Page:Letters of John Huss Written During His Exile and Imprisonment.djvu/54

 I have meditated on the letter of St Augustin, to an illustrious bishop, who consulted him in a like case. Augustin thus terminates his answer:—“He who takes to flight, and does not deprive, in so doing, his church of the evangelical ministry, does what the Lord has commanded him; but he who, in his flight, takes away spiritual food from the flock of Jesus Christ, is an hireling, who, when he sees the wolf approaching, fleeth, because he careth not for his sheep. It is because thou hast consulted me, well-beloved brother, that I write thee these things, which appear to me to be according to both truth and charity; but I invite thee not to follow my counsel, if thou findest a better. What can be more advisable, in such an extremity, than to offer up prayers to God to have pity on us, after the example of some holy men, who have obtained by their prayer, not to abandon the Church of God, and who have persevered in their good resolutions, even in the very teeth of their enemies?” Such is the opinion of St Augustin.

Inform me, then, if you acquiesce in these words; for although the necessary aliment of God’s Word is not wanting to my flock, my conscience reproaches me with my absence, as a scandalous act.

I fear, on the other hand, that my presence during the term of my interdiction might be the means of tearing this food away from my flock, and of depriving them of the Holy Communion and other advantages, which