Resultados25 letters/passages
augustine_hippo · c. 408 · score 0.02
The ruler who restrains the wicked man by force may be doing the wicked man the greatest possible service — by preventing him from committing further sins that will weigh against him at the judgment. Third: the virtues Christ commands — patience, mercy, forgiveness, humility — are not alternatives to justice. They are …
augustine_hippo · c. 416 · score 0.02
… why, reluctantly and after much internal struggle, I came to support the use of imperial authority to break the social power of the Donatist leadership — not to force belief (which is impossible) but to create conditions in which people could hear the truth without fear. The scriptural basis for this position is the pa …
augustine_hippo · c. 408 · score 0.02
Augustine to Marcellinus, greetings. You have asked me to address, at greater length, the objection raised by Volusian's circle about the compatibility of Christian teaching with the duties of the state. I do so gladly, because this is perhaps the most important practical question facing the Church in our time. The cha …
augustine_hippo · c. 397 · score 0.02
Alypius and Augustine to Castorius, our son deservedly beloved, worthy of honor, and to be received with respect — greetings in the Lord. A praiseworthy abdication for the peace of the Church. 1. The enemy [the devil] has certainly attempted what was in his power; but the Almighty has overcome him, to whom we sing: "Yo …
augustine_hippo · c. 389 · score 0.02
Augustine to Maximus of Madaura. 1. Are we having a serious discussion, or do you simply want us to amuse each other? From the tone of your letter, I honestly cannot tell whether it is the weakness of your position or the charm of your personality that has led you to be more witty than weighty in your arguments. First, …
augustine_hippo · c. 401 · score 0.02
I received a letter which I have no difficulty believing to be yours, for it was brought by a man known to be a Catholic Christian who, I think, would not dare to deceive me. But even if these were not your words, I judged it necessary to write back to whoever did compose them. You may think me more desirous and seekin …
augustine_hippo · c. 408 · score 0.01
To our lord, truly holy, and deservedly venerable father, Bishop Augustine — Volusianus. The questions of Volusianus and his circle. 1. You ask me, a man known for integrity and justice, to write something about the questions that have been agitated among my friends. I obey willingly, because your encouragement spurred …
augustine_hippo · c. 416 · score 0.01
… ica, it lays out the historical, theological, and practical arguments for using imperial force against the Donatists. The letter is simultaneously one of Augustine's most influential and most controversial works. It was cited by medieval inquisitors and by early modern persecutors of heresy. It was also cited by August …
augustine_hippo · c. 398 · score 0.01
Augustine to Jerome, my dear and venerable brother, greetings in the Lord. Your letter reached me — and I must confess, it stung. But truth sometimes stings, and I would rather be stung by a friend than flattered by an enemy. Let me address the matter of the letter's delivery first, because this seems to have caused yo …
augustine_hippo · c. 392 · score 0.01
Paul's rebuke was real, necessary, and true. And the fact that Scripture preserves it is one of the great guarantees of its honesty: it does not conceal the faults of the apostles. I say this with the deepest respect for your learning, which surpasses mine in every way. But truth matters more than deference, and I trus …
augustine_hippo · c. 405 · score 0.01
Augustine to Fortunatus, greetings. Your letter reached me at a difficult time, brother — which is to say, it reached me at a time like any other, since difficult times seem to be the only kind I know. You ask a simple question: should a bishop attend the games? The answer is simple too: no. Not because there is someth …
augustine_hippo · c. 393 · score 0.01
… le world: a schism had been made by wicked men, condemned by ecclesiastical and imperial judgment, and was sustained by nothing but obstinate fury. If, however, anyone says that the Council of Seventy was legitimate, let him first show that Caecilianus was present or lawfully summoned. But he was neither present nor su …
augustine_hippo · c. 424 · score 0.01
Augustine to Madaurans, greetings. You have written to me in defense of your city's pagan heritage, and I respect the passion with which you make your case. Madauros is an ancient city with a proud history, and the temples that stand in your streets are older than the churches that have risen beside them. But age is no …
augustine_hippo · c. 401 · score 0.01
Why then should not the Church compel her lost sons to return, since the lost sons themselves compel others to perish? But I insist that the terror of temporal power is useful only as a preparation for instruction. The rod alone does not heal; neither does teaching alone always reach the hardened. But when the fear of …
augustine_hippo · c. 408 · score 0.01
I read your letter, in which I saw the outline of a great dialogue, expressed with praiseworthy brevity. I ought to respond without offering any excuse for delay. For it happened opportunely that I had some small leisure from the affairs of others. The works to which I had planned to devote this leisure I postponed a l …
augustine_hippo · c. 401 · score 0.01
Augustine to Nectarius, my noble and justly honored brother, greetings. I have read your letter, and I want you to know that its tone moved me. You wrote with sincerity and with a genuine concern for the welfare of your fellow citizens. That you would write to a bishop — a man whose faith you do not share — on behalf o …
augustine_hippo · c. 408 · score 0.01
Augustine to Volusian, greetings. I am delighted to learn of your interest in the Christian faith, my noble friend — all the more so because I know you come to it not out of political convenience (many do, in these times) but out of genuine intellectual curiosity. You have questions. Good. I would be worried if you did …
augustine_hippo · c. 400 · score 0.01
Augustine to Emeritus, greetings. I know you have no desire to hear from me, brother. The Donatist bishop of Caesarea does not welcome letters from a Catholic bishop of Hippo. But I write anyway, because the love of Christ compels me, and because the truth does not respect the boundaries we draw between our communities …
augustine_hippo · c. 401 · score 0.01
Those who believed in Christ exalted above the heavens, even without seeing him, were nevertheless denying his glory over all the earth, even while seeing it — though the Prophet embraced both truths in one sentence. Those formerly savage enemies of ours, who heavily harassed our peace and quiet with various forms of v …
augustine_hippo · c. 421 · score 0.01
Augustine to his people, greetings. I have called you together — and I am writing this down so that those who were absent may also know what was said — to announce a decision that I have been contemplating for some time. I have chosen Eraclius as my successor. He is young, but he is gifted. He is learned, but he is hum …
augustine_hippo · c. 403 · score 0.01
We sought that the violence would stop and that those who did such things would recognize their error. For what profit is there in a dead body to the Church? What we desire is living souls, repentant and reformed. Let not the name of one's homeland, or the memory of civil honors, or the bonds of old friendship prevent …
augustine_hippo · c. 397 · score 0.01
Augustine to Jerome, my venerable brother, greetings in the Lord. I wrote to you some time ago about the passage in Galatians — Paul's rebuke of Peter — and I do not know whether my letter reached you. The uncertainty gnaws at me, because I would not want you to think I raised the matter and then dropped it out of indi …
augustine_hippo · c. 405 · score 0.01
You yourself sense how unbecoming this is, even though, seized by the ardor of your studies, you refuse entirely to notice. For what else does it indicate when, having said there is absolutely no dishonor in this matter, you immediately added: "Nevertheless, whatever there is, I ask that you grant it to one about to se …
augustine_hippo · c. 399 · score 0.01
You are evading without cause, since what sort of person you are is plain for all to see. The brothers have told me what they discussed with you. Good — you do not fear death. But you ought to fear the death you bring upon yourself by blaspheming God in this way. And as for your understanding that this visible death, w …
augustine_hippo · c. 417 · score 0.01
It came to us most gratefully and pleasantly that the letters of your Reverence found us both together at Hippo, so that we might return these joint replies. We rejoice at learning of your good health, and in turn, with mutual love, we report our own, which we trust is dear to you, my lady deserving honor in Christ and …