Pastoral Rule, Dialogues & Letters 734

Gregory to Theoderic, king of the Franks. The letter of your Excellency, an index of your heart, has so taught, by the abundance of its brilliant discourse, how great a prudence shines in you together with your royal power, that whatever praiseworthy thing report has told of you cannot be in doubt. And since you signify that our exhortation has so pleased your religious mind through the encomiums of praise,

so that whatever you recognize as pertaining to the worship of our God, whatever to the reverence of the Churches, whatever to the honour of priests, you both zealously establish and are willing to have kept in all things, we strike you again with repeated exhortation, the more for your own reward, that you order a synod to be gathered, and, as we wrote a while ago, cause the bodily vices in priests and the depravity of the simoniac heresy to be condemned by the definition of all the bishops, and to be cut off from the bounds of your kingdom, nor permit money there to obtain more than the Lord's precepts. For

since all covetousness is the service of idols, whoever does not vigilantly guard against it — and especially in bestowing ecclesiastical honours — is subjected to the perdition of infidelity, even though he may seem to hold the faith which he neglects. As therefore against external enemies, so also against the internal adversaries of souls, be zealous to be solicitous, that through this — that you faithfully fight against the enemies of our God — you may both happily reign here under His protection, and afterwards come to eternal joys with His grace as guide. Moreover, how great benefits your Excellency bestowed upon our most reverend brother and fellow-bishop Augustine when he set out to the nation of the Angles, certain monks returning from him have reported.

Wherefore, rendering abundant thanks, we ask that you deign to bestow your support more copiously upon these monks also who have been directed to him, and to help them on their journey, so that, the more amply you show them your benefits, the greater a recompense you may expect from almighty God, whom they serve.