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THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

EDITED BY

T. E. PAGE, LiTT.D.
E. CAPPS, PH.D., I.I.D. W. H. D. ROUSE, litt.d.

ST. AUGUSTINE

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CLL-Q'.eflnc i-iicuM-i' , £/<.'.' ■'ce. 4^

ST. AUGUSTINE

1 1 1
SELECT LETTERS

WITH AX ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY

JAMES HOUSTON BAXTER, B.D., D.Lirr.

REGIUS PROFESSOR OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS

LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD
NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS

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Printed in Great Britain

PREFACE

Compared \vith his Confessio?is, St. Augustine's
Letters have received but sUght attention, even from
many of his professed biographers, and for each
edition of the one there have appeared, at a moderate
estimate, several hundred editions, translations or
studies of the other. Yet a man's autobiography
gives only his own account and interpretation of him-
self and his deeds ; his letters, if they are genuine and
spontaneous, show him directly, without the distor-
tion of his own explanations and self-justifications.
The present selection, barely a quarter of Augustine's
extant correspondence, contains, it is hoped, enough
to exhibit the human interest of the man and his
environment ; excluding almost all the lengthier
letters, often of the bulk of minor treatises, and those
solely or chiefly concerned ^^dth questions of doctrine,
I have sought to present those which best reveal
him in contact with the varied and busy life of his
time.

The Latin text is, for the most part, that of the
Vienna Corpus Scriptorutn Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum,
edited in four volumes by Alois Goldbacher. Per-
mission to reprint this was generously granted some
ten years ago by the late August Engelbrecht, then
Secretary of the Vienna Academy, and this courtesy
is here gratefully acknowledged. The large number

PREFACE

and variety of the manuscripts, which would have
rendered necessary a fresh and lengthy series of
sigla for each letter, has made it practically im-
possible to provide critical notes for all the changes
introduced into the text, and many of these have
been adopted without remark. Goldbacher's re-
viewers repeatedly pointed out the difficulties made
for the reader by his method of quoting his manu-
script authorities, but in an edition of this size no
improvement has been attempted, and, as his appara-
tus criticus has supplied the material for improving
his text, to it the textual critic is referred.

I have had before me the translations by Poujoulat,
Cunningham and Miss Allies. Of these Poujoulat is
fluent, but given to avoiding difficulties ; Cunning-
ham is, on the whole, accurate, but his dull and
over-literal style makes his translation heavy reading,
though here and there he finds a phrase which it
would have been hard to better ; in difficulties I
have occasionally adopted or adapted his rendering.
Miss Allies gives a paraphrase which is not of much
help alongside the Latin.

To Mr. C. J. Fordyce, of Jesus College, Oxford,
I am indebted for a careful reading of the greater
part of my translation and his high scholarship and
accuracy have removed many weaknesses and rough-
nesses. Messrs. R. and R. Clark's readers and printers
have been models of exactness and speed. Finally,
I owe a great debt, which I can merely acknow-
ledge, to three men who in this particular field
have given me guidance and inspiration : the late
John Swinnerton Phillimore, of Glasgow University,
to whose scholarship, kindliness and influence no
words could be adequate tribute ; the late Alois

PREFACE

Goldbacher, the veteran editor, whom I knew only
in the last, difficult years of his long and devoted
life, but who was even then unwearied in labour
and in helpfulness ; and, last but not least, Pro-
fessor Alexander Souter, of Aberdeen University,
\\'ith whom my friendship during the last twelve
years has been an interrupted, but happy, record of
" patristic hours," fruitful and stimulating to a degree
M'hich those who know him as a scholar and a friend
will readily understand.

J. H. B.

St. Andrews, August 1930.

CONTENTS

Introduction
Chronology
Bibliography

No. 1 (Ep. II)

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

11

12
13
14
15

(Ep. I\0
(Ep. X)
(Ep. XV)
(Ep. XVI)
(Ep. XVII)
(Ep. XXI)
(Ep. XXII)
(Ep. XXVIII)
(Ep. XXIX)
(Ep. XXXIV)
(Ep. XXXVII)
(Ep. XXXVIII)
(Ep. XLII)
(Ep. XLVIII)

Xlll

xUii
xliv

2

4

8

12

16

20

32

40

56

68

92

100

104

108

110
ix

CONTENTS

No. 16

(Ep. L)

„ 17

(Ep. LX)

„ 18

(Ep. LX\')

„ 19

(Ep. LXVI)

„ 20

(Ep. LXVII) .

„ 21

(Ep. LXXXIII)

„ 22

(Ep. LXXXI\0

„ 23

(Ep. LXXXVI)

„ 24

(Ep. XCI)

» 25

(Ep. XCVII) .

., 26

(Ep. XCIX) .

,, 27

(Ep.C) .

,, 28

(Ep. CI) .

,, 29

(Ep. CX) .

„ 30

(Ep. CXV)

„ 31

(Ep. CXXII) .

» 32

(Ep. CXXIV) .

» 33

(Ep. CXXVI) .

,, 34

(Ep. CXXXIII)

„ 35

(Ep. CXLIV) .

„ S6

(Ep. CXLVI) .

» 37

(Ep. CL) .

„ 38

(Ep. CLIX)

„ 39

(Ep. CLXXIII)

„ 40

(Ep. CLXXIV)

„ 41

(Ep. CLXXIX)

•

CONTENTS

PAOE

No. 42

(Ep. CLXXXIX) .... 322

„ 43

(Ep. CXCI)

334

„ 44

(Ep. CXCII) .

340

» 45

(Ep. CC) .

344

„ 46

(Ep. CCIII)

348

» 47

(Ep. CCIX)

352

„ 48

(Ep. CCX)

368

„ 49

(Ep. CCXI)

374

„ 50

(Ep. CCXIV)

404

„ 51

(Ep. CCXX)

•

414

„ 52

(Ep. CCXXVII)

438

,, oS

(Ep. CCXXIX)

442

,, 54

(Ep. CCXXXI)

446

,, 55

(Ep. CCXXXII)

462

„ 56

(Ep. CCXL\0 .

478

„ 57

(Ep. CCXLVI)

482

» 58

(Ep. CCLIV) .

488

„ 59

(Ep. CCLVIII)

490

,, 60

(Ep. CCLXII) .

500

„ 61

(Ep. CCLXVIII)

520

„ 62

(Ep. CCLXIX)

526

Index .

.

528

XI

INTRODUCTION

As befitted the religion of a new and deep and
universal brotherhood, Christianity from its first
diffusion wove new ties between sundered classes and
distant nations and created a fresh and urgent need
for intercourse and for communication. Its earliest
literature was epistolary and its chief missionary
the prince of letter-\\Titers, whose correspondence,
early deemed canonical, set an example and pro-
vided a model for the following Christian genera-
tions. The centuries of persecution may have
diminished, though they did not stem, the stream
of letters that flowed across the Mediterranean from
Church to Church, and in the Christian literature
of that time no names are better known than those
of Ignatius, Barnabas, Clement, Polycarp, Irenaeus,
Dionysius of Corinth, Origen, Dionysius of Alex-
andria, and Cyprian — letter-wTiters all. When peace
was won and the Church recognized. Christian
development on all sides was rapid, until, in the
half-century following Julian's failure to revive and
restore the glories of ancient paganisni. Christian
literature in both East and West, and with it Christian
" epistolary converse," as its devotees loved to call it,
reached its patristic Golden Age.

There was, indeed, much to challenge and to stimu-
late the eager and observant Christian mind, and to

INTRODUCTION

encourage the exchange of ideas between com-
munities and between individuals. Paganism, by a
succession of increasingly severe edicts, was being
publicly dismissed from the Empire ; its temples
were seized and closed or torn down, or else, when a
less puritanical outlook prevailed, turned to Christian
uses ; its Altar of Victory, set up in the Senate-house
after the Battle of Actium in 31 b.c. and since then,
with negligible interruptions, the standing symbol
of the Empire's old religion, was finally and irre-
vocably removed under Theodosius, and paganism,
publicly proscribed, was driven to seek shelter and
continuance in quiet districts and under new and
orthodox disguises. The Church was learning to
accommodate itself, not merely to freedom, but
to dominance ; like a little water in a large vessel,
it spread thinly to take the shape and perform the
functions of that which it had displaced ; it had to
learn new duties, and in the process it was acquiring
that organization which has marked it ever since. At
the same time, the internal changes were important
and enduring : modes of v.orship were being evolved
which became by slow growth and development
the stately and impressive liturgy of the Middle
Ages ; in the need for formulation of the standard
faith, the boundaries were drawn more and more
rigidly between right religion and dangerous error,
and Christianity steadily grew more metaphysical as
it attempted to express the inexpressible. A new
ascetic movement, the parent of ordered community
monasticism, had inevitably followed the invasion
of the Church by masses to whom Christianity was
more a fashion than a faith, and, partly as the result
of the conviction that this elect and inner circle
xiv

INTRODUCTION

had a better and a surer way to salvation in the
renunciation of the world and all its pomp and power,
the rich surrendered their property for pious uses
and their prospects for a lowlier, chastened life that
was to win them higher blessings in the world to
come. Partly too, no doubt, it w^as the conscious
or unconscious answer of the harassed and perplexed
to the increasing difficulties of the time, the pro-
gressive impoverishment of the Empire and the
progressive burden of taxation, for, since Constantine
had first imposed his super-tribute, material em-
barrassments had vastly grown, and the only ways
of escape were into the senatorial class, which was
hard, or into the ranks of the clergy, which was
easy. The same economic pressure led to the con-
solidation and the isolation of those great domains
of M'hich the following letters speak more than
once ; on them the proprietors became practically
independent rulers, and to them, as hfe grew more
and more unsure, the poorer classes gravitated in
search of protection against pirates and brigands and
the tax-collector. In the arrangements gradually
evolved between the owners and the tenants for the
cultivation of the land are to be found the beginnings
of a system which was to play an important part in
the peasant-life of the Middle Ages ; but for the
moment its disadvantageous features are more evi-
dent. City-life, prosperous and active in the first
and second centuries of our era, was suffering a
marked decline, and, as patriotic feeling had always
found expression in devotion to one's city and a civic
pride much narrower and more intense than in our
own day, the Empire became more and more an
abstraction and society more definitely turned in the

INTRODUCTION

direction of local pre-occupations and aristocratic
administration. With the isolation of each territorial
unit and its economic and administrative self-suffici-
ency, centralized sovereignty disappeared before a
divided and dissipated control which owed little
allegiance and provided little support to the needs or
to the idea of an empire. Each fundus, Augustine
tells us, is a practical independent unit ; it has its
own machinery, its own church or churches, and its
own bishop. In these Letters the reader will often
be struck by the existence of such bishops in charge
of what are apparently very small churches and very
limited territories, and in this fact of decentralization
he will find the explanation. The same fact very
largely accounts for the persistence of Donatism and
the violence of its antagonism to the Catholic Church.
The ancient stock, even after nearly six hundred
years of Roman civilization, remained largely un-
changed : the Punic language was spoken even in
Hippo, and in the country districts it was often the
only speech. The enormous extension of landed
properties in Africa laid upon the native population a
heavy burden of serfdom which provoked acute social
and racial hatred, and when, through the generosity
of the emperors, the Church itself, in addition to
being officially recognized, became a landed pro-
prietor, that opposition which had begun as a simple
question of ecclesiastical rivalry \vas soon augmented
by the accession of discontented slaves who were
prompted to rebellion by economic oppression and
social grievances. Their armed bands of circum-
celliones wandered round the country, attacking and
burning property and wreaking the most violent
vengeance upon landowners and Catholic priests,
xvi

INTRODUCTION

pouring vinegar and salt water down their throats,
putting hme into their eyes, and cudgeUing them to
death. The African pro\1nces were completely at
their mercy : debtors' tablets were seized and de-
stroyed ; the roads were infested Mith brigands, and
life was safe neither on the country domains nor
outside them. At Hippo Augustine found his
Catholic Christians denied bread by the Donatist
baker and his people often driven by force to join
the Donatist party. On one occasion he himself
only escaped with his life by losing his way and so
avoiding an ambush they had laid for him. During
the short rebellion under Gildo, a count of Africa who
had turned the social and religious ferment to his
own ends, the threat not only to Africa, but to Rome,
reached its most dangerous point. The rebel had
chosen his moment well, for the Rhine frontier was
crumbling. Alaric was threatening Italy, and the
arrest of the corn supply from Numidia added actual
famine to potential fear. Stilicho was campaigning
in the East, and only in 398 was he able to deal with
Gildo the Moor. The rebellion was soon put down,
but already a few of the Donatists had began to look to
the Catholic Church as the only agent which could re-
establish peace and order. The outrageous violence
of their supporters recoiled upon their own head, for
a period of drastic repression was now adopted by
both Church and State. Donatist churches were de-
stroyed ; Donatist property was confiscated, and
the right of buying, selling, or bequeathing property
was taken away. In February 405 the Emperor
Honorius promulgated the law known as the " Edict
of Union," which made schism penal, and, though its
immediate effect was to drive the Circumcellions to

INTRODUCTION

greater exasperation and outrage, it did in time pro-
duce some degree of peace. Yet in 4-10 the council
of African bishops assembled at Carthage sought
from the Emperor powers to convene Catholics and
Donatists in a Conference, at which the points at
variance should be discussed. In June 411 the two
parties met at Carthage under the presidency of the
tribune Marcellinus, who after hearing both sides
gave judgement for the CathoHcs. All rescripts
giving toleration or favour to the Donatists were
repealed and previous condemnations of their sect
and error were confirmed. Heavy penalties were
to be inflicted upon their adherents ; their clergy-
were to be deported, and their churches handed over
to the Catholics. Fresh outbreaks of fury resulted ;
Restitutus, a priest of Hippo, was murdered and
another cleric suffered mutilation, but the work of
restoration and incorporation went on. Yet there
can be no doubt that the success of the \'andals in
Africa was in a considerable measure facilitated by
the presence of large bodies of malcontents among
the native population. The ten years of warfare
that preceded the fall of Carthage in 439 were
rendered appalhng by the wanton ferocity of the
fanatical native peasantry, who under protection
of the invaders burned the villas of their masters
and gave the whole countryside over to pillage
and destruction. During the \'andal occupation of
Africa (a.d. 430-533), the Donatists seem to have
escaped the persecution meted out by the Arian
conquerors to the Catholic party, and from the re-
conquest by the Byzantine emperors until in 637 the
Saracen invaders swept across Africa destroying
Church and State alike, occasional glimpses of
xviii

INTRODUCTION

Donatist activity reappear, to show that they had by
no means abandoned their opposition to orthodoxy
or yielded to the pressure of the long series of edicts
designed to crush them.

In its chronological details their history possesses
only a restricted interest ; its importance lies rather
in the system of Catholic doctrines which were
formulated in the refutation of their errors. The
real origins of the schism are to be found in the era
of the persecutions, when many of the terrorized
Christians of North Africa surrendered to the im-
perial agents the Sacred Books of the Faith. When
peace came, the question of discipline arose : were
those who had thus handed over the Scriptures to
be received back to full communion, or was their
character as Christians and as officers of the Church
not entirely impaired by that act of faint-heartedness
and treason ? If a minister was thus unworthy, did
his personal unworthiness destroy the efficacity of
the Sacraments which he dispensed ? The party of
zealots, many of whom declared that they had re-
fused to surrender the Holy Books or had sought the
honours of martyrdom by proclaiming their possession
of them and their defiance of the persecuting edict,
maintained the position that as the Bishop of Carthage
had been ordained by a traditor, his consecration was
invalid and the Catholics, who persisted in com-
munion with him, were in consequence cut off from
the true Church. This rigorism was not new in
Africa : Tertullian had argued, a century before,
that the Christian had no right to avoid persecution,
since in so doing he is thwarting the will of God by
whom the persecution has been allowed to come
about ; Cyprian and the majority of his fellow-

xix

INTRODUCTION

bishops held that baptism could not be validly
administered by heretics, since they could not give
what they did not possess. The Donatists. in turn,
made the validity of a Sacrament depend upon the
character of the minister ; holiness is the keynote
of the Church, and when that has been impaired,
apostolicity and catholicity are of no avail. The
Church is a society of saints, not a school for sinners.
So, since to their mind the whole Catholic body was
composed of traditors and the sons of traditors, all
who came over from its ranks to theirs must be re-
baptized. On the point of fact, the betrayal of the
Scriptures by representatives of the Catholic Church,
they were proved by ample evidence to be in the
WTong. On the point of doctrine, it was left for
Augustine to emphasize the distinction between sacra-
mental validity and efficacy and to give authorita-
tive expression to the Cyprianic and ecclesiastical
conceptions of the nature and the unity of the Church,
the necessity of inclusion in it for salvation, and the
apostolicity of its episcopate. Further, in his polemic
against Donatism, he was led to forgo his earlier opinion
in favour of freedom of thought, and to enunciate the
theory of religious intolerance. To this momentous
step his progress was gradual, and he was never,
indeed, very happy about the employment of civil
power in the coercion of the heretics. In the first
period of the controversy, from 391 to about 4-04<, he
sought to win the Donatists to unity through argu-
ment and persuasion ; then, for a year or two, in face
of the fruitlessness of that policy, he hesitated and
held back, before finally accepting the edict of 405
with its penal laws against the heretics and support-
ing with his authority the theory that it is the duty

INTRODUCTION

of the Catholic prince to estabUsh CathoUc unity.
The action of the emperors in using force to destroy
heresy he thereafter vigorously defended, although
in actual practice he sought as far as lay in his power
to prevent the infliction of the extreme penalties of
torture and death. Yet his theory of the coercion
of heretics contains in germ the whole system of
spiritual tyranny which came to a full development
in the Inquisition, and his authority was invoked for
the perpetration of cruelties from which he certainly
would have shrunk with horror. His doctrine of the
Church pro\dded the basis for the mediaeval concep-
tion of an omnipotent institution, capable of using
the secular State as the executive of its declared will,
possessed of an essential and inalienable prerogative
as the Body and Kingdom of Christ, and exercising
a divine right in its organization and in the suppres-
sion of all free inquiry and free speech. But he
never completely resolved the inconsistency between
his theory of the Church Catholic and his theological
doctrine of Grace ; on the one hand, the Church is
the visible Society bound together by the Sacra-
ments and the hierarchy ; on the other, it is the sum
total of all those who, whether within the visible
Church or without, are predestined by God to eternal
life. Between these two his thought wavered, and
he transfers to the visible Society much of the ideal
character of the final Kingdom of God. In this
identification of the Kingdom of God with an organ-
ized ecclesiastical government he supplied the frame-
work for the mediaeval Church, but the real disparity
between the hierarchical idea and his doctrine of Grace
was not realized and faced until the days of Wyclif
and Hus and the Reformation,

b xxi

INTRODUCTION

II

The controversy between Augustine and Pelagius,
in the course of which were evolved those theories of
Grace, Predestination, and Freewill specifically desig-
nated Augustinianism, occupies a relatively small space
in the present collection of letters, for the majority of
those in which Augustine sets forth his own views or
discusses the theories of his opponents are either too
lengthy or too technical for our purpose here. Yet in
many ways it was the most important of the ecclesias-
tical questions with which Augustine was engaged,
and the one into which he threw himself with the
most fervour and con\iction. His controversy with
the Manichaeans concerning the nature of evil had
already turned his attention to the problem of sin, its
sway over the human heart, and its punishment, and
the writings he had circulated on the subject had
marked him out as a leader of Christian thought.
Moreover, it was a phrase from his own Confessions :
Da quod iuhes et iube quod vis (Bk. x. 40, 44, 60) to
which Pelagius originally took exception, and it was in
Africa that the new doctrines first took hold and were
first conc'emned. When Pelagianism spread to the
various countries around the Mediterranean, it was
to Augustine that all men turned in hope of defini-
tion in a problem which affected every Christian in
his attitude towards evil and towards the salvation
offered by the Church in Christ as a deliverance from
evil. The dispute here concerned man as a more im-
mediate and inward aspect of the problem which had
earlier engaged Augustine's mind ; with the Mani-
chaeans the discussion had centred round the meta-
physical and cosmological problem, evil as it existed

INTRODUCTION

in the universe, its origin and its relation to the
Creator. Against Pelagianism Augustine was chiefly
engaged in discussing the nature of evil as it is mani-
fested in the heart of man, the corruption of the
human will, man's responsibility for all the sin that
exists in the world, and the place of human freedom
in God's scheme of salvation. Partly deriving from
those Christological heresies which regarded Jesus as
a sinless man inhabited by the divine Logos and so
promoted to the dignity of being God, and partly
drawing upon the Stoic doctrine of human perfecti-
bility and of \drtue as the life according to nature,
Pelagianism was an outbreak of paganism within the
Church which threatened not only to blot out that
condescension of God to man that makes all religion
something more than mere ethics, but also to deny
that fundamental doctrine of Christianity, the neces-
sity and the power of the Atonement. Of the stages
in this controversy, a few indications will be found in
the Letters here selected : the first, at Carthage, when
Celestius was condemned ; the second, in Palestine,
where Pelagius's specious arguments misled two
Eastern synods into approval of his case ; and the
third, at Rome, where at first the Roman bishop,
Zosimus, pronounced Pelagius orthodox and after-
wards, under pressure from the Church at Carthage,
declared his theories anathema. But the problem,
once ventilated, continued to trouble the Western
Church, and even in his own day x\ugustine found
many critics of his system as he has continuously
found both critics and supporters since. If his views
have not found universal acceptance in detail, those
which he attacked have been with one accord re-
jected, though they are ever ready to return to

INTRODUCTION

favour as often as men lose their sense of the reality
of sin and the Church fails to insist upon the cardinal
need of redemption. If Augustine based his general
argument upon theories which were inconsistent Mith
his other teaching, if the sharp-Mitted Julian of
Eclanum made short work of much of his doctrine, at
least in the age-long controversy between " morals
as against religion, free-^^ill as against grace, reason
as against revelation, and culture as against con-
version," Augustine undoubtedly saved the cause of
Christianity. He re-discovered and re-interpreted
St. Paul ; it might even be said that he re-lived the
Pauline experience and re-expressed the Pauline
contribution to Christian doctrine, and for that it is a
becoming recognition that the only two conversion
anniversaries in the Church's calendar should be those
of the t\vo men who were so closely akin. It was by
this side of his teaching, so irreconcilable with his
Catholicism, that he became the teacher and the in-
spiration of Gottschalk and the Jansenists, of Luther
and of Calvin.

Ill

Before the Roman conquest of 146 B.C. Carthage
had been a Phoenician colony since the ninth century
and Utica for three centuries more, and in the com-
mercial centres along the coast and in the valleys
cultivated for their support Punic civilization had left
deep and abiding traces. At best, the Romanization
of North Africa was but partial and external. Primarily
an agricultural province, Africa had to be systematic-
ally organized, preserved in orderliness and defended
along the desert frontier, so that the rich harvests of
wheat, wine, olives, and grapes, so necessary for the
xxiv

INTRODUCTION

markets and the mouths of Rome, mio-ht be fully
developed, safely gathered, and speedily transported.
The coastal towns, Hadrumetum, Carthage, Hippo,
and others, were active ports and shipbuilding
centres, Mdth a considerable population of Roman
agents and officials, yet even there the basic elements
were Punic and so remained. In spite of the in-
fluence exerted by the many municipalities scattered
throughout the country, the existence of those ex-
tensive estates M'hich have been already mentioned,
and on them of a small, exclusive, and enormously
wealthy class of proprietors alongside a vast population
of serfs, made it possible to have considerable material
progress without a corresponding extension of culture.
Since the reign of Trajan, the soldiers of the Third
Legion who on discharge from service settled in the
veteran-colonies were almost all of African birth, and
their influence in Romanizing the country was small.
Through long contact and acquiescence the native
inhabitants had adapted themselves to Roman forms
and institutions, but the economic and social life
developed by the conquerors, the laws and language
they imposed and the religion they practised, made
no deep impression upon a race that in speech, culture,
and tradition was oriental. Although Africa, like the
other provinces, shows abundant evidence of the cult
of the Hellenic deities and the adoption of the old
mythology, and although the official cult of Rome
and the Emperor was naturally observed as an ex-
pression of subjection, devotion, and loyalty, these
forms of religion were only engrafted upon an older
and deeper set of beliefs and superstitions, which they
could neither displace nor destroy. As might be ex-
pected, the imported religion found its chief devotees

XXV

INTRODUCTION

among the higher urban classes. The numerous
monuments raised to the honour of the sovereign
City or the Emperor were promoted either by the
municipalities themselves or by those who had held
office in them as magistrates. But among the humbler
classes it was otherwise, and if they shared in the
ceremonies and the games celebrated in the name
of the imperial religion, their intimate and personal
devotions were paid to other deities thinly disguised
under Roman appellations. The inscriptions bear
witness to the great popularity of Saturn throughout
all North Africa, and Tertullian several times records
the widespread nature of that cult, but at bottom it
was, and remained, the cult of a Phoenician deity,
Baal-Hammon, Similarly, the cult of Juno Caelestis
or the Dea Caelestis or Diana concealed that of the old
Punic goddess, Tanit, goddess of the crescent moon,
parent of all things, mistress of all elements. In the
old Carthaginian religion Baal and Tanit were the two
supreme di^'inities, or rather the original divine being,
conceived under male and female forms. Of their
offspring, Eschmoun and Melqart were the most not-
able, and they continued to be worshipped after the
Roman conquest under the names of Esculapius and
of Hercules. In the course of time certain changes
were produced by this identification of the older
religion with the new. The Phoenicians of Tyre and
Sidon had refrained, like the Jews, from the repre-
sentation of their divinities in human form, and in
North Africa, too, the stones raised in honour of Baal
or Tanit originally bore only symbols, the disk, the
crescent, or the caduceus. Under Roman influence,
the employment of more or less artistic human figures
and features gradually became the custom, and the

INTRODUCTION

syncretistic paganism of the North African passed
from being s3'mbohcal to being anthropomorphic.
Fm'ther. the Punic rehgion in its native state had been
more closely akin to the strict monotheism of the
Hebrews than to the pictm-esque polytheism of the
Hellenes. Its twofold divinity, Baal-Tanit, was more
a cosmological conception than a religious or poetical ;
though two in name, they symbolized the two corre-
lative aspects of the ultimate being, the male and
generative, and the female and reproductive. But
around them had grown up no art and no mythology ;
their functions remained vague and indeterminate,
and their personality ill-defined. That was M'hy their
identification with any sinsi'le one of the ficrures of
the Roman pantheon was uncertain ; Tanit appears
under the varying appellations of Diana, Ceres, or
\^enus, and Baal masquerades under the designations
of Saturn, Jupiter, Liber Pater, Mercury, Pluto, or
Apollo. Here already was a suggestion of that mono-
theistic tendency which later African paganism dis-
plays so markedly. Since none of the characters of
Roman mythology exactly fitted or completely ex-
pressed the nature of that almost impersonal deity
which the Phoenicians had introduced, it was the
easier to claim, as does Maximus of Madaura, that
behind the multiple names of divinities worshipped bv
mankind there was a common God, the Father of them
all. And again, in the centuries of Roman domina-
tion, the worship even of Baal had gradually receded
into the background, and that of Tanit, in the char-
acter of Caelestis, had become more and more wide-
spread, until she was an object of veneration, not only
in her well-knoA\Ti and beautiful temple at Carthage,
but also in Numidia, Spain, Mauretania, and in Rome

xxvii

INTRODUCTION

itself. Thus, though transformed by the acceptance
of a mythology which was at best an inadequate and
ill-fitting cloak for its original bareness and simplicity,
though adopting Roman nomenclature and con-
structing its sanctuaries upon the model of those in
Roman use, this Punic paganism persisted behind and
below all that the conquerors imposed. In reality,
they had not attempted a religious revolution. It was
enough that political and industrial ends were served
by external conformity to the State religion as a
svmbol of authority and by participation in its games,
its ceremonies, and its festivals.

WTiat the Christian Church from the time of Con-
stantine had been steadily attempting to repress and
eradicate was this official Roman paganism, the ally and
the expression of Roman imperialism. The distinc-
tion drawn above between the Punic basis of religion
and the veneer of terminology, mythology, and rite
which accompanied the conquest and settlement,
must be borne in mind for the understanding of
the Church's attitudes and pohcies towards pagan-
ism during the lifetime of Augustine. The reign of
Juhan (361-363) had been folloMcd by nearly twenty
years of vacillation and partial tolerance of paganism
which Augustine himself must have clearly remem-
bered, but from the time of the emperor Gratian on-
wards a succession of imperial edicts forbade with
increasing severity the observance of pagan practices ;
sacrifices were proscribed, the immunities enjoyed by
priests and vestals were withdrawn, the revenues and
property of pagan temples were confiscated, and the
statues of heathen deities were overthrown and their
temples closed. Those most affected by this legisla-
tion were naturally of the official class, the magistrates
xxviii

INTRODUCTION

and the wealthier and Romanized famiUes of the
municipaUties. For them the State reUgion had been
indissolubly bound up with pohtics ; the dignity of
perpetual flamen was the climax of the municipal
ciirsiis honorum. while the priests of Rome and Augus-
tus had not infrequently discharged the various public
offices in their city before achieving the crowning
honour of their career. In Timgad. for example, about
two-thirds of the curia had fulfilled religious func-
tions as flamines, pontiffs, augurs, or provincial high-
priests ;'^ at Madaurathe public character of the pagan
sacrifices is emphasized by Augustine's correspondent
Maximus, and the municipal senate was apparently
composed entirely of adherents of the older cult.^
The town of Sufes might be alleged as an example of
popular resentment against the closing of the temples,
yet it is not unlikely that the massacre of some sixty
Christians there as a result of the legislation of 399 ^
was instigated by the magistrates and that, in any
case, the level of Romanization was more than usually
high, for that town owed its origin to the strategic
position it occupied on the edge of the area of Punic
infiltration around Mactar, and its population, as that
of a frontier fort, may have been largely Roman. But
in general the suppression of official paganism con-
cerned the wealthier and the more cultured classes

° This was between a.d. 364 and 367, certainly, but there
is evidence of a correspondingly high proportion of pagans
among municipal officers elsewhere in Augustine's own day.
The vicar of Africa in 395 and the pro-consul in 394 were
apostates ; the pro-consul in 400 was fanatically pagan.
It was this condition of things which provoked Augustine's
regretful remark {In Ps. 54, 13) : ille nohllis si Christkmus
esset, nemo retnaneret paganvs.

^ See Nos. 5, 6, and 55 infra, '^ See No. 16 infra.

INTRODUCTION

from whom were drawn the administrators and the
civil servants, the educated and the hterary. The
inevitable result was the loss to Christianity of those
who represented the finer sides, not only of paganism,
but of the antique culture, and the alienation of
ecclesiastics from the art and literature of the ancient
world. In the absence of a laity accustomed to the
management of affairs, the whole working of the
Church fell more and more upon the clergy, and the
development of Christianity was accompanied by the
development of ecclesiasticism. Being out of touch
-with the personnel of the government, the Church was
hardly in a position to act as an intermediary between
the State and the indigenous population, and prob-
ably the hostility of the governing class counted for
something against Christianity when the barbarians
began to arrive.

In this direction, indeed, the Church had since the
time of Constantine been steadily assuming the func-
tions and the duties earlier the prerogative of the
State religion, paganism, and the final rejection of that
religion left the ground clear for Christianity and
gave sanction to those actinties in which it had
already discredited and displaced its competitor. In
many respects the gradual association with political
departments and secular concerns was a valuable pre-
paration for the coming days of administrative disloca-
tion and paralysis, when the machinery of the Roman
Empire was reduced almost to impotence through
the barbarian invasions. The tasks and the attributes
of civil officialdom increasingly devolved upon the
clergy, and, in Africa during the century before the
irruption of the ^^andals, it meant the developing
alliance of Church and State and the identification,

XXX

INTRODUCTION

in the eyes of the native inhabitants, of Christianity
with the Roman conqueror. It was among these
peoples that the earhest successes of the Church had
been achieved ; missionary enterprise had begun in
the coastal towns and followed the Roman roads in-
land, but the first Christians were recruited from the
lower classes, as were later the majority of the converts
to monasticism. Now the victorious Church, through
the generosity of the emperors and the devotion of
its members, acquired or inherited vast tracts of land
and became itself a proprietor and employer, bound
to the same system of exploitation as had character-
ized the civil regime. The owners of large estates
who were Christians compelled their dependents to
accept the faith, on the principle ciijus regio, ejus
religio, and built Christian churches or chapels upon
their land for the use of their workers. The bishops
obtained judicial privileges which, if they added
enormously to their labour, added no less to their
prestige. Following more or less closely the civil
boundaries, the Church had organized its dioceses
into the six provinces into which Diocletian had
di\'ided North Africa : Pro-consular Africa had its
metropolis at Carthage, Numidia at Cirta, Byzacenum
at Hadrumetum, Tripolitana at Tripoli, the two
Mauretanias at Sitifis and Caesarea. ±\ clue to the
nature of the Christian population is supplied by the
interesting phenomenon of an unusually numerous
episcopate : practically every important town had its
own bishop, and not a few of the manorial churches
besides. In the course of the fourth century there
are no fewer than seven hundred bishoprics, and even
admitting that roughly one half of these were due to
Donatist rivalry, the remainder is still disproportion-

xxxi

INTRODUCTION

ately large for a province even so extensive as North
Africa. It is clear that the normal Christian con-
gregation was recruited from the more civilized in-
habitants and from the serfs on estates of Christian
masters. There still remained a great number of
natives outside the towns, to whom the increasing
strength and organization of the Church suggested
that it was only another instrument for native oppres-
sion. It has been often suggested that the most
formidable heresies that confronted the Church arose
in those pro\-inces where Hellenistic or Roman culture
was least assimilated, in Arian Egypt, Monophysite
Syria, and Donatist Africa, and here, at least, the
union of orthodoxy with the State brought to a head
that national feeling which was already partially
aroused by the heavy burden of taxation, the com-
pact and depressing system of land-holding, and the
undoubted increase of economic difficulties. Donat-
ism began within the Church ; it ended as a social
revolution.

Though Christianity had successfully overcome
paganism in this public sphere and acquired its official
status and privileges, that deeper and more indigen-
ous religion upon which paganism had been a loyal
veneer presented a problem less easily solved. Public
ceremonies and rites could be forcibly suppressed,
but superstitions persisted alongside and within
Christianity, and here the Church was unable to secure
more than an unequal compromise. Augustine re-
peatedly speaks of the extent of Christianity and the
growing extinction of paganism, but while the com-
position of his De Civitate Dei shows the survival of
paganism among the lettered classes, his Sermojis, and
casual remarks elsewhere, show how deeply it still in-
xxxii

INTRODUCTION

fluenced the conduct of the people. One of the most
important of his Letters'^ contains a graphic picture
of the celebration of Agapae in cemeteries and in
the chapels of the martyrs, and Augustine himself
recognizes in this the persistence of the ancient
Parentalia. To combat the evil of drunkenness at
the martyrs' tombs, the Church turned the offering
of bread and wine into an offering of the Eucharist ;
roofed over the tomb, now become an altar, and
called the new building a chapel, where the saint's
career might be depicted in picture and in play and
where the burial of the faithful might show their
veneration for the saint and their belief in the virtue
of his near presence. But other practices yielded
less speedily and less completely. The consulting of
astrologers was widespread, and Augustine himself,
as he tells in the Confessions,^ had the habit as a young
man. Even members of the Church observed pagan
customs and required admonition to refrain from
such habits as the celebration of New Year's Day by
the giving of presents, the singing of ribald songs,
attendance at the theatre and at banquets. From
these and other references in Augustine's works, it
is clear that the Christianity of the time bore the
strong imprint of the character of those by whom it
was received. The problem of dealing with survivals
from earlier cults remained a difficulty for long there-
after. It troubled St. Augustine of Canterbury and
evoked two differing replies from Pope Gregory the
Great ; it received solution by way of compromise
from Gregory Thaumaturgus and by way of stern de-

« No. 10 infra.

^ Conf. iv. 3, 4 ; see the interesting account of the Cartha-
ginian astrologer Albiceriiis in C Acad. i. 6. 17 if.

xxxiii

INTRODUCTION

nunciation of any association >^-ith paganism from the
Popes consulted by the Franciscan missionaries to
China in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Yet if these pagan characteristics were conspicuous
in the African converts, it could hardly have been
other^\•ise. By the aid of the imperial laws the Church
had eventually succeeded in effacing paganism as an
official cult ; through the Councils it preserved its
doctrine free from subtle semi-paganized interpreta-
tion and misconstruction, and in such ^\Titings as
Augustine's City of God it created a historical back-
ground against which its development could be seen
as a vast pro\-idential purpose and its organization as
a reflection and anticipation of the Eternal Kingdom
of God. But in the loMcr levels of everyday practice
among its ordinary believers Christianity was forced
to accept and to sanction much that was undoubtedly
of pagan origin and with Vvhich, strictly speaking, it
had nothing whatever to do. In the pagan festivals
are to be found the beginnings of the Christian year ;
the worship of Tanit or Astarte or Caelestis may have
encouraged the veneration of the Virgin Mother ; the
lesser deities of popular superstition were certainly
the prototypes of the Christian saints or demons ; the
belief in magic and divination, probably the most
energetic pagan sentiment of the time, continued
both in and below Christianity and would not be cast
out. It is possible to condemn the compromising
spirit and to see in that century of Christian inter-
penetration with alien and indefensible customs the
ironical vengeance of the paganism \vhich, publicly
ejected and condemned, returned to cloak itself under
various licit and respectable guises, but it is perhaps
kinder to find in that slow achievement the evidence
xxxiv

INTRODUCTION

of a divine capacity to absorb theories and customs
that could be eradicated only by a toilsome process
of education and enli2:htenment, to consecrate them
by their admission among holier habits and to utilize
them as steps towards a purer and a higher life.

IV

To the Christians of the fourth and fifth centuries
the WTiting of letters was more than a personal and
occasional pleasure. A bishop was tied to his see and
not infrequently, as with Augustine, his people were
unwilling to allow" him to be absent from them, so for
such as he correspondence was a necessity. There
were official letters communicating the decision of
local synods, and others demanded in the exercise of
episcopal duties and discipline. These Utteraeformatae
might be certificates of church communion to Chris-
tians M'ho were compelled to travel and were in this way
commended to bishops elsewhere {litterae communica-
toriae) ; they might be letters granting authority to
local clergy to remove to another diocese with
credentials from their own bishop (litterae dimissoriae) ;
they might be simple letters of introduction (com-
mendatoriae). But in addition correspondence was a
means, often the only one, of publicity : it supplied
news, discharged the function of exhortation and en-
couragement, served as a bond between churches and
between individuals, and not seldom did duty as an
open pamphlet or treatise. A goodmany of Augustine's
letters have this official or semi-official character, and,
covering as they do a period of forty-five years, they
are invaluable documents for the history of his age.
The majority of them treat of the heresies, principally

XXXV

INTRODUCTION

Donatism : a smaller number treat of paganism,
and several others discuss such matters as church
discipline,, the right of sanctuary, and monasti-
cism. Most of the purely personal letters have been
relegated by the editors, because of the difficulty of
dating them, into the fourth section (Epp, ccxxxii.-
cclxx.), and among these will be found some of the
most interesting of the whole collection : his reply
to the magistrates of Madaura discussing paganism
(No. 55), his letter to Possidius concerning the paint-
ing of the face and the wearing of ornaments and
amulets (No. 56), his brief account and examination
of astrology (No. 57) and his discussion of the matri-
monial shortcomings of Ecdicia and the duties of a
Christian wife (No. 60). In these more particularly
he manifests his friendly and helpful pastoral care
for his people, his understanding of human nature
and his sound common sense. Here, with a regret-
table infrequency, he becomes intimate and human,
and the official, the bishop, the philosopher, the
theologian, sink into the background as the man
appears.

In general, the letters of the time were written
upon papyrus (chartd). On one occasion^ Augustine
excuses himself for ^^Titing on parchment, because at
the moment neither papyrus nor tablets were avail-
able : his ivory tablets he had sent to the uncle of his
correspondent and he asks for their speedy return.
His habit was to dictate to scribes ; ^ not seldom at
the end of a letter he has added a sentence of greet-
ing or exhortation in his own hand, though the care-
lessness of copyists has considerably reduced the

° No. \ infra. " Epp. 139. 3, 173 a, 238. 29, etc.

xxxvi

INTRODUCTION

number of the marginal annotations Et alia ma7iu.^
The letter finished, it was folded and sealed, and
Augustine tells a correspondent on one occasion the
emblem on his seal : it depicts a human face in profile,
perhaps that of the \^Titer himself. The bearers of
the missives were almost always private individuals,
and only rarely was it possible to secure the ser\ices
of the public tahellarii. Sometimes the wTiter v/as
fortunate enough to find someone travelHng at least
near to the person he desired to address, as when
Augustine transmits a letter to Paulinus of Nola by
Fortunatianus, who is journeying to Rome.^ More
usually one of his own clergy, a presbyter or a deacon,
was entrusted with the letter and made a special
journey in order to deliver it ; ° once or tAvice an
acolyte is sent ^\•ith letters,^ and once the agent of a
Roman lady carries letters to the African shore and
employed someone to bear them thence to Augustine
at Hippo.* Naturally, a special bearer was always
insistent upon receiving an answer and no less in-
sistent upon the need for an early departure. Of all
letters, received or transmitted, Augustine appears
to have kept copies ; in ^\Titing to Jerome,^ for
example, he speaks of his own earlier communications ;
sometimes he quotes verbally from them, and one letter
at least owes its preservation only to his inclusion of
it in a later treatise.^ In the list of his works com-
piled by Possidius, many of his letters are mentioned
as existing in the library of the church of Hippo, and
Augustine in his Retractations amends or qualifies

^ e.g. No. 36 infra. * Ep. Ixxx.

'^ Epp. xciv., xcv., xcvii., etc.
<* No. 43. 1 . « No. -26.

f Epp. clxvi., ccii. a. ^ No. 36.

c xxxvii

INTRODUCTION

some of the statements he had made throughout the
years in his correspondence. In preserving the
letters he had received, Augustine must have dated
them and at times supplied a name where the ^\Titer's
identity was not conspicuous : thus, the superscription
to the letter from Maximus of Madaura would in all
probability come from the hand of Augustine alone.
Again, the rich manuscript tradition for the corres-
pondence exchanged between Augustine and Jerome
suggests that each recipient edited it separately.
There is a double tradition, as there is for the letters
exchanged between Augustine and Paulinus of Nola,
so it appears practically certain that there M'as also a
double edition.

To a reader unaccustomed to Christian Latin letters
the use of honorific titles will appear at first strange
and cumbersome. These occur in endless variety,
and the translator is confronted ^ith the difficulty of
either rendering the phrase by a periphrasis or of
adopting and capitalizing a word which in English is
not ordinarily so employed. Such terms as Beaiiiudo
tua. Amplitudo tua. Magna7iimitas tua. J^enerahilitas tua,
Benkoleiitia tua. Dilectio tua, can hardly be literally
rendered, and even where an English phrase like
" Your Grace " can be used, it has associations not
always appropriate to the context. The employment
of these honorific titles begins in the epistolary litera-
ture of the third century and becomes increasingly
frequent until the time of Justinian, when certain
changes were made in terminology and descriptive
titles assigned to certain ranks of imperial officials.
Within the Church, the development of such a nomen-
clature was no doubt the inevitable accompaniment of
the development of a hierarchy, and as the dignity of

INTRODUCTION

the clergy was augmented and encouraged by the
State, their titles became more and more pompous
and ornate. Meantime, in Augustine's age, they are
upon the whole elastic and variable. A few titles
are the prerogative of the Emperor or of bishops in
general ; some others are confined in use to the
laity, but as yet there is hardly visible any such definite
gradation as marks the civil officials into the three
classes of illustres, spectabiles, and clarissimi, corre-
sponding to the magistratus maximi, medii and minores.
The title bestowed by a writer upon his correspondent
depends upon the circumstances of their respective
relations, the purpose of the letter, and the degree of
veneration and respect which the writer thought
proper to assume. Epistolary language of the period
is exaggeratedly deferential, and the employment
of the infinite varieties of honorific terms of address
is only symptomatic of the rhetorical and pompous
style in vogue among pagans and Christians alike.

As a letter-writer Augustine certainly lacks the
point and the passion of his contemporary, Jerome ;
his style has little of the movement and the color
poeticus of Ambrose, and nothing of the tedious
loquacity and rotundity of Paulinus. To a modern
reader it seems strange that one of his friends could
compare his prose to that of Cicero, for as a rule it
is comparatively undistinguished and unobtrusive.
Critics and biographers have emphasized his early
training in rhetoric and his adoption of public speak-
ing as a career, yet their insistence upon the rhetorical
nature of his prose is over-done. He does like, at

INTRODUCTION

times, to seize hold of a word or phrase in an oppon-
ent's letter, and to play upon the Avord or the idea for
the duration of his reply ; " he has a fondness for jingle
and assonance, and many of his most quoted phrases
owe their popularity as much to their balance, point,
and rhyme, as to their meaning. But even granting
all this, we fall short of accuracy in describing his
language as " rhetorical " and in crediting his early
and pre-Christian studies with a permanent and
unmistakable moulding of his style. In reality, if
he be compared with his contemporaries, none has
emerged so far from enslavement to rhetoric ; no one
of them shows less solicitude than he for the frills and
flourishes of mere ornament. Of a sober and intro-
spective nature, he is too much in earnest about the
truth to be anything but direct, weighty, and un-
adorned. He made Christian Latin a more pliant and
forceful speech than any of his predecessors except
that other African, TertuUian. Under stress of his
ideas or his emotions it becomes a grave and sonorous
vehicle for great and moving thoughts, and only at
occasional moments does he condescend to think as
much of his method and manner of utterance as of his
message. Rhetoric formed indeed the chief staple of
contemporary education and Augustine did not
escape from the heritage of his age, yet in many re-
spects he is one of the greatest, as well as the last, of
the masters of Latin eloquence.
I' It was Augustine's merit that, in an age of definite
transition, he stood at the boundary-line of old and new
and linked hands with both. In him the contribution
of the passing ancient civilization was concentrated
and epitomized : he had learned through his accept-

" See, for example, No. 24, and others passim.
xl

INTRODUCTION

ance of Manicheism much of the thought and the
perplexities of the Orient, and as an African, sharing
the blood of the Roman and the Phoenician, he could
understand and participate in the Eastern and the
Western both ; he had come through his Neoplatonic
sympathies to know something of the legacy of
Hellenic philosophy, and from it, too, he gathered
much that influenced and enriched his interpreta-
tion of Christian problems. J With him, the centre
of theological discussion changes finally from East
to West. The preceding century had A^'itnessed an
Eastern heresy combating Eastern Councils, but the
results of that long struggle he summed up, perhaps
not altogether understanding it, and passed on with
his imprint to the Western Church of later times.
For all succeeding centuries he remains a source, an
inspiration, and an originator. Rich and complex and
powerful, his mind had gathered up all that was best
in the past, and the story of his influence is the story
of Christian thought from his own day till now. [He
inspired both the scholastic philosopher and the
mystic ; to the religious orders he was a veritable
father and founder : to the Christian constitutionalist
his Donatist synthesis and his vision and interpreta-
tion of the two Cities was fundamental and authorita-
tive ; to the Christian individualist his Pauline theory
of Grace came as a challenge and a revelation. Yet
no less he was unmistakablv the child of his own ae:e
- — or perhaps it is because of this that he became the
heritage of all time, for, if he survived the capture of
Rome, Roman civilization survived him but a few
months in North Africa. Confronted with what, to
blinder eyes, appeared to be the end of all things, he
has all the unhappiness and questioning of a time of

xh

INTRODUCTION

collapse and desperate gloom, but to the ultimate
and permanent problems of humanity he gave an
answer, or a series of answers, not without a very
sober realization of the sorrow of the times and the
gra\-ity of the inescapable issues, which by its in-
sight, wisdom, and indomitable faith gave assurance
to mankind in centuries of trial and darkness and
pro\'ided a starting-point, M'hen opportunity was ripe,
for new inquiry and new achievements.

xlii

CHRONOLOGY

354. Augustine born at Tagaste, November 13.

361-363. Julian Emperor.

370. Studies at Carthage.

374. Ambrose becomes bishop of Milan.

376. Teaches rhetoric at Carthage. The Goths cross the

Danube.
379-395. Reign of Theodosius.

383. Goes to Rome.

384. Appointed public teacher of rhetoric at Milan.

386. His conversion (July or August).

387. Returns to Milan after a period of retirement at

Cassiciacum. Is baptized by St. Ambrose. Sets
out for Africa with Monnica, his mother, who dies
at Ostia. Returns to Rome.

388. Returns to Africa (July or August).

388-391. Selling his patrimony at Tagaste, Augustine
adopts a monastic mode of life with some friends.
391. Ordained presbyter at Hippo Regius.
394. Ordained bishop-coadjutor.

396. On Valerius's death, he becomes sole bishop.

397. Death of St. Ambrose.

c. 400. Writes the Confessions.
402-403. Prudentius in Rome.

406. The Germans cross the Rhine.

407. The Roman legions withdrawn from Britain.

408. Death of Claudian. Execution of Stilicho.

410. Sack of Rome by Alaric, August 23.

411. Conference at Carthage with the Donatists (June).

412. First writings agamst the Pelagians.
420. Death of Jerome.

425-455. Valentian HI. Emperor in the West.

426. Augustine nominates his coadjutor as successor.

427. Revolt of Count Boniface.

429. The "\^andals enter Africa and besiege Hippo.

430. Death of Augustine, August 28.

431. Death of Paulinus of Nola.
439. The Vandals capture Carthage.

xliii

BIBLIOGRAPHY

See, in general, the bibliograpliies in M. Schanz, Geschichte
der romischen Litteratur, iv. 2 (Munich, 1920), pp. 454-457 ;
Otto Bardenhewer, Geschichte der altkirchUchen Literatur^
iv. (Freiburg-im-Breisgaii, 1924), pp. 497-500 ; Bihlio-
theque Nationale : Catalogue des ouvrages de s. Augustin
conserves au departement des imprimes (Extrait du tome v
du Catalogue general) (Paris, 1901) ; Paul Monceaux,
Histoire litteraire de VAfrique chretienne, tome vii :
" Saint Augustin et le Donatisme " (Paris, 1923), pp. 129-
146 (" Lettres d'Augustin relatives au Donatisme ") and
pp. 279-286 ("Tableau chronologique des lettres d'Augus-
tin relatives au Donatisme "). The longer studies of St.
Augustine may often be consulted with advantage, especi-
ally that by Portalie in the Dictionnaire de Theologie Catho-
lique,\o\. i., cols. 2268-2472, but on the whole they pay little
attention to the letters. The best recent, general biblio-
graphy of studies on Augustine is that of Etienne Gilson,
" Bibliographie des principaux travaux relatifs a la
philosophic de saint Augustin jusqu'en 1927," which
forms pp. 309-331 of his Introduction a I'etude de Saint
Augustin (Paris, 1929).

I. Manuscripts

Owing to the great number and variety of the manu-
scripts, no account of them can be attemj)ted here. For
full information see Goldbacher's fifth volume {Corpus
Scriptorum Eccl. Lat., vol. Iviii. : *S'. Augustini Epistulae,
pars V. Vienna-Leipzig, 1923), pp. xi-lxxx, which super-
sedes his early study, " Ueber d. Handschriften der Briefe
xliv

BIBLIOGRAPHY

des hi. Augustinus " {Sitzungsherichte der ki. Akad. Wien^
Hist.-Phil. Klasse. Bd. Ixxiv. (1873) pp. 275-284). For
manuscripts of recently discovered letters see Morin,
under " Editions," below, and for an English manuscript
see Cowper, H. S., "A thirteenth - century manuscript
of the Epistolae of St. Augustine, formerly belongmg to
Conishead Priory " {Transactions of the Cumberland and
Westmorland Antiquarian Society, N.S. vol. 27, 1926-7?
pp. 48-53).

There is an interesting paper by Henri Bordier, " Res-
titution d'un manuscrit du VP siecle mi-parti entre Paris
et Geneve, contenant des lettres et des sermons de S.
Augustin " {Memoires et documents de la Societe d'histoire
de Geneve, tome xvi., 1869, pp. 82-126 ; also in Etudes
paleographiques et lustoriques, bv L. Delisle, A. Rillier, H.
Bordier, Geneve et Bale, 1866).'

II. Editions

The earliest editions (Johannes de Amerbach, 1493 ;
Erasmus, 1528, 1569) possess only a bibliographical in-
terest. The editors of the Louvain edition of the complete
works of Augustine (1576) added 29 new letters, some of
which are found also as anecdota in the Supplementum to
Augustine by Hieronymus Vignier (Paris, 1654-1655). A
separate edition of the Letters was given in 1668 by L. F.
Reinhart, who added seven more to the corpus. But an
epoch-making recension and re-arranging appeared just a
hundred years later, in the edition of the complete works
prepared by the Benedictines of St. Maur. They added
16 letters, making a total of 270, of which number 53 were
addressed to Augustine, the remainder being written by
him, sometimes in conjunction with others. These 270
the Maurist editors arranged in four groups, as nearly
chronological as they could place them. The first (Epp.
i.-xxx.) belongs to the years before his elevation to epis-
copal rank (a.d. 386-395) ; the second (Epp. xxxi.-cxxiii.)
to the years 396-410 ; the third (Epp. cxxiv.-ccxxxi.)

xlv

BIBLIOGRAPHY

from 411-430 ; and the last group (Epp. ccxxxii.-cclxx.)
contams the letters that cannot be dated.

The Maurist edition was several times reprinted, the
best-known reprint being that of Gaiime (Paris, 1836).
Goldbacher's edition began to appear in 1895, after twenty-
two years of preparation ; in the Vienna Corpus Scrip-
torum Eccl. Latinorum it forms vols. 34 (parts 1 and 2,
containing Epp. i.-xxx. and xxxi.-cxxiii., 1895, 1898),
44 (part 3, Epp. cxxiv.-clxxxiv., 1904) and 57 (Epp.
clxxv.-cclxx., 1911). The final volume, contauiing pre-
faces and indices, was not issued untU 1923, fifty years
after the editor had begun his long task.

Meanwhile, the original corpus of 270 letters had been
increased by several fortunate, if meagre, discoveries.
Goldbacher inserted between Epp. clxx. and clxxi. a
portion of a letter preserved in the Commentary of
Primasius on the Apocalypse ; this fragment was re-
edited after Goldbacher by Haussleiter in Zahn's For-
schungen zur Geschichte d. neutest. Kanons, fasc. iv. (Er-
langen, 1891) ; and also twO letters (Epp. clxxxiv. and
ccii.A) published by G. Bessel in 1732 and 1733. Further,
Goldbacher found two letters (Epp. xcii.A and clxxiii.A)
Avhich he first published in Wieyier Studien, Bd. xvi.
(1894) pp. 72-77- In the Revue Benedictine, vol. xiii.
(1896) pp. 481-486, Dom Germain Morin published the
text of an unprinted letter addressed to Valentinus, abbot
of Hadrumetum (see No. 50 infra), of which, by the dis-
covery of another manuscript, he was able to give a better
text in the same review, vol. xviii. (1901) pp. 241-244.
This letter has unfortunately found no place in Gold-
bacher's edition.

In the present year two small volumes have been an-
nounced (.S. Eusehii Hieronymi et Aurelii Augustini
epistulae mutuae, ed. Jos. Schmid, and S. Aurelii Augustini
liber de videndo Deo, seu Epistula 11^7, ed. Michael
Schmans = Florilegium Patristicum, Nos. xxii. and xxiii.).
Of these only the second has ayjpeared at the time of going
to press ; it is a faithful reproduction of Goldbacher's text,
with a slight introduction and the minimum of textual notes.
xlvi

BIBLIOGRAPHY

III. Translations

(a) English

Letters of Saint Augustine. Translated by the Rev. J. G.
Cunningliam. Edinburgh, 1872-1875. 2 vols. Pp. 440,
480.

[Contams 160 letters. An American edition was
published by Scribners.]
Letters of St. Augustine. Selected and translated by
Mary H. Allies. London, 1890. Pp. 342.
[Contains 33 letters.]

(b) French

Epistres choisies de S. Augusfin, traduites en frangois par

Monsieur Giry. Paris, 1653.
Les Epistres choisies de S. Aiigustin, mises en fran9ois

par le sieur Picard de La Cande. Paris, 1653. 8vo.
Les Lettres de saint Augustin, traduites en francois sur

I'edition nouvelle des Peres Benedictins . . . (par Ph.

Goibaud Du Bois). Paris, 1684. 2 vols., folio.

[There was an edition of 1684 in 6 vols. 8vo, and later

editions in 1701, 1707, 1718, 1737.]
Lettres nouvelles de saint Augustin, traduites en francois

[par dom J. Martin], accompagnees de notes critiques,

historiques et chronologiques. Paris, 1734. 8vo.
Lettres de saint Augustin, traduites en francais et pre-

cedees d'une introduction, par M. Poujoulat. Paris,

1858. 4 vols., 8vo.
La Vie heureuse. Lettres choisies de S. Augustin.

Orleans, 1873. 16mo.

(c) German

Kranzfelder, Th. Augustinus. Ausgewdhlte Briefe. Kemp-
ten, 1878-1879. 2 vols. (Bibliothek der Kirchenviiter.)
Hoffmann, Alfred. Des hi. Augustinus ausgeivdhlte
Briefe. Kempten and Munich, 1917. 2 vols. Pp.
484, 440. (Bibliothek der Kirchenvater, 29, 30.)
[A revision of Kranzfelder.]

xlvii

BIBLIOGRAPHY

{d) Italian

S. Agostbw. Lettere scelte e di altri a lui scritte fra cut di
S. Gerolamo. Torino, 1871-1873. 2 vols.

*S'. Agostino. Lettere ococcciii. Traduzione di Giov.
Neapoli. Torino, 1887. Pp. xxxii. + 272.

IV. Studies

(a) GENERAL

Banks, J. S. " Augustine as seen in his letters " {Loiidon
Quarterly Review, vol. ccxi., 1914, pp. 86-97).

de Bruyne, Donatien. " Notes sur les lettres de s.
Augustin " {Revue Benedictine, t. xxiii, 1927, pp. 523-
530).

Dubelman, J. F. P. Das Heidenthum in Nordafrika nach
den Briefen des hi. Augustinus. Bonn, 1859, 4to.
Pp. 26. '

Ginzel, J. A. " Der Geist des hi. Augustinus in seinen
Briefen," in his Kirchenhistorische Schri/ten, Bd. i.
OVien, 1872) pp. 123-245.

Karsten, H. T. " De brieven van den kerkvader Augus-
tinus " (Verslagen en mededeelingen d. k. Akad. van
Wetenschappen, Vierde Reeks, Tiende Deel, 1911, pp.
226-258).

[On Neoplatonic influences in the Letters.]

Montgomery, W. " Augustine's correspondence," in his
;S^. Augustine : Aspects of his life and thought. London,
1914, pp. 66-98.

Moorrees, F. D. De Organisatie van de christelike Kerk
van Noord-Afrika in het licht van de brieven van Augus-
tinus. Groningen-Hagne, 1926. Pp. 122.

Parsons, Wilfrid. A Study of the Vocabulary and Rhetoric
of the Letters of St. Augustine. Washington, 1923.
Pp. 281.

[See my review in Bulletin Du Cange, t. i., 1924-5.
Pp. 251-254.]

xlviii

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sparrow-Sinipson, ^y. J. The Lettprs of St. Ainjustine.

London, 1919. Pp. 336.
Tliinime, W. Augu^thi : Eln Lehens- und Characterbild,

auf Grund seiner Br'iefe. Gottingen, 1910. Pp. 206.

{h) SPECIAL

(1) On Augustine s Correspondence with Jerome

Barberiis, Philippe de. Discordantiae SS. Hieronymi et
Augustini. Rome, 1481.

Bindesboll, Severiii. August inus et Hieronymus de s.
Scriptura ex Hebraeo interpretanda disputantes. Copen-
hagen, 1825.

Dufey, A. " Controverse entre s. Jerome et s. Angustin
d'apres lem-s lettres " {Revue du Clerge francais, tome
XXV., 1901, pp. 141-149).

Dorsch, Aem. " St. Augustinus und Hieronymus iiber die
Wahrheit der biblischen Geschichte " {Zeitschrift fur
Katholische Theologie, 1911, pp. 421-448. 601-664).

Haitjema, Th. " De Briefwisseling tuischen Augustinus
en Hieronymus " {Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis, vol.
xxxvi., 1921, pp. 1.59-198).

Malfatti, E. " Una controversia tra S. Agostino e S.
Girolamo " {La Scuola Cattolica. 1921, pp. 321-338, 402-
426).

Mohler, J. A. " Hieronymus und Augustinus im Streit
iiber Gal. 2. 14 " in his Gesammelte Schri/ien und
Aufsdtze, Bd. i., Regensburg, 1839, pp. 1-18,

Overbeck, F. Cebpr die Aujfassung des Streites des
Paulus mit Petrus in Antiochen hei den Kirchenmtern.
Basel, 1877.

" Aus dem Briefwechsel des Augustinus mit Hierony-
mus " {Historische Zeitschrift, Bd. vi., 1879, pp. 222-
259).

Tourscher, F. E. " The Correspondence of St. Augustine
and St. Jerome " {American Ecclesiastical Review, 1917,
vol. Ivii. pp. 476-492, 1918, vol. Iviii. pp. 45-56).

xlix

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(2) 071 Particular Letters
Epp. xvi.-xvii, :

Baxter, J. H. " The Martyrs of Madaura, a.d. 180 "

{Journal of Theological Studies, vol. xxvi., 1924, pp.

21-37).
Beyerhaus, Gisbert. " Philosophische Aussetzungen in

Augiistins Briefen " {Rheinisches Museum, N.F. vol.

Ixxv., 1926, pp. 6-45).
Usener, H. " Vergessenes " {Rheinisches Museum,

N.F. vol. xxviii., 1873, pp. 407-409).

Ep. xxvi. :

Zelzner, M. De carmine Licentii ad Augustinum.
(Dissertation.) Arnsberg, Westphalia, 1915.

Ep. xxviii. 6 :
Weyman, Carl, " Infinitiv auf -uiri bei Augustin "
{Archiv fur lat. Leocikographie u. Grammatik, vol.
ix., 1896, p. 492).

Ep. xli. :
Georges, Karl Ernst. " Miscellen " {Jahrhiicher filr
class. Philologie, vol. 123, 1881, p. 807).
Ep. xlviii. :

The Judgement of the learned and pious St. Augustine
concerning penal laws against conventicles and for
Unity in Religion. Deliver 'd in his 48th Epistle to
Mncentius. London, 1670.

Ep. Ixviii. 2 :
Schenkl, R. " Zu Hieronymus s. Augustinus Epist.
Ixviii., § 2 " {Wiener Studien, Bd. xix, 1897, p. 317).

Ep. xciii. :

Herzog, E. " Ein Schreiben Augustins iiber kirchen-
politischen Zwang " {Internat. kirchliche Zeitschrijl,
vol. 6, 1916, pp. 1-26).
Ep. cii. 6 :
Rottmanner, Odilo. " S. Augustin, Epist. 102, 6 "
{Revue Benedictine, tome xvii., 1900, p. 315).
1

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Epp. ciii.-cvi. (also Epp. cli., cliii. 20, cclxviii.) :

Martroye, F. " S. Augiistin et la legislation " {Bulletin
de la Societe nationale des Antiquaires de France, 1915,
pp. 166-168, 223-229 ; 1917, p. 101 ; 1918, pp. 108-
118, 165-166).

Ep. cxxv. :

Daux, C. " Un Incident a la BasHique d'Hippone en
411 " {Revue des Questions Historiques, tome Ixxx.,
1906, pp. 31-73).

Ep. clix. :

Toursclier, F. E. " Some letters of St. Augustine. A
Study " {American Ecclesiastical Review, 1919, vol.
Ixix. 'pp. 609-625).

Ep. clxiv. :

Hundhausen, L. J. Die beiden Pontifical schreiben des
Apostelfiirstens Petrus. Mainz, 1873, pp. 3-43 ff.

Ep. clxxxix. :

Moffatt, J. " St. Augustine's Advice to an Army Officer "
{E.rpositor, vol. xi. series 8, 1916, pp. 409-420).

Ep. ccxi. (The " Rule ") :

The literature on the Rule is too lengthy to be given
here, but reference may be made to the article " Regie
de S. Augustin " in Dictionnaire de Theologie Catho-
lique, vol. 1, cols. 2472-2483, and to an interesting
paper by Eliz. Speakman, " The Rule of St. Augustine"
in Historical Essays . . . Owens College, Manchester
(1907), pp. 57-75.

The following studies are directly concerned with
Augustine's letter in itself, not as the foundation-statute
of an order.

Baxter, J. H. " St. Augustine's Rule " {Journal of
Theological Studies, vol. xx., 1919, pp. 352-355).
[A reply to V. M'Nabb, below.]

11

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baxter, J. H. " On a place in St. Augustine's Rule "
{Journal of Theological Studies, vol. xxiii., 1922, pp.
188-190).

[On the readijig Deo natis in § 4.]

Capelle, B, " L'Epitre 21 P et la Regie de Saint Angus-
tin " (Analecta Praemonstratensia, tome iii., 1927, pp.
369-378).

[A criticism of Goldbacher's text.]

Lambot, C. "La Regie de s. Augustin et s. Cesaire "
{Revue Benedictine, t. xli., 1929, pp. 333-341).

McNabb, Vincent. " Was the Rule of St. Augustine

. written, for St. Melania the Younger ? " {Journal of
Theological Studies, vol. xx., 1919, pp. 242-249).

Schroeder, P. " Die Augustinerchorherrenregel : Ent-
stehung, kritischer Text und Einfiihrung der Regel "
{Archiv fiir Urkundenforschung, 1926, pp. 271-306).

Ep. cclxii. :

Lettre de saint Augustin (262™^). Saint Augustin
adresse des reproches et des conseils a unefemme mariee.
Lvon, 1861. 8vo.

Hi

SELECT LETTERS OF
ST. AUGUSTINE

S. AURELI AUGUSTIXI EPISTULAE

No. 1 (Ep. II)
ZENOBIO AUGUSTINUS

Bene inter nos convenit, ut opinor, omnia, quae
corporeus sensus adtingit, ne puncto quidem tem-
poris eodem modo manere posse, sed labi, effluere et
praesens nihil obtinere, id est, ut latine loquar, non
esse. Horum itaque amorem perniciosissimum poe-
narumque plenissimum vera et divina philosophia
monet frenare atque sopire, ut se toto animus, etiam
dum hoc corpus agit, in ea, quae semper eiusdem
modi sunt neque peregrino pulchro placent, feratur
atque aestuet. Quae cum ita sint et cum te veruin
ac simplicem, qualis sine ulla solhcitudine amari
potes, in semet ipsa mens videat, fatemur tamen
congressum istum atque conspectum tuum, cum a
nobis corpore discedis locisque seiungeris, quae-
rere nos eoque, dum licet, cupere fratribus. Quod
profecto vitium, si te bene novi, amas in nobis et,
cum omnia bona optes carissimis et familiarissimis

" Written at Cassiciacum towards the end of 386, while
Augustine was still in retirement and immersed in philo-
sophical studies. In these Zenobius was keenly interested,
and to him Augustine dedicated the treatise L>e Ordine
(a.d. 386). He afterwards became a keeper of public records
{magister memoriae^ Ep. cxvii.).

LETTERS OF ST. AUGUSTINE

Xo. 1 (Ep. II)

(a.d. 386)

AUGUSTINE TO ZENOBIUS'»

We are quite agreed. I think, that everything that
is the object of our bodily senses is incapable of
remaining a single moment in the same state, but is in
motion and transition and possesses no actuality, that
is, in plain language, has no real existence. In con-
sequence, true, divine philosophy admonishes us to
check and mitigate our affection for such things, as
being verv baneful and productive of detriment, so
that even while in control of this mortal body, the
soul may with intensity and fervour pursue those
things that are ever the same and satisfy with no
transient charm. Although this is true and although
mv mind envisages you in your simple and unalloyed
character, as an individual who may be loved M"ithout
disquietude, still I must confess that when you are
absent in body and distant in space, I miss the pleasure
of meeting and seeing you, and desire it, when it can
be had, for the brethren. This fault, if I know you
aright, you are glad to find in me, and, although you
pray for every good thing for your dearest and closest

3

ST. AUGUSTINE

tuis, ab hoc eos sanare metuis. Si auteni tarn potenti
animo es, ut et agnoscere hunc laqueuni et eo captos
inridere valeas, ne tu niagnus atque alius. Ego quidem
quamdiu desidero absentem, desiderari me volo.
Invigilo tamen, quantum queo, et nitor, ut nihil
amem, quod abesse a me invito potest. Quod dum
officio, commoneo te interim, qualiscumque sis, in-
choatam tecum disputationem perficiendam, si curae
nobismet ipsis sumus. Nam eam cum Alypio perfici
nequaquam sinerem, etiam si vellet. Non vult
autem ; non enim est humanitatis eius non mecum
operam dare, ut in quam multis possemus litteris te
nobiscum teneamus nescio qua necessitate fugientem.

No. 2 (Ep. IV)
NEBRIDIO AUGUSTINUS

1 Mirum admodum est, quam mihi praeter spem
evenerit, quod, cum require, quibus epistulis tuis
mihi respondendum remanserit, unam tantum inveni,
quae me adhuc debitorem teneret, qua petis, ut tanto
nostro otio, quantum esse arbitraris tecum aut nobis-

" Alypius was born, like Augustine, at Tagaste, but
was slightly younger. He attended Augustine's lectures in
Carthage, became a Manichee when he did, followed him
to Italy and was present during the struggle that preceded
Augustine's conversion. They were baptized together, then
shared the monastic life at Tagaste from 391 to 394, when
Alypius visited Jerome at Bethlehem. Alypius Ijecame
bishop of Tagaste some months before Augustine's elevation
to Hippo, and held that post till his death about 430.

^ Xebridius, born near Carthage, had accompanied
Augustine to Rome and Milan, "for no other reason than
4

NO. 1 (Ep. II)— NO. 2 (Ep. IV)

friends, you are reluctant to see them cured of it.
But if you have attained such strength of mind that
you can both discern this pitfall and make mockery of
those who have fallen into it, then you are indeed great
and different from me, for I want my absent friend to
miss me as long as I miss him. Yet, as far as I can, I
watchfully strive to set my affections upon nothing
that can cause me regret by its absence. Though
engaged in this preventive course, I remind you in the
meantime, whatever be your state of mind, that we
must, if we care for each other, finish the discussion
I had begun Mith you, for I should certainly not allow
Alvpius '^ to help in finishing it. even if he wanted to,
which he doesn't. His kindly nature would make
him second my efforts to keep contact with you by as
many letters as I can send, even when your duties
drive you farther away from us.

No. 2 (Ep. I\^

(a.d. 387)

AUGUSTINE TO NEBRIDIUS^

It is quite curious how surprised I am to dis- 1
cover, on inquiring what letters of yours I have still
to answer, that I am in your debt for only one. In it
you ask me to tell you what progress I have made,
with the abundant leisure you think I have or wish, as

that he might live with me in the most ardent pursuit of
truth and wisdom " {Confessions, vi. 17). He had not joined
the party at Cassiciacum, and this and the following letter
show his anxiety to be beside Augustine, sharing his life and
studies. He died soon after Augustine's conversion.

5

ST. AUGUSTINE

cum cupis, iiidicemus tibi, quid in sensibilis atque
intellegibilis naturae discernentia profecerimus. Sed
non arbitror occultum tibi esse, si falsis opinionibus
tanto quisque inseritur magis, quanto magis in eis
familiariusque volutatur, multo id facilius in rebus
veris animo accidere. Ita tamen paulatim ut per
aetatem profieimus. Quippe cum plurimum inter
puerum et iuvenem distet, nemo a pueritia cotidie
interrogatus se aliquando iuvenem dicet.
2 Quod nolo in eam partem accipias, ut nos in his
rebus quasi ad quandam mentis iuventutem firmioris
intellegentiae robore pervenisse existimes. Pueri
enim sumus, sed, ut dici adsolet, forsitan belli ; et
non male. Nam plerumque perturbatos et sensi-
bilium plagarum curis refertos ilia tibi notissima
ratiuncula in respirationem levat, mentem atque
intellegentiam oculis et hoc vulgari aspectu esse
meliorem. Quod ita non esset, nisi magis essent ilia,
quae intellegimus, quam ista, quae cernimus. Cui
ratiocinationi utrum nihil valide inimicum sit, peto
mecum consideres. Hac ego interim recreatus, cum
deo in auxilium deprecate et in ipsum et in ea, quae
verissime vera sunt, adtolli coepero, tanta non num-
quam rerum manentium praesumptione compleor, ut
mirer interdum ilia mihi opus esse ratiocinatione, ut
haec esse credam quae tanta insunt praesentia,
quanta sibi quisque ipse fit praesens. Recole tu

° This phrase is difficult : I take arbltraris tecum to mean
"think within yourself," on the analogy of rogltare tecum
(for which see, e.g.^ Vulgate, Gen. xx. 11, Mark xi. 81, etc.),
and nobiHcum cup'ot as "join me in wishing." But XeViridius's
desire to share Augustine's monastic life (see infra) makes
it possible that nobiscum cupia means " desire to enjoy in
my company."

" Or, perhaps, " and the phrase is not inappropriate."

6

NO. 2 (Ep. n^

I do, that I had,^ in discriminating between nature as
jDerceived by the senses and as known to the intellect.
I think, however, you are not unaware that, if one
becomes more thoroughly enmeshed in false opinions
the more deeply and familiarly one wallows in them,
the same happens much more readily to the mind in
things that are real. My progress is gradual, like
the advance of age. There is a very great differ-
ence between a boy and a mature man, yet no one, if
asked each day from boyhood on, will at any given
time declare that he has reached maturity.

I don't want you to take this to mean you are 2
to assume that, through the vigour of a more robust
understanding. I have attained in such matters a kind
of mental maturity. I am still mentally a boy ; let
us hope a fine, strapping one, as the phrase goes, but
I am not badly off either.^ For generally, when I am
unsettled and oppressed with the anxieties arising
from the impingement of sensations, I am raised to a
fresher atmosphere by this brief reasoning, which you
know so well : " The mind and understanding are
superior to the eyes and the common faculty of sight.
That would not be so, unless the things we conceive
were more real than those we perceive." Please
examine with me whether there be anything that
strongly conflicts with this line of reasoning. For the
present I find it stimulating ; yet, when I have asked
God's help and have begun to rise towards Him and
towards those things that are most really real, I am
sometimes filled with such a foretaste of the things
that abide, that I occasionally wonder at my needing
the help of this reasoning to believe in the existence
of those things that are as real within me as any man
can be to himself,

7

ST. AUGUSTINE

quoque ; nam te fateor huius rei esse diligentiorem,
ne quid forte nesciens rescriptis adhuc debeam.
Nam mihi non facit fidem tam multorum onerum,
quae aliquando numeraveram, tam repentina de-
positio, quamvis te accepisse litteras meas non
dubitem, quarum rescripta non habeo.

No. 3 (Ep. X)
NEBRIDIO AUGUSTINUS

Numquam aeque quicquam tuarum inquisitionum
me in cogitando tenuit aestuantem atque illud, quod
recentissimis tuis litteris legi, ubi nos arguis quod
consulere neglegamus, ut una nobis vivere liceat.
Magnum crimen et, nisi falsum esset, periculosis-
simum. Sed cum perprobabilis ratio demonstrare
videatur hie nos potius quam Carthagini vel etiam in
rure ex sententia posse degere, quid tecum agam, mi
Nebridi, prorsus incertus sum. Mittaturne ad te
accommodissimum tibi vehiculum ? Nam basterna
innoxie te vehi posse noster Lucinianus auctor est.
At matrem cogito, ut quae absentiam sani non
ferebat, inbecilli multo minus esse laturam. Veniam-
ne ipse ad vos ? At hie sunt, qui neque venire me-
cum queant et quos deserere nefas putem. Tu enim
potes et apud tuam mentem suaviter habitare ;
hi vero ut idem possint, satagitur. Eamne crebro
et redeam et nunc tecum, nunc cum ipsis sim ? At
hoc neque simul neque ex sententia vivere est. Non

" By the autumn of 388 Augustine had retired to his
native town, Tagaste, where he was practising the monastic
life with a few friends. Nebridius was now at Carthage,
but was still anxious to join the company.
8

NO. 2 (Ep. I\Q— NO. 3 (Ep. X)

Try you to remember, for I admit that you are more
attentive to such details, in case I still owe you replies
without knowing it. I can hardly believe I have so
speedily discharged tasks I had once reckoned so
numerous. Yet I am sure you must have had letters
from me, to which I have received no answers.

No. 3 (Ep. X)

(a.d. 389)

AUGUSTINE TO NEBRIDIUS «

Never has any of your problems kept me so 1
troubled in mind as the remark you made in your
last letter, reproaching me for failing to plan how
we may live together. A serious charge, and were
it not untrue, very threatening to our friendship.
But since quite satisfactory reasons seem to show
that we can lead our ideal life here better than
at Carthage or in the country, I am altogether in
doubt how I should deal with you, Nebridius. Am
I to send you our most suitable conveyance ? Our
friend Lucinianus tells me that you can now ride
in a sedan chair without any harm. But then your
mother comes to my mind : if she cannot endure
your absence when you are well, she will endure
it much less when you are ill. Am I to come to
you myself ? But there are people here who cannot
come with me and whom I think it criminal to leave
behind. For you can be happily at home with your
own mind, while these others are only striving to-
wards that attainment. Am I to make frequent
journeys back and forward, living with you part of
the time and the other part with them ? But that is
neither living together nor living the ideal hfe. The

9

ST. AUGUSTINE

enim brevis est via, sed tanta oninino, cuius per-
agendae negotium saepe suscipere non sit ad optatum
otium pervenisse. Hue aeeedit infirmitas eorporis,
qua ego quoque, ut nosti, non valeo, quod volo, nisi
oninino desinam quicquani plus velle, quam non
valeo.
2 Profectiones ergo, quas quietas et faciles habere
nequeas, per totani cogitare vitani non est honiinis
de ilia una ultima, quae mors vocatur, cogitantis, de
qua vel sola intellegis vere esse cogitandum. Dedit
quidem deus paucis quibusdam, quos ecclesiarum
gubernatores esse voluit, ut et illam non solum ex-
pectarent fortiter, sed alacriter etiam desiderarent
et harum obeundarum labores sine ullo angore sus-
ciperent ; sed neque his, qui ad huius modi admini-
strationes temporalis honoris amore raptantur, neque
rursum his, qui cum sunt privati, negotiosam vitam
appetunt, hoc tantum bonum concedi arbitror, ut
inter strepitus inquietosque conventus atque dis-
cursus cum morte familiaritatem, quam quaerimus,
faciant ; deificari enim utrisque in otio licebat. Aut
si hoc falsum est, ego sum omnium ne dicam stultis-
simus, certe ignavissimus, cui nisi proveniat quaedam
secura cessatio, sincerum illud bonum gustare atque
amare non possum. Magna secessione a tumultu
rerum labentium, mihi crede, opus est, ut non duritia,
non audacia, non cupiditate inanis gloriae, non super-
stitiosa credulitate fiat in honiine nihil timere. Hinc
enim fit illud etiam sohdum gaudium nullis omnino
laetitiis ulla ex particula conferendum.

10

NO. 3 (Ep. X)

journey is not short, sufficiently long, in fact, that the
effort to perform it often would prevent our having the
leisure we long for. In addition, there is my physical
weakness ; because of it, as you know, I am not able
to do what I wish, unless I altogether give up wishing
to do anything that I am not strong enough for.

To go through life planning journeys that cannot 2
be undertaken without disturbance and trouble does
not become one who is planning for that last journey
we call death ; with it alone, as you are aware, should
our real plans be concerned. It is God's gift to
some few men, whom He has appointed to rule over
churches, not only to await death manfully but even to
desire it eagerly, and to undertake the toil of those
other journeys without any vexation. But in my
opinion neither those who are impelled to such adminis-
trative tasks by love of worldly position, nor those
who, though occupying no public post, hunger for
a life of aflPairs, have been granted the great boon of
acquiring amid their clamour and their restless run-
ning hither and thither that familiarity with death that
we are seeking ; both classes might have become godly
in retirement. If this be untrue, then I am of all men,
I won't say the most foolish, but certainly the most
slothful, for I cannot relish and enjoy that real boon,
unless I obtain release from work and worry. Com-
plete withdrawal from the turmoil of transitory things
is, believe me, essential before a man can develop that
fearlessness in the face of death which is based neither
on insensibility nor on foolhardy presumption, neither
on the desire for empty glory nor on superstitious
credulity. It is that which is the origin of that solid
joy with which no pleasure from any transitory source
is in any way to be compared.

U

ST. AUGUSTINE

3 Quod si in natura hiimana talis vita non cadit, cur
aliquando evenit ista securitas ? Cur tanto evenit
crebrius, quanto quisque in mentis penetralibus
adorat deum ? Cur in actu etiam humano plerum-
que ista tranquillitas manet, si ex illo adyto ad
agendum quisque procedat ? Cur interdum et cum
loquimur, mortem non formidamus, cum autem non
loquimur, etiam cupimus ? Tibi dico, non enim hoc
cuilibet dicerem, tibi, inquam, dico, cuius itinera in
superna bene novi, tune, cum expertus saepe sis,
quam dulce vivat, cum amori corporeo animus mori-
tur, negabis tandem totam hominis vitam posse in-
trepidam fieri, ut rite sapiens nominetur ? Aut banc
afFectionem, ad quam ^ ratio nititur, tibi accidisse
umquam, nisi cum in intimis tuis ageres, asserere
audebis ? Quae cum ita sint, restare unum vides, ut
tu quoque in commune consulas, quo vivamus simul.
Quid enim cum matre agendum sit, quam certe frater
\'ictor non deserit, tu multo melius calles quam ego.
Alia scribere, ne te ab ista cogitatione averterem,
nolui.

No. 4 (Ep. X\^

ROMANIANO AUGUSTINUS

1 Non haec epistula sic inopiam chartae indicat, ut

membranas saltem abundare testetur ? Tabellas

eburneas, quas habeo, avunculo tuo cum litteris misi.

Tu enim huic pelliculae facilius ignosces, quia difFerri

^ quam Goldbacher: ad quam A. Souter.

^ A wealthy citizen of Tagaste, who had shown great
generosity to Augustine when studying in Carthage, and also
later. To him Augustine dedicated his Contra Academicos
(a.d. 386) and the JJe Vera Religione, mentioned below.

12

NO. 3 (Ep. X)— NO. 4 (Ep. XV)

But if human nature does not admit of such a 3
hfe, why does that cahiiness of spirit ever befall us ?
Why does it befall us more frequently in proportion
as each man worships God in the secret places of his
mind ? Why even amid ordinary mortal concerns
does that peace, as a rule, linger on, when one goes
forth from that inner shrine to do his part ? Why is
it that sometimes, even in conversation, death has no
terrors for us, and, when conversation is stilled, it even
allures us ? I say to you (and I would not say it to
everyone) — I say to you, knowing well, as I do, your
journeyings to the upper world, will you, after fre-
quent experience of the sweet life the soul lives when
it dies to bodily affections, deny that a man's whole
life can at length become so exempt from fear that he
may rightly be called wise ? Or will you venture to
maintain that that state of mind, towards which
reason strives, has ever befallen you, save when you
were communing Avith your own heart ? This being
so, you see this one thing only remains for you — to
consider for our mutual advantage how we may live
together. You know much better than I do what is
to be done with your mother ; in any case your brother
Victor is not leaving her, I write no more, for fear
of diverting you from consideration of that problem.

No. 4 (Ep. X\0

(a.d. 390)

AUGUSTINE TO ROMANIANUS'^

Does this letter not show that, if we are short of 1
papyrus, we have at least abundance of parchment ?
The ivory tablets I possess I have sent to your uncle
with a letter ; you will the more easily forgive this

13

ST. AUGUSTINE

non potuit, quod ei scripsi, et tibi non scribere etiam
ineptissimum existimavi. Sed tabellas, si quae ibi
nostrae sunt, propter huius modi necessitates mittas
peto. Scripsi quiddam de catholica rcligione, quan-
tum dominus dare dignatus est, quod tibi volo ante
adventum meum mittere, si charta interim non desit.
Tolerabis enim qualemcumque scripturam ex officina
Maiorini. De codicibus praeter libros de Oratore
totum mihi excidit. Sed nihil amplius rescribere
potui, quam ut ipse sumeres, quos liberet, et nunc
in eadem maneo sententia. Absens enim quid plus
faciam, non invenio.
2 Gratissimum mihi est, quod in ultima epistula me
participem domestici tui gaudii facere voluisti. Sed

mene salis placidi vultum fluctusque quietos
ignorare iubes ?

quamquam nee me iubeas nee ipse ignores. Quare
si ad melius cogitandum quies aliqua data est, utere
di\ano beneficio. Nee enim nobis debemus, cum
ista proveniunt, sed illis, per quos proveniunt, gratu-
lari, quoniam iusta et officiosa et pro suo genere
pacatior atque tranquillior rerum temporalium ad-
ministratio recipiendorum aeternorum meritum gig-
nit, si non teneat, cum tenetur, non implicet, cum
multiplicatur, si non, cum . . . putatur, involvat.

" His treatise l)e Vera Religione, written at Tagaste,
389-390. " The allusion is unknown.

'^ Cicero's, no doubt; the fact that it had survived
Augustine's many journeys may be explained by the
supposition that he used it as a text-book during his career
as a public teacher of rhetoric.

^ Virg. A en. v. 848-849.

^ The text here is doubtful : Goldt)acher marks the lacuna,
but perhaps amputatur would satisfy the palaeography and
the sense.

14

NO. 4 (Ep. X\^

bit of skin, since my message to him could not be
postponed, and I considered it very impolite not to
write to you. If you have any tablets of mine beside
you, please send them back for such emergencies as
this. I have written something, as far as the Lord has
deigned to grant me, on the Catholic Religion ^ ; I
want to send it to you before I come, if meanwhile
paper does not fail me, for you will tolerate any kind
of ^\Titing from the workshop of Majorinus.^ Of the
manuscripts everything has disappeared except the
books 0?i the Orator Shut I could not do any more in my
reply than tell you to take those you wanted, and I
am still of the same mind. I don't know what more I
can do in my absence.

It gave me very great pleasure that in your last
letter you wanted to give me a share in your personal
happiness, but

bid'st thou me
Ignore the portent of the sea's still face
And slumbering waves ? "^

Yet you don't bid me, nor do you ignore it. So, if
you do obtain some quietness for deeper reflection,
avail yourself of what is a heavenly boon. For when
such good fortune befalls us, we should not con-
gratulate ourselves, but those through whom it has
befallen us. If men discharge their temporal duties
in a manner that is just and scrupulous and, con-
sidering their nature, more than ordinarily serene and
composed, they grow more worthy of having eternal
things committed to them, provided always that
such temporal duties, when laid hold of, do not lay
hold of them, do not enfold as they grow manifold,
do not enmesh when they are pruned.^ It has been

15

ST. AUGUSTINE

Ipsius enim veritatis ore dictum est : Si in alieno
Jideles Jion fuisfis, vestrum quis dabit vohis ? Laxatis
ergo curis mutabiliuni rerum bona stabilia et certa
quaeramus, supervolemus terrenis opibus nostris.
Nam et in mellis copia non frustra pennas habet
apicula ; necat enim haerentem.

No. 5 (Ep. XVI)

[AUGUSTINO MAXIMUS]

1 Avens crebro tuis afFatibus laetificari et instinctu
tui sermonis, quod me paulo ante iucundissime salva
caritate pulsasti, paria redhibere non destiti, ne
silentium meum paenitudinem appellasses. Sed
quaeso, ut, si haec quasi seniles artus esse duxeris,
benignarum aurium indulgentia prosequaris. Olym-
pum montem deorum esse habitaeulum sub incerta
fide Graecia fabulatur. At vero nostrae urbis forum
salutarium numinum frequentia possessum nos cer-
nimus et probamus. Et quidem unum esse deum
summum sine initio, sine prole naturae ceu patrem
magnum atque magnificum quis tam demens, tarn
mente captus neget esse certissimum ? Huius nos
virtutes per mundanum opus diffusas multis vocabulis
invocamus, quoniam nomen eius cuncti proprium
videlicet ignoramus. Nam deus omnibus religionibus

° Luke xvi. 12.

^ Maximns is otherwise unknown, l)ut probably he had
been one of Augustine's teachers at Madaura, the town to
which his letter refers. Most notable as the birthplace of
Apuleius, Madaura was a noted centre of pagan life and
culture, and paganism seems to have lingered there long and
tenaciously (see Ep. ccxxxii. infra).

16

NO. 4 (Ep. XV)— NO. 5 (Ep. XVI)

said by the mouth of Truth Himself : If ye have not
been faithful in that n-hich is another's, ?rho shall give
yon that which is your onii ? ^ Let us then relax our
anxiety for transitory things and seek goods that are
abiding and sure. Let us soar above our earthly
possessions, for even when honey is abundant, the
bee has not its wings for nothing : for if it stick in
the honey, it dies.

No. 5 (Ep. XM)

(a.d. 390)

MAXIMUS^ THE GRAMMARIAN TO AUGUSTINE

I find interest and pleasure in frequent talk 1
with you and in your provocative conversation, so,
since you recently attacked me without unpleasant-
ness and without disturbing our friendly relations,
I make haste to give you back as good as you
gave : otherwise you might have thought my silence
implied a change of mind. But I beg you, if you
consider my reply shows the stiffness of old age,
to attend to it with a kindly ear. There is no
sure e\'idence for the Greek fable that Mount
Olympus is the dwelling-place of the gods, but we
see and feel sure that the market-place of our own
town is occupied by a crowd of beneficent deities.
And indeed, who is so foolish, so mentally astray, as
to deny the very certain truth that there is one
supreme god, without beginning, without natural
offspring, like a great and splendid father ? His
powers that permeate the universe he has made we
call upon by many names, since to all of us his right
name is of course unknown. For god is a name
c 17

ST. AUGUSTINE

commune nomen est. Ita fit, iit, dum eius quasi
quaedam membra carptim variis supplicationibus
prosequimur. totum colere profecto videamur.

2 Sed inpatientem me esse tanti erroris dissimulare
non possum. Quis enim ferat lovi fulmina vibranti
praeferri Migginem, luiioni, Minervae, Veneri Ves-
taeque Sanamem et cunctis, pro nefas ! diis in-
mortalibus archimartyrem Namphamonem ? Inter
quos Lucitas etiam haud minore cultu suspicitur
atque alii interminato numero, diis hominibusque
odiosa nomina, qui conscientia nefandorum facino-
rum specie gloriosae mortis scelera sua sceleribus
cumulantes dignum moribus factisque suis exitum
maculati reppererunt. Horum busta, si memoratu
dignum est, relictis templis, neglectis maiorum
suorum manibus stulti frequentant, ita ut praesagium
vatis illius indigne ferentis emineat :

inque deum templis iurabit Roma per umbras.

Sed mihi hac tempestate propemodum videtur bellum
Actiacum rursus exortum, quo Aegyptia monstra in
Romanorum deos audeant tela vibrare minim e dura-
tura.

3 Sed illud quaeso, vir sapientissime, uti remoto
facundiae robore atque exploso, qua cunctis clarus
es, omissis etiam, quibus pugnare solebas, Chrysip-
peis argumentis postposita paululum dialectica, quae

•^ Namphamo is commonly described by the text-books of
Church history as one of the earliest Christian martyrs in
Africa, and his date is given as circa a.d. 180. I have shown,
in the Journal of Theological Studies, vol. xxvi. (1924),
pp. 21-37, that this view is untenable, that his correct date is
probably about the middle of the fourth century, and that

18

NO. 5 (Ep. XVI)

common to all cults, and so it is that while ^Wth differ-
ing prayers we pursue, as it were, his members piece-
meal, we seem, in truth, to worship him entire.

But I cannot disguise my impatience with such a
misconception as yours. For who could bear to see
Misfffo esteemed above Jove, wielder of thunderbolts,
Saname above Juno, Minerva, Venus, and Vesta, and
your head-martyr, Namphamo ^ (save the mark !),
above all the immortal srods ? Anions these Lucitas
is honoured with a cult hardly inferior ; and others
endless in number, names hateful to gods and men,
who, villains that they were, and heaping crime on
crime, met an end befitting their character and deeds,
vaunting of their death as glorious though inwardly
well aware of their unspeakable offences. Fools
flock to their tombs, Fm ashamed to say, forsaking
the temples and abandoning the worship of their
ancestors, so that the prediction of the scornful bard
is clearly fulfilled :

And in God's temples Rome shall swear by shades.*

This time seems to me to be almost another battle
of Actium. in which the monsters of Egypt are daring
to brandish against the Roman gods weapons doomed
to speedy destruction.

But I beg you, my learned friend, to reject, as
unworthy of you, that ^'igorous eloquence which has
brought you to universal fame, to abstain from those
Stoic arguments that are your usual weapons, and
to renounce for a while the logic which devotes all

he was a Donatist or Circiimcellion. The others mentioned
here with him are not known, but were probably of the same
party. On the arguments advanced by Maximus see p. 30,
note.

^ Liican, B.C. vii. 459.

19

ST. AUGUSTINE

nervorum suorum luctamine nihil certi cuiquani re
linquere nititur, ipsa re adprobes, qui sit iste deus,
quern vobis Christiani quasi proprium vindicatis et
in locis abditis praesenteni vos videre componitis.
Nos etenim deos nostros luce palani ante oculos atque
aures omnium mortalium piis precibus adoramus et
per suaves hostias propitios nobis efficimus et a
cunctis haec cerni et probari contendimus.
i Sed ulterius huic certamini me senex invalidus
subtraho et in sententiam Mantuani rhetoris libenter
pergo :

trahat sua quemqiie voluptas.

Post haec non dubito, vir eximie, qui a mea secta
deviasti, hanc epistulam aliquorum furto detractam
flammis vel quolibet pacto perituram. Quod si ac-
cident, erit damnum chartulae, non nostri sermonis,
cuius exemplar penes omnes religiosos perpetuo
retinebo. Dii te servent, per quos et eorum atque
cunctorum mortalium communem patrem universi
mortales, quos terra sustinet, mille modis concordi
discordia veneramur et colimus.

No. 6 (Ep. XVII)

[MAXIMO AUGUSTINUS]

1 Seriumne aliquid inter nos agimus, an iocari libet ?
Nam sicut tua epistula loquitur, utrum causae ipsius
infirmitate, an morum tuorum comitate sit factum, ut

" A very common charge against the Christians, arising
no doubt from a misunderstanding of their private celebra-
tion of the Eucharist. It is made by Pliny and Fronto,
among others, and is discussed and repudiated by all the
Apologists, until in the third century it gradually disappears.

^ Virg. Buc. ii. 65.

20

NO. 5 (Ep. XVI)— NO. 6 (Ep. XVII)

the strength of its sinews to robbing every man of
certainty. Prove by the facts themselves who is that
god whom you Christians claim as your peculiar pro-
perty and whose presence you feign to see in secret
places.^ We indeed \Wth reverent prayers worship
our gods in daylight, openly before the eyes and ears
of all mortals, and we earn their favour by acceptable
sacrifices, taking pains to let our actions be seen and
approved by everyone.

But I am a feeble old man, so I withdraw from 4
any further contest and gladly give my adherence
to that sentiment of the eloquent Mantuan :

Let each man be drawn by his own pleasure. ^"

After this, my distinguished friend, seceder that you
are from my own faith, I fully expect that some
thieves \W11 steal this letter and that it will be burned
or otherwise destroyed. In that event, it will only be
the papyrus that will be lost, not what I have said, for
I shall for ever keep a copy of it accessible to all the
devout. Mav the gods keep you ! Through them all
we mortals whom earth bears worship and adore in a
thousand ways and with harmonious variance one
who is the common father both of the gods and of all
mortal men.

No. 6 (Ep. XVII)

(a.d. 390)

AUGUSTINE TO MAXIMUS THE GRAMMARIAN

Is it a serious discussion we are engaged in, or 1
do you want only to be amused ? The tone of your
letter leaves me wondering whether your preference
for humorous remarks to studied arguments is the

21

ST. AUGUSTINE

malles esse facetior quam paratior, incertum habeo.
Prinio enim Olympi niontis et fori vestri comparatio
facta est, quae nescio quo pertinuerit, nisi ut me
commonefaceret et in illo monte lovem castra po-
suisse, cum adversus patrem bellum gereret, ut ea
docet historia, quam vestri etiam sacram vocant, et
in isto foro recordarer esse in duobus simulacris unum
Mart em nudum, alterum armatum, quorum dae-
monium infestissimum civibus porrectis tribus digitis
contra conlocata statua humana comprimeret. Ergo-
ne umquam ego crediderim mentione illius fori
facta numinum talium memoriam mihi te renovare
voluisse. nisi iocari potius quam serie agere maluisses ?
Sed illud plane, quod tales deos quaedam dei unius
magni membra esse dixisti, admoneo, quia dignaris,
ut ab huius modi sacrilegis facetiis te magnopere
abstineas. Si quidem ilium deum dicis unum, de
quo, ut dictum est a veteribus, docti indoctique con-
sentiunt, huiusne tu membra dicis esse, quorum iam
immanitatem vel, si hoc mavis, potentiam mortui
hominis imago compescit ? Plura hinc possim di-
cere ; vides enim pro tua prudentia, quam late locus
iste pateat reprehensioni. Sed me ipse cohibeo, ne a
te rhetorice potius quam veridice agere existimer.
2 Nam quod nomina quaedam mortuorum Punica
coUegisti, quibus in nostram religionem festivas, ut
tibi visum est, contumelias iaciendas putares, nescio,

NO. 6 (Ep. XVII)

result of your having a feeble case, or simply of your
affability. First you make a comparison between
Mount Olympus and your o^ai market-place, the
point of which I fail to see ; unless it was your in-
tention to remind me that it was in that mountain
Jove pitched his campM'hen fighting against his father,
according to the tale your co-religionists call sacred,
and to remind me of the two images of Mars in that
same market-place, one of them armed, the other
in his tunic, while a human statue, standing over
against them, uses three outstretched fingers to
curb their evil influence that threatens your towns-
men so direfully. So should I ever have believed
that in mentioning your market-place you wanted to
revive my recollection of such deities, if it had not
been your intention to be facetious rather than to
have a serious discussion ? But as to your statement
that such gods are portions of one great god, I give
you plain warning : please refrain altogether from
such irreverent jocularity. If you are really referring
to the unity of that god about whom, as the ancients
have it, learned and unlearned are in agreement, do
you describe as portions of him those whose frightful-
ness, or, if you prefer the word, power, is kept in check
by the statue of a single dead man ? I could say a
good deal more about this point : you are intelligent
enough to see how far that remark of yours lays you
open to censure. But I refrain, in case you imagine
that I am quarrelling about words rather than seeking
truth.

You have gathered together some Punic names 2
of dead people, with the intention of making use of
them to cast on our religion what you supposed to be
wittv abuse : I am not sure if I should refute your

23

ST. AUGUSTINE

utrum refellere debeam, an silentio praeterire. Si
enim res istae tarn videntur leves tuae gravitati,
quani sunt, iocari mihi non multum vacat ; si autem
graves tibi videntur, miror, quod nominum absur-
ditate commoto in mentem non venerit habere vos
at in sacerdotibus Eucaddires et in numinibus Abad-
dires. Non puto ego ista tibi, cum seriberes, in
animo non fuisse, sed more humanitatis et leporis tui
commonefacere nos voluisti ad relaxandum animum,
quanta in vestra superstitione ridenda sint. Neque
enim usque adeo te ipsum oblivisci potuisses, ut homo
Afer scribens Afris, cum simus utrique in Africa con-
stituti, Punica nomina exagitanda existimares. Nam
si ea vocabula interpretemur, Namphamo quid aUud
significat quam boni pedis hominem ? Id est, cuius
adventus adferat aUquid fehcitatis, sicut solemus
dicere secundo pede introisse, cuius introitum pro-
speritas ahqua consecuta sit. Quae Ungua si in-
probatur abs te, nega Punicis Ubris, ut a viris doctis-
simis proditur, multa sapienter esse mandata me-
moriae ; paeniteat te certe ibi natum, ubi huius
linguae cunabula recalent. Si vero et sonus nobis
noster non rationabihter disphcet et me bene inter-
pretatum illud vocabulum recognoscis, habes quod
suscenseas Vergiho tuo, qui Herculem vestrum ad

" Abaddir is a Phoenician deity, probably to be identified
with Baal Addir or Baal Hammon ; the word itself is Punic
for "Mighty Father." The Eucaddires were perhaps the
priests of that cult, but the word is not found elsewhere.

^ Punic was still widely spoken, and Augustine several
times speaks of the need for priests speaking that tongue.
Arnobius Junior, writing in the fifth century, says Punic
was still the language of the people of the little Syrtes, and
a bilingual inscription has been found as late a.s 539 {Corpus
24

NO. 6 (Ep. XVII)

taunts or pass them over in silence. If such matters
appear to a man of your sense to be as unimportant
as they really are, I have not much time to spare for
such pleasantry ; if they appear to you important, I
am surprised that if absurd names appeal to you, you
did not remember that among your priests you have the
Eucaddires, and among your deities the Abaddires.^
I do not suppose that these did not occur to you when
you were WTiting, but in your usual genial and witty
way you wanted to amuse me by reminding me how
many laughable things are to be found in your super-
stitions. Nor could you have forgotten yourself so
far as to imagine that Punic names were to be railed
at, w^hen you, an African, were writing to Africans
and seeing that we are both living in Africa. If we
interpret those words, what does Namphamo mean
but" the man v.ith the lucky foot " ? That is, the man
whose coming brings some good fortune, just as we
say that one whose arrival has been attended by some
stroke of luck has entered with a prosperous foot. If
you disapprove of Punic as a language, then you must
refuse to admit that many wise things have been
recorded in Punic books, as is declared by learned
men ; you must even feel shame that you were born in
a district in which the cradle of that language is still
warm.^ If it is unreasonable that the sound of our
own tongue should give us offence and if you grant
that I have rightly interpreted that name, you have
just cause to feel annoyed with your friend Virgil,

Inscr. Lat. viii. 4677). Of Punic liierature only a few
specimens are mentioned : Varro and Columella refer with
praise to a treatise on Agriculture by Mago; Sallust had
Punic chronicles translated to him, and Suidas cites one
Charon of Carthage who wrote biographies.

ST. AUGUSTINE

sacra, quae illi ab Evandro celebrantur, invitat hoc
modo :

et nos et tua dexter adi pede sacra secundo.

Secundo pede optat ut veniat. Ergo venire optat
Herculem Namphamonem, de quo tu multum nobis
insultare dignaris. Verum tamen si ridere delectat.
habes apud vos magnam materiam facetiarum : deum
Stercutium, deam Cluacinam, Venerem Calvam,
deum Timorem, deum Pallorem, deam Febrem et
cetera innumerabilia huiusce modi, quibus Romani
antiqui simulacrorum cultores templa fecerunt et
colenda censuerunt. Quae si neglegis, Romanos
deos neglegis, ex quo intellegeris non Romanis
initiatus sacris, et tamen Punica nomina tamquam
nimium Romanorum altaribus deditus contemnis
ac despicis.
3 Sed mihi videris omnino plus quam nos fortasse
ilia sacra nihili pendere, sed ex eis nescio quam
captare ad huius vitae transitum voluptatem, quippe
qui etiam non dubitaveris ad Maronem confugere,
ut scribis, et eius versu te tueri, quo ait :

trahit sua quemque voluptas.

Nam si tibi auctoritas Maronis placet, sicut placere
significas, profecto etiam illud placet :

primus ab aetherio venit Saturnus Olynipo
arma lovis fugiens et regnis exul adernptis

et cetera, quibus eum atque huius modi deos vestros

" Virg. Aen. viii. 303. *" Virg. Buc. ii. Qo.

= Virg. Aen. viii. 319-320^
26

NO. 6 (Ep. XVII)

v.ho in these words invites your Hercules to the rites
celebrated in his honour by Evander :

Us and thy rites with prosperous foot approach,
In favouring mood.*'

He prays him to come " with prosperous foot " ; that
is, he wants Hercules to come as Namphamo, in whom
it pleases you to find much to taunt us with. But if
you do take delight in jests, you have in your own
religion ample material for ridicule : Stercutius. your
god of manure, Cluacina, your goddess of purification,
Bald ^^enus, your god Fear, your god Pallor, your
goddess Fever, and countless others of the same kind,
to whom the ancient Romans, worshippers of idols,
built temples and thought worship should be offered.
If you neglect them, you are neglecting Roman gods,
thereby making it understood that you were not
initiated into Roman rites, and yet you scorn and
despise Punic names like one excessively devoted to
the altars of Rome.

But altogether your depreciation of those rites
seems perhaps greater than ours, though you gain
from them some vague pleasure for life's journey.
You had no hesitation even in invoking the authority
of \'irgil, as you say, and in shielding yourself by
that line in which he says :

Each man is drawn by his own pleasure. **

If you are satisfied with Mrgil's authority, as you
indicate that you are, then you will certainly be
satisfied -vdth these lines too :

From high Olympus first came Saturn down.
Fleeing Jove's arms, an exile from his realm, ^

and so on. By these lines the poet wants to show that

27

ST. AUGUSTINE

vult intellegi homines fuisse. Legerat enini ille
mythicami historiam vctusta auctoritate roboratam,
quam etiam Tullius legerat, qui hoc idem in dialogis
plus, quam postulare auderemus, commemorat et per-
ducere in hominum notitiam, quantum ilia tempora
patiebantur, molitur.

4 Quod autem dicis eo nostris vestra sacra praeponi,
quod vos publice colitis deos, nos autem secretioribus
conventiculis utimur, primo illud abs te quaero, quo
modo oblitus sis Liberum ilium, quem paucorum sa-
cratorum oculis committendum putatis. Deinde tu
ipse iudicas nihil aliud te agere voluisse, cum publicam
sacrorum vestrorum celebrationem commemorares,
nisi ut nobis decuriones et primates civitatis per
plateas vestrae urbis bacchantes ac furentes ante
oculos quasi specula poneremus. In qua celebritate
si numine inhabitamini, certe videtis quale illud sit,
quod adimit mentem ; si autem fingitis, quae sunt ista
etiam in publico vestra secreta ? Vel quo pertinet
tarn turpe mendacium ? Deinde cur nulla futura
eanitis, si vates estis ? Aut cur spoliatis circum-
stantes, si sani estis ?

5 Cum igitur haec nos et alia, quae nunc praeter-

^ Mss. multam, Goldbacher mysticam.

° Of. l)e nat. dforum^ i. 42, 119.

^ Though forbidden by the Senate in 186 b.c. (Livy xxxix.
8-19), the BacchanaHa were later revived, and are often
attacked by Christian writers. The celebration was confined
to the initiate, who, feigning frenzy, claimed the indwelling
presence of their god and practised many cruel and orgiastic
rites. The language of Arnobius {Adv. Nat. v. 19) closely
resembles Augustine's, and adds several other details :
" Bacchanalia etiam praetermittemus inmania quibus nomen
Omophagiis graecum est, in quibus furore mentito et seques-
trata pectoris sanitate circumplicatis vos anguibus atque ut
vos plenos dei numine ac maiestate doceatis, caprorum
28

NO. 6 (Ep. XVII)

Saturn and such-like gods of yours M'ere once men ; he
had read that mythical tale confirmed by ancient
authority and known to Tully as well, for in his Dia-
logues " he draws attention to the same fact more
explicitly than we should yenture to ask, and tries,
as far as those days allowed, to put it before men's
notice.

Then again, you state that your rites are to be 4
preferred to ours, on the ground that your worship is
public, while we use more secret places of meeting.
First, I ask you how it comes that you haye forgotten
your god Bacchus ; you think he should be entrusted
only to the eyes of the few who are initiated. Then
you con\ict yourself of haying had no other intention,
in mentioning the public celebration of your rites,
than that of making us enyisage, as in a mirror, your
senators and notable townsmen raging and reyelling
through your city streets. If in that celebration you
haye the presence of a deity ^^ithin you, you sur6ly
see what kind of being he is, when he destroys your
reason. But if this is only an assumed madness,
what are those secret rites that you actually practise
in public ? Or what is the object of so yile a piece
of deceit ? Or again, if you are inspired seers, why
do you foretell no future eyents ? Or why do you
rend the clothes of the bystanders, if you are in
your right mind ? ^

Since your letter has recalled to me these facts 5

reclamantium viscera cruentatis oribus dissipatis " (and also
infra). See, too, Aug. C.I), vi. 9 and xviii. 13. There
seems little evidence for this rending of bystanders' clothes,
but probably this is what is implied in Plautus, Bacch. 974
sqq. and Auhil. 408 " neqiie ego umquam nisi hodie ad
Bacchas veni in bacchanal coquinatum, | ita me miserum et
meos discipulos fustibus male contuderunt."

29

ST. AUGUSTINE

mittenda existimo, per epistulam tuam feceris re-
cordari. quid nos derideamus deos vestros, quos abs
te ipso subtiliter derideri nemo non intellegit, qui et
ingenium tuuni no\it et legit litteras tuas ? Itaque
si aliquid inter nos de his rebus vis agamus, quod
aetati prudentiaeque tuae congruit, quod denique de
nostro proposito iure a carissimis nostris flagitari
potest, quaere aliquid nostra discussione dignum et
ea pro vestris numinibus cura dicere, in quibus non
te causae praevaricatorem putemus, quod nos magis
commoneas, quae contra illos dici possint, quam pro
eis aliquid dicas. Ad summam tamen ne te hoc
lateat et in sacrilega convicia inprudentem trahat,
scias a Christianis catholicis, quorum in vestro oppido
etiam ecclesia constituta est, nullum coli mortuorum,
nihil denique ut numen adorari, quod sit factum et
conditum a deo, sed unum ipsum deum, qui fecit et
condidit omnia. Disserentur ista latius ipso vero et
uilo deo adiuvante, cum te graviter agere velle

" In addition to the Donatists.

Note. — The two precedinjcr letters are amon^r the best
known and most frequently cited of Augustine's correspond-
ence. \'oltaire, for example, several times {Diet. Ph'doi<o-
phique, s.vv. " Dieu,"" " Idole " ; Tra'ite sur la Tolerance, ch.
9; "Notice sur Maxinie de Madaure" at the head of his
Sophronime et Adelos) quotes Maxinius as evidence that the
polytheism of his time was tolerant, philosophical, and deistic.
The monotheistic explanation was by now current among the
better educated pagans {rf. P.L. iii. 1 107 " gentiles quamvis
idola colant, tamen summum Deum Patrem creatorem cog-
noscunt et confitentur " : Maximus's own words are almost a
literal translation of the verse quoted by Lactantius, Inst. \. 6.
15 els debs, 6$ fxavos apx^i, VTrepfjLeyeOijs, dyeuvTos) ; but it was
largely inspired by the struggle against Christianity and it was

30 '

NO. 6 (Ep. XMI)

and others which I think it better to pass over for the
present, why should I make fun of your gods, when
anyone who knows your type of mind and reads your
letter can see that you yourself poke stealthy fun at
them ? So, if you want us to discuss this topic in a
manner befitting your age and good sense and answer-
ing the just demands of my close friends from one of
my profession, look for some theme worthy of debate
between us, and do your best to put forward on your
gods' behalf arguments that will not make me think
you are betraying your own case ; for you certainly did
suggest to me what can be said against them, rather
than advance any statement on their behalf. Finally, I
want to tell you something you should know, to keep
you from being inadvertently drawn into irreverent
gibes : Catholic Christians, who have a church estab-
lished in your town too," worship no dead man and
adore nothing as a deity that was made and created
by God ; they worship only God himself, who made
and created everything.

I shall enlarge on these facts by the help of our one
true God, when I am assured that you want to treat
them seriously.

never more than a controversial argrument, forgotten in poly-
theistic practice. His case for paganism is largely aesthetic and
sentimental ; in attacking Christianity he undoubtedly strikes
at the weakest point of its popular observance, the cult of
saints and martyrs, the concession made by Christianity to
local, polytheistic hero-worship. But he confuses Donatism,
strong in the region round Madaura, with orthodox C'hristian-
ity, and his remarks about the villainous character of those
popular objects of veneration are beside the mark. Au-
gustine in reply attacks the disreputable cults and practices
of paganism and treats Maximus's arguments, both for
paganism and against Christianity, with contempt.

