H BT io09 H3 ;i IE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN POETRY UC-NRLF B337T317 BY REV. ANDREW B. HEIDER, S. M. (Brotliers of Mary) A DISSERTATION ^( bmitted to the Facidty of Letters of the Catholic University of America, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy WjiSHINQTON, D, C. 1918 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN POETRY BY REV. ANDREW B. ^HEIDER. S. M. (Brothers of Mary) A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of Letters of the Catholic University of America, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Washington, D. C. 1918 ii3 PREFACE The following pages are the result of an attempt to gather the earliest Latin poetical works, or parts of poetical works treating directly or indirectly of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The collection has been made as complete as the sources at hand have permitted, and is presented with brief commentar- ies telling of authors and contexts and of the relation of the selections to one another. The order followed is chronological, but not so strictly as to exclude the collation of productions on similar subjects fur- nished by poets who were not contemporary. In the choice of texts, the critical editions of the Vienna Corpus of Latin Ecclesiastical Writers and of the Analecta Hymnica have been preferred. Where these collections failed, the material has been drawn from Migne's Latin Patrology and the selections in the Sumnia Aurea of Bounissc. The varioas readings of texts as reported at length in the critical editions just mentioned above have been left out of consideration, save in a few exceptional instances, as not coming within the scope of this dissertation. The question of authorship or origin has received due attention, a brief notice on it being given with each text cited ; and the style and manner of authors is pointed out in so far as the excerjits illustrate it. To enter into general criticism of authors and epochs would have been to depart too far from the plan of this study. However piecemeal this collection of excerpts may appear, it yet points out the way to later development of Marian poetry, and contains the foundation for much of what the later poets have written. This is quite natural. What constitutes the essential greatness of the Mother of God, what lirst arrests the attention of him who contemplates her, is her union with the Word Incarnate. Her privilege of perpetual virginity is a necessary consequence of this union. In presence of these pre- rogatives the poets as well as tlie orators pause to express admir- ation and astonishment. The very earliest of the ecclesitistical 3 4 PREFACE writere treated of them with reverent admiration and joy, and at the period with which this study begins there is already a certain sum of fixed phraseology referring to these subjects from which even the most original genius will not depart. Oth- er topics did not attract so much attention. Thus the prophecv in Genesis: "I will place enmity between thee and the wo- man ", so interesting to us at the present day owing chiefly to its connection with the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, has been practically overlooked by the poets, with one notable exception; her graces and the various incidents in her life have received but scant notice; but her virginal maternity is a theme that none of the early poets mias, just as it inspired some of the most beautiful passages in the Fathers. One might almost say that a sort of poetic tradition was estab- lished in this way, so that during a considerable period the succeeding poets did little more than vary and amplify the ex- pressions of their predecessors. The remarkaVjle development of Marian poetry during the later middle ages was along differ- ent lines. It sprang chiefly from piety and sentiment, and hence dealt at great length with the beauty of her ^'i^tues, her joys and sorrows, the power of her intercession, the figures and types of her mentioned in the Scriptures ; and all the beautiful things of nature were called in to do sers'ice in honoring and in- voking her. All this was in conformity with the natural process of development which obtains also in regard to other beliefs and the exterior forms of worship. AVhen once the way has been sufficiently prepared, the vast store of poetical tributes to the Mother of God during the mid- dle ages will no doubt be gathered and published with suitable commentary. The undertaking will not be a slight one. The compilers of the Analecta Hymnica have done much prelim- inary work. The scope of their publication, however, includes only hymns and therefore omits such works as the Laudes S. Mariae of Venantius Fortunatus, the epic of Bl. Baptista Man- tuanus and the De Partu Virginis by Sannazarius. Besides, there is a large quantity of Greek poetrs- in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is not inferior in worth to the Latin, and which if placed in juxtaposition with it affords some interest- ing points of comparison. Such a publication will be an indis- pensable supplement to the Summa Aurea. PREFACE The existing works bearing on tlio subject of the present dissertation are not numerous. Besides the collections already mentioned, the works of Livius and Lchner render excellent service, as also the History of Christian Latin Poetry bv Manitius and the general Histories of Latin Literature by Schanz and Ebert. by the analysis and appreciation of works that they furnish. The hymns that are treated can be found in the volumes of Daniel, Mone and Wackernagel, which have, however, been i)ractically superseded by the Analecta Hymnica. All the works just mentioned are indicated in the general bibliography appended, with others that have been found use- ful. Works to which only a single or unimportant reference has been made will be noted at the respective places. The main object of the dissertation has been to rescue from obscurity the poetical tributes to Our Lady found in early Christian Latin literature, in order to show how those authors represented her to themselves, what was their belief and what were their sentiments in regard to her. Such a study may be serviceable to Christian apologetics l)y supplying increased strength to the arguments in favor of Catholic belief and prac- tice in the early ages, and it may also furnish the student of the historical side of Mariology with ready material to enable him to pursue his investigations with more convenience. The dissertation covers only the earlest period of Christian Latin poetry. Thanks are due. and are here sincerely expressed, to all those whose suggestions and kind interest in the work have been a constant encouragement; in particular to Dr. John B. O'Con- nor, head of the Latin Department at the Catholic University, whose advice and ixssistance have been highly appreciated; like^ wise to the Rev. Franciscan and Marist Fathers for the free access to their libraries wliich they have so cheerfully granted; and finally to the library .staffs for their ever ready and gener- ous sen'ice. INDEX OF AUTHORS INDEX OF AUTHORS AND WORKS Carmen adversus Marcionem 8 Laudes Domini 10 Juvencus 13 Proba: Cento Virgilianus 19 De Verbi Incarnatione 22 Carmen de Salvatore 25 Merobaudes 28 Dracontius 30 St. Ambrose: Jam surgit hora tertia 32 Veni, Redemptor gentium 36 Prudentius 40 St. Paulinus of Nola 52 St. Hilary of Aries 59 Sedulins (J2 A solis ortus cardine 71 CHAPTER I The first mention of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Christian Latin poetry is in the Carmen adversiis Marcionem.i This is one of the eariiest productions — if not the earUest — met with in that department of literature. Nothinc: is known with cer- tainty concerning the author and place of composition of this lengthy work."-^ Its date, after repeated and close investiga- tions, has been set down as the second half of the third century of the Christian era.^ It treats of the oiigin of sin and heresy, the unity of the Old and New Testaments, the agreement of the doctrine of the Roman Church with the teachings of Christ and the Apostles, and finally combats in particular the errors of Marcion. The contents are dogmatic, and the poem has neither lit<}ran*' nor esthetic value.'* In the second book, the connection between the Old and the New Testament is shown, and here the role of the Blessed Vir- gin Mavy is touched upon (11. 142-143 ; 146-152 ; 178-79) .^ 142 Kt (piia terribilis puteo demersus iniquo Vir cecidit, suasit virgo subducta dracone; ***** t This is the title generally accepted. Manitius (op. cit.. p. 148) has: adversus Marcionitas. 2 It consists of 1302 verses divided into 5 books. .'* H. Waitz (Das pseudotertull. Gedicht adversus Marcionem, Darm- stadt. 1900) (Dissertation) after a thorough analysis of the poem, reaches this conclusion (p. 12) chiefly from Church-historical (p. 12 sqq.) and theological (p. IS sqq.) considerations. Schanz (op. cit.. p. 202-3) is in accord with this view. Monceaux (Hist, litter, de I'Afrique chr^it. Paris, Leroux. 1905) places the work between 325-350, A. D. (p. 501 sqq.) For literature on the subject, see Schanz, p. 203-4. 4 EHjert, op. cit., p. 312. note 1. Schanz. 1. cit. P. L. 2, 1066. See text and translation of a lengthy excerpt in Liv- ius, op. cit.. p. 440 sqq. The first line is there numbered 145. In line 148 of the selection here given, the reading nnto (P. L.) has been changed to nata (Livius). 7 8 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 146 Ex eadem massa simili ratione refecta, Jam renovata, redit flos carnis, et hospita pacis, Virgine desponsa caro, non ex semine nata, Artiiici conjuncta suo, sine debito mortis. 150 Angelus haec mandata Patris per sidera defert Lucida, iit angelica credantur niintia fama, Virginis ut Virgo, carnis caro debita solvat. 178 Sponsa vinim necuit, genuit sed Sponsa Leonem: Virgo viro nociiit, sed Vir de Virgine vicit. And because one direful man Down-sunk in pit iniquitous did fall, By dragon-vanquished virgin's suasion led; ***** Out of the self-same mass re-made, returns Renewed now — the flower of flesh, and host Of peace — a flesh from espoused Virgin born, Not of man's seed, conjoined to its own Artificer, without the debt of death. These mandates of the Father through bright stars An angel carries down, that angel-fame The tidings may accredit; telling how A virgin's debts a Virgin, flesh's flesh Should pay. ***** A spouse her man did slay ; a Spouse Did bear a Lion. Hurtful to her man A virgin proved: a Man from Virgin born Proved victor.^ The language here used to tell Mary's part in the work of the regeneration of the human race — her name is not men- tioned, but the reference to her is unmistakable — is not much diff'erent from that employed by St. Irenaeus. In his work Contra Haereses we read : "uti virginis Evae virgo Maria fieret advocata",''' and here (1. 152) : "Virginis ut Virgo debita fi Livius, op. cit., p. 441-443, quoted from Ante-Nicene Christian Li- brary, vol. XVIII, pp. 337-9. Rem.: Translations not otherwise assigned are by the writer. 7 Lib. V, c. 19 (P. G.. 7, 1175). See the explanation of the term advocata, as used by St. Irenaeus, in Neubert, op. cit., p. 263 sq. IX KARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN POKTKY » solvat."^ Similarly, Tertullian says: "Quod ilia credendo de- liquit, haec credendo delevit."^ The controversies over the perpetual virginity of Mary, in the second century, ^^ had ren- dered those ideas quite familiar to all who had read something of the ecclesiastical literature of the period. The antithetical form of 11. 152, 178 and 179 renders them impressive. Such constructions are reminiscences of the antitheses indulged in by the controversialists of the previous age, who, following the lead of St. Irenaeus. conceived the work of the Redemption to i)e the counteq)art of the events that brought about the ruin of the race: a man and a woman being instrumental in both, as also an angel, a tree, etc.^^ In 1. 147, Our Savior is called flos carni^, a picturesque ap- pellation, which recalls the prophecy of Isaias (XI, 1) : ''a flow- er shall rise up out of his root"' (of Jesse). This title (flos) is found again in the Explanatio nominum Domini attributed to Orientius,^- but with a different interpretation: Flos, quia confessos et martyres ipse coronat. The poet A'enantius Fortunatus applies it differently again, when he sings in his hymn in honor of the Passion (Pange lin- gua gloriosi lauream certaminis) : Nulla .silva talem profert fronde, flore, germine. In the hymn, Jesu. dulcis memoria, it recurs with a new mean- ing in the line: Jesu, flos Matris Virginis. The poet Sedulius adopted I. 152, amplifying it into: A'irginis antique facinus nova virgo piarct. 8 Compare, also. 1. 178-179 with St. Irenaeus Contra Haeres. 1. Ill, c. 22 (P. G., 7, 959). This and other selections from St. Irenaeus and Tertullian may be seen in Newman's Letter to Dr. Pusey, p. 34 sq. 'J De came Christi, 6. 17 (P. L. 2. 782). i"Cf. Neubert. op. cit.. p. 57 sqq. and 159 sqq. 11 Cf. the texts from St. Irenaeus and Tertullian above referred to. Waitz (op. cit.. p. 25 sq.) has shown in detail the application and de- velopment, by the author of the poem, of the doctrine of St. Irenaeus on this subject. lii Probably the bishop of Auch who in 439 headed an embassy of the Frankish king Theodoric I to the Roman generals Aetius and Litorius. (Manitius. p. 193; Art. by Fortescue in Cath. Encycl., vol. XI, p. 305b). A critical edition of his poetical works is published in the Corp. Vindob , vol. 16. p. 194 sqq.. by Robinson Ellis. 