PL 61 · cols. 304–307

Paulinus of Nola, Letters

Letters XXVI–XXVII

filii: et si non suscipiuntur, sterilitas lugetur: si suscipiuntur, orbitas timetur. Ac proinde numquam in carnalibus affectionibus ita requiescit animus ut cruciatu careat, dum necessitudines suas aut bonas amat cum amittendi metu, aut malas odit cum amittendi voto; in utroque miseriis sustinendis semper obnoxius. Miser est enim qui uxorem bonam perdit, miserior qui malam possidet. Inter haec duo accidentia, satis felicior est qui utrumque non novit. Similiter et de filiis: saepissime enim sunt miserrimi parentes, vel qui amabiles habent quibus orbantur; vel qui tales habent, ut non habentibus invidere cogantur.

children: and if they are not received, barrenness is mourned; if they are received, bereavement is feared. And so the mind never rests in fleshly affections so as to be free of torment, since it either loves its own ties when they are good, with the fear of losing them, or hates them when they are bad, with the wish to lose them; in either case always liable to the endurance of miseries. For wretched is he who loses a good wife, more wretched he who keeps a bad one. Between these two chances, far happier is he who knows neither. So too with children: for very often parents are most wretched, either those who have lovable children of whom they are bereaved, or those who have such children that they are driven to envy those who have none.

8. Audi ergo, fili mi, et inclina aurem tuam mihi, et disrumpe omnia vincula tua, quaecumque in hoc seculo te implicatum tenent; commuta in melius militiam, ut aeterno Regi incipias militare. Et nunc, ut audio, qui adjutor et tutor es civium, fias comes Christi. Deinde in hac militia soletis in votis habere hanc officii promotionem, ut protectores efficiamini. Si autem Deo te probaveris, ipsum Deum incipies habere protectorem. Vide ad qualem militiam te invito collegam, ut quod homini esse optas, hoc tibi Deus sit. Quem si coeperis sequi, et in ejus comitiva inceperis militare, finis militiae tuae erit regnum, non terrae et temporis, sed aeternitatis et coeli.

8. Hear then, my son, and incline your ear to me, and break all your bonds, whatever they are that hold you entangled in this world; change your service for a better, so that you may begin to serve as a soldier of the eternal King. And now, being, as I hear, a helper and guardian of the citizens, become a companion of Christ. Further, in this service you are accustomed to have among your wishes this promotion in office, that you be made protectores. But if you prove yourself to God, you will begin to have God Himself as your protector. See to what a service I invite you as a colleague: that what you wish to be to a man, God may be to you. If you begin to follow Him, and begin to serve in His retinue, the end of your service will be a kingdom, not of earth and time, but of eternity and heaven.

EPISTOLA XXVI.

LETTER XXVI.

Sancto et merito dilectissimo fratri SEBASTIANO, PAULINUS et THERASIA in Christo Domino salutem.

To their holy and deservedly most beloved brother Sebastian, Paulinus and Therasia, greeting in Christ the Lord.

1. Benedictus est Dominus Deus Israel, qui elegit te et assumsit in vas electionis suae, et segregavit ab utero matris antiquae, et dedit tibi pennas columbae, ut ab hujus seculi strepitu procul evolans diceres: Ecce volavi fugiens, et mansi in solitudine. Quamvis tua solitudo non sola sit, quae non deserta est, sed secreta, et ab hujus mundi tenebris desolata, a Dei lumine frequentetur, et a daemonibus furentibus fugiatur, atque ab angelis gaudentibus excolatur. Ipse Dominus Deus noster donavit nobis, licet longo intervallo distantibus, appropinquare tibi in dilectione per odorem bonum notitiae tuae,

1. Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who chose you and took you up as a vessel of His election, and set you apart from the womb of the ancient mother, and gave you the wings of a dove, so that, flying far off from the din of this world, you might say: Behold, I have flown away in flight, and remained in the wilderness (Ps. 54:8). Yet your solitude is not solitary, for it is not deserted but withdrawn, and, emptied of the darkness of this world, it is thronged by the light of God, and shunned by raging demons, and tended by rejoicing angels. The Lord our God Himself has granted us, though separated by a long distance, to draw near to you in love through the good fragrance of your renown,

Editors' notes and page, col. 304

Footnotes

(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 304 (upper part)

Ms. Vict. et edit. Rom., Mogunt., Erasm. et Ponc., tutator.

