Marcin Wysocki: „An agreeable present, but...” (Amb.Ep 43,2). About the gifts sent with Latin Christian letters of the 4th and 5th century

The Christian letters of the first centuries served primarily to exchange views and ideas, to show Christian doctrine and to maintain ecclesiastical discipline. However, in many letters we also find traces of friendship and deep spiritual relationships, which were expressed in the gifts sent with letters. In the previous analyses of Latin Christian letters from the 4th and 5th centuries, written by Ambrose of Milan, Jerome, Augustine and Paulinus of Nola, first of all, attention was paid to their theological and historical content. In the proposed study of these letters, I want to draw attention to the gifts that were sent with them and described in them, and which, often simple and ordinary, received a special meaning and understanding in later correspondence. Receiving them became an opportunity to write mini treaties about friendship or about their importance for the spiritual life. Therefore, I would like to present in my paper the types of gifts, their meaning given by the recipients and their role in the relations between correspondents and also in their correspondence in writing letters.