St. Ambrose

Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99...

Bishop ofMilan from 374 to 397; born probably 340, atTrier, Arles, orLyons; died 4 April, 397. He was one of the most illustriousFathers andDoctors of the Church, and fitly chosen, together withSt. Augustine,St. John Chrysostom, andSt. Athanasius, to uphold the venerableChair of thePrince of the Apostles in the tribune ofSt. Peter's atRome.

The materials for a biography of the Saint are chiefly to be found scattered through his writings, since the "Life" written after his death by his secretary, Paulinus, at the suggestion ofSt. Augustine, is extremely disappointing. Ambrose was descended from an ancient Romanfamily, which, at an early period had embracedChristianity, and numbered among its scions bothChristianmartyrs and high officials of State. At the time of his birth hisfather, likewise named Ambrosius, was Prefect of Gallia, and as such ruled the present territories ofFrance, Britain, andSpain, together with Tingitana inAfrica. It was one of the four great prefectures of the Empire, and the highest office that could be held by a subject.Trier, Arles, andLyons, the three principal cities of the province, contend for thehonour of having given birth to the Saint. He was the youngest of three children, being preceded by a sister, Marcellina, who become anun, and a brother Satyrus, who, upon the unexpected appointment of Ambrose to the episcopate, resigned a prefecture in order to live with him and relieve him from temporal cares. About the year 354 Ambrosius, the father, died, whereupon thefamily removed toRome. The saintly and accomplishedwidow was greatly assisted in the religious training of her two sons by the example and admonitions of her daughter, Marcellina, who was about ten years older than Ambrose. Marcellina had already received the virginal veil from the hands ofLiberius, theRoman Pontiff, and with anotherconsecrated virgin lived in her mother's house. From her the Saint imbibed that enthusiasticlove of virginity which became his distinguishing trait. His progress in secularknowledge kept equal pace with his growth inpiety. It was of extreme advantage to himself and to theChurch that he acquired a thorough mastery of the Greek language and literature, the lack of which is so painfully apparent in theintellectual equipment ofSt. Augustine and, in the succeeding age, of the greatSt. Leo. In all probability the Greek Schism would not have taken place had East and West continued to converse as intimately as did St. Ambrose andSt. Basil. Upon the completion of his liberaleducation, the Saint devoted his attention to the study and practice of thelaw, and soon so distinguished himself by the eloquence and ability of his pleadings at the court of the praetorian prefect, Anicius Probus, that the latter took him into his council, and later obtained for him from the Emperor Valentinian the office of consular governor of Liguria and Æmilia, with residence inMilan. "Go", said the prefect, with unconscious prophecy, "conduct thyself not as a judge, but asbishop". We have no means of ascertaining how long he retained the civic government of his province; weknow only that his upright and gently administration gained for him the universallove and esteem of his subjects, paving the way for that sudden revolution in his life which was soon to take place. This was the more remarkable, because the province, and especially the city ofMilan, was in a state of religious chaos, owing to the persistent machinations of theArian faction.

