Augustine of Hippo, in his treatise On the Soul and its Origin, refers to the Martyrdom of *Perpetua (martyr of Carthage, S00009), emphasising that it is not a canonical text. Written in Latin in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa), c. 421.
Evidence ID
E01757
Type of Evidence
Literary - Other
Major author/Major anonymous work
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine, of Hippo, On the Soul and its Origin 1.10/12
De fratre autem sanctae Perpetuae Dinocrate nec scriptura ipsa canonica est nec illa sic scripsit uel quicumque illud scripsit, ut illum puerum, qui septennis mortuus fuit, sine baptismo diceret fuisse defunctum, pro quo illa imminente martyrio creditur exaudita, ut a poenis transferretur ad requiem.
'Concerning Dinocrates, however, the brother of St Perpetua, neither is that writing [which talks of him] canonical ; nor does the saint herself, or whoever it was that wrote the account, say that the boy, who had died at the age of seven years, died without baptism; on his behalf she is believed to have had, when her martyrdom was imminent, her prayers heard that he should be removed from suffering to a place of rest.'
Text: Vrba and Zycha 1913, 312.
Translation: Holmes et al. 1887.
Non Liturgical Activity
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
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.
The treatise On the Soul and its Origin (De natura et origine animae) was written in c. 421, during the Pelagian controversy.
Discussion
Augustine refers to this passage even though it complicates his argument, which is why he emphasises that the Martyrdom of Perpetua does not belong to the scriptural canon. The fact that Augustine feels obliged to deal with this passage at all suggests that the Martyrdom of Perpetua was widely known and that his readers could have remembered this fragment.Augustine mentions Perpetua also in two other passages of this treatise: 2.10.14 and 3.9.12.
Bibliography
Edition:Vrba, C.F., and Zycha, J., De natura et origine animae (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 60; Vienna: Tempsky, 1913), 303-419.
Translation:
Holmes, P., Wallis, R.E. & Warfield, B.B., On the Soul and its Origin (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 5, Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1887), revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/15081.htm>.
Record Created By
Robert Wiśniewski
Date of Entry
27/06/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00009 | Perpetua, Felicitas and their companions, martyrs of Carthage | Perpetua | Certain |
|---|
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Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E01757 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01757