Letter 2044: The apostolic precepts remind us that to those from whom we receive divine gifts, we should offer earthly ones...

44. To the Lord Bishop Ambrosius, Bishop Ruricius. The apostolic precepts admonish us that, to those from whom we receive divine things, we should furnish earthly things in return. And so we, observing this at least in this one particular, have sent in exchange marine vegetables [legumes from the sea] for the heavenly feasts which you supply to us both by your living speech and by your expositions of the Fathers, proving thereby that we possess nothing of our own, since indeed we are strangers even to the divine goods which you bestow, and we transmit to you things that are foreign to us as well. Therefore, since we recognize that we are exiled from the marine [heavenly] things and dwell only upon earthly seats, we ask of you more particularly that you deign both to receive willingly these things that are alien to us, and to bestow upon us frequently the things that are your own. Let the former be rendered out of affection, the latter out of ministry; let the former be rendered out of doctrine, the latter out of grace.

XXXXIIII. AD DOMNUM AMBROSIUM EPISCOPUM RURICIUS EPISCOPUS. Apostolica praecepta nos commonent, ut, a quibus diuina percipimus, eis terrena praebeamus. quod nos uel in hac dumtaxat parte seruantes pro caelestibus epulis, quas nobis et sermone uiuo et patrum tractatibus ministratis, legumina marina transmisimus, per haec nil nos habere proprium conprobantes, siquidem et a diuinis bonis sumus, quae uos tribuitis, peregrini 15] 2 Petr. 2, 22. 1 penitendi S 2 agendo v consumationem S 5 abdere v presentia S uentura] finit add. S 7 rurici S, Ruricius v 8 diliciis S 11 tua S 12 diliciamur S sacieris S 13 mallo 8 14 terrenam S animanti e scripsi, animanti ae S, animanti a Luetjohann 16 erectus malit Kr . 17 mundalia v 21 nos ea: non 82 communent 81 23 aepulis S 24 ligumina S et nos peregrina transmittimus. itaque, quia nos a marinis caelestibus exulare et solis terrenis sedibus incubare cognoscimus, a uobis specialius postulamus, ut haec aliena a nobis libenter accipere et uestra nobis dignemini frequenter inpendere. illud sit affectionis, hoc ministerii, illud doctrinae praestetur, hoc gratiae.