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ST. AUGUSTINE

pax qiiaeritur, ut bellum excitetur, sed bellum geritur, ut pax adquiratur. Esto ergo etiani bellando pacificus, ut eos, quos expugnas, ad pacis utilitatem vincendo perducas ; heati enini pacijlci, ait dominus, quoniam ipsi Jilii del vocahuntur. Si autem pax humana tarn dulcis est pro temporali salute niortalium, quanto est dulcior pax divina pro aeterna salute angelorum ! Itaque hostem pugnanteni necessitas periniat, non voluntas. Sicut rebellanti et resistenti violentia redditur, ita victo vel capto misericordia iam debetur, niaxime in quo pacis perturbatio non timetur.

7 Ornet mores tuos pudicitia coniugalis, ornet sobrietas et frugalitas ; valde enim turpe est, ut, queni non vincit homo, \dncat libido et obruatur vino, qui non vincitur ferro. Divitiae saeculares si desunt, non per mala opera quaerantur in mundo ; si autem adsunt, per bona opera serventur in caelo. Animum virilem et Christianum nee debent, si accedunt, extollere nee debent frangere, si recedunt. Illiid potius cogitemus, quod dominus ait : Uhi est thesaurus tuus, illic erit et cor tuum, et utique, cum audimus ut cor sursum habeamus, non mendaciter respondere debemus, quod nosti quia respondemus.

8 Et in his quidem bene studiosum te esse cognovi et fama tua multum delector multumque tibi in « Matt. V. 9. " Matt. vi. 21 ; Luke xii. 34.

' This is the usual preface before the Great Thanksgiving, in the celebration of the Eucharist. Its use in public worship is first mentioned by St. Cyprian, De Dominica Orafiotie, 31. It is frequently mentioned by Augustine (e.g. Serni. 227 " Tenetis sacramenta ordine suo. Primo post orationem, admonomini sursum habere cor. . . . Respondetis, ' Habemus ad Dominum

NO. 42 (Ep. CLXXXIX) in peace ; for peace is not sought in order that war may be aroused, but war is waged in order that peace may be obtained. So then be a peace-maker even when warring, that by overcoming those whom you conquer, you may bring them to the advantages of peace, for " blessed are the peace-makers," says the Lord, " for they shall be called the children of God.

' * Yet if human peace is so sweet for procuring the temporal salvation of men, how much sweeter is peace with God for procuring the eternal salvation of the angels ! So let it be your necessity and not your choice that slays the enemy who is fighting against you. Just as violence is the portion of him who rebels and resists, so mercy is the due of him who has been conquered or captured, especially M'hen a disturbance of the peace is not to be feared.

Let your character be adorned by chastity in the 7 marriage-bond, adorned by sobriety and moderation, for it is a very disgraceful thing that lust should overcome one whom man finds unconquerable, and that wine should overwhelm one whom the sword assails in vain. If you lack earthly riches, let them not be sought in the world by evil Morks ; but if you possess them, let them be laid up in heaven by good works. The manly Christian spirit ought neither to be elated by their accession nor depressed by their departure.

Let us rather keep in mind what the Lord says, " Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," ^ and certainly when we hear the exhortation to lift up our hearts, we ought unfeignedly to make the response which you know we do make.''

In such matters as this, however, I know that you 8 are very zealous, and I take great delight in your reputation and greatly congratulate you in the Lord

ST. AUGUSTINE

domino gratulor, ita ut haec epistula magis tibi sit speculum, ubi qualis sis videas, quam ubi discas qualis esse debeas. Verum tamen quicquid sive in ista sive in scripturis Sanctis inveneris quod tibi ad bonam vitam adhuc minus est, insta ut adquiras et agendo et orando, et ex his quae habes, gratias age deo tamquam fonti bonitatis, unde habes, atque in omnibus bonis actibus tuis iUi da claritatem, tibi humi Utatem. Sicut enim scriptum est, 0}nne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum desursum est descendens a patre luminum. Quantumcumque autem in dei et proximi caritate atque in vera pietate profeceris, quam diu in hac vita conversaris, sine peccato te esse non credas ; de ipsa quippe legitur in htteris Sanctis : Numquid noji temptatio est vita humana super terram ? Proinde quoniam semper quam diu es in hoc corpore, necessarium est tibi in oratione dicere quod dominus docuit : Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris, memento cito ignoscere, si quis in te peccaverit et a te veniam postulaverit, ut veraciter possis orare et peccatis tuis veniam valeas impetrare. Haec dilectioni tuae festinanter quidem scripsi, quoniam me festinatio perlatoris urgebat. Sed deo gratias ago, quoniam bono desiderio tuo quahtercumque non defui. Semper te misericordia dei protegat, domine eximie et merito insignis atque honorabihs fili.

" James i. 17. " Job vii. 1. <^ Matt. vi. 12, etc.

NO. 42 (Ep. CLXXXIX) upon it. This letter, then, may rather serve as a mirror to you, in which you can behold what manner of man you are, rather than as a lesson to you what manner of man you ought to be. And yet, whatever you find either in this letter or in Holy Scripture that you still lack for a good life, be instant in prayer and in deeds, so that you may acquire it ; and from what you have, render thanks to God as the fount of goodness, from Whom you have received it, and in all your good deeds ascribe the glory to God and the humility to yourself, for, as it is A\Titten, " Every good and perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights."" Yet whatever progress you make in the love of God and of your neighbour and in genuine godliness, do not imagine that you are without sin, as long as you are in this life, concerning which we read in Holy Writ, " Is not the Ufe of man upon earth a life of temptation } "^ And so, since it is necessary for you, as long as you are in this body, always to say in prayer what the Lord taught us, " Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,"^ remember quickly to forgive anyone who has sinned against you and has asked for pardon, so that you may be able to pray with sincerity and succeed in obtaining pardon for your own sins.

I have written these exhortations to you, my dear friend, in haste, as the haste of the bearer compelled me, but I render thanks to God that I have in some degree been able to comply with your holy desire. May the mercy of God always be your protection, my noble lord and deservedly distinguished and honourable son !

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 43 (Ep. CXCI)

DOMINO VENERABILI ET IN CHRISTI CARITATE

SUSCIPIENDO SANCTO FRATRI ET CONPRESBYTERO SIXTO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Ex quo Hipponem litterae benignitatis tuae per sanctum fratrem nostrum Firmum presbyterum directae me absente venerunt, posteaquam illas, cum remeassem, quamvis iam inde profecto earum perlatore legere potui, haec prima eademque gratissima rescribendi occurrit occasio per dilectissimum filium nostrum acolithum Albinum. Quod autem, quibus simul scripsisti, tunc non eramus simul, ideo factum est, ut singulorum singulas, non unam amborum epistulam sumeres. A me quippe digressus est perlator huius, per venerabilem fratrem et coepiscopum meum Alypium, qui tuae sanctitati aliam rescriberet, transiturus. Ad quem etiam ipsas quas ego iam legeram, litteras tuas ipse porta vit. Quae nos quanta laetitia perfuderint, quid homo nitatur loqui quod non potest eloqui ? Nee te ipsum " Sixtus was bishop of Rome from 432 to 440, when he was succeeded by Leo the Great. He had taken a leading part in condemning Pelagianism, though some of the Pelagians claimed that he was on their side (see § 1), and had intervened too in the Nestorian dispute. Augustine also addressed him in Ep. cxciv., a long theological discussion of the errors of Pelagianism. Firmus, the letter-bearer, appears several times in this capacity : visiting Jerome at Bethlehem in 405, he was entrusted with letters for Augustine (Ep. cxv.) and ten years later he is again with Jerome, later reaching Africa, where he is in communication with Augustine (Ep. cxxxiv.). He brings back an answer to the present letter (Ep. cxciv. 1). 334

NO. 43 (Ep. CXCI)

No. 43 (Ep. CXCI) (a.d. 418) TO SIXTUS," MY VENERABLE LORD AND HOLY

BROTHER AND FELLOW-PRIEST, WORTHY TO BE CHERISHED IN THE LOVE OF CHRIST, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

Since the letter your Grace sent by the hands of 1 our holy brother, the priest Firmus, reached Hippo during my absence, and on my return I had the chance to read it only after the bearer of it had taken his departure, this first opportunity of replying (and it is a very welcome one too) is afforded by our v.ellbeloved son, the acolyte Albinus.^ Your letter, addressed to Alypius and myself together, came at a time when we were not together, so in consequence you receive a letter from each of us, not one in the common name of us both, for the bearer of this letter, having left me, will on his way pass by my revered brother and fellow-bishop, Alypius, so that he may wTite one for himself in reply to your Holiness ; that letter of yours, after reading it, I sent on to him by the same bearer. As for the great joy with which your letter filled me, why should one attempt to utter feelings that defy utterance ? Indeed, I am not sure that * Albinus is mentioned as bearer of Epp. cxcii., cxciii. and cxciv. to Rome. The acolytes formed one of the minor orders in the Church, introduced about the beginning of the third century. Though the name is Greek (d.vo Xoitot), the office was peculiar to the Western Church ; in the rituals of the Greek Church, the word is only a synonym for sub-deacon. As the name implies, the acolytes were the immediate attendants and followers of the bishops ; their specific duties were to light the candles of the church and to attend the officiating priest with v/ine for the Eucharist.

ST. AUGUSTINE

satis nosse arbitror, sed nobis crede, quantum boni feceris talia nobis scripta mittendo. Sicut enim tu testis es animi tui, ita nos nostri, quern ad modum sit affectus illarum sinceritate luculentissima litterarum.

Si enim brevissimam epistulam tuam, quam de hac ipsa re ad beatissimum senem Aurelium per Leonem acolithum direxisti, exultanti alacritate descripsimus et, quibus poteramus, magno studio legebamus, ubi nobis exposuisti quid de illo perniciosissimo dogmate vel quid contra de gratia dei, quam pusillis magnisque largitur, cui est illud inimicissimum, sentias, quanta nos putas ista tua prolixiora scripta vel exultatione legisse vel cura, ut legantur, quibus valuimus, aliis obtulisse atque adhuc, quibus valemus, offerre ! Quid enim gratius legi vel audiri potest, quam gratiae dei tam pura defensio adversus inimicos eius ex ore eius, qui eorundem inimicorum magni momenti patronus antea iactabatur ? Aut unde uberiores deo debemus agere gratias, quam quod eius sic defenditur gratia ab eis quibus datur, adversus eos quibus vel non datur vel ingratum est quod datur, quia, ut eis gratum sit, occulto et iusto iudicio dei non datur ?

2 Quapropter, domine venerabilis et in Christi caritate suscipiende sancte frater, quamvis optime facias cum de hac re scribis ad fratres, apud quos se illi de tua Solent ef Ferre amicitia, tamen haec cura maior

This is very probably the I>eo who afterwards became pope and is known as " the Great." S36

NO. 43 (Ep. CXCI) you have any adequate conception yourself of the amount of good you have done to us in ^\Titing as you did, but take our word for it ; for just as you can bear witness to your own soul, so we can to ours, of the extent to which we have been moved by the very transparent sincerity of your letter. For if we transcribed with exulting joy and with great fervour read to all we could that very short letter of yours on this same problem that you sent by the acolyte Leo " to our most saintly Senior, Aurelius—a letter in which you expounded to us your views about that most pernicious doctrine, and, on the other hand, about the grace of God bestowed by Him upon small and great, to which that doctrine is violently opposed,—how great do you think was the exultation with which we read that lengthier statement from your pen, and how great the care ^\'ith which we have had it read by all we could offer it to and can still offer it to ? For what more welcome document could be read or heard than so faultless a defence of the grace of God against its enemies, uttered by one whom those same enemies boasted of as an influential supporter of their cause ? Or is there anything that should make us more abundantly grateful to God than this, that His grace is so well defended by those to whom it is given, against those to whom it is either not given or by whom it is so ungracious received when given, since by the secret and righteous judgement of God it is not given them to accept it graciously ? Wherefore, my venerable lord and holy brother 2 cherished in the love of Christ, although you do an excellent service in writing on this question to the brethren before whom its supporters are in the habit of boasting of your friendship, yet this larger duty z 337

ST. AUGUSTINE

tibi restat, ut non solum salubri severitate plectantur, qui errorem ilium Christiano infestissimum nomini audent garrire liberius, sed etiam hi diligentissime caveantur vigilantia pastorali propter infirmiores et simpliciores dominicas oves, qui eum pressius quidem atque timidius, sed tamen insusurrare non cessant, penetrantes domos, sicut ait apostolus, et cetera quae sequuntur, exercitata impietate facientes. Nee illi neglegendi sunt, qui usque ad profundum silentium supprimunt timore quod sentiunt, sed tamen eandem perversitatem sentire non desinunt.

NonnuUi quippe eorum, antequam ipsa pestilentia manifestissimo etiam sedis apostolicae iudicio damnaretur, vobis innoteseere potuerunt, quos nunc repente reticuisse perspicitis nee, utrum sanati sint, sciri potest, nisi cum non solum dogmata ilia falsa tacuerint, verum etiam illis vera contraria eo, quo ilia Solent, studio defensaverint. Qui tamen lenius sunt profecto tractandi ; quid enim eos terreri opus est, quos satis territos ipsa taciturnitas monstrat ? Nee ideo tamquam sani praetereundi sunt diligentia medicinae, quorum vulnus in abdito est. Etsi enim terrendi non sunt, tamen docendi sunt et, quantum existimo, facilius possunt, dum in eis timor severitatis doctorem adiuvat veritatis, ut opitulante domino

« 2 Tim. iii. 6-8. 338

NO. 43 (Ep. CXCI) awaits you of not only having punishment of wholesome severity administered to those who dare with over-much freedom to rave about that error which is such a dangerous challenge to the name of Christ, but also for the sake of the Lord's weaker and more simpleminded sheep of employing with all the vigilance of a pastor the most careful safeguards against those who, though in a stealthier and more covert manner, still do not cease to whisper it, " creeping into houses,"^ as the apostle says, and ^\-ith practised ungodliness doing the other things that he goes on to mention. Nor should those be overlooked who under the restraint of fear conceal their opinions under the deepest silence, but yet do not cease to cherish the same perverted opinions. Some, indeed, of their party may have attracted your attention before that pestilence was denounced by the most explicit condemnation of the Apostohc See itself, and may now, as you can see, have suddenly become silent, so that it is impossible to ascertain whether they have been cured of it unless they not only refrain from uttering those false doctrines, but actually take up the defence of the contrary doctrines with the same fervour they showed in propounding error. These, however, surely call for milder treatment : what need is there to terrify them, when their very silence shows that they are terrified enough ? At the same time, they are not to be passed over and spared remedial attention, as though they were quite sound, because their sore is hidden. For while they are not to be terrified, yet they ought to be taught, and, in my opinion, this process is easier while the fear they have of severe measures assists him who teaches them the truth. In this way, after they have learned

ST. AUGUSTINE

gratia eius intellecta atque dilecta etiam loquendo expugnent, quod iam loqui non audent.

No. 44 (Ep. CXCII) DOMINO VENERABILI NIMIUMQUE DESIDERABILI SANCTO FRATRI ET CONDIACONO CAELESTINO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Quamvis longe absens fuerim, quando per Proiectum clericum ad me directa Hipponem sanctitatis tuae scripta venerunt, tamen, posteaquam veni eisque lectis rescriptorum debitorem me factum esse cognovi, reddendi tempus opperiebar. Et ecce subito profecturi a nobis carissimi fratris nostri Albini acolithi gratissima occurrit occasio. De tua igitur, quae mihi exoptatissima est, salute laetatus sanctitati tuae salutationem debitam reddo. Semper autem debeo caritatem, quae sola etiam reddita semper detinet debitorem. Redditur enim, cum inpenditur ; debetur autem, etiamsi reddita fuerit, quia nullum est tempus, quando inpendenda iam non sit. Nee, cum redditur, amittitur, sed potius reddendo multiplicatur ; habendo enim redditur, non carendo. Et cum reddi non possit, nisi habeatur, nee haberi potest, nisi reddatur ; immo etiam, cum " Celestine was bishop of Rome from 422 to 432. He took a prominent part in all the theological questions of the time, and was especially active in opposing Pelagianism ; in Britain the Pelagians had succeeded in winning much support, so Celestine sent Germain of Auxerre and Palladius to bring the Britons back to the orthodox faith. In 431, the year after Augustine's death, he sent to the bishops of Gaul a famous letter defining the Church's teaching on the NO. 43 (Ep. CXCI)—NO. 44 (Ep. CXCII) through the Lord's assistance to understand and love His grace, they may by their utterance refute the errors which they no longer dare to utter.

No. 44 (Ep. CXCII)

TO CELESTINE," MY REVERED LORD, MY HOLY

BROTHER AND FELLOW-DEACON GREATLY LONGED FOR, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

I was far away when the clerk Projectus brought the 1 letters your Holiness sent to me at Hippo, yet as soon as I returned and read them and realized that I was in your debt, I was awaiting a chance of paying my debt, when lo ! the unexpected departure from us of our well-beloved brother, the acolyte Albinus, has provided a most welcome opportunity. Rejoicing, therefore, in your good health, which is the object of my earnest desire, I return your Holiness the salutation

I was oM-ing you. But I always ov.e you love, the only debt which, after being repaid, still keeps one a debtor. For it is repaid when it is expended, but is still oAng even if it has been repaid, since there is no time when it does not require to be expended. Nor is it lost when it is repaid, but rather by repayment it is multiplied, for it is repaid by retaining it, not by getting quit of it. And since it cannot be repaid unless it be retained, so it cannot be retained unless it be repaid—nay rather, when a man repays it, question of grace. Augustine again addresses him in No. 47, after his elevation to the papal chair.

ST. AUGUSTINE

redditur ab homine, crescit in homine et tanto maior adquiritur, quanto plurius redditur. Quo modo autem negatur amicis, quae debetur et inimicis ? Sed inimicis cauta inpenditur, amicis secura rependitur. Agit tamen, quantum potest, ut ab his etiam, quibus pro malis bona retribuit, id recipiat, quod inpendit. Optamus quippe fieri amicum, quern veraciter diligimus inimicum, quia non eum diligimus, nisi velimus bonum ; quod utique non erit, nisi amiserit inimicitiarum malum.

2 Non ergo sic inpenditur caritas ut pecunia. Excepto enim, quod ilia inpendendo minuitur, haec augetur, etiam illo inter se dif Ferunt, qUod pecuniam cui dederimus, tunc ei benivolentiores erimus, si recipere non quaeramus, non autem potest esse verus caritatis inpensor, nisi fuerit benignus exactor, quoniam pecunia cum recipitur, accedit cui datur, sed recedit a quo datur, caritas vero non solum apud eum crescit qui hanc ab eo, quem diligit, exigit, etiamsi non recipit, sed etiam ille, a quo eam recipit, tunc incipit habere, cum reddit. Proinde, domine frater, mutuamtibi caritatemlibens reddogaudensque recipio ; quam recipio, adhuc repeto, quam reddo, adhuc debeo. Unum enim magistrum, apud quem condiscipuli sumus, per eius apostolum dociles audire

This and the next paragraph are characteristic of Augustine's fondness for seizing on one word or idea and pursuing it through various arguments ; for earher examples see Xo. 24, where he plays on the words flares and florere No. 28, where he plays on the words " liberal studies " and " liberty," and No. 29, where he follows the same thought as here. The NO. 44< (Ep. CXCII) it increases in him, and the more lavishly he expends it, the more of it he gains. But how can that be refused to friends which is owing even to enemies ? To enemies, however, it is paid out with hesitation, while to friends it is paid back with confidence. Nevertheless, it makes every possible effort to recover what it has expended, even from those to whom it renders good for evil. For we desire to have as a friend the man whom we truly love as an enemy, because we do not love him unless we wish him good, and that cannot be the case unless he gives up the evil of enmity.^

Love, then, is not expended like money, for in 2 addition to the fact that money is diminished by expenditure and love is increased, they differ in this too, that we give greater evidence of good-will towards anyone if we do not seek the return of money we have given him ; whereas no one can sincerely expend love unless he tenderly insist on being repaid ; for when money is received, it is so much gain to the recipient but so much loss to the donor ; love, on the other hand, is not only augmented in the man who demands it back from the person he loves, even M'hen he does not receive it, but the person who returns it actually begins to possess it only when he pays it back.

Wherefore, my lord and brother, I willingly repay to you, and gladly receive back from you, the love we owe each other, and that which I receive back, I still claim ; that which I repay, I still owe. For it is our duty in all teachableness to hearken to our one Master, before Whom we are fellow-pupils, when He speaks thought is a favourite with him ; cf. In Ps. xxxvi., Serm. 3. 18 " nos caritas debitores semper tenet; ilia enim una est quae, etsi quotidie redditur, semper debetur," etc.

ST. AUGUSTINE

debemus praecipientem ac dicentem ; Nemini quicquam debeatis, ?iisi ut invicem diligatis.

No. 45 (Ep. CC) DOMINO INLUSTRI ET MERITO PRAESTANTISSIMO ATQUE IN CHRISTI DILECTIONE CARISSIMO FILIO VALERIO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Cum diu moleste haberem, quod aliquotiens scripserim et nulla tuae sublimitatis rescripta meruerim, repente epistulas tres tuae benignitatis accepi, unam non ad me solum datam per coepiscopum meum Mndemialem et non longe post per conpresbyterum Firmum duas. Qui vir sanctus nobisque, ut ab illo scire potuisti, familiarissima caritate coniunctus, multa nobiscum de tua excellentia conloquendo et veraciter insinuando, qualem te in Christi viscerihus noverit, non solum eas quas memoratus episcopus vel quas ipse adtulit, sed etiam illas quas non accepisse nos querebamur, litteras licit. Et ideo de te narratio eius sua\ior nobis erat, " Rom. xiii. 8. With the preceding words compare Disc. Chr. 14. 15 " Christus est qui docet. . . . Schola ipsius in terra est"; 7?i P.y. xxxiv., Senn. 1. 1 "in cuius schola condiscipuH sumus"; In Ps-. 126. 3 "sub illo uno magistro in hac schola vobiscum condiscipuli sumus " ; Serm. 134. 1 " omnes nos unum Magistrum habere et sub illo condiscipulos esse," 261. 2, 270. 1.

Valerius was Count of Africa, an earnest Christian and a firm supporter of orthodoxy against heretical error. He had adopted the ascetic rule of conjugal continence, and of this Augustine expresses warm approval, sending at the same time the first book of his work I)e Concupiscentia et Gratia. To 344

NO. 44 (Ep. CXCII)—NO. 45 (Ep. CC) through His apostle and bids us " owe no man anything but to love one another." "

No. 45 (Ep. CC) (a.d. 418) TO VALERIUS,^ xMY DISTINGUISHED AND JUST-

LY RENOWNED LORD AND SON WELL BELOVED IN THE LOVE OF CHRIST, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

I have long been disappointed that, after writing I several times, I have not had the honour of receiving any reply from your Excellency. Now quite unexpectedly I have received three letters from your Benignity, one of them, not exclusively to me, by the hands of my fellow-bishop Vindemialis,^ and not long afterwards two by the hands of my fellow-priest Firmus.'* That holy man, with whom I have ties of the most intimate and affectionate nature, as you may have heard from him, talked at length to me about your Excellency and gave me such a true conception of you, as he found you in '' the tender mercies of Christ," ^ that he outdid not only the letters brought to me by the afore-mentioned bishop or by himself, but even those I v\as complaining of not receiving. And his account of you was all the more pleasant in that he told me this book a reply ^vas written by Julian of Eclanum (see p. 1 88 above), accusing Augustine of denying the divine institution of marriage ; Augustine thereupon added a second book refuting the charge. Valerius is addressed also in Ep. ccvi., a recommendation of a bishop called Felix.

'^ Not otherwise known.

See above, p. 334. « Phil. i. 8.

S4>5

ST. AUGUSTINE

quia ea dicebat, quae ipse non possis ne quidem me inquirente rescribere, ne tuarum laudum, quod sancta scriptura prohibet, fieres praedicator. Quaniquam et ego verear haec ad te scribere, ne suspicionem adulantis incurram, domine inlustris et merito praestantissime atque in Christi dilectione carissime fili.

2 Laudes itaque tuas in Christo, sive magis in te laudes Christi, lide quid mihi delectationis et laetitiae fuit audire ab illo qui nee fallere me posset propter fidem suam, et eas ignorare non posset propter amicitiam tuam. Sed alia et ab aliis etsi non tarn multa vel certa, verum tamen audivimus, fides tua quam sit sana et catholica, quam pia expectatio futurorum, quae dei fratrumque dilectio, quam non superbe sapias in excelsis honoribus nee speres in incerto divitiarum sed in deo vivo, et dives sis in operibus bonis, quam sit domus tua requies solaciumque sanctorum et terror impiorum, quanta tibi cura sit, ne quis insidietur membris Christi coopertus velamine nominis Christi sive in veteribus eius sive in recentioribus inimicis, quamque sis eorundem inimicorum saluti providus, infestus errori. Haec atque huius modi, ut dixi, et ab aliis solemus audire, sed nunc ea per supra dictum fratrem plura et testatiora cognovimus.

3 Porro autem de pudicitia coniugali, ut eam quoque " Prov. xxvii. 2 " Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth."

" 1 Tim. vi. 17-18.

NO. 45 (Ep. CC) those things M'hich, for fear of becoming addicted to singing your own praises (which Holy Scripture forbids"), you yourself cannot write back tome even when I pointedly ask them. In fact I myself am afraid to compliment you on them when I ATite to you, my distinguished and justly renowned lord and well-beloved son in the love of Christ, in case I incur the suspicion of flattering you.

So you can just imagine what a pleasure and de2 hght it was to me to hear your praises in Christ, or rather the praises of Christ in you, from one whose OM'n truthfulness prevents him from deceiving me and whose friendship with you provides him with a knowledge of them.* Yet others too have furnished me with other information, which though not so full or so sure, was still worth hearing : how sound and cathoUc your faith is, how godly your hope of the world to come, what love you have towards God and towards the brethren, how humble-minded you are amid your high honours, and how your hope is not placed in the uncertainty of riches but in the living God,^ how abounding you are in good works, and what a rest and consolation your home is to the holy and what a terror to the ungodly, what zeal you exhibit to keep any who skulk under the cloak of the name of Christ, whether they be His old or His newer enemies, from laying snares for the members of Christ ; and yet how careful you are to procure the salvation of these same enemies, while opposing their errors. These and such-like things, as I said, I am in the habit of hearing from others too, but now I have had much fuller and surer testimony to them through the abovementioned brother.

Further, about your conjugal continence, what 3

ST. AUGUSTINE

in te laudare et amare possimus, quid audiremus nisi ab aliquo interiore familiari tuo, qui vitam tuam non in superficie sed penitus nosset ? De hoc itaque tuo bono, dei dono, me quoque delectat familiarius et aliquanto diutius loqui tecum. Scio me non esse oneri tibi, si aliquid prolixum mitto, quod legendo diutius sis nobiscum. Nam et hoc comperi, quod inter tuas multas magnasque curas facile ac Hbenter legas, nostrisque opuscuhs, etiam quae ad ahos conscripsimus, si qua in manus tuas venire potuerunt, admodum delecteris ; quanto magis, quod ad te scribitur, ubi tamquam praesenti loquar, et advertere dignaris attentius et accipere gratius ! Ab hac ergo epistula perge ad Ubrum, quern simul misi, qui tuae reverentiae, et cur conscriptus sit et cur ad te potissimum missus, ipse suo principio commodius intimabit.

No. 46 (Ep. CCIII) DOMINO INSIGXI ET PRAESTANTISSIMO AC DESIDERANTISSIMO FILIO LARGO AUGUSTIXUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

Accepi litteras eximietatis tuae, quibus me ad te petis ut scriberem. Quod quidem non desiderares, nisi et hoc, quod me posse scribere existimasti, ^ This jingle with bonum and donvm is a favourite one with Augustine: Con/, i. 20. 31 "Deimei dona sunt . . . et bona sunt"; ib. x. 4. 5; In Ps. 118, Serm. 17. 1 "quando ergo delectat bonum, magnum est Dei donum " ; Civ. Deiy XV. 4 " haec bona sunt et sine dubio Dei dona sunt"; ib. XV. 22 ; Grat. et Arb. 6. 15 "si autem bona sunt, Dei dona sunt"; Epp. ex. 4 and ccxi. 3.

Largus is probably the proconsul of that name in Africa, 415, 418, and 419. 348

NO. 45 (Ep. CC)—NO. 46 (Ep. CCIII) information could I have to be in a position to praise and love that too in you, save from someone intimately famihar with you, who knew your life not on the surface, but within ? So, since you are thus, by God's blessing, good possessing," I too take pleasure in talking A\ith you more intimately and at rather greater length. I know I shall not weary you if I send you something comprehensive, the reading of which will keep you all the longer in my company. For I have learned too that among your many arduous duties you are ready and glad to read my little books, and take considerable delight in them, when they happen to come into your hands, even if they are addressed to others ; how much greater should be your pleasure in receiving one addressed to yourself, in which I speak to you as though you were present, and how much more thorough the attention you kindly bestow upon it ! From this letter, then, pass on to the book that accompanies it ; why it was written and why it was especially sent to you, your Reverence will more conveniently find out from the opening chapter.

No. 46 (Ep. CCIII) (a.d. 420) TO MY NOBLE AND MOST DISTINGUISHED LORD, LARGUS,^ MY SON MUCH LONGED FOR, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

I have received your Excellency's letter, in which you ask me to write to you. This you would not desire, did you not believe that what you thought I would write to you would be acceptable and pleasant

ST. AUGUSTINE

gratum haberes atque iucundum, id autem est, ut vana saeculi huius, si inexperta concupisti, experta contemnas. Fallax est enim in eis suavitas et infructuosus labor et perpetuus timor et periculosa sublimitas, initium sine providentia et finis cum paenitentia. Ita se habent omnia, quae in ista mortalitatis aerumna cupidius quam prudentius appetuntur. Alia est autem spes piorum, alius laboris fructus, alia periculorum merces. Nam in hoc mundo non timere, non dolere, non laborare, non periclitari inpossibile est ; sed plurimum interest, qua causa, qua expectatione, quo termino quisque ista patiatur. Ego quidem cum amatores saeculi huius intueor, nescio quando possit esse ad eorum animos sanandos opportuna sapientia. Quando enim res velut prosperas habent, fastu respuunt salubres monitus et quasi anilem reputant cantilenam ; quando autem in adversis anguntur, magis cogitant evadere unde ad praesens anguntur, quam capere unde curentur et unde perveniant ubi angi omnino non possunt. Aliquando tamen quidam cordis aures admovent atque adhibent veritati rarius inter prospera, crebrius inter adversa, sed tamen pauci sunt, ita enim praedicti sunt, inter quos te esse cupio, quia veraciter diligo, domine insignis et praestantissime ac desiderantissime fili. Haec admonitio tibi sit mea resalutatio, quia, etsi te deinceps talia perpeti qualia " The phrase cordis anres occurs first in Tertullian {De An. 9), then in Juvencus, 2. 812. It is not uncommon in Augustine {Con/, i. 5, iv. 5. 10, In P.v. 48, Seniu 1,2; In loan. Ev. 1. 15, etc.), from whom it passes into the Benedictine Rule and Gregory the Great's writings. Similarly Augustine often speaks of the ocuhis cord 1ft {Serm. Dom. in Monte, ii. 1. 1, In loan. Ev. 14. 12, 17. 1, 18. 6, etc.). 350

NO. 46 (Ep. CCIII) —in other words, if you longed for the vanities of this world while they were unknown to you, you scorn thern now they are known, for the charm in them is illusory, the toil unrewarded, the anxiety unremitting, the uplifting dangerous ; man seeks them at first without reflection and abandons them at last with remorse. So it is with all the things that are sought in the tribulation of this mortal life with more eagerness than reflection, but it is far different with the hope of the godly ; different with the reward of their toil, different too with the outcome of their perils. For in this world fear and grief, toil and peril, are unavoidable, but it is of the utmost importance for what cause, with what hope, and to what end a man endures those things. For my part, when I look upon those who love this world, I know not at what moment wisdom can most opportunely undertake the healing of their souls, for when things apparently are prosperous with them, they scornfully disdain her wholesome warnings and deem them but a kind of old wives' song ; but when they are in the pangs of adversity, they rather think of escaping the source of their present pangs than of seizing the things that may provide a cure and a haven of refuge, in which their pangs will be completely prevented. At times, however (though these are less frequent in prosperity and more frequent in adversity), some of them turn the ears of their heart " to apply them to the truth, yet these are few, for so it was foretold.^ Among them I desire you to be, my noble and most distinguished lord and son much longed for, because I love you truly. Let this counsel to you be my answer to your letter, for, though I

Matt. vii. 13 " narrow is the way . . . and few there be that find it."

ST. AUGUSTINE

pertulisti, plus tamen nolo haec ipsa te sine aliqua in melius vitae mutatione fuisse perpessum.

No. 47 (Ep. CCIX) DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET DEBITA CARITATE VENERANDO SANCTO PAPAE CAELESTINO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Primum gratulationem reddo meritis tuis, quod te in ilia sede dominus deus noster sine ulla, sicut audivimus, plebis suae discissione constituit. Deinde insinuo sanetitati tuae quae sint circa nos, ut non solum orando pro nobis, verum etiam consulendo et opitulando subvenias. In magna quippe tribulatione positus haec ad tuam beatitudinem scripta direxi, quoniam volens prodesse quibusdem in nostra vicinitate membris Christi, magnam illis cladem inprovidus et incautus ingessi.

2 Fussala dicitur Hipponiensi territorio confine " See above, p. 340.

^ For the word papa see note a on p. 302.

Augustine here appeals to Celestine to reconsider a case on which his predecessor Boniface had earher pronounced judgement. Later, the African bishops decided not to allow appeals from Africa to Rome, and when in 426 Celestine wrote on behalf of a priest deposed from office, they pointed out that the African Church retained the right of judging its own causes {Cod. Eccl. Cath. cxxv. " non provocent nisi ad Africana concilia vel ad primates provinciarum suarum ; ad transmarina autem qui putaverit appellandum, a nullo intra Africam in communionem suscipiatur ").

The exact site of Fussala is unknown, but it probably lay to the south or south-east, for on that side the boundary of the commune of Hippo extended to about 40 miles. A later letter (Ep. ccxxiv.) speaks of a priest of Fussala. It was still a bishopric in 484, and a passage of Procopius mentions the NO. 46 (Ep. CCIII)—NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX) should not ^\^sh you to endure henceforward such sufferings as you have endured in the past, my wish is yet greater that you may not have endured them without some change of your Ufe for the better.

No. 47 (Ep. CCIX) (a.d. 423) TO CELESTINE," MY LORD MOST SAINTLY AND HOLY FATHERS REVERED WITH ALL DUE AFFECTION, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

First of all I pay my tribute of congratulation to 1 your merits that the Lord our God has placed you in that apostolic chair with (as we are informed) no division among His people. In the next place, I lay before your Holiness the state of affairs with us,- so that you may come to our assistance not only by praying for us, but also by giving us your counsel and assistance, '^ for I am writing to your Holiness under deep affliction : by my lack of foresight and caution

I have brought a great disaster upon certain members of Christ in our neighbourhood, though I had intended only their benefit.

Fussala '^ is the name of a small town not far from 2 construction of a fortress there under Justinian. In Civ. Dei xxii. 8. 6 is mention of a private estate near Fussala, on which the owner had built a chapel in which he placed soil from the Holy Sepulchre. The bishop mentioned below, Antoninus, was present at the Council of Mileve in 416 (Ep. clxxvi., title), but in view of his misdeeds Augustine assumed control himself (§ 5, cf. Ep. ccxxiv.), and retained it till his death. Castellum is defined by Augustine himself in De Consensu Evang. iii. 25. 71: "castellum . . . non absurde accipimus etiam villam potuisse appellari."

2 a S5^

ST. AUGUSTINE

castellum. Antea ibi numquam episcopus fuit, sed simul cum contigua sibi regione ad parochiam Hipponiensis ecclesiae pertinebat. Paucos habebat ilia terra catholicos ; ceteras plebes illic in magna multitudine hominum constitutas Donatistarum error miserabiliter obtinebat, ita ut in eodem castello nu Uus esset omnino catholicus. Actum est in dei misericordia, ut omnia ipsa loca unitati ecclesiae cohaererent ; per quantos labores et pericula nostra, longum est explicare, ita ut ibi presbyteri qui eis congregandis a nobis primitus constituti sunt, expoliarentur, caederentur, debilitarentur, excaecarentur, occiderentur. Quorum tamen passiones inutiles ac steriles non fuerunt, unitatis illic securitate perfecta. Sed quod ab Hippone memoratum castellum milibus quadraginta seiungitur, cum in eis regendis et eorum reliquiis licet exiguis colligendis, quae in utroque sexu oberrabant non minaces ulterius sed fugaces, me viderem latius quam oportebat extendi, nee adhibendae suf Rcere diligentiae, quam certissima ratione adhiberi debere cernebam, episcopum ibi ordinandum constituendumque curavi.

; Quod ut fieret, aptum loco illi congruumque requirebam, qui et Punica lingua esset instructus. Et habebam, de quo cogitabam, paratum presbyterum, propter quem ordinandum sanctum senem qui tunc primatum Numidiae gerebat, de longinquo ut veniret, rogans litteris impetravi. Quo iam praesente omniumque in re tanta suspensis animis, ad

Parorhla continues to mean a " diocese " and not a " parish " at least as late as the time of Bede, although the Greek word is used even for a country congregation as early as the Council of Chalcedon, a.d. 451 (see Bright, Sotes on the Canons of the first four General Councils, pp. 51-53).

^ That is, the Donatists.

354:

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX) the district of Hippo ; formerly there was never a bishop there, but along with the adjoining country it belonged to the diocese " of the church of Hippo. Of Catholics that region had but few ; all the other congregations there, located among a fairly dense population, were under the wretched influence of the Donatist error, so that in this town there was no Catholic at all. In the mercy of God it came about that all those districts became attached to the unity of the Church ; it would take too long to tell you what toil and danger that involved us in, such that the priests there, who were originally appointed by us to gather them ^together, were robbed, beaten, maimed, blinded, and killed ; yet their sufferings were not ineffectual or unfruitful, for by them unity was there securely achieved. But since the aforesaid town is forty miles distant from Hippo, and in the superintendence of the people and the gathering together of the remnants, however small, of the wandering bands, composed of both sexes, who were no longer threatening others but fleeing for their own safety, I saw myself drawn farther afield than was fitting, and unable to exercise that careful oversight which I perceived and was thoroughly convinced should be exercised, I arranged that a bishop should be ordained and appointed there.

For this purpose I needed a man fitted and suitable 3 for the place, one, too, possessing a knowledge of Punic, and I had in my mind a priest ready for the post, for whose ordination I wrote asking the holy Senior who at the time held the office of Primate of Numidia to make the long journey to us, and he agreed. When he was already with us and the minds of all were exalted in expectation of the solemn cere-

ST. AUGUSTINE

horam nos ille, qui mihi paratus videbatur, omni modo resistendo destituit. Ego autem, qui utique, sicut exitus docuit, dif Ferre potius debui quam periculosum praecipitare negotium, dum nolo gravissimum et sanctissimum senem ad nos usque fatigatum sine ef Fectu propter quem venerat tarn longe, ad propria remeare, obtuli non petentibus quendam adulescentem Antoninum, qui mecum tunc erat, in monasterio quidem a nobis a parvula aetate nutritum, sed praeter lectionis officium nullis clericatus gradibus et laboribus notum. At illi miseri, quod futurum fuerat ignorantes, of Ferenti eum mihi oboedientissime crediderunt. Quid plura ? Factum est ; esse illis episcopus coepit.

4 Quid faciam ? Nolo apud tuam venerationem gravare quem nutriendum collegi, nolo deserere quos colligendos timoribus et doloribus parturivi, et quo modo utrumque agam, reperire non possum. Res quippe ad tantum scandalum venit, ut cum eo hie apud nos causas dicerent, qui de il Uus episcopatu suscipiendo tamquam bene sibi consulentibus obtemperaverant nobis. In quibus causis cum stuprorum crimina capitalia, quae non ab ipsis quibus

Ad horam, " in our hour of need," " at the critical moment," sometimes simply " at the time," as in the next letter, § 2 "ad horam contristetur," Ep. Ixxi. 3 " mihi ad horam codex defuit," Cat. Rial. ii. 4 " hilaritas ad horam ut adsit," Civ. Dei i. 31 " [subse Hiis] ad horam congestis," etc.

