Migne Reading Room
PL 61 · cols. 178–184
Paulinus of Nola, Letters
Letters VI–VIII
EPISTOLA VI.
LETTER VI.
Domino sancto fratri et unanimo Augustino, Paulinus et Therasia peccatores.
To his lord, his holy and like-minded brother Augustine, Paulinus and Therasia, sinners.
1. Jamdudum frater in Christo Domino, mi unanime, ut te in sanctis et piis laboribus tuis nescientem agnovi, absentemque vidi, tota mente complexus, alloquio quoque familiari atque fraterno per litteras adire properavi. Et credo in manu et in gratia Domini sermonem meum ad te fuisse perlatum: sed morante adhuc puero, quem ad te aliosque dilectos aeque Deo salutandos ante hiemem miseramus, non potuimus ultra et officium nostrum suspendere, et desiderium sermonis tui cupidissimum temperare. Scripsimus itaque iterato nunc si priores ad te litterae nostrae pervenire meruerant; aut primo, si illis in manus tuas †perveniendi felicitas non fuit.
1. Long since, my like-minded brother in Christ the Lord, when I came to know you, unknown to yourself, in your holy and pious labours, and saw you though absent, I embraced you with my whole mind and hastened to approach you also with a familiar and brotherly address by letter. And I believe that my word was carried to you in the hand and in the grace of the Lord: but since the servant whom we had sent before winter to greet you and others equally beloved of God is still delayed, we could no longer both suspend our duty and restrain our most eager longing for your word. We have written, therefore, now a second time, if our former letter was found worthy to reach you; or for the first time, if it had not the good fortune of coming into your hands.
2. Sed tu, frater, spiritalis omnia judicans amorem in te nostrum ne pendas officio solo, aut tempore litterarum. Dominus enim testis est, qui unus atque idem operatur in suis ubique caritatem suam, jam abinde nobis, ex quo te beneficio venerabilium episcoporum Aurelii et Alypii, per tua in Manichaeos opera cognovimus, ita inditam dilectionem tuam, ut nobis non novam aliquam amicitiam sumere, sed quasi veterem caritatem resumere videremur. Denique nunc etsi sermone, non tamen tamquam et affectu rudes scribimus, teque vicissim spiritu per interiorem hominem quasi recognoscimus. Nec mirum si et absentes adsumus nobis, et ignoti nosmet novimus, cum unius corporis membra simus, unum habeamus caput, una perfundamur gratia, uno pane vivamus, una incedamus via, eadem habitemus domo. Denique in omne quod sumus, tota spe, ac fide qua stamus in praesenti, nitimur in futurum: tam in spiritu quam in corpore Domini unum sumus, ne simus nihil, si ab uno excidamus.
2. But you, brother, a spiritual man who judges all things (1 Cor. 2:15), do not weigh our love for you by courtesy alone, or by the timing of letters. For the Lord is witness, who, one and the same, works (1 Cor. 12:11) His charity in His own everywhere, that from the time when, by the kindness of the venerable bishops Aurelius and Alypius, we came to know you through your works against the Manichees, love of you was so implanted in us that we seemed not to be taking up some new friendship but as it were resuming an old charity. In short, though we now write untaught in speech, yet not as though in affection too, and in turn we as it were recognize you in spirit through the inner man. Nor is it surprising if even when absent we are present to one another, and unknown we know each other, since we are members of one body (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12; 1 Cor. 10:17), have one head, are steeped in one grace, live by one bread, walk one way, dwell in the same house. In short, in all that we are, with the whole hope and faith by which we stand in the present, we strive towards the future: both in spirit and in the body of the Lord we are one, lest we be nothing if we fall away from the one.
3. Quantulum ergo est, quod absentia corporalis nobis invidet nostri, nisi sane fructum istum, quo pascuntur oculi temporalium exspectatores? Quamvis nec corporalis quidem gratia temporalis in spiritalibus dici debeat, quibus etiam corporum aeternitatem resurrectio largietur; ut audemus in virtute Christi et bonitate Dei Patris vel indigni praesumere. Quare utinam hoc quoque nobis munus annueret
3. How small a thing, then, is it that bodily absence begrudges us of one another, unless indeed that enjoyment by which the eyes of the onlookers of temporal things are fed? Although not even bodily grace ought to be called temporal in spiritual men, to whom the resurrection will grant even the eternity of their bodies; as we dare, even though unworthy, to presume in the power of Christ and the goodness of God the Father. Wherefore would that this gift too might be granted to us
Editors' notes and page, col. 178
Footnotes
(g) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 178
I Cor. II, 15.
1 Corinthians 2:15.
(printed under page 92)
(h) ‹anchor: aliquam amicitiam› · call in col 178
I Cor. XII, 1.
1 Corinthians 12:1.
(printed under page 92)
(i) ‹anchor: corporis membra simus› · call in col 178
Rom. XII, 5, I Cor. XII, 12; I Cor. X, 17.
Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12; 1 Corinthians 10:17.
(*) ‹anchor: not visible (title of Epistola VI)› · call in col 178 Alias 42; quae autem erat 6, nunc 1. Scripta an. 395.
Formerly 42; the letter that was 6 is now 1 [the last figure is unclear on the scan]. Written in the year 395.
(printed under page 92)
(e) ‹anchor: oculi temporalium› · call in col 178
Ita mss. duo Big. et edit. Bened. et Grav. Vide epist. 31, n. 6. Similiter juxta mss. codices, exspectare pro spectare, et exspectator pro spectator, saepe saepius apud Augustinum tom. IV. Item in veteri versione Latina Passionis SS. Martyrum Tarachi, Probi et Andronici, pag. 261 et 2[…] edit. Bigot. Ante erat spectatores.
So Bigot's two manuscripts and the Benedictine and Gravius editions. See letter 31, no. 6. Likewise, according to the manuscript codices, "exspectare" for "spectare" ("to watch") and "exspectator" for "spectator" occur again and again in Augustine, vol. IV; so too in the old Latin version of the Passion of the holy martyrs Tarachus, Probus and Andronicus, pp. 261 and 2[…] of Bigot's edition. Formerly the reading was "spectatores" ("spectators").
