Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon on the feast of *Perpetua and Felicitas (martyrs of Carthage, S00009), emphasising their womanhood. Sermon 282, delivered in Latin, possibly at Hippo Regius (Numidia, North Africa), sometime between 391 and 430.
E02289
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 282
1. Duarum sanctarum martyrum festum diem hodie celebramus, quae non solum eminuerunt excellentibus in passione uirtutibus, uerum etiam pro tanto labore pietatis mercedem suam caeterorum que sociorum propriis uocabulis signauerunt. Perpetua quippe et Felicitas nomina duarum, sed merces est omnium.
'Today we are celebrating the feast of two holy martyrs, who were not only outstanding for their surpassing courage when they suffered, but who also, in return for such a great labour of their piety signified by their own names the reward awaiting them and the rest of their companions. Perpetua, of course, and Felicitas are the names of two of them, but the reward of them all.'
Augustine emphasises the fact that the two women accompanied each other in their martyrdom.
3. In hoc insignis gloriae comitatu etiam uiri martyres fuerunt, eodem ipso die etiam uiri fortissimi passione uicerunt; nec tamen eumdem diem suis nominibus commendauerunt. Quod non ideo factum est, quia feminae uiris morum dignitate praelatae sint: sed quia et muliebris infirmitas inimicum antiquum miraculo maiore deuicit, et uirilis uirtus propter perpetuam felicitatem certauit.
'In this remarkable and glorious company there were men too who were martyrs, very brave men who conquered by their sufferings on the same day; and yet they haven't stamped their names on this day. The reason this had happened is not that the women were ranked higher than the men in the quality of their conduct, but that it was a great miracle for the female weakness to overcome the ancient enemy, and that manly strength engaged in the contest for the sake of perpetual felicity.'
Text: Patrologia Latina 38, 1285-86.
Translation: Hill 1994, 81-82, lightly modified.
Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Service for the saint
Sermon/homily
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Non Liturgical ActivityOral transmission of saint-related stories
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.
This sermon was possibly preached in Hippo, Augustine's episcopal see. Its dating is uncertain.
Discussion
We cannot check what the feast celebrated on 7 March was officially called in Africa, for the relevant part of the early 6th century Calendar of Carthage is not extant. Yet in the Roman Calendar of 354 it is indeed called the commemoration of 'Perpetua and Felicitas'. Their male companions are not mentioned (see E01052).Bibliography
Edition:Migne, J.P., Patrologia Latina 38 (Paris, 1865).
Translation:
Hill, E., The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century, vol. III 9. Sermons 306-340A for the Saints (New York: New City Press, 1994).
Dating:
Kunzelmann, A., "Die Chronologie der sermones des hl. Augustinus," Miscellanea Agostiniana, vol. 2 (Rome: Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, 1931), 417-452.
Robert Wiśniewski
03/01/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00009 | Perpetua, Felicitas and their companions, martyrs of Carthage | Perpetua, Felicitas | Certain |
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