PL 61 · cols. 250–253

Paulinus of Nola, Letters

Letter XXI

Sed si piscis tuus sum, debeo ore pretiosum praeferre denarium, in quo non Caesaris figura et inscriptio, sed Regis aeterni viva et vivificans imago praefulgeat, fidem scilicet veritatis; quae doctrinae tuae monetam et annuli tui symbolum nummo cordis mei et cerae mentis impresserit. Doctrina enim tua argentum igne examinatum, probatum terrae, purgatum septuplo.

But if I am your fish, I ought to bring forth in my mouth a precious denarius (Matt. 17:26), on which there shines out not the figure and inscription of Caesar (Matt. 22:21; Mark 12:16; Luke 20:24), but the living and life-giving image of the eternal King, namely the faith of truth; which will have stamped the coinage of your teaching and the seal of your ring upon the coin of my heart and the wax of my mind. For your teaching is silver tried by fire, proved in the earth, purged seven times (Ps. 11:7).

7. Donet orationibus tuis Dominus, ut monetae tuae nummus, ut hami tui piscis, ut vitis tuae sarmentum, ut uteri castitatis tuae filius sim. Filii enim Delphini reputabuntur in filiis Aaron: sed non cum illis, qui ignem alienum Domino obtulerunt, et eo quem in suis cordibus exstinxerunt, vel non habebant, igne divino incensi sunt. Tuis filiis sit cor ardens, non cupiditatum et illecebrarum secularium iniquis ignibus; sed illo igne, quem venit accendere in nobis Dominus, de quo ait: Ignem veni mittere in terram, et quid volo si jam incensus est? Non ergo avaritia, non concupiscentia oculorum, et noxius temporalium rerum amor in nobis ardeat igne pestifero; qui ignis alienus est Deo: sed Deus ipse noster, qui est ignis consumens, suum ignem agnoscat in nobis, ut dicamus: Dominus illuminatio nostra et salus nostra, quem timebimus? Iste ignis corda illuminat, et peccata consumit: tenebras quibus mortificamur exstinguit, et lucem qua vivificamur accendit. Si hoc igne lucernae nostrae sint semper ardentes, confidenter dicemus: Et si ambulem in medio umbrae mortis, non timebo mala, quoniam tu mecum es. Hoc igne illuminati, et ad sitim aquae vivae per ignis hujus ardorem accensi in desiderium Domini, vere dicemus: Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum, ita desiderat anima mea ad te, Deus. Quoniam apud te fons vitae, et in lumine tuo videbimus lumen.

7. May the Lord grant to your prayers that I may be a coin of your minting, a fish of your hook, a branch of your vine, a son of your chaste womb. For the sons of Delphinus will be reckoned among the sons of Aaron (Lev. 10:1): but not with those who offered strange fire to the Lord, and were burned up by the divine fire which they had quenched in their hearts, or did not have. Let your sons have a burning heart (Luke 24:32), not with the unjust fires of desires and worldly allurements, but with that fire which the Lord came to kindle in us, of which He says: I came to cast fire on the earth, and what do I will, if it is already kindled (Luke 12:49)? Let not avarice, then, nor the concupiscence of the eyes, nor the harmful love of temporal things burn in us with a pestilent fire, which is a fire strange to God: but let our God Himself, who is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29), recognize His own fire in us, so that we may say: The Lord is our light and our salvation, whom shall we fear (Ps. 26:1)? This fire enlightens hearts and consumes sins: it quenches the darkness by which we are put to death, and kindles the light by which we are brought to life. If our lamps are always burning with this fire (Luke 12:35), we shall say with confidence: Even if I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for Thou art with me (Ps. 22:4, according to the Roman Psalter). Enlightened by this fire, and through the heat of this fire kindled to thirst for living water, in desire of the Lord, we shall truly say: As the hart longs for the springs of waters, so my soul longs for Thee, O God (Ps. 41:2). For with Thee is the fountain of life, and in Thy light we shall see light (Ps. 35:10).

EPISTOLA XXI.

LETTER XXI.

