Paulinus of Nola, in a letter to an aristocrat of Rome (Letter 49), written after 408, describes how Christ taking the form of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, southern Italy, S00000) appeared to, and aided, a man at risk of shipwreck; the man's ear, touched by Christ, is for Paulinus a holy object. Written in Latin at Nola.
E05122
Literary - Letters
Paulinus of Nola
Paulinus of Nola, Letter 49 (to Macarius)
In this letter to a high ranking Roman nobleman called Macarius, Paulinus describes a miraculous story concerning an old man called Valgius. A ship owned by a certain Secundinianus was loaded with grain and, under imperial orders, set sail from Sardinia to Rome. It was hit by a storm and all but Valgius abandoned ship. Alone, Valgius remained on the ship which was buffeted by winds for twenty-three days. He was protected by God: angels helped him by performing the work of the crew and God woke him – by tweaking his ear – when he slept too long.
(49.3) Ipse enim dominus nunc suo vultu coruscans, ut in Apocalypsi describitur et coma fulgidus, nunc confessoris et amici sui, domini mei, communis patris Felicis ore venerabilis in puppe sedebat.
'Yes, the Lord Himself sat in the stern, now with his own shining countenance and gleaming hair, as described in the Apocalypse, now in the revered appearance of His friend and confessor, my lord and our common patron Felix.'
The theme that Christ appeared in the guise of Felix is repeated:
(49.4) Ergo cum et sancti sui confessoris effigie senem nautam fovebat, ipse aderat in sancto suo ...
'So when he cherished the old sailor in the appearance of His holy confessor, He was present Himself in His saint ...'
After twenty-three days, Valgius was rescued by fishermen who towed him to land. He took refuge in Nola and recounted his tale to Paulinus. Paulinus sends Valgius to Rome as a ‘spiritual gift' (xenium spirituale) for Macarius. He emphasises his holiness as a man whom Christ helped and whose ear Christ touched. Indeed, he focuses on this ear at length, stating:
(49.14) nam tam adsidue aurem ipsius retractavi, ut paene detriverim. Voluissem quoque vel unius partem auris abscidere, nisi in illo vulneris quae mihi pignoris res fuisset.
‘I have so incessantly fingered his ear that I have almost worn it away; I should even have liked to cut off a part of that ear, except that such a token would have meant wounding him’.
Paulinus then asks Macarius to help Secundinianus, the owner of the ship. He recounts how Valgius had landed on the estate of a senator called Postumianus. There, the boat was stripped of all its goods. Secundinianus had then travelled to Rome, where he was now present, petitioning for compensation for this act.
Text: Hartel 1894.
Translation: Walsh 1966-7.
Summary: Frances Trzeciak.
Saint as patron - of an individual
Saint as patron - of a community
Composing and translating saint-related texts
Oral transmission of saint-related stories
MiraclesMiracle after death
Apparition, vision, dream, revelation
Miraculous protection - of people and their property
RelicsBodily relic - other body parts
Contact relic - other
Division of relics
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - lesser clergy
Other lay individuals/ people
Merchants and artisans
Aristocrats
Theorising on SanctityConsiderations about the nature of miracles
Source
Letter 49 in the letter collection of Paulinus of Nola (ob. 431). It is one of many letters which Paulinus addressed to aristocratic and ascetic Roman circles in the later fourth and early fifth centuries. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Paulinus did not curate any collection of his letters: instead collections were compiled by friends and admirers. This letter dates from after 408.Paulinus sent this letter to intervene in the legal conflict between the ship-owner, Secundinianus, and Postumianus (possible PLRE 1: 'Postumianus 2'), the senator whose servants stripped the boat. After the boat was stripped, Secundinianus petitioned the governor (iudex) of Lucania for aid, and then travelled to Rome to pursue his case there. Paulinus approached a friend – a powerful figure in Rome who had the power to intervene in this case – to support his case. This friend was previously identified as Macarius, but Sebastian Mußfeldt has shown how tenuous this identification is, and suggests the real name of this friend remains unknown to us. It is interesting that Paulinus does not explicitly refer to his own status as he asks for help, but instead bases his request for support on divine authority, particularly the support from Felix and Christ made manifest in the story of the ship's salvation.
Discussion
That Paulinus considered the appearances of Felix on the ship in distress as in reality manifestations of Christ is interesting. Did Paulinus have doubts whether saints in their own right could appear to mortals on earth?Paulinus' treatment of Valgius is interesting: he is a 'holy gift' (xenium spirituale) sent to Macarius and spiritual benefits can be gained from touching the parts of the body - for example his ear or hair - that Christ had touched. As such, in the view of both Dennis Trout and Cynthia Hahn, he should be considered as a living contact relic.
Bibliography
Edition:Hartel, W., Sancti Pontii Meropii Paulini Epistulae, 2nd ed., revised M. Kamptner (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 29; Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna, 1999).
Translation:
Walsh, P.G., Letters of St. Paulinus of Nola, vol. 2 (Ancient Christian Writers 35; Westminster MD: Newman Press, 1967).
Further Reading:
Conybeare, Catherine, Paulinus Noster: Self and Symbols in the Letters of Paulinus of Nola (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).
Hahn, Cynthia, "What Do Reliquaries Do for Relics?" Numen, 57 (2010), 284-316.
Mußfeldt, Sebastian, "Bleibende Fragen: Zu Adressat und Datierung von Epistel 49 des Paulinus von Nola," Hermes, 13:2 (2007), 206-214.
Trout, Dennis, Paulinus of Nola: Life, Letters and Poems (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999).
Frances Trzeciak
21/02/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00000 | Felix, priest and confessor of Nola | Felix | Certain |
|---|
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