to be so famous for the Council held there. In the month
252 ST. /UGUSTINE by the blood of their enemies; for I know that in the case of the clergy in the valley of Anaiinia,^*^ who were slain by the Pagans, and are now honoured as martyrs, the Emperor granted readily a petition that the murderers, who had been discovered and imprisoned, might not be visited with a capital punishment.
B. The Right of Priestly Intercession: An Exchange of Letters with Macedonius, Vicar of Africa,
to the Deservedly Esteemed Lord, His Uniquely Cherished Father, Augustine.
I received the long-awaited letter of your HqUness through Boniface, bishop erf the holy law, whom I was the more deUghted to welcome as he brought me my heart's desire—word of your Holiness and of your well-being, deservedly esteemed lord and uniquely cherished father. Therefore, he secured what he asked without delay. But, as the opportunity has arisen, I do not wish to remain without my pay for this same slight service in which I accommodated him at your request. The pay I crave to receive is one which will be a gain to me without loss to the payer, or, rather will be my gain to the glory of the bestower.
You say that it is part of your priestly office to intercede for condemned persons, and to be displeased if you do not succeed, as if you thereby failed to carry out that part of your duty. I have
15. Anaunia, a valley not far from Trent, destined to be so famous for the Council held there. In the month of May, 397 a.d., Martyrius, Sisinnius, and Alexander were killed there by the heathen.
a. Letters, XLII (Schopp, III, pp. 279-280).
1. Vicar of Africa, entrusted with the duty of enforcing imperial decrees against the Donatists.