Juvencus

Juvencus
Juvencus
    C. Vettius Aquilinus Juvencus
     Catholic_Encyclopedia C. Vettius Aquilinus Juvencus
    Christian Latin poet of the fourth century. Of his life we know only what St. Jerome tells us (De viris, lxxxiv; cf. Chron., ad an. 2345; Epist. lxx, 5; In Matt., I, ii, 11). He was a Spaniard of very good birth, became a priest, and wrote in the time of Constantine. From one passage in his work (II, 806, sq.) and from St. Jerome's Chronicle it must be inferred that he wrote about the year 330. His poem, in dactylic hexameters, is entitled "Evangeliorum libri" (The Gospels). It is a history of Christ according to the Gospels, particularly that of St. Matthew. He goes to the other Evangelists for what he does not find in St. Matthew — as the story of the Infancy, which he takes from St. Luke. He follows his model very closely, "almost literally", as St. Jerome says. The whole problem for him is to render the Gospel text into easy language conformable to the tradition of the Latin poets, and borrowed especially from Virgil. His task is of no higher order than might be accomplished by a proficient schoolboy; it permits of little originality beyond that exhibited in new words composed, or derived, according to familiar types (auricolor, flammiuomus, flammicomans, sinuamen), elegant synonyms to express the Christian realities (tonans for "God", genitor for the Father, spiramen for the Holy Ghost, uersutia for the Devil), or, lastly, archaic expressions. There is no colour, no movement. The language is correct, the verses well constructed. A few obscurities of prosody betray the period in which the work was written. The whole effect is carefully wrought out.
    In the prologue Juvencus announces that he wishes to meet the lying tales of the pagan poets, Homer and Virgil, with the glories of the true Faith. He hopes that his poem will survive the destruction of the world by fire, and will deliver him, the poet, from hell. He invokes the Holy Spirit as the pagans invoked the Muses or Apollo. The work is divided into four books, which make arbitrary divisions of the life of Christ. The number four seems to be symbolical, corresponding to the number of the Evangelists. Other traces of symbolism have been found in Juvencus, the most notable being the significance attached to the gifts of the Magi — the incense offered to the God, the gold to the King, the myrrh to the Man. This interpretation, of which he, certainly, was not the inventor, was to have the greatest success, as we know. Lastly, eight preliminary verses, Juvencus's authorship of which is disputed, characterize the Evangelists and assign emblems to them; but they assign the eagle to St. Mark and the lion to St. John. The Bible text which Juvencus paraphrased was of course an ancient one. He appears, too, to have had recourse at times to the Greek text. The source of his poetical phraseology and his technic is, first, Virgil, then Lucretius, Propertius, Horace, Ovid, Silius, and Status. The cold correctness of the work recommended it to the taste of the Middle Ages, when it was frequently quoted, imitated, and copied.
    St. Jerome tells us that Juvencus composed another, shorter, Christian poem on "the order of the mysteries" (Sacramentorum ordinem). This work is lost. Modern writers have incorrectly attributed to him the "Heptateuchus", a work of Cyprian of Gaul, and the "De Laudibus Domini", a work of Juvencus's time, but to be credited to some pupil of the rhetoricians of Augustodunum (Autun). The two best editions of Juvencus are those of Marold (Leipzig, 1886) in the "Bibliotheca Teubneriana", and of Hümer (Vienna, 1891) in the "Corpus script. ecclesiast. latinorum".
    TEUFFEL, Geschichte der römischen Literatur (Leipzig, 1890), 1016; SCHANZ, Geschichte der röm. Literatur, IV (Munich, 1904), 1, 190; BARDENHEWER, tr. SHAHAN, Patrology (St. Louis, 1908).
    PAUL LEJAY
    Transcribed by Stephen William Shackelford Dedicated to my wife, Jesursa Figuracion Shackelford

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


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  • Juvencus — (nom complet : Gaius Vettius Aquileius Juvencus) est un poète latin chrétien de la première moitié du IVe siècle, d origine hispanique. Juvencus était prêtre. Il est l auteur de la première épopée chrétienne latine connue, un poème en… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Juvencus — Juvencus, C. Vettius Aquilinus, Presbyter in Spanien, lateinischer Dichter, st. 331 n.Chr.; schr. in Hexametern Historia evangelica (die Geschichte Jesu, vorzüglich nach dem Matthäus), herausgegeben von Rensch 1710 u.ö., zuletzt von Gebser, Jena… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Juvéncus — Juvéncus, Gajus Vettius Aquilinus, Presbyter in Spanien, verfaßte um 330 n. Chr. eine in der Form an Vergil sich anschließende poetische Bearbeitung der Evangeliengeschichte in 4 Büchern (»Evangeliorum libri IV«, hrsg. von Marold, Leipz. 1886,… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Juvencus — Juvencus, Cajus Vettius Aquilinus, lat. christl. Schriftsteller, Presbyter in Spanien, gest. 331, dichtete in Hexametern »Historia evangelica« (hg. 1886) …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Juvencus — Juvencus, (12. Sept.), ein spanischer Priester, lebteunter Kaiser Constantinus und hatte, wie der hl. Hieronymus in seinem Verzeichniß der Kirchenschriftsteller berichtet, die 4 Evangelien fast wörtlich in sechsfüßigen Versen übersetzt, auch… …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

  • Juvencus — Juvencus, C. Vettius Aquilinus, der erste christliche Dichter von einigem Werthe, ein span. Presbyter aus Konstantins d. Gr. Zeit, hinterließ Historiae evangelicae libros IV., die 4 Evangelien in Hexametern, möglichst wortgetreu, schmucklos, aber …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • JUVENCUS — Presbyter Hisp. Euangelia heroicis versibus esplicuit, A. C. 332. Etiam alia quaedam attribuuntur illi: Hinc Hier. in Matth. citat ex illo seqq. Aurum, Tus, Myrrham, Regique, Hominique, Deoque Dona ferunt. A quibusdam G. Aquilinus Vectius… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Juvencus — Gaius Vettius Aquilinus Juvencus ( la. GAIVS·VETTIVS·AQVILINVS·IVVENCVS ; es. Juvenco), known as Juvencus or Juvenk, was a Spanish Christian and composer of Latin poetry in the 4th century. LifeOf his life we know only what St. Jerome tells us… …   Wikipedia

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  • Juvencus, C. Vettius Aquilinus — • Fourth century Christian Latin poet Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

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