On Care for the Dead · §1 · Augustine of Hippo

Why burial at a holy memorial may help the dead

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Augustine opens his letter to Bishop Paulinus of Nola, answering a question from the widow Flora about whether burial at a saint's memorial shrine benefits the dead.

I have long owed your Holiness a written reply, venerable fellow bishop Paulinus, ever since you wrote to me through members of the household of our daughter Flora, a most religious woman. You asked me whether it benefits anyone after death if his body is buried at the memorial shrine of some saint. The widow I mentioned had asked you this on behalf of her son, who died in your region, and you had written back to console her. You also told her that her wish concerning the body of the faithful young man Cynegius had been fulfilled—the wish she held with a mother's pious affection—namely, that he should be placed in the basilica of the most blessed confessor Felix. On that occasion it happened that, through the same bearers of your letter, you also wrote to me, raising this kind of question and asking me to answer what I thought about it, while not hiding your own view. For you say it seems to you that the movements of religious and faithful minds caring for their own are not empty. You add also that it cannot be without effect that the whole church is accustomed to pray for the dead, so that from this one may also infer that it helps a person after death if, through the faith of his own people, a place is provided for burying his body where the help of the saints sought in this way may be evident.

Latin

Diu sanctitati tuae, coepiscope uenerande Pauline, rescriptorum debitor fui, ex quo mihi scripsisti per homines filiae nostrae religiosissimae Florae, quaerens a me, utrum prosit cuique post mortem, quod corpus eius apud sancti alicuius memoriam sepelitur. hoc enim abs te uidua memorata petiuerat pro defuncto in eis partibus suo filio et rescripseras consolans eam: idque etiam nuntians de cadauere fidelis iuuenis Cynegii, quod materno et pio affectu desiderauit, esse conpletum, ut scilicet in beatissimi Felicis confessoris basilica poneretur. qua occasione factum est, ut per eosdem perlatores litterarum tuarum etiam mihi scriberes, ingerens huiusce modi quaestionem, atque ut responderem quid inde mihi uideretur, exposcens nec tacens ipse quid sentias. nam dicis uideri tibi non esse inanes motus animorum religiosorum atque fidelium pro suis ista curantium. adiungis etiam uacare non posse, quod uniuersa pro defunctis ecclesia supplicare consueuit, ut hinc et illud conici possit, homini prodesse post mortem, si fide suorum humando eius corpori talis prouideatur locus, in quo appareat opitulatio etiam isto modo quaesita sanctorum.

About this text

Paulinus wrote to ask whether it benefits a person after death to be buried near the memorial shrine of a saint.

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) wrote this letter to Paulinus, bishop of Nola. Paulinus had asked whether it benefits a person after death to be buried near the memorial shrine of a saint. The question was prompted by the request of Flora, a religious widow, for her deceased son to be buried in the basilica of the confessor Felix, while the body of Cynegius, a faithful young man and a different person, had already been placed there.

Augustine argues that burial location does not directly help or harm the dead, because the dead cannot sense what happens to their bodies. What helps the dead is the prayerful remembrance of the living, which can be increased when burial is at a holy memorial, so Christians should care for the dead from affection and faith in the resurrection and place hope in prayer and the church commemoration rather than in place. The reader will meet Paulinus, Flora, Cynegius, Felix, Curma who had a vision near death, Eulogius who dreamed of Augustine, John the monk consulted about a civil war, Ambrose at the shrines of Protasius and Gervasius, and Candidianus who carried the letter. Augustine quotes Paulinus to answer him, quotes Scripture from Paul, the Psalms, the prophets and the Gospel, gives the speech of the rich man to Abraham and the reported words of John, and gives Virgil in prose paraphrase rather than verse quotation.

Here memorial shrine means a shrine at the burial place of a martyr or saint meant to keep the dead in remembrance, and burial means the act of burying. Prayer, prayerful commending, sacrifice offered at the altar, alms and the intercession of martyrs are the means by which the living help the dead, while spirit means the soul apart from the body, vision means a dream seeing of the dead, and likeness means only the image seen and not the person himself. Old names keep Augustine Old Latin and Septuagint use, with the books of the Kingdoms meaning 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings, Ecclesiasticus meaning Sirach, Jesus son of Sirach meaning Ben Sira, the Acts of the Apostles meaning Acts, the books of the Machabees meaning Maccabees, and the Psalms numbered as in the Septuagint.

New English from the Latin base text; no published English used as wording.

Printed text used

Translated from CSEL 41 (1900) (Latin)

This work has passed this project's source check. This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.