Letter 9147

Gregory the Great (Wisigothic)Unknown|gregory great
From: Pope Gregory I
To: Secundinus, Servant of God, Recluse
Date: ~599 AD
Context: Gregory praises Secundinus's letters; mentions his own gout; discusses spiritual combat

Your letters were a genuine consolation to me, and I want you to know it. There is something rare about a man who has chosen the enclosed life and who still writes with such warmth, clarity, and insight. You carry in a small cell what many in the wider world cannot find in all their movement. As for me — I tell you plainly, since you are the sort of man one can be plain with — the gout continues to afflict me, and there are days when my body's complaints nearly drown out my soul's prayers. But our Lord has been through worse, and I take comfort in that. On the matter of the ancient enemy: yes, I know the temptation you describe, and you are right that it does not diminish in the enclosed life. If anything it sharpens, for there is less noise to hide behind. Pray for me as I pray for you.

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