10 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY CHAPTER II. To the early part of the fourth century belongs the next poem in which there is reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Laudes Domini.i^ The author is not known ; but from his work we gather the information that he lived in the land of the Haedui (11. 9-10), heard of a miracle that took place there (28-31) in favor of persons whom he knew (9-10), and the fruit of his enthusiasm over the event is this poem, in which he praises Christ, the author of the miracle (34-35) as the Creator and Redeemer of the Avorld (36-142). He con- cludes wdth a mention of the emperor Constantine, for whom he desires victory and happiness (143-146), and expresses the wish that his sons may resemble their father (148). Thus, a com- parative certainty as to the date of composition is obtained: the mention of the sons of Constantine places it — as Schanz argues, following Brandes ^^ — before 326, in which year the emperor persecuted the members of his family, particularly his son Crispus.^5 In speaking of Christ's coming into the world, as its Redeem- er, th« poet makes mention of the Virgin-Mother (11. 97-98, 105-108) : 97 Te genitor nostra, paterentur ut ora tueri, Induit humana facie membrisque caducis. 13 Edited in P. L. 19, 379 sqq. (with notes, by Arevalus, as appendix to the works of Juvencus) and 61, 1091 sqq. (without notes). For crit- ical notice, see Schanz, p. 187; Manitius, p. 42 sqq. It is mentioned also in Teuffel, op. cit., 403, 7; Ebert, I, p. 118, note 3. 14 Ueber das fruehchristliche Gedicht Laudes Domini, Braunschweig, 1887 — a work which it has not been possible to consult. The notices of Manitius and Schanz are, however, based upon it, and therefore equally reliable. 15 Cf. Guggenberger, General Hist, of the Christian Era, vol. I, p. 40. IN EARLY CFIRISTIAN LATIN POBTRY 11 105 Ke tanien insigneni res nulla ostenderet ortura,** Virgine eonciperis, non siifficit esse piidieam. Nee quae nupta queat Domino conjungere fratrem;^"^ Vt prooul ex utero eoutagio tur])is abesset.^* The poe( is addressing Christ : "The Father gave thee our human countenance and mortal members, that thy face might become visible. * * * But lest no striking sign manifest thy glorious origin, thou art conceived of a virgin; it was not enough that she be a chaste woman; nor one who, bovmd in wedlock, were able to give a brother to the Lord : that no ignoble stain come near thee even from the womb.'" What is perhaps most striking in these lines, is the clear recognition of the \'irginal maternity of Mary, as a wonder operated by the Savior in proof of His Divinity, and the explan- ation which is added; namely, that the honor due to Him re- quired that His mother be not merely a virtuous woman, but rather a virgin, and moreover a virgin forever. This is evi- dently the meaning to be drawn from these somewhat obscure lines (107-108). 19 Since such a strong assertion of Mary's per- petual virginity is not really called for by the context, it may be regarded a.s an echo of the former controversies on this sub- ject. These were quit€ prolonged and animated, because the virginal maternity of Mary was looked upon as a proof of the Divine origin of Christ,^*^ just as the poet expresses it : Ne tamen insignem res nulla ostenderet ortum. Virgine eonciperis The context precludes the interpretation which would con- sider the term virgine (1. 106) to signify the Virgin Mary; 16 Cf. Georg. IV, 544: Post ubi nona suos aurora ostenaderit ortus. (Fb. 552). 17 At line 107 Arevalus remarks (P. L. 19, 383): Hie versus et sequens obscuri sunt, et fortasse corrupti. Innuitur, ut puto, perpetua virgin- itas Deiparae, et clarum id est si vers. seq. lega.s ut procul This sug- gestion has been adopted in the text. 18 Cf. Eel. I. 51; Georg. Ill, 469. la Teuffel (1. cit.) says, concerning the whole poem: "Das im Aus- druck und Anordnung ungelenke und zieralich verworrene Ge- dicht " 20 Cf. Neubert. op. cit.. p. 75, 85, etc. 12 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY the terms pudica and nupta which follow are taken in a general sense, and therefore the other must be taken so likewise.^i This topic — the virginal maternity — recurs regularly in the earlier poets ; in fact it is the burden of nearly all the selections that will be quoted from them. 21 The term Virgin was accepted as the proper title and even the name of Mary long before this time, in the days of TertuUian and even St. Justin. Cf. Neubert, op. cit., p. 90-91; 100; 104-105. When Newman says (op. cit., p. 41), "(St. Jerome) is only adding another virtue to that crown which gained for Mary her Divine Maternity. They (the Fath- ers) have spoken of faith, joy and obedience. St. Jerome adds, what they had only suggested, virginity."— his meaning is that St. Jerome spoke of Mary's virginity as a personal virtue that she practiced and in which she was to be a model to others; whereas the earlier Fathers and ecclesiastical writers had extolled her virginity as miraculously pre- served while she became the Mother of God. IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN POETRY 13 CHAPTER III The name of Juvcncus is undoubtedly one of the most im- portant in early Christian Latin literature. Notwithstanding his fame, however, and the influence of his work,22 nothing is known of his life but the two facts recorded by St. Jerome: that he was a Spanish priest, and flourished in the time of Coustan- tine.2^ Of his poetical works only the four books of the Gospel- History in verse have been presened.-* What he has written concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary is contained in the first and- second of these four books; namely, the account of her part in the life of Christ, especially in His infancy, based on the Gospels of St. Luke and St. Matthew.25 The passages in question are rather lengthy and moreover contain very little that is original with Juvencus; his purpose having been to versify the Gospel text, adhering very closely to the original.26 It will suffice, therefore, to adduce one of them, 21' Cf. Schanz, op. cit., p. 193 (Fortleben des Juvencus). 23 De vir. illustr. c. 84 (P. L. 23, 691). 24 The title in the MSS. is: Evangeliorura liber I-IIII (versibus) Gail Vettii Aquilini Juvenci (presbyteri) (Teuffel. 403, 4). The text is pub- lished in P. L. 19, 53-346 (reprint of the edition of Arevalus, Rome. 1792). and in the Corp. Vindob. 24 (critical edition by Huemer.) Ac- cording to St. Jerome, Juvencus wrote also "nonnulla eodem metro (i. e.. hexameter verse) ad sacramentorum ordinem pertinentia." This work is lost. The versification of Genesis, etc. (P. L. 19. 345 sqq.) is the work of a later Gallic poet, Cyprian (Schanz. op. cit., p. 192, note; Manitius, op. cit., p. 167). 2r> A considerable selection, Including all but the account of the loss and finding of Jesus in the temple, is found in the Summa Aurea, vol. 5. 581-86. For partial translations, see Livius, op. cit., p. 453, (miracle at Cana). and Lehner. op. cit., p. 251 sq. (Annunciation and Visitation, in German hexameter verse). 20 St. Jerome says (1. cit.): "paene ad verbum transferens". This makes the work somewhat dry reading. Yet the criticism of Lejay (Cath. Encycl. art. Juvencus, vol. VI 11, 5863) is too severe, if not dis- paraging. (Cf. interesting note of Manitius, op. cit., p. 60, 3). For more favorable appreciation, see Schanz, op. cit., p. 191; Ebert. op. cit., I. p. 118; Gams, Kirchengeschichte von Spanien. Regensburg, 1874, I. p. 327; Manitius, op. cit., p. 59 sq. 14 THE BLESSKD VIRGIN MARY to show the method and manner of the poet in dealing with the subject. The Annunciation is thus related (I, 52-79) r^^ Tunc majora dehinc idem mandata minister Detulit ad Mariae dimissus Virginis aures. Hacc desponsa sue per tempera certa propinquo 55 Abdita virgineis caste pubescere tectis Et servare diem jussis permissa parentum. Ad quam tranquillum sermonem nuntius infit : "Salve, progenie terras jutura salubri, Desine conspectu mentem turbare verendo. 60 Nam tua concipient coelesti viscera jussu Natum, quem regnare Deus per saecula cuncta, Et propriam credi subolem gaudetque jubetque. Hunc ubi sub lucem dederis, sit nomine Jesus." Ad quem Virgo dehinc pavido sic inchoat ore: 65 "Nullos conceptus fieri sine conjuge dicunt; Unde igitur subolem mihimet sperabo venire?" Nuntius haec contra celeri sermone profatur: "Virtus celsa Dei circumvolitabit obumbrans, Spiritus et veniet purus, lectissima Virgo, 70 Ac tibi mox puerum casto sermone jubebit Magnificum gigni populis, quem credere sanctum Supremique Dei Natum vocitare necesse est. Sic cognata tibi, sterilis quae credita cunctis, Zacharia? conjux mortali germine nuper 75 Aevo defessis hausit miracula membris. Sextus adest mensis: parent sic omnia jussis." Virgo dehinc: "Domino famulam nunc ecce jubenti, Ut tua verba sonant, cernis servire paratam." Nuntius abscedens vacuis se condidit auris. 27 Cf. Luke, I, 26-38. The subjoined text is taken from Corp. Vindob. 24 (p. 6-7). The principal variants from this text in P. L. are: 1. 53, demissus; 1. 67, fatetur; 1. 75, auxit (P. L. 19, 70 sqq. 11. 87-114). In P. L. the numbering of the lines includes both prefaces (the 8 lines composing the first preface: Matthaeus instituit are not from Ju- vencus, but were added by a later hand, cf. Ebert, op. cit., I, 115, note 2; Manitius, op. cit., p. 57, not© 4) here it begins with Bk. I; hence the discrepancy. ./ IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN I'OKTRY 15 "Then (in the sixth month after the vision of Zachan', re- lated just previously) the same envoy was sent down to com- numioato. siiblimer decrees to the ears of the Virgin Mary. She, espoused to her tribesman a certain time, lived in retirement, g^o^\^ng up chastely under a maiden roof, awaiting the day (of the marriage) in conformity with the behests of her parents. To her the envoy serenely spoke his message: 'Hail, thou who shalt come to the aid of the world with a Savior-son. Be not troubled in mind, through fear of this vision. For thy womb shall by Divine command conceive a Son, who by the pleasure and decree of God shall have the kingdom of ages, and shall be believed His own Son. When thou shalt have brought him forth, his name shall be Jesus.' To him thereupon the Virgin spoke, with trembling lips: 'No conception occurs without consort, as is said : how, therefore, shall I expect an offspring un- to me?' In answer, the envoy made haste to say : 'The power of God Most High, overshadowing, shall hover round thee, and the Pure Spirit shall come, O Virgin of choice unique, and soon with chaste word shall make a Son be begotten in thee, wondrous unto the nations, who shall needs be believed and be proclaimed the Son of the Most High. Thus also thy rela- tive, who was believed barren by all, the wife of Zachary, through mortal seed has lately in her body worn with years increased-^ (God's) wonders; this is her sixth month: thus all things accomplish God's behests.' In answer, the Virgin: 'Behold now the handmaid ready to do the bidding of the Lord, as thy words proclaim.' The messenger, departing, vanished in the void of the air." From the above a fair judgment can be formed of the man- ner in which the poet follows the Gospel text. He takes few liberties: he paraphrases occasionally and adds a thought of his own; sometimas he omits a verse or two. The verses descrip- tive of Mary's hiden life (55-5G) are his own, as is also the interpretation: progenie terras jutura salubri (1. 58) and the lectis-sima virgo (1. 69). The lino 79 is imitated from Virgips* 28 p. L. auxit. 29 Ct. Aen. II, 628; spissis se condidit umbris; also VIT, 619. 16 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY and line 64 from Ovid;^^ and Arevalus (P. L. note ad 1.) consid- ers the virgineis tectis (1. 55) an adaptation of Martial's virgin- earn donuim (the habitation of the Vestal virgins). ^i Immediately alter the account of the Annunciation follows (11. 80-104) tiiat of the Visitation.^2 xhe Nativity is related SB briefly as by St. Luke (11. 155-57) (Luke II, 6-7). The Presentation in the temple is told at greater length (11. 185- 223) ; and it may be noted, in passing, that whereas St. Luke (II, 33) states that "his father and mother were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning him", the poet has Mary alone in mind, saying (1. 208) : Quid tantum Maria? stupuerunt pectora Matris? In the narrative of the loss and finding of Jesus in the temple the same peculiarity appeai-s (Cf. 11. 285-301, with Luke, II, 43-52). The narrative of the marriage-feast at Cana is related in Bk. II, 11. 127-138.^^ The incident is set out of chronological order, and in consequence the poet is forced to add to the text an in- terpretation of his own. St. John mentions expressly that the changing of water into \ri.ne was the "beginning of miracles", whereby Jesus "manifested His glory and His disciples believed in Him." (II, 11). The poet had previously recorded a large number of miracles, notably those that occurred after the sermon on the mount (Bk. I, 731 sqq. Cf. Matth. VIII, IX) and therefore had to explain why Jesus seemed to offer a refusal to His mother when asked for this one: (11. 135-136). Festinas, genetrix ; nondum me talia cogit Ad victiis hominum temp us concedere dona. The last passage in which the mother of Jesus is mentioned is found in Bk. II, 11. 725-32, where the incident is recorded which St. Matthew narrates Ch. XII, 46-50: "Behold, His 30 Cf. Met. I, 386: pavido inchoat ore. 31 Lib. I. ep. 11. 