Preface to the Books Against Nestorius

When I had finished the books of the Spiritual Conferences, whose merit lies in the thoughts expressed rather than in the language used, since my rough speech was unequal to the deep thoughts of the saints, I had thought of taking refuge in silence and had almost decided on it. I was ashamed of having exposed my ignorance, and I wanted, as far as possible, to make up for my boldness in speaking by modestly holding my tongue from then on. But you have overcome my resolve and purpose by your praiseworthy earnestness and most pressing affection, my dear Leo, my honored and highly esteemed friend, you who are the pride of the Roman church and of the sacred ministry. You drag me out of the obscurity of the silence I had decided on into a public court that I have good reason to dread, and you oblige me to take on new labors while I am still blushing for my past ones. Though I was unequal to lesser tasks, you compel me to measure myself against greater ones. For even in those trifling works, in which out of our small ability we presented some small offering to the Lord, I would never have attempted to do anything or set my hand to anything unless a bishop’s command had led me to it. And so through you both our subject and our language have grown in importance. Before, when we were told to, we spoke of the business of the Lord; now you require us to speak of the very incarnation and glory of the Lord himself. We who were once brought, as it were, into the holy place of the temple by priestly hands now go, under your guidance and protection, into the holy of holies, so to speak. Great is the honor, but most dangerous the undertaking, because the prize of the holy sanctuary and the divine reward can be won only by a victory over our enemy. And so you require and charge us to raise our feeble hands against a fresh heresy and a new enemy of the faith. We are to take our stand, so to speak, against the dreadful gaping jaws of the deadly serpent, so that at my summons the power of prophecy and the divine force of the word of the gospel may destroy the dragon that is now rising up in its winding course against the churches of God. [a]

I obey your request; I yield to your command, for in my own affairs I would rather trust you than myself, especially since the love of Jesus Christ my Lord commands this of me as well as you, for he himself gives me this charge in your person. In this matter you are more involved than I am, since it is your judgment that is at risk rather than my duty. For in my case, whether or not I prove equal to what you have commanded me, the very fact of my obedience and humility will be some excuse for me. Indeed, I might even urge that my obedience is worth more for the very reason that I can do less. For we easily carry out anyone’s orders out of our abundance, but it is a great and wonderful work when a man’s desires go beyond his powers. So this work and business are yours, and it is yours to be ashamed of it. Pray and plead that your choice may not be discredited by my clumsiness. If we do not meet the expectations you have formed of us, pray that you may not seem to have been wrong in giving the command out of an ill-considered decision, while I was right in yielding because of what obedience demands.