Rule, Penitential & Letters 40

This world passes away, and daily it decreases; no living thing shall remain, none alive has remained. The whole human race is united in a like birth, and from a like life falls by an equal end. Uncertain death snatches away those who bear life: grief of death seizes all the proud and the wandering. What greedy men refuse to bestow for Christ they untimely lose; others gather it after them. They themselves while living scarcely dare to give God a little: at death they leave all things behind; they keep nothing of them. Daily the present life, which they love, decreases; the punishment which they prepare for themselves shall remain unending. Striving to gather the slippery thing that slips away, and that which deceives itself, they fear too little to entrust it. They loved foul darkness more than the light.

They scorn to imitate the Lord, the leader of life. As though in dreams they reign, for one hour they rejoice; but eternal torments are even now prepared for them. The blind by no means see what remains after death for the impious sinners, what their impiety brings. It befits you, friend, to consider all these things; far be it from you to love the form of this life. All flesh is as hay, blazing though it flower, and so its glory is like the flower of the hay. The sun once risen, the hay withers, and the flower perishes; so is all youth, when its vigour has failed. The beauty of men, growing old, falls away. The radiance of Christ's countenance, lovable above all things, is more to be loved than the wealth of frail flesh.

Beware, little son, of sowing appearances, into which death will enter, no small destruction. Very many have suffered the fires of punishments, unwilling to bear the losses of a slippery will. Never drink the cup of the most impious one, from which you see very many often laugh merrily. For whomever you see laughing emptily, know that in the last things they will weep bitterly. Behold, dearest one, that lust is such, like a deadly disease, which conquers him who tastes its sweetness. Do not go forward prone along the ways of mortals; how many you see have met with shipwreck? Walk among the snares with feet hung up, by which we have found the rest, the unwary, taken captive. Lift up the eyes of your heart from earthly things; love the most loving peoples of the angels.

Blessed is the family that dwells on high, where no old man groans, nor any infant keeps watch; where no voice ceases the praises of the Lord; where none ever hungers, where none ever thirsts; where the heavenly people are fed with food from above; where no one dies, because no one is born; where perchance the royal heavenly hall is fed, in which no ill-sounding voice has been heard; where life is to be green and true, which neither the fear of death nor of sorrow has consumed. The joyful, with death passed away, shall see the joyful King, with Him who reigns they shall reign, with Him who rejoices they shall rejoice; then grief, then weariness, then toil shall be wiped away, then the King of kings, the pure King, shall be seen by the pure.

The privilege, or first donation, of Flavius Agilulf, king of the Lombards, granted to the venerable Saint Columban from the territory of Bobbio, to the extent of four miles on every side. Flavius Agilulf, most excellent man and king, to the venerable Columban and his companions.

We believe that a pious return of recompense is owed to us by the almighty Lord, in that priests in our kingdom, by a salutary ordinance, have been able by the Lord's help to fulfil their vows; and therefore, to the basilica of the blessed Peter, chief of the apostles, situated in the place called Bobbio, by this our general precept we grant to your holy fatherhood there, in the name of God, license to dwell and to possess, on every side, just as we decree, in a circuit of four miles round about, whether cultivated or uncultivated, save only the half of the well, which we have granted as conceded by the precept of our donation. For all those boundaries, which we have named above.

To the basilica of the blessed Peter, or to you, or to those who shall there serve you and yours, we give in command in every way to our dukes, stewards, and agents, that none of them presume at any time to go against this precept of our writing, so that for the welfare and stability of our kingdom you may be able day and night to entreat the Lord. Given at Milan, in the palace, on the ninth day before the Kalends of August, in the eighth year of our most happy reign, in the fifth indiction. By dictation of the lord king, and by dictation of Agiderius the notary, I Liunus have written. II. Charter, how the lord Columban handed over the monastery of Bobbio to the apostolic see. In the name of the Lord and ruler of all, Jesus Christ, the true Son of God, our Lord.

In the year, God being favourable, of the pontificate of the lord Gregory, supreme pontiff and universal pope, in the most holy see of the blessed Peter, chief of the apostles, in the 13th indiction, I, Columban, servant of the servants of God, sprung from the regions of Ireland, said to the pope: It is established indeed that the human race was from the beginning formed by the divine mercy, but the ancient rival, the author of destroying the joys of the human race, compounded deadly poisons, so that the whole mass of humanity was held bound and liable by the bond of sin: our former, therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ, in order to restore the freedom of His image, coming into the world through the womb of the Virgin, conferred upon the men believing in Him the revived joys of Paradise.

Wherefore, considering the protector of the eternal recompense, that He Himself may be to us a pious rewarder, we decree with most willing mind and establish, that all those things which have come to us, by the precept of the most glorious king Agilulf, which lie beside the river Trebbia in the valley which is called Bobbio, and is by lawful measure four miles on all sides, or whatever we and our successors shall acquire, are to be placed under the defence and immunity of the most holy apostolic see, and under the judgement of you and your successors to adjudicate.

If ever, after the monastery has been built, any contention should arise from whatever side, whether from a great or a small person, let it be evident that the things which are now done in the sight of your most holy breast may in future, for perpetual time, remain firm. For if anyone shall act otherwise than as is written above, we commit him to Him who said: Vengeance is Mine, and I will repay: whence we will that two charters of like tenor be subscribed for most certain truth, of which we hand over one to be kept in the church of the blessed Peter, chief of the apostles, the other we have retained to be kept by ourselves and our successors, that, as we have said, with all contention removed, it may be destroyed.