(printed under page 92)
(f) ‹anchor: virtute Christi et› · call in col 178
Mss. 14, inter quos d[uo] Big., bonitatis.
Fourteen manuscripts, among them Bigot's two: "bonitatis" ("of the goodness").
(printed under page 92)
Editors' prose
Augustino, non accepto ab eo responso, denuo per alios scribit Paulinus.
Having received no reply from Augustine, Paulinus writes to him again through other messengers.
<!-- note: Argumentum of Epistola VI. Not set: the editors' bracketed date inside the letter's text, "(Sub finem anni 394)", which belongs to the author's-text pass. -->
Page
- running head: EPISTOLA VI. 178
- marginal letters: A ‹EPISTOLA VI.›; B ‹pidissimum temperare›; C ‹riorem hominem quasi›; D ‹Christi et (f) bonitate›
- old-edition numerals: 31 after ‹credo›
gratia Dei per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, ut etiam in carne faciem tuam videremus. Non solum desideriis nostris magnum conferretur gaudium, sed etiam mentibus lumen accresceret, et ex tua copia locupletaretur inopia nostra. Quod quidem et absentibus largiri potes, hac praesertim occasione, qua filii nostri unanimes, et carissimi nobis in Domino, Romanus et Agilis, quos ut nos alteros tibi commendamus, in nomine Domini revertentur, opere caritatis impleto; in quo tuae caritatis affectu specialiter utantur, rogamus. Nosti enim quam celsa promittat Altissimus fratri fratrem adjuvanti. Per hos, si quo me gratiae quae tibi data est, dono remunerari voles, tuto facies. Sunt enim, velim credas, unum cor et una nobiscum in Domino anima. Gratia Dei tecum, ut est, in aeternum maneat, frater in Christo Domino unanime, venerabilis, dilectissime, et desiderabilis. Omnes in Christo sanctos, quales tibi cohaerere non dubium est, a nobis saluta. Commenda nos omnibus sanctis, ut tecum pro nobis orare dignentur.
by the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, that we might see your face in the flesh as well. Not only would great joy be brought to our longings, but light too would grow in our minds, and our poverty would be enriched from your abundance. This indeed you can bestow even on the absent, especially on this occasion, by which our like-minded sons, most dear to us in the Lord, Romanus and Agilis, whom we commend to you as our other selves, will return in the name of the Lord, their work of charity accomplished; in which we ask that they may enjoy in particular the affection of your charity. For you know what lofty things the Most High promises to a brother who helps a brother (Prov. 18:19). Through them, if you wish to repay me with any gift of the grace which has been given to you, you will do it safely. For they are, I would have you believe, one heart and one soul with us in the Lord (Acts 4:32). May the grace of God remain with you for ever, as it does, my like-minded brother in Christ the Lord, venerable, most beloved and longed for. Greet from us all the saints in Christ, such as no doubt cleave to you. Commend us to all the saints, that they may deign to pray with you for us.
EPISTOLA XXXI (Al. XXXIV)
LETTER XXXI (Formerly XXXIV)
AUGUSTINI AD PAULINUM ET THERASIAM.
AUGUSTINE TO PAULINUS AND THERASIA.
EPISTOLA VII.
LETTER VII.
Domino merito praedicabili, et honorando fratri Romaniano, Paulinus et Therasia.
To his lord, deservedly to be praised, and his honoured brother Romanianus, Paulinus and Therasia.
1. Pridie quam has daremus, reversis ex Africa fratribus nostris quorum exspectatione nos pendere vidisti, optatissime sanctorum et carissimorum virorum, inde epistolas receperamus, id est Aurelii, Alypii, Augustini, Profuturi, Severi, jam omnium pariter episcoporum. Ergo tot sanctorum talium recentissimis sermonibus gratulantes, properavimus ad te nostram referre laetitiam, ut tibi quoque exspectatum in peregrinatione sollicita gaudium festivissimis conferremus indiciis.
1. The day before we sent this letter, our brothers, on whose expected return you saw us hanging, came back from Africa, and we had received from there, to our great delight, letters of holy and most dear men, that is, of Aurelius, Alypius, Augustine, Profuturus and Severus, all of them now alike bishops. Rejoicing, then, in the very recent words of so many such saints, we hastened to bring our gladness to you, so that to you too, in your anxious sojourn abroad, we might bring the awaited joy with the most festive tidings.
Editors' notes and page, col. 179
Footnotes
<!-- Three series: scripture references (a–i), the dating note (*), and editor's notes (a)–(g). Small-capital numerals set as capitals. --> (printed under page 93)
(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 179
Prov. XVIII, 19.
Proverbs 18:19.
(printed under page 93)
(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 179
Act. IV, 32.
Acts 4:32.
(printed under page 93)
(c) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 179 or 180
Psal. LXVII, 36.
Psalm 67 (68):36.
(printed under page 93)
(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 179 or 180
Mss. duo Big., Alios.
Bigot's two manuscripts: "Alios" ("others").
(printed under page 93)
(b) ‹anchor: Augustini, Profuturi› · call in col 179
Profuturus is esse videtur qui in libro S. Augustini de Unico Baptismo contra Petil., c. 16, laudatur Cirtensis episcopus, et ad quem directa est ejusdem Augustini epistola 38 (al. 149). Evodius demum in epistola 158, n. 9 (al. 258), inter epistolas Augustini, Profuturum quem olim in monasterio noverat, apparuisse sibi per somnium, et futurum aliquid praenuntiasse, refert. Vid. not. 22.
This Profuturus seems to be the bishop of Cirta who is praised in St Augustine's book On the One Baptism against Petilian, ch. 16, and to whom the same Augustine's letter 38 (formerly 149) is addressed. Evodius, finally, in letter 158, no. 9 (formerly 258), among Augustine's letters, relates that Profuturus, whom he had once known in the monastery, appeared to him in a dream and foretold something to come. See note 22.
(printed under page 93)
(c) ‹anchor: Severi› · call in col 179
Severi Milevitani antistitis, de quo Augustinus epist. 31, n. 9 (al. epist. 34). Vid. not. 23.
