Letter 626

To Dracontius the Vindex. [vindex: a late Roman fiscal and judicial official] One must, by the love-charm of charity and the bridle of reverence, as though by bonds of adamant, be bound fast to Christ; through all things one must keep the faith unbroken in all that he promises, even when he announces things beyond nature; one must not seek out a record of precedents, nor suppose that the boundaries of nature can be brought to bear, but look to this one thing alone, the burning dignity of him who makes the promise, and not ask what is the nature of the one who hears, but what is the power of him who promises, who readily transforms custom toward the better and transcends nature.

Χρὴ φίλτρῳ ἀγάπης, καὶ χαλινῷ εὐλαβείας, καθάπερ ἀδάμαντος δεσμοῖς, πρὸς Χριστὸν ἐνυθῆναι, δι' ἁπάντων, ἄλυτον τηρεῖν τὴν πίστιν, πᾶσιν οἷς ὑπισχνεῖται, κἂν ὑπὲρ τὴν φύσιν ἐπαγγέλλεται, μὴ παραδειγμάτων ζητεῖν ἱστορίαν, μήτε φύσεως οἴεσθαι πραγματεύειν ὅρους, ἀλλ' ἐν τοῦτο μόνον ὁρᾶν, φλέγον τοῦ ἐπαγγελλομένου τὸ ἀξίωμα, καὶ οὐ, τίς ἡ τοῦ ἀκούοντος φύσις· ἀλλὰ τίς ἡ τοῦ ὑπισχομένου δύναμις, καὶ συνήθειαν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον εὐμαρῶς μεταβάλλοντος, καὶ φύσιν ὑπερβαίνοντος.