor, ut eadem gesta annis omnibus sollemniter in Ecclesia legantur per dies quadragesimae, quando ieiunantibus vacat audire, sicut facit Carthaginiensis Ecclesia nostra et aliquae diligenter Ecclesiae; quod utinam fieri per totam Africam posset. Scripsimus etiam unum librum de ipsis gestis tractantes qui, cum fuerint eadem gesta finita, cum maxima iucunditate apud nos legitur et auditur a populo; quem si nondum habetis, habere debetis. Quomodo et cur illa collationis scripta legantur in ecclesia.
2. But if this has been done or shall be done, I ask that you not neglect to indicate it to us by whatever occasion; I admonish indeed—although I am not unaware that you of your own accord, in the Spirit of the Lord, take more zealous care of this than I—that, with the records of the conference becoming known to them, and any other writings useful in this case, they may learn from how great an evil they are freed by such great insistence, so that they be held in catholic peace not only by fear of temporal troubles but also by fear of eternal fire and by love of the truth. For unless I am mistaken, I recall that I have already at some time written that the same records be read solemnly in the Church every year throughout the days of Lent, when those who fast have leisure to hear, as our Church of Carthage does and some Churches diligently—and would that it could be done throughout all Africa. We have also written one book treating of those very records, which, when the same records are finished, is read among us and heard by the people with the greatest delight; and if you do not yet have it, you ought to have it.
Ep211-270.23. Non autem ista apud nos de gradu lectoris leguntur sicut Scripturae canonicae, quoniam oportet, sed sic ea legunt lectores, ut nec casulis se expolient et cum volunt sedeant, ubi a sedentibus qui sedere voluerint possint commode audiri, tamquam si privatim in domo legerentur. Sed ideo fit in Ecclesia, quia multitudinem capit et uterque sexus non prohibetur audire, donec veniat hora qua divinae lectiones audiantur et sacramenta ex more celebrentur. Aug. quaeritur quod certior non sit factus de episcopi epistolarum commercio cum vicario.
3. But these things are not read among us from the grade of reader as the canonical Scriptures are, since that is not fitting; rather the readers read them in such a way that they do not even divest themselves of their chasubles and may sit when they wish, where they can conveniently be heard by those sitting who have wished to sit, as if they were being read privately in a house. But it is done in the Church for this reason, that it holds a multitude and both sexes are not forbidden to hear, until the hour comes at which the divine readings are heard and the sacraments celebrated according to custom.
Ep211-270.34. Credo autem quod etiam ad Sanctitatem tuam vicarius litteras dedit quas interlocutione sua sicut ad nos daturum se esse promisit; quod si factum est, sine dubio rescripsisti. Et miror quod nec ipsius ad te datas nisi istas posteriores nec tua rescripta quae nunc mittere potuisti nobis insinuare curavit Caritas tua, cum tam multa direxeris, ut nihil praetermisisse videaris; aut si non ad te venerant vel ipse non miserat, cum ad nos miserit, multo plus miror. Quid autem faciamus ignoro, utrum ei rescribamus post cognitam tuis litteris causam an potius nihil iam de hac re in eius animo refricemus, quandoquidem posterioribus istis litteris suis etiam illos quibus quasi securitatem dederat ad timorem implendarum legum congruo terrore revocavit, ut non facile deinceps credat haereticis, si eorum fallacia modo illi fuerit comprobata. Satis eum res ipsa faciet certiorem, quamquam et ego de hac re non tacuerim in eis litteris quas ad eum rescripsi, quando eius illas accepi quarum exemplum ad te direxi. Sed quia rescriptorum meorum ad ipsum datorum Caritati tuae non miseram exemplum, nunc illud his litteris subdidi; tamen, si occasio idonea nata fuerit, communi nomine, id est meo et fratris Alypii, adiuvante Domino, ad eum scripta mittentur. Peregrinus tribunus ius asylii in ecclesiam confugientibus violat.
4. I believe, moreover, that the vicar gave to your Holiness too the letter that, by his interlocutory ruling, he promised he would give to us as well; and if this was done, you have without doubt written back. And I wonder that your Charity took care to inform us neither of his letter given to you, except these later ones, nor of your reply, which you were now able to send—since you sent so many things that you seem to have omitted nothing; or if they had not come to you, or he himself had not sent them, when he sent them to us, I wonder all the more. But what we are to do I do not know—whether we should write back to him after the case is known through your letter, or rather now stir up nothing about this matter in his mind, since by these later letters of his he has recalled even those to whom he had as it were given security to the fear of fulfilling the laws, with fitting dread, so that he may not henceforth easily believe heretics, if their deceit has now been proved to him. The matter itself will make him sufficiently more certain, although I too have not kept silent about this matter in the letter I wrote back to him, when I received that of his of which I sent you a copy. But since I had not sent your Charity a copy of my reply given to him, I have now appended it to this letter; nevertheless, if a suitable occasion arises, writings will be sent to him in our common name, that is, mine and brother Alypius's, with the Lord's help.
