A letter from Emperor Gratian to St. Ambrose and
Ambrose's reply,
St. Ambrose, Epistle 1
Commentary on St. Ambrose Epistle 1 by Benjamin
Suib: revised by Jacques Bailly
Commentary on Gratian's letter by Jacques Bailly
Text of Gratian's Letter
AMBROSIO religioso sacerdoti omnipotentis Dei, GRATIANUS Augustus.
Cupio valde ut quem recordor absentem, et cum quo mente sum, cum eo
etiam corpore sim praesenti. Festina igitur ad me, religiose Dei
sacerdos, ut doceas doctrinam veram credentem: non quod contentioni
studeam, aut velim magis Deum verbis quam mente complecti; sed ut
magis aperto pectori revelatio divinitatis insidat. Docebit enim me
ille quem non nego, quem fateor Deum ac Dominum esse meum, non ei
objiciens quam in me video creaturam, qui Christo nihil me addere
posse confiteor: velle tamen ut etiam Patri me commendem filium
praedicando. Non ego in Deo verebor invidiam: non me talem
laudatorem putabo, qui divinitatem verbis augeam. Ego infirmus et
fragilis, quantum possum praedico, non quantum est ipsa divinitas.
Rogo te ut mihi des ipsum tractatum quem dederas, augendo illic de
Spiritu Sancto fidelem disputationem: scripturis atque argumentis
Deum esse convincas. Divinitas te servet per multos annos, parens et
cultor Dei aeterni, quem colimus, Iesu Christi!
Text of Ambrose's Response
Beatissimo augusto GRATIANO, et christianissimo principi
AMBROSIUS episcopus.
[1] Non mihi affectus defuit, christianissime principum; nihil enim
habeo, quod hoc verius et gloriosius dicam: non, inquam, mihi
affectus defuit, sed affectum verecundia retardavit, quominus
clementiae tuae occurrerem. Revertenti tamen si non occurri
vestigio, occurri animo, occurri voto, in quo majora sunt officia
sacerdotis. Occurri, dico? Quando enim abfui, quem toto sequebar
affectu, cui sensu ac mentibus inhaerebam? Et certe major animorum
praesentia est. Tuum quotidianum iter legebam, nocte ac die in tuis
castris cura et sensu locatus, orationum excubiis praetendebam: et
si invalidus merito, sed affectu sedulus.
[2] Et haec quidem cum pro tua salute deferebamus, pro nobis
faciebamus. Nihil hic adulationis est, quam tu non requiris, ego
alienam nostro duco officio: sed plurimum gratiae, quam dedisti.
Scit ipse nostri arbiter, quem fateris, et in quem pie credis,
refici viscera mea tua fide, tua salute, tua gloria: meque non solum
officio publico debitas pendere preces, sed etiam amore privato.
Reddidisti enim mihi quietem Ecclesiae, perfidorum ora, atque utinam
et corda, clausisti: et hoc non minore fidei, quam potestatis
auctoritate fecisti.
[3] Nam quid de litteris recentibus loquar? Scripsisti tua totam
epistolam manu; ut ipsi apices fidem tuam pietatemque loquerentur.
Sic Abraham sua manu quondam vitulum occidit (Gen. XVIII, 7), ut
hospitibus epulantibus ministraret: nec in ministerio religioso
aliorum adjumenta quaesivit. Sed ille privatus aut Domino et
angelis, aut Domino in angelis deferebat: tu, Imperator, dignatione
regali honoras infimum sacerdotem. Sed Domino defertur, cum servulus
honoratur; ipse enim dixit: Quod uni horum minimorum fecistis,
mihi fecistis (Matth. XXV, 10).