31

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 7 (Ep. XXI)

DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET VENERABILI ET IN
CONSPECTU DOMINI SINCERA CARITATE
CARISSIMO PATRI VALERIO EPISCOPO
AUGUSTINUS PRESBYTER IN DOMINO
SALUTEM

1 Ante omnia peto, ut cogitet religiosa prudentia
tua nihil esse in hac vita et maxime hoc tempore
facihus et laetius et hominibus acceptabihiis epi-
scopi aut presbyteri aiit diaconi officio, si perfunctorie
atque adulatorie res agatur, sed nihil apiid deum
miserius et tristius et damnabilius ; item nihil esse in
hac vita et maxime hoc tempore difficilius, laborio-
sius, periculosius episcopi aut presbyteri aut diaconi
officio, sed apud deum nihil beatius, si eo modo milite-
tur, quo noster imperator iubet. Quis autem iste sit
modus, nee a pueritia nee ab adulescentia mca didici.
Et eo tempore, quo discere coeperam, vis mihi facta
est merito peccatorum meorum — nam quid aliud
existimem nescio, — ut secundus locus gubernaculo-
rum mihi traderetur, qui remum tenere non noveram.

2 Sed arbitror dominum meum propterea me sic
emendare voluisse, quod multorum peccata nauta-
rum, antequam expertus essem, quid illic agitur,
quasi doctior et melior reprehendere audebam.
Itaque posteaquam missus sum in medium, tunc

" Valerius was bishop of Hippo when Augustine returned
to Africa in 388. By birth a Greek, he had difficulty in
preaching in Latin. When Augustine was visiting lIii)po
in 391, he was forcibly ordained to assist Valerius, and this
letter was written soon after the ordination, probably from
Tagaste, whither Augustine had no doubt returned to
terminate his affairs there. Augustine always speaks of
32

NO. 7 (Ep. XXI)

Xo. 7 (Ep. XXI)

(a.d. 391)

TO BISHOP VALERIUS," MY LORD MOST SAIXTLY
AND VENERABLE, MY FATHER WARMLY
CHERISHED BEFORE THE LORD WITH
SINCERE AFFECTION, AUGUSTINE, PRIEST,
SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

First and foremost, I beg your wise Holiness to I
consider that there is nothing in this life, and especi-
ally in our own day, more easy and pleasant and accept-
able to men than the office of a bishop or priest or
deacon, if its duties be discharged in a mechanical and
sycophantic way, but nothing more worthless and
deplorable and meet for chastisement in the sight of
God ; and, on the other hand, that there is nothing in
this life, and especially in our own day, more difficult,
toilsome and hazardous than the office of a bishop or
priest or deacon, but nothing more blessed in the sight
of God, if our service be in accordance with our Cap-
tain's orders.^ But how that is to be done I learned
neither in my boyhood nor in my youth, and just as
I had begun to learn, I was compelled by reason
of my sins to assume the second place at the helm,
although I did not know how to hold an oar.

But I imagine that it was my Lord's intention 2
to chastise me because I was bold enough to rebuke
many sailors for their faults, as though I were a wiser
and a better man, before experience had taught me
the nature of their work. So, on being sent into
their midst, I then began to realize how presump-

\'alerius with great respect and affection. Valerius retired
in 396, and Augustine succeeded him.
" 1 Tim. i. 18-19 ; 2 Tim. ii. 4.

D 33

ST. AUGUSTINE

sentire coepi temeritates reprehensionum mearuni,
quamquani et antea periculosissimuni iudicareni hoc
ministerium. Et hinc erant illae lacrimae, quas me
fundere in no\'itate ordinationis meae nonnulli fratres
animadverterunt, et nescientes causas doloris mei
quibus potuerunt sermonibus, qui omnino ad vulnus
nieum non pertinerent, tamen bono animo consolati
sunt. Sed multo, valde niulto amplius expertus
sum, quam putabam, non quia novos aliquos fluctus
aut tempestates vidi, quas ante non videram vel non
audieram vel non legeram vel non cogitaveram, sed
ad eas evitandas aut perferendas sollertiam et vires
meas omnino non noveram et alicuius momenti
arbitrabar. Dominus autem inrisit me et rebus
ipsis ostendere voluit me ipsum mihi.
3 Quod si non damnando, sed miserando fecit — hoc
enim spero certe vel nunc cognita aegritudine mea,
— debeo scripturarum eius medicamenta omnia per-
scrutari et orando ac legendo agere, ut idonea vali-
tudo animae meae ad tam periculosa negotia tri-
buatur. Quod ante non feci, quia et tempus non
habui ; tunc enim ordinatus sum, cum de ipso va-
cationis tempore ad cognoscendas divinas scripturas
cogitaremus et sic nos disponere vellemus, ut nobis
otium ad hoc negotium posset esse. Quod verum
est, nondum sciebam, quid mihi deesset ad tale opus,
quale me nunc torquet et conterit. Quod si propter-
ea in re ipsa didici, quid sit homini necessarium.

<" This was early in 391 {cf. § 4 "until Easter"), •when
Augustine was in his thirty-sixth year. Among his earliest
actions at Hippo was the founding of a monastery — his
second, that at Tagaste remaining in the charge of Alypius.
For other accounts of this forcible ordination see Serm.

34.

NO. 7 (Ep. XXI)

tuous were my rebukes, although even before that
time I had concluded that this occupation was fraught
with great hazards. That was the cause of those tears
which some of the brethren noticed me shedding
when I was newly ordained ^ ; they said all they could
to console me, but, though their intentions were
good, their words had no bearing whatever on my
trouble, as they did not know the reasons for my
grief. But experience has revealed the hazards
far, far more fully than even anticipation ; it is not
that I have observed some new breakers or storms
unknown to me by previous observation or report or
reading or meditation, but that I completely mis-
calculated my ability and strength to avoid them or
endure them and reckoned it to be of some worth.
But the Lord mocked me and by actual experience
sought to show me just what I am.

If He did this in mercy and not in judgement, as I 3
confidently hope now that I at last recognize my weak
points, it is my duty to investigate all the remedies to
be found in His Scriptures and to see that prayer and
study procure for my soul adequate strength for such
dangerous tasks. I had no time before the ceremony,
so I failed to do it then : I was ordained just when I
was planning for a period of leisure in order to make
myself acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, and when
I was arranging to obtain some spare time for that
task. The truth is, I did not realize my lack of quali-
fications for the duties that now vex and harass me.
If experience has taught me what is requisite for one

ccclv. 2 and Possid. Vit. Aug. iv. Ordination by compulsion
Avas at this time not uncommon : Ambrose, Martin of Tours,
Chrysostom and Paulinus were ordained by force, as was
also Jerome's brother, Paulinianus.

So

ST. AUGUSTINE

qui populo ministrat sacramentum et verbum dei, iit
iam mihi non liceat adsequi, quod me non habere
cognovi, iubes ergo, ut peream, pater \\ileri ? Ubi
est caritas tua ? Certe diligis me ? Certe diligis
ipsam ecclesiam, cui me sic ministrare voluisti ? Et
tamen certus sum, quod et me et ipsam diligis. Sed
putas me idoneum, cum ego melius me noverim, qui
tamen nee ipse me nossem, nisi experiendo didicissem.
Sed dicit fortasse sanctitas tua : vellem, scire, quid
desit instructioni tuae. Tarn multa autem sunt, ut
facilius possim enumerare quae habeam, quam quae
habere desidero. Auderem enim dicere scire me et
plena fide retinere, quid pertineat ad salutem no-
stram. Sed hoc ipsum quo modo ministrem ad salu-
tem aliorum non quaerens, quod mihi utile est, sed quod
multis, ut salvi jiant ? Et sunt fortasse aliqua, immo
non est dubitandum esse in Sanctis libris conscripta
consilia, quibus cognitis et adprehensis possit homo
dei rebus ecclesiasticis ordinatioribus ministrare aut
certe inter manus iniquorum vel vivere conscientia
saniore vel mori, ut ilia vita non amittatur, cui uni
Christiana corda humilia et mansueta suspirant. Quo
modo autem hoc fieri potest, nisi, quern ad modum
ipse dominus dicit, petendo quaerendo pulsando, id
est orando legendo plangendo ? Ad quod negotium
mihi parvum tempus velut usque ad pascha impe-
trare volui per fratres a tua sincerissima et vx'nerabili
caritate et nunc per has preces volo.
5 Quid enim responsurus sum domino iudici ? Non

« 1 Cor. X. 33.
" Matt. vii. T-8 ; Luke xi. 9-10.

NO. 7 (Ep. XXI)

who dispenses God's word and sacrament to the people,
only now to be debarred from acquiring what I know
I do not possess, are you, Father Valerius, simply de-
creeing my ruin? Where is your affection for me ? Do
you really love me ? Do you really love the Church
which you want me to serve with this poor equip-
ment ? Yet I am sure that you love us both, but you
think me quite well equipped, though I know myself
better ; but I should not have acquired this know-
ledge, had it not been taught me by experience.

But perhaps your Holiness replies : "I should like 4
to know wherein your training is deficient." It has
so many deficiencies that it would be easier for me to
enumerate the things I have acquired than those I
w^ant to acquire. I might venture to say that I know
and hold with complete trust what belongs to our
salvation. But how am I to minister even that for
the salvation of others, not seeking mine own profit,
but the profit of many, that they may be saved " ?
Perhaps there are some admonitions written in the
holy books — nay, it is certain that there are — which,
if a man of God grasp and apply them to himself, will
enable him to discharge his more ordinary clerical
duties, or at least amidst the kicked to keep so sound
a conscience that, whether living or dying, he lose not
that life for which alone humble and gentle Christian
hearts long. But how can this be done, except, as the
Lord Himself says, by asking, seeking and knocking,^
that is, by prayer, study and beating of the breast ?
It was for this task that I sought through my brethren
to obtain from your dear Reverence a short space of
time, say until Easter, and to that I now add this
present supplication.

For what answer am I to make to the I^ord, when 5

37

ST. AUGUSTINE

poteram ista iam quaerere, cum ecclesiasticis negotiis
impedirer ? Si ergo mihi dicat : serve neqtiam, si
villa ecclesiae caluniniosiini aliquem pateretur, cuius
fructibus coUigendis magna opera inpenditur neglecto
agro, quern rigavi sanguine meo, si quid agere pro
ea posses apud iudicem terrae, nonne omnibus con-
sentientibus, nonnuUis etiam iubentibus et cogentibus
pergeres et, si contra te iudicaretur, etiam trans mare
proficiscereris ? Atque hoc modo vel annuam vel
amplius absentiam tuam nulla querella revocaret,
ne alius possideret terram non animae sed corpori
pauperum necessariam, quorum tamen famem vivae
arbores meae multo facilius mihique gratius, si dili-
genter colerentur, explerent. Cur ergo ad discen-
dam agriculturam meam vacationem temporis tibi
defuisse causaris ? Die mihi, quid respondeam ; rogo
te an forte vis dicam : senex \^alerius dum me
omnibus rebus instructum esse credidisset, quanto
amplius me dilexit, tanto minus discere ista permisit ?
6 Adtende omnia ista, senex Valeri ; obsecro te per
bonitatem et severitatem Christi, per misericordiam
et iudicium eius, per eum, tantam qui tibi inspiravit
erga nos caritatem, ut ne te nee pro lucro animae
nostrae audeamus offendere. Sic autem mihi do-
minum et Christum testem facis innocentiae et cari-
tatis et sinceri afFectus quem circa nos habes, quasi
ego non de his iurare omnibus possum. Ipsam ergo

« Matt, xviii. 32 ; Luke xix. 22.

*• In Africa and Spain the title Sfji^.r was given to the
Metropolitan, since the senior Bishop in those two countries
usually held that dignity. The Bishop of Carthage was
Primate from his possession of that see, but from 305 there
was a Primate of Nnmidia as well, and later of Tripolitana,
the Mauretanias, and Byzacenum. Cf. Leo Magn. Ep. iv.
" in singulis Africae provinciis antiquitus primates] institue-
38

NO. 7 (Ep. XXI)

He judges me? That I had no opportunity for self
improvement in the embarrassment of clerical duties ?
If He were to say to me: "Thou wicked servant,^ if
some rogue were preying upon the Church's property,
the fruits of which are gathered with great expendi-
ture of effort, and your intervention before an earthly
bar could be of some avail, would not everyone agree
and some even command and compel you to abandon
the field that I watered with My own Blood and pro-
ceed to court, and if the verdict were unfavourable,
even to make the journey across the sea ? You
might spend a year or more \vithout being recalled by
grumbling, in preventing the land needful for the
bodily, not the spiritual, welfare of the poor from
falling into other hands ; yet their hunger would be
appeased much more easily and more satisfactorily to
Me, by My living trees, if they were carefully tended.
Why then do you complain that you had no leisure
to learn My husbandry ? " Tell me, what answer
could I make ? I Monder if you would like me to say :
"But the Senior^ \^alerius thought my training was
complete and, out of his great love for me, gave me
all the less opportunity to acquire what I lacked " ?

Consider all these points. Senior Valerius ; I en- 6
treat you by the goodness and severity of Christ,
by His mercy and judgement, by Him who inspired
you with such affection for me that even to gain my
own soul I would not venture to displease you. You
call upon the Lord and Christ to bear witness to me
of the single-mindedness and liking and warm affec-
tion you have towards me, as if I could not take an
oath myself on them all. To that liking and affection

bantur non secundum potentiam alicuius civitatis, sed
secundum tempus suae ordinationis."

39

ST. AUGUSTINE

caritateni et affectum inploro, ut miserearis mei et
concedas mihi ad hoc quod rogavi, tempus quantum
rogavi, atque adiuves me orationibus tuis, ut non sit
inane desiderium meum nee infructuosa ecclesiae
Christi atque utilitati fratrum et conservorum meo-
rum absentia mea. Scio quod illam caritatem pro
me orantem maxime in tali causa non despicit do-
minus et earn sicut sacrificium suavitatis accipiens
fortassis brexdore tempore, quam postula\-i, me salu-
berrimis consiliis de scripturis suis reddet instructum.

No. 8 (Ep. XXII)

AURELIO EPISCOPO AUGUSTINUS PRESBYTER

1 I. Qua gratia responderem litteris sanctitatis tuae,
cum diu haesitans non reperirem — omnia enim vicit
affectus animi mei, quem iam sponte surgentem lectio
epistulae tuae multo ardentius excitavit, — commisi
me tamen deo, qui pro viribus meis operaretur in me,
ut ea rescriberem, quae utrique nostrum studio in
domino et cura ecclesiastica pro tua praestantia et
mea obsecundatione congruerent. Atque illud pri-
mum, quod orationibus meis te adiuvari credis, non
solum non defugio, verum etiam libenter amplector.
Ita enim etsi non meis, at certe tuis me dominus
noster exaudiet. Quod fratrem Alypium in nostra
coniunctione mansisse, ut exemplo sit fratribus curas
mundi huius vitare cupientibus, benivolentissime

*• Augustine first met Aurelius at Carthage in 388, when
Aurelius was a deacon (Civ. Dei^ xxii, 8. 8), and there were
laid the beginnings of a long and close friendship. Aurehus
succeeded to the see of Carthage in 391 or 39:2, and was
still in office in 426. To him Augustine dedicated his De
Trinitate, De Gestis Pelagli, and De Opere Monachorum.
40

NO. 7 (Ep. XXI)— NO. 8 (Ep. XXII)

I appeal : pity me and give me the time I want for the
thino; I want ; give me the aid of your prayers, that
my desire be not in vain and my absence not without
fruit to the Church of Christ and the welfare of my
brethren and fellow-servants. I am sure that the
Lord does not despise such affection when it ex-
presses itself in prayer for me, especially in a
matter of this kind. He will accept it as a sweet
sacrifice, and perhaps in a shorter time than I have
asked for will provide from the health-giving counsels
of His Scriptures the instruction I need.

No. 8 (Ep. XXII)
(a.d. 392)

TO BISHOP AURELIUS « FROM AUGUSTINE,
PRIEST

I. After long hesitation I have not discovered how 1
most gratefully to reply to your Holiness 's letter, for
all my efforts were thwarted by my heartfelt emotion,
which rising of its own accord Mas much more warmly
stirred by the reading of your letter. But I cast my-
self upon God that He might work in me according
to my strength, so that I should reply to you as be-
fitted our mutual zeal in the Lord and our care for His
church, you in your exalted station and I in my
subordinate post. And, first, so far from declining
your assurance that you believe my prayers avail for
you, I gladly welcome it, for in this way the Lord will
hear and answer me, if not through my own prayers,
then certainly through yours. I am more grateful to
you than I can well express for your kindly approval
of brother Alypius's action in remaining a member of
our fellowship, as an example to the brethren who

41

ST. AUGUSTINE

accepisti, ago gratias, quas nullis verbis explicare
possim ; deus hoc rependat in animam tuarn.
Omnis itaque fratrum coetus, qui apud eos coepit
coalescere, tanta tibi praerogativa obstrictus est,
ut locis terrarum tantum longe disiunctis ita nobis
consulueris tamquani praesentissimus spiritu. Qua-
propter preeibus, quantum valemus, incumbimus,
ut gregem tibi commissum tecum dominus sustinere
dignetur nee te uspiam deserere, sed adesse adiutor
in opportunitatihus faciens cum ecclesia sua miseri-
cordiam per sacerdotium tuum, qualem spiritales viri
ut faciat lacrimis eum gemitibusque interpellant.
2 Scias itaque, domine beatissime et plenissima cari-
tate venerabilis, non desperare nos, immo sperare
nos vehementer, quod dominus et deus noster per
auctoritatem personae, quam geris, quam non carni,
sed spiritu tuo inpositam esse confidimus, multas
carnales foeditates et aegritudines, quas Africana
ecclesia in multis patitur, in paucis gemit . . .
conciliorum gravi ense et tua gravitate posse sanari.
Cum enim apostolus tria breviter genera vitiorum
detestanda et vitanda uno in loco posuerit, de quibus
innumerabilium peccatorum exsurrexit seges, unum
horum, quod quidem secundo loco posuit, acerrime
in ecclesia vindicatur ; duo autem reliqua, id est
primum et ultimum, tolerabilia videntur hominibus
atque ita paulatim fieri potest, ut nee vitia iam pu-
tentur. Ait enim vas electionis : Non in comissatio-
nihus et ehrietatihus , non in cubilibus et inpudicitiis, non

*» Ps. Lx. 10 ; xvii. 51.

^ There is an anacoluthon here, and Goldbacher has
marked a lacuna. The last clause (ronciliorufn . . . sanari)
is a locus vexatisshnus, and the variants so numerous that
the textual critic must be referred to Goldbacher's apparatus,
42

NO. 8 (Ep. XXII)

wish to withdraw from the cares of this world. May
God recompense your soul for this ! The whole com-
pany of brethren that has begun to form around them
is therefore bound to you with great gratitude, for
you looked after our interests as if yery present in
spirit, although our abode is so far remoyed from
yours in space. So we deyote our best strength to
praying that the Lord \W11 deign to uphold with you
the flock committed to your care and that He will
neyer leaye you but be a present help in time
of trouble," showing \\'ith His Church such mercy
through your ministry as spiritual men implore Him
with tears and groanings to show.

Let me assure you, therefore, my Lord most 2
reyered, worthy of all deyotion and of oyerflowing
affection, that we are not without hope — nay, are
rather strongly hopeful— that through the authority
you bear, laid, as we trust, not on your flesh, but on
your spirit, our Lord and God may use the weighty
sword of councils and your own weight for the healing
of the many carnal sores and disorders which the
African Church is suffering in so many quarters and
lamenting in so few.'' In one passage the Apostle has
set down to be hated and shunned three classes of
yice from which has sprung an incalculable crop of
sins. One of them, which he places only in the
second rank, the Church punishes most seyerely ;
the other two, the first and the last-mentioned, appear
to men to be quite tolerable, and so they may gradu-
ally come to be looked upon as not sins at all. The
words of the Chosen Vessel'' are these : "Not in
rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and

" St. Paul, so called from the words of Acts ix. 15.

43

ST. AUGUSTINE

in coiitentione et zelo ; sed induite vos dominum lesum
ChrisUim et camis cur am nefeceritis in concupiscentiis.
3 Horum ergo trium cubilia et inpudicitiae ita mag-
num crimen putatur, ut nemo dignus non modo
ecclesiastico ministerio, sed ipsa etiam sacramen-
torum communione videatur, qui se isto peccato
maculaverit. Et recte omnino. Sed quare solum ?
Comissationes enim et ebrietates ita concessae et
lieitae putantur, ut in honore etiam beatissimorum
martyrum non solum per dies sollemnes, quod ipsum
quis non lugendum videat, qui haec non carneis
oeulis inspicit, sed etiam cotidie celebrentur. Quam
foeditatem, si tantum flagitiosa et non etiam sacrilega
esset, quibuscumque tolerantiae viribus sustentan-
dam putaremus. Quamquam ubi est illud, quod
cum multa vitia enumerasset idem apostolus, inter
quae posuit ebriosos, ita conclusit, ut diceret : cum
talihus nee panem edere ? Sed feramus haec in luxu
et labe domestica et eorum conviviorum quae pri-
vatis parietibus continentur, accipiamusque cum eis
corpus Christi, cum quibus panem edere prohibemur :
saltem de sanctorum corporum sepulcris, saltem de

« Rom. xiii. 13-14. «• 1 Cor. v. 11.

'^ This practice of drunkenness at the martyrs' tom})S was
widespread (Ps.-Cypr. JJupL Martyr. 25 " armon videmus
ad martyrum memorias Christianum a Christiano cogi ad
ebrietatem?" Ambr. Ihlia xvii. 62 " caHces ad sepulchra
martyrum deferunt atque illic in vesperam bil)unt," etc.).
It was a survival of the old pagan custom of celebrating
Parentalia or Feralia on the tombs of the dead, but, as
Augustine says, the Church attempted to arrest this licence,
not by complete suppression, but by converting the offering
of bread and wine laid on the tombs (see (,'onf. vi. 2) to a
nobler use. I'he martyr's tomb was made an altar, round
which was built the chapel dedicated to him and called by
his name; this explains why, in the fourth century, churches
44

NO. 8 (Ep. XXII)

wantonness, not in strife and envying ; but put ye
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision
for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.""

Of these three classes, chambering and wantonness 3
are considered so great an offence that no one who
lias defiled himself with that sin is considered worthy
not merely of holding office in the Church, but even of
participation in the sacraments. And quite rightly
so, but why single out these ? Rioting and drunken-
ness are considered so permissible and tolerable that
they are practised not only on holy days, when the
blessed martyrs are honoured, — a lamentable sight
to anyone who looks on such festivities with more
than a carnal eye, — but even on any and every day.
Were this depravity only immoral and not sacrilegious
as well, we might think of putting up with it with
what power of endurance we could. And yet, what
about the same Apostle's statement, when he ends his
lengthy list of vices, among which drunkenness finds
a place, by saying : " With such an one not even to eat
bread " ^' ? Are we to put up with it in the disgraceful
debauchery of private life and of those festivities that
are confined to private houses, and receive the Body
of Christ in the company of those with whom we are
forbidden to eat bread ? At least let such a disgrace-
ful practice be removed from the cemeteries ^ where

were built outside the towns, for the cemeteries were there ;
only in the tenth century did the church reach the middle of
the town. Further, the martyr's fame and sanctity encour-
aged burial near him ; hence the habit of burial within the
church, and later around it. So throughout the Middle
Ages the church and the cemetery were the sacred place of
the people : there they held their plays, their dances (Giraldi:s
Cambrensis describes one in Wales in 1188, Itln. Kamhr.
i. 2), their revels and even their drinking-bouts, in spite of
repeated prohibitions by Church Councils.

45

ST. AUGUSTINE

locis sacranientorum, de domibus orationuni tantum
dedecus arceatur. Quis enim audet vetare privatim,
quod cum frequentatur in Sanctis locis, honor niar-
tyrum nominatur ?

4 Haec si prima Africa temptaret auferre, a ceteris
terris imitatione digna esse deberet ; cum vero et
per Italiae maximam partem et in aliis omnibus aut
prope omnibus transmarinis ecclesiis, partim quia
numquam facta sunt, partim quia vel orta vel in-
veterata sanctorum et vere de vita futura cogitantium
episcoporum diligentia et anirnadversione extincta
atque deleta sunt, . . . dubitare quo modo pos-
sumus tantam morum labem vel proposito tam
lato exemplo emendare r Et nos quidem illarum
partium hominem habemus episcopum, unde magnas
deo agimus gratias. Quamquam eius modestiae
atque lenitatis est, eius denique prudentiae et
soUicitudinis in domino, ut, etiam si Afer esset,
cito illi de scripturis persuaderetur curandum, quod
licentiosa et male libera consuetudo vulnus inflixit,
sed tanta pestilentia est huius mali, ut sanari prorsus,
quantum mihi videtur, nisi concilii auctoritate non
possit, aut, si ab una ecclesia inchoanda est medicina,
sicut videtur audaciae mutare conari quod Cartha-
giniensis ecclesia tenet, sic magnae inpudentiae est
velle servare quod Carthaginiensis ecclesia correxit.
Ad banc autem rem quis alius episcopus esset op-
tandus, nisi qui ea diaconus execrabatur ?

5 Sed quod erat tunc dolendum, nunc auferendum

46

NO. 8 (Ep. XXII)

the bodies of the saints are laid, and from the place
where the sacraments are celebrated, and from the
house of prayer. For who dare forbid the use in
private of that which, when practised in holy places, is
called a tribute to the martyrs ?

If Africa were the first to attempt the removal of -1
these abuses, she would be worthy of imitation by all
other countries. But since they have been repressed
and done away with through the greater part of
Italy and in all, or nearly all, the other churches
across the sea, partly because they were never in use,
partly because, when they did arise or were of long
standing, the scrupulousness and censure of saintly
bishops, truly contemplating the life to come . . . how
can we hesitate to correct this grave moral corruption,
especially after the precedent set by so many others ?
We have, too, as bishop a man belonging to those
regions, for which fact we heartily thank God. Yet
he is of such moderation and gentleness, such wisdom
and zeal in the Lord, that, even if he were an African,
he would readily have been persuaded from the
Scriptures to undertake the cure of the wound that
this dissolute and disorderly custom has inflicted.
But the disease wrought by this evil habit has become
so chronic that complete recovery seems to me to be
impossible, unless by the authority of a council ; or if
any one church has to begin the treatment, it appears
foolish to try to change anything the Church of
Carthage retains, and very presumptuous to desire
to keep anything the Church of Carthage has rectified.
And to carry through that reform here, what bishop
could be more desirable than the one who, as a deacon,
denounced such abuses ?

But what at that time you could only deplore must 5

47

ST. AUGUSTINE

est, non aspere sed, sicut scriptum est, in spiritu
lenitahs et mansuetudiiiis. Dant enim mihi fiduciam
litterae tuae, indices germanissimae caritatis, ut
tecum tamquam iiiecuni audeam conloqui. Xon
ergo aspere, quantum existimo, non duriter, non modo
imperioso ista tolluntur,magisdocendo quam iubendo,
magis monendo quam minando. Sic enim agendum
est cum multitudine, se Veritas autem exercenda est
in peccata paucorum. Et si quid minamur, cum
dolore fiat de scripturis comminando vindictam
futuram, ne nos ipsi in nostra potestate, sed deus in
nostro sermone timeatur. Ita prius movebuntur
spiritales vel spiritalibus proximi, quorum auctoritate
et lenissimis quidem sed instantissimis admonitioni-
bus cetera multitudo frangatur.
6 Sed quoniam istae in ' cimiteriis ebrietates et
luxuriosa convivia non solum honores martyrum a car-
nali et inperita plebe credi solent, sed etiam solacia
mortuorum, mihi videtur facilius illis dissuaderi posse
istam foeditatem ac turpitudinem, si et de scripturis
prohibeatur et oblationes pro spiritibus dormientium,
quas vere aliquid adiuvare credendum est, super
ipsas memorias non sint sumptuosae atque omnibus
petentibus sine typho et cum alacritate praebeantur
neque vendantur ; sed si quis pro religione aliquid
pecuniae ofFerre voluerit, in praesenti pauperibus
eroget. Ita nee deserere videbuntur memorias
suorum, quod potest gignere non levem cordis dolo-

<^ Gal. vi. 1 ; 1 Cor. iv. 2\.
48

NO. 8 (Ep. XXII)

now be repressed, not harshly, but as Scripture puts it,
in the spirit of gentleness and meekness." Your letter,
revealing as it does deep brotherly affection, encourages
me to talk to you as I would to myself. It is not by
harshness, in my opinion, or by severity, or by over-
bearing methods, that such evils are removed, but by
education rather than by formal commands, by persua-
sion rather than by intimidation. That is the kind of
treatment to use with men in the mass, while severity
should be employed against the sins of individuals.
If there be any intimidation, let it be done with
sorrow by the threats of future punishment from the
Scriptures, then the fear we inspire will not be of
ourselves or our authority, but of God speaking in us.
In this way an impression will first be made on the
spiritually minded or on those most nearly so, and by
their influence and gentle, but urgent, expostulation
the rest of the crowd will be subdued.

But since those drunken revels in cemeteries and 6
those social orgies are usually considered by the
carnal and ignorant laity not only to honour the
martyrs but also to comfort the dead, they could, I
think, be more easily prevailed upon to abandon
th it scandalous and vicious practice, if, besides for-
bidding it on Scriptural grounds, we ensure that the
offerings made upon tombs for the spirits of those
who have fallen asleep (and we must surely believe
that they are of some avail) be not extravagant and
be tendered without ostentation or reluctance to any
who seek them, but be not sold. If any person
wishes from religious motives to make an offering in
coin, let him distribute it to the poor on the spot. In
this way people will not have the appearance of
neglecting their own burial-places, which might pro-
E 49

ST. AUGUSTINE

rem, et id celebrabitur in ecclesia, quod pie honeste-
que celebratur. Haec interim de comissationibus
et ebrietatibus dicta sint.

7 11. De contentione autem et zelo quid me attinet
dicere, quando ista vitia non in plebe, sed in nostro
numero graviora sunt t Horum autem morborum
mater superbia est et humanae laudis aviditas, quae
etiam hypocrisin saepe generat. Huic non re-
sistitur, nisi crebris divinorum librorum testimoniis
incutiatur timor et caritas dei, si tamen ille, qui hoc
agit, se ipsum praebeat patientiae atque humilitatis
exemplum minus sibi adsumendo, quam ofFertur, sed
tamen ab eis, qui se honorant, nee totum nee nihil
accipiendo et id, quod accipitur laudis aut honoris,
non propter se, qui totus coram deo esse debet et
humana contemnere, sed propter illos accipiatur,
quibus consulere non potest, si nimia deiectione
vilescat. Ad hoc enim pertinet, quod dictum est :
Nemo iuventutem tuam contemnat, cum ille hoc dixerit,
qui alio loco ait : Si hominihus placere vellem, Christi
servus non essem.

8 Magnum est de honoribus et laudibus hominum
non laetari, sed et omnem inanem pompam prae-
cidere et, si quid inde necessarium retinetur, id
totum ad utilitatem honorantium salutemque con-
ferre. Non enim frustra dictum est : Deus confringet
ossa hominihus placere volentium. Quid enim lan-
guidius, quid tam sine stabilitate ac fortitudine,
quod ossa significant, quam homo quem male loquen-

° 1 Tim. iv. 12. * Gal. i. 10. ' Ps. lii. 6.

.50

NO. 8 (Ep. XXII)

duce no slight heart-soreness, and the ceremonies in
church will be conducted with piety and decorum.
So mucli then, meanwhile, for rioting and drunken-
ness.

II. Then again, concerning strife and envying, what 7
right have I to speak, since such sins are more serious
among ourselves than among the laity ? These e\ils
are the offspring of pride and eagerness for the praise
of men, which often begets hypocrisy as well. The
only way they can be resisted is by instilling the fear
and love of God with repeated arguments from the
holy books, provided that one who follows this method
shows himself a pattern of patience and humility,
arrog-atino' to himself less honour than is offered him
and yet accepting from those who pay him honour
neither everything nor nothing, but accepting what-
ever honour and praise is offered him. not on his own
behalf, since he ought to be living with a sole eye to
God and to despise merely mortal rewards, but for
their sakes whose welfare he cannot promote if he de-
preciate himself so much that he loses men's esteem.
That is the point of the saying, " Let no man despise
thy youth,"" although he who said those words
remarks in another place, " If I yet pleased men, I
should not be the servant of Christ." ^

It is a great matter not to rejoice in human praise 8
and honours but to discard all empty ostentation, and,
if any of it must be kept, to turn it all to the use and the
well-being of those who honour us. Not for nothing
has it been said, " God will break the bones of those
who seek to please men"^; for what is more feeble,
more lacking in steadfastness and strength (for this is
what " bones " symbolize), than an individual who is
unnerved by the voice of slander, when he knows that

51

ST. AUGUSTINE

tium lingua debilitat, cum sciat falsa esse quae di-
cuntur ? Cuius rei dolor nullo modo animae viscera
dilaniaret, si non amor laudis eius ossa confringeret.
Praesumo de robore animi tui ; itaque ista quae
tecum confero, mihi dico ; dignaris tamen, credo,
mecum considerare quam sint gravia, quam difficilia.
Non enim huius hostis vires sentit, nisi qui ei bellum
indixerit. quia, etsi cuiquam facile est laude carere,
dum denegatur, difficile est ea non delectari, cum
offertur. Et tamen tanta mentis in deum debet esse
suspensio, ut, si non merito laudemur, corrigamus
eos, quos possumus, ne arbitrentur aut in nobis esse,
quod non est, aut nostrum esse, quod dei est, aut ea
laudent, quae quamvis non desint nobis aut etiam
supersint, nequaquam tamen sint laudabilia, velut
sunt bona omnia, quae vel cum pecoribus habemus
communia vel cum impiis hominibus. Si autem
merito laudamur propter deum, gratulemur eis
quibus placet verum bonum, non tamen nobis quia
placemus hominibus, sed si coram deo tales sumus,
quales esse nos credunt, et non tribuitur nobis sed
deo, cuius dona sunt omnia quae vere meritoque
laudantur. Haec mihi ipse canto cotidie vel potius
ille cuius salutaria praecepta sunt, quaecumque sive
in divinis lectionibus inveniuntur sive quae intrin-
secus animo suggeruntur. Et tamen vehementer
cum adversario dimicans saepe ab eo vulnera accipio,
cum delectationem oblatae laudis mihi auferre non
possum.
9 Haec propterea scripsi, ut, si tuae sanctitati iam

52

NO. 8 (Ep. XXII)

what is being said against him is untrue ? The pain
of receiving such treatment would certainly not rend
his inmost soul, unless the love of praise were " break-
ing his bones." I have every confidence in your
strength of mind, so what I am discussing with you
I am applying to myself ; still, you are good enough,
I think, to consider with me how serious and difficult
a matter this is. Only one who has declared w^ar on
that foe realizes his power, for, although it is easy to
do without praise, when it is denied us, it is hard not
to take pleasure in it, when it is offered. And yet
our minds ought to be so completely uplifted to God
that, if we are undeservedly praised, we may correct
those we can, lest they should think we possess gifts
that are not ours, or that the gifts we have from God
are our own, or praise qualities we do possess and
even possess in a marked degree, but which are in
no way niatters for praise, for example all those
advantages w^e share with animals or with unchristian
men. But if we are deservedly praised for God's sake,
we should congratulate those who find pleasure in
what is truly good, and not ourselves for pleasing
men, and that only if we are in the eyes of God what
they take us to be and offer the praise not to us, but
to God ; for everything that is truly and deservedly
praised is a gift from Him. This is what I keep on
saying to myself each day, or rather He does, from
whom come whatever salutary counsels are found
in Scripture readings or are suggested to the mind
from within. Yet, strenuously as I struggle with the
adversary, I often receive wounds from him, since I
cannot rid myself of delight in the praise that is
offered me.

Your Holiness may have no further need for

ST. AUGUSTINE

non sunt necessaria, sive quod plura ipse huius modi
cogites atque utiliora sive quod tuae sanctitati
medicina ista non opus sit, mala tamen mea nota
sint tibi sciasque. unde pro mea infirmitate deum
rogare digneris. Quod ut inpensissime facias, ob-
secro per humanitatem illius, qui praeceptum dedit,
ut in\-icem onera nostra portemus. Multa sunt,
quae de nostra vita et conversatione deflerem,
quae nollem per litteras ad te venire, sed inter cor
meum et cor tuum nulla essent ministeria praeter
OS meum et aures tuas. Si autem venerabilis nobis
omni unique nostrum tota sinceritate carissimus,
cuius in te vere fraternam, cum praesens essem, be-
nignitatem studiumque perspexi, senex Saturninus
si dignatus fuerit, quando opportunum videbit, ad nos
venire, quicquid cum eius sanctitate et spiritali
afFectu conloqui potuerimus, aut nihil aut non multum
distabit, ac si cum tua dignatione id ageremus. Quod
ut nobiscum ab eo petere atque impetrare digneris,
tantis precibus posco, quantis verba nulla sufficiunt.
Absentiam enim meam tantum longe Hipponienses
vehementer nimisque formidant neque ullo modo
mihi sic volunt credere ut et ego vobis.

Agrum fratribus datum provisione et liberalitate
tua didicimus ante epistulam tuam per sanctum
fratrem et conservum nostrum Parthenium, a quo
multa alia, quae audire desiderabamus, audivimus.
Praestabit dominus, ut etiam cetera, quae adhuc
desideramus, impleantur.

<" Gal. vi. 2.
54

NO. 8 (Ep. XXII)

counsels of this kind, either because your own re-
flection has suggested a richer store of beneficial
principles, or else because your Holiness has passed
the stage of requiring remedies of this kind. My
purpose in writing as I have done is to make you aware
of my vices and to let you know what, in view of my
weakness, you might ask God for. I beseech you by
the humanity of Him who has laid down the rule that
we should bear each other's burdens,^ to do this most
earnestly. There is much in my life and conduct
that I deplore, but I should prefer that it should not
reach you by letter ; between my heart and your
heart there should be no intermediary save my
mouth and your ears. If our venerated Senior,
Saturninus, whom we all regard with very genuine
affection, and whose really brotherly kindness and
concern for you I saw when I was with you, will deign
to visit us when he sees it convenient, any conversa-
tion I may have ^vith that holy and warm-hearted
and spiritually-minded man will be little, if any,
different from what I might have with your Grace.
With entreaties that surpass all expression I urge you
to be good enough to join me in asking and obtaining
a visit from him. The people of Hippo are much afraid,
indeed excessively so, to let me go so far away from
them, and they are in no wise willing to trust me, as I
trust you.

Before your letter reached me, I learned through
our saintly brother and fellow-servant, Parthenius,
of the ground provided for our brethren by your fore-
thought and generosity. He gave us besides much
news that we were anxious to have. The Lord ^vill
grant the fulfilment of the other things also for which
we are still anxious.

55

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 9 (Ep. XXVIII)

DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ET CULTU SINCERIS-
SIMO CARITATIS OBSERVANDO ATQUE
AMPLECTEXDO FRATRI ET CONPRESBYTERO
HIERONYMO AUGUSTINUS

1 I. Numquani aeque quisquam facie cuilibet in-
notuit quam mihi tuorum in domino studiorum quieta
laetitia et vere exercitatio liberalis. Quamquam
ergo percupiam omnino te nosse, tamen exiguum
quiddam tui minus habeo, praesentiam videlicet
corporis. Quam ipsam etiam, posteaquam te beatis-
simus nunc episcopus tunc vero iam episcopatu dignus
frater Alypius vidit remeansque a me visus est,
negare non possum magna ex parte mihi esse relatu
eius inpressam et ante reditum, cum te ille ibi vide-
bat, ego videbam sed oculis eius. Non enim animo
me atque ilium sed corpore duos, qui noverit, dixerit,
Concordia dum taxat et familiaritate fidissima, non
meritis, quibus ille antecellit. Quia ergo me primitus
communione spiritus, quo in unum nitimur, deinde
illius ex ore iam diligis, nequaquam inpudenter quasi
aliquis ignotus commendo germanitati tuae fratrem
Profuturum, quem nostris conatibus, deinde adiu-

^ Written from Hippo. Jerome was at Bethlehem, but
through a series of mishaps this letter was not delivered
until nine years later.

* Profuturus was a member of Augustine's monastery
at Hippo. He was prevented from setting out with this

56

NO. 9 (Ep. XXVIII)

No. 9 (Ep. XXVIII)

(a.d. 39i or 395)

AUGUSTINE TO JEROME, MY BELOVED LORD,
MY BROTHER AND FELLOW-PRIEST, WORTHY
OF ESTEEM AND HONOUR AND DEVOTED
AFFECTION «

I. Never did any man know another's features 1
as well as I have come to know what peaceful joy
you find in your studies in the Lord and what truly
noble application you give to them. My desire for
thorough acquaintance with you is of the strongest,
yet I lack only one small portion of you, namely
your bodily presence. But, I can assure you, even
that has been to a large extent imprinted on my mind
by the account given me by brother Alypius, now
a much revered bishop, but even then, when he saw
you, well worthy of that office. I saw him on his
return, but even before then, while he was seeing
you there, I too saw you, though with his eyes.
For anyone who knows us both would say that he
and I are distinct individuals in body only, not in
mind ; I mean in our harmoniousness and trusty
friendship, not in merit, in which he far outstrips me.
So it is not presumptuous of me, as if I were a
stranger to you, since you already cherish affection
for me from the unity of spirit, first of all, that makes
us strive for one common end and then, from what
Alypius has told you of me, to commend to your
fraternal kindness our brother Profuturus ^ ; it is my
hope that through my efforts on his behalf and then

letter by his appointment to the see of Cirta and died before
403 (Ep. Ixxi. 2). To him is addressed No. 13 infra.

57

ST. AUGUSTINE

torio tuo, vere profuturum speramus, nisi forte quod
talis est, ut ipse tibi per eum fiam commendatior
quam ille per me. Hactenus fortasse scribere de-
buerim, si esse vellem epistularum sollemnium more
contentus. Sed scatet animus in loquelas communi-
candas tecum de studiis nostris quae habemus in
Christo lesu domino nostro, qui nobis multas utilitates
et viatica quaedam demonstrati a se itineris etiam
per tuam caritatem non mediocriter ministrare
dignatur.
2 II. Petimus ergo et nobiscum petit omnis Africa-
narum ecclesiarum studiosasocietas,utinterpretandis
eorum libris qui graece scripturas nostras quam op-
time tractaverunt, curam atque operam inpendere
non graveris. Potes enim efficere, ut nos quoque
habeamus tales illos viros et unum potissimum, quern
tu libentius in tuis litteris sonas. De vertendis autem
in linguam latinam Sanctis litteris canonicis laborare
te noUem, nisi eo modo quo lob interpretatus es, ut
signis adhibitis, quid inter banc tuam et lxx, quorum
est gravissima auctoritas, interpretationem distet,
appareat. Satis autem nequeo mirari si aliquid
adhuc in hebraeis exemplaribus invenitur, quod tot
interpretes illius linguae peritissimos fugerit. Omitto
enim lxx, de quorum vel consilii vel spiritus maiore
Concordia quam si unus homo esset, non audeo in ali-
quam partem certam ferre sententiam, nisi quod eis
praeminentem auctoritatem in hoc munere sine con-
troversia tribuendam existimo. lUi me plus movent,

" Origen.
58

NO. 9 (Ep. XXVIII)

throucrh your assistance he really will '• profit " — ex-
cept perhaps that he is the kind of man who will give
youabetteropinionof me than I have given you of him.
At this point I should perhaps have laid down my pen
if I were satisfied with the usual formal letter, but
so many remarks swarm into my mind that I must
exchange \\ith you about the studies with which we
are occupied in Jesus Christ, our Lord, who even
through your Charity is pleased to provide us, in no
stinted manner, with many benefits and, so to speak,
resources for the journey He has prescribed.

II. We beg vou then (and we are joined in this by 2
all the companv of students in the African churches)
not to refuse to devote toil and trouble to translating
the work*^ of those who have so excellently expounded
our Scriptures in Greek. You can put us in possession
of those notable commentators and of one in parti-
cular, whose name you utter in your writings with
more than usual pleasure. ° But in translating the
holy canonical writings into Latin I should not like
you to follow any other method than that in which
you translated Job, namely by applying signs to show
wherein your translation differs from that of the
Seventy, whose authority is of the weightiest. But
I should be incredibly surprised if anything is found
at this time of day in the Hebrew manuscripts that
has escaped so many translators possessing expert
knowledge of that language. I leave the Seventy
out of account ; of their unanimity of mind or of
inspiration, greater than if only one man had been
concerned, I should not venture to express a definite
opinion in any direction, except that I think there
can be no question that in this sphere they must be
conceded an outstanding authority. I am more

59

ST. AUGUSTINE

qui, cum posteriores interpretarentur et verborum
locutionumque hebraearuni \'iani atque regulas nior-
dacius, ut fertur, tenerent, non solum inter se non
consenserunt, sed etiam reliquerunt multa, quae
tanto post eruenda et prodenda remanerent. Si
enim obscura sunt, te quoque in eis falli posse credi-
tur ; si manifesta, illos in eis falli potuisse non credi-
tur. Huius igitur rei pro tua caritate expositis
causis certum me facias obsecraverim.
3 III. Legi etiam quaedam scripta, quae tua diceren-
tur, in epistulas apostoli Pauli,quarum ad Galatas cum
enodare velles, venit in manus locus ille, quo apo-
stolus Petrus a perniciosa simulatione revocatur. Ibi
patrocinium mendacii susceptum esse vel abs te tali
viro vel a quopiam, si alius ilia scripsit, fateor, non
mediocriter doleo, donee refellantur, si forte refelli
possunt, ea quae me movent. Mihi enim videtur
exitiosissime credialiquod in libris Sanctis esse menda-
cium, id est, eos homines per quos nobis ilia scriptura
ministrata est atque conscripta, aliquid in libris suis
fuisse mentitos. Alia quippe quaestio est, sitne ali-
quando mentiri viri boni, et alia quaestio est, utrum

•* This controversy between Augustine and Jerome became
famous in the history of the Church. St. Peter's inconsistent
conduct at Antioch, in first eating with the Gentiles and later
withdrawing from them (Gal. ii. 11-14), was found difficult
to explain ; both heretics and pagans used the incident to
discredit either Paul or Peter and the Church as well. One
commentator, Clement of Alexandria, cut the knot by declar-
ing that the Cephas mentioned in Galatians was not wSt.
Petei, but a disciple of the same name; Origen invented the
disingenuous and worse theory that the dispute between the
two apostles was simulated in order the more severely to
condemn the Judaizers. This view found wide acceptance:
it was defended and urged by Chrysostom and, in the West,
with characteristic vigour, by Jerome. Augustine here and

60

NO. 9 (Ep. XXVIII)

concerned about the later translators ; they are
said to have possessed a more thorough grip of the
course and the rules of Hebrew words and phrases,
and yet they are not only at variance with each other,
but have also left many points that have remained
to be unearthed and broucjht to lio-ht after so long.
For if these points are obscure, then it is quite
credible that you too may go astray in them ; if
they are clear, it is incredible that they could have
gone astray in them. I should like to ask you of your
kindness to explain the reasons for this state of things
and to give me some assurance about it.

III. I have been reading some books that are said 3
to be by you, on the Epistles of the Apostle Paul ;
in seeking to expound Galatians, you reached that
passage in which the Apostle Peter is withheld
from a piece of pernicious deceit." To see there the
defence of falsehood undertaken by a man like you
or by some other person (if another person was the
author) has caused me, I confess, no small grief,
which I shall continue to feel until the objections
that trouble my mind are disproved, if they really
can be disproved. For it seems to me very disastrous
to believe that there can be any falsehood in the
sacred books — I mean that those men who MTote
and transmitted to us the Scripture, in any way lied
in what they wrote. They are two quite different
questions, whether it ever accords with a good man's
character to lie, and whether a writer of the Holy

in other letters denounces this interpretation as subversive of
the whole authority of Scripture. Jerome eventually accepted
Augustine's view, which became generally accepted. A full
account of the controversy is given in Lightfoot's com-
mentary on Galatians, pp. 128-132.

61

ST. AUGUSTINE

scriptorem sanctarum scripturarum mentiri opor-
tuerit, immo vero non alia, sed nulla quaestio est.
Admisso enim semel in tantum auctoritatis fastigium
officioso aliquo mendacio, nulla illorum librorum par-
ticula remanebit, quae non, ut cuique videbitur vel
ad mores difficilis vel ad fidem incredibilis, eadem
perniciosissima regula ad mentientis auctoris con-
silium officiumque referatur.
4 Si enim mentiebatur apostolus Paulus, cum aposto-
lum Petrum obiurgans diceret : Si tu, cum sis ludaeus,
gentiliter et non iudaice vivis, quern ad modum Rentes
cogis iudaizare ? et recte illi videbatur Petrus
fecisse, quem non recte fecisse et dixit et scripsit,
ut quasi animos tumultuantium deleniret, quid re-
spondebimus, cum exsurrexerint perversi homines
prohibentes nuptias, quos futuros ipse praenuntiavit.
et dixerint totum illud, quod idem apostolus de
matrimoniorum iure firmando locutus est, propter
homines, qui dilectione coniugumtumultuaripoterant,
fuisse mentitum, scilicet non quod hoc senserit, sed
ut illorum placaretur adversitas ? Non opus est
multa commemorare. Possunt enim videri etiam de
laudibus dei esse officiosa mendacia, ut apud homines
pigriores dilectio eius ardescat. Atque ita nusquam
certa erit in Sanctis libris castae veritatis auctoritas.
Nonne adtendimus eundem apostolum cum ingenti
cura commendandae veritatis dicere : Si autem
Christus non resurrejcit, inanis est praedicatio nostra,

" Offic'iosum mendac'ium is difficult to translate: it is a lie
told from a sense of duty, from a wish to glorify God.

" Gal. ii. 11-14. ' ^ 1 Tim. iv. 1-3.

<* 1 Cor. vii. 10-16.
62

NO. 9 (Ep. XXVIII)

Scriptures should have lied — nay, they are not really
different questions, there is no question about it.
Admit even a single well-meant falsehood ^ into such
an exalted authority, and there will not be left a
single section of those books which, if appearing to
anyone to present difficulties from the point of
view of practice or to be hard to believe from the
point of view of doctrine, will escape, by the same
very baneful principle, from being classified as the
deliberate tact of an author who was lying.

If the Apostle Paul was lying when he rebuked 4
the Apostle Peter with the words, " If thou, being
a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gentiles and
not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles
to live as do the Jews ? " ^ and he approved of Peter's
action while condemning him by word and pen with
the ostensible object of soothing the mind of those who
were raging against him, what answer shall we make
when perverse men arise and forbid marriage (as
the Apostle foretold would happen'^), declaring that
all that he said about strengthening the marriage-
bond^ was a lie told for the sake of those men M'ho
from love of their wives might have made an uproar,
that clearly those were not his real sentiments, but
were meant to allay their antagonism ? There is no
need to give many illustrations. There might appear
to be well-meant falsehoods even about the praise of
God, aiming at inflaming love for Him in men compara-
tively hard of heart, and on those terms nowhere in
the holy books would the authority of unadulterated
truth stand unchallenged. Do we not observe the
great care with which the same apostle commends
truth in the words : " And if Christ be not risen,
then is our preaching vain and your faith is also

63

ST. AUGUSTINE

inajiis est et fides vestra. Invenimur autem et falsi
testes del, quia testimojiium diximus adversus deum,
quod suscitaverit Christum, quern Jion suscitavit ? Si
quis huic diceret : " Quid in hoc mendacio per-
horrescis, cum id dixeris quod, etiam si falsum sit, ad
laudem dei maxime pertinet," nonne huius detestatus
insaniam quibus posset verbis et significationibus
in luceni penetralia sui cordis aperiret, damans non
minore aut fortasse etiam maiore scelere in deo
laudari falsitatem quam veritatem vituperari ? Agen-
dum est igitur, ut ad cognitionem divinarum scrip-
turarum talis homo accedat, qui de Sanctis libris tarn
sancte et veraciter existimet, ut nolit ahqua eorum
parte delectari per officiosa mendacia, potiusque id,
quod non intellegit, transeat, quam cor suum prae-
ferat illi veritati. Profecto enim cum hoc dicit, credi
sibi expetit et id agit, ut divinarum scripturarum
auctoritatibus non credamus.

Et ego quidem qualibuscumque viribus quas
dominus suggerit, omnia ilia testimonia quae adhibita
sunt adstruendae utilitati mendacii, aliter oportere
intellegi ostenderem, ut ubique eorum firm a Veritas
doceretur. Quam enim testimonia mendacia esse
non debent, tam non debent favere mendacio. Sed
hoc intellegentiae relinquo tuae. Admota enim
lectioni diligentiore consideratione, multo id fortasse
facilius videbis quam ego. Ad hanc autem con-
siderationem coget te pietas, qua cognoscis fluctuare
auctoritatem divinarum scripturarum, ut in eis quod

" 1 Cor. XV. 14-15.
64

NO. 9 (Ep. XXVIII)

vain ; yea, and we are found false mtnesses of God,
because we have testified of God that He raised up
Christ ; whom He raised not up " " ? If anyone should
say to him : " What is it in this lie that shocks you,
when, even if what you say is untrue, it very greatly
redounds to the glory of God ? " would he not denounce
the madness of such a suggestion and with every
available word and sign open to the light the inmost
secrets of his heart, declaring that to praise falsehood
in God was no less a sin, perhaps even a much greater
one, than to cast aspersion upon His truth ? An
effort must be made to bring to a knowledge of
the sacred Scriptures a man who will have such
a reverent and truthful opinion of the holy books
that he would refuse to find delight in a well-meant
falsehood anywhere in them, and would rather pass
over what he does not understand than prefer his
own intelligence to their truth. For indeed when
he expresses such a preference, he demands credence
for himself and attempts to destroy our confidence
in the authority of the holy Scriptures.

For my part I would use all the strength the Lord 5
supplies to show that all those texts that are adduced
to prove the expediency of falsehood ought to be
understood in another sense, so that everywhere their
unimpeachable veracity might be made apparent.
For just as texts ought not to be lies in themselves,
so they should lend no support to lies. But I leave
this matter to your own intelligence ; if you apply a
more attentive consideration to the reading of them,
you will perhaps see this more easily than I do. To
that consideration you will be compelled by the
reverent spirit that makes you recognize that the
authority of the holy Scriptures becomes unsettled,
F 65

ST. AUGUSTINE

vult quisque credat, quod non vult non credat, si
semel fuerit persuasum aliqua illos viros per quos
nobis haec ministrata sunt, in scripturis suis officiose
potuisse mentiri, nisi forte regulas quasdam daturus
es, quibus noverimus ubi oporteat mentiri et ubi non
oporteat. Quod si fieri potest, nullo modo mendaci-
bus dubiisque rationibus id explices quaeso, nee me
onerosum aut inpudenteni iudices per humanitatem
veracissimam domini nostri. Nam ut non dicam nulla ,
certe non magna culpa meus error veritati favet, si
recte in te potest Veritas favere mendacio.
6 IV. Multa alia cum sincerissimo corde tuo loqui
cuperem et de christian© studio conferre, sed huic
desiderio meo nulla epistula sat est. Uberius id
possum per fratrem quem miscendum et alendum
dulcibus atque utilibus sermocinationibus tuis misisse
me gaudeo. Et tamen, quantum vellem, nee ipse,
quod eius pace dixerim, forsitan capit. Quamquam
nihilo me illi praetulerim ; ego enim me fateor tui
capaciorem, sed ipsum video fieri pleniorem, quo me
sine dubitatione antecellit. Et posteaquam redierit,
quod domino adiuvante prosperatum iri spero, cum
eius pectoris abs te cumulati particeps fuero, non est
impleturus quod in me adhuc vacuum erit atque
avidum sensorurn tuorum. Ita fiet, ut ego etiam
tunc egentior sim, ille copiosior. Sane idem frater
66

NO. 9 (Ep. XXVIII)

so that anyone may believe what he hkes in them
and disbeheve what he does not hke, if it be once
admitted that those men through whom they were
dehvered to us could in their writings have uttered
some well-meant lies. But perhaps you mean to
provide us with some rules for discerning when lying
is expedient and when it is not. If this can be done,
I beg you not to couch your explanation in terms
that are false or equivocal, nor, by the very true
humanity of our Lord, to consider me burdensome
or presumptuous. For a mistake on my part that
favours truth is, I will not say no fault at all, but
certainly no serious fault, if in you the truth can
rightly favour lying.

IV. There are many other matters about wliich 6
I should like to have converse with your friendly
spirit and to discuss with reference to Christian
studies, but for this desire of mine no letter is
sufficient ; I can do that more fruitfully through
the brother whom I am glad to send to be admitted
to the nurture of your pleasant and profitable con-
versation. And yet even he (I apologize to him for
saying this) has perhaps not the capacity to receive
all I should like. But still I should not reckon myself
his superior in any respect, for I confess that I have
more room for receiving from you than he has ; but
I see him becoming fuller of you, and in that there
is no doubt that he surpasses me. When he returns,
as I trust he will succeed in doing with God's, help,
and shares with me his understanding that you
have richly stored, he is not likely to satisfy the void
and the eagerness that I shall still have for your
thoughts and feelings, and so I shall even then be the
poorer and he the richer. The same brother, hoAvever,

67

ST. AUGUSTINE

aliqua scripta nostra fert secum. Qiiibus legendis si
dignationem adhibueris, etiam sinceram fraternam-
que severitatem adhibeas quaeso. Non enim aliter
intellego, quod scriptum est : Emendahit me iustus
hi misericordia et arguet me ; oleum autem peccatoris
non inpinguet caput ineum, nisi quia niagis am at
obiurgator sanans quani adulator unguens caput.
Ego autem difficillime bonus iudex lego, quod scrip-
serim, sed aut timidior recto aut cupidior. Video
etiam interdum vitia mea, sed haec malo audire a
melioribus, ne, cum me recte fortasse reprehendero,
rursus mihi blandiar et meticulosam potius mihi
videar in me quam iustam tulisse sententiam.

No. 10 (Ep. XXIX)

EPISTULA PRESBYTERI HIPPOXIEXSIUM RE-
GIORUM AD ALYPIUM EPISCOPUM TA-
GASTEXSIUM DE DIE NATALIS LEOXTII
QUONDAM EPISCOPI HIPPOXIEXSIS

1 De negotio interim quod non curare non possum,
nihil certum scribere potui absente fratre Macario,
qui cito dicitur rediturus, et quod deo adiuvante
peragi potuerit, peragetur. De nostra autem pro
els sollicitudine quamquam fratres nostri cives qui
aderant, secures vos facere possent, tamen digna res

" Ps. cxl. 5. Translated from the Septuagint.

" Leontius suffered martyrdom about 30S. A church
built by him, the basilica Leontiana, is several times men-
tioned by Augustine (here and Serin. 260, 262). "That
festival" (§ 2) is the celel)ration of his martyrdom beside
his tomb, with that licence which Augustine has in general
terms already denounced in No. 8 above.
68

NO. 9 (Ep. XXVIII)— NO. 10 (Ep. XXIX)

carries with him some of my writings, to which, if
you have the condescension to read them, please
apply an unbiased and brotherly severity. 1 or I take
the words of Scripture, " The righteous shall correct
me with pity and reprove me, but the oil of the
sinner shall not anoint my head," " to mean this,
that he is the greater friend whose censure heals
than he whose flattery anoints the head. When I
myself read over what I have MTitten, I find the
greatest difficulty in judging it rightly, being either
over-cautious or over-rash. I catch occasional sight
of my faults, but I prefer to hear of them from
better men, lest after censuring myself, perchance
rightly, I fall again into self-flattery and think
that my judgement of myself was more finical than
fair.

No. 10 (Ep. XXIX)
(a.d. 395)

A LETTER FROM THE PRIEST OF HIPPO REGIUS
TO ALYPIUS, BISHOP OF TAGASTE, CON-
CERNING THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH
OF LEONTIUS,^ FORMERLY BISHOP OF
HIPPO

In the absence of brother Macarius,'^ I can give 1
you no definite news meanwhile about that affair,
which cannot fail to concern me. He is said to be
returning soon, and what God's help will enable me
to carry through, shall be carried through. Although
the brethren, our fellow-townsmen, who were with
you, could assure you of our zeal on their behalf,
still a piece of news deserving of that epistolary con-

'^ Macariiis is evidently one of Augustine's monks at
Hippo, but his identity is otherwise uncertain.

ST. AUGUSTINE

epistulari conloquio quo nos invicem consolamur, a
domino praestita est, in quo promerendo multum nos
adiutos esse credimus ipsa vestra sollicitudine, quae
profecto sine deprecatione pro nobis esse non potuit.
2 Itaque non praetermittamus vestrae caritati nar-
rare quid gestum sit, ut nobiscum deo gratias agatis
de accepto beneficio, qui nobiscum preces de ac-
cipiendo fudistis. Cum post profectionem tuam nobis
nuntiatum esset tumultuari homines et dicere se
ferre non posse, ut ilia sollemnitas prohiberetur
quam laetitiam nominantes vinulentiae nomen fru-
stra conantur abscondere, sicut etiam te praesente
iam iam nuntiabatur, opportune nobis accidit occulta
ordinatione omnipotentis dei, ut quarta feria illud
in evangelio capitulum consequenter tractaretur :
Nolite dare sanctum canibus Jieqiie proieceritis margaritas
vestras ante porcos. Tractatum est ergo de canibus
et de porcis, ita ut et pervicaci latratu adversus dei
praccepta rixantes et voluptatum carnalium sordi-
bus dediti erubescere cogerentur conclusumque ita
ut viderent quam esset nefarium intra ecclesiae
parietes id agere nomine religionis, quod in suis
domibus si agere perseverarent, sancto et marga-
ritis ecclesiasticis eos arceri oporteret.

" From the close of the second century Wednesday and
Friday were held as fast-days {semi-ieiunia or dies statlonum,
Tert. Orat. 19, Jeiun. 13), but the observance of Wednesday
fell into disuse when Saturday was added to the weekly
fast-days.

* Not " chapter," for these modern divisions are due only
to the thirteenth century Hugo of St. Cher, though much
earlier the public reading of Scripture had necessitated the use
of sections (\-e0d\aia, irepiKOTrai, capitula). In Augustine, for
70

NO. 10 (Ep. XXIX)

verse which is a solace to us both has been provided by
the Lord, in gaining Whose favour I believe I have
been much assisted by that very anxiety of yours on
my behalf, for it certainly must have been accom-
panied by intercession for me.

So let me not miss the chance of telling your 2
Charity what has happened, so that, as you joined
me in pouring forth prayers for the bestowing of
this boon, you may join me in giving God thanks for
it, now that it has been bestowed. News was brought
me after your departure, as it had been several times
while you were here, that people were growing un-
ruly and were saying they could not tolerate the
prohibition of that festival, the drunken character
of which they try in vain to disguise under the name
of a " gaudy." Very appropriately, by a hidden
dispensation of Almighty God, it happened that on
the Wednesday " I was expounding in its due course
that section^ from the Gospel: "Give not that
Mhich is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your
pearls before swine." ^' I discoursed about dogs and
swine in such a way as to compel those to blush
for very shame who were obstinately snarling and
brawling against God's commandments and were
abandoned to foul carnal pleasures. I ended up by
showing them the heinousness of perpetrating
within the four walls of the church, in the name of
religion, what would necessitate their exclusion
from " that which is holy " and the " pearls " of the
church, if they persisted in doing it within their own
homes.

example, Romans viii. 18-24 is a capitulum, as are the first
five verses of St. John's Gospel.
' Matt. vii. 6.

71

ST. AUGUSTINE

3 Sed haec quamvis grate accepta fuerint. tamen
quia pauci convenerant, non erat satisfactum tanto
negotio. Iste aiitem semio cum ab eis qui aderant
pro cuiusque facultate ac studio foris ventilaretur,
multos habuit contradictores. Postea vero quani
dies quadragesimae inluxisset et frequens niultitudo
ad horam tractationis occurrit, lectum est illud in
evangelio, ubi dominus de templo expulsis venditori-
bus animaliuni et eversis niensis numniulariorum dixit
domum patris sui pro domo orationuni speluncani
latronum esse factam. Quod capitulum, cum eos
intentos proposita vinulentiae quaestione feci, et
ipse quoque recitavi adiunxique disputationem. qua
ostenderem,. quanto commotius et vehementius do-
minus noster ebriosa con vi via, quae ubique sunt
turpia, de templo expelleret, unde sic expulit con-
cessa commercia, cum ea venderentur quae sacri-
ficiis illo tempore licitis essent necessaria, quaerens
ab eis quibus similiorem putarent speluncam latro-
num necessaria vendentibus an inmoderate biben-
tibus.

4 Et quoniam mihi praeparatae lectiones sug-
gerendae tenebantur, adiunxi deinde ipsum adhue
carnalem populum ludaeorum in illo templo ubi
nondum corpus et sanguis domini offerebatur, non
solum vinulenta sed nee sobria quidem umquam
celebrasse convi\ia nee eos publice religionis nomine
inebriatos inveniri in historia, nisi cum festa fabricato
idolo exsolverent. Quae cum dicerem, codicem etiam
accepi et recitavi totum ilium locum. Addidi etiam
cum dolore, quo potui, quoniam apostolus ait ad dis-

" Matt. xxi. 12-13.

^ Historia, the historical books of the Bible, which were
on a separate codex. « Exod. xxxii. 6.

72

NO. 10 (Ep. XXIX)

They took this in quite a good spirit, but as 3
the congregation was small, a matter so important
demanded further treatment. When my hearers
spread news of my sermon outside, each according
to his ability and point of view, it found many to
oppose it. But after the morning of Quadragesima
had dawned and a considerable crowd had gathered
at the time of Scripture exposition, we read that
portion from the Gospel where the Lord drove from
the Temple the sellers of animals and overthrew the
tables of the money-changers, saying that His
Father's house had been turned from a house of
prayer into a den of thieves." After securing their
attention by announcing the subject of drunkenness,
I read that section myself and followed it with an
address designed to show that, if our Lord drove
lawful trade from the Temple, since what was sold
Mas requisite for the sacrifices permitted under that
dispensation, He would with much greater indigna-
tion and violence drive from it drunken revels, which
are abominable anywhere. And I asked them which
they thought more like a den of thieves, those who
sold necessaries or those who drank beyond measure.

The Scripture readings, turned up beforehand, 4
were being held ready to hand up to me, so I went
on to say that the Jewish people, though yet carnal,
never held even sober feasts, far less drunken ones,
in that Temple in which as yet there was no offering
up of the body and blood of the Lord, and that as a
people they were never found in the Bible ^ drunk
in the name of religion, unless when they were cele-
brating a feast to the idol they had made.'' So
saying, I took the book and read all that passage.
Reminding them that the Apostle, to distinguish

IS

ST. AUGUSTINE

cernendum populum christianum a duritia ludaeo-
rum epistulam suam non in tabulis lapideis scriptam
sed in tabulis cordis carnalihus . cum Moyses famulus
dei propter illos principes binas lapideas tabulas
confregisset, quo modo non possemus istorum corda
confringere, qui homines no\d testamenti sanctorum
diebus celebrandis ea vellent sollemniter exhibere,
quae populus veteris testamenti et semel et idolo
celebravit.
5 Tunc reddito exodi codice crimen ebrietatis, quan-
tum tempus sinebat, exaggerans sumpsi apostolum
Paulum et inter quae peccata posita esset, ostendi
legens ilium locum : Si quis frater nomineiur aut
fornicator aut idolis serviens aut avarus aut maledicus
aut ebriosus aut rapax, cum eius modi nee cibum sumere,
ingemescendo admonens cum quanto periculo con-
vivaremur cum eis qui vel in domibus inebriarentur.
Legi etiam illud quod non longo intervallo sequitur :
Nolite errare ; neque fornicatores neque idolis servientes
neque adulteri neque molles neque masculorum concubi-
tores neque fores neque avari neque ebriosi neque maledici
neque raptores regjium dei possidebunt. Et haec quidem
foistis, sed abluti estis, sed iustificati estis in nomine
domini lesu Christi et spiritu dei nostri. Quibus lectis,
dixi ut considerarent quo modo possent fideles
audire sed abluti estis, qui adhuc talis concupiscentiae
sordes, contra quas clauditur regnurn caelorum, in
corde suo, id est in interiore dei templo esse patiun-
tur. Inde ventum est ad illud capitulum : Con-

" 2 Cor. iii. 3. ^ Exod. xxxii. 19.

« 1 Cor. V. 11. ^ \ Cor. vi. 9-11.

74

NO. 10 (Ep. XXIX)

the Christian people from the obdurate Jews, speaks
of his letter as written " not in tables of stone, but
in fleshy tables of the heart,"" I went on to ask
Mith all the sorrow I could how it was that, though
God's servant, Moses, had broken those two tables of
stone ^ because of the rulers of Israel, we found it
impossible to break their hearts ; they w ere men of
the new covenant, yet they chose, in celebrating
their saints' days, to practise such rites as the people
of the old covenant had practised only once, and
that before an idol.

Then I gave back the book of Exodus and enlarged, 5
as far as time permitted, on the sin of drunkenness,
taking the apostle Paul and showing in what class
of sins he placed it. I read that passage, " If any
man that is called a brother be a fornicator or covetous
or an idolater or a railer or a drunkard or an extor-
tioner, with such an one no, not to eat," ^ remind-
ing them with groanings what a risk we ran in
carousing with those who got drunk even at home.
I read that passage, too, which follows quite close
to the last, " Be not deceived : neither fornicators
nor idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate nor
abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves
nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor ex-
tortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. And
such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and
by the Spirit of our God."^ After which, I bade them
consider how the faithful could bear to be told " But
ye are washed," when they still tolerated in their
heart, that is in the inward Temple of God, such
filthy lusts, against which the kingdom of heaven
is closed. Then I came to that section, " When

75

ST. AUGUSTINE

veiiieniihus ergo vohis in unum Ji07i est domuiicam cenam
celebrare, unusquisque efiim propriam cenam praesumit
in manducaiido et alius quidem esurit, alius ebrius est.
Numquid domos non habetis ad manducandum et bi-
bendum ? an eccksiam dei contenmitis ? Quo recitato,
diligentius commendavi ne honesta quidem et sobria
con vi via debere in ecclesia celebrari, quando quidem
apostolus non dixerit : " Numquid domos non habetis
ad inebriandos vos," ut quasi tantum modo inebriari
in ecclesia non liceret, sed " ad maiiducandum et biben-
dum," quod potest honeste fieri sed praeter ecclesiam
ab eis qui domos habent ubi alimentis necessariis
refici possint. Et tamen nos ad has angustias cor-
ruptorum temporum et diffluentium morum esse
perductos, uti nondum modesta convivia sed saltem
domesticum regnum ebrietatis optemus.
6 Commemoravi etiam evangelii capitulum, quod
pridie tractaveram, ubi de pseudoprophetis dictum
est : Ex fructibus eorinn cognoscetis eos. Deinde in
memoriam revocavi fructus eo loco non appellatos
nisi opera. Tum quaesivi inter quos fructus nomi-
nata esset ebrietas, et recitavi illud ad Galatas :
Manifesta autem sunt opera carnis, quae sunt fornica-
tiones, inmunditiae, luxuriae, idolorum servitus, venejicia,
inimicitiae, contentiones , aemulationes , animositates, dis-
sensiones, kaereses, ifividiae, ebrietates, comissationes et
his similia ; quae praedico vobis, sicut praediii, qiioniam
qui talia agunt, regnum dei non possidebunt. Post quae

« 1 Cor. xi. 20-22.
Matt. vii. 16. ^ Gal. v. 19-21.

76

NO. 10 (Ep. XXIX)

ye come together into one place, that is not to eat
the Lord's Supper ; for in eating every one taketh
before other his own supper, and one is hungry, and
another is drunken. What ? have ye not houses to
eat and to drink in ? or despise ye the Church of
God?"" After reading that, I earnestly pressed
the point that it was not right that even decorous
and sober feasts should be held in church, for the
Apostle did not say, " Have ye not houses of your own
to get drunk in ? " as though it were only in church
that getting drunk was not allowed ; what he did say
was " to eat and to drink in," a seemly enough
action, provided it be done outside the church by
those who have houses in which they can be re-
freshed by the necessary food. And yet what
straits we had fallen into, what corrupt times and
lax morals, that we could not yet hope for decorous
feasts, but only that the dominion of drunkenness
should be confined to the home.

I mentioned, too, a passage in the Gospels which 6
I had expounded the day before, in which it is said
of false prophets, " By their fruits ye shall know
them." ^ Then I reminded them that there " fruits "
meant only " works." Next I asked them what
fruits drunkenness w^as reckoned among, repeating to
them that passage in Galatians, " Now the works of
the flesh are manifest, which are these : adultery,
fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, drunkenness,
revellings, and such like ; of the which I tell you,
as I have told you in time past, that they which
do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of
God." '^ After these words, I asked them how, when

77

ST. AUGUSTINE

verba interrogavi quo modo de fructu ebrietatis
agnosceremur christiani, quos de fructibus agnosci
dominus iussit. Adiunxi etiam legendum quod
sequitur : Fructus autem spiritus est caritas, gaudiuffi,
pax, longajiimitas, henignitas, honitas, fides, mansuetudo,
conh7ientia, egique ut considerarent quam esset
pudendum atque plangendum, quod de illis fructibus
carnis non solum privatim vivere, sed etiam honorem
ecclesiae deferre cuperent et, si potestas daretur,
totum tarn magnae basilicae spatium turbis epulan-
tium ebriorumque complerent ; de spiritalibus autem
fructibus ad quos et divinarum scripturarum auctori-
tate et nostris gemitibus invitarentur, nolunt adferre
deo munera et his potissimum celebrare festa sanc-
torum.

Quibus peractis, codicem reddidi et imperata ora-
tione, quantum valui et quantum me ipsum peri-
culum urguebat et vires subministrare dominus
dignabatur, constitui eis ante oculos commune peri-
culum, et ipsorum qui nobis commissi essent, et
nostrum, qui de illis rationem reddituri essemus
pastorum principi, per cuius humilitatem, insignes
contumelias, alapas et sputus in faciem et palmas et
spineam coronam et crucem ac sanguinem obsecravi
ut, si se ipsi aliquid offendissent, vel nostri misere-
rentur et cogitarent venerabilis senis Valerii circa
me ineffabilem caritatem, qui mihi tractandi verba
veritatis tam periculosum onus non dubitarit propter

" Gal. V. 22-23.

* A better rendering than " bidding the people pray."
The congregation sometimes exercised the right of demand-
ing a sermon.

'^ Probably this is the right meaning here, not " pierced

78

NO. 10 (Ep. XXIX)

the Lord has enjoined that Christians be recognized
by their fruits, we could ever be so recognized by the
fruits of drunkenness. I added that we must read
too the verse that follows, " But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, good-
ness, faith, meekness, temperance," ^ and I urged
them to consider how shameful and lamentable it was
that they were not satisfied with practising those
fruits of the flesh at home, but actually wanted to
honour the church with them and, if they were only
allowed, to fill up all the space of a church of this
great size with crowds of banqueters and drunkards ;
yet they would not offer to God the tribute of those
spiritual fruits, to which they were invited both by
the authority of the Holy Scriptures and by our
groanings, and with them rather than any others
celebrate the saints' days.

After that, I handed back the manuscript and, 7
being asked to speak, ^ I set before their eyes, as far
as I could and as far as the danger itself impelled me
and the Lord was pleased to afford me strength, our
common danger, theirs, who were entrusted to our
care, as well as ours, who were to render an account
of them to the Chief Shepherd. I implored them by
His humiliation, the unequalled insults, buffetings,
and spitting on the face that He endured, by the blows
on His face ^ and His crown of thorns and cross and
blood, to have pity at least for me, if they had any
reason for personal displeasure, and to consider the
inexpressible affection felt for me by the venerable
Senior, Valerius, who for their sakes had not hesitated
to lay upon me the dangerous burden of expounding

hands." Cf. ^^llgate, Matt. xxvi. 67 " alii palmas in faciem
ei dederunt."

79

ST. AUGUSTINE

eos inponerC; eisque saepe dixerit quod orationes eius
exauditae essent de nostro adventu, quos non iitique
ad communem mortem vel spectaculum mortis illormii
sed ad communem conatum in aeternam vitam ad
se venisse laetatus est. Postremo etiam dixi certum
esse me et fidere in eum qui mentiri nescit, qui per
OS prophetae sui pollicitus est de domino nostro lesu
Christo dieens : Si reliquerint Jilii eius legem meam
et in praeceptis meis ?iO}i amhidaverint, si iustijicatio7ies
meas profanaverint, visitaho in virga facinora eorum et
ill jiagellis delicta eorum ; misericordiam autem meam
jion auferam, in eum ergo me fidere, quod, si haec
tanta quae sibi essent lecta et dicta, contemnerent,
visitaturus esset in virga et in flagello nee eos per-
missurus cum hoc mundo damnari. In qua con-
questione sic actum ut pro negotii atque periculi
magnitudine tutor et gubernator noster animos facul-
tatemque praebebat. Non ego illorum lacrimas meis
lacrimis movi, sed cum talia dicerentur, fateor,
eorum fletu praeventus meum abstinere non potui.
Et cum iam pariter flevissemus, plenissima spe cor-
rect] onis illorum finis sermonis mei factus est.
8 Postridie vero, cum inluxisset dies cui solebant
fauces ventresque se parare, nuntiatur mihi non-
nullos eorum etiam, qui sermoni aderant, nondum a
murmuratione cessasse tantumque in eis valere vim
pessimae consuetudinis, ut eius tantum voce ute-
rentur et dicerent : " Quare modo ? Non enim

° This was contrary to the custom of the western church :
in episcopal churches presbyters were forbidden to preach.
For his violation of this rule Augustine was severely criticized
by some of his colleagues, but Jerome describes the re-
striction as " a verv bad practice " (Ep. lii.).

" Ps. kxxviii. 3f-34.

80

NO. 10 (Ep. XXIX)

the words of truth « and had often said to them that
my coming had been an answer to his prayers ; but
his rejoicing was surely that I had come to him not
to share or to behold their death, but to share their
efforts towards eternal life. Finally, I told them
that I had trust and confidence in Him who cannot
lie, vv'ho made by the mouth of His prophet a promise
concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, in the words, " If
His children forsake My law and walk not in My
judgements ; if they break My statutes and keep
not My commandments ; then will I yisit their trans-
gression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes ;
nevertheless My loving-kindness will I not utterly
take from Him "^ — I had confidence therefore in Him
that if they despised the grave warnings that had
been read and addressed to them. He would visit
them with the rod and with stripes, but would not
leave them to condemnation along with the world.
Throughout this protest I acted as our Defender and
Ruler, to meet the importance of the matter and the
greatness of the danger, provided me with courage
and ability. I did not move them to weep by first
weeping myself, but while such remarks were being
addressed to them, their own tears came first and I
confess that I could not keep back my own. After
we had thus wept together, I concluded my sermon
in the full anticipation of their amendment.

But on the morrow, when the day dawned for
which it was the habit of their throats and stomachs
to prepare, I was told that some of those who had
been present at my sermon had not even then given
over complaining, and were so much under the in-
fluence of that vile custom that they were speaking
in terms of it alone and saying, " Why thus late in
G 81

ST. AUGUSTINE

antea, qui haec non prohibuerunt, Christiani non
erant." Quo audito, quas sicut maiores commovendi
eos machinas praepararem, omnino nesciebam ; dis-
ponebam tamen, si perseverandum putarent, lecto
illo loco de propheta Ezechiele : " Explorator absol-
\'itur, si periculum denuntiaverit, etiam si illi, qui-
bus denuntiatur, cavere noluerint," vestimenta niea
excutere atque discedere. Turn vero dominus osten-
dit quod nos non deserat, et quibus modis, in se ut
praesuniamus, hortetur ; namque ante horam, qua
exhedram ascenderemus, ingressi sunt ad me idem
ipsi, quos audieram de oppugnatione vetustae con-
suetudinis fuisse conquestos. Quos blande acceptos
paucis verbis in sententiam sanam transtuli. Atque
ubi ventum est ad tempus disputationis, omissa lec-
tione quam praeparaveram, quia necessaria iam non
videbatur, de hac ipsa quaestione pauca disserui,
nihil nos nee brevius nee verius posse adferre ad-
versus eos qui dicunt : " Quare modo ? " nisi et nos
dieamus : " Vel modo."
9 Verum tamen ne illi qui ante nos tam manifesta
inperitae multitudinis crimina vel permiserunt vel
prohibere non ausi sunt, aliqua a nobis affici con-
tumelia viderentur, exposui eis, qua necessitate ista
in ecclesia viderentur exorta. Scilicet post persecu-

« Cf. Ezek. xxxiii. 9.

^ Exedrae, etJSpaL, were originally recesses, rectangular or
semi-circular, opening out of the church, then, later, rooms
with seats. Here and elsewhere in Augustine the word seems
to mean that part of the church which had seats and projected
outwards, i.e. the portion later known as " choir " or " apse."
It was raised above the nave (see Civ. Dei, 22. 8, and De
Gest. c. Emer. 1.1), and the clergy sat there during sermon,
82

NO. 10 (Ep. XXIX)

the day ? Those who allowed it in times past were
surely not unchristian." On hearing this, I was
quite at a loss what weapons to prepare that would
have a greater effect on them, but still, if they
decided to continue in that frame of mind, I was
intending to read that passage from the prophet
Ezekiel, " The watchman is absolved if he has
uttered a warning of the danger, even if those whom
he has warned have not cared to take precaution,"*^
and to shake my garments and depart. But at that
point the Lord showed that He does not forsake us,
and taught me the means He takes to encourage
us to put our trust in Him, for before the time at
which I had to mount into the choir, ^ those same
individuals came in to me who, as I had learned, had
complained of my attack upon their long-established
custom. I received them graciously, and needed only
a few words to bring them round to a sound state of
mind. And when it came to the time for my dis-
course, I left out the reading I had prepared, since
it no longer appeared to be needed, and made a few
remarks about the very point they had raised, stating
that we could put forward against those who say
" Why thus late in the day ? " no briefer and truer
reply than to imitate them and say, " Yes, thus late
in the day."

Yet to avoid the appearance of casting any slight 9
upon those who in earlier times either allowed, or
did not venture to forbid, the ignorant mob to
perpetrate these open sins, I explained to them the
critical circumstances in which those practices
apparently arose in the Church. When peace was

while the people stood. It was more commonly called the
/3^/ia, hema, or suggestum.

83

ST. AUGUSTINE

tiones tarn multas tamque vehementes cum facta
pace turbae gentilium in christianuni nonien venire
cupientes hoc inipedirentur, quod dies festos cum
idolis suis solerent in abundantia epularum et ebrie-
tate consumere, nee facile ab his perniciosissimis sed
tamen vetustissimis voluptatibus se possent abstinere,
visum fuisse maioribus nostris ut huic infirmitatis
parti interim parceretur diesque festos post eos quos
rehnquebant, ahos in honorem sanctorum martyrum
vel non simiH sacrilegio quamvis simiU luxu cele-
brarent ; iam Christi nomine conhgatis et tantae auc-
toritatis iugo subditis salutaria sobrietatis praecepta
traderentur, quibus iam propter praecipientis ho-
norem ac timorem resistere non valerent. Quocirca
iam tempus esse, ut, qui non se audent negare
christianos, secundum Christi voluntatem vivere in-
cipiant, ut ea quae, ut essent christiani, concessa
sunt, cum christiani sunt, respuantur.
10 Deinde hortatus sum, ut transmarinarum eccle-
siarum, in quibus partim ista recepta numquam sunt,
partim iam per bonos rectores populo obtemperante
correcta, imitatores esse vellemus. Et quoniam de
basihca beati apostoU Petri cotidianae vinulentiae
proferebantur exempla, dixi primo audisse nos saepe
esse prohibitum, sed quod remotus sit locus ab epi-

" The best-known example of this spirit of compromise is
that of Pope Gregory the Great, who wrote to St. Augustine
of Canterbury that the pagan practices of converts must be
checked only by degrees (Bede, //^'5^. £'cc/. i. 30, with Plummer's
good note, and Bright, Chapters in Early English Church
History, pp. 78 ff.). Similar indulgence was common, although
opposition to all compromise was occasionally urged, for
example, by Vigilantius.

^ As at Milan, where the custom had been opposed by
St. Ambrose, as Monnica, the mother of Augustine, had dis-
84

NO. 10 (Ep. XXIX)

made after many violent persecutions, crowds of
pagans were anxious to come over to the Christian
name but were hindered by the fact that they were
accustomed to spend their feast-days with their idols
in drunkenness and excessive banqueting and could
not easily abstain from those baneful but long-
established pleasures. So our predecessors thought
it good to make concessions for the time being to
those weaker brethren, and to let them celebrate
in honour of the holy martyrs other feast-days, in
place of those they were giving up, unlike them, at
any rate, in profanation, though like them in excess.
Now that they were bound together by the name of
Christ and submissive to the yoke of His great
authority, they must inherit the wholesome rules of
sobriety, and these they could not oppose because
of their veneration and fear for Him whose rules
they were. It was now high time, therefore, for
such as had not the courage to deny that they were
Christians, to begin to live according to the will of
Christ, casting behind them, now that they were
Christians, the concessions made to induce them to
become Christians. °

Then I urged them to undertake to follow the 10
example of the churches overseas, in some of which
those practices were never admitted, while in others
they had already been corrected by the agency of
good leaders and compliance on the part of the
people.^ And as examples of daily excess in drinking
were produced to me from the Church of the blessed
apostle Peter, I stated in the first place that I had
heard that they had often been forbidden, but since

covered when she went to make the customary oiferings on
the martyrs' tombs. See the account in Confessions, bk. vi. 2.

85

ST. AUGUSTINE

scopi conversatione et in tanta ci\dtate magna sit
carnalium multitudo peregrinis praesertim, qui novi
subinde veniunt, tanto violentius quanto inscitius
illam consuetudinem retinentibus, tarn immanem
pestem nondum compesci sedarique potuisse. Verum
tamen nos si Petrum apostolum honoraremus, debere
praecepta eius audire et multo devotius epistulam
in qua voluntas eius apparet, quam basilicam in qua
non apparet, intueri ; statimque accepto codice re-
citavi ubi ait : Christo e?iim passo pro nobis per carnem
et vos eadem cogitatione armamini, quia qui passus est
carne, desiit a came, id iam non hominiim desideriis
sed voluntate dei reUquum tempus in came vivat. Suficit
enim vohis praeteritum tempus voluntate hominum per-
fecisse amhulantes in lihidinihus, desideriis, ebrietate,
comissationihus et nefandis idolorum servitutibus. Qui-
bus gestiSjCum omnes uno animo inbonam voluntatem
ire contempta mala consuetudine cernerem, hortatus
sum ut meridiano tempore divinis lectionibus et
psalmis interessent ; ita ilium diem multo mundius
atque sincerius placere celebrandum et certe de
multitudine convenientium facile posse apparere,
qui mentem et qui ventrem sequeretur. Ita lectis
omnibus sermo terminatus est.
11 Pomeridiano autem die maior quam ante meridiem

" His residence was on the other side of the city, in the
Lateran palace, presented to the Church by the Emperor
Constantine. There the Popes continued to reside until the
end of the fourteenth century.

" 1 Pet. iv. 1-3.
86

NO. 10 (Ep. XXIX)

the place was at a distance from the bishop's control ^
and in a city of that size there was a great crowd
of carnally-minded people, the pilgrims especially,
of whom fresh batches were continually arriving,
clinging to that custom with a vehemence pro-
portionate to their unenlightenment, it had not yet
been possible to restrain and repress such a monstrous
disorder. But yet, if we honoured the apostle Peter,
we personally should give ear to his counsels and
pay much more zealous attention to the Epistle
in which his intention is revealed, than to his
church, in which it is not, and straightway, taking
up the manuscript, I read the passage where he
says, " Forasmuch then as Christ hath suifered for
us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the
same mind, for he that hath suffered in the
flesh hath ceased from sin, that he no longer
should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the
lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the
time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought
the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lascivious-
ness, lusts, excess of wine, re veilings, banquetings
and abominable idolatries." ^ After that, when I
perceived that all with one mind were turning to
a right disposition and spurning their wretched
custom, I enjoined them to attend at mid-day for
Scripture reading and singing of psalms : it was our
purpose in that way to celebrate that day Math
much more decency and purity, and it could easily
be seen, from the number of those who assembled,
who was following reason and who was the slave of
appetite. So, w^hen everything had been read, my
sermon concluded.

In the afternoon a greater crowd attended than 11

87

ST. AUGUSTINE

adfuit multitude et usque ad horam qua cum epi-
scopo egrederemur, legebatur alternatim et psalle-
batur ; nobisque egressis duo psalmi lecti sunt.
Deinde me invitum, qui iam cupiebam peractum esse
tam periculosum diem, iussum compulit senex ut
aliquid eis loquerer. Habui brevem sermonem, quo
gratias agerem deo, et quoniam in haereticorum
basilica audiebamus ab eis solita convi\ia celebrata,
cum adhuc etiam eo ipso tempore quo a nobis ista
gerebantur, illi in poculis perdurarent, dixi diei pul-
chritudinem noctis comparatione decorari et colorem
candidum nigri vicinitate gratiorem ; ita nostrum
spiritalis celebrationis conventum minus fortasse
futurum fuisse iucundum, nisi ex alia parte carnalis
ingurgitatio conferretur, hortatusque sum ut tales
epulas instanter appeterent, si gustassent quam
sua\1s est dominus ; illis autem esse metuendum, qui
tamquam primum sectantur quod aliquando de-
struetur, cum quisque comes efficiatur eius rei quam
colit, insultaritque apostolus talibus dicens : Quorum
deus venter, cum idem alio loco dixerit : Esca ventri
et venter escis ; deus autem et hunc et illas evacuabit.
Nos proinde oportere id sequi quod non evacuatur,
quod remotissimum a carnis afFectu spiritus sanctifi-
catione retinetur. Atque in banc sententiam pro
tempore cum ea quae dominus suggerere dignatus

<* The Donatists. " Phil. iii. 19. ^ 1 Cor. vi. 13.

88

NO. 10 (Ep. XXIX)

in the forenoon, and reading and singing went on
alternately until the hour when I was to come out
with the bishop. When we came out, two psalms
were read, then the Senior compelled me by express
injunction to say something to them, though it was
against my will, for by this time I was longing for
the end of so critical a day. I gave a short address
with the object of rendering thanks to God, and as
we heard in the church of the heretics ^ the noise of
the usual feasting that they were celebrating (for
even at the very time when we were so engaged
they were still lingering in their cups), I remarked
that the beauty of the day was enhanced by com-
parison with the night and that a M'hite colour
was more pleasing alongside of a black ; thus our
gathering for a spiritual celebration would perhaps
have been less gratifying without the contrast of
gluttonous carnality from other quarters. And I
exhorted them that such were the banquets that they
should eagerly seek after, if they had tasted how
sweet the Lord is, but that fear was to be the lot
of those who seek as the chief object of desire
anything that would some day be destroyed. For
each man is made to share the fate of that which he
worships, and such people had been mocked by the
Apostle in the words, " whose god is their belly," ^
since in another place he has used the words : " Meats
for the belly and the belly for meats, but God shall
destroy both it and them." ^ It was therefore our
duty to follow after that which is not to be destroyed,
which through the sanctification of the spirit is kept
far removed from what befalls the flesh. And so,
when what the Lord was pleased to suggest had been
for the occasion spoken along those lines, the usual

^9

ST. AUGUSTINE

est, dicta essent, acta sunt vespertina quae cotidie
Solent, nobisque cum episcopo recedentibus fratres
eodem loco hymnos dixerunt non parva multitudine
utriusque sexus^ ad obscuratum diem manente atque
psallente.
12 Digessi vobis, quantum breviter potui, quod vos
audire desiderasse quis dubitaverit ? Orate ut a
conatibus nostris omnia scandala et omnia taedia
deus dignetur avertere. Magna sane ex parte vobis-
cum requiescimus cum alacritate fervoris, quia
spiritalis ecclesiae Tagastensium tam crebra nobis
dona nuntiantur. Navis cum fratribus nondum
venit. Apud Asnam, ubi est presbyter frater Ar-
gentius, Circumcelliones invadentes basilicam no-
stram altare comminuerunt. Causa nunc agitur,
quae ut pacate agatur et ut ecclesiam catholicam
decet ad opprimendas linguas haereseos inpacatae,
multum vos petimus ut oretis. Epistulam Asiarchae
misimus. Beatissimi perseveretis in domino me-
mores nostri. Amen.

^ sexus addidit Goldbacher.

** Daily services had been the rule in Jerusalem until the
fall of the city, but they were not practised from then until
the fourth century, when the cessation of persecution and
the influence of monastic use caused their revival.

^ Apparently in the vicinity of Hippo, but the exact site
is unknown.

" These were brigand companies of the Donatist party,
who for long terrorized Numidia with their organized violence
and bloodthirstiness. Some of their cruel deeds are de-
scribed in later letters (see pp. 128 and 162).

90

NO. 10 (Ep. XXIX)

daily evening service " was held and Me retired with
the bishop, while the brethren repeated hymns there
and a considerable crowd of both sexes remained and
engaged in singing until darkness fell.

I have set forth for you, as briefly as I could, what 12
I am sure you were anxious to hear. Pray that God
will graciously protect my efforts from providing any
cause of offence or any distress. In no small measure
we share with lively warmth of affection in your con-
tentment that such frequent gifts to us from the
spiritually-minded church of Tagaste are intimated.
The ship with the brethren has not yet arrived. At
Asna,^ where the priest is brother Argentius, the
Circumcellions ^ have broken into our church and
smashed the altar. The case is at present being tried ;
we earnestly beg you to pray that the trial may
give no provocation, and may serve, as becomes the
Catholic Church, to check the tongue of provocative
heresy. I have sent a letter to the Asiarch.*^

May ye remain steadfast in the Lord, brethren,
in all blessedness, and forget us not ! Amen.

'^ The Asiarchs were originally the chief presidents of the
religious rites in the Roman province Asia, whose duties
consisted in giving every year games and theatrical amuse-
ments in honour of the Roman emperor and the gods.
The religious character of the office disappeared with the
establishment of Christianity. The word occurs in Acts
xix. 31 and in the letter of the Church of Smyrna about the
martyrdom of Polycarp. Here the presence of the word is
surprising, unless it be either a synonym for " pro-consul "
or a proper name. There is an excellent account of the
pagan Asiarchate in Lightfoot, Apostolic Fathers, pt. ii.
vol. iii. pp. 404-415.

91

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 11 (Ep.XXXlV)

DOMINO EXIMIO MERITOQUE SUSCIPIENDO
ATQUE HONORABILI FRATRI EUSEBIO
AUGUSTINUS

1 Scit deus, cui manifesta sunt arcana cordis humani,
quantum pacem diligo Christianam, tantum me
moveri sacrilegis eorum factis qui in eius dissensione
indigne atque impie perseverant, eumque motum
animi mei esse pacificum neque me id agere ut ad
communionem catholicam quisquam cogatur invitus,
sed ut omnibus errantibus aperta Veritas declaretur
et per nostrum ministerium deo iuvante nianifestata
se amplectendam atque sectandam satis ipsa per-
suadeat.

2 Quid enim execrabilius, quaeso te, ut alia taceam,
quam id quod nunc accidit ? Corripitur ab episcopo
suo iuvenis crebris caedibus matris insanus et impias
manus nee illis diebus cum etiam severitas legum
sceleratissimis parcit, a visceribus unde natus est,
revocans ; minatur eidem matri se in partem Donati
translaturum et eam quam incredibili furore solet
caedere, perempturum ; minatur ei, transit ad par-
tem Donati, rebaptizatur furens et in maternum
sanguinem fremens albis vestibus candidatur ; con-
stituitur intra cancellos eminens atque conspicuus

" At Easter, when, since the edicts of \^alentinian in 367,
the prisons were opened and all prisoners released, except
those guilty of more serious crimes {Cod. Theod. lib. Lx.
tit. 38. 3).

92

NO. 11 (Ep. XXXIV)

No. 11 (Ep. XXXIV)

(a.d. 396)

AUGUSTINE TO BROTHER EUSEBIUS, MY DIS-
TINGUISHED LORD, WORTHY OF ALL
ESTEEM AND HONOUR

God knows (for to Him the secrets of the human 1
heart are manifest) that, as I love Christian peace,
so I am disturbed by the profane deeds of those
who basely and impiously persist in dissenting from
it ; He knows too that my indignation springs from
a desire for peace and that my object is not to drive
anyone into the Catholic communion against his will,
but to have the naked truth made known to all who
are astray and revealed by God's help through my
ministry, commending itself so well that they may
embrace and follow it.

I pass over other matters and ask you what could 2
be more abominable than what has now happened ?
A young man is rebuked by his bishop for repeatedly
thrashing his mother like a madman and for not with-
holding his unfilial hands from the body that gave
him birth even on those days when the very harsh-
ness of the law shows mercy to the vilest criminals. **
He threatens his mother to go over to the Donatist
party and to do her to death, used as he is to thrash
her with unbelievable ferocity. He makes this
threat, goes over to the Donatist party, receives re-
baptism while still in his frenzy, and is arrayed in
the white vestments of a candidate for baptism
while still raging for his mother's blood. Within
the altar-rails he is set up in a prominent and con-
spicuous position and, w^hile planning matricide,

93

ST. AUGUSTINE

et omnium gementium oculis matricidii meditator
tamquam renovatus opponitur.

3 Haecine tandem tibi placent, vir gra\issime ?
Nequaquam hoc de te crediderim ; novi considera-
tionem tuam. Caeditur mater carnalis in membris,
quibus genuit et nutrivit ingratum ; prohibet hoc
ecclesia, mater spiritahs ; caeditur et ipsa in sacra-
mentis, quibus genuit et nutrivit ingratum. Nonne
tibi videtur dixisse parricidaHter frendens : " Quid
faciam ecclesiae, quae me prohibet caedere matrem
meam ? Inveni quid faciam : iniuriis, quibus potest,
etiam ipsa feriatur ; fiat in me aliquid unde membra
eius doleant ; eundum^ mihi ad eos qui noverunt ex-
sufflare gratiam in qua ibi natus sum, destruere for-
mam quam in utero eius accepi ; ambas matres
meas saevis cruciatibus torqueam ; quae me posterior
peperit, efferat prior ; ad huius dolorem spiritaUter
moriar, ad iUius caedem carnaUter vivam." Quid
aHud expectamus, vir honorabiUs Eusebi, nisi ut in
miseram muUerem senectute decrepitam, viduitate
destitutam, a cuius caedibus in cathoHca prohibebatur,

. iam Donatista securus armetur ? Quid enim ahud
furibundo corde concepit, cum diceret matri : " Trans-
feram me in partem Donati et bibam sanguinem
tuum " ? Ecce iam conscientia cruentus, veste de-
albatus perficit partem polHcitationis suae ; restat
pars altera, ut matris sanguinem bibat. Si ergo

^ eundnm scripsi: vadam Afss.
94

NO. 11 (Ep. XXXIV)

he is exhibited to the eyes of all the disgusted con-
gregation as a regenerate man.

Do you, a man of sober judgement, really approye 3
of this ? I should never beheve it of you ; I know
how sensible a man you are. A mother after the
flesh is beaten on the body which bore and nurtured
her thankless son ; when the Church, his spiritual
mother, forbids this, she too is beaten in her sacra-
ments, by which she bore and nurtured her thank-
less son. Don't you think it is as if he had said in
his rage for a parent's blood, " What shall I do to the
Church, which forbids my beating my mother ? I
know what I will do. I will wound her too ^^ith every
possible insult ; I will commit anything that will
cause her members pain ; I will betake me to those
who are experienced in sneering at the grace in which
she gave me birth, in destroying the form I received
in her womb ; ^\'ith cruel agonies let me rack both
these mothers of mine. Let the one who gave me
second birth be the first to give me burial ; for her
grief I shall seek spiritual death, but for the other's
death I shall continue my earthly life." What else
can we expect, my esteemed Eusebius, than this,
that the man who, while he was in the Catholic
Church, was restrained from thrashing the un-
fortunate woman, crippled with age and a lonely
widow, will be free to employ his weapons against
her, now that he is a Donatist ? What other purpose
was in his raving heart when he said to his mother,
" I will go over to the Donatist party and %dll
drink your blood"? See now, with blood-stained
conscience, but arrayed in white vestments, he has
carried out one part of his threat ; the second part,
the drinking of his mother's blood, awaits fulfilment.

95

ST. AUGUSTINE

placent ista, urgeatur a clericis et sanctificatoribus
suis ut intra octavas suas totum quod vovit exsolvat.

4 Potens est quidem dextera doniini quae furorem
illius a misera vidua et desolata compescat et eum,
quibus modis novit, a tarn scelerata dispositione
deterreat. Verum tamen ego tanto animi dolore
percussus quid facerem, nisi saltern loquerer ? An
vero ista illi faciunt et mihi dicitur : Tace ? Avertat
a me dominus hanc amentiam, ut, cum ipse mihi
imperet per apostolum suum et dicat ab episcopo
refelli oportere doce?ites, quae 7ion oportet, ego illorum
indignationibus territus taceam. Quod enim pu-
blicis gestis haerere volui tam sacrilegum nefas, ad
hoc utique volui, ne me quisquam maxime in aliis
civitatibus, ubi opportunum fuerit, ista deplorantem
fingere aliquid arbitretur, quando etiam apud ipsam
Hipponem iam dicitur non hoc Proculianum man-
dasse, quod publicum renuntiavit officium.

5 Quid autem modestius agere possumus, quam ut
tam graven! causam per te tamen agam, virum et
clarissima dignitate praeditum et considerantissima
voluntate tranquillum ? Peto igitur, sicut iam petivi
per fratres nostros, bonos atque honestos viros, quos
ad tuam eximietatem misi, ut quaerere digneris
utrum Proculiani presbyter V ictor non hoc ab epi-

" The eight days between Easter and the Sunday follow-
ing, during which time neophytes wore their white garments.
These were put off on the first Sunday after Easter, which
was hence called Dominica in albis or Dies neophytorum,
and the newly baptized were then introduced to the Church
as full members.

" Tit. i. 11.

•= Proculianus was the Donatist bishop of Hippo, a trouble-
some neighbour to Augustine until his death about 411. The

96

NO. 11 (Ep. XXXIV)

If that is the kind of thing you approve of, let your
clergy and those v/ho are to carry through his sanctifi-
cation instigate him to fulfil all his vow within his
eight days."

But the Lord's right hand is strong to restrain his 4
rage from that unfortunate and lonely widow and,
by means best known to Himself, to frighten him
from his criminal purpose. Yet what was I to do,
when I was so pained and indignant, but at least
speak my mind ? Are they, indeed, to do such things
and I be told to hold my peace ? The Lord deliver
me from such folly, that when, by His apostle. He
commands me and says that those who teach what
they ought not, ought to be rebuked^ by the bishop,
I should be silent from dread of their indignation.
In wanting this heinous crime to find permanent
record in the public registers, my intention surely
was to prevent anyone, especially in other towns
where I may have a chance to deplore these deeds,
from imagining that I am inventing any detail, for
even here in Hippo it is already being said that
Proculianus ^ did not issue the order which the public
officials have recorded as his.

What more temperate course could we pursue 5
than to take action in a matter of such seriousness
through you, a man invested with the most eminent
rank and, at the same time, possessing great circum-
spection, goodwill and equanimity ? So I beseech
you, as I have already done by our brethren, good
and honourable men, whom I sent to your Ex-
cellency, to have the kindness to inquire whether
it was not this order of Proculianus recorded by the

"order" is apparently that made by Proculianus to the
priest Victor to receive the young man in question.

H 97

ST. AUGUSTINE

scopo suo mandatiim acceperit, quod officio publico
renuntiavit, an forte, cum et ipse Mctor aliud dixerit,
falsum illi apud acta prosecuti sint, cum sint com-
munionis eiusdem ; aut, si consentit ut ipsam totam
quaestionem dissensionis nostrae placide pertracte-
mus, ut error qui iam manifestus est, manifestius
innotescat, libenter amplector. Audivi enim quod
dixerit, ut sine tumultu populari adsint nobiscum
deni ex utraque parte graves et honesti viri, et secun-
dum scripturas quid in vero sit perquiramus. Nam
illud quod rursus eum dixisse nonnulli ad me per-
tulerunt, cur non ierim Constantinam, quando ibi
plures ipsi erant, vel me debere ire Mileum, quod
illic, sicut perhibent, concilium proxime habituri
sunt, ridiculum est dicere, quasi ad me pertineat
cura propria nisi Hipponiensis ecclesiae. Mihi tota
huius quaestionis ratio maxime cum Proculiano est.
Sed si forte inparem se putat, cuius voluerit collegae
sui inploret auxilium. In aliis enim ci\dtatibus
tantum agimus quod ad ecclesiam pertinet, quan-
tum vel nos permittunt vel nobis inponunt earundem
civitatium episcopi, fratres et consacerdotes nostri.
6 Quamquam et iste qui se tot annorum episcopum
dicit, quid in me tirone timeat quominus mecum
velit conferre sermonem, non satis intellego : si

° Better known under its earlier name, Cirta, capital of
the territory of King Sj-phax (Livy xxx. 12 and 41), and
associated with the names of Masinissa, Adherbal and
Micipsa. It suffered in a civil war in a.d. 308, but was
restored by the Emperor Constantine, who gave it his name.
It had a bishop since at least 256.

" Now Mila, about ten miles west of Constantine : the
98

NO. 11 (Ep. XXXIV)

public officials that the priest Victor received from
his bishop, or whether, since Victor himself has
denied it, they have fathered a lie upon him in the
public documents, although they belong to the same
religious body. Otherwise, if he agrees that we
should without heat discuss the v.hole question at
issue between us to the end that the error, which is
already clear, may be more clearly brought to light,
I gladly embrace the opportunity. I have heard of
his proposal that without any popular uproar we
should examine what is true according to the Scrip-
tures, in the presence of ten weighty and honourable
men from each side. That alternative proposal,
which some reported to me as his, that I should
go to Constantine," since his followers were more
numerous there, or that I ought to go to Mile vis, ^
because there, people say, they are going to hold a
council soon, it is absurd to make, as if any particular
charge concerned me except the church of Hippo.
The whole issue of this inquiry lies between me
and Proculianus above all, but if he considers him-
self unequal to it, let him implore the aid of any
colleague of his that he chooses. For in other towns
we deal with matters concerning the Church only so
far as the bishops of those towns, our brethren and
fellow-priests, allow us or enjoin upon us.

And yet, I do not quite see what he, who proclaims 6
himself a bishop of such long standing, is afraid of
in a novice such as I am, to shrink from a conference

form of the name varies, the inscriptions having Mihv
(indeclinable). Optatus, author of a work against the
Donatists, was a bishop there, and it was the birthplace of
the Donatist Faustus against whom Augustine wrote the
Contra Faust urn.

99

ST. AUGUSTINE

doctrinam liberalium litterarum, quas forte ipse aut
non didicit aut minus didicit, quid hoc pertinet ad
earn quaestionem quae vel de Sanctis scripturis vel
documentis ecclesiasticis aut publicis discutienda est,
in quibus ille per tot annos versatur, unde in eis
deberet esse peritior ? Postremo est hie frater et
collega meus Samsucius, episcopus Turrensis ec-
clesiae, qui nullas tales didicit quales iste dicitur
formidare ; ipse adsit, agat cum illo ; rogabo eum et,
ut confido in nomine Christi, facile mihi concedet
ut suscipiat in hac re vicem meam, et eum dominus
pro veritate certantem, quamvis sermone inpolitum,
tamen vera fide eruditum, sicut confidimus, adiu-
vabit. Nulla ergo causa est cur ad alios nescio quos
differat, ne inter nos quod ad nos pertinet per-
agamus. Nee tamen, ut dixi, etiam illos defugio, si
eorum ipse poscit auxilium.

No. 12 (Ep. XXXVII)
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET VENERABILITER SIN-
CERISSIMA CARITATE AMPLECTENDO PATRI
SIMPLICIANO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO
SALUTEM

I Plenas bonorum gaudiorum litteras, quod sis

° Before his conversion in 386, Augustine had been a
grammat'icus at Tagaste {Confess, iv. 7), and a teacher of
rhetoric at Carthage {ih. iv. 12 ; C. Acad. ii. 2, 3) and Milan
{Confess, v. 23).

** The exact site of Turres is not known, but it was probably
near Hippo. Samsucius is mentioned again in No. 21 infra.

«^ Simplicianus succeeded St. Ambrose in the see of Milan
in 397. He was instrumental in converting \'ictorinus and
was a close and honoured friend of Ambrose's. Augustine
met him at Milan in 386, and was much influenced by his
accoimt of Victorinus's conversion {Confess, viii. 5). To him
100

NO. 11 (Ep. XXXn)— NO. 12 (Ep. XXXVII)

with me. If it is my learning in liberal studies,'^ in
which he perhaps is uninstructed or less instructed
than I am, what has this to do with an inquiry which
is to be conducted about Holy Scripture and ec-
clesiastical or public records ? In these he has so
many years of experience, which should make him
all the better equipped. In the last resort, my
brother and colleague, Samsucius, bishop of the
Church of Turres,^ is here, and he has acquired no
such learning as your man is said to be afraid of ;
let him come and conduct it with him. I shall ask
him, and I trust in the name of Christ he will readily
agree to undertake to be my substitute in this.
Though he is without any grace of eloquence, yet
he is learned in the true faith, and the Lord will
help him, I feel sure, in his contest for the truth.
There is then no reason why he should refer me
to any others, instead of settling between ourselves
a matter which concerns ourselves. But still, as I
said before, I do not decline to meet those others, if
he himself demands their aid.

No. 12 (Ep. XXXVII)
(a.d. 397)
TO MY DEAR LORD AND FATHER SIISIPLICIA-
NUS,« WHOM I CHERISH WITH REVERENCE
AND VERY GENUINE DEVOTION, AUGUSTINE
SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD
Your letter has reached me, containing the good 1

Augustine dedicated his work De Diversis Quaestionibus^
alluded to below, and he mentions him with great respect in
several of his other works {I)e Praedest. 8 ; iJe Bono Persev.
52 ; Civ. Dei, x. 29). Simplicianus died in 400 and is
honoured on August 16,

101

ST. AUGUSTINE

memor mei meque, ut soles, diligas magnaeque
gratulationi tibi sit, quicquid in me donorum suorum
dominus conferre dignatus est misericordia sua, non
mentis meis, missas munere tuae sanctitatis accepi.
In quibus affectum in me paternum tuo benignis-
simo corde non repentinum et novum hausi, sed
expertum plane cognitumque repetivi, domine beatis-
sime et venerabiliter sincerissima caritate amplec-
tende.

2 Unde autem tanta exorta est felicitas litterario
labori nostro quo in librorum quorundam conscrip-
tione sudavimus, ut a tua dignatione legerentur, nisi
quia dominus, cui subdita est anima mea, consolari
voluit curas meas et a timore recreare, quo me in
talibus operibus necesse est esse sollicitum, necubi
forte indoctior vel incautior quamvis in pianissimo
campo veritatis offendam ? Cum enim tibi placet,
quod scribo, novi cui placeat, quoniam quis te in-
habitet novi. Idem quippe omnium munerum spiri-
talium distributor atque largitor per tuam sententiam
confirmavit oboedientiam meam. Quicquid enim
habent ilia scripta delectatione tua dignum, in meo
ministerio dixit deus : " Fiat,'' et factum est ; in tua
vero approbatione vidit deus, quia honum est.

3 Quaestiunculas sane quas mihi enodandas iubere
dignatus es, etsi mea tarditate implicatus non in-
tellegerem, tuis meritis adiutus aperirem. Tantum
illud quaeso ut pro infirmitate mea depreceris deum
et sive in his quibus me exercere benigne paterneque

« Gen. i. 3-4.
102

NO. 12 (Ep. XXXVII)

and gladdening ncMs that you have not forgotten
me but regard nie with your customary affection,
and that you take great pleasure in whatever gifts
the Lord has deigned in His mercy, and not for
my deserving, to bestow on me. It was gracious of
your Holiness to write to me, and in your letter, my
dear lord whom I cherish with reverence and very
genuine devotion, I discerned once more that
fatherly feeling for me which is no new or sudden
refreshment to me from your generous heart, but
a joy already experienced and appreciated.

