Paulus Orosius (b.
circa 375, d. 418?) was a
Christian historian,
theologian and disciple of
Augustine of Hippo from
Gallaecia. He is best known for his
Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII ("Seven Books of History Against the Pagans"), which he wrote in response to the belief that the decline of the
Roman Empire was the result of its adoption of Christianity.
Biography
After entering the
priesthood, he took an interest in the
Priscillianist
controversy then going on in his native country. He went to consult with
Augustine at Hippo (now
Annaba in
Algeria) in 413 or 414, possibly in connection with this controversy. After staying for some time in
North Africa as Augustine's disciple, he was reportedly sent by him in 415 to
Palestine with a letter of introduction to
Jerome, then living in
Bethlehem.
The ostensible purpose of his mission (apart from the typical intent of pilgrimage and perhaps relic-hunting) was that he might gain further instruction from Jerome on the points raised by the Priscillianists and
Origenists. In reality, it would seem that his business was to assist Jerome and others against
Pelagius, who, after the
synod of
Carthage in 411, had been living in Palestine, and finding some acceptance there.
After his arrival.
John II, bishop of
Jerusalem, was induced to summon a synod in June 415 at which Orosius communicated the decisions of Carthage and read several of Augustine's writings against Pelagius. Success, however, was not achieved among Greeks who did not understand
Latin, and whose sense of reverence was unshocked by Pelagius's famous question,
Et quis est mihi Augustinus? ("Who is Augustine to me?")
Orosius succeeded only in obtaining John's consent to send letters and deputies to
Pope Innocent I of
Rome; and, after having waited long enough to learn the unfavourable decision of the synod of
Diospolis (Lydda) in December of the same year, he returned to north Africa, where he is believed to have died. According to
Gennadius, he carried with him relics of the
protomartyr Stephen from Palestine to
Minorca, where they were reported to be useful in attempts to convert members of the
Jewish community to Christianity.
His work
The earliest work of Orosius,
Consultatio sive commonitorium ad Augustinum de errore Priscillianistarum et Origenistarum, explains its object by its title; it was written soon after his arrival in Africa, and is usually printed in the works of Augustine along with the reply of the latter,
Contra Priscillianistas et Origenistas liber ad Orosium.
His next treatise,
Liber apologeticus de arbitrii libertate, was written during his stay in Palestine, and in connection with the controversy which engaged him there. It is a keen but not always fair criticism of the Pelagian position from that of Augustine.
The
Historiae adversum paganos was undertaken at the suggestion of Augustine, to whom it is dedicated. Orosius argues that the world has improved since the introduction of Christianity rather than declined as others had argued. In response to those who pointed to contemporary disasters, he simply argues out that previous ones occurring before Christianity were much worse. The work, a
universal history of the calamities that have happened to mankind from the fall down to about 417, was the first attempt to write the history of the world as a history of God guiding humanity. Its purpose gave it value in the eyes of the orthodox, and the
Hormesta (or
Ormesta,
Ormista) as it was called—no one knows why—speedily attained a wide popularity. Nearly two hundred manuscripts of it have survived. An abridged, free translation by
King Alfred is still extant.
Bono Giamboni translated it in Italian language.. A still unpublished 14th century Aragonese translation, made by
Domingo de García Martín at the request of
Juan Fernández de Heredia, comes from
Bono Giamboni's Italian translation. The history of Orosius was translated also into
Arabic during the reign of
al-Hakam II of
Córdoba. It later became one of the sources of
Ibn Khaldun in his history.
The sources Orosius used have been investigated by
T. de Morner; besides the Old and New Testaments, he appears to have consulted
Caesar,
Livy,
Justin,
Tacitus,
Suetonius,
Florus and a cosmography, attaching also great value to
Jerome's translation of the
Chronicles of
Eusebius.
See also