Introduction
Flavius Gratianus Augustus, aka Emperor Gratian, lived from 359-383
CE and was emperor in the west from 375 to 383 CE (i.e. from the age
of 16 to 24). His younger brother Valentinian II was also emperor in
the west from 375 to 392 CE and had his residence at Mediolanum
(Milan): Valentinian II was only 4 years old in 375, and died at the
age of 17. Theodosius I was emperor in the east. Youthful Gratian,
however, is reported to have been more interested in hunting than
governing, and so his Bishop Ambrose, among others, had a great deal
of the real power in the state. Under Ambrose's influence, in the
years after this letter exchange, Gratian passed many measures
against the pagans, specifically against the institutions of the
Vestal Virgins and the Altar of Victory, thus contributing to the
final end of paganism. Gratian was assassinated in 383CE when Magnus
Maximus led an insurrection and became Emperor.
Aurelius Ambrose, aka St. Ambrose, lived from around 340 until 397
CE. As a leading ecclesiastical figure in the 4th century, he played
a pivotal role in the development of the modern Church and the
suppression of the Arian heresy. As Bishop of Milan, at the time de
facto capital of the Western Roman Empire, he fostered and
maintained close relations with the Imperial leadership. As one of
the four original Latin Doctors of the Church (along with St.
Augustine, St. Jerome, and Pope Gregory I), Ambrose has had a
profound impact on Christian ideology. St. Augustine of Hippo,
in fact, thought poorly of Christian preachers up until he heard the
sermons of Ambrose, whose rhetorical talent greatly influenced the
young man. His deep scholarship also greatly influenced the
emperor Gratian, to whom this letter is addressed. It is evident
from both letters that each man esteems and respects the other.
Commentary
Gratian's Letter:
AMBROSIO religioso sacerdoti omnipotentis Dei, GRATIANUS Augustus.
Cupio valde ut quem recordor absentem, et cum quo mente sum, cum eo
etiam corpore sim praesenti. Festina igitur ad me, religiose Dei
sacerdos, ut doceas doctrinam veram credentem: non quod contentioni
studeam, aut velim magis Deum verbis quam mente complecti; sed ut
magis aperto pectori revelatio divinitatis insidat. Docebit enim me
ille quem non nego, quem fateor Deum ac Dominum esse meum, non ei
objiciens quam in me video creaturam, qui Christo nihil me addere
posse confiteor: velle tamen ut etiam Patri me commendem filium
praedicando. Non ego in Deo verebor invidiam: non me talem
laudatorem putabo, qui divinitatem verbis augeam. Ego infirmus et
fragilis, quantum possum praedico, non quantum est ipsa divinitas.
Rogo te ut mihi des ipsum tractatum quem dederas, augendo illic de
Spiritu Sancto fidelem disputationem: scripturis atque argumentis
Deum esse convincas. Divinitas te servet per multos annos, parens et
cultor Dei aeterni, quem colimus, Iesu Christi!
Augustus: a title granted to Gratian by his father, emperor
Valentinianus I, in 367.
ut ... sim: as a nominal ut clause, this is
subjunctive, and acts as the object of cupio. The two
relative clauses quem... and cum quo... separate
the conjunction ut from the rest of its clause.
festina: imperative.
ut doceas: why subjunctive? Note that doceas can take
two accusatives, one of the person taught and one of the thing
taught to the person.
non quod ... studeam, aut velim: rejected reasons are usually
subjunctive.
complecti: what form of the verb complector?
ut ... insidat: this purpose clause is virtually equivalent
to the rejected causal clauses in that they all express a reason for
action (or not acting). Insidat, like many verbs compounded
with in-, takes dative.
ei ... quam in me video creaturam: ei dative with objiciens.
creaturam in apposition to quam.
qui ... confiteor: note that the antecedent of qui is
the same person as objiciens and the subject of nego.
In English, this (and other aspects of this sentence) might be
confusing, but Latin cases make the meaning perfectly clear.
velle tamen: another infinitive dependent on confiteor.
