Sulpicius Severus, in his Dialogues (1.23) on *Martin (ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. c. 397, S00050), recounts how his own Life of Martin is known throughout the Christian world. Written in Latin in Primuliacum (south-west Gaul), c. 404-406, .
E00849
Literary - Hagiographical - Other saint-related texts
Sulpicius Severus
Sulpicius Severus, Dialogues (Gallus) 1.23.3-6
Severus' friend, Postumianus, who has just returned from a journey to North Africa, Egypt and the Holy Land, tells how he travelled always with Severus' Life of Martin to hand.
Sed referam tibi sane, quo liber iste penetrarit, et quam nullus fere in orbe terrarum locus sit, ubi non materia tam felicis historiae peruulgata teneatur. primus eum Romanae urbi uir studiosissimus tui Paulinus inuexit: deinde cum tota certatim urbe raperetur, exultantes librarios uidi, quod nihil ab his quaestuosius haberetur, siquidem nihil illo promptius, nihil carius uenderetur. Hic nauigationis meae cursum longe ante praegressus, cum ad Africam ueni, iam per totam Carthaginem legebatur. Solus eum Cyrenensis ille presbyter non habebat, sed me largiente descripsit. Nam quid ego de Alexandria loquar? ubi paene omnibus magis quam tibi notus est. Hic Aegyptum, Nitriam, Thebaidam ac tota Memphitica regna transiuit.
'But I will relate to you to what places that book has penetrated, and how there is almost no spot upon earth in which the subject of so happy a history is not possessed as a well-known narrative. Paulinus [of Nola], a man who has the strongest regard for you, was the first to bring it to the city of Rome; and then, as it was greedily laid hold of by the whole city, I saw the booksellers rejoicing over it, inasmuch as nothing was a source of greater gain to them, for nothing commanded a readier sale, or fetched a higher price. This same book, having got a long way before me in the course of my traveling, was already generally read through all Carthage, when I came into Africa. Only that presbyter of Cyrene whom I mentioned did not possess it; but he wrote down its contents from my description. And why should I speak about Alexandria? For there it is almost better known to all than it is to yourself. It has passed through Egypt, Nitria, the Thebaid, and the whole of the regions of Memphis.'
Text: Fontaine 2006.
Translation: Roberts 1894.
Composing and translating saint-related texts
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesMerchants and artisans
Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits
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.In c. 404/406, some years after the saint's death in 397, Sulpicius wrote the Dialogues about Martin (also known as the Gallus). They claim to be a record of two days of friendly conversation held in Sulpicius' community by a small group of monks from his own circle and from the circle of Martin (for an overview, see E00845).
The Dialogues constitute the final part of Sulpicius' writings about Martin, following the Life (for which, see E00692) and three letters (E00635, E00691, E00693). These texts all present Martin as a perfect monk and bishop, and great miracle-worker. Sulpicius argues that there is no contradiction between being a good bishop and a monk, and even that only a monk makes a good bishop. This apology was needed, since ascetic monasticism was a novel and controversial idea, and the Gallic episcopacy was generally reluctant to accept it. The Dialogues emphasise that Martin surpassed even the famous monks of Egypt - he performed greater miracles living in more difficult condition, for he was living in a hostile environment and was deprived of the luxury of solitude. For an overview of the Dialogues, see E00845.
[Sulpicius also wrote a Chronicle which describes in detail the doctrinal disputes of the fourth century and includes an account of Martin's involvement in the debates around Priscillian; but it does not add to the image of Martin as a saint.]
Discussion
We may doubt that the Life of Martin was indeed read in every region of the Mediterranean, as its author claims, all the more so as no Greek translation of this text from this period is attested. It is interesting to note that Sulpicius Severus finds it normal that this kind of literature is being sold and bought in bookshops, and not copied and read only in ascetic circles.Bibliography
Edition, French translation and commentary:Fontaine, J., Sulpice Sévère, Gallus. Dialogues sur les «vertus» de saint Martin (Sources Chrétiennes 510; Paris: Cerf, 2006).
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), 68-144.
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).
Vogüé, A. de, Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l'antiquité. Vol. 4 (Paris: Cerf, 1997), 19-91.
Robert Wiśniewski
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00050 | Martin, ascetic and bishop of Tours, ob. 397 | Martinus | Certain |
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