VILNIUS UNIVERSITY

Mantė Lenkaitytė

THE MODEL OF A MONK IN DE LAUDE EREMI OF EUCHERIUS OF LYONS AND IN THE LATIN MONASTIC LITERATURE UP TO THE EARLY FIFTH CENTURY

Doctoral dissertation Humanities, Philology (04 H)

Vilnius, 2006 VILNIAUS UNIVERSITETAS

Mantė Lenkaitytė

VIENUOLIO IDEALAS EUCHERIJAUS LIONIEČIO „PAŠLOVINIME DYKUMAI“ IR LOTYNIŠKOJE VIENUOLINĖJE LITERATŪROJE IKI PENKTOJO AMŽIAUS PRADŽIOS

Daktaro disertacija Humanitariniai mokslai, filologija (04 H)

Vilnius, 2006

2 Disertacija rengta 2002 – 2006 metais Vilniaus universitete

Mokslinis vadovas: doc. dr. Tatjana Aleknienė (Vilniaus universitetas, humanitariniai mokslai, filologija - 04 H)

3 Table of contents

INTRODUCTION...... 6 A. The object of the research ...... 6 B. The aim and tasks of the research ...... 6 C. Relevance and novelty of the research...... 7 D. Research methods ...... 9 E. The sources of the research ...... 10 F. Defensive statements ...... 11 I. MODEL AND EXAMPLE IN THE EARLY MONASTIC LITERATURE...... 13 1. Example and imitation in Christianity ...... 13 1.1. The biblical background ...... 13 1.2. The relation to and difference from the Classical background...... 14 1.3. The Christian way of seeing history ...... 16 1.4. The relations between the teacher and his disciple...... 18 2. The figures of reference in the early monastic literature ...... 18 2.1. Biblical figures...... 19 2.2. Eastern monks...... 22 II. THE MODEL OF A MONK IN DE LAUDE EREMI OF EUCHERIUS OF LYONS...... 25 1. Eucherius of Lyons, his life and works...... 25 2. De laude eremi...... 28 3. The model of a monk ...... 30 3.1. The structure of the work...... 30 3.2. The main concepts ...... 38 3.2.1. Desert and seclusion ...... 38 3.2.2. Paradise...... 48 3.2.3. Love and charity ...... 62 3.2.4. God’s grace ...... 64 3.2.5. Conclusion ...... 68 3.3. Eucherius’ interpretation of the Bible...... 69 3.4. Scriptural examples...... 75 3.5. The desert habitants of today ...... 85 4. Conclusion ...... 92 III. THE MODEL OF A MONK IN THE EARLY LATIN MONASTIC LITERATURE ...... 96 1. Vita Antonii by Athanasius of Alexandria ...... 96 1.1. Contemporary examples ...... 98 1.2. Scriptural examples and figures as models of monastic life...... 100 1.3. Antony as a father and a saint...... 107 1.4. Other solitaries...... 112 1.5. Conclusion ...... 112 2. The Three Lives of Eastern monks by Jerome...... 113 2.1. Scriptural models and allusions ...... 116 2.2. Succession of the human example ...... 122 2.3. Conclusion ...... 126

4 3. Eastern monks in the works of Rufinus ...... 127 3.1. Ecclesiastical History...... 128 3.2. Historia Monachorum in Aegypto ...... 131 3.3. Conclusion ...... 141 4. Martinian works by Sulpicius Severus: the first model of the Latin monk ...... 141 4.1. Martin’s portrait...... 144 4.2. Egyptian monks ...... 158 4.3. Martin superior to Egyptian ascetics...... 161 4.4. Conclusion ...... 165 5. and the implantation of the Eastern model in the south of Gaul...... 167 5.1. Points of reference: antiquitas, traditio, exemplum ...... 170 5.2. Eastern monks viewed by Cassian...... 177 5.3. Examples from Scripture ...... 190 5.4. Conclusion ...... 193 IV. NEW AND OLD IN THE MODEL BY EUCHERIUS OF LYONS...... 196 V. CONCLUSIONS ...... 200 BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 204 Main sources ...... 204 Secondary literature ...... 207 Abbreviations...... 218

5 INTRODUCTION

A. The object of the research

The object of the research is the ascetic treatise in the form of a letter De laude eremi (“In Praise of the Desert“), written in 428 by Eucherius of Lyons, and its Latin predecessors: the Latin monastic literature, either original or translated from Greek, prior to the composition of De laude eremi. De laude eremi is the first known literary work issued in the environment of the monastery of Lérins, founded around 410 by of Arles. This insular monastery very soon developed into the most influential monastic centre of the Southern Gaul. The work of Eucherius represents therefore a recently emerged community and its ideals. The importance of the work is proved by the fact that many of the later Lerinian authors were strongly influenced by Eucherius’ vision of the ascetic model. On the other hand, De laude eremi stands in the already established tradition of the Latin monastic literature which emerged less than a century ago with the first Latin translation of the Vita Antonii. It is therefore worth to regard the work of Eucherius in the light of its literary predecessors, and to try to discern what he owes to earlier authors, and what is proper to his own vision of the monastic model that he passed over to the next generations. Other works of Eucherius are also taken into consideration as far as they help to clarify certain notions or ideas of the author. Other Lerinian writings, however, are not analysed, unless they help to draw certain parallels: on one hand, this would exceed the scope of the present research, and on the other, the early Lerinian literature as a whole has already been object of several monographies.

B. The aim and tasks of the research The aim of the research is to outline the model1 of a monk as it can be perceived in De laude eremi, comparing it to the model of a monk in the earlier Latin monastic literature. The research does not aim to reconstruct the features of historical persons, the historical reality or spiritual doctrines, nor the social reasons and implications of the texts. Instead, it tends to analyse the literary means used to form and to describe the

1 The word “model” is being used in the sense of an ideal to be striven for, something on which one can model itself.

6 examples the monk is following, which however are seen in concrete human figures, either scriptural or belonging to the recent Christian history. In order to reach the aim, we have set the following tasks: 1. to make the survey of the role of imitation and example in the early Christian literature; 2. to make the general analysis of De laude eremi: its structure, the main notions and concepts, the exegetical methods. 3. to analyse the model of a Lerinian monk as it can be perceived through the examples, both scriptural and contemporary, in De laude eremi. 4. to analyse the model of a monk in the monastic works earlier to De laude eremi, either written originally in Latin or translated into Latin from Greek: a. to set the role of scriptural figures as monastic models or types; b. to examine the tendency to portrait monk as endowed with the features of biblical figures; c. to analyse the authoritative figures in the monk’s immediate milieu; d. to set the role of an Eastern monk in the Western literature; e. to establish the relation between the different groups of examples and models: the scriptural figures, the monks of the past, and the teachers of today; f. to perceive the moment when a monk who has learnt from the examples of others becomes himself an ideal to be striven for. 5. to compare the model of a monk in De laude eremi and in the earlier monastic works; to evaluate what Eucherius owes to his literary predecessors, what changes he has introduced, and what is due to his own vision of the model of a monk.

C. Relevance and novelty of the research De laude eremi of Eucherius of Lyons has merited different approaches which however are not exhaustive, either because dedicated to a certain theme limited to an article, or because analysed in the wider context of the Lerinian literature and therefore losing something of its proper character. From the literary point of view, the work is

7 generally seen as “an encomium of the solitary life“2 which in paradisiac terms exalts the spiritual desert of Lérins, the place of silence and prayer. In the same year of 1968 Luigi Alfonso has dedicated an article to the work’s ascetico-protreptical character as compared to the classical literature3, while Ilona Opelt has viewed the encomium in the context of the Late Antique literature emphasizing its biblical-typological character4, the feature which does not seem to have much interested later scholars. Salvatore Pricoco, the editor of De laude eremi (1965), has offered a penetrating overall approach to the beginnings of the Lerinian monasticism and its literary production in his “L’isola dei Santi” (1978)5. Yet most of the recent studies on the early monastery of Lérins view the encomium less as a piece of literature, and more as a source providing information about the ascetic, theological, or social environment of the early Lerinian community6. On a broader scale, different studies have been made concerning the early monasticism in the West: theological and spiritual implications of the monastic life as vita angelica, vita apostolica, or vita prophetica; the origin and the sources of the works; the role of the Eastern monasticism; the historical, philosophical and spiritual influences. The monumental work of writing the general history of the early monastic literature has been undertaken some fifteen years ago by the monk of the Pierre-qui-Vire Adalbert de Vogüé7. The present research is rather directed towards the inner analysis of the early Latin monastic texts, with the aim to define the model of a monk using the philological

2 W. G. RUSCH, The Later Latin Fathers, London, 1977, p. 160. 3 L. ALFONSI, Il « De laude eremi » de Eucherio, Convivium. Rivista bimestrale di letteratura, filologia e storia 36, 1968, p. 361-369. 4 I. OPELT, Zur literarische Eigenart von Eucherius’ Schrift de Laude Eremi, VChr 22, 1968, p. 198-208. 5 S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi. Il cenobio di Lerino e le origini del monachesimo gallico (Filologia e critica 23), Roma, 1978. 6 We have especially in mind the works of R. NÜRNBERG, Askese als sozialer Impuls. Monastisch- asketische Spiritualität als Wurzel und Triebfeder sozialer Ideen und Aktivitäten der Kirche in Südgallien im 5. Jahrhundert (Hereditas 2), Bonn, 1988; R. NOUAILHAT, Saints et patrons. Les premiers moines de Lérins (Annales littéraires de l’Université de Besançon 382 = Centre de Recherches d’Histoire Ancienne 84), Paris, 1988; and C. M. KASPER, Theologie und Askese. Die Spiritualität des Inselmönchtums von Lérins im 5. Jahrhundert (BGAM 40), Münster, 1991. The exception would be the work of C. SCHERLIESS who concentrates on the rhetorical features of some of the early Lerinian compositions, Literatur und conversio. Literarische Formen im monastischen Umkreis des Klosters von Lérins (EHS 82), Frankfurt am Main, 2000. 7 Until now, ten volumes out of planned twelve of its Latin part are published, Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l’antiquité. Première partie : le monachisme Latin, vol. 1-10, Paris, 1991- 2006.

8 means. We have tried to perceive the whole of the monastic ideals as they are presented in concrete works, and to establish, or to see if there exists such, a certain chain of monastic models in the process of history, serving as types for future generations, such as we suggest to see in De laude eremi by Eucherius. This text of rather moderate lenght embodies a very concentrated language with a deep biblical and Christian background. It is therefore important to analyse it thoroughly on one hand, and to see it in the perspective of the earlier Latin monastic literature on the other8. The deeper research into its biblical content may also reveal new horizons for its future interpretations, inviting to see the work in a broader context than that which is limited to the monastic literature sensu stricto. The interest for such research in Lithuania has even more special reasons. If the patristic studies in Lithuania have already their history, however short and poor it be9, the monastic literature, especially its beginnings, have not yet attracted the scholarly attention. However, the early Latin monastic texts are important not only for the history of monasticism, but also for the understanding and interpretation of the Western literature, culture and spirituality in a broader sense. Therefore we hope that our contribution into this still unexplored area will incite a wider discussion in this domain in Lithuania, which might result in other researches and the first translations of monastic texts into Lithuanian.

D. Research methods The texts are analysed using the hermeneutical and comparative research methods. In order to determine the direction of where and how the further analysis should be organized, and to keep the fresh attitude to the main text of the research, De laude eremi of Eucherius of Lyons has been analysed in the first place. The other texts are then analysed retrospectively, keeping however the chronology of their publication, starting

8 A similar way of approach to certain aspects of the early Latin monasticism by the chronological analysis of its early sources has been undertaken by M.-E. BRUNERT, Das Ideal der Wüstenaskese und seine Rezeption in Gallien bis zum Ende des 6. Jahrhunderts (BGAM 42), Münster, 1994, and A. E. J. GROTE, Anachorese und Zönobium. Der Rekurs des frühen westlichen Mönchtums auf monastische Konzepte des Ostens (Historische Forschungen 23), Stuttgart, 2001. 9 See the survey by D. ALEKNA, Alexandrie en Lituanie: potius sero..., Adamantius 8, 2002, p. 160-166. In 2004, a group of Lithuanian scholars have initiated the foundation of Christiana tempora, a series of publications dedicated to the early Christian texts and their studies.

9 from the earliest of them, the Life of Antony, and ending with the writings of John Cassian, the closest author to Eucherius both in time and in place. Such order lets follow the development of the salient elements and literary means in the Latin monastic literature throughout the period, and then, taking a hindsight, to review the position of Eucherius’ model of a monk in his De laude eremi, as it has already been qualified in the first part of the work. Finally, the overall conclusions can be made. Since the texts represent different literary genres, and differ in lenght as well as in their content, the approach to them in each case must also be different. This is especially pertinent in the part dedicated to John Cassian whose works let determine rather theoretical elements of the monastic ideal, while in the works of other authors the model must be perceived from the narrative of the monk’s life. However, in all cases the literary means of creating the scriptural examples and contemporary models have been taken into consideration. In the case of Eucherius’ De laude eremi, the model of a monk is more abstract. Since it is created rather by the entirety of the composition, its salient notions and the way how Eucherius interprets the biblical text, these aspects have been included into the analysis of De laude eremi.

E. The sources of the research The main sources have been selected considering the relevance of their content to the aims of the research. This criterion has determined that most of the texts are hagiographical ones, the Vitae of the monks. These include the first Christian biography of a monk, the Life of Antony by Athanasius, written in 356, and its two Latin translations; the three Lives of the saints by Jerome (Vita Pauli, Vita Hilarionis and Vita Malchi), composed in the period from about 375 to 391; the Latin translation by Rufinus of the Historia Monachorum (around 403-404) and his chapters on Eastern monks in the Ecclesiastical History (around 402); and the works by Sulpicius Severus on Martin of Tours, written from 397 to 404, which constitute the first example of the original Latin monastic biography. The works of John Cassian, the Institutiones and the Conlationes, represent other literary genres, those of monastic institutions and spiritual conversations, but are essential for the present research because of their relevance to the subject, and because of Cassian’s close relations with the Lerinian monastery and Eucherius.

10 Since the analysis aims also to determine the possible influences on Eucherius, the other criterion for the selection of the sources was the circulation of these texts in Latin version before the date of the publication of De laude eremi. That is why such works as the Pachomian Lives, the Lausiac History by Palladius, and the Sayings of the Fathers, the translations of which into Latin are known only after the second half of the fifth century, have been excluded from the research. Finally, in order to better understand Eucherius’ thought, his other texts have been also taken into consideration, although all of them are posterior to De laude eremi: a paraenetical letter to his kinsman Valerianus De contemptu mundi, two exegetic treatises dedicated to his sons, Formulae spiritalis intellegentiae and Instructionum libri duo, and the account on the martyrs of Agaune, Passio Acaunensium martyrum.

F. Defensive statements 1. In the early Latin monastic literature the model of a monk, in the sense of an example whose virtues and behaviour must be imitated, may be represented by: a) a figure that a monk indicates as his ideal (exemplum) on which he models himself, either his spiritual guide or a certain biblical figure; b) a figure that a monk presents in his teaching as an exemplum of a certain virtue; c) a monk himself, whose life and virtues are described in order to be an exemplum to others. This portrait of a monk may also include d) a biblical figure serving as a type, whose words and actions a monk repeats. 2. All these elements may be applied to the portrayal of one figure. The model is then constructed from a double perspective. While it is the figure of a monk which serves as an immediate example to be imitated (imitari) for the readers, the model moreover is constructed on the foundations of Scripture. The sequence is established between the saints of the Bible, the Christian martyrs and the most recent saint, the monk, who throughout his life followed the example of the first and sought after the glory of the second. 3. The immediate exemplum of the monk who teaches more by his life than by his words is essential to the early monastic literature. The monk’s virtues are exempla to be imitated (imitari) and to be emulated (aemulari). The aim of the monastic literature is to present this living exemplum through whom as through his instruments the Lord teaches

11 that the virtues are reachable for human nature, and through whom he invites others to imitate their life (ad vitae imitationem). 4. In the Latin monastic literature, the contemporary model of a monk is seen in the Eastern monk, represented by the Egyptian inhabitants of the desert. Antony is the most prominent figure among them. He has marked most of the later Latin monastic works, while the main elements of constructing the model of a monk are already perceptible in his Life. Cassian, writing some seventy years later, can already provide the theoretical and historical foundations for what constitutes the model of a monk, especially emphasizing the values of antiquity, tradition and exemplarity.

5. In comparison to his literary predecessors, Eucherius creates the more abstract, “ideal” model of a monk. He inserts the history of monasticism into the history of Salvation. The way how Eucherius constructs his model of a monk results from the typological interpretation of the desert, the story of Exodus prefiguring the Christian baptism. The entrance into the desert, denoting allegorically the beginning of monastic life, can be thus interpreted as the second baptism. Therefore the Lerinians, who are endowed with the features of the biblical characters, appear less as ascetics living the monastic way of life, and more as members of the wider Church representing the God’s adopted nation.

12 I. MODEL AND EXAMPLE IN THE EARLY MONASTIC LITERATURE

1. Example and imitation in Christianity

In ecclesia iste ordo est: alii praecedunt, alii sequuntur; et qui praecedunt, exemplo se praebent sequentibus; et qui sequuntur, imitantur praecedentes. Sed et illi qui se exemplo praebent sequentibus, numquid neminem sequuntur? Si neminem sequuntur, errabunt. Sequuntur ergo et illi aliquem, ipsum Christum (Augustine, Enarratio in Ps. 39,6) 1.

1.1. The biblical background An example, or a model, in the sense of an ideal to be striven for, something on which one can model itself, is in the core of the Christian theology, and, consequently, in the literature2. God as the Creator of the world is the transcendent model whom every being must imitate. If this notion is almost absent from the Old Testament, it becomes explicit in the New Testament: “you shall be perfect just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Mt 5,48), and “be imitators of God (imitatores Dei) as dear children” (Eph 5,1). Because Christ is the unique mediator between God and men3, and is “the image of God”4 par excellence, he is the perfect model for a Christian, both in contemplation and in action; Jesus himself has said: “I have given you an example (exemplum)” (Io 13,15). Christianity is “a religion whose founder had lived a life and told stories to illustrate his ideal rather than drawing up a definite code of belief and behaviour”5.

1 “For there is in the Church this order, some go before, others follow; and those who go before make themselves an example to those who follow; and those who follow imitate those who go before. But do those then follow no one, who exhibit themselves as an example to them that come after? If they follow no one at all, they will fall into error. These persons then must themselves also follow some one, that is, Christ Himself”, English translation quoted from St. Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms, ed. PH. SCHAFF (NPNF I, t. 8), p. 121. 2 For example in the early Christianity we have referred to P. ADNÈS, Art. Exemple, DSp 4, col. 1878-1885; H. PÉTRÉ, Art. Exemplum: Époque patristique, DSp 4, col. 1886-1892; A. LUMPE, Art. Exemplum, RAC 6, col. 1229-1257; and H. CROUZEL, L’imitation et la “suite” de Dieu et du Christ dans les premiers siècles chrétiens ainsi que leurs sources gréco-romaines et hébraïques, JAC 21, 1978, p. 7-41. 3 1 Tim 2,5. The English text is quoted according to the Holy Bible: the new King James version, containing the Old and New Testaments, Nashville, 1982. 4 2 Cor 4,4. 5 C. STANCLIFF, St. Martin and His Hagiographer. History and Miracle in Sulpicius Severus, Oxford, 1983, p. 263.

13 Jesus’ example is addressed to every man, because all the faithful are called to holiness. Therefore the saints who live in the grace of God become in their turn models who reflect something of the divine to which they try to conform their life. Apostle Paul often gives his own example to be imitated, which is in fact the imitation of Christ6; and by imitating Paul, his followers become examples themselves7. Thus to give an example becomes a moral imperative to every Christian, the notion founded again upon the words of Jesus: “you are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. [...] Let your light so shine before men, that they see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt 5,14-16).

1.2. The relation to and difference from the Classical background Both notions, the following of God and the importance of exemplum, are known in the Classical world. The first pertains more to the philosophical language8, the second to the school of rhetorics9. Exemplum has mainly two meanings. On one hand, exemplum was one sort of proofs used in the argumentatio part of rhetorical speech; usually it was a short story telling res gestae of the famous persons. On the other hand, it was a moral exemplum, an idealized model embodying the human perfection, taken from Homer in the case of Greeks, or from Roman history in the case of Romans10. During the Empire, the handbooks of illustrative examples of memorable deeds and sayings are published for the instruction of people11.

So what is the difference between the nature of the classical example and that of the Christian? The thing which makes this difference essential is the Christian faith in the Incarnation of God12. “Differences in behaviour or in moral recommendation flowed

6 1 Cor 11,1: imitatores mei estote sicut et ego Christi, see also 1 Cor 4,16; Phil 3,17. 7 1 Th 1,6-7: et vos imitatores nostri facti estis et Domini [...]. ita ut facti sitis forma omnibus credentibus in Macedonia et in Achaia. 8 See H. CROUZEL, art. cit., p. 7-14. 9 See H. LAUSBERG, Handbook of Literary Rhetoric. A Foundation for Literary Study (original title Handbuch der literarischen Rhetorik: eine Grundlegung der Literaturwissenschaft), Leiden, 1998, p. 196- 203; see also A. LUMPE, art. cit., col. 1230-1240; J.-M. DAVID, Art. Exemplum (Droit romain), in J. LECLANT (dir.), Dictionnaire de l’Antiquité, Paris, 2005, p. 883. 10 H. I. MARROU, Histoire de l’éducation dans l’Antiquité, t. 1: Le monde grec, Paris, 1982, p. 25-38, and t. 2: Le monde romain, p. 18-19. 11 For example, Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri by Valerius Maximus. 12 See M. VAN UYTFANGHE, L’hagiographie: un “genre” chrétien ou antique tardif?, AnBoll 111, 1993, p. 135-188, especially p. 170-179. The essential role given by Christians to faith and the Incarnation of God

14 from a more deeply seated understanding of what it meant to be a creature, made in God’s image, and destined to paradise, with all that implied about human capabilities and aspirations”13. A stoic, by the way of following gods and imitating their virtues, was capable of becoming equal to them, to become qe½oV àn$r, the divine man14. A Christian, on the contrary, is ÀnqrwpoV qeoÒ, a man who is touched by the grace of God, and is always aware to be dependent from it. While pagans endeavoured to achieve perfection of virtue for its own sake and on their own forces, Christians consider themselves the instruments in the hands of the Lord who is the final direction and the object of their spiritual endeavours.

The Christian understanding of death itself, the assurance of a paradise and the promise of patronal aid, set its own stamp. There was a new tone of familiarity, affection, and comradeship with the dead saints, a communio sanctorum, - an imagined intimacy which had to create an almost tangible presence and which immediately expanded the social horizons of readers, empowering them to build within the orbit of their own experience the transcendent architecture of the city of God15. Even when alive the holy men were already playing this function of mediators between the earth and the heaven, of intercessors before God. A Christian ascetic, withdrawing into the desert and standing outside the ties of family and of economic interest, became a ‘stranger’ in the society but nevertheless drew the masses of people, thus becoming not only the example of holy life but also “the locus of spiritual power” 16.

shocked already the ancient pagans, cf. G. DORIVAL, La mutation chrétienne des idées et des valeurs païennes, Les Pères de l’Eglise au XXe siècle. Histoire-Littérature-Théologie. “L’aventure des Sources chrétiennes”, Paris, 1997, p. 275-294, at p. 282-284. 13 T. HÄGG, PH. ROUSSEAU, Introduction: Biography and Panegyric, in T. HÄGG AND PH. ROUSSEAU (ed.), Greek Biography and Panegyric in Late Antiquity (The transformation of classical heritage 31), Berkeley, 2000, p. 1-28, at p. 22. 14 Cf. H. CROUZEL, art. cit. 15 T. HÄGG, PH. ROUSSEAU, art. cit., p. 24. The “cult of saints”, the role of tombs, shrines, relics, and pilgrimages connected with the sacred bodies of the saints in the late Latin antiquity is analysed by P. BROWN, The Cult of the Saints. Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity, Chicago, 1981. 16 The social role of a holy man was analysed by P. BROWN, The Rise and Function of the Holy Man in Late Antiquity, JRS 61, 1971, p. 81-101 (= Society and the Holy in Late Antiquity, Berkeley, 1982, p. 103- 152), to be completed by ID., The Rise and Function of the Holy Man in Late Antiquity, 1971-1997, Journal of Early Christian Studies 6, 1998, p. 353-376; see also ID., The Making of Late Antiquity, Cambridge, 1978.

15 Therefore, if Christianity had borrowed the idea of imitating the example of great forefathers from the classical literature, it has nevertheless enriched it with new content. If for a Greek or a Roman the purpose and the reward for his exemplary àret$ was the glory and the immortalization of his deeds, the imitatio Christi of a dying Christian martyr was not a simple act of heroism: he also fully participated in the passion of Christ and in his Resurrection17. To fix the deeds and the virtues of a saint in written form was not simply to transmit some of the features of a hero in the manner of a painter, as is the attitude of Plutarch in his introduction to the biography of Alexander18. Rather, the life of a holy man bearing in itself the testimony of the divine grace, this eikon should serve as a model to be emulated, and as a means of encouragement to its readers in the attainment of virtue19.

Two more things relevant to our further research on the model result from the Christian faith in the Incarnation: the Christian understanding of history, and the relation between the teacher and his disciple in Christianity.

1.3. The Christian way of seeing history To Christians, the time is organized into history by the divine initiative, which guarantees its continuity and intelligibility. The experience of the past is understood as being oriented into the future and the human history makes part of the History of Salvation, Heilsgeschichte20. God intervenes in real time, lived by men on the earth. He has revealed himself to the prophets, he gave the Law to Moses on the Mount Sinai, and finally took upon the nature of man in Jesus Christ.

17 Cf. 2 Cor 4,10-11; Col 1,24. 18 Vit. Alex. 1,3. 19 This difference is clear for example in the Praeparatio evangelica of Eusebius of Ceasarea. For Eusebius, the lives of the ancient Hebrew forefathers, written by Moses, served as images (eikones) to those who wanted to learn the divine teaching (Praep. evang. 7,7,4). Although Eusebius uses the metaphor of painting borrowed from Plutarch, the stress is rather put on their content which is divine. In fact, this passage of Eusebius might have been influenced not only by Plutarch but also by Philo, see A. P. JOHNSON, Philonic allusions in Eusebius, PE 7.7-8, CQ 56/1, 2006, p. 239-248, at p. 241. 20 e e See H. I. MARROU, Décadence romaine ou antiquité tardive? III -IV siècle, Paris, 1977, p. 73-83; J. DANIELOU, Sacramentum futuri. Études sur les origines de la typologie biblique, Paris, 1950, p. 3-4 and 143; cf. J.-Y. LACOSTE, Art. Histoire, in J.-Y. LACOSTE (dir.), Dictionnaire critique de théologie, Paris, 1998, p. 538-544, especially p. 540-541, and ID., Art. Temps, ibid., p. 1135-1136.

16 This linear understanding of history makes possible the typological, or spiritual interpretation of history. History is regarded as a sequence of periods, each of which leaves an imprint on the subsequent one; certain events of the Holy History appear as images, figures, preparations, typoi of future events, while in each case the future time is more perfect, more pronounced than the past. A biblical “type” is a person, an event or an institution with a lasting significance which enables that person, event or institution to signify someone or something in God’s future acting in history21. Thus Adam is the type of Christ (who is his antitype, replica), and the passage of the Red See by the Hebrews prefigures Christian baptism22. Indeed, typology is a specific Christian way of interpreting the Old Testament in the light of the New Testament: “a person or a reality of the Old Testament is seen not only as a model or an example to follow, but as a type – an image or a figure – of another reality, which in most cases has a messianic character and pertains to the history of the New Testament”23.

This typological interpretation of history has also influenced the Christian literature which “was referential, or figural: it signified”24. In hagiography, including the monastic literature, the saint, in what he does or in what happens to him, could be related to a certain figure of the Bible, while his behaviour might be a reflection of a certain biblical event. He could also deliberately direct his life according to the models of Scripture, the most perfect of them being Jesus25. The life of a saint becomes then “a continued biography of Christ, present in the most perfect members of his mystical Body”26.

21 See H. I. MARROU, Décadence romaine, cit., p. 76-77; H. LAUSBERG, op. cit., p. 402; CH. KANNENGIESSER, Handbook of Patristic Exegesis (The Bible in Ancient Christianity 1), Leiden, 2004, p. 228-242. 22 See Rm 5,14 and 1 Cor 10,4-6. 23 J.-N. GUINOT, La typologie comme technique herméneutique, Figures de l’Ancien Testament chez les Pères (Cahiers de Biblia Patristica 2), Strasbourg, 1989, p. 1-34, at p. 2; cf. also J. DANIELOU, op. cit., p. 52; E. AMANN, Art. « Type », DThC 15, col. 1935-1936. 24 A. CAMERON, Christianity and the Rhetoric of Empire. The Development of Christian Discourse, Berkeley, 1991, p. 43. 25 See M. VAN UYTFANGHE, Stylisation biblique et condition humaine dans l’hagiographie mérovingienne (600-750) (Verhandelingen van de koninlijke academie voor wetenschappen, letteren en schone kunsten van België, Klasse der letteren, Jaargang 49, No 120), Brussel, 1987, p. 17-27. 26 J. FONTAINE, Introduction, texte, traduction et commentaire, Sulpice Sévère. Vie de saint Martin, t. I-III (SC 133-135), Paris, 1967-1969, at t. I, p. 68.

17 1.4. The relations between the teacher and his disciple The news of incarnated God implies one more novelty in the antique world. If in the Classical educational system the teacher’s profession was ranked as a low paid job, a simple métier27, the approach changes completely in Christianity. As the human example must point to the divine example, so the teacher is such in as far as he participates in the true Master who is God: magister dicitur ex consortio veri Magistri28. And as God is Father to his children, so the teacher becomes a spiritual father of his disciple. This spiritual paternity makes the title of the father, àbb…V, pater, the most honourable title in Christianity, and the spiritual relationship becomes higher than the relation of blood. The role of spiritual direction is especially important in monasticism already from its earliest form, the Desert Fathers29. Since every Christian must seek after holiness, he needs a guidance. Therefore the close relationship between abba and his disciple is indispensable to anyone who wishes to undertake the road of spiritual perfection.

On the other hand, masters had to be themselves the disciples of holy men and to have proved their spiritual authority. Abbot “was expected to reflect in his own life the fruits of a vigorous and enduring regime of self-perfection”30. His teaching was less by words than by deeds, and he had to give a living exemplum to his disciple. In our further analysis we will see that imitating the example of the spiritual father is an important element in constructing the model of a monk in the Latin monastic literature.

2. The figures of reference in the early monastic literature

The early monastic literature is grounded upon two foundations: the importance of Scripture and the role of tradition. Both these notions are inherent to Christianity in

27 H. I. MARROU, Histoire de l’éducation, cit., t. 1, p. 219-221. 28 Jerome, In Matthaeum 23,8. 29 For a general study of spiritual direction in ancient monasticism, see I. HAUSHERR, Direction sprituelle en Orient autrefois (OCA 144), Roma, 1955; ID., Art. Direction spirituelle: Chez les chrétiens orientaux, DSp 3, col. 1008-1060; see also G. GOULD, The Desert Fathers on Monastic Community, Oxford, 1993, ch. 2: “The Abba and his disciple“, p. 26-87, and Ph. ROUSSEAU, Ascetics, Authority and the Church in the Age of Jerome and Cassian, Oxford, 1978, p. 18-55. Unfortunately, the article of P. BROWN, The Saint as Exemplar in Late Antiquity, Representations 1, 1983, p. 1-25, dealing with the master-pupil relationship in the ascetic movement, was not accessible to us, cf. M. VESSEY, The Demise of the Christian Writer and the Remaking of “Late Antiquity”: from H.-I. Marrou’s Saint Augustine (1938) to Peter Brown’s Holy Man (1983), Journal of Early Christian Studies 6, 1998, p. 377-411, at p. 406-411. 30 Ph. ROUSSEAU, op. cit., p. 25.

18 general. However, in monastic literature they acquire specific features. In the Bible monks find the ideals which are proper to their specific way of life, while the element of tradition is expressed in the aim to pass on the doctrine and the example of the first fathers to the next generations31.

2.1. Biblical figures In his letter to Gregory of Nazianzus written c. 358, Basil of Caesarea sets the principles of monastic life and the means to achieve them: “The study of inspired Scripture is the chief way of finding our duty, for in it we find both instruction about conduct and the lives of blessed men, delivered in writing, as some breathing images of godly living, for the imitation of their good works”32. Indeed, the Bible is the foundation of monastic life, it is the manual and the rule of everyday life33, therefore its study was the main monastic activity besides prayer and work. In the desert monasticism the hermits mainly heard Scripture at the weekly synaxis (meetings), and then prolonged the encounter with the Word through memorization, continual recitation and meditation34. In cenobitic monasticism, certain hours of the day were dedicated to lectio divina, the study of Scripture, with the main aim “to appropriate the Word at the deepest level of being”35.

Because of this deep knowledge of Scripture and its overall importance, the monastic life looked in it for the models of life. Many actors of the Holy History could be conceived as patterns or images of certain virtues. For instance, Pachomius gives the example of Abraham’s obedience, Isaac’s candor, Jacob’s humility and Joseph’s wisdom,

31 On the element of tradition in the early monastic literature, see G. PENCO, Osservazioni preliminari sui caratteri dell’antica letteratura monastica, Aevum 35, 1961, p. 220-246, at p. 231-232. 32 Ep. 2,3: meg%sth dŸ +dÊV prÊV t¦n toÒ kaq$kontoV eÖresin = mel#th tän qeopne&stwn Grafän. 'En ta&taiV g„r ka¼ a tän pr@xewn Õpoq§kai eÕr%skontai, ka¼ o b%oi tän makar%wn àndrän àn@graptoi paradedom#noi, oÅon eák^neV tinŸV Æmyucoi t§V kat„ QeÊn polite%aV, tò mim$mati tän àgaqän Ærgwn pr^keintai; English translation quoted from Basil: Letters and Selected Works, ed. PH. SCHAFF and H. WACE (NPNF II, t. 8), p. 111. 33 For the role of Scripture in monasticism in general, see J. BIARNE, La Bible dans la vie monastique, in J. FONTAINE et CH. PIETRI (éd.), Le monde Latin antique et la Bible (BTT 2), Paris, 1985, p. 409-427; G. M. COLOMBÁS, Bibbia e monachesimo, Dizionario degli Istituti di Perfezione, vol. 1, Roma, 1974, col. 1448- 1458; for the Bible in the Pachomian monasticism, see H. BACHT, Vom Umgang mit der Bibel im ältesten Mönchtum, ThPh 41, 1966, p. 557-566. 34 See D. BURTON-CHRISTIE, The Word in the Desert: Scripture and the Quest for Holiness in Early Christian Monasticism, Oxford, 1993, ch. 4: “The Use of Scripture in the Desert”, p. 107-133. 35 D. BURTON-CHRISTIE, op. cit., p. 117. In all the early Latin monastic rules, two or three hours per day are assigned to the study of Scripture.

19 telling to “emulate the lives of the saints and practice their virtues” 36, while in the “Life of Moses” Gregory of Nyssa uses the story of the great patriarch as the model of spiritual progress in Christian life37. However, certain figures were especially seen as the prototypes of monastic life and endeavours.

In general, the spiritual predecessors of monastic life were searched for among those who “wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins [...] in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth” (Hbr 11,37-38), first of all among the prophets38. Elijah is the most prominent among them39. Although the early Christian literature refers to him seldom as the model of perfect life, the Life of Antony makes Elijah the figure of reference for solitary and contemplative life40. By his life in the desert, his withdrawal from the world to the Mount Carmel, his chastity, poverty, prayer and fasting of forty days Elijah prefigured monastic . He was especially the model of contemplative life in union with God because of his frequent and intimate conversations with the Lord. Elisha, the spiritual inheritor of Elijah, together with the sons of the prophets, occupies an important role alongside his teacher Elijah41: noster princeps Helias, noster Helisaeus, nostri duces filii prophetarum, says Jerome in his letter to Paulinus of Nola42.

36 Instruction concerning a spiteful monk 2-6, quoted from A. VEILLEUX, Pachomian Koinonia, v. 3: Instructions, letters, and other writings of saint Pachomius and his disciples (CistSS 47), Kalamazoo, 1982, p. 13-14. 37 Cf. E. JUNOD, Moïse exemple de la perfection selon Grégoire de Nysse, La figure de Moïse. Ecriture et relectures (Publications de la faculté de théologie de l’Université de Genève 1), Genève, 1978, p. 81-98. 38 “If you wish to live among men, imitate Abraham, Lot, Moses, and Samuel. If you wish to live in the desert, all the prophets have led the way before you” (Pachomius, Instruction concerning a spiteful monk 18), quoted from A. VEILLEUX, Pachomian Koinonia, cit., v. 3, p. 19. 39 The Fathers are unanimous to read the above mentioned lines of the Epistle to Hebrews as referring to the prophet Elijah, see E. POIROT, Élie, archétype du moine. Pour un ressourcement prophétique de la vie monastique (Spiritualité orientale 65), Bégrolles-en-Mauges, 1995, p. 92-93. 40 See G. BARDY, Le souvenir d’Élie chez les Pères grecs, Élie le prophète, vol. I: Selon les Écritures et les traditions chrétiennes, Paris, 1956, p. 131-158; HERVÉ DE L’INCARNATION, Élie chez les Pères Latins, ibid., p. 179-207, especially p. 189-200; E. POIROT, op. cit. ; M. VAN WANROIJ, The Prophet Elijah Example of Solitary and Contemplative Life?, Carmelus 16, 1969, p. 251-263; R. E. MURPHY, Art. Élie, type de la contemplation et de la vie érémitique d’après l’Écriture, DSp 4, col. 565-567; C. PETERS, Art. Élie et l’idéal monastique, ibid., col. 567-572. 41 Cf. A. DE VOGÜÉ, La geste d’Élisée chez les premiers moines d’Occident, Carmel 71, 1994, p. 28-38. 42 Ep. 58,5. These prophets occur often in Jerome as models of monastic life, see also Ep. 18*,4; 22,21; V. Pauli 1 and 13; for the latter, see below, ch. III.2.1.

20 John the Baptist is another prophet embodying the monastic ideal, often met in the company of Elijah and Elisha. John’s figure joins the Old Testament to the New not only as the last of the prophets but also as the one who has led ascetic life in the desert. The monastic literature often refers to John’s austere way of life, his virginal chastity, his harsh cloak of camel’s hair, and his preaching for repentance43.

Among the patriarchs, Abraham’s forsaking his country and his kindred represents the monastic renunciation of the family and the world for the sake of God. Ascetic and monastic literature often quotes the first verse of Genesis 12 where God addresses Abraham with the precept to forsake his country and to depart to the land of Canaan, as if bearing already the message of Christian renunciation: egredere de terra tua et de cognatione tua et de domo patris tui. Abraham has obeyed to these words as well as many other times to the will of God, therefore his story gives the model of faith, patience, obedience, humility and hospitality44.

The apostles and the first community of Jerusalem were seen as the ideal of the cenobitic life, of Christian love, of poverty and of ascesis. The disciples of Jesus were those who had denied themselves and who in order to follow Christ and to bear the cross had left their houses, their lands and their families45. The first Christians of Jerusalem “were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any thing he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common” (Act 4,32). The apostles also became the prototypes of thaumaturges, especially in the works pertaining to hagiographic genre46.

However, the monastic model par excellence is Jesus Christ. He is the only reason and direction of all the monk’s life and his aspirations. Theodore says in his instructions:

43 See E. LUPIERI, Felices sunt qui imitantur Iohannem (Hier. Hom. In Io.). La figura di S. Giovanni Battista come modello di santità (Augustinianum 24), 1984, p. 33-71; G. PENCO, S. Giovanni Battista nel ricordo del monachesimo medievale, StMon 3, 1961, p. 7-32; cf. also R. MARICHAL, Art. Jean le Baptiste (saint): Dans la tradition, DSp 8, col. 175-192. 44 See S. PRICOCO, Egredere de terra tua. La fortuna de Gen. 12,1 nella prima cultura monastica, De Tertullien aux mozarabes. T. 1: Antiquité tardive et Christianisme ancien (IIIe-VIe siècles). Mélanges offerts à Jacques Fontaine (CEASA 132), Paris, 1992, p. 119-131; G. PENCO, La vocazione di Abramo nella spiritualità monastica, RAMi 8, 1963, p. 148-160 (= Spiritualità monastica. Aspetti e momenti (Scritti monastici 9), Bresseo di Teolo, 1988, p. 176-190). 45 Cf. Mt 16,24 and 19,16-29. 46 Cf. K.-S. FRANK, Vita apostolica. Ansätze zur apostolischen Lebensformen in der alten Kirche, ZKG 82, 1971, p. 145-166.

21 “Let us each give his heart to the other, carrying the cross of Christ; let us truly be his followers”47. Monks endeavour to imitate Jesus’ forty days of fasting in the desert, his fight with the devil, his prayer in solitude, and especially his ultimate obedience “to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil 2,8).

2.2. Eastern monks The biblical model of the monk was enriched with the examples of the recent Christian history. First it was the example of a martyr: the Christian monasticism considered itself as the heir of Christian martyrs, both chronologically and spiritually. Monasticism was martyrium sine cruore, as opposed to the martyrdom of blood. However, concrete martyrs were not referred to as models in monastic literature, more important being the idea of spiritual martyrdom itself. Rather we find numerous references to earlier monks who are evoked as figures worth of imitation. “The early monasticism is constituted in the idea of the following (Nachfolge), at the same time being itself the object of serious mimesis. The monk who in the way of prophets, apostles and martyrs wished to follow Christ, became a new typos for the further following of Christ (Christusnachfolge)”48.

The generations following the monastic beginnings sought to guard the ideal of the first fathers, both of their teaching and of their living example. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, transmitting the doctrine and the practice of the first Egyptian hermits, have existed since the very early date, at least in oral form49. In the early Pachomian literature Pachomius, the founder of the cenobitic monasticism in Thebaid, is referred to as pater noster, like someone whose memory is still alive in the community, representing the moral and spiritual authority50. His Lives however indicate already the care of the

47 Instructions of Theodore 24, cf. Mt 10,38; Lc 9,23, quoted from A. VEILLEUX, Pachomian Koinonia, cit., v. 3, p. 107. On imitation of Christ in the Pachomian literature, see H. BACHT, La loi du « retour aux sources ». De quelques aspects de l’idéal monastique pachômien, Revue Mabillon 51, 1961, p. 7-25, see p. 7-13. 48 P. S. FRANK, Aggelikos bios. Begriffsanalytische und begriffsgeschichtliche Untersuchung zum “engelgleich Leben” im frühen Mönchtum (BGAM 26), Münster, 1964, p. 11. 49 Cf. J.-C. GUY, Introduction, Les apophtegmes des pères. Collection systématique, chapitres I-IX (SC 387), Paris, 1993, p. 13-90, at p. 23-27. 50 We have analysed the references to the fathers in the early Latin monastic rules, including the Latin translations of the Pachomian corpus, in « Patres nostri ». Présence des Pères dans les règles monastiques anciennes d’Occident, REAug 52/2, 2006, p. 261-285.

22 community to fix the virtues of their father in written form so as to transmit them to the future monks51. Indeed, the following generations will always return to their sources and look for their ideal in the great figures of the founders of the monastic movement.

The situation in the Latin monastic literature is a bit different from that in the East. Its beginnings in the second half of the fourth century coincide with the period of the most productive translations in the early Church from Greek to Latin, including the numerous translations of the Bible52. The relations between the two parts of the Empire are still very active, and the nascent Western monasticism is much influenced by the ideas coming from the Eastern parts of the Empire53. Hence the first Latin monastic works were not about the Western monks: either they were translations from Greek, like the Life of Antony by Athanasius, the Rule of Basil, and the Pachomian Rules, or the works written originally in Latin but relating about the Eastern monks, like the Lives of Paul, Hilarion and Malchus by Jerome, the Historia Monachorum by Rufinus, or the works of John Cassian. A Western monk has therefore “grown up” in the environment rich of Eastern examples. Eastern monks were considered to be the faithful bearers of the ascetic tradition who had to be followed or at least could serve as a point of reference for comparison54. When Jerome c. 395 presents to his friend Paulinus of Nola the monastic examples to be imitated, his list contains only Eastern names: nos autem habemus propositi nostri principes Paulos, Antonios, Iulianos, Hilarionas, Macarios55.

The interest of the present research is to outline the model of a monk as it can be perceived in the early Latin monastic literature, considering all the elements mentioned in this chapter: the importance of the example, both scriptural and contemporary, the way of

51 G. PENCO, Osservazioni preliminari, cit., p. 234. 52 Cf. G. BARDY, Traducteurs et adaptateurs au quatrième siècle, RSR 30, 1940, p. 257-306; J. GRIBOMONT, Panorama des influences orientales sur l’hagiographie Latine, Augustinianum 24, 1984, p. 7-20. 53 See J. GRIBOMONT, L’influence de l’Orient sur les débuts du monachisme Latin, Atti del convengno internazionale sul tema: L’Oriente cristiano nella storia della cività (Roma 31 marzo - 3 aprile 1963, Firenze 4 aprile 1963), Accademia nazionale dei Lincei 361, Quaderno 62, Roma, 1964, p. 119-128, and S. PRICOCO, Aspetti culturali del primo monachesimo d’Occidente, Monaci filosofi e santi. Saggi di storia della cultura tardoantica (Armarium 1), Soveria Mannelli, 1992, p. 9-37 (= Tradizione dei classici e trasformazioni della cultura, A. GIARDINA (a cura di), Bari, 1986, p. 188-204; 274-282). 54 The reference to the Eastern monastic Fathers in the Latin literature could be observed up to the end of the Middle Ages, see G. PENCO, Il ricordo dell’ascetismo orientale nella tradizione monastica del medio evo europeo, Medioevo monastico (StAns 96), Roma, 1988, p. 515-535. 55 Ep. 58,5.

23 reflecting the monastic history in the early monastic literature, the master-disciple relationship, and the role of the Eastern ideal. We have chosen to start our research from De laude eremi of Eucherius of Lyons as a point of departure. It will thus suggest certain directions whereto orient the further analysis, and will make easier to discern what Eucherius owes to earlier authors, and what is proper to his own vision of the monastic ideal.

24 II. THE MODEL OF A MONK IN DE LAUDE EREMI OF EUCHERIUS OF LYONS

1. Eucherius of Lyons, his life and works

Eucherius of Lyons belongs to this group of the Gallo-Roman aristocracy of the beginning of the fifth century who devoted themselves to both monastic and ecclesiastic experience, and to literary activity, and who, retired onto a small island of Lérins in the bay of Cannes, in few decades created the most influential monastic centre of the Southern Gaul1.

Eucherius belonged to a senatorial Gallic family2. The date and place of his birth are unknown. His figure first appears in the Lerinian monastery, founded around 410 on the island of Lérins3: converted to ascetic life, sometime between 412 and 421 Eucherius took residence in the adjacent island of Lero together with his wife Galla and their two sons, and Veranus4. It is not clear how long Eucherius stayed on Lero with his

1 S. PRICOCO calls the case of Eucherius “un paradigma della vocazione religiosa dell’aristocrazia gallo- romana di questo periodo”, Eucherio di Lione. Il rifiuto del mondo (Biblioteca Patristica 16), Firenze, 1990, p. 7. The main studies on the beginnings of the Lerinian monasticism are those of S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit.; C. M. KASPER, op. cit.; and R. NÜRNBERG, op. cit. See also L. CRISTIANI, Lérins et ses fondateurs, S. Wandrille, 1946; R. NOUAILHAT, op. cit., and A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l’antiquité, t. 7: L’essor de la littérature lérinienne et les écrits contemporains e (410-500), Paris, 2003. The most recent synthesis is that of M. LABROUSSE, Les origines du monastère (V - VIIe siècle), Histoire de l’abbaye de Lérins (Cahiers cisterciens des lieux et des temps 9), Bégrolles-en- Mauges, 2005, p. 21-124. 2 The first modern approach to Eucherius has been made by L. S. LENAIN DE TILLEMONT, Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire ecclésiastique des six premiers siècles, t. 15, Paris, 1711, p. 120-136 and 848-857 (notes). The most up-to-date survey is that of FR. PREVOT, Recherches prosopographiques autour d’Eucher de Lyon, et la légion thébaine, Actes du colloque, 17-20 sept. 2003, Fribourg, Saint-Maurice, Martigny, éd. O. WERMELINGER, PH. BRUGGISSER, B. NÄF, J.-M. ROESSLI (Paradosis 49), Fribourg, 2005, p. 119-138. See also L. CRISTIANI, Art. Eucher (Saint), DSp 4, 1960, col. 1653-1660; P. DUVAL, Art. e Eucher de Lyon, saint, La Gaule jusqu’au milieu du V siècle, Paris, 1971, p. 728-732; R. ETAIX, Art. Eucher de Lyon, DHGE 15, 1963, col. 1315-1318; P. GODET, Art. Eucher (Saint), DThC 5, 1913, col. e 1452-1454; E. GRIFFE, La Gaule chrétienne à l’époque romaine, t. 2 : L’Eglise des Gaules au V siècle, Paris, 1966, p. 286-289; S. PRICOCO, Art. Eucherius of Lyons, A. DI BERARDINO (ed.), Encyclopedia of the Early Church, vol. 1, Cambridge, 1992, p. 295; K. F. STROHEKER, Der senatorische Adel im spätantiken Gallien, Tübingen, 1948, p. 168, n. 120; L. R. WICKHAM, Art. Eucherius von Lyon, TRE 10, p. 522-525; J. R. MARTINDALE, Art. Eucherius 3, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, II: 395-527, Cambridge, 1980, p. 405. A broader study on Eucherius has been made by A. GOUILLOUD, Saint Eucher, Lérins et l’Eglise de Lyon au Ve siècle, Lyon, 1881. 3 The monastery was founded on the island of Lérins (today called Saint-Honorat), the smaller of the two Lerinian islands; the bigger one, just few hundred meters away, was called Lero, today Sainte-Marguerite. 4 Cf. Paulinus of Nola, Ep. 51,2 and , Serm. Hon. 22,2. The letter of Paulinus is the first known testimony on the Lerinian monastery, see A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire du mouvement

25 family, and when, or if at all, he joined the monastic community on the island of Lérins5, but he apparently considered himself to be its member. At one time Eucherius must have planned to visit the hermits of Egypt, as Cassian reports6. Both sons of Eucherius were educated in the monastery7, and later became bishops8. Eucherius himself was elected to the see of Lyons some time before 4419. Nothing is known about his activity as bishop, but it seems likely that he propagated the Lerinian ascetic ideal and supported the nascent monastic communities in the diocese of Lyons10. He died around 449/450.

During his retreat in the monastery of Lérins, Eucherius composed two ascetic works. The first one, De laude eremi, written around 428, is a glorification of the ascetic life and the spiritual desert of Lérins. Soon after, in 430, Eucherius composed “its necessary supplement”11 De contemptu mundi et saecularis philosophiae, a passionate exhortation to convert to ascetic life, in the form of a letter to his noble kinsman Valerianus. There followed two treatises on biblical exegesis, probably written between 431 and 434 while still in Lérins12: the Formulae spiritalis intellegentiae, dedicated to his son Veranus, interpret numerous biblical expressions, while the two books of Instructiones, dedicated to the elder son Salonius, explain the series of difficult biblical

monastique dans l’antiquité, t. 6: Les derniers écrits de Jérôme et l’œuvre de Jean Cassien (414-428), p. 16-17. 5 Cf. A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 7, p. 79, n. 1: “c’est sans fondement qu’on suppose souvent qu’Eucher séjourna à Lérins avant de se rétirer à Lero”. M. DULAEY has suggested that Eucherius may have been the head of the community of Lero, constituted by the families converted to ascetic life, in Eucher de Lyon: du monachisme à l’épiscopat, Saint Maurice (CPE 92), p. 19-24, at p. 19. 6 Conl. XI, praef. 7 As attests Eucherius himself about Salonius in Instr. I, praef. 21-29. 8 Salonius was bishop of , Veranus of an unknown diocese. 9 This is the only known exact date of Eucherius’ life, the year when he as bishop of Lyons participated in the first councel of Orange. 10 See Vita Patrum Iurensium 11 with the commentary by FR. MARTINE (Vie des pères du Jura, SC 142, Paris, 1968 (20042), p. 250-252), and the dubious letter of Eucherius to a certain presbyter Philo where he expresses his concern for the monks of Insula Barbara in Lyons (PL 50,1213). FR. PRINZ relates the beginnings of the Jura monastery to the bishopric of Eucherius (Frühes Mönchtum im Frankreich, 4. bis 8. 2 Jahrhudert, München, Wien, 1965 (1988 ), p. 66-67. Cf. also A. GOUILLOUD, op. cit., p. 369-402; S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 45. 11 S. PRICOCO, Eucherio di Lione, cit., p. 24. 12 While former scholars have considered that the two treatises have been written during Eucherius’ episcopate, the recent study of M. DULAEY has shown that they may have been composed in Lérins, although distributed publicly later, in Eucher exégète: l’interprétation de la Bible en Gaule du Sud dans la première moitié du Ve siècle, Saint Maurice et la légion thébaine, Actes du colloque, 17-20 sept. 2003, Fribourg, Saint-Maurice, Martigny, éd. O. WERMELINGER, PH. BRUGGISSER, B. NÄF, J.-M. ROESSLI (Paradosis 49), Fribourg, 2005, p. 67-93.

26 passages and clarifies Hebrew and Greek names in Scripture13. Eucherius’ last fully extant work is the Passio Acaunensium martyrum, an account of the martyrdom of the near Acaunum, modern Saint-Maurice, under the emperor Maximianus. The Passion was dedicated to Salvius, the bishop of Octodurus, today Martigny, and must have been composed after 443.

Eucherius enjoyed great prestige. The great French historian Le Nain de Tillemont could justly state that “l’Église de Lion n’a point eu depuis Saint Irénée d’Évêque plus célèbre en science et en piété que S. Eucher”14. Cassian dedicated him the second series of his Conferences, Silvius Polemius dedicated him his Laterculus, and Claudianus celebrated him as the greatest bishop of his time15; he communicated with the most eminent Gallic Church figures of the fifth century, like Paulinus of Nola, Hilary of Arles and of Marseilles16. His exegetical works spread widely and were highly esteemed in medieval monasteries up to the age of humanism17. Both Eucherius’ contemporaries and later writers exalted his literary style18, the proof of his good classical education, proper to the upper classes of Late Antique Gaul19.

13 Eucherius’ interpretation of Scripture is confined essentially to two senses, literal and allegorical; see C. CURTI, “Spiritalis intellegentia”. Nota sulla dottrina esegetica di Eucherio di Lione, Kerygma und Logos. Festschrift für Carl Andresen zum 70. Geburtstag, Göttingen, 1979, p. 108-122, and M. DULAEY, Eucher exégète, cit., p. 87-88. 14 Op. cit., p. 120. 15 Cf. Cassian, Conl. XI praef.; Silvius Polemius, Laterculus 3-8 (MGH AA IX, p. 518); , De statu animae II,9: Eucherius [...] magnorum saeculi sui pontificum longe maximus (CSEL 11, p. 135). 16 Eucherius is the addressee of the Letter 51 of Paulinus of Nola, and of the Letters 2 and 8 of Salvian of Marseilles. 17 Cf. J. F. KELLY, Eucherius of Lyons: Harbinger of the Middle Ages, StudPatr 23, 1989, p. 138-142. 18 Among whom Erasme in his letter of 1517 to Alard of Amsterdam, Ep. 676 (Opus epistolarum Des. Erasmi Roterdami, ed. P. S. ALLEN, vol. 3, Oxford, 1913, p. 98-100). had even composed Epistola de contemptu mundi following Eucherius, see S. PRICOCO, Eucherio di Lione: un padre della chiesa tra Erasmo e Tillemont, Monaci filosofi e santi, cit., p. 85-115 (= Studi storico-religiosi 6, 1982, p. 323-344). 19 In the fifth century Gaul was “the principal intellectual area of the western Empire”, N. K. CHADWICK, Poetry and Letters in Early Christian Gaul, London, 1955, p. 23; on the Gallic educational centres, see ibid., p. 21-35. P. COURCELLE has indicated the traces of the classical and Christian authors in the writings of the Lerinians, in Nouveaux aspects de la culture lérinienne, REL 46, 1968, p. 379-409; C. SCHERLIESS has especially analysed the classical rhetorical heritage, and has concluded that “zeigen sich Eucherius, Hilarius und Vinzenz einerseits als kulturenhaltende Erbe der heidnischen Antike”, op. cit., p. 246.

27 2. De laude eremi

It must have been at the end of 427 or at the beginning of 428 that Eucherius addressed his De laude eremi to Hilary, the monk of Lérins20. The occasion of the letter was Hilary’s return to the insular monastery from Arles, where he had accompanied his elder kinsman Honoratus, the founder of the Lerinian community and its first abbot, now elected to the see of Arles21. Hilary and Honoratus must have been associated not only by the link of kinship, but also by deep spiritual affection: it was Honoratus who had won Hilary to ascetic life and brought him to his newly established Lerinian community22, it will be Hilary who three years later will pronounce the commemorative sermon on Honoratus’ life and will succeed him as bishop of Arles23. Hilary’s decision therefore to leave his spiritual father in Arles, and to rejoin the Lerinians, must have been inspired by the special desire to continue his ascetic aspirations. For Eucherius, on the other hand, this is the occasion to praise the desert, home of a monk, but also to propagandize “the desert” of the Lerinian island24.

The Lerinian “desert” is to be understood in the allegorical way: although Hilary tells that before the arrival of Honoratus the island looked like a terrible desert25, full of

20 The date of the letter depends on the beginning of Honoratus’ bishopric. Modern historians have accepted the dating of O. CHADWICK, who places the arrival of Honoratus in Arles at the end of 427 or the beginning of 428, in Euladius of Arles, JThS 46, 1945, p. 200-205. 21 The main source about Honoratus is his life written by Hilary around 431, Sermo de vita sancti Honorati (HILAIRE D’ARLES, Vie de saint Honorat, ed. M.-D. VALENTIN, SC 235, Paris, 1977). Born around 370, Honoratus must have come from a noble family. After his conversion to ascetic life he had started for a visit of Eastern monasteries, probably in Egypt and Palestine, although it is not clear if he had reached any of them (cf. E. J. GROTE, op. cit., p. 125-128). On his return to Gaul he had founded the ascetic community of Lérins, around 410. He must have been a charismatic personality who enjoyed great authority among his monks. See also S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 42-44; M. LABROUSSE, Saint Honorat, fondateur de Lérins et évêque d’Arles (VM 31), Bégrolles-en-Mauges, 1995. 22 As related by Hilary himself, Serm. Hon. 23, and in the Vita Hilarii 3-8 by Honoratus of Marseille (La vie d’Hilaire d’Arles, éd. S. CAVALLIN, Introduction, traduction et notes par P.-A. JACOB, SC 404, Paris, 1995, p. 92-106). Hilary was born in 401. After being converted by Honoratus to ascetic life, he joined the monastery of Lérins, and later succeeded him in the see of Arles. As bishop, he was known for his strict asceticism and episcopal activities all over Gaul. He died in 449. His life was written between 475 and 480. 23 Sermo de vita Honorati, see the note 21 above. Together with De laude eremi, these are the earliest sources on the community of Lérins. 24 “The triumphalism of In Praise of the Desert, however, has a local as well as a universal ideological purpose. Concealed beneath its eulogy is an elegy for the loss of Honoratus and a concern for the future on Lérins without him”, C. LEYSER, ‘This Sainted Isle’: Panegyric, Nostalgia, and the Invention of Lerinian Monasticism, in W. E.KLINGSHIRN, M. VESSEY (ed.), The Limits of Ancient Christianity: Essays on Late Antique Thought and Culture in Honor of R. A. Markus, Ann Harbor, 1999, p. 188-206, at p. 195. 25 Serm. Hon. 15,2: terribilem illam vastitatem; 15,3: horror solitudinis.

28 snakes and lacking of sweet water26, these are rather common places proper to the hagiographical genre, tended to extol the power of the spiritual leader who managed to expel the monsters and to make spring the sweet water in the middle of the sea. In reality, the island’s nature must have had the same pleasant character as it has today, although it could have been a bit desolate when Honoratus first arrived there27.

The work has a double character: historical and apologetic28. The historical approach seeks to prove the desert’s specific role in the Holy History, the main event being the passage of the Hebrews through the Sinai desert; the apologetic, to praise the solitary way of life and to paint the insular “desert” in paradisiac terms. The author’s intention was not to exhort to monastic life, but rather to glorify the life of prayer and solitude, while addressing this fervent encomium to those who have already embraced ascetic life29.

Eucherius writes in a highly elaborated style. He uses various rhetorical figures, especially those oriented towards the audience (questions and apostrophes), figures of addition (mostly anaphoric), and figures of antithetic-paradoxical character30. The importance of the latter is manifest already in the title of the work, claiming the encomium of an unfruitful place31. Metaphors, comparisons, alliterations, parallelisms and interjections are also numerous32. However, we will not dwell upon the figures of

26 Serm. Hon. 15-17. 27 Cf. S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 163-164; R. NOUAILHAT, op. cit., p. 224-225. The Lerinian islands were inhabited and served as a maritime port already in Roman times, but were later abandoned until the arrival of Honoratus, cf. A. GOUILLOUD, op. cit., p. 5-12; R. NOUAILHAT, op. cit., p. 143-144. 28 A. GOUILLOUD, op. cit., p. 463. 29 S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 159. It was rather the second ascetic work of Eucherius, De contemptu mundi, which exhorted the conversion to ascetic life. Therefore we do not agree with the conclusion of C. SCHERLIESS that De laude eremi was addressed to Gallic aristocrats with the aim to convert them (op. cit., p. 91-93 and 97-98); he also does not explain the difference between the two categories of the Lerinian inhabitants that he uses, monachi and conversi, the second of them found neither in De laude eremi nor in De contemptu mundi. 30 The figurative and paradoxical language, partly biblical in origin, was characteristic to the Latin Church Fathers, see A. BLAISE, Manuel du Latin chrétien, Turnhout, 1986, p. 40-51, and PH. E. SATTERTHWAITE, The Latin Church Fathers, in STANLEY E. PORTER (ed.), Handbook of Classical Rhetoric in the Hellenistic Period, 330 B.C. – A.D. 400, Leiden, 1997, p. 671-694, see p. 682-683. 31 The desert is twice called paradise in the text itself, Laud. 39,438-440 and 42,473, see below, ch. 3.2.2. We quote the text according to Eucherii de laude eremi, ed. S. PRICOCO (Miscellanea di studi di letteratura cristiana antica 15), Catania, 1965; the first number indicates the chapter, and the second the line. 32 See the stylistic analysis of De laude eremi by C. SCHERLIESS, op. cit., p. 75-83, and the analysis of L. ALFONSI in the light of the classical protreptic literature, who finds that the work of Eucherius “ha il suo

29 style, the certain proof of Eucherius’ rhetorical training33, but will turn instead our regard to the things which would help to define the model of a monk.

3. The model of a monk

Although the arguments in favour of the desert in De laude eremi are founded upon the examples taken either from Scripture, the recent Church history or the monastery of Lérins itself, no story is told in a usual sense. The work is rather based on the allegorical interpretation of reality, while the passages of the Holy Scripture provide the material for the text. Therefore, in order to perceive the model of a monk proposed by the author, it is not sufficient to limit the analysis to the references to certain human figures. Rather, the entirety of the work, including its composition and the salient notions, must be considered. We will start our analysis from the work’s thematic arrangement, perceptible in its structure (ch. 3.1), and the main concepts, indicating the literary and spiritual background of the work (ch. 3.2). We will then continue by exploring the way how Eucherius interprets the Bible (ch. 3.3), and finally examine the scriptural examples (ch. 3.4) and the figures of today (ch. 3.5) evoked in the encomium.

3.1. The structure of the work The work is written in a form of a letter to Hilary and has all the obligatory parts required by the epistolary genre34: the sections of opening (Laud. 1-3,41) and closing (Laud. 44) serve to establish the immediate relationship between the sender Eucherius and the recipient Hilary, while the major part of the letter forming the body (Laud. 3,41- 43) is devoted to the development of the main subject35. Although the letter is conceived as a personal address to a close friend, it has rather a character of a literary speech

significato proprio nel monstrare come l’ideale speculativo classico diventi senza rinnegarsi ideale ascetico cristiano”, art. cit., p. 369. 33 This lofty style makes N. K. CHADWICK judge Eucherius’ style as too studied and artificial, and to number the encomium among rhetorical exercises (“the work is a little gem of eremitical literary exercise”, op. cit., p. 159); yet the stylistic overcharge is proper to Christian Latin, cf. the note 30 above. 34 See J. T. REED, The Epistle, in STANLEY E. PORTER (ed.), Handbook of Classical Rhetoric in the Hellenistic Period, 330 B.C. – A.D. 400, Leiden, 1997, p. 171-193, at p. 179. See also the arguments attributing the encomium to the epistolary genre in C. SCHERLIESS, op. cit., p. 93-97. 35 A. DE VOGÜÉ notes that the name of the addressee is mentioned only in the exordium and the final chapter, while never in the main body of the letter, which therefore would be almost independent from the circumstances (Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 7, p. 80). Yet the fact that the letter’s body could deal practically with any subject is a general feature of the epistolary genre.

30 composed according to ancient rhetoric rules. According to C. Scherliess, the structure of the work is as follows36:

I. Exordium (1-3,41) II. Narratio, propositio (3,41-4) III. Argumentatio (5-28) 1. Confirmatio per exempla (5-28) 2. Confirmatio per rationes (29-43) IV. Peroratio (44) The exordium addresses to Hilary and presents the circumstances and the reason of the letter. Hilary is praised to have chosen the biggest love, the love for desert, which is identified with the love for God. Having chosen the latter, Hilary has proved that it is bigger than his love for his kinsman and teacher Honoratus (Laud. 1). Nevertheless, Honoratus has approved Hilary’s passion for solitude (Laud. 2). There follows the catalogue of Hilary’s virtues (Laud. 3,32-41).

The narratio part is quite short. It starts with the statement developed further on in the argumentation part that the desert is the temple of God (Laud. 3,41-42), and anticipates the amplification of the subject by introducing two figures of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah. Narratio is concluded by an apophthegm bearing the same message that God dwells in the desert (Laud. 4).

The argumentatio part is composed of two units, the confirmatio per exempla and the confirmatio per rationes. The confirmatio per exempla (Laud. 5-28) is based on biblical figures, starting with the Old Testament (Laud. 5-20: Creation, Adam, Moses, David, Elijah, Elisha, the sons of the prophets) and proceeding with the New Testament (Laud. 21-26: John the Baptist and Jesus). Christian anchorites (Laud. 27) John and Macarius prolong the testimony of the Holy Scripture. The final chapter of the exempla part (Laud. 28) concludes into the praise of the desert as the treasury of virtues.

The confirmatio per rationes (Laud. 29-43) renders proofs of God’s love and care for the desert and extols its habitants. According to C. Scherliess, this part can be divided

36 C. SCHERLIESS, op. cit., p. 68-72.

31 into four sections. The demonstration starts with the arguments proving the attraction of desert as the place of miracles and virtues (Laud. 29-33). The following chapters, Laud. 34-37, reveal the paradoxes of the life in wilderness and desert’s radiation of virtues and spirituality. Next come the arguments proving desert’s inaccessibility to the devil and its proximity to God who supplies the desert with all spiritual treasures (Laud. 38-41). The last part (Laud. 42-43) argues the holiness of Lérins and its inhabitants.

The peroratio (Laud. 44) finishes the work. The discourse turns back to the addressee Hilary and the community of the island. The previous allusions to the events of Exodus (Laud. 8-16) are now attributed to Hilary who is seen to enter the Promised Land in the company of Jesus.

While previous attempts to analyse the structure of the encomium propose the linear structure (the plot is developed continuously from a to b, from b to c, etc.)37, in order to highlight some thematic peculiarities and the logic of the arrangement, we would propose to look at the work from a different angle. Certain themes or motifs reappear in different passages of the work which do not necessarily follow one another; this would suggest that there exists internal logic, dependent on the subject of the encomium and the message it purports to deliver.

Hilary’s return to Lérins

Hilary is directly referred to only twice: in the beginning of the encomium (Laud. 1-3,41) and at the end of it (Laud. 44), and in these two occurrences quite different aspects of him are evoked.

