The Presbyters Project

II (Maur. 65)

Ambrosius Simpliciano salutem.

1. Motum te cum legeres, significasti mihi, quid sibi velit quod Moyses post oblatum sacrificium et immolatas domino salutares hostias dimidiam partem sanguinis in crateras miserit, dimidiam autem ad altare effuderit. Sed quid est quod ipse dubites et a nobis requiras, cum fidei et adquirendae congnitionis divinae gratia totum orbem peragraveris et cottidianae lectioni nocturnis ac diurnis vicibus omne vitae huius tempus deputaveris, acri praesertim ingenio etiam intellegibilia conplectens, utpote qui etiam philosophiae libros, quam a vero sint devii, demonstrare soleas et plerosque tam inanes esse, ut prius scribentium in suis scriptis sermo quam vita eorum defecerit.

Further on, Ambrose speaks about the profits of gathering wisdom and explains that the division of blood signifies two shares of wisdom, one moral and another, mystical. He pursues further the spiritual interpretation of the given passage of the Scripture.

10. Vale et nos parentis adfectu dilige, ut facis!

(ed. Faller 1968: 14-17)

II (Maur. 65)

Ambrose to Simplicianus, greetings.

1. You tell me that you were perplexed over the meaning when you read that Moses, after offering sacrifice and the immolating of sacred victims to the Lord, put half of the blood into bowls and sprinkled the rest on the altar [Exod 26: 4]. But what causes you to be perplexed and ask my help, when you have traveled the whole world to acquire faith and divine knowledge, and in constant reading day and night have spent the whole span of your life? With remarkably brilliant intellect you have embraced all objects of the understanding, so that you are able to show how the works of the philosophers have deviated from the truth, several being so futile that the words in their writings have perished in their lifetime.

10. [...] Farewell, and love us, as you do, with the affection of a father.

(trans. Beyenka 1954: 308-311; in the translation Letter 56)

Discussion:

The present letter is not dated and it can only be said that it was written at some point during the episcopacy of Ambrose. Ambrose's addresee is here Simplicianus, most probably the same whom Augustine mentions in the Confessions 8.2 as the pater in accipienda gratia tunc episcopi Ambrosii ([1886]). In his letters to Simplicianus, Ambrose always expresses the filial affection which suggests seniority of Simplicianus. He succeeded Ambrose in the see of Milan in 397 being already very advanced in age. No source calls Simplicianus explicitely a presbyter, and that he was one is inferred from the indirect evidence.

Place of event:

Region

Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia

City

Milan

About the source:

Author: Ambrose of Milan
Title: Letters, Epistulae
Origin: Milan (Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

Ambrose was a bishop of Milan from 374 until his death in 397. We have a collection of his letters organized in three parts. The first one consists of 77 letters organized in ten books most probably by Ambrose himself. He published his letters at some point after the death of Theodosius in 395. From this collection, Book 4 is missing, as are some letters of Books 2 and 4. The second part is the group of letters that survived outside the collection (extra collectionem), and the third is a group of letters concerning the council of Aquileia in 381 (together with the acts of this council). For a detailed discussion on the letters and further reading see Liebeschuetz 2010: 27–48 and Nauroy 2016: 146–160.

Edition:

O. Faller ed., Epistulae et acta, epistularum libri I-VI, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Lationorum 82/1, Wien 1968

Translation:

Saint Ambrose, Letters, trans. M. M. Beyenka, Washington D.C. 1954

Bibliography:

J.H.W.G. Liebeschuetz, Ambrose of Milan: political letters and speeches, Liverpool 2010.

G. Nauroy, "The Letter Collection of Ambrose of Milan", [in:] Late Antique Letter Collections: A Critical Introduction and Reference Guide, ed. C. Sogno, B.K. Storin, E.J. Watts, Oakland, CA 2016, 146–160.

G. Nauroy, "Édition et organisation du recueil des lettres d’Ambroise de Milan: une architecture cachée ou altérée?", in: La correspondance d'Ambroise de Milan, textes réunis et préparés par A. Canellis, Saint-Étienne 2012, 19-61.

Categories:

Writing activity - Correspondence

PR842.

Travel and change of residence

PR842.

Reverenced by

PR842.

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

PR842.

Education - Theological interest

PR842.

Devotion - Reading the Bible and devotional literature

PR842.

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER1851, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1851