On Care for the Dead · §23 · Augustine of Hippo

Closing words to Paulinus

Click or tap any sentence to jump there. The side buttons skip a paragraph.

Augustine is closing his letter to Bishop Paulinus of Nola, apologizing for its length and commending the letter-bearer Candidianus.

You have my answer, such as I could give, to the questions you thought I should be asked. If it is longer than it needed to be, forgive me; it came from the love of talking with you at length. Let me learn from your reply how your venerable love receives this book. The bearer of it will certainly make it more welcome to you—our brother and fellow presbyter Candidianus, whom I came to know through your letter, welcomed with all my heart, and let go unwillingly. His presence consoled us greatly in the love of Christ, and I must admit that I yielded to his urging on your behalf. So many things stretch my heart that, unless he had kept reminding me and would not let me forget, my answer to your question would never have been written.

Latin

Habes ad ea, quae a me putasti esse quaerenda, qualem reddere potui responsionem meam: quae si ultra quam sat est prolixa est, da ueniam; id enim factum est amore diutius loquendi tecum. hunc ergo librum quemadmodum acceperit uenerabilis dilectio tua, rescriptis tuis nouerim, quem tibi perlator eius faciet sine dubio gratiorem, frater scilicet et conpresbyter noster Candidianus, quem per tuas litteras cognitum toto corde suscepi inuitusque dimisi. multum enim nos in caritate Christi sua praesentia consolatus est et, quod fatendum est, eius tibi parui instantia. nam cor meum tanta distendunt, ut, nisi ipso assidue commonente me non sineret obliuisci, profecto interrogationi tuae mea responsio defuisset. gerenda pro mortuis fol. ą3b M Explicit ad Paulinum epm. Inc de octo questionibus ad Dulcitium fol. 105 I Explicit ad Paulinum epm fol. 75* Z Explicit epistula sci Augustini de cura pro mortuis gerenda fol. 951 N Explicit liber Aurelii Augustini ad Paulinum Nolanae urbis epm de cura pro mortuis gerenda fol. 48* T Explicit liber sci Augustini de cura pro mortuis gerenda fol. 158* V Explicit liber sci Augustini ad beatissimum Paulinum. Inc sci Augustini de immortalitate animae fol. 71b K Explicit liber de cura pro mortuis gerenda fol. 37* P Explicit liber sci Augustini ad beatissimum Paulinum Y Cod. E subscriptione caret Explicit liber fol. 142* F

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.