The first phrase of the encomium (Laud. 1) presents the circumstances of the letter. Although at first Hilary has left his country and his kinsmen “to penetrate the recesses of the desert as far as the Great Sea”38 and to follow his spiritual leader

37 Cf. the structure proposed by C. SCHERLIESS, above; see also the analysis of A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 7, p. 79-102, and the partition of the chapters in the French translation of L. CRISTIANI, Présentation et traduction de, Saint Eucher de Lyon. Du Mépris du monde, Paris, 1950, p. 67-89. 38 Laud. 1,2-3: usque in mare magnum recedentia penetraveras. The English translation by CH. CUMMINGS (rev. by J. B. RUSSELL) is quoted from The Life of the Jura Fathers: the Life and Rule of the Holy Fathers Romanus, Lupiciunus, and Eugendus, Abbots of the Monasteries in the Jura Mountains. With appendices: Avitus of Vienne, Letter XVIIII to ; Eucherius of Lyon, The Passion of the Martyrs of Agaune,

32 Honoratus, his love for desert has later forced him to abandon his teacher and “to seek the desert a second time”39. We see here Hilary as a solitary figure who refuses even his closest friend’s company.

In the last chapter (Laud. 44) Hilary is found in a rather different situation. He is no more a person who has left everything behind him; he is rather coming back to his brothers and his community. Hilary is not alone in the wilderness: he has “returned and joined the community“40. Moreover, it is not the author of the letter alone who at the beginning of the work declared that he “esteemed and loved” Hilary’ decision41, - it is now all the brethren of the island who “are full of joy” over his return42. Hence the primary Hilary’s motivation of the withdrawal to the monastery of Lérins, presented in the beginning of the letter as an ascetic renunciation43, is slightly reshaped at the end of the work into the joyful joining the community44.

Honoratus and the community of Lérins

Persons contemporary to Eucherius are evoked twice in the encomium. The exordium refers to two of them, Honoratus and Hilary, although neither of them is named explicitly. The first lines of the encomium evoke the main moments of Honoratus’ career, his leadership in the monastery and his later bishopric45. Yet the main emphasis is put on his special love to Hilary. This love, albeit being “rich and intense”46, is nevertheless unselfish: “in that love he always looked to your welfare [...] and he directed it to what would be profitable for you”47. The two friends are thus united by a deep friendship in

Saint Maurice and His Companions. In Praise of the Desert (CistSS 178), Kalamazoo, 1999, p. 197-215, amended when needed. 39 Laud. 1,3-4: eremus a te repetita est. 40 Laud. 44,509-510: reditus insertusque consortio. 41 Laud. 3,35-36: nihil in te [...] magis suspexerim dilexerimque. 42 Laud. 44,511: alacri exsultatione laetantur. 43 Laud. 1,1-3: egressus dudum de domo tua et de cognatione tua usque in mare magnum recedentia penetraveras; 1,7: parentes relinquens; 1,13: etiam fratrem reliquisti. 44 Laud. 44,509-510: redditus insertusque consortio; 44,511: pro reditu tuo laetantur; 44,512-513: cum his [...], cum his [...]. 45 Laud. 1,6: militiae coelestis magister; Laud. 1,8-9: ascitus ad pontificale fastigium. 46 Laud. 2,30-31: affluentissima eius et summa in te sit caritas. 47 Laud. 2,29- 31: in amore tamen tuo commodum tuum consulit [...] fastigium tamen illius tendit usque ad utilitatem.

33 which Honoratus still plays a role of spiritual director: he can endorse the decision of Hilary to come back to Lérins.

For the second time the Lerinian monastery and its monks are referred to towards the end of the work, where Eucherius presents a series of its most prominent inhabitants (Laud. 42). The list is introduced by the figure of Honoratus, the founder of the insular monastery. However, his picture in one of the final chapters differs from the way he was presented before, for now he no more acts as a sole character. Like in the exordium, he is depicted as a formal and spiritual leader, but this is no more in relation to Hilary alone. Honoratus is a founder of the monastic community of which he is a father, “shining in the strength of the apostolic spirit” 48. The monks and priests mentioned in his company, as well as the enumeration of other eminent figures of the island, reinforce the effect of Honoratus’ role as the leader of the insular community49. Indeed, the following passage of the encomium makes no distinction between individual monks, and exalts them all together as making “an assembly and community of saints”50.

Of course, the short eulogies of Honoratus inserted twice into the letter dedicated to Hilary pay tribute to this eminent figure, the founder of the Lerinian community and the bishop of Arles51. However, the two references bear different features. First only his personal relation with Hilary is evoked, while the second reference presents him in the role of the spiritual leader of the insular community. Like in Hilary’s case, we perceive again the shift from the individual, personal approach to the social context represented by the brethren of the monastery.

From natural to spiritual desert

Two passages of the encomium, Laud. 3,41-5,68 and Laud. 41, present the same group of arguments in favour of the desert: 1) desert is a temple of God; 2) the easiest

48 Laud. 42,474-477: quae caelestibus disciplinis Honorato auctore fundata sit, quae tantis institutis tantum nacta sit patrem, apostolici spiritus vigore et vultus radiantem. 49 Laud. 42,478-485. The actual leader of the community Maximus is mentioned rather formally, Laud. 42,480-481: clarus, quia post ipsum [sc. Honoratum] meruit asciri. 50 Laud. 43,488-489: sanctorum coetus conventusque. 51 This is not an unusual trait of encomium. In classical panegyric, a combined eulogy is one of the possible ways of composition, see L. PERNOT, La rhétorique de l’éloge dans le monde gréco-romain (CEASA 137), Paris, 1993, t. 1, p. 273-277.

34 way to find God is in the desert; and 3) desert is the place predestined for saints. Indeed, these two passages frame a longer section of the argumentatio part, and can be regarded as echoing each other.

The first passage starts with the statement that desert deserves to be called a temple of God (Dei nostri templum)52, the phrase justified right afterwards: “since it is clear that God dwells (habitare) in silence, we must believe that he loves (gaudere) the remote”53. Moreover, “he let himself be seen there by his saints, and did not reject to meet people in the suiting place”54. Eucherius proves this by the examples of Moses and Elijah55, and then proceeds to the anonymous apophthegm. Someone, asked by another (alio quaerenti) where God is sure to be found, answered showing to the open desert: “Behold where God is”56. And Eucherius to attach one more argument: “God is more promptly believed to be there, since he is more easily found (invenitur) there”57.

There follows the evidence for God’s unusual affection for desert. Although at first sight it might seem that during creation God had forgotten desert and left it without honour, it is far to be so. According to his wisdom58 God had “prepared desert for the saints (sanctis) to come”59. Thus the desert’s miserable natural conditions are compensated by the fact that it is rich with holy men (sanctorum fecunda): “in this way the desert would bear fruit”60, for the sterile habitation (habitatio sterilis) has been enriched with the habitants61.

This last argument in favour of the desert serves also an introduction to the main part of the encomium, two long developments of the confirmatio per exempla and

52 Laud. 3, 41-42: eremum ergo recte incircumscriptum Dei nostri templum dixerim. 53 Laud. 3,42-44: etenim quem certum est habitare in silentio, credendum est gaudere secreto. 54 Laud. 3,44-46: saepius se illic videndum sanctis suis praebuit et conciliante loco congressum non est aspernatus humanum. 55 Laud. 3,46-48. 56 Laud. 4,55: “en”, inquit, “ ubi Deus est”. 57 Laud. 4,55-56: nec immerito ibi esse promptius creditur, ubi facilius invenitur. 58 Laud. 5,57-58: cum omnia Deus in sapientia faceret. 59 Laud. 5,60-62: cuncta [...] futuri praescientia creans, venturis, ut arbitror, eremum sanctis paravit. The idea about God’s plans to inhabit the desert with saints may be borrowed from Sulpicius Severus; cf. the words of Postumianus, contemplating the palm-trees in the desert, Dial. I,13,6: nisi Deus praescius habitandam quandoque a sanctis eremum haec servis suis paraverit. 60 Laud. 5,64-65: hanc sanctorum dare fecundam, ut sic pinguescerent fines deserti, cf. Ps 64,13. 61 Laud. 5,67-68: habitationem sterilem habitatore ditaret.

35 confirmatio per rationes (Laud. 6-40). In the chapter finishing them, Laud. 41, we find the echo of the arguments presented in Laud. 3,41-5,68, except that now they are presented in reverse order. Deducing from what has been said in the previous chapters, the author rejoices over the right possibility or desire of the saints to live in the desert, “for you [desert] are fertile (fertilis) in all the good things of Him in whom all things are held”62. Eucherius draws again the same arguments of the fertility of the desert, only now it is not the natural environment, but the moral fruit which is important: “you become sterile (sterilis) in the vices of those who dwell in you, and become fruitful (fecunda) in their virtues”63.

Even more, those who pursue life in the desert are guaranteed to receive a divine reward: “whoever of the saints strived (quaesivit) to become familiar with you found (reperit) God. Whoever has revered you has found (invenit) Christ in you”64. This is in fact the fulfillment of the desire expressed in the apophthegm mentioned above, a direct answer to this unknown man looking for God.

The last phrase of the passage completely turns to man’s interiour. Whereas in the beginning of the work the temple of God was said to be found in the desert, now it is man himself who becomes God’s temple: “One who does not flee your [sc. desert’s] dwelling becomes a temple of God (Dei templum)”65. Thus the location of where the temple of God can be found is transferred from external settings to the man’s personal endeavour.

Indeed, both passages treat the desert’s role, but in different aspects66. While the introductory paragraphs (Laud. 3,41-5,68) present desert’s external, natural features, and the typological part that follows (Laud. 6-27) is based on historical events of the Holy History, the second passage, following the desert’s spiritual characteristics in allegorical terms (Laud. 28-40), is tended to reveal the spiritual reward to the man who dwells in the

62 Laud. 41,456-457: quia pro universis bonis illius es fertilis, in quo habentur universa. 63 Laud. 41,459-460: tu inhabitantium te vitiis sterilis, tu fecunda virtutibus. 64 Laud. 41,460-462: tuam quicumque sanctorum familiaritatem quaesivit, Deum reperit; Christum in te, quisquis te coluit, invenit. 65 Laud. 41,464-465: tuum qui non refugit habitaculum, factus est ipse dei templum. 66 The first passage, related in the third person, is composed of three different stories, while the second one is addressed to desert in the second person, and is a short encomium in itself.

36 desert67. This spiritual aspect of the inner man in the desert is rendered by the image of heart (cor) at least four times in the second part of the encomium. For Eucherius, desert is the place where the heart is free for cleaving to God68. The sand of the desert is paradoxically suitable for constructing the firm buildings, only in the depths of the heart (in cordibus)69. Indeed, the desert life that the monks desire to live, they live it in their hearts (corde adipiscuntur)70. And if Hilary merits to be called “the truer Israel”, it is because he sees God by his heart (corde Deum conspicaris)71.

We have tried to discern certain thematic motifs which repeat at the beginning and at the end of the encomium. If we include now the passages analysed above into a general structure of the work, we obtain the following scheme:

a. Opening of the letter: Hilary as a solitary (1) b. Honoratus and Hilary (2-3,41) c. God’s temple in the desert (3,41-5,68) d. Confirmatio per exempla: OT and NT typology (6-26) followed by e. Egyptian anchorites (27) d’. Confirmatio per rationes: desert’s spiritual characteristics (28-40) c’. God’s temple in the man (41) b’. Lérins and its community (42-43) a’. Closing of the letter: Hilary in the company of the Lerinian community (44)

The encomium is thus framed by the opening and closing messages which correspond to the rules of epistolary genre and which address Hilary, the receiver of the letter. The thematic motif is developed gradually from the presentation of Hilary and his environment to the importance of the physical seclusion for finding God, and to the

67 The lexical parallels are also noteworthy. Dei nostri templum, habitari, gaudere in Laud. 3,41-50 are echoed by habitat, habitator, habitaculum, laetatur, Dei templum in Laud. 41,462-465; quaerenti and invenitur of Laud. 4,51-56 correspond to quaesivit and invenit of Laud. 41,460-462; non inutilem et inhonoratam, locupletem in fructibus, sanctorum fecundam in Laud. 5,59-64 are paralleled by sanctis habitabilis aut desiderabilis, fertilis, cultorem requiris in Laud. 41,454-460. Compare also the paradoxes finishing each of the final sections: habitationem sterilem habitatore ditaret (Laud. 5,67-68) and tu inhabitantium te vitiis sterilis, tu fecunda virtutibus (Laud. 41,459-460). 68 Laud. 33,348-349: ubi liberior cordis, ut Deo inhaerere certet, intentio quam illis utique secretis. 69 Laud. 34,359-360 : itaque habitatores deserti talia sibi aedificia, sed in cordibus, fabricant; the phrase follows a metaphore referring to the evangelical parable about two houses (Mt 7,24-27), one built on the rock, and another on the sand. 70 Laud. 43,504: vitam eremi adipisci gestiunt? corde adipiscuntur. 71 Laud. 44,515. For the interpretation of Israel in this passage, see below, ch. 3.3.

37 examples proving God’s grace to the desert in the Holy History. Examples referring to recent Christian figures, two Egyptian hermits, serve as a turning point of the encomium. Their spiritual experience in the desert introduces the allegorical description of the wilderness and its role for the inner man’s development. The community of Lérins, the image of which ends the encomium, is an ideal example of such an experience. Hilary’s eremitic endeavours and the love of Honoratus for him, apparent in the first chapters, are at the end presented in the context of the Lerinian monastery, where Honoratus plays the role of spiritual leader of “the assembly of saints”. The author arranges thus the work towards the interiorization of the monastic desert, which is first of all experienced and lived in the heart.

3.2. The main concepts In order to let appear the work’s literary and spiritual background, we will now analyse the main notions and concepts of the encomium which contribute to the definition of the model of the monk. Much of the vocabulary of the De laude eremi results from the author’s approach to his subject: he extols the physical desert as the place of spiritual paradise72. The balance between these two extremes, the austere seclusion from the world and the delightful fruit that it bears, gives a particular character to the work. Other salient themes are love and charity, especially pronounced in the first chapters, and the divine grace, evoked by different titles in many passages of the work. We will further treat these notions one after another.

3.2.1. Desert and seclusion As already noted by S. Pricoco, the treatise is rich in the terms referring to the fleeing of the world, abandonment, seclusion, and withdrawal73. However, as indicated in the title of the work, the main subject is the desert, therefore both these notions, desert and withdrawal, often occur together.

72 Laud. 39,339-440: eademque corporis est eremus, animae paradisus. 73 See S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 136-137, n. 26.

38 Desert and seclusion are in the core of the early Christian monasticism: monastic phenomenon as such is described as a withdrawal, a physical separation from the world74, and its historical beginnings lie in the deserts of Egypt. Whatever the historical reasons of such a withdrawal to the wilderness, its spiritual background is rooted in biblical events. In the Old Testament, two theologies of the desert intersect75. According to the first, the desert is the land deprived of fertility and of God’s benediction. Deserted land is the way how God punishes for human errors, like the desolate land after the Deluge, or the desert of Sinai of Exodus where the Hebrews had to prolong their stay for forty years. It is a place of desolation and the abode of demons, the antithesis of a suitable human habitat. This negative image of the desert can be also traced in the New Testament, where the desert is the abode of demons76, and where Jesus has to fight the devil77. The desert of the first Christian ascetics, known to the Westerners first of all from the Life of Antony, is also full of demons and monsters who live in the air, in the ruins, old tombs and temples, and whose only intention is to harm men by deceiving and withdrawing them from the path of virtue78. The act of withdrawing to the desert repeats therefore the temptation endured by Christ, while the monastic ascesis is especially seen as the fight against the demons79.

Another theology of the desert is different. The desert is rather seen as the place of the mirabilia Dei: in the same Exodus story the nation receives the manna from heaven and the water from the rock. It is also in the desert that the divine Law is given and that

74 The physical separation from the world is the main criterion differentianting monasticism from asceticism, see P. MARAVAL, Le monachisme oriental, in CH. et L. PIETRI (sous la responsabilité de), Histoire du Christianisme des origines à nos jours, t. II: Naissance d’une chrétienté (250-430), Paris, 1995, p. 719-745, at p. 719; G. M. COLOMBAS, El concepto de monje y vida monástica hasta fines del siglo V, StMon 1, 1959, p. 257-342, at p. 340-341. 75 We follow here the presentations of L. LELOIR, La Bible et les Pères du Désert d’après les deux collections arméniennes des Apophtegmes, La Bible et les Pères. Colloque de Strasbourg (1er-3e octobre 1969), Paris, 1971, p. 113-134, at p. 126-129 ; ID., La sagesse des anciens moines, Monasticism in Christianity and Other Religions / Monachisme dans le Christianisme et les autres religions (Studia missionalia 28) Roma, 1979, p. 61-95, at p. 69-77, and CH. CONROY, The Old Testament and Monasticism, ibid., p. 1-27, at p. 1-12. 76 Cf. Lc 8,29; Mt 12,43. 77 Cf. Mt 4,1. 78 In the discourse that Antony addresses to his monks (V. Anton. 16-43) the whole system of demonology and of the discernment of good and evil spirits is developed. 79 A. GUILLAUMONT, La conception du désert chez les moines d’Égypte, RHR 188, 1975, p. 3-21; on desert as the kingdom of demons in the Life of Antony, see M.-E. BRUNERT, op. cit., p. 34-47.

39 God appears to Moses and Elijah on the Mount Horeb. In the Prophets, the desert acquires a symbolic value: it is a place of the more austere interiority of a man who worships God in his heart, a place for purification and the renewed love for the Lord80. The desert’s image in the monastic literature is strongly imprinted with this biblical message of “mystical” and “idealized” desert where God’s presence had been most active81. Monastic withdrawal is seen as spiritual exodus from the world82. In Christian Latin the metaphorical image of the desert was imported by Tertullian83, while the monastic literature was most influenced by Jerome, especially by his fervent letters praising the eremus monachorum84, and his three romantic Lives of the Eastern saints.

Eucherius uses the wide range of the words denoting desert, or a deserted or secluded place. These are eremus (52 occurrences), desertum (41)85, solitudo (8), secretum (16)86, avia (1), ariditates (1), remotio (1), and abdita (1). We also find the substantival forms of removere, and different metaphorical phrases like solitudinis sedes, habitatio sterilis, terra inhabitabilis.

Eremus, desertum and solitudo

The index above shows that the dominant term for desert in the encomium is eremus, a bit less frequent is desertum, while solitudo is quite rare. In order to understand

80 A. CODY, What the Desert Meant in Ancient Israel, Monasticism in Christianity and other Religions / Monachisme dans le Christianisme et les autres religions (Studia missionalia 28) Roma, 1979, p. 29-42. 81 In the words of J. LECLERCQ, “la spiritualité du désert est unséparable d’une spiritualité de l’Exode”, in “Eremus” et “eremita”. Pour l’histoire du vocabulaire de la vie solitaire, COCR 25, 1963, p. 8-30, see p. 9. See also A. GUILLAUMONT, art. cit., who also notes the Hellenistic influences. On the image of the desert, mostly positive, in the Jewish literature, see V. NIKIPROWETZKY, Le thème du désert chez Philon d’Alexandrie, Études philoniennes, Paris, 1996, p. 293-308. 82 P. MIQUEL, Art. Monachisme: Signification et motivations du monachisme, DSp 10, col. 1547-1557, see col. 1553. 83 In the light of the New Testament, the word was first applied to those who most perfectly lived in Christ, the martyrs, cf. Tertullian, Ad martyras 2: hoc praestat carcer Christiano, quod eremus prophetis; see J. LECLERCQ, art. cit., p. 9. 84 See especially his Letters 14, 18* and 22; cf. A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l’antiquité, t. 1: De la mort d’Antoine à la fin du séjour de Jérôme à Rome (356-385), Paris, 1991. About the early Gallic “desert” monasticism and its Latin sources see M.-E. BRUNERT, op. cit. 85 Two of these are the past participles of deserere indicating a deserted place; both refer to the passages of the New Testament, see below. 86 C. M. KASPER gives wrong numbers for solitudo and secretum (op. cit., p. 201), the error repeated by C. SCHERLIESS (op. cit., p. 84).

40 this proportion of the terms, we should take a look at the terms designating desert in the Latin version’s of the Bible known to Eucherius.

From the end of the fifth century, there existed two different Latin versions of Scripture. One was the Old Latin translation (Vetus Latina), based of the Greek translation of the Bible (the Septuagint); the other was Jerome’s Latin translation (the Vulgate), based on the original Hebrew text87. We know that Eucherius knew both versions, although he preferred the Vetus Latina88. Now, in most cases where Septuagint speaks about ÆrhmoV, in Jerome’s version we find either desertum (more than two hundred times) or solitudo (c. one hundred and fifty times), while eremus, the latinized form of the Greek word, occurs only five times89: the proportion which is completely opposite to the one seen in De laude eremi, where eremus is the most frequent, and solitudo the rarest.

However, the frequent occurrence of eremus in the work of Eucherius corresponds to the general usage of the word: it is the most common term to indicate desert not only in the monastic literature, but in early Christian literature on the whole. Before Jerome delivered his Latin translation of the Bible, eremus had already gained its place in Christian Latin, first through the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament, and later through the Vetus Latina. Especially in relation to the New Testament, the term acquired a strong religious connotation: it designated not only physical withdrawal from the world, but also penitence, baptism and the life of prayer90.

87 The question of the Old Latin versions of the Bible is quite complicated, see J. GRIBOMONT, Les plus anciennes traductions Latines, in J. FONTAINE et CH. PIETRI (éd.), Le monde Latin antique et la Bible (BTT 2), Paris, 1985, p. 43-65. 88 M. DULAEY, Eucher exégète, cit., p. 79-80. Jerome’s translation was not at once accepted universally in the Church. For a long time both versions circulated together, see P.-M. BOGAERT, La Bible Latine des origines au moyen âge. Aperçu historique, état des questions, RTL 19, 1988, p. 137-159. 89 All of them in the Old Testament, see TLL 5/1, col. 686,76-77. In some books of the Old Testament one term is more dominant than another: for instance, solitudo is more frequent in the books of Genesis, Deuteronomy and Joshua, and desertum – in the books of Samuel (I and II), the Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the New Testament, see B. FISCHER, Novae concordantiae bibliorum sacrorum iuxta vulgatam versionem critice editam quas digessit B. FISCHER, t. 2, Stuttgart, 1977, col. 1199-1202; t. 5, col. 4884- 4996, and E. HATCH, A Concordance to the Septuagint and the Other Greek Versions of the Old Testament, ed. E. HATCH and H. A. REDPATH, vol. 1, Oxford, 1897, p. 545-546. 90 J. LECLERCQ, art. cit., p. 8-13; see also L. LORIÉ, Spiritual terminology in the Latin translations of the Vita Antonii with reference to fourth and fifth century monastic literature, Nijmegen, 1955, p. 51-58.

41 Desertum, on the contrary, is much less frequent in the early monastic literature, and the fact that in the encomium it is almost as frequent as eremus is quite surprising91. We should turn here again to the Vetus Latina: here ÆrhmoV was translated by desertum in many cases where the Vulgate will later give solitudo, hence the first must have been much more frequent than the second92. Eucherius’ frequent use of desertum could be thus explained by his good knowledge of the Vetus Latina, while the use of eremus would reflect the influences of the earlier Latin ascetic literature. We would therefore agree with C. M. Kasper that there is the tendency in the encomium to use desertum when referring to the biblical events, and eremus in the passages related to ascetic and mystical experience93. We would nevertheless not be too categorical in defining tight limits for the meanings of these two terms, bearing in mind that Eucherius himself designates heremus as desertum in his Instructiones without any further explications94.

Solitudo already in strictly classical times was used in the sense of restful seclusion deliberately sought. By the time Eucherius wrote his De laude eremi, the word in the sense of the desert had acquired a clearly monastic connotation95. From the eight occurrences of solitudo in the encomium, two refer to the “desert” of Lérins96, and one to the monastic seclusion as opposed to the antique philosophical tradition of withdrawal from the crowds97. Thrice the word is used in relation to the stay of the Hebrews in the desert of Sinai98, and once in the quotation of the Epistle to Hebrews99. Only once

91 This fact would make an exception in L. LORIÉ’s conclusion that “as a monastic term ‘desertum’ remained an outsider in the West” (ibid., p. 57). 92 There exists no concordance of the Vetus Latina, but we can have the idea of this phenomenon from the examples given by TLL (see TLL 5/1, col. 686-688). 93 Op. cit., p. 201-204. 94 Instr. II,444. To the affirmation of C. M. KASPER (op. cit. p. 202) that Eucherius is writing not Laus deserti, but Laus eremi we would object the fact that Eucherius himself refers to his subject not only as eremi laus (Laud. 15,175) but also as laus magna deserti (Laud. 23,248). The occurrence of these two terms could be explained by the remark of A. DE VOGÜÉ that eremus is more frequent in the part dedicated to the Old Testamant typology (Laud. 6-20), while desertum prevails in the passages relevant to the New Testament (Laud. 21-26), see Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 7, p. 86. However, it seems that generally the monastery of Lérins was referred to as heremus, cf. Instr. I praef. 22, about Eucherius’ son Salonius who joined the community (heremum ingressus), and Hilary of Arles, Serm. Hon. 22,2, where Eucherius is said to have written letters ab heremo. 95 L. LORIÉ, op. cit., p. 53-57. 96 Laud. 3,36; 37,401. 97 Laud. 32,331. 98 Laud. 8,98; 11,124; 13,156. 99 Laud. 31,321-322, citing Hbr 11,38.

42 solitudo refers to a “normal” desert as a wasteland, but even then Eucherius speaks about God’s presence in it and uses the biblical expression100. The usage of the word is therefore influenced by the monastic as well as by the biblical environment.

The biblical background is not limited to mere separate words; indeed, many of the expressions describing the desert in the encomium are of biblical origin. Among these we find vasta solitudo101, desertum terribile102, vastitas eremi103, terra inhabitabilis104, desertum invium et inaquosum105, locus desertus106, interiora deserti107, speciosa deserti108, fines deserti109, in solitudinibus errantes110, deviae solitudines111.

From the above survey we may conclude that the desert vocabulary for the large part comes from the Bible, mostly from the Old Testament. Biblical expressions occur either in direct citations of the Holy Text or referring to its certain passages in a more implicit way. Noteworthy is also the fact that when Eucherius arrives to the second part of the work where the desert is praised as a paradise for soul, the usage of desertum, eremus or solitudo becomes much rarer; the author either switches to terra or merely avoids the terms associated with aridity and sterility112.

Secretum

The Latin dictionaries do not indicate “desert” among the meanings of secretum, and in the Vulgate the adjective secretus is found only once in relation to a remote

100 Laud. 4,54, see the note below. 101 Laud. 4,54, cf. Dt 32,10; Nm 14,3. The word vastus and its derivative vastitas are used by Eucherius only in the citations of the Old Testament. 102 Laud. 8,100, cf. Dt 1,19; Dt 8,15. 103 Laud. 29,307, cf. 2 Par 26,10. 104 Laud. 16,187, cf. Ier 2,6. 105 Laud. 17,193. The passage is on David’s stay in the desert. Eucherius quotes Ps 62,3 (in terra deserta et invia et inaquosa), and the Psalm 62 itself is entitled Psalmus David cum esset in deserto Iudaeae. 106 Laud. 24,250; 26,268. Both times locus desertus is used in relation to Christ and refers to the passages of the New Testament. In the Vulgate, locus desertus is found only in the Maccabees and the New Testament, Mt 14,13; Mc 1,35. The second is clearly referred to in Laud. 26,268, although not indicated by the editors. 107 Laud. 7,78, cf. Ex 3,1-5. 108 Laud. 38,419, cf. Ier 9,10; Ps 64,13; Ioel 1,19-20; Ioel 2,22. 109 Laud. 5,65. Eucherius quotes Ps 64,13 (pinguescent fines deserti) of the Vetus Latina. 110 Laud. 31,321-322, in the quotation of Hbr 11,38. 111 Laud. 37,401; devia solitudo is found in Jerome’s translation of the Psalter from Hebrew, PsH 106,4. 112 In Laud. 40-44 terra occurs six times and desertum or eremus only five, while in previous chapters they were abundant; cf. ch. 3.2.2.

43 place113. In De laude eremi though the meaning of secretum is often close to those of desertum and solitudo. Eucherius uses both forms of the word: (1) an adjective denoting seclusion and remoteness of a place114 and, more often, (2) a noun indicating a solitary place more generally and desert more specifically115. The term may also refer sometimes to celestial mysteries116. The expressions eremi secreta117 and desertorum secreta118 may be influenced by the works of John Cassian, where solitudinis secreta and heremi secreta are abundant119.

Other expressions

Once the desert is denoted by avia. In order to meet God, the Hebrews sought out the pathless wilderness, avia petiit, the expression common in classical usage as well as in Christian date120.

With abditum we arrive at the expressions denoting less the desert as such than the remoteness and secretness of the place121. When Eucherius says that the disciples of the prophets built their tents in a remote place, in abditis, near the Jordan River, he might remember a passage of the Old Testament122. In other three cases abdita embodies the spiritual and mystical experience of the desert’s habitants. In the passage extolling the

113 Sap 11,2: in locis secretis fixerunt casas. 114 The disciples of Elijah and Elisha dwell near the remote Jordan River, secretum flumen (Laud. 20,212); God’s voice interrupts the silence of the solitary place, secretae stationis silentium (Laud. 37,407-408). 115 To quote only some of them: desert’s love draws Hilary back to the familiar solitary place, ad familiare secretum (Laud. 1,9-10); Hilary’s love of solitary places, secreti amor (Laud. 1,19) is stronger than human love; Elijah is the greatest of those who dwell in solitary places, maximus secretorum colonus (Laud. 18,196); Christ hastens into the desert, ad secreta contendat (Laud. 22,233); the hermits withdraw to the solitary places of the desert, ad [...] desertorum secreta secedunt (Laud. 32,331-332). 116 John and Macarius were introduced into the mysteries of Heaven (Laud. 27,281: caelestibus inseruerunt secretis); the Lord secretely provides nourishment for his servants (Laud. 29,302: opere secreto alimoniam spargit ex abdito), cf. C. M. KASPER, op. cit., p. 204-205. 117 Laud. 4,53-54; 8,109. 118 Laud. 32,331-332. 119 Cf. Inst. 5,1: penetrant heremi profunda secreta; Conl. III,1: heremi festinavit penetrare secreta; Conl. II,5: solitudinis secreta [...] miro fervore sectatum; Conl. XVII,30: Scitioticae solitudinis secreta. 120 Laud. 8,97, cf. TLL 2, col. 1448. Among Christian authors, avia petere is indicated by TLL only in Sulpicius Severus, Dial. 1,17,4. 121 In Eucherius’ Formulae spiritalis intellegentiae the word in a singular form denotes the secretness, where the chastity of Scripture should remain covered from vulgar eyes (Form. 27-29: in abdito suo contegeretur; the work is quoted from CCSL 66, ed. C. MANDOLFO, Turnhout, 2004). 122 Laud. 20,210-211: exstruebantque in abditis tabernacula. In the Vulgate in abditis occurs thrice, always with the tinge of a secret place, cf. Ps 16,12; 1 Mcc 1,56 and especially 1 Sa 13,6, where Israelites hide themselves from Philistines in abditis.

44 desert as a treasury of virtues (Laud. 28), the author concludes by a comparison: just as in a home precious objects are kept in a hidden place behind locked doors, so also the magnificence of those saint secrets (sanctorum abditorum) is kept in the desert, protected by natural inaccessibility123. This does not however mean that the wilderness is forgotten by God, quite on the contrary: as the Providence gave manna to the Jews in the desert, so today the Lord nourishes his servants from the profounds (ex abdito)124. Finally, the choirs of angels enhance the desert by their frequent and mysterious visitations (frequentia abditae visitationis illustrant)125.

Another lexical group referring to seclusion, this time without analogues in the Vulgate, is remotus and its derivatives remotiora and remotio. It bears the notion of a place remote from and strange to the human encounter126: the habitants of the desert in remota abigunt mundum humanumque consortium repudiantes127. The successors of the prophets built their tents not only in abditis128, but, – the author wants to emphasize even more how far from human commerce the site is, – next to the remote Jordan River: remoto iuncta torrenti129. Likewise the Lord after the baptism is served by angels not merely in the desert, but “far from the crowds of noisy people”, remotis circumstrepentium turbis130. Even in an inhabited space in remotis marks the area separated from human eyes131.

123 Laud. 28,289-292. The touch of secret is noteworthy in the whole passage: pretiosa claustris obsignata in remotis habentur, natura [magnificentiam] obseravit, deponitur in terra quodam conclavi, supellex conditur [...] ex reconditis promitur (Laud. 28,289-296). 124 Laud. 29,303. Ex abdito is a term proper to Augustin referring to divine affaires (cf. De Genesi ad litteram 6,13, Ad Simplicianum 2,1,1, De Trinitate 15,17). 125 Laud. 38,421. 126 The only case where remotus has a meaning of just being away is when the author addresses the desert as a desirable place both for those who live in it and those who are staying elsewhere: sanctis aut in te positis aut non procul a te remotis (Laud. 41,454-455). 127 Laud. 36,386-387. 128 Laud. 20,210-211, quoted above, n. 122. 129 Laud. 20,211. Although Eucherius does not tell explicitly that the disciples of Elisha stayed in the desert (nor is it indicated in the text of the Bible), the vocabulary insists on the remoteness and seclusion, thus giving the overall impression of the wilderness: exstruebantque in abditis tabernacula remoto iuncta torrenti. excubabat cohors sancta secreti fluminis ripis (Laud. 20,210-212). 130 Laud. 23,242-243. 131 Laud. 28,289-290: in magna domo pretiosa quaeque claustris obsignata in remotis habentur.

45 The monastic Latin used the comparative form of the word, remotior, to designate the remoteness of the hermit’s abode132. Eucherius uses its plural when he describes Jesus withdrawing to Mount Thabor, the place of his Transfiguration: ad excelsi montis remotiora secessit133. In the same scene the apostle Peter expresses his joy to have witnessed Christ’s glory in the remoteness of the desert, in remotione deserti134.

One more group refers to withdrawal or a place of seclusion: recedere and its derivatives recedentia and recessus. In the opening of the encomium Eucherius praises Hilary to have penetrated the recesses of the desert, recedentia penetraveras, one more expression reminding Cassian135. Few chapters further we meet solitudinis vastae recessum, again a possible echo of Cassian136. Finally, the saints who dwell in the desert in some way are beyond the world: extra mundum recedunt137.

A more common monastic term, belonging to the Eastern world of monks, is secedo and its derivative secessus, the terms known already in classical philosophical tradition138. In De laude eremi the term occurs not only in the Christian sense, but also with a tinge of its philosophical origin. When comparing Christian monks to pagan philosophers Eucherius praises the first as those who more wonderfully (pulchrius) withdraw into the leasure of solitude and the solitary places of the desert, ad solitudinum libertatem et desertorum secreta secedunt139, the language and the context reminds the

132 Cf. Sulpicius Severus, Dial. 1,1,4: remotior cellula; Vincent of Lérins, Commonitorium 1,21: locus [...] remotioris villulae; Cassian, Conl. XVII,1: in loco remotiore consedimus; Conl. XVIII,16: remotioris habitaculi; Jerome, V. Pauli 4,20: in villam remotiorem. 133 Laud. 25,261-262. We have found only one occurrence corresponing exactly to the expression of Eucherius in the Chronicle of Sulpicius Severus: in order to hide from Jezabel Elijah withdraws to a remote place, ad remotiora secessit (Chron. 1,43,9). 134 Laud. 25,267. 135 Laud. 1,2-3. Cf. Cassian, Inst. V,36,1: penetrant heremi profunda secreta; Conl. XVIII,6: Paulus [...] heremum penetrasse dicatur; ibid.: anachoretae [...] heremi recessus penetrare non timeant. 136 Laud. 4,54, cf. Cassian Conl. XVIII,16: in solitudinis recessu sanctorum. Eucherius uses recessus in Cont. 835-836 (hic late recessus exclusus fluctibus silet), but as a metaphor of a peaceful port. 137 Laud. 31,321. 138 The Latin term is the equivalent of the Greek ànac_rhsiV. On the early monastic tradition, see a short survey in L. LORIÉ, op. cit., p. 59-60. For the classical tradition see the references of anachoresis and anachorein in the index of A. GRILLI, Vita contemplativa. Il problema della vita contemplativa nel mondo greco-romano (Philosophica. Testi e studi 6), Brescia, 2002. Secessus is known in Christian literature (cf. Tertullian, Ad martyras 4,2), but does not occur in the early monastic literature; Cassian instead uses secesssio (Conl. X,6; XVIII,6). 139 Laud. 32,331-332. For similar occurrences in monastic literature, cf. Cassian, Inst. IV,30,2: de coenobio secessit solus in Thebaidos ultimas partes; Sulpicius Severus, Dial. I,10,2: ad eremum secesserat; Hist.

46 philosophical retirement. However, Jesus withdrawing to the Mount Thabor is depicted in the words of the Synoptic Gospels: dominus Iesus ad excelsi montis remotiora secessit140. And towards the end of the encomium the author admits that he especially honours Lérins, although he has great respect for all other places glorified by the seclusion of the pious: quae piorum illuminantur secessu141.

Forsaking home for truer homeland

Emotional renunciation of the family and friendship ties makes as important part of the monastic purpose as the physical withdrawal. In De laude eremi the terms like egredior, relinquere, deserere combined with domus, cognatio, parentes, frater, patria, sedes and urbs prove the relentless need of an overall renunciation for anyone who desires to endeavour the perfect life. Eucherius shows Hilary’s progressive abandonment of all the relations that hitherto hindered him from full renunciation. Hilary like Abraham had left his country and his relatives (egressus dudum de domo tua et de cognatione tua142). However, even when leaving behind his parents he was following his spiritual relative Honoratus (parentes relinquens parentem tamen sequebaris143), therefore the decision is fully fulfilled only when Hilary renounces even his brother in favour of the desert (cum desertum peteres etiam fratrem reliquisti144).

The need to forsake the family and home occurs several times more in the encomium. Just as the disciples of Elijah and Elisha have chosen to leave their social environment, relictis urbibus, in order to preserve the spirit of the prophets145, today a holy man leaves his own home and chooses the desert as his dwelling, hanc sanctus [...] relicta sede propria sedem legat146. The desert becomes a provisional homeland for those who abandon the land of their birth, haec genitalem deserentibus patriam temporariae

Mon. VII,1,1: secessisse eum ferebant ad eremum; XII,1: secessisset ad eremum; XV,2,1: cum secessisset ad eremum; Jerome, Ep. 18*,2: ad deserta secede. 140 Laud. 25,261-262, cf. Mt 14,13; Mc 3,7; and Lc 9,10 (the scene of the Transfiguration); secedere comes from other Evangelical passages, cf. Mt 14,13. 141 Laud. 42,466-467. 142 Laud. 1,1-2, referring to Gn 12,1. 143 Laud. 1,7-8. 144 Laud. 1,12-13. 145 Laud. 20,209. 146 Laud. 30,312-313.

47 patriae nomen obtineat147. The purpose to forsake the family and home and to withdraw to a remote place is to reach the liberty of the heart (liberior cordis intentio) necessary for being with God, for serving him and praying148.

From the above analysis we can conclude that in order to describe the desert Eucherius uses mostly biblical phrases, while the terms designating monastic withdrawal and seclusion often come from the earlier monastic literature (this is not however the rule). The motif of monastic retreat is still intensified by expressions referring to the singularity of the place, its secrecy, and the need to abandon the former social environment in order to contemplate God in liberty. In the next chapter we will see that biblical base seeks deeper than mere verbal reminiscences: it also forms the background of the paradisiac aspect of the desert, especially apparent in the second part of the work, dedicated to the spiritual desert and represented by the insular monastery of Lérins.

3.2.2. Paradise From the early date monastic life was associated with the rediscovered paradise, the contemplative way of life anticipating best Adam’s condition before the fall and the future place of the everlasting life149. The word paradisus is of Persian origin meaning a garden. Through the Greek Septuagint and the Latin translations of the Bible the word passed into Christian usage. Already in the pre-Christian apocalyptic literature the lost paradise on earth, Eden, was related to eschatological hope and identified with the second paradise, the heaven promised for the just in eternal life therefore being usually described in the terms of the Book of Genesis150. On the other hand, eschatological paradise is often bestowed with the features of Palestine, the land promised to Abraham, as it is depicted

147 Laud. 30,315-316. 148 Laud. 33,348-350: ubi liberior cordis, ut Deo inhaerere certet, intentio quam illis utique secretis, in quibus Deum non solum invenire promptum est, verum etiam custodire?; Laud. 32,334-335: ubi, quaeso, liberius quam in deserti habitatione servetur Pascha? 149 P. MIQUEL, art. cit., col. 1553-1555; P. S. FRANK, Aggelikos bios, cit., p. 106-110, G. M. COLOMBÁS, art. cit., p. 299-305; J. LECLERCQ, La vie parfaite (Tradition monastique 1), Turnhout, 1948, p. 161-169. 150 Gn 2-3; the Christian reflexion of paradise is based on Lc 23,42 (the promise of Jesus to “the good thief”), the only other two occurrences of paradisus in the New Testament being 2 Cor 12,4 (Paul’s vision) and Apc 2,7. On paradise in early Christian literature see P. MIQUEL, Art. Paradis, I. Dans la tradition chrétienne, DSp 12, col. 187-197; S. BREGNI, “Paradisus, locus amoenus”: immagini del paradiso nei primi secoli dell’era cristiana, RSLR 41, 2005, p. 297-328; J. DANIÉLOU, Terre et Paradis chez les Pères de l’Église, ErJb 22, 1953, p. 433-472.

48 in the Book of Deuteronomy151. For the Prophets of the Old Testament, the riches of the Promised Land figured the Holy Land of the end of times152, the image taken over by John in the Book of Revelation and depicting the celestial Jerusalem153.

In De laude eremi, the paradise is as present as is the desert, these two notions being inseparable and showing the power of God’s grace to the habitants of the latter154. The word “paradise” (paradisus) itself occurs four times in the encomium serving as a guidemark to the work. The first two occurrences are found in the confirmatio per exempla part and refer to the first man’s abode in Paradise and to its anti-type in the New Testament, Jesus’ stay in the desert155. Both of them evoke the earthly Eden, the place inhabited by man before the fall. Two other references occur in the second part, bearing the sense of eschatological paradise which is already present on the earth, namely in the desert inhabited by monks. Following the allegorical interpretation, the author affirms that the soil of the desert provides rich harvest because it is desert only for the body but paradise for the soul, a metaphor often employed by Jerome156, while the island of Lérins shows the future paradise to those who possess it already157. We will further analyse the manifestation of the paradisiac status of those living in the desert through different elements employed by the author: the angelic state of the desert inhabitants, the loveliness of the desert, its holy character and eschatological role.

151 Dt 32,13-14. 152 Is 65,17-24, Ez 47,1-12. 153 Apc 21,9-27. 154 See the analysis of “Eremo come paradiso” in S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 158-164; S. Pricoco has especially noted the optimistic character of the desert, ibid., p. 158-164, 182-186. 155 Adam is possessor paradisi et transgressor praecepti in Laud. 6,69; the devil who had been victorious in paradise, is vanquished in the desert by Jesus (Laud. 23,248-249: diabolus, qui vicerat in paradiso, in eremo vinceretur). 156 Laud. 39,439-440: eademque corporis est eremus, animae paradisus. Jerome often calls the desert a paradise of soul, cf. Ep. 14,10: infinita heremi vastitas terret? sed tu paradisum mente deambula. quotienscumque illuc cogitatione conscenderis, totiens in heremo non eris; Ep. 18*,4: in paradisum mente conscendens, toties in terra non eris, quoties terram despexeris; Ep. 125,8: mihi oppidum carcer est et solitudo paradisus. 157 Laud. 42,473-474: paradisum possidentibus se exhibet quem possidebunt.

49 Angelic state

Frequent references to heaven, mystical silence and the presence of angels make the desert resemble the paradise. The effect is still stronger when the words designating desert and heaven are juxtaposed, thus showing not only the author’s deliberate intention to use effective rhetoric figures, but also to suggest the close connection between these two notions.

At the beginning of the work Eucherius states that God, who dwells in silence (in silentio)158, equally prefers desert’s and heaven’s solitude (eremi et coeli secretum)159, thus already binding these two notions and bestowing divine authority upon this combination.

Jesus in the desert (in eremo constitutus) is served by silent ministers of divine vigour (tacita divini vigoris ministeria), and angels offer their service to him as if he were transferred to heaven (tamquam in caelum revectus)160. The following phrase, establishing the contrast between the new Adam Jesus Christ and the old Adam whose seducer was driven off by Jesus161, still highlights the contrast between the primordial, historical paradise, and the desert, the new paradise where the devil is vanquished162.

The paragraph dedicated to two Eastern anchorites John and Macarius is constituted of references to their mystical experience. The latter is expressed in terms denoting the heavenly character of their state in the desert: their “way of life was like that of heaven (in caelis) while they lived in the desert (in desertis)”163. They drew as close to God as is possible to human beings and were admitted into divine realities (divinarum

158 Laud. 3,43. 159 Laud. 3,50: peculiarius visitationem dignatur eremi et coeli secretum. 160 Laud. 23,242-245, cf. Mt 4,11. 161 Laud. 23,245-248: ibi tunc temptantem notae artis insidiis hostem illum antiqui temporis confutavit supplantatoremque veteris Adam novus Adam reppulit. The theme of Jesus Christ as new Adam is proper to the Pauline epistles, cf. Rm 5,14; 1 Cor 15,24; Col 1,15; 3,9-10. 162 Laud. 23,248-249. 163 Laud. 27,276-277: quorum conversatio, dum in desertis est, in caelis facta est, cf. Phil 3,20. This verse of the Paul’s Epistle to Philippians (nostra autem conversatio in caelis est) was often referred to in monastic literature, see Hist. Mon. gr. prol. (not rendered in its Latin version); Athanasius, V. Anton. 14,7 (conveyed also in it’s Latin translation by anonym but not by Evagrius), Cassian, Conl. III,6; XII,2; Inst. VI,6.

50 rerum opera)164; “their minds fixed on heaven (in superna), they were introduced into divine mysteries (caelestibus secretis)”165; with the help of the desert (suffragante secreto) they attained the stage of possessing the heaven in spirit (caelum spiritu possiderent) though their bodies were still on earth166. Finally, the grace accompanied them in the form of “silent revelations” (revelationibus tacitis) and of “eloquent signs” (clamantibus signis)167.

These examples of God, Jesus and the first monks have proven the close relation between the desert and heaven in the history, while the celestial and mystic reality of the desert of today is manifested in the second part of the encomium, dedicated to the confirmatio per rationes.

The habitants of the desert, finding themselves placed in the world (in mundo), in a way go beyond the world (extra mundum)168. They are alien (alieni) to the confusion of human society; they are distant (sepositi), quiet (quieti), and silent (silentes)169. They construct stable buildings in their hearts, because they are unmoved by and unmindful of earthly matters (terrenorum) hoping and desiring for heavenly things (caelestium)170.

The mystical character of life in the desert is especially due to the silence prevailing there. In the desert, where everything is silent (silent omnia), the silence (silentium) spurs on the joyful mind to reach God in ineffable ecstasies171. No sound

164 Laud. 27,277-280: appropinquaverunt illi tantum domino quantum appropinquare Deo hominem fas sinebat admissique sunt in divinarum opera rerum quantum carne circumdatos licebat admitti, cf. the same idea that John of Lycopolis, to whom probably are dedicated these lines of the encomium, was close to God in Rufinus, Hist. Mon. I,1,5: quanto enim se ab humanis curis et colloquiis sequastrabat, tanto illi vicinior et propinquior Deus erat. 165 Laud. 27,281-282: fixam in superna mentem caelestibus inseruerunt secretis. 166 Laud. 27,283-285: suffragante secreto usque in id provecti sunt, ut terram quidem corpore tunc contingerent, caelum vero spiritu iam possiderent. The contrast between the physical presence on earth and the celestial way of life expressed the monk’s wish of incorporeal life, his aspirations to die to this world and to endeavour the vita angelica, the restored paradise (P. S. FRANK, op. cit., p. 108). The motif is frequent in monastic literature, see Jerome, V. Pauli 7; Rufinus, Hist. Mon. prol. 5; Cassian, Inst. V,14,4; VI,6. 167 Laud. 27,282-283: hinc comitantem gratiam aut revelationibus tacitis aut clamantibus signis protulerunt. 168 Laud. 31,320-321: in mundo positi, quodammodo extra mundum recedunt. Cf. n. 163 above. 169 Laud. 31,324-325: alieni sunt ab illo rei publicae humanae tumultu, sepositi, quieti, silentes. 170 Laud. 34,361-363: desides atque immemores terrenorum ob spem votumque caelestium. 171 Laud. 37,403-405: silent omnia: tunc in deum suum laeta mens quibusdam silentii stimulis excitatur, tunc ineffabilibus vegetatur excessibus, cf. Rm 8,26. The whole passage of Laud. 37 on the grace of

51 (nullus sonus) is heard save the voice speaking to God; this sound, sweeter than silence (quiete dulcior), and the activity of the holy way of life are the only things which break the silence (silentium) and the pleasant serenity (placidae quietis statum)172. Then the choirs (chori) singing sweet hymns ring in heaven (caelum) as much with voices as with prayers173.

The reader will easily associate these choirs of monks singing hymns with the choirs of angels which appear in the next passage174: the vast expanse of the desert being well protected by defender Christ175, the beautiful places of the desert (speciosa deserti) can be visited by the choir of rejoicing angels (laetantium angelorum chorus) who, going up and down the Jacob’s ladder, illuminate the desert (illustrant eremum) by their frequent visitations176. The angels visiting monks in the desert is one of the elements of the vita angelica: the inhabitants of heaven show thus their care and protection of those engaged in the ascetic way of life177. The scale of Jacob (Gn 28,12) already since Philo was interpreted as the scale of virtues and the instrument of Christian perfection178. Eucherius, however, does not follow this ascetic interpretation, and leans instead towards the mystical, contemplative sense of monastic life179.

contemplative life in the desert is very close to Cassian’s vocabulary in his two Conferences on prayer, cf. Conl. IX,14-15.25.27-28; X,11,6; also Inst. II,10,11; see A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 7, p. 92; M. ALEXANDRE, La prière de feu chez Jean Cassien, Jean Cassien entre l’Orient et l’Occident, Actes du colloque international organisé par le New Europe College en collaboration avec la Ludwig Boltzman Gesellschaft (Bucarest, 27-28 septembre 2001), éd. C. BADILITA ET A. JAKAB, Paris, 2003, p. 169-203. 172 Laud. 37,405-410: nullus interstrepens illic sonus, nulla nisi forte cum deo vox est; solus ille animo, dum sonitus silentium secretae stationis intervenit interpolatque illum placidae quietis statum, strepitus quiete dulcior et sanctus modestissimae conversationis tumultus. 173 Laud. 37,410-412: tunc hymnis suave resonantibus excelsa ipsa ferventes chori pulsant atque in caelum non minus paene vocibus quam orationibus pervenitur. Cf. Historia Lausiaca (recensio B longior, PG 34,1020): ka¼ t§V ¢sp#raV katalabo&shV Ætin ¢st…nai ka¼ àko&ein àf' ¢k@sthV mon§V ÖmnouV ka¼ y@lmouV tò Cristò Šdom#nouV, ka¼ proseuc„V eáV oøranoÒV ànapempom#naV, éV nom%sai tin„ met@rsion æn tò t§V truf§V parade%sî metoikisq§nai. 174 The psalmody and singing of hymns approach monks to the state of angels who in heavens dedicate their laus perennis to God, P. S. FRANK, op. cit., p. 78-79 and 83-86. 175 Laud. 38,416-419. 176 Laud. 38,419-421: invisit sane speciosa deserti laetantium angelorum chorus et per illam Iacob scalam commeantes eremum frequentia abditae visitationis illustrant. 177 P. S. FRANK, op. cit., p. 100-102. 178 S. PRICOCO, La scala di Giacobbe. L’interpretazione ascetica di Gen. 28,12 da Filone a san Benedetto, RBS 14/15 (1985/1986), 1988, p. 41-58. 179 Ibid., p. 48. On the other hand, in the exegetic treatises of Eucherius the notion of spiritual progress is not absent, cf. Form. 905: scalae sanctorum profectus, see M. DULAEY, La spiritualité d’un Lérinien de la

52 This mystical proximity of monks to the state of angels appears again in the passage dedicated specifically to the Lerinian monks. The author endows them with the features proper to angels: they are bound together by love (caritate constricti), they are silent in their approach (occursu taciti), and serene in their countenance (vultu sereni)180. To make it short, “by their constant contemplation they resemble a throng of quiet angels (angelicae quietis agmens)”181.

The light which is brought by angels to the desert, and the serenity of the monks bring forward one more aspect of the desert and its inhabitants, their radiant character182. Like Jesus’ face was shining (effulsit) with a remarkable brilliance (insolita claritate) during the scene of Transfiguration183, so the desert places are today illuminated (illuminantur) by anchorites184. In Lérins, the light is spread by the founder Honoratus, shining (radians) in the strength of the apostolic spirit185, and Vincent, “a jewel shining (gemma perspicua) with the internal brilliance (interno splendore)”186 who can be counted among those stones of varied brilliance (fulgores) which gleam (micant) with shimmering light (vibrante luce) in the desert and represent the saints and their virtuous works187. The symbol of Christ, the “flower of the field and the lily of the valley”, is also shining (refulget) in the desert188.

The light of the example of the desert dwellers cannot be hidden from the world even if the monks live in secret. The Matthew’s parable of the lamp (lucerna) set upon the lampstand to shine brightly (resplendet) over the whole world shows that out of the desert a brilliant light (flagrantissimum lumen) can penetrate the world’s darkest parts189. This parable, interpreted by Christians as a moral obligation to give an example, was

première génération: Eucher de Lyon, Annuaire EPHE, Section des sciences religieuses 111 (2002-2003), p. 287-292, at p. 288-289. 180 Laud. 43,491-494. 181 Laud. 43,494-495: ipsa protinus contemplatione angelicae quietis agmen ostendunt. 182 Cf. S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 185-186, n. 213. 183 Laud. 25,261-263, cf. Mt 17,2. 184 Laud. 42,466-467. 185 Laud. 42,476-477: apostolici spiritus vigore et vultus radiantem. 186 Laud. 42,483-484: interno gemmam splendore perspicuam. 187 Laud. 40,449-451, see below. 188 Laud. 40,448-449, see below. 189 Laud. 36,392-394: haec lucerna est, quae universum mundum resplendet supra eremi candelabrum locata; hinc se flagrantissimum lumen per tenebrosa mundi membra diffundit, cf. Mt 5,14-15.

53 often used in ascetic literature190. Eucherius combines it with the image of the celestial Jerusalem191: let those who are in darkness draw near this light (lumini), and they will see again, while the city will protect all those who are in danger192.

Land of delights and fertility

In the Vulgate, the paradise is described as locus voluptatis or paradisus voluptatis193, a land, or paradise, of delights. Eucherius picks up this vocabulary as soon as he turns his regard to Adam: Adam possessed paradise (paradisum) and lived in the land of delights (locum voluptatis)194. In this passage the description of the dwelling place of Adam contains two more words denoting pleasance, iocundus and amoenus / amoenitas, both of which are associated with the fall of the first man and the outcome of the event, the power of death on him and on all his descendants195. The historical paradise hence, being a pleasant place, has incited man to transgress God’s law and has introduced death into human life. That is why one who desires to live and not to die, will dwell in the place most contrasting with paradise, the desert196.

Since today it is the desert which is the ideal place to meet God, the words characterizing it correspond exactly to those which were applied to the first paradise. The solitary places are pleasant (iocundae) to those who thirst for God, and the secret lands are attractive (amoena) for those who seek Christ197. The desert is a delightful meadow (pratum et voluptas) for the interior man, it is the untilled desert, but attractive

190 See for instance, V. Anton. 93,6. P. ADNÈS, art. cit., col. 1881; M. VAN UYTFANGHE, Stylisation biblique, cit., p. 27, n. 52. Cf. Form. 869-870: aliquotiens lucernae opera bona: “sic luceat lumen vestrum, ut videant opera vestra bona” (Mt 5,16). 191 Laud. 36,395-397: haec est civitas, quae abscondi non potest in deserti monte constructa, quae imagine sua caelestem Hierusalem terris dedit; Eucherius combines here the image of the city set on a hill of Mt 5,14 with the celestial Jerusalem of Hbr 12,22 and Ap 21,2.10. 192 Laud. 36,395-399. 193 Locus voluptatis in Gn 2,10, paradisus voluptatis in Gn 2,8.15; 3,23-24. In the Hebrew text the phrase means “a garden in Eden”, but Jerome has interpreted Eden as a qualifier meaning voluptas, and not as a geographic place (S. BREGNI, art. cit., p. 299, n. 6). 194 Laud. 6,69-70: possessor ille paradisi et transgressor praecepti, cum locum voluptatis habitaret. 195 Laud. 6,71-76: quanto enim iocundior ille amoenitatibus locus, tanto hic [sc. Adam] in lapsum pronior fuit. unde non solum hunc legibus suis subdidit, sed etiam in nos usque suum illum stimulum mors tetendit. proinde eremum colat qui vitam cupit; quia amoeni incola mortem paravit. 196 Laud. 6,74-76, see the note above. 197 Laud. 37,400-402: o quam iocundae sunt sitientibus deum etiam deviae illis saltibus solitudines! qam amoena sunt quaerentibus Christum illa secreta.

54 (iocundum) with a wonderful pleasantness (mira amoenitate), for it is desert for the body but paradise for the soul198. Lérins itself, bubbling with fountains, green with grass, beautiful with flowers, and delightful (iocunda) with sights and scents, shows the future paradise (paradisum) to those who possess it already199.

The last phrase marks one more aspect of the desert of Eucherius, its image as a flowering pasture. It might be that Eucherius has picked up the oxymoron of desertum floribus vernans from Jerome200, still expanding the figure and filling it with scriptural content. Although the allegory of the fertility of the desert is especially elaborated in the second part of the encomium, it is announced already in the opening chapters of the work. Playing with antonyms denoting fertility and sterility, the author declares that at the beginning of creation God did not leave this part of the world without use and honour (inutilem et inhonoratam), because it was prepared for the saints201. While some parts of the world were to be rich (locuples) in fruits, this one was to be fecund (fecundus) with holy men202. The quotations of the Psalms 64 and 103 serve to confirm that when God “watered the hills from the heights above”, the valleys were filled with plentiful crops203, and God has filled the wilderness by endowing the sterile places (habitationem sterilem) with inhabitants204.

198 Laud. 39,438-440: hic interioris hominis pratum et voluptas, hic incultum desertum, illic mira amoenitate iocundum est, eademque corporis est eremus, animae paradisus. 199 Laud. 42,472-474 : aquis scatens, herbis virens, floribus renitens, visibus odoribusque iocunda, paradisum possidentibus se exhibet quem possidebunt. 200 Jerome, Ep. 14,10: o desertum Christi floribus vernans! G. J. M. BARTELINK, Les oxymores « Desertum civitas » et « Desertum floribus vernans », StMon 15, 1973, p. 7-15, at p. 13-15; A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 1, 1991, p. 135. Cf. also Jerome, Ep. 18*,4: quanti ibi [in Aegypti deserto] flores sunt! quam spiritalibus gemmis prata vernantia! The figure, however, is found in Greek literature already in the Symposium of Methodius of Olympus, the work of the third century, Symp. 8,11: = kakän ÆrhmoV ka¼ ÀgonoV ka¼ ste½ra fqor…V ka¼ duspr^sitoV ka¼ d&sbatoV to½V pollo½V, eØkarpoV dŸ ka¼ eØbotoV ka¼ eøqal¦V ka¼ eøp%batoV Šg%oiV ka¼ plhq&nousa sof%aV ka¼ blast@nousa zw$n. 201 Laud. 5,57-62. 202 Laud. 5,62-64: credo, his illam locupletem in fructibus voluit et pro indulgentioris naturae vice hanc sanctorum dare fecundam. 203 Laud. 5,64-66: ut sic pinguescerent fines deserti et, cum rigaret “de superioribus suis montes” (Ps 103,13), abundarent quoque multiplicata fruge convalles, cf. also Ps 64,13-14. 204 Laud. 5,67-68: locorumque damna suppleret, cum habitationem sterilem habitatore ditaret. Cf. Jerome, Ep. 2: uiderem desolata ab accolis loca quasi ad quoddam paradisi instar sanctorum coetibus obsideri.

55 The spiritual riches of the desert are praised in the last chapters of the encomium. Following the passage on silence and angels visiting the desert205, the author develops the idea of the fertility of the wilderness, testifying the fulfillment of the desert’s role in the plans of Providence206. The soil of the desert is not sterile (sterile) and unfruitful (infructuosum), nor its dry, stony ground is unproductive (infecunda). This is proved by numerous texts of the Holy Scripture. The parable of the sower renders the idea that the desert’s inhabitant has planted there countless shoots (multiplex germen) and hundreds of fruits (centenos fructus)207, while a verse from the Book of Isaiah provides an allegory of “dry bones covered with meat” to another allegory of the farmer who reaps the harvest (messem) of an abundant crop (uberi proventu) in the wilderness208. The pinnacle however is achieved in the second part of the same passage telling of “living bread that comes down from heaven” and the streams of living water capable of saving souls209. These words not only echo the events of the Old Testament (the bread and the water provided to the Jews during there stay in the desert) and testify the grace bestowed upon the desert today, but also have a deeper Christological meaning. They allude to the words pronounced by Jesus in the Gospel of John where Jesus calls himself the “living bread” and the “living water” “springing up into everlasting life”210, and in this way shows the presence of the divine Word in the desert211. The last contrast between the delightful

205 Laud. 38, see above. 206 Laud. 5, see above. 207 Laud. 39,427-432: illic multiplex germen et centenos accola fructus recondit; non facile illic iacta semina secus viam decidunt, quae volucres assumant, nec in petrosa facile dilabuntur, quae non habentia altitudinem terrae orto sole aestuent et arescant, neque in spineta facile fugiunt, quae iam adultis sentibus obruantur, cf. Mt 13,4-7. 208 Laud. 39,432-435: uberi illic messem proventu colonus metet, producitur in his saxis seges illa per quam etiam ossa pinguescunt, cf. Is 58,11 (the Vetus Latina has ossa tua pinguescent instead of ossa tua liberabit of the Vulgate); Ps 64,14. Cf. Form. 266-267: messis ubertas vel copia fidelium; in evangelio: “Levate oculos vestros et videte regiones quia albae sunt iam ad messem” (Io 4,35). 209 Laud. 39,434-437: invenitur etiam illic “panis vivus qui de caelo descendit” (Io 6,51), erumpunt in illis rupibus fontes irrigui et aquae vivae, quae non satiandis solum, verum etiam possint sufficere salvandis. 210 Io 6,51; 7,38; 4,13-14. 211 The spiritual sense of these verses can be best interpreted by Eucherius himself, Form. 748-749: panis Christus vel sermo Domini; in evangelio: “ego sum panis vivus” (Io 6,41); Form. 372-373: fontes baptismum; in psalmo: “sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum” (Ps 41,2); Form. 374-377: aqua [...] in bonam partem in Hieremia: “me dereliquerunt fontem aquae vivae” (Hier 2,13); et in propheta: “qui sititis ite ad aquam” (Is 55,1), id est ad doctrinam.

56 meadow (pratum et voluptas) and the untilled desert (incultum desertum) lets conclude that the material desert is a paradise of the soul212.

The next paragraph (Laud. 40) continues the theme of the fecundity of the desert’s soil with which no field however fertile (quamvis fertilis) can compare213 by five anaphoric questions and answers. The questions indicate five elements which demonstrate the desert’s abundance in grain (frugibus ditis), grapevines (gravidis laeta vinetis), pastures (pascuis praestans), flowers (floribus picta vernantibus) and precious metals (speciosis exsultans metallis), each of these riches rested upon scriptural allusions and having allegoric meaning that can be explained by Eucherius’ Formulae. The wheat thriving in the desert and representing the saints satisfies the hungry with its riches214; the abundance of wine, an image of the people of God, “rejoices the human heart”215; in these pastures of spiritual recreation contentedly graze those sheep of whom Scripture says: “Feed my sheep”216; in the desert blooms that true “flower of the field and lily of the valley”, the symbol of Christ217; stones of varied brilliance gleam there with shimmering light, representing the saints, their virtuous works and the studies of

212 Laud. 39,437-440: hic interioris hominis pratum et voluptas, hic incultum desertum, illic mira amoenitate iocundum est, eademque corporis est eremus, animae paradisus. 213 Laud. 40,441-442: nulla iam quamvis fertilis tellus terrae eremi se comparatione iactaverit. 214 Laud. 40,442-444: est terra aliqua frugibus ditis? in hac maxime nascitur frumentum illud, quod esurientes adipe suo satiat, cf. Ps 147,3; Form. 277-278: triticum sancti vel electi Dei; in evangelio: “et congregabit triticum suum in manu sua” (Mt 3,12). Cf. also Laud. 39,432-435, quoted in the n. 208 above. 215 Laud. 40,444-446: est alia gravidis laeta vinetis? in hac maxime profertur vinum illud, quod bene “laetificat cor hominis” (Ps 103,15), cf. Form. 286-287: vinea ecclesia vel populus Israhel; in psalmo: “vineam de Aegypto transtulisti” (Ps 79,9). 216 Laud. 40,446-447: est alia pascuis praestans? in hac saluberrime pascunt oves illae, de quibus dicitur: “pasce oves meas” (Io 21,17), cf. Form. 257-258: pascua refectio spiritalis; in psalmo: “in loco pascui ibi me collocavit” (Ps 64,12). 217 Laud. 40,448-449: est alia floribus picta vernantibus? in hac maxime verus ille “flos campi et lilium convallium” (Ct 2,1) refulget, cf. Form. 313-314: flores Christum vel specimen iustitiae; in psalmo: “iustus ut palma florebit” (Ps 91,13); Form. 315-316: lilium Christus vel angeli a candore iustitiae; in Salamone: “ego flos campi et lilium convallium” (Ct 2,1).

57 Scripture218. These allegoric riches let the land of the desert surpass all other lands in its diverse advantages219.

In the last elaboration on the riches of the desert the author turns fully to the inner man and his spiritual work, for this land is “fertile (fertilis) in all the good things of Him in whom all things are held”220. The frequent metaphors of the land and its fertility are complemented here by the image of the tiller (cultor) who will cultivate (excolat) his own ground, and not the one of the desert221. The latter is fruitful (fecunda) in the virtues of those who dwell in it and is sterile (sterilis) in their vices222, therefore by tilling it (coluit) its inhabitant will find Christ, at the same time discovering that Lord inhabits him, and becoming himself a temple of God223.

While at the beginning of the encomium the notion of the temple of God was applied to the physical desert, it is now transferred from the external settings to the inner man’s endeavour224. The delights of the Lerinian island where the monks are dwelling225 reflect their internal beatitude, therefore it is not only the landscape, but also the assembly of the saints of the island who, as if they were precious alabasters, savour the sweet

218 Laud. 40,449-451: postremo alia speciosis exsultans metallis, alia vero auro suo fulva est? in hac varii lapidum micant vibrante luce fulgores, cf. Form. 919-920: aurum interior scripturarum intellectus; in psalmo: “et posteriora dorsi eius in specie auri” (Ps 67,14); Form. 250-252: lapides interdum Christus aut sancti; in psalmo: “lapis quem reprobaverunt aedificantes” (Ps 117,22); Form. 924-926: lapides pretiosi apostoli vel sancti sive ipsa opera virtutum; in Apocalypsi: “fundamenta muri civitatis omni lapide pretioso ornata” (Apc 21,19). 219 Laud. 40,451-453: ita terra haec singulis terris maior ad singula omnes longe praecedit bonis omnibus. 220 Laud. 41,456-457: pro universis bonis illius es fertilis, in quo habentur universa. The turn of the phrase is proper to Eucherius, cf. Cont. 507-508: itaque ratione plenissimum est te illum, in quo habeas omnia, amare prae omnibus. 221 Laud. 41,457-459: tu cultorem hunc, qui suam terram, non qui tuam excolat, requiris, cf. Form. 259- 260: cultura sancti qui excoluntur in Deum; apostolus: “Dei agricultura estis” (1 Cor 3,9); Form. 261-262: agricola Deus; in evangelio Dominus: “ego sum vitis vera Pater meus agricola est” (Io 15,1). 222 Laud. 41,459-460: tu inhabitantium te vitiis sterilis, tu fecunda virtutibus, cf. the same idea in Methodius of Olympus, Symposium 8,11, quoted above in n. 200. 223 Laud. 460-465: tuam quicumque sanctorum familiaritatem quaesivit, Deum reperit; Christum in te, quisquis te coluit, invenit. ipse qui habitat, Domino habitatore laetatur idemque ipse est et possessor tuus et divina possessio; tuum qui non refugit habitaculum, factus est ipse Dei templum, cf. 1 Cor 3,16 and 2 Cor 6,16. 224 See the analysis of the structure in ch. 3.1. 225 Laud. 42,472-474: aquis scatens, herbis virens, floribus renitens, visibus odoribusque iocunda, paradisum possidentibus se exhibet quem possidebunt, cf. Gn 1,11, Form. 310-311: herbae iucunditas quaedam proficientis animae; in Genesi: “producat terra herbam virentem” (Gn 1,11).

