Letter 6010: God, who planted in your soul the desire for good works, will Himself watch over their fulfillment.

Ennodius of PaviaFaustus|c. 501 AD|Ennodius of Pavia
property economics
From: Ennodius, deacon and literary figure in Pavia
To: Faustus [Faustus Niger]
Date: ~501 AD
Context: A letter to Faustus during the darkest period of the Laurentian schism, when Pope Symmachus faced both religious and political enemies.

Ennodius to Faustus.

God, who planted in your soul the desire for good works, will Himself watch over their fulfillment. I trust in that — and I trust in you, which in this case amounts to the same thing.

The cause we serve together requires both patience and action, and I know you are equal to both. I will not rehearse the difficulties; you know them better than I do. What I offer instead is the assurance that on my side, the commitment has not weakened and will not weaken.

Let us continue as we have begun, and let God bring the harvest in His own time. Farewell.

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.

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