Letter 77

Nemesianus, Dativus, Felix, and Victor to their brother Cyprian, eternal salvation in the Lord. You speak, dearly beloved Cyprian, always with deep meaning in your letters — fitting for the gravity of our times. By the steady reading of those letters the wayward are corrected and men of true faith are confirmed. You never cease, in your writings, to lay bare the hidden mysteries; you make us grow in faith; you draw men from the world toward belief. In all the good things you have put into your many books, you have — without knowing it — painted a portrait of yourself for us. For you are greater than all men in discourse, more eloquent in speech, wiser in counsel, more simple in patience, more abundant in works, more holy in abstinence, more humble in obedience, and more innocent in good deeds. You know this, beloved: our eager wish was to see you — our teacher and our father — receive the crown of a great confession. For before the proconsul, as a good and true teacher, you spoke first what we your disciples were to follow and repeat before the president. Like a sounding trumpet you stirred up God's soldiers, armed with heavenly weapons, into the close fight. Now fight on with us still, though from a distance. Pray without ceasing for those of us still in the struggle, that the Lord who has given us the will to confess may give us also the strength to complete what we have begun. We who follow in your footsteps hope for the grace you have already received. For whoever leads in the race leads also toward the prize. You who first set foot on this course have shared it with us from what you began — showing the undivided love with which you have always loved us, so that we who had one Spirit in the bond of peace might share also in the grace of your prayers, and one crown of confession. May we meet before the throne of Christ.

Epistle 77 Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99... The Reply of Nemesianus, Dativus, Felix, and Victor, to Cyprian. Argument.— This Epistle and the Two Following Contain Nothing Else Than Replies to the Foregoing, Inasmuch as They Contain The Thanksgiving as Well for the Comfort Conveyed by the Letter as for the Assistance Sent Therewith. But from the Fact that Three Distinct Letters are Sent in Reply to the Single One of Cyprian's, We are to Gather that the Bishops Who Wrote Them Were Placed in Different Departments of the Mines. 1. Nemesianus, Dativus, Felix, and Victor, to their brother Cyprian, in the Lord eternal salvation. You speak, dearly beloved Cyprian, in your letters always with deep meaning, as suits the condition of the time, by the assiduous reading of which letters both the wicked are corrected and men of good faith are confirmed. For while you do not cease in your writings to lay bare the hidden mysteries, you thus make us to grow in faith, and men from the world to draw near to belief. For by whatever good things you have introduced in your many books, unconsciously you have described yourself to us. For you are greater than all men in discourse, in speech more eloquent, in counsel wiser, in patience more simple, in works more abundant, in abstinence more holy, in obedience more humble, and in good deeds more innocent. And you yourself know, beloved, that our eager wish was, that we might see you, our teacher and our lover, attain to the crown of a great confession. 2. For, in the proceedings before the proconsul; as a good and true teacher you first have pronounced that which we your disciples, following you, ought to say before the president. And, as a sounding trumpet, you have stirred up God's soldiers, furnished with heavenly arms, to the close encounter; and fighting in the first rank, you have slain the devil with a spiritual sword: you have also ordered the troops of the brethren, on the one hand and on the other, with your words, so that snares were on all sides laid for the enemy, and the severed sinews of the very carcass of the public foe were trodden under foot. Believe us, dearest, that your innocent spirit is not far from the hundred-fold reward, seeing that it has feared neither the first onsets of the world, nor shrunk from going into exile, nor hesitated to leave the city, nor dreaded to dwell in a desert place; and since it furnished many with an example of confession, itself first spoke the martyr-witness. For it provoked others to acts of martyrdom by its own example; and not only began to be a companion of the martyrs already departing from the world, but also linked a heavenly friendship with those who should be so. 3. Therefore they who were condemned with us give you before God the greatest thanks, beloved Cyprian, that in your letter you have refreshed their suffering breasts; have healed their limbs wounded with clubs; have loosened their feet bound with fetters; have smoothed the hair of their half-shorn head; have illuminated the darkness of the dungeon; have brought down the mountains of the mine to a smooth surface; have even placed fragrant flowers to their nostrils, and have shut out the foul odour of the smoke. Moreover, your continued gifts, and those of our beloved Quirinus, which you sent to be distributed by Herennianus the subdeacon, and Lucian, and Maximus, and Amantius the acolytes, provided a supply of whatever had been wanting for the necessities of their bodies. Let us, then, be in our prayers helpers of one another: and let us ask, as you have bidden us, that we may have God and Christ and the angels as supporters in all our actions. We bid you, lord and brother, ever heartily farewell, and have us in mind. Greet all who are with you. All ours who are with us love you, and greet you, and desire to see you.