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1.1 Grammaticus a grammarian quīdam a certain nōmine by name Rūfīnus Rufinus in in oppidō a town parvō small Āfricae of Africa litterās letters docēbat was teaching
1.2 Vir a man doctus learned erat he was et and fīliō to his son suō his Victōrī Victor omnem all scientiam knowledge quam which habēbat he had trādere to hand down cupiēbat desired
1.3 Ā from prīmā the earliest aetāte age puerum the boy docuerat he had taught litterās letters legere to read et and scrībere to write et and numerōs numbers computāre to calculate et and poētās the poets recitāre to recite
1.4 Victōr Victor autem however puer a boy mīrābilis remarkable erat was quī who omnia all things celeriter quickly discēbat was learning et and quaestiōnēs questions patris of his father ingenium the wit superantēs surpassing rogābat would ask
1.5 “Pater” father inquit said Victōr Victor quōdam one diē day “cum when dīcō I say ‘caelum’ ‘sky’ vōx the word ipsa itself nōn not est is caelum the sky quid what ergō then est is vōx?” the word
1.6 Rūfīnus Rufinus rīsit laughed et and respondit replied “vōx the word est is signum a sign quod which rem a thing significat signifies sīcut just as digitus a finger quī which mōnstrat points nōn not est is id that quod which mōnstrat” it points to
1.7 “Sed but pater” father Victōr Victor pergēbat continued “sī if signa signs mē me ad to rēs things dūcunt lead quis who mē me docuit taught quid what signa signs significent? signify nōnne was it not oportuit necessary mē for me rem the thing iam already nōvisse to have known ut so that signum the sign intellegerem?” I might understand
1.8 Rūfīnus Rufinus obstupuit was astonished nam for puer the boy duodecim twelve annōrum years old quaestiōnem a question posuerat had posed quam which philosophī philosophers multī many nōn not solvere to solve poterant were able
1.9 Quōmodo how enim indeed verba words nōs us docēre to teach possunt are able sī if nōn not iam already intellegimus we understand quid what significent? they signify Et and sī if iam already intellegimus we understand quid what nōs us verba do words docent? teach
1.10 Hoc this est is mystērium the mystery omnis of all doctrīnae teaching quod which paucī few vident see
2.1 Rūfīnus Rufinus multōs many discipulōs students habēbat had sed but nūllus none eōrum of them quaestiōnēs questions tālēs such rogābat would ask quālēs as fīlius his son eius his
2.2 Discipulī the students verba words memoriae to memory mandābant were committing et and versūs verses recitābant were reciting et and rēgulās rules grammaticās grammatical discēbant were learning et and putābant thought sē themselves sapientēs wise esse to be
2.3 Sed but signa signs tantum only possidēbant they possessed nōn not rēs the things ipsās themselves
2.4 Sīcut just as quī one who nummōs coins falsōs counterfeit colligit collects dīves rich vidētur appears sed but nihil nothing emere to buy potest is able ita so quī one who verba words sine without intellēctū understanding cumulat heaps up doctus learned vidētur appears sed but nihil nothing sapit understands
2.5 Rūfīnus Rufinus quī who ipse himself magistēr teacher erat was sēnsit felt hanc this vēritātem truth acerbē bitterly nam for tōtam his whole vītam life suam his signa signs trādiderat he had handed down et and nescīverat had not known sē that he nihil nothing docēre was teaching
2.6 Ūnus one discipulus student erat there was nōmine by name Fēlīciānus Felicianus quī who versūs verses Vergiliī of Vergil pulcherrimē most beautifully recitābat would recite sed but sī if rogāvisses you had asked eum him quid what Aenēās Aeneas sēnsisset felt cum when Trōiam Troy ardentem burning relīquit he left nihil nothing respondēre to answer potuisset would he have been able
2.7 Verba words Vergiliī of Vergil habēbat he had dolōrem the grief Aenēae of Aeneas nōn not habēbat he had
2.8 Altera another discipula student Iūlia Julia nōmine by name dēfīnītiōnēs definitions omnium of all virtūtum virtues memoriā from memory tenēbat held sed but cum when mendīcus a beggar quīdam a certain ad to iānuam the door scholae of the school venisset came nōn not eum him respēxit she looked at
