--- title: "Letters · Epistulae" author: "Augustine" translator: "James Houston Baxter" languages: [la, en] shelf: "Church Fathers" section: 42 of 62 url: https://scriptura.si/works/augustine-letters/42/ cite: "Augustine, tr. James Houston Baxter, Letters · Epistulae, section 42. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/augustine-letters/42/" --- # Letters · Epistulae *Augustine, tr. James Houston Baxter* Augustine’s letters in Latin beside English. > Latin: ed. James Houston Baxter, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-latinLit, stoa0040.stoa011, CC BY-SA 4.0). > English: James Houston Baxter, from the Perseus Digital Library (stoa0040.stoa011.perseus-eng1). Notes are not included. > Rows follow the references the two texts share (books, chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence. ## 42. Letter 42 Source: https://scriptura.si/works/augustine-letters/42/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/augustine-letters/42/#p-N [¶0] 1. I had already written my reply to your Charity, but when I was looking for an opportunity of transmitting my letter, my beloved son Faustus arrived on his way to your Excellency. After receiving the letter which I had already composed for conveyance to your Benevolence, he intimated to me your strong desire that I should write something to you that would build you up unto that eternal salvation of which your confidence is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And although I was busily occupied, he urged me with that instancy which, as you know, is proportioned to his affection for you, not to postpone the writing of it. To meet his haste, then, I have chosen rather to write something in haste than to keep your holy desire in suspense, my noble and justly distinguished lord and honourable son. > Latin: 1. Iam rescripseram caritati tuae, sed, cum epistulae dirigendae occasio quaereretur, supervenit dilectissimus filius meus Faustus pergens ad eximietatem tuam. Qui cum ipsas litteras, quas iam feceram, accepisset tuae benivolentiae perferendas, suggessit mihi multum te desiderare ut aliquid tibi scriberem quod te aedificet ad sempiternam salutem, cuius tibi spes in Christo Iesu domino nostro. Et quamvis mihi occupato tantum institit ut facere non differrem, quantum scis quod te sinceriter diligat. Festinanti ergo ut occurrerem, malui festinanter aliquid scribere quam religiosum tuum desiderium retardare, domine eximie et merito insignis atque honorabilis fili. [¶1] 2. All then that lean say in the short time I have is this: “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength,” and “love thy neighbour as thyself.”a These are the words in which the Lord while upon earth summed up everything, saying in the Gospel: “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”b In this love therefore make daily progress by both prayer and good deeds, so that by the help of Him who enjoined it upon you and granted you to possess it, it may find nourishment and increase, until being perfect it makes you perfect. For that is the love which, in the words of the apostle. “is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us” c; it is that love which he also describes as the “fulfilling of the law” d; it is that by which faith worketh, of which he says again, “Neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith, which worketh by love.”e In this love all our holy fathers and patriarchs and prophets and apostles pleased God; in it all true martyrs contended against the devil even unto blood, f and because in them it neither waxed cold nor failed, they won the day; in it all good believers make daily progress, seeking to attain not unto an earthly kingdom, but unto the kingdom of heaven, not unto a temporal, but unto an eternal inheritance, g not unto gold and silver, but unto the incorruptible riches of the angels, not unto any of this world's good things, which make life full of fear and which no one can take with him when he dies, but unto the vision of God. > Latin: 2. Quod ergo breviter possum dicere: Dilige dominum deum tuum in toto corde tuo et in tota anima tua et in tota virtute tua, et: Dilige proximum tuum tamquam te ipsum—hoc est enim verbum, quod breviavit dominus super terram dicens in evangelio: In his duobus praeceptis tota lex pendet et prophetae,—in hac ergo dilectione cotidie profice et orando et bene agendo, ut ipso adiuvante, qui tibi eam praecepit atque donavit, nutriatur et crescat, donec haec te perfecta perficiat. Ipsa est enim caritas, quae, sicut dicit apostolus, diffusa est in cordibus nostris per spiritum sanctum, qui datus est nobis; ipsa est, de qua item dicit: Plenitudo legis caritas; ipsa est, per quam fides operatur, unde iterum dicit: Neque circumcisio quicquam valet neque praeputium sed fides, quae per dilectionem operatur. [¶2] 3. h