The literary efforts I expended in the composing 2
of some books have been well recompensed by your
Grace's reading them. Surely that came from no
other source than the Lord's desire (for my soul is
subject to Him) to appease my anxieties and abate
the fear that of necessity harassed me in such an
undertaking, of stumbling, through my comparative
inexperience and imprudence, even in the straight
and level path of truth. For when my writings
find favour with you, I know with whom it does
find favour, for I know who it is that dwells in you :
He who apportions and bestows all spiritual gifts has
by your verdict ratified my obedience. For what-
ever my wTitings contained that merited your satis-
faction, it was God who said " Let it be done, and it
was done," by me as His instrument, while in your
approval it is the Lord who " saw that it was good." "

If my own dullness has prevented me from grasping 3
those problems you were good enough to bid me
solve, still I could unravel them with your valued
assistance. But I do beg you to intercede with
God for me in my weakness, and not only to give
the careful attention of a reader, but also to adopt

103

ST. AUGUSTINE

voluisti, sive in aliis, quaecumque nostra in tuas
sanctas manus forte pervenerint, quia sicut dei data
sic etiam mea errata cogito, non solum curam legentis
inpendas, sed etiam censuram corrigentis adsumas.

No. IS (Ep. XXXVIII)

FRATRI PROFUTURO AUGUSTINUS

Secundum spiritum, quantum domino placet atque
ipse vires praebere dignatur, recte sumus ; corpore
autem ego in lecto sum ; nee ambulare enim nee stare
nee sedere possum rhagadis vel exochadis dolore et
tumore. Sed etiam sic, quoniam id domino placet,
quid aliud dicendum est, nisi quia recte sumus ?
Potius enim, si id nolumus quod ille vult, nos cul-
pandi sumus, quam ille non recte aliquid vel facere
vel sinere existimandus est. Nosti haec omnia ; sed
quia mihi es alter ego, quid libentius tecum loquerer,
nisi quod mecum loquor ? Commendamus ergo
Sanctis orationibus tuis et dies et noctes nostras, ut
oretis pro nobis, ne diebus intemperanter utamur, ut
noctes aequo animo toleremus, ut, etiam si amhulemus
in medio umbrae mortis, nobiscum sit dominus, ne
timeamus mala.

<" See above, p. oQ note h.

^ Rhagades (rhagas, rhagadki, rhagadium) is a "tear,"
"rent," "hack" of the skin {payds, payddia); exochas,

104-

NO. 12 (Ep. XXXVII)— NO. 13 (Ep. XXXVIII)

the critical attitude of a reviewer, to any works of
mine that happen to come into your holy hands,
both those on which it was your kind and fatherly
desire that I should try my hand, and any others.
For I am fully conscious of God's gifts, and no less
of my own mistakes.

No. 13 (Ep. XXXVIII)

(a.d. 397)

AUGUSTINE TO BROTHER PROFUTURUS «

In spirit I am well, so far as it is the Lord's good 1
pleasure and as He deigns to grant me strength ;
in body, I am confined to bed. I can neither walk
nor stand nor sit do^^Tl because of the pain and
swelling of piles or tumours.^ Yet even so, since
that is the Lord's good pleasure, what else should
I say than that I am well ? If we do not like what
pleases Him, we ourselves are rather to assume the
blame than to imagine that He is wrong in what He
either does or allows. This is all familiar to you,
but since you are my second self, what can I say to
you with more pleasure than what I say to myself ?
To your holy prayers then I commend both my
nights and my days ; pray for me, that I may not
squander my days and that I may endure my nights
with patience ; pray that even if I walk in the valley
of the shadow of death, the Lord may be with me
that I may fear no evil.^

{exochadhnn) is a "pile" (e'^oxas, i'^ox'^^'-ov). The words are
rare save in the medical writers.
'^ Fs. xxii. 4.

105

ST. AUGUSTINE

2 Quod senex Megalius defunctus sit, iam vos audisse
quis dubitet ? Erant autem a depositione corporis
eius, cum haec scriberem, dies ferine viginti quattuor.
Utrum iam videris, disponebas enim, successorem pri-
matus eius, si fieri potest, nosse volumus. Non desunt
scandala sed neque refugium ; non desunt maerores
sed neque consolationes. Atque inter haec quam
vigilandum sit, ne cuiusquam odium cordis intima
teneat neque sinat, ut oremus deum in cuhili nostro
clauso ostio, sed adversus ipsum deum claudat ostium,
nosti optime, optime frater ; subrepit autem, dum
nulli irascenti ira sua videtur iniusta. Ita enim
inveterescens ira fit odium, dum quasi iusti doloris
admixta dulcedo diutius eam in vase detinet, donee
totum acescat vasque corrumpat. Quapropter multo
melius nee iuste cuiquam irascimur, quam velut iuste
irascendo in alicuius odium irae occulta facilitate
delabimur. In recipiendis enim hospitibus ignotis
solemus dicere multo esse melius malum hominem
perpeti quam forsitan per ignorantiam excludi bonum,
dum cavemus, ne recipiatur malus. Sed in affectibus
animi contra est. Nam incomparabiliter salubrius
est irae etiam iuste pulsanti non aperire penetrale
cordis quam admittere non facile recessuram et per-

" Bishop of Calama and Primate of Numidia, who two
years before this had ordained Augustine as coadjutor to
Valerius at Hippo, although earHer he had opposed Augus-
tine's election and made serious charges against him, which
he was afterwards compelled to withdraw. Probably the
remembrance of these charges suggested to Augustine's mind
what follows on ill-feeling. Megalius's successor in Calama,
about forty miles south-west of Hippo, was Augustine's
biographer, Possidius.

" Matt. vi. (3.

" Cf. Cic. Tusc. iv. 9. 21, and for the " vessel " metaphor

106

NO. 13 (Ep. XXXVIII)

You will have already heard, I am sure, of the 2
death of the Senior Megalius ^* ; as I write, it is
almost twenty-four days since his body was laid to
rest. Let me know, if possible, whether you have
seen his successor in the primacy, as was your inten-
tion. We are not without our trials, yet not ■sWth-
out our refuge ; we are not without our sorrows,
yet not without comfort either. And you are
excellently well aware, my excellent brother, how
carefully amid such vexations mc must watch that
no ill-feeling towards anyone takes possession of
our inmost heart and prevents us from entering into
our chamber, closing the door and praying to God,^
and even closes the door against God Himself.
Although no angry person thinks his o^\^l anger is
unjustified, it grows upon him, and anger that be-
comes inveterate in this way passes into hatred,^ since
the pleasureableness that accompanies an apparently
justified resentment keeps it longer in the vessel
until the whole thing grows sour and spoils the
vessel. For this reason it is much better to be
angry with no one, even when it is justifiable, than
from apparently justified anger to slip by the
stealthy tendency of passion into hatred of anyone.
We have a proverbial saying about welcoming un-
known guests that it is much better to endure a bad
man than through ignorance to risk shutting out a
good one from fear of welcoming a bad one. But
with our passions the opposite is true : for it is beyond
comparison a more beneficial thing not to open the
shrine of our heart at the knock of even justified
anger than to yield it entrance ; once in, it \\'ill not

Hor. Ep. i. 2. 54 " sincerum est nisi vas, quodcumque in-
fundis acescit."

107

ST. AUGUSTINE

venturani de surculo ad trabem. Audet quippe in-
pudenter etiam crescere citius, quam putatur. Non
enim erubescit in tenebris, cum super earn sol Occi-
dent. Recolis certe, qua cura et quanta soUicitudine
ista scripserim, si recolis quid mecum nuper in itinere
quodam locutus sis.
3 Fratrem Severum et qui cum eo sunt salutamus.
Etiam ipsis fortasse scriberemus, si per festinationem
perlatoris liceret. Peto autem, ut apud eundem
fratrem nostrum Victorem, cui ago etiam apud tuam
sanctitatem gratias, quod Constantinam cum per-
geret indicavit, petendo adiuves, propter negotium
quod ipse no^/it, de quo gravissimum pondus pro ea
re multum deprecantis Nectarii maioris patior, per
Calamam remeare ne gravetur ; sic enim promisit
mihi. Vale.

No. 14 (Ep. XLII)

DOMINIS LAUDABILIBUS IN CHRISTO SANCTIS-
SLMIS FRATRIBUS PAULINO ET THERASIAE
AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

Num etiam hoc sperari aut expectari posset, ut

" C/. Eph. iv. 26.

'' Probably the Severiis who became bishop of Milevis
about A.D. 400. He was born in the same town as Augustine,
and was a member of the same monastic community, and a
life-long friend. He is mentioned later in Nos. 22, 25 and 29,
and probably died about 426. "^ See note a on p. 98.

** See No. 24 infra, p. 150 note a. Calama lay about fifty
miles from Hippo ; it was an old Punic town, under the
name Malaca, and was later a Roman colony. The modern
name is Guelma.

* Paulinus is, after Prudentius, the most notable Christian
Latin poet of the patristic age. Sprung from a wealthy
patrician family in Aquitania, he renounced the world and,

108

NO. 13 (Ep. XXXVIII)— NO. 14 (Ep. XLII)

easily be expelled, and it will grow from a sapling to a
sturdy tree, since it boldly and shamelessly develops
at an even greater speed than people imagine, for it
is not put to shame in the darkness, vvhen the sun has
gone down upon it.'* You can at any rate bethink
you of the care and anxiety with which I wTite this,
if you bethink you of your remarks on a recent
journey we made together.

Give my greetings to brother Severus ^ and his 3
company. I should perhaps be writing to them too,
if the bearer's haste allowed it. I want, however,
to express my thanks through your Holiness to our
brother Victor for letting me know when he was
going to Constantine.^ Please help me by asking
him if he would mind making his return journey by
Calama, as he promised me he would, because of that
business he knows of ; it is weighing very heavily on
me, for the elder Nectarius ^ is very insistent about
it. Good-bye.

No. U (Ep. XLII)

(a.d. 397)

TO PAULINUS AND THERASIA,^ MY HOLY
BROTHER AND SISTER IN CHRIST, WORTHY
OF HONOUR AND PRAISE, AUGUSTINE
SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

Who could have expected or anticipated that I

with his wife, Therasia, a Spanish lady, estabhshed himself
in 394 at Nola in Campania, where he lived a monastic life,
built a church in honour of his patron saint, Felix, and spent
his life and substance in good works, dying in 431. His
extant works consist of 51 letters and 36 poems, marked by
grace and fluency and revealing a pious and humble mind,
already medieval in its outlook.

109

ST. AUGUSTINE

per fratrem Severum rescripta flagitaremus tarn diu
tarn ardentibus nobis a vestra caritate non reddita ?
Quid est, qui duas aestates easdemque in Africa sitire
cogamur ? Quid amplius dicam ? O qui res vestras
cotidie donatis, debitum reddite. An forte, quod
adversus daemonicolas te scribere audieram atque
id opus vehenienter desiderare me ostenderani, volens
perficere ac mittere tanto tempore ad nos epistulas
distulisti ? Utinam saltern tam opima mensa iam
annosum ab stilo tuo ieiunium meum tandem accipias !
Quae si nondum parata est, non desinemus conqueri,
si nos, dum illud perficis, non interim reficis.

Salutate fratres, maxime Romanum et Agilem.
Hinc, qui nobiscum sunt, vos salutant et parum nobis-
cum irascuntur, si parum diligunt.

No. 15 (Ep. XLVIII)

DOMINO DILECTO ET EXOPTATISSIMO FRATRI
ET COXPRESBYTERO EUDOXIO ET QUI
TECUM SUNT FRATRIBUS AUGUSTINUS ET
QUI MECUM SUNT FRATRES IN DOMINO
SALUTEM

1 Quando quietem vestram cogitamus, quam habetis
in Christo, etiam nos, quamvis in laboribus variis
asperisque versemur, in vestra caritate requiescimus.

<* Eudoxius was abbot of the monastery on the island of
Capraria, now Capraja, between Corsica and Tuscany, which
lies thirty miles away. In 398, after Gildo's rebellion, the
Roman punitive force embarked at Pisa and put in at
Cagliari in Sardinia ; its leader, Gildo's brother, visited
Capraria and took on board some monks, who probably
brought a letter to Augustine and were now to take back his
reply (c/. Claudian, Bell. Gild. 415-424; Oros. Hist. vii.
36. 5).

110

NO. li (Ep. XLII)— NO. 15 (Ep. XLVIII)

should be demanding by brother Severus the repHes
that you, my dear friends, have failed to send, though
I have waited for them so long and so eagerly ?
What have I done, to be compelled to endure this
thirst for news for two whole summers, and that
too in Africa ? What more shall I say ? You are
making daily distribution of what wealth you have —
why not pay your debt to me ? Can it be that you
have so long postponed writing to me from the desire
to finish and send the work which I had heard you
were writing against devil-worshippers and which I
had shown myself very anxious to peruse ? I do hope
that it will at least be a groaning table at which you
eventually receive my hungry appetite, so long denied
the products of your pen. But if as yet it be not set and
ready, my complaints will give you no respite if, while
your book is finishing, you still leave me famishing.

Greet the brethren, especially Romanus and
Agilis. Those who are with me here greet you. If
they are less exasperated than I am, it is because their
affection for you is less than mine.

No. 15 (Ep. XLVIII)

(a.d. 398)

TO MY BELOVED LORD AND MOST LONGED
FOR BROTHER AND FELLOW-PRIEST, EU-
DOXIUS," AND THE BRETHREN WHO ARE
WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE AND THE BRETH-
REN WHO ARE WITH ME SEND GREETING
IN THE LORD

W^hen we think of the peace that you enjoy in 1
Christ, we too, though harassed by manifold irksome
tasks, find peace in your affection. For we are one

111

ST. AUGUSTINE

Unum enim corpus sub uno capite sumus, ut et vos
in nobis negotiosi et nos in vobis otiosi simus, quia, si
patitur unum membrum, compatiuntur omnia membra
et, si glorificatur unum memhrum, congaudent omnia
membra. Admonemus ergo et petimus et obsecramus
per Christi altissimam humilitatem et misericordis-
simam celsitudineni, ut nostri memores sitis in Sanctis
orationibus vestris, quas vos vigilantiores et magis
sobrias habere credimus ; nostras enim saepe sauciat
et debilitat caligo et tumultus saecularium actionum.
Quas etsi nostras non habemus, eorum tamen, qui nos
angariant mille passus et iubemur ire cum eis alia duo,
tanta nobis ingeruntur, ut vix respirare possimus,
credentes tamen, quod ille, in cuius conspectu intrai
gemitus compeditorum, perseverantes nos in eo mini-
sterio, in quo conlocare dignatus est cum promissa
mercede, adiuvantibus orationibus vestris ab omni
angustia liberabit.
2 Vos autem, fratres, exhortamur in domino, ut
propositum vestrum custodiatis et usque in finem
perseveretis ac, si qua opera vestra mater ecclesia
desideraverit, nee elatione avida suscipiatis nee blan-
diente desidia respuatis, sed miti corde obtemperetis
deo, cum mansuetudine portantes eum qui vos regit,
qui dirigit mites in iudicio, docebit mansuetos vias suas.
Nee vestrum otium necessitatibus ecclesiae prae-
ponatis, cui parturienti si nulli boni ministrare vellent,
quo modo nasceremini, non inveniretis. Sicut autem
inter ignem et aquam tenenda est via, ut nee exuratur
homo nee demergatur, sic inter apicem superbiae et
voraginem desidiae iter nostrum temperare debemus,

" 1 Cor. xii. 26.
^ Matt. V. 41. ' Ps. Ixxviii. 11.

112

NO. 15 (Ep. XLVIII)

body under one head, so that you share our occupation
and we share your relaxation, since " if one member
suffer, all the members suffer with it, and if one
member be honoured, all the members rejoice with
it."^ So we exhort and beg and beseech you by
Christ's profound humility and compassionate exalta-
tion to remember us in your holy prayers; yours are,
we are confident, more watchful and composed, for
ours are often crippled and weakened by the gloom
and bustle of worldly affairs. Not that we have any
of our own, but those who compel us to go a mile and
we are bidden to go with them other twain ^ impose so
many burdens on us that we have scarcely time to
draw our breath ; yet we are confident that He
"before whom comes the sighing of the prisoner " ^
will deliver us, by the help of your prayers, from every
distress, while we endure in that ministry in which He
has pleased to place us with the promise of reward.

We exhort you in the Lord, brethren, to maintain 2
your purpose and to persevere unto the end,'^ and if the
Church, your mother, seeks any service from you, not
to undertake it with eager elation nor to refuse it
under the solicitation of indolence, but submit to God
with lowly heart, suffering with meekness Him who
governs you, " who guides the meek in judgement and
will teach them His ways." ^ And do not place your
own ease before the Church's needs, for if no good
men were willing to minister to her in her travail,
you would find no means of being born yourselves.
But just as a man must hold the path between fire and
water if he v>ould avoid either burning or drowning,
so should we regulate our way between the peak of
pride and the gulf of sloth, as it is written '• declining
'^ Matt. xxiv. 13 ; x. 22. ' Ps. xxiv. 9.

I lis

ST. AUGUSTINE

sicut scriptuni est : Non declinantes neque ad dexteram
neque ad sinistram. Sunt enim, qui, dum nimis timent,
ne quasi in dexteram rapti extollantur, in sinistram
lapsi demerguntur, et sunt rursus, qui, dum nimis se
auferunt a sinistra, ne torpida vacationis mollitia
sorbeantur, ex altera parte iactantiae fastu corrupti
atque consumpti in fumum favillamque vanescunt.
Sic ergo, dilectissimi, diligite otium, ut vos ab omni
terrena delectatione refrenetis et memineritis nullum
locum esse, ubi non possit laqueos tendere, qui timet,
ne revolemus ad deum, et inimicum omnium bonorum,
cuius captivi fuimus, iudicemus, nullamque esse
nobis perfectam requiem cogitetis, donee transeat
iniquitas et in indicium iustitia convertatur.
3 Item cum aliquid strenue atque alacriter agitis
et inpigre operamini sive in orationibus sive in ieiuniis
sive in elemosynis vel tribuentes aliquid indigentibus
vel dojiajites iniurias, sicut et deus in Christo donavit
nobis, sive edomantes perniciosas consuetudines casti-
gantesque corpus et servituii suhicientes sive sufFerentes
tribulationem et ante omnia vos ipsos invicem in
dilectionem — quid enim sufFerat, qui fratrem non
suflPert ? — sive prospicientes astutiam atque insidias
temptatoris et scutofidei iacula eius ignita repellentes
et extinguentes sive cantantes et psallejites in cordihus
vestris domino vel vocibus a corde non dissonis : omnia
in gloriam dei facite, qui operatur omnia in omnibus,
atque its. ferventes spiritu, ut in domino laudetur anima
vestra. Ipsa est enim actio recti itineris, quae oculos

« Deut. xvii. 1 1 ; Prov. iv, 27.
Ps. Ivi. 2; xciii, 15. ' Eph. iv. 32. ^ 1 Cor. ix. 27.

« Eph. vi. 16. f Eph. v. 19. « 1 Cor. x. 31.

'' 1 Cor. xii. 6. * Kom. xii. 11. ^ Ps. xxxiii. 3.

14

NO. 15 (Ep. XLVIII)

neither to the right hand nor to the left." " For there
are some who, over-afraid of being snatched up and
borne, as it were, to the right hand, slip and sink
down upon the left ; and there are some again who,
while withdrawing too far from the left hand from fear
of being engulfed in the slothful weakness of in-
dolence, are corrupted and destroyed on the other
side by the arrogance of boastfulness and vanish
away into smoke and ashes. So then, beloved, do
you love ease in such fashion as to restrain yourselves
from every earthly delight, and remember that there
is no spot free from a possible snare laid by him whose
fear it is that we may take our flight back to God ; let
us reckon him whose prisoners we once were to be the
foe of all good men, and bear in mind that there is no
perfect rest for us " until iniquity has ceased and
judgement shall return unto righteousness." ^

Likewise, when you do anything with vigour and 3
fervour and are unweariedly labouring in prayer or
in fasting or in almsgiving or bestowing something
on the needy or forgiving injuries, " as God also for
Christ's sake hath forgiven us," '^ or subduing evil habits
and " chastening the body and bringing it into subjec-
tion," ^ or bearing tribulation and (before anything
else) " bearing one another in love " — for what can he
endure, who does not endure his brother ? — or looking
out for the craftiness and guile of the tempter and
" with the shield of faith " averting and " quenching
his fiery darts," ^ or " singing and making melody to
the Lord in your heart " ^ or with voices in harmony
with your heart : " do all to the glory of God,^ who
worketh all in all," ^ and be so " fervent in spirit " ^
that " your soul may make her boast in the Lord." ^
For on the straight path that is the behaviour of those

115

ST. AUGUSTINE

semper habet ad dominum, quoniam ipse evellet de
laqueo pedes. Talis actio nee frigitur negotio nee
frigida est otio nee turbulenta nee mareida est nee
audax nee fugax nee praeceps nee iacens. Haec
agite et deus pads erit vohiscum.
4 Nee importunum me existiniet caritas vestra, quia
vobiseum loqui vel per epistulam volui. Non enini
hoe vos nionui, quod vos non arbitror facere ; sed
credidi nie non paruni conimendari deo a vobis, si ea
quae munere illius faeitis, cum adloeutionis nostrae
memoria faeiatis. Nam et ante iam fama et nunc
fratres, qui venerunt a vobis, Eustasius et Andreas
bonum Christi odorem de vestra sancta conversa-
tione ad nos adtulerunt. Quorum Eustasius in eam
requiem praeeessit, quae nullis fluctibus sicut insula
tunditur, nee Caprariam desiderat, quia nee cilicio
iam quaerit indui.

No. 16 (Ep. L)
DUCTORIBUS AC PRIXCIPIBUS VEL SENIORI-
BUS COLONIAE SUFETANAE AUGUSTINUS
EPISCOPUS

Immanitatis vestrae famosissimum scelus et in-

° Ps. xxiv. 15. ^ Phil. iv. 9 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 11.

'^ The goat".s-hair garment, the chief article of manufacture
on Capraria, " the goat-island." It was a rough garment used
by the poor, by penitents as a sign of grief, and by monks.

^ wSufes, now Sbiba, is in Tunisia, near the Algerian border.
It was a castellum under the early Empire, but became a
colony about the time of Marcus Aurelius, as the name
indicates (colonia Aurelia Sufetana). It had been a bishopric
since at least a.d. ^od^ but Augustine's language shows that
the majority of its inhabitants were still pagan. In con-
sequence, apparently, of the legislation of 399, by which
Honorius ordered the closing of pagan temples and the
destruction of idols {Cod. Theod. xvr. x. 16, 17, 18), the

116

NO. 15 (Ep. XLVIII)— NO. 16 (Ep. L)

" whose eyes are ever upon the Lord, for He shall pluck
their feet out of the net." " Such behaviour is neither
parched by business nor chilled by ease, neither
boisterous nor enervated, neither reckless nor run-
away, neither headstrong nor supine. " These things
do, and the God of peace shall be with you." ^

Let your Charity not think me troublesome in 4
wishing to have converse with you even by letter. I
have given you these admonishments, not with the
idea that you are failing to perform them, but in the
belief that if what you do by His favour you do in
remembrance of my exhortation, I have no slight com-
mendation to God from you. For a good savour of
Christ from your holy conduct had already reached
me, first through rumour and now through the
brethren, Eustasius and Andrew, who have come
from you. Of these Eustasius has gone before us
to that rest, which no waves beat upon as they do
upon your island, nor does he long for Caprera, for
in its hair-cloth he seeks no more his raiment. '^

No. 16 (Ep. L)
(a.d. 399)
BISHOP AUGUSTINE TO THE LEADERS AND
MAGISTRATES OR ELDERS OF THE COLONY
OF SUFES "
Earth quakes and the heavens shake at the most

Sufetan statue of Hercules had been destroyed, and in retalia-
tion the townspeople had massacred sixty Christians. The
cult of Hercules at Sufes is attested by an inscription to that
god found among the ruins (C.I.L. viii. no. 262). The
martyred Christians are commemorated on August 30
{Martyrol. Rom. HI. Kal. Sept.; Acta Sanctorum, Aug. vi.
553). The letter is unusually difficult and the style makes it
doubtful that Augustine is actually the writer.

117

ST. AUGUSTINE

opinata crudelitas terrain concutit et percutit caelum,
ut in plateis ac delubris vestris eluceat sanguis et
resonet homicidium. Apud vos Romanae sepultae
sunt leges, iudiciorum rectorum calcatus est terror,
imperatorum certe nulla veneratio nee timor. Apud
vos sexaginta numero fratrum innocens efFusus est
sanguis et, si quis plures occidit, functus est laudibus
et in vestrani curiam tenuit principatum. Age nunc
principalem veniamus ad causam. Si Herculem
vestrum dixeritis, porro reddemus ; adsunt metalla,
saxa nee desunt ; accedunt et marmorum genera,
suppeditat artificum copia. Ceterum deus vester
cum diligentia sculpitur, tornatur et ornatur ; addi-
mus et rubricam, quae pingat ruborem, quo possint
vota vestra sacra sonare. Nam si vestrum Herculem
dixeritis, conlatis singulis nummis ab artifice vestro
vobis emimus deum. Reddite igitur animas, quas
truculenta vestra manus. contorsit, et, sicuti a nobis
vester Hercules redhibetur, sic etiam a vobis tan-
torum animae reddantur.

No. 17 (Ep. LX)

DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET DEBITA OBSERVANTIA
VENERABILI SINCERITERQUE CARISSIMO
FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI PAPAE AURELIO
AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Litteras nullas tuae venerabilitatis, ex quo ab
118

NO. 16 (Ep. L)— No. 17 (Ep. LX)

glaring criminality and shocking barbarity of your
fiendish conduct, which has made your streets and
shrines run red with blood and resound with cries of
murder. Among you the laws of Rome have been
consigned to oblivion, the fear of righteous judgement
has been trampled under foot, and for the Crown
you have assuredly neither respect nor awe. Among
you the innocent blood of exactly sixty Christian
brethren has been spilt, and he who has the more
murders to his credit has enjoyed various honours
and been appointed to the chief post in your assembly.
See now, let us come to the chief point. If you
mention your Hercules, we shall straightway restore
it to you ; we have quarries at hand, and there is no
lack of stone ; there are in addition various kinds of
marble and a sufficient supply of craftsmen. More-
over, your god will be chiseled, smoothed off and
ornamented : we shall even add red ochre to paint
the blush with which your holy prayers may be
uttered. For if you say the Hercules is your own,
we shall contribute a penny each and buy a god for
you from your own craftsman. Restore then the
souls that your ferocious hand has destroyed, and as
we give back your Hercules, so do you restore these
many souls.

No. 17 (Ep. LX)
(a.d. 401)
TO FATHER AURELIUS, MY LORD MOST BLESSED
AND WITH DUE RESPECT REVERED, MY
BROTHER AND COLLEAGUE, MOST SIN-
CERELY BELOVED, AUGUSTINE SENDS
GREETING IN THE LORD

Since we parted from each other in body, I have 1

119

ST. AUGUSTINE

invicem corporaliter digress! sumus, accepi. Nunc
vero legi epistulam benignitatis tuae de Donato et
fratre eius et, quid responderem, diu fluctuavi. Sed
tamen etiam atque etiam cogitanti, quid sit utile
saluti eorum quibus nutriendis in Christo servimus,
nihil mihi aliud occurrere potuit nisi non esse istam
viam dandam servis dei, ut facilius se putent eligi ad
aliquid melius, si facti fuerint deteriores. Et ipsis
enim facilis lapsus et ordini clericorum fit indignis-
sima iniuria, si desertores monasteriorum ad militiam
clericatus eliguntur, cum ex his, qui in monasterio per-
manent, non tamen nisi probatiores atque meliores in
clerum adsumere soleamus, nisi forte, sicut vulgares
dicunt, " malus choraula bonus symphoniacus est,"
ita idem ipsi vulgares de nobis iocabuntur dicentes
" malus monachus bonus clericus est." Nimis dolen-
dum, si ad tam ruinosam superbiam monachos sub-
rigimus et tam gravi contumelia clericos dignos puta-
mus, in quorum numero sumus, cum aliquando etiam
bonus monachus vix bonum clericum faciat, si adsit
ei sufficiens continentia et tamen desit instructio
necessaria aut personae regularis integritas.
2 Sed de istis, credo, arbitrata sit beatitudo tua,
quod nostra voluntate, ut suis potius conregionalibus
utiles essent, de monasterio recessissent. Sed falsum
est ; sponte abierunt, sponte deseruerunt nobis,
120

NO. 17 (Ep. LX)

received no letter from your Holiness, but now I have
read a letter of your Grace about Donatus and his
brother. For a considerable time I could not settle
what answer to make, but after repeated con-
sideration of what would further the welfare of those
whose nurture in Christ is the aim of our service, I
could reach no other conclusion than this : we must
not put God's servants in the \vay of thinking that
the worse their behaviour, the easier their advance-
ment to better posts. For it would only make back-
sliding easier for them and lay a quite undeserved
sUght on the regular clergy, if we selected for
clerical service monks who had run away from their
monastery, seeing that our usual practice is to select
for adoption to the ranks of the clergy only those of
higher merit and character from among the monks
who stay on in their monastery. The common
people say that a bad accompanist makes a good
singer ; do we want these same common people to
laugh at us in the same way and say that a bad monk
makes a good clergyman ? It is a great pity if we
encourage monks to such demoralizing pride and
think fit to lay so serious a slight on the clergy, to
whose ranks we ourselves belong. Sometimes even
a good monk hardly makes a good clergyman, if he
possesses sufficient self-control and yet has not the
necessary education or the finish of a man who has
gone through the normal training.

In the case we are discussing, your Holiness may, 2
I think, have assumed that it was with my consent
that they abandoned monastic life for a more desir-
able sphere of service among the men of their own
district. That, however, is not so ; they left of
their own accord, of their own accord they deserted

121

ST. AUGUSTINE

quantum potuinius, pro eorum salute renitentibus.
Et de Donate quidem, quia iam factum est, ut, ante-
quam de hac re aliquid in concilio statueremus, or-
dinaretur, si forte a superbiae perversitate correctus
est, quod vult, faciat prudentia tua. De fratre vero
eius, in cuius vel maxime causa de monasterio etiam
ipse Donatus abscessit, cum intellegas quid sentiam,
nescio quid respondeam. Contradicere tamen pru-
dentiae tuae, honori caritatique non audeo et sane
spero id te facturum. quod membris ecclesiae salubre
perspexeris. Amen.

No. 18 (Ep. LXV)

DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET VExNERABILITER SUS-
CIPIENDO PATRI ET CONSACERDOTI SENI
XANTHIPPO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALU-
TEM

Officio debito meritis tuis salutans dis^nationem
tuam tuisque me orationibus valde commendans
insinuo prudentiae tuae Abundantium quendam in
fundo Strabonianensi pertinente ad curam nostram
ordinatum fuisse presbyterum. Qui cum non am-
bularet vias servorum dei, non bonam famam habere
coeperat. Qua ego conterritus non tamen temere ali-
quid credens sed plane sollicitior factus operam dedi,
si quo modo possem ad aliqua malae conversationis
eius certa indicia pervenire. Ac primo comperi eum

" The Council held at Carthage in June 401.

* Xanthippus was bishop of Thagura (Taoura, near Souk
Ahras). He is mentioned again in Ep. Hx. as one of those
on whom devolved the duty of summoning a Council.

*= The site of this fundus and of Gippi have not been
identified, but they must have been near Hippo.
122

NO. 17 (Ep. LX)— NO. 18 (Ep. LX\0

their vocation, notwithstanding the most strenuous
efforts I could make to oppose them, for their own
best good. With Donatus, who has already managed
to get himself ordained before we could decide any-
thing in the Council'^ about this matter, just do in
your wisdom as you will, if he happens to have been
cured of his obstinate pride. But since you under-
stand what I feel, I am at a loss what to say about
his brother, for whose sake most of all Donatus
himself left his monastery. Yet I do not presume to
oppose one of your wisdom, rank and kindliness, and
I do hope that you \\'ill do what you see to be bene-
ficial for the members of the Church. Amen.

No. 18 (Ep. LX\0

(a.d. 402)

TO THE SENIOR XANTHIPPUS," MY SAINTLY
LORD AND REVERENTLY CHERISHED
FATHER AND FELLOW-PRIEST, AUGUSTINE
SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

I greet your Honour with the respect due to your 1
merits and earnestly commend myself to your prayers.
I have to report to your Wisdom that a man by the
name of Abundantius was ordained priest on the
manor of Strabonian,'' which belongs to my diocese,
but, as he did not walk in the paths of God's servants,
he began to acquire a bad reputation. This
alarmed me, but yet I did not hghtly give it any
credence ; yet, my worry clearly increasing, I made
an effort to reach, if it were at all possible, some
incontrovertible proofs of his e^il conduct. And my
first discovery was that he had embezzled money

123

ST. AUGUSTINE

pecuniam cuiusdam rusticani divino apud se com-
mendato intervertisse, ita ut nullam inde posset pro-
babilem reddere rationem. Deinde convictus atqiie
confessus est die ieiunii natalis domini, quo etiam
Gippitana ecclesia sicut ceterae ieiunabant, cum
tamquam perrecturus ad ecclesiam suam " vale "
fecisset collegae suo presbytero Gippitano, hora ferme
quinta, et cum secum nullum clericum haberet, in
eodeni fundo restitisse et apud quandam malae famae
mulierem et prandisse et cenasse et in eadem dome
mansisse. In huius autem hospitio iam quidam
clericus noster Hipponiensis remotus erat ; et hoc
quia iste optime noverat, negare non potuit, nam quae
negavit, deo dimisi, iudicans quae occultare per-
missus non est. Timui ei committere ecclesiam prae-
sertim inter haereticorum circumlatrantium rabiem
constitutam. Et cum me rogaret, ut ad presbyterum
fundi Armenianensis in campo Bullensi, unde ad nos
devenerat, causa eius insinuata litteras darem, ne
quid de illo atrocius suspicaretur, ut illic vivat, si
fieri potest, sine officio presbyterii correctior, miseri-
cordia commotus feci. Haec autem me praecipue
prudentiae tuae intimare oportebat, ne aliqua tibi
fallacia subreperet.
2 Audivi autem causam eius, cum centum dies essent
ad dominicumpaschae,quifuturus est VHI Id. Aprilis.
Hoc propter concilium insinuare curavi venerabilitati
tuae, quod etiam ipsi non celavi, sed ei fideliter, quid

° For this late use of nam see Stolz-Schmalz, Lat. Gramm.^
p. 679 ; Lofstedt, Peregr. Aeth. p. 34; Linderbauer, S. Bened.
Reg. p. 174.

^ There were at least two places called Bulla: Bulla Regia,
the modern Derradji, five miles from Souk El Arba, and
124

NO. 18 (Ep. LXV)

belonging to a certain countryman, entrusted to him
for religious purposes, and could give no satisfactory
account of it. The next charge proved against him
and admitted by himself was that, on the fast-day of
Christmas, when the church of Gippi was fasting like
all the others, he took leave of his colleague, the priest
of Gippi, about 1 1 o'clock in the day, on the pretext of
departing for his own church ; and although he had
no clergyman with him, he remained in the same
manor and dined and supped and stayed in the same
house with a woman of ill fame. But one of our clergy
of Hippo was already living from home in the local inn,
and since Abundantius was very well aware of this,
he could not deny the charge, but* what he did deny I
left to God, passing sentence upon the facts he was
not allowed to conceal. I was afraid to trust him with
a church, especially one situated in the very midst of
frenzied and snarling heretics. And when he asked
me to give him letters explaining his case to the priest
of the manor of Armenian in the district of Bulla,^
from which he had come to us, so that no worse
suspicion might be conceived against him and that
there he might live, if possible, a reformed life with
no duties as a priest, I was moved by pity to do so.
But it was my duty to report these facts particularly
to your Wisdom, lest any misrepresentation be prac-
tised upon you.

I heard his case one hundred days before Easter 2
Sunday, which will fall on the 6th April. This fact I
have been careful to mention to your Reverence
because of the Council, and I have not concealed it
from him either, but have revealed to him exactly what

Bulla Minor, doubtfully identified with Embarek, not far
from Bulla Regia.

125

ST. AUGUSTINE

institutum esset, aperui. Et si intra annum causam
suam, si forte sibi aliquid agendum putat, agere ne-
glexerit, deinceps eius voeem nemo audiat. Nos
autem, domine beatissime et venerabiliter suscipiende
pater, si haec indicia malae conversationis clericorum,
maxime cum fama non bona eos coeperit comitari,
non putaverimus nisi eo modo vindicanda quo in
concilio constitutum est, incipimus cogi ea quae sciri
non possunt, velle discutere et aut incerta damnare
aut vere incognita praeterire. Ego certe presby-
terum, ut qui die ieiunii, quo eiusdem loci etiam
ecclesia ieiunabat, " vale " faciens coliegae suo eius-
dem loci presbytero apud famosam mulierem nullum
secum clericum habens remanere et prandere et
cenare ausus est et in una domo dormire, removen-
dum ab officio presbyterii arbitratus sum timens ei
deinceps ecclesiam dei committere. Quod si forte
iudicibus ecclesiasticis aliud videtur, quia sex epi-
scopis causam presbyteri terminare concilio statutum
est, committat illi, qui vult, ecclesiam suae curae
commissam ; ego talibus, fateor, quamlibet plebem
committere timeo, praesertim quos nulla bona fama
defendit, ut hoc eis possit ignosci, ne, si quid per-
niciosius eruperit, languens inputem mihi.

126

NO. 18 (Ep. LXV)

was decided. And if he thinks fit to take some
action and fails to present his case within a year, let
no one thereafter hearken to his plea. But for my
part, my saintly lord and reverently cherished father,
if I thought that these evidences of evil conduct on the
part of the clergy, especially when a bad reputation
has begun to attend them, deserved no punishment
except in the manner prescribed by the Council, I
should now be compelled to agree to the discussion
of things that cannot be ascertained, and either to
condemn things that are unproved or to pass over
things that are really unknown. For my o^vn part, at
any rate, I have decided that a priest who, on a fast-
day which was actually being observed by the local
church, took leave of his colleague, the local priest,
dared to stay, unaccompanied by a clergyman, with a
woman of ill fame, to dine and sup and sleep in the
same house, ought to be deposed from the office of
priest, since I was afraid thereafter to entrust to his
care a church of God. If the ecclesiastical judges
happen to take a different view, because the Council
decreed that six bishops should pronounce the final
verdict in a case affecting a priest, let who will entrust
him with a church situated within his own jurisdiction;
personally, I confess my own fear of entrusting any
congregation to people of that kind, especially when
they have no good reputation to urge in defence as a
reason for condoning this delinquency ; otherwise, if
any more heinous disorder broke out, I should with
pain feel responsible for it myself.

127

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 19 (Ep. LXVI)

INCIPIT LIBELLUS SANCTI AUGUSTINI EPISCOPI
CATHOLICI CONTRA CRISPINUM SCHISMATI-
CUM

Deum qiiidem timere debuisti ; sed quia in re-
baptizandis Mappaliensibus sicut homo timeri voluisti,
cur non valeat iussio regalis in provincia, si tantum
valuit iussio provincialis in villa ? Si personas com-
pares, tu possessor, ille imperator ; si loca compares,
tu in fundo, ille in regno ; si causas compares, ille ut
divisio resarciatur, tu ut unitas dividatur. Sed nos
te de homine non terremus. Nam possemus agere
ut decem libras auri secundum imperatoria iussa
persolveres. An forte propterea non habes unde
reddas quod dare iussi sunt rebaptizatores, dum
multum erogas, ut emas quos rebaptizes ? Sed nos,
ut dixi, de homine te non terremus ; Christus te
potius terreat. Cui volo scire quid respondeas, si
tibi dicat : " Crispine, carum fuit pretium tuum
ad emendum timorem Mappaliensium et vilis mors
mea ad emendum amorem omnium gentium ? Plus
valuit rebaptizandis colonis tuis, quod numeratum
est de sacculo tuo, quam baptizandis populis meis
quod manavit de latere meo ? " Scio te plura audire
posse, si Christo aurem praebeas, et ex ipsa tua

" Crispinus was Donatist bishop of Calama ; to him Ep.
li. is addressed. He had acquired the property of Mappalia,
on the imperial domain near Hippo, and had compelled eighty
Christian slaves to undergo re-baptism. Later, one of his
priests, of the same name, broke into the house of Augustine's
friend, Possidius, and severely beat him, but Crispinus refused
to punish the offender, and was himself convicted and fined.
128

NO. 19 (Ep. LXVI)

No. 19 (Ep. LXVI)

(a.d. 402)

[THE BEGINNING OF THE NOTE OF ST. AUGUS-
TINE, CATHOLIC BISHOP, AGAINST CRIS-
PINUS« THE SCHISMATIC]

You should have feared God at least, but since 1
it was your desire to be feared like a man in your re-
baptizing of the Mappalians, why is a royal command
of no avail in the province, if a provincial command
has been of such avail on a private property ? If you
compare the persons concerned, you are the possessor,
he is emperor ; if you compare the positions of both,
you are on an estate, he is on a throne ; if you com-
pare the motives of both, he aims at mending what is
rent, you at rending what is one whole. But we are
not seeking to make you afraid of a man, for we could
make you pay up ten pounds of gold, according to the
imperial decrees. Or perhaps you have no money
with which to pay the fine imposed on those who re-
baptize, after your great expenses in bribing people to
accept re-baptism ? But, as I said, we are not seek-
ing to make you afraid of a man ; let Christ rather
make you afraid. I want to know what answer you
would make to Him, if He were to say to you : " Cris-
pinus, was it a high price you paid for the fear of the
Mappalians, and was my death a small price to pay for
the love of all the nations ? Was the money that was
counted out from your purse of greater value for the
re-baptizing of your serfs than the blood which flowed
from my side for the baptizing of my nations ? " I
know that if you were to give ear to Christ, you could

though the fine was remitted at Possidius's request (Aug. C.

Cresc. ill. 46-47; C. Litt. Pet II. 11. 83 ; Possid. Vit. Aug. 12).

K 129

ST. AUGUSTINE

possessione adnioneri quam impia contra Christum
loquamini. Si enim humano iure praesumis firme te
possidere quod emisti argento tuo, quanto firmius
di\'ino iure possidet Christus quod emit sanguine suo !
Et ille quidem inconcusse possidebit totum, de quo
dictum est : Dominahitur a mari usque ad mare et a
jiumine usque ad terminos orhis terrae. Sed certe quo
modo confidis non te perditurum, quod in Africa
videris emisse, qui Christum dicis toto orbe perdito
ad solam Africam remansisse ?
2 Quid multa ? Si voluntate sua Mappahenses in
tuam communionem transierunt, ambos nos audiant,
ita ut scribantur quae dicimus, et a nobis subscripta
eis Punice interpretentur, et remoto timore domina-
tionis eligant quod voluerint. Ex his enim quae
dicimus, apparebit utrum coacti in falsitate re-
maneant, an volentes teneant veritatem. Si enim
haec non intellegunt, qua temeritate traduxisti non
intellegentes ? Si autem intellegunt, ambos, ut dixi,
audiant et quod voluerint, faciant. Si quae etiam
plebes ad nos transierunt, quas putas a dominis
coactas, hoc et ibi fiat ; ambos nos audiant et eligant
quod placuerit. Si autem non vis hoc fieri, cui non
appareat non vos de veritate praesumere ? Sed

° Ps. Ixxi. 8.
130

NO. 19 (Ep. LXVI)

hear more such questions and be warned by your very
property how impious are the words you and your
like speak against Christ. For if you reckon that
by human law you have a sure title to what you
have bought with your own money, how much
surer by divine law is Christ's title to what He has
bought with His own blood! And yet He will
have an unshakable title to everything, for it is
-written of Him : " He shall have dominion from
sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of
the earth." ° But how do you expect with any assur-
ance that you will not lose what you think you have
bought in Africa, when you assert that Christ has lost
the whole world and has been left for Africa alone ?

But why multiply words ? If it was of their own ;
free will that the Mappalians went over to your com-
munion, let them hear us both, our statements being
written down and, after being attested by our signa-
tures, translated into Punic for them ; and without
any fear of intimidation let them choose what they
want. For from what we say it will be made clear
whether they are abiding in falsehood from compul-
sion or are holding fast the truth of their own choice.
For if they do not understand what is involved, how
had you the boldness to take them over to your side
with no understanding of the points at issue ? But if
they do understand, let them, as I said, hear us both
and do as they wish. Further, if there are any con-
gregations who have come over to us and whom you
believe to have done so under compulsion from their
overlords, let the same course be followed there too :
let them hear us both and choose what they please.
But if you are unwilling to do this, who can fail to see
that your party has no confidence in the truth ? Yet

131

ST. AUGUSTINE

cavenda est ira dei et hie et in future saeeulo. Ad-
iuro te per Christunij ut ad ista respondeas.

No. 20 (Ep. LXVII)

DOMINO CARISSIMO ET DESIDERANTISSIMO
ET HONORANDO IN CHRISTO FRATRI ET
CONPRESBYTERO HIERONYMO AUGUSTI-
NUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Audivi pervenisse in manus tuas litteras meas ;
sed quod adhue reseripta non merui, nequaquam in-
putaverim dileetioni tuae ; aliquid procul dubio ini-
pedimenti fuit. Unde agnoseo a me dominum potius
deprecandum, ut tuae voluntati det facultatem mit-
tendi quod rescripseris, nam rescribendi iam dedit,
quia, cum volueris, facillime poteris.

2 Etiam hoe ad me sane perlatum utrum quidem
crederem, dubitavi, sed hinc quoque tibi aliquid
utrum scriberem, dubitare non debui. Hoc autem
breve est : suggestum caritati tuae a nescio quibus
fratribus mihi dictum est, quod librum adversus te
scripserim Romamque miserim. Hoc falsum esse nove-
ris : deum nostrum testor hoc me non fecisse. Sed
si forte aliqua in aliquibus scriptis meis reperiuntur,
in quibus aliter aliquid quam tu sensisse reperiar, non
contra te dictum, sed quod mihi videbatur, a me scrip-
turn esse puto te debere cognoscere aut, si cognosci
non potest, credere. Ita sane hoc dixerim, ut ego non

° Neither of Augustine's previous letters to Jerome,
written in 394. and 397 (Ep. xxviii. and xl.j. had till recently
been delivered, but Ep. xl., in which the writer had repeated
his objections to Jerome's account of the quarrel at Antioch
(see No. 9 above), had been circulated without Augustine's
knowledge and had eventually reached Bethlehem, where it
had aroused much indignation, which the present letter seeks
to dispel.
132

NO. 19 (Ep. LXVI)— NO. 20 (Ep. LXVII)

you must beware of the wrath of God both here and
hereafter. I adjure you by Christ to reply to what I
have \\Titten.

No. 20 (Ep. LXVII)
(a.d. 402)
TO JEROME, MY LORD DEARLY BELOVED AND
MUCH LONGED FOR, AND MY HONOURED
BROTHER IN CHRIST AND FELLOW-PRIEST,
AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE
LORD"
I have heard that my letter has safely reached you,
but I Avould by no means make it a charge against
your affection that as yet I have not been favoured
with a reply ; no doubt something has come in your
way. So I recognize that I must rather beseech the
Lord to provide the opportunity of carrying out your
intention to send the answer you have written, since
He has already provided that of writing it, for you can
very easily do so when you feel so disposed.

Further, I have hesitated whether indeed to give
credence to a report which has reached me, but it is
my duty not to hesitate about writing something to
you concerning it as well. Briefly, this is the point :
I have been told that certain brethren have hinted
to your Charity that I wrote a book against you and
sent it to Rome. Rest assured that this statement
is untrue : I call our God to witness that this I have
not done. But if some remarks happen to be found
in some of my writings, in which I am found taking a
different view from you on any point, I think you
ought to know, or if you have no means of knowing,
to believe, that what I have written is not directed
against you, but is an expression of my own opinion.
And indeed, in so saying, I not only profess myself

133

ST. AUGUSTINE

tantum paratissimus sim, si quid te in meis scriptis
movent, fraterne accipere quid contra sentias, aut de
correctione mea aut de ipsa tua benivolentia gavi-
surus, veruni etiam hoc a te postulem ac flagitem.
3 O si licuisset etsi non cohabitante saltern vicino te
in domino perfrui ad crebrum et dulce conloquium !
Sed quia id non est datum, peto ut hoc ipsum quod
in Christo, quam possimus, simul simus, conservare
studeas et augeri ac perfici et rescripta quamvis rara
non spernere. Saluta obsequio meo sanctum fratrem
PauUnianum et omnes fratres, qui tecum ac de te in
domino gaudent. Memor nostri exaudiaris a domino
in omni sancto desiderio. domine carissime et deside-
rantissime et honorande in Christo frater.

No. 21 (Ep. LXXXIII)
DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET VENERABILITER
CARISSIMO AC DESIDERANTISSIMO FRATRI
ET COEPISCOPO ALYPIO ET QUI TECUM
SUNT FRATRIBUS AUGUSTINUS ET QUI
MECUM SUNT FRATRES IN DOMINO SALU-
TEM
1 Tristitia Thiavensis ecclesiae cor meum conquie-

" Jerome's j'ounger brother, who left Rome with him in 385
and settled beside him in Bethlehem.

^ A small town situated between Hippo and Tagaste ;
its site is unknown. Its priest, Honoratus, formerly a monk
under Alypius at Tagaste, had died leaving property, which
was claimed by both his church and his monastery. Augustine,
as arbitrator, at first inclined to an equal division, but this
decision greatly displeased the church-people at Thiava,
who as recent converts from Donatism required conciliatory
treatment. After further consideration and consultation,
Augustine awarded them the whole, and writes now to
Tagaste explaining and justifying his award. In spite of
his decision to admit to monastic life in the future only those
134

NO. 20 (Ep. LXVII)— NO. 21 (Ep. LXXXIII)

quite prepared to accept in a brotherly spirit any
objections you conceive to whatever you disapprove of
in my ^\Titings and to feel glad either at having my
faults corrected or at such evidence of your goodwill ;
I even demand and claim it as a right.

O that it were possible to enjoy sweet and frequent 3
converse in the Lord with you ; if not by living with
you, at least by living near you ! But since that is
denied us, I beg you to do your best to maintain and
increase and perfect this one object, that we should be
together, as far as we can, in Christ, and not to disdain
replying to me, even if it be only occasionally.

Greet with my respects your saintly brother Pauli-
nianus^ and all the brethren who rejoice in the Lord
with you and because of you. May you, remember-
ing us, be heard by the Lord in all your holy desires,
beloved lord and much desired and honoured brother
in Christ.

No. 21 (Ep. LXXXIII)

(a.d. 405)

TO ALYPIUS, MY SAINTLY LORD, MY BROTHER
AND FELLOW -BISHOP, CHERISHED WITH
MUCH REVERENCE AND LONGING, AND
THE BRETHREN WHO ARE WITH YOU,
AUGUSTINE AND THE BRETHREN WHO ARE
WITH ME SEND GREETING IN THE LORD

The sorrow of the church at Thiava ^ prevents 1

who had surrendered their worldly possessions, he was later
several times troubled by similar problems. The two sermons
he preached to justify his acceptance of legacies to his
monastery and to enunciate his determined adherence to the
principle of monastic poverty were of considerable importance
in making this principle indispensable to monastic life (iSe-r;??.
355, 356).

\35

ST. AUGUSTINE

scere non permittit, donee eos teeum audiam in
pristinum animum restitutes , quod cito faciendum
est. Si enim de homine uno tantum sategit apo-
stolus dicens : Ne maiore tristitia absorbeatur, qui eius
modi est, ubi etiani ait : Lt non 'possideamur a satana,
non enim ignoramus me7ites eius, quanto magis nos
oportet vigilanter agere ne hoc in toto grege plan-
gamus et maxime in eis qui nunc catholicae paci
accesserunt et quos nullo niodo relinquere possum.
Sed quia temporis non sivit angustia ut simul inde
nobis diligenter deliberatam liceret eliquare senten-
tiam, quid mihi post digressum nostrum diu cogi-
tanti placuerit, accipiat sanctitas tua et si tibi quoque
placet, iam litterae quas ad eos communi nomine
scripsi, sine dilatione mittantur.
2 Dixisti ut dimidium habeant et alterum dimidium
eis a me undecumque provideretur. Ego autem
puto quia, si totum eis auferretur, esset quod dicere-
mur non de pecunia nos sed de iustitia tantopere
laborasse. Cum vero dimidium eis concedimus et eo
modo cum eis pacem quandoque componimus, satis
apparebit nostram curam nihil aliud quam pecunia-
riam fuisse et vides quae pernicies consequatur. Et
illis enim videbimur alienam rem dimidiam tulisse

" 2 Cor. ii. 7. " 2 Cor. ii. 11,

136

NO. 21 (Ep. LXXXIII)

my heart from being at rest until I hear that they
have been brought back to the same disposition
toAvards you as before, and that must be done
quickly. For if the Apostle was so much concerned
about one individual when he said, " Lest such a one
should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow," "
adding there the words, " Lest Satan should get an
advantage of us ; for we are not ignorant of his
devices," ^ it much more becomes us to act with cir-
cumspection so that we may not have the same
thing to lament in a whole flock, and especially in
those who have but recently come over to the
peace of the Catholic Church, and whom I can in no
wise abandon. But as the shortness of time did not
allow us any opportunity to take careful counsel
together on the matter and to clarify our opinions,
may it please your Holiness to accept the decision I
have reached after lengthy consideration since we
parted, and, if you decide likewise, let the letter I
have written them in our common name be dispatched
to them without delay.

Your proposal was that they should have the one 2
half and that I should make up the other half to them
from some other source. But it is my opinion that if
they were deprived of the whole property, it might
reasonably be said that we had so greatly exerted
ourselves not for the sake of the money, but for the
sake of justice. But when we yield them a half and
on those terms arrange at some time a settlement
with them, it will look pretty obvious that we were
interested in only the financial aspect, and you see
what a pernicious result would follow. For on one
hand we shall be regarded by them as having taken
one half to which we had no right, and they on the

137

ST. AUGUSTINE

et illi nobis Wdebuntur inhoneste et inique se passes
fuisse, ut adiuvarentur de dimidio quod totum pau-
peruni fuerat. Nam quod dixisti : " Cavendum est,
ne cum rem dubiam emendari volumus, maiora
vulnera faciamus," tantundem valebit, si eis dimi-
dium concedatur. Propter ipsum quippe dimidium
illi, quorum conversioni consulere volumus, ut hoc
exemplo secum agatur, rerum suarum venditionem
per moras illas excusatorias dilaturi sunt. Deinde
mirum si de re dubia est totius plebis tam grande
scandalum, cum episcopos suos, quos pro magno
habent, sordida avaritia maculatos putant, dum ma-
ligna species non vitatur ?
3 Nam cum quisque ad monasterium convertitur, si
veraci corde convertitur, illud non cogitat maxime
admonitus quantum malum sit. Si autem fallax est
et sua quaerit, non quae lesu Christi, non habet utique
caritatem et quid ei prodest, si distrihuerit omnia sua
pauperihus et tradiderit corpus suum, ut ardeat? Hue
accedit quia illud, sicut iam conlocuti sumus, deinceps
vitari potest et agi cum eo qui convertitur, si non
potest admitti ad societatem fratrum, antequam se
omnibus illis impedimentis exuerit et ex otio tendatur,
cum eius res iam esse destiterit. Haec autem mors
infirmorum et tantum impedimentum salutis eorum,
pro quibus tantopere laboramus, ut eos catholicae
paci lucremur, aliter vitari non potest, nisi ut apertis-

« Phil. ii. 21, M Cor. xiii. 3.

138

NO. 21 (Ep. LXXXIII)

other will be regarded by us as having unfairly and
dishonourably agreed to accept help from a half which
belonged entirely to the poor. For your remark that
we must beware, while endeavouring to settle a
doubtful matter, of causing more serious wounds,
will have as much force if they be granted a half.
For because of this half, those whose conversion to
monastic life we wish to encourage will find excuses
for delaying and putting off the sale of their own
property so as to be dealt with under this precedent.
Moreover, is it surprising that by this doubtful matter
the whole Christian community is so much offended
when they imagine their bishops, whom they honour
so highly, to be smitten with sordid avarice, so long
as they do not avoid the appearance of evil ?

For when a man turns to monastic life and does so in 3
a genuine spirit, he does not think of that, especially
when he has been warned of the great sinfulness of
such conduct. But if he is a deceiver and is " seeking
his own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's," ° he
certainly is ^^ithout charity, and" what does it profit
him, if he bestow all his goods upon the poor and give his
body to be burned " ^ : Further, as we already agreed
together, that difficulty may be avoided for the future,
and an arrangement made with any individual who
is turning monk, that he cannot be admitted to the
society of the brethren before he has rid himself of
all those encumbrances and throws off his life of ease,
his property having now ceased to belong to him.
There is, indeed, no other possible way of avoiding
this spiritual death of weak brethren and this griev-
ous obstacle to the salvation of those for the winning
of whom to the peace of Catholicism we so strenuously
labour, unless by giving them very clearly to under-

139

ST. AUGUSTINE

sime intellegant niillo modo nos de pecunia satagere
in talibus causis, quod nullo modo intellecturi sunt,
nisi illam rem quam semper presbyteri esse puta-
verunt, eorum usibus relinquamus, quia et si eius non
erat, hoc ab initio scire debuerant.
4 Videtur itaque mihi haec regula esse in rebus
huiusce modi retinenda, ut, quicquid eo iure quo
talia possidentur, eius fuerit qui alicubi clericus
ordinatur, ad eam pertineat ecclesiam in qua ordina-
tur. Usque adeo autem eodem iure presbyteri
Honorati est illud, unde agitur, ut non solum alibi
ordinatus sed adhuc in Tagastensi monasterio con-
stitutus si re sua non vendita nee per manifestam
donationem in quempiam translata moreretur, non
nisi heredes eius in eam succederent, sicut frater
Aemilianus in illos triginta solidos fratri Privato suc-
cessit. Haec ergo ante praecavenda sunt ; si autem
praecauta non fuerint, ea iura eis servare oportet,
quae talibus habendis vel non habendis secundum
crvilem societatem sunt instituta, ut ab omni
non solum re sed etiam specie maligna, quantum
possumus, nos abstineamus et bonam famam custo-
diamus dispensationi nostrae multum necessariam.
Quam vero species maligna sit, advertat sancta pru-
dentia tua. Excepta illorum tristitia, quam experti
sumus, ne quid forte ipse fallerer, sicut fieri solet,
dum in sententiam meam proclivior erro, narra\i
causam fratri et collegae nostro Samsucio, nondum

<" 1 Thess. V. 22.
140

NO. 21 (Ep. LXXXIII)

stand that we are in no way concerned about money
in such cases ; and this they will not understand
unless we leave for their use the property which
they always supposed to belong to their priest,
because, if it did not belong to him, they ought to
have knoMTi this from the beginning.

It seems to me, therefore, that in matters of this 4
kind we should abide by this rule, that whatever
belonged by the law of possession to one who is
ordained to be the clergyman of any place, is the
appurtenance of that church over which he was
ordained. Now, by the same law, the property in
question so far belonged to the priest Honoratus that,
had he still been, when he died, in the monastery of
Tagaste, instead of being ordained to another post,
and had neither sold his property nor transferred it
to any other by an express deed of gift, no one but
his heirs would have succeeded to it, just as brother
Aemilianus succeeded to the thirty shilHngs left by
brother Privatus. These precautions must then be
taken beforehand, but if they have not been taken, we
should in their case comply with those laws which
were draAvn up to regulate the possession or the
disposal of propertv according to civil society, so that
we may avoid as far as possible not only all reality, but
even all appearance of evil," and retain the untar-
nished reputation which is so necessary to our office as
executors. And just how evil this appearance is, let
your holy Wisdom observe. After hearing of their
disappointment, which we fully reaUzed, from fear
that I might perchance be mistaken (as usually
happens when I incline \\'ith the more partiality to
my own opinion), I stated the case to our brother
and colleague, Samsucius, without telling him at the

Ul

ST. AUGUSTINE

dicens quod mihi niodo \'idetur, sed illud potius
adiungens quod utrique nostrum visum sit, cum illis
resisteremius. Vehementer exhorruit et nobis hoc
\isum esse miratus est, nulla re alia permotus nisi
ipsa specie foeda, non nostra sed cuiuslibet vita ac
moribus indignissima.
6 Proinde obsecro, ut epistulam quam eis communi
nomine scripsi, subscriptam non differas mittere. Et
si forte illic illud iustum acutissime pervides, non
cogantur infirmi modo discere, quod ego nondum
intellego, ut hoc circa eos in hac causa servetur quod
dominus ait : Multa haheo vobis dicere, sed non potestis
ilia portare modo. Tali quippe infirmitati parcens
etiam illud de tributo solvendo ait : Ergo liberi sunt
JUii ; sed ?ie scajidalizemus eos et cetera, quando Petrum
misit ut didrachmas quae tunc exigebantur, solve-
rent. Noverat enimi aliud ius, quo nihil tale debe-
bat ; sed eo iure tributum ei ille solvebat, quo iure
diximus heredem presbyteri Honorati successurum
fuisse, si, antequam rem suam vel donaret vel ven-
deret, moreretur. Quamquam in ipso ecclesiae iure
Paulus apostolus parcit infirmis et debitum stipen-
dium non exigit, certus conscientia quod rectissime
exigeret, sed nihil aliud quam suspicionem devitans
bonum odorem Christi turbantem et ab ilia mahgna
specie sese abstinens in eis regionibus, ubi hoc noverat

° John xvi. 12.
" Matt. xvii. 26-27. « 1 Cor. ix. 1-15.

142

NO. 21 (Ep. LXXXIII)

time what I have now decided, but rather adding what
we had both decided when we were resisting their
claims. He was very much shocked and marvelled
that we had so decided, and what disturbed him was
nothing else than this very appearance of foul deaUng,
very unworthy not only of our life and character, but
of anyone's.

I beseech you, therefore, not to postpone signing 5
and sending the letter I have written them in our
common name. And if from it you very clearly
realize that this course is just, let not those who are
weak be compelled now to learn what I myself do not
yet understand, so that in this affair we may observe
towards them this saying of the Lord's : "I have
many things to say to you, but ye cannot bear them
now."" For He had compassion on such weakness
and made the further remark about the payment of
tribute : " Then are the children free ; notwith-
standing, lest we offend them," ^ and so on, when He
sent Peter to pay the half-shekel that was at that
time exacted. He was acquainted with another law
by which He had no such obligation, but Peter paid
tribute for Him in accordance with that same law
by which, as I have already said, the heir of the priest
Honoratus would have succeeded, if he had died before
either giving away or selling his property. And yet,
under the law of the Church itself, Paul the Apostle
had compassion on the weak and did not exact the
subsidy due to himself,^ though quite convinced in his
own mind that he had every right to exact it, but
with no other intention than to escape the suspicion
which would spoil the sweet savour of Christ and to
defend himself from that appearance of evil in those
districts where he knew that such was his duty and

143

ST. AUGUSTINE

oportere, et forte antequam tristitiani hominum
fuisset expertus. Sed nos tardiores vel expert! cor-
rigamus quod praevidere debuimus.
6 Postremo, quia omnia timeo et memini in digressu
nostro quid proposueris, quod me fratres Tagastenses
teneant debitorem in dimidio illius pretii, si hoc
iustum esse liquido perspicis, ea dum taxat condieione
non abnuo, ut, cum habuero, reddam, id est cum ali-
quid tantum obvenerit Hipponiensi monasterio, ubi
hoc sine angustia fieri possit, ut tanta ibi summa
detracta non minus quam aequahs pro numero co-
habitantium pars ad nostros perveniat.

No. 22 (Ep. LXXXI\^

DOMINO BEATISSLMO ET VENERABILI AC DE-
SIDERABILI FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI
NOVATO ET QUI TECUM SUNT FRATRIBUS
AUGUSTINUS ETQUI MECUM SUNT FRATRES
IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Et ego sentio quam durus videar, et me ipse vix
fero, quod filium meum diaconum Lucillum germa-
num tuum sanctitati tuae non mitto atque permitto.
Sed cum ipse quoque aliquos ex tuis nutrimentis
valde carissimos atque dulcissimos necessitatibus
ecclesiarum longe abs te positarum concedere coe-
peris, tunc senties quibus desideriorum stimulis
fodiar, quod quidam mihi maxima et dulcissima

" Novatus is probably the bishop of Sitifi (Setif), from
about 403 to 440. He occurs again in Ep. ccxxix.
144

NO. 21 (Ep. LXXXIII)— NO. 22 (Ep. LXXXRO

in fact before he had experienced men's disappoint-
ment. But now, though we are somewhat behind-
hand, let us even profit by our experience and put
right what we ought beforehand to have guarded
against.

Finally, since I am completely a prey to fear and 6
recall the proposal you made when we parted, that
the brethren at Tagaste should hold me responsible
for the half of the sum named, if you clearly view this
proposal as fair, I do not reject it, but on this con-
dition, that I pay the amount when I have it, that is,
when so great a sum falls to our monastery at Hippo
that it may be done without unduly straitening us,
so that, after subtracting the large amount owing
them, our people may acquire no less than an equal
share in proportion to the number of resident
brethren.

No. 22 (Ep. LXXXR^
(a.d. 405)
TO MY SAINTLY AND REVERED LORD AND
LONGED FOR BROTHER AND FELLOW-
PRIEST, NOVATES» AND THE BRETHREN
WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE AND THE
BRETHREN WHO ARE WITH ME SEND
GREETING IN THE LORD

I myself feel how hard-hearted I must appear, 1
and I can scarcely excuse myself for not sending and
lending to your Holiness my son the deacon Lucillus,
your brother. But when you yourself begin to
surrender some of the very dearest and sweetest of
those you have nurtured to the needs of churches
situated far from you, then you will understand the
pangs of regret that stab me at losing the bodily com-
L 145

ST. AUGUSTINE

familiaritate coniuncti non sunt etiam corporaliter
mecum. Nam ut longe mittam cognationem tuam,
quantum libet valeat germanitas tui sanguinis, non
vincit amicitiae vinculum quo nobis invicem ego et
frater Severus inhaeremus ; et tamen nosti quam
raro mihi eum videre contingat. Atque hoc fecit
non utique voluntas vel mea vel illius, sed dum
matris ecclesiae necessitates propter futurum sae-
culum quo nobiscum inseparabiliter convivemus,
nostri temporis necessitatibus anteponimus. Quanto
ergo aequius te tolerare oportet pro utilitate ipsius
matris ecclesiae eius fratris absentiam cum quo non
tam diu cibum dominicum ruminas, quam diu ego
cum dulcissimo concive meo Severo, qui mecum
tamen nunc vix et interdum per exiguas chartulas
loquitur et eas quidem plures aliarum curarum et
negotiorum refertas quam portantes aliquid nostro-
rum in Christi suavitate pratorum !
2 Hie forsitan dicas : " Quid enim ? Et apud nos
germanus meus ecclesiae non erit utilis aut propter
aliud eum mecum habere desidero ? " Plane si tan-
tum ibi, quantum hie mihi eius praesentia lucrandis
vel regendis ovibus domini utilis videretur, non dico
duritiam sed iniquitatem meam nemo non iure cul-
paret. Sed cum Latina lingua, cuius inopia in nostris
regionibus evangeUca dispensatio multum laborat,

" See p. 108, note h.

^ As the text stands, with no variant, there is an anaco-
luthon, and the sense demands " Punic " instead of " Latin."
Even in Hippo, a coast town long Romanized, there were
many who spoke Punic, and in inland districts it was often
the only language spoken (see note h on p. 24). The true
reading probably lies hid in Latina or cum Latina, and
perhaps there was no adjective present {cum illam [calleat ?]
linguam), Latina being an imported gloss.
146

NO. 22 (Ep. LXXXIV)

panionship of individuals united to me in the closest
and most pleasing intimacy. For, to leave the fact
of your kinship quite out of account, the blood-bond
between you may be as strong as you please, vet it
is not superior to the bond of friendship that binds
brother Severus and me so closely to each other ;
and yet you know how seldom I have the happiness
of seeing him. And it is not my wish or his that is
responsible for this, but the fact that the claims of
our mother, the Church, having regard to the world
to come, in which we shall live together and never
part, are more important than the claims of our own
time. Out of consideration, therefore, for the welfare
of that same mother, the Church, you ought with
all the greater equanimity to endure the absence of
the brother with whom you have not been browsing
upon the food of the Lord as long as I did with my
dehghtful fellow-townsman, Severus,^ who yet holds
converse Mith me now with difficulty and at intervals
bv means of meagre letters, and those indeed packed,
for the most part, with other cares and concerns
instead of bringing any evidence of our wanderings
in the sweet meadows of Christ.

At this point you may perhaps reply, "What:
then ? Here too, beside me, will my brother not be
of service to the Church, or is it for any other reason
that I want to have him \^-ith me .- " Certainly, if his
being with you seemed as profitable for the winning
and directing of the Lord's flock as it is here to me,
there is no one who would not justly blame — I shall
not call it my hard-heartedness, but my unfairness.
But since he is familiar with a language ^ the lack of
which in our territories greatly hinders the adminis-
tration of the Gospel, while where you are the same

147

ST. AUGUSTINE

illic autem eiusdem linguae usus omnino sit, — itane
censes nos saluti plebium domini oportere consulere,
ut banc facultatem illuc mittamus et hinc auferamus,
ubi earn magno cordis aestu requirimus ? Da itaqiie
veniam quod non solum contra tuum desiderium, sed
etiam contra sensum meum, facio quod me facere
sarcinae nostrae cura constringit. Dabit tibi do-
minus in quo posuisti cor tuum, ut tales sint labores
tui, ut pro isto beneficio remunereris ; sic enim regio-
num nostrarum ardentissirnae siti diaconum Lucillum
tu potius concessisti ; neque enim parum praestabis,
cum de hac re nulla petitione me ulterius onerabis,
ne nihil aliud quam durior appaream venerabili mihi
et sanctae benivolentiae tuae.

No. 23 (Ep. LXXXVI)

DOMINO EXmiO ET IN CHRISTI CARITATE VERE
MERITOQUE HONORABILI AC SUSPICIENDO
FILIO CAECILIANO AUGUSTINUS EPISCOPUS
IN DOMINO SALUTEM

Administrationis tuae castitas et fama virtutum,
pietatis quoque Christianae laudanda diligentia et
fida sinceritas, quae tibi divina munera eo donante
gaudes tributa a quo speras promittente potiora,

" Caecilianus was prominent in political life under
Honorius. He was one of the legates sent by the senate to
Honorius at Ravenna in 409 to deplore the misfortunes of
Rome, where Alaric had broken his pledge. In 413 he was
sent to Africa to examine the provincials' complaints and the
adjustment of the corn-tax. On his arrival in Carthage, he
bore letters from Pope Innocent to Augustine, who addressed
to him Ep. cli. The edict mentioned is the vigorous
legislation of 412 against the Donatists. The Benedictine
editors, followed bv Goldbacher, assign this letter to the year
148

NO. 22 (Ep. LXXXR^— NO. 23 (Ep. LXXX\ I)

language is in general use, do you think it is our duty
so to provide for the welfare of the Lord's people that
we send this ability to you and deprive ourselves of it
here, where our need of it is so great and so heart-felt?
Forgive me, then, for doing, not only in spite of vour
desire but also in spite of my own feelings, what my
zeal for the office with which I am burdened compels
me to do. The Lord, upon whom vou have stayed your
heart, will make your labours such that you will be
rewarded for this kind service ; for it is kind of you to
surrender the deacon Lucillus to the thirsty eagerness
of our territories rather than claim him for yourself.
And it will be no small favour if you will refrain from
laying upon me any request concerning this matter in
the future, so that I may not appear to your revered
and holv Benevolence to be onlv too hard-hearted.

No. 23 (Ep. LXXXVI)

(a.d. 413)

TO MY DISTINGUISHED LORD, CAECILIANUS,'^
MY SON TRULY AND DESERVEDLY HON-
OURED AND CHERISHED IX CHRIST'S LOVE,
BISHOP AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN
THE LORD

The purity of your administration and your virtu-
ous reputation, as well as the praiseworthy zeal and
genuine sincerity of your Christian devotion — gifts of
God that you rejoice to have bestowed upon you by
Him whose promise makes you hope for still better
things — have stimulated me to share \Nath your

405, but Monceaux {Hist. lltt. de VAfrlque chretienne, vii.
2S5) shows reasons for assigning it rather to early in 413.

149

ST. AUGUSTINE

excitaverunt me ut hoc epistulari alloquio aestus cau-
sarum niearum excellentia participaret tua. Quan-
tum enim per alias Africae terras te unitati catholicae
mirabili efficacia consuluisse gaudemus, tantum dole-
mus regionem Hipponiensium-Regiorum et ei vicinas
partes confines Numidiae praesidali edicti tui vigore
nondum adiuvari meruisse, domine eximie et in
Christi caritate vere meritoque honorabilis ac sus-
piciende fili. Quod ne meae potius neglegentiae
deputetur, qui episcopalem sarcinam Hippone sus-
tineo, tuae magnificentiae non tacendum putavi.
Quantum etiam in campo Hipponiensi haeretica prae-
sumat audacia, si ex fratribus et collegis meis qui
haec tuae sublimitati narrare potuerint, vel ex presby-
tero quem cum litteris misi, fueris audire dignatus,
adiuvante domino deo nostro procul dubio providebis,
ut tumor sacrilegae vanitatis terrendo sanetur potius
quam ulciscendo resecetur.

DOMINO EXIMIO MERITOQUE HONORABILI
FRATRI NECTARIO AUGUSTINUS

No. 2^ (Ep. XCI)

[10 meritoqu]
:tario august

1 lam senio frigescentibus membris fervere animum

*» Nectarius was a decurion of Calama, a pagan, though of
Christian descent. In spite of the edict of Honorius for-
bidding any non-Christian celebrations, the Calamans had
held pagan festivals which resulted in the destruction of
life and property. Fearing the legal consequences, Nec-
tarius wrote asking Augustine to use his influence on the
Calamans' behalf (Ep. xc). Augustine's reply points out
the enormity of the offence, argues that paganism must of
necessity lead to excess and immorality, and urges Nectarius
and the people to adopt Christianity. After eight months
Nectarius answered in Ep. ciii., and Augustine in turn
replied in Ep. civ., covering much the same ground as here.
150

NO. 23 (Ep. LXXXVI)— NO. 24- (Ep. XCI)

Excellency by means of this epistolary converse the
anxieties arising from my controversies. For in pro-
portion as we have been gladdened by the surprising
success of your measures in favour of catholic unity
throughout the other parts of Africa, so do we regret,
my distinguished lord and son truly and deservedly
honoured and cherished in Christ's love, that the
district of Hippo Regius and the territories adjoining
it on the borders of Numidia have not yet been
honoured with the vigorous support of your edict as
governor. I have thought it better to mention this
fact to your Excellency, so that it may not be
attributed rather to negligence on my part, since
I bear the burden of episcopal office at Hippo. If
you condescend to ascertain from my brethren and
colleagues, who are in a position to recount the facts
to your Highness, or from the priest whom I am
sending with this letter, how far the heretics have had
the boldness and effrontery to go in this same region
of Hippo, I am confident you will, with the help of the
Lord our God, take steps to have this puffed-up
irreverence and conceit healed by methods tending to
discourage it rather than cut away by measures that
are purely retaliatory.

No. 24. (Ep. XCI)

(a.d. 4<08)

AUGUSTINE TO MY DISTINGUISHED AND
DESERVEDLY HONOURED BROTHER, NEC-
TARIUS «

I find it admirable but not surprising that, though 1
age is beginning to chill your limbs, your heart still

151

ST. AUGUSTINE

tuuni patriae caritate nee miror et laiido, teque non
tantum tenere nienioriter verum etiam vita ac mori-
bus demonstrare, quod nullus sit patriae consulendi
modus aut finis bonis, non invitus imnio etiam libens
accipio. Unde supernae cuiusdam patriae, in cuius
sancto amore pro nostro modulo inter eos quibus ad
illam capessendam consulimus, periclitamur atque
laboramus, talem etiam te ipsum civem habere velle-
mus, ut.eius portiunculae in hac terra peregrinanti
nullum consulendi modum finemque censeres, tanto
efFectus melior, quanto meliori civitati officia debita
praerogares, in eius aeterna pace nullum gaudendi
finem inventurus, cuius ad tempus laboribus nullum
tibi finem statueris consulendi.

Verum hoc donee fiat — neque enim desperandum
est illam te patriam posse adquirere vel iam ad-
quirendam prudentissime cogitare, ad quam te pater
etiam, qui in ista genuit, antecessit — hoc ergo donee
fiat, da nobis veniam, si propter patriam nostram,
quam cupimus numquam relinquere, contristamus
patriam tuam, quam cupis florentem relinquere. De
cuius quidem floribus si cum tua prudentia dispute-
mus, non est verendum ne tibi difficile persuadeatur
aut vero etiam non facile occurrat, quem ad modum
florere civitas debeat. Commemoravit poeta ille ve-
strarum clarissimus litterarum quosdam flores Italiae ;

" Virgil, Ae7i. vii. 643-644 " quibus Itala iam turn Floruerit
terra alma viris, quibus arserit armis." For the readiness
"with which Augustine quotes Virgil compare No. 5, p. 21.
Earlier in life Augustine had been devoted to Mrgil, and
at Cassiciacum he had spent much time reading the poet
(C Acad. i. 15. 5, iJe Ord. ii. 20. 54), but later he tended to
despise all the pagan classics {Con/, i. 13. 20-22). Here,
Nectarius's use of the word Jlorere, " flower," or " flourish,"
of his own province recalls to Augustine Virgil's use of the

153

NO. 24 (Ep. XCI)

glows with patriotic zeal, and I am not sorry, but
rather dehghted, to learn that you do not merely
remember the maxim that " to good men there is no
limit or end of devotion to their country," but actually
exemplify it in your life and character. That is why
we should like to have you enrolled in person as a
citizen of a country which is above, in holy love for
which we endure perils and toil, as far as in us lies,
among those whose good we seek in urging them to
make that country their own — and such a citizen that
you would think there should be no limit or end to
devotion to that fragment of it which is on pilgrimage
in this land. So would you become a better man in pro-
portion as you discharged here and now the duties due
to that better country, in whose eternal peace you will
find no end to rejoicing, if you prescribe for yourself no
end to the devotion you bestow upon its temporal tasks.
But until you do so — for we must not surrender
the hope that it is in your power to gain, or that even
already you must be wisely thinking how you should
gain that country to which your own father, who begot
you here, has gone before you — until you do so, you
must forgive us if for the sake of our country, which we
have no desire ever to leave, we inflict distress upon
your country, which you desire to leave in the full
flower of prosperity. Yet if I were to hold a discussion
with your Wisdom about its flowering, I have every
confidence that you would not be difficult to convince,
or rather that you would easily discover for yourself,
in what way a country ought to flower. That poet
who enjoys the most renown in your literature has
commemorated certain flowers of Italy " ; but in that

word with reference to Itah*, and throughout the letter he
keeps playing upon the words ^or^r^ and Jlores,

153

ST. AUGUSTINE

sed nos in vestra patria non tarn expert! sumus
" quibus floruerit " terra ilia " viris," quam " quibus
arserit armis," immo vero non armis sed flammis nee
arserit, sed incenderit. Quod tantum scelus si fuerit in-
punitum nulla digna correctione pravorum, florentem
te patriam putas relicturum ? O flores non plane
fructuum sed spinarum ! Compara nunc, utrum malis
florere patriam tuam pietate an impunitate, correctis
moribus an securis ausibus ; compara ista et vide,
utrum in patriae tuae amore nos vincas, utrum earn
magis veriusque cupias florere quam nos.
3 Intuere paululum ipsos de re publica libros, unde
ilium affectum amantissimi civis ebibisti, quod nullus
sit patriae consulendi modus aut finis bonis. Intuere,
obsecro te, et cerne quantis ibi laudibus frugalitas
et continentia praedicetur et erga coniugale vinculum
fides castique honesti ac probi mores, quibus cum
praepoUet civitas, vere florere dicenda est. Hi
autem mores in ecclesiis toto orbe crescentibus tam-
quam in Sanctis auditoriis populorum docentur atque
discuntur, et maxime pietas qua verus et verax cola-
tur deus, qui haec omnia quibus animus humanus
divinae societati ad inhabitandam aeternam caele-
stemque civitatem instruitur et aptatur, non solum
iubet adgredienda, verum etiam donat implenda.

*• Cicero's De Republica, quoted by Nectarius in his letter
to Augustine. The work itself survives only in fragments ;
in Civ. Dei ii. 21 Augustine gives a summary of Book iii.

154

NO. 21. (Ep. XCI)

country of yours we have experienced not so much
" ^Wth what men it has flowered " as ** with what arms
it has blazed," nay rather, not " arms," but " fires,"
and " not blazed," but " set on fire." If the heinous
offence before us were left unpunished with no
adequate chastisement of the miscreants, do you
think that you would leave your country in full flower ?
Flowers indeed, but promising thorns, certainly not
fruit ! Just make the comparison and see whether you
prefer your country to flower by practising piety or by
escaping punishment, by the discipline of character
or by the protection of \dolence ; make the com-
parison and see m hether in love for your country you
outdo us, whether your desire to behold it in full
flower is greater and more genuine than ours.

Look for a moment at those very books " On the 3
State " " from which you imbibed that sentiment of
a loyal subject, that " to good men there is no limit
or end of devotion to their country," Look at them,
I pray you, and notice the praise with which frugality
and self-control are extolled, and fidelity to the
marriage-bond, and chaste, honourable, and upright
character. When a country is distinguished for these
qualities, it may truly be said to be in full flower. Now,
it is in the churches that are springing up through-
out the world, in the sacred lecture-rooms, one might
say, of the nations, that these moral qualities are
being taught and learned, and most especially the
piety v.ith which worship is paid to the true and
truthful God, Who not only commands men to under-
take, but also gives them the power to perform, all
those things by which the human spirit is trained
and fitted for fellowship with God and for dwelling in
the everlasting heavenly country. It is for that

155

ST. AUGUSTINE

Inde est quod deorum multorum falsorumque simu-
lacra et praedixit eversum iri et praecepit everti.
Nihil enim homines tam insociabiles reddit vitae
perversitate quam illorum deorum imitatio, quales
describuntur et commendantur Utteris eorum.
4 Denique illi doctissimi viri qui rem pubUcam
civitatemque terrenam, qualis eis esse debere vide-
batur, magis domesticis disputationibus requirebant
vel etiam describebant, quam publicis actionibus in-
stituebant atque formabant, egregios atque lauda-
biles quos putabant homines potius quam deos suos
imitandos proponebant erudiendae indoH iuventutis.
Et re vera Terentianus ille adulescens qui spectans
tabulam pictam in pariete, ubi pictura inerat de
adulterio regis deorum, libidinem qua rapiebatur,
stimuUs etiam tantae auctoritatis accendit, nullo
mode in illud flagitium vel concupiscendo laberetur
vel perpetrando inmergeretur, si Catonem maluisset
imitari quam lovem ; sed quo pacto id faceret, cum
in templis adorare cogeretur lovem potius quam
Catonem ? Verum haec ex comoedia quibus im-
piorum luxus et sacrilega superstitio convinceretur,
proferre forsitan non debemus. Lege vel recole
in eisdem Hbris quam prudenter disseratur nullo
modo potuisse scriptiones et actiones recipi co-
moediarum, nisi mores recipientium consonarent.
Ita clarissimorum virorum in re publica excellentium

« Lev. xxvi. 30 ; Ezek. vi, 4, xxx. 13; Hos. x. 2; 3 Kings
XV. 11-13; 2 Chron. xxiii. 17, xxxi. 1, xxxiii. 15, xxxiv. 3-4.
* Ter. Eun. 584-591.

156

NO. 24 (Ep. XCI)

reason that He predicted the future overthrow of
the images of the many false gods and enjoined
that that overthrow should begin now." For there
is nothing that makes men so unsuited for fellowship
by reason of their depraved lives as does the imitation
of those gods, such as they are described and com-
mended by pagan literature.

In short, those learned men who in private dis- 4
cussion sought after and even portrayed what seemed
to them the model republic and earthly state instead
of bringing it into being and gi\'ing it shape by
public service, usually put forward as examples for
the training of the youthful character those men they
deemed famous and praiseworthy rather than their
own gods. And, in fact, that young man in Terence ^
who, on gazing upon a painted wall-panel which
represented the adultery of the king of the gods, felt
fuel added to the fire of passion that was consuming
him by the encouragement given by an authority
so eminent, would certainly not have fallen into
that sin through desire nor have been overcome by
it through bringing it to pass, if he had chosen Cato
as his model rather than Jove. But how could he
do that when in the temples he was compelled to
reverence Jove instead of Cato ? And yet perhaps
I should not put forward these scenes from comedy to
confute the wantonness and the sacrilegious super-
stition of the ungodly. Read or recall how carefully it
is argued in those same books that the writing or
acting of comedies could by no means have received
public approbation if they had not harmonized with
the character of those who approved of them. So the
authority of the most outstanding men, both those
who are prominent in the State and those who discuss

157

ST. AUGUSTINE

et de re publica disputantiuni auctoritate firniatur
nequissimos homines fieri deorum imitatione peiores,
non sane verorum sed falsorum atque fictorum.
5 At enim ilia omnia quae antiquitus de vita deorum
moribusque conscripta sunt, longe aliter sunt in-
tellegenda atque interpretanda sapientibus. Ita
vero in templis populis congregatis recitari huiusce
modi salubres interpretationes heri et nudiustertius
audi\imus. Quaeso te, sicine caecum est humanum
genus adversus veritatem, ut tarn aperta et mani-
festa non sentiat ? Tot locis pingitur, funditur, tun-
ditur, sculpitur, scribitur, legitur, agitur, cantatur,
saltatur luppiter adulteria tanta committens ; quan-
tum erat, ut in suo saltem Capitolio ista prohibens
legeretur ? Haec mala dedecoris impietatisque
plenissima si nemine prohibente in populis ferveant,
adorentur in templis, rideantur in theatris, cum his
victimas immolant, vastetur pecus etiam pauperum,
cum haec histriones agunt et saltant, efFundantur
patrimonia divitum, ci\itates florere dicuntur ?
Horum plane florum non terra fertilis, non aliqua
opulens virtus sed ilia dea Flora digna mater inventa
est, cuius ludi scenici tam effusiore et licentiore turpi-
dine celebrantur, ut quivis intellegat quale daemo-
nium sit, quod placari aliter non potest nisi illic non

<* Perhaps a reference to the attempt made by the Emperor
Julian to allegorize the myths of paganism.

^ With this heaping up of verbs c/. In Ps. Ivi. 16 " (caro)
esuriat, sitiat, dormiat, teneatur, flagelletur, irrideatur,
crucifig-atur, sepeliatur."

" Flora was supposed to preside over the blossoming of
plants in spring. The floral games {Floralia), which have
been asserted to be the source of the May-day games, were
held from April 28 to May 3, and were accompanied by
such licence that the Church Fathers name them with
15S

NO. 24 (Ep. XCI)

the nature of the State, establishes our pomt that by
imitating the gods — not, to be sure, true gods, but
false and fabricated gods — the most depraved of men
become still worse.

But it may be objected that all those ancient tales 5
about the life and character of the gods are to be
understood and interpreted far differently by men
of wisdom. Thus, in fact, we heard just the other
day harmless interpretations of this kind read to the
people gathered in the temples.'^ Tell me, is the
human race so blind to truth as not to perceive facts
so evident and open ? In so many places Jove is
exhibited committing his numerous adulteries by
painters, founders, smiths, sculptors, writers, reciters,
actors, singers and dancers ; what was the use of
reciting, in his own Capitol at any rate, decrees for-
bidding such sins ? If, with no one to forbid them,
these foul deeds that are the culmination of turpitude
and ungodliness are enthusiastically acclaimed by
the people, worshipped in the temples, applauded in
the theatres ^ ; if, when victims are sacrificed to their
perpetrators, even the poor are despoiled of their
flock, and when actors represent them in dance and
action, the rich lavish their fortunes on them — are
countries to be described as in flower ? Such flowers
as these certainly do not owe their birth to fruitful
soil or to any bounteous virtue ; they have found a
worthy parent in that goddess Flora, ^ whose theatrical
games are celebrated with such unusually abandoned
and shameless vileness that anyone may understand
what is the nature of a divinity that cannot be con-
ciliated unless there perish as victims on her altars

abhorrence (Min. Felix xxv. 8 ; Cypr. Idol. 4 ; Lact. i. 20. 5 ;
Arnob. vii. 33 ; Prud. C. Symm. 1. -266).

159

ST. AUGUSTINE

aves, non quadrupedes,non denique sanguis humanus,
sed multo scelestius pudor humanus tamquam im-
molatus intereat.

6 Haec dixi, propter quod scripsisti, quantum tibi
aetas fini proxima est, cupere te ut patriam tuam
incolumem ac florentem relinquas. Tollantur ilia
omnia vana et insana, convertantur homines ad
varum dei cultum moresque castos et pios ; tunc pa-
triam tuam florentem videbis non opinione stultorum
sed veritate sapientium, cum haec patria carnalis
generationis tuae portio fuerit illius patriae, cui non
corpore sed fide nascimur, ubi omnes sancti et fideles
dei post labores velut hiemales vitae huius intermina
aeternitate florebunt. Nobis itaque cordi est neque
Christianam amittere mansuetudinem neque pernicio-
sum ceteris imitationis exemplum in ilia civitate re-
linquere. Quo modo id agamus, aderit deus, si eis
non ita graviter indignetur. Alioquin et mansuetudo
quam servare cupimus, et disciplina qua uti moderate
nitimur, impediri potest, si deo aliud in occulto placet
sive iudicanti hoc tantum malum flagello acriore
plectendum sive etiam vehementius irascenti, si non
correctis nee ad se conversis ad tempus esse voluerit
inpunitum.

7 Praescribit nobis quodam modo prudentia tua de
persona episcopali et dicis patriam tuam non levi

160

NO. 24 (Ep. XCI)

not birds or beasts or even human bodies, but (a much
viler scandal) human modesty and shame.

I have spoken of these things because of the 6
statement in your letter that the nearer you come
to the end of your life, the more strongly you desire
to leave your country in sound condition and full
flower. Take away all those frivolous and unwhole-
some practices and let men turn to the genuine
worship of God and to purity and godliness of
character, then you will see your country in full
flower, not in the empty opinion of the foolish, but
in the sober judgement of the wise, when this
country that gave you birth after the flesh has be-
come a part of that country to which we are born not
by the body, but by faith. There, after the wintry
labours of this life, all God's saints and faithful people
will flower in an endless eternity. Therefore is it
our dear desire neither to put away Christian meek-
ness nor to leave your country as a baleful example
for others to follow. In our attempt to realize this
hope, God will be at hand to help, provided He be
not too grievously wroth A\-ith them. Otherwise both
the meekness that we desire to preserve and the
punishment that it is our aim to impose in modera-
tion may be arrested, if God in His hidden wisdom
ordaineth differently, whether He appoint that this
immeasurable evil be punished with a keener chastise-
ment, or v/hether, should the guilty fail to repent
and to turn to Him, He shall will in still more
vehement wrath to leave it in this world unpunished.

Your Wisdom lays down for me certain principles 7

for the conduct of my episcopal office and pleads that

your native place has been brought to a serious pass

by a grave misdemeanour on the part of its in-

M l6l

ST. AUGUSTINE

populi sui errato prolapsam. " Quod quidem si iuris
public! rigore metiamur, debet plecti severiore cen-
sura ; sed episcopum," inquis, " fas non est nisi salu-
tem hominibus impertire et pro statu meliore causis
adesse et apud omnipotentem deum veniam aliorum
niereri delictis." Hoc omnino servare conamur, ut
severiore ■ censura nemo plectatur neque a nobis
neque ab alio ullo intercedentibus nobis, et salutem
hominibus cupimus impertire, quae posita est in recte
\-ivendi felicitate, non in male faciendi securitate.
\^eniam quoque non tantum nostris verum et aliorum
instamus delictis mereri, quod impetrare nisi pro
correctis omnino non possumus. Adiungis etiam et
dicis : " Quanta possum supplicatione deposco, ut
si defendenda res est, innoxius defendatur, ab in-
nocentibus molestia separetur."

Accipe breviter quae commissa sint, et noxios
ab innocentibus ipse discerne. Contra recentissimas
leges Kalendis luniis festo paganorum sacrilega
sollemnitas agitata est, nemine prohibente, tam in-
solent! ausu, ut, quod nee luliani temporibus factum
est, petulantissima turba saltantium in eodem prorsus
vico ante fores transiret ecclesiae. Quam rem in-
licitissimam atque indignissimam clericis prohibere
temptantibus, ecclesia lapidata est. Deinde post
dies ferme octo, cum leges notissimas episcopus ordini

"In addition to the regular duty of the bishop to hear
and decide clerical cases, the Emperor Constantine allowed
either party in a civil suit to appeal to the bishop, but
episcopal intercession for those accused, all along looked
upon as a duty and regarded with favour, received legal
sanction only under Justinian. These avocations occupied
great portions of the bishop's time, as Augustine frequently
complains (Ep. xxxiii. 5, ccxiii. 5, etc.).
162

NO. 24 (Ep. XCI)

habitants. " Should we estmiate it by the severity
of the pubUc law, it deserves to be punished with
a harsher sentence, but a bishop " — you say — " may
not do aught but contribute to men's welfare,
and attend court " to improve conditions there, and
win before Almighty God pardon for other men's
sins." It is certainly our endeavour to secure
greater mercy, either from ourselves or from anv
other through our intercession, in the sentencing of
those who are punished, and it is our desire to con-
tribute to men's welfare. But that welfare consists
in the happiness that comes from righteous living,
not in the impunity that may attend evil-doing. And
as for pardon, we earnestly endeavour to win it not
merely for our own sins, but for those of others as
well, but we certainly cannot obtain it except for
those who have repented. You go on then to say,
" I entreat you with all possible urgency not to
prosecute the guiltless, if the matter must come to a
prosecution, but to ward off any trouble from the
innocent."

Let me briefly remind you of the offence, then 8
draw the distinction for yourself bet v/een the innocent
and the guilty. In defiance of quite recent legislation
a sacrilegious celebration was held on the first of
June, a pagan feast-day, with no prohibition from
anyone and with such insolent effrontery that an
impudent crowd of dancers actually passed along the
same street in front of the church-doors — a thing that
never happened even in Julian's time. When the
clergy attempted to stop this most illegal and in-
sulting procedure, the church was stoned. Then,
almost a week later, when the bishop had drawn the
attention of the magistrates to the well-known laws

163

ST. AUGUSTINE

replicasset, et dum ea quae iussa sunt velut implere
disponunt, iterum ecclesia lapidata est. Postridie
nostris ad inponendum perditis metum, quod vide-
batur, apud acta dicere volentibus publica iura negata
sunt, eodemque ipso die, ne vel divinitus terrerentur,
grando lapidationibus reddita est ; qua transacta con-
tinuo tertiam lapidationem et postremo ignes ec-
clesiasticis tectis atque hominibus intulerunt, unum
servorum dei, qui oberrans occurrere potuit, occi-
derunt. ceteris partini ubi potuerant latitantibus,
partim qua potuerant fugientibus, cum interea con-
trusus atque coartatus quodam loco se occultaret
episcopus, ubi se ad mortem quaerentium voces audie-
bat sibique increpantium quod eo non invento gratis
tantum perpetrassent scelus. Gesta sunt haec ab
hora ferme decima usque ad noctis partem non
minim am. Nemo compescere, nemo sub venire temp-
tavit illorum quorum esse graAis posset auctoritas,
praeter unum peregrinum, per quem et plurimi
servi dei de manibus interficere conantium liberati
sunt et multa extorta praedantibus. Per quem
clarum factum est quam facile ilia vel omnino non
164

NO. 24 (Ep. XCI)

on the subject, and they were, to all intents and
purposes, preparing to put the legal prescriptions into
effect, the church was stoned again. Next day, when
our people wanted to lodge a complaint in court, with
the object, apparently, of inspiring those abandoned
characters vn.th fear, their rights were denied them,
and on the very same day, to see if menaces from
heaven might not dismay them, their stonings were
answered by a shower of hail : but when it was over,
thev immediately cast another shower of stones and
finally fire upon the roofs of the church and the
people within. One servant of God who was wander-
ing about and may have run into them, they put to
death, the others partly taking shelter wherever they
could, partly escaping wherever they could. In the
meantime the bishop was hiding in a certain spot into
which he had thrust himself to lie all cramped, and
from which he kept hearing the voices of those who
Mere seeking him to put him to death and were
reproaching themselves for letting him escape and so
for perpetrating such a heinous crime to no effect.
This went on from almost four o'clock until a late
hour of night. No attempt at repression, no attempt
at rescue was made by any of those who could have
exercised some weight of authority. Only one
person interfered, a stranger, by whom a considerable
number of God's servants were delivered from the
hands of those who were seeking to slay them, and
much property as well was recovered from looters.
His example made it clear how easilv those outrages
might have been wholly prevented, or have been
arrested if they had actually begun, provided only
that the inhabitants and, most of all, the leading

165

ST. AUGUSTINE

fierent vel coepta desisterent, si cives maximeque
primates ea fieri perfieique vetuissent.

Proinde in universa ilia civdtate non innocentes a
nocentibus sed minus nocentes a nocentioribus poteris
fortasse discernere. Nam in parvo peccato illi sunt
qui metu deterriti maximeque, ne ofFenderent eos
quos in illo oppido plurimum posse et inimicos ec-
clesiae noverant, opem ferre non ausi sunt ; scelerati
autem omnes. quibus etsi non facientibus neque in-
mittentibus tamen volentibus ista commissa sunt ;
sceleratiores, qui commiserunt ; sceleratissimi, qui
inmiserunt. Sed de inmissione suspicionem putemus
esse, non veritatem, nee ea discutiamus, quae nisi
tormentis eorum per quos inquiruntur, inveniri
omnino non possunt. Demus etiam veniam timori
eorum, qui potius deum pro episcopo et servis eius
deprecandum quam potentes inimicos ecclesiae
ofFendendos esse putaverunt. Quid eos qui restant,
nullane censes disciplina cohercendos et proponendum
aestimas inpunitum tam immanis furoris exemplum ?
Non praeterita vindicando pascere iram nostram
studemus, sed misericorditer in futurum consulendo
satagimus. Habent homines mali ubi et per Chri-
stianos non solum mansuete verum etiam utiliter
salubriterque plectantur ; habent enim quod corpore
incolumi vivunt, habent unde vivunt, habent unde
166

NO. 24 (Ep. XCI)

citizens had forbidden them, either from the very
first or after they had started.

Accordingly you will hardly be able to draw a 9
distinction in the whole community between the
innocent and the guilty, but only perhaps between
the less guilty and the more guilty. For slight is
the sin of those who were deterred by fear (and
especially by fear of offending those known to them
to be men of great influence in the town and hostile
towards the Church) from venturing to give any
assistance ; but all are guilty who, although not
participating or instigating, were consenting to the
outrage ; more guilty are those who perpetrated it,
and most guilty of all are those who instigated it.
Let us assume that we have only suspicions who
these instigators were, and no certain knowledge,
and let us refrain from discussing facts which simply
cannot be ascertained without the torturing of
the witnesses. Let us, too, make allowance for the
fear felt by those who thought it better to pray to
God for the bishop and God's servants than to give
offence to influential enemies of the Church. What
about those who remain ? Do you give it as your
opinion that they should escape all punishment and
censure ? And do you think we should set the
example of leaving so barbarous an outrage un-
punished ? We have no desire to gratify our anger
by exacting retribution for past offences, but we are
concerned to provide for the future in a spirit of
compassion. Evil men have certain points in which
they can be punished by Christians not only in
gentleness, but also with profit and improvement to
themselves. They have the life and health of the
body ; they have the means of sustaining that life ;

167

ST. AUGUSTINE

male vivunt. Duo prima salva sint, ut quos pae-
niteat sint ; hoc optamus, hoc, quantum in nobis
est, etiam inpensa opera instamus. Tertium vero
si deus voluerit tamquam putre noxiumque resecari,
valde misericorditer puniet ; si autem vel amplius
voluerit vel ne hoc quidem permiserit, altioris et
profecto iustioris consilii ratio penes ipsum est ; a
nobis curam officiumque oportet inpendi, quousque
videre conceditur, deprecantibus eum, ut animum
nostrum adprobet, quo cunctis volumus esse con-
sultum, nihilque fieri sinat per nos quod et nobis et
ecclesiae suae non expedire longe melius novit ipse
quam nos.
iO Modo cum apud Calamam essemus, ut nostri in tam
gravi dolore vel consolarentur afflicti vel sedarentur
accensi, quantum potuimus, quod in tempore opor-
tuisse existimavimus,cum Christianisegimus. Deinde
ipsos etiam paganos, mali tanti caput et causam,
petentes ut ab eis videremur, admisimus, ut hac
occasione admoneremus eos, quid facere deberent,
si saperent, non tantum pro removenda praesenti
sollicitudine verum etiam pro inquirenda salute per-
petua. Multa a nobis audierunt, multum etiam ipsi
rogaverunt ; sed absit ut tales servi simus, quos ab
eis rogari delectet, a quibus noster dominus non
rogatur. Unde pervides pro vivacitate mentis tuae
ad hoc esse nitendum servata mansuetudine et
moderatione Christiana, ut aut ceteros deterreamus
eorum imitari perversitatem aut ceteros optemus

168

NO. 24 (Ep. XCI)

they have the means of Uving a wicked Ufe, Let
the first two be untouched so that there may be some
who repent ; this is our prayer, this, as far as in us
Hes, v/e spare no effort to secure. But for the third,
if it be God's will to take it a^ay like some foul and
virulent growth. He will inflict punishment in great
compassion ; but if it be His will to go farther and
to allow not even this, the reason for this higher
and certainly more just design rests with Himself.
Our duty is to devote our zeal and efforts, according
to the light that is granted us, to praying God for
His approval of our intention to promote the welfare
of all and to let nothing be done through us that is
not for the good both of ourselves and of the Church ;
for He knows that much better than we do.

Recently when I was at Calama with the purpose of 10
consoling the distress, or else appeasing the indigna-
tion, of our people in their grievous sorrow, I used
all my influence with the Christians to bring about
what I thought was at the moment expedient. Then
when the pagans themselves, the fount and cause of
this great outrage, besought me for an interview, I
received them, with the object of advising them on
this occasion of the course of action that they ought
to pursue if they were wise, not only to banish the
present anxiety but also to seek for everlasting
salvation. They listened to many things that I
said, and even made many petitions themselves ; but
far be it from me to be such a servant as to take
delight in petitions by those who make no petitions
to my Master. So vrith your quick mind you will
clearly see that, while preserving our meekness and
Christian moderation, we must direct our efforts
either to deterring others from imitating their ob-

169

ST. AUGUSTINE

eorum imitari correctionem. Damna, quae inlata
sunt, vel tolerantur a Christianis vel resarciuntur
per Christianos. Animarum nos lucra, quibus ad-
quirendis cum periculo etiam sanguinis inhiamus, et
in loco illo quaestuosius provenire et aliis locis illo
exemplo non impediri desideramus. Dei miseri-
cordia nobis praestet de tua salute gaudere.

No. 25 (Ep. XCVII)

DOMIXO EXIMIO ET MERITO PRAESTANTISSIMO
MULTUMQUE IX CHRISTI CARITATE HOXO-
RAXDO FILIO OLYMPIC AUGUSTINUS IN
DOMIXO SALUTEM

1 Quamvis mox ut audivimus te merito sublimatum,
cum ipsa fama nondum certissima nobis esset, nihil
aliud de animo tuo credidimus erga ecclesiam dei,
cuius te veraciter fiHum esse gaudemus, quam quod
tuis litteris mox aperuisti, tamen etiam illis lectis.
quibus ultro dignatus es, etiam si pigri et cunctantes

" The Edictum quod de Unifate of March 5, 405 {Cod.
Theod. x\^. xi. 2), promulg-ated by the Emperor Honorius
to make Donatism a penal offence, had only succeeded
in producing in Xumidia fresh outbreaks of Donatist fury,
of which previous letters have provided examples. On the
downfall of Stilicho the Donatists believed for a moment
that persecution would end, but Olympius, Stilicho's be-
trayer, who became Master of the Offices on Xovember 14,
408 (the " promotion " mentioned by Augustine), confirmed
the anti-Donatist legislation by a rescript of Xovember 24
addressed to the African Proconsul, whom Augustine be-
sought in X'o. 27 (Ep. c.) to exercise coercion upon the
Donatists but not to impose the penalty of death. Before
news of Olympius's confirmation had reached Africa, a
deputation was sent by the African bishops to beg the
Emperor to put in force the laws against disturbers of peace
170

NO. 21. (Ep. XCI)— NO. 25 (Ep. XCVII)

stinacy or to praying that others may imitate their
repentance. The losses that were inflicted are either
being borne by Christians or are being made good
by Christians. As for the gain of souls, which we
long to secure even at the peril of our own body, we
hope that your district will furnish an unusually
precious harvest and that other districts will not be
kept back by that example. May God in His mercy
grant us to rejoice over your salvation !

No. 25 (Ep. XCVII)

(a.d. 408)

TO OLYMPIUS," MY EXCELLENT AND JUSTLY
DISTINGUISHED LORD AND SON WORTHY
OF MUCH HONOUR IN THE LOVE OF CHRIST,
AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

As soon as we heard of your well-deserved pro-
motion, although the report that reached us was still
very indefinite, we were confident that your attitude
towards the Church of God, of which we rejoice that
you are truly a son, is no other than what you have
now revealed in your letter. Nevertheless, I write
to you, my excellent and justly distinguished lord and

and religion. To secure Olympius's support Augustine sends
this letter by a priest passing through Hippo on his way
from M ileum to Rome. The letter is important too because,
according to Zosimus, Olympius merely used Christianity
as a cloak for his evil-doing, but Augustine's warm and
appreciative language here gives quite another view of his
character. If allowance must be made for Zosimus's ill-will
to all Christians, it must equally be made for Augustine's
want of personal knowledge of Olympius and the exag-
geratedly deferential tone of epistolary address.

171

ST. AUGUSTINE

essemus, exhortationem benivolentissimam mittere,
ut instruente humilitate nostra per religiosam oboe-
dientiam tuam dominus, cuius munere talis es, ec-
clesiae suae iam iamque subveniat, maiore fiducia
tibi scribimus, domine eximie et merito praestantis-
sime multumque in Christi caritate honorande fill.

Et fratres quidem multi sancti collegae mei gra\iter
ecclesia perturbata profecti sunt paene fugientes ad
gloriosissimum comitatum, quos sive iam videris sive
litteras eorum ab urbe Roma opportunitate cuius-
quam occasionis acceperis. ego tamen, licet nullum
consilium cum eis communicare potuerim, non potui
praetermittere per hunc fratrem et conpresbyterum
meum, qui urgenti necessitate pro salute civis sui
etiam media hieme quomodocumque ad illas partes
venire compulsus est, et salutare et admonere carita-
tem tuam, quam habes in Christo lesu domino nostro,
ut opus tuum bonum diligentissima acceleretur in-
stantia, quo noverint inimici ecclesiae leges illas quae
de idolis confringendis et haereticis corrigendis vivo
Stilichone in Africam missae sunt, voluntate im-
peratoris piissimi et fidelissimi constitutas ; quo
nesciente vel nolente factum sive dolose iactant
sive libenter putant atque hinc animos inperitorum
turbulentissimos reddunt nobisque periculose ac
vehementer infestos.

Hoc autem quod petendo vel suggerendo admoneo
praestantiam tuam, non dubito omnium per Africam

" Stilicho, son of a \^andal captain, became one of
Theodosius I.'s most distinguished generals, and under
Honorius was the virtual ruler of the West. He defeated
Alaric and Radagaisus, but was assassinated in 408. He
was the patron of the poet Claudian, who dedicated to him
the panegyric De Consulatu Stilichonis.
172

NO. 25 (Ep. XCVII)

son worthy of much honour in the love of Christ, with
all the greater confidence after reading that letter
in which of your own accord you deigned to send us,
even if we were hesitant and backward, a very kind
invitation to use our humble efforts to point out to
you how, through your pious obedience, the Lord, by
whose gift you have become what you are, may at
this juncture come to the assistance of His Church.

And indeed, many of the brethren, my holy col- 2
leagues, have by reason of the Church's serious
troubles started out almost as fugitives for the im-
perial court ; you may have seen them or by some
fortunate encounter have received a letter of theirs
from Rome. But for my part, although I was unable
to talk over any plans with them, I could not miss the
opportunity provided by this brother and fellow-
priest of mine, who is driven by the urgent peril of a
fellow-citizen to make the journey as best he can,
even though it is mid-winter, to your part of the
world, of greeting and exhorting you by that affec-
tion you have in Christ Jesus our Lord, to hasten on
your good work with the most pressing attention.
So shall the enemies of the Church know that those
laws about the demolition of idols and the correction
of heretics, which were sent to Africa while Stilicho '^
was still alive, were drawn up at the desire of our
most godly and faithful emperor. They deceitfully
allege or fondly imagine that this action was taken
without his knowledge or against his will, and thus
they incite the mind of the ignorant to the utmost
pitch of violence and to a vehemence of hostility that
is fraught ^^'ith peril to us.

But I am quite sure that in submitting this petition 3
or suggestion for your Eminence's consideration, I

173

ST. AUGUSTINE

collegarum meorum fieri voluntate. Arbitror qua-
cumque primitus exorta occasione facillime posse
ac debere maturari, ut noverint, sicut dixi, homines
vani, quorum et adversantium salutem requirimus, et
leges quae pro ecclesia Christi missae sunt, magis
Theodosii filium quam Stilichonem curasse mittendas.
Propterea quippe memoratus presbyter harum per-
lator, cum de regione sit Milevitana, ab episcopo
suo venerabili fratre meo Severo, qui tuam mecum
sincerissimam dilectionem multum salutat, per
Hipponem-Regium, ubi ego sum, transire iussus est,
quia, cum forte simul essemus in magnis ecclesiae
tribulationibus et perturbationibus, quaerebamus
occasionem scribendi ad eximietatem tuam et non
inveniebamus. lam quidem unam epistulam miseram
in negotio sancti fratris et coUegae mei Bonifatii
episcopi Cataquensis ; sed nondum ad nos per-
venerant graviora, quae nos vehementius agitarent,
quibus comprimendis vel corrigendis quem ad modum
meliore secundum viam Christi consilio succurratur,
commodius episcopi qui propterea navigaverunt,
cum tanta benignitate tui cordis acturi sunt, qui
potuerunt communi consilio diligentius deliberatum
aliquid ferre, quantum temporis permittebat an-
gustia. lUud tamen quo animum clementissimi et
religiosissimi principis erga ecclesiam provincia
noverit, nullo modo esse difFerendum, sed etiam

" The emperor Honorius. ** F'or Severus see p. 108, n. h,
« This business of Boniface forms the subject of Ep.
xcvi. ; it concerned the possession of a piece of land
acquired by Boniface's predecessor, which Boniface wanted
to have regularly granted to himself. Cataquas was probably
near Hippo, for Boniface is frequently found in corre-
spondence and on business with Augustine (Epp. xcvi.,
cxxxix., cxliii., cxlix., clii.).

