Section 9

1. Sub idem ferē tempus ad epīscopātum Turonicae ecclēsiae petēbātur: sed cum ēruī monastēriō suō nōn facile posset, Rusticius quīdam, ūnus ē cīvibus, uxōris languōre simulātō ad genua illius prōvolūtus ut ēgrederētur obtinuit. 2. ita dispositīs iam in itinere cīvium turbīs, sub quādam custōdiā ad cīvitātem usque dēdūcitur. mīrum in modum incrēdibilis multitūdō nōn sōlum ex illō oppidō, sed etiam ex vīcīnīs urbibus ad suffrāgia ferenda convēnerat. 3. ūna omnium voluntās, eadem vōta eademque sententia, Martīnum ēpiscopātūs esse dignissimum: fēlīcem fore tālī ecclēsiam sacerdōte. paucī tamen et nōnnūllī ex epīscopīs, quī ad cōnstituendum antistitem fuerant ēvocātī, impiē repugnābant, dīcentēs scīlicet, contemptibilem esse persōnam, indignum esse epīscopātū hominem vultū dēspicābilem, veste sordidum, crīne dēformem. 4. ita ā populō sententiae sāniōris haec illōrum inrīsa dēmentia est, quī illustrem virum dum vituperāre cupiunt praedīcābant. nec vērō aliud hīs facere licuit, quam quod populus Dominō volente cōgitābat. inter epīscopōs tamen quī adfuerant praecipuē Dēfēnsor quīdam dīcitur restitisse: unde animadversum est graviter illum lēctiōne prophēticā tum notātum. 5. nam cum fortuitō lēctor, cui legendī eō diē officium erat, interclūsus ā populō dēfuisset, turbātīs ministrīs, dum exspectātur quī nōn aderat, ūnus ē circumstantibus sumptō psaltēriō, quem prīmum versum invēnit, arripuit. 6. psalmus autem hic erat: 'ex ōre īnfantium et lactantium perfēcistī laudem propter inimīcōs tuōs, ut dēstruās inimīcum et dēfēnsōrem.' quō lēctō clāmor populī tollitur, pars dīversa cōnfunditur. 7. atque ita habitum est, dīvīnō nūtū psalmum hunc lēctum fuisse, ut testimōnium operis suī Dēfēnsor audīret, quī ex ōre īnfantium atque lactantium, in Martīnō Dominī laude perfectā, et ostēnsus pariter et dēstructus esset inimīcus.

    Martin is cajoled into becoming a candidate for the episcopacy of Tours. He has the support of the common people, but is opposed by some prominent clerics who assembled for the election.

    ad episcopatum Turonicae ecclesiae petebatur: 'he was sought (as a candidate) for the episcopacy of Tours', ancient Caesarodunum, a small Gallo-Roman town in the region occupied by the minor Gallic tribe the Turoni, south of the river Loire in France. Satellite image. It became a large city, the center of a great archdiocese, and a pilgrimage site thanks to the posthumous fame of St. Martin. In the early fourth century there were twenty-two bishops in all of Gaul, by the end of that century there were seventy. The date here is 370.

    erui: 'to be uprooted' (> eruo, -ere).

    ut egrederetur obtinuit: 'convinced him to leave' (his cell).

    civitatem: 'the city,' i.e. Tours.

    ad suffragia ferenda: 'to cast their votes'.

    episcopatūs: genitive with dignissimum

    fore: = futurum esse

    ad constituendum antistitem: 'for the purpose of installing a bishop'

    fuerant evocati: 'had been summoned', = erant evocati.

    indignum esse episcopatu hominem vultu despicabilem: '(they said that) a man reprehensible in his appearance was unworthy of the episcopacy'. (indignum takes the ablative).

    sententiae sanioris: 'of sounder opinion', genitive of characteristic, with populo.

    haec illorum inrisa dementia est: 'this madness of theirs was ridiculed' (> inrideo).