As with addere posse, the subject is me.
ut commendem: another nominal ut clause: me
is acc. object of commendem. An infinitive would have done
just as well. praedicando is a gerund in the ablative (of
means).
qui ... augeam: relative clause of characteristic, prepared
for by talem.
ut ... des ... convincas: nominal ut clauses
(an indirect command is a frequent type of nominal ut clause).
servet: jussive subjunctive.
Iesu Christi: genitive in apposition to Dei aeterni.
Ambrose's Letter:
[1] Non mihi affectus defuit, christianissime principum;
nihil enim habeo, quod hoc verius et gloriosius dicam: non, inquam,
mihi affectus defuit, sed affectum verecundia retardavit, quominus
clementiae tuae occurrerem. Revertenti tamen si non occurri
vestigio, occurri animo, occurri voto, in quo majora sunt officia
sacerdotis. Occurri, dico? Quando enim abfui, quem toto sequebar
affectu, cui sensu ac mentibus inhaerebam? Et certe major animorum
praesentia est. Tuum quotidianum iter legebam, nocte ac die in tuis
castris cura et sensu locatus, orationum excubiis praetendebam: et
si invalidus merito, sed affectu sedulus.
non mihi… defuit: desum takes dative.
christianissime principum: partitive genitive with a
superlative adj. in the vocative.
quod… dicam: relative clause of characteristic with nihil
as antecedent.
hoc verius et gloriosius: abl. of comparison with two
comparative advs.
retardavit quominus… occurrerem: with verbs of hindrance or
prevention, quominus introduces the subordinate clause that
contains the action impeded, always subjunctive following the
sequence of tenses.
clementiae tuae: a common way to address royalty, effectively
“your grace”.
Revertenti: agrees with implied tibi.
vestigio ... animo ... voto ... toto effectu ... sensu ...
mentibus: ablatives of means, to be translated with "in,"
"by," "with" or some other appropriate preposition, as needed.
Occurri, dico: Latin texts rarely have quotation marks,
perhaps because there were none in Latin at the time. In any case, occurri
would be in quotation marks if this were English.
quem… sequebar: antecedent tibi (or a te)
omitted, the same person as revertenti earlier.
legebam: whereas Latin needs no preposition and just says
iter tuum lego, English needs a preposition ("I read
about your voyage"). Such asymmetry between English and Latin is
frequent: sometimes Latin needs a preposition, sometimes English
does.
locatus: modifies subject of legebam and praetendebam.
[2] Et haec quidem cum pro tua salute deferebamus, pro nobis
faciebamus. Nihil hic adulationis est, quam tu non requiris, ego
alienam nostro duco officio: sed plurimum gratiae, quam dedisti.
Scit ipse nostri arbiter, quem fateris, et in quem pie credis,
refici viscera mea tua fide, tua salute, tua gloria: meque non solum
officio publico debitas pendere preces, sed etiam amore privato.
Reddidisti enim mihi quietem Ecclesiae, perfidorum ora, atque utinam
et corda, clausisti: et hoc non minore fidei, quam potestatis
auctoritate fecisti.
cum: cum temporal takes indicative, unless it refers
to the past.
hic: adverb.
nihil… adulationis est: nihil frequently takes a
partitive genitive.
ego alienam nostro duco officio: this clause would be
connected to what preceeds with "and" in English: here, it is said
to be "in asyndeton." Note that duco sometimes means
"consider, think, deem." Why is alienam feminine?
plurimum gratiae: another partitive genitive. Understand est
as the verb of this clause.
quam dedisti: antecedent omitted: possibly rem.
refici ... pendere: infinitives in indirect speech dependent
on scit.
officio ... amore: ablatives of cause.
Redidisti… clausisti: The Emperor Gratian enacted many
measures to suppress the pagan religions of old under the direct
influence of Ambrose. Within his lifetime, he issued a decree
that all subjects throughout the empire profess their faith in the
Nicene Creed (The Church of Rome), appropriated the wealth of the
Vestal Virgins, renounced his official title of Pontifex Maximus,
and removed the Altar of Victory from the senate house, which had
been dedicated in 29 BC by Augustus. Although thankful for
Gratian’s cooperation, it seems that Ambrose would’ve still advised
harsher consequences for the “perfidi”.
utinam: normally takes subjunctive. Supply clausivisses.
minore ... auctoritate: ablative of cause: auctoritate
goes with both fidei and potestatis.