It will be observed that this Antoninus was ordained per saltum, elevated to the rank of bishop from being merely a reader, responsible for the sacred books, without passing through the intermediate ranks. This was forbidden in the Eastern Church at the Council of Sardica, a.d. 343, but it continued in the Latin Church until about the ninth century. Further, it is to be noticed that Augustine did not himself 356

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX) mony? at the last minute " the man who had appeared to me to be ready left me in the lm*ch by absolutely opposing our plans. As the event proved, I ought certainly to have postponed a matter fraught with such dangers, instead of hurrying it on ; however, not wanting the very eminent and holy Senior, after being at the trouble of coming all the way to us, to go back home without accomplishing the purpose for which he had made such a long journey, I put forward, ^\ithout waiting to be asked, a certain young man Antoninus, who was with me at the time. He had been brought up by me in the monastery from his earliest years, but beyond holding the office of reader, he had no experience of any of the ranks or labours of clerical life ; yet those unfortunate people, not knowing what lay before them, very dutifully acquiesced in my offer of him. Why say more ? The deed was done ; he began his career as their bishop.^

What am I to do ? I do not m ant to charge before 4 your Reverence one whom I gathered in and fostered, nor do I want to abandon those for whose in-gathering

I travailed with anxiety and pain ; and how I am to do both I cannot discover. The matter has indeed come to such a scandalous pass that those who yielded to my wish to have him undertake episcopal office, in the belief that it was to their own best interest, have approached me here and laid charges against him. Among these charges the most serious offence of gross immorality made against him, not by those over whom consecrate Antoninus, but sought the services of his Primate. The co-operation of other bishops in episcopal consecration was expressly enjoined by the Council of Nicaea, which prescribes thr-ee as a general rule (Canon IV.).

ST. AUGUSTINE

episcopus erat, sed ab aliis quibusdam obiecta fuerant, probari minime potuissent, atque ab eis quae invidiosissime iactabantur, videretur esse purgatus, tarn miserandus factus est et nobis et aliis, ut, quicquid a castellanis et illius regionis hominibus de intolerabili doniinatione, de rapinis et diversis oppressionibus et contritionibus obiciebatur, nequaquam nobis tale videretur, ut propter hoc vel propter simul cuncta congesta episcopatu eum putaremus esse privandum, sed restituenda quae probarentur ablata.

6 Denique sententias nostras sic temperavimus, ut salvo episcopatu non tamen omnino inpunita relinquerentur, quae non deberent vel eidem ipsi deinceps iterumque facienda vel ceteris iniitanda proponi. Honoreni itaque integrum servavimus iuveni corrigendo, sed corripiendo minuimus potestatem, ne scilicet eis praeesset ulterius, cum quibus sic egerat, ut dolore iusto eum sibi praeesse ferre omnino non possent et cum suo illiusque periculo in aliquod scelus forsitan erupturam inpatientiam sui doloris ostenderent. Quorum talis animus etiam tunc, quando cum eis de illo episcopi egerunt, evidenter apparuit, cum iam vir spectabilis Celer, de cuius adversum se praepotenti administratione conquestus est, nullam gerat vel in Africa vel uspiam potestatem.

6 Sed quid multis morer ? Conlabora, obsecro, nobiscum, pietate venerabili domine beatissime et " Celer became proconsul of Africa in 429, but he is known from Augustine's works from soon after 400. He is addressed in Epp. Ivi. and Ivii., which show him to have been a Donatist. In Ep. cxxxix. 2 mention is made of the opening of Donatist churches on Celer's estates near Hippo.

NO. 4.7 (Ep. CCIX) he was bishop, but by certain others, was found to be quite unproved, and, apparently cleared of the most malicious of the imputations made against him, he was reduced to what we and others thought such a pitiful state that whatever complaint the town's-people and those of the district made about his intolerable tyranny, his rapacity and oppression and abuses of various kinds, seemed to me by no means so grievous that, because of it or of all of them put together, we should reckon it necessary to deprive him of his office as bishop ; it seemed enough to make him restore the things that were proved to have been taken away.

In short, I so tempered my judgement with mercy 5 that he was not deprived of office, although his faults were yet not left altogether unpunished ; they were not of a kind either to be repeated by him in the future or held up to others as a model. In correcting the young man, we therefore left him his rank unimpaired, but as a punishment we limited his authority, so that he should no longer be over those whom he had treated in such a way that from justified resentment it might have been impossible for them to endure having him over them at all ; they might perhaps show their impatience and resentment by breaking out into some misdeed fraught with danger to themselves and to him. That this was the state of their mind even at the time when the bishops were discussing his case vrith them appeared very clearly, although by now the eminent Celer,^ of Avhose very influential interference against him he complained, exercises no authority either in Africa or anywhere else.

But why make a long story of it ? I beseech you 6 to lend me your assistance, my saintly lord venerable

ST. AUGUSTINE

debita caritate venerande sancte papa, et iube tibi quae directa sunt, omnia recitari. Vide episcopatum qualiter gesserit, quern ad modum iudicio nostro usque adeo consenserit communione privatus, nisi prius Fussalensibus omnia redderentur, iam postea citra acta aestimatis rebus solidos seposuerit, ut ei communio redderetur, quam versuta suasione sanctum senem primatem nostrum gravissimum virum, ut ei cuncta crederet, quem velut omni modo inculpatum venerando papae Bonifatio commendaret, induxerit, et cetera quae a me quid opus est recoli, cum memoratus venerabilis senex ad tuam sanctimoniam universa rettulerit ?

In illis autem multiplicibus gestis, quibus de illo nostrum indicium continetur, magis deberem vereri ne tibi minus severe, quam oporteret, iudicasse videamur, nisi scirem vos tam propensos ad misericordiam, ut non solum nobis, quia illi pepercimus, verum etiam ipsi existimetis esse parcendum. Sed ille, quod a nobis aut benigne aut remisse factum est, in praescriptionem vertere atque usurpare conatur ; clamat : " Aut in mea cathedra sedere debui aut episcopus esse non debui," quasi nunc sedeat nisi in sua. Propter hoc enim loca ilia eidem dimissa atque permissa sunt, in quibus et prius episcopus erat, ne in alienam cathedram contra statuta " Cathedra, originally a chair for women, or the seat used by teachers and professors, came to be applied to the chair used by bishops. It stood in the apse and had curtains at the side (Aug. Ep. xxiii. 3 "cathedrae velatae"). Thence 860

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX) for your piety and holy father revered with all due affection, and give orders that all the documents sent you be read to you. See how he conducted himself in his office as bishop, how, when deprived of communion until after everything had been restored to the people of Fussala, he so far accepted our decision, then later set aside a sum in compensation for the things, quite apart from the legal decision, so that he might regain the privilege of communion ; see too with what crafty persuasion he led the holy

Senior, that very excellent man our Primate, to believe all his statements and to recommend him to the revered Pope Boniface as one in every v,ay blameless. What need is there for me to rehearse all the rest, since the venerable Senior afore-mentioned will have reported the aifair to your Holiness in all its details ? From the numerous minutes, however, that contain 7 our judgement upon him, I should rather fear to appear to you less severe in judging him than I ought to have been, if I did not know that you are so prone to mercy as to reckon it your duty to spare the man himself and us as well for sparing him. But what we did, either from kindness or from carelessness, he is now trying to turn to account and employ as a legal objection. His cry is, " Either I ought to be sitting in my own episcopal chair or else I ought not to be a bishop at all," as if he were now sitting in any chair " but his own. For it was for this very reason that those districts in which he was bishop before were set apart and set under his care that he might not be said to have been illegally transferred to another the word came to mean the building in which the bishop's throne stood.

ST. AUGUSTINE

patrum translatus inlicite diceretur. Aut vero quisquam ita esse debet sive severitatis sive lenitatis exactor, ut, qui non visi fuerint episcopatus honore privandi. nullo modo in eis aliquid vindicetur, aut in quibus aliquid \'isum fuerit vindicanduni, episcopatus honore priventur ?

8 Existunt exempla-ipsa sede apostolica iudicante vel alioruni iudicata firniante quosdani pro culpis quibusdani nee episcopali spoliatos honore nee rehctos omnimodis inpunitos. Quae ut a nostris temporibus remotissima non requiram, recentia memorabo. Clamet Priscus, provinciae Caesariensis episcopus : ** Aut ad primatum locus sicut ceteris et mihi patere debuit aut episcopatus mihi remanere non debuit."

- Clamet alius eiusdem provinciae ^^ictor episcopus, cui relicto in eadem poena in qua etiam Priscus fuit, nusquam nisi in dioecesi eius ab aliquo communicatur episcopo, clamet, inquam : " Aut ubique communicare debui aut etiam in meis locis communicare non debui." Clamet tertius eiusdem provinciae Lauren-

Translation from one see to another was definitely forbidden by the Council of Xicaea (Canon X\.) and later Councils.

His point is that there should be some form of punishment for offenders, midway between the extremes of complete immunity and complete deposition.

'' Priscus was bishop of Quiza in 411. Victor's see is not known, but Laurentius was bishop of Icosium, the modern town of Algiers, and as such he appears at the Synod of Carthage in 419. Further particulars of their cases are wanting. One or other of them is probably the case which took Augustine to Mauretania about 418 (" litteras . . . quas ad Mauretaniam Caesariensem misisti, me apud Caesaream praesente venerunt, quo nos iniuncta nobis a venerabili papa Zosimo aposlolicae sedis episcopo ecclesiastica necessitas traxerat," Ep. cxc. 1). 36^

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX) see contrary to the statutes of the Fathers.^ Or should anyone be so extreme an advocate of severity or of gentleness as either to exact absolutely no punishment from those who do not seem to merit deprivation of the honour of the bishop's office, or on the other hand to deprive of the honour of that office those who have been judged to deserve some punishment ? ^

There are on record among the judgements given : by the Apostolic See itself, or its confirmations of the judgements of others, precedents for not depriving certain bishops, tried for certain offences, of their episcopal rank, and yet for not leaving them altogether unpunished. Not to seek out examples that are far from our own day, I shall mention some of recent date. Hear the protest of Priscus,^ a bishop of the province of Caesarea : " Either the office of Primate ought to be open to me too, or else I ought not to retain my episcopal office." Let the protest be heard of another bishop of the same province, \ ictor, who when left in the same fault as Priscus, is not allowed to receive communion from any bishop unless within his own diocese—let his protest, I repeat, be heard: " Either I ought to communicate anywhere, or else I ought not to communicate even in my own district." Let the protest be heard of a third bishop of the same province, Laurentius, and '^ Caesarea was one of the two portions of Mauretania, which was incorporated in the Empire by Caligula in a.d. 40. About 292 Diocletian divided Caesarea into two, giving the new portion the name of Maurdania S'ltlfiensls, roughly corresponding to the western part of modern Algeria, while the other, Caesarea, corresponds to the eastern part of Morocco. Caesarea takes its name from the town of lol, a Phoenician colony, which Juba II. called Caesarea in honour of Julius Caesar, The modern name is Cherchel.

ST. AUGUSTINE

tius episcopus et prorsus huius vocibus clamet : " Aut in cathedra, cui ordinatus sum, sedere debui aut episcopus esse non debui." Sed quis ista vituperet, nisi qui parum adtendit nee inulta omnia relinquenda nee uno modo omnia vindicanda ? Quia ero pastorali vigilique cautela beatissimus papa Bonifatius in epistula sua posuit de Antonino loquens episcopo et ait : "Si ordinem rerum nobis fideliter indica\-it," accipe nunc ordinem rerum, quem ille in suo libello reticuit, ac deinde, quae post eius sanctae memoriae viri in Africa lectas litteras gesta sunt, et subveni hominibus opem tuam in Christi misericordia multo avidius quam ille poscentibus, a cuius inquietudine desiderant liberari. Indicia quippe illis et publicas potestates et militares impetus tamquam executuros apostolicae sedis sententiam sive ipse sive rumores creberrimi comminantur, ut miseri homines Christiani catholici graviora formident a catholico episcopo, quam, cum essent haeretici, a catho Ucorum imperatorum legibus formidabant. Non sinas ista fieri, obsecro te per Christi sanguinem, per apostoli Petri memoriam, qui Christianorum praepositos populorum monuit, ne violenter dominentur in fratres. Ego Fussalenses catholicos filios in Christo meos et Antoninum epi-

These rumours were encouraged by the fact that the representations of the African bishops to Pope Celestine were not yet made or known. Besides asking the Pope not to allow appeals from Africa or to receive those excommunicated in Africa, the bishops asked him not to send his clerks to carry out his sentences, lest the Church should appear to be introducing " the smoky vanity of the world " (" fumosum typhum saeculi ") {Cod. Eccl. Afr. No. cxxxviii). The letter of an African Council to Pope Celestine: "deinceps ad vestras aures hinc venientes non facilius admittatis, nee a nobis excommunicatos ultra velitis excipere ; . . . executores S6^

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX) heard indeed in the very words of Antoninus : "Either I ought to sit in the see to which I was ordained, or else I ought not to be a bishop at all." But who would find fault with those sentences, except one who does not reflect that, on the one hand, all these offences must not be left unpunished, and on the other, that they are not all to be punished in the same way ? In his letter about Antoninus, addressed to his 9 bishop, the saintly Pope Boniface, Mith the vigilance and caution of a true pastor, put the words, " Provided that he has faithfully revealed the sequence of events to us." So now accept this statement of the sequence of events which he in his memorandum passed over in silence, and further, of what happened after the letter of that man of blessed memory was read in Africa ; do you come to the aid of men who implore your aid in Christ's mercy more earnestly than did he, from whose harassment they seek deliverance. For threats are being made to the people, either by Antoninus himself or by oft-repeated rumours ,^ of legal processes and public officials and military attacks that are to enforce the decisionof the Apostolic See ; in consequence, those unfortunate people, though Catholic Christians, are in dread of heavier punishment from a Catholic bishop than what they feared from the laws of Catholic emperors when they were heretics. Do not let that be so, I implore you by the blood of Christ, by the memory of the apostle Peter who warned those placed in authority over Christian peoples not to lord it over their brethren.^ For myself, I commend to the gracious love of your Hohness both the Catholics of Fussala, my children etiam clericos vestros quibuscumque petentibus nolite mittere, nolite concedere." ^ 1 Pet. v. 3. S65

ST. AUGUSTINE

scopum filium in Christo meum benignitati caritatis sanctitatis tuae, quia utrosque diligo, utrosque commendo. Neque Fussalensibus suscenseo, quia iustam de me querimoniam ingerunt auribus tuis, quod eis hominem nondum niihi probatum, nonduni saltern aetate firmatum, a quo sic affligerentur, inflixi, neque huic noceri volo, cui quanto magis sinceram habeo caritatem, tanto magis pravae cupiditati eius obsisto. Utrique misericordiam mereantur tuam, illi, ne mala patiantur, iste, ne faciat, illi, ne oderint catholicam, si a catholicis episcopis maximeque ab ipsa sede apostolica contra catholicum non eis subvenitur episcopum, iste autem, ne se tanto scelere obstringat, ut, quos molitur invitos facere suos, a Christo faciat alienos.

10 Me sane, quod confitendum est beatitudini tuae, in isto utrorumque periculo tantus timor et maeror excruciat, ut ab officio cogitem gerendi episcopatus abscedere et me lamentis errori meo convenientibus dedere, si per eum cuius episcopatui per inprudentiam suf Fragatus sum vastari ecclesiam dei, et quod ipse deus avertat, etiam cum vastantis perditione perire conspexero. Recolens enim quod ait apostolus : Si nosmet ipsos diiudicaremus , a domino non iudicaremur, iudicabo me ipsum, ut parcat mihi qui iudicaturus est vivos et mortuos. Si autem et membra Christi, quae in ilia regione sunt, ab exitiabili timore ac tristitia " Catholica for catholka ecclesia is very frequent in Augustine. See Rottmanner, " Catholica," in Geistesfriichte aus der Klosterzelle, pp. 74-84.

^- 1 Cor. xi. 31. '2 Tim. iv. 1. 366

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX) in Christ, and bishop Antoninus, my son in Christ, for both are dear to me. And I do not biame the people of Fussala for pouring into your ears their just complaint against me that I imposed upon them a man whom I had not tested and who was, in age at least, immature, to cause them such afflictions ; nor do I wish any harm to Antoninus, whose vile greed

I oppose all the more stubbornly because I hold him in such genuine affection. Let your compassion be extended to both—to them, so that they may suffer no harm, to him, that he may do none ; to them, so that they may not hate the Catholic Church,'* if Catholic bishops and especially the Apostolic See itself fail to come to their defence against a Catholic bishop ; to him, so that he may not involve himself in such great wickedness as to alienate from Christ those whom he is striving to win for Him against their will.

As for myself, however, I must confess to your 10 Holiness that in the danger that threatens both I am racked by such great fear and grief that I contemplate retiring from the responsibility of carrying on my episcopal office and giving myself over to lamentation befitting my fault, if I see the Church of God despoiled through one whose election as bishop I supported through lack of foresight and even (which may God forbid) brought to destruction along with the destruction of the despoiler himself. For in remembrance of the Apostle's words, " If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged by the Lord," ^ I shall judge myself, so that I may be spared by Him " Who shall judge the quick and the dead."^ But if you secure the recovery of the members of Christ in that district from their deadly fear and sorrow and

ST. AUGUSTINE

recreaveris et meam senectutem hac misericordi iustitia fueris consolatus, retribuet tibi et in praesenti et in futura \-ita bona pro bonis, qui per te nobis in ista tribulatione succurrit et qui te in ilia sede constituit.

No. 48 (Ep. CCX)

DILECTISSIMAE ET SANCTISSIMAE MATRI FELI

CITATI ET FRATRI RUSTICO ET SORORIBUS QUAE VOBISCUM SUNT AUGUSTINUS ET QUI MECUM SUNT IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Bonus est dominus et misericordia eius ubique diffusa, quae nos de vestra caritate in suis visceribus consolatur. Quantum enini diligat credentes et sperantes in se et ilium atque invieem diligentes et quid eis in posterum servet, hinc maxime ostendit, cum infidelibus et desperatis et perversis, quibus in mala voluntate usque in finem perseverantibus ignera cum diabolo aeternum minatur, in hoc tamen saeculo bona tanta largitur, qd facit oriri solem suum super honos et malos et pluit super iustos et iniustos. Breviter enim aliquid dictum est, ut plura cogitentur ; quam multa enim habeant impii in hac \dta munera et dona " Felicitas was probably the prioress of the nunnerjat Hippo in which Augustine's own sister had held office until her death. It seems likely that the development of monasticism among women in North Africa was due to Augustine, for while Tertullian and Cj^^rian give evidence of the honour in which consecrated widows and virgins were held, the first notice of their monastic life is given by the Council of Carthage in 397, and Possidius declares that when Augustine died in 430 he left " a sufficient body of clergy and monasteries of men and women " ( Vit. 31). Of monasteries for men at Hippo, one was built on ground provided by Bishop Valerius {Serm. 355. 2), and on succeeding Valerius, Augus-

NO. 47 (Ep. CCIX)—NO. 48 (Ep. CCX) at the same time comfort my old age by administering justice tempered with mercy, He Who through you brings us dehverance in this trial and Who has set you in your See will recompense unto you good for good, both in this hfe and in the life to come.

No. 48 (Ep. CCX) (a.d. 423) TO THE WELL-BELOVED AND SAINTLY MOTHER

FELICITAS'' AXD BROTHER RUSTICUS AND THE SISTERS WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE AND THE BRETHREN WHO ARE WITH

ME SEND GREETING IN THE LORD

The Lord is good ^ and everywhere His mercy is 1 shed abroad, which comforts us with your love in Him. How greatly He loves those who believe and hope in Him and who love both Him and one another, and what blessings He stores up for them to enjoy hereafter, He shows most of all by this, that upon the unbelieving and the abandoned and the perverse, whom He threatens \\-ith eternal fire in company

the devil if they persist in their evi\ disposition unto the end,^ He nevertheless in this present world bestows so many benefits, making " His sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sending rain on the just and on the unjust."^ That is a brief sentence, meant to suggest further thoughts to the mind, for who can count up how many benefits and unearned tine made another of his episcopal house, and during his life-time two more were founded near Hippo {Serm. 356.

ST. AUGUSTINE

gratuita ab illo quern contemnunt, enumerare quis potest ? Inter quae illud magnum, quod exemplis interpositarum tribulationum, quas huius saeculi dulcedini tamquam bonus medicus miscet, admonet eos, si adtendere velint, fugere ab ira ventura, et cum in via sunt, id est in hac vita, coneordare cum sermone dei, quern sibi adversarium male vivendo fecerunt. Quid ergo non misericorditer praestatur hominibus a domino deo, a quo etiam tribulatio beneficium est ? Nam res prospera donum est consolantis, res autem adversa donum est admonentis dei. Et si haec praestat, ut dixi, etiam malis, quid praeparat sustinentibus se } Quorum in numero vos per illius gratiam congregatos esse gaudete, sustinentes invicem in dilectione, studentes servare unitatem spiritus in vijiculo pads. Non enim deerit quod in vobis invicem suf Feratis, nisi cum vos ita portaverit dominus absorpta morte in victoriam, ut sit deus omnia in omnibus.

2 Dissensiones autem numquam debent amari. Sed aliquando tamen aut caritate nascuntur aut caritatem probant. Quis enim facile invenitur, qui velit reprehendi ? Et ubi est ille sapiens, de quo dictum est : Corripe sapientem et amahit te ? Numquid tamen ideo non debemus reprehendere et corripere fratrem, " Matt. iii. 7. * Matt v. 25.

A Scriptural phrase : Ps. xxvi. 14 " confortetur cor tuum et sustine Dominum "; Isaiah xxv. 9 " iste Dominus; sustinuimus eum," etc. Augustine plaj-s on the two meanings of sustinere, " to wait for (God)," and " to endure (one's fellowmen)."

Ubi est . . , ? a common rhetorical formula in late Latin, perhaps derived from the controversiae, serving to introduce against an opponent a final and unanswerable argument, almost always from Scripture. See an example 370

NO. 48 (Ep. CCX) gifts the uicked receive in this hfe from Him whom they despise ? Among these is this great blessing, that by the instances of intermingled tribulation with which, like a good physician, He blends the charm of this world. He warns them, if they but pay heed, to " flee from the wrath to come " " and to " agree, while they are in the way " * (that is, in this life) with the word of God, which by their wicked lives they have made their " adversary." What, then, is not sent to men by the Lord God in His compassion, when even tribulation is a blessing sent by Him ? For prosperity is God's gift when He comforts us, while adversity is God's gift when He is warning us. And if, as I said, He furnishes these even to the wicked, what does He prepare for those who wait for Him ^ ? Among this number rejoice ye that by His grace you have been gathered, " forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. "<^ For there will not fail to be occasion for your bearing with one another, until the Lord has borne you hence and " death is swallowed up in victory " and " God shall be all in all." ^

Yet in strife we ought never to take pleasure, though 2 from time to time it is either born of love or puts love to the test. For M-ho is easily found that is willing to endure reproof? And, what about ^ that wise man of whom it is said, " Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee " ^ ? Surely then we ought not to refrain from reproving and correcting a brother in on p. 44, " Quamquam ubi est illud . . . quod . . . apostolus. . . ita conclusit ut diceret . . .? " Fastid. Vit. Chr. 13

si Deus peccatorum non punit, ubi est illud propheticum. . . ? " My note in Bulletin Bu Cange, i. (1924) p. 51, first recorded this use. " Frov. ix. 8.

ST. AUGUSTINE

ne securus tendat in mortem ? Solet enim fieri et frequenter accidit, ut ad horam contristetur, cum reprehenditur, et resistat et contendat et tamen postea consideret secum in silentio, ubi nemo est nisi deus et ipse nee timet displicere hominibus, quia corripitur, sed timet displicere deo, quia non corrigitur, et deinceps non faciat illud, quod iuste reprehensus est, et, quantum odit peccatum suum, tantum diligat fratrem, quem sensit hostem peccati sui. Si autem de illo numero est, de quo dictum est : Corripe stultum et adiciet ut oderit te, non de caritate illius dissensio nascitur, sed tamen caritatem reprehensoris sui exercet et probat, quia non ei rependitur odium, sed dilectio, quae cogit reprehendere, inperturbata perdurat, etiam cum ille qui reprehensus est, odit. Si autem ille qui corripit, reddere vult malum pro malo ei qui corripienti indignatur, non fuit dignus qui corriperet, sed dignus plane, qui etiam ipse corripi deberet. Haec agite, ut aut non inter vos existant indignationes aut exortae statim celerrima pace perimantur. Maiorem date operam concordandis vobis quam redarguendis, quia, sicut acetum corrumpit vas, si diutius ibi fuerit, sic ira corrumpit cor, si in alium diem duraverit. Haec ergo agite, et deus pads erit vobiscum, orantes simul et pro nobis, ut ea quae bene monemus, alacriter impleamus.

" Ad horam : see note a on p. 3o6.

^ C/. note on arbitraris tecum, p. 6.

' Prov. ix. 8. '^ Cf. p. 106. ' Phil. iv. 9.

NO. 48 (Ep. CCX) case he go down to death in false security ? It is a usual experience and a common occurrence for one who is reproved to be mortified at the time " and to wrangle and be recalcitrant, yet afterwards to reflect within himself ^ in silence, alone with God, where he is not afraid of displeasing men by being reproved, but is afraid to displease God by refusing correction, and thenceforward to refrain from doing the thing for which he was justly rebuked, and in proportion as he hates his sin, to love the brother whom he realizes to have been the enemy of his sin. But if he belongs to the number of those of whom it is written, "Rebuke a fool and he will go on to hate thee," ^ the contention is not born of his love, but yet it tries and tests the love of his reprover, since he does not repay hatred with hatred, but the love which prompted his rebuke endures undisturbed, even when he who was rebuked requites it with hatred. If the reprover, however, choose to render evil for evil to the man who takes offence at being reproved, he was not fit to reprove another, but clearly fit to be reproved himself. Act upon these principles, so that occasions of provocation may either not arise among you, or, when they do occur, be immediately quenched in speedy peace.

Strive more earnestly to disseminate harmony among yourselves than to encourage fault-finding, for just as vinegar corrodes a vessel if it remain too long in it, so anger corrodes the heart if it linger on to another day.*^ " These things, therefore, do, and the God of peace shall be with you." ^ At the same time pray for us, that we may with cheerful mind carry out the good advice we have given you.

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

1 Sicut parata est severitas peccata quae invenerit, vindicare, ita non vult caritas quod vindicet, invenire. Haec causa fecit, ut non venirem ad vos, cum meam praesentiam quaereretis, non ad pacis vestrae gaudium, sed ad dissensionis vestrae augmentum. Quo modo enim contemnerem et inpunitum relinquerem, si et me praesente tantus vester tumultus existeret, quantus me absente etsi oculos meos latuit, tamen aures meas vestris vocibus verberavit ? Nam fortassis etiam maior esset vestra seditio in praesentia mea, quam necesse esset vobis non concedi, quod in perniciosissimum exemplum contra sanam disciplinam, quod vobis non expedit, petebatis ; ac sic non quales volo, invenirem vos et ipse invenirer a vobis qualem non volebatis.

2 Cum ergo scribat apostolus ad Corinthios dicens : Testem deum facio super animam meant, quia parcejis vobis nondum veni Corinthum, non quia dominamur Jidei

This famous letter is the source of the Augustinian Rule, which from the eleventh century to the Ptenascence was the standard of canons regular, preaching friars, knights of the military orders, and the hospital brethren and sisters—of the active, as opposed to the contemplative religious orders, which were nearly all Benedictine. In this its original form, it was part of a letter addressed to a convent of nuns in Hippo, probably that to which the last letter was %^Titten, although the circumstances do not appear to be quite identical. The Rule itself, the first actual monastic legislation in Western Europe, was early adapted to communities of men, but it is not a complete system of rules for monastic observance, requiring expansion and elucidation from Augustine's other ascetic writings, especially the De Opere Monachorum and De Sancta Virginitate. Here, for ex374

NO. 4.9 (Ep. CCXI)

No. 49 (Ep. CCXI) «

Just as severity is ready to punish the sins it dis1 covers, so love is anxious not to discover sins to punish. That was the motive which withheld me from coming to you, when you besought my presence, not to rejoice in your peacefulness, but to increase your strife. For how could I have made light of your wrangling or left it unpunished, if even in my presence it had arisen to the same pitch as that which in my absence, though it was hidden from my eyes, yet assailed my ears with your clamour } Perhaps your rebelliousness would have been even greater in my presence, which it was necessary for me to withhold from you since you were demanding, to the detriment of sound discipline, things inexpedient for you and furnishing a most dangerous precedent. Thus I should not have found you such as I desire, and you would have found me such as you did not desire.

The Apostle writes to the Corinthians and says, "I 2 call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you

I came not as yet unto Corinth. Not for that we ample, Augustine passes over the great monastic counsel of silence and touches but lightly on the subject of labour, yet the Rule became essentially that of the religious orders with an active mission. Nor, again, does he speak in detail of the liturgical offices, perhaps because in the Africa of his day there was no uniformity (Ep. Iv. 34 " de hac re varia consuetudo est ") and no great enthusiasmfor it (/6., " pleraque in Africa ecclesiae membra pigriora sunt "), except among the Donatists. Yet such as it is, the " Rule " had all the authority of his name and all the mingled severity and kindness of his nature to make it imposing to the medieval mind.

ST. AUGUSTINE

vestrae, sed cooperatores sumus gaudii vestri, hoc ego etiani dico vobis quia parcens vobis non ad vos veni. Peperci etiam niihi, ?ie tristiham super tristitiam de vobis haherem, et elegi non exhibere facieni meam vobis, sed ef Funderem cor nieuni deo pro vobis, et causam magis periculi vestri non apud vos verbis sed apud deum lacrimis agerem, ne convertat in luctum gaudium meum, quo soleo gaudere de vobis et inter tanta scandala, quibus ubique abundat hie mundus, ahquantulum consolari, cogitans copiosam congregationem et castam dilectionem et sanctam conversationem vestram et largiorem gratiam dei, quae data est vobis. ut non solum nuptias carnales contemneretisj verum etiam ehgeretis societatem in domo habitandi unanimes. ut sit vobis anima una et cor unum in deum.

3 Haec in vobis bona, haec dei dona considerans inter multas tempestates, quibus ex ahis mahs quatitur, cor meum solet utcumque requiescere. Currehatis bene. Quis vos fascinavit ? Suasio ilia non est ex deo, qui vocavit vos. Modicum fermenti— nolo dicere quod sequitur ; hoc enim magis cupio et oro et hortor, ut ipsum fermentum revertatur in melius, non tota massa, sicut paene iam fecerat, convertatur in peius.

Si ergo repullulastis sanum sapere, orate, ne i?itretis in temptationem, ne iterum in cojite?itio7ies , aemulationes, animositates , dissensiones, detractiones, seditiones, susurrationes. Non enim sic plantavimus et rigavimus " 2 Cor. i. 23-24. ^ Phil. ii. 27.

Lam. ii. 19. ^ Acts iv. 32.

1 Cor. V. 6 " modicum fermenti totam massam corrumpit."

' Matt. xxvi. 41 ; Mark xiv. 38 ; Luke xxii. 46.

» 2 Cor. xii. 20. 376

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI) have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy." ° I too say the same to you : to spare you I came not unto you ; further, I spared myself, " lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow " ^ from you, and preferred not to show my face before you but to pour out my heart to God for your behoof and to conduct this perilous case of yours, not by speech before you, but rather by tears before God,^ lest He turn to mourning the joy wherewith I am wont to rejoice in you and to find some little comfort, amid the great offences with which this world everywhere abounds, in the remembrance of your large community and your chaste love and holy conversation and the more abundant grace of God that has been given you, whereby you have not only renounced carnal wedlock, but have also chosen to dwell with one accord in fellowship together under the same roof, to have " one soul and one heart " unto God.^

When I consider these excellences you show, 3 which God did bestow, my heart is wont to find some sort of peace amid the many storms that arise through evils elsewhere to agitate it. " Ye did run well ; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth ? This persuasion cometh not of God that called you. A little leaven " ^—what follows I prefer to leave unsaid, for it is rather my desire and prayer and exhortation that the leaven itself may return to something better, not that " the whole lump " may turn (as it had almost done already) to something worse. If then you have blossomed again into soundness of mind, " pray that ye enter not into temptation," '' nor fall once more into "debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, tumults, whisperings."^ For we did not so plant and water

ST. AUGUSTINE

hortum dominicum in vobis, ut spinas istas metamus ex vobis. Si autem adhuc vestra tumultuatur infirmitas, orate ut eruamini de temptatione. Quae autem conturbant vos, si adhuc conturbant, nisi correxerint, portabunt iudicium, quaecumque illae fuerint.

4 Cogitate quid mali sit, ut, cum de Donatistis in unitate gaudeamus, interna schismata in monasterio lugeamus. Perseverate in bono proposito et non desiderabitis mutare praepositam, qua in monasterio illo per tam multos annos perseverante et numero et aetate crevistis, quae vos mater non utero sed animo suscepit. Omnes enim quae illuc venistis, ibi eam aut sanctae praepositae sorori meae servientem, placentem aut etiam ipsam praepositam, quae vos susciperet, invenistis ; sub ilia estis eruditae, sub ilia velatae, sub ilia multiplicatae ; et sic tumultuamini, ut vobis eam mutemus, cum lugere deberetis si eam vobis mutare vellemus. Ipsa est, quam nostis ; ipsa est, ad quam venistis ; ipsa est, quam per tot annos habendo cre\dstis. Novum non accepistis nisi praepositum ; aut si propter ilium quaeritis novitatem et in eius invidia contra matrem vestram sic rebel- " 1 Cor. ill. 6-8 ; Hier. xii. 13.

This intransitive use of corrigfrfi is peculiar to late Latin, as is the similar use of emendo and reformo. It is often corrected in texts by the poorer manuscripts, as it is here, and probably occurs more frequently than the texts show. See Thes. Ling. Lat. s.v., and Souter, A Study of Ambrosiaster, p. 96, and c/. Aug. In Ps. 93. 3 " utinam corrigant et non dicant sic."

The reading Donatistis is a conjecture of the Maurist editors, all the manuscripts giving deo natis, but Donatistis is almost certainly right. The phrase in unitate gaudere is always used by Augustine with reference to the Donatists ; 378

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI) the garden of the Lord among you as to reap these thorns from you ** ; yet if your weakness still causes turmoil, pray to be delivered from temptation. Yet unless those sisters that trouble your peace reform ^ (if they still trouble it), they shall bear their judgement, whosoever they be.^ Consider what an evil thing it is that we should 4 have to bewail internal discords in your monastery, M'hen we are rejoicing over the Donatists in unity. Be steadfast in the good purpose you have set before you and you will not desire to change your superior ; steadfastly abiding in that monastery for so many years, she begot you not of the body, but of the soul, and you have grown both in numbers and in age. All of you, when you came to it, found her either doing service that was well-pleasing to the holy superior my sister, or else acting as superior herself and adopting you. Under her you received your training, under her you took the veil, under her you have been increased ; and yet you demand with all this clamour that we should replace her for you, when you ought to be lamenting if we proposed to replace her for you. She is the one you have learned to know ; she is the one to whom at first you came ; she is the one under whom for so many years you have grown. No new official has been given you except the priest-superior ; or if it be because of him that you seek some new thing and through jealousy for him that you have thus rebelled deo nati is too vague to be an adequate contrast to interna schismafa, and the reading deo natis is easily explained as derived from Donatistis by the wrong expansion of doto Deo and the dropping of the second -tis. See my note in Journal of Theological Studies, xxiii. (1922), p. 188.

ST. AUGUSTINE

lastis, cur non potius hoc petistis, ut ipse vobis mutetur ? Si autem hoc exhorretis. quia novi quo modo eum in Christo venerabi Uter diligatis, cur non potius illud ? In vobis namque regendis sic praepositi rudimenta turbantur, ut magis veUt vos ipse deserere, quam istam ex vobis famam et invidiam sustinere, ut dicatur non aham vos quaesituras fuisse praepositam, nisi ipsum coepissetis habere praepositum. Tranquillet ergo deus et componat animos vestros ; non in vobis praevaleat opus diaboh, sed pax Christi vincat m cordihus vestris ; nee dolore animi, quia non fit quod vultis, vel quia pudet voluisse quod velle non debuistis, erubescendo curratis in mortem, sed potius paenitendo resumatis salutem nee debeatis paenitentiam ludae traditoris sed potius lacrimas Petri pastoris.

5 Haec sunt, quae ut observetis praecipimus in monasterio constitutae. Primum propter quod estis in unum congregatae, ut unanimes habitetis in domo et sit vobis anima una et cor unum in deum et non dicatis ahquid proprium, sed sint vobis omnia communia, et distribuatur unicuique vestrum a praeposita vestra victus et tegumentum non aequaliter omnibus, quia non aequa Uter valetis omnes, sed

1 John iii. 8. * Col. ill. 15.

" Matt, xxvii. 3-5. ^ Matt. xxvi. 75.

The " Rule " proper begins here. In the version adapted to male use the previous sections are omitted and in their place is a short introduction, comprising, among other things, liturgical injunctions, passed over very lightly in the " Rule."

Acts iv. 32. Goldbacher reads with one family of manuscripts cor unum et anima una, which follows the order of the Greek and the \'ulgate. But not only is the reading anima una et cor unum attested by a better family; it is frequent and almost invariable in Augustine. Similarly Goldbacher lower down reads singulis prout, a Vulgate form, 380

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI) against your mother, why did you not rather ask to have him changed for you ? But if you shrink from that (since I know with what reverence and affection you regard him in Christ), why not the more shrink from the other course ? For in ru Ung you the efforts of the priest-superior are so thwarted by your disorderhness, that he himself is the rather minded to abandon you than to endure such an invidious reputation from you as to have it said that you would not have demanded another mother-superior, if you had not begun to have him as priest-superior. May God then calm and compose your hearts ! May the work of the devil not gain the upper hand within you," but may " the peace of Christ rule in your hearts "

! And do not rush headlong unto death, either from mortification that your desire is not granted or from the shame that you experience from desiring what you ought not to have desired. Rather by repentance renew your salvation, nor ought it to be the repentance of Judas the betrayer but rather the tears of Peter the shepherd.^

These are the rules we lay down for your observi ance, who have entered upon monastic life.^

Firstly, to fulfil the end for which you have gathered into one community, dwell together in the house as single-minded sisters, and have " one mind and one heart"-'' towards God. And call not anything your own, but let everything be common property ; and let there be a distribution made to each of you by your superior of food and raiment, not in equal portions to all, since you are not all of which probably never occurs in Augustine, his usual form being that here read on the authority of the same better class of manuscripts.

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unicuique sicut opus fuerit. Sic enim legitis in actibus apostolorum, quia eraiit illis omnia communia et distribuehatur unicuique sicut cuique opus erat. Quae aliquid habebant in saeculo, quando ingressae sunt monasterium, libenter illud velint esse commune ; quae autem non habebant, non ea quaerant in monasterio, quae nee foris habere potuerunt, sed tamen earum infirmitati, quod opus est, tribuatur, etiam si pauperies earum, quando foris erant, nee ipsa necessaria poterat invenire ; tantum non ideo se putent esse felices, quia invenerunt victum et tegumentum quale foris invenire non potuerunt.

6 Nee erigant cervicem, quia sociantur ad quas foris accedere non audebant, sed sursum cor habeant et terrena bona non quaerant, ne incipiant monasteria esse divitibus utilia non pauperibus, sed divites illic humihantur et pauperes illic inflantur. Sed rursus etiam illae quae aliquid esse videbantur in saeculo, non habeant fastidio sorores suas quae ad illam sanctam societatem ex paupertate venerunt ; magis autem studeant non de parentum divitum dignitate sed de pauperum sororum societate gloriari. Nee extollantur, si communi vitae de suis facultatibus aliquid contulerunt, ne de suis divitiis magis superbiant quia eas monasterio partiuntur, quam si eis in saeculo fruerentur. Alia quippe quaecumque

« Acts iv. 32, 35.

