Letter 138: Jerome praises Riparius for his zeal on behalf of the Catholic faith and for his efforts to put down the Pelagians. He then describes the attack made by these heretics upon the monasteries of Bethlehem. Now, he is glad to say, they have at last been driven from Palestine.

Jerome to Riparius — greetings. Your own letters and the reports of many others have told me of your battles on behalf of the Catholic faith against its enemies. I hear, however, that you are meeting headwinds — that people who ought to have been the first defenders of the truth have instead aligned themselves with its enemies to each other's mutual ruin. That is the situation as it usually is. Here in Palestine the news is better. By no human agency — purely by the judgment of Christ — Catiline has been driven not merely from the capital but from the borders of Palestine entirely. Lentulus and several of his fellow-conspirators, I am sorry to say, still lurk at Joppa. But the chief offenders are gone. I have myself moved rather than surrender the faith, preferring to give up a pleasant home to suffering contamination through enforced communion with heretics. There was no other honest option: they would have demanded either my immediate capitulation or my willingness to defend my position by force. I chose a third path. Many will have told you the story of my sufferings and of Christ's vindication of His own cause against those who attacked it. I will spare you a repetition. What I ask of you is simply this: finish what you have started. Do not leave the Church defenseless in the middle of a battle. You know what weapons are appropriate; you need no instruction from me on that point. Fight with the weapons of spiritual charity, which are unconquerable, rather than with physical force, which is merely persuasive in the short term. The brothers here send their warmest greetings. Hold firm.

To Riparius Jerome praises Riparius for his zeal on behalf of the Catholic faith and for his efforts to put down the Pelagians. He then describes the attack made by these heretics upon the monasteries of Bethlehem. Now, he is glad to say, they have at last been driven from Palestine. Most of them, that is, for some still linger at Joppa including one of their chief leaders. The date is A.D. 417. That you fight Christ's battles against the enemies of the Catholic Faith your own letters have informed me as well as the reports of many persons, but I am told that you find the winds contrary and that those who ought to have been the world's champions have backed the cause of perdition to each other's ruin. You are to know that in this part of the world, without any human help and merely by the decree of Christ, Catiline has been driven not only from the capital but from the borders of Palestine. Lentulus, however, and many of his fellow-conspirators still linger to our sorrow in Joppa. I myself have thought it better to change my abode than to surrender the true faith; and have chosen to leave my pleasant home rather than to suffer contamination from heresy. For I could not communicate with men who would either have insisted on my instant submission or would else have summoned me to support my opinions by the sword. A good many, I dare say, have told you the story of my sufferings and of the vengeance which Christ's uplifted hand has on my behalf taken upon my enemies. I would beg of you, therefore, to complete the task which you have taken up and not, while you are in it, to leave Christ's church without a defender. Every one knows the weapons that must be used in this warfare; and you, I feel sure will ask for no others. You must contend with all your might against the foe; but it must be not with physical force but with that spiritual charity which is never overcome. The reverend brothers who are with me, unworthy as I am, salute you warmly. The reverend brother, the deacon Alentius, is sure to give you, my worshipful friend, a faithful narrative of all the facts. May Christ our Lord, of His almighty power, keep you safe and mindful of me, truly reverend sir and esteemed brother.