Letter 36: We tasted the sweetness of your words in the brief message from Your Holiness.

Paulinus to Amandus, holy and deservedly venerable and most beloved. We have tasted the sweetest savor of your speech in a brief discourse of your holiness. For just as a drop of honey tastes the same as the whole comb, so too, though it be but in a single word, the trickle of your tongue conveys the entire savor of your holy soul, since whatever is brought forth out of a good treasure is good and precious. Nor is a pearl cheap because it is small, but rather all the more precious for that, since even in its small measure it holds a great price, so that, as the authority of the Gospel also testifies, it is to be sought even at the cost of squandered inheritances. And the grain of mustard seed too, which seems the smallest among seeds, nevertheless stands out as the greatest among herbs. And because the word of this seed has been sown in you and thrives in your heart, whence you have a heart burning on the way of the Lord, therefore your brief discourse also holds, and ministers to us, the sweetness together with the vigor of the heavenly word, so that we too may be seasoned with the salt of your prudence. And therefore we too shall imitate in this letter the frugality of your speech, even though we are not able to imitate the fullness of your understanding, responding only this much, that what chiefly weighed upon our care when we were writing these things was the fresh grief of our brother's being torn away; and although we know that he has been taken from this world only for a time, and is to be overtaken by us soon in that other world, nevertheless we mourn that he has died for this truer reason: because, from the things that were done or arranged by him himself toward his end, we have perceived that he acted in accordance with our sins rather than with our prayers, so that he chose to pass over to the Lord as a debtor rather than free. On this account we earnestly ask that, as a brother—which in the Lord you deign to be to us—helping brothers who are of one mind, you may also heap up this reward for the merits of your faith: that you may have compassion on our weakness on his behalf, and join together with us in the labor of praying, that the merciful and compassionate God, who does all things in heaven and on earth and in the sea and in the depths, may refresh his soul with the trickling drops of his mercy through your prayers. For just as a fire kindled by him will burn down even to the lowest depths, so without doubt the dew of his forgiveness will also penetrate the regions below, so that, parched and burning in the burning darkness, we may be refreshed by the dewy light of his mercy. Pray also for us, that we may not die in our sins; let the Lord make known to us our end, that we may know what is lacking to us and may hasten to fill up what remains, lest we be turned back into the midst of empty days, weaving the spider's web with idle works, but that full days may be found for us, that we may be children of a hundred years when we die—that is, infants in malice and mature in understanding. So may it come to pass that, dying, we leave to the survivors a wholesome repentance by good example, and that the seven days of our mourning be not exceeded, if we agree on the road of this life with our adversary, that is, with the Spirit and the word of God, which is set against us when we sin. For the Spirit too convicts the world of sin, and the word of God, as the Lord attests in the Gospel, if we do not obey it, will be our accuser and will deliver us to the judge by its word—who will exact the reckoning of his talent down to the last farthing, and unless he receives back the doubled interest of his money through the exercise of piety, which is useful for all things, will set the portion of an idle faith with the unbelievers, since he is near to the unbeliever who bears a faith dead and without works under the empty name of a Christian. And this is the foolish man, whose mourning is for all time, because, not having the fear of the Lord, he did not hold fast to the beginning of wisdom. And he has been made into the tail, because he does not dwell in the midst of the house who, loving iniquity, hates his own soul; and, handed over to the servant of the prison of hell, he is cast into the outer darkness, because he has lived according to the outward man. For this reason he must be mourned here without end, since he is to be condemned to the eternal fire and will die without end. Let us therefore have peace toward the Lord—not the peace of this world, which, being friend to sins, is at variance with God, but the peace of Christ, which joins us together with God and conforms us to Christ, if our soul cleaves to the word of God, so that we may be made one with God through the intervention of the Mediator, who is our peace, since he made both one, joining in himself the discordant natures of God and of man, and making in us two into one, that is, the flesh consenting with the spiritual soul; and then the fire will remain in our midst, whether the agreement of these two within us, or of the three together with the Spirit, invites him to make in our heart a dwelling pleasing to himself together with the Father and the Spirit, and in turn to lead us where he himself is, saying: Enter into the joy of your Lord.

