From: Venantius Fortunatus, poet, in Poitiers
To: Gregory of Tours, Bishop of Tours
Date: ~583 AD
Context: A verse letter commending a woman named Justina to Gregory's care.
Bishop of the Lord, good shepherd and author of honor,
rightly the glory of your race where faith is most noble:
remember with kindness Justina, your servant;
through your holy prayers, blessed one, help her.
She is not wealthy. She has no powerful friends except you —
and me, which is to say: except you.
A word from you on her behalf will accomplish more
than anything I can write on a page.
I know you receive many such requests.
I know the door of a bishop in this century
is never short of people needing intercession.
But I would not be writing unless I thought the case was genuine
and the person deserving.
She is. Trust me on this one.
Or rather: trust your own judgment, which will tell you the same thing
when you have heard her story for yourself.
Your Fortunatus
XIII
Ad eundem
Antistes domini, bone pastor et auctor honoris,
rite decus generis quo est generosa fides:
Iustinam famulam pietate memento, beate;
per te et commender, stirpe vel arce pater,
hinc referens grates aviae, quia reddita tandem
ad vultus neptis, dulcis imago, venit.
ista diu nostris votis dans gaudia, rector,
inter avam et neptem tu mediator agas.
◆
From:Venantius Fortunatus, poet, in Poitiers
To:Gregory of Tours, Bishop of Tours
Date:~583 AD
Context:A verse letter commending a woman named Justina to Gregory's care.
Bishop of the Lord, good shepherd and author of honor, rightly the glory of your race where faith is most noble: remember with kindness Justina, your servant; through your holy prayers, blessed one, help her.
She is not wealthy. She has no powerful friends except you — and me, which is to say: except you. A word from you on her behalf will accomplish more than anything I can write on a page.
I know you receive many such requests. I know the door of a bishop in this century is never short of people needing intercession. But I would not be writing unless I thought the case was genuine and the person deserving.
She is. Trust me on this one. Or rather: trust your own judgment, which will tell you the same thing when you have heard her story for yourself.
Your Fortunatus
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.