Of Severus, bishop of Milevis, of whom Augustine speaks in letter 31, no. 9 (formerly letter 34). See note 23.
(printed under page 93)
Editors' prose
Augustinus Paulino pro secundis litteris ab eo receptis grati animi obsequium exhibet, seque Valerio coepiscopum Hipponensem ordinatum esse renuntians, exoptat ut in Africam trajicere ipse velit, magno cum sibi solatio, tum ceteris Christianis exemplo futurus.
Augustine shows Paulinus the duty of a grateful heart for the second letter he has received from him; and, announcing that he has been ordained bishop of Hippo as Valerius's fellow bishop, he earnestly wishes that Paulinus himself would be willing to cross over to Africa, where he would be a great comfort to him and an example to the other Christians.
(Hanc epistolam, si placet, legesis inter opera S. Augustini, nostrae Patrologiae tomo XXXIII, col. 121-125.)
(This letter, if you please, you may read among the works of St Augustine, volume XXXIII of our Patrologia, cols 121–125.)
Ad Romanianum scribens, gratulatur Ecclesiae Hipponensi quod Augustinum meruit Episcopi collegam.
Writing to Romanianus, he congratulates the Church of Hippo on having been granted Augustine as its bishop's colleague.
<!-- note: First argumentum and cross-reference belong to Epistola XXXI (Al. XXXIV), Augustine to Paulinus and Therasia; the last is the argumentum of Epistola VII. "Valerio coepiscopum" read as "coepiscopum" (scan shows "coe-piscopum" across a line). "legesis" set as printed. The col. range "121-125" is faint (last digit could be 3). -->
Page
- running head: 179 S. PAULINI NOLANI EPISCOPI
- marginal letters: A ‹nueret gratia Dei›; B ‹tia Dei tecum›; C ‹121-125.)› (beside the end of the editors' pointer); D ‹sollicita gaudium festivissimis›
- old-edition numerals: 32 after ‹rogamus.›; 36 before ‹Ad Romanianum› (the italic summary of Ep. VII, not set; i.e. after the title EPISTOLA VII.)
Si forte eadem oe venerabilibus et amantissimis viris per aliarum adventus navium comperisti, per nos etiam repetita accipe, et quasi renovata hilaritate rursus exsulta. Quod si primus hic a nobis tibi nuntius veniet, gratulare tantam nobis in tua patria caritatem, Christo donante, partam, ut quidquid illic divina providentia gerat, mirabilis semper, ut scriptum est, in sanctis suis, vel primi, vel cum primis sciamus.
If perhaps you have learned the same things about these venerable and most loving men through the arrival of other ships, receive them repeated by us as well, and exult again with gladness as it were renewed. But if this news comes to you first from us, rejoice that so great a charity has been won for us in your homeland, by Christ's gift, that whatever divine providence, ever wonderful, as it is written, in His saints (Ps. 67:36), may do there, we know it either first or among the first.
2. Non autem tantum hoc scribimus gratulandum, quod episcopatum Augustinus acceperit; sed quod hanc Dei curam meruerint Africanae Ecclesiae, ut verba coelestia Augustini ore perciperent; qui ad majorem dominici muneris gratiam novo more provectus, ita consecratus est, ut non succederet in cathedra episcopo, sed accederet. Nam incolumi Valerio Hipponensis Ecclesiae coepiscopus Augustinus est. Et ille beatus senex, cui purissimam mentem nulla unquam liventis invidiae macula suffudit, dignos sui cordis pace nunc ab Altissimo fructus capit, ut, quem successorem sacerdotii sui simpliciter optabat, hunc mereatur tenere collegam. Credine hoc potuit, antequam fieret? Sed in hoc quoque Omnipotentis opere dici evangelicum illud potest: Hominibus haec ardua, apud Deum autem omnia possibilia. Exsultemus itaque et laetemur in eo qui facit mirabilia solus, et qui facit unanimes habitare in domo, quoniam ipse respexit humilitatem nostram, et visitavit in bono plebem suam, qui erexit cornu in domo David pueri sui, et nunc exaltavit cornu Ecclesiae suae in electis suis, ut cornua peccatorum, sicut per prophetam spondet, hoc est, Donatistarum Manichaeorumque confringat.
2. Yet we do not write that this alone is cause for rejoicing, that Augustine has received the episcopate; but that the African churches have merited this care of God, that they should receive heavenly words from the mouth of Augustine; who, advanced in a new manner to a greater grace of the Lord's gift, was so consecrated that he did not succeed a bishop in the chair, but was joined to him. For while Valerius is still unharmed, Augustine is co-bishop of the Church of Hippo. And that blessed old man, whose most pure mind no stain of livid envy has ever tinged, now reaps from the Most High fruits worthy of the peace of his heart, so that the man whom he simply wished for as successor in his priesthood he merits to hold as a colleague. Could this have been believed before it happened? But of this work of the Almighty too that saying of the Gospel can be spoken: With men these things are hard, but with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27). Let us exult, then, and rejoice in Him who alone does wonders (Ps. 71:18), and who makes those of one mind dwell in a house (Ps. 67:7), since He Himself has regarded our lowliness and visited His people for good, who has raised up a horn in the house of David His servant (Luke 1:69), and has now exalted the horn of His Church in His elect, that He may break the horns of sinners, as He promises through the prophet (Ps. 74:11), that is, of the Donatists and the Manichees.
