The Two Books of St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, on the Decease of His Brother Satyrus.

 Book I.

 1. We have brought hither, dearest brethren, my sacrifice, a sacrifice undefiled, a sacrifice well pleasing to God, my lord and brother Satyrus. I did

 11. He wept for what affected us, not Himself for the Godhead sheds no tears but He wept in that nature in which He was sad He wept in that in whic

 21. I feel, indeed, that my mind is touched by the repetition of thy services and the enumeration of thy virtues, and yet in being thus affected I fin

 31. So then, brother, I esteem thee happy both in the beauty of thy life and in the opportuneness of thy death. For thou wast snatched away not from u

 41. For if at any time there was a discussion between me and my holy sister on any matter, as to which was the preferable opinion, we used to take the

 51. But in what words can I set forth his simplicity? By this I mean a certain moderation of character and soberness of mind. Pardon me, I beseech you

 61. So that one may rightly say that the Holy Spirit has this day told us by the voice of the boy reader: “He that is innocent in his hands and of a c

 71. And certainly if they have ever found any consolation who have thought that death is the end of sensation and the failing of our nature, how much

 Book II.

 1. In the former book I indulged my longing to some extent, lest too sharp remedies applied to a burning wound might rather increase than assuage the

 11. Let, then, grief be patient, let there be that moderation in adversity which is required in prosperity. If it be not seemly to rejoice immoderatel

 21. We know, however, that it survives the body, and that being set free from the bars of the body, it sees with clear gaze those things which before,

 31. And who said this but he who asked for and obtained wisdom, to know how the world was made, and the power of the elements, the course of the year,

 41. But what remedy? “Who shall deliver me out of the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We have a physician, let us

 51. All things, indeed, are believed to be, either because of experience, or on grounds of reason, or from similar instances, or because it is fitting

 61. However, before the season comes, those things also are not believed, for every season is not suited for the raising of seeds. Wheat is sown at on

 71. But let us now hear the prophet himself, who speaks thus: “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and the Lord led me forth in the Spirit, and placed m

 81. And this was not the only instance which our Lord Jesus Christ set forth, but He raised others also, that we might at any rate believe more numero

 91. So, then, man rose because man died man was raised again, but God raised him. Then it was man according to the Flesh, now God is all in all. For

 101. We see, then, that heaven is open to virtue, and that this is the privilege not only of a few: “For many shall come from the east and from the we

 111. Yet it is not every one’s business to sound each trumpet, nor every one’s business to call together the whole assembly, but that prerogative is g

 121. And therefore “blessed is he who keepeth the words of this prophecy,” which has revealed the resurrection to us by clearer testimony, saying: “An

 131. But I have seen what you, Gentiles, think of each other, and indeed it ought not to seem strange that you who worship beasts should believe that

51. But in what words can I set forth his simplicity? By this I mean a certain moderation of character and soberness of mind. Pardon me, I beseech you, and attribute it to my grief, if I allow myself to speak somewhat fully about him with whom I am no longer permitted to converse. And certainly it is an advantage for you to see that you have performed this kindly office not led by weak feelings, but by sound judgment; not as impelled by pity for his death, but moved by desire to do honour to his virtues; for every simple soul is blessed. And so great was his simplicity, that, converted as it were into a child, he was conspicuous for the simplicity belonging to that guileless age, for the likeness of perfect virtue, and for reflecting as in a mirror innocence of character. Therefore he entered into the kingdom of heaven, because he believed the word of God, because he, like a child, rejected the artifices of flattery, and chose rather to accept with gentleness the pain of injustice than to avenge himself sharply; he was more ready to listen to complaints than to guile, ready for conciliation, inaccessible to ambition, holy in modesty, so that in him one would rather speak of excess of bashfulness than have to seek for such as is needful.

52. But the foundations of virtue are never in excess, for modesty does not hinder but rather commends the discharge of duty. And so was his face suffused with a certain virginal modesty, showing forth his inward feeling in his countenance, if perchance he had, coming on a sudden, met some female relative, he was as it were bowed down and sunk to the earth, though he was not different in company with men, he seldom lifted up his face, raised his eyes, or spoke; when he did one of these things, it was with a kind of bashful modesty of heart, with which, too, the chastity of his body agreed. For he preserved the gifts of holy baptism inviolate, being pure in body and still more pure in heart; fearing not less the shame of impurity in conversation than in his body; and thinking that no less regard was to be paid to modesty in purity of words than in chastity of body.