32 Luke, I, 39-56. The Magnificat is here reproduced in abbreviated form. 33 See Livius, op. cit., p. 452-53, for text and translation. This mira- cle is related also by Sedulius (Carm. Pasch. Ill, 1-11), but without mention of the presence of Mary. IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN POKTRY 17 mother aiul His brethren stood without, wishing to speak with Him " It does not call for comment. Tliere is no mention of Mary at the foot of the Cross.^^ An examination of the passages above referred to shows that the contribution of Juvencus to Marian terminology has been insignificant. He speaks of her as the Virgin Mary (1. 53-54: majora mandata detulit ad Mariae Virginis aures) or, simply, the Virgin (1. 04: ad quern Virgo sic inchoat ore; 1. 77: Virgo dehinc [ait] ; 1. 155: illic Virgo solvitur). After the biiHi of Jesus she is called Mater (1. 212, 247, etc.), Genetrix (1. 222. 291, 300, etc.), pia Mater (1. 295). When recording the answer of Jesns at the marriage-feast at Cana he avoids the word mulier. which the metre would have permitted, and uses gen- etrix (H, 135: Festinas Genetrix )^^ Only twice docs he use a qualitative epithet in reference to her: lectissima Virgo^» (I, 69), and pia Mater (I, 295). On the other hand, the student of Mariology will find in the work of Juvencus suthcient indication of the manner in which the Gospel story of the events in which Mary figured was undei-stood and inteii^reted in the first half of the fourth century. The devotional element in that inteipretation, while not notably conspicuous, was not wanting. It is evident that the poet pictured her to himself just as we do: a modest, retired \drgin (I, 1. 55: abdita virgineis tectis), Avho has left the dis- posal of her youthful life to the care of her parents (1. 50: jussis permis.>*a parentum) ; her answer to the angel is charac- terized by the respect due to so exalted a messenger (1. 64: pavido inchoat ore) ; when praised and f elicited by Elizabeth for the mysteries that have been wrought in her, she feels herself ovenvhelmed with joy and gratitude, she must needs 34 John, XIX, 25-27. 3.j The compiler of the Theologia Mariana in the Summa Aurea in- troduces this narrative expressly (vol. V, 586), to prove that to the mind of Juvencus the answer of Our Lord to His Mother: "Woman, what is that to me and thee; my hour has not yet come" (John II, 4) was not intended as a reproach. And in fact the poet seems expressly to have substituted genetrix for mulier for this purpose; and after cit- ing the answer of Jesus, he goes on to say: "Mensarum vocat lactata ministros Mater." 3«Cf. Cantic. V, 10; VI, 8. 18 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY give glory to God; her emotion betrays itself in her voice, yet she speaks with calmness and modesty (I, 11. 94-95 sqq. : trahens animum per gaudia mista pudore, Suppressse vocis pavitantia dicta volutat ). She is a tender mother, for whom her Son is her all ; the poet sympathizes with her solici- tude when she seeks her lost Child per vices urbis, perque abdita tecta, Perque iteris^''^ stratas, per notos perque propinquos (I, 289-290), and he has pictured her tenderness in the words he makes her utter when she has found Him: (I, 296-297) lacrimis te qusero profusis, Anxia cum genitore gemens. She has a watchful care for the needs of her friends, and is an anticipating and powerful intercessor for them, who feels assured of obtaining what she asks for them, even if she seems to forestall the time determined by her Divine Son in His own good pleasure. (II, 132-133, the incident at Cana). The lines and phrases quoted for this characterization are introduced for the most part by the poet himself, and there- fore may well be taken to represent the idea, the mental image, he had formed of the Mother of God. And since a poet's work is an exponent of the thought and sentiment of his age,^^ it may be affirmed without risk of going counter to the truth, that the above is also the idea, the mental image, that all Chris- tians, in the age of Constantine, had formed of her.s» 37 Schanz, p. 191: "Durch Einstreuung von altertuemlichen Formeln, suchte er seiner Darstellung einen gewissen feierlichen Anstrich zu geben." Teuffel, 403, 5: "Bemerkenswert ist seine Vorliebe fuer AI- tertuemliches (oder Volkstuemliches?), wie hst, olli, plebes, itiner, du- um, quistis " 38 Cf. Newman, op. cit., p. 37. 3!) The avowed purpose of Lehner's book (Die Marienverehrung in den ersten Jahrhunderten) is to discover how Christians in the first cen- turies represented Mary to themselves, and how her image (Marien- bild) developed from a narrow but already theologically complete con- ception into ever broader and more beautiful lines (op. cit., p. 7-8). His theory is not altogether safe, and he is severely taken to task because of it by Liell, op. cit., p. 7 sqq. IX EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN Pf)KTKY 19 CHAPTER IV The next poetical work that claims attention is the Virgil- ian cento of the poetess Proba.'*'' It is rather a literary cu- riosity than a poem, being an attempt to relate the story of the Scriptures in verses and parts of verses borrowed from Virgil.'*^ Proba's intention was good: after having written about the civil war between Constantine and the usurper Magnentius with its "armies of one race and fair shields stained with parents' blood and cities so oft widowed of so many a citizen " (11. 4-7) she wished to employ her pen in celebrating the works of God from the beginning, (1. 12) and in showing that "Virgil sang the gentle gifts of Christ" (1. 23). ^^ Of her success or rather her failure, SchenkP^ has this to say : "If the other cento- poets whose work has come down to us^* had comparatively 40 She was a convert, and belonged to one of the highest families at Rome: her grandfather and father had both been consuls; and her hus- band became praefectus Urbis in 351 (this gives a fixed date in her life). Cf. art. by Lejay in Cath. Encycl., vol. XII, p. 440b; Manilius, op. cit., p. 124. 41 The text may be found in P. L. 19, 803 sqq.. and in Corp. Vindob. 16, p. 569 sqq. (critical edition by C. Schenkl). 42 Cf. T. R. Glover; Life and Letters in the Fourth Century (Cam- bridge University Press, 1901) p. 145. Proba manifests a truly Chris- tian disposition in several instances; e. g., 11. 9-12. Nunc, Deus omnipotens, precor, accipe carmen Aeternique tul septemplicis ora resolve Spiritus atque mei resera penetralia cordis, Arcana ut possim vatis Proba cuncta referre. Cf. also 11. 22; 29-34; 333-334. 43 Corp. Vindob. 16, p. 554 sq. 44 In the same volume (16), Schenkl edits three other centos: Versus ad gratiam Domini, De V'erbi Incarnatione, De Ecclesia. Eighteen in all are reviewed by him in the Prooemium. (lb. p. 513 sqq.) Cento- writing was of early date. Manitius (op. cit., p. 124, note 5) quotes TertuUian (de Pra^scr. Haer., c. 39): Vides hodie ex Virgilio fabulam in totum aliam componi, etc. Cf. also Coraparetti, Virgil in the Middle Ages (tr. by Benecke), New York, (Macmillan Co.) 1S95, p. 53 sqq. 20 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY little success, it is easy to understand that Proba, even if she had been gifted wnth great poetic talent, could in no wise have produced a praiseworthy poem. For the ancient myths could indeed, in some fashion, be told in Virgilian lines; but to nar- rate the events of Sacred History in this manner is simply ab- surd. It is not astonishing therefore that in this (Proba's) composition much is found that is awkward, and so twisted, so puzzling and involved in darkness, that unless the subject is known to you beforehand, it is not possible to get a clear under- standing of it (from the poem)." With these ideas in mind, one is prepared for the two selections that follow. The In- carnation is thus treated (11. 340-345) i^s 340 " quom femina primum Virginis os habitumque gerens — mirabile dictu — Nee generis nostri puerum nee sanguinis edit, Seraque terrifici cecinerunt omnia vates^^ Adventare virum populis terrisque superbum 345 Semine ab setherio, qui viribus occupet orbem. (Imperium Oceano, famam qui terminet astris.)*"^ "When first the woman wearing a maiden's mien and gar- ment — miraculous to tell, — brought forth a son not of our race or of our blood; and fear-inspiring prophets sang late omens (i. e., omens to be fulfilled in later times), that a hero was to come, from heavenly seed, who should dominate nations and lands, who by his prowess should master the world, and 45 The text of this and the following selection is from Corp. Vind. 16, p. 589 sqq. Cf. P. L. 19, 810. 46 This line is amended in P. L. as follows: Sed quia terrifico cecinerunt omine vates which may be rendered: "but (we understand the mystery) because the prophets sang in terror-striking omen". This, possibly, adds a little light; but it tampers considerably with the line from Virgil, Aen. V, 524, which reads as in the text above. The emendation is not justi- fied by the MS. readings (cf. notes in Schenkl's edition, op. cit., p. 590). 47 This line, found in the Cambridge MS. (12th century) and in the editio princeps (Venice, 1492) (cf. Schenkl's notes, op. cit., p. 590) is retained in P. L. (For description of the MS., cf. Schenkl, p. 521.) IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN POETRY 21 who sliould hound his empire by the oce-iin, his ^lorv l)v tiie stoi-s."-*» The following lines are intended as a portrayal of the Hight into Egypt (11. 372-76) i^» 372 At mater, gemitu non frustra exterrita tanto, Ipsa sinu prae se portans, turbante tumultu, Infantem fugiens plena ad praesaepia reddit,'^^ 375 Hie natum angusti subter fastigia tecti Nutribat ^^ ''But his mother, not vainly frighted by so great lamentation, herself earrj'ing the child in her arms, while the turmoil goes on, bears him in flight to where full mangers stand. Here she reared her son beneath the slope of a narrow roof." On these two passages Schenkl (1. cit., p. 555) justly remarks: "The narrative of the birth of Christ, 345 sqq. and the flight of Mary into Egypt, 372 sqq., suft'er from too great brevity, and not a little obscurity." In fact we are left under the impression that the Holy Family did not go to Egypt at all, but hid in the stable at Bethlehem. And Ebert is therefore right when he says: ''Wholly unintelligible is the account of the flight into Egypt."52 While not all of this ceiitt) is as obscure as the passages just quoted, still it is really an altogether unworthy setting for a 48 The passage is constructed from Virgil's works as follows: (Cf. Corp. Vindob. 1. cit.) Line 340: 341: 342: 343: 344: 345: 346: 49 P. L. 19. 810. 50 The reading tendit, for reddit. a.dopted in P. L. is an emendation found in a MS. of IX-X cent. (Cod. Palatinus 1753); there, however, the original reddit is noted in the margin (cf. Schenkl. notes 1. cit.). 51 See indication of the Virgilian lines in Schenkl's edition, p. 591. Cf. Manitius, op. cit., p. 127. note 2. 52 Op. cit., p. 126, note 4. Aen. VIII, 408 Aen. I, 315 '• I, 439 (VIII, 252, etc.) Eel. VIII. 45 Aen. V. 524 •' vir, 69 Aen. II. 556 " VII, 281 " VII. 258 " I, 287 22 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Scripture narrative ;^3 fQp^ besides the obscurity and frequent incoherence that results from the use of verses torn from their context, there is the further inconvenience that the reader is disturbed, ahnost in spite of himself, by the desire to recollect whence such verses or parts of verses have been taken, and, on the other hand, has at times to make effort to avoid the remin- iscences, sometimes odd, sometimes painful, that they awaken. One is not sui'prised therefore to find Proba's cento on the list of apocryphal and unsuitable books condemned by Pope Gela- sius in 494.^'* Nevertheless, it continued to be read extensively and to be used even as a text-book in the schools. ^^ Another cento in which there is reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary is entitled De Verbi Incarnatione. It was former- ly attributed to Sedulius.^^ The passage containing the reference in question is as fol- lows (11. 11-31 ; 55-60) :^^ 11 Virgo matura fuit, jam plenis nubilis annis,^^ Cui genus a proavis ingens nomenque decusque, 53 Cf. Schanz, (op. cit., p. 198): "Der modernen Zeit erscheint dieser Cento als ein absurdes Produkt." Similarly Ebert, (op. cit., 126) and other critics. 54 Teuffel, (op. cit., par. 469. 5) calls the decree in question "unechte Dekretale". It is accepted (implicitly) as authentic by J. Murphy, S.J., in the article, Gelasius I, Cath. Enc, Vol. VI, p. 406a; by Schenkl (1. cit., p. 515), Manitius (op. cit., p. 126), Glover (op. cit., p. 146). 55 Cf. Ebert, op. cit., p. 126, note 3. Also Schenkl, 1. cit., p. 516. Moreover, to quote Glover (1. cit.) : "Proba found a place by her poem in at least one list of the Church's famous men, a solitary woman among them, because, as Isidore (the compiler of said list) says, she sang the praise of Christ, and if we do not admire her conception, we praise her ingenuity " (Isidore, de Vir. ill., c. 18) (P. L. 83, 1093). 56 Cf. Huemer, Corp. Vindob. 16, p. XLIII sq.; Teuffel, op. cit., 473, 5. 57 The subjoined text is from Schenkl's edition (Corp. Vindob. 16, p. 616 sqq.). For references to the Virgilian lines, see notes ib. Huemer's edition (Corp. Vindob. 10, p. 311 sq.) has these references also, but not quite so minutely worked out. (L. 12: II, 92 ib. should be II, 89). The text may be seen also in P. L. 19, 773 (with indication of Virgilian lines, ed. Arevalus, Rome, 1794), and this was reprinted in the Summa Aurea, vol. 5, 727 sqq. 58 Faulty metres: line 11, virgo matura; 1. 22, adventu fldes; 1. 25: one long syllable beyond the measure; 1. 