Hila'rius or
Hila'riusPictaviensissurnamed PICTAVIENSIS, the most strenuous champion of the pure
faith among the Latin fathers of the fourth century, the Malleus
Arianorum,
as he has been designated by his admirers, was born at Poitiers, of a good
family, although the name of his parents is unknown, and carefully instructed in all the
branches of a liberal education. Having been induced, after he had attained to manhood, to
study the Scriptures, he became convinced of the truth of Christianity, made an open
profession of his belief, was baptized along with his wife and his daughter Abra, and resolved
to devote himself to the service of religion. Of the early portion of his career in this new
vocation we know nothing, but his character as a man of learning and piety must have been held
in high esteem, for about the year A. D. 350, although still married,
he was elected bishop of his native city. From that time forward the great object of his
existence was to check the progress of Arianism, which had spread all over the East, and was
making rapid strides in Gaul. At his instigation the Catholic prelates excommunicated
Saturninus, bishop of Arles, a zealous partizan of the heretics, together with his two chief
supporters, Ursacius and Valens. But at the council of Beziers, convoked in 356 by
Constantius, ostensibly for the purpose of calming these dissensions, a triumph was achieved
by the adversaries of Hilarius, who by a rescript from the emperor was banished, along with
Rhodanus, bishop of Toulouse, to Phrygia, which, as well as the rest of Asia Minor, was
strongly opposed to Trinitarian doctrines. From this remote region he continued to govern his
diocese, to which no successor had been appointed, and drew up his work
De Synodis, that he might make known throughout Gaul, Germany, and Britain, the
precise nature of the opinions prevalent in the East. In 359 a general meeting of bishops was
summoned to be held at Seleuceia, in Isauria; and Hilarius, having repaired thither uninvited,
boldly undertook, although almost unsupported, to maintain the consubstantiality of the Word,
against the Anomeans and other kindred sectaries, who formed a large majority of the assembly.
From thence he betook himself to Constantinople, at that time the very focus of Arianism,
where his indefatigable importunity proved so troublesome to the court, and his influence with
the more moderate among the Oriental ecclesiastics so alarming to the dominant faction, that
he was ordered forthwith to return to his bishopric, where he was received in triumph, about
the period of Julian's accession (361), and at this time probably published his famous
invective against the late prince. For some years he found full occupation in reclaiming such
of the clergy as had subscribed the confession of faith sanctioned by the council of Ariminum,
and in ejecting from the church his old enemy Saturninus, along with these who refused to
acknowledge their errors. In the reign of Valentinian (364), however, not satisfied with
regulating the spiritual concerns of his own country, he determined to purify Italy also, and
formally impeached Auxentius, bishop of Milan, who stood high in imperial favour, although
suspected of being in his heart hostile to the cause of orthodoxy. The emperor forthwith cited
the accuser and the accused to appear before him, and to hold a conference upon the disputed
points of faith in the presence of the high officers of state. Auxentius unexpectedly, and
perhaps unwillingly, gave unexceptionable answers to all the questions proposed; upon which
Hilarius, having indignantly denounced him as a hypocrite, was expelled from Milan as a
disturber of the tranquillity of the church, and, retiring to his episcopal see, died in peace
four years afterwards, on the 13th of January,
A. D. 368.
Works
The extant works of this prelate, arranged in chronological order, are the following:--
1.
Ad Constantium Augustum Liber primuswritten it is believed in A. D. 355. It is a petition in which he
implores the emperor to put an end to the persecutions by which the Arians sought to crush
their opponents, produces several examples of their cruelty, and urges with great force, in
respectful language, theright of the Catholics to enjoy toleration.
2.
Commentarius(s.
Tractatus) in
Evangelium
Matthaei, written before his exile, in
A. D. 356, and
divided into twenty-three
canones or sections. The preface,
which is quoted by Cassianus (
De Incarn. 7.24), is wanting.
This is the ancient of the extant expositions of the first evangelist by any of the Latin
fathers, and is repeatedly quoted by Jerome and Augustin. From the resemblance which it
bears in tone and spirit to the exegetical writings of Origen, it may very probably have
been derived from some of his works.
3.
De Synodiss.
De Fide Orientalium s.
De Synodis
Graeciae, or more fully,
De Synodis Fidei Catholicae
contra Arianos et pracvaricatores Arianis acquiescentes, or simply,
Epistola, being in reality a letter, written in
A. D.
358, while in exile, addressed to his episcopal brethren in Gaul, Germany, Holland,
and Britain, explaining the real views of the Oriental prelates on the Trinitarian
controversy, and pointing out that many of them, although differing in words, agreed in
substance with the orthodox churches of the West. In the Benedictine edition, we find added
for the first time a defence of this piece, in reply to objections which had been urged
against it by a certain Lucifer, probably him of Cagliari.
4.
De Trinitate Libri XII.s.
Contra Arianos s.
De Fide,
besides a number of other titles, differing slightly from each other. This, the most
important and elaborate of the productions of Hilarius, was composed, or at least finished,
in
A. D. 360. It contains a complete exposition of the doctrine of
Trinity, a comprehensive examination of the evidences upon which it rests, and a full
refutation of all the grand arguments of the heretics, being the first great controversial
work produced upon this subject in the Latin church. Jerome informs us that it was divided
into twelve books, in order that the number might correspond with the twelve books of
Quintilian, whose style the author proposed as his model. When Cassiodorus (
Institt. Div. 16) speaks of
thirteen books, he
includes the tract
De Synodis, mentioned above.
5.
Ad Constantium Augustum Liber secundus,presented in person to the emperor about A. D. 360, in which the petitioner sets forth
that he had been driven into banishment by the calumnies of freely his enemies, implores the
sovereign to lend a favourable ear to his cause, and takes occasion to vindicate the truth
of the principles which he maintained.
