Letter CXXXIX.

(a.d. 412.)

To Marcellinus, My Lord Justly Distinguished, My Son Very Much Beloved and Longed for, Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord.

1. The Acts1122    Gesta—records of judicial procedure. which your Excellency promised to send I am eagerly expecting, and I am longing to have them read as soon as possible in the church at Hippo, and also, if it can be done, in all the churches established within the diocese, that all may hear and become thoroughly familiar with the men who have confessed their crimes, not because the fear of God subdued them to repentance, but because the rigour of their judges broke through the hardness of their most cruel hearts,—some of them confessing to the murder of one presbyter [Restitutus], and the blinding and maiming of another [Innocentius]; others not daring to deny that they might have known of these outrages, although they say that they disapproved of them, and persisting in the impiety of schism in fellowship with such a multitude of atrocious villains, while deserting the peace of the Catholic Church on the pretext of unwillingness to be polluted by other men’s crimes; others declaring that they will not forsake the schismatics, even though the certainty of Catholic truth and the perversity of the Donatists have been demonstrated to them. The work, which it has pleased God to entrust to your diligence, is of great importance. My heart’s desire is, that many similar Donatist cases may be tried and decided by you as these have been, and that in this way the crimes and the insane obstinacy of these men may be often brought to light; and that the Acts recording these proceedings may be published, and brought to the knowledge of all men.

As to the statement in your Excellency’s letter, that you are uncertain whether you ought to command the said Acts to be published in Theoprepia,1123    This is supposed to be the name of a Donatist church in Carthage. my reply is, Let this be done, if a large multitude of hearers can be gathered there; if this be not the case, some other place of more general resort must be provided; it must not, however, be omitted on any account.

2. As to the punishment of these men, I beseech you to make it something less severe than sentence of death, although they have, by their own confession, been guilty of such grievous crimes. I ask this out of a regard both for our own consciences and for the testimony thereby given to Catholic clemency. For this is the special advantage secured to us by their confession, that the Catholic Church has found an opportunity of maintaining and exhibiting forbearance towards her most violent enemies; since in a case where such cruelty was practised, any punishment short of death will be seen by all men to proceed from great leniency. And although such treatment appears to some of our communion, whose minds are agitated by these atrocities, to be less than the crimes deserve, and to have somewhat the aspect of weakness and dereliction of duty, nevertheless, when the feelings, which are wont to be immoderately excited while such events are recent, have subsided after a time, the kindness shown to the guilty will shine with most conspicuous brightness, and men will take much more pleasure in reading these Acts and showing them to others, my lord justly distinguished, and son very much beloved and longed for.

My holy brother and co-bishop Boniface is on the spot, and I have forwarded by the deacon Peregrinus, who travelled along with him, a letter of instructions; accept these as representing me. And whatever may seem in your joint opinion to be for the Church’s interest, let it be done with the help of the Lord, who is able in the midst of so great evils graciously to succour you. One of their bishops, Macrobius, is at present going round in all directions, followed by bands of wretched men and women, and has opened for himself the [Donatist] churches which fear, however slight, had moved their owners to close for a time. By the presence, however, of one whom I have commended and again heartily commend to your love, namely, Spondeus, the deputy of the illustrious Celer, their presumption was indeed somewhat checked; but now, since his departure to Carthage, Macrobius has opened the Donatist churches even within his property, and is gathering congregations for worship in them. In his company, moreover, is Donatus, a deacon, rebaptized by them even when he was a tenant of lands belonging to the Church, who was implicated as a ringleader in the outrage [on Innocentius]. When this man is his associate, who can tell what kind of followers may be in his retinue? If the sentence on these men is to be pronounced by the Proconsul,1124    Apringius. See note, p. 471. or by both of you together, and if he perchance insist upon inflicting capital punishment, although he is a Christian and, so far as we have had opportunity of observing, not disposed to such severity—if, I say, his determination make it necessary, order those letters of mine, which I deemed it my duty to address to you severally on this subject,1125    Letters CXXXIII. and CXXXIV. to be brought before you while the trial is still going on; for I am accustomed to hear that it is in the power of the judge to mitigate the sentence, and inflict a milder penalty than the law prescribes. If, however, notwithstanding these letters from me, he refuse to grant this request, let him at least allow that the men be remanded for a time; and we will endeavour to obtain this concession from the clemency of the Emperors, so that the sufferings of the martyrs, which ought to shed bright glory on the Church, may not be tarnished by the blood of their enemies; for I know that in the case of the clergy in the valley of Anaunia,1126    Anaunia, a valley not far from Trent, destined to be so famous for the Council held there. In the month of May, 397 A.D., Martyrius, Sisinnius, and Alexander were killed there by the heathen. who were slain by the Pagans, and are now honoured as martyrs, the Emperor granted readily a petition that the murderers, who had been discovered and imprisoned, might not be visited with a capital punishment.