The Victorine manuscript and the Roman, Mainz, Erasmus and Ponce editions have tutator.

(printed under page 155)

(f) ‹anchor: Ecce› · call in col 304

Psalteria quinque et S. Augustinus, in psalm., elongavi.

Five Psalters and St Augustine on the Psalms have elongavi ("I have gone far off").

(printed under page 155)

(g) ‹anchor: in solitudine.› · call in col 304

Sic mss. Vatic. et Vict. Ante erat in ed. Rosv. Quamvis solitudo non sit tua, quae, etc. Editi codd. 5, Quasi, mendose.

So the Vatican and Victorine manuscripts. Previously Rosweyde's edition had Quamvis solitudo non sit tua, quae, etc. Five printed codices have Quasi, wrongly.

(printed under page 155)

(h) ‹anchor: bonum notitiae› · call in col 304

Ita ms. Victor. cum duobus editis codicibus. Alii, bonae.

So the Victorine manuscript, with two printed codices. Others have bonae.

(printed under page 155)

Editors' prose

Sebastianum eremitam et Benedictum diaconum collaudatos, illum ob vitae institutum, hunc propter curam illi necessaria ministrandi, rogat ut pro se et Therasia opud Dominum intercedant.

Having praised Sebastian the hermit and Benedict the deacon, the one for his way of life, the other for the care he takes to supply him with necessities, he asks them to intercede with the Lord for himself and Therasia.

Page

running head: ULINI NOLANI EPISCOPI 304 (left part cut off; with 303: S. PAULINI NOLANI EPISCOPI)
marginal letters: A ‹filii: et si non suscipiuntur›; B ‹seculo te implicatum›; C ‹curam illi necessaria (in the argumentum)›; D ‹in dilectione per odorem›
old-edition numerals: 167 after ‹a›
other: EDITORS' PROSE: the italic summary (argumentum) under the title of Ep. XXVI, "Sebastianum eremitam ... intercedant.", not set. Asterisk after EPISTOLA is a call to the editors' note "Alias 40; ... Scripta anno 401" (omitted). Inline cross-references "(V. not. 121)" after "felicior est" and "(V. not. 122)" after "protectores" are editors' note references, omitted. Superscripts 16, 17, 18, 1 and calls (e)-(h) omitted. Ref for "Ecce volavi" from foot note j (Psal. LIV, 8), printed on column 303's page foot.

PL 61:305

quam per fratrem in Domino carissimum Victorem accepimus: qui nobis et opus propositi tui, et secretum tabernaculi nuntiavit: quia veterum sanctorum strenuus aemulator, super torrentem tibi gratissimum, sicut illi quondam filii prophetarum, Elisaeo duce, super Jordanem, pacificam mansionem et spiritualia castra posuisses; et diaconus tibi frater Benedictus Sareptanae illius aut Sunamitidis obsequio ministraret. Beatus ille, cui mandavit Dominus sicut uni volatilium coeli, ut te sicut Eliam ad torrentem secreto sedentem panibus pietatis pasceret; et ad cellulam tuam assiduis super hac ministratione vestigiis, velut ad arcam Noe fructiferum pii germinis ramum afferens columba revolaret.

which we received through our brother most dear in the Lord, Victor: who told us both of the work of your way of life and of the seclusion of your tabernacle: how, a vigorous imitator of the saints of old, you had pitched by a torrent most pleasing to you a peaceful dwelling and a spiritual camp, as once those sons of the prophets did by the Jordan under Elisha's lead (2 Kgs. 6:2); and how your brother the deacon Benedict was ministering to you with the service of that woman of Zarephath or of the Shunammite (2 Kgs. 4:8). Blessed is he whom the Lord commanded, as He did one of the birds of heaven, to feed you, sitting in seclusion like Elijah by the torrent, with the loaves of devotion (1 Kgs. 17:4); and who with constant steps in this ministry flies back to your little cell, like the dove to Noah's ark bringing a fruitful branch of holy growth (Gen. 8:11).

