To the most merciful lady, his daughter in Christ, Queen Chlodoswintha, Nicetius a sinner. I. When we behold your envoys passing through the realms of the Franks, your kinsmen, we are anxious for your prosperity. But thence we hear those things which we confess ever to resound and resound again: how great, how lofty, how praiseworthy, how useful, how humane and bountiful you are; how solicitous for the poor, how shrewd concerning the region, how splendid in devout conduct among the whole people. May He grant this who has already given you the spirit of wisdom and understanding. We rejoice over this: may Christ make us rejoice over King Alboin whom you have, and triumph in his felicity.
We are amazed, when nations tremble before him, when kings render him veneration, when the powers praise him without ceasing, when even the emperor himself sets him above his own people—yet that he does not eagerly seek the remedy of his soul. We read in Scripture: Seek first the kingdom of God, and all things shall be added unto you (Matt. 6:33). I marvel that one who, like that man, shines with such fame studies to investigate nothing concerning the kingdom of God and the salvation of his own soul; but he receives those, and acquiesces in those, who would rather destroy the soul in hell than lead it to the way of salvation. They preach that there are two Gods, the one Father in deity, the other Son in deity but as a creature; whereas Scripture says: I am the Savior, and there is no other beside me (Isa. 45:14). II.
You, lady Chlodoswintha, I adjure by the dread judgment of God, that you both read this letter well, and study to expound it well and frequently to him, and that you question him: Who is the Savior? Do they say that the Father is the Savior, or the Son? How do they declare that there are two, when there is one, and there is no other? If they say the Son, then the Father is not the Savior; and if they say the Father, then the Son is not the Savior—because one who is not the Savior can save no one. If they say: There are two Saviors, they will nowhere find this written, except: I and the Father are one (John 10:30); that is, the Father in the Son and with the Son, and the Son in the Father and with the Father.
God, by reason of His magnitude, cannot be seen by the human eye, who is so great, so resplendent, and even so fiery. We read: In the circuit of heaven and earth is His tabernacle (Ps. 17:12); which, by reason of this very magnitude and splendor, cannot be seen by man. He expressed from Himself Him whom He ever had with Himself, who made for Himself a hiding-place of flesh; and therefore Scripture says: He made darkness His hiding-place (ibid.). And so in the Gospel the Word of God, of which John speaks, says that In the beginning it was (John 1:1), the Word was made flesh (ibid. 14); and that which was of Mary, He so joined to Himself that it was one. And through Scripture He says: Out of Sion is the beauty of His comeliness (Ps. 49:2):
that is, man shall pass over into God. III. In the Gospels He Himself said: I came forth from the Father, and came into this world (John 16:28). In the forty-seventh psalm He said: Distribute her steps (Ps. 47:14). He said 'her,' not 'their': because it is most plainly known that He is one, yet not alone: That you may relate it to another generation; for on the day of resurrection neither will he be able to relate nor to appear, who has not believed the Trinity in unity. And on His behalf the whole host of angels cries out throughout each day: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of Sabaoth (Isa. 6:3). He did not say three Holies, but called the Lord God of Sabaoth thrice Holy. Holy the Father, Holy the Son, Holy the Spirit. One Holy, as one Lord.
Whence also John the evangelist said: He it is who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Savior (Rev. 1:8). If I go by the names, there seem to be degrees. When you hear 'Father,' He seems greater in name; and therefore He said: The Father is greater than I (John 14:28); but in name only. In deity, however, most evidently through Christ and through His apostles He is acknowledged to be one. For He Himself, when He was asked by a disciple: Lord, show us the Father; and He replied: You see me, and you ask about the Father? (John 14:8-9). You see that He is invoked in the Trinity, and is found to be in one deity. When you hear 'Father,' do not believe Him to be without the Son; when you hear 'Son,' do not doubt that He is with the Father; nor doubt that they are three in persons;
for He is acknowledged to be one in deity. And therefore He said to His disciples: Go, baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). He said 'in the name,' not 'in the names'; because He spoke of one deity, not three. The Holy Spirit, moreover, cannot be separated; because whence the grace of God is known to be, thence it is recognized to be the gift. From Him all good things breathe forth, as the Apostle said: For from Him, and through Him, and in Him are all things (Rom. 11:36). But the Most High alone in all the earth (Ps. 82:19) is the Savior. Joshua the son of Nun beheld Him, and therefore said: Are you ours, or of our adversaries? (Josh. 5:13). But He, answering, said: I am who I am, and there is no other beside me (Exod. 3:14).