53. In fine, he so loved chastity as never to seek a wife, although in him it was not merely the desire of chastity, but also the grace of his love for us. But in a wonderful manner he concealed his feeling as to marriage, and avoided all boastfulness; and so carefully did he conceal his feeling, that even when we pressed it on him, he appeared rather to postpone wedlock than to avoid it. So this was the one point with which he did not trust his brother and sister, not through any doubtful hesitation, but simply through virtuous modesty.

54. Who, then, could refrain from wondering that a man in age between a brother and a sister, the one a virgin, the other a priest, yet in greatness of soul not below either, should so excel in two great gifts, as to reflect the chastity of one vocation and the sanctity of the other, being bound not by profession but by the exercise of virtue. If, then, lust and anger bring forth other vices, I may rightly call chastity and gentleness as it were the parents of virtues; although, as it is the origin of all good things, so too is piety the seed-plot of other virtues.

55. What, then, shall I say of his economy, a kind of continence regarding possessions? For he who takes care of his own does not seek other men’s goods, nor is he puffed up by abundance who is contented with his own. For he did not wish to recover anything except his own, and that rather that he might not be cheated than that he might be richer. For he rightly called those who seek other men’s goods hawks of money. But if avarice be the root of all evils,21    1 Tim. vi. 10. he who does not seek for money has certainly stripped himself of vices.

56. Nor did he ever delight in more carefully prepared feasts or many dishes, except when he invited friends, wishing for what was sufficient for nature, not for superabundance for pleasure’s sake. And, indeed, he was not poor in means, but was so in spirit.22    S. Matt. v. 3. Certainly we ought by no means to doubt of his happiness, who neither as a wealthy man delighted in riches, nor as a poor man thought that what he had was scanty.

57. It remains that, to come to the end of the cardinal virtues, we should notice in him the constituents of justice. For although virtues are related to each other and connected, still as it were a more distinct sketch of each is wanted, and especially of justice. For it being somewhat niggardly towards itself is wholly devoted to what is without, and whatever it has through a certain rigour towards self, being carried away by love for all, it pours forth on its neighbours.

58. But there are many kinds of this virtue. One towards friends, another towards all men, another with respect to the worship of God or the relief of the poor. So what he was towards all, the affection of the people of the province over which he was set shows; who used to say that he was rather their parent than a judge, a kind umpire for loving clients, a steadfast awarder of just law.

59. But what he was with his brother and sister, though all men were embraced in his good-will, our undivided patrimony testifies, and the inheritance neither distributed nor diminished, but preserved. For he said that love was no reason for making a will. This, too, he signified with his last words, when commending those whom he had loved, saying that it was his choice never to marry a wife, that he might not be separated from his brother and sister, and that he would not make a will, lest our feelings should in any point be hurt. Lastly, though begged and entreated by us, he thought that nothing ought to be determined by himself, not, however, forgetting the poor, but only asking that so much should be given to them as should seem just to us.

60. By this alone he gave a sufficient proof of his fear of God, and set an example of religious feeling as regards men. For what he gave to the poor he offered to God, since “he that distributeth to the poor lendeth unto God;”23    Prov. xix. 17. and by requiring what was just, he left them not a little, but the whole. For this is the total sum of justice, to sell what one has and give to the poor. For he who “hath dispersed, and hath given to the poor, his righteousness endureth for ever.”24    Ps. cxii. [cxi.] 9. So he left us as stewards, not heirs; for the inheritance is to the heirs a matter of question, the stewardship is a duty to the poor.

51. Qua vero prosecutione simplicitatem ejus edisseram? Ea est enim quaedam morum temperantia, mentisque sobrietas. Date, quaeso, veniam, et permittite dolori meo; ut de eo mihi paulo uberius liceat loqui, cum quo jam non conceditur colloqui. Certe et vobis proficit, ut advertatis non fragilitate quadam vos hoc officium, sed judicio detulisse: nec misericordia mortis impulsos, sed virtutum honorificentia provocatos; anima enim benedicta omnis simplex (Prov., XI). Tanta autem simplicitas erat, ut conversus in puerum, simplicitate illius aetatis innoxiae, 1307C perfectae virtutis effigie, et quodam innocentium morum speculo eluceret. Intravit igitur in regnum coelorum, quoniam credidit Dei verbo; quoniam sicut puer artem repulit adulandi, injuriae dolorem clementer absorbuit, quam inclementius vindicavit: querelae quam dolo promptior, satisfactioni facilis, difficilis ambitioni, sanctus pudori; ut frequenter in eo superfluam magis verecundiam praedicares, quam necessariam quaereres.