That there were many of low degree who entered monastic life appears too from De Opere Monachorum, 25 : " nunc autem veniunt plerumque ad hanc professionem servitutis Dei et ex condicione servili vel etiam liberti, vel propter hoc ex dominio liberati seu Hberandi et ex vita rusticana et ex opificum exercitatione et plebeio labore." 382

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI) equal importance, but to each one according as she has need. For in the Acts of the Apostles you read that " they had all things common, and distribution was made to every man according as he had need."

Let those of you who had any possessions in the world before you entered the monastery willingly consent that they become common property ; let those, on the other hand, who had none, not seek in the monastery for things they could not have outside it, but yet let what is needful be conceded to their weakness, even if their poverty, while they were outside, was such that they could not procure even the bare necessities of life. Nevertheless, let them not think themselves fortunate only because they have procured such food and raiment as they were unable to procure outside.

And let them not go about with head erect because they are associating with those whom they did not dare to approach outside, but let them lift up their hearts and not seek earthly goods, in case the monasteries become of service to the rich and not to the poor, while in them the rich are bowed down with humility and the poor in them puffed up with vanity. But again, let not those who in the world considered themselves something, hold in scorn their sisters who have come to that holy fellowship from poverty ^ let them endeavour to take greater pride in the fellowship of their poor sisters than in the rank of their v.-ealthy parents. And let them not exalt themselves, if they have made some contribution from their own resources to the common life, lest they grow more vain of their wealth because they are sharing it with the monastery, than if they were enjoying the use of it in the world ; for every other kind of iniquity

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iniquitas in malis operibus exercetur, ut fiant ; superbia vero etiam in bonis operibus insidiatur, ut pereant. Et quid prodest dispergere dando pauperibus et pauperem fieri, cum anima misera superbior efficiatur divitias contemnendo, quam fuerat possidendo ? Omnes ergo unanimiter et concorditer vivite et honorate in vobis invicem deum, cuius templa factae estis.

7 Orationibus instate horis et temporibus constitutis. In oratorio nemo aliquid agat, nisi ad quod est factum, unde et nomen accepit, ut, si aliquae etiam praeter horas constitutas, si eis vacat, et orare voluerint, non eis sint impedimento, quae ibi aliquid agendum putaverunt. Psalmis et hymnis cum oratis deum, hoc versetur in corde quod profertur in voce, et nohte cantare, nisi quod legitis esse cantandum ; quod autem non ita scriptum est, ut cantetur, non cantetur.

8 Carnem vestram domate ieiuniis et abstinentia escae et potus, quantum vahtudo permittit. Quando autem aliqua non potest ieiunare, non tamen extra horam prandii ahquid ahmentorum sumat, nisi cum aegrotat. Cum acceditis ad mensam, donee inde surgatis, quod vobis secundum consuetudinem legitur, sine tumultu et contentionibus audite nee solae vobis fauces sumant cibum, sed et aures esuriant dei verbum.

9 Quae infirmae sunt ex pristina consuetudine, si aliter tractantur in victu, non debet aUis molestum esse nee iniustum videri, quas fecit aha consuetudo fortiores. Nee illas putent feliciores, quia sumunt " 1 Cor. iii. 16. * Coloss. iv. 2. 384

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI) prompts the doing of evil deeds, but pride lurks even in good deeds to their undoing. And what does it avail to scatter Avealth in alms to the poor and to become poor oneself, when the wretched soul is rendered prouder by despising wealth than it was by possessing it ? Live, then, all of you, in singlemindedness and harmony, and in each other honour God, Whose temples you have become."

Be instant in prayer ^ at the appointed hours and 7 seasons. In the oratory let no one do anything but that for which it was made and from which it received its name, so that if any of you have leisure and wish to pray outside the appointed hours, you may not be hindered by others who think they should be doing something else in it. When you pray to God with psalms and hymns, meditate in your heart upon that which you utter with your voice, and do not sing anything unless what you read is to be sung ; what is not written to be sung, is not to be sung.

Subdue your flesh by fasting and abstinence 8 from meat and drink, as far as the health allows. When, however, anyone is unable to fast, let her not take any nourishment outside of the hour of repast, unless when ill. From the time of your coming to table until you rise from it, hearken without din and wranghng to what according to the custom is read to you ; let not your mouths alone take food, but let your ears too hunger for the word of God.

If those who are of weaker health from their 9 former mode of life are treated differently with regard to food, this ought not to be vexatious or to seem unfair to others whom a different mode of life has made stronger. And let them not imagine

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quod non summit ipsae, sed sibi potius gratulentur, quia valent quod non valent illae. Et si eis quae venerunt ex moribus delicatioribus ad monasterium, aiiquid alimentorum, vestimentorum, stramentorum, operimentorum datur, quod aliis fortioribus et ideo felicioribus non datur, cogitare debent, quibus non datur, quantum de sua saeeulari vita illae ad istam descenderunt, quamvis usque ad aliarum, quae sunt corpore fortiores, frugalitatem pervenire nequiverint.

Nee velle debent, quod eas vident amplius, non quia honorantur, sed quia tolerantur, accipere, ne contingat detestanda perversitas, ut in monasterio, ubi, quantum possunt, fiunt divites laboriosae, fiant pauperes delicatae. Sane, quem ad modum aegrotantes necesse habent minus accipere, ne graventur, ita post aegritudinem sic tractandae sunt, ut citius recreentur, etiam si de humillima saeculi paupertate venerunt, tamquam hoc illis contulerit recentior aegritudo, quod divitibus anterior consuetudo. Sed cum vires pristinas reparaverint, redeant ad feliciorem consuetudinem suam, quae famulas dei tanto amplius decet, quanto minus indigent, nee ibi eas teneat

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI) these weaker sisters more fortunate than themselves because they enjoy a fare which is denied to themselves, but let them rather congratulate themselves that they have strength which is denied to the others. And if they who have come to the monastery from a more delicate upbringing are granted any food, clothing, bedding, or covering, that is not granted to others who are stronger and therefore more fortunate, those to whom it is not granted should consider how great a descent the others have made from their sphere of life in the world to this one, even although they have been unable to attain to the severe simplicity of those who are stronger in body. Nor should they hanker after what they see others receiving (not as a mark of higher favour, but as a mark of patient long-suffering) to a greater degree than they do themselves, lest there arise the abominable travesty of monastic life whereby the rich, as far as possible, are to be compelled to toil, and the poor allowed to live in luxury. Certainly, just as those who are ill have of necessity to take less food so as not to aggravate their disease, so after their illness they must receive such treatment as will help them to a speedier recovery, even although the worldly station from which they have come was one of the deepest poverty ; just as if the illness they have just passed through had bestowed on them the privileges allowed to the wealthy because of their pre\-ious mode of life. But when they have made up their former strength, let them return to their own more fortunate mode of life, which is all the more befitting the handmaidens of God as it involves fewer wants ; and let not their choice keep them, when they are well, in the privi-

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voluntas iam vegetas, quo necessitas levarat infirmas.

Illae se aestiment ditiores, quae fuerint in sustinenda parcitate fortiores ; melius est enim minus egere quam plus habere.

10 Non sit notabilis habitus vester nee aifectetis vestibus placere, sed moribus ; non sint vobis tam tenera capitum tegmina, ut retiola subter appareant.

Capiilos ex nulla parte nudos habeatis nee foris vel spargat neglegentia vel componat industria. Quando proceditis, simul ambulate ; cum veneritis quo itis, simul state. In incessu, in statu, in habitu, in omnibus motibus vestris nihil fiat, quod inliciat cuiusquam libidinem, sed quod vestram deceat sanctitatem. Oculi vestri etsi iaciuntur in aliquem, figantur in neminem. Neque enim, quando proceditis, \dros videre prohibemini, sed appetere aut ab ipsis appeti velle. Nee tactu solo et affectu sed aspectu quoque appetitur et appetit femina. Nee dicatis vos habere animos pudicos, si habeatis oculos inpudicos, quia inpudicus oculus inpudici cordis est nuntius et, cum se invicem sibi etiam tacente lingua conspectu mutuo corda nuntiant inpudica et secundum concupiscentiam carnis alterutro delectantur ardore, etiam intactis ab inmunda violatione corporibus, fugit castitas ipsa de moribus. Nee putare debet, quae in masculo figit oculum et illius in se ipsa " In Egyptian and Syrian monasteries, according to Jerome, it appears to have been the custom for nuns to have the hair cut short (" moris est in Aegypti et Syriae monasteriis ut tam virgo quam vidua quae Deo se voverint . . . crinem monasteriorum matribus offerant desecandum, non intecto postea . . . capite, sed hgato pariter ac velato," Hier. Ep. 147. 5), but in the Western church they were allowed to wear the hair long (Optatus, vi. 4 ; Ambr. Laps. Virg. 8. 35). 388

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI) leged position to which necessity had raised theni, when they were ill. Let those reckon themselves richer who in enduring frugality have been stronger ; it is better to want less than to receive more.

Let not your apparel be conspicuous, and aspire to 10 please, not by your attire, but by your conduct ; let the covering of your head not be so thin that the nets appear under it. Do not let any part of your hair be uncovered, and, when you are outside the monastery, do not let it fly loose through carelessness or be arranged with fastidiousness. ° When you go in procession, walk together ; when you reach the place you are going to, stand together. In walking, in standing, in deportment, in all your movements, let nothingbe done that miffht attract the desire of anyone, but let everything be in keeping with your holy character. Though your eyes may be cast upon anyone, let them be fixed upon no one ; for when you are in procession, you are not forbidden to look upon men, but to desire to make approaches to them or to have them make approaches to you. It is not by touch only and by bearing that a woman solicits approaches or makes them, but by look as well. And do not say that you have chaste minds if you have unchaste eyes, because an unchaste eye is the messenger of an unchaste heart, and when unchaste hearts send messages to each other, even though the tongue is silent, by the exchange of a look and agreeably to the lust of the flesh find pleasure each in the other's ardour, the body may actually remain uncontaminated by any unclean violation and yet purity may take its departure from the character. And she who fixes her eye upon a man and takes delight in having his fixed upon herself, must not S89

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diligit fixum, non se videri ab aliis, cum hoc facit ; videtur omnino, et a quibus videri non arbitratur. Sed ecce lateat et a nemine hominum videatur, quid faciet de illo desuper inspectore, quern latere nihil potest ? An ideo putandus est non videre, quia tanto videt patientius quanto sapientius ? Illi ergo timeat sancta femina displicere, ne velit viro male placere ; ilium cogitet omnia videre, ne velit virum male videre. Illius namque et in hac causa commendatus est timor, ubi scriptum est : Ahominatio est domijio defigens oculum. Quando ergo simul estis in ecclesia et ubicumque ubi et viri sunt, invicem vestram pudicitiam custodite ; deus enim, qui habitat in vobis, etiam isto modo vos custodit ex vobis.

11 Et si hanc, de qua loquor, oculi petulantiam in aliqua vestrum adverteritis, statim admonete, ne coepta progrediantur, sed e proximo corrigantur. Si autem et post admonitionem iterum vel alio quocumque die id ipsum earn facere videritis, iam velut vulneratam sanandam prodat quaecumque hoc potuit invenire, prius tamen et alteri vel tertiae demonstratam, ut duarum vel trium possit ore convinci et competent! severitate coherceri. Nee vos iudicetis esse ma Uvolas, quando hoc indicatis ; magis quippe " Prov. xxiv. 12.

'' Prov. xxvii. 20, after the Septuagint: ^bi Xvyixa Kvpiip (TTr]pio}v 6(p6a\iJ.6v.

^ 1 Cor. iii. 16 ; 2 Cor. vi. 16.

Deut. xix. 15 ; Matt, xviii. 16 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 1.

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI) imagine that, when she does so, she is not observed by others ; she assuredly is observed, and observed by those she wots not of. But just suppose she does escape detection and is not observed by any human being, what Mill she do about that observer from above, Whose detection nothing can escape ? '^ Is He to be considered to observe nothing, because He observes with as much long-suffering as wisdom ? Let each holy woman therefore cherish the fear of displeasing Him, so as to avoid the desire of sinfully pleasing man ; let her keep in mind that He observes everything, so that she may avoid the desire of sinfully observing man. For it is fear of Him, and that in this self-same matter, that is commended to us by the passage, " One that fixeth the eye is an abomination to the Lord." ^ So then, when you are together in church and in any place where men too are present, keep mutual guard upon your chastity, for in that way too God, " Who dwelleth in you," ^ makes you His guards upon yourselves.

And if in anyone of your number you perceive 11 this frowardness of eye of which I am speaking, at once admonish her, so that what has begun may ffo no farther, but may be remedied straig-htway. But if, even after admonishment, you notice her doino; the same thing again on any other day, whoever has had the opportunity of noticing this should report her for treatment, as one afflicted M'ith a sore, but not before she has been pointed out to a second or a third, so that she may be con\'icted from the mouth of two or three witnesses ^ and be punished with becoming severity. And do not judge yourselves to be acting from malice when you point out anything of this kind ; for the truth rather is that you share

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innocentes non estis, si sorores vestras, quas indicando corrigere potestis, tacendo perire permittitis. Si enim soror tua vulnus haberet in corpore, quod vellet occultare, cum timeret secari, nonne crudeliter abs te sileretur et misericorditer indicaretur ? Quanto ergo potius earn debes manifestare, ne perniciosius putrescat in corde ! Sed antequam aliis demonstretur per quas convincenda est, si negaverit, prius praepositae debet ostendi, si admonita neglexerit corrigi, ne forte possit secretius correpta non innotescere ceteris. Si autem negaverit, tunc mentienti adhibendae sunt aliae, ut iam coram omnibus possit non ab una teste argui, sed a duabus tribusque convinci ; convicta vero secundum praepositae vel etiam presbyteri arbitrium debet emendatoriam sustinere vindictam ; quam si ferre recusaverit et si ipsa non abscesserit, de vestra societate proiciatur. Non enim et hoc fit crudeliter, sed misericorditer, ne contagione pestifera plurimas perdat. Et hoc quod dixi de oculo non Agendo, etiam in ceteris inveniendis, prohibendis, indicandis, convincendis vindicandisque peccatis diligenter observetur, cum dilectione hominum et odio vitiorum. Quaecumque autem in tantum progressa fuerit malum, ut occulte ab aliquo litteras vel quaelibet munuscula accipiat, si hoc ultro confitetur, parcatur illi et oretur pro ilia ; " A favourite thought of Augustine's: In Ps. 138. 22 " nee propter vitia homines oderis, nee vitia propter homines diligas "; In Ps. 1 18. 5. 24, 1-2 ; ib. 139. 2, ete. So, too, in the Benedictine Rule, 64 " oderit vitia, diligat fratres."

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI) the guilt if you allow your sisters to perish by keeping silence, when it hes in your power to correct them by pointing them out. For if your sister had a sore on the body that she wanted to conceal from fear of the surgeon's knife, would it not be cruel on your part to say nothing about it, and compassionate to point it out ? How much rather, then, are you bound to expose her, so that she may not incur greater risk from the canker in her heart ? But before she be pointed out to the others whose vritness is to convict her if she deny her guilt, she ought first to be reported to the superior, if on being warned she has neglected to reform so that through the more private rebuke she may not escape the others' knowledge.

If, however, she denies her guilt, then she should, on making this false assertion, be confronted with the others, so that in the presence of all she may be convicted by two or three witnesses, and not charged simply by one. After conviction she ought to be visited with corrective punishment at the discretion of the superior or the priest-in-charge ; if she refuses to undergo that and does not of herself take her departure, let her be expelled from your community. This extreme step is taken not out of cruelty, but out of compassion, as a precaution against the destruction of many others through deadly contamination. And let my remarks about wanton looks be carefully observed, with love of the sinner and hatred of the sin," in the discovery, prohibition, denunciation, trial and punishment of the other sins. But if anyone of you has gone to such lengths in sin that she is secretly receiving from a man letters or any kind of gifts, let her be pardoned and prayer be made for her, if she confesses it of her own accord ; but if she is detected

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si autem deprehenditur atque convincitur, secundum arbitrium presbyteri praepositi vel aliorum simul presbyterorum vel etiam episcopi gravius emendetur.

12 ^'estes vestras habete sub una custode vel duabus vel quot sufficere potuerint ad eas excutiendas, ne tinea laedantur, et, sicut pascimini ex uno cellario, sic induamini ex uno vestiario. Et si fieri potest, non ad vos pertineat quid vobis induendujn pro temporis congruentia proferatur, utrum hoc recipiat unaquaeque vestrum quod deposuerat, an aliud quod altera habuerat, dum tamen unicuique quod opus est, non negetur. Si autem hinc inter vos contentiones et murmura oriuntur, cum queritur aliqua deterius aliquid se accepisse quam prius habuerat, et indignam se iudicat esse quae ita vestiatur, sicut alia soror eius vestiebatur, hinc vos probate, quantum vobis desit in illo interiore sancio habitu cordis, quae pro habitu corporis litigatis. Tamen si vestra toleratur infirmitas, ut hoc recipiatis quod posueratis, in uno tamen loco sub communibus custodibus habete quod ponitis, ita sane ut nulla sibi aliquid operetur, sive unde induatur sive ubi iaceat sive unde cingatur vel operiatur vel caput contegat ; sed omnia opera vestra in commune fiant, maiore studio et frequentiori alacritate quam si vobis propria faceretis. Caritas enim, de qua scriptum est quod non quaerit quae sua sunt, sic intellegitur, quia communia propriis, non propria communibus anteponit. Et ideo, quanto amplius rem communem quam " Titus ii. 3. ^1 Cor. xiii. 5.

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI) and it be proved against her, let more serious punishment be inflicted on her at the discretion of the priest-superior or the other priests in a body or even the bishop.

Keep your clothes under the care of one or two or 12 as many as may be necessary to shake them out for protection against moths ; and just as your food is supplied from one store-room, so let your clothing come from one wardrobe. And whatever is brought forth for you to wear according to the weather, let it not concern you, if you can attain this, whether each of you receives the garment she put off, or another that someone else had been wearing, so long as each is not denied what she needs. But if this gives occasion for strife and murmurinar among: you, and someone complains that she has received a worse garment than she was wearing before and considers herself too good to be clad in the same way as her sister was, let that be evidence to you how far deficient you are in that inward holy apparel" of the heart, when you quarrel about the apparel of the body. Nevertheless, if your weakness is so far indulged that you are granted the dress you had put off, let what you put off be, nevertheless, kept in one place in charge of the ordinary keepers of the wardrobe ; thus no one will work at anything for her own use, whether it be clothing or bedding or underclothing or covering or head-dress ; but let everything you make be for the common stock, with greater zeal and more cheerful urgency than if you were making anything for yourself. For the love about which it is written that it " seeketh not its own " * is to be understood as that which prefers the common good to personal good, not personal good to the common good. And so, the more attention you

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propriani vestram curaveritis, tanto vos amplius profecisse noveritis, ut in omnibus quibiis utitur transitoria necessitas, supereniineat quae permanet caritas. Consequens ergo est, ut etiani illud quod suis vel filiabus vel aliqua necessitudine ad se pertinentibus in monasterio constitutis aliquis vel aliqua contulerit sive vestem sive quodlibet aliud inter necessaria deputandum, non occulte accipiatur sed sit in potestate praepositae, ut in rem communem redactum, cui necessarium fuerit, praebeatur. Quod si aliqua rem sibi conlatam celaverit, furti iudicio condemnetur.

13 Indumenta vestra secundum arbitrium praepositae laventur sive a vobis sive a fullonibus, ne interiores animae sordes contrahat mundae vestis nimius appetitus. Lavacrum etiam corporum ususque balnearum non sit assiduus, sed eo, quo solet, intervallo temporis tribuatur, hoc est semel in mense. Cuius autem infirmitatis necessitas cogit lavandum corpus, non longius dif Feratur ; fiat sine murmure de consilio medicinae, ita ut etiam si nolit, iubente praeposita faciat quod faciendum est pro salute. Si autem velit et forte non expedit, suae cupiditati non oboediat ; aliquando enim, etiamsi noceat, prodesse creditur quod delectat. Denique, si latens est dolor in corpore famulae dei, dicenti sibi quid doleat, sine dubitatione credatur ; sed tamen, utrum

« Eph. iii. 19 ; 1 Cor. xiii. 8.

Compare the Rule of St. Benedict, 54 " quod si etiam a parentibus suis ei quidquam directum fuerit, non praesumat suscipere illud, nisi prius indicatum fuerit abbati. Quod si iusserit suscipi, in abbatis sit potestate cui illud iubeat dari."

" With this compare Jerome, Ep. 125. 7 " sordes vestium candidae mentis indicio sint ; vilis tunica contemptum saeculi probet. . . . Balnearum fomenta non quaeras, qui calorem corporis ieiuniorum cupis frigore extinguere " ; id. 396

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI) give to the common good in preference to your own, the more progress you will know you have made, so that the love which endureth " may be conspicuous in everything needed for the wants that pass away.

It follows, then, that even what a man or woman bestows upon the inmates of the monastery, be they daughters or relatives, whether the gift be clothing or any other things that may be regarded as necessaries, must not be received in secret, but it must lie in the power of the superior to put it to the common stock and to hand it over to any inmate that needs it.^ If anyone conceal a gift bestowed on her, let her be sentenced and condemned for theft.

Let your garments be washed, either by yourselves 13 or by washer-women, at the discretion of the superior, so that excessive solicitude for clean raiment may not infect the soul with inward vileness.^ Let the bathing of the body and the use of baths not be incessant, but be granted at the usual interval of time, that is, once a month. If, however, the need arising from any illness demands the washing of the body, let it not be too long postponed, and let it be done without murmuring for medical reasons ; if anyone refuse, let her do at the command of the superior what needs to be done for health's sake. But if she wishes it and it does not happen to be for her good, she must not give in to her desire, for there are times when what is pleasant is thought to be beneficial, even though it really do harm. Finally, if a handmaid of God has some hidden pain in the body, and tells what ails her, she should be beheved without hesitation ; but still, if there be uncertainty

Ep. 107. 11 " mihi omnino in adulta virgine lavacra displicent."

ST. AUGUSTINE

sanando illi dolori quod delectat expediat, si non est certum, medicus consulatur. Nee eant ad balneas sive quocunique ire neeesse fuerit minus quam tres. Nee ilia quae habet aliquo eundi necessitatem, cum quibus ipsa voluerit, sed cum quibus praeposita iusserit, ire debebit. Aegrotantium cura, sive post aegritudinemi reficiendarum sive aliqua imbecillitate etiam sine febribus laborantium, alicui debet iniungi, ut ipsa de cellario petat quod cuique opus esse perspexerit ; sive autem quae cellario sive quae vestibus sive quae codicibus praeponuntur, sine murmure serviant sororibus suis. Codices certa hora singulis diebus petantur ; extra boram quae petierint, non accipiant. ^ estimenta vero et calciamenta quando fuerint indigentibus necessaria, dare non differant, sub quarum custodia sunt, quae poscuntur.

14 Lites aut nullas habeatis aut quam celerrime finiatis, ne ira crescat in odium et trabem faciat de festuca et animam faciat homicidam. Neque enim ad solos viros pertinet, quod scriptum est : Qui odit fratrem suum, homicida est, sed sexu mascalino, quem primum deus fecit, etiam femineus sexus praeceptum accepit. Quaecumque convicio vel maledicto vel etiam criminis obiectu alteram laeserit, meminerit " Churches possessed libraries from an early date. They are frequently referred to during the seizure of Christian books in the Diocletian persecution. The Acts of Purgation of Caecihan and Felix, for example, mention one in the church at Cirta early in the fourth century, and Augustine speaks of the librarj' of his church at Hippo in Ep. ccxxxi. 7 " bibliothecam nostram, ut sint unde libri vel parentur vel reparentur, adiuvare dignatus es," and also in De Hnfi'fs. 80 " ipsum eius opusculum in nostra bibliotheca invenire non potuimus." There is frequent mention of church libraries in Jerome : e.g. Ep. 49. 3 " ecclesiarum 398

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI) whether that which pleases her is suitable for curing her pain, let the doctor be consulted. When they go to the baths, or wherever they have to go, let there not be less than three ; and the sister who requires to go somewhere is not to go along with those she chooses herself, but with those the superior orders. The care of the sick, whether they be convalescing or be afflicted with some weakness, yet without fever, ought to be devolved upon someone, so that she herself may procure from the store-room what she sees to be needful for each. Further, the sister who has charge either of the store-room or the wardrobe or the library,'^ must serve her sisters without murmuring. Let the manuscripts be applied for at a fixed hour each day ; outside that hour those who apply for them are not to receive them. As for clothes and shoes, whenever they are required for those in need, let those who have charge of them not delay to supply what is asked for.

You should either have no quarrels or put an end 14 to them as speedily as possible, lest anger develop into hatred and make a beam out of a mote ^ and turn the soul to murder. For it is not only to men that the saying applies, " He that hateth his brother is a murderer," ^ but the female sex too has received this commandment along ^\ith the male sex, which God created first. Whoever has injured a sister by taunt or abuse, or even by casting up faults, must bibliothecis fruere," 112. 9 " omnes ecclesiarum bibliothecas damnare cogeris," etc. Ambrose gives further testimony to the reading of books by nuns : De Virginihus, 3. 4. 15 " siquando rogaris ut cibum sumas, paulisper deponas codicem."

^ Matt. vii. 3-0 ; Luke vi. 41-42. Cf. p. 107 above.

'^ 1 John iii. 15.

ST. AUGUSTINE

satisfactione quantocius curare quod fecit, et ilia quae laesa est, sine disceptatione dimittere. Si autem invicem se laeserint, invicem sibi debita relaxare debebunt propter orationes vestras, quas utique quanto crebriores tanto sanctiores habere debetis. Melior est autem, quae quamvis ira saepe temptatur, tamen impetrare festinat ut sibi dimittat, cui se fecisse agnoscit iniuriam, quam quae tardius irascitur et ad veniam petendam difficilius inclinatur. Quae autem numquam vult petere veniam aut non ex animo petit, sine causa est in monasterio, etiamsi non inde proiciatur. Proinde vobis a verbis durioribus parcite ; quae si emissa fuerint ex ore vestro, non pigeat ex ipso ore proferre medicament a, ex quo facta sunt vulnera. Quando autem necessitas disciplinae minoribus cohercendis dicere vos verba dura compellit, si etiam in ipsis modum vos excessisse sentitis, non a vobis exigitur ut ab eis veniam postuletis, ne apud eas, quas oportet esse subiectas, dum nimia servatur humilitas, regendi frangatur auctoritas. Sed tamen petenda est venia ab omnium domino, qui novit, etiam eas, quas plus iusto forte corripitis, quanta benivolentia diligatis. Non autem carnalis sed spiritalis inter vos debet esse dilectio ; nam quae faciunt pudoris inmemores etiam feminis feminae iocando turpiter et ludendo, non solum a viduis et intactis ancillis Christi in sancto proposito constitutis sed omnino Christianis nee a mulieribus nuptis nee a virginibus sunt facienda nupturis.

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI) remember to make amends at the first opportunity and heal the wound slie has caused ; and the injured sister must forgive her without further argument. But if they have caused mutual injury, they will require to grant mutual pardon because of your prayers, which from their frequency ought to be the holier. She who is often tempted by anger and yet hastens to beg for forgiveness from the sister whom she acknowledges she has hurt, is better than she who is slower to anger and is more stubborn in turning to seek for pardon. As for her who always refuses to seek for pardon or who seeks it without sincerity, she has no reason to be in the monastery, even if she is not expelled from it. Wherefore, refrain from harsh words ; if they fall from your lips, do not think shame with the same lips that caused the hurt to utter words of healing. When, however, the needs of discipline compel the speaking of harsh words for the controlling of the younger inmates, you are not required to ask their pardon even if you feel that you have gone somewhat too far ; otherwise, in observing too much humility towards those whose duty it is to be subject to you, you will undermine your authority in controlling tliem. But still you must seek pardon from the Lord of all, Who knows how great is the goodwill and love you have even for those whom you rebuke, perhaps, with undue severity. The love you bear each other ought, however, not to be carnal, but spiritual, for the things that immodest women do even to other women in low jests and pranks ought not to be done, not only by widows and chaste handmaidens of Christ following your holy way of life, but by Christians at all, be they married women or maidens destined for marriage.

ST. AUGUSTINE

15 Praepositae tamquam matri oboediatur honore servato, ne in ilia of Fendatur deus, multo magis presbytero, qui omnium vestrum curam gerit. Ut ergo cuncta ista serventur et, si quid servatum non fuerit, non neglegenter praetereatur, sed emendandum corrigendumque curetur, ad praepositam praecipue pertinebit, ita ut ad presbyterum. qui vobis intendit, referat quod modum vel \-ires eius excedit. Ipsa vero non se existimet potestate dominante sed caritate serviente felicem. Honore coram hominibus praelata sit vobis, coram deo substrata sit pedibus vestris. Circa omnes se ipsam bonorum operum praebeat exemplum. Corripiat inquietas, consoletur pusillanimes, suscipiat infirmas, patiens sit ad omnes ; disciplinam libens habeat, metuens inponat. Et quamvis utrumque sit necessarium, tamen plus a vobis amari appetat quam timeri, semper cogitans deo se pro vobis reddituram esse rationem. Unde magis oboediendo, non solum vestri verum etiam ipsius miseremini, quia inter vos quanto in loco superiore, tanto in periculo maiore versatur. 16 Donet dominus ut observetis haec omnia cum dilectione tamquam spiritalis pulchritudinis amatrices et bono odore Christi de bona conversatione fraglantes, non sicut ancillae sub lege, sed sicut liberae sub gratia constitutae. Ut autem vos in hoc libello tamquam in speculo possitis inspicere, ne per oblivionem aliquid neglegatis, semel in septimana

Dan. xi. 4 ; Gal. v. 13. ^ Titus ii. 7.

1 Thess. v. 14. ^ Similarly the Benedictine Rule describes the duties of the abbot: (64) " sciat sibi oportere prodesse quam praeesse. . . studeat plus amari quam timeri ; . . . (2j agnoscat pro certo quia in die iudicii ipsarum animarum est redditurus Domino rationem."

* 2 Cor. ii. 15. / Rom. vi. 14, 15. 402

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)

Let the superior be obeyed like a mother, ^^•ith all 15 due honour, so that you offend not God through offending her ; much more should you obey the priest who has charge of you all. Upon the superior particularly will fall the responsibihty of seeing that all these regulations are carried out and, if anything is not carried out, of not carelessly passing over the offence, but of applying the remedy to heal and correct it ; she may, further, refer to the priest-incharge any matter that goes beyond her province or power. But let her think herself fortunate, not in having authority to rule, but in ha\'ing the love to serve.'* In honour in the sight of men let her be preferred to you ; in the sight of God let her be beneath your feet. Towards everyone let her show herself " a pattern of good works." ^ Let her " warn the unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient to all."" Let her be cheerful in maintaining discipline and fearful to impose it ; and although both are necessary, yet let her endeavour to be more loved by you than feared, always bearing in mind that she has to render an account of you to God.'^ V/herefore, by yielding her greater obedience, have compassion on her as well as on yourselves, because the higher her position is among you, the greater is the risk she runs.

May the Lord grant you to observe all these rules 16 with love, as those whose affection is set upon spiritual beauty and who are fragrant ^\•ith the sweet savour of Christ in your good conduct,* not as bondswomen under the law, but as free women under grace.^ In order, however, that you may examine yourselves in this treatise as in a mirror and may not neglect any point through forgetfulness, let it be read to

ST. AUGUSTINE

vobis legatur, et ubi vos inveneritis ea quae scripta sunt facientes, agite gratias domino bonorum omnium largitori ; ubi sibi autem quaecumque vestrum videt aliquid deesse, doleat de praeterito, caveat de futuro, orans ut sibi debitum dimittatur et in temptationem non inducatur.

No. 50 (Ep. CCXIV) DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ET IN CHRISTI MEM-

BRIS HONORANDO FRATRI VALENTINO ET

FRATRIBUS QUI TECUM SUNT, AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 ^'enerunt ad nos duo iuvenes, Cresconius et Felix, de vestra congregatione se esse dicentes, qui nobis rettulerunt monasterium vestrum nonnulla dissensione turbatum eo, quod quidam in vobis sic gratiam praedicent, ut negent hominis esse liberum arbitrium et, quod est gravius, dicant quod in die iudicii non sit redditurus deus unicuique secundum opera eius.

« Matt. vi. 12-13 ; Luke xi. 4.

was abbot of the monastery at Hadrumetum, the capital of Byzacenum (now Soiisse, 100 miles south of Tunis). Two of his monks, Florus and Felix, when visiting the monastery at Uzala, read and copied Augustine's letter to the presbyter Sixtus (Ep. cxciv.) on grace and free-will, and on their return to Adrumetum read it to the monks there, some of whom considered Augustine's teaching fatal to the doctrine of free-will. The monastery was bitterly divided on the question, so Valentinus sent Felix and Cresconius, another of the disputants, to ascertain Augustine's real opinions. The present letter is his reply. The two monks were unwilling to wait at Hippo until some of his anti-Pelagian treatises were copied for them, but he kept them until Easter, writing another letter to Valentinus (Ep. ccxv.) and composing for him the treatise Be Gratia

NO. 49 (Ep. CCXI)—No. 50 (Ep. CCXI\0 you once each week, and when you find yourselves practising the things written in it, render thanks to the Lord, the giver of every good gift. But when any one of you perceives herself deficient in some point, let her lament the past and take precautions for the future, praying both that her tresyjass may be forgiven and that she may not be led into temptation.^

No. 50 (Ep. CCXIV)

TO VALENTINUS," MY WELLBELOVED LORD

AND BROTHER, HONOURED IN THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, AND TO THE BRETHREN WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

There have come to me two young men, Cresconius 1 and Felix, declaring themselves members of your community , who have reported to me that there is some disturbance and dissension in your monastery because certain brethren are extolling grace to such an extent that they deny the freedom of the human will and, what is more serious, assert that on the day of judgement God will not render to every man according to et Libera Arhitrio. Later, Valentinus replied in Ep. ccxvi., and Florus too visited Hippo, giving Augustine the chance to mention the disputation at Hadrumetum in his Retractationes, ii. 66. In the Revue Benedictine, xviii (1901), pp. 241-:256, Dom Germain Morin has pubhshed a hitherto unknown, short letter from Augustine to Valentinus, with other letters addressed by a priest Januarianus and Evodius to the monks of Hadrumetum on this same occasion.

ST. AUGUSTINE

Etiam hoc tamen indicaverunt, quod plures vestrum non ita sentiant, sed liberum arbitrium adiuvari fateantur per dei gratiam, ut recta sapiamus atque faciamus et, cum venerit dominus reddere unicuique secundum opera eius, inveniat opera nostra bona, quae praeparavit deus, ut in illis amhulemus. Hoc qui sentiunt, bene sentiunt.

2 Ohsecro itaque vos, fratres, sicut Corinthios obsecra\dt apostolus, per nomen domini nostri lesu Christi, ut id ipsum dicatis omnes et non sint in vobis schismata. Primo enim dominus lesus, sicut scriptum est in evangelio lohannis apostoli, non venit, ut iudicaret mundum, sed ut salvaretur viundus per ipsum ; postea vero, sicut scribit apostolus Paulus, iudicahit deus mundum, quando " venturus est," sicut tota ecclesia in symbolo confitetur, " iudicare vivos et mortuos."

Si ergo non est dei gratia, quo modo salvat mundum ? Et si non est liberum arbitrium, quo modo iudicat mundum ? Proinde librum vel epistulam meam, quam secum ad nos supra dicti adtulerunt, secundum banc fidem intellegite, ut neque negetis dei gratiam neque liberum arbitrium sic defendatis, ut a dei gratia separetis, tamquam sine ilia vel cogitare aliquid vel agere secundum deum ulla ratione possimus, quod omnino non possumus. Propter hoc enim dominus, cum de fructu iustitiae loqueretur, ait discipulis suis : Sine me nihil potestis facere.

3 Unde supra dictam epistulam ad Sixtum, presbyterum ecclesiae Romanae, contra novos haereticos

Matt.

John iii. 17. ^ Rom. iii. 6.

^ 2 Tim. iv. 1 ; 1 Pet. iv. 5. " John xv. 5. 406

NO. 50 (Ep. CCXI\0 his deeds. '^ But yet they have pointed out too that there are many of you who do not share these opinions, but confess that our free-will is aided by the grace of God so that we may think and do what is right, and that, when the Lord comes to render to every man according to his deeds, he will find our deeds good—deeds " which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." ^ Those who hold these opinions, hold right opinions.

"I beseech you," therefore, "brethren," as the 2 apostle besought the Corinthians, " by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you."^ For in the first place, the Lord Jesus, as is written in the Gospel of John the apostle, did not come " to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved "'^; secondly, as the apostle Paul writes, " God shall judge the world,"* when He has come, as the whole Church confesses in the Creed, " to judge the quick and the dead." ^ If then there is no grace of God, how does He save the world ? And if there is no free-will, how does He judge the world ? Wherefore, the treatise or letter of mine, which the afore-mentioned brethren brought with them to us, you are to understand in the light of that confession of faith, so that you neither deny the grace of God nor defend free-will in such a v/ay as to sunder it from God's grace, as if without it we could by any means think or do anything well-pleasing to God a thing which is utterly impossible. That is why the Lord, speaking about the fruits of righteousness, says to His disciples, " Without me ye can do nothing."^

So you must know that the letter I have mentioned 3 was WTitten to Sixtus, a priest of the Roman Church,

ST. AUGUSTINE

Pelagianos noveritis esse conscriptam, qui dicunt gratiam dei secundum merita nostra dari, ut qui gloriatur, non in domino sed in se ipso glorietur, hoc est in homine, non in domino. Quod prohibet apostolus dicens : Nemo glorietur in homine, et alio loco : Qui gloriatur, inquit, i?i domino glorietur. Illi vero haeretici se ipsos a se ipsis iustos fieri putantes, quasi hoc eis non deus dederit sed ipsi sibi, non utique in domino sed in semet ipsis gloriantur. Talibus dicit apostolus : Quis enim te discer?iit ? Quod ideo dicit, quia de massa illius perditionis quae facta est ex Adam, non discernit hominem, ut eum faciat vas in honorem non in contumeliam, nisi deus. Sed quoniam homo carnalis et inaniter inflatus, cum audisset : Quis enim te discernit ?, posset respondere vel voce vel cogitatione et dicere : " Discernit me fides mea, discernit me oratio mea, discernit me iustitia mea," mox apostolus occurrit cogitationibus eius et dixit : Quid enim hahes, quod non accepisti ? Si autem et accepisti, quid gloriaris, quasi no7i acceperis ? Sic enim gloriantur quasi non acceperint, qui se a se ipsis iustificari putant ac per hoc in se ipsis non in domino gloriantur.

4 Propter quod ego in hac epistula, quae ad vos pervenit, probavd per testimonia scripturarum sanctarum, quae ibi potestis inspicere, et bona opera nostra et pias orationes et rectam fidem nullo modo

« 1 Cor. iii. 21 ; 1 Cor. i. 31 ; 2 Cor. x. 17.

The ego is probably designed to discredit once for all the suggestion made by some of the monks of Hadrumetum that the monk Florus had written it himself.

NO. 50 (Ep. ccxno against the new heretics, the Pelagians, who declare that the grace of God is bestowed according to our merits ; so that he who glories has to glory, not in the Lord, but in himself, that is, in man, not in the Lord. Now this is forbidden by the apostle, in the words, " Let no man glory in man," and in another place he says, " He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord." " But these heretics, imagining that they become righteous of themselyes, as if it was they themselyes and not God who granted this to them, consistently enough glory in themselyes and not in the Lord. To such the apostle says, " Who maketh thee to differ from another.^^ ",^ saying this on the ground that what makes a man to differ from that mass of perdition which had its origin in Adam and makes him a yessel unto honour and not unto dishonour,^ is God alone. But since carnal man, swollen with empty pride, might, on hearing the question " Who maketh thee to differ from another ? ", make answer either in thought or in word and say, " It is my faith that makes me to differ ; my prayers that make me to differ ; my righteousness that makes me to differ," the apostle at once met these thoughts half-way and said, " For what hast thou that thou didst not receiye ? Now, if thou didst receiye it, why dost thou glory, as if thou didst not receiye it ? " ^ For they glory just as if they did not receiye it, those who imagine they are justified of themselyes ; they glory therefore in themselyes and not in the Lord.