Sancto et merito venerabili ac dilectissimo fratri AMANDO PAULINUS.

To his holy, deservedly venerable and most beloved brother Amandus, Paulinus.

1. Volucrem pedibus et levem cursu, ita ut cervis et capreis aemula pernicitate contenderet Asael,

1. Swift of foot and light in running, so that he vied with harts and roes in rival speed, Asahel,

Editors' notes and page, col. 250

Footnotes

(r) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 250

Matth. XVII, 26.

Matthew 17:26.

(printed under page 128)

(s) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 250

Matth. XXII, 21; Marc. XII, 16; Luc. XX, 24.

Matthew 22:21; Mark 12:16; Luke 20:24.

(printed under page 128)

(t) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 250

Psal. XI, 7.

Psalm 11 (12):7.

(printed under page 128)

(u) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 250

Lev. X, 1.

Leviticus 10:1.

(printed under page 128)

(v) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 250

Luc. XXIV, 32.

Luke 24:32.

(printed under page 128)

(x) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 250

Luc. XII, 49.

Luke 12:49.

(printed under page 128)

(y) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 250

Hebr. XII, 29.

Hebrews 12:29.

(printed under page 128)

(z) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 250

Psal. XXVI, 1.

Psalm 26 (27):1.

(printed under page 128)

(aa) ‹anchor: semper ardentes› · call in col 250

Luc. XII, 35.

Luke 12:35.

(printed under page 128)

(bb) ‹anchor: tu mecum es› · call in col 250

Psal. XXII, 4, sec. Psalter. Rom.

Psalm 22 (23):4, according to the Roman Psalter.

(printed under page 128)

(cc) ‹anchor: ad te, Deus› · call in col 250

Psal. XLI, 2.

Psalm 41 (42):2.

(printed under page 128)

(dd) ‹anchor: videbimus lumen› · call in col 250

Psal. XXXV, 10.

Psalm 35 (36):10.

Editors' notes

(*) ‹anchor: EPISTOLA XXI› · call in col 250 Alias 24, quae autem 21 erat, nunc 12. Scripta anno 400, eodem tempore quo duae superiores.

Formerly 24; the letter that was 21 is now 12. Written in the year 400, at the same time as the two preceding.

(printed under page 128)

(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 250

Sic ms. Vien. melius quam alii codices, in quibus, pretioso.

So the Vienna manuscript, better than the other codices, in which it is "pretioso".

(printed under page 128)

(f) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 250

Ms. Reg. cum editis quatuor, monita. ms. Vien., monet.

The Royal manuscript with four printed editions has "monita"; the Vienna manuscript, "monet" [faint in the scan].

(printed under page 128)

(g) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 250

Sic legit Paulinus epist. 23 ad Severum, n. 7. Ms. codex Viennensis, juxta Vulgatam, et psalteria vetus Rom., Gallic., septuplum.

So Paulinus reads in Letter 23 to Severus, no. 7. The Vienna manuscript codex, following the Vulgate, and the Old Roman and Gallican psalters have "septuplum" (sevenfold).

(printed under page 128)

(h) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 250

Addidimus, vel non habebant, ex mss. Vien. et Reg. et edit. Schot. quod confirmatur ex epist. 44 ad Aprum et Amandam, n. 5.

We have added "vel non habebant" from the Vienna and Royal manuscripts and Schott's edition; this is confirmed by Letter 44 to Aper and Amanda, no. 5.

(printed under page 128)

(i) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 250

Hanc vocem addit ms. Vien.

The Vienna manuscript adds this word.

(printed under page 128)

(j) ‹anchor: apud te (j) fons› · call in col 250

Sic Augustinus in psalm. xxxv, v. 10 nov. edit. Verbum est abest a Graeco LXX.

So Augustine on Psalm 35, verse 10, in the new edition. The word "est" is absent from the Greek Septuagint.

(printed under page 128)

(k) ‹anchor: lumen (k)› · call in col 250

Edit. Rosv. addit in fine Valeto, pater.

Rosweyde's edition adds at the end "Valeto, pater" (Farewell, father).

