The Presbyters Project

Letter 56

1. Promissi mei et tuae uoluntatis inmemor non sum. Sed quoniam uisitandarum ecclesiarum ad meam pertinentium curam necessitate profectus sum, nec per me ipse debitum continuo reddere potui nec tibi tamen diutius deberi uolui, quod posset et me habente redhiberi. Proinde carissimo filio presbytero Optato delegaui, ut eis horis, quas tibi opportuniores uideris, tecum legat ea, quae pollicitus sum. Cum totum fieri posse persenserit, hoc etiam eximietas tua quam grate acceperit, tam inpigre atque acriter facere suadebit. [...]

(ed. Goldbacher 1898: 213-214)

Letter 56

1. I have not forgotten my promise and your desire. But because I was gone due to the need to visit the churches that fall under my care, I could not by myself immediately repay my debt, yet I nonetheless did not want to owe you for a longer time what I could have repaid since I had it. Hence, I appointed my dearest son, the presbyter Optatus, to read with you at those hours that you thought more convenient those materials that I promised. He thinks that he can do all this, and Your Excellency will persuade him to do it more promptly and quickly, the more you welcome it with gratitude. [...]

(trans. R. Teske, slightly modified)

Place of event:

Region

Latin North Africa

City

Hippo Regius

About the source:

Author: Augustine of Hippo
Title: Letters, Epistulae
Origin: Hippo Regius (Latin North Africa)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

The letters of Augustine of Hippo cover a wide range of topics: Holy Scripture, dogma and liturgy, philosophy, religious practice and everyday life. They range from full-scale theological treatises to small notes asking someone for a favour. The preserved corpus includes 308 letters, 252 written by Augustine, 49 that others sent to him and seven exchanged between third parties. 29 letters have been discovered only in the 20th century and edited in 1981 by Johannes Divjak; they are distinguished by the asterisk (*) after their number.

The preserved letters of Augustine extend over the period from his stay at Cassiciacum in 386 to his death in Hippo in 430.

Edition:

Edition:

A. Goldbacher ed., S. Augustini Hipponiensis Episcopi Epistulae, Pars 2, Ep. 31-123, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 34/2, Prague-Vienna-Leipzig 1898.

Translation:

Saint Augustine, Letters 1-99, trans. R. Teske, New York 2001.

Categories:

Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος

PR275.

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

PR275.

Relation with - Noble

PR275.

Pastoral activity - Spiritual direction

PR275.

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: S. Adamiak, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER647, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=647