PL 61 · cols. 391–396

Paulinus of Nola, Letters

Letter XLV

indigemus: quia quis aut inutiles conducet operarios, aut tribuet non petentibus? nonnumquam tamen, qui agros inopes et incultos habent, desperatis ab ope vel manu sua fructibus spes omnes suas ad auxilia divina convertunt; et saepe eventu juxta fidem praestito, compensante diligentiam religione, quos solers cultura deseruit, pia vota juverunt.

we stand in need: for who will either hire useless labourers, or give to those who do not ask? Yet sometimes those who have poor and untilled fields, despairing of fruits from their own means or hand, turn all their hopes to the help of God; and often, an outcome being granted according to their faith, and devotion making up for diligence, pious prayers have helped those whom skilful tillage failed.

7. Orate ergo, ut Dominus omnipotens, qui posuit flumina in desertum, convertat aridam nostram in exitus aquarum; percutiat et interrumpat duritiam cordis nostri, ut hanc quoque petram convertat in stagnum aquae. Atque utinam illo nos rore respergat, quo illud mysticum in area vellus fecit. Ros enim qui ab illo est, sanitas est nobis. Orate, inquam, ut hortulum nostrum introire dignatus, exsurgere aquilonem jubeat, et austrum venire, quibus auras vitales afflantibus germina nostra vivescant. Sed et si vineam suam ingressus, arborem nostram sine fructu invenerit, parcat excidere; et misericordia differente, credat agricolae intervenienti, qui extorquendum diligentia sua fructum de sterili ficulnea pollicetur. Potens est enim ipse Dominus, qui interpellat pro peccatis nostris, et qui vocat ea quae non sunt, tamquam quae sint, facere et de nobis egenis et aridis arborem fructuosam, et animam inanem adipe verbi sui tamquam cophino stercoris opimare. Quia scriptum est: De ipsius gratia pinguescent fines deserti. Cophinus autem hic stercoris, qui de sterili fertilem arborem facit, specialiter mihi videtur humilitas spiritalis, qua contribulantes cor nostrum poenitudine praeteritae vanitatis, evacuamus inania, et succum virtutis accipimus, qua, qui operibus justitiae steriles eramus, reddimur fructuosi. Bonum ergo nobis intrare in recessus nostros, et humiliare in jejunio, quo jejunatur ab operibus tenebrarum, animam nostram: ut ab hujus humilitatis stercore, quae seculo vilis, Deo cara est, erigatur per eum qui suscitat de terra inopem, et de stercore erigit pauperem. Gratia Dei vobiscum.

7. Pray therefore that the almighty Lord, who has made rivers into a desert, may turn our dry ground into springs of water (Ps. 106:33, 35); that He may strike and break through the hardness of our heart, so that He may turn this rock too into a pool of water (Exod. 17:6). And would that He might sprinkle us with that dew with which He made that mystic fleece on the threshing floor (Judg. 6:37). For the dew which is from Him is health to us. Pray, I say, that, deigning to enter our little garden, He may bid the north wind arise and the south wind come (Song 4:16), so that, as they breathe the breezes of life, our shoots may come to life. And if, entering His vineyard, He finds our tree without fruit, may He spare to cut it down; and, His mercy delaying, may He trust the husbandman who intercedes, who promises to wring fruit from the barren fig tree by his diligence (Luke 13:8). For the Lord Himself, who intercedes for our sins, and who calls the things that are not as though they were (Rom. 4:17), is able to make even of us, needy and dry, a fruitful tree, and to fatten an empty soul with the fat of His word as with a basket of dung. For it is written: By His grace the borders of the desert shall grow fat (Ps. 64:13). And this basket of dung, which makes a fertile tree out of a barren one, seems to me to be especially spiritual humility, by which, bruising our heart with penitence for past vanity, we empty out what is vain and receive the sap of virtue, by which we who were barren of the works of justice are made fruitful. It is good for us, then, to enter into our inner recesses and to humble our soul in fasting, the fasting by which one fasts from the works of darkness: so that from the dung of this humility, which is vile to the world but dear to God, it may be raised up by Him who raises the needy from the earth and lifts the poor out of the dung (Ps. 112:7). The grace of God be with you.

EPISTOLA XLV.

LETTER XLV.

Sancto Domini beatissimo, et unice nobis unanimo, ac venerabili patri, fratri, magistro Augustino episcopo, Paulinus et Therasia peccatores.

To the Lord's most blessed holy one, uniquely of one mind with us, our venerable father, brother and master, Bishop Augustine, Paulinus and Therasia, sinners.

1. Lucerna semper est est pedibus meis verbum tuum, et lumen semitis meis. Ita quotiescumque litteras beatissimae sanctitatis tuae accipio, tenebras insipientiae meae discuti sentio, et quasi collyrio declarationis infuso, oculis mentis meae purius video,

1. Thy word is ever a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths (Ps. 118:105). So whenever I receive a letter from your most blessed holiness, I feel the darkness of my folly being scattered, and, as though the salve of explanation had been poured in, I see more clearly with the eyes of my mind,

Editors' notes and page, col. 391

Scripture references

(printed under page 199)

(a) ‹anchor: exitus aquarum› · call in col 391

Psal. CVI, 33 et 35.

Psalm 106 (Vulg.):33 and 35.

(printed under page 199)

(b) ‹anchor: stagnum aquae› · call in col 391

Exod. XVII, 6.

Exodus 17:6.

(printed under page 199)

Judic. VI, 37.

Judges 6:37.

(printed under page 199)

(d) ‹anchor: austrum venire› · call in col 391

Cant. IV, 16.

