Selected Testimonies of the Ancients concerning Saint Ambrose

I thought Ambrosius himself a certain happy man according to the world, whom such great powers so honored: but his celibacy seemed to me laborious. But what hope he bore, and what struggle he had against the trials of his own excellence, or what comfort in adversities, and what savory joys his hidden mouth, which was in his heart, chewed upon from your bread, I did not know how to guess, nor had I experienced it. And further in this same chapter: But certainly no opportunity was given for asking what I desired concerning your so holy oracle, from his breast [lacuna] And indeed I heard him rightly handling the word of truth among the people every Lord's day; and it was more and more confirmed to me that all the knots of the crafty calumnies which our deceivers wove against the divine books could be undone.

And there was a monastery at Milan full of good brothers outside the walls of the city, under Ambrosius as its nourisher.

When Justina, mother of the boy-king Valentinian, persecuted your servant Ambrosius on account of her heresy, by which she had been seduced by the Arians: the devout people kept watch in the church, ready to die with their bishop, your servant [lacuna] Then it was instituted that hymns and psalms should be sung according to the custom of the Eastern regions, lest the people waste away from the tedium of grief, and from that time it has been retained to this day, with many, indeed almost all, of your flocks throughout the rest of the world imitating it.

I believe your holiness has the books of the most blessed Pope Ambrosius; but I greatly desire those which he wrote most diligently and copiously against certain most unlearned and most arrogant men who contend that the Lord derived profit from the books of Plato.

He (Ambrosius) followed up and said to me: When I come to Rome, I fast on the Sabbath; when I am here, I do not fast. So you too, whatever Church you happen to come to, keep its custom, if you do not wish to be a scandal to anyone, nor anyone to you. When I reported this to my mother, she embraced it gladly. And I, thinking again and again upon this opinion, have always held it as though I had received it by a heavenly oracle. Augustine also recalls this same answer of Ambrosius in letter 38, otherwise 163.

I asked him (Fortunius the Donatist) whether he thought Ambrosius, bishop of the Church of Milan, to be just and religious? He was certainly compelled to deny that that man was a Christian and just; because if he had confessed it, we would immediately have objected that he judged him to need rebaptism. Since therefore he was compelled to say things by which that man would not be held to be a Christian and just, I recalled how great a persecution he endured, with the church even surrounded by armed soldiers.

If you approve these things, hold with me the opinion of holy Ambrosius, now confirmed not by his authority, but by the truth itself. For it does not please me on this account, that through his mouth especially the Lord freed me from error, and through his ministry granted me the grace of baptism, as though I were showing too much favor to my planter and waterer: but because he himself also said this concerning the matter, which is spoken even to one who thinks piously and understands rightly by him who gives the increase, God.

Hear how this very Pelagius, in that very recent little work of his by mention of which he defends himself, that is, in the third book on Free Will, praises holy Ambrosius: Blessed, he says, Bishop Ambrosius, in whose books especially the Roman faith shines forth, who among the writers among the Latins shone forth as a certain beautiful flower, whose faith and most pure understanding in the Scriptures not even an enemy has dared to censure [lacuna] Let him then hear that venerable Bishop speaking and teaching [lacuna] Let this man hear so great a man teaching, let him imitate him believing. He recalls nearly the same things in the book on Original Sin, chap. 22, the book on Marriage and Concupiscence, chap. 35, and book 4 against the two Letters of Pelagius, chapters 11 and 12.

But hear yet another excellent steward of God, whom I venerate as a father; for in Christ Jesus through the Gospel he himself begot me, and by him, as Christ's minister, I received the washing of regeneration: I speak of blessed Ambrosius, whose grace, constancy, labors, and dangers on behalf of the catholic faith, whether in works or in words, I myself have experienced, and with me the Roman world does not doubt to proclaim. You may also see similar things in the following chapters of the same book.

