Letter 50005: Is it true, my dear Augustine, that you are spending your energy and patience on the business of your fellow...
Nebridius to his beloved Augustine -- greetings.
Is it true, my dear Augustine, that you are spending your energy and patience on the business of your fellow townspeople in Thagaste, and that the freedom from distractions you so desperately wanted is still being denied to you? Who are these people, I would like to know, who are taking advantage of your good nature and making such claims on your time? I suspect they have no idea what you truly love and long for. Is there no friend nearby to tell them where your heart really lies? Will neither Romanianus nor Lucinianus step in?
Well, let them hear me, then. I will say it loudly and plainly: God is the supreme object of your love, and your heart's desire is to be His servant and to hold fast to Him.
How I wish I could persuade you to come to my country home and rest here! I would not be afraid of being denounced as a kidnapper by those townspeople of yours, whom you love far too much -- and who love you far too much in return.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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