58 ointments and breathe the scent of life226. Therefore, despite the fact that all these notions refer to the spiritual reality of the inner man, they are nevertheless possible only in the desert, be it in the heart alone: “They desire to live the desert life, and in their heart they do”227.

Road to the Promised Land

However, at first sight pleasant desert of De laude eremi should not deceive the reader. Desert’s land is delightful only in as far as it represents the eschatological paradise. The true aim and destination of the desert’s inhabitant lies elswhere. Yet desert must be inevitably crossed by those who in this earthly world seek the way to the true homeland, and this function makes the desert’s land holy. It was already proclaimed holy by the Lord when Moses was tending his flock in the depths of the desert and saw the burning bush. Then the Lord commanded Moses to take off his sandals and then he called the desert holy (sanctam eremi terram), saying: “The place where you stand is holy ground (terra sancta)”228. This was the sign of the latent dignity (occulti honoris) of the place, and the sanctity of the place (sanctitas loci) was confirmed by the sanctity of the testimony (sanctitate testimonii)229.

The holy character of the desert may not however overshadow the final destination of its inhabitant. The story of Exodus shows that the stay in the desert (habitatione eremi) is the way to the desirable land (ad desiderabilem terram)230. The people who wanted to take possession of the land “flowing with milk and honey” (lacte et melle manantem), first had to possess this parched (aridam) and untilled (incultam) wilderness231. The road lies open to the true homeland (ad veram patriam) through the dwelling places in the desert (eremi mansionibus), and the one who desires to “see the

226 Laud. 43,488-490: pretiosa in his suavi unguedine alabastra fragrabant, spirabat passim odor vitae, cf. Io 12,3; Mt 26,7; 2 Cor 2,16. 227 Laud. 43,503-504: vitam eremi adipisci gestiunt? corde adipiscuntur. 228 Laud. 7,81-83: tunc Dominus, cum abici pedum vincula commoneret, sanctam eremi terram pronuntiavit dicens: “locus in quo tu stas, terra sancta est” (Ex 3,5). 229 Laud. 7,83-85: manifesto tunc indicio meritum occulti honoris expressit. confirmata quippe est a Deo sanctitas loci sanctitate etiam testimonii. 230 Laud. 16,182-183: quid, quod filii Israhel ad illam desiderabilem terram non nisi habitatione eremi pervenerunt? Cf. Ps 105,24; Ier 3,19; Za 7,14. 231 Laud. 16,183-185: et ut gens eadem postea possideret illam“lacte et melle manantem” (Dt 6,3; 26,9; 27,3; cf. Ios 5,6), prius hanc aridam incultamque possedit.

59 good things of the Lord in the land of living (in regione vivorum)” must take up his residence in an uninhabitable wasteland (inhabitabilem terram)232. This series of antitheses where the image of the Promised Land is formed by quotations of the Old Testament, is concluded by the allusion to Pauline words, thus marking the new, Christian reality of the desert: “let those who strive to become citizens of that world be guests first of this one”233.

The motif of the homeland reoccurs when speaking about the present dwellers of the desert. It is right for a holy man to leave his home, his parents and his children, to sell all his good, and, having abandoned his native homeland (genitalem patriam), to seek a provisional one (temporariae patriae) in the desert234. The true homeland, the heaven, which is not named in this passage, is however kept in mind as the true objective of the engagement. The final destination becomes manifest in the last phrase of the encomium, where the monastic community of Lérins is compared with Israel in the desert on their way to the Promised Land (terram repromissionis)235. The author lets nevertheless perceive the difference between two deserts belonging to two different realities, the Old Testament and the Christian world: the spiritual fertility of the Christian ascetic wasteland has transformed the wilderness and has made it the opposite of the uninhabitable land of the Sinai desert. The monastic desert thus becomes an honourable land (verenda tellus), inhabitable (habitabilis) and desirable (desiderabilis) for those who want to reap the spiritual fruit, the harvest of “Him in whom all things are held”236.

232 Laud. 16,185-188: totum semper ad veram patriam eremi mansionibus iter panditur. habitet inhabitabilem terram, qui vult “videre bona domini in regione vivorum” (Ps 26,13), cf. Ier 2,6; Ps 114,9. 233 Laud. 16,188-189: sit hospes huius, qui civis esse contendit illius, cf. Eph 2,19; Hbr 11,13; 13,14. The reference to the “real fatherland” (vera patria) in the same passage (see the note above) refers to the same Pauline theme. 234 Laud. 30,312-316: merito hanc sanctus divino igne succensus relicta sede propria sedem legat; merito propinquis, filiis parentibusque praeponat suorumque omnium commercio emat; merito haec genitalem deserentibus patriam temporariae patriae nomen obtineat, cf. Mt 13,44.46; Mt 19,29. 235 Laud. 44,521-523: qui cum Israhel in eremo contineris, cum Iesu terram repromissionis intrabis. Note also the Christian reality added to the figure coming from the Old Testament. The phrase terra repromissionis itself comes from the New Testament, Hbr 11,9. 236 Laud. 41,454-457: recte ergo tu, verenda tellus, sanctis aut in te positis aut non procul a te remotis aut habitabilis dudum aut desiderabilis exstitisti, quia pro universis bonis illius es fertilis, in quo habentur universa.

60 Celestial Jerusalem

Monastic community is a figure of the celestial city, and therefore merits itself the title of the city. The famous phrase of the Life of Antony, based on the words of Scripture, that the desert became a city (= ÆrhmoV æpol%sqh)237, had a broad echo at ascetic literature. Eucherius follows his predecessors. We have already mentioned the desert habitants who, being guests in this world, are striving to become citizens of the “true homeland”; this allusion was made in relation to Israel’s stay in the wilderness before arriving at the Promised Land238. When the author’s regard turns to the desert dwellers of today and the power of their example shining to the world, he already sees in them the realization of the heavenly city: “they are that city (civitas) which cannot be hidden because it is built on the desert mountain, an earthly symbol of the heavenly Jerusalem (caelestis Hierusalem)”239. Let the one therefore who is exposed to danger come to this city (civitatem), and he will be safe240.

Indeed, the citizens of the desert are attacked by enemies, but not by human ones. It is from the evil spirits that the vast wasteland helps to protect the monks. The devil, like a wolf, howls in vain when the sheep are well guarded by the walls of the desert241. Eucherius combines here the quotation of the first Epistle of Peter (“your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion”) with a Vergilian reminiscence, changing the lion of the first with the wolf of the second242. However, in comparison with other monastic writings, the interpretation of Eucherius is original. If in other authors the Peter’s Epistle is quoted as a warning against the evel spirits living in the desert and seeking to harm the

237 Athanasius, V. Anton. 14,7, representing the celestial Jerusalem of Phil 3,20 and Hbr 12,22, see G. J. M. BARTELINK, art. cit., p. 7-13. 238 Laud. 16,188-189, see the n. 233 above. 239 Laud. 36,395-397: haec est civitas, quae abscondi non potest in deserti monte constructa, quae imagine sua caelestem Hierusalem terris dedit, cf. Hbr 12,22; Ap 21,2.10; Form. 989-990: Hierusalem ecclesia vel anima; in psalmo: “lauda Hierusalem Dominum” (Ps 147,12). 240 Laud. 36,398-399: si quis discrimini patet, ad hanc civitatem tendat, ut tutus sit. 241 Laud. 38,413-415: fremit frustra tunc circuiens adversarius tamquam intra caulas ovibus septis lupus, et tamquam murorum obiectu ita eremi ambitu. 242 See 1 Pt 5,8; Io 10,1-2; Vergil, Aen. IX,59-60. Eucherius identifies the devil with a wolf in Form. 477- 478: lupus diabolus vel heretici; in evangelio: “intrinsecus autem sunt lupi rapaces” (Mt 7,15). This interpretation, quite unusual in patristic literature, is borrowed from Augustine, see M. DULAEY, Augustin en Province dans les premiers décennies du Ve s.: le témoignage des Formulae d’Eucher, Communicazione e ricenzione del documento cristiano in epoca tardoantica. XXXII Incontro de studiosi dell’antichità cristiana, Roma, 8-10 maggio 2003 (SEAug 90), 2004, p. 121-146, at p. 130.

61 monks243, Eucherius transposes it so as to create the reassuring image of the monastic desert. It is especially Jesus Christ who helps the guards of the city (qui custodiunt civitatem) not to watch in vain, and protects the God’s adopted nation (adoptiva Deo gens)244. The Formulae again help the reader perceive the hidden meaning of these scriptural symbols: the walls which protect the desert are Divine Scripture245, while the vigilant guards of the city represent those who rise towards God246.

3.2.3. Love and charity Love occupies the main place in the exordial part of the encomium, although it is almost absent from the rest of it. The first two chapters of the work determine the relations between the author Eucherius, the addressee Hilary, the spiritual leader of the monastic community Honoratus and the subject of the letter, the desert. The connective element between all of them is love, charity, and Eucherius shapes their interrelations masterly invoking the parallels of Scripture.

Ties of blood and of spiritual friendship form the background theme of the first thirteen lines (Laud. 1,1-13). The introductory phrase of the work is almost a verbatim reference to Abraham who has left his house and his family, egressus dudum de domo tua et de cognatione tua247. However, Hilary’ breaking of family ties is substituted by the spiritual leadership of Honoratus, who introduces him into desert: one relationship is changed by another which is still stronger because rests on personal affection248: by following Honoratus Hilary followed a father, although leaving his parents behind, parentes relinquens parentem tamen sequebaris249. We are gradually introduced to even

243 See for example, V. Anton. 7,2; Pachomius, Liber Orsiesii 6; Jerome, Ep. 14,4; 22,4. 244 Laud. 38,413-419: hostes suos submovet ac, ne in vanum vigilent qui custodiunt civitatem, peculiarius Christo propugnatore munitur, ut adoptiva Deo gens quantum secreti spatiis exposita, tantum hostibus suis clausa sit, cf. Ps 126,1; Rm 8,15. 245 Form. 1088-1089: maceria lex vel angelorum custodia: in cantico Esaiae: “et maceriam circumdedi et calamos affixi et plantavi vineam” (Is 5,2); Form. 1075-1076: muri munimenta scripturae divinae vel prophetae aut sancti; in psalmo: “aedificentur muri Hierusalem” (Ps 50,20). 246 Form. 952-953: vigilare custodiam cordis adhibere vel in Deum resurgere; in psalmo: “a vigilia matutina usque ad noctem” (Ps 129,6). 247 Laud. 1,1-2, referring to Gn 12,1 and Act 7,3. 248 Cf. Cont. 1-2: bene alligantur vinculo sanguinis qui vinculo consociantur amoris; blood relationship is good only when approved by the relationship of love. 249 Laud. 1,7-8. A special affection which united Hilary and Honoratus is also emphasized in the Life of Honoratus written by Hilary himself, cf. Serm. Hon. 24,3; Honoratus must have also practiced a special

62 larger Hilary’s love which, one can guess, has been developed under the influence of Honoratus himself. It is the love for desert which keeps Hilary back from following further his teacher: ad familiare secretum eremi te amor rettulit250. And even if the brotherhood is evoked once more, it is only in order to state that when Hilary went to the desert for the first time, people saw him following his brother, while now seeking the desert again Hilary leaves behind even him, cum desertum peteres, comitatus etiam fratrem videbaris; nunc, cum desertum repeteres, etiam fratrem reliquisti251.

For the following lines (Laud. 1,13-2,31) we can establish a certain structure, the centre of which is occupied by a “hymn of love for the desert” (Laud. 1,16-23):

Laud. 1,13-16: Honoratus’ affection for Hilary; Laud. 1,16-23: Hilary’s love for desert is stronger than his love for Honoratus; Laud. 2,24-31: Honoratus’ love for Hilary looks for the latter’s welfare. This passage is rich in the words denoting love, charity, and affection: dilectio, affectio, caritas, amor, diligere252. Honoratus’ feelings towards Hilary (dilectionis cultus, singularis affectio, caritas) are overcome by Hilary’s preference for the desert (eremi caritas, secreti amor, eremi amor), which in another words is just the love of God, Dei amor. In this culminating part of identifying love to desert with love to God, Eucherius appeals to the authority of Scripture: by choosing the desert Hilary keeps following the divine Law, according to which first he loves God, and then his neighbour: servasti ergo caritatis ordinem lege praescriptum primo Deum tuum, exin proximum diligendo253.

This phrase introduces a new thought, developed in the following passage on the role and aim of human love. Although the separation was painful for Honoratus, in his love for Hilary he was looking for the latter’s welfare, in amore tamen tuo commodum

love for neighbour: the author reports the words of Eucherius who must have said: si [...] caritas ipsa hominum vultu exprimenda esset, Honorati potissimum pingi debere vultu videretur (Serm. Hon. 26,2). 250 Laud. 1,9-10. 251 Laud. 1,11-13. 252 Cf. the same lexical richness in the passage on the love for God in Cont. 507-545. 253 Laud. 1,22-23, cf. Dt 6,5 and Mt 22,37. According to C. M. KASPER, Eucherius puts love to God higher than love to neighbour and thus does not follow the evangelic precept of love which should be equal to both (op. cit., p. 54, n. 164). However, we think that Eucherius is not only following the text of Matthew where love to God is the first commandment, but is also influenced by Augustin, see below, n. 256.

63 tuum consulit254. Honoratus’ love therefore is Christian love: he directs his rich and intense feeling to the profit of his brother, fastigium tamen illius tendit usque ad utilitatem255, an expression reminding of Augustin’s reflection over the same precept of love of Mt 22,37-40256.

Indeed, the divine love is the main reason which pushes a man to choose the monastic withdrawal. Later in the text Eucherius says once again, this time referring to the monks more generally, that it is the divine fire, ignis divinus, which aflames a holy man to leave his home and choose the desert257.

In the desert, however, the only possible form of love is charity, caritas. The word occurs thrice in the chapters describing the desert and its inhabitants. It refers either to the desert itself: desert is a tabernacle of charity, caritatis sacrarium258, or to its habitants who are wounded with love, caritate vulnerati259, and bound by love, constricti caritate260.

3.2.4. God’s grace Various God’s grace to the desert is at the heart of the work: multimoda Domini gratia erga eremum are the words by which Eucherius introduces the subject as a response to Hilary’s requesting letters261. The signs of this grace are presented right

254 Laud. 2,29-30. 255 Laud. 2,31. 256 Cf. De doctrina Christiana 1,3,3; 1,5,5; 1,32,35. For Augustine, love for God is prior to love for neighbour ordine praecipiendi. Ordine faciendi love for neighbour goes first, but also with the aim to flow into the fulness of love for God. The terms uti balanced by frui Deo, the vision of God, are at the heart of Augustine’s doctrine of love, cf. utilitas in Laud. 2,31 (quoted above in the text) and frui in Laud. 43,502- 503: Christo frui cupiunt? spiritu fruuntur. On Augustine, see D. DIDEBERG, Art. Amor, AL 1, col. 294- 300; R. CANNING, The distinction between love for God and love for neighbour in St. Augustine, Augustiniana 32, 1982, p. 5-41. 257 Laud. 30,312-313 : merito hanc sanctus divino igne succensus relicta sede propria sedem legat; cf. M. SPINELLI, Introduzione, Eucherio di Lione. Elogio della solitudine. Rinuncia al mondo (Collana di testi patristici 139), Roma, 1997, p. 5-63, at p. 35. 258 Laud. 28,287-288. 259 Laud. 38,423, referring to Ct 2,5. 260 Laud. 43,491-492. 261 Laud. 3,37-41.

64 afterwards: desert, together with heaven, is the preferred place of God’s visits, and God has “often let himself be seen there by his saints”262.

The word gratia occurs seven times in the encomium. One has already been mentioned. Four more are found in connection to the Exodus story and the divine assistance that God supplied to his nation in the desert: the grace was favoured to the people (gratiae virtute donata, caelestis gratiae dona)263 and to the place (loci gratia)264. Other two occurrences of gratia prove its working power in the desert of today: the hermits of the Egyptian desert John and Macarius were accompanied by grace (comitante gratia) coming from heaven in the form of silent revelations or of eloquent signs265, while the habitants of the desert of Lérins are endowed with the boundless grace of Christ (largissima gratia Christi) which helps them acquire already now the things wished for the future266. It is noteworthy that in this only occurrence of gratia in the passage on Lérins, it is Christ, and not just “divine” grace, who is working, thus proving again that the desert of today is different from that of the Old Covenant because transformed by the Gospel message267.

This multimoda Domini gratia to the desert acquires different aspects: it may be the power of divine work (divini operis virtus)268, heavenly assistance (caeleste auxilium)269, divine bounty (divina indulgentia)270, God’s visible beneficence (manifesta Dei magnificentia)271, divine gifts (divina munera)272, special care of divine providence

262 Laud. 3,44-46: saepius se illic videndum sanctis suis praebuit et conciliante loco congressum non est aspernatus humanum; Laud. 3,50: peculiarius visitationem dignatur eremi et coeli secretum. 263 Laud. 11,123 and 14,165. 264 Laud. 15,177.179. 265 Laud. 27,281-283: caelestibus inseruerunt secretis; hinc comitantem gratiam aut revelationibus tacitis aut clamantibus signis protulerunt. Eucherius’ vocabulary may be inspired by Cassian, who speaks about the grace of signs accompanying the just (Conl. XV,1: signorum gratia comitatur) and the apostle Paul (Conl. II,15: comitante gratia Spiritus Sancti cum potestate signorum et prodigiorum gentibus praedicabat). 266 Laud. 43,503-506. 267 Christ is also the one who protects the today’s desert from the prowling adversary, Laud. 38,416-417: peculiarius Christo propugnatore munitur. In the chapter on paradise (3.2.2) we have already drawn the attention to several passages where Eucherius depicts the Lerinian desert referring to Christ, either explicitely, or, more allusively, by the words of the New Testament. 268 Laud. 10,117. 269 Laud. 11,134. 270 Laud. 12,141. 271 Laud. 14,164.

65 (cura divinae providentiae summa et maxima)273, heaven’s bounty (caelestis munificentia)274, finally, divine providence (divina provisio)275.

From this list two things appear. First, all of these expressions emphasize the divine origin of the things happening in the desert. It is not desert and even less an individual as such who ows grace, the latter rather emanating and depending only from the divine will276. The name of Moses, the main human actor of Exodus, does not even occur in the section of the encomium dedicated to this event full of miracles (Laud. 8,103-14,168): the column of flame and a shining cloud leading the nation, the passage of the Red See, the water from the rock, the bitter waters of Marah made sweet, the manna, the Law received from heaven, all these events are operated by the Lord277.

Second, these expressions, referring to the divine bounty, are concentrated in three passages, the first relating the forty years of Hebrews in the desert of Sinai (Laud. 10-14), the second reminding how Jesus in the desert multiplied bread (Laud. 24), and the third drawing a parallel between the first two and the desert of today, where monks are likewise nursed and clothed by the divine bounty (Laud. 29). Hence God’s grace has been active throughout the history, including today, while biblical events in a sort prefigure the monastic desert.

The most visible sign of God’s grace is miracles, miracula. The word in the encomium is reserved for biblical events. To Eucherius, these occur mostly in the desert of the Old Testament, especially during the passage of the Sinai desert, where God by miracles sustained his nation278. When miracles are performed by man, they come nevertheless from the divine power, as in the case of the prophet Elisha: he was famous

272 Laud. 14,167; 24,254; 29,304. 273 Laud. 29,297-298. 274 Laud. 29,301. 275 Laud. 29,308. 276 Cf. S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 159, n. 122. In this aspect De laude eremi differs from the Life of Honoratus. J.-P. WEISS has shown that in the Life the main actor is less God than Honoratus (Honorat héros antique et saint chrétien. Étude du mot gratia dans la Vie de saint Honorat d’Hilaire d’Arles, Augustinianum 24, 1984, p. 265-280). 277 Cf. also the lines introducing the section of Exodus, Laud. 8,103-104: ipse plane dux itineris populum suum Dominus ad deserta ducebat. 278 Laud. 11,125-126: insperato Dominus miraculo refecit; Laud. 11,132-133: nec maiore miraculo e saxis aquas quam ex aquis alias aquas reddidit; Laud. 14,158-159: talibus olim similibusque usa est ac sustentata miraculis natio illa.

66 for working divine miracles (divino miraculorum opere)279, in this following his teacher Elijah280. The same miracle was working when God gave manna in the desert of the Old Testament, and when Jesus multiplied bread in the New Testament281.

God’s grace to the desert is also shown through his theophanies there: in the Old Testament, it was Moses and Elijah who saw the Lord in the desert282, while Jesus showed his glory to his disciples at the scene of his Transfiguration on the Mount Horeb283. These divine visits are the proofs (indicium, testimonium) of the sanctity of the place284. If God does not show himself, he leaves the signs (signa) of his presence in the desert285, e. g. when appearing to his people in the form of a white column286, or leaving his signs imprinted in the Law tablets287.

Desert is also the place where the Lord teaches his elect: Moses was instructed (docetur) in the desert, and received a staff which would later show the signs (in opera signorum)288. Jesus has showed and taught (ostendit docuitque, demonstravit) by his example that the desert was the place of prayer289. The importance of the latter combination, prayer in the desert, can not be stressed more than it has been showed by Eucherius: this short passage of seven lines contains six words indicating prayer, and five

279 Laud. 19,202-203. 280 Elisha is said to be consectator vitae atque virtutis of Elijah (Laud. 19,201-202); virtus means here the miraculous powers. 281 Laud. 24,255-256: eodemque miraculo victus, ut tunc esurientibus decidit, ita nunc vescentibus crevit. 282 Laud. 3,46-48 (cf. Ex 34,29, Moses on the Mount Sinai, and 1 Rg 19,13, Elijah on the Mount Horeb), and Laud. 7,78-95 (Moses seeing the burning bush in the desert). 283 Laud. 25, cf. Mt 17,1-4. 284 Laud. 7,83-85 (Moses seeing the burning bush): manifesto tunc indicio meritum occulti honoris expressit. confirmata quippe est a Deo sanctitas loci sanctitate etiam testimonii; Laud. 25,264-265 (the Transfiguration scene): declarandae maiestatis indicium secretis credidit; the magnitude of the sign is confirmed by the words of Paul, Laud. 25,266-267: “bonum erat, inquit, nos hic esse” (Mt 17,4), adamans scilicet magnitudinem signi in remotione deserti. 285 Laud. 24,258-259: desertis, inquam, desertis tantorum nunc signorum causas demus. 286 Laud. 8,106-107: dabat ita tunc promerentibus e caelo signum, quod lactea mole porrectum alternis irradiabat ardoribus. 287 Laud. 13,146-148 : [Hebraeus] inspicere divino digito impressa tabulis signa meruit. 288 Laud. 7,91-94. 289 Laud. 26,270-274.

67 nouns and four adverbs denoting the place from which “the prayer of a humble petitioner will more easily penetrate the clouds”290.

Hence the desert is the place which is bestowed with special God’s grace. This is manifest either from theophanic revelations, or from signs and miracles shown to the desert’s habitants throughout the history, especially in the Exodus story, echoed by the multiplication of bread in the New Testament, and the Transfiguration of Jesus. In the desert of today, it is no more miracles or signs that matter, these are never mentioned in the Lerinian part291. However, the divine bounty for the desert’s habitants is not diminished. The Lerinians today merit to enjoy this even more special grace which is the boundless grace of Christ.

3.2.5. Conclusion The desert praised by De laude eremi is a place of special divine grace292. While in the first, biblical part of the encomium, this grace is mainly manifested by miracles and theophanies known from the Old and New Testaments, in the second part, relevant to the Lerinian monastery, divine grace makes the desert a spiritual oasis. Allegorically it is identified with paradise, the latter per ceived as spiritual rather than physical reality. This desert, however, is not an aim in itself, for it is only a station on the way to the Promised Land sought after by the habitants of the monastery of Lérins who in their hearts repeat the endeavour of the Hebrew nation. This higher purpose makes forsake home and even closest friends because the only possible love in the desert is the love for God.

290 Laud. 26,268-274: idem quoque dominus Iesus, ut scribitur, in desertum locum ibat ibique orabat. locus ergo iam ille vocetur orationis locus, quem exorando Deum idoneum Deus auctor ostendit docuitque unde facilius nubes humiliantis se oratio penetrare adiuta loco, quia honorata secreto, atque ipse illic orando cum peteret, demonstravit, ubi orare nos velle competeret. 291 S. PRICOCO emphasizes the absence of the miraculous in the early Lerinian literature, see L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 181-182. 292 In his lecture given in the conference “Lérins, une île sainte de l’Antiquité tardive au Moyen Age” held in Nice and Lérins, 21 to 24 june 2006, Dom Vladimir Gaudrat has defined the desert’s role in De laude eremi as mediator of God’s grace, thus seeing Eucherius’ vision of grace as closer to that of Augustine than to that of Pelagius. We have however indicated some similarities between De laude eremi of Eucherius and the Letter to Demetriade by Pelagius, in Eucherijus Lionietis tarp Augustino ir Pelagijaus (remiantis Eucherijaus veikalu De laude eremi), in D. ALEKNA (sud.), Šv. Augustinas: tradicijos, kontekstai, interpretacijos (Christiana tempora 2), Vilnius, 2006, p. 182-196.

68 In depicting desert as paradise, Eucherius borrows certain images and expressions from the earlier authors. However, his desert is highly imprinted with biblical allusions, phrases, metaphores and parables; it is the desert of Exodus, transformed by the Gospel event. Eucherius’ desert is the place where a man is closest to heaven, where he is visited by angels, a place of mystical silence, of contemplation and prayer. Being the image of the lost Paradise on earth, it is a land of spiritual delights and fertility. On the other hand, the parched and untilled land of the desert is sanctified because of the function bestowed upon it: it must be inevitably crossed by those who in this earthly world seek the way to the Promised Land.

S. Pricoco has stressed the optimistic character of the Eucherius’ vision of the desert293. Indeed, the rich desert vocabulary of De laude eremi describes more its solitary, secluded, even secret character, rather than seeks to depict the horror of the desert as a place of desolation and the abode of demons. Although Eucherius borrows certain images and phrases from John Cassian, like the remoteness of the desert (eremi secreta) or the contemplative prayer, Cassian’s squalor solitudinis or horrenda solitudo294 never occur in De laude eremi. Even when Eucherius refers to the desert’s desolate character, he sees it as a land lacking of cultivation and culture (incultum desertum), but not as a wild wasteland. This cultural element is indeed important in the encomium: monastic desert is a city of the God’s adopted nation, protected by vigilant guards and Christ himself. The Enemy seems to be excluded from such a desert. His treacheries are not dangerous to those living in the desert, and this is one more element making Eucherius’ desert different from that of Antony, Cassian, or Martin of Tours295.

3.3. Eucherius’ interpretation of the Bible In the text of De laude eremi we have identified 233 quotations, allusions and parallels to the biblical text, quite impressive number for a such text of rather moderate lenght. Sixty percent of these references (141) are drawn from the Old Testament, the

293 L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 164-169 and 183. A. DE VOGÜÉ suggests to soften Pricoco’s conclusion that this optimistic vision of the desert implies also the absence of rigorous ascesis in the Lerinian community, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 7, p. 83; see also his review of PRICOCO’s work in RHE 76, 1981, p. 94-97, at p. 97. 294 See Conl. I,2; II,6; III,1; XIII,6; XIX,9; XXIV,2. 295 See S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 166-168.

69 rest, 92 references, belonging to the New Testament296. The largest part of the Old Testament references comes from the Psalter (32 ref.), the Book of Exodus (30 ref.), and the Book of Deuteronomy (18 ref.). Among those of the New Testament, the most frequent are references to the Pauline epistles (36 ref.), and to the Gospels of Matthew (27 ref.) and John (12 ref.). The preponderance of the Old Testament allusions may be explained by the fact that large part of biblical citations serve to illustrate the examples of the first part of the work, which mostly are the Old Testament figures297. Thus in the cycle of Moses, which occupies almost one fourth of the work, we find almost all the references to Exodus and Deuteronomy, and one third of those to the Psalter. The two Books of Kings are referred to only in relation to Elijah, Elisha and the sons of the prophets (17 ref.), while half of the Synoptic references illustrate the figures of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.

Among the scriptural citations one may easily discern those which are proper to the early monastic literature. We have already mentioned the ascetic interpretation of Hilary as Abraham who has left his country (Gn 12,1), the ladder of Jacob (Gn 28,12) by which the angels visit the desert, the desert habitants identified with the citizens of heaven (Phil 3,20), the monastic community described as heavenly Jerusalem (Hbr 12,22 and Mt 5,14-15), and the devil of 1 Pt 5,8 howling like a wolf around the sheep guarded by the walls of the desert. However, two scriptural texts, fundamental in the early monasticism, are absent from De laude eremi. These are Mt 19,21 (“if you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven”), and Act 4,32-35, the passage describing the first Christian community of Jerusalem (“they were of one heart and one soul...”). Neither do we find any scriptural allusion to the manual work (1 Cor 4,12; 1 Th 2,9; 2 Th 3,8.10)298, nor to the permanent prayer (1 Th 5,17), even if it is mentioned299. We think that the reason for which these

296 Among all the biblical allusions, twenty are literal quotations. One third of them comes from the Psalter, another third from other Old Testament books, and the rest from the New Testament. 297 See ch. 3.4. 298 However, M. CARRIAS claims to have found the indication of manual labour in Laud. 43,507-508: habent non parvum etiam in labore ipso pretium laboris, quia paene iam in opere est quod merces erit (Vie monastique et règle à Lérins au temps d’Honorat, RHEF 74, 1988, p. 191-211, at p. 204). 299 Laud. 43,500-501: omne in Dei laudibus habent tempus.

70 passages of ascetic character, often quoted in monastic literature300, are absent from De laude eremi, is the typological aspect of the work, to which we would now like to proceed.

In his two exegetical treatises, Formulae and Instructiones, Eucherius acknowledges mainly two senses to Scripture, the historical and the spiritual301. This is also attested in explicit words in the fifteenth chapter of De laude eremi which concludes the passage on the history of Exodus: “All these events are recorded as a sign of what happens to us (in figuram nostri), and the outward appearance of things shines with hidden mysteries (mysteriis occultis). They were all baptized in Moses, in the cloud and in the sea, and they all ate the spiritual food and drank the spiritual drink (1 Cor 10,2-4). Nevertheless, these events hold the faith of future things (futurorum fidem), so as to keep true realities (gestorum veritatem). So the desert still deserves to be praised even if the things done there must be understood as referring to deep mysteries”302.

What Eucherius wants to say in these lines, is that both interpretations, the historical and the spiritual, can co-exist. If the first, gestorum veritas, has to prove God’s grace to the desert by numerous miracles and theophanies, the second, pointing to mysteria occulta, shows the spiritual meaning of Exodus.

In patristic literature, Exodus received a special attention. The Incarnation of the Son and the gift of the Holy Spirit made possible the new Exodus, the march of the true people of God towards the true Promised Land in heaven. Exodus from Egypt was one of the most important figures in the early Christian baptismal and eucharistic typology, while Jesus was understood to be the second Moses, both these themes apparent already in the New Testament303. As Moses was a legislator who delivered the Hebrews from the

300 See J. BIARNE, art. cit. 301 C. CURTI, art. cit.; M. DULAEY, Eucher exégète, cit., p. 87-88. 302 Laud. 15,169-176: et haec quamvis in figuram nostri facta tradantur (cf. 1 Cor 10,6.11) et facies illa rerum mysteriis flagret occultis omnesque in Moyse baptizati in nube et in mari escam spiritalem manducasse, potum spiritalem bibisse referantur (1 Cor 10,2-4), tamen omnia haec ita futurorum continent fidem, ut gestorum custodiant veritatem. quamquam nec sic quidem eremi minor laus est, etiam si ea quae illic gesta sunt in sacramentorum sint altitudinem referenda. 303 See J. DANIÉLOU, Sacramentum futuri, cit., p. 129-200, also R. LE DÉAUT, J. LÉCUYER, Art. Exode, DSp 4, col. 1957-1995; J. DANIÉLOU, Art. Exodus, RAC 7, col. 22-44; K. WESSEL, Art. Durchzug durch das Rote Meer, RAC 4, col. 370-389; A. HERMANN, Art. Dornstrauch, RAC 4, col. 189-198; D. L. BALÁS AND

71 idolatry of Egypt to the Promised Land, so Jesus delivered believers from the idolatrous world into heaven, as typified in the new law he dispensed in the Sermon on the Mount; as Moses fasted for forty days, so Jesus fasted in the wilderness; as God provided the miracle of the manna, so Jesus multiplied loaves; as the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea, so Jesus walked on the waters; as Moses face shone after his encounter with God on Sinai, so was Jesus visibly glorified at his transfiguration on a high mountain. The baptismal typology interpreted the sweetened bitter waters of Marah as the giving of life through baptism, the crossing of the Red Sea was a symbol of the baptismal basin, and the water from the rock in the desert was seen as the effusion of the Holy Spirit. The column of flame and a shining cloud leading the nation represented Christ on one hand, and the baptism in water and fire on the other. The manna given to the Hebrews and the rock from which the water had sprung in the desert were also the types of Christian Eucharist.

By dedicating the largest biblical part of the encomium (Laud. 8-16) to the miracles that happened in the desert of Sinai, - the column of flame and a shining cloud leading the nation, the passage of the Red See, the water from the rock, the bitter waters of Marah made sweet, the manna and the Law received from heaven, – and by quoting right afterwards the first Epistle to Corinthians, Eucherius clearly indicates that he follows the traditional baptismal interpretation304. Moreover, in the New Testament part he especially emphasizes John’s baptismal activity, crowned by the baptism of Jesus in the sanctified waters of the Jordan River305. And this typological interpretation is confirmed once again in the last chapter of the encomium, where Hilary, “the truer Israel”, has been delivered from Egypt to the Promised Land306. The events of Exodus receive a Christologic explanation in this final chapter307: the wood which has made sweet the bitter waters of the rock in the desert of Sinai was the wood of the cross; the

D. J. BINGHAM, Patristic Exegesis of the Books of the Bible, in CH. KANNENGIESSER, Handbook of Patristic Exegesis (The Bible in Ancien Christianity 1), Leiden, 2004, p. 271-373, at p. 281-283. 304 I. OPELT thinks that even the choice of the Old Testament figures, including Moses, Elijah, Elisha and David, who in the Patristic literature prefigure Christ, is determined by the work’s baptismal typology, art. cit., p. 205. 305 See ch. 3.4. 306 Laud. 44,515-523. 307 See A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 7, p. 101-102.

72 rock from which the water sprang was the spiritual rock who was Christ308. It is also from the Gospel that Hilary receives the thunder of the divine word309. The last phrase of the encomium finally combines the models of both the Old and the New Testament: the company of Israel in the desert permits of entering the Promised Land with Jesus310.

The name of Israel plays an important role in these lines. Hilary is called here “the truer Israel who gazes upon God by his heart” (verior Israhel, qui corde Deum conspicaris)311. The interpretation of Israel’s name as “the one who sees God”, based on the story of Jacob’s fight with the angel (Gn 32,23-33), is known already since Philo and Origen312. In monastic literature, the honourable title of Israel is reserved for monks because they are those who really see God313. Hence, by applying to Hilary the title of Israel Eucherius follows the traditional interpretation, directing it though his own way: Hilary is seen as a truer Israel because his Exodus, a replica of the Hebrew Exodus, is performed in a more perfect, Christian way. Moreover, Hilary, as a monk, does not simply see God, but sees him by his heart, because he is one of those desert habitants who have become themselves the temples of God314.

Besides the typological interpretation of Exodus, Eucherius also knows its moral and ascetic symbolism. The fact that the Lord commanded Moses to take off his sandals in the desert means “that those who approach the desert should first unblock the path of

308 Laud. 44,518-520: amara quondam, per lignum crucis dulcia nunc experiris, salientes in vitam aeternam aquas a Christo trahis, cf. Io 4,14 and 1 Cor 10,4. 309 Laud. 44,521: in Evangelio tonitrui divinam accipis vocem. Cf. Form. 145-146: tonitrua voces evangelii, eo quod de caelo intonent; in psalmo: “vox tonitrui in rota” (Ps 76,19). 310 Laud. 44,521-523: qui cum Israhel in eremo contineris, cum Iesu terram repromissionis intrabis. CH. CARRAUD notes that in the Septuagint the Greek transcription for the both Hebrew names of Joshua and Jesus is the same, therefore Eucherius plays here with both notions (n. 124 in the translation of the De laude eremi, Conférence 9, 1999; we have referred to the electronic version of the document, http://www.revue-conference.com/fichiers/file1956.pdf). Eucherius renders himself the same meaning for both names in Instr. II,12: Iesus Salvator, and Instr. II,45: Iosue Salvator. 311 Laud. 44,515. 312 Cf. the commentary on the patristic interpretation of Gn 32,29 in La Bible d’Alexandrie. Vol. 1: La Genèse, Traduction du texte grec de la Septante, introduction et notes par M. HARL, Paris, 1994, p. 243- 244. Eucherius gives the same interpretation in his Instr. II,30-31: Israhel vir videns Deum. 313 In his Letters, Antony bestows upon his monks the title of Israel, which, he says, is not a mortal name, but the true name of the sons of Israel according to the spirit (Ep. 3,1; 6,1, for the translation we have referred to SAINT ANTOINE, Lettres, Introduction par A. LOUF, traduction française par les moines du Mont des Cats (Spiritualité orientale 19), Bégrolles-en-Mauges, 1976, p. 57 and p. 98-99). Cf. also Cassian, Conl. XXI,28: verum Israhel, id est monachorum plebem. 314 Laud. 41,464-465. In the analysis of the structure, we have already noted that the end of the encomium is arranged towards the interiorization of the monastic desert, see ch. 3.1.

73 their lives of their previous concerns, and should proceed only when they have taken the bonds that impeded them, so that they will not profane the place”315; the liberation of the people of God from Egypt had the sense of setting free from sinful conduct316. However, this interpretation of Exodus as a moral symbol for ascetic life, especially developed by John Cassian317, does not acquire the predominant aspect in the encomium, which nevertheless rests mostly imprinted with the sacramental symbols318.

Yet in De laude eremi this baptismal typology is developed even more so as to receive a broader biblical typology of the desert, applied on three levels: the desert of the Old Testament, the desert of the New Testament, and the monastic desert of today319. If paradise did not protect Adam from the devil (Laud. 6), the new Adam, Christ, drove off the seducer of the old Adam in the desert and was served there by angels (Laud. 23). Therefore the today’s desert, visited by the choirs of angels, is well protected from the Enemy (Laud. 38). If Adam did not obey the divine law in paradise (Laud. 6), the God’s nation received the divine precepts in the desert of Sinai (Laud. 13). And although the rules which are in vigour today are found in the inner man (Laud. 35), the Lerinians also deserved to possess the heavenly rules of Honoratus (Laud. 42). It was in the desert that Moses’ face shone after his encounter with God (Laud. 3), and that Jesus was glorified at his Transfiguration (Laud. 25). Like Elijah and Moses have fasted for forty days in the wilderness, so has Jesus (Laud. 32). The desert as a place of conversation with God had already been prefigured in the Old Testament, - God had spoken to Moses from the burning bush (Laud. 7) and on the Mount Sinai (Laud. 13), - and even more in the New

315 Laud. 7,86-89: etiam illud pariter et latenter enuntiat, ut accedens ad eremum pristinis curarum obligationibus vitae gressus absolvat et anterioribus vinculis expeditus incedat, ne locum polluat, cf. Cassian, Inst. I,9,1-2. In the moral interpretian of Christian tradition, Moses taking off his sandals is a symbol of the passage through baptism from sin to life in the Church, M. DULAEY, Les sandales de Moïse, De Tertullien aux mozarabes. T. 1: Antiquité tardive et Christianisme ancien (IIIe-VIe siècles). Mélanges offerts à Jacques Fontaine (CEASA 132), Paris, 1992, p. 99-106. 316 Laud. 8,96-97: quid deinde plebs Dei ab Aegypto liberanda et operibus absolvenda terrenis, cf. Form. 1128-1129: Aegyptus mundus vel gentilium populus; in psalmo: “venient legali ex Aegypto” (Ps 67,32). Egypt is the figure of world in Laud. 44,516, cf. also Jerome, Ep. 22,24. 317 Conl. III,3-4; III,7; V,14-16; VI,11; VII,5; XXIV,24-25; cf. R. LE DÉAUT, J. LÉCUYER, art. cit., col. 1986. 318 We do not therefore agree with R. LE DÉAUT and J. LÉCUYER that Eucherius had composed his De laude eremi in the line of Cassian, see ibid. 319 For the detailed analysis of the passages indicated in this paragraph, see ch. 3.2 (“The main concepts”), ch. 3.4 (“Scriptural examples”), and ch. 3.5 (“The desert habitants of today”).

74 Testament, where Jesus retired to the desert for prayer (Laud. 26). Today, the monastic prayer is the only sound that can be heard in the desert (Laud. 37). Like God has supplied the sons of Israel with food, drinks and clothes throughout the forty years of Exodus (Laud. 11-14), like Jesus has satiated five thousand men in the desert (Laud. 24), so the monks are likewise nursed and clothed today, with the difference that now the divine bounty is not limited in time (Laud. 29).

Thus Eucherius, reviewing the divine plan in the desert since the Creation up to the Lerinian community, and emphasizing the events with lasting significance which happened there, brings to the forth certain themes: the divine protection, the spiritual delight, the divine bounty, the law reigning in the desert, and desert as the place favourable to prayer, fasting and theophanies. These characteristics, resulting from the typological, sacramental and Christologic interpretation of the Bible, are based on the fundamental events of Scripture. The ascetic aspect of the life in the desert is little developed by Eucherius. Even the today’s monastic desert is built rather on biblical allusions proper to the patristic exegesis than on the moral doctrine.

3.4. Scriptural examples If we take a look now at the passages where the author emphasizes explicitly that he is speaking about exemplum in the sense of a model to be striven for, we arrive at three occurrences320. The first example is that of Hilary: he is nobilior et maior exemplo because of his decision to leave Honoratus in Arles and to return to Lérins321. The second one is the salutary example in all things (in omnibus salutare exemplum) of Jesus Christ322. The third one is the example of the virtues, merita, impossible to be hidden, of today’s desert dwellers: incola eremi non lateat exemplo323. If we consider that Hilary also belongs to a more general third group of those who inhabit the desert today, we arrive at two types of exemplum: one from Scripture, the other, from today. We will

320 The fourth occurrence of exemplum has rather the sense of illustrative example. After the passage on Adam and the conclusion that the one who desires to live will dwell in the desert, Eucherius says that he will turn now “to further examples (posteriora exempla) showing how the desert has always been pleasing to God” (Laud. 6,76-77). 321 Laud. 1,10-11. 322 Laud. 22,237-238. 323 Laud. 36,391; this prolongs the earlier remark that the desert dwellers meritum occulere non possunt (Laud. 36,388).

75 further analyse these two groups, scriptural examples and the desert habitants of today, as they appear in De laude eremi.

The first scriptural examples, Moses and Elijah, are given in the narratio of the letter in order to illustrate the statement that the desert is God’s preferred place where he willingly meets his saints324: the first “gazed upon God until his face shone with glory”, referring to Moses encounters with the Lord on the Mount Sinai325, while the second “covered his face for fear of seeing God” 326 on the Mount Horeb. This argument may have been borrowed from Cassian who also refers to these two figures of the Old Testament in order to show that God is best seen in solitude327.

In this passage Moses and Elijah implicitely represent the saints (sancti) of God whom he lets himself be seen, mentioned few lines before328. They should be counted among those saints for whom God at the beginning of creation had prepared the desert and who represent the fruit borne by it329. The following analysis will show that the epithet sanctus is applied to the saints of biblical times as well as to the saints of today, because both these groups were foreseen by God as inhabitants of the desert.

The next passage opens the catalogue of scriptural examples presented in chronological order and forming the confirmatio per exempla part. The opening figure of Adam, the first inhabitant of the created world, is the sole negative example of the encomium. Adam is called “possessor of paradise” and “transgressor of God’s laws” who “lived in a land of delights, but could not keep the law given him by God”330. The first man’s incapability to obey the law referred to twice in the same phrase could be

324 Laud. 3,44-46: saepius se illic videndum sanctis suis praebuit et conciliante loco congressum non est aspernatus humanum. 325 Laud. 3,46-47: in deserto quippe Moyses glorificato vultu Deum conspicit. Eucherius refers here to Ex 34,29 of the Vetus Latina (glorificata est facies eius), and not to the scene of the burning bush (Ex 3,2) as indicated in the edition of S. PRICOCO. 326 Laud. 3,47-48: in deserto Helias vultum pavens, ne Deum conspiciat, obvolvit, cf. 1 Rg 19,13. 327 Conl. X,6. The same passage of Cassian refers to the scene of the Transfiguration, employed by Eucherius too (Laud. 25), see below. 328 Laud. 3,44, see above. 329 Laud. 5,61-64: venturis, ut arbitror, eremum sanctis paravit. credo [...] pro indulgentioris naturae vice hanc sanctorum dare fecundam. 330 Laud. 6,69-71: possessor ille paradisi et transgressor praecepti, cum locum voluptatis habitaret, fixam sibi a deo legem servare non potuit.

76 translated as Eucherius’ call for obedience331. On the other hand, Adam’s disobedience serves to create the antithesis between paradise and desert: “the more pleasant and delighful that place was, the easier it was for him to fall”332; God punished “the transgressor of the law” by imposing death to all his descendants, and “that is why one who desires to live will dwell in a desert, while the inhabitant of a pleasanter place may not escape a death”333. It is noteworthy that the name of Adam is not mentioned in this passage, but it will occur in later development on Christ, “the new Adam”, who constitutes a significant antithesis to the portrait of “the old Adam”334.

Having settled the parallel between desert and paradise which is one of the leitmotivs of the work, the author now turns to “further examples (posteriora exempla) showing how the desert has always been pleasing to God”335. Overleaping the first human generations, Eucherius arrives at Moses. The figure of Moses (Laud. 7), together with the figure of Israel lead by Moses from Egypt’s captivity (Laud. 6-16), form a considerable part of scriptural examples. This part embraces Eucherius’ reflection on typological and allegorical explanation of Exodus336, but we will instead turn now our attention to the terms which depict the actors of the Book of Exodus.

Moses has already been presented as the one who saw God in the desert at the moment when he received the tablets of the Law on the Mount Sinai337. His second appearance in the encomium tells about his first meeting with God “in the depths of the desert when in distance he saw God resplendent in a shining fire that burned without consuming”338. Furthermore, “he not only saw God; he heard him speaking”339, that is

331 The Lerinian monks are later described as oboedientia citi (Laud. 43,493). Cf. the TLL 9/2, col. 132-133, which gives the definitions of oboedientia by Augustin, De bono coniugali 23,30: oboedientiam dico [...] qua praeceptis obtemperatur, and by Eucherius, Form. 679-680: aures obaudientia fidelis; Form. 972-973: plana oboedientia praeceptorum exaequata. 332 Laud. 6,71-72: quanto enim iocundior ille amoenitatibus locus, tanto hic in lapsum pronior fuit. Expression in lapsum pronior might be borrowed from Augustine, De dono perseverantiae: voluntates [...] in lapsum pronas (PL 45,1000, l. 21-22). 333 Laud. 6,74-76: proinde eremum colat qui vitam cupit, quia amoeni incola mortem paravit. 334 Laud. 23, see below. 335 Laud. 6,76-77: sed iam ad posteriora eremi Deo semper acceptae exempla veniamus. 336 See ch. 3.3 above. 337 Laud. 3,46-47, see n. 325 above. 338 Laud. 7,78-79. 339 Laud. 7,79-80: nec solum vidit, verum etiam audivit loquentem.

77 why he can be called “familiar interlocutor of the divine conversation”340. On the other hand, the mission consigned to him by God in the scene of the burning bush transforms his responsibility: “he had gone into the desert as a shepherd of sheep (pastor ovium); he returned as a shepherd of people (pastor populorum)”341.

This transformation of Moses’ mission directs now the author’s regard towards the liberation of the nation from Egypt, as well as its passage through the Red Sea and the desert on the way to the Promised Land. For one moment Moses embraces the role of the “leader” (dux) of Israel directing it towards the wilderness342, but soon he gives ground to the people of Israel, and his name reappears again only at the end of the Exodus section. The Hebrew nation is depicted in terms indicating its special purpose in the divine plan and reflecting the Lord’s grace bestowed upon them in the desert343: it is “the people of God” (plebs Dei)344, it was “favoured with great graces on their way to the solitude”345, it received the law and the commandments, and was sustained and favoured by miracles while being the desert’s inhabitant (eremi inhabitator, deserti incola)346. Apart from being called plebs Dei, the Hebrew people is also referred to as populus347, gens348, Israhel349, filii Israhel350, Hebraeus351, natio352, all these terms deriving from the text of the Old Testament.

The author proceeds with less extensive developments on other examples from the Old Testament, David, Elijah, Elisha and “the sons of the prophets”.

340 Laud. 7,89-90: ibi primum Moyses divini colloquii familiaris adhibetur interpres. 341 Laud. 7,94-95: ingressusque eremum pastor ovium, pastor ab eremo revertitur populorum; cf. Jerome, Ep. 125,8: Moyses, ut praeesset populo iudaeorum, quadraginta annis eruditur in heremo, pastor ovium hominum factus est pastor. 342 Laud. 8,99-100: tendebat igitur ad desertum longa vastitate terribile Moyse duce. 343 On the role of God’s grace in the encomium, see ch. 3.2.4. 344 Laud. 8,96. 345 Laud. 11,123: hac ergo gratiae virtute donata est gens illa, cum ad solitudinem tenderet. 346 Laud. 13,146; 14,159. 347 Laud. 8,103; 9,111; 12,136; 14,166.167. 348 Laud. 9,115; 11,123; 16,184. 349 Laud. 8,108; 10,120. 350 Laud. 13,155-156; 16,182. 351 Laud. 13,145. 352 Laud. 14,159.166.

78 The statement that David “himself could not escape the plots of a hostile king without taking refuge in the desert (cum desertum expeteret)”353 is illustrated by the words of Psalm 62. Eucherius quotes almost literally the three first verses of the “Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Idumea”354. Eucherius slightly paraphrases these verses, changing the first person (it is David who prays in the Psalm) into the narrative third. The thirst for the Lord (toto Dominum corde sitiebat) is satisfied in this severe desert (in ariditatibus, sitiens in deserto et in invio et inaquoso); it was in the wilderness that David, as one of the saints (sanctus), could see the “glory and power of God”355.

The passage dedicated to Elijah opens with the remark that he was “the greatest of those who dwell in solitary places” (maximus secretorum colonus)356. There follow allusions to the most important events of the Elijah story related in the two Books of Kings: how he began his prophetic mission foretelling a draught, how God answered him by fire in the face of the false prophets of Baal, how the ravens fed him by the brook Carith, how he revived the widow’s son, divided the Jordan in order to cross it, and, finally, was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire357. These short references evoke Elijah’s miraculous actions, but none of them is referred to explicitly as having been performed in the desert358. Therefore the opening phrase of the passage exalting Elijah as the greatest dweller of the desert lets suppose that the extraordinary capabilities given to the prophet resulted from his stay in the desert, as a grace bestowed upon this great solitary.

353 Laud. 17,190-191: David ipse insidias regis infesti non nisi cum desertum expeteret evasit. 354 Ps 62,1: psalmus David cum esset in deserto Idumaeae. In the Vulgate, the desert is that of Iudaea. 355 Laud. 17,191-195: in Idumaeae ariditatibus commoratus toto Dominum corde sitiebat, ut sitiens in deserto et in invio et inaquoso tum demum appareret Deo in sancto ac deinceps Dei virtutem pariter et gloriam sanctus videret, cf. Ps 62,1-3. The epithet of sanctus is attributed to David by Eucherius. 356 Laud. 18,196. 357 Laud. 18,196-200, alluding to 1 Rg 8,35; Lc 4,25; 1 Rg 18,38; 17,6.17-23; 2 Rg 2,8.11. The otherwise chronological order kept by Eucherius according to the narration of Scripture, is interrupted only by inserting the episode with the prophets of Baal right after the first prophecy of Elijah, apparently in order to keep the figure of parallel (Laud. 18,196-197: caelum imbribus clausit, ignibus reseravit). 358 The only passage relating directly Elijah’s stay in the desert, his meeting with God at Horeb, is referred to by Eucherius later, in the section dedicated to fast and abstinence (Laud. 32,338), see below.

79 The example of Elijah is followed by that of Elisha, “his successor both in life and in power”359. Like Elijah, Elisha is exalted in the words depicting his miraculous activity360, and not his solitary and ascetic way of life. The latter is rather presupposed by indicating the successorship between the two solitaries. The miracles referred to by Eucherius include the division of the Jordan, the ax made to flow, the boy raised to life, and the oil multiplied361. The summit of his power, twice as large as his master’s (duplicata virtus magistri), is reached in the miracle of the second raised dead: Elijah raised the dead being himself alive, while Elisha performed the same miracle when he himself was already dead362.

The prophetic section of the Old Testament is rounded off with the “sons of the prophets” (filii prophetarum), the name in the Bible usually applied to the disciples of Elijah and Elisha363. Eucherius’ version that the sons of the prophets left the cities in order to dwell in huts near the Jordan River recalls one of Jerome’s letters, where Jerome remarks explicitly that those sons of the prophets were “the monks of the Old Testament”364. However, even if he follows Jerome, Eucherius gives his own interpretation. First, he emphasizes the sanctity and the spiritual discipleship of the sons of the prophets: they are cohors sancta and egregia indoles, worth of preserving the spirit of their fathers the prophets (spiritum custodiebat paternum)365. Second, they are endowed with the combatant character, for in these few lines they are depicted mostly in

359 Laud. 19,201-202: Helisaeus, consectator vitae huius atque virtutis. 360 Laud. 19,202-203: nonne perinde divino miraculorum opere claruit. 361 Laud. 19,203-205, referring to 2 Rg 2,14; 6,5-6; 4,32-35; 4,2-6. The division of the Jordan River was mentioned among Elijah’s miracles, too. The same miracle performed by master and his disciple proves the legitimacy of the prophetic continuation. Contrary to the miracles of Elijah, those of Elisha do not follow the chronology of Scripture. 362 Laud. 19,205-208, cf. 2 Rg 2,9; 1 Rg 17,19-22 and 2 Rg 13,20-21. 363 Laud. 20,209, cf. 2 Rg 2,3.5.15; 4,38; 5,22; 6,1; 9,1. 364 Laud. 20,209-211: filii quoque prophetarum relictis urbibus expetebant gemino defluentem fonte Iordanem exstruebantque in abditis tabernacula remoto iuncta torrenti, cf. Jerome, Ep. 125,7: filii prophetarum - quos monachos in veteri legimus testamento - aedificabant sibi casulas propter fluenta Iordanis, et turbis urbium derelictis polenta et herbis agrestibus victitabant. 365 Laud. 20,209-214. The passage may be also paralleled with some phrases in the account of the passion of the Theban legion, cf. cohors sancta [...] sparsa tentoriis (Laud. 20,213) with legio sancta (Pass. 3,24) and sparsis usquequaque militum turmis (Pass. 2,19-20).

80 military terms: they are cohors which excubabat, they exstruebant tabernacula, lived in tentoria, and custodiebant the spirit of the fathers366.

The rhetoric question introducing the figure of John the Baptist presents the importance of the desert in the events of the New Testament. The last of the prophets is another figure beside Adam whose name is not mentioned. He is instead defined in scriptural words as the one “who was greater than any man born of woman”367. The anaphoric in deserto lets put stress on his triple activity in the desert, consisting of baptism, preaching repentance and the first mentioning of the Kingdom of Heaven368. However, he is not only “a persistent desert dweller” (arduus habitator deserti)369, but acquires a much more important role by being the messenger of the Lord (angelus Domini), “a worthy precursor and a witness of Christ” (Christi et praecursor et testis dignus)370 who even merits to see the Trinitary vision371. John’s baptismal activity, crowned by the baptism of Jesus, is thus more emphasized than the ascetic aspect of his life in the desert.

The following five chapters comprise “the author of the salutary example” (salutaris auctor exempli)372 of Jesus Christ, who “was led into the desert by a spirit immediately after his baptism”373. The author lingers first on the role of the Holy Spirit in drawing the Saviour into the desert, on his baptism which has sanctified the waters of

366 Ibid. The military vocabulary of this passage does not seem to have been noticed by R. NÜRNBERG who otherwise has revealed the combatant elements in the Lerinian literature (op. cit., p. 108-109), contradicting the thesis of S. PRICOCO (L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 184). 367 Laud. 21,215-216: ille, quo “maior inter mulierum natos non surrexit” (Mt 11,11). 368 Laud. 21,216-219: in deserto ab hoc baptismus traditur, in deserto poenitentia praedicatur, in deserto primum mentio regni coelestis infertur. 369 Laud. 21,221. 370 Laud. 21,221-223. The title of John the Baptist as Christi praecursor is current in Christian authors. We have not however found any other occurrences of Christi testis, although testimonium Iohannis and testatur Iohannes are used. 371 Laud. 21,223-225: qui patrem e caelo loquentem audiret, filium baptizando contingeret, spiritum sanctum descendentem videret, cf. Mt 3,16-17 and Io 1,32. Eucherius follows here the text of John’s Gospel in that he attributes the vision of the descending Spirit to John, while in Matthew it is seen only by Jesus. 372 Laud. 22,237-238. 373 Laud. 22,226-228: ipse quoque Dominus ac Salvator noster baptizatus confestim, ut scriptura ait, a spiritu in desertum ducitur, cf. Mt 3,16; 4,1.

81 Jordan, and on the innocence of Christ proving still greater necessity of the desert for the sinners374.

Christ’s stay in the desert is the response to Adam’s stay in paradise. While the latter transgressed God’s laws in the pleasant place, Jesus in the desert was served by “the silent service of the divine vigour” (tacita divini vigoris ministeria) and ministering angels (officia angelorum)375; while the first man succumbed to devil’s tricks and was therefore expelled from the paradise, “the new Adam (novus Adam) drove off the seducer of the old Adam (veteris Adam)”376. The antithetic picture of two Adams is the occasion for an interjection which once again recalls the subject of the work: “O the glory of the desert (o laus magna deserti) that the devil, who had been victorious in the paradise, should be vanquished in a wasteland”377.

Desert was also the place where Jesus performed the miracles of the multiplication of bread and fish, the place of his Transfiguration and the place where he used to go to pray378. The event on the Mount Thabor is evoked by the remarkable brilliance of the face of Jesus (insolita claritas vultus)379, and by the presence of “the three chosen disciples”, one of whom was “the greatest of the apostles” (apostolorum maximus)380, i. e. Peter. This is the only reference to the disciples in the scriptural part of the encomium, tending not as much to involve them among the biblical examples, as to confirm “the greatness of the sign in the secluded wilderness”381. A similar relation between the possibility to see God in solitude and the Transfiguration scene is also established by Jerome and Cassian. In his letter to Rufinus Jerome says that their friend Bonosus, a hermit on an island in the Adriatic, can see there the glory of Christ, which

374 Laud. 22,228-241. 375 Laud. 23,242-245: ibi etiam in famulatum Domini [...] tacita divini vigoris ministeria succedunt, et in eremo constitutus, tamquam in caelum revectus, occurrentium excipitur officiis angelorum. 376 Laud. 23,247-248; Jesus is called novissimus Adam in 1 Cor 15,45. The temptation of Jesus in the desert as an echo of Adam’s temptation in the paradise is already detectable in the Gospels. But it is in the Pauline literature that Adam’s typology is mostly developed. See J. DANIÉLOU, Sacramentum futuri, cit., p. 3-12. 377 Laud. 23,248-249: o laus magna deserti, ut diabolus, qui vicerat in paradiso, in eremo vinceretur! 378 Laud. 24-26, cf. Mc 14,15-21; Mt 17,1-2 and Mc 1,35. 379 Laud. 25,263, cf. Mt 17,2. Here quite strangely Eucherius does not make use of the image of Jesus’ face shining like the sun as described in the Evangelical text. 380 Laud. 25,262-267, cf. Mt 17,1-4. 381 Laud. 25,266-267: adamans scilicet magnitudinem signi in remotione deserti.

82 even for the apostles could be seen only in the desert382. Cassian in his Conferences also refers to the scene on the Mount Thabor in order to show that the Lord’s brightness is best seen in solitude383.

If other episodes of Jesus in the desert had to demonstrate the grace of the wilderness which saw both Jesus’ deeds and his divinity, the last reference emphasizes the practicable example to be followed: Jesus has showed and taught (ostendit docuitque, demonstravit) by his example that the desert was the place of prayer384. It is in Cassian’s two Conferences on prayer that we find this pronounced example of Jesus’ prayer, and the need of retirement if we want to approach God with a pure heart385.

Apart from the confirmatio per exempla, two more passages of the encomium refer explicitly to biblical actors. We have already seen the first occurrence, where the figures of Moses and Elijah proved that the desert was God’s preferred place to meet his saints386. For the second time the same pair of scriptural examples is evoked in the confirmatio per rationes part. In order to praise the virtue of continence, which is a sort of desert of the heart387, the author turns to scriptural testimonies: “for Moses undertook an unbroken fast in the desert for forty days, and after him Elijah fasted for the same lenght of time; and they both extended their desert fast beyond the limit of human ability”388. Indeed, the vigour of the desert is still confirmed by the Lord who passed as much time of abstinence in the desert389. The Fathers have often referred to this group of three figures, Moses, Elijah and Jesus, who had fasted for forty days390. However, Eucherius makes his own original conclusion: the example of Jesus’ fasting is the last

382 Ep. 3,4: solus ibi, immo iam Christo comitante non solus, videt gloriam Dei, quam etiam apostoli nisi in deserto non uiderant. 383 Conl. X,6. Besides the three disciples on the Mount Thabor, Cassian mentions also the examples of Moses and Elijah for whom too God has appeared in solitude, cf. Laud. 3,46-48. 384 Laud. 26,270-274; see also ch. 3.2.4. 385 See especially Conl. IX,25; IX,34; X,6. 386 Laud. 3,44-48, see the beginning of this chapter. 387 Laud. 32,336-337: continentia, inquam, quae velut alia quaedam est cordis eremus. 388 Laud. 32,337-339: nam et Moyses quadraginta continuos se in eremo dies totidemque et post se illic Helias ieiunio dedit, et uterque ibi inediam ultra humani effectus vires extendit, cf. Ex 24,18; 34,28; 1 Rg 19,8. 389 Laud. 32,340-341: deinde et Dominus idem, sed in deserto, abstinentiae tempus exegit, cf. Mt 4,2. Abstinentia is used here as a synonim of ieiunium and inedia. 390 Cf. the references provided by E. POIROT, op. cit., p. 223-234.

83 known in the history, therefore it means that the Lord renders some special strength to desert places391.

To conclude, most of the scriptural examples, presented in chronological order, serve as confirmatio per exempla of the encomium. The section dedicated to the events of the Book of Exodus presents Moses as the leader of the nation who from a shepherd of sheep turned into a shepherd of people. He and his nation, the people of Israel, are depicted in the terms which are closely associated with the divine grace bestowed upon them during their stay in the desert.

The cycle of Elijah is depicted following the hierarchical and chronological order of the Old Testament events. It is opened by the most eminent habitant of the desert Elijah, and continued by his disciple Elisha; the prophetic spirit is later transmitted to their spiritual sons. Thus the relationship between the three generations of the prophets bears the notion of spiritual discipleship and inheritance of solitary aspirations.

The New Testament section, finishing the scriptural part of the encomium, is concentrated on Jesus Christ whose arrival is announced by John the Baptist. These two figures form the antithesis to the first man Adam and his first dwelling place paradise: Adam is referred to as “transgressor of the law”, while John the Baptist was “greater than any man born of woman”; Adam was seduced by devil in the paradise, while Jesus not only confounded the old enemy but was also served by ministering angels in the desert. The activity and the signs received by both John the Baptist and Jesus are evoked in relation to desert and solitary places.

Scriptural figures occur twice more in the encomium, once to prove that the desert is the place where God meets his saints (Moses and Elijah), the second time to testify the vigour of the desert for the virtue of abstinence (Moses, Elijah and Jesus).

391 Laud. 32,341-343: nec praeterea usquam legimus spatia eadem exacta ieiunio, ut putandum sit aliquem tribui per Dominum locis illis etiam vigorem. The occurrence of the theme of fasting and temperance in the part dedicated to the monastic desert could be the sign of the ascetic practices in the monastery of Lérins (A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 7, p. 90).

84 3.5. The desert habitants of today While most of the scriptural examples form a homogeneous part in the encomium, the examples of today are scattered all over the work. They include broader developments on Honoratus and Hilary, the names of some other most eminent Lerinian figures, and the desert dwellers in general.

The exordium of the letter celebrates the undertaking of Hilary to leave his teacher Honoratus in Arles and to return to the insular monastery which they had left together little time ago. The relations between Hilary and Honoratus are depicted in the light of this decision and its exemplarity.

The very first words of the encomium evoke the beginning of their friendship which dates back to the days when Hilary “left his country and his relatives” to follow Honoratus in the recesses of the desert392. By this allusion to Abraham’s answer to the call of God, an important type of ascetic renunciation in monastic literature, Eucherius raises Hilary both to the dignity of Scriptural patriarchs and his monastic predecessors.

Honoratus, the founder of the monastic community, is portrayed in military terms which nevertheless tend to depict rather paternal care, especially in the sense of spiritual leadership, than military austerity: he has been the leader (dux) and guide (praevius) of the new-arrived (hospes) Hilary on the island, his instructor in the heavenly army (militiae coelestis magister); by following him, Hilary has followed a father (parentem)393. But if Hilary’s decision to leave his country and his relatives in order to follow Honoratus was already a paragon of Christian renunciation, his decision to leave even Honoratus in order to return to Lérins shows the geater virtue394, and makes his example still nobler and greater: nunc es nobilior et maior exemplo395. The gravity of the

392 Laud. 1,1-2: egressus dudum de domo tua et de cognatione tua, cf. Gn 12,1. 393 Laud. 1,4-7. Although S. PRICOCO has noted the exiguity of the military motifs in the Lerinian literature (L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 169-180), his conclusion has been contested by R. NÜRNBERG (op. cit., p. 108- 109; see also our remarks on the sons of the prophets of Laud. 20 above, in ch. 3.4) and R. NOUAILHAT. The latter has remarked that the biblical-military connotation of the foundation of the Lerinian monastery, as it is depicted in the Life of Honoratus (Serm. Hon. 16,1), proves “la dynamique d’une colonisation spirituelle” (op. cit., p. 85). 394 Laud. 1,3-4: maiore tamen virtute eremus a te repetita est. 395 Laud. 1,10-11.

85 action is reflected in the terms of the relationship which have changed from paternal to fraternal: Honoratus and Hilary are now referred to as brothers who separate396.

After a digression on three sorts of love, human love, love for the desert and love for God397, there follows a catalogue of the virtues of Hilary398. It comprises Hilary’s renunciation of all his possessions for the benefit of the poor of Christ399, his wise manners (mores) regardless of his young age400, and the brilliance of his reasoning (ingenium) and speaking (eloquium). Few lines below Eucherius evokes one more feature of Hilary, his wisdom (sis sapiens), though considering the rules of preface writing it should be regarded rather as a means of humilitas of the author aiming to exalt the addressee401.