Song of Songs 4:16.

(printed under page 199)

(e) ‹anchor: ficulnea pollicetur› · call in col 391

Luc. XIII, 8.

Luke 13:8.

(printed under page 199)

(f) ‹anchor: tamquam quae sint› · call in col 391

Rom. IV, 17.

Romans 4:17.

(printed under page 199)

(g) ‹anchor: fines deserti› · call in col 391

Psal. LXIV, 13, sec. Psalt. Rom.

Psalm 64 (Vulg.):13, according to the Roman Psalter.

(printed under page 199)

(h) ‹anchor: erigit pauperem› · call in col 391

Psal. CXII, 7.

Psalm 112 (Vulg.):7.

(printed under page 199)

(i) ‹anchor: lumen semitis meis› · call in col 391

Psal. CXVIII, 105.

Psalm 118 (Vulg.):105.

(printed under page 199) (*) ‹anchor: EPISTOLA XLV.› · call in col 391 Alias 44, quae autem 45 erat, nunc 3. Scripta videtur anno 408, die 15 Maii.

Formerly 44; the one that was 45 is now 3. It seems to have been written in the year 408, on 15 May.

(printed under page 199)

(a) ‹anchor: in area› · call in col 391

Ms. Vien., areae.

The Vienna manuscript: "areae".

(printed under page 199)

(b) ‹anchor: pinguescent› · call in col 391

Ita in Psalteriis veteri et Romano, apud S. Hilarium et S. Augustinum in commentario super psalmos : ita ut pro [ὡραῖα] videantur legisse [ὅρια]. Vulgata, speciosa deserti. Vide not. 192.

So in the Old and the Roman Psalters, and in St Hilary and in St Augustine's commentary on the Psalms, so that they seem to have read [ὅρια, "bounds"] instead of [ὡραῖα, "beauties"]. The Vulgate: "speciosa deserti". See note 192. (The two Greek words are blurred in the print; they are supplied in brackets from the Septuagint of Ps. 64:13 and the sense of the note.)

(printed under page 199)

Sic emendatum ex ms. codice Phimarconensi et edit. Bened. Verissima lectio. Ante erat delectationis.

So corrected from the Phimarcon manuscript codex and the Benedictine edition. The truest reading. Before, it read "delectationis".

(printed under page 199)

Editors' prose

Augustino gratias agens pro libro vel epistola ab ipso recepta; prosequitur laudes Melaniae senioris, et unici ejus filii Publicolae nuper defuncti; nonnulla disserens de futura in coelis actione beatorum post resurrectionem.

Thanking Augustine for the book or letter received from him, he goes on to the praises of Melania the Elder and of her only son Publicola, lately dead, discussing some points about the activity of the blessed in heaven after the resurrection.

Page

running head: 391 | S. PAULINI NOLANI EPI[SCOPI] (cut at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹rum indigemus: quia quis›; B ‹dignatus, exsurgere aquilonem›; C ‹mihi videtur humilitas spiritalis›; D ‹Sancto Domini beatissimo›
old-edition numerals: 264 before the editors' summary of Letter XLV (i.e. after ‹EPISTOLA XLV.›)
the title EPISTOLA XLV carries an asterisk call to the page-foot note "Alias 44…" (set above as (*)); the asterisk itself is not set in the source.

PL 61:392

ignorantiae nocte depulsa, et caligine dubitationis abstersa. Quod cum saepe alias per munera epistolarum tuarum mihi donatum senserim, tum praecipue isto recentium litterarum libello, cujus mihi tam gratus quam dignus portitor fuit vir benedictus Domini frater noster Quintus diaconus, qui longo quidem posteaquam ad Urbem venerat intervallo, cum eo juxta solemnem meum morem, post Pascha Domini, pro apostolorum et martyrum veneratione venissem, benedictionem oris tui reddidit nobis. Verumtamen obliterato quod nesciente me, Romae consumserat tempore, recentissimus mihi visus est a conspectu tuo, ita ut tunc statim eum a te mihi venisse vix crederem, cum primum videbam, et cum mihi plenum odorem suavitatis tuae in eloquiis tuis coelestis unguenti castitate fragrantibus offerebat. Fateor tamen venerandae unanimitati tuae, non potuisse me volumen ipsum, statim ut acceperam, Romae legere. Tantae enim illic turbae erant, ut non possem munus tuum diligenter inspicere, et eo, ut cupiebam, perfrui; scilicet ut perlegerem jugiter, si legere coepissem. Itaque, ut fieri solet, secura exspectatione convivii praeparati, avidae licet mentis esuriem refrenavi, et spe certa capiendae saturitatis (cum in manu tenerem panes desiderii mei in volumine devorando, quod postea voranti mihi et in ore et in ventre dulcissimum fuit) inhiantem in favos litterarum tuarum gulam facile suspendi, donec Urbe proficiscerer, et interponendum ad itineris stativa diem, quem in oppido Formiano habuimus, totum huic operi manciparem, ut in deliciis epistolae tuae spiritalibus ab omni faece curarum et suffocatione turbarum liber epularer.