30, exsequar coelestia. For other defects in the composition, cf. Schenkl, 1. cit., p. 564. IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN POETRY 23 Intemerata toris. Talem se la^ta ferebat: Casta pudicitiain miro sen'abat amore. 15 Hiiic se forma (lei — ciL^o deniissus ab alto Spiritus intiis alit — et caste corpore miscet. Ante tanicn dubiam dictis solatur amieis: "Alma parens, mundi dominum paritura potentem — Nam te digna manent generis cunabula nostri, — 20 Vade, ait. felix nati. quoeumque vocaris,^^ Aiispieiis manifesta novis I bio vertitur ordo, Hiijiis in adventu fides, et fama perennis!^^ Dixerat : ilia pavens oculos suffiisa nitentis, Suspiraiis imoque tridiens a pectore vocem 25 Virgo refert: "Haut equidem tali me dignor honore.^^ Non op is est nostrte nee fas, nee conjugis umquam Pra-tendi tasdas aiit bsec in foedera veni. Sed post jussa deum nihil est quod dicta recusem. Accipio agnoscoque libens : sequor omina tanta 30 Promissisque patris exsequar ca;lestia dona,^^ Ammiranda Dei tantarum munera laudum," ******* 55 Haut mora : continue patris pra^cepta facessit, Aethere se mittit figitque in virgine vultus. Nee mortale tuens, afflata est numine quando Jam propiore Dei nam tempore eodem''^ Matri longa decem tulerunt fastidia menses, . « 60 Et nova progenies mox clara in luce refulsit. . This is somewhat clearer than the first selection, quoted from Proba. However, here also it is apparent that the mean- ing of the original has been strained to fit the subject; and some phrases bad better })een left out. Thus, 11. 15-1() seem to refer to the Holy Spirit; and yet from 1. 17 one is left to infer that 59 L. 20: Huemer's edition here, in conformity with the oldest MS. of this cento (Cod. S. Germ. 844; Paris, lat. 13048. 8-9th cent.) inserts pic- tatc after vati, which results in a line of seven feet. Schenkl, as also P. L., omits it. (cf. Schenkl.. 1. cit., notes ad 1.: "pietate ejeci ut illatum ex Aen. III. 480"). 60 Schenkl, 1, cit., note ad 1.: "excidisse videlur summi vol raagni." 24 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY the angel was meant.^^i The "cunabula generis nostri" (1. 18) can be made to have signification only by straining to the ut- most the figurative meaning of cunabula. Line 20: ''vade quocumque vocaris," is meaningless in this situation, and the "jussa deum" (1. 28) is pagan. Thus, the more closely this cen- to is analyzed, the more correctly is the judgment of Schenkl, cited above, found to be applicable to it as well as to that of Proba.62 The cento writers have added nothing to Marian terminolo- gy, not even a picturesque figure from Virgil. The author of the De Verbi Tncarnatione has left one beautiful line, which is beautiful, however, only if standing alone: (1. 14). Casta pudicitiam miro servabat^^ amore. Line 23 has poetic coloring ; but it does not further beautify the image which Juvencus had previously drawn of the Virgin of Nazareth. 61 It may be noted here that the word angel (angelus) is nowhere used by Virgil, and therefore could find no place in the cento; hence the locution: forma dei. Similarly all the proper names had to be replaced by figurative language. 62 The attempt to translate the passage closely, could only lead to a result as incoherent in meaning as is the original; and to force the lines and half-lines of the cento into connected language would be to give a false impression of it. No doubt the composers of centos, — of Christian centos, at least, — felt themselves obliged to be content with fairly intel- ligible combinations and to leave the rest to the imagination of their readers. 63 Aen. VII, 57: properabat, replaced here by servabat. IN EAUIA' CHRISTIAN LATIN POI-rTRY 25 CHAPTER V To the fourth century must be assigned the Carmen do Sal- vatore.^'* It celebrates, in twenty hexameter hnes, the praise of Christ as the Only-begotten of the Father, become man to re- deem us by His passion and death, and returning again to heaven. It concludes with a prayer for the emperor.*^^' (Christe potens rerum, redeuntis conditor aevi Vox summi sensusque Dei, quem fundit ab alta Mente Pater, tantique dedit consortia regni, Impia tu nostrae donmisti crimina vitae 5 Passus corporea mundum vestire figura Affarique palam populos hominemque fateri.) Quem verbo inclusum ^lariae mox numine viso Virginei tumuere sinus, innuptaque Mater Arcano ol)stuj)uit compleri viscera partu, 10 Auctorem paritura suum, mortalia corda, Artificem texere poli mundique, sub imo Pectore, qui''"'* totum late comploctitur Orbem. 04 It is called also the Carmen Paschale of Pope Damasus (Cf. Ihm. Anthol. Lat. Supplem. I. Teubner, 1895. p. XXV; Manitius. op. cit., p. 325). The authorship has not been established. Existing MSS. attri- bute it to Claudian; the older editors to Damasus. Cf. Schanz. op. cit., p. 195 (Die p:chtheit der Damasusepigramme) : " das Gedicht de Salvatore sicher nichts mit Damasus zu thuu hat;" Teuffcl, op. cit.. par. 439. 1: " doch hat er (i. e.. Claudian) Christus als Erloeser besungen " On the other hand. Manitius op. cit.. p. 120. note 1: "Ich glaube jetzt bestimmt. dass dies Gedicht von Damasus verfasst ist." Ihm. 1. cit., while rejecting the authorship of Damasus. is not convinced of that of Claudian (cf. also ib. p. 70). fi^L. 19-20: Augustum foveas The text here given is from P. L. 13. 376 (edited originally by Merenda. Rome. 1754) ; it is the same as that of the edition of Sarazanius. Rome. 1638, p. 82. Carm. IX. It is found also in P. L. 53. 789-90. (where it is given as dubiae auctori- tatis) with considerable variations, which agree in the main with the text of Ihm (op. cit.. p. 69 sq.) «« The reading qui alone gives the sense which seems intended. 26 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Et qui non spatiis terrae, non aequoris undis, Nee capitur coelo, parvos confluxit in artus. 15 (Quin et supplicii nomen nexusque subisti: Ut nos subriperes letho, mortemque fugares Morte tua, mox aethereas evectus in auras, Purgata reparans laetum te luce, Parentem.®'^ Augustum foveas, festis ut saepe diebus 20 Annua sinceri celebret jejunia Sacri.) The lines referring to the Incarnation (7-14) may be thus rendered: "By a word he was enclosed, and soon the virginal womb of Mary by a visible Divine influence was pregnant, and the unwedded Mother wondered how M^th secret fruit her body grew; she was to give birth to her Maker. A mortal heart sheltered the creator of sky and earth in the depths of her bosom, Him who embraces the whole wide world. And He who is not confined by the expanse of the earth nor by the waters of the sea nor by the heavens, passed into the limbs of a child." There is a certain solemnity and depth to these verses ; and it is these characteristics, with the echoes of Neo-Platonic philoso- phy apparent, for example, in the "vox summi sensusque Dei," (1. 2) and the "domuisti crimina" (1. 4), that speak favorably for the authorship of Claudian.^s At any rate this poem was highly esteemed in the early middle ages, as can be judged from the fact that some of its ideas were repeatedly used by later writers, as will be shown presently. The thought of 11. 10-12 is quite striking and beautiful, and not found thus expressed in other poets. Lines 13-14 are a rhetorical development of the text in the third Book of Kings, Vin, 27: " heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee." The idea is a sublime one. and it has been 67 This line is meaningless as it stands. The emended form reads: Purgata repetis (repetens, Ihm) laetus tellure Parentem. 68 Cf. P. L. 13, 377, note: "Certe carmen istud ceteris (i. e. the other poems of Damasus) donge est elegantior." The difference is so striking that Ihm says: "de Damaso auctore cogitari omnino non possit." The author must have been a Christian. But Claudian was not a Christian, if the testimony of St. Augustine is accepted literally: " poeta Claudianus, quamvis a Christi nomine alienus." (De Civ. Dei, V, 26, P. L. 41, 172). Cf. remark in Teuffel, op. cit., 439, 1). IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN POETRY 27 not infrequently exploited by the poets. It luis been incor- porated in the votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the form of the distich that constitutes part of the Gradual : Virgo Dei Genitrix, quern totus non capit orbis In tua se clausit viscera f actus homo. and in the first response of the first nocturne of the common Office: quem coeli capere non poterant tuo gremio con- tulisti. It appears in the selections from Merobaudes and from Draeontius that are added here, and again in somewhat ampli- fied form in the Carmen Paschale of Sedulius (II, 59-62) : Quemque procellosi non mobilis unda profundi, Terrannn non omne solum, spatiosaque lati Non capit aula poli puerili in corpore plenus Mansit, et angusto Deus in praesepe quievit. He — whom nor waters of the stormy deep, Nor earth's expanse, nor spacious vault of heaven, Can hold, — within the body of a child. In all his plenitude, abode, and God Within a straitened manger took repose.^^ It is also the underlying thought of several strophes of the hymn Quem terra, pontus, aethera, attributed to VenantiiLs Fortunatus.'^^ and recurs very clesirly in another, of later dat-e: Hymnum Mariae Virginis:"^ Quem coelum, terra non capit Virginis vero uterus. The few lines quoted above have been imitated also in other details. Thus 1. 9 is practically repeated by Sedulius (Carm. CO Livius, op. cit., p. 447. 70 Cf. below p. 76. 71 Its place is among the anonymous hymns of the 5th-llth cent. See text in Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus. I. 141. See also text and remarks on this hymn in An. Hymn. XXVII. p. 120-121, and remarks ib., p. 47. The lines quoted are 3-4 of strophe 6. 28 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Pasch. II, 39-40) : "Stupet innuba tensos Virgo sinus, gaudet- que suum paritura parentem." And the ''innupta Mater" — the only appellation for Mary here used — occurs in Prudentius as "innuba Virgo" (Apoth. 71) and is repeated from him by Sedulius, in the lines just cited. Very similar to the Carmen de Salvatore is the Carmen de Christo of the 5th century Spanish soldier-poet Merobaudes:'^^ Proles vera Dei cunctisque antiquior annis,"^^ Nunc genitus, qui semper eras, lucisque repertor, Ante tuae matrisque parens ; quem misit ab astris Aequaevus genitor, verbique in semina fusum 5 Virgineos habitare sinus, et corporis arti Jussit inire vias, parvaque in sede morari, Quem sedes non ulla capit; 15 te conscia partus Mater, et attoniti pecudum sensere timoree. True Son of God, more ancient than all time, Now born, who ever wast, Creator of light. Whom, prior to Thy Mother and her Maker, From heaven Thy coeval Father sent In fecundating word enclosed, to dwell In Virgin's womb, and bade Thee to assume A narrow body's form and stay confined In sparest habitation whom no space Can compass. ^2lie was a brave officer, and became a Councillor of State; a bronze statue was erected to him at Rome in 435. He was distinguished by his talents as rhetor, and wrote poems in honor of Valentinian III, after the manner of Claudian. (Manitius, op. cit., p. 325). His claim to the au- thorship of the Carmen de Christo or Laus Christi, as the title reads in P. L. 53, 789, seems undisputed. Cf. Teuffel, op. cit., 464. 2; Manitius. p. 325 sq. ^3 The text may be seen in P. L. 53, 789-90, and 61, 971 sqq. Also in Ihm, Anth. Lat. Supplem. I (Teubner), p. 71. IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN POETRY 29 Thy Mother, conscious of Thy birth, knew Thee, And tlie dumb beasts, fear-struck, Thy presence felt. The similarity between the two compositions is so striking, that there can be no mistaking the fact that Merobaudes made a liberal use of the Carmen de Salvatore.""* His treatment of the sultject is, however, original enough to shield him from the charge of plagiarism. While the language in both is some- what involved, so that both are defective from the point of view of clearness,^^ it, must be admitted that the Carmen de Salvatore is the nobler production of the two. Comparing only the selections which refer to the Incarnation, it is evident how far the lines of Merobaudes fall short of those of his model in grandeur of conception and beauty of expression. The one takes us into the realm of sublime myster\' and, as it were, bids us be astonished at the infinite condescension of God become a little child; the other tells us a mystery- also, but in a somewhat common-place manner. It is worthy of note that the poem of Merobaudes has a refer- ence — one of the fii-st in Christian Latin poetn^ — to the apocr\^- phal accounts of the birth of Christ, by the mention (1. 10) of the animals there spoken of as present in the grotto of Bethle- hem when the Savior was born: "te attoniti pecundum sen- sere timores.''"*" 74 Cf. Manitius. op. cit., p. 326, note 1, for detailed outline of similar- ities between the two poems. 7") See the numerous emendations suggested, especially to the Carm. Pasch. in Ihm, op. cit.. p. 70-71. 76 Cf. Pseudo-Matthew. XIV: "The very animals, therefore, the ox and the ass. having Him in their midst, incessantly adored Him. Then was fullilled that which was said by Abacuc the prophet, saying: 'Between two animals thou art made manifest'." (Ante-Nicene Fathers. New York, Scribner's, 1903, vol. VIII. p. 375). The reading: "Between two animals thou art made manifest", is from the Septuagint version. The Vulgate renders: "In medio annorum notum facies": "In the midst of the years thou shalt make it known" (thy work) (Hab. Ill, 2). A re- lief representing the ox and the ass at the crib is found on a sarcopha- gus in the Church of St. Trophimus at Aries, dating from the year 343 A. D. It seems to be the first representation of the kind. Cf. Lehner, op. cit., p. 314 sq. The same in Liell, op. cit., p. 276. 