The main body of the letter does not refer to Hilary, and he reappears only in the final part, the peroratio. This is the only place where the author names apertis verbis the dedicatee of his work: “my beloved Hilary (mi Hilari carissime)”402 who has “returned and joined the community”, full of joy over his return403. The last lines of the encomium praise Hilary in scriptural words and allusions, recapitulating the principal episodes of the Book of Exodus developed in the biblical part of the work. Hilary has already been proposed as a “nobler and greater example” in the exordium; the comparative form is reused in the peroratio, with the difference that now Hilary is paralleled not to his own

396 Laud. 1,11-13: prius enim, cum desertum peteres, comitatus etiam fratrem videbaris; nunc, cum desertum repeteres, etiam fratrem reliquisti. 397 Laud. 1,13-2,31, see ch. 3.2.3. 398 Laud. 3,32-35. 399 Cf. the sale of the estate of Honoratus in Serm. Hon. 11,4. The renouncement of property was one of the essential ascetic practices in the monastery of Lérins (S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 118-120). On the social impact of such practice see R. NOUAILHAT, op. cit., p. 95-98. 400 Laud. 3,33-34: tum et praeferas licet annis iuvenem, moribus senem. The topos of puer-senex was proverbial in pagan as well as Christian authors (A.-J. FESTUGIERE, Lieux communs littéraires et thèmes de folklore dans l’hagiographie, WSt 73, 1960, p. 123-152, at p. 137-139). Hilary praises the same feature of puer-senex of Honoratus and his brother Venantius in Serm. Hon. 11,2. 401 Laud. 3,38-39: sufferas paulisper necesse est, cum sis sapiens, insipientiam meam, cf. 2 Cor 11,19. See T. JANSON, Latin Prose Prefaces. Studies in Literary Conventions (Studia Latina Stockolmiensis 13), Stockholm, 1964, p. 120. 402 Laud. 44,509. 403 Laud. 44,509-511: horum, mi Hilari carissime, redditus insertusque consortio, plurimum tibi, plurimum etiam illis contulisti, qui nunc pro reditu tuo alacri exsultatione laetantur. Note the play of words Hilarius / alacer / exsultatio, all of them denoting joyfulness. The taste for play of words in the meaning of names must have been proper to Lerinians, cf. the meaning of Lupus in Laud. 42,482, and the meaning of Honoratus in Serm. Hon. 1,1; 16,1.

86 previous experience but to that of the people of God: he is “the truer Israel”(verior Israhel) who “gazes upon God by his heart” and who will enter to the Promised Land in the company of Jesus404.

Apart from Hilary and Honoratus, the author evokes some other eminent inhabitants of the insular monastery, either present or already departed from Lérins. At the end of the second part of the encomium dedicated to a general praise of a spiritual desert, Eucherius turns in admiration to “his Lérins” (Lirinum meam) which he says he honours above all the desert places illuminated by pious people (pii)405. The catalogue of these “pious people”, testifying the value of the island406, is started by Honoratus. He was the creator (auctor) of the insular community by heavenly instructions (caelestibus disciplinis), he was the father (pater) of the institutions (tantis institutis), his spirit and face were shining with apostolic strenght (apostolici spiritus vigore et vultus radiantem)407. The island “has received Honoratus so as to send him forth”408, Eucherius thus alluding to Honoratus’ recent departure for the see of Arles.

This double function of the Lerinian monastery, the education of both the monks and the priests who are later desired in other parts of the Gaul, is highlighted in the following phrase: “worthy for nourishing the outstanding monks (praestantissimos

404 Laud. 44,515-523. See the analysis of the paragraph in ch. 3.3. 405 Laud. 42,466-468: equidem cunctis eremi locis quae piorum illuminantur secessu reverentiam debeo, praecipuo tamen Lirinum meam honore complector. This chapter and the following one make the apex of the encomium of Lérins (C. SCHERLIESS, op. cit., 71). 406 The subject of the whole section containing the catalogue of the habitants of the monastery (Laud. 42,474-487) is the island. It is described as “being worthy” (digna) for having been founded by Honoratus, for nourishing monks and priests, for possessing the venerable elders. See the quotations in the following notes. 407 Laud. 42,474-477: digna quae caelestibus disciplinis Honorato auctore fundata sit, quae tantis institutis tantum nacta sit patrem, apostolici spiritus vigore et vultus radiantem. We do not enter here into the discussion about the meaning of disciplinae and instituta, concerning the question if they refer to the written rule or just to Honoratus’ teaching and spiritual leadership. The complex problem of the existence of the rule of Honoratus has been studied by all the researchers of Lérins, cf. S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 77-111, who rejects such possibility. S. Pricoco’s view is contested by A. DE VOGÜÉ, see his review of Pricoco’s work in RHE 76, 1981, p. 94-97, and especially his edition of the Rules of the Fathers (Les Règles des Saints Pères, t. I-II, SC 297-298, Paris, 1982) where he argues for their attribution to the early Lerinian community. Cf. also C. M. KASPER, op. cit., p. 291-372, again answered by A. DE VOGÜE, Les débuts de la vie monastique à Lérins: Remarques sur un ouvrage récent, Regards sur le monachisme des premiers siècles (StAns 130), 2000, p. 207-257. 408 Laud. 42,477-478: digna quae illum suscipiens, ita emitteret.

87 monachos) and for raising desirable priests (ambiendos sacerdotes)” 409. This statement is valid for the rest of the figures listed in the catalogue. The latter is continued by Honoratus’ successor (successor) Maximus, famous (clarus) for the sole fact that he merited to replace the founder410. He is followed by two figures who have already left the monastery: Lupus of reverend name, “who reminds us of that wolf of the tribe of Benjamin”411, and “his brother Vincent, a jewel shining with internal brilliance”412. The last name on the list refers to “the venerable and respected Caprasius, the equal of the saints of old”413. Finally, the island is inhabited by “those holy elders (sancti senes) who, with their separate cells (divisis cellulis), brought the Egyptian fathers (Aegyptios patres) to our Gauls”414. The expression divisis cellulis should not necesserily denote the anachoretic way of life of the Lerinians415. Borrowed from the earlier authors who have described the dwellings of the Egyptians in such or a similar way416, it can merely imply

409 Laud. 42,478-479: digna quae et praestantissimos alat monachos et ambiendos proferat sacerdotes. 410 Laud. 42,479-481: haec nunc successorem eius tenet, Maximum nomine, clarum, quia post ipsum meruit asciri. Maximus succeeded Honoratus around the end of 427, and conducted the insular community until 434 when was elected bishop of Riez. See S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 48-49; E. GRIFFE, op. cit., p. 260-262. 411 Laud. 42,481-483: haec habuit reverendi nominis Lupum, qui nobis illum ex tribu Beniamin lupum rettulit, referring to Gn 49,27. In his Formulae Eucherius, following the common exegesis, sees in the wolf of Benjamin the type of the apostle Paul, Form. 477-479: Lupus [...] in bonam partem: Beniamin lupus rapax (Gn 49,27), apostolum Paulum significans. Lupus of Troyes, one of the most eminent figures of the Gallic Church of the fifth century, stayed on the island only for one year around 426. He was elected bishop of Troyes in 427, and in 429 accompanied Germanus of Auxerre to Britain to combat the Pelagian heresy. See S. PRICOCO, L’isola, cit., p. 51-52; E. GRIFFE, op. cit., p. 301-304; N. K. CHADWICK, op. cit., p. 275- 284. 412 Laud. 42,483-484: haec habuit germanum eius Vincentium, interno gemmam splendore perspicuam. Recent researchers hold that this Vincent, brother of Lupus of Troyes, can be identified with the monk and priest Vincent of Lérins, the author of the famous Commonitorium written in 434 in Lérins (J.-P. WEISS, Art. Vincent de Lérins, DSp 16, col. 822-832, at col. 822, S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 52-53). Vincent must have left Lérins in 426 and have come back later. He was also one of the teachers of Salonius, the elder son of Eucherius (Instr. I praef., 27-29). 413 Laud. 42,484-485: haec nunc possidet venerabilem gravitate Caprasium, veteribus sanctis parem. Caprasius, as an elderly anchorite, accompanied Honoratus and his brother Venantius during their journey to Greece (Serm. Hon. 12,1-2) and later in founding the monastery of Lérins. His role of spiritual guide seems to have been highly estimated among the inhabitants of the island, cf. Eusebius “Gallicanus”, Homilia 72,5-6 (CCSL 101A, p. 776-777). On Caprasius, see N. K. CHADWICK, op. cit., p. 147-148; S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 44. 414 Laud. 42,486-487: haec nunc habet sanctos senes illos, qui divisis cellulis Aegyptios patres Galliis nostris intulerunt. 415 The conclusion made by C. M. KASPER, op. cit., p. 65. 416 Cf. Rufinus, Hist. Mon. prol. 7: commanent ergo per eremum dispersi et separati cellulis; prol. 11: plures autem et egregii per eremum dispersi; Jerome, Ep. 22,33: in eodem loco [sc. Nitria] circiter quinque milia divisis cellulis habitant. On the other hand, Jerome uses the same term to depict the reality of two

88 that the Lerinians followed the Egyptian monastic tradition more generally, in the sense that they did not pretend to invent the monastic forms by themselves.

The catalogue of the famous Lerinians hence contains the leaders of the community: the founder of the monastery Honoratus and his successor, the present abbot Maximus; two eminent brothers Lupus and Vincent who have already left the island like Honoratus; finally, the venerable elder Caprasius and the fathers following the Egyptian tradition. The first four figures represent the ambiendos sacerdotes, while Caprasius, together with the sancti senes, belongs to the group of the praestantissimi monachi. The comparison of Caprasius to veteres sancti might refer more to the saints of Scripture than to recent Christian saints417, for it is only in the next phrase that the authority is claimed from the recent experience of Egyptian fathers. Thus the method of the parallel comparison where on one hand Caprasius is equaled to the saints of the Bible, and on the other the rest of the monks to Egyptian fathers, lets the author supply the Lerinian monks with two sources of authority: the authority of the Scriptures and the authority of Egyptian monasticism, showing that the Lerinians follow the Church tradition.

The reference to the Aegyptios patres is not the only occurrence of Eastern solitaries in the work. The figures of John and Macarius “and so many others”418, placed in the very middle of the encomium, finish the range of scriptural examples and introduce the second part of the work describing the allegorical desert. Serving as a transitive point from biblical times to the present, they also represent the prototype of Christian solitaries. Most probably, John denotes John of Lycopolis, described in the Historia Monachorum and in the works of John Cassian419, and Macarius refers to one of the two famous

Gallic women living in the same city but having separate abodes, Ep. 117,1: quae in eadem urbe divisis habitarent cellulis. 417 Jerome, for instance, compares Hilarion of Palestine to the veteres sancti meaning the biblical prophets (V. Hilar. XXVII,2: prophetam Christianorum apparuisse in Sicilia, tanta miracula et signa facientem, ut de veteribus sanctis putaretur), while John Cassian has in mind the first generations of Christian anchorites as opposed to the fathers of today (Inst. I,2,2 : haec quae nec a veteribus sanctis, qui huius professionis fundamenta iecerunt, neque a patribus nostri temporis, qui eorum per successiones instituta nunc usque custodiunt, tradita videmus exempla). 418 Laud. 27,275-277: quid nunc ergo Iohannem Macariumque commemorem aliosque quam plures, quorum conversatio, dum in desertis est, in caelis facta est?; the second part of the phrase refers to Phil 3,20. 419 Rufinus, Hist. Mon. I, Cassian, Inst. IV,23-26 and Conl. XXIV,26. John is identified as John of Lycopolis by A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 7, p. 88, M.-E. BRUNERT, op. cit., p. 184, and M.

89 Macarii who have inhabited the deserts of Scete and Cellia420. Their names hence represent Egyptian solitaries, or in other words Aegyptii patres, to whom Lerinian elders are compared at the end of the encomium. John and Macarius have rounded off the line of biblical examples as if being their successors in the desert of today, therefore the monks of the monastery of Lérins, who have “brought Egyptian fathers” into the island, can also claim to be legitimate successors of the saints of the Bible.

Meditating upon the desert’s benefits, Eucherius combines two images of solitary life, one Evangelical and another coming from the pagan philosophical tradition. The solitary character of the desert’s habitants of today who, “finding themselves placed in the world, in a way go beyond the world”, is paralleled to the prophets of the Old Testament who “wander through desert places, in mountains and caves and in holes of the earth”421. This passage of the Epistle to Hebrews was often referred to in monastic literature, but Eucherius treats it quite originally: he amplifies the idea by first employing Cicero’s words422, and later turning explicitly to illustrious pagans who, tired of business affairs, “turned to philosophy as to their proper home”423. This short discourse on classical alternation of otium and negotium must however prove that Christian solitaries

SPINELLI, op. cit., p. 85, n. 48, while he is considered to be John Cassian by S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 183 and p. 185, n. 212; ID. Eucherio di Lione, Il rifiuto, cit., p. 177, and L. CRISTIANI, Saint Eucher de Lyon, cit., p. 79, n. 36. 420 There were two Macarii, Macarius the Egyptian or the Great, and Macarius the Alexandrian. They are both known to Rufinus (Hist. Mon. 28 and 29) as well as to Cassian (Inst. V,41; Conl. V,12; VII,27; XV,3; XIX,9; XXIV,13), but the stories attributed to one or another are confused in the sources already from early date (A. GUILLAUMONT, Le problème des deux Macaires dans les Apophthegmata Patrum, Irénikon 48, 1975, p. 41-59). 421 Laud. 31,320-323: in mundo positi, quodammodo extra mundum recedunt, “in solitudinibus”, ut ait apostolus, “errantes, in montibus et in speluncis et in cavernis terrae” (Hbr 11,38). 422 Laud. 31,323-326: nec immerito dignum talibus apostolus negat esse mundum, qui alieni sunt ab illo rei publicae humanae tumultu, sepositi, quieti, silentes, nec magis absunt a voluntate peccandi quam a facultate. This phrase mingles the words of the Apostle (Hbr 11,38), Cicero (De offic. III,1,1, the reference indicated by P. COURCELLE, art. cit., p. 398) and probably Augustin (see Ench. 29 for the expression of voluntas et facultas peccandi; cf. M. LENKAITYTĖ, Eucherijus Lionietis, cit.). 423 Laud. 32,327-329: clari apud veteres saeculi huius viri, defatigati laboribus negotiorum suorum, in philosophiam se tamquam in domum suam recipiebant, cf. Cicero, De officiis III,1,2: ille enim requiescens a rei publicae pulcherrimis muneribus otium sibi sumebat aliquando et coetu hominum frequentiaque interdum tamquam in portum se in solitudinem recipiebat. For other possible classical allusions see P. COURCELLE, art. cit., p. 398-399, and L. ALFONSI, art. cit. The editors have separated this passage and the one quoted above in two different paragraphs (Laud. 31 and 32), but in our opinion they should make one: both passages treat the same subject, and even quote the same text of Cicero. Division, on the other hand, might be made in Laud. 32,334, where the author introduces the new theme of abstinence and fast.

90 surpass the pagans because they dedicate themselves solely to philosophy, practiced in the gymnasia of the desert424.

In general, the habitants of the desert are called sancti. Already at the beginning of the creation God, “in the foreknowledge of the future, prepared the desert for the saints to come” who, as if replacing soft climate, had to make this land fertile425. This phrase, opening the confirmatio per exempla, seems to denote the saints of the Bible whose numerous examples follow immediately. When the author turns to the dwellers of the desert of today, he calls them eremi incolae, using the term which already served to denote the Hebrews of Exodus426. The Christian incola eremi may be hidden from the world, but his example may not be hidden427. Christ protects in the desert the God’s adopted nation (adoptiva Deo gens), the term alluding both to the notion of the God’s nation of the Old Testament and the Spirit of adoption of the Pauline epistles428.

Apart from these three occurrences, the present desert dwellers, i. e. monks, are called sancti, either in general or referring specifically to the Lerinian monastery: the holy (sanctus) of today, aflamed with divine passion, must leave his own home, abandon his homeland in order to seek a provisional homeland in the desert429; the venerable land is habitable for the holy (sanctis) living in it and desirable for those living nearby430;

424 Laud. 32,229-334: quanto pulchrius ad haec manifestissimae sapientiae studia divertunt magnificentiusque ad solitudinum libertatem et desertorum secreta secedunt, ut, philosophiae tantum vacantes, in illius eremi deambulacris tamquam in suis gymnasiis exerceantur! In his De contemptu mundi, Eucherius dedicates a longer passage to philosophy, the name of which was siezed by pagans but its life by Christians (Cont. 702-703: unde licet dicere philosophiae alios nomen usurpasse, nos vitam). In his views concerning philosophy Eucherius has been strongly influenced by Lactantius, S. PRICOCO, Eucherio di Lione, Il rifiuto, cit., p. 212-218. On monastic life as “true philosophy” see G. PENCO, La vita ascetica come “filosofia” nell’antica tradizione monastica, StMon 2, 1960, p. 79-93; cf. also J. LECLERCQ, Etudes sur le vocabulaire monastique du moyen âge (StAns 48), Roma, 1961, p. 39-48. 425 Laud. 5,60-64: cuncta non magis praesenti magnificentia quam futuri praescientia creans, venturis, ut arbitror, eremum sanctis paravit. [...] pro indulgentioris naturae vice hanc sanctorum dare fecundam. 426 Laud. 29,299-300: nam et nunc, cum eremi incolis victus divinitus insperata supervenit largitate. The Hebrew nation was deserti incola in Laud. 14,159. M. SPINELLI sees the Hebrews “comme “personaggio”, come uno dei “santi”, [...] come un modello a cui gli asceti sono invitati a far riferimento per confermarsi nella loro scelta di vita” (op. cit., p. 23). We have not found neither deserti incola nor heremi incola in any of Christian authors. On the other hand, eremum incolere or similar combinations are quite usual, cf. Sulpicius Severus, Dial. I,16,4; I,17,1; Jerome, Ep. 6,2; Augustine, De moribus ecclesiae catholicae I,66. 427 Laud. 36,391: ut incola eremi suae lateat saeculo et non lateat exemplo. 428 Laud. 38,417-418, cf. Rm 8,15 and Eph 1,5. 429 Laud. 30,312-316. 430 Laud. 41,454-456: recte ergo tu, verenda tellus, sanctis aut in te positis aut non procul a te remotis aut habitabilis dudum aut desiderabilis exstitisti.

91 whoever of the saints (quicumque sanctorum) strived to become familiar with the desert, has found God and Christ in it431. Finally, the author addresses the Lord Jesus saying that he has seen an assembly and community of saints (sanctorum coetus conventusque) on the island of Lérins432. The double meaning of the term sanctus, bearing allusion to scriptural past as well as to present saints, is clearly revealed in the last reference, where Lerinian saints are counted among the saints of the past: “Do they want to rejoice with the assembly of the saints (sanctorum coetibus)? Already they rejoice”433.

4. Conclusion

We will try now to summarize the results of the previous research and to perceive the model of a monk as it is created by Eucherius. The analysis of the structure of De laude eremi has revealed the thematic development from the importance of the physical seclusion, through the examples proving God’s grace to the desert, to the examples referring to recent Christian figures, two Egyptian hermits. Their spiritual experience in the desert introduces the allegorical description of the wilderness and its role for the inner man’s development. The community of Lérins, the image of which ends the encomium, is an ideal example of such an experience. The work is arranged thus towards the interiorization of the monastic desert, which is first of all experienced and lived in the heart.

The examination of the salient concepts and words has shown that Eucherius’ desert has been made a spiritual oasis by the divine grace. Allegorically the desert is identified with paradise, the latter perceived as a spiritual rather than physical reality. In depicting the desert as paradise, Eucherius borrows certain images and expressions from earlier monastic authors. However, his desert is highly imprinted with biblical allusions, phrases, metaphores and parables; it is the desert of Exodus, transformed by the Gospel event. Eucherius’ desert is the place where a man is closest to heaven, where he is visited by angels, a place of mystical silence, of contemplation and prayer. Being the image on

431 Laud. 41,460-462: tuam quicumque sanctorum familiaritatem quaesivit, Deum reperit; Christum in te, quisquis te coluit, invenit. 432 Laud. 43,488-489: quos ego illic, Iesu bone, sanctorum coetus conventusque vidi! 433 Laud. 43,501-502: desiderant gaudere sanctorum coetibus? gaudent. Few lines above the monks of Lérins were also called sanctorum coetus (see the previous note).

92 earth of the lost paradise, it acquires the features of spiritual delights and fertility. Even when seen as unfruitful, it is nevertheless sanctified because leads to the Promised Land. The fact that the desert is not depicted as a wild place full of demons may also result from this typological meaning of the desert as paradise and the road to the Promised Land.

The analysis of biblical allusions and quotations has revealed that Eucherius prefers typological interpretation of biblical events rather than their moral and ascetic symbolism for the life in a monastery. The development of certain themes: the divine protection, the spiritual delight, the divine bounty, the law reigning in the desert, and desert as the place favourable to prayer, fasting and theophanies, is based on the typological, sacramental and Christologic interpretation of the Bible, with the special attention paid to the Christian meaning of the Exodus cycle. Today’s monastic desert is also built on biblical allusions proper rather to patristic exegesis than to ascetic interpretation.

If we try to perceive the model of a monk in the examples evoked by Eucherius, we will clearly distinguish two groups of figures: one of them, including biblical actors and two Eastern saints, forms the arguments of the first part of the work. The second, listing the main figures of the Lerinian community, appears towards the end of the encomium, and forms the pinnacle of the praise of the insular monastery. Both of these groups are formed in a way as to relate a history434. The first one is the History of Salvation, starting from the first man Adam, continued by the main actors of the Old Testament, Moses, David, and the prophets, and through the figures of the New Testament, John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, leading to two Egyptian hermits. The latter represent the continuity of the biblical desert into the Christian one. The second group of figures, those of Lérins, is also telling a history, only now it is the story of the monastery formed of monachi and sacerdotes. The monastery was founded by Honoratus, is now led by Maximus, and in the meanwhile has seen several other brilliant figures. This history of

434 A. GOUILLOUD, op. cit., p. 471. One more parallel between these two groups can be drawn: they both have a sort of introduction and conclusion. Like the biblical part is introduced by the reference to the appearance of God to Moses and Elijah in the desert, and is later concluded with the same figures plus Jesus, the group of the Lerinians is framed by two addresses to Hilary, at the beginning and at the end of the encomium.

93 the monastery is however attached to the Holy History, the connective element being the Egyptian fathers who have been “brought” into the island.

These two histories, the second being the continuation of the first, not only bear witness of God’s grace to the desert but also provide models of spiritual life, some of which are already being fulfilled at the Lerinian monastery. For this is how we can interpret certain features of the biblical figures which are also attributed to the Lerinian monks. Just as Moses guided his people through the desert, so was Honoratus the guide of Hilary; as Elijah was Elisha’s teacher and the father of the prophets, so Honoratus was the teacher and the father of Hilary and of the whole Lerinian community. As Moses had transmitted the divine Law to the Hebrews, so Honoratus had provided his monks with heavenly instructions. As Moses had entered the desert in order to leave it as a shepherd of people, so Honoratus has left Lérins to become the pastor of Arles435. The biblical heroes as well as today’s desert dwellers are called the saints, sancti, the title bestowed upon them at the beginning of Creation. These desert habitants, those of the Old Testament as well as those of today, merit the same title of eremi or deserti incolae. In the epilogue of the encomium Hilary, the truer Israel, acquires the features of Moses who guides his nation to the Promised Land, transforming though this journey into a Christian reality. The Lerinians are the God’s adopted nation (adoptiva Deo gens), by this title combining the experience of the Hebrews of the Old Covenant with the Pauline spirit of adoption.

Other references let draw parallels between the Lerinians and the saints of Scripture. Like Abraham, Hilary had “left his country and his relatives”, while distributing his riches to the poor Hilary reminds of Jesus. The shining face of Honoratus is explicitly compared to the apostolic spirit, and can moreover be put in parallel with the glorified face of Moses and the brilliance of Jesus’ face at his Transfiguration. In the words of the Epistle to Hebrews, the habitants of the today’s desert are identified to the prophets of old who wandered “in mountains and caves”.

435 Laud. 42,477-478. Referring to this passage, A. DE VOGÜÉ remarks: “le phénomène qui vient de se produire à Lérins et qui va s’y répéter si souvent : en la personne d’Honorat, d’Hilaire, d’Eucher lui-même et de tant d’autres, le « désert » lérinien, comme celui du Sinaï, ne cesse de renvoyer au monde des moines devenus pasteurs”, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 7, p. 84.

94 On the other hand, these models, either scriptural or Lerinian, are not endowed with the features which would refer to any particular ascetic virtues. Apart from choosing solitude, Hilary’s main characteristic is his good education. Even Elijah and Elisha, the traditional prototypes of ascetic virtues, are merely referred to as habitants of the desert, the main emphasis put on their deeds. There are some exceptions however: David’s thirst for God, Jesus’ prayer, and the fasting of forty days of Moses, Elijah and Jesus.

Bearing in mind the other analysed aspects of the work, we would deduce that the element which connects the figures of Moses, John the Baptist, Jesus, Honoratus and Hilary is more the biblical typology of the desert and its habitants, and less their ascetic aspect. We have seen that baptismal symbols are especially important to Eucherius. The entrance into the desert, denoting allegorically the beginning of monastic life, can be therefore interpreted as the second baptism436. This idea was not strange to the early Christian thought. Monastic profession was considered as the practical realization of the baptismal promise, with that difference that a monk renounced the world and the devil not only spiritually, but also by forsaking the real riches and liberties offered by the world437. This is exactly the step taken by Hilary that Eucherius mentions in the beginning of the letter: Hilary had distributed his riches to the poor and has left Honoratus at Arles in order to return to the “desert” of Lérins.

However, in order to understand better the approach of Eucherius, we should regard his work in the light of the predecessors of De laude eremi in the Latin monastic literature, and to try to discern what Eucherius ows to earlier authors, and what is proper to his own vision of the monastic ideal.

436 Although S. PRICOCO refers to this concept in monasticism, he does not see any explicit parallels in the Lerinian literature (L’isola dei Santi, cit., p. 137-138). C. M. KASPER makes a short notice on the baptismal theme in De laude eremi, but his main interest lies in the ritual of monastic profession, see op. cit., p. 82- 84. 437 Cf. Jerome, Ep. 39,3; 130,7; Sulpicius Severus, Ep. 3,19, with the commentary by J. FONTAINE, Sulpice Sévère. Vie de saint Martin, cit., vol. II, p. 1343-1344. On monastic life as a second baptism, see G. M. COLOMBÁS, art. cit., p. 305-307.

95 III. THE MODEL OF A MONK IN THE EARLY LATIN MONASTIC LITERATURE

1. Vita Antonii by Athanasius of Alexandria

The first Latin work on monasticism was the translation of the Life of Antony, the work which introduced the Eastern ascetic experience to the Latin West. This was the biography of one of the first Christian anchorites of the Egyptian desert, written by Alexandria’s bishop Athanasius soon after the death of Antony (356). For the first time in Christian biography Athanasius has painted a saint who was not a martyr but a monk, and whose fame was determined not by the premature effusion of blood but on a complete renunciation and austere ascesis1. The work was more than a simple life story, for it served for Athanasius as a social discourse to the Egyptian Church where he made Antony the supreme example of his doctrine2. The Life is adressed “to the monks in foreign parts”3. It is almost admitted that the phrase refers to the oversea parts of the Empire, more specifically to the Latin monks4. Athanasius’ relations with them could probably date back to his forced stays in Rome and Trier when he was banned from Alexandria5. Hence Athanasius saw his work as a

1 See the introduction by A. DE VOGÜÉ to the French translation by B. LAVAUD, Antoine le Grand, Père des moines, Paris, 1989, p. VII. 2 See D. BRAKKE, Athanasius and the Politics of Asceticism, Oxford, 1995, ch. 4: “The Spirituality and Politics of the Life of Antony”, p. 201-265. 3 V. Anton. tit.: prÊV toÑV æn t² x#n¯ monaco&V, ad peregrinos fratres. The Greek text is quoted after Athanase d’Alexandrie, Vie d’Antoine, Introduction, texte critique, traduction, notes et index par G. M. J. BARTELINK (SC 400), Paris, 1994; the Latin translation by Evagrius after the Patrology of Migne (PL 73,125-170, text of Rosweyde); the anonymous Latin translation after Vita di Antonio, Testo critico e commento a cura di G. J. M. BARTELINK (Vite dei Santi 1), Rome, 1974, and the English translation after H. ELLERSHAW, The Life of Antony, Select Writings of Athanasius, ed. PH. SCHAFF and H. WACE (NPNF II, t. 4), p. 195-221, when needed adapting it to the Latin version. 4 About the addressees of the Life see G. M. J. BARTELINK, Introduction, Athanase d’Alexandrie, Vie d’Antoine, cit., p. 46. For another opinion supporting that the addressees were Oriental monks, see A. e MARTIN, Athanase d’Alexandrie et l’Eglise d’Egypte au IV siècle (328-373) (CEFR 216), Rome, 1996, p. 483-484. In A. de Vogüé’s opinion, the first Latin translation was made simultaneously with the Greek text, and this bilingual edition would testify the cooperation between the Churches of the East and the West (A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit, t. 1, p. 19-20, referring to H. W. HOPPENBROUWERS, La technique de la traduction dans l’antiquité d’après la première version Latine de la Vita Antonii, Mélanges Christine Mohrmann. Nouveau recueil offert par ses anciens élèves, Utrecht, Amsterdam, 1973, p. 80-95); for the early translations to the oriental languages of the Christian world see G. GARITTE, Le texte grec et les versions anciennes de la Vie de saint Antoine, Antonius Magnus Eremita, 356-1956. Studia ad antiquum monachismum pertinentia (StAns 38), Roma, 1956, p. 1-12. 5 Athanasius passed the years 335-337 in Trier, and 339-346 in Rome.

96 propaganda of the Aegyptian asceticism in the West, and the role which the work has later played in the Latin part of the world proves the complete success of his enterprise6. The Life was written in Greek and immediately translated into Latin by an anonymous translator7. However, this “scrupulous, almost word-for-word rendering of the original Greek” soon sank into oblivion, and the Latin West got to know the life of the saint through another version, which was a free, but “graceful and aesthetically well- composed translation”8 made by the bishop of Antioch Evagrius around 370, and dedicated to Innocentius, a mutual friend of Evagrius and Jerome9. In our analysis we quote the latter translation, if not indicated otherwise. In the biography of the saint, Athanasius, following Antony’s life course, relates his gifts, deeds, teaching, the spiritual progress and the miracles he has made. The work’s objective may be defined as biographical as well as didactic, for it proposed a new way of life for those endeavouring Christian perfection after the period of persecutions10. The first seven chapters (ch. 1-7) tell about Antony’s family in Egypt, his monastic vocation and his first ascetic exercises. Having renounced to the heritage of his family, Antony closed himself in a tomb close to his village (ch. 8-10), and later spent twenty years in solitude in a deserted fort fighting with demons (ch. 11-15). The chapters 16 to 43, forming almost one third of the whole text, relate Antony’s discourse to the brethren, concentrated on the fight with demons in solitude and the virtue of the discernment of spirits. After a short description of the first community formed around Antony (ch. 44- 45), Athanasius tells about Antony’s trip to Alexandria in seek of martyrdom (ch. 46).

6 One of the first testimonies is the passage in Augustine’s Confessions where an official named Ponticianus tells a story about two imperial courriers who have found a copy of the Life during an afternoon stroll near the walls of Trier, read it, and were so affected by the story that decided to forsake their professional careers and serve God alone (Conf. 8,6,15). 7 Between 360 and 370, according to H. W. HOPPENBROUWERS, art. cit., p. 95. 8 Both definitions belong to L. LORIÉ, op. cit., 1955, p. 2. Evagrius’ good rhetorical and stylistic skills are analysed by B. R. VOSS, Bemerkungen zu Euagrius von Antiochen. Vergil und Sallust in der Vita Antonii, VChr 21, 1967, p. 93-102. 9 For the date of the translation see M. SPANNEUT, Art. Evagre, évêque d’Antioche, DHGE 16, col. 102- 107, see col. 105. 10 Already in his oration on Athanasius pronounced in 380, Gregory of Nazianzus called the Life of Antony “a rule of monastic life in the form of a story” (Oratio 21,5: toÒ monadikoÒ b%ou nomoqes%an, æn pl@smati dihg$sewV). See G. J. M. BARTELINK, Die literarische Gattung der Vita Antonii. Struktur und Motive, VChr 36, 1982, p. 38-62, esp. p. 60. M. E. BRUNERT has emphasized the role of Antony as the pioneer of the ascetic life in the desert, op. cit., p. 30-32, 43 and 45-47.

97 However, his endeavour being without success, Antony reinforced his discipline and retired even further to the desert, to the so called “inner mountain” (ch. 47-55). His ascetic life began to give fruit: Athanasius relates his miracles and visions (ch. 56-66, 82- 88), his virtues of humility (ch.67) and faith (ch. 68-71), his wise discussion with pagan philosophers (ch. 72-80). The last chapters (ch. 89-92) describe Antony’s death and burial; the chapters 93 and 94 form an epilogue11.

1.1. Contemporary examples The programme of the work is set forth in the preface: Athanasius presents “an account of the blessed Antony’s (beati Antonii) way of life”12 so that the readers who have entered upon a rivalry with the monks of Egypt (Aegypti monachis) either to equal or surpass them in the way of virtue13 might learn from his example and emulate his determination (ad aemulationem et exemplum)14. “Athanasius therefore defines the authority of an ascetic like Antony primarily in moral terms: he is a model to be imitated”15. The topic of a Christian solitary who lives in secret but whose illustrious example is visible to the rest of the world is an important motif in the final chapters of the Life. However, the fame won by the solitary is never numbered among his own merits. According to Athanasius, an ascetic would reach no hights of the spiritual life without the help of the Lord. It is also the Lord who demonstrates the deeds of Antony, abiding in solitude, all over the world: in Africa, Spain, Gaul, Italy and Illyria16. Through the examples of the saints (sanctorum exempla) the Lord teaches that the virtues are

11 The author’s ability to present the motif of progress in a life span is analysed by M. ALEXANDRE, La construction d’un modèle de sainteté dans la Vie d’Antoine par Athanase d’Alexandrie, Saint Antoine entre mythe et légende. Textes réunies et présentés par PHILIPPE WALTER, Grenoble, 1996, p. 63-93, espesially p. 69-72. 12 V. Anton. Praef.: ut vobis scriberem de conversatione beati Antonii. 13 V. Anton. Praef.: optimum, fratres, iniistis certamen, aut aequari Aegypti monachis, aut superare nitentes virtutis instantia. 14 V. Anton. Praef.: ut ad eius aemulationem atque exemplum vos instituere possitis. 15 D. BRAKKE, op. cit., p. 261. 16 V. Anton. 93,4-5: qui [Christus] devotos eius animos erga suam praevidens maiestatem, hominem alio pene orbe celatum, et inter tantas positum solitudines, Africae, Hispaniae, Galliae, Italiae, Illyrico, ipsi etiam, quae urbium caput est, Romae, ut in exordio promiserat, demonstravit. The translator has added Italy and Illyria which were absent in the Greek Life. Nevertheless, all these regions belong to the Latin part of the Empire, one more argument for the hypothesis that Athanasius addressed his work to the Western public.

98 reachable for human nature, and invites others to imitate their blessed life (ad beatae vitae imitationem)17. Our Saviour Jesus Christ honours monks with fame not only in order to make illustrious those who wish to rest hidden in mountains but also in order to rouse others by their examples (caeteri eorum provocentur exemplis), the importance of exemplum being added only in the translation of Evagrius18. This is why the life of Antony must be announced to other brethren19. Imitation is important in Antony’s own life already from the beginning of his conversion, instigated by the Lord’s words he had heard in the church20. After giving all his property to the poor, Antony commits his sister “to known and faithful virgins” so that she might be educated according to their example (earum exemplo)21, the aspect of imitating an example again added by Evagrius. He himself starts to imitate (aemulatus est) an old man who lived a life of a hermit in the neighbouring village22. Soon afterwards he installs himself outside the village and like a prudent bee seeks virtue in each good man he heards of in the surroundings23. Later, when after twenty years of seclusion in a fort he appears to the monks, in his long discourse, dedicated mostly to demonology, he insists that one should not consider nought anyone who is not able to cast out devils, because one must learn the discipline of each one and either imitate (imitari) what is perfect, or complement what is missing24. The same rule of imitating whatever is good is applied by Antony to two Greek philosophers who have come to see him. Antony addresses them the following words: “If you came to a foolish man, your labour is superfluous; but if you think me

17 V. Anton. 93,6: creatoris est ista benignitas, qui famulos suos, licet nolentes, nobilitare consuevit, ut virtus possibilis nec extra humanam esse naturam sanctorum doceatur exemplis, et ad beatae vitae imitationem ex fructu laboris optimus quisque impellatur. 18 V. Anton. 94,1: salvator noster Iesus Christus [...] hic in ipsis montium secretis latere cupientibus famae tribuit nobilitatem; scilicet, ut et ipsi fruantur laude meritorum, et caeteri eorum provocentur exemplis. The last part of the phrase (from scilicet) is absent from the Greek Life. 19 V. Anton. 94,1: hunc itaque fratribus librum magnopere perlegere curate. The reason to read the Life to the heathen is more apologetic than paraenetic (V. Anton. 94,2). 20 V. Anton. 2. 21 V. Anton. 3,1: sorore fidelibus ac notis virginibus commendata, ut earum nutriretur exemplo. 22 V. Anton. 3,3: erat igitur in agello vicino senex quidam, vitam solitariam a prima sectatus aetate: hunc Antonius cum vidisset, aemulatus est ad bonum. 23 V. Anton. 3,4. 24 V. Anton. 38,2: conversationem magis scrutamini singulorum: in hac vita et imitari vos quae perfecta sunt convenit, et implere quae desunt.

99 prudent and having wisdom, it is good that you imitate (imitemini) the one you consider good, for we ought to imitate what is good (bona convenit imitari). And if I had come to you I should have imitated you (vos imitarer); but because you have come to me as to a prudent, become as I am, Christians”25. Antony is given as an example to be followed by those who would like to endeavour ascetic life, yet the prominence of his figure and his teaching is inseparable from a much wider perspective of the Christian life which tends to stay continually in the presence of the Lord. With the help of this wider perspective Athanasius can present his hero as standing alongside his human predecessors who become his first teachers in the way of virtue he has chosen, and entitles him to exhort others to enter the same way towards moral perfection and the Christian faith.

1.2. Scriptural examples and figures as models of monastic life However important is the role of direct human examples, known personally by Antony, it is outbalanced by the role of scriptural figures, both in their importance and in the quantity of references to them, be it the Old or the New Testament. “The bare number of biblical quotations and allusions – over two hundred – witnesses the importance of the scriptural background in the Life of Antony”26. The ascetic ideal of Antony takes roots first of all in the New Testament. In the beginning of the episode relating his conversion, Antony is showed contemplating the Apostles who had left all in order to follow the Saviour (Mt 4,20; 19,27), and the passage of the Acts telling how others sold their possessions and laid them at the Apostles’ feet for distribution to then needy (Act 4,35-37). Right afterwards Antony enters the church and hears the words of Jesus exhorting the rich man to sell all his possession and give the money to the poor (Mt 19,21). Immediately Antony executes the command letter for

25 V. Anton. 72,4-5: si ad stultum venistis, superfluus est labor vester; si autem putatis me sapientem esse, et sapientiam habere, bonum est ut imitemini quod probatis, quia bona convenit imitari. si ego ad vos venissem, vos imitarer; sed quia vos ad me quasi ad sapientem venistis, estote, sicut ego sum, Christiani. 26 G. J. M. BARTELINK, Introduction, cit., p. 48.

100 letter27. Antony’s practices of the unceasing prayer and manual labour are based on the commandments of St Paul’s Epistles (1 Th 5,17 and 2 Th 3,10)28. In Antony’s teaching, biblical figures serve to illustrate certain virtues or vices. In his long discourse to the monks (V. Anton. 16-43) Antony speeks about the natural purity of soul in its natural state as it came into existence. According to Antony, virtues originate from this natural state of the soul, the fact being proved by the words of Joshue, son of Nun, and John the Baptist, both of whom exhorted for rectitude of soul29. Two opposite figures from the Old and the New Testaments, Job and Judas, illustrate Antony’s statement that evil spirits are helpless against the fortified soul: “thus the enemy, seeing Job fortified in the Lord, withdrew from him, but finding unfortunate Judas despoiled of faith, him he took captive30”. In the same discourse another example of Judas helps to show that one must not cease the practice of ascesis even for one day, for “unfortunate Judas”, because of one night’s impiety, destroyed his previous labour31. Lot’s wife is given as an example of someone who has turned to the things already left behind instead of continuing in the way of virtue32. In the same conference Antony admonishes his disciples neither hear the demons nor answer them. By doing so the monks should follow the way of the saints (sanctorum) tracing their footprints33 in the fight against the demons. The two following quotations from the Book of Psalms suggest that the sancti of the phrase refer to the figures of the Old Testament34.

27 V. Anton. 2,2-5. The personal vocation by certain biblical passages received by a future monk later becomes a commonplace in the monastic hagiography, M. VAN UYTFANGHE, Stylisation biblique, cit., p. 29. 28 V. Anton. 3,6. The reference to the unceasing prayer is missing in Evagrius’ translation. 29 V. Anton. 20,5-7, citing Ios 24,23 and Mt 3,3. 30 V. Anton. 42,8: ita et Iob firmatum in Domino diabolus refugit; et infelicissimum Iudam exspoliatum fide, vinculis captivitatis innexuit. 31 V. Anton. 18,3: nam et infelix Iudas propter unius noctis impietatem, omni praeteriti temporis labore privatus est. Infelix in this quotation and the one before is Evagrius’ addition. 32 V. Anton. 20,1. 33 V. Anton. 27,1: nos autem vestigiis sanctorum inhaerentes eamdem gradiamur viam qui memoratas subtilius fallacias pervidentes canebant (follow two quotations of Ps 38,2-3 and Ps 37,14-15). 34 In the Old Testament, sanctus is attributed to God and the things and people dedicated to him or having a special relationship with him. Few times angels and prophets are called saint (Tb 3,25 and 12,1; Sap 11,1; Sir 48,23). Very few particular names are associated with sanctus (Elisha is vir Dei sanctus in 2 Rg 4,9; sanctus Iob in Tb 2,12; Aaron sanctus Domini in Ps 105,16). In the New Testament, save God, saint are angels (Mc 8,38; Lc 9,26; Act 10,22; Apc 14,10); only one person is qualified as saint, John the Baptist in

101 Athanasius relates how later Antony, when already installed in the inner mountain, used to tell all the coming monks to believe in Jesus, to keep themselves from filthy thoughts and fleshly pleasures, to avoid vain glory, to pray continually, to sing psalms, and to hold in their heart the commandments of Scripture. As if generalizing all these commandments in one phrase, Antony tells his visitors to be mindful of the works of the saints (sancti) so that the remembrance of their example might incite the soul to virtue and keep it away from vices35. Like in V. Anton. 27,1 quoted above, the sancti here refer to the saint figures of the Holy History36. The sancti are once again mentioned in the passage about Antony’s last visit to his disciples in the outer mountain (V. Anton. 89). After his last instructions to live as though dying daily and to guard the soul from foul thoughts, he tells them to rival the saints (aemulationem ad sanctos convertere). These saints are probably to be related to the “fathers” (patres) whose tradition is told to be observed few lines below, and who indicate the saints of Scripture, as if both phrases would frame the warning against schismatics inserted in between them37. In the last words to his two disciples present at his deathbed, Antony tells them to follow the precepts of the Lord so that the saints (sancti) may receive them into everlasting habitations38. Apart from general references to biblical saints39, the Life of Antony presents a much more ambitious programme for those aspiring for the perfect life in solitude, for it

Mc 6,20. See B. FISCHER, op. cit., t. 5, col. 4581-4591; H. DELEHAYE, Sanctus, AnBoll 28, 1909, p. 145- 200, especially p. 161-164. 35 V. Anton. 55,3: recordamini gestorum, quae sancti quique fecerunt, ut exempli memoria animam incitet ad virtutem, refrenet a vitiis. 36 Cf. also G. M. J. BARTELINK, Athanase d’Alexandrie, cit., p. 283, n. 2. 37 V. Anton. 89,4-6. LORIÉ sees here “the equivalent of the perfect Christian” (op. cit., p. 76) and not the biblical saints, although the two other references to sancti we mentioned above are not included in his analysis. In general, Lorié analyses sanctus only in connection to ascesis and therefore the sancti of Scripture are omitted in his work (few references to the biblical figures in the anonymous translation do not modify his conclusion, ibid., p. 87). Cf. also A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 1, p. 33, who, referring to V. Anton. 27,1; 89,4 and 91,5 calls them “les saints de l’Écriture”. The references to the saints of the Bible occur constantly in the writings of Athanasius; see Apologia pro fuga 10.13.23.25-26, Ep. ad Dracontium 8, Ep. ad episcopos Aegypti et Lybiae 21 (the references indicated by A. DE VOGÜÉ, ibid.) 38 V. Anton. 91,5: ut post mortem vestram sancti quique, quasi amicos et notos, in aeterna vos recipiant tabernacula, referring to Lc 16,9. 39 As shown in the analysis above, all of them refer to the saints of the Old Testament. The only explicit reference the saints of the New Testament (V. Anton. 2,4) is omitted in the Latin version of Evagrius.

102 is the patriarchs, the prophets and the apostles themselves who form the spiritual foundation of Antony’s ascetic life40. Two figures are explicitly chosen by Antony as models of a monastic life, the prophet Elijah from the Old Testament and the apostle Paul from the New Testament. In the account of Antony’s first essays in ascesis, Athanasius tells that Antony gave no thought to the past, but daily as though ever commencing he eagerly endeavoured to make himself fit to appear before God, being mindful of the words of Paul and the words of the prophet Elijah41. The latter was an example of how one must stand in the presence of God: pure in heart and ever ready to submit to God’s will42. Antony used to say to himself that from the life of the great Elijah (magni Eliae) the servant of God ought to take example (exemplum capere) and to see his own life as in a mirror43. Elijah’s disciple Elisha is given as the proof that the Lord gives the gift of clairvoyance to those who have pure heart, and who therefore can see more and further than the demons44. Thus in both the master and his disciple, Elijah and Elisha, the same feature of the pure heart is presented as being the most relevant to a solitary monk. The image of a mirror and of purity is important in the Life of Antony: “because the monk is a mirror, both seeing others and being seen, he must form himself so as to be transparent to others without shame or embarrassment”45. The Apostle Paul serves as a model for another ability essential to a solitary, which is the gift of discernment giving the power to recognize good and evel spirits, and to fight against them46. In his central discourse to the monks, Antony treats the subject at

40 For many of the following parallels we have referred to G. J. M. BARTELINK, Introduction, cit., p. 49-53. 41 V. Anton. 7,11-12, referring to Phil 3,13; 1 Rg 17,1; 18,15. 42 V. Anton. 7,12: [Elias] talem se praebere cupiebat, qualem sciebat dignum Dei esse conspectibus, purum corde, et paratum obedire voluntati eius. 43 V. Anton. 7,13: igitur sanctus Antonius secum reputans oportere Dei famulum ex instituto magni Eliae exemplum capere, et ad illud speculum vitam suam debere componere. 44 V. Anton. 34,2-3: sed si forte aliquis hoc libenter assumat, ut futura cognoscat, habeat purum cor; quia credo animam Deo servientem [...] plus scire posse quam daemones. talis erat anima Elisaei, quae aliis incognitas virtutes faciebat. Evagrius omits the circumstances of the manifestation of Elisha’s clairvoyance specified in Greek by Athanasius, who refers to the passages about Elisha’s servant Gehazi in 2 Rg 5,26 and the celestial troops in 2 Rg 6,17. 45 D. BRAKKE, op. cit., p. 260. 46 V. Anton. 22,4, referring to 2 Cor 2,11. On the Athanasius’ conception of the discernment of spirits see D. BERTRAND, Le discernement des esprits et la portée théologique de la Vie d’Antoine par Athanase, La tradition vive. Mélanges d’histoire des textes en l’honneur de Louis Holtz, réunis par P. LARDET (Bibliologia 20), Paris-Turnhout, 2003, p. 367-376. He gives the following definition of the discernment of

103 lenght, inserting the testimony of Paul who had received this gift of discernment of spirits. The following phrase, telling that the experience in the discernment should help the monks correct one another, appeals to the example of Paul in Evagrius’ translation (ad cuius exemplum), although the direct reference is missing in Greek47. One more parallel between Antony and Paul is drawn in the passage relating how Antony was once caught up in the spirit and taken to air. Athanasius himself makes an allusion the Paul’s vision in 2 Cor 12,2-448, how he had been caught up to the third heaven. But in Athanasius’ opinion, Antony is even stronger than his model Paul, for “having heard things unspeakable he [Paul] came down, while Antony saw that he had come to the air, and contended until he was free“49. Apart from explicit parallels between Antony and the scriptural figures, one can perceive the implicit biblical background which is no less present, both in the way how Antony is depicted and called. According to A. de Vogüé, Antony’s pious childhood, the obedience to his parents, his only interest in divine things, the call of Christ he has heard in the church, the temptation in the desert, his long discourse to the monks followed by miracles and exorcisms, his teaching – all this recall the events of Jesus life as depicted in the synoptic Gospels, especially Marc and Luc50. In the scene of the denouncement of the Arians in Alexandria Antony is called a pillar of the Church (ecclesiae columna), thus alluding to the title of columnae given by Paul to the Apostles Jacob, Peter and John51. Parallels to the patriarchs of the Old Testament are no less numerous. In Antony’s childhood, all his desire was to “live a plain man at home” like Jacob52. Like the Lord had promised Abraham to make great his name, Jesus has promised to make known

spirits in Athanasius’ theology: “il est ce combat dans lequel l’homme, directement appuyé par Dieu, démasque et, par là, réduit à néant le pouvoir des esprits mauvais sur son imaginaire en proie à leurs suggestions” (ibid., p. 370). 47 V. Anton. 22,4. 48 V. Anton. 65,8: nos autem apostolici sermonis recordemur. 49 V. Anton. 65,9: [Paulus] ibique auditis verbis ineffabilibus, descendit; Antonius autem usque ad aereum sublatus, post colluctationem liber apparuit. 50 Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 1, p. 78-79, with a following conclusion: “Il paraît probable que l’histoire de Jésus a été le principal modèle d’Athanase” (ibid., p. 79). 51 V. Anton. 70,1, cf. Gal 2,9. The allusion, indicated by E. M. BRUNERT, op. cit., p. 53, is missing in the Greek version. 52 V. Anton. 1,3, cf. Gn 25,27.

104 everywhere Antony’s name53. Abraham migrated to the land shown him by God, and Antony has also accepted to follow the route to the inner desert as if conducted by God54. Like Moses, Antony had preserved good view and dentition in old age55, and nobody knew where he had been buried56. Like patriarch Jacob, Antony has left numerous sons, represented by two disciples to whom he had addressed his last recommendations alluding to Jacob’s testament57. Announcing his approaching death Antony says that he “goes the way of the fathers”, expression close to the last words of Joshua and David58. In the moment of his passing away Antony was “gathered to the fathers“, an allusion to the death of Jacob and David59. Telling that Antony possessed a cheerful countenance which indicated his peaceful soul, Athanasius makes a direct allusion to David who was recognized by Samuel because of the same features60. We have already pointed out that Antony takes the prophet Elijah as his ascetic model. This is much more that a mere declaration since on different occasions Antony’s behaviour reflects the actions of Elijah the way we know them from the Book of Kings. Like Elijah, Antony used to sit on the mountain61; his disciple poured water on his hands like Elisha used to do to Elijah62; the Lord spoke to him by the bank of the river like he has spoken to Elijah on the Mount Horeb63; like Elijah has left his mantle to Elisha, Antony left his sheepskin to Athanasius and Serapion64. All these allusions to the life of Antony as being an imitation of the lives of the prophets, the apostles and Christ can be summarized in one single title of the “man of

53 V. Anton. 10,3, cf. Gn 12,2. This parallel and the following one are indicated by E. M. BRUNERT, op. cit., p. 42-43. 54 V. Anton. 50,1, cf. Gn 12,1. 55 V. Anton. 93,2, cf. Dt 34,7 of the Septuagint. 56 V. Anton. 92,2, cf. Dt 34,6. 57 V. Anton. 91, cf. Gn 49. The parallel indicated by A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 1, p. 73. 58 V. Anton. 91,2, cf. Ios 23,14 and 1 Rg 2,2. 59 V. Anton. 92,1, cf. Gn 49,33 and Act 13,36. 60 V. Anton. 67,8 with a reference to 1 Sm 16,12. The same paragraph in Greek contains one more allusion to the same chapter of the Book of Samuel (Antony is not exceptional neither in height nor breadth, cf. 1 Sm 16,7), omitted by Evagrius. 61 V. Anton. 59,2; 59,6; 60,1; 66, 1; cf. 2 Rg 1,9. 62 Prol. 6, cf. 2 Rg 3,11. 63 V. Anton. 49,2-5, cf. 1 Rg 19,9-15. The parallel is indicated by A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 1, p. 53. 64 V. Anton. 91,8, cf. 2 Rg 2,13.

105 God”, homo Dei, attributed to Antony by Athanasius65, the title itself coming from the Old Testament, where it was born by the most eminent prophets: Moses, Samuel, David, Elijah and Elisha66. Antony is entitled thrice “a man of God”, homo Dei, in the Life. Twice he merits the title from the habitants of Alexandria during his second visit to the metropolis, where he denounced the heresy of Arius and on the same occasion taught people. For the first time it happens after Antony’s speech against the arians, when the crowds of people run to see him, Christians alongside pagans and their priests shouting: “We ask to see the man of God”. Immediately follows the explanation: “for this Antony’s name was known to all”67. The second occurrence is in the passage on Antony’s depart from Alexandria, where we learn about a woman who called Antony from behind: “stay, you man of God”68, for she sought after help for her daughter who was vexed by a devil. Antony fulfilled her prayer in the name of Christ. For the third time Antony “the man of God” appears in one of the last chapters of the Life where his last portrait is painted. Athanasius writes: “Even if this account is small compared with his merit, still from this you may see how Antony, the man of God, arrived from childhood to an old age”69. According to B. Steidle, the three appearances of the title homo Dei do not tend to prove that Antony was a man of God. The fact is already known to all the world, as it is indicated by Athanasius in the first scene of Alexandria. But if in general the title of homo Dei was often associated with the virtue of performing miracles, the third occurrence of homo Dei in the final chapter of the Life which summarized Antony’s virtues, does not refer to any of his wonders. Therefore, for Athanasius homo Dei has a much deeper sense than a simple miracle maker, and the author’s real intention is to

65 See B. STEIDLE, “Homo Dei Antonius”. Zum Bild des “Mannes Gottes” im alten Mönchtum, Antonius Magnus Eremita, 356-1956, Studia ad antiquum monachismum pertinentia (StAns 38), Roma, 1956, p. 148-200. 66 Moses (Dt 33,1; Ios 14,6; 1 Par 23,14; 2 Par 10,16; 1 Esr 3,2), Samuel (1 Sm 9,6-10), David (2 Par 8,14; 2 Esr 12,24.35), Elijah (3 Rg 17,18.24; 4 Rg 1,9-14) and Elisha (2 Rg 4-8; 13,19) are called Ànqrwpoi qeoÒ in the Septuagint, in Latin rendered by vir Dei or homo Dei; see also a story about vir Dei in 1 Rg 13. 67 V. Anton. 70,2: precamur ut videamus hominem Dei, quia hoc apud universos conspicuum erat nomen Antonii. 68 V. Anton. 71,1: exspecta, homo Dei. 69 V. Anton. 93,1.

106 present Antony as a model of a true man of God70, a figure who in the present world is worth bearing the title of the prophets and patriarchs of the past of the Holy History. Another title, claiming its authority from the Holy Scripture and attributed to Antony and his monks, is the “servant of the Lord“, servus Domini or famulus Domini, rendered from the Greek doÒloV qeoÒ. Moses is called famulus Domini all over the book of Joshua71. The servants of the Lord, servi Domini, are the real prophets of the Lord as opposed to the false prophets of Baal in the second Book of Kings72. The Apostles and disciples of Jesus call themselves the servants of Jesus Christ, servi Iesu Christi73. In Antony’s life, the name of servus Domini is not only an allusion to the scriptural figures just mentioned. It also serves to keep the right attitude to the monk (he is not a divine man of the pagan biographies, therefore all glory must be rendered to God) and to assert the legitimacy of his deeds: the Lord helps his servant Antony fight against the enemy74; Antony considers that being a servant of God he should follow Elijah’s example75; twice Antony tells to demons that he is a servant of Christ76; the people attribute the healings not to Antony’s work but to the Lord Jesus who exercised them through his beloved servant77; the duke acclaims Antony the servant of God78. In two occurrences the monks in general are called the servants of the Lord79. In four of the above mentioned cases attributives of servus or famulus are present only in Latin80.

1.3. Antony as a father and a saint Until now we have been trying to detect and establish the explicit and implicit relations connecting Antony and monks to the biblical background. However, we think

70 B. STEIDLE, art. cit., p. 149-152. 71 Other occurrences include Moses servus Dei in 1 Par 6,49; 2 Par 24,9; 2 Esr 10,29; Dn 9,11, and Apc 15,3; Daniel’s friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are servi Dei in Dn 3,93; Daniel servus Dei in Dn 6,20; Joshua famulus Domini in Ios 24,29; Idc 2,8; David servus Domini in Ps 35,1. 72 See for example 2 Rg 9,7.11; 10,23; 24,2. 73 Paul is servus Christi Iesu (Rm 1,1), Christi servus (Gal 1,10), Epaphras servus Christi Iesu (Col 4,12), Peter servus Iesu Christi (2 Pt 1,1), Jude Iesu Christi servus (Iud 1,1), Paul and Thimotheus servi Iesu Christi (Phil 1,1), Paul servus Dei (Tit 1,1), Jacob Dei et Domini nostri Iesu Christi servus (Iac 1,1). 74 V. Anton. 5: adiuvabat enim servum suum Dominus. 75 V. Anton. 7,13: igitur sanctus Antonius secum reputans oportere Dei famulum ex instituto magni Eliae exemplum capere. 76 V. Anton. 52,3 and 53,2: Christi famulus sum. 77 V. Anton. 84,1: per electum famulum suum. 78 V. Anton. 85,5: vere justum esse Dei famulum. 79 V. Anton. 18,1 and 93,6. 80 V. Anton. 5,7; 7,13; 84,1; 93,6.

107 that a short analysis on how Antony is characterized by the surrounding milieu itself, at first by his neighbours in the village, later by his disciples and Athanasius himself, would be also relevant, for this is the vocabulary through which the Latin readers got to know and interpret Antony’s figure. The first external reflections on Antony emerge in the fourth chapter, in the passage about his first ascetic endeavours and achievements. The villagers and the good men, “when they saw that he was a man of this sort, used to call him ‘loving God’ (deicolam nuncupabant). [...] And some loved him as a son (ut filium), others as a brother (ut fratrem)”81. During the first twenty years of his solitude in the fort, Antony attracted many people wishful to imitate his discipline. When he finally came out of the fort, he began teaching people gathered around. They soon embraced the solitary life and built the cells all around82. This is the first occasion to present the solitary as a spiritual father: while eremitical cells multiplied, Antony directed the new and old monks in paternal love (paterno affectu)83. The feature of Antony’s spiritual paternity is evoked all over the rest of the Life, and embraces his brethren as well as the emperors: the brethren, like children to their father (tamquam ad patrem filii) bring him food to the inner mountain84; the emperors begged counsels from Antony, which is the proof that he was dear to all and that all desired to be called his sons (se filios cuperent nominari)85; after his death, all mourned for him as their own father (proprium parentem luxerunt)86; finally, he addresses his last words to his two disciples in a diminutive form of sons (filioli)87. From the ch. 51, the moment of his withdrawal to the inner mountain, Antony starts being called an old man, g#rwn. In Athanasius’ version, the title for the first time is

81 V. Anton. 4,4. Deicola, qeofil$V, means rather “loving God” than “a friend of God”. The anonymous Latin version translates theophilum, hoc est, qui Deum amat. See G. J. M. BARTELINK, Athanase d’Alexandrie, cit., p. 141, n. 3. 82 V. Anton. 14. 83 V. Anton. 15,3. 84 V. Anton. 50,4. 85 V. Anton. 81,6. In Greek it is not the filiation but paternity which is evoked: p@nteV Æcein aøtÊn ëx%oun pat#ra. 86 V. Anton. 88,3. 87 V. Anton. 91,2. M. ALEXANDRE attributes Antony’s spiritual paternity to his main charismas (the other being the gifts of healing, of mediator (arbitrator), of taming wild nature, of clairvoyance, of the word and action), art. cit., p. 80-85.

108 attributed as an indication of his old age (he had to be around fifty-five at this time), as it is the case in some other of the following thirteen occurrences88. The Latin use of senex sometimes coincides with the Greek, but apparently Evagrius makes free use of where to insert the title89. While the use of g#rwn in the Greek version is already tinged with the sense of respect towards the personality of the famous anchorite90, Evagrius attributes to the term even more explicit flavour of Antony’s spiritual authority and fame, in some cases adding such epithets like beatus, mirabilis and praeclarus, and forming the combinations missing in Greek91. On the other hand, the need for epithets in Latin may show that the word senex itself had not yet the spiritual connotation and needed to be qualified additionally. The above survey lets trace the path of Antony’s spiritual growth. First he is called “son” (filius) and “brother” (frater) by the surrounding milieu, thus testifying already its fraternal sentiment towards him. Later Antony’s virtues, his experience in fights with the demons and the discernment of spirits leads to respect and estimation from others, expressed in the name of “father” (pater). The latter with the growing age is accomplished by the title of an “old man” (senex). While filius, frater and pater imply the notion of mutual love, senex bears the notion of respect, referring not only to his age but also to wisdom acquired with it. At the beginning of his ascetical endeavour, Antony sought after the teaching of “an old man”, a hermit living close to his village. Eventually he became “an old man“ himself and a model for others. If we have observed a certain development in the sequence of filius-pater-senex, which is more or less parallel in the Greek and Latin versions, this is not the case of another epithet, “saint”, sanctus. In the original of Athanasius, Antony is never called saint, ‹gioV. This terme in the Life is reserved to the saints of the Old and New Testaments, the angels and the martyrs92 (Antony himself few times is characterized as

88 V. Anton. 51,1; 73,4; 89,3; 93,2. 89 The use coincides in V. Anton. 54,4; 60,10; 71,2. Independent Latin use in V. Anton. 57,1; 57,3; 58,3; 64,2.3; 87,2; 91,1 (translating the Greek di„ tÊ g§raV); 91,7. 90 See especially V. Anton. 64,5; 70,3. 91 V. Anton. 57,1: beatum senem, V. Anton. 71,2: mirabilis senex, V. Anton. 87,2: praeclari senis. 92 For the biblical saints see above; angels as ‹gioi in V. Anton. 35,4.7; 43,2 (cf. G. M. J. BARTELINK, Athanase d’Alexandrie, cit, p. 231, n. 2); saint martyrs in V. Anton. 46,1 and 90,2. See also M. ALEXANDRE,

109 blessed, mak@rioV93). In the Latin Life of Evagrius we find three occurrences of sanctus Antonius94, and some more times his name is explicitly associated with sancti and sanctitas95. Therefore we would object to L. Lorié who, although referring to V. Anton. 6,2 says that “the ascetic Antony is put on a level with the sancti, and thus introduces a new phase in the use of ‘sanctus’”, omits the three occurrences of sanctus Antonius from his analysis, and later notes that in comparison with both Latin translations of the Life of Antony, the use of sanctus in the ascetic sense in the later writers has greatly increased96. In our opinion, this tendency is already detectable in Evagrius’ translation, and we would emphasize the aspect of continuity established between the saints of the Bible, the saint martyrs and the most recent saint, saint Antony, who throughout his life followed the example of the first and sought after the glory of the second. In the conversation between Antony and the devil who would not stop putting obstacles in the hermit’s way, Antony is called a soldier of Christ, miles Christi97. This title, which had already made fortune in the earlier Christian literature, especially referring to Christian martyrs98, is absent in Athanasius’ Greek version, and therefore is Evagrius’ addition99. Like the title of sanctus conferred to Antony by Evagrius, the miles Christi ranks him in the category of Christian martyrs. That the idea was not strange to Antony himself and the narrator of his life, is manifest from the account of Antony’s first

art. cit., p. 67. In Christianity, at first sanctus was applied to martyrs who were honoured as the most faithful persons, intimately associated with God. See H. DELEHAYE, art. cit. 93 V. Anton. tit.; prol. 2; 66,2; 92,3. All of these references are rendered verbatim in Latin (beatus) save the V. Anton. 66,2 (omitted). In V. Anton. 92,3 the term is translated as benedictus. 94 V. Anton. 7,13; 9,11; 16,1. 95 In V. Anton. 6,2 he is compared by the devil with “other saints” (caeteri sancti); people from his outer appearance used to recognize his holy mind (V. Anton. 67,7: per speculum corporis gratiam sanctae mentis intuebatur); all have a holy opinion about him (V. Anton. 81,6: sancta quoque apud cunctos Antonii flagrabat opinio); the inheritor of Antony’s garment remembers the holy face of its owner (V. Anton. 92,3: laetanter per vestimentum recordatur imaginem sanctitatis). 96 L. LORIÉ, op. cit., p. 75-76 and 86-89. 97 V. Anton. 6,4. 98 The idea of the life of a Christian being a spiritual warfare is found in the epistles of St Paul (2 Tim 2,3 and Eph 6,10-18). To him and the earliest Christian authors every Christian was a miles Christi. Tertullian however reserves this designation chiefly to the martyres and confessores, while Origen applies it for the ascetics; see L. LORIÉ, op. cit., p. 103. 99 L. Lorié indicates two other occurrences where the version of Evagrius refers to a militia Christi, when there is nothing in the Greek text to suggest the phrase (V. Anton. 22,3: ut possimus tam fraudes eorum quam studia pervidentes, adversus disparem pugnam unum dominicae crucis elevare vexillum, and V. Anton. 26,4: a diabolo vivendi capere consilia, qui suum deserens ordinem, sacrum Christi temeravit imperium), see L. LORIÉ, op. cit., p. 103.

110 trip to Alexandria in pursuit of martyrdom under Maximinus (V. Anton. 46). However, the Lord having spared his life from martyrdom in Alexandria, Antony departed to his cell in the desert and “was there daily a martyr to his conscience”100. Other titles attributed to Antony attest the role of the saint in the newly formed community. God has spared his life from martyrdom in order that he might become a teacher (magister) to the monks101; he is called a physician (medicus) given by God to Egypt because of his ability to console and to convert people102; Antony had a gift of clairvoyance because he was taught by God (a Deo doctus)103. The last phrase merits a special attention, since it includes other important feature of Antony’s doctrine, such as his indifference to the worldly education in his childhood104, his sole interest being divine letters which served him as a rule105. In the account of Antony’s first steps in learning ascesis, one reads that “he had given such heed to listening to Scripture that nothing fell from his soul, but, keeping all the precepts of the Lord, his memory served him for books”106. The Holy Scripture is the foundation of the Christian life in general and of the ascetic life in particular, and the first rule Antony gives to the monks is that Scripture is enough for their instruction107. Antony’s conversation with pagan philosophers reveals his general conception of the Christian education: unlike the pagan sages who, educated in the classical tradition of paideia, seek truth by way of syllogisms, Antony acquires his power of reasoning through the ascetic life and the meditation of Scripture108.

