Labour therefore, most dear brother, and so direct the whole activity of thy heart and soul, that thou mayest hereafter be counted worthy to hear, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord (Matth. Let them not deviate from the straight course through your leading let them find their way to God by following you that so thou mayest receive as many rewards from the Saviour of the human race as thou shalt have won souls for Him.
Let them be taught how to live by your example. Let them see in you what to love, and perceive what to make haste to imitate. Let the conduct of your Fraternity be a lesson to the people committed to you. Let kindness mitigate wrath let zeal sharpen kindness: and let one be so seasoned with the other that neither immoderate punishment afflict more than it ought, nor again laxity impair the rectitude of discipline. Let discipline be exhibited with gentleness. Let, therefore, your solicitude towards your subjects be worthy of praise. Thus, then, let the hand of your action wipe away the stain of the previous contagion, so as to suffer no traces even to remain of that execrable wickedness. Now that our God, from whom nothing is hidden, having cast out an atrocious plague of pollution from the government of His Church, has been pleased to advance you to the rule thereof, there is need of anxious precaution on your part that the Lord's flock, after the wounds and various evils inflicted by its former shepherd, may find consolation and wholesome medicine in your Fraternity. Gregory to John, Bishop of the Corinthians The Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great - Saint Gregory the GreatTo John, Bishop.