the night of ignorance being driven off and the mist of doubt wiped away. And though I have often felt this given to me at other times through the gifts of your letters, so above all through this little book of your recent letter, whose bearer, as welcome as he was worthy, was the Lord's blessed man, our brother the deacon Quintus (see note 193), who, a long interval indeed after he had come to the City, when I had come there according to my yearly custom after the Lord's Pasch for the veneration of the apostles and martyrs, delivered to us the blessing of your mouth. Yet, the time he had spent in Rome without my knowing being blotted out, he seemed to me to have come most freshly from your presence, so that I could scarcely believe he had not come to me from you at that very moment, when I first saw him, and when he offered me the full fragrance of your sweetness in your words, fragrant with the chastity of a heavenly ointment. Yet I confess to your venerable unanimity that I could not read the volume itself in Rome as soon as I had received it. For the crowds there were so great that I could not examine your gift carefully and enjoy it as I desired; that is, so as to read it through without a break, once I had begun to read it. And so, as usually happens, in the secure expectation of a banquet prepared, I reined in the hunger of a mind however eager, and in the certain hope of taking my fill (since I held in my hand the loaves of my desire in a volume to be devoured, which afterwards, as I devoured it, was most sweet to me both in mouth and in belly) I easily held back my gullet gaping at the honeycombs of your letter, until I should set out from the City, and could give the whole of the day to be put in as a halt on the journey, which we spent in the town of Formiae, to this work, so that I might feast on the spiritual delights of your letter free from all the dregs of cares and the stifling of crowds.

2. Quid ergo humilis et terrenus respondeam ad hanc sapientiam, quae data est tibi desuper, quam hic mundus non capit, et quam nemo sapit, nisi sapientia Dei sapiens, et Dei verbo eloquens? Itaque quia experimentum habeo Christi in te loquentis, in Deo laudabo sermones tuos, et non timebo a timore nocturno, quia docuisti me in spiritu veritatis salubre moderandi in occiduis mortalibus animi temperamentum, quo et illam beatam matrem et aviam Melaniam flevisse carnalem obitum unici filii (Publicolae), taciturno quidem fletu, non tamen sicco a maternis lacrymis dolore vidisti. Cujus quidem modestas et graves lacrymas, sicut propior vel aequalior animae ejus spiritus, altius intellexisti, et perfectae in Christo feminae, salva virilis animi fortitudine, cor maternum de cordis tui similitudine melius ex aequo statu contemplatus es, ut eam primum pro naturali affectione permotam, deinde causa potiore compunctam flevisse perspiceres; non tam illud humanum, quod unicum filium conditione mortali defunctum in

2. What then shall I, lowly and earthly, answer to this wisdom which has been given you from above, which this world does not take in, and which no one understands unless he is wise with the wisdom of God and eloquent with the Word of God? And so, since I have proof of Christ speaking in you (2 Cor. 13:3), in God I will praise your words (Ps. 55:11), and I will not be afraid of the terror of the night (Ps. 90:5), because you have taught me in the spirit of truth the wholesome temper of governing the mind over perishing mortal things, with which you saw that blessed mother and grandmother Melania weep for the bodily death of her only son (Publicola), with a silent weeping indeed, yet with a grief not dry of a mother's tears. Her modest and grave tears you understood more deeply, as a spirit nearer and more equal to her soul, and, from the likeness of your own heart, you contemplated better, as from an equal standing, the mother's heart of a woman perfect in Christ, the fortitude of a manly mind kept intact, so that you perceived that she wept first moved by natural affection, then pricked by a weightier cause; not so much for that human thing, that her only son, dead by the condition of mortality, in

Editors' notes and page, col. 392

Footnotes

(j) ‹anchor: in te loquentis› · call in col 392

II Cor. XIII, 3.

2 Corinthians 13:3.

(printed under page 199)

(k) ‹anchor: laudabo sermones› · call in col 392

Psal. LV, 11.

Psalm 55 (Vulg.):11.

(printed under page 199)

(l) ‹anchor: a timore nocturno› · call in col 392

Psal. XC, 5.

Psalm 90 (Vulg.):5.

Editors' notes

(*) ‹anchor: EPISTOLA› · call in col 391 Alias 44. quae autem 45 erat, nunc 3. Scripta videtur anno 408, die 15 Maii.

Otherwise numbered 44; and the one that was 45 is now 3. It appears to have been written in the year 408, on 15 May.

(printed under page 199)

Page

running head: [S. PAUL]INI NOLANI EPISCOPI | 392
marginal letters: A ‹ignorantiae nocte depulsa›; B ‹tuis coelestis unguenti›; C ‹huic operi manciparem›; D ‹stas et graves lacrymas›
old-edition numerals: 265 after ‹omni›

PL 61:393

praesenti seculo amisisset, quam quod propemodum in seculari vanitate praeventum, quia necdum illum deseruerat Senatoriae dignitatis ambitio, non juxta sanctam votorum suorum avaritiam cogitaret assumptum, ut de conversionis gloria transisset ad gloriam resurrectionis, communem cum matre requiem coronamque capturus, si in hujus seculi vita matris exemplo saccum togae, et monasterium senatui, praetulisset.

had lost in the present age, than that she thought him taken away overtaken almost in worldly vanity, because the ambition of senatorial dignity had not yet deserted him, and not according to the holy avarice of her prayers, which were that he should have passed from the glory of conversion to the glory of the resurrection, to receive a rest and a crown in common with his mother, if in the life of this age he had, by his mother's example, preferred sackcloth to the toga and the monastery to the senate.