That is the reason why, in that letter that has come 4 into your hands, I, the author of it," haye proyed from passages of Holy Scripture, which you can examine in it, that our good works and our holy prayers and our right faith could certainly not haye come into being

ST. AUGUSTINE

in nobis esse potuisse, nisi haec acciperenius ab illo de quo dicit apostolus lacobus : Omne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum desursum est descendens a patre luminum, ne quisquam dicat meritis operum suorum vel meritis orationuni suarum vel meritis fidei suae sibi traditam dei gratiam, et putetur verum esse quod illi haeretici dicunt, gratiam dei secundum merita nostra dari, quod omnino falsissimum est ; non quia nullum est meritum vel bonum piorum vel malum impiorum—alioquin quo modo iudicabit deus mundum ?—sed misericordia et gratia dei convertit hominem, de qua psalmus dicit : Deus mens, misericordia eius praevejiiet me, ut iustificetur impius, hoc est ex impio fiat iustus, et incipiat habere meritum bonum, quod dominus coronabit quando iudicabitur mundus.

5 Multa erant quae vobis mittere cupiebam, quibus lectis totam ipsam causam quae conciliis episcopalibus acta est adversus eosdem Pelagianos haereticos, diligentius et plenius nosse possetis, sed festinaverunt fratres qui ex numero vestro ad nos venerant, per quos vobis non rescripsimus ista, sed scripsimus.

Nullas enim ad nos vestrae caritatis litteras adtulerant ; tamen suscepimus eos, quoniam simplicitas eorum satis indicabat nihil illos nobis potuisse confingere. Ideo autem festinaverunt, ut apud vos agerent pascha, quo possit adiuvante domino tarn sanctus dies vestram pacem quam dissensionem potius invenire.

6 Melius autem facietis, quod multum rogo, si ipsum

James i. 17. * Ps. Iviii. 11.

us, unless we had received them from Him of Whom the apostle James says, " Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of hghts."<* This makes it impossible for anyone to say that it is for the merit of his own works or the merit of his own prayers or the merit of his own faith that the grace of God was bestowed upon him, and to imagine tha+ what these heretics say is true, that the grace of God is bestowed according to our merits. This is utterly untrue ; not because there are no merits—either good merits in the righteous, or e\il merits in the unrighteous—otherwise how ^^ill God judge the world ?—but because a man is converted by the mercy and grace of God, of which the Psalm says, " As for my God, His mercy shall prevent me,"^ so that the unrighteous may be justified, that is, be made just instead of unrighteous, and begin to possess that good merit which the Lord will cro^^Tl v>'hen He comes to judge the world.

There are many communications I ^\ished to send 5 you for your perusal ; you would then have had more exact and detailed knowledge of the whole action that was broug-ht ag-ainst these same Pelag-ians by the councils of bishops. But the brethren who came to us from your company had to hurry away. By them I am sending you this letter, which is not a reply to any of yours, for they brought none to us from your Charity. Yet we received them, as their straightforwardness was sufficient evidence that they were incapable of fabricating anything. Their purpose in hurrying away is to spend Easter ^\dth you, so that so holy a day may, with the Lord's help, find you in peace, rather than in strife.

It will, however, be better for you to do what I 6

ST. AUGUSTINE

a quo dicunt se fuisse turbatos, ad me mittere non graveniihi. Aut enini non intellegit libruni meuni aut forte ipse non intellegitur. quando difficillimam quaestioneni et paucis intellegibilem solvere atque enodare conatur. Ipsa est enim quaestio de gratia dei, quae fecit ut homines non intellegentes putarent apostolum Paulum dicere : Faciamus mala, ut veniant bona. Unde apostolus Petrus in secunda epistula sua : Quapropter, inquit, carissimi, haec expedantes. satis agite inviolati et inmaculati apiid eum reperiri in pace, et domifii nostri patientiam salutem existimate, sicut et dilectissimus frater noster Paidus secundum earn quae data est ei sapientiam scripsit vobis ut et in omnibus epistidis loquens in eis de his, in quibus sunt quaedam difficilia intellectu, quae iiidocti et instabiles homines pervertunt sicut et ceteras scripturas ad proprium suum interitum.

Cavete ergo quod tantus apostolus tarn terribiliter dicit, et, ubi sentitis non vos intellegere, interim credite divinis eloquiis quia et liberum hominis est arbitrium et gratia dei, sine cuius adiutorio liberum arbitrium nee converti potest ad deum nee proficere in deum, et, quod pie creditis, ut etiam sapienter intellegatis, orate. Et ad hoc ipsum enim, id est ut sapienter intellegamus, est utique liberum arbitrium. Nisi enim libero arbitrio intellegeremus atque saperemus, non nobis praeciperetur dicente " Rom. iii. 8. " 2 Pet. iii. 14-16.

NO. 50 (Ep. CCXI\0 earnestly beg you will do ; send to me, if it will not trouble you, the brother who is said to have caused this dissension, for either he has misunderstood my book, or perhaps he has made himself misunderstood, in his attempt to elucidate and unravel a question which is very difficult and intelligible to few. It is no other than the question about God's grace, which has caused men of small intelligence to imagine that the apostle Paul says, " Let us do evil that good may come."** With reference to this the apostle Peter says in his second Epistle, " Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot and blameless ; and account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation ; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given unto him, liath written unto you ; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them in these things ; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction." ^ (Take heed, then, to avoid what the great apostle 7 describes so fearsomely, and when you realize that you do not understand, put your faith for the present in the inspired statements that in man there is both freewill and divine grace, without the aid of which freewill can neither be turned to God nor make any advance towards God ; and pray that what you submissively put your faith in, you may come wisely to understand. And indeed it is for this very purpose that we have free-M-ill, namely, that we may wisely understand, for unless we had freedom of will in understanding and practising wisdom, we should not be commanded in the words of Scripture, " Under-

ST. AUGUSTINE

scriptura : Intellegite ergo, qui insipientes estis inpopulo ; et stulti, aliquajido sapite. Eo ipso quippe, quo praeceptum atque imperatuni est ut intellegamus atque sapiamus, oboedientiam nostram requirit, quae nulla potest esse sine libero arbitrio. Sed si posset hoc ipsum sine adiutorio gratiae fieri per liberum arbitrium, ut intellegeremus atque saperemus, non diceretur deo : Da mihi intellectuni , ut discam mandata tua, neque in evangelio scriptum esset : Tunc aperuit illis sensum, ut iniellegerent scripiuras, nee lacobus apostolus diceret : Si quis autem vestrum i?idiget sapientia, postulet a deo, qui dat omnibus affluenter et ?ion inproperat, et dahitur ei. Potens est autem dominus, qui et vobis donet et nobis, ut de vestra pace et pia consensione nuntiis celerrimis gaudeamus. Saluto vos non solum meo nomine, sed etiam fratrum qui mecum sunt, et rogo ut pro nobis concorditer atque instanter oretis. Sit vobiscum dominus. Amen.

No. 51 (Ep. CCXX) DOMINO FILIO IN PRAESENTEM ET IN AETER-

NAM SALUTEM DEI MISERICORDIA PROTE

GENDO ET REGENDO BONIFATIO AUGUSTINUS

1 Fideliorem hominem et qui faciliores haberet

Ps.xciii.8. ^ Ps.cxviii. 125. *= Lukexxiv.45. ^ James i. 5.

See note on p. 322. Boniface had been recalled in disgrace from Africa, but refused to go. War was declared on him in 427, but he divided his opponents and defeated them. After a period of hesitation, Boniface called the Vandals to his aid, in May 429. The present letter was written after Boniface had fallen into disgrace, but before 429; a translation of it is given by Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, 376-476, vol. i. pp. 495-503. His account of Aetius and Boniface, ih. pp. 456-462, should be read along 414

NO. 50 (Ep. CCXIV)—XO. 51 (Ep. CCXX) stand now, ye simple among the people ; and ye fools, at length be wise." ^ From the very fact, then, that we have been comimanded and instructed to understand and be wise, it follows that our obedience is demanded, and it cannot exist unless through freewill. Yet if it were in our power of our own free-'sdll to obey this precept to understand and be wise, without the assistance of grace, it would be useless to say to God, " Give me understanding, that I may learn Thy commandments," ^ nor would it be MTitten in the Gospel, " Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures " '^; nor would the apostle James say, " If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, Who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." '^ But the Lord is able to grant both to you and to us, to rejoice in the spe-Jy tidings of your peace and holy concordj I greet you, not only in my own name, but also in the name of the brethren who are with me, and I beseech you to pray for us with one heart and with all instancy. The Lord be with you ! Amen.

No. 51 (Ep. CCXX) (a.d. 427) TO MY LORD BONIFACE/ MY SON WHOM I COMMEND TO THE PROTECTION AXD GUIDANCE OF GOD'S MERCY FOR PRESENT AND ETERNAL SALVATION, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING

I could never find a more trustworthy man or one 1 with that of Freeman, Western Europe in the Fifth Century Appendix I: "Aetius and Boniface" (pp. 305-370), who tries to clear Boniface of the charge made by Procopius of inviting the Vandals to Africa.

ST. AUGUSTINE

accessus ad aures tuas ferens litteras meas, numquam potui reperire, quam nunc dominus obtulit servum et ministrum Christi diaconum Paulum ambobus nobis carissimum, ut aliquid tibi loquerer non pro potentia tua et honore quern geris in isto saeculo maligno, nee pro incolumitate carnis tuae corruptibilis atque mortalis, quia et ipsa transitoria est, et quam diu sit, semper incertum est, sed pro ilia salute quam nobis promisit Christus, qui propterea hie exhonoratus atque crucifixus est, ut doceret nos bona saeculi huius magis contemnere quam diligere, et hoc amare et sperare ab illo, quod in sua resurrectione monstravit ; resurrexit enim a mortuis nee iam moritur, et mors ei ultra non dominabitur.

2 Scio non deesse homines qui te secundum vitam mundi huius diligunt et secundum ipsam tibi dant consilia, aliquando utilia aliquando inutilia, quia homines sunt et, sicut possunt, ad praesens sapiunt, nescientes quid contingat sequenti diei. Secundum autem deum, ne pereat anima tua, non facile tibi quisquam consulit, non quia desunt qui hoc faciant, sed quia difficile est invenire quando tecum ista possint loqui. Nam et ego semper desideravi, et numquam inveni locum vel tempus, ut agerem tecum quod me agere oportebat cum homine quem multum diligo in Christo. Scis autem qualem me apud Hipponem videris, quando ad me venire dignatus es, Probably the Paul spoken of in the following letter.

" 1 Cor. XV. 53. " Rom. vi. 9.

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX) who could have easier access to your presence as bearer of my letter than the servant and minister of Christ, the deacon Paul," a dear friend of us both, who has just now been provided for me by the Lord.

I must say something to you, not ^\'ith regard to the power and the honour you bear in this evil world, nor with regard to the preservation of your corruptible mortal body ^ (for it too is destined to pass away, and how long it may endure is always uncertain), but with regard to the salvation promised us by Christ. Because of it He was degraded and crucified here below, so that He might teach us rather to despise than to desire the good things of this world, and to set our affection and our hope upon that which He revealed in His resurrection ; for He " is risen from the dead and dieth no more ; death hath no more dominion over Him." ^

I know that you have no lack of friends who love 2 you as far as your life in this world is concerned, and, so far as it is concerned, give you advice, sometimes useful, sometimes not ; for they are only human and the highest wisdom they as such can have looketh only to the present hour, and they do not know what may happen on the morrow. But as far as God is concerned, it is not easy for anyone to give you advice that will prevent the destruction of your soul ; it is not that you lack friends who would do this, but because it is difficult for them to find an opportunity of speaking of those subjects with you.

I myself, indeed, have always wanted to do so, but I have never found the place or the time to deal vAxh you as I ought to deal with one for whom I have a great affection in Christ. Yet you know what I was like when you saw me at Hippo, on the occasion of 2e 417

ST. AUGUSTINE

quia vix loquebar inbecillitate corporis fatigatus. Nunc ergo, fili, audi me saltern per litteras tibi sermocinantem, quas in periculis tuis numquam tibi mittere potui, periculum cogitans perlatoris et cavens ne ad eos, ad quos no Uem, mea epistula perveniret. Unde peto ut ignoscas, si putas me plus timuisse quam debui ; tamen dixi, quod timui.

3 Audi ergo me, immo dominum deum nostrum per ministerium infirmitatis meae ; recole qualis fueris adhuc in corpore constituta religiosae memoriae priore coniuge tua et recenti eius obitu quo modo tibi vanitas saeculi huius horruerit et quo modo concupieris servitutem dei. Nos novimus, nos testes sumus, quid nobiscum apud Tubunas de animo et voluntate tua fueris conlocutus. Soli tecum eramus ego et frater Alypius. Non enim existimo tantum valuisse terrenas curas quibus impletus es, ut hoc de memoria tua penitus delere potuerint. Nempe omnes actus publicos quibus occupatus eras, relinquere cupiebas et te in otium sanctum conferre atque in ea vita vivere, in qua servi dei monachi vivunt. Ut autem non faceres, quid te revocavit, nisi quia

It was probably on this occasion that Augustine preached before him Sermon cxiv., the title of which states it was delivered " praesente comite Bonifacio."

Servitus JJei in the narrower sense, is used of the monastic life, just as servus Dei, in the narrower sense, is used of a monk {e.g. Serm. 214. 8 " de servis Dei . . . saepissime dicitur, ' Tot annos ille in illo vel in illo monasterio sedit,' hoc est, requievit, commoratus est, habitavit " clix. 1, etc.), but it is also used of the clergy (in No. 34, § 3, it is used of priests) and of the Christian laity {In loan. Ev.

X. 7 " servus Dei, populus Dei, ecclesia Dei," and § 5 below).

The modern Tobna, near El Kantara, which lies about fifty miles north of Biskra. Tubunae became a municipium 418

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX) your gracious visit to me ° : I was so worn out and weak in body that I could scarcely speak. But now, my son, hearken to me when I converse ^\ith you by letter at least ; while you were in danger, I never had a chance of sending one to you. from apprehension of danffer to the bearer and fear that mv letter miffht come into the hands of people whom I should not have wished it to reach. I beg you, therefore, for forgiveness, if you have the impression that I was more apprehensive than I should have been ; vet

I have stated that I was apprehensive.

Hear me, therefore ; nay, hear the Lord our God 3 through me, His feeble servant. Recall to mind what manner of man you w-ere while your first wife, of hallowed memory, was still in the flesh, and howjust after her death you took a horror of the vanity of this life, and how you longed to enter the service of God.'' We know, we can testify, what you said in conversation with us at Tubunae ^ about your state of mind and your intentions, when brother Alvpius and I were alone with you. Indeed, I do not think that the earthly cares which now engross you have so prevailed as to be able to wipe that conversation from your memory. You wanted, in fact, to abandon all the public business that engaged you and to retire to a holy retreat and to live the Ufe lived by God's servants the monks. What was it that restrained you ? Only the reflection, which we urged on you, of not later than the reign of Septimius Severus. Bishops of Tubunae are mentioned in 256, 411, and 48-i. Under the Byzantines a large fortress was built there, and the town retained its importance long after their dominion had passed away. There are now few remains from the period of the Roman Empire.

ST. AUGUSTINE

considerasti ostendentibus nobis quantum prodesset

Christ! ecclesiis quod agebas, si ea sola intentione ageres, ut defensae ab infestationibus barbarorum quietam et tranquillam vitam agerent, sicut dicit apostolus, hi omni pietate et castitate, tu autem nihil ex hoc mundo quaereres nisi ea quae necessaria essent huic vitae sustentandae tuae ac tuorum, accinctus balteo castissimae continentiae et inter arma corporalia spiritalibus armis tutius fortiusque munitus.

4 Cum ergo te esse in hoc proposito gauderemus, navigasti uxoremque duxisti. Sed navigasse oboedientiae fuit, quam secundum apostolum debebas sublimioribus potestatibus ; uxorem autem non duxisses, nisi susceptam deserens continentiam concupiscentia victus esses. Quod ego cum comperissem. fateor, miratus obstipui ; dolorem autem meum ex aliqua parte consolabatur, quod audivi te illam ducere noluisse, nisi prius catholica fuisset facta. Et tamen haeresis eorum qui verum filium dei negant, tantum praevaluit in domo tua, ut ab ipsis filia tua baptizaretur. lam vero, si ad nos non falsa perlata sunt, quae utinam falsa sint, quod ab ipsis haereticis etiam ancillae deo dicatae rebaptizatae sint, quantis tantum malum plangendum est fontibus

These barbarians were not the Huns or Vandals from the north, but, as §§ 6-7 show, the Moors from the inner recesses of Africa.

^ 1 Tim. ii. 2.

Recalled to Italy after Valentinian's victory in 425, Boniface was rewarded for his fidelity to Placidia and his resistance to the usurper John by the grant of the administration of Africa and (probably) the title Comes domestkorvm. While in Italy he married the wealthy 420

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX) the great advantage the work you were doing would be to the churches of Christ, if you pursued it ^\ith the sole purpose of protecting them from the hostile attacks of barbarians," so that they might live, as the apostle says, " a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty," ^ while you yourself would seek from this world nothing but what was necessary for the maintenance of your own life and that of your household, girding yourself ^ith the chastest continence, and wearing along with the armour of the body the surer and stronger defence of the armour of the spirit.

When, in consequence, we were rejoicing in this 4 design of yours, you sailed for Italy and you married a wife ^; your sailing was an act of obedience, M'hich you owed, according to the apostle, to " the higher powers "^; but you would not have married a wife if you had not been overcome by desire and abandoned the continence you took upon yourself. When I learned of this, I confess I was thunderstruck with amazement, yet in some measure I found consolation for my grief in the fact that I heard you had refused to marry her until she turned

Catholic. But in spite of that, the heresy of those who deny the true Son of God has acquired such influence in your home that it was by them that your daughter was baptized. If the report that reached us was not untrue (and would to Heaven that it were !), that those same heretics have even re-baptized maidens consecrated to God, what fountains of tears we should need now to bewail

Pelagia, an Arian, but she abandoned this heresy before her marriage, only to return to it afterwards.

Rom. xiii. 1. 421

ST. AUGUSTINE

lacrimarum ! Ipsam quoque uxorem non tibi suffecisse, sed concubinarum nescio quarum commixtione pollutum loquuntur homines et forsitan mentiuntur.

Ista, quae omnibus patent, tot et tanta mala, quae a te, posteaquam coniugatus es, consecuta sunt, quid ego dicam ? Christianus es, cor habes, deum times. Tu ipse considera quae nolo dicere, et invenies de quantis malis debeas agere paenitentiam, propter quam tibi credo dominum parcere et a periculis omnibus liberare, ut agas eam sicut agenda est, sed si illud audi as quod scriptum est : Ne tardes converti ad dominum neque dijfei'as de die in diem. lustam quidem dicis habere te causam, cuius ego iudex non sum, quoniam partes ambas audire non possum ; sed qualiscumque sit tua causa, de qua modo quaerere vel disputare non opus est, numquid coram deo potes negare quod in istam necessitatem non pervenisses, nisi bona huius saeculi dilexisses, quae tamquam servus dei, quem te ante noveramus, contemnere omnino et pro nihilo habere debuisti et oblata quidem sumere, ut eis utereris ad pietatem, non autem negata vel delegata sic quaerere, ut propter ilia in istam necessitatem perducereris, ubi, cum amantur vana, perpetrantur mala, pauca quidem

Cor habere is not a common phrase, but it is more frequently used by Augustine than by any other, though the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae fails to note the fact. It occurs in Epp. Ixxxv. 2, cxli. 3 ; Util. lehin. 7. 9 " habent cor, sciunt lapidem sentire non posse"; In Ps. Ixxv. 16 "cor habeant, non sint fatui "; c/. In Ps. xxxiv. ; Serm. 2. 8 " ubicumque invenerint Christianum, solent . . . vocare hebetem, insulsum, nullius cordis."

'' Ecclus. V. 8.

This refers to Placidia's recall of Boniface from Africa at the treacherous instigation of Boniface's rival, and the con422

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX) such a calamity ! Further, people say that you have not been content M-ith your own wife, but have degraded yourself by having intercourse with some concubines or other. But perhaps this is lying gossip. These evils, numerous and grave and known to 5 everybody, have been perpetrated by you since your marriage, and so what am I to say ? You are a Christian, you possess intelligence," you cherish the fear of God. Consider for yourself the things

I am un>\illing to utter, and you will find how great are the evils for which you ought to do penance. I believe it is for that that the Lord is sparing you and delivering you from all dangers, so that you may do it as it should be done, but on condition that you hearken to the words, " Tarry not to be converted to the Lord and put not off from day to day." ^ You maintain that your cause is just,*^ but I cannot judge of that, for I am unable to hear both sides ; but whatever your cause be, and of that at present there is no need of inquiry or discussion, can you deny before God that you would not have fallen into these straits if you had not loved the good things of this world, which like a servant of God, as we knew you to be formerly, you ought entirely to have despised and counted as nothing ? Accepting what was bestowed on you, you should have employed it to advance your godliness ; that which was denied you or was entrusted to you to administer, you should not have sought after in such a way as to reduce yourself because of it to the present straits, in which, because of the love felt for vain things, evil things are done—few, indeed, by you, but many because of sequent disgrace into which Boniface fell. It was unjust, for Aetius betrayed both the Empress and his rival.

ST. AUGUSTINE

a te sed multa propter te et, cum timentur quae ad exiguum tempus nocent, si tamen nocent, committuntur ea quae vere noceant in aeternum ?

) De quibus ut unum aliquid dicam, quis non videat quod multi homines tibi cohaereant ad tuendam tuam potentiam vel salutem, qui, etiam si tibi omnes fideles sint nee ab aliquo eorum ullae timeantur insidiae, nempe tamen ad ea bona quae ipsi quoque non secundum deum sed secundum saeculum diligunt, per te cupiunt pervenire, ac per hoc, qui refrenare et compescere debuisti cupiditates tuas, explere cogeris aUenas ? Quod ut fiat, necesse est multa quae dec displicent, fiant. Nee sic tamen explentur tales cupiditates ; nam facilius resecantur in eis qui deum diligunt, quam in eis, qui mundum diUgunt, ahquando satiantur. Propter quod dicit scriptura divina : Nolite diligere mundum nee ea quae in mundo sunt. Si quis dilexerit mundum, dilectio pairis non est in eo, quia omne quod in mundo est, concupiscentia carnis est et concupiscentia oculorum et ambitio saeculi, quae no?i est a patre, sed ex mundo est. Et mundus tra?isit et concupiscentia eius ; qui autem facit voluntatem dei manet in aeternum, sicut et deus manet in aeternum. Quando ergo poteris tot hominum armatorum, quorum fovenda est cupiditas, timetur atrocitas, quando, inquam, poteris eorum concupiscentiam qui dihgunt mundum, non dico satiare, quod fieri nullo

1 John ii. 15-17. Augustine quotes this text with an additional clause (" sicut . . . aeternum ") which is not in the Greek original, but is found in the Sahidic version, in CjDrian, and in Lucifer of Calaris. The same reading is given in Augustine's Tract, in loan. 2. 10, but ib. 2. 4 he reads " quomodo ipse . . ." Like the Vulgate, Augustine's

424»

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX) you, and since fear is felt for things which hurt for only a short time (if indeed they hurt at all), things are done which really hurt for all eternity.

To mention only one of these things : who can fail 6 to see that many men cleave to you for the preservation of your power or your personal safety, who (assuming that they are all loyal to you and that you need not apprehend treachery from any one of them) yet desire through you to attain to those good things which they too love, not in order to please God, but from worldly motives ? As a result, you, whose duty it was to bridle and check your desires, are compelled to satisfy those of others ; and before that can be done, many things have to be done that are displeasing to God. Even so, such desires as theirs are not quite satisfied, for it is easier altogether to cut them off in those who love God, than ever to give them appeasement in those who love the world. That is why Holy Scripture says, " Love not the world nor the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever, as God abideth for ever." ° When, then, will you succeed ^\'ith so many armed men whose desires have to be humoured and whose vindictiveness is to be feared—when, I repeat, will you succeed in bringing the desires of these men who love the world, not to actual repletion (for that is simply impossible), version interpolates into the second part of verse 16 an est which is not in the Greek original.

ST. AUGUSTINE

modo potest, sed aliqua ex parte pascere, ne universa plus pereant, nisi tu facias quae deus prohibet et facientibus comminatur ? Propter quod vides tarn multa contrita, ut iam vile aliquid quod rapiatur, vix inveniatur.

7 Quid autem dicam de vastatione Africae, quam faciunt Afri barbari resistente nuUo, dum tu talis tuis necessitatibus oecuparis nee aliquid ordinas unde ista calamitas avertatur ? Quis autem crederet, quis autem timeret, Bonifatio domesticorum et Africae comite in Africa constituto cum tarn magno exercitu et potestate, qui tribunus cum paucis foederatis omnes ipsas gentes expugnando et terrendo pacaverat, nunc tantum fuisse barbaros ausuros, tantum progressuroSj tanta vastaturos, tanta rapturos, tanta loca quae plena populis fuerant, deserta facturos ? Qui non dicebant, quandocumque tu comitivam sumeres potestatem, Afros barbaros non solum domitos sed etiam tributaries futuros Romanae rei publicae ? Et nunc quam in contrarium versa sit spes hominum, vides. Nee diutius hinc tecum loquendum est, quia plus ea tu potes cogitare quam nos dicere.

8 Sed forte ad ista respondes illis hoc esse potius inputandum, qui te laeserunt, qui tuis officiosis " Boniface had apparently not followed the advice given him by Augustine in No. 42 § 7 " divitiae saeculares, si desunt, non per mala opera quaerantur in mundo." The historian Olympiodorus is much more favourable to Boniface: 'qv 5e Kai oi Kaiocruprjs epaar-qs Kal xpTj/xdrwv KptLTTwv.

There is as yet no question of the Vandals, whose coming to Africa was at least a year later. Of this campaign in Africa against the Moors no details are known. Freeman, 426

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX) but to a moderate gratification, in order to avoid a universal destruction, if you do not do the things that God forbids and for which His vengeance \\ill fall on the doers ? And to afford them gratification, you see the havoc has been so widespread that now hardly anything, however small its value, can be found for them to plunder.^

And what shall I say about the devastation of 7 Africa that is being Avrought by African barbarians ? They meet with no opposition, so long as you are taken up with the difficulties of your own situation and take no measures to avert this calamity. After the appointment of Boniface as Count of the Household and of Africa with so great an army and such extensive authority—Boniface, who, while tribune, aided by a few confederates, quelled all those tribes by force of arms and the menace of his name,^ who would ever believe, who would ever be afraid, that those barbarians would be so daring, would encroach so far, would spread such devastation, seize so much plunder, make desolate so many places that were once crowded with people ? Did not everyone declare that, as soon as you took over the authority of Count, the African barbarians would not only be subdued, but would actually be made tributary to the Roman Empire ? And now you see how men's hopes have been dashed to the ground. On this subject I need not linger, for your own mind can suggest more to you than I can say.

But perhaps you reply to this with the defence 8 that the blame must rather be laid upon those who have injured you, who instead of a fair reward for Western Europe', pp. 327-338, discusses this sentence as it bears on the point of Boniface's appointment as Count.

ST. AUGUSTINE

virtutibus non paria sed contraria reddiderunt. Quas causas ego audire et iudicare non possum ; tuam causam potius aspice et inspice, quam non cum hominibus quibuslibet, sed cum deo habere te cognoscis ; quia in Christo fideliter \dvis5 ipsum debes timere ne of Fendas. Nam causas ego superiores potius adtendo, quia, ut Africa tanta mala patiatur, suis debent inputare homines peccatis. Verum tamen nolo te ad eorum numerum pertinere, per quos malos et iniquos deus flagellat poenis temporalibus quos voluerit. Ipsis namque iniquis, si correcti non fuerint, servat aeterna supplicia, quorum malitia iuste utitur ut aliis mala ingerat temporalia. Tu deum adtende, tu Christum considera, qui tanta bona praestitit et tanta mala pertulit. Quicumque ad eius regnum cupiunt pertinere et cum illo ac sub illo semper beate vivere, diligunt etiam inimicos suos, bene faciunt illis qui eos oderunt, et orant pro eis a quibus persecutionem patiuntur, et, si quando adhibent pro disciplina molestam severitatem, non tamen amittunt sincerissimam caritatem. Si ergo bona tibi sunt praestita quamis terrena transitoria ab imperio Romano, quia et ipsum terrenum est, non caeleste, nee potest praestare nisi quod habet in potestate ; si ergo bona in te conlata sunt, noli reddere mala pro bonis ; si autem mala tibi inrogata sunt, noli reddere mala

« Matt. V. 44 ; Luke vi. 27-28.

No writer is so fond of the word transitorius as Augustine, and not infrequently he uses it in conjunction Math terrenusy as here {e.g. Serm. 113. 6). From him comes probably the use of the phrase in the Rule of St. Benedict, § 2, and in Gregory the Great, In Ezech. ii. 10. 21. 428

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX) the virtues you displayed in office, rendered you the very opposite. The rights or wrongs of that I personally am unable to examine and decide ; rather look at and look into your own case, not as it lies between you and any men, but as it lies, to your o^\'n personal knowledge, between you and God ; for as you live in Christ as a believer, you ought to cherish fear of giving offence to Him. The cases that engage my attention are rather those of the world above, for it is to their own sins that men ought to attribute the fact that Africa is undergoing such calamities. Nevertheless, I do not want you to be of the number of those evil and unrighteous men whom God uses to scourge with temporal punishments those whom He chooses ; since for the unrighteous themselves, whose evil nature He justly employs to inflict temporal evils on others, He reserves everlasting punishment, if they do not reform. But as for yourself, fix your mind upon God, turn your thoughts to Christ, Who has bestowed such great blessings and endured such great sufferings. Those who desire to attain to His kingdom and to live ^^ith Him and under Him in everlasting blessedness, love even their enemies, do good to those who hate them and pray for those who persecute them"; and if at any time in the interests of discipline they employ irksome severity, they do not, however, lay aside their sincere affection. If, then, benefits have been conferred upon you by the Roman Empire, though they be earthly and transitory ^ (for that Empire itself is earthly, and not heavenly, and it can bestow only what lies within its own power) ; if, then, benefits have been bestowed upon you, render not evil for good ; but if e\il has been inflicted upon

ST. AUGUSTINE

pro malis. Quid istorum duorum sit, nee diseutere volo nee valeo iudicare ; ego Christiano loquor : noli reddere vel mala pro bonis vel mala pro malis.

Dicis mJhi fortasse : "In tanta necessitate quid vis ut faciam ? " Si consilium a me secundum hoc saeculum quaeris, quo modo ista salus tua transitoria tuta sit, et potentia atque opulentia vel ista servetur quam nunc habes, vel etiam maior addatur, quid tibi respondeam, nescio ; incerta quippe ista certum consilium habere non possunt. Si autem secundum deum me consulis ne anima tua pereat, et times verba veritatis dicentis : Qitid prodest homini, si totum mujidum lucretur, ajiimae autem suae damnum patiatur ? habeo plane, quod dicam ; est apud me consilium quod a me audias. Quid autem opus est ut aliud dicam quam illud quod supra dixi : Noli diligere mundum nee ea quae in mundo sunt. Si quis enim dilexerit mundum, non est caritas patris in illo, quoniam omnia quae in muiido sunt, co?icupiscentia carnis est et concupiscentia oculorum et amhitio saeculi, quae non est a patre, sed ex mundo est. Et mundus transit et concupisceiitia eius ; qui autem fecerit voluntatem dei, manet in aeternum, sicut et deus manet in aeternum ? Ecce consilium ; arripe et age. Hie appareat, si vir fortis es ; vince cupiditates, quibus iste diligitur mundus, age paenitentiam de praeteritis malis, quando ab eis cupiditatibus victus per desi- " Rom. xii. 17 ; 1 Thess. v. 15 ; 1 Pet. iii. 9.

Cf. Ter. Eii7i. 57-63 " quae res in se neque consilium neque modum Habet ullum, earn consilio regere non potes."

Matt. xvi. 2Q ; Mark viii. 36 ; Luke ix. 25. This seems to be the only place where Augustine quotes the form damnum patiatur ; elsewhere {De S&rm. Dom. 2. 50, C. Adlm. 18, Serm. 330. 3) he has either detrimentum faciat, or detrimentum patiatur. 430

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX) you, render not evil for evil." Which of these two has been your lot, I do not Mlsh to discuss nor am I able to decide ; for my part I am speaking to a Christian : render not evil for good nor yet evil for evil.

You perhaps say to me, " What do you want me 9 to do in these straits ? " If you ask advice from me as after the spirit of this world, how your safety, transitory as it is, may be secured, and your power and wealth either preserved in their present condition or increased to greater dimensions, I am at a loss what to answer you ; things as uncertain as these do not admit of any certain counsel.^ But if, as in the sight of God, you consult me about saving your soul from destruction and fear the word of Truth Who says, " What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul ? 'V I certainly have an answer to give ; I am ready with advice which you must hear from me. Yet what need is there for me to say anything different from Mhat

I have already said: " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God, abideth for ever, even as God abideth for ever." '^ Here is ad\ice for you ; lay hold of it and act upon it. Let it now be seen if you are a strong man : vanquish the desires ^Wth which you love the world. Do penance for the misdeeds of the past, when these desires had you vanquished '^ 1 John ii. 15-17. 431

ST. AUGUSTINE

deria vana trahebaris. Hoc consilium si acceperis, si tenueris atque servaveris, et ad bona ilia certa pervenies et cum salute animae tuae inter ista incerta versaberis.

10 Sed forte iterum quaeris a me, quo modo ista facias tantis mundi huius necessitatibus implicatus.

Ora fortiter et die deo, quod habes in psalmo : De necessitatibus meis erue me. Tunc enim finiuntur istae necessitates, quando vincuntur illae cupiditates.

Qui exaudivit te et nos pro te, ut libereris de tot tantisque periculis visibilium corporaliumque bellorum, ubi sola ista vita quandoque finienda periclitatur, anima vero non perit, si non malignis cupiditatibus captiva teneatur, ipse te exaudiet, ut interiores et invisibiles hostes, id est ipsas cupiditates, invisibiliter et spiritaliter vincas et sic utaris hoc mundo tamquam non utens, ut ex bonis eius bona facias, non malus fias, quia et ipsa bona sunt nee dantur hominibus nisi ab illo, qui habet omnium caelestium et terrestrium potestatem. Sed ne putentur mala, dantur et bonis ; ne putentur magna vel summa bona, dantur et malis itemque auferuntur ista et bonis, ut probentur, et malis, ut crucientur.

11 Quis enim nesciat, quis ita sit stultus, ut non videat quod salus huius mortalis corporis et mem-

« Ps. xxiv. 17. M Cor. vii. 31.

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX) and empty passions dragged you in their train. If you will receive this advice and hold fast to it and keep it, you will both attain to those blessings which are certain and pass through the midst of these uncertain things \\"ithout harm to your own soul.

But perhaps you ask me again how you are to 10 accomplish this, involved as you are in the great distresses of this world. Be earnest in prayer and say to God the words you find in the Psalm, " Bring thou me out of my distresses," " for then are these distresses ended when those desires are overcome. He who has answered your prayers and our prayers for you and has delivered you from the many great dangers of the warfare in which men visibly risk their bodies, in which the stake is but this life that must sooner or later come to an end, while the soul escapes destruction unless it be held in captivity by evil desires—He

Himself also answer your prayer for an invisible and spiritual victory over your inward and invisible foes, that is these same desires, and help you to " use this world as not abusing it,"^ so that with its good things you may do good, instead of becoming evil. For these things are good in themselves and are not given to men save by Him Who has power over all things in heaven and in earth : and on the one hand they are bestowed upon the good, so that they may not be thought to be evil ; on the other, they are bestowed upon the evil, so that they .may not be thought to be the great or supreme good ; and likewise they are taken away from the good, in order to try them, and from the evil, in order to punish them.

Who is so ignorant, who so foolish, as not to see 11 that the health of this mortal body and the strength

ST. AUGUSTINE

brorum corruptibilium virtus et \-ictoria de hominibus inimicis et honor atque potentia temporalis et cetera ista bona terrena et bonis dentur et malis et bonis auferantur et malis ? Salus vero animae cum inmortalitate corporis virtusque iustitiae et victoria de cupiditatibus inimicis et gloria et honor et pax in aeternum non dantur nisi bonis. Ista ergo dilige, ista concupisce, ista modis omnibus quaere. Propter haec adquirenda et obtinenda fac elemosynas, funde orationes, exerce ieiunia, quantum sine laesione tui corporis potes. Bona vero ilia terrena noli diligere, quanta libet tibi abundent. Sic eis utere, ut bona multa ex illis, nullum autem malum facias propter ilia. Omnia quippe talia peribunt, sed bona opera non pereunt, etiam quae de bonis pereuntibus fiunt.

12 Si enim coniugem non haberes, dicerem tibi quod et Tubunis diximus, ut in castitate continentiae viveres ; adderem quod tunc fieri prohibuimus, ut lam te, quantum rerum humanarum salva pace potuisses, ab istis bellicis rebus abstraheres et ei vitae vacares in societate sanctorum, cui tunc vacare cupiebas, ubi in silentio pugnant milites Christi, non

Miles Christi, like servus Christi, does not exclusivelymean " monks," but refers generally to Christian service, whether on the part of the laity (Ambr. Ep. 27. 15 "omnes qui sunt in ecclesia, Deo mi Utant " ; Leo ^lagn. Serm. 89. 2 has the phrase ecclesiasticus miles of a layman), or of the regular clergy (Aug. Ep. Lx. 1 " ad militiam clericatus eligantur," Ep. xxi. 1 " quo modo militetur "), or of monks (Aug. Ep. cli. 8 " ne susciperet cingulum militiae Christianae vinculum praepediebat uxorium "). This use was a natural extension of the idea of service connoted by militare, and it was encouraged by the Pauline phrase in 1 Tim. i. 18 " milites in illis bonam militiam," and 2 Tim. iv. 2 " nemo militans Deo . . ." In especial, militare was used by Christian writers of the centuries of persecution to denote 434

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX) of its corruptible members, and victory over men who are our foes, and honour and temporal power and all other earthly blessings, are bestowed upon both the good and the evil and are taken away from both the good and the evil ? But the health of the soul, along with the immortality of the body, and the strength of righteousness and victory over the desires that are our foes, and glory and honour and peace for evermore, are bestowed upon the good alone. These things, then, love and desire and seek by every possible means. To secure them and hold them fast, give alms, pour forth prayers, practise fasting as much as you can without harming your body ; but love not those earthly blessings, however much you may abound in them. Make such use of them that you do many good deeds by them and no single evil deed because of them. For all such things will pass away, but good deeds do not pass away, even those which are done Mith the aid of the good things that pass away.

If you had not a wife, I should tell you what we 12 said to you already at Tubunae, that you should live in the holy state of continence ; to that I should add what we then forbade you to do, namely, that you should withdraw from your military labours as far as is possible without endangering the peace of mankind, and obtain the leisure to follow that quiet life you then expressed your desire to follow, in the community of the holy, where the soldiers of Christ " contend in silence, not with the purpose of taking the " service " of martyrs (Cypr. Ep. 60. 2 " milites Christi . . . prompte et animas et sangiiinem tradere "). On the other hand, it was used too by Christian wTiters of the service of the world, sin, or the devil (Aug. Conf. ix. 8. 17 " relicta militia saeculari accinctus in Tua ").

