Letter 51: Addressed to the Emperor Theodosius after the massacre at Thessalonica. St. Ambrose begins by stating his reasons for not having met the Emperor on his return to Milan.

Addressed to the Emperor Theodosius [Theodosius I, 379-395] after the massacre at Thessalonica [in 390 AD, Theodosius ordered a retaliatory massacre in the city's hippodrome after a popular riot killed his military commander; approximately 7,000 men, women, and children were slaughtered]. Ambrose states his reasons for not meeting the Emperor on his return to Milan, reports the bishops' reaction to the slaughter, and argues that repentance is necessary for forgiveness. Ambrose declares he cannot offer the sacrifice in the Emperor's presence, and while grieving, he still hopes. 1. The memory of our old friendship is dear to me, and I gratefully recall the kindnesses you have most graciously granted to others in response to my frequent requests. From this it may be clear that I did not avoid meeting you on your arrival out of any ingratitude — your arrival, which I had always before eagerly awaited. Let me briefly explain my reasons for acting as I did. 2. I saw that I alone in your court had been stripped of the natural right to be informed, and was thereby also deprived of the ability to speak — for you were often troubled that certain decisions made in your council had come to my knowledge. I, therefore, have no share in the common privilege, since the Lord Jesus says: "Nothing is hidden that will not be made known" (Luke 8:17). So I complied with the imperial will as respectfully as I could, taking care that you would have no reason for displeasure when I arranged that nothing of the imperial decrees would be reported to me. When present, I would either fail to hear — because everyone else was afraid to speak — and so incur the charge of complicity; or I would hear in such a way that my ears were open but my voice was silenced, unable to utter what I had heard lest I bring danger to those suspected of leaking information. 3. What, then, could I do? Should I not hear? But I could not close my ears with the wax of ancient fables. Should I speak what I heard? But I was forced to guard my words against the very thing I feared from your commands — that some act of bloodshed would be carried out. Should I keep silent? But then my conscience would be bound and my voice taken away, which would be the most wretched condition of all. And where would that Scripture be? "If the priest does not speak to the one who errs, the one who errs shall die in his sin, and the priest shall be liable to the penalty because he failed to warn the erring" (Ezekiel 3:18). 4. Listen, august Emperor. I cannot deny that you have a zeal for the faith; I confess that you have the fear of God. But you have a natural intensity which, if someone tries to soothe, you quickly turn to mercy; but if someone provokes it, you stir it up so fiercely that you can barely restrain it. If only no one would inflame it, even if no one soothes it! I willingly entrust it to you — restrain yourself, and overcome your natural intensity through the love of devotion. 5. I preferred to commend this quality of yours privately to your own reflection, rather than risk inflaming it by any public action of mine. So I chose to be somewhat lacking in my duties rather than in humility, and preferred that others should think me lacking in priestly authority rather than that you should find me lacking in deep respect. By restraining your intensity, your power to exercise your own judgment would not be weakened. I excused myself by bodily illness — which was in fact severe, and could scarcely have been relieved without great care. Yet I would rather have died than not wait two or three days for your arrival. But it was not possible for me to do so. 6. What was done in the city of Thessalonica [the massacre of approximately 7,000 people in the hippodrome in retaliation for the murder of the Gothic military commander Butheric] has no parallel in recorded history. I was unable to prevent it from happening — though indeed I had beforehand said repeatedly that it would be utterly atrocious — and by revoking your own order too late, you yourself showed how grave you considered it. This I could not minimize once it was done. When the news first arrived, a synod had assembled for the visit of the Gallic bishops. There was not one who did not grieve over it, not one who took it lightly. Your being in fellowship with Ambrose would not have excused your deed. The blame for what happened would have been heaped more and more on me, had no one said that your reconciliation with our God was necessary. 