Bishop of Milan

Ever since the heroic Bishop Dionysius, in the year 355, had been dragged in chains to his place of exile in the distant East, the ancient chair ofSt. Barnabas had been occupied by the intruded Cappadocian, Auxentius, anArian filled with bitterhatred of theCatholicFaith,ignorant of the Latin language, a wily and violent persecutor of hisorthodox subjects. To the great relief of theCatholics, the death of the petty tyrant in 374 ended a bondage which had lasted nearly twenty years. Thebishops of the province, dreading the inevitable tumults of a popular election, begged the Emperor Valentinian to appoint a successor by imperial edict; he, however, decided that the election must take place in the usual way. It devolved upon Ambrose, therefore, to maintain order in the city at this perilous juncture. Proceeding to the basilica in which the disunitedclergy and people were assembled, he began a conciliatory discourse in the interest of peace and moderation, but was interrupted by a voice (according to Paulinus, the voice of an infant) crying, "Ambrose, Bishop". The cry was instantly repeated by the entire assembly, and Ambrose, to his surprise and dismay, was unanimously pronounced elected. Quite apart from anysupernatural intervention, he was the onlylogical candidate, known to theCatholics as a firm believer in theNicene Creed, unobnoxious to theArians, as one who had kept aloof from alltheological controversies. The only difficulty was that of forcing the bewildered consular to accept an office for which his previous training nowise fitted him. Strange to say, like so many other believers of that age, from a misguided reverence for thesanctity ofbaptism, he was still only acatechumen, and by a wise provision of the canons ineligible to the episcopate. That he was sincere in his repugnance to accepting the responsibilities of the sacred office, those only havedoubted who have judged a great man by the standard of their own pettiness. Were Ambrose the worldly-minded,ambitious, and scheming individual they choose topaint him, he would have surely sought advancement in the career that lay wide open before him as a man of acknowledged ability and noble blood. It is difficult to believe that he resorted to the questionable expedients mentioned by his biographer as practised by him with a view to undermining hisreputation with the populace. At any rate his efforts were unsuccessful. Valentinian, who was proud that his favourable opinion of Ambrose had been so fully ratified by the voice ofclergy and people, confirmed the election and pronounced severe penalties against all who should abet him in his attempt to conceal himself. The Saint finally acquiesced, receivedbaptism at the hands of aCatholicbishop, and eight days later, 7 December 374, the day on which East and West annuallyhonour his memory, after thenecessary preliminary degrees wasconsecratedbishop.

He was now in his thirty-fifth year, and was destined to edify theChurch for the comparatively long space of twenty-three active years. From the very beginning he proved himself to be that which he has ever since remained in the estimation of theChristian world, the perfect model of aChristian bishop. There is sometruth underlying the exaggerated eulogy of the chastenedTheodosius, as reported by Theodoret (v, 18), "Iknow nobishop worthy of the name, except Ambrose". In him the magnanimity of the Roman patrician was tempered by the meekness and charity of theChristian saint. His first act in the episcopate, imitated by many a saintly successor, was to divest himself of his worldly goods. His personalproperty he gave to the poor; he made over his landed possessions to theChurch, making provision for the support of his beloved sister. The self-devotion of his brother, Satyrus, relieved him from the care of the temporalities, and enabled him to attend exclusively to his spiritualduties. In order to supply the lack of an earlytheological training, he devoted himself assiduously to the study of Scripture and the Fathers, with a marked preference forOrigen and St. Basil, traces of whose influence are repeatedly met with in his works. With a genius truly Roman, he, like Cicero, Virgil, and other classical authors, contented himself with thoroughly digesting and casting into a Latin mould the best fruits of Greek thought. His studies were of an eminently practical nature; he learned that he might teach. In the exordium of his treatise, "De Officiis", he complains that, owing to the suddenness of his transfer from the tribunal to thepulpit, he was compelled to learn and teach simultaneously. Hispiety, sound judgment, and genuineCatholicinstinct preserved him fromerror, and his fame as an eloquent expounder ofCatholic doctrine soon reached the ends of the earth. His power as an orator is attested not only by the repeated eulogies, but yet more by the conversion of the skilled rhetoricianAugustine. His style is that of a man who is concerned with thoughts rather than words. We cannot imagine him wasting time in turning an elegant phrase. "He was one of those", saysSt. Augustine, "who speak thetruth, and speak it well, judiciously, pointedly, and with beauty and power of expression" (Christian Doctrine IV.21).

