Letter 156: Hilarius sends Augustine several doctrinal questions from Syracuse.

To the holy lord Augustine, bishop, rightly and deservedly venerable and in every way to be honored: Hilarius. The grace of Your Holiness, known to everyone, persuaded my smallness to send these letters in praise of Your Venerability through our people returning from the Syracuse region to Hippo. I ask the supreme Trinity that, by the favor of our God, you may receive this writing of mine while safe and strong enough to review it, holy lord, rightly and deservedly venerable, and in every way to be honored. So I ask you to be willing to remember me in your holy prayers and to instruct my ignorance about what certain Christians at Syracuse are teaching. They say that a human being can be without sin, and can easily keep God's commandments if he wishes; that an infant who dies without baptism cannot rightly perish, because he is born without sin; that a rich person who remains in his wealth cannot enter the kingdom of God unless he sells everything, and that it cannot help him if he happens to use that wealth to keep the commandments; and that one must not swear at all. They also dispute the church, of which it is written that she has no wrinkle or spot: is this the church in which we now gather, or the one for which we hope? Some think that the church now frequented by the people is this spotless church, and that it can be without sin. On all these matters I ask Your Holiness, with as many prayers as I can, to command that we be instructed more openly, so that we may know how far we ought to go in our thinking. I pray that the mercy of our God may preserve Your Holiness safe for countless years, holy lord, rightly and deservedly venerable, and in every way to be honored.

EPISTOLA 156 Scripta a. 414 aut 415. Hilarius Augustino, proponens illi quaestiones aliquot, scilicet de impeccantia, de libero arbitrio, de originali peccato, de abdicandis facultatibus, de iuratione, de quibus cupit edoceri. DOMINO SANCTO, IURE AC MERITO VENERABILI, ET PER OMNIA COLENDO AUGUSTINO EPISCOPO, HILARIUS. 1. Sanctitatis tuae gratia, quae omnibus nota est, parvitati meae persuasit ut nostris de Syracusano Hipponem remeantibus. has ad laudandam mihi Venerabilitatem tuam litteras erogarem, poscens summam Trinitatem ut incolumis et vegetus Dei nostri favore hoc meum scriptum ad recensendum suscipias, domine sancte, iure ac merito venerabilis, et per omnia colende. Proinde rogo ut mei memor in sanctis orationibus tuis esse digneris, atque imperitiam nostram informare de eo quod quidam christiani apud Syracusas exponunt, dicentes: Posse esse hominem sine peccato; et mandata Dei facile custodire, si velit. Infantem non baptizatum morte praeventum non posse perire merito, quoniam sine peccato nascitur. Divitem manentem in divitiis suis, regnum Dei non posse ingredi, nisi omnia sua vendiderit; nec prodesse eidem posse, si forte ex ipsis divitiis fecerit mandata. Non debere iurare omnino. Et de Ecclesia, quae sit de qua scriptum est non habere rugam neque maculam 1, utrum haec sit in qua nunc congregamur, an illa quam speramus: quidam autem putant Ecclesiam hanc esse quae nunc frequentatur populis, et sine peccato esse posse. De his omnibus rogo, quantis valeo precibus, Sanctitatem tuam, ut iubeas nos apertius instrui, quo noverimus quatenus sentire debeamus. Dei nostri misericordia Sanctitatem tuam incolumem conservet, annis innumeris opto, domine sancte, iure ac merito venerabilis, et per omnia colende.