Letter
CXXXIX. To Apronius.
Of Apronius nothing is known; but from the mention of
Innocent (for whom see Letter CXLIII.) it seems a fair inference that
he lived in the West. Jerome here congratulates him on his
steadfastness in the faith and exhorts him to come to Bethlehem. He
then touches on the mischief done by Pelagius and complains that his
own monastery has been destroyed by him or by his partisans. The date
of the letter is a.d. 417.
I know not by what wiles of the devil it has come to
pass that all your toil and the efforts of the reverend presbyter
Innocent3891
| 3891 At this time in
Palestine whither he had come as the bearer of letters from Augustine
to Jerome and others. |
and my own prayers and wishes
seem for the moment to produce no effect. God be thanked that you are
well and that the fire of faith glows in you even when you are in the
midst of the devil’s wiles. My greatest joy is to hear that my
spiritual sons are fighting in the cause of Christ; and assuredly He in
whom we believe will so quicken this zeal of ours that we shall be glad
freely to shed our blood in defence of His faith.
I grieve to hear that a noble family has been
subverted,3892
| 3892 The family
meant is probably the one warned by Jerome in his letter to Ctesiphon
(CXXXIII, § 13). In that case the troubler of its peace is of
course Pelagius. |
for what reason I cannot learn;
for the bearer of the letter could give me no information. We may well
grieve over the loss of our common friends and ask Christ the only
potentate and Lord3893
to have
mercy upon them. At the same time we have deserved to receive
punishment at God’s hand for we3894
| 3894 It would seem
as if Jerome, like Augustine, had at first thought favourably of
Pelagius. |
have harboured the enemies of the
Lord.
The best course you can take is to leave everything and
to come to the East, before all to the holy places; for everything is
now quiet here. The heretics have not, it is true, purged the venom
from their breasts, but they do not venture to open their impious
mouths. They are “like the deaf adder that stoppeth her
ear.”3895
Salute your reverend brothers on
my behalf.
As for our house,3896
| 3896 i.e. the
monastic establishment under Jerome’s guidance at Bethlehem. See
Letters CXXXV.–CXXXVII. |
so far
as fleshly wealth is concerned, it has been completely destroyed by the
onslaughts of the heretics; but by the mercy of Christ it is still
filled with spiritual riches. To live on bread is better than to lose
the faith.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