174

NO. 25 (Ep. XCVII)

am acting agreeably to the desire of all my colleagues
throughout Africa. My opinion is that steps very
easily could and should be taken at the first oppor-
tunity that arises to let those vain men, whose welfare
we seek even though they are our opponents, know,
as I said already, that it was due to the care of
Theodosius's son" rather than of Stilicho that the laws
that were sent to Africa for the Church of Christ were
sent at all. For this reason, then, the above-men-
tioned priest, the bearer of this letter, being from
the district of Mileve, was ordered by his bishop,
my revered brother Severus,^ M'ho joins me in send-
ing hearty greetings to your genuine affection, to
pass through Hippo Regius, where I am stationed,
because, as we happened to be together in the great
tribulations and anxieties of the Church, we Mere
seeking an opportunity of writing to your Excellency
and found none. I have already sent one letter
about the business of my holy brother and colleague,
Boniface,'' the bishop of Cataquas, but this more
serious news had not yet reached us to trouble us
more keenly. As to the way in which you may
come to our assistance in suppressing and punishing
those offences M'ith a wiser plan according to the
method of Christ, that will more suitably form the
subject of negotiation between the bishops M'ho have
made the voyage with that end in view, and yourself
in your great and heartfelt benevolence. They have
been able to bring with them some scheme that
has been carefully thought out in mutual consulta-
tion, as far as the shortness of time allowed. But
this other point, how to let the province know the
attitude of our most gracious and godly sovereign
towards the Church, should on no account be post-
175

ST. AUGUSTINE

antequam episcopos qui profecti sunt, videas. quam
primum tua praestantissima pro Christi membris in
tribulatione maxima constitutis vigilantia potuerit,
accelerandum suggero, peto, obsecro, flagito. Neque
enim parvum in his malis solatium dominus obtulit,
quod te voluit multo amplius posse quam poteras,
quando iam de tuis multis et magnis bonis operibus
gaudebamus.
4 Multum sane de quorundam neque paucorum fide
firma et stabili gratulamur, qui ex occasione legum
ipsarum ad Christianam religionem vel catholicam
pacem conversi sunt, pro quorum salute sempi-
terna nos in hac temporali etiam perielitari delectat.
Propterea enim maxime ab hominibus nimium durum-
que perversis nunc inimicitiarum graviores impetus
sustinemus, quos nonnulli eorum nobiscum patientis-
sime sustinent ; sed plurimum infirmitati metuimus,
donee discant et valeant adiuvante misericordissima
gratia domini saeculum praesens et hominum diem
robore cordis valentiore contemnere. Commoni-
torium quod misi, fratribus episcopis, si, ut puto,
nondum ibi sunt, ab eximietate tua illis tradatur,
cum venerint. Tantam quippe tui sincerissimi pec-
toris habemus fiduciam, ut adiuvante domino deo
nostro non solum impertitorem auxilii te velimus
verum etiam consilii participem.

** Hominum dies apparently occurs only here in Augustine,
but compare Ep. cxl. 12 " humanus dies et vitae huius
prolixitas concupiscitur," and Seneca, Ep. Ixxxiii. 2 " obser-
vabo me . . . et . . . diem meum recognoscam. Hoc nos

176

KO. 25 (Ep. XCVII)

poned ; I recommend, beg, beseech, implore you to
hm-ry it on, even before you see the bishops who
are on their way, as soon as is possible for you in
your most earnest watchfulness for the members of
Christ who are undergoing this very heavy trial.
Amid these evils the Lord has given us no small
comfort by being pleased to extend your sphere of
influence much beyond what it Mas before, for even
then we were rejoicing in the number and magnitude
of your good works.

We have indeed much cause for rejoicing in the 4
firm and steadfast faith of some, and they are not a
few, who were converted to the Christian religion
and to Catholic peace by the opportuneness of those
laws ; for their eternal welfare we are glad even
to risk our temporal welfare. For on this account
we are enduring more violent outbreaks of hostility
especially from men of excessive and obdurate
perversity ; and these some of the converts endure
most patiently with us. But we have very great fears
for their weakness until by the help of the Lord's
compassionate favour they acquire the wisdom and
the strength to despise the present age and the
day of men ^ with sturdier and stouter spirit. The
letter of instructions I am sending with this for my
brother-bishops Mill your Excellency hand to them
when they arrive, if, as I imagine, they have not
yet come ? Such confidence Me place in your most
unfeigned devotion that Mith the help of the Lord
our God we Mish to have you not only bestow
assistance, but also take a share in our counsels.

pessimos facit, quod nemo vitam suam respicit." The
Christian use of the phrase is no doubt suggested by the
Scriptural " day of the Lord."

N 177

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 26 (Ep. XCIX)

RELIGIOSISSIMAE ATQUE IN CHRISTI MEMBRIS
MERITO SAN'CTEQUE LAUDABILI FAMULAE
DEI ITALICAE AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO
SALUTE M

1 Tres epistulas tuae benignitatis acceperam, cum
ista rescripsi : unam quae adhuc meas litteras exige-
bat, alteram quae ad te iam pervenisse indicabat,
tertiam quae benivolentissimam pro nobis curam
tuam etiam de domo clarissimi et egregii iuvenis
luliani, quae nostris adhaeret parietibus, continebat.
Qua accepta, continuo respondere non distuli, quia
procurator eximietatis tuae cito se Romam posse
mittere scripsit. Cuius litteris graviter contristati
sumus, quod ea quae illic in urbe vel circa urbem
geruntur, non nobis insinuare curavit, ut certum apud
nos fieret quod incertae famae credere nolebamus.
Fratrum quippe litteris ante transmissis quamvis
molesta et dura multo tamen leviora nuntiata sunt.
Plus sane quam dici potest, miratus sum, quod nee
tanta occasione hominum tuorum fratres sancti epi-
scopi scripserint nee epistula tua quicquam nobis de
tantis tribulationibus vestris insinuaverit, quae utique
per viscera caritatis et nostrae sunt, nisi forte facien-
dum non putasti, quod nihil prodesse duxisti aut

*• Probably identical with the Italica to whom Augustine
wrote Ep. xcii. to console her on the death of her husband.
She is probably also the Italica to whom Chrysostom wrote
in 406 (Ep. clxx.), and appears to have enjoyed both wealth
and position. The calamity to which Augustine refers is
the capture of Rome in 408 by Alaric.
178

NO. 26 (Ep. XCIX)

Xo. 26 (Ep. XCIX)
(a.d. 409)

TO THE VERY DEVOUT HANDMAID OF GOD,
ITALICA,'' DESERVEDLY AND PIOUSLY
PRAISED AMONG THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST,
AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

Three letters from your Grace have reached me up 1
to the moment of my ^^Titing this reply ; the first
still demanded a letter from me, the second intimated
that you had by then received it, and the third
contained the assurance of your most kind solicitude
on my behalf, especially in the matter of the house
belonging to that illustrious and distinguished young
man, Julian, which adjoins my own walls. On receiv-
ing it I lost no time in replying promptly, since your
Excellency's agent wrote that he was in a position
to send to Rome at an early date. His letter caused
me grievous disappointment, in that he did not take
the trouble to let me know what is happening in and
around Rome, so that we might know for certain
what we were reluctant to believe on uncertain
rumour. The letters of the brethren that were sent
to us before his, conveyed news that M'as vexatious
and affecting enough, but still none too serious, but
I was more surprised than I can tell you that my
brethren, the holv bishops, did not seize such an ex-
cellent opportunity to write to me as that provided
by your bearers, and that your letters gave me no
news at all about the great trials that you are passing
through, though they are ours too by reason of our
heart-felt affection. But perhaps you decided not to
mention them, because you thought it would do no

179

ST. AUGUSTINE

nos tuis litteris maestificari noluisti. Prodest aliquid,
quantum ego arbitror, etiam ista cognoscere. primo
quia iniustum est gaudere velle cum gaudentibus et
Jiere non velle cum fleiitihus, deinde quia trihulatio
paiientiam operatur, patientia prohationem, prohaiio
spem, spes auiem ?ion confundit, quia caritas del diffusa
est in cordibus nostris per spiritum sa?ictum, qui daius
est nobis.

2 Absit itaque ut recusemus audire etiam quae
amara et tristia sunt erga carissimos nostros.
Nescio quo enim modo minus fit quod patitur unum
membrum, si compatiuntur alia membra. Nee ipsa mali
relevatio fit per communionem cladis sed per sola-
tium caritatis, ut, quamvis alii ferendo patiuntur,
alii cognoscendo compatiuntur, communis sit tamen
tribulatio, quibus probatio, spes, dilectio spiritusque
communis est. Omnes autem nos dominus consolatur,
qui et haec temporalia mala praedixit et post haec
bona aeterna promisit. Nee debet, cum proeliatur,
infringi, qui vult post proelium coronari, vires illo
subministrante certantibus, qui praeparat inefFabilia
dona victoribus.

3 Rescripta ilia nostra non tibi ad nos auferant
scribendi fiduciam, praesertim quia timorem nostrum
non inprobabili defensione lenisti. Parvulos tuos
resalutamus et in Christo tibi grandescere optamus,

" Rom. xii. 15. ^ Rom. v. 3-5. <" 1 Cor. xii. 26.

180

NO. 26 (Ep. XCIX)

good or because you did not want your letter to
sadden me. It does do some good, in my humble
opinion, to know even sad news, first because it is
unfair to be willing to " rejoice with them that do
rejoice " and to be unwilling to " weep with them
that weep," " and then because " tribulation worketh
patience, and patience experience, and experience
hope ; and hope maketh not ashamed, because the
love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the
Holy Ghost which is given unto us." ^

Far be it from us, then, to refuse to hear even 2
the bitter and sorrowful things that befall those who
are very dear to us. For somehow or other what
one member suffers is mitigated if the other members
suffer with it.'' But this mitigation of affliction is
effected not by participation in the calamity but by
the consolation love provides, and so, although some
bear the actual burden of sorrow and others share
the burden with sympathetic understanding, the
tribulation is yet common to both, since they have
in common the same experience, the same hope, the
same love and the same spirit. But all of us alike
have the consolation of the Lord, who both foretold
these temporal afflictions and promised eternal bless-
ings after them. And he who after the battle
would receive the crown ought not to be broken
in spirit while the battle is on, for He Who prepares
unspeakable gifts for the victors ministers strength
to them when they are engaged in the conflict.

Do not let that reply of mine take away your 3
confidence in writing to me, especially since you
have had a quite acceptable excuse for soothing
my fears. I return the greetings of your little ones
and pray that they may grow up for you in Christ.

181

ST. AUGUSTINE

qui iam in hac aetate cernunt quam sit amor huius
saeculi periculosus et noxius. Atque utinam, cum
magna et dura quatiuntur, parva et flexibilia cor-
rigantur. De domo ilia quid dicam, nisi benignissimae
tuae curae gratias agam ? Nam eam quam dare
possumus, nolunt, quam volunt autem dare non
possumus. Neque enim, sicut falso audierunt, a de-
cessore meo relicta est ecclesiae, sed inter antiqua
eius praedia possidetur et antiquae alteri ecclesiae
sic cohaeret quem ad modum ista qua de agitur,
alteri.

No. 27 (Ep. C)

DOMINO EXIMIO MERITOQUE HONORABILI IN-
SIGXITERQUE LAUDABILI FILIO DONATO
AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Nollem quidem in his afRictionibus esse Africanam
ecclesiam constitutam, ut terrenae ullius potestatis
indigeret auxilio. Sed quia, sicut apostolus dicit,
non est potestas nisi a deo, procul dubio, cum per
vos sincerissimos catholicae matris filios eidem sub-
venitur, auxilium nostrum in nomine domini est, qui
fecit caelum et terram. Quis enim non sentiat in

•* It is uncertain which churches are here meant. In
addition to the Donatist church and basilica Leontiana
mentioned in Ep. xxix. 11 above (p. 89), there were at
Hippo other four churches : the basilica maior or basilica
Pads, beside which was a chapel to St. Stephen (Ep. ccxiii.,
CI), xxii. 8. 22, Serm. 318, 319, 356); the basilica ad octo
martyres, built by Augustine {Serm. 356. 10); a chapel ad
viginti martyres {CD. xxii. 8. 9, Serm. 148, 325), and a
chapel dedicated to St. Theogenes {memoria sancti Theogenisy
Serm. <21S. 7).

*• The name is of very frequent occurrence in Africa ;
in Augustine's works there are about twenty-five different
182

NO. 26 (Ep. XCIX)— NO. 27 (Ep. C)

Already, young as they are, they perceive how dan-
gerous and harmful is the love of the present world.
And would that, when the tall and sturdy things are
shaken, the lowly and yielding may receive correc-
tion ! What shall I say about that house, except to
thank you for your very generous thought ? For
the house I can give they do not wish, and the one
they wish, I cannot give, since it was not left to the
Church by my predecessor, as they were wrongly
informed, but is held among its ancient properties
and adjoins the one ancient church just as the one
now under consideration adjoins the other. «

No. 27 (Ep. C)
(a.d. 409)

TO DONATUS,^ MY EXCELLENT LORD, WORTHY
OF ALL HONOUR, AND E.\nNENTLY PRAISE-
WORTHY SON, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREET-
ING IN THE LORD

I should wish indeed that the African Church were I
not placed in such afflictions as to require the aid of
any earthly power, but since, as the Apostle says,
" there is no power but of God," ^ it is true that when
you, a very whole-hearted son of our Catholic Mother,
come to her aid, " our help is in the name of the
Lord, Who made heaven and earth." ^ For amid
such grievous afflictions who does not realize, my
excellent lord, worthy of all honour, and eminently

individuals so called. This Donatus was proconsul of Africa,
retiring from that post about 410, when Augustine addresses
him in Ep. cxii.

" Rom. xiii, 1, <* Ps. cxx. 2.

183

ST. AUGUSTINE

tantis malis non parvam nobis consolationem divinitus
missam, cum tu vir talis et Christi nominis amantis-
simus proconsularibus es sublimatus insignibus, ut
ab sceleratis et sacrilegis ausibus inimicos ecclesiae
bonae tuae voluntati potestas sociata cohiberet,
domine eximie meritoque honorabilis insigniterque
laudabilis fill ? Denique unum solum est quod in
tua iustitia pertimescimus, ne forte quoniam, quic-
quid mali contra Christianam societatem ab homini-
bus impiis ingratisque committitur, profecto gravius
est et atrocius, quam si in alios talia committantur,
tu quoque pro immanitate facinorum ac non potius
pro lenitatis Christianae consideratione censeas
cohercendum. Quod te per ipsum Christum ne
facias obsecramus. Neque enim vindictam de
inimicis in hac terra requirimus aut vero ad eas
angustias animi nos debent coartare quae patimur,
ut obliviscamur quid nobis praeceperit, pro cuius
veritate ac nomine patimur ; diligimus inimicos
nostros et oramus pro eis. Unde ex occasione
terribilium iudicum ac legum, ne in aeterni iudicii
poenas incidant, corrigi eos cupimus, non necari ;
nee disciplinam circa eos neglegi volumus nee
supplicia, quae digna sunt, exerceri. Sic ergo
eorum peccata compesce, ut sint quos paeniteat
peccavisse.
2 Quaesumus igitur, ut, cum ecclesiae causas audis,
quamlibet nefariis iniuriis appetitam vel afflictam
esse cognoveris, potestatem occidendi te habere
obliviscaris, petitionem nostram non obliviscaris.

« Luke vi. 27-28.
184

NO. 27 (Ep. C)

praiseworthy son, that no small consolation has been
sent us from heaven, when a man of your character
and great devotion to the name of Christ has been
raised to the dignity of proconsul, so that your
power seconded by your goodwill may restrain
the enemies of the Church from their criminal and
sacrilegious violence ? In short, there is only one
thing that we fear in your administration of justice,
namely, that perhaps, since whatever evil impious and
irreverent men commit against the Christian com-
munity is surely more serious and more heinous than
if the same evil were committed against others, you
personally may decide to administer punishment in
proportion to the enormity of the offence instead of
in accordance with regard for Christian gentleness.
We beseech you for Jesus' sake to refrain from doing
so. For we exact no vengeance from our enemies on
this earth, nor indeed should our sufferings drive
us to such mental straits that we forget the injunc-
tions of Him for Whose truth and name we suffer ;
we love our enemies and pray for them." So, in
availing ourselves of the terror of judges and laws,
we desire their repentance, not their death, so that
they may be saved from falling into the penalties of
the eternal judgement. We do not wish to see
them quite absolved from punishment, nor, on the
other hand, visited with the torments they deserve.
Check their sins, therefore, in such a way as to pro-
duce repentance in at least a few.

I beg you then, when you are trying cases con-
cerning the Church, however outrageous the injuries
with which you discover it has been assailed or dis-
tressed, to forget that you possess the power of life
and death, but not to forget my entreaty. And do

ST. AUGUSTINE

Non tibi vile sit neque contemptibile, fili honorabiliter
dilectissime, quod vos rogamus ne occidantur, pro
quibus dominum rogamus ut corrigantur. Excepto
etiam, quod a perpetuo proposito recedere non
debemus vincendi i?i bono malum, illud quoque pru-
dentia tua cogitet quod causas ecclesiasticas insinuare
vobis nemo praeter ecclesiasticos curat. Proinde si
occidendos in his homines putaveritis, deterrebitis
nos, ne per operam nostram ad vestrum iudicium
aliquid tale perveniat, quo comperto illi in nostram
perniciem licentiore audacia grassabuntur, necessitate
nobis impacta ut etiam occidi ab eis eligamus, quam
eos occidendos vestris iudiciis ingeramus. Hanc
admonitionem, petitionem, obsecrationem meam ne,
quaeso, aspernanter accipias. Neque enim te ar-
bitror non recolere magnam me ad te et multo quam
nunc es altius sublimatum, etiam si episcopus non
essem, fiduciam tamen habere potuisse. Cito in-
terim per edicta excellentiae tuae noverint haeretici
Donatistae manere leges contra errorem suum latas,
quas iam nihil valere arbitrantur et iactant, ne vel
sic nobis parcere aliquatenus possint. Plurimum
autem labores et pericula nostra, quo fructuosa sint,
adiuvabis, si eorum vanissimam et impiae superbiae
plenissimam sectam non ita cures imperialibus legibus
comprimi, ut sibi vel suis videantur qualescumque
molestias pro veritate atque iustitia sustinere, sed

* Rom. xii. 21.
186

NO. 27 (Ep. C)

not think it an unimportant or contemptible thing,
my honoured and well-beloved son, that I ask you
to spare the lives of men whom we pray God to bring
to repentance. Even setting aside the fact that w^e
ought not to depart from the eternal principle of
overcoming evil with good,^ let your Wisdom take
this other fact into account, that no one takes the
trouble to bring Church cases before you, except
churchmen themselves. So if in such cases you
think fit to put men to death, you will deter us from
having any such cases brought before your tribunal ;
and when our opponents ascertain this, they \vi\\
proceed w^th all the more unrestrained effrontery
to destroy us, when the necessity is laid upon us
of choosing rather to die at their hands than to
hale them before your tribunal to suffer death
themselves. Do not receive with contempt, I beg
you, this exhortation, this request, this entreaty
of mine. For I do not think that you will forget
that, even if you were in a much more exalted posi-
tion than the one you now occupy, and even Mere I
not a bishop, I might still have had great confidence
in addressing you. Meanwhile, let the heretical
Donatists quickly learn by your Excellency's edicts
that the laws passed against their error are still
in force, though they now think that they are of no
effect, and boast that, not even if they were, could
they to any extent spare us. But you will very
greatly assist our labours and perils to bear fruit, if
you strive to repress by the imperial laws that sect
of theirs which is so flaunting and so full of impious
pride, in such a way that they do not appear to
themselves or their supporters to be enduring hard-
ships, no matter how slight, for the sake of truth

187

ST. AUGUSTINE

eos, cum hoc abs te petitur, reruni certarum niani-
festissimis documentis apud acta vel praestantiae tuae
vel minorum iudicum convinci atque instrui patiaris,
ut et ipsi qui te iubente adtinentur, duram, si fieri
potest, flectant in melius voluntatem et ea ceteris
salubriter legant. Onerosior est quippe quam utilior
diligentia, quamvis ut magnum deseratur malum et
magnum bonum teneatur, cogi tantum homines, non
doceri.

No. 28 (Ep. CI)

DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET VEXERABILITER CA-
RISSIMO ET SINCERISSIMO DESIDERANTIS-
SLMO FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO MEMORTO
AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

Nullas debui iam reddere litteras sanctae caritati
tuae sine his libris quos a me sancti amoris iure
violentissimo flagitasti, ut hac saltem oboedientia
responderem epistulis tuis, quibus me magis onerare
quam honorare dignatus es. Quamquam ubi suc-
cumbo quia oneror, ibi etiam, quia diligor, sublevor.
Neque enim a quolibet diligor, sublevor, eligor, sed
ab eo viro et domini sacerdote, quem sic acceptum deo

" Memorius was a bishop in Italy, perhaps at Capua.
An intimate friend of Augustine's, he is more notable as
the father of Julian of Eclanum (mentioned in § 4), the
Pelagian.

188

NO. 27 (Ep. C)— NO. 28 (Ep. CI)

and righteousness ; but allow them, when this is
requested from you, to be convinced and instructed
by the incontrovertible evidence of clearly ascertained
facts either in your Excellency's own court or in that
of inferior judges, to the end that those who are
arrested at your command may themselves bend
their stubborn will, if it can be bent at all, to the
better side and profitably read those proofs to others.
For the effort to make men abandon even a great
evil and cleave to a great good produces more trouble
than benefit, if they act merely under compulsion
and not from conviction.

No. 28 (Ep. CI)

(a.d. 409)

TO MY LORD MOST BLESSED AND REVER-
ENTLY CHERISHED AND SINCERE, ME-
MORIUS,« MY BROTHER AND FELLOW-
BISHOP MOST LONGED FOR, AUGUSTINE
SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

I should not now write any letter to your holy 1
Charity without sending those books that you de-
manded from me by the most urgent right of holy
affection, that by this act of obedience at least I
might make reply to those letters of yours with
which you were good enough to burden me rather
than to honour me. Yet where I am bent low by
the burden, even there I am raised up by your love.
For it is no ordinary person that loves me, upraises
me and makes me feel a picked man, but he can do
so, that priest of the Lord, whom I feel to be so

189

ST. AUGUSTINE

sentio, ut, cum animam tuam tarn bonam levas ad
dominum, quoniam in ilia me habes, leves et me.
Debui ergo nunc libros mittere, quos emendaturum
me esse promiseram et ideo non misi quia non
emendavi, non quia nolui, sed quia non potui, curis
videlicet multis et multum praevalentibus occupatus.
Nimis autem ingratum ac ferreum fuit, ut te, qui
nos sic amas, hie sanctus frater et coUega noster
Possidius, in quo nostram non parvam praesentiam
reperies, vel non disceret vel sine nostris litteris dis-
ceret. Est enim per nostrum ministerium non litteris
illis quas variarum servi libidinum liberales vocant,
sed dominico pane nutritus, quantus ei potuit per
nostras angustias dispensari.
2 Quid enim aliud dicendum est eis, qui cum sint
iniqui et impii, liberaliter sibi videntur eruditi, nisi
quod in litteris vere liberalibus legimus : Si vosjilius
liberaverit, tunc vere liberi eritis ? Per eum namque
praestatur, ut ipsae etiam quae liberales disciplinae
ab eis qui in libertatem vocati non sunt, appellantur,
quid in se habeant liberale noscatur. Neque enim
habent congruum libertati, nisi quod habent con-
gruum veritati. Unde ille ipse filius : Et Veritas,
inquit, liherahit vos. Non ergo illae innumerabiles et
impiae fabulae, quibus vanorum plena sunt carmina
poetarum, ullo modo nostrae consonant libertati,
non oratorum inflata et expolita mendacia, non

" Mentioned above on pp. 106 and 128. At a council held
in Carthage on June 14, 409, he was one of four African
bishops who were deputed to request the Emperor's pro-
tection from the fury of the Donatists. He conveyed a
letter from Augustine to Paulinus at Xola, but nothing
more is known of his journey or his mission.

^ John viii. 36. <= John viii. 32.

190

NO. 28 (Ep. CI)

acceptable to God that when you lift up your good
soul to the Lord, you lift me up too, since you hold
me in it. I should then be now sending the books
I had promised to revise, but I am not sending them
for the reason that I have not revised them ; not
because I did not want to, but because I had
no chance to do so, being engrossed in a multi-
tude of very cogent duties. But it would have
been excessively ungrateful and hard-hearted to
allow this holy brother and colleague of mine, Pos-
sidius," in whom you will find no small traces of me,
either to miss making your acquaintance, since you
are so dear a friend of mine, or to make it without
a letter from me. For by my efforts he has been
brought up not on those studies which men who are
enslaved to every kind of lust call liberal, but on
the bread of the Lord, in so far as it could be supplied
to him from my meagre store.

For what else can we say to those who, although 2
^vicked and ungodly, believe themselves to be men
of a liberal education, except what we read in the
book that is truly Hberal : "If the Son has made
you free, then shall ye be free indeed "^? For it is by
His gift that whatever even those disciplines that
are termed liberal by men who have not been called
unto liberty, contain that is liberal, can be known at
all. For they contain nothing consonant with liberty,
unless what they contain consonant with truth. That
is why the Son Himself says, " And the truth shall
make you free."'' Those innumerable ungodly tales
with which the verses of empty poets abound are in
no w^se consonant with the liberty that is ours, nor
are the pompous, finely -turned falsehoods of the
orators, nor even the long-winded subtleties of the

1.91

ST. AUGUSTINE

denique ipsorum philosophorum garrulae argutiae,
qui vel deum prorsus non cognoverunt vel, cum
cogjiovissent deum, non sicut deum glorificaverunt out
gratias egeruiit, sed evanuerunt in cogitationihus suis
et ohscuratum est insipiens cor eorum et dicentes se esse
sapientes stulti facti sunt et inmutaverunt gloriam in-
corrupti del in similitudi?iem imaginis corruptibilis
hominis et volucrum et quadrupedum et serpentium vel
qui istis siniulacris non dediti aut non nimis dediti
coluerunt tamen et servierunt creaturae potius quam
creatori. Absit omnino ut istorumvanitates et insaniae
mendaces, ventosae nugae ac superbus error recte
liberales litterae nominentur hominum scilicet in-
felicium, qui dei gratiam per lesum Christum domi-
nuni nostrum, qua sola liberamur de corpore mortis
huius, non cognoverunt nee in eis ipsis quae vera
senserunt. Historia sane, cuius scriptores fidem
se praecipue narrationibus suis debere profitentur,
fortassis habeat aliquid cognitione dignum liberis, cum
sive bona sive mala hominum tamen vera narrantur.
Quamvis in eis cognoscendis, qui sancto spiritu non
adiuti sunt rumoresque coUigereipsa humanae infirmi-
tatis condicione compulsi sunt, quem ad modum
non fallerentur in plurimis, omnino non video. Est
tamen aliqua in eis propinquitas libertatis, si volun-
tatem mentiendi non habent nee homines fallunt, nisi
cum ab hominibus humana infirmitate falluntur.

" Rom. i. 21-23. ^ Rom. i. 25.

•^ Rom. vii. 24-25.

192

NO. 28 (Ep. CI)

philosophers themselves, who were either completely
without knowledge of God or else, " when they
knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, neither
were thankful, but became vain in their imagina-
tions, and their foolish heart was darkened ; profess-
ing themselves to be wise they became fools, and
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an
image made like to corruptible man and to birds
and four-footed beasts and creeping things,"" or v\-ho,
though not given, or not excessively given, to such
images, yet " worshipped and served the creature
more than the Creator." ^ Far be it, therefore, from
us rightly to give the name of hberal studies to
the lying conceits and follies, the empty trifles and
complacent misrepresentations of those unhappy
men who did not recognize the grace of God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, by which alone we
are dehvered '•' from the body of this death," ^ even in
those things which they felt to be true. Their his-
torical works, whose writers claim to be especially
reliable in their narratives, contain something perhaps
that may fitly be learned by the free, since what
they narrate, whether the fortunes or the mis-
fortunes of mankind, is at any rate true. And yet,
I completely fail to see how men who were ^vithout
the assistance of the Holy Spirit, and were com-
pelled by the very nature of human infirmity to
gather mere rumours together, were not in their
search for facts mistaken in most of them. Yet
in such writings there is an approximation to
liberty, provided that the writers have no intention
of deceiving and do not mislead men, except in so
far as they themselves, through human infirmity, are
misled by their informants.

o 193

ST. AUGUSTINE

3 Verum quia in omnibus rerum motibus, quid nu-
meri valeant, facilius consideratur in vocibus eaque
consideratio quibusdam quasi gradatis itineribus
nititur ad superna intima veritatis, in quibus viis
ostendit se sapientia kilariter et in omni provideniia
occurrit amantibus, initio nostri otii, cum a curis
maioribus magisque necessariis vacabat animus, volui
per ista quae a nobis desiderasti scripta proludere,
quando conscripsi de solo rhythmo sex libros et de
melo scribere alios forsitan sex, fateor, disponebam,
cum mihi otium futurum sperabam. Sed postea
quam mihi curarum ecclesiasticarum sarcina inposita
est, omnes illae deliciae fugere de manibus, ita ut
vix nunc ipsum codicem inveniam, quoniam tuam
voluntatem nee petitionem sed iussionem contemnere
nequeo. Quod sane opusculum si potuero mittere,
non quidem me tibi obtemperasse, verum tamen te
hoc a me tanto opere flagitasse, paenitebit. Diffi-
cillime quippe intelleguntur in eo quinque libri, si
non adsit qui non solum disputantium possit separare
personas, verum etiam pronuntiando ita sonare
morulas syllabarum, ut eis exprimantur sensumque
aurium feriant genera numerorum, maxime quia in
quibusdam etiam silentiorum dimensa intervalla

" Wisdom vi. 17, where the Septuagint reads iv wdarj
i-mvoia and the EngHsh version " in every thought."

* These are the six books De Musica, projected when
Augustine was in Milan but written only after he returned
to Africa in 388 and was living in monastic retirement
(" initio nostri otii " above) at Tagaste. They were intended
as part of an encyclopaedic work, Libri disciplinarum,
designed to include studies of dialectic, grammar, geometry,
arithmetic and philosophy, but the only part finished at

19^

NO. 28 (Ep. CI)

Now, since the power of rhythm in every kind of 3
movement is most easily studied in sounds, and since
the study of those leads upwards to the highest
secrets of truth by a kind of gradual ascent in follow-
ing which Wisdom pleasantly reveals herself and in
every act of providence ° meets those who love her, I
intended at the beginning of my retirement, when my
mind was free from greater and more necessary tasks,
to make those books you asked from me a pre-
liminary trial of strength. I then wrote six books
exclusively on rhythm,^ and proposed, I confess, to
write others, six perhaps, on music, as I was expecting
to have leisure before me. But after the burden of
ecclesiastical concerns was laid upon me, all those
trifles vanished from my hands so completely that
now, when I cannot but respect your desire, which is
more a command than a request, I can hardly find
my own manuscript copy. But if I actuallv am able
to send the treatise to you, the regret will not be
mine for submitting to your pressure, but yours for so
eagerly demanding it from me. For five books of it
are very difficult to follow, unless you have beside
you someone who can not only distinguish the parts
of the interlocutors, but also give by his enunciation
the proper quantity to the syllables uttered, so that
in them the character of the metre is expressed and
strikes the sensitive ear, especially as some of the feet
contain, besides, pauses of fixed length, which cannot

Milan was the De Grammatica. Posteritj- has endorsed
Augustine's own opinion of the six books Be Musica {cf.
the beginning of Bk. VI : " satis diu paene atque adeo plane
pueriliter per quinque libros in vestigiis numerorum ad
moras temporum pertinentium morati sumus "), for while the
first five have only an antiquarian interest, the sixth book
was a favourite with medieval mystics.

ST. AUGUSTINE

miscentur quae omnino sentiri nequeunt, nisi audi-
torem pronuntiator informet.
4 Sextum sane librum, quern emendatum repperi,
ubi est omnis fructus ceterorum, non distuli mittere
caritati tuae ; fortassis ipse tuam non multum re-
fugiat gravitatem. Nam supei'iores quinque vix filio
nostro et condiacono luliano, quoniam et ipse iam
nobiscum coniniilitat, digni lectione vel cognitione
videbuntur. Quern quidem non audeo dicere plus
amo quam te, quia nee veraciter dico, sed tamen
audeo dicere plus desidero quam te. Mirum videri
potest, quem ad modum quem pariter amo, amplius
desiderem ; sed hoc mihi facit spes amplior videndi
eum ; puto enim quod si ad nos te iubente vel
mittente venerit, et hoc faciet quod adulescentem
decet, maxime quia nondum curis maioribus detinetur,
et te ipsum mihi expeditius adportabit. Quibus
numeris consistant versus Davidici, non scripsi, quia
nescio. Neque enim ex Hebraea lingua, quam ignoro,
potuit etiam numeros interpres exprimere, ne metri
necessitate ab interpretandi veritate amplius quam
ratio sententiarum sinebat, digredi cogeretur. Certis
tamen eos constare numeris credo illis qui eam
linguam probe callent. Amavit enim vir ille sanctus
musicam piam et in ea studia nos magis ipse quam
ullus alius auctor accendit. Hahitetis omnes in
196

NO. 28 (Ep. CI)

be sensed at all, unless the reader gives the hearer
an idea of them by his method of enunciation.

But the sixth book, which I have found in a 4
revised condition, contains the whole harvest of the
others, and I am sending it to your Charity at once ;
it perhaps will not so markedly shrink from the atten-
tions of one of your sober-mindedness. For the earlier
five Mill hardly appear to our son and fellow-deacon,
Julian, to be worth reading or knowing, since he
too is now engaged in the same warfare as ourselves.
Of him I dare not say that he is dearer to me than
you are, for it would not be true to say that, but still I
do dare to say that I long for him more than I do for
you. It may seem strange how I long for him more,
for I love you both equally ; but this is the result
of the greater hope I have of seeing him, for I think
that if you were to send him or bid him come to me,
he would both be doing what a young man should
do, especially when he is not yet hindered by heavier
responsibilities, and he would the more speedily bring
you yourself to me.

I have not mentioned the nature of the verse in
which the Psalms of David are composed, because I
do not know, for the translator from the Hebrew
tongue, which is unknown to me, could not reproduce
the verse, for fear of being compelled by the needs
of metre to depart from accuracy in his translation
farther than was consistent with the meaning. But
that they are composed in a definite metre I believe on
the authority of those who have a thorough knowledge
of that language ; for that holy man loved sacred
music, and he more than any other WTiter kindled in
me a zeal for its study.

May you all " dwell " for evermore " in the secret

197

ST. AUGUSTINE

aeternum in adiutorio altissimi, qui habitatis unayiimes
in domo, pater materque fratres filiorum et cuncti
unius patris filii memores nostri.

No. 29 (Ep. CX)

DOMINO BEATISSIMO ATQUE DULCISSIMO
VENERABILI NIMIUMQUE DESIDERABILI
FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI SEVERO ET QUI
TECUM SUNT FRATRIBUS AUGUSTINUS ET
QUI MECUM SUNT FRATRES IN DOMINO
SALUTEM

1 Epistula mea, quam pervexit carissimus filius et
condiaconus noster Timotheus, iam parata erat pro-
fecturo, quando filii nostri Quodvultdeus et Gaii-
dentius ad nos venerunt cum litteris tuis. Inde
factum est, ut continue proficiscens non adferret
responsionem meam, quoniam post illorum adventum
quantulumcumque apud nos inmoratus est et pro-
fecturus per horas singulas videbatur. Sed etsi per
eum respondissem, adhuc debitor forem. Nam et
nunc, quod videor respondisse, debitor sum, non dico
caritatis, quam tanto magis debemus quanto amplius
inpenderimus, cuius nos perpetuos debitores ostendit
apostolus dicens : Nemini quicquam deheatis, nisi ut

" Ps. xc. 1 (after the Septuagint).

* Ps. Ixvii. 7 (after the Septuagint).
" See for Severiis p. 108 note b.

^ Probably the Timothy about whom Augustine had
already written to Severus in Epp. Ixii. and Ixiii. In
Ep. cclxiii. Augustine writes a consolatory letter on the
death of a deacon Timothy, who may be the same.

* These two names are common in Africa at this time,
and the individuals cannot be identified with certainty.
Peculiar to Africa seems to have been the habit, best known
198

NO. 28 (Ep. CI)— NO. 29 (Ep. CX)

place^ of the Most High," you who "in one house
dwell together in oneness of heart," ^ father and
mother, of the same brotherhood as your children, and
all of you children of one Father. Remember us.

No. 29 (Ep. CX)
(a.d. 409)

TO MY BLESSED AND DEAREST LORD, MY
VENERABLE AND MUCH DESIRED BROTHER
AND FELLOW - PRIEST, SEVERUS,^ AND
THE BRETHREN WHO ARE WITH YOU, AU-
GUSTINE AND THE BRETHREN WHO ARE
WITH ME SEND GREETING IN THE LORD

This letter from me, which has been brought to you 1
by my very dear son and fellow-deacon, Timothy,'*
was ready for his departure, when my sons Quod-
vultdeus and Gaudentius ^ reached us with a letter
from you. That is the reason why Timothy, who was
departing forthwith, did not bring a reply from me,
since after their arrival he waited with us here only
a very short time and was apparently on the point
of departure at any minute. But even if I had sent
a reply by him, I should still be in your debt, for
even now, though I seem to have replied, I am in
your debt, I do not mean for affection, for the more
we have paid of that, the more we owe (we are always
in debt for it, as the Apostle's words show, " Owe

from the English Puritans, of employing these religious
names : Augustine's own son was called Adeodatus, and
there are many examples of such names as Deogratias,
Deumhabet, Deusdedit, Habetdeus, Vincemalus, etc.

199

ST. AUGUSTINE

invicem diligatis, sed ipsius epistulae tuae ; quando
enim sufficiam tuae suavitati tantaeque aviditati
animi tui, quam mihi lecta nuntiavit ? Rem quidem
in te mihi notissimam insinuavit ; verum tamen etsi
non mihi rei novae insiniiatrix, nova tamen re-
scriptorum exactrix fuit.

2 Miraris fortasse cur me huius debiti persolutorem
inparem dicam, cum tu de me tam multum sentias,
qui me tamquam anima mea noveris. Sed hoc
ipsum est, quod mihi magnam difficultatem facit
respondendi litteris tuis, quia et quantus mihi
videaris, parco dicere propter verecundiam tuam, et
utique minus dicendo, cum tu in me tantam laudem
contuleris, quid nisi debitor remanebo ? Quod non
curarem, si ea quae de me ad me locutus es, non ex
caritate sincerissima dicta scirem sed adulatione
inimica amicitiae. Hoc quippe modo nee debitor
fierem, quia talia rependere non deberem ; sed
quanto magis novi quam fideh animo loqueris, tanto
magis video quanto debito graver.

3 Vide autem quid mihi contigit, ut me quodam
modo ipse laudaverim, qui me a te fideUter laudatum
dixerim. Sed quid ahud dicerem quam id quod
de te admonui, quam nosti ? Ecce mihi novam
feci quaestionem, quam tu non proposuisti, et earn
fortassis expectas ut solvam. Ita mihi parum erat
quod debitor eram, nisi etiam me amphore debito ipse

" Rom. xiii. 8.
200

NO. 29 (Ep. CX)

no man anything but to love one another " "), but for
this letter of yours ; for when could I make a fair
return for your graciousness and the great eagerness
of your spirit conveyed to me in the reading of your
letter ? Not that it told me anything in you that was
not well known to me before, but yet, though not
suggesting anything new, it was a new demand for
a reply.

You perhaps wonder why I describe myself as un- 2
able to make an adequate repayment of this debt,
when you, who know me as well as my own soul does,
have conceived so great an opinion of me. But it
is this very fact that makes it so difficult for me to
reply to your letter, because I refrain for your
modesty's sake from expressing the great esteem I
entertain for you, and so by this restraint in express-
ing myself, when you have heaped so much praise
upon me, what can I do but remain in your debt ?
This I should not mind, if I knew that your remarks
to me about myself were inspired by flattery, that
destroyer of friendship, and not by a very genuine
affection, for in those circumstances I should not have
been in debt at all, as it would have been no duty to
pay back in the same coin. But the better I know
the sincerity of mind with which you speak, the more
I realize the burden of debt with which I am saddled.

Now just see what I have brought upon myself: in 3
saying that you were sincere in praising me, I have
been in a way praising myself. Yet what else could
I say than what I have suggested about yourself,
what else than what you know ? But there I have
put myself in another dilemma, one you did not set
for me and which you perhaps expect me to resolve.
Was it not enough for me to be in your debt without

201

ST. AUGUSTINE

cumularem. Quamquam hoc facile sit ostendere et,
si non ostendam, facile tibi videre, et vera infideliter
dici posse et non vera fideliter. Qui enim sic credit
ut loquitur, etsi non vera loquitur, fideliter loquitur ;
qui autem non credit quae loquitur, etsi vera
loquitur, infideliter loquitur. Numquid ergo dubito
quod ea de me credas, quae scripsisti ? Quae cum
in me non agnosco, potuisti fideliter de me non vera
dicere.
4 Sed nolo te vel benivolentia sic falli. Cui beni-
volentiae debitor sum, quia et tam fideliter et tam
benivole ea quae vera sunt, possem de te dicere,
nisi, ut supra dixi, verecundiae tuae parcerem. Ego
autem quando laudor a germanissimo et familiaris-
simo animae meae, velut a me ipso lauder, sic habeo.
Quod cernis quam molestum sit, etiam si vera
dicantur ; quanto potius, quia etiam, cum sis altera
anima mea, immo una sit anima tua et mea, sic in
me falleris putando mihi adesse quae desunt, quo
modo et de se ipse unus homo falli potest ! Quod
non tantum ideo nolo, ne, quem diligo, tu fallaris,
verum etiam ne minus ores, ut sim quod iam esse me
credis. Nee in eo sum tibi debitor, ut eodem progressu
benivolentiae credam et loquar de te bona quae
adhuc et tu tibi deesse cognoscis, sed ut animo tam
202

NO. 29 (Ep. CX)

burdening myself with a debt even greater ? Still, it
is easy to show (and if I do not show, it is easy for you
to see) that the truth can be uttered with insincerity,
and untruth with sincerity ; for a man who believes
what he saj's speaks with sincerity, even if what he
says be untrue, while a man who does not believe what
he says speaks with insincerity, even if what he says
be true. Have I any doubt that you do believe what
you ^^Tote about me ? Yet, when I fail to recognize
in myself the things you praise, it is possible that in
all sincerity you were saying about me Vvhat was not
true.

But I do not want you to be so misled even in 4
your kindness of heart ; to that kindness I am
already in debt, since I could say with no less sincerity
and no less kindness things that are true about you,
if I were not anxious, as I said already, to spare
your modesty. As for me, when praise is given me
by one who is very near and very dear to my soul,
I feel as if I were being praised by myself. So
you see how embarrassing a position it is, even if
what is said is true ; how much more embarrassing
since you, being my other soul — nay, we are but one
soul, you and I — are just as misled in thinking I
possess qualities that I do not possess, as a single
individual can be misled about himself. And I do
not want that to happen, not simply to keep you, so
dear a friend of mine, from being misled, but also
to keep you from slackening in your prayers that
I may become what you believe I am already. I
am not in your debt in such a way that \\ith the
same kindness and anticipation I should believe and
speak favourably about qualities which you yourself
are aware of not as yet possessing, but I am in debt

203

ST. AUGUSTINE

quidem benivolo ea tamen dicam bona tua, dona dei,
de quibus in te certus sum. Quod non idee non
facio, ne fallar in eis, sed ne tu a me laudatus ipse
te laudasse videaris et propter illam iustitiae regulam,
quia mihi fieri nolo. Quod si fieri debet, eligo esse
debitor, quam diu puto non esse faciendum ; si
autem fieri non debet, nee debitor sum.
5 Sed novi, quid mihi ad haec respondere possis :
Ita ista loqueris, quasi prolixam epistulam tuam
de laudibus meis desideraverim." Absit ut hoc de
te credam ; sed epistula tua nolo dicere quam veris
vel quam non veris plena tamen laudibus meis hoc
de me ut rependerem etiam te nolente flagitavit.
Nam si quid aliud volebas ut scriberem, largitorem
me desiderabas, non redditorem. Porro iustitiae
ordo sic habet, ut debitum prius reddamus, tum
deinde, cui reddimus, si hoc placet, aliquid et do-
nemus : quamquam etiam talia qualia desiderasti ut
scriberem, si dihgentius praecepta dominica cogi-
temus, reddimus potius quam donamus, si nemini
quicquam debendum est, nisi ut invicem diligamus.
Ipsa quippe dilectio exigit debitum, ut fraternae
caritati servientes eum qui se adiuvari recte velit,
in quo possumus, adiuvemus. Sed, mi frater, et tu
credo quod noveris quanta sint in manibus meis,
quibus adversus curas quas nostrae servitutis neces-

" The " Golden Rule."
" John xiii. 34, xv. 12, 17 ; Kom. xii. 10, etc.
204

XO. 29 (Ep. CX)

in this way, that with just the same kindhness of
intention I may describe you as possessing those good
quahties, sent from God above, which I am certain
are in you. And if I refrain from doing so, it is
not from fear that I may be misled, but from fear
that when I have been praising you, you may seem
to have been praising yourself, and because of that
principle of justice," since I do not' want this done
to myself. If this should be done, I prefer to be in
debt as long as I keep thinking that it should not
be done ; but if it should not be done, then am I not
in debt.

But I know the answer you may make to this : 5
*' You speak as if I had wanted from you a
lengthy letter in my praise." Far be it from me
to think that of you : yet your letter, so full of my
praises (how true or untrue no matter), did demand
this repayment from me, even if you did not
intend it. For if you wished me to write in any
other way, it was not a repayment you wanted from
me but a fresh gift. Moreover, justice prescribes
this order, that we should pay our debt first, and
that only then we should, if we so decide, make
a gift to our creditor in addition ; yet, even the
things you wanted me to write to you are, if we
more carefully consider the Lord's injunctions, a
repayment rather than a gift, if we are to owe no
man anything but to love one another ^ ; for love
requires the payment of our debt, to the end that,
in obedience to brotherly affection, we may, wherever
we can, help him who has the right desire to be
helped. But, my brother, I think you know how
full my hands are ; into them even the smallest drops
of time hardly trickle for my refreshment amid the

205

ST. AUGUSTINE

sitas habet, vix mihi paucissimae guttae temporis
stillantur, quas aliis rebus si inpendero, contra
officium meum mihi facere videor.
6 Quod enim vis, ut ad te prolixam epistulam
scribam, et hoc quidem debeo, fateor ; debeo prorsus
hoc tarn dulci, tarn sincerae, tani merae voluntati
tuae. Sed quia bonus es amator iustitiae, inde te
admoneo, ut de ilia quam diligis, hoc a me libentius
audias. Cernis prius esse quod et tibi et aliis quam
quod tibi tantum modo debeo ; et tempus ad omnia
mihi non sufficit, quando nee ad ilia quae priora sunt.
Unde omnes carissimi et familiarissimi mei, quorum
in nomine Christi inter primos mihi es, rem facient
officii sui, si non solum mihi alia scribenda ipsi
non inponant, verum etiam ceteros quanta possunt
auctoritate et sancta benignitate prohibeant, ne
videar ego durus, cum a singulis petita non dedero,
dum ea magis volo reddere, quae omnibus debeo.
Denique cum, sicut speramus et promissum tenemus,
ad nos venerit venerabilitas tua, scies quibus operibus
litterarum et quantum occupatus sim, et instantius
facies quod rogavl, ut et alios, quos potueris, mihi
aliquid aliud scribendum volentes iniungere a me
demoliaris. Dominus deus noster impleat cordis tui
tarn grandem et tarn sanctum sinum, quem ipse
fecit, domine beatissime.

206

NO. 29 (Ep. CX)

anxieties that constitute the inevitable bondage of a
servant of the Lord. If I squander those on other
business, I seem to myself to be neglecting my
duties.

Yet, when you want me to write you a lengthy 6
letter, I do indeed owe you that, I must confess ; I
surely do owe that to your sweet, sincere, and single-
minded desire. But since you are a good lover of
justice, I warn you to hear with the greater favour
what I say about this object of your affection. You see
that what I owe to you and others as well has a prior
claim over what I owe to you alone ; and time fails
me for everything, when it fails me even for my first
duties. So all those who are nearest and dearest to
me (and in Christ's name you are among the first of
these) will only be doing their duty if they not only
lay no further burden of writing on me themselves,
but with all the authority and holy kindness they
can, forbid others also to do so, so that I may not
seem hard-hearted when I fail to give what each one
has asked, my own desire being all the time to pay
the debt I owe to all. Finally, when your Reverence
visits me, as I hope you will, for I have your promise,
you will understand with what literary tasks so much
of my time is taken up, and you will be more insistent
in doing what I have asked, deterring anj^ others
you can from their desire to impose any more writing
on me. May the Lord our God fill your spacious
and holy breast and heart which He Himself has
made, my most saintly lord !

207

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. .SO (Ep. CX\0

DOMIXO BEATISSIMO ET VEXERABILITER
CARISSIMO FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI FOR-
TUNATO ET QUI TECUM SUNT FRATRIBUS
AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

Faventium bene novit sanctitas tua, qui Paratia-
nensis saltus conductor fuit. Is cum ab eiusdem
possessionis domino nescio quid sibi metueret, ad
Hipponiensem confugit ecclesiam, et ibi erat, ut
confugientes solent, expectans quo modo per inter-
cessionem nostram sua negotia terminaret. Qui, ut
saepe fit, per dies singulos minus minusque sollicitus
et quasi adversario cessante securus, cum ab amico
suo de cena egrederetur, subito raptus est a Floren-
tino quodam, ut dicunt, comitis officiali per arma-
torum manum, quanta eis ad hoc factum sufficere visa

** Fortunatus was bishop of Cirta. He was present at the
Conference in Carthage in 411 and is elsewhere mentioned
by Augustine (Epp. liii., clxxvi.).

* The case of Faventius was the occasion of the writing
of Epp. cxiii., cxiv., and cxvi., aS well as this letter. Saltus^
originally only wooded and pasture land (" saltus proprie
locus adhuc incultus et Silvester dicitur," Aug. In Ps. cxxxi.
11), were vast estates as great as, sometimes larger than, the
territory of a city [Groin, ed. Lachmann, p. 53). At the centre
lay the r/7/aof the owner, surrounded by the houses of the
workers, and this settlement was also called villa. All or
part of the saltus was let to a conductor, belo%v whom were
the colon i, owing him certain services. The domain itself was
often caWtd fundus or lati fundi, but the word fundus was
applied too to the smaller portions. See Reid, Municipal-
ities of the Roman Empire, pp. 319 ff. ; Boissier, UAfrique
Romaine, p. 165.

" Paratianis has been identified with Medjez, on the coast
208

NO. 30 (Ep. CXV)

No. SO (Ep. CXV)

(a.d. 410)

TO MY SAINTLY LORD AND REVERENTLY CHER-
ISHED BROTHER AND FELLOW - PRIEST,
FORTUNATUS '' AND THE BRETHREN WHO
ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREET-
ING IN THE LORD

Your Holiness is well acquainted with Faventius,^
the tenant of the estate at Paratianis.'' Being appre-
hensive of something or other at the hands of the
proprietor of that same estate, he fled for refuge to
the Church of Hippo, where he remained, as those
who seek sanctuary ^ usually do, waiting to see if by
my interposition he could bring the affair to a satis-
factory end. Becoming, as each day passed, less and
less vigilant — a usual occurrence — and lulled to
security by the delusion that his enemy was growing
remiss, he was leaving a friend's house after supper
when he was suddenly seized and abducted by one
Florentinus, said to be an officer of the Count ,^ aided
by what they thought to be for the purpose a suffi-

twenty-five miles from Rusicade. It has fairly extensive
ruins 'dating from Roman times.

'^ Since the time of Constantine, churches had been a
sanctuary for the innocent, the oppressed, and others who
sought episcopal intercession. Commonly thirty days' pro-
tection was granted. See Cod. Theod. rx. xv. 4 "de iis
qui ad ecclesias confugiunt." See also No. 61 Infra.

« When Diocletian separated the military administration
of Africa from the civil, he appointed a dux prr Africam,
but this title was changed about 330 to comfs. In 393
Gildo was comes et mag'ister utriusque militiae; he was
succeeded by Boniface, awidressed by Augustine in Nos. 43
and 51.

P 209

ST. AUGUSTINE

est. Quod cum mihi nuntiaretur,^ et adhuc quo vel
a quibus raptus fuerit, nesciretur, suspicio tamen
esset de illo quern metuens se per ecclesiam tuebatur,
continuo misi ad tribunum, qui custodiendo litori
constitutus est. Misit militares ; nemo potuit re-
periri. Sed mane cognovimus, et in qua domo fuerit
et quod post galli cantum cum illo abscesserit qui
eum tenuerat. Etiam illuc misi, quo dicebatur ab-
ductus, ubi memoratus officialis inventus concedere
presbytero quem miseram, noluit, ut eum saltem
vlderet. Alio die misi litteras, petens ut ei con-
cederetur quod iussit in causis talibus imperator, id
est ut actis municipalibus interrogarentur, qui prae-
cepti fuerint exhibendi, utrum velint in ea civitate
sub custodia moderata triginta dies agere, ut rem
suam ordinent vel praeparent sumptus. id utique
existimans quod per ipsos dies possemus fortasse
causam eius amica disceptatione finire. lam vero
cum illo officiali profectus ductus est. Sed metus est
ne forte ad consularis perductus officium mali aliquid
patiatur. Habet enim causam cum homine pecunio-
sissimo, quamvis iudicis integritas fama clarissima
praedicetur. Ne quid tamen apud officium pecunia
praevaleat, peto sanctitatem tuam, domine dilectis-
sime et venerabilis frater, ut honorabili nobisque
carissimo consulari digneris tradere litteras meas
et has ei legere, quia bis eandem causam insinuare

^ The Mss. have simply nuntiatum, after which Goldhacher
inserts esset. The correct reading is probably nuntiaretur.

** The reference is to the laws of Theodosius, of December
30, 380, and of Honorius, of January 21, 409 {Cod. Theod.
Lx. tit. ii.j.
210

NO. SO (Ep. CXY)

ciently large band of armed men. This was reported
to me ; but since there was as yet no information who
his abductors were nor where they had taken him,
though suspicion fell on the man who had frightened
him into seeking protection from the Church, I at
once communicated with the tribune in command of
the coast-guards. He sent soldiers ; no one could be
found, but in the morning we discovered the house
in which he had been detained and found that his
keeper had left with him after cock-crow. I also
sent to the place to which it was said he had been
carried off. When the afore-mentioned officer w^as
found, he refused to grant to the priest I had sent
permission even to see him. Next day I sent a letter
requesting for him the privilege which the Emperor
appointed in such cases as this,^ namely, that those
under summons to appear in court should be asked
at the municipal bench if they were willing to spend
thirty days in that town under lenient observation,
to put their affairs in order or to prepare their
finances. My expectation was that during that period
we could perhaps reach a settlement of his case by
friendly discussion. Already, however, he had gone
off with that officer and was taken to prison, but
there is some fear that if he be brought before the
governor's tribunal, he may suffer some hardship,
for although that judge has an excellent reputation
for rectitude, Faventius's opponent in the case is a
very wealthy man. So to prevent the exercise of any
undue influence in that court by his money, I beg
your Holiness, my dearest lord and venerable brother,
to hand my letter to the honourable magistrate, a
man very dear to me, and to read this one to him, for
I do not think it necessary to write a second account

211

ST. AUGUSTINE

necessarium non esse arbitratus sum : et eius causae
differat audientiam, quoniam nescio utrum in ea
nocens an innocens sit, et, quod circa eundem leges
non servatae sunt, ut sic raperetur neque, ut ab im-
peratore praeceptum est, ad acta municipalia per-
duceretur interrogandus utrum beneficium dilationis
vellet accipere, non contemnat, ut per hoc possimus
cum eius adversario rem finire.

No. 31 (Ep. CXXII)

DILECTISSIMIS FRATRIBUS CONCLERICIS ET
UNIVERSAE PLEBI AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO
SALUTEM

1 In primis peto caritatem vestram et per lesum
obsecro, ne vos mea contristet absentia corporalis.
Nam spiritu et cordis afFectu puto vos non dubitare
nuUo modo me a vobis posse discedere, quamvis me
amplius contristet quam forte vos ipsos, quod in-
firmitas mea sufficere non potest omnibus curis quas
de me exigunt membra Christi, quibus me et timor
eius et caritas servire compellit. Illud enim noverit
vestra dilectio numquam me absentem fuisse licen-
tiosa libertate sed necessaria servitute, quae saepe
sanctos fratres et collegas meos etiam labores marinos

" Written from the country, to which Augustine's ill-
health had made it necessary to retire (Ep. cxviii. 34 " me
post aegritudinem . . . aliquantum ab Hippone removeram,
quibus item diebus perturbatione valetudinis febribusque
repetitus sum "j. For other indications of his poor health
c/. No. 13 above and Serm. 355. 7 "ego, sicut videtis, per
aetatem modo senui, sed per infirmitatem corporis olim sum
senex."
212

NO. 30 (Ep. CX\')— NO. 31 (Ep. CXXII)

of the same case ; and let him postpone the hearing
of his case, since I do not know whether he is inno-
cent or guilty. And let him not make light of the
fact that in deahng with him the legal procedure
was not observed, in that he was seized and abducted
and was not taken, as the Emperor enjoined, before
the municipal court to be questioned whether he
wished to avail himself of the concession of delay.
In this way we may be able to reach a settlement
with his opponent.

No. 31 (Ep. CXXII)

(a.d. 410)

TO HIS DEARLY BELOVED BRETHREN, THE
CLERGY, AND ALL THE LAITY AUGUSTINE
SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD »

I particularly beg you, my friends, and beseech 1
you for Jesus' sake, not to be grieved that I am
absent from you in the body, for I believe you are
confident that in no wise could I depart from you
in spirit and heart-felt affection. Yet I am more
grieved than perhaps you are yourselves that in the
weak state of my health I cannot adequately cope
with all the attentions required from me by the
members of Christ, whom love and fear of Him compel
me to serve. For you are Mell aware, my dear
friends, that I have never been absent because of
any selfish desire for a free time, but because of the
obligations imposed on me by my servitude, which
has often compelled my holy brethren and colleagues
to undertake tasks on the sea and over the sea,

213

ST. AUGUSTINE

et transmarinos compulit sustinere, a quibus me
semper non indevotio mentis sed minus idonea
valitudo corporis excusavit. Proinde, dilectissimi
fratres, sic agite, ut, quod ait apostolus, sive adveniens
et videns vos sive ahsens, andiam de vobis quia statis in
WW spiritu, uno animo conlahor antes Jidei evangelicae.
Si vos aliqua molestia temporalis exagitat, ipsa vos
magis admonere debet quem ad modum de ilia
vita cogitare debeatis, ubi sine aliquo labore vivatis,
evadentes non molestas angustias temporis parvi sed
horrendas poenas ignis aeterni. Nam si modo tanta
cura. tanta intentione, tanto labore agitis ne in aliquos
cruciatus transitorios incidatis.. quantum vos oportet
esse sollicitos, ut sempiternas miserias fugiatis ! Et
si mors sic timetur, quae finit temporalem laborem,
quo modo timenda est, quae mittit in aeternum
dolorem ! Et si deliciae saeculi huius breves et
sordidae sic amantur, quanto vehementius futuri
saeculi gaudia pura et infinita quaerenda sunt ! Ista
cogitantes, nolite esse pigri in operibus bonis, ut ad
vestri seminis messem suo tempore veniatis.
2 Nuntiaturn est enim mihi, quod morem vestrum
de vestiendis pauperibus fueritis obliti, ad quam
misericordiam, cum praesens essem, vos exhortatus
sum et nunc exhortor, ne vos vincat et pigros faciat
contritio mundi huius, cui talia videtis accidere

" Indevotio, a late word, means want of reverence, respect,
dutifulness, to God, the emperor, or the laws, or want of
conscientiousness in performance of duty. It is found fairly
often in the legal writers with the meaning of failing to
respect the last wishes of a testator (Cod. Just. vii. 2. 15. 2,
Novell, i. 3). It is rare in literary language, but occurs in
AmV)rose (Ilelia, 17. 62, In Ps. cxviii. 16. 45), Salvian {Gub.
3. 2. 10, Eccl. 3. 45), and Alcim. Avit. (Ep. Ixxxiv.).

" Phil. i. 27.
214

NO. 31 (Ep. CXXII)

from which I have been excused not from want of
conscientiousness,"^ but from imperfect bodily health.
Accordingly, my brethren, let your behaviour be such
that, as the Apostle says, " whether I come and see
you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs,
that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind_
striving together for the faith of the gospel."^ If
you are harassed by some temporal vexation, it •
ought the more to remind you how you ought to
think of that life which you are to live without any
toil, escaping not the vexatious hardships of this
fleeting age, but the terrible penalties of the everlast-
ing fire. For if you now expend so much forethought,,
so much effort, so much toil, in saving yourselves
from falling into any transitory torments, how anxious
you should be to escape from everlasting miseries !
And if the death which ends the toil of this life
inspires such fear, how greatly that death is to be
feared which casts men into everlasting pain ! And
if the vile and short-lived charms of this world are
so loved, how much more eagerly are the undefiled
and unending joys of the world to come to be sought
after ! Meditate upon these things and be not
slothful in good works, that in due season you may
come to the harvest of your sowing.

I have been informed that you have forgotten 2
your habit of clothing the poor ; to that work of
mercy I exhorted you when I was with you, and I
now exhort you not to be overcome and made slothful
by the trials of this present world, which you now
see visited by such calamities '^ as our Lord and

'^ The reference is to the capture and sacking of Rome by
the Goths under Alaric in 410.

215

ST. AUGUSTINE

qualia dominus et redemptor noster, qui mentiri non
potest, Ventura praedixit. Non solum ergo non
debetis minus facere opera misericordiae, sed etiam
debetis amplius quam soletis. Sicut enim ad loca
munitiora festinatius migrant, qui ruinam domus
\'ident contritis parietibus imminere, sic corda
Christiana quanto magis sentiunt mundi huius ruinam
crebrescentibus tribulationibus propinquare, tanto
magis debent bona quae in terra recondere dispone-
bant, in thesaurum caelestem inpigra celeritate trans-
ferre, ut, si aliqui humanus casus acciderit, gaudeat
qui de loco ruinoso emigravit, si autem nihil tale
fuerit subsecutum, non contristetur, qui quandoque
moriturus inmortali domino ad quem venturus est,
bona propria commenda\it. Itaque, fratres mei dilec-
tissimi, ex eo quod quisque habet, secundum suas
\ires, quas ipse novit, facite quod soletis, alacriore
animo quam soletis, et inter omnes saeculi huius
molestias apostolicam exhortationem corde retinete,
ubi ait : Dominus in proximo est ; nihil solliciti fueritis.
Talia mihi de vobis nuntientur, quibus noverim non
propter meam praesentiam sed propter dei praecep-
tum, qui numquam est absens, vos solere facere
quod multis annis me praesente et aliquando etiam
me absente fecistis. Dominus vos in pace conservet,
dilectissimi fratres ; orate pro nobis.

" Phil. iv. 5-Q,
216

NO. 31 (Ep. CXXII)

Redeemer, who cannot lie, foretold would come to
pass. So far then from having any right to curtail
your works of mercy, you ought to increase them
beyond your usual measure. For just as they who
see in the crumbling of its walls the impending
downfall of their home, hasten to remove themselves
to places more secure, so ought Christian hearts, the
more they feel by the increase of its trials the ap-
proaching downfall of this present world, to be the
more prompt and active in transferring to the treasury
of heaven those goods they v/ere proposing to store
up on earth ; in this way, if any human misfortune
occurs, he who has removed from the place of destruc-
tion may rejoice, but if no such misfortune follows,
he may not grieve, since, destined some day to die,
he has committed his own possessions to his ever-
lasting Lord, to Whom he will one day depart.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, from what he has
let each one of you according to his ability — and of
that each man is the best judge — give his accus-
tomed share with more than his accustomed cheerful-
ness, and cherish in your hearts amid all the vexations
of this present world that admonition of the Apostle,
in which he says : " The Lord is at hand ; be careful
for nothing."^ Let me have such reports of you that
I may know that it is not because of my presence
but because of God's command, Who is never absent
from you, that you follow the practice you have
followed for many years while I was present with
you, and sometimes even when I was absent. The
Lord preserve you in peace, my beloved brethren.
Pray for us.

217

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 32 (Ep. CXXIV)

DOMIXIS IN DOMINO INSIGNIBUS ET SANC-
TITATE CARISSIMIS AC DESIDERANTIS-
SIMIS FRATRIBUS ALBINAE, PINIANO ET
MELANIAE AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO
SALUTEM

1 Cum habitu valitudinis vel natura frigus ferre non
possim, numquam tamen maiores aestus quani ista
hieme tarn horrenda perpeti potui, quod ad vos,
ad quos volatu maria transeunda fuerant, tam in
proximo constitutos, tam de longinquo visendi nos
gratia venientes, non dicam pergere sed volare non
potui. Et forsitan sanctitas vestra eandem hiemalem
asperitatem poenae meae tantum causam putaverit.
Absit, carissimi. Quid enim grave ac molestum vel
etiam periculosum habent imbres isti, quod non
mihi subeundum ac ferendum fuit, ut ad vos venirem,
tanta in tantis malis nostris solatia, in hac genera-
tione tortuosa ac perversa tam ardenter accensa de
summo lumine lumina suscepta humilitate subUmia
et contempta claritate clariora ? Simul etiam fruerer
carnalis patriae meae tam spiritali felicitate, quae

« Albina was a daughter-in-law of the famous convert,
the elder Melania, who, though of noble birth and great
wealth, became a devoted ascetic. At the age of thirteen
Albina's daughter, the younger Melania here mentioned,
married Pinianus, who was equally high-born and wealthy.
The three left Rome after the sack by Alaric in 410 and
settled at Tagaste (Augustine's carnalis patria of § 1).
They desired to make Augustine's acquaintance, and the
present letter is his apology for being unable to go to
Tagaste to meet them, so they came to Hippo, where the
curious scenes narrated in the following letter, so instructive
for the church life of the period, took place. At Tagaste
218

NO. 32 (Ep. CXXIV)

No. 32 (Ep. CXXIV)

(a.d. 411)

TO ALBINA, PINIANUS, AND MELANIA,"
HONOURED IN THE LORD, CHERISHED IN
HOLINESS AND LONGED FOR IN BROTHERLY
AFFECTION, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING
IN THE LORD

Although from the state of my health, or from my 1
natural constitution, I cannot endure cold, still I have
never had a chance of suffering greater feverishness
than I have done this dreadful winter because of my
inability — I shall not say to go, but to fly, to you (for
to see you I would have flown across the seas) now
that you are settled so near, after coming so far to visit
us. And perhaps you will think, my godly friends, that
this same severity of the \\1nter was the only cause
of my affliction ; far be it from me, beloved ! For
what difficulty or trouble or even danger lies in
those storms that I would not have undergone
and endured in order to be with you, our great
comfort in our great troubles, who in this crooked
and perverse generation are lights kindled into such
brightness by the Light supreme, and are the loftier
for the humility you have taken upon you and the
more illustrious for the lustre you have scorned ? At
the same time I should have too such great spiritual
enjoyment in my earthly birthplace, since it has had

the younger Melania acquired an estate of greater extent
than the town itself. On it were many workers, a balneum,
and two bishops, one Donatist and the other Catholic.
This estate she presented to the church of Tagaste {Anal.
Bolland. viii., 1889, p. 35).

219

ST. AUGUSTINE

vos etiam praesentes habere meruit, de quibus ab-
sentibus, cum id quod nati estis et quod gratia
Christi facti estis, audiret, quamvis caritate crederet,
tamen ne non crederetur, narrare forsitan verebatur.
2 Dicam igitur quare non venerim et quibus malis
a tanto bono impeditus sum, ut non solum a vobis
veniam, sed etiam vestris orationibus ab illo qui in
vobis quod ei vivitis, operatur, merear misericordiam.
Populus Hipponiensis, cui me dominus servum dedit,
cum ex magna ac pene ex omni parte ita infirmus sit,
ut pressura etiam levioris tribulationis possit graviter
aegrotare, nunc tam magna tribulatione caeditur, ut
etiam si non sic esset infirmus, vix eam cum aliqua
salute animi sustineret. Eum autem, cum modo re-
gressus sum, periculosissime scandalizatum comperi
de absentia mea ; vestris autem de quorum spiritali
robore gaudemus in domino, sanis utique faucibus
sapit quo modo dictum sit : Quis infirmatur et ego non
injirmor ? Quis sca?idalizahir et ego non uror ?, prae-
sertim quoniam multi sunt hie qui detrahendo nobis
ceterorum animas a quibus diligi videmur, adversus
nos perturbare conantur, ut locum in eis diabolo
faciant. Cum autem irascuntur nobis de quorum
salute satagimus, magnum illis consilium vindicandi
est libido moriendi non in corpore sed in corde, ubi
funus occulte prius suo putore sentitur, quam nostra
cogitatione prospicitur. Huic meae sollicitudini

2 Cor. xi. 29.
220

NO. 32 (Ep. CXXI\0

the honour of your presence ; in your absence, it
had heard what you were by birth and what by the
grace of Christ you have become, yet though in love
it beheved this, yet it was perhaps afraid to tell it
to others in case they might not believe it.

I shall tell you, then, my reasons for not coming 2
and the troubles that have kept me from so great a
pleasure ; thus I may gain not only pardon from you,
but also, through your prayers, compassion from Him
Who worketh in you to make you live unto Him. The
people of Hippo, to whom the Lord gave me as a
servant, are to a great extent, indeed to an almost
complete extent, so feeble, that the infliction of
even a trivial distress can seriously impair their
well-being, and now they are smitten with such a
great distress that, even were they not so feeble,
they could scarcely endure it without a consider-
able risk of mental collapse. When I returned
recently, I found them offended to a very dangerous
degree at my absence. Now you, whose spiritual
strength has given us such joy in the Lord, can
certainly relish with wholesome palate the point of
the saying: "Who is weak, and I am not weak?
Who is offended, and I burn not? " ^ particularly since
there are here many v.ho by disparaging us attempt
to stir up against us the minds of the others by whom
we seem to be loved, in order to make room in them
for the devil. But when those whose salvation is our
concern are angry with us, their great method of
taking revenge is to lust after death, not the death
of the body, but of the soul, where the fact of dis-
solution is secretly perceived by the odour of corrup-
tion before we can guess at it and take measures
against it. This anxiety of mine I am sure you will

221

ST. AUGUSTINE

procul dubio libenter ignoscitis, praesertim quoniam,
si suscenseretis et velletis ulcisci, nihil fortasse
gravius inveniretis, quam id quod patior cum vos
Tagastae non video. Spero autem vestris adiutus
orationibus, quod mihi ad vos, ubicumque in Africa
fueritis, venire quantocius concedetur, cum hoc quo
nunc detentus sum, praeterierit, si haec civitas in
qua laboramus, digna non est, quia nee ego audeo
dignam putare, quae nobiscum de vestra praesentia
conlaetetur.

No. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)

DOMINAE SANCTAE AC VENERABILI FAMULAE
DEI ALBINAE AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO
SALUTEM

I Dolorem animi tui, quern te scribis expUcare non
posse, consolari aequum est, non augere, ut, si fieri
potest, sanemus suspiciones tuas, non ut eis pro
nostra causa suscensendo venerandum cor tuum et
deo dicatum amplius perturbemus. Sancto fratri
nostro fiUo tuo Piniano nullus ab Hipponiensibus
metus mortis ingestus est, etiamsi forte ipse tale
aliquid timuit; nam et nos metuebamus ne ab ali-
quibus perditis, qui saepe multitudini occulta con-

<• When Albina, Melania, and Pinianus came to Hippo,
the people there, allured by Pinianus's wealth, sought to have
Pinianus forcibly ordained. Augustine was unable to restrain
them from extracting from Pinianus an oath that he would
not leave Hippo and would not receive ordination elsewhere,
but the trio, despite the oath, returned next day to Tagaste.
Letters cxxv.-cxxviii. then passed between Augustine, Aly-
pius, and Albina, warmly discussing the validity of Pinianus's
222

NO. 32 (Ep. CXXIV)— NO. SS (Ep. CXXVI)

gladly pardon, especially since you would perhaps
find no heavier punishment, if you were angry and
wanted to punish me, than what I have been endur-
ing at not seeing you at Tagaste. But I hope that
by the help of your prayers it may be granted me
as soon as possible to pay you a visit, when this
emergency that now detains me is past, wherever in
Africa you may be, if this city that is the scene of
my labours be unworthy, as I myself do not venture
to consider it worthy, to share with me the joy of
your presence.

No. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)

(a.d. 411)

TO THE HOLY LADY AND THE REVERED HAND-
MAID OF GOD, ALBINA," AUGUSTINE SENDS
GREETING IN THE LORD

It is right that I should assuage, and not augment,
the grief of your spirit, which you describe in your
letter as inexpressible ; in this way I may, if possible,
heal your suspicions and not add to the agitation of
your heart, so venerable and so devoted to God, by
indignantly repudiating them for my own sake. The
people of Hippo did nothing to make our holy brother,
your son Pinianus, apprehensive of death, even
though he himself perhaps entertained some fear of
it. We ourselves, indeed, were afraid that some of
the ruffians who often mix with a crowd from some

oath, which Augustine held to be valid, and repudiating the
charge of covetousness. When Pinianus lost his property,
the Hipponiensians quietly let the matter drop.

223

ST. AUGUSTINE

spiratione miscentur, in violentani prorumperetur
audaciam occasione seditionis inventa, quarn velut
iusta indignatione concitaret. Sed, sicut post audire
potuimus, nihil tale a quoquam dictum est vel moli-
tum, sed vere in fratrem meum Alypium multa con-
tumeliosa et indigna clamabant, a quo tarn ingenti
reatu utinam per illius orationes mereantur absolvi.
Ego autem post primos eorum clamores cum eis
dixissem de illo invito non ordinando, qua iam pro-
missione detinerer, atque adiecissem quod, si mea fide
violata ilium haberent presbyterum, me episcopum
non haberent, ad nostra subsellia relicta turba redie-
ram. Tum illi aliquantulum inopinata mea responsione
cunctati atque turbati velut flamma vento paululum
pressa, deinde coeperunt multo ardentius excitari,
existimantes fieri posse, ut vel mihi extorqueretur
illud non servare promissum vel me tenente promissi
fidem ab alio episcopo ordinaretur. Dicebam ego
quibus poteram, qui ad nos in absidem honoratiores
et gra\iores ascenderant, nee a promissi fide me posse
dimoveri nee ab alio episcopo in ecdesia mihi tradita
nisi me interrogate ac permittente posse ordinari ;
quod si permitterem, a fide nihilo minus deviarem.
Addebam etiam nihil eos velle, si ordinaretur in-
vitus, nisi ut ordinatus abscederet. Illi hoc posse

" The apse was the recess, usually semi-circular, in which
the eastern end of the church terminated. It was reserved
to the clergy, who had their seats or stalls (subsellia) there,
hence it was sometimes known as presbyterlum, while, from
its shape, it also received the name concha (Paul. Nol. Ep.
xxxii. 12); the bishop's seat was usually provided with
curtains, so it was called cathedra velata (Aug. Ep. xxiii. 3).
This portion of the church was raised above the nave by

224

NO. ^S (Ep. CXXVI)

secret design might find an opportunity for rioting
and produce an outburst of violence and outrage,
stirring it up from apparently justified resentment ;
but Me later had opportunity to ascertain that
nothing of this kind was either suggested or attempted
by anyone, although, to tell the truth, many insult-
ing and opprobrious remarks were made against
my brother Alypius — for which enormous offence I
would that his prayers might win them pardon.
But for my part, after their outcries began, I told
them I could not ordain him against his will, being
prevented by the promise I had already made, and
I went on to say that if they made me break faith
and had him as their priest, they would not have me
as their bishop. I then left the crowd and returned
to the clergy's stalls, whereupon, like a flame some-
what checked by the wind, they hesitated for a
moment in consternation at my unexpected reply
and then began to be much more afire w^th excite-
ment, thinking that possibly they could MTing from
me the repudiation of my promise, or else that, if I
stuck to my pledged word, he might receive ordina-
tion from another bishop. To those more notable
and more venerable persons who came up to me
in the apse" I kept saying, when possible, that I
could not be deflected from keeping my pledged
word, nor could any other bishop ordain in the church
entrusted to me without my permission asked and
given ; even if I did allow that, I should none the
less be departing from my pledge. I added, too,
that if he were ordained against his Mill, they M'ould
only drive him away after his ordination. They

several steps {ahsis gradata, ib.), and before it stood the
altar and the altar rails {co.ncelli).

Q 225

ST. AUGUSTINE

fieri non credebant. Multitude vero pro gradibus
constituta horrendo et perseverantissimo clamorum
fremitu in eadem voluntate persistans incertos animi
consiliique faciebant. Tunc ilia in fratrem meuni in-
digna clamabantur, tunc a nobis graviora timebantur.
2 Sed quamvis tanto motu populi et tanta perturba-
tione ecclesiae permoverer nee aliud constipationi
illi dixissem nisi eum me invitum ordinare non posse,
nee sic tamen adductus sum, quia et hoc promiseram
non me fuisse facturum, ut aliquid ei de suscipiendo
presbyterio suaderem ; quod si persuadere potuissem,
non iam ordinaretur invitus. Servavi utriusque pro-
missionis fidem, non solum illius quam iam populo
patefeceram, verum etiam illius in qua uno teste,
quantum ad homines adtinet, detinebar. Servavi,
inquam, fidem promissionis, non iurationis, in tanto
periculo. Quod licet falso, sicut postea comperimus,
metuebatur, omnibus tamen, si quod esset, com-
muniter inpendebat, et erat metus ipse communis, ac
propter ecclesiam, in qua eramus, maxime metuens
abscedere cogitabam. Sed metuendum fuit, ne
magis me absente tale aliquid faceret et reverentia
minor et dolor ardentior. Deinde, si cum fratre
Alypio discederem per populum constipatum, caven-
226

NO. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)

would not believe that this could possibly happen,
but the crowd standing before the steps and express-
ing their unchanged and obstinate determination
with the most persistent and hideous din and shout-
ing made them irresolute and perplexed. It was
then that those opprobrious outcries arose against
my brother, and then that I was afraid of more serious
consequences.

Yet, although I was much perturbed at the
excitement among the people and the turmoil
in the church, and assured the crowd only of my
inability to ordain him against his will, even under
those circumstances I was not induced to make any
suggestion to him about accepting priestly orders,
for that was just what I had promised I would not do ;
if I could have succeeded in making him accept my
suggestion, then he would not be ordained against
his will. I remained faithful to both promises, not
only the one I had revealed to the people, but also
the other which, so far as men were concerned, had
only one witness to bind me. I was faithful, I repeat,
even in the face of such danger, to what was a promise,
not an oath. We learned afterwards that our appre-
hensions of danger were without foundation, yet
w^hatever danger there was threatened all of us alike,
and the apprehension was shared by all, and I myself
had thoughts of withdrawing, being chiefly appre-
hensive for the safety of the church in which we were
gathered. But there was reason to fear that if I
were not there, some such outrage mJght be more
likely to result from the increase of their dis-
respect and the greater violence of their resentment.
Further, if I did leave in company with brother
Alypius through the crowded ranks of the people,

227

ST. AUGUSTINE

dum fuitj ne quisquam in euni manum mittere
auderet ; si autem sine illo, quae frons esset existima-
tionis, si quid ei fortassis accideret et viderer eum
propterea deseruisse, ut furenti populo traderetur.
3 Inter hos aestus meos gravemque maerorem et
nullius consilii respirationem, ecce repente atque in-
opinate sanctus filius noster Pinianus mittit ad me
servum dei, qui mihi diceret eum se velle populo
iurare quod, si esset ordinatus in\dtus, ex Africa
discederet omnino, credo, existimans eos, quando
quidem peierare non posset, non iam ulterius in-
fructuosa perseverantia clamaturos ad expellendum
hinc hominem, quem saltem deberemus habere
vicinum. Mihi autem quia videbatur vehementiorem
eorum dolorem post hanc iurationem fuisse metuen-
dum, apud me tacitus habui, et quia simul petierat
ut ad eum venirem, non distuU. Cum mihi dixisset
hoc ipsum, continuo et illud adiunxit eidem iurationi,
quod mihi, dum ad eum pergo, per alium dei servum
mandaverat, de praesentia scihcet sua, si ei clericatus
sarcinam nolenti nullus inponeret. Hie ego in tantis
angustiis quasi aura spirante recreatus nihil ei re-
spondi, sed ad fratrem Alypium gradu concitatiore
perrexi eique quid dixerit, dixi. At ille, ut existimo,
devitans ne quid se auctore fieret, unde vos putabat
ofFendi : " Hinc me," inquit, " nemo consulat." Quo
228

NO. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)

we should have had to see that no one ventured
to lay hands upon him ; while if I left without
him, what a shameful reputation I should earn if
anything happened to him and I appeared to have
deserted him with the sole purpose of delivering him
over to the frenzy of the people.

Amid this feverish anxiety and oppressive anguish, 3
when I w^as without a breath of any plan, lo !
our holy son Pinianus suddenly and unexpectedly
sends a servant of God to me to tell me that he
wanted him to swear to the people that, if he were
ordained against his will, he would leave Africa
altogether ; his notion was, I imagine, that seeing
he could not break his oath, they would not go on
clamouring with such persistence, if it only resulted
in driving from the country a man whom we ought
at least to have as a neighbour. But since it appeared
to me that we had to fear a more violent outburst of
resentment from them in consequence of an oath of
this kind, I kept it to myself and said nothing about
it ; and as he had asked at the same time that I should
go to him, I went at once. After telling me the same
thing, he immediately added to that oath a point that
he had sent another servant of God to put to me
while I was on my way to him, namely, about his
residence in Hippo, provided that no one compelled
him to undertake the burden of clerical office against
his will. At such an impasse, this refreshed me like
a breath of air, but I said nothing to him and went
with hurried step to brother Alypius and told him
what he had said. But he, seeking, I think, to avoid
responsibility for any occurrence that he thought
might give you offence, made answer, " Let no one
ask my advice about it." On hearing this, I returned

229

ST. AUGUSTINE

audito, ad populum tumultuantem perrexi, factoque
silentio, quid promissum esset, cum promissione etiam
iurationis aperui. Illi vero, qui solum eius presby-
terium cogitabant atque cupiebant, non ita ut
putabam, quod oblatum fuerat, acceperunt, sed inter
se aliquantulum mussitantes petiverunt ut adderetur
eidem promissioni atque iurationi, ut, si quando illi
ad suscipiendum clericatum consentire placuisset,
non nisi in ipsa Hipponiensi ecelesia consentiret.
Rettuli ad eum ; sine dubitatione adnuit. Renun-
tiavi illis ; laetati sunt et mox iurationem pollicitam
poposcerunt.
4 Reverti ad filium nostrum eumque inveni fluctu-
antem quibusnam verbis comprehendi posset ilia
cum iuratione promissio propter necessitates in-
ruentes, quae possent eum ut abscederet, cogere.
Simul etiam quid timeret ostendit, ne quis inruisset
hostilis incursus, qui esset discessione vitandus.
Volebat addi sancta Melania et aeris morbidi causa-
tionem, sed illius responsione reprehensa est. Ego
autem dixi gravem ab illo et non contemnendam
causam necessitatis ingestam, quae cives etiam
emigrare compelleret ; sed si haec populo dicerentur,
timendum esse ne male nos ominari videremur, si
autem sub generali necessitatis nomine fieret ex-
cusatio, non nisi fraudulentam necessitatem putari.
Placuit tamen ut de hac re populi animum ex-
periremur, et nihil aliud quam id quod putaveramus,
invenimus. Nam cum eius verba a diacono dicta

230

NO. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)

to the people, who were still in an uproar, and when
silence had been obtained, I made them aware of the
promise he had made and of the oath he had promised
in addition. But as their mind and heart were set only
on making him a priest, they did not accept his
offer as I thought they would, but after a short time
of muttering among themselves, demanded that he
would add to his promise and oath the declaration
that, if ever he decided to consent to undertake
clerical office, he should do so only in the church of
Hippo. I reported this to him ; he agreed without
hesitation ; I returned to them Avith his answer ;
they were overjoyed, and presently demanded the
oath he had promised.

I returned to our son, and found him at a loss for 4<
words in which to frame his promise confirmed by
his oath, allowing for necessities that might occur to
make his departure essential. At the same time,
too, he revealed what it was he feared, namely, the
occurrence of a hostile invasion, to avoid which it
would be necessary to depart. The saintly Melania
wanted to add to this the excuse of the unhealthy
climate, but his reply to this reproved her. I stated
that he had brought forward a ground of necessity
that was grave and not to be despised, one which
would compel the inhabitants as well to abandon the
town ; but if that reason were intimated to the people,
it was to be feared that we might seem to be prophesy-
ing disaster, while if his excuse were stated in general
terms of necessity, they would think that the necessity
was only a make-believe. Yet he decided that we
should test the mind of the people about it, and
we found the result was exactly what we had antici-
pated. For when his words were read out to them

231

ST. AUGUSTINE

recitarentur et omnia placuissent, ubi nomen inter-
positae necessitatis insonuit, continue reclamatum est
promissioque displicuit, tumultu recrudescente et nihil
aliud quam fraude secum agi populo existimante.
Quod cum sanctus filius noster vidisset, iussit inde
auferri nomen necessitatis rursumque ad laetitiam
populus remeavit.

5 Et ut lassitudinem recusarem, sine me ad plebem
accedere noluit ; simul accessimus. Dixit ea quae
a diacono audita erant, se mandasse, se iurasse, eaque
se esse facturum, continuoque omnia eo tenore quo
dictaverat, prosecutus est. Responsum est : " Deo
gratias," et petitum ut totum scriptum subscribere-
tur. Dimisimus catechumenos continuoque scriptum
subscripsit. Deinde peti coepimus nos episcopi, non
vocibus populi sed tamen a populo per honestos
fideles, ut nos quoque subscriberemus. At ubi coepi
subscribere, sancta Melania contradixit. Miratus
sum quare tam sero, quasi promissionem illam et
iurationem nos non subscribendo facere possemus
infectam ; sed tamen obtemperavi, ac sic remansit
mea non plena subscriptio nee ultra nobis quisquam,
ut subscriberemus, putavit instandum.

6 Qui autem alio die, posteaquam ipsum discessisse
didicerunt, fuerint motus vel linguae hominum,
quantum satis arbitratus sum, sanctitati vestrae per

" The catechumens were not allowed to be present at any
rites or prayers (save the "prayers for the catechumens")
or discourses on the inner mysteries of the Faith, though
they heard the ordinary sermons (" ecce post sermonem fit
missa catechumenis : manebunt fideles, venietur ad locum
orationis," Serm. 49. 8).

232

NO. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)

by the mouth of a deacon and everything had been
received with approbation, as soon as the word
" necessity " that he had introduced fell on their ears,
they immediately remonstrated and took exception
to his promise, while the outcry was renewed, and the
people jumped to the conclusion that the negotia-
tions were meant only to deceive them. When our
holy son perceived this, he ordered the word necessity
to be struck out, and the people were restored to
their condition of delight.

And although I pleaded weariness, he would not 5
approach the people without me, so we went together.
He stated that it was his message they had heard the
deacon recite, that he had confirmed it by oath and
would carry out what he had promised, and straight-
way he repeated everything just as he had dictated
it. The response was made, " Thanks be to God,"
and it was asked that the whole written statement
should be subscribed. We dismissed the catechumens '^
and straightway he subscribed the statement. Then
the people began to ask (not by shouting out, but
still through some of the faithful of good report,
commissioned by them) that I, as bishop, should
subscribe it too. But when I began to subscribe it,
the saintly Melania opposed it. I wondered why she
intervened at that late hour, as if my refraining from
subscribing could invalidate his promise and oath ;
but yet I humoured her, and so my subscription
remained unfinished, and no one thought of insisting
any further on my subscribing.

But M'hat the feelings and remarks of people were 6
on the follo^dng day, after they learned of his de-
parture, I have taken the trouble to indicate to you,
my saintly friend, as far as seemed to me necessary, in

ST. AUGUSTINE

commonitorium intimare cura^-i. Quisquis itaque
vobis contraria his quae narravi, forte narra\Tit,
aut mentitur aut fallitur. Quaedam enim quae
mihi ad curam non pertinere visa sunt, praeter-
misisse me sentio, nulla tamen falsa dixisse. Proinde
sanctus filius noster Pinianus quod me praesente ac
permittente iuraverit, verum est ; quod aut em me
praecipiente iuraverit, falsum est. Scit ipse, sciunt
servi dei quos ad me misit, primo sanctus Barnabas,
deinde Timasius, per quem etiam de promissione
praesentiae suae mihi mandavit. Ipse quoque
populus ad presbyterium, non ad ius iurandum cla-
mando cogebat ; sed oblatum sibi non respuit, ea
spe quo posset in eodem apud nos habitante vo-
luntas fieri, quo consentiret ad ordinationem, ne,
sicut iuraverat, si invitus ordinaretur, abscederet.
Ac per hoc et illi propter opus dei clamaverunt —
neque enim sanctificatio presbyterii non est opus dei
— et, quod postea de promissa praesentia gratulati
non sunt, nisi adderetur quod, si quando ad sus-
cipiendum clericatum consentire vellet, non nisi in
Hipponiensi ecclesia consentiret, satis in promptu
est quod etiam de ipsa eius apud se habitatione
speraverint, ideoque ab illo operis dei desiderio non
recesserunt.
7 Quo modo ergo dicis hoc eos fecisse turpissimo
appetitu pecuniae } Primo quia ad plebem, quae
clamabat, omnino non pertinet ; sicut enim plebs
Tagastensis de his, quae contulistis ecclesiae Taga-

234

NO. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)

my official communication. Anyone, therefore, who
happens to give you an account which contradicts the
one I have given you is either lying or misinformed.
I am conscious of having passed over certain points
which seemed to m.e irrelevant to my purpose, but
not of having made any false statement. Likewise,
it is true that our holy son, Pinianus, took the oath in
my presence and with my permission, but it is not
true that he took it at my instigation. He knows this
himself ; the servants of God whom he sent to me
know it, first the saintly Barnabas, then Timasius, by
whom too he sent me the message about his promise
to take up residence in Hippo. The people, too,
were urging him by their cries to accept office as priest,
not to take an oath ; but when it was offered, they did
not refuse it, in the hope that, if he came to live
among us, he might become willing to agree to
ordination, and that he would not take his departure,
as he had sworn to do, if he were ordained against his
will. And so even they were actuated in their out-
cries by concern for God's work — for the consecration
to priesthood is surely God's work — and afterwards
feeling dissatisfied with his promise of residence here
without the further stipulation that if he eventually
decided to agree to undertake clerical office he would
do so only in the church of Hippo, it is quite evident
that they were hopeful too of his taking up house
among them, and so, here too, they did not depart
from their zeal for God's work.

How then can you maintain that in so doing they 7
were impelled by a base love of money? In the first
place, the people who raised the outcry have simply
nothing to do with that ; for just as the people of
Tagaste derive from your gifts to the church of

235

ST. AUGUSTINE

stensi, non habet nisi gaudium boni operis vestri,
sic et Hipponiensis et cuiuslibet alterius loci, ubi
de mammona iniquitatis domini praecepta fecistis vel
estis ubicumque facturi. Non ergo populus, ut de
tanto viro ecclesiae consuleret suae, ardentissime
flagitans suuni pecuniarium commoduni quaesivit a
vobis, sed vestrum pecuniae contemptum dilexit in
vobis. Nam si in me dilexerunt quod audierant paucis
agellulis paternis contemptis ad dei liberam ser\'i-
tutem me fuisse conversum, neque in hoc inviderunt
ecclesiae Tagastensi, quae carnalis patria mea est,
sed, cum ilia mihi clericatum non inposuisset, quando
potuerunt, habendum invaserunt, quanto flagran-
tius in nostro Piniano amare potuerunt tantam mundi
istius cupiditatem, tantas opes, tantam spem tanta
conversione superatam atque calcatam ! Ego quippe
secundum multorum sensum comparantium semet
ipsos sibimet ipsis non divitias dimisisse, sed ad
divitias videor venisse. Vix enim vigesima particula
res mea paterna existimari potest in comparatione
praediorum ecclesiae, quae nunc ut dominus existi-
mor possidere. In qualibet autem maxime Africa-
narum ecclesiarum hie noster non dico presbyter sed
episcopus sit, comparatus pristinis opibus suis, etiamsi
animo dominantis egerit, pauperrimus erit. Multo
ergo liquidius et securius in hoc amatur Christiana
paupertas, in quo nulla rerum ampliorum potest
putari cupiditas. Hoc accendit animos populi, hoc

" Luke xvi. 9. * 2 Cor. x. 12.

236

NO. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)

Tagaste only joy in your good deed, so, too, with
the people of Hippo and of any other place where you
have followed out the Lord's injunctions about the
"mammon of unrighteousness,"" or wherever you
will do so. Thus, in demanding with such eagerness
that their own church should reap the advantage
of so outstanding a man, the people did not seek
their own monetary gain from you, but testified their
esteem for the scorn of money in you. For if because
they had heard that I had scorned my few paternal
acres and had turned to the willing bondage of
God, they testified their esteem for me and did
not grudge them to the church of Tagaste, which
is my earthly birthplace, but, since it had not
imposed clerical office upon me, laid violent hands
upon me when they had the opportunity to make
me their own, how much more ardently could they
esteem in our friend Pinianus his overcoming and
treading under foot such worldly ambitions, such
wealth, such prospects ! I indeed appear in the
opinion of many who compare themselves with them-
selves ^ not to have forsaken a fortune but to have
come into a fortune, for my patrimony can scarcely be
reckoned to be a twentieth part in proportion to the
property of the church, which I am now considered to
possess as a master. But let our brother become —
I do not say a priest, but a bishop in any church,
especially in Africa, he will be extremely poor, in
comparison with his former wealthy condition, even
if he acts in the spirit of a proprietor. In one in
whom there can be no suspicion of coveting a position
of greater affluence, the love of Christian poverty is
therefore much more clearly apparent and certain.
It was that which inflamed the people's mind and

237

ST. AUGUSTINE

in illam violentiam perseverantissimi clamoris erexit.
Non eos turpis cupiditatis insuper accusemus, sed
magis bonum quod ipsi non habent, saltern in aliis
diligere sine crimine permittamus. Nam etsi fuerunt
illi niultitudini permixti inopes vel niendici, qui simul
clamabant et de vestra venerabili redundantia in-
digentiae suae supplementum sperabant, nee ista,
ut arbitror, cupiditas turpis est.
8 Restat ergo ut iste pecuniae turpissimus appetitus
ex obliquo in clericos et niaxime in episcopum diri-
gatur. Nos enim rebus ecclesiae dominari existi-
mamur, nos opibus frui. Postremo quicquid de istis
nos accepimus, nos vel adhuc possidemus vel, ut
placuit, erogavimus ; nihil inde populo extra cleri-
catum vel extra monasterium constituto nisi paucis-
simis indigentibus largiti sumus. Non ergo dico quia
vel in nos maxime a vobis dici ista debuerunt, verum
tamen in nos solos credibiliter dici potuerunt. Quid
ergo faciemus ? Qua nos, si apud inimicos non
possumus, saltern apud vos ratione purgamus ? Res
haec animi est, intus est, procul ab oculis secreta
mortalium deo tantum modo nota est. Quid ergo
restat nisi deum testari, cui nota est ? Cum ergo
de nobis ista sentitis, non praecipitis quod multo
melius est et quod mihi in epistula tua tamquam
culpabile obiciendum putasti, sed omnino cogitis ut
iuremus, non intentato metu mortis carnis nostrae,
238

NO. S3 (Ep. CXXVI)

stirred them up to that violent and most insistent
clamom-. Let us not accuse them in addition of
sordid covetousness, but rather let us allow them,
without imputation of base motives, to esteem in
others at least the good they themselves do not
possess. For even if that crowd had an admixture of
poor persons or beggars who joined in the shouting
and hoped for an addition to their meagre store from
what your Honours could spare, even that, in my
opinion, is not sordid covetousness.

It remains, then, that your charge of a most sordid :
lust for money is indirectly levelled at the clergy,
and especially at the bishop. For it is we who are
thought to be lording it over the Church's property,
and to be enjoying its resources. In short, whatever
income we have received from those sources, it is we
who either have it still in our possession or have
expended it as we pleased ; no portion of it have we
distributed to the people who are outside the ranks
of clergy or outside the monastery, except to a very
few in want. I do not say, then, that the charges you
made were necessarily uttered against us particularly,
but that we are the only people against whom they
could be credibly uttered. What then shall we do ?
If we cannot clear ourselves before our enemies, how
at least shall we do so before you ? It is a matter
of conscience, it lies within, hidden from mortal
eyes, and is known only to God. What then remains
to us but to call as our witness upon God, to Whom
it is all known ? Since such is your feeling about us,
you do not enjoin us to take the much better course
which you have thought fit in your letter to cast up
to me as blameworthy, but you absolutely force me
to take an oath, not threatening me with the death

239

ST. AUGUSTINE

quod populus Hipponiensis fecisse putatus est, sed
intentato metu mortis existimationis nostrae, quae
propter infirmos quibus nos praebere ad exemplum
bonorum operum qualicunique conversatione conamur,
etiam vitae carnis huius utique praeponenda est.
9 Verum tamen vobis nos ita cogentibus ut iuremus,
non suseensemus, sicut vos Hipponiensibus sus-
censetis. Creditis enim, tamquam homines de ho-
minibus, etsi ea quae in nobis non sunt, non tamen
ea quae in nobis esse non possunt. Sananda ista
in vobis, non accusanda sunt, et nostra purganda vobis
est fama, si est domino purgata conscientia. Qui
fortasse praestabit, sicut ante quam accidisset ista
temptatio ego et frater mens Alypius conlocuti sumus,
ut non solum vobis carissimis commembris nostris,
verum etiam ipsis inimicis notissimum fiat nulla nos
cupiditate pecuniae in rebus ecclesiasticis sordidari.
Quod donee fiat, si dominus donabit ut fiat, ecce nunc
interim, quod cogimur facimus, ne vestri cordis
medicinam in quantam libet moram temporis
differamus. Deus testis est istam omnem rerum
ecclesiasticarum procurationem, quarum credimur
amare dominatum, propter servitutem quam debeo
caritati fratrum et timori dei, tolerare me, non amare,
ita ut ea, si salvo officio possim, carere desiderem.
Nee aliud me de fratre meo Alypio sentire ipse deus

« Titus ii. 7.
240

NO. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)

of this body of mine, as the people of Hippo are
supposed to have done, but threatening me with
the death of my good reputation, which is surely to
be reckoned more precious than even the life of
this body, because of the weak brethren, to whom
we strive by our conduct, such as it is, to show our-
selves an example of good works."

Yet, though you do in this way force me to take an
oath, I am not indignant with you, as you are Mith
the people of Hippo, for, like men judging other men,
even if you believe the things which are not in us,
still you do not believe the things that cannot be in
us. That is a fault in you that is rather to be cured
than to be censured, and, if our conscience is clear
in the sight of the Lord, our character has to be
cleared in your sight. It may be, as my brother
Alypius and I said in conversation before that tempta-
tion occurred, that God will grant that not only you,
our beloved fellow-Christians, but also our enemies,
may know without a shadow of a doubt that no lust
for money defiles us in our administration of the
Church's business. Until that happen (if the Lord
grants it to happen), just see, I am doing as a tem-
porary expedient what you force me to do, in order
to avoid the slightest possible delay in soothing your
feelings. God is my witness that it is only because
of the service I owe to the love of my brethren and
the fear of God that I put up with all the administra-
tion of the Church's business over which I am sup-
posed to love the exercise of lordship, and that I have
so little liking for it that I should wish to do without it,
if it could be done without unfaithfulness to my office.
God Himself is my witness that I believe the same to
be quite true about my brother Alypius. Neverthe-
R 241

ST. AUGUSTINE

testis est. Tamen et de illo aliter sentiendo populus
et, quod est gravius, Hipponiensis in tantas est illius
praecipitatus iniurias et de nobis vos sancti dei et
pleni visceribus misericordiae talia credendo nomine
eiusdem populi, qui ad causam huiusce modi cupidi-
tatis omnino non pertinet, nos tangere atque ad-
monere voluistis utique ad nos corrigendos, neque
enim odio, quod absit a vobis. Unde non irasci sed
gratias agere debeo, quod nee verecundius nee
liberius agere potuistis, ut episcopo non quasi
con\-iciose obiceretis quod sentiebatis, sed ex obliquo
intellegendum relinqueretis.
10 Nee molestum sit vobis ut vos velut gravatos
arbitremini, quia iurandum putavi. Neque enim
gravabat apostolus aut eos parum diligebat quibus
dieebat : Non in sermone adulationis fuimus apud vos
neque in occasione cupiditatis ; deus testis est. Rei
quippe apertae ipsos testes adhibuit, rei autem
occultae quem nisi deum ? Si ergo ille merito est
veritus ne humana ignorantia de illo aliquid tale
sentiret, cuius labor in promptu omnibus erat, quod
nisi summa necessitate a populis quibus Christi
gratiam dispensabat, in usus suos aliquid non sume-
bat, cetera vero suo victui necessaria suis manibus
transigebat ; quanto magis nobis laborandum est, ut
credatur, qui et merito sanctitatis et virtute animi
longe inpares sumus nee aliquid ad sustentacula vitae
huius operari nostris manibus possumus, et si posse-

° 1 Thess. ii. 5.
242

NO. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)

less, because in his case the people (and what is worse,
the people of Hippo) held a different belief, they
rushed into that abuse of him, and in our case,
because you believed such accusations, though nomin-
ally censuring the same people, who have simply
nothing to do with this charge of covetousness, you,
M'ho are saints of God and full of tender compassion,
tried to get at us and reprove us, though to be sure it
was for our improvement, and not from dislike — far
be that from you. And so I should not be angry, but
grateful, since you could not have acted in a more
respectful or a more courteous manner, not offen-
sively hurling at the bishop the reproof you had in
mind, but leaving it to be indirectly understood.

Do not be offended and think yourselves in a 10
way ill-used, that I have thought it necessary to
take an oath, for the apostle was not ill-using or
ceasing to have affection for those to whom he
said, " Neither used we at any time flattering
words, as ye know, nor took any opportunity for
covetousness; God is witness." ** For the known
fact he took them to witness themselves, but for the
hidden fact, God alone. If he then was right in fear-
ing that human ignorance might conceive some such
opinion about himself, whose labours were open for
all men to see and who only in extreme necessity
took anything for his own benefit from the peoples
to whom he ministered the grace of Christ, producing
with his own hands everything necessary for his
sustenance ; how^ much more should we exert our-
selves to secure men's confidence, for both in holy
merit and in mental courage we are far inferior and
are unable with our own hands to make anything
that would support this life ; even if w^e could, the

243

ST. AUGUSTINE

mus, tantis occupationibus, quas tunc illos non credo
fuisse perpessosj nequaquam sineremur ! Non ergo
ulterius in hac causa populo Christiano, quae ecclesia
est dei, obiciatur pecuniae turpissimus appetitus.
Tolerabilius enim nobis obicitur, in quos huius mali
quamvis falsa, tamen verisimilis suspicio cadere potuit,
quam illis quos ab hoc appetitu et a suspicione
constat alienos.
11 Denegare autem iurationem qualibet fide prae-
ditas mentes, quanto magis fide Christiana, non dico
aliquid contrarium confimiare, sed omnino dubitare,
fas non est. De qua re quid sentiam, satis, ut
arbitror, in epistula quam ad fratrem meum scripsi,
planissime aperui. Scripsit mihi sanctitas tua : "Si
aut ego aut Hipponienses hoc censent, ut iuri iurando
violenter extorto satis fiat." Tu enim ipsa quid
censes ? Placetne tibi, ut etiam certa morte im-
minente, quod tunc inaniter metuebatur, nomen
domini dei sui in fallaciam Christianus adsumat,
deum suum testem falsitati Christianus adhibeat ?
Qui profecto si praeter iurationem ad falsum testi-
monium morte imminente cogeretur, maculare vitam
suam magis timere debuit quam finire. Hostiles
inter se acies et armatae certe apertissima mortis
intentione confligunt, et tamen, cum invicem iurant,
laudamus fidem servantes, fallentes autem merito
detestamur. Ut autem iurarent, quid utraeque ab
alterutris nisi occidi vel capi timuerunt ? Ac per
hoc vel mortis vel captivltatis metu extortae iurationi

" His letter to Alypius, Ep. cxxv., discussing how far an
oath is binding.

244

NO. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)

many demands upon us, such as I do not think they
in their day endured, would altogether prevent us. So
in this matter let no further reproach of the base lust
for money be made against the Christian people who
constitute the Church of God. It is more tolerable
that it should be made against us, for on us suspicion of
that sin could fall, though without ground, yet not with-
out probability, than upon those who are well known
to be far removed from this lust and this suspicion.

For minds endowed with any faith — and how much 11
more Christian faith! — to deny an oath, I do not say
to assert anything that contradicts it, but to waver in
regard to it at all, this is utterly wrong. In the letter"
I wTote to my brother I have, I think, revealed with
sufficient clearness my opinion on this point. Your
Holiness has ^\Titten to me, asking whether the people
of Hippo or I think that anyone should abide by an
oath that was extorted by force. What do you think
yourself.^ Does it meet with your approval that
a Christian should call upon the name of the Lord his
God with intent to deceive, that a Christian should
make his God a witness to a falsehood, even under
the menace of certain death, the fear of which was
in this case unfounded ? Surely if he were com-
pelled by the menace of death to bear false witness
besides his oath, he ought to fear the loss of honour
more than the loss of life. Hostile armies confront
each other with weapons and contend with the un-
doubted and avowed purpose of dealing death, and
yet w^hen they take an oath to each other, we praise
those who keep their word and rightly execrate those
who break it. What impelled them to take an oath,
unless the fear on each side of being slain or captured ?
And so, unless the oath extorted by the fear of either

245

ST. AUGUSTINE

nisi parcatur, nisi fides quae ibi data est custodiatur,
sacrilegii, periurii crimine detinentur etiam tales
homines, qui magis metuunt peierare quam hominem
occidere ; et nos, utrum implenda sit extorta iuratio
servorum dei munere sanctitatis praeminentium,
monachorum ad perfectionem mandatorum Christi
reruni etiam suarum distributione currentium, quasi
diseeptaturi ponimus quaestionem.
12 Nam quid exilii vel deportationis aut relegationis
nomine promissa ilia praesentia praegravatur, ob-
secro te ? Puto quod presbyterium non est exilium.
Hoc ergo noster eligeret quam illud exilium ? Absit
a nobis ut sic sanctus dei et nobis carissimus de-
fendatur ; absit, inquam, ut dicatur maluisse exilium
quam presbyterium aut maluisse periurium quam
exilium. Haec dicerem, si vere a nobis aut a populo
iuratio ei fuisset extorta promittendae praesentiae ;
nunc vero non extorta est dum negaretur, sed, dum
ofFerretur accepta, et hoc ea spe, sicut supra diximus,
quia per illam praesentiam creditum est eum etiam
ad clericatum suscipiendum posse desiderantibus
consentire. Postremo, quodlibet de nobis vel de
Hipponiensibus sentiatur, longe alia est eorum causa
qui coegerint iurare, quam eorum qui non dicam
coegerint, sed suaserint, peierare. Ipse etiam de
quo agitur, considerare non renuat utrum sit peius
246

NO. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)

death or captivity be respected, unless the faith they
have pledged in it be kept, even men of that kind
are held back by the fear of being charged with
sacrilege and perjury, because they are more afraid
of breaking faith than of taking human life ; and yet
we debate like splitters of hairs whether an oath
should be fulfilled that was extorted from servants of
God who are most notable by reason of their holiness,
from ascetics who even by the distribution of their
own property are swift to carry out Christ's com-
mandments.

Is it that his promised residence here, I ask you, 12
is burdened with the name of exile or transportation
or banishment ? I do not suppose that the office of
priest is an exile. Would our friend then choose it in
preference to that exile ? Far be it from us to make
that excuse for one who is a saint of God and very
dear to ourselves ; far be it from us, I repeat, to say
of him that he preferred exile to the priestly office,
or preferred perjury to exile. I might say that, if
the oath by which he promised to reside here had
been really extorted from him by us or by the people,
but in point of fact it was not extorted in spite of his
refusal, but accepted on being proffered, and that
in the hope and belief, as I said above, that by his
residence here he might possibly comply with their
desire that he should undertake clerical office. In
the last place, whatever opinion be entertained of the
people of Hippo or of us, there is a great difference
between the case of those who may have compelled
him to take the oath and that of those who may have
persuaded, not to say compelled, him to break it.
Further, let him of whom we speak not refuse to
consider whether an oath taken under the compulsion

247

ST. AUGUSTINE

sub quolibet timore ius iurandum, an remoto timore
ipso periurium.
13 Deo gratias quia non aliter Hipponienses pro-
missum circa se impleri sentiunt, quam ut adsit
voluntate habitandi, et eat quo necesse fuerit, cum
dispositione redeundi. Nam si verba iurationis
adtenderent et exigerent, nuUo modo servus dei
recedere quam ullo modo debuit peierare. Sed quia
crimen eorum esset non dico talem virum sed quem-
libet hominem sic tenere, nee ipsi aliam expecta-
tionem se habuisse probaverunt, qui audientes quod
rediturus abscesserit, gratulati sunt, nee aliud illis
verax iuratio debet quam id quod ab ilia expecta-
verunt. Quid est autem, quod dicitur eum iuratione
ore suo expressa exceptionem fecisse necessitatis,
quasi non ore suo rursus hoc iussit auferri ? Certe
ad populum quando ipse locutus est, tunc etiam inter-
poneret. Quod si fecisset, non utique responderetur :
" Deo gratias," sed ad illam rediretur reclamationem
quae facta fuerat quando sic a diacono recitatum
est. Et numquid ad rem pertinet, sive interposita
sit ad recedendum necessitatis excusatio sive non
sit ? Nihil ab illo aliud expectatum est quam id
quod supra diximus. Expectationem autem eorum
quibus iuratur quisquis deceperit, non potest esse
non periurus,
248

NO. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)

of any kind of fear is a worse thing than the breaking
of that oath, when the actual fear has been removed.

Thanks be to God that the people of Hippo regard 13
his promise towards themselves as being fulfilled if
he comes to the town %\'ith the intention of residing in
it, and departs whither necessity calls him with the
purpose of returning. If they were to regard the
letter of his oath and demand its literal fulfilment,
God's servant ought in no wise to depart rather than
in any -sdse to break his M'ord. Yet, since it would be
criminal for them so to bind any individual, not to
mention a man of his quality, they themselves have
proved that they entertained no other expectation, for
on hearing that he had departed with the promise
of return, they manifested their satisfaction ; and
fidelity to an oath requires no more and no less than
the performance of what was anticipated from it by
those to whom it was made. What is the use of say-
ing that in taking the oath that he framed with his
own lips, he added a proviso about circumstances that
might necessitate his leaving the town ; the fact is
that \\'ith his own lips he again ordered that clause to
be struck out. To be sure, he might have put it in
again when he spoke to the people, but if he had, they
surely would not have made answer, " Thanks be to
God ! " but would have returned to that protest
which they made when it was read out by the deacon
with the proviso inserted. And does it really affect
the point, whether the excuse of necessity for leaving
the town was inserted or was not ? Nothing more
and nothing less was expected from him than what
I mentioned above, and anyone who disappoints the
expectations of those to whom he takes an oath cannot
be anything but a perjurer.

249

ST. AUGUSTINE

14 Fiat ergo quod promissum est, et infirmorum corda
sanentur, ne tanto exemplo, quibus hoc placuerit,
ad imitandum periurium aedificentur, quibus autem
displicet, iustissime dieant nulli nostrum credendum
esse non solum promittenti aliquid sed etiam iuranti.
Hinc enim potius cavendae sunt linguae inimi-
corum, de quibus tamquam iaculis ad interficiendos
infirmos maior ille utitur inimicus. Sed absit ut de
tali anima speremus aliud quam quod dei timor
inspirat et tanta quae in ilia est excellentia sancti-
tatis hortatur. Ego autem, quern dicis etiam pro-
hibere debuisse, fateor, non potui sic sapere, ut tanto
vel tumultu vel ofFensione magis everti vellem ec-
clesiam cui servio, quam id quod a tali viro nobis
ofFerebatur, accipere.

