Letter 223: Quodvultdeus presses Augustine for a Latin catalogue of heresies.

To the deservedly venerable lord, truly Most Blessed holy father Augustine: Quodvultdeus, deacon. I did receive one reminder from Your Reverence, which you were kind enough to send through a churchman. The earlier one which Your Blessedness said had been sent through the honorable man Philocalus has not yet reached me. Yet although I have always been conscious of my own sins, I now recognize clearly, from obtaining the gift I asked for, that my own person is an obstacle to the whole church. Still, I have complete confidence that the one who, through the grace of his Only-Begotten, was willing to wipe away the crimes of the human race will not permit mine to prevail to the destruction of everyone. Rather, where sin abounded, he will make grace abound even more, deservedly venerable lord and truly Most Blessed holy father. I knew the difficulty of the work that I humbly asked your kindness to provide for the instruction of us who are profoundly ignorant, and I said so beforehand. But I counted, with a truthful heart, on the abundance of the divine spring which the Lord has given you. Philastrius and Epiphanius, venerable bishops, are said to have written something of this kind, though that, like almost everything else, is hidden from me. Still, I do not think they took the care and pains I want: to attach the opposite views to each individual opinion, and then to add the practices. Besides, whatever the work of either man may be like, perhaps it does not have the brevity I desire. Greek eloquence is also uselessly assigned to someone who has not learned Greek, because I asked not only for advice but also for help. Why should I remind Your Veneration of the difficulty of translators, and not only their difficulty but their obscurity, when you yourself judge this more fully than anyone? Add to this that some heresies are known to have arisen after their deaths, and they made no mention of them. For that reason I flee to the special patronage of your kindness. With my own voice, but with a universal desire, I appeal to the most holy heart of your mercy, ready as it is for compassion. Put aside foreign flavors and consider the text of my earlier letter. Do not deny African bread - the kind our province is especially used to having, seasoned also with heavenly manna - to one who knocks late and suffers hunger. I certainly will not stop knocking until you yourself grant it. What the privilege of merits cannot obtain, since I have none, let tireless persistence at least deserve.

EPISTOLA 223 Scripta forte a. 428. Quodvultdeus A. rursus efflagitans opusculum de haeresibus (nn. 1 et 3) quod quidem longe aliud sit ac illa Philastri et Epiphani (n. 2). DOMINO MERITO VENERABILI, AC VERE BEATISSIMO SANCTO PATRI AUGUSTINO QUODVULTDEUS DIACONUS Catalogum haeresum perutilem futurum universae Ecclesiae. 1. Unum quidem Reverentiae tuae commonitorium, quod per ecclesiasticum dignatus es destinare, suscepi. Nam quod prius directum esse Beatitudo tua significavit, per virum honorabilem Philocalum, necdum ad me pervenit. Verum quamvis conscius propriorum semper fuerim peccatorum, nunc tamen evidenter agnovi adipiscendo illi quod exoravi muneri, meam toti Ecclesiae impedimento esse personam. Sed omnino confido quoniam qui per Unici sui gratiam, humani generis dignatus est delere facinora, nec mea in perniciem cunctorum praevalere permittet, potiusque ubi abundavit peccatum, gratiam faciet redundare 1, domine merito venerabilis, ac vere beatissime sancte pater. Difficultatem operis quod instruendis imperitissimis nobis per tuam beneficentiam praestari suppliciter exoravi, nec ipse ignorans ante praedixi; sed de divini fontis ubertate quam tibi Dominus tribuit, veraci corde praesumpsi. Philastri Epiphanique compendia longe alio spectare. 2. Nam etsi Philastrius et Epiphanius venerandi episcopi tale aliquid scripsisse memorantur, quod procul dubio me inter caetera, imo sicut omnia, latet; non tamen arbitror eos hanc curam diligentiamque adhibuisse, ut singulis quibusque opinionibus contrarias etiam opiniones adiungerent, ritusque subiicerent; tum denique opus illud utriusque qualecumque sit, non habet fortassis eam quam desidero brevitatem. Frustra etiam homini qui latina non didicit, graeca facundia delegatur; quia non ego tantummodo consilium, sed et auxilium postulavi. Quid autem Venerationem tuam de interpretum non solum difficultate, sed etiam obscuritate admoneam, cum ipse hoc magis, ac plene diiudices? Accedit ad causam, quod nonnullae etiam post illorum obitum haereses emersisse doceantur, quarum nullam illi fecerint mentionem. A. satisfaciat amico. 3. Quamobrem ad peculiare patrocinium pietatis tuae confugio, et voce mea, sed universali desiderio, paratum ad misericordiam sacrosanctum pietatis pectus appello; sequestratis saporibus peregrinis, considerato textu prioris epistolae, panem Afrum, quem nostra provincia solet habere praecipuum, coelesti etiam manna conditum, sero pulsanti 2, et famem patienti non deneges. Profecto enim nec ego pulsare cessabo, donec ipse concedas; ut quod non impetrat privilegium, quod nullum est meritorum, saltem indefessa importunitas mereatur.