Letter 5: Is it true, my beloved Augustine, that you are spending your strength and patience on the affairs of your fellow citizens (in Thagaste), and that the leisure from distractions which you so earnestly desired is still withheld from you? Who, I would like to know, are the men who thus take advantage of your good nature, and trespass on your time? I...
Letter 5 (388 AD)
To Augustine — Nebridius sends greetings.
Is it true, my dear Augustine, that you are wearing yourself out on the business of your fellow citizens in Thagaste [Augustine's hometown in North Africa, modern Souk Ahras, Algeria], and that the undisturbed leisure you so desperately wanted is still being kept from you? Who are these people exploiting your good nature and stealing your time? I would love to know. I suspect they have no idea what you truly love and long for. Is there no friend nearby to tell them what your heart is set on? Will neither Romanianus nor Lucinianus [friends and patrons in Thagaste] do this?
Then let them hear me, at least. I will shout it: I will declare that God is the supreme object of your love, and that your heart's desire is to serve him and to cling to him.
I would love to persuade you to come to my house in the country and rest here. I will not be afraid of being called a kidnapper by those townspeople of yours — people you love far too much, and who love you far too much in return.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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