3. Verumtamen idem vir, ut antea retulisse me puto sanctitati tuae, his operibus locupletatus abscessit, ut maternae humilitatis nobilitatem si veste non gesserit, tamen mente praetulerit; ita enim secundum verbum Domini mitis moribus fuit et humilis corde, ut non immerito credatur introisse in requiem Domini, Quoniam sunt reliquiae homini pacifico, et mansueti possidebunt terram, placentes Deo in regione vivorum. Nam certe et illud Apostoli non solum tacito mentis affectu, sed et conspicuis religiosus implevit officiis, ut cum esset altorum hujus seculi in ordine et honore collega, non tamen ut gloriosus terrae, alta saperet, sed ut Christi perfectus imitator humilibus consentiret, et tota etiam die misereri et commodare persisteret. Unde et semen ejus potens in terra factum est, inter eos qui dii fortes terrae nimium elevati sunt: ut etiam de beatissima familiae ac domus ejus visitatione sanctum hominis meritum reveletur. Generatio, inquit, rectorum benedicetur: gloria non caduca; et divitiae non labentes in domo ejus; domo quae aedificatur in coelis, non labore manuum, sed operum sanctitate. Sed cesso plura de memoria tam dilecti mihi quam devoti Christo hominis enarrare, cum et pristinis litteris non pauca super eo narrasse me reputem, et nihil possim de beata hujus filii matre, et sanctorum pari radice ramorum, Melanio melius aut sanctius praedicare, quam sanctitas tua in eam profari et disputare dignata est; ut quia ego peccator immunda labia habens, nihil dignum loqui potueram, ut longinquus a meritis fidei ejus, animaeque virtutibus; tu ille vir Christi, doctor Israel in Ecclesia veritatis, procurante in melius Dei gratia, parareris dignior tam virilis in Christo animae praedicator, qui et mentem ejus divina virtute firmatam, ut dixi, spiritu propiore conspiceres, et mixtam cum virtute pietatem eloquio digniore laudares.

3. Nevertheless the same man, as I think I reported to your holiness before, departed enriched with these works, so that, if he did not wear the nobility of his mother's humility in his dress, he yet displayed it in his mind; for according to the word of the Lord he was so meek in his ways and humble of heart (Matt. 11:29) that he is not undeservedly believed to have entered into the rest of the Lord, Since there are remnants for the peaceable man (Ps. 36:37), and the meek shall possess the land (Matt. 5:4), pleasing God in the region of the living (Ps. 114:9). For certainly he fulfilled that saying of the Apostle too, not only in the silent disposition of his mind but devoutly in conspicuous services as well, so that, though he was a colleague of the lofty of this age in rank and honour, he did not, as one glorious on earth, mind high things, but as a perfect imitator of Christ consented with the humble (Rom. 12:16), and persevered all the day long in showing mercy and lending (Ps. 36:26; Ps. 111:5). Hence also his seed has become mighty on earth (Ps. 111:2), among those gods, the mighty of the earth, who are exceedingly exalted (Ps. 46:10): so that the holy merit of the man is revealed also by the most blessed visitation of his household and his house. The generation of the upright, it says, shall be blessed: a glory that does not fall; and riches that do not slip away in his house; in the house that is built in heaven, not by the labour of hands but by the holiness of works. But I cease to recount more in memory of a man as dear to me as he was devoted to Christ, since I reckon that I narrated not a little about him in former letters as well, and I can proclaim nothing better or more holily of the blessed mother of this son, and of holy branches from an equal root, Melania, than your holiness has deigned to utter and discourse concerning her; so that, since I, a sinner having unclean lips, could speak nothing worthy, being far from the merits of her faith and the virtues of her soul, you, that man of Christ, a teacher of Israel in the Church of truth, were made ready, by the grace of God providing for the better, as a more worthy herald of a soul so manly in Christ, you who both beheld with a nearer spirit her mind, strengthened, as I said, by divine power, and praised with more worthy eloquence the piety mingled with her virtue.

Editors' notes and page, col. 393

Scripture references

(printed under page 200)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 393

Matth. XI, 29.

Matthew 11:29.

(printed under page 200)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 393

Psal. XXXVI, 37.

Psalm 36:37.

(printed under page 200)

Matth. V, 4.

Matthew 5:4.

(printed under page 200)

(d) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 393/394

Psal. CXIV, 9.

Psalm 114:9.

(printed under page 200)

(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 393/394

Rom. XII, 16.

Romans 12:16.

(printed under page 200)

(f) ‹anchor: dare persisteret› · call in col 393

Psal. XXXVI, 26; Psal. CXI, 5.

Psalm 36:26; Psalm 111:5.

(printed under page 200)

(g) ‹anchor: potens in terra› · call in col 393

Psal. CXI, 2.

Psalm 111:2.

(printed under page 200)

(h) ‹anchor: nimium elevati sunt› · call in col 393

Psal. XLVI, 10.

Psalm 46:10.

(printed under page 200)

(i) ‹anchor: narrasse me reputem› · call in col 393

Col. III, 16.

Colossians 3:16.

(printed under page 200)

(j) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 393/394

Psal. XLV, 5.

Psalm 45:5.

(printed under page 200)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 393

Ita ms. Phimarconensis codex et edit. Bened. Alias, retuli ex voto sanctitatis tuae.

So the Phimarconensis manuscript and the Benedictine edition. Otherwise: "I have reported from the wish of your holiness."

(printed under page 200)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 393

Sic edit. Bened. Ed. Rosv., religiosis. Sacchin., religionis.

So the Benedictine edition. Rosweyde's edition: "religiosis". Sacchini: "religionis".

(printed under page 200)

Addita vox dii ex edit. Bened. cum mss. cod. collata.

The word "dii" has been added from the Benedictine edition, collated with the manuscripts.

(printed under page 200)

(d) ‹anchor: in domo ejus;› · call in col 393

Ita edit. Bened. Ante erat domus.

So the Benedictine edition. Previously it read "domus".