100 V. Anton. 47,1: quotidianum fidei ac conscientiae martyrium merebatur. On monastic life as martyrdom see M. VILLER, Le martyre et l’ascèse, RAM 6, 1925, p. 105-142, E. E. MALONE, The monk and the martyr, Antonius magnus eremita, cit., p. 201-228. 101 V. Anton. 46,6. 102 V. Anton. 87,3: bonum Aegypto medicum Christus indulserat. 103 V. Anton. 66,2, referring to Is 54,13 and Io 6,45. 104 V. Anton. 1,2: cum iam puer esset, non se litteris erudiri [...] passus est. 105 V. Anton. 1,3: ad ecclesiam quoque cum parentibus saepe conveniens [...] tantum ea quae legebantur auscultans, utilitatem praeceptorum vitae institutione servabat. 106 V. Anton. 3,7. 107 V. Anton. 16,1: ad omnem quidem mandatorum disciplinam Scripturas posse sufficere. 108 V. Anton. 72-80. See M. LENKAITYTĖ, Antano pokalbis su filosofais šv. Atanazo „Šventojo Antano gyvenime“. Tikėjimo (pistis) ir proto (logos) santykis, Literatūra 45 (3), 2003, p. 79-85. From the way how Athanasius emphasizes Antony’s ‘practical’, and not ‘academical’ wisdom, D. BRAKKE deduces that in this way Athanasius defines Antony’s authority as primarily ethical and thus distinct from that of the teacher or that of the bishop, op. cit., p. 264.

111 1.4. Other solitaries Athanasius does not enter into details about the people attracted by Antony’s ascetic life nor about the two disciples who served Antony the last fifteen years of his life. The general term designating them is monachus. The analysis of L. Lorié has shown that in Athanasius’ Greek version the monk is called monac^V in the sense of a hermit or at least a monk who aspires to be one. A general synonym of monac^V is àdelf^V (the proportion being approximately 3:1), which only in few cases is applied to Christians in general. While in the anonymous translation the use of both words does not differ from the Greek one, Evagrius replaces monachus with frater at least six times, thus indicating the development of the use of frater in the sense of a monk109. Only two anchorites are named and deserve a little development in the narration, Paphnutius and Amun. We meet Paphnutius on the occasion of the healing of a girl from Busiris. He is characterized as a confessor and a monk, confessor et monachus. These words render exactly the Greek reading of +mologht¦V ka¼ monac^V, but Evagrius on his own initiative inserts a phrase relating Paphnutius’ martyrdom, and later calls him sanctus and beatus110. We meet Amun few paragraphs later, in a passage about Antony’s vision of a recent death of Amun. Amun is called a monk (monachus) who lived at Nitria and who had persevered in the holy discipline up to old age111. The sanctity (sanctitas) of his life does not have an equivalent in Greek and “indicates the moral perfection which is the fruit of ÀskhsiV”, according to L. Lorié112. In the Latin version, hence, the names of two monks are decorated by the titles of sanctus, sanctitas and beatus, the phenomenon already observed in Evagrius’ interpretation of the figure of Antony.

1.5. Conclusion The Life of Antony, especially its Latin translation, appeals to the beginners of monastic movement in the West, offering them a model of ascetic life. In the Latin

109 See L. LORIÉ, op. cit., p. 24-43. 110 V. Anton. 58,3-5. 111 V. Anton. 60,2: erat autem Ammon vir grandaevus, qui perseveranter a pueritia usque ad senectutem in sanctitate vixerat. 112 L. LORIE, op. cit., p. 75.

112 translation by Evagrius the importance of exemplum and its imitatio is even more emphasized than in the Greek Life. One can observe that this model is constructed from a double perspective. While it is the figure of Antony which serves as an example to be imitated, the model nevertheless is basically constructed on the foundations of Scripture. Many scenes from Antony’s life reflect certain biblical passages, and his entire life story is full of allusions to the lives of Jesus and the patriarchs of the Old Testament. By calling Antony homo Dei and servus Christi, Athanasius makes him join the ranks of the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New Covenant. Two of them Antony takes explicitly as models of his life, the prophet Elijah and the Apostle Paul. In the case of Paul, Antony even excels his biblical model. In the eyes of the surrounging milieu, Antony matures from being filius to being pater and senex, the latter titles referring to his spiritual authority and respect. His engagement to the ascesis and the fight with demons makes him a daily martyr. The continuity established between the saints of the Bible, the martyrs and the most recent saint, saint Antony, who throughout his life followed the example of the first and sought after the glory of the second, leads to the fact that in Evagrius’ translation he is called sanctus, the title still missing in Greek. Hence Antony’s life in its written version can be seen as one of the milestones in the Holy History. On the one hand by his virtous life he embodies the experience of the scriptural figures, and on the other he is a sign of God’s actual grace to the Christians. Antony is less an absolute initiator of the perfect life than someone who, with the help of God, applies Christian values to a certain historical situation. In this sense he is a beginner of a new era and therefore can be an example for the Christians who endeavour perfect life113.

2. The Three Lives of Eastern monks by Jerome

The first answer to the Life of Antony in Christian literature was the Life of Paul the First Hermit written by Jerome during or soon after his own ascetic experience in the

113 Cf. a similar conclusion on the early Christian Lives by M. VAN UYTFANGHE: “Les Vitae prétendent offrir à tous les chrétiens des modèles de comportements bibliques adoptés aux circonstances actuelles” (L’empreinte biblique sur la plus ancienne hagiographie occidentale, in J. FONTAINE et CH. PIETRI (éd.), Le monde latin antique et la Bible (BTT 2), Paris, 1985, p. 565-619, at p. 609).

113 desert of Chalcis114. This short story about Antony’s predecessor is singular for several reasons. First, it is the first originally Latin work dedicated to an Eastern solitary and the first biography of a saint written in Latin. In this romantic idealisation of monastic withdrawal Jerome contests the primacy of Antony and bestows this honour upon his teacher Paul of Thebes from Upper Egypt115. Since two other Lives of Eastern solitaries, the Life of Malchus the Captive Monk and the Life of Hilarion, written by Jerome some fifteen years later, bare the features of the same hagiographic genre and treatment, we will analyse all three of them in parallel116. The Life of Paul is not a biography sensu stricto since it relates only two moments of the saint’s life, its opening and closing phases. Paul’s vocation develops in the context of the persecutions, due to which and to the risk that he would be betrayed by his brother- in-law Paul embraces a solitary life117. The reader is then told about the hero’s abode in a romantic environment: a cave in a rocky mountain with an open hall above, exhilarated by a palm tree and “a fountain of transparent clearness”, and about his ascetic life118. We are then transferred almost a hundred year later, when Paul is a hundred and thirteen years old. At that moment Antony, being at the age of ninety and aboding in another solitary place, is endowed with the revelation telling “that there was father in the desert a

114 J. N. D. KELLY suggests that it had been written after Jerome’s comeback to Antioch from his retreat in the desert in 375-377 (Jerome: His Life, Writings, and Controversies, London, 1975, p. 60-61). A. DE VOGÜE argues in favour of the beginning of his stay in the desert (Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 1, p. 153), so R. WISNIEWSKI (Bestiae Christum loquuntur ou des habitants du désert et de la ville dans la Vita Pauli de saint Jérôme, Augustinianum 40, 2000, p. 105-144, at p. 143). 115 The circumstances of the composition of this Life prove that it was a purposeful answer to Athanasius’ work. Evagrius of Antioch, who had translated the Life of Antony into Latin just few years before, was a good friend of Jerome, who obviously had read his translation. Evagrius had offered Jerome hospitality during the latter’s stay in Antioch just before his withdrawal to the Syrian desert in 375. On Jerome’s two stays in Antioch, see J. N. D. KELLY, op. cit., p. 36-45 and p. 57-67; on his experience in the desert, see ibid., p. 46-56. 116 For the Vita Pauli we have referred to the text of the Latin Patrology of Migne (PL 23,17-28) with revisions made by I. S. KOZIK, The First Desert Hero: St. Jerome’s Vita Pauli, New York, 1968; for the Vita Malchi to the edition of C. C. MIEROW, Classical Essays Presented to J. A. Kleist, St. Lois, 1946, p. 31-60 (we have referred to its electronic version in CETEDOC Library of Christian Latin Texts Version 3.0, Turnhout, 1996); for the Vita Hilarionis to the Vita di Martino, Vita di Ilarione, In memoria di Paola, Testo critico a cura di A. A. R. BASTIAENSEN (Vite dei Santi 4), Roma, 1975, p. 72-142. The English translation is quoted after W. H. FREMANTLE, Jerome: Letters and Select Works, ed. PH. SCHAFF and H. WACE (NPNF II, t. 6), p. 498-524, with corrections when needed. 117 V. Pauli 4, introduced by a passage on imperial persecutors and two Christian martyrs (V. Pauli 2-3). 118 V. Pauli 5-6.

114 much better man than he, and that he ought to go and visit him”119. The rest of the story, forming the larger part of the text, narrates Antony’s journey to Paul, their meeting, Antony’s bringing the cloak of Athanasius to Paul, Paul’s death and burial120. The Life is rounded off by a moral exhortation and Jerome’s personal note121. The Life of Malchus, written around 386, soon after Jerome’s arrival at Betlehem, is a few pages long “paean in praise of life-long chastity”122. Malchus choses a chaste life of a monk in a monastery in the desert of Chalcis instead of marriage forced by his parents. Later he takes a decision to return home in order to enjoy part of his inheritance, but on the way home is taken into captivity by Saracens. His new master tries to force him to marry his female fellow-slave. Malchus is ready to kill himself since he would not sacrifice his virginity, but the woman reveals to be also a Christian. For some time they pretend to be man and wife in the eyes of their master but live in chastity, until they decide to escape. After being miraculously saved by a lioness from the master’s persecution, they land up in a town of Syria and live like brother and sister under the same roof. The Life of Hilarion, composed also during Jerome’s first years in Betlehem123, is closest to the genre of hagiography since it shows the entire life of the protagonist in chronological sequence124. Hilarion was born into a pagan family near Gaza. He had been sent to school to Alexandria where he converted to Christianity. After having spent few months in the desert of Egypt with Antony studying his mode of life125, he returned to Palestine, lived in solitude for twenty two years, attracted many disciples and finally

119 V. Pauli 7. 120 V. Pauli 7-16. This part, covering the period of nine days, is told from the perspective of Antony. See M. FUHRMANN, Die Mönchsgeschichten des Hieronymus. Formexperimente in erzälender Literatur, Christianisme et formes littéraires de l’Antiquité tardive en Occident. Entretiens publiés par Olivier Reverdin (Fondation Hardt, Entretiens sur l’Antiquité classique 23), Genève, 1977, p. 41-99, at p. 70. 121 Jerome rebukes the rich who will go to Gehenna, while the Paradise is open to the poor Paul (V. Pauli 17), and begs his readers to remember him the sinner (V. Pauli 18). 122 J. N. D. KELLY, op. cit., p. 171. Kelly dates the Life around 390/391 (ibid., p. 170), while A. DE VOGÜE supports the common opinion and argues for the spring of 386 (Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l’antiquité, t. 2: De l’Itinéraire d’Egérie à l’éloge funèbre de Népotien (384-396), Paris, 1993, p. 77). 123 CH. MOHRMANN, Introduzione, Vita di Martino, Vita di Ilarione, In memoria di Paola, Testo critico a cura di A. A. R. BASTIAENSEN (Vite dei Santi 4), Roma, 1975, p. I-LXI, see p. XL. 124 P. NEHRING, Jerome’s Vita Hilarionis. A rhetorical analysis of its structure, Augustinianum 43, 2003, p. 417-434, see p. 419-420. 125 V. Hilar. II,1-6.

115 became an inaugurator of the monastic life there126. Being chased by crowds seeking healings and miracles from him, he made his escape and spent the rest of his life seeking solitude in Antony’s desert, the vicinity of Alexandria, then in Sicily and Dalmatia, everywhere persecuted by his own fame inextricably linked to his wonder-working power127. Finally he landed on Cyprus where he could spend more or less peacefully the last five years of his life128. Many have observed that the trilogy of the Lives is not only a praise of the monastic engagement written for educative purposes, but also witness Jerome’s views and aspirations in certain moments of his own life129. Yet Jerome’s wish was to compose historically true stories130. While with the Life of Antony, good part of which is dedicated to Antony’s spiritual instruction, Athanasius aimed first of all the monastic communities, Jerome’s audience on the contrary was any Christian reader. Indeed, at least in point of literary composition, Jerome employs all his literary talents and rhetorical skills and thus in a way substitutes the easthetic aims for the moral background131. What peculiarities can we observe in the way he creates the model of an Eastern solitary?

2.1. Scriptural models and allusions At the beginning of each of the Lives, when introducing the protagonist of the forthcoming story, Jerome compares him directly or more vaguely to scriptural figures. Thus he starts the Life of Paul referring to a wide-spread discussion “what monk was the first to give a signal example of the hermit life”132. Jerome begins by saying that some “have found a beginning in those holy men Elijah and John”, but then immediately steps back excusing himself by a too far inquiry, and declares that “the former seems to have

126 Hilarion’s asceticism in the desert of Gaza: V. Hilar. II,6-VI, his miracles accomplished there: V. Hilar. VII-XIV, Hilarion as a founder of monastic communities: V. Hilar. VIII,9-11 and XV-XVIII. 127 V. Hilar. XIX-XXIX. 128 V. Hilar. XXX-XXXII. V. Hilar. XXXIII narrates Hilarion’s posthumous glory and miracles. 129 Thus the Life of Paul would reflect Jerome’s ascetic enthusiasm during his early experience in the desert of Chalcis (R. WISNIEWSKI, art. cit., p. 143), the Life of Malchus is the proof of Jerome’s highly estimated chastity and virginity, and finds its reflection in Jerome’s friendship with Paula (it is referred to as “le roman de son mariage spirituel avec Paula” by A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 2, p. 82), while another parallel can be drawn between Hilarion’s and Jerome’s journeys all over the Empire (CH. MOHRMANN, art. cit., p. XXXI). 130 See V. Pauli 1, V. Mal. 2, V. Hilar. 1. On historical methods used by Jerome, see E. COLEIRO, St. Jerome’s Lives of the Hermits, VChr 11, 1957, p. 161-178, and M. FUHRMANN, art. cit., p. 77-80. 131 M. FUHRMANN, art. cit., p. 54-58. 132 V. Pauli 1: inter multos saepe dubitatum est, a quo potissimum monachorum eremus habitari coepta sit.

116 been more than a monk and the latter to have begun to prophesy before his birth”133. The phrase seems to be a certain replication to Athanasius’ work134. It could also seem to indicate that the figures of Elijah and John would be excluded from Jerome’s allusions in the further development; yet on the contrary they both play an important role. Indeed, in the scene where Antony comes back to his abode after the first visit to Paul, he cries in admiration to his two disciples: “I do not deserve the name of monk. I have seen Elijah, I have seen John in the desert, and I have really seen Paul in Paradise”135. Antony thus identifies the title of the monk, monachus, with the names of Elijah and John the Baptist. The second part of the latter phrase referring to “Paul in Paradise” is more than a mere allusion to a paradisiac environment of the Paul’s abode. This play of words alludes both to the hermit’s namesake Paul the Apostle and the vision of Antony referring to the same passage of the Epistle to Corinthians136. Hence alluding to Antony’s scriptural prototypes Jerome overshadows the hero of Athanasius, and transfers the biblical authority of bearing the title of a monk from Antony to Paul the Hermit137. In the preceding episode Antony in his mind compares Paul to Christ138. He is also impressed by Paul’s words which quote the Apostle Paul and forbid him to accompany Paul during his last days. Finally, when being too late to return to Paul’s hermitage he sees the vision where the latter is “ascending on high among the bands of angels, and the choirs of prophets and apostles”139. Hence Paul is identified with Elijah and John the Baptist as the desert’s habitant, then with Christ, and is finally accepted into the company of biblical saints after his death. All of these assimilations are made in the words of Antony140, Jerome thus extolling his hero in the words of his literary competitor.

133 Ibid.: quidam enim altius repetentes a beato Helia et Iohanne sumpsere principium: quorum et Helias plus nobis videtur fuisse quam monachus, et Iohannes ante prophetare coepisse quam natus sit. 134 Elijah is Antony’s model (V. Anton. 7,13); John prophesying in Mary’s womb (Lc 1,44) is mentioned in V. Anton. 36,4, see M. FUHRMANN, art. cit., p. 75. 135 V. Pauli 13: falsum monachi nomen fero. vidi Heliam, vidi Iohannem in deserto, et vere vidi Paulum in paradiso. 136 V. Anton. 65, 2 Cor 12,4. 137 See also M. FUHRMANN, art. cit., p. 75. 138 V. Pauli 12: quasi Christum in Paulo videns. 139 V. Pauli 14: videt inter angelorum catervas, inter prophetarum et apostolorum choros [...] in sublime conscendere. 140 Note the use of video in all three cases.

117 The chaste pair of Malchus and his companion who captured Jerome’s attention in a Syrian village “might be taken for Zacharias and Elizabeth in the Gospel but for the fact that there was no John to be seen”, for both of them were “zealously pious” and “constant frequenters of the Church” 141. Jerome wonders if it was the link of marriage, or of kindred, or the bond of the Spirit that connected them. The story is then told in the person of Malchus. It proves to be “a history of chastity for the chaste”142, hence, paradoxically, the comparison with the parents of John the Baptist alluding to Jerome’s ideal of chastity143. Apart from this introductory comparison, twice more scriptural figures are set in parallel with the story’s hero. When Malchus decides to leave his monastery in order to return to his country, his abbot tries to stop him telling that these were devil’s suggestions, and together with many examples from Scripture says “that even Adam and Eve in the beginning had been overthrown by him through the hope of becoming gods”144. Since the abbot failes to convince, Malchus leaves the monastery and is soon captured by the Saracens. Now it is Malchus’ turn to meditate upon his new situation: he compares himself to the patriarchs Jacob and Moses. Like these two were once shepherds in the desert, Malchus is now given some sheep to tend by his Saracen master145. Thus with the help of allusions to biblical figures Jerome follows Malchus’ spiritual advance. After having succumbed to the devil’s temptation like Adam, he enjoys eremitic life tending his master’s sheep as if he were Jacob or Moses, singing psalms and praying continually146. Finally, after their escape, Malchus and his spiritual wife become as pious, and one would say as chaste as Zacharias and Elisabeth.

141 V. Mal. 2: tam studiosi ambo religiosi, et sic ecclesiae limen terentes, ut Zachariam et Elisabeth de Evangelio crederes - nisi quod Iohannes in medio non erat. 142 V. Mal. 10: castis historiam castitatis expono. 143 E. LUPIERI sees the story as the first Jerome’s response in defense against Jovinian’s theses. The Life was written around 390, the period of Jovinian controversy. Jovinian presented Elisabeth and Zacharias as an example of dignity and even superiority of the matrimonial life over the continent one, while Jerome’s ideal matrimony was chaste and continent, art. cit., p. 56-66. 144 V. Mal. 3 : proponebat mihi exempla de scripturis plurima. inter quae illud ab initio, quod Adam quoque et Euam spe diuinitatis supplantauerit. 145 V. Mal. 5: videbar mihi aliquid habere sancti Iacob; recordabar Moysi, qui et ipsi in heremo pecorum quondam fuere pastores. 146 V. Mal. 5.

118 In the prologue to the Life of Hilarion Jerome refers to his Life of Paul written some fifteen years ago, and complains of those who have disparaged “his“ Paul censuring him for his solitary life. He notes that the readers of Hilarion’s Life could have a contrary impression, and disparage Hilarion rather for his too frequent intercourse with the world147. Jerome then compares this vulgar opinion to the Pharisees who “were not pleased with John fasting in the desert, nor with our Lord and Saviour in the busy throng, eating and drinking”148. Hence again Paul the Hermit is associated with John the Baptist, while Hilarion is linked to the figure of Jesus. The latter association, we will later see, is especially reflected in Hilarion’s miraculous activity, with one explicit reference in the episode where Hilarion cures a blind woman spitting into her eyes, and “immediately the miracle of healing followed the imitation (exemplum) of the Saviour”149. To the saints of the Old Testament Hilarion is equated by one Jew in Peloponnesus. When Hilarion’s disciple Hesychius is looking for him all over the world, this Jew informs him that “a Christian prophet (propheta Christianorum) had appeared in Sicily, and was working such miracles and signs, one might think him one of the ancient saints (de veteribus sanctis)”150. Hilarion refers to scriptural examples in his teaching and moral exhortations. He himself disposed of his heritage fearing the example (exemplum) and the punishment of Ananias and Saphira, a greedy pair from the Acts151. When a certain Orion offers Hilarion many gifts in gratitude for being cured of demons, the hermit refuses them presenting the unfortunate examples of Gehazi, the greedy servant of Elisha, and the Simon Magus152. Job is an illustration (exemplum) of devil’s assault on men as well as on

147 V. Hilar. I,6: qui olim detrahentes Paulo meo nunc forte detrahent et Hilarioni, illum solitudinis calumniati, huic obicientes frequentiam. 148 V. Hilar. I,7: fecerunt hoc et maiores eorum quondam Pharisaei, quibus nec Iohannis eremus ac ieiunium nec Domini Salvatoris turbae, cibi potusque placuerunt. 149 V. Hilar. IX,3: exspuit in oculos eius, statimque Salvatoris exemplum virtus eadem secuta est sanitatis, cf. Mc 8,23. 150 V. Hilar. XXVII,2: prophetam Christianorum apparuisse in Sicilia, tanta miracula et signa facientem, ut de veteribus sanctis putaretur. 151 V. Hilar. II,6: timens illud de Actibus Apostolorum Ananiae et Saphirae vel exemplum vel supplicium, cf. Act 5,1-10. 152 V. Hilar. X,12, referring to 2 Rg 5,20-27 and Act 8,9-24.

119 their belongings153, while the faith commanded by the Lord to the Apostles is referred to in the episode of Hilarion’s miracle of saving Epidaurus from deluge154. Like in the Life of Antony, the implicite scriptural allusions in Jerome’s Lives are even more eloquent than explicit references. In the Life of Paul most of them appear in the second part relating the meeting of Paul and Antony. The raven feeding two monks is a clear reminiscence of the raven who fed the prophet Elijah by the brook Cherith. Paul even outbalances his scriptural archetype, his daily ration being only half a loaf, while the prophet used to receive bread and flesh twice per day155. Paul asks Antony to bring him the pallium given to him by Athanasius to wrap his body after his death. In the Antony’s Life, the cloak returned to Athanasius after Antony’s death was a clear allusion to the mantle of Elijah left to his disciple Elisha156. In the Life of Paul we see the inversion of the same allusion: Antony covers Paul’s body with the pallium inherited from Athanasius, as if it were the disciple’s gesture towards his master157. A reminiscence of the Book of Daniel may be identified in the episode of two lions helping Antony dig a grave for Paul’s body158. The Paul’s solitary abode in the pretty environment of the desert, surrounded by wild and strange beasts and refreshed by the shadow of a palm-tree, is not only a traditional locus amoenus but could also allude to the first man Adam sitting under the tree of life. Paul’s cave is a model of the celestial paradise, referred to by Antony when, speaking about the hermit Paul, he evokes the Apostle Paul’s spiritual rapture into

153 V. Hilar. XIV,7: huiusque rei proponebat exemplum, quod, antequam beatum Iob temptare permitteretur, omnem substantiam eius interfecerit, referring to Iob 1,9-19. 154 V. Hilar. XXIX,5, referring to Mt 17,20 and Mc 11,22. 155 V. Pauli 10, cf. 1 Rg 17,4 and 6. 156 V. Anton. 91,8; V. Pauli 12. 157 V. Pauli 16. See A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 1, p. 172. The strange fact how Antony could have left the same pallium he had received from Athanasius both to the bishop of Alexandria and to Paul the Hermit can be once more explained by Jerome’s rivalry with Athanasius’ version (M. FUHRMANN, art. cit., p. 76). 158 V. Pauli 16, cf. Dn 6,17-24. Nevertheless, the lions of the Book of Daniel are predators and they do not accomplish a human work as in the Life of Paul. This is the first example of the wild beasts’ collaboration with human in Christian literature, see A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 1, p. 176, and R. WISNIEWSKI, art. cit., p. 124.

120 paradise159. The Apostle Paul’s model is extremely underlying in Paul’s words addressed to Antony, constructed from the phrases of the Pauline letters160. The scriptural allusions are less detectable in the Life of Malchus. It may be explained by the fact that the story is closer to the genre of romance, while Malchus has some features of a love-hero161. The Life of Hilarion, on the contrary, abounds in scriptural allusions. Apart from some fantastic episodes, Hilarion’s miracles and healings are based on evangelical prototypes. Hilarion’s miracles in Palestine during the first stage of his monastic experience form an important group of ten homogeneous episodes162. Their sequence is started by four healings followed by several exorcisms, all in the tradition of the New Testament163. Like his later miracles performed during his journeys in foreign regions, these evoke the New Testament atmosphere through the character of the events as well as through the vocabulary employed164. Jerome does not call any of his heroes “a man of God”, homo Dei, the title applied to Antony by Athanasius in association to the great figures of the Old Testament. Jerome prefers instead the titles of servus Dei and servus Christi, which he reserves for three persons in his Lives, Antony, Paul and Hilarion, Malchus being excluded165. Although servus and famulus Domini occur also in the Old Testament, the fact that in the Life of

159 V. Pauli 13, referring to 2 Cor 12,4, already analised above. See A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 1, p. 173. 160 Paul says that he wants to be with Christ, and a crown of righteousness remains to him (V. Pauli 11, cf. Phil 1,23 and 2 Tim 4,8); he tells Antony not to seek his own, but another man’s good, and that it would be expedient for the rest of the brethren to be trained by Antony’s example (V. Pauli 12, cf. Phil 2,4; 1 Cor 10,24.33 and Phil 1,24-26). References indicated by A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 1, p. 170-171. 161 M. FUHRMANN, art. cit., p. 58-68. 162 For the role of miracles in the Life of Hilarion see CH. MOHRMANN, art. cit., p. XLV-LI. From the rhetorical point of view, the Palestinian miracles related in V. Hilar. VII-XIV form a hagiographic argumentatio, the purpose of which is to confirm the holiness of the protagonist by exhibiting his supernatural power and God’s unusual protection, see P. NEHRING, art. cit., p. 427-429. 163 Four healings in V. Hilar. VII-IX, two exorcisms in V. Hilar. X. 164 For instance, the miracle of healing a blind woman (V. Hilar. IX,1-3), already mentioned above, could find its prototype in the episode of Mc 8,22-26, except that the character in the Gospel is male. To make the biblical background even stronger, Jerome mingles different scriptural allusions (V. Hilar. IX,1: omnem se substantiam expendisse ait in medicos, cf. Lc 8,43; V. Hilar. IX,1: mulier oblata, cf. Mt 4,24; 9,2) and quotations (V. Hilar. IX,3: exspuit in oculos eius, cf. Mc 8,23). 165 Antony calls Paul a servant of God, servus Dei, twice in V. Pauli 7 (once not directly: credo in Deum meum quod servum suum [...] ostendet); Paul addresses Antony by calling him his fellow-servant of God (V. Pauli 11: olim conservum meum mihi promiserat Deus). Hilarion’s ascetic practices are called the service of the Lord, servitus Domini in V. Hilar. V,5. Starting with V. Hilar. VIII, Hilarion is called servus Christi five times, servus Dei four times, and once famulus Dei.

121 Hilarion Jerome tends to associate servus with the figure of Jesus166 may suggest that it has the Christological tinge, especially bearing in mind the Christological background of Hilarion’s deeds.

2.2. Succession of the human example Jerome himself claims that his aim of writing the Life of Paul is to elucidate some points of the life of the hermit who was “the leader in the movement, though not the first to bear the name”167. He thus claims to Paul, and not to Antony, the primacy of the solitary experience, because the common view that the latter was “originator of this mode of life” is only partly true168. There have been many attempts to reveal Jerome’s literary and rhetoric means to meet his aim, especially in drawing parallels between the Life of Antony and the Life of Paul on one hand, and between the Life of Antony and the Life of Hilarion on the other169. For our part, we would like to see how the author refers to his heroes, and how the actors of the Lives themselves interpret their relations. The first Jerome’s words relating to Antony argue that “the fact is not so much that he preceded the rest as that they all derived from him the necessary stimulus”170. The following phrase confirms the statement about Antony’s mastership, for it mentions two of Antony’s disciples, one of whom “laid his master’s (magistri) body in the grave”171. Paul sees in Antony example (exemplum) for the rest of the brethren172. In the text

166 See the previous note. 167 V. Pauli 1: principem istius rei fuisse, non nominis. 168 V. Pauli 1 : alii autem in quam opinionem vulgus omne consentit asserunt Antonium huius propositi caput, quod ex parte verum est. 169 According to M. FUHRMANN, the Life of Hilarion eo ipso, i. e. by choosing the same genre, is an attempt to rival the Life of Antony (art. cit., p. 51). P. LECLERC claims that Jerome’s aim was to give a paragon of the perfect solitary life in a different way than Athanasius had done. The Life of Paul would appeal to the intelectual and literary taste of the Roman audience, while Paul would outrival Antony both in time and in perfection, P. LECLERC, Antoine et Paul: métamorphose d’un héros, Jérôme entre l’Occident et l’Orient. XVIe centenaire du départ de saint Jérôme de Rome et de son installation à Bethléem, Actes du colloque de Chantilly (septembre 1986), publiés par YVES-MARIE DUVAL, Paris, 1988, p. 257-265. See also the analysis of the implicit and explicit parallels between the Lives of Antony and Hilarion in M. FUHRMANN, art. cit., p. 51-54; between the Lives of Antony and Paul ibid., p. 74-77, and A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 1, p. 159-184. 170 V. Pauli 1: non enim tam ipse ante omnes fuit quam ab eo omnium incitata sunt studia. 171 V. Pauli 1. The names of the disciples are Amathas and Macarius. 172 V. Pauli 12: sed et caeteris expedit fratribus, ut tuo adhuc instituantur exemplo. Cf. V. Anton. 47,6, where Antony was being protected by the Lord from the martyrdom “for our profit and that of others, that he should become a teacher to many” (Evagrius’ translation: magistrum servavit Antonium, ut institutum (sicuti factum est) monachorum non solum oratione eius, sed et conspectibus firmaretur).

122 Antony is called once a “venerable old man” (senex venerabilis) and once referred to as blessed, beatus173. In the prologue of the Life of Paul Jerome seeks to determine the initiator of the solitary life. He carries out his survey by employing such terms as coepi, principium, propositi caput, and finishes it by asserting that it was a certain Paul of Thebes who was the leader of the phenomenon, princeps istius rei174. In the story of his life Paul merits the title of beatus five times (once in combination with senex), and is twice associated with the adjective sanctus, both cases referring to Paul’s body after his death175. Both of the heroes call each other servi Dei176, and Paul refers to himself and his visitor as the soldiers of Christ, milites Christi177. After Paul’s death Antony laments over his predecessor as the warrior of Christ, bellator Christi178. Like the Life of Paul is linked to the figure of Antony, so is the Life of Hilarion. Yet, in the prologue of the Life Hilarion is juxtaposed not to Antony but to Paul, most likely in order to defend the latter’s historical existance. Jerome says that his previous literary hero (Paulus meus) is being disparaged by some for his solitary life (solitudo), while Hilarion may suffer the same fate for his frequent intercourse with the world (frequentia)179. This is the first indication of Hilarion’s particularity, his fame already during his lifetime, the reasons and the consequences of which are developed further in the Life. Antony is of great significance in Hilarion’s life already from the start of his ascetic aspirations. After the grammar lessons in Alexandria, Hilarion is attracted by the famous name of Antony (celebre nomen Antonii)180 and spends two months with him in the desert, “studying the method of his life and the gravity of his conduct”181. Not enduring the crowds surrounding Antony, Hilarion decides to leave him, but takes a

173 V. Pauli 7 and 15 respectively. 174 V. Pauli 1: a quo potissimum monachorum eremus habitari coepta sit. [...] a beato Helia et Iohanne sumpsere principium. [...] Antonium huius propositi caput [...]. Paulum quemdam Thebaeum principem istius rei fuisse. 175 Beatus senex in V. Pauli 16; cadaver sancti in V. Pauli 15 and sanctum corpus in V. Pauli 16. 176 For the servus Dei, see above. 177 Paul’s words in V. Pauli 10: militibus suis Christus duplicavit annonam. 178 V. Pauli 16. 179 V. Hilar. I,6. 180 V. Hilar. II,4. 181 V. Hilar. II,5: contemplans ordinem vitae eius morumque gravitatem.

123 combatant position: Antony “is reaping the reward of victory like a hero who has proved his bravery, while he himself has not yet entered on the soldier’s career”182. Hilarion’s further steps reflect his juvenile age on one hand, and his fighting spirit on the other, not without Antony’s spiritual patronage. He enters the desert of Gaza at the age of fifteen, “stripped bare and armed with the weapons of Christ”183. The devil is defeated by a boy (puer) and a beginner in Christ’s school (tirunculus Christi)184, while the robbers marvel at the firmness and faith of a solitary boy (puer solitarius) who is eighteen years old185. He fights with demons dressed in “a cloak of skins which the blessed Antony had given him”186, and in his everyday life emulates the discipline of the Egyptian monks (aemulabatur Aegyptiorum monachorum disciplinam) 187. When Hilarion starts to act as a healer and an exorcist, he deserves the title of a blessed (beatus), saint (sanctus) and the servant of God or Christ (servus Dei, servus Christi)188. The validation of the latter title is legitimated by Antony’s authority, for Hilarion in Syria possesses the same healing powers as his teacher in Egypt189. His fame attracts people from Syria and Egypt who become Christians or convert to ascetic life. Hilarion thus becomes the originator of this mode of life and devotion in Palestine as being the younger Antony: “The Lord Jesus had in Egypt the aged Antony, in Palestine he had the youthful Hilarion”190. With the growing number of performed miracles Hilarion also acquires the respected name of “father” (pater) and “old man” (senex)191. His fame reaches the ears of the blessed Antony who would ask the sick coming to him from Syria why they take the

182 V. Hilar. II,6: illum quasi virum fortem victoriae praemia accipere, se necdum militare coepisse. 183 V. Hilar. II,7: nudus et armatus in Christo. 184 V. Hilar. III,2-3. 185 V. Hilar. VI,1-4. 186 V. Hilar. III,1: pelliceum habens ependyten, quem illi beatus Antonius proficiscenti dederat. 187 V. Hilar. III,6. 188 The first occurrence of beatus in V. Hilar. VII,1, servus Dei in V. Hilar. VIII,2, sanctus in VIII,8. 189 A woman entreats Hilarion to cure her children, V. Hilar. VIII,6: Hilarion, serve Christi, redde mihi liberos meos. quos Antonius tenuit in Aegypto, a te serventur in Syria. 190 V. Hilar. VIII,11: habebat Dominus Iesus in Aegypto senem Antonium, habebat in Palaestina Hilarionem iuniorem. The description of Hilarion’s monastic initiative (V. Hilar. VIII,9-11) is very close to the analogous experience by Antony (V. Anton. 3,2; 14,7; 15,3). 191 Pater is attributed to Hilarion only once (V. Hilar. X,3) while senex, introduced in V. Hilar. XI,6 by venerandus senex, is abundant in the rest of the Life.

124 trouble to come so far, when they have in Syria his son (filium meum) Hilarion192. As if responding to such name, Hilarion refers to Antony as a true father (talis parens) two days after his death193. After leaving Palestine, Hilarion an old man (senex) visits once more the abode of the blessed Antony (beati Antonii) where Antony’s two disciples tell him why the burial place of the body of the saint (sancti corpus) is kept in secret194. In the next passage Hilarion, “the servant of Christ, as being the blessed Antony’s successor (beati Antonii successor)”195, is entreated by the people of Aphroditon to give them rain. This is the last reference to Antony in the Life of Hilarion, as if Hilarion would have received the last confirmation of Antony’s acknowledgement for his activity. Although Hilarion is presented as a founder of numerous monasteries in Palestine, the Life mentions only two names of his disciples196. One of them, the ill-starred (infelix) Hadrianus is given as an example of a bad monk who despises his master197. The other, Hesychius, is a worth disciple and therefore can twice merit the name of the “holy man“, sanctus vir198. To conclude, in the two Lives of the saints, the Life of Paul and the Life of Hilarion, Jerome traces the relations between the first eminent Christian monks. The blessed Paul, the worrier of Christ, is initiator (princeps) of the solitary life in Egypt. Nevertheless, it is his younger fellow-solitary Antony who is a master (magister) and father (parens) of this mode of living. He has many disciples, one of whom is Hilarion from Palestine. The latter, like his predecessors, merits to be called the servant of Christ, servus Christi, and to be a master himself to his disciple Hesychius. In this sequence of the monastic experience Antony plays a role of a linking person: he lets Hilarion transfer

192 V. Hilar. XV,2. 193 V. Hilar. XIX,6. 194 V. Hilar. XXI. Antony’s disciples Isaac and Pelusianus are discipuli and monachi; Isaac was also Antony’s interpretor (V. Hil. XX,13). 195 V. Hilar. XXII,3: pluvias a servo Christi, id est, a beati Antonii successore, deprecabantur. 196 Indeed, Hilarion is called a master, magister, only in association with these two persons (V. Hilar. XXIV,2 and XXVIII,1). 197 V. Hilar. XXIV. 198 V. Hilar. XXVIII,1 and XXXII,6.

125 the Egyptian experience and mode to Palestine, and to prolong the mastership- discipleship relation199. From this point of view, the Life of Malchus is different. Malchus is not a spiritual leader and teacher. By guarding his chastity he rather calls himself the witness of Christ (testis Christi), and by committing suicide in despaire to lose it he would like to become the persecutor and the martyr (persecutor et martyr)200. This experience proves that he is a man devoted to Christ (homo Christo deditus)201. Together with his spiritual wife, in their old days they enjoy the status of the “holy and well pleasing to God“ people (sancti et Deo placiti)202.

2.3. Conclusion Jerome was a Westerner, a typical and conscious representative of the Latin Christianity. He reckoned Greeks as his teachers, but all his friends and his audience were Latin203. With his three Lives of Eastern solitaries he inaugurated a new genre in Latin literature, and introduced to his Western readers the three Eastern regions boasting the beginnings of the solitary movement: Egypt, Syria and Palestine. The protagonists of the Lives are presented as heroes of monastic withdrawal (Paul), ascetic life (Hilarion) and chastity (Malchus). All three protagonists are explicitly or implicitely linked to scriptural figures, of both the Old and the New Testaments. If Elijah and Paul the apostle were already taken as models by Antony, Jerome adds the figure of John the Baptist to the pair. The Life of Paul is imprinted with echos from the Pauline epistles, while the Life of Hilarion is built on the allusions to the Gospels. In the Life of Paul we notice a certain peculiarity: when Jerome alludes to the same scriptural figures as Athanasius has done in the Life of Antony, instead of creating a certain chronological sequence between these two solitaries he overshadows the role of Antony by transferring to his hero Paul the right to claim from the biblical authority.

199 A. DE VOGÜÉ notes that Hilarion is as innovator as well as he is imitator, while both Lives are centred on the figure of Antony (Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 2, p. 229-235). 200 V. Mal. 6. 201 V. Mal. 10. 202 V. Mal. 2. 203 H. VON CAMPENHAUSEN, Les Pères Latins (original title Lateinische Kirchenväter), Paris, 1967, p. 212.

126 On the other hand Antony plays a role of a linking person in the sequence of monastic experience, for he lets Hilarion transfer the Egyptian experience and mode to Palestine and to prolong the mastership-discipleship relation. Antony especially merits the venerable titles of parens and magister. He is once recommended as exemplum to his brethren by Paul the Hermit. Antony’s abode is the first ascetic school of Hilarion, who starts his own solitary experience as puer solitarius and tirunculus Christi. However, his spiritual growth and fame connected to it soon merit him the titles of beatus, sanctus and servus Dei, so that finally he can also become senex and magister of his disciples. The Life of Malchus stands apart in this group. While Paul and Hilarion seek a solitary life, the figure of Malchus reflects Jerome’s cenobitic aspirations. The scriptural examples in his life do not represent absolute models but rather refer to the certain stages of his life and spiritual development. Moreover, Malchus is not a servus Dei like Antony, Paul and Hilarion, nor is he ranked among those having spiritual authority and followed by disciples.

3. Eastern monks in the works of Rufinus

With Rufinus of Aquileia, a close friend of Jerome since their boyhood up to 393 when the blazing quarrel arroung Origen’s theology separated them204, we arrive to another type of the Latin monastic literature which represents both the genre of history and that of pilgrimage stories, although in fact is closer to hagiography205. Leaving apart Rufinus’ other translations of ascetic works because of their purely spiritual content206, we will take a look at more narrative texts, the two books that he added to his translation of Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, and his Latin version of the Historia Monachorum in Aegypto207.

204 See J. N. D. KELLY, op. cit., p. 195-209. 205 On the life and works of Rufinus, see F. THELAMON, Art. Rufin d’Aquilée, DSp 12, col. 1107-1117. F. THELAMON has noted that in describing the monks of Egypt in the Ecclesiastical History Rufinus followed the criteria that were more hagiographic than historical (Païens et chrétiens au IVe siècle. L’apport de l’« Histoire ecclésiastique» de Rufin d’Aquilée, Paris, 1981, p. 25); this is still more pertinent to the Historia Monachorum. 206 These include the Rule of Basil translated in 397, and the sentences of Evagrius Ponticus translated in 403-404. For the dates of the Rufinus’ works, see C. P. HAMMOND BAMMEL, The Last Ten Years of Rufinus’ Life and the Date of his Move South from Aquileia, JThS 28, 1977, p. 372-429. 207 We will quote the Latin version of the Ecclesiastical History after E. SCHWARTZ UND T. MOMMSEN, Eusebius Werke 2.1. Die Kirchengeschichte (GCS 9,1-2), Leipzig, 1908, and the Historia Monachorum

127 3.1. Ecclesiastical History Rufinus translated the Ecclesiastical History around 402 under the request of Chromatius of Aquilea who, seeing his city under the threat of Goths, thought it could boost the spirits of his flock. Rufinus added two more books (books 10 and 11) to the work of Eusebius where he treated the Church history in the fourth century (325-395). His aim was to show the triumph of the Church and the astonishing virtues of the monks. Of these, in the first of the added books only Antony is mentioned, while in the second seven chapters are dedicated to the monastic movement in Egypt and Cappadocia208. In the tenth book Antony is referred to as a monk whose intercession emperor Constantius had asked as if Antony were “one of the prophets” (velut ad unum ex profetis). Rufinus calls Antony “the first habitant of the desert” (primus heremi habitator) who lived in the desert in the company of beasts, triumphed over demons, and had left hitherto illustrious examples (praeclara exempla) to the monks209. In the eleventh book the monks appear in the context of the persecutions against the catholics by Lucius, the arian successor of Athanasius in the see of Alexandria. Of the three thousand monks of the desert210 Rufinus names five: two Macarii, Isidore, Heraclides and Pambo. They are “the fathers of the monks” (patres monachorum) and disciples of Antony (discipuli Antonii) who share the life of angels in the desert of Nitria211. To the brutal campaign of Lucius Rufinus opposes the victorious “Lord’s army”

from E. SCHULZ-FLÜGEL, Tyrannius Rufinus. Historia Monachorum sive de vita sanctorum patrum (PTS 34), Berlin, New York, 1990. 208 Antony in Hist. Eccl. 10,8, and the rest in 11,3-9. This quantitative change would reflect the progress in the monastic movement, A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l’antiquité, t. 3: Jérôme, Augustin et Rufin au tournant du siècle (391-405), Paris, 1996, p. 303-304. 209 Hist. Eccl. 10,8: [Constantinus] ad Antonium quoque primum heremi habitatorem velut ad unum ex profetis litteras suppliciter mittit [...]. sane quoniam tanti viri Antonii fecimus mentionem, de virtutibus eius atque institutis et sobrietate mentis, ut in solitudine vitam degens usus solummodo consortio fuerit bestiarum et de daemonibus crebros agens triumphos placuerit Deo supra cunctos mortales utque institutionis suae praeclara usque in hodiernum monachis exempla reliquerit. Rufinus does not dilate upon Antony because of the already exising Latin translation of his Life by Athanasius: volentem me aliqua exponere ille libellus exclusit, qui ab Athanasio scriptus etiam Latino sermone editus est (ibid.) 210 Hist. Eccl. 11,3: tria milia simul aut eo amplius viros per totam heremum secreta et solitaria habitatione dispersos oppugnare pariter adgreditur. 211 Hist. Eccl. 11,4: patres monachorum vitae et antiquitatis merito Macarius et Isidorus aliusque Macarius atque Heraclides et Pambo Antonii discipuli per Aegyptum et maxime in Nitriae deserti partibus habebantur viri qui consortium vitae et actuum non cum ceteris mortalibus, sed cum supernis angelis habere credebantur.

128 (exercitus Domini) armed with faith212. There follow four healings, two performed by the solitaries mentioned above on the occasion of the persecution, and the other two by one Macarius some time earlier213. These miracles remind of certain biblical events: when the five solitaries heal a paralytic, they evoke the Apostles Peter and Paul214; when they provoke demonic cries of a possessed daughter of the pagan priest and later heal her, one remembers the deeds of Paul and Jesus215. While Antony was called a prophet in the previous book, these are named “the servants of the greatest God” (servi Dei summi) by the possessed girl, and the “apostles of our times” (apostoli nostri temporis) by the narrator216. Macarius performs two miracles of the healing of blind, once of a man, imitating again the deed of Jesus217, the second time of the younglings of hyena. The second healing may evoke on one hand the first man’s harmony with the nature before the fall, and on the other, Jesus accompanied by beasts and angels in the desert218. Before the second list of the Egyptian hermits Rufinus tells a story of the solitary Moses famous for his merits, virtues and signs (meritis et virtutibus ac signis), who has been asked by the queen of Saracens to be ordained bishop for her people219, and of the visit of “the blessed Antony” (beatus Antonius) to Didyme the Blind in Alexandria220. To “the men educated in Christian philosophy”, represented by Didyme, Rufinus juxtaposes the monks of “simple life and pure heart” who performed “the apostolic signs and prodigies” (apostolica signa et prodigia). Among these Rufinus names twelve monks he himself has known, four of whom had already been mentioned in the previous list. Their living places include the deserts of Scete, Cellia, Nitria, and Pispir, “the mount of

212 Ibid.: hi ducebant exercitum Domini non mortalibus telis, sed fide religionis armatum, exercitum moriendo vincentem et qui sanguinis sui profusione victor Christum sequeretur ad caelum. 213 See the analysis of the miracles by F. THELAMON, Païens et chrétiens, cit., p. 378-402, where she notes that the miracles not only prove the holiness of the monks, but also their orthodoxy in the face of persecution which links them to the martyrs (p. 378). 214 Ibid., cf. Act 3,6-8; Iac 5,14-15. 215 Ibid., cf. Mc 1,23-24; Mt 8,29; Act 16,17; Lc 8,35. 216 Ibid. 217 Ibid., cf. Io 9,6-7. F. THELAMON has pointed to the faith of the blind which corresponds to the Evangelic spirit. She has also indicated not only biblical but also pagan Egyptian parallels of the miracle (Païens et chrétiens, cit., p. 381-386). 218 Ibid., cf. Mc 1,13. 219 Hist. Eccl. 11,6. 220 Hist. Eccl. 11,7.

129 Antony”221. Rufinus also mentions “the noble men” of Mesopotamia, some of whom he has seen himself, but does not develop further222. One solitary of the Thebais is twice mentioned towards the end of the History. This is John of Lycopolis, famous for his prophetic spirit (prophetico spiritu), who had been consulted by the emperor Theodosius223. Completely different is the image Rufinus gives of the Cappadocian monasticism represented by Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus. While Egyptian monks were simple men performing apostolic miracles, these two are characterized by their secular culture224 and the later acquired scriptural knowledge225. However, the monastic experience of the two friends is different226. Basil is an active person who by his preaching has roused the spirit of the population to join into communities (in unum coire), build monasteries, sing psalms and pray, and take care of the poor. He also taught the virgins and others to lead chaste life227. The effect was immediate, and the arid fields became fertile in crop and vines of the people who joined his community228. Gregory, on the contrary, has a contemplative character who prefers to work his own soil, and who teaches by his own example (sui exemplo) and the words of the apostles (sermone apostolico)229.

221 Hist. Eccl. 11,8: florebat igitur Aegyptus ea tempestate non solum eruditis in Christiana filosofia viris, verum etiam his, qui per vastam heremum conmanentes signa et prodigia apostolica simplicitate vitae et cordis sinceritate faciebant. ex quibus interim quos ipsi vidimus et quorum benedici manibus meruimus, hi sunt: Macarius de superiori heremo aliusque Macarius de inferiore, Isidorus in Scytiis, Pambo in Cellulis, Moyses et Beniamin in Nitria, Scyrion et Helias et Paulus in Apeliote, alius Paulus in Focis, Poemen et Ioseph in Pispiri, qui appellabatur mons Antonii. 222 Ibid.: habuit autem per idem tempus etiam Mesopotamia viros nobiles eisdem studiis pollentes. quorum aliquantos ipsi per nos apud Edessam et in Carrarum partibus vidimus, plures autem auditione didicimus. 223 Hist. Eccl. 11,19.32. 224 Hist. Eccl. 11,9: ambo nobiles, ambo Athenis eruditi, ambo collegae, ambo de auditorio digressi ad profitendam rhetoricam rogabantur. 225 Ibid.: annos, ut aiunt, tredecim omnibus Graecorum saecularium libris remotis solis divinae scripturae voluminibus operam dabant. 226 Ibid.: alius alio itinere ad idem tamen opus uterque traheretur. 227 Ibid.: Basilius Ponti urbes et rura circumiens desides gentis illius animos et parum de spe futura sollicitos stimulare verbis et praedicatione succendere [...]. in unum coire, monasteria construere, psalmis et hymnis et orationibus docuit vacare, pauperum curam gerere eisque habitacula honesta et quae ad victum necessaria sunt praebere, virgines instituere, pudicam castamque vitam omnibus paene desiderabilem facere. In these few lines Rufinus has touched the main points of the Basilian monasticism, F. THELAMON, Modèles de monachisme oriental selon Rufin d’Aquilée, Aquileia e l’oriente mediterraneo (AAAd 12), 1977, p. 323-352, see p. 335-339. 228 Ibid.: ita brevi permutata est totius provinciae facies, ut in arido et squalenti campo videretur seges fecunda ac laeta vinea (cf. Ps 103,15) surrexisse. 229 Ibid.: bonam terram cordis sui iugi cultu et exercitiis indesinentibus excolebat et multo amplius hic in semet ipso quam ille in ceteris proficiebat. [...] hic sui exemplo quod erat absolutus et liber, cunctis

130 Hence, in the Ecclestiastical History Rufinus presents two sorts of monasticism practiced in two different parts of the Eastern Christian world. In Egypt the holiness of the hermits, the disciples of the great Antony, becomes apparent through their miracles which evoke those of the prophets and the apostles230. In Cappadocia, two friends, Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus, are eminent for their intellectual achievements. This may be the reason why they are not depicted as successors of certain scriptural figures which normally by Rufinus are associated to thaumaturges of Egypt. However, Basil and Gregory are different: the first is proclaimed the author of the monastic life in community, i. e. the cenobitic living231, characterized by love of neighbour and chastity, while the second prefers the contemplative life in solitude. These two rather different forms of Eastern monasticism, the solitary life of Egypt, and the cenobitic communities created by Basil, were propagated in the West by other works of Rufinus. For the practical living, he proposed the Rule of Basil, translated for the use of the monastery of Ursacius in Pinetum in Italy, while the Historia Monachorum continued to excite the faith by the example of picturesque and marvellous232.

3.2. Historia Monachorum in Aegypto The Historia Monachorum in Aegypto was composed in 403-404, on the basis of the anonymous Greek text233. The story relates the visit of seven monks of the monastery

sermone apostolico praedicabat, follows quotation of 1 Cor 7,32. A. DE VOGÜÉ has shown that by seven antitheses pointing to contrasting traits of the two Cappadocians at the end of the chapter, Rufinus tended to exalt the solitary life looking for inner wisdom as that practiced by Gregory of Nazianzus, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 309-310. 230 In fact, this miraculous grace is God’s response to the evil ravaging Egypt according to the saying of Paul, see Eccl. Hist. 11,8: et alios quam plures huiusmodi viros in Aegypti partibus habitare fideli conperimus auditu, ut vere conpleretur apostoli dictum, quia “ubi abundavit peccatum, superabundavit gratia” (Rm 5,20). 231 Rufinus has made Basil the founder of the cenobitic way without any mentioning of Pachomian communities. On the other hand he does not say anything no more on the monasticism in Palestine where he himself had founded a monastery, nor of the Latin communities, A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 311 and 315. 232 However, the Basilian asceticism was much closer to the spirit of Westerns than the thaumaturges of Egypt, see A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 315-316. 233 The authorship of the Historia Monachorum has been contested for many years. Now it is accepted that Rufinus has worked his text on the basis of the Latin translation of the anonymous Greek text, the latter compiled of different sources. It is interesting to note that in the Latin manuscript tradition the text was never attributed to Rufinus, but often to Jerome. The title was also different: recorded versions include Vitae patrum, in combination with sanctorum, eremitarum or Aegypti monachorum, see E. SCHULZ-

131 of Jerusalem to the monks of Egypt in 394-395. The travellers would have visited or heard the stories about thirty five fathers, all men234, some of them directing thousands of other monks, in the Thebaid, the deserts of Nitria, Cellia and Scete, and Diolcos235. We notice here the same wish to depict the miraculous and to exalt the example of Egyptian monks as in the Ecclesiastical History, only now the tendency is still stronger236. The purpose of the work How does Rufinus himself present the purpose of the work he is going to publish? Already from the first lines he introduces the tinge of the miraculous: it is the “great wonders (mirabilia magna)” that God has shown him in Egypt for the benefit of posterity237. While the brothers of Jerusalem have asked him to write about “the life of the monks of Egypt, their spiritual strengths, devout practices and heroic abstinence”, he himself has thought that the story might be useful for the “future education (aedificationem futuram)” of those who will read it, and “enflamed by the examples of the deeds (gestorum unusquisque inflammatus exemplis)” would despise the world and seek “quietness and religious practice”238. The further lines of the prologue exalt the celestial life (caelestis vita) of those who still dwell on earth. Being as prophets whose signs and wonders (signa ac prodigia) bear witness to their works, they have acquired the power of the heavenly (caelestium

FLÜGEL, Praefatio, op. cit., p. 32-48. The question of the dependance of the Latin text on the Greek one was solved by A. J. FESTUGIÈRE, Le problème littéraire de l’Historia Monachorum, Hermes 83, 1955, p. 257- 284. 234 Two of them are mentioned only by names, Ammon (Hist. Mon. III,1) and Isidore (Hist. Mon. XVII,1). 235 On the details of the journey, see A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 318-323. Longer passages are dedicated to Nitria, “the most famous among all the monasteries of Egypt” (Hist. Mon. XXI,1,1-1,6), Cellia (Hist. Mon. XXII,2,1-2,6) and Scete (Hist. Mon. XXIX,2,1-3). In fact, this is the first description of the Cellia in the Latin literature (A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 376). 236 The bare number of the miracles reaches over one hundred, while in the Life of Antony there were only twenty five of them, A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 327. 237 Hist. Mon. prol. 1: benedictus Deus [...] qui etiam nostrum iter direxit ad Aegyptum et ostendit nobis mirabilia magna ad posteritatis memoriam profutura. 238 Hist. Mon. prol. 2: quoniam fratrum caritas eorum, qui in monte sancto Oliveti commanent, hoc a nobis frequenter exposcit, ut Aegyptiorum monachorum vitam virtutesque animi et cultum pietatis atque abstinentiae robur, quod in eis coram vidimus, explicemus [...] ex narratione rerum aedificationem futuram legentibus sperans, dum gestorum unusquisque inflammatus exemplis horrescere quidem saeculi inlecebras, sectari vero quietem et pietatis invitatur exercitia. The last phrase of the prologue shows once again the same intention of the author, Hist. Mon. prol. 12: ut et hi qui non viderunt eos in corpore opera eorum discentes vitamque perfectam lectionis indicio colligentes ad aemulationem sancti operis invitentur et perfectae patientiae palmam requirant.

132 potestatem)239. However, these “great and powerful signs which the apostles and prophets did of old (a profetis et apostolis antiquitus gesta fuerant)”, and “the merits which maintain the stability of the world” were possible only because of their faith. The latter was so great that it could move the mountains240, the fact proved at once by three miracles. As in the Ecclesiastical History, Rufinus refers to the monks of Egypt as the celestial army (caelestis exercitus) who protected by the weapons of prayer and the shield of faith winn the kingdom of heaven241. They are the soldiers of the emperor Christ, who is also their father and the lord of his faithful servants242. Of their way of life, Rufinus mentions their separate cells which do not however prevent them to stay united in charity, while the peaceful silence reigns among them243. In the longer or shorter passages of the Historia monachorum we recognize the motifs we have seen in the prologue. Without going into a detailed analysis of each of the figures, the task that would exceed the scope of our work244, we will further try to trace the features that characterise Rufinus’ monk.

239 Hist. Mon. prol. 5: vidimus enim apud eos multos patres caelestem vitam in terra positos agentes et novos quosdam profetas tam virtutibus animi quam vaticinandi officio suscitatos (cf. Dt 18,18), quibus ad testimonium meritorum nec signorum quidem ac prodigiorum deerat efficacia, et merito. cur enim hi, qui nihil terrenum, nihil carnale cupiunt, non accipiant caelestium potestatem? 240 Hist. Mon. prol. 9: tanta namque in eis fides est, quae etiam montibus ut transferantur valeat imperare (cf. Mt 17,19; Mc 11,23). [...] plurima atque innumera signa, quae a profetis et apostolis antiquitus gesta fuerant, consummarunt, ut dubitari non debeat ipsorum meritis adhuc stare mundum. 241 Hist. Mon. prol. 11: velut quidam caelestis exercitus in procinctu positus atque in tabernaculis degens ad oboedientiam praeceptorum regis semper intentus armis orationum pugnans et scuto fidei (cf. Eph 6,16) ab inimico insidiante protectu regnum sibi caeleste conquirit. 242 Hist. Mon. prol. 8: velut boni patris Christi expectant adventum aut tamquam miles paratus in castris imperatoris praesentiam vel ut fideles servi adventantem dominum sustinent libertatem sibi pariter et munera largiturum. 243 Hist. Mon. prol. 7: commanent ergo per eremum dispersi et separati cellulis, sed caritate connexi. ob hoc autem dirimuntur habitaculis, ut silentii sui quietem et intentionem mentis divina sectantis nec vox aliqua nec occursus ullus aut sermo aliquis otiosus obturbet. The silence and the bond of brotherly love are once again mentioned in Hist. Mon. prol. 11: sunt ergo ornati moribus quieti lenes tranquilli et caritatis vinculis velut quadam germanitate constricti. Keeping silence is one of the main features of the monks of Egypt, both of those living in coenobia (cf. Hist. Mon. III,2) and of the solitaries (cf. Hist. Mon. IV,2: erat vita eius in summo silentio; on Cellia, Hist. Mon. XXII,2,3: silentium ingens et quies magna). Caritas is the outstanding feature of the monks living in Nitria, Cellia and Scete (Hist. Mon. XXI,1,2; XXII,2,5; XXIX,2,3). On the notion of silence, see A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 324 and 369. 244 The in-depth analysis has been made by A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 317-385.

133 The examples for imitation First of all, the monk Rufinus presents to his readers is constantly referred to as being an example (exemplum) to be imitated. The first figure of John of Lycopolis, who is evidently also the most important because occupies almost one fourth of the work, is presented as “a foundation stone” of the work being “an example of everything that is good” (exemplum omnium bonorum)245. The habitants of the desert of Cellia are so distinctive in their charity that are held in admiration and an example for all246. When Apollonius demands God to let him die in order to be in his presence, God wants him to still stay on earth so that his life may awake more imitators (aemulatores) of his way of life247. Three abbots, Syrus, Isaias and Paul ask Anuf, who is going to die in three days, to relate his deeds as an example for posterity (ad imitationem posteris) 248. The Father Mutius has himself encouraged people to follow his example of abstinence (exemplum abstinentiae)249, while Paul the Simple is an example of perfect obedience superior even to his master Antony250. The background of scriptural figures The virtues and faith of the monks are proved by different graces that the Lord has bestowed upon them. These graces may be both ascetic, like abstinence251, and spiritual, like charity, humility or spiritual knowledge252. However, most of the stories refer to the miraculous powers (signa, virtutes, gratia) of the monks253 which in fact

245 Hist. Mon. I,1,1: primum igitur tamquam vere fundamentum nostri operis ad exemplum bonorum omnium sumamus Iohanem. 246 Hist. Mon. XXII,2,6: caritas in eis tanta est et tanto inter semetipsos et erga omnes fratres constringuntur affectu, ut in admiratione et exemplo sint omnibus. 247 Hist. Mon. VII,4,7: responsum est ei a Domino salvatore parum adhuc temporis ei in terris deberi, donec vitae et conversationis eius plurimi aemulatores existant. 248 Hist. Mon. X,8,9: abscesurus enim de hoc mundo ad imitationem posteris gestorum tuorum memoriam derelinques. 249 Hist. Mon. IX,3,1: exemplo abstinentiae suae quam plurimos ad imitationem sui invitavit. 250 Hist. Mon. XXXI,16: Paulus exemplo nobis est, qui oboedientiae et simplicitatis merito in tantum spiritalium gratiarum culmen ascendit, ut multo plures et potentiores virtutes per ipsum Deus quam per sanctum Antonium fecit. 251 Almost each of the monks mentioned by Rufinus is characterised by the virtue of abstinence, abstinentia. 252 E. g., the venerabilis pater Ammonius had the fulness of spiritual gifts (Hist. Mon. XXIII,3,1: in quem Dominus omnem plenitudinem spiritalium contulerat gratiarum); he was distinctive for his caritas, humilitas, patientia, mansuetudo, benignitas, sapientia and scientia (Hist. Mon. XXIII,3,2-3). 253 The list of the possible graces occurs in the passage on the monks of Oxyrynchus, Hist. Mon. V,10: vidimus quoque ibi plurimos sanctorum patrum diversas Dei gratias habentes, alios in verbo Dei, alios in

134 signify their virtuous souls254. For example, John of Lycopolis is known for the grace of prophecy255, Piammon had a gift of seeing256, Theon is held to be a prophet because of his many marvellous deeds (multas virtutes), most of them healings257, while the priest Copres not only healed the sick but also drove out demons258. These graces that the monks are endowed with prove that the desert fathers are the saints who through their ascetic life have managed to reach the virtues of the prophets and the apostles259. These may be referred to either explicitly or implicitely. For example, the works of Apollonius are referred to in the same words that the Apostle Peter has applied to the deeds of Jesus260. Because of the performed healings the same father is also held by people to be like a prophet or an apostle261, while together with his disciples he forms a community according to the example of apostles (secundum apostolorum exemplum)262. Even the devil reproaches to Apollonius to equate himself to Elijah or other prophets or apostles after several miracles of the multiplication of bread and oil263. The great solitary Elijah who is a hundred and ten years old is equated to his namesake of the Old Testament whose spirit was said to rest upon him264.

abstinentia, alios in signis et virtutibus ministrantes. Apollonius had both the grace of the word and the grace of works, but the latter was bigger, Hist. Mon. VII,4,5. 254 This is explicitely said about the monks living in Isidore’s monastery Hist. Mon. XVII,6: animi virtutibus pollentes, ut omnes signa faciant. 255 Hist. Mon. I,6: evidentem namque ei Dominus profetiae gratiam contulit. 256 Hist. Mon. XXXII,2: habentem etiam revelationum gratiam. 257 Hist. Mon. VI,1-2: tam multas virtutes faciebat, ut profeta apud illos haberetur. conveniebat namque ad eum per dies singulos infirmorum plurima multitudo [...] eos sanos ab omni aegritudine remittebat. 258 Hist. Mon. IX,1,1: ipse multas virtutes faciens, languores curans et efficiens sanitates, sed et daemones fugans et multa mirabilia faciens. 259 On the role of the mirabilia, see F. THÉLAMON, Modèles de monachisme oriental, cit., p. 331-332 and 339-340. 260 Hist. Mon. VII,1,4: opera enim magna erant ei et “virtutes multas signaque plurima et prodigia faciebat per eum Deus” (Act 2,22). Jesus is also in the background when Apollonius is said to be “in the power of the Spirit” (Hist. Mon. VII,2,7: in virtute spiritus degens, cf. Lc 4,14), and when Rufinus refers to the visit of the Holy Family to Hermapolis, close to which Apollonius was living (Hist. Mon. VII,1,1, quoting Is 19,1, see A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 353-354). 261 Hist. Mon. VII,7-8: signa et sanitates miras efficiens. [...] in admiratione omnium quasi profeta aliquis aut apostolus haberi coepisset. After a miracle in front of pagans, these call him propheta Dei (Hist. Mon. VII,9,4). 262 Hist. Mon. VII,3,4: erant in uno positi secundum apostolorum exemplum “habentes animam et cor unum” (Act 4,32). 263 Hist. Mon. VII,12,5 : quibus virtutibus motus diabolus dixissse ad eum fertur: numquid Helias es tu aut aliquis alius profetarum vel apostolorum, quod haec facere ausus es? 264 Hist. Mon. XII,1: centum fere iam et decem, ut dicebatur, annorum, super quem dicebant, quia vere spiritus Heliae requievisset.

135 However, the desert fathers try to avoid fame and glory, thus both teaching people not to chase after miracles and proving their virtue of humility265. John of Lycopolis says that he has interceded for the wife of a certain military tribune not as “a righteous person or a prophet”, but because of her faith266. On the other occasion he wonders why the monks of Jerusalem have come from afar to visit him while he has nothing that could not be found for examples of life (exempla vitae) in the prophets and apostles267. While many of the deeds and signs performed by Egyptians are inspired by the events of the Holy History, scriptural figures as examples of certain virtues are remembered quite rarely. This may be due to the fact that Rufinus mostly describes the deeds of the monks, and less their teaching, which usually is the main occasion to evoke the virtues of biblical characters. Yet we find some occurrences. The words of the psalmist illustrate John of Lycopolis’ exhortation to seek isolated dwelling and a solitary way of life268. When Apollonius gives the precept of hospitality, he fortifies it by the examples of Abraham and Lot269. The same monk gives the passion of the Lord as an example of patience270. Christ is also the model of ultimate obedience for he had denyed himself and obeyed to the will of his Father271.

265 The most illustrative example would be that of Apollonius. Realising the danger of pride, he asks God to deliver him from the spirit of boasting. This one in fact leaves him in the shape of a tiny Ethiopian, Hist. Mon. VII,2,1-3. 266 Hist. Mon. I,1,15: ego autem non quasi iustus aut profeta, ut tu putas, sed pro fide vestra intercessi vobis apud Dominum. 267 Hist. Mon. I,2,13: et tamen etiamsi esset aliquid in nobis secundum opinionem vestra, numquid tale, quale legitis in profetis dei et apostolis? qui utique ob hoc in omnibus dei ecclesiis recitantur, ut exempla vitae hominibus non de longinquis et peregrinis locis quaerantur, sed domi unusquisque apud se habeat, quod debeat imitari. 268 Hist. Mon. I,3,32-33: multum tamen prodest ad haec obtinenda secretior habitatio et conversatio solitaria [...]. ideo denique et David dicebat: “ecce elongavi fugiens et habitavi in deserto et expectabam eum, qui salvum me faceret a pusillo animo et tempestate” (Ps 54,8-9). 269 Hist. Mon. VII,15,1-3: multa etiam de hospitalitatis studio disserebat et praecipiebat adtentius, ut adventantes fratres quasi Domini suscipiamus adventum. [...] sic enim et Abraham suscepit eos, qui homines videbantur, Dominus autem in eis intellegebatur (cf. Gn 18,1-5). interdum autem etiam contra voluntatem cogerre ad corporalem requiem fratres sancti Loth exempla nos edocent, qui angelos vi conpulsos ad domus suae adduxit hospitium (cf. Gn 19,1-3). 270 Hist. Mon. VII,15,5: sed et ipsa commemoratio dominicae passionis, cum adsidue fit a monachis, plurimum utilitatis eis confert ad exemplum patientiae. 271 Hist. Mon. XXXI,14: secundum mandatum Salvatoris observandum esse, ut ante omnia unusquisque “abneget semetipsum” (Mt 16,24) sibi et renuntiet propriis voluntatibus, quia et Salvator ipse dicit: “ego veni, non ut faciam voluntatem meam, sed eius qui me misit” (Io 6,38). See also the following paragraph, Hist. Mon. XXX,15.