These charters of my offering we have handed over to the most reverend deacon Peter, with a stipulation solemnly interposed. Done in the palace of Constance, on the third day of the month of November, in the indiction written above, happily. I, Columban, these charters of my offering have been made by me, and reported. I, Bubulenus, monk and priest. I, Eunochus, priest and monk. I, Domitialis, humble deacon, Scot and monk. I, Evonenus, priest and monk. I, Bobulenus, monk and priest. I, Gurgazus, of Breton descent. I, Bonifacius, chief examiner. I, Attalus, priest of the race of the Franks. I, Deusdedit, examiner. I, Meliaderus, presbyter and monk. I, Romanus, deacon, sign and the rest.

To Leo and Simeon and Audo, witnesses, sign and the rest. To Leo, Zacharias, Epiphonius, witnesses. I, Peter, deacon and notary of the holy apostolic see, have written, published, completed, and given these charters of offering. III. Confirmation of the aforesaid privilege by King Adwald. Flavius Adwald, most excellent king, to the monastery of the most blessed apostles Peter and Paul situated in Bobbio, and to the venerable abbot Attalanus and all his monks. While for the sake of devotion, to entreat for our misdeeds, we had come to the hall of the blessed apostles, where the memorial is.

Our father, the lord Columbanus, rests in the body. Your reverence has petitioned us, and likewise the whole nourishing congregation of the servants of God, and you have shown into our hands the precept of the Lord and of our father King Agilulf; and it was contained therein that our father had handed over this place to blessed Columbanus to be inhabited and possessed for himself, and by those who after him should serve the Lord there perpetually for their time — which holy fatherhood of you all has now requested that we likewise do. We therefore, awaiting an eternal reward, have decreed to assent in the present, that we may merit things eternal and abiding without end.

And therefore, hearing the petition of you all, we confirm it, and we grant to you, in the name of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, the basilica situated at Bobbio, with licence in God's name to inhabit and possess it. We decree accordingly its boundaries on every side of that basilica to be four miles, just as our lord and father by his precept established for blessed Columbanus to hold; except only the half of the well, which that man of venerable memory, our father, founded — he also granted the wood for boiling salt, which we likewise grant and confirm to be possessed.

Likewise the Alpecella which is called Pennice, where our lady and mother Theodelinda, the most glorious queen, out of love for our father Columbanus, ascended to inspect this place. She requested of us that we grant that same Alpecella to your holy monastery; and we too, hearing her petition, with willing heart decreed to give it, and we wish it to remain given to you in perpetuity, and to those who after you shall serve God as His soldiers there.

Therefore, considering the eternal recompense, by this precept of our authority we confirm to your holy monastery and to your reverence the boundaries already fixed by right over and above, together with that Alpecella, by Mount Pennice with its borders, running along those same bounds as far as the rock of Gragio, and thence returning below the rock of Pedenna into the gorge before one comes to the rock of Digna, and from there along that aforesaid ridge as far as the river Trebbia; by our more recent letters we confirm it likewise by our gift to be possessed.

So that henceforth none of our judges, counts, gastalds, or agents may presume to diminish anything thereof; but those things which under God's favour we have conferred upon that holy and venerable place — both in our most blessed times and in future times also — may that holy place itself, or your beatitude, or whoever in the time of your decease shall succeed you, be able to possess inviolably in a stable order. By the dictation of the lord king, and by the dictation of Agiderius the notary, I, the under-named, have subscribed. Given at Pavia in the palace, on the eighth day before the Kalends of August, in the sixth year of our most blessed reign, in the ninth indiction, happily. IV. A second confirmation of the above-mentioned privilege.

Flavius Adjuvald, the most excellent king, to the venerable abbot Bertulf and to all the monks of that place. We believe that recompense will be repaid to us by the Almighty Lord, if priests in our kingdom shall be able to fulfil their vows to God by a wholesome ordering.

Therefore, just as the lord King Agilulf our father, in his piety, granted to you and your predecessors — the lords Columbanus of holy memory and Attala, abbots of Bobbio — a dwelling at the basilica of blessed Peter, the chief of the apostles, by this our general precept we grant to you at the threshold of blessed Peter there, in God's name, licence to dwell and possess. We decree the boundaries on every side just as they were granted and handed over by the Lord and by our father, the lord Columbanus of holy memory and Attala — on every side, all around, four miles, whether cultivated or uncultivated, except only the half of the well; and what our predecessor and father King Agilulf advised and granted, the wood for kindling there for boiling salt.

But also that which came to you from Russo by way of gift and with his right, we continue it by our gift in your monastery; and likewise those boundaries which we named above we assign to the basilica of blessed Peter and to you to hold, as far as the rock of Gragio, and thence below the rock of Pedena along the ridge before one comes to Digna, and along that same ridge as far as the river Trebbia. Wherefore, giving it in charge to all our dukes, gastalds, and officers, that none of them presume ever to go against this page of our precept; so that for the welfare and stability of our kingdom they may beseech the mighty Lord day and night. I, Bonus the notary, have written it.

Given at Pavia in the palace, on the sixteenth day of the month of August, in the seventh year of our reign, happily, in the tenth indiction.