His daily life

Through the door of his chamber, wide open the livelong day, and crossed unannounced by all, of whatever estate, who had any sort of business with him, we catch a clear glimpse of his daily life. In the promiscuous throng of his visitors, the high official who seeks his advice upon some weighty affair of state is elbowed by some anxious questioner who wishes to have hisdoubts removed, or some repentant sinner who comes to make a secret confession of his offenses, certain that the Saint "would reveal hissins to none butGod alone" (Paulinus, Vita, xxxix). He ate but sparingly, dining only on Saturdays andSundays and festivals of the more celebratedmartyrs. His long nocturnal vigils were spent inprayer, in attending to his vast correspondence, and in penning down the thoughts that had occurred to him during the day in his oft-interrupted readings. His indefatigable industry and methodical habits explain how so busy a man found time to compose so many valuable books. Every day, he tells us, he offered up theHoly Sacrifice for his people (pro quibus ego quotidie instauro sacrificium). Every Sunday his eloquent discourses drew immense crowds to the Basilica. One favorite topic of his was the excellence of virginity, and so successful was he in persuading maidens to adopt thereligious profession that many a mother refused to permit her daughters to listen to his words. The saint was forced to refute the charge that he was depopulating the empire, by quaintly appealing to the young men as to whether any of them experienced any difficulty in finding wives. He contends, and the experience of ages sustains his contention (De Virg., vii) that the population increases in direct proportion to the esteem in which virginity is held. His sermons, as was to be expected, were intensely practical, replete with pithy rules of conduct which have remained as household words amongChristians. In his method of biblical interpretation all the personages ofHoly Writ, from Adam down, stand out before the people as living beings, bearing each his distinct message fromGod for the instruction of the present generation. He did not write hissermons, but spoke them from the abundance of his heart; and from notes taken during their delivery he compiled almost all the treatises of his that are extant.

Ambrose and the Arians

It was but natural that aprelate so high-minded, so affable, so kind to thepoor, so completely devoting his great gifts to the service ofChrist and of humanity, should soon win the enthusiasticlove of his people. Rarely, if ever, has aChristian bishop been so universally popular, in the best sense of that much abused term, as Ambrose of Milan. This popularity, conjoined with his intrepidity, was the secret of his success in routingenthroned iniquity. Theheretical Empress Justina and her barbarian advisers would many a time fain have silenced him by exile or assassination, but, likeHerod in the case of theBaptist, they "feared the multitude". His heroic struggles against the aggressions of thesecular power have immortalized him as the model and forerunner of futureHildebrands,Beckets, and other champions of religious liberty. The elder Valentinian died suddenly in 375, the year following theconsecration of Ambrose, leaving hisArian brotherValens to scourge the East, and his oldest son, Gratian, to rule the provinces formerly presided over by Ambrosius, with no provision for the government ofItaly. The army seized the reins and proclaimed emperor the son of Valentinian by his second wife, Justina, a boy four years old. Gratian good-naturally acquiesced, and assigned to his half-brother the sovereignty ofItaly, Illyricum, and Africa. Justina had prudently concealed herArian view during the lifetime of herorthodox husband, but now, abetted by a powerful and mainly Gothic faction at court, proclaimed her determination to rear her child in thatheresy, and once more attempt toArianize the West. This of necessity brought her into direct collision with theBishop ofMilan, who had quenched the last embers ofArianism in hisdiocese. Thatheresy had never been popular among the common people; it owed its artificial vitality to the intrigues of courtiers and sovereigns. As a preliminary to the impending contest, Ambrose, at the request of Gratian, who was about to lead an army to the relief ofValens, and wished to have at hand an antidote against Oriental sophistry, wrote his noble work, "De Fide ad Gratianum Augustum", afterwards expanded, and extant in five books. The first passage at arms between Ambrose and the Empress was on the occasion of an episcopal election atSirmium, the capital of Illyricum, and at the time the residence of Justina. Notwithstanding her efforts, Ambrose was successful in securing the election of aCatholicbishop. He followed up this victory by procuring, at theCouncil of Aquileia, (381), over which he presided, the deposition of the only remainingArianizingprelates of the West,Palladius and Secundianus, both Illyrians. The battle royal between Ambrose and the Empress, in the years 385,386, has been graphically described byCardinal Newman in his "Historical Sketches". The question at issue was the surrender of one of thebasilicas to theArians for public worship. Throughout the long struggle Ambrose displayed in an eminent degree all the qualities of a great leader. His intrepidity in the moments of personal danger was equalled only by his admirable moderation; for, at certain critical stages of the drama one word from him would have hurled the Empress and her son from their throne. That word was never spoken. An enduring result of this great struggle with despotism was the rapid development during its course of theecclesiastical chant, of which Ambrose laid the foundation. Unable to overcome thefortitude of the Bishop and the spirit of the people, the court finally desisted from its efforts. Ere long it was forced to call upon Ambrose to exert himself to save the imperilled throne.