ST. AUGUSTINE

ut occidant homines, sed ut expugnent principes et potestates et spiritalia nequitiae, id est diabolum et angelos eius. Hos enim hostes sancti vincunt, quos videre non possunt ; et tamen, quos non vident vincunt, ista vincendo quae sentiunt. Sed ut te ad istani vitani non exhorter, coniunx impedimento est, sine cuius consensione continenter tibi non liceat

quia, etsi tu earn post ilia tua verba Tubunensia ducere non debebas, ilia tibi tamen nihil eorum sciens innocenter et simpliciter nupsit. Atque utinam posses ei persuadere continentiam, ut sine impedimento redderes deo quod te debere cognoscis ! Sed si cum ilia agere non potes, serva saltem pudicitiam coniugalem et roga deum, qui te de necessitatibus eruat, ut, quod non potes modo, possis aliquando. Verum tamen, ut deum diligas, non diligas mundum ; ut in ipsis bellis, si adhuc in eis te versari opus est, fidem teneas, pacem quaeras ; ut ex mundi bonis facias opera bona et propter mundi bona non facias opera mala, aut non impedit coniunx aut impedire non debet. Haec ad te, fili dilectissime, ut scriberem, caritas iussit, qua te secundum deum, non secundum hoc saeculum diligo, quia et cogitans quod scriptum est : Corripe sapientem et amahit te, corripe stultum et adiciet odisse te, non te utique stultum sed sapientem debui cogitare.

Eph. vi. 12. ^ Matt. xxv. 41. ' Prov. ix. 8.

NO. 51 (Ep. CCXX) men's lives, but of conquering " principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness,"'* that is, the devil and his angels.^ For these are the enemies whom the holy vanquish, enemies they cannot see ; and yet they vanquish the enemies they cannot see by vanquishing the objects of their senses. But to that kind of life I am prevented from urging you, for your wife stands in the way, and without her consent you cannot adopt a life of continence ; because, although you had no right to marry her after what you said at Tubunae, yet she became your wife in all innocence and single-mindedness, knowing nothing of your declaration. Yet would that you could persuade her to continence, so that with nothing in your way you could render unto God what you know you owe Him ! But if you cannot arrange that with her, preserve at least your conjugal chastity and ask God, Who can " bring you out of your distresses," to grant that you may be able to do sooner or later what you find impossible now. But yet, in order to love God, you must give up loving the world ; in your warfare (if you have still to be engaged in it) keep the faith and ensue peace ; use this M'orld's goods to do good deeds, and to obtain this world's goods do not do evil deeds — in these duties a wife is not a hindrance, or ought not to be.

I have written thus to you, my beloved son, at the bidding of the love wherewith I love you, not in the way of this world, but in God's way. And when I recall to mind the words of Scripture, " Reprove a wise man and he will love thee ; reprove a fool and he will hate thee more,"^ I had to think of you as surely not a fool, but a wise man,

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 52 (Ep. CCXXVII)

[BEATI AUGUSTINI AD SENEM ALYPIUM DE

CONVERSIOXE DIOSCURI]

Frater Paulus hie est ineolumis ; adportat negotiorum suorum seeundas euras ; praestabit dominus, ut etiam ipsa ultima sint. Multum vos salutat et narrat gaudia de Gaviniano, quod ab ilia sua eausa miserieordia dei liberatus non solum Christianus sed etiam fidelis sit valde bonus per pascha proximo baptizatus, in corde atque in ore habens gratiam quam percepit. Quantum eum desiderem, quando explicabo ? Sed nosti ut eum diligam. Archiater etiam Dioscorus Christianus fidelis est, simul gratiam consecutus. Audi etiam quem ad modum ; neque enim cervicula ilia vel hngua nisi ahquo prodigio domarentur. Fiha eius, in qua unica adquiescebat, aegrotabat et usque ad totam desperationem salutis temporalis eodem ipso patre renuntiante pervenit.

" Dioscurus is unknown except from this letter. Brother Paul is probably the Paul mentioned in the last letter. Nothing is known of the business here spoken of, or of Gavinianus.

Fidelis in this sense is contrasted with catednnnenus, a distinction which is as early as Tertullian (Praescr. Haer. 41 " quis catechumenus, quis fidelis, incertum est ; pariter adeunt, pariter audiunt, pariter orant "). Jerome speaks {In Isaiam xix. 19) of five orders in the Church : ejjiscopos, preshyteros, diaconos, fideles, cafechumenos, and Augustine {Serm. 21. 5) mentions a higher kind of faith, " qua fidelis vocaris, accedens ad mensam Domini tui," and (Serm. 93. 2) defines fidelis : " Fidelibus dico, eis quibus Christi corpus erogamus." " Rom. x. 8. ''The archiater (apxtarpos) was a municipal doctor, appointed by the decurions and receiving a salary from the town. They enjoyed, with their wives and families, special privileges {Cod. Theod. xiii. iii. 1, 2, 3 " archiatri omnes 438

NO. 52 (Ep. CCXXVII)

No. 52 (Ep. CCXXVII)

[TO THE SENIOR ALYPIUS FROM AUGUSTINE,

ABOUT THE CONVERSION OF DIOSCURUS»]

Brother Paul has arrived back safely ; he reports that his affairs have been considered favourably ; the Lord will grant that this may be the last of them. He sends you hearty greetings and gives us the joyful news about Gavinianus, that having secured deliverance, by God's mercy, from that case of his, he is now not only a Christian but has become a very admirable member of the Church,^ having received baptism last Easter, and professing in his heart and with his mouth ^ the grace that was bestowed on him.

I could never express the greatness of my longing for him, but you know how dear he is to me. The town physician,^ Dioscurus, has also become a Christian and joined the Church, having received grace at the same time. I must tell you how it came about, for one so stiff-necked and sharp-tongued could have been subjugated only by a miracle.

His daughter, an only child, the pride of his life, was ill, and she reached a point when the recovery of her bodily health was quite despaired of, and her own father gave her up. The story goes (and its truth... a praestationibus quoque publicis liberi immimesque permaneant "). Ptome and Constantinople had these municipal doctors appointed in 368, and at Rome there were fourteen in all, one for each region. In Ep. xli. 2 Augustine speaks of one Hilarinus, whom he calls Hipponiensem archiatrum et principalein, and another is mentioned by one of his correspondents in Ep. ccxxx. 6. 439

ST. AUGUSTINE

Dicitur ergo—et constat, cum mihi hoc et ante fratris Pauli reditum comes Peregrinus, vir laudabilis et bene Christianus, qui cum eis eodem tempore baptizatus est, indicaret,—dicitur ergo ille senex tandem conversus ad inplorandam Christi misericordiam voto se obligasse Christianum fore, si illam salvam videret. Factum est. At ille, quod voverat, dissimulabat exsolvere. Sed adhuc manus excelsa. Nam repentina caecitate suf Funditur statimque venit in mentem unde illud esset. Exclamavit confitens atque iterum vovit se, recepto lumine, impleturum esse quod voverat. Recepit, implevit. Et adhuc manus excelsa. Symbolum non tenuerat aut fortasse tenere recusaverat et se non potuisse excusaverat. Deus viderit. lam tamen post festa omnia receptionis suae in paralysin solvitur multis ac paene omnibus membris, tunc somnio admonitus confitens per scripturam ob hoc sibi dictum esse accidisse, quod symbolum non reddiderit. Post illam confessionem redduntur officia membrorum omnium nisi linguae solius. Se tamen didicisse symbolum ideoque me-

* Apparently mentioned only here.

This is a Biblical phrase, occurring in Exod. xiv. 8, Num. xxxiii. 3, and Deut. xxxii. 27, where it seems to imply " with unbroken pride," or the like. Similar is Job xxxviii. 15 " auferetur ab impiis lux sua, et brachium excelsum confringetur."

" Teneo, thus used, is found in Plautus, Virgil (Eel. ix. 45 " numeros memini, si verba tenerem "), Martial (iv. 37 " teneo melius ista, quam meum nomen "), and others, though Cicero always uses memoria tenere. Augustine uses it both with memoria, and Mithout (In loan. Ev. 69. 4 " si; Quant. An. 7. 12 " nosse hoc plane ac tenere volumus "). Candidates for baptism were expected to memorize the Creed, which it was forbidden to write down (Retr. i. 17 speaking of his book De Eide et SymbolOy 440 tenueritis quod audistis "

NO. 52 (Ep. CCXXVII) is vouched for by the fact that even before the return of brother Paul it was told me by Count Peregrinus,** an admirable man and a thorough Christian, who received baptism at the same time as they did)—the story goes then that the old man finally turned to implore the pity of Christ and bound himself by a vow to become a Christian, if he saw her out of danger. That prayer was granted, but in spite of that he neglected to fulfil his vow. But his hand was still high.^ For suddenly he is smitten with blindness and it immediately occurred to him why that had happened. He cried out, confessing his fault, and made another vow that, if he received back his sight, he would fulfil his earlier vow. He received it back, he fulfilled his vow. And still his hand was high.^ He had not memorized'' the Creed, or perhaps had refused to memorize it, and had offered the excuse that he could not. Let God be judge. But just after the completion of the ceremony of his admission, he fell into a paralytic seizure affecting many, if not all, of his members. Then, being warned in a dream, he confessed in writing that he had been told this had befallen him for the reason that he had failed to repeat the Creed. After that confession the use of all his Hmbs was restored to him, saving only his tongue. Yet he confessed on paper that in spite of that which he ^^Tote without putting the Creed in writing, " ut tamen non fiat verborum ilia contextio quae tenenda memoriter competentibus traditur ": Senn. 212. 2 " nee ut eadem verba Symboli teneatis, ullo modo debetis scribere, sed audiendo perdiscere; nee . . . scribere, sed memoriter semper tenere "; Serm. 58. 1 " quicumque vestrum non bene reddiderunt, habent spatium, teneant ; quia die sabbati audientibus omnibus qui aderunt reddituri estis, die sabbati novissimo, quo die baptizandi estis ").

ST. AUGUSTINE

moria iam tenere nihilo minus in eadem temptatione litteris fassus est, et omnis est ab eo deleta nugacitas, quae, ut scis, multum dedecorabat naturalem quandam eius benignitatem eumque insultantem

Christianis faciebat valde sacrilegum. Quid dicam domino, nisi hymnum canamus et superexaltemiis eum in saecula ? Amen.

No. 53 (Ep. CCXXIX) DOMINO MERITO INLUSTRI ET MAGNIFICEN-

TISSLMO ATQUE IX CHRISTO CARISSIMO FILIO DARIO AUGUSTIXUS

1 A Sanctis fratribus et coepiscopis meis Urbano et Novato, qualis sis vir et quantus, accepi, quorum alteri apud Carthaginem in Hilarensi oppido et modo in Siccensi, alteri autem apud Sitifim te nosse provenit. Per hos ergo factum est ut nee ego te habere " Judith xvi. 15; Dan. iii. 57.

Darius, a high official at the court of Valentinian III., was sent in 429 to Africa to negotiate a peace between Count Boniface and the Emperor. He was accompanied by his son Verimodus, alluded to at the end of the letter. Augustine here writes congratulating him on making peace with the Vandals.

This Urbanus is most probably the bishop of Sicca, who was originally a member of Augustine's monastery at Hippo (Ep. cxlix. 34) ; he became bishop there before 418. He is best remembered as the central figure in that Council of 418 which decreed that no African cleric should prosecute an appeal overseas (c/. p. 364 above)—a decree of great importance in the controversy about the supremacy of the see of Rome. Sicca (or Sicca Veneria, so-called from its famous temple to Astarte, whom the Romans identified with Venus) 442

NO. 52 (Ep. CCXXVII)—NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXIX) seizure he had learned the Creed and still retained it in his memory. And thus was destroyed in him all the scurrility which, as you know, was a great blemish on his natural kindness and made him, when he mocked Christians, a yery sacrilegious man. What shall I say saye " Let us sing a hymn to the Lord and highly exalt Him for ever " " ? Amen.

No. dS (Ep. CCXXIX) (a.d. 429) AUGUSTINE TO DARIUS,* MY DESERVEDLY ILLUSTRIOUS AND MOST DISTINGUISHED LORD AND SON WARMLY CHERISHED IN CHRIST

From my holy brethren and fellow-bishops L'rbanus 1 and Noyatus ^ I haye learned of your character and high position ; one of them had the good fortune to make your acquaintance in the toATi of Hilari near Carthage and recently at Sicca, the other at Sitifis. Through them it has been brought about that I too is the modern Le Kef, lying about 135 miles south-west of Tunis ; its strategical position on the great roads between Numidia and Proconsular Africa gave it great importance. Novatus was bishop of Sitifis (Setifj in Mauretania ; he was addressed by Augustine in No. 22 above. The Hilarense oppidum I have not succeeded in locating. One of the four manuscripts of this letter reads larensi, whis is probably the adjectival form of the name Lares, an important town 10 miles south-east of Sicca \'eneria and prominent during the war with Jugurtha (Sallust, lug. 90). Though at a considerable distance from Carthage, it was within Carthaginian territory, and was easy for Darius to reach from Sicca, so I am inclined to adopt the reading Larensi here in place of the unidentifiable Hilarensi.

ST. AUGUSTINE

incognitum possem. Neque enim quia me infirmitas corporis et geminum frigus, id est hiemis et aetatis, non sinit coram tecumi conloqui, ideo non te vidi ; nam iste mihi etiam praesens, qiiando ad me venire dignatus est, ille autem litteris, non faciem tuae carnis sed cordis ostendit, ut tanto suavius quanto interius te viderem. Hanc faciem tuam etiam in sancto evangelio et nos et tu ipse propitio deo tamquam in speculo laetissimus inspicis, ubi scriptum est a veritate dicente : Beati pacifici, quoniam filii dei vocabuntur.

2 Magni quidem sunt et habent gloriam suam non solum fortissimi sed etiam, quod verioris origo laudis, fidelissimi bellatores et quorum laboribus atque periculis dei protegentis atque opitulantis auxilio hostis indomitus vincitur, quies rei publicae pacatisque provinciis comparatur ; sed maioris est gloriae ipsa bella verbo occidere quam homines ferro, et adquirere vel obtinere pacem pace non bello. Nam et hi qui pugnant, si boni sunt, procul dubio pacem sed tamen per sanguinem quaerunt ; tu autem, ne cuiusquam sanguis quaereretur, es missus. Est itaque ahis ilia necessitas, tibi ista felicitas. Proinde, domine merito inlustris et magnificentissime atque in Christo carissime fili, gaude isto tuo tam magno et vero bono et fruere in deo, unde sumpsisti ut talis

« Matt. V. 9.

NO. 53 (Ep. CCXXIX) cannot regard you as unknown to me. For the fact that my bodily weakness and the twofold cold, of whiter and of old age, does not permit me to have converse with you face to face, has not prevented me from seeing you, for one of these friends, when present with me on a visit he was good enough to make, revealed to me the countenance of your heart, if not of your body, and the other did so by letter, so that I have all the greater pleasure in seeing the more inward man. This countenance of yours both you and I, by God's favour, behold with joy in the Holy Gospel, as in a mirror, where the words are written that were uttered by Him who is truth : " Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."^

Those men are indeed great and they have their 2 own honour who as warriors display not only great courage but also (what is the source of more genuine praise) great fidelity, and by their toils and perils, with the assistance of God's protection and aid, subdue foes before invincible, and procure peace for the state and for the tranquil Uzed provinces. (But it is a greater glory to slay war with a word than men with the sword and to gain and maintain peace by means of peace, not by means of war.y For even those who hght are certainly seeking peace, if they are good men, but seeking it by the shedding of blood, while you have been sent to prevent the seeking of anyone's blood. Others are therefore under the necessity of taking life, while you have the felicity of sparing it. Wherefore rejoice, my deservedly illustrious and most distinguished lord and son warmly cherished in Christ, in the great and genuine blessing that is yours and enjoy it in the Lord to Whom you owe it that you

ST. AUGUSTINE

esses et talia gerenda susciperes. Confirmet deus quod per te operatus est nobis. Accipe hanc salutationem nostram et tuam dignare rependere. Sicut mihi scripsit frater Novatus, egit ut me excellentia et eruditio tua etiam in meis opusculis nosset. Si ergo legisti quae dedit, ego quoque innotui interioribus tuis sensibus, non multum displicens, quantum existimo. si propensiore caritate quam severitate legisti. Non est multum sed multum gratum, si pro litteris nostris et his et illis unam nobis epistulam reddas. Saluto etiam pignus pacis, quod domino deo nostro adiuvante feliciter accepisti, ea dilectione qua debeo.

No. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI)

AUGUSTINUS SERVUS CHRISTI MEMBRORUM

QUE CHRISTI DARIO FILIO MEMBRO CHRISTI IN IPSO SALUTEM

1 Quod acceperim libenter litteras tuas, mea reseripta indicio esse voluisti. Ecce rescribo et tamen rescriptis hoc indicare non possum vel istis vel quibuslibet aliis, sive breviter sive prolixissime scribam ; neque enim aut paucis aut multis verbis

« Ps. Ixvii. 29.

This phrase seems to imply that Darius's son, Verimodus, had been a hostage until the peace %vith the Vandals was signed. If so (and the words seem to demand this interpretation), there is no other mention of it.

In his reply Darius had expressed his hope that the peace with the Vandals would be permanent and asks Augustine to send for his perusal a copy of the Confessions. He also sent some medicines to help Augustine in his illness, and these are alluded to at the end of the letter. 446

NO. 5S (Ep. CCXXIX)—NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI) are what you are and that you have undertaken the task it is yours to accomphsh. May God " strengthen that which He hath wrought for us through you"^ ! Accept this my greeting and be good enough to repay it with one from you. As I am informed by the letter of my brother Novatus, he has taken steps to make your learned Excellency acquainted with me also in my writings. If, then, you have read the works he gave you, I too have become known to your more inward perceptions, nor would you, I imagine, find me very unsatisfactory, if your reading has been done with greater inclination to love than to harshness. It is not asking very much, but it will be very much appreciated, if in return for my writings, both this one and those others, you send me a single letter.

I greet too with all due affection the pledge of peace, whom you have been happy enough to receive by the favour of the Lord our God.

No. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI)

AUGUSTINE, SERVANT OF CHRIST AND OF THE

MEMBERS OF CHRIST, TO DARIUS,'' MY SON, A MEMBER OF CHRIST, GREETING IN HIM

You wanted a reply from me as evidence that I 1 have received your letter with joy, so, see, I send you one. And yet in a reply, be it this one or any other, it is impossible for me, whether writing briefly or at great length, to make that evident, for neither a few words nor many can be evidence of

ST. AUGUSTINE

indicari potest quod indicari verbis non potest. Et ego quidem parum eloquor, etsi multum loquor ; sed nulli eloquent! omnino concesserim ut qualicumque et quantaeumque epistula sua affectum explicet, quem fecit in me tua, quod non possum ego, etiam si eum possit ita in animo meo videre sicut ego.

Restat ergo sic tibi indicare quod scire voluisti, ut in verbis meis, et quod non indicant, sentias. Quid igitur dicam nisi delectatum me esse litteris tuis valde valde ? Repetitio verbi huius non est repetitio sed quasi perpetua dictio ; quia enim fieri non posset ut semper diceretur, ideo factum est ut saltem repeteretur ; sic enim fortasse dici potest quod dici non potest.

2 Hie si quaerat aliquis quid me tandem in tuis tam valde litteris delectaverit, utrum eloquium, respondebo : " Non "; et ille forsitan respondebit : " Ergo laudes tuae "; sed de his quoque respondebo : " Non," nee ideo, quia non sunt ista in ilia epistula ; nam et eloquium ibi tantum est, ut et optimo te natum ingenio et talibus disciplinis satis eruditum praeclarissime luceat, et prorsus plena est meis laudibus. " Ergone," ait quispiam, " non te ista delectant ? " Immo vero ; " neque enim mihi," ut ait quidam, " cornea fibra est," ut haec non sentiam vel sine delectatione sentiam. Delectant et ista : « Pers. i. 47. 448

NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI) what words cannot make evident at all. And for my part, though I have the gift of copious expression, I have only a limited powder of sef-expression ; yet I would certainly not admit that any man, however gifted with the power of expression, could describe in a letter, no matter how good or how long, the feelings awakened in me by your letter ; it is quite beyond my power, and he cannot observe them within me as I do myself. It only remains for me, then, to give you the evidence you wanted to have in such a way that in my words you may feel evidence of what they cannot express. So what shall I say but this, that I was very, very pleased with your letter ? The repetition of that word is not so much a repetition as a constant utterance, but since the perpetual utterance of it is quite impossible, I have done the only thing possible by at least repeating it. In this way, perhaps, things may be uttered that completely defy utterance.

At this point, if anyone were to ask what after all 2 it was in your letter that pleased me so very much, if it was its eloquence, I shall say " No "; he will perhaps reply, " Then it was the praise of yourself," and to that too I shall say " No "; not for the reason that your letter Mas without these, for it was eloquent enough very notably to reveal the fact that your natural endoMTiients are of the finest quality and that your training in the hterary disciphnes has been good ; and, further, your letter was full of praises of myself. " And so," someone may say, " things of that kind give you no pleasure ? " It is the other way round, for, as someone has remarked, " my heart is not made of horn,"" that I either do not feel such things or feel them without pleasure. I do 2g 449

ST. AUGUSTINE

sed ad illud, quo me valde dixi esse delectatum, quid sunt ista ? nam eloquium tuum me delectat, quoniam graviter suave est vel suaviter grave ; meis autem laudibus cum profecto nee omnibus delecter nee ab omnibus, sed eis qualibus me dignum esse arbitratus es, et ab eis qualis es, id est qui propter Christum diligunt servos eius, etiam laudibus meis me delectatum in litteris tuis negare non possum.

3 Viderint graves et periti viri quid de illo Themistocle sentiant, si tamen hominis nomen verum recolo, qui cum in epulis, quod clari et eruditi Graeciae facere solebant, canere fidibus recusasset et ob hoc indoctior haberetur totumque illud iucunditatis genus aspernatus esset, dictum illi est : " Quid ergo audire te delectat ? " Ad quod ille respondisse fertur : " Laudes meas." Viderint ergo quo fine qua intentione illud dixisse crediderint vel ipse qua dixerit. Erat enim secundum hoc saeculum vir magnificus. Nam etiam cum ei dictum fuisset : " Quid igitur nosti ? " " Rem publicam," inquit, " ex parva magnam facere." Ego autem, quod ait Ennius : " Omnes mortales sese laudari exoptant," partim puto adprobandum, partim cavendum. Ut enim appetenda est Veritas, quae procul dubio est, etiam si non laudetur, sola laudabilis, sic ea quae facile subrepit, vanitas in hominum laude fugienda est ; haec est autem, cum vel ipsa bona

" Cic. rro Arch. 9. 20 ; Plut. Them. 2.

NO. 54- (Ep. CCXXXI) take pleasure in even such things as these, but, alongside that which made me, as I said, very pleased, what are such things after all ? Your eloquence does give me pleasure, so gravely sweet and so sweetly grave it is ; TNith the praise of myself, however, though certainly I neither find pleasure in every kind nor from every man, but onlv in such as you consider me worthy to receive and from men such as you are, who for Christ's sake love His servants—even with the praise of myself contained in your letter I cannot deny that I was very well pleased.

Let serious-minded and experienced men consider 3 M'hat opinion they should form of the well-known Themistocles" (if I remember his name aright), who at a banquet, on refusing to play on the lyre, a usual practice among the distinguished and learned men of Greece, and being on that account deemed a less cultured person, and scorning all that kind of amusement, is said, when asked what he did take pleasure in hearing, to have made answer, " My own praises." Let such men consider what they think the aim and intention of this remark was or what was the intention of the speaker. He was, indeed, a very high-minded man, in the eyes of this world, for when the further question was asked him, " What then do you know ? " he replied, " How to make a small state great." For myself, however, I hold that the saying of Ennius that " All mortal men are eager to be praised," ^ is partly to be approved of, partly to be taken as a warning. For just as truth is to be sought after, as being without a doubt the only thing deserving of praise, even if praise be withheld, so is the easily and furtivelv developing pride in the praise of men to be shunned. And that is the case when, on the one hand, those good

ST. AUGUSTINE

quae laudatione digna sunt, non putantur habenda, nisi laudetur ab hominibus homo, vel ea quoque vult in se multum quisque laudari, quae aut exigua laude aut fetiam vituperatione digniora sunt. Unde Horatius Ennio vigilantior ait : laudis amore turaes ? sunt certa piacula, quae te ter pure lecto poterunt recreare libello.

4 Ita tunioreni de aniore laudis humanae velut serpentis morsum medicinalibus verbis quasi ex~ cantandum putavit. Docuit itaque nos per apostolum suum magister bonus neque propterea nos recte vivere et recte facere, ut laudemur ab hominibus, id est finem recti nostri non in hominum laudibus ponere et tamen propter ipsos homines quaerere laudes hominum. Etenim cum laudantur boni, non laudatis sed laudantibus prodest. Nam iUis, quantum ad ipsos adtinet, quod boni sunt sufficit ; sed eis, quibus expedit imitari bonos, gratulandum est, cum ab eis laudantur boni, quoniam sic indicant eos sibi placere, quos veraciter laudant. Dicit ergo apostolus quodam loco: Si hominibus placerem, Christi servus non essem, et idem dicit alio loco : Placete omnibus per omnia, sicut et ego omnibus per omnia placeo, sed adiungens causam : Non quaerens quod mihi utile est, sed quod multis, ut salvi fiant. Ecce quod quaerebat in laude hominum, ubi etiam dicebat : De cetero, fratres, quaecumque sunt vera, quaecumque pudica, quaecumque casta, quaecumque sancta, quaecum-

« Hor. Ep. i. 1. 36-37.

" 1 Thess. ii. 4; Matt. v. 16; for the phrase c/. Pers. i. 48 " sed recti finemque extremumque esse recuse ' belle.' " ' Gal. i. 10. ^ 1 Cor. X. 33. The words Placete omnibus per omnia is only his paraphrase of the preceding verse : Sine offensione estate Judaeis et gentibus et ecclesiae Dei. 452

NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI) qualities that are worthy of being praised are thought not worth possessing unless a man is praised by his fellows, or, on the other hand, when a man desires great praise for things which are worthier of either slight praise or even censure. Hence Horace was much more cautious than Ennius in saying " : Swell you Mith lust for praise ? Then read thrice o'er Some book whose charms are potent to restore.

You see he thought that the swelling arising from 4 the lust for human praise was to be, as it were, charmed away, like some serpent's bite, by healing words. The Good Master has accordingly taught us by His apostle not to live right and do right with the object of being praised by men, that is, not to make the praise of men the motive of our doing right, and yet He has taught us for men's sake to seek men's praise.^ For when good men are praised, the praise confers a benefit on those who bestow it, not on those who receive it. For as far as concerns the good, the fact that they are good is sufficient, but the others, whose interest it is to imitate the good, are to be congratulated when they bestow praise on the good, since by doing so they show that they are pleased by those whom they praise in sincerity. So the apostle says in a certain passage, " If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ," ^ and he says in another passage, Please all men in all things, " even as I please all men in all things ^ "; but he adds the reason, " Not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many that they may be saved." See what he sought in men's praise, of which he says further, " Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are 4-53

ST. AUGUSTINE

que carissinia, quaecumque honae famae, si qua virtus, si qua laus, haec cogitate ; quae didicistis et accepistis et audistis et vidistis in me, haec agite et dens pads erit vohiscum. Cetera igitur quae supra conmiemoravit, virtutis nomine amplexus est, dicens " si qua virtus " illud autem quod subiecit " quaecumque bo7iae famae,'' alio uno verbo congruo prosecutus est dicendo " si qua laus." Quod itaque ait : Si hominibus placerem, Christi servus non essem, sic utique accipiendum est tamquam dixerit : "Si bona quae facio, fine laudis humanae facereni, laudis amore tumeseerem."

Volebat ergo apostolus placere omnibus et eis placere gaudebat, non quorum laudibus tumescebat in se ipso, sed quos laudatus aedificabat in Christo. Cur ergo me non delectet laudari abs te, cum et vir bonus sis, ne me fallas, et ea laudes quae amas et quae amare utile ac salubre est, etiam si non sint in me ? Neque hoc tibi tantum sed etiam mihi prodest. Si enim non sunt in me, salubriter erubesco, atque ut sint, inardesco. Ac per hoc, quae agnosco mea in laude tua, gaudeo me habere et abs te ilia ac me ipsum diligi propter ilia ; quae autem non agnosco, non solum ut ipse habeam, desidero consequi, verum etiam ne semper in mea laude fallantur qui me sinceriter diligunt.

" Phil. iv. 8-9.

NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI) just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me, do ; and the God of peace shall be with you."^ So the other things he mentioned above he included under the word "virtue," saying, " If there be any virtue"; what he meant by the words, " Whatsoever things are of good report," he followed up by the single, appropriate phrase, " If there be any praise." So his words, " If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ," are to be understood in this way, as if he had said, " If I were doing the good I do with the motive of receiving human praise, I should be ' swelling with the lust for praise.' " The apostle wanted therefore to please all men, and found joy in pleasing those whom he edified in Christ by receiving their praise, not those whose praise made him swell within himself. Why should I not therefore find pleasure in being praised by you, when you are (unless

I am mistaken in you) a good man and bestow your praise upon the things which you admire and which it is profitable and wholesome for you to admire, even if they be lacking in me ? This benefits not only you, but me too, for if they are lacking in me, it is wholesome for me to be shamed and inflamed with desire to acquire them. And so the qualities I recognize in your praises as my own I rejoice in possessing and in having you love them and me for their sake ; those on the other hand that I fail to recognize as mine I yearn to acquire, not only in order to possess them for myself, but also to keep those who have a genuine love for me from being deluded when they praise me. ioo

ST. AUGUSTINE

5 Ecce quam multa dixi et quid sit illud quod me longe amplius eloquio tuo, longe amplius laudibus meis in tuis litteris delectavit, non adhuc dixi. Quid autem putas esse, o bone homo, nisi quod te talem virum etiam non visum feci amicum, si tamen non visum dicere debeo, cuius non corpus sed animum in ipsis tuis litteris vidi, ubi de te non sicut antea fratribus meis, sed mihi credidi ? Quis enim esses iam quidem acceperam, sed qualis erga me esses nondum tenebam. Ex hac amicitia tua etiam laudes meas, quae me quo fine delectent, satis dixi, multo uberius ecclesiae Christi non dubito profuturas, quando quidem etiam labores meos in defensione evangelii adversus reliquias impiorum daemonicolarum sic habes, sic legis, sic amas, sic praedicas, ut in eis tanto fiam notior, quanto es ipse nobilior ; eos enim latentes inlustris inlustras clarusque declaras, et ubi prodesse posse perspicies, ignorari omnino non sines. Si unde id sciam quaeris, talis mihi apparuisti in litteris tuis. Hinc iam vide quantum me illae litterae delectare potuerint, si bene de me existimans, cogitas quantum me Christi lucra delectent. Iam vero quod te ipsum, qui, ut scribis, a parentibus, ab avis et postrema usque gentis prole

Christi iura percipere potuisti, tamen adversus gentiles ritus ut numquam alias eisdem laboribus

NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI)

See how much I have said, and I have not yet 5 said what it is in your letter that delighted me far more than your eloquence, far more than your praise of myself. What else do you think it is, honoured Sir, than this, that I have gained the friendship of a man of your character, even ^\^thout seeing you—if I ought to use the words " without seeing you," when I have seen your mind, if not your body, in your letter ; in it

I gained an impression of you not, as before, from the testimony of my brethren, but for myself. Already, indeed, I had been told what manner of man you were, but I had not experienced what kind of man vou were towards me. But I am sure that from this friendship of yours even my praises (which delight me in a way I have already sufficiently spoken of) Avill redound all the more richly to the profit of the Church, since you possess and study and admire and commend even my labours in defence of the Gospel against the remnant of ungodly demon-worshippers to such an extent that, in proportion to your high station, I gain all the greater reputation ; illustrious yourself, you add lustre to their lowliness, and celebrated yourself, you celebrate them, and wherever you see that they can do good, you will certainly not allow them to remain unknown.

If you ask me how I know that, it is as such that you have shown yourself to me in your letter. See now from this how great delight your letter was able to give me, if, with your good opinion of me, you think how dehghted I am by gains for Christ. And when you inform me that you yourself, who have had the good fortune, as you say in your letter, to acquire Christian rights from your parents, your grandparents, and even your remotest ancestry, were yet helped by my efforts in the contest with pagan rites

ST. AUGUSTINE

meis adiutum esse significas, parumne cogito quantum boni aliis et quam multis, quam claris et quam facile quamque salubriter per illos ceteris quibus talia conveniunt, possint scripta nostra te comniendante ac disseminante conferre ? Aut hoc cogitans possumne parvorum vel mediocrium gaudiorum iucunditate perfundi ?

6 Quia igitur non potui verbis explicare quantam delectationem de tuis litteris ceperim, unde me delectaverint, dixi. lam quod nequivi satis dicere, id est quantum delectaverint, tibi coniciendum relinquo. Sume itaque, mi fili, sume, vir bone et non in superficie sed Christiana caritate Christiane, sume, inquam, etiam Ubros quos desiderasti, confessionum mearum ; ibi me inspice, ne me laudes ultra quam sum, ibi non aliis de me crede sed mihi, ibi me adtende et vide quid fuerim in me ipso per me ipsum. Et si quid in me tibi placuerit, lauda ibi mecum quern laudari volui de me, neque enim me, quoniam ipse fecit nos et 7ion ipsi nos ; nos autem perdideramus nos, sed qui fecit, refecit. Cum autem ibi me inveneris, ora pro me, ne deficiam, sed perficiar ; ora, fili, ora. Sentio quid dicam, scio quid petam ; non tibi videatur indignum et quasi ultra merita tua ; fraudabis me magno adiutorio, si non feceris. Non solum tu, sed etiam omnes qui me ex ore tuo di-

Ps. xcix. 3.

Here Augustine has an untranslatable four-fold jingle with facio, rejicio, dficio, perficio ; several times elsewhere he has the triple paronomasia, as In loan. Ev. 1. 12 " si per te deficis, Ille te reficiat qui te fecit," In Ps. 94.. 10 "a te deficere potes, tn teipsum reficere non potes; Ille reficit qui te fecit." The play upon deficere and reficere is a favourite with him {In loan. Ev. 11. 5, 52. 3; In Ep. loan. 3. 1, 4. 5; 458

NO. 54. (Ep. CCXXXI) as by nothing else, can I think it a small matter, the amount of good that through your commendation and circulation my writings can bestow on others, and they numerous and famous, and through them easily and profitably on other people in need of some such message ? Or with that thought in mind can I be imbued with the satisfaction of joys that are only slight or commonplace ? Since then I could not express inv.ordsthe extent of 6 the delight your letter gave me, I have spoken of that in it which was the source of my delight, and now I leave you to conjecture for yourself what I have been unable sufficiently to tell, that is, the delight it gave me. Take then, my son, take, excellent Sir, Christian that you are not on the surface only, but with Christian love—take, I repeat, those books of my Confessions that you asked for ; in them behold me, so that you praise me not beyond what I am ; in them give your belief to me, not to others who speak of me ; in them observe me and see what I was of myself, by myself, and if anything in me gives you pleasure, join me in praising for it Him Whom I desired to have praise from me, and not myself; for " He hath made us and not we ourselves""—indeed we had destroyed ourselves, but He Who made us, re-made us. And when in them you find me, pray for me that I may not suffer defeat,^ but may be made complete ; pray, my son, pray. I realize what I am saying ; I know what I am asking ; let it not seem to you unfitting and beyond your merits ; you will deprive me of great assistance, if you do it not. Pray for me, not only you, but all others who have learned to love me

In Ps. 36 ; Serm. 1. 11, 38. 16, 94. 10, 109. 6, 145. 4, 159.

8, 9, 190. 2 ; Discip. Chr. 13. 14 ; C. Sec. 17 ; Ep. 144. 2, etc.).

ST. AUGUSTINE

lexerint, orate pro me. Hoc eis me petivisse indica, aut, si m.ultum nobis tribuitis, iussisse nos existimate quod petimus ; et tamen date petentibus vel obtemperate iubentibus : orate pro nobis. Lege litteras dei et invenies ipsos arietes nostros apostolos petisse hoc a filiis suis sive praecepisse auditoribus suis. Ego certe, quoniam hoc a me petisti pro te, quantum faciam, videt qui exaudiat, qui videbat quia et ante faciebam ; sed redde etiam in hac re dilectionis vicem. Praepositi vestri sumus, grex dei estis ; considerate et videte pericula nostra maiora esse quam vestra, et orate pro nobis—hoc enim et nobis conducit et vobis—ut bonam rationem de vobis reddamus pastorum principi et omnium nostrum capiti pariterque evadamus huius mundi periculosiores blanditias quam molestias, nisi cum pax eius ad hoc proficit quod apostolus orare nos monuit, id est ut quietam vitam et tranquillam agamus in omni pietate et caritate. Si enim desit pietas et caritas. quid est ab iUis et a ceteris mundi malis tranqui Uitas et quies, nisi luxuriae perditionisque materies sive invitamentum sive adiumentum ? Ut ergo habeamus quietam et tranquillam vitam in omni pietate et caritate, quod oro pro vobis, orate pro nobis, ubicumque estis, ubicumque sumus ; nusquam enim non est, cuius sumus.

" 1 Pet. V. 2 ; Hier. xiii. 17. The ram is used of the apostles because they are leaders of the flock (Cassiod. In Ps. 28. 1 " arietes apostoli accipiendi sunt, qui tanquam duces gregum in caulas Domini perduxerunt populum Christianum "), and so occasionally in Augustine (Serm. 135. 7, 311. 2.; In Ps. 64. 18, etc.), but, as suggested by the sacrifice offered by Abraham, the ram is frequently employed as a figure of Christ {Civ. Dei, xvi. 32 " quis erat

NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI) from your lips ; inform them of this my request, or rather, if you esteem me highly, consider that my request is a command ; in any case, grant my request or carry out my command : pray for me. Read God's letters and you will find that the apostles themselves, the leaders " of the flock, requested this from their children or enjoined it on their hearers. For myself, since you make the same request from me for yourself. He Who answers prayer sees to what extent I am doing it, and saw to what extent I was doing it even before ; but in this matter do you show me an equal return of love. We are your overseers, and you are God's flock. Reflect and see that our dangers are greater than yours, and pray for us (for this profits both us and you) that we may render a good account of you to the Chief Shepherd ^ and Head of us all and that we may likewise escape this world's allurements, more dangerous than its afflictions, unless when its peace makes for that for which the apostle warned us to pray, that is, " that Ave may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." ° For if godliness and honesty be wanting, what is quietness and peaceableness from those and the other evils of the world but an opportunity for self-indulgence and destruction, either by inviting to it or by assisting towards it ? So, then, that we may obtain this '' quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty " which my prayers ask for you, let your prayers ask it for me, wherever you are, wherever we are ; for He is everywhere, " Whose ille aries [at the sacrifice of Isaac] . . . nisi lesus?"), and as such it is frequently found in Christian epigraphy.

" 1 Pet. V. 4. «1 Tim. ii. 2.

^ Act. xxvii. 23.

ST. AUGUSTINE

7 Misi et alios libros, quos non petisti, ne hoc tantum modo facerem quod petisti : de fide rerum quae non videntur, de patientia, de continentia, de providentia, et unum grandem de fide et spe et caritate. Hos onmes si duni es intra x\fricam, legeris, iudicium tuum mitte de illis, aut mitte nobis aut quod nobis a domino sene Aurelio mittatur, ibi dimitte. Quamquam et ubieumque fueris, speramus inde litteras tuas et hinc tu, duni possunius, nostras. Suscepi gratissime quae misisti, ubi et salutem meam quamvis corporalem, quoniam vis me utique sine impedimento malae valitudinis deo vacare, et bibliothecam nostram, ut sit unde libri vel parentur vel reparentur, adiuvare dignatus es. Rependat tibi dominus et hie et in futuro saeculo bona quae talibus, qualem te esse voluit, praeparavit. Pignus pacis apud te depositum nostrumque utrique dulcissimum, sicut ante a me salutari, ita nunc resalutari peto.

No. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII) DOMIXIS PRAEDICABILIBUS ET DILECTISSIMIS FRATRIBUS MADAURENSIBUS, QUORUM PER FRATREM FLORENTIUM EPISTULAM ACCEPI, AUGUSTINUS

1 Si forte illi qui inter vos catholici Christiani sunt, talia mihi scripta miserunt, hoc tantum miror, quod " For Aurelius see p. 40, note.

^ For the liyrary at Hippo see note on p. 398.