His sweetness and delight transcend all beauty of form not only in earthly things, but even in heavenly, transcend all loveliness of souls however righteous and holy, transcend all the comeliness of angels and powers above, transcend not only everything that language can express about Him, but also everything that the mind can imagine. And let us not despair of the fulfilment of a promise so great, since it is great indeed, but rather let us have faith that we shall obtain it, since He is great Who made the promise; as the blessed John the apostle says, “Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” a Do not think that it is impossible for anyone to please God while engaged in military service. > Latin: 3. In hac omnes sancti patres nostri et patriarchae et prophetae et apostoli placuerunt deo; in hac omnes veri martyres usque ad sanguinem contra diabolum certaverunt et, quia in eis non refriguit nec defecit, ideo vicerunt; in hac omnes boni fideles cotidie proficiunt, pervenire cupientes non ad regnum mortalium, sed ad regnum caelorum, non ad temporalem, sed ad sempiternam hereditatem, non ad aurum et argentum, sed ad divitias incorruptibiles angelorum, non ad aliqua bona huius saeculi, in quibus cum timore vivatur nec ea quisquam secum potest auferre dum moritur, sed ad videndum deum; cuius suavitas et delectatio excedit omnem non solum terrestrium, verum etiam caelestium corporum pulchritudinem, excedit omnem decorem animarum quantum libet iustarum atque sanctarum, excedit omnem speciem supernorum angelorum atque virtutum, excedit quicquid de illo non solum dicitur, verum etiam cogitatur. Neque hanc tam magnam promissionem, quia valde magna est, ideo desperemus, sed potius, quia valde magnus eam promisit, accepturos nos esse credamus. Sicut enim dicit beatus Iohannes apostolus, filii dei sumus et nondum apparuit, quid erimus; scimus quia, cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus, quoniam videbimus eum sicuti est. [¶3] 4. Among such was the holy David, to whom the Lord gave so great a testimony, and among such were also many righteous men of that dispensation; among such too was that centurion who said to the Lord, “I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only and my servant shall be healed; for I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Come, and he cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it,” and of whom the Lord said, “Verily, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” b Among such too was that Cornelius to whom an angel said, “Cornelius, thine alms are accepted, and thy prayers are heard,” c by which words he signified that he should send to the blessed apostle Peter and hear from him what he should do; to which apostle he sent a godly soldier, asking him to visit him. Among such too were those who came to be baptized by John, the holy forerunner of the Lord and the friend of the bridegroom, about whom the Lord Himself said, “Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist” d; they asked of him what they should do, and he made answer to them: “Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages.”a To be sure, when he commanded them to be content with their military wages, he did not forbid them to serve as soldiers. > Latin: 4. Noli existimare neminem deo placere posse, qui in armis bellicis militat. In his erat sanctus David, cui dominus tam magnum perhibuit testimonium; in his etiam plurimi illius temporis iusti; in his erat et ille centurio, qui domino dixit: Non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo et sanabitur puer meus. Nam et ego homo sum sub potestate constitutus habens sub me milites et dico huic: “Vade ” et vadit, et alio: “Veni ” et venit, et servo meo: “Fac hoc ” et facit; de quo et dominus: Amen dico vobis; non inveni tantam fidem in Israhel. In his erat et ille Cornelius, ad quem missus angelus dixit: Corneli, acceptae sunt elemosynae tuae et exauditae sunt orationes tuae; ubi eum admonuit, ut ad beatum Petrum apostolum mitteret et ab illo audiret quae facere deberet; ad quem apostolum, ut ad eum veniret, etiam religiosum militem misit. In his erant et illi, qui baptizandi cum venissent ad Iohannem, sanctum domini praecursorem et amicum sponsi, de quo ipse dominus ait: In natis mulierum non exsurrexit maior Iohanne Baptista, et quaesissent ab eo, quid facerent, respondit eis: Neminem concusseritis, nulli calumniam feceritis, sufficiat vobis stipendium vestrum. Non eos utique sub armis militare prohibuit, quibus suum stipendium sufficere debere praecepit. [¶4] 5. They have a greater place before God, who abandon all these worldly employments to serve him with the strictest self-discipline and chastity; “but everyone,” as the apostle says, “hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner and another after that.” b There are