Already he had been sent on an embassy to the court of the usurper, Maximus, who in the year 383 had defeated and slain Gratian, and now ruled in his place. Largely through his efforts an understanding had been reached between Maximus andTheodosius, whom Gratian had appointed to rule the East. It provided that Maximus should content himself with his present possessions and respect the territory ofValentinian II. Three years later Maximus determined to cross the Alps. The tyrant received Ambrose unfavourably and, on the plea, very honourable to the Saint, that he refused to hold communion with thebishops who had compassed the death of Priscillian (the first instance of capital punishment inflicted forheresy by aChristian prince) dismissed him summarily from his court. Shortly after, Maximus invadedItaly. Valentinian and his mother fled toTheodosius, who took up their cause, defeated the usurper, and put him to death. At this time Justina died, and Valentinian, by the advice ofTheodosius,abjuredArianism and placed himself under the guidance of Ambrose, to whom he became sincerely attached. It was during the prolonged stay ofTheodosius in the West that one of most remarkable episodes in thehistory of the Church took place; the public penance inflicted by the Bishop and submitted to by the Emperor. The long-received story, set afoot by the distant Theodoret, which extols the Saint's firmness at the expense of his equally pronounced virtues ofprudence and meekness - that Ambrose stopped the Emperor at theporch of the church and publicly upbraided and humiliated him - is shown by modern criticism to have been greatly exaggerated. The emergency called into action every episcopalvirtue. When the news reachedMilan that the seditious Thessalonians had killed the Emperor's officials, Ambrose and the council ofbishops, over which he happened to be presiding at the time, made an apparently successful appeal to the clemency ofTheodosius. Great was their horror, when, shortly afterTheodosius, yielding to the suggestions of Rufinose and other courtiers, ordered an indiscriminate massacre of the citizens, in which seven thousand perished. In order to avoid meeting the blood-stained monarch or offering up theHoly Sacrifice in his presence, and, moreover, to give him time to ponder the enormity of a deed so foreign to his character, the Saint, pleading ill-health, and sensible that he exposed himself to the charge of cowardice, retired to the country, whence he sent a noble letter "written with my own hand, that thou alone mayst read it", exhorting the Emperor to repair his crime by an exemplary penance. With "religious humility", saysSt. Augustine (City of God V.26),Theodosius submitted; "and, being laid hold of by thediscipline of the Church, did penance in such a way that the sight of his imperial loftiness prostrated made the people who were interceding for him weep more than the consciousness of offence had made them fear it when enraged". "Stripping himself of every emblem of royalty", says Ambrose in his funeral oration (c. 34), "he publicly in church bewailed hissin. That public penance, which privateindividuals shrink from, an Emperor was not ashamed to perform; nor was there afterwards a day on which he did not grieve for his mistake." This plain narrative, without theatrical setting, is much more honourable both to the Bishop and his sovereign.

