To Bishop Victor, on Bishop Paulinus of Tegessis

Gregory to Victor, and so on. [a]

On the one hand, it is a joy to us to learn that our brothers care for their children with a father’s love. On the other, we count it no less a cause of sadness when neither regard for their other brothers nor thought for their priestly office is enough to keep them from unlawful acts. How serious and how harsh, then, is the complaint made against our brother Paulinus, bishop of the city of Tegessis, by his clerics and by those in holy orders, I have no doubt your fraternity knows well. For what has reached us from far away cannot have been hidden from you, who are near at hand. Now great caution is needed, so that this bodily injury they complain he has inflicted on them, beyond his powers, may not be ventured on as though it were permitted, nor grow worse by being overlooked. Plain excesses should always be checked by the control of the canons in such a way that one proceeding may serve both as a rebuke for what is past and as a rule for the future. It is fitting, therefore, that you, together with our most beloved common brother the bishop Columbus, and with other priests whom you think fit to call on, sift the case between our brother named above and his clergy by a thorough investigation. And if the complaint of the petitioners stands up as true, correct this matter by a proper reform, so that he may both be made aware of the evil he has done and learn for the future not to go beyond the limits of his office. And do not allow him, as he is said to do, to disregard the rank of your position, so that his contempt may not turn out to be his own danger and your blame. For whatever wrong is done by one of lower rank, unless it is carefully corrected, reflects on the one who holds the higher place. [b]

That other matter too, namely that our same brother Paulinus is said to confer church orders for money, you should look into fully and very strictly. And if it clearly appears to be so, which we hope will not be the case, let your zeal for God be so kindled to punish this wrong that the greed of the one who ordains may be turned into his penalty, and that the one ordained, his unlawful ordination being of no effect, may not enjoy the prize his ambition longed for. In this we urge you, and above all things warn you, that your fraternity take such care that, before the wickedness of the simoniac heresy gains strength in your region from the offense of one man, it may be cut off at the root by the pruning hook of your sentence, after a council has been carefully held. For whoever does not burn fiercely, as his office requires, to correct this outrage, let him not doubt that he will have his portion with the one from whom this particular monstrous evil had its beginning. And so, as we have said, you must act watchfully and earnestly, so that your council, which up to this time, under God’s keeping, has been kept free from any bad report of this kind, may not by any chance be polluted and ruined by the poison of this wickedness. [c]

Furthermore, we have instructed Hilarus, our chartulary, not to put off joining you if the case should require it. So, if it is necessary, let him know by your letter that he needs to come to you, so that together with him you may be able, with God’s help, to decide all these things in a wholesome way. [d]