The Life of St. Severin

Sources chrétiennes #374

by Eugippius

The idea of writing about St. Severin, so Eugippius tells us, came to him as he witnessed the success of a Life , in letter-form, of the monk, Bassus, who had died―recently, it seems―in the south of Italy. The Letter, the work of a layman, was circulated privately, and a number of people took copies. Eugippius and his community thought the miracles of their founder should be made known in a similar way. On hearing this, the biographer of Bassus offered his services and approached Eugippius for information. Eugippius, however, had his misgivings, which were probably aroused by an unkown layman's Letter about Bassus. Eugippius feared that the work would be written in such an elaborate style as to be almost unintelligible to ordinary readers; and, to judge from the literary fashion of the times, such fears were not unfounded. Eugippius, therefore, drafted a sketch of Severin's life and miracles, and sent it to Paschasius, one of the seven deacons of the Curch of Rome, and author of a work on the Holy Ghost, which later won the approval of Pope Gregory the Great. Eugippius asked Paschasius to turn his sketch into a book of such form and style as its subjects would demand. This request, it seems, was not meant too seriously. Paschasius in his reply politely declined the offer on the grounds that the 'draft' of Eugippius served its purpose excellently, and that nothing could be gained by greater elaboration. Eugippius' Memorandum is certainly anything but 'casual'; he uses rhetoric deliberately, though in moderation; he observes the rules of prose rhythm; he is aware of certain demands of composition inherent in a literary genre. Eugippius probably meant to ask Paschasius, a high-standing and influential churchman, to write―as we would say nowadays―a 'Foreword' that would give his work a wider circulation. Paschasius' reply, with its highly complimentary remarks, may then be regarded as a response to Eugippius' polite intimation.

Genres: History, Christianity

132 pages, Hardcover

First published May 22, 1914

About the author

From Wikipedia Eugippius (circa 460 – circa 535, Castellum Lucullanum) was a disciple and the biographer of Saint Severinus of Noricum.[1][2]

After the latter's death in 482, he took the remains to Naples and founded a monastery on the site of a 1st-century Roman villa, the Castellum Lucullanum (on the site of the later Castel dell'Ovo).[3]

In 511 Eugippius wrote to Paschasius and asked his venerated and dear friend, who had great literary skill, to write a biography of St. Severinus from the accounts of the saint which he (Eugippius) had put together in crude and inartistic form. Paschasius, however, replied that the acts and miracles of the saint could not be described better than had done by Eugippius.[4]

While at Naples, Eugippius compiled a 1000-page anthology of the works of St. Augustine and and was probably involved in the revision of the Vulgate text of the Gospels.[5] He also produced other scholarly works of high quality. There is a monastic rule which is ascribed to Eugippius, but it was early superseded by that of St. Benedict[6]

Reviews

[Raymond]

A pretty singular historical source for life on the Roman frontier in the fifth century as the empire fell. I read it after seeing the analysis in Thompson's Romans and Barbarians, and it's great to hear Eugippius's voice come through in the actual text.

This edition is available free on Google books. The translation (1914) is a little old fashioned but Robinson's notes are thorough and very valuable. The cover image (Joan of Arc?) here on goodreads should be updated.

[John Cairns]

It shows just how superstitious the elite had become with the onset of Xianity whether as cause or symptom. It's basically a parti pris biography as all Xian writing is, basically a lie from end to end eg Severinus is supposed to have recalled Silvinius from the dead who conveniently wanted to be left dead. Only the already converted would believe the raising in the first place and the sceptical, giving the report any credence at all, would supply a different explanation and even so doubt what Silvinius was supposed to have said, about being deprived of everlasting rest. The editor's comment is amusing, that the gratitude of the catechumen recalled to life by St Martin was greater in proportion as his reception in the other world had been different. The value of this book resides in such notes and in what it incidentally tells of the past.

When asked where he'd come from, Severinus suspectly evades giving a straight answer. That I can believe. Locusts were supposed to have been eradicated by prayers as directed by Severinus except for one faithless peasant who set about getting rid of them from his plot which - would you believe! - was the only one consumed. He was then bribed into belief. Is there any point trying to sift this chaff for grain? Likewise the dispensing of everflowing oil to the poor until someone remarks the pot of oil overflows like a fountain, whereupon it ceases to do so, and he's told off. The speech sounds authentic enough. A blind man wasn't cured but told to look in and after forty years died, blind.

My comment on Severinus' perceiving he was about to pass from this world was 'thank god!' but his 'passing' takes many pages and on disinterment his corpse is intact and has the smell of roses! fragrant anyway.