Last days of Ambrose

Themurder of his youthful ward,Valentinian II, which happened inGaul, May, 393, just as Ambrose was crossing the Alps tobaptize him plunged the Saint into deep affliction. His eulogy delivered atMilan is singularly tender; hecourageously described him as amartyrbaptized in his own blood. The usurper Eugenius was, in fact, aheathen at heart, and openly proclaimed his resolution to restorepaganism. He reopened theheathentemples, and ordered the famous altar of Victory, concerning which Ambrose and the prefect Symmachus had maintained a long and determined literary contest, to be again set up in the Roman senate chamber. This triumph ofpaganism was of short duration.Theodosius in the spring of 391 again lead his legions into the West, and in a brief campaign defeated and slew the tyrant. Romanheathenism perished with him. The Emperor recognized the merits of the greatBishop ofMilan by announcing his victory on the evening of the battle and asking him to celebrate a solemn sacrifice of thanksgiving.Theodosius did not long survive his triumph; he died atMilan a few months later (January 395) with Ambrose at his bedside and the name of Ambrose on his lips. "Even while death was dissolving his body", says the Saint, "he was more concerned about the welfare of the churches than about his personal danger". "Iloved him, and am confident that the Lord will hearken to theprayer I send up for hispioussoul" (In obitu Theodosii, c. 35). Only two years elapsed before a kindly death reunited these two magnanimoussouls. No human frame could long endure the incessant activity of an Ambrose. One instance, recorded by his secretary, of his extraordinary capacity for work is significant. He died onGood Friday. The following day fivebishops found difficulty inbaptizing the crowd to which he had been accustomed to administer the sacrament unaided. When the news spread that he was seriously ill, Count Stilicho, "fearing that his death would involve the destruction ofItaly", despatched an embassy, composed of the chief citizens, to implore him toprayGod to prolong his days. The response of the Saint made a deep impression onSt. Augustine: "I have not so lived amongst you, that I need be ashamed to live; nor do I fear to die, for we have a good Lord". For several hours before his death he lay with extended arms in imitation of his expiringMaster, who also appeared to him in person. The Body of Christ was given him by theBishop ofVercelli, and, "after swallowing It, he peacefully breathed his last". It was the fourth of April, 397. He wasinterred as he had desired, in his beloved basilica, by the side of theholymartyrs,Gervasius and Protasius, the discovery of whoserelics, during his great struggle with Justina, had so consoled him and his faithful adherents. In the year 835 one of his successors, Angilbert II, placed therelics of the threesaints in as porphyry sarcophagus under the altar, where they were found in 1864. The works of St. Ambrose were issued first from the press of Froben at Basle, 1527, under the supervision ofErasmus. A more elaborate edition was printed inRome in the year 1580 and following. Cardinal Montalto was the chief editor until elevation to thepapacy asSixtus V. It is in five volumes and still retains a value owing to the prefixed "Life" of the Saint, composed byBaronius. Then came the excellentMaurist edition published in two volumes atParis, in 1686 and 1690; reprinted byMigne in four volumes. The career of St. Ambrose occupies a prominent place in all histories,ecclesiastical and secular, of the fourth century.Tillemont's narrative, in the tenth volume of his "Memoirs", is particularly valuable. The question of the genuineness of the so-called eighteen Ambrosian Hymns is of secondary importance. The great merit of the Saint in the field ofhymnology is that of laying the foundations and showing posterity what ample scope there existed for future development.