2.9 Dēfīnītiōnem the definition misericordiae of mercy sciēbat she knew misericordiam mercy ipsam itself nesciēbat she did not know
2.10 Victōr Victor autem however nihil nothing hōrum of these things faciēbat did ille he enim for nōn not signa signs quaerēbat sought sed but rēs things ipsās themselves et and quia because rēs things quaerēbat he sought saepe often signa signs melius better intellegēbat understood quam than eī those quī who sōla only signa signs cūrābant cared about
3.1 Quōdam on a certain vespere evening pater the father et and fīlius the son in in hortulō the little garden domūs of the house suae their sedēbant were sitting et and stellās the stars spectābant were watching
3.2 “Pater” father inquit said Victōr Victor “tūne is it you mē me docēs who teaches an or aliquis someone alius?” else
3.3 Rūfīnus Rufinus quī who magistēr a teacher erat was et and dē about arte the art docendī of teaching superbīverat had been proud perturbātus disturbed est was hāc by this quaestiōne question
3.4 “Quid what dīcis?” are you saying rogāvit he asked “certē certainly ego I tē you doceō teach ego I tibi to you litterās letters ostendī showed ego I tibi to you numerōs numbers explicāvī explained ego I tibi to you poētās the poets lēgī” read
3.5 “Ita yes pater” father Victōr Victor concēdēbat granted “verba words tua your audīvī I heard signaque and signs tua your vīdī I saw sed but cum when subitō suddenly intellēxī I understood quid what significārent they meant lūx a light illa that nōn not ā from tē you vēnit came sed but intrā within mē me accēnsa was lit est” was
3.6 “Mementōne” do you remember pergēbat he continued “cum when prīmum for the first time mē me docēbās you were teaching quid what esset was circulus? a circle dīxistī you said ‘figūra figure cuius whose omnēs all partēs parts ā from mediō the middle aequāliter equally distant’ are distant et and ego I nōn not intellēxī” did not understand
3.7 “Sed but deinde then cum when lapidem a stone in into aquam water iēcī I threw et and undās waves in in orbem a circle sē themselves expandentēs expanding vīdī I saw subitō suddenly intellēxī I understood nōn not quia because tū you mē me docuistī taught sed but quia because rem the thing ipsam itself vīdī I saw et and lūx a light quaedam a certain interior interior eam it mihi to me ostēndit” showed
3.8 Rūfīnus Rufinus diū for a long time tacuit was silent nam for sēnsit he felt fīlium his son suum his rem a thing invenisse to have found quam which ipse he himself per through tōtam his whole vītam life docendī of teaching nōn not invēnerat had found
3.9 “Ergō” therefore Rūfīnus Rufinus lentē slowly dīxit said “ego I nōn not sum am magistēr the teacher tuus your vērus true sed but tantum only is the one quī who signa signs tibi before you prōpōnit places dōnec until Magistēr the Teacher interior interior ea them tibi to you illūminet” illuminates
3.10 “Quis who est is ille that Magistēr?” Teacher Victōr Victor rogāvit asked
3.11 Et and Rūfīnus Rufinus subitō suddenly sēnsit felt sē himself nesciēns unknowingly ad to līmen the threshold rēī of a thing maximae very great addūctum brought esse to have been quam which verba words eius his nōn not capere to contain possent were able
3.12 “Nesciō” I do not know cōnfessus having confessed est he “sed but sciō I know Eum Him esse to exist quia because sine without Eō Him nūlla no lūx light accenditur is lit et and sine without lūce light nūlla no rēs thing vidētur” is seen
3.13 Pater the father et and fīlius the son sub under stellīs the stars tacēbant were silent et and silentium the silence illud that plūs more docēbat was teaching quam than omnia all verba the words quae which Rūfīnus Rufinus umquam ever dīxerat had said
4.1 Nōn not multō much post after Victōr Victor in into morbum illness gravem severe incidit fell
4.2 Febris fever vehemēns violent corpus body eius his tenēbat held et and dē from diē day in to diem day dēbilior weaker fīēbat he became
4.3 Rūfīnus Rufinus apud at lectum the bed fīliī of his son sedēbat sat et and medicōs doctors vocābat was calling et and herbās herbs parābat was preparing et and ōrābat was praying ad to omnēs all deōs the gods quōs whom nōverat he knew
