Letter 14: We rejoiced in what was written and brought to us through Cardamas.

To the most blessed and venerable father Delphinus, ever most longed for by us, Paulinus. We rejoiced in those things which were written and brought to us through Cardamas. For the message of your safety, like the oil of gladness, made fat our bones, so that, filled with joy, we said: the Lord has done great things with us, who visited us upon the sickbed of your suffering, that, rising again in your recovery, we might sing a hymn to our Lord, since he had snatched our eyes away from tears, deferring you from your crown, yet reserving you for our help, so that, with your earnest prayers lightening our burdens and going before us upon our journeys, we might run the more lightly toward the fragrance of the Lord's ointments, which, breathing its fragrance upon us in your holiness, even if we have not laid hold of it by our merit, we nevertheless follow with affection, hoping that through the inseparable bond of your love we shall be led on, so that we may arrive under your guidance where you have arrived by your own striving. For your infirmities are not unto death but for the glory of God, that they may confer both perfection upon your virtue and virtue upon our infirmity. For that we should not be troubled concerning you, many examples already drawn from the patriarchs of the Lord's holy ones confirm us. Just as those same fathers of the faith, besides the other labors of their life, in that prophetic old age also, in which, inwardly illumined, they already foresaw the eternity of the world and the whole sequence of the ages, nevertheless, heavy in their bodily eyes, in their fleshly infirmity perfected a spiritual virtue: so too the blessed Job was tempted that he might be proven, fought that he might conquer, was humbled that he might be exalted, wept that he might rejoice. What of the very Holy of Holies himself? Did he not conquer at the very time when he was being judged, and by falling through death rise again into glory? These sufferings of infirmities are, for the strong, and for the weak, incitements to virtues. For the strong man is made weak, that the weak man may be strengthened and may learn by the imitation of the robust to overcome his encounters. And therefore the just man too is chastised, that the unjust man may be amended. Wherefore the fleshly infirmity of the saints works a twofold benefit, that both their own spiritual virtue may be exercised, and that he who prospers in his way and, insulting it with the strength of unhindered health, says, I have sinned, and what has befallen me? may not dare to flatter himself concerning his bodily good fortune, and perhaps, bound by fear of the divine power, may be corrected unto righteousness, while he rightly dreads the avenging hand of the heavenly Lord against impious deeds, which he may see to be severe even toward the just. For if you barely escape short of the lashes of chastisement, where shall we, the wicked and sinners, appear? But we believe that for this reason in these recent times you have suffered weapons of bodily tribulations heavier than usual, vexed lately by the burning of fevers, now by a humor of the head, that in that rest of the Lord you may blessedly be able to say: we have passed through fire and water, and you have brought us into refreshment. Gladdened therefore by this mercy of God, by which he had looked favorably upon our lowliness, so that we might gain the reward of a most grievous anxiety's pain, when you had at the same time made known to us both our solicitude concerning you and our security, we received in those same letters another gift of divine grace, namely that business of our care concerning the house of the holy presbyter Basil, settled through your effort just as we desired. May that whole blessing come upon your head and flourish, interwoven, upon the heap of your crown, with which they blessed the Lord in you, not only those themselves to whom the benefit pertained, but well nigh all Capua and the most renowned church of that city itself, exulting together at the presbyter's joy, gave praise to God, who had helped the poor man out of his beggary and had humbled the lofty hearts of the rich, so that they too might have hope of an eternal home in the city of habitation, who have been held worthy, through the intervention of your discourse, to be illumined unto a good understanding, by which, through the just restoration of a slight dwelling, they have prepared for themselves an eternal lodging in the heavenly tabernacle of his poor holy one, by whom in turn they shall be received.

