Letter 139: 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 dest...

Jerome to Apronius — greetings. I cannot understand, by whatever devious working of the enemy, why all the effort you and the reverend presbyter Innocent have put in, and all my own prayers and longings, seem for the moment to have produced no visible effect. God be thanked that you are well and that the fire of faith still burns in you in the midst of the devil's stratagems. My greatest consolation is hearing that my sons in the faith are fighting for Christ. And the one in whom we believe will most assuredly so inflame this zeal of ours that we shall count it a privilege to shed our blood, if it comes to that, in defense of His truth. I grieve to hear that a noble family has been brought down, though I cannot learn from the bearer of your letter the specific reason. Let us mourn together the loss of those we held in common, and ask Christ — the one Lord and Sovereign (1 Timothy 6:15) — to have mercy on them. We should also, I think, acknowledge our own responsibility in this: we gave shelter to the Lord's enemies, which means we have earned some portion of the consequences. My strong advice: leave everything and come East. Come to the holy places first, then to us here in Bethlehem. Everything is quiet here now. The heretics have not yet purged the venom from their hearts, but they dare not open their foul mouths in public. They are like the deaf adder that stopped its ear (Psalm 58:4) — dangerous still, but at least temporarily silent. Our house, as far as material wealth is concerned, has been completely destroyed by the heretics' assault. In every other sense, by Christ's mercy, it is still full. Bread without luxury is better than luxury without the faith.

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 Innocent 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 defense of His faith. I grieve to hear that a noble family has been subverted, 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 Lord 1 Timothy 6:15 to have mercy upon them. At the same time we have deserved to receive punishment at God's hand for we 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 stops her ear. Salute your reverend brothers on my behalf. As for our house, 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.