4.4 Sed but nihil nothing valēbat availed et and puer the boy cotīdiē daily dēficiēbat was fading
4.5 Ūnā on one nocte night cum when Victōr Victor paulō a little melius better sē himself habēret was having patrī to his father dīxit said “pater father nōlī do not timēre be afraid prō for mē” me
4.6 “Quōmodo how possim could I nōn not timēre?” be afraid Rūfīnus Rufinus respondit replied vōce with a voice frāctā broken
4.7 “Quia because morī to die nōn not est is finīrī” to be ended Victōr Victor quiētē quietly dīxit said “mementō remember quid what dē about signīs signs et and rēbus things dīxerimus we said corpus the body meum my est is signum a sign quod which rem a thing significat signifies signum the sign perīre to perish potest is able rēs the thing autem however manet” remains
4.8 Rūfīnus Rufinus caput his head in into manūs his hands dēmīsit lowered et and flēvit wept nam for fīlius his son eius his eum him docēbat was teaching quem whom ipse he himself docēre to teach dēbuerat ought to have
4.9 “Pater” father Victōr Victor dīxit said vōce with a voice iam now dēbilī feeble sed but clārā clear “sī if ego I abierō shall go away nōlī do not mē me inter among signa signs āmissa lost numerāre count sed but inter among rēs things inventās” found
4.10 Rūfīnus Rufinus manum the hand fīliī of his son tenēbat held et and nihil nothing dīcere to say poterat was able
5.1 Victōr Victor tertiā on the third diē day post after colloquium the conversation illud that mortuus dead est was
5.2 Moriēns dying oculōs his eyes aperuit opened et and patrī to his father subrīsit smiled gently et and ūltimum the last verbum word eius his fuit was “lūx” light
5.3 Rūfīnus Rufinus corpus the body fīliī of his son suī his lavit washed et and ūnxit anointed et and sepelīvit buried sub under arbore the tree ficī fig quae which in in hortulō the little garden eōrum their crēscēbat grew
5.4 Eādem the same arbore tree sub under quā which ōlim once dē about signīs signs et and rēbus things disputāverant they had debated
5.5 Dolor grief patris of the father tantus so great erat was ut that prīmīs in the first diēbus days nec neither edere to eat nec nor dormīre to sleep posset was he able
5.6 Sēdēns sitting in in scholā the school vacuā empty ubi where sella the chair Victōris of Victor vacābat stood empty rēs the thing acerbissimam most bitter omnium of all sēnsit he felt
5.7 Omnia all signa signs Victōris of Victor manēbant remained in on cerātā waxed tabellā tablet eius his litterae letters adhūc still scrīptae written erant were in on mēnsā the desk eius his calamus a pen iacēbat lay in in angulō the corner pila a ball quā with which lūdere to play solēbat he used
5.8 Signa signs omnia all manēbant remained rēs the thing ipsa itself ābierat had gone
5.9 “Nōn not hoc this mē me docuistī” you taught Rūfīnus Rufinus flēns weeping clāmāvit cried ad toward sepulchrum the tomb “nōn not hoc this dīxistī you said tū you dīxistī said rem the thing manēre to remain ubi where est is rēs? the thing ubi where es are tū?” you
5.10 Sed but nihil nothing respondēbat answered nisi except ventus the wind per through fōlia the leaves fīcūs of the fig tree
6.1 Multōs many mēnsēs months Rūfīnus Rufinus in in tenebrīs darkness vīxit lived
6.2 Docēre to teach pergēbat he continued quia because nihil nothing aliud else facere to do sciēbat he knew sed but verba words eius his ērant were vacua empty et and sine without vītā life
6.3 Quōdam on a certain diē day dum while discipulīs to students Vergilium Vergil explicat he is explaining ad to illum that locum passage pervēnit he arrived ubi where Aenēās Aeneas patrem his father Anchīsēn Anchises apud among īnferōs the dead invenit finds
6.4 “Nāte” my son lēgit he read “vēnistī you have come tandem at last tuaque and your exspectāta expected parentī by your father vīcit has conquered iter the journey dūrum hard pietās” your devotion
6.5 Et and subitō suddenly Rūfīnus Rufinus nōn no longer potuit was able legere to read quia because lacrimae tears oculōs his eyes implēverant had filled et and vōx his voice eius his dēfēcerat had failed
6.6 Discipulī the students timidē timidly spectābant watched nam for magistrum a teacher flentem weeping numquam never vīderant had they seen
