Letter 10

10. To a widow

There is a certain art of catching doves, of this kind. When those who busy themselves with such things have gained control of a single dove, and have made it tame and a sharer of their food, they then anoint its wings with perfume and let it mingle with those outside. The fragrance of that perfume makes that free flock a possession for the owner of the tame one; for the rest, drawn by the sweet scent, follow it and settle down with it.

But with what intent do I begin my letter from this? Because, having taken my son Dionysius, once called Diomedes, and anointed the wings of his soul with the divine perfume, I have sent him forth to your reverend self, so that you too may fly up together with him and reach the nest which the aforesaid has built among us. If, then, I should see these things in my lifetime, and your reverend self brought over to the lofty life, I shall need many persons worthy of God to fulfil for Him the honour that is owed.