52. Sed numquam superflua fundamenta virtutis; pudor enim non revocat, sed commendat officium. Itaque velut quadam virginali verecundia suffusus ora, cum vultu affectum proderet, si forte aliquam subito veniens offendisset parentem, velut depressus 1308A et quasi demersus in terram, licet in ipso nequaquam dissimilis coetu virorum, rarus attollere os, elevare oculos, referre sermonem: quod pudico quodam mentis pudore faciebat, cum quo castimonia quoque corporis congruebat. Etenim intemerata sacri baptismatis dona servavit, mundus corpore, purior corde: non minus adulterini sermonis opprobrium, quam corporis perhorrescens: non minorem ratus pudicitiae reverentiam deferendam integritate verborum, quam corporis castitate.

53. Denique in tantum castimoniam dilexit, ut 1129 nec uxorem expeteret; licet in eo non solum castitatis appetentia fuerit, sed etiam pietatis gratia. Miro autem modo et conjugium dissimulabat, et jactantiam declinabat: tantaque erat dissimulatio, 1308B ut nobis quoque urgentibus, differre magis consortium, quam refugere videretur. Hoc unum itaque fuit, quod nec fratribus crederet: non aliqua cunctationis haesitantia, sed virtutis verecundia.

54. Quis igitur non miretur virum inter fratres duos alterum virginem, alterum sacerdotem, aetate medium, magnanimitate non imparem, ita inter duo maxima munera praestitisse; ut alterius muneris castitatem, alterius sanctitatem referret, non professionis vinculo, sed virtutis officio? Ergo si libido atque iracundia reliquorum vitiorum educatrices sunt, jure castitatem atque clementiam dixerim quasdam virtutum parentes; quamquam pietas quoque ut omnium principatus bonorum, ita etiam seminarium virtutum est caeterarum.

1308C 55. Nam de parcimonia quid loquar, et quadam habendi castitate? Is enim non quaerit aliena, qui sua servat: nec inflatur immodico, qui contentus est proprio. Nihil ergo aliud nisi proprium recuperare voluit; magis ne fraudaretur, quam ut ditaretur. Nam eos qui aliena quaererent, recte accipitres pecuniae nominabat. Quod si radix malorum omnium avaritia est; utique vitia exuit, qui pecuniam non requirit (I Tim. VI, 10).

56. Non umquam accuratioribus epulis aut congestis ferculis delectatus est, nisi cum amicos rogaret: quantum naturae satis esset, non quantum voluptati superesset, requirens. Et certe erat non pauper opibus, sed tamen pauper spiritu. De istius beatitudine. 1309A (Matth. V, 3) nequaquam utique dubitare debemus, qui neque ut opulens, exsultavit in divitiis: neque ut pauper, exiguum quod habuit, judicavit.

57. Superest ut ad conclusionem cardinalium virtutum, etiam justitiae partes in eo debeamus advertere. Nam etsi cognatae sint inter se, concretaeque virtutes; tamen singularum quaedam forma expressior desideratur, maximeque justitiae. Ea enim sibi parcior foris tota est, et quidquid habet quadam inclementia sui, dum rapitur amore communi, transfundit in proximos.

58. Sed hujus multiplex est species. Alia erga propinquos, alia erga universos, alia erga Dei cultum, vel adjumentum inopum. Itaque qualis in universos 1309B fuerit, provincialium, quibus praefuit, studia docent: qui parentem magis fuisse proprium, quam judicem loquebantur: gratum piae necessitudinis arbitrum, constantem aequi juris disceptatorem.

59. Inter fratres autem qualis fuerit, licet 1130 omne hominum genus benevolentia complecteretur, indivisum patrimonium docet: nec distributa aut delibata, sed reservata haereditas. Etenim pietatem sibi causam esse negavit testandi. Nam hoc quoque ultimo sermone signavit, cum quos dilexerat, commendaret; sibi nec uxoris arbitrium fuisse ducendae, ne a fratribus divelleretur: nec testamenti faciendi voluntatem, ne nostrum in aliquo arbitrium laederetur. Denique et oratus et obsecratus a nobis, nihil tamen condendum putavit: non oblitus tamen pauperum, 1309C sed tantum obsecrans esse tribuendum, quantum nobis justum videretur.

60. Quo uno satis et divini timoris expressit indicium, et humanae edidit religionis exemplum. Nam quod pauperibus contulit, Deo detulit; quoniam qui largitur pauperi, Deo fenerat (Prov. XIX, 17): et postulando quod justum est, non exiguum, sed totum reliquit. Haec enim est summa justitiae, vendere quae habeas, et conferre pauperibus. Qui enim dispersit, dedit pauperibus, justitia ejus manet in aeternum (Psal. CXI, 9). Ergo dispensatores nos, non haeredes reliquit; nam haereditas successori quaeritur, dispensatio pauperibus obligatur.