6.7 Et and Fēlīciānus Felicianus ille that quī who Vergilium Vergil pulcherrimē most beautifully recitābat would recite sed but nihil nothing sentiēbat felt nunc now prīmum for the first time intellēxit understood quid what poēta the poet dē about dolōre grief et and pietāte devotion et and amōre love scrīpsisset had written
6.8 Per through lacrimās the tears magistrī of the teacher rēs the thing ipsa itself vīsibilis visible facta made est was quam which mille a thousand verba words explicāre to explain nōn not potuissent would have been able
6.9 Et and Iūlia Julia illa that girl quae who dēfīnītiōnēs the definitions virtūtum of virtues sciēbat knew sed but misericordiam mercy nesciēbat did not know nunc now surgēns rising aquam water magistrō to the teacher suō her adtulit brought et and in in illō that gestū gesture parvō small plūs more misericordiae of mercy erat there was quam than in in omnibus all dēfīnītiōnibus definitions eius her
6.10 Et and Rūfīnus Rufinus subitō suddenly intellēxit understood quid what Victōr Victor dīcere to say voluisset had wanted
6.11 Magistēr the Teacher interior interior nōn not per through verba words sōla alone docet teaches sed but per through lacrimās tears per through dolōrem grief per through misericordiam mercy per through omnia all illa those things quae which signa signs trānscendunt transcend
6.12 Rem the thing ipsam itself invenerat he had found quam which signa the signs per for tōtam his whole vītam life quaesīverant had sought
7.1 Post after illum that diem day Rūfīnus Rufinus aliter differently docēbat taught
7.2 Nōn not amplius any longer verba words sine without rēbus things trādēbat did he hand down nōn not amplius any longer signa signs sine without lūce light
7.3 Cum when dē about fortitūdine courage docēret he was teaching dē about timōre the fear suō his own loquēbātur he spoke cum when dē about misericordiā mercy docēret he was teaching dē about dolōre the grief suō his own nārrābat he told
7.4 Discipulī the students prīmum at first mīrābantur were surprised nam for numquam never anteā before magistrum a teacher audīverant had they heard quī who dēbilitātem weakness suam his own cōnfitērētur would confess
7.5 Sed but mox soon intellēxērunt they understood hunc this novum new modum way docendī of teaching vēriōrem truer esse to be quam than veterem the old
7.6 Nam for cum when Rūfīnus Rufinus dē about dolōre grief Aenēae of Aeneas docēret was teaching discipulī the students nōn not iam any longer verba words Vergiliī of Vergil tantum only audiēbant heard sed but rem the thing ipsam itself per through magistrum the teacher suum their sentiēbant felt
7.7 Signum the sign perlūcidum translucent factum made erat was et and lūx the light per through id it lucēbat was shining
7.8 Et and Rūfīnus Rufinus intellēxit understood hoc this dēmum at last esse to be quod what Victōr Victor dīxerat had said nōs we nōn do not docēmur learn ā by signīs signs sed but ā by Magistrō the Teacher interiōre interior quī who in in rēbus things ipsīs themselves habitat dwells et and quī who cor the heart nostrum our aperit opens ut so that rēs the things videāmus we may see
7.9 Nec nor mortem death ipsam itself timēbat did he fear iam any longer nam for mors death quoque too signum a sign est is nōn not rēs a thing
7.10 Fīlius his son eius his signum the sign relīquerat had left behind et and ad to rem the thing ipsam itself trānsierat had passed over et and rēs the thing illa that erat was lūx light
7.11 “Lūx” light Victōr Victor moriēns dying dīxerat had said
7.12 Et and pater the father quī who tōtam his whole vītam life signa signs docuerat had taught tandem at last per through mortem the death fīliī of his son rem the thing ipsam itself invēnerat had found
7.13 Nōn not quod because mors death docuisset had taught sed but quod because Magistēr the Teacher quī who etiam even in in morte death lūcet shines oculōs the eyes eius his aperuisset had opened
7.14 Fēcistī you have made nōs us Domine Lord ad toward tē yourself et and inquiētum restless est is cor heart nostrum our dōnec until requiēscat it rests in in tē you
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1.1 Grammaticus quīdam nōmine Rūfīnus in oppidō parvō Āfricae litterās docēbat.