136 The discipleship The fame and the teaching of a famous solitary may attract numerous disciples272. The solitary becomes then “a father” (pater)273 who teaches by his example274. The disciples, like these of Apollonius, in their turn become so perfect that nearly all of them are able to perform signs (signa facere)275. Even more impressive is the case of Paul the Simple, the prototype of those who live under the direction of an elder and share his life276. He came to Antony seeking a path to salvation. Antony, seeing that he was a simple sort of man, told him that if he would live following the instructions that he would give him he would be saved277. The faithful obedience to his master’s teaching and orders makes Paul acquire such hights of virtue that the Lord shows forth a greater number of signs in him than in Antony278. He is therefore used by Antony himself as an example of perfect obedience279. However, the great monks met by Rufinus are not only teachers, they are themselves disciples of their predecessors. The presbyter Copres follows the example of the holy fathers (sanctorum patrum) who were “far more illustrious than him”. Among these “the splendid man” father Mutius, the first to teach the way of salvation in that

272 Hist. Mon. VII,4,8: convenerunt enim ex omni loco monachi fama et doctrina eius invitati et praecipue exemplis eius quam plurimi saeculo renuntiantes. 273 Apollonius becomes pater monachorum (Hist. Mon. VII,1,3). The monks of other regions come to him as to their proper father, Hist. Mon. VII,2,8: tamquam proprio patri magna munera suas singuli quique animas offerebant. Pater monachorum is a general title of the superior, like Ammon in Hist. Mon. III,1, or Serapion who is multorum monasteriorum pater (Hist. Mon. XVIII,1). Monasterium is an ambiguous term which may signify both a cell and a house of a group of monks, see A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 364, n. 367. 274 Hist. Mon. VII,2,9: ipse prius ostendebat exemplis ea, quae verbis docere cupiebat. See also Hist. Mon. VII,4,8, quoted above. 275 Hist. Mon. VII,1,6: et ipsi, qui videbantur eius esse discipuli, ita perfecti erant et magnifici, ut omnes paene possent signa facere. 276 A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 376. The story of Paul the Simple is important since this is the first larger development on obedience in the Latin monastic literature (ibid., p. 382 and n. 491). Another example of a monk asking to become disciple of a hermit is related in the passage on Helenus, Hist. Mon. XI,9,18. 277 Hist. Mon. XXXI,3: cumque adisset Antonium, ut iter ab eo salutis inquireret, ille intuens hominem simplicis naturae respondit ei ita demum posse eum salvari, si his, quae a se dicerentur, oboediret. 278 Hist. Mon. XXXI,16, see above. Obedience is hence perceived not as a possible way of salvation to a simple man but as the short road for those who endeavour perfection, A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 378. 279 Hist. Mon. XXXI,14: ex cuius exemplo beatus docebat Antonius.

137 desert280. “The most wise man wonderful in all sorts of way” Evagrius281 acquired his spiritual knowledge through having been a disciple of Macarius, and outstanding monk in virtues and signs282. Father Pothyrion had been a disciple of “the blessed Antony” and of “the holy Ammon”, but he was so abundently virtuous and powerful that he seemed to have inherited the portion of both of his teachers283. Two more disciples of Antony (ex discipulis Antonii), Cronius and Origenes, are met in the desert of Cellia284. The great Macarius, Macarius of Egypt, was also Antony’s disciple, and it is his right to inherit his master’s graces and virtues that makes him superior to his namesake Macarius of Alexandria285. Ammon, the first inhabitant of Nitria, the most inhospitable of the three deserts, may not have been one of Antony’s disciples, but Antony is nevertheless remembered in relation to his name. At the moment of Ammon’s death Antony saw his soul to be carried up to heaven286, and had in general greatly admired Ammon’s uprightness and the virtues of his soul287. In fact, Antony’s influence on the Historia monachorum reaches even further. His shadow may be traced in many of the stories. The fact that John of Lycopolis stayed away from people for fifty years and that he had the grace of prophecy find clear parallels

280 Hist. Mon. IX,1,3-4: seque ipsorum parva vix exempla sectari. dicebat ergo: nihil magni est, filioli, quod in nobis videtis ad conparationem sanctorum patrum. erat enim quidam ante nos vir nobilissimus, nomine Pater Mutius. hic fuit primus in hoc loco monachus et in omni hac eremo viam salutis omnibus nobis primus ostendit. The other multi patres who performed signa caelestia et prodigia are mentioned by Copres in Hist. Mon. IX,7,1. 281 Hist. Mon. XXVII,7,1: sapientissimum virum ac per omnia mirabilem, Evagrium nomine. 282 Hist. Mon. XXVII,7,2: cui, quamvis rebus ipsis et experimentis et, quod est super omnia, per gratiam Dei magna conlata fuerit intellegentia, accessit tamen et hoc, ut multo tempore instructus fuerit a beato Macario, quem famosissimum in Dei gratia signisque et virtutibus insignem fuisse omnibus notum est. 283 Hist. Mon. XIII,2: hic ex discipulis beati Antonii fuit et post illius obitum cum sancto habitaverat Ammone [...]. sed tanta in eo erat virtutum copia, tanta gratia sanitatum et potestas adversus daemones, ut duorum merito summorum virorum solus hereditatem consecutus duplicem videretur. 284 Hist. Mon. XXV,5,2 and XXVI,6,1. On the role of Antony, see A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 322-323. 285 Hist. Mon. XXVIII,1,1-2: in locis illis duo Macarii quasi duo caeli luminaria refulsissent (cf. Phil 2,15), ex quibus unus Aegyptius genere et discipulus beati Antonii fuit, alius Alexandrinus. [...] uterque enim Macarius uterque abstinentiae exercitiis et virtutibus animi aequaliter pollens, hoc solo alius praecellens, quod quasi hereditatem gratiarum et virtutum beati Antonii possidebat. 286 Hist. Mon. XXX,1,1: cuius animam cum exisset e corpore vidit ferri ad caelum sanctus Antonius, sicut refert scriptura illa, quae vitam describit Antonii, cf. V. Anton. 60,1-3. Note the reference to the work of Athanasius; cf. Hist. Eccl. 10,8 quoted above. 287 Hist. Mon. XXX,3,8: beatus enim Antonius in summa admiratione vitae eius iustitiam atque animi eius virtutes habuisse memoratur. This phrase follows a short reference to Ammon’s miraculous cross of the Nile related in V. Anton. 60,4-10, and completes the whole passage as if it were the final confirmation of Ammon’s great virtue.

138 in the Life of Antony288, as well as his cautionary tale about a penitent who could not be defeated by demons289. Other numerous parallels can be found in the index of the critical edition by E. Schultz-Flügel, while A. de Vogüé has indicated other possible links with the Lifes of Hilarion, Malchus and Paul by Jerome290. The monk as an angel and as a saint Albeit the desert of Rufinus is not an idyllic place and excludes any similitude to paradise291, the desert fathers have nevertheless approached angelic way of life. Their àggelikÊV b%oV, translated by vita caelestis by Rufinus292, is characterized by their way of life. It is led far from human relations but close to God, with whom there is a constant conversation293. If the solitary leads life in virtue, he is so filled with the grace of God that seems to be one of the angels294, or at least live in their company and incorporeal reality295. Apollonius even merits to participate in a direct conversation with God296, while the brothers under his direction seem to form an army of angels outstanding for the

288 John of Lycopolis closed in his cell Hist. Mon. I,1,2-5, cf. V. Anton. 12-24; for the grace of prophecy, cf. V. Anton. 82 and 86. 289 Hist. Mon. I,5,1-14, cf. V. Anton. 8-10 and 13. 290 See the index of authors in A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 421-422. 291 A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 370-371, F. THELAMON, Modèles de monachisme oriental, cit., p. 340-346. Twice paradise occurs in the Historia Monachorum. Once this is the garden of a cenobitic monastery called in this way because of its richness in fruit and water (Hist. Mon. XVII,2). For the second time it occurs in a cautionary tale warning not to seek sweet things in this life (Hist. Mon. XXIX,1,2-5). 292 Vita caelestis is the translation of the Greek àggelikÊV b%oV. However, we also find the vita angelica in Hist. Mon. XVI,1,2. On different aspects of the vita caelestis in the Historia Monachorum, including the solitary’s integration into the wild nature, the heavenly nurture and the miracles, see F. THELAMON, Modèles de monachisme oriental, cit., p. 342-351. 293 Thus John of Lycopolis, Hist. Mon. I,1,5: solus soli Deo vacans non diebus non noctibus a conloquiis Dei et oratione cessabat [...]. quanto enim se ab humanis curis et colloquiis sequastrabat, tanto illi vicinior et propinquior Deus erat. 294 Hist. Mon. I,5,12: totius divinae gratiae repletus, ut omnis haec regio quasi de caelo eum lapsum videret et unum esse ex numero crederet angelorum; Hist. Mon. II,17: chori angelorum vestibus ac mentibus resplendentes ad imitationem virtutum caelestium in hymnis et laudibus Dei pervigiles viderentur; Hist. Mon. VI,3: [Theon] inter homines angelus videretur; Hist. Mon. XVI,1,12: iter caeleste animi virtutibus agens inter sanctorum angelicos choros reddidit spiritum. A man may become an angel because of his ardent repentance, like this man whose day of death father Mutius delayed by prayer for three years so that he would have time to repent. This act is presented as an example in itself, Hist. Mon. IX,5,6: iam non quasi hominem sed quasi angelum ex homine Deo consignans, ita ut omnes mirarentur de conversione eius. 295 Hist. Mon. I,6,2: qui in corpore adhuc positus ad instar angelorum incorporeae vitae fungeretur officiis; Hist. Mon. II,1: [Or] habitu ipso honoris videbatur angelici; Hist. Mon. IV,2: quasi angelici ordinis vir; Hist. Mon. XXII,2,3 (about the monks of Cellia): semetipsos invicem tamquam caelo redditos vident. 296 Hist. Mon. VII,2,1-4.

139 splendor of their dress and souls297. If in this life the angelic reality is depicted as imaginary, after death the monks really join the choirs of angels and the just298. The holy hierarchy of those in heaven is depicted by Anuf in the visions bestowed upon him by God: first come angels, then the just, the martyrs, and finally the monks and all the saints299. Because of his virtues and closeness to the divine, the monk can be called “a holy man” (vir sanctus), “a man of God” (homo Dei) or “a servant of God” (servus Dei, famulus Dei)300. The monks in general are referred to as monachi or “holy fathers” (patres sancti)301. We have already observed all of these terms in the earlier texts, and in the Historia Monachorum they seem to have acquired the common usage. On the other hand Rufinus does not relate the lifestories of his monks, like the authors of the Life of Antony and the Life of Hilarion had done302. Therefore we are not able to trace the progress of the virtues of monks and the possible changes of title connected to it. More original is the reference to a monk as a “God’s friend” (amicus Dei), but it occurs only once in the discourse of John of Lycopolis303.

297 Hist. Mon. VII,5,1-2: hos ergo tamquam vere caelestem quendam et angelicum cernebamus exercitum omnibus virtutibus adornatum. nullus sane in eis sordidis utebatur indumentis, sed splendore vestium pariter atque animorum nitebant. 298 This is the case of the three virtuous seculars whom Pafnutius had converted to monastic life, Hist. Mon. XVI,1,12: iter caeleste animi virtutibus agens inter sanctorum angelicos choros reddidit spiritum; Hist. Mon. XVI,2,14: videt animam eius inter angelorum choros adsumptam; Hist. Mon. 3,4: translatus est ad congregationem iustorum. Pafnutius himself is invited by an angel to join the choirs of the prophets, Hist. Mon. XVI,3,5-6: veni iam, benedicte, et ingredere ea quae tibi debentur aeterna tabernacula. ecce enim mecum adsunt profetae, qui te in suum suscipiunt chorum. 299 Hist. Mon. X,8,13: ostendit mihi frequenter multitudines angelorum adsistentium sibi. vidi et coetus iustorum congregationesque martyrum et monachorum conventus omniumque sanctorum. 300 To mention only a few, John of Lyco is homo Dei and servus Dei in Hist. Mon. I,1,14, sanctus homo Dei in Hist. Mon. I,1,19. To many of the names Rufinus attaches the title of vir sanctus, more rarely only sanctus (sanctus Helenus in Hist. Mon. XI,9,19, sanctus Macarius in Hist. Mon. XXIX,5,5). 301 Once the epithet of solitarius is applied to Theonas, Hist. Mon. I,1, but the word does not seem yet to have acquired the technical meaning (on the term of solitarius, cf. L. LORIÉ, op. cit., p. 57, n. 1). Another unusual term is that of anachorites attributed to Pafnutius, Hist. Mon. XVI,1,1. This term comes from the Greek version (Hist. Mon. gr. 14). Other two occurrences of the same term in Greek (Hist. Mon. gr. 20 and 25) have been omitted by Rufinus, but the passages are generally quite different in two languages. 302 Instead he often refers to the old age of the monks. E. g., Elijah was one hundred and ten years old (Hist. Mon. XII,1), Didymus was ex senioribus vir bonus (Hist. Mon. XXIV,4,1), Cronius summae antiquitatis pater (Hist. Mon., XXV,5,1). 303 Amicus Dei is the one who has his mind purified and therefore is permitted to know the secrets of God, Hist. Mon. I,3,24-25, with the quotation of Io 15,15 (iam non dico vos servos sed amicos). The converted to Christianity Philemon defends the martyr monks as those who are loved of God, Deo amabiles, Hist. Mon. XIX,5.

140 3.3. Conclusion With his translations from Greek Rufinus has rendered to the Latin public the Eastern model of ascetic life and thus deeply influenced the Western monasticism. While the works of Athanasius and Jerome were dedicated to certain figures, each of them claiming to have founded monasticism in a certain region, Rufinus presents the copious fruit of the first endeavours. This second generation which has approached the way of life of angels owes much to Antony who is the most important point of reference and the teacher of many of them. Both in the Ecclesiastical History and the Historia Monachorum, Egypt appears as the elect land of monasticism leading to salvation304, with a special tinge of solitary life305. The important feature of the Historia Monachorum is describing the solitaries of Egypt as living the angelic way of life in conversation with God. The aim of Rufinus was education and instruction of the Latin readers. His method is based on the imitation of virtues (imitatio virtutum) and edification through examples (aedificatio exemplis), both aspects constantly appearing in the text. While these examples must inspire the readers to despise the world and seek the quietness, the authors of these miraculous deeds draw their inspiration from the prophets and the apostles, whose deeds in fact they are repeating, thus becoming the apostles of today. The scriptural figures are therefore first of all imitated by the miraculous activity and are more rarely referred to as examples of specific virtues. The discipleship is another important aspect. While Christ is the father of the whole celestial army, different groups of monks have their earthly father in the person of a monk with exceptional virtues. The great solitaries themselves have graduated from the school of the fathers, either of the great Antony, the first habitant of the desert, or others.

4. Martinian works by Sulpicius Severus: the first model of the Latin monk

At the end of the fourth century, the West was already well acquainted with the Eastern monastic movement, especially that of Egypt, both from literary works and from

304 Hist. Mon. VII,5,3: ubi enim tantae per urbes multitudines veniunt ad salutem, quantas Aegypti deserta protulerunt. 305 For the references to the preference of the solitary life, see A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 3, p. 341 and 361-362.

141 oral witnesses: this was not only the period of numerous exchanges between the Eastern and the Western parts of the Empire, but also of a certain “snobbery of the Egyptian way of living”306. The time had matured for a serious Western answer which was given in Gaul by Sulpicius Severus and his figure of Martin of Tours307. Sulpicius, a representative of the recently appeared Western aristocratic conversi into ascetic life308 and an ardent Martin’s disciple, wrote the Life of Martin in 396, while Martin was still alive309. The three epistles of Sulpicius, written in 397-398, complement the Life, the first answering to an unnamed man over Martin’s thaumaturgical powers, and the other two describing Martin’s death in 397 and his funeral. The two Dialogues, written c. 404-406, praise Martin’s superiority over the Eastern ascetics and complete the Martinian works310. The Life is formed of two parts, the first one (ch. 2-9) relating what Martin “did previous to his episcopate”, and the second (ch. 10-27) “what he performed as a

306 The expression is that of J. FONTAINE, L’ascétisme chrétien dans la littérature gallo-romaine d’Hilaire à Cassien, Atti del colloquio sul tema: Gallia Romana, Roma 10-11 maggio 1971 (Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Quaderno N. 158), Roma, 1973, p. 87-115, see p. 100. 307 The main studies on Sulpicius Severus and his Martinian works are Sulpice Sévère, Vie de saint Martin, Introduction, texte, traduction et commentaire par J. FONTAINE, t. I-III, SC 133-135, Paris, 1967-1969 (I volume republished in 2004; II and III volumes comprise the commentary of the text), and CL. STANCLIFF, St. Martin and His Hagiographer. History and Miracle in Sulpicius Severus, Oxford, 1983; see also A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l’antiquité, t. 4: Sulpice Sévère et Paulin de Nole (393-409). Jérôme, homéliste et traducteur des “Pachomiana”, Paris, 1997, p. 19-156, and N. K. CHADWICK, op. cit., p. 89-121. For the Latin text of the Life and the Epistles we have referred to the edition of J. FONTAINE mentioned above in this note, and for the Dialogues to the edition of C. HALM, Sulpicii Severi Opera (CSEL 1), Vindebonae, 1866. The English translation is quoted after A. ROBERTS, The Works of Sulpitius Severus, ed. PH. SCHAFF and H. WACE (NPNF II, t. 11), p. 3-54. 308 This was a completely new type of a Christian ascetic, proper to the Western culture. For the discussion of the classical heritage and its influence upon the development of the Western monasticism, see J. FONTAINE, Valeurs antiques et valeurs chrétiens dans la spiritualité des grands propriétaires terriens à la fin du IVe siècle, Epektasis, Mélanges patristiques offerts au cardinal Jean Daniélou, Paris, 1972, p. 551-570, e e and ID., L’aristocratie occidentale devant le monachisme aux IV et V siècles, RSLR 15, 1979, p. 28-53. 309 Like his close friend Paulinus of Nola, Sulpicius exchanged a secular lawyer’s career for the service of God. He founded a monastic community in his estate of Primuliacum in Aquitaine, inspired by Martin whom he started to visit in 393. The Life of Martin is a sort of witness of a convert layman and the offering of a disciple to his master. On Sulpicius, see J. FONTAINE, Sulpice Sévère, cit., p. 17-58; CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 15-19 and 31-38. For the situation of laymen in the church of Gaul, see E. GRIFFE, La pratique religieuse en Gaule au Ve siècle, saeculares et sancti, BLE 63, 1962, p. 241-267. 310 The CSEL edition by C. Halm comprises three parts, but originally the Dialogues were published in two installments (first: Dial. I-II; second: Dial. III in Halm’s edition). They were probably called Gallus after the name of the main interlocutor, see J. FONTAINE, Le genre littéraire du dialogue monastique dans l’Occident Latin des Ve et VIe siècles, The Spirituality of Ancient Monasticism, Acts of the International Colloquium Held in Cracow-Tyniec 16-19th November 1994, ed. by M. STAROWIEYSKI (Pontificia academia theologica Cracoviensis, Studia IV/1), Cracow, 1995, p. 227-250, at p. 238-239 and 245, n. 42.

142 bishop”311. The first part follows the chronology of Martin’s life from his birth c. 336 to the election to episcopate in 371312. Martin was born in Pannonia, in a pagan family of a soldier, and was brought up at Pavia in Italy. At the age of fifteen he was drafted into the Roman army, and has sought after baptism at the age of eighteen. After leaving the army in 356 he went to Hilary, bishop of Poitiers. Later he returned home to Pannonia, then went to Italy and for some time lived as a hermit on the island of Gallinaria. Finally, he came back to Poitiers to Hilary, who in the meanwhile had been driven into exile by the Arians, and established himself in a monastery, soon joined by disciples. Not long after Martin was acclaimed bishop of Tours. The second part of the Life relates Martin’s miraculous deeds when already bishop. The deeds however do not follow chronological order but are rather arranged according to their type313. The Life is finished by an account of Sulpicius’ visit to Martin and the latter’s interior life and ascetic practices. The Dialogues have rather an apologetic purpose. They aim on one hand to bolster up Martin’s portrait in the face of hostility from the Gallic clergy which looked suspiciously to ascetic practices314, and on the other to prove that Martin was in no way inferior to Egyptian heroes of the desert315. The scene takes place in Sulpicius’ homestead at Primuliacum, where Sulpicius’ friend Postumianus has come after the three years of pilgrimage in the East. Postumianus tells about the miracles that he has seen or heard of while in Egypt, many of which in fact resemble the stories told in the almost contemporary Historia Monachorum that Postumianus must have probably read316. This is the occasion to compare the ascetics of Egypt to Martin. The third interlocutor,

311 V. Mart. 1,7: igitur sancti Martini vitam scribere exordiar ut se vel ante episcopatum vel in episcopatu gesserit. 312 The chronology of Martin’s life is quite complicated; we follow the dates accepted by CL. STANCLIFF (op. cit., p. 111-133). 313 First come his combats with pagans (ch. 11-15), then cures and exorcisms (ch. 16-19), then the episode of Martin’s visit to emperor Maximus (ch. 20), and finally Martin’s gift of discretio spirituum (ch. 21-24). 314 This hostility was much due to the Priscillianist affair. The heresy of Priscillianism which propagated extreme asceticism with gnostic affinities originated in Spain in the fourth century. On the context of the Priscillianist affair in Gaul, see CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 278-296. 315 CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 83-85. The text would belong to the genre of biography, owing also something to the Roman dialogue tradition. Sulpicius may have chosen this form because of its perfect suitability for discussion and controversy. He could thus avoid the responsibility for his views put in the lips of his interlocutors (ibid., p. 103-107). See also J. FONTAINE’s analysis of Sulpicius’ Dialogues in their cultural and literary context, in Le genre littéraire, cit., p. 238-242. 316 The conclusion made by A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., p. 121.

143 Martin’s disciple Gallus, launches then into an account of those deeds of Martin which Sulpicius has omitted from his earlier writings.

4.1. Martin’s portrait Sulpicius wrote for two audiences. The immediate one comprised the circle of ascetics in Gaul and the Gallo-Roman episcopate; the wider public included the educated Gallo-Roman aristocracy, either converted or not to ascetic life or to Christianity317. Like Athanasius, Jerome, or Rufinus, Sulpicius called for emulation of his saint, with that difference that he moreover compared his hero with the pagan ideals. In his preface to the Life of Martin Sulpicius writes that “the life of a most holy man” (sanctissimi viri) would “serve in future as an example to others (exemplo aliis); by which, indeed, the readers shall be roused to the pursuit of true knowledge (veram sapientiam), heavenly warfare (caelestem militiam), and divine virtue (divinam virtutem)”318. These three clearly spiritual objectives is a Christian reply to the Roman pagan historiography. Writing about pagan heroes, Roman historians were able to win only earthly fame319, while Sulpicius’ interest lies in making known a Christian hero worthy of imitation (qui esset imitandus), and thus to win “an eternal reward from God”320. Indeed, it would be a folly to imitate Hector the worrior or Socrates the philosopher321, because the duty of a man is to seek the eternal life “not by writing, or fighting, or philosophizing, but by living a pious, holy, and religious life”322.

317 On the intended addressees of the Life, see J. FONTAINE, Le genre littéraire, cit., p. 72-80, and CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 71-75. 318 V. Mart. 1,6: unde facturus mihi operae pretium videor si vitam sanctissimi viri exemplo aliis mox futuram perscripsero quo utique ad veram sapientiam et caelestem militiam divinamque virtutem legentes incitabuntur. Note the three adjectives claiming the Christian truth, vera, caelestis, divina. 319 V. Mart. 1,2-4: propositis magnorum virorum exemplis non parva aemulatio legentibus excitabatur. sed tamen nihil ad beatam illam aeternamque vitam haec eorum cura pertinuit. [...] siquidem ad solam hominum memoriam se perpetuandos crediderunt. 320 V. Mart. 1,6: aeternum a Deo praemium exspectemus quia etsi ipsi non ita viximus ut exemplo aliis esse possimus dedimus tamen operam ne is lateret qui esset imitandus. On Sulpicius’ discussion of the differences between the two theories of biography, the pagan and the Christian, and on its classical and Christian sources, see J. FONTAINE, Sulpice Sévère, cit., t. II, p. 393-422. 321 V. Mart. 1,3: quid posteritas emolumenti tulit legendo Hectorem pugnantem aut Socratem philosophantem, cum eos non solum imitari stultitia sit, sed non acerrime etiam inpugnare dementia. Sulpicius attacks here the two essential types of classical perfection, the hero and the sage. However, J. FONTAINE sees it clear that Sulpicius was acquainted neither with Homer nor with the works of Plato, op. cit., t. II, p. 406-407. 322 V. Mart. 1,4: hominis officium sit perennem potius vitam quam perennem memoriam quaerere non scribendo aut pugnando vel philosophando sed pie sancte religioseque vivendo.

144 Martin as “Christi miles” Sulpicius was concerned to present Martin as a true monk and a true bishop323. He emphasizes that Martin had kept both the ascetic way of life (propositum) and the spiritual power (virtus) even after he became bishop324, but his wondrous deeds in the Life, the letters and the Dialogues relate little of him as a monk. Only the first part of the Life gives account of his different ascetic endeavours in Italy and Gaul, while the last two chapters refer to his inner life. In the first part of the Life the narrative follows two lines, Martin’s military service on one hand, and his interest both in ascetic and church affairs on the other. From his youth Martin was enrolled into military service, but not of his own free will, for he aspired rather to the service of God (divinam servitutem)325. When he was ten, he became a catechumen against the wish of his parents, and then soon converted completely to the service of God (in Dei opere conversus). At the age of twelve, he desired to live in the desert (eremum concupivit), but was prevented by his young age326. “His mind, however, was always being engaged on matters pertaining to the monasteries (monasteria) and the church (ecclesiam), already meditated in his boyish years what he afterwards, as a professed servant of Christ, fulfilled”327. Even in the army, before and after his baptism at the age of eighteen, he showed such kindness, patience, humility and temperance towards

323 CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 94. The contemporaries did not make distinction between monks’ lives and bishops’ lives, both categories being an expression of the same genre of Christian biography where spiritual aspects are more important than historical facts. See CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., 86-102, and G. PENCO, Osser- vazioni preliminari, cit., p. 240. 324 V. Mart. 10,2: inplebat episcopi dignitatem ut non tamen propositum monachi virtutemque desereret. J. FONTAINE, referring to L. LORIÉ (op. cit., p. 74-75 and 80-81), claims that propositum and virtus are here the equivalents of the Greek pr^qhsiV and ÀskhsiV respectively (op. cit., t. II, p. 664-665). We would be more cautious in the case of the second term. In our opinion, virtus refers rather to the moral perfection, the outcome of which is the spiritual power and the ability to perform miracles. It is in this sense that the word is used all over the Martinian writings, demonstrating the virtus of God working through Martin; cf. CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 9, 157 and 161-162. Elsewhere J. FONTAINE himself speaks about virtus as “le pouvoir d’opérer des « signes » thaumaturgiques exceptionnels” (op. cit., t. III, p. 1047, apropos of V. Mart. 25,1). 325 V. Mart. 2,2: ipse armatam militiam in adulescentia secutus. [...] non tamen sponte, quia a primis fere annis divinam potius servitutem sacra inlustris pueri spiravit infantia. 326 V. Mart. 2,2-4. Opus Dei would refer to the ascetic way of life, J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. II, p. 448. 327 V. Mart. 2,4: animus tamen aut circa monasteria aut circa ecclesiam semper intentus meditabatur adhuc in aetate puerili quod postea devotus inplevit. The combination of monasteria and ecclesiae could indicate a certain “rythme évangélique”, an alternation between the active life and the contemplative life (see J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. I, p. 149, and PH. ROUSSEAU, op. cit., p. 160, n. 1). It occurs twice again in the passage on Martin’s combats against the pagans already as bishop, V. Mart. 13,9.

145 his fellow-soldiers that “was regarded not so much as being a soldier as a monk (non miles sed monachus)”328. The best example of Martin’s charitable works while still in the army is the half of his cloak given to a poor man at the gate of the city of Amiens. This act, “the best illustration of Martin’s spirituality in its complete faithfulness to the Gospel”329, merits him the title of “the man full of God” (vir Deo plenus) in the Sulpicius’ narrative330, and the vision of Jesus next night who declared that he himself had been clothed in that poor man331. “The man full of God” cannot serve the prince of the world: finding a suitable opportunity to seek discharge from the military service, Martin declares to the emperor that having served to him as a soldier, he would like to fight for God, for he is now “the soldier of Christ” (miles Christi)332. Thus the two opposite ways of living, the military and the Christian, finally converge for the church service, which does not however lose its combatant character. Martin’s further undertakings include both the care for the church and eremitic aspirations. He first seeks after the society of Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, then goes to Illyria where converts his mother, and fights against Arianism in Italy333. It is in Italy that he makes his first eremitic attempts, first by establishing a hermitage (monasterium) at Milan334, and later by withdrawing to the island of Gallinaria accompanied by a certain presbyter335. When Hilary returns from exile to Poitiers, Martin rejoins him there and establishes for himself a hermitage (monasterium) not far from the town, the present

328 V. Mart. 2,7: ut iam illo tempore non miles sed monachus putaretur. 329 J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. II, p. 474. 330 V. Mart. 3,1. 331 V. Mart. 3,3-4. 332 V. Mart. 4,3: hactenus inquit ad Caesarem militavi tibi patere ut nunc militem Deo. [...] Christi ego miles sum (cf. 2 Tim 2,3) pugnare mihi non licet. 333 V. Mart. 5,1-6,4. 334 V. Mart. 6,4: Mediolani sibi monasterium statuit. The word monasterium accompanied by sibi implies only the personal initiative and does not mean a cenobitic monastery; the same word is used to refer to Martin’s hermitages at Ligugé (V. Mart. 7,1) and Marmoutier (V. Mart. 10,3). This usage does not however exclude the fact that the hermitages both at Ligugé and at Marmoutier soon became cenobitic monasteries, see J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. II, p. 612, and V. Mart. 10,5. 335 V. Mart. 6,5: cedendum itaque tempori ratus ad insulam cui Gallinaria nomen est secessit comite quodam presbytero magnarum virtutum viro. This must have happened in 358-360. This is the first known case of insular monasticism in the West, J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. II, p. 600-601.

146 Ligugé336. Here for the first time he performs the miracle of raising from the dead, and “from this time forward, the name of the sainted man (beati viri) became illustrious, so that, as being reckoned holy (sanctus) by all, he was also deemed powerful and truly apostolical (vere apostolicus)”337. The turning point in Martin’s life is his election a bishop of Tours, in spite of his reluctancy to leave the hermitage338. He then choses to abode in a cell connected to the church, but not withstanding the disturbance caused by those visiting him, he establishes “a hermitage (monasterium) for himself about two miles outside the city”339, in the location later called Marmoutier, surrounded by a lofty mountain from one side and the river Loire from the other. The place was so secret and retired that was no different from the solitude of the desert, and Martin possessed there a cell constructed of wood340. We have chosen to present in detail Martin’s life until his episcopate in order to show how virtuous he had been already from his early days, and how persistent he was in his eremitic endeavours. Had he not been elected as bishop, he would have certainly stayed in his Ligugé monastery341. On the other hand, already from his early days he aspired not only for eremus and monasterium, but also showed the wider interest in ecclesia. Therefore his passage from the military service to the service of God, militia Dei, can be seen as a natural outcome of his earlier aspirations. Thus even in the chronological part of his Life we do not see Martin making progress in the ascetic life, nor any special moment of his conversion, as it was in the lives of Antony and Hilarion; the emphasis is rather on Martin’s constantia, the continuities of his life from childhood to old age342, and the attitude of a former soldier in the face of paganism and heresies.

336 V. Mart. 7,1: haud longe sibi ab oppido monasterium conlocavit. The first occurrence of the place-name which seems to have been Locotigiacum occurs in the sixth century, J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. II, p. 613, n. 1. 337 V. Mart. 7,7: ab hoc primum tempore beati viri nomen enituit ut qui sanctus iam ab omnibus habebatur potens etiam et vere apostolicus haberetur. 338 V. Mart. 9,1: cum erui monasterio suo non facile posset. 339 V. Mart. 10,3 : aliquandiu ergo adhaerenti ad ecclesiam cellula usus est dein cum inquietudinem se frequentantium ferre non posset duobus fere extra civitatem milibus monasterium sibi statuit. 340 V. Mart. 10,4: qui locus tam secretus et remotus erat ut eremi solitudinem non desideraret. [...] ipse ex lignis contextam cellulam habebat. 341 e E. GRIFFE, Saint Martin et le monachisme gaulois, Saint Martin et son temps. Mémorial du XVI centenaire des débuts du monachisme en Gaule, 361-1961 (StAns 46), Roma, 1961, p. 3-24, see p. 16. 342 CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 94. Constantia of Martin is referred to in V. Mart. 4,5; 5,5; 20,1, and is especially emphasized on the moment of his ordaining a bishop, V. Mart. 10,1: idem enim constantissime perseverabat qui prius fuerat. According to J. FONTAINE, constantia is both a monastic and classical virtue:

147 We have already seen the title of Christi miles applied to Antony in the Evagrius’ version of his Life, and Rufinus has depicted the monks of Egypt as the celestial army. However, neither in the Antony’s Life nor in the Historia Monachorum the notion of military service played the main role, while in the Martin’s case the militant Christianity of a lay soldier is the foundation on which Martin’s whole life is built343. This attitude, acquired during many years in the army, not only helped bind the monastic way of life with the activities of a bishop344, but also found echo in Martin’s asceticism which acquired the features of a military fight345. To Martin, a monk is like a soldier standing in the battle line where no woman must be present, like in a real military camp346. Martin’s last prayer is expressed in the words of an old combatant faithful to the orders of his Lord, the divine emperor, in whose camps he has struggled throughout his whole life347. Martin’s disciples also acquire this military appearance: Martin’s funeral train evokes not only the evangelical flock but also a military cohort: the old monks are depicted as the emeriti of the Roman army, while the young ones as having just taken the oath of allegiance to their emperor Christ348.

“la tradition biographique antique et le thème spirituel de la constantia conspirent à masquer l’évolution spirituelle de Martin, et l’enrichissement progressif de ses diverses vocations” (op. cit., t. I, p. 142-143). 343 See the chapter “La spiritualité militante d’un ancien soldat” by J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. I, p. 143-148. On the other hand, Martin’s former military career was one of the reproaches of his enemies, see Dial. III,15,4. 344 J. FONTAINE, L’ascétisme chrétien, cit., p. 97. 345 When comparing Martin’s virtues to those of the Eastern ascetics, Sulpicius speaks of them as of soldiers (milites) who fight (pugnant, certant), turn out to be conquerors (victores), and win victory (victoria) and glory (gloria), Dial. I,24,4-5. 346 When a certain hermit, a former soldier, expressed the desire to live again in the company of his wife, although in chastity, Martin gave him a comparison from the army, Dial. II,11,4: numquid in illa acie, quae armata in proelium parabatur aut iam aduersus hostilem exercitum conlato comminus pede destricto ense pugnabat, ullam feminam stare aut pugnare uidisti? Addressing the brethren who in the meantime have surrounded him, Martin transforms the comparison just used and applies it figuratively to monastic life, Dial. II,11,6-7: mulier, inquit, uirorum castra non adeat, acies militum separata consistat. [...] miles in acie, miles pugnet in campo: mulier se intra murorum munimenta contineat. Cf. Jerome, Ep. 22,21: nemo enim miles cum uxore pergit ad proelium, the reference indicated by CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 321, n. 29. 347 Ep. 3,13: gravis quidem est, Domine, corporeae pugna militiae et iam satis est quod hucusque certavi; sed si adhuc in eodem labore pro castris tuis stare me praecipis, non recuso nec fatiscentem causabor aetatem. munia tua devotus inplebo, sub signis tuis, quoadusque ipse tu iusseris, militabo, et quamvis optata sit seni remissio post laborem, est tamen animus victor annorum et cedere nescius senectuti, cf. 1 Tim 6,12 ; 2 Tim 2,5 and 4,7; Phil 1,21-26. The Paulinian allusions are tinged by an almost professional vocabulary of the ancient legionary, see J. FONTAINE, Sulpice Sévère, cit., t. III, p. 1312-1313. 348 Ep. 3,19: agebat nimirum ante se pastor greges suos sanctae illius multitudinis pallidas turbas, agmina palliata, aut emeritorum laborum senes aut iuratos Christi in sacramenta tirones, see J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. III, p. 1341-1344.

148 Prayer, often combined with fast and sackcloth, is the main weapon serving either to attack the tricks of the devil or to defend the orthodox faith. Martin himself often appeals to “the shield of faith” and “the arms of prayer”349: with the help of prayer Martin destroys the pagan idol350 and the pagan temple351, the prayer saves him from mortal poisoning352 and protects from ambushes of the devil353. When Sulpicius gives the final portrait of Martin at the end of his Life, it is the prayer which emerges as his main ascetic practice, along with abstinence, fasting and reading354. Martin as a prophet, apostle and martyr Sulpicius Severus quotes very little biblical texts in his works, contrary to other monastic authors355. This fact does not however prove that Sulpicius was not acquainted with the Bible. Quite on the contrary: in his Chronicle, a short history of the people of God from the creation of the world to the days of Sulpicius, the events of the Old Testament occupy the largest part of the work. And J. Fontaine has shown that in

349 Martin starts to cure a paralysed girl by the arms of prayer, V. Mart. 16,7: ac primum, quae erant illius familiaria in istius modi rebus arma, solo prostratus oravit. He fights the fire in which he himself appears to be by the shield of faith and prayers, Ep. 1,13-15: scutum fidei et orationis arripiens [...] per fidem et orationem periculo repugnaret. [...] ubi vero vexillum crucis et orationis arma repetisset, medias cessisse flammas. J. FONTAINE notes that the Paulinian reference (Eph 6,16: in omnibus sumentes scutum fidei) is shaped according to monastic spirituality: the shield of faith becomes also the shield of prayer (op. cit., t. III, p. 1162-1163), but does not give reference to the preface of the Historia Monachorum where Rufinus had already evoked the orationum arma (Hist. Mon. prol. 11). 350 Dial. III,9: columnam immensae molis, cui idolum superstabat, parabat euertere, sed nulla erat facultas, qua id daretur effectui: tum ad orationem suo more conuertitur. 351 V. Mart. 14,4: ibi per triduum cilicio tectus et cinere, ieiunans semper atque orans, precabatur ad Dominum, ut, quia templum illud evertere humana manus non potuisset, virtus illud divina dirueret. God sends for aid to Martin his own troops, “two angels, with spears and shields after the manner of heavenly army”, V. Mart. 14,5: tum subito ei duo angeli hastati atque scutati instar militiae caelestis se obtulerunt. 352 V. Mart. 6,6: imminens periculum oratione repulit. 353 V. Mart. 22,1: adversus quem [sc. diabolum] semper interritus signo se crucis et orationis auxilio protegebat. 354 V. Mart. 26,2-4: illam scilicet perseverantiam et temperamentum in abstinentia et in ieiuniis, potentiam in vigiliis et orationibus, noctesque ab eo perinde ac dies actas. [...] numquam hora ulla momentumque praeteriit quo non aut orationi incumberet aut insisteret lectioni. [...] ita Martinus, etiam dum aliud agere videretur, semper orabat. This portrait is confirmed by Martin’s last days spent in vigils, prayers and sackcloth, Ep. 3,14: non tamen ab opere Dei cessabat: pernoctans in orationibus et vigiliis fatiscentes artus spiritui servire cogebat, nobili illo strato suo in cinere et cilicio recubans. 355 The reasons for that may be on one hand his classical education which encouraged him to model his style on the great classical authors of pagan Rome, and on the other his attempt to attract cultured readers, CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 39-40.

149 Martinian works, like in the Life of Antony, biblical analogies form the background of many of Martin’s deeds and of his attitude in general356. Indeed, Martin’s desire to enter the desert at the age of twelve may be paralleled to Jesus who left his parents at the same age in order to discuss with the teachers of the temple357. The charitable division of Martin’s cloak may find the analogy in the act of the good Samaritan358. When the devil stops the Martin’s way, the latter recognizes him, like Jacob had recognized the Lord fighting with him359. In the same scene Martin shows the obedience of Abraham when he answers to the devil he would go wherever the Lord would call him, and imitates Christ in the desert by replying to the devil “in the prophetical word” (prophetica voce)360. Martin’s healing miracles and exorcisms are generally in the tradition of Jesus361, while the scene of Martin in the fire recalls the three Hebrew children of the Book of Daniel362. Even Martin’s final wish to follow the Lord’s will recalls the words of Apostle Paul and Jesus himself in agony363. J. Fontaine has especially drawn attention to the resemblance of many of the episodes in Martin’s life with the prophetic stories of the Old Testament364. The two men restored to life by Martin (V. Mart. 7-8) recall more the raising from the dead by Elijah and Elisha365 than the same deeds performed by Jesus and Peter366. The paragraphs on

356 Apart from J. Fontaine’s detailed commentary of the edited text, see also his analysis of the literary stylization in Martin’s life, and of the “types” of biblical figures which inspired Martin’s prophetic and thaumaturgic powers: J. FONTAINE, Une clé littéraire de la Vita Martini de Sulpice Sévère: la typologie prophétique, Mélanges offerts à Mlle Christine Mohrman, Utrecht-Anvers, 1963, p. 84-95; see also the scriptural parallels of Martin’s miracles indicated in the “Table of Martinian miracle stories”, CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 364-371. We would regret nevertheless the absence of the scriptural index in the Life’s edition at the Sources chrétiennes. 357 V. Mart. 2,4, cf. Lc 2,43-46; see J. FONTAINE, Sulpice Sévère, cit., p. 449. 358 V. Mart. 3,1-2, cf. Lc 10,30-37; see J. FONTAINE, op. cit., p. 481. 359 V. Mart. 6,1, cf. Gn 32,25-31; see J. FONTAINE, op. cit., p. 573. 360 V. Mart. 6,2, cf. Mt 4,4-10; see J. FONTAINE, op. cit., p. 576. 361 J. FONTAINE sees a certain contrast between Martin’s more vehement activity of the Christianization of the country in the line of the prophets of the Old Testament on one hand, and the discretion and tenderness proper to the New Testament in the scenes of healings and exorcisms on the other, op. cit., t. II, p. 808-809. 362 Ep. 1,13, cf. Dn 3,19-94, see J. FONTAINE, op. cit., p. 1163-1166. In another letter Sulpicius explicitely refers to the Book of Daniel, Ep. 2,9. 363 Ep. 3,13, cf. 1 Tim 6,12; 2 Tim 2,5 and 4,7; Phil 1,21-26 and Mt 26,39; J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. III, p. 1312-1319 and A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 4, p. 84. 364 We summarize in this paragraph the conclusions of J. FONTAINE, Une clé littéraire, cit. 365 Elijah restored to life the son of the widow of Sarepta (1 Rg 17,17-23), and Elisha, the son of the Shunnamite (2 Rg 4,32-35). 366 The Gospels tell about the daughter of Jairus and the son of the widow of Nain raised from the dead by Jesus (Mt 9,23-25; Lc 7,11-15), and about the girl Tabitha restored to life by Peter (Act 9,36-41). Despite

150 Martin’s combats against false religions (V. Mart. 11-15) have no equivalents in the Gospels or the Acts of the Apostles, but instead can be paralleled to the deeds of the prophets of Israel fighting the pagan idols367. The scene of Martin’s dinner at the imperial court of Maximus (V. Mart. 20) may be entitled “the prophet at the king’s”: by visiting the emperor in order to remind him the rules of honest behaviour, Martin imitates the scenes of the prophets of the Old Testament visiting the kings of Israel and Judah. Like other writers before him, Sulpicius bestows his hero with the titles proving his closeness to the spirit and virtues of the saints of the Bible. The first two titles occur well before Martin’s bishopric: Martin is called vir Deo plenus still in the army before his baptism368, and vere apostolicus when still being a monk at Ligugé369. The first epithet, bearing the tinge of both the classical and the biblical language370, introduces the scene of the charitable division of Martin’s cloak with the poor, and therefore indicates Martin’s disposition to act as a true Christian. Vere apostolicus is Martin acclaimed after two raisings from the dead, performed one after another. It is in fact the highest evaluation of the beatus vir by people who had already before considered him holy (sanctus)371. If apostolicus refers here first of all to Martin’s potentia to perform miraculous deeds as had the apostles372, the second occurrence of this term clearly bears the value of Martin’s episcopacy. During his visit at the fact that Sulpicius’ literary stylization follows the patterns of the Old Testament, the miracle of raising from the dead is associated with the apostles, for Martin is acclaimed vere apostolicus in the outcome, probably due to the influence of the apocryphal acts, see n. 372 below. 367 J. FONTAINE draws a parallel between Martin’s miraculous escaping from a falling pine tree (V. Mart. 13) and the destruction of the pagan temple in Leprosum (V. Mart. 14,3-7) on one hand, and Elijah’s triumph over the priests of Baal (1 Rg 20-41) on the other, in Une clé littéraire, cit., p. 88-89. 368 V. Mart. 3,1. 369 V. Mart. 7,7. 370 The expression vir Deo plenus does not have an exact equivalent in Scripture. J. FONTAINE refers to the passages of the Bible where the adjectif plenus indicates the special moments of divine inspiration (Gn 41,38: vir spiritu Dei plenus, Lc 1,28: gratia plena, Lc 4,1: Iesus plenus spiritu sancto, Act 7,55: plenus spiritu sancto), and to the pagan tradition where a mortal may be possesssed by a divine spirit, Sulpice Sévère, cit., t. II, p. 481-482. 371 V. Mart. 7,7: ab hoc primum tempore beati viri nomen enituit, ut qui sanctus iam ab omnibus habebatur, potens etiam et vere apostolicus haberetur. 372 We see in this phrase a clear relation between potens, referring to Martin’s thaumaturgical power, and apostolicus. The latter term could well refer not only to the canonical Acts of the Apostles, but also to the apocryphal acts where the raisings to life were abundant and which were known to Sulpicius. We think therefore that the occurrence of apostolicus in this phrase does not indicate Martin’s future bishopric, contrary to J. FONTAINE’s opinion (op. cit., t. II, p. 632-633), although the term will appear in this meaning later (V. Mart. 20,1, see below). On Sulpicius’ knowledge of apocryphal acts see J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. I, p. 116-118.

151 the emperor Maximus’ court around 386, already as bishop of Tours, in order to plead the cause of the Priscillianists373, it was in him alone that the apostolic authority (apostolica auctoritas) continued to assert itself, while the espiscopal dignity (sacerdotalis dignitas) of other bishops was degraded by the flattery374. Thus in the Life it is Martin’s thaumaturgical powers and the episcopal dignity in the face of secular power that merits him the title of the true successor of the Apostles. Other titles with biblical background include Dei servus375, already seen in the works of Athanasius and Rufinus, and amicus Dei, the title in Scripture applied to Abraham376. Martin is also vir sanctissimus, beatus vir, sanctus vir, and sanctus Domini377. More interesting is the absence of homo Dei, especially bearing in mind that Elijah, the greatest of homines Dei, is in the background of many episodes of Martin’s life. If in the Life Martin’s comparison with scriptural figures was rather limited to allusions, in other Martinian writings the references become more explicit. Thus the first letter which answers to the insinuations of an unnamed man about the fire where Martin was nearly burnt, declares Martin “in all things like to the apostles (per omnia similis apostolis)”, and compares his case to the dangers that Peter and Paul had to undergo378, for “almost all the saints have been more remarkable for the dangers they encountered”379.

373 When the cause reached a civil court, Martin expressed his disapproval of bringing an ecclesiastical case before a secular official. Despite Martin’s intercession, Priscillian was decapitated together with some of his adherents. On the date of Martin’s visit to the emperor, see J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. III, p. 913-914. 374 V. Mart. 20,1: cum ad imperatorem Maximum [...] plures ex diversis orbis partibus episcopi convenissent et foeda circa principem omnium adulatio notaretur seque degenere inconstantia regiae clientelae sacerdotalis dignitas subdidisset, in solo Martino apostolica auctoritas permanebat. 375 V. Mart. 16,6. 376 Dial. II,4,6, acclaimed amicus Dei by a pagan woman, cf. Idt 8,22; Iac 2,23. The title of amicus Dei was applied to John of Lycopolis in the Hist. Mon. I,3,24, but there it was used in the light of the New Testament, commented by the quotation of the Gospel of John (Io 15,15). 377 Vir sanctissimus in V. Mart. 7,1; beatus vir in V. Mart. 7,7 and 17,2; sanctus Domini in Ep. 1,4; sanctus vir in Dial. II,2,4. 378 Ep. 1,5: o beatum et per omnia similem apostolis etiam in his conviciis virum! Follow the stories about Paul who was bitten by a viper but did not die (Ep. 1,5, cf. Act 28,4-6) and who stayed three days and three nights in the depths of the waves (Ep. 1,6, cf. 2 Cor 11,25 and Ion 2,1), and about Peter who walked over the sea (Ep. 1,6, cf. Mt 14,29-32). 379 Ep. 1,6: omnes fere sanctos magis insignes periculorum suorum fuisse virtutibus. Sancti is used here in the general sense of all the heroes of the Holy History.

152 However, the real turning point in the stylization of Martin’s figure is reached after his death. In the letter of consolation on Martin’s death, addressed to Martin’s disciple Aurelius, Martin is celebrated as the true successor of martyrs380. Sulpicius counts Martin in the society of the apostles, the prophets and the righteous before stating that Martin “has joined those who washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb”381. The fact that he did not undergo real martyrdom does not deprive him “of the glory of a martyr, because both by vow and virtues he was alike able and willing to be a martyr”382. Martin would have willingly undergone the martyrdom under the Roman emperors, therefore he is worth to be compared to the martyrs of the Bible: the Hebrew children amid the flames, the martyred prophets of the Old Testament, and “the teacher of the gentiles” who was decapitated383. In fact Martin “fully attained to the honor of martyrdom without shedding his blood (sine cruore martyrium)” by the ascetic life: hunger, vigils, nakidness, fastings, and the care for the poor and for the truth echo the dangers experienced by the apostle of the gentiles384. Martin’s affinity to the apostle Paul is crowned at the end of the Dialogues, where Martin is implicitely proclaimed the Apostle of Gaul: if Greece could listen to the words of Paul, Christ has granted Gaul to possess Martin385. Martin’s two apostolic features seen before, the thaumaturgical powers

380 Ep. 2,8-11: Martin as a possible martyr; Ep. 2,12-13: Martin as a true martyr through his ascesis (J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. III, p. 1181). 381 Ep. 2,8: est enim ille consertus apostolis ac prophetis, et [...] in illo iustorum grege nulli secundus; [...] illis potissimum qui stolas suas in sanguine laverunt (Apc 7,14) adgregatus, agnum ducem ab omni integer labe comitatur (cf. Apc 14,4). The beginning of the phrase is referred to by Postumianus in the Dialogues, Dial. II,5,1: meritoque hunc iste Sulpicius apostolis conparat et prophetis, quem per omnia illis esse consimilem fidei uirtus ac uirtutum opera testantur. 382 Ep. 2,9: nam licet ei ratio temporis non potuerit praestare martyrium gloria tamen martyris non carebit quia voto atque virtute et potuit esse martyr et voluit. 383 Ep. 2,9-10: Neronianis Decianisque temporibus [...] sponte eculeum ascendisset. [...] hebraeisque pueris aequandus inter flammarum globos media licet hymnum Domini in fornace cantasset (cf. Dn 3,19- 94). quodsi Esaianum illud supplicium persecutori forte placuisset, numquam [...] timuisset. ac si praecisis rupibus abruptisque montibus agere felice furor impius maluisset [...] sponte cecidisset. si vero gentium doctoris exemplo gladio deputatus [...]duceretur, primus omnium [...] palmam sanguinis occupasset. On the apocryphal sources of the martyrdoms of Esaiah, Micheas and Paul, see J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. III, p. 1223-1229. 384 Ep. 2,12: sed quamquam ista non tulerit, inplevit tamen sine cruore martyrium. nam quas ille pro spe aeternitatis humanorum dolorum non pertulit passiones fame, vigiliis, nuditate, ieiuniis, opprobriis invidorum, insectationibus inproborum, cura pro infirmantibus, sollicitudine pro periclitantibus?, cf. 2 Cor 11,27-29. 385 Dial. III,17,6: felicem quidem Graeciam, quae meruit audire Apostolum praedicantem, sed nequaquam a Christo Gallias derelictas, quibus donauerit habere Martinum.

153 and the episcopal dignity, are thus complemented by another two, the apostolic martyrdom, albeit sine cruore, and the Christianization of Gaul. It is however Christ who is working (operans) in Martin: seeing his disciple (discipulus) imitating (aemulator) his miracles, which he had set as examples (in exemplum) for his saints, Christ has glorified his saint and conferred upon him various graces386. While this is the only place where Martin is explicitly paralleled to Jesus, some other stories suggest that strongly. E. g., when emperor Maximus’ wife washes Martin’s feet and serves him at the table, Gaul compares her to the sisters Martha and Mary, thus implicitely indicating that Martin has played the role of Jesus in the scene387. Finally, Martin not only resembles to scriptural saints and martyrs, he is even visited by them. These include the Roman martyr Agnes, the Seleucian martyr Thecla, the Virgin Mary, and the apostles Peter and Paul388. Angels, however, are those whose company Martin can enjoy most of all. They not only visit Martin frequently389, but also protect him from the pagans390, cure his wounds391, console him after the forced

386 Dial. III,10,5: uere Christi iste discipulus, gestarum a Saluatore uirtutum, quas in exemplum sanctis suis edidit, aemulator, Christum in se monstrabat operantem, qui sanctum suum usquequaque glorificans diuersarum munera gratiarum in unum hominem conferebat. This remark follows the scene where Martin predicts that the monastery’s steward will catch fish, cf. Lc 5,4-7 and Io 21,4-6. 387 Dial. II,7,5, cf. Lc 10,38-42. The same empress is also assimilated to a penitent woman at the feet of Jesus (Dial. II,6,3, cf. Lc 7,38), and the queen of Saba visiting the king Solomon (Dial. II,6,6, cf. 1 Rg 10). As A. DE VOGÜÉ remarks, Solomon is himself a figure of Christ, op. cit., p. 130, n. 237. See also Dial. III,9,3, where a woman was healed “after the example of the Evangelical woman” (cf. Mc 5,25-34) and other healings and exorcisms. On Martin’s relations with women and the high estimate he had for virgins, see A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, t. 4, cit., p. 129-133. 388 Dial. II,13,5-6: Agnes, Thecla et Maria mecum fuerunt. [...] nec uero illo tantum die, sed frequenter se ab eis confessus est uisitari. Petrum etiam et Paulum apostolos uideri a se saepius non negauit. On the three women, see the commentary of J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. III, p. 1216, n. 1. Martin’s visions are to be related to his belief in the external reality of demons, angels, and saints, and to his role as exorcist; these visions were one of the reproaches to Martin by his contemporaries (e.g., Dial. III,15,4), CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 254 and 258. 389 V. Mart. 21,1: constat autem etiam angelos ab eo plerumque visos ita ut conserto apud eum invicem sermone loquerentur; Dial. II,12,11: hoc beatum uirum frequenter affectu etiam angeli frequentarint; Dial. II,13,7: a Martino autem saepe angelos visos; 390 V. Mart. 14,5: tum subito ei duo angeli hastati atque scutati instar militiae caelestis se obtulerunt, dicentes missos se a Domino ut rusticam multitudinem fugarent praesidiumque Martino ferrent. 391 V. Mart. 19,4: nocte ei angelus visus est eluere vulnera et salubri unguedine contusi corporis superlinire livores.

154 communion in the emperor’s palace392, help him enter there393, and announce the decrees of the synod where Martin could not take place394. Martin as a teacher In the passage on Martin’s monastery in Marmoutier, Sulpicius says that Martin had eighty disciples living there395. How is Martin portrayed as the teacher of his monks? Unfortunately, Sulpicius’ main concern is to show Martin’s activity as a bishop, and he tends to omit everything about him as an abbot of a monastic community. We can see however “an intimate group of followers and disciples, attracted by the holy man’s charismatic power”396. Martin himself was a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers, a bishop and not a monk, contrary to the Eastern experience where a monk was taught by a senex. It is to Hilary that Martin ows his spiritual and intelectual formation, the concept of the monastic lifestyle combined with the activity of a bishop, but also the foundation of his first hermitage at Ligugé397. Martin’s first solitary attempts were already followed by disciples. On the island of Gallinaria he was accompanied by “a certain presbyter”398, and in Ligugé “a certain catechumen joined him, being desirous of becoming instructed in the doctrines (institui disciplinis) of the most holy man”399. Sulpicius mentions once “the brethren” (fratres) present at Ligugé, thus indicating that the community had grown bigger400. In

392 Dial. III,13,4. 393 Dial. II,5,7. 394 Dial. II,13,8: ibi angelus, quid gestum esset in synodo, ei nuntiauit. 395 V. Mart. 10,5. 396 PH. ROUSSEAU, op. cit., p. 161. 397 After leaving the military service, Martin stayed for some time with Hilary, V. Mart. 5,1: sanctum Hilarium Pictavae episcopum civitatis [...] expetiit et aliquandiu apud eum commoratus est. After his trip to Italy and Illyria, Martin “followed the footsteps of Hilary up to Poitiers” by whom he was “joyously welcomed”. Martin’s monastery seems to be established as the outcome of this meeting, V. Mart. 7,1: cum iam Hilarius praeterisset, Pictavos eum est vestigiis persecutus; cumque ab eo gratissime fuisset exceptus, haut longe sibi ab oppido monasterium conlocavit; see J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. I, p. 158-160 and t. II, p. 607-610, and ID., L’ascétisme chrétien, cit., p. 94 and 97-98. 398 V. Mart. 6,5: comite quodam presbytero magnarum virtutum viro. 399 V. Mart. 7,1: quo tempore se ei quidam catechumenus iunxit cupiens sanctissimi viri institui disciplinis. Disciplinae most probably indicates the ascetic life, including also the notion of the catechism, J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. II, p. 615. 400 The dead catechumen was visited by the brethren, V. Mart. 7,2: fratrum frequentabatur officio.

155 Marmoutier, Sulpicius mentions the dwellings of the fratres401, and says that “around eighty disciples (discipuli) were being tought (instituebantur) after the example (ad exemplum) of the blessed master (beati magistri)”402. The young brethren were engaged in the copying of manuscripts, the activity probably accompanied by the spiritual guidance403. Many of the monks were of noble rank, and many of them had later become priests or even bishops404. Thus Martin’s monastery was a nursery of bishops, like Lérins one generation later. Martin must have also founded other monasteries, although Sulpicius does not supply any details405. Although in the description of Marmoutier Sulpicius says that the monks rarely left their cells406, it seems that Martin’s monks, referred to as fratres, monachi, or discipuli, usually accompanied their “father” (pater) in his episcopal campaigns407. The fruit of Martin’s mastership, his “special glory”, is best seen at his funeral where two thousand monks have assembled: “so numerous plants (stirpes) had sprung up for the service of the Lord through his example (eius exemplo)”408. Martin is then portrayed as a shepherd (pastor) driving his flocks409, constituted of younger and older monks, and “the choir of virgins” (virginum chorus)410.

401 Some of them stayed like Martin in wooden cells, the others in caves, V. Mart. 10,5. 402 V. Mart. 10,5: discipuli fere octoginta erant qui ad exemplum beati magistri instituebantur. 403 V. Mart. 10,6: ars ibi, exceptis scriptoribus nulla habebatur, cui tamen operi minor aetas deputabatur. The absence of the manual work, - the elders were completely free for prayer (ibid.), - shows an important divergence from the Eastern monasticism where work was essential. 404 V. Mart. 9-10: multi inter eos nobiles habebantur. [...] pluresque ex eis postea episcopos vidimus. quae enim esset civitas aut ecclesia quae non sibi de Martini monasterio cuperet sacerdotem? Martin’s disciple Clarus was nobilissimus and presbyter, see below. This confirms the role of the social Gallo-Roman elite in the spread of the ascetic ideal in Gaul, J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. II, p. 683-684. 405 V. Mart. 13,9: iam ibi nullus locus sit qui non aut ecclesiis frequentissimis aut monasteriis sit repletus. 406 Usually in order to go to a place of prayer, V. Mart. 10,7: rarus cuiquam extra cellulam suam egressus, nisi cum ad locum orationis conveniebant. 407 V. Mart. 11,3; 13,7.9; Ep. 1,13, and especially Ep. 3,7 (about Martin’s last trip): profectus cum suo illo ut semper frequentissimo discipulorum sanctissimoque comitatu. A. DE VOGÜÉ deduces that Martin’s monastery resembled more to a settlement of anchorites where a certain individual liberty was admitted than to a cenobium of strict observance, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 4, p. 77. Martin’s monks call him pater in Ep. 3,10. 408 Ep. 3,18: qui [sc. monachi] eo die fere ad duo milia convenisse dicuntur, specialis Martini gloria: eius exemplo in Domini servitutem stirpes tantae fruticaverant. The number of two thousand may be exaggerated aiming at the ascetic propaganda. Nevertheless, Martin’s disciples, either direct or at any rate formed under his influence, must have been quite numerous, J. FONTAINE, op. cit. t. III, p. 1336-1341. 409 Ep. 3,19: agebat nimirum ante se pastor greges suos. Cf. also Ep. 3,10, where Martin’s monks compare themselves with the flock losing its shepherd amid fierce wolves: invadent gregem tuum lupi rapaces: quis nos a morsibus eorum percusso pastore prohibebit?, cf. Act 20,29. 410 Ibid.

156 Sulpicius mentions several monks who have been educated from young days in Martin’s monasteries. Martin’s most beloved disciple was Clarus, who reached the heights of virtue and later became presbyter. Having left Martin’s monastery, he erected himself a hermitage (tabernaculum) where many brethren (fratres) stayed with him411. About Gallus, the narrator of Martin’s deeds in the Dialogues, we learn that he was Martin’s disciple (discipulus) who, leaving the school, joined Martin412. Similarly, the future presbyter Refrigerius “had followed Martin from his early youth”413. Brice, Martin’s disciple who however later became one of his opponents, “had been brought up in the monastery by Martin himself”414. Sulpicius himself calls Martin his “patron” (patronus) and “consolation in this life” (solacium vitae praesentis)415, and expresses his love and respect to his teacher through the scene of his first visit at Marmoutier, when Martin, like Jesus, washed the hands and feet of his devoted disciple416. In Martin’s conversation with Sulpicius on the same occasion, Martin gives two model figures, one divine and the other human. In abandoning the allurements of this world and secular burdings we must follow (sequeremur) the Lord Jesus417. As the most admirable example (praestantissimum exemplum) of this behaviour Martin gives Paulinus of Nola, who knew Martin personally and was a good friend of Sulpicius418. For Martin, Paulinus was almost the only one who, obeying this rule in those times, had followed

411 V. Mart. 23,1-2: Clarus quidam adulescens nobilissimus, mox presbyter [...] cum, relictis omnibus, se ad Martinum contulisset, brevi tempore ad summum fidei virtutumque omnium culmen enituit. [...] haud longe sibi ab episcopi monasterio tabernaculum constituisset multique apud eum fratres commorarentur. In the vision announcing Martin’s death, Sulpicius sees “his disciple Clarus” ascending behing “his master”, Ep. 2,4: nec multum post sanctum Clarum presbyterum discipulum illius [...] video eadem qua magistrum via scandere. 412 Dial. I,1,1: Gallus [...] ex illius enim discipulis erat; Dial. I,1,5: ex Martini sit disciplina; Dial. I,26,8 (Sulpicius addresses to Gallus): neque enim ignorare potuit magistri facta discipulus; Dial. I,27,3: Martini me esse discipulum; Dial. II,1,1: relictis scholis beato me uiro iunxi. The same term iunxit described the catechumen joining Martin at Ligugé, V. Mart. 7,1, see above. 413 Dial. III,1,3: a prima adulescentia Martinum secutus. 414 Dial. III,15,2: in monasterio ab ipso Martino nutritus habuisset; Dial. III,15,4: a primis annis in monasterio inter sacras ecclesiae disciplinas ipso Martino educante creuisset. 415 Ep. 2,8. 416 V. Mart. 25,3, cf. Io 13,14. 417 V. Mart. 25,4: sermo autem illius non alius apud nos fuit quam mundi inlecebras et saeculi onera relinquenda, ut Dominum Iesum liberi expeditique sequeremur, cf. Mt 19,21. 418 Ibid.: praestantissimumque nobis praesentium temporum inlustris viri Paulini [...] exemplum ingerebat. Martin had cured Paulinus from an eye complaint (V. Mart. 19,3).

157 (secutus) Christ419. Therefore it is him, Paulinus, who must be followed (sequendus) and imitated (imitandus), because “he made possible by his example (exemplo) what appeared impossible of accomplishment”420. Martin proposes thus two sorts of example: the model par excellence, Jesus Christ, accompanied by a modern model of Paulinus. This combination, in which we do not find any expected references to the example of Egyptian monks, certainly known to Martin421, might however belong less to Martin and more to Sulpicius. The latter was in very good relations with Paulinus of Nola, and it was probably through him that Sulpicius acquired his interest in Martin422. The phrase therefore would be a certain homage of Sulpicius to his friend. This fact also points already out to Sulpicius’ Gallic nationalism in front of the Egyptian propaganda, which will become even more straightfoward in the Dialogues. The frequent occurrences of the discipuli alongside Martin’s exemplum show that Martin taught his brethren more by his example than by words423. The scene of his death is revealing in this case: refusing a more comfortable couch, Martin prefers to die among ashes because he would have sinned as a Christian by leaving a different example (aliud exemplum)424.

4.2. Egyptian monks It is Sulpicius’ friend Postumianus who relates in the Dialogues what he has seen during his three years of pilgrimage in the East425. Before developing more on Egyptian ascetics, he also reports shortly about his stays in Cyrene, where was deeply impressed by

419 Ibid.: qui summis opibus abiectis Christum secutus, solus paene his temporibus evangelica praecepta conplesset. 420 V. Mart. 25,5: illum nobis sequendum illum clamabat imitandum; [..] cum secundum sententiam Domini dives et possidens multa vendendo omnia et dando pauperibus quod erat factu inpossibile possibile fecisset exemplo, cf. Mt 19,23.26. Paulinus as a model figure is anticipated already in the narrative about how Martin had cured him, V. Mart. 19,3: Paulinus magni vir postmodum futurus exempli. 421 J. GRIBOMONT, L’influence du monachisme oriental sur Sulpice Sévère, Saint Martin et son temps, cit., p. 135-149, see p. 137. 422 CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 15-19. 423 See A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 4, p. 45 and 88. 424 Ep. 3,15: non decet, inquit, Christianum nisi in cinere mori; ego si aliud vobis exemplum relinquo, peccavi. 425 These are related in the first Dialogue.

158 exemplary poverty of its Christian habitants426, Alexandria, where he witnessed the origenist quarrels between the bishops and the monks427, and Betlehem, where was struck by the figure of Jerome428. We will further try to view the Eastern story of Postumianus, while Martin’s rivalry with the Egyptians will be discussed in the next chapter. When asking Postumianus about his trip, Sulpicius indicates several points of his interest: about how Christianity (fides Christi) is practiced in the East and more particularly in the desert, about monastic silence (quies) and their customs (instituta monachorum), and about the signs (signa ac virtutes) that Christ works in his servants (in servis suis)429. Indeed, the signs, i. e. miracles, are the salient feature of the narrative. When Postumianus concludes his story, he says that it was about the Lord’s powers (de virtutibus Domini) which he has operated in his servants (in servis suis) in order that they be imitated (imitanda) or avoided (timenda)430. Postumianus’ itinerary in Egypt is not very clear. During the nineteen months of his stay there431 he must have visited the upper Egypt in the Nile region and the neighbouring deserts, with the excursions further to the East in order to see the abodes of Antony and Paul, and the Mount Sinai. He does not give characteristics nor even the names of about twenty fathers that he mentions, contrary to the approach of Rufinus in his Historia Monachorum. Instead Postumianus proceeds by presenting the organization

426 Dial. I,3-5. 427 Dial. I,6-7. Postumianus briefly reports about this “disgraceful strife” (Dial. I,6,1: foeda inter episcopos adque monachos certamina) and its content. The conflict should be put in parallel with the conflicts between the Gallic ascetics, represented by Martin, and the Gallic bishops, A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 4, p. 96-98. 428 Dial. I,8-9. Postumianus would have stayed with Jerome for six months. He especially celebrates Jerome’s orthodox faith and his scriptural knowledge, Dial. I,7,3; Dial. I,9,5. The passage on Origenism and the celebration of Jerome must be read in the context of the rather complicated relations between Sulpicius, Paulinus, Rufinus and Jerome, see CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 297-311. 429 Dial. I,2,2: qualiter in Oriente fides Christi floreat, quae sit sanctorum quies, quae instituta monachorum, quantisque signis ac uirtutibus in seruis suis Christus operetur. [...] libenter ex te audiemus, si uel in eremo uiuere Christianis licet. The phrase in the brackets mentions difficult circumstances in Gaul, probably referring to the hostility of the Gallic bishops to ascetic life, see CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 290- 292. 430 Dial. I,22,5: haec uos de uirtutibus Domini, quae in seruis suis uel imitanda operatus est uel timenda, scire sufficiat. The phrase shows Sulpicius’ attitude to miraculous stories: they are told not simply as miracula, stories to arouse wonder, but primarily as stories to demonstrate the virtus of God working through his servants, in servis suis. See CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 161-162. On the other hand, miracles are the outcome of virtues and must therefore incite to their imitation, see the phrase quoted in this note and Dial. I,18,1: duo uobis referam incredibilis oboedientiae admodum magna miracula, licet suppetant plura recolenti: sed ad incitandam uirtutum aemulationem, cui pauca non sufficiunt, multa non proderunt. 431 Dial. I,16,4: annum integrum et septem fere menses intra solitudinem constitutus.

