Gaius Marius Victorinus

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The beginning of Victorinus' commentary on Cicero's De inventione in the manuscript Budapest, Országos Széchényi Könyvtár, Cod. Lat. 370, fol. 1r (15th century)

Gaius Marius Victorinus (* between 281 and 291; † after 363) was a late antique Roman rhetor and Christian scholar.

Victorinus came from the Roman province of Africa , trained there as a rhetorician and moved to Rome around 340 . He was considered one of the most capable rhetors of his time and taught several senators in Rome, among other things . His reputation was so great that a statue of him was erected in the Forum of Trajan in 354 .

Since Victorinus was of pagan origin, adhered to Neoplatonism and had been rather skeptical of Christianity, the sensation was great when he converted to Christianity in 355 and was baptized. By studying the prologue of the Gospel of John ( John 1 : 1–14  EU ), he is said to have come to the view that this was compatible with a Neoplatonic philosophy. He defended Niceneum and resigned from office in 362 after Emperor Julian forbade Christian teachers in his edict of rhetoric to give lessons about pagan school authors.

Victorinus died shortly after 363. He left behind a large number of writings, including commentaries on the works of Cicero and Aristotle , several Latin translations of Greek texts (including Plotinus ), and treatises on grammar, logic and rhetoric ( De definitionibus ). He also wrote several theological works, including three hymns on the doctrine of the Trinity and commentaries on several letters of the Apostle Paul . He was Paul's first Latin commentator. Marius Victorinus is one of the founders of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and influenced Augustine .

Editions and translations

  • Marius Victorinus: Traités théologiques sur la Trinité. Text établi by Paul Henry. Introduction, traduction et notes by Pierre Hadot. Commentaire par * Pierre Hadot. (Sources chrétiennes 68; 69). Les Editions du Cerf, Paris, 1960.
  • Pierre Hadot (Ed.): Marius Victorinus. Christian platonism. The theological writings of Marius Victorinus . Artemis, Zurich 1967.
  • Albrecht Locher (Ed.): Marii Victorini Afri commentarii in epistulas Pauli ad Galatas ad Philippenses ad Ephesos . BG Teubner, Leipzig 1972.
  • Paul Henry, Pierre Hadot, Franco Gori (Eds.): Marii Victorini Afri Opera , Vol. 1: Opera theologica ; Vol. 2: Opera exegetica (Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum 83). Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1971–1986.
  • Andreas Pronay (Ed.): C. Marius Victorinus: Liber de definitionibus , Frankfurt am Main 1997
  • Thomas Riesenweber (Ed.): C. Marius Victorinus, Commenta in Ciceronis rhetorica , Vol. 1: Prolegomena; Vol. 2: Critical Commentary and Indexes . De Gruyter, Berlin 2015.

literature

Overview representations

Investigations

  • Pierre Hadot : Porphyre et Victorinus. 2 volumes. Institut d'études augustiniennes, Paris 1968.
  • Pierre Hadot: Marius Victorinus. Research on sa vie et ses oeuvres. Institut d'études augustiniennes, Paris 1971.
  • Werner Steinmann: The soul metaphysics of Marius Victorinus (= Hamburg Theological Studies. Volume 2). Steinmann & Steinmann, Hamburg 1990.
  • Michel Tardieu: Recherches sur la formation de l'Apocalypse de Zostrien et les sources de Marius Victorinus (= Collection "Res Orientales". Volume 9). Peeters, Louvain 1996.

Web links

Works

literature

personal data
SURNAME Victorinus, Gaius Marius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION late antique rhetorician and Christian scholar
DATE OF BIRTH between 281 and 291
DATE OF DEATH after 363