To the Lord Bishop Nunechius.
We rejoice, most blessed bishop, that so many kinds of virtue have been heaped upon you by heavenly gift. For you are reported to carry your nobility without arrogance, your power without envy, your piety without superstition, your learning without pretension, your gravity without dullness, your wit without frivolity, and your firmness without harshness.
Moreover, Fame heaps upon all these good qualities the crowning excellence of the most exalted charity — Fame, which, though it sings much of your praises, keeps even more in silence. For those at a distance can learn the pattern of your conduct but not its full extent. Fired by such reports, I take the initiative — as is proper for a lesser man — in performing the duty of a first greeting. I have no fear of being accused someday of talkativeness, when until now I could have been blamed for silence.
I commend to you Promotus, the bearer of this letter — already known to you, but recently made one of our own, a fellow parishioner through your prayers. Though Jewish by birth, he has chosen to be defined by faith rather than by blood — an Israelite of the spirit rather than of the flesh. Seeking citizenship in the heavenly city, scorning the letter that kills in favor of the spirit that gives life, and contemplating both the rewards promised to the righteous and the eternal punishments awaiting those who refuse to flee circumcision for Christ, he has decided that his true homeland is Jerusalem rather than Hierosolyma [the spiritual city rather than the earthly one].
Knowing all this, let a spiritual Sarah now receive this newly true son of Abraham into her motherly arms. For he ceased to belong to the slave-woman Hagar the moment he exchanged the servitude of legalistic observance for the freedom of grace. As for his particular reason for coming to you, he can explain it more efficiently in person. He is dear to us for the reasons I have described — and I say this openly because the most effective recommendation is one that reveals the honest reasons for it. Be mindful of us, my lord bishop.
EPISTULA XIII
Sidonius domino papae Nunechio salutem.
1. Multa in te genera virtutum, papa beatissime, munere superno congesta gaudemus. siquidem agere narraris sine superbia nobilem sine invidia potentem, sine superstitione religiosum sine iactantia litteratum, sine ineptia gravem sine studio facetum, sine asperitate constantem sine popularitate communem.
2. praeterea his hoc praestantissimum bonis Fama superaggerat, quod te asserit hasce tot gratias fastigatissimae caritatis arce transcendere; Fama, inquam, quae de laudibus tuis cum canat multa, plus reticet. nam longius constitutis actionum tuarum propositum potest assignare, non numerum. quarum relatione succensus ultro primus, ut longe inferiorem decet, ad solvenda officia procurro nec vereor garrulitatis aliquando argui, qui potui taciturnitatis hucusque culpari.
3. commendo Promotum gerulum litterarum, vobis quidem ante iam cognitum, sed nostrum nuper effectum vestris orationibus contribulem; qui cum sit gente Iudaeus, fide tamen praeelegit censeri Israelita quam sanguine, et municipatum caelestis illius civitatis affectans occidentemque litteram spiritu vivificante fastidiens, pariter huc iustis praemia proposita contemplans, huc, nisi faceret ad Christum de circumcisione transfugium, praevidens sese per aeterna saecula aequiterna supplicia passurum, patriam sibi maluit Ierusalem potius quam Hierosolymam computari.
4. quibus agnitis adventantem Abrahae nunc filium veriorem maternis ulnis spiritalis Sara suscipiat. namque ad Agar ancillam pertinere tunc desiit, cum legalis observantiae servitutem gratiae libertate mutavit. de cetero, quae ipsi fuerit isto causa veniendi, praesentaneo conducibilius idem poterit explicare memoratu. nobis vero propter quae supra scripsi carissimus habetur; quod ideo significo, quia is efficacissime quemque commendat, qui meras causas iustae commendationis aperuerit. memor nostri esse dignare, domine papa.
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To the Lord Bishop Nunechius.
We rejoice, most blessed bishop, that so many kinds of virtue have been heaped upon you by heavenly gift. For you are reported to carry your nobility without arrogance, your power without envy, your piety without superstition, your learning without pretension, your gravity without dullness, your wit without frivolity, and your firmness without harshness.
Moreover, Fame heaps upon all these good qualities the crowning excellence of the most exalted charity — Fame, which, though it sings much of your praises, keeps even more in silence. For those at a distance can learn the pattern of your conduct but not its full extent. Fired by such reports, I take the initiative — as is proper for a lesser man — in performing the duty of a first greeting. I have no fear of being accused someday of talkativeness, when until now I could have been blamed for silence.
I commend to you Promotus, the bearer of this letter — already known to you, but recently made one of our own, a fellow parishioner through your prayers. Though Jewish by birth, he has chosen to be defined by faith rather than by blood — an Israelite of the spirit rather than of the flesh. Seeking citizenship in the heavenly city, scorning the letter that kills in favor of the spirit that gives life, and contemplating both the rewards promised to the righteous and the eternal punishments awaiting those who refuse to flee circumcision for Christ, he has decided that his true homeland is Jerusalem rather than Hierosolyma [the spiritual city rather than the earthly one].
Knowing all this, let a spiritual Sarah now receive this newly true son of Abraham into her motherly arms. For he ceased to belong to the slave-woman Hagar the moment he exchanged the servitude of legalistic observance for the freedom of grace. As for his particular reason for coming to you, he can explain it more efficiently in person. He is dear to us for the reasons I have described — and I say this openly because the most effective recommendation is one that reveals the honest reasons for it. Be mindful of us, my lord bishop.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.