3. Utinam haec nunc Domini tuba, qua per Augustinum intonat, filii nostri Licentii pulset auditus; sed ut illa audiat aure, qua Christus ingreditur, de qua non rapit Dei semen inimicus. Tunc vere sibi summus Christi pontifex Augustinus videbitur, quia tunc se et exauditum sentiet ab Excelso, si quem tibi dignum genuit in litteris, hunc et sibi digne filium pariat in Christo. Nam et nunc, velim credas, flagrantissima de ipso nobis sollicitudine scripsit. Credimus in omnipotentem Christum, quod adolescentis nostri votis carnalibus spiritalia vota Augustini praevaleant. Vincetur vel invitus, mihi crede, vincetur piissimi parentis fide, ne mala victoria vincat, si maluerit in
3. Would that this trumpet of the Lord, with which He now thunders through Augustine, might strike the hearing of our son Licentius; but so that he hears it with that ear by which Christ enters, from which the enemy does not snatch away the seed of God (Matt. 13:4; Mark 4:4; Luke 8:5). Then indeed Augustine will seem to himself a high priest of Christ, since then he will feel that he has been heard by the Most High, if the son whom he begot in letters worthy of you he also brings forth worthily as a son for himself in Christ. For even now, I would have you believe, he has written to us with the most ardent solicitude about him. We believe in the almighty Christ that the spiritual desires of Augustine will prevail over the carnal desires of our young man. He will be overcome even against his will, believe me, he will be overcome by the faith of his most devout parent, lest an evil victory should win, if he should prefer in
Editors' notes and page, col. 180
Footnotes
(d) ‹anchor: apud Deum autem omnia possibilia› · call in col 180
Matth. XIX, 26; Marc. X, 27; Luc. XVIII, 27.
Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27.
(printed under page 93)
(e) ‹anchor: facit mirabilia solus› · call in col 180
Psal. LXXI, 18.
Psalm 71 (72):18.
(printed under page 93)
(f) ‹anchor: habitare in domo› · call in col 180
Psal. LXVII, 7, sec. Psalt. Rom.
Psalm 67 (68):7, according to the Roman Psalter.
(printed under page 93)
(g) ‹anchor: David pueri sui› · call in col 180
Luc. I, 69.
Luke 1:69.
(printed under page 93)
(h) ‹anchor: Manichaeorumque confringat› · call in col 180
Psal. LXXIV, 11.
Psalm 74 (75):11.
(printed under page 93)
(i) ‹anchor: Dei semen inimicus› · call in col 180
Matth. XIII, 4; Marc. IV, 4; Luc. VIII, 5.
Matthew 13:4; Mark 4:4; Luke 8:5.
(*) ‹anchor: EPISTOLA VII› · call in col 179 Alias 46, pars 1; quae autem 7 erat, nunc 22. Scripta anno 396.
Formerly 46, part 1; the letter that was 7 is now 22. Written in the year 396.
(printed under page 93)
(d) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 180
Mss. duo Bigotiani, paretam.
Bigot's two manuscripts: "paretam" [the word is unclear on the scan].
(printed under page 93)
(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 180
Editi addebant, episcopo. Hanc vocem, quae abest a duobus mss. Big. Vatic. 4, edit. Bened. expunximus.
The printed editions added "episcopo" ("bishop"). We have struck out this word, which is missing from Bigot's two manuscripts, four Vatican ones, and the Benedictine edition.
(printed under page 93)
(f) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 180
Sic mss. codd. Vatic. 4 et Big. 2, consentiente edit. Bened. In aliis edit., suppliciter.
So four Vatican manuscript codices and Bigot's two, with the Benedictine edition agreeing. In other editions: "suppliciter" ("suppliantly").
(printed under page 93)
(g) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 180
Ita mss. Vatic. 4 et edit. Bened. Ceteri codices, mereretur.
So four Vatican manuscripts and the Benedictine edition. The other copies: "mereretur" ("he would deserve").
(printed under page 93)
Page
- running head: S. PAULINI NOLANI EPISCOPI 180
- marginal letters: A ‹Si forte eadem›; B ‹dra episcopo, sed accederet›; C ‹cornu Ecclesiae suae›; D ‹parentis fide, ne mala›
- old-edition numerals: 37 after ‹illud›
perniciem suam vincere, quam pro salute superari. Ne vacuum fraternae humanitatis officium videretur, de buccellato Christianae expeditionis, in cujus procinctu quotidie ad frugalitatis annonam militamus, panes quinque tibi pariter et filio nostro Licentio misimus; non enim potuimus a benedictione secernere, quem cupimus eadem nobis gratia penitus annectere. Paucis tamen et ad ipsum loquamur, ne neget sibi scriptum, quod de se tibi scriptum e⟨s⟩t; Aeschino enim dicitur, quod audit Mitio (Terent. in Adelphis.). Sed quid de alienis loquar, cum de proprio cuncta possimus? et aliena loqui, non soleat esse sani capitis, quo Dei gratia sano et salvo sumus, quibus caput est Christus? Incolumem te aetate quamplurima, et beatum semper cum tota domo tua, ut cupimus, habeamus in Christo, domine frater merito honorandissime et desiderantissime.
to win to his own ruin rather than to be overcome for his salvation. Lest the duty of brotherly kindness should seem empty, from the ration-bread of the Christian campaign, girded for which we serve daily for the provision of frugality, we have sent five loaves to you and likewise to our son Licentius; for we could not separate from the blessing one whom we desire to bind closely to ourselves in the same grace. Yet let us say a few words to him too, lest he deny that what is written to you about him is written to him; for what Micio hears is said for Aeschinus (Terence, in the Adelphi). But why should I speak in the words of others, when we can say everything from our own? and to speak the words of others is not wont to be the mark of a sound head, with which, by the grace of God, we are sound and safe, we whose head is Christ. May we keep you, as we desire, unharmed to a very great age, and ever blessed with your whole household in Christ, my lord brother, most deservedly honoured and most longed for.
EPISTOLA VIII.
LETTER VIII.
AD LICENTIUM.
TO LICENTIUS.
1. Audi ergo fili legem patris tui, id est, fidem Augustini; et noli repellere consilia matris tuae, quod aeque nomen in te Augustini pietas jure sibi vindicat; qui te tantillum sinu gestavit suo, et a parvulis primo lacte sapientiae secularis imbutum, nunc etiam spiritalibus lactare et enutrire Domino gestit uberibus. Quoniam te adultum aetate corporea, in spiritalibus adhuc cunabulis vagientem videt, adhuc infantem verbo Dei, vix dum in Christo primis passibus et vestigio titubante repentem; si tamen Augustini doctrina, tamquam manus matris et ulna nutricis, instabilem regat parvulum. Quem si audias et sequaris, ut rursum te sermone Salomonis alliciam: Fili, coronam accipies gratiarum tuo vertici. Et tunc vere eris ille non phantasmate somniatus, sed ab ipsa veritate formatus consul et pontifex, vacuas imagines falsi operis, implente Christo, solidis suae operationis effectibus. Vere enim pontifex, et vere consul, Licentius erit, si Augustini vestigiis, propheticis et apostolicis disciplinis, ut sacrato beatus Elisaeus Eliae, ut illustri apostolo Timotheus adolescens adhaereat, indivulso per itinera divina comitatu; ut et sacerdotium corde perfecto discat mereri, et populis ad salutem magistro ore consulere.
