1. Cum iam Hilarius praeterisset, ita eum est vestigiīs prōsecūtus: cumque ab eō grātissimē fuisset susceptus, haud longē sibi ab oppidō monastērium collocāvit, quō tempore sē eī quīdam catēchūmenus iunxit, cupiēns sānctissimī virī īnstituī disciplīnīs: paucīsque interpositīs diēbus languōre correptus vī febrium labōrābat. 2. ac tum Martīnus forte discesserat: et cum per trīduum dēfuisset, regressus exanime corpus invēnit: ita subita mors fuerat, ut absque baptismate hūmānīs rēbus excēderet. corpus in mediō positum tristī maerentium frātrum frequentābātur officiō, cum Martīnus flēns et ēiulāns accurrit. 3. tum vērō tōtā sānctum spiritum mente concipiēns ēgredī cellulam, in quā corpus iacēbat, cēterōs iubet, ac foribus obserātīs super exanimāta dēfunctī frātris membra prōsternitur. et cum aliquamdiū ōrātiōnī incubuisset sēnsissetque per spiritum Dominī adesse virtūtem, ērectus paululum et in dēfunctī ōra dēfīxus, ōrātiōnis suae ac misericordiae Dominī intrepidus exspectābat ēventum: vixque duārum ferē hōrārum spatium intercesserat, videt dēfunctum paulātim membrīs omnibus commovērī et laxātīs in ūsum videndī palpitāre lūminibus. 4. tum vērō magnā ad Dominum vōce conversus grātiās agēns cellulam clāmōre complēverat: quō audītō quī prō foribus adstiterant statim irruunt. mīrum spectāculum, quod vidēbant vīvere, quem mortuum relīquissent. 5. ita redditus vītae, statim baptismum cōnsecūtus plūrēs posteā vīxit annōs, prīmusque apud nōs Martīni virtūtum vel māteria vel testimōnium fuit. 6. īdem tamen referre erat solitus, sē corpore exūtum ad tribūnal iūdicis ductum dēputandumque obscūrīs locīs et vulgāribus turbīs tristem excēpisse sententiam: tum per duōs angelōs iūdicī fuisse suggestum, hunc esse prō quō Martīnus ōrāret: ita per eōsdem angelōs sē iussum redūcī, et Martīnō redditum vītaeque pristinae rēstitūtum. 7. ab hōc prīmum tempore beātī virī nōmen ēnituit, ut quī sānctus iam ab omnibus habēbātur, potēns etiam et vērē apostolicus habērētur.

    A catechumen who died suddenly from a fever is brought back to life through the power of Martin's prayers.

    est vestigiis prosecutus: 'he followed in his footsteps', meant literally here.

    fuisset susceptus: 'he had been received'. Classical Latin would have esset for fuisset. This so-called 'shifted' pluperfect subjunctive is typical of later and vulgar Latin (H-S sec. 179), and occurs frequently in this work.

    oppido: 'the town', i.e. Poitiers.

    ei: 'to Martin'

    languore correptus: 'having contracted an illness'.

    forte: 'by chance'.

    absque baptismate: 'without baptism'. It was common in this period to put off baptism to the end of life, so as to avoid sinning after it.

    corpus . . . officio: 'his body, placed in a central location, was crowded with the sad duty of the mourning brothers', i.e., the brothers were crowding around the body and mourning.

    cum . . . accurrit: indicative in a 'inverted' cum-clause, indicating that this, rather than the apparently main verb, is the true point of the sentence. (A&G) The historic present tense adds vividness.

    egredi...ceteros iubet: 'he ordered the rest to leave'. The position of egredi makes it emphatic.

    incubuisset: 'had devoted himself to' (> incumbo + dat.).

    defuncti: 'of the dead man' (> defungor), substantival use of the participle.

    virtutem: 'miracle-working power'. virtus = 'miracle' or 'miracle-working power' is common in Christian Latin.

    in defuncti ora defixus: 'looking intently upon the face of the dead man'.

    laxatis in usum videndi palpitare luminibus: 'quivering in his (now) opened eyes for the power of seeing', i.e. 'blinking to regain his sight' (White).

    membris omnibus: abl. of respect, specifying the location of the action of the verb (commoveri). laxatis . . . luminibus fills the same function for palpitare.

    foribus: 'doors'.

    virtutum: 'miracles'.

    erat solitus: 'had been accustomed' (> soleo, -ēre).

    corpore exutum: 'having shed his body'.

    deputandumque: 'and that he was to be condemned'. This gerundive expresses the content of the verdict (sententia) referred to just below. Deputo = 'designate, assign, condemn' is post-classical. The -que joins the infinitives ductum (esse) and excepisse.

    tristem excepisse sententiam: 'had received the grim verdict'

    iudici fuisse suggestum: 'that it had been brought to the attention of the judge that'.

    hunc esse pro quo: 'this was (the man) for whom'

    iussum . . . redditum . . . resitutum: infinitives, with esse left out, in indirect statement after referre, above.

    enituit: 'became well-known', literally 'became bright' (> enitesco, -nitescere, -nitui).

    ut . . . haberetur: 'with the result that he was considered'.

    grātē: (adv.) with pleasure, agreeably

    collocō -āre: place together, place, establish

    interpōnō -pōnere -posuī -positum: put between, interpose; offer, allege

    corripiō -ripere -ripuī -reptum: snatch up, seize, press on

    febris -is f.: fever

    trīduum -ī n.: three days

    regredior -gredī -gressus sum: go back, withdraw

    absque: without

    baptisma -atis n.: Christian baptism

    excēdō -cēdere -cessī -cessum: go forth, withdraw (+ abl.)

    maereō -ēre: grieve, mourn

    frequentō -āre: vist frequently; crowd, celebrate

    ēiulō -āre: wail, lament

    accurrō -currere -cucurrī or -curri -cursum run to

    foris -is f.: door

    obserō -āre: bolt, bar, fasten

    exanimō -āre: make breathless; kill

    dēfungor -fungī -fūnctus sum: complete; depart, die

    incubō -āre: lie, rest upon (+ abl. or dat.)

    ērigō -rigere -rēxī -rēctum: raise up, rear

    paululus -a -um: very little, very small

    dēfīgō -fīgere -fīxī -fīxum: fix firmly, plant

    ēventus -ūs m.: occurrence, event; result

    intercēdō -cēdere -cessī -cessum: go between, exist between; intervene

    laxō laxāre: loosen, slacken; open

    palpitō -āre: tremble, palpitate

    spectāculum -i n.: sight, spectacle

    mortuus -a -um: dead

    exuō -uere -uī -ūtum: put off, lay aside

    tribūnal -ālis n.: judgment-seat, tribunal

    dēputō -āre: esteem, consider; condemn

    obscūrus -a -um: dark, shady, obscure

    vulgāris -e: common, vulgar

    suggerō -gerere -gessī -gestum: suggest, advise, bring to mind

    restituō -stituere -stituī -stitūtum: restore, revive

    ēniteō -nitēre -nituī: shine forth

    apostolicus -a -um: relating to an apostle, apostolic

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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/es/sulpicius-severus/section-7