Pastoral Rule, Dialogues & Letters 511

Gregory to Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria. The discourse of a learned man is always useful, whereby the hearer either says (in his heart) what he had known himself not to know, or comes to know—what is more—that which he did not even know he did not know. In this matter I have now become one of the number of hearers, to whom your most holy Blessedness has been at pains to write, that I should transmit the deeds of all the martyrs which were collected in the days of Constantine of pious memory by Eusebius of Caesarea. But whether these were collected, or whether they were not, I did not know before your Blessedness's letter. I give thanks, therefore, that, instructed by the writings of your most holy Teaching, I have begun to know what I did not know.

For besides those which are contained in the books of the same Eusebius concerning the deeds of the holy martyrs, I have known of none, either in the archive of this our Church or in the libraries of the city of Rome, except a certain few collected in the volume of a single codex. But we have the names of nearly all the martyrs, gathered in one codex with their sufferings distinguished for each single day, and on each day's days we celebrate the solemnities of Masses in their veneration. Yet in that same volume it is not indicated who suffered in what manner, but only the name, the place, and the day of the passion is set down. Whence it comes about that many from diverse lands and provinces are recognized, day by day, as I have said before, to have been crowned with martyrdom.

But we believe that you most blessed ones have these things. As for those which you wished to be transmitted, we indeed did not find them though seeking, but though not yet finding, we still seek, and if they can be found, we will transmit them. Now as to the wood, that you write that it was short—the character of the ship by which it was transmitted brought this about, for if a larger ship had come, we could have transmitted even larger wood. And as to what you say, that if we transmit larger pieces you will give a price—we indeed give thanks for your generosity, but we are forbidden, the Gospel intervening, to accept a price. For we did not buy the wood that we transmit, and how can we accept a price, when it is written: Freely you have received, freely give (Matt. 10:8)?

Now therefore, according to the capacity of the ship, we have transmitted small pieces of wood by the skipper, a list of which is appended below. But in the following year, if it shall please Almighty God, we are preparing larger ones. Moreover, we have received the blessing of Saint Mark the Evangelist—nay rather, of what is prior, Saint Peter the Apostle—with that sweetness in which it was transmitted; and rendering the address of salutation, we ask that your Blessedness may deign to pray for us, that we may deserve both to be more speedily snatched from present evils, and not to be excluded from future joys.