A new history of ecclesiastical writers containing an account of the authors of the several books of the Old and New Testament, of the lives and writings of the primitive fathers, an abridgement and catalogue of their works ... also a compendious history of the councils, with chronological tables of the whole / written in French by Lewis Ellies du Pin.

Saint PAULINUS.

SAint PAULINUS, called also Pontius, and Meropius, descended from an illustrious Fa∣mily of Roman Senators, was born at Bourdeaux about the Year 453. He was directed in * 1.1 his Studies by the famous Ausonius; he studied with so much Assiduity the best of the Latin Authors, that he got a stile very like theirs. He advanced afterwards to the most con∣siderable Offices of the Empire. Ausonius says that Paulinus was Consul along with him, but his Name being not found in the Fasti consulares, it is probable that he obtained that Dig∣nity only in the Room of some other Person, who died in the Office, and perhaps in the Year 378, after the Death of Valens. He married Therasia a rich Woman, by whom he got a great Estate, The Happiness that a Person so powerful and rich as he was, might have enjoyed, was much disturb∣ed by abundance of Businesses, which made him recollect himself, and resolve to be converted. and to retire into Spain with his Wife Therasia, who had contributed much to make him take this Resolution. He was baptized by Delphinus Bishop of Bourdeaux some time before his retreat, in the Year 389. He dwelt Four years in Spain, where he embraced voluntary Poverty, selling his Goods by degrees to give them to the Poor. The Inhabitants of Barcelona, where he dwelt conceived such Esteem for him, that they caused him to be ordained Priest upon Christmas-day, tho' he thought not of it. S. Paulinus perceiving that he could not overcome the People's Re∣solution, after a long resistance, yielded to be ordained, upon condition that he should not be obliged to remain in Barcelona, because his Design was to withdraw to Nola. This Ordination was performed in 393, and the next Year, he left Spain to go into Italy. In his way he saw S. Am∣brose at Florence, who shewed him some Marks of Respect: at Rome he was kindly received both by Persons of Quality, and by the People: but Pope Siricius, and the Clergy were jealous of him, which made him leave that Town quickly, and repair to Nola, where he dwelt in a Countrey house half a League from the Town; having lived there Sixteen years with his Wife Therasia, in the Study and Exercises of a Monastical Life, he was chosen and ordained Bishop of Nola in 409. The beginning of his Promotion was disturbed by the Incursions of the Goths, who took the City of Nola; this Assault being over, he enjoy'd his Bishoprick peaceably to his dying day, in the Year 431. We read in S. Gregory's Dialogues, that he yielded himself to be a Captive in Africa voluntarily, to deliver a Widow's Son that was taken by the Vandals: but this Action which did not agree, either with the Circumstances, or the time of S. Paulinus's Life, is looked upon by the Learned as a Fable, as several others are, which may be found in S. Gregory's Dia∣logues.

There was a new Edition lately made of this Father's Poems and Letters, wherein they are set very exactly in a Chronological Order.

The first Letter is written by Paulinus to Sulpicius Severus, sometime after he was ordained a Priest; there he exhorteth Sulpicius Severus to continue in that sort of Life, which he had em∣braced, without being disturbed at the Discourses of the Men of the World that blamed him. He invites him to come to him at Barcelona, and acquaints him after what manner he was or∣dained Priest.

Upon Christmas-day, saith he, the People obliged me to receive the Order of Priesthood, against my Will: not that I have any Aversion to that Dignity; on the contrary, I could wish to have began at the Porter's order to come into the Clergy: but as my Design looked another way, so I was surprized and established at that new Order of the Divine Pro∣vidence. I submitted my self to Christ's Yoke, and am now engaged in a Ministery beyond my Merit and my Strength..... I can hardly yet comprehend the heavy weight of that Dig∣nity: I tremble when I consider the Importance of that Office, being conscious to my self of my own weakness: but he that giveth Wisdom to the Simple, and causeth sucking Babes to sing his Praises, is able to accomplish his work in me, to give me his Grace, and make me wor∣thy, whom he has called when I was unworthy.

He addeth, That he took Orders upon this condition, that he should not be tyed to the Church of Barcelona, so that he consecrated him∣self to the Holy Ministery, without being bound to the Service of any particular Church. He in∣vites him at last not to put off his Journey, but to come to him before Easter.