Here that teacher Ambrosius, so excellently praised by the mouth of your teacher, most openly and most fully declared both what original sin was, and whence it came, and whence that first confusion arose [lacuna] Behold, Ambrosius pours forth a clear and transparent river of eloquence. There is no place here where the reader might stumble, where the hearer might grow dim. And in chap. 9: Who says these things? A catholic man of God, and a most keen defender of catholic truth against heretics even to the peril of his blood [lacuna] That vigorous soldier of Christ, and faithful Teacher of the Church

At Milan, at the shrine of the holy martyrs Protasius and Gervasius, the demons, by name expressly given, confessed Bishop Ambrosius, still living, just as they named the dead whom they commemorated in the same way, and they begged that he would spare them, while he was engaged in other matters, and, when this was being done, was entirely unaware of it. See also book 9, chap. 7, book 22 of the City of God, chap. 17, and book 1 of the Retractations, chap. 13.

As to what you indicated, that you had already learned at Milan concerning the name of our humble self, when you were being initiated there, I confess I wish to learn more about it curiously, that I may know you in every part, so that I may rejoice the more, if you were either invited to the faith, or consecrated to the priesthood, by our father Ambrosius, whom I revere, so that we might both seem to have the same author. For although I was baptized by Delphinus at Bordeaux, and consecrated by Lampius at Barcelona in Spain by the sudden violent enthusiasm of the people, nevertheless I have always been nourished in the faith by the love of Ambrosius, and am now cherished in the order of the priesthood. Finally, he wished to claim me for his own clergy, so that, although I dwell in different places, I might be reckoned his presbyter.

Since the martyrs had already for a long time had a season for appearing, they sought out a man to whom they might reveal themselves, one certainly to whom they might be revealed under that same faith with which they had accomplished their martyrdoms. Thus it was granted to Ambrosius what was denied to Auxentius; since what Auxentius blasphemed, Ambrosius preached.

Brother Ambrosius, snatched up on the wing of the depths, and a flier of the air, as long as he enters into the depths, seems to gather fruit from on high: and all his opinions are firm pillars of the faith of the Church, and of all virtues. There likewise, in a Dialogue of some unknown author patched together from the words of Augustine and Jerome, Ambrosius is commemorated among the apostolic men.

But when the Arians were stirring up sedition, Ambrose, who was prefect of the city, came upon the scene for the sake of calming the tumult. When the crowd of those who held different opinions had looked upon him, and had driven back the outcry of the faithful, they proclaimed him bishop. Indeed, a divine synod, gathering together, with the emperor himself looking on, took hold of him and initiated him with sacred baptism. And when he had now been chosen, the emperor sang before all this kind of hymn to God: Thanks to Thee, Lord Almighty and our Savior, that to the man to whom I entrusted bodies, Thou hast entrusted souls; and hast declared my judgment concerning him to be just.

The most worthy writings of the blessed Ambrose, bishop of Milan, bear witness—a man famous in the Church of God beyond other bishops, and whom, for his merits, not only Catholics but the other princes of his time revered above all priests, whose testimony also the Synod of Ephesus made use of.

Those who before us were bishops most dear to God: in the West indeed Damasus, Innocent, Ambrose. Again also in the blessed Ambrose, who illumined all the western regions.

Ambrose, the outstanding priest of God, who, not departing from the hand of the Lord, ever gleamed like a gem set in the finger of God.

For the Catholic faith Bishop Ambrose wrote many things in a lofty style.

I hear that Ambrose, who adorned the episcopal see of Milan, both contended splendidly against all heresies, and wrote most beautifully in agreement with the doctrine of the apostles.

Ambrose, bishop of Milan in Italy, and Martin, bishop of Tours in Gaul, are held illustrious both for the merits of their lives and for the miracles of virtues they performed.

And all the apostolic men of the Latin tongue, that is, Hilary, Eusebius, Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome, imbued with heavenly doctrines, agree together in like manner.

Ambrose, of blessed memory, priest of the Church of Milan, publicly and openly suspended communion from the Emperor Theodosius the Great, and brought the royal power to penance.

