To Maurentius, Master of the Soldiers, on Quiet and Sacred Study

Gregory to Maurentius, master of the soldiers. My most beloved son Cyprian the deacon would have pleased me greatly by returning to me, if the whole of him had returned. But now that your glory has stayed on in Sicily, I know very well that he has come back in body, but in mind has stayed in Sicily. Yet in saying this, I rejoice with you in your quiet as much as I groan over my own business. And I earnestly urge you to this: if the pleasant taste of inward sweetness has touched the palate of your heart, let your mind be so caught up within itself that everything that sounds outside, everything that delights outside, becomes distasteful to it. I also commend you for avoiding crowds, since a mind that desires to be renewed in God through the grace of heartfelt sorrow often falls back into its old state through bad company and talk. I have looked for people to join you in a fellowship of sacred reading, but have found no one, and I deeply lament how scarce good things are. And though I, a sinner, am very busy, yet if you should wish to come to the threshold of the blessed apostle Peter, you will be able to have me as a close companion in the study of Holy Scripture. May Almighty God keep you under his heavenly protection, and grant that you remain defended against the snares of the ancient enemy. [a]