2. Benedicti vos a Domino, qui facit unius moris habitare in domo, et qui germanitatis vinculum duplicavit in vobis; quos et in Ecclesiae utero fratres fecit, et sub una fide variis distinxit officiis, ut sub diverso munere alter alterum pasceretis. Tu illum spiritualibus armis jejunans et orans juvares, et ille in te coelestia bona sibi sereret, dum carnalia tibi alimenta suppeditat, non indigenti quidem pereuntis escae sumtu: quia fames tua justitiam et regnum Dei esurit. Sed tamen quia idem Dominus, qui fecit quod intus est, fecit quod foris est; spiritus quidem promptus, caro autem infirma; ideo viventem licet animam in Verbo Dei, quod est Christus Deus, qui verus et vivus panis est, tali remuneratur obsequio, ut corpori tuo, id est, terrenae in te fragilitati serviat cibis modicis, et ipse jejuniorum tuorum abundantia saginetur. Ideo enim dixit: Non in solo pane vivit homo, sed in omni verbo Dei; quia ut infirmioris substantiae nostrae rationem, ne esuriret, habuit, perinde et carni panem necessarium ipse Creator ostendit.

2. Blessed are you by the Lord (Ps. 113:15), who makes men of one way of life dwell in a house (Ps. 67:7), and who has doubled in you the bond of brotherhood; whom He both made brothers in the womb of the Church and, under one faith, distinguished by different offices, so that in different service each of you might feed the other. You were to help him with spiritual arms, fasting and praying, and he was to sow heavenly goods for himself in you while he supplies you with fleshly nourishment, though you do not need the expense of perishing food: for your hunger hungers for justice and the kingdom of God (Matt. 5:6). But nevertheless, because the same Lord who made what is within made what is without; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak (Matt. 26:41; Mark 14:38); therefore, though your soul lives in the Word of God, who is Christ God, who is the true and living bread (John 6:41), He rewards it with such a service, that he serves your body, that is, the earthly frailty in you, with modest food, and is himself fattened by the abundance of your fasts. For this is why He said: Man lives not by bread alone, but by every word of God (Matt. 4:4; Luke 4:4; Deut. 8:3); because, as He took account of our weaker substance, that it should not go hungry, so too the Creator Himself showed that bread is necessary for the flesh.

3. Sed ne corporis curam animae praeponeremus, quae verbo Dei pascitur, non in solo pane victum hominis constitutum; docuit quem etsi animae cura non quaerat, tamen corporis natura deposcit. Ideo benedictus ille, cui ad opes animae proficit necessitas conditionis tuae: quia adhuc homo, et isto visibili pane pascendus es, etsi interius aeterno illo pane satureris. Non enim proficeret spiritualis virtus, nisi subesset carnalis infirmitas. Nec esset potens fidelium ministratio, nisi materiam ministrandi plerumque fraterna inopia praeberet. Unde et Apostolus ait in sanctos compensationem futuram, cum Ecclesiam Dei ad consolationem istius benedictionis hortatur, et dicit: Abundantia vestra sit ad illorum

3. But lest we should set the care of the body before the soul, which is fed by the word of God, He taught that man's sustenance is not set in bread alone; sustenance which, even if the soul's care does not seek it, the nature of the body nonetheless demands. Therefore blessed is he to whom the necessity of your condition brings profit for the riches of the soul: for you are still a man, and must be fed with this visible bread, even though inwardly you are filled with that eternal bread. For spiritual virtue would not advance unless fleshly weakness lay beneath it. Nor would the ministry of the faithful have power, unless a brother's want often supplied the matter for ministering. Hence the Apostle too speaks of a future recompense towards the saints, when he exhorts the Church of God to the comfort of this blessing, and says: Let your abundance be for their

Editors' notes and page, col. 305

Footnotes

Scripture references ᵃ ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 305 (upper part) IV. Reg. VI, 2; IV Reg. IV, 8.

4 Kings (2 Kings) 6:2; 4 Kings (2 Kings) 4:8.

ᵇ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 305 (upper part) III Reg. XVII, 4.

3 Kings (1 Kings) 17:4.

ᶜ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 305 (upper part) Gen. VIII, 11.

Genesis 8:11.

ᵈ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 305 (upper part) Psal. CXIII, 15.

Psalm 113 (115):15.

ᵉ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 305 (upper part) Psal. LXVII, 7.

Psalm 67 (68):7.

ᶠ ‹anchor: Dei esurit› · call in col 305 Matth. V, 6.

Matthew 5:6.

ᵍ ‹anchor: caro autem infirma› · call in col 305 Matth. XXVI, 41, Marc. XIV, 38.

Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38.

ʰ ‹anchor: vivus panis est› · call in col 305 Johan. vi, 41.