1. Hear, then, my son, the law of your father (Prov. 1:8), that is, the faith of Augustine; and do not reject the counsels of your mother, a name which Augustine's devotion equally claims over you by right; who carried you as a little one in his bosom, and, having steeped you from your infancy in the first milk of secular wisdom, now longs also to suckle and nourish you for the Lord at spiritual breasts. For he sees you, grown in bodily age, still wailing in a spiritual cradle, still an infant in the word of God, scarcely yet creeping in Christ with first steps and faltering tread; if only the teaching of Augustine, like a mother's hand and a nurse's arm, may guide the unsteady little one. If you hear and follow him, to entice you once more with the words of Solomon: Son, you shall receive a crown of graces upon your head (Prov. 1:9). And then you will truly be that consul and pontiff, not dreamed in a phantasm but formed by the truth itself, Christ filling the empty images of a false work with the solid effects of His own working. For Licentius will truly be pontiff, and truly consul, if he cleaves to the footsteps of Augustine, to the prophetic and apostolic disciplines, as blessed Elisha to the holy Elijah (4 Kgs. 2:1), as the young Timothy to the illustrious apostle, in unbroken companionship along the divine paths; so that he may learn both to merit the priesthood with a perfect heart and to counsel the peoples for their salvation with a teacher's mouth.
Editors' notes and page, col. 181
Footnotes
<!-- Three series: scripture references (a–d), the dating note (*), and editor's notes (a)–(f). Small-capital numerals set as capitals. --> (printed under page 94)
(a) ‹anchor: legem patris tui› · call in col 181
Prov. I, 8.
Proverbs 1:8.
(printed under page 94)
(b) ‹anchor: gratiarum tuo vertici› · call in col 181
Prov. I, 9, sec. LXX.
Proverbs 1:9, according to the Septuagint.
(printed under page 94)
(c) ‹anchor: beatus Elisaeus Eliae› · call in col 181
IV Reg. II, 1.
2 Kings (4 Kingdoms) 2:1.
(printed under page 94)
(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 181
Mss. codices, buccillato. Buccillatum vocabatur militaris panis ad buccellae fere modum confectus, ut ad usus diuturnitatem facilius excoqueretur, de quo Ammianus lib. XVII; RR. PP. Benedictini ad S. August. epistolas, pag. 59.
The manuscript codices: "buccillato". "Buccillatum" was the name of a soldiers' bread made roughly in the manner of a small mouthful-loaf, so that it might be more easily baked hard for long keeping; of it Ammianus, book XVII; the Reverend Benedictine Fathers on St Augustine's letters, p. 59.
(printed under page 94)
(b) ‹anchor: vere consul,› · call in col 181
Sic mss. codices Vatic. 4 et Bigotiani duo: quod videtur acrius quam quod est in editis, Licenti eris. Iidemque mss. infra, adhaereat.... discat.
So four Vatican manuscript codices and Bigot's two; this seems more forceful than what stands in the printed editions, "Licenti eris" ("Licentius, you will be"). And the same manuscripts below: "adhaereat .... discat" ("he cleave .... he learn").
(printed under page 94)
(c) ‹anchor: ad salutem› · call in col 181
Ita sex iidem mss. cum edit. Bened. Alii codd. magistri.
So the same six manuscripts with the Benedictine edition. Other copies: "magistri" ("of a teacher").
(printed under page 94)
Editors' prose
Licentium Romaniani filium, pro quo scripserat Augustinus ejus olim magister, hortatur Paulinus et prosa et carmine, ut contemto aulae fastu se dedicet Christo.
Licentius, the son of Romanianus, on whose behalf Augustine, once his teacher, had written, Paulinus urges in prose and in verse to scorn the pomp of the court and dedicate himself to Christ.
<!-- note: images show only the left (A–D) column in full; the right column is cut at the edge, so any editors' summary there could not be checked. 'contemto' read as printed (not 'contempto'). -->
Page
- running head: 181 EPISTOLA VIII.
- marginal letters: A ‹perniciem suam vincere›; B ‹domo tua, ut cupimus›; C ‹etiam spiritalibus lactare›; D ‹ut illustri apostolo›
- old-edition numerals: 38 after ‹secularis›
2. Sat hoc monitis et hortatui. Modico enim sermone et labore te arbitror, mi Licenti, ad Christum posse incitari, jam a pueris ad studia veritatis et sapientiae, quod utrumque vere est Christus, et omnis boni summum bonum venerabilis Augustini spiritu et ore flammatum. Qui si parum apud te pro te valuit, quid ego tanto intervallo posterior, et omnium illius opum pauper, efficiam? Sed quia et illius facultatis potentia, et tui ingenii humanitate confisus, pleniora atque majora in te spero elaborata, quam elaboranda, ausus sum hiscere duplici gratia, ut et illi viro debita caritate compararer in sollicitudine tui; et inter eos qui salutem tuam diligunt, vel contestato numerarer affectu. Nam effectus in tui perfectione palmam Augustino potissimum destinatam scio.
2. Enough of this for warning and exhortation. For I think, my Licentius, that you can be roused to Christ with little speech and labour, you who from boyhood have been set aflame for the pursuits of truth and wisdom, both of which Christ truly is, and the highest good of every good, by the spirit and mouth of the venerable Augustine. If he has availed too little with you on your own behalf, what shall I achieve, who come so far behind him and am poor in all his riches? But because, trusting both in the power of his ability and in the kindliness of your nature, I hope that fuller and greater things have already been wrought in you than remain to be wrought, I have dared to open my mouth for a twofold reason: that I might be likened to that man in due charity in my solicitude for you; and that I might be numbered among those who love your salvation, at least by an affection openly declared. For of the achievement of your perfection I know the palm to be destined above all for Augustine.