(printed under page 200)

(e) ‹anchor: et sanctorum› · call in col 393

Juxta ms. codicem Phimarconensem et edit. Bened. emendavimus pari. Vera lectio, cum ante esset patre. Sic Paulinus noster epist. 32 ad Severum, n. 17, pare Gervasio: et epist. 18 ad Victricium, n. 5, pare Paschasio, et te amborum magistro.

Following the Phimarconensis manuscript and the Benedictine edition we have corrected to "pari". That is the true reading, whereas before it was "patre". So our Paulinus, letter 32 to Severus, no. 17, "pare Gervasio"; and letter 18 to Victricius, no. 5, "pare Paschasio, et te amborum magistro".

(printed under page 200)

(f) ‹anchor: doctor› · call in col 393

Haec vox inserta ex editione Bened. Sic Paulinus ep. 50 ad August., n. 2.

This word is inserted from the Benedictine edition. So Paulinus, letter 50 to Augustine, no. 2.

(printed under page 200)

Page

running head: 393 EPISTOLA XLV. (the head spans the page; "394" stands over the facing column)
marginal letters: A ‹praesenti seculo amisisset›; B ‹requiem Domini, Quoniam sunt›; C ‹manuum, sed operum sanctitate›; D ‹printed at the column foot, below "eloquio digniore laudares."›
old-edition numerals: 266 after ‹semen›

PL 61:394

4. Quae vero post resurrectionem carnis in illo seculo beatorum futura sit actio, tu me interrogare dignatus es. At ego de praesenti vitae meae statu et magistrum et medicum spiritalem consulo, ut doceas me facere voluntates Dei, tuis vestigiis ambulare post Christum, et morte ista evangelica prius emori, qua carnalem resolutionem voluntario praevenimus excessu: non obitu, sed sententia recedentes ab hujus seculi vita, quae tota tentationum plena, vel, ut tu aliquando ad me locutus es, tota tentatio est. Utinam ergo sic dirigantur viae meae post vestigia tua, ut exemplo tuo solvens calceamentum vetus de pedibus meis, disrumpam vincula mea, et liber exsultem ad currendam viam; quo possim assequi mortem istam, qua tu mortuus es huic seculo, ut vivas Deo in Christo vivente in te, cujus et mors et vita in corpore tuo, et corde, et ore cognoscitur; quia non sapit cor tuum terrena, nec os tuum loquitur opera hominum; sed verbum Christi abundat in pectore tuo, et Spiritus veritatis effunditur in lingua tua superni fluminis impetu laetificans civitatem Dei.

4. You have deigned to ask me what the activity of the blessed is to be in that age after the resurrection of the flesh. But I consult you, as both teacher and spiritual physician, about the present state of my own life, that you may teach me to do the will of God, to walk in your footsteps after Christ, and first to die that evangelical death by which we forestall the dissolution of the flesh with a voluntary departure: withdrawing from the life of this age not by decease but by resolve, the life which is wholly full of temptations, or, as you once said to me, is wholly temptation. Would, then, that my ways may be so directed after your footsteps that, by your example loosing the old shoe from my feet, I may burst my bonds and leap up free to run the way; so that I may attain that death by which you have died to this age, that you may live to God in Christ living in you, whose death and life alike are recognized in your body, and heart, and mouth; for your heart does not savour earthly things, nor does your mouth speak the works of men; but the word of Christ abounds in your breast (Col. 3:16), and the Spirit of truth is poured out upon your tongue, gladdening the city of God with the rush of the heavenly river (Ps. 45:5).

5. Quae autem virtus hanc in nobis efficit mortem, nisi caritas quae fortis est ut mors? Sic enim obliterat nobis et perimit hoc seculum, ut impleat mortis effectum per affectum Christi, in quem conversi, avertimur ab hoc mundo, et cui viventes, morimur ab elementis hujus mundi. Nec tamquam viventes in eorum conspectu visuque decernimus; quia portio nostra mors Christi est, cujus a mortuis resurrectionem non apprehendimus in gloria, nisi mortem hujus in cruce mortificatis membris et sensibus carnis imitemur; ut jam non nostra voluntate vivamus, sed illius cujus voluntas sanctificatio nostra est, et qui ideo pro nobis mortuus est et resurrexit, ut jam non nobis, sed illi vivamus, qui pro nobis mortuus est et resurrexit, et dedit nobis pignus repromissionis suae Spiritu suo, sicut pignus vitae nostrae posuit in coelis in corpore suo, quod est caput corporis nostri. Unde nunc esspectatio nostra Dominus est, et substantia quae ab ipso facta est apud ipsum, et in ipso, et per ipsum, qui conformatus est corpori humilitatis nostrae, ut nos conformaret corpori gloriae suae, et secum in coelestibus collocaret. Propterea et qui digni fuerint vita aeterna, erunt in gloria regni ejus, ut cum ipso sint, sicut Apostolus ait, et cum ipso maneant, sicut et ipse Dominus ad

5. But what power works this death in us, if not charity, which is strong as death (Song 8:6, according to the Septuagint)? For it so blots out and destroys this age for us that it accomplishes the effect of death through the love of Christ, turned to whom we are turned away from this world, and living to whom we die from the elements of this world. Nor do we make decrees as though living in their sight and view (Col. 2:20); for our portion is the death of Christ, whose resurrection from the dead we do not lay hold of in glory unless we imitate His death on the cross by mortifying the members and senses of the flesh (1 Thess. 4:3); so that we may now live not by our own will but by the will of Him whose will is our sanctification, and who for this reason died and rose again for us, that we may live no longer to ourselves but to Him who died and rose again for us, and gave us the pledge of His promise by His Spirit, just as He placed the pledge of our life in heaven in His own body, which is the head of our body. Hence the Lord is now our expectation (Ps. 38:8), and the substance which was made by Him is with Him, and in Him, and through Him, who was conformed to the body of our lowliness, that He might conform us to the body of His glory, and set us with Himself in the heavenly places (1 Thess. 4:16). Therefore also those who are found worthy of eternal life will be in the glory of His kingdom, so as to be with Him, as the Apostle says, and to abide with Him, as the Lord Himself also

Editors' notes and page, col. 394

Footnotes

(k) ‹anchor: fortis est ut mors› · call in col 394

Cant. VIII, 6, sec. LXX.

