Letter 2056: Another letter from Ruricius to the same bishop.

56. LIKEWISE ANOTHER LETTER OF RURICIUS TO THE SAME BISHOP. The persistence of those who entreat us fulfills in us the duty of our common grace, so that what we ought to do through the affection of mutual love, we do under the compulsion of another's necessity, since we grant to another's petition what we recognize that we owe to our own affection -- so that this bond of correspondence might be a pleasant one arising from the will of our intimacy, and not one wrung from us by the calamity of one who laments. Yet, because we neglect the freely-given grace of writing, we ought at least not to pass over the one that has been thrust upon us. And therefore, through our brother and fellow-presbyter Maxentius, whom our brother [...] has commended to us by his own letters, I have given [these letters], in which, with his welfare attended to, I commend him to your apostolate, just as he has requested, since he says that he has acquaintances and friends there who can in the present more fully make him known to your beatitude, by whose testimony credence may be given to that which perhaps is not believed on his own assertion.

LVI. ITEM ALIA RURICII AD IPSUM EPISCOPUM. Adsiduitas supplicantum supplet in nobis gratiae communis officium, ut hoc, quod facere debeamus per mutuae dilectionis affectum, faciamus per externae necessitatis imperium, dum alienae tribuimus petitioni, quod propriae debere nos cognoscimus caritati, ut haec litterarum necessitudo esset ex uoluntate necessitudinis iocunda, non uero calamitate deplorantis extorta. tamen, quia spontaneam scribendi neglegimus gratiam, saltim praetermittere non debemus ingestam. ideoque per fratrem et conpresbyterum nostrum Maxentium, quem nobis 9] Matth. 24,12. 13] Luc. 12, 49. 5 dependo v, deponendo S 6 offitium S 7 comuni S postolare S 10 peius Kr., peris S, longi temporis coni . v 11 sopitis Luetjohann, sospitis S nobis v. flatiba S 12 amore v 15 et add. Luetjohaim, om. S inluminet] finit add. S 17 rurici S 18 supplicantum Lwtjohawn, supplicatum S, supplicatuum uel supplicantium v in notis 19 offitium S debemus coni. Mommsenus per Kr., super S Mommsetm 20 affectu Mommsenus facimus r 22 necessitudo] quae add. Momtn- senus 23 non uero Gustafsson, nouo S, non ex Kr., non iuuet coni. Mommsemts, noua v 26 conpresbiterum S frater noster epistulis ipsius commendauit, dedi, quibus sospitatione depensa ipsum apostolatui uestro, secundum quod postulauit, insinuo, quia illic notos et amicos habere se dicit, qui eum beatitudini uestrae possint in praesenti plenius intimare, quorum testimonio possit credi, quod assertioni ipsius fortasse non creditur.