Letter 124: 1. I Am, whether through present infirmity or by natural temperament, very susceptible of cold; nevertheless, it would not be possible for me to suffer greater heat than I have done throughout this exceptionally dreadful winter, having been kept in a fever by distress because I have been unable, I do not say to hasten, but to fly to you (to visi...

Augustine to Albina, Pinianus, and Melania, greetings in the Lord. I was overjoyed to receive your letter, dearest friends in Christ. The news of your continued devotion — your generosity to the poor, your care for the churches, your commitment to the ascetic life you have chosen together — fills me with gratitude and admiration. But I must also address the matter you raised: the difficulties you face from those who question your decisions, who envy your wealth even as you give it away, who gossip about your motives and your methods. This is, unfortunately, the price of visibility. When you were wealthy and worldly, no one questioned you. Now that you are wealthy and holy, everyone does. Let them talk. The Lord sees what you do and why. Human opinion is a weathervane — it spins with every gust. Divine judgment is a compass — it always points true. That said, be prudent. Generosity without discernment can cause harm as easily as good. Give wisely. Give where the need is genuine. And do not be manipulated by those who exploit your kindness for their own purposes. The wolves dress in the clothing of the poor as easily as in the clothing of the powerful. My love to all three of you. Your example encourages the whole Church. Farewell in Christ.

Letter 124 (A.D. 411) To Albina, Pinianus, and Melania, Honoured in the Lord, Beloved in Holiness and Longed for in Brotherly Affection, Augustine Sends Greeting in the Lord. 1. I Am, whether through present infirmity or by natural temperament, very susceptible of cold; nevertheless, it would not be possible for me to suffer greater heat than I have done throughout this exceptionally dreadful winter, having been kept in a fever by distress because I have been unable, I do not say to hasten, but to fly to you (to visit whom it would have been fitting for me to fly across the seas), after you had been settled so near to me, and had come from so remote a land to see me. It may be, also, that you have supposed the rigorous weather of this winter to be the only cause of my suffering this disappointment; I pray you, beloved, give no place to this thought. For what inconvenience, hardship, or even danger, can these heavy rains bring, which I would not have encountered and endured in order to make my way to you, who are such comforters to us in our great calamities, and who, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, are lights kindled into vehement flame by the Supreme Light, raised aloft by lowliness of spirit, and deriving more glorious lustre from the glory which you have despised? Moreover, I would have enjoyed participation in the spiritual felicity vouchsafed to my earthly birthplace, in that it has been permitted to have you present, of whom when absent its citizens had heard much — so much, indeed, that although giving charitable credence to the report of what you were by nature and had become by grace, they feared, perchance, to repeat it to others, lest it should be disbelieved. 2. I shall therefore tell you the reason why I have not come, and the trials by which I have been kept back from so great a privilege, that I may obtain not only your forgiveness, but also, through your prayers, the mercy of Him who so works in you that you live to Him. The congregation of Hippo, whom the Lord has ordained me to serve, is in great measure, and almost wholly, of a constitution so infirm, that the pressure of even a comparatively light affliction might seriously endanger its well-being; at present, however, it is smitten with tribulation so overwhelming, that, even were it strong, it could scarcely survive the imposition of the burden. Moreover, when I returned to it recently, I found it offended to a most dangerous degree by my absence; and you, over whose spiritual strength we rejoice in the Lord, can with healthful taste relish and approve the saying of Paul: Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not? 2 Corinthians 11:29 I feel this especially because there are many here who by disparaging us attempt to excite against us the minds of the others by whom we seem to be loved, in order that they may make room in them for the devil. But when those whose salvation is our care are angry with us, their strong determination to take vengeance on us is only an unreasonable desire for bringing death to themselves — not the death of the body, but of the soul, in which the fact of death discovers itself mysteriously by the odour of corruption before it is possible for our care to foresee and provide against it. Doubtless you will readily excuse this anxiety on my part, especially because, if you were displeased and wished to punish me, you could perhaps invent no severer pain than what I already suffer in not seeing you at Thagaste. I trust, however, that, assisted by your prayers, I may be permitted when the present hindrance has been removed with all speed to come to you, in whatsoever part of Africa you may be, if this town in which I labour is not worthy (and I do not presume to pronounce it worthy) to be along with us made joyful by your presence.