30 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY There is nothing new in the way of Marian terminology or imagery in the above selection. It will be found interesting to compare with the foregoing excerpts also the following lines of the poet DracontiusJ'^ (Car- men de Deo, II, 79-82, 87-94) : 79 Qui nasci dignatus homo, membratur in artua Sanguine femineo concretus spiritus almus, Fitque Deus post templa poll sub carne, figura Passibilis, mortalis homo sine fine perennis: * * * 5f: * * * 87 Quid sanctus spiritus illic Egerit, ipse potens noscit, qui cuncta creavit ; Qualiter aure Deus, verbo fetante marito, 90 Virgineos intrasse sinus dignatur, et alvum, Terrarum, ccelique capax, atque ignis anheli, Aeris, et pelagi, sed non capiendus ab isdem, Claustra puerperii passus sub lege creandi, 94 Vel quaecunque subit diversi temporis aetas. Who condescending to be born as man With members full endowed, of woman's blood Is formed palpable, — the loving spirit — And God, His temple in the sky deserting Is seen in carnal form and passible, A mortal man, enduring evermore. ******* What there the Holy Ghost did operate, He knows, the Mighty, who created all: How God, through ear, by impregnating word, Did deign to enter into Virgin's womb: He who enthralled holds the earth and sky, The blazing sun, the air, the sea, but not By them can ever be confined, endures The close confinement of a mother's womb, Submits to law of being born and all Whatever life's successive stages bear. 77 He flourished at the court of the Vandal kings in Africa, towards the close of the 5th century. Cf. Manitius, op. cit., p. 325; Ebert, op. cit., I, 383. IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN POETRY 31 Here again there is close resemblance, but also independent treatment. In nobility of expression this extract approaches the Carmen Paschale more closely tlian does that from Mero- bande^, without, however, equalling it in depth of thought. From the point of view of Mariology, the selection from Dra- contius is the least important of the three here quoted. The reference to Mary that it contains is, as it were, superficial mere- ly. If it were not that the expression 'Virgineos sinus" is used (1. 90) one might think that the poet was thinking of the In- carnation of the Son of God altogether in a general way, and independently of the person of her through whom it was oper- ated. This seems to be the natural interpretation of the pass- age, suggested by the vexy general term "sanguine femiueo concretus," employed in line 80.*^^ 78 What Dracontius says 11. 589-91 of the same Bk. refers to the know- ledge and in-dwelling of God in the human soul: Cum te non caperent coeli, terraeque, fretumque, Aeris et spatium, medico te corde reponis Pectoris humani, conceptus mente fidcli. 32 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY CHAPTER VI. The poetic productions of St, Ambrose are an insignificant portion of his voluminous writings, but they would by them- selves suflice to render his name immortal. They are, as is well known, the incomparable liturgical hymns that he com- posed, which made him the ''Father of Latin Hymnody."'''^ They sei-ved as models for the vast majority of Liturgical hymns written in all succeeding ages. In fact all those that were modelled on his during the next four or five centuries were simply called "Ambrosian." Fourteen hymns from his pen have been preserved. '^'^ Of these, only two are of inter&st for the present study: Jam surgit hora tertia, and Veni, Re- demptor gentium (Intende qui regis Israel). Both of them are among the four hymns of which the authenticity is estab- lished beyond doubt b}^ the testimony of St. Augustine.^i The first is a hymn for Terce -.^^ 1. (Jam surgit hora tertia. Qua Christus ascendit crucem. Nil insolens mens cogitet, Intendat affectum precis. 2. Qui corde Christimi suscipit, Innoxium sensum gerit Votisque perstat sedulis Sanctum mereri spiritum. 79 Blume, in Cath. Encycl., art. Hymnody, vol. VII, p. 600a. 80 Three others are of doubtful and a fourth of very doubtful authen- ticity. See list in Schanz, op. cit., p. 208-9. The hymns are printed in An. Hymn. L, p. 11 sqq. Nos. 421. See also Cath. Encycl., vol. VII, p. 600a. 81 Cf. Schanz, op. cit., p. 208-9. For a very able and beautiful e.xplan- ation of them see Kayser, op. cit., pp. 131-192. 82 The text is from An. Hymn. L, p. 12. It may be seen also in P. L. 16, 1410; Daniel, I, p. IS; Kayser, op. cit., p. 184-92. It is listed as No. 9400 in the Repertorium Hymnologicuin of U. Chevalier. IN KAKLY CHFUSTIAN LATIN TOETRY 33 3. Haec hora, quae Hnein dcdit Diri veterno cri minis Mortisque regniim diniit Culpamquc ah aevo sustulit. 4. Hinc jam beata tempora Coepere Christi gratia, Fidei replcvit verifeis Totum per orl)em ecclesias.) 5. Celso triumphi vertice Matri loqiiebatur suae: Eu, filius, mater, tuus; Apostole, en, mater tua. 6. Praetcnta nuptae foedera Alto docens mysterio, Ne virginis partus sjicer Matris pudorem laederet. 7. (Cui fidem caelestibus Jesus dedit miraculis, Nee eredidit plebs impia; Qui eredidit. salvus erit. 8. Nos credimus natum Dcmiiu Partumque virginis sa<;'rae, Peccata qui mundi tulit Ad dexteram sedens Patris.) The hour of Tercc reminds tlie poet of the Crueilixion^^'' and its attendant mysteries. He invites to recollection so that the soul may receive Christ and offer fervent prayei"s for the recep- tion of the Holy Gho.st, who came upon the Apostles at tiiis hour.^^ In this hour Christ put an end to the ancient empire of sin and dcatli and took awav the sins ()th poets treated the same subjects, and drew their material from the same Scripture narrative; and, moreover, it could be expected that Paulinus would consult his predecessor in this field for guid- ance, especially if it is recalled in what high honor Juvencus was held at all times during the middle ages. Finally, the details of II. 113-115, are altogether in the style of Paulinus; he draws pictures that are full of life and color. He applied well the lessons received in the school of Ausonius at Bor- deaux. ^^^ Paulinus speaks of the Incarnation, in his picturesque way, also in the Epithalamium that is found among his works.^-'*^ After giving the l)ridal pair various admonitions as to the man- ner of celebrating their nuptials in a Christian manner, that is, by avoiding exterior pomp and vanity, and by adorning their souls with virtues instead, he expresses the wish that Jesus at- tend them, and Mary, His Mother, whase miraculous fecundity he then enlargas upon. It is fitting, he says, that Mar>', the mother of the Lord be present with these betrothed, she who bore God without violation of her virginity. ^^*' For God found- ed for Himself a peaceful temple in the sacred Virgin, a secret shrine, and came down silently, like the rain falls from a cloud on a fleece with the softness of dew. No one was ever admitted 137 Cf. Juv. I, 58; PauL 111. (In the account of the Visitation: Jut. I, 85, 88-90; Paul. 145, 155-56). For models and imitators of Paulinus. cf. Index in Peiper's ed. Corp. Vindob. 30, p. .380. 138 Cf. Ebert, op. cit., I. p. 311: " die Schule der gallischen Rhetor- ik, die sich gern mit Redeblumen schmueckto." l39Carni. XXV, ed. Hartel, Corp. Vindob. 30. p. 238 sqq. P. L. 61, 633. It was written on the occasion of the marriage of Julian, son of Memor, the Bishop of Capua, and la (Titia) (Schanz. op. cit.. p. 241.) 140 Quae genuit salva virginitate Deum (1. 154), a line repeated in the first distich of the fragmentary poem "Miracula Christi". whose author is unknown. Perhaps it is to be attributed to Merobaudes (Manitius, op. cit., p. 326) following whose Carmen de Christo, here entitled Laus Christi, it is printed in P. L. 53, 789. Only the lirst distich refers to the Blessed Virgin I^Iary (but the poem is reproduced entirely in the Summa Aurea V. 1042). 56 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MAKY to this secret, by which God assumed human nature of a virgin- mother. O new invention of the Lord for man's salvation! alone, a woman becomes fecimd ; betrothed to spouse, she is not subject to husband; mother by child-birth, yet woman unde- filed ; consort by wedlock's tie, yet not by nature's law ; inviolate, yet proven mother by her child. Such also is the sublime mys- tery w^hereby the Church is wedded to Christ, and is both spouse and sister to the Lord.i"*! It was a happy and characteristically Christian idea, to ex- press the wish that Jesus and his Mother should be present at the bridal feast, as they were at Cana, where Jesus changed water into wine (11. 151-53), and well calculated to turn to higher things the thoughts of all who participated in a nuptial feast, which was only too apt to be an occasion of consenting pagan customs. Mary is called here the temple that God reared for Himself (1. 155-56), an expression that St. Ambrose had already used.i'*^ The comparison: ''descendens velut imber super vel- lus," recalls the Antiphon in the Lauds of the Feast of the Cir- cumcision: "Sicut pluvia in vellus descendisti." These lines (155-58) Namque Deus placitum sacrata in Virgine temj)lum Ipse sibi arcano condidit impluvio, Descendens tacito adlapsu, velut imber ab alta Nube super vellus rore silente cadit i'*^ are among the most beautiful that the early poets have written concerning the Mother of the Savior. The exclamation : O novo ad humanam Domini commenta salutem! gives the passage a lyric turn, as well as a Scriptural setting. One is reminded of other exclamations evoked by the same thought ; for example, that of St. Paul, who, after speaking of the calling of the Gentiles and the ultimate salvation of Isreal, cries out: "'O altitudo divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei!"i** 141 Lines 153-168. Corp. Vindob. 30, p. 243. P. L. 61, 636-37. 142 Cf. above p. 37. 143 Cf. Judges, VI, 37-40. 144 Rom. XI, 33. IN KAI'vLY CHIMSTIAN LATIN POKTKY 57 or again that of Seduluib, when liis spirit was fired by the con- teniphition of God made man : "O facihs pietas! no nos senale teneret Pec'cato doniinanlo jugum, servilia summus Menilira tuht Poniinus."^"'-''' or, lintilly, that of the Kxsullet: "O inira pielatis dii];natio! lit ser\^um redimeres, Filium tradidisti." It is reniarkal)le. in a way, that PauHnns in all his vohiini- nous poetical work should have so little to say of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pious Christian and zealous bishop as he wa^; and even what he did write was subordinate to other subjects. But it must be remembered that he lived at a time when the Church in the West, while not greatly afflicted with A ri an ism, had to bend all her energies towards Christianizing the half- pagan converts who had flocked to her when the Emperors became Christian, and later had to struggle for her existence when the 1)arbarians invaded the l-'mpire, with tho (•onse(iucnce that Christian j)iety was scarce given an opportunity for nor- mal development. Moreover, he died in the year in which the Council of Ephesus wjis held,i4« that is, at the time when the devotion to the Mother of God was just receiving its greatest impulse in the early middle ages. Finally, it must be added, his attention was engrossed almost completely l)y his fervent devotedness to the cult of his favorite Saint, Felix of Nola.^-*^ He had chosen him as his patron early in his career. ])erhap3 at his l)aptism; to his tomb he betook himself after his con- vei-sion to live retired from the world; in his honor he built a magnificent basilica i^^*^ in his praise he almost yearly wrote a lengthy i)oem after settling at Nola.^'*» His devotion to St. 145 Carra. Pasch. II, 54-56. 140 A. D. 431. 147 Cf. Livius. op. cit., p. 308 sqq. 148 He describes it in a letter to Sulpicius Severua. Epist. XXXII. P. L. 61. 330 sqq. Corp. Vindob. 29, p. 275 sqq. 14» For analysis of these Carmina natalitia (13 have beeii preserved entire. 1 in fragmentary form), cf. Schanz. op. cit., p. 243 sq.; Manitius (very extensive analysis) op. cit., p. 273 sqq.; Ebert, op. cit., I. p. 302. Text in Corp. Vindob. 30, XII-XVl. XVIII-XXI. XXIII, XXVI-XXIX. P. L. 61, 462 sqq. (the poems are numbered here). 58 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Felix assumed perhaps even a too exclusive place in his life.i^o This makes of him a most authentic wdtness of the devotion of the faithful in the early ages to local Saints ■^^'^ but it explains also the absence of poems from his pen, in honor of Mary. 150 "According to St. Augustine he had an exaggerated idea con- cerning the veneration of saints and relics." (Cath. Encycl., vol. XI, p. 585b, art. St. Paulinus of Nola, last paragr.) 151 Cf. Livius, 1. cit., and p. 287; see also Neubert, op. cit., p. 255 sq, and note p. 256. IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN lOKTRY 59 CHAPTER IX To 8t. Hilary of Aries has been attributed a brief poetical work, entitled de Evangelio,!"*- which relates, in 114 hexameter lines, the chief events of the life of Christ. The Natiritv is spoken of a^ follows (11. 1-5, 24-32) ^-'^' 1 Christus hie flos decor est fon.squc perennis.