Letter 2051: I am grateful to have received Your Holiness's letter, even if it came by way of an occasion rather than spontaneously.

Bishop Ruricius to Bishop Censorius, greetings. Though it was by mere chance, I rejoice that I have received the letter of your holiness. For it makes no difference whether it comes from necessity or from goodwill, provided only that those who love one another converse together and that those whom the intervals of place separate in body, the faithful exchanges of minds and feelings join together; for the power of the divine mercy has granted this to us as a general and indeed supreme gift, that those whom we cannot behold with the gaze of the flesh, we may discern with a spiritual look. And so, when the bearer of the letter returned, I have taken care to give him this reply, just as you enjoined, that I might answer equally both to your concern and to our mutual love. And so I pay much greeting to your apostolate; and as for that which you wished to ascertain by the testimony of my letters, namely whether Sindilla had lost his pigs while Foedamius was watching over them, you should know that I have diligently made inquiry among my people, where they were. But, just as I had already known before, I have learned that these men too suffered hardship and that they endured Sindilla, and that he himself lost his pigs through his own perversity, while he kept boasting that he belonged to the opposing party; for the rest, I found the aforesaid Foedamius in no way at fault. For what he suffered, he ought to charge to no one of all of them except himself. In this case, how much I myself, out of regard for you, labored so that your people might either be freed from custody or might recover your pigs, you have already been able to learn more fully from the men themselves as they reported it, so that for this reason there was no need for it to be indicated in a letter. It is yours justly to defend your man from the imputation of this false accusation, which you recognize that he is unjustly bearing on account of our writings.

LI. RURICIUS EPISCOPUS CENSORIO EPISCOPO SALUTBM. Litteras sanctitatis uestrae etsi per occasionem accepisse me gratulor. non enim interest, utrum ex necessitate aut ex uoluntate, dummodo inter se inuicem, qui se diligunt, conloquantur et, quos corpore locorum interualla discriminant, animorum ac sensuum conloquia fida coniungant, quia hoc nobis generale uel maximum uirtus diuinae pietatis indulsit, ut, qui nos aspectu carnali non possumus contueri, spiritali cernamus obtutu. unde redeunte gerulo litterarum has, sicut 1 porrigeret Kr., porregerit S, porrexerit v leouti S 2 praelat S 4 nosti S incolomitatem S 6 de add. v, om. S 8 rufc S caereunię S 9 aqua S 11 ad uenerationem v, aduentionem S 18 speraui] significaui coni. v, reseraui Mommsenus 16 benefltio ex benefitium S maximo e corr. 81 17 exigerit S 20 ceusurio S 26 diuinae LtIttjohawn, diui I acte S, diu iactae v iniunxistis, reddere procuraui, ut et sollicitudini uestrae et mutuae caritati pariter responderem. Salue itaque apostolatui uestro plurimum dependo et hoc, quod apicibus meorum testimonio uoluistis agnoscere, utrum Sindilla porcos suos prudente Foedamio perdidisset, noueritis me apud homines meos, ubi fuerunt, diligenter perquisisse. sed, sicut ante iam noueram, magis et istos laborem facientes ac Sindillam perpessos esse et ipsum porcos suos (per) peruersitatem suam, dum de aduersa parte esse se iactitat, amisisse cognoui, ceterum praefatum Foedamium illi in nullo cul pabilem. nam quod pertulit, nulli alii nisi (sibi) debet ex omnibus inputare. in qua causa, quantum ego contemplatione uestri, ut homines uestri aut a custodia liberarentur aut porcos uestros reciperent, laborauerim, (per) ipsos iam referentes plenius potuistis agnoscere, quod propterea necesse non fuit litteris indicari. uestrum est hominem uestrum iuste ab huius calumniae obiectione defendere, quam eum iniuste scriptis nostris agnoscitis sustinere.