Constantius of Lyon, in his Life of *Germanus (bishop of Auxerre, ob. c. 448, S00455), recounts how the saint healed the wife of the Praetorian Prefect of the Gauls, Auxiliaris, at Arles, southern Gaul, probably in the mid 430s. Written in Latin at Lyon (south-east Gaul) between c. 460 and c. 480.
E06045
Literary - Hagiographical - Lives
Constantius of Lyon, Life of Germanus of Auxerre 24
For a full account of Constantius' Life of Germanus, see E05841.
Germanus has travelled to Arles, seat of the Praetorian Prefect, to ask the Prefect to grant the people of Auxerre a remission of taxes. He is welcomed to the city by the populace and by its bishop, Hilary of Arles (§ 25). This passage follows E07557.
Auxiliaris etiam regebat tum per Gallias apicem praefecturae. Qui praesentiam sacerdotis duplicata gratulatione suscepit, quod et insignem uirtutibus uirum desiderabat agnoscere, et quod uxor eiusdem longo iam tempore quartano tabescebat incommodo. Ingredienti longissime praeter consuetudinem famulatur occursu simulque admiratione defigitur. Ita enim dignitas uultus, sermonis eruditio, praedicationis auctoritas stupentis animum conpleuerunt ut merito fama eum minorem fuisse cognosceret; inuentus est enim rebus maior esse quam nuntiis. Offert munera, ingerit beneficia, ambiuitque a beatissimo uiro ut dignaretur accipere quod querebat. Incommodum etiam confitetur uxoris; qua uisitata, ita uis passionis extincta est ut tremor praecedens et febris subsequens delerentur, redditaque pristinae sanitati, fidelis matrona remedium caeleste suscepit, quo et corpus salubritate et anima credulitate conualuit. Acceptis itaque ex uoluntate beneficiis, optatum leuamen propriae detulit ciuitati, licet in se maximum ciuibus et remedium referret et gaudium.
'Auxiliaris at that time governed Gaul from the very pinnacle of the Prefecture. He had two reasons for his joy at the Bishop's coming. He wanted to make the acquaintance of a man so famous for his spiritual powers, and his own wife had for a long time suffered from a quartan ague. He advanced to meet him much earlier than etiquette required and was held motionless by wonder. The majesty of his bearing, his knowledge in discussion, the authority of his preaching, all filled Auxiliaris with awe and he realised that the Bishop's fame did him less than justice; reality exceeded report. He offered him gifts, plied him with services and asked as a favour of the man of blessings that he would condescend to accept what he had come to ask. Then he spoke of his wife's illness. The Bishop went to see her and the strength of the malady was so completely destroyed that the shaking that used to proceed the attacks, and the fever that followed, both disappeared. Restored to her former health, the good lady partook also of heavenly remedy which increased both the vigour of her body and the faith of her soul. Thus the Bishop obtained boons from a willing giver and brought back the desired relief for his diocese. But in the eyes of his flock the best remedy and the greatest joy that he brought back with him was his own return.'
This passage is followed by Constantius' account of Germanus' second visit to Britain: E06021.
Text: Borius 1965.
Translation: Hoare 1954.
Miracle during lifetime
Healing diseases and disabilities
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Officials
Aristocrats
Source
Germanus of Auxerre (PCBE 4, 'Germanus 1', pp. 878-883) was the most important and revered episcopal saint of 5th-century Gaul. The Life of Germanus was written some years after his death (traditionally dated to 448, but perhaps earlier) by Constantius, a literary figure, possibly a cleric, attested in Lyon in the 460s and 470s (PCBE 4, 'Constantius 3', pp. 521-522). The precise date when he composed the Life is not documented, but it must have been sometime between the 460s and the early 480s. For full discussion of the authorship and date of the Life of Germanus, see its overview entry: E05841.Discussion
This miracle takes place in Arles, the residence of the Praetorian Prefect of the Gauls, to which Germanus has travelled to request a tax remission for Auxerre (his mission is described in § 19). The prefect, Auxiliaris, is a relatively well-documented figure who is known to have been in office in the period 435-437 (see PLRE II, 'Auxiliaris 1'), during which Germanus' visit must therefore have taken place.The success of Germanus' mission to obtain tax-relief for Auxerre is presented by Constantius as the indirect consequence of his healing of Auxiliaris' wife.
Bibliography
Editions:Borius, R., Constance de Lyon, Vie de saint Germain d'Auxerre (Sources chrétiennes 112; Paris: Cerf, 1965), with French translation.
Levison, W., Vita Germani episcopi Autissiodorensis auctore Constantio, in: Passiones vitaeque sanctorum aevi Merovingici V (Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 7; Hannover and Leipzig, 1919), 246-283.
English translation:
Hoare, F.R., The Western Fathers (London, 1954), 283-320. Reprinted in T.F.X. Noble and T. Head (eds.), Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints' Lives from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (University Park PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995), 75-106.
David Lambert
15/05/2019
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00455 | Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, ob. 445/450 | Certain |
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