Writings of St. Ambrose

The special character and value of the writings of St. Ambrose are at once tangible in the title ofDoctor of the Church, which from time immemorial he has shared in the West withSt. Jerome,St. Augustine, andSt. Gregory. He is an official witness to the teaching of theCatholicChurch in his own time and in the preceding centuries. As such his writings have been constantly invoked bypopes, councils andtheologians; even in his own day it was felt that few could voice so clearly thetrue sense of the Scriptures and the teaching of theChurch (St. Augustine, De doctrinâ christ., IV,46,48,50). Ambrose is pre-eminently theecclesiastical teacher, setting forth in a sound and edifying way, and with conscientious regularity, the deposit offaith as made known to him. He is not the philosophic scholar meditating in silence and retirement on thetruths of theChristian Faith, but the strenuous administrator,bishop, and statesman, whose writings are only the mature expression of his official life and labours. Most of his writings are reallyhomilies, spoken commentaries on theOld andNew Testaments, taken down by his hearers, and afterwards reduced to their present form, though very few of these discourses have reached us exactly as they fell from the lips of the greatbishop. In Ambrose the native Roman genius shines out with surpassing distinctness; he is clear, sober, practical, and aims always at persuading his hearers to act at once on the principles and arguments he has laid down, which affect nearly every phase of their religious or moral life. "He is a genuine Roman in whom the ethico-practical note is always dominant. He had neither time nor liking forphilosophico-dogmatic speculations. In all his writings he follows some practical purpose. Hence he is often content to reproduce what has been already treated, to turn over for another harvest a field already worked. He often draws abundantly from theideas of some earlier writer,Christian orpagan, but adapts these thoughts with tact and intelligence to the larger public of his time and his people. In formal perfection his writings leave something to be desired; a fact that need not surprise us when we recall the demands on the time of such a busy man. His diction abounds in unconscious reminiscences of classical writers, Greek and Roman. He is especially conversant with the writings of Virgil. His style is in every way peculiar and personal. It is never wanting in a certain dignified reserve; when it appears more carefully studied than is usual with him, its characteristics are energetic brevity and bold originality. Those of his writings that are homiletic in origin and form betray naturally the great oratorical gifts of Ambrose; in them he rises occasionally to a noble height of poetical inspiration. Hishymns are a sufficient evidence of the sure mastery that he possessed over the Latin language." (Bardenhewer, Les pères de l'église, Paris, 1898, 736 -737; cf. Pruner, Die Theologie des heil. Ambrosius, Eichstadt, 1864.) For convenience sake his extant writings may be divided into four classes:exegetical, dogmatic, ascetico-moral, and occasional. Theexegetical writings, orscripture-commentaries deal with the story of Creation, theOld Testament figures of Cain and Abel,Noah, Abraham and thepatriarchs, Elias, Tobias,David and the Psalms, and other subjects. Of his discourses on theNew Testament only the lengthy commentary onSt. Luke has reached us (Expositio in Lucam). He is not the author of the admirable commentary on the thirteenEpistles ofSt. Paul known as"Ambrosiaster". Altogether these Scripture commentaries make up more than one half of the writings of Ambrose. He delights in the allegorico-mystical interpretation of Scripture, i.e. while admitting the natural or literal sense he seeks everywhere a deeper mystic meaning that he converts into practical instruction forChristian life. In this, saysSt. Jerome (Ep.xli) "he was disciple ofOrigen, but after the modifications in that master's manner due toSt. Hippolytus of Rome andSt. Basil the Great". He was also influenced in this direction by the Jewish writerPhilo to such an extent that the much corrupted text of the latter can often be successfully corrected from the echoes and reminiscences met with in the works of Ambrose. It is to be noted, however, that in his use of non-Christian writers the great Doctor never abandons a strictlyChristian attitude (cf. Kellner, Der heilige Ambrosius als Erklärer das Alten Testamentes, Ratisbon, 1893).