The Second Letter to Amandus a Priest, afterwards Bishop of Bourdeaux is written like∣wise concerning that Ordination, at the same time with the first. He intreats him to give him Advice and necessary Instructions, for the worthy discharging of his Ministery.

The Third to Alypius Bishop in Africa, was written immediately after his Arrival at Nola, in the Autumn of the Year 394. He commends there S. Augustin's Books which Alypius had sent him; he sends him Eusebius his Chronicon, and tells him, That he was very desirous to know the particulars of his Life: and at the latter end of the Letter, he says, That he sent him a Loaf as a Token of their Union, and a Figure of the Trinity, adding, That he shall make an Eulogy, of that Bread when he receives it, that is, That in receiving it he shall bless it, as he says in the following Letter to S. Augustin. It was the Custom of that time, especially with S. Paulinus thus to send Bread as a mark of Union: See the 1st. 4th. 45th. and 46th. Letters. S. Augustin in the 34th. Letter speaks likewise of a Loaf, which he sent to Paulinus, and makes use of the same

expression; The Bread, saith he, which we send unto you, shall be made a subject of Blessing, by the Charity wherewith you shall receive it. UBERIOR BENEDICTIO FIET DI∣LECTIONE ACCIPIENTIS VESTRAE BENIGNITATIS.

The Fourth is written to S. Augustin; he commends his Five Books against the Manichees which Alypius had sent him: It is full of Expressions, to shew how greatly he esteemed S. Au∣gustin, of whom he craves advice for his Behaviour: both these Letters were written in Autumn, in the Year 394, as appears by the Sixth. S. Augustin answers this last by the 27th. Letter of the last Edition, which is there in the Italick Letter.

S. Paulinus's Fifth Letter is directed to Sulpicius Severus, wherein he returns him Thanks for the Testimonies of Love that he had received from him: He exalts his Conversion; and comparing it with his own, shews that it was more surprizing and wonderfull. There he also speaks of his Distemper, and of the Envy which the Roman Clergy bore to all men, of any Reputation either for their Holiness or their Piety: and alledgeth this as a Reason of his withdrawing far from Rome; He opposes Pope Siricius his proud Behaviour towards him, Papae urbici superba duritia, to that Charity wherewith both the Bishops and Clergy of Campania, had entertained him by their frequent Visits, and to that of the African Bishops, who had sent on purpose to know how he did.

The Sixth Letter is written to S. Augustin in the Year 395, wherein he expresseth how impa∣tient he was to receive some Letters from him.

The following Letter is an Answer of S. Augustin's which is the Thirty first of his Letters, writ∣ten in 396. He sends Paulinus word of his Promotion to be a Bishop.

Paulinus having received this Letter, acquaints Romanianus by the Seventh, with his great joy for that News.

In the Eighth he exhorteth Licentius Romanianus his Son, in Prose and in Verse, to leave the World and give himself to God. These Letters are of the Year 396.

In the Eleventh of the following Year, as is supposed, he urges Severus Sulpicius to come to see him.

The Twelfth to Amandus is one of the most excellent of all S. Paulinus his Letters. There he very elegantly explains the Degrees of Man's Fall, and of the Redemption by Jesus Christ, observing that God had preserved Holiness in the posterity of Seth; that in the time of the Flood, The Spirit of Holiness rested in one only righteous Man, who was then the Redeemer of Mankind, and a Type of the Redemption through Christ: That after the Flood men returning to Corruption, God chose Abraham to be the Father of the Faith∣ful, of whom should come the everlasting King, and that at last all mankind being so cor∣rupted with Vice, that hardly any Remedy could be hoped for; the same Lord who formed Man, came to restore him by the same power by which he had created him: That he made himself Man to be a Mediator betwixt God and Men: That he was humble, and had chosen the vile things in this World to confound the Proud, the Learned and the mighty things of the Age: And at last he died and rose again, to destroy Death in us, and restore Immortality. These are the main Points explained very exactly by S. Paulinus in that Letter. At the latter end he takes notice that there is both Humility, and a laudable Pride. That Pride, saith he, is to be approved, which makes us despise the World, and neglect whatsoever seemeth great handsome and pleasing to the Eyes of Men, apply our selves only to heavenly things, and stoop to nothing but God's Commandments, &c. on the other side, That that Humility is to be condemned, which hath not Faith for its Foundati∣tion, but only such a Littleness of mind as serves for lying, and is an Enemy to truth, which makes us loose our Liberty, and become the Slaves of Vice; which mingles Wine with Water, That is, to say, which weakens the pure truth, by a base Complaceny. MEND ACII FAMULA VERI∣TATIS INIMICA MISCENS AQUA VINUM, ID EST, VERITATIS MERUM AQUOSO ADULATONIS ENERVANS.