Abraham, who is called the friend of God (2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; Jas. 2:23), and is proved to be so, saw three and believed one (Gen. 18:2). When he adores the three, he commemorates the Trinity, as I have said; when he entreats one to enter into his house, he declares that there is one power. For how often did He say to Moses, I am who I am, and there is no other beside me? IV. Why is it necessary for us to go through each point? Let us come to the twelve disciples whom He had; for the very Goths today render them veneration, and steal their relics by stealth: yet they have nothing there, because they presume to annul their faith. What does it mean that today they venerate their bodies in their basilicas, yet do not enter in?
What does it mean that they dare presume nothing there, except by stealth, as dogs that deceive souls from outside? Let King Alboin send those his faithful ones to himself, and lead them to the thresholds of lord Peter and Paul, John, or the rest of the saints, that they may resolve to celebrate Mass there, if they dare; but they do not dare, because they do not appear as the disciples of lord Peter, and are proved to be adversaries of Christ; nay rather, the wretches are found to destroy what He Himself redeemed through the cross. For what cause does such a king and such an age take in their poison? If he commands, let him send them to lord Martin during his festival, which he holds on the eleventh day of November;
and there, if they dare, let them presume something, where today we behold the blind enlightened, where the deaf receive hearing and the dumb receive health. For what shall I say of the lepers or of many others, who, smitten by whatever infirmity, are healed there year after year, now these and now those? Perhaps they say: It happens, even with the blind, who seem to be blind from birth. What shall I say, when we behold men enlightened from thence and see them, by God's mercy, return to their own homes? And what shall I yet say of lord Germanus, Hilary, or Lupus the bishops: where today such great marvels appear as I am not able even to tell in words: where the afflicted, that is, those having demons, are suspended in the air and tormented, and confess that those lords whom I have named truly are?
Do they do thus in their churches? They do not, because they do not perceive God and the holy lords to dwell there. A demon does not exorcise a demon. For where the saints dwell, the demon is not permitted to roam: thus it comes about that the place where God is may be made manifest. What of lord Remigius and lord Medardus the bishops, whom you, I believe, have seen? We cannot set forth such great marvels as we see God working through them... IV. You have heard from your grandmother Rotchild of blessed memory how she came into Francia, how she led lord Clovis to the catholic faith; and although he was a most shrewd man, he was unwilling to acquiesce before he recognized the truth.
When he came to know that the things I have spoken of above were proven, he fell humbly at the threshold of lord Martin, and suffered himself to be baptized without delay. Once baptized, you have heard what great things he did against the heretical kings Alaric and Gundobald; what good things he and his sons possessed in the world, you are not ignorant. Such an ornament, such a man as King Alboin is said to be, of such fame, whom the world thus sets foremost—why is he not converted, or why does he appear sluggish in seeking the way of salvation? Good God, who art the glory of the saints and the salvation of all, send Thyself into him. And you, lady Chlodoswintha, when you speak a word, give him consolation, that we may all rejoice over such a star, over such a gem, in such wise that we may be able to please God.
I greet you as much as I am able: I beseech you not to be idle: cry out unceasingly, sing unceasingly. You have heard the saying: The unbelieving husband shall be saved by the believing wife (1 Cor. 7:14). For know that it is the first salvation, the first remission, for one who shall have caused a sinner to be converted from his error. Watch, watch, for you have God favorable to you. I beg that you so act that you may both make the nation of the Lombards strong over their enemies, and grant that we may rejoice over your salvation and that of your husband.