X PREFACE. B enedictine editors can be accepted as accurate. I t -will be seen that w e bave not considered |t desirable to translate all tbe letters. Of those addressed to A ugustine we* have''6mitted a few which were neither important in them selves nor indis­ pensable for the understanding of his replies ; and, w hen any o f his own letters is a mere repetition of what he has pre­ viou sly written to another correspondent, we have contented ourselves, and, we hope, shall satisfy our readers, w ith a refer­ ence to the former letter in which the arguments and illustra­ tions now repeated may be found. N o English translation of these Letters has previously appeared. ^ The French have in this, as in other patristic studies, been before us. Two hundred years ago a translation into the French tongue was published, and this has lately been superseded by M.' Boujoulat’s four readable and fairly accurate volumes. THE EDITOR.