(printed under page 128)

Editors' prose

In exordio et fine epistolae laudes Cardamatis explicat. Circa medium magnifice describit initium Evangelii Johannis, et ipsum evangelistam.

At the beginning and end of the letter he sets out the praises of Cardamas. Towards the middle he describes in splendid terms the opening of John's Gospel, and the evangelist himself.

Page

running head: EPISTOLA XXI. 250
marginal letters: A ‹mino. Sed si piscis›; B ‹ardens, non cupiditatum›; C ‹igne illuminati›; D (none visible beside the text)
old-edition numerals: 111 after ‹exstinxerunt,›
other: the column opens with "mino.", the end of "Do-mino", set whole at the end of col. 249; this file begins at "Sed si piscis". "vel non habebant" and "nostra" (after illuminatio) are in the printed text (notes h and i record their sources) and are set. Editors' matter not set: the italic argumentum of Ep. XXI ("In exordio et fine epistolae laudes Cardamatis explicat…") and the variant notes (e)–(k). The note calls at "cervis" and "Asael" in Ep. XXI §1 have their foot notes on the next page, which shows only notes a onward, so no reference is given here. "Asael" is the object of "admiramur" in col. 251 ("Volucrem … Asael, illum fratrem Joab … admiramur").

PL 61:251

illum fratrem Joab in sacra Regnorum admiramur historia. Nec non minus illum in allophylis gigantem stupemus legentes, qui ultra humani corporis modum, et mensuram membrorum creverat, quem senis armatae digitis manus, et totidem pollicibus articulati pedes fortiorem ceteris velocioremque faciebant, nisi quod contra David manu Dei dimicantem, et Christi imagine semper invictum, nulla magnorum licet hostium manus virtusque praevaluit, quia in alienis grandibus superba diaboli exaltatio dejiciebatur, et in pusillis nostris humilitate praepotens salutaris Dei forma vincebat.

that brother of Joab, we admire in the sacred history of the Kingdoms (2 Sam. 2:18). No less do we marvel, as we read, at that giant among the foreigners (1 Sam. 17:4; 2 Sam. 21:20), who had grown beyond the bounds of the human body and the measure of limbs, whom hands armed with six fingers each, and feet jointed with as many toes, made stronger and swifter than the rest; except that against David, who fought by the hand of God and was ever unconquered through the image of Christ, no hand or strength of enemies, however great, prevailed, because in the great ones of the strangers the proud exaltation of the devil was being cast down, and in our little ones the saving form of God, all-powerful in humility, was conquering.

2. Sed recurramus ad epistolae caput, quod a pedibus inchoavimus, ut cursorem dominicum Cardamatem signatis in lege divina antiquorum velocium laudemus exemplis. Subvenit itaque nobis et de Evangelio adolescentis apostoli beata velocitas illa, qua Petrum affectu currendi parem, sed majoris aevi pondere tardiorem, ad sepulcrum Domini praecucurrit; ut resurrectionem corporis prior inspiceret, qui solus in pectore recumbebat. Unde geminos in alveum cordis sui traxerat fontes, quos in orbem idem postea Revelationis et Evangelii praeco diffudit; et illam carnalem alacritatem pedum, postea speciosis verbi pedibus toto per populos orbe discurrens spiritali velocitate complevit.

2. But let us return to the head of the letter, which we began from the feet, so that we may praise Cardamas, the Lord's runner, by the examples of the swift men of old marked out in the divine law. There comes to our help, then, from the Gospel too, that blessed swiftness of the young apostle by which he outran Peter, his equal in eagerness to run but slower under the weight of greater age, to the sepulchre of the Lord (John 20:4); so that he who alone had reclined upon His breast (John 13:23, and 21:20) might be the first to look upon the resurrection of the body. From there he had drawn into the channel of his heart the twin springs which afterwards, as herald of the Revelation and of the Gospel, he poured out upon the world; and that bodily nimbleness of feet he afterwards fulfilled with a spiritual swiftness, running to and fro among the peoples through the whole world on the beautiful feet of the word.