No. 34 (Ep. CXXXIII)

DOMINO EXIMIO ET MERITO INSIGNI ATQUE
CARISSIMO FILIO MARCELLING AUGUSTINUS
EFISCOPUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Circumcelliones illos et clericos partis Donati, quos

" Marcellinus, a tribune and notary, was brother to
Apringius, proconsul of Africa, and was appointed by the
Emperor Honorius to preside over an inquiry into the dis-
pute between CathoHcs and Donatists. This conference took
place in June 411, and in spite of the impartiality and
moderation shown by Marcehinus, the Donatists accused
him of receiving bribes (Ep. cxU. ; Cod. Theod. xvi. 11. 5).
In this letter, and in cxxxviii. and cxxxix., Augustine de-
plores the violence of the Circumcellions, but exhorts him
to show mercy to those misguided fanatics. Marcellinus
and Augustine were on terms of close friendship, and to him
Augustine dedicated his De Peccatorum Meritis et Remissione,
De Spiritu et Littera, and the first two books of the De
Civitate Dei, which he says were written at Marcellinus's
250

NO. 33 (Ep. CXXVI)— NO. 34 (Ep. CXXXIII)

Therefore let his promise be fulfilled and the heart 14
of the weak brethren be healed, so that this notable
precedent may not encourage those who approve of
it to commit similar perjury, or those who disapprove
of it to say with perfect justice that no one of us is
to be believed, not only on promise of anything, but
even on oath. In this connexion we ought rather
to safeguard ourselves against the tongues of our
enemies, which our greater enemy employs like
darts to slay the weak. But be it far from us to hope
for anything from a soul like his, other than M'hat
the fear of God inspires, and its own great, native
excellence of holiness exhorts. As for myself, you
say I ought actually to have forbidden his oath, but
I confess I could not be so minded as to prefer seeing
the church I serve overthrown by such an uproarious
outbreak to accepting the offer made to me by a man
of his standing.

No. 34 (Ep. CXXXIII)

(a.d. 411)

TO MY NOBLE AND JUSTLY DISTINGUISHED
LORD AND DEAREST SON, MARCELLINUS,'»
BISHOP AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN
THE LORD

Those Circumcellions and clergy of the Donatist 1

suggestion. In 413, during the revolt of Heraclian, Marcel-
linus and his brother were seized, imprisoned, and, in spite
of a petition from several of the African bishops, put to
death. Ep. cli. narrates the circumstances of his death and
pays a noble tribute to his memory. The impartial conduct
of Marcellinus towards the Donatists was commemorated in
an imperial decree {Cod. Theod. xvi, 5. oo)^ and his memory
is honoured by the Church of Rome on April 6.

251

ST. AUGUSTINE

de Hipponiensi ad iudicium pro factis eorum publicae
disciplinae cura deduxerat, a tua nobilitate comperi
auditos et plurimos eorum de homicidio quod in
Restitutum, catholicum presbyterum, commiserunt,
et de caede Innocentii, alterius catholic! presbyteri»
atque de oculo eius efFosso et digito praeciso, fuisse
confessos. Unde mihi sollicitudo maxima incussa
est, ne forte sublimitas tua censeat eos tanta legum
severitate plectendos, ut qualia fecerunt, talia
patiantur. Ideoque his Htteris obtestor fidem tuam,
quam habes in Christo, per ipsius domini Christi
misericordiam, ut hoc nee facias nee fieri omnino
permittas. Quamvis enim ab eorum interitu dis-
simulare possumus, qui non accusantibus nostris sed
illorum notoria, ad quos tuendae pubUcae pacis
vigilantia pertinebat, praesentati videantur exa-
mini, nolumus tamen passiones servorum dei quasi
vice tahonis paribus suppUciis vindicari, non quo
scelestis hominibus hcentiam facinorum prohibeamus
auferri, sed hoc magis sufficere volumus, ut vivi et
nulla corporis parte truncati vel ab inquietudine
insana ad sanitatis otium legum cohercitione diri-
gantur vel a malignis operibus alicui utili operi
deputentur. Vocatur quidem et ista damnatio, sed
quis non intellegat magis beneficium quam supplicium
nuncupandum, ubi nee saeviendi relaxetur audacia
nee paenitendi medicina subtrahatur ?
252

NO. S4 (Ep. CXXXIII)

party whom the guardians of pubUc order had taken
from Hippo to be tried for their misdeeds, have been
heard. I am informed, bv your Excellency, and the
majority of them have confessed to having murdered
Restitutus, a Catholic priest, and beaten Innocentius,
another Catholic priest, and gouged out his eye and
cut off a finger. This news has plunged me into the
deepest anxiety, lest perchance your Highness may
decide that they must endure a legal sentence so
severe that their punishment shall be similar in kind
to their crime. For that reason I implore you by the
faith you have in Christ, by the mercy of Christ the
Lord Himself, neither to do this nor to let it be done
at all. For although we can disclaim responsibility
for the death of men who were clearly made to ap-
pear before the court on no accusation of ours, but
on the indictment of those officers who were concerned
with the safe-guarding of the public peace, still it is
not our desire that the sufferings of God's servants
shall be avenged by the infliction of similar punish-
ments, as if by way of retaliation ; not that we refuse
to allow M-icked men to be deprived of impunity
in crime, but that we rather desire that justice be
satisfied in such a way as to turn the \^-icked by
means of coercive measures from their mad frenzy
to the peaceableness of sane men, without taking
their life or crippling them in any part of the body,
and so set them to some useful work instead of
their works of malice. That too is called a penal
sentence, but who can fail to see that it is to be termed
rather a benefit than a punishment, when, on the one
side, bold and frenzied violence is not allowed a free
hand, and, on the other, the remedy of repentance
is not withheld ?

ST. AUGUSTINE

2 Imple, Christiane iudex, pii patris officium, sic
suscense iniquitati, ut consulere humanitati memi-
neris, nee in peecatorum atrocitatibus exereeas uleis-
cendi libidinem, sed peecatorum vulneribus eurandi
adhibeas voluntatem. Noli perdere paternani dili-
gentiam, quam in ipsa inquisitione servasti, quando
tantorum seelerum confessionem non extendente
eculeo, non sulcantibus ungulis, non urentibus
flammis, sed virgarum verberibus eruisti, — qui modus
cohercitionis et a magistris artium liberalium et ab
ipsis parentibus et saepe etiam in iudiciis solet ab
episcopis haberi. Noli ergo atrocius vindicare quod
lenius invenisti. Inquirendi quam puniendi neces-
sitas maior est ; ad hoc enim et mitissimi homines
facinus occultatum diligenter atque instanter exami-
nant, ut inveniant quibus parcant. Unde plerum-
que necesse est, exerceatur acrius inquisitio, ut
manifestato scelere, sit ubi appareat mansuetudo.
Omnia quippe bona opera amant in luce constitui
non propter humanam gloriam, sed ut videant, ait
dominus, bona opera vestra et glorificent patrem vestrum,
qui iji caelis est. Et ideo non sufficit apostolo monere
ut mansuetudinem servaremus, sed ut earn etiam
notam omnibus faceremus : Mansuetudo, inquit,
vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus, et alio loco : Man-
suetudinem ostentantes ad omnes homines, ut nee ilia
sancti David, quando inimico sibi in manus tradito
clementer pepercit, praeclarissima lenitas emineret,

" Matt. V. 16. ^ Phil. iv. 5. ^ Titus iii. 2.

^ The reference is to David's sparing the life of Saul in
the cave at En-gedi, when David cut off the skirt of Saul's
robe (1 Samuel xxiv. 1-8).
254

NO. 34 (Ep. CXXXIII)

Christian judge, fulfil the duty of a devoted father ; 2
be angry at wickedness, yet forget not humane con-
siderations, and do not give rein to the desire to
seek revenge for the atrocity of their sinful deeds,
but exert your will to the curing of the sores of the
sinners. Do not lose that fatherly care that you
maintained at the inquiry, when you extracted the
confession of those heinous offences, not by stretch-
ing them on the rack, or by furrowing their flesh Mith
hooks, or by burning them with flames, but by beat-
ing them with rods — a method of coercion employed
by schoolmasters and by parents themselves, and
often by bishops as well in their courts. Do not then
punish with harsher sentence what you found out by
gentler methods. The need for finding out is greater
than that of punishment, for even the gentlest of men
investigate a hidden crime with care and insistence,
to the end that they may find out those whom
they are to spare. That is why it is usually neces-
sary to pursue the investigation with greater harsh-
ness, so that, when the guilt has been brought to
light, there may be an opportunity for showing
moderation. For all good works delight in being
set in the light, not to gratify human vanity, but,
as the Lord says, that men " may see your good works
and glorify your Father which is in heaven." " And
for this reason the Apostle was not satisfied with
admonishing us to preserve our moderation, but urged
us further to make it known to all, saying, " Let your
moderation be known to all men," ^ and elsewhere,
" Showing moderation to all men." ^ So, too, that very
remarkable forbearance of the holy David, when in
his clemency he spared the enemy who was delivered
into his hands, ^ would not be so conspicuous, if his

255

ST. AUGUSTINE

nisi potestas pariter appareret. Non te ergo ex-
asperet vindicandi potestas, cui lenitatem non ex-
cussit examinandi necessitas. Noli facinore invento
quaerere percussorem, in quo inveniendo noluisti
adhibere tortorem.
3 Postremo pro ecclesiae utilitate missus es. Hoc
ecelesiae catholicae aut, ut modum dispensationis
meae non supergredi videar, hoc ecclesiae ad Hip-
poniensium-Regiorum dioecesim pertinenti prodesse,
hoc expedire contestor. Si non audis aniicum peten-
tem. audi episcopum consulentem, quamvis, quoniam
Christiano loquor, niaxime in tali causa non arro-
ganter dixerim, audire te episcopum convenit iuben-
tem, domine eximie et merito insignis atque carissime
fili, unde scio quidem causas ecclesiasticas excel-
lentiae tuae potissimum iniunctas ; sed quia credo
istam curam ad virum clarissimum atque spectabilem
proconsulem pertinere, ad eum quoque litteras dedi,
quas rogo ut ipse iUi tradere et allegare, si opus est,
non graveris. Atque ambos obsecro, ne importunam
arbitremini vel intercessionem vel suggestionem vel
soUicitudinem nostram, et passiones catholicorum
servorum dei, quae infirmis ad aedificationem
spiritalem utiles esse debent, baud reciproca inimi-
corum, a quibus passi sunt, poena decoloretis, sed
potius refracta iudiciaria severitate et vestram fidem,
quia filii estis ecclesiae, et ipsius matris mansuetu-
256

NO. 34 (Ep. CXXXIII)

power to act otherwise were not equally apparent.
So then, do not let your power to exact punishment
drive you to harsh measures, when the need for
making an investigation did not make you discard
your clemency. Do not send for the executioner
after finding out the crime, when to find it out you
did not use the services of the torturer.

Finally, it is for the benefit of the Church that you S
have been sent. I solemnly avow that such a line of
action is to the advantage of the Church as a whole
or, not to have the appearance of going beyond the
limits of my own stewardship, of the church belong-
ing to the diocese of Hippo Regius. If you will not
give ear to the petition of a friend, give ear to
a bishop's advice ; in fact, since I am addressing a
Christian, it would not be arrogant in me to say,
especially in a matter of this kind, that it is your duty,
my noble and justly distinguished lord and well-
beloved son, to give ear to a bishop's commands,
concerning that for which most of all, as I know, the
Church cases have devolved upon your Excellency ;
but as I believe this responsibility belongs to that
illustrious and admirable man, the Proconsul, I have
written a letter to him too, which I beg you to take
the trouble to hand to him and, if need be, to re-
commend to his notice yourself. And I beseech
both of you not to think I am importunate with
either my intercession or advice or anxiety, and not
to let the sufferings of the Catholic servants of God,
which ought to be of benefit in the spiritual up-
building of the weak, be sullied by the retaliation of
punishment on the enemies at whose hand they
suffered ; rather, blunting the edge of judicial rigour,
exert every effort to commend your faith, since ye
s 257

ST. AUGUSTINE

dinem commendare minime neglegatis. Deus omni-
potens praestantiam tuam bonis omnibus augeat,
domine eximie et merito insignis atque carissime fili.

No. 35 (Ep. CXLIV)

DOMINIS HOXORABILIBUS ET MERITO SUS-
CIPIENDIS CARISSIMIS AC DESIDERANTIS-
SIMIS FRATRIBUS IN OMNI HONORUM
GRADU CIRTENSIBUS AUGUSTINUS EPI-
SCOPUS

1 Si id quod in vestra civitate nos graviter con-
tristabat, absumptum est, si duritia cordis humani
resistens manifestissimae et quodam modo publicae
veritati eiusdem potentia veritatis evicta est, si
sapit dulcedo pads unitatisque caritas non iam
reverberat oculos saucios, sed sanos inlustrat ac
vegetat, non sunt haec opera nostra sed dei, non
haec hunianis opibus oninino tribuereni nee si, cum
apud vos essemus, tanta conversio multitudinis nobis
loquentibus et hortantibus proveniret. Hoc agit ille
et efficit, qui per ministros suos rerum signis ex-
trinsecus admonet, rebus autem ipsis per se ipsum
intrinsecus docet. Nee ideo pigrius moveri nos

" For Cirta or Constantine see p. 98 n. a. That town was
apparently a stronghold of Donatism, and its Donatist bishop,
Petilianus, was addressed by Augustine in two treatises.
Contra litteras PeUliani and De xmico haptismo contra
Petilianum ; there, too, a Donatist council was held in 396
(Ep. xxxiv. 5). After the Conference of 411, Donatists
who refused to join the Catholic Church were exposed to the
full rigour of the law, and in January 412 Honorius an-
nulled all rescripts in their favour (Cod. Theod. xvi. 5. 52).
At Cirta itself a Council of Numidian bishops was held on

258

NO. 34 (Ep. CXXXIII)— NO. 35 (Ep. CXLIV)

are sons of the Church, and at the same time the
moderation of your Holy Mother.

May Almighty God enrich your Excellency with all
good things, my noble and deservedly distinguished
lord and well-beloved son.

No. 35 (Ep. CXLRO

(a.d. 412)

BISHOP AUGUSTINE TO MY HONOURABLE AND
JUSTLY ESTEEMED LORDS, MY DEAREST
AND MUCH LONGED FOR BRETHREN, THE
PEOPLE OF CIRTA « OF ALL RANKS

If that which greatly distressed me in your city 1
has been removed, if the hardness of the human
heart, resisting the most evident and, as one might
say, the most notorious truth, has been overcome by
the power of that same truth, if there is relish for
the sweet savour of peace, and the brotherly love that
springs from unity no longer dazzles aching eyes, but
fills with light and vigour eyes that are sound, this is
not my doing, but God's ; I would not in the least attri-
bute it to human resources, even if the conversion of
so great a multitude had taken place when I was
among you, in response to my own addresses and
exhortations. That is His doing. His achievement.
Who uses his ministers to draw attention to the
external signs of things, but teaches men by things
themselves within, through none but Himself. Yet

June 14, 412, which addressed a letter (Ep. cxli.) to the
Donatist laity. As a result of that Council the people of
Cirta returned to the Church, whereupon Augustine wrote
this letter of congratulation and exhortation.

259

ST. AUGUSTINE

oportet ad visendos vos, quoniam quicquid in vobis
laudabile factum est, non a nobis sed ab illo factum
est, qiti facit mirahilia solus. Multo enim alacrius
debemus accurrere ad spectanda opera divina quam
nostra, quia et nos, si quid boni sumus, opus illius,
non hominum sumus ; unde apostolus dixit : Neque
qui plantat est aliquid, neque qui rigat, sed qui i?i-
crementum dat deus.
2 Xenocrates Polemonem, ut scribitis et nos ex illis
litteris recordamur, de fruge temperantiae dispu-
tando non solum ebriosum verum et tunc ebrium
ad mores alios repent e convertit. Quamquam ergo
ille, sicut prudent er et veraciter intellexistis, non
deo fuerit adquisitus sed tantum a dominatu luxuriae
liberatus, tamen ne id ipsum quidem quod melius
in eo factum est, humano operi tribuerim sed divino.
Ipsius namque corporis, quod est infimum nostrum,
si qua bona sunt sicut forma et vires et salus et si
quid eius modi est, non sunt nisi ex deo creatore ac
perfectore naturae ; quanto magis animi bona donare
nullus alius potest ! Quid enim superbius vel in-
gratius cogitare potest humana vecordia, si putaverit,
cum carne pulchrum deus faciat hominem, animo
castum ab homine fieri ? Hoc in libro Christianae
sapientiae sic scriptum est : Cum scirem, inquit,
quia nemo esse potest co?itinens, nisi deus det, et hoc

« Ps. Ixxi. 18. M Cor. ill. 7.

* Polemo was a profligate Athenian youth, who with a
band of revellers burst one day into the school of Xenocrates
the philosopher, and was so arrested by the discourse, which
happened to be about temperance, that he tore off the gar-
lands with which he was bedecked and remained an attentive
listener. Adopting an abstemious life, he became a disciple
of Xenocrates and succeeded him as head of the school
in 315 B.C. The story was often told by the ancients (see
260

NO. 35 (Ep. CXLR^

the fact that whatever praiseworthy change has been
wrought in you has been MTOught not by us, but by
Him "Who alone doeth wonderful works," « is no
reason why we should be less eager to stir ourselves
to visit you. With much more eagerness ought we
to hasten to behold the works of God than our own,
for we too, in so far as we are good at all, are His work,
not the work of men. That is why the Apostle says,
" Neither is he that planteth anything, neither he
that watereth, but God that giveth the increase." ^

You mention in your letter an incident which I too
recall from classical literature, how by discoursing on
the fruits of temperance Xenocrates suddenly con-
verted Polemo ^ to another mode of life, though he
was not only a drunkard but was actually drunk at
the time. Now although he was not won for God,
but was only delivered from the thraldom of self-in-
dulgence, as you have wisely and truly apprehended,
yet I would not ascribe even that change wrought
in him for the better to the work of man, but to that
of God, for from God alone, by Whom nature was
created and made perfect, come whatever good
qualities there are in the body itself, the lowest part
of us, such as comeliness and strength and health and
the like. How much more sure is it, therefore, that no
other can bestow its good qualities upon the soul. Can
human folly harbour a more arrogant or ungrateful
thought than the notion that whereas God makes man
beautiful in body, man makes himself pure in heart ?
In the book of Christian Wisdom it is written, "When
I perceived that no one could have self-restraint, un-

Lejay on Horace, Sat. ii. 3. 254), and is frequently mentioned
by Christian writers (Ambr. Helia, 12. 45 ; Aug. C. Jul.
Pelag. i. 4. 12, 7. 35; Hier. In Osee, i. 1, etc.).

261

ST. AUGUSTINE

ipsum erat sapientiae scire cuius esset hoc donum.
Polemon ergo si ex luxurioso continens factus, ita
sciret cuius esset hoc donuni, ut euni abiectis super-
stitionibus gentium pie coleret, non solum continens
sed etiam veraciter sapiens et salubriter religiosus
existeret, quod ei non tantum ad praesentis vitae
honestatem verum et ad futurae immortalitatem
valeret. Quanto minus igitur mihi adrogare debeo
conversionem istam vestram vel populi vestri, quam
nobis modo nuntiastis, quae me nee loquente nee
saltem praesente procul dubio divinitus facta est. in
quibus veraciter facta est ! Hoc itaque praecipue
cognoscite, hoc pie humiUterque cogitate. Deo,
fratres, deo gratias agite, deum timete, ne deficiatis,
amate, ut proficiatis.

Si autem adhuc quosdam amor hominis occulte
segregat et timor hominis fallaciter congregat,
observent, qui tales sunt, quoniam deum, cui nuda est
humana conscientia, nee testem fallunt nee iudicem
fugiunt. Si quid autem illos de quaestione ipsius
unitatis pro suae salutis sollicitudine permovet, hoc
sibi, quantum existimo, iustissimum extorqueant,
ut de catholica ecclesia, id est toto orbe diffusa, id
potius credant quod scripturae divinae dicunt, non
quod linguae humanae maledicunt. De ipsa vero
dissensione, quae inter homines orta est — qui quales

" Wisdom viii. 21.

* He is referring to those Donatists who had not ytt joined
the CathoHc communion.

'^ Though much less frequent than quod and quia, quoniam
is occasionally found in Augustine introducing an oblique
statement after verbs of saying or thinking, and it is almost
always followed by the indicative. Usually such occurrences
are Scriptural ; the use is comparatively rare in Augustine's
own language.
262

NO. ^5 (Ep. CXLI\0

less God give it him, and that this itself is a part of
wisdom, to know whose gift it is." " If, then, in being
converted from dissipation to self-restraint, Polemo
had known whose gift that was, and so had thrown
over the superstitions of the heathen and worshipped
Him in reverence, he would then have become not
only self-restrained, but also truly ^\ise and soundly
religious, and that would have secured for him not only
virtue in the present life, but also immortality in the
life to come. How much less, then, should I presume
to claim for myself the credit for your conversion or
that of your people, which you have just reported to
me ; in those in whom it really was accomplished, it
was unquestionably accomplished from above, with-
out either my words or even my presence. Recognize
this fact, therefore, above everything else ; with
humility and reverence keep it before your mind.
To God, my brethren, to God render your thanks ;
fear God, so that you may not fall back ; love Him, so
that you may go forward.

If, however, there are some whom the love of man 3
keeps secretly apart and the fear of man keeps mis-
takenly united,* let all such take note that the
human conscience lies naked to God and that they
can neither deceive Him as witness nor escape Him
as judge.'' But if, from anxiety to secure their own
salvation, they are at all disturbed over this question
of unity, let them force themselves to do what is, in
my opinion, a thoroughly fair thing, namely, to accept
the statements of Holy Scripture about the Church
Catholic (that is, the Church spread abroad through-
out the world) rather than the mis-statements of
human tongues. With reference to this schism
which has arisen among men (who, whatever they

263

ST. AUGUSTINE

libet fuerint, non utique praeiudicant promissis dei,
qui dixit ad Abraham : hi semine tuo henedicentur
omiies gentes, quod creditum est cum audiretur prae-
dictum, et negatur cum \'idetur impletum, — hoc
tamen interim brevissimum et, nisi fallor, imictis-
simum cogitent, aut actam esse istam causam in
ecclesiastico transmarino iudicio aut non esse actam ;
si acta ibi non est, innocens est Christi societas
per omnes transmarinas gentes, cuius societatis nos
communione gaudemus, et ideo ab eis innocentibus
utique sacrilega diremptione separantur ; si vero
acta ibi est ista causa, quis non intellegat, quis non
sentiat, quis non videat eos in ea victos, quorum inde
communio separata est ? Ehgant ergo utrum mahnt
credere quod pronuntiaverunt ecclesiastici cognitores
an quod murmurant victi Htigatores. Adversus
istam complexionem dictu brevissimam, intellectu
facillimam, adtendite dihgenter pro vestra prudentia
quam nihil sobrium responderi possit ; et tamen
malus Polemon magis ebrietate . . . inveterati erroris
evertitur.

Date veniam prohxiori fortassis epistulae quam
iucundiori verum tamen, ut arbitror, utihori quam
blandiori, domini honorabiles et merito suscipiendi,
carissimi ac desiderantissimi fratres. De adventu
autem ad vos nostro utrorumque desiderium deus
impleat. Quanto enim caritatis ardore accen-
damur ad visendos vos, verbis exphcare non pos-

<* Gen. xxvi, 4 (c/. xii. 3).

^ The Benedictine editors, followed by Goldbacher, in-
dicate a lacuna here, but the sense must be something like
what is suggested.

264

NO. 35 (Ep. CXLIV)

may be, assuredly do not impair the promises of God,
Who said to Abraham, " In thy seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed," " a promise believed
when it was heard as a prophecy and denied when it is
seen as an accomplished fact), let them for the pre-
sent meditate upon this very brief, but, unless I am
mistaken, very unanswerable argument, that the case
was either tried before a church court across the sea,
or was not tried ; if it was not tried there, the society
of Christians among all the overseas nations is guilt-
less ; we rejoice in communion with that society, and
so their separation from those guiltless brethren is
clearly an act of sacrilegious disruption. If, again,
the case was tried there, who can fail to understand,
and feel, and see, that those whose communion is
sundered from those others are the defeated party
in the case ? Let them have their choice then,
whether they prefer to accept the verdict of the
ecclesiastical judges or the insinuations of the
defeated plaintiffs. Notice carefully, as you are
wise enough to do, that no serious confutation can
be offered against this tersely expressed, yet easily
understood, dilemma ; and yet Polemo in his dis-
sipation was more easily turned from his drunken-
ness than they from the folly of their deeply
rooted error. ^

Grant me pardon, my noble and justly honoured
lords, my beloved and much longed for brethren,
for a letter which is perhaps more lengthy than
agreeable, but yet, in my opinion, more likely to
profit you than to flatter you. May God give fulfil-
ment to the desire we both share, that I should visit
you ! Words fail me to express the great and fervent
love that inflames me to see you, but I have no doubt

265

ST. AUGUSTINE

sumus, sed vos benigne credere minime dubi
tamus.

No. 36 (Ep. CXL^T)

DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ET DESIDERANTISSIMO
FRATRI PELAGIO AUGUSTINUS IX DOMINO
SALUTEM

Gratias ago plurimum quod me litteris tuis ex-
hilarare dignatus es et certum facere de salute vestra.
Retribuat tibi dominus bona, quibus semper sis
bonus, et cum illo aeterno vivas in aeternum, domine
dilectissime et desiderantissime frater. Ego autem
etsi in me non agnosco praeconia de me tua, quae
tuae benignitatis epistula continet, benivolo tamen
animo erga exiguitatem meam ingratus esse non
possum., simul admonens ut potius ores pro me, quo
talis a domino fiam, qualem me iam esse arbitraris.

[Et alia manu] Memor nostri incolumis domino
placeas, domine dilectissime et desiderantissime
frater.

" The heresiarch. Born in Britain, he was at Rome from
about 401 to 409, when in consequence of the threatened
invasion by Alaric, he withdrew to Sicily and afterwards to
Africa. He visited Hippo when Augustine was absent, but
they met later in Carthage. Pelagius soon sailed for Palestine,
but his views were condemned by the Council of Carthage
in 412. Augustine joined in the controversy, and between
the Council and the writing of this letter -«Tote his treatises
De Peccatorum Meritis and De Spiritu et Littera. Pelagius

^m

NO. 35 (Ep. CXLIV)— NO. 36 (Ep. CXLVI)

at all that you will be good enough to recognize that
it is so.

No. 36 (Ep. CXLM)

(a.d. 413)

TO PELAGIUS," MY LORD GREATLY BELOVED
AND MY MUCH LONGED FOR BROTHER,
AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

I am very grateful for your kindness in cheering
me by a letter from you and in giving me news of
your welfare. The Lord recompense you, my greatly
beloved lord and much longed for brother, with such
blessings that you may be ever blessed and may live
eternally with Him \Yho is eternal. Although I do
not recognize myself in those encomiums of me
contained in your Benevolence's letter, yet I cannot
be ungrateful for your goodwill towards one so in-
significant as I. At the same time I urge you rather
to pray for me, that the Lord may make me what you
imagine I already am.

[hi another hand] May you abide in safety and be
well-pleasing unto the Lord, my greatly beloved lord
and much longed for brother. Forget us not !

wrote from Palestine, and the above reply is cordial enough
to show that Augustine was still hoping that Pelagius would
see and renounce his error. At the Synod of Diospolis in
415 Pelagius used this letter, among others, as evidence of
his good repute. Augustine was then led to defend himself
from the charge of favouring the heretic, and in his De Gestis
Pelagii, 50-53, he gives the text of his letter and discusses
the language he used in it.

267

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 37 (Ep. CL)

DOMINARUM HONORE DIGNISSIMIS MERITO IN-
LUSTRIBUS ET PRAESTANTISSLMIS FILIA-
BUS PROBAE ET lULIANAE AUGUSTINUS
IX DOMINO SALUTEM

Iniplestis gaudio cor nostrum tanto iucundius
quanto carius, tanto gratius quanto citius. Vestrae
namque stirpis sanctimoniam virginalem quoniam
quacumque innotuistis, ac per hoc ubique, fama cele-
berrima praedicat, velocissimum volatum eius fide-
liore atque certiore litterarum nuntio praevenistis et
prius nos fecistis exultare de cognito tarn excellentis-
simo bono quam dubitare de audito. Quis verbis
explicet, quis digno praeconio prosequatur, quantum
incomparabiliter gloriosius atque fructuosius habeat
ex vestro sanguine feminas virgines Christus quam
viros consules mundus ? Nam volumina temporum
si magnum atque praeclarum est nominis dignitate
signare, quanto est maius atque praeclarius cordis et
corporis integritate transcendere ! Magis itaque

" Proba was the wife of Sextus Anicius Petronius Probus,
a member of one of the most illustrious families of Rome,
consul in 371 and four times pretorian prefect. She is not
to be identified with Falconia Proba, the compiler of a
Virgilian cento which enjoyed great repute in the middle
ages. Juliana was the wife of her son, Olybrius, and their
daughter, Demetrias, mentioned in the text, delighted the
Christian world in 413 by renouncing her worldly prospects
and taking the vow of virginity. The family had left Rome
shortly before the irruption of Alaric, but on arriving in
Africa they fell into the hands of Count Heraclian, who
seized a large part of their possessions. Augustine was not
alone in offering congratulations and advice to the young
268

NO. 37 (Ep. CL)

No. 37 (Ep. CL)

(a.d. 413)

TO THE LADIES PROBA AND JULIANA,'' MOST
NOBLE IN RANK, DAUGHTERS JUSTLY DIS-
TINGUISHED AND EMINENT, AUGUSTINE
SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

You have filled my heart mth joy, the more
delightful because of your affection, and the more
welcome because of your promptitude. For while
the consecration of a daughter of your house to the
life of virginity is being proclaimed by busy rumour
wherever your fame is known, and that is everywhere,
you outstripped its speediest flight by the surer and
more trustworthy information in your letter and
made us exult at the news of so very excellent a
blessing before we had time to doubt the rumour
of it. What words are adequate to tell, what com-
mendation worthy to commemorate, how incompar-
ably greater is the glory and the gain, that Christ
should have women from your family dedicated to
virginity than that the world should have men from
it elevated to the consulship ? For if it is a great
and notable thing to leave the mark of an honoured
name upon the scrolls of time, how much greater and
more notable it is by unsullied innocence of mind and
body to rise above them ! So let this maiden, noble in

ascetic : Jerome wrote to Demetrias a very lengthy letter
which is almost a treatise on the ascetic life, and Pelagius
too wrote a long epistle. Ad Demetriadem, into which he
insinuated some of his own errors, which Augustine sought
to confute in a later letter (Ep. clxxxviii.) addressed to
Juliana.

269

ST. AUGUSTINE

gaudeat puella nobilis genere, nobilior sanctitate,
quod sit per di\1num consortium praecipuam in
caelis consecutura sublimitatem, quam si esset per
humanum conubium prolem propagatura sublimern.
Generosius quippe elegit Aniciana posteritas tarn
inlustrem faniiliam beare nuptias nesciendo quam
multiplicare pariendo et in carne iam imitari vitam
angelorum quam ex carne numerum adhuc augere
mortalium. Haec est uberior fecundiorque felicitas
non ventre gravescere sed mente grandescere, non
lactescere pectore sed corde candescere, non visceri-
bus terram sed caelum orationibus parturire. Domi-
narum honore dignissimae et merito inlustres et
praestantissimae fiiiae, perfruamini in ilia quod de-
fuit vobis, ut nasceretur ex vobis ; perseveret usque
in finem, adhaerens coniugio quod non habet finem.
Imitentur earn multae famulae dominam ignobiles
nobilem, fragiliter excelsae excelsius humilem ; vir-
gines quae sibi optant Aniciorum claritatem, eligant
sanctitatem. Illud enim quanta libet cupiditate
quando adsequentur ? Hoc autem, si plene cupierint,
mox habebunt. Protegat vos incolumes et feliciores
dextera altissimi, dominae honore dignissimae et
praestantissimae fiiiae. Pignera sanctitatis vestrae,
praecipue ipsam sanctitate praecipuam debito vestris

<• Of the Anieii Gibbon says {Decline and Fall, chap. 31) :
" From the reign of Diocletian to the final extinction of the
Western Empire that name shone with a lustre which v/as
not eclipsed in the public estimation by the majesty of the
Imperial purple."
270

NO. 37 (Ep. CL)

her race, nobler in her holiness, find more cause for
joy that she is destined to obtain through this divine
espousal an especial distinction in heaven than if
she had been destined to become through an earthly
marriage the mother of a distinguished line. It was a
more noble-minded thing for a scion of the Anicii" to
prefer to magnify that illustrious family by repudiat-
ing marriage rather than to increase it by bearing
children and now in the flesh to imitate the life of
the angels rather than from the flesh still further to
augment the number of mortals. It is a richer and
more prolific happiness not to grow big with child
but to grow great in mind, not to have milk in the
breasts but to have purity in the heart, to bring
forth not the earthly through travail, but the heavenly
through prayer. May it be yours, ladies most worthy
of honour and daughters deservedly famous and most
distinguished, to enjoy in her what you surrendered
to give her birth ! May she be steadfast unto the
end, cleaving to that union which has no end !
May many low-born maids imitate her, the high-
born mistress, and those whose eminence is perish-
able follow her who through humility has reached a
higher eminence ; may the virgins who covet the
splendour of the Anician family choose to emulate
its holiness ! The one will always elude their
grasp, however much they long for it ; the other
will soon be theirs, if their longing be whole-hearted.
May the right hand of the Most High be your
covering unto safety and fuller happiness, ladies
most worthy of honour and daughters most dis-
tinguished ! In the love of the Lord and with
the respect due to your deservings, we greet the
children of your holy house, especially her w^ho is

271

ST. AUGUSTINE

meritis officio dilectione domini salutamus. \'ela-
tionis apophoretum gratissime accepimus.

No. 38 (Ep. CLIX)

DOMINO BEATISSLMO AC VENERABILI ET
DESIDERABILI FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI
MEO EVODIO ET TECUM FRATRIBUS AU-
GUSTINUS ET MECUM FRATRES IN DOMINO
SALUTEM

1 Frater iste nomine Barbarus servus dei est iani
diu apud Hipponem constitutus et verbi dei fervidus
ac studiosus auditor. Desidera\-it ad tuam sancti-
tatem litteras nostras, in quibus tibi eum in domino
commendamus tibique per eum salutem debitam
dicimus. Litteris autem sanctitatis tuae quibus
ingentes texuisti quaestiones, respondere operosis-
simum est etiam otiosis et multo maiore, quam nos
sumus, praeditis facultate disserendi et acrimonia
intellegendi. Duarum sane epistularum tuarum,
quibus multa et magna conquiris, una nescio quo

" Apophoreta {d7ro(p6p7]Ta} were presents given to guests
to take home with them after an entertainment (Suet. Cal.
55, Vesp. 19; Lamprid. Heliog. 21. 7; Ambr. Ep. 3. 5 "qui
ad convivium magnum invitantur, apophoreta secum referre
consueverunt ") ; in Symmachus it is used of gifts sent to
friends by those who had just given games {Ep. 2. 81,
5. 56, 9. o9). With the present passage compare Paul. Nol.
Ep. 5. 21 " misimus testimonialem divitiarum nostrarum
scutellam buxeam ; ut apophoretum voti spiritalis accipies."
The word is occasionally employed by the Fathers in a
transferred sense, as Ambrosiaster, Rom. 1. 1, 49a "ad quod
omnes invitati apophoreta duplicia consequuntur : remissam
enim peccatorum accipiunt, et filii Dei hunt."

* Evodius was bishop of Uzalis and a prominent figure
among the clergy of Xumidia. Born, like Augustine, at

272

NO. 37 (Ep. CL)— NO. 38 (Ep. CLIX)

outstanding in holiness. We have been very glad
to receive the gift " commemorating her taking the
veil.

No. 38 (Ep. CLIX)

(a.d. 415)

TO MY MOST SAINTLY LORD, MY VENERABLE
AND LONGED FOR BROTHER AND FELLOW-
PRIEST, EVODIUS* AND THE BRETHREN
WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE AND
THE BRETHREN WHO ARE WITH ME SEND
GREETING IN THE LORD

The brother who brings this, Barbaras by name, 1
is a servant of God who has been settled for a long
time now at Hippo and is an eager and diligent
hearer of the word of God. He besought this letter
from me to your Holiness, in which I commend him
to you in the Lord and through him offer you my
due greetings. To reply to your Holiness 's letter,
into which you have woven big questions, is a very
considerable undertaking even for men of leisure,
possessing much more skill in argument and greater
acuteness of understanding than I do. Of the two
letters from you, containing many extensive queries,

Tagaste, he had been converted shortly before him, and the
two were in close fellowship at Milan and Cassiciaciim,
where he appears as interlocutor with Augustine in the De
Quantitate Animae and the De Lihero Arhitrio. After being
present at Ostia when Monnica died, Evodius returned to
Africa with Augustine and shared the monastic life of
Tagaste. Four letters from him to Augustine are extant,
full of abstruse questions. The present letter is a reply to
one of his, Ep. clxxxviii., which had raised the problem
of the reality and meaning of visions. Of Barbarus, the
bearer of the letter, there is no other mention.

T 273

ST. AUGUSTINE

modo aberra\-it et diu quaesita non potuit reperiri ;
altera vero, quae inventa est, habet commenda-
tionem sua^issimam ser\'i dei boni et cast! adule-
scentis, quo modo ex hac \-ita migraverit et quibus
visionum fraternarum adtestationibus meritum eius
vobis insinuari potuerit. Deinde ex hac occasione
proponis et versas de anima obscurissimam quaestio-
nem, utrum cum aliquo corpore egreditur e corpore,
quo possit ad corporalia loca ferri vel locis corporali-
bus contineri. Huius igitur rei tractatus, si tamen
ad liquidum a talibus, quales nos sumus, examinari
potest, curam atque operam negotiosissimam postulat
ac per hoc mentem ab his occupationibus otiosissimam.
Si autem breviter vis audire quid mihi videatur,
nullo modo arbitror animam e corpore exire cum
corpore.
2 A'isiones autem illae futurorumque praedictiones
quo modo fiant, ille iam explicare conetur qui novit
qua vi efficiantur in unoquoque animo tanta, cum
cogitat. Videmus enim planeque cernimus in eo
fieri multarum rerum visibihum et ad ceteros sensus
corporis pertinentium innumerabiles imagines, quae
nunc non interest quam ordinate vel turbide fiant ;
sed tantum, quia fiunt, quod manifestum est, qua
vi et quo modo fiant, quisquis potuerit explicare —
quae omnia certe cotidiana sunt atque continua, —
audeat praesumere aliquid ac definire etiam de illis
rarissimis visis. Ego autem tanto minus hoc audeo,
274

NO. 38 (Ep. CLIX)

one, indeed, has somehow or other gone astray and
after a long search has eluded discovery, but the
other, which was found, contains a very charming
commendation of a servant of God, a good and
chaste young man, telling how he departed this life
and by what testimony from the visions of brethren
you were able to have assurance of his worth. Then
you take the opportunity to set forth and discuss a
very obscure question about the soul, whether, when
it leaves the body, it is united with any other material
body, so that it may be conveyed to material places
or be enclosed in material places. The treatment of
this problem, if indeed it can be clearly investigated
by one such as myself, demands attention and the
most laborious application, and therefore a mind quite
free from such occupations as mine. But if you want
to hear my opinion in a word or two, I certainly do
not hold that the soul departs from the body with a
material body.

How those visions and predictions of future events 2
come about is for him first to try to explain who knows
what agency produces all those images that are in
anyone's mind when he is thinking. For we see and
clearly perceive that in it are found countless images
of many objects that are discernible by the eye or by
the other bodily senses ; it is of no importance for
the moment whether they are produced in regular
sequence or at random, but only that, since they do
take place, as is obvious, anyone who can explain by
what agency and in what way these phenomena are
produced, all of which are of daily and repeated
occurrence, may warrantably venture a conjecture
or a definition about those very rare visions too.
But for my part, the more I realize my incom-

275

ST. AUGUSTINE

quanto minus id quoque in nobis quod \'ita continua
vigilantes dormientesque experiniur, quo pacto fiat,
explicare sufficio. Nam cum ad te dictarem banc
epistulam, te ipsum animo contuebar, te utique
absente atque nesciente, et quo modo possis his
verbis moveri, secundum notitiam quae mihi de te
inest, imaginabar ; atque id quonam modo in animo
meo fieret, capere ac investigare non poteram certus
tamen non fieri corporeis molibus nee corporeis
qualitatibus, cum corpori simillimum fieret. Hoc
interim habeas ut ab occupato et festinante dictatum.
In duodecimo autem hbro eorum quos de genesi
scripsi, versatur haec quaestio vehementer et multis
exempHs rerum expertarum atque credibiliter audi-
tarum disputatio ilia silvescit. Quid in ea potuerimus
vel efFecerimus, cum legeris, iudicabis, si tamen
dominus donare dignatur ut eos mihi libros, quantum
possum, congruenter emendatos iam liceat edere et
multorum fratrum expectationem non iam longa
disputatione suspendere.
3 Narrabo autem unum aliquid breviter, unde cogites.
Frater noster Gennadius, notissimus fere om.nibus
nobisque carissimus medicus, qui nunc apud Cartha-
ginem degit et Romae suae artis exercitatione prae-
polluit, ut hominem religiosum nosti atque erga

" He is here referring to his twelve books De Genesi ad
litteram, begun about 401 but not published until 415, in
spite of repeated requests from friends that he should bring it
to an early completion (Ep. cxliii. 14 " periculosissimarum
quaestionum libros de Genesi . . . diutius teneo quam vultis
et fertis "). The twelfth book is a study of St. Paul's vision,
2 Cor. xii. 2-4, and of supernatural visions in general. He
had already before his ordination to the priesthood begun a
controversial exposition of Genesis directed against the
Manichees (De Genesi contra Manicliaeos), but later he came
to the opinion that this treatise was too allegorical, so he
276

NO. 38 (Ep. CLIX)

petence to account for the occurrence of the ex-
perience we have throughout hfe, asleep and awake,
the more I shrink from attempting to explain these
others. For while I am dictating this letter to you,
I have a picture of you yourself in my mind, though
naturally you are far away and unaware of mv
thoughts, and, in the light of my inward knowledge
of you, I try to see how my words can affect vou ;
and I fail to comprehend and discover how that
process takes place in my mind, though I am sure
that it is not caused by material particles or material
qualities, although the actual picture is very like
something material. P'or the present, accept this
as a statement dictated in haste and under the
pressure of work. However, in the twelfth book of
my treatise on Genesis,*^ this problem is examined
with thoroughness, and the discussion there is luxu-
riant ^^•ith numerous examples drawn from personal
experience and trustworthy report. When you read
it, you will be able to judge of my competence or
success in it, if the Lord is but pleased to grant me
the opportunity of publishing those books suitablv
corrected and by concluding the discussion to end
the suspense of anticipation in many of mv brethren.
I shall give you a brief account, however, of one
such example, which I commend to your considera-
tion. Our brother Gennadius,^ the physician, very
well known to almost everybody and very dear to us,
who now lives at Carthage and was a leading figure
in the practice of his art at Rome, is, as you know,
a man of devout mind, unwearied compassion, most

undertook, first, about 393, a Uteral exposition {De Genesi
ad lift (ram imperfect us liber), then the work mentioned here.
** Gennadius is not otherwise known.

277

ST. AUGUSTINE

pauperum curam inpigra misericordia facillimoque
animo benignissimum, dubitabat tamen aliquando,
ut modo nobis rettulit, cum adhuc esset adulescens
et in his elemosynis ferventissimus, utrum esset ulla
vita post mortem. Huius igitur mentem et opera
miserieordiae quoniam deus nullo modo desereret,
apparuit illi in somnis conspicuus iuvenis et dignus
intendi eique dixit : " Sequere me." Quem dum
sequeretur, venit ad quandam civitatem, ubi audire
coepit a dextra parte sonos suavissimae cantilenae
ultra solitam notamque suavitatem ; tunc ille intento
quidnam esset, ait hymnos esse beatorum atque
sanctorum ; sinistra autem parte quid se vidisse
rettulit, non satis memini. E\igilavit et somnium
aufugit tantumque de illo quantum de somnio cogi-
tavit.
4 Alia vero nocte ecce idem ipse iuvenis eidem rursus
apparuit, atque ab illo utrum cognosceretur interro-
gavit ; respondit iste quod eum bene pleneque
cognosceret. Tum ille quaesivit ubi se nosset.
Nee memoriae defuit quid iste identidem responderet,
totumque visum ilium hymnosque sanctorum, ad
quos audiendos eo duce venerat, qua recentissimos
recordabatur facilitate, narravit. Hie ille percon-
tatus est utrumnam id quod narraverat, in somnis
vidisset an vigilans ; respondit : "In somnis." At
ille : " Bene," inquit, " recolis ; verum est, in somnis
ilia vidisti ; sed etiam nunc in somnis te videre scies."
278

NO. 38 (Ep. CLIX)

gracious geniality, and great kindness to the afflicted
poor. But at one time, as he told me recently,
while he was still in the prime of life and most
zealous in those works of charity, he was assailed by
doubt of the existence of any life after death. As
God would in no wise abandon a man so compassionate
in temper and deeds, there appeared to him, accord-
ingly, while he was asleep, a young man of striking
appearance and imposing mien, and said to him,

Follow me." He followed him and came to a
certain city, in which he began to hear on the right
hand the strains of a song so very sweet that it
surpassed the sweetness of known and ordinary
music ; listening eagerly, he asked what it was and
was told that it was the hymns of the blessed and
the holy. What he reported he had seen on the
left hand, I do not clearly remember. He awoke
and his dream fled, and he thought only of it as one
does of a dream.

Yet another night, lo, the same young man in 4
person appeared to him again and asked if he re-
cognized him. Gennadius replied that he recognized
him perfectly well. Then the young man asked
where he had got to know him ; he had quite a clear
recollection of the answer to that too, and he told all
about that vision and the hymns of the saints which,
under the other's guidance, he had gone to hear, with
that readiness \vhich marked the recollection of very
recent experiences. At this point the other asked
him whether he was asleep or awake when he saw
what he had been telling of ; the answer was that
he was asleep. The other replied, " Your memory is
good ; you are right, you were asleep when you
saw that, but you must know that even now you can

279

ST. AUGUSTINE

Hoc cum audisset iste, ita esse credidit atque id
responsione firmavit. Tunc qui hominem docebat,
adiecit et ait : " Ubi est modo corpus tuum ? " Ille
respondit : " In cubiculo meo." " Scisne," inquit
ille, " in eodem corpusculo nunc esse inligatos et
clauses et otiosos oculos tuos nihilque illis oculis
te videre ? " Respondit: " Scio." Tunc ille: "Qui
sunt ergo J " inquit, " isti oculi, quibus me vides ? "
Ad hoc iste non inveniens quid responderet, obticuit.
Cui haesitanti ille quod his interrogationibus docere
moHebatur, aperuit, et continue : " Sicut," inquit,
" illi oculi carnis tuae utique in dormiente atque in
lectulo iacente nunc vacant nee aliquid operantur et
tamen sunt isti, quibus me intueris et ista uteris
visione, ita cum defunctus fueris, nihil agentibus
oculis carnis tuae, vita tibi inerit qua vivas, sensusque,
quo sentias. Cave iam deinceps, ne dubites vitam
manere post mortem." Ita sibi homo fidelis ablatam
dicit huius rei dubitationem, quo docente nisi provi-
dentia et misericordia dei ?
5 Ista narratione dixerit ahquis tantae rei nos non
solvisse sed auxisse quaestionem. Verum tamen
cum his verbis credere vel non credere liberum cuique
sit, se ipsum quisque habet, quo se avocet, profun-
dissimam quaestionem. Et vigilat homo et dormit
homo cotidie et cogitat homo. Dicat unde fiant
ista simiHa formis, similia qualitatibus, similia motibus
corporum nee tamen materie corporal!. Dicat, si

280

NO. 38 (Ep. CLIX)

see, though you are asleep." When Gennadius heard
that, he accepted it as true and expressed his beUef.
Then his teacher went on to say, " Where is your
body now ? " to which he made answer, " In my
bed-chamber." " Do you know," said the other,
" that in that puny body your eyes are at this moment
bound down and shut and idle and that with those
eyes you see nothing ? " He said, " I know." To
which the other answered, " What eyes then are those
with which you see me ? " Finding no reply to that
question, Gennadius was silent, and when he hesi-
tated, the young man revealed the lesson he was
trying to teach by these questions and immediately
replied, " Just as those eyes of your body that Hes
sleeping in bed are now inactive and do nothing and
yet you have eyes with which you behold me and
employ another power of sight, so when you are
dead and the eyes of your flesh have ceased to do
anything, you still will have a Ufe by which you
will live and perceptions by which you will per-
ceive. Henceforth remember not to doubt the
continuance of life after death." In this way that
trustworthy man declares that his doubts concerning
immortality were taken away. What taught him but
the providence and mercy of God ?

Someone may say that by this story I have not 5
solved but complicated this great problem. But yet,
since each man is free to believe what I have said or
to disbelieve it, each one has a ver}^ deep problem in
himself, and with that he may delight himself. Man
wakes and sleeps each day and thinks. Let any
man tell whence proceed those occurrences ; they
are not material bodies, yet bear a likeness in shape,
in properties and in motion, to material bodies ; let

281

ST. AUGUSTINE

potest ; si autem non potest, quid se praecipitat
de rarissimis aut inexpertis quasi definitam ferre
sententiam, cum continua et cotidiana non sol vat ?
Ego autem, quamvis quo modo fiant ista veluti
corporea sine corpore, verbis prorsus explicare non
possim, tamen sicut scio non ea corpore fieri, utinam
sic scirem quo modo discernerentur, quae videntur
aliquando per spiritum et per corpus videri putantur,
quove modo distinguantur visa eorum, quos error vel
impietas plerumque deludit, quando visis piorum
atque sanctorum similia pleraque narrantur ! Quorum
exempla si commemorare voluissem, tempus mihi
potius quam copia defuisset. Memor nostri in
domini misericordia vegeteris, domine beatissime et
venerabilis et desiderabilis frater.

No. 39 (Ep. CLXXIII)

DONATO PRESBYTERO PARTIS DOXATI AUGU-
STINUS EPISCOPUS ECCLESIAE CATHOLICAE

1 Si posses videre dolorem cordis mei et sollici-
tudinem pro salute tua, fortasse miserereris animae
tuae placens deo in audiendo verbo non nostro, sed
ipsius, nee eius scripturas sic in memoria tua figeres,
ut contra eas cor clauderes. Displicet tibi quia

<* This Donatus, a priest of the Donatist party, who had
been compelled by law to join the Catholic Church and in
his resistance had done himself bodily harm, is not further
known. From § 7 it appears that he came from Mutugenna,
which lay in the vicinity of Hippo. This letter is very in-
structive for Augustine's arguments against toleration.

^ Ecclus. XXX. 24^.

282

NO. 38 (Ep. CLIX)— NO. 39 (Ep. CLXXIII)

him tell, if he can, but if he cannot, why is he so
hasty to pronounce a kind of final judgement about
experiences he has very seldom or not at all, when
he cannot explain matters that occur each day and
every day ? Though, for my part, words fail me to
explain how those semblances of material bodies ^vith-
out a real body come to be, yet, just as I know that
they are not produced by the body, so I should wish
to know how we can separate those things that
are seen at times by the spirit and are thought
to be seen by the body, or how we can distinguish
the things seen by those who are often deluded
by error or by impiety, when the majority of
the visions they tell of bear a likeness to those
seen by the good and the holy. If I had wanted
to give examples of these, I should have been short
of time rather than material. Remember me, my
saintly lord and revered and longed for brother, and
may the mercy of the Lord be your refreshment !

No. 39 (Ep. CLXXIII)

(a.d. 416)

TO DONATUS," PRIEST OF THE DONATIST PARTY,
AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH

If you could see my heart-felt grief and anxiety for 1
your salvation, you would perhaps " have pity on your
own soul, doing what is pleasing unto God " ^ by giving
ear to the injunction which is not ours, but His,
and you would not impress His Scriptures on your
memory only to close your heart against them. You

283

ST. AUGUSTINE

traheris ad salutem, cum tarn multos nostros ad
perniciem traxeritis. Quid enim volumus, nisi te
comprehendi et praesentari et servari, ne pereas^ ?
Quod autem aliquantum in corpore laesus es, ipse
tibi fecisti, qui iumento tibi mox admoto uti noluisti
et te ad terram grav-iter conlisisti. Nam utique
alius qui adductus est tecum, collega tuus, inlaesus
venit, quia talia sibi ipse non fecit.
2 Sed neque hoc putas tibi fieri debuisse, quia
neminem aestimas cogendum esse ad bonum. Ad-
tende quid apostolus dixerit : Qui episcopatum de-
siderat, homim opus concupiscit, et tamen tarn multi,
ut episcopatum suscipiant, tenentur inviti, perdu-
cuntur, includuntur, custodiuntur, patiuntur tanta
quae nolunt, donee eis adsit voluntas suscipiendi
operis boni ; quanto magis vos ab errore pernicioso,
in quo vobis inimici estis, trahendi estis et perdu-
cendi ad veritatem vel cognoscendam vel eligendam,
non solum ut honorem salubriter habeatis, sed etiam
ne pessime pereatis ! Dicis deum dedisse liberum
arbitrium, ideo non debere cogi hominem nee ad
bonum. Quare ergo illi, de quibus supra dixi,
coguntur ad bonum ? Adtende ergo quod con-
siderare non vis. Ideo voluntas bona misericorditer

" 1 Tim. iii. 1.
^ On forcible ordination see note on p. 35.
284

NO. 39 (Ep. CLXXIII)

are angry because you are being dragged to salvation,
although you and your friends have dragged so many
of our people to destruction. What other intention
have we, but to arrest you and bring you before the
j udge and preserve you from perishing ? As for the fact
that you received a slight bodily injury, you are to
blame for that yourself, for you would not make use
of the mule that was at once brought for you, and
dashed yourself with violence to the ground ; for, as
you know, the other person who w^as taken away
with you, a colleague of yours, arrived uninjured,
since he did not cause any such injury to himself.

But even that, in your opinion, should not have 2
been done to you, for you hold that no one should
be forced to what is good. Mark the words of the
Apostle, " If a man desire the office of bishop, he
desireth a good work," " yet in spite of them, many
men are led to undertake the office of bishop only
by being detained against their will, brought from
one place to another, shut up and kept under super-
vision, subjected to treatment that they do not like,
until they acquire a willingness to undertake that
" good work." ^ How much more fitting it is that you
should be torn away from that pernicious error, by
clinging to which you are your own worst enemies,
and brought to either a knowledge or acceptance
of the truth, so that you may not only retain your
honour with safety to 3'ourselves, but also escape the
great misery of destruction. You say that God has
given man free-will and that therefore no one should
be forced even to good. Why then are those men
I spoke of above compelled to good ? Mark well
then a point you refuse to take into consideration :
the reason why a good will expends itself in works

285

ST. AUGUSTINE

inpenditur, ut mala voluntas hominis dirigatur.
Nani quis nesciat nee damnari hominem nisi merito
malae voluntatis, nee liberari nisi bonam habuerit
voluntatem ? Non tamen ideo, qui diliguntur, malae
suae voluntati impune et crudeliter permittendi sunt,
sed, ubi potestas datur, et a malo prohibendi et ad
bonum cogendi.
3 Nam si voluntas mala semper suae permittenda
est libertati, quare Israhelitae recusantes et mur-
murantes tam duris flagellis a malo prohibebantur
et ad terram promissionis compellebantur ? Si
voluntas mala semper suae permittenda est libertati,
quare Paulus non est permissus uti pessima volun-
tate, qua persequebatur ecclesiam, sed prostratus
est, ut excaecaretur, excaecatus, ut mutaretur,
mutatus, ut mitteretur, missus, ut, qualia fecerat in
errore, talia pro veritate pateretur ? Si voluntas
mala semper suae permittenda est libertati, quare
monetur pater in scripturis Sanctis filium durum non
solum verbis corripere sed etiam latera eius tundere,
ut ad bonam disciplinam coactus et domitus diri-
gatur ? Unde idem dicit : Tu quidem percidis eum
virga, aniinam autem eius Uberabis a morte. Si mala
voluntas semper suae permittenda est libertati, quare
corripiuntur neglegentes pastores et dicitur eis :
Errantem ovem non revocasiis, perditam non inquisistis ?

" Merito, as often in late Latin, has the meaning of
propter, " because of," "by reason of." So in No. 7 § 1
above (p. 32), "merito peccatorum meorum." See Butler-
Owen on Apul. Apol. 8. 15 ; Bayard, Le Latin de S. Cyprien,
p. 156; Roensch, Itala u. Vulgata, p. 398, and compare
the similar use of beneficio, common in Seneca and the
Jurists.

" In late Latin tamen often has a much weakened sense,
286

NO. 39 (Ep. CLXXIII)

of mercy is to provide guidance for man's evil will.
For who does not know that man is not damned
unless for " his evil will, nor, on the other hand,
granted deliverance, unless he has a good will ?
Still* it does not follow that those we love are to be
cruelly left to enjoy their evil will without correction,
but where the power is granted, they are to be both
prevented from evil and forced to good.

CFor if an evil will is always to be left to enjoy its 3
liberty, why were such severe scourges employed to
prevent the disobedient and querulous Israelites from
evil and to compel them to the land of promise ? ^ If
an evil will is always to be left to enjoy its liberty,
why was Paul not allowed the free use of his per-
verted will to persecute the Church, but was thrown
to the ground to be blinded, and blinded to be trans-
formed, and transformed to be made an apostle, and
made an apostle to endure for the truth sufferings
such as he had inflicted when in error ? '^ If an evil
will is always to be left to enjoy its liberty, why do
the Holy Scriptures admonish a father not only to
correct his obstinate son with rebukes, but also to
punish his body with blows, so that, compelled and
subdued, he may be led to habits of goodness ? ^ That
is why the same writer says, " Thou shalt beat him
with a rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell." ^ If
an evil will is always to be left to enjoy its liberty,
why are careless pastors rebuked with the words,
" Ye have not brought back the wandering sheep,
ye have not sought that which was lost "^ } You too

becoming simply continuative. See Lofstedt, Philol. Kom-
mentar zur Peregrinatio Aetheriae, pp. 27-33.

<= Exod. XV. 22 sqq. ^ Acts ix. 1-9.

* Ecchis. XXX. 12. ^ Prov. xxiii. 14. » Ezek. xxxiv. 4.

287

ST. AUGUSTINE

Et vos oves Christi estis, char act erem dominicum
portatis in sacramento quod accepistis, sed errastis
et peristis. Non ideo vobis displiceamus, quia
revocamus errantes et quaerimus perditos ; melius
enini facimus voluntatem domini monentis ut vos
ad eius o\'ile redire cogamus, quam consentinius
voluntati o\iuin errantium, ut perire vos permittamus.
Noli ergo iam dicere, quod te assidue audio dicere :
" Sic volo errare, sic volo perire " ; melius enim nos
hoc omnino non permittimus, quantum possumus.
4 Modo quod te in puteum, ut morereris, misisti,
utique libera voluntate fecisti. Sed quam crudeles
essent servi dei, si huic malae tuae voluntati te
permitterent et non te de ilia morte Hberarent !
Quis eos non merito culparet ? Quis non impios
recte iudicaret ? Et tamen tu te volens in aquam
misisti, ut morereris, illi te nolentem de aqua levave-
runt, ne morereris ; tu fecisti secundum voluntatem
tuam sed in perniciem tuam, illi contra voluntatem
tuam sed propter salutem tuam. Si ergo salus ista
corporalis sic custodienda est, ut etiam in nolentibus
ab eis qui eos diligunt, servetur, quanto magis ilia
spiritalis, in cuius desertione mors aeterna metuitur !
Quam quam in ista morte quam tibi tu ipse inferre
voluisti, non solum ad tempus sed etiam in aeternum

° Character, an Augustinian term, he defines {Serm. 302.
5. 3) thus : "characterem accipit Christianus, cum lit catechu-
menus." It is like the imprint on imperial money, or the
nota militaris of the soldier, or the mark a shepherd places
on his sheep (C. Ep. Farm. ii. 29), an indelible consecration.
It is linked up with Augustine's theory of the Church and
of Baptism, which once validly bestowed is not to be re-
peated, but is efficacious only when the baptized are joined
to the Church Catholic and are in grace.
288

NO. 39 (Ep. CLXXIII)

are Christ's sheep ; you bear the mark " of the
Lord in the sacrament you have received, but you
have v>'andered away and are lost. There is no
reason why you should be angry with us for recalling
you from wandering and seeking you when you
were lost, for it is better for us to carry out the will
of the Lord, Who gave us the injunction to compel
you to return to His fold, than to acquiesce in the
\vill of the wandering sheep and allow you to be lost.
Do not then say what I hear you keep saying, " I
want to wander in my own way ; I want to be lost
in my own way," for it is better that we should not
allow that at all, as far as in us lies. )

When lately you threw yourself into a well ^\'lth 4
the intention of slaying your body, you certainly did
that of your own free will. But how cruel the
servants of God would have been if they had
handed you over to your own evil will and not
delivered you from that death ! Who would not
have justly blamed them ? Who would not have
been right in judging them inhuman ? And yet
you threw yourself into the water, intending to
slay your body, of your own free will, and they
lifted you out of the water, to defeat your in-
tention, against your will ; you acted according to
your own ^^^ll, but to your own destruction, while
they acted against your ^^-ill, but for your o^yn pre-
servation. If then the preservation of the body is to
be safeguarded so that those who do not wish it are
to be secured by their friends, how much more the
preservation of the spirit, for the abandoning of which
the fearsome consequence is eternal death ! And yet
the death you sought to deal yourself was not only
a death for time but for eternity, for even if you
u 289

ST. AUGUSTINE

morereris, quia, etsi non ad salutem, non ad ecclesiae

pacem, non ad Christi corporis unitatem, non ad

sanctam et indi\-iduam caritatem. sed ad mala aliqua

cogereris, nee sic tibi ipse mortem inferre debuisti.

6 Considera scripturas di\dnas et discute quantum

potes, et vide utrum hoc fecerit aliquis aliquando

iustorum atque fidelium, cum ab eis tanta mala

perpessi sint qui eos ad aeternum interitum non

ad vitam aeternara, quo tu compelleris, adigebant.

Audi\'i quod dixeris apostolum Paulum significasse

hoc fieri debere, ubi ait : Et si tradidero corpus meum,

ut ardeam. Quia videlicet omnia bona dicebat, quae

sine caritate nihil prosunt, sicut sunt hnguae hominum

et angelorum et omnia sacramenta et omnis scientia

et omnis prophetia et omnis fides ita ut montes

transferantur, et rerum suarum distributio pauperi-

bus, ideo videtur tibi etiam hoc inter bona numerasse,

ut sibi quisque inferat mortem. Sed adtende dili-

genter et cognosce quem ad modum dicat scriptura

quod tradat quisque suum corpus ut ardeat, non

utique, ut ipse se in ignem mittat, quando perse-

quentem patitur inimicum, sed, quando ei proponitur

ut aut mali aliquid faciat aut maU aliquid patiatur,

ehgat non facere mala quam non pati mala atque ita

corpus suum tradat in potestatem interfectoris, sicut

tres illi viri fecerunt qui auream statuam cogebantur

adorare et, nisi facerent, minabatur eis ille qui

cogebat, caminum ignis ardentem. Idolum adorare

noluerunt, non ipsi se in ignem miserunt et tamen

" 1 Cor. xiii. 3. ^ 1 Cor. xiii. 1-3. - Dan. iii. 13-21.
290

NO. 39 (Ep. CLXXIII)

were being compelled to some evil deed instead of to
self-preservation, to the peace of the Chm-ch, to the
unity of Christ's body, or to holy and indivisible
charity, even so, you had no right to attempt to take
your ov.Ti hfe.

Examine the Holy Scriptures and scrutinize them 5
to the best of your ability, and see if at any tim.e
any one of the righteous and the faithful took this
course, although they endured such great sufferings
at the hands of those who sought to impel them to
everlasting: destruction . not to everlasting; life , to which
you are being forced. I have heard that you have said
that the apostle Paul indicated that self-immolation
was lawful, in the words, " Though I give my body
to be burned," ° on the supposition that, as he was
there enumerating all the good things that are of
no avail without charity, such as the tongues of men
and of angels, and all mysteries, and all knowledge
and all prophecy and all faith that could remove
mountains, and the bestowal of one's property on the
poor,^ he intended among these good things to count
even self-immolation. But observe carefully and
notice in what sense the Scripture says that a man may
give his body to be burned : certainly not that he may
throw himself into the fire when he is harassed by
a pursuing enemy, but that when the proposal is
made to him that he should do \\Tong or else suffer
•\\Tong, he should choose not to do MTong rather than
not to suffer A\Tong and so give his body over to him
who has power to slay it, as did those three men who
were compelled to worship the golden statue, when
he who apphed the compulsion threatened them with
the fiery furnace if they did not comply.^ They re-
fused to worship the image ; they did not cast them-

291

ST. AUGUSTINE

etiam de illis scriptum est quod tradiderunt corpora
sua, ut neque servirent neque adorarent ullum deian sed
deum suum. Ecce quo modo dixit apostolus : Si
tradidero corpus meum, ut ardeam.

6 Quod autem sequitur, vide : Si caritatern non
haheam, nihil miki prodest. Ad istam caritatern
vocaris, ab ista caritate perire non sineris et putas
tibi aliquid prodesse, si te ipse praecipites in interitum,
cum tibi nihil prodesset, etiamsi alter te occideret
caritatis inimicum. Foris autem ab ecclesia con-
stitutus et separatus a compage unitatis et vinculo
caritatis aeterno supplicio punireris, etiamsi pro
Christi nomine vivus incendereris. Hoc est enim
quod ait apostolus : Et si tradidero corpus meum, ut
ardeam, caritatern autejn non haheam, ?iihil mi hi prodest.
Revoca ergo animum ad sanam considerationem et
sobriam cogitationem ; adtende diligenter utrum
ad errorem et impietatem voceris, et patere pro
veritate quaslibet molestias. Si autem tu potius in
errore atque in impietate versaris, quo autem
vocaris ibi est Veritas et pietas, quia ibi Christiana
unitas et sancti spiritus caritas, quid adhuc tibi esse
conaris inimicus ?

7 Ideo praestitit misericordia dei, ut et nos et epi-
scopi vestri tam frequenti numerosoque conventu
Carthaginem veniremus atque inter nos de ipsa

" Dan. iii. 95. ^ 1 Cor. xiii. 3.

<^ The Conference of June 411, attended by 286 Catholic
bishops and 279 Donatists. Its minutes, the Gesta Colla-
tionis, are printed in Mansi, iv., and in the appendix to the
works of Optatus {P.L. xi. 1257-1420); they are sum-
marized in Augustine's Brevkulus Collationis, published
soon after the Conference.

292

NO. 39 (Ep. CLXXIII)

selves into the fire, and yet it was written even of
them that " they yielded their bodies that they might
not serve nor worship any god except their own
God."^ That is the sense in Avhich the Apostle
said, " If I give my body to be bm-ned."

Notice, however, what follows : " If I have not 6
charity, it profiteth me nothing." ^ To that charity
you are summoned ; by that charity you are with-
held from perishing, and yet you think that to throw
yourself headlong to destruction does to some degree
profit you, although even if you suffered death at
the hands of another person while you are still a foe
to charity, that would profit you nothing ; indeed,
as long as you remain outside the Church and severed
from the fabric of unity and the bond of charity,
you would be punished ^\^th everlasting chastise-
ment, even if you v.ere burned alive for Christ's
sake. That is what the Apostle means when he
says, " Though I give my body to be burned, and
have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." Bring
back your mind, then, to sane reflection and sober
thought ; consider carefully whether it is to error
and impiety that you are being summoned, and
endure any troubles you like for truth's sake. But if
you rather are living in error and in impiety, and
truth and piety rather exist in the place to which
you are summoned, for the reason that there are to
be found Christian unity and the charity of the
Holy Spirit, why do you keep on trying to be your
own worst enemy ?

It was with this end in view that God in His mercy 7
provided your bishops and us \\ith an opportunity of
meeting at Carthage in a crowded and well-attended
conference ^ and of reasoning together in the most

293

ST. AUGUSTINE

dissensione ordinatissime conferremus. Gesta con-
scripta sunt, nostrae etiam subscriptiones tenentur.
Lege vel patere ut tibi legatur, et tunc elige quod
volueris. Audivi quod dixeris posse te nobiscum de
ipsis gestis aliquid agere, si omittamus verba epi-
scoporuni vestrorum, ubi dixerunt : " Nee causa
causae nee persona personae praeiudicat." Haec
verba vis omittamus, ubi per eos nescientes Veritas
ipsa locuta est. Sed tu dicturus es hie eos errasse et
in falsam sententiam incautius cecidisse ; nos autem
dicimus hoc eos verum dixisse et hoc per te ipsum
facilUme probamus. Si enim episcopi vestri electi
ab universa parte Donati, qui causam omnium
sustinerent et, si quid egissent, gratum et acceptum
ceteri haberent, tamen in eo quod illos temere et
non recte dixisse arbitraris, non vis ut tibi prae-
iudicent, verum ergo dixerunt, quia " nee causa
causae nee persona personae praeiudicat." Et ibi
debes agnoscere quia, si persona tot episcoporum
tuorum in iiUs septem constitutorum non vis ut prae-

" The words were used by the Donatists at the Conference
of Carthage, " Quia ergo diximiis eis sicut ilhid [concihiim]
non obesse Caeciliano, quemadmodum hoc non obest Pri-
miano, quoniam contra absentes facta sunt ambo concilia ;
continuo non invenientes quae responderent, et horribiles
angustias passi, dixerunt nee causam causae, nee personam
praeiudicare personae '.' {Ad Bon. p. Coll. 3. 3). His point
here is that, on this Donatist admission that one man's
guilt does not affect another, the crimes alleged by the
Council of Carthage in 312 against Caecilian in no way
affect his successors, still less the Church Universal. Seeing
294

NO. 39 (Ep. CLXXIII)

orderly manner about this very question of separa-
tion. The minutes were ^\Titten down ; further, our
signatures are on record. Read them, or have them
read to you, and choose then which you prefer. I
have heard you have stated that you could have
some discussion \Wth us about those minutes, if we
leave out the words of your bishops, in which it is
said, " One case does not compromise another case,
nor one person another person." " You want us to
leave these words out, which truth itself spoke
through them, though they knew it not. But you
will say that in this point they were mistaken and
through lack of foresight fell into a false opinion ;
we say that what they said was true, and we very
easily prove this by referring to yourself. For if
you refuse to allow those bishops of yours, chosen
by the entire Donatist party to represent the whole
body in such wise that whatever they did, the rest
should take as satisfactory and acceptable, to pre-
judice your case by what you hold to be a rash
and incorrect statement on their part, by this refusal
you admit the truth of their statement that one case
does not compromise another case, nor one person
another person. And at this point you ought to
grant that, if you refuse to allow the person of so
many of your bishops as represented in those seven ^

the consequences of this argument, the Donatists declared
that this admission by their leaders at the Conference of the
intransmissibilitv of guilt was not " satisfactory and accept-
able."

^ At the Conference Catholics and Donatists each chose
seven representatives to address the gathering, seven more
as counsel, and four others to supervise the taking of the
minutes. The reference here is to the seven speakers on the
Donatist side.

ST. AUGUSTINE

iudicet personae Donati Mutugennensis presbyteri,
quanto minus non debet praeiudicare Caeciliani
persona, etiamsi mali aliquid in illo esset inventum,
universae unitati Christi, quae non in una villa
Mutugenna concluditur, sed toto terrarum orbe
diffunditur !

Sed ecce facimus quod voluisti ; sic tecum agimus,
ac si non dixerint vestri : " Nee causa causae nee
persona personae praeiudicat." Tu inveni quid illic
dicere debuerint, cum eis obiecta esset causa et
persona Primiani, qui damnatores suos et damnavit
cum ceteris et damnatos ac detestatos in suo rursus
honore suscepit, et baptismum quem mortui dederant
(quia de ipsis in ilia praeclara sententia dictum erat

" Caecilian was first archdeacon, then from 311 bishop, of
Carthage ; the question whether his ordination was valid or
not was the beginning of the Donatist schism.

^ Primianus was Donatist bishop of Carthage, appointed
in 391, the year which saw AureHus elevated to the Cathohc
see in Carthage and Augustine ordained to the priesthood
at Hippo. These two at once came to grips with the Donatist
problem, but that party had as well its own internal difh-
culties. Primianus became embroiled with a rival, Maximian,
and at a synod held in the province of Byzacena, Primianus
was deposed and Maximian appointed in his stead (June
393). Primianus rallied his supporters in Xumidia, where the
original strength of Donatism lay, and at Bagai, in April
394, a synod of Primianist Donatists restored him. The
rebel Gildo, aided by the infamous Optatus, bishop of
Timgad, supported their cause, but when the rebellion was
put down in 398 the Donatists found themselves acutely
divided and in great disfavour. The Catholic party invoked
296

NO. 39 (Ep. CLXXIII)

to compromise the person of Donatus, priest of
Mutugenna," all the less ought the person of
Caecilian, even if some degree of evil had been
detected in him, to compromise Christian unity,
M'hich is not confined to the single village of Mutu-
genna, but is spread abroad throughout the world.

But see, we shall do as you have desired ; we 8
shall treat with you as if your bishops had not said,

One case does not compromise another case, nor
one person another person." Do you find out what
they ought to have replied to that point, when the
objection was made to them of the case and person
of Primianus,^ who although he joined the others in
anathematizing those who had anathematized him,
nevertheless received back with their former honours
those whom he had anathematized and cursed, and
chose rather to recognize and accept, than to abolish
and breathe scorn upon,*^ the baptism given by
dead men (for of them it was said in that famous

in 404 the aid of the secular arm, and Primianus was dis-
possessed, but soon returned, playing a prominent part
in the Conference of 41 1. This marked a definite stage
in the history of Donatism, and Primianus's power was quite
broken.

" Exsiifflo is a late word, properly " to breathe out,"
" blow out," as Gael. Aur. Chron. 4. 3 " exsuflflatis omnibus
quae de se admiserint"; then, naturally, it came to imply
scorn (Iren.-Lat. i. 13. 4 " exsufflantes et catathemizantes
eum "). In the baptism of the young, exsufflation was part
of the ceremony of exorcism from very early in the Church's
history (Augustine calls it an " antiqui?simam Ecclesiae tradi-
tionem," De Xvpf. h. 29. 51) ; then, since in re-baptizing
Catholic Christians the Donatists " exsuflflated " the previous
baptism (" iterata baptismata, exsufflata sacramenta," Ep.
xliii. 24 ; " fidelis si veniat, exsufflant et rebaptizant," Ep.
lii. 2), it becomes almost a technical term to describe the
attitude of Donatists to the Catholic sacraments.

297

ST. AUGUSTINE

quod " mor tuorum funeribus plena sint litora "), agiios-
cere potius et acceptare quam exsufflare et rescindere
maluit, totumque dissolvit quod male intellegentes
dicere soletis, quia qui baptizatur a mortuo, quid ei
prodest lavacrum eius? Si ergo non dicerent : " Nee
causa causae nee persona personae praeiudicat,"
rei tenerentur in causa Primiani ; cum autem hoc
dixerunt, immunem fecerunt ecclesiam catholicam,
sicut nos adserebamus, a causa Caeciliani.
9 Sed cetera lege, cetera discute. Vide utrum in
ipsura Caecilianum, de cuius persona praeiudicare
conabantur ecclesiae, aliquid mali probare potuerint.
Vide utrum non potius etiam pro illo multa egerint
et pluribus lectionibus, quas contra se protulerunt et
recitaverunt, causam eius bonam omnino firmaverint.
Lege ista vel legantur tibi. Considera omnia, re-
tracta diligenter, et elige quid sequaris, utrum
nobiscum in Christi pace, in ecclesiae catholicae
unitate, in fraterna caritate gaudere, an pro nefaria
dissensione, pro Donati parte, pro sacrilega divisione
importunitatem nostrae circa te dilectionis diutius
sustinere.
10 Adtendis enim et saepe repetis, sicut audio, quod
in evangelio scriptum est recessisse a domino septua-

" The sentence is given in full in Augustine's Contra
Gaudenthim, i. 54, " Aegyptiorum admodum exemplo per-
euntium funeribus plena sunt litora," the reference being to
Exod. xiv. SI, when the Israelites " viderunt Aegyptios
mortuos super litus maris," and the implication being that
the Donatists behold the catholic successors of Caecilian,
with the appearance of Christian life but a real absence of it,
widespread in Africa, but quite ineffective. The " wrong in-
terpretation " refers to the Donatist practice of adducing in
support of their re-baptizing of Catholics the text from Ecclus.
xxxiv. 25, " qui baptizatur a mortuo, et iterum tangit
298

NO. 39 (Ep. CLXXIII)

decree*^ that " the shores were full of dead men "), and
so gave a complete denial to that argument which you
are wont to deduce from a ^vl•ong interpretation of
the words, " He that washeth himself after touching
a dead body, what availeth his washing ? " ^ If then
your bishops had not said, " One case does not com-
promise another case, nor one person another person,"
they would have been held to share the guilt in the
case of Primianus ; but in making that assertion they
secured the Catholic Church, as we contended, from
any guilt in the case of Caecilian.

But read all the rest and examine it well. Notice 9
whether they have succeeded in proving any evil
against Caecilian himself, from whose person they
attempted to compromise the Church; notice whether
they have not rather achieved much in his favour and
altogether confirmed the soundness of his case by
the comparatively large number of extracts they pro-
duced and recited to the detriment of their own
position. Read those, or have them read to you ;
consider the whole matter, give it a further careful
investigation, and choose which you will follow,
whether you mil share our joy in the peace of Christ,
in the unity of the Church Catholic, in brotherly
affection, or, in the cause of ^\^cked discord, the
Donatist party and sacrilegious schism, will endure
still further the importunity of our love for you.

I hear that you often quote and draw attention to 10
the fact recorded in the Gospels that seventy dis-
ciples vdthdrew from the Lord and were left to their

mortuiim, quid ei prodest lavacrum eius ? " with the omission
of the middle clause, " if he touch it again," and a monstrous
perversion of the meaning. The Catholics, the Donatists
argued, being mortui, could not confer a valid sacrament.
^ Ecclus. xxxiv. 30.

299

ST. AUGUSTINE

ginta discipulos et arbitrio suae malae atque impiae
discessionis fuisse permissos, ceterisque duodecim
qui remanserant, fuisse responsum : Xtf)?2quid et vos
vultis ire? Et non adtendis quia tunc priniuin ecclesia
novello germine pullulabat nondumque in ea fuerat
completa ilia prophetia : Et adorahunt eiun omnes
reges ierrae, omnes gentes servient illi, quod utique
quanto magis impletur, tanto maiore utitur ecclesia
potestate, ut non solum invitet, sed etiam cogat ad
bonum. Hoc tunc doniinus significare volebat, qui
quamvis haberet magnam potestatem, prius tamen
elegit commendare humilitatem. Hoc et in ilia
con\ivii similitudine satis e\identer ostendit, ubi
misit ad invitatos et venire noluerunt ; et ait servo :
Exi in plateas et vicos civitatis et paiiperes et debiles et
caecos et claudos introduc hue. Et ait servus domino :
" Factum est, id imperasti, et adhuc locus est.'' Et ait
dominus servo : Exi in vias et saepes et compelle imrare,
ut impleatur domus mea. \ ide nunc quern ad niodum
de his qui prius venerunt, dictum est : " Introduc "
eos, non dictum est " compelle " ; ita significata sunt
ecclesiae primordia adhuc crescentis, ut essent vires
etiam compellendi. Proinde, quia oportebat eius
iam viribus et magnitudine roborata etiam compelli
homines ad convivium salutis aeternae, posteaquam
dictum est : Factum est, quod iussisti, et adhuc est

« John vi. 67-68. " Ps. Ixxi. 11. " Luke xiv. 21-23.
300

NO. 39 (Ep. CLXXIII)

own choice in this wicked and undutiful desertion,
and that to the other twelve who remained it was
said, " Will ye also go away ? " ® But you neglect to
draw attention to the fact that then the Church was
just beginning to sprout with new shoots and that
as yet that prophecy had not received fulfilment in
her : " All kings shall fall down before him, yea, all
nations shall serve him " ^ ; it is in proportion to the
more complete fulfilment of that prophecy that the
Church enjoys greater authority, so that she not only
invites, but actually compels, men to goodness. This
is what our Lord intended in that incident to indicate,
for although He possessed great authority. He chose
rather to give the example of humility. This too He
taught clearly enough in that parable of the feast, in
which, after a message had been sent to the invited
guests and they had refused to come, the servant
was told, " ' Go out into the streets and lanes of the
city and bring in hither the poor and the maimed and
the halt and the blind.' And the servant said to his
lord, ' It is done as thou hast commanded, and yet
there is room.' And the lord said to his servant, ' Go
out into the highways and hedges, and compel them
to come in, that my house may be filled.' "^ Just
notice the phrase used of those who came first :
" bring them in," not the phrase, " compel them to
come in " ; that symbolized the incipient stage of
the Church, still developing to the point where it
would have the strength to compel men to it. Accord-
ingly, since it v/as right that when it had grown
stronger in power and extent men should actually be
compelled to the feast of everlasting salvation, the
words were afterwards added : "It is done as thou
hast commanded, and still there is room. And the

301

ST. AUGUSTINE

locus, exi, inquit, in vias et saepes et compelle intrare.
Quapropter,. si ambularetis quieti extra hoc convi^-ium
sanctae unitatis ecclesiae, tamquam in viis vos in-
veniremus ; nunc vero, quia per multa mala et saeva
quae in nostros committitis, tamquam spinis et
asperitate pleni estis, vos tamquam in saepibus
invenimus et intrare compeilimus. Qui compellitur,
quo non vult cogitur, sed, cum intraverit, iam volens
pascitur. Cohibe itaque iam iniquum et inpacatum
animum, ut in vera ecclesia Christi invenias salutare
con\'ivium.

No. 40 (Ep. CLXXnO

DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET SINCERISSIMA CARI-
TATE VENERANDO SANCTO FRATRI ET CON-
SACERDOTI PAPAE AURELIO AUGUSTINUS
IN DOMINO SALUTEM

De trinitate, quae deus summus et verus est, libros
iuvenis inchoavi, senex edidi. Omiseram quippe
hoc opus, posteaquam comperi praereptos mihi esse
sive subreptos, antequam eos absolverem et re-
tractatos, ut mea dispositio fuerat, expoUrem. Non
enim singillatim, sed omnes simul edere ea ratione
decreveram, quoniam praecedentibus consequentes
inquisitione proficiente nectuntur. Cum ergo per

" The title pajja was applied to all bishops indiscriminately
from the third century until the ninth, and only then was
reserved to the bishop of Rome (see P. de Labriolle in the
Bulletin Du Cange^ t. iv. pp. 65-75). For Aurelius see note
on p. 40.

^ The De Trinitate was begun about 400, but the first
twelve books having been published without his authority,
it was not until 416, in response to several urgent requests,
302

NO. 39 (Ep. CLXXIII)— NO. 40 (Ep. CLXXIV)

lord said, ' Go out into the highways and hedges
and compel them to come in.' " Wherefore, if you
were walking quietly outside this feast of the Church's
holy unity, we should find you, so to speak, in the
" highways " ; but as it is, you are, so to say, full
of thorns and sharpness, by reason of the many cruel
sufferings you inflict on our people, so we find you,
as it were, in the " hedges " and compel you to come
in. He who is compelled is forced to go where he has
no wish to go, but when he has come in, he partakes
of the feast right willingly. So curb your hostile and
rebellious spirit, that you may find the feast of salva-
tion within the true Church of Christ.

No. 40 (Ep. CLXXIV)

(a.d. 416)

TO MY SAINTLY LORD, REVERED WITH VERY
GENUINE LOVE, MY HOLY BROTHER AND
FELLOW-PRIEST, POPE AURELIUS,'» AU-
GUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

I was young when I began my work on the Trinity,^
the supreme, true God ; I am old now when it is
published. I had indeed abandoned the task, after
learning that someone had stolen it from me or at
least stolen a march on me before I could finish and
revise it and give it the final touch I had intended.
For I had decided not to pubhsh the books separately
but all together, for the reason that the later books
are linked up with the earlier in a progressive inquiry.

that he completed and published the whole fifteen books
{Retract, ii. 15, Ejyp. cxx. 13, cxliii. 4, clxiv. 2, clxix. 1).

303

ST. AUGUSTINE

eos homines qui, priusquam vellem, ad quosdam
illorum pervenire potuerunt, dispositio mea nequi-
visset impleri, interruptam dictationem reliqueram
cogitans hoc ipsum in aHquibus scriptis meis conqueri.
ut scirent qui possent non a me fuisse eosdem libros
editos, sed ablatos priusquam mihi editione mea digni
viderentur. Verum multorum fratrum vehementis-
sima postalatione et maxime tua iussione compulsus,
opus tarn laboriosum adiuvante domino terminare
curavi, eosque emendatos, non ut volui, sed ut potui,
ne ab illis, qui subrepti iam in manus hominum
exierant, plurimum discreparent, venerationi tuae
per fiUum nostrum condiaconum carissimum misi et
cuicumque audiendos, legendos describendosque per-
misi. In quibus si servari mea dispositio potuisset,
essent profecto, etsi easdem sententias habentes,
multo tamen enodatiores atque planiores, quantum
rerum tantarum explicandarum difficultas et facultas
nostra pateretur. Sunt autem qui primos quattuor
vel potius quinque etiam sine prooemiis habent et
duodecimum sine extrema parte non parva. Sed
si eis haec editio potuerit innotescere, omnia, si
voluerint et valuerint, emendabunt. Peto sane ut
banc epistulam seorsum quidem sed tamen ad caput
eorundem Ubrorum iubeas anteponi. Ora pro me.

304

NO. 40 (Ep. CLXXIV)

Seeing, then, that my intention was prevented from
being carried out because of those persons who were
able to have access to some of the books before
I wanted them to, I broke off my dictation and
abandoned it, thinking to voice my complaint in
some other work of mine, so as to let those who
could, know that those same books were not pub-
lished by me, but were taken out of my hands before
they seemed to me fit for publication by me. But
compelled by the most urgent demands of many of
my brethren and most of all by your command, I
have taken the trouble to bring to completion, with
the help of God, a work on which I have expended
so much effort, and now by our son and dear fellow-
deacon I am sending them to your Grace, and hand-
ing them over for anyone to hear, read, or copy,
corrected as well as I could, not as well as I would,
in case they might differ too much from those copies
which were stolen from me and are already in circula-
tion. If I could have stuck to what I intended in
them, they should have contained the same opinions,
but should certainly have been much less obscure
and more easy to read, as far as the difficulty of
explaining such weighty matters and my own ability
allowed it. Now there are some people who possess
the first four or rather five books without the in-
troductions and the twelfth without the last portion,
which is of a fair length ; but if this edition happens
to come to their notice, they will be able to make
all the corrections, if they have the wish and the
ability. I beg you by all means to give instructions
for the placing of this letter at the head of those
books, but apart from them. Pray for me.

X 305

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 41 (Ep. CLXXIX)

DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET MERITO VENERA-
BILI FRATRI ET COEPISCOPO lOHANNI AU-
GUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Quod tuae sanctitatis scripta non merui, nihil
audeo suscensere ; melius enim perlatorem credo
defuisse, quam me suspicor a tua veneratione con-
temptum, domine beatissime et merito venerabilis
frater. Nunc vero, quoniam servum dei Lucam,
per quem ista direxi, cito comperi esse rediturum,
agam domino et tuae benignitati uberes gratias, si
me litteris fueris visitare dignatus. Pelagium vero
fratrem nostrum, filium tuum, quem audio quod
multum diligis, banc illi suggero exhibeas dilectionem,
ut homines, qui eum noverunt et diligenter audierunt,
non ab eo tuam sanctitatem existiment falli.

2 Nam quidam ex discipulis eius adulescentes
honestissime nati et institutis liberalibus eruditi
spem, quam habebant in saeculo, eius exhortatione
dimiserunt et se ad dei servitium contulerunt. In
quibus tamen cum apparuissent quaedam sanae
doctrinae adversantia, quae salvatoris evangelio

" This is John, bishop of Jerusalem from 386 to 417. When
Pelagius and Coelestius reached Palestine in 415, John re-
fused to accept the decrees of the Council of Carthage against
them and held his own synod in 415. In 416 the Synod of
Diospolis gave a decision favourable to Pelagius, but later
this was reversed. Meantime Augustine writes warning
John to beware of tolerating and encouraging the Pelagian
heresy. For Augustine's earlier relations with Pelagius see
No. 36.

* These young men were Timasius and Jacobus, who in
415 sent Augustine a copy of Pelagius's De Natura, to which
306

NO. 41 (Ep. CLXXIX)

No. 41 (Ep. CLXXIX)
(a.d. 416)

TO MY SAINTLY LORD AND DESERVEDLY RE-
VERED BROTHER AND FELLOW - BISHOP,
JOHN,« AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN
THE LORD

I would not for anything venture to cherish re- 1
sentment that I have not been honoured with letters
from your Holiness ; for it is better for me to believe
that you, my saintly lord and deservedly revered
brother, were without anyone to convey them, than
to harbour the suspicion that your Grace was scorning
me. But now, as I have learned that Luke, the servant
of God by whom I am sending this letter to you, is
going to return very shortly, I shall give hearty thanks
to the Lord and to your Benignity, if you have the
kindness to visit me by letter. As for Pelagius, our
brother and your son, to whom I hear you show
much affection, I suggest that the affection you show
him be such that the people who know him and have
carefully listened to him may not imagine that your
Holiness is being deceived by him.

Some of his disciples, indeed, young men of very 2
noble birth and education in the liberal arts,^ gave
up their worldly prospects at his persuasion and
betook themselves to the service of God. When,
however, they gave evidence of certain theories at
variance vrith sound doctrine as contained in the
Gospel of the Saviour and declared in the words of

Augustine replied in his D& Natura et Gratia, dedicated to
tlie two young men ; their letter of thanks on receiving the
reply is printed as Ep. clxviii.

307

ST. AUGUSTINE

continetur et apostolicis sermonibus declaratur, id
est cum invenirentur contra dei gratiam disputari,
propter quam Christian! sumus et in qua spiritu ex
jide spem iustitiae eocpectamus, et admonitionibus
nostris inciperent emendari, dederunt mihi librum,
quern eiusdem Pelagii esse dixerunt, rogantes ut ei
potius responderem. Quod posteaquam vidi nie
facere debere, ut eo modo error ipse nefarius de
cordibus eorum perfectius auferretur, legi atque
respondi.
3 In hoc hbro ille dei gratiam non appellat nisi
naturam, qua Hbero arbitrio conditi sumus. lUam
vero, quam innumerabilibus testimoniis sancta
scriptura commendat ea nos iustificari, hoc est iustos
fieri docens et in omni opere bono sive agendo sive
perficiendo dei misericordia iuvari, quod etiam
orationes sanctorum apertissime ostendunt, quibus
ea petuntur a domino, quae praecipiuntur a domino,
hanc ergo gratiam non solum tacet, sed ei contraria
multa loquitur. Adfirmat enim vehementerque con-
tendit per solum liberum arbitrium sibi humanam
sufRcere posse naturam ad operandam iustitiam et
omnia dei mandata servanda. Unde quis non
videat, cum eundem librum legerit, quem ad modum
oppugnetur gratia dei, de qua dicit apostolus :
Miser ego homo ! Quis me liherahit de corpore mortis
huius ? Gratia dei per dotninum nostrum lesum
Christum, et nullus locus divino adiutorio relinquatur,
propter quod orantes dicere debeamus : Ne nos
infer as in temptationem, sine causa etiam dominus

" Gal. V. 5. * Rom. vii. 24-25.

*= Matt. vi. 13 ; Luke xi. 4.

308

NO. 41 (Ep. CLXXIX)

the apostles — that is, when they were discovered
to be arguing against the grace of God, by means
of which we become Christians and in which " we
through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteous-
ness by faith," <^ and were beginning to reject their
errors under my strictures, they gave me a book
which, they said, was by the same Pelagius, asking
me instead to reply to him. After I saw that it was
my duty to do so in order the more thoroughly to
drive that wicked error from their hearts, I read it
and composed an answer.

In that book he declares the grace of God to be 3
only nature, in which we are created with free-^\-ill.
(As for that grace, however, which Holy Scripture
commends to us in countless texts, teaching that it
is by it that we are justified, that is, made just, and
assisted, by God's mercy, in doing or completing
every good work (as is shown too very clearly by the
prayers of the holy, in which those things are sought
from the Lord which have been enjoined by the
Lord) — this grace, then, he not only passes over in
silence, but advances many statements opposed to
it. ('For he asserts and urgently argues that through
free-will alone human nature can be sufficient to do
the works of righteousness and keep all God's com-
mandments. From that anyone can see, on reading
the same book, what an attack is made upon the
grace of God, of which the apostle says, " O wretched
man that I am ! Who shall deliver me from the body
of this death ? The grace of God through our Lord
Jesus Christ," ^ and how there is no place left for that
divine assistance because of which it is our duty to
say, when we pray, " Lead us not into temptation " '^ ;
further, the Lord seems to have had no reason for

309

ST. AUGUSTINE

apostolo Petro dixisse videatur : Bogavi pro te, ne
deficiat fides tua, si hoc totum in nobis niillo auxilio
dei sed potestate voluntatis impletur ?
4 His itaque disputationibus perversis et impiis non
solum contradicitur orationibus nostris, quibus a
domino petimus quicquid sanctos petisse legimus et
tenemus, verum etiam benedictionibus nostris re-
sistitur, quando super populum dicimus optantes eis
et poscentes a domino, ut eos abundare facial in
caritate ijivicem et i?i omiies et det eis secundum divitias
gloriae suae virtute corroborari per spiritum eius et
impleat eos omni gaudio et pace in credendo et abundent
in spe et potentia spiritus sancti. Ut quid eis ista
petimus, quae populis a domino petisse apostolum
novimus, si iam natura nostra creata cum libero
arbitrio omnia haec sibi potest sua voluntate prae-
stare ? Ut quid etiam dicit idem ipse apostolus :
Quotquot enim spiritu dei aguntur, hi filii sunt dei, si
spiritu naturae nostrae agimur, ut efficiamur filii dei ?
Ut quid dicit similiter : Spiritus adiuvat infirmitatem
nosiram, si natura nostra sic creata est, ut spiritu
ad opera iustitiae non indigeat adiuvari ? Ut quid
scriptum est : Fidelis autem deus, qui non permittet vos
temptari super id quod potestis, sed faciet cum tempta-
tiojie etiam exitum, ut possitis susti?iere, si iam ita conditi
sumus, ut viribus liberi arbitrii universas tempta-
tiones sustinendo superare possimus ?

« Luke xxii. 32. * 1 Thess. ill. 12.

« Eph. iii. 16. " Rom. xv. 13. * Rom. viii. U.

/ Rom. viii. 26. » 1 Cor. x. 13.
310

NO. 41 (Ep. CLXXIX)

saying to the apostle Peter, " I have prayed for thee,
that thy faith fail not," " if all this receives its fulfil-
ment in us without any help from God, but by the
power of our will alone.)

So these perverted and sacrilegious arguments not 4
only give the lie to our prayers, in which we ask
the Lord for anything that we read and believe that
the holy have asked, but also are in conflict with the
benediction we give, when over the people we utter
the prayer and petition to God that He will " make
them to increase and abound in love one towards
another and towards all men," ^ and " grant them ac-
cording to the riches of His glory to be strengthened
with might by his Spirit," ^ and " fill them with joy and
peace in believing and make them to abound in hope
and in the power of the Holy Spirit." '^ (Why do we ask
these things for them which we know the apostle
asked from the Lord for the nations, if even now
our nature, created ^\^th free-will, can provide all of
them for itself by its own will ? And why does this
same apostle say too, " For as many as are led by
the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God," ^ if we
are led by the spirit of our nature to be made the
sons of God ? And why does he likewise say, " The
Spirit helpeth our infirmities,"-'^ if our nature is created
such that it does not need any help from the Spirit
to do the works of righteousness ? And why does
Scripture say, " But God is faithful, who will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able,
but will with the temptation also make a way to
escape, that ye may be able to bear it,"^ if we have
been created such that by the strength of our free-
will we are able to overcome all temptations by
simply enduring them ? J

311

ST. AUGUSTINE

5 Quid pluribus agam apud sanctitatem vestram,
quando quidem me onerosum sentio, maxime quia
per interpretem audis litteras meas ? Si diligitis Pe-
lagium, diligat vos etiam ipse, immo magis se ipsum
et non vos fallat. Cum enim auditis eum confiteri
gratiam dei et adiutorium dei, putatis hoc eum dicere
quod et vos, qui catholica regula sapitis, quoniam
quid in libro suo scripserit, ignoratis. Propter hoc
ipsum hbrum misi et meum, quo ei respondi ; unde
perspiciat venerabilitas vestra quam gratiam vel
adiutorium dei dicat, quando illi obicitur quod
gratiae dei et adiutorio contradicat. Proinde ostende
ilU docendo et hortando et pro eius salute, quae in
Christo esse debet, orando, ut eam dei gratiam con-
fiteatur, quam probantur sancti dei fuisse confessi,
cum a domino ea ipsi peterent, quae ilhs iubebat ut
facerent, quoniam neque iuberentur, nisi ut nostra
voluntas ostenderetur, neque peterentur, nisi ut
voluntatis infirmitas ab illo, qui iusserat, iuvaretur.
6 Aperte interrogetur, utrum ei placeat orandum
esse a domino, ne peccemus. Quod si ei displicet,
legatur in auribus eius apostolus dicens : Oramus
autem ad deum, ne quid facialis mali ; si autem placet,
aperte praedicet gratiam, qua iuvamur, ne ipse faciat
multum mali. Hac enim gratia dei per lesum
Christum dominum nostrum omnes liberantur, qui-
cumque liberantur, quoniam nemo praeter ipsam
quolibet alio modo liberari potest. Propter hoc

" His own language was Greek, ^ 2 Cor. xiii. 7.

312

NO. 41 (Ep. CLXXIX)

Why need I dilate upon the point to your Holiness, 5
when I already reahze that I am wearying you, es-
pecially as you hsten to my letter through an in-
terpreter ? ^ If you love Pelagius.may he too love you,
or rather deceive himself and not you ! For when
you hear him confessing God's grace and God's help,
you think he means the same as you do, who under-
stand them in the hght of the Catholic rule of faith,
because you are unacquainted M-ith what he has
MTitten in his book. For this reason I have sent the
book itself and the reply I wrote to it; from these
your Reverence may see what grace or help of God
he speaks of, when the objection is made to him that
he is speaking of something opposed to the grace and
help of God. Open his eyes then by teaching and
exhorting him and praying for the salvation he ought
to have in Christ, so that he may confess that grace
of God the saints are proved to have confessed, when
they sought those things from the Lord which He
commanded them to seek, for those things would
have not been commanded unless to the end that our
will should be revealed, nor would they be asked for,
unless to the end that the weakness of our ^^-ill should
have the help of Him who commanded them.

Let the question be openly put to him whether he 6
approves of praying the Lord that we fall not into sin.
If he disapproves of it, let the apostle be read in his
ears, in the words, " Now I pray to God that ye do
no e\'il " ^ ; but if he does approve of it, let him openly
preach that grace which assists us, so that he himself
may be kept from doing much evil. For it is by this
grace of God through Jesus Christ oiu: Lord that all
those who are delivered, are dehvered, since no one
can be delivered in any other way than through it.

313

ST. AUGUSTINE

scriptum est : Sicut in Adam omnes moriuntur, sic et
in Christo omnes vivijicaburitur, non quia nemo damna-
bitur, sed quia nemo aliter liberabitur, quia, sicut
nulli nisi per Adam filii hominis, ita nulli nisi per
Christum filii dei. Omnes itaque filii hominis nonnisi
per Adam et omnes ex eis filii dei nonnisi per Christum
fieri possunt. Aperte itaque etiam hinc exprimat
quid sentiat, utrum placeat ei etiam parvulos, qui
nondum iustitiam possunt velle vel nolle, tamen
propter unum hominem, per quem peccatum i?itravit
in mundum et per peccatum mors et ita in omnes homines
pertransiit, in quo onmes peccaverunt, per Christ!
gratiam liberari, utrum etiam pro ipsis fusum credat
sanguinem Christi propter originale peccatum, qui
utique in remissionem fusus est peccatorum. De
his maxime ab illo volumus nosse quid credat, quid
teneat, quid certe confiteatur et praedicet. In
aliis autem, quae illi obiciuntur, etiamsi errare
convincitur, tamen, donee corrigatur, tolerabilius
sustinetur.

Peto etiam nobis transmittere, quibus perhibetur
esse purgatus, ecclesiastica gesta digneris. Quod ex
multorum episcoporum desiderio peto, quos mecum
de hac re fama incerta perturbat ; sed ideo solus
hoc scripsi, quia occasionem perlatoris festinantis a
nobis, quem cito ad nos audivi posse remeare, praeter-
mittere nolui. Pro quibus gestis iam nobis misit

" 1 Cor. XV. 22. ^ Rom. v. 12. <" Matt. xxvi. 28.

^ Held at Diospolis, the ancient Lydda, in December 415.
When the minutes came into Augustine's hands, about the
end of 416 or early in 417, he found that Pelagius's summary
of the discussion was unfair, so he wrote the historical tract
De Gestis Pelagii, an account of the proceedings against
Pelagius in Palestine.
314»

NO. 41 (Ep. CLXXIX)

For that reason it is written, " For as in x\dam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive," "^ not that
no one will be damned, but that no one \\ill be de-
livered in any other way ; for just as all those who are
children of men are so through Adam, so all those
Mho are children of God are so through Christ. So
all children of men are able to become such only
through Adam, and all of them who have become
children of God, only through Christ. Let him
therefore openly express his views on this further
point, whether he accepts the fact that even little
children, who have not yet reached the stage of
willing righteousness or of refusing it, yet because of
one man, bv whom " sin entered into the world, and
death by sin, and so death passed ypon all men, for
that all have sinned," ^ are delivered by the grace of
Christ — whether even for them, because of original
sin, he beheves that the blood of Christ was shed,
which was, to be sure, shed for the remission of sins.^
About these points in particular I am anxious to know
what he believes and holds, what he definitely con-
fesses and preaches. In the other points, however,
that are raised against him, even if he be proved to be
in error, none the less until he accepts correction, it is
more tolerable to bear with him.

Further, I beg you to have the kindness to send to 7
me the minutes of the Church council ^ which declare
him to be cleared of the charge of heresy. This I beg
at the desire of many bishops who have, like me,
been troubled by the indefinite rumour about this ;
I have WTitten, however, asking this in my own name
for the reason that I did not want to miss the oppor-
tunity of the messenger, who is in a position, I under-
stand, to return to us speedily. In place of these

315

ST. AUGUSTINE

non quidem ullam partem gestorum sed quandam
a se conscriptam velut defensionem suam, qua se
dixit obiectis respondisse Gallorum. In qua, ut alia
omittam, cum ad illud responderet, quod ei obiectum
est, eum dixisse posse hominem esse sine peccato et
mandata dei custodire, si velit, " diximus," inquit ;
" banc enim illi deus possibilitatem dedit ; non
diximus quoniam inveniatur quis, ab infantia usque
ad senectam qui numquam peccaverit, sed quoniam
a peccatis conversus labore proprio et gratia dei
adiutus potest absque peccato esse nee propter hoc
in posterum erit inconvertibilis."
8 In hac Pelagii responsione cernit reverentia tua
hoc eum fuisse confessum, priorem hominis vitam,
quae est ab infantia, sine peccato non esse, sed eum
ad vitam, quae sine peccato sit, labore proprio et
adiutus per gratiam dei posse converti. Cur ergo in
hoc libro, cui respondi, Abel ita hie vixisse dicit, ut
nihil omnino peccaverit ? Nam eius de hac re ista
sunt verba : " Hoc," inquit, " recte dici potest de
his, quorum neque bonorum neque malorum scriptura
sit memor ; de illis vero, quorum iustitiae meminit,
et peccatorum sine dubio meminisset, si qua eos
peccasse sensisset. Sed esto," inquit, " aliis tempori-
bus turbae numerositate omnium dissimulaverit
peccata contexere, in ipso statim mundi primordio,
ubi nonnisi quattuor homines erant, quid," inquit,

" Pelagius had sent this to Augustine by Charus, a deacon
in Palestine, by birth a citizen of Hippo. See De Gest. Pel.
i. 57, 58. The Gauls are two bishops, Heros of Aries and
Lazarus of Aix, who had taken refuge in Palestine, after
undeserved ejection from their sees. They drew up a series
316

NO. 41 (Ep. CLXXIX)

minutes Pelagius has already sent us not indeed any
portion of the minutes, but a kind of defence of him-
self, written by his own hand, in which he says he
has answered the objections of the Gauls." In it, to
leave other matters out, he rephed to the objection
made to him that he had said man could Hve without
sin and keep God's commandments if he wished to ;
his words are : " I maintained that this power was
conferred upon him by God ; I did not maintain that
any person would be found who had never committed
a sin from his infancy to his old age, but that after
turning from sin by his own effort and with the help
of God's grace he can live ^\•ithout sin, and that the
fact of having sinned does not prevent a man fromi
turning from it at a future date."

In this reply of Pelagius your Reverence can dis-
cern that he has confessed that a man's earlier life,
that is in infancy, is not without sin, but that he can
be turned by his own effort, assisted by the grace
of God, to the sinless life. Why then, in the book
I have rephed to, does he allege that Abel lived a
life that was completely without sin ? These are his
words about this point : " This can ^vith justice be
said of those of whose good deeds and evil deeds alike
Scripture has no record ; but it would assuredly have
recorded the sins of those whose righteousness it
records, if it had perceived that they had sinned at
all. But granted," he says, " that in other ages the
great throng of men made Scripture neglect to
weave an account of the sins of every one : right
at the very beginning of the world, when there
were only four people in existence, what reason," he

of formal charges against Pelagius, to consider which the
Synod of Diospolis was called.

317

ST. AUGUSTINE

" dicimus, cur non omnium voluerit delicta memorare?
Utrumne ingentis multitudinis causa, quae nondum
erat ? An quia illorum tantum, qui commiserant,
meminit, illius vero, qui nulla commiserat, memi-
nisse non potuit ? Certe," inquit, " primo in tem-
pore Adam et Eva, ex quibus Cain et Abel nati sunt,
quattuor homines tantum fuisse referuntur. Pec-
cavit Eva, scriptura hoc prodidit ; Adam quoque
deliquit, eadem scriptura non tacuit ; sed et Cain
peccasse ipsa quoque scriptura testata est. Quorum
non modo peccata, verum etiam peccatorum indicat
qualitatem. Quod si et Abel peccasset," inquit,
" et hoc sine dubio scriptura dixisset ; si non dixit,
ergo nee ille pecca\it."
9 Haec verba de libro eius decerpsi, quae in ipso
quoque volumine tua sanctitas poterit invenire, ut in-
tellegatis quem ad modum et cetera neganti credere
debeatis, nisi forte dicat ipsum Abel nihil peccasse,
sed ideo non fuisse sine peccato et ideo non posse
domino comparari, qui in carne mortali solus sine
peccato fuit, quia erat in Abel originale peccatum
quod de Adam traxerat, non in se ipso ipse com-
miserat— utinam saltem hoc dicat, ut interim eius
de baptismo parvulorum certam sententiam tenere
possimus ! — aut si forte, quoniam dixit " ab infantia
usque ad senectutem," ideo dicat Abel non peccasse,
quia nee senuisse monstratur. Non hoc indicant
verba eius ; ab initio priorem vitam dixit peccatricem,
posteriorem vero posse esse sine peccato. Ait enim

* This passage from Pelagius is again quoted and dis-
cussed by Augustine in JJe ISatura et Gratia^ §§ 43-45.

318

NO. il (Ep. CLXXIX)

asks, " can we give for its failure to mention the sins
of every one ? Is it because of the great number of
people ? There was as yet nothing of the kind. Is
it because it remembered only those who had com-
mitted sin, and was unable to remember the one who
had not committed any ? To be sure," he says, " in
the first age of the world there Mere Adam and Eve,
from whom were born Cain and Abel — four people
only are mentioned as existing. Eve sinned ; the
Scripture has revealed that to us ; Adam also sinned ;
the same Scripture does not omit to mention it, and
that Scripture has testified too that Cain sinned as
well, and it points out not only their sins, but also the
nature of their sins. If Abel too had sinned, that too
would have been mentioned by Scripture ; but it is
not mentioned, so he did not sin." ^

I have culled from his book these words, which
your Holiness will be able to find in the volume itself,
so that you may understand what manner of credence
you should afford him when he denies the other points
as well ; unless perhaps he says that Abel himself
committed no sin, but that he was not therefore with-
out sin and could not therefore bear comparison with
the Lord, Who alone in mortal flesh was without sin,
since in Abel there was original sin inherited from
Adam, not committed by himself in his own person
(I wish he would at least make this assertion, so that
we might for the present obtain from him a definite
expression of opinion about infant baptism) ; or unless
he says perhaps, since he has used the words " from
infancy to old age," that Abel did not sin because he
is shown not to have lived to old age. This is not what
his words indicate : he said that from the beginning
the earher period of life was given to sin. but that the

319

ST. AUGUSTINE

non se dixisse quoniam inveniatur quis ab infantia
usque ad senectutem qui non peccaverit, sed quoniam
a peccatis conversus labore proprio et gratia dei
adiutus potest absque peccato esse. Cum enim dicit
" a peccatis conversus," ostendit priorem vitam in
peccatis agi. Fateatur ergo quod peccaverit Abel,
cuius prima \'ita fuit in saeculo, quam fatetur non
carere peccatis, et respiciat librum suum, ubi eum
dixisse constat quod ait in hac defensione : " Non
diximus."
10 Si autem et hunc librum vel hunc in eo libro locum
esse negaverit suum, ego quidem idoneos testes
habeo honestos et fideles viros et eius sine dubio
dilectores, quibus adtestantibus purgare me possum
quod eundem librum ipsi mihi dederint et ibi hoc
legatur eumque Pelagii esse dixerint, ut saltem hoc
mihi sufficiat, ne dicat a me fuisse sive conscriptum
sive falsatum. lam inter illos eligat quisque cui
credat. Meum non est de hac re diutius disputare.
Rogamus, ut certe transmittas sibi, si^ negaverit
se ista sentire, quae illi obiciuntur inimica gratiae
Christi. Tam quippe aperta est eius defensio, ut,
si vestram sanctam prudentiam, qui eius alia scripta
non nostis, nulla verborum ambiguitate fefellerit,

^ The Benedictine edition here reads transmittas ipsi si, the
manuscripts^ two of the fifteenth century^ transmittas sibi si.
Goldhacher marks a lacuna, rchich is hardly necessary ; sibi
is probably a corruption of illi or ei.

" The reasoning here is a little involved. Pelagius has
been trying to prove the sinlessness of Abel, in order to
justify his own denial of the transmission of original sin and
his theory that even before Christ there had been sinless lives.
Augustine asks if he will maintain that Abel, whom he
declares to have committed no sin, is therefore to be put on
a level with Christ ; assuming Pelagius will hardly go so far,
320

NO. 4.1 (Ep. CLXXIX)

later could be sinless ; for he declares he did not state
that anyone Mould be found who from infancy to old
age had not committed sin, but that after turning
from sin by his own effort and with the help of God's
grace, he could live without sin. For when he says
" turning from sin," he shows that the earlier part of
life was lived in sin. Let him then admit that Abel
did sin, since his early life was lived in the world, and
it, according to his admission, is not without sin ; and
let him take another look at his own book, where it
is quite plain he did make the statement which in this
defence he denies havingr made.'*

But if he asserts that this book, or this passage in 10
the book, is not from his pen, I on my side have
adequate witnesses, men of honour and reliability
and undoubted friends of his own, and I can acquit
myself by their testimony that they handed this same
book to me containing that sentence and that they
declared it was from the pen of Pelagius ; that evi-
dence at any rate is sufficient to deter anyone from
saying that it was written or fabricated by me. Now
among these let each man choose whom to believe.
It is not my business to discuss the matter at any
greater length. I ask you to convey to him by a sure
hand, if he denies that those are his opinions, the
points to which objection is taken as being in con-
flict with the grace of Christ. So plausible is his de-
fence, indeed, that we shall rejoice with exceeding
joy if he has not deceived your wise Holiness, un-
acquainted as you are with his other writings, by any

he gives two alternatives : either Abel was not sinless in
character, even if he did no sinful deed, or else he turned
from sin — in either case, therefore, he was not without the
taint of original sin which Pelagius is seeking to deny.