^-'*'* Hunc postquam verbo conceptum nu minis alti Plena Deo \'irgo utero est enixa j)udico Effulsitque novus terris gaudentibus infans 5 Protiniis implevit totum lux clarior orbem. ******* Salve, vera Dei proles, puer aethers missus, 25 Non commune genus nee moribus edite nostris ; Innuptae matris pignus^'^^ uterique pudici Partus, et intactae mirandus virginis infans. Quariivis ilia pio jactet se nomine matrem, Fingentis quendam ventris imitata tumorem, 30 Ostentetque tuas cunas risuque salutet. l'''2 This is only a very probable conjecture. The author's name was Hilarius. Stylistic reasons forbid to attribute the work to St. Hilary of Poitiers. The only other possible author seems to be the bishop of Aries. That he wrote poetry is certain from what appears to be an undoubtedly authentic fragment that has been preserved (on the Spring of St. Bartholomew at Grenoble) (Cf. Manitius, op. cit., p. 188 sq.). From his pen we have, as is now generally believed, (cf. Manitius, p. 189) the versification of Genesis (metrum in Genesim) from the Crea- tion to Noah's leaving the Ark. The style and manner of treatment of this work and of the de Evangelio are so much alike that the two compo- sitions must be attributed to the same author. Cf. Corp. Vindob. 23, XXVIII-XXIX. ir.;{ Text in Corp. Vindob. 23, p. 270-71, ed. by Peiper. iri4 This line has been thus metrically emended by Peiper (1. cit.): Christus hie flos (est) decor (hie) est fonsque perennis. l.^.oWith the early Christian writers, pignus regularly signified child. See Forcellini. and Du Cange, a. v. (Note here the lenghtening of final — us at the caesura. For a similar reason there is no elision after Virgo, 1. 3). 60 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Virgo tameii mater et magni conjugis expers, Ignorat causam sobolis,^^^ sed gaiidia novit. "Christ is our flower, our glroy, our ever-flowing fountain. When the Virgin, replete with God, had conceived Him by the word of Divine power, and brought Him forth in undefiled vir- ginity, and when the newborn Child appeared resplendent to the rejoicing earth, a more brilliant light forthwith filled the whole world Hail, true Son of God, Child sent from on high ! not of ordinary descent, nor born into the world as we are. Off- spring of un\\edded mother, fruit of a chaste womb ; wondrous Infant of Virgin undefiled. Though she rejoice to call her- self by the sweet name of mother, apparently the law of preg- nancy observing; though she point to Thy cradle and smile Thee a greeting: yet is she virgin-mother, without consort, knowing not whence is her offspring, but knowing well the jo}'^ He brings." These lines need little comment. Hilary wjis a true poet; there is color and movement in his verse, and even a certain lyric element. The phraseology is clearly Virgilian; but skil- fully adapted by the poet, who was not lacking in originality. Through the pleasing lines (4-5) Effulsitque novus terris gaudentibus infans Protinus implevit totum lux clarior orbem it is easy to read Virgil's (Aen. IX, 731, and 110) Continuo nova lux oculis effulsit Line 25 : Non commune genus nee moribus edite nostris, is an echo of Virgil's (Eel. VIII, 45) Nee generis nostri puerum, nee sanguinis edit, and the "risuque salutet" of line 30 is adapted from Virgil's charming line (Eel. IV, 60) Incipe, parve puer, risu cognoscere matrem. And, finally, line 24 the poet has practically borrowed from 156 Ignorat causam sobolis, is probably to be understood as a variation of the words in St. Luke, I, 34: Quomodo fiet istud quoniam virum non cognosco? IN KAR1,Y CHRISTIAN I.AII N TOKTRY 61 him; for we read iu Aen, \'IIJ, ;J01 : "Salve, vera Jovis pro- les;" and in Aen. IV, 574; ''Deus aethere missus ab alto." The epithet.^ he applies to the Mother of the Savior have been met with previoiLsly; ''innupta mater" (1. 26), and "intaeta virgo" (1. 27). "Virgo plena Deo" (1. 3), is a variation of "gratia plena" (Luke T, 28). However, the poet can lay claim to lines 28-32, which are his own invention, even if the terms be borrowed in part. His predecessoi-s had all asserted that Mary had ever remained a Virgin; Hilary adds that such she was indeed, though, in a certain way, appearances were against it; she glories in the name of mother, she had been pregnant, she ])oints to the cradle of her Child and greets Him with the smile that only a mother knows, and she feels all the joys of motherhood. The last lines (31-32) ; Virgo tamen mater Ignorat causam sobolis, sed gaudia novit link him to Sedulius, who speaks of Mary with greater precise- ness of expression, as Gaudia matris habens, cum virginitatis honorc.'"'" >5" Carm. Pasch. II. 6"; 62 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY CHAPTER X Some of the finest lines ever written in praise of the Mother of God are from the pen of the poet Sedulius.i^'^ He flourished in the reign of Theodosius the Younger, and Valentinian 111.15^ His great Avork is the Carmen Paschale, in which the chief events of the life of Christ are told. This had been the theme of Juvencus; but the object of Sedulius was the glorifi- cation of Christ in a general manner, by the narrative of the wonders He worked in the world, both under the Old and the New Law, and therefore he had a freer hand in dealing with his subject than had the earlier poet. In the beginning of the second book, he speaks of original sin, and deplores the fault of Eve led astray by the serpent (11. 6-8) :160 Heu, noxia conjux! Noxia tu conjux magis an draco perfidus ille? Perfidus ille draco, sed tu quoque noxia conjux. Ah. baneful wife! Which the more baneful was? 158 He seems to have been a native of Italy, and even of Rome; was versed in classic literature and wrote poetry himself. At a certain time in his life he began to regret having used his God-given talent in the service of the vanities of worldly studies and determined to devote it to better use. After having entered the clerical state, he wrote the Carmen Paschale with that intention, and also for the purpose of en- couraging the conversion of the pagans. He chose to write in poetic form, to make his work more acceptable to many who preferred to read verse rather than prose (cf. his dedicatory letter to Macedonius). Though he was the most celebrated among the earlier Christian Latin poets, the story of his life was never Avritten, and the above information is all that the historians have been able to gather from his own works and from contemporary and later writers. (Cf. Huemer's standard work: De Sedulii poetae vita et scriptis commentatio, Vienna, 1878; reviewed at considerable length by Boissier, in the Journal des Savants, Paris, Sept. 1881, p. 553 sqq. Cf. also Manitius, op. cit., 330 sq., Lejay in Cath. Bncycl., vol. XIII, 680a, etc.) 109 Manitius, op. cit., p. 304. 160 Text in Corp. Vindob. 10, p. 44. P. L. 19, 593. IN EARLY CHraSTIAN LATIN POETUY 63 Is't thou, O wilV, or that perfidious snake? The snake's perfidious: thou, too, baneful wife.^'"'' With sin came death upon the whole human race. But the Creator, who is "prompt to forgive, but slow to punish guilt'V'^^ took pity on the work of His hands, and planned the reparation in such wise. That whence transgression gave them death, from thence Filial obedience might salvation give. (11. 20-27) Hence from among the children of Eve came Mary, who was to repair Eve's fault, by becoming the Mother of the Redeemer (11. 28-31; 35-53; 63-69). 163 28 Et velut e spinis mollis rosa surgit acutis Nil quod laedat habens matremque obscurat honore : 30 Sic Evae de stirpe sacra veniente Maria Virginis antiquae facinus nova Virgo piarct. 35 Haec ventura senes postquam dixere prophetae, Angelus intactae cecinit properata Mariae : Et dictum comitata fides, uterumque puellae Sidereum mox implet onus, rerumque Creator Nascendi sub lege fuit. Stupet innuba tensos 40 Virgo sinus gaudetque suum paritura parentem. Jamque novcm lapsis decimi de limine mcusis Fulgebat sacrata die.s, cum Virgine feta Fromissum complevit opus: Verbum caro factum, In no})is habitare volens. Tunc maximus Infans 45 Inteinerata sui consen'ans viscera templi Inlaesum vacuavit iter: pro Virgine testis Partus adest, clausa ingrediens et clausa relinquens. Quae nova lux numdo, quae toto gratia caelo? Quis fuit ille nitor, Mariae cum Christus ab alvo 50 Processit splendore novo? velut ipse decoro Sponsus ovaus thalamo, forma speciosus amoena l'>l The translation of the selections from the Carm. Pasch. are from Livius, op. cit., p. 44.3 sqq. Most of these selections have been put into German hexam. verse by Lehner, op. cit., p. 266 sq. HiiiCf. 11. 20-21. 103 Text in Corp Vindob. 10, p. 46 sqq. P. L. 19, 595 aqq. 64 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Prae filiis hominum, cujiis radiante figura Blandior in labiis diffusa est gratia pulchris. * :): 5): * * * * 63 Salve, sancta Parens, enixa puerpera regem. Qui caelum terramque tenet per saecula, cujus 65 Numen et aeterno complectens omnia gyro Imperium sine fine manet ; quae ventre beato Gaudia matris habens cum virginitatis honore Nee primam similem visa es nee habere sequentem : Sola sine exemplo placuisti femina Christo. As rising from sharp thorns the tender rose. With naught to harm, its mother's glory pales : So from Eve's stock the holy Mary comes, A Virgin new, to expiate the crime, Which the primeval \drgin wrought of old. ^: ***** * These things to come the ancient prophets told ; But now at hand the angel speeds to sing To spotless Mary. Faith attends his word. A heavenly burden fills the Maiden's womb : The world's Creator to the law submits Of being born. Meanwhile her heaving breasts The sacred Virgin all astonished sees. And joys now soon to give her Parent birth. When io, the nine months o'er, and tenth begun, The sacred day begins to shine, whereon. His promised work complete, the Word made Flesh, Ts of the Virgin Mother for us born. Wishing to dwell in us, that Mighty Babe, Guarding intact His temple's inner shrine. Makes way unscathed — of childbirth virginal Himself the voucher. Closed was that Orient Gate At coming in, at going out was closed. What new light shed on earth, what grace through heaven, What glory shone, when Christ from Mary's womb, As bridegroom from fair chamber, full of joy, Went forth in splendor new, with gracious form, Of all the sons of men most beautiful, Eadiant in countenance, upon His lips. So passing sweet, the kindliest grace diffused ! IN RIARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN I'OKTKY 65 Hail holy l^irent, Mother of tlie Kiiig,'*'^ Who through the ages lieaven and earth controls, Whose Deity and Empire — all that is Kinl)racing in circumference etern — Endless remain : thou, who, of blessed womb, Hast mother's joys with honor virginal. None like is seen before nor after thee. O peerless Woman, sole thou pleased'st Christ. These lines are among the best that Sedulius has written. By them lie won for himself immortality among the poets and an envial)lo honor: the two lines 03 and 64, slightly modified, have been taken by the Church to form the Introit of the or- dinarv^ votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary.^*^^ Not all of the ideas of the above selection, however, are origin- al with Sedulius. The line "virginis anti(juae facinus nova Virgo piaret" (31) was already in the Carmen adversus Mar- cionem (1. 152) in Imt slightly ditl'erent form. The expres- sion "innuba Virgo'' is found in the poems of Prudentius (Apoth. 1. 571). and the "stupet tensos Virgo sinus'' in the Carmen de Salvatore (1. 8-9) as also the "paritura jiarentem'' (1. 40) in the form of "auctorcm ]>aritura suum" (1. 10). Moreover, the "A^irgo feta'' (1. 42) can be traced to Paulinus, who had s])oken of Mary a.^ "verljo fet-ii Dei" (Carm. VI, 1. 122). Erom Paulinus also seems to l)e adapted the beautiful line: "gaudia matris habens cum virginitatis honore" (1. (57), for he had made Elizabeth say to Mary: "intactac ut ferres titulos, et praemia nuptae".^^'"' There is a line similar to it also in Hilary of Aries, as has been pointed out above. i*'" In the line: "intemerata sui conscnans viscera templi" (1. 45), there 104 Donahoe has a lengthy translation in the form of a h>Tiin for the Salve, sancta Parens, op. cit., Series II. p. 47. 165 Tho Carm. Pasch. is not. of course, written throughout in the lofty strain of those seven lines (63-69). But despite his weaknesses, the poet desen'es better, it would seem, than to be styled merely "le pile, versificaleur du Carmen Paschale" a.s Batiffol calls hira. (Hist, du br^^-v. remain, Paris, 1911, p. 214). For analysis and criticism of the work of Sedulius. cf. Manitius, op. cit., p. 30.'i sqq., Ebert, p. 375 sqq. !<'''■> Carm. VI, 1. 154 in the account of the Visitation, which has not been quoted here. KIT Cf. p. 61. 66 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY is a reminiscense of St. Ambrose, who had said: ''claustnim pudoris permanet versatur in templo Deus".^^^ The poet has skilfully interwoven the words of Scripture in two places: "Verbum caro factum" (John, I, 14) ; "speciosus forma prae filiis hominum diffusa est gratia in labiis." (Ps. xliv, 3). "Sponsus ovans thalamo" (1. 51) with the "processit" in the previous line (50) is likewise Scriptural (Ps. xviii, 6) and had been used similarly by St. Ambrose (procedens e thalamo suo). Finally, from Virgil, his master in the art of verse, he imitat- ed the expression "rosa e spinis acutis" (1. 28), ^^^ which he has, however, developed into one of the most pleasing of similes (1. 28-29), From him also he borrowed the salutation "Salve, sancta Parens", (1. 63) ^'^^ and the "imperium sine fine" (1. 66), 1^1 as well as the solemn expression "maximus Infans" (1. 44).i'^2 3,^11^ }ie can claim as his own the last lines, which tell so decisively that Mary's great privilege of virginal Divine 168 In the Veni, Redemptor gentium; str. 4, 2, 4. 169 Eel. V. 39: Carduus et spinis surgit paliurus acutis. 170 Aen. V, 80; Salve, sancte Parens. This form of salutation is thoroughly Virgilian. Cf. Georg. II, 173, salve, magne parens; alao Aen. II, 591, alma parens (id. II, 664; X, 252). 