Song of Songs 8:6, according to the Septuagint.

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(l) ‹anchor: visuque decernimus› · call in col 394

Col. II, 20.

Colossians 2:20.

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(m) ‹anchor: carnis imitemur› · call in col 394

I Thess. IV, 3.

1 Thessalonians 4:3.

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(n) ‹anchor: nostra Dominus est› · call in col 394

Psal. XXXVIII, 8.

Psalm 38:8.

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(o) ‹anchor: in coelestibus collocaret› · call in col 394

I Thess. IV, 16.

1 Thessalonians 4:16.

Editors' notes

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(g) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 394

Expunximus vocem, nostra, quae aberat a ms. codice Phimarconensi et edit. Bened., et quae perperam addebatur in editione Rosv.

We have struck out the word "nostra", which was absent from the Phimarconensis manuscript and the Benedictine edition, and which was wrongly added in Rosweyde's edition.

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(h) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 394

Sic ms. codex Phimarc. et edit. Bened. Vide seqq. Ed. Rosv., mortem istam evangelicam.

So the Phimarconensis manuscript and the Benedictine edition. See what follows. Rosweyde's edition: "mortem istam evangelicam".

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(i) ‹anchor: in eorum conspectu› · call in col 394

Ms. Phimarc., usuque.

The Phimarconensis manuscript: "usuque".

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(j) ‹anchor: visuque› · call in col 394

Editio Rosv., decernimur, male. Emendavimus ex edit. Bened. decernimus, et sic legendum; respicitur enim locus ad Coloss. II, v. 20: Si ergo mortui estis cum Christo ab elementis hujus mundi, quid adhuc tamquam viventes in mundo decernitis.

Rosweyde's edition: "decernimur", wrongly. We have corrected from the Benedictine edition to "decernimus", and so it should be read; for the passage looks to Colossians 2:20: "If then you are dead with Christ from the elements of this world, why do you still decree as though living in the world?"

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(k) ‹anchor: et per ipsum,› · call in col 394

Ita edit. Bened. et Paulinus epist. 11, n. 2. At edit. Rosv., qui conformatus est corpori gloriae suae, ut secum, etc.

So the Benedictine edition and Paulinus, letter 11, no. 2. But Rosweyde's edition: "who was conformed to the body of his glory, that with himself", etc.

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Page

running head: EPISTOLA XLV. 394
marginal letters: A ‹4. Quae vero post resurrectionem›; B ‹in Christo vivente in te›; C ‹nisi mortem hujus in cruce›; D ‹ait, et cum ipso maneant›
old-edition numerals: 267 after ‹fortis est ut mors?›

PL 61:395

Patrem dixit: Volo ut ubi ego sum, et illi sint mecum.

said to the Father: I will that where I am, they also may be with Me (John 17:24).

6. Sine dubio hoc illud est, quod in Psalmis habes: Beati qui habitant in domo tua, in secula seculorum laudabunt te. Puto autem hanc laudationem vocibus concinentium esse promendam; etsi immutabuntur sanctorum resurgentium corpora, ut sint sicut et Domini corpus post resurrectionem apparuit, in quo utique resurrectionis humanae viva imago praefulsit; ut Dominus ipse, qui in corpore ipso, quo passus fuerat et resurrexerat, quasi speculum contemplationis omnibus fuerit. Qui utique cum in eadem carne, qua mortuus et sepultus fuerat, resurrexisset, omnium omnia officia membrorum expressa oculis et auribus hominum saepe collata exhibuit. Quod si etiam angeli, quorum simpliciter spiritalis est c⟨r⟩eatura, linguas habere dicuntur, quibus utique laudes Domino creatori cantant, et gratias referre non desinunt; quanto magis hominum, etsi spiritalia jam post resurrectionem corpora, manentibus tamen glorificatae carnis omnibus membris, et per omnia membra formis et numeris suis, et linguas habebunt in oribus suis, et linguis effantibus dabunt voces, quibus divinas laudes, vel sensuum suorum gaudiorumque affectus per verba depromant? Forte etiam hoc gratiae gloriaeque apposituro sanctis suis Domino, in seculis regni sui, ut tanto potioribus linguis et vocibus canant, quanto ad beatiorem naturam corporum beata immutatione profecerint, ut in corporibus jam spiritalibus constituti, jam forsitan non humanis, sed illis angelicis atque coelestibus, quales Apostolus audivit in paradiso, sermonibus eloquantur. Et ideo forsitan homini ineffabiles eos sermones fuisse testatus est, quia sanctis, inter alias praemiorum species, jam no⟨v⟩ae linguae parantur. Quibus idcirco hominibus hujus seculi adhuc uti non licet, ut jam his gloriae suae congruentibus immortales loquantur, de quibus dictum est: Etenim clamabunt et hymnum dicent: proculdubio in coelestibus, ubi cum Domino erunt, et delectabuntur in abundantia pacis, gaudentes in conspectu throni, mittentes ante pedes Agni pateras et coronas, et canentes ei canticum novum, aggregati choris angelorum, virtutum, dominationum, thronorum, ut et ipsi cum cherubim atque seraphim, et quatuor illis animalibus