7. Are you ashamed, Emperor, to do what the royal prophet David — the forefather of Christ according to the flesh — did? When David was told the story of the rich man who had many flocks but seized and killed the poor man's one lamb, and recognized that he himself was being condemned by the parable, he said: "I have sinned against the Lord." Bear it then without resentment, Emperor, if it is said to you: "You have done what was spoken of to King David by the prophet." For if you listen humbly to this and say, "I have sinned against the Lord," if you repeat the words of the royal prophet: "O come, let us worship and bow down before Him, and mourn before the Lord our God who made us," it shall be said to you also: "Since you repent, the Lord puts away your sin, and you shall not die." 8. And again, David, after he had commanded the people to be numbered, was stricken in heart and said to the Lord: "I have sinned greatly because I commanded this. And now, O Lord, take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly." And the prophet Nathan was sent again to him, offering him the choice of three things — famine in the land for three years, flight before his enemies for three months, or a deadly plague in the land for three days. And David answered: "These three choices are a terrible dilemma. But let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are very great, and let me not fall into the hands of men." His fault was that he desired to know the total number of his people — knowledge he should have left to God alone. 9. We are told that when death came upon the people, on the very first day at dinnertime, when David saw the angel striking the people, he said: "I have sinned, and I, the shepherd, have done wickedly, but this flock — what has it done? Let your hand be upon me and upon my father's house." And so the Lord relented and commanded the angel to spare the people, and David to offer a sacrifice. For in those days sacrifices were offered for sins; now the sacrifice is that of repentance. And so by humbling himself he became even more acceptable to God. For it is no wonder that a person should sin — what is blameworthy is when someone does not recognize his error and humble himself before God. 10. Holy Job, who was himself also powerful in this world, says: "I did not hide my sin, but declared it before all the people." His son Jonathan said to the fierce King Saul himself: "Do not sin against your servant David"; and: "Why do you sin against innocent blood, to slay David without cause?" For although Saul was a king, he would still have sinned by killing the innocent. And David too, when he held the kingdom and heard that innocent Abner had been killed by Joab, his army commander, said: "I am guiltless, and my kingdom is guiltless from this day forward of the blood of Abner, son of Ner," and he fasted in grief. 11. I have written this not to humiliate you, but so that the examples of these kings may move you to remove this sin from your realm. You will remove it by humbling your soul before God. You are a man, and temptation has come upon you — conquer it. Sin is not removed except by tears and repentance. Neither angel nor archangel can do it. The Lord Himself, who alone can say "I am with you" (Matthew 28:20), does not forgive any but those who repent. 12. I urge, I beg, I exhort, I warn — for it is a grief to me that you, who were an example of extraordinary devotion, who were distinguished for mercy, who would not allow individual offenders to be put in danger, should not now mourn that so many have perished. Though you have waged war with great success, and though in other matters you are worthy of praise, devotion has always been the crown of your actions. The devil envied what was your most excellent quality. Conquer him while you still possess the means to conquer. Do not add another sin to your sin through a course of action that has already injured many. 13. I, who am indebted to your kindness — for which I cannot be ungrateful, a kindness that has surpassed that of many emperors and been equaled by only one — I, I say, have no basis for a charge of defiance against you, but I do have reason for fear. I dare not offer the sacrifice [the Eucharist] if you intend to be present. Is what is not permitted after shedding the blood of one innocent person, permitted after shedding the blood of many? I do not think so. 14. Finally, I am writing with my own hand what only you may read. As I hope that the Lord will deliver me from all troubles, I have been warned — not by any person or through any person, but plainly by God Himself — that this is forbidden to me. For when I was anxious, on the very night I was preparing to set out, you appeared to me in a dream entering the Church, and I was not permitted to offer the sacrifice. I pass over other things I could have avoided, but I endured them out of love for you, as I believe. May the Lord cause all things to pass peacefully. Our God gives warnings in many ways — through heavenly signs, through the teachings of the prophets, through the visions even of sinners. He wants us to understand, to pray to Him to remove all disturbances, to preserve peace for you emperors, so that the faith and peace of the Church — for which it is advantageous that emperors be Christian and devout — may continue. 