On Care for the Dead · §19 · Augustine of Hippo

Miracles do not overturn the natural limits of the dead

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Augustine is answering the objection that martyrs must know what the living do, since they appear and grant benefits to those who pray.

This also solves the question of how martyrs show that they are involved in human affairs through the very favors granted to those who pray, if the dead do not know what the living are doing. For we have heard—not from uncertain rumors but from reliable witnesses—that the confessor Felix, whose dwelling you devoutly love, appeared not only through the effects of his favors but even to people's very sight when Nola was being attacked by barbarians. But such things are shown forth by God in a way far different from the usual order assigned to each kind of creature. For water was suddenly turned into wine when the Lord willed it, but that does not mean we should fail to recognize what water can do in its own proper order among the elements, apart from the rarity or rather the uniqueness of that divine work. Nor does the fact that Lazarus rose mean that every dead person rises whenever he wishes, or that a lifeless body is roused by a living person the way a sleeper is roused by someone awake. Human affairs have their limits; signs of divine powers are something else. Some things happen naturally, others miraculously—though God is present to nature, that it may be, and nature is not absent from miracles. So we should not think that any dead person can be involved in the affairs of the living just because martyrs are present to heal or help certain people. Rather, we should understand that martyrs are involved in the affairs of the living through divine power, precisely because the dead by their own nature cannot be involved in the affairs of the living.

Latin

Hinc et illa soluitur quaestio, quomodo martyres ipsis beneficiis, quae dantur orantibus, indicant se interesse rebus humanis, si nesciunt mortui, quid agant uiui. non enim solis beneficiorum effectibus, uerum ipsis etiam hominum aspectibus confessorem adparuisse Felicem, cuius inquilinatum pie diligis, cum a barbaris Nola obpugnaretur, audiuimus non incertis rumoribus, sed testibus certis. uerum ista diuinitus exhibentur longe aliter, quam sese habet usitatus ordo singulis creaturarum generibus adtributus. non enim quia in uinum aqua, cum uoluit dominus, repente conuersa est, ideo non debemus, quid aqua ualeat in elementorum ordine proprio, ab istius diuini operis raritate uel potius singularitate discernere; nec quoniam Lazarus resurrexit, ideo mortuus omnis, quando uult, surgit aut eo modo exanimis a uiuente quomodo a uigilante dormiens excitatur. alii sunt humanarum limites rerum, alia diuinarum signa uirtutum; alia sunt, quae naturaliter, alia, quae mirabiliter fiunt, quamuis et naturae deus adsit, ut sit, et miraculis natura non desit. non igitur ideo putandum est uiuorum rebus quoslibet interesse posse defunctos, quoniam quibusdam sanandis uel adiuuandis martyres adsunt, sed ideo potius intellegendum est, quod per diuinam potentiam martyres uiuorum rebus intersunt, quoniam defuncti per naturam propriam uiuorum rebus interesse non possunt.

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.