" 1 Cor. ii. 9. ** Verimodus, his son, as on p. 446.

To this point the letters have been arranged in chronological order, but the remaining letters cannot be dated and are grouped in two divisions, controversial letters, and letters to private individuals. Florentius is not further known ; >Iadaura was mentioned on p. 16, note b. The 462

NO. 54 (Ep. CCXXXI)—NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII)

I am sending other books as well, though you did 7 not ask for them ; I did not want to do only VN'hat you asked and nothing more. They are 0?! Faith in Things Unseen, On Patience. On Continence, On Providence, and a bulky book On Faith, Hope and Charity. If you read all these while in Africa, send me your opinion of them ; either send it to me or send it to a place from ^vhich it can be sent to me by my lord, the Senior Aurehus." Yet wherever you are, I hope to receive letters from you and to send some to you while I am able. I have been very glad to receive the materials you were kind enough to send to the assistance both of my health, though it is only of the body, since you want me to suffer no impediment in the devotion of my time to God, and also of our library,^ so that we may have the means of either preparing books or repairing them. May the Lord recompense you, both in this life and in the life to come, with those blessings He has prepared ^ for such as He has willed that you should be ! I beg you to convey my greetings once again, as you did before, to the pledge of peace ^ entrusted to you and very dear to us both.

No. 55 (Ep. CCXXXH) AUGUSTINE TO MY PRAISEWORTHY LORDS AND WELL-BELOVED BRETHREN OF MADAURA, WHOSE LETTER I RECEIVED BY THE HANDS OF BROTHER FLORENTIUS '

If perchance those who are Catholic Christians 1 among you have sent me a letter of this kind, my letter is interesting for its indication of the survival and the strength of paganism, for which see also Nos. o-Q, 16 and 2A above.

ST. AUGUSTINE

non suo potius quam ordinis nomine. Si autem re vera omnes aut prope omnes ordinis viri ad me dignati estis litteras dare, miror quod " patri " et " in domino salutem " scripsistis, quorum mihi superstitiosus cultus idolorum, contra quae idola facilius templa vestra quam corda clauduntur, vel potius quae idola non magis in templis quam in vestris cordibus includuntur, cum magno est dolore notissimus, nisi forte iam de salute ipsa quae in domino est, per quam me salutare voluistis, tandem prudenti consideratione cogitatis. Nam si non ita est, quaeso vos, quid laesi, quid offendi benivolentiam vestram, ut me titulo epistulae vestrae inridendum potius quam honorandum esse putaretis, domini praedicabiles et dilectissimi fratres ?

2 Quod enim scripsistis : " Patri Augustino in domino aeternam salutem," cum legerem, tanta spe subito erectus sum, ut crederem vos ad ipsum . dominum et ad ipsam aeternam salutem aut iam esse conversos aut per nostrum ministerium desiderare converti. Sed ubi legi cetera, refriguit animus meus ; quaesivi tamen ab epistulae perlatore utrum iam vel essetis Christiani vel esse cuperetis. Cuius responsione posteaquam comperi nequaquam vos esse mutatos, gravius dolui, quod Christi nomen, cui iam totum orbem subiectum esse conspicitis, non solum a vobis repellendum. sed etiam in nobis inridendum esse credidistis. Non enim potui cogitare

The Ordo was the Senate of the municlpium or municipal town of the Provinces ; sometimes it is called curia.

Its members are decuriones or cnrlales. See too No. 24 § 8 "cum leges . . . episcopus ordini replicasset." The word Senatus was at this time reserved for the Senate at Rome.

^ As was ordered by the laws of 399 (Cod. Theod. xvi. x. 464

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII) only surprise is that it was in the name of the municipal senate '^ instead of their own. But if, in very truth, you all or almost all of the municipal senate have deigned to write to me, I am surprised that you have written the words " To Father Augustine "; for to my great grief and " Salutation in the Lord "

I am well aware of your superstitious devotion to idols, against which idols it is easier to close your temples ^ than your hearts, or rather those idols are more enclosed in your hearts than they are in your temples. But perhaps you have at last given wise consideration and thought to that salutary life which is in the Lord and in which you wanted to give me salutation. For if it be not so, I ask you, praiseworthy lords and well-beloved brethren, what harm have I done to your Benevolences, what offence have I given, that you should think fit to mock at me by the superscription of your letter instead of honouring me ? For when I read the words you ^vTote, " To Father 2 Augustine, eternal salutation in the Lord," I was suddenly uphfted ^^ith such hope as to believe that you had already turned to this Lord and this eternal salvation, or were through my ministry desirous of turning. But when I read the rest, my spirit was chilled : I inquired, however, from the bearer of the letter whether you were already Christians or were anxious to become so. After learning from his answer that you were in no way changed, I was the more deeply grieved that you thought fit not only to spurn from you the name of Christ to which you see the whole world already in subjection, but even to make mock of it in my person. For I was 15-18) and 408 {ib. yivi. x. 19), when the pagan temples were confiscated or turned to public uses.

ST. AUGUSTINE

alterum dominum, secundum quein posset episcopus

pater " a vobis vocari, praeter dominum Christum, et si esset hinc aliqua de interpretatione vestrae sententiae dubitatio, subscriptione epistulae tolleretur, ubi aperte posuistis : " Optamus te, domine, in deo et Christo eius per multos annos semper in clero tuo gaudere." Quibus omnibus perlectis atque discussis, quid aliud mihi occurrere potuit aut cuilibet homini potest, nisi aut veridico aut fallaci scribentium animo haec esse conscripta ? Sed si veridico animo ista scribitis, quis vobis ad banc veritatem interclusit viam ? Quis aspera dumeta substravit ? Quis rupium praerupta inimicus opposuit ? Postremo quis basilicae ianuam ingredi cupientibus clausit, ut in eodem domino per quem nos salutatis, eandem salutem nobiscum habere nohtis ? Si autem fallaciter atque inridenter haec scribitis, itane tandem mihi negotia vestra curanda inponitis, ut nomen eius per quem aUquid possum, audeatis non veneratione debita adtollere, sed insultatione adulatoria ventilare ?

3 Sciatis me, carissimi, cum inef Fabih pro vobis tremore cordis haec dicere ; novi enim quanto graviorem et perniciosiorem causam sitis habituri apud deum, si frustra vobis haec dixero. Omnia quae praeteritis temporibus erga humanum genus maiores nostri gesta esse meminerunt nobisque

4S6

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII) unable to think of any other Lord in whom a bishop could be addressed by you as " Father," except the Lord Christ ; and if there were any doubt on this point about the meaning of the words you used, it would be removed by the closing sentence of your '* We pray, my lord, that always in company with your clergy you may rejoice in God and His Christ for many years." After reading it all and pondering letter, in which you plainly put the words, it, what else could I, what else can any man, think than that it was written either as a genuine expression of the writers' mind or vvith an intention to deceive ? But if what you wrote is a genuine expression of your mind, who has barred your way to this truth ? Who has strewn it with sharp thorns ? Who has out of enmity set up steep rocks against you ? Who, finally, has shut the church door in your face when you sought to enter, that you refuse to be partakers with us of that same salvation in that same Lord by whom you gave us salutation ? But if it was with the intention to deceive and to mock that you wrote what you did, is that indeed the way in which to lay upon me the conduct of your affairs, not exalting with due honour the name of Him through Whom it is possible for me to do anything, but having the effrontery to bandy it about with insulting flattery ? You must understand, my dear friends, that it is 3 with unspeakable quaking of the heart on your account that I say this to you, for I realize how much greater will be the seriousness and the doom of your case before God, if what I say to you has no effect. There is nothing that has happened to the human race in past times and has been recorded and handed down to us by our ancestors, nothing either that we

ST. AUGUSTINE

tradiderunt, omnia etiam quae nos videmus et posteris tradimus, quae tamen pertinent ad veram religioneni quaerendani et tenendam, divina scriptura non taeuit, sed ita oninino cuncta transeunt, ut transitura esse praedicta sunt. Videtis certe populum ludaeorum avulsum a sedibus suis per omnes fere terras disseminatum atque diffusum ; et origo eiusdem populi et incrementa et regni amissio et per cuncta dispersio sicut praedicta, ita facta sunt. Videtis certe ex ipso populo verbum dei legemque prodeuntem per Christum, qui ex illis mirabiliter natus est, omnium gentium fidem occupasse atque tenuisse ; ita haec omnia praenuntiata legimus, ut videmus. Videtis certe multos praecisos a radice Christianae societatis, quae per sedes apostolorum et successiones episcoporum certa per orbem propagatione diffunditur, de sola figura originis sub Christiano nomine quasi arescentia sarmenta gloriari, quas haereses et schismata nominamus ; praevisa, praedicta, scripta sunt omnia. Videtis certe simulacrorum templa partim sine reparatione conlapsa, partim diruta, partim clausa, partim in usus alios commutata, ipsaque simulacra vel confringi vel incendi vel includi vel destrui, atque ipsas huius saeculi potestates, quae aliquando pro simulacris populum Christianum persequbeantur, victas et domitas non a repugnantibus sed a morientibus Christianis et "^ Like the temple of Caelestis at Carthage, which was closed for pagan worship in 391, but consecrated by bishop Aurelius in 399 as a Christian church. In C. Gaud. i. 38. 51 Augustine speaks of pagan temples overthrown by the Donatists ; " pagan i quorum certe templa evertistis et basilicas construxistis." The passage in Serm. 163. 2 bears a resemblance to the text: " loca ipsa terrena [i.e. pagan 468

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII) experience and hand down to our posterity, that Holy Scripture has not spoken of, as far as it pertains to the seekinpf and the holding of true rehorion ; everything comes to pass exactly as it was foretold it would come to pass. You plainly see the Jewish people torn from their abode and dispersed and scattered throughout almost the whole world ; the origin of that people and its development and the loss of its realm and its dispersion everywhere— everything has happened just as it was foretold. You plainly see that the word of God and the law that came forth from that same people through Christ (Who was miraculously born of them) has laid fast hold upon the faith of all the nations ; all these things, as we may read, were predicted just as we see them. You plainly see many cut off from the root of the Christian society, which through the sees of the apostles and the succession of bishops is spread abroad in unmistakable diffusion throughout the world, who yet boast, under cover of the Christian name, of the mere outward likeness they bear to their origin, like withered branches, which we term heresies and schisms ; it was all foreseen, foretold and put down in writing. You plainly see some of the temples of idols fallen into ruin and not restored, some cast down, some closed, some converted to other uses," and the idols themselves either smashed to pieces or burned or destroyed ; and you see how the powers of this world, who at one time for the sake of their idols persecuted the Christian people, are vanquished and subdued by Christians who did not take up arms but laid down their lives, and have now turned temples] in melius convertuntur, alia diruuntur atqiie franguntur, alia in meliores usus commutantur."

ST. AUGUSTINE

contra eadem simulacra, pro quibus Christianos occidebant, impetus suos legesque vertisse et imperii nobilissimi eminentissimum culmen ad sepulcrum piscatoris Petri submisso diademate supplicare.

4 Haec omnia divinae scripturae, quae in manus omnium iam venerunt, ante longissima tempora futura esse testatae sunt ; haec omnia tanto robustiore fide laetamur fieri, quanto maiore auctoritate praedicta esse in Sanctis litteris invenimus. Numquidnam, obsecro vos, numquidnam solum iudicium dei, quod inter fideles atque infideles futurum esse in eisdem litteris legimus, cum ilia omnia, sicut praedicta sunt, venerint, numquidnam solum iudicium dei venturum non esse putabimus ? Immo vero veniet, sicut omnia ilia venerunt. Nee quisquam erit homo nostrorum temporum, qui se in illo iudicio de sua possit infidelitate defendere, cum Christum cantet et iustus ad aequitatem et periurus ad fraudem et rex ad imperium et miles ad pugnam et maritus propter regimen et uxor propter obsequium et pater propter praeceptum et filius propter oboedientiam et dominus propter dominationem et servus propter famulatum et humilis ad pietatem et superbus ad aemulationem et dives, ut porrigat, et pauper, ut sumat, et ebriosus ad phialam et mendicus ad ianuam " Augustine is probably not thinking of any specific incident, but he might well have had in mind the subjection of the Emperor Theodosius to the Church under St. Ambrose. And yet, in spite of his eloquence here, he acknowledges elsewhere that Rome itself was still given over to idolatry {Conf. viii. 2-3) ; in Ep. xxxvi. 4, he speaks of the Church as " toto terrarum orbe diffusam, exceptis Romanis." This fact accounts for the scant sympathy he shows at the fall of Rome {Excid. Urbis, ii.). His language here is paralleled by the words of St. John Chrysostom (C. Jud. et Gent. § 9) iv TTj ^aatXiKojTdTri 7r6\ei 'Pwyu.??, iravTa acpUvTs, iiri tovs Td(f>ovs 470

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII) their attacks and their laws against the very idols for whose sake they were in the habit of slaying Christians ; and you see the most eminent dignitary of this noble Empire lay aside his crown and bow in supplication before the tomb of the fisherman Peter.'*

All these things were long, long ago foretold to 4 be coming to pass by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which has now come into the hands of everyone : all of them have happened, to our joy and to the greater strengthening of our faith as we find the Holy Scripture foretold them ^vith a more imposing authority. Are we then, I ask you, to imagine that it is God's judgement alone, which those same Books foretell to their readers as deciding between the believing and theunbe Ueving—are we then to imagine that this judgement of God's alone will not come about, when all those other things came about just as they were foretold ? Yea, verily, just as they all came about, so it too will come. Nor will there be any man of our times who at that judgement will be able to put forward any defence for being an unbe Uever, when the name of Christ is on every man's lips : the righteous invokes it for justice, and the perjurer for deceit and the king for rule and the soldier for battle and the husband for estab Ushing his authority and the wife as a sign of her submission and the father for his commands and the son for his obedience, the master for his lordship and the servant for his service, the humble man for piety and the proud man for ambition, the rich man when he gives away and the poor man when he receives, the drunkard in his cups and the beggar at the gate, and Tov dXtews Kal rod o-ktjvottolov rpexovcn Kal /SacrtXets /cat vraroi

Kal (TTpaTrjyoi.

ST. AUGUSTINE

et bonus, ut praestet, et malus, ut fallat, et Christianus venerator et paganus adulator ; omnes Christum cantant et, qua voluntate atque ore cantent, eidem ipsi, quern cantant, rationem sine dubio reddituri sunt.

5 Est quiddam invisibile, ex quo creatore principio sunt omnia quae videmus, summum, aeternum, incommutabile et nulli ef Fabile nisi tantum sibi. Est quiddam, quo se ipsa summitas maiestatis narrat et praedicat, non inpar gignenti atque narranti, verbum quo ille qui verbum gignit, ostenditur. Est quaedam sanctitas, omnium quae sancte fiunt, sanctificatrix, ipsius incommutabilis verbi, per quod narratur illud principium, et ipsius principii, quod pari se verbo narrat, inseparabilis et indivisa communio. Quis autem hoc totum, quod non dicendo dicere conatus sum et dicendo non dicere, quis hoc possit serenissima et sincerissima mente contueri eoque contuitu beatitudinem ducere, atque in id quod intuetur, deficiens quodam modo se oblivisci et pergere in illud, cuius visione sibi vilis est, quod est inmortalitate indui et obtinere aeternam salutem, per quam me salutare dignamini—quis hoc possit, nisi qui omnes " Salvian, Gub. Dei, iv. 15. 71, gives similar testimony to the common use of the name of Christ : " Quis est omnino hominum saecularium praeter paucos, qui non ad hoc semper Christi nomen in ore habeat ut peieret ? Unde etiam pervulgatum hoc fere et apud nobiles et apud ignobiles sacramentum est : ' per Christum quia hoc facio,' ' per Christum quia hoc ago,' . . . ¥A quid plura ? In id penitus deducta res est, ut . . . Christi nomen non videatur iam sacramentum esse, sed sermo." Augustine seems nowhere else to refer to this practice, but he frequently does speak of the profane invocation of God's name, which he confesses having been addicted to himself (*SVrm. 180. 10, " iuravimus 472

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII) the good man that he may do good and the bad man that he may deceive, both the Christian worshipper and the pagan time-server—all repeat the name of Christ, and with what purpose and what lips they repeat it, to that same Christ, whose name they repeat, they shall most assuredly render an account. ° (There is an invisible something from which, as a 5 creator and first cause, all that we see derives its being, supreme, eternal, unchangeable and inexpressible save only to itself. There is a something by which that supreme majesty utters and declares itself, the Word, not inferior to its begetter and utterer, by which He Who begets the Word reveals Himself. There is a certain holy thing, the sanctifier of everything that is begotten in sanctity, which inseparably and undividedly unites that unchangeable Word, through which the First Principle utters itself, with the First Principle, M'hich utters itself in the Word which is its equal. Who could contemplate with perfectly tranquil and pure mind this whole, which I have attempted to express \\'ithout expressing it and by expressing it not to express, and from that contemplation draw blessedness, and lose and forget self in that object of contemplation, and press forward to that which, once seen, makes man hold himself as nothing—M'hich means to be clothed with immortality and to lay hold upon that eternal salvation, in which you think fit to give me salutation —who could do this, save he who, confessing his sins, et nos passim, habuimus istam teterrimam consuetudinem; cf. Serm. 307, 4-5, and for the common habit, Serm. 12. 3, 180). He also mentions, in Serm. 4. 6, the familiar habit of swearing " per lumina mea." et mortiferam "

ST. AUGUSTINE

superbiae suae toros inanes peccata sua confitens complanaverit seque substraverit mitem atque humilem ad excipiendum doctorem deum ?

6 Quoniam ergo a vanitate superbiae prius ad humilitatem deponendi sumus, ut inde surgentes solidam celsitudinem teneamus, non potuit nobis hoe tanto magnificentius quanto blandius inspirari, ut nostra ferocitas non vi sed persuasione sedaretur, nisi verbum illud, per quod se angelis indicat deus pater, quod \-irtus et sapientia eius est, quod corde humano visibilium rerum cupiditate caecato videri non poterat, personam suam in homine agere atque ostendere dignaretur, ut magis homo timeret extolli fastu hominis quam humi Uari exemplo dei. Itaque non Christus regno terreno decoratus, nee Christus terrenis opibus dives, nee Christus ulla terrena felicitate praefulgens, sed Christus crucifixus per totum terrarum orbem praedicatur, quod riserunt prius populi superborum et adhuc rident rehquiae, crediderunt autem prius pauci, nunc populi, quia tunc ad fidem paucorum et contra inrisionem populorum, cum Christus crucifixus praedicaretur, claudi ambulabant, muti loquebantur, surdi audiebant, caeci videbant, mortui resurgebant. Sic tandem animadvertit terrena superbia nihil in ipsis terris esse potentius humilitate divina, ut etiam saluberrima humilitas humana contra insultantem sibi superbiam divinae imitationis patrocinio tueretur.

" Matt. xi. 5 ; Luke vii. 22.

474)

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII) has laid low all the empty swellings of his pride and prostrated himself in meekness and humility to receive God as his teacher ? ) Since then we have first to be reduced from the 6 vanity of pride to humility, so that rising thence we may acquire real exaltation, it was impossible for us to have communicated to us this spirit (the more glorious for its very gentleness) whereby our ungovernableness is subdued by persuasion instead of by force, had not this Word—through Whom God the Father reveals Himself to the angels," Who is His strength and wisdom. Whom the human heart, blinded by the desire for things visible, was unable to perceive—condescended to act out His part in human form and exhibit His being in such a way as to make mankind more afraid of being uplifted by the pride of man than of being brought low by the example of God. So the Christ Who is preached throughout the world is not a Christ Who is adorned with an earthly kingdom ^ nor a Christ rich in earthly possessions, nor a Christ shining with any earthly splendour, but Christ crucified.^ This was a matter for ridicule at first by proud nations and still is to a remnant, but it was a matter for faith first to a few, now to nations, for then according to the faith of the few and in spite of the ridicule of the nations, when Christ crucified was preached, the lame walked, the dumb spoke, the deaf heard, the blind saw, and the dead rose again. ^ Thus at last conviction was brought to the pride of the world that nothing in the world itself was more potent than divine humility, so that under the protection of that divine example the most wholesome human humility may find shelter against the scornful assaults of pride.

ST. AUGUSTINE

7 Expergiscimini aliquando, fratres mei et parentes mei Madaurenses ; hanc occasionem scribendi vobis deus mihi obtulit. Quantum potui quidem in negotio fratris Florenti, per quern litteras misistis, sicut deus voluit, adfui et adiuvi ; sed tale negotium erat, quod etiam sine opera mea facile peragi posset; prope omnes enim domus ipsius homines qui apud Hipponem sunt, noverunt Florentium et multum eius orbitatem dolent. Sed epistula mihi a vobis missa est, ut non inpudens esset epistula mea, cum occasione a vobis accepta idolorum cultoribus de Christo aliquid loqueretur. Sed obsecro vos, si eum non inaniter in mea epistula nominastis, ut non inaniter vobis haec scripserim. Si autem me inridere voluistis, timete ilium, quem prius iudicatum inrisit superbus orbis terrarum et nunc iudicem subiectus expectat ; erit enim testis afl Pectus in vos cordis mei per hanc, quantum potui, paginam expressus, erit testis vobis in iudicio eius, qui credentes sibi confirmaturus est et incredulos confusurus. Deus unus et verus vos ab omni huius saeculi vanitate liberatos convertat ad se, domini praedicabiles et dilectissimi fratres.

" The editors say that Augustine uses the term " fathers " here because he was born at Tagaste, which is not far from Madaura, and studied in Madaura as a boy.

NO. 55 (Ep. CCXXXII)

Awake at last from your slumbers, ye men of 7 Madaura, my brethren and my fathers ! ° This opportunity of writing to you has been furnished me by God. As far as was possible, I stood by and gave my assistance, as God willed, in this affair of brother Florentius, who brought your letter to me ; but the affair was such that even without my aid it could very easily have been carried through, for almost all the men of that family who are at Hippo know Florentius and deeply lament his bereavement. But your having sent a letter to me made it not presumiptuous in me to write to you and, availing myself of the opportunity you provided, to say something to idol-worshippers about Christ. But I beseech you, if your naming of Him in your letter was not a vain gesture, that what I have written to ypu may not be in vain. If you wanted to make mock of me, fear Him Who on being at first condemned was made mock of by the proud world, which now awaits Him in subjection as Judge. For my heart's desire for you, expressed as well as I could in these pages, will be a witness against you at His judgement, when He will confirm those who believe in Him and confound those who do not. May the one true God free you from all the vanity of this world, my praiseworthy lords and well-beloved brethren, and turn vou to Himself.

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 56 (Ep. CCXLV) DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ET VENERABILI FRA-

TRI ET COXSACERDOTI POSSIDIO ET QUI TECUM SUNT FRATRIBUS AUGUSTINUS ET QUI MECUM SUNT FRATRES IN DOMINO SALUTE

1 Magis quid agas cum eis qui obtemperare nolunt, cogitandum est, quam quern ad modum eis ostendas non licere quod faciunt. Sed nunc epistula sanctitatis tuae et occupatissimum me repperit et celerrimus baiuli reditus neque non rescribere tibi neque ad ea quae consuluisti, ita ut oportet, respondere pemiisit. Nolo tamen de ornamentis auri vel vestis praeproperam habeas in prohibendo sententiam, nisi eos qui, neque coniugati neque coniugari cupientes, cogitare debent quo modo placeant deo. Illi autem cogitant quae sunt mundi, quo modo placeant vel wi uxoribus vel mulieres maritis,nisi quod capillos nudare feminas, quas etiam caput velare apostolus iubet, nee maritatas decet ; fucari autem pigmentis, quo vel rubicundior vel candidior appareat, adulterina " For Possidius see pp. 128, 190 above.

" 1 Cor. vii. 32-34. " 1 Cor. xi. 5-6.

The habit of painting the face was denounced by all the Christian writers : Tertullian, De Cidt. Fern. ii. 7 " videbo an eum cerussa et purpurisso et croco et in illo ambitu capitis resurgatis "; Cyprian, De Uab. Vlrg. 14, blames the fallen angels for teaching " oculos nigrore fucare et genas mendacio ruboris inficere et mutare adulterinis coloribus crinem "; Ambr. De Virginibvs, i. 6. 28 " quaesitis coloribus ora depingant, dum viris displicere formidant "; and frequently by Jerome: Ep. 54. 7 "quid facit in facie Christianae purpurissus et cerussa ? "; Ep. 107. 5 "cave ne aures perfores, ne cerussa et purpurisso 478

NO. 56 (Ep. CCXLV)

No. 56 (Ep. CCXLV)

TO MY WELL-BELOVED LORD AND VENERABLE

BROTHER AND FELLOW-PRIEST, POSSIDIUS,« AND THE BRETHREN WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE AND THE BRETHREN WHO ARE WITH ME SEND GREETING IN THE LORD

What you are to do with those who refuse to 1 comply requires more consideration than how you can show them that what they are doing is unlawful. But at present the letter of your Holiness has found me extremely busy and at the same time the bearer's great haste to return has not allowed me either to make no reply to you or to give an adequate answer to the problems on which you asked my advice.

Still, I should not like you to make any over-hasty decision about the forbidding of ornaments of gold or finery, except that those who are neither married nor desirous of being married ought to be thinking how they may please God. For that class of people think of worldly things, how they may, if they are husbands, please their wives, or if wives, please their husbands ^ ; the one exception is that it is not becoming in women, even in those who are married, to uncover their hair, since the apostle bids them cover the whole head.*' But as for painting the face ^ so that it may appear ruddier or fairer, this is immoral deceit.

. . . ora depingas." In Doct. Chr. iv. 2L 49 Augustine quotes passages from Cyprian and Ambrose on women who paint the face, and in I)e Bono Vidtiitat/s, 19. 24, he advises a virgin and a widow " simulatum candorem ac ruborem et pigmentis il Htum non adhiberetis, etiamsi viros haberetis non putantes dignos quos falleretis, nee vos quae fallere deberetis."

ST. AUGUSTINE

fallacia est, qua non dubito etiam ipsos maritos se nolle decipi, quibus solis permittendae sunt feminae ornari secundum veniam, non secundum imperium. Nam verus ornatus maxime Christianorum et Christianarum non tantum nullus fucus mendax verum ne auri quidem vestisque pompa, sed mores boni sunt, Execranda autem superstitio ligaturarum, in quibus etiam inaures virorum in summis ex una parte auriculis suspensae deputantur : non ad placendum hominibus sed ad serviendum daemonibus adhibentur. Quis autem possit speciales nefariarum superstitionum prohibitiones in scripturis invenire, cum generaliter apostolus dicat : Solo vos socios fieri claemo7iiorum, et iterum : Quae enim consojiantia Ckristi ad Belial? nisi forte, quia Belial nominavit et generalem societatem daemoniorum prohibuit, licet

Christianis sacrificare Neptune, quia nihil propria de

These amulets were used especially to cure diseases, and their use seems to have been common at this time. Augustine repeatedly refers to it {In Ps. 33, Seryn. 2, 18 ; 93. 20 ; In loan. Ev. 3. 14 ; Serm. 286. 7, 318. 3, etc.) and in De iJoctr. Chr. ii. 20. 30 mentions it among other charms, especially the earrings spoken of in the text : ' ad hoc genus

[superstitionis] pertinent omnes etiam ligaturae atque remedia. . . sive in praecantationibus, sive in quibusdam notis quos ' vocant, sive in quibusque rebus suspenden- ' characteres dis atque illigandis vel etiam aptandis quodammodo . . . ad quasdam significationes aut occultas aut etiam manifestas ; . . . sicut sunt inaures in summo aurium singularum aut de struthionum ossibus ansulae in digitis, aut cum tibi dicitur singultienti, ut dextera manu sinistrum pol Hcem teneas." He complains too that the ligaturae had the name of Christ written on them, so as to avert the suspicion of the Christians {In lo. Ev. 7. 6), and that it was a common practice to fasten a copy of the Gospels to the head, if it ached, as a doubly sure ligatura {ih. 7. 12).

NO. 56 (Ep. CCXL\0

I am quite sure that even their own husbands do not want to be so taken in, and they are the only people for whom women should be allowed to adorn themselves, and that as a concession, not as a command. For not only is lying paint no real adornment of Christian men and women, nor yet is the ostentation of gold and finery ; but a good character is.

It is an accursed superstition to wear amulets," 2 among which must be reckoned also the earrings that men wear on the top part of the ear on one side ; they are employed not to please men, but to do homage to devils. Who could expect to find in the Scriptures individual prohibitions of every kind of ungodly superstition, when the apostle says in general terms, " I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils,"'' and again, "For what concord hath Christ ^^-ith Belial ? ",^ unless in naming

Belial and forbidding in general terms fellowship \Wth devils, he perchance allowed Christians to sacrifice to Neptune, because we do not read that any prohibition was made of Neptune specifically.

The habit of wearing earrings is denounced by Cyprian, De Hah. Virg. 14. " an vulnera inferre auribiis Deus voliiit, quibus innocens adhuc infantia et maU saecularis ignara crucietur, ut postea de aurium cicatricibus et cavernis pretiosa grana dependeant, gravia etsi non siio pondere, mercium tamen qaantitate?" and Jerome, Ep. 127. 3 " illae solent purpurisso et cerussa ora depingere . . . et auribus perforatis Rubri Maris pretiosissima grana suspendere." These passages refer to the wearing of earrings by women : there is scantv evidence for their use by men.

The cult of Neptune is mentioned several times by Augustine and seems to have been fairly common in North Africa (C. Cresc. iii. 78. 89 ; Doctr. Chr. iii. 7. 11 ; In Ps. 183 ; Serm. 2, o ; In Ps. 145, 6. 12, etc.).

2 I 481

ST. AUGUSTINE

Neptuno vetitum legimus. Moneantur interim miserij ut, si obtemperare nolunt praeceptis salubrioribus, saltern sacrilegia sua non defendant, ne maiore se scelere implicent. Quid autem cum eis agendum sit, si solvere inaures timent et corpus Christi cum signo diaboli accipere non timent ?

De ordinando autem, qui in parte Donati baptizatus est, auctor tibi esse non possum ; aliud est enim facere, si cogaris, aliud consulere ut facias.

No. 57 (Ep. CCXLVI)

LAMPADIO AUGUSTINUS

1 De quaestione fati ac fortunae, qua tuum animum non leviter moveri et, cum praesens essem, adverti et nunc tuis litteris gratius certiusque cognovi, rescriptum tibi non parvi voluminis debeo, quod dominus praestabit ut ita explicem, quem ad modum novit tibi congruere ac saluti fidei tuae. Non enim parvum malum est perversis opinionibus non solum ad committendum blandimento voluptatis adduci, sed etiam ad defendendum peccatum a medicamento confessionis averti.

2 Illud sane quanto citius ac breviter noveris, omnes leges atque instituta omnia, disciplinae, laudes, vituperationes, exhortationes, terrores, praemia, sup-

Lampadius appears to be mentioned only here.

NO. 56 (Ep. CCXL\')—NO. 57 (Ep. CCXLVI)

Meanwhile, let those unhappy people be warned that if they refuse to comply Mith these more wholesome counsels, they must at least refrain from defending their acts of irreverence, from fear of involving themselves in greater guilt. Yet what are we to do ^^-ith them, if they are afraid to put off their earrings and are not afraid to receive the body of Christ while wearing the devil's badge ?

I cannot accept responsibihty for the ordaining of one who was baptized in the Donatist party ; it is one thing to do it if you are compelled, and another thing to ad\'ise you to do it.

No. 57 (Ep. CCXLVI)

AUGUSTINE TO LAMPADIUS ^

On the problem of Fate and Chance, which is seri1 ously perturbing your mind, as I noticed when I was with vou and am now assured in a more m-atifvinsr and definite manner by your letter, I ought to reply to you at considerable length ; the Lord will enable me to furnish you with such an explanation as He knows

Mill be best suited for you and for your spiritual welfare. For it is no shght e\il that perverted opinions not only induce men by the allurement of pleasure to commit sin, but lead them away from the remedy of confession to a defence of their sin.

Let me, however, at once and in a word assure 2 you of this, that all legislation and all rules, all repressions, all commendations, censures, exhortations, menaces, rewards, punishments, and all other things

ST. AUGUSTINE

plicia, ceteraque omnia quibus hunianum genus administratur et regitur, penitus labefactari atque subvert! nihilque in eis omnino iustitiae remanere, nisi voluntas sit causa peccandi. Quanto ergo licentius et aequius mathematiccrum inprobamus errores, quam divinas leges vel etiam domorum nostrarum curam damnare atque abicere cogimur, quod nee ipsi mathematici faciunt ! Nam cum aliquis eorum hominibus nummatis fatua fata vendiderit, mox ut oculum a tabellis eburneis ad domus suae moderamen ac sollicitudinem revocaverit, non solum vocibus sed etiam plagis emendat uxorem, non dico si petulantius iocantem, sed si inmoderatius per fenestram aspicientem animadverterit. Quae tamen si ei dicat : " Quid me caedis ? Venerem caede, si potes, a qua cogor hoc facere," tunc vero ille non curat, quam vana verba componat fallendis extraneis, sed quam iusta verbera inponat corrigendis suis.

3 Quando ergo quisque, cum reprehendi coeperit, causam convertit in fatum et ideo se culpari non vult, quia fato se dicit coactum fecisse id quod arguitur, " Mathematicus was the popular term for " astrologer " from the time of Tacitus and Juvenal, and Augustine follows other writers in explaining that the proper term is genetldiaci {Boot. Chr, ii. 21. 32 ; D'n. Quaest. xlv. 2). In Conf. iv. 3, he tells how he once consulted astrologers himself. He often has occasion to point out the absurdity of their pretensions {Gen. ad Litt. 2. 35 ; In loan. Ev. 8. 11 ; In Ps. 40. 3, 61. 23, 140. 9 where he repeats very nearly the words of this letter : " mathematicus si uxorem suam paulo petulantius viderit conversari . . . aut fenestram crebro repetere, nonne arripit, verberat, et dat disciplinam ? Respondeat illi uxor : ' Si potes, Venerem caede, non me ' "; Ep. Iv. 12-13, where he repeats his argument that to believe them is to deny the 484

NO. 57 (Ep. CCXLVI) by which the human race is controlled and governed, are utterly overthrown and subverted and left devoid of any particle of justice, if the cause of sinning is not the ^^dll. How much more legitimate and right, therefore, is it for us to reject the errors of the astrologers ,** than to be forced to condemn and repudiate the divine laws or even the supervision of our oMTi households. The astrologers themselves do not do so, for when one of them has sold his silly horoscopes to wealthy persons and turns his eyes away from the ivory tablets to the management and supervision of his own household, he immediately reproves his wife, not with objurgations only but even

M'ith blows, if he finds her not to say engaged in froward dalliance, but even looking too much out of the window. Yet if she were to say to him : " Why do you beat me ? Beat Venus, if you can, for it is the influence of her planet that makes me do this," his concern then is not what empty jargon he can concoct for the deception of strangers, but what just lashes he can inflict for the correction of his own household.^

When a man, then, upon receiving censure, throws 3 the responsibility on Fate and therefore declines to accept the blame on the ground that it was under the compulsion of Fate that he did the action which freedom of the will). Astrologers were condemned both by civil laws (in 357, 358, 370, 409), and by ecclesiastical councils, but they continued to flourish.

The careful and prolonged jingle in verba componat fa Uendis extrane'is and verhera inponat corrigendls suis is almost beyond reproduction in English. The play on verba and verbera, or verbero, is not infrequent in Augustine (Ep. clxxxv. 15 ; Fid. et Symb. 3. 3 ; In loan. Ev. 37. 4). So in No. 59. 1, abripiii and subripuL 485

ST. AUGUSTINE

redeat ad se ipsum, servet hoc in siiis, non castiget servum furem, fton de contumelioso filio conqueratur, vicino inprobo non minetur. Quid enim horum faciens iuste facit, si omnes a quibus iniiirias patitur, non culpa sua sed fato inpelluntur ut faciant ? Si autem iure proprio et patris familias diligentia, quoscumque homines pro tempore in potestate habet, hortatur ad bonum, deterret a malo, imperat suae voluntati ut obtemperent, honorat eos qui sibi ad nutum oboediunt, vindicat in eos qui se contemnunt, rependit gratiam beneficis, odit ingratos, egone expectabo ut contra fatum disputet, cum tanta eum non verbis sed factis eloqui deprehendam, ut prope manibus suis omnes mathematicorum lapillos supra capita eorum frangere videatur ? His itaque paucis si a\dditas tua contenta non est et hbrum ahquem de hac re, quem diutius legas, desideras, patienter tibi sunt expectandae vacationes nostrae et rogandus deus, qui et otium et facultatem satiando de hac re animo tuo tribuere dignetur. Ero tamen alacrior, si et saepe commemorare me Htteris tuam non piguerit caritatem, et quid de hac epistula sentias, rescribendo edocueris.

NO. 57 (Ep. CCXLVI) is condemned, let him come to himself again and observe this same principle in dealing v,ith those attached to him ; let him refrain from chastising a servant who steals ; let him utter no complaint of an abusive son and no threats to an offensive neighbour. Would he be acting justly in doing any of these things, if all those who do him some injury are driven to perform such actions, not by any fault of their own, but by Fate ? If, however, from his personal rights and his responsibility as the head of a household, he exhorts to good those persons who for the time being are under his authority, deters them from doing evil and commands them to carry out his will, honours those who obey his nod, punishes those who set him at naught, renders thanks to the obliging, and hates those who are ill-disposed—shall

I expect him to argue against Fate, when I find him proclaiming, not in words but in deeds, such convictions as to make him almost appear to be breaking with his own hands all the tables of the astrologers over their own heads ? So then, if these few remarks do not appease your thirst for information and you desire on this subject a book that will take a longer time to read, you must await ^\1th patience until I have a free interval, and ask God to be pleased to grant me both the leisure and the ability to satisfy your mind on this question. Yet my eagerness ^\dll be increased, if your charity does not grudge to ^\Tite often and remind me, and also to reply informing me what }^ou think about this letter.

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 58 (Ep. CCLIV) DOMINO BEATISSIMO ET VENERABILI AC DE-

SIDERABILI FRATRI ET CONSACERDOTI BENENATO ET QUI TECUM SUNT FRATRIBUS AUGUSTINUS ET QUI MECUM SUNT FRATRES IX DOMINO SALUTEM

Puella de qua mihi scripsit sanctitas tua, in ea voluntate est, ut, si aetas ei iam matura esset, nulli in nuptiis conveniret. In ea vero aetate est, ut, si voluntatem nubendi haberet, nulli adhuc dari vel promitti deberet. Hue accedit quia earn deus in eeclesia sic tuetur, ut contra inprobos tueatur, non ut cui voluero tradi possit, sed ut a quo non oportet rapi non possit, domine Benenate dilectissime et venerabilis frater. Condicio itaque quam insinuare dignatus es, non mihi displicet, si nuptura est ; utrum autem nuptura sit, etsi illud quod in ore habet magis optamus, nunc tamen ignoramus, quia in his annis est ut et quod se dicit velle esse sanctimonialem, iocus sit potius garrientis quam sponsio profitentis. Deinde habet materteram, cuius vir honorabilis frater noster Fehx, dum de hac re contulissem cum illo—neque enim possem aUter " Benenatus was bishop of Tugutiana, the site of which is not known. The girl referred to was an orphan whom her father, a vir spectab Uis (probably a magistrate), had entrusted to the guardianship of the Church. Four letters were written by Augustine about her : cclii. to one Felix, declining to take any action concerning her without consulting another guardian, ccliii. to Benenatus, expressing surprise at receiving through him the proposal for a marriage with a pagan, ccliv. here translated, and civ. to Rusticus, the pagan who had sought her hand, bluntly refusing his request. The practice of caring for orphans dates from the early years of the Church, and it

TO BENENATUS,^ MY SAINTLY AND REVERED

LORD AND LONGED FOR BROTHER AND FELLOW-PRIEST, AND THE BRETHREN WHO ARE WITH YOU, AUGUSTINE AND THE BRETHREN WHO ARE WITH ME SEND GREETING IN THE LORD

The girl about whom your Holiness "sTote to me is so minded, that if she were once of full age, she would not be joined in marriage to anyone ; but her present age is such that, even if she had a mind to marry, she ought not at this stage to be given or betrothed to any man. In addition to this, my lord Benenatus, brother revered and well-beloved, the ptection God is giving her in the church is a prot^^ion against wicked men, not an opportunity to give her over to anyone I choose, but an opportunity to defend her from seizure by any unsuitable person. The condition, therefore, that you are good enough to suggest seems to me satisfactory, if she gets married ; at present, however, while I have greater hopes she will carry out the intention she now expresses, I do not know if she will get married, because at her age the declaration that she wants to be a nun is rather the whim of an irresponsible babbler than the vow of one solemnly pledging herself. Further, she has an aunt married to our esteemed brother Felix ; when I consulted him about this (for I could not do otherwas regarded as fitting that the duties of guardianship should be undertaken by the clergy. Augustine refers to this in Serm. 176. 2 : " Pro magno commendantur episcopis patrimonia pupillorum . . . Pupillum tuetur episcopus, ne mortuis parentibus ab extraneis opprimatur."