171 Aen. I, 279. 172 Cf. Aen. VIII, 20, maximus ultor; VI, 192, maximus heros. Per- haps the sidereum onus (1. 38) is Virgilian as well. Cf. Aen. X, 3, sidereum in sedem; XII, 167, sidereo clypeo; III, 585-6, aethra siderea; and so is certainly the nova lux, 1. 48 (cf. Aen. IX, 110, 173, imitated also by Hilary in de Evangelio, 1. 5). It need not cause surprise that Sedulius and his Christian fellow-poets should have borrowed so abun- dantly from Virgil (and, to a lesser extent, from the other classic writ- ers). Possibly they were too dependent on him to permit of their de- veloping sufficiently their own powers. On the other hand, it was right and proper that what was best in the ancient classics be made subservi- ent to the cause of Christian literature: just as the Church adopted many an ancient pagan religious custom that was suitable for Divine worship, but giving it a new meaning, making it become a means of grace and sanctification. Finally, as Boissier observes, the Christian poets' fidelity in imitating the classic writers was one of the principal causes of their success v/ith the educated classes, v/ho were thus made to see that the Church was not the enemy of literary culture; in this way, the poets in a certain sense continued the work of the apologists. (La Fin du Paganisme. Paris, Hachette, 1891, vol. II, p. 497. Cf. also ib. p. 498; and p. 55, appreciation of the value of the work of Juvencua from this point of view.) IN KAKLY lIIRISTIAN LATIN I'OETRY 67 maternity is indeed unique, unshared by anyone (11. 68-69) : Nee priniani similem visa es nee habere sequentcm: Sola sine exniplo plaiuisti feniina Christo. Perhaps Sedulius is thus made to appear, at least in this pass- age, in the light of a skilful compiler. Even so, he has dis- played remarkable talent in weaving together the tlireads bor- rowed from other sources. It may be obser\^ed, however, that Sedulius, with all other ecclesiastical writers, had quite naturally to depend considerably on his predecessors; for, theological subjects, such as his was, do not lend themselves to the perfect freedom of treatment that others admit of. The safest path here for the poet, as well as for the theologian, is the path of au- thorized tradition. Besides, his imagery has to be drawn chiefly from Holy Scripture. Now, in the days of Sedulius neither the imagination of the poets nor the ingenuity of pop- ular devotion had as yet found in Holy Scripture the wealth of figures and types of Mary that were discovered there by the piety of the succeeding ages. Hence the store of imagery from which he could draw was as yet comparatively limited. Final- ly, it must be conceded that he himself had only a moderate sum of creative talent. The question arises here: are the lines Salve, sancta Par» ens to be considered as real address, or as mere rhetorical apostrophe? The question may possibly seem idle; neverthe- less, it has some importance for this reason: when once it is known at what time the direct address and invocation of the Mother of (Jod finds a place in poetical literature, a starting- point is given for judging of the date of those hynuis in her honor that contain such address or invocation, or consist entirely of it ; as, for instance, the Ave, maris stella, the Nunc tibi, Virgo virginum,^"^ and others. It has been pointed out in the section on the eoctracts from the works of Prudentius, that his strophe Sentisne, Virgo no- bilis can hardly be said to be more than mere rhetorical apostrophe. Sedulius flourished some forty years after }*ni- 173 Wackemagel, op. cit., p. 82. 68 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY dentius, and during that intei'x^al devotion to the Mother of God had received considerable impetus. ^'^^ Yet, after SeduUus, there is hardly any mention of her in poetry till the beginning of the sixth century, and invocations addressed to her are not common even in Latin ecclesiastical prose literature before the same per- iod.!"^ This fact could of itself cause one to doubt that the above lines of Sedulius are to be considered as direct address. Moreover, he uses apostrophe so frequently — there are at least ten examples of it in the Carmen Paschale not including the lines in question nor the prayers to God and to Christ in Bk. I — that it is almost a mannerism with him. It might indeed seem nearer to the truth to say that the poet did intend to ad- dress himself directly to the Mother of God; yet. AAhile it would have been most natural to add a word of invocation, as the later poets have done almost invariably in similar instances, Sedulius did not add such a word, and thus has left his readers in doubt as to the real motive that guided his pen when he wrote those lines. In the Carmen Paschale mention is made of Mary also in three other places: Bk. I, 11. 81-84; Bk. V, 11. 322-25, and 357-64. In the first, the poet prays that God grant him to tread the path to the pastures of eternal life:^'^^ 174 Cf. Livius, op. cit., p. 288. note. 175 Cf. Livius, ib. The first clearly authentic example in Latin poet- ry of direct invocation of Mary seems to be in the hymn Ut Virginem fetam loquar, by Ennodius. The last line of this hymn leaves no room for doubt: Nostri memento praepotens. This, with the two preceding lines, is not found in P. L. 63, 332, No. XIX, of which the text in Livius, p. 452 sq. is a reprint. The last strophe of the hymn exists in mutilated form in the MSS. As emended in Corp. Vindob. (6, p. 552 sq.) it reads: Vinculum pudoris natus est. (Quae lau)de Christi dignior Quam sunt superni, crederis, Nostri memento praepotens. G. M. Dreves (An. Hymn. L, p. 67) has emended the defective line thus: (Quae se)de Christi dignior. 176 Corp. Vindob. 10, p. 21-22. P. L. 19, 561. See text and transla- tion in Livius, op. cit., p. 446-447. IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN POETRY O» Semita vitae Ad caulas me ruris agat, qua servat amoenum Pii^tor ovile bonus, qua vellcre praevius albo Virginis Agnus ovis grexque oinnis candidus intrat. Be mine to tread the path of Ufe that leads To pastures green, where the Good Shepherd keeps In pleasantness and peace His fold secure. There enters first the I.amb who goes before, Of whitest fleece, sprung from a Virgin sheep. Him follow after all the shining flock. In the second, he tells on the one hand, that the Virgin- Mother came with the other women to the sepulchre of Christ at the dawn of day :^^''' Hoc luminis ortu Virgo Parens aliaeque simul cum munere matres Messis aromaticae notum venere gementes Ad tunuilum, vacuumque vident jam corpore factum. The Virgin-Mother at first break of day, And other matrons in her company. Their lianest of sweet spices carrying. Came mourning to the well-known sepulchre; And see it of the Body now bereft. And in the third he tells, further, that Christ appeared to her the first after His resurrection, that she might be His messenger to others. Here, also, Mary is said to be the typo of the Church: 178 Discedat Synagoga, suo fuscata colore, Ecclesiam Christus pulchro silii junxit amore; Haec est conspicuo radians in honore Mariae: Quae cum clarifico semper sit nomine Mater, Semper Virgo manet; hujus se visil)us iistans Luce palani Dominus prius oljtulit, ut bona Mater. 177 Corp. Vindob. 10. p. 138; P. L. 19, 739 sq. Text and translation in Livius, op. cit.. p. 190. 178 Corp. Vindob. 10. p. 140; P. L. 19. 742 sq. Livius. op. cit.. p 446-7. This selection seems to contradict what is stated by h.im p. 190-191. 70 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Gaudia diviilgans miracula, quae fuit olim Advenientis iter, haec sit redeuntis et index. Give o'er the Synagogue, its glory dimmed : Christ to Himself in beauteous love hath joined The Church, e'en her that in great honor shines Conspicuous of Mary ; who for aye Mother of glorious name, yet still remains The ever- Virgin. To her sight the Lord At break of day new-risen first appeared : That publishing the mighty miracle. The same good Mother, who before had been The way whereby He came on earth to man, Might point the road of His return to heaven. From Sedulius there remain yet to be quoted two distichs of the Elegia, and part of the hymn A solis ortus cardine. The first of these works^''^ is written in praise of Christ, and treats briefly various prophetical types of the Old Testament and their fulfillment in the New, and also contrasts the benefits of God and the ingratitude of man. In 11. 7-8 he contrasts the part of Eve and Mary in the fall of man and the redemption : Sola fuit mulier, patuit qua janua leto: Et qua vita redit, sola fuit mulier.^^^ By woman only yawned the gate of death : By woman only opens the gate of life.^^^ In 11. 53-54 he extols the perpetual virginity of Mary: Virgo Maria nitet nullo temerante pudore: Post partum pueri virgo Maria nitet. A Virgin, Mary shines, inviolate : Her childbirth o'er, a Virgin, Mary shines. 179 It is in epanaleptic verse; i. e., the second part of the pentameter repeats the first part of the hexameter. See full text in P. L. 19, 753 sqq. Corp. Vindob. 10, p. 155 sqq., Summa Aurea, V, 723 sqq. 180 Cf. Carm. adv. Marc, I, c. 2: Virgo sancta parit, patuit nova janua vitae. (P. L., 2, 1056). 181 Translation of both distichs from Livius, op. cit.. p. 449. The epanaleptic form is imitated in the second. IN EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN I'OKTRY 71 The hymn A solis ortiis cardinei^- treats briefly the chief events of the life of Christ. The first seven strophes are used by the Church in the Divine Office at T.aufls from Christmas day until the Vigil of Epiphany. ^■'^•* The text and transla- tion follow ;!*'•* 1. A solis ortus cardine Adusque terrae limitem Christum canamus prineipen). Natum Maria Mrgine. 2. Beatus auctor saeculi Sen-'ile corpus induit, Ut earne carnem liberans Non perderet quod condidit.^®^ 3. Clausae parentis viscera Caelestis intrat gratia, Venter puellae bajulat Secreta, quae non noverat. 4. Domus pudici pectoris Templum repente fit Dei. Intacta nesciens virum Verbo creavit filiuuL 5. Enixa est puerpera, Quem Gabriel praedixerat, 182 It is abecedarian; i. e., it consists of 23 strophes, having the initial letters in alphabetical order. For the importance of this hymn in the history of the development of ecclesiastical hymnody, cf. Ebert, op. cit.. p. 380 sqq., Manitius, p. 311 sq. (Kayser, p. 344-5, follows Ebert.) ]h:« Daniel, op. cit., I. p. 144: "Inter opera C. Sedulii legitur hymnus al- phabeticus omni pietatis affectu plenissimus, quo ille Christi miraculor- um nobilis praeco totam redemptoris vitam persequitur. Ab hoc dulcis- simo carmine ecclesia non potuit quin sibi flosculos quosdam delibaret." iMText from An. Hymn. L. p. 58. Cf. also Daniel. I, 143; Wacker- nagel, I, p. 46; March, p. 59. The entire hymn may be seen in Corp. Vindob. 10, p. 163 sqq.; P. L. 19, 763 sqq.; Summa Aurea, V. 726 sq. It is listed as Nos. 25-31 in the Repertorium Hymnologicum of U. Chev- alier. See German version of str. 1-6 by Lehner. op. cit., p. 267. 185 p. L. and Summa Aurea read: ne perderet quos condidit. 72 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY Quern matris alvo gestiens Clausus Johannes senserat. 6. Feno jacere pertulit, Praesepe non abhorruit, Parvoque lacte pastus est, Per quern nee ales esurit. 7. Gaudet chorus caelestium, Et angeh canunt Deum, Palamque fit pastoribus Pastor creatorque omnium. ^^^ Unto the furthest bounds of earth/^"^ E'en from the rising of the morn, The Christ, our Prince, O let us sing, Of Mary ever Virgin born. So did the world's Creator blest To bear a servile body choose. That, by His Flesh He flesh might free, And tlius His creatures might not lose. Then into His chaste Mother's breast There entereth a heavenly grace, And Holy Fniit, before unknown. In a pure Maiden's womb finds place. 186 Strophes 8, 9, 11 and 13 of this hymn are used at Vespers on Epiphany and during the Octave. The first lines have been changed from Hostis Herodes impie Christum venire quid times? to Crudelis Herodes Deum Regem venire quid times? 187 Translation by Rt. Rev. E. G. Bagshawe (Bishop of Nottingham), op. cit., p. 41. J. P. Val d'Eremo, D.D., has published a very exact trans- lation in his Selected Feast-Day Hymns, p. 4-5. The translation by D. J. Donahoe in Early Christian Hymns, p. 67, is somewhat free. Juli- an's Dictionary of Hymnology (1892) p. 4, makes mention of 18 English versions. The hymn was a favorite in the early middle ages; it is found in 88 MSS. before the 11th century. (Mearns, op. cit.,) IN EARLY rilKISTIAN I.ATIN rOKTKY 7^ Tlie lu)U;>e of her most holy hreast God's Temple now is forthwitli made; And she wlio knew not man, conceived Her only Son without man's aid. She bcareth, when her time has come, Ilim whom St. Gal^riel had foretold, Whom, leaping in his mother's womb, St. John in sj)irit did behold. He deigned on humble straw to lie, The manger He did not refuse. Upon a little milk He fed. Whose gifts all, e'en the birds must use. The choir of saints is filled with joy. Angels to God their praises sing, And of the Shepherd, Lord of all. To holy shepherds tidings bring. This splendid liymn^^^ is in praise of the Savior; but nearly every one of the seven strophes adopted in the liturgy sings almost tus directly the glories of His Mother. Kaysor has aptly summarized it i^*^^ "The first stanza forms the introduc- tion, by an appeal to glorify the Incarnation of Christ the Lord, throughout the whole wide world. This song of prai.se itv'self then is divided into two parts: the one (str. 2-4) extols the wonderful conception (of Christ), the other (str. o-7) the wonderful nativity. The most achnirablc circumstance in Itoth is the incomprehensible .self-abiisement of the Son of God: He, tilt' Creator of all things assumes the fonn of a slave, takes up His abode in the bosom of a \'^irgin. Rut notwithstanding His humiliation. He is wondrously glorified Ity the most blame- less of iiiatikiiiil: the pure Virgin, whose chaste bosom becomes (iods temple, adores Him; St. John, while yet enclo.