Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon on the feast of the *Martyrs of Maxula (S01822), a small town close to Carthage. Sermon Dolbeau 15, preached in Latin, possibly in Carthage (central North Africa) in 397.
E04549
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermo Dolbeau 15 (= 283A auctus)
['Sermo sancti Augustini in natali sanctorum martyrum maxulitanorum
Sermon of St Augustine on the feast of the holy martyrs of Maxula']
1. Fortitudinem sanctorum martyrum sic in eorum passione miremur, ut gratiam Dei praedicemus.
'Let us by all means admire the courage of the holy martyrs in their sufferings; in such a way we proclaim the grace of God.'
Augustine reflects upon the courage that Christians should have to resist sin:
4. Considerate, fratres, diem martyris; bonum est, ut in ipsius patientiae exhortatione uersemur.
'Reflect, brothers, upon the day of the martyr; it's right that we should spend some time drawing encouragement from his patience.'
In what follows Augustine shows how the martyrs can serve as an example for his audience.
Text: Dolbeau 1996, 196 and 198.
Translation: Hill 1997, 245 and 247.
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.
The full version of this sermon is preserved only in the codex of Mainz, discovered by Dolbeau who dates it to 397, when it would have been preached in Carthage.
Discussion
The martyrs of Maxula are mentioned only in the colophon in the Mainz codex. But since Maxula was a minor town south of Carthage, it is unlikely that this attribution was invented by later copyists. The martyrs of Maxula are known from the Calendar of Carthage; their feast was celebrated on 22 July (E02198).Bibliography
Edition and commentary:Dolbeau, F., Augustin d'Hippone, Vingt-six sermons au peuple d'Afrique (Etudes Augustiniennes, Antiquité, vol. 147; Paris, 1996), 196-203.
Translation:
Hill, E., The Works of Saint Augustine. A Translation for the 21st Century, vol. III 11, Newly discovered sermons (New York: New City Press, 1997).
Robert Wiśniewski
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S01822 | Martyrs of Maxula, commemorated at Carthage | Martyres Maxulitani | Certain |
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