XXXVI. SANCTO ET MERITO VENBBABILI AC DLLECTISSIMO AMANDO PAVLINVS. Dulcissimum oris uestri gustum in breui sanctitatis uestrae sermone libauimus. nam sicut mellis gutta idem sapit quod totus fauus, sic et in uno licet uerbo stillicidium linguae uestrae totum sanctae animae uestrae saporem refert, quia quicquid de bono thesauro promitur bonum atque pretiosum est. nec ideo margarita uilis est, quia exigua, sed ideo magis pretiosa, _3] (Luc. 16, 24). 5] Luc. 15, 18. 17] (Matth. 12, 35; Luc.6,45). 2 anima FOPU 3 destillans 0 5 post . in] coram M 7 perabsumpta b scripsi, per assumpta P, per adsumpta 0, per absumtam (b in ras.) L, per absumptam FMU, pro absumpta v 8 substantiam LM 9 commorati ut scripsi, commorantium FOPU, commorati LM, commorantes ScAot . 10 indigna 0 11 nephas FPU deducamur] ualere te opto add. PIU . — explicit L, finit ad delfinum V 0, explicit liber tertius epistolarum paulini episcopi nolani U FLMOpU . — item epistola s paulini ad amandu • XIII. L, ad amandum epm • XX ■ I • M, incipit ad amandum episcopum prima 0, meropii paulini episcopi nolani liber quartus epistolarum ad amandum presbiterum incipit feliciter. epistola sancti paulini episcopi ad amandum presbiterum ubi ei gratias refert pro missa epistola: et deprecatur eum munere kritatis pro fratre suo iam defuncto, ut ab etternis penis eruatur dominum exorare dignetur U 13 merito et L Paulinus salutem F 14 sanctitati U 15 sermone om. FPU quo L 16 sit F quia et in exiguo modo magnum pretium habet, ita ut, sicut euangelica quoque testatur auctoritas, profligatis etiam conparanda patrimoniis adpetatur. sed et granum sinapis, quod minimum uidetur in semine, maximum tamen extat in olere. cuius seminis uerbum quia in uobis satum est et in corde uestro uiget, unde cor ardens habetis in uia domini, ideo etiam breuis sermo uester dulcedinem simul ac uigorem uerbi caelestis tenet et nobis ministrat, ut nos etiam uestrae prudentiae sale condiamur. Et ideo nos quoque imitabimur in hac epistola parsimoniam sermonis uestri, etsi plenitudinem sensus uestri non ualeamus imitari, hoc tantum respondentes, quod praecipue, cum haec scriberemus, curae nobis erat ex recenti dolore fraternae diuulsionis, quem etiamsi temporaliter ab hoc saeculo sciamus adsumptum, in illo nobis cito consequendum, tamen ea uerius causa obisse lugemus, quia ex his, quae gesta ab ipso in finem eius uel ordinata sunt, peccatis magis nostris quam uotis congrua egisse perspeximus, ut mallet ad dominum debitor transire quam liber. ob hoc inpense rogamus, ut quasi frater, quod nobis in domino esse dignaris, unanimos fratres iuuans et hanc meritis fidei tuae mercedem accumules, ut pro eo infirmitati nostrae conpatiaris et orandi labore conspires, ut misericors et miserator deus, qui facit omnia in caelo et in terra et in mari et abyssis, refrigeret animam eius stillicidiis misericordiae suae per orationes uestras. quia sicut ignis accensus ab eo ardebit usque ad inferos deorsum, ita procul dubio etiam ros indulgentiae eius inferna 2] (Matth. 13, 32. 46). 6] (Luc. 24, 32). 8] (Col. 4, 6). 20] (Prou. 18,19). 23] Ps. 134, 6. 26] (Deut. 32, 22). 1 et om. F sicut et Fi LpU 2 etiam] et F 3 adpetatnr M, uerbi pltiti adpetitur 0, appetitur cet . 