159 of Egyptian monasticism into three sorts, the cenobites living in monasteria, the hermits (eremitae) and the anchorites (anachoretae)432. The difference between the last two groups is that the hermits are in constant relation with the monastery from which they have departed, obedient to the abbot who also furnishes them with food433, while the anchorites do not only live a solitary life, but also renounce any roof and any fixed place434. The larger part of Postumianus’ story relates the miracles of these hermits and anchorites, sancti435, senes436, homines Christi437, and servi Dei438. Their life in a desert acquires the features of the life in paradise: they keep company with animals439, are miraculously fed from heaven440, and are visited by angels441, many of the anecdotes having resemblances with the works of Athanasius, Jerome and Rufinus442. Although these graces are mostly bestowed upon solitaries, Postumianus emphasizes that those living in coenobia practice no less virtues, especially that of obedience443. The monastery

432 See the structure of the story, organized according to the gradation of the three sorts of monks, in A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 4, p. 102. Eremita is a new term in the Latin literature. See the historical and literary analysis of the three terms ibid., p. 103-107 and 114-115. 433 Dial. I,10,1-2: ex his si qui maiorem uirtutem mente conceperint, ut acturi solitariam uitam se ad eremum conferant, nonnisi permittente abbate discedunt. haec illorum prima uirtus est, parere alieno imperio. transgressis ad eremum abbatis illius ordinatione panis uel quilibet cibus alius ministratur. The hermits live in tabernacula, Dial. I,10,2: tabernaculum sibi constituerat. Eremita may also be called monachus, e. g. in Dial. I,11,1; I,13,1. 434 Dial. I,15,2: habitant plerique in eremo sine ullis tabernaculis, quos anachoretas vocant. [...] nullo umquam certo loco consistunt, ne ab hominibus visitentur frequenter. 435 Dial. I,13,6: nisi Deus praescius habitandam quandoque a sanctis eremum haec servis suis paraverit; Dial. I,16,3 (about one anachoreta): vir sanctus; Dial. I,17,5 (about another anachoreta): sanctum illum; Dial. I,19,6: diuersa miracula, quae mihi de sanctorum uirtutibus sunt conperta. 436 Dial. I,12,1: duos ego senes vidi; Dial. I,13,1: pervenimus ad quendam senem monachum. 437 In Dial. I,11,2 homo Christi is called a monk who has not eaten for eight days. 438 Servi Christi: Dial. I,2,2; I,14,8; servi Dei: I,13,6; servi Domini: I,22,5. 439 Two boys are not afraid of an asp of remarkable size (Dial. I,10,3); one hermit feads a lion with his fruit (Dial. I,13,7-8), while another gives some bread to a she-wolf (Dial. I,14); an anchorite heals the blind whelps of a lioness (Dial. I,15,4-6); an ibex helps an anchorite identify the poisonous herbs (Dial. I,16,3). 440 Like a hermit in Dial. I,11,4-6. 441 A certain anchorite has been shunning the human company for fifty years because he enjoyed angelic fellowship, the thing impossible in the company of men, Dial. I,17,5: qui ab hominibus frequentaretur, non posse ab angelis frequentari. unde non inmerito recepta opinione multorum fama uulgauerat, sanctum illum ab angelis uisitari. See also Dial. I,24,2 (about eremitae and anachoretae): caelo tantum atque angelis testibus. 442 See the index of references in A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 4. 443 Dial. I,17,7-8 (about cenobitic monasteries on the Nile): nec sane ibi minorem putetis diuersantium in multitudine monachorum esse uirtutem, quam eorum esse cognouistis, qui se ab humanis coetibus remouerunt. praecipua, ut iam dixeram, ibi uirtus et prima est oboedientia.

160 is usually directed by an abbas to whose orders all monks must be obedient444. He can also be a teacher (magister) of postulants445. What concerns the antiqui monachi446, Postumianus has visited the two monasteries of “the blessed Antony”, occupied now by his disciples, and the place where “the most blessed Paul, the first hermit (primus eremita)” had his abode447, and mentions John of Lyco who had influenced a conversion of a certain tribune448. What strikes in the Dialogues, is the almost complete absence of biblical references449. Apart from a novice who, obedient to his abbots order, entered the flames but did not burn, as “the well known Hebrew children”450, and the three miracles ascribed to the power of Christ451, we find no scriptural quotation or allusion, nor are Egyptian monks equaled to the prophets and apostles, as in the works of Rufinus and in the Life of Martin itself452.

4.3. Martin superior to Egyptian ascetics Sulpicius does not utter a word on Eastern ascetics in the Life of Martin. However, the Eastern patterns are rather palpable in the background of the text: like Eastern hermits, Martin sought after solitude, he established himself in a hermitage (monasterium) everywhere he stayed, and lived in a cell (cella) in Marmoutier; the

444 Dial. I,10,1: quibus summum ius est, abbatis imperio uiuere, nihil suo arbitrio agere, per omnia ad nutum illius potestateque pendere. 445 Dial. I,17,8: neque aliter adueniens a monasterii abbate suscipitur, quam qui temptatus prius fuerit et probatus, nullum umquam recusaturus quamlibet arduum ac difficile indignumque toleratu abbatis imperium; in a story relating about the obedience of one postulant to the orders of an abbot, the latter is twice called magister (Dial. I,18,3-4), while the postulant is discipulus (Dial. I,18,6). 446 Postumianus applies this term comparing the virtues of a recently converted tribune to those of “the monks of old”, Dial. I,22,2: potens ieiuniis, humilitate conspicuus, fide firmus facile se antiquis monachis studio uirtutis aequauerat. 447 Dial. I,17,1: duo beati Antoni monasteria adii, quae hodieque ab eius discipulis incoluntur. ad eum etiam locum, in quo beatissimus Paulus primus eremita est diuersatus, accessi. Making Paul the first hermit would indicate that Sulpicius believed in Jerome’s story, M.-E. BRUNERT, op. cit., p. 168. The absence of any other details about the abodes of the fathers of monasticism is quite striking. 448 “The blessed man John” (Dial. I,22,1: a beato uiro Iohanne uerbum salutis accepit) must be John of Lycopolis according to A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 4, p. 120. 449 A. DE VOGÜE calls it “le vide théologique” (op. cit., p. 115). 450 Dial. I,18,4, cf. Dn 3,19-94. Martin was also compared to the Hebrew children in Ep. 2,9, see above. 451 Dial. I,10,4: quod per eos Dominus operatus fuerat; Dial. I,14,8: tua haec uirtus, Christe, tua sunt haec, Christe, miracula. etenim quae in tuo nomine operantur serui tui, tua sunt; Dial. I,15,6: gloriam Christi, quae per ipsos esset testificanda, uidissent. 452 It is instead the controversial figure of Origen which merits to “have no equal since the apostles”, Dial. I,6,5: neminem post apostolos habeat aequalem.

161 location of the monastery in Marmoutier was so secret (secretus) and retired (remotus) that it resembled the solitude of the desert, eremi solitudinem. This vocabulary, deriving from the writings on Eastern monks, could indicate that already when writing Martin’s life Sulpicius wished to place his hero in the conditions which would recall the abodes of the famous Eastern hermits453. We would however tend to interpret this as the only existing Latin terminology with monastic value than as deliberately introduced allusions454. Another aspect of the “Eastern motif” is the clear rivalry of Sulpicius with the authors of the Lives of Antony, Paul, Hilarion and Malchus, which must have been certainly known to Sulpicius455. By choosing ascetic life at the age of only twelve, Martin overcomes his Eastern predecessors who had made this step at a later age456. Like Antony and Hilarion, Martin was loved by all457 and practiced the Evangelical poverty458. Martin’s encounter with robbers recalls that of Hilarion459, while in his reply to the devil he quotes almost the same verses of Scripture as had done Antony in his first meeting with the devil460. Like Christ had comforted Antony during a night vision, an angel cures Martin during the night visit461. Like Antony, Martin behaves in the way so as to show

453 It is especially in the description of the Marmoutier foundation that J. FONTAINE sees the first attempt in the Latin literature to shape the Western solitude according to Eastern patterns (op. cit., t. II, p. 667), and thinks that the fact that the monks wore the garments of camel’s hair (V. Mart. 10,8) might be true, resulting from frequent trips to Egypt in those days (ibid., p. 681-682). 454 The words eremus and monasterium must have been used by Martin himself. The name of Marmoutier itself comes from maius monasterium; J. GRIBOMONT, L’influence du monachisme oriental, cit. The absence of any explanation of the desert terminology shows that the terms were known to the Western readers, M.-E. BRUNERT, op. cit., p. 152 and 166-167. 455 J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. I, p. 119. The Life of Antony was known to Sulpicius in the translation by Evagrius, ibid., t. II, p. 578, n. 1. On monastic parallels of the miracles, see the “Table of Martinian miracle stories” in CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 364-371. 456 At the beginning of his ascetic life Antony was about eighteen or twenty (V. Anton. 2,1), Paul was sixteen (V. Pauli 4), and Hilarion fifteen (V. Hilar. II,6), M.-E. BRUNERT, op. cit., p. 151-152. 457 V. Mart. 2,7, cf. V. Anton. 4,1 and V. Hilar. 2,2. 458 V. Mart. 2,8, cf. V. Anton. 3,6 and V. Hilar. 4,3, A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 4, p. 30. 459 V. Mart. 5,4-6, cf. V. Hilar. 6,2-6, A. DE VOGÜE, op. cit., p. 34. 460 V. Mart. 6,2, Martin responding by Ps 117,6, cf. V. Anton. 5,4, Antony responding by Ps 117,7, J. FONTAINE, op. cit., t. II, p. 576-579. The scene where the devil appears to Martin disguised as Christ (V. Mart. 24,4-8) has also similarities with Antony’s temptations (A. DE VOGÜÉ, op. cit., p. 65). The difference however between the role of the devil in the two Lives is great; while Antony had to fight the corporeal temptations on the spiritual level, in Martin’s life the devil acquires the forms of particular human beings, and the fight with him becomes external. On the mentality of this period when events in everyday world were interpreted as external manifestations of deeper realities, and ‘devil’ was a shorthand for ‘a man acting under demoniacal inspiration’, see CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 193-195. 461 V. Mart. 19,4, cf. V. Anton. 10,1-4, A. DE VOGÜE, op. cit., p. 56.

162 that the religious dignity is higher than the secular one, the latter represented in both cases by the emperor462. Like Antony and Paul, Martin knows beforhand his near death, just like the Apostle Paul463. In general, Martin’s encounters with devils and angels should be seen in the context of Eastern ascetic teaching464. While the comparison with the Eastern predecessors rests rather implicit in the Life, the intention becomes explicit in the Dialogues465. The inferiority complex of the Western ascetics becomes clear already in the first paragraphs where Gallus, Martin’s disciple who will be the main witness of Martin’s virtues in the second part of the Dialogues, is twice forced to defend the gluttony of Gauls against the continence of Eastern “angels”466. It is however Martin’s figure which will finally help to celebrate the West’s victory over the East, because Martin rests inimitable even to his countrymen467. When Postumianus, after finishing his story about the virtues of Eastern ascetics, asks Sulpicius to tell about these of Martin, Sulpicius’ first reaction is to defend “his Martin” (Martinum meum) in the face of Eastern ascetics: he alone had accomplished all things done by different Egyptians468. Martin was in no thing inferior to any of them469. Even more, while the Egyptian hermits and anchorites could progress in virtue enjoying the solitude, Martin was fighting on much more difficult ground, in the midst of people, and even “among quarrelsome clerics and furious bishops”470. Martin’s superiority is

462 V. Mart. 20, cf. V. Anton. 81, A. DE VOGÜE, op. cit., p. 57. 463 Ep. 3,6, cf. V. Anton. 89,2; V. Pauli 11 and Act 20,25, A. DE VOGÜÉ, op. cit., p. 85. 464 However, Western literary patterns are also perceptible, like the writings of Tertullian and passiones martyrum, see the chapter “Martin’s spiritual powers” in CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., p. 228-248. 465 The reason of the newly appeared combating tone of the Dialogues may be due to the recent wave of the Eastern propaganda in the writings of Jerome and the translations of Rufinus, J. GRIBOMONT, L’influence du monachisme oriental, cit., p. 144. 466 When Sulpicius asks Gallus if he were able to survive with a half of bread like the man met by Postu- mianus on the shore of Cyrene, Gallus responds: facis inhumane, qui nos Gallos homines cogis exemplo angelorum vivere (Dial. I,4,6). He also remembers the reproaches of Jerome to the monks of eating too much (Ep. 22,34), but thinks Jerome was addressing Eastern and not Western monks, for gluttony is a vice only for the Greeks, while for the Gauls it is in their nature, Dial. I,8,5: de orientalibus illum potius monachis quam de occidentalibus disputasse. nam edacitas in Graecis gula est, in Gallis natura. 467 Dial. II,2,7: non esse sub caelo, qui Martinum possit imitari, and Postumianus, referring to the earlier words of Gallus (Dial. I,4,7): sicut tu soles dicere, cum edacitatis argueris, Galli sumus: ita nos in hac parte numquam nec Martini exemplo uel tuis disputationibus corrigemur (Dial. II,8,2). 468 Dial. I,24,1: tacitis ad Martinum meum cogitationibus recurrebam, merito perspiciens omnia illa, quae singuli diuersa fecissent, per unum istum facile conpleta. 469 Dial. I,24,2: nihil a te penitus audiui, in quo Martinus esset inferior. 470 Dial. I,24,2-3: iniqua illum cum eremitis uel etiam anachoretis condicione conferri. illi enim ab omni inpedimento liberi, caelo tantum adque angelis testibus, plane admirabilia docentur operari: iste in medio

163 undoubtedly evident from the sole fact that no dead man was recalled to life by any Egyptian, contrary to Martin’s two raisings from the dead471. Sulpicius then shortly lists the Eastern deeds of the Postumianus’ story answered point by point by Martin’s miraculous virtues472, and concludes by putting Martin again over the Easterns: each of these did not possess all the virtues found in one figure of Martin473. Sulpicius’ speech is framed by two proclamations of Martin’s universal fame by Postumianus. First he states that Sulpicius’ book on Martin’s life was already known wherever he was going, and enumerates the places he had visited, with a special elaboration of the monastic regions of Egypt, as if this would prove that even Eastern monks admire Martin474. Later, as if ashamed by Sulpicius’ pleading for Martin, Postumianus declares that despite the fact that he will praise Egyptian monks, he will nevertheless always single out Martin who is incomparable to any monks or bishops475. This fact would be known all over the world: Postumianus expands the geography including the remotest parts of the world, like the Fortunate Islands and the Arctic Ocean, thus competing with a similar list in the Life of Antony476. In this way he claims again the superiority of the Gallic saint: while the ascetics of Egypt are known only in the West, Martin shines to the confines of the world. It is however the East that troubles most the company in the villa of Sulpicius. Oriens occurs thrice during the third day of the Dialogues, although it is Martin who is coetu et conuersatione populorum, inter clericos dissidentes, inter episcopos saeuientes [...] inexpugnabili tamen aduersus omnia uirtute fundatus stetit. 471 Dial. I,24,5: a nemine retulisti mortuum suscitatum: quo uno utique necesse est confiteri Martino neminem conferendum. Gallus will report Martin’s third raising from the dead in Dial. II,6-7. Neither Antony, nor the saints of Jerome performed such miracles. Sulpicius’ innovation will strongly influence the Western hagiography, A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., p. 39. 472 Dial. I,25. 473 Dial. I,25,7: in Martino omnium illorum, quos enumerasti, fuisse uirtutes, Martini autem in illis omnibus non fuisse ; cf. a similar statement in the beginning of Sulpicius’ speech (Dial. I,24,1, see above), but while there Martin was rather equalled to Egyptians, this time he is clearly shown superior to them. 474 Dial. I,23,3-6: nullus fere in orbe terrarum locus sit, ubi non materia tam felicis historiae peruulgata teneatur. primus eum Romanae urbi uir studiosissimus tui Paulinus inuexit. [...] cum ad Africam ueni, iam per totam Carthaginem legebatur. [...] nam quid ego de Alexandria loquar? ubi paene omnibus magis quam tibi notus est. hic Aegyptum, Nitriam, Thebaidam ac tota Memphitica regna transivit. 475 Dial. I,16,1: Aegypti monachos praedicabo, laudabo anachoretas, mirabor eremitas: Martinum semper excipiam: non illi ego audeo monachorum, certe non episcoporum quempiam conparare. 476 Dial. I,26,2: hoc Aegyptus fatetur, hoc Syria, hoc Aethiops conperit, hoc Indus audiuit, hoc Parthus et Persa nouerunt, nec ignorat Armenia, Bosporus exclusa cognouit, et postremo si quis aut Fortunatas insulas aut glacialem frequentat oceanum. The following phrase regrets again the misery of the local people who did not value “such man”, Dial. I,26,3. Cf. V. Anton. 93,4-5, quoted above in n. 16.

164 the hero of the day477. In fact, Postumianus is missioned to make known Martin’s deeds all over the East, so “that it may not, when Martin is brought into comparison, esteem itself above the West”478. In the final words Sulpicius charges Postumianus to spread in the East “the name and glory of Martin”479. On the way to the East, in each region, Martin must be compared with local saints: in Campania, with Felix, in Carthage, with Cyprian, in Corinth and Athens, with Plato and Socrates. Finally, while Greece had apostle Paul, Martin was granted by God to Gaul480. We can see in each of these names given to comparison a certain type of a hero. Martin is thus put alongside a confessor, a martyr, a pagan sage and an apostle. The list is closed by the numerous saints of Egypt, Martin’s main competitors, to whom, and to all Asia, Europe would not yield in sole Martin481. Some differences may also be remarked between the way how Sulpicius presents Egyptian monks and Martin. While Martin is often compared to or shown in the company of the saints and martyrs, both Jewish and Christian, this honour is not bestowed upon the Eastern ascetics. The latter on the other hand are depicted in somewhat paradisiac environment, while the image is completely absent in Martin’s life, thus somehow rendering his character more realistic, and his environment familiar to the readers.

4.4. Conclusion Sulpicius’ works are contemporary to the works of Rufinus, but while the second sought to provide the Western spirituality with the best examples from the East, the first was concerned by painting the first portrait of a Latin monk he himself knew personally;

477 In fact, the aim of the third Dialogue, where Gallus recalls Martin’s deeds which have been omitted in the Life, is to prove Martin’s superiority over the ascetics of Egypt, by testifying his miraculous deeds performed in the unfriendly milieu of the Gallic clergy. 478 Dial. III,2,2: noua Postumianus expectat nuntiaturus Orienti, ne se in conparatione Martini praeferat Occidenti; see also Dial. III,1,3: Postumianus iste, qui haec Orienti inferre festinat. 479 Dial. III,17,2: ista interim de illo uiro portabis Orienti, et dum recurris diuersasque oras, loca, portus, insulas urbesque praeterlegis, Martini nomen et gloriam sparge per populos. 480 Dial. III,17,3-6. Felix of Nola was a third century confessor whose cult was popularized by Paulinus. By visiting Paulinus in Campania, Postumianus should ask him to spread the text of the Dialogues in Rome, just as he had done before with Martin’s Life, Dial. III,17,4. 481 Dial. III,17,7: cum uero ad Aegyptum usque perueneris, quamquam illa suorum sanctorum numero sit et uirtutibus superba, tamen non dedignetur audire, quam illi uel uniuersae Asiae in solo Martino Europa non cesserit.

165 even more, a Latin monk and bishop in one. Driven by “Gallic chauvinisme”482, Sulpicius has concentrated in Martin most of the known types of Jewish and Christian saints: a prophet, Christ, an apostle, a martyr and an ascetic483, while Martin’s former military career served as a “prefiguration” of Martin’s later missionary character484. The latter feature may have influenced Sulpicius’ wish to portait Martin especially as apostolicus vir. This epithet has different connotations: it may refer to Martin’s thaumaturgical powers (virtutes), to the episcopal dignity defended in front of the secular power, to the martyrdom sine cruore, and to the Christianization of Gaul. However, although many scriptural allusions form the background of Martin’s life, and he often enjoys the company of the saints and angels, it is Jesus alone who is working in his servant and who appears in Martin’s gestures. It is also the only scriptural figure, the model par excellence, that Martin gives as an example to follow, together with Paulinus who serves as a proof that the example of Jesus is possible to be imitated nowadays. Although J. Fontaine argues that Martin would have really imitated biblical and Christian holy men, while Sulpicius would have simply accentuated and made explicit that which was already implicit in Martin’s life485, we however think that Sulpicius was rather following the literary rules of a certain stylization of the hero, proper to the monastic literature as we have already observed in earlier authors486. To the fast growing number of his disciples Martin was a teacher, a shepherd and a chief commander487 who preferred teaching by his own example than by words. Some of Martin’s disciples, most of whom joined the ranks of the clergy, later founded themselves monastic communities, like Clarus, where they continued Martin’s teaching.

482 As J. FONTAINE calls it, op. cit., t. I, p. 51 (“chauvinisme occidental”) and t. III, p. 1130 (“patriotisme gallo-romain”; “chauvinisme dévot”). 483 J. FONTAINE speaks only of “quadruple typology”: prophetic, christologic, martyrologic and ascetic (op. cit., p. 127-132), but we think the apostolic element is strong enough to form a separate group. 484 We borrow again the vocabulary of J. FONTAINE: “Sa militia terrestre devient ainsi le « type » prophétique de sa militia ascétique”, op. cit., t. I, p. 132. 485 Op. cit., t. III, p. 1171-74, and ID., Une clé littéraire, cit., p. 93-94 486 Cf. also CL. STANCLIFF, op. cit., 164, who thinks that Fontaine’s conclusion accords ill with Martin’s humility and unassuming nature that appears as one of his chief characteristics. 487 This role is rather allusive from Martin’s visits of his diocese surrounded by his “monastic troops”, or from his funeral train shown as a military cohort.

166 The Eastern role in this process rests rather veiled, at least in Sulpicius’ interpretation488. Although he uses the Eastern terminology, especially in describing Martin’s solitary aspirations, and portraits Martin following the patterns of Eastern ascetics, these are never presented as model monks, except the Postumianus’ story in the Dialogues. The latter however is rather a tribute to literary trends, and is intended to show the ideal ascetic environment with the aim to render one more element for Martin’s celebration and defence in the face of his opponents in the Gallic church.

5. John Cassian and the implantation of the Eastern model in the south of Gaul

However important the figure of Martin for the history of the Gallic monasticism and the later Latin hagiography, his monasteries do not seem to have survived long. The reasons for that might be due as well to Martin’s personality, his too severe ascesis or the absence of any written works by him which would let transfer his authentic doctrine489, as to the historical reasons, especially the invasion of barbarians into Gaul in 406490.

Therefore, when at the beginning of the fifth century monastic groups began to appear in the southern Gaul, among which the Lerinian monastery, their need of guidance was answered by John Cassian in two treatises, the Institutes and the Conferences491, the texts that presented to Gauls the aims and methods of the Eastern movement, the reputation of which was already known to everyone492. The intention of John Cassian was not of describing the life of Eastern hermits and, what was common in the works of Cassian’s contemporaries, their miracles “which minister to the reader nothing but

488 Cf. also J. GRIBOMONT’s conclusion: “l’influence orientale n’a fait que colorer un idéal ascétique foncièrement original”, in L’influence du monachisme oriental, cit., p. 147. 489 A. E. J. GROTE, op. cit., p. 109-111. 490 J. FONTAINE, L’ascétisme chrétien, cit., p. 105-106. 491 The full titles in Latin are De institutis coenobiorum et de octo principalium vitiorum remediis and Conlationes Patrum. We quote the Latin texts after Jean Cassien, Institutions cénobitiques, Texte latin 2 revu, introduction, traduction et notes par J.-C. GUY (SC 109), Paris, 2001 , and Jean Cassien, Conférences, Introduction, texte latin, traduction et notes par E. PICHERY (SC 42, 54, 64), Paris, 1955-1959. The English translation is quoted after E. C. S. GIBSON, The Works of John Cassian, Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian, ed. PH. SCHAFF and H. WACE (NPNF II, t. 11), p. 201-545, modifying it when needed. 492 Cassian himself makes a distinction between the monasticism of Egypt and that of the East (Oriens), the latter including Mesopotamia, Palestine and Cappadocia, see the analysis below, ch. 5.2. We will use a general term of the “Eastern monasticism” when this difference will not be essential.

167 astonishment and no instruction in the perfect life”493, but to present authentically their habits and to preach their moral ideals. While analysing the previous authors we have been trying to conceive the idea of the monk’s model from the narrative about his live, the approach will be different in the case of the works of John Cassian, for here the author himself presents explicitely the elements of the monastic ideal.

In the two texts which were written between 420 and 428494, Cassian laid down what he had learned and experienced some twenty years ago during his stay in the East, first in the monastery of Bethlehem, and later among Egyptian hermits495. The two books present two phases of spiritual life, the Institutes being devoted to the first one, the active, or practical, life (vita actualis), achieved by “an improvement of morals and purification from faults”, and the Conferences to its more perfect form, the contemplative, or theoretical, life (vita contemplativa), “which consists in the contemplation of things divine” 496.

493 Inst. praef. 7: quae legentibus praeter admirationem nihil amplius ad instructionem perfectae uitae conferunt. 494 O. CHADWICK, John Cassian, Cambridge, 1968, p. 39. J.-C. GUY thinks that the Institutes were composed around 420-424 (Introduction, Jean Cassien, Institutions, cit., p. 11). E. PICHERY dates the last two series of the Conferences in the second half of 426 (Introduction, Jean Cassien, Conférences, p. 29), but O. CHADWICK pushes the date of the last Conferences to 428 (in Euladius of Arles, cit.). 495 Cassian and his friend Germanus would have spent some years before 386 in a monastery near the cave of the Nativity at Bethlehem. They would have left afterwards for Egypt where they would have visited the regions of Panephysis and the deserts of Scete and Cellia. Their stay in Egypt would have ended with the Origenist controversy in 399-400. Little is known about Cassian’s origin. On the basis of the Gennadius note in De viris illustribus, 62 (Cassianus, natione Scytha) there has been proposed as his birthplace the Roman province of Scythia Minor, the modern Dobrudja in Rumania (H.-I. MARROU, Jean Cassian à Marseille, Revue du moyen âge latin 1, 1945, p. 5-26; ID., La patrie de Jean Cassien, OCP 13, 1947, p. 588- 596), although the discussion is not yet closed (cf. K. ZELZER, Cassianus natione Scytha, ein Südgallier, WSt 104, 1991, p. 161-168; the article unfortunately was not accessible to us). On Cassian’s life see O. CHADWICK, op. cit. p. 8-36; E. PICHERY, op. cit. p. 7-23; J. OLPHE-GALLIARD, Art. Cassien (Jean), DSp 2, col. 214-276, see col. 214-218. 496Conl. XIV,1: cuius [sc. disciplinae] quidem duplex scientia est: prima praktik$, id est actualis, quae emendatione morum et uitiorum purgatione perficitur: altera qewrhtik$, quae in contemplatione diuinarum rerum et sacratissimorum sensuum cognitione consistit. The active life is related to the exterior man and can be practiced in the cenobitic monasteries, while the contemplative discipline refers to the interior man and concerns the solitaries (Inst. II,9,3). The practical knowledge can be acquired without the theoretical, but the theoretical cannot be gained without the practical (Conl. XIV,2). On the spiritual doctrine of Cassian which ows much to that of Evagrius, see O. CHADWICK, op. cit.; J. OLPHE-GALLIARD, art. cit.; J.-C. GUY, Jean Cassien. Vie et doctrine spirituelle (Théologie, pastorale et spiritualité 9), Paris, 1961, p. 35-56. The most extensive commentary of both texts is that of A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l’antiquité, t. 6: Les derniers écrits de Jérôme et l’œuvre de Jean Cassien (414-428), Paris, 2002.

168 The Institutes are constituted of twelve books dedicated to “the most blessed bishop Castor” who wished to found a monastery not far from Marseille497. The first four of them, forming a separate group, describe the dress, the psalmody and rules of the monastery, while each of the last eight books is devoted to one of the eight vices. The Conferences were published in three groups. Each of them bears a preface indicating to whom they are offered: Conferences I to X are offered to “bishop Leontius and the holy brother Helladius” 498, Conferences XI to XVII to “the holy brothers Honoratus and Eucherius”, the founder of the Lerinian community and the author of the De laude eremi499, and the Conferences XVIII to XXIV to the “holy brothers Jovinian, Minervius, Leontius and Theodore”500. In the Institutes it is Cassian himself who reports the way of life and the doctrine of Eastern monasteries. In the Conferences two literary genres are combined, the fashionable travel story and the spiritual conversation which was popular in monastic communities. The author presents his trip to Egypt as a series of “interviews” given to him and his companion Germanus by eminent Egyptian fathers501, each Conference being dedicated to one particular theme. Some fathers present their teaching in several Conferences so that altogether there are fifteen hermits who speak502.

497 Inst. praef. 2: beatissime papa Castor. Cassian’s Institutes was the reply to the request of Castor, the bishop of Apt, the diocese forty miles north of Marseille. 498 Conl. I, praef.: beatissime papa Leonti et sancte frater Helladi. Leontius was bishop of Fréjus. Helladius later became a bishop (he is referred to as episcopus in the prefaces of the other two groups of the Conferences), probably occupying the see of Arles before Honoratus in 426-427 (A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 6, p. 177; on the contested bishopric of Helladius see O. CHADWICK, art. cit.). 499 Conl. XI, praef.: sancti fratres Honorate et Eucheri. Cassian refers to Honoratus, the founder of the Lerinian monastery (cf. above, ch. II), as “presiding over a large monastery of the brethren” (ingenti fratrum coenobio praesidens). Eucherius is said to have “been anxious to make his way to Egypt to be edified by the sight of these in the flesh” (ut etiam corporali eorundem aedificaretur aspectu, Aegyptum penetrare voluerit). Cassian, however, does not pronounce the name of Lérins neither does he mention the insular position of the monastery, A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 6, p. 277. 500 Conl. XVIII, praef.: sancti fratres Iouiniane, Minerui, Leonti et Theodore. These four have established some form of monastic retreat on the Stoechades (modern islands of Hyères between Nice and Marseilles), where both cenobitic and anachoretic forms were practiced, see Conl. XI praef., Conl. XVIII praef., also A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 6, p. 345-347. 501 J.-CL. GUY, Jean Cassien. Vie et doctrine, cit., p. 29. 502 The internal structure of the Conferences has been analysed by J. LEROY, Les préfaces des écrits monastiques de Jean Cassien, RAM 42, 1966, p. 159-180, and A. DE VOGÜE, Pour comprendre Cassien. Un survol des Conférences, De saint Pachôme à Jean Cassien. Études littéraires et doctrinales sur le monachisme égyptien à ses débuts (StAns 120), Roma, 1996, p. 303-329 (= CCist 39, 1977, p. 250-272).

169 5.1. Points of reference: antiquitas, traditio, exemplum There are two key values which Cassian constantly refers to and which serve to define his thought. These are the antiquity (antiquitas) of the monastic movement, and the importance of example (exemplum), both scriptural and contemporary503.

It is Cassian himself who best presents the programme of his project in the introduction to the Institutes. He claims here that he will report the rule which “was followed in the monasteries anciently (antiquitus) founded throughout Egypt and Palestine”504. Moreover, he claims that this antiquitas refers to the times of the apostles, thus attaching the origins of the monasticism to their authority, because these “monasteries have been founded by holy and spiritual fathers (a sanctis ac spiritalibus patribus) since the rise of apostolic preaching (ab exordio praedicationis apostolicae)”505.

In fact, in his works Cassian gives two versions of the apostolic origin of monasticism, one being attached to the first Christian community of Jerusalem, the other to Alexandria and its first bishop Marc506. In the eighteenth Conference Cassian puts in the mouth of Piamun the first known history of monasticism507. For him, the cenobitic monasteries are the true inheritors of the apostolic spirit of the first Christian community of Jerusalem (a tempore praedicationis apostolicae sumpsit exordium)508. When this spirit began to cool down at the death of the apostles, some, wishing to maintain the

503 The ideas we are analysing in this chapter have been grouped by M. OLPHE-GALLIARD under the title of “Les dispositions spirituelles”, in Art. Cassien, col. 243-247, denoting “les dispositions fondamentales de l’âme aspirant à la perfection” (col. 243). 504 Inst. praef. 8: secundum eam quam uidimus monasteriorum regulam per Aegyptum uel Palaestinam antiquitus fundatorum. The word antiquitus is often used by Cassian when he needs the approval of the tradition, cf. Inst. II,1; II,4; II,7,1; XI,8; Conl. II,5; XXI,12. 505 Ibid.: ab exordio praedicationis apostolicae a sanctis ac spiritalibus patribus fundata monasteria. 506 These two theories have been analysed in relation to the position of monasticism in the Church by A. DE VOGÜE, Monachisme et Eglise dans la pensée de Cassien, De saint Pachôme à Jean Cassien, cit., p. 271- 301 (= Théologie de la vie monastique (Théologie 49), Lyon, 1961, p. 213-240). See the more detailed analysis of the Alexandrian version by ID., Les sources des quatre premiers livres des Institutions de Jean Cassien, De saint Pachôme à Jean Cassien, cit., p. 373-456, see p. 404-408; cf. also J.-CL. GUY, Jean Cassien. Vie et doctrine, cit., p. 35-36; O. CHADWICK, op. cit., p. 51-54. 507 O. CHADWICK, op. cit., p. 51. 508 Conl. XVIII,5: itaque coenobiotarum disciplina a tempore praedicationis apostolicae sumpsit exordium. Cassian proceeds with quoting Act 4,32.

170 apostolic fervour (apostolicus fervor)509, left their cities in order to practice “those things which they had learnt to have been ordered by the apostles (ab apostolis) throughout the whole body of the Church in general”510. Because of their separation from the mass and from marriage they were termed monachi or mon@zonteV, i. e. solitaries, who because of their life together were later called coenobiotae, and their cells, coenobia511.

Another theory, that of the Alexandrian origin, is reported in the passage of the Institutes dedicated to the order of liturgical prayer which would have been instituted by an angel (Inst. II,5-6). Here the monks are said to have received their mode of life from the Evangelist Mark, the first bishop of Alexandria512. However, this community “not only preserved those grand things”513 of the believers of primitive times as it is reported in the Acts of the Apostles, but “they added to these things others still more sublime”514. For Cassian these “things more sublime”, denoting the ascetic way of life515, together with the angelic origin of the Alexandrian liturgy516 ensure the superiority of the Egyptian tradition over any other, including that of Jerusalem celebrated in the Acts.

509 Ibid.: hi autem quibus adhuc apostolicus inerat feruor. 510 Ibid.: in locis suburbanis ac secretioribus conmanere et ea, quae ab apostolis per uniuersum corpus ecclesiae generaliter meminerant instituta, priuatim ac peculiariter exercere coeperunt. For Cassian, the role of perfect Christians in the Church is played by monks who represent the primitive Christian fervour and the final perfection, see A. DE VOGÜÉ, Monachisme et Église, cit., p. 282. 511 Ibid.: qui paulatim tempore procedente segregati a credentium turbis ab eo, quod a coniugiis abstinerent et a parentum se consortio mundique istius conuersatione secernerent, monachi siue mon@zonteV a singularis ac solitariae uitae districtione nominati sunt. unde consequens fuit ut ex communione consortii coenobiotae cellaeque ac diuersoria eorum coenobia uocarentur. The story of monasticism is continued by the emergence of the first anchorites Antony and Paul issued from these cenobitic communities, Conl. XVIII,6. See the analysis below, ch. 5.2. 512 Inst. II,5,1: cum in primordiis fidei pauci quidem sed probatissimi monachorum nomine censerentur, qui sicut a beatae memoriae euangelista Marco, qui primus Alexandriae urbi pontifex praefuit, normam suscepere uiuendi. 513 Ibid.: non solum illa magnifica retinebant, quae primitus ecclesiam uel credentium turbas in Actibus apostolorum legimus celebrasse, follows the quotation of Act 4,32-35. 514 Ibid.: verum etiam his multo sublimiora cumulaverant. 515 Ascetic life includes abstinence, the reading of Scripture, the prayer, and the manual labour. Cassian follows Eusebius who had identified the therapeutae described by Philo in his De vita contemplativa with the first Christian communities (Cassian uses the Latin translation by Rufinus, Hist. Eccles. II,17), see A. DE VOGÜE, Les sources des quatre premiers livres, cit., p. 405-406. 516 A. DE VOGÜÉ has shown that the legend of the angelic origin of liturgical prayer was borrowed by Cassian from the legend about Pachomius reported in the Lausiac History by Palladius (Hist. Laus. 32). By replacing Pachomius with apostolic fathers, Cassian carried back the origins of the cenobitic monasticism to much earlier period. Moreover, the name of Pachomius is never mentioned in the writings of Cassian (A. DE VOGÜÉ, Monachisme et Église, cit., p. 275-276).

171 Egypt is the land elect of monasticism which has received its particular mission from the Divine Providence and which ows its superiority to the excellence of its origins517.

Having proved the antiquity of the monastic origins, Cassian can claim the long- established tradition of the fathers, patrum traditio, which would guarantee the authority of the teaching Cassian transmits. In the Institutes, his purpose is to tell about the way to attain the perfect life “in accordance with that which we received from our elders (a senioribus nostris)518”. In the Conferences he says in the words of the Abbot Theonas: “It is indeed right for us, even when we cannot see the reason, to yield to the authority of the fathers (auctoritati patrum) and to a custom of our predecessors (consuetudini maiorum) that has been continued through so many years down to our own time, and to observe it, as handed down from antiquity (ut antiquitus tradita est), with constant care and reverence”519.

What traits does Cassian mention when he speaks of the Eastern fathers who would constitute the tradition? First of all, these are the antiquity and the holiness520 of their persons, the two features often referred to together as if validating each other and allowing to endow the fathers with respect521. Their authority may also be noted explicitly, – they are probati, catholici, rationabiles522. They are also considered to belong to our tradition, therefore they are seniores nostri523. The apostolic origin of monasticism is also evoked as a sign of their authority524.

517 A. DE VOGÜE, Monachisme et Église, cit., p. 272-277. 518 Inst. praef. 8: secundum ea, quae a senioribus nostris accepimus. 519 Conl. XXI,12: oportet quidem nos auctoritati patrum consuetudinique maiorum usque ad nostrum tempus per tantam annorum seriem protelatae etiam non percepta ratione concedere eamque, ut antiquitus tradita est, iugi obseruantia ac reuerentia custodire. 520 To give only some examples: Inst. praef. 8: sancti ac spiritales patres; Inst. I,2,4: vetustas tantorum temporum et innumerositas sanctorum patrum; Inst. II,1: a sanctis patribus antiquitus statutus; Inst. I,2,2 : a veteribus sanctis, qui huius professionis fundamenta iecerunt; Inst. II,2,2: antiquissimam patrum constitutionem. For a more detailed analysis of the references to Eastern fathers in the first four books of the Institutes, see M. LENKAITYTĖ, « Patres nostri », cit. 521 Inst. II,5,3: venerabiles patres; Inst. II,6: venerabilis patrum senatus. 522 Inst. II,5,1: probatissimi monachorum; Inst. V,8: verissima est itaque patrum probatissimaque sententia; Conl. I,20: probatis et catholicis patribus; Conl. XVII,26: rationabiles ac probatos patres; Conl. XX,6: probata sententia seniorum. 523 Inst. praef. 8: secundum ea quae a senioribus nostris accepimus; Inst. praef. 7; Inst. III,5.6; Conl. XVIII,3; Conl. XXI,12; Conl. XXI,28. Seniores nostri may also refer more specifically to the fathers of Egypt, Conl. II,21; Conl. XVII,23 (seniores nostri as opposed to the principes illorum monasteriorum of Jerusalem); Conl. XIX,16; Conl. XXIV,1; in the seventeenth Conference, the term is exclusively applied to

172 Most often patrum traditio and maiorum traditio are evoked as a guarantee of the veracity of doctrine in general525. However, in some passages Cassian makes it clear what is the essence of this tradition by showing what is contrary to it. Two points are especially disapproved, the novelty of the mores and the reluctance to follow the usages of the majority. The monks must be obedient “not to those customs and rules which the will of a few (paucorum voluntas) have introduced, but to those which a long standing antiquity (vetustas tantorum temporum) and numbers of the holy fathers (innumerositas sanctorum patrum) have passed on by an unanimous decision to those that come after”526. In Egypt and the Thebaid, the monasteries are ruled “not at the fancy of every man who renounces the world, but through a succession and tradition of the fathers (per successiones ac traditiones maiorum)”527. The first series of the Conferences is dedicated to brother Helladius because the latter preferred to learn not from his own ideas but from the traditions of the anchorites528. The Abbot Sarapion fell into the heresy of anthropomorphism not because of his own conviction, but because the doctrine of the Church seemed to him a novelty (novella), and one that was never known to or handed down (tradita) by his predecessors529. Hence, the regula catholica of which Cassian

the elders of the Jerusalem monastery where Cassian and Germanus have stayed before their trip to Egypt (Conl. XVII,2.5.13.24.30). The exact meaning of the expression is not always clear. It is a general difficulty in the ancient monastic literature to distinguish if the terms of seniores and maiores are applied to the elders of the past, to those of the present, or to the superiors of a monastery. 524 Inst. praef. 8; Inst. XII,19: uirtutes apostolicae, quae saepenumero per eos manifestatae sunt [...]simplicem piscatorum fidem corde simplici retinentes; Conl. XVII,23: seniores nostri, quorum fidei apostolicarum signa uirtutum testimonium reddiderunt. 525 Patrum traditio, maiorum traditio in Inst. praef. 7; V,23,2; VI,1; VI,14; XII,16; Conl. XVI,1; a patribus tradita sunt: Inst. praef. 2, XII,3; Conl. IV,3. Other combinations including tradere or its derivatives are also numerous. 526 Inst. I,2,4: illis enim debemus institutis ac regulis indubitatam fidem et indiscussam oboedientiam per omnia commodare, non quas paucorum uoluntas intulit, sed quas uetustas tantorum temporum et innumerositas sanctorum patrum concordi definitione in posterum propagauit; this passage on the monk’s robe bears several objections against those who do not follow the universal usages, Inst. I,2,2: nec catholice per omne corpus fraternitatis tenetur; Inst. I,2,3: quae non secundum catholicam regulam ab eis usurpata sunt [...] generali namque omnium constitutioni paucorum non debet praeponi nec praeiudicare sententia. Note the double appearance of catholice and catholica regula wich refers to the “universal rule”. 527 Inst. II,3,1: per uniuersam Aegyptum et Thebaidem, ubi monasteria non pro uniuscuiusque renuntiantis instituuntur arbitrio, sed per successiones ac traditiones maiorum usque in hodiernum diem uel permanent uel mansura fundantur. 528 Conl. 1, praef.: non tam suis adinuentionibus quam illorum [sc. anachoretarum] traditionibus maluit erudiri. 529 Conl. X,3: eo quod nouella ei haec persuasio nec ab anterioribus aliquando conperta uel tradita uideretur. He is later convinced by proves from Scripture.

173 speaks530 means a universal rule observed in the Eastern monasteries. It is the heritage of the tradition which goes back up to the apostolic times and which has been handed down by the fathers. In fact, Cassian’s notion of tradition is a reflection of a more general tendency. The famous canon of the Church tradition of Vincent of Lérins, the monk of the Lerinian monastery and Cassian’s contemporary, says: id teneamus quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est 531.

If the idea of tradition generally refers to the true doctrine brought to our days by the fathers, the notion of example is more diverse. It may include 1) an example of an elder to his disciple, 2) an example of a scriptural figure or a desert father as a model to be imitated, or 3) an example given to illustrate or explain the moral and spiritual doctrine. In addition, all these categories may comprise bad examples not to be followed532. We will further discuss the reasons, ways and goals of following example, while its practical application will be viewed in the next chapter.

The doctrine of why and how novices must learn from the example of their elders is expounded in the second Conference where Abbot Moses speaks about discretion. The latter, being “the mother of all virtues, as well as their guardian and regulator”533, can only be acquired by true humility, while the proof of this one is to reserve everything, either what is done or what is thought, for the scrutiny of the elders534. The man who lives according to the example of the elders (maiorum vivit exemplo) cannot be deceived by the enemy535. The humility of a monk includes also the obligation to disclose his thoughts to his elder, “and remedies for wounds must be faithfully received from them

530 Inst. I,2,2-3, see n. 526 above. Cf. Conl. I,20: probatis et catholicis patribus. 531 Commonitorium II,5. 532 At least four negative examples of fathers mastering too little virtue of discretion are given (Conl. II,5.6.8.24); monks who have not achieved perfection can only “upset and deceive by their example” (subvertere et decipere exemplis, Conl. II,13); the pretended monks called sarabaites have followed the bad example of Ananias and Sapphira of Act 5,1-11 (Conl. XVIII,7); the devils are invisible in order that human beings would not be corrupted by their constant bad example (Conl. VIII,12); among devils, the same method of following example is observed (Conl. VIII,16). 533 Conl. II,4: omnium namque uirtutum generatrix, custos moderatrixque discretio est. 534 Conl. II,10: uniuersa non solum quae agenda sunt, sed etiam quae cogitantur, seniorum reseruentur examini. 535 Conl. II,10: nullatenus enim decipi poterit, quisque non suo iudicio, sed maiorum uiuit exemplo.

174 together with the examples of the way of life (exempla conversationis ac vitae)”536. Indeed, whatever is ordered by the elders must be believed to be divine and coming from heaven537.

This practice of the close relationship between abba and his disciple is indispensable to anyone who wishes to undertake the road of spiritual perfection, whence the importance attributed to elders in Cassian’s writings538. The elder who can be called by Cassian senior, maior, or senex, is not “every old man whose head is covered with grey hears, and whose age is his sole claim to respect”. A monk should follow only those “whom we find to have distinguished themselves in youth in an approved and praiseworthy manner, and to have been trained up not on self-assurance but on the traditions of the fathers (maiorum traditionibus)”539. The elder must be well-tried (probatissimus)540 and experienced in what he is teaching541, therefore the one who is

536 Conl. II,13: absque ullo confusionis operimento omnia debent senioribus reuelari atque ab eis uel remedia uulnerum uel exempla conuersationis ac uitae fiducialiter sumi. Practical imitation is opposed to vain wishes and idle conversations, Conl. XVIII,2: frustra inanibus uotis eorum similitudinem exoptat adtingere, quorum curam atque industriam detractat aemulari; Conl. XVIII,3: imitari magis quam discutere studiant. 537 Inst. XII,32,2: uniuersa, quae sibi fuerint a senioribus imperata, sine ulla discussione perficiens, sacrosancta ea credens ac diuinitus promulgata. When Cassian and Germanus are anxious whether to keep their promise and return to the monastery of Jerusalem or to prolong their sojourn in Egypt, the question is solved by an elder whose verdict, like a divine or heavenly reply (uelut diuinum et caeleste responsum), will put an end to their troubles (Conl. XVII,3). 538 The doctrine reported by Cassian makes part of the traditional system of spiritual guidance in early monasticism. This is a vast subject in itself, see for example the studies quoted in ch. I.1.4. 539 Conl. II,13: non omnium seniorum, quorum capita canities tegit quo que uitae longaeuitas sola commendat, nobis sunt sectanda uestigia seu traditiones ac monita suscipienda, sed eorum, quos laudabiliter uitam suam ac probatissime conperimus in iuuentute signasse nec praesumptionibus propriis, sed maiorum traditionibus institutos, preceded by two quotations of Sir 25,5 and Sap 4,8-9. The importance attached to spiritual direction can be also realized from the four negative examples of fathers mastering too little virtue of discretion, given in this same Conference, see n. 532 above. 540 At the beginning of the passage quoted in the note above Cassian warns that not all old men are equally perfecti uel probatissimi. Probatissimus is often used by Cassian to indicate the authority of a monk or his teaching, see: Inst. V,3: Archebius probatissimus inter eos; Inst. X,24: abba Paulus, probatissimus patrum; Conl. I,1: monachorum probatissimi patres; Conl. II,13: abbas Apollo seniorum probatissimus; Conl. V,8: probatissimi monachorum; Conl. IX,6: quidam probatissimus seniorum. The same epithet was also applied to the fathers of old, see n. 521 above. 541 Conl. II,13, see note 534; Conl. XIV,9: nec quemquam uerbis docere praesumas quod opere ante non feceris, Conl. XVIII, praef.: anachoreseos disciplinam illorum potius praeceptis capere consuescant, quos in omnibus et antiqua traditio et longae experientiae instruxit industria; Inst. XII,13 and 15 (teachers are called magistri ac duces); Conl. II,11: vel illorum traditio vel vitae probitas.

175 going to preside over the brethren must have been elevated himself according to the fathers’ institutes (institutis seniorum)542.

The doctrine of learning from example is not limited to practical education, but is applied on a much broader scale. The monk must always learn from good examples pertinent to Christian Revelation, be it his monastic predecessors or figures from Scripture. Speaking about the importance of the renunciation not only in body, but also in heart, Cassian says that “we should hasten to take examples of virtues (sumamus exempla virtutum) from those who are few and very rare”543. These few but reliable examples are of double origine, that of Scripture and of tradition, because they may include “the acts and proofs of the apostles and prophets” (prophetarum et apostolorum actus ac testimonia), but also must “pass in the scale of the fathers” (exagium seniorum adaequari)544.

We have already observed these two categories, the scriptural saints of the Old (prophetarum) and the New Testaments (apostolorum), and the Christian saints as making the standard for reference in earlier monastic writers, and we find it plenty of times in the works of Cassian. Without enumerating all passages where Cassian leans both on scriptural examples and “the fathers”545, for which in fact we would be forced to refer to the larger part of his work, we will instead illustrate again his method by the words of his interlocutors. Thus, for example, Abbot Pafnutius claims that he will lean on the “tradition of the fathers and the authority of Holy Scripture” (patrum traditio et

542 Inst. II,3,3: nullus congregationi fratrum praefuturus eligitur, priusquam idem [...] quid iunioribus tradere debeat institutis seniorum fuerit adsecutus. 543 Conl. III,7: a paucis ac rarissimis sumamus exempla virtutum, follows a quotation of Mt 22,14 (multi vocati, pauci autem electi). 544 Conl. I,21-22, where Cassian employs the parable of “a good money-changer” to illustrate the teaching on the discernment of thoughts. 545 Examples of the fathers may include their teaching as well as their actions: regulas ac typos [...] actus et exempla seniorum (Inst. IV,15,2); quaedam seniorum gesta [...] exempli gratia explicare (Inst. V,23); patrum traditionibus explicare (Inst. VI,14); patrum primo consignare sententiis, ut cum patuerit quid de illa senserint uel pronuntiauerint maiores nostri, tum prolatis tam antiquis quam recentibus ruinis et casibus diuersorum (Conl. II,1); the examples of today are sometimes given next to those of the old: non solum cotidianis exemplis sed etiam antiquis patrum consultationibus ac sententiis adprobare (Conl. I,23); et novellis exemplis et definitionibus antiquorum (Conl. II,9). Apart from the examples quoted above, patrum sententia is referred to in Inst. V,8; Inst. VI,6; XI,18; XII,13; Conl. XXI,10.

176 scripturarum sanctarum demonstrat auctoritas) to show the three sorts of renunciation546, and the doctrine of the origin of principalities that Abbot Serenus will explain has been received not just from Holy Scripture, but, – Abbot Serenus turns to the second component of the authority, – from the source of Holy Scripture as handed down by the tradition of the fathers (traditione patrum de sanctarum scripturarum fonte percepimus)547.

This constant reference to good examples has even more important value than a simple imitation of virtues. Its final goal, which corresponds to the final goal of monastic profession, is the contemplation of God. In order to reach the intuitus Dei solius, a contemplative must first meditate upon the examples of few saints (paucorum consideratio sanctorum), and what God has performed through them in each generation, and only afterwards he will be able to feed on the beauty and knowledge of God alone548.

5.2. Eastern monks viewed by Cassian Having seen that the majour values Cassian communicates to the monasteries of Gaul are antiquity, tradition and example, let us turn now our regard to the content that fills these ideas in: what means the East to Cassian, what is a typical Eastern monk who is proposed by Cassian as an example, and what is the role of biblical saints.

The regions of the East

The Eastern regions mentioned by Cassian include Egypt, Thebaid, Mesopotamia, Cappadocia and Palestine549. All these names refer to Roman provinces making part of one prefecture of Oriens. However, Egypt seems to be ranked in a separate category by Cassian550 for it is often referred to as being superior to the East551. In the preface to his

546 Conl. III,6. In the fifth Conference on the eight principal faults Abbot Sarapion will follow the same method: ut haec eadem non solum disputatione quantum possumus breui, sed etiam scripturarum testimoniis manifestiora reddamus [...] (Conl. V,4). 547 Conl. VIII,6. 548 Conl. I,8, where Abbot Moses illustrates his teaching on the contemplation of divine things by the example of Mary and Martha (cf. Lc 10,40-42). See M. OLPHE-GALLIARD, La science spirituelle d’après Cassien, RAM 18, 1937, p. 141-160, especially p. 155-156. 549 It is mostly in the Institutes that Cassian makes appear all these regions. In the Conferences, the geography is mainly restricted to the areas of Lower Egypt which he had visited, namely Scete, Cellia, and Panephysis. 550 This separate category is twice complemented by Thebaid as having the same customs, Inst. II,3.4; in Inst. IV,1 Thebaid is made distinct from Egypt (the rule of the monastery of Tabenna in Thebaid is said to

177 Institutes Cassian says that the bishop Castor wanted to establish in his province the institutes of the East and especially of Egypt (Orientalium maximeque Aegyptiorum)552. In the same preface Cassian himself says twice that he is going to report the institutes of Egypt and Palestine, as if these two would represent the whole East for him553. It is the end of the preface that Cassian finally explains what is the essential difference between Egypt and the rest: it lies in the rigour of Egypt’s monastic practice. The rule of Egypt is harder than that which is practiced in Palestine and Mesopotamia, and therefore the first will be sometimes moderated by the second in order to fit the climate and character of Gallic monasteries554.

In fact, Cassian knew personally only the monasteries of Palestine and Egypt555, but it was in Egypt that his favourite land, his “heaven upon earth” lay556. The purpose why he left his monastery of Jerusalem was to visit the famous saints of Egypt “wishing if not to emulate them at least to know them”557. All the Conferences are given by the be much stricter than all others, Egypt probably implied among them). Cassian intended to visit Egypt as far as Thebaid (Conl. XI,1: Aegyptum petere ac remotissima etiam Thebaidos heremo penetrata), but he does not seem to have gone farther than the desert of Scete. 551 These are the occurrences of the distinction between Egypt and the East, with an always perceptible tinge of the superiority of Egyptians: the Gauls must follow the order of the daily service observed in “the whole of Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Cappadocia and all the East” (Inst. IV,19: per cunctam Mesopotamiam, Palaestinam et Cappadociam ac totum Orientem) as opposed to that of “the Egyptians” (Inst. IV,22: ceterum apud Aegyptios); the habit to read the holy lessons during the meal has been introduced in Cappadocia, while the strict silence is kept among the Egyptians and those of Tabenna (Inst. IV,17); in Palestine the daily fast is not broken upon the arrival of guests, contrary to the custom of Egyptians (Inst. V,24); the obstinacy of the elders of Palestinian monasteries is opposed to the discretion of spirit of the Egyptians (Conl. XVII,23). However, Egypt is not always excluded from the Eastern parts. In Inst. II,1 Cassian says that he will now present the system of the canonical prayers which was instituted in the East (in partibus Orientis), and then relates the customs of Egypt including the Alexandrian legend. 552 Inst. praef. 3; the first distinction, however, between these two notions does not refer to monasticism, but to Solomon whose wisdom excelled that of all the Easterns and Egyptians (Orientalium et Aegyptiorum), Inst. praef. 2. 553 Inst. praef. 3: poscis praecipisque ut instituta monasteriorum, quae per Aegyptum ac Palaestinam custodiri conspeximus; Inst. praef. 8: secundum eam quam uidimus monasteriorum regulam per Aegyptum uel Palaestinam antiquitus fundatorum. 554 Inst. praef. 9. The same observation occurs again in Inst. III,1: the system of prayers of Palestine and Mesopotamia must moderate the perfect and inimitable rule of Egypt (perfectionem Aegyptiorum et inimitabilem disciplinae rigorem horum institutis moderantes). 555 Cf. note 548: conspeximus, vidimus. He knew the customs of other regions either from what he has heard or read. 556 O. CHADWICK, op. cit., p. 52. 557 Conl. XI,1: sanctorum plurimos, quorum gloriam fama per uniuersa diffuderat, si non aemulandi, saltim agnoscendi studio inuisere. This is also the reason why Cassian and Germanus have decided to stay longer in Egypt: by the examples of such great men they wished to be formed for a more perfect life (Conl. XVII,2: potuimus exemplis talium ac tantorum uirorum ad perfectiorem uitam propositumque formari).

178 monks of Egypt. We can conclude therefore that the distinction of Egypt from other regions of the East, meaning in fact its superiority, is due to the perfection of its monastic customs, the apostolic origins of the Egyptian monasticism558, and to Cassian’s personal affection to this land. Finally, it must be noted that Egyptians are superiour not only to other Easterns, but also, and much more, to Gauls to whom Cassian is writing and to whom he sometimes does not spare, especially in the Institutes, a touch of irony559.

The figure of the Eastern monk

O. Chadwick has noted that “Cassian’s hermits are obscure men. A propagandist would have ascribed his Conferences to Macarius or Ammonius or Arsenius. The names of his monks are not great names”560. This remark lets O. Chadwick later conclude that “nothing in the Conferences suggests that they are not an authentic presentation of moral and ascetic ideals practised in Egypt”561. On our part, we would like to take a closer look at the way Cassian introduces the hermits he has spoken with and another monastic figures562.

The monks are called fratres and monachi in the most general sense563. They are referred to as anachoretae or coenobiotae when the author wants to specify their eremitic or coenobitic way of life. The coenobitae are those “who live together in a congregation

558 See ch. 5.1. 559 The Egyptian rule is hard or difficult in “this region” either because of the severity of the climate, or owing to some difficulty or diversity of habits (Inst. praef. 9: seu pro asperitate aerum seu pro difficultate ac diuersitate morum inpossibilia in his regionibus uel dura uel ardua); Cassian introduces modification in the dress observances to fit the climate and the custom of the region (Inst. I,10); the silence during the prayer in Egypt is opposed to the noise made by Gauls (Inst. II,8.10); the obedience of Gauls cannot even be compared to that of the monks of Tabenna (Inst. IV,1); Cassian omits the food observance which would be too strict for weak Gauls (Inst. IV,11); idleness is the reason why there are no monasteries in “this country” (Inst. X,23). 560 Op. cit., p. 20. Cassian refers to the translation of the Pachomian Rules to Latin by Jerome without mentioning the name of the monk of Thebais, and to the Rule of Basil without mentioning its translator Rufinus (Inst. praef. 5). For the rest of his work, the names of these great preachers of monasticism are almost absent (he only refers twice to the sententiae Basili in Inst. VI,19 and Inst. VII,19 which probably are not original). This does not however mean that he did not use other sources, cf. A. DE VOGÜÉ, Les sources des quatre premiers livres, cit. 561 Op. cit., p. 22. 562 Our aim is not to make a catalogue of the figures mentioned by Cassian but rather to analyse the way they are mentioned. 563 While the original meaning of monachus is a monk living in solitude, in Latin literature it began to be used in a broader sense already since Jerome (Ep. 22,34). With Cassian this new use is even dominant and the original meaning is referred to only as a fact of history (Conl. XVIII,5). See L. LORIÉ, op. cit., p. 29-34.

179 and are governed by the direction of a single elder”564, and anachoretae those “who were first trained in the coenobium and then being made perfect in practical life chose the recesses of the desert”565. Cassian believes the hermit society to be a higher way than the coenobium566. This may be one of the reasons why most of his interlocutors and the monks mentioned in both texts are anchorites567.

The fathers or elders are generally called sancti, seniores, maiores, patres, which may be combined with different epithets568. When Cassian refers to a specific figure, he usually calls it abbas or senex, or characterizes as beatus or sanctus569.

All the authors of the Conferences come from four regions Cassian knew himself: the city of Diolcos and the desert of Panephysis, situated near the mouth of the Nile, and the deserts of Scete and Cellia, situated to the west from the Nile delta570. The way

564 Conl. XVIII,4: primum [genus] est coenobiotarum, qui scilicet in congregatione pariter consistentes unius senioris iudicio gubernantur. 565 Ibid.: secundum anachoretarum, qui prius in coenobiis instituti iamque in actuali conuersatione perfecti solitudinis elegere secreta. Cassian also mentions the third group of monks, sarabaites, who correspond to remnuoth of Jerome (Ep. 22,34). They are reprehensible (reprehensibile genus) because they only simulate to be monks, (Conl. XVIII,7). 566 In the Conference XIX Abbot John treats the different aims of the hermit and the cenobite. The way of cenobites, however, is celebrated by Piamun in the Conference XVIII. See O. CHADWICK, op. cit., p. 53-54, and A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 6, p. 347-380. 567 Only one Conference, Conl. XX, is indicated explicitely to be given by a cenobite Pinufius. Some have identified two more cenobitic authors, John (Conl. XX) and Theonas (Conl. XXI-XXIII), J. LEROY, art. cit., p. 173-174. Other cenobites mentioned by Cassian are Patermutius (Inst. IV,27), John (Inst. V,27), another John, the superiour of the monastery of Thmuis (Conl. XIV,4), and Paul, the superiour of a monastery near Panephysis (Conl. XIX,1). A certain Syncletius is reported as a bad example (Inst. VII,19). On the grounds of these facts J. LEROY has come to a conclusion that the doctrine presented in separate parts of the Institutes and Conferences is not homogeneous, but rather sometimes cenobitic, and sometimes eremitic (art. cit.). Some of his conclusions have been softened by A. DE VOGÜÉ, Pour comprendre Cassien, cit., p. 305, n. 9; p. 320, n. 66. 568 For instance, seniores nostri, maiores nostri, veteres sancti, sancti patres, antiquissimi patres, venerabiles patres. 569 Usually these attributives are not grouped but applied one at a time, for example the same figure is referred to as beatus Pafnutius in Conl. IV,1, and as abbas Pafnutius in Conl. XVIII,15. Only Abbot Isidore is called beatus Isidorus abbas in Conl. XVIII,16, Abbot Joseph sanctus abbas Ioseph in Conl. XVII,1, and the companion of Cassian is twice referred to as sanctus abbas Germanus (Conl. I,1; Conl. XVII,3). 570 All except one of the first ten Conferences were given by six hermits of Scete (Conl. I-II by Moses, Conl. III by Pafnutius, Conl. IV by Daniel, Conl. V by Sarapion, Conl. VII-VIII by Serenus, Conl. IX-X by Isaac), the remaining by Theodore, a hermit at Cellia (Conl. VI). The second series (Conferences XI-XVII), chronologically forming the first group, was given by three hermits staying in the salt-marches near Panephysis, Conl. XI-XIII by Chaeremon, Conl. XIV-XV by Nesteros, and Conl. XVI-XVII by Joseph. Of the last series, XVIII Conference by Piamun was given probably in Diolcos, XIX (John) and XX (Pinufius) in Panephysis, and the last XXI-XXIV by two hermits in Scete (Conl. XXI-XXIII by Theonas, Conl. XXIV by Abraham).

180 Cassian introduces his characters may be different, but most often his commentaries are sparing, indicating only the spiritual perfection of the figure, while more place is dedicated either to his teaching, or an edifying story where he is an acting figure. For instance, Cassian opens the first Conference attributed to Abbot Moses by celebrating the desert of Scete where Moses was staying571. He then recounts in few but poetic words the excellence of Moses in his spiritual achievements572, mentions the efforts needed to make him expound his doctrine to the new arrivers, and soon starts reporting the teaching of the solitary. In the Institutes the same Abbot Moses is celebrated as “the best among the saints” (omnium sanctorum summus)573.

The most frequently evoked features of the fathers giving the Conferences are their holiness and skilfulness in a certain virtue574, which in many cases reflects the subject of the conference they give. The interlocutor of the fourth Conference Abbot Daniel, “a hero of Christian philosophy”, was equal to other dwellers of the Scete desert in all virtues, but was specially marked by the grace of humility (gratia humilitatis)575. Abbot Sarapion, to whom the fifth Conference is attributed, is celebrated for the grace of discretion (gratia discretionis)576. The author of the sixth Conference holy Abbot Theodore was singular (singularis) in practical life (in conversatione actuali) which must be understood here as ascesis577. However, in the Institutes probably the same Theodore is celebrated also for the theoretica scientia, for he was “gifted with the utmost holiness (summa sanctitate) and with perfect knowledge not only in practical life, but also in

571 Conl. I,1: in heremo Sciti, ubi monachorum probatissimi patres et omnis commorabatur perfectio. 572 Ibid.: qui inter illos egregios flores suauius non solum actuali, uerum etiam theoretica uirtute fragrabat. 573 Inst. X,25. 574 Indeed, a man cannot master all the virtues for it is impossible to a human being. Men advance towards God in many ways, and each must be perfect in whatever profession he has chosen, Conl. XIV,6. In the Institutes Cassian reports the words of Antony that each virtue must be sought for from those who have acquired in it a special degree (Inst. V,4). In the thirteenth Conference Abbot Theonas shows that even the saintest men are not perfect and always need the God’s grace. 575 Conl. IV,1: inter ceteros Christianae philosophiae uiros abbatem quoque uidimus Danihelem, aequalem quidem in omni uirtutum genere his qui in heremo Sciti conmanebant, sed peculiarius gratia humilitatis ornatum. 576 Conl. V,1. Two more passages are dedicated to him, Conl. II,10-11 and Conl. 18,11. 577 Conl. VI,1: ad sanctum Theodorum singularem in conuersatione actuali perreximus uirum. Theodore is told to have been living in the desert of Cellia, the situation of which is described in the same passage.

181 understanding Scriptures”578. The seventh Conference is attributed to Abbot Serenus “who answers like a mirror to his name”, for he was “a man of the greatest holiness and continence”579. Indeed, Abbot Chaeremon gives him as an example of purity (puritas) in the Conference XII on chastity580.

