| This study examines four Latin letters written by Eutropius the Presbyter to Cerasia: De contemnenda haereditate ("Cuncti mei sensus"), De vera circwncisione ("Superiore epistola"), De viro perfecto ("Ecce iterum ad te"), and De similitudine carnis peccati ("Etiamne to ausus"). There are three purposes to the study. First, it establishes that all four letters were written by Eutropius the Presbyter. During the Middle Ages, they had been attributed to Jerome, and later to a variety of authors, including Pelagius, Maximus of Turin, and Pacianus of Barcelona. The attribution to Eutropius is based on the evidence of manuscripts containing the texts, a reference to Eutropius by Gennadius of Marseilles, and evidence from the letters themselves. Second, the study examines the historical context for the priest Eutropius and Cerasia. The evidence of Gennadius and Eutropius' own letters show that Eutropius can be convincingly dated to a period ca. 390--430. The issues Eutropius discussed in his letters to Cerasia place them both in the intellectual circle of Paulinus of Nola, Martin of Tours, Sulpicius Severus, Jerome, Vigilantius of Calagurris, Priscillian of Avila, and Ambrose of Milan. Cerasia and Eutropius were involved in the same theological controversies, particularly Arianism. They discussed the same issues of religious practice, especially virginity and the ascetic life, the divestment of wealth and the renunciation of the world. They discussed impediments to that practice, such as lack of familial support, particularly the hostile reaction of Cerasids father, Geruntius, to her vocation as a Christian virgin, as well as Priscillian's effect on asceticism. They discussed the acquisition of saints' relics and the rising cult of the saints, which had resulted in controversy for Ambrose of Milan and Vigilantius of Calagurris. And they discussed Cerasia's mission to convert pagans and barbarians, most likely Visigoths, to Christianity. Finally, this study provides the first translation of Eutropius' work into English, as well as a new Latin text. |