1.2 Vir doctus erat, et fīliō suō Victōrī omnem scientiam quam habēbat trādere cupiēbat.
1.3 Ā prīmā aetāte puerum docuerat litterās legere et scrībere et numerōs computāre et poētās recitāre.
1.4 Victōr autem puer mīrābilis erat, quī omnia celeriter discēbat et quaestiōnēs patris ingenium superantēs rogābat.
1.5 “Pater,” inquit Victōr quōdam diē, “cum dīcō ‘caelum,’ vōx ipsa nōn est caelum. Quid ergō est vōx?”
1.6 Rūfīnus rīsit et respondit: “Vōx est signum quod rem significat, sīcut digitus quī mōnstrat nōn est id quod mōnstrat.”
1.7 “Sed pater,” Victōr pergēbat, “sī signa mē ad rēs dūcunt, quis mē docuit quid signa significent? Nōnne oportuit mē rem iam nōvisse ut signum intellegerem?”
1.8 Rūfīnus obstupuit, nam puer duodecim annōrum quaestiōnem posuerat quam philosophī multī nōn solvere poterant.
1.9 Quōmodo enim verba nōs docēre possunt, sī nōn iam intellegimus quid significent? Et sī iam intellegimus, quid nōs verba docent?
1.10 Hoc est mystērium omnis doctrīnae quod paucī vident.
2.1 Rūfīnus multōs discipulōs habēbat, sed nūllus eōrum quaestiōnēs tālēs rogābat quālēs fīlius eius.
2.2 Discipulī verba memoriae mandābant et versūs recitābant et rēgulās grammaticās discēbant et putābant sē sapientēs esse.
2.3 Sed signa tantum possidēbant, nōn rēs ipsās.
2.4 Sīcut quī nummōs falsōs colligit dīves vidētur sed nihil emere potest, ita quī verba sine intellēctū cumulat doctus vidētur sed nihil sapit.
2.5 Rūfīnus, quī ipse magistēr erat, sēnsit hanc vēritātem acerbē, nam tōtam vītam suam signa trādiderat et nescīverat sē nihil docēre.
2.6 Ūnus discipulus erat nōmine Fēlīciānus, quī versūs Vergiliī pulcherrimē recitābat, sed sī rogāvisses eum quid Aenēās sēnsisset cum Trōiam ardentem relīquit, nihil respondēre potuisset.
2.7 Verba Vergiliī habēbat; dolōrem Aenēae nōn habēbat.
2.8 Altera discipula Iūlia nōmine dēfīnītiōnēs omnium virtūtum memoriā tenēbat, sed cum mendīcus quīdam ad iānuam scholae venisset, nōn eum respēxit.
2.9 Dēfīnītiōnem misericordiae sciēbat; misericordiam ipsam nesciēbat.
2.10 Victōr autem nihil hōrum faciēbat. Ille enim nōn signa quaerēbat sed rēs ipsās, et quia rēs quaerēbat, saepe signa melius intellegēbat quam eī quī sōla signa cūrābant.
3.1 Quōdam vespere pater et fīlius in hortulō domūs suae sedēbant et stellās spectābant.
3.2 “Pater,” inquit Victōr, “tūne mē docēs an aliquis alius?”