The Thirteenth is a Letter of Consolation to Pammachius upon the Death of Paulina his Wife in 397, wherein having exhorted him to stop his Tears, and moderate his Sorrow, he commends his great Charity to the poor of the City of Rome.

In the Fourteenth and Fifteenth to Delphinus, and Amandus, S. Paulinus testifies his joy for Del∣phinus's Recovery, who had been dangerously Sick, giving him thanks for the Service he had done to Basilius the Priest. In the first upon occasion of Delphinus his Sickness, he saith, That the Afflictions of the Righteous are profitable. 1. For the Exercise of their Vertue, 2. To keep them from Pride. 3. To imprint in them the fear of God's Justice, which will grievously punish the Impious, since it deals so severely with the Righteous.

The Sixteenth Letter to Jovius, is an excellent Discourse of Providence. It is placed in 399.

In the Seventeenth to Severus Sulpicius, he complains that he came not to see him, neither met him at Rome, whither he was gone to celebrate the Feast of the Apostles S. Peter, and S. Paul; He exhorts him to come into that Countrey, to Honour S. Foelix the Martyr. This Letter was written by S. Paulinus at the latter end of the Year 399, after a Recovery from Sickness.

The Eighteenth is written to Victricius Bishop of Rouen, he sent it by Paschasius his Deacon whom he found at Rome, and had brought to Nola. Having excused himself for detaining him so long, he makes a Panegyrick upon Victricius, describing the Torments which he had suffered for the Faith of Jesus Christ. This Letter is of the same Date with the foregoing.

The Three following to Delphinus Bishop of Bourdeaux, were sent in the Year 400, by Carda∣mas an Exorcist, who came to visit him from that Bishop.

In the First, he shows his gratitude for the Love which that Bishop had for him: He owns him∣self to be one of that Bishop's planting, praying him that he would cultivate the same Plant by his Prayers, and water it with his Counsels. In the Second, he gives him▪ Notice of the Tokens of love and respect that had been shewed him by Anastasius Bishop of Rome, and Vene∣ris Bishop of Milan. At last having commended Cardamas, he expounds the beginning of S. John's Gospel.

In the Twenty second to Severus, He describeth the Luxury, and Effeminateness of the Men of the World, and exalteth the Frugality of the Monks, in very elegant and proper words.

Here is a very pleasant Letter from Severus to Paulinus, wherein he recommends a Cook to him, affirming that he was very fit for him, knowing exactly well how to dress a Dish of Beans, and Lettices, and one that would destroy as many Pot-Herbs as any Man he ever saw.

S. Paulinus made this Cook called Victor welcome, being so highly commended, and Paulinus was so well pleased with him, that he makes his Panegyrick in the Twenty third Letter commen∣ding him, because he cut his Hair perfectly well. He speaks of the use of Hair, and from thence takes opportunity to give an Allegorical exposition of the Histories of Sampson and Mary Magdalen.

Sulpicius Severus had written S. Paulinus a Letter wherein he commended that Saint, for di∣stributing his Estate to the Poor. S. Paulinus answers him, That it is but a small thing to renounce this World's wealth, except one also denies himself; and that a Man may quit the Goods of this World heartily, without parting with them altogether. He treateth afterwards of the Conditions of Evangelical poverty, and the dangers and temptations that attend a Spiritual life. Both these Letters are supposed to have been written about the latter end of the Year 400.

The Twenty fifth Letter is addressed to a Person of Quality, whom he exhorts to quit the World, and advises him not to deferr his Conversion.

In the Twenty sixth Letter he praises a Monk named Sebastian, and a Deacon named Bene∣dictus, upon their having worthily discharged their Duties. These two Letters are in the Ninth Tome of S. Jerom's Works, among those falsely attributed to him. They seem to have been writ∣ten in the Year 401.

The Twenty seventh Letter to Severus Sulpicius contains nothing considerable.

The Twenty eighth directed to the same, is something more usefull; there are several passages of Scripture applied to Jesus Christ with much wit and dexterity. He writes, that he sent to him by Victor, (whom he commends again in this place,) his Panegyrick of Theodosius the Emperor, and his Verses in commendation of S. Foelix the Martyr: Both these Letters are believed to be of the Year 401.

