Hilary of Arles, in his Sermon on the Life of Honoratus, claims that *Honoratus (founder of Lérins and bishop of Arles, ob. 429/30, S00418) experienced dreams of being martyred, and that he would have been a martyr if he had lived at the right time. Written in Latin at Arles, c. 430.
E06099
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Literary - Hagiographical
Hilary of Arles, Sermon on the Life of Saint Honoratus (Sermo de vita sancti Honorati) 38
For an overview of the Sermon on the Life of Saint Honoratus, see E06026.
This is from the conclusion of the work, which is constructed as an address by Hilary to Honoratus.
Tuis in tantum medullis Christus insederat, ut interdum, quod expertus loquor, membris tuis placido sopore devinctis, illum tamen etiam in somnis officio solito tua lingua resonaret. Saepe dormiens sanissimae exhortationis, saepe orationis affectuosissimae verba fudisti. Agebatur utique in lectulo corporis requies, mentis in Christo. Et quidem haec, prout quisque adfuimus, experti sumus. Tu vero unica semper omnium requies, quam alacer, quam saepe referebas somnia, non aliquid praesagantia neque aliqua in futurum anxietate sollicita, sed inrequietis animae desideriis excitata: martyrium scilicet, quod semper meditatione gestabas, interdum illudente, credo, et provocante cupiditatem tuam Domino, tamquam excitata in fidem tuam persecutione, peragebas. Et vere puto neminem diffiteri, tibi ad martyrium tempus, non animum defuisse.
'Christ so much inhabited your bones that from time to time (which I say from experience) when your limbs were bound by peaceful slumber, even in sleep your tongue with its accustomed duty resounded his name. Often when sleeping you poured out words of the most wholesome exhortation, of the most loving prayer. Your body's rest took place in bed, your mind's in Christ. And indeed we experienced these things if we were present. You, always truly the unique respite for all, how keenly, how often you used to report your dreams, which did not foretell something, nor were provoked by some anxiety about the future, but were aroused by the restless longing of your soul, namely martyrdom, because you were always enacting it in your thoughts, and from time to time, I believe, when the Lord was playing with you and provoking your desire, you went through it, as if persecution had been stirred up against your faith. And truly, I think no one denies that only the occasion for martyrdom was absent for you, not the spirit.'
Text: Cavallin 1952, 77.
Translation: David Lambert.
Apparition, vision, dream, revelation
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Ecclesiastics - abbots
Source
The Sermon on the Life of Honoratus was delivered on an early anniversary, probably the first, of the death of Honoratus (ob. 429 or 430), the founder of the monastery of Lérins and, in the last two years of his life, bishop of Arles (PCBE 4, 'Honoratus 1'). The author of the Sermon was Hilary (401-449), Honoratus' successor as bishop, who was also his relative and had been his protégé at both Lérins and Arles (PCBE 4, 'Hilarius 3').For full discussion of the Sermon on the Life of Honoratus and bibliography, see its overview entry: E06026.
Discussion
This report by Hilary on Honoratus' dreams of martyrdom, based on the testimony of Honoratus himself, as Hilary emphasises, sheds an interesting light on the psychological impact of the cult of martyrs. Hilary's claim that Honoratus would have been martyred if only he had lived in the time of persecution had been already been made about Martin of Tours by Sulpicius Severus (Sulpicius Severus, Letter 2.9; E00693), in a passage of much greater length and detail, with which Hilary was probably familiar.Bibliography
Editions:Cavallin, S., Vitae sanctorum Honorati et Hilarii episcoporum Arelatensium (Lund, 1952), 49-78.
David Lambert
10/03/2023
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00438 | Honoratus, founder of Lérins and bishop of Arles, ob. 429/30 | Certain |
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