3. As to the books concerning the baptism of infants, of which I had sent the original manuscript to your Excellency, I have forgotten for what reason I received them again from you; unless, perhaps, it was that, after examining them, I found them faulty, and wished to make some corrections, which, by reason of extraordinary hindrances, I have not yet been able to overtake. I must also confess that the letter intended to be addressed to you and added to these books, and which I had begun to dictate when I was with you, is still unfinished, little having been added to it since that time. If, however, I could set before you a statement of the toil which it is absolutely necessary for me to devote, both by day and by night, to other duties, you would deeply sympathize with me, and would be astonished at the amount of business not admitting of delay which distracts my mind and hinders me from accomplishing those things to which you urge me in entreaties and admonitions, addressed to one most willing to oblige you, and inexpressibly grieved that it is beyond his power; for when I obtain a little leisure from the urgent necessary business of those men, who so press me into their service1127    Angariant. See Matt. v. 41. that I am neither able to escape them nor at liberty to neglect them, there are always subjects to which I must, in dictating to my amanuenses, give the first place, because they are so connected with the present hour as not to admit of being postponed. Of such things one instance was the abridgement of the proceedings at our Conference,1128    The Conference presided over by this Marcellinus at Carthage, in the preceding year. a work involving much labour, but necessary, because I saw that no one would attempt the perusal of such a mass of writing; another was a letter to the Donatist laity1129    Letter CXLI. concerning the said Conference, a document which I have just completed, after labouring at it for several nights; another was the composition of two long letters,1130    Letters CXXXVII. and CXXXVIII. one addressed to yourself, my beloved friend, the other to the illustrious Volusianus, which I suppose you both have received; another is a book, with which I am occupied at present, addressed to our friend Honoratus,1131    Letter CXL. in regard to five questions proposed by him in a letter to me, and you see that to him I was unquestionably in duty bound to send a prompt reply. For love deals with her sons as a nurse does with children, devoting her attention to them not in the order of the love felt for each, but according to the urgency of each case; she gives a preference to the weaker, because she desires to impart to them such strength as is possessed by the stronger, whom she passes by meanwhile not because of her slighting them, but because her mind is at rest in regard to them. Emergencies of this kind, compelling me to employ my amanuenses in writing on subjects which prevent me from using their pens in work much more congenial to the ardent desires of my heart, can never fail to occur, because I have difficulty in obtaining even a very little leisure, amidst the accumulation of business into which, in spite of my own inclinations, I am dragged by other men’s wishes or necessities; and what I am to do, I really do not know.

4. You have heard the burdens, for my deliverance from which I wish you to join your prayers with mine; but at the same time I do not wish you to desist from admonishing me, as you do, with such importunity and frequency; your words are not without some effect. I commend at the same time to your Excellency a church planted in Numidia, on behalf of which, in its present necessities, my holy brother and co-bishop Delphinus has been sent by my brethren and co-bishops who share the toils and the dangers of their work in that region. I write no more on this matter, because you will hear all from his own lips when he comes to you. All other necessary particulars you will find in the letters of instruction, which are sent by me to the presbyter either now or by the deacon Peregrinus, so that I need not again repeat them.

May your heart be ever strong in Christ, my lord justly distinguished, and son very much beloved and longed for!

I commend to your Excellency our son Ruffinus, the Provost1132    Principalis. of Cirta.

EPISTOLA CXXXIX . Ut Gesta quae adversus Donatistas confecta sunt publicentur, utque rei castigentur mitius et citra mortis poenam.

Domino merito insigni, multumque charissimo ac desiderantissimo filio MARCELLINO, AUGUSTINUS, in Domino salutem.

