Letter 6

From: Paulinus of Nola and Therasia, his wife To: Augustine, bishop of Hippo Date: ~396 AD Context: Paulinus writes to Augustine a second time, explaining that an earlier letter may not have arrived, and expressing how deeply Augustine's anti-Manichaean writings have planted love for him in their hearts — a love felt before they ever met. Paulinus and Therasia, sinners, to their lord, holy brother and kindred spirit in Christ, Augustine. For a long time now, my kindred spirit and brother in Christ, since I came to know you through your holy and devoted labors while you were still unaware of me, I embraced you in absence with my whole mind and hastened to reach you through a brotherly and familiar letter. I trust that by the Lord's hand and grace my letter was delivered to you. But since the servant we sent before winter to greet you and other friends equally beloved of God has not yet returned, we could not hold back our duty of greeting or restrain our most eager desire for your words any longer. And so we are writing again now — for the second time, if our first letter reached you, or for the first time, if it did not have the good fortune to arrive in your hands. But you, spiritual brother who judges all things [1 Corinthians 2:15], do not measure our love for you merely by the duty or timing of our letters. For the Lord is my witness — he who, one and the same, works his love in his people everywhere — that ever since we came to know you through your works against the Manichaeans, sent to us by the venerable bishops Aurelius and Alypius, your love has been so implanted in us that we seemed not to be taking up some new friendship but resuming an old love. And so, even though we write as if for the first time in words, we do not write as strangers in affection.

VI. DOMNO FRATRI SANCTO ET VNANIMO AVOVSTINO PAVLINVS ET THERASIA PECCATORES. Iamdudum, frater in Christo domino mi unanime, ut te in sanctis et piis laboribus tuis nescientem agnoui 8] (II Cor. 4, 7). 15] Ps. 18, 8 et 52, 4. 16] Matth. 10, 36. 1 domine U 2 siliginenus L excidere PU 8 nram 0 4 apoforita U, apoforitam cet. v, apophoritum Rosw . accipias FLMp., suscipias U 5 pr . si F add. m. 2 argillam tu habes coni. Sacch . 6 per ea] ei ea uel terrea coni. Sacch . pueris tuis LM 8 cognata Rosw., cognita u 10 ius animi tui FPU me habere M 12 inpendi LOv, impendere M, impendas et FPU ordinare om. M 13 narbone MO 14 dannum F 16 inimici] iniqui LO 17 eius] ualeas add. Fp.U. — Finit prima epta FP, finit ad seuerum epistola 1 0. CrFMPUYCtcyôfhcp . — incipit epfa paulini ettherasiae ad augustinum (XVIU add. (f) Tcp, epJa paulini et therasiae ad (sêID add. a) aug ay, epistola paulini et therasye ad lypium ...... h, XXVII. item paulinus et therasia ad aug C, augustino paulinus FP, paulini ad augustinum absentemque uidi tota mente conplexus, alloquio quoque familiari atque fraterno per litteras adire properaui. et credo in manu et in gratia domini sermonem meum ad te fuisse perlatum; sed morante adhuc puero, quem ad te aliosque dilectos aeque deo salutandos ante hiemem miseramus, non potuimus ultra et officium nostrum suspendere et desiderium sermonis tui cupidissimum temperare. scripsimus itaque iterato nunc, si priores ad te litterae nostrae peruenire meruerunt, aut primo, si illis in manus tuas perueniendi felicitas non fuit. Sed tu, frater spiritalis omnia iudicans, amorem in te nostrum ne pendas officio solo aut tempore litterarum. dominus enim testis est, qui unus atque idem operatur in suis ubique caritatem suam, iam abinde nobis, ex quo te beneficio uenerabilium episcoporum Aurelii et Alypii per tua in Manichaeos opera cognouimus, ita inditam dilectionem tuam, ut nobis non nouam aliquam amicitiam sumere, sed quasi ueterem caritatem resumere uideremur. denique nunc etsi sermone, non tamen tamquam et affectu rudes scribimus teque 10] I Cor. 2,15. 