G. F. Browne

“ Lofty of a truth is the faith that by its ardour can extinguish globes of fire. Nor is it a matter of wonder that the elements leave their proper force at the prayers and commands of Albinus, since he rests in the heart of Him who loves them that love Him, and permits them not to be singed by the flame when they walk in fire. Thee in these we adore, Thee we glorify, Thee we laud, who, as Thou hast deigned to make promises to Thy servants who keep Thy commandments, hast shown them forth most clearly by Thy works in Thine own Albinus. ”

“ As the philosophers have told us, there is nothing more necessary for the ruling of a people, no better guide of the life to the very best principles, than the glory of wisdom, the praise of discipline, the efficacy of learning. [204] To the earnest study and daily exercise of wisdom, exhort, O king, the youths of your excellency’s palace, that they may so advance while in the bloom of youth that they may be held worthy to bring to honour their grey hairs, and by wisdom may attain to perpetual happiness. ”

“ We give thanks to thy benevolence and to the piety of the lord King who has piously consented to our petition concerning the redemption of captives. I know that in such works of piety you earn blessing and a long and prosperous reign.
“And do thou, most excellent youth, study to adorn nobility of birth by nobility of conduct. Strive with all thy power to fulfil the will and the honour of the omnipotent God, that His ineffable piety may exalt the throne of thy kingdom and extend its bounds, and subject the nations to thy power. ”

“ Honour the old women and the old men as mothers and fathers; love the youthful as brothers and sisters; teach the little ones as sons and daughters; have care for all in Christ, that in Christ you may have reward for all.
“Let thy vigils and prayers be frequent; let psalms be in thy mouth, not vain talk on thy tongue; the love of God in thy heart, not worldly ambition in thy mind; for all that is loved in the world passes away, all that is esteemed in Christ remains. Whether we will or no, we shall be eternal. ”

“ I conjure you not to yield up this city to be lacerated and tormented by the Lombards, lest your own souls be lacerated and tormented in hell with the devil and his pestilential angels. Of all nations under heaven, the Franks are highest in the esteem of St. Peter; to me you owe all your victories. Obey, and obey speedily, and, by my suffrage, our Lord Jesus Christ will give you in this life length of days, security, victory; in the life to come, will multiply His blessings upon you, among His saints and angels. ”

“ I therefore charge you, my dearest sons, that you cast yourselves at the feet of my lord David the most just and serene emperor. Beg of him that when the bishop comes to complain, an opportunity of defence may be afforded, and of disputing with him whether it is just that an accused person should be taken by force from a church and subjected to the very punishments from which he has fled; whether it is right that one who has appealed to Caesar should not be brought to Caesar; whether it is lawful to spoil of all his goods, even to a boot-lace, one who is penitent and has confessed his sins ”

“ Earnestly desirous of spiritual friendship, I am at pains to address to your sanctity the poor letters of my littleness, both that I may renew the pact of our ancient intimacy and that I may commend myself to your most sacred prayers. And if according to the Apostle the prayer of one just man availeth much, how much more the prayers of a most holy congregation in Christ, the intercessions of whose peaceful concord daily at the canonical hours are believed to reach heaven, while the secret prayer of each single one beyond doubt reaches to the ears of the omnipotent God. ”

“ Instruct first thyself in all goodness and soberness, and afterwards the people over whom thou art set, in all modesty of life and of raiment, in all truth of faith and of judgements, in keeping the Commandments of God and in probity of morals. So wilt thou both stablish thy kingdom, and save thy people, and rescue them from the wrath of God, which by sure signs has long been hanging over them. ”

“ And as to myself, I pray you have me in perpetual recollection with yourselves in your holy prayers. For the time is at hand which no man can escape. Let each one prepare himself, that he may appear in the presence of his God not naked but clothed with good practices.
“I have sent a pall for the body of the holy Boniface our father, on whose holy intercession for my sins I place great reliance; that I, a sinner, may even merit pardon in that day, when your holiness shall receive the crown of eternal blessedness. ”

“ For the consecration, the vested priest, mingling the prayers of the people standing round with his own prayers, with groaning of spirit makes memorial of the Lord’s Passion, of His resurrection from the dead, and of His most glorious ascension into Heaven, and entreats that these may be borne to the sublime altar of God by the hands of an angel and into the sight of His Majesty; the painter of images merely looks out a suitable place to execute his works, and paints them that they may look beautiful. ”

“ I have heard from the lord apostolic [Leo III] that with the consent of the most excellent Lord David [Charlemagne] the title of king and the crown of kingly dignity have been conferred upon [249] you. I greatly rejoice in the honour both of the title and of the power. I pray that your dignity and nobleness may be for the safety of many peoples, nations, and churches of Christ; may be glorious in the world and terrible to the adversaries of the Christian religion; may be vigorous and strong through a long season of prosperity ”

“ Let your holy piety, most pious lord, consider these facts and recognize the truth. Be favourable to thy servants in the love of God omnipotent and in the honour of the holy Martin your intercessor, who always has been honoured in the kingdom and by the kings of the Franks.
“We are wont to say in confessing our sins, If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss, O Lord, who may abide it? And to thee we may say, forasmuch as we know thee to be a member of that same Head, if thou wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss, who, lord, may abide it? ”