    qui: the antecedent is illorum, Martin's critics.

    illustrem virum praedicabant: 'were proclaiming him (to be) an excellent person'

    his: i.e. the bishops hostile to Martin.

    aliud . . . quam quod: 'something other than that which'.

    adfuerant: = aderant, 'were present'.

    unde animadversum est graviter illum lectione prophetica tum notatum: 'from which cause (i.e. because of his name) it was observed that that man was sternly rebuked at that time in a prophetic public reading'. animadversum est is impersonal passive, > animadverto.

    interclusus: 'having been shut out' (> intercludo).

    ministris: 'servants' of the church, an order lower than that of the deacons. Cp. Optatus, Against the Donatists (AD 367) 1.132.14 [Blaise].

    quem primum versum invenit, arripuit: 'the first verse he found, he sized upon it (and read it out)' (arripuit > adripio, -ere). The antecedent of quem is versum.

    ex ore . . . defensorem: a quotation from the Latin version of Psalm 8.3, "Your majesty is praised as high as the heavens, from the mouths of babes and infants at the breast. You have established a bulwark against your adversaries to restrain the enemy and the avenger" (Oxford Study Bible, from the Hebrew). The key word is the last, defensorem, which was taken as a fortuitous allusion to Martin's opponent Defensor.

    lactantium: 'sucklings'.

    propter: 'against' (a late and vulgar Latin meaning).

    pars diversa: 'the opposing faction'.

    atque ita habitum est: 'and so it was thought that'.

    lectum fuisse: 'had been read' = lectum esse

    et ostensus pariter et destructus esset inimicus: 'had been at the same time both revealed as the enemy and destroyed (as the enemy).'

    ēruō -ruere -ruī -rutum: move violently out, cast out; elicit

    simulō -āre: feign, pretend

    prōvolvō -volvere -volvī -volūtum: roll forwards; cast one's self down, prostrate one's self

    obtineō -tinēre -tinuī -tentum: hold fast; gain hold of, obtain

    dispōnō -pōnere -posuī -positum: put apart; arrange

    cūstōdia -ae f.: protection, custody, garrison

    incrēdibilis -e: not credible, not believable, incredible

    suffrāgium -ī n.: ballot

    antistes -itis m. and f.: presiding priest or priestess

    ēvocō -vocāre: call out, summon, challenge

    impius -a -um: irreverent, ungodly; wicked, impious

    contemptibilis -e: contemptible

    dēspicābilis -e: contemptible, despicable

    sordidus -a -um: filthy, foul, unclean

    crīnis -is m.: hair

    dēformō -āre: deform, disfigure

    irrīdeō -rīdēre -rīsī -rīsum: laugh at; mock, ridicule

    vituperō -āre: blame, disparage, vituperate

    animadvertō -vertere -vertī -versum: notice, observe, attend to

    lēctiō -ōnis f.: a reading

    prophēticus -a -um: predicting, prophetic, prophetical

    fōrtuītō: (adv.) by chance, accidentally, fortuitously

    lēctor -ōris m.: reader

    officiō -icere -ēcī -ectum: hinder, thwart, obstruct

    interclūdō -clūdere -clūsī -clūsum: shut off, cut off

    turbātus -a -um: troubled, disturbed, agitated

    minister -trī m.: attendant; minister, administrator

    psaltērium -ī n.: the Songs of David, the Psalms

    psalmus -ī m.: psalm

    īnfāns -fantis: not capable of speech ; subst. infant

    lactō -āre: contain milk, have milk, give suck

    perficiō -ficere -fēcī -fectum: achieve, accomplish, finish

    dēfēnsor -ōris m.: defender

    cōnfundō -fundere -fūdī -fūsum: pour together; confuse, trouble

    pariter: (adv.) at the same time, together

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    Suggested Citation

    Christopher Francese, Sulpicius Severus: Life of St. Martin. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-947822-03-0. https://dcc.dickinson.edu/ar/sulpicius-severus/section-9