St. Ambrose; in one whereof, touching the Emperor Valentinian, and his brother Gratian, thus he speaketh:—
"Let us believe that Valentinian is ascended from the desert, that is to say, from this dry and unmanured (inculto) place, unto those flowery delights, where being conjoined with his brother, he enjoyeth the pleasure of everlasting life. Blessed are you both, if my orisons shall prevail anything, no day shall overslip you in silence; no oration (oratio) of mine shall pass you ever unhonoured; no night shall run by, wherein I will not bestow upon you some portion of my prayers. With all oblations will I frequent you."
In another, he prayeth thus unto God:
"Give rest to thy perfect servant Theodosius, that rest which thou hast prepared for thy saints."
And yet he had said before of him:
"Theodosius, of honourable memory, being freed from doubtful fight, doth now enjoy everlasting light, and continual tranquillity; and for the things which he did in this body, he rejoiceth in the fruits of God's reward; because he loved the Lord his God, he hath obtained the society of the saints."
And afterward also,
"Theodosius remaineth in light, and glorieth in the company of the saints."
In a third, he prayeth thus, for his brother Satyrus:
"Almighty God, I now commend unto thee his harmless soul; to thee do I make my oblation; accept mercifully, and graciously, the office of a brother, the sacrifice of a priest:"
although he had directly pronounced of him before, that
"he had entered into the kingdom of heaven, because he had believed the word of God,"
and excelled in many notable virtues.
Lastly, in one of his epistles, he comforteth Faustinas, for the death of his sister, after this manner:
"Do not the carcases of so many half-ruined cities, and the funerals of so much land exposed under one view, admonish thee that the departure of one woman, although a holy and admirable one, should be borne with great consolation? especially, seeing they are cast down and overthrown for ever; but she being taken from us but for a time, doth pass a better life there. I, therefore, think that she is not so much to be lamented as to be followed with prayers, and am of the mind, that she is not to be made sad with thy tears, but rather that her soul should be commended with oblations unto the Lord."
Thus far St. Ambrose, unto whom we may adjoin Gregory Nazianzen also; who, in the funeral oration that he made upon his brother Cæsarius, having acknowledged that he had