By the Twenty ninth, he thanks Severus for a Suit of Camel's Hair which he had sent him; judging, that he thereby intended to let him understand the need he had of Penance, and that in exchange he sent him a Suit of Lamb's Wool which Melania had given him; whereupon he takes occasion to commend that famous Widow, who lately passed through Nola. If this Letter was written in the same Year that Melania returned from Jerusalem, as he that writ the Notes upon it supposes, then it is of the Year 397, and not of 402, as he affirms: But there is no proof that it is of the same Year.

Sulpicius Severus had desired to have S. Paulinus's Picture. The Saint refuses to give it, and calls his Request a piece of Folly: And this puts him upon discoursing in the Thirtieth Letter of the inward and the outward Man; it is thought to be of 402. There he draws a wonderfull Picture of Man's Heart; this is one excellent passage of it, much admired of S. Augustin in his 186th. Epistle. How should I dare give you my Picture, that am altogether like the Earthly Man, and by my Actions represent the Carnal Man? Shame presseth me on every side. I am ashamed to have my Picture drawn as I am, and I dare not have it made otherwise. I hate what I am, and I am not what I would be. But what will it avail me, wretched Man, to hate Vice, and love Vertue, since I am what I hate, and my laziness hinders me from endeavouring to doe what I love? I find my self at variance with my self, and am torn by an intestine War. The Flesh fights against the Spi∣rit, and the Spirit against the Flesh. The Law of the Body opposes the Law of the Spirit. Woe is me, because I have not taken away the taste of the poisoned Tree, by that of the saving Cross. The poison communicated to all Men from our first Parent by his Sin, abideth yet in me.

About the same time Severus asked S. Paulinus to send him some Ashes of the Martyrs, to consecrate a Church: S. Paulinus having none, sent him a Bit of the true Cross, which Melania had brought from Jerusalem, with a Design to send it to Bassula, Severus his Mother-in-Law. This precious Relick was locked up in a Golden Box. Upon Occasion of this Present, he writes the History of the Invention of the Holy Cross. He says that Adrianus the Emperor caused a Temple to Jupiter to be built in the place where Christ suffered, and one to Adonis in Bethlehem to blot out the Memory, both of Christ's Birth and Passion: That these Temples stood till the time of Constantine: That the Empress Helena destroyed the Temples and Idols of false Deities, and erected Churches in those places; and that in one of them the Prints of Christ's Feet when he ascended up to Heaven were visible upon the Sand. That after this the Empress, desirous to find out where the Cross of Christ lay, sent for Christians and Jews, to learn of them the Place where it might have been hid, and that when she was shewed the Place, she caused the Ground to be opened, and contrary to all mens Expectation, having dug

deep, they found three Crosses planted in the Ground, as formerly; that the Joy of finding what they sought after, was much abated by the Difficulty of Discovering which of the three was the Cross of Christ, but that in this uncertainty it came into the Empress's Mind to bring thither a dead Corps; being perswaded that Jesus Christ would manifest by the Resurrection of that Man which of these three Crosses was his. The thing being immediately done, the Body which had been laid upon the two others (of the Thieves) to no purpose, returned to Life, as soon as the Cross of Christ touched him. He adds, That this Cross does not diminish, though Chips are constantly cut off from it.

In the Thirty second Letter to Severus, there are Verses concerning a Picture which Severus Sulpicius had placed in a Church of his own Building, which represented S. Martin and S. Pau∣linus. The latter out of Humility saith, that S. Martin represented innocent Persons; but he represented Sinners. He likewise makes a Description in Verse, of the Church which he was building at Nola; and writ Inscriptions for both Churches. Here is a Description of the Churches that were built at that time. Both these Letters are of the year 403. or thereabouts.

The following Letter to Alethius, hath nothing worth taking Notice of: but they have joined with it a Treatise directed to the same Alethius, which is one of the most Excellent Pieces in Antiquity, concerning Alm••deeds. It is intituled, of Ecclesiastical Treasure; because he shews there, that the greatest Treasure that a Man can get, and the best Gain that he can make, is to give Alms: It is Lending to God, who payeth great Use for it, and who gave Wealth to the Rich upon no other Account than that they might communicate to the Poor; as he hath made the Poor and Destitute, that the Rich might not want Opportunity of exercising Mercy and Charity. This small Treatise is full of such Notions about the Excellency and Necessity of Alms. It is believed that this Treatise was sent to Alethius, by Victor, with the foregoing Letter in 403.

