Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
ID
ER 2101
Presbyter Paulinus, later bishop of Nola, writes to the presbyter Sulpicius Severus from Primuliacum (Gaul). Paulinus thanks Sulpicius for the camel hair shirt he had sent him. Paulinus of Nola, Letter 29, AD 400.
Letter 29 to Sulpicius Severus
 
1. Inmoderatam, ut arguimus, in litteris uestris onus nostrum loquentibus caritatem apta atque moderata ad utilitatem nostram munerum gratia temperastis; necessario enim peccatoribus et precatu deplorationis et habitu indigentibus pallia camelorum pilis texta misistis, quae nos in conspectu altissimi stratos utilibus stimulis admonerent, dum asperitate setarum conpungimur, et peccatorum nostrorum horrore conpungi atque intus spiritu conteri, dum extrinsecus terunt habitu.
 
Paulinus then recalls that Elias, John the Baptist, and King David also wore hairshirts. To repay Sulpicius, Paulinus sends him his own tunic which he received form none other but Melania the Elder, when she visitied Nola.
 
(ed. de Hartel 1894: 247)
Letter 29 to Sulpicius Severus
 
1. In your letter which spoke of the burden I bear, your uncontrolled love called forth my rebuke. But that love is tempered by your kind gifts, which are suited and well-directed to my profit. The cloaks woven from camel's hair were a gift necessary for this sinner, who needs to utter the prayers and wear the dress of lamentation, so that when I am prostrate in the sight of the Most High their profitable itch may remind me, as I am pricked with their sharp bristles, to be pricked also with dismay by my sins; and as the garments chafe me outwardly, to be likewise chafed in spirit.
 
Paulinus then recalls that Elias, John the Baptist, and King David also wore hairshirts. To repay Sulpicius, Paulinus sends him his own tunic which he received form none other but Melania the Elder, when she visitied Nola.
 
(trans. Walsh 1966: 2.101)

Discussion:

This letter was most probably sent in 400, along with letters 23 and 24, see Walsh 1966: 2.301.
 
Melania the Elder visited Nola after she came back from Jerusalem (where she had lived for twenty-seven years) at the very end of 4th century.
 
Camel hair shirts were at that time commonly associated with hermits. According to Sulpicius Severus, they were worn at Martin of Tours' monastery of Marmoutier (Vita Martini 10.8).

Place of event:

Region
  • Italy south of Rome and Sicily
  • Gaul
  • Rome
  • Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia
City
  • Nola
  • Primuliacum
  • Rome
  • Aquileia

About the source:

Author: Paulinus of Nola
Title: Letters, Epistulae
Origin: Nola (Italy south of Rome and Sicily)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
Paulinus of Nola (Pontius Metropius Paulinus) was born into a very affluent family ca 335. Although most of his estates were located near Bordeaux in Gaul, he was appointed the governor of Campania in his early twenties. He then returned to Gaul. In 389, after being baptized, Paulinus and his wife moved to Spain. They both started to follow a semi-monastic way of life. Following the death of his newborn son, Paulinus was ordered a presbyter at Christmas 394. In 395, Paulinus established a monastery in Nola in Campania. He served as a bishop of that city from 409 till his death in 431. Paulinus corresponded with many principal Christian intellectuals of the era, including Sulpicius Severus, Jerome, Ambrose of Milan, and Augustine of Hippo. Of this rich epistolographic corpus, however, only fifty-one letters survived. For the list of all letters Paulinus sent as a presbyter, and their addressees, see [2059].
Edition:
G. de Hartel ed., S. Pontii Meropii Paulini Nolani opera, vol. 1 Epistulae, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 29, Prague-Wien-Leipzig 1894.
 
Translation:
Letters of St. Paulinus of Nola, trans. P.G. Walsh, Ancient Christian Writers 35, New York 1966.

Categories:

Writing activity - Correspondence
Economic status and activity - Gift
Relation with - Another presbyter
Relation with - Noble
Relation with - Woman
Monastic or common life
Devotion - Ascetic practice
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: J. Szafranowski, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER2101, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=2101