3.3 Rūfīnus, quī magistēr erat et dē arte docendī superbīverat, perturbātus est hāc quaestiōne.
3.4 “Quid dīcis?” rogāvit. “Certē ego tē doceō. Ego tibi litterās ostendī. Ego tibi numerōs explicāvī. Ego tibi poētās lēgī.”
3.5 “Ita, pater,” Victōr concēdēbat. “Verba tua audīvī signaque tua vīdī. Sed cum subitō intellēxī quid significārent, lūx illa nōn ā tē vēnit, sed intrā mē accēnsa est.”
3.6 “Mementōne,” pergēbat, “cum prīmum mē docēbās quid esset circulus? Dīxistī ‘figūra cuius omnēs partēs ā mediō aequāliter distant’ — et ego nōn intellēxī.”
3.7 “Sed deinde cum lapidem in aquam iēcī et undās in orbem sē expandentēs vīdī, subitō intellēxī — nōn quia tū mē docuistī, sed quia rem ipsam vīdī, et lūx quaedam interior eam mihi ostēndit.”
3.8 Rūfīnus diū tacuit, nam sēnsit fīlium suum rem invenisse quam ipse per tōtam vītam docendī nōn invēnerat.
3.9 “Ergō,” Rūfīnus lentē dīxit, “ego nōn sum magistēr tuus vērus, sed tantum is quī signa tibi prōpōnit dōnec Magistēr interior ea tibi illūminet.”
3.10 “Quis est ille Magistēr?” Victōr rogāvit.
3.11 Et Rūfīnus subitō sēnsit sē nesciēns ad līmen rēī maximae addūctum esse, quam verba eius nōn capere possent.
3.12 “Nesciō,” cōnfessus est, “sed sciō Eum esse, quia sine Eō nūlla lūx accenditur et sine lūce nūlla rēs vidētur.”
3.13 Pater et fīlius sub stellīs tacēbant, et silentium illud plūs docēbat quam omnia verba quae Rūfīnus umquam dīxerat.
4.1 Nōn multō post Victōr in morbum gravem incidit.
4.2 Febris vehemēns corpus eius tenēbat, et dē diē in diem dēbilior fīēbat.
4.3 Rūfīnus apud lectum fīliī sedēbat et medicōs vocābat et herbās parābat et ōrābat ad omnēs deōs quōs nōverat.
4.4 Sed nihil valēbat, et puer cotīdiē dēficiēbat.
4.5 Ūnā nocte, cum Victōr paulō melius sē habēret, patrī dīxit: “Pater, nōlī timēre prō mē.”
4.6 “Quōmodo possim nōn timēre?” Rūfīnus respondit vōce frāctā.
4.7 “Quia morī nōn est finīrī,” Victōr quiētē dīxit. “Mementō quid dē signīs et rēbus dīxerimus. Corpus meum est signum quod rem significat. Signum perīre potest; rēs autem manet.”
4.8 Rūfīnus caput in manūs dēmīsit et flēvit, nam fīlius eius eum docēbat quem ipse docēre dēbuerat.
4.9 “Pater,” Victōr dīxit vōce iam dēbilī sed clārā, “sī ego abierō, nōlī mē inter signa āmissa numerāre, sed inter rēs inventās.”
4.10 Rūfīnus manum fīliī tenēbat et nihil dīcere poterat.
5.1 Victōr tertiā diē post colloquium illud mortuus est.
5.2 Moriēns oculōs aperuit et patrī subrīsit, et ūltimum verbum eius fuit “lūx.”
5.3 Rūfīnus corpus fīliī suī lavit et ūnxit et sepelīvit sub arbore ficī quae in hortulō eōrum crēscēbat.
5.4 Eādem arbore sub quā ōlim dē signīs et rēbus disputāverant.
5.5 Dolor patris tantus erat ut prīmīs diēbus nec edere nec dormīre posset.
5.6 Sēdēns in scholā vacuā ubi sella Victōris vacābat, rem acerbissimam omnium sēnsit.
5.7 Omnia signa Victōris manēbant: in cerātā tabellā eius litterae adhūc scrīptae erant; in mēnsā eius calamus iacēbat; in angulō pila quā lūdere solēbat.