In the Thirty fifth, and Thirty sixth Letters to Delphinus and Amandus, he recommends to their Prayers the Soul of his Brother, whom he had formerly baptized, desiring them not to forget it. Delphinus being dead in 404. as appears by S. Paulinus's Twenty seventh Poem. The Date of this Letter cannot be set backwarder.

Victricius Bishop of Rouen, having been at Rome, and Paulinus not being able to see him, this Saint writ him the Thirty seventh Letter to tell him that his Sins must needs have been the Cause of his being deprived of that Happiness; and there commends the Faith and Watch∣fulness of that Bishop: This Letter was written after Victricius's Journey into Italy, in the Year 404.

In the Thirty eighth to Aper, S. Paulinus exalts that Man's Conversion, exhorting him to rejoice rather than be sad, because the World hates and despises that sort of Life which he had embraced; charging him to serve God with the same Zeal that he had served the World. This Letter is supposed to be of the Year 404.

Aper and his Wife Amanda having declared to S. Paulinus, that they were obliged to take care of their Estate, because of the Lands belonging to their Children; he answereth them, that they ought to be perswaded that the Divine Providence had left them that Care for the Exercise of their Vertue. He saith further, that a man may advance towards Perfection by the Exercise of Country-Business, and learn to improve his Soul by the manner of tilling Ground. Here one may find an excellent Comparison of Agriculture, with the spiritual Life, and an ingenious Allegory upon those four kinds of Beasts that eat up the Fruits of the Earth, spoken of by the Prophet Joel, which he applies to passions of the Soul.

In the fortieth Letter S. Paulinus answereth very modestly to the Letter sent him by Sanctus and Amandus; he treateth there of the great need he had to bewail his Sins, and applies to this Subject what is in the Hundred and first Psalm, concerning the Pelican, the Owl, and the Sparrow.

The Forty first, to Sanctus, is a Treatise of Christian Watchfulness, upon the Parable of the Ten Virgins.

In the Forty second, to Florentius Bishop of Cahors, he thanketh this Bishop for the Honour he had done him in writing to him, assuring him of his Friendship; he commendeth him and desireth his Prayers. That Letter is full of Noble Expressions, to extol the Dignity and Merits of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, saith he, is that Rock containing that Spring of living Water, which we happily find not far from us, when we are very thirsty in this World: This is it that refreshes us, and keeps us from being consumed by the Heat of Lust. This is the Rock upon which standeth that House that shall never fall. This is the Rock which having been opened at the Side cast out Water and Blood, to make us taste of two wholsome Fountains, the Water of Grace, and the Blood of the Sacrament, which proves at the same time both the Spring and the Price of our Salvation. These last Letters are of the year 405.

The Forty third is written to Desiderius, who desired an Exposition of the Benedictions of the Patriarchs; he answers him, that he is better able to expound them himself, than he, of whom he desireth the Exposition. He only gives by the bye, an Explication of the Parable of the Withered Fig-Tree. He sent this Letter in 406. by Victor, lately recovered of a long and dangerous sickness. He gave him likewise two Notes which he had written long before, with a Letter to Severus, not now extant. Desiderius his Request gave him Occasion to require

it of Rufinus, who gave him that Satisfaction. The Letters he writ upon that Subject are a∣mong Rufinus's Works, and among these the Forty sixth and Forty seventh, were written in 408.

In the Forty fourth he admires the Spirit of Onction and Piety which he finds in Aper's Letters. Then he commends the Vertues of his Wife, and wishes that her Children may be well brought up.

In the Forty fifth, to S. Augustin, S. Paulinus returns him Thanks for the Book that Quintus had given him at Rome, as from him. Afterwards he commends Melania, then in Affliction for the Loss of her only Son: Upon Occasion of whose Death, he discourseth of the Felicity which the Saints shall enjoy after the Resurrection. He observes that all their Employment shall be then to praise God everlastingly, and to give him continual Thanks. This Letter was put into the hands of Quintus an African Deacon, who came into Italy in the Year 408. S. Paulinus's Letter is of the 20th of May following, as he observes in the Body of the Letter.