John 6:41.

ⁱ ‹anchor: in omni verbo Dei› · call in col 305 Matth. IV, 4; Luc. IV, 4; Deut. VIII, 3.

Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3.

ʲ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 305/306 (upper part) II Cor. VIII, 14.

2 Corinthians 8:14.

ᵏ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 306 (upper part) Matth. III, 5; Joh. xii, 28.

Matthew 3:5; John 12:28.

ˡ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 306 (upper part) Psal. CXXXV, 25.

Psalm 135 (136):25.

ᵐ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 306 (upper part) Matth. V, 6.

Matthew 5:6.

ⁿ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 306 (upper part) Psal. XLII, 1.

Psalm 42 (43):1.

ᵒ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 306 (upper part) Psal. CXL, 10.

Psalm 140 (141):10.

ᵖ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 306 (upper part) Gal. VI, 2.

Galatians 6:2.

ᑫ ‹anchor: Abba, Pater› · call in col 306 Rom. VIII, 15; Gal. IV, 6.

Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6.

ʳ ‹anchor: in omni tempore› · call in col 306 Psal. XXXIII, 2.

Psalm 33 (34):2.

ˢ ‹anchor: tribuit nobis› · call in col 306 Psal. CII, 3 et 10.

Psalm 102 (103):3 and 10.

Note on the letter * ‹anchor: EPISTOLA XXVII› · call in col 306 Alias 14; quae autem 27 erat, nunc 37. Scripta anno 401.

Formerly 14; and the one that was 27 is now 37. Written in the year 401.

Editors' notes (printed under page 156)

(a) ‹anchor: Dei pascitur,› · call in col 305

Ms. codex Victorinus, non in solo pane vitam hominis constare monstravit. Atque ideo non [leg. eum] dixit: Non in solo pane, etiam in pane victum hominis constitutum docuit.

The Victorine manuscript codex has: non in solo pane vitam hominis constare monstravit. Atque ideo non [read eum] dixit: Non in solo pane, etiam in pane victum hominis constitutum docuit ("he showed that man's life does not consist in bread alone. And so, in saying 'Not by bread alone', he taught that man's sustenance consists also in bread").

(printed under page 156)

Justitiam. Vera lectio, et Scripturae sacrae consentanea, Graece τὴν δικαιοσύνην. Ms. Victor. et editi 4, vitam. Prior lectio praeterea confirmatur ex n. 2 fames tua justitiam et regnum Dei esurit.

Justitiam. The true reading, and in keeping with holy Scripture: in Greek τὴν δικαιοσύνην. The Victorine manuscript and four editions have vitam. The former reading is further confirmed by n. 2, "your hunger hungers for justice and the kingdom of God".

(printed under page 156)

Page

running head: 305 EPISTOLA XXVI.
marginal letters: A ‹quam per fratrem in Domino›; B ‹2. Benedicti vos a Domino›; C ‹in te fragilitati serviat›; D ‹rumque fraterna inopia›
old-edition numerals: 168 after ‹carnalis›

PL 61:306

inopiam: ut et illorum abundantia vestrae inopiae supplementum fiat.

want: that their abundance also may become a supply for your want (2 Cor. 8:14).

4. Adhuc audeo dicere in utroque vestrum diversa Johannis et Domini forma consistit: Johannis in deserto clamantis, et Domini in templo docentis. Et unus vestrum in servitutem ministerii vocatus est, alter in monachi libertatem. Sed utrique in unum Dei regnum et gloriam convocati, et ambo liberi, quia ambo sub gratia; et ambo servi, quia ambo sub lege fidei. Ambo liberi peccato, et ambo servi justitiae, et ambo in jejuniis Domino diem sapitis, et ambo in epulis sinceritatis Domino gratias agitis, qui dat escam omni carni, et dat escam vivam esurientibus veram justitiam. Unus vestrum audivit, ut dicat: Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam. Et alter ab eodem propheta didicit dicere: Singulariter sum ego, donec transeam.