5 nobis FPU 8 celestis L 11 et similitudinem 0 12 ualemus FPU 14 deuulsionis L etsi M 15 absumptum FPU in-consequendum om. M 16 obiisse F, abiisse U ipso iis PU 17 ę9 0 eius om. M 20 unanimo FPU 21 uiuamus F 22 laborem 0 23 miserator et misericors M penetrabit, ut roscido pietatis eius lumine in tenebris ardentibus aestuantes refrigeremur. Ora et pro nobis, ne in peccatis nostris moriamur; notum faciat nobis dominus finem nostrum, ut sciamus quid desit nobis et properemus adinplere quod restat, ut non reuoluamur in medio dierum inanium, texentes operibus uacuis araneae telam, sed dies pleni inueniantur nobis, ut simus pueri centum annorum morientes, id est malitia paruuli et sensibus perfecti; ita fiat, ut mortui superstitibus exemplo bono salubrem paenitentiam relinquamus, neque septem dies luctus noster excedat, si consentiamus in huius uitae uia aduersario nostro id est spiritui ac uerbo dei, quod nobis peccantibus aduersatur. nam et spiritus arguit mundum de peccato, et sermo dei, ut dominus in euangelio contestatur, si ei non pareamus, accusator noster erit et tradet nos iudici uerbo, qui rationem talenti sui usque ad nouissimum quadrantem exiget et nisi exercitio pietatis, quae ad omnia utilis est, duplicatum pecuniae suae fenus receperit, otiosae fidei partem cum infidelibus ponet, quia proximus infideli est qui mortuam sine operibus fidem uacuo Christiani nomine gerit. et hic est insipiens, cuius luctus omnis temporis est, quia timorem domini non habens caput sapientiae non tenuit. et factus in cauda est, quia non habitat in medium domus qui diligens iniquitatem odit animam suam et traditus 4] (Ps. 38, 5). 5] (Ps. 101, 25). 6] (Iob 8, 14). 7] (Ps. 39, 9. 72,10). (Es. 65, 20). 8] I Cor. 14, 20. 10] (Eccli. 22, 13). 11] (Matth. 5,25). 13] Ioh. 15, 22. 16, 8. 15] (Matth. 5, 25). 17] I Tim. 4, 8. 18] (Matth. 24,51. 25,27). (Luc. 19,23). 20] (Iacob. 2,17). 21] Eccli. 22, 13). 22] (Deut. 28, 44). 24] Ps. 10, 6. 101, 7. 1 penetrauit FPU ruscido FPU 2 refrigent (nt in ras.) M 3 et om. F nec 0 5 et] ut F proponeremus F 6 teientis FU are- : neae 0 7 inuenięntur M in nobis LM 9 fiat F 8. I . 10 aeque FPU 11 eicidat FOPU 13 spiritu F arguet F 14 ut] et FPU 15 traddit P, tradidit U non F 17 exigit FLU 18 recepit 01 19 ponet M, ponit cet . proximum PU infidelis O1 20 uacuo LMt uacuam cet . 21 cuius 0 v, huius cet . 23 medio M v . ministro inferni carceris mittitur in tenebras exteriores, quia secundum exteriorem hominem uixerit. propterea hic sine fine lugendus est, quia in ignem damnandus aeternum sine fine morietur. Pacem ergo habeamus ad dominum, pacem non huius mundi, quae amica peccatis deo dissidet, sed pacem Christi, quae cum deo conserit et nos Christo conformat, si adhaereat uerbo dei anima nostra, ut efficiamur unum cum deo per interuentum mediatoris, qui est pax nostra, quia fecit utraque unum, naturas discordes dei et hominis in se copulans, et in nobis duo unum faciens, id est carnem animae spiritali consentientem; et tunc ignis in medio nostrum manebit, seu horum in nobis duorum uel cum spiritu trium consensus inuitet, ut faciat in corde nostro sibi placitam cum patre et spiritu mansionem et uicissim nos ubi ipse est ducat, dicens: intrate in gaudium domini uestri.