Epistola Sebast. Curionis ad amplissimum Collegium Iurisconsult. Patavinae civitatis

of being cherished and supported by all, of being given help, and of being assisted in his calamities, whether he needed money, hospitality, grace, or any other thing. And in your city, how many are there who knew him before? And yet, as soon as he came into it, destitute, needy, and unknown, he was accepted by a most noble family in the most humane and liberal manner. And how many noble men, both inhabitants and foreigners, and even those of foreign nations, were found who offered him their resources of their own accord? Therefore, if Robertellus had not helped him then, would he have perished? What of the fact that, in the same city where he boasts that he alone conferred a benefit upon him, the very host in whose inn he lay ill conferred many more and greater benefits upon him than Robertellus? All the citizens and nobles of that city treated him with singular munificence, so much so that one nobleman even came from a certain neighboring town for no other reason than to visit Augustinus, whom he had heard was ill there, to promise his services, and even to bestow gifts upon him. With all these things disregarded, was he supposed to attribute everything to Robertellus alone and honor and venerate him alone as a god? This is what he would want, since he says he gave him life and spirit. But let it be a huge benefit, if you wish. In what can he call him ungrateful? That he did not act moderately or like a friend? And indeed, of what temperance was he, to refrain from cursing for so long, despite being afflicted by so many injuries from Francesco Robertello? For until now, complaining about himself, he said nothing about him. But from now on, we will make it understood how much of a benefit he received from him when he was silent, let alone when he was his friend. But he says he is a heretic, a man ignorant not only of letters but also of common life, because he says things he cannot prove. For the most difficult judgment of all is the one in which we weigh not the words themselves, but the sense of the mind. I implore this new Delphic Apollo: why, if he had known him to be such, did he keep silent before, why did he favor him, why did he confer benefits upon him (since he insists on it), and why was he accustomed to write to his father? If those letters were revealed, whether Robert. is a Christian or an Epicurean—a man of such a vast body that he could fill two large seats—would be known. Surely, in order to gratify the bishop, he has now been roused for the first time. Nor does the hot-headed man notice that he is involved in the same crime for which he accused him. I believe he wanted to expiate his own crimes in this way, by turning the fire of which he himself is worthy onto Augustinus. It came into the mind of a pious and religious man that the most innocent Christ was once assailed by such plots on account of all our wickedness. If he has learned to honor Christ in this way, it is a wonder if, to bring his death to his own memory, he might one day do as I remember reading about certain Hebrews who nailed a boy to a cross, so that they might crucify Christ more often; or as is read to have been done to Saint Lawrence. But I fear he might rather raise boys onto a cross in another way. But it is enough for me to have said these things about these matters. For it is better to be silent, especially for a prudent man, than to bring forth those things which he is not ashamed to perpetrate. Wherefore I ask you, Conscript Fathers, to forgive me that I have stepped outside the bounds of long silence, and that I write freely and boldly because I resist impure men who, without being harmed by any injury, most unworthily attack the fortune, name, and life of an excellent man. For I wanted you to understand these things, so that, just as you have done until now, you might henceforth