3. Idem ultra omnium tempora apostolorum aetate producta postremus Evangelii scriptor fuisse memoratur; ut, sicut de ipso Vas electionis ait, quasi columna firmamentum adjiceret fundamentis Ecclesiae, priores Evangelii scriptores consona autoritate confirmans; ultimus autor in libri tempore, sed primus in capite sacramenti; quippe qui solus e quatuor fluminibus ex ipso summo divini capitis fonte decurrens, de nube sublimi tonat: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Transcendit Moysen, qui usque ad caput mundi et visibilium creaturarum exordia scientiae terminos vel acie mentis extendit. Iste et evangelistis ceteris, vel ab humano Salvatoris ortu, vel a typico legis sacrificio, vel a prophetico praecursoris Baptistae praeconio Evangelium resurrectionis exorsis altius volans, penetravit et coelos: neque in angelis stetit, sed archangelos quoque, et omnes desuper creaturas, virtutes, principatus, dominationes, thronos supergressus, in ipsum se Creatorem ardua mente direxit; et ab illa ineffabili generatione ordiens, coaeternum, et consubstantialem, coomnipotentem, et coopificem

3. The same man, his life prolonged beyond the times of all the apostles, is recorded to have been the last writer of the Gospel; so that, as the Vessel of election says of him, he might as a pillar add a support to the foundations of the Church, confirming the earlier writers of the Gospel with harmonious authority; the last author in the time of his book, but the first in the head of the mystery; since he alone of the four rivers, running down from the very highest spring of the divine head, thunders from a lofty cloud: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1; Gen. 1:1). He goes beyond Moses, who extended the bounds of knowledge, or the keen sight of the mind, as far as the head of the world and the beginnings of visible creatures. He, flying higher than the other evangelists too, who began the Gospel of the resurrection either from the human birth of the Saviour (Matt. 1:1), or from the typical sacrifice of the law, or from the prophetic proclamation of the forerunner, the Baptist (Luke 1:5; Mark 1:2), penetrated even the heavens: nor did he stop among the angels, but, passing beyond the archangels also, and all the creatures above, virtues, principalities, dominations, thrones, he directed himself with lofty mind to the Creator Himself; and, beginning from that ineffable generation, the co-eternal and consubstantial, the co-omnipotent and co-creator

Editors' notes and page, col. 251

Scripture references

(printed under page 129)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 251

II Reg. II, 18.

2 Kings (2 Samuel) 2:18.

(printed under page 129)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 251

I Reg. XVII, 4. II Reg. XXI, 20.

1 Kings (1 Samuel) 17:4; 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 21:20.

(printed under page 129)

Johan. xx, 4.

John 20:4.

(printed under page 129)

(d) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 251

Johan. xiii, 23, et xxi, 20.

John 13:23 and 21:20.

(printed under page 129)

(e) ‹anchor: Deus erat Verbum› · call in col 251

Johan. i, 1; Gen. I, 1.

John 1:1; Genesis 1:1.

(printed under page 129)

(f) ‹anchor: Salvatoris ortu› · call in col 251

Matth. I, 1.

Matthew 1:1.

(printed under page 129)

(g) ‹anchor: altius volans› · call in col 251

Luc. I, 5; Marc. I, 2.

Luke 1:5; Mark 1:2.

(printed under page 129)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 251

Ita ms. Vien. et Sacchin. Alii, mensura.

So the Vienna manuscript and Sacchini. Others have "mensura".

(printed under page 129)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 251

Ante erat qua. Ex ms. Viennensi codice reposuimus quia, sententia exigente.

Previously it read "qua". From the Vienna manuscript codex we have restored "quia", as the sense requires.

(printed under page 129)

Ita mss. Vien. et Reg. In ceteris, blasphemiae vacuantur.

So the Vienna and Royal manuscripts. In the others, "blasphemiae vacuantur" (blasphemies are made void).

(printed under page 129)

(d) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 251

Sic mss. Reg. et Vien. Alii codices, Divinitatis.

So the Royal and Vienna manuscripts. Other codices have "Divinitatis".