[3] Nam quid de litteris recentibus loquar? Scripsisti tua
totam epistolam manu; ut ipsi apices fidem tuam pietatemque
loquerentur. Sic Abraham sua manu quondam vitulum occidit (Gen.
XVIII, 7), ut hospitibus epulantibus ministraret: nec in ministerio
religioso aliorum adjumenta quaesivit. Sed ille privatus aut Domino
et angelis, aut Domino in angelis deferebat: tu, Imperator,
dignatione regali honoras infimum sacerdotem. Sed Domino defertur,
cum servulus honoratur; ipse enim dixit: Quod uni horum
minimorum fecistis, mihi fecistis (Matth. XXV, 10).
loquar: deliberative subjunctive.
tua ... manu: i.e. Gratian himself wrote it, not an
amanuensis.
ut… loquerentur: result clause in secondary sequence,
dependent on scripsisti.
(Gen. XVIII,7): 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent
unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine
meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.
7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and
good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had
dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the
tree, and they did eat.
ut… ministraret: purpose clause in secondary sequence, dependent on
occidit; ministro takes the dative.
epulantibus: gerund of epulor in the dative plural.
Tu, Imperator… sacerdotem: Sentential object of deferebat.
(Matth. XXV, 10): The verse quoted here is Matth. XXV, 40 in
the King James Version:
“40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say
unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these
my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Bibliography:
Text of Ambose letter :
<http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/ambrose/epistvaria.html>
Text of Gratian letter: Sancti Ambrosii Mediolanensis Episcopi
Opera, tome 4, Paris, Societas Typographica, 1621.
Bible Verses: <https://www.biblegateway.com>
Vocabulary
Abraham (biblical patriarch)
absens, absentis, absent, not present
absum, to be absent
addo, addere, addidi, additum, bring to, add to
adiumentum, -i, n., help
adulatio, -onis f., flattery
aeternus, -a, -um, eternal, everlasting
affectus, -us, m., affection
alienus, -a, -um, contrary, unfavorable
angelus, -i, m., angel
animus, -i, m., spirit
apertus, -a, -um, open, opened
apices, -um, m., letters (of the alphabet)
arbiter, -tri, m., lord, master
argumentum, -i, n., proof., argument
auctoritas, -atis, f., power, authority
augeo, augere, auxi, auctus, increase, strengthen, magnify, exalt,
extol
castra, -orum, n., military camp
certe, surely
christianus, -a, -um, Christian
claudo, claudere, clausi, clausus, to close
clementia, -ae, clemency
colo, colere, colui, cultus, worship, cultivate
commendo (1), commit to one’s care, commend to
complector, amplecti, amplexus, embrace
confiteor, confiteri, confessus sum, confess, admit
contentio, -onis, f., argument, struggle
convinco, convincere, convici, convictus, prove, show clearly
cor, cordis, n., heart
corpus, -oris, n., body
creatura, -ae, f., a creation, creature
credo, credere, credidi, creditum, believe; trust
credo, to believe
cultor, -oris, m., worshiper
cupio, cupere, cupivi, cupitum, desire, want
cura, ae, f., care, concern
defero, deferre, detuli, delatus, to bestow, present
desum, deesse, defui, to lack (+dat)
dico, to say
dies, diei, m., - day
dignatio, onis, f., esteem
disputatio, -onis, f., argument, discussion, debate
divinitas, -atis, f., divinity
do, dare, dedi, datus, to give