15. You certainly desire to be approved by God. "To everything there is a season" (Ecclesiastes 3:1), as it is written. You shall then make your offering when you have received permission to sacrifice, when your offering will be acceptable to God. Would it not delight me to enjoy the Emperor's favor and to act according to your wishes, if circumstances allowed it? Prayer by itself is a sacrifice — it obtains pardon, while the formal offering would bring offense. For the one is a sign of humility, the other of contempt. For the Word of God Himself tells us that He prefers obedience to His commandments over the offering of sacrifice. God proclaims this, Moses declares it to the people, Paul preaches it to the Gentiles. Do what you understand to be most beneficial for the present time. "I desire mercy rather than sacrifice" (Matthew 9:13). Are not those truly Christian who condemn their own sin, rather than those who try to defend it? "The just man is an accuser of himself at the first" — the one who accuses himself when he has sinned is just, not the one who praises himself. 16. I wish, Emperor, that I had trusted my own instincts earlier rather than your usual habits. When I consider how quickly you pardon and how quickly you revoke your sentences — as you have often done — you acted before I could intervene, and I failed to guard against what I need not have feared. But thanks be to the Lord, who disciplines His servants so that He may not lose them. This I have in common with the prophets, and you shall share it with the saints. 17. Shall I not value the father of Gratian [Theodosius was the father-in-law and protector of the young Emperor Gratian, murdered in 383] more than my very eyes? Your other sacred pledges [Theodosius' children] also call for mercy. I already gave a cherished name to those for whom I bore a shared love. I follow you with my love, my affection, and my prayers. If you believe me, be guided by me; if, I say, you believe me, acknowledge what I say; if you do not believe me, then pardon what I do — for I place God before you. May you, most august Emperor, with your holy children, enjoy perpetual peace with perfect happiness and prosperity.

Addressed to the Emperor Theodosius after the massacre at Thessalonica. St. Ambrose begins by stating his reasons for not having met the Emperor on his return to Milan. He then mentions the sentiments of the bishops with regard to the slaughter at Thessalonica, and points out that repentance for that deed is necessary to obtain forgiveness and a victory over the devil, the instigator to that crime. St. Ambrose could not offer the sacrifice in the Emperor's presence, and, as truly loving the Emperor, grieves and yet hopes. 1. The memory of your old friendship is pleasant to me, and I gratefully call to mind the kindnesses which, in reply to my frequent intercessions, you have most graciously conferred on others. Whence it may be inferred that I did not from any ungrateful feeling avoid meeting you on your arrival, which I had always before earnestly desired. And I will now briefly set forth the reason for my acting as I did. 2. I saw that from me alone in your court the natural right of hearing was withdrawn, so that I was deprived also of the office of speaking; for you were frequently troubled because certain matters which had been decided in your consistory had come to my knowledge. I, therefore, am without a part in the common privilege, since the Lord Jesus says: That nothing is hidden, which shall not be made known. Luke 8:17 I, therefore, as reverently as I could, complied with the imperial will, and took heed that neither yourself should have any reason for displeasure, when I effected that nothing should be related to me of the imperial decrees; and that I, when present, either should not hear, through fear of all others, and so incur the reputation of connivance, or should hear in such a fashion that my ears might be open, my utterance prevented, that I might not be able to utter what I had heard lest I should injure and bring in peril those who had incurred the suspicion of treachery. 3. What, then, could I do? Should I not hear? But I could not close my ears with the wax of the old fables. Should I utter what I heard? But I was bound to be on my guard in my words against that which I feared in your commands, namely, lest some deed of blood should be committed. Should I keep silence? But then my conscience would be bound, my utterance taken away, which would be the most wretched condition of all. And where would be that text? If the priest speak not to him that errs, he who errs shall die in his sin, and the priest shall be liable to the penalty because he warned not the erring. Ezekiel 3:18 4. Listen, august Emperor. I cannot deny that you have a zeal for the faith; I do confess that you have the fear of God. But you have a natural vehemence, which, if any one endeavours to soothe, you quickly turn to mercy; if any one stirs it up, you rouse it so much more that you can scarcely restrain it. Would that if no one soothe it, at least no one may inflame it! To yourself I willingly entrust it, you restrain yourself, and overcome your natural vehemence by the love of piety. 