some, then, who by praying for you fight against your invisible foes, while you by fighting for them are striving against the visible barbarians. Would that there were one faith in all, for there would be less of striving and the devil with his angels would be more easily overcome! But as it is necessary in this world that the citizens of the kingdom of heaven should be harassed by temptations among erring and irreverent men so that they may be exercised and tried as gold in the furnace, c we ought not before the appointed time to desire to live with the saints and righteous alone, so that we may deserve to receive this blessedness in its own due time. > Latin: 5. Maioris quidem loci sunt apud deum, qui omnibus istis saecularibus actionibus derelictis etiam summa continentia castitatis ei serviunt. Sed unusquisque, sicut dicit apostolus,proprium domini habet adeo, alius sic, alius autem sic. Alii ergo pro vobis orando pugnant contra invisibiles inimicos, vos pro eis pugnando laboratis contra visibiles barbaros. Utinam una fides esset in omnibus, quia et minus laboraretur et facilius diabolus cum suis angelis vinceretur! Sed quia in hoc saeculo necesse est, ut cives regni caelorum inter errantes et impios temptationibus agitentur, ut exerceantur et tamquam in fornace sicut aurum probentur, non debemus ante tempus velle cum solis sanctis et iustis vivere, ut hoc suo tempore mereamur accipere. [¶5] 6. Think, then, of this point first of all when you are arming for battle, that your strength, even that of the body, is a gift from God; in this way you will not think of using God's gift against God. For when faith is pledged, it is to be kept even with the enemy against whom you are waging war; how much more with the friend, for whose sake you are fighting! You ought to have peace as the object of your choice and war only as the result of necessity, so that God may deliver you from the necessity and preserve you 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.” a 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 when a disturbance of the peace is not to be feared. > Latin: 6. Hoc ergo primum cogita, quando armaris ad pugnam, quia virtus tua etiam ipsa corporalis donum dei est; sic enim cogitabis de dono dei non facere contra deum. Fides enim quando promittitur, etiam hosti servanda est, contra quem bellum geritur; quanto magis amico, pro quo pugnatur! Pacem habere debet voluntas, bellum necessitas, ut liberet deus a necessitate et conservet in pace. Non enim pax quaeritur, ut bellum excitetur, sed bellum geritur, ut pax adquiratur. Esto ergo etiam bellando pacificus, ut eos, quos expugnas, ad pacis utilitatem vincendo perducas; beati enim pacifici, ait dominus, quoniam ipsi filii dei vocabuntur. Si autem pax humana tam dulcis est pro temporali salute mortalium, quanto est dulcior pax divina pro aeterna salute angelorum! Itaque hostem pugnantem necessitas perimat, non voluntas. Sicut rebellanti et resistenti violentia redditur, ita victo vel capto misericordia iam debetur, maxime in quo pacis perturbatio non timetur. [¶6] 7. Let your character be adorned by chastity in the 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 works; 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,” b 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. c In such matters as this, however, I know that you are very zealous, and I take great delight in your reputation and greatly congratulate you in the Lord upon it. > Latin: 7. Ornet mores tuos pudicitia coniugalis, ornet sobrietas et frugalitas; valde enim turpe est, ut, quem non vincit homo, vincat 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 nec debent, si accedunt, extollere nec debent frangere, si recedunt. Illud potius cogitemus, quod dominus ait: Ubi est thesaurus tuus, illic erit et cor tuum, et utique, cum audimus ut cor sursum habeamus, non mendaciter respondere debemus, quod nosti quia respondemus. [¶7] 8. 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 written, “Every good and perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights.”a 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 life of man upon earth a life of temptation?”b 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,”c 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! > Latin: 8. Et in his quidem bene studiosum te esse cognovi et fama tua multum delector multumque tibi in 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 illi da claritatem, tibi humilitatem. Sicut enim scriptum est, omne 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 litteris sanctis: Numquid non 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 postulaverat, 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 qualitercumque non defui. Semper te misericordia dei protegat, domine eximie et merito insignis atque honorabilis fili.