Epistulae (2 books)
I have long known you, my venerable and most blessed priest, through the widespread fame that proclaims your name.
Impious negligence and negligent impiety have possessed me so completely that I do not know, my lord, what to accuse...
The path to writing to you, which my lack of skill had blocked, has been opened by love — and by that sovereign...
I received the letter from my kindred spirit, sprinkled with as much grace as eloquence, as much love as charm, as...
You had promised, dearest son, to send me some of the first blossoms from that little branch you had taken on to...
I received the books Your Holiness sent — brilliant in eloquence, perfect in knowledge, excellent in teaching, clear...
How much your holy devotion and devout holiness deigns to love me, you prove through manifold affection: you send me...
I recall hearing you say more than once that we can never be cleansed of our sins unless we confess our crimes when...
Your recent fame and longstanding love have so drawn me that I dare to assault your ears with my inanities again and...
I received the letter from your great spirit, in which you graciously explain that the shortage of letter-carriers...
To my exalted and ever-magnificent brother Freda — Ruricius.
I tremble to open my stammering mouth in praise of you, knowing that even greater talents rightly fall short.
I received your letter, and it caused me no small distress.
I have sent the horse you requested: gentle in temperament, strong in limbs, solid in build, handsome in form,...
To his own lord and special patron in Christ the Lord, Bishop Aeonius — Ruricius.
To the venerable, admirable, and equal of all the saints, my brother Sidonius the Seer — Ruricius.
As you yourselves know better than I, it is written: "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord" [Romans 12:19].
I want you to know that my not writing to your sweet self through Venerius was a matter of being busy, not negligent...
Thanks be to God that the merit of your faith grows in works just as it advances in devotion.
Victorinus to my lord, the most blessed and most reverend Ruricius, bishop and patron in Christ, to be honored by me...
Your Holiness's letter fed me with spiritual nourishment and stirred me to hope for the future.
I firmly believed — and fervently hoped, however burdensome it might have been for you — that you would come to meet...
Our son refreshed me by bringing news of your health and your greeting.
I heard through a faint rumor that Your Piety has been unwell.
Caesarius, bishop, to his most holy lord, the Pope Ruricius, most deserving to be honored among the lights of Christ...
Sedatus, bishop, to his holy and most blessed lord and Pope Ruricius, to be revered with apostolic respect.
Contemplating the words of the holy apostle Paul, who writes to the Romans: "I do not want you to be ignorant,...
Ruricius, bishop, to his lord, his own soul, the Abbot Pomerius, to be cherished in Christ the Lord with deepest...
Another letter from the lord Ruricius.
Many people, claiming that I have great influence with your inseparable excellency — not through the merit of my...
Another letter from the same.
Even though I did not receive a letter from your brotherhood through the subdeacon Contemtus, I have nonetheless...
The reason I had not sent the painter to you before was that I believed you were occupied with the arrival of the...
A short time ago I received a letter from Your Holiness, in which you saw fit to admonish me affectionately even...
The affection of an anxious heart demands that even an unskilled voice be heard.
You reproach me repeatedly and frequently for not having written until now to Your Beatitude, who is inseparable...
Ruricius, your humble client, to his holy patron —
Our mutual friendship creates trouble for me from others and for you from me.
Your frequent illness displeases me, and it seems to me to be a divine warning.
I give thanks to your most sincere brotherhood in Christ the Lord for thinking it worthwhile to visit us at once...
Having reread your letter, I gave thanks to God that I learned of your recovery before I learned of your illness —...
Even though I am well aware that you are devoted to Bacchus, to music, to various performances, and even to choruses...
Another letter from the same.
Since you are always kind enough to care about my affairs out of mutual love, I report to your attentive devotion...
Another letter from the same.
I left your company in such a way that I did not truly leave you at all.
I am astonished that Your Holiness, after receiving the opinions — I should say the formal judgments — of so many...
The man who knows himself guilty of failing in his duty ought to apologize before he dares to send greetings — for...
I give thanks to your devotion for deigning to console me about the ordination of the city.
Having reread the letter of your excellency, I gave thanks to God that by its own arrangement I learned of your...
Our brother and fellow priest Capillutus has doubly pleased us on this visit: he himself was long desired and has...
While my mind, thirsting for you, lords of my heart, searches constantly for an occasion to write, long deliberation...
Through the physician Palladius I received the letters of your fertile heart and eloquent mouth, which invited us to...
Those of us who seek occasions to write to each other out of mutual love must not let opportunities pass when they...
Since your devotion departed, I feel myself cut in half.
Because obedience is preferred to sacrifices [1 Samuel 15:22], I would rather expose my clumsiness than lose your love.
God, who knows my heart, is witness to how heavy your bereavement weighs upon me — something I cannot express in...
Our brother and fellow priest Capillutus, though he did not bring me your words written on paper to read, brought...
The affection of your excellency is a violent force within my heart, compelling me to obey my love for you rather...
I give thanks that you both care about my well-being and took the trouble to refresh me with the fresh vegetables...
Thank you for the delicacies you sent.
The apostolic precepts remind us that to those from whom we receive divine gifts, we should offer earthly ones...
From Bishop Ruricius to the lord Hispanus.
When the report of our common grief reached me by rumor — and I was surprised not to have learned of it first from...
I give thanks to your most ready devotion in the Lord and your most sincere love toward me — a love that imitates...
Magnus, whom we both know, has now been compelled by necessity to do what he should have done willingly — to seek a...
The bond of mutual love has compelled me to send a letter to Your Holiness, who is inseparable from me, for the sole...
Trusting in the most sincere love with which you honor me in the Lord — not for my merits but from the goodness of...
I am grateful to have received Your Holiness's letter, even if it came by way of an occasion rather than spontaneously.
In just a few days, the devotion of your holiness so captivated me that even though I hold you in my heart by God's...
Many people, trusting that I have great influence with your inseparable excellency — not through any merit of my...
Beyond your customary and well-proven affection, you are kind enough to show us generosity as well — taking from...
Just as I received the letter of Your Holiness through the venerable Elogius with great joy, so I am glad to send...
Another letter from Ruricius to the same bishop.
Our sons Ommatius and Eparchius have sent me a letter full of tears and lamentation, begging me especially to...
Another letter from Ruricius to the same.
While you make excuses for our negligence and laziness, you actually expose them — and we recognize through your...
I give abundant thanks to your devotion for informing me about the negligence of our servants.
Your graciousness makes us familiar with you, since what we willingly offer is gratefully received by you.
I send you my warmest greetings and hope that, if you cannot come tomorrow, you will at least be kind enough to...
I give thanks to your most gracious excellency for keeping us informed about your activities and your health —...
To your apostolic authority, for the love you show me — not on account of my merits but out of the goodness of your...
What is worse, long forgetfulness has so thoroughly erased the old and deep-rooted love between us — partly, I must...
I am writing to you on two things and I will put the more important one first.
I write briefly, because the season is busy and the messenger cannot wait, but I wanted you to have some word of...
Your letter, when it arrived, was like a draught of water in dry weather — not because what you said was...
Sedatus, bishop, to the most holy Brother Ruricius.
The good news I promised you has arrived, and I did not want to wait another day before sharing it.
The kindness you showed me when I was last in Limoges has stayed with me in the weeks since, and I wanted to...
Caesarius, bishop, to the most beloved brother Ruricius.
Sedatus, bishop, to the most holy Brother Ruricius.