Prudentius, Aurelius Clemens, one of the earliest hymnists of the Latin Church, is greatly cele- brated in ecclesiastical history, though generally over- rated. Bentley calls him " the Horace and Virgil ol the Christians." not even qualifying them as Latin Chris- tians. There were certainly many hymnists previous to Prudentius. and they sang in the tongue of Homer. Plato, and the New Test the very thoughts, and fre- quently in the very words, of evangelists and apostles. The hosannas of Ephraim the Syrian bad the sound as well as the sense of those of the children of Jerusalem; and Clement of Alexandria. Gregory of Nazianzum, and the unknown earliest singers of the Oriental I hurch linked the passing hours with heaven by the sublimity of their language and the simplicity of their faith. As the truths of Christianity tir>t flowed in Creek from inspired lips, so the songs of the Church came first in Greek. When, finally, the mighty new thought had been fitted to the comparatively stiff and narrow mould of Roman speech, it was not the tongue of Pru- dentius that gathered around it the spiritual and eccle- siastical associations of centuries. The rugged grandeur of expression, the calm and steady glow that wins for the majesty of heaven, came rather in the Latin hymns of Ambrose, Augustine, and Hilary of Poitiers. In the words of an eminent critic. "The lire of Revela- tion, in iis Strong and simple energy, by which, as it were, il rends the rock, and bursts the icy barriers of the human heart, predominates in those oldest pieces of the sacred Latin poesy which are comprised in the Ambrosian hymnology" | Fortlage).
Life. Prudentius was horn in A.D. 348, probably at Saragossa, in Spain. Nothing is known regarding him except w hat he has himself told in a poetical autobiog- raphy prefixed to his works. From thi> we ham that he received a Libera] education, was admitted to the
Roman bar, practiced as a pleader, and seem- to have
distinguished himself in his profession, as high civil offices were twice offered to him. He was even called upon to occupy a military post at the court of the em- peror Theodosius I. He was already fifty years ol age, when, like other prominent men of those troublous times, he was agitated by earnest misgivings as to "what all the honors and joys of this world might do for him in eternity. In tie m he could not find Cod to
whom he belonged" (Prof, Cathem.v, 28 :>P. Hence the resolution: "Let the soul, at the boundaries of life,
PRUDENTIUS
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PRUNING-HOOK
renounce her folly and sin. Let her praise her God at least by her songs, as she cannot do it by her virtues. Let the day be spent in sacred hymns, and let not even night interrupt the praises of God. I will struggle against heresy, defend the catholic faith, annihilate the sacrifices of the pagans, destroy thy idols, O Rome, I will praise in my songs thy martyrs, glorify the apos- tles" (I. c. ver. 35-42). These words indicate all the different tendencies in his literary productions, which reflect them.
Works. — We have from Prudentius's pen between 385 and 388 poems, a number of which bear Greek ti- tles. The principal are— 1. Cathemerinon Liber (Book [i. e. of hymns] for Daily Use), being a series of twelve hymns, the first half of which were reckoned by the author suitable for devotional purposes at different parts of the day, and which the Latin Church has preserved in some of its collections. 2. Apotheosis, ' ' AiroSikwaiQ (a defence of the doctrine of the Trinity against here- tics, with which are intermingled various discussions on the nature of the soul, on original sin, and on the res- urrection). 3. Hamartigeneia, ' Apapriy'ivua (On the Origin of Evil, a polemic, in verse, against the Mar- cionites and Maniehreans). 4. Psycho mi ichia, A'vxoi-id- Xia (The Combat of the Mind against the Passions, or the Triumph of the Christian Graces in the Soul of a Believer). 5. Contra Symmachum, Liber 1 (a polemic against the heathen gods). 0. Contra Symmachum, Liber 2 (a polemic against a petition of the Roman senator Symmachus for the restoration of the altar and statue of Victory cast down by Gratian). Pru- dentius supports in these two poems the arguments set forth by Ambrose against the proposition of Sym- machus. The first book shows the shameful origin of the old idolatry, exposes the absurdity and abomina- tions of the heathen mythology, the corruption result- ing from the want of a moral check, and how happily Rome was inspired when it turned to Christianity. In the second book he examines the reasons alleged by his adversary, eloquently descants upon the cruel prac- tice of gladiators' combats for the amusement of the people, and, in order to show their brutalizing influence, he instances a vestal attending in the amphitheatre, and witnessing the struggles and agonies of the fallen gladiators in the arena, exclaiming with joy that such sights were her delight, and giving without compunc- tion the signal to despatch the fallen. Arnobius (bk. iv, towards the end) casts a similar reproach upon the vestals. As, in both books, the subject was of a nature to allow full scope to the genius of the poet, being emi- nently favorable to enthusiastic apology, this is the best of all his apologetical poems. 7. The Enchiridion utriusque Testamenti s. Diptychon (forty-eight poems of four verses each) is a historico-didactic work, of a uniform tenor, relating to some of the most remark- able events of the New and Old Test., as Adam and Eve, Abel and Cain, Joseph recognised by his brothers, the annunciation, the shepherds taught by the angels, etc. Gennadius counts this work with the other poems of Prudentius {De Script. Eccles. 13); but its authentic- ity has been questioned, chiefly because it is less abun- dant in ideas than the others. The following are deci- dedly authentic, and, besides, excellent compositions : 8. Fourteen poems, Ylepi 2,Tt<pdvwi>,Peri Stephanon Liber, in honor of the martyrs for the faith — Laurentius, Eula- lia, Vincent, Hippolytus, Peter and Paid, Agnes, etc. ; full of warm feeling and splendid narratives. To the Chris- tian lyrical poetry belong, 9, the twelve songs Ka%(f- pivwv, mostly destined for the daily prayer-hours, which were exactly observed in olden times. The first relates to the dawning of the day (" ad galli cantum") ; Christ, the rising light of the world, chases the dark powers of night. Let him banish them also from our heart and pour new light into our souls! The second is likewise a morning-song. The third and fourth are table-pray- ers. The fifth is to be recited at the lighting of the candles; the sixth upon retiring for the night; the