To Industrius.
I recently visited the distinguished Vectius and closely observed his daily life, very much at my leisure. Since I found it worthy of being known, I judged it not unworthy of being told. First and foremost — for this rightly takes precedence over all other praise — his household maintains an unblemished purity worthy of God. His servants are useful, his farmhands obedient, his city servants friendly — all devoted to their master and content. His table feeds the guest no less than the dependent. His generosity is great; his sobriety greater.
The lighter details: the man I am describing is second to none in the training, showing, and handling of horses, hounds, and hawks. His clothing is impeccable, his belts handsome, his horse-trappings gleaming. His bearing is dignified, his mind serious — the one testifying to his private character, the other to his public standing. His relaxation never corrupts, his correction never draws blood, and his severity is of the kind that is stern without being grim.
Among all this, he reads Scripture frequently — often taking spiritual nourishment during meals — recites the psalms regularly, and sings them more often still. In a new kind of life, he fulfills the calling of a monk not under a rough cloak but under a military mantle: he abstains from the meat of wild game but takes pleasure in the chase. He is thus devoutly religious in secret, while outwardly using hunting without being used by it.
He raises his only daughter — a small child left after his wife's death — as the comfort of his widowhood, with a grandfather's tenderness, a mother's care, and a father's kindness. Toward his household he is neither threatening in his speech nor dismissive of their counsel nor relentless in investigating their faults. He governs the condition and status of his dependents not by domination but by judgment: you would think he does not own his house but rather administers it.
Having observed this man's character and moderation, I decided it would serve others' instruction to publish at least the outlines of his way of life — a life to which all men of our profession [the clergy] would most usefully aspire, even apart from the particular dress by which one is distinguished in this present age. For — with all respect to my own order — if these individual virtues are found only individually in individual clergy, then I confess I admire a man of priestly character more than a man who merely holds the priestly office. Farewell.
EPISTULA IX
Sidonius Industrio suo salutem.
1. Interveni proxime Vectio inlustri viro et actiones eius cotidianas penitissime et veluti ex otio inspexi. quas quoniam dignas cognitu inveni, non indignas relatu existimavi. primore loco, quod iure ceteris laudibus anteponemus, servat inlaesam domino domus par pudicitiam; servi utiles (rustici morigeri, urbani amici) oboedientes patronoque contenti; mensa non minus pascens hospitem quam clientem; humanitas grandis grandiorque sobrietas.
2. illa leviora, quod ipse, quem loquimur, in equis canibus accipitribus instituendis spectandis circumferendis nulli secundus; summus nitor in vestibus, cultus in cingulis, splendor in phaleris; pomposus incessus, animus serius (iste publicam fidem, ille privatam asserit dignitatem); remissio non vitians, correptio non cruentans, et severitas eius temperamenti, quae non sit taetra sed tetrica.
3. inter haec sacrorum voluminum lectio frequens, per quam inter edendum saepius sumit animae cibum; psalmos crebro lectitat, crebrius cantat; novoque genere vivendi monachum complet non sub palliolo sed sub paludamento; ferarum carnibus abstinet, cursibus adquiescit; itaque occulte delicateque religiosus venatu utitur nec utitur venatione.
4. filiam unicam parvam post obitum uxoris relictam solacio caelibatus alit avita teneritudine, materna diligentia, paterna benignitate; erga familiam suam nec in proferendo alloquio minax nec in admittendo consilio spernax nec in reatu investigando persequax; subiectorum statum condicionemque non dominio sed iudicio regit; putes eum propriam domum non possidere sed potius administrare.
5. qua industria viri ac temperantia inspecta ad reliquorum quoque censui pertinere informationem, si vel summotenus vita ceteris talis publicaretur, ad quam sequendam praeter habitum, quo interim praesenti saeculo imponitur, omnes nostrae professionis homines utilissime incitarentur, quia, quod pace ordinis mei dixerim, si tantum bona singula in singulis erunt, plus ego admiror sacerdotalem virum quam sacerdotem. vale.
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To Industrius.
I recently visited the distinguished Vectius and closely observed his daily life, very much at my leisure. Since I found it worthy of being known, I judged it not unworthy of being told. First and foremost — for this rightly takes precedence over all other praise — his household maintains an unblemished purity worthy of God. His servants are useful, his farmhands obedient, his city servants friendly — all devoted to their master and content. His table feeds the guest no less than the dependent. His generosity is great; his sobriety greater.
The lighter details: the man I am describing is second to none in the training, showing, and handling of horses, hounds, and hawks. His clothing is impeccable, his belts handsome, his horse-trappings gleaming. His bearing is dignified, his mind serious — the one testifying to his private character, the other to his public standing. His relaxation never corrupts, his correction never draws blood, and his severity is of the kind that is stern without being grim.
Among all this, he reads Scripture frequently — often taking spiritual nourishment during meals — recites the psalms regularly, and sings them more often still. In a new kind of life, he fulfills the calling of a monk not under a rough cloak but under a military mantle: he abstains from the meat of wild game but takes pleasure in the chase. He is thus devoutly religious in secret, while outwardly using hunting without being used by it.
He raises his only daughter — a small child left after his wife's death — as the comfort of his widowhood, with a grandfather's tenderness, a mother's care, and a father's kindness. Toward his household he is neither threatening in his speech nor dismissive of their counsel nor relentless in investigating their faults. He governs the condition and status of his dependents not by domination but by judgment: you would think he does not own his house but rather administers it.
Having observed this man's character and moderation, I decided it would serve others' instruction to publish at least the outlines of his way of life — a life to which all men of our profession [the clergy] would most usefully aspire, even apart from the particular dress by which one is distinguished in this present age. For — with all respect to my own order — if these individual virtues are found only individually in individual clergy, then I confess I admire a man of priestly character more than a man who merely holds the priestly office. Farewell.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.