EPISTOLA 124   Augustinus ad Albinam, Pinianum et Melaniam ipsius desiderio venientes in Africam ac Thagastae extorres commorantes excusat se, quod illuc ad eos visendos pergere, sibi non tam (n. 1) non tam per hiemis rigorem, quam per titubantem Hipponensis Ecclesiae statum. DOMINIS IN DOMINO INSIGNIBUS, ET SANCTITATE CARISSIMIS AC DESIDERATISSIMIS FRATRIBUS, ALBINAE, PINIANO, ET MELANIAE, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM. Amicos visendi aestus hiemali frigore maiores. 1. Cum habitu valetudinis vel natura frigus ferre non possim, numquam tamen maiores aestus, quam ista hieme tam horrenda, perpeti potui, quod ad vos, ad quos volatu maria transeunda fuerant, tam in proximo constitutos, tam de longinquo visendi nos gratia venientes, non dicam pergere, sed volare non potui. Et forte Sanctitas vestra eamdem hiemalem asperitatem poenae meae tantum causam putaverit; absit, carissimi. Quid enim grave ac molestum, vel etiam periculosum habent imbres isti, quod non mihi subeundum ac ferendum fuit, ut ad vos venirem, tanta in tantis malis nostris solatia, in hac generatione tortuosa ac perversa, tam ardenter accensa de summo lumine lumina 1, suscepta humilitate sublimia, et contempta claritate clariora? Simul etiam fruerer carnalis patriae meae tam spiritali felicitate, quae vos etiam praesentes habere meruit: de quibus absentibus, cum id quod nati estis, et quod gratia Christi facti estis, audiret, quamvis caritate crederet, tamen, ne non crederetur, narrare forsitan verebatur. Hipponensis populus ab haereticis stimulatus. 2. Dicam igitur quare non venerim, et quibus malis a tanto bono impeditus sim; ut non solum a vobis veniam, sed etiam vestris orationibus, ab illo qui in vobis quod ei vivitis operatur, merear misericordiam. Populus Hipponensis, cui me Dominus servum dedit, cum ex magna et pene ex omni parte ita infirmus sit, ut pressura etiam levioris tribulationis possit graviter aegrotare, nunc tam magna tribulatione caeditur, ut etiamsi non sic esset infirmus, vix eam cum aliqua salute animi sustineret. Eum autem modo cum regressus sum, periculosissime scandalizatum comperi de absentia mea: vestris autem, de quorum spiritali robore gaudemus in Domino, sanis utique faucibus sapit quomodo dictum sit: Quis infirmatur, et ego non infirmor? quis scandalizatur, et ego non uror? 2. Praesertim quoniam multi sunt hic, qui detrahendo nobis, caeterorum animos a quibus diligi videmur, adversus nos perturbare conantur, ut locum in eis diabolo faciant. Cum autem irascuntur nobis de quorum salute satagimus, magnum illis consilium vindicandi, est libido moriendi, non in corpore, sed in corde, ubi funus occulte prius suo putore sentitur, quam nostra cogitatione prospicitur. Huic meae sollicitudini procul dubio libenter ignoscitis; praesertim quoniam si succenseretis, et velletis ulcisci, nihil fortasse gravius inveniretis quam id quod patior, cum vos Thagastae non video. Spero autem vestris adiutus orationibus, quod mihi ad vos ubicumque in Africa fueritis, venire quantocius concedetur, cum hoc quo nunc detentus sum, praeterierit; si haec civitas in qua laboramus, digna non est, quia nec ego audeo dignam putare, quae nobiscum de vestra praesentia collaetetur.