Augustine of Hippo, in his City of God (22.8), states that most contemporary miracles, including those produced by the relics of saints, remain unknown, and the healing of a blind man, which took place in Milan (northern Italy) in 386, at the discovery of the relics of *Gervasius and Protasius (brothers and martyrs of Milan, S00313), is an exception. He will provide other examples of miracles, describing healings which occurred recently in Africa. Written in Latin in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa), 426/427.
E01047
Literary - Other
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, City of God 22.8
Augustine claims that contrary to what detractors say, miracles did not cease to occur.
Nam etiam nunc fiunt miracula in eius nomine, siue per sacramenta eius siue per orationes uel memorias sanctorum eius; sed non eadem claritate inlustrantur, ut tanta quanta illa gloria diffamentur. Canon quippe sacrarum litterarum, quem definitum esse oportebat. Illa facit ubique recitari et memoriae cunctorum inhaerere populorum; haec autem ubicumque fiunt, ibi sciuntur uix a tota ipsa ciuitate uel quocumque commanentium loco. Nam plerumque etiam ibi paucissimi sciunt ignorantibus ceteris, maxime si magna sit ciuitas; et quando alibi aliis que narrantur, non tanta ea commendat auctoritas, ut sine difficultate uel dubitatione credantur, quamuis christianis fidelibus a fidelibus indicentur. Miraculum, quod Mediolani factum est, cum illic essemus, quando inluminatus est caecus, ad multorum notitiam potuit peruenire, quia et grandis est ciuitas et ibi erat tunc imperator et inmenso populo teste res gesta est concurrente ad corpora martyrum Protasii et Geruasii; quae cum laterent et penitus nescirentur, episcopo Ambrosio per somnium reuelata reperta sunt; ubi caecus ille depulsis ueteribus tenebris diem uidit.
'For even now miracles are wrought in the name of Christ, whether by His sacraments or by the prayers or relics of His saints (memoriae sanctorum); but they are not so brilliant and conspicuous as to cause them to be published with such glory as accompanied the former miracles. For the canon of the sacred writings, which it was proper to limit, causes those to be everywhere recited, and to sink into the memory of all the congregations; but these modern miracles are scarcely known even to the whole population in the midst of which they are wrought, and at the best are confined to one spot. For frequently they are known only to a very few persons, while all the rest are ignorant of them, especially if the city is a large one; and when they are reported to other persons in other localities, there is no sufficient authority to give them prompt and unwavering credence, although they are reported to the faithful by the faithful. The miracle which was wrought at Milan when I was there, and by which a blind man was restored to sight, could come to the knowledge of many; for not only is the city a large one, but also the emperor was there at the time, and the occurrence was witnessed by an immense concourse of people that had gathered to the bodies of the martyrs Protasius and Gervasius, which had long lain concealed and unknown, but were now made known to the bishop Ambrose in a dream, and discovered by him. By virtue of these remains the darkness of that blind man was scattered, and he saw the light of day.'
There follows a collection of a dozen miracles which occurred at relics of Stephen, Gervasius and Protasius, and some other martyrs, deposited in Hippo, Uzalis, Calama, and other places in North Africa in Augustine's times (see records E01104, E01108, E01109, E01111, E01116, E01117, E01118, E01119, E01120, E01121, E01125, E01136).
Text: Dombart and Kalb 1955.
Translation: Dods 1887, modified.
Oral transmission of saint-related stories
Composing and translating saint-related texts
MiraclesMiracle after death
Unspecified miracle
Healing diseases and disabilities
RelicsBodily relic - entire body
Discovering, finding, invention and gathering of relics
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Other lay individuals/ people
Monarchs and their family
Source
Augustine of Hippo was born in 354 in the north African city of Thagaste. He received an education in rhetoric at Carthage, and after a period teaching there moved to Rome, and then in 384 to a public professorship of rhetoric in Milan. In these early years of adulthood Augustine was a Manichaean, but then got disillusioned with this religion, and in Milan in 386, largely under the influence of Ambrose, bishop of the city, he converted to Christianity, and was baptised by Ambrose in 387. Returning to Africa in 388, he was ordained a priest in 391 at Hippo Regius (in the province of Numidia), and rapidly acquired a reputation as a preacher. In 395 he became bishop of Hippo, which he remained until his death in 430. Details of his early life were recorded by Augustine himself in his Confessions, and shortly after his death a pupil and long-time friend, Possidius, wrote his Life, focused on Augustine as an effective Christian writer, polemicist and bishop (E00073).Amongst his many writings, the most informative on the cult of saints are his numerous Sermons, the City of God, and a treatise On the Care of the Dead. The Sermons tell us which saints (primarily African, but with some from abroad) received attention in Hippo, Carthage and elsewhere, and provide occasional details of miracles and cult practices. The City of God records the distribution, and subsequent miracles, of the relics of saint Stephen, after they arrived in Africa from Palestine in around 420. On the Care of the Dead, discusses the possible advantages of burial ad sanctos (in other words, close to a saint), and theorises on the link between the saints who dwell in heaven and their corporeal remains buried in their graves. In these works, and others, Augustine reveals his own particular beliefs about the saints, their relics and their miracles.
Augustine wrote Book 22 of the City of God in Hippo in 426/427; chapters 8-9 enumerate a number of contemporary miracles, most of which took place in Hippo and other cities of North Africa, either at the relics of *Stephen, the first martyr or those of Gervasius and Protasius, martyrs in Milan.
Discussion
In this passage Augustine refers to the miracles which took place in Milan after the discovery of the bodies of the martyrs Gervasius and Protasius in 386, which took place when he himself was in this city. This event was described by Ambrose himself, in his Letter 77 (E05211) and Hymn 11 (E05215), by Paulinus of Milan in his Life of Ambrose (E00904), by Augustine in his Confessions (E01019). Augustine emphasises that most contemporary miracles remain unknown and the collection of miracles presented in the City of God aims to change this.The term memoria (literally 'memory' or 'memorial') is also used by Augustine both for the shrines of martyrs and, more narrowly, for their relics. Since it is evident that, for Augustine, the memorial shrine (memoria) of a saint contained relics of that saint, there is often no substantive difference in the ways he uses the word. Here he is clearly referring to relics.
Bibliography
Edition:Dombart, B., and Kalb, A., Augustinus, De civitate dei, 2 vols. (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 47-48; Turnhout: Brepols, 1955).
English translation:
Dods, M., Augustine, The City of God (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 2; Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1887).
Robert Wiśniewski
03/01/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00313 | Gervasius and Protasius, brothers and martyrs of Milan | Gervasius, Protasius | Certain |
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