6.
Contra Constantium Augustum Liber. Probably composed, and
perhaps privately circulated, while the prince was still alive, but certainly not published
until after his death,--a supposition by which we shall be able to reconcile the words of
the piece itself (100.2) with the positive assertion of Jerome (
de
Viris Ill. 100). Indeed, it is scarcely credible that any zealot, however bold,
would have ventured openly to assail any absolute monarch, however mild, with such a mass of
coarse abuse, differing, moreover, so remarkably from the subdued tone of his former
addresses to the same personage, who is here pronounced to be Antichrist, a rebel against
God, a tyrant whose sole object was to make a gift to the Devil of that world for which
Christ had suffered. We are particularly struck with two points in this attack. Unmeasured
abuse is poured forth against Constantius because he refrained from inflicting tortures and
martyrdom upon his adversaries, seeking rather to win them over by the temptations of wealth
and honours, and because he wished to confine the creed strictly to the words of Scripture,
excluding apostolical tradition and the authority of the hierarchy. The most extravagant
violence of the first requires no comment ; the second is remarkable, since it proves that
some of the fundamental doctrines of the Romish Church, as opposed to the Protestant, had
already been called in question. (See Milman's
History of
Christianity, book 3.100.5.)
7.
Contra Arianos vel Auxentium Mediolanensem Liber unus
;otherwise,
Epistola ad Catholicos et Auxentium, written in
A. D. 365, to which is subjoined a letter addressed by Auxentius
to the emperors Valentinianus and Valens. The subject of these will be sufficiently
understood from the circumstances recorded in the life of Hilarius.
8.
Commentarii(s.
Tractatus, s.
Expositiones)
in Psalmos, composed towards the very close of his life. Not
so much verbal annotations as general reflections upon the force and spirit of the different
psalms, and upon the lessons which we ought to draw from them, mingled with many mystical
and allegorical speculations, after the fashion of Origen. It is not improbable that these
were originally short discourses or homilies, delivered from the pulpit, and afterwards
digested and arranged. They may have extended to the whole book of Psalms, but the
collection, as it now exists, embraces seventy-nine only.
9.
Fragmenta Hilarii,first published in 1598 by Nicolaus Faber from the library of P. Pithou, containing
passages from a lost work upon the synods of Seleuceia and Ariminum, and from other pieces
connected with the history of the divisions by which the church was at that time
distracted.
Doubtful Works
The following are of doubtful authenticity:--
1.
Epistola ad Abram Filiam suamdissuading her from becoming the bride of any one save Christ.
2.
Hymnus MatutinusAddressed also to his daughter Abra.
Works now lost
Works now lost, but mentioned by Jerome, Augustin, or other ancient authorities:--
1.
Libellus ad Sallustium Galliarum Praefectum contra Dioscurum
medicum. Probably an apology for Christianity.
2.
Commentarius (s.
Tractatus)
in Jobum, translated from the Greek of Origen.
3.
Liber adversus Valentem et Ursatium, portions of which are
to be found in the
Fiagmela noticed above.
4.
Hymnorum Liber.5.
Mysteriorum Liber.6. Many
Epistolae.7. He was said to have been the author of a
Commentarius in Cantica
Canticorum, but Jerome was unable to discover it, and equally dubious is the
Expositio Epistolae ad Timothecum, quoted in the Acts of the Council of
Seville.
Works erroneously ascribed to Hilarius
The
Carmen in Genesim; Libri de Patris et Filii Unitate; Liber de Essentia Patris
et Filii;
Confessio de Trinitate;
Epistola, s.
Libellus et Sermo de Dedicatione Ecclesiae, are all erroneously
ascribed to this father.
Assessment
Hilarius was gifted with a powerful intellect, and displayed undaunted courage and
perseverance in upholding the faith; but his zeal bordered so closely upon fanaticism, that
he must frequently have injured the cause which he advocated with unseemly violence. He can
scarcely be esteemed a man of learning, for he was ignorant of Hebrew, and but imperfectly
acquainted with Greek : his expositions of Scripture, when original, are by no means
profeund, when borrowed are not selected with judgment; while his doctrines in
dogmatic theology must be received with much caution, for Erasmus has clearly proved from
several passages, which the Benedictine editors have in vain sought to explain away, that his
expressions with regard to the nature of Christ are such as no orthodox divine could adopt.
Among his contemporaries, however, and immediate successors his influence was powerful and
his reputation high. Rufinus, Augustin, and Jerome speak of him with respect, and even
admiration.
Editions
A few of the opuscula of Hilarius, together with his work De
Trinitate, and the treatise of Augustin upon the same subject, were printed at
Milan, fol. 1489, by Leon. Pachel under the editorial inspection of G. Cribellus, a
presbyter of that city; and this collection was reprinted at Venice in the course of
the same century. More complete was the edition printed at Paris, fol. 1510, by Badius
Ascensius, which, however, was greatly inferior to that of Erasmus, printed at
Basle by Frobenius, fol., 1523, and reprinted in 1526 and 1528. By far the best
in every respect is that published by Coustant, Paris, fol., 1693, forming one of the
Benedictine series, and reprinted, with some additions, by Scipio Maffei,
Veron., 2 vols. fol., 1730.
Further Information
Our chief authorities for the life of Hilarius are an ancient biography by a certain
Venantius Fortunatus, who must be distinguished from the Christian
poet of the same name, consisting of two books, which, from the difference of style, many
suppose to be from two different pens; the short but valuable notice in Hieronymus,
De Viris Ill. 100.100; and the
Vita Hilarii ex ipsius
potissimum Scriptis collecta, prefixed to the Benedictine edition, in the
Prolegomena to which all the early testimonies will be found.
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