Ep211-270.45. Victorinus ille est in Ecclesia, de quo antea scripseram Sanctitati tuae, ut negotium eius de annonis ageres quod etiam agere dignatus es; causam habet cum matre et vitrico suo propter quam fugit ad Ecclesiam. Quod etiam litteris de hac re ad religiosum comitem datis non tacui; tribunus autem Peregrinus commonitorium se comitis accepisse dicebat, quo Ecclesia graviter perturbata est, quod quasi ille iussus esset erui de Ecclesia. Quod quidem me absente factum est; sed cum venissem, legit mihi ipsum commonitorium memoratus tribunus, quod ego verum esse non credidi. Et ideo scripsi, ut eiusdem comitis rescriptis idem tribunus nosset non se debere huiusmodi falsitatibus Ecclesiam perturbare. Quas etiam si ipse non finxit, tamen si eis facile credit, vides quas molestias sustinere possimus. Aug. comiti Peregrini agendi rationem praedixit ne illi fidem haberet aliud renuntianti...
5. That Victorinus is in the Church, about whom I had written earlier to your Holiness, that you should handle his business about the grain levies, which you also deigned to do; he has a case with his mother and his stepfather, on account of which he fled to the Church. This too I did not keep silent in the letter given on this matter to the religious count; but the tribune Peregrinus said that he had received a memorandum of the count by which the Church was gravely disturbed, as if he had been ordered to drag him out of the Church. This indeed was done in my absence; but when I had come, the said tribune read me the memorandum itself, which I did not believe to be genuine. And therefore I wrote, so that, by the replies of the same count, the same tribune might know that he ought not to disturb the Church with falsehoods of this kind. And even if he himself did not fabricate them, yet if he readily believes them, you see what troubles we may have to endure.
Ep211-270.56. Plus autem non potui facere quam feci; non enim possem ipsum commonitorium mittere quod mihi tantummodo legit; non autem dedit aut id gestis municipialibus allegavit. Unde si tacerem, magis me vir christianus et religiosus comes culpare deberet, sed nolo hinc illi iam dici aliquid, ne forte iste tribunus totum negaret, cum eum sibi indignari viderit, et cogeremur convincere hominem quod non expedit. Sed si forte ipse hinc ultro aliquid interrogaverit, hoc quod ad te scripsi ad locum dignaberis ei legere. Nihil amplius volo. ...fratrem autem quidam Carthaginiensis dixit diutius dilaturum reditum propter causam Rogati a Donatistis mutilati.
6. But more than I have done I could not do; for I could not send the memorandum itself, which he only read to me; he did not, moreover, give it or enter it among the municipal records. Hence, if I were to keep silent, the Christian man and religious count ought rather to blame me; but I do not wish anything to be said to him about this now, lest perhaps this tribune deny the whole thing when he sees that he is indignant with him, and we be compelled to convict the man, which is not expedient. But if perchance he himself should ask anything about this of his own accord, you will deign to read to him, at the proper point, this which I have written to you. I wish nothing more.
Ep211-270.67. Hominem sane memorati filii nostri Victorini commendo Sanctitati tuae, ut eum adiuvare digneris, quo possit propter quod missus est agere. Notarium de quo mittendo scripsit Veneratio tua gratanter accipio. De Olympio mox ut venit audivimus; iam etiam litteras eius accepi. Utrum autem ad comitem veniam ignoro. Venit enim quidam ex fratribus Carthaginiensibus qui eum dixit adhuc latius disponere pergere propter causam episcopi Rogati cui linguam et manum haeretici praeciderunt, quoniam etiam agens in rebus qui cum memorato episcopo et imperiali iussione perrexerat, antequam veniret, Olympius graviter illic ab ipsis perditis caesus est. Exspectamus tamen a Carthagine litteras quae nos certius de omnibus instruant.
7. I commend indeed to your Holiness the man of our said son Victorinus, that you deign to help him, so that he may be able to do that for which he was sent. The notary about whose sending your Venerableness wrote, I gladly accept. About Olympius we heard as soon as he came; I have now received his letter too. But whether I shall come to the count I do not know. For there came a certain one of the brothers of Carthage who said that he was arranging to go still farther on account of the case of the bishop Rogatus, whose tongue and hand the heretics cut off, since even the imperial agent who had gone with the said bishop and by imperial command, before he came, Olympius was there gravely beaten by those same reprobates. Nevertheless we await letters from Carthage to instruct us more certainly about everything.