Y 321

ST. AUGUSTINE

niagno gaudio gratulabiniur non multum curantes,
utrum ilia perversa et impia numquam senserit an
se ab eis aliquando correxerit.

No. 42 (Ep. CLXXXIX)

DOMINO EXIMIO ET MERITO INSIGNI ATQUE
HONORABILI FILIO BONIFATIO AUGUSTI-
NUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 lam rescripseram caritati tuae, sed, cum epistulae
dirigendae occasio quaereretur, supervenit dilectis-
simus filius meus Faustus pergens ad eximietatem
tuam. Qui cum ipsas litteras, quas iam feceram,
accepisset tuae benivolentiae perferendas, suggessit
mihi multum te desiderare ut aliquid tibi scriberem
quod te aedificet ad sempiternam salutem, cuius tibi
spes in Christo lesu domino nostro. Et quamvis
mihi occupato tantum institit ut facere non differrem,
quantum scis quod te sinceriter diligat. Festinanti
ergo ut occurrerem, malui festinanter aliquid scribere
quam religiosum tuum desiderium retardare, domine
eximie et merito insignis atque honorabilis fili.

2 Quod ergo breviter possum dicere : Dilige do-
minum deum tuum in toto corde tuo et in iota anima tua
et in tota virtute tua, et : Dilige proximum tuum tamquam

° Count Boniface was governor of Africa under Honorius
and Placidia. Through the treachery of his perfidious rival
Aetius, he was unjustly disgraced and revenged himself by
making alliance with Genseric, king of the Vandals, who
at his invitation invaded Africa in 429. The duplicity of
Aetius being discovered, Boniface was restored to favour,
and set himself to oppose the invaders. He retired to Hippo,
which was besieged for fourteen months, during which time
322

NO. 41 (Ep. CLXXIX)— NO. 4-2 (Ep. CLXXXIX)

ambiguous statement. For the rest we care not over-
much whether those perverted and impious opinions
vrere never his, or if at last he has renounced them.

No. 42 (Ep. CLXXXIX)
(a.d. 418)

TO BONIFACE,^ MY NOBLE LORD AND JUSTLY
DISTINGUISHED AND HONOURABLE SOX,
AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

I had already written my reply to your Charity, 1
but when I was looking for an opportunity of trans-
mitting my letter, my beloved son Faustus arrived
on his way to your Excellency. After receiving the
letter which I had already composed for conveyance
to your Benevolence, he intimated to me your strong
desire that I should ^\Tite something to you that
would build you up unto that eternal salvation of
which your confidence is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And although I was busily occupied, he urged me
with that instancy which, as you know, is propor-
tioned to his affection for you, not to postpone the
writing of it. To meet his haste, then, I have chosen
rather to ^^Tite something in haste than to keep your
holy desire in suspense, my noble and justly distin-
guished lord and honourable son.

All then that I can say in the short time I have is this : 2
" Love the Lord thy God Avith all thy heart and with
all thy soul and with all thy strength," and " love thy

Augustine's death took place, and was finally taken.
Boniface returned to Italy, but was slain in battle with
Aetius in 432. He is addressed in No. 51 infra.

323

ST. AUGUSTINE

te ipsum — hoc est enim verbum, quod breviavit
dominus super terrain dicens in evangelio : In his
duohus praeceptis tota lex pendet et prophetae, — in hac
ergo dilectione cotidie profice et orando et bene
agendo, ut ipso adiuvante, qui tibi earn praecepit
atque donavit, nutriatur et crescat, donee haec te
perfecta perficiat. Ipsa est enim caritas, quae, sicut
dicit apostolus, diffusa est in cordibus ?wstris per
spiritum sanctum, qui datus est nobis ; ipsa est, de qua
item dicit : Plenitudo legis caritas ; ipsa est, per
quam fides operatur, unde iterum dicit : Keque
circumcisio quicquam valet neque praeputium sed fides,
quae per dilectionem operatur.
3 In hac omnes sancti patres nostri et patriarchae et
prophetae et apostoH placuerunt deo ; in hac omnes
veri martyres usque ad sanguinem contra diabolum
certaverunt et, quia in eis non refriguit nee defecit,
ideo vicerunt ; in hac omnes boni fideles cotidie
proficiunt, pervenire cupientes non ad regnum
mortalium, sed ad regnum caelorum, non ad tem-
poralem, sed ad sempiternam hereditatem, non ad
aurum et argentum, sed ad divitias incorruptibiles
angelorum, non ad aUqua bona huius saecuh, in
quibus cum timore \'ivatur nee ea quisquam secum
potest auferre dum moritur, sed ad videndum deum ;
cuius suavitas et delectatio excedit omnem non
solum terrestrium, verum etiam caelestium corporum
pulchritudinem, excedit omnem decorem animarum
quantum libet iustarum atque sanctarum, excedit
omnem speciem supernorum angelorum atque virtu-
tum, excedit quicquid de illo non solum dicitur,

" Luke X. 27, etc. * Matt. xxii. 40. ^ Rom. v. 5.
^ Rom. xiii. 10. " Gal. v. 6. f Matt. xxiv. 12.

" Matt. vii. 21 ; Heb. ix. 15. * Matt. v. 8.

324

NO. 42 (Ep. CLXXXIX)

neighbour as thyself. ' ' '^ These are the words in which
the Lord Avhile upon earth summed up everything,
saying in the Gospel : " On these two command-
ments hang all the law and the prophets."^ In this
love therefore make daily progress by both prayer
and good deeds, so that by the help of Him who
enjoined it upon you and granted you to possess it,
it may find nourishment and increase, until being
perfect it makes you perfect. For that is the love
which, in the words of the apostle, " is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto
us " ^' ; it is that love which he also describes as the
" fulfilhng of the law " '^ ; it is that by which faith
worketh, of which he says again, " Neither circum-
cision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith,
which worketh by love."^

In this love all our holy fathers and patriarchs and 3
prophets and apostles pleased God ; in it all true
martyrs contended against the devil even unto
blood,^ and because in them it neither waxed cold nor
failed, they won the day : in it all good believers
make daily progress, seeking to attain not unto an
earthly kingdom, but unto the kingdom of heaven,
not unto a temporal, but unto an eternal inheritance,^
not unto gold and silver, but unto the incorruptible
riches of the angels, not unto any of this world's good
things, which make life full of fear and which no one
can take with him when he dies, but unto the vision
of God.'^ His sweetness and delight transcend all
beauty of form not only in earthly things, but even
in heavenly, transcend all loveliness of souls however
righteous and holy, transcend all the comeliness of
angels and powers above, transcend not only every-
thing that language can express about Him, but also

325

ST. AUGUSTINE

verum etiam cogitatur. Neque banc tarn magnam
promissionem, quia valde magna est, ideo despere-
mus, sed potius, quia valde magnus earn promisit,
accepturos nos esse credamus. Sicut enim dicit
beatus lohannes apostolus,^//? dei sumus et nondum
apparuit, quid erijnus ; scimus quia, cum apparuerit,
s^imiles ei erimus, quoniam videbimus eum sicuti est.

Noli existimare neminem deo placere posse, qui in
armis bellicis militat. In his erat sanctus David,
cui dominus tani magnum perhibuit testimonium ; in
his etiam plurimi illius temporis iusti ; in his erat et
ille centurio, qui domino dixit : Non sum dignus, ut
intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum die verbo ei sanabitur
puer meus. Nam et ego homo sum sub potestate con-
stitutus habejis sub me milites et dico huic : " Fade " et
vadit, et alio : " Veni " et venit, et servo meo : " Fac
hoc " et facit; de quo et dominus : Amen dico vobis ;
non inveni tantam Jidem in Israhel. In his erat et ille
Cornelius, ad quem missus angelus dixit : Corneli,
acceptae sunt elemosynae iuae et exauditae sunt orationes
tuae ; ubi eum admonuit, ut ad beatum Petrum
apostolum mitteret et ab illo audiret quae facere
deberet ; ad quem apostolum, ut ad eum veniret,
etiam religiosum militem misit. In his erant et illi,
qui baptizandi cum venissent ad lohannem, sanctum
domini praecursorem et amicum sponsi, de quo ipse
dominus ait : In natis mulierum non exsurrexit maior
lohanne Baptista, et quaesissent ab eo, quid facerent,

« 1 John ill. 2. " Matt. viii. 8-10; Luke vii. 6-9.

" Acts X. 1-8, 30-33 <* Matt. xi. 11.

826

NO. 42 (Ep. CLXXXIX)

everything that the mind can imagine. And let us
not despair of the fulfihiient of a promise so great,
since it is great indeed, but rather let us have faith
that we shall obtain it, since He is great Who made
the promise ; as the blessed John the apostle says,
" Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet
appear what we shall be ; but we know that, when
He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall
see Him as He is."°

Do not think that it is impossible for anyone to 4
please God while engaged in military service. Among
such was the holy David, to whom the Lord gave so
great a testimony, and among such were also many
righteous men of that dispensation ; among such too
was that centurion who said to the Lord, " I am not
worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof,
but speak the word only and my servant shall be
healed ; for I am a man under authority, having
soldiers under me, and I say to this man, Go, and he
goeth, and to another. Come, and he cometh, and to
my servant. Do this, and he doeth it," and of whom
the Lord said, " Verily, I say unto you, I have not
found so great faith, no, not in Israel." ^ Among such
too was that Cornelius to whom an angel said, " Cor-
nelius, thine alms are accepted, and thy prayers are
heard," ^ by which v*'ords he signified that he should
send to the blessed apostle Peter and hear from
him what he should do ; to which apostle he sent a
godly soldier, asking him to visit him. Among such
too were those who came to be baptized by John,
the holy forerunner of the Lord and the friend of the
bridegroom, about whom the Lord Himself said,
" Among them that are born of women there hath
not arisen a greater than John the Baptist " ^ ; they

327

ST. AUGUSTINE

respondit eis : Neminejn concusseritis, nidli calumniam
feceritis, sufficiat vohis stipejidium vestruvi. Non eos
utique sub armis militare prohibuit, quibus suum
stipendium sufficere debere praecepit.

5 Maioris quidem loci sunt apud deum, qui omnibus
istis saecularibus actionibus derelictis etiam summa
continentia castitatis ei serviunt. Sed unusquisque,
sicut dicit apostolus, propriuj?i donum hahet a deo, alius
sic, alius autem sic. Alii ergo pro vobis orando pugnant
contra invisibiles inimicos, vos pro eis pugnando
laboratis contra visibiles barbaros. Utinam una fides
esset in omnibus, quia et minus laboraretur et
facilius diabolus cum suis angelis vinceretur ! Sed
quia in hoc saeculo necesse est, ut cives regni cae-
lorum inter errantes et impios temptationibus
agitentur, ut exerceantur et tamquam in fornace
sicut aurum probentur, non debemus ante tempus
velle cum solis Sanctis et iustis vivere, ut hoc suo
tempore mereamur accipere.

6 Hoc ergo primum cogita, quando armaris ad
pugnam, quia virtus tua etiam ipsa corporalis donum
dei est ; sic enim cogitabis de dono dei non facere
contra deum. Fides enim quando promittitur, etiam
hosti servanda est, contra quem bellum geritur ;
quanto magis amico, pro quo pugnatur ! Pacem
habere debet voluntas, bellum necessitas, ut liberet
deus a necessitate et conservet in pace. Non enim

" Luke iii. 12-14. " 1 Cor. vii. 7.

<= Wisdom iii. 5-Q.

NO. 42 (Ep. CLXXXIX)

asked of him what they should do, and he made
answer to them : " Do violence to no man, neither
accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages. "'^
To be sure, when he commanded them to be content
with their military wages, he did not forbid them to
serve as soldiers.

They have a greater place before God, who 5
abandon all these worldly employments to serve him
with the strictest self-discipline and chastity ; " but
everyone," as the apostle says, " hath his proper
gift of God, one after this manner and another after
that." ^ There are some, then, who by praying for you
fight against your invisible foes, while you by fighting
for them are striving against the visible barbarians.
Would that there were one faith in all, for there would
be less of striving and the devil with his angels would
be more easily overcome ! But as it is necessary in
this world that the citizens of the kingdom of heaven
should be harassed by temptations among erring
and irreverent men so that they may be exercised
and tried as gold in the furnace,^ we ought not before
the appointed time to desire to live M'ith the saints
and righteous alone, so that we may deserve to re-
ceive this blessedness in its own due time.

Think, then, of this point first of all when you are 6
arming for battle, that your strength, even that of the
body, is a gift from God ; in this wav vou will not
think of using God's gift against God. For when
faith is pledged, it is to be kept even with the enemy
against whom you are waging war ; how much more
with the friend, for whose sake you are fighting !
You ought to have peace as the object of your choice
and war only as the result of necessity, so that God
may deliver you from the necessity and preserve you

329

ST. AUGUSTINE

pax qiiaeritur, ut bellum excitetur, sed bellum
geritur, ut pax adquiratur. Esto ergo etiani bellando
pacificus, ut eos, quos expugnas, ad pacis utilitatem
vincendo perducas ; heati enini pacijlci, ait dominus,
quoniam ipsi Jilii del vocahuntur. Si autem pax
humana tarn dulcis est pro temporali salute niortalium,
quanto est dulcior pax divina pro aeterna salute
angelorum ! Itaque hostem pugnanteni necessitas
periniat, non voluntas. Sicut rebellanti et resistenti
violentia redditur, ita victo vel capto misericordia
iam debetur, niaxime in quo pacis perturbatio non
timetur.

7 Ornet mores tuos pudicitia coniugalis, ornet
sobrietas et frugalitas ; valde enim turpe est, ut,
queni non vincit homo, \dncat libido et obruatur vino,
qui non vincitur ferro. Divitiae saeculares si desunt,
non per mala opera quaerantur in mundo ; si autem
adsunt, per bona opera serventur in caelo. Animum
virilem et Christianum nee debent, si accedunt,
extollere nee debent frangere, si recedunt. Illiid
potius cogitemus, quod dominus ait : Uhi est thesaurus
tuus, illic erit et cor tuum, et utique, cum audimus ut
cor sursum habeamus, non mendaciter respondere
debemus, quod nosti quia respondemus.

8 Et in his quidem bene studiosum te esse cognovi
et fama tua multum delector multumque tibi in

« Matt. V. 9. " Matt. vi. 21 ; Luke xii. 34.

' This is the usual preface before the Great Thanksgiving,
in the celebration of the Eucharist. Its use in public worship
is first mentioned by St. Cyprian, De Dominica Orafiotie,
31. It is frequently mentioned by Augustine (e.g. Serni.
227 " Tenetis sacramenta ordine suo. Primo post orationem,
admonomini sursum habere cor. . . . Respondetis, ' Habe-
mus ad Dominum ' ").

830

NO. 42 (Ep. CLXXXIX)

in peace ; for peace is not sought in order that war
may be aroused, but war is waged in order that
peace may be obtained. So then be a peace-maker
even when warring, that by overcoming those whom
you conquer, you may bring them to the advantages
of peace, for " blessed are the peace-makers," says
the Lord, " for they shall be called the children of
God. ' ' * Yet if human peace is so sweet for procuring
the temporal salvation of men, how much sweeter is
peace with God for procuring the eternal salvation
of the angels ! So let it be your necessity and not your
choice that slays the enemy who is fighting against
you. Just as violence is the portion of him who rebels
and resists, so mercy is the due of him who has been
conquered or captured, especially M'hen a disturbance
of the peace is not to be feared.

Let your character be adorned by chastity in the 7
marriage-bond, adorned by sobriety and moderation,
for it is a very disgraceful thing that lust should over-
come one whom man finds unconquerable, and that
wine should overwhelm one whom the sword assails
in vain. If you lack earthly riches, let them not be
sought in the world by evil Morks ; but if you possess
them, let them be laid up in heaven by good works.
The manly Christian spirit ought neither to be elated
by their accession nor depressed by their departure.
Let us rather keep in mind what the Lord says,
" Where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also," ^ and certainly when we hear the exhortation to
lift up our hearts, we ought unfeignedly to make the
response which you know we do make.''

In such matters as this, however, I know that you 8
are very zealous, and I take great delight in your
reputation and greatly congratulate you in the Lord

331

ST. AUGUSTINE

domino gratulor, ita ut haec epistula magis tibi sit
speculum, ubi qualis sis videas, quam ubi discas
qualis esse debeas. Verum tamen quicquid sive in
ista sive in scripturis Sanctis inveneris quod tibi ad
bonam vitam adhuc minus est, insta ut adquiras et
agendo et orando, et ex his quae habes, gratias age
deo tamquam fonti bonitatis, unde habes, atque in
omnibus bonis actibus tuis iUi da claritatem, tibi
humiUtatem. Sicut enim scriptum est, 0}nne datum
optimum et omne donum perfectum desursum est descendens
a patre luminum. Quantumcumque autem in dei et
proximi caritate atque in vera pietate profeceris,
quam diu in hac vita conversaris, sine peccato te esse
non credas ; de ipsa quippe legitur in htteris Sanctis :
Numquid noji temptatio est vita humana super terram ?
Proinde quoniam semper quam diu es in hoc corpore,
necessarium est tibi in oratione dicere quod dominus
docuit : Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimitti-
mus debitoribus nostris, memento cito ignoscere, si
quis in te peccaverit et a te veniam postulaverit, ut
veraciter possis orare et peccatis tuis veniam valeas
impetrare. Haec dilectioni tuae festinanter quidem
scripsi, quoniam me festinatio perlatoris urgebat.
Sed deo gratias ago, quoniam bono desiderio tuo
quahtercumque non defui. Semper te misericordia
dei protegat, domine eximie et merito insignis atque
honorabihs fili.

" James i. 17. " Job vii. 1. <^ Matt. vi. 12, etc.

332

NO. 42 (Ep. CLXXXIX)

upon it. This letter, then, may rather serve as a
mirror to you, in which you can behold what manner
of man you are, rather than as a lesson to you what
manner of man you ought to be. And yet, whatever
you find either in this letter or in Holy Scripture that
you still lack for a good life, be instant in prayer and
in deeds, so that you may acquire it ; and from what
you have, render thanks to God as the fount of good-
ness, from Whom you have received it, and in all
your good deeds ascribe the glory to God and the
humility to yourself, for, as it is A\Titten, " Every
good and perfect gift is from above and cometh down
from the Father of lights."" Yet whatever progress
you make in the love of God and of your neighbour
and in genuine godliness, do not imagine that you
are without sin, as long as you are in this life, con-
cerning which we read in Holy Writ, " Is not the
Ufe of man upon earth a life of temptation } "^ And
so, since it is necessary for you, as long as you are in
this body, always to say in prayer what the Lord
taught us, " Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors,"^ remember quickly to forgive anyone who
has sinned against you and has asked for pardon, so
that you may be able to pray with sincerity and
succeed in obtaining pardon for your own sins.

I have written these exhortations to you, my dear
friend, in haste, as the haste of the bearer compelled
me, but I render thanks to God that I have in some
degree been able to comply with your holy desire.
May the mercy of God always be your protection,
my noble lord and deservedly distinguished and
honourable son !

333

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 43 (Ep. CXCI)

DOMINO VENERABILI ET IN CHRISTI CARITATE
SUSCIPIENDO SANCTO FRATRI ET CONPRES-
BYTERO SIXTO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO
SALUTEM

1 Ex quo Hipponem litterae benignitatis tuae per
sanctum fratrem nostrum Firmum presbyterum
directae me absente venerunt, posteaquam illas,
cum remeassem, quamvis iam inde profecto earum
perlatore legere potui, haec prima eademque gratis-
sima rescribendi occurrit occasio per dilectissimum
filium nostrum acolithum Albinum. Quod autem,
quibus simul scripsisti, tunc non eramus simul, ideo
factum est, ut singulorum singulas, non unam
amborum epistulam sumeres. A me quippe di-
gressus est perlator huius, per venerabilem fratrem
et coepiscopum meum Alypium, qui tuae sanctitati
aliam rescriberet, transiturus. Ad quem etiam ipsas
quas ego iam legeram, litteras tuas ipse porta vit.
Quae nos quanta laetitia perfuderint, quid homo ni-
tatur loqui quod non potest eloqui ? Nee te ipsum

" Sixtus was bishop of Rome from 432 to 440, when he
was succeeded by Leo the Great. He had taken a lead-
ing part in condemning Pelagianism, though some of the
Pelagians claimed that he was on their side (see § 1), and
had intervened too in the Nestorian dispute. Augustine also
addressed him in Ep. cxciv., a long theological discussion
of the errors of Pelagianism. Firmus, the letter-bearer,
appears several times in this capacity : visiting Jerome at
Bethlehem in 405, he was entrusted with letters for Au-
gustine (Ep. cxv.) and ten years later he is again with
Jerome, later reaching Africa, where he is in communication
with Augustine (Ep. cxxxiv.). He brings back an answer to
the present letter (Ep. cxciv. 1).
334

NO. 43 (Ep. CXCI)

No. 43 (Ep. CXCI)

(a.d. 418)

TO SIXTUS," MY VENERABLE LORD AND HOLY
BROTHER AND FELLOW-PRIEST, WORTHY
TO BE CHERISHED IN THE LOVE OF CHRIST,
AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

Since the letter your Grace sent by the hands of 1
our holy brother, the priest Firmus, reached Hippo
during my absence, and on my return I had the
chance to read it only after the bearer of it had taken
his departure, this first opportunity of replying (and
it is a very welcome one too) is afforded by our v.ell-
beloved son, the acolyte Albinus.^ Your letter, ad-
dressed to Alypius and myself together, came at a time
when we were not together, so in consequence you
receive a letter from each of us, not one in the com-
mon name of us both, for the bearer of this letter, hav-
ing left me, will on his way pass by my revered brother
and fellow-bishop, Alypius, so that he may wTite one
for himself in reply to your Holiness ; that letter of
yours, after reading it, I sent on to him by the same
bearer. As for the great joy with which your letter
filled me, why should one attempt to utter feelings
that defy utterance ? Indeed, I am not sure that

* Albinus is mentioned as bearer of Epp. cxcii., cxciii.
and cxciv. to Rome. The acolytes formed one of the minor
orders in the Church, introduced about the beginning of the
third century. Though the name is Greek (d.voXoit^ot), the
office was peculiar to the Western Church ; in the rituals of
the Greek Church, the word is only a synonym for sub-deacon.
As the name implies, the acolytes were the immediate
attendants and followers of the bishops ; their specific duties
were to light the candles of the church and to attend the
officiating priest with v/ine for the Eucharist.

335

ST. AUGUSTINE

satis nosse arbitror, sed nobis crede, quantum boni
feceris talia nobis scripta mittendo. Sicut enim tu
testis es animi tui, ita nos nostri, quern ad modum sit
affectus illarum sinceritate luculentissima litterarum.
Si enim brevissimam epistulam tuam, quam de hac
ipsa re ad beatissimum senem Aurelium per Leonem
acolithum direxisti, exultanti alacritate descripsimus
et, quibus poteramus, magno studio legebamus,
ubi nobis exposuisti quid de illo perniciosissimo
dogmate vel quid contra de gratia dei, quam pusillis
magnisque largitur, cui est illud inimicissimum,
sentias, quanta nos putas ista tua prolixiora scripta
vel exultatione legisse vel cura, ut legantur, quibus
valuimus, aliis obtulisse atque adhuc, quibus valemus,
offerre ! Quid enim gratius legi vel audiri potest,
quam gratiae dei tam pura defensio adversus inimicos
eius ex ore eius, qui eorundem inimicorum magni
momenti patronus antea iactabatur ? Aut unde
uberiores deo debemus agere gratias, quam quod
eius sic defenditur gratia ab eis quibus datur, ad-
versus eos quibus vel non datur vel ingratum est
quod datur, quia, ut eis gratum sit, occulto et iusto
iudicio dei non datur ?
2 Quapropter, domine venerabilis et in Christi cari-
tate suscipiende sancte frater, quamvis optime facias
cum de hac re scribis ad fratres, apud quos se illi de
tua Solent efFerre amicitia, tamen haec cura maior

* This is very probably the I>eo who afterwards became
pope and is known as " the Great."
S36

NO. 43 (Ep. CXCI)

you have any adequate conception yourself of the
amount of good you have done to us in ^\Titing as you
did, but take our word for it ; for just as you can bear
witness to your own soul, so we can to ours, of the
extent to which we have been moved by the very
transparent sincerity of your letter. For if we tran-
scribed with exulting joy and with great fervour read
to all we could that very short letter of yours on this
same problem that you sent by the acolyte Leo " to
our most saintly Senior, Aurelius — a letter in which
you expounded to us your views about that most per-
nicious doctrine, and, on the other hand, about the
grace of God bestowed by Him upon small and great,
to which that doctrine is violently opposed, — how
great do you think was the exultation with which
we read that lengthier statement from your pen, and
how great the care ^\'ith which we have had it read by
all we could offer it to and can still offer it to ? For
what more welcome document could be read or
heard than so faultless a defence of the grace of God
against its enemies, uttered by one whom those
same enemies boasted of as an influential supporter
of their cause ? Or is there anything that should
make us more abundantly grateful to God than this,
that His grace is so well defended by those to whom
it is given, against those to whom it is either not
given or by whom it is so ungracious^ received when
given, since by the secret and righteous judgement of
God it is not given them to accept it graciously ?

Wherefore, my venerable lord and holy brother 2
cherished in the love of Christ, although you do an
excellent service in writing on this question to the
brethren before whom its supporters are in the habit
of boasting of your friendship, yet this larger duty
z 337

ST. AUGUSTINE

tibi restat, ut non solum salubri severitate plectantur,
qui errorem ilium Christiano infestissimum nomini
audent garrire liberius, sed etiam hi diligentissime
caveantur vigilantia pastorali propter infirmiores et
simpliciores dominicas oves, qui eum pressius quidem
atque timidius, sed tamen insusurrare non cessant,
penetrantes domos, sicut ait apostolus, et cetera
quae sequuntur, exercitata impietate facientes.
Nee illi neglegendi sunt, qui usque ad profundum
silentium supprimunt timore quod sentiunt, sed
tamen eandem perversitatem sentire non desinunt.
NonnuUi quippe eorum, antequam ipsa pestilentia
manifestissimo etiam sedis apostolicae iudicio damna-
retur, vobis innoteseere potuerunt, quos nunc
repente reticuisse perspicitis nee, utrum sanati sint,
sciri potest, nisi cum non solum dogmata ilia falsa
tacuerint, verum etiam illis vera contraria eo, quo
ilia Solent, studio defensaverint. Qui tamen lenius
sunt profecto tractandi ; quid enim eos terreri opus
est, quos satis territos ipsa taciturnitas monstrat ?
Nee ideo tamquam sani praetereundi sunt diligentia
medicinae, quorum vulnus in abdito est. Etsi enim
terrendi non sunt, tamen docendi sunt et, quantum
existimo, facilius possunt, dum in eis timor severitatis
doctorem adiuvat veritatis, ut opitulante domino

« 2 Tim. iii. 6-8.
338

NO. 43 (Ep. CXCI)

awaits you of not only having punishment of whole-
some severity administered to those who dare with
over-much freedom to rave about that error which is
such a dangerous challenge to the name of Christ, but
also for the sake of the Lord's weaker and more simple-
minded sheep of employing with all the vigilance of
a pastor the most careful safeguards against those who,
though in a stealthier and more covert manner, still
do not cease to whisper it, " creeping into houses,"^
as the apostle says, and ^\-ith practised ungodliness
doing the other things that he goes on to mention. Nor
should those be overlooked who under the restraint
of fear conceal their opinions under the deepest
silence, but yet do not cease to cherish the same per-
verted opinions. Some, indeed, of their party may
have attracted your attention before that pestilence
was denounced by the most explicit condemnation of
the Apostohc See itself, and may now, as you can
see, have suddenly become silent, so that it is im-
possible to ascertain whether they have been cured
of it unless they not only refrain from uttering those
false doctrines, but actually take up the defence of
the contrary doctrines with the same fervour they
showed in propounding error. These, however,
surely call for milder treatment : what need is there
to terrify them, when their very silence shows that
they are terrified enough ? At the same time, they
are not to be passed over and spared remedial atten-
tion, as though they were quite sound, because
their sore is hidden. For w^hile they are not to be
terrified, yet they ought to be taught, and, in my
opinion, this process is easier while the fear they
have of severe measures assists him who teaches them
the truth. In this way, after they have learned

339

ST. AUGUSTINE

gratia eius intellecta atque dilecta etiam loquendo
expugnent, quod iam loqui non audent.

No. 44 (Ep. CXCII)

DOMINO VENERABILI NIMIUMQUE DESIDE-
RABILI SANCTO FRATRI ET CONDIACONO
CAELESTINO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO
SALUTEM

1 Quamvis longe absens fuerim, quando per Proiec-
tum clericum ad me directa Hipponem sanctitatis
tuae scripta venerunt, tamen, posteaquam veni
eisque lectis rescriptorum debitorem me factum esse
cognovi, reddendi tempus opperiebar. Et ecce
subito profecturi a nobis carissimi fratris nostri
Albini acolithi gratissima occurrit occasio. De tua
igitur, quae mihi exoptatissima est, salute laetatus
sanctitati tuae salutationem debitam reddo. Semper
autem debeo caritatem, quae sola etiam reddita
semper detinet debitorem. Redditur enim, cum
inpenditur ; debetur autem, etiamsi reddita fuerit,
quia nullum est tempus, quando inpendenda iam non
sit. Nee, cum redditur, amittitur, sed potius red-
dendo multiplicatur ; habendo enim redditur, non
carendo. Et cum reddi non possit, nisi habeatur,
nee haberi potest, nisi reddatur ; immo etiam, cum

" Celestine was bishop of Rome from 422 to 432. He
took a prominent part in all the theological questions of the
time, and was especially active in opposing Pelagianism ;
in Britain the Pelagians had succeeded in winning much
support, so Celestine sent Germain of Auxerre and Palladius
to bring the Britons back to the orthodox faith. In 431,
the year after Augustine's death, he sent to the bishops of
Gaul a famous letter defining the Church's teaching on the

340

NO. 43 (Ep. CXCI)— NO. 44 (Ep. CXCII)

through the Lord's assistance to understand and
love His grace, they may by their utterance refute
the errors which they no longer dare to utter.

No. 44 (Ep. CXCII)

(a.d. 418)

TO CELESTINE," MY REVERED LORD, MY HOLY
BROTHER AND FELLOW-DEACON GREATLY
LONGED FOR, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING
IN THE LORD

I was far away when the clerk Projectus brought the 1
letters your Holiness sent to me at Hippo, yet as soon
as I returned and read them and realized that I was
in your debt, I was awaiting a chance of paying my
debt, when lo ! the unexpected departure from us of
our well-beloved brother, the acolyte Albinus, has pro-
vided a most welcome opportunity. Rejoicing, there-
fore, in your good health, which is the object of my
earnest desire, I return your Holiness the salutation
I was oM-ing you. But I always ov.e you love, the
only debt which, after being repaid, still keeps one a
debtor. For it is repaid when it is expended, but is
still oA^ng even if it has been repaid, since there is no
time when it does not require to be expended. Nor
is it lost when it is repaid, but rather by repay-
ment it is multiplied, for it is repaid by retaining
it, not by getting quit of it. And since it cannot be
repaid unless it be retained, so it cannot be retained
unless it be repaid — nay rather, when a man repays it,

question of grace. Augustine again addresses him in No. 47,
after his elevation to the papal chair.

341

ST. AUGUSTINE

redditur ab homine, crescit in homine et tanto maior
adquiritur, quanto plurius redditur. Quo modo
autem negatur amicis, quae debetur et inimicis ?
Sed inimicis cauta inpenditur, amicis secura re-
penditur. Agit tamen, quantum potest, ut ab his
etiam, quibus pro malis bona retribuit, id recipiat,
quod inpendit. Optamus quippe fieri amicum, quern
veraciter diligimus inimicum, quia non eum diligimus,
nisi velimus bonum ; quod utique non erit, nisi
amiserit inimicitiarum malum.
2 Non ergo sic inpenditur caritas ut pecunia. Ex-
cepto enim, quod ilia inpendendo minuitur, haec
augetur, etiam illo inter se difFerunt, qUod pecuniam
cui dederimus, tunc ei benivolentiores erimus, si
recipere non quaeramus, non autem potest esse verus
caritatis inpensor, nisi fuerit benignus exactor,
quoniam pecunia cum recipitur, accedit cui datur,
sed recedit a quo datur, caritas vero non solum apud
eum crescit qui hanc ab eo, quem diligit, exigit,
etiamsi non recipit, sed etiam ille, a quo eam recipit,
tunc incipit habere, cum reddit. Proinde, domine
frater, mutuamtibi caritatemlibens reddogaudensque
recipio ; quam recipio, adhuc repeto, quam reddo,
adhuc debeo. Unum enim magistrum, apud quem
condiscipuli sumus, per eius apostolum dociles audire

° This and the next paragraph are characteristic of Augus-
tine's fondness for seizing on one word or idea and pursuing
it through various arguments ; for earher examples see Xo.
24, where he plays on the words flares and florere^ No. 28,
where he plays on the words " liberal studies " and " liberty,"
and No. 29, where he follows the same thought as here. The
342

NO. 44< (Ep. CXCII)

it increases in him, and the more lavishly he expends
it, the more of it he gains. But how can that be re-
fused to friends which is owing even to enemies ? To
enemies, however, it is paid out with hesitation,
while to friends it is paid back with confidence.
Nevertheless, it makes every possible effort to
recover what it has expended, even from those to
whom it renders good for evil. For we desire to
have as a friend the man whom we truly love as an
enemy, because we do not love him unless we wish
him good, and that cannot be the case unless he gives
up the evil of enmity.^

Love, then, is not expended like money, for in 2
addition to the fact that money is diminished by
expenditure and love is increased, they differ in this
too, that we give greater evidence of good-will to-
wards anyone if we do not seek the return of money
we have given him ; whereas no one can sincerely
expend love unless he tenderly insist on being repaid ;
for when money is received, it is so much gain to the
recipient but so much loss to the donor ; love, on the
other hand, is not only augmented in the man who
demands it back from the person he loves, even M'hen
he does not receive it, but the person who returns it
actually begins to possess it only when he pays it back.

Wherefore, my lord and brother, I willingly repay
to you, and gladly receive back from you, the love we
owe each other, and that which I receive back, I still
claim ; that which I repay, I still owe. For it is our
duty in all teachableness to hearken to our one Master,
before Whom we are fellow-pupils, when He speaks

thought is a favourite with him ; cf. In Ps. xxxvi., Serm. 3.
18 " nos caritas debitores semper tenet; ilia enim una est
quae, etsi quotidie redditur, semper debetur," etc.

343

ST. AUGUSTINE

debemus praecipientem ac dicentem ; Nemini quic-
quam debeatis, ?iisi ut invicem diligatis.

No. 45 (Ep. CC)

DOMINO INLUSTRI ET MERITO PRAESTAN-
TISSIMO ATQUE IN CHRISTI DILECTIONE
CARISSIMO FILIO VALERIO AUGUSTINUS
IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Cum diu moleste haberem, quod aliquotiens
scripserim et nulla tuae sublimitatis rescripta
meruerim, repente epistulas tres tuae benignitatis
accepi, unam non ad me solum datam per co-
episcopum meum Mndemialem et non longe post
per conpresbyterum Firmum duas. Qui vir sanctus
nobisque, ut ab illo scire potuisti, familiarissima
caritate coniunctus, multa nobiscum de tua excel-
lentia conloquendo et veraciter insinuando, qualem
te in Christi viscerihus noverit, non solum eas quas
memoratus episcopus vel quas ipse adtulit, sed etiam
illas quas non accepisse nos querebamur, litteras
licit. Et ideo de te narratio eius sua\ior nobis erat,

" Rom. xiii. 8. With the preceding words compare Disc.
Chr. 14. 15 " Christus est qui docet. . . . Schola ipsius in
terra est"; 7?i P.y. xxxiv., Senn. 1. 1 "in cuius schola con-
discipuH sumus"; In Ps-. 126. 3 "sub illo uno magistro in
hac schola vobiscum condiscipuli sumus " ; Serm. 134. 1
" omnes nos unum Magistrum habere et sub illo condiscipulos
esse," 261. 2, 270. 1.

* Valerius was Count of Africa, an earnest Christian and a
firm supporter of orthodoxy against heretical error. He had
adopted the ascetic rule of conjugal continence, and of this
Augustine expresses warm approval, sending at the same time
the first book of his work I)e Concupiscentia et Gratia. To
344

NO. 44 (Ep. CXCII)— NO. 45 (Ep. CC)

through His apostle and bids us " owe no man any-
thing but to love one another." "

No. 45 (Ep. CC)

(a.d. 418)

TO VALERIUS,^ xMY DISTINGUISHED AND JUST-
LY RENOWNED LORD AND SON WELL -
BELOVED IN THE LOVE OF CHRIST, AUGUS-
TINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

I have long been disappointed that, after writing I
several times, I have not had the honour of receiving
any reply from your Excellency. Now quite unex-
pectedly I have received three letters from your
Benignity, one of them, not exclusively to me, by
the hands of my fellow-bishop Vindemialis,^ and not
long afterwards two by the hands of my fellow-priest
Firmus.'* That holy man, with whom I have ties of
the most intimate and affectionate nature, as you may
have heard from him, talked at length to me about your
Excellency and gave me such a true conception of you,
as he found you in '' the tender mercies of Christ," ^ that
he outdid not only the letters brought to me by the
afore-mentioned bishop or by himself, but even those
I v\as complaining of not receiving. And his account
of you was all the more pleasant in that he told me

this book a reply ^vas written by Julian of Eclanum (see p. 1 88
above), accusing Augustine of denying the divine institution
of marriage ; Augustine thereupon added a second book re-
futing the charge. Valerius is addressed also in Ep. ccvi., a
recommendation of a bishop called Felix.

'^ Not otherwise known.

"* See above, p. 334. « Phil. i. 8.

S4>5

ST. AUGUSTINE

quia ea dicebat, quae ipse non possis ne quidem me
inquirente rescribere, ne tuarum laudum, quod
sancta scriptura prohibet, fieres praedicator. Quani-
quam et ego verear haec ad te scribere, ne sus-
picionem adulantis incurram, domine inlustris et
merito praestantissime atque in Christi dilectione
carissime fili.

2 Laudes itaque tuas in Christo, sive magis in te
laudes Christi, lide quid mihi delect ationis et lae-
titiae fuit audire ab illo qui nee fallere me posset
propter fidem suam, et eas ignorare non posset
propter amicitiam tuam. Sed alia et ab aliis etsi
non tarn multa vel certa, verum tamen audivimus,
fides tua quam sit sana et catholica, quam pia ex-
pectatio futurorum, quae dei fratrumque dilectio,
quam non superbe sapias in excelsis honoribus nee
speres in incerto divitiarum sed in deo vivo, et dives
sis in operibus bonis, quam sit domus tua requies
solaciumque sanctorum et terror impiorum, quanta
tibi cura sit, ne quis insidietur membris Christi co-
opertus velamine nominis Christi sive in veteribus
eius sive in recentioribus inimicis, quamque sis
eorundem inimicorum saluti providus, infestus errori.
Haec atque huius modi, ut dixi, et ab aliis solemus
audire, sed nunc ea per supra dictum fratrem plura
et testatiora cognovimus.

3 Porro autem de pudicitia coniugali, ut eam quoque

" Prov. xxvii. 2 " Let another man praise thee, and not
thine own mouth."
" 1 Tim. vi. 17-18.

346

NO. 45 (Ep. CC)

those things M'hich, for fear of becoming addicted to
singing your own praises (which Holy Scripture for-
bids"), you yourself cannot write back tome even when
I pointedly ask them. In fact I myself am afraid to
compliment you on them when I A^Tite to you, my dis-
tinguished and justly renowned lord and well-beloved
son in the love of Christ, in case I incur the suspicion of
flattering you.

So you can just imagine what a pleasure and de- 2
hght it was to me to hear your praises in Christ, or
rather the praises of Christ in you, from one whose
OM'n truthfulness prevents him from deceiving me and
whose friendship with you provides him with a know-
ledge of them.* Yet others too have furnished me
with other information, which though not so full or so
sure, was still worth hearing : how sound and cathoUc
your faith is, how godly your hope of the world to come,
what love you have towards God and towards the
brethren, how humble-minded you are amid your
high honours, and how your hope is not placed in the
uncertainty of riches but in the living God,^ how
abounding you are in good works, and what a rest and
consolation your home is to the holy and what a terror
to the ungodly, what zeal you exhibit to keep any
who skulk under the cloak of the name of Christ,
whether they be His old or His newer enemies, from
laying snares for the members of Christ ; and yet how
careful you are to procure the salvation of these same
enemies, while opposing their errors. These and
such-like things, as I said, I am in the habit of hearing
from others too, but now I have had much fuller
and surer testimony to them through the above-
mentioned brother.

Further, about your conjugal continence, what 3

347

ST. AUGUSTINE

in te laudare et amare possimus, quid audiremus nisi
ab aliquo interiore familiari tuo, qui vitam tuam non
in superficie sed penitus nosset ? De hoc itaque tuo
bono, dei dono, me quoque delectat familiarius et
aliquanto diutius loqui tecum. Scio me non esse
oneri tibi, si aliquid prolixum mitto, quod legendo
diutius sis nobiscum. Nam et hoc comperi, quod
inter tuas multas magnasque curas facile ac Hbenter
legas, nostrisque opuscuhs, etiam quae ad ahos con-
scripsimus, si qua in manus tuas venire potuerunt,
admodum delecteris ; quanto magis, quod ad te
scribitur, ubi tamquam praesenti loquar, et adver-
tere dignaris attentius et accipere gratius ! Ab hac
ergo epistula perge ad Ubrum, quern simul misi, qui
tuae reverentiae, et cur conscriptus sit et cur ad te
potissimum missus, ipse suo principio commodius
intimabit.

No. 46 (Ep. CCIII)

DOMINO INSIGXI ET PRAESTANTISSIMO AC
DESIDERANTISSIMO FILIO LARGO AUGUS-
TIXUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

Accepi litteras eximietatis tuae, quibus me ad te
petis ut scriberem. Quod quidem non desiderares,
nisi et hoc, quod me posse scribere existimasti,

^ This jingle with bonum and donvm is a favourite one
with Augustine: Con/, i. 20. 31 "Deimei dona sunt . . . et
bona sunt"; ib. x. 4. 5; In Ps. 118, Serm. 17. 1 "quando
ergo delectat bonum, magnum est Dei donum " ; Civ. Deiy
XV. 4 " haec bona sunt et sine dubio Dei dona sunt"; ib.
XV. 22 ; Grat. et Arb. 6. 15 "si autem bona sunt, Dei dona
sunt"; Epp. ex. 4 and ccxi. 3.

^ Largus is probably the proconsul of that name in Africa,
415, 418, and 419.

348

NO. 45 (Ep. CC)— NO. 46 (Ep. CCIII)

information could I have to be in a position to praise
and love that too in you, save from someone in-
timately famihar with you, who knew your life not on
the surface, but within ? So, since you are thus, by
God's blessing, good possessing," I too take pleasure in
talking A\ith you more intimately and at rather greater
length. I know I shall not weary you if I send you
something comprehensive, the reading of which will
keep you all the longer in my company. For I have
learned too that among your many arduous duties you
are ready and glad to read my little books, and take
considerable delight in them, when they happen to
come into your hands, even if they are addressed to
others ; how much greater should be your pleasure in
receiving one addressed to yourself, in which I speak
to you as though you were present, and how much
more thorough the attention you kindly bestow upon
it ! From this letter, then, pass on to the book that
accompanies it ; why it was written and why it was
especially sent to you, your Reverence will more con-
veniently find out from the opening chapter.

No. 46 (Ep. CCIII)

(a.d. 420)

TO MY NOBLE AND MOST DISTINGUISHED
LORD, LARGUS,^ MY SON MUCH LONGED
FOR, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN
THE LORD

I have received your Excellency's letter, in which
you ask me to write to you. This you would not
desire, did you not believe that what you thought I
would write to you would be acceptable and pleasant

349

ST. AUGUSTINE

gratum haberes atque iucundum, id autem est, ut
vana saeculi huius, si inexperta concupisti, experta
contemnas. Fallax est enim in eis suavitas et in-
fructuosus labor et perpetuus timor et periculosa
sublimitas, initium sine providentia et finis cum
paenitentia. Ita se habent omnia, quae in ista
mortalitatis aerumna cupidius quam prudentius ap-
petuntur. Alia est autem spes piorum, alius laboris
fructus, alia periculorum merces. Nam in hoc mundo
non timere, non dolere, non laborare, non periclitari
inpossibile est ; sed plurimum interest, qua causa,
qua expectatione, quo termino quisque ista patiatur.
Ego quidem cum amatores saeculi huius intueor,
nescio quando possit esse ad eorum animos sanandos
opportuna sapientia. Quando enim res velut pro-
speras habent, fastu respuunt salubres monitus et
quasi anilem reputant cantilenam ; quando autem
in adversis anguntur, magis cogitant evadere unde
ad praesens anguntur, quam capere unde curentur
et unde perveniant ubi angi omnino non possunt.
Aliquando tamen quidam cordis aures admovent
atque adhibent veritati rarius inter prospera, cre-
brius inter adversa, sed tamen pauci sunt, ita enim
praedicti sunt, inter quos te esse cupio, quia vera-
citer diligo, domine insignis et praestantissime ac
desiderantissime fili. Haec admonitio tibi sit mea
resalutatio, quia, etsi te deinceps talia perpeti qualia

" The phrase cordis anres occurs first in Tertullian {De
An. 9), then in Juvencus, 2. 812. It is not uncommon in
Augustine {Con/, i. 5, iv. 5. 10, In P.v. 48, Seniu 1,2; In
loan. Ev. 1. 15, etc.), from whom it passes into the Benedic-
tine Rule and Gregory the Great's writings. Similarly
Augustine often speaks of the ocuhis cord 1ft {Serm. Dom. in
Monte, ii. 1. 1, In loan. Ev. 14. 12, 17. 1, 18. 6, etc.).
350

NO. 46 (Ep. CCIII)

— in other words, if you longed for the vanities of this
world while they were unknown to you, you scorn
thern now they are known, for the charm in them is
illusory, the toil unrewarded, the anxiety unremitting,
the uplifting dangerous ; man seeks them at first
without reflection and abandons them at last with re-
morse. So it is with all the things that are sought
in the tribulation of this mortal life with more eager-
ness than reflection, but it is far different with the
hope of the godly ; different with the reward of their toil,
different too with the outcome of their perils. For in this
world fear and grief, toil and peril, are unavoidable,
but it is of the utmost importance for what cause, with
what hope, and to what end a man endures those things.
For my part, when I look upon those who love this
world, I know not at what moment wisdom can most
opportunely undertake the healing of their souls, for
when things apparently are prosperous with them,
they scornfully disdain her wholesome warnings and
deem them but a kind of old wives' song ; but when
they are in the pangs of adversity, they rather think
of escaping the source of their present pangs than
of seizing the things that may provide a cure and
a haven of refuge, in which their pangs will be
completely prevented. At times, however (though
these are less frequent in prosperity and more frequent
in adversity), some of them turn the ears of their
heart " to apply them to the truth, yet these are few,
for so it was foretold.^ Among them I desire you to be,
my noble and most distinguished lord and son much
longed for, because I love you truly. Let this counsel
to you be my answer to your letter, for, though I

^ Matt. vii. 13 " narrow is the way . . . and few there be
that find it."

351

ST. AUGUSTINE

pertulisti, plus tamen nolo haec ipsa te sine aliqua
in melius vitae mutatione fuisse perpessum.

No. 47 (Ep. CCIX)

DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET DEBITA CARITATE
VENERANDO SANCTO PAPAE CAELESTINO
AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Primum gratulationem reddo meritis tuis, quod te
in ilia sede dominus deus noster sine ulla, sicut
audivimus, plebis suae discissione constituit. Deinde
insinuo sanetitati tuae quae sint circa nos, ut non
solum orando pro nobis, verum etiam consulendo
et opitulando subvenias. In magna quippe tribula-
tione positus haec ad tuam beatitudinem scripta
direxi, quoniam volens prodesse quibusdem in nostra
vicinitate membris Christi, magnam illis cladem
inprovidus et incautus ingessi.

2 Fussala dicitur Hipponiensi territorio confine

" See above, p. 340.

^ For the word papa see note a on p. 302.

<= Augustine here appeals to Celestine to reconsider a case
on which his predecessor Boniface had earher pronounced
judgement. Later, the African bishops decided not to allow
appeals from Africa to Rome, and when in 426 Celestine
wrote on behalf of a priest deposed from office, they pointed
out that the African Church retained the right of judging its
own causes {Cod. Eccl. Cath. cxxv. " non provocent nisi ad
Africana concilia vel ad primates provinciarum suarum ; ad
transmarina autem qui putaverit appellandum, a nullo intra
Africam in communionem suscipiatur ").

^ The exact site of Fussala is unknown, but it probably lay
to the south or south-east, for on that side the boundary of
the commune of Hippo extended to about 40 miles. A later
letter (Ep. ccxxiv.) speaks of a priest of Fussala. It was still
a bishopric in 484, and a passage of Procopius mentions the
352

NO. 46 (Ep. CCIII)— NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX)

should not ^\^sh you to endure henceforward such
sufferings as you have endured in the past, my wish
is yet greater that you may not have endured them
without some change of your Ufe for the better.

No. 47 (Ep. CCIX)

(a.d. 423)

TO CELESTINE," MY LORD MOST SAINTLY AND
HOLY FATHERS REVERED WITH ALL DUE
AFFECTION, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING
IN THE LORD

First of all I pay my tribute of congratulation to 1
your merits that the Lord our God has placed you in
that apostolic chair with (as w^e are informed) no
division among His people. In the next place, I
lay before your Holiness the state of affairs with us,-
so that you may come to our assistance not only by
praying for us, but also by giving us your counsel and
assistance, '^ for I am writing to your Holiness under
deep affliction : by my lack of foresight and caution
I have brought a great disaster upon certain members
of Christ in our neighbourhood, though I had in-
tended only their benefit.

Fussala '^ is the name of a small town not far from 2

construction of a fortress there under Justinian. In Civ.
Dei xxii. 8. 6 is mention of a private estate near Fussala,
on which the owner had built a chapel in which he placed soil
from the Holy Sepulchre. The bishop mentioned below,
Antoninus, was present at the Council of Mileve in 416 (Ep.
clxxvi., title), but in view of his misdeeds Augustine assumed
control himself (§ 5, cf. Ep. ccxxiv.), and retained it till his
death. Castellum is defined by Augustine himself in De
Consensu Evang. iii. 25. 71: "castellum . . . non absurde
accipimus etiam villam potuisse appellari."

2 a S5^

ST. AUGUSTINE

castellum. Antea ibi numquam episcopus fuit, sed
simul cum contigua sibi regione ad parochiam
Hipponiensis ecclesiae pertinebat. Paucos habebat
ilia terra catholicos ; ceteras plebes illic in magna
multitudine hominum constitutas Donatistarum error
miserabiliter obtinebat, ita ut in eodem castello
nuUus esset omnino catholicus. Actum est in dei
misericordia, ut omnia ipsa loca unitati ecclesiae
cohaererent ; per quantos labores et pericula nostra,
longum est explicare, ita ut ibi presbyteri qui eis
congregandis a nobis primitus constituti sunt, ex-
poliarentur, caederentur, debilitarentur, excaeca-
rentur, occiderentur. Quorum tamen passiones
inutiles ac steriles non fuerunt, unitatis illic securitate
perfecta. Sed quod ab Hippone memoratum castel-
lum milibus quadraginta seiungitur, cum in eis
regendis et eorum reliquiis licet exiguis colligendis,
■quae in utroque sexu oberrabant non minaces ulterius
sed fugaces, me viderem latius quam oportebat
extendi, nee adhibendae sufRcere diligentiae, quam
certissima ratione adhiberi debere cernebam, epi-
scopum ibi ordinandum constituendumque curavi.
; Quod ut fieret, aptum loco illi congruumque
requirebam, qui et Punica lingua esset instructus.
Et habebam, de quo cogitabam, paratum presbyte-
rum, propter quem ordinandum sanctum senem qui
tunc primatum Numidiae gerebat, de longinquo ut
veniret, rogans litteris impetravi. Quo iam prae-
sente omniumque in re tanta suspensis animis, ad

** Parorhla continues to mean a " diocese " and not a
" parish " at least as late as the time of Bede, although the
Greek word is used even for a country congregation as early
as the Council of Chalcedon, a.d. 451 (see Bright, Sotes on
the Canons of the first four General Councils, pp. 51-53).

^ That is, the Donatists.
354:

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX)

the district of Hippo ; formerly there was never a
bishop there, but along with the adjoining country
it belonged to the diocese " of the church of Hippo.
Of Catholics that region had but few ; all the other
congregations there, located among a fairly dense
population, were under the wretched influence of the
Donatist error, so that in this town there was no
Catholic at all. In the mercy of God it came about
that all those districts became attached to the unity
of the Church ; it would take too long to tell you what
toil and danger that involved us in, such that the priests
there, who were originally appointed by us to gather
them ^together, were robbed, beaten, maimed, blinded,
and killed ; yet their sufferings were not ineffectual or
unfruitful, for by them unity was there securely
achieved. But since the aforesaid town is forty
miles distant from Hippo, and in the superintendence
of the people and the gathering together of the rem-
nants, however small, of the wandering bands, com-
posed of both sexes, who were no longer threatening
others but fleeing for their own safety, I saw myself
drawn farther afield than was fitting, and unable to
exercise that careful oversight which I perceived
and was thoroughly convinced should be exercised,
I arranged that a bishop should be ordained and
appointed there.

For this purpose I needed a man fitted and suitable 3
for the place, one, too, possessing a knowledge of
Punic, and I had in my mind a priest ready for the
post, for whose ordination I wrote asking the holy
Senior who at the time held the office of Primate
of Numidia to make the long journey to us, and he
agreed. When he was already with us and the minds
of all were exalted in expectation of the solemn cere-

355

ST. AUGUSTINE

horam nos ille, qui mihi paratus videbatur, omni modo
resistendo destituit. Ego autem, qui utique, sicut
exitus docuit, difFerre potius debui quam periculosum
praecipitare negotium, dum nolo gravissimum et
sanctissimum senem ad nos usque fatigatum sine
efFectu propter quem venerat tarn longe, ad propria
remeare, obtuli non petentibus quendam adulescen-
tem Antoninum, qui mecum tunc erat, in monasterio
quidem a nobis a parvula aetate nutritum, sed
praeter lectionis officium nullis clericatus gradibus
et laboribus notum. At illi miseri, quod futurum
fuerat ignorantes, ofFerenti eum mihi oboedientis-
sime crediderunt. Quid plura ? Factum est ; esse
illis episcopus coepit.
4 Quid faciam ? Nolo apud tuam venerationem
gravare quem nutriendum collegi, nolo deserere
quos colligendos timoribus et doloribus parturivi, et
quo modo utrumque agam, reperire non possum.
Res quippe ad tantum scandalum venit, ut cum eo
hie apud nos causas dicerent, qui de ilUus episcopatu
suscipiendo tamquam bene sibi consulentibus ob-
temperaverant nobis. In quibus causis cum stupro-
rum crimina capitalia, quae non ab ipsis quibus

** Ad horam, " in our hour of need," " at the critical
moment," sometimes simply " at the time," as in the next
letter, § 2 "ad horam contristetur," Ep. Ixxi. 3 " mihi ad
horam codex defuit," Cat. Rial. ii. 4 " hilaritas ad horam
ut adsit," Civ. Dei i. 31 " [subseHiis] ad horam congestis,"
etc.

^ It will be observed that this Antoninus was ordained per
saltum, elevated to the rank of bishop from being merely a
reader, responsible for the sacred books, without passing
through the intermediate ranks. This was forbidden in the
Eastern Church at the Council of Sardica, a.d. 343, but it
continued in the Latin Church until about the ninth century.
Further, it is to be noticed that Augustine did not himself

356

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX)

mony? at the last minute " the man who had appeared
to me to be ready left me in the lm*ch by absolutely
opposing our plans. As the event proved, I ought
certainly to have postponed a matter fraught with
such dangers, instead of hurrying it on ; however,
not wanting the very eminent and holy Senior, after
being at the trouble of coming all the way to us, to go
back home without accomplishing the purpose for
which he had made such a long journey, I put for-
ward, ^\ithout waiting to be asked, a certain young
man Antoninus, who was with me at the time. He
had been brought up by me in the monastery from
his earliest years, but beyond holding the office of
reader, he had no experience of any of the ranks or
labours of clerical life ; yet those unfortunate people,
not knowing what lay before them, very dutifully
acquiesced in my offer of him. Why say more ?
The deed was done ; he began his career as their
bishop.^

What am I to do ? I do not m ant to charge before 4
your Reverence one whom I gathered in and fostered,
nor do I want to abandon those for whose in-gathering
I travailed with anxiety and pain ; and how I am to
do both I cannot discover. The matter has indeed
come to such a scandalous pass that those who yielded
to my wish to have him undertake episcopal office, in
the belief that it was to their own best interest, have
approached me here and laid charges against him.
Among these charges the most serious offence of gross
immorality made against him, not by those over whom

consecrate Antoninus, but sought the services of his Primate.
The co-operation of other bishops in episcopal consecration
was expressly enjoined by the Council of Nicaea, which
prescribes thr-ee as a general rule (Canon IV.).

357

ST. AUGUSTINE

episcopus erat, sed ab aliis quibusdam obiecta fuerant,
probari minime potuissent, atque ab eis quae in-
vidiosissime iactabantur, videretur esse purgatus,
tarn miserandus factus est et nobis et aliis, ut,
quicquid a castellanis et illius regionis hominibus de
intolerabili doniinatione, de rapinis et diversis op-
pressionibus et contritionibus obiciebatur, nequa-
quam nobis tale videretur, ut propter hoc vel propter
simul cuncta congesta episcopatu eum putaremus
esse privandum, sed restituenda quae probarentur
ablata.

6 Denique sententias nostras sic temper a vimus, ut
salvo episcopatu non tamen omnino inpunita re-
linquerentur, quae non deberent vel eidem ipsi
deinceps iterumque facienda vel ceteris iniitanda
proponi. Honoreni itaque integrum servavimus iu-
veni corrigendo, sed corripiendo minuimus potesta-
tem, ne scilicet eis praeesset ulterius, cum quibus
sic egerat, ut dolore iusto eum sibi praeesse ferre
omnino non possent et cum suo illiusque periculo in
aliquod scelus forsitan erupturam inpatientiam sui
doloris ostenderent. Quorum talis animus etiam
tunc, quando cum eis de illo episcopi egerunt, evi-
denter apparuit, cum iam vir spectabilis Celer, de
cuius adversum se praepotenti administratione con-
questus est, nullam gerat vel in Africa vel uspiam
potestatem.

6 Sed quid multis morer ? Conlabora, obsecro,
nobiscum, pietate venerabili domine beatissime et

" Celer became proconsul of Africa in 429, but he is
known from Augustine's works from soon after 400. He
is addressed in Epp. Ivi. and Ivii., which show him to have been
a Donatist. In Ep. cxxxix. 2 mention is made of the opening
of Donatist churches on Celer's estates near Hippo.

358

NO. 4.7 (Ep. CCIX)

he was bishop, but by certain others, was found to be
quite unproved, and, apparently cleared of the most
malicious of the imputations made against him, he was
reduced to what we and others thought such a pitiful
state that whatever complaint the town's-people and
those of the district made about his intolerable
tyranny, his rapacity and oppression and abuses of
various kinds, seemed to me by no means so grievous
that, because of it or of all of them put together, we
should reckon it necessary to deprive him of his office
as bishop ; it seemed enough to make him restore the
things that were proved to have been taken away.

In short, I so tempered my judgement with mercy 5
that he was not deprived of office, although his faults
were yet not left altogether unpunished ; they were
not of a kind either to be repeated by him in the
future or held up to others as a model. In correcting
the young man, we therefore left him his rank unim-
paired, but as a punishment we limited his authority,
so that he should no longer be over those whom he
had treated in such a way that from justified resent-
ment it might have been impossible for them to
endure having him over them at all ; they might
perhaps show their impatience and resentment by
breaking out into some misdeed fraught with danger
to themselves and to him. That this was the state
of their mind even at the time when the bishops were
discussing his case vrith them appeared very clearly,
although by now the eminent Celer,^ of Avhose very
influential interference against him he complained,
exercises no authority either in Africa or anywhere
else.

But why make a long story of it ? I beseech you 6
to lend me your assistance, my saintly lord venerable

359

ST. AUGUSTINE

debita caritate venerande sancte papa, et iube tibi
quae directa sunt, omnia recitari. Vide episcopa-
tum qualiter gesserit, quern ad modum iudicio nostro
usque adeo consenserit communione privatus, nisi
prius Fussalensibus omnia redderentur, iam postea
citra acta aestimatis rebus solidos seposuerit, ut ei
communio redderetur, quam versuta suasione sanctum
senem primatem nostrum gravissimum virum, ut ei
cuncta crederet, quem velut omni modo inculpatum
venerando papae Bonifatio commendaret, induxerit,
et cetera quae a me quid opus est recoli, cum
memoratus venerabilis senex ad tuam sanctimoniam
universa rettulerit ?

In illis autem multiplicibus gestis, quibus de illo
nostrum indicium continetur, magis deberem vereri
ne tibi minus severe, quam oporteret, iudicasse
videamur, nisi scirem vos tam propensos ad miseri-
cordiam, ut non solum nobis, quia illi pepercimus,
verum etiam ipsi existimetis esse parcendum. Sed
ille, quod a nobis aut benigne aut remisse factum
est, in praescriptionem vertere atque usurpare
conatur ; clamat : " Aut in mea cathedra sedere
debui aut episcopus esse non debui," quasi nunc
sedeat nisi in sua. Propter hoc enim loca ilia eidem
dimissa atque permissa sunt, in quibus et prius epi-
scopus erat, ne in alienam cathedram contra statuta

" Cathedra, originally a chair for women, or the seat used
by teachers and professors, came to be applied to the chair
used by bishops. It stood in the apse and had curtains at
the side (Aug. Ep. xxiii. 3 "cathedrae velatae"). Thence
860

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX)

for your piety and holy father revered with all due
affection, and give orders that all the documents sent
you be read to you. See how he conducted himself
in his office as bishop, how, when deprived of com-
munion until after everything had been restored to
the people of Fussala, he so far accepted our decision,
then later set aside a sum in compensation for the
things, quite apart from the legal decision, so that
he might regain the privilege of communion ; see
too with what crafty persuasion he led the holy
Senior, that very excellent man our Primate, to
believe all his statements and to recommend him to
the revered Pope Boniface as one in every v,ay
blameless. What need is there for me to rehearse all
the rest, since the venerable Senior afore-mentioned
will have reported the aifair to your Holiness in all
its details ?

From the numerous minutes, however, that contain 7
our judgement upon him, I should rather fear to
appear to you less severe in judging him than I ought
to have been, if I did not know that you are so prone
to mercy as to reckon it your duty to spare the man
himself and us as well for sparing him. But what we
did, either from kindness or from carelessness, he is
now trying to turn to account and employ as a legal
objection. His cry is, " Either I ought to be sitting
in my own episcopal chair or else I ought not to be a
bishop at all," as if he w^ere now sitting in any chair "
but his own. For it w^as for this very reason that
those districts in which he was bishop before were
set apart and set under his care that he might not
be said to have been illegally transferred to another

the word came to mean the building in which the bishop's
throne stood.

361

ST. AUGUSTINE

patrum translatus inlicite diceretur. Aut vero quis-
quam ita esse debet sive severitatis sive lenitatis
exactor, ut, qui non visi fuerint episcopatus honore
privandi. nullo modo in eis aliquid vindicetur, aut in
quibus aliquid \'isum fuerit vindicanduni, episcopatus
honore priventur ?

8 Existunt exempla-ipsa sede apostolica iudicante
vel alioruni iudicata firniante quosdani pro culpis
quibusdani nee episcopali spoliatos honore nee rehctos
omnimodis inpunitos. Quae ut a nostris temporibus
remotissima non requiram, recentia memorabo.
Clamet Priscus, provinciae Caesariensis episcopus :
** Aut ad primatum locus sicut ceteris et mihi patere
debuit aut episcopatus mihi remanere non debuit."

- Clamet alius eiusdem provinciae ^^ictor episcopus,
cui relicto in eadem poena in qua etiam Priscus fuit,
nusquam nisi in dioecesi eius ab aliquo communicatur
episcopo, clamet, inquam : " Aut ubique communi-
care debui aut etiam in meis locis communicare non
debui." Clamet tertius eiusdem provinciae Lauren-

° Translation from one see to another was definitely for-
bidden by the Council of Xicaea (Canon X\.) and later
Councils.

*• His point is that there should be some form of punish-
ment for offenders, midway between the extremes of complete
immunity and complete deposition.

'' Priscus was bishop of Quiza in 411. Victor's see is not
known, but Laurentius was bishop of Icosium, the modern
town of Algiers, and as such he appears at the Synod of
Carthage in 419. Further particulars of their cases are
wanting. One or other of them is probably the case which
took Augustine to Mauretania about 418 (" litteras . . . quas
ad Mauretaniam Caesariensem misisti, me apud Caesaream
praesente venerunt, quo nos iniuncta nobis a venerabili papa
Zosimo aposlolicae sedis episcopo ecclesiastica necessitas
traxerat," Ep. cxc. 1).
36^

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX)

see contrary to the statutes of the Fathers.^ Or
should anyone be so extreme an advocate of severity or
of gentleness as either to exact absolutely no punish-
ment from those who do not seem to merit deprivation
of the honour of the bishop's office, or on the other
hand to deprive of the honour of that office those who
have been judged to deserve some punishment ? ^

There are on record among the judgements given :
by the Apostolic See itself, or its confirmations of the
judgements of others, precedents for not depriving
certain bishops, tried for certain offences, of their
episcopal rank, and yet for not leaving them alto-
gether unpunished. Not to seek out examples that
are far from our own day, I shall mention some of
recent date. Hear the protest of Priscus,^ a bishop
of the province of Caesarea^ : " Either the office of
Primate ought to be open to me too, or else I ought
not to retain my episcopal office." Let the protest
be heard of another bishop of the same province,
\ ictor, who when left in the same fault as Priscus, is
not allowed to receive communion from any bishop
unless within his own diocese — let his protest, I
repeat, be heard: " Either I ought to communicate
anywhere, or else I ought not to communicate even
in my own district." Let the protest be heard of a
third bishop of the same province, Laurentius, and

'^ Caesarea was one of the two portions of Mauretania,
which was incorporated in the Empire by Caligula in a.d. 40.
About 292 Diocletian divided Caesarea into two, giving the
new portion the name of Maurdania S'ltlfiensls, roughly
corresponding to the western part of modern Algeria, while
the other, Caesarea, corresponds to the eastern part of
Morocco. Caesarea takes its name from the town of lol, a
Phoenician colony, which Juba II. called Caesarea in honour
of Julius Caesar, The modern name is Cherchel.

363

ST. AUGUSTINE

tius episcopus et prorsus huius vocibus clamet : " Aut
in cathedra, cui ordinatus sum, sedere debui aut
episcopus esse non debui." Sed quis ista vituperet,
nisi qui parum adtendit nee inulta omnia relinquenda
nee uno modo omnia vindicanda ?

Quia er^o pastorali vigilique cautela beatissimus
papa Bonifatius in epistula sua posuit de Antonino
loquens episcopo et ait : "Si ordinem rerum nobis
fideliter indica\-it," accipe nunc ordinem rerum,
quem ille in suo libello reticuit, ac deinde, quae post
eius sanctae memoriae viri in Africa lectas litteras
gesta sunt, et subveni hominibus opem tuam in
Christi misericordia multo avidius quam ille poscenti-
bus, a cuius inquietudine desiderant liberari. Indicia
quippe illis et publicas potestates et militares im-
petus tamquam executuros apostolicae sedis senten-
tiam sive ipse sive rumores creberrimi comminantur,
ut miseri homines Christiani catholici graviora
formident a catholico episcopo, quam, cum essent
haeretici, a cathoUcorum imperatorum legibus for-
midabant. Non sinas ista fieri, obsecro te per
Christi sanguinem, per apostoli Petri memoriam, qui
Christianorum praepositos populorum monuit, ne
violenter dominentur in fratres. Ego Fussalenses
catholicos filios in Christo meos et Antoninum epi-

** These rumours were encouraged by the fact that the
representations of the African bishops to Pope Celestine were
not yet made or known. Besides asking the Pope not to
allow appeals from Africa or to receive those excommunicated
in Africa, the bishops asked him not to send his clerks to
carry out his sentences, lest the Church should appear to
be introducing " the smoky vanity of the world " (" fumosum
typhum saeculi ") {Cod. Eccl. Afr. No. cxxxviii). The letter
of an African Council to Pope Celestine: "deinceps ad
vestras aures hinc venientes non facilius admittatis, nee a
nobis excommunicatos ultra velitis excipere ; . . . executores

S6^

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX)

heard indeed in the very words of Antoninus : "Either
I ought to sit in the see to which I was ordained, or
else I ought not to be a bishop at all." But who
would find fault with those sentences, except one who
does not reflect that, on the one hand, all these
offences must not be left unpunished, and on the other,
that they are not all to be punished in the same way ?

In his letter about Antoninus, addressed to his 9
bishop, the saintly Pope Boniface, Mith the vigilance
and caution of a true pastor, put the words, " Provided
that he has faithfully revealed the sequence of events
to us." So now accept this statement of the sequence
of events which he in his memorandum passed
over in silence, and further, of what happened after
the letter of that man of blessed memory was read
in Africa ; do you come to the aid of men who implore
your aid in Christ's mercy more earnestly than did he,
from whose harassment they seek deliverance. For
threats are being made to the people, either by
Antoninus himself or by oft-repeated rumours ,^ of legal
processes and public officials and military attacks that
are to enforce the decisionof the Apostolic See ; in con-
sequence, those unfortunate people, though Catholic
Christians, are in dread of heavier punishment from
a Catholic bishop than what they feared from the
laws of Catholic emperors when they were heretics.
Do not let that be so, I implore you by the blood of
Christ, by the memory of the apostle Peter who
warned those placed in authority over Christian
peoples not to lord it over their brethren.^ For
myself, I commend to the gracious love of your
Hohness both the Catholics of Fussala, my children

etiam clericos vestros quibuscumque petentibus nolite mittere,
nolite concedere." ^ 1 Pet. v. 3.

S65

ST. AUGUSTINE

scopum filium in Christo meum benignitati caritatis
sanctitatis tuae, quia utrosque diligo, utrosque
commendo. Neque Fussalensibus suscenseo, quia
iustam de me querimoniam ingerunt auribus tuis,
quod eis hominem nondum niihi probatum, nonduni
saltern aetate firmatum, a quo sic affligerentur, inflixi,
neque huic noceri volo, cui quanto magis sinceram
habeo caritatem, tanto magis pravae cupiditati eius
obsisto. Utrique misericordiam mereantur tuam,
illi, ne mala patiantur, iste, ne faciat, illi, ne oderint
catholicam, si a catholicis episcopis maximeque ab
ipsa sede apostolica contra catholicum non eis sub-
venitur episcopum, iste autem, ne se tanto scelere
obstringat, ut, quos molitur invitos facere suos, a
Christo faciat alienos.
10 Me sane, quod confitendum est beatitudini tuae,
in isto utrorumque periculo tantus timor et maeror
excruciat, ut ab officio cogitem gerendi episcopatus
abscedere et me lamentis errori meo convenientibus
dedere, si per eum cuius episcopatui per inprudentiam
sufFragatus sum vastari ecclesiam dei, et quod ipse
deus avertat, etiam cum vastantis perditione perire
conspexero. Recolens enim quod ait apostolus : Si
nosmet ipsos diiudicaremus , a domino non iudicaremur,
iudicabo me ipsum, ut parcat mihi qui iudicaturus est
vivos et mortuos. Si autem et membra Christi, quae
in ilia regione sunt, ab exitiabili timore ac tristitia

" Catholica for catholka ecclesia is very frequent in
Augustine. See Rottmanner, " Catholica," in Geistesfriichte
aus der Klosterzelle, pp. 74-84.

^- 1 Cor. xi. 31. '2 Tim. iv. 1.

366

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX)

in Christ, and bishop Antoninus, my son in Christ,
for both are dear to me. And I do not biame the
people of Fussala for pouring into your ears their just
complaint against me that I imposed upon them a
man whom I had not tested and who was, in age at
least, immature, to cause them such afflictions ; nor
do I wish any harm to Antoninus, whose vile greed
I oppose all the more stubbornly because I hold
him in such genuine affection. Let your compassion
be extended to both — to them, so that they may
suffer no harm, to him, that he may do none ; to
them, so that they may not hate the Catholic Church,'*
if Catholic bishops and especially the Apostolic See
itself fail to come to their defence against a Catholic
bishop ; to him, so that he may not involve himself in
such great wickedness as to alienate from Christ
those whom he is striving to win for Him against
their will.

As for myself, however, I must confess to your 10
Holiness that in the danger that threatens both I am
racked by such great fear and grief that I contemplate
retiring from the responsibility of carrying on my
episcopal office and giving myself over to lamenta-
tion befitting my fault, if I see the Church of God
despoiled through one whose election as bishop I
supported through lack of foresight and even (which
may God forbid) brought to destruction along with the
destruction of the despoiler himself. For in remem-
brance of the Apostle's words, " If we would judge
ourselves, we should not be judged by the Lord," ^ I
shall judge myself, so that I may be spared by Him
" Who shall judge the quick and the dead."^ But if
you secure the recovery of the members of Christ in
that district from their deadly fear and sorrow and

367

ST. AUGUSTINE

recreaveris et meam senectutem hac misericordi
iustitia fueris consolatus, retribuet tibi et in praesenti
et in futura \-ita bona pro bonis, qui per te nobis in
ista tribulatione succurrit et qui te in ilia sede
constituit.

No. 48 (Ep. CCX)

DILECTISSIMAE ET SANCTISSIMAE MATRI FELI-
CITATI ET FRATRI RUSTICO ET SORORIBUS
QUAE VOBISCUM SUNT AUGUSTINUS ET
QUI MECUM SUNT IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Bonus est dominus et misericordia eius ubique
diffusa, quae nos de vestra caritate in suis visceribus
consolatur. Quantum enini diligat credentes et
sperantes in se et ilium atque invieem diligentes et
quid eis in posterum servet, hinc maxime ostendit,
cum infidelibus et desperatis et perversis, quibus in
mala voluntate usque in finem perseverantibus ignera
cum diabolo aeternum minatur, in hoc tamen saeculo
bona tanta largitur, q^d facit oriri solem suum super
honos et malos et pluit super iustos et iniustos. Breviter
enim aliquid dictum est, ut plura cogitentur ; quam
multa enim habeant impii in hac \dta munera et dona

" Felicitas was probably the prioress of the nunnerj- at
Hippo in which Augustine's own sister had held office until
her death. It seems likely that the development of monas-
ticism among women in North Africa was due to Augustine,
for while Tertullian and Cj^^rian give evidence of the honour
in which consecrated widows and virgins were held, the
first notice of their monastic life is given by the Council of
Carthage in 397, and Possidius declares that when Augustine
died in 430 he left " a sufficient body of clergy and monas-
teries of men and women " ( Vit. 31). Of monasteries for
men at Hippo, one was built on ground provided by Bishop
Valerius {Serm. 355. 2), and on succeeding Valerius, Augus-

368

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX)— NO. 48 (Ep. CCX)

at the same time comfort my old age by administer-
ing justice tempered with mercy, He Who through
you brings us dehverance in this trial and Who has
set you in your See will recompense unto you good
for good, both in this hfe and in the life to come.

No. 48 (Ep. CCX)

(a.d. 423)

TO THE WELL-BELOVED AND SAINTLY MOTHER
FELICITAS'' AXD BROTHER RUSTICUS AND
THE SISTERS WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUS-
TINE AND THE BRETHREN WHO ARE WITH
ME SEND GREETING IN THE LORD

The Lord is good ^ and everywhere His mercy is 1
shed abroad, which comforts us with your love in Him.
How greatly He loves those who believe and hope in
Him and who love both Him and one another, and
what blessings He stores up for them to enjoy here-
after, He shows most of all by this, that upon the
unbelieving and the abandoned and the perverse,
whom He threatens \\-ith eternal fire in company
\\dth the devil if they persist in their evi\ disposition
unto the end,^ He nevertheless in this present world
bestows so many benefits, making " His sun to rise
on the evil and on the good and sending rain on the
just and on the unjust."^ That is a brief sentence,
meant to suggest further thoughts to the mind, for
who can count up how many benefits and unearned

tine made another of his episcopal house, and during his
life-time two more were founded near Hippo {Serm. 356.
10, 15).

* Lam. iii. 25. «^ Matt. xxv. 41. ^ Matt. v. 45.

2 b 369

ST. AUGUSTINE

gratuita ab illo quern contemnunt, enumerare quis
potest ? Inter quae illud magnum, quod exemplis
interpositarum tribulationum, quas huius saeculi
dulcedini tamquam bonus medicus miscet, admonet
eos, si adtendere velint, fugere ab ira ventura, et
cum in via sunt, id est in hac vita, coneordare cum
sermone dei, quern sibi adversarium male vivendo
fecerunt. Quid ergo non misericorditer praestatur
hominibus a domino deo, a quo etiam tribulatio
beneficium est ? Nam res prospera donum est con-
solantis, res autem adversa donum est admonentis
dei. Et si haec praestat, ut dixi, etiam malis, quid
praeparat sustinentibus se } Quorum in numero vos
per illius gratiam congregatos esse gaudete, sus-
tinentes invicem in dilectione, studentes servare unitatem
spiritus in vijiculo pads. Non enim deerit quod in
vobis invicem sufFeratis, nisi cum vos ita porta verit
dominus absorpta morte in victoriam, ut sit deus
omnia in omnibus.
2 Dissensiones autem numquam debent amari. Sed
aliquando tamen aut caritate nascuntur aut caritatem
probant. Quis enim facile invenitur, qui velit
reprehendi ? Et ubi est ille sapiens, de quo dictum
est : Corripe sapientem et amahit te ? Numquid tamen
ideo non debemus reprehendere et corripere fratrem,

" Matt. iii. 7. * Matt v. 25.

'^ A Scriptural phrase : Ps. xxvi. 14 " confortetur cor tuum
et sustine Dominum "; Isaiah xxv. 9 " iste Dominus; susti-
nuimus eum," etc. Augustine plaj-s on the two meanings of
sustinere, " to wait for (God)," and " to endure (one's fellow-
men)." ^ Eph. iv. 2-3. * 1 Cor. xv. 54, 28.

^ Ubi est . . , ? a common rhetorical formula in late
Latin, perhaps derived from the controversiae, serving to
introduce against an opponent a final and unanswerable
argument, almost always from Scripture. See an example
370

NO. 48 (Ep. CCX)

gifts the uicked receive in this hfe from Him whom
they despise ? Among these is this great blessing,
that by the instances of intermingled tribulation with
which, like a good physician, He blends the charm
of this world. He warns them, if they but pay heed,
to " flee from the wrath to come " " and to " agree,
while they are in the way " * (that is, in this life) with
the word of God, w^hich by their wicked lives they
have made their " adversary." What, then, is not sent
to men by the Lord God in His compassion, when even
tribulation is a blessing sent by Him ? For prosperity
is God's gift when He comforts us, while adversity is
God's gift when He is warning us. And if, as I said,
He furnishes these even to the wicked, what does
He prepare for those who wait for Him ^ ? Among
this number rejoice ye that by His grace you have
been gathered, " forbearing one another in love,
endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace. "<^ For there will not fail to be occasion
for your bearing with one another, until the Lord has
borne you hence and " death is swallowed up in
victory " and " God shall be all in all." ^

Yet in strife we ought never to take pleasure, though 2
from time to time it is either born of love or puts love
to the test. For M-ho is easily found that is willing
to endure reproof? And, what about ^ that wise
man of w^hom it is said, " Rebuke a wise man, and
he will love thee " ^ ? Surely then we ought not to
refrain from reproving and correcting a brother in

on p. 44, " Quamquam ubi est illud . . . quod . . . apostolus
. . . ita conclusit ut diceret . . .? " Fastid. Vit. Chr. 13
*' si Deus peccatorum non punit, ubi est illud propheticum
. . . ? " My note in Bulletin Bu Cange, i. (1924) p. 51, first
recorded this use. " Frov. ix. 8.

371

ST. AUGUSTINE

ne securus tendat in mortem ? Solet enim fieri et
frequenter accidit, ut ad horam contristetur, cum re-
prehenditur, et resistat et contendat et tamen postea
consideret secum in silentio, ubi nemo est nisi deus et
ipse nee timet displicere hominibus, quia corripitur, sed
timet displicere deo, quia non corrigitur, et deinceps
non faciat illud, quod iuste reprehensus est, et, quan-
tum odit peccatum suum, tantum diligat fratrem, quem
sensit hostem peccati sui. Si autem de illo numero
est, de quo dictum est : Corripe stultum et adiciet ut
oderit te, non de caritate illius dissensio nascitur, sed
tamen caritatem reprehensoris sui exercet et probat,
quia non ei rependitur odium, sed dilectio, quae
cogit reprehendere, inperturbata perdurat, etiam
cum ille qui reprehensus est, odit. Si autem ille
qui corripit, redder e vult malum pro malo ei qui
corripienti indignatur, non fuit dignus qui corriperet,
sed dignus plane, qui etiam ipse corripi deberet.
Haec agite, ut aut non inter vos existant indignationes
aut exortae statim celerrima pace perimantur.
Maiorem date operam concordandis vobis quam
redarguendis, quia, sicut acetum corrumpit vas, si
diutius ibi fuerit, sic ira corrumpit cor, si in alium
diem duraverit. Haec ergo agite, et deus pads erit
vobiscum, orantes simul et pro nobis, ut ea quae
bene monemus, alacriter impleamus.

" Ad horam : see note a on p. 3o6.
^ C/. note on arbitraris tecum, p. 6.
' Prov. ix. 8. '^ Cf. p. 106. ' Phil. iv. 9.

372

NO. 48 (Ep. CCX)

case he go down to death in false security ? It is a
usual experience and a common occurrence for one
who is reproved to be mortified at the time " and to
wrangle and be recalcitrant, yet afterwards to reflect
within himself ^ in silence, alone with God, where he is
not afraid of displeasing men by being reproved, but
is afraid to displease God by refusing correction, and
thenceforward to refrain from doing the thing for
which he was justly rebuked, and in proportion as he
hates his sin, to love the brother whom he realizes to
have been the enemy of his sin. But if he belongs
to the number of those of whom it is written, "Rebuke
a fool and he will go on to hate thee," ^ the conten-
tion is not born of his love, but yet it tries and tests the
love of his reprover, since he does not repay hatred
with hatred, but the love which prompted his rebuke
endures undisturbed, even when he who was rebuked
requites it with hatred. If the reprover, however,
choose to render evil for evil to the man who takes
offence at being reproved, he was not fit to reprove
another, but clearly fit to be reproved himself. Act
upon these principles, so that occasions of provocation
may either not arise among you, or, when they do
occur, be immediately quenched in speedy peace.
Strive more earnestly to disseminate harmony among
yourselves than to encourage fault-finding, for just
as vinegar corrodes a vessel if it remain too long in
it, so anger corrodes the heart if it linger on to
another day.*^ " These things, therefore, do, and the
God of peace shall be with you." ^ At the same time
pray for us, that we may with cheerful mind carry
out the good advice we have given you.

373

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

1 Sicut parata est severitas peccata quae invenerit,
vindicare, ita non vult caritas quod vindicet, in-
venire. Haec causa fecit, ut non venirem ad vos,
cum meam praesentiam quaereretis, non ad pacis
vestrae gaudium, sed ad dissensionis vestrae augmen-
tum. Quo modo enim contemnerem et inpunitum
relinquerem, si et me praesente tantus vester
tumultus existeret, quantus me absente etsi oculos
meos latuit, tamen aures meas vestris vocibus ver-
beravit ? Nam fortassis etiam maior esset vestra
seditio in praesentia mea, quam necesse esset vobis
non concedi, quod in perniciosissimum exemplum
contra sanam disciplinam, quod vobis non expedit,
petebatis ; ac sic non quales volo, invenirem vos et
ipse invenirer a vobis qualem non volebatis.

2 Cum ergo scribat apostolus ad Corinthios dicens :
Testem deum facio super animam meant, quia parcejis
vobis nondum veni Corinthum, non quia dominamur Jidei

° This famous letter is the source of the Augustinian Rule,
which from the eleventh century to the Ptenascence was the
standard of canons regular, preaching friars, knights of the
military orders, and the hospital brethren and sisters — of
the active, as opposed to the contemplative religious orders,
which were nearly all Benedictine. In this its original
form, it was part of a letter addressed to a convent of nuns
in Hippo, probably that to which the last letter was %^Titten,
although the circumstances do not appear to be quite
identical. The Rule itself, the first actual monastic legisla-
tion in Western Europe, was early adapted to communities
of men, but it is not a complete system of rules for monastic
observance, requiring expansion and elucidation from
Augustine's other ascetic writings, especially the De Opere
Monachorum and De Sancta Virginitate. Here, for ex-

374

NO. 4.9 (Ep. CCXI)

No. 49 (Ep. CCXI) «

(a.d. 423)

Just as severity is ready to punish the sins it dis- 1
covers, so love is anxious not to discover sins to punish.
That was the motive which withheld me from coming
to you, when you besought my presence, not to
rejoice in your peacefulness, but to increase your
strife. For how could I have made light of your
wrangling or left it unpunished, if even in my presence
it had arisen to the same pitch as that which in my
absence, though it was hidden from my eyes, yet
assailed my ears with your clamour } Perhaps
your rebelliousness would have been even greater
in my presence, which it was necessary for me to
withhold from you since you were demanding, to
the detriment of sound discipline, things inexpedient
for you and furnishing a most dangerous precedent.
Thus I should not have found you such as I desire, and
you would have found me such as you did not desire.

The Apostle writes to the Corinthians and says, "I 2
call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you
I came not as yet unto Corinth. Not for that we

ample, Augustine passes over the great monastic counsel
of silence and touches but lightly on the subject of labour,
yet the Rule became essentially that of the religious orders
with an active mission. Nor, again, does he speak in detail
of the liturgical offices, perhaps because in the Africa of his
day there was no uniformity (Ep. Iv. 34 " de hac re varia
consuetudo est ") and no great enthusiasmfor it (/6., " pleraque
in Africa ecclesiae membra pigriora sunt "), except among
the Donatists. Yet such as it is, the " Rule " had all the
authority of his name and all the mingled severity and
kindness of his nature to make it imposing to the medieval
mind.

375

ST. AUGUSTINE

vestrae, sed cooperatores sumus gaudii vestri, hoc ego
etiani dico vobis quia parcens vobis non ad vos veni.
Peperci etiam niihi, ?ie tristiham super tristitiam
de vobis haherem, et elegi non exhibere facieni meam
vobis, sed efFunderem cor nieuni deo pro vobis, et
causam magis periculi vestri non apud vos verbis
sed apud deum lacrimis agerem, ne convertat in
luctum gaudium meum, quo soleo gaudere de vobis
et inter tanta scandala, quibus ubique abundat hie
mundus, ahquantulum consolari, cogitans copiosam
congregationem et castam dilectionem et sanctam
conversationem vestram et largiorem gratiam dei,
quae data est vobis. ut non solum nuptias carnales con-
temneretisj verum etiam ehgeretis societatem in domo
habitandi unanimes. ut sit vobis anima una et cor
unum in deum.
3 Haec in vobis bona, haec dei dona considerans inter
multas tempestates, quibus ex ahis mahs quatitur,
cor meum solet utcumque requiescere. Currehatis
bene. Quis vos fascinavit ? Suasio ilia non est ex deo,
qui vocavit vos. Modicum fermenti — nolo dicere quod
sequitur ; hoc enim magis cupio et oro et hortor, ut
ipsum fermentum revertatur in melius, non tota
massa, sicut paene iam fecerat, convertatur in peius.
Si ergo repullulastis sanum sapere, orate, ne i?itretis
in temptationem, ne iterum in cojite?itio7ies , aemulationes,
animositates , dissensiones, detractiones, seditiones, susur-
rationes. Non enim sic plantavimus et rigavimus

" 2 Cor. i. 23-24. ^ Phil. ii. 27.

^ Lam. ii. 19. ^ Acts iv. 32.

* 1 Cor. V. 6 " modicum fermenti totam massam corrumpit."

' Matt. xxvi. 41 ; Mark xiv. 38 ; Luke xxii. 46.

» 2 Cor. xii. 20.

376

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of
your joy." ° I too say the same to you : to spare
you I came not unto you ; further, I spared myself,
" lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow " ^ from you,
and preferred not to show my face before you but
to pour out my heart to God for your behoof and to
conduct this perilous case of yours, not by speech
before you, but rather by tears before God,^ lest He
turn to mourning the joy wherewith I am wont to
rejoice in you and to find some little comfort, amid
the great offences with which this world everywhere
abounds, in the remembrance of your large com-
munity and your chaste love and holy conversation
and the more abundant grace of God that has been
given you, whereby you have not only renounced
carnal wedlock, but have also chosen to dwell with
one accord in fellowship together under the same
roof, to have " one soul and one heart " unto God.^

When I consider these excellences you show, 3
which God did bestow, my heart is wont to find
some sort of peace amid the many storms that arise
through evils elsewhere to agitate it. " Ye did run
well ; who did hinder you that ye should not obey
the truth ? This persuasion cometh not of God that
called you. A little leaven " ^ — what follows I prefer
to leave unsaid, for it is rather my desire and prayer
and exhortation that the leaven itself may return
to something better, not that " the whole lump " may
turn (as it had almost done already) to something
worse. If then you have blossomed again into
soundness of mind, " pray that ye enter not into
temptation," ■'' nor fall once more into "debates,
envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, tumults,
whisperings."^ For we did not so plant and water

377

ST. AUGUSTINE

hortum dominicum in vobis, ut spinas istas metamus
ex vobis. Si autem adhuc vestra tumultuatur in-
firmitas, orate ut eruamini de temptatione. Quae
autem conturbant vos, si adhuc conturbant, nisi
correxerint, portabunt iudicium, quaecumque illae
fuerint.
4 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
susciperet, invenistis ; sub ilia estis eruditae, sub ilia
velatae, sub ilia multiplicatae ; et sic tumultuamini,
ut vobis eam mutemus, cum lugere deberetis si eam
vobis mutare vellemus. Ipsa est, quam nostis ;
ipsa est, ad quam venistis ; ipsa est, quam per tot
annos habendo cre\dstis. Novum non accepistis nisi
praepositum ; aut si propter ilium quaeritis novitatem
et in eius invidia contra matrem vestram sic rebel-

" 1 Cor. ill. 6-8 ; Hier. xii. 13.

^ This intransitive use of corrigfrfi is peculiar to late Latin,
as is the similar use of emendo and reformo. It is often cor-
rected in texts by the poorer manuscripts, as it is here, and
probably occurs more frequently than the texts show. See
Thes. Ling. Lat. s.v., and Souter, A Study of Ambrosiaster,
p. 96, and c/. Aug. In Ps. 93. 3 " utinam corrigant et non
dicant sic."

' Gal. V. 10.

^ The reading Donatistis is a conjecture of the Maurist
editors, all the manuscripts giving deo natis, but Donatistis
is almost certainly right. The phrase in unitate gaudere is
always used by Augustine with reference to the Donatists ;
378

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

the garden of the Lord among you as to reap these
thorns from you ** ; yet if your weakness still causes
turmoil, pray to be delivered from temptation. Yet
unless those sisters that trouble your peace reform ^
(if they still trouble it), they shall bear their judge-
ment, whosoever they be.^

Consider what an evil thing it is that we should 4
have to bewail internal discords in your monastery,
M'hen we are rejoicing over the Donatists^ in unity.
Be steadfast in the good purpose you have set
before you and you will not desire to change your
superior ; steadfastly abiding in that monastery for so
many years, she begot you not of the body, but of
the soul, and you have grown both in numbers and
in age. All of you, when you came to it, found
her either doing service that was well-pleasing to
the holy superior my sister, or else acting as
superior herself and adopting you. Under her you
received your training, under her you took the
veil, under her you have been increased ; and
yet you demand with all this clamour that we should
replace her for you, when you ought to be lamenting
if we proposed to replace her for you. She is the
one you have learned to know ; she is the one to
whom at first you came ; she is the one under whom
for so many years you have grown. No new official
has been given you except the priest-superior ; or if
it be because of him that you seek some new thing and
through jealousy for him that you have thus rebelled

deo nati is too vague to be an adequate contrast to interna
schismafa, and the reading deo natis is easily explained as
derived from Donatistis by the wrong expansion of do- to
Deo and the dropping of the second -tis. See my note in
Journal of Theological Studies, xxiii. (1922), p. 188.

379

ST. AUGUSTINE

lastis, cur non potius hoc petistis, ut ipse vobis
mutetur ? Si autem hoc exhorretis. quia novi quo
modo eum in Christo venerabiUter diligatis, cur non
potius illud ? In vobis namque regendis sic prae-
positi rudimenta turbantur, ut magis veUt vos ipse
deserere, quam istam ex vobis famam et invidiam
sustinere, ut dicatur non aham vos quaesituras fuisse
praepositam, nisi ipsum coepissetis habere prae-
positum. Tranquillet ergo deus et componat animos
vestros ; non in vobis praevaleat opus diaboh, sed
pax Christi vincat m cordihus vestris ; nee dolore
animi, quia non fit quod vultis, vel quia pudet
voluisse quod velle non debuistis, erubescendo
curratis in mortem, sed potius paenitendo resumatis
salutem nee debeatis paenitentiam ludae traditoris
sed potius lacrimas Petri pastoris.
5 Haec sunt, quae ut observe tis praecipimus in
monasterio constitutae. Primum propter quod estis
in unum congregatae, ut unanimes habitetis in domo
et sit vobis anima una et cor unum in deum et non
dicatis ahquid proprium, sed sint vobis omnia com-
munia, et distribuatur unicuique vestrum a prae-
posita vestra victus et tegumentum non aequaliter
omnibus, quia non aequaUter valetis omnes, sed

« 1 John iii. 8. * Col. ill. 15.

" Matt, xxvii. 3-5. ^ Matt. xxvi. 75.

* The " Rule " proper begins here. In the version adapted
to male use the previous sections are omitted and in their
place is a short introduction, comprising, among other things,
liturgical injunctions, passed over very lightly in the " Rule."

^ Acts iv. 32. Goldbacher reads with one family of
manuscripts cor unum et anima una, which follows the order
of the Greek and the \'ulgate. But not only is the reading
anima una et cor unum attested by a better family; it is
frequent and almost invariable in Augustine. Similarly
Goldbacher lower down reads singulis prout, a Vulgate form,
380

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

against your mother, why did you not rather ask to
have him changed for you ? But if you shrink from
that (since I know with what reverence and affection
you regard him in Christ), why not the more shrink
from the other course ? For in ruUng you the efforts
of the priest-superior are so thwarted by your dis-
orderhness, that he himself is the rather minded to
abandon you than to endure such an invidious reputa-
tion from you as to have it said that you would not
have demanded another mother-superior, if you had
not begun to have him as priest-superior. May
God then calm and compose your hearts ! May the
work of the devil not gain the upper hand within
you," but may " the peace of Christ rule in your
hearts^ " ! And do not rush headlong unto death,
either from mortification that your desire is not
granted or from the shame that you experience
from desiring what you ought not to have desired.
Rather by repentance renew your salvation, nor
ought it to be the repentance of Judas the betrayer ,<'
but rather the tears of Peter the shepherd.^

These are the rules we lay down for your observ- i
ance, who have entered upon monastic life.^

Firstly, to fulfil the end for which you have
gathered into one community, dwell together in
the house as single-minded sisters, and have " one
mind and one heart"-'' towards God. And call not
anything your own, but let everything be common
property ; and let there be a distribution made to
each of you by your superior of food and raiment,
not in equal portions to all, since you are not all of

which probably never occurs in Augustine, his usual form
being that here read on the authority of the same better
class of manuscripts.

381

ST. AUGUSTINE

unicuique sicut opus fuerit. Sic enim legitis in
actibus apostolorum, quia eraiit illis omnia communia
et distribuehatur unicuique sicut cuique opus erat. Quae
aliquid habebant in saeculo, quando ingressae sunt
monasterium, libenter illud velint esse commune ;
quae autem non habebant, non ea quaerant in
monasterio, quae nee foris habere potuerunt, sed
tamen earum infirmitati, quod opus est, tribuatur,
etiam si pauperies earum, quando foris erant, nee
ipsa necessaria poterat invenire ; tantum non ideo
se putent esse felices, quia invenerunt victum et
tegumentum quale foris invenire non potuerunt.
6 Nee erigant cervicem, quia sociantur ad quas foris
accedere non audebant, sed sursum cor habeant et
terrena bona non quaerant, ne incipiant monasteria
esse divitibus utilia non pauperibus, sed divites illic
humihantur 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. Nee
extollantur, si communi vitae de suis facultatibus
aliquid contulerunt, ne de suis divitiis magis super-
biant quia eas monasterio partiuntur, quam si eis
in saeculo fruerentur. Alia quippe quaecumque

« Acts iv. 32, 35.

^ That there were many of low degree who entered
monastic life appears too from De Opere Monachorum, 25 :
" nunc autem veniunt plerumque ad hanc professionem servi-
tutis Dei et ex condicione servili vel etiam liberti, vel propter
hoc ex dominio liberati seu Hberandi et ex vita rusticana et
ex opificum exercitatione et plebeio labore."
382

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

equal importance, but to each one according as she
has need. For in the Acts of the Apostles you read
that " they had all things common, and distribution
was made to every man according as he had need." ^*
Let those of you who had any possessions in the
world before you entered the monastery willingly
consent that they become common property ; let
those, on the other hand, who had none, not seek in
the monastery for things they could not have outside
it, but yet let what is needful be conceded to their
weakness, even if their poverty, while they were
outside, was such that they could not procure even the
bare necessities of life. Nevertheless, let them not
think themselves fortunate only because they have
procured such food and raiment as they were unable
to procure outside.

And let them not go about with head erect because
they are associating with those whom they did not
dare to approach outside, but let them lift up their
hearts and not seek earthly goods, in case the
monasteries become of service to the rich and not to
the poor, while in them the rich are bowed down with
humility and the poor in them puffed up with vanity.
But again, let not those who in the world considered
themselves something, hold in scorn their sisters
who have come to that holy fellowship from poverty ^ ;
let them endeavour to take greater pride in the
fellowship of their poor sisters than in the rank of their
v.-ealthy parents. And let them not exalt themselves,
if they have made some contribution from their own
resources to the common life, lest they grow more
vain of their wealth because they are sharing it with
the monastery, than if they were enjoying the use
of it in the world ; for every other kind of iniquity

383

ST. AUGUSTINE

iniquitas in malis operibus exercetur, ut fiant ;
superbia vero etiam in bonis operibus insidiatur, ut
pereant. Et quid prodest dispergere dando pauperi-
bus et pauperem fieri, cum anima misera superbior
efficiatur divitias contemnendo, quam fuerat possi-
dendo ? Omnes ergo unanimiter et concorditer vivite
et honor ate in vobis invicem deum, cuius templa
factae estis.

7 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, et or are
voluerint, non eis sint impedimento, quae ibi aliquid
agendum putaverunt. Psalmis et hymnis cum oratis
deum, hoc versetur in corde quod profertur in voce,
et nohte cantare, nisi quod legitis esse cantandum ;
quod autem non ita scriptum est, ut cantetur, non
cantetur.

8 Carnem vestram domate ieiuniis et abstinentia
escae et potus, quantum vahtudo permittit. Quando
autem aliqua non potest ieiunare, non tamen extra
horam prandii ahquid ahmentorum sumat, nisi cum
aegrotat. Cum acceditis ad mensam, donee inde
surgatis, quod vobis secundum consuetudinem legitur,
sine tumultu et contentionibus audite nee solae vobis
fauces sumant cibum, sed et aures esuriant dei
verbum.

9 Quae infirmae sunt ex pristina consuetudine, si
aliter tractantur in victu, non debet aUis molestum
esse nee iniustum videri, quas fecit aha consuetudo
fortiores. Nee illas putent feliciores, quia sumunt

" 1 Cor. iii. 16. * Coloss. iv. 2.

384

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

prompts the doing of evil deeds, but pride lurks even
in good deeds to their undoing. And what does it avail
to scatter Avealth in alms to the poor and to become
poor oneself, when the wretched soul is rendered
prouder by despising wealth than it was by possessing
it ? Live, then, all of you, in singlemindedness and
harmony, and in each other honour God, Whose
temples you have become."

Be instant in prayer ^ at the appointed hours and 7
seasons. In the oratory let no one do anything but
that for which it was made and from which it received
its name, so that if any of you have leisure and wish
to pray outside the appointed hours, you may not
be hindered by others who think they should be
doing something else in it. When you pray to God
with psalms and hymns, meditate in your heart upon
that which you utter with your voice, and do not
sing anything unless what you read is to be sung ;
what is not written to be sung, is not to be sung.

Subdue your flesh by fasting and abstinence 8
from meat and drink, as far as the health allows.
When, however, anyone is unable to fast, let her
not take any nourishment outside of the hour of
repast, unless when ill. From the time of your
coming to table until you rise from it, hearken with-
out din and wranghng to what according to the
custom is read to you ; let not your mouths alone
take food, but let your ears too hunger for the word
of God.

If those who are of weaker health from their 9
former mode of life are treated differently with
regard to food, this ought not to be vexatious or to
seem unfair to others whom a different mode of life
has made stronger. And let them not imagine
2 c 385

ST. AUGUSTINE

quod non summit ipsae, sed sibi potius gratulentur,
quia valent quod non valent illae. Et si eis quae
venerunt ex moribus delicatioribus ad monasterium,
aiiquid alimentorum, vestimentorum, stramentorum,
operimentorum datur, quod aliis fortioribus et ideo
felicioribus non datur, cogitare debent, quibus non
datur, quantum de sua saeeulari vita illae ad istam
descenderunt, quamvis usque ad aliarum, quae sunt
corpore fortiores, frugalitatem pervenire nequiverint.
Nee velle debent, 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, quem ad modum aegro-
tantes necesse habent minus accipere, ne graventur,
ita post aegritudinem sic tractandae sunt, ut citius
recreentur, etiam si 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, nee ibi eas teneat

386

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

these weaker sisters more fortunate than themselves
because they enjoy a fare which is denied to them-
selves, but let them rather congratulate themselves
that they have strength which is denied to the others.
And if they who have come to the monastery from
a more delicate upbringing are granted any food,
clothing, bedding, or covering, that is not granted
to others who are stronger and therefore more
fortunate, those to whom it is not granted should
consider how great a descent the others have made
from their sphere of life in the world to this one,
even although they have been unable to attain to
the severe simplicity of those who are stronger in
body. Nor should they hanker after what they
see others receiving (not as a mark of higher favour,
but as a mark of patient long-suffering) to a greater
degree than they do themselves, lest there arise
the abominable travesty of monastic life whereby
the rich, as far as possible, are to be compelled to
toil, and the poor allowed to live in luxury. Cer-
tainly, just as those who are ill have of necessity to
take less food so as not to aggravate their disease,
so after their illness they must receive such treat-
ment as will help them to a speedier recovery, even
although the worldly station from which they have
come was one of the deepest poverty ; just as if the
illness they have just passed through had bestowed
on them the privileges allowed to the wealthy
because of their pre\-ious mode of life. But when
they have made up their former strength, let them
return to their own more fortunate mode of life,
which is all the more befitting the handmaidens of
God as it involves fewer wants ; and let not their
choice keep them, when they are well, in the privi-

387

ST. AUGUSTINE

voluntas iam vegetas, quo necessitas levarat infirmas.
Illae se aestiment ditiores, quae fuerint in sus-
tinenda parcitate fortiores ; melius est enim minus
egere quam plus habere.
10 Non sit notabilis habitus vester nee aifectetis
vestibus placere, sed moribus ; non sint vobis tam
tenera capitum tegmina, ut retiola subter appareant.
Capiilos ex nulla parte nudos habeatis nee foris vel
spargat neglegentia vel componat industria. Quando
proceditis, simul ambulate ; cum veneritis quo itis,
simul state. In incessu, in statu, in habitu, in omni-
bus motibus vestris nihil fiat, quod inliciat cuiusquam
libidinem, sed quod vestram deceat sanctitatem.
Oculi vestri etsi iaciuntur in aliquem, figantur in
neminem. Neque enim, quando proceditis, \dros
videre prohibemini, sed appetere aut ab ipsis appeti
velle. Nee tactu solo et affectu sed aspectu quoque
appetitur et appetit femina. Nee dicatis vos habere
animos pudicos, si habeatis oculos inpudicos, quia
inpudicus oculus inpudici cordis est nuntius et,
cum se invicem sibi etiam tacente lingua con-
spectu mutuo corda nuntiant inpudica et secundum
concupiscentiam carnis alterutro delectantur ardore,
etiam intactis ab inmunda violatione corporibus,
fugit castitas ipsa de moribus. Nee putare debet,
quae in masculo figit oculum et illius in se ipsa

" In Egyptian and Syrian monasteries, according to Jerome,
it appears to have been the custom for nuns to have the
hair cut short (" moris est in Aegypti et Syriae monasteriis
ut tam virgo quam vidua quae Deo se voverint . . . crinem
monasteriorum matribus offerant desecandum, non intecto
postea . . . capite, sed hgato pariter ac velato," Hier. Ep.
147. 5), but in the Western church they were allowed to wear
the hair long (Optatus, vi. 4 ; Ambr. Laps. Virg. 8. 35).
388

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

leged position to which necessity had raised theni,
when they were ill. Let those reckon themselves
richer who in enduring frugality have been stronger ;
it is better to want less than to receive more.

Let not your apparel be conspicuous, and aspire to 10
please, not by your attire, but by your conduct ; let
the covering of your head not be so thin that the
nets appear under it. Do not let any part of your hair
be uncovered, and, when you are outside the monas-
tery, do not let it fly loose through carelessness or
be arranged with fastidiousness. ° When you go in
procession, walk together ; when you reach the
place you are going to, stand together. In walking,
in standing, in deportment, in all your movements,
let nothing- be done that miffht attract the desire of
anyone, but let everything be in keeping with your
holy character. Though your eyes may be cast upon
anyone, let them be fixed upon no one ; for when
you are in procession, you are not forbidden to look
upon men, but to desire to make approaches to them
or to have them make approaches to you. It is not
by touch only and by bearing that a woman solicits
approaches or makes them, but by look as well. And
do not say that you have chaste minds if you have
unchaste eyes, because an unchaste eye is the
messenger of an unchaste heart, and when unchaste
hearts send messages to each other, even though the
tongue is silent, by the exchange of a look and
agreeably to the lust of the flesh find pleasure each
in the other's ardour, the body may actually remain
uncontaminated by any unclean violation and yet
purity may take its departure from the character.
And she who fixes her eye upon a man and takes
delight in having his fixed upon herself, must not

S89

ST. AUGUSTINE

diligit fixum, non se videri ab aliis, cum hoc facit ;
videtur omnino, et a quibus videri non arbitratur.
Sed ecce lateat et a nemine hominum videatur, quid
faciet de illo desuper inspectore, quern 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 ; ilium cogitet omnia videre, ne velit virum
male videre. Illius namque et in hac causa com-
mendatus est timor, ubi scriptum est : Ahominatio
est domijio 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 vos custodit ex vobis.
11 Et si hanc, de qua loquor, oculi petulantiam in
aliqua vestrum adverteritis, statim admonete, ne
coepta progrediantur, sed e proximo corrigantur. Si
autem et post admonitionem iterum vel alio quo-
cumque die id ipsum earn facere videritis, iam velut
vulneratam sanandam prodat quaecumque hoc potuit
invenire, prius tamen et alteri vel tertiae demon-
stratam, ut duarum vel trium possit ore convinci et
competent! severitate coherceri. Nee vos iudicetis
esse maUvolas, quando hoc indicatis ; magis quippe

" Prov. xxiv. 12.

'' Prov. xxvii. 20, after the Septuagint: ^biXvyixa Kvpiip
(TTr]pi^o}v 6(p6a\iJ.6v.

^ 1 Cor. iii. 16 ; 2 Cor. vi. 16.

<* Deut. xix. 15 ; Matt, xviii. 16 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 1.

390

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

imagine that, when she does so, she is not observed
by others ; she assuredly is observed, and observed
by those she wots not of. But just suppose she does
escape detection and is not observed by any human
being, what Mill she do about that observer from above,
Whose detection nothing can escape ? '^ Is He to be
considered to observe nothing, because He observes
with as much long-suffering as wisdom ? Let each
holy woman therefore cherish the fear of displeasing
Him, so as to avoid the desire of sinfully pleasing
man ; let her keep in mind that He observes every-
thing, so that she may avoid the desire of sinfully
observing man. For it is fear of Him, and that in
this self-same matter, that is commended to us by
the passage, " One that fixeth the eye is an abomina-
tion to the Lord." ^ So then, when you are together
in church and in any place where men too are
present, keep mutual guard upon your chastity, for
in that way too God, " Who dwelleth in you," ^ makes
you His guards upon yourselves.

And if in anyone of your number you perceive 11
this frowardness of eye of which I am speaking, at
once admonish her, so that what has begun may
ffo no farther, but may be remedied straig-htway.
But if, even after admonishment, you notice her
doino; the same thing again on any other day, who-
ever has had the opportunity of noticing this should
report her for treatment, as one afflicted M'ith a sore,
but not before she has been pointed out to a second
or a third, so that she may be con\'icted from the
mouth of two or three witnesses ^ and be punished
with becoming severity. And do not judge yourselves
to be acting from malice when you point out anything
of this kind ; for the truth rather is that you share

391

ST. AUGUSTINE

innocentes non estis, si sorores vestras, quas indicando
corrigere potestis, tacendo perire permittitis. Si
enim soror tua vulnus haberet in corpore, quod
vellet occultare, cum timeret secari, nonne crudeliter
abs te sileretur et misericorditer indicaretur ?
Quanto ergo potius earn debes manifestare, ne
perniciosius putrescat in corde ! Sed antequam aliis
demonstretur per quas convincenda est, si negaverit,
prius praepositae debet ostendi, si admonita ne-
glexerit corrigi, ne forte possit secretius correpta
non innotescere ceteris. Si autem negaverit, tunc
mentienti adhibendae sunt aliae, ut iam coram
omnibus possit non ab una teste argui, sed a duabus
tribusque convinci ; convicta vero secundum prae-
positae vel etiam presbyteri arbitrium debet emenda-
toriam sustinere vindictam ; quam si ferre recusaverit
et si ipsa non abscesserit, de vestra societate proicia-
tur. Non enim et hoc fit crudeliter, sed miseri-
corditer, ne contagione pestifera plurimas perdat. Et
hoc quod dixi de oculo non Agendo, etiam in ceteris
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 ilia ;

" A favourite thought of Augustine's: In Ps. 138. 22
" nee propter vitia homines oderis, nee vitia propter homines
diligas " ; In Ps. 1 18. 5. 24, 1-2 ; ib. 139. 2, ete. So, too, in
the Benedictine Rule, 64 " oderit vitia, diligat fratres."

