The Presbyters Project

Letter 15 to Presbyter Amandus of Bordeaux

2. Quid de illo uestrae sanctitatis opere dicam, quo tantum nobis etiam ad praesentis gratiae cumulum quantum uobis ad mercedis aeternae copiam contulistis? Id est de sancti presbyteri Basili negotio, cuius planctum conuertistis in gaudium et senectutem conposuistis in misericordia uberi.

Paulinus then implores Amandus to thank in person or send letters to the family of Daducius.

3. Et quod tam absoluto et puro corde nobis parere dignati sunt, ut de beneficio eorum disputari non posset, quandoquidem domum suam sancto presbytero, etiamsi propriam non probaret, restitui tamen sine difficultate iusserunt, ut eam, si de suo iure non posset, de illorum tamen munere possideret. Neque perdiderunt huius tam sanctae liberalitatis gratiam; nam uir ipse sanctissimus, cui dominus iuxta meritum uos interuentores prouidit, ita gratulatur et praedicat, tamquam indebitum munus acceperit.

(ed. de Hartel 1894: 111-112, summarised by J. Szafranowski)

Letter 15 to Presbyter Amandus of Bordeaux

2. What shall I say of that good work which your holy person has achieved? You have enhanced your kindness to me here and now, as much as the abundance of your eternal reward. I speak of the business of the holy presbyter Basilius, whose mourning thou hast turned into joy, and whose old age you have settled in abundant mercy.

Paulinus then implores Amandus to thank in person or send letters to the family of Daducius.

3. [The Daducii] deigned to obey me with such pure and wholly committed hearts that no one can dispute the kindness they have done. For they made no difficulties, and they ordered the holy presbyter's house to be restored to him, though he could not prove that it was his. The result was that if he could not take possession through legal ownership, he was able to have it as a gift from them. But the favour granted by their holy generosity has not gone for nothing. For that most holy man, on whose behalf the Lord arranged your intervention because of his merits, thanks and praises them as though he has received a gift which was not due to him.

(trans. Walsh 1966: 1.148-149, summarised and slightly altered by J. Szafranowski)

Discussion:

Paulinus was Amandus' catechumen [2062].

Paulinus pleads the case of Basilius in several letters to both Bishop Delphinus and Presbyter Amandus of Bordeaux (letters 12, 14, and 15). They indicate that Daducius, a nobleman from Aquitania, also held some property in Capua in Campania. For unknown reasons, Presbyter Basilius was expelled from the house in which he lived and which supposedly belonged to Daducius. See [2071] and [2074].

The dating of this letter is based on analysis of other letters sent by Paulinus to Amandus and Delphinus of Bordeaux (Walsh 1966: 1.234-235).

Place of event:

Region

Italy south of Rome and Sicily
Gaul

City

Nola
Bordeaux

About the source:

Author: Paulinus of Nola
Title: Letters, Epistulae
Origin: Nola (Italy south of Rome and Sicily)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

Paulinus of Nola (Pontius Metropius Paulinus) was born into a very affluent family ca 335. Although most of his estates were located near Bordeaux in Gaul, he was appointed the governor of Campania in his early twenties. He then returned to Gaul. In 389, after being baptized, Paulinus and his wife moved to Spain. They both started to follow a semi-monastic way of life. Following the death of his newborn son, Paulinus was ordered a presbyter at Christmas 394. In 395, Paulinus established a monastery in Nola in Campania. He served as a bishop of that city from 409 till his death in 431. Paulinus corresponded with many principal Christian intellectuals of the era, including Sulpicius Severus, Jerome, Ambrose of Milan, and Augustine of Hippo. Of this rich epistolographic corpus, however, only fifty-one letters survived. For the list of all letters Paulinus sent as a presbyter, and their addressees, see [2059].

Edition:

G. de Hartel ed., S. Pontii Meropii Paulini Nolani opera, vol. 1 Epistulae, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 29, Prague-Wien-Leipzig 1894.

Translation:

Letters of St. Paulinus of Nola, trans. P.G. Walsh, Ancient Christian Writers 35, New York 1966.

Categories:

Writing activity - Correspondence

PR269.

Food/Clothes/Housing - Type of housing

PR941.

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

PR941.

Economic status and activity - Ownership or possession of land

PR941.

Economic status and activity - Indication of poverty

PR941.

Economic status and activity - Gift

PR941.

Patronage/Investiture

PR941.

Relation with - Another presbyter

Relation with - Noble

PR941.

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER2075, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=2075