(printed under page 129)

Page

running head: 251 S. PAULINI NOLANI EP[ISCOPI] (right part of head cut off in image)
marginal letters: A ‹illum fratrem Joab›; B ‹mus exemplis›; C ‹lumna firmamentum›; D ‹gressus, in ipsum›
old-edition numerals: 112 after ‹caput,›
other: editors' glosses not set: "(id est servum Domini; vid. ep. 40, n. 3)" after "dominicum", "(id est Apocalypsis)" after "Revelationis". "Evangelium resurrectionis exorsis" set as printed. No foot-note reference is printed for "Vas electionis ait … columna".

PL 61:252

Patri Filium nuntiavit, in Spiritu sancto Deo Deum cernens; quia in ipso Trinitas Divinitatis impletur, et una Trinitatis Divinitas cernitur. Spiritus enim Dei, sicut et Verbum Dei, Deus uterque in uno capite permanente; et ex uno Patris fonte manantes, sed Filius nascendo, Spiritus procedendo, salva quisque personarum suarum proprietate, distincti potius quam divisi erunt (forte leg. sunt).

with the Father, the Son, he proclaimed, seeing, in the Holy Spirit, God with God; for in Him the Trinity of the Godhead is fulfilled, and the one Godhead of the Trinity is seen. For the Spirit of God, as also the Word of God, each is God, the one head remaining; and, flowing from the one fountain of the Father, but the Son by being born, the Spirit by proceeding, each with the property of His own person preserved, they will be distinct rather than divided (perhaps read: are).

4. Johannes igitur beatus dominici pectoris cubator, qui sensus creaturis omnibus altiores ex ipso creatricis omnium rerum corde sapientiae biberat, inebriatus Spiritu sancto, qui scrutatur etiam alta Dei, ab ipso intimo et infinito omnium principiorum Evangelii fecit exordium; quo uno omnia diaboli, quae in haereticis latrant, ora clauduntur. Et prima Arii lingua praeciditur: sed et Sabellii blasphemia vacuatur, cum eadem Piscatoris nostri sententia et unitas Deitatis in Patre et Filio, et divisio personalitatis exprimitur. Eodem capitulo et Photinus, humani tantum in Christo exordii demens magister, exploditur: et Marcion, qui Deum legis et Evangelii discernit, exstinguitur: et Manichaeus, veri Creatoris negator et falsi confictor, obteritur, subtexta illico ejusdem supercoelestis Evangelii voce confusus: (supercoeleste hoc Evangelium dixi, quia exordium ejus ab ea origine quae super omnes coelos et ante omnia secula est, inchoatur,) quia de hoc Dei Verbo Deo audit: Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil. Gnosticum vero falsae scientiae nomine gloriantem, et omnem perversae mentis intellectum in aeria quaedam phantasmata velut spiritali corporalium rerum imaginatione vertentem, ad fidem carnis in Christo cogit idem autor, cum de eodem Verbo, quod erat apud Deum Deus, dicit: Et Verbum caro factum est. Non tamen, ut alii quidam serpentium sibilare dicuntur, ita caro factus, ut a sua natura migraret in nostram: sed, ut secundum se remanens quod erat, propter nos inciperet esse quod non erat.

4. John, then, the blessed one who lay on the Lord's breast (John 13:23; and 21:20), who had drunk from the very heart of Wisdom, creatress of all things, understandings higher than all creatures, inebriated with the Holy Spirit, who searches even the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10), made the beginning of his Gospel from the very innermost and infinite source of all beginnings; by which one stroke all the mouths of the devil that bark in the heretics are shut. And first the tongue of Arius is cut off: but the blasphemy of Sabellius too is made void, since by the same sentence of our Fisherman both the unity of the Godhead in Father and Son and the division of persons is expressed. By the same chapter Photinus too, the mad teacher of a merely human beginning in Christ, is hissed off the stage: and Marcion, who separates the God of the law from the God of the Gospel, is extinguished: and Manichaeus, denier of the true Creator and fabricator of a false one, is crushed, confounded by the voice of the same supercelestial Gospel set down immediately after: (I have called this Gospel supercelestial because its beginning starts from that origin which is above all the heavens and before all ages,) for he hears concerning this Word of God, God: All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made (John 1:3). The Gnostic, again, glorying in the name of a false knowledge, and turning all the understanding of his perverse mind into certain airy phantasms, as though by a spiritual imagining of bodily things, the same author compels to faith in the flesh in Christ, when he says of the same Word, who was God with God: And the Word was made flesh (John 1:14). Not, however, made flesh in such a way, as certain others of the serpents are said to hiss, that He migrated from His own nature into ours: but so that, remaining in Himself what He was, He began for our sake to be what He was not.