5. This vehemence of yours I preferred to commend privately to your own consideration, rather than possibly raise it by any action of mine in public. And so I have preferred to be somewhat wanting in duty rather than in humility, and that other, should rather think me wanting in priestly authority than that you should find me lacking in most loving reverence, that having restrained your vehemence your power of deciding on your counsel should not be weakened. I excuse myself by bodily sickness, which was in truth severe, and scarcely to be lightened but by great care. Yet I would rather have died than not wait two or three days for your arrival. But it was not possible for me to do so. 6. There was that done in the city of the Thessalonians of which no similar record exists, which I was not able to prevent happening; which, indeed, I had before said would be most atrocious when I so often petitioned against it, and that which you yourself show by revoking it too late you consider to be grave, this I could not extenuate when done. When it was first heard of, a synod had met because of the arrival of the Gallican Bishops. There was not one who did not lament it, not one who thought lightly of it; your being in fellowship with Ambrose was no excuse for your deed. Blame for what had been done would have been heaped more and more on me, had no one said that your reconciliation to our God was necessary. 7. Are you ashamed, O Emperor, to do that which the royal prophet David, the forefather of Christ, according to the flesh, did? To him it was told how the rich man who had many flocks seized and killed the poor man's one lamb, because of the arrival of his , and recognizing that he himself was being condemned in the tale, for that he himself had done it, he said: I have sinned against the Lord. Bear it, then, without impatience, O Emperor, if it be said to you: You have done that which was spoken of to King David by the prophet. For if you listen obediently to this, and say: I have sinned against the Lord, if you repeat those words of the royal prophet: O come let us worship and fall down before Him, and mourn before the Lord our God, Who made us, it shall be said to you also: Since you repent, the Lord puts away your sin, and you shall not die. 8. And again, David, after he had commanded the people to be numbered, was smitten in heart, and said to the Lord: I have sinned exceedingly, because I have commanded this, and now, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have transgressed exceedingly. And the prophet Nathan was sent again to him, to offer him the choice of three things, that he should select the one he chose — famine in the land for three years, or that he should flee for three months before his enemies, or mortal pestilence in the land for three days. And David answered: These three things are a great strait to me, but let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for very many are His mercies, and let me not fall into the hands of man. Now his fault was that he desired to know the number of the whole of the people which was with him, which knowledge he ought to have left to God alone. 9. And, we are told, when death came upon the people, on the very first day at dinner time, when David saw the angel smiting the people, he said: I have sinned, and I, the shepherd, have done wickedly, and this flock, what has it done? Let Your hand be upon me, and upon my father's house. And so it repented the Lord, and He commanded the angel to spare the people, and David to offer a sacrifice, for sacrifices were then offered for sins; sacrifices are now those of penitence. And so by that humbling of himself he became more acceptable to God, for it is no matter of wonder that a man should sin, but this is reprehensible, if he does not recognize that he has erred, and humble himself before God. 10. Holy Job, himself also powerful in this world, says: I hid not my sin, but declared it before all the people. His son Jonathan said to the fierce King Saul himself: Do not sin against your servant David; and: Why do you sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? For, although he was a king, yet he would have sinned if he slew the innocent. And again, David also, when he was in possession of the kingdom, and had heard that innocent Abner had been slain by Joab, the leader of his host, said: I am guiltless and my kingdom is guiltless henceforth and for ever of the blood of Abner, the son of Ner, and he fasted for sorrow. 