Constantius of Lyon, in the preface to his Life of *Germanus (bishop of Auxerre, ob. c. 448, S00455), and in a prefatory letter addressed to Bishop Patiens of Lyon, remarks on the large number of Germanus' miracles. Written in Latin at Lyon (south-east Gaul) between c. 460 and c. 485.
E08582
Literary - Hagiographical - Lives
Constantius of Lyon, Life of Germanus of Auxerre: prefatory letter to Patiens of Lyon and preface
For a full account of Constantius' Life of Germanus, see E05841.
The Life of Germanus is preceded by three prefatory texts: a letter to Patiens, bishop of Lyon (who commissioned the Life), a letter to Censurius, bishop of Auxerre, and a preface addressed to the reader. Two of these, the letter to Patiens and the preface, discuss the significance of Germanus' miracles in prompting Constantius to write the Life.
From the letter to Patiens of Lyon:
[...] Itaque, papa uenerabilis, dum et sanctum uirum inlustrare uirtutibus suis desideras et profectui omnium mirabilium exempla largiris, imperasti saepissime ut uitam sancti Germani episcopi obumbratam silentio qualicumque stilo uel praesentibus uel posteris traderem. [...]
'Now you, most venerable pontiff, desiring both to secure for a holy man the fame due to his virtues and to publish examples of his miracles for all to profit by, have again and again commanded me to preserve both for our own and for future generations, in such language as I can, the life of the holy bishop Germanus, hitherto shrouded in silence.'
The opening of the preface:
Plerique ad scribendum sollicitante materia uberiore producti sunt, dum per multiplices sensus locupletari creduntur ingenia, sed mihi inlustrissimi viri Germani antistitis vitam gestaque vel ea aliqua parte dicturo incutitur pro miraculorum numerositate trepidatio. Et sicut solis splendor humanis inlatus obtutibus hebetata oculorum acie, lumen confundit ex lumine, ita animi mei infirmitas oblatum praeconiorum cumulum, quem implere non potest, expauescit. Sed rursus intra sedem pectoris mei contentio alterna confligit: hinc resistit impossibilitatis conscientia, illinc commemorare aliqua, uel proferre, et religionis contemplatio et innumerabilium miraculorum exempla conpellunt quae agnitioni uel profectui omnium impie per obductum silentium subtrahuntur. Idcirco malui uerecundiam meam neglegere quam uirtutes diuinas usquequaque obliuione ueterescere. [...]
'Most people are drawn to writing by the richness of the material, and wits are supposed to be enriched where there is much to say; but for myself, as I begin to recount, far from completely, the life and deeds of that most illustrious man Bishop Germanus, I am filled with trepidation at the number of his miracles. Just as the brightness of the sun brought to bear upon human viewers blunts the keenness of the eyes, and light throws light into confusion, so the weakness of my mind takes fright at the heap of praises offered to it, to which it cannot do justice. Thus, within my breast, two courses are in conflict. On one side, consciousness of the impossibility says "No"; on the other, both contemplation of his piety and the examples of innumerable miracles drive me to record and to bring forward things that are impiously removed from everyone's knowledge and benefit under a covering of silence. I have chosen, therefore, to shut my eyes to my own shame rather than allow the works of God to grow old in a prolonged oblivion.'
For the succession of miracles (and other passages relevant to the cult of saints) in the Life of Germanus, see the linked entries beginning at E05845.
Text: Borius 1966, 112 (lines 5-10); 118.
Translation: Hoare 1954, 284, 285-6, modified.
Ecclesiastics - bishops
Theorising on SanctityConsiderations about the nature of miracles
Source
Germanus of Auxerre (PCBE 4, 'Germanus 1', pp. 878-883) was the most important and revered episcopal saint of 5th-century Gaul. He died between about 445 and 450. The Life of Germanus was written some years later 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
When Constantius asserts his incapacity to convey the extent of Germanus' miracles, he is making a conventional expression of modesty, customary in the prefaces to literary works. However, his emphasis on miracles accurately represents the focus of attention in the Life, in which accounts of Germanus' miracles predominate over all other aspects of his life (his life before becoming bishop, his relations with the people of Auxerre, his monastic activities), which are neglected or omitted altogether. Although this is typical of lives of Gallic bishops written in the Merovingian period, it was less so at the time when Constantius wrote (sometime between about 460 and 485), when there were only a few examples of episcopal hagiography, and some of these, such as Possidius' Life of Augustine (E00073), or Hilary's Sermon on the Life of Honoratus (E06026), paid little or no attention to miracles. In this respect, Constantius' work was itself almost certainly a significant influence on later hagiography.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
16/07/2025
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00455 | Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, ob. 445/450 | Germanus | Certain |
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