5. Nimium longe provehor, dum unanimitatis tuae indulgentia sic abutor, ut nec multiloquio fatigare te, nec insipientia errare apud te verear. Scio enim, quia cum sis sapiens, libenter tamen insipientem tuum portas, per eam caritatem quae omnia sustinet, et numquam excidit. Dicam tamen jam mihi, ut custodiam vias verbi mei, ne delinquam in lingua mea, sed paucis descendam in Cardamatem, id est, Asaelem nostrum, cujus pedes tamquam cervi perfecistis, renovando sicut aquilae juventutem ejus per abundantiam

5. I am carried too far, while I so abuse the indulgence of your oneness of heart that I fear neither to weary you with much speaking nor to go astray before you through foolishness. For I know that, wise as you are, you nevertheless gladly bear with your fool (2 Cor. 11:19), through that love which bears all things and never falls away (1 Cor. 13:7). Yet I will now say to myself that I should guard the ways of my speech, so as not to sin with my tongue (Ps. 38:2), but come down in a few words to Cardamas, that is, our Asahel, whose feet you have made like a hart's (2 Sam. 2:18), renewing his youth like the eagle's (Ps. 102:5) through the abundance

Editors' notes and page, col. 252

Footnotes

(h) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 252

Johan. xiii, 25; et xxi, 20.

John 13:25 and 21:20.

(printed under page 129)

(i) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 252

I Cor. II, 10.

1 Corinthians 2:10.

(printed under page 129)

(j) ‹anchor: factum est nihil› · call in col 252

Johan. i, 3.

John 1:3.

(printed under page 129)

(k) ‹anchor: caro factum est› · call in col 252

Johan. i, 14.

John 1:14.

(printed under page 129)

(l) ‹anchor: insipientem› · call in col 252

II Cor. XI, 19.

2 Corinthians 11:19.

(printed under page 129)

(m) ‹anchor: numquam excidit› · call in col 252

I Cor. XIII, 7.

1 Corinthians 13:7.

(printed under page 129)

(n) ‹anchor: in lingua mea› · call in col 252

Psal. XXXVIII, 2.

Psalm 38 (39):2.

(printed under page 129)

(o) ‹anchor: cervi perfecistis› · call in col 252

II Reg. II, 18.

2 Kings (2 Samuel) 2:18.

(printed under page 129)

(p) ‹anchor: juventutem ejus› · call in col 252

Psal. CII, 5.

Psalm 102 (103):5.

Editors' notes

(printed under page 129)

(e) ‹anchor: de hoc (e) Dei Verbo› · call in col 252

Ita reposuimus ex mss. Reg. et Vien. et editis quatuor; et sic Paulinus epist. 23 ad Severum, n. 2, dixit, Dei Verbum Deum. Ed. Rosv., de hoc Verbo Dei audit.

So we have restored it from the Royal and Vienna manuscripts and four printed editions; and so Paulinus said, in Letter 23 to Severus, no. 2, "Dei Verbum Deum". Rosweyde's edition has "de hoc Verbo Dei audit".

(printed under page 129)

(f) ‹anchor: sed, ut (f) secundum se› · call in col 252

Addidimus secundum se ex mss. Reg. et Vien. et editis Grin. et Schot.

We have added "secundum se" from the Royal and Vienna manuscripts and the editions of Gryphius and Schott.

