Sidonius Apollinaris, in his Letter 7.1 to *Mamertus (bishop of Vienne, ob. c. 474, S02351), of 473/4, describes an incident in which Mamertus miraculously stopped a fire from spreading. Written in Latin at Clermont (central Gaul).
E07792
Literary - Letters
Sidonius Apollinaris
Sidonius Apollinaris, Letters 7.1
(3.) Non enim latet nostram sciscitationem, <quod> primis temporibus harumce supplicationum institutarum civitas caelitus tibi credita per cuiusque modi prodigiorum terriculamenta vacuabatur. name modo scaenae moenium publicorum crebris terrae motibus concutiebantur; nunc ignes saepe flammati caducas culminum cristas superiecto favillarum monte tumulabant; nunc stupenda foro cubilia collocabat audacium pavenda mansuetudo cervorum: cum tu inter ista discessu primorum populariumque statu urbis exinanito ad nova celer veterum Ninivitarum exempla decurristi, ne divinae admonitioni tua quoque desperatio conviciaretur. (4.) Et vere iam de deo tu minime poteras absque peccato post virtutum experimenta diffidere. Nam cum vice quadam civitas conflagrare coepisset, fides tua in illo ardore plus caluit; et cum in conspectu pavidae plebis obiectu solo corporis tui ignis recussus in tergum fugitivis flexibus sinuaretur, miraculo terribili novo invisitato affuit flammae cedere per reverentiam, cui sentire defuit per naturam. (5.) igitur primum nostri ordinis viris et his paucis indicis ieiunia interdicis flagitia, supplicia praedicis remedia promittis; exponis omnibus nec poenam longinquam esse nec veniam; doces denuntiatae solitudinis minas orationum frequentia esse amoliendas; mones assiduitatem furentis incendii aqua potius oculorum quam fluminum posse restingui; mones minacem terrae motuum conflictationem fidei stabilitate firmandam.
'(3.) Our enquiries have not failed to discover that at the time when these supplications were first instituted the city entrusted to you by heaven was being emptied of its people by alarms caused by all kinds of prodigies. At one time the public buildings would be shaken by a series of earthquakes; at another fires would be repeatedly kindled and bury falling roof-tops under an incumbent mountain of ashes; again, numbers of deer alarmingly bold in their tameness would spread consternation by making their lairs in the very market-place. When amid these terrors the city-strength was being depleted by the flight of citizens both high and low, you promptly resorted to a new version of the historic procedure at Nineveh, that you at least might not bring reproach on the divine warning by giving way to despair. (4.) And in truth you of all men could not, without sinning, have distrusted God after the experience you had of his mighty works: for on one occasion, when a blaze had started in the city, your faith burned stronger amid the conflagration; in full view of the panic-stricken populace the mere interposition of your body beat off the fire, causing it to curl backward in retreating curves, and so, by a startling miracle never known or seen before, the flame which by nature was devoid of any understanding was from awe of you given power to recede. (5.) So first of all for members of our order, few indeed in number, you proclaim fasts, you proscribe sins, prescribe supplications and promise remedies; you explain to all that neither punishment nor forgiveness is far off; you teach them that the menace of the threatened destruction is to be averted by frequency of prayer; you inform them that the tenacity of a raging fire can be quenched rather by the water of tears than of rivers; you inform them that the threatening shock of earthquakes can be arrested by firmness of faith.'
Text and translation: Anderson 1965, 288-289 (translation adapted).
Procession
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
MiraclesMiracle during lifetime
Power over elements (fire, earthquakes, floods, weather)
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
Sidonius Apollinaris was born at Lyon about 430, into a senatorial family. He witnessed the disintegration of the Roman Empire in the West and met or corresponded with many important people of his times. He passed through the regular courses in grammar, literature, rhetoric, philosophy and law in his native city, and his works – Poems and Letters – reflect his academic training. He wrote poetry from his early years. Until his election as bishop of Clermont in 469 or 470, Sidonius had a career in secular politics. He resided in Clermont till his death, perhaps in 489.Sidonius' Letters consist of nine books, containing 149 letters addressed to about a hundred correspondents, including officials and bishops. He started preparing his Letters for publication probably about 469, though this date is hypothetical. Books 1-7 were published in about 477, Book 8 in about 480, and Book 9 in about 482. The collection starts with an introductory letter, in which Sidonius dedicated the work to his friend Constantius (PCBE 4, 'Constantius 3'), a priest of Lyon who was also a writer, notably of the Life of *Germanus of Auxerre (E05841). Originally, Book 7 was the intended end, as its last letter, also dedicated to Constantius, states. However more of Sidonius’ friends wished to be represented in the collection. Book 8 was compiled at the instance of Petronius, a jurisconsult of Arles and lover of letters (PCBE 4, 'Petronius 3'), and Book 9 was requested by Firminus, a learned man of Arles (PCBE 4, 'Firminus 1).
Sidonius revised his letters before publication and added several specially composed on this occasion. His chief model was Pliny, who also wrote nine books of letters. They are not arranged in chronological order, though in broad terms those in the earlier books are earlier than those in the later ones, with the letters in Books 1 and 2 dating from before Sidonius’ election as bishop in 469/470. The Letters are a major source of information about many aspects of the civil and ecclesiastical life of Sidonius’ time.
For more on Sidonius' biography, his works, and their dating see PCBE 4, 'Sidonius 1', as well as works below, such as Harries 1994, and Mathisen 2013.
Discussion
This letter must date from 473 or 474: it was written during the period of Roman-Gothic conflict for control of Auvergne, while its addressee, Mamertus, probably died in 474 (PCBE 4, 'Mamertus'). Its main purpose is to inform Mamertus that Sidonius has been seeking God's intercession for Clermont by holding the Rogation processions first been instituted by Mamertus at Vienne, which Sidonius says had helped Vienne to revive from the almost ruined state it had been in when Mamertus became bishop. Sidonius' account of the miraculous suppression of a fire by Mamertus appears in the context of the establishment of the Rogations, and is depicted by him as providing authority for Mamertus' teaching on the power of prayer and penance. The story of Mamertus' power over the fire would later be retold by Avitus of Vienne (E07803) and Gregory of Tours (E07743).Later in the same letter, Sidonius describes how Mamertus translated the relics of Ferreolus of Vienne and Julian of Brioude (E06742).
Bibliography
Editions and translations:Anderson, W.B., Sidonius, Poems. Letters. 2 vols (Loeb Classical Library 296, 420; Cambridge MA/London, 1936, 1965).
Loyen, A., Sidoine Apollinaire, Poèmes (Paris, 1960); Lettres. 2 vols. (Paris, 1970).
Further reading:
Dalton. O.M., The Letters of Sidonius. 2 vols. (Oxford, 1915).
Harries, J., Sidonius Apollinaris and the Fall of Rome (Oxford, 1994).
Mathisen, R.W., "Dating the Letters of Sidonius," in: J. van Waarden and G. Kelly (eds.), New Approaches to Sidonius Apollinaris (Leuven, 2013), 221-248.
Pietri, L., and Heijmans, M. (eds.), Prosopographie chrétienne du Bas-Empire, 4: Prosopographie de la Gaule chrétienne (314-614). 2 vols. (Paris, 2013). (= PCBE)
David Lambert
17/07/2020
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S02351 | Mamertus, bishop of Vienne, ob. 475 | Mamertus | Certain |
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