Ep211-270.7EPISTOLA 29*
DOMINO MERITO DILECTISSIMO ET SINCERISSIMO FILIO ET CONDIACONO PAULINO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
DOMINO MERITO DILECTISSIMO ET SINCERISSIMO FILIO ET CONDIACONO PAULINO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM
LETTER 29*
TO THE LORD, DESERVEDLY MOST BELOVED AND MOST SINCERE SON AND FELLOW DEACON PAULINUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
Ep211-270.7TO THE LORD, DESERVEDLY MOST BELOVED AND MOST SINCERE SON AND FELLOW DEACON PAULINUS, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD
1. Quemadmodum obtemperem voluntati tuae de rebus gestis martyrum nostro sermone digerendis, cum maxime cupiam, nondum colligo. Legi enim quod dignatus es mittere et inveni quaedam aliorum sermone narrata, quaedam vero solis forensibus gestis quae me maxime delectaverunt expressa. Proinde si illa, in quibus nos alii praecesserunt, post ipse narrare voluero, quasi doctor importunus videbor vel superfluus operator; si autem illa quae solis gestis forensibus [continentur] loquendo commemorare voluero, vereor ne non solum non adiuvem germaniorem affectum quem mihi ipsi fecerunt, cum a me sola ipsa gesta legerentur [...]. Ambrosii opera de martyribus maxime necessaria quia narrant quae in forensibus Gestis non inveniuntur.
1. How I may comply with your wish about setting out the deeds of the martyrs in a discourse of mine—though I most greatly desire it—I do not yet gather. For I have read what you deigned to send and have found some things narrated in the discourse of others, but some things expressed only from the public court records, which delighted me most. Accordingly, if I should wish afterward to narrate myself those things in which others have preceded me, I shall seem as it were a meddlesome teacher or a superfluous worker; but if I should wish in speaking to recall those things that are contained only in the public court records, I fear that I may not only fail to assist the more genuine feeling that they themselves stirred in me—when the records alone were read by me [...].
Ep211-270.12. Ut enim moverer tale aliquid facere, quando de hac re tuae Caritati locutus sum, delectaverant me quaedam de martyribus conscripta a venerabilis memoriae sene Ambrosio quae comparata ceteris quorum scripta de his rebus legeram non praeposui, sed ea maxime narravit senex Ambrosius quae in publicis gestis cognosci non possent. Et ideo non tantum minime superfluum, verum etiam maxime necessarium opus eius apparet, sicut legitur a nescio quo conscriptum etiam de beatissimo martyre Cypriano, quod in hortis suis, cum accitus est ad passionem, [quod] Vico Saturni cum teneretur et multitudo fratrum pro foribus excubabat, iussit puellas custodiri, et si quid huiusmodi est quod in forensibus gestis non potest inveniri.
2. For, to be moved to do something of the sort—when I spoke to your Charity about this matter—I had been delighted by certain things composed about the martyrs by the old man of venerable memory Ambrose, which, compared with the others whose writings on these matters I had read, I did not set ahead, but the old man Ambrose narrated especially those things that could not be known from the public records. And therefore his work appears not only by no means superfluous, but even most necessary, just as is read, composed by I-know-not-whom, also about the most blessed martyr Cyprian—that, in his gardens, when he was summoned to his passion, when he was being held at Vicus Saturni and a multitude of the brothers kept watch before the doors, he ordered the girls to be guarded—and if there is anything of this kind that cannot be found in the public court records.
Ep211-270.23. Ego autem quid faciam, qui non habeo unde cognoscam quod praeter gesta publica de martyribus cognoscendum est, nisi quod eorum legeram qui me in hoc opere praevenerunt? Quod autem in gestis publicis lego, si hoc solum meo sermone narrare voluero, decolorare id potius quam illustrare conabor. Hanc suggestionem meam peto consideres et quid tibi videatur fiducia fraterna rescribe.
3. But what am I to do, who have nothing from which to learn what is to be known about the martyrs beyond the public records, except what I had read of those who preceded me in this work? But what I read in the public records, if I should wish to narrate this alone in a discourse of mine, I shall be attempting rather to discolor it than to illustrate it. I ask that you consider this suggestion of mine and, with brotherly confidence, write back what seems good to you.
Ep211-270.3