“ I confess myself greatly rejoiced to hear from Eanbald [160] , of your household, of the soundness of your prosperity, so greatly desired by me. The love and faith which began long ago to dwell in my breast will never be able to leave me. The nearer the time of heavenly reward comes, the more careful should he be who is the first to leave the world that he has left in the world a friend. The sharpness of fever, and the delay of the king [Karl] in Saxony, has prevented my coming to you as I have desired to do. May the divine clemency grant to me to see thy face in joy before I die. ”

“ Rejoice the minds of thy servants by the highest gift of thy mercy; let mercy rejoice against judgement. Men who have been guilty of the greatest crimes of perfidy against your authority you have been able to pardon with laudable piety; overlook our infelicity, in accordance with the most pious nobility of your most holy disposition, which I have always known to abound in a marvellous degree in the mind of [244] your wisdom. We read how David, the ancestor of Christ, was praised in the greatness of his mercy and the justness of his judgements. ”

“ Be not covetous of gold and of silver but of gain of souls. Me remember daily in prayers and alms, thyself always in keeping of the commandments of God. If storms threaten on every side, steer manfully the ship of Christ, that in time you may arrive with your sailors at the port of prosperity. Let your tongue never be silent from the word of holy preaching, your hand never be benumbed from good work. ”

“ That in the ordination of kings no one permit the assent of evil men to prevail; kings must be lawfully elected by the priesthood and the elders of the people, and be not born of adultery or incest; let honour be paid by all to kings; let no one be a detractor of a king; let no one dare to conspire for the death of a king, because he is the anointed of the Lord; if any one have part in such wickedness, if he be a bishop or of priestly order let him be thrust out from it, and every one who has assented to such sacrilege shall perish in the eternal fetters of anathema. ”

“ Martin, to whose service your goodness delegated me however little worthy. I call God as the witness of my conscience that never have I understood the brethren to be such as I hear that they are called by some who are more ready to accuse than to save. As far as can be seen and known, they worthily perform the office in the churches of Christ, and I most truly bear witness that never any where have I seen other men celebrating more perfectly or more diligently, in daily course interceding for your safety and the stability of the Christian empire. ”

“ Know of a surety that none other can preserve thy life than He who hath freed thee from present death; and none can protect and keep thee in that honour of thine but He who of His free pity hath granted that dignity to thee. Keep diligently in thy mind mercy and justice, for, as Solomon says, and, more than that, God allows, in mercy and justice shall the throne of a kingdom be established. ”

“ Why has love sinned, which has not seen Vale [fare thee well] written, while I hear that the partridges [messengers] , running across the fields, have come to the dwelling [Corbie] of the cock. Perfect love driveth away fear. Perfect love with the sparkling pupils of the eyes sees everything, and with the clear intuition of piety will always find a fixed rule of wholesome counsel. It would seem that the cock is turned into a cuckoo, which is silent when the sun ascends into the summer constellation of the crab, while the nest-making sparrow at every season alike twitters on the smoky roofs. ”

“ Whence a teacher of the people of God, while he ought to shine clear with all the lights of virtues in the house of God, should specially excel in the utmost sagacity of discretion. He should know what treatment best suits the sex, the age, the aim, even the occasion, of each person. All which the blessed Gregory, the most lucid doctor, in his book on the Pastoral Care has most diligently investigated, has adapted to various persons, has driven home by examples, has made sure by the authority of the divine scriptures. To the study of which book I refer you, most holy prelate ”

“ I therefore, comrades most dear, whether present, if God allow it, by my words, or absent by my writings under the guidance of the divine spirit, do not cease from admonishing you, and by frequent repetition to convey to your ears, you who are citizens of the same fatherland, those things which are known to pertain to the safety of this earthly realm and to the blessedness of the heavenly home; so that things many times heard may grow into your minds with good result. For what is love to a friend if it keeps silence on matters useful to the friend? ”

“ Your mouth must be the trumpet of the God Christ, for the tongues of your authority are the keys of heaven, having power to open and to shut; to open to the penitent, to shut against those that resist the truth. ”

“ The blessing of God the Father in the grace and love of Christ and in the consolation of the Holy Spirit be with you and keep you in all good, my lords most holy, my fathers most worthy of honour, mindful of us for ever. ”

“ Sulpicius adds.
“The father used a little wine, in accordance with the apostle’s precept, not for the pleasure of the palate, but by reason of his bodily weakness. [66] In every kind of way he avoided idleness; either he read, or he wrote, or he taught his disciples, or he gave himself to prayer and the chanting of Psalms, yielding only to unavoidable necessities of the body. He was a father to the poor, more humble than the humble, an inviter to piety of the rich, lofty to the proud, a discerner of all, and a marvellous comforter. ”

“ Anger should not be lord over thee, but reason. Pity should make thee loveable, not cruelty hateful. Truth should proceed from thy mouth, not falsehood. Be to thine own self conscious of chasteness, not of lust; of self-control, [146] not of riotous living; of sobriety, not of drunkenness. Be not notable in any sin, but laudable in every good work. Be large in giving, not greedy in taking. Let justice embellish all thine actions. Be the type of honour to all that see thee. Do not, do not, take other men’s goods by force lest thou lose thine own. ”

“ Be not silent, lest the sins of the people be imputed to you: for of you will God require the souls which you have received to rule. Let your reward be multiplied by the salvation of those in your charge. Comfort those who are cast down, strengthen the humble, bring back to the way of truth those who wander, instruct the ignorant, exhort the learned, and confirm all by the good examples of your own life. ”