Hilarius
a native of Bithynia, who in the reign of Valens (A. D. 364-379) migrated to Athens, and distinguished himself as a painter, as well as by his general proficiency in art and philosophy. While residing near Corinth in A. D. 379, Hilarius, with his whole family, perished in an invasion of the Goths. (Eunap. Vit. Soph. p. 67, ed. Boissonade; comp. id. Excerpt. Legat. p. 20.) [W.B.D]
(Ἱλάριος), a Phrygian, an interpreter of oracles, implicated in the proceedings of Theodorus, who attempted to discover by magic who should succeed the emperor Valens. He was executed in the course of the judicial proceedings which followed. (Amm. Marc. 29.1; Zosim. 4.15; Tillemont, Hist. des Emp. vol. v.) [J.C.M]
Among the correspondence of Augustin we find two letters addressed to that prelate by a certain Hilarius, of whom we know nothing certain except that he was a layman, an intimate friend of Prosper Aquitanus, an ardent admirer of the bishop of Hippo, and probably the person to whom the latter addressed his treatise, De Praedestinatione Sanctorum et de Dono Perseverantiae. De Pelagianis
The first of these letters, which is short, is entitled De Pelagianis, was written at Syracuse in A. D. 413 or 414, and is numbered clvi. in the collected epistles of Augustin, according to the Benedictine arrangement. De Semipelagianis
The second letter is considerably longer, is entitled De Semipelagianis, was despatched from the south of France, along with one by Prosper upon the same subject, in 428 or 429, and is numbered ccxxvi. Editions
It was published at Cologne in 1503, along with the treatise of Honorius Augustodunensis, De libero Arbitrio, and is included in the Paris edition (1711) of the works of Prosper, p. 7. Other possible works
A third letter was written by this same personage upon the same topics, which is now lost; and some critics have, upon no sufficient grounds, ascribed to him a work, De Vocatione Gentium. [W.R]
surnamed Arelatensis, was born at the commencement of the fifth century, in Gallia Belgica, of a noble family, and distinguished himself in boyhood by the zeal and success with which he followed out the various branches of a liberal education. At an early age he became the disciple of Honoratus, first abbot of Lerins, by whom he was persuaded to abandon the world, and to devote himself to a monastic life. To this he attached himself so warmly, that when the bishopric of Arles became vacant in A. D. 429, by the death of his preceptor, he was with the utmost difficulty induced to yield to the wishes of the clergy and people, and to accept the episcopal chair. The circumstance that a monk of twentynine should have been chosen unanimously to till such an important station is in itself a strong proof of the reputation which he must have enjoyed as a man of learning, eloquence, and piety. His name, however, has acquired importance in ecclesiastical history chiefly from the controversy in which he became involved with Pope Leo the Great. A certain Chelidonius, bishop either of Vesoul or Besancon, had been deposed, in consequence of certain irregularities, by a council at which Hilarius presided, assisted by Eucherius of Lyons and Germanus of Auxerre. Chelidonius repaired to Rome for the purpose of lodging an appeal against this sentence, and thither he was followed by Hilarius, who expressed a wish to confer with the pontiff, but refused to acknowledge his jurisdiction in the case. Leo, incensed by what he considered as a direct attack upon his supremacy, forthwith reinstated Chelidonius, while Hilarius, entertaining apprehensions for his own personal freedom, was fain to quit the city by stealth, and make his way back to his diocese, on foot, crossing the Alps at the most inclement season of the year. He subsequently endeavoured, but in vain, to negotiate a reconciliation with Leo, who refused to listen to any ternis short of absolute submission, and eventually succeeded in depriving him of all the privileges which he enjoyed as metropolitan of Gaul. This proceeding was confirmed by the celebrated rescript of Valentinian III., issued in 445, in which, among other matters, it was ordained, Ut Episcopis Gallicanis omnibusque pro lege esset, quidquid apostolicae sedis auctoritas sanxisset: ita ut quisquis Episcoporum ad judicium Romani antistitis evocatus venire neglexisset per moderatorem ejusdem provinciae adesse cogeretur, a decree which, while it unequivocally established the authority of the bishop of Rome over the church beyond the Alps, at the same time, when taken in connection with the circumstances by which it was called forth, seems to prove that up to this period such authority had never been fully and formally recognised. The merits of this dispute have, as might be expected, become a party question among ecclesiastical historians, who characterise the conduct of the chief personages concerned in the most opposite terms, according to the views which they entertain with regard to the rights of the papal chair. Hilarius died in 449, about five years after the deposition of Chelidonius. Works
