Sulpicius Severus, in his Letter 1, responds to a critic who mocked at his Life of *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397, S00050), and its presentation of Martin as a miracle-worker. Written in Latin, in Primuliacum (south-west Gaul), 395/7.
E00691
Literary - Hagiographical - Other saint-related texts
Sulpicius Severus
Sulpicius Severus, Letter 1, to Eusebius
Sulpicius Severus begins this letter by referring to his Life of Martin being read by many people. Subsequently he responds to an unnamed person who mocked at the image of Martin presented in this text. The question asked by the critic is presented in the following way:
(2) Interea indicatur mihi dixisse quendam malo spiritu suscitatum cur Martinus qui mortuos suscitasset flammas domibus depulisset ipse nuper adustus incendio periculosae fuisset obnoxius passioni.
'In the meantime, however, I was told that a certain person, under the influence of an evil spirit, had asked why Martin, who was said to have raised the dead and to have rescued houses from the flames, had himself recently become subject to the power of fire, and thus been exposed to suffering of a dangerous character.'
The author admits that such a situation took place (when Martin was badly burned in a fire), but compares the critic to the Jews who doubted in Christ and emphasises that even the greatest saints could fall into danger. He compares Martin to Paul the Apostle who once was almost bitten by a viper in the following words:
(3) O beatum et per omnia similem apostolis etiam in his conviciis virum.
'O you blessed man, and in all things like to the Apostles, even in the reproaches which are thus heaped upon you!'
Text: Fontaine 1967.
Translation: Roberts 1893.
Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Uncertainty/scepticism/rejection of a saint
Scepticism/rejection of miracles
Considerations about the hierarchy of saints
MiraclesPower over elements (fire, earthquakes, floods, weather)
Miracle during lifetime
Power over life and death
Theorising on SanctityConsiderations about the hierarchy of saints
Source
Sulpicius Severus was a well-educated aristocrat who, after a career in the law, converted to the ascetic life under the influence of Martin, founding a monastic community on his estate of Primuliacum in Aquitania. He was a friend and close associate of Paulinus of Nola, from whose letters most of our knowledge of Sulpicius' life derives. He was the author of the Life of Martin, completed shortly before Martin's death in 397 (for which, see E00692), of three letters about the saint (E00635, E00691, E00693), and of the Dialogues about Martin (E00845), written in c. 404/406. In these works the saint is presented as an ideal monk and bishop, and a great miracle-worker.This letter was written after the publication of the Life of Martin (which occurred not earlier than 395) and before Martin's death in 397, since the saint is referred to as recently suffering this accident.
Discussion
It is difficult to say whether the critic, or most probably critics, that Sulpicius Severus refers to were active in Tours, Toulouse, or elsewhere.Bibliography
Edition, French translation and commentary:Fontaine, J., Sulpice Sévère,Vie de saint Martin. 3 vols. (Sources Chrétiennes 133-135; Paris: Cerf, 1967-1969).
English translations:
Hoare, F.R., The Western Fathers, being the Lives of SS. Martin of Tours, Ambrose, Augustine of Hippo, Honoratus of Arles and Germanus of Auxerre (London: Sheed and Ward, 1954), 48-51.
Roberts, A., Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Second Series, vol. 11 (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1894).
Further reading:
Stancliffe, C., Saint Martin and his Hagiographer: Miracle and History in Sulpicius Severus (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983).
Robert Wiśniewski
03/09/2015
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00050 | Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397 | Martinus | Certain |
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