Paulinus of Nola

• Bishop of Nola, was probably born at Bordeaux, and his tutor was Ausonius, who thought very highly of him as a pupil, regarded him with warm affection, and addressed to him many of his poetical epistles.
• Whatever merit his Latin compositions possess, he was by his own admission not strong in Greek.
• He entered early into public life, became a member of the senate, and filled the office of consul for part of the official year in the place of some one who had vacated it.
• Between 379 or not later than 389, he and his brother received baptism at Bordeaux, from Delphinus, the bishop there.
• Determined to renounce the world, he parted with a large portion of his property and his wife’s, spending some of the money in redeeming captives, releasing debtors, and the like.
• In compliance with a sudden popular demand, he was ordained priest, but without any especial cure of souls, by Lampius, bishop of Barcelona, on Christmas Day, 393.
• In 394 he determined to retire to Nola, where he had property, including a house.
• At Nola he entered with his wife at once upon the course of life he had marked out, and founded a monastery at the tomb of St. Felix (395. He pursued the monastic life as far as possible until his death in 431.
• Sts. Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome regarded the self- sacrifice of him and his wife with high respect and

admiration.

• St. Paulinus became bishop of Nola before the autumn of 410, when Alaric laid waste of Campania. Therasia’s (his wife’s) death perhaps took place in the latter part of 408.
• After residing 36 years in retirement at Nola, a period devoted both by himself, and during her lifetime by his wife, to unsparing self-denial; religious observances, and works of piety and charity without stint, he died 22 June 431, aged 77 or 78.
• In Carmen 10, 57-64 St. Paulinus wrote: When Christ from heaven hurls His light into our hearts, he purifies the slothful body from painful torpor and renews the disposition of the mind; destroying all that once gave pleasure in place of chaste joys, as a rightful master, claims our all: our heart, our mouth, our time.” 12

• St. Paulinus’ writings include 51 letters and 36 poems. St. Jerome mentions a panegyric in prose in honor of the Emperor Theodosius, but it has been lost. St. Augustine (Ep. 31, 8) speaks of a polemical work which Paulinus was writing against the pagans, but it is not known if this work was ever completed. 1. Letters
• 50 are extant today. Four letters are addressed to Sts. Jerome and Augustine requesting explanations of Scriptural passages or doctrinal clarifications.
• Five letters to Delphinus in which he expresses his gratitude for having been baptized by him and declined the request to write works of greater depth of which his friend considers him to be capable.
• Six letters to Amandus in which he confronts theological themes such as the Incarnation.
• 13 letters addressed to Sulpicius Severus. 2. Poems
• 29 poems are attributed to St. Paulinus.
• Three are from the period prior to 389, the year of his baptism.
• Poem six consists of 330 hexameters in honor of St. John the Baptist drawing material from the Gospel account to reconstruct the important episodes in the life of the saint.
• Poems seven, eight, and nine paraphrase respectively Psalms 1, 2, and 136.
• Poems ten and eleven arepoetic epistles.

• Poem 31 was composed at the death of the young boy, Celsus. The emotion reaches its height when the repeated name of Celsus recalls to the poet’s mind his own little son of the same name who had lived only a brief time.
• Poem 17 was written in 398 for Nicetas, bishop of Remesiana in Dacia.
• Carmen 25 was composed for the marriage of Julian (the future bishop of Eclanum and leader of Pelagianism) and Ja (or Tizia).
• Carmina natalicia are 14 poems composed for the feast of St. Felix.
• St. Paulinus’ artistic talent is most successful in his description and sketches of popular scenes which offer a valuable testimony to the customs and religiosity of his time.