Letter 13

UnknownPammachius|c. 402 AD|paulinus nola
education booksgrief deathwomen
From: Paulinus of Nola
To: Pammachius, a Roman senator
Date: ~398 AD
Context: A consolation letter to the Roman senator Pammachius on the death of his wife Paulina — a major document of late antique Christian consolation literature, drawing on the theology of the resurrection and the communion of saints.

Paulinus to his dearest brother, deservedly praiseworthy and most venerable Pammachius.

Just as until now I kept a time of silence with proper humility, so now I have recognized the time for speaking with the love that is owed, my venerable and dearest brother in Christ the Lord [Ecclesiastes 3:7]. For through the writings of the holy man our brother Olympius, our kindred spirit, I recently received news of your grief — as unexpected to me as it was unwished — in which my fellowship in your sorrow and the duty of my voice could not be lacking. That the private feelings of personal love be silent I could not permit, but the love of Christ our Lord and God, in whom and through whom we are joined as members of one body, would not allow it. For the Lord God himself, our teacher of life and devotion alike, taught us through that heavenly "vessel of his election" [Acts 9:15] "to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep" [Romans 12:15], and in turn to share one another's sufferings and "bear one another's burdens" [Galatians 6:2], so that we might strengthen our common faith and comfort weary hearts through mutual consolation.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.

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