The only works of this Hilarius now extant whose authenticity is unquestionable are-- 1. Vita Sancti Honorati Arelatensis Episcopi,
Vita Sancti Honorati Arelatensis Episcopi, a sort of funeral panegyric upon his predecessor, which has been much admired, on account of the graceful and winning character of the style. Editions
Vita Sancti Honorati Arelatensis Episcopi was first published at Paris by Genebrardus, in 1578, and a few years afterwards, from MSS. preserved at Lerins, by Vincentius Barralis, in his Chronologia sanct. insul. Lerin. Lugd. 4to. 1613; the text of the former edition was followed by Surius ad xvi. Jan., and of the latter by the Bollandists, vol. ii. p. 11. It is also given in the Bibl. Patr. Max. Lugd. 1677, vol. viii. p. 1228, in the Opera Leonis I., edited by Quesnell, Paris, 4to. 1675, and in the Opera Vincentii Lirinensis et Hilarii Arelatensis, by J. Salinas, Rom. 8vo. 1731. 2. Epistola ad Eucherium Episcopum Lugdunensem Editions
First published in the Chronologia Lirinensis of Barralis, and subsequently in the Bibl. Max. Patr. Lugd. vol. viii., in Quesnell and in Salinas. See above. Other works
The author of his life, which we notice below, mentions also Homiliae in totius anni Festivitates ; Symboli Expositio ; a great number of Epistolae, and likewise Versus, but all of these are lost, unless we agree with those who upon very slender evidence assign to this Hilarius three poems in dactylic hexamleters, of which two are ascribed in different MSS. to different authors, and the third uniformly to Hilarius Pictaviensis. These are, 1. Poema de septem fratribus Maccabaeis ab Antiocho Epiphane interfectis Editions
Published under the name of Victorinus Afer, by Sicard, in his Antidot. cont. omn. Haeres. 1528, inserted in most of the large collections of fathers, and in the Sylloge Poetarum Christianorum, Lugd. 1605. 2. Carmen de Dei Providentia Editions
Frequently printed along with the works of Prosper Aquitanus. 3. Carmen in Genesim ad Leonem Papam Editions
First printed by Miraeus in his edition of Hilarius Pictaviensis, Paris, fol. 1544; published separately by Morellus, Paris, 4to. 1559; with a commentary by Weitzius, Franc. 8vo. 1625; and included in all the larger collections of the fathers. Narratio de Miraculo
There is also a Narratio de Miraculo, performed by a certain martyr named Genesius, which is given to Hilarius in some MSS., but generally rejected as spurious. Editions
It will be found in Surius and the Bollandists under 25th August. Vita Hilarii
We have already alluded to an ancient Vita Hilarii, which is commonly believed to be the production of Honoratus, bishop of Marseilles (about A. D. 460), but which in the Arles MS. is assigned to Reverentius, or Ravennius, the successor of Hilarius. It is contained in the Chronologia Lirinensis, and in Surius under V. Mai. [W.R]
surnamed Diaconus, a native of Sardinia, a deacon of the church at Rome in the middle of the fourth century, and hence designated Hilarius Diaconus, to distinguish him from others of the same name, was deputed by Pope Liberius, along with Lucifer of Cagliari, Eusebius of Vercclli, and Pancratius, to plead the cause of the orthodox faith before Constantius at the council of Milan. Upon this occasion he defended the principles of Athanasius with so much offensive boldness, that he was scourged by order of the emperor, and condemned to banishment, along with his companions. Of his subsequent history we know little, except that he adopted the violent opinions of Lucifer to their full extent, maintaining that not only Arians, but all who had held any intercourse with them, as well as heretics of every description, must, even after an acknowledgment of error, be re-baptized before they could be admitted into the communion of the Catholic church, and from this doctrine he was sarcastically styled by Jerome a second Deucalion. Works
Two treatises are sometimes ascribed to this Hilarius, both of very doubtful authenticity. One of these, Commentarius in Epistolas Pauli, has frequently been published along with the writings of Ambrosius; the other, Quaestiones Veteris et Novi Testamenti, among the works of Augustin. [W.R]
surnamed 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 primus
written 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 Synodis
s. 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 suam
dissuading her from becoming the bride of any one save Christ. 2. Hymnus Matutinus
Addressed 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. [W.R]
(1) A Christian writer born at Poitiers of pagan parents. He was elected bishop of his native place in A.D. 350. In 356, his strong polemics against the Arians led to his banishment by Constantine, who allowed him, however, to return from Phrygia, the place of his exile, and resume his office. He died in 368. His works consist of polemics against the Arians and addresses to the emperor. The best edition of his works is that of Coutant (2d ed. 1844-45). For his life see Cazenove's St. Hilary of Poitiers (1883).
(2) Bishop of Arelaté (Arles) from A.D. 429 to 449. He wrote the life of Honoratus and a few other works.