6. Without doubt this is what you have in the Psalms: Blessed are they who dwell in Thy house; for ever and ever they shall praise Thee (Ps. 83:5). Now I think that this praise is to be uttered with the voices of those singing together; even though the bodies of the saints as they rise will be changed, so as to be as the Lord's body appeared after the resurrection, in which the living image of human resurrection certainly shone forth beforehand; so that the Lord Himself, in that very body in which He had suffered and risen again, was as it were a mirror of contemplation for all. For when He had risen in the same flesh in which He had died and been buried, He displayed to the eyes and ears of men all the functions of all His members, plainly expressed and often brought together. But if even the angels, whose created nature is simply spiritual, are said to have tongues, with which they surely sing praises to the Lord their Creator and do not cease to give thanks; how much more will men, even though their bodies are by then spiritual after the resurrection, yet with all the members of the glorified flesh remaining, and in all their members with their own forms and numbers, both have tongues in their mouths and give out voices with speaking tongues, by which to bring forth in words the divine praises, or the feelings of their senses and joys? Perhaps the Lord will also add this of grace and glory for His saints in the ages of His kingdom, that they may sing with tongues and voices as much more excellent as they have advanced by a blessed change to a more blessed nature of body, so that, set by then in spiritual bodies, they may perhaps speak no longer in human words, but in those angelic and heavenly words such as the Apostle heard in paradise (2 Cor. 12:4). And perhaps he testified that those words were unutterable for man for this reason, that for the saints, among the other kinds of rewards, new tongues are even now being prepared. For this reason it is not yet lawful for the men of this age to use them, so that, immortal, they may speak in these that befit their glory; of whom it was said: For they shall cry out and sing a hymn (Ps. 64:14): without doubt in the heavenly places, where they will be with the Lord, and will delight in the abundance of peace (Ps. 36:11), rejoicing in the sight of the throne, casting bowls and crowns before the feet of the Lamb, and singing to Him a new song, joined to the choirs of angels, virtues, dominions, thrones, so that they too, with the cherubim and seraphim, and with those four living creatures,

Editors' notes and page, col. 395

Scripture references

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(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 395

Johan. xvii, 24.

John 17:24.

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(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 395

Psal. LXXXIII, 5.

Psalm 83:5.

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II Cor. XII, 4.

2 Corinthians 12:4.

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(d) ‹anchor: et hymnum dicent› · call in col 395

Psal. LXIV, 14.

Psalm 64:14.

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(e) ‹anchor: in abundantia pacis› · call in col 395

Psal. XXXVI, 11.

Psalm 36:11.

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(f) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 395/396

Psal. VI, 5.

Psalm 6:5.

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(g) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 395/396

I Cor. XIII, 1.

1 Corinthians 13:1.

Editors' notes

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(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 395

Ms. Phimarc. et edit. Bened., collatus.

The Phimarconensis manuscript and the Benedictine edition: "collatus".

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(b) ‹anchor: Et› · call in col 395

Ita edit. Bened. Deerat homini in edit. Rosv., in qua inde pro ideo.

So the Benedictine edition. "homini" was lacking in Rosweyde's edition, in which "inde" stands for "ideo".

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Addidimus ex edit. Bened. voce perpetua concinentes.

We have added from the Benedictine edition "voce perpetua concinentes" ("singing together with unceasing voice").

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(d) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 395/396

Sic emendamus ex ms. Phimarconensi et edit. Bened. Ante erat in coelis.

So we correct from the Phimarconensis manuscript and the Benedictine edition. Previously it read "in coelis".

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Page

running head: 395 S. PAULINI NOLANI EPISCOPI (the head spans the page)
marginal letters: A ‹Patrem dixit: Volo ut ubi›; B ‹etiam angeli, quorum simpliciter›; C ‹humanis, sed illis angelicis›; D ‹not seen in the images›
old-edition numerals: 268 after ‹affectus›

PL 61:396

voce perpetua concinentes dicant: Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth, et reliqua quae nosti.

singing together with unending voice, may say: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, and the rest that you know.

7. Hoc est ergo quod egenus et pauper ego ille insipiens et parvulus tuus, quem ut verus sapiens ferre consuesti, rogo ut me scientiam vel opinionem super hac tuam doceas, quia scio te illuminatum spiritu revelationis ab ipso duce et fonte sapientium, ut sicut praeterita cognovisti, et praesentia vides, ita etiam de futuris aestimes quid censeas de his coelestium creaturarum, vel etiam super coelos in conspectu Altissimi agentium, vocibus sempiternis, quibus tandem organis exprimantur. Quamvis enim Apostolus dicendo, Si linguis angelorum loquar, proprium quemdam illos suae naturae, vel, ut ita dixerim, gentis habere sermonem ostenderit, tanto humanis sensibus et eloquiis altiorem, quanto ipsa angelorum creatura et statio mortalibus incolis et terrenis sedibus praestat: attamen forsitan linguas angelorum pro generibus vocum atque sermonum dixerit, sicut et de charismatum varietate disserens, inter dona gratiarum numerat genera linguarum, utique hoc in signo esse significans, quod multarum gentium sermone loqui singulis donaretur. Sed et vox Dei saepe ad sanctos emissa de nube, ostendit posse loquelam esse sine lingua. Siquidem lingua corporis membrum sit pusillum et magnum. Sed forte ex hoc ipso, quia in hoc membro vocis officium Deus posuit, etiam incorporeae angelorum creaturae sermones et voces linguam vocaverit, sicut Scriptura assolet Deo quoque, secundum species operationum, nomina assignare membrorum. Ora pro nobis, et doce nos.

