On Care for the Dead · §7 · Augustine of Hippo

A mother's prayerful affection at a martyr's shrine benefits her son's spirit

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Augustine is explaining to Paulinus why a faithful mother's desire to bury her son at a martyr's basilica can benefit the dead son, not through the place itself but through the living mother's prayerful affection renewed by the place.

So when a faithful mother desired the body of her faithful deceased son to be placed in the basilica of a martyr, if she believed that his soul was helped by the merits of the martyr, that very belief was a kind of prayer, and it profited him if anything did. And when she returns in her mind to that same tomb and commends her son to God in prayer more and more, what helps the dead man's spirit is not the place of the dead body, but the living affection of the mother stirred by the memorial shrine of the place. For at the same time both who is being commended and to whom he is commended touches the devout mind of the one praying, and not without fruit. Those who pray also do with the members of their own body what suits those who entreat, when they bend their knees, when they stretch out their hands, or even prostrate themselves on the ground, and whatever else they do visibly—although their invisible will and the intention of the heart is known to God, and he does not need these signs for the human mind to be opened to him. But by these things a person stirs himself up to pray and groan more humbly and more fervently, and somehow, since these movements of the body cannot happen unless a movement of the soul precedes them, when they are done outwardly and visibly, that inner invisible movement which produced them is increased in turn, and through this the affection of the heart which preceded them grows because they were done. Yet if someone is held or even bound in such a way that he cannot do these things with his limbs, the inner man does not therefore fail to pray and prostrate himself before the eyes of God in the most secret chamber, where he is pricked. So too, although it matters greatly where a person places the body of his dead, when he prays to God for the dead man's spirit—because the affection that came first chose a holy place, and once the body is placed there, the holy place recalls and renews and increases that prior affection—nevertheless, even if he cannot bury the one he loves where his devout mind chose, he must in no way cease from the necessary prayers in his prayerful commending. For wherever the flesh of the dead lies or does not lie, rest must be obtained for the spirit, which when it departed from there took with it the sense by which it could be aware of how anyone fares, whether in good things or in evil, and it does not expect its life to be helped by that flesh to which it itself gave life, which it withdrew when it departed and will restore when it returns. For it is not the flesh that obtains for the spirit, but the spirit that obtains for the flesh even the merit of the resurrection itself, whether it revives to punishment or to glory.

Latin

Cum ergo fidelis mater fidelis filii defuncti corpus desiderauit in basilica martyris poni, si quidem credidit eius animam meritis martyris adiuuari, hoc, quod ita credidit, supplicatio quaedam fuit, et haec profuit, si quid profuit. et quod ad idem sepulcrum recurrit animo et filium precibus magis magisque commendat, adiuuat defuncti spiritum non mortui corporis locus, sed ex loci memoria uiuus matris affectus. simul enim et quis et cui commendatus sit, non utique infructuose religiosam mentem precantis adtingit. nam et orantes de membris sui corporis faciunt quod supplicantibus congruit, cum genua figunt, cum extendunt manus uel etiam prosternuntur solo et si quid aliud faciunt uisibiliter, quamuis eorum inuisibilis uoluntas et cordis intentio deo nota sit nec ille indigeat his indiciis, ut animus ei pandatur humanus. sed hinc magis se ipsum excitat homo ad orandum gemendumque humilius atque feruentius, et nescio quomodo, cum hi motus corporis fieri nisi motu animi praecedente non possint, eisdem rursus exterius uisibiliter factis ille interior inuisibilis qui eos fecit augetur, ac per hoc cordis affectus. qui, ut fierent ista, praecessit, quia facta sunt crescit. uerum tamen si eo modo quisque teneatur uel etiam ligetur, ut haec de suis membris facere nequeat, non ideo non orat interior homo et ante oculos dei in secretissimo cubili, ubi conpungitur, sternitur. ita etiam cum plurimum intersit, ubi ponat corpus mortui sui, qui pro spiritu eius deo supplicat, quia et praecedens affectus locum elegit sanctum et illic corpore posito recordatus locus sanctus eum qui praecesserat renouat et auget affectum, tamen etiamsi non possit ubi religiosus animus elegit humare quem diligit, nullo modo debet a supplicationibus necessariis in eius commendatione cessare. ubicumque enim iaceat uel non iaceat defuncti caro, spiritui requies adquirenda est, qui cum inde exiret, secum abstulit sensum, quo interesse possit quomodo quisque sit siue in bonis siue in malis, nec ab ea carne expectat adiuuari suam uitam, cui praebebat ipse uitam, quam detraxit excedens et redditurus est rediens, quoniam non caro spiritui, sed spiritus carni etiam ipsius resurrectionis meritum comparat, utrum ad poenam an ad gloriam reuiuescat.

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.