The Forty eighth Letter is a Fragment of an Epistle, quoted by S. Gregory of Tours, in which S. Paulinus opposes to the Disorders and Impieties of the Age, the Sanctity and Reli∣gion of some Bishops, as of Exuperius of Tolouse, of Simplicius of Vienna, of Amandus of Bourdeaux, of Diogenianus of Albi, of Dynamius of Angoulesme, of Verecundus of Clermont, of Alethius of Cahors, and of Pegasius of Perigueux. Since those times there have been some Ages wherein the Manners of the Laity might have been opposed to the Disorders of Church-men.

The Forty ninth Letter to Macarius contains the History of a Pilot Catechumen, who hap∣pening to be alone in a Ship loaded with Corn, which a Storm had blown off of the Port of Sardinia, was saved Miraculously by S. Foelix the Martyr's Protection: and having been several days at Sea, at last came safe to Land upon the Coasts of Abruzzo. This Letter may be called S. Paulinus's Master-piece. It were difficult to make a more agreeable Description, and a more natural Draught, than this which he makes, of all the Circumstances of that Story. He con∣cludes from thence, that undoubtedly the Saints succour us in time of need. He was a Bishop when he writ it; and so it could not be before the Year 410.

In the fiftieth to S. Augustin, S. Paulinus proposes to him several Difficulties upon several places of the Scripture, to which S. Augustin answereth by the hundred and forty ninth, written in 414. since S. Paulinus's Letter was written some time before. The Date of the fifty first to Eucherius is not known; for he was yet in the Monastery of Lerins, out of which he did not withdraw till 426. It is a Letter of Christian Compliments, such as are all those of S. Paulinus.

There remains only the Passion of S. Genesius, Martyr of Arles, which bears S. Paulinus his Name, and is sufficiently like his Style, though some have doubted whether he was the Au∣thor of it.

After these Letters are thirty two pieces of Poetry; fifteen of them are concerning S. Foelix the Martyr, and the others upon different Subjects, upon which I need not inlarge.

We have not his Epitome, in Verse, of a Book of the History of the Kings, commended by Ausonius; nor his Panegyrick upon Theodosius the Emperor, spoken of in S. Jerom, ep. 13. in Cassiodorus l. 2. Instit. divin. in Gennadius and Trithemius, and mentioned by S. Paulinus in his twenty eighth Letter. We have lost likewise some of his Letters to his Friends, which are mentioned in those that we have, and all those which he writ to his Sister concerning the Contempt of the World, reckoned by Gennadius among this Father's Works. The same Author speaks likewise of a Treatise of Repentance, and of the Praise of Martyrs, which he affirms to be the chiefest of his Works, and an Office of the Sacrament. As to the Collection of Hymns mentioned likewise by him, that perhaps did not differ from the Hymns we have in honour of S. Foelix. S. Augustin witnesseth in the thirty first Letter, that S. Paulinus was writing something against Pagans. S. Gregory of Tours citeth a Letter, not now extant, which mentions the Relicks of S. Gervasius and S. Protasius. Lastly, S. Paulinus tells us in his forty sixth Epistle, that he had translated some of the Works of S. Clemens Romanus. It is likely, that while he was Bishop he made some Sermons, but whether they were not collected, or whether they have been lost, certain it is that we have none of them.

The Letter to Marcella is written in S. Paulinus's Style, but it doth not well agree with the History of that famous Widow; for the Author of that Letter writes to her as to a person newly converted: whereas it is certain that she was converted long before S. Paulinus. It may be that the Lady to whom it is directed was another of the same Name.

The Letter to Celancia, attributed likewise to S. Paulinus, is of a Style not very different from his, yet not altogether the same, and he turns the Scripture after another manner. It is certain∣ly of an ancient Author, who lived before Paganism was utterly destroyed, and after the Reign of Jovian.

The Poem, whereby the Author exhorts his Wife to consecrate her self to God, is more elegant and better written than those of S. Paulinus. It does not agree to him, because at the time when it was written, the West was all in a Confusion, that is, in the year 407. It was not necessary that he should exhort his Wife to be converted, and to lead a Christian Life, seeing she had lived so a long time. Four Manuscripts ascribe that Poem to Prosper.

The Poem, immediately following, is a Paraphrase upon what S. Bernard hath written in honour of the Name of Jesus, and so is far younger than S. Paulinus, though it seems to many to be ancient. It is not necessary to observe, that the Life of S. Ambrose is written by another Paulinus.