7. This, then, is what I, that needy and poor man, your foolish little one, whom as one truly wise you have been accustomed to bear with, ask: that you teach me your knowledge or opinion on this matter, since I know that you are enlightened by the spirit of revelation from the very leader and fountain of the wise, so that, as you have known things past and see things present, so also you may judge of things to come: what you think about these everlasting voices of the heavenly creatures, or of those who dwell even above the heavens in the sight of the Most High, and by what organs, in the end, they are expressed. For although the Apostle, in saying, If I speak with the tongues of angels (1 Cor. 13:1), showed that they have a certain speech proper to their nature, or, so to say, to their race, as much higher than human senses and utterances as the very creation and station of the angels excels mortal inhabitants and earthly dwellings: yet perhaps he spoke of the tongues of angels in the sense of kinds of voices and speech, just as also, in discussing the variety of charisms, he counts kinds of tongues among the gifts of graces, signifying surely that this was a sign, that it was granted to individuals to speak in the language of many nations. But the voice of God, too, often sent forth from a cloud to the saints, shows that there can be speech without a tongue. For the tongue is a small member of the body, and a great one. But perhaps for this very reason, because God placed the office of the voice in this member, he called even the speech and voices of the incorporeal creation of the angels a tongue, just as Scripture is accustomed to assign the names of members to God also, according to the kinds of His operations. Pray for us, and teach us.

8. Frater noster carissimus et dulcissimus Quintus quam tarde ad nos remeat a vobis, tam cito a nobis ad vos redire festinat: instantiam vero ejus in litteris exigendis et haec epistola lituris quam versibus crebrior loquitur: commemorati exactoris nimia festinatio schedam fecit. Nam pridie idus Maias venit ad nos ut rescripta peteret, et idibus ante sextam dimitti obtinuit. Videte ergo utrum eum commendaverim vel accusaverim hujusmodi testimonio. Forte enim, imo sine dubio laudabilis magis quam culpabilis judicabitur, qui a tenebris, quod in comparatione vestri luminis sumus, justissime refestinavit ad lucem suam.

8. Our most dear and most sweet brother Quintus, as slowly as he returns to us from you, so quickly does he hasten to go back from us to you: and his urgency in demanding a letter is told by this letter too, fuller of erasures than of lines: the excessive haste of the said exactor has made it a mere sheet. For he came to us on the day before the Ides of May to ask for a reply, and on the Ides he obtained leave to be dismissed before the sixth hour. See, then, whether I have commended or accused him by testimony of this kind. For perhaps, nay without doubt, he will be judged more praiseworthy than blameworthy, who from the darkness, which is what we are in comparison with your light, has most justly hastened back to his own light.

Editors' notes and page, col. 396

Footnotes

(e) ‹anchor: ex hoc ipso,› · call in col 396

Ex Phimarconensi codice locus correctus. Sic edit. Bened. Ante erat quia in hoc membro in quo est vocis officium, Deus possit etiam in corpore angelorum creare sermones, et voces linguam vocaverit, mendose omnino. Vide quae praecesserunt n. 6.

The passage is corrected from the Phimarconensis manuscript. So the Benedictine edition. Previously it read "because in this member in which is the office of the voice, God could create speech even in the body of the angels, and called voices a tongue", which is entirely faulty. See what precedes, no. 6.

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(f) ‹anchor: commemorati exactoris› · call in col 396

Id est, fecit festinatio exactoris ut scheda potius lituris obsita sit quam epistola. Edit. Bened., nimiam festinationem scheda fecit: nullo sensu. Auctor Gallicae versionis epistolarum S. Augustini pro schedam reponendum existimavit schediam contra fidem omnium codicum; sed perperam. Hic enim accipitur scheda pro charta seu libello extemporaneo, non satis expolito, cujusmodi sunt quas tamquam relecturi reponimus. Vide Quintil. l. i, cap. 18, et Martial. l. iv. Nec admittendas putamus quasdam illius interpretis correctiones ad S. Paulini epist. iii, 2. 1 v, 2, 3, et S. Augustini ep. 91, n. 5, cum his in locis optimus editionis nostrae sit sensus, qui codicum auctoritate fulcitur. Praeterea quod ad praenotatum epistolae iii locum spectat, vid. epist. 29, n. 7, ubi consimili locutione de Zacharia sacerdote agens utitur Paulinus.

That is, the messenger's haste made it a sheet covered with erasures rather than a letter. The Benedictine edition: "nimiam festinationem scheda fecit", which makes no sense. The author of the French translation of St Augustine's letters thought "schediam" should be put in place of "schedam", against the witness of all the manuscripts; but wrongly. For here "scheda" is taken for a paper or improvised booklet, not sufficiently polished, such as those we put aside meaning to read them over again. See Quintilian, book 1, ch. 18, and Martial, book 4. Nor do we think certain corrections of that translator should be admitted, at St Paulinus's letter 3, 2 [and] 4, 2, 3, and St Augustine's letter 91, no. 5, since in these places the sense of our edition, which is supported by the authority of the manuscripts, is the best. Moreover, as regards the passage of letter 3 noted above, see letter 29, no. 7, where Paulinus, speaking of the priest Zachary, uses a very similar expression.

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