12] I Cor. 12,1. XVII. f, epia, sei paulini ad scfii augustinum • III - M, item epia paulini ad augustinum XVII. J, epistola sancti paulini episcopi ad augustinum episcopum in qua rogat ut sibi scribat ad iugem amicitiam conseruandam estendens (sic) quod plurimum eum uidere desiderat U . — 19 domini r sancto fratri Col., fratri c uuianimo rYyc augustino unanimo f, unianimo Y 20 tharasia c 21 frater om. S, fratri (in om.) f xpo dne FPU, dno xpo d\'f mi om. a unianime ry, unanimem Y ut te] uitg uel iute tp\\ te M 22 in om. FPU nescientem] presentem f 2 adire MYah, a*dire cp, audire cet . im c 3 et in] et FPUY 4 aliusque dilectus Y 5 hymem f miseramur yl, miseratus C1 6pr . et U c 8. l. m. 2, uel M post . et] uel M 7 copidissimo (u m. 2) Y temptare FPU itaque a s. I . nunc] nomina a 8 luterae c litterae nostrae ad te h meruerint U, metuerunt f 9 facilitas c 10 spiritualis a, spiritaliter Col . diiudicans Y 11 ne pendeas h, ne perpendas M, rependas r officio solo] officiolo PU, officio F 12 unius y 14 aurilii Yl alippii F, alypii U, alipii cet . 15 manicheos « 16 non nunc Sf amici ra sed in r spat. rel. uac . 17 uideamur FPU etsi nunc « 18 sermonem (pl rude Y, rodes tp1, uides f scripsimus Yyh neque h uicissim in spiritu per interiorem hominem quasi recognoscimus. nec mirum, si et absentes adsumus nobis et ignoti nosmet nouimus, cum unius corporis membra simus, unum habeamus caput, una perfundamur gratia, uno pane uiuamus, una incedamus uia, eadem habitemus domo. denique in omne quod sumus tota spe ac fide qua stamus in praesenti nitimur in futurum; tam in spiritu quam in corpore domini unum simus, ne simus nihil, si ab uno excidamus. Quantulum ergo est quod absentia corporalis nobis inuidet nostri nisi sane fructum istum, quo pascuntur oculi temporalium expectatores? quamuis ne corporalis quidem gratia temporalis in spiritalibus dici debeat, quibus etiam corporum aeternitatem resurrectio largietur, ut audemus in uirtute Christi et bonitatis dei patris uel indigni praesumere. quare utinam hoc quoque nobis munus adnueret gratia dei per dominum nostrum legum Christum, ut etiam in carne faciem tuam uideremus. non solum desideriis nostris magnum conferretur gaudium, sed etiam mentibus lumen adcresceret et ex tua copia locupletaretur inopia nostra. quod quidem et absentibus largiri potes hac praesertim occasione, qua filii nostri unanimes et carissimi nobis in domino Romanus et Agilis, quos ut nos alios tibi commendamus, in nomine domini reuertentur opere 3J Rom. 12,5; I Cor. 12,12; I Cor. 10, 17. 1 uicissem Yl in otn. retÔ iutertiorem c te cognoscimus f1 2 assnmus MUaSf nobis om. FPU 3 nosmet] met FPU, nos et Y unius -1.5 domo exh. Augustin. ep. 31 (34) sumus Cyf 4 habemus Y perfundimur (ur ex us m. 2) Y, profundamur II uno pane uiuamus t om. h 5 in domo FPUh in home c 6 ac om. FPU nitimur M, et nitimur Y 7 in post tam om. r domini om. U 8 nescimus Cc1 nichil ante simus y s. I. m. 2 excitamus c1 9 psentia h 11 spectatores Yfhtp* ne] nec CFPU 12 spiritali C, spiritu M 13 largiretur C, largiatur FPU audebimus Ccytp, audeamus FPUh 14 et fort. delendum bonitatis roc y q;, bonitate cet . indignum y quare] cur FPU 15 minus f per ifcm ipm dum nrm h 16 uideamus f 17 manum F 18 locuplectaretur U 19 largire Y1 20 potest yxfx ac FPU que FPU unianimes rY y 21 in domino om. h agylis a 22 alios OJ, alteros Col . comendamus Y reuertem tpl, reuertenta Ô opera y caritatis inpleto; in quo tuae caritatis affectu specialiter utantur, rogamus. nosti enim quam celsa promittat altissimus fratri fratrem adiuuanti. per hos, si quo me gratiae quae tibi data est dono remunerari uoles, tuto facies. sunt enim, uelim credas, unum cor et una in domino anima nobiscum. gratia dei tecum, ut est, in aeternum maneat, frater in Christo domino unanime uenerabilis dilectissime et desiderabilis. omnes in Christo sanctos, quales tibi cohaerere non dubium est, a nobis saluta. commenda nos omnibus sanctis, ut tecum pro nobis orare dignentur.