Complete Extant Works of Saint Ambrose, Vol. I

the most faithful Emperor, did not stand, nor did he pray to God on bended knees, but lying prone upon the ground, he uttered this Davidic voice: My soul has cleaved to the pavement; revive me according to your word Psalm 118:25 (Vulgate numbering).. Finally, tearing at his hair with his hands, striking his brow, and watering the ground with flowing drops of tears, he begged that pardon be given to him. Such and so great was the virtue that shone forth then, both in the priest and in the prince! I certainly admire both equally: the one for his freedom of speech, the other for his submissive obedience; and indeed, the ardent zeal of the former, and the pure and sincere faith of the latter. » (Theodoret, Book V, Ch. 18)

So far, Theodoret. Paulinus, his deacon, explains his apostolic manner of acting in the episcopate thus: "The man himself, the venerable bishop, was of much abstinence and many vigils and labors, macerating his body with daily fasting, for it was never his custom to dine except on the Sabbath and the Lord's Day, or when the birthdays of most celebrated Martyrs were being observed. There was also a great assiduity of prayer by day and night; nor did he decline the labor of writing books with his own hand, unless his body was held back by some infirmity. There was also in him a concern for all the Churches, and a great assiduity and consistency in intervening.