Letter 33

From: Paulinus, bishop of Nola To: Alethius, bishop (brother of Florentius) Date: ~417 AD Context: Paulinus thanks Alethius for a letter delivered by the monk Victor, and responds to a request for spiritual writing with characteristic self-deprecation. My blessed and venerable brother Alethius, Thanks be to God, who has made the fragrance of his grace in you known to me through the eloquence of your letter. It came to me through our dear brother in God, Victor — a man whose service to God consists in serving the bonds of brotherly love. Year after year he makes the long journey between us, tirelessly carrying letters across the vast distances that separate us, offering the physical labor of his devout travels in the service of spiritual affection. Through this brother and fellow servant in the Lord — a man we share as a kindred spirit — I received a gift as sweet as it was unexpected: your letter. In it, the good treasure of your heart [Matthew 12:35] was made plain, and rightly did I rejoice at the blessing of your greeting, for in the mirror of your most pure words I could see the inner man, and I recognized how much help the Lord is providing me through you. But in the tasks you have asked me to undertake — generous as your estimation of my poverty is — you have shown the holy confidence of a perfectly pure love. Yet you were led astray, I think, by the reputation of the Lord's work in me, and you assumed that because God has inspired in us the desire for our own redemption, we must also possess a wealth of talent and eloquence. A noble desire, deceived by generous hopes and empty opinions. For where would I find enough water to match your thirst, or a cup worthy of your lips? Where would I find enough bread to feed you? You will only go hungrier for having asked — you who hunger for the bread of light and life found in the Gospel, yet come knocking in the dead of this world's night at the meager pantry of a drowsy, impoverished friend. You who thirst for rivers of living water [John 7:38] are scratching at a dry little vein and trying to squeeze moisture from pumice. Either there is no spring within me at all — just the dryness of ignorance — or if there is one, it runs bitter with the taste of my failings. But may your prayers and letters, generously and often bestowed, cause whatever is within me to overflow and grow sweet — sweetened by the wood of your faith and the pleasantness of your words. Then, like a prophet's rod striking the rock of my heart, the word of God which you, as a good servant, draw from your faithful lips may cause even my stony interior to pour forth something useful.

XXXIII. BEATO ET MERITO VENERABILI AC DILECTISSIMO FRATRI ALETHIO PAVLINVS. Deo gratias, qui odorem gratiae in te suae per eloquium litterarum tuarum manifestauit mihi. per fratrem enim carissimum in deo Victorem meum hoc munere militantem deo, ut fraternae seruiat caritati hisque nobis per longinqua terrarum interualla discretis inpigrum annuis discursibus tabellarium praebeat et religiosissimis officiis mutuo uisitantium corporalem laborem spiritali inpendat affectu, per hunc ergo fratrem et conseruum in domino et communem unanimum (nam 4] (Es. 53, 4). 5] I Ps. 106, 9; II Cor. 5, 1; Ps. 117, 15. 9] I Thess. 4, 16. 14] (II Cor. 2,14). 4 mirando FU 6 ut] quam M 8 et rex erit ex erexerit P m. 2 9 qui U 10 secula] bene ualeas add. FP*, bene uale add. U . — finit ad seuerum de fabricis 0, eiplicit de fabricis ad seuerum P. FLMOPU . — ad aletium epm frem ipsius florentis • XLI. M, ad aletium epm frem supra scripti • xxxm. L, incipit ad aletium epm fratrem supra scripti 0, epistola sancti paulini episcopi ad aletium: ubi pro transmissis epistolis plurimum gratulatur et de elemosinis: et earum utilitate longa sermonis congerie eum commendans ipsam intexit et com- plet epistolam U 12 beato-Pauilnus om. O aletio FLMPU Meropius Paulinus salutem epistola XXVIII F 14 eloquium O, eloquia cet . 17 hisque FOPU, isque LM, seque v 18 annius U 21 et] L, qui Chiffl . communem M, communis cet . unanimum M, nobis unanituus (nobis in ras.) L, unanimus cet., et unanimus Chiffl . et uobis ea se, qua nobis insitus est, acceptissimum gratia gloriatur), per hunc, inquam, mihi sancte uenerabilis frater, tam dulce quam insperatum mihi munus accepi, epistolam tuam, in qua nobis bonus cordis tui thesaurus apparuit, ut merito percepta officii tui benedictione gauderem, cum faciem interioris tui castissimo speculatus eloquio, quantum in te mihi a domino adiutorium conferatur, agnoscerem. Sed in his, quae mihi iniungenda diues inopiae aestimator putasti, sanctam quidem purissimae caritatis fiduciam demonstrasti, fama tamen, quantum intellego, dominici operis persuadente inductus es, ut secundum opus domini, qui nobis curam redemptionis nostrae inspirare dignatus est, ingenii quoque et oris opes subpetere nobis arbitrareris. sed bonam concupiscentiam magna fide uacuis opinionibus spes inlusa decepit. unde enim mihi tantum aquae, quantum sitis, aut tale poculum, quod digne bibas? unde tantos panes, quantos postulas? sed ipse tibi auctor iniuriae tuae eris diutius esurire, qui euangelicos lucis et uitae cibos in alta huius saeculi nocte desiderans somnolenti et pauperis amici egenam penum pulsas, qui flumina aquae uiuae sitiens arentem uenulam scalpis et humorem de pumice conaris exprimere. aut enim nullus mihi de inspirantiae siccitate aut amarus de malitiae felle fons intus est, quem utinam orationes et litterae tuae saepius inpensae mihi exundare et dulcescere faciant fidei tuae ligno et eloquii suauitate, ut et uerbo dei, quod bonus minister 4] (Matth. 12, 35). 16] (Luc. 11, 5). 20] (Ioh. 7, 38). 24] (Ex. 15, 25). 2 mihi om. LM 3 minus 0 5 percepti F, percepto PU 6 tui] tui hominis M 7 conferatur scripsi, conferam FOPU, conferat LM, conferant Schot . 8 hiis U, iis Schot . inopia 0 9 sanctum U, sêIi1 0 11 qui 0, quo cet . 13 arbitraris FU 15 tantum aquae mihi M aut] ut 0, unde M Schot . 16 tanti LM Chtffl . 17 esuriens M 18 euangelicus 0 19 somnulenti 0 20 aq. 0 scalpis M Schot., scalpes FOPU, calpes L 21 pumitetonaris erpremere 0 22 inspirantiae] insipientiae coni. Latinius et Sacch . 23 orationis 0 24 exuodare et scripsi, exundarent FOPU, eiundare ac LM, exundanter Bosto . 25 ut et — p . 303, 1 cordis om. M pio ore deprompseris, quasi uirga prophetae percusso cordis