''Admonitio ad filium spiritualem'' (English ''Admonition to a Spiritual Son'') is an anonymous
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
"manual of spiritual edification" written around the year 500. During the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, it was believed to be a translation by
Rufinus of Aquileia
Tyrannius Rufinus, also called Rufinus of Aquileia (''Rufinus Aquileiensis'') or Rufinus of Concordia (344/345–411), anglicized as Tyrann Rufine, was a monk, historian, and theologian. He is best known as a translator of Greek patristic materi ...
of a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
original by
Basil of Caesarea
Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Ca ...
. It is now thought to be an original Latin composition, most likely by Porcarius of Lérins. Its author is still known conventionally as
Pseudo-Basil
Pseudo-Basil is the designation used by scholars for any anonymous author of a text falsely or erroneously attributed to Basil of Caesarea. Pseudo-Basilian works are usually known by Latin titles. They are often misattributed only in translation. T ...
Paul Lehmann
Paul Lehmann (13 July 1884 – 4 January 1964) was a German paleographer and philologist.Memoir by Harry Caplan, Taylor Starck, and B. L. Ullman in ''Speculum'' Vol. 40, No. 3, Jul. 1965, p. 583
Biography
Paul Lehmann was the son of business ...
based his edition on eight from between the 8th and 16th centuries. A partial
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
translation survives in three manuscripts. The translation was probably made by
Ælfric of Eynsham
Ælfric of Eynsham ( ang, Ælfrīc; la, Alfricus, Elphricus; ) was an English abbot and a student of Æthelwold of Winchester, and a consummate, prolific writer in Old English of hagiography, homilies, biblical commentaries, and other genres. H ...
Lucas Holstenius
Lucas Holstenius, born Lukas Holste, sometimes called Holstein (1596 – 2 February 1661), was a German Catholic humanist, geographer, historian, and librarian.
Life
Born at Hamburg in 1596, he studied at the gymnasium of Hamburg, and later ...
was the first to print the text when he included it in an appendix to his edition of
Benedict of Aniane
Benedict of Aniane ( la, Benedictus Anianensis; german: Benedikt von Aniane; 747 – 12 February 821 AD), born Witiza and called the Second Benedict, was a Benedictine monk and monastic reformer, who left a large imprint on the religious prac ...
's ''Codex regularum'' in 1661.
The ''Admonitio'' consists of a prologue and twenty chapters. Its recommendations are
ascetic
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
in character. Gluttony and greed for money are condemned and vigils praised. One should recall one's eventual death at rising and going to bed. The analogy of
spiritual warfare
Spiritual warfare is the Christian concept of fighting against the work of preternatural evil forces. It is based on the biblical belief in evil spirits, or demons, that are said to intervene in human affairs in various ways. Although spiritua ...
is prominent: "I desire to instruct you about the meaning of the spiritual army 'militia spirituali''and how you should serve your king. . . while earthly soldiers serve an earthly king and obey all his orders, those who serve the heavenly king guard heavenly precepts. While earthly soldiers 'militia terrena''battle against earthly enemies with earthly arms, you battle against a spiritual enemy with spiritual arms."
Pseudo-Basil's chief sources seem to have been the ''Vita sancti Antonii'', the Latin version of the biography of
Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...
by
Athanasius of Alexandria
Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...
; Rufinus' translation of the '' Regula sancti Basilii''; and the twenty-fifth epistle of
Paulinus of Nola
Paulinus of Nola (; la, Paulinus Nolanus; also Anglicized as Pauline of Nola; – 22 June 431) born Pontius Meropius Anicius Paulinus, was a Roman poet, writer, and senator who attained the ranks of suffect consul () and governor of Campania ...
. The prologue of the ''Admonitio'' in turn influenced the prologue of
Benedict of Nursia
Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Orient ...
's '' Regula''.
The ''Admonitio'' was well known in the
Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lom ...
and
Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom o ...
. Besides the translation of Ælfric, excerpts show up in the Old English
Blickling
Blickling is a village and civil parish in the Broadland district of Norfolk, England, about north-west of Aylsham. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 136 and covers , falling to 113 at the 2011 Census. Since the 17th century t ...
Liber scintillarum
{{italic title
''Liber Scintillarum'' (literally "Book of Sparks") is a late seventh or early eighth-century florilegium of biblical and patristic sayings in Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of th ...
'' also includes some excerpts.
Alcuin of York
Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...
, an Anglo-Saxon scholar in
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
's court, quotes the Latin text in his letters. Abbot
Paulinus of Aquileia
Saint Paulinus II ( 726 – 11 January 802 or 804 AD) was a priest, theologian, poet, and one of the most eminent scholars of the Carolingian Renaissance. From 787 to his death, he was the Patriarch of Aquileia. He participated in a number of synod ...
's ''Liber exhortationis'', a
mirror for princes
Mirrors for princes ( la, specula principum) or mirrors of princes, are an educational literary genre, in a loose sense of the word, of politics, political writings during the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, the late middle ages and the Re ...
written for Duke
Eric of Friuli Eric (also ''Heirichus'' or ''Ehericus''; died 799) was the Duke of Friuli (''dux Foroiulensis'') from 789 to his death. He was the eldest son of Gerold of Vinzgouw and by the marriage of his sister Hildegard the brother-in-law of Charlemagne.
Bac ...
, is indebted to the Pseudo-Basilian description of spiritual warfare.
__NOTOC__
Editions
Latin
* Lehmann, Paul, ed. ''Die admonitio s. Basilii ad filium spiritualem''. Sitzungsberichte der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 7. Munich: C. H. Beck. 1955.
Old English
*Norman, H. W., ed. ''The Anglo-Saxon Version of the "Hexameron" and the Anglo-Saxon Remains of St Basil's "Admonitio ad Filium Spiritualem"''. London: Smith, 1848.
*Mueller, Lawrence Edwin, ed. ''Aelfric's Translation of St. Basil's Admonitio ad Filium Spiritualem: An Edition''. PhD diss. University of Washington, 1974.
*Locherbie-Cameron, Margaret Ann, ed. ''Ælfric's Old English Admonition to a Spiritual Son: An Edition''. PhD diss. Bangor University, 1998.
Translations
*Baguenard, Jean-Marie, trans. "L'admonition à un fils spirituel". In ''Dans la tradition Basilienne les constitutions ascétiques: L'admonition à un fils spirituel et autres écrits''. Spiritualité Orientales, 58. Bégrolles-en-Mauges: Abbaye de Bellefontaine, 1994.
*LePree, James Francis, trans "Pseudo-Basil's ''De admonitio ad filium spiritualem'': A New English Translation" ''The Heroic Age: A Journal of Early Medieval Northwestern Europe'' 13 (2010).