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XXXII. How Pope Gregory sent letters and gifts to King Ethelbert. [601 A.D.]
CHAP. XXXII. How Pope Gregory sent letters and gifts to King Ethelbert. [601
A.D.]
The same blessed Pope Gregory, at the same time, sent a letter to King
Ethelbert, with many gifts of divers sorts; being desirous to glorify the king
with temporal honours, at the same. time that he rejoiced that through his own
labour and zeal he had attained to the knowledge of heavenly glory. The copy of
the said letter is as follows:
"To the most glorious lord, and his most excellent son, Ethelbert, king of the
English, Bishop Gregory. Almighty God advances good men to the government of
nations, that He may by their means bestow the gifts of His lovingkindness on
those over whom they are placed. This we know to have come to pass in the
English nation, over whom your Highness was placed, to the end, that by means of
the blessings which are granted to you, heavenly benefits might also be
conferred on your subjects. Therefore, my illustrious son, do you carefully
guard the grace which you have received from the Divine goodness, and be eager
to spread the Christian faith among the people under your rule; in all
uprightness increase your zeal for their conversion; suppress the worship of
idols; overthrow the structures of the temples; establish the manners of your
subjects by much cleanness of life, exhorting, terrifying, winning, correcting,
and showing forth an example of good works, that you may obtain your reward in
Heaven from Him, Whose Name and the knowledge of Whom you have spread abroad
upon earth. For He, Whose honour you seek and maintain among the nations, will
also render your Majesty’s name more glorious even to posterity.
"For even so the most pious emperor, Constantine, of old, recovering the Roman
commonwealth from the false worship of idols, brought it with himself into
subjection to Almighty God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and turned to Him with his
whole mind, together with the nations under his rule. Whence it followed, that
his praises transcended the fame of former princes; and he excelled his
predecessors in renown as much as in good works. Now, therefore, let your
Highness hasten to impart to the kings and peoples that are subject to you, the
knowledge of one God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; that you may surpass the
ancient kings of your nation in praise and merit, and while you cause the sins
of others among your own subjects to be blotted out, become the more free from
anxiety with regard to your own sins before the dread judgement of Almighty God.
"Willingly hear, devoutly perform, and studiously retain in your memory,
whatsoever counsel shall be given you by our most reverend brother, Bishop
Augustine, who is trained up in the monastic rule, full of the knowledge of Holy
Scripture, and, by the help of God, endued with good works; for if you give ear
to him when he speaks on behalf of Almighty God, the sooner will Almighty God
hear his prayers for you. But if (which God forbid!) you slight his words, how
shall Almighty God hear him on your behalf, when you neglect to hear him on
behalf of God? Unite yourself, therefore, to him with all your mind, in the
fervour of faith, and further his endeavours, by that virtue which God has given
you, that He may make you partaker of His kingdom, Whose faith you cause to be
received and maintained in your own.
"Besides, we would have your Highness know that, as we find in Holy Scripture
from the words of the Almighty Lord, the end of this present world, and the
kingdom of the saints, which will never come to an end, is at hand. But as the
end of the world draws near, many things are about to come upon us which were
not before, to wit, changes in the air, and terrors from heaven, and tempests
out of the order of the seasons, wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes in
divers places; which things will not, nevertheless, all happen in our days, but
will all follow after our days. If, therefore, you perceive that any of these
things come to pass in your country, let not your mind be in any way disturbed;
for these signs of the end of the world are sent before, for this reason, that
we may take heed to our souls, and be watchful for the hour of death, and may be
found prepared with good works to meet our Judge. Thus much, my illustrious son,
I have said in few words, with intent-that when the Christian faith is spread
abroad in your kingdom, our discourse to you may also be more copious, and we
may desire to say the more, as joy for the full conversion of your nation is
increased in our mind.
"I have sent you some small gifts, which will not appear small to you, when
received by you with the blessing of the blessed Apostle, Peter. May Almighty
God, therefore, perfect in you His grace which He has begun, and prolong your
life here through a course of many years, and in the fulness of time receive you
into the congregation of the heavenly country. May the grace of God preserve you
in safety, my most excellent lord and son.
"Given the 22nd day of June, in the nineteenth year of the reign of our most
religious lord, Mauritius Tiberius Augustus, in the eighteenth year after his
consulship, and the fourth indiction."