XIIII. BEATISSIMO ET VENERABILI SEMPER NOBIS DKSIDERANTISSIMO PATRI DELPHINO PAVLINVS. Laetati sumus in his quae per Cardamatem scripta et adportata sunt nobis. sospitatis enim tuae nuntius sermo uelut oleum laetitiae inpinguauit ossa nostra, ut repleti gaudio diceremus: magnificauit dominus facere nobiscum, qui nos in tui doloris lectulo uisitauit, ut exurgentes in tua sanitate 2] (Ps. 44,10). 19] (l\'s. 121,1). 21] Eccli. 26,13. 22] Ps. 125,3. (Ps.40,4). 6 ditificax 0 enim om. M 7 coepit FO 9 omnium Ov, hominum cet . sensuum v, sensu w 13 tribus coni. Sacch., rebus M 14 est] e et U couiux LM, cognux U 15 Kustocliium v, iusthocia 0, eustochia cet . maritus] opto to ualere add. FPiU FLMOPUX . — item eiusdem ad eundem. XXIII. L, ad eundem delfinum . XXXI - M, incipit IIII. 0, epistola sancti pauli episcopi ad delphinum episcopum ubi pluriuuuu congratulatur ei: quod de graui iutirmitate diuino munere sospitati sit redonatus ubi etiam hortatur eum ad patientiam in infirmitatibus tollerandis exemplo patrum sanctorum U, item incipit ad eundem X 17 desideratissimo FPU 18 delfino LltiUX, dalphino FPU Paulinus et therasia peccatores X 21 inpuguauit U 23 doloris tui F caneremus hymnum domino nostro, quoniam eripuisset oculos nostros a lacrimis, differens te coronae tuae, sed reseruans adiutorio nostro, ut te intentis orationibus tuis onera nostra releuante et itinera praeuiante leuiores curramus in odorem unguentorum domini, quem nobis in tua sanctitate fragrantem, etsi non adprehendimus merito, attamen sequimur affectu, sperantes per inseparabilem caritatis tuae copulam de-. ducendos nos, ut perueniamus tuo ductu quo tu proprio nisu perueneris. nam infirmitates tuae non sunt ad mortem sed pro claritate dei, ut et uirtuti tuae perfectionem et infirmitati nostrae uirtutem conferant. de te enim ne perturbemur, multa nos iam a patriarchis sanctorum domini exempla confirmant. Sicut ipsi patres fidei praeter alios uitae suae labores in illa etiam senectute prophetica, qua interius luminati iam mundi aeternitatem et omnium saeculorum seriem prouidebant, corporeis tamen graues oculis in infirmitate carnali spiritalem consummauerunt uirtutem: sic et beatus Iob temptatus est ut probaretur, dimicauit ut uinceret, humiliatus est ut exaltaretur, fleuit ut gauderet. quid ipse sanctus sanctorum? nonne tunc uicit cum iudicaretur et cadendo per mortem resurrexit in gloriam? quae fortibus passiones infirmitatum, infirmis incitamenta uirtutum sunt. infirmatur etenim ualidus, ut confortetur infirmus et imitatione robusti discat superare congressus. et ideo et iustus castigatur, ut emendetur iniustus. 1] Ps. 114, 8. 10] (Ioh. 11, 4). 12] (Gen. 27,1 et 48,10). 17] (Iob 1, 14. 2, 7. 4, 1 et 5, 1). a 1 do X 2 te] te quidem M serreseruans 0 3 adiutori FPU 4 -preuiaute 0, praeueniente X, breuiante cet . 5 ungentorum M 6 flagrantem LO, fraglantem M adprehensimus 01 sequimus U 7 affecto PU inseperabilem PU 8 nisi 01 9 supueneris X infirmitatis x1 10 uirtute xl perfectionem-uirtutem om. X (add. in marg. inf. m. 3) t 11 ne om. U 12 iam nos LM patriarces F, patriarces OPU, patriarcbi x 13 patris 0 laboris 0 14 profectio a qua X luminatio 0 iam] totam x 15 praeuidebant LM 16 grauis LO in 0, om. eel . 17 consumauerunt FPU 18 pr . ut ex et X 21 gla X passionis 0 23 et om. X immitatioue. (m eras.) X 24 pr . et. om. X Quare duplicem utilitatem operatur sanctorum carnalis infirmitas, ut et ipsorum spiritalis uirtus exerceatur, et qui prosperatur in uia sua et uiribus inoffensae sanitatis insultans dicit: peccaui, et quid accidit mihi? non audeat sibi de corporea felicitate blandiri et forsitan metu diuinae potestatis adstrictus ad iustitiam corrigatur, dum ultricem domini caelestis manum inpiis actibus iure expauescit, quam uideat et iustis seueram. nam si uos uix citra uerbera castigationis euaditis, nos iniqui et peccatores ubi parebimus? credimus autem, quia ideo proximis his temporibus grauiora solito corporalium tribulationum tela perpessus es, pridem febrium ardore, nunc capitis humore uexatus, ut in illa requie domini beatus possis dicere: transiuimus per ignem et aquam, et induxisti nos in refrigerio. laetificati igitur hac dei misericordia, qua respexerat in bonum humilitatem nostram, ut grauissimae anxietudinis poenam lucraremur, cum pariter indicasses nobis sollicitudinem de te nostram et securitatem, aliud in isdem litteris diuinae gratiae munus accepimus, illud uidelicet curae nostrae negotium de sancti presbyteri Basili domo per operam tuam, ita ut desiderauimus, explicatum. Veniat tota illa benedictio super caput tuum et in coronae tuae cumulum supertexta florescat, qua benedixerunt dominum in te non solum ipsi, ad quos beneficium pertinebat, sed tota propemodum Capua et celeberrima urbis ipsius ecclesia gaudio presbyteri coexultans dedit laudem deo, qui 2] Ps. 36, 7. 4] Eccli. 5, 4. 9] (Prou. 11, 31; I Petro 4, 18). 13] Ps. 65, 12. 1 quam rem LMX utilitatem om. F 2 quia U, quid X 3 insultas F, exultans X 4 et om. x 5 forsitam X 6 astrietus LMP, astrictos F istam U 8 uidet M et om. FFUx 9 pareuimus Xt 10 ideo om. FPU solito] sollicita FPU 12 ardorem X capiti summo reaeiatus x 14 refrigerium FlLM hac 0, ac X, a FPU, in F1, e L, ex M domini FPU 15 qui L qua respexerat] spes erat x 18 alium Ox iisdem M, hisdem cet.- 19 curae nostrae om. M ba- sili OPx, basilii cet. 20 domu X desideramus FPU explicato FOPU 21 tuum caput LM 22 supertesta U, supertectax quia FPU 24 capue X et om. X urbis ipsius urbis M 25 presbiterico exultans FLMPU laudem dedit F adiuuisset pauperem de mendicitate et humiliasset alta diuitum corda, ut et ipsi habeant spem aeternae domus in ciuitate habitationis, qui digni habiti sunt per interuentum sermonis tui ad intellectum bonum inluminari, quo per exigui domicilii iustam reformationem aeternum sibi in caelesti tabernaculo pauperis sancti sui, a quo inuicem recipientur, hospitium parauerunt.