Resultados19 letters/passages
ambrose_milan · c. 389 · score 0.02
Ambrose, Bishop, to the most merciful prince and most blessed Emperor Theodosius. I am always burdened with cares, most blessed Emperor, but I have never been in such distress as now — because I see that I must guard against anything that could be charged to me as sacrilege. I beg you: hear me patiently. If I am unwort …
ambrose_milan · c. 388 · score 0.02
Ambrose, Bishop, to the most merciful prince and most blessed Emperor Theodosius. I am constantly burdened with cares, most blessed Emperor, but I have never been in such distress as now. I see that I must take every precaution against anything that might be charged to me as approaching sacrilege. I beg you: hear me wi …
ambrose_milan · c. 389 · score 0.02
I reminded them of Julian the Apostate, who had tried the same thing in reverse and failed. When I came down from the pulpit, the emperor said to me: "You have been preaching about me." I replied: "I addressed what concerned your soul's welfare." He said the order about the synagogue was too harsh — he had already modi …
ambrose_milan · c. 388 · score 0.02
Punish the rioters if justice demands it — but do not compel a Christian bishop to build a synagogue. That is not justice. That is a triumph of those who deny Christ over those who confess him. If you will not hear me as a counselor, hear me at least as an intercessor. I would rather owe you gratitude for mercy than be …
ambrose_milan · c. 381 · score 0.02
… to recognize the devil's favorite instrument. The basilica was surrendered. The imperial hangings were removed. The people sang hymns of relief and thanksgiving. But even then, a notary came to me with a warning: "Ambrose, you despise the emperor. I see that you wish for death." I answered: "God grant that I do not des …
ambrose_milan · c. 383 · score 0.02
Ambrose, Bishop, to the most blessed prince and most merciful Emperor Valentinian. When the illustrious Symmachus, Prefect of the City, submitted his memorial to your Clemency requesting that the altar removed from the Roman Senate house be restored to its place, you, Emperor — though still young in years — proved your …
ambrose_milan · c. 380 · score 0.01
Ambrose, Bishop, to the most blessed prince and most gracious Emperor Valentinian. Since the illustrious Symmachus, Prefect of the City, has petitioned your Grace to restore the altar removed from the Roman Senate house, and since you, Emperor — young in years but a veteran in faith — rejected the prayer of the pagans, …
ambrose_milan · c. 386 · score 0.01
… plays the same role against the church of Milan. The basilica was released. The imperial cloths were removed. The people sang hymns of thanksgiving. But a notary came to me privately and delivered a threat: "Ambrose, you despise the emperor. I see that you wish for death." I replied: "God grant that I do not deserve it …
ambrose_milan · c. 389 · score 0.01
Either way, the church loses. Is that your intention? I am not saying that the synagogue should have been burned. I am saying that the remedy you have chosen is worse than the offense. Punish the rioters, if you must — but do not compel a bishop to rebuild with his own money a place where Christ is blasphemed. That is …
ambrose_milan · c. 388 · score 0.01
… is called the will of God. When Jews suffer, it is called an outrage requiring imperial intervention. Consider Julian the Apostate. He ordered the Jews to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. What happened? Fire burst from the foundations and consumed the workers. Even the elements refused to cooperate. Shall a Christia …
ambrose_milan · c. 386 · score 0.01
… cials had been sent from the palace to seize the Portian basilica — hanging the imperial curtains as a sign of confiscation. When the people heard this, they surged toward the Portian basilica. I remained at the altar and began the liturgy. Then soldiers were sent to occupy the basilica. But when they arrived and saw t …
ambrose_milan · c. 383 · score 0.01
I turned my temples red with the blood of animals, I bowed before dead stones, I honored gods who were demons. Now I have been taught better. I am ashamed of my past, not proud of it. I do not beg for my old errors to be restored. I beg you to leave them buried." If length of custom were an argument for truth, then the …
ambrose_milan · c. 389 · score 0.01
To my brother's sister — greetings. You were good enough to write that your holiness was still anxious, because I had written that I was anxious too. I am surprised you did not receive my later letter, in which I reported that the matter had been resolved in my favor. Let me tell you the full story. When reports arrive …
ambrose_milan · c. 380 · score 0.01
But Rome's greatness was built by her soldiers, not her priests. Regulus did not consult the augurs before marching to Carthage. Scipio did not sacrifice to Victory before destroying it. The battles that made Rome were won by Roman arms, not Roman altars. And the rites that Symmachus defends — the very rites he claims …
ambrose_milan · c. 381 · score 0.01
… officials had been sent from the palace to seize the Portian basilica — hanging imperial curtains as a sign of confiscation, while part of the crowd was already heading there. I stayed at my post and began celebrating the Eucharist. During the offering, I heard that a certain Castulus — an Arian priest, the people said …
ambrose_milan · c. 397 · score 0.01
The clerical life and the monastic life are not the same, though they share much. A good monk is not automatically a good bishop, any more than a good soldier is automatically a good general. The skills are different. But the foundation — discipline, prayer, self-denial, obedience — must be the same. Do not choose a ma …
ambrose_milan · c. 397 · score 0.01
They dress like monks but live like libertines. They affect holiness in public and pursue indulgence in private. They have drawn others after them into the same ruin. I say plainly: a man who abandons the monastic life for the world has not found freedom; he has found a different kind of slavery. The flesh he thought h …
ambrose_milan · c. 397 · score 0.01
Ambrose, a servant of Christ, called to be a bishop, to the church of Vercellae and to all who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: grace be fulfilled in you from God the Father and his only-begotten Son, in the Holy Spirit. I am spent with grief that the church of God among you is still without a bishop, and tha …
ambrose_milan · c. 380 · score 0.01
I believed that gods of wood and metal could protect me. Experience has taught me otherwise. Hannibal came to my gates despite all the rites I performed. The Gauls seized the Capitol while the geese screamed and the priests chanted. My gods did not save me then. It was Roman courage that saved me — not Roman religion." …