ST. AUGUSTINE

vel deberem,—non quidem invitus accepit, immo etiam gratulatus est ; sed iure amicitiae non importune doluit, quod eis nihil inde sit scriptum.

Fortassis enim, quae nunc non apparet, apparebit et mater, cuius voluntatem in tradenda filia omnibus, ut arbitror, natura praeponit, nisi eadem puella in ea iam aetate fuerit ut iure licentiore sibi eligat ipsa quod velit. lilud quoque cogitet sinceritas tua, quia si mihi de nuptiis eius potestas summa ac tota tribuatur atque ipsa quoque iam matura et nubere volens, cui voluero, se tradendam sub deo iudice mihi commi Hat, sic dico et verum dico mihi placere istam condicionem, ut propter deum iudicem non possim respuere meliorem. Quae utrum adventura sit, utique incertum est. Quapropter videt caritas tua quanta consideranda concurrant.. ut nunc a me cuiquam promitti omnino non possit.

No. 59 (Ep. CCLVni) DOMINO MERITO SUSCIPIENDO ET IN CHRISTO

DILECTISSIMO AC DESIDERANTISSIMO FRATRI MARCIANO AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Abripui vel potius subripui et quodam mode " This is the only place where Marcianus is mentioned.

NO. 58 (Ep. CCLI\^—NO. 59 (Ep. CCLVIII) wise nor ought I to do otherwise), so far was he from being reluctant to agree to it that he actually expressed his delight, but he regretted that they had no written instructions on the matter, as their friendly relations not unreasonably entitled him to expect. ¥oY perhaps the girl's mother will come forward, though she has not come forward as yet, and her ^\ishes about the handing over of her daughter naturally have, in my opinion, precedence over all others, unless the girl is by that time of an age to have a more legitimate claim to choose for herself what she wants. Take this point too into consideration, my true friend, that if supreme and undivided power over her marriage were entrusted to me and she herself, if of age and desirous of marrying, left me free, with God as my Judge, to give her hand to the one I desired, then I declare, and declare \\dth sincerity, my satisfaction with the condition you suggest, provided that, because of God my Judge, I should not be repudiating a better one ; but whether a better one will turn up, is naturally uncertain. So your Charity vtdll see how many considerations conspire to make it quite impossible for me at present to promise her to anyone.

No. 59 (Ep. CCLVIII)

TO MARCIANUS,« MY LORD DESERVEDLY HON

OURED AND BROTHER CHERISHED IN CHRIST AND LONGED FOR, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

I have torn myself away from my many pre1 occupations (or rather have slipped away and, so to

ST. AUGUSTINE

furatus sum memet ipsum multis occupationibus meis, ut tibi scriberem antiquissimo amico, quein tamen non habebam, quam diu in Christo non tenebam. Nosti quippe ut definierit amicitiam " Romani," ut ait quidam, " maximus auctor Tullius eloquii." Dixit enim et verissime dixit : " Amicitia est rerum humanarum et di\'inarum cum benivolentia et caritate consensio." Tu autem, mi carissime, aliquando mihi consentiebas in rebus humanis, cum eis more vulgi frui cuperem, et mihi ad ea capessenda, quorum me paenitet, favendo velificabas, immo vero vela cupiditatum mearum cum ceteris tunc dilectoribus meis inter praecipuos aura laudis inflabas. Porro in rebus divinis, quarum mihi illo tempore nulla eluxerat Veritas, utique in maiore illius definitionis parte, nostra amicitia claudicabat ; erat enim rerum tantum modo " humanarum " non etiam " divinarum," quamvis " cum benivolentia et caritate consensio."

2 Et posteaquam ilia cupere destiti, tu quidem perseverante benivolentia salvum me esse cupiebas salute mortal! et ea rerum prosperitate felicem, quam mundus optare consuevit. Et iam sic itaque aliquantum tibi erat mecum rerum humanarum benivola et cara consensio. Nunc ergo quantum de te gaudeo, quibus explicem verbis, quando eum quem quoquo modo habui diu amicum, habeo iam verum amicum ? Accessit enim rerum etiam consensio divinarum, quoniam, qui mecum temporalem " Lucan, B.C. vii. 62-63, quoted again by Augustine in Ep. cxliii. 3 and Civ. Dei, xiv. 18.

^ Cicero, Lael. vi. 20.

NO. 59 (Ep. CCLVIII) speak, stolen myself away from them) in order to ^\Tite to you, my oldest friend ; and yet I did not really have you as a friend until I clove to you in Christ. You know, to be sure, the definition of friendship given by " Tully, the greatest master of the Roman tongue," as he has been called" ; he said, and said very truly, " Friendship is agreement, with kindliness and affection, on things human and divine." ^ At one time, my dear friend, you were in agreement ^vith me about things human, when it was my wish to enjoy them as the common people do, and by your encouragement you stretched my sails to the eager pursuit of things whereof I am now ashamed—or rather, along with the rest of my admirers of that time (and you were among the chief of them) you filled the sails of my ambitions Avith the breeze of praise. On the other hand, our friendship was defective on the side of things divine ^ of which at that period no gleam of truth had come to me, though they form the more important half of that definition ; it included only the human things, not those as well that are divine, although it was " agreement with kindliness and affection."

And after I abandoned those desires, you with 2 persistent kindliness desired that in earthly welfare

I should do well and be successful with that material prosperity which the world is wont to wish for one, and so, because of this, you still to some extent shared with me this kindly and affectionate agreement on things human. So, now, how can I explain in words the joy I have of you, when he who was so long my friend in some kind of way , is at last my friend in a genuine way ? For there has been added the agreement in things divine as well, since you, who formerly spent this

ST. AUGUSTINE

vitani quondam iucundissima benignitate duxisti, nunc in spe vitae aeternae mecum esse coepisti. Modo vero etiam de rebus humanis inter nos nulla dissensio est, qui eas rerum divinarum cognitione pensamus, ne plus eis tribuamus quani modus earum iustissime postulat, nee eas iniquo contemptu abieiendo creatori earum domino rerum caelestium atque terrestrium faciamus iniuriam. Ita fit, ut inter quos amieos non est rerum consensio divinarum, nee humanarum esse plena possit ac vera. Necesse est enim, ut aliter quam oportet humana aestimet, qui divina contemnit, nee hominem recte diligere noverit, quisquis eum non diligit qui hominem fecit.

Proinde non dico : " Nunc mihi plenius amicus es, qui eras ex parte," sed, quantum ratio indicat, nee ex parte eras, quando nee in rebus humanis mecum amicitiam veram tenebas. Rerum quippe divinarum, ex quibus recte humana pensantur, socius mihi nondum eras, sive quando nee ipse in eis eram sive posteaquam ego eas utcumque sapere coepi, a quibus tu longe abhorrebas.

3 Nolo autem suscenseas, nee tibi videatur absurdum quod illo tempore, cum in vana mundi huius aestuarem, quamvis me multum amare videreris, nondum eras amicus meus, quando nee ipse mihi amicus eram sed potius inimicus. Diligebam quippe iniquitatem, et

NO. 59 (Ep. CCLVIII) temporal life with me in the most charming kindness, have now begun to be Mith me in the hope of life eternal. Now, indeed, even on things human there is no disagreement between us, for we weigh them in the knowledge of things divine, so as not to concede to them more than their measure most justly demands, nor yet to slight their Creator, the Lord of things heavenly and earthly, by throwing them away with undeserved contempt. It is on these grounds that those friends who are not in agreement about things di\ine cannot be in complete and genuine agreement about things human either ; for of necessity one who has a contempt for things divine must hold a different opinion from what he should hold about things human, and anyone who does not love Him Who made man has not learned to love man aright. Hence I do not say that now you are more completely my friend, instead of being, as you were before, only partially so ; but, as far as reason can show, you were not even partially so before, since the friendship you cherished with me then was not even genuine in things human : for, assuredly, you were not yet my comrade in those things divine by which the human things are rightly weighed. Partly it was that at that time I had no interest in them myself, partly that after I began to have a taste (however slight) for them, you still entertained for them a strong aversion.

I do not want you to feel annoyed or to think it 3 absurd that at that time, when I was aflame with desire for this Morld's empty show, you were not yet my friend, although you seemed to have a great affection for me ; for then I was not even a friend to myself, but an enemy instead. For I loved iniquity,

ST. AUGUSTINE

vera, quia divina, sententia est, qua scriptum est in Sanctis libris : Qui autem diligit iniquitatem, odit animam suam. Cum ergo odissem animam meam, verum aniicum quo modo habere poteram ea mihi optantem, in quibus ipse me ipsum patiebar inimicum ? Cum vero benignitas et gratia salvatoris nostri inluxit mihi non secundum merita mea sed secundum ipsius misericordiam, tu ab hac alienus quo modo esse poteras amicus meus, qui, unde beatus esse possem, penitus ignorabas et non in hoc me amabas, in quo mihi ipse iam fueram utcumque amicus ef Fectus ?

4 Gratias itaque domino, quod te mihi amicum facere tandem aliquando dignatur. Nunc enim nobis est " rerum humanarum et divinarum cum benivolentia et caritate consensio " in Christo lesu domino nostro, verissima pace nostra. Qui duobus praeceptis cuncta praeconia divina conclusit dicens : Diliges dominum deum tuum ex toto corde tuo et ex tota anima tua et ex tota mente tua, et : Diliges proximum tuum tamquam te ipsum ; in his duobus praeceptis tota lex pendet et prophetae. In illo primo rerum divinaruin, in hoc secundo rerum humanarum est cum benivolentia et caritate consensio. Haec duo si mecum firmissime teneas, amicitia nostra vera ac sempiterna erit et non solum invicem nos sed etiam ipsi domino sociabit.

5 Quod ut fiat, exhortor gravitatem et prudentiam tuam, ut iam etiam fidehum sacramenta percipias ; " Ps. X. 5, the Vulgate version, after the Septuagint 6 8^ dyair Cov doLKiau ix Lcrel Tir]u eavrov ^I'XW '^ the English reads, " But the wicked and him that loveth violence, his own soul hateth."

* Titus iii. 4-5. " Cicero, Lael. vi. 20. 496

NO. 59 (Ep. CCLVIII) and that saying that is ^^Titten in the Holy Books is true, because divine : " He that loveth iniquity hateth his own soul." ^ Hating then my ovm soul as I did. how could I have a true friend in one who wished me those things in which I was suffering myself to be my o^^^l enemy ? " But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour " ^ dawned upon me, not according to my merits, " but according to His mercy," how could you, when you were a stranger to it, be my friend ? That which could give me happiness was quite unkno^^^l to you, nor did you love me in that wherein I had already been made a friend (however poor) unto myself.

Thanks be therefore to the Lord, that He is good 4} enough to make you a friend of mine now at last ; for now we have that " agreement, with kindliness and affection, about things human and divine " ^ in Christ Jesus our Lord, Who is our real peace. In two commandments He has summed up all God's injunctions, saying : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind " and " thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself ; on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." '^ In the first of these is " agreement, with kindliness and affection " about things divine, in the second, about things human.

If you are ^\-ith me in holding these two commandments ^\ith tenacity, our friendship will be genuine and everlasting and it will join us not merely to each other but also to the Lord Himself.

That this may be so, I exhort you, my wise and 5 honoured friend, now also to partake of the Sacraments available for those in full communion, for «^ Matt. xxii. 37, 39, 40, etc.

ST. AUGUSTINE

decet enim aetatem et congruit, quantum credo, moribus tuis. Memento quid mihi dixeris profecturo, comicum quidem de Terentio recolens versum sed tamen aptissimum et utilissimum : nunc hie dies aliam vitam adfert, alios mores postulat. Quod si veraciter dixisti, sicut de te dubitare non debeo, iam profecto sic vivis ut sis dignus baptismo salutari remissionem praeteritorum accipere peccatorum. Nam omnino non est, cui alteri praeter dominum Christum dicat genus humanum : te duce, si qua manent sceleris vestigia nostri, inrita perpetua solvent formidine terras. Quod ex Cymaeo, id est ex Sibyllino carmine se fassus est transtulisse Vergilius, quoniam fortassis etiam ilia vates aliquid de unico salvatore in spiritu audierat, quod necesse habuit confiteri. Haec tibi, domine merito suscipiende et in Christo dilectissime ac desiderantissime frater, sive pauca sive forsitan multa sint, utcumque occupatissimus scripsi. Tua sumere rescripta desidero et te nomen vel dedisse inter competentes vel daturum esse iam iamque cognoscere. Dominus deus, in quern credidisti, et hie et in futuro saeculo te conservet, domine merito suscipiende et in Christo dilectissime ac desiderantissime frater.

From what follows it is clear that Augustine wanted his friend to be baptized. The habit of postponing baptism as long as possible was still very common ; Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus and Chrysostom, tfiough the sons of Christian mothers, received baptism only when of mature years, and Augustine himself was baptized only at the age of 33. Infant baptism was not the general rule until the following century. For fidelis in the sense of "a communicant" see p. 438. ^ Terence, Andr. 189.

« Virgil, Buc. iv. 13-14, Rhoades's translation. 498

NO. 59 (Ep. CCLVIII) this would become one of your age ° and be appropriate, in my opinion, to your character. Remember your remark to me when I was on the point of leaving you ; you recalled that verse from one of Terence's comedies, but still, though from a comedy, very apposite and proper : To-day now introduces a different life and demands a different character.*

If you were sincere in quoting it, as I have no right to doubt you were, you certainly are li\-ing now in such a way as to be worthy of receiving through the saving rite of baptism the remission of your past sins. There is none other at all, save the Lord

Christ, to whom the human race can say : Under Thy guidance, whatso tracks remain Of our old wickedness, once done away, Shall free the earth from never-ceasing fear.**

Virgil confessed to adopting this thought from the Cumaean, that is, the Sibylline, prophecy, and perhaps that seer too had had some message to her spirit about the only Saviour, which she had of necessity to confess.

This, my lord deservedly honoured and brother cherished in Christ and longed for, be it little or be it perchance much, I have at any rate ^^Titten you, though in one way and another extremely engrossed in business. I long to receive a reply from you and to learn at any moment that you have entered your name among the candidates for baptism or are on the point of doing so. May the Lord God, in Whom you have put your trust, keep you, my lord deservedly honoured and brother cherished in Christ and longed for, both here and in the world to come !

ST. AUGUSTINE

No. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

DOMINAE RELIGIOSISSIMAE FILIAE ECDICIAE

AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

1 Lectis litteris reverentiae tuae et earum perlatore interrogato, quae interroganda restabant, vehementer dolui sic te voluisse agere cum marito, ut aedificium continentiae, quod in eo iam construi coeperat, amissa perseverantia in adulterii ruinam miserabiliter laberetur. Cum enim lugendus esset, si post continentiam votam deo iamque actu ipso moribusque susceptam reverteretur ad coniugis carnem, quanto magis nunc demersus in interitum profundiorem lugendus est, qui tam abrupta dissolutione moechatur iratus tibi perniciosus sibi, tamquam in te acerbius saeviat, si ipse pereat ! Hoc autem tantum mali accidit, dum tu eius animum non qua debuisti moderatione tractasti, quia, etsi carnali consortio iam ex consensu vobis non miscebamini, in ceteris tamen rebus coniugali obsequio viro tuo mulier servire debuisti, praesertim cum ambo essetis membra corporis Christi. Et utique, si maritum infidelem fidelis habuisses, agere te conversatione subdita oportuit, ut eum domino lucrareris, sicut apostoli monuerunt.

2 Omitto enim, quod ipsam continentiam, illo non-

" Ecdicia is not otherwise known.

" Eph. V. 30, etc.

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

No. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)

TO THE MOST DEVOUT LADY, MY DAUGHTER

ECDICIA," AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETING IN THE LORD

After reading your Reverence's letter and asking 1 its bearer the questions that remained to be asked, I have been very greatly grieved that you chose so to act towards your husband that the edifice of chastity which had already begun to be built up in him has, through his failure to persevere, toppled to the pitiful downfall of adultery. If after making to God a vow of chastity and already undertaking its observance in deed and in disposition, he had returned to his wife's body, his case would have been deplorable enough ; but how much more deplorable is it now that he has plunged to deeper destruction, with such precipitate collapse into adultery, furious towards you, injurious to himself, as if his rage at you would be the more violent if he accomplished his o"v\ti ruin This great mischief has come about because you failed to treat him with the moderation you ought, for although by agreement you were no longer coming together in carnal intercourse, yet in all other things you ought to have shoM-n the subjection of a -wife to your husband in comp Hance with the marriagebond, especially as you were both members of the body of Christ.^ Indeed, if you, a behever, had had a husband who was an unbeliever, it would have been your duty to conduct yourself with submissiveness, as the Apostles enjoined, so as to win him to the Lord.

I leave out of account the fact that I know you 2

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dum volente, non secundum sanam doctrinam te suscepisse cognovi. Neque enim corporis tui debito fraudandus fuit, priusquam ad illud bonum quod superat pudicitiam coniugalem, tuae voluntati voluntas quoque eius accederet, nisi forte non legeras nee audieras vel non adtenderas apostolum dicentem Bonum est homini mnlierem non tangere; propterfornicationes autem unusquisque suam uxorem haheat et unaqiiaeque suum virum haheat. Uxori vir dehitum reddat, similiter autem et uxor viro. Uxor non kabet potestatem corporis sui sed vir ; similiter autem et vir non kabet potestatem corporis sui sed mulier. Nolite fraudare invicem nisi ex consensu ad tempus, ut vacetis orationi, et iterum ad id ipsum estote, ne vos temptet Satanas propter incontinentiam vestram. Secundum haec verba apostolica, etiam si se ipse continere voluisset et tu noluisses, debitum tibi reddere cogeretur et illi deus inputaret continentiam, si non suae sed tuae cedens infirmitati, ne in adulterii damnabile flagitium caderes, maritalem tibi concubitum non negaret quanto magis te, quam magis subiectam esse decuerat, ne ipse quoque in adulterium diabolica temptatione traheretur, in reddendo huius modi debito voluntati eius obtemperare convenerat, cum tibi voluntatem continendi acceptaret deus, quia propterea non faceres, ne periret maritus !

3 Sed hoc, ut dixi, omitto, quoniam postea tibi

« 1 Cor. vii. 1-5. 502

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII) took this chastity upon yourself before he consented, which was not according to sound doctrine, for he should not have been defrauded of the debt you owed him of your body, before his Mill too joined with yours in seeking that good which is above conjugal chastity. But perhaps you had not read or heard or meditated upon the apostle's words : " It is good for a man not to touch a woman ; nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own \vife and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence ; and likevise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband ; and likewise also the husband hath not power of his owti body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to prayer ; and come together again that Satan tempt you not because of your incontinency." " According to these words of the apostle's, even if he had desired to practise chastity and you had not, he would be bound to " render you due benevolence," and God would give him credit for chastity, since he would have been granting you marital intercourse through regard not for his o^\^l weakness but for yours, so as to prevent you from falling into the damnable sin of adultery. How much more fitting was it that you, who ought to have been in greater subjection, should give way to his desire in the rendering of this benevolence, so that he might not be led by the devil's tempting into adultery, since' your desire for chastity would have been acceptable to God, as you were unable to carry it out for fear of driving your husband to destruction

I leave this fact, as I said, out of account, because

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nolenti sibi ad reddenda coniugalia debita consentire ad eadem continentiae pacta ipse consensit et tecum continentissime diu vixit suoque consensu a peccato illo, quo ei debitum carnis negabas, ipse te absohit. Non ergo iam in tua causa ista vertitur quaestio, utrum redire debeas ad concubitum viri. Quod enim deo pari consensu ambo voveratis, perseveranter usque in finem reddere ambo debuistis, a quo proposito si lapsus est ille, tu saltern constantissime persevera. Quod te non exhortarer nisi quia tibi ad hoc ipse consenserat. Nam si numquam tenuisses eius adsensum, numerus te nullus defendisset annorum, sed post quantum libet tempus me consuluisses, nihil tibi aliud responderem nisi quod ait apostolus : Uxor no?i hahet potestatem corporis sui sed vir. De qua potestate sic tibi iam permiserat continentiam, ut eam tecum et ipse susciperet.

4 Sed illud est quod minus te observasse contristor, quia tanto humilius et oboedientius ei obsequi in domestica conversatione debuisti, quanto ille religiosius tibi rem tam magnam etiam imitando concesserat. Non enim quia pariter temperabatis a commixtione carnali, ideo tuus maritus esse destiterat ; immo vero tanto sanctius inter vos coniuges manebatis, quanto sanctiora concorditer placita servabatis. Nihil ergo de tua veste, nihil de auro " 1 Cor. vii. 4. 504

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII) after you had refused to consent to render him this conjugal benevolence he consented to the same bond of continence and lived for a long time in the greatest continence with you ; and by consenting he absolved you from your sin in denying him carnal benevolence. So now in this problem of yours the question is not involved whether you ought to return to intercourse with your husband ; for what you both with one consent vowed unto God, you both ought to have persevered unto the end in paying ; even if he has fallen away from your resolution, do you at least persevere in it with the utmost fidelity. I should not be urging you to this course unless for the fact that he gave you his consent to that plan ; for if you had never obtained his assent, no lapse of years would excuse you, but had you consulted me, however long afterwards, I should have made you no other answer than the saying of the apostle : " The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband." " By this power of his he had already allowed you to practise continence and undertook to practise it with you himself.

But this is the point which I am grieved you did 4 not observe more carefully : you were bound to give way to him in your private conduct with all the greater humility and submission, since he had so devotedly followed your example and conceded you so much. For he had not ceased to be your husband because you had both agreed to abstain from carnal intercourse ; instead of that, the tie that bound you to each other as husband and wife remained all the more holy because of the greater holiness of the resolutions you were with one accord carrying out. You had no right, therefore, to do anything with

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vel argento vel quacumque pecunia, rebus ullis terrenis tuis, sine arbitrio eius facere debuisti, ne scandalizares hominem qui deo tecum maiora voverat et ab eo quod de tua carne licita potestate posset exigere, se eontinenter abstinuerat.

5 Denique factum est ut \anculum continentiae, quo se dilectus innexuerat, contemptus abrumperet et iratus tibi non parceret sibi. Sicut enim mihi rettulit perlator epistulae tuae, cum cognovisset quod omnia vel paene omnia quae habebas, nescio quibus duobus transeuntibus monachis tamquam pauperibus eroganda donaveris, tunc ille detestans eos tecum et non dei servos sed domus alienae penetratores et tuos captivatores et depraedatores putans, tam sanctam sarcinam quam tecum subierat, indignatus abiecit. Infirmus enim erat et ideo tibi, quae in communi proposito fortior videbaris, non erat praesumptione turbandus sed dilectione portandus, quia, etiamsi ad ipsas elemosynas largius faciendas forte pigrius movebatur, posset et ista condiscere, si tuis inopinatis non feriretur expensis, sed expectatis invitaretur obsequiis, ut etiam hoc quod " These were probably wandering monks, who were numerous in Africa ; Augustine describes them in De Opere Monachorum 28. 36 : " tam multos hypocritas sub habitu monachorum usquequaque dispersit fdiabolus], circumeuntes provincias, nusquam missos, nusquam fixos, nusquam stantes, nusquam sedentes. AHi membra martyrum, si tamen martyrum, venditant ; ahi fimbrias et phylacteria sua magnificant ; ahi parentes vel consanguineos suos in ilia vel in ilia regione se audisse vivere et ad eos pergere mentiuntur ; et omnes petunt, omnes exigunt, aut sumptus egestosae egestatis, aut simulatae pretium 506

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII) your garments, anything ^\'ith your gold or silver or money or with any of your earthly property, without his approval, for fear of scandalizing a man who had joined you in vo'v\dng more important things to God and had continently refrained from what he had lawful authority to demand from your body.

Finally, it came about that when scorned he burst 5 the bond of continence with which he had girt himself when loved, and from anger with you, did not hesitate to harm himself. For, as the bearer of your letter informed me, when he learned that you had given away everything, or nearly everything, that you possessed to two passing monks," of some kind or other, as if it were alms you were giving to the poor, then he cursed them and you together, and thinking that they were the kind of men who " creep into other people's houses," and not servants of God, and that they had " led you captive " ^ and plundered you, he was provoked to throw oif the holy obligation he had undertaken along with you. For he was weak, and therefore, since you seemed the stronger in your common resolution, he required to be supported by your love and not disquieted by your obstinacy ; even if he happened to be slower in being moved to greater generosity in giving those alms, he could have learned even that from you, had he not been exasperated by your unlooked-for extravagance, but won over to it by the comphance he expected from you ; so even this sanctitatis." They are the monks referred to in the Benedictine Rule as gyrovagi, the worst class of monks, " qui tota vita sua per diversas provincias ternis aut quaternis diebus per diversorum cellas hospitantur, semper vagi et numquam stabiles et propriis voluptatibus et gulae illecebris servientes."

^ 2 Tim. iii. 6. 507

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temere sola fecisti, multo consultius dilectione concordi multoque ordinatius et honestius ambo faceretis, nee blasphemarentur servi dei, si tamen hoe fuerunt qui marito absente atque nesciente ab ignota muliere et aliena uxore tanta sumpserunt, et laudaretur deus in operibus vestris, quorum esset tarn fida societas, ut a vobis communiter teneretur non solum summa castitas verum etiam gloriosa paupertas.

6 Nunc autem inconsiderata festinatione adtende quid feceris. Ut enim de illis monachis, a quibus te ipse non aedificatam sed spoliatam esse conqueritur, ego bene sentiam nee homini prae ira turbatum oculum habenti contra dei fortasse famulos facile consentiam, numquid tantum bonum est quod pauperum carnem largioribus elemosynis refecisti, quantum malum est quod viri tui mentem a tam bono proposito subruisti ? An cuiusquam tibi temporalis salus carior esse debuerat quam huius aeterna ? Nonne si ampliorem misericordiam cogitans ideo pauperibus res tuas erogare dif Ferres, ne scandalizatus maritus tuus deo periret, uberiores tibi deus elemosynas inputaret ? Proinde, si recolis quid adquisiveras, quando lucrata fueras virum tuum ut tecum Christo sanctiore castitate serviret, intellege, per illas elemosynas tuas quibus cor eius eversum '^ Ps. vi. 8, " turbatus est prae ira oculus meus " (Vulgate : " turbatus est a furore . . ."j

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII) that you did of yourself so indiscreetly, you would in harmonious affection have done together with much more deliberation, much more orderhness and more decency, and no blasphemy would have been directed at servants of God (if that is what those men really were, who accepted such large sums from a woman they did not know, another man's wife, in the absence of her husband and without his knowledge) and praise would have arisen to God from your works. In them your companionship w'ould have been so trustful that you would jointly have embraced not only the strictest chastity, but also glorious poverty.

Now, however, by your ill-advised haste see what 6 you have done. For although I were to think the best about those monks by whom he complains you were not edified but robbed, and were not readily to take the part of a man whose eye was confused by anger " against those who were perhaps God's servants, is the good you have done in refreshing the bodies of the poor by your over-generous alms as great as the evil you have done in subverting your husband's mind from his virtuous resolution ? Or ought anyone's temporal welfare to have been more precious to you than his eternal welfare ? Would not God have credited you with still richer alms, if, meditating a \vider sphere of mercy, you had postponed the distribution of your wealth to the poor in order to avoid putting a stumbling-block in your husband's way and making him die to God ?

So, if you recall what you gained when you won your husband to the service of Christ with you in holier chastity, you can understand how much weightier is the loss with which you have been smitten

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est, quanto graviore damno percussa fueris, quam sunt ilia lucra quae caelestia cogitabas. Si enim habet ibi magnum locum panis fractus esurienti, quantum locum ibi credenda est habere misericordia qua homo eripitur diabolo, tamquam leoni rugienti et quern devoret inquirenti !

7 Neque hoc ita dicimus, ut, si quisquam scandalizatus fuerit de bonis operibus nostris, ab eis desistendum putemus ; sed alia causa est alienarum aha necessariarum in societate aliqua personarum, alia fidelis alia infidelis, aha parentum erga fihos aha fihorum erga parentes, alia postremo ea quae in his rebus vel maxime intuenda est, viri et uxoris, ubi mulierem coniugatam non hcet dicere : " Facio quod volo de meo," cum et ipsa non sit sua sed capitis sui, hoc est viri sui. Nam sic quaedam, ut commemorat apostolus Petrus, mulieres sanctae, quae in deum sperahajit, ornahayit se subiectae suis viris, sicut

Sarra obsequehatur Abrahae dominum eum vocans, cuius inquit, factae estis Jiliae,,cum ad Christianas, non ad ludaeas feminas loqueretur.

8 Quid autem mirum, si pater communem fihum nolebat huius vitae sustentaculis a matre nudari, ignorans quid sectaturus esset, cum in aetate grandiuscula esse coepisset, utrum monachi professionem an ecclesiasticum ministerium an coniugalis necessitudinis vinculum ? Quamvis enim ad meliora excitandi et erudiendi sint filii sanctorum,

" Isai. Iviii. 7. " 1 Pet. v. 8.

' Eph. V. 23. " 1 Pet. iii. 5-6. 510

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII) through your almsgiving, which overturned his heart, than is the gain which you thought you were laying up in heaven. For if the breaking of bread for the hungry " has a great place there, how great must we believe to be there the place of the compassion by which a man is snatched from the devil, " as a roaring lion seeking Mhom he may devour " ^ ! Now, by this I do not mean that if our good 7 works put a stumbling-block in anyone's way, we should imagine that we must cease from themi ; but the case of strangers differs from that of those bound to us by any tie : that of the believer differs from that of the unbeliever, that of parents towards their children from that of children towards their parents, and finally the case (which in the present circumstances must be particularly considered) of a husband and a wife, where the married woman has no right to say, " I shall do what I like with what is my own." She is not her own, but belongs to her head, that is, her husband,^ "for after this manner," as the apostle Peter reminds us,^ " the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands, even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord ; whose daughters," he says, though he was speaking to Christian not to Jewish women, " ye have become."

And was it surprising that a father refused to 8 have the son of both of you stripped by his mother of the means of supporting this life, when he did not know what career he would pursue when he came to be a little older, whether he would undertake the vows of a monk or service in the Church or the tie of marriage relations ? For although the children of holy parents should be prompted and trained for

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ufiusqidsqtie tamen proprium donum habet a deo alius sic, alius autem sic, nisi forte talia prospiciens et praecavens reprehendendus est pater, cum beatus apostolus dicat : Qiiisqids autem suis et maxime domesticis non providet, fidem denegat et est injldeli deterior. Cum vero de faciendis ipsis elemosynis loqueretur, ait : Non ut aliis refectio, vobis autem angustia. Pariter ergo consilium de omnibus haberetis, pariter moderaremini quid thesaurizandum esset in caelo, quid ad vitae huius sufficientiam vobis et vestris vestroque filio relinquendum, ne aliis esset refectio, vobis autem angustia. Et in his disponendis atque faciendis si quid tibi forte melius videretur, suggereres viro reverenter eiusdemque auctoritatem tamquam tui capitis sequereris oboedienter, ut omnes qui sanum sapiunt, ad quos posset hoc bonum vestrum fama perferre, de domus vestrae fructu ac pace gauderent, et adversarius revereretur, nihil habens de vobis dicere pravi.

Porro si de faciendis elemosynis et in pauperes inpendendis rebus tuis, de quo bono opere et magno tam evidentia praecepta sunt domini, cum viro tuo fideli et tecum sancta continentiae pacta servante consilium communicare deberes eiusdemque non spernere voluntatem, quanto magis de habitu atque vestitu nihil tibi praeter eius arbitrium mutandum vel usurpandum fuit, unde nihil divinitus legimus

' 2 Cor. viii. 13, where the Vulgate reads " non ut aliis sit remissio, vobis autem tribulatio." 512

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII) better things, still " every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that ""; unless indeed a father is to be blamed who exercises foresight and caution about such things, though the apostle says, " But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his 0'^^^l house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel."^ But when he speaks of almsgiving, he says, " I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened. "

Together, you should deliberate on all matters, together you should apportion what treasure you should lay up in heaven and what you should leave as a sufficiency in this life for yourselves and your household and your son, so that " other men " should not " be eased and ye burdened." And in the ordering and doing of this, if any better plan happened to occur to you, you should have suggested it to your husband with deference and with obedience submitted to his authority as that of your head. In this way all sensible people to whom the report could come of this good thing in you would rejoice at the fruitfulness and peace of your household, and your adversary would be put to shame, having nothing to say about you that was amiss.

Further, if in the matter of alms-giving and be9 stowing your property upon the poor—a good work and important, about which the Lord has given such unmistakable commandments—it was your duty to take common counsel A\-ith your husband, a Christian and observing s\ith you the holy vow of continence, and not to scorn his wishes, how much more necessary was it for you, not to change or to adopt against his will anything in the way of attire or dress—a thing about which there are 2 L 513

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imperatum ! Scriptum est quidem mulieres esse debere in habitu ordinate, aurique circumpositio et intortio crinium et cetera huius modi, quae vel ad inanem pompam vel ad inlecebram formae adhiberi solent, merito reprehensa sunt. Sed est quidam pro modulo personae habitus matronalis a \dduali veste distinctus, qui potest fidelibus coniugatis salva religionis observantia convenire. Hunc te maritus si deponere noluit, ne te velut viduam illo vivente iactares, puto quia non fuerat in hac re usque ad dissensionis scandalum perducendus magis inoboedientiae male quam ullius abstinentiae bono. Quid est enim absurdius quam mulierem de humili veste \dro superbire, cui te potius expediret obtemperare candidis moribus quam nigellis vestibus repugnare, quia etsi te indumentum monachae delectabat, etiam hoc gratius posset marito observato exoratoque sumi quam illo inconsulto contemptoque praesumi ? Quod si omnino non sineret, quid tuo proposito deperiret ? Absit ut hinc displiceres deo, quod coniuge tuo

° 1 Tim. ii. 9 ; 1 Pet. iii. 3.

Two orders of widows are to be discriminated: (1) those who were maintained by the Church and who gave a return of either prayer or good works {cf. Stat. Eccl. Antlq. 103 "viduae quae stipendiis ecclesiae sustentantur tam assiduae in Dei opere esse debent ut et meritis et orationibus suis ecclesiam adjuvent"); (2) a more honourable order, not confined to those over 60 or in need of support, who gained merit from abstaining from a second marriage. The widows who had taken this vow were distinguished by a special dress (" vestis fuscior," Jerome, Ep. 38, 3), and the distinction seems to have been much coveted. This class of widows

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII) no divine orders for us to read. It is, indeed, written that women should have " modest apparel," and " the wearing of gold " and " the broidering of the hair " '^ and other suchlike things, usually employed either for empty show or to give allurement to the body, are deservedly condemned. But there is a kind of matronly dress, befitting a person's station, distinct from the garments of a widow, which may become Christian wives without affronting

Christian decorum. If your husband did not wish you to put that aside, so that you should not vaunt yourself as a widoAV while he was still alive, ^ I am of opinion that on this point he should not have been driven to the scandal of quarrelling with you, for the harm done by your disobedience was greater than the good you did by any of your self-repression. For what is more preposterous than a wife's domineering over her husband about a humble garment, when it would be more becoming in you to yield him compliance in shining deeds than to contend ^\ith him about gloomy clothes ? Even if a nun's dress pleased you, you would have been happier in assuming even it when you had sho^^^l due regard for your husband and received his permission, than in presuming to don that other, without asking his advice or paying him any respect. And if he altogether refused to alio v.- it, wherein would your resolution have been the loser ? Far be it from us to imagine you would disperformed duties much like deaconesses, and by the eighth century they were compelled to leave their private houses and live in communities. Eventually, too, the order of widows was confused with that of deaconesses, and the ceremony of assuming widow's dress was performed before the bishop, instead of remaining simply a private act of the widow herself.

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nondum defuncto non induereris sicut Anna, sed sicut Susanna.

10 Neque enim et ille qui tecum iam coeperat custodire tarn magnum continentiae bonum, etiamsi coniugale, non viduale, voluisset ut acciperes indumentum, ad indecentem quoque te compulisset ornatum, quo etsi aliqua dura condicione cogereris, posses habere in superbo cultu cor humile. Nempe apud patres Esther ilia regina deum timens, deum colens, 'deo subdita, marito regi alienigenae non eundem secum colenti deum tamen subiecta serviebat. Quae cum extremo periculo non suo tantum sed etiam gentis suae, qui tunc erat populus dei, domino prosterneretur orando, in ipsa oratione sua dixit ita sibi esse ornatum regium sicut pannum menstrualem ; et ita orantem confestim exaudivit, qui cordis i?ispector eam verum dicere scivit. Et utique maritum habebat multarum mulierum virum et deorum alienorum falsorumque cultorem. Tu autem, si et ille in proposito quod tecum susceperat, perduraret nee a te of Fensus in flagitium corruisset, maritum habebas non solum fidelem et verum deum tecum colentem sed etiam continentem, qui procul dubio propositi vestri non " i.e. By wearing a matron's dress instead of a widow's dress. "Anna" is the prophetess of S. Luke ii. 36-38, one of the godly remnant of Israel that was looking for the coming of the Messiah ; she is taken by the Fathers as a prototype of true and holy widowhood. The story of Susanna is told in the apocryphal part of Daniel, ch. xiii ; she is the 516

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII) please God by wearing, while your husband was still alive, not the dress of Anna, but of Susanna."

Nor even if he had \vished you to put on the 10 dress of a matron and not of a Vvidow, would he who had already begun with you to observe the great virtue of continence, have been driving you also to adopt adornment that was unbecoming ; even had he compelled you to it by some galling condition, you could have had a humble heart beneath your haughty finery. Surely, in the time of the patriarchs. Queen Esther feared God, worshipped God and obeyed God, and yet in submission served the foreign king, her husband, who did not worship the same God as she did. At a time of the utmost danger, not to herself alone but to her race as well, Avho were then God's chosen people, she prostrated herself before God in prayer, and said in her prayer that she regarded her royal adornment " as a menstruous rag " ^ ; and so her prayer was immediately heard and answered by Him " that pondereth the heart,"

Who knew that she was speaking the truth. And yet her husband was a man with many wives and worshipped strange, false gods. But you, if your husband had persevered in the resolution he had undertaken with you and had not fallen into sin on provocation from you, you had a husband who was not only a believer and a worshipper with you of the true God, but was also practising continence, and who undoubtedly, recollecting your common type of the chaste matron. See, for example, St. Ambrose's praises of Susanna, Anna and the Virgin Mother, as types of chastity in the wife, the widow and the virgin {De Vid. 4.

21-25).

Esther xiv. 16. * Prov. xxiv. 12.

ST. AUGUSTINE

inmemor, etsi te ad coniugalia cogeret indumenta, ad superba tamen ornamenta non cogeret.