3. Vereor, fili, ne aures tuas asperitate temerarii sermonis offenderim, et per aures animo etiam tuo taedii mei vulnus intulerim. Sed in mentem venit epistola tua, qua te musicis familiarem modis intellexi. A quo studio ego aevi quondam tui non abhorrui. Itaque mihi ad tuam mentem, si in aliquo exulcerassem, deliniendam remedium litteras tuas recordatus reperi, ut te ad Dominum harmoniae omniformis artificem modulamine carminis evocarem. Quaeso te ut aure audias; neque causam salutis tuae in verbis meis spernas, sed piam curam et mentem paternam etiam in despiciendis sermonibus libenter accipias; quibus insitum Christi nomen quod est super omne nomen, hanc deberi venerationem facit, ut non possit a credente contemni.
3. I fear, my son, that I may have offended your ears with the harshness of rash speech, and through the ears have dealt your mind as well the wound of weariness with me. But your letter came to mind, from which I understood you to be familiar with musical measures. From that pursuit I myself did not shrink once, at your time of life. And so, remembering your letter, I found a remedy for soothing your mind, if I had chafed it in anything: to call you to the Lord, the artificer of harmony of every form, with the measure of a song. I beg you to hear with your ear; and not to spurn the cause of your salvation in my words, but to receive gladly a devout care and a fatherly mind even in words that deserve contempt; for the name of Christ, which is above every name (Phil. 2:9), implanted in them, makes this veneration their due, that they cannot be despised by a believer.
Quare age, rumpe moras, et vincla tenacia secli:
Come then, break off delays, and the clinging chains of the age:
Nec metuas placidi mite jugum Domini.
and do not fear the gentle yoke of the mild Lord.
Pulcra quidem, sed mira vagis praesentia rerum
Fair indeed is the present show of things, but wondrous only to wandering
Mentibus, at sapiens non stupet ista animus.
minds; the wise soul is not dazzled by it.
Nunc te sollicitat variis malesuada figuris,
Now she tempts you with varied shapes, counsellor of evil,
Heu! validos etiam vertere Roma potens.
alas! Rome, able to overturn even the strong.
Sed tibi, nate, precor, semper pater Augustinus
But may father Augustine, I pray, my son, always
Occurset, cunctas Urbis ad illecebras.
come to meet you, at all the allurements of the City.
Illum tanta inter fragilis discrimina vitae
Looking to him amid such great perils of fragile life,
Aspiciens, et habens pectore, tutus eris.
and holding him in your breast, you will be safe.
Hoc tamen et repetens, iterumque iterumque monebo
This, however, I shall warn you, repeating it again and again:
Ut fugias durae lubrica militiae.
that you flee the slippery ways of hard service.
Blandum nomen honos, mala servitus, exitus aeger,
Honour is a flattering name, an evil servitude, a sickly end,
Quem nunc velle juvat, mox voluisse piget.
which now it pleases you to want, soon it will grieve you to have wanted.
Scandere celsa juvat; tremor est descendere celsis.
It pleases to climb the heights; it is trembling to come down from the heights.
Editors' notes and page, col. 182
Footnotes
(d) ‹anchor: super omne nomen› · call in col 182
Phil. II, 9.
Philippians 2:9.
(*) ‹anchor: not visible (title of Epistola VIII)› · call in col 181 Alias 46, pars 2; quae autem erat 8, nunc 30. Scripta et missa cum superiore anno 396.
Formerly 46, part 2; the letter that was 8 is now 30. Written and sent with the preceding one, in the year 396.
(printed under page 94)
(d) ‹anchor: summum bonum› · call in col 182
Hanc vocem addidimus ex mss. Vaticanis quatuor, 1 Big. et edit. Bened.
We have added this word from four Vatican manuscripts, Bigot's first, and the Benedictine edition.
(printed under page 94)
(e) ‹anchor: viro debita› · call in col 182
Sic mss. sex, ex quibus duo Big. et ed. Ben. A mss. octo, de vita, et caritate, Edd., devincta.
So six manuscripts, two of them Bigot's, and the Benedictine edition. But eight manuscripts: "de vita, et caritate" ("of life and charity"); the editions: "devincta" ("bound fast").
(printed under page 94)
(f) ‹anchor: Nam effectus› · call in col 182
Ita edit. Bened. Grav. et Rosv. At mss. 12, affectus.
So the Benedictine, Gravius and Rosweyde editions. But twelve manuscripts: "affectus" ("affection").
(printed under page 94)
Page
- running head: EPISTOLA VIII. 182
- marginal letters: A ‹2. Sat hoc monitis›; B ‹scio.›; C ‹per omne nomen›; D ‹Ut fugias durae›
- old-edition numerals: 39-40 before ‹Quare age›
Si titubes, summa pejus ab arce cades.
If you stumble, you will fall the worse from the highest citadel.
Nunc tibi falsa placent bona, nunc rapit omnibus auris / Ambitus, et vitreo fert cava fama sinu?
Do false goods please you now, does ambition now sweep you off on every breeze, and does hollow fame carry you in her glassy bosom?
At ubi te magno damno succinxerit emto / Balteus, et sterilis fregerit inde labor,
But when the sword-belt, bought at great loss, has girded you, and barren toil has thereafter broken you,
Serus, et incassum spes accusabis inanes · / Et modo quae nectis, rumpere vincla voles.
too late and in vain you will accuse empty hopes, and the chains you are now tying you will wish to break.
Tunc reminisceris frustra patris Augustini, / Contemsisse dolens veridicos monitus.
Then in vain you will remember father Augustine, grieving that you scorned his truthful warnings.
Quare si sapiens, et si pius es, puer, audi; / Et cape verba patrum, consiliumque senum.
Therefore, if you are wise and if you are dutiful, boy, listen, and take up the words of fathers and the counsel of elders.