392

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

the guilt if you allow your sisters to perish by keep-
ing silence, when it hes in your power to correct them
by pointing them out. For if your sister had a sore
on the body that she wanted to conceal from fear of
the surgeon's knife, would it not be cruel on your
part to say nothing about it, and compassionate to
point it out ? How much rather, then, are you bound
to expose her, so that she may not incur greater risk
from the canker in her heart ? But before she be
pointed out to the others whose vritness is to convict
her if she deny her guilt, she ought first to be
reported to the superior, if on being warned she has
neglected to reform so that through the more private
rebuke she may not escape the others' knowledge.
If, however, she denies her guilt, then she should,
on making this false assertion, be confronted with
the others, so that in the presence of all she may be
convicted by two or three witnesses, and not charged
simply by one. After conviction she ought to be
visited with corrective punishment at the discretion
of the superior or the priest-in-charge ; if she refuses
to undergo that and does not of herself take her
departure, let her be expelled from your community.
This extreme step is taken not out of cruelty, but out
of compassion, as a precaution against the destruction
of many others through deadly contamination. And
let my remarks about wanton looks be carefully
observed, with love of the sinner and hatred of the
sin," in the discovery, prohibition, denunciation, trial
and punishment of the other sins. But if anyone of
you has gone to such lengths in sin that she is secretly
receiving from a man letters or any kind of gifts, let
her be pardoned and prayer be made for her, if she
confesses it of her own accord ; but if she is detected

393

ST. AUGUSTINE

si autem deprehenditur atque convincitur, secundum
arbitrium presbyteri praepositi vel aliorum simul
presbyterorum vel etiam episcopi gravius emendetur.
12 ^'estes vestras habete sub una custode vel duabus
vel quot sufficere potuerint ad eas excutiendas,
ne tinea laedantur, et, sicut pascimini ex uno
cellario, sic induamini ex uno vestiario. Et si
fieri potest, non ad vos pertineat quid vobis in-
duendujn 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, cum queritur
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 sancio
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 ante-
ponit. Et ideo, quanto amplius rem communem quam

" Titus ii. 3. ^1 Cor. xiii. 5.

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

and it be proved against her, let more serious punish-
ment be inflicted on her at the discretion of the
priest-superior or the other priests in a body or even
the bishop.

Keep your clothes under the care of one or two or 12
as many as may be necessary to shake them out for
protection against moths ; and just as your food is
supplied from one store-room, so let your clothing
come from one wardrobe. And whatever is brought
forth for you to wear according to the weather, let it
not concern you, if you can attain this, whether each
of you receives the garment she put off, or another that
someone else had been wearing, so long as each is
not denied what she needs. But if this gives occasion
for strife and murmurinar among: you, and someone
complains that she has received a worse garment than
she was wearing before and considers herself too good
to be clad in the same way as her sister was, let that
be evidence to you how far deficient you are in that
inward holy apparel" of the heart, when you quarrel
about the apparel of the body. Nevertheless, if your
weakness is so far indulged that you are granted the
dress you had put off, let what you put off be, never-
theless, kept in one place in charge of the ordinary
keepers of the wardrobe ; thus no one will work at
anything for her own use, whether it be clothing or
bedding or underclothing or covering or head-dress ;
but let everything you make be for the common stock,
with greater zeal and more cheerful urgency than if
you were making anything for yourself. For the
love about which it is written that it " seeketh not its
own " * is to be understood as that which prefers the
common good to personal good, not personal good to
the common good. And so, the more attention you

395

ST. AUGUSTINE

propriani vestram curaveritis, tanto vos amplius pro-
fecisse noveritis, ut in omnibus quibiis utitur transito-
ria necessitas, supereniineat quae permanet caritas.
Consequens ergo est, ut etiani 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 potes-
tate praepositae, ut in rem communem redactum, cui
necessarium fuerit, praebeatur. Quod si aliqua rem
sibi conlatam celaverit, furti iudicio condemnetur.
13 Indumenta vestra secundum arbitrium praepositae
laventur sive a vobis sive a fullonibus, ne interiores
animae sordes contrahat mundae vestis nimius appe-
titus. 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
medicinae, ita ut etiam si nolit, iubente praeposita
faciat quod faciendum est pro salute. Si autem
velit et forte non expedit, suae cupiditati non
oboediat ; aliquando enim, etiamsi noceat, prod-
esse creditur quod delectat. Denique, si latens
est dolor in corpore famulae dei, dicenti sibi quid
doleat, sine dubitatione credatur ; sed tamen, utrum

« Eph. iii. 19 ; 1 Cor. xiii. 8.

^ Compare the Rule of St. Benedict, 54 " quod si etiam a
parentibus suis ei quidquam directum fuerit, non praesumat
suscipere illud, nisi prius indicatum fuerit abbati. Quod si
iusserit suscipi, in abbatis sit potestate cui illud iubeat dari."

" With this compare Jerome, Ep. 125. 7 " sordes vestium
candidae mentis indicio sint ; vilis tunica contemptum
saeculi probet. . . . Balnearum fomenta non quaeras, qui
calorem corporis ieiuniorum cupis frigore extinguere " ; id.
396

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

give to the common good in preference to your own,
the more progress you will know you have made, so
that the love which endureth " may be conspicuous
in everything needed for the wants that pass away.
It follows, then, that even what a man or woman
bestows upon the inmates of the monastery, be they
daughters or relatives, whether the gift be clothing or
any other things that may be regarded as necessaries,
must not be received in secret, but it must lie in the
power of the superior to put it to the common stock
and to hand it over to any inmate that needs it.^ If
anyone conceal a gift bestowed on her, let her be
sentenced and condemned for theft.

Let your garments be washed, either by yourselves 13
or by washer-women, at the discretion of the superior,
so that excessive solicitude for clean raiment may
not infect the soul with inward vileness.^ Let the
bathing of the body and the use of baths not be
incessant, but be granted at the usual interval of
time, that is, once a month. If, however, the need
arising from any illness demands the washing of the
body, let it not be too long postponed, and let it be
done without murmuring for medical reasons ; if
anyone refuse, let her do at the command of the
superior what needs to be done for health's sake.
But if she wishes it and it does not happen to be for
her good, she must not give in to her desire, for
there are times when what is pleasant is thought to
be beneficial, even though it really do harm. Finally,
if a handmaid of God has some hidden pain in the
body, and tells what ails her, she should be beheved
without hesitation ; but still, if there be uncertainty

Ep. 107. 11 " mihi omnino in adulta virgine lavacra dis-
plicent."

397

ST. AUGUSTINE

sanando illi dolori quod delectat expediat, si non
est certum, medicus consulatur. Nee eant ad
balneas sive quocunique ire neeesse fuerit minus
quam tres. Nee ilia quae habet aliquo eundi neces-
sitatem, cum quibus ipsa voluerit, sed cum quibus
praeposita iusserit, ire debebit. Aegrotantium cura,
sive post aegritudinemi reficiendarum sive aliqua im-
becillitate 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 boram quae petierint,
non accipiant. ^ estimenta vero et calciamenta
quando fuerint indigentibus necessaria, dare non dif-
ferant, sub quarum custodia sunt, quae poscuntur.
14 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 mascalino, quem
primum deus fecit, etiam femineus sexus praeceptum
accepit. Quaecumque convicio vel maledicto vel
etiam criminis obiectu alteram laeserit, meminerit

" Churches possessed libraries from an early date. They
are frequently referred to during the seizure of Christian
books in the Diocletian persecution. The Acts of Purgation
of Caecihan and Felix, for example, mention one in the
church at Cirta early in the fourth century, and Augustine
speaks of the librarj' of his church at Hippo in Ep. ccxxxi.
7 " bibliothecam nostram, ut sint unde libri vel parentur
vel reparentur, adiuvare dignatus es," and also in De
Hnfi'fs. 80 " ipsum eius opusculum in nostra bibliotheca
invenire non potuimus." There is frequent mention of
church libraries in Jerome : e.g. Ep. 49. 3 " ecclesiarum
398

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

whether that which pleases her is suitable for curing
her pain, let the doctor be consulted. When they go
to the baths, or wherever they have to go, let there
not be less than three ; and the sister who requires
to go somewhere is not to go along with those she
chooses herself, but with those the superior orders.
The care of the sick, whether they be convalescing or
be afflicted with some weakness, yet without fever,
ought to be devolved upon someone, so that she her-
self may procure from the store-room what she sees
to be needful for each. Further, the sister who has
charge either of the store-room or the wardrobe or
the library,'^ must serve her sisters without murmur-
ing. Let the manuscripts be applied for at a fixed
hour each day ; outside that hour those who apply
for them are not to receive them. As for clothes
and shoes, whenever they are required for those in
need, let those who have charge of them not delay
to supply what is asked for.

You should either have no quarrels or put an end 14
to them as speedily as possible, lest anger develop
into hatred and make a beam out of a mote ^ and turn
the soul to murder. For it is not only to men that
the saying applies, " He that hateth his brother
is a murderer," ^ but the female sex too has received
this commandment along ^\ith the male sex, which
God created first. Whoever has injured a sister by
taunt or abuse, or even by casting up faults, must

bibliothecis fruere," 112. 9 " omnes ecclesiarum bibliothecas
damnare cogeris," etc. Ambrose gives further testimony to
the reading of books by nuns : De Virginihus, 3. 4. 15
" siquando rogaris ut cibum sumas, paulisper deponas
codicem."

^ Matt. vii. 3-0 ; Luke vi. 41-42. Cf. p. 107 above.

'^ 1 John iii. 15.

399

ST. AUGUSTINE

satisfactione quantocius curare quod fecit, et ilia
quae laesa est, sine disceptatione dimittere. Si
autem invicem se laeserint, invicem sibi debita
relaxare debebunt propter orationes vestras, quas
utique quanto crebriores tanto sanctiores habere
debetis. Melior est autem, quae quamvis ira saepe
temptatur, tamen impetrare festinat ut sibi di-
mittat, cui se fecisse agnoscit iniuriam, quam quae
tardius irascitur et ad veniam petendam difficilius
inclinatur. 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
prof err e medicament a, ex quo facta sunt vulnera.
Quando autem necessitas disciplinae minoribus co-
hercendis 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
benivolentia diligatis. Non autem carnalis sed
spiritalis inter vos debet esse dilectio ; nam quae
faciunt pudoris inmemores etiam feminis feminae
iocando turpiter et ludendo, non solum a viduis et
intactis ancillis Christi in sancto proposito constitutis
sed omnino Christianis nee a mulieribus nuptis nee a
virginibus sunt facienda nupturis.

400

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

remember to make amends at the first opportunity
and heal the wound slie has caused ; and the injured
sister must forgive her without further argument.
But if they have caused mutual injury, they will
require to grant mutual pardon because of your
prayers, which from their frequency ought to be
the holier. She who is often tempted by anger and
yet hastens to beg for forgiveness from the sister
whom she acknowledges she has hurt, is better than
she who is slower to anger and is more stubborn in
turning to seek for pardon. As for her who always
refuses to seek for pardon or who seeks it without
sincerity, she has no reason to be in the monastery,
even if she is not expelled from it. Wherefore, refrain
from harsh words ; if they fall from your lips, do not
think shame with the same lips that caused the hurt
to utter words of healing. When, however, the needs
of discipline compel the speaking of harsh words for
the controlling of the younger inmates, you are not
required to ask their pardon even if you feel that you
have gone somewhat too far ; otherwise, in observing
too much humility towards those whose duty it is to
be subject to you, you will undermine your authority
in controlling tliem. But still you must seek pardon
from the Lord of all, Who knows how great is the
goodwill and love you have even for those whom you
rebuke, perhaps, with undue severity. The love you
bear each other ought, however, not to be carnal,
but spiritual, for the things that immodest women
do even to other women in low jests and pranks
ought not to be done, not only by widows and chaste
handmaidens of Christ following your holy way of
life, but by Christians at all, be they married women
or maidens destined for marriage.

2d 401

ST. AUGUSTINE

15 Praepositae tamquam matri oboediatur honore
servato, ne in ilia 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 emendan-
dum corrigendumque curetur, ad praepositam prae-
cipue pertinebit, ita ut ad presbyterum. qui vobis
intendit, referat quod modum vel \-ires eius excedit.
Ipsa vero non se existimet potestate dominante sed
caritate serviente felicem. Honore coram hominibus
praelata sit vobis, 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 inponat. Et
quamvis utrumque sit necessarium, tamen plus a
vobis amari appetat quam timeri, semper cogitans
deo se pro vobis reddituram esse rationem. Unde
magis oboediendo, non solum vestri verum etiam
ipsius miseremini, quia inter vos quanto in loco
superiore, tanto in periculo maiore versatur.

16 Donet dominus ut observetis haec omnia cum
dilectione tamquam spiritalis pulchritudinis amatrices
et bono odore Christi de bona conversatione fra-
glantes, non sicut ancillae sub lege, sed sicut liberae
sub gratia constitutae. Ut autem vos in hoc li-
bello tamquam in speculo possitis inspicere, ne per
oblivionem aliquid neglegatis, semel in septimana

« Dan. xi. 4 ; Gal. v. 13. ^ Titus ii. 7. <= 1 Thess. v. 14.

^ Similarly the Benedictine Rule describes the duties of
the abbot: (64) " sciat sibi oportere prodesse quam praeesse
. . . studeat plus amari quam timeri ; . . . (2j agnoscat pro
certo quia in die iudicii ipsarum animarum est redditurus
Domino rationem."

* 2 Cor. ii. 15. / Rom. vi. 14, 15.

402

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

Let the superior be obeyed like a mother, ^^•ith all 15
due honour, so that you offend not God through
offending her ; much more should you obey the
priest who has charge of you all. Upon the superior
particularly will fall the responsibihty of seeing that
all these regulations are carried out and, if anything
is not carried out, of not carelessly passing over the
offence, but of applying the remedy to heal and
correct it ; she may, further, refer to the priest-in-
charge any matter that goes beyond her province or
power. But let her think herself fortunate, not in
having authority to rule, but in ha\'ing the love to
serve.'* In honour in the sight of men let her be
preferred to you ; in the sight of God let her be
beneath your feet. Towards everyone let her show
herself " a pattern of good works." ^ Let her " warn
the unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the
weak, be patient to all."" Let her be cheerful in
maintaining discipline and fearful to impose it ; and
although both are necessary, yet let her endeavour
to be more loved by you than feared, always bearing
in mind that she has to render an account of you to
God.'^ V/herefore, by yielding her greater obedience,
have compassion on her as well as on yourselves,
because the higher her position is among you, the
greater is the risk she runs.

May the Lord grant you to observe all these rules 16
with love, as those whose affection is set upon spiritual
beauty and who are fragrant ^\•ith the sweet savour
of Christ in your good conduct,* not as bondswomen
under the law, but as free women under grace. ^ In
order, however, that you may examine yourselves
in this treatise as in a mirror and may not neglect
any point through forgetfulness, let it be read to

403

ST. AUGUSTINE

vobis legatur, et ubi vos inveneritis ea quae scripta
sunt facientes, agite gratias domino bonorum omnium
largitori ; ubi sibi autem quaecumque vestrum videt
aliquid deesse, doleat de praeterito, caveat de futuro,
orans ut sibi debitum dimittatur et in temptationem
non inducatur.

No. 50 (Ep. CCXIV)

DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ET IN CHRISTI MEM-
BRIS HONORANDO FRATRI VALENTINO ET
FRATRIBUS QUI TECUM SUNT, AUGUSTI-
NUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 ^'enerunt ad nos duo iuvenes, Cresconius et Felix,
de vestra congregatione se esse dicentes, qui nobis
rettulerunt monasterium vestrum nonnulla dissen-
sione 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.

« Matt. vi. 12-13 ; Luke xi. 4.

^ \^alentiniis was abbot of the monastery at Hadrumetum,
the capital of Byzacenum (now Soiisse, 100 miles south of
Tunis). Two of his monks, Florus and Felix, when visiting
the monastery at Uzala, read and copied Augustine's letter
to the presbyter Sixtus (Ep. cxciv.) on grace and free-will,
and on their return to Adrumetum read it to the monks
there, some of whom considered Augustine's teaching fatal
to the doctrine of free-will. The monastery was bitterly
divided on the question, so Valentinus sent Felix and
Cresconius, another of the disputants, to ascertain Augustine's
real opinions. The present letter is his reply. The two
monks were unwilling to wait at Hippo until some of his
anti-Pelagian treatises were copied for them, but he kept
them until Easter, writing another letter to Valentinus
(Ep. ccxv.) and composing for him the treatise Be Gratia
404.

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)— No. 50 (Ep. CCXI\0

you once each week, and when you find yourselves
practising the things written in it, render thanks to
the Lord, the giver of every good gift. But when
any one of you perceives herself deficient in some
point, let her lament the past and take precautions
for the future, praying both that her tresyjass may
be forgiven and that she may not be led into
temptation.^

No. 50 (Ep. CCXIV)

(a.d. 426 or 427)

TO VALENTINUS," MY WELL- BELOVED LORD
AND BROTHER, HONOURED IN THE MEMBERS
OF CHRIST, AND TO THE BRETHREN WHO
ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREET-
ING IN THE LORD

There have come to me two young men, Cresconius 1
and Felix, declaring themselves members of your
community , who have reported to me that there is some
disturbance and dissension in your monastery because
certain brethren are extolling grace to such an extent
that they deny the freedom of the human will and,
what is more serious, assert that on the day of judge-
ment God will not render to every man according to

et Libera Arhitrio. Later, Valentinus replied in Ep. ccxvi.,
and Florus too visited Hippo, giving Augustine the chance
to mention the disputation at Hadrumetum in his Retracta-
tiones, ii. 66. In the Revue Benedictine, xviii (1901), pp.
241-:256, Dom Germain Morin has pubhshed a hitherto un-
known, short letter from Augustine to Valentinus, with other
letters addressed by a priest Januarianus and Evodius to the
monks of Hadrumetum on this same occasion.

405

ST. AUGUSTINE

Etiam hoc tamen indicaverunt, quod plures vestrum
non ita sentiant, sed liberum arbitrium adiuvari
fateantur per dei gratiam, ut recta sapiamus atque
faciamus et, cum venerit dominus redder e unicuique
secundum opera eius, inveniat opera nostra bona,
quae praeparavit deus, ut in illis amhulemus. Hoc qui
sentiunt, bene sentiunt.

2 Ohsecro itaque vos, fratres, sicut Corinthios ob-
secra\dt apostolus, per nomen domini nostri lesu Christi,
ut id ipsum dicatis omnes et non sint in vobis schismata.
Primo enim dominus lesus, sicut scriptum est in
evangelio lohannis apostoli, non venit, ut iudicaret
mundum, sed ut salvaretur viundus per ipsum ; postea
vero, sicut scribit apostolus Paulus, iudicahit deus
mundum, quando " venturus est," sicut tota ecclesia
in symbolo confitetur, " iudicare vivos et mortuos."
Si ergo non est dei gratia, quo modo salvat mundum ?
Et si non est liberum arbitrium, quo modo iudicat
mundum ? Proinde librum vel epistulam meam,
quam secum ad nos supra dicti adtulerunt, secundum
banc fidem intellegite, ut neque negetis dei gratiam
neque liberum arbitrium sic defendatis, ut a dei
gratia separetis, tamquam sine ilia 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.

3 Unde supra dictam epistulam ad Sixtum, presby-
terum ecclesiae Romanae, contra novos haereticos

« Matt. xvi. 27. * Eph. ii. 10. ^1 Cor. i. 10.

<* John iii. 17. ^ Rom. iii. 6.

^ 2 Tim. iv. 1 ; 1 Pet. iv. 5. " John xv. 5.

406

NO. 50 (Ep. CCXI\0

his deeds. '^ But yet they have pointed out too that
there are many of you who do not share these
opinions, but confess that our free-will is aided by
the grace of God so that we may think and do what
is right, and that, when the Lord comes to render to
every man according to his deeds, he will find our
deeds good — deeds " which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them." ^ Those who hold these
opinions, hold right opinions.

"I beseech you," therefore, "brethren," as the 2
apostle besought the Corinthians, " by the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing
and that there be no divisions among you."^ For in
the first place, the Lord Jesus, as is written in the
Gospel of John the apostle, did not come " to con-
demn the world, but that the world through him
might be saved "'^; secondly, as the apostle Paul
writes, " God shall judge the world,"* when He has
come, as the whole Church confesses in the Creed,
" to judge the quick and the dead." ^ If then there is
no grace of God, how does He save the world ? And
if there is no free-will, how does He judge the world ?
Wherefore, the treatise or letter of mine, which the
afore-mentioned brethren brought with them to us,
you are to understand in the light of that confession
of faith, so that you neither deny the grace of God
nor defend free-will in such a v/ay as to sunder it
from God's grace, as if without it we could by any
means think or do anything well-pleasing to God —
a thing which is utterly impossible. That is why the
Lord, speaking about the fruits of righteousness, says
to His disciples, " Without me ye can do nothing."^

So you must know that the letter I have mentioned 3
was WTitten to Sixtus, a priest of the Roman Church,

407

ST. AUGUSTINE

Pelagianos noveritis esse conscriptam, qui dicunt
gratiam dei secundum merita nostra dari, ut qui
gloriatur, non in domino sed in se ipso glorietur,
hoc est in homine, non in domino. Quod prohibet
apostolus dicens : Nemo glorietur in homine, et alio
loco : Qui gloriatur, inquit, i?i domino glorietur. Illi
vero haeretici se ipsos a se ipsis iustos fieri putantes,
quasi hoc eis non deus dederit sed ipsi sibi, non
utique in domino sed in semet ipsis gloriantur.
Talibus dicit apostolus : Quis enim te discer?iit ?
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 hahes, quod non accepisti ?
Si autem et accepisti, quid gloriaris, quasi no7i acceperis ?
Sic enim gloriantur quasi non acceperint, qui se a
se ipsis iustificari putant ac per hoc in se ipsis non in
domino gloriantur.
4 Propter quod ego in hac epistula, quae ad vos
pervenit, probavd per testimonia scripturarum sanc-
tarum, quae ibi potestis inspicere, et bona opera
nostra et pias orationes et rectam fidem nullo modo

« 1 Cor. iii. 21 ; 1 Cor. i. 31 ; 2 Cor. x. 17.

^ 1 Cor. iv. 7.

' Rom. ix. 21 ; 2 Tim. ii. 20. ^* 1 Cor. iv. 7.

* The ego is probably designed to discredit once for all
the suggestion made by some of the monks of Hadrumetum
that the monk Florus had written it himself.

408

NO. 50 (Ep. ccxno

against the new heretics, the Pelagians, who declare
that the grace of God is bestowed according to our
merits ; so that he who glories has to glory, not in
the Lord, but in himself, that is, in man, not in the
Lord. Now this is forbidden by the apostle, in the
words, " Let no man glory in man," and in another
place he says, " He that glorieth let him glory in the
Lord." " But these heretics, imagining that they
become righteous of themselyes, as if it was they
themselyes and not God who granted this to them,
consistently enough glory in themselyes and not in
the Lord. To such the apostle says, " Who maketh
thee to differ from another .^^ ",^ saying this on the
ground that what makes a man to differ from that mass
of perdition which had its origin in Adam and makes
him a yessel unto honour and not unto dishonour,^ is
God alone. But since carnal man, swollen with empty
pride, might, on hearing the question " Who maketh
thee to differ from another ? ", make answer either in
thought or in word and say, " It is my faith that makes
me to differ ; my prayers that make me to differ ;
my righteousness that makes me to differ," the
apostle at once met these thoughts half-way and
said, " For what hast thou that thou didst not
receiye ? Now, if thou didst receiye it, why dost
thou glory, as if thou didst not receiye it ? " ^ For
they glory just as if they did not receiye it, those
who imagine they are justified of themselyes ; they
glory therefore in themselyes and not in the Lord.

That is the reason why, in that letter that has come 4
into your hands, I, the author of it," haye proyed from
passages of Holy Scripture, which you can examine in
it, that our good works and our holy prayers and our
right faith could certainly not haye come into being

409

ST. AUGUSTINE

in nobis esse potuisse, nisi haec acciperenius ab illo
de quo dicit apostolus lacobus : Omne datum optimum
et omne donum perfectum desursum est descendens a
patre luminum, ne quisquam dicat meritis operum
suorum vel meritis orationuni 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 quo modo iudicabit deus
mundum ? — sed misericordia et gratia dei convertit
hominem, de qua psalmus dicit : Deus mens, miseri-
cordia eius praevejiiet me, ut iustificetur impius, hoc
est ex impio fiat iustus, et incipiat habere meritum
bonum, quod dominus coronabit quando iudicabitur
mundus.

5 Multa erant quae vobis mittere cupiebam, quibus
lectis totam ipsam causam quae conciliis episcopali-
bus acta est adversus eosdem Pelagianos haereticos,
diligentius et plenius nosse possetis, sed festinaverunt
fratres qui ex numero vestro ad nos venerant, per
quos vobis non rescripsimus ista, sed scripsimus.
Nullas enim ad nos vestrae caritatis litteras ad-
tulerant ; tamen suscepimus eos, quoniam simplicitas
eorum satis indicabat nihil illos nobis potuisse con-
fingere. Ideo autem festinaverunt, ut apud vos
agerent pascha, quo possit adiuvante domino tarn
sanctus dies vestram pacem quam dissensionem
potius invenire.

6 Melius autem facietis, quod multum rogo, si ipsum

^" James i. 17. * Ps. Iviii. 11.

410

NO. 50 (Ep. CCXI\^

^\ithin us, unless we had received them from Him of
Whom the apostle James says, " Every good gift and
every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from
the Father of hghts."<* This makes it impossible for
anyone to say that it is for the merit of his own works
or the merit of his own prayers or the merit of his
own faith that the grace of God was bestowed upon
him, and to imagine tha+ what these heretics say is
true, that the grace of God is bestowed according to
our merits. This is utterly untrue ; not because there
are no merits — either good merits in the righteous,
or e\il merits in the unrighteous — otherwise how ^^■ill
God judge the world ?— but because a man is con-
verted by the mercy and grace of God, of which the
Psalm says, " As for my God, His mercy shall prevent
me,"^ so that the unrighteous may be justified, that
is, be made just instead of unrighteous, and begin to
possess that good merit which the Lord will cro^^Tl
v>'hen He comes to judge the world.

There are many communications I ^\ished to send 5
you for your perusal ; you would then have had
more exact and detailed knowledge of the whole
action that was broug-ht ag-ainst these same Pelag-ians
by the councils of bishops. But the brethren who
came to us from your company had to hurry away.
By them I am sending you this letter, which is not
a reply to any of yours, for they brought none to us
from your Charity. Yet we received them, as their
straightforwardness was sufficient evidence that they
were incapable of fabricating anything. Their pur-
pose in hurrying away is to spend Easter ^\dth you,
so that so holy a day may, with the Lord's help, find
you in peace, rather than in strife.

It will, however, be better for you to do what I 6

411

ST. AUGUSTINE

a quo dicunt se fuisse turbatos, ad me mittere non
graveniihi. Aut enini non intellegit libruni meuni
aut forte ipse non intellegitur. quando difficillimam
quaestioneni 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
epistula sua : Quapropter, inquit, carissimi, haec ex-
pedantes. satis agite inviolati et inmaculati apiid eum
reperiri in pace, et domifii nostri patientiam salutem exi-
stimate, sicut et dilectissimus frater noster Paidus se-
cundum earn quae data est ei sapientiam scripsit vobis
ut et in omnibus epistidis loquens in eis de his, in quibus
sunt quaedam difficilia intellectu, quae iiidocti et instabiles
homines pervertunt sicut et ceteras scripturas ad proprium
suum interitum.

Cavete ergo quod tantus apostolus tarn terribiliter
dicit, et, ubi sentitis non vos intellegere, interim
credite divinis eloquiis quia et liberum hominis est
arbitrium et gratia dei, sine cuius adiutorio liberum
arbitrium nee converti potest ad deum nee proficere
in deum, et, quod pie creditis, ut etiam sapienter
intellegatis, orate. Et ad hoc ipsum enim, id est
ut sapienter intellegamus, est utique liberum arbi-
trium. Nisi enim libero arbitrio intellegeremus
atque saperemus, non nobis praeciperetur dicente

" Rom. iii. 8. " 2 Pet. iii. 14-16.

412

NO. 50 (Ep. CCXI\0

earnestly beg you will do ; send to me, if it will not
trouble you, the brother who is said to have caused
this dissension, for either he has misunderstood my
book, or perhaps he has made himself misunderstood,
in his attempt to elucidate and unravel a question
which is very difficult and intelligible to few. It is
no other than the question about God's grace, which
has caused men of small intelligence to imagine that
the apostle Paul says, " Let us do evil that good may
come."** With reference to this the apostle Peter
says in his second Epistle, " Wherefore, beloved,
seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent, that
ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot and
blameless ; and account that the long-suffering of
our Lord is salvation ; even as our beloved brother
Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him,
liath written unto you ; as also in all his epistles,
speaking in them in these things ; in which are some
things hard to be understood, which they that are
unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the
other Scriptures, unto their own destruction." ^

(Take heed, then, to avoid what the great apostle 7
describes so fearsomely, and when you realize that you
do not understand, put your faith for the present in the
inspired statements that in man there is both free-
will and divine grace, without the aid of which free-
will can neither be turned to God nor make any
advance towards God ; and pray that what you
submissively put your faith in, you may come wisely
to understand. And indeed it is for this very purpose
that we have free-M-ill, namely, that we may wisely
understand, for unless we had freedom of will in
understanding and practising wisdom, we should not
be commanded in the words of Scripture, " Under-

413

ST. AUGUSTINE

scriptura : Intellegite ergo, qui insipientes estis inpopulo ;
et stulti, aliquajido sapite. Eo ipso quippe, quo prae-
ceptum atque imperatuni est ut intellegamus atque
sapiamus, oboedientiam nostram requirit, quae nulla
potest esse sine libero arbitrio. Sed si posset hoc
ipsum sine adiutorio gratiae fieri per liberum ar-
bitrium, ut intellegeremus atque saperemus, non
diceretur deo : Da mihi intellectuni , ut discam mandata
tua, neque in evangelio scriptum esset : Tunc
aperuit illis sensum, ut iniellegerent scripiuras, nee
lacobus apostolus diceret : Si quis autem vestrum
i?idiget sapientia, postulet a deo, qui dat omnibus affluenter
et ?ion inproperat, et dahitur 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.

No. 51 (Ep. CCXX)

DOMINO FILIO IN PRAESENTEM ET IN AETER-

NAM SALUTEM DEI MISERICORDIA PROTE-

GENDO ET REGENDO BONIFATIO AUGUS-

TINUS

1 Fideliorem hominem et qui faciliores haberet

<» Ps.xciii.8. ^ Ps.cxviii. 125. *= Lukexxiv.45. ^ James i. 5.

* See note on p. 322. Boniface had been recalled in
disgrace from Africa, but refused to go. War was declared
on him in 427, but he divided his opponents and defeated
them. After a period of hesitation, Boniface called the
Vandals to his aid, in May 429. The present letter was
written after Boniface had fallen into disgrace, but before
429; a translation of it is given by Hodgkin, Italy and her
Invaders, 376-476, vol. i. pp. 495-503. His account of
Aetius and Boniface, ih. pp. 456-462, should be read along
414

NO. 50 (Ep. CCXIV)— XO. 51 (Ep. CCXX)

stand now, ye simple among the people ; and ye
fools, at length be wise." ^ From the very fact, then,
that we have been comimanded and instructed to
understand and be wise, it follows that our obedience
is demanded, and it cannot exist unless through free-
will. Yet if it were in our power of our own free-'s^dll
to obey this precept to understand and be wise,
without the assistance of grace, it would be useless
to say to God, " Give me understanding, that I may
learn Thy commandments," ^ nor would it be MTitten
in the Gospel, " Then opened He their understanding,
that they might understand the Scriptures " '^ ; nor
would the apostle James say, " If any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, Who giveth to all men
liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given
him." '^ But the Lord is able to grant both to you and
to us, to rejoice in the spe-Jy tidings of your peace
and holy concordj I greet you, not only in my own
name, but also in the name of the brethren who are
with me, and I beseech you to pray for us \vith one
heart and with all instancy. The Lord be with you !
Amen.

No. 51 (Ep. CCXX)
(a.d. 427)

TO MY LORD BONIFACE/ MY SON WHOM I
COMMEND TO THE PROTECTION AXD GUID-
ANCE OF GOD'S MERCY FOR PRESENT AND
ETERNAL SALVATION, AUGUSTINE SENDS
GREETING
I could never find a more trustworthy man or one 1

with that of Freeman, Western Europe in the Fifth Century ^
Appendix I: "Aetius and Boniface" (pp. 305-370), who
tries to clear Boniface of the charge made by Procopius of
inviting the Vandals to Africa.

415

ST. AUGUSTINE

accessus ad aures tuas ferens litteras meas, num-
quam potui reperire, quam nunc dominus obtulit
servum et ministrum Christi diaconum Paulum
ambobus nobis carissimum, ut aliquid tibi loquerer
non pro potentia tua et honore quern geris in isto
saeculo maligno, nee pro incolumitate carnis tuae
corruptibilis atque mortalis, quia et ipsa transitoria
est, et quam diu sit, semper incertum est, sed
pro ilia salute quam nobis promisit Christus, qui
propterea hie exhonoratus atque crucifixus est, ut
doceret nos bona saeculi huius magis contemnere
quam diligere, et hoc amare et sperare ab illo, quod
in sua resurrectione monstravit ; resurrexit enim a
mortuis nee iam moritur, et mors ei ultra non domina-
bitur.
2 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 diei. 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
possint 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,

Probably the Paul spoken of in the following letter.
" 1 Cor. XV. 53. " Rom. vi. 9.

16

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX)

who could have easier access to your presence as
bearer of my letter than the servant and minister of
Christ, the deacon Paul," a dear friend of us both,
who has just now been provided for me by the Lord.
I must say something to you, not ^\'ith regard to the
power and the honour you bear in this evil world,
nor with regard to the preservation of your corruptible
mortal body ^ (for it too is destined to pass away,
and how long it may endure is always uncertain),
but with regard to the salvation promised us by
Christ. Because of it He was degraded and crucified
here below, so that He might teach us rather to
despise than to desire the good things of this world,
and to set our affection and our hope upon that
which He revealed in His resurrection ; for He
" is risen from the dead and dieth no more ; death
hath no more dominion over Him." ^

I know that you have no lack of friends who love 2
you as far as your life in this world is concerned, and,
so far as it is concerned, give you advice, sometimes
useful, sometimes not ; for they are only human and
the highest wisdom they as such can have looketh
only to the present hour, and they do not know
what may happen on the morrow. But as far as God
is concerned, it is not easy for anyone to give you
advice that will prevent the destruction of your
soul ; it is not that you lack friends who would do
this, but because it is difficult for them to find an
opportunity of speaking of those subjects with you.
I myself, indeed, have always wanted to do so, but
I have never found the place or the time to deal vAxh
you as I ought to deal with one for whom I have a
great affection in Christ. Yet you know what I was
like when you saw me at Hippo, on the occasion of
2e 417

ST. AUGUSTINE

quia vix loquebar inbecillitate corporis fatigatus.
Nunc ergo, fili, audi me saltern per litteras tibi
sermocinantem, quas in periculis tuis numquam tibi
mittere potui, periculum cogitans perlatoris et cavens
ne ad eos, ad quos noUem, mea epistula perveniret.
Unde peto ut ignoscas, si putas me plus timuisse
quam debui ; tamen dixi, quod timui.
3 Audi ergo me, immo dominum deum nostrum per
ministerium infirmitatis meae ; recole qualis fueris
adhuc in corpore constituta religiosae memoriae
priore coniuge tua et recenti eius obitu quo modo
tibi vanitas saeculi huius horruerit et quo modo
concupieris servitutem dei. Nos novimus, nos testes
sumus, quid nobiscum apud Tubunas de animo et
voluntate tua fueris conlocutus. 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

** It was probably on this occasion that Augustine preached
before him Sermon cxiv., the title of which states it was
delivered " praesente comite Bonifacio."

* Servitus JJei^ in the narrower sense, is used of the
monastic life, just as servus Dei, in the narrower sense, is
used of a monk {e.g. Serm. 214. 8 " de servis Dei . . .
saepissime dicitur, ' Tot annos ille in illo vel in illo monasterio
sedit,' hoc est, requievit, commoratus est, habitavit " ; Ep.
clix. 1, etc.), but it is also used of the clergy (in No. 34, § 3,
it is used of priests) and of the Christian laity {In loan. Ev.
X. 7 " servus Dei, populus Dei, ecclesia Dei," and § 5 below).

'^ The modern Tobna, near El Kantara, which lies about
fifty miles north of Biskra. Tubunae became a municipium
418

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX)

your gracious visit to me ° : I was so worn out and
weak in body that I could scarcely speak. But now,
my son, hearken to me when I converse ^\ith you
by letter at least ; while you were in danger, I never
had a chance of sending one to you. from apprehension
of danffer to the bearer and fear that mv letter miffht
come into the hands of people whom I should not
have wished it to reach. I beg you, therefore, for
forgiveness, if you have the impression that I was
more apprehensive than I should have been ; vet
I have stated that I was apprehensive.

Hear me, therefore ; nay, hear the Lord our God 3
through me, His feeble servant. Recall to mind
what manner of man you w-ere while your first wife,
of hallowed memory, was still in the flesh, and how-
just after her death you took a horror of the vanity
of this life, and how you longed to enter the service
of God.'' We know, we can testify, what you said in
conversation with us at Tubunae ^ about your state of
mind and your intentions, when brother Alvpius
and I were alone with you. Indeed, I do not think
that the earthly cares which now engross you have
so prevailed as to be able to wipe that conversation
from your memory. You wanted, in fact, to abandon
all the public business that engaged you and to retire
to a holy retreat and to live the Ufe lived by God's
servants the monks. What was it that restrained
you ? Only the reflection, which we urged on you, of

not later than the reign of Septimius Severus. Bishops of
Tubunae are mentioned in 256, 411, and 48-i. Under the
Byzantines a large fortress was built there, and the town
retained its importance long after their dominion had passed
away. There are now few remains from the period of the
Roman Empire.

419

ST. AUGUSTINE

considerasti ostendentibus nobis quantum prodesset
Christ! ecclesiis quod agebas, si ea sola intentione
ageres, ut defensae ab infestationibus barbarorum
quietam et tranquillam vitam agerent, sicut dicit
apostolus, hi omni pietate et castitate, tu autem nihil
ex hoc mundo 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.
4 Cum ergo te esse in hoc proposito gauderemus,
navigasti uxoremque duxisti. Sed navigasse oboe-
dientiae fuit, quam secundum apostolum debebas
sublimioribus potestatibus ; uxorem autem non
duxisses, nisi susceptam deserens continentiam
concupiscentia victus esses. Quod ego cum com-
perissem. fateor, miratus obstipui ; 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. lam vero, 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

° These barbarians were not the Huns or Vandals from
the north, but, as §§ 6-7 show, the Moors from the inner
recesses of Africa.

^ 1 Tim. ii. 2.

<= Recalled to Italy after Valentinian's victory in 425,
Boniface was rewarded for his fidelity to Placidia and his
resistance to the usurper John by the grant of the ad-
ministration of Africa and (probably) the title Comes
domestkorvm. While in Italy he married the wealthy
420

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX)

the great advantage the work you were doing would
be to the churches of Christ, if you pursued it ^\■ith
the sole purpose of protecting them from the hostile
attacks of barbarians," so that they might live, as
the apostle says, " a quiet and peaceable life in all
godliness and honesty," ^ while you yourself would
seek from this world nothing but what was necessary
for the maintenance of your own life and that of your
household, girding yourself ^ith the chastest con-
tinence, and wearing along with the armour of the
body the surer and stronger defence of the armour
of the spirit.

When, in consequence, we were rejoicing in this 4
design of yours, you sailed for Italy and you married
a wife ^ ; your sailing was an act of obedience,
M'hich you owed, according to the apostle, to " the
higher powers "^ ; but you would not have married
a wife if you had not been overcome by desire and
abandoned the continence you took upon yourself.
When I learned of this, I confess I was thunder-
struck with amazement, yet in some measure I
found consolation for my grief in the fact that I
heard you had refused to marry her until she turned
Catholic. But in spite of that, the heresy of those
who deny the true Son of God has acquired such
influence in your home that it was by them that
your daughter was baptized. If the report that
reached us was not untrue (and would to Heaven
that it were !), that those same heretics have even
re-baptized maidens consecrated to God, what
fountains of tears we should need now to bewail

Pelagia, an Arian, but she abandoned this heresy before her
marriage, only to return to it afterwards.
** Rom. xiii. 1.

421

ST. AUGUSTINE

lacrimarum ! Ipsam quoque uxorem non tibi suf-
fecisse, sed concubinarum nescio quarum commixtione
pollutum loquuntur homines et forsitan mentiuntur.
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 paenitentiam, propter
quam tibi credo dominum parcere et a periculis
omnibus liberare, ut agas eam sicut agenda est,
sed si illud audi as quod scriptum est : Ne tardes
converti ad dominum neque dijfei'as de die in diem.
lustam quidem dicis habere te causam, cuius ego
iudex 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 huius saeculi dilexisses,
quae tamquam servus dei, quem te ante noveramus,
contemner e omnino et pro nihilo habere debuisti et
oblata quidem sumere, ut eis utereris ad pietatem,
non autem negata vel delegata sic quaerere, ut
propter ilia in istam necessitatem perducereris, ubi,
cum amantur vana, perpetrantur mala, pauca quidem

<* Cor habere is not a common phrase, but it is more
frequently used by Augustine than by any other, though the
Thesaurus Linguae Latinae fails to note the fact. It occurs
in Epp. Ixxxv. 2, cxli. 3 ; Util. lehin. 7. 9 " habent cor,
sciunt lapidem sentire non posse"; In Ps. Ixxv. 16 "cor
habeant, non sint fatui " ; c/. In Ps. xxxiv. ; Serm. 2. 8 " ubi-
cumque invenerint Christianum, solent . . . vocare hebetem,
insulsum, nullius cordis."

'' Ecclus. V. 8.

*= This refers to Placidia's recall of Boniface from Africa
at the treacherous instigation of Boniface's rival, and the con-

422

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX)

such a calamity ! Further, people say that you have
not been content M-ith your own wife, but have
degraded yourself by having intercourse with some
concubines or other. But perhaps this is lying gossip.

These evils, numerous and grave and known to 5
everybody, have been perpetrated by you since
your marriage, and so what am I to say ? You are
a Christian, you possess intelligence," you cherish
the fear of God. Consider for yourself the things
I am un>\illing to utter, and you will find how great
are the evils for which you ought to do penance. I
believe it is for that that the Lord is sparing you and
delivering you from all dangers, so that you may do
it as it should be done, but on condition that you
hearken to the words, " Tarry not to be converted
to the Lord and put not off from day to day." ^ You
maintain that your cause is just,*^ but I cannot judge
of that, for I am unable to hear both sides ; but
whatever your cause be, and of that at present
there is no need of inquiry or discussion, can you
deny before God that you would not have fallen
into these straits if you had not loved the good things
of this world, which like a servant of God, as we
knew you to be formerly, you ought entirely to have
despised and counted as nothing ? Accepting what
was bestowed on you, you should have employed it to
advance your godliness ; that which was denied you
or was entrusted to you to administer, you should
not have sought after in such a way as to reduce
yourself because of it to the present straits, in which,
because of the love felt for vain things, evil things
are done — few, indeed, by you, but many because of

sequent disgrace into which Boniface fell. It was unjust,
for Aetius betrayed both the Empress and his rival.

423

ST. AUGUSTINE

a te sed multa propter te et, cum timentur quae
ad exiguum tempus nocent, si tamen nocent, com-
mittuntur ea quae vere noceant in aeternum ?
) De quibus ut unum aliquid dicam, quis non videat
quod multi homines tibi cohaereant ad tuendam
tuam potentiam vel salutem, qui, etiam si tibi omnes
fideles sint nee 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
aUenas ? Quod ut fiat, necesse est multa quae dec
displicent, fiant. Nee sic tamen explentur tales
cupiditates ; nam facilius resecantur in eis qui deum
diligunt, quam in eis, qui mundum diUgunt, ah-
quando satiantur. Propter quod dicit scriptura
divina : Nolite diligere mundum nee ea quae in mundo
sunt. Si quis dilexerit mundum, dilectio pairis non est
in eo, quia omne quod in mundo est, concupiscentia
carnis est et concupiscentia oculorum et ambitio saeculi,
quae no?i est a patre, sed ex mundo est. Et mundus
tra?isit 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
dihgunt mundum, non dico satiare, quod fieri nullo

° 1 John ii. 15-17. Augustine quotes this text with an
additional clause (" sicut . . . aeternum ") which is not in
the Greek original, but is found in the Sahidic version, in
Cj^Drian, and in Lucifer of Calaris. The same reading is
given in Augustine's Tract, in loan. 2. 10, but ib. 2. 4 he
reads " quomodo ipse . . ." Like the Vulgate, Augustine's
424»

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX)

you, and since fear is felt for things which hurt for
only a short time (if indeed they hurt at all), things
are done which really hurt for all eternity.

To mention only one of these things : who can fail 6
to see that many men cleave to you for the preserva-
tion of your power or your personal safety, who
(assuming that they are all loyal to you and that
you need not apprehend treachery from any one of
them) yet desire through you to attain to those
good things which they too love, not in order to
please God, but from worldly motives ? As a result,
you, whose duty it was to bridle and check your
desires, are compelled to satisfy those of others ;
and before that can be done, many things have to
be done that are displeasing to God. Even so, such
desires as theirs are not quite satisfied, for it is
easier altogether to cut them off in those who love
God, than ever to give them appeasement in those
who love the world. That is why Holy Scripture
says, " Love not the world nor the things that are
in the world. If any man love the world, the love of
the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof ;
but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever,
as God abideth for ever." ° When, then, will you
succeed ^\'ith so many armed men whose desires
have to be humoured and whose vindictiveness is to
be feared — when, I repeat, will you succeed in bring-
ing the desires of these men who love the world,
not to actual repletion (for that is simply impossible),

version interpolates into the second part of verse 16 an est
which is not in the Greek original.

425

ST. AUGUSTINE

modo potest, sed aliqua ex parte pascere, ne universa
plus pereant, nisi tu facias quae deus prohibet et
facientibus comminatur ? Propter quod vides tarn
multa contrita, ut iam vile aliquid quod rapiatur,
vix inveniatur.

7 Quid autem dicam de vastatione Africae, quam
faciunt Afri barbari resistente nuUo, dum tu talis tuis
necessitatibus oecuparis nee aliquid ordinas unde
ista calamitas avertatur ? Quis autem crederet, quis
autem timeret, Bonifatio domesticorum et Africae
comite in Africa constituto cum tarn magno exercitu
et potestate, qui tribunus cum paucis foederatis
omnes ipsas gentes expugnando et terrendo paca-
verat, nunc tantum fuisse barbaros ausuros, tantum
progressuroSj 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 tributaries futuros Romanae
rei publicae ? Et nunc quam in contrarium versa
sit spes hominum, vides. Nee diutius hinc tecum
loquendum est, quia plus ea tu potes cogitare quam
nos dicere.

8 Sed forte ad ista respondes illis hoc esse potius
inputandum, qui te laeserunt, qui tuis officiosis

" Boniface had apparently not followed the advice given
him by Augustine in No. 42 § 7 " divitiae saeculares, si
desunt, non per mala opera quaerantur in mundo." The
historian Olympiodorus is much more favourable to Boniface:
'qv 5e Kai oiKaiocruprjs epaar-qs Kal xpTj/xdrwv KptLTTwv.

^ There is as yet no question of the Vandals, whose coming
to Africa was at least a year later. Of this campaign in
Africa against the Moors no details are known. Freeman,
426

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX)

but to a moderate gratification, in order to avoid a
universal destruction, if you do not do the things
that God forbids and for which His vengeance \\ill
fall on the doers ? And to afford them gratification,
you see the havoc has been so widespread that now
hardly anything, however small its value, can be
found for them to plunder.^

And what shall I say about the devastation of 7
Africa that is being Avrought by African barbarians ?
They meet with no opposition, so long as you are
taken up with the difficulties of your own situation and
take no measures to avert this calamity. After the
appointment of Boniface as Count of the Household
and of Africa with so great an army and such exten-
sive authority — Boniface, who, while tribune, aided
by a few confederates, quelled all those tribes by
force of arms and the menace of his name,^ —
who would ever believe, who would ever be afraid,
that those barbarians would be so daring, would
encroach so far, would spread such devastation, seize
so much plunder, make desolate so many places
that were once crowded with people ? Did not
everyone declare that, as soon as you took over the
authority of Count, the African barbarians would
not only be subdued, but would actually be made
tributary to the Roman Empire ? And now you see
how men's hopes have been dashed to the ground.
On this subject I need not linger, for your own mind
can suggest more to you than I can say.

But perhaps you reply to this with the defence 8
that the blame must rather be laid upon those w^ho
have injured you, who instead of a fair reward for

Western Europe', pp. 327-338, discusses this sentence as it
bears on the point of Boniface's appointment as Count.

427

ST. AUGUSTINE

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 co-
gnoscis ; quia in Christo fideliter \dvis5 ipsum debes
timere ne ofFendas. Nam causas ego superiores
potius adtendo, quia, ut Africa tanta mala patiatur,
suis debent inputare homines peccatis. Verum tamen
nolo 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, quorum malitia iuste utitur
ut aliis mala ingerat temporalia. Tu deum adtende,
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, bene faciunt
illis qui eos oderunt, et orant pro eis a quibus per-
secutionem patiuntur, et, si quando adhibent pro
disciplina molestam severitatem, non tamen amittunt
sincerissimam caritatem. Si ergo bona tibi sunt prae-
stita quam^is terrena transitoria ab imperio Romano,
quia et ipsum terrenum est, non caeleste, nee potest
praestare nisi quod habet in potestate ; si ergo bona
in te conlata sunt, noli reddere mala pro bonis ; si
autem mala tibi inrogata sunt, noli reddere mala

« Matt. V. 44 ; Luke vi. 27-28.

^ No writer is so fond of the word transitorius as Augustine,
and not infrequently he uses it in conjunction Math terrenusy
as here {e.g. Serm. 113. 6). From him comes probably the use
of the phrase in the Rule of St. Benedict, § 2, and in Gregory
the Great, In Ezech. ii. 10. 21.

428

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX)

the virtues you displayed in office, rendered you
the very opposite. The rights or wrongs of that
I personally am unable to examine and decide ;
rather look at and look into your own case, not as it
lies between you and any men, but as it lies, to your
o^\'n personal knowledge, between you and God ;
for as you live in Christ as a believer, you ought to
cherish fear of giving offence to Him. The cases
that engage my attention are rather those of the
world above, for it is to their own sins that men
ought to attribute the fact that Africa is undergoing
such calamities. Nevertheless, I do not want you
to be of the number of those evil and unrighteous
men whom God uses to scourge with temporal
punishments those whom He chooses ; since for
the unrighteous themselves, whose evil nature He
justly employs to inflict temporal evils on others,
He reserves everlasting punishment, if they do not
reform. But as for yourself, fix your mind upon
God, turn your thoughts to Christ, Who has bestowed
such great blessings and endured such great suffer-
ings. Those who desire to attain to His kingdom
and to live ^^ith Him and under Him in everlasting
blessedness, love even their enemies, do good to
those who hate them and pray for those who persecute
them"; and if at any time in the interests of discipline
they employ irksome severity, they do not, however,
lay aside their sincere affection. If, then, benefits
have been conferred upon you by the Roman Empire,
though they be earthly and transitory ^ (for that
Empire itself is earthly, and not heavenly, and it can
bestow only what lies within its own power) ; if, then,
benefits have been bestowed upon you, render not
evil for good ; but if e\il has been inflicted upon

429

ST. AUGUSTINE

pro malis. Quid istorum duorum sit, nee diseutere
volo nee valeo iudicare ; ego Christiano loquor : noli
reddere vel mala pro bonis vel mala pro malis.

Dicis mJhi fortasse : "In tanta necessitate quid
vis ut faciam ? " Si consilium a me secundum hoc
saeculum quaeris, quo modo 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 : Qitid prodest homini, si
totum mujidum lucretur, ajiimae autem suae damnum
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 nee ea quae in mundo sunt. Si quis
enim dilexerit mundum, non est caritas patris in illo,
quoniam omnia quae in muiido sunt, co?icupiscentia
carnis est et concupiscentia oculorum et amhitio saeculi,
quae non est a patre, sed ex mundo est. Et mundus
transit et concupisceiitia eius ; qui autem fecerit volun-
tatem dei, manet in aeternum, sicut et deus manet in
aeternum ? Ecce consilium ; arripe et age. Hie
appareat, si vir fortis es ; vince cupiditates, quibus
iste diligitur mundus, age paenitentiam de praeteritis
malis, quando ab eis cupiditatibus victus per desi-

" Rom. xii. 17 ; 1 Thess. v. 15 ; 1 Pet. iii. 9.

^ Cf. Ter. Eii7i. 57-63 " quae res in se neque consilium
neque modum Habet ullum, earn consilio regere non potes."

'^ Matt. xvi. 2Q ; Mark viii. 36 ; Luke ix. 25. This seems
to be the only place where Augustine quotes the form
damnum patiatur ; elsewhere {De S&rm. Dom. 2. 50, C.
Adlm. 18, Serm. 330. 3) he has either detrimentum faciat, or
detrimentum patiatur.
430

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX)

you, render not evil for evil." Which of these two
has been your lot, I do not Mlsh to discuss nor am I
able to decide ; for my part I am speaking to a
Christian : render not evil for good nor yet evil for
evil.

You perhaps say to me, " What do you want me 9
to do in these straits ? " If you ask advice from me
as after the spirit of this world, how your safety,
transitory as it is, may be secured, and your power
and wealth either preserved in their present con-
dition or increased to greater dimensions, I am at a
loss what to answer you ; things as uncertain as
these do not admit of any certain counsel.^ But if,
as in the sight of God, you consult me about saving
your soul from destruction and fear the word of
Truth Who says, " What is a man profited, if he shall
gain the whole world and lose his own soul ? 'V I
certainly have an answer to give ; I am ready with
advice which you must hear from me. Yet what need
is there for me to say anything different from Mhat
I have already said: " Love not the world, neither
the things that are in the world. If any man love
the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the
lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the
Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth
away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the
will of God, abideth for ever, even as God abideth
for ever." '^ Here is ad\ice for you ; lay hold of it
and act upon it. Let it now be seen if you are a
strong man : vanquish the desires ^Wth which you
love the world. Do penance for the misdeeds of
the past, when these desires had you vanquished

'^ 1 John ii. 15-17.

431

ST. AUGUSTINE

deria vana trahebaris. Hoc consilium si acceperis,
si tenueris atque servaveris, et ad bona ilia certa
pervenies et cum salute animae tuae inter ista in-
certa versaberis.

10 Sed forte iterum quaeris a me, quo modo ista
facias tantis mundi huius necessitatibus implicatus.
Ora fortiter et die 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 libereris de tot
tantisque periculis visibilium corporaliumque bello-
rum, 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 nee dantur hominibus
nisi ab illo, qui habet omnium caelestium et terre-
strium 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.

11 Quis enim nesciat, quis ita sit stultus, ut non
videat quod salus huius mortalis corporis et mem-

« Ps. xxiv. 17. M Cor. vii. 31.

432

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX)

and empty passions dragged you in their train. If
you will receive this advice and hold fast to it and
keep it, you will both attain to those blessings which
are certain and pass through the midst of these
uncertain things \\"ithout harm to your own soul.

But perhaps you ask me again how you are to 10
accomplish this, involved as you are in the great
distresses of this world. Be earnest in prayer and
say to God the words you find in the Psalm, " Bring
thou me out of my distresses," " for then are these dis-
tresses ended when those desires are overcome. He
who has answered your prayers and our prayers for you
and has delivered you from the many great dangers
of the warfare in which men visibly risk their bodies,
in which the stake is but this life that must sooner or
later come to an end, while the soul escapes destruc-
tion unless it be held in captivity by evil desires — He
^^ill Himself also answer your prayer for an invisible
and spiritual victory over your inward and invisible
foes, that is these same desires, and help you to " use
this world as not abusing it,"^ so that with its good
things you may do good, instead of becoming evil.
For these things are good in themselves and are not
given to men save by Him Who has power over all
things in heaven and in earth : and on the one hand
they are bestowed upon the good, so that they may
not be thought to be evil ; on the other, they are
bestowed upon the evil, so that they .may not be
thought to be the great or supreme good ; and
likewise they are taken away from the good, in
order to try them, and from the evil, in order to
punish them.

Who is so ignorant, who so foolish, as not to see 11
that the health of this mortal body and the strength
2f 4<33

ST. AUGUSTINE

brorum corruptibilium virtus et \-ictoria de hominibus
inimicis et honor atque potentia temporalis et cetera
ista bona terrena et bonis dentur et malis et bonis
auferantur et malis ? Salus vero animae cum in-
mortalitate 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 modis omnibus quaere. Propter
haec adquirenda et obtinenda fac elemosynas, funde
orationes, exerce ieiunia, quantum sine laesione tui
corporis potes. Bona vero ilia terrena noli diligere,
quanta libet tibi abundent. Sic eis utere, ut bona
multa ex illis, nullum autem malum facias propter
ilia. Omnia quippe talia peribunt, sed bona opera
non pereunt, etiam quae de bonis pereuntibus fiunt.
12 Si enim coniugem non haberes, dicerem tibi quod
et Tubunis diximus, ut in castitate continentiae
viveres ; adderem quod tunc fieri prohibuimus, ut
lam te, quantum rerum humanarum salva pace
potuisses, ab istis bellicis rebus abstraheres et ei
vitae vacares in societate sanctorum, cui tunc vacare
cupiebas, ubi in silentio pugnant milites Christi, non

<* Miles Christi, like servus Christi, does not exclusively-
mean " monks," but refers generally to Christian service,
whether on the part of the laity (Ambr. Ep. 27. 15 "omnes
qui sunt in ecclesia, Deo miUtant " ; Leo ^lagn. Serm. 89. 2
has the phrase ecclesiasticus miles of a layman), or of the
regular clergy (Aug. Ep. Lx. 1 " ad militiam clericatus
eligantur," Ep. xxi. 1 " quo modo militetur "), or of monks
(Aug. Ep. cli. 8 " ne susciperet cingulum militiae Chris-
tianae vinculum praepediebat uxorium "). This use was a
natural extension of the idea of service connoted by militare,
and it was encouraged by the Pauline phrase in 1 Tim. i. 18
" milites in illis bonam militiam," and 2 Tim. iv. 2 " nemo
militans Deo . . ." In especial, militare was used by
Christian writers of the centuries of persecution to denote
434

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX)

of its corruptible members, and victory over men who
are our foes, and honour and temporal power and all
other earthly blessings, are bestowed upon both the
good and the evil and are taken away from both the
good and the evil ? But the health of the soul, along
with the immortality of the body, and the strength of
righteousness and victory over the desires that are our
foes, and glory and honour and peace for evermore, are
bestowed upon the good alone. These things, then,
love and desire and seek by every possible means.
To secure them and hold them fast, give alms, pour
forth prayers, practise fasting as much as you can
without harming your body ; but love not those
earthly blessings, however much you may abound in
them. Make such use of them that you do many
good deeds by them and no single evil deed because of
them. For all such things will pass away, but good
deeds do not pass away, even those which are done
Mith the aid of the good things that pass away.

If you had not a wife, I should tell you what we 12
said to you already at Tubunae, that you should live
in the holy state of continence ; to that I should
add what we then forbade you to do, namely, that you
should withdraw from your military labours as far as
is possible without endangering the peace of man-
kind, and obtain the leisure to follow that quiet life
you then expressed your desire to follow, in the
community of the holy, where the soldiers of Christ "
contend in silence, not with the purpose of taking

the " service " of martyrs (Cypr. Ep. 60. 2 " milites
Christi . . . prompte et animas et sangiiinem tradere ").
On the other hand, it was used too by Christian wTiters of
the service of the world, sin, or the devil (Aug. Conf. ix. 8. 17
" relicta militia saeculari accinctus in Tua ").

435

ST. AUGUSTINE

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
istani vitani non exhorter, coniunx impedimento est,
sine cuius consensione continenter tibi non liceat
\dvere, quia, etsi tu earn post ilia tua verba Tubu-
nensia ducere non debebas, ilia 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 ilia agere non potes, serva saltem pudi-
citiam coniugalem et roga deum, qui te de neces-
sitatibus eruat, ut, quod non potes modo, possis
aliquando. Verum tamen, 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 opera bona et propter mundi bona non
facias opera mala, aut non impedit coniunx 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 amahit te,
corripe stultum et adiciet odisse te, non te utique stultum
sed sapientem debui cogitare.

° Eph. vi. 12. ^ Matt. xxv. 41. ' Prov. ix. 8.

436

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX)

men's lives, but of conquering " principalities and
powers and spiritual wickedness,"'* that is, the devil
and his angels.^ For these are the enemies whom the
holy vanquish, enemies they cannot see ; and yet
they vanquish the enemies they cannot see by
vanquishing the objects of their senses. But to that
kind of life I am prevented from urging you, for your
wife stands in the way, and without her consent you
cannot adopt a life of continence ; because, although
you had no right to marry her after what you said
at Tubunae, yet she became your wife in all inno-
cence and single-mindedness, knowing nothing of
your declaration. Yet would that you could persuade
her to continence, so that with nothing in your way
you could render unto God what you know you owe
Him ! But if you cannot arrange that with her,
preserve at least your conjugal chastity and ask
God, Who can " bring you out of your distresses," to
grant that you may be able to do sooner or later
what you find impossible now. But yet, in order to
love God, you must give up loving the world ; in your
warfare (if you have still to be engaged in it) keep the
faith and ensue peace ; use this M'orld's goods to do
good deeds, and to obtain this world's goods do not
do evil deeds — in these duties a wife is not a
hindrance, or ought not to be.

I have written thus to you, my beloved son, at the
bidding of the love wherewith I love you, not in the
way of this world, but in God's way. And when I
recall to mind the words of Scripture, " Reprove a
wise man and he will love thee ; reprove a fool and
he will hate thee more,"^ I had to think of you as
surely not a fool, but a wise man,

437

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 52 (Ep. CCXXVII)

[BEATI AUGUSTINI AD SENEM ALYPIUM DE
CONVERSIOXE DIOSCURI]

Frater Paulus hie est ineolumis ; adportat nego-
tiorum suorum seeundas euras ; praestabit dominus,
ut etiam ipsa ultima sint. Multum vos salutat et
narrat gaudia de Gaviniano, quod ab ilia sua eausa
miserieordia dei liberatus non solum Christianus sed
etiam fidelis sit valde bonus per pascha proximo
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 quem ad modum ; neque
enim cervicula ilia vel hngua nisi ahquo prodigio
domarentur. Fiha eius, in qua unica adquiescebat,
aegrotabat et usque ad totam desperationem salutis
temporalis eodem ipso patre renuntiante pervenit.

" Dioscurus is unknown except from this letter. Brother
Paul is probably the Paul mentioned in the last letter. Nothing
is known of the business here spoken of, or of Gavinianus.

^ Fidelis in this sense is contrasted with catednnnenus, a
distinction which is as early as Tertullian (Praescr. Haer. 41
" quis catechumenus, quis fidelis, incertum est ; pariter
adeunt, pariter audiunt, pariter orant "). Jerome speaks
{In Isaiam xix. 19) of five orders in the Church : ejjiscopos,
preshyteros, diaconos, fideles, cafechumenos, and Augustine
{Serm. 21. 5) mentions a higher kind of faith, " qua fidelis
vocaris, accedens ad mensam Domini tui," and (Serm. 93. 2)
defines fidelis : " Fidelibus dico, eis quibus Christi corpus
erogamus." " Rom. x. 8.

''The archiater (apxtarpos) was a municipal doctor,
appointed by the decurions and receiving a salary from the
town. They enjoyed, with their wives and families, special
privileges {Cod. Theod. xiii. iii. 1, 2, 3 " archiatri omnes

438

NO. 52 (Ep. CCXXVII)

No. 52 (Ep. CCXXVII)
(a.d. 428 or 429)

[TO THE SENIOR ALYPIUS FROM AUGUSTINE,
ABOUT THE CONVERSION OF DIOSCURUS»]

Brother Paul has arrived back safely ; he reports
that his affairs have been considered favourably ; the
Lord will grant that this may be the last of them.
He sends you hearty greetings and gives us the
joyful news about Gavinianus, that having secured
deliverance, by God's mercy, from that case of his,
he is now not only a Christian but has become a very
admirable member of the Church,^ having received
baptism last Easter, and professing in his heart and
with his mouth ^ the grace that was bestowed on him.
I could never express the greatness of my longing for
him, but you know how dear he is to me. The town
physician,^ Dioscurus, has also become a Christian
and joined the Church, having received grace at the
same time. I must tell you how it came about, for one
so stiff-necked and sharp-tongued could have been
subjugated only by a miracle.

His daughter, an only child, the pride of his life,
was ill, and she reached a point when the recovery
of her bodily health was quite despaired of, and her
own father gave her up. The story goes (and its truth

... a praestationibus quoque publicis liberi immimesque
permaneant "). Ptome and Constantinople had these muni-
cipal doctors appointed in 368, and at Rome there were
fourteen in all, one for each region. In Ep. xli. 2
Augustine speaks of one Hilarinus, whom he calls Hippo-
niensem archiatrum et principalein, and another is mentioned
by one of his correspondents in Ep. ccxxx. 6.

439

ST. AUGUSTINE

Dicitur ergo — et constat, cum mihi hoc et ante
fratris Pauli reditum comes Peregrinus, vir laudabilis
et bene Christianus, qui cum eis eodem tempore bapti-
zatus est, indicaret, — dicitur ergo ille senex tandem
conversus ad inplorandam Christi misericordiam voto
se obligasse Christianum fore, si illam salvam videret.
Factum est. At ille, quod voverat, dissimulabat
exsolvere. Sed adhuc manus excelsa. Nam repen-
tina 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 ex-
celsa. Symbolum non tenuerat aut fortasse tenere
recusaverat et se non potuisse excusaverat. Deus
viderit. lam tamen post festa omnia receptionis
suae in paralysin solvitur multis ac paene omnibus
membris, tunc somnio admonitus confitens per
scripturam ob hoc sibi dictum esse accidisse, quod
symbolum non reddiderit. Post illam confessionem
redduntur officia membrorum omnium nisi linguae
solius. Se tamen didicisse symbolum ideoque me-

* Apparently mentioned only here.

^ This is a Biblical phrase, occurring in Exod. xiv. 8,
Num. xxxiii. 3, and Deut. xxxii. 27, where it seems to imply
" with unbroken pride," or the like. Similar is Job xxxviii.
15 " auferetur ab impiis lux sua, et brachium excelsum
confringetur."

" Teneo, thus used, is found in Plautus, Virgil (Eel. ix. 45
" numeros memini, si verba tenerem "), Martial (iv. 37
" teneo melius ista, quam meum nomen "), and others,
though Cicero always uses memoria tenere. Augustine uses
it both with memoria, and Mithout (In loan. Ev. 69. 4 " si
tenueritis quod audistis " ; Quant. An. 7. 12 " nosse hoc
plane ac tenere volumus "). Candidates for baptism were ex-
pected to memorize the Creed, which it was forbidden to write
down (Retr. i. 17 speaking of his book De Eide et SymbolOy

440

NO. 52 (Ep. CCXXVII)

is vouched for by the fact that even before the return
of brother Paul it was told me by Count Peregrinus,**
an admirable man and a thorough Christian, who
received baptism at the same time as they did) — the
story goes then that the old man finally turned to
implore the pity of Christ and bound himself by a
vow to become a Christian, if he saw her out of
danger. That prayer was granted, but in spite of
that he neglected to fulfil his vow. But his hand
was still high.^ For suddenly he is smitten with
blindness and it immediately occurred to him why
that had happened. He cried out, confessing his
fault, and made another vow that, if he received back
his sight, he would fulfil his earlier vow. He received
it back, he fulfilled his vow. And still his hand was
high.^ He had not memorized'' the Creed, or perhaps
had refused to memorize it, and had offered the excuse
that he could not. Let God be judge. But just after
the completion of the ceremony of his admission, he
fell into a paralytic seizure affecting many, if not all,
of his members. Then, being warned in a dream, he
confessed in writing that he had been told this had
befallen him for the reason that he had failed to
repeat the Creed. After that confession the use of all
his Hmbs was restored to him, saving only his tongue.
Yet he confessed on paper that in spite of that

which he ^^Tote without putting the Creed in writing, " ut
tamen non fiat verborum ilia contextio quae tenenda me-
moriter competentibus traditur " : Senn. 212. 2 " nee ut
eadem verba Symboli teneatis, ullo modo debetis scribere,
sed audiendo perdiscere; nee . . . scribere, sed memoriter
semper tenere " ; Serm. 58. 1 " quicumque vestrum non
bene reddiderunt, habent spatium, teneant ; quia die sabbati
audientibus omnibus qui aderunt reddituri estis, die sabbati
novissimo, quo die baptizandi estis ").

441

ST. AUGUSTINE

moria iam tenere nihilo minus in eadem temptatione
litteris fassus est, et omnis est ab eo deleta nugaci-
tas, quae, ut scis, multum dedecorabat naturalem
quandam eius benignitatem eumque insultantem
Christianis faciebat valde sacrilegum. Quid dicam
domino, nisi hymnum canamus et superexaltemiis eum
in saecula ? Amen.

No. 53 (Ep. CCXXIX)

DOMINO MERITO INLUSTRI ET MAGNIFICEN-
TISSLMO ATQUE IX CHRISTO CARISSIMO
FILIO DARIO AUGUSTIXUS

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 pro-
venit. Per hos ergo factum est ut nee ego te habere

" Judith xvi. 15; Dan. iii. 57.

^ Darius, a high official at the court of Valentinian III.,
was sent in 429 to Africa to negotiate a peace between
Count Boniface and the Emperor. He was accompanied by
his son Verimodus, alluded to at the end of the letter.
Augustine here writes congratulating him on making peace
with the Vandals.

'^ This Urbanus is most probably the bishop of Sicca, who
was originally a member of Augustine's monastery at Hippo
(Ep. cxlix. 34) ; he became bishop there before 418. He is
best remembered as the central figure in that Council of 418
which decreed that no African cleric should prosecute an
appeal overseas (c/. p. 364 above) — a decree of great im-
portance in the controversy about the supremacy of the see
of Rome. Sicca (or Sicca Veneria, so-called from its famous
temple to Astarte, whom the Romans identified with Venus)

442

NO. 52 (Ep. CCXXVII)— NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXIX)

seizure he had learned the Creed and still retained it
in his memory. And thus was destroyed in him all the
scurrility which, as you know, was a great blemish
on his natural kindness and made him, when he
mocked Christians, a yery sacrilegious man. What
shall I say saye " Let us sing a hymn to the Lord
and highly exalt Him for ever " " ? Amen.

No. dS (Ep. CCXXIX)
(a.d. 429)

AUGUSTINE TO DARIUS,* MY DESERVEDLY
ILLUSTRIOUS AND MOST DISTINGUISHED
LORD AND SON WARMLY CHERISHED IN
CHRIST

From my holy brethren and fellow-bishops L'rbanus 1
and Noyatus ^ I haye learned of your character and
high position ; one of them had the good fortune to
make your acquaintance in the toA^Ti of Hilari near
Carthage and recently at Sicca, the other at Sitifis.
Through them it has been brought about that I too

is the modern Le Kef, lying about 135 miles south-west of
Tunis ; its strategical position on the great roads between
Numidia and Proconsular Africa gave it great importance.

Novatus was bishop of Sitifis (Setif j in Mauretania ; he
was addressed by Augustine in No. 22 above. The Hilarense
oppidum I have not succeeded in locating. One of the four
manuscripts of this letter reads larensi, whis is probably the
adjectival form of the name Lares, an important town
10 miles south-east of Sicca \'eneria and prominent during
the war with Jugurtha (Sallust, lug. 90). Though at a
considerable distance from Carthage, it was within Cartha-
ginian territory, and was easy for Darius to reach from
Sicca, so I am inclined to adopt the reading Larensi here in
place of the unidentifiable Hilarensi.

443

ST. AUGUSTINE

incognitum possem. Neque enim quia me infirmitas
corporis et geminum frigus, id est hiemis et aetatis,
non sinit coram tecumi conloqui, ideo non te vidi ;
nam iste mihi etiam praesens, qiiando 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 etiam in
sancto evangelio et nos et tu ipse propitio deo tam-
quam in speculo laetissimus inspicis, ubi scriptum
est a veritate dicente : Beati pacifici, quoniam filii
dei vocabuntur.
2 Magni quidem sunt et habent gloriam suam non
solum fortissimi sed etiam, quod verioris origo laudis,
fidelissimi bellatores et quorum laboribus atque peri-
culis dei protegentis atque opitulantis auxilio hostis
indomitus vincitur, quies rei publicae pacatisque
provinciis comparatur ; sed maioris est gloriae ipsa
bella verbo occidere quam homines ferro, et ad-
quirere 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 cuius-
quam sanguis quaereretur, es missus. Est itaque
ahis ilia necessitas, tibi ista felicitas. Proinde,
domine merito inlustris et magnificentissime atque
in Christo carissime fili, gaude isto tuo tam magno
et vero bono et fruere in deo, unde sumpsisti ut talis

« Matt. V. 9.
444

NO. 53 (Ep. CCXXIX)

cannot regard you as unknown to me. For the fact
that my bodily weakness and the twofold cold, of
whiter and of old age, does not permit me to have
converse with you face to face, has not prevented me
from seeing you, for one of these friends, when
present with me on a visit he was good enough to
make, revealed to me the countenance of your heart,
if not of your body, and the other did so by letter, so
that I have all the greater pleasure in seeing the
more inward man. This countenance of yours both
you and I, by God's favour, behold with joy in the
Holy Gospel, as in a mirror, where the words are
written that were uttered by Him who is truth :
" Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be
called the children of God."^

Those men are indeed great and they have their 2
own honour who as warriors display not only great
courage but also (what is the source of more genuine
praise) great fidelity, and by their toils and perils, with
the assistance of God's protection and aid, subdue
foes before invincible, and procure peace for the state
and for the tranquilUzed provinces. (But it is a greater
glory to slay war with a word than men with the
sword and to gain and maintain peace by means of
peace, not by means of war.y For even those who
hght are certainly seeking peace, if they are good
men, but seeking it by the shedding of blood, while
you have been sent to prevent the seeking of any-
one's blood. Others are therefore under the necessity
of taking life, while you have the felicity of sparing
it. Wherefore rejoice, my deservedly illustrious and
most distinguished lord and son warmly cherished in
Christ, in the great and genuine blessing that is yours
and enjoy it in the Lord to Whom you owe it that you

445

ST. AUGUSTINE

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 ex-
cellentia et eruditio tua etiam in meis opusculis
nosset. Si ergo legisti quae dedit, ego quoque in-
notui interioribus tuis sensibus, non multum dis-
plicens, quantum existimo. si propensiore caritate
quam severitate legisti. Non est multum sed multum
gratum, si pro litteris nostris et his et illis unam nobis
epistulam reddas. Saluto etiam pignus pacis, quod
domino deo nostro adiuvante feliciter accepisti, ea
dilectione qua debeo.

No. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI)

AUGUSTINUS SERVUS CHRISTI MEMBRORUM-
QUE CHRISTI DARIO FILIO MEMBRO
CHRISTI IN IPSO SALUTEM

1 Quod acceperim libenter litteras tuas, mea re-
seripta 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

« Ps. Ixvii. 29.

* This phrase seems to imply that Darius's son, Verimodus,
had been a hostage until the peace %vith the Vandals was
signed. If so (and the words seem to demand this interpre-
tation), there is no other mention of it.

* In his reply Darius had expressed his hope that the
peace with the Vandals would be permanent and asks
Augustine to send for his perusal a copy of the Confessions.
He also sent some medicines to help Augustine in his illness,
and these are alluded to at the end of the letter.

446

NO. 5S (Ep. CCXXIX)— NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI)

are what you are and that you have undertaken the
task it is yours to accomphsh. May God " strengthen
that which He hath wrought for us through you"^ !
Accept this my greeting and be good enough to repay
it with one from you. As I am informed by the
letter of my brother Novatus, he has taken steps to
make your learned Excellency acquainted with me
also in my writings. If, then, you have read the
works he gave you, I too have become known to your
more inward perceptions, nor w^ould you, I imagine,
find me very unsatisfactory, if your reading has been
done with greater inclination to love than to harsh-
ness. It is not asking very much, but it will be very
much appreciated, if in return for my writings, both
this one and those others, you send me a single letter.
I greet too with all due affection the pledge of peace, ^
whom you have been happy enough to receive by
the favour of the Lord our God.

No. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI)
(a.d. 429)

AUGUSTINE, SERVANT OF CHRIST AND OF THE
MEMBERS OF CHRIST, TO DARIUS,'' MY SON,
A MEMBER OF CHRIST, GREETING IN HIM

You wanted a reply from me as evidence that I 1
have received your letter with joy, so, see, I send
you one. And yet in a reply, be it this one or
any other, it is impossible for me, whether writing
briefly or at great length, to make that evident, for
neither a few words nor many can be evidence of

447

ST. AUGUSTINE

indicari potest quod indicari verbis non potest. Et
ego quidem parum eloquor, etsi multum loquor ;
sed nulli eloquent! omnino concesserim ut quali-
cumque et quantaeumque epistula sua affectum ex-
plicet, quem fecit in me tua, quod non possum ego,
etiam si 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
valde valde ? Repetitio verbi huius non est repetitio
sed quasi perpetua dictio ; quia enim fieri non posset
ut semper diceretur, ideo factum est ut saltem
repeteretur ; sic enim fortasse dici potest quod dici
non potest.
2 Hie si quaerat aliquis quid me tandem in tuis tam
valde litteris delectaverit, utrum eloquium, respon-
debo : " Non " ; et ille forsitan respondebit : " Ergo
laudes tuae " ; sed de his quoque respondebo :
" Non," nee ideo, quia non sunt ista in ilia epistula ;
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 ? " Immo vero ; " neque enim mihi,"
ut ait quidam, " cornea fibra est," ut haec non sentiam
vel sine delectatione sentiam. Delectant et ista :

« Pers. i. 47.
448

NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI)

what words cannot make evident at all. And for
my part, though I have the gift of copious expression,
I have only a limited powder of se^f-expression ; yet
I would certainly not admit that any man, how^ever
gifted with the power of expression, could describe
in a letter, no m^atter how good or how long, the
feelings awakened in me by your letter ; it is quite
beyond my power, and he cannot observe them
within me as I do myself. It only remains for me,
then, to give you the evidence you wanted to have in
such a way that in my words you may feel evidence
of what they cannot express. So what shall I say
but this, that I was very, very pleased with your
letter ? The repetition of that word is not so much
a repetition as a constant utterance, but since the
perpetual utterance of it is quite impossible, I have
done the only thing possible by at least repeating
it. In this way, perhaps, things may be uttered that
completely defy utterance.

At this point, if anyone were to ask what after all 2
it was in your letter that pleased me so very much,
if it was its eloquence, I shall say " No " ; he will
perhaps reply, " Then it was the praise of yourself,"
and to that too I shall say " No " ; not for the
reason that your letter Mas without these, for it was
eloquent enough very notably to reveal the fact that
your natural endoMTiients are of the finest quality
and that your training in the hterary disciphnes has
been good ; and, further, your letter was full of
praises of myself. " And so," someone may say,
" things of that kind give you no pleasure ? " It is
the other way round, for, as someone has remarked,
" my heart is not made of horn,"" that I either do not
feel such things or feel them without pleasure. I do
2g 449

ST. AUGUSTINE

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 nee omnibus
delecter nee 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.
3 Viderint graves et periti viri quid de illo The-
mistocle 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 iucun-
ditatis genus aspernatus esset, dictum illi est :
" Quid ergo audire te delectat ? " Ad quod ille
respondisse fertur : " Laudes meas." Viderint ergo
quo fine 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 ? " " Rem publicam," inquit,
" ex parva magnam facere." Ego autem, quod ait
Ennius : " Omnes mortales sese laudari exoptant,"
partim puto adprobandum, partim cavendum. Ut
enim appetenda est Veritas, quae procul dubio
est, etiam si non laudetur, sola laudabilis, sic ea
quae facile subrepit, vanitas in hominum laude
fugienda est ; haec est autem, cum vel ipsa bona

" Cic. rro Arch. 9. 20 ; Plut. Them. 2.
^ \\x\n. Ann. 560 (ed. \"ahlen).
450

NO. 54- (Ep. CCXXXI)

take pleasure in even such things as these, but,
alongside that which made me, as I said, very
pleased, what are such things after all ? Your elo-
quence does give me pleasure, so gravely sweet
and so sweetly grave it is ; TNith the praise of myself,
however, though certainly I neither find pleasure in
every kind nor from every man, but onlv in such as
you consider me worthy to receive and from men
such as you are, who for Christ's sake love His
servants — even with the praise of myself contained in
your letter I cannot deny that I was very well pleased.

Let serious-minded and experienced men consider 3
M'hat opinion they should form of the well-known
Themistocles" (if I remember his name aright), who
at a banquet, on refusing to play on the lyre, a usual
practice among the distinguished and learned men
of Greece, and being on that account deemed a less
cultured person, and scorning all that kind of amuse-
ment, is said, when asked what he did take pleasure
in hearing, to have made answer, " My own praises."
Let such men consider what they think the aim and
intention of this remark was or what was the intention
of the speaker. He was, indeed, a very high-minded
man, in the eyes of this world, for when the further
question was asked him, " What then do you know ? "
he replied, " How to make a small state great." For
myself, however, I hold that the saying of Ennius that
" All mortal men are eager to be praised," ^ is partly to
be approved of, partly to be taken as a warning. For
just as truth is to be sought after, as being without
a doubt the only thing deserving of praise, even if
praise be withheld, so is the easily and furtivelv
developing pride in the praise of men to be shunned.
And that is the case when, on the one hand, those good

451

ST. AUGUSTINE

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 fetiam vituperatione digniora sunt. Unde
Horatius Ennio vigilantior ait :

laudis amore turaes ? sunt certa piacula, quae te
ter pure lecto poterunt recreare libello.

4 Ita tunioreni de aniore laudis humanae velut
serpentis morsum medicinalibus verbis quasi ex~
cantandum putavit. Docuit itaque nos per aposto-
lum suum magister bonus neque propterea nos recte
vivere et 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 iUis, quan-
tum ad ipsos adtinet, 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
quod quaerebat in laude hominum, ubi etiam dicebat :
De cetero, fratres, quaecumque sunt vera, quaecumque
pudica, quaecumque casta, quaecumque sancta, quaecum-

« Hor. Ep. i. 1. 36-37.

" 1 Thess. ii. 4; Matt. v. 16; for the phrase c/. Pers. i. 48
" sed recti finemque extremumque esse recuse ' Euge ' tuum
et ' belle.' " ' Gal. i. 10.

^ 1 Cor. X. 33. The words Placete omnibus per omnia is
only his paraphrase of the preceding verse : Sine offensione
estate Judaeis et gentibus et ecclesiae Dei.
452

NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI)

qualities that are worthy of being praised are thought
not worth possessing unless a man is praised by his
fellows, or, on the other hand, when a man desires
great praise for things which are worthier of either
slight praise or even censure. Hence Horace was
much more cautious than Ennius in saying " :

Swell you Mith lust for praise ? Then read thrice o'er
Some book whose charms are potent to restore.

You see he thought that the swelling arising from 4
the lust for human praise was to be, as it were, charmed
away, like some serpent's bite, by healing words.
The Good Master has accordingly taught us by His
apostle not to live right and do right with the object
of being praised by men, that is, not to make the
praise of men the motive of our doing right, and yet
He has taught us for men's sake to seek men's praise.^
For when good men are praised, the praise confers a
benefit on those who bestow it, not on those who
receive it. For as far as concerns the good, the fact
that they are good is sufficient, but the others, whose
interest it is to imitate the good, are to be congratu-
lated when they bestow praise on the good, since by
doing so they show that they are pleased by those
whom they praise in sincerity. So the apostle says
in a certain passage, " If I yet pleased men, I should
not be the servant of Christ," ^ and he says in another
passage, Please all men in all things, " even as I
please all men in all things ^ " ; but he adds the
reason, " Not seeking mine own profit, but the profit
of many that they may be saved." See what he
sought in men's praise, of which he says further,
" Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are

4-53

ST. AUGUSTINE

que carissinia, quaecumque honae famae, si qua virtus, si
qua laus, haec cogitate ; quae didicistis et accepistis et
audistis et vidistis in me, haec agite et dens pads erit
vohiscum. Cetera igitur quae supra conmiemoravit,
virtutis nomine amplexus est, dicens " si qua virtus " ;
illud autem quod subiecit " quaecumque bo7iae famae,''
alio uno verbo congruo prosecutus est dicendo " si
qua laus." Quod itaque ait : Si hominibus placerem,
Christi servus non essem, sic utique accipiendum est
tamquam dixerit : "Si bona quae facio, fine laudis
humanae facereni, laudis amore tumeseerem."
Volebat ergo apostolus placere omnibus et eis placere
gaudebat, non quorum laudibus tumescebat in se
ipso, 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 amas et quae
amare utile ac salubre est, etiam si 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 hoc, quae agnosco mea in
laude tua, gaudeo me habere et abs te ilia ac me
ipsum diligi propter ilia ; quae autem non agnosco,
non solum ut ipse habeam, desidero consequi, verum
etiam ne semper in mea laude fallantur qui me
sinceriter diligunt.

" Phil. iv. 8-9.
454.

NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI)

just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things
are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; if
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think
on these things. Those things, which ye have both
learned and received and heard and seen in me, do ;
and the God of peace shall be with you."^ So the
other things he mentioned above he included under
the word "virtue," saying, " If there be any virtue";
what he meant by the words, " Whatsoever things are
of good report," he followed up by the single, appropri-
ate phrase, " If there be any praise." So his words,
" If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant
of Christ," are to be understood in this way, as if
he had said, " If I were doing the good I do with
the motive of receiving human praise, I should be
' swelling with the lust for praise.' " The apostle
wanted therefore to please all men, and found joy in
pleasing those whom he edified in Christ by receiving
their praise, not those whose praise made him swell
within himself. Why should I not therefore find
pleasure in being praised by you, when you are (unless
I am mistaken in you) a good man and bestow your
praise upon the things which you admire and which
it is profitable and wholesome for you to admire, even
if they be lacking in me ? This benefits not only you,
but me too, for if they are lacking in me, it is whole-
some for me to be shamed and inflamed with desire
to acquire them. And so the qualities I recognize in
your praises as my own I rejoice in possessing and in
having you love them and me for their sake ; those on
the other hand that I fail to recognize as mine I yearn
to acquire, not only in order to possess them for
myself, but also to keep those who have a genuine love
for me from being deluded when they praise me.

■ioo

ST. AUGUSTINE

5 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 etiam non visum feci amicum, si tamen non
visum dicere debeo, cuius non corpus sed animum 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,
quando quidem etiam labores meos in defensione
evangelii adversus reliquias impiorum daemonico-
larum sic habes, sic legis, sic amas, sic praedicas, ut
in eis tanto fiam notior, quanto es ipse nobilior ; eos
enim latentes inlustris inlustras 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 existimans, cogitas quantum me Christi lucra
delectent. Iam vero 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
456

NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI)

See how much I have said, and I have not yet 5
said what it is in your letter that delighted me far
more than your eloquence, far more than your praise
of myself. What else do you think it is, honoured Sir,
than this, that I have gained the friendship of a man
of your character, even ^\^thout seeing you — if I ought
to use the words " without seeing you," when I have
seen your mind, if not your body, in your letter ; in it
I gained an impression of you not, as before, from the
testimony of my brethren, but for myself. Already,
indeed, I had been told what manner of man you were,
but I had not experienced what kind of man vou were
towards me. But I am sure that from this friendship
of yours even my praises (which delight me in a way I
have already sufficiently spoken of) Avill redound all
the more richly to the profit of the Church, since you
possess and study and admire and commend even my
labours in defence of the Gospel against the remnant of
ungodly demon-worshippers to such an extent that, in
proportion to your high station, I gain all the greater
reputation ; illustrious yourself, you add lustre to
their lowliness, and celebrated yourself, you celebrate
them, and wherever you see that they can do good,
you will certainly not allow them to remain unknown.
If you ask me how I know that, it is as such that you
have shown yourself to me in your letter. See now
from this how great delight your letter was able to
give me, if, with your good opinion of me, you think
how dehghted I am by gains for Christ. And when
you inform me that you yourself, who have had the
good fortune, as you say in your letter, to acquire
Christian rights from your parents, your grand-
parents, and even your remotest ancestry, were yet
helped by my efforts in the contest with pagan rites

457

ST. AUGUSTINE

meis adiutum esse significas, parumne cogito quan-
tum boni aliis et quam multis, quam claris et quam
facile quamque salubriter per illos ceteris quibus
talia conveniunt, possint scripta nostra te comnien-
dante ac disseminante conferre ? Aut hoc cogitans
possumne parvorum vel mediocrium gaudiorum
iucunditate perfundi ?
6 Quia igitur non potui verbis explicare quantam
delectationem de tuis litteris ceperim, unde me de-
lectaverint, dixi. lam quod nequivi satis dicere, id
est quantum delectaverint, tibi coniciendum relinquo.
Sume itaque, mi fili, sume, vir bone et non in super-
ficie sed Christiana caritate Christiane, sume, inquam,
etiam Ubros quos desiderasti, confessionum mearum ;
ibi me inspice, ne me laudes ultra quam sum, ibi
non aliis de me crede sed mihi, ibi me adtende et
vide quid fuerim in me ipso per me ipsum. Et si
quid in me tibi placuerit, lauda ibi mecum quern
laudari volui de me, neque enim me, quoniam ipse
fecit nos et 7ion ipsi nos ; nos autem perdideramus
nos, sed qui fecit, refecit. Cum autem ibi me in-
veneris, 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 me ex ore tuo di-

<• Ps. xcix. 3.

^ Here Augustine has an untranslatable four-fold jingle
with facio, rejicio, d^ficio, perficio ; several times elsewhere
he has the triple paronomasia, as In loan. Ev. 1. 12 " si per
te deficis, Ille te reficiat qui te fecit," In Ps. 94.. 10 "a te
deficere potes, tn teipsum reficere non potes; Ille reficit qui
te fecit." The play upon deficere and reficere is a favourite
with him {In loan. Ev. 11. 5, 52. 3; In Ep. loan. 3. 1, 4. 5;

458

NO. 54. (Ep. CCXXXI)

as by nothing else, can I think it a small matter, the
amount of good that through your commendation and
circulation my writings can bestow on others, and they
numerous and famous, and through them easily and
profitably on other people in need of some such
message ? Or with that thought in mind can I be
imbued with the satisfaction of joys that are only
slight or commonplace ?

Since then I could not express inv.ordsthe extent of 6
the delight your letter gave me, I have spoken of that
in it which was the source of my delight, and now I
leave you to conjecture for yourself what I have been
unable sufficiently to tell, that is, the delight it gave
me. Take then, my son, take, excellent Sir, Christian
that you are not on the surface only, but with Christian
love — take, I repeat, those books of my Confessions
that you asked for ; in them behold me, so that you
praise me not beyond what I am ; in them give your
belief to me, not to others who speak of me ; in them
observe me and see what I was of myself, by myself,
and if anything in me gives you pleasure, join me in
praising for it Him Whom I desired to have praise
from me, and not myself; for " He hath made us
and not we ourselves"" — indeed we had destroyed
ourselves, but He Who made us, re-made us. And
when in them you find me, pray for me that I
may not suffer defeat,^ but may be made complete ;
pray, my son, pray. I realize what I am saying ; I
know what I am asking ; let it not seem to you un-
fitting and beyond your merits ; you will deprive me
of great assistance, if you do it not. Pray for me, not
only you, but all others who have learned to love me

In Ps. 36 ; Serm. 1. 11, 38. 16, 94. 10, 109. 6, 145. 4, 159.
8, 9, 190. 2 ; Discip. Chr. 13. 14 ; C. Sec. 17 ; Ep. 144. 2, etc.).

459

ST. AUGUSTINE

lexerint, orate pro me. Hoc eis me petivisse indica,
aut, si m.ultum nobis tribuitis, iussisse nos exis-
timate quod petimus ; et tamen date petentibus vel
obtemperate iubentibus : orate pro nobis. Lege
litteras dei et invenies ipsos arietes nostros apostolos
petisse hoc a filiis suis sive praecepisse auditoribus
suis. Ego certe, quoniam hoc a me petisti 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 conducit 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, id est ut quietam vitam et tranquillam agamus
in omni pietate et caritate. Si enim desit pietas et
caritas. quid est ab iUis et a ceteris mundi malis
tranquiUitas 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.

" 1 Pet. V. 2 ; Hier. xiii. 17. The ram is used of the
apostles because they are leaders of the flock (Cassiod. In
Ps. 28. 1 " arietes apostoli accipiendi sunt, qui tanquam
duces gregum in caulas Domini perduxerunt populum
Christianum "), and so occasionally in Augustine (Serm.
135. 7, 311. 2.; In Ps. 64. 18, etc.), but, as suggested
by the sacrifice offered by Abraham, the ram is frequently
employed as a figure of Christ {Civ. Dei, xvi. 32 " quis erat
460

NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI)

from your lips ; inform them of this my request, or
rather, if you esteem me highly, consider that my
request is a command ; in any case, grant my request
or carry out my command : pray for me. Read God's
letters and you will find that the apostles themselves,
the leaders " of the flock, requested this from their
children or enjoined it on their hearers. For myself,
since you make the same request from me for your-
self. He Who answers prayer sees to w^hat extent I am
doing it, and saw to what extent I was doing it even
before ; but in this matter do you show me an equal
return of love. We are your overseers, and you are
God's flock. Reflect and see that our dangers are
greater than yours, and pray for us (for this profits
both us and you) that we may render a good account of
you to the Chief Shepherd ^ and Head of us all and that
we may likewise escape this world's allurements, more
dangerous than its afflictions, unless when its peace
makes for that for which the apostle warned us to
pray, that is, " that Ave may lead a quiet and peaceable
life in all godliness and honesty." ° For if godliness
and honesty be wanting, what is quietness and peace-
ableness from those and the other evils of the world
but an opportunity for self-indulgence and destruction,
either by inviting to it or by assisting towards it ? So,
then, that we may obtain this '' quiet and peaceful life
in all godliness and honesty " which my prayers ask
for you, let your prayers ask it for me, wherever you
are, wherever we are ; for He is everywhere, " Whose

ille aries [at the sacrifice of Isaac] . . . nisi lesus?"), and
as such it is frequently found in Christian epigraphy.

" 1 Pet. V. 4. «1 Tim. ii. 2.

^ Act. xxvii. 23.

461

ST. AUGUSTINE

7 Misi et alios libros, quos non petisti, ne hoc tantum
modo facerem quod petisti : de fide rerum quae
non videntur, de patientia, de continentia, de provi-
dentia, et unum grandem de fide et spe et caritate.
Hos onmes si duni es intra x\fricam, legeris, iudicium
tuum mitte de illis, aut mitte nobis aut quod nobis
a domino sene Aurelio mittatur, ibi dimitte. Quam-
quam et ubieumque fueris, speramus inde litteras
tuas et hinc tu, duni possunius, nostras. Suscepi
gratissime quae misisti, ubi et salutem meam
quamvis corporalem, quoniam vis me utique sine
impedimento malae valitudinis deo vacare, et biblio-
thecam nostram, ut sit unde libri vel parentur vel
reparentur, adiuvare dignatus es. Rependat tibi
dominus et hie 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.

No. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII)

DOMIXIS PRAEDICABILIBUS ET DILECTIS-
SIMIS FRATRIBUS MADAURENSIBUS,

QUORUM PER FRATREM FLORENTIUM
EPISTULAM ACCEPI, AUGUSTINUS

1 Si forte illi qui inter vos catholici Christiani sunt,
talia mihi scripta miserunt, hoc tantum miror, quod

" For Aurelius see p. 40, note.

^ For the liy^rary at Hippo see note on p. 398.

" 1 Cor. ii. 9. ** Verimodus, his son, as on p. 446.

* To this point the letters have been arranged in chrono-
logical order, but the remaining letters cannot be dated and
are grouped in two divisions, controversial letters, and
letters to private individuals. Florentius is not further
known ; >Iadaura was mentioned on p. 16, note b. The

462

NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI)— NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII)

I am sending other books as well, though you did 7
not ask for them ; I did not want to do only VN'hat you
asked and nothing more. They are 0?! Faith in Things
Unseen, On Patience. On Continence, On Providence, and
a bulky book On Faith, Hope and Charity. If you read
all these while in Africa, send me your opinion of
them ; either send it to me or send it to a place from
^vhich it can be sent to me by my lord, the Senior
Aurehus." Yet wherever you are, I hope to receive
letters from you and to send some to you while I am
able. I have been very glad to receive the materials
you were kind enough to send to the assistance both
of my health, though it is only of the body, since you
want me to suffer no impediment in the devotion of
my time to God, and also of our library,^ so that we
may have the means of either preparing books or
repairing them. May the Lord recompense you,
both in this life and in the life to come, with those
blessings He has prepared ^ for such as He has willed
that you should be ! I beg you to convey my greetings
once again, as you did before, to the pledge of peace ^
entrusted to you and very dear to us both.

No. 55 (Ep. CCXXXH)

AUGUSTINE TO MY PRAISEWORTHY LORDS
AND WELL-BELOVED BRETHREN OF MA-
DAURA, WHOSE LETTER I RECEIVED BY THE
HANDS OF BROTHER FLORENTIUS '

If perchance those who are Catholic Christians 1
among you have sent me a letter of this kind, my

letter is interesting for its indication of the survival and
the strength of paganism, for which see also Nos. o-Q, 16
and 2A above.

463

ST. AUGUSTINE

non suo potius quam ordinis nomine. Si autem re
vera omnes aut prope omnes ordinis viri ad me
dignati estis litteras dare, miror quod " patri " et
" in domino salutem " scripsistis, quorum mihi super-
stitiosus 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
quam me salutare voluistis, tandem prudenti con-
sideratione cogitatis. Nam si non ita est, quaeso
vos, quid laesi, quid offendi benivolentiam vestram,
ut me titulo epistulae vestrae inridendum potius
quam honorandum esse putaretis, domini praedica-
biles et dilectissimi fratres ?
2 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 de-
siderare converti. Sed ubi legi cetera, refriguit
animus meus ; quaesivi tamen ab epistulae 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 in-
ridendum esse credidistis. Non enim potui cogitare

* The Ordo was the Senate of the municlpium^ or
municipal town of the Provinces ; sometimes it is called curia.
Its members are decuriones or cnrlales. See too No. 24 § 8
"cum leges . . . episcopus ordini replicasset." The word
Senatus was at this time reserved for the Senate at Rome.

^ As was ordered by the laws of 399 (Cod. Theod. xvi. x.

464

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII)

only surprise is that it was in the name of the muni-
cipal senate '^ instead of their own. But if, in very
truth, you all or almost all of the municipal senate
have deigned to write to me, I am surprised that
you have written the words " To Father Augustine "
and " Salutation in the Lord " ; for to my great grief
I am well aware of your superstitious devotion to idols,
against which idols it is easier to close your temples ^
than your hearts, or rather those idols are more
enclosed in your hearts than they are in your temples.
But perhaps you have at last given wise considera-
tion and thought to that salutary life which is in the
Lord and in which you wanted to give me salutation.
For if it be not so, I ask you, praiseworthy lords
and well-beloved brethren, what harm have I done
to your Benevolences, what offence have I given, that
you should think fit to mock at me by the super-
scription of your letter instead of honouring me ?

For when I read the words you ^vTote, " To Father 2
Augustine, eternal salutation in the Lord," I was
suddenly uphfted ^^ith such hope as to believe that you
had already turned to this Lord and this eternal
salvation, or were through my ministry desirous of
turning. But when I read the rest, my spirit was
chilled : I inquired, however, from the bearer of the
letter whether you were already Christians or were
anxious to become so. After learning from his
answer that you were in no way changed, I was the
more deeply grieved that you thought fit not only
to spurn from you the name of Christ to which
you see the whole world already in subjection, but
even to make mock of it in my person. For I was

15-18) and 408 {ib. yivi. x. 19), when the pagan temples
were confiscated or turned to public uses.

2 H 46o

ST. AUGUSTINE

alterum dominum, secundum quein posset episcopus
** pater " a vobis vocari, praeter dominum Christum,
et si esset hinc aliqua de interpretatione vestrae
sententiae dubitatio, subscriptione epistulae tolle-
retur, 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 aliud mihi 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 banc veritatem inter-
clusit 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, eandem
salutem nobiscum habere nohtis ? Si autem fallaciter
atque inridenter haec scribitis, itane tandem mihi
negotia vestra curanda inponitis, ut nomen eius per
quem aUquid possum, audeatis non veneratione
debita adtollere, sed insultatione adulatoria ventilare ?
3 Sciatis me, carissimi, cum inefFabih 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
4S6

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII)

unable to think of any other Lord in whom a bishop
could be addressed by you as " Father," except the
Lord Christ ; and if there were any doubt on this
point about the meaning of the words you used, it
would be removed by the closing sentence of your
letter, in which you plainly put the words, '* We
pray, my lord, that always in company with your
clergy you may rejoice in God and His Christ for
many years." After reading it all and pondering
it, what else could I, what else can any man, think
than that it was written either as a genuine expression
of the writers' mind or vvith an intention to deceive ?
But if what you wrote is a genuine expression of
your mind, who has barred your way to this truth ?
Who has strewn it with sharp thorns ? Who has
out of enmity set up steep rocks against you ? W^ho,
finally, has shut the church door in your face when
you sought to enter, that you refuse to be partakers
with us of that same salvation in that same Lord by
whom you gave us salutation ? But if it was with the
intention to deceive and to mock that you wrote what
you did, is that indeed the way in which to lay upon
me the conduct of your affairs, not exalting with due
honour the name of Him through Whom it is possible
for me to do anything, but having the effrontery to
bandy it about with insulting flattery ?

You must understand, my dear friends, that it is 3
with unspeakable quaking of the heart on your
account that I say this to you, for I realize how much
greater will be the seriousness and the doom of your
case before God, if what I say to you has no effect.
There is nothing that has happened to the human
race in past times and has been recorded and handed
down to us by our ancestors, nothing either that we

467

ST. AUGUSTINE

tradiderunt, omnia etiam quae nos videmus et
posteris tradimus, quae tamen pertinent ad veram
religioneni quaerendani et tenendam, divina scriptura
non taeuit, sed ita oninino cuncta transeunt, ut tran-
situra esse praedicta sunt. Videtis certe populum
ludaeorum avulsum a sedibus suis per omnes fere
terras disseminatum atque diffusum ; et origo eius-
dem 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 pro-
pagatione diffunditur, de sola figura originis sub
Christiano nomine quasi arescentia sarmenta gloriari,
quas haereses et schismata nominamus ; praevisa,
praedicta, scripta sunt omnia. Videtis certe simula-
crorum templa partim sine reparatione conlapsa,
partim diruta, partim clausa, partim in usus alios
commutata, ipsaque simulacra vel confringi vel in-
cendi vel includi vel destrui, atque ipsas huius saeculi
potestates, quae aliquando pro simulacris populum
Christianum persequbeantur, victas et domitas non
a repugnantibus sed a morientibus Christianis et

"^ Like the temple of Caelestis at Carthage, which was
closed for pagan worship in 391, but consecrated by bishop
Aurelius in 399 as a Christian church. In C. Gaud. i. 38. 51
Augustine speaks of pagan temples overthrown by the
Donatists ; " pagan i quorum certe templa evertistis et ba-
silicas construxistis." The passage in Serm. 163. 2 bears a
resemblance to the text: " loca ipsa terrena [i.e. pagan
468

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII)

experience and hand down to our posterity, that
Holy Scripture has not spoken of, as far as it pertains
to the seekinpf and the holding of true rehorion ;
everything comes to pass exactly as it was foretold
it would come to pass. You plainly see the Jewish
people torn from their abode and dispersed and
scattered throughout almost the whole world ; the
origin of that people and its development and the
loss of its realm and its dispersion everywhere — •
everything has happened just as it was foretold.
You plainly see that the word of God and the law
that came forth from that same people through Christ
(Who was miraculously born of them) has laid fast
hold upon the faith of all the nations ; all these
things, as we may read, were predicted just as we
see them. You plainly see many cut off from the
root of the Christian society, which through the sees
of the apostles and the succession of bishops is spread
abroad in unmistakable diffusion throughout the
world, who yet boast, under cover of the Christian
name, of the mere outward likeness they bear to
their origin, like withered branches, which we term
heresies and schisms ; it was all foreseen, foretold and
put down in writing. You plainly see some of the
temples of idols fallen into ruin and not restored, some
cast down, some closed, some converted to other uses,"
and the idols themselves either smashed to pieces or
burned or destroyed ; and you see how the powers of
this world, who at one time for the sake of their
idols persecuted the Christian people, are vanquished
and subdued by Christians who did not take up
arms but laid down their lives, and have now turned

temples] in melius convertuntur, alia diruuntur atqiie fran-
guntur, alia in meliores usus commutantur."

469

ST. AUGUSTINE

contra eadem simulacra, pro quibus Christianos
occidebant, impetus suos legesque vertisse et imperii
nobilissimi eminentissimum culmen ad sepulcrum
piscatoris Petri submisso diademate supplicare.
4 Haec omnia divinae scripturae, quae in manus
omnium iam venerunt, ante longissima tempora
futura esse testatae sunt ; haec omnia tanto robus-
tiore fide laetamur fieri, quanto maiore auctoritate
praedicta esse in Sanctis litteris invenimus. Num-
quidnam, obsecro vos, numquidnam solum iudicium
dei, quod inter fideles atque infideles futurum esse
in eisdem litteris legimus, cum ilia omnia, sicut prae-
dicta sunt, venerint, numquidnam solum iudicium
dei venturum non esse putabimus ? Immo vero
veniet, sicut omnia ilia venerunt. Nee 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 oboedientiam 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

" Augustine is probably not thinking of any specific
incident, but he might well have had in mind the subjection of
the Emperor Theodosius to the Church under St. Ambrose.
And yet, in spite of his eloquence here, he acknowledges
elsewhere that Rome itself was still given over to idolatry
{Conf. viii. 2-3) ; in Ep. xxxvi. 4, he speaks of the Church
as " toto terrarum orbe diffusam, exceptis Romanis." This
fact accounts for the scant sympathy he shows at the fall
of Rome {Excid. Urbis, ii.). His language here is paralleled
by the words of St. John Chrysostom (C. Jud. et Gent. § 9) :
iv TTj ^aatXiKojTdTri 7r6\ei 'Pwyu.??, iravTa acpUvT^s, iiri tovs Td(f>ovs

470

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII)

their attacks and their laws against the very idols for
whose sake they were in the habit of slaying Chris-
tians ; and you see the most eminent dignitary of
this noble Empire lay aside his crown and bow in
supplication before the tomb of the fisherman Peter.'*

All these things were long, long ago foretold to 4
be coming to pass by the testimony of Holy Scripture,
which has now come into the hands of everyone :
all of them have happened, to our joy and to the
greater strengthening of our faith as we find the
Holy Scripture foretold them ^vith a more imposing
authority. Are we then, I ask you, to imagine that
it is God's judgement alone, which those same Books
foretell to their readers as deciding between the
believing and theunbeUeving — are we then to imagine
that this judgement of God's alone will not come
about, when all those other things came about just as
they were foretold ? Yea, verily, just as they all
came about, so it too will come. Nor will there be any
man of our times who at that judgement will be able
to put forward any defence for being an unbeUever,
when the name of Christ is on every man's lips : the
righteous invokes it for justice, and the perjurer for
deceit and the king for rule and the soldier for
battle and the husband for estabUshing his authority
and the wife as a sign of her submission and the
father for his commands and the son for his obedi-
ence, the master for his lordship and the servant
for his service, the humble man for piety and the
proud man for ambition, the rich man when he gives
away and the poor man when he receives, the
drunkard in his cups and the beggar at the gate, and

Tov dXtews Kal rod o-ktjvottolov rpexovcn Kal /SacrtXets /cat vraroi
Kal (TTpaTrjyoi.

471

ST. AUGUSTINE

et bonus, ut praestet, et malus, ut fallat, et Christia-
nus venerator et paganus adulator ; omnes Christum
cantant et, qua voluntate atque ore cantent, eidem
ipsi, quern cantant, rationem sine dubio reddituri
sunt.
5 Est quiddam invisibile, ex quo creatore principio
sunt omnia quae videmus, summum, aeternum, in-
commutabile et nulli efFabile nisi tantum sibi. Est
quiddam, quo se ipsa summitas maiestatis narrat et
praedicat, non inpar gignenti atque narranti, verbum
quo ille qui verbum gignit, ostenditur. Est quaedam
sanctitas, omnium quae sancte 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 serenis-
sima et sincerissima mente contueri eoque contuitu
beatitudinem ducere, atque in id quod intuetur,
deficiens quodam modo se oblivisci et pergere in
illud, cuius visione sibi vilis est, quod est inmortalitate
indui et obtinere aeternam salutem, per quam me
salutare dignamini — quis hoc possit, nisi qui omnes

" Salvian, Gub. Dei, iv. 15. 71, gives similar testimony
to the common use of the name of Christ : " Quis est
omnino hominum saecularium praeter paucos, qui non ad
hoc semper Christi nomen in ore habeat ut peieret ? Unde
etiam pervulgatum hoc fere et apud nobiles et apud ignobiles
sacramentum est : ' per Christum quia hoc facio,' ' per
Christum quia hoc ago,' . . . ¥A quid plura ? In id penitus
deducta res est, ut . . . Christi nomen non videatur iam
sacramentum esse, sed sermo." Augustine seems nowhere
else to refer to this practice, but he frequently does speak
of the profane invocation of God's name, which he confesses
having been addicted to himself (*SVrm. 180. 10, " iuravimus
472

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII)

the good man that he may do good and the bad
man that he may deceive, both the Christian wor-
shipper and the pagan time-server — all repeat the
name of Christ, and with what purpose and what
lips they repeat it, to that same Christ, whose name
they repeat, they shall most assuredly render an
account. °

(There is an invisible something from which, as a 5
creator and first cause, all that we see derives its
being, supreme, eternal, unchangeable and in-
expressible save only to itself. There is a some-
thing by which that supreme majesty utters and
declares itself, the Word, not inferior to its begetter
and utterer, by which He Who begets the Word
reveals Himself. There is a certain holy thing, the
sanctifier of everything that is begotten in sanctity,
which inseparably and undividedly unites that un-
changeable Word, through which the First Principle
utters itself, with the First Principle, M'hich utters
itself in the Word which is its equal. Who could
contemplate with perfectly tranquil and pure mind
this whole, which I have attempted to express \\'ithout
expressing it and by expressing it not to express,
and from that contemplation draw blessedness, and
lose and forget self in that object of contemplation,
and press forward to that which, once seen, makes man
hold himself as nothing — M'hich means to be clothed
with immortality and to lay hold upon that eternal
salvation, in which you think fit to give me salutation
— who could do this, save he who, confessing his sins,

et nos passim, habuimus istam teterrimam consuetudinem
et mortiferam " ; cf. Serm. 307, 4-5, and for the common
habit, Serm. 12. 3, 180). He also mentions, in Serm. 4. 6,
the familiar habit of swearing " per lumina mea."

473

ST. AUGUSTINE

superbiae suae toros inanes peccata sua confitens
complanaverit seque substraverit mitem atque
humilem ad excipiendum doctorem deum ?
6 Quoniam ergo a vanitate superbiae prius ad
humilitatem deponendi sumus, ut inde surgentes
solidam celsitudinem teneamus, non potuit nobis hoe
tanto magnificentius quanto blandius inspirari, ut
nostra ferocitas non vi sed persuasione sedaretur,
nisi verbum illud, per quod se angelis indicat deus
pater, quod \-irtus 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 humiUari exemplo dei. Itaque
non Christus regno terreno decoratus, nee Christus
terrenis opibus dives, nee Christus ulla terrena
felicitate praefulgens, sed Christus crucifixus per
totum terrarum orbem praedicatur, quod riserunt
prius populi superborum et adhuc rident rehquiae,
crediderunt autem prius pauci, nunc populi, quia
tunc ad fidem paucorum et contra inrisionem popu-
lorum, cum Christus crucifixus praedicaretur, claudi
ambulabant, muti loquebantur, surdi audiebant,
caeci videbant, mortui resurgebant. Sic tandem
animadvertit terrena superbia nihil in ipsis terris esse
potentius humilitate divina, ut etiam saluberrima
humilitas humana contra insultantem sibi superbiam
divinae imitationis patrocinio tueretur.