11. I have written this, not in order to confound you, but that the examples of these kings may stir you up to put away this sin from your kingdom, for you will do it away by humbling your soul before God. You are a man, and it has come upon you, conquer it. Sin is not done away but by tears and penitence. Neither angel can do it, nor archangel. The Lord Himself, Who alone can say, I am with you, Matthew 28:20 if we have sinned, does not forgive any but those who repent. 12. I urge, I beg, I exhort, I warn, for it is a grief to me, that you who were an example of unusual piety, who were conspicuous for clemency, who would not suffer single offenders to be put in peril, should not mourn that so many have perished. Though you have waged battle most successfully, though in other matters, too, you are worthy of praise, yet piety was ever the crown of your actions. The devil envied that which was your most excellent possession. Conquer him while you still possess that wherewith you may conquer. Do not add another sin to your sin by a course of action which has injured many. 13. I, indeed, though a debtor to your kindness, for which I cannot be ungrateful, that kindness which has surpassed that of many emperors, and has been equalled by one only; I, I say, have no cause for a charge of contumacy against you, but have cause for fear; I dare not offer the sacrifice if you intend to be present. Is that which is not allowed after shedding the blood of one innocent person, allowed after shedding the blood of many? I do not think so. 14. Lastly, I am writing with my own hand that which you alone may read. As I hope that the Lord will deliver me from all troubles, I have been warned, not by man, nor through man, but plainly by Himself that this is forbidden me. For when I was anxious, in the very night in which I was preparing to set out, you appeared to me in a dream to have come into the Church, and I was not permitted to offer the sacrifice. I pass over other things, which I could have avoided, but I bore them for love of you, as I believe. May the Lord cause all things to pass peaceably. Our God gives warnings in many ways, by heavenly signs, by the precepts of the prophets; by the visions even of sinners He wills that we should understand, that we should entreat Him to take away all disturbances, to preserve peace for you emperors, that the faith and peace of the Church, whose advantage it is that emperors should be Christians and devout, may continue. 15. You certainly desire to be approved by God. To everything there is a time, Ecclesiastes 3:1 as it is written: It is time for You, Lord, to work. It is an acceptable time, O Lord. You shall then make your offering when you have received permission to sacrifice, when your offering shall be acceptable to God. Would it not delight me to enjoy the favour of the Emperor, to act according to your wish, if the case allowed it? And prayer by itself is a sacrifice, it obtains pardon, when the oblation would bring offense, for the one is a sign of humility, the other of contempt. For the Word of God Himself tells us that He prefers the performance of His commandments to the offering of sacrifice. God proclaims this, Moses declares it to the people, Paul preaches it to the Gentiles. Do that which you understand is most profitable for the time. I prefer mercy, it is said, rather than sacrifice. Matthew 9:13 Are they not, then, rather Christians in truth who condemn their own sin, than they who think to defend it? The just is an accuser of himself in the beginning of his words. He who accuses himself when he has sinned is just, not he who praises himself. 16. I wish, O Emperor, that before this I had trusted rather to myself, than to your habits. When I consider that you quickly pardon, and quickly revoke your sentence, as you have often done; you have been anticipated, and I have not shunned that which I needed not to fear. But thanks be to the Lord, Who wills to chastise His servants, that He may not lose them. This I have in common with the prophets, and you shall have it in common with the saints. 17. Shall I not value the father of Gratian more than my very eyes? Your other holy pledges also claim pardon. I conferred beforehand a dear name on those to whom I bore a common love. I follow you with my love, my affection, and my prayers. If you believe me, be guided by me; if, I say, you believe me, acknowledge what I say; if you believe me not, pardon that which I do, in that I set God before you. May you, most august Emperor, with your holy offspring, enjoy perpetual peace with perfect happiness and prosperity. About this page Source. Translated by H. de Romestin, E. de Romestin and H.T.F. Duckworth. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 10. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1896.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/340951.htm>. Contact information. 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