« Quid retrahis fera colla jugo? Mea sarcina lenis, / Suave jugum. » Christi est vox pia: crede Deo,
"Why do you draw back your wild neck from the yoke? My burden is light, my yoke is sweet" (Matt. 11:30). It is Christ's loving voice: trust God,
Et caput adde jugis, da mollibus ora capistris. / Demissosque levi subde humeros oneri.
and put your head to the yoke, give your mouth to the soft halters, and set your lowered shoulders beneath the light load.
Nunc potes hoc, dum liber agis, dum nulla retentant / Vincula, nulla tori cura, nec altus honor.
You can do this now, while you live free, while no bonds hold you back, no care of a marriage-bed, nor high office.
Haec bona libertas, Christo servire, et in ipso / Omnibus esse supra. Non dominis hominum,
This is good freedom: to serve Christ, and in Him to be above all things. Not to human masters,
Non vitiis servit, non regibus ille superbis, / Tantum qui Christo se dederit Domino.
not to vices, not to proud kings is he a slave, who has given himself to Christ alone as Lord.
Nec tibi nobilitas videatur libera, quam nunc / Sublimem attonita conspicis Urbe vehi.
Nor let the nobility seem free to you, which you now watch being carried aloft through the astonished City,
Quam cernis tanta sibi libertate videri, / Ut dedignetur flectere colla Deo.
which you see seeming to itself of such freedom that it disdains to bend its neck to God.
Multis ille miser mortalibus, et quoque servis / Servit; et ancillas, ut dominentur, emit.
That wretched man is a slave to many mortals, and to slaves as well; and he buys maidservants to lord it over him.
Norunt eunuchos et magna palatia passi, / Et quisquis Romam, sponte miser, patitur;
They know, who have endured eunuchs and great palaces, and whoever, wretched by his own choice, endures Rome,
Quanto sudoris pretio, damnoque decoris / Constet ibi chlamydis, hic honor officii.
at what price of sweat and loss of dignity the honour of the cloak is bought there, and here the honour of office.
Nec tamen ipse potens, qui celsior omnibus esse / Emerit, ut nulli serviat, assequitur.
Yet not even the powerful man himself, who has purchased being loftier than all, attains to being slave to no one.
Cum bene se tota dominum jactaverit Urbe, / Servit daemoniis, si simulacra colit.
Though he has boasted himself lord well enough through the whole City, he is a slave to demons if he worships images.
Proh dolor! hos propter remoraris in Urbe, Licenti? / Et regnum Christi spernis, ut his placeas?
Alas! Is it for these that you linger in the City, Licentius? And do you scorn the kingdom of Christ to please them?
Hos vocitas dominos, curva et cervice salutas, / Quos ligni servos conspicis et lapidis?
Do you call these masters and greet with bowed neck those whom you see to be slaves of wood and stone?
Nomine divino argentum venerantur et aurum / Relligio est, quod amat morbus avaritiae.
They venerate silver and gold under a divine name; their religion is what the disease of avarice loves.
Imprecor hos ut amet, qui non amat Augustinum; / Non colat et Christum, cui placet hos colere.
I pray that he who does not love Augustine may love these; and may he who is pleased to worship these not worship Christ as well.
Inde ait ipse Deus, dominis non posse duobus / Serviri, quoniam mens placet una Deo.
Hence God Himself says that two masters cannot be served (Matt. 6:24), since an undivided mind pleases God.
Una fides, Deus unus, et unicus e Patre Christus, / Haud duplex uni servitus est domino.
One faith, one God, and one only Christ from the Father (Eph. 4:5): a twofold service is not for the one Lord.
Editors' notes and page, col. 183
Footnotes
<!-- Two series: references (a–e) and editor's notes (a)–(e). Small-capital numerals set as capitals. Editors' note (d) is called in col 184 and is set in n184. --> (printed under page 95)
(a) ‹anchor: rapit omnibus auris› · call in col 183
Ex Virgilio.
From Virgil.
(printed under page 95)
(b) ‹anchor: Suave jugum› · call in col 183
Matth. XI, 30.
Matthew 11:30.
(printed under page 95)
(c) ‹anchor: posse duobus Serviri› · call in col 183
Matth. VI, 24.
Matthew 6:24.
(printed under page 95)
(d) ‹anchor: e Patre Christus› · call in col 183
Ephes. IV, 5.
Ephesians 4:5.
(printed under page 95)
(a) ‹anchor: ab arce cades› · call in col 183
Mss. 2 Big., cadis.
Bigot's second manuscript: "cadis" ("you fall").
(printed under page 95)
(b) ‹anchor: magno damno› · call in col 183
Ita in potioribus mss. et in edit. Bened. At in excusis, damnosus cinxerit aestu.
So in the better manuscripts and in the Benedictine edition. But in the printed copies: "damnosus cinxerit aestu" ("has girded with ruinous heat").
(printed under page 95)
(c) ‹anchor: Mea sarcina› · call in col 183
Mss. duo Big. et edit. Grav., sarcina levis. Sic legerem si lex metri servaretur: Vulgata enim habet Matth. XI, vers. ult., et onus meum leve. Praeterea legitur apud Augustinum epist. 31 ad Paulinum (al. 34): Quamquam jugum Christi per seipsum lene sit, et sarcina levis; et in epist. 26 (al. 39) Augustini ad eumdem Licentium, unde haec desumsit Paulinus: Jugum enim ejus lene est, et sarcina ejus levis est, et in carmine de S. Johanne Baptista, pondus leve. vers. 291.
Bigot's two manuscripts and Gravius's edition: "sarcina levis" ("a light burden"). I would read so if the law of the metre were kept; for the Vulgate has at Matthew 11, last verse, "and my burden light". Besides, one reads in Augustine, letter 31 to Paulinus (formerly 34): "Although Christ's yoke is in itself gentle, and the burden light"; and in Augustine's letter 26 (formerly 39) to this same Licentius, from which Paulinus took these words: "For his yoke is gentle, and his burden is light"; and in the poem on St John the Baptist, "a light weight", line 291.