(printed under page 129)

Page

running head: [S. PAULI]NI NOLANI EPISCOPI 252
marginal letters: A ‹Patri Filium nuntiavit›; B ‹prima Arii lingua›; C ‹mentis intellectum›; D ‹vias verbi mei›
old-edition numerals: 113 after ‹inebriatus›
other: "(forte leg. sunt)" is an editor's printed conjecture in the text line, kept as printed like the variants "(al. …)" and "(Sacchin. ex)" in cols. 245–246 and 244; the coordinator may prefer to drop it. The parenthesis "(supercoeleste hoc Evangelium dixi …)" is Paulinus's own and is set. "secundum se" (note f: added from mss.) is in the printed text.

PL 61:253

dilectionis vestrae, qua illum respectu humilitatis nostrae susceptum constituistis in atriis domus Domini, ut plenius homini liber esset, cum Christi libertus esse coepisset. Hac illum pietate fecistis reflorescere non solum spiritu, sed et corpore, ut etiam ipse de visceribus vestris repletus affectu quo nos diligitis, desideria vestra nobis afferat; et vicissim nostra soletur; et tantis inter nos regionum intervallis prope solemniter commeans propter verba labiorum vestrorum custodiat vias duras. Credimus quidem illum de ipsis quas gerit litteris sanctitatis vestrae pennas tamquam columbae assumere, et praeterea de orationibus vestris virtutem pedum, qua ad nos pervehatur, accipere; sed tamen ei de hac ipsa gratia congratulamur, qua positus est in tantae ministerio caritatis, ut in libertate serviat, in senectute discurrat, et requiem vacationis emeritae malit in peregrinationis labore quam in domestica sede consumere: quia pigrorum vias spinis stratas calcare declinat, ne convertatur in aerumnam, dum ei de inertiae infructuoso otio miserae sollicitudinis spina colligitur. Exsultat itaque impiger ad currendam viam, ne illi segne otium conterenti, pedissequa pigrorum inopia tamquam bonus cursor occurrat. Veniens autem ad nos, quanto perfundit et implet animam nostram gaudio bonis de sospitate vestra nuntiis! impinguat ossa nostra, et fit vox laetitiae in tabernaculis nostris, cum refectis exoptata consolatione mentibus, dicimus: Dominus memor fuit nostri, et benedixit nos.

of your love, by which, out of regard for our lowliness, you received him and set him in the courts of the house of the Lord, so that he might be the more fully free of man once he had begun to be Christ's freedman. By this kindness you have made him flourish again not only in spirit but in body too, so that he himself, filled from your inmost heart with the affection with which you love us, brings your longings to us and in turn consoles ours; and, going to and fro between us almost as a solemn custom across such great distances of land, for the sake of the words of your lips he keeps hard ways (Ps. 16:4). We believe indeed that from the very letters of your holiness which he carries he takes on wings like a dove (Ps. 54:7), and moreover receives from your prayers the strength of feet by which he is carried to us; but still we congratulate him on this very grace, by which he has been placed in the ministry of so great a charity that he serves in freedom, runs about in old age, and would rather spend the rest of a well-earned retirement in the labour of travel than in a seat at home: because he declines to tread the ways of the slothful, strewn with thorns (Prov. 15:19), lest he be turned to misery while the thorn of wretched care is gathered for him out of the fruitless idleness of inertia. And so he exults, unwearied, to run the way, lest, while he wears away sluggish leisure, want, the attendant of the slothful, should come upon him like a good runner (Ps. 31:4; Ps. 18:6; Prov. 6:11). And coming to us, with how great a joy he floods and fills our soul through his good news of your safety! He fattens our bones (Prov. 15:30), and there is a voice of gladness in our tabernacles (Ps. 117:15), when, our minds refreshed with the longed-for consolation, we say: The Lord has been mindful of us, and has blessed us (Ps. 113:12).