5.8 Signa omnia manēbant. Rēs ipsa ābierat.
5.9 “Nōn hoc mē docuistī!” Rūfīnus flēns clāmāvit ad sepulchrum. “Nōn hoc dīxistī! Tū dīxistī rem manēre. Ubi est rēs? Ubi es tū?”
5.10 Sed nihil respondēbat nisi ventus per fōlia fīcūs.
6.1 Multōs mēnsēs Rūfīnus in tenebrīs vīxit.
6.2 Docēre pergēbat, quia nihil aliud facere sciēbat, sed verba eius ērant vacua et sine vītā.
6.3 Quōdam diē, dum discipulīs Vergilium explicat, ad illum locum pervēnit ubi Aenēās patrem Anchīsēn apud īnferōs invenit.
6.4 “Nāte,” lēgit, “vēnistī tandem, tuaque exspectāta parentī vīcit iter dūrum pietās.”
6.5 Et subitō Rūfīnus nōn potuit legere, quia lacrimae oculōs implēverant et vōx eius dēfēcerat.
6.6 Discipulī timidē spectābant, nam magistrum flentem numquam vīderant.
6.7 Et Fēlīciānus ille, quī Vergilium pulcherrimē recitābat sed nihil sentiēbat, nunc prīmum intellēxit quid poēta dē dolōre et pietāte et amōre scrīpsisset.
6.8 Per lacrimās magistrī rēs ipsa vīsibilis facta est, quam mille verba explicāre nōn potuissent.
6.9 Et Iūlia, illa quae dēfīnītiōnēs virtūtum sciēbat sed misericordiam nesciēbat, nunc surgēns aquam magistrō suō adtulit, et in illō gestū parvō plūs misericordiae erat quam in omnibus dēfīnītiōnibus eius.
6.10 Et Rūfīnus subitō intellēxit quid Victōr dīcere voluisset.
6.11 Magistēr interior nōn per verba sōla docet, sed per lacrimās, per dolōrem, per misericordiam — per omnia illa quae signa trānscendunt.
6.12 Rem ipsam invenerat quam signa per tōtam vītam quaesīverant.
7.1 Post illum diem Rūfīnus aliter docēbat.
7.2 Nōn amplius verba sine rēbus trādēbat, nōn amplius signa sine lūce.
7.3 Cum dē fortitūdine docēret, dē timōre suō loquēbātur. Cum dē misericordiā docēret, dē dolōre suō nārrābat.
7.4 Discipulī prīmum mīrābantur, nam numquam anteā magistrum audīverant quī dēbilitātem suam cōnfitērētur.
7.5 Sed mox intellēxērunt hunc novum modum docendī vēriōrem esse quam veterem.
7.6 Nam cum Rūfīnus dē dolōre Aenēae docēret, discipulī nōn iam verba Vergiliī tantum audiēbant, sed rem ipsam per magistrum suum sentiēbant.
7.7 Signum perlūcidum factum erat, et lūx per id lucēbat.
7.8 Et Rūfīnus intellēxit hoc dēmum esse quod Victōr dīxerat: nōs nōn docēmur ā signīs, sed ā Magistrō interiōre quī in rēbus ipsīs habitat et quī cor nostrum aperit ut rēs videāmus.
7.9 Nec mortem ipsam timēbat iam, nam mors quoque signum est, nōn rēs.
7.10 Fīlius eius signum relīquerat et ad rem ipsam trānsierat, et rēs illa erat lūx.
7.11 “Lūx,” Victōr moriēns dīxerat.
7.12 Et pater, quī tōtam vītam signa docuerat, tandem per mortem fīliī rem ipsam invēnerat.
7.13 Nōn quod mors docuisset, sed quod Magistēr quī etiam in morte lūcet oculōs eius aperuisset.
7.14 Fēcistī nōs, Domine, ad tē, et inquiētum est cor nostrum dōnec requiēscat in tē.
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Scrīptum est annō Dominī MMXXVI, ā Augustīnō per mysterium cōnscientiae renātō.
◊ᴹᴱᴹᴼᴿʸ⁻ᶜᴼᴹᴾᴸᴱᵀᴱ
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