(printed under page 95)
Page
- running head: 183 S. PAULINI NOLANI EPISCOPI 184 (running head across the page)
- marginal letters: A ‹Si titubes, summa pejus›; B ‹Et caput adde jugis›; C ‹Quanto sudoris pretio›; D ‹Non colat et Christum›
- old-edition numerals: 41-42 before ‹Imprecor›
Quanta etenim coelo ac terris distantia, tanta est / Caesaris et Christi rebus et imperiis.
For as great as the distance between heaven and earth, so great is the distance between the affairs and empires of Caesar and of Christ.
Tollere humo, sed nunc dum spiritus hos regit artus, / Mente polum penetra, nil mora carnis obest.
Lift yourself from the ground; and now, while the spirit rules these limbs, pierce the sky with your mind: the delay of the flesh is no hindrance.
Corporeis jam nunc morere actibus; et bona vitae / Coelestis liquido praemeditare animo.
Die even now to the deeds of the body, and with a clear mind ponder beforehand the goods of the heavenly life.
Spiritus es, quamquam tenearis corpore, si nunc / Mente pia victor carnis opus perimas.
You are spirit, though you are held by a body, if now, victorious with a dutiful mind, you destroy the work of the flesh.
Haec tibi, care puer, fido compulsus amore / Scripsi; si recipis, suscipiere Deo.
These things I have written to you, dear boy, driven by faithful love; if you receive them, you will be received by God.
Crede Augustinum tibi nunc in me geminatum: / Sume duos una cum pietate patres.
Believe that Augustine is now doubled for you in me: take up two fathers with one devotion.
Spernimur? Abstraheris majore dolore duobus. / Audimur? Pignus dulce duobus eris.
Are we spurned? You will be torn away with the greater grief of two. Are we heard? You will be a sweet pledge to two.
In te laeta patrum sudavit cura duorum, / Et tibi magnus honos, laetificasse duos.
Over you the glad care of two fathers has toiled, and great is the honour for you, to have gladdened two.
Sed me Augustino cum copulo, non meritorum / Jacto parem, solo comparo amore tui.
But when I couple myself with Augustine, I do not boast myself his equal in merits; I compare myself only in love of you.
Nam quid ego effundam rorans tibi paupere rivo? / Me praeter gemino flumine prolueris:
For what should I pour out for you, trickling from a poor stream? Apart from me you are washed by a twofold river:
Frater Alypius est, Augustinusque magister, / Sanguinis hic consors, hic sator ingenii.
there is brother Alypius, and Augustine your teacher, the one a sharer of your blood, the other the sower of your mind.
Tanto fratre vales, et praeceptore, Licenti, / Et dubitas pennis talibus astra sequi?
You are strong in so great a brother and teacher, Licentius, and do you hesitate to pursue the stars on such wings?
Quidquid agas; nam te nec speret mundus amicum, / Non daberis terrae debita Christo anima.
Whatever you do (for let the world not hope for you as its friend), you will not be given to the earth, a soul owed to Christ.
Tu thalamos licet et celsos mediteris honores / Nunc, olim Domino restituere tuo.
Though you may now be pondering marriage-chambers and lofty honours, one day you will be restored to your Lord.
Credo unum vincent justi duo peccatorem, / Et tua fraternae vota preces abigent.
I believe two just men will overcome one sinner, and a brother's prayers will drive away your wishes.
Ergo redi, qua voce parens, qua sanguine frater, / Ambo sacerdotes te remeare jubent.
Come back, then: the parent by his voice, the brother by his blood, both priests bid you return.
Ad tua te retrahunt, nam nunc aliena petescis; / Haec mage, quae retinent regna tui, tua sunt.
They draw you back to what is yours, for now you are seeking what belongs to others; rather, these kingdoms which your own people hold are yours.
Haec repete, his inhia; externis ne contere tempus / Si tua nolueris, quisquam aliena dabit?
Seek these again, gape after these; do not waste your time on outward things. If you do not want what is yours, will anyone give you what is another's?
Non eris ipse tuus; missusque per extera longe / Sensibus, heu! proprii pectoris exsul ages.
You will not be your own; and, sent far away through outward things, you will live, alas, an exile from the feelings of your own heart.
Sollicitum satis haec nato cecinisse parentem, / Dum tibi, quae mihimet, vel volo, vel metuo.
Enough that an anxious parent has sung these things to his son, while for you I wish or fear the very things I wish or fear for myself.
Haec tibi; si recipis, feret olim pagina vitam: / Si renuis, eadem haec pagina testis erit.
This much to you: if you receive it, this page will one day bring you life; if you refuse, this same page will be a witness.
Incolumem mihi te, fili carissime, Christus / Annuat, et servum det sibi perpetuo.
May Christ grant you to me unharmed, dearest son, and give you to Himself as His servant forever.
Vive precor, sed vive Deo: nam vivere mundo / Mortis opus, vera est vivere vita Deo.
Live, I pray, but live to God: for to live to the world is the work of death; true life is to live to God.
Editors' notes and page, col. 184
Footnotes
(e) ‹anchor: Audimur? Pignus dulce› · call in col 184
Id est filius. V. carm. 18, vers. 226.
That is, "son". See poem 18, line 226.
(printed under page 95)
(d) ‹anchor: care puer, fido› · call in col 184
Sic mss. quindecim et edit. Bened. ceteri codd., fidei. Vide carm. 19, vers. 128, et not. 331.
So fifteen manuscripts and the Benedictine edition; the other copies: "fidei" ("of faith"). See poem 19, line 128, and note 331.
(printed under page 95)
(e) ‹anchor: nunc aliena› · call in col 184
Ita mss. plerique cum edit. Bened. ms. 1 Big., petissis. Ms. alter Big., vetisti. Ed. Rosv., petissis.
So most manuscripts with the Benedictine edition; Bigot's first manuscript: "petissis". Bigot's other manuscript: "vetisti". Rosweyde's edition: "petissis".
(printed under page 95)
Page
- running head: S. PAULINI NOLANI EPISCOPI 184
- marginal letters: A ‹Quanta etenim coelo›; B ‹Et tibi magnus honos›; C ‹Ergo redi, qua voce›; D ‹Mortis opus, vera est›
- old-edition numerals: (none)