E04467
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 335E
[De martyribus
'On martyrs']
1. Beatorum martyrum sollemnem diem uoluit nos dominus celebrare uobis cum. Hinc ergo aliquid loquamur, quod donauerit dominus, qui arcam in qua figurauit ecclesiam lignis quadratis uoluit fabricari. Quadratum enim quacumque in puluerem, stantem inuenis. Mira res et quasi impossibilis sed tamen aduertite et inuenietis: quadratus deici potest, cadere non potest. Deiecti sunt martyres in terra humilitatis sed non ceciderunt, quia in caelo sunt coronati. Nullus martyr fuit qui non fuerit ueritate quadratus.
'The Lord has willed that I should celebrate the feast of the blessed martyrs with you. So let me say something about this, as the Lord may grant me, whose will it was that the ark, by which he had the Church represented, should be constructed of squared timbers. Throw a squared timber down in the dust, you see, any way at all, you will find it standing upright. It's a wonderful fact, and seems almost impossible, but all the same just watch, and you'll find it's true; a squared timber can be thrown down, it can't fall. The martyrs were thrown down on the earth of humiliation, but they didn't fall, because they were crowned in heaven. There has never been a martyr who was not, in truth, squared.'
In what follows Augustine reflects generally on the martyrs, emphasising that their sufferings were the seeds of the faith, but does not name specific personages or forms of cult.
Text: Patrologiae Latinae Supplementum 2, 781.
Translation: Hill 1994, 324.
Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Service for the saint
Sermon/homily
FestivalsSaint’s feast
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 cannot be dated with any certainty. It is clear from the first paragraph that Augustine preached it outside Hippo, his episcopal see. Also in this paragraph he seems to allude to the bishop and martyr Quadratus (the 'squared' martyr). If so, the sermon could have been delivered in Utica, where Quadratus had been a bishop and was buried, and the feast was possibly that of him and the other Martyrs of Massa Candida who belonged to his congregation.
Discussion
The reference to the Church being built of squared timbers (ligna quadrata), and the discussion of the virtues of a squared timber, strongly suggest that the martyrs being commemorated here were those of Massa Candida, amongst whom was the suitably named Bishop Quadratus. In all four sermons by Augustine that we know were preached for Quadratus, he makes similar comments on the appropriateness of his name: E02783, E02793, E02811 and E04552.Bibliography
Edition:Hamman, A., Patrologiae Latinae Supplementum, vol. 2 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1960).
Translation:
Hill, E., The Works of Saint Augustine. A Translation for the 21st Century, vol. III 9. Sermons 306-340A on the Saints (New York: New City Press, 1994).
Robert Wiśniewski
23/08/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00904 | Martyrs of Massa Candida (Utica) | Uncertain | S01324 | Quadratus, bishop and martyr of Utica | Uncertain |
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