4. I venture to say further that in each of you stands a different pattern, of John and of the Lord: of John crying in the desert (Matt. 3:3; John 1:23), and of the Lord teaching in the temple. And one of you is called to the servitude of the ministry, the other to the freedom of a monk. But both are called together into the one kingdom and glory of God, and both are free, because both are under grace; and both are servants, because both are under the law of faith. Both are free from sin, and both servants of justice; and both in fasting you keep the day to the Lord, and both at the banquet of sincerity you give thanks to the Lord, who gives food to all flesh (Ps. 135:25), and gives living food to those who hunger for true justice (Matt. 5:6). One of you has heard, so that he may say: I will go in to the altar of God, to God who gives joy to my youth (Ps. 42:4). And the other has learned from the same prophet to say: I am alone until I pass over (Ps. 140:10).

5. Ergo quia sic electi estis et dilecti Domino, ut alter alterius onera portetis; et caritate perfecta, qua invicem vos pascitis, sustinetis, instruitis, locupletatis, adimpletis legem Christi, orate pro nobis; conserite validas orationum manus, ut superetis multitudinem peccatorum nostrorum. Ob hoc enim misericors et miserator Dominus peccatoribus suis sanctorum notitiam caritatemque procurat et donat, ut etiam inexcusabiles reos praepotens advocatio meritis damnationis absolvat. Maneatis in regno Domini (quod intra vos fecit esse per inhabitantem in vobis arrhabonem Spiritus sancti, in quo clamatis, Abba, Pater) benedicti Domino filii pietatis, et pacis, et luminis.

5. Therefore, since you are so chosen and beloved by the Lord that you bear one another's burdens, and in the perfect charity with which you feed, sustain, instruct and enrich one another you fulfil the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2), pray for us; join the strong hands of prayer, so as to overcome the multitude of our sins. For this is why the merciful and compassionate Lord procures and grants to His sinners the acquaintance and love of the saints: that a most powerful advocacy may absolve even the inexcusable guilty from the deserts of condemnation. May you abide in the kingdom of the Lord (which He has made to be within you through the pledge of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, in whom you cry, Abba, Father (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6)), blessed of the Lord, sons of devotion, and of peace, and of light.

EPISTOLA XXVII.

LETTER XXVII.

SEVERO fratri unanimo, venerabili et semper desiderantissimo, PAULINUS.

To Severus, his brother of one mind, venerable and ever most longed-for, Paulinus.

1. Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore, non obliviscar retributiones ejus, quia non secundum peccata nostra tribuit nobis, qui assiduis et numerosis de tua unanimitate solatiis satiat desiderium nostrum; nam in paucis diebus reditum ad nos sanctorum fratrum et unanimorum communium, Posthumiani et Theridii, adventus aliorum fratrum Virini et Soriani consecutus est. Ita nobis uno propemodum in tempore plurima gaudiorum messis obvenit, cum omnes ii quos pariter venisse memoravimus, litteris unanimitatis tuae dulciorem nobis praesentiae suae gratiam reddidissent. Exsultavit itaque in Domino spiritus noster,

1. I will bless the Lord at all times (Ps. 33:2), I will not forget His benefits, for He has not rewarded us according to our sins (Ps. 102:2, 10), He who satisfies our longing with constant and numerous comforts from you, my other self; for within a few days the return to us of our holy brothers and common friends of one mind, Posthumianus and Theridius, was followed by the arrival of other brothers, Virinus and Sorianus. So a most plentiful harvest of joys came to us at almost one time, since all those whom we have mentioned as coming together had made the grace of their presence sweeter to us by the letters of your affection. And so our spirit has exulted in the Lord,

Editors' notes and page, col. 306

Footnotes

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 306 (upper part)

Editi sex codices addunt vox, minus bene.

Six printed codices add vox, less well.

(printed under page 156)

(d) ‹anchor: et semper› · call in col 306

Ita ms. Reg. Editi, desideratissimo.

So the Regius manuscript. The editions have desideratissimo.

(printed under page 156)

Editors' prose

Laetatur receptis de Severo nuntiis: purgat se ei de abductis hominibus: ejusdem laudes exsequitur summa caritate ac sui submissione.

He rejoices at the news received about Severus; he clears himself before him concerning the men he had taken away; he sets out Severus's praises with the greatest charity and humility.

