Letter 50007: Ambrose, Bishop, to the most blessed Emperor Valentinian.

From: Ambrose, Bishop of Milan To: Emperor Valentinian II Date: ~384 AD Context: An alternate recension of Ambrose's response to the petition of Symmachus, who as Prefect of the City of Rome had formally requested the restoration of the Altar of Victory in the Senate house and the reinstatement of public funding for pagan priesthoods. Ambrose, Bishop, to the most blessed Emperor Valentinian. Since the illustrious Symmachus, Prefect of the City [Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, the leading pagan senator and orator of his generation], has sent a memorial to your Clemency requesting that the Altar of Victory [a golden altar and statue of the goddess Victory that had stood in the Roman Senate house since the time of Augustus] be restored, I am compelled to respond — not because I fear his eloquence, which is considerable, but because the cause he defends is already lost. He argues from tradition: "Our ancestors worshipped at this altar; Rome grew great under these rites." I reply: Rome grew great under God's providence, not under the protection of demons. The empire expanded not because of sacrifices but in spite of them. And tradition is no argument for error — we do not defend every ancient practice simply because it is old. He pleads on behalf of the Vestal Virgins and their stipends. But what poverty of religion is this, that depends on public money? The Church asks for no subsidies from the treasury. We feed our poor from our own resources. Let the pagans do the same. He invokes the spirit of Rome herself, saying: "Let me live in my own way." But Rome's way has changed. The Senate is now largely Christian. To restore the altar would be to insult the faith of the majority in order to appease the nostalgia of a minority. I beg your Clemency: do not sign this petition. Your father [Valentinian I] removed the altar. Your brother [Gratian] refused to restore it. Follow their example. The cross, not the altar of Victory, is now the standard of Rome.

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