They ascribe to heaven Ambrose's
Name, honor, and deed.
To eloquence he owes nothing here,
His whole dowry is from his character.
Strong, he does not seek the help of another,
Fortified by his own shield.
In the flesh the flesh does nothing;
The ruling mind reigns in the body.
He shattered every slippery thing.
Thus he lived not for himself,
But wholly for God his author.
Joined hence to the Apostles,
He brought back the banished faith;
He told forth the triumphs of the Martyrs
With the laurels of a flourishing tongue.
This man with his mouth carried off the prey

From the jaws of the fierce serpent.
He who wages the wars of Christ
Is feared unarmed by swords.
He lives, though buried, and still helps,
Holding fast the helm of the Church.
Justina lost her strength,
Punishment gives the Prophet his reward

Ambrose of Milan, holy bishop of virtues, citadel of the faith, Catholic orator.

Holy Ambrose too, a fountain pouring forth milk-white speech, keen with gravity, most sweet with a very forceful persuasiveness, in whom doctrine was equal to life, since the grace of divinity smiled upon him with no small miracles.

Your Devotion, then, had asked that these be sent to you for reading; but I believed it very unfitting that he should drink despicable water who, it is known, drinks continually from the deep and clear streams of the torrents of the blessed Fathers Ambrose and Augustine.

Ambrose, bishop of Milan, a man of great glory in Christ, and a most illustrious teacher in the Church.

Already there had been in Hesperia a priest famous for praise,
Ambrose, fulfilling the precepts of gentle Christ,
And he kept the covenants of spirit and of chaste flesh,
He who bears a name drawn from the nectar of the bee (Ambrosia).
This one, once tender in the cradle, while yet a little infant,
Exhibited great signs of things to come,
For a swarm of bees, in numerous throngs by chance,
Contended for the child's face—a thing wonderful to tell.
This swarm of bees, indeed, from which the lips of the saint overflow,
Portended the sweet words of honeyed discourses,
From which the hearts of the people are abundantly sweetened.
The venerable Doctor set forth clear little works,
Unfolding with pious reasoning from the very first origin,
How the supreme wisdom of the Father made this present world
In that span of twice three days,
Disposing the ages by His eternal will.
These things, I say, the Priest taught in frequent discourse,
Leading many hosts into the kingdoms of heaven.

He (Valentinian the Younger), however, paid a most just penalty of exile along with his mother Justina; because the Arian heresy defiled him too, and he harassed with a treacherous siege Ambrose, the most eminent citadel of the Catholic faith: nor did he abandon his wicked undertakings until, by God's revelation, the incorrupt relics of the blessed martyrs Gervasius and Protasius had been brought forth.

But as for the most blessed Ambrose, promoted from catechumen to the episcopate by a divine oracle, there is nothing you might bring forward by way of example (for there indeed a divine, not a human, command suffices), in whose infancy, as he lay yet in the cradle, a swarm of bees suddenly flying up beset his face, and filled his mouth, some going in, others coming out. When his father saw this, he said: If he lives, this infant, as an omen, will be great. He, having later grown up, went to Milan, then bereft of a bishop. When the people had gathered for the election of a pastor, behold, a certain infant proclaimed Ambrose bishop. The people seized upon the utterance, sent not without divine power; and rushed at once to seize the man. He withdrew himself, and by every means sought hiding places; yet he could not hide, since the people together with the clergy sought him out with equal zeal.

Therefore, having advanced from catechumen through each ecclesiastical grade, on the eighth day at last, with the whole Catholic Church agreeing, already designated by a divine oracle, he was consecrated bishop. Similar things are plainly read in Pope Nicholas I's epistle v, to the Emperor Michael, page 280, where it is added: He kept the rule of ecclesiastical norms his whole life long, defeating all heresies, girded with zeal for the Word of God. See also epistle vi, to Photius, page 284, where the same Nicholas treats these very matters even more fully, and calls our Ambrose the most illustrious and most splendid lamp of the Church.

Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, in the Quaternion to King Charles, vol. Viii of the Councils, p. 1752. Remember the memorable deed of Theodosius and the memorable man Ambrose, and how Theodosius transgressed as a man, and Ambrose, as a true priest, rebuked him, and Theodosius received the divine correction patiently and humbly through him [lacuna] Happy that emperor who in his time had such a priest [lacuna] And happy the priest of God, Ambrose, who lived in the time of such an emperor; for it is written: Blessed is he who declares justice to an ear that listens. Happy also both, priest and emperor together, because, that the wrath of God might not descend upon the emperor for his transgression, he had in his time a priest of whom the Lord did not complain, as He now complains of us, saying: I sought for one who might set up a hedge, and stand in the gap before Me, that I might not destroy it, and I found none.