Page

running head: EPISTOLA XXVII. 306
marginal letters: A ‹inopiam: ut et illorum›; B ‹Deum qui laetificat›; C ‹benedicti Domino filii›; D ‹secutus est. Ita›
old-edition numerals: 169 after ‹tua›
other: EDITORS' PROSE: the italic argumentum of Ep. XXVII, "Laetatur receptis de Severo nuntiis ... sui submissione.", not set; asterisk after EPISTOLA is a call to the editors' note "Alias 14; ... Scripta anno 401" (omitted). Inline editors' cross-references "(V. Vit. c. 39, n. 2)" after "consistit" and "(V. carm. 22, v. 381, et Vit. c. 35, n. 1)" after "Theridii" omitted. Calls (b), (c), (d) and superscript 4 omitted. Column ends "no-" (noster?) split at the break; visible part set; English renders "our spirit". Foot note k read "Matth. III, 3; Joh. I, 23" (faint); note s read "Psal. CII, 3 et 10" or "2 et 10" (digit faint; given as 2, the verse quoted).

PL 61:307

et dilatatum est os nostrum super inimicum nostrum, cui non dabatur dicere: Praevalui adversus eos; cum potius vota desideriorum nostrorum praevaluissent, ut exoptata de te, id est maxima animae nostrae cura, et judicia, et eloquia reciperemus.

and our mouth is enlarged over our enemy (1 Sam. 2:1; Luke 1:47), who was not granted to say: I have prevailed against them (Ps. 12:5); since rather the prayers of our longings had prevailed, so that we received the news we longed for about you, that is, about the greatest care of our soul, both your judgements and your words.

2. Itaque, ut nihil invicem sicut praeceptum est, nisi amorem mutuum nobis debeamus; respondebo omnibus epistolis tuis: ac primum illi quam primo accepi, qua de ipsis, per quos scripseras, apud me expostulas, cur aut te solum reliquerim, aut illos tibi abduxerim. Sed recognosces, neutro me posse culpari; quia neque in te desiderando umquam modum feci, neque ullum tecum habui de eorum usurpatione certamen: alioquin ultro tibi de tuo jure cessissem, si prius tua fuisset possessio. Non enim a me alieni forent tecum manentes, qui totus es meus in Christo Domino, per quem sum invicem tuus: neque tantum cepissem gratiae in iis receptis quantum amisissem, si tibi praeripuissem quamlibet expetendos in salutari via comites. Nam mea quoque sententia dignissimum me judicarem qui a tua caritate vacuarer, si ullum bonum mihi quam tibi mallem. Verum ego cum illos inopinato Domini munere allapsos mihi tales comperissem, quales et tibi postea in brevi claruerunt, etiam invidebam mihi, cur in hac parte felicior te fuissem, ut tuo conspectu et consortio digniores ego potius obtinerem, vel prius agnovissem. Denique, ut quamprimum hac qua me beatum existimabam gratia te consorte gauderem, et praesentes increpui, quod se familiaritatis ac notitiae tuae expertes faterentur; neque quidquam studiosius mandavi proficiscentibus, quam ad conspectum tuum complexumque properarent, teque cognoscere omnibus in patria rebus et curis suis anteferrent, ut diutinum damnum sibi vel sero sarcirent. Et, gratias Domino, recipimus eos venientes in exsultatione, magnumque hujus, qua nobis in te prae ceteris expetendo credidissent, conscientiae gaudium, quasi benedictum et ceteris vitae suae fructibus altiorem de agro pleno manipulum reportantes. Quas illi Deo primum, qui non solum satiasset, sed et superasset desiderium eorum, ut plura in te quam praesumserant invenirent bona? quas nobis, qui tantae illis acquisitionis fuissemus autores? quas sibimetipsis, quod nobis in suum lucrum paruissent, gratias agebant?

2. And so, that we may owe one another nothing, as is commanded, but mutual love (John 15:17; Rom. 13:8; 1 John 3:23), I will answer all your letters: and first the one I received first, in which you complain to me about the very men by whom you had written, asking why I either left you alone or drew them away from you. But you will recognize that I can be blamed on neither count; for I have never set a limit to my longing for you, nor have I had any contest with you over laying claim to them: otherwise I would freely have yielded you your right, had the possession been yours first. For those who remained with you would not be estranged from me, since you are wholly mine in Christ the Lord, through whom I am in turn yours: nor would I have gained so much grace in receiving them as I should have lost, had I snatched from you companions on the way of salvation, however desirable. For by my own verdict too I should judge myself most worthy to be emptied of your love, if I preferred any good for myself rather than for you. But when, by an unexpected gift of the Lord, I had found that those who had come to me were such as they shortly afterwards showed themselves to you too, I even envied myself, that in this respect I had been more fortunate than you, in that I should possess, or should have come to know first, men more worthy of your sight and fellowship. In short, so that I might as soon as possible rejoice with you as sharer in this grace by which I thought myself blessed, I even rebuked them to their faces, because they admitted that they had no familiarity or acquaintance with you; and I charged them, as they set out, with nothing more earnestly than that they should hasten to your sight and embrace, and should set knowing you before all their affairs and cares in their homeland, so that they might make good, even late, their long loss. And, thanks be to the Lord, we receive them coming with exultation (Ps. 125:6), carrying back the great joy of the conviction with which they had believed us in seeking you above all others, like a blessed sheaf from a full field, loftier than the other fruits of their life. What thanks did they not give, first to God, who had not only satisfied but surpassed their longing, so that they found more good things in you than they had presumed? What to us, who had been the authors of so great a gain for them? What to themselves, that they had obeyed us to their own profit?