The three solitaries of Panephysis, Chaeremon, Nesteros and Joseph, to whom Cassian ows the second series of his Conferencies, are eminent as well for the old age shown by their bent bodies (antiquitas in corporibus iam curvatis) as for their holiness shining in their appearance (sanctitas in aspectu)581. Indeed, the oldest of the group Abbot Chaeremon had passed the hundredth year, and was vigorous only in spirit (alacer spiritu). However, despite his back bowed with age (vetustate) and constant prayer (orationum iugutate) making him walk as if he were once more in his childhood, he had a wonderful face (vultus mirabilis)582. Abbot Nesteros was shining in all points (praeclarus in omnibus) and was of the greatest knowledge (summae scientiae)583. His knowledge probably means the knowledge of spiritual things, for this is the subject of the fourteenth Conference attributed to him584. When Cassian introduces the last person of the group, Abbot Joseph, the special trait he evokes is not any moral virtue, but his noble origin and good education. He “belonged to a most illustrious family (clarae familiae)” from Thmuis and was “carefully trained (diligenter edoctus) in the eloquence of Greece as well

578 Inst. V,33: vidimus etiam abbatem Theodorum, summa sanctitate et scientia praeditum non solum in actuali uita, sed etiam notitia scripturarum. The latter is acquired not by study but by purity of heart, puritate cordis. 579 Conl. VII,1: summae sanctitatis et continentiae uirum nominisque sui speculum abbatem Serenum, quem singulari sumus ueneratione prae ceteris admirati [...]. cui supra omnes uirtutes, quae non solum in eius actu uel moribus, sed etiam in ipso uultu per Dei gratiam refulgebant, ita est peculiari beneficio donum castitatis infusum. Cassian proceeds with a story how Serenus had achieved both internal and external chastity (Conl. VII,2). 580 Conl. XII,7: quis ad illam beati Sereni paucorumque similium uirorum perueniet puritatem. 581 Conl. XI,2: uidete interim senes haud longe a nostro monasterio consistentes, quorum ita et antiquitas in corporibus iam curuatis et sanctitas in ipso etiam fulget aspectu. In the next passage they are called anachoretae antiquissimi (Conl. XI,3). They teach not so much by their words as by the example of their holy life, Conl. XI,2: non tam uerbis quam ipso sanctae uitae discatis exemplo. 582 Conl. XI,4: cum centenarium uitae annum spiritu tantum alacer excessisset, ita dorsum eius temporis fuerat uetustate atque orationum iugitate curuatum, ut quasi in primaeuam redactus infantiam submissis ac protentis terra tenus manibus progrederetur. huius igitur et uultum mirabilem et incessum pariter intuentes [...]. 583 Conl. XIV,1. 584 In general, “Cassian meant by knowledge only religious knowledge” (O. CHADWICK, op. cit., p. 67). The fifteenth Conference, also attributed to Abbot Nesteros, complements the previous one by discussing spiritual gifts and their relative value in comparison to uprightness of life.

182 as Egypt”, so that he could talk admirably (elegantissime) to Cassian without any interpreter585.

The eighteenth Conference is given by Abbot Piamun, a hermit living near Diolcos not far from the mouth of the Nile, “the senior of all the anchorites living there and their presbyter, as if he were some tall lighthouse”. His prominent shining is also referred to when he is compared to lofty mountains and to the city of the Gospel set on the top of a high mount586. The biggest virtue of “the very old man” (antiquissimus senex) John, interlocutor of the nineteenth Conference, is humility “in which he excelled all the saints”587, because he left the desert in order to submit himself to a coenobium with the utmost virtue of humility (summa humilitatis virtute)588. “The excellent man” (summus vir) Abbot Theonas589, penultimate of those whose Conferences are reported by Cassian, has converted to monastic profession fired with “the inextinguishable desire for the Evangelical perfection” by the exhortation of a certain Abbot John590. After having left his wife and the worldly goods, he fled to a monastery, where in a very short time he became famous “for the splendour of his sanctity and humility” (splendore sanctitatis et humilitatis)591.

585 Conl. XVI,1: beatus Ioseph [...] clarae admodum familiae ac primarius ciuitatis suae intra Aegyptum fuit, quae appellatur Thmuis, et ita non solum Aegyptia, sed etiam Graeca facundia diligenter edoctus, ut uel nobis uel his qui Aegyptiam linguam penitus ignorabant non ut ceteri per interpretem, sed per semet ipsum elegantissime disputaret. On the other occasion, Cassian relates the name of the Abbot to the patriarch of the Old Testament, Conl. XVII,4, see below. The education of Joseph in both languages recalls that of the first anchorite Paul in his Life by Jerome, V. Pauli 4: litteris tam Graecis quam Aegyptiacis apprime eruditus (parallel indicated by A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 6, p. 318). 586 Conl. XVIII,1: cum [...] ad illos uirtutum sublimitate conspicuos montes undique curiosos oculos tenderemus, abbatem Piamun, omnium anachoretarum illic inhabitantium seniorem eorundemque presbyterum uelut quandam sublimissimam pharum primus circumspectantium notauit intuitus. hic etenim sicut euangelica illa ciuitas (cf. Mt 5,14) in excelsi montis uertice constitutus nostro protinus refulsit aspectui. In Conl. XVII,4 Piamun is told to have chosen to hide his abstinence rather than to display it in pride. 587 Conl. XIX,2: antiquissimum senem nomine Iohannem, cuius uerba pariter et humilitatem qua sanctis omnibus praeminebat nequaquam silentio praetereunda censuimus. 588 Conl. XIX,1: derelicta heremo illi se coenobio summa humilitatis uirtute subdiderat. The content of the Conference which is titled “On the Aim of the Cenobite and Hermit” answers the virtue of its author. If in the previous Conferences humility was referred to in general terms, here it is celebrated as being proper to the life in a coenobium, both as its aim and merit. 589 Conl. XXI,1: summo viro abbate Theona. 590 Conl. XXI,8: quibus auditis beatus Theonas inextinguibili desiderio euangelicae perfectionis accensus. Abbot Theonas is the author of the Conferences XXI-XXIII. 591 Conl. XXI,9: omni mundana facultate nudatus ad monasterium peruolauit, ubi in breui tanto splendore sanctitatis et humilitatis enituit [...].

183 Other figures given as examples to be followed either in the Institutes or in the Conferences are described in a similar way, the few words dedicated to them nevertheless revealing their most characteristic features. Thus John of Lycopolis is given as an example of the virtue of obedience which lets him acquire the gift of prophecy, and makes him shine to the whole world592. “The monks of our parts” may be taught by the example of one and the same man (unius eiusdemque uiri instituantur exemplo) Abbot Archebius to maintain two virtues, a rigorous continence and the affection of love593. Abbot Paul is probatissimus patrum, an example of the virtue of manual work594. Abbot Apollos is probatissimus for the virtue of discretion of spirits595. Abbot Abraham was surnamed “the simple” (simplex) “from the simplicity of his life and his innocence”596.

Scriptural allusions

In some cases scriptural figures serve as a reference to a certain virtue or its perfection. The humility and obedience of Abbot Patermutius when he did not hesitate to throw his little boy into the river at the command of his senior is compared to the deed of the patriarch Abraham597. Abbot Nesteros inserts the example of the prophet Elijah between those of Abbot Macarius of Egypt and Abbot Abraham the Simple in order to illustrate the rule that miracles must be performed not for the ostentation of glory but for the love of God and the good of all the people598. Abbot Joseph is at least twice

592 Inst. IV,23: quique propter oboedientiae uirtutem usque ad prophetiae gratiam sublimatus sic universo orbi claruit, ut etiam regibus mundi huius merito suo redderetur inlustris. John of Lycopolis is also the figure which closes the examples of the Conferences (Conl. XXIV,26) where he is called “the servant of Christ”, Christi famulus. In both occurrences the mighty of the world are mentioned among his visitors. 593 Inst. V,38: quo nostrarum partium monachi non solum continentiae rigorem, uerum etiam sincerissimum retinere dilectionis affectum unius eiusdemque uiri instituantur exemplo. Few chapters earlier he was already introduced as summus vir, eminent for his humanitas, puritas continentiae and opus caritatis (Inst. V,35). In Conl. XI,2 he is said to have been appointed bishop of Panephysis and referred to as beatissimus atque praecipuus vir who has kept the virtue of humility (nihil de praeteritae humilitatis tenore laxaverit). 594 Inst. X,24. 595 Conl. II,13. He is also mentioned in Conl. XXIV,9 as an example of the importance of not leaving one’s cell. 596 Conl. XV,4: quid etiam abbatis Abrahae gesta conmemorem, qui ŠploÒV, id est simplex pro simplicitate morum et innocentia cognominatur? 597 Inst. IV,28: hac eum oboedientia Abrahae patriarchae opus inplesse. Abraham’s obedience to the commandement of the Lord is given as an example of man’s free will in Conl. III,12. 598 Conl. XV,3 for Macarius and Elijah, Conl. XV,4-5 for Abraham. Macarius, “the first to find a home in the desert of Scete” (habitationem Scitioticae solitudinis primus inuenit) raised a dead man in face of the heretic Eunomius in order to prove the rightness of the catholic faith. The example of Elijah, who for the

184 assimilated to the patriarch Joseph. First, when he addresses Cassian and Germanus in the words of the patriarch599, and for the second time, when Cassian notes that Joseph “recalled the virtue of the patriarch (patriarchae virtutem) both by his merits and name”600. The last Conference is attributed to Abraham, whose “name itself is already a programme” of the Conference XXIV on mortification601. The parallel can be also drawn between Isaac, the author of the two Conferences on the prayer, and the contemplative prophet of the Old Testament602, especially if we pay attention to the fact that Cassian does not give any other information about his interlocutor.

In the fourteenth Conference on the spiritual knowledge Abbot Nesteros says that the practical life may be practiced in different ways603. He enumerates seven possible professions, three of which are supported by two sorts of examples, the scriptural ones referring to the past, and the monastic to the present. Thus some may endeavour the secret of the desert (heremi secreta) and purity of heart (cordis puritatem) in the way of Elijah and Elisha in the past, and Antony in our days who joined God by the silence of solitude604. Others have given all their efforts for the care of the coenobia, like recently Abbot John, the superiour of a big monastery near Thmuis, and some others of like merits who “were eminent with the signs of apostles”605. The third profession which refers to the service of the guesthouse and reception, is represented by the patriarch Abraham and Lot same reason asked the fire to descend from heaven on the sacrifices, is added right after the conclusion on Macarius’ miracle: quod utique ut ab eo fieret non ostentatio gloriae, sed caritas Christi et totius plebis extorsit utilitas: ut beatum quoque Heliam fecisse Regnorum lectio manifestat. Two miracles of Abraham follow that of Elijah. 599 Conl. XVII,4: tum venerabilis Ioseph [...] illo nos patriarchae Ioseph sermone conpellat, follows the quotation of Gn 40,7. 600 Ibid.: qui patriarchae virtutem et merito referret et nomine. 601 A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 6, p. 420-421. Although Cassian does not make any explicit reference to the great patriarch, he was already given as example of three renunciations by Pafnutius in the third Conference, and thus is present through his Egyptian homonym in the final discourse, cf. Conl. III,6 where Pafnutius comments on Gn 12,1. 602 Conl. IX-X; A. DE VOGÜE, op. cit., p. 175. 603 Conl. XIV,4: haec igitur praktik$ [...] erga multas professiones studiaque diuiditur. 604 Ibid.: quidam enim summam intentionis suae erga heremi secreta et cordis constituunt puritatem, ut in praeteritis Heliam et Helisaeum nostrisque temporibus beatum Antonium aliosque eiusdem propositi sectatores familiarissime deo per silentium solitudinis cohaesisse cognoscimus. Antony was seeking the purity of heart of Elijah and Elisha in his Life by Athanasius (V. Anton. 7,12 and 34,2-3, see above, ch. III.1.2). 605 Ibid.: quidam erga institutionem fratrum et peruigilem coenobiorum curam omnem studii sui sollicitudinem dediderunt, ut nuper abbatem Iohannem, qui in uicinia ciuitatis cui nomen est Thmuis grandi coenobio praefuit, ac nonnullos eiusdem meriti uiros apostolicis etiam signis meminimus claruisse.

185 from the Old Testament, and by the blessed Macarius in our days606. The three ways of practical life hence not only give models in scriptural figures as well as in the fathers of present, but also relate both exemplary groups to each other. Elijah and Elisha would be then the proof of the same reality as is the solitary Antony, with the only exception that they have occurred in different moments of the same history607.

Abbot Pinufius

Several fathers merit a longer development, including the facts of their life pertinent to their virtue, the virtue itself and the celebration of it. Among them we find Antony, Pinufius and Pafnutius, the first being the famous initiator of the eremitic way of life, the other two having made a particular impact on Cassian.

Twice in his texts Cassian recounts the story of Pinufius, the author of the twentieth Conference, who left the monastery over which he presided. Out of humility he sought a distant monastery where he could be received as a novice, once at the house of Tabennisi, and the second time in Palestine where he even shared one cell with Cassian608. Both times Cassian mentions that he presided over a large coenobium609, and celebrates his virtue of humility610, his glory which could not be hidden like “a city on a hill”, and esteem paid to him611.

Abbot Pafnutius

Among the figures of present, Abbot Pafnutius is the dominant figure. At the beginning of the third Conference, attributed to him, Cassian gives his complete life story, at first celebrating him as a member of the “choir of saints who shine like brilliant

606 Ibid.: quosdam xenodochii et susceptionis pium delectat obsequium, per quod etiam in praeteritis Abraham patriarcham et Loth Domino placuisse et nuper beatum Macarium singularis mansuetudinis ac patientiae uirum, qui xenodochio ita apud Alexandriam praefuit, ut nulli eorum qui solitudinis secreta sectati sunt inferior sit credendus. 607 Cf. Conl. XVIII,6, where Cassian in a more historical perspective says that the hermits Antony and Paul have imitated the habitants of the desert John the Baptist, Elijah, Elisha and the prophets; see below. 608 Inst. IV,30-31 and Conl. XX,1. 609 Inst. IV,30,2: inmanis coenobii presbyter; Conl. XX,1: abbas et presbyter ingenti coenobio praesideret. 610 Conl. XX,1: humilitatis eius laudem. 611 Inst. IV,30,2: pro ipsa reuerentia uel uitae suae uel aetatis uel sacerdotii cunctis honorabilis ac uenerandus existeret ; Inst. IV,31: “tamquam ciuitas super montem posita” (Mt 5,14) diutius abscondi non potuit.Conl. XX,1: praeclari ac singularis uiri abbatis Pinufii [...] eum omnis illa prouincia uirtutum suarum atque signorum gloria subleuasset. [...] nomine, quod apud illos quoque praecipuae sanctitatis fama uulgauerat.

186 stars in the night of this world”, and who like “a great luminary” shines with “the brightness of knowledge (claritate scientiae)”612. Having converted at the instigation of Antony’s example613, from his earliest youth he devoted himself to “the schools of cenobites” where “he was endowed with the virtue of submission (subiectionis), and the knowledge of all good virtues (universarum virtutum scientia)”614. Having mortified all his desires “by the practice of humility (humilitatis) and obedience (oboedientiae)”, and acquired every virtue that was taught by monastic institutes (monachorum instituta) and ancient fathers (antiquissimorum patrum doctrina), he was inflamed with the desire to penetrate into the recesses of the desert in order to be more united to the Lord615. He plunged into still wilder and more inacessible solitude so that he merited the surname of Bubalus, “the Buffalo”616. However, it is not only his eremitic endeavour that Cassian wonders at. Pafnutius was also presbyter of a church in the desert of Scete617 and the only one who defended the orthodoxy by reading in his church the letter of Theophilus, the bishop of Alexandria, against the heresy of anthropomorphites618. Therefore, in the figure of Pafnutius Cassian celebrates three virtues, the monastic ideal, which is both eremitic

612 Conl. III,1: in illo sanctorum choro, qui uelut astra purissima in nocte mundi istius refulgebant, uidimus sanctum Pafnutium uice luminaris magni claritate scientiae coruscantem. 613 Conl. XVIII,4, see below. 614 Conl. III,1: hic itaque ab adulescentia sua scolis coenobiorum tanto ardore se tradidit, ut in eis paruo tempore conmoratus tam subiectionis bono quam uniuersarum uirtutum scientia pariter ditaretur. In Conl. XVIII,5 Abbot Piamun gives the example of patience of Pafnutius referring to his virtue and grace (virtus et gratia), his gravity (gravitas) and constancy (immobilis constantia). These virtues let him make equal to the elders (senioribus exaequarent). The steadfastness (immobilitas) and constancy (constantia) of Pafnutius are once again referred to in Conl. XVIII,16. 615 Conl. III,1: humilitatis namque et oboedientiae disciplina omnes suas mortificans uoluntates et per hanc extinctis uniuersis uitiis cunctisque uirtutibus consummatis, quas monasteriorum instituta uel antiquissimorum patrum doctrina fundauit, sublimioris profectus ardore succensus heremi festinauit penetrare secreta, ut domino, cui inter fratrum turbas positus sitiebat inseparabiliter inhaerere, nullo deinceps humano consortio retrahente facilius uniretur. 616 Ibid.: ubi rursum tanto feruore etiam ipsorum anachoretarum uirtutes superans desiderio et intentione iugis ac diuinae illius theoriae cunctorum deuitabat aspectus, uastiora et inaccessibilia solitudinis penetrans loca multoque in eis tempore delitescens, ut ab ipsis quoque anachoretis difficulter ac rarissime deprehensus angelorum cotidiano consortio delectari ac perfrui crederetur, atque ei merito uirtutis huius ab ipsis inditum fuerit Bubali cognomentum. Pafnutius’ desire for solitude and his cognomen are once again mentioned in Conl. XVIII,15. 617 Conl. III,1: hic namque presbyter congregationis nostrae, id est illius quae in heremo Scitii morabatur fuit. Pafnutius is also referred to as presbyter in Inst. X,24; Conl. II,5; Conl. IV,1; Conl. XVIII,15. 618 Conl. X,2.

187 and cenobitic619, the ecclesiastical order, and the orthodoxy620, all of which we can consider as being pertinent to a model monk.

The blessed Antony

Antony merits Cassian’s special attention. Among the hermits of the old days as well as among those of today, he is the most often referred figure. For the first time “the blessed Antony” (beatus Antonius) is introduced in the Institutes where Cassian reports his “ancient and excellent saying”621. In the Conferences, he is first met in the discourse of Abbot Moses who remembers that when he “was still a boy, in the region of Thebaid, where the blessed Antony (beatus Antonius) lived, the elders came to him to inquire about perfection”622. Abbot Moses reports then the conference of Antony on discretion, constituting an important part of his own discourse623. The great hermit is remembered once again in the discource of Abbot Pafnutius on three callings624. He merits to be placed in one rank with the patriarch Abraham as that who had received the first type of calling, i. e. the calling which comes from God625. Antony himself has become a saint through whose exhortation and virtues (monitis ac virtutibus) the second type of calling, the one which takes place through men (per hominem) and through the examples and advice of the saints (exemplis sanctorum vel monitis), has worked on Abbot Pafnutius; in

619 In Conl. XIX,9 he is named together with Abbot Moses and two Macarii among these few perfect monks who “with equal imperturbability can bear the squalor of the wilderness in the desert, as well as the infirmities of the brethren in the coenobium” (is enim uere et non ex parte perfectus est, qui et in heremo squalorem solitudinis et in coenobio infirmitatem fratrum aequali magnanimitate sustentat. [...] utrumque perfecte abbatem Moysen atque Pafnutium duosque Macarios nouerimus possedisse). 620 A. DE VOGÜE, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 6, p. 174. 621 Inst. V,4: vetus admirabilisque sententia. Antony advised monks to be like “a very wise bee” (velut apis prudentissima) and seek each virtue from those who have acquired in it a special degree. The passage is inspired by the V. Anton. 3-4 in the translation of Evagrius. Antony had never advised such a thing, but he himself acted this way at the beginning of his ascetic life; see A. DE VOGÜÉ, Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 6, p. 114-117. 622 Conl. II,2: quondam in annis adhuc pueritiae constitutus in partibus Thebaidos, ubi beatus Antonius morabatur, seniores ad eum perfectionis inquirendae gratia conuenisse. 623 Conl. II,1-4. In this discourse Antony speaks about the “royal way”, an important subject of the Cassian’s doctrine. On the possible sources of this discourse, see A. DE VOGÜÉ, op. cit., p. 186-189. 624 Conl. III,4: tres hi uocationum modi speciali distinctione pandantur, primus ex Deo est, secundus per hominem, tertius ex necessitate. 625 Ibid.: quo etiam modo beatum Antonium accitum esse cognouimus, qui occasionem suae conuersionis a sola diuinitate percepit. Follow the quotations of two texts of the Bible which have inspired the conversion of Antony, Lc 14,26 and Mt 19,21, and the emphasis on the divine vocation (nulla exhortatione neque doctrina hominum prouocatus). The example of Abraham was given just before the example of Antony, with the reference to Gn 12,1.

188 this role Antony has approached another patriarch Moses626. In the eighth Conference on principalities, Antony serves as a proof of different wickedness of demons. Two philosophers despising Antony as boor and rustic (velut imperitum ac sine litteris virum) have sent against him the most evil spirits, but they proved to be powerless against “the servant of God” (famulus Dei) and “the victorious soldier of Christ” (miles Christi victor)627. In two more passages the elders of the Conferences report “the words of the blessed Antony” (beati Antonii sententiam)628.

Antony is a special figure connecting the glorious past to the present. He is a saint father of old (antiquitus) as opposed to recent example (recens exemplum)629. He is the one who, together with the Abbot Paul, marks a milestone in the history of monasticism because he has transmitted and preserved the apostolic fervour of the earliest monks630. Moreover, these two abbots are numbered among “the perfect” (perfecti) and “the most fruitful root of saints” (fecundissima radix sanctorum) which produced “the flowers and fruits of the anchorites”631. Aspiring after higher perfection and contemplation they recessed into the desert, and in this way have installed “another sort of perfection, whose followers are rightly termed anachoretae, i. e. withdrawers”632. By their courage to fight

626 Conl. III,4: secundus uocationis modus est quem fieri per hominem diximus, cum uel exemplis quorundam sanctorum uel monitis instigati ad desiderium salutis accendimur. quo nos quoque per gratiam Domini retinemus adscitos, qui praedicti uiri [sc. Antonii] monitis ac uirtutibus incitati huic nos studio professionique tradidimus. There follows the example of Moses who has delivered Israel from Egypt. 627 Conl. VIII,18-19, cf. V. Anton. 72-80. In the Conferences the philosophers finally convert to Christianity. In the Life of Antony the situation is different. Athanasius recounts three visits paid by pagan philosophers to Antony. They do not trouble him by evil spirits, but discuss with him the relation between the reason and faith, and Antony’s victory over demons is proved by the exorcism he operates in the face of his visitors. The philosophers do not convert but only wonder at the power and wisdom of Antony. See M. LENKAITYTĖ, Antano pokalbis, cit. 628 Conl. IX,31 and Conl. XXIV,11-12. 629 Conl. II,5: ut hanc eandem definitionem antiquitus a sancto Antonio et ceteris patribus promulgatam recens quoque sicut promisimus confirmet exemplum. 630 Conl. XVIII,5: istud ergo solummodo fuit antiquissimum monachorum genus, quod non solum tempore, sed etiam gratia primum est quodque per annos plurimos inuiolabile usque ad abbatis Pauli uel Antoni durauit aetatem. This phrase continues the history of monasticism since the apostolic times in the version of Jerusalem, see above ch. 5.1. 631 Conl. XVIII,6: de hoc perfectorum numero et ut ita dixerim fecundissima radice sanctorum etiam anachoretarum post haec flores fructusque prolati sunt. cuius professionis principes hos quos paulo ante commemorauimus, sanctum scilicet Paulum uel Antonium, nouimus extitisse. 632 Ibid.: desiderio sublimioris profectus contemplationisque diuinae solitudinis secreta sectati sunt [...]. ita ergo processit ex illa qua diximus disciplina aliud perfectionis genus, cuius sectatores anachoretae id est secessores merito nuncupantur.

189 the devil in the desert they have imitated “John the Baptist, who passed all his life in the desert, and Elijah and Elisha”, and the prophets of the Epistle to Hebrews633.

Cassian speaks about Antony as a figure who is well known. Without telling his life story he refers to him as a certain authority. The latter may have the shape of his teaching (sententiae), may put his holiness in the rank of the patriarchs of the Old Testament, or make him a turning point in the history of monasticism, at the same time comparing him to the great solitaries of Scripture634. The scriptural figures of reference include Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist.

5.3. Examples from Scripture Cassian reads the Bible in the light of the monastic-ascetic life which for him is the only possible interpretation of the holy text635. In general, this interpretation follows two ways. Either the scriptural examples serve to argue for certain virtues or rules636, or certain passages of the Old Testament are interpreted in the allegorical sense637. We will further analize some examples of the first way of interpretation, with the accent on the figure of Christ and the role of biblical saints in the history of monasticism.

The same scriptural figure may serve to argue different points of the doctrine. Thus for instance David is given as an example of the useful anger638, as a proof that the

633 Ibid.: eo quod nequaquam contenti hac uictoria, qua inter homines occultas insidias diaboli calcauerunt, aperto certamine ac manifesto conflictu daemonibus congredi cupientes uastos heremi recessus penetrare non timeant, ad imitationem scilicet Iohannis Baptistae, qui in heremo tota aetate permansit, Heliae quoque et Helisaei atque illorum de quibus apostolus ita memorat: “circumierunt in melotis et in pellibus caprinis angustiati, adflicti, egentes, quibus dignus non erat mundus, in solitudinibus errantes et montibus et speluncis et in cauernis terrae” (Hbr 11,37-38). 634 A. DE VOGÜÉ emphasizes another aspect of the passage quoted in the note above. According to him, Cassian diminishes the role of Antony and Paul by making them initiators of eremitic life only, and not of the monastic life in general (Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 6, p. 63). Antony is also juxtaposed to Elisha and Elijah in Conl. XIV,4. 635 See K. S. FRANK, Asketischer Evangelismus. Schriftauslegung bei Johannes Cassianus, Stimuli. Exegese und ihre Hermeneutik in Antike und Christentum. Festschrift für Ernst Dassmann, hrg. von G. SCHÖLLGEN, CL. SCHOLTEN (JAC 23), Münster, 1996, p. 435-443. In both texts of Cassian 1905 scriptural quotations have been identified. Among them, the Old Testament (45,4%) is almost as important as the New (54,6%), see J. BIARNE, art. cit., p. 417 and 428. 636 Cf. Inst. XII,6: itaque exemplis ac testimoniis scripturatum manifestissime conprobatur. 637 E. g., the cenobitic and ascetic life is represented by Jacob, and eremitic and contemplative life by the name of Israel (Conl. I praef.); the vocation of Abraham to leave his country, his kinsfolk and his father’s house (Gn 12,1) is interpreted as the three sorts of renunciation (Conl. III,6); the seven nations of whose lands Israel took possession (Dt 7,1-2) are to be understood as seven vices (Conl. V,16). 638 Inst. VIII,8,1.

190 vice of pride tempts first of all the most virtuous639, and that the man cannot achieve success on his own efforts but needs the direction of the Lord640. On the other hand, the same discipline may be illustrated by several figures, as for example the rule that a monk must always be taught by elders at the beginning of his spiritual life is proved by the examples of Samuel from the Old Testament and of Paul from the New Testament641.

It is the authority and the words of the beatus apostolus, i. e. the apostle Paul, that are most often evoked by Cassian642. Nevertheless, the highest form of monastic life, the contemplation, finds its example in “the man-God”, homo dominicus, as Cassian once refers to Jesus in his Conferences. Christ “came not only to redeem mankind, but also to give us a pattern of perfection (perfectionis formam) and example of virtues (exempla virtutum)”643. In the ninth and the tenth Conferences Abbot Isaac speaks about the prayer. Its sublimest form, the ardent prayer, was prefigured by our Lord, first by his prayer in the solitude of the mountain, and secondly by his inimitable example (inimitabili exemplo), “when being in an agony of prayer He shed forth even drops of blood”644. Abbot Isaac insists on the solitary character of the prayer based on the example of Jesus. The Lord can be seen by those who live in towns, but not with the same brightness with which he appeared in the mount of virtue in the scene of the Transfiguration, or to Moses

639 Inst. XII,6. 640 Inst. XII,14,2. 641 Conl. II,14-15. To justify the delicate solution of the “profitable lie” Abbot Joseph first refers to the testimony of doctor gentium (Paul), then mentions patriarchas sanctosque innumerabiles, gives the examples of patriarch Joseph, David, once more apostle Paul, then angels and even the omnipotent God (ipsum omnipotentem Deum), Conl. XVII,24-25. 642 According the scriptural index of the Conferences, the quotations from the Pauline literature are as numerous as the references to the Gospels and the Acts. When Abbot Theonas discusses if it is possible for a man to stay sinless, he gives the example of Paul and his companions as the most virtuous people who “taught religion by the lesson of their virtues rather than their words”, Conl. XXIII,2: uirtutum magisterio potius quam uerborum ab eis religio doceretur. The influence of Paul on the spiritual doctrine of Cassian is noted by M. SHERIDAN, Models and images of spiritual progress in the works of John Cassian, Spiritual progress. Studies in the spirituality of late Antiquity and early monasticism. Papers of the symposium of the Monastic Institute, Rome, Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo 14-15 May 1992, ed. by J. DRISCOLL and M. SHERIDAN (StAns 115), 1994, p. 101-125. 643 Conl. XI,13: homo ille dominicus, qui non solum redimere humanum genus, sed etiam praebere uenerat perfectionis formam atque exempla uirtutum. 644 Conl. IX,25: quem statum Dominus quoque noster illarum supplicationum formula, quas uel solus in monte secedens (cf. Lc 5,16) uel tacite fudisse describitur, similiter figurauit, cum in orationis agonia constitutus etiam guttas sanguinis (cf. Lc 22,44) inimitabili intentionis profudit exemplo. Cf. Conl. IX,34 : quem sensum Dominus etiam noster orans ex persona hominis adsumpti, ut formam quoque orandi nobis quemadmodum cetera suo praeberet exemplo. The suffering of the Lord and the saints must be the lesson of humility in Conl. XIX,14.

191 and Elijah in the solitude645. The Lord wished to leave us examples of perfect purity (perfectae puritatis exempla) even if he himself needs not any external help of the desert being himself “the source of inviolable sanctity”646. Therefore “if we too wish to approach God with a pure and spotless affection of heart”, we should also retire from crowds tought “by the example of his retirement (suae secessionis exemplo)”647.

On the other hand, Christ is a model not only for the contemplatives, but also for those who live in a community. Cenobites do not have to worry about their daily food because the whole community is responsible for it, nor they run into the danger of pride because they must submit completely their will to the Abbot. These two aspects of the cenobitic life let them both fulfill the Evangelic commandment not to care for morrow, and “imitate (aemulari) him of whom it is said: ‘he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death’”648.

In some passages Cassian relates the actors of the holy history to the history of monasticism. The first of them appears already in the very first chapter of the Institutes where Cassian starts describing the monk’s girdle. This is the occasion to present in chronological order the figures of the Old and the New Testaments who have also girded their loins. These include Elijah and Elisha who “in the Old Testament have founded the origins of this life (professionis huius fundauere primordia)”, and “the leaders and authors of the New Testament, John, Peter and Paul, and other of the same rank”649. The

645 Conl. X,6: ceterum uidetur Iesus etiam ab his qui in ciuitatibus et castellis ac uiculis conmorantur, id est qui in actuali conuersatione sunt atque operibus constituti, sed non in illa claritate qua illis apparuit, qui cum ipso possunt in praedicto uirtutum monte conscendere, id est Petro, Iacobo et Iohanni (cf. Mt 17,1-2). ita enim in solitudine et Moysi apparuit (cf. Ex 3,2) et Heliae locutus est (cf. 1 Rg 19,9 sq). 646 Ibid.: quod uolens noster Dominus confirmare ac perfectae nobis relinquere puritatis exempla, et quidem cum ipse fons inuiolabilis sanctitatis ad obtinendam eam secessionis adiutorio ac solitudinis beneficio extrinsecus non egeret [...] secessit tamen in monte solus orare. 647 Ibid.: per hoc scilicet nos instruens suae secessionis exemplo, ut si interpellare nos quoque uoluerimus deum puro et integro cordis affectu, ab omni inquietudine et confusione turbarum similiter secedamus. 648 Conl. XIX,6: ut scilicet de crastino nihil cogitem (cf. Mt 6,34) et usque ad finem subiectus abbati illum aliquatenus uidear aemulari de quo dicitur: “humiliauit semet ipsum factus oboediens usque ad mortem” (Phil 2,8). 649 Inst. I,1,2: hoc enim habitu etiam illos ambulasse, qui in ueteri testamento professionis huius fundauere primordia, Heliam scilicet et Helisaeum, diuinarum scripturarum auctoritate monstratur; ac deinceps principes auctoresque testamenti noui, Iohannem uidelicet, Petrum et Paulum ceterosque eiusdem ordinis uiros taliter incessisse cognoscimus.

192 first of them, i. e. Elijah, “even in the Old Testament prefigured (praefigurabat) the flowers of a virgin life and examples (exempla) of chastity and continence”650.

Few chapters further Cassian refers again to the saints of the Bible to prove the need of staff. He says that it is carried by the monks of Egypt “in imitation (ad imitationem) of those who foreshadowed the lines of the monastic life (professionis huius praefigurauere lineas) in the Old Testament”, the phrase followed by the quotation of Hbr 11,37-38, and by the example of Elisha who was “one of them”651. In the passage which separates these two testimonies on girdle and staff, Cassian speaks of “the saints of old who laid the foundations of the monastic life (qui huius professionis fundamenta iecerunt)”. This time the expression refers not to scriptural figures but to the first Christian monks as opposed to the fathers of present. Hence, in this first book of the Institutes Cassian has voluntarely confounded the “figures” of monasticism and its “founders” in a proper sense. He has thus endowed the monastic origins with the character and authority of the prophets of the Old Testament652, and anticipated the two versions of the apostolic origins of monasticism, one of which is related further in the Institutes, and the other in the Conferences653.

5.4. Conclusion In his Institutes and Conferences Cassian provides theoretical and historical foundations for what constitutes the model of a monk. He proceeds in two ways, first, by defining the main values of the model: antiquity, tradition and exemplarity, and second, by presenting certain figures and stories which would correspond to these values. By this systematic approach Cassian goes much further in presenting the model of a monk than has done Athanasius in his Life of Antony or Jerome in his three Lives of the saints.

650 Ibid.: quorum prior, qui in ueteri testamento uirginitatis iam flores et castimoniae continentiaeque praefigurabat exempla. Few lines below Elijah is called vir Dei (Inst. I,1,3). Other occurrences of the examples of chastity are the two Johns of the New Testament, and Elijah, Elisha and Daniel of the Old Testament in Inst. VI,4; John the Evangelist in Conl. XVI,4; Elijah and Elisha in Conl. XXI,4. 651 Inst. I,7-8: pellis caprina [...] et baculus, quae gestant ad imitationem eorum qui professionis huius praefigurauere lineas iam in ueteri testamento. de quibus apostolus “circumierunt, inquit, in melotis et pellibus caprinis egentes, angustiati, adflicti, quibus dignus non erat mundus, in solitudinibus errantes et montibus et speluncis et in cauernis terrae” (Hbr 11,37-38). nam et baculum gestasse eosdem uiros etiam Helisaeus, qui unus ex ipsis est. 652 See A. DE VOGÜE, Les sources des quatre premiers livres, cit., p. 403, n. 158. Cassian ows many of his examples of the first book of his Institutes to Basil, see ibid., p. 381-403. 653 Inst. II,5-6 and Conl. XVIII,5-6. See above, ch. 5.1.

193 The second feature proper to Cassian is the precise target audience to which he is writing. These are the monastic communities in the southern Gaul, either already present or planned in the near future. It seems that they already are fond of Eastern monasticism654, but need some guidance. Having proved the apostolic origin of the monasticism, and the superiority of the Egyptian tradition over any other, Cassian can claim the long-established tradition of the fathers, patrum traditio, which would guarantee the authority of the teaching he transmits. However, Cassian can modify his recommendations considering the local demands, which is especially apparent in the Institutes655.

Cassian’s model monk comes from Egypt, especially from the deserts near the Nile delta, the region he knew best personally. The exemplary fathers and their virtues, their virtutes et gratia that Cassian refers to so often656, represent these “few elected” of the Gospel of Matthiew. The notion of example may include 1) an example of an elder to his disciple, 2) an example of a scriptural figure or a desert father as a model to be imitated, or 3) an example given to illustrate or explain the moral and spiritual doctrine. Indeed, a monk must always learn from good examples pertinent to Christian Revelation, be it his monastic predecessors or scriptural figures. From the latter, the figure of Jesus is presented as an ultimate example of prayer and purity for those seeking the hights of contemplation in seclusion, as well as the model of humility for those living in community. His figure may also illustrate the superiority of the practical, living exemplum, over the mere doctrinal teaching devoid of experience, so rebuked by Cassian.

The names Cassian mentions are not the most famous. Rather it is their virtues that make them eminent (summi, probatissimi) fathers whose example cannot be hidden, like that “city on the mount” (Mt 5,14). From the three figures which are referred to most often, two merit Cassian’s attention because they had a particular personal impact on

654 It is on request of Castor, the bishop of Apt, that Cassian writes his Institutes (Inst. praef. 2), while Eucherius is told to have had plans to go to Egypt himself (Conl. XI praef.). 655 O. CHADWICK and A. DE VOGÜÉ have arrived at rather different conclusions on the way of life in Gaul according to Cassian’s recommendations. The first thought that “it was a life guided by the experience of Egypt, together with certain customs and hours of prayer from the house of Palestine” (op. cit., p. 81), and the second argued that the Gallic monasticism by Cassian would be more similar to the Eastern one than to that of Egypt (Histoire littéraire, cit., t. 6, p. 55). 656 Cf. Inst. V,35: quoniam nos ad huiusmodi narrationem devertere patrum virtutes et gratia provocarunt.

194 him, Abbot Pinufius and Abbot Pafnutius. From the famous monks of earlier generations, it is Antony who is undoubtedly the most important, being a special figure connecting the glorious past to the present. Other famous figures of old are referred to in order to illustrate one or another fact or virtue, like the legendary anchorite Paul who is mentioned only in the story about the origins of monasticism.

By their perfection in certain virtues, these desert fathers are imitating the saints of the Bible, and therefore often acquire their features. Even more, they are the true inheritors of the great patriarchs and solitaries of the Old Testament and the successors of the first apostolic communities. Elijah and Elisha may be the proof of the same reality as is the solitary Antony, with the only exception that they have occurred in different moments of the same history. Thus, having already become part of this history and tradition, - they are already patres, - the Egyptian fathers have the right to transmit their example to the next generation, the nascent monasticism in Gaul657.

657 Cassian says explicitely that the patres are legitimate successors of the apostles and the primitive Church: si euangelico praecepto uolumus oboedire et apostoli ac totius ecclesiae illius primitiuae seu patrum, qui uirtutibus ac perfectioni eorum nostris temporibus successerunt, imitatores exsistere (Inst. VII,18).

195 IV. NEW AND OLD IN THE MODEL BY EUCHERIUS OF LYONS

Eucherius stands in the tradition of ascetic literature, first by choosing monastic desert as a subject of his work, and second by presenting a sequence of biblical and Christian figures, although explicitly only some of them are proposed as exempla. On the other hand, Eucherius’ approach is original. His work is not a biography nor a history. Being a general encomium of a solitary life and its delights, it attests that the eremitic tradition in the Church has already achieved firm grounds and can merit to be a subject in itself, independent of concrete representatives1. Therefore his model of a monk is created less by examples proposed expressis verbis, contrary to the earlier monastic writings, and more by allusive language which helps to create a more abstract, “ideal” model of a monk, which is however tributary to its literary predecessors.

Eucherius must have certainly known all the works analysed above, therefore certain elements, ideas and literary approaches in De laude eremi may derive from them. The vita caelestis was especially pronounced in Historia monachorum by Rufinus, although his desert did not acquire the look of paradise. The latter motif as desert’s allegory may have been borrowed from Jerome. The works of Cassian may have inspired certain passages on God’s special grace to the desert, like the theophanies to Moses and Elijah, or the prayer of Jesus combined with his Transfiguration. Eucherius also uses a number of scriptural quotations proper to monastic literature, although in some cases his interpretation is rather original.

However, the differences are also manifest. Eucherius does not attribute to his saints the titles so often seen in earlier writers, like homo Dei or servus Christi, and instead creates his own incola eremi, imprinted with scriptural content but also bearing an explicit reference to the desert. If some of the features relating the biblical figures with the monks of Lérins are known also from other monastic writings, like the spiritual mastership connecting Honoratus with Elijah, the role of the founder of the monastery as being a shepherd of people, reflecting the Moses’ mission, is new. Eucherius also demonstrates a new approach to the miracles: while to Rufinus his Egyptian monks were

1 Cf. G. PENCO, Osservazioni preliminari, cit., p. 239.

196 eminent for their wonders, and Cassian, on the contrary, rejected the miraculous power as a virtue in itself, Eucherius transfers the emphasis from human actors to the divine: the grace of God present in the desert allows that miracles happen there.

While in other writers the historical sequence of monastic model figures was rather supposed than expressed explicitly, Eucherius tells the story of Salvation in the desert2, where the monk, the today’s desert habitant, merits to make part of this history. By attributing the origins of monasticism to the first Christian community of Jerusalem on one hand, and to Marc, the first bishop of Alexandria, on the other, Cassian had already invented the beginnings of monasticism from apostolic times. Eucherius takes a further step by inserting it into the even broader history of Salvation, where the history of the monastery of Lérins is attached to the Holy History, the connective element being the Egyptian fathers who have been “brought” into the island.

Eucherius, like Sulpicius Severus, has not seen the Eastern monks themselves, therefore they are both tributary to earlier literary tradition. Some scholars have put in parallel the “Gallic patriotism” of Sulpicius and Eucherius in contrast to Cassian’s sad vision of the Gauls3. However, if we compare the way of constructing the monk’s model by Eucherius with that by Sulpicius and Cassian, we find him closer to the latter at least in two aspects4: first, the importance that Eucherius accords to the tradition, and second, by his personal attachment to the ideal he exalts5. Sulpicius’ intention was to rival with Egyptian hermits and to show Martin superior to them. There is also a kind of division between himself, retiring ascetic, and Martin, “the apostolic man”6. Cassian, on the contrary, lived himself the same ideal that he preached in his works. His works also bear the testimony of the importance he attaches to antiquity and tradition. The ideal that he proposes to Gallic monks is that of Egyptian patres. Eucherius thus, in the line of Cassian, does not rival with Egypt, like Martin of Sulpicius, but rather stands in and

2 In the words of S. PRICOCO, the work is “sub specie eremi la storia della salvezza cristiana“, in Tra Erasmo e Tillemont, cit., p. 107. 3 See M.-E. BRUNERT, op. cit., p. 187, C. SCHERLIESS, op. cit., p. 90. 4 If we emphasize the role of tradition both in Cassian and Eucherius, we still maintain that their vision of the desert is different. 5 Although Eucherius may have lived on the neighbouring island, he praises “his Lérins”. 6 Ph. ROUSSEAU, op. cit., p. 236.

197 continues the tradition dear to Cassian7. John and Macarius have rounded off the line of biblical examples as if being their successors in the desert of today, therefore the monks of the monastery of Lérins, who have “brought Egyptian fathers” into the island, can also claim to be legitimate successors of the saints of the Bible.

Here emerges the question of why Eucherius has chosen precisely these names as the representatives of Eastern monks, and has not mentioned other famous figures, especially that of Antony, who, as we have seen, is significant in all the Latin monastic works. We think that this may be due to Eucherius’ tendency to idealize his model of a monk and to make it more abstract. John and Macarius that he mentions are only two figures of the alii quam plures. They are not praised as representatives of certain virtues, but rather as the figures illustrating the contemplative life in general. We have noted that the passage on John and Macarius serves as a turning point for the interiorization of the monastic desert, thus creating one more element of the idealized model of a monk whose life in the desert is first of all characterized by the inner experience.

We have tried to show that Eucherius’ work is strongly imprinted with biblical language. While other writers have seen in scriptural figures the prototypes or examples of Christian monks, for Eucherius it is the environment, the desert with its whole history that is biblical. From this typological interpretation of the desert, the story of Exodus prefiguring the Christian baptism, results the way how Eucherius constructs his model of a monk.

Like other writers before him, Eucherius provides the Lerinian monks with the features of certain biblical figures. However, De laude eremi is more than a series of the biblical prototypes of a monk. In fact, Eucherius touches little the ascetic aspect of the life in the desert, or the moral virtues of its inhabitants. Instead, his interpretation of these figures is based on the typological, sacramental and Christologic interpretation of the Bible, with the special attention paid to the Christian meaning of the Exodus cycle. We have shown that the entrance into the desert, denoting allegorically the beginning of monastic life, can be interpreted as the second baptism. We have not identified the

7 We would not therefore agree that Cassian’s testimony about Eucherius’ desire to visit Egyptian hermits was not true, as thinks M.-E. BRUNERT, ibid.

198 importance of the baptismal cycle in any other of the earlier Latin monastic authors. Neither have we noticed the importance given to the figure of Moses. In the early Christian literature Moses is often mentioned as a perfect servant of the Lord, and his climbing to the Mount of Sinai is interpreted as a spiritual ascension towards God8, but he does not serve as a particular ascetic model of a monk, like Elijah or John the Baptist. The cycle of Moses is however one of the most important themes in De laude eremi. And even if Eucherius refers to its allegorical meaning as the liberation from the troubles of the world, the interpretation also known to such writers as Cassian, his main interest lies in its baptismal interpretation. One can also remember here the typological line which in the early Christian exegesis connected Moses, Elijah, David and John the Baptist as Christ’s predecessors, because their life and works prophesied the mission of the Saviour9. In this sense the Lerinians, who repeat the features of these biblical characters, appear less as ascetics living the way of life proper to the monks, and more as members of the wider Church representing the God’s adopted nation.

8 See P.-M. GUILLAUME, Art. Moïse, DSp 10, col. 1453-1471; A. LUNEAU, Moïse et les Pères Latins, Moïse, l’homme de l’Alliance (Cahiers Sioniens 8), 1954, p. 267-282 (= Moses und die lateinischen Väter, Moses in Schrift und Überlieferung, Düsseldorf, 1963, p. 307-330). 9 Cf. I. OPELT, art. cit., p. 205.

199 V. CONCLUSIONS

The aim of the research was to outline the model of a monk as it could be perceived in De laude eremi, comparing it to the model of a monk in the Latin monastic literature earlier to the first half of the fifth century. The research included the analysis of the role and content of example, the literary methods used to form it, as well as the analysis of constructing the relations between the different groups of models: the scriptural figures, the monks of the past, and the teachers of today, trying to perceive the moment when the monk who has learnt from the examples of others becomes himself an ideal to be striven for. The following conclusions have been made:

1. In the early Latin monastic literature the model of a monk, in the sense of an ideal to be striven for, an example whose virtues and behaviour must be imitated, may be represented by: a) a figure that a monk indicates as his ideal (exemplum) on which he models himself, either his spiritual guide or a certain biblical figure; b) a figure that a monk presents in his teaching as an exemplum of a certain virtue, e. g. the pure heart of Elijah; c) a monk himself, whose life and virtues are described in order to be an exemplum to others. This portrait of a monk may also include d) a biblical figure serving as a type, whose words and actions a monk repeats; however, it is almost impossible to distinguish when it refers to a conscious repeating of the deeds or words of this figure, and when it is only a literary invention and stylization. The latter aspect should warn against the too literary interpretation of certain features ascribed to their heroes by the authors of the early monastic literature.

2. All the above mentioned elements may be applied to the portrayal of one figure. The model is then constructed from a double perspective. While it is the figure of a monk which serves as an immediate example to be imitated (imitari) for the readers, the model moreover is constructed on the foundations of Scripture: the scenes of the monk’s life may reflect certain biblical passages. The biblical titles, like homo Dei or servus Christi, and his way of life, vita caelestis, make him join the ranks of the prophets and the apostles. Thus a monk is both an imitator and a person to be imitated.

In a biography where the whole life is depicted, the monk matures from being filius to being pater, magister and senex, the latter titles referring to his spiritual authority

200 and reverence paid to him. His engagement to the ascesis and the fight with demons makes him a daily martyr. Thus the sequence is established between the saints of the Bible, the Christian martyrs and the most recent saint, the monk, who throughout his life followed the example of the first and sought after the glory of the second. Hence the monk’s life can be seen as one of the milestones in the Holy History. On one hand by his virtuous life he embodies the experience of the scriptural figures, and on the other he is a sign of God’s actual grace to the Christians, and therefore can be an exemplum to others.

3. The immediate exemplum of the monk who teaches more by his life than by his words is essential to the early monastic literature. The doctrine is worthless if not proved by everyday behaviour. The monk’s virtues are exempla to be imitated (imitari) and to be emulated (aemulari). The aim of the monastic literature is to present this living exemplum through whom as through his instruments the Lord teaches that the virtues are reachable for human nature, and through whom he invites others to imitate their life (ad vitae imitationem). It is also the Lord who makes this exemplum known all over the world, despite the fact that the monks wish to rest unknown.

4. The first model monks in the Latin monastic literature were Eastern monks, first known from the translations of the Life of Antony, then from the original works of Jerome and the translations of Rufinus. Antony was Egyptian; Jerome extended the Eastern geography to Syria and Palestine; Rufinus however preferred again Egypt with its miraculous exempla, nonetheless making known to the West the Basilian monasticism. Sulpicius in his Dialogues tells about the monks of Egypt, and the main examples presented by Cassian are also Egyptian. It is therefore the Egyptian model that dominates the Latin monastic literature as a representative of the Eastern monasticism. Either solitary or living in a cenobitic monastery, first of all he is the inhabitant of the desert.

Antony is the most prominent figure among them. He has marked most of the later Latin monastic works, and in his Life the main elements of constructing the model of a monk are already perceptible. Although Jerome in his Life of Paul the Hermit tends to overshadow the role of Antony, it nevertheless rests important, for he still plays a role of a linking person in the sequence of monastic experience, especially in the Life of Hilarion. The works of Rufinus describe the second generation of the Eastern

201 monasticism, with the special emphasis on vita caelestis and the discipleship. He especially exhorts the imitation of virtues (imitatio virtutum) and the edification through examples (aedificatio exemplis). By describing his experience in the East to the Gallic monks, Cassian provides the theoretical and historical foundations for what constitutes the model of a monk, especially emphasizing the values of antiquity, tradition and exemplarity. His Egyptian fathers, having become part of the history and Church tradition, can transmit their example to the next generation, the nascent monasticism in Gaul. Jerome’s Life of Malchus stands rather apart from other analysed works, because Malchus, contrary to other monastic heroes, is not a servus Dei, nor is he ranked among those having spiritual authority and followed by disciples.

While Athanasius, Jerome, Rufinus and Cassian knew personally the Eastern monasticism, and their works explicitly aim at making it known in the West, the situation of Sulpicius Severus and Eucherius is different. They have never travelled to the Eastern parts of the Empire, and yet cannot escape the influence of the East which is too strong to be ignored. Sulpicius has chosen to oppose Martin’s figure to the Eastern monks. Martin alone embodies all the types of a saint: a prophet, an apostle, Jesus, a martyr, an ascetic. He also represents a completely new type in the West of a monk-bishop, the model that will also mark the Lerinian monasticism.

5. Eucherius’ model of a monk is created less by examples proposed expressis verbis, contrary to the earlier monastic writings, and more by allusive language which helps to create a more abstract, “ideal” model of a monk, which is however tributary to its literary predecessors. In the way how Eucherius constructs his model, he follows John Cassian. While the latter had already invented the beginnings of monasticism from apostolic times, Eucherius takes a further step by inserting it into the even broader history of Salvation.

From the typological interpretation of the desert, the story of Exodus prefiguring the Christian baptism, results the way how Eucherius constructs his model of a monk. De laude eremi is more than a series of biblical prototypes of a monk. Eucherius touches little the ascetic aspect of the life in the desert, or the moral virtues of its inhabitants. Instead, his interpretation of these figures is based on the typological, sacramental and

202 Christologic, interpretation of the Bible, with the special attention paid to the Christian meaning of the Exodus cycle. The entrance into the desert, denoting allegorically the beginning of monastic life, can be thus interpreted as the second baptism. Therefore the Lerinians, who are endowed with the features of the biblical characters, appear less as ascetics living the way of life proper to the monks, and more as members of the wider Church representing the God’s adopted nation.

203 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Main sources ATHANASIUS, The Life of Antony (= V. Anton.): Athanase d’Alexandrie, Vie d’Antoine, Introduction, texte critique, traduction, notes et index par G. M. J. BARTELINK, SC 400, Paris, 1994. - Vita Antonii interprete Evagrio presbytero Antiocheno, PL 73,125-170. - Vita di Antonio, testo critico e commento a cura di G. J. M. BARTELINK (Vite dei Santi 1), Rome, 1974. - The Life of Antony, translated by H. ELLERSHAW, Select Writings of Athanasius, ed. PH. SCHAFF and H. WACE (NPNF II, t. 4), p. 195-221. CASSIAN, JOHN, Conlationes (= Conl.): Jean Cassien. Conférences, Introduction, texte latin, traduction et notes par E. PICHERY, SC 42, 54, 64, Paris, 1955-1959. - De institutis coenobiorum (= Inst.): Jean Cassien. Institutions cénobitiques, Texte latin revu, introduction, traduction et notes par J.-C. GUY, SC 109, Paris, 20012 (1965). - The Twelve Books on the Institutes of the Coenobia, and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults. The Conferences of John Cassian, translated by E. C. S. GIBSON, Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian, ed. PH. SCHAFF and H. WACE (NPNF II, t. 11), p. 201-545. EUCHERIUS OF LYONS, De laude eremi (= Laud.): Eucherii de laude eremi, ed. S. PRICOCO (Miscellanea di studi di letteratura cristiana antica 15), Catania, 1965. - Éloge de la solitude, Saint Eucher de Lyon, Du mépris du monde, Présentation et traduction de L. CRISTIANI, Paris, 1950, p. 67-89. - De laude eremi, Conférence 9, 1999, traduction par CHRISTOPHE CARRAUD, http://www.revue-conference.com/fichiers/file1956.pdf (as of 25.10.06). - The Life of the Jura Fathers: the Life and Rule of the Holy Fathers Romanus, Lupiciunus, and Eugendus, Abbots of the Monasteries in the Jura Mountains. With appendices: Avitus of Vienne, Letter XVIIII to Viventiolus; Eucherius of Lyon, The Passion of the Martyrs of Agaune, Saint Maurice and His Companions; In Praise of the Desert, translated, with an introduction by T. VIVIAN, K. VIVIAN, JEFFREY B. RUSSELL, with the assistance of CH. CUMMINGS (CistSS 178), Kalamazoo, 1999, p. 197-215. - Eucherio di Lione, Elogio della solitudine. Rinuncia al mondo, Introduzione, traduzione e note a cura di M. SPINELLI (Collana di testi patristici 139), Roma, 1997. - De contemptu mundi (= Cont.): Eucherio di Lione. Il rifiuto del mondo, a cura di S. PRICOCO (Biblioteca Patristica 16), Firenze, 1990. - Formulae spiritalis intellegentiae (= Form.), ed. C. MANDOLFO, CCSL 66, Turnhout, 2004, p. 1-76. - Instructionum libri duo (= Instr.), ed. C. MANDOLFO, ibid., p. 77-216. - Passio Agaunensium martyrum (= Pass.), ed. C. WOTKE, CSEL 31,Vindobonae, 1894, p. 163-173. HILARY OF ARLES, Sermo de vita sancti Honorati (= Serm. Hon.): Vie de saint Honorat, Édition, introduction et traduction par M.-D. VALENTIN, SC 235, Paris, 1977.

204 JEROME, Epistulae (= Ep.): Saint Jérôme. Lettres, texte établi et traduit par J. LABOURT, Collection des Universités de France, t. 1-8, Paris, 1949-1963. - Vita Hilarionis (= V. Hilar.): Vita di Martino, Vita di Ilarione, In memoria di Paola, Testo critico a cura di A. A. R. BASTIAENSEN (Vite dei Santi 4), Roma, 1975, p. 72-142. - Vita Malchi (= V. Mal.): ed. C. C. MIEROW, Classical Essays Presented to J. A. Kleist, St. Lois, 1946, p. 31-60. - Vita Pauli (= V. Pauli): PL 23,17-28. - The First Desert Hero: St. Jerome’s Vita Pauli, ed. I. S. KOZIK, New York, 1968. - The Life of Paulus the First Hermit. The Life of S. Hilarion. The Life of Malchus, the Captive Monk, translated by W. H. FREMANTLE, Jerome: Letters and Select Works, ed. PH. SCHAFF and H. WACE (NPNF II, t. 6), p. 498-524. RUFINUS, Historia Ecclesiastica (= Hist. Eccl.): Eusebius Werke 2.1. Die Kirchen- geschichte, ed. E. SCHWARTZ und T. MOMMSEN, GCS 9,1-2, Leipzig, 1908. - Historia Monachorum in Aegypto (= Hist. Mon.): Tyrannius Rufinus. Historia Monachorum sive de vita sanctorum patrum, ed. E. SCHULZ-FLÜGEL, PTS 34, Berlin, New York, 1990. SULPICIUS SEVERUS, Epistulae (= Ep.): Sulpice Sévère, Vie de saint Martin, Introduction, texte, traduction et commentaire par J. FONTAINE, t. I-III, SC 133-135, Paris, 1967-1969. - Dialogi (= Dial.): Sulpicii Severi Opera, ed. C. HALM, CSEL 1, Vindebonae, 1866. - Vita Martini (= V. Mart.): Sulpice Sévère, Vie de saint Martin, Introduction, texte, traduction et commentaire par J. FONTAINE, t. I-III, SC 133-135, Paris, 1967-1969. - On the Life of St. Martin. The Letters of Sulpitius Severus. Dialogues of Sulpitius Severus, translated by A. ROBERTS, The Works of Sulpitius Severus, ed. PH. SCHAFF and H. WACE (NPNF II, t. 11), p. 3-54.

205 Digital data resources and applications

BibleWorks for Windows, Version 3.5.026 NT/95, Big Fork Mont., 1996.

CETEDOC Library of Christian Latin Texts, Version 3.0, Turnhout, 1996.

Corpus Augustinianum Gissense a C. Mayer editum, Basel, 1996.

Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, CD-ROM #D, Packard Humanities Institute, University of California, 1992.

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215 STEIDLE, BASILIUS, “Homo Dei Antonius”. Zum Bild des “Mannes Gottes” im alten Mönchtum, Antonius Magnus Eremita, 356-1956. Studia ad antiquum monachismum pertinentia (StAns 38), Roma, 1956, p. 148-200. STROHEKER, KARL FRIEDRICH, Der senatorische Adel im spätantiken Gallien, Tübingen, 1948. THELAMON, FRANÇOISE, Modèles de monachisme oriental selon Rufin d’Aquilée, Aquileia e l’oriente mediterraneo (AAAd 12), 1977, p. 323-352. e THELAMON, FRANÇOISE, Païens et chrétiens au IV siècle. L’apport de l’« Histoire ecclésiastique» de Rufin d’Aquilée, Paris, 1981. THELAMON, FRANÇOISE, Art. Rufin d’Aquilée, DSp 12, col. 1107-1117. TILLEMONT, SÉBASTIEN LENAIN DE, Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire ecclésiastique des six premiers siècles, t. 15, Paris, 1711. VALENTIN, MARIE-DENISE, Hilaire d’Arles. Vie de saint Honorat (SC 235) Paris, 1977. VAN UYTFANGHE, MARC, L’empreinte biblique sur la plus ancienne hagiographie occidentale, in J. FONTAINE et CH. PIETRI (éd.), Le monde latin antique et la Bible (BTT 2), Paris, 1985, p. 565-619. VAN UYTFANGHE, MARC, L’hagiographie: un “genre” chrétien ou antique tardif?, AnBoll 111, 1993, p. 135-188. VAN UYTFANGHE, MARC, Stylisation biblique et condition humaine dans l’hagiographie mérovingienne (600-750) (Verhandelingen van de koninlijke academie voor wetenschappen, letteren en schone kunsten van België, Klasse der letteren, Jaargang 49, No 120), Brussel, 1987. VEILLEUX, ARMAND, Pachomiana Koinonia, v. 1-3 (CistSS 45-47), Kalamazoo, 1980- 1982. VESSEY, MARK, The Demise of the Christian Writer and the Remaking of “Late Antiquity”: from H.-I. Marrou’s Saint Augustine (1938) to Peter Brown’s Holy Man (1983), Journal of Early Christian Studies 6, 1998, p. 377-411. VILLER, MARCEL, Le martyre et l’ascèse, RAM 6, 1925, p. 105-142. VOGÜÉ, ADALBERT DE, Compte rendu de S. PRICOCO, L’isola dei Santi. Il cenobio di Lerino e le origini del monachesimo gallico, RHE 76, 1981, p. 94-97. VOGÜÉ, ADALBERT DE, Les débuts de la vie monastique à Lérins : Remarques sur un ouvrage récent, Regards sur le monachisme des premiers siècles (StAns 130), 2000, p. 207-257. VOGÜÉ, ADALBERT DE, De saint Pachôme à Jean Cassien. Études littéraires et doctrinales sur le monachisme égyptien à ses débuts (StAns 120), Roma, 1996. VOGÜÉ, ADALBERT DE, La geste d’Élisée chez les premiers moines d’Occident, Carmel 71, 1994, p. 28-38. VOGÜÉ, ADALBERT DE, Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l’antiquité, t. 1: De la mort d’Antoine à la fin du séjour de Jérôme à Rome (356-385), Paris, 1991. VOGÜÉ, ADALBERT DE, Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l’antiquité, t. 2: De l’Itinéraire d’Egérie à l’éloge funèbre de Népotien (384-396), Paris, 1993. VOGÜÉ, ADALBERT DE, Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l’antiquité, t. 3: Jérôme, Augustin et Rufin au tournant du siècle (391-405), Paris, 1996.

216 VOGÜE, ADALBERT DE, Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l’antiquité, t. 4: Sulpice Sévère et Paulin de Nole (393-409). Jérôme, homéliste et traducteur des “Pachomiana”, Paris, 1997. VOGÜÉ, ADALBERT DE, Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l’antiquité, t. 6: Les derniers écrits de Jérôme et l’œuvre de Jean Cassien (414-428), Paris, 2002. VOGÜÉ, ADALBERT DE, Histoire littéraire du mouvement monastique dans l’antiquité, t. 7: L’essor de la littérature lérinienne et les écrits contemporains (410-500), Paris, 2003. VOGÜÉ, ADALBERT DE, Introduction, Antoine le Grand, Père des moines, traduction française de B. LAVAUD, Paris, 1989, p. I-XIV. VOGÜE, ADALBERT DE, Monachisme et Église dans la pensée de Cassien, De saint Pachôme à Jean Cassien. Études littéraires et doctrinales sur le monachisme égyptien à ses débuts (StAns 120), Roma, 1996, p. 271-301 (= Théologie de la vie monastique (Théologie 49), Lyon, 1961, p. 213-240). VOGÜE, ADALBERT DE, Pour comprendre Cassien. Un survol des Conférences, De saint Pachôme à Jean Cassien. Études littéraires et doctrinales sur le monachisme égyptien à ses débuts (StAns 120), Roma, 1996, p. 303-329 (= CCist 39, 1977, p. 250-272). VOGÜÉ, ADALBERT DE, Les Règles des Saints Pères, t. I-II, SC 297-298, Paris, 1982. VOGÜÉ, ADALBERT DE, Les sources des quatre premiers livres des Institutions de Jean Cassien, De saint Pachôme à Jean Cassien. Études littéraires et doctrinales sur le monachisme égyptien à ses débuts (StAns 120), Roma, 1996, p. 373-456. VOSS, BERND REINER, Bemerkungen zu Euagrius von Antiochen. Vergil und Sallust in der Vita Antonii, VChr 21, 1967, p. 93-102. WANROIJ, VAN MACARIUS, The Prophet Elijah Example of Solitary and Contemplative Life?, Carmelus 16, 1969, p. 251-263. WEISS, JEAN-PIERRE, Honorat héros antique et saint chrétien. Étude du mot gratia dans la Vie de saint Honorat d’Hilaire d’Arles, Augustinianum 24, 1984, p. 265-280. WEISS, JEAN-PIERRE, Art. Vincent de Lérins, DSp 16, col. 822-832. WESSEL, K., Art. Durchzug durch das Rote Meer, RAC 4, col. 370-389. WICKHAM, LIONEL R., Art. Eucherius von Lyon, TRE 10, p. 522-525. WISNIEWSKI, ROBERT, Bestiae Christum loquuntur ou des habitants du désert et de la ville dans la Vita Pauli de saint Jérôme, Augustinianum 40, 2000, p. 105-144. ZELZER, KLAUS, Cassianus natione Scytha, ein Südgallier, WSt 104, 1991, p. 161-168.

217 Abbreviations The abbreviations of the books of the Bible are quoted according to Biblia sacra iuxta vulgatam versionem, adiuvantibus BONIFATIO FISCHER, IOHANNE GRIBOMONT, H.F.D. SPARKS, W. THIELE, recensuit et brevi apparatu instruxit ROBERTUS WEBER, Stuttgart, 1969.

AAAd Antichità altoadriatiche, Udine. Adamantius Adamantius. Notizario del Gruppo Italiano di Ricerca su “Origene e la tradizione alessandrina” = Newsletter of the Italian Research Group on “Origen and the Alexandrian Tradition”, Pisa. AL Augustinus-Lexikon, hrsg. von CORNELIUS MAYER, Basel, Stuttgart, 1986- . AnBoll Analecta Bollandiana, Bruxelles. BGAM Beiträge zur Geschichte des alten Mönchtums und des Benediktinerordens, Münster. BLE Bulletin de littérature ecclésiastique, Toulouse. BTT Bible de tous les temps, Paris. CCist Collectanea Cisterciensia, Forges. CistSS Cistersian studies series, Kalamazoo, Michigan. CEASA Collection des Études Augustiniennes, Série Antiquité, Paris. CEFR Collection de l’École française de Rome, Roma. CPE Connaissance des Pères de l’Eglise, Montrouge. CCSL Corpus Christianorum Series Latina, Turnholti. COCR Collectanea Ordinis Cisterciensium Reformatorum, Westmalle. CQ Classical Quarterly, Oxford. CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, Vindobonae. CSS Cistercian studies series, Kalamazoo. DHGE Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, Paris, 1912- . DSp Dictionnaire de spiritualité ascétique et mystique: doctrine et histoire, Paris, 1937-1995. DThC Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, Paris, 1903-1972. EHS Europäische Hochschulschriften, Frankfurt am Main. ErJb Eranos Jahrbuch, Zürich. GCS Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte, Berlin. JAC Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum, Münster. JRS Journal of Roman Studies, London. JThS Journal of Theological Studies, Oxford. MGH AA Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, Berolini, 1877- 1919. NPNF A select library of the Nicene and post-Nicene fathers of the Christian Church, ed. by PHILIP SCHAFF, Grand Rapids Mich., 1956. OCA Orientalia Christiana Analecta, Roma. OCP Orientalia Christiana Periodica, Roma. Paradosis Paradosis. Beiträge zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur und Theologie = Études de littérature et de théologie anciennes, Fribourg.

218 PG Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca, accurante J.-P. MIGNE, Lutetiae Parisiorum, 1857-1866. PL Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Latina, accurante J.-P. MIGNE, Lutetiae Parisiorum, 1844-1864. PTS Patristische Texte und Studien, Berlin. RAC Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum: Sachwörterbuch zur Auseinandersetzung des Christentums mit der antiken Welt, hrsg. von ERNST DASSMANN [et al.], Stuttgart, 1950- . RAM Revue d’ascétique et de mystique, Toulouse. RAMi Rivista di ascetica e mistica, Firenze. RBS Regulae Benedicti Studia. Annuarium Internationale, Hildesheim. REAug Revue des études augustiniennes et patristiques, Paris. REL Revue des études latines, Paris. RHE Revue d’Histoire Ecclésiastique, Louvain. RHEF Revue d’Histoire de l’Église de France, Paris. RHR Revue de l’Histoire des Religions, Paris. RSLR Rivista di storia e letteratura religiosa, Firenze. RSR Recherches de science religieuse, Paris. RTL Revue théologique de Louvain, Louvain. SEAug Studia Ephemeridis Augustinianum, Roma. StAns Studia Anselmiana, Roma. SC Sources chrétiennes, Paris. StMon Studia monastica, Monserrat. StudPatr Studia Patristica. Papers presented to the International Conferences on Patristic Studies, Berlin and others. ThPh Theologie und Philosophie, Freiburg im Bresgau. TLL Thesaurus linguae latinae, Lipsiae, 1900- . TRE Theologische Realenzyklopädie, Berlin, 1976- . VChr Vigiliae Christianae. A Review of Early Christian Life and Language, Amsterdam. VM Vie monastique, Bégrolles-en-Mauges. ZKG Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte, Stuttgart. WSt Wiener Studien. Zeitschrift für klassische Philologie, Wiena.

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