The same author, from Book ii of On Predestination, chap. 25. Saint Ambrose, whose judgments are the most firm pillars of faith and of the Church and of all virtues, who by God's grace enlightened the holy Augustine in the faith, consecrated him by baptism, and instructed him in the doctrine of piety, thus writes in his book. Photius, from his own Bibliotheca, chap. 231, p. 890. That soul, immovable in divinely inspired freedom and piety—namely, Ambrose of Milan.

Odilo the Abbot, from the Cluniac Chronicle, p. 402. The blessed Ambrose, a man praiseworthy in every respect, and a true defender of the Catholic faith [lacuna] a most learned teacher.

Guitmund, Bishop of Aversa, from Book On the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord. But you, excellent teacher, most blessed Ambrose, spiritual father of the blessed Augustine, whom that same most holy man calls holy and blessed in his books; whose authority, as Augustine attests, the Apostle Paul, revealer of martyrs, commends: whom the blessed Gregory, a truly apostolic man, sets before himself: whose doctrine, as worthy to be received, the most blessed Benedict, as St. Gregory attests, judged, being filled with the Spirit of the holy prophets: to whom the glory of the whole Church of Milan specially bears witness: whom deservedly the whole world venerantly embraces for his faith (for so many and such great witnesses would not have proclaimed you with such great praise, had they known you to err in the Catholic faith): what you, I say, think concerning the sacraments of the altar, is explained.

Durand the Abbot, from the treatise On the Body and Blood of Christ, part iv. It is fitting to cull some things concerning holy Ambrose, whose authority in the Catholic Church, after the Apostles, is held foremost, whose flowing eloquence of speech is the glory and pattern of the Latin tongue.

Pope Gregory VII, from epistle 2, book iv, vol. X of Labbe's Councils, p. 149. Nor let them pass over that the blessed Ambrose not only excommunicated Theodosius, king indeed but truly also emperor, for his conduct and power, but even forbade him to presume to remain in the place of the priests in the Church.

Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, from epistle 77. From these two pillars, then (I speak of Augustine and Ambrose), believe me, I am not easily torn away: with these, I confess, I either err or am wise.

Petrarch, from Book 1, epistle 1. One I find lacking a rival or a detractor, one adorned with full and undiminished praise—Ambrose, whose fame not even biting envy touched in his youth, among certain writers, which is perhaps to be attributed to his pure and simple doctrine, free of all ambiguity. Consult also his Book ii On the Solitary Life, section iii, chapters 2 and 4, where he relates most worthy things about Ambrose, which for brevity's sake we omit here, as we do many other things which readily occur in the historical bibliographers and legendaries.

Andrew of Petra Colossensis, Archbishop, from an Oration given at the Council of Basel, vol. Xii of the Councils, Labbe ed. P. 877. That the doctrine of the holy Fathers has driven off all errors is attested by [lacuna] Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, the most illustrious lights of the Christian religion, who wrote most invincibly against every kind of heresy.

Cardinal Bessarion, from a Dogmatic Oration, Councils vol. Xiii, p. 403. We have likewise those who from the West extinguished the flames of errors with sound and most clear doctrine—Hilary, Ambrose [lacuna] who by their roaring struck terror into all heretics.

Anonymous, from the Colbert manuscripts, about the year 600. I dare to subscribe these lines in humble style, My reader, do not think them of no worth. Love compels me to say what I speak, Ambrosian words, To which my mind, tongue, and hand desire to be servant. O whoever you are, seeking the true joys of paradise, Hasten to submit yourself to the counsels of Ambrose. Ambrose shows you the rule of right and equity; Happy shall you be if you can learn, know, and follow. By Ambrose's writings one is led to better things, Who reads his writings and acts upon them without delay. Read Ambrose, if you seek the pastures of life: What you read, do; and thus you shall be blessed. The end is at hand: may He who is threefold and one grant His gift to me, and thus may pious Ambrose intercede for me.