1. Gesta quae promisit Praestantia tua, vehementer exspecto, et in ecclesia Hipponensi jamjamque cupio recitari, ac, si fieri potuerit, etiam per omnes ecclesias in dioecesi constitutas; ut audiant homines, pleneque agnoscant confessores iniquitatis, non Dei timore extorquente poenitentiam, sed judiciaria diligentia crudelissimorum pectorum aperiente duritiam; sive illorum qui de homicidio et de excaecato ac debilitato presbyteri corpore confessi ; sive illorum qui se illa scire potuisse, quamvis sibi dicerent displicere, negare non ausi sunt, refugientes catholicam pacem, velut ne criminibus polluantur alienis, et in illo schismatis sacrilegio inter sceleratorum tam immanium tantam multitudinem perdurantes; sive etiam illorum qui se inde non recessuros, etiam demonstrata sibi catholica veritate et Donatistarum perversitate, dixerunt. Non est leve quod Deus agi voluit per operam tuam. Utinam tales eorum causas crebras sic audias, et facinora eorum atque insana pertinacia sic saepe prodatur, eademque publicata Gesta in omnium notitiam perferantur! Quod autem scripsit Eximietas tua, dubitare te utrum in Theoprepia debeas eadem Gesta jubere proponi; fiat, si potest illuc frequens confluere multitudo: alioquin alius locus celebrior providendus est; non tamen ullo modo praetermittendum.

2. Poena sane illorum, quamvis de tantis sceleribus confessorum, rogo te ut praeter supplicium mortis sit, et propter conscientiam nostram, et propter catholicam mansuetudinem commendandam. Ipse enim fructus ad nos pervenit confessionis illorum, quia invenit Ecclesia catholica ubi suam erga atrocissimos inimicos servet atque exhibeat lenitatem. In tanta quippe crudelitate, quaecumque praeter sanguinem vindicta processerit, magna lenitas apparebit. Quod etsi modo quibusdam nostris, illa atrocitate commotis, videtur indignum, et quasi dissolutionis et negligentiae simile; transactis tamen motibus animorum, qui recentioribus factis solent turbulentius excitari, egregie luculenta bonitas apparebit, et ob hoc magis eadem 0536 Gesta legere atque ostendere delectabit, domine merito insignis, multumque charissime ac desiderantissime fili. Ibi est sanctus frater et coepiscopus meus Bonifacius, et per diaconum Peregrinum qui cum illo perrexit, commonitorium direxi; quod sic habe tanquam praesentiam meam. Et quod vobis in commune pro Ecclesiae utilitate placuerit, hoc adjuvante Domino fiat, qui potens est misericorditer opitulari in tantis malis. Modo Macrobius episcopus eorum, stipatus cuneis perditorum utriusque sexus, hac atque illac circumit, aperuitque sibi basilicas, quas possessorum quantuluscumque timor clauserat. Praesente autem procuratore viri clarissimi Celeris Spondeo, quem tuae dilectioni commendavi multumque commendo, utcumque eorum frangebatur audacia: nunc vero posteaquam Carthaginem profectus est, etiam in fundis ipsius basilicas aperuit, populos congregat. Cum ipso etiam est ille Donatus diaconus rebaptizatus, cum fuerit colonus ecclesiae, qui versatus est in illa caede praecipuus. Qui tales non cum eo sunt, quando et ille cum ipso est? Si Proconsul vel simul ambo in illos estis sententiam prolaturi, et forte ille persistit velle gladio vindicare, quanquam sit christianus, et quantum advertere potuimus, non sit ad haec cruciamenta proclivis; tamen si necesse fuerit, etiam Gestis jubete allegari epistolas meas, quas de hac re singulas vobis mittendas putavi. Soleo enim audire in potestate esse judicis mollire sententiam, et mitius vindicare quam jubeant leges. Si autem nec litteris meis ad hoc consenserit, hoc saltem praestet ut in custodiam recipiantur, atque hoc de clementia Imperatorum impetrare curabimus, ne passiones servorum Dei, quae debent esse in Ecclesia gloriosae, inimicorum sanguine dehonestentur. Scio enim in causa clericorum Anaunensium , qui occisi a Gentilibus, nunc martyres honorantur, Imperatorem rogatum facile concessisse ne illi qui eos occiderant et capti jam tenebantur, poena simili punirentur.