° 1 Cor. i. 24. * 1 Cor. i. 23.

" Matt. xi. 5 ; Luke vii. 22.
474)

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII)

has laid low all the empty swellings of his pride and
prostrated himself in meekness and humility to receive
God as his teacher ? )

Since then we have first to be reduced from the 6
vanity of pride to humility, so that rising thence we
may acquire real exaltation, it was impossible for us
to have communicated to us this spirit (the more
glorious for its very gentleness) whereby our un-
governableness is subdued by persuasion instead of
by force, had not this Word — through Whom God
the Father reveals Himself to the angels," Who is
His strength and wisdom. Whom the human heart,
blinded by the desire for things visible, was unable
to perceive — condescended to act out His part in
human form and exhibit His being in such a way as
to make mankind more afraid of being uplifted by the
pride of man than of being brought low by the
example of God. So the Christ Who is preached
throughout the world is not a Christ Who is adorned
with an earthly kingdom ^ nor a Christ rich in earthly
possessions, nor a Christ shining with any earthly
splendour, but Christ crucified.^ This was a matter
for ridicule at first by proud nations and still is to
a remnant, but it was a matter for faith first to a
few, now to nations, for then according to the faith
of the few and in spite of the ridicule of the nations,
when Christ crucified was preached, the lame
walked, the dumb spoke, the deaf heard, the blind
saw, and the dead rose again. ^ Thus at last conviction
was brought to the pride of the world that nothing
in the world itself was more potent than divine
humility, so that under the protection of that divine
example the most wholesome human humility may
find shelter against the scornful assaults of pride.

475

ST. AUGUSTINE

7 Expergiscimini aliquando, fratres mei et parentes
mei Madaurenses ; hanc occasionem scribendi vobis
deus mihi obtulit. Quantum potui quidem in negotio
fratris Florenti, per quern 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 Hip-
ponem sunt, noverunt Florentium et multum eius
orbitatem dolent. Sed epistula mihi a vobis missa
est, ut non inpudens esset epistula mea, cum occasione
a vobis accepta idolorum cultoribus de Christo aliquid
loqueretur. Sed obsecro vos, si eum non inaniter in
mea epistula nominastis, ut non inaniter vobis haec
scripserim. Si autem me inridere voluistis, timete
ilium, quem prius iudicatum inrisit superbus orbis
terrarum et nunc iudicem subiectus expectat ; erit
enim testis aflPectus 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.

" The editors say that Augustine uses the term " fathers "
here because he was born at Tagaste, which is not far
from Madaura, and studied in Madaura as a boy.

476

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII)

Awake at last from your slumbers, ye men of 7
Madaura, my brethren and my fathers ! ° This
opportunity of writing to you has been furnished me
by God. As far as was possible, I stood by and
gave my assistance, as God willed, in this affair of
brother Florentius, who brought your letter to me ;
but the affair was such that even without my aid
it could very easily have been carried through, for
almost all the men of that family who are at Hippo
know Florentius and deeply lament his bereavement.
But your having sent a letter to me made it not
presumiptuous in me to write to you and, availing
myself of the opportunity you provided, to say some-
thing to idol-worshippers about Christ. But I beseech
you, if your naming of Him in your letter was not a
vain gesture, that what I have written to ypu may
not be in vain. If you wanted to make mock of me,
fear Him Who on being at first condemned was made
mock of by the proud world, which now awaits Him
in subjection as Judge. For my heart's desire for
you, expressed as well as I could in these pages, will
be a witness against you at His judgement, when
He will confirm those who believe in Him and
confound those who do not. May the one true
God free you from all the vanity of this world, my
praiseworthy lords and well-beloved brethren, and
turn vou to Himself.

477

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 56 (Ep. CCXLV)

DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ET VENERABILI FRA-
TRI ET COXSACERDOTI POSSIDIO ET QUI
TECUM SUNT FRATRIBUS AUGUSTINUS ET
QUI MECUM SUNT FRATRES IN DOMINO
SALUTE M

1 Magis quid agas cum eis qui obtemperare nolunt,
cogitandum est, quam quern ad modum eis ostendas
non licere quod faciunt. Sed nunc epistula sancti-
tatis tuae et occupatissimum me repperit et celerri-
mus baiuli reditus neque non rescribere tibi neque
ad ea quae consuluisti, ita ut oportet, respondere
pemiisit. Nolo tamen de ornamentis auri vel vestis
praeproperam habeas in prohibendo sententiam, nisi
eos qui, neque coniugati neque coniugari cupientes,
cogitare debent quo modo placeant deo. Illi autem
cogitant quae sunt mundi, quo modo placeant vel wi
uxoribus vel mulieres maritis,nisi quod capillos nudare
feminas, quas etiam caput velare apostolus iubet,
nee maritatas decet ; fucari autem pigmentis, quo
vel rubicundior vel candidior appareat, adulterina

" For Possidius see pp. 128, 190 above.

" 1 Cor. vii. 32-34. " 1 Cor. xi. 5-6.

^ The habit of painting the face was denounced by all
the Christian writers : Tertullian, De Cidt. Fern. ii. 7
" videbo an eum cerussa et purpurisso et croco et in illo
ambitu capitis resurgatis " ; Cyprian, De Uab. Vlrg. 14,
blames the fallen angels for teaching " oculos nigrore
fucare et genas mendacio ruboris inficere et mutare adul-
terinis coloribus crinem " ; Ambr. De Virginibvs, i. 6. 28
" quaesitis coloribus ora depingant, dum viris displicere
formidant " ; and frequently by Jerome: Ep. 54. 7 "quid
facit in facie Christianae purpurissus et cerussa ? " ; Ep.
107. 5 "cave ne aures perfores, ne cerussa et purpurisso

478

NO. 56 (Ep. CCXLV)

No. 56 (Ep. CCXLV)

TO MY WELL-BELOVED LORD AND VENERABLE
BROTHER AND FELLOW-PRIEST, POSSIDIUS,«
AND THE BRETHREN WHO ARE WITH YOU,
AUGUSTINE AND THE BRETHREN W^HO ARE
WITH ME SEND GREETING IN THE LORD

What you are to do with those who refuse to 1
comply requires more consideration than how you
can show them that what they are doing is unlawful.
But at present the letter of your Holiness has found
me extremely busy and at the same time the bearer's
great haste to return has not allowed me either to
make no reply to you or to give an adequate answer
to the problems on which you asked my advice.
Still, I should not like you to make any over-hasty
decision about the forbidding of ornaments of gold
or finery, except that those who are neither married
nor desirous of being married ought to be thinking
how they may please God. For that class of people
think of worldly things, how they may, if they are
husbands, please their wives, or if wives, please their
husbands ^ ; the one exception is that it is not becoming
in women, even in those who are married, to uncover
their hair, since the apostle bids them cover the
whole head.*' But as for painting the face ^ so that it
may appear ruddier or fairer, this is immoral deceit.

. . . ora depingas." In Doct. Chr. iv. 2L 49 Augustine
quotes passages from Cyprian and Ambrose on women who
paint the face, and in I)e Bono Vidtiitat/s, 19. 24, he advises
a virgin and a widow " simulatum candorem ac ruborem et
pigmentis ilHtum non adhiberetis, etiamsi viros haberetis ;
non putantes dignos quos falleretis, nee vos quae fallere
deberetis."

479

ST. AUGUSTINE

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 Chris-
tianarum non tantum nullus fucus mendax verum ne
auri quidem vestisque pompa, sed mores boni sunt,

Execranda autem superstitio ligaturarum, in quibus
etiam inaures virorum in summis ex una parte auri-
culis suspensae deputantur : non ad placendum
hominibus sed ad serviendum daemonibus adhibentur.
Quis autem possit speciales nefariarum supersti-
tionum prohibitiones in scripturis invenire, cum gene-
raliter apostolus dicat : S^olo vos socios fieri clae-
mo7iiorum, et iterum : Quae enim consojiantia Ckristi
ad Belial? nisi forte, quia Belial nominavit et
generalem societatem daemoniorum prohibuit, licet
Christianis sacrificare Neptune, quia nihil propria de

<* These amulets were used especially to cure diseases,
and their use seems to have been common at this time.
Augustine repeatedly refers to it {In Ps. 33, Seryn. 2, 18 ;
93. 20 ; In loan. Ev. 3. 14 ; Serm. 286. 7, 318. 3, etc.) and
in De iJoctr. Chr. ii. 20. 30 mentions it among other charms,
especially the earrings spoken of in the text : ' ad hoc genus
[superstitionis] pertinent omnes etiam ligaturae atque remedia
. . . sive in praecantationibus, sive in quibusdam notis quos
' characteres ' vocant, sive in quibusque rebus suspenden-
dis atque illigandis vel etiam aptandis quodammodo . . .
ad quasdam significationes aut occultas aut etiam mani-
festas ; . . . sicut sunt inaures in summo aurium singu-
larum aut de struthionum ossibus ansulae in digitis, aut
cum tibi dicitur singultienti, ut dextera manu sinistrum
polHcem teneas." He complains too that the ligaturae had
the name of Christ written on them, so as to avert the
suspicion of the Christians {In lo. Ev. 7. 6), and that it was
a common practice to fasten a copy of the Gospels to the
head, if it ached, as a doubly sure ligatura {ih. 7. 12).

480

NO. 56 (Ep. CCXL\0

I am quite sure that even their own husbands do
not want to be so taken in, and they are the only
people for whom women should be allowed to adorn
themselves, and that as a concession, not as a com-
mand. For not only is lying paint no real adorn-
ment of Christian men and women, nor yet is the
ostentation of gold and finery ; but a good character is.

It is an accursed superstition to wear amulets," 2
among which must be reckoned also the earrings^
that men wear on the top part of the ear on one side ;
they are employed not to please men, but to do
homage to devils. Who could expect to find in
the Scriptures individual prohibitions of every kind
of ungodly superstition, when the apostle says in
general terms, " I would not that ye should have
fellowship with devils,"'' and again, "For what
concord hath Christ ^^-ith Belial ? ",^ unless in naming
Belial and forbidding in general terms fellowship
\Wth devils, he perchance allowed Christians to
sacrifice to Neptune, because we do not read that
any prohibition was made of Neptune specifically. «

* The habit of wearing earrings is denounced by Cyprian,
De Hah. Virg. 14. " an vulnera inferre auribiis Deus voliiit,
quibus innocens adhuc infantia et maU saecularis ignara
crucietur, ut postea de aurium cicatricibus et cavernis pretiosa
grana dependeant, gravia etsi non siio pondere, mercium
tamen qaantitate?" and Jerome, Ep. 127. 3 " illae solent
purpurisso et cerussa ora depingere . . . et auribus per-
foratis Rubri Maris pretiosissima grana suspendere." These
passages refer to the wearing of earrings by women : there
is scantv evidence for their use by men.

<' 1 Cor. X. 20. ^ 2 Cor. vi. 15.

* The cult of Neptune is mentioned several times by
Augustine and seems to have been fairly common in North
Africa (C. Cresc. iii. 78. 89 ; Doctr. Chr. iii. 7. 11 ; In Ps.
183 ; Serm. 2, o ; In Ps. 145, 6. 12, etc.).

2 I 481

ST. AUGUSTINE

Neptuno vetitum legimus. Moneantur interim mi-
serij ut, si obtemperare nolunt praeceptis salubriori-
bus, saltern sacrilegia sua non defendant, ne maiore 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 bapti-
zatus est, auctor tibi esse non possum ; aliud est
enim facere, si cogaris, aliud consulere ut facias.

No. 57 (Ep. CCXLVI)
LAMPADIO AUGUSTINUS

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, quem ad modum
novit tibi congruere ac saluti 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.

2 Illud sane quanto citius ac breviter noveris, omnes
leges atque instituta omnia, disciplinae, laudes,
vituperationes, exhortationes, terrores, praemia, sup-

<* Lampadius appears to be mentioned only here.

482

NO. 56 (Ep. CCXL\')— NO. 57 (Ep. CCXLVI)

Meanwhile, let those unhappy people be warned
that if they refuse to comply Mith these more whole-
some counsels, they must at least refrain from de-
fending their acts of irreverence, from fear of involving
themselves in greater guilt. Yet what are we to do
^^-ith them, if they are afraid to put off their earrings
and are not afraid to receive the body of Christ while
wearing the devil's badge ?

I cannot accept responsibihty for the ordaining
of one who was baptized in the Donatist party ; it
is one thing to do it if you are compelled, and
another thing to ad\'ise you to do it.

No. 57 (Ep. CCXLVI)
AUGUSTINE TO LAMPADIUS ^

On the problem of Fate and Chance, which is seri- 1
ously perturbing your mind, as I noticed when I was
with vou and am now assured in a more m-atifvinsr
and definite manner by your letter, I ought to reply to
you at considerable length ; the Lord will enable me
to furnish you with such an explanation as He knows
Mill be best suited for you and for your spiritual
welfare. For it is no shght e\il that perverted
opinions not only induce men by the allurement
of pleasure to commit sin, but lead them away from
the remedy of confession to a defence of their sin.

Let me, however, at once and in a word assure 2
you of this, that all legislation and all rules, all re-
pressions, all commendations, censures, exhortations,
menaces, rewards, punishments, and all other things

483

ST. AUGUSTINE

plicia, ceteraque omnia quibus hunianum genus ad-
ministratur et regitur, penitus labefactari atque
subvert! nihilque in eis omnino iustitiae remanere,
nisi voluntas sit causa peccandi. Quanto ergo
licentius et aequius mathematiccrum inprobamus
errores, quam divinas leges vel etiam domorum
nostrarum curam damnare atque abicere cogimur,
quod nee ipsi mathematici faciunt ! Nam cum
aliquis eorum hominibus nummatis fatua fata vendi-
derit, mox ut oculum a tabellis eburneis ad domus
suae moderamen ac sollicitudinem revocaverit, non
solum vocibus sed etiam plagis emendat uxor em,
non dico si petulantius iocantem, sed si inmoderatius
per fenestram aspicientem animadverterit. Quae
tamen si ei dicat : " Quid me caedis ? Venerem
caede, si potes, a qua cogor hoc facere," tunc vero
ille non curat, quam vana verba componat fallendis
extraneis, sed quam iusta verbera inponat corri-
gendis suis.
3 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,

" Mathematicus was the popular term for " astrologer "
from the time of Tacitus and Juvenal, and Augustine follows
other writers in explaining that the proper term is genetldiaci
{Boot. Chr, ii. 21. 32 ; D'n^. Quaest. xlv. 2). In Conf. iv. 3,
he tells how he once consulted astrologers himself. He often
has occasion to point out the absurdity of their pretensions
{Gen. ad Litt. 2. 35 ; In loan. Ev. 8. 11 ; In Ps. 40. 3, 61.
23, 140. 9 where he repeats very nearly the words of this
letter : " mathematicus si uxorem suam paulo petulantius
viderit conversari . . . aut fenestram crebro repetere, nonne
arripit, verberat, et dat disciplinam ? Respondeat illi uxor :
' Si potes, Venerem caede, non me ' " ; Ep. Iv. 12-13, where
he repeats his argument that to believe them is to deny the

484

NO. 57 (Ep. CCXLVI)

by which the human race is controlled and governed,
are utterly overthrown and subverted and left devoid
of any particle of justice, if the cause of sinning is
not the ^^dll. How much more legitimate and right,
therefore, is it for us to reject the errors of the
astrologers ,** than to be forced to condemn and
repudiate the divine laws or even the supervision
of our oMTi households. The astrologers themselves
do not do so, for when one of them has sold his silly
horoscopes to wealthy persons and turns his eyes
away from the ivory tablets to the management and
supervision of his own household, he immediately
reproves his wife, not with objurgations only but even
M'ith blows, if he finds her not to say engaged in
fro ward dalliance, but even looking too much out of
the window. Yet if she were to say to him : " Why
do you beat me ? Beat Venus, if you can, for it is
the influence of her planet that makes me do this,"
his concern then is not what empty jargon he can
concoct for the deception of strangers, but what just
lashes he can inflict for the correction of his own
household.^

When a man, then, upon receiving censure, throws 3
the responsibility on Fate and therefore declines to
accept the blame on the ground that it was under
the compulsion of Fate that he did the action which

freedom of the will). Astrologers were condemned both by
civil laws (in 357, 358, 370, 409), and by ecclesiastical
councils, but they continued to flourish.

^ The careful and prolonged jingle in verba componat
faUendis extrane'is and verhera inponat corrigendls suis is
almost beyond reproduction in English. The play on verba
and verbera, or verbero, is not infrequent in Augustine
(Ep. clxxxv. 15 ; Fid. et Symb. 3. 3 ; In loan. Ev. 37. 4).
So in No. 59. 1, abripiii and subripuL

485

ST. AUGUSTINE

redeat ad se ipsum, servet hoc in siiis, non castiget
servum furem, fton de contumelioso filio conqueratur,
vicino inprobo non minetur. Quid enim horum
faciens iuste facit, si omnes a quibus iniiirias patitur,
non culpa sua sed fato inpelluntur ut faciant ? Si
autem iure proprio et patris familias diligentia, quos-
cumque homines pro tempore in potestate habet,
hortatur ad bonum, deterret a malo, imperat suae
voluntati ut obtemperent, honorat eos qui sibi ad
nutum oboediunt, vindicat in eos qui se contemnunt,
rependit gratiam beneficis, odit ingratos, egone ex-
pectabo ut contra fatum disputet, cum tanta eum
non verbis sed factis eloqui deprehendam, ut prope
manibus suis omnes mathematicorum lapillos supra
capita eorum frangere videatur ? His itaque paucis
si a\dditas tua contenta non est et hbrum ahquem
de hac re, quem diutius legas, desideras, patienter
tibi sunt expectandae 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 Htteris tuam non
piguerit caritatem, et quid de hac epistula sentias,
rescribendo edocueris.

486

NO. 57 (Ep. CCXLVI)

is condemned, let him come to himself again and
observe this same principle in dealing v,ith those
attached to him ; let him refrain from chastising a
servant who steals ; let him utter no complaint of an
abusive son and no threats to an offensive neighbour.
Would he be acting justly in doing any of these
things, if all those who do him some injury are
driven to perform such actions, not by any fault of
their own, but by Fate ? If, however, from his
personal rights and his responsibility as the head of
a household, he exhorts to good those persons who
for the time being are under his authority, deters
them from doing evil and commands them to carry
out his will, honours those who obey his nod, punishes
those who set him at naught, renders thanks to the
obliging, and hates those who are ill-disposed — shall
I expect him to argue against Fate, when I find him
proclaiming, not in words but in deeds, such con-
victions as to make him almost appear to be breaking
with his own hands all the tables of the astrologers
over their own heads ?

So then, if these few remarks do not appease your
thirst for information and you desire on this subject
a book that will take a longer time to read, you must
await ^\1th patience until I have a free interval, and
ask God to be pleased to grant me both the leisure
and the ability to satisfy your mind on this question.
Yet my eagerness ^\dll be increased, if your charity
does not grudge to ^\Tite often and remind me, and
also to reply informing me what }^ou think about this
letter.

487

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 58 (Ep. CCLIV)

DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET VENERABILI AC DE-
SIDERABILI FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI
BENENATO ET QUI TECUM SUNT FRA-
TRIBUS AUGUSTINUS ET QUI MECUM SUNT
FRATRES IX DOMINO SALUTEM

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. Hue accedit quia earn deus in
eeclesia sic tuetur, ut contra inprobos tueatur, non
ut cui voluero tradi possit, sed ut a quo non oportet
rapi non possit, domine Benenate dilectissime et
venerabilis frater. Condicio 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 sancti-
monialem, iocus sit potius garrientis quam sponsio
profitentis. Deinde habet materteram, cuius vir
honorabilis frater noster Fehx, dum de hac re
contulissem cum illo — neque enim possem aUter

" Benenatus was bishop of Tugutiana, the site of which
is not known. The girl referred to was an orphan whom her
father, a vir spectabUis (probably a magistrate), had en-
trusted to the guardianship of the Church. Four letters were
written by Augustine about her : cclii. to one Felix, declining
to take any action concerning her without consulting another
guardian, ccliii. to Benenatus, expressing surprise at receiving
through him the proposal for a marriage with a pagan, ccliv.
here translated, and civ. to Rusticus, the pagan who had sought
her hand, bluntly refusing his request. The practice of caring
for orphans dates from the early years of the Church, and it
4S8

NO. 58 (Ep. CCLIV)

No. 58 (Ep. CCLI\^

TO BENENATUS,^ MY SAINTLY AND REVERED
LORD AND LONGED FOR BROTHER AND
FELLOW-PRIEST, AND THE BRETHREN WHO
ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE AND THE
BRETHREN WHO ARE WITH ME SEND GREET-
ING IN THE LORD

The girl about whom your Holiness "s^Tote to me is
so minded, that if she were once of full age, she would
not be joined in marriage to anyone ; but her present
age is such that, even if she had a mind to marry, she
ought not at this stage to be given or betrothed to
any man. In addition to this, my lord Benenatus,
brother revered and well-beloved, the p^tection God
is giving her in the church is a prot^^ion against
wicked men, not an opportunity to give her over to
anyone I choose, but an opportunity to defend her
from seizure by any unsuitable person. The con-
dition, therefore, that you are good enough to suggest
seems to me satisfactory, if she gets married ; at
present, however, while I have greater hopes she
will carry out the intention she now expresses, I do
not know if she will get married, because at her age
the declaration that she wants to be a nun is rather
the whim of an irresponsible babbler than the vow of
one solemnly pledging herself. Further, she has an
aunt married to our esteemed brother Felix ; when
I consulted him about this (for I could not do other-
was regarded as fitting that the duties of guardianship should
be undertaken by the clergy. Augustine refers to this in
Serm. 176. 2 : " Pro magno commendantur episcopis patri-
monia pupillorum . . . Pupillum tuetur episcopus, ne
mortuis parentibus ab extraneis opprimatur."

489

ST. AUGUSTINE

vel deberem, — non quidem invitus accepit, immo
etiam gratulatus est ; sed iure amicitiae non im-
portune 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. lilud quoque cogitet sinceritas tua, quia
si mihi de nuptiis eius potestas summa ac tota tri-
buatur atque ipsa quoque iam matura et nubere
volens, cui voluero, se tradendam sub deo iudice
mihi commiHat, sic dico et verum dico mihi placere
istam condicionem, ut propter deum iudicem non
possim respuere meliorem. Quae utrum adventura
sit, utique incertum est. Quapropter videt caritas
tua quanta consider anda concurrant.. ut nunc a me
cuiquam promitti omnino non possit.

No. 59 (Ep. CCLVni)

DOMINO MERITO SUSCIPIENDO ET IN CHRISTO
DILECTISSIMO AC DESIDERANTISSIMO FRA-
TRI MARCIANO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO
SALUTEM

1 Abripui vel potius subripui et quodam mode

" This is the only place where Marcianus is mentioned.

490

NO. 58 (Ep. CCLI\^— NO. 59 (Ep. CCLVIII)

wise nor ought I to do otherwise), so far was he from
being reluctant to agree to it that he actually ex-
pressed his delight, but he regretted that they had
no written instructions on the matter, as their
friendly relations not unreasonably entitled him to
expect. ¥oY perhaps the girl's mother will come
forward, though she has not come forward as yet, and
her ^\ishes about the handing over of her daughter
naturally have, in my opinion, precedence over all
others, unless the girl is by that time of an age to
have a more legitimate claim to choose for herself
what she wants. Take this point too into considera-
tion, my true friend, that if supreme and undivided
power over her marriage were entrusted to me and
she herself, if of age and desirous of marrying, left
me free, with God as my Judge, to give her hand to
the one I desired, then I declare, and declare \\dth
sincerity, my satisfaction with the condition you
suggest, provided that, because of God my Judge,
I should not be repudiating a better one ; but
whether a better one will turn up, is naturally un-
certain. So your Charity vtdll see how many con-
siderations conspire to make it quite impossible for
me at present to promise her to anyone.

No. 59 (Ep. CCLVIII)

TO MARCIANUS,« MY LORD DESERVEDLY HON-
OURED AND BROTHER CHERISHED IN CHRIST
AND LONGED FOR, AUGUSTINE SENDS
GREETING IN THE LORD

I have torn myself away from my many pre- 1
occupations (or rather have slipped away and, so to

491

ST. AUGUSTINE

furatus sum memet ipsum multis occupationibus
meis, ut tibi scriberem antiquissimo amico, quein
tamen non habebam, quam diu in Christo non
tenebam. Nosti quippe ut definierit amicitiam
" Romani," ut ait quidam, " maximus auctor Tullius
eloquii." Dixit enim et verissime dixit : " Ami-
citia est rerum humanarum et di\'inarum cum
benivolentia 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 paenitet, favendo
velificabas, immo vero vela cupiditatum mearum
cum ceteris 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 claudi-
cabat ; erat enim rerum tantum modo " huma-
narum " non etiam " divinarum," quam vis " cum
benivolentia et caritate consensio."
2 Et posteaquam ilia cupere destiti, tu quidem
perseverante benivolentia salvum me esse cupiebas
salute mortal! et ea rerum prosperitate felicem,
quam mundus optare consuevit. Et iam sic itaque
aliquantum tibi erat mecum rerum humanarum
benivola et cara consensio. Nunc ergo quantum de
te gaudeo, quibus explicem verbis, quando eum
quem quoquo modo habui diu amicum, habeo iam
verum amicum ? Accessit enim rerum etiam con-
sensio divinarum, quoniam, qui mecum temporalem

" Lucan, B.C. vii. 62-63, quoted again by Augustine in
Ep. cxliii. 3 and Civ. Dei, xiv. 18.
^ Cicero, Lael. vi. 20.

492

NO. 59 (Ep. CCLVIII)

speak, stolen myself away from them) in order to ^\Tite
to you, my oldest friend ; and yet I did not really
have you as a friend until I clove to you in Christ.
You know, to be sure, the definition of friendship
given by " Tully, the greatest master of the Roman
tongue," as he has been called" ; he said, and said
very truly, " Friendship is agreement, with kindliness
and affection, on things human and divine." ^ At one
time, my dear friend, you were in agreement ^vith me
about things human, when it was my wish to
enjoy them as the common people do, and by your
encouragement you stretched my sails to the eager
pursuit of things whereof I am now ashamed — or
rather, along with the rest of my admirers of that
time (and you were among the chief of them) you
filled the sails of my ambitions Avith the breeze of
praise. On the other hand, our friendship was de-
fective on the side of things divine ^ of which at that
period no gleam of truth had come to me, though
they form the more important half of that definition ;
it included only the human things, not those as well
that are divine, although it was " agreement with
kindliness and affection."

And after I abandoned those desires, you with 2
persistent kindliness desired that in earthly welfare
I should do well and be successful with that material
prosperity which the world is wont to wish for one,
and so, because of this, you still to some extent shared
with me this kindly and affectionate agreement on
things human. So, now, how can I explain in words the
joy I have of you, when he who was so long my friend in
some kind of way , is at last my friend in a genuine way ?
For there has been added the agreement in things
divine as well, since you, who formerly spent this

493

ST. AUGUSTINE

vitani quondam iucundissima benignitate duxisti,
nunc in 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 quani modus earum
iustissime postulat, nee eas iniquo contemptu ab-
ieiendo creatori earum domino rerum caelestium
atque terrestrium faciamus iniuriam. Ita fit, ut
inter quos amieos non est rerum consensio divinarum,
nee humanarum esse plena possit ac vera. Necesse
est enim, ut aliter quam oportet humana aestimet,
qui divina contemnit, nee 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,
nee ex parte eras, quando nee in rebus humanis
mecum amicitiam veram tenebas. Rerum quippe
divinarum, ex quibus recte humana pensantur,
socius mihi nondum eras, sive quando nee ipse in
eis eram sive posteaquam ego eas utcumque sapere
coepi, a quibus tu longe abhorrebas.
3 Nolo autem suscenseas, nee tibi videatur absurdum
quod illo tempore, cum in vana mundi huius aestuarem,
quamvis me multum amare videreris, nondum eras
amicus meus, quando nee ipse mihi amicus eram sed
potius inimicus. Diligebam quippe iniquitatem, et

494

NO. 59 (Ep. CCLVIII)

temporal life with me in the most charming kindness,
have now begun to be Mith me in the hope of life eternal.
Now, indeed, even on things human there is no
disagreement between us, for we weigh them in the
knowledge of things divine, so as not to concede to
them more than their measure most justly demands,
nor yet to slight their Creator, the Lord of things
heavenly and earthly, by throwing them away with
undeserved contempt. It is on these grounds that
those friends who are not in agreement about things
di\ine cannot be in complete and genuine agree-
ment about things human either ; for of necessity
one who has a contempt for things divine must hold a
different opinion from what he should hold about
things human, and anyone who does not love Him
Who made man has not learned to love man aright.
Hence I do not say that now you are more com-
pletely my friend, instead of being, as you were
before, only partially so ; but, as far as reason can
show, you were not even partially so before, since the
friendship you cherished with me then was not even
genuine in things human : for, assuredly, you were
not yet my comrade in those things divine by which
the human things are rightly weighed. Partly it
was that at that time I had no interest in them my-
self, partly that after I began to have a taste (how-
ever slight) for them, you still entertained for them
a strong aversion.

I do not want you to feel annoyed or to think it 3
absurd that at that time, when I was aflame with
desire for this Morld's empty show, you were not
yet my friend, although you seemed to have a great
affection for me ; for then I was not even a friend to
myself, but an enemy instead. For I loved iniquity,

495

ST. AUGUSTINE

vera, quia divina, sententia est, qua scriptum est in
Sanctis libris : Qui autem diligit iniquitatem, odit
animam suam. Cum ergo odissem animam meam,
verum aniicum quo modo habere poteram ea mihi
optantem, in quibus ipse me ipsum patiebar inimi-
cum ? Cum vero benignitas et gratia salvatoris nostri
inluxit mihi non secundum merita mea sed secundum
ipsius misericordiam, tu ab hac alienus quo modo 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 ?

4 Gratias itaque domino, quod te mihi amicum
facere tandem aliquando dignatur. Nunc enim
nobis est " rerum humanarum et divinarum cum
benivolentia et caritate consensio " in Christo lesu
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 te ipsum ; in his duobus praeceptis tota
lex pendet et prophetae. In illo primo rerum divinaruin,
in hoc secundo rerum humanarum est cum benivo-
lentia et caritate consensio. Haec duo si mecum
firmissime teneas, amicitia nostra vera ac sempiterna
erit et non solum invicem nos sed etiam ipsi domino
sociabit.

5 Quod ut fiat, exhortor gravitatem et prudentiam
tuam, ut iam etiam fidehum sacramenta percipias ;

" Ps. X. 5, the Vulgate version, after the Septuagint 6 8^
dyairCov doLKiau ixLcrel Tir]u eavrov ^I'XW '^ the English reads,
" But the wicked and him that loveth violence, his own soul
hateth."

* Titus iii. 4-5. " Cicero, Lael. vi. 20.

496

NO. 59 (Ep. CCLVIII)

and that saying that is ^^Titten in the Holy Books is
true, because divine : " He that loveth iniquity
hateth his own soul." ^ Hating then my ovm soul as
I did. how could I have a true friend in one who wished
me those things in which I was suffering myself to be
my o^^^l enemy ? " But after that the kindness and
love of God our Saviour " ^ dawned upon me, not
according to my merits, " but according to His
mercy," how could you, when you were a stranger
to it, be my friend ? That which could give me
happiness was quite unkno^^^l to you, nor did you
love me in that wherein I had already been made a
friend (however poor) unto myself.

Thanks be therefore to the Lord, that He is good 4}
enough to make you a friend of mine now at last ;
for now we have that " agreement, with kindliness
and affection, about things human and divine " ^ in
Christ Jesus our Lord, Who is our real peace. In
two commandments He has summed up all God's
injunctions, saying : " Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and
with all thy mind " and " thou shalt love thy neigh-
bour as thyself ; on these two commandments hang
all the law and the prophets." '^ In the first of these
is " agreement, with kindliness and affection " about
things divine, in the second, about things human.
If you are ^\-ith me in holding these two command-
ments ^\ith tenacity, our friendship will be genuine
and everlasting and it will join us not merely to each
other but also to the Lord Himself.

That this may be so, I exhort you, my wise and 5
honoured friend, now also to partake of the Sacra-
ments available for those in full communion, for
«^ Matt. xxii. 37, 39, 40, etc.

2 K 497

ST. AUGUSTINE

decet enim aetatem et congruit, quantum credo,
moribus tuis. Memento quid mihi dixeris pro-
fecturo, comicum quidem de Terentio recolens versum
sed tamen aptissimum et utilissimum :

nunc hie dies aliam vitam adfert, 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 pecca-
torum. Nam omnino non est, cui alteri praeter
dominum Christum dicat genus humanum :

te duce, si qua manent sceleris vestigia nostri,
inrita perpetua solvent formidine terras.

Quod ex Cymaeo, id est ex Sibyllino carmine se
fassus est transtulisse Vergilius, quoniam fortassis
etiam ilia 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 vel dedisse
inter competentes vel daturum esse iam iamque
cognoscere. Dominus deus, in quern credidisti, et
hie et in futuro saeculo te conservet, domine merito
suscipiende et in Christo dilectissime ac deside-
rantissime frater.

** From what follows it is clear that Augustine wanted
his friend to be baptized. The habit of postponing baptism
as long as possible was still very common ; Basil, Gregory
of Nazianzus and Chrysostom, tfiough the sons of Christian
mothers, received baptism only when of mature years, and
Augustine himself was baptized only at the age of 33.
Infant baptism was not the general rule until the following
century. For fidelis in the sense of "a communicant"
see p. 438. ^ Terence, Andr. 189.

« Virgil, Buc. iv. 13-14, Rhoades's translation.

498

NO. 59 (Ep. CCLVIII)

this would become one of your age ° and be appro-
priate, in my opinion, to your character. Remember
your remark to me when I was on the point of leaving
you ; you recalled that verse from one of Terence's
comedies, but still, though from a comedy, very
apposite and proper :

To-day now introduces a different life
and demands a different character.*

If you were sincere in quoting it, as I have no right
to doubt you were, you certainly are li\-ing now in
such a way as to be worthy of receiving through
the saving rite of baptism the remission of your past
sins. There is none other at all, save the Lord
Christ, to whom the human race can say :

Under Thy guidance, whatso tracks remain
Of our old wickedness, once done away,
Shall free the earth from never-ceasing fear.**

Virgil confessed to adopting this thought from the
Cumaean, that is, the Sibylline, prophecy, and per-
haps that seer too had had some message to her
spirit about the only Saviour, which she had of
necessity to confess.

This, my lord deservedly honoured and brother
cherished in Christ and longed for, be it little or
be it perchance much, I have at any rate ^^Titten
you, though in one way and another extremely en-
grossed in business. I long to receive a reply from
you and to learn at any moment that you have
entered your name among the candidates for baptism
or are on the point of doing so. May the Lord God,
in Whom you have put your trust, keep you, my
lord deservedly honoured and brother cherished
in Christ and longed for, both here and in the
world to come !

'^99

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

DOMINAE RELIGIOSISSIMAE FILIAE ECDICIAE
AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

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 labe-
retur. Cum enim lugendus esset, si post conti-
nentiam 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 ceteris 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.

2 Omitto enim, quod ipsam continentiam, illo non-

" Ecdicia is not otherwise known.
" Eph. V. 30, etc.

500

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

No. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

TO THE MOST DEVOUT LADY, MY DAUGHTER
ECDICIA," AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN
THE LORD

After reading your Reverence's letter and asking 1
its bearer the questions that remained to be asked,
I have been very greatly grieved that you chose so to
act towards your husband that the edifice of chastity
which had already begun to be built up in him has,
through his failure to persevere, toppled to the pitiful
downfall of adultery. If after making to God a vow
of chastity and already undertaking its observance in
deed and in disposition, he had returned to his wife's
body, his case would have been deplorable enough ;
but how much more deplorable is it now that he has
plunged to deeper destruction, with such precipitate
collapse into adultery, furious towards you, in-
jurious to himself, as if his rage at you would be
the more violent if he accomplished his o"v\ti ruin !
This great mischief has come about because you
failed to treat him with the moderation you ought,
for although by agreement you were no longer
coming together in carnal intercourse, yet in all other
things you ought to have shoM-n the subjection of a
-wife to your husband in compHance with the marriage-
bond, especially as you were both members of the
body of Christ.^ Indeed, if you, a behever, had had
a husband who was an unbeliever, it would have
been your duty to conduct yourself with submissive-
ness, as the Apostles enjoined, so as to win him to
the Lord.

I leave out of account the fact that I know you 2

501

ST. AUGUSTINE

dum 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 vo-
luntas quoque eius accederet, nisi forte non legeras
nee audieras vel non adtenderas apostolum dicentem :
Bonum est homini mnlierem non tangere; propter fornica-
tiones autem unusquisque suam uxorem haheat et una-
qiiaeque suum virum haheat. Uxori vir dehitum reddat,
similiter autem et uxor viro. Uxor non kabet potestatem
corporis sui sed vir ; similiter autem et vir non kabet
potestatem corporis sui sed mulier. Nolite fraudare
invicem nisi ex consensu ad tempus, ut vacetis orationi,
et iterum ad id ipsum estote, ne vos temptet Satanas
propter incontinentiam vestram. Secundum haec verba
apostolica, etiam si se ipse continere voluisset et tu
noluisses, debitum tibi reddere cogeretur et illi deus
inputaret 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 de-
cuerat, ne ipse quoque in adulterium diabolica
temptatione traheretur, in reddendo huius modi
debito voluntati eius obtemperare convenerat, cum
tibi voluntatem continendi acceptaret deus, quia
propterea non faceres, ne periret maritus !
3 Sed hoc, ut dixi, omitto, quoniam postea tibi

« 1 Cor. vii. 1-5.
502

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

took this chastity upon yourself before he consented,
which was not according to sound doctrine, for he
should not have been defrauded of the debt you owed
him of your body, before his Mill too joined with yours
in seeking that good which is above conjugal chastity.
But perhaps you had not read or heard or meditated
upon the apostle's words : " It is good for a man not
to touch a woman ; nevertheless, to avoid fornication,
let every man have his own \vife and let every woman
have her own husband. Let the husband render unto
the wife due benevolence ; and like^vise also the wife
unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her
own body, but the husband ; and likewise also the
husband hath not power of his owti body, but the wife.
Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with
consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to
prayer ; and come together again that Satan tempt
you not because of your incontinency." " According
to these words of the apostle's, even if he had
desired to practise chastity and you had not, he
would be bound to " render you due benevolence,"
and God would give him credit for chastity, since
he would have been granting you marital inter-
course through regard not for his o^\^l weakness
but for yours, so as to prevent you from falling into
the damnable sin of adultery. How much more
fitting was it that you, who ought to have been
in greater subjection, should give way to his desire
in the rendering of this benevolence, so that he
might not be led by the devil's tempting into
adultery, since' your desire for chastity would have
been acceptable to God, as you were unable to carry
it out for fear of driving your husband to destruction !
I leave this fact, as I said, out of account, because

503

ST. AUGUSTINE

nolenti sibi ad reddenda coniugalia debita con-
sentire ad eadem continentiae pacta ipse consensit
et tecum continentissime diu vixit suoque con-
sensu a peccato illo, quo ei debitum carnis negabas,
ipse te absohit. 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 de-
buistis, a quo proposito si lapsus est ille, tu saltern
constantissime persevera. Quod te non exhortarer
nisi quia tibi ad hoc ipse consenserat. Nam si
numquam tenuisses eius adsensum, numerus te nullus
defendisset annorum, sed post quantum libet tempus
me consuluisses, nihil tibi aliud responderem nisi
quod ait apostolus : Uxor no?i hahet potestatem corporis
sui sed vir. De qua potestate sic tibi iam permiserat
continentiam, ut eam tecum et ipse susciperet.
4 Sed illud est quod minus te observasse contristor,
quia tanto humilius et oboedientius ei obsequi in
domestica conversatione debuisti, quanto ille re-
ligiosius tibi rem tam magnam etiam imitando con-
cesserat. Non enim quia pariter temperabatis a
commixtione carnali, ideo tuus maritus esse desti-
terat ; immo vero tanto sanctius inter vos coniuges
manebatis, quanto sanctiora concorditer placita
servabatis. Nihil ergo de tua veste, nihil de auro

" 1 Cor. vii. 4.
504

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

after you had refused to consent to render him this
conjugal benevolence he consented to the same bond
of continence and lived for a long time in the greatest
continence with you ; and by consenting he absolved
you from your sin in denying him carnal benevolence.
So now in this problem of yours the question is not
involved whether you ought to return to intercourse
with your husband ; for what you both with one
consent vowed unto God, you both ought to have
persevered unto the end in paying ; even if he has
fallen away from your resolution, do you at least
persevere in it with the utmost fidelity. I should not
be urging you to this course unless for the fact that
he gave you his consent to that plan ; for if you had
never obtained his assent, no lapse of years would
excuse you, but had you consulted me, however long
afterwards, I should have made you no other answer
than the saying of the apostle : " The wife hath not
power of her own body, but the husband." " By this
power of his he had already allowed you to practise
continence and undertook to practise it with you
himself.

But this is the point which I am grieved you did 4
not observe more carefully : you were bound to give
way to him in your private conduct with all the
greater humility and submission, since he had so
devotedly followed your example and conceded you
so much. For he had not ceased to be your husband
because you had both agreed to abstain from carnal
intercourse ; instead of that, the tie that bound you
to each other as husband and wife remained all the
more holy because of the greater holiness of the
resolutions you were with one accord carrying out.
You had no right, therefore, to do anything with

505

ST. AUGUSTINE

vel argento vel quacumque pecunia, 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, se eontinenter abstinuerat.
5 Denique factum est ut \anculum continentiae,
quo se dilectus innexuerat, contemptus abrumperet
et iratus tibi non parceret sibi. Sicut enim mihi
rettulit perlator epistulae tuae, cum cognovisset
quod omnia vel paene 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 elemosynas largius faciendas
forte pigrius movebatur, posset et ista condiscere,
si tuis inopinatis non feriretur expensis, sed ex-
pectatis invitaretur obsequiis, ut etiam hoc quod

" These were probably wandering monks, who were
numerous in Africa ; Augustine describes them in De
Opere Monachorum 28. 36 : " tam multos hypocritas sub
habitu monachorum usquequaque dispersit fdiabolus],
circumeuntes provincias, nusquam missos, nusquam fixos,
nusquam stantes, nusquam sedentes. AHi membra marty-
rum, si tamen martyrum, venditant ; ahi fimbrias et phy-
lacteria sua magnificant ; ahi parentes vel consanguineos
suos in ilia vel in ilia regione se audisse vivere et ad eos
pergere mentiuntur ; et omnes petunt, omnes exigunt,
aut sumptus egestosae egestatis, aut simulatae pretium
506

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

your garments, anything ^\'ith your gold or silver or
money or with any of your earthly property, without
his approval, for fear of scandalizing a man who had
joined you in vo'v\dng more important things to God
and had continently refrained from what he had
lawful authority to demand from your body.

Finally, it came about that when scorned he burst 5
the bond of continence with which he had girt himself
when loved, and from anger with you, did not hesitate
to harm himself. For, as the bearer of your letter in-
formed me, when he learned that you had given away
everything, or nearly everything, that you possessed
to two passing monks," of some kind or other, as if it
were alms you were giving to the poor, then he cursed
them and you together, and thinking that they were
the kind of men who " creep into other people's
houses," and not servants of God, and that they
had " led you captive " ^ and plundered you, he
was provoked to throw oif the holy obligation he had
undertaken along with you. For he was weak, and
therefore, since you seemed the stronger in your com-
mon resolution, he required to be supported by your
love and not disquieted by your obstinacy ; even if he
happened to be slower in being moved to greater
generosity in giving those alms, he could have learned
even that from you, had he not been exasperated by
your unlooked-for extravagance, but won over to it
by the comphance he expected from you ; so even this

sanctitatis." They are the monks referred to in the Bene-
dictine Rule as gyrovagi, the worst class of monks, " qui
tota vita sua per diversas provincias ternis aut quaternis
diebus per diversorum cellas hospitantur, semper vagi et
numquam stabiles et propriis voluptatibus et gulae illecebris
servientes."
^ 2 Tim. iii. 6.

507

ST. AUGUSTINE

temere sola fecisti, multo consultius dilectione con-
cordi multoque ordinatius et honestius ambo faceretis,
nee blasphemarentur servi dei, si tamen hoe fuerunt
qui marito absente atque nesciente ab ignota muliere
et aliena uxore tanta sumpserunt, et laudaretur deus
in operibus vestris, quorum esset tarn fida societas,
ut a vobis communiter teneretur non solum summa
castitas verum etiam gloriosa paupertas.
6 Nunc autem inconsiderata festinatione adtende
quid feceris. Ut enim de illis monachis, a quibus te
ipse non aedificatam sed spoliatam esse conqueritur,
ego bene sentiam nee homini prae ira turbatum
oculum habenti contra dei fortasse famulos facile
consentiam, numquid tantum bonum est quod
pauperum carnem largioribus elemosynis 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 ele-
mosynas inputaret ? Proinde, si recolis quid ad-
quisiveras, quando lucrata fueras virum tuum ut
tecum Christo sanctiore castitate serviret, intellege,
per illas elemosynas tuas quibus cor eius eversum

'^ Ps. vi. 8, " turbatus est prae ira oculus meus " (Vulgate :
" turbatus est a furore . . ."j
508

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

that you did of yourself so indiscreetly, you would
in harmonious affection have done together with
much more deliberation, much more orderhness and
more decency, and no blasphemy would have been
directed at servants of God (if that is what those men
really were, who accepted such large sums from
a woman they did not know, another man's wife, in
the absence of her husband and without his know-
ledge) and praise would have arisen to God from
your works. In them your companionship w'ould
have been so trustful that you would jointly have
embraced not only the strictest chastity, but also
glorious poverty.

Now, however, by your ill-advised haste see what 6
you have done. For although I were to think the
best about those monks by w^hom he complains you
were not edified but robbed, and were not readily
to take the part of a man w^hose eye was confused
by anger " against those who were perhaps God's
servants, is the good you have done in refreshing the
bodies of the poor by your over-generous alms as
great as the evil you have done in subverting
your husband's mind from his virtuous resolution ?
Or ought anyone's temporal welfare to have been
more precious to you than his eternal welfare ?
Would not God have credited you with still richer
alms, if, meditating a \vider sphere of mercy, you
had postponed the distribution of your wealth to
the poor in order to avoid putting a stumbling-block
in your husband's w^ay and making him die to God ?
So, if you recall what you gained when you won your
husband to the service of Christ with you in holier
chastity, you can understand how much weightier
is the loss with which you have been smitten

509

ST. AUGUSTINE

est, quanto graviore damno percussa fueris, quam
sunt ilia lucra quae caelestia 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 quern devoret inquirenti !

7 Neque hoc ita dicimus, ut, si quisquam scandali-
zatus fuerit de bonis operibus nostris, ab eis desisten-
dum putemus ; sed alia causa est alienarum aha
necessariarum in societate aliqua personarum, alia
fidelis alia infidelis, aha parentum erga fihos aha
fihorum erga parentes, alia postremo ea quae in his
rebus vel maxime intuenda est, viri et uxoris, ubi
mulierem coniugatam non hcet dicere : " Facio quod
volo de meo," cum et ipsa non sit sua sed capitis
sui, hoc est viri sui. Nam sic quaedam, ut com-
memorat apostolus Petrus, mulieres sanctae, quae in
deum sperahajit, ornahayit se subiectae suis viris, sicut
Sarra obsequehatur Abrahae dominum eum vocans, cuius ,
inquit, factae estis Jiliae,, cum ad Christianas, non ad
ludaeas feminas loqueretur.

8 Quid autem mirum, si pater communem fihum
nolebat huius vitae sustentaculis a matre nudari,
ignorans quid sectaturus esset, cum in aetate
grandiuscula esse coepisset, utrum monachi pro-
fessionem an ecclesiasticum ministerium an con-
iugalis necessitudinis vinculum ? Quamvis enim ad
meliora excitandi et erudiendi sint filii sanctorum,

" Isai. Iviii. 7. " 1 Pet. v. 8.

' Eph. V. 23. " 1 Pet. iii. 5-6.

510

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

through your almsgiving, which overturned his heart,
than is the gain which you thought you were laying
up in heaven. For if the breaking of bread for the
hungry " has a great place there, how great must we
believe to be there the place of the compassion by
which a man is snatched from the devil, " as a roar-
ing lion seeking Mhom he may devour " ^ !

Now, by this I do not mean that if our good 7
works put a stumbling-block in anyone's way, we
should imagine that we must cease from themi ; but
the case of strangers differs from that of those bound
to us by any tie : that of the believer differs from
that of the unbeliever, that of parents towards their
children from that of children towards their parents,
and finally the case (which in the present circum-
stances must be particularly considered) of a husband
and a wife, where the married woman has no right
to say, " I shall do what I like with what is my own."
She is not her own, but belongs to her head, that is,
her husband,^ "for after this manner," as the apostle
Peter reminds us,^ " the holy women also, who trusted
in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto
their own husbands, even as Sara obeyed Abraham,
calling him lord ; whose daughters," he says, though
he was speaking to Christian not to Jewish women,
" ye have become."

And was it surprising that a father refused to 8
have the son of both of you stripped by his mother
of the means of supporting this life, when he did not
know what career he would pursue when he came to
be a little older, whether he would undertake the
vows of a monk or service in the Church or the tie
of marriage relations ? For although the children
of holy parents should be prompted and trained for

511

ST. AUGUSTINE

ufiusqidsqtie tamen proprium donum habet a deo alius
sic, alius autem sic, nisi forte talia prospiciens et
praecavens reprehendendus est pater, cum beatus
apostolus dicat : Qiiisqids autem suis et maxime
domesticis non providet, fidem denegat et est injldeli
deterior. Cum vero de faciendis ipsis elemosynis
loqueretur, ait : Non ut aliis refectio, vobis autem
angustia. Pariter ergo consilium de omnibus habere-
tis, pariter moderaremini quid thesaurizandum esset
in caelo, 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 oboedienter, 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.

Porro si de faciendis elemosynis et in pauperes
inpendendis 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

« 1 Cor. vii. 7. ^ 1 Tim. v. 8.

' 2 Cor. viii. 13, where the Vulgate reads " non ut aliis sit
remissio, vobis autem tribulatio."
512

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

better things, still " every man hath his proper gift
of God, one after this manner, and another after
that "" ; unless indeed a father is to be blamed who
exercises foresight and caution about such things,
though the apostle says, " But if any provide not
for his own, and specially for those of his 0'^^^l house,
he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel."^
But when he speaks of almsgiving, he says, " I
mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened. " ^'
Together, you should deliberate on all matters,
together you should apportion what treasure you
should lay up in heaven and what you should leave as
a sufficiency in this life for yourselves and your house-
hold and your son, so that " other men " should
not " be eased and ye burdened." And in the
ordering and doing of this, if any better plan hap-
pened to occur to you, you should have suggested it
to your husband with deference and with obedience
submitted to his authority as that of your head. In
this way all sensible people to whom the report
could come of this good thing in you would rejoice
at the fruitfulness and peace of your household,
and your adversary would be put to shame, having
nothing to say about you that was amiss.

Further, if in the matter of alms-giving and be- 9
stowing your property upon the poor — a good work
and important, about which the Lord has given such
unmistakable commandments — it was your duty to
take common counsel A\-ith your husband, a Christian
and observing ■s\ith you the holy vow of continence,
and not to scorn his wishes, how much more
necessary was it for you, not to change or to
adopt against his will anything in the way of
attire or dress — a thing about which there are
2 L 513

ST. AUGUSTINE

imperatum ! Scriptum est quidem mulieres esse debere
in habitu ordinate, aurique circumpositio et intortio
crinium et cetera huius modi, quae vel ad inanem
pompam vel ad inlecebram formae adhiberi solent,
merito reprehensa sunt. Sed est quidam pro modulo
personae habitus matronalis a \dduali veste dis-
tinctus, 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 inoboedientiae male
quam ullius abstinentiae bono. Quid est enim ab-
surdius quam mulierem de humili veste \dro superbire,
cui te potius expediret obtemperare candidis moribus
quam nigellis vestibus repugnare, quia etsi te in-
dumentum monachae delectabat, etiam hoc gratius
posset marito observato exoratoque sumi quam illo
inconsulto contemptoque praesumi ? Quod si om-
nino non sineret, quid tuo proposito deperiret ?
Absit ut hinc displiceres deo, quod coniuge tuo

° 1 Tim. ii. 9 ; 1 Pet. iii. 3.

^ Two orders of widows are to be discriminated: (1) those
who were maintained by the Church and who gave a return
of either prayer or good works {cf. Stat. Eccl. Antlq. 103
"viduae quae stipendiis ecclesiae sustentantur tam assiduae
in Dei opere esse debent ut et meritis et orationibus suis
ecclesiam adjuvent"); (2) a more honourable order, not
confined to those over 60 or in need of support, who gained
merit from abstaining from a second marriage. The widows
who had taken this vow were distinguished by a special
dress (" vestis fuscior," Jerome, Ep. 38, 3), and the distinction
seems to have been much coveted. This class of widows

514

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

no divine orders for us to read. It is, indeed,
written that women should have " modest apparel,"
and " the wearing of gold " and " the broidering
of the hair " '^ and other suchlike things, usually
employed either for empty show or to give allurement
to the body, are deservedly condemned. But there
is a kind of matronly dress, befitting a person's
station, distinct from the garments of a widow, which
may become Christian wives without affronting
Christian decorum. If your husband did not wish you
to put that aside, so that you should not vaunt yourself
as a widoAV while he was still alive, ^ I am of opinion
that on this point he should not have been driven to
the scandal of quarrelling with you, for the harm done
by your disobedience was greater than the good
you did by any of your self-repression. For what is
more preposterous than a wife's domineering over
her husband about a humble garment, when it would
be more becoming in you to yield him compliance in
shining deeds than to contend ^\ith him about
gloomy clothes ? Even if a nun's dress pleased you,
you would have been happier in assuming even it
when you had sho^^^l due regard for your husband
and received his permission, than in presuming to
don that other, without asking his advice or paying
him any respect. And if he altogether refused to
alio v.- it, wherein would your resolution have been the
loser ? Far be it from us to imagine you would dis-

performed duties much like deaconesses, and by the eighth
century they were compelled to leave their private houses
and live in communities. Eventually, too, the order of
widows was confused with that of deaconesses, and the
ceremony of assuming widow's dress was performed before
the bishop, instead of remaining simply a private act of the
widow herself.

515

ST. AUGUSTINE

nondum defuncto non induereris sicut Anna, sed
sicut Susanna.
10 Neque enim et ille qui tecum iam coeperat
custodire tarn magnum continentiae bonum, etiamsi
coniugale, non viduale, voluisset ut acciperes indu-
mentum, ad indecentem quoque te compulisset
ornatum, quo etsi aliqua dura condicione cogereris,
posses habere in superbo cultu cor humile. Nempe
apud patres Esther ilia regina deum timens, deum
colens, 'deo subdita, marito regi alienigenae non
eundem secum colenti deum tamen subiecta
serviebat. Quae cum 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 i?ispector 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 nee 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

" i.e. By wearing a matron's dress instead of a widow's
dress. "Anna" is the prophetess of S. Luke ii. 36-38, one
of the godly remnant of Israel that was looking for the
coming of the Messiah ; she is taken by the Fathers as a proto-
type of true and holy widowhood. The story of Susanna is
told in the apocryphal part of Daniel, ch. xiii ; she is the
516

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

please God by wearing, while your husband was still
alive, not the dress of Anna, but of Susanna."

Nor even if he had \vished you to put on the 10
dress of a matron and not of a Vvidow, would he who
had already begun with you to observe the great
virtue of continence, have been driving you also to
adopt adornment that was unbecoming ; even had
he compelled you to it by some galling condition,
you could have had a humble heart beneath your
haughty finery. Surely, in the time of the patriarchs.
Queen Esther feared God, worshipped God and
obeyed God, and yet in submission served the foreign
king, her husband, who did not worship the same
God as she did. At a time of the utmost danger,
not to herself alone but to her race as well, Avho were
then God's chosen people, she prostrated herself
before God in prayer, and said in her prayer that
she regarded her royal adornment " as a menstruous
rag " ^ ; and so her prayer was immediately heard
and answered by Him " that pondereth the heart," «^
Who knew that she was speaking the truth. And
yet her husband was a man with many wives and
worshipped strange, false gods. But you, if your
husband had persevered in the resolution he had
undertaken with you and had not fallen into sin on
provocation from you, you had a husband who was
not only a believer and a worshipper with you of
the true God, but was also practising continence,
and who undoubtedly, recollecting your common

type of the chaste matron. See, for example, St. Ambrose's
praises of Susanna, Anna and the Virgin Mother, as types
of chastity in the wife, the widow and the virgin {De Vid. 4.
21-25).

* Esther xiv. 16. * Prov. xxiv. 12.

517

ST. AUGUSTINE

inmemor, etsi te ad coniugalia cogeret indumenta,
ad superba tamen ornamenta non cogeret.
1 Haec tibi scripsi, quoniam me consulendum pu-
tasti, 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 lacrimas tamquam vulne-
rati 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 paeniteat tribuisse
pauperibus sed eum boni tui operis participem et
moderatorem habere noluisse. Promitte de cetero
in adiutorio domini, si et ilium suae turpitudinis
paenituerit et continentiam quam deseruit, re-
petiverit, te illi, sicut decet, in omnibus servituram,
ne forte, ut ait apostolus, det illi deus paenitentiam et
resipiscat de diaholi laqueis, a quo captivus tenetur
secundum ipsius voluntatem. Filium autem vestrum,
quoniam de legitimis eum et honestis nuptiis sus-
cepisti, magis in patris quam in tua esse potestate
quis nesciat ? Et ideo ei negari non potest, ubicum-
que ilium esse cognoverit et iure poposcerit ; ac per
hoc, ut secundum tuam voluntatem in dei possit

« 2 Tim. ii. 2o-:>Q.
518

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

resolution, even if he did compel you to wear matronly
dress, would nevertheless not have compelled you to
wear proud ornaments.

I have written this to you, since you thought fit to 11
ask my advice, not in order to undermine your
righteous design by any words from me, but because
I am grieved at what your husband has done as
a result of your irregular and imprudent conduct.
It is your duty most earnestly to think how he may
be restored, if your wdsh to belong to Christ is sincere.
Put on therefore humility of mind, and in order that
God may keep you while you persevere, do not you
scorn your husband while he perishes. Pour forth
for him devoted and constant prayers ; offer the
sacrifice of tears as though they v.ere the blood of a
stricken heart, and write him an apology, begging his
forgiveness for that you sinned against him in doing
with your property what you thought should be
done, mthout asking his advice and consent ; not
that you should repent of having given to the poor,
but of having refused to let your husband share and
direct your good deeds. Promise for the future, with
the help of the Lord, that, if he repents of his evil con-
duct and returns to the continence he had abandoned,
you will be subject to him, as it is fitting you should
be, in all things, " if peradventure God will give him
repentance and that he may recover himself out of
the snare of the devil, by whom he is taken captive
at his will. ' ' " And as for your son, who does not know
that, since you got him in lawful and honourable wed-
lock, his father has greater authority over him than
you have ? So he cannot be denied him, when he
learns his whereabouts and claims him by law.
Hence, in order that he may be nurtured and

519

ST. AUGUSTINE

nutriri et erudiri sapientia, necessaria illi est etiam
vestra concordia.

No. 61 (Ep. CCLXVIII)

DOMINISDILECTISSIMISETDESIDERANTISSIMIS
SANCTAE PLEBIS GUI MINISTRO MEMBRIS
CHRISTI AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

Notissima mini et probatissima devotio sanctitatis
vestrae in domino nostro lesu Christo fiduciam dedit,
ut etiam absens praesumerem mide praesens gaud ere
consuevi, qui semper spiritu vobiscum sum, non
solum quia gratia domini nostri lesu 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
exactoresjcum proficisci cogerenturet ideo dilationem
dare non possent, gravissimis me querelis onera-
verunt, ita ut eis ilium traderem aut, quod sibi deberi
ostendebant, unde acciperent, providerem. Cumque
obtulissem Fascio ut vestram sanctitatem de necessi-

" In this letter to his congregation at Hippo, Augustine
appeals for a collection to enable him to repay to Mace-
donius a debt he had incurred to relieve their townsman
and fellow-Christian, Fascius, who being pressed by creditors,
took sanctuary in the church. By a law of Theodosius
{Cod. Theod. ix. 45. 1-3) Fascius was liable to seizure and
removal, unless the bishop discharged the debt. This
Augustine did by borrowing, but as Fascius has not repaid
him, he appeals for their help.
520

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)— NO. 61 (Ep. CCLXVIII)

trained, as you would have him, in the -vWsdom of
God, it is essential for him too that you both should
be in harmony.

No. 61 (Ep. CCLXVIII)

TO THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, MY WELL
BELOVED AND MUCH LONGED FOR LORDS
OF THE HOLY CONGREGATION TO WHICH
I MINISTER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS
IN THE LORD «

Your devotion, my holy brethren, to our Lord Jesus 1
Christ, well known to me and often tested, has g-iven
me, though absent, reason to place reliance in that
wherein I have been w^ont to rejoice when present :
in spirit I am always with you, not only because the
great sweetness of the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ ever continueth its fragrance, but also be-
cause you do not suffer me, who am your servant
in the Gospel, to endure any hardship. Now, our
brother Fascius was being pressed for payment of
a debt of seventeen solidi ^ by the tribute-gatherers
and found for the moment no way of escape from
his entanglement ; wherefore, so as not to suffer
bodily injury, he fled to the protection of Holy
Church.^ And as those tax-collectors were com-
pelled to take their departure and so were unable to
grant him a respite, they heaped on me the most
grievous abuse, declaring that I ought to hand him
over to them or to furnish the means wherefrom
they could receive the debt which they proved was
owing them. I made the offer to Fascius to speak to

^ This amounted to about £16.
" For sanctuary see p. 209.

521

ST. AUGUSTINE

tatibus eius adloquerer, pudore deterritus, ne facerem
deprecatus est. Ita ego niaiore necessitate coartatus
a fratre nostro Macedonio decern et septem solidos
accepi, quos in causam eius continue 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.
2 Nunc ergo, quoniam absens est, restat ut sub-
veniatis non illi, quern nemo compellat absentem,
sed pollicitationi meae, cuius existimatio vobis
semper est praesens. lam enim dies ad quern 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 com-
monitus, ut die pentecostes, quando aderat maior
vestra frequentia, sermonem inde facerem, peto ut
has litteras pro lingua mea praesente habere digne-
mini admonente vos et exhortante in cordibus vestris
deo et domino nostro, cui credidistis, qui numquam
discedit a nobis 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
facieiites 7ion dejiciamus; tempore enim suo metemus
infaiigabiles. Itaque, dum tempus hahemus, operemur
honum ad omnes, maxime autem ad domesticos Jidei.

" This is probably a citizen of Hippo and a member of
Augustine's church, and not the Macedonius who was
vicar of Africa in 414, when he was entrusted with the
duty of enforcing the imperial decrees against the recusant
Donatists. Several of the letters exchanged between him
and Augustine are extant {Epp. cliii.-clv.j.
522

NO. 61 (Ep. CCLXVIII)

you, holy brethren, about his needs, but, deterred by
shame, he implored me not to do it. So I myself,
under pressure of greater needs, accepted seventeen
solidi from our brother Macedonius," and these I
immediately handed over on his behoof, while he
promised that on a certain day he could meet the
repayment, and agreed that if he was not able to
meet it, an appeal should be made for him to that
compassion of yours, which it is your habit to dis-
play as a brotherly feeling for our brethren.

Wherefore, now that he is absent, it remains for 2
you to give your backing, not to him, for no one
can apply compulsion to him in his absence, but
to my promise, for with you my good name and
fame are always present. For already the day on
which he promised he would meet the debt, is past
and gone, and I find no reply to make to him who
gave me the amount on trust, save to do what I
promised I would do. But since I had no informa-
tion about this matter on the day of Pentecost, so
that I might have made an appeal when the crowd
at Church was greater than usual, I ask you to be
good enough to take this letter as my voice, while in
your hearts Our Lord and God speaks warning and
exhortation ; in Him you have put your trust, and
He never leaves us so long as we fear and honour His
name ; in Him I too am united with you, although
in body I seem to have departed from you ; from
Him comes the promise of the harvest of eternal life
from this seed of good works, for the apostle says :
" And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due
season we shall reap if we faint not. As we there-
fore have opportunity, let us do good unto all men,
especially unto them who are of the household of

523

ST. AUGUSTINE

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 inmortalibus recepturos. Et quoniam ipse
apostolus dicit : Hoc autem dico : Qui parce seminal,
parce et metet, intellegere debetis tempus esse, ut
donum vitae aeternae, cum adliuc 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.
3 Scripsi etiam presbyteris, ut, si quid minus fuerit
post conlationem 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
magis vestra dulcior erit thesauris ecclesiae, sicut
apostolus dicit : Xo7i quia quaero datum, sed requiro
fructum. Laetificate ergo cor meum, quia de fruc-
tibus vestris gaudere cupio ; vos enim estis arbores
dei, quas assiduis imbribus etiam per nostrum mini-
sterium rigare dignatur. Tueatur vos dominus ab

" Gal. vi. 9-10. & Matt. xxv. 34-40.

"= 2 Cor. ix. 6. " Phil. iv. 17.

* The mention of fruits suggests to him the trees that
bring forth good fruits (Matt. iii. 10, etc.), and he immedi-
ately applies the Scriptural idea to those he is addressing
— a frequent device with him. Cf. Ep. xxi. 5 " arbores
vivae " (p. 38 above) ; Ep. Ixxiv. 2 " fingite vos ante tempus
messis fugere permixta zizania, quia vos estis Sola zizania " ;
Serm. 11. 1 " Deus . . . excolens ecclesiam suam velut
agrum suum, quaerens fructum de arboribus suis " ; 72. 1
524

NO. 61 (Ep. CCLXVIII)

faith." ^ Since then he is of the household of faith,
a member of the Christian Chm-ch, a Catholic brother
of our owTi, for the satisfaction of whose needs I ask
you to do \yhat the Lord bids you do, do it without
grudging, without complaint, and \\\x\i gladness and
cheerfulness ; for your trust is in God, not in man,
and He has promised that you will lose nothing of
the things you do in mercy, but will receive
them on that day with eternal usury. ^ And since the
apostle himself says, " But this I say, He which
soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly," '^ you
should understand that now is the time for us, while
we are still in this life, to purchase ^^-ith haste and
cheerfulness the gift of eternal life ; for w^hen the
end of the world comes, it will be given only to those
who through faith have bought it for themselves
before it was possible for them to see it.

I have \\Titten to the priests as well that, if there 3
be any deficiency after the offering made by you,
my holy friends, they should make it up from the
Church's store, provided that you have all made
cheerful offering, each man as he v.-ill ; for v/hether
the gift come from you or from the Church, it is all
God's, yet your devotedness A\ill be far more accept-
able than the treasures of the Church, as the apostle
says, " Not because I desire a gift, but I desire that
fruit may abound." ^ Gladden my heart, then, for I
wish to have joy of your fruits ; for you are God's
trees which even through my ministry He deigns to
water -s^ith unceasing showers.^ ^^ay the Lord keep

" admonuit nos Dominus ut bonae arbores simus " ; 36. 4.
" arboribiis bonis et fidelibus banc adlocutionem praebet
apostokis " ; 12. 2 " quisquis igitur homo hodie bonus est,
id est, arbor bona ..."

525

ST. AUGUSTINE

omni malo et hie et in futuro saeculo, domini
dilectissimi et desiderantissimi fratres.

No. 62 (Ep. CCLXIX)

BEATISSIMO AC VENERABILI FRATRI ET CON-
SACERDOTI NOBILIO AUGUSTINUS

Tanta est sollemnitas ad quam me afFectus tuae
fraternitatis invitat, ut corpusculuni nieum ad vos
traheret voluntas, nisi teneret infirmitas. Possem
venire, si hiems non esset ; possem hiemem con-
temnere, 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 et
consacerdos. Salutationem debitam reddo meritis
tuis ; salutem vero m.eam commendo precibus tuis,
poscens et ipse a domino, ut dedicationem tantae
fabricae pacis prosperitas prosequatur.

" Augustine writes excusing himself on grounds of his
age and feebleness and of the winter season, from attending
the dedication of a church. Nobilius is not known and his
name does not elsewhere appear. From internal evidence
this appears to be among the last letters Augustine wrote :
the remaining letter in the complete collection is from the

526

NO. 61 (Ep. CCLXVIII)— NO. 62 (Ep. CCLXIX)

you from all evil, both in this world and in the world
to come, m]
for brethren.

to come, my well-beloved lords and much longed

No. 62 (Ep. CCLXIX)

AUGUSTINE TO MY SAINTLY AND REVERED
BROTHER AND FELLOW-PRIEST, NOBILIUS "

So important is the ceremony to which your
brotherly affection invites me, that I should drag
my poor body to you with willingness, were it not
detained by weakness. I might have come, had it
not been winter ; I might have scorned the winter,
had I been young ; for either the glow of youth
would have endured the rigour of the season, or
else the glow of summer would have allayed the chill
of age. As it is, niy saintly lord, my holy and revered
brother and fellow-priest, in winter I cannot bear
so lengthy a journey since I must bear with me the
frigidity of great age. I return the greeting that
I owe to your merits ; my own welfare I commend
to your supplications, while beseeching the Lord
myself that peace and prosperity may follow upon
the dedication of so great a building.

hand of an unknown correspondent. The date of the present
piece is probably the winter of 429-430.

52'

INDEX

The references are to letters, as numbered in th is selection,
and to paragraphs.

Abaddir, a god, 6. 2
Abel, his siulessuess, 41. 8, 9
Abraham, 35. 3 ; 54. 6 n. ; 60. 7
Abundautius, a proHigate priest,

18. 1, 2
Acolybes, duties of, 43. 1 n.
Actium. battle of, 5. 2
Adam, 41. 6, 8, 9 ; 50. 3
Aemilianns, his legacy, 21. 4
Aetius, 42. 1 n. ; his treachery. 51.

on.
Africa, Augustine's dwelling-place,

6. 2 ; proconsul of, 27. 1 n. ; 34.

1 n. ; 46. 1 n. ; 47. 5 n. ; dux per

Africam, 30. 1 n. ; vicar of, 61. 1
African Bishops, deputation of, to

the Emperor, 25 n. ; decidf^ not

to allow appeals to Rome, 47. 1 n.
African Church, disorders in the,

8.2, 4
Af^ilis, 14
Alaric, breaks his pledge to Rome,

22 n. ; defeated by Stilicho, 25.

3n. ; captures Rome. 26 n. ; sacks

Rome, 31 n. ; 32 n. ; 36 n. ; 37 n.
Albina, 32 n. ; 33
Albinus, the acolyte, 43. 1 ; 44. 1
Algiers, 47. 8 n.
AlypiuH, 1 ; 8. 1 ; note on his life,

1 n. ; 10 ; 33 n. ; insulted by the

people of HipiJO, 33. 1, 2, 3, 9,

11 ; 43. 1 ; 51. 3 ; 52
Ambrose, St., opposed to tolerating

pa'^an practices. 10. 10 n. ; 55. 3 n.
Amulets, use of, 56. 2 n.
Andrew, 15. 4
Anger, 13. 2 ; 49. 14

528

Anna, 60. 9

Antioch, 9. 3 n. ; 20 n.

Antoninus, Bishop, 47. 2 n., 3, 8, 9

Apringius, proconsul of Africa,
34 n.

Apuleius, birthplace of, 5. 1 n.

Aquitania, 14 n.

Archiater, or municipal doctor, 52 n.

Argentius, priest at Asna, 10. 12

Arian heresy, 51. 4

Armenian, manor of, 18. 1

Arnobius, 6. 4 n.

Asiarchs, 10, 12 n.

Asna, near Hij^po, 10. 12

Astarte, famous temple of, at Sicca,
53. 1 n.

Astrologers, their fooli-shness, 57. 2

Augustine, St., his physical weak-
ness, 3. 1 ; 53. 1 ; 62; his work on
the Catholic religion, 4. 1 : his
use of Stoic arguments, 5. 3 ;
bewails his own presumption, 7.
2 ; his ordination, 3 ; his un-
worthiness of the priesthood,
3, 4 ; asks Aurelius to pray for
him, 8. 9 ; in Italy, 9 n. ; made
Bi.shop of Hippo, 9 n. ; asks
Jerome to criticize his writings,
9. 6; his sermon on dogs and
swine, 10. 2 ; his sermon on
drunkenness, 3, 5, 6, 11; weeps
during his sermon, 7 ; hi.s
Contra Fau.^tuin, 11. 5 n. ; and
Simplician, 12 n. : suffers from
piles or tumours, 13. 1 ; on anger
and hatred, 2; admonishes
Eudoxius, 15 ; on the way to

INDEX

appoint the clergy, 17, 1 ; de-
clares he did not write a book
against Jerome, 20. 2 ; on legacies
left to monasteries; 21. 1-6 ; urges
the Calamans to adopt Christi-
anity, 24 n. ; a reader of Virgil,
2 n. ; on the immorality of the
pagan gods, 4 ; on the disturb-
ances of June the 1st, 8 ; his
contemjjt for pagan writings, 28.
2 ; his books De Mu.^ica, 3 ; on
the Psalms, 4 ; on being praised
by his friend, 29. 3-5 ; his weak
health, 31. 1 ; on the sanctity of
oaths, 33. 11 ; his friendship with
Marcellinus, 34 n. ; on the
punishment of criminals, 1, 2 ;
his controversy with Pelagius,
36 n. ; on the connexion of soul
and body, 38. 1 ; on visions,

2 ; his argument against tolera-
tion, 39. 2 ; on free-will, 3-5 ; on
baptism, 4 n. ; on charity, 6 ;
his De Trinitate, 40 ; his Dc
natura et gratia, 41 n. ; on the
Pelagian heresy, 3-10 ; death of,
42. 1 n. ; on military service, 4-6 ;
on love, 44. 1, 2 ; his approval
of conjugal continence, 45. 1 n.,

3 ; 51. 12 ; development of mo-
nasticism among women due to,
48. 1 n. ; his monastic Rule, 49.
o-lfi ; his letter on grace and
free-will, 50 n., 2-7 ; on bodily
adornment. 51. 1,2; on praise,
54. 2-4 ; his advice to Ecdicia on
conjugal chastity, 60

Augustine, St., of Canterbury,

10. 1 n.
Augustinian Rule, the, 49. 5-16
Aurelius, Bishop. 8; 17; 39. 8 n. ;

40 n. ; 43. 1 ; 54. 7

Baal Addir, 6. 2 n.

Bacchus, deprives men of reason,

6.4
Bagai, 39. 8 n.
Balearic Islands, 15 n.
Baptism, adult, Augustine on, 39.

4 n. ; 59. 4 n.
Barbarus, 38. 1
Barnabas, 33. 6

Baths, once a month, 49. 13
Bede, 47. 2 n.

Bee, the, if it sticks in the honey
dies, 4. 2

Benedict, St., Rule of, 49. 12 n.,
15 n. ; 51. 8 n. ; 60. 5 n.

Benenatus, Bishop of Tugutiana,
58

Bethlehem, Jerome in, 9n. ; 20 n. ;
43. In.

Bishop, the difficulty of worthily
discharging the duties of, 7. 1 ;
legal duties of, 24. 7 ; translation
of, forbidden, 47. 7 n.

Biskra, 51. 3

Boniface, Bishop of Cataquas, 25.3

Boniface, Count, Governor of
Africa, note on his life, 42. 1
n. ; his disgrace, 51. 1 n. ; his
marriage, 4 n. ; barbarian in-
vasions under, 7 ; 54 n.

Bonilace, Pope, 47. 1 n., 6, 9

Eonum, donum, 45. 3 n.

Britain, 44. 1 n.

Britons, the, 44. 1 n.

Bulla, 18. 1

Byzacena, 39. 8 n. ; 50 n.

Cabrera, 15 n.

Caecilian, Bishop of Carthage, 39*
7-i» ; his Act of Purgation, 49. 13 n.

Caecilianus, Roman legate, note on
his life, 23 n.

Caelestis, temple of, consecrated as
a church, 45. 3 n.

Caesarea, note on its historv, 47.
8n.

Cain, 41. 8

Calama, 13. 2 n., 3; 19 n. ; pagan
festivals held at, 24 n., 10

Caligula, 47. 8 n.

Campania, 14 n.

Capitulum, portion of Scripture,
10. 2 n.

Capraria 15 n.

Caprera, famous for manufacture
of goat's-hair garments, 15. 4 n.

Capua, 28 n.

Carthage, Church of, 8. 4 ; Augus-
tine's lectures in, 9 n.; Council of,
17. 2 n. ; 36 n. : 41 n. ; 48. 1 n. ;
Caecilianus in, 22 n. : 38. 3 ; con-
ference of, 39. 7 n. ; Svnod of, 47.
8 n. ; 53. 1 ; 55. 3 n.

Cassiciacum, 1. 1 n. ; 2. 1 n. ; 24.
2 u. ; 38n.

2m

529

INDEX

Castellum, Augustine's definition

of, 47. 2 n.
Cataquas, 25. 3
Catechumens, not present at

prayers, 33. 5 n.
Cathedra, defined, 47. 7 n.
Catholica, the Church Catholic,

47. 9 n.
Catholics, disputes between, and

Donatists, 34 n.
Cato, a model of pagan virtue, 24. 4
Celer, proconsul of Arica, a Dona-

tist, 47. 5
Celestine, Bishop of Rome, note on

his life, 44. 1 n., 4, 7 ; 47. 9 n.
Cemeteries, drunkenness in, 8. 3, 6
Chalcedon, Council of, 47. 2 n.
Chambering and Avantonness, a

great sin, 8. 3
Character Domini, 39. 3 n.
Characteres, 56. 2 n.
Charity, 39. 6
Charus, a deacon, 41. 7 n.
Chastity, conjugal, 51. 60
Cherchel, 47. 8 n.

Choir, in the early Church, 10. 8 n.
Christ, swearing by, 55. 4 n.
Christian names, 29 n. <

Christians, their .secret worship of

God, 5. 3 ; worship God only, 6.

5 ; concessiohs made to induce

people to become, 10. t» ; massacre

of, at Sufes, 16; their attitude

towards their enemies, 27. 1, 2
Chrysostom, his correspondence

with Italics, 26 n.
Churches, as sanctuaries, 30. 1 n. ;

66.1
Cicero (Tully), his Dialogues, 6. 3 ;

his De liepublica, 3 n. ; on friend-

.ship, 59
Circumcellions, break into the

church at Asna, 10. 12 ; their

violence, 34. 1 n.
Cirta, Profuturus made Bishop of,

9. 1 ; 30 n. ; 49. 13 n. See also

Constantine
Claudian, patronized by Stilicho,

25. 3 n.
Cluacina, the go<Jdess of purifica-
tion, 6. 2
Coelestius, 41 n.
Columella, 6. 2 n.
Comes per Africam, 30. 1 n.

530

Constantine, or Cirta, named after
the Emperor, 11. 5 n. ; 13.3; a
stronghold of Donatists, 35 n.

Constantine, Emperor, presents
the Lateran to the Church, 10.
10 n. ; allows appeals to Bishops
in civil suits, 24. 7 n. ; allows
churches to be used as sanctu-
aries, 30. 1 n.

Constantinople, municipal doctors
in, 52 n.

Cor habere, 51. 5 n.

Cordis aures, 46 n.

Cornelius, 42. 4

Corrigere, intransitive. 49. 3 n.

Corsica, 15 n.

Cosmetics, 56. 1 n.

Creed, candidates for baptism ex-
pected to memorize the, 52 n.

Cresconius, monk, 50. 1

Crispinus, Donatist Bishop of
Calama, 19 n.

Cyprian, 48. 1 n. ; 51. 9 n.

Darius, note on liis life, 53. 1 n.
David, his clemency, 34. 2 ; 42. 4
Death, the journey to, alone to be

planned, 3. 2 ; not feared by those

who die to bodily affections, 3
DeBcere, reficere, 54. 6 n.
Demetrias, the virgin, 37 n.
Devil-wonshippers, 14
Diocletian, 30. 1 n. ; 47. 8 n. ; j er-

secution under, 49. 13 n.
Dio.scurus, the physician, 52
Diospolis, Synod of, 36 n.; 41. 1 n.,

7n.
Dominica in albis, 11. 3 n.
Donati.st heresy, 47. 2
Donatist I'arty, the, terrorize

Xumidia, 10. 12 n. ; incident of

the violent young man who joined,

11. 2, 3
Donatists, disputes between, and

Catholics, 34 n. ; edicts against,

25 n. ; 27. 2 ; 28. 1 n. ; 35 n. ; 36.

2 n. ; 39. 7 n., 8 n., 9; 49. 4 n. ;

61. 1 n.
Donatus, priest of Mutngenna, 39. 7
Donatus, priest of the Donati.st

party, 17. 1, 2 ; 39 n.
D(jiiatus, Proconsul of Africa, 17 n.
Drunkenness, condemned by St.

Paul, 8. 3 ; in cemeteries, 3, 6 ;

INDEX

suppressed in Italy, 4 ; Augus-
tine's sermon on, 10. 3-6 ; on
saints' days, 4, 6 ; how it came to
be tolerated in the early Church,
9 ; drunk man in his cups swears
by Christ, 55. 4

Duties, temporal, if scrupulously
fulfilled make a man worthy of
being entrusted with eternal
things, 4. 2

Dux per Africam, 30. 1 n.

Earrings, used by men, 56. 2 u.
Easter, a festival at whicli prisoners

were released, 11. 2 n. ; neophytes

wore their white garments for

eight days after, 3 n.
Ecdicia, Augustine's advice to, on

the duty of a wife, 60. 1-11
Egj-pt, 5. 2 ; 49. 10 n.
El Kantara, 51. 3
Ennius, 54. 3
Estates in Africa. 30. 1 n.
Esther, Queen, 60. 10
Eucaddir, a priest, 6. 2
Eudoxius, Abbot, 15 n.
Eusebius, 11
Eustasius, 15. 4
Evauder, 6. 2
Eve, 41. 8
Evodius, Bishop of Uzalis, note on

his liie, 38 n.
Exedrae, 10. s n.
Exsufflatiou, 39. 8 n.

Fascius, 61. 1

Fast-days, 10. 2 n.

Faustus, the Donatist, 11. 5 n. ;

42. 1 n.
Faventius, 30. 1
Fear, the god, 6. 2
Felicitas, note on her life, 48. 1 n.
Felix, Bishop. 45. 1 n. ; his Act of

Purgation, 49. 13 n.
Felix, monk, 50. 1 : 58
Felix, patron .saint ofPaulinus, 14n.
Fever, the goddess, 6. 2
Fidelis, a communicant, 52. 1 n.
Firm us, 43. 1 ; 45. 1
Flora, the shamelessness of her

festivals, 24. 5
Floralia, the, held in abhorrence

by the Church Fathers, 24. 5 n.
Florentinus, 30 ; 55. 1, 7

Floras, monk, 50. 1 n., 3 n.
Fortunatus, Bishop of Cirta, 30 n.
Free-will, Augustine on, 39. 3, 4
Friendship, Augustine on true, 59
Fundus, 30. 1 n.
Fussala, 47. 2, 6, 9

Galatians, expounded by Jerome,

9. 3
Gaudentius, 29. 1

'•Gaudy," a euphemism for a

drunken festival, 10. 2
Gavinianus, 52
Gennadius, the physician, his

dream, 38. 3, 4
Genseric, King of the Vandals, 42.

1 n.
Germain of Auxerre, 44. 1 n.
Gildo, the rebel, 39. 8 n.
Gippi, 18. 1

Giraldus Cambrensis, 8. 3 n.
God, the existence of one supreme,

5. 1 ; not made up of minor deities,

6. 1 ; alone worshipped by the

Christians, 6. 5
Goths, the, sack Rome, 31. 2
Gregory the Great, on tolerating

the pagan practices of converts,

10. 9 n. ; 51. 8 n.
Guardians, clergy as, 58. 1 n.

Hadruinetuni, 50. 1 n.

Hair worn short by nuns, 49. 10 ;
nets worn o\er, ibid.

Heraclian, revolt of, 34 n. ; 37 n.

Hercules, 6. 2; his statue de-
stroyed, 16

Herosj Bishop of Aries, 41. 7 n.

Hiccouirh, cure for, 56. 2 n.

Hilari, 53. 1

Hilarinus, a municipal doctor, 52 n.

Hippo, the people of, refuse to let
Augustine leave. 8. 9 ; 11. 4. 5 ;
13. 2 n. ; 18. 1; 19 n. ; 21. 1 n.,
•5 ; 22. 2 n. ; 23; 25. 1 n., 3 n. ;
30. 1 ; 32. 1 n. , 2 ; the people of,
and the case of Pinianus, 33. 1, 3.
6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 ; 34. 1, 3 : 36
n. ; 38. 1 : 39. 7 n.. 8 n. ; 41. 7 n. ;
siege of, 42. 1 n. ; 43. 1 ; 47. 2, 5
n. ; 48. 1 n. ; 49 n. ; library at,
13 n. ; 51. 2 ; 53. 1 n. ; 54. 7 n. ;
55. 7 ; 61 n.

Honoratus, priest, 21. 4

531

INDEX

Honorius, dispute about his pro-
perty, 21. 1 n., 5

Honorius, Emperor, orders closing
of pagan temples, 16 n. ; 22 n. ;
his edict forbidding non-Christian
celebrations, 24 n. ; his Ediciuin
quod de unitate against the
Donatists, 25 n. ; his laws about
the demolition of idols, 2, 3 ;
his laws of Januarj' 21, 409, 30
n. ; 34 n. ; annuls rescripts in
favour of the Donatists, 35 n. ; 42.
1 n.

Horace, 13. 2 n. ; 54.3

Horani, Ad, 47. 3 n.

Huns, the, 51. 3 n.

Immortality, 38. 3, 4

Indevotio, 31. 1 n.'

Innocent, Pope, his letters to

Augustine, 22 n.
Innocentius, maltreated, 34. 1
lol, Phoenician colony, 47. 8 n.
Italica, 26 n.
Italy, Augustine in, 9 n.

Jacobus, 41 n.

James, the Apostle, 50. 4, 7

Jerome, in Bethlehem, 9 n. ; Augus-
tine urges him to translate the
Greek commentators, 2 ; his
translation of Job, 2 ; his books
on St. Paul's Epistles, 3; in
favour of presbyters being allowed
to preach, 10. 7 n. ; 20 n. ;
Augustine declares he did not
write a book against, 2 ; his letter
to Demctrias, 37 n. ; 43. 1 n. ;
49. 1» n., 13 n. ; on the five orders
of the Church, 52 n.

Jerusalem, 41 n.

Jews, the, never held drunken
festivals in the Temple, 10. 4 ;
dispersion of, 55. 3

Job, translated by Jerome, 9. 2

John, the Apostle, 42. 3

John, thi^ Baptist, 42. 4

John, Bishop of Jerusalem, 41 n,

John, tlie usurper, 51. 4 n.

Jove, his adultery, 5. 2 ; fought his
father from Olympns, 6. 1, 2 ; 24.
4, 5

Juba II., 47, 8 n.

Judas, 49. 4

Judges, the duty of Christian, 34. 2
Jugurtha, 53. 1 n.
Julian, Augustine's neighbour, 26. 1
Julian, Emperor, his attempt to

allegorize pagan mythology, 24.

5n., 8
Julian, of Eclanum, the Pelagian.

Juliana, 37 n.

Juno, 5. 2

Jurists, the, 39. 2 n.

Justinian, legalized episcopal inter-
cession for criminals. 24. 7 n. ;
47. 2 n.

Juvenal, 57. 2 n,

Lampadius, 57

Land in Africa, 30. 1 n.

Lares, town of, 53. 1 n.

Largus, x^roconsul of Africa, 46. 1 n.

Lateran Palace, presented to the

Church by Constantine, 10 n.
Laurentius, Bishop of Icosium, 47.

8n.
Lazarus, Bishop of Aix, 41. 7 n.
Le Kef, 53. 1 n.
Leo, the acolyte, 43. 1
Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome,

43. 1 n.
Leontius, the martyr, 10. 1 n.
Libraries, belonging to churches,

49. 13 n.
Lucan quoted, 5. 2 ; 59. 1
Lucifer of Calaris, 51. '.' n.
Lucillus, deacon, 22. 1, 2
Lucinianus, 3. 1
Lucitas, worship of, 5. 2
Lydda, 41. 7 n.
Lying never justifiable, 9. 3-5

Macarius, monk, 10. 1 n.

Macedonins, 61. 1

Madaura, 5. 1 n. ; 55. 1, 4

Majorinus, 4. 1

Manichee, Augustine becomes a, 9n.

Mappalia, 19 n.

Mappalians, the, re-baptized by

Crispinu.s, 19. 1, 2
Marcellinus, a tribune and notary

note on his life, 34 n.
Marcianus, 59
Marcus Aurelius, 16 n.
Mars, statue of, 6. 1
Martin of Tours, 7. 2 n.

532

INDEX

Martyrs' tombs, offerings on, 10.
10 n.

Massinissa, 11. 5 n.

Mauretania, 47. 8 n.

Maximian, 39. 8 n.

Maximus the Grammarian, his
pleasure in Augustine's conversa-
tion, 5. 1 ; aslvs Augustine to ex-
plain who the Christian God is,
5. 3 ; makes fun of Punic names,
6.2

Megalius, Bishop of Calama, his
death, 13.2 ; ordained Augustine,
2 n.

Melania, 32 n. ; 33 n., 4; her in-
fluence over Augustine, 5.

Memorius, probably Bishop of
Capua, 28 n.

Miggo, 5. 2

Mila, 11. 5 n.

Milan, pagan practices opposed in,
by Ambrose, 10. 10 ; 12 n. ; 28 n.

Miles Christi, 51. 12 n.

M ileum, 25 n.

Mileve, 25. 3 ; Council of, 47. 2 n.

Milevis, or Mila, near Constantine,
11. 5 ; 13. 3 n.

Militare J)eo, 51. 12 n.

Mind, the, superior to sight, 2. 2

Minerva, 5. 2

Monasticism, development of,
among women, 48. 1 n.

Monks, wandering, 60. 5

Monnica, mother of Augustine, 10.
10 n. ; death of, 38 n.

Moors, the, 51. 3 n.

Morin, Dom Germain, 50. 1 n.

Moses, breaks the tables of stone,
10.4

Moths, precautions against, 49. 12

Musica, De, Augustine's book, 28.
3n.

Mutugenna, 39. 7

Nam, but, 18. 1 n.

Names, Puritan, in Africa, 29. 1 n.

Nam])hamo, the martyr, 5. 2 ; 6. 2

Nebridius, 3. 1, 3

Nectarius, 13. 3

Nectarius, decurion of Calama, 24

n. , 3 n.
Neophytes, wear white garments

for eight days, 11. 3 n.
Neophytorum, dies, 11. 3 n.

Neptune, 56. 2

Nestorian dispute, 43. 1 n.

Nets worn on head, 49. 10

Nicaea, Council of, 47. 7 n.

Nobilius, 62

Nola, 14 n. ; 28. 1 n.

Novatus, Bishop of Sitifis, 22 n. ;

note on his life, 53. In., 2
Numidia, terrorized bv the Dona-

tists, 10. 12 n. ; 13. 2 n. ; 23 ;

Donatist disturbances in, 25 n. ;

38 n. ; 39. 8 n.
Nuns, have hair cut short, 49. 10 n.

Oaths, sanctity of, 33. 11-14

Olybrius, 37 n.

Olvmpius, Master of the Offices,

25 n.
Olympus, Mt., no sure evidence

that it is the abode of the gods,

5. 1 ; 6. 1, 2
Optatus, Bishop of Milevis, 11. 5 n,
Optatus, Bishop of Tinigad, 39. 8 n.
Ordination i^er saltum, 47. 3 n. ;

by force, 7. 2 n. ; 33
Ordo, municipal, 24. 8 ; 55. 1 n.
Origen, Jerome's admiration of, 9. 2
Orosius, 15 n.
Orphans, the Chixrch's care for,

58 n.
Ostia, 38 n.

Paganism, 5 ; 6 ; 10. 9 n. : 16 ;
24; 55

Painting the face, 56. 1 n.

Palestine, 36 n. ; 41 n., 7n.

Palladius, 44. 1 n.

Pallor, the god, 6. 2

Papa, used of all Bishops, 40. 1 n.

Paratianis, 30. 1

Parentalia, 8. 3 n.

Parochia, meaning "diocese," 47.
2 n.

Parthenius, 8. 9

Paul, Apostle, did not lie in rebuk-
ing Peter, 9. 4 ; on drunkenness,
10. 5 ; forgoes the subsidy due
to him, 21. 5 ; his vision, 38. 2
n. ; not allowed to exercise free-
will, 39. 3 ; on suicide, 39.5 ; 50. 6

Panl, brother, 52

Paul, deacon, 51

Paulinianus, brother of Jerome, 20.
3n.

533

INDEX

Paulinus, the poet, note on his life,
14 n. ; his work against devil-
worshippers, 14 ; 28. 1 n.

Pelagia, wife of Boniface, 51. 4 n.

Pelagian heresy, 41. 1 n., 3-10^ 43.
rn.";-44.rn.

Pelagians, the, 43. 1 n. ; in Britain,
44. 1 n. ; their heresy concerning
grace, 50. 3-5

Pelagius, the heresiarch, 36 n. ; 41.
1 n., 1-6

Peregrinus, Count, 52

Persius quoted, 54. 2, 4

Peter, Apostle, withheld from hann-
ful deceit, 9. 3 ; disorders in the
Church iu his time, 10. 10 ; and
the payment of tribute, 21. 5 ;
41. 3 ; 42. 4 ; 47- 9 ; 49. 4 ; 50. 6 ;
55. 3 ; 60. 7

Petilianus, 35 n.

Pinianus, 31 n. ; the dispute over
his ordination, 33 u., 1-7

Placidia, 42. 1 n. ; 51. 4 n., 5 n.

Plautus quoted, 6. 4 n.

Polemo, note on his life, 35. 2 n., 3

Possidius, 19 n. ; 28. 1 n. ; 48. 1 n. ;
56.1

Praise, to be turned to the well-
being of those who give it, 8. 8 ;
what true praise is, 54. 2, 5

Presbyters, forbidden to preach,
10. 7 n.

Primianus, Donatist Bishop of
Carthage, 39. 7 n. ; note on his
life, 8

Priscus, Bishop of Quinza, 47. 8

Privatus, legacy left to, 21. 4

Proba, 37 n.

Procopius, 47. 2 n.

Proculianus, Donatist Bishop of
Hippo, 11. 4 n., 5

Profuturus, appointed Bishop, 9
n. ; 13

Projectus, 44. 1 n.

Psalms, the, Augustine on, 28. 4

Punic language, the, 6. 2 ; often the
only one used near Hippo, 22. 2 n.

Puritans, the English, 29 n.

Quiza, Bishop of, 47. 8 n.
Quodvultdeus, 29. 1

Radagaisus, defeated by Stilicho,
25. 3 n.

534,

Ram, symbolism of, 54. C n.

Ravenna, 22 n.

Reality, better apprehended by the
mind than by the senses, 2. 2

Restitutus, his murder, 34. 1

Rioting and drunkenness, wrongly
considered tolerable, 8. 3

Roman Empire, the, 51. 8

Romanianus, 4. 1 n.

Romanus, 14

Rome, her worship of sham deities,
5. 2 ; 20. 3 n. ; misfortunes
of, due to Alaric, 22 n. ; 25 n. ;
captured by Alaric, 26 n. ; sacked
by the Goths, 31 n. ; 32 n. ; 36
n. ; 37 n. ; 38. 3 ; 43. 1 n. ; 44. 1
n. ; 47. In.; municipal doctors
in, 52 n. ; 53. 1 n. ; given over to
idolatry, 55. 3 n.

Rusicade, 30. 1 n.

Rusticus, 58 n.

Saltus, 30. 1 n.

Salvian, on the use of the name of
Christ, 55. 4 n.

Samsucius, Bishop of Tunes, 11,
6: 21. 4

Saname, 5. 2

Sanctuary in Churches, 30. 1 n. ;
61.1

Sara, 60. 7

Saturn, supposed by Virgil to have
been a man, 6. 3

Saturninus, asked to visit Augus-
tine, 8. 8

Seneca, 39. 2 n.

Seiiex, metropolitan, 7. 5 n.

Senses, the bodily, have no real
existence, 1

Septimus Severus, 51. 3

Servus Christi, 51. 12 n.

Seventy, translation of the Scrip-
tures by the, 9. 2

Severus, Bishop of Milevis, 13. 3
n. ; 14'; 22. 1 ; 25. 3; 29

Sicca, famous for Temple of
Astarte, 53. 1 n.

Sicily, 36 n.

Simplicianus, Bishop of Milan,
note on his life, 12 n. ; Augustine
asks him to criticize his work,
12.3

Sititis, 53. 1

INDEX

Sixtns, Bishop of Rome, note on

his life, 43. 1 n.
Sixtus, presbyter, 50 n., 3
Soul, connexion between body

and, 38. 1
Sousse, 50 n.

Stephen, St., Chapel of, 26. 3 n.
Stercutius, the god of manure, 6. 2
Stilicho, betrayed by Olympius,

25. 1 n., 2 ; note on his life, 3 n.
Strabonian, 18. 1
Strife and envying, rife among the

clergy, 8. 7
Sufes, note on its history, 16 n.
Suicide, 39. 5
Sursum cor, 42. 7 n.
Susanna, 60. 9

Swearing by Christ's name, 55. 4 n.
Symmachus, 37 n.
Syphax, 11. 5 n.

Tacitus, 57. 2 n.

Tagaste. birthplace of Alypius, 1

n. ; 10; 11. 6 n. ; 21. 1 n., 4, 6:

32. m., 2; 33. 1 n., 7 ; 38 n.
Temples, pagan, closing of, 55.

1 n., 3 n.
Teneo, to remember, 52 n.
Terence, 24. 4 ; 51. 9 n. ; 59. 5
TertuUian, 48. 1 n. ; 52 u. ; 56 n.
Thagura, 18 n.
Themistocles, 54. 3
Theodosius, Emperor, his laws of

December 80, 3S0, 30 n. ; 55. 3

n. ; 61. 1 n.
Theogenes, St., Chapel of, 26. 3 n.
Therasia, wife of Paulinus, 14 n.
Thiava, 21. 1
Timasius, 33. 6 ; 41 n.
Timgad, 39. S u.
Timothy. 29 n.
Tobna, 51. 3 n.
Toleration. Augustine's argument

against, 39. 2
Transitorius, 41. 8
Tubunae, 51. 3, 12
Tugutiana, Bishop of, 58. 1 n.
Tunis, 50 n. ; 53. 1 n.
Tunisia, 16 n.
Tiirres, near Hippo, 11. 6
Tuscany, 15 n.

Ubi est . . ., 48. 2

Urbanus. Bishoi) of Sicca, note on

his life. 53. 1 u.
Uzala, 38 u. ; 50 n.

Valentinian III., 51. 4 n. ; 53 n.
Valentinus, Abbot of Hadrume-

turn, 50 n.
Valerius, Bishop. 48. 1 n. ; Augus-
tine's appeal to, 7. 1-6 ; 10. 7 ;

Augustine's coadjutor, 13. 2 n.
Valerius, Count of Africa, note on

his lite, 45. 1 u.
Vandals, the, 42. 1 n. ; 51. 3 n. ;

54 n.
Varro, 6. 2 n.

Venus, 5. 2 : bald, 6. 2 : 53. 1 n.
Verba, verbera, 57. 2 n.
Verimodus. 53 2 n.
Vesta, 5. 2
Victor, 11. 5 ; 13. 3
Victor, Bishop, 47. S u.
Victor, brother of Xebridius, 3. 3
Victorinus, converted by Simpli-

cian, 12 n.
Vigilantius, opposed to tolerating

pagan practices, 10. 9 n.
Villae in Africa, 30 n.
Vindemialis, Bishop, 45. 1
Virgil, quotation from, 4. 2 ; 5. 4 ;

6. 3; Augustine a reader of, 24.

2 n. ; 59
Virginity, the glory of, 37
Virgins honoured in Africa, 48.

1 n.
Visions, Augustine on, 38. 2

Widows honoured, 48. 1 n. ; two

orders of, 60. 9 n.
Wife, duties of a, 60
Windows, looking out of, reproof

for, 57. 2 n.

Xanthippus, BLshop of Thagura,

18 n.
Xeuocrates, the philosopher, 35. 1

Zenobius, 1. 1 n.

Zosimus, his opinion of Olvmpius,
25 n.

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APPIAN'S ROxMAN HISTORY. Trans, by Horace

White. 4 Vols. (Vols. I. 3rd, IV. 2nd Impression.)
ARATUS: cf. CALLIMACHUS.
3

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

ARISTOPHANES. Trans, by Benjamin Bickley Rogers.

3 Vols. (Verse translation.) {^^rd Impression.)
ARISTOTLE: THE '' ART " OF RHETORIC. Trans.

by J. H, Freese.
ARISTOTLE : THE NICOMACHEAN ETHICS. Trans.

bv H. Rackham.
ARISTOTLE : THE PHYSICS. Trans, bv the Rev. P.

Wicksteed and F. M. Cornford. 2 Vols. Vol. I.
ARISTOTLE: POETICS: " LOXGINUS " : ON THE

SUBLIME. Trans, bv W. Hamilton Fyfe, and DE-
METRIUS : ON STYLE. Trans, bv W. Rhvs Robert*.
ARRIAN; HISTORY OF ALEXANDER axd INDICA.

Trans, by the Rev. E. Iliffe Robson. 2 Vols. Vol. I.
ATHENAEUS: THE DEIPNOSOPHISTS. Trans, by

C. B. On lick. 7 Vols. Vols. l.-l\.
CALLIMACHUS axd LYCOPHRON. Trans, bv A. W.

Mair, axd ARATUS, trans, by G. R. Mair.
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. Trans, by the Rev.

G. W. Butterworth.
COLLUTHUS: rf. OPPIAN.
DAPHNIS ANDCHLOE. Thornley's translation revised

by .L M. Edmonds : and PARTHENIUS. Trans, by

S. Gaselee. (2nd Impression.)
DEMOSTHENES: DE CORONA and DE FALSA

LEGATIONE. Trans, by C. A. Vince and J. H. Vince.
DIO CASSIUS : ROMAN HISTORY. Trans, by E. Carv.

9 Vols.
DIOGENES LAERTIUS. Trans, bv R. D. Hicks. 2 Vols.
EPICTETUS. Trans, bv W. A. Oldfother. 2 Vols.
EURIPIDES. Trans, by A. S. Way. 4 Vols. (Verse trans.)

rVols. I. and II. 5fK HI. 3;-^, IV. Uh Imp.)
EUSEBIUS: ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. Trans.

bv Kirsopp Lake. 2 Vols. Vol. I.
GALEN : ON THE NATURAL FACULTIES. Trans, by

A.J. Brock. {9nd Impression.)
THE GREEK ANTHOLOGY. Irans. by W. R. Baton.

5 Vols. (Vol. I. 3rtZ, II. 2nd Impression.)
THE GREEK BUCOLIC POETS (THEOCRITUS, BION,

MOSCHUS). Trans, bv J. M. Edmonds, ioth Imp.)
HERODES, ETC. A. D. KNOX: rf. TH?:OPHRASTUS,

CHARACTERS.
HERODOTUS. Trans, by A. D. Godley. 4 Vols. (2nd

Impression.)

4

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

HESIOD^ AXD THE HOMERIC HYMNS. Trans, by

H. G. Evelyn White. {4t?i Impression.)
HIPPOCRATES. Trans, by W. H. S. Jones and E. T.

Withington. 4 Vols. Vols. I.-IH.
HOMER: ILIAD. Trans, by A. T. Murray. 2 Vols.

(Vol. I. Srd Impression, Yo\. II. 0.11(1 Impression.)
HOMER : ODYSSEY. Trans, by A. T. Murray. 2 Vols.

(Vol. I. Ith Impression, Vol. II. Srd Impression.)
IS AE US. Trans, bv E. S. Forster.

ISOCRA'l ES. Trans, bv G- Xorlin. 3 Vols. Vols. I. and II.
JOSEPHUS. Trans, bv H. St. J. Thackeray. 8 Vols.

Vols. I.-IV.
JULIAN. Trans, by Wilmer Cave Wright. 3 Vols. (Vol. I.

2nd Impression.)
LUCIAN. Trans, by A. M.Harmon. 8 Vols. Vols. I.-IV.

(Vols. I. and II. Srd Impression.)
LYCOPHROX: cf. CALLIMACHUS.
LYRA GRAECA: Trans, by J. M. Edmonds. 3 Vols.

(Vol. I. Ond. Edition revised and enlarged.)
xMARCUS AURELIUS. Trans, by C. R. Haines. {Srd

Imp'f'ession revised.)
MENANDER. Trans, by F. G. Allinson. {2nd Imp. rev.)
OPPIAN, COLLUTHUS axd TRYPHIODORUS. Trans.

bv A. W. Mair.
PAUSANIAS: DESCRIPTION OF GREECE. Trans.

by W. H. S. Jones. 5 Vols, and Companion Vol. Vols.

I. and II.
PHILO. Trans, bv F. H. Colson and the Rev. G. H.

Whitaker. 10 Vols. Vols. I. and II.
PHILOSTRATUS : THE LIFE OF APOLLONIUS OF

TYANA. Trans, by F. C. Conybeare. 2 Vols. (Vol. I.

Srd, II. 2nd Impression.)
PHILOSTRATUS axd EUNAPIUS : LIVES OF THE

SOPHISTS. Trans, by Wilmer Cave Wright.
PINDAR. Trans, by Sir J. E. Sandys. {5th Impression

revised.)
PLATO: CHARMIDES, ALCIBIADES I. and II.,

HIPPARCHUS, THE LOVERS, THEAGES, MINOS,

EPINOMIS. Trans, by W. R. M. Lamb.
PLATO : CRATYLUS, PARMENIDES, GREATER and

LESSER HIPPIAS. Trans, by H. N. Fowler.
PLATO: EUTHYPHRO, APOLOGY, CRITO, PHAEDO,

PHAEDRUS. Trans, bv H. N. Fowler. i6th Impression.)
5

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

PLATO : LACHES, PROTAGORAS, MENO, EUTHY-

DEMUS. Trans, by W. R. IM. Lamb.
PLATO : LA^^'S. 1 rans. by the Rev. R. G. Bury. 2 Vols.
PLATO : LYSIS, SYMPOSIUM, GORGL\S. Trans, by

W. R. ^L Lamb.
PLATO : REPUBLIC. Trans, by Paul Shorey. 2 Vols.

Vol. I.
PLATO : STATESMAN, PHILEBUS. Trans, by H. N.

Fowler ; 10 X. Trans, by W. R. M. Lamb.
PLATO : THEAETETUS, SOPHIST. Trans, by H. N.

Fowler. (2nd Impression.)
PLATO: TIMAEUS, CRITIAS, CLITOPHO, MENE-

XENUS, EPISTULAE. Trans, by the Rev. R. G. Bury.
PLUTARCH: THE PARALLEL LIVES. Trans, by

B. Perrin. 11 Vols. (Vols. 1., II. and VII. 2nd Imp.)
PLUTARCH: MORALIA. Trans, by F. C. Babbitt.

14 Vols. Vols. I. and II.
POLYBIUS. Trans, bv W. R. Paton. 6 Vols.
PROCOPIUS; HISTORY OF THE WARS. Trans, by

H. B. Dewing. 7 Vols. Vols. I.-V.
QUINTUS SMYRNAEUS. Trans, by A. S. Way. (Verse

translation.)
ST. BASIL: THE LETFERS. Trans, bv R. Deferrari.

4 Vols. Vols. I. and II.
ST. JOHX DAMASCENE : BARLAAM AND lOASAPH.

Trans, by the Rev. G. R. Woodward and Harold Mattingly.
SOPHOCLES. Trans, by F. Storr. 2 Vols. (Verse trans-
lation.) (Vol. I. 5th Impression^ II. 4^th Impression.)
STRABO : GEOGRAPHY. Trans, by Horace L. Jones.

8 Vols. Vols. I.-VII.
THEOPHRASTUS : THE CHARACTERS. Trans, by

J. M.Edmonds; HERODES, CERCIDAS AND THE

GREEK CHOLI AMBIC POETS. Traas. by A. D. Knox.
THEOPHRASTUS: ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS. Trans.

by Sir Arthur Hort, Bart. 2 Vols.
THUCYDIDES Trans, by C. F. Smith. 4 Vols. (Vol. I.

2nd Impression revised.)
TRYPHIODORUS: rf. OPPIAN.
XENOPHON : CYROPAEDIA. Trans, by Walter Miller.

2 Vols. (Vol. I. 2nd Impression.)
XENOPHON : HELLENICA, ANABASIS, APOLOGY.

AND SYMPOSIUxM. Trans, by C. L. Brownson and

O. J. Todd. 3 Vols. (Vol. I. 2nd Impression.)

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

XENOPHON : MEMORABILIA and OECONOMICUS.

Trans, by E. C. Marchtnt.
XENOPHON: SCRIPTA MINORA, Trans, oy E. C.

Marchant.

VOLUMES IN PREPARATION

GREEK AUTHORS

ARISTOTLE : METAPHYSICS, H. Tredennick.

ARISTOTLE: ON THE MOTION AND PROGRESSION
OF ANIMALS, E. S. Forster.

ARISTOTLE : ORGANON, W. M. L. Hutchinson.

ARISTOTLE: POLITICS and ATHENIAN CONSTI-
TUTION, H. Rackham.

DEMOSTHENES : MEIDIAS, ANDROTION, ARISTO-
CRATES, TIMOCRATES, J. H. Vince.

DEMOSTHENES : OLYNTHIACS, PHILIPPICS, LEP-
TINES, MINOR SPEECHES, J. H. Vince.

DEMOSTHENES: PRIVATE ORATIONS, G. M.
Calhoun.

DIO CHRYSOSTOM, J. W. Cohoon.

GREEK LVMBIC AND ELEGIAC POETRY, J. M.
Edmonds.

LYSIAS, W. R. M. Lamb.

PAPYRI, A. S. Hunt.

PHILOSTRATUS : IMAGINES, Arthur Fairbanks.

SEXTUS EMPIRICUS, the Rev. R. G. Bury.

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY

LATIN AUTHORS

AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, J. C. Rolfe.
BEDE : ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, J. E. King.
CICERO : CATILINE ORATIONS, B. L. UUman.
CICERO : DE NATURA DEORUM, H. Rackham.
CICERO : DE ORATORE, ORATOR, BRUTUS, Charles

Stuttaford.
CICERO : IN PTSONEM, PRO SCAURO, PRO FON-

TEIO, PRO MILONE. PRO RABIRIO POSTUMO,

PRO MARCELLO, PRO LIGARIO, PRO REGE

DEIOTARO, N. H. Watts.
CICERO : PRO SEXTIO, IN VATINIUM, PRO CAELIO.

PRO PROVINCIIS CONSULARIBUS, PRO BALBO,

J. H. Freese.
ENNIUS, LUCILIUS, AND OTHER SPECIMENS OF

OLD LATIN, E. H. Warmington.
MINUCIUS FELIX, W. C. A. Ker.
OVID : FASTI, Sir J. G. Frazer.
PLINY: NATURAL HISTORY, W. H. S. Jones and

L. F. Newman.
ST. JEROME'S LETTERS: F. A. Wright.
SIDONIUS, E. V. Arnold and W. B. Anderson.
TACITUS : ANNALS, John Jackson.
TERTULLIAN : APOLOGY, T. R. Glover.
VALERIUS FLACCUS, A. F. Scholfield.
VITRUVIUS : DE ARCHITECTURA. F. Granger.

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