6. Exsultemus et laetemur in eo, qui dat votum optanti, et desiderium animae nostrae tribuit nobis, quoniam praevenit nos in benedictione dulcedinis. Quae enim nobis nunc benedictio dulcior, aut dulcedo suavior, quam fructus et consolatio caritatis, quae a litteris vestris maxima nobis datur? in quibus pignora quaedam et oris vestri et cordis amplectimur; quia eloquia vestra partus animae vestrae sunt: ex abundantia enim cordis os loquitur. Ideo Cardamatem et advenientem in vestro sermone diligimus, et nostro commendamus abeuntem: dignus est enim cujus senectus in misericordia uberi requiescat, qui pro caritatis et desideriis et officiis laborat. Praeterea quod magis in eo quam ipsam in canis ejus velocitatem mirati sumus, ita de nomine exorcistae ad frugalitatem profecit, ut prope quotidianus esse nobis conviva non fugerit; et, cum raris et minutis calicibus aspergeretur, quibus labra summa vix tingeret, nihil de vacui ventris aut sicci gutturis injuria querebatur. Prorsus per omnia Cardamas nobis tam bellus apparuit, ut clericum probabilem hominibus,

6. Let us exult and be glad in Him (Ps. 117:24) who gives the wish to the one who longs, and has granted us the desire of our soul, since He has gone before us with the blessing of sweetness (Ps. 20:3). For what blessing is now sweeter to us, or what sweetness more delightful, than the fruit and consolation of charity, which is given us in the fullest measure by your letters? In them we embrace certain pledges both of your mouth and of your heart; for your words are the offspring of your soul: for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34). Therefore we love Cardamas both as he arrives in your words, and as he departs we commend him in ours: for he is worthy that his old age should rest in plentiful mercy (Ps. 91:11), who labours both for the longings and for the duties of charity. Moreover, what we admired in him more than the very swiftness of his grey hairs: he has so advanced, from the title of exorcist, towards frugality, that he did not shun being our almost daily table-companion; and though he was sprinkled with rare and tiny cups, with which he barely wet the edge of his lips, he made no complaint of the wrong done to an empty belly or a dry throat. In short, in all things Cardamas appeared so charming to us that we saw a cleric approved by men

Editors' notes and page, col. 253

Scripture references

(printed under page 130)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 253

Psal. XVI, 4.

Psalm 16 (17):4.

(printed under page 130)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 253

Psal. LIV, 7.

Psalm 54 (55):7.

(printed under page 130)

Prov. XV, 19.

Proverbs 15:19.

(printed under page 130)

(d) ‹anchor: bonus cursor occurrat› · call in col 253

Psal. XXXI, 4; Psal. XVIII, 6; Prov. VI, 11.

Psalm 31 (32):4; Psalm 18 (19):6; Proverbs 6:11.

(printed under page 130)

(e) ‹anchor: impinguat ossa nostra› · call in col 253

Prov. XV, 30.

Proverbs 15:30.

(printed under page 130)

(f) ‹anchor: in tabernaculis› · call in col 253

Psal. CXVII, 15.

Psalm 117 (118):15.

(printed under page 130)

(g) ‹anchor: et benedixit› · call in col 253

Psal. CXIII, 12.

Psalm 113 (115):12.

(printed under page 130)

(h) ‹anchor: laetemur in eo› · call in col 253

Psal. CXVII, 24.

Psalm 117 (118):24.

(printed under page 130)

(i) ‹anchor: benedictione dulcedinis› · call in col 253

Psal. XX, 3, juxta LXX.

Psalm 20 (21):3, following the Septuagint.

(printed under page 130)

(j) ‹anchor: os loquitur› · call in col 253

Matth. XII, 34.

Matthew 12:34.

(printed under page 130)

(k) ‹anchor: in misericordia uberi› · call in col 253

Psal. XCI, 11.

Psalm 91 (92):11.

(printed under page 130)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 253

Ms. Vien., plenus.

The Vienna manuscript has "plenus".

(printed under page 130)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 253

Ms. Reg. ministerium.

The Royal manuscript has "ministerium".

(printed under page 130)

Sic mss. codices Reg. et Vien. Editi, caritate,

So the Royal and Vienna manuscript codices. The printed editions have "caritate", [the note ends here in the image]

(printed under page 130)