^ed in Hi.s mother's womb, exult.^ in His presence. At His birth there is greater humiliation : a manger is His cradle, a hand-full of .straw His resting place; but also yet greater glorification: the 188 Cf. the high praise bestowed on it by CtMestin Albin, op. cit.. p. 124. 189 Op. cit.. p. 363. See his masterly exposition of the entire hymn, p. 350 sqq. Cf. also the synopsis of it by Pimont. op. cit., p. 50 sqq. 74 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY choirs of angels sing a canticle of joy, and angel-voices an- nounce His coming." While bearing a stamp of originality, this hymn is really a beautiful mosaic, as it were, of ideas from Scripture and from earlier poets and enriched with some of the author's own gems of thought. It is excellently suited for use at Divine service, and it was probably intended for such use.^^*^ The texts and ideas from Scripture are easily recognized. They are inter- woven in every strophe, from the opening lines, which are adapted from the 112th Psalm, verse 3: "A solis ortu usque ad occasum," to the last line, where the Savior's title of Good Shep- herd^^^ is suggested by the mention of the shepherds to whom the angels announced His nativity.^^^ From his predecessors in the domain of Christian Latin poetry he adapted the "carne carnem liljerans" (str. 2. 3), which, in the Carmen adversus ]\Iarcionem read: "ut carnis caro debita sol vat" (II, 152)193; the "clausae parentis viscera" (str. 3. 1), which was probably suggested by the verse of St. Ambrose: "claustrum pu- doris permanet" ;i9^ and the expression ''templum Dei" (str. 4. 2) which occurs in the Epithalamium of St. Paulinus (1. 155), 19''' who had also used the epithet "intacta" in his pane- gyric on St. John the Baptist (1. 154.) The thought expressed in the line "verbo creavit filium" is analogous to that of the Carmen de Salvatore: "quem verbo inclusum" (1. 7),^^^ and of the Carmen de Christo: "verbique in semina fusum" (1. 4). 197 Strophes 6 and 7 are based entirely on Gospel texts, but it cannot be denied that the author has expressed himself here with true poetic feeling, and that the 6th strophe in par- 190 Manitius, op. cit.. p. 312. 191 Cf. John X, 11. 192 Cf. Luke II. 8. Carm. Pasch. II, 70-73. 193 Cf. above p. 8. 194 Hymn Veni, Redemptor gentium, str. 4. 2. Cf above p. 37. 195 Cf. above, p. 56. 196 Cf. above, p. 25. 197 Cf. above, p. 28. Sedulius refers to the words: "Fiat mihi secun- dum verbum tuum." The author of the Carmen de Salvatore apparently also; but the meaning of Merobaudes in the Carmen de Christo is un- certain. IN KARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN POKTRY 75 ticular is characterized by genuine pathos.^^® If a judgment is souglit. from the works of the poets, con- cerning the development of the devotion to the Mother of God in the fifth century, the evidence will he found not in Paulinus, but in Sedulius. and particularly in the seven lines beginning with .Salve, sancta Parens. ^'''-^ Juvcncu.s. it will be remem- bered, had drawn a sketch of the virtues that rendered her im- age attractive: Prudentius had above all admired and exalted her manellous virginity; Paulinus inherited this trait, one might Siiy, but though he expatiated at length on the subject there is too much rhetoric in his lines to permit his tribute from being any inn)rovement on that of Prudentius. The poet Sedulius strikes a new note: he sings her exaltation, the grandeur of her dignity of Mother of the eternal King of heav- en and earth, and of her unique privilege whereby she is both virgin and mother, so that in all ages there never had been or ever will be any one found like to her: alone she stands, the delight of Christ, without an equal. His i)redecessors had not been unaffected by this singular prerogative of virginal mater- nity: they had extolled it indeed, but chiefly as a proof that he who was l)orn of her was God ; St. Paulinus had even expressed his admiration of it in much the same terms as Sedulius him- self. But it remained for the latter to throw the light of eter- nal glory upon it, so to speak, and to point out not only its beauty l)ut above all its grandeur, by showing how it places her in a world apart in the eyes of Christ : Sola sine exemplo placuisti femina Christo. Thus the efforts of the former poets were in a manner nobly summed up, and the field was j)repared, wherein the later poets could exercise their gifts without ever exhausting its possibil- ities. 108 Cf. Pimont, op. cit.. p. 61. Line 4: March, op. cit., p. 249, refers to Luke xn. 6: "Not one of them is forgotten before God"; Kayser. op. cit., p. 361, to the same text, and also to Ps. 146, 9: "Who giveth to beasts their food, and to the young ravens who call upon him." i!»i» Cf. Pimont, op. cit., p. 61. These lines were held In particular esteem in the middle ages. Cf. P. L. 19, 599. note to 1. 63: HI septem versus charactere rubro in Cod. I'rb distincti sunt 76 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY CONCLUSION. With Sedulius, this sketch of what may be called the begin- nings of Marian Poetry may be appropriately closed. If the date assigned him above is correct, there is a remarkable gap — neariy half a century — between his work and that of the next poet who has written about the Mother of God. In the mean- time, the devotion to her took a stronger hold on the minds and hearts of the Christian people, w^ith the result that when her name is again met with in poetry, it is chiefly in compositions wholly devoted to her praise; such as the Hymnus Sanctae Mariae of Ennodius,2oo the Laudes Sanctae Mariae Virginis of Venantius Fortunatus^^^ and the steadily increasing number 200 Bishop of Pavia. Died 521. See text of hymn in P. L. 63. 332; Corp. Vindob. 6, 552; Summa Aurea III, 1571; An. Hymn. L, p. 67. Text and translation in Livius, op. cit., p. 452-53 (Cf. above p. 68, note 175). The tribute to Mary in the De Consolatoria Castitatis Laude (Tu Mariam sequeris P. L. 59, 375) by Alcimus Avitus, bishop of Vienna (d. 518?) may be anterior to the hymn of Ennodius by a few years. Cf. Ebert, op. cit., p. 394, note 4, for conjecture as to the date of that work. 201 Bishop of Poiters. Died early in the 7th century. See text of this work in P. L. 88, 276 sqq. ; Summa Aurea V, 1109 sqq. It is held unauthentic in Leo's edition of the works of Fortunatus (Mon. Germ. Hist. IV, Berlin, 1881, Appendix 1). But it is attributed to Fortunatus in good I\ISS. (cf. Teuffel, 491, 10, where, nevertheless, the authenticity is considered very questionable). Comparison with the similar work De Virginitate, which is wrongly interpreted by Manitius to be a panegyric of the B. V. M. (op. cit., p. 459) speaks for the authorship of Fortunatus; and the striking analogy between line 360, and De Virgin- itate 396, De Vita Martini II. 477; III, 526; IV, 597 and 703 seems to confirm it beyond doubt. Cf. also Ebert's remark, op. cit., p. 523, note 4. The Quem terra, pontus. aethera and the Laudes Sae. Mariae are from the pen of one and the same poet. (Cf. Ebert, ib. p. 533, note 2.) A considerable portion of the Laudes Sae. Mariae may be seen, with trans- lation, in Livius, op. cit., p. 368-69 sqq. IN KARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN I'OKTKV 7l of hymns in her honor.-"'- TIuis the work of Seduliu.s may ho said to mark a divichntji; lino in Marian jioolry : up to his time no indoi)ondont jK)ctical work in honor of Mary seems to he extant; in the new period, whieli hejjjins praetically witli the 0th cen- tury, sucli works hecome the rule.-"-' In the history of Marian poetry, the work of the early authors is not a confused collection of verses and excerpts that are mere- ly repetitions and to some extent am|)lifications of one another. It has heen shown, with sutHcient evidence, it is helicved, that nearly every one of them ha^s left a characteristic impres.>=i on the suhject he dealt with, has added a new trait to the poetical imaiie of the Mother of God, which was thus taking on new heauty from age to age. This image, as SeduUus leaves it, is merely a sketch in companson with what it becomc^s in the works of FoilunatiLS and his succesors; but the great lines drawn by the early poets were destined to remain. -02 To the productions mentioned should be reckoned the Empress Sophia's prayer to Mary. Queen of Heaven, in Bk. II, (11. .')2-69 ) of the Laudes Justini by Corippus (fl. 5G0 A. D.) (Mon. Germ. Hist. II, 2. Berlin, 1S79). -":! It is possible that one (jr the other of the anonymous Marian "Hymns of the Sth-llth century ". published in Anal. Hymn. LI. belongs to the 5th century; however, the rhyme and metre of these composi- tions are characteristic of a date later than the time of Sedulius, and many of them are undoubtedly to be ascribed to the Carolingian age. 78 THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY BIBLIOGRAPHY Works of General Reference. Bardenhewee-Siiahan, Patrology. Freiburg and St. Louis (Herder), 1908. Catholic Encyclopaedia. New York, (Appleton & Co.), 1907-1912. Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorwin. Vienna, (56 vols. publ.) (Denoted throughout as Corp. Vindobonense). Du Cange, Glossarium Med. et Infim. Latinitatis. Niort (Favre), 1883- 1887. Ebert, Adouti, Allgemeine Geschichte der Literatur des Mittelalters im Abendlande, Ms zum Beginne des XI Jahrhunderts. Leipzig (Vogel), 1889. FoRCELLiNi, Aeg., ToUus Latinitatis Lexicon. Leipzig, 1831-39. Kirchenlexikon. Freiburg (Herder), 1882-1901. Manitius, M., Geschichte der Christlich-Lateinischen Poesie bis zur Mitte des 8ten Jahrhxmderts. Stuttgart (Cotta) 1891. Nouvelle Biographic Gen^rale. Paris, (F. Didot Fr.), 1861-70. Patrologia Latina. Migne. ScHANZ, M., Geschichte der roemischen Literatur, bis zum Gesetgge- btmgswerk des Kaisers Justinian. Munich, (Beck), 1904. (In Iwan Muellers Handbuch der Klass. Alterthums-Wissenschaft, VIII). Summa Aurea De Laudibus, B. M. V. Canon Bourasse (Migne), 1866. Teuffel, Geschichte der roemischen Literatur. 6th Edition. Leipzig (Teubner), 1913. Works on Mariology in the First Centuries. Lehner, F. a., Die Marienverehrung in den ersten Jahrhunderten. Stuttgart (Cotta), 1886. Liell, H. F. J., Mariendarstellungen in den Katakomben. Freiburg (Herder), 1887. Livius, Th., O. S. B., The Blessed Virgin in the Fathers of the First Six Centuries. London (Burns and Gates), 1893. Neubert, E., S.M., Marie dans VEglise anteniccenne. Paris (Gabalda). 1909. Newman, J. H., A letter to Dr. Pusey. Works, Vol. II, Ed. Longmans, Green and Co., 1896. Works on Hymnology AT.RTTf, Celestin, La Poesie du Br6viaire. Tome I, Les Hymnes. Lyons (Vitte) and Paris (Picard). IN KARLY CIIKISTIAN LATIN TOKTUY •9 B.MisHAWK, Rt. Rkv. E. G.. Breviary Hymns ami Missal Sequence». London (Catholic Truth Society). 1895. CnEVAUER. U.. Rcpertorium Ilymnologicum. Louvain. 1S92. Damku H. Aualueut, Thesaurus llymnologicus. Halle, 1851-56. DoxAHOE. D. J.. Early Christian Hymns. New York (The Grafton Press). 1908. Series II. Middletown. Conn. (The Donahoe Publ. Co.). 1911. Dbeves, G. M. and Blimk, Cl.. Analccta Hymnica. Leipzig. 1889- (53 vols, issued). JuiJAN. J., Dictionary of Hymnology. London (Murray). 1892. Kaysek. J.. Bcitraegc zur Gcschichte und Frklacrung der aeltcsten Kirchcnhymnen. Paderborn (Schoeningh), 1881. Me.vkns. J., Early Latin Hymnaries. Cambridge Univ. Press. 1913. Mabcii. F. a.. Latin Hymns ^cith English yotes. New York. (Harper), 1898. MoNE. F. J.. Lateinische Hymne-n des Mittelalters. Freiburg (Her- der). 1853-55. PiMONT. S. G.. Lcs Hyvines du Bn^viairc Romain. (II, Hymnes du Temps). Paris (Poussi^lgue). 1878. Vai. D'Ekemo. J., Selected Feast-Day Hymns. London and Leaming- ton. (The Art Book Co.) (Benziger Bros.), 1895. Wacklrnageu Ph.. Das deutschc Kirchenlied. (Vol. 1) I>eipzlg (Teubner). 1864-77. VITA The writer of this dissertation was born February 23, 1880, at Stein\\desen, in northern Bavaria. In 1890 the family re- moved to Chicago, 111., where he finished his primary education at St. Francis parochial school. After joining the Society of Mary (Brothers of Mary), he continued his studies at the Nor- mal and College Departments of St. Mary College, Dayton, 0., receiving the degree of B. A. in 1901. He was thereafter em- ployed in teaching in the establishments of the Society till 1906, in which year he was sent by his Superiors to pursue his theological studies at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Ordained in 1909, he was recalled and employed in teaching at Chaminade College, Clayton, Mo., mother-house of the St. Louis Province of the Society of Mary. During two years he held the office of President of the boarding college annexed to that institution. Since 1915 he has been a graduate student in the School of Letters of the Catholic University, attending lectures in English under Dr. Lennox and Dr. Hemelt, in Greek under Dr. O'Connor, and in Latin under Dr. Maguire and Dr. O'Connor. He obtained the degree of M. A. in June, 1916. RETURN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT LOAN PERIOD 1 l2 HOME USE 3 Desk ^ ^ ^^ ^^, be ,„,-1- - ^-r nrior to due date t873 lTl91 . .n ^/19. BERKELEY, CA 94720 @, FORMNO.DD6, 40m, 3/78 uuiYT?r LD 21A-50m-4,'59 «... , . : ^^"^^^^ ^'?^ ■ uiV2lsio)476B JIIN6 166 28"Te^1rkii^^' ^m■ GENERAL LIBRARY - U.C. BERKELEY 8000313870