1 Haec tibi scripsi, quoniam me consulendum putasti, non ut tuum rectum institutum sermone meo frangerem, sed quod te inordinate et incaute agente viri tui factum dolerem. De cuius reparatione debes vehementissime cogitare, si vere ad Christum vis pertinere. Indue itaque humilitatem mentis, et ut te deus conservet perseverantem, noli maritum contemnere pereuntem. Funde pro illo pias et assiduas orationes, sacrifica lacrimas tamquam vulnerati sanguinem cordis et scribe ad eum satisfactionem, petens veniam, quia in eum' peccasti, quod praeter eius consilium et voluntatem de rebus tuis fecisti quod faciendum putasti, non ut te paeniteat tribuisse pauperibus sed eum boni tui operis participem et moderatorem habere noluisse. Promitte de cetero in adiutorio domini, si et ilium suae turpitudinis paenituerit et continentiam quam deseruit, repetiverit, te illi, sicut decet, in omnibus servituram, ne forte, ut ait apostolus, det illi deus paenitentiam et resipiscat de diaholi laqueis, a quo captivus tenetur secundum ipsius voluntatem. Filium autem vestrum, quoniam de legitimis eum et honestis nuptiis suscepisti, magis in patris quam in tua esse potestate quis nesciat ? Et ideo ei negari non potest, ubicumque ilium esse cognoverit et iure poposcerit ; ac per hoc, ut secundum tuam voluntatem in dei possit

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII) resolution, even if he did compel you to wear matronly dress, would nevertheless not have compelled you to wear proud ornaments.

I have written this to you, since you thought fit to 11 ask my advice, not in order to undermine your righteous design by any words from me, but because

I am grieved at what your husband has done as a result of your irregular and imprudent conduct.

It is your duty most earnestly to think how he may be restored, if your wdsh to belong to Christ is sincere. Put on therefore humility of mind, and in order that God may keep you while you persevere, do not you scorn your husband while he perishes. Pour forth for him devoted and constant prayers ; offer the sacrifice of tears as though they v.ere the blood of a stricken heart, and write him an apology, begging his forgiveness for that you sinned against him in doing with your property what you thought should be done, mthout asking his advice and consent ; not that you should repent of having given to the poor, but of having refused to let your husband share and direct your good deeds. Promise for the future, with the help of the Lord, that, if he repents of his evil conduct and returns to the continence he had abandoned, you will be subject to him, as it is fitting you should be, in all things, " if peradventure God will give him repentance and that he may recover himself out of the snare of the devil, by whom he is taken captive ' " And as for your son, who does not know at his will. that, since you got him in lawful and honourable wedlock, his father has greater authority over him than you have ? So he cannot be denied him, when he learns his whereabouts and claims him by law. Hence, in order that he may be nurtured and

ST. AUGUSTINE

nutriri et erudiri sapientia, necessaria illi est etiam vestra concordia.

No. 61 (Ep. CCLXVIII)

DOMINISDILECTISSIMISETDESIDERANTISSIMIS

SANCTAE PLEBIS GUI MINISTRO MEMBRIS CHRISTI AUGUSTINUS IN DOMINO SALUTEM

Notissima mini et probatissima devotio sanctitatis vestrae in domino nostro lesu Christo fiduciam dedit, ut etiam absens praesumerem mide praesens gaud ere consuevi, qui semper spiritu vobiscum sum, non solum quia gratia domini nostri lesu Christi tantae suavitatis flagrare non cessat, sed etiam quia me ipsum, qui vobis in evangelio servio, angustiam pati non permittitis. Cum enim frater noster Fascius debito decem et septem solidorum ab opinatoribus urgeretur ut redderet, quod ad praesens unde explicaret se, non inveniebat, ne corporalem pateretur iniuriam ad auxilium sanctae ecclesiae convolavit. Illi etiam exactoresjcum proficisci cogerenturet ideo dilationem dare non possent, gravissimis me querelis oneraverunt, ita ut eis ilium traderem aut, quod sibi deberi ostendebant, unde acciperent, providerem. Cumque obtulissem Fascio ut vestram sanctitatem de necessi- " In this letter to his congregation at Hippo, Augustine appeals for a collection to enable him to repay to Macedonius a debt he had incurred to relieve their townsman and fellow-Christian, Fascius, who being pressed by creditors, took sanctuary in the church. By a law of Theodosius {Cod. Theod. ix. 45. 1-3) Fascius was liable to seizure and removal, unless the bishop discharged the debt. This Augustine did by borrowing, but as Fascius has not repaid him, he appeals for their help. 520

NO. 60 (Ep. CCLXII)—NO. 61 (Ep. CCLXVIII) trained, as you would have him, in the -vWsdom of God, it is essential for him too that you both should be in harmony.

No. 61 (Ep. CCLXVIII)

TO THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, MY WELL BELOVED AND MUCH LONGED FOR LORDS OF THE HOLY CONGREGATION TO WHICH

I MINISTER, AUGUSTINE SENDS GREETINGS IN THE LORD «

Your devotion, my holy brethren, to our Lord Jesus 1 Christ, well known to me and often tested, has g-iven me, though absent, reason to place reliance in that wherein I have been wont to rejoice when present : in spirit I am always with you, not only because the great sweetness of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ ever continueth its fragrance, but also because you do not suffer me, who am your servant in the Gospel, to endure any hardship. Now, our brother Fascius was being pressed for payment of a debt of seventeen solidi ^ by the tribute-gatherers and found for the moment no way of escape from his entanglement ; wherefore, so as not to suffer bodily injury, he fled to the protection of Holy Church.^ And as those tax-collectors were compelled to take their departure and so were unable to grant him a respite, they heaped on me the most grievous abuse, declaring that I ought to hand him over to them or to furnish the means wherefrom they could receive the debt which they proved was owing them. I made the offer to Fascius to speak to ^ This amounted to about £16.

" For sanctuary see p. 209.

ST. AUGUSTINE

tatibus eius adloquerer, pudore deterritus, ne facerem deprecatus est. Ita ego niaiore necessitate coartatus a fratre nostro Macedonio decern et septem solidos accepi, quos in causam eius continue dedi, promittente illo quod ad certum diem cum eis reddendis posset occurrere, et consentiente, ut si non posset occurrere, sermo de illo fieret ad vestram misericordiam, quam fraternam fratribus exhibere consuestis.

2 Nunc ergo, quoniam absens est, restat ut subveniatis non illi, quern nemo compellat absentem, sed pollicitationi meae, cuius existimatio vobis semper est praesens. lam enim dies ad quern se promiserat occursurum, transactus est, et ego ei qui solidos suos fidei meae commisit, quid respondeam, non invenio, nisi ut faciam quod me facturum esse promisi. Sed quoniam non sum de hac re commonitus, ut die pentecostes, quando aderat maior vestra frequentia, sermonem inde facerem, peto ut has litteras pro lingua mea praesente habere dignemini admonente vos et exhortante in cordibus vestris deo et domino nostro, cui credidistis, qui numquam discedit a nobis timentibus et honorantibus nomen suum, in quo vobis et nos semper coniuncti sumus, quamvis corpore a vobis profecti esse videamur, qui vobis de isto bonorum operum semine messem vitae aeternae promittit, dicente apostolo : Bonum autem facieiites 7ion dejiciamus; tempore enim suo metemus infaiigabiles. Itaque, dum tempus hahemus, operemur honum ad omnes, maxime autem ad domesticos Jidei.

" This is probably a citizen of Hippo and a member of Augustine's church, and not the Macedonius who was vicar of Africa in 414, when he was entrusted with the duty of enforcing the imperial decrees against the recusant Donatists. Several of the letters exchanged between him and Augustine are extant {Epp. cliii.-clv.j. 522

NO. 61 (Ep. CCLXVIII) you, holy brethren, about his needs, but, deterred by shame, he implored me not to do it. So I myself, under pressure of greater needs, accepted seventeen solidi from our brother Macedonius," and these I immediately handed over on his behoof, while he promised that on a certain day he could meet the repayment, and agreed that if he was not able to meet it, an appeal should be made for him to that compassion of yours, which it is your habit to display as a brotherly feeling for our brethren.

Wherefore, now that he is absent, it remains for 2 you to give your backing, not to him, for no one can apply compulsion to him in his absence, but to my promise, for with you my good name and fame are always present. For already the day on which he promised he would meet the debt, is past and gone, and I find no reply to make to him who gave me the amount on trust, save to do what I promised I would do. But since I had no information about this matter on the day of Pentecost, so that I might have made an appeal when the crowd at Church was greater than usual, I ask you to be good enough to take this letter as my voice, while in your hearts Our Lord and God speaks warning and exhortation ; in Him you have put your trust, and He never leaves us so long as we fear and honour His name ; in Him I too am united with you, although in body I seem to have departed from you ; from Him comes the promise of the harvest of eternal life from this seed of good works, for the apostle says : " And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. As we therefore have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of

ST. AUGUSTINE

Quoniam ergo domesticus fidei est, Christianus fidelis, catholicus frater noster, pro cuius supplenda necessitate vos peto ut faciatis quod dominus imperat, sine tristitia, sine murmuratione et cum laetitia et hilaritate facite ; deo enim creditis non homini, quia ille promittit vos nihil eorum quae misericorditer facitis, perdituros, sed in illo die cum usuris inmortalibus recepturos. Et quoniam ipse apostolus dicit : Hoc autem dico : Qui parce seminal, parce et metet, intellegere debetis tempus esse, ut donum vitae aeternae, cum adliuc in ista vita sumus, festinanter et alacriter comparemus, quia, cum finis saeculi venerit, non dabitur nisi eis qui per fidem sibi hoc emerunt, antequam videre potuissent.

3 Scripsi etiam presbyteris, ut, si quid minus fuerit post conlationem sanctitatis vestrae, compleant ex eo quod habet ecclesia, dum tamen vos, secundum quod placet, hilariter of Feratis, quia sive de vestro sive de ecclesia detur, omnia dei sunt, et devotio magis vestra dulcior erit thesauris ecclesiae, sicut apostolus dicit : Xo7i quia quaero datum, sed requiro fructum. Laetificate ergo cor meum, quia de fructibus vestris gaudere cupio ; vos enim estis arbores dei, quas assiduis imbribus etiam per nostrum ministerium rigare dignatur. Tueatur vos dominus ab " Gal. vi. 9-10. & Matt. xxv. 34-40.

"= 2 Cor. ix. 6. " Phil. iv. 17.

The mention of fruits suggests to him the trees that bring forth good fruits (Matt. iii. 10, etc.), and he immediately applies the Scriptural idea to those he is addressing —a frequent device with him. Cf. Ep. xxi. 5 " arbores vivae " (p. 38 above) ; Ep. Ixxiv. 2 " fingite vos ante tempus messis fugere permixta zizania, quia vos estis Sola zizania "; Serm. 11. 1 " Deus . . . excolens ecclesiam suam velut agrum suum, quaerens fructum de arboribus suis " ; 72. 1 524

NO. 61 (Ep. CCLXVIII) faith." ^ Since then he is of the household of faith, a member of the Christian Chm-ch, a Catholic brother of our owTi, for the satisfaction of whose needs I ask you to do \yhat the Lord bids you do, do it without grudging, without complaint, and \\\x\i gladness and cheerfulness ; for your trust is in God, not in man, and He has promised that you will lose nothing of the things you do in mercy, but will receive them on that day with eternal usury. ^ And since the apostle himself says, " But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly," '^ you should understand that now is the time for us, while we are still in this life, to purchase ^^-ith haste and cheerfulness the gift of eternal life ; for when the end of the world comes, it will be given only to those who through faith have bought it for themselves before it was possible for them to see it.

I have \\Titten to the priests as well that, if there 3 be any deficiency after the offering made by you, my holy friends, they should make it up from the Church's store, provided that you have all made cheerful offering, each man as he v.-ill ; for v/hether the gift come from you or from the Church, it is all

God's, yet your devotedness A\ill be far more acceptable than the treasures of the Church, as the apostle says, " Not because I desire a gift, but I desire that fruit may abound." ^ Gladden my heart, then, for I wish to have joy of your fruits ; for you are God's trees which even through my ministry He deigns to water -sith unceasing showers.^ ^^ay the Lord keep " admonuit nos Dominus ut bonae arbores simus "; 36. 4. " arboribiis bonis et fidelibus banc adlocutionem praebet apostokis "; 12. 2 " quisquis igitur homo hodie bonus est, id est, arbor bona ..."

ST. AUGUSTINE

omni malo et hie et in futuro saeculo, domini dilectissimi et desiderantissimi fratres.

No. 62 (Ep. CCLXIX)

BEATISSIMO AC VENERABILI FRATRI ET CON

SACERDOTI NOBILIO AUGUSTINUS

Tanta est sollemnitas ad quam me af Fectus tuae fraternitatis invitat, ut corpusculuni nieum ad vos traheret voluntas, nisi teneret infirmitas. Possem venire, si hiems non esset ; possem hiemem contemnere, si iuvenis essem ; aut enim ferret rigorem temporis fervor aetatis aut temperaret frigus aetatis fervor aestatis. Nunc hieme iter tam prolixum non suffero cum annositate algida, quam mecum fero, domine beatissime, sancte ac venerabilis frater et consacerdos. Salutationem debitam reddo meritis tuis ; salutem vero m.eam commendo precibus tuis, poscens et ipse a domino, ut dedicationem tantae fabricae pacis prosperitas prosequatur.

" Augustine writes excusing himself on grounds of his age and feebleness and of the winter season, from attending the dedication of a church. Nobilius is not known and his name does not elsewhere appear. From internal evidence this appears to be among the last letters Augustine wrote : the remaining letter in the complete collection is from the NO. 61 (Ep. CCLXVIII)—NO. 62 (Ep. CCLXIX) you from all evil, both in this world and in the world for brethren. to come, my well-beloved lords and much longed to come, m]

No. 62 (Ep. CCLXIX)

AUGUSTINE TO MY SAINTLY AND REVERED

BROTHER AND FELLOW-PRIEST, NOBILIUS "

So important is the ceremony to which your brotherly affection invites me, that I should drag my poor body to you with willingness, were it not detained by weakness. I might have come, had it not been winter ; I might have scorned the winter, had I been young ; for either the glow of youth would have endured the rigour of the season, or else the glow of summer would have allayed the chill of age. As it is, niy saintly lord, my holy and revered brother and fellow-priest, in winter I cannot bear so lengthy a journey since I must bear with me the frigidity of great age. I return the greeting that I owe to your merits ; my own welfare I commend to your supplications, while beseeching the Lord myself that peace and prosperity may follow upon the dedication of so great a building. hand of an unknown correspondent. The date of the present piece is probably the winter of 429-430.

52'

INDEX

The references are to letters, as numbered in th is selection, and to paragraphs.

Anna, 60. 9 Antioch, 9. 3 n. ; 20 n. Antoninus, Bishop, 47. 2 n., 3, 8, 9 Apringius, proconsul of Africa, 34 n. Apuleius, birthplace of, 5. 1 n. Aquitania, 14 n. Archiater, or municipal doctor, 52 n. Argentius, priest at Asna, 10. 12 Arian heresy, 51. 4 Armenian, manor of, 18. 1 Arnobius, 6. 4 n. Asiarchs, 10, 12 n. Asna, near Hijpo, 10. 12 Astarte, famous temple of, at Sicca, Abaddir, a god, 6. 2 Abel, his siulessuess, 41. 8, 9 Abraham, 35. 3 ; 54. 6 n. ; 60. 7 Abundautius, a pro Higate priest, 18. 1, 2 Acolybes, duties of, 43. 1 n. Actium. battle of, 5. 2 Adam, 41. 6, 8, 9 ; 50. 3 Aemilianns, his legacy, 21. 4 Aetius, 42. 1 n. ; his treachery. 51. on. Africa, Augustine's dwelling-place,

6. 2 ; proconsul of, 27. 1 n. ; 34.

1 n. ; 46. 1 n. ; 47. 5 n. ; dux per Africam, 30. 1 n. ; vicar of, 61. 1 African Bishops, deputation of, to

53. 1 n. Astrologers, their fooli-shness, 57. 2 Augustine, St., his physical weakthe Emperor, 25 n. ; decidf not to allow appeals to Rome, 47. 1 n. African Church, disorders in the, 8.2, 4 ness, 3. 1 ; 53. 1 ; 62; his work on the Catholic religion, 4. 1 : his use of Stoic arguments, 5. 3

Afilis, 14 Alaric, breaks his pledge to Rome, bewails his own presumption, 7. 2 ; his ordination, 3 ; his unworthiness of the priesthood,

22 n. ; defeated by Stilicho, 25. 3n. ; captures Rome. 26 n. ; sacks Rome, 31 n. ; 32 n. ; 36 n. ; 37 n. Albina, 32 n. ; 33 Albinus, the acolyte, 43. 1 ; 44. 1

3, 4 ; asks Aurelius to pray for him, 8. 9 ; in Italy, 9 n. ; made Bi.shop of Hippo, 9 n. ; asks Jerome to criticize his writings,

Algiers, 47. 8 n. AlypiuH, 1 ; 8. 1 ; note on his life,

9. 6; his sermon on dogs and swine, 10. 2 ; his sermon on drunkenness, 3, 5, 6, 11; weeps during his sermon, 7 ; hi.s Contra Fau.^tuin, 11. 5 n. ; and Simplician, 12 n. : suffers from piles or tumours, 13. 1 ; on anger and hatred, 2; admonishes Eudoxius, 15 ; on the way to 1 n. ; 10 ; 33 n. ; insulted by the people of HipiJO, 33. 1, 2, 3, 9, 11 ; 43. 1 ; 51. 3 ; 52 Ambrose, St., opposed to tolerating pa'^an practices. 10. 10 n. ; 55. 3 n. Amulets, use of, 56. 2 n. Andrew, 15. 4 Anger, 13. 2 ; 49. 14

INDEX

Bee, the, if it sticks in the honey dies, 4. 2 Benedict, St., Rule of, 49. 12 n., 15 n. ; 51. 8 n. ; 60. 5 n. Benenatus, Bishop of Tugutiana, 58 Bethlehem, Jerome in, 9n. ; 20 n. appoint the clergy, 17, 1 ; declares he did not write a book against Jerome, 20. 2 ; on legacies left to monasteries; 21. 1-6 ; urges the Calamans to adopt Christianity, 24 n. ; a reader of Virgil, 2 n. ; on the immorality of the pagan gods, 4 ; on the disturbances of June the 1st, 8 ; his contemjjt for pagan writings, 28. 2 ; his books De Mu.^ica, 3 ; on the Psalms, 4 ; on being praised by his friend, 29. 3-5 ; his weak health, 31. 1 ; on the sanctity of oaths, 33. 11 ; his friendship with Marcellinus, 34 n. ; on the punishment of criminals, 1, 2

43. In. Bishop, the difficulty of worthily discharging the duties of, 7. 1 legal duties of, 24. 7 ; translation of, forbidden, 47. 7 n. Biskra, 51. 3

Boniface, Bishop of Cataquas, 25.3 Boniface, Count, Governor of Africa, note on his life, 42. 1 n. ; his disgrace, 51. 1 n. ; his marriage, 4 n. ; barbarian invasions under, 7 ; 54 n. Bonilace, Pope, 47. 1 n., 6, 9 Eonum, donum, 45. 3 n. Britain, 44. 1 n. Britons, the, 44. 1 n. Bulla, 18. 1 Byzacena, 39. 8 n. ; 50 n. his controversy with Pelagius, 36 n. ; on the connexion of soul and body, 38. 1 ; on visions, 2 ; his argument against toleration, 39. 2 ; on free-will, 3-5 ; on baptism, 4 n. ; on charity, 6 ; his De Trinitate, 40 ; his Dc natura et gratia, 41 n. ; on the Pelagian heresy, 3-10 ; death of, 42. 1 n. ; on military service, 4-6

Cabrera, 15 n. Caecilian, Bishop of Carthage, 39* on love, 44. 1, 2 ; his approval of conjugal continence, 45. 1 n., 3 ; 51. 12 ; development of monasticism among women due to, 48. 1 n. ; his monastic Rule, 49.

; his Act of Purgation, 49. 13 n. Caecilianus, Roman legate, note on his life, 23 n. Caelestis, temple of, consecrated as o-lfi ; his letter on grace and free-will, 50 n., 2-7 ; on bodily adornment. 51. 1,2; on praise, 54. 2-4 ; his advice to Ecdicia on conjugal chastity, 60 Augustine, St., of Canterbury, 10. 1 n. Augustinian Rule, the, 49. 5-16 Aurelius, Bishop. 8; 17; 39. 8 n. ; 40 n. ; 43. 1 ; 54. 7 a church, 45. 3 n. Caesarea, note on its historv, 47. 8n. Cain, 41. 8 Calama, 13. 2 n., 3; 19 n. ; pagan festivals held at, 24 n., 10 Caligula, 47. 8 n. Campania, 14 n. Capitulum, portion of Scripture, 10. 2 n. Capraria 15 n. Caprera, famous for manufacture of goat's-hair garments, 15. 4 n. Capua, 28 n. Carthage, Church of, 8. 4 ; Augustine's lectures in, 9 n.; Council of, 17. 2 n. ; 36 n. : 41 n. ; 48. 1 n. ; Caecilianus in, 22 n. : 38. 3 ; conference of, 39. 7 n. ; Svnod of, 47.

Baal Addir, 6. 2 n. Bacchus, deprives men of reason, 6.4 Bagai, 39. 8 n. Balearic Islands, 15 n. Baptism, adult, Augustine on, 39.

4 n. ; 59. 4 n. Barbarus, 38. 1 Barnabas, 33. 6 Baths, once a month, 49. 13 Bede, 47. 2 n.

8 n. ; 53. 1 ; 55. 3 n. Cassiciacum, 1. 1 n. ; 2. 1 n. ; 24.

INDEX

Constantine, or Cirta, named after

Castellum, Augustine's definition of, 47. 2 n. Cataquas, 25. 3 Catechumens, not present at prayers, 33. 5 n. Cathedra, defined, 47. 7 n. Catholica, the Church Catholic, 47. 9 n. Catholics, disputes between, and Donatists, 34 n. Cato, a model of pagan virtue, 24. 4 Celer, proconsul of Arica, a Donathe Emperor, 11. 5 n. ; 13.3; a stronghold of Donatists, 35 n. Constantine, Emperor, presents the Lateran to the Church, 10. 10 n. ; allows appeals to Bishops in civil suits, 24. 7 n. ; allows churches to be used as sanctuaries, 30. 1 n. Constantinople, municipal doctors in, 52 n. Cor habere, 51. 5 n. Cordis aures, 46 n. Cornelius, 42. 4 Corrigere, intransitive. 49. 3 n. Corsica, 15 n. Cosmetics, 56. 1 n. Creed, candidates for baptism expected to memorize the, 52 n. Cresconius, monk, 50. 1 Crispinus, Donatist Bishop of Calama, 19 n. Cyprian, 48. 1 n. ; 51. 9 n. tist, 47. 5 Celestine, Bishop of Rome, note on his life, 44. 1 n., 4, 7 ; 47. 9 n. Cemeteries, drunkenness in, 8. 3, 6 Chalcedon, Council of, 47. 2 n. Chambering and Avantonness, a great sin, 8. 3 Character Domini, 39. 3 n. Characteres, 56. 2 n. Charity, 39. 6 Charus, a deacon, 41. 7 n. Chastity, conjugal, 51. 60 Cherchel, 47. 8 n. Choir, in the early Church, 10. 8 n. Christ, swearing by, 55. 4 n. Christian names, 29 n. < Christians, their .secret worship of Darius, note on liis life, 53. 1 n. David, his clemency, 34. 2 ; 42. 4 Death, the journey to, alone to be planned, 3. 2 ; not feared by those who die to bodily affections, 3 DeBcere, reficere, 54. 6 n. Demetrias, the virgin, 37 n. Devil-wonshippers, 14 Diocletian, 30. 1 n. ; 47. 8 n. ; j ersecution under, 49. 13 n. Dio.scurus, the physician, 52 Diospolis, Synod of, 36 n.; 41. 1 n., God, 5. 3 ; worship God only, 6. 5 ; concessiohs made to induce people to become, 10. t» ; massacre of, at Sufes, 16; their attitude towards their enemies, 27. 1, 2 Chrysostom, his correspondence with Italics, 26 n. Churches, as sanctuaries, 30. 1 n. ; 66.1 Cicero (Tully), his Dialogues, 6. 3

7n. Dominica in albis, 11. 3 n. Donati.st heresy, 47. 2 Donatist I'arty, the, terrorize Xumidia, 10. 12 n. ; incident of the violent young man whojoined, 11. 2, 3 Donatists, disputes between, and Catholics, 34 n. ; edicts against, 25 n. ; 27. 2 ; 28. 1 n. ; 35 n. ; 36. 2 n. ; 39. 7 n., 8 n., 9; 49. 4 n. ; 61. 1 n. Donatus, priest of Mutngenna, 39. Donatus, priest of the Donati.st party, 17. 1, 2 ; 39 n. D(jiiatus, Proconsul of Africa, 17 n. Drunkenness, condemned by St. Paul, 8. 3 ; in cemeteries, 3, 6 ; his De liepublica, 3 n. ; on friend-.ship, 59 Circumcellions, break into the church at Asna, 10. 12 ; their violence, 34. 1 n. Cirta, Profuturus made Bishop of,

9. 1 ; 30 n. ; 49. 13 n. See also Constantine Claudian, patronized by Stilicho, 25. 3 n. Cluacina, the go<Jdess of purification, 6. 2 Coelestius, 41 n. Columella, 6. 2 n. Comes per Africam, 30. 1 n.

INDEX

Floras, monk, 50. 1 n., 3 n. Fortunatus, Bishop of Cirta, 30 n. Free-will, Augustine on, 39. 3, 4 Friendship, Augustine on true, 59 Fundus, 30. 1 n. Fussala, 47. 2, 6, 9 suppressed in Italy, 4 ; Augustine's sermon on, 10. 3-6 ; on saints' days, 4, 6 ; how it came to be tolerated in the early Church, 9 ; drunk man in his cups swears by Christ, 55. 4 Duties, temporal, if scrupulously fulfilled make a man worthy of being entrusted with eternal things, 4. 2 Dux per Africam, 30. 1 n.

Galatians, expounded by Jerome,

9. 3 Gaudentius, 29. 1 '•Gaudy," a euphemism for a drunken festival, 10. 2 Gavinianus, 52 Gennadius, the physician, his dream, 38. 3, 4 Genseric, King of the Vandals, 42.

Earrings, used by men, 56. 2 u. Easter, a festival at whicli prisoners were released, 11. 2 n. ; neophytes wore their white garments for eight days after, 3 n. Ecdicia, Augustine's advice to, on the duty of a wife, 60. 1-11 Egj-pt, 5. 2 ; 49. 10 n. El Kantara, 51. 3 Ennius, 54. 3 Estates in Africa. 30. 1 n. Esther, Queen, 60. 10 Eucaddir, a priest, 6. 2 Eudoxius, Abbot, 15 n. Eusebius, 11 Eustasius, 15. 4 Evauder, 6. 2 Eve, 41. 8 Evodius, Bishop of Uzalis, note on 1 n. Germain of Auxerre, 44. 1 n. Gildo, the rebel, 39. 8 n. Gippi, 18. 1 Giraldus Cambrensis, 8. 3 n. God, the existence of one supreme,

5. 1 ; not made up of minor deities,

6. 1 ; alone worshipped by the Christians, 6. 5 Goths, the, sack Rome, 31. 2 Gregory the Great, on tolerating the pagan practices of converts, 10. 9 n. ; 51. 8 n. Guardians, clergy as, 58. 1 n. his liie, 38 n. Exedrae, 10. s n. Exsufflatiou, 39. 8 n.

Hadruinetuni, 50. 1 n. Hair worn short by nuns, 49. 10 ; nets worn o\er, ibid. Heraclian, revolt of, 34 n. ; 37 n. Hercules, 6. 2; his statue destroyed, 16 Herosj Bishop of Aries, 41. 7 n. Hiccouirh, cure for, 56. 2 n. Hilari, 53. 1 Hilarinus, a municipal doctor, 52 n. Hippo, the people of, refuse to let Augustine leave. 8. 9 ; 11. 4. 5 ; 13. 2 n. ; 18. 1; 19 n. ; 21. 1 n., Fascius, 61. 1 Fast-days, 10. 2 n. Faustus, the Donatist, 11. 5 n. ; 42. 1 n. Faventius, 30. 1 Fear, the god, 6. 2 Felicitas, note on her life, 48. 1 n. Felix, Bishop. 45. 1 n. ; his Act of Purgation, 49. 13 n. Felix, monk, 50. 1 : 58 Felix, patron .saint of Paulinus, 14n. Fever, the goddess, 6. 2 Fidelis, a communicant, 52. 1 n. Firm us, 43. 1 ; 45. 1 Flora, the shamelessness of her festivals, 24. 5 Floralia, the, held in abhorrence by the Church Fathers, 24. 5 n. Florentinus, 30 ; 55. 1, 7

•5 ; 22. 2 n. ; 23; 25. 1 n., 3 n. ; 30. 1 ; 32. 1 n. , 2 ; the people of, and the case of Pinianus, 33. 1, 3.

6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 ; 34. 1, 3 : 36 n. ; 38. 1 : 39. 7 n.. 8 n. ; 41. 7 n. siege of, 42. 1 n. ; 43. 1 ; 47. 2, 5 n. ; 48. 1 n. ; 49 n. ; library at, 13 n. ; 51. 2 ; 53. 1 n. ; 54. 7 n. ; 55. 7 ; 61 n. Honoratus, priest, 21. 4

INDEX

Judges, the duty of Christian, 34. 2 Jugurtha, 53. 1 n. Julian, Augustine's neighbour, 26. Julian, Emperor, his attempt to allegorize pagan mythology, 24. 5n., 8 Julian, of Eclanum, the Pelagian.

Honorius, dispute about his property, 21. 1 n., 5 Honorius, Emperor, orders closing of pagan temples, 16 n. ; 22 n. ; his edict forbidding non-Christian celebrations, 24 n. ; his Ediciuin quod de unitate against the Donatists, 25 n. ; his laws about the demolition of idols, 2, 3

Juliana, 37 n. Juno, 5. 2 Jurists, the, 39. 2 n. Justinian, legalized episcopal interhis laws of Januarj' 21, 409, 30 n. ; 34 n. ; annuls rescripts in favour of the Donatists, 35 n. ; 42. cession for criminals. 24. 7 n. ; 47. 2 n. Juvenal, 57. 2 n, 1 n. Horace, 13. 2 n. ; 54.3 Horani, Ad, 47. 3 n. Huns, the, 51. 3 n.

Lampadius, 57 Land in Africa, 30. 1 n. Lares, town of, 53. 1 n. Largus, xroconsul of Africa, 46. 1 n. Lateran Palace, presented to the Church by Constantine, 10 n. Laurentius, Bishop of Icosium, 47.

Immortality, 38. 3, 4 Indevotio, 31. 1 n.' Innocent, Pope, his letters to Augustine, 22 n. Innocentius, maltreated, 34. 1 lol, Phoenician colony, 47. 8 n. Italica, 26 n. Italy, Augustine in, 9 n.

8n. Lazarus, Bishop of Aix, 41. 7 n. Le Kef, 53. 1 n. Leo, the acolyte, 43. 1 Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, 43. 1 n. Leontius, the martyr, 10. 1 n. Libraries, belonging to churches, 49. 13 n. Lucan quoted, 5. 2 ; 59. 1 Lucifer of Calaris, 51. '.' n. Lucillus, deacon, 22. 1, 2 Lucinianus, 3. 1 Lucitas, worship of, 5. 2 Lydda, 41. 7 n. Lying never justifiable, 9. 3-5

Jacobus, 41 n. James, the Apostle, 50. 4, 7 Jerome, in Bethlehem, 9 n. ; Augustine urges him to translate the Greek commentators, 2 ; his translation of Job, 2 ; his books on St. Paul's Epistles, 3; in favour of presbyters being allowed to preach, 10. 7 n. ; 20 n. ; Augustine declares he did not write a book against, 2 ; his letter to Demctrias, 37 n. ; 43. 1 n. ; 49. 1» n., 13 n. ; on the five orders of the Church, 52 n. Jerusalem, 41 n. Jews, the, never held drunken festivals in the Temple, 10. 4 ; dispersion of, 55. 3 Job, translated by Jerome, 9. 2 John, the Apostle, 42. 3 John, thi Baptist, 42. 4 John, Bishop of Jerusalem, 41 n, John, tlie usurper, 51. 4 n. Jove, his adultery, 5. 2 ; fought his father from Olympns, 6. 1, 2 ; 24.

Macarius, monk, 10. 1 n. Macedonins, 61. 1 Madaura, 5. 1 n. ; 55. 1, 4 Majorinus, 4. 1 Manichee, Augustine becomes a, 9n. Mappalia, 19 n. Mappalians, the, re-baptized by Crispinu.s, 19. 1, 2 Marcellinus, a tribune and notary note on his life, 34 n. Marcianus, 59 Marcus Aurelius, 16 n. Mars, statue of, 6. 1 Martin of Tours, 7. 2 n.

4, 5 Juba II., 47, 8 n. Judas, 49. 4

INDEX

Neptune, 56. 2 Nestorian dispute, 43. 1 n. Nets worn on head, 49. 10 Nicaea, Council of, 47. 7 n. Nobilius, 62 Nola, 14 n. ; 28. 1 n. Novatus, Bishop of Sitifis, 22 n. ; note on his life, 53. In., 2 Numidia, terrorized bv the Dona-

Martyrs' tombs, offerings on, 10. 10 n. Massinissa, 11. 5 n. Mauretania, 47. 8 n. Maximian, 39. 8 n. Maximus the Grammarian, his pleasure in Augustine's conversation, 5. 1 ; aslvs Augustine to explain who the Christian God is,

5. 3 ; makes fun of Punic names, 6.2 Megalius, Bishop of Calama, his death, 13.2 ; ordained Augustine, 2 n. Melania, 32 n. ; 33 n., 4; her influence over Augustine, 5. Memorius, probably Bishop of Capua, 28 n. Miggo, 5. 2 Mila, 11. 5 n. Milan, pagan practices opposed in, tists, 10. 12 n. ; 13. 2 n. ; 23

Donatist disturbances in, 25 n. ; 38 n. ; 39. 8 n. Nuns, have hair cut short, 49. 10 n.

Oaths, sanctity of, 33. 11-14 Olybrius, 37 n. Olvmpius, Master of the Offices, 25 n. Olympus, Mt., no sure evidence that it is the abode of the gods,

5. 1 ; 6. 1, 2 Optatus, Bishop of Milevis, 11. 5 n, Optatus, Bishop of Tinigad, 39. 8 n. Ordination ier saltum, 47. 3 n. ; by force, 7. 2 n. ; 33 Ordo, municipal, 24. 8 ; 55. 1 n. Origen, Jerome's admiration of, 9. 2 Orosius, 15 n. Orphans, the Chixrch's care for, 58 n. Ostia, 38 n. by Ambrose, 10. 10 ; 12 n. ; 28 n. Miles Christi, 51. 12 n. M ileum, 25 n. Mileve, 25. 3 ; Council of, 47. 2 n. Milevis, or Mila, near Constantine,

11. 5 ; 13. 3 n. Militare J)eo, 51. 12 n. Mind, the, superior to sight, 2. 2 Minerva, 5. 2 Monasticism, development of, among women, 48. 1 n. Monks, wandering, 60. 5 Monnica, mother of Augustine, 10. 10 n. ; death of, 38 n. Moors, the, 51. 3 n. Morin, Dom Germain, 50. 1 n. Moses, breaks the tables of stone, Paganism, 5 ; 6 ; 10. 9 n. : 16

24; 55 Painting the face, 56. 1 n. Palestine, 36 n. ; 41 n., 7n. Palladius, 44. 1 n. Pallor, the god, 6. 2 Papa, used of all Bishops, 40. 1 n. Paratianis, 30. 1 Parentalia, 8. 3 n. Parochia, meaning "diocese," 47. 2 n. Parthenius, 8. 9 Paul, Apostle, did not lie in rebuk-

10.4 Moths, precautions against, 49. 12 Musica, De, Augustine's book, 28. 3n. Mutugenna, 39. 7

Nam, but, 18. 1 n. Names, Puritan, in Africa, 29. 1 n. Nam])hamo, the martyr, 5. 2 ; 6. 2 Nebridius, 3. 1, 3 Nectarius, 13. 3 Nectarius, decurion of Calama, 24 ing Peter, 9. 4 ; on drunkenness, 10. 5 ; forgoes the subsidy due to him, 21. 5 ; his vision, 38. 2 n. ; not allowed to exercise freewill, 39. 3 ; on suicide, 39.5 ; 50. 6 Panl, brother, 52 Paul, deacon, 51 Paulinianus, brother of Jerome, 20. n. , 3 n. Neophytes, wear white garments for eight days, 11. 3 n. Neophytorum, dies, 11. 3 n.

3n.

INDEX

Ram, symbolism of, 54. C n. Ravenna, 22 n. Reality, better apprehended by the Paulinus, the poet, note on his life, 14 n. ; his work against devilworshippers, 14 ; 28. 1 n. Pelagia, wife of Boniface, 51. 4 n. Pelagian heresy, 41. 1 n., 3-10^ 43. mind than by the senses, 2. 2 Restitutus, his murder, 34. Rioting and drunkenness, wrongly rn.";-44.rn. Pelagians, the, 43. 1 n. ; in Britain, considered tolerable, 8. 3 Roman Empire, the, 51. 8 Romanianus, 4. 1 n. Romanus, 14 Rome, her worship of sham deities,

44. 1 n. ; their heresy concerning grace, 50. 3-5 Pelagius, the heresiarch, 36 n. ; 41.

1 n., 1-6 Peregrinus, Count, 52 Persius quoted, 54. 2, 4 Peter, Apostle, withheld from hann-

5. 2 ; 20. 3 n. ; misfortunes of, due to Alaric, 22 n. ; 25 n. ; captured by Alaric, 26 n. ; sacked by the Goths, 31 n. ; 32 n. ; 36 ful deceit, 9. 3 ; disorders in the Church iu his time, 10. 10 ; and the payment of tribute, 21. 5 ; 41. 3 ; 42. 4 ; 479 ; 49. 4 ; 50. 6 ; 55. 3 ; 60. Petilianus, 35 n. Pinianus, 31 n. ; the dispute over his ordination, 33 u., 1-7 Placidia, 42. 1 n. ; 51. 4 n., 5 n. Plautus quoted, 6. 4 n. Polemo, note on his life, 35. 2 n., 3 Possidius, 19 n. ; 28. 1 n. ; 48. 1 n. ; 56.1 Praise, to be turned to the wellbeing of those who give it, 8. 8 ; what true praise is, 54. 2, 5 Presbyters, forbidden to preach, n. ; 37 n. ; 38. 3 ; 43. 1 n. ; 44. 1 n. ; 47. In.; municipal doctors in, 52 n. ; 53. 1 n. ; given over to idolatry, 55. 3 n. Rusicade, 30. 1 n. Rusticus, 58 n.

Saltus, 30. 1 n. Salvian, on the use of the name of Christ, 55. 4 n. Samsucius, Bishop of Tunes, 11, 6: 21. 4 Saname, 5. 2 Sanctuary in Churches, 30. 1 n. ; 61.1 Sara, 60. 7 Saturn, supposed by Virgil to have

10. 7 n. Primianus, Donatist Bishop of Carthage, 39. 7 n. ; note on his been a man, 6. 3 Saturninus, asked to visit Augustine, 8. 8 Seneca, 39. 2 n. Seiiex, metropolitan, 7. 5 n. Senses, the bodily, have no real existence, 1 Septimus Severus, 51. 3 Servus Christi, 51. 12 n. Seventy, translation of the Scriptures by the, 9. 2 Severus, Bishop of Milevis, 13. 3 life, 8 Priscus, Bishop of Quinza, 47. 8 Privatus, legacy left to, 21. 4 Proba, 37 n. Procopius, 47. 2 n. Proculianus, Donatist Bishop of Hippo, 11. 4 n., 5 Profuturus, appointed Bishop, 9 n. ; 13 Projectus, 44. 1 n. Psalms, the, Augustine on, 28. 4 Punic language, the, 6. 2 ; often the only one used near Hippo, 22. 2 n. Puritans, the English, 29 n. n. ; 14'; 22. 1 ; 25. 3; 29 Sicca, famous for Temple of Astarte, 53. 1 n.

Sicily, 36 n. Simplicianus, Bishop of Milan, note on his life, 12 n. ; Augustine asks him to criticize his work, 12.3

Quiza, Bishop of, 47. 8 n. Quodvultdeus, 29. 1

Radagaisus, defeated by Stilicho,

Sititis, 53. 1

534,

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