3. Libros de Baptismo parvulorum, cum jam codicem ipsum Praestantiae tuae misissem, cur abs te rursus acceperim, oblitus sum: nisi forte cum inspicerem, mendosos eos reperi, et emendare volui, quod mirabiliter impeditus, adhuc usque non feci. Epistolam quoque ad te scribendam et his adjungendam, quam cum ibi essem jam dictare coeperam, paulo addito sic esse imperfectam scias. Si autem rationem omnium dierum et lucubrationum aliis necessitatibus impensarum tibi possem reddere, graviter contristatus mirareris quanta me distendant, quae differri omnino non possunt, nec agere illa permittant in quae me, 0537 petendo et admonendo, urges volentem, et ineffabiliter (quia non possum) dolentem. Cum enim ab eorum hominum necessitatibus aliquantulum vaco, qui me sic angariant, ut eos nullo modo liceat evitare, nec contemnere oporteat; non desunt quae dictanda praepono, sic in articulis temporum constituta, ut dilationem non ferant. Sicut mihi fuit breviatio Gestorum collationis nostrae satis operosa, cum viderem neminem se velle tanto aggeri litterarum legendo committere: sicut mihi fuit etiam epistola ad ipsos laicos donatistas, de hac eadem collatione nostra, quam modo aliquot lucubrationibus terminavi: sicut epistolae duae non breves; una ad Dilectionem tuam, altera ad virum illustrem Volusianum, quas vos accepisse jam credo: sicut nunc in manibus habeo librum ad Honoratum nostrum de quaestionibus quibusdam quinque, quas mihi proposuit, et per litteras intimavit; cui non continuo respondere vides quam minime oporteat. Charitas enim quae tanquam nutrix fovet filios suos, non ordine amandi, sed ordine subveniendi, infirmiores fortioribus anteponit, quos tales vult esse, quales jam illi sunt, quos non contemnendo, sed de his confidendo interim praeterit. Tales ergo mihi necessitates dictandi aliquid, quod me ab eis dictationibus impediat quibus magis inardesco, deesse non possunt, cum paululum spatii vix datur inter acervos occupationum, quibus nos alienae vel cupiditates vel necessitates angariatos trahunt: et quid faciam prorsus nescio.

4. Audisti unde mecum Dominum depreceris: sed etiam quod tam instanter et tam crebro me admones, nolo cesses, non nihil agens. Commendo etiam ego Excellentiae tuae Ecclesiam in Numidia constitutam, propter cujus necessitates sanctus frater et coepiscopus meus Delphinus a fratribus et coepiscopis meis, ibi collaborantibus et compericlitantibus, missus est. Nec de hac re plura scribo, cum ipsum praesentem sis auditurus. Caetera in Commonitoriis invenies quae ad presbyterum misi, sive modo, sive per diaconum Peregrinum, ne mihi ea toties iterare necesse sit. Semper in Christo cor tuum vigeat, domine merito insignis, multumque charissime ac desiderantissime fili. Filium nostrum Ruffinum Cirtensem principalem commendo Eximietati tuae.

DE SEQUENTE EPISTOLA. (LIB. II RETRACT., CAP. XXXVI.)

Eo ipso tempore, quo contra Donatistas vehementer exercebamur, et contra Pelagianos exerceri jam coeperamus , amicus quidam mihi misit quinque a Carthagine quaestiones, et rogavit ut eas illi scribendo exponerem; quae sunt: Quid sibi velit vox illa Domini, «Deus meus, Deus meus, utquid me dereliquisti» (Matth. XXVII, 0538 46)? et quid sit quod ait Apostolus, «Ut in charitate radicati et fundati, praevaleatis comprehendere cum omnibus sanctis quae sit latitudo, et longitudo, et altitudo, et profundum (Eph. III, 17, 18):» et quae sint quinque virgines stultae, quaeve sapientes (Matth. XXV, 2): et quae sint tenebrae exteriores (Id. XXII, 13): et quomodo intelligendum sit, «Verbum caro factum est» (Joan. I, 14). Ego autem intuens supradictam haeresim, novam inimicam gratiae Dei, sextam mihi proposui quaestionem de gratia Testamenti Novi. De qua disputans, interposita expositione psalmi vicesimi primi, in cujus capite scriptum est quod Dominus exclamavit in cruce, quod ille amicus in primis mihi proposuit exponendum; omnia illa quinque dissolvi, non hoc ordine quo erant proposita, sed sicut mihi disserenti de gratia Novi Testamenti, tanquam suis locis congruenter occurrere potuerunt. Hic liber sic incipit: «Quinque mihi proposuisti tractandasquaestiones.»