The six Books of S. Martin's Life, ascribed to S. Paulinus, cannot be his, because in the se∣cond he is cited as a third Person, and he that wrote them mentions Perpetuus, sixth Bishop of Tours after S. Martin, who was not ordained till towards the latter end of the fifth Century, long after the Death of S. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola. There is in the Rules of Benedictus A∣••••anensis an Answer to this Question; What ought to be the Monks Penance, which is attributed to Paulinus, but though it be Eloquent, yet it is not believed to have been written by the Bishop of Nola.

The Writings of S. Paulinus are composed with a great deal of Art and Elegance, his way of speaking is close and clear, his Terms are pure and choice, his Discourse sententious and lively: He excites the Attention of his Readers and keeps them awake. He passes insensibly from one thing to another, all hangs well together, one Sentence depending upon the other, and the end of one Thought is the beginning of the next. S. Jerom advised him, upon his Conversion, to learn the holy Scripture and to make use of it. He made great use of that Counsel; for after that he made it so familiar to him, that in all his Discourses he inserts a vast Number of Pas∣sages of Scripture, and adapts them to his Subject, by giving them often a Sence very different from their natural one. They are as so many precious Stones, set in, and so curiously wrought that they raise the Discourse and give it a new Lustre. Yet it must be confessed that he doth it too often, and that his Allusions and Allegories are sometimes too far fetch'd. He turns things agreeably and finely: His Letters are pleasant and cheerful, they move, and they divert, rather than instruct. It is hard to judge, saith S. Augustin, whether they have more Sweetness or Fire, more Fruitfulness or Light. They soften and give Heat at the same time, they strengthen and mollify. Yet it must be owned that his Notions are not always solid and exact; and often please because of a false Lustre. He often plays with Words, and uses several Childish Allego∣ries. He is excellent in his Draughts and Descriptions. He doth not penetrate into Dogmati∣cal Matters, nor carry points of Morality very far, but only points at them superficially. All his Writings are short, but they are many, and all carefully composed. Ausonius highly com∣mends his Poems, yet can they not pass for perfect in that kind, especially those which he made after his Conversion. He understood Greek but indifferently, and was very little conversant with History or the Sciences. He was esteemed, beloved, and caressed by all the great Men of that Age, of what party soever they were, and he kept Correspondency with them without falling out with any. We may say, with Cardinal Perron, that he was the Delight of his time. He led a retired and very frugal Life, yet without great Austerity. He was the Admiration of his own Age by Reason of his voluntary Poverty, and his Bestowing his great Estate upon the Poor.

He was very pious, and had a very tender Conscience. One finds in all his Letters the Chara∣cter of an humble, modest and meek Spirit, he was much affected with the Sense of his own Weak∣ness, and the Necessity of God's Help. He had much Devotion for the Saints, was inclinable to believe miraculous Stories, and to reverence Relicks.

The first Edition of this Author's Works was made at Paris by Badius in the year 1516. The second was printed at Colen, by the Care of Gravius. After that they were inserted into the Or∣thodoxographa, and the Bibliothecae Patrum. Rosweidus caused them to be printed at Antwerp in 1622. but at last there was an Edition of them in quarto at Paris. It is to be wished, that the Book∣sellers who printed it had taken as much care to have it upon good Paper and in a fair Character as he that took care of the Edition did to render it Correct and Useful. He hath divided it into two Volumes; in the former are the Letters and Poems, generally owned to belong to S. Pauli∣nus, which are set down separately according to the Order of Time. He hath revised and cor∣rected the Letters and the Poems by several Manuscripts. He hath added some new Letters, some he hath divided into two, and in some places he hath made one of two.

The second Volume contains the doubtful Works, Notes upon the Epistles and Poems that are in the first Volume; the Testimones both of Ancient and Modern Authors concerning S. Pau∣linus, with a new Account of this Saint's Life, very large, and taken out of his own Writings: Seven Dissertations, whereof the two first are to justify the Chronological Order, wherein he hath set the Letters and the Poems. The three following contain the Lives of Sulpicius Severus, A∣lethius, Victricius, and Aper, to whom S. Paulinus writ most of his Letters. The sixth is con∣cerning S. Paulinus his Works, which are either lost or dubious, or supposititious. The last con∣tains an Examination of the History of S. Paulinus his Captivity. After this comes a Catalogue of various Readings, and several very useful Tables. There is a French Translation of S. Paulinus, his Letters preparing, which will be useful and diverting.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Paulinus.