3. Ineffabile mihi est, quanta me voluptate perfuderint, cum referrent et actus et sermones tuos, et perfectum cor tuum caritatis divinae scientia, qua humilis et excelsus, pauper et dives, servus et liber, famulis conservus, fratribus servus, pauperibus dives in visceribus misericordiae, divitibus pauper in spiritu mansuetudinis, humilis virtute pietatis, arduus sublimitate

3. It is beyond my telling with what delight they flooded me, when they related both your deeds and your words, and your heart made perfect by the knowledge of divine love, by which, lowly and exalted, poor and rich, slave and free, a fellow servant to your servants, a servant to your brothers, rich towards the poor in tender mercy, poor towards the rich in the spirit of meekness, lowly by the virtue of devotion, lofty in the sublimity

Editors' notes and page, col. 307

Footnotes

Scripture references ᵃ ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 307 (upper part) I Reg. II, 1; Luc. I, 47.

1 Samuel (1 Kings) 2:1; Luke 1:47.

ᵇ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 307 (upper part) Psal. XII, 5.

Psalm 12 (13):5.

ᶜ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 307 (upper part) Johan. xv, 17; Rom. XIII, 8; I Johan. iii, 23.

John 15:17; Romans 13:8; 1 John 3:23.

ᵈ ‹anchor: venientes in exsultatione› · call in col 307 Psal. CXXV, 6.

Psalm 125 (126):6.

ᵉ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 308 (upper part) Psal. XXII, 5.

Psalm 22 (23):5.

ᶠ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 308 (upper part) Psal. CII, 1, sec. Psalter. vetus et Rom.

Psalm 102 (103):1, according to the Old and Roman Psalters.

ᵍ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 308 (upper part) Psal. CXXVII, 5.

Psalm 127 (128):5.

ʰ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 308 (upper part) Malac. i, 6.

Malachi 1:6.

ⁱ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 308 (upper part) Psal. CXXXV, 1.

Psalm 135 (136):1.

ʲ ‹anchor: operatus est nobis› · call in col 308 Psal. LXVII, 29.

Psalm 67 (68):29.

ᵏ ‹anchor: panem suum› · call in col 308 Gen. III, 19.

Genesis 3:19.

Note on the letter * ‹anchor: EPISTOLA XXVIII› · call in col 308 Alias 9; quae autem 28 erat, nunc 18. Scripta anno 402, sub finem aestatis.

Formerly 9; and the one that was 28 is now 18. Written in the year 402, towards the end of summer.

Editors' notes (printed under page 157)

(a) ‹anchor: et praesentes› · call in col 307

Sic ms. Reg. et sic Paulinus in epist. 49 ad Macarium, n. 5, increpuit mare.

So the Regius manuscript; and so Paulinus in Letter 49, to Macarius, n. 5: increpuit mare ("he rebuked the sea").

(printed under page 157)

Page

running head: 307 S. PAULINI NOLANI EPISCOPI
marginal letters: A ‹ster, et dilatatum›; B ‹forent tecum manentes›; C ‹tes faterentur›; D ‹3. Ineffabile mihi est›
old-edition numerals: 170 after ‹pleno›
other: superscripts 1, 2, 3, the double-mark call before "fuissemus", and call (a) omitted. Scripture refs from the page's foot notes (c and d completed in column 308's images). Column ends "subli-" (sublimitate, completed at the top of 308); visible part set. The asterisked editors' note "Alias 9; ... Scripta anno 402, sub finem aestatis" belongs to Ep. XXVIII in 308.