doceo, docere, docui, doctus, teach,
doctrina, -ae, f., teaching, learning, instruction
dominus, -i, m., lord, master, God
duco, to esteem
ecclesia, The Church
enim, for
epistola, -ae, f., letter
epulor (1), to feast
excubiae, -arum, f., watching
facio, to do, make
fateor, fateri, fassus sum, confess, acknowledge, own
festino (1), hurry
fidelis, -e, faithful
fides, -ei, f., faith
filius, -i, m., son
fragilis, -e, breakable, fragile
gloria, -ae, f –glory
gloriosus, -a, -um, full of glory
gratia, -ae, f –thanks
habeo, habere, habui, to have
honoro (1), to honor
hospes, -itis, m., guest
igitur, therefore
imperator,-oris, m., Emperor
infimus, -a, -um, lowest
infirmus, -a, -um, weak
inhaereo, haesi, haesum, to be firmly attached to
inquam, inquit, to say
insido, insidere, insedi, (+ dat.), settle in, take possession of
invalidus, -a, -um, weak, ineffectual
invidia, -ae, f., envy, spite, hatred
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, himself., herself., itself
iter, itineris, n., journey
laudator, -oris, m., flatterer, praiser
lego, to read of., study
litterae, -arum, f., letters
loco, to place
loquor, to say
maior, -ius, greater
manus, -us, f., hand
mens, mentis, f., mind
meritum, -i, n., service, favor, benefit
minimus, -a, -um, smallest
ministerium, -i, n., service
ministro (1), to serve (+dat)
minor, -us, minor, lesser, smaller
nego (1), deny
nihil, nothing (indec.)
nox, noctis, f , night
objicio, objicere, objeci, objectus, (+ dat.), throw before, place
in the way of., oppose, present to, object to
occido, - to kill
occuro (3), to meet (+dat)
officium, -i, n., duty
omnipotens, omnipotentis, omnipotent
oratio, orationis, f., prayer
os, oris, n., mouth
parens, -entis, m/f., parent
pectus, -oris, n., chest, breast
pendeo, to hang down
perfidus, -a, -um, unfaithful
pietas, -atis, f., piety
pius, -a, -um, faithful
plurimus, -a, -um, many
potestas, -atis, f., ability
praedico (1), proclaim
praesens, -ntis, being present, at hand
praesens, praesentis, present
praetendo, praetendere, praetendi, praetentum, to stretch forth
preces, -um, f., prayer
princeps, -ipis, prince (lit. first person)
privatus, -a, -um, private
publicus, -a, -um, public
puto (1), think
quaero, to look for
quando, when
quantum, adv., as much
quies, quietis f., quiet
quominus, so that (used after verbs of hindrance with a subj.)
quondam, formerly
quotidianus, -a, -um, daily, day by day
recens, -ntis, recent
recordor (1), think about, be mindful of., recall
reddo, to restore
reficio, to restore, repair
regalis, -e, kingly
religiosus, -a, -um, devout, pious
religiosus, -a, -um, religious
requiro, to need
retardo (1), to slow down
revelatio, -onis, f., uncovering, laying bare, revelation
reverto, to return
rogo (1), ask
sacerdos, sacerdotis, m., priest
salus, salutis, f., health
scio, to know
scribo, scribere, scripsi, scriptum, write
scriptura, -ae, f., scripture, writing
sedulus, -a, -um, sedulous, attentive
sensus, -us, m., emotion, sense
sequor, sequi, secutus sum, to follow
servo (1), preserve, save
servulus, -i, m., young slave
solum, only
studeo, studere, studui, be diligent about, study, take pains about
totus, -a, -um, total
tractatus, -us, m., treatise
unus, -a, -um – one
utinam, if only
valde, very much, greatly
verecundia, -ae, modesty
vereor, vereri, veritus sum, fear
verus, -a, -um, true
vestigium, -i, n., track, footprint
viscer-a, -um, pl., , heart, center, life, internal organs
vitulus, -i, m., calf
votus, -i, m –prayer