The most influential of his ascetico-moral writings is the work on theduties ofChristian ecclesiastics (De officiis ministrorum). It is a manual ofChristian morality, and in its order and disposition follows closely the homonymous work of Cicero. "Nevertheless", says Dr. Bardenhewer, "the antitheses between thephilosophical morality of thepagan and the morality of theChristian ecclesiastic is acute and striking. In his exhortations, particularly, Ambrose betrays an irresistible spiritual power" (cf. R. Thamin, Saint Ambroise et la morale chrétienne at quatrième siècle, Paris, 1895). He wrote several works on virginity, or rather published a number of his discourses on that virtue, the most important of which is the treatise "On Virgins" addressed to his sister Marcellina, herself a virginconsecrated to the divine service.St. Jerome says (Ep. xxii) that he was the most eloquent and exhaustive of all the exponents of virginity, and his judgment expresses yet the opinion of the church. The genuineness of the touching little work "On the Fall of a Consecrated Virgin" (De lapsu virginis consecratæ) has been called in question, but without sufficient reason. Dom Germain Morin maintains that it is a realhomily of Ambrose, but like so many more of his so-called "books", owes its actual form to some one of his auditors. His dogmatic writings deal mostly with the divinity ofJesus Christ and of the Holy Ghost, also with theChristian sacraments. At the request of the young Emperor Gratian (375-383) he composed a defence of thetrue divinity ofJesus Christ against theArians, and another on thetrue divinity of the Holy Ghost against the Macedonians; also a work on theIncarnation of Our Lord. His work "On Penance" was written in refutation of the rigoristic tenets of theNovatians and abounds in useful evidences of the power of theChurch to forgivesins, the necessity of confession and the meritorious character ofgoodworks. A special work on Baptism (De sacramento regenerationis), often quoted bySt. Augustine, has perished. We possess yet, however, his excellent treatise (De Mysteriis) on Baptism, Confirmation, and the Blessed Eucharist (P.L. XVI, 417-462), addressed to the newlybaptized. Its genuineness has been called indoubt by opponents ofCatholic teaching concerning the Eucharist, but without any good reason. It is highly probable that the work on thesacraments (De Sacramentis, ibid.) is identical with the preceding work; only, says Bardenhewer, "indiscreetly published by some hearer of Ambrose". Its evidences to the sacrificial character of the Mass, and to the antiquity of the Roman Canon of the Mass are too well known to need more than a mention; some of them may easily be seen in any edition of theRoman Breviary (cf. Probst, Die Liturgie des vierten Jahrhunderts und deren Reform, Münster, 1893, 232-239). The correspondence of Ambrose includes but a few confidential or personal letters; most of his letters are official notes, memorials on public affairs, reports of councils held, and the like. Their historical value is, however, of the first order, and they exhibit him as a Roman administrator and statesman second to none in Church or State. If his personal letters are unimportant, his remaining discourses are of a very high order. His work on the death (378) of his brother Satyrus (De excessu fratris sui Satyri) contains his funeral sermon on his brother, one of the earliest ofChristian panegyrics and a model of the consolatory discourses that were henceforth to take the place of the cold and inept declamations of theStoics. His funeral discourses onValentinian II (392), andTheodosius the Great (395) are considered models of rhetorical composition; (cf. Villemain, De l'éloquence chrétienne, Paris, ed. 1891); they are also historical documents of much importance. Such, also, are his discourse against theArian intruder, Auxentius (Contra Auxentium de basilicis tradendis) and his two discourses on the finding of the bodies of theMilanesemartyrsGervasius and Protasius.

Not a few works have been falsely attributed to St. Ambrose; most of them are found in theBenedictine Edition of his writings (reprinted inMigne) and are discussed in the manuals of patrology(e.g. Bardenhewer). Some of his genuine works appear to have been lost, e.g. the already mentioned work onbaptism.St. Augustine (Ep. 31, 8) is loud in his praise of a (now lost) work of Ambrose written against those who asserted anintellectual dependency ofJesus Christ onPlato. It is not improbable that he is really the author of the Latin translation and paraphrase ofJosephus (De Bell. Judaico), known in theMiddle Ages as Hegesippus or Egesippus, a distortion of the Greek name of the original author (Iosepos). Mommsen denies (1890) his authorship of the famousRoman law text known as the "Lex Dei, sive Mosaicarum et Romanarum Legum Collatio", an attempt to exhibit thelaw of Moses as the historical source whence Roman criminaljurisprudence drew its principal dispositions.

Editions of his Writings

The literary history of the editions of his writings is a long one and may be seen in the best lives of Ambrose.Erasmus edited them in four tomes at Basle (1527). A valuable Roman edition was brought out in 1580, in five volumes, the result of many years' labour; it was begun bySixtus V, while yet themonk Felice Peretti. Prefixed to it is the life of St. Ambrose composed byBaronius for his Ecclesiastical Annals. The excellentBenedictine edition appeared atParis (1686-90) in two folio volumes; it was twice reprinted atVenice (1748-51, and 1781-82). The latest edition of the writings of St. Ambrose is that of P.A. Ballerini (Milan, 1878) in six folio volumes; it has not rendered superfluous theBenedictine edition of du Frische andLe Nourry. Some writings of Ambrose have appeared in theVienna series known as the "Corpus Scriptorum Classicorum Latinorum" (Vienna, 1897-1907). There is an English version of selected works of St. Ambrose by H. de Romestin in the tenth volume of the second series of the "Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers" (New York, 1896). A German version of selected writings in two volumes, executed by Fr. X. Schulte, is found in the "Bibliothek der Kirchenväter" (Kempten, 1871-77).

CONTACT US |ADVERTISE WITH NEW ADVENT