The Catholic World, Vol. 13, April to September, 1871Various
Religion
The Catholic World, Vol. 13, April to September, 1871
Various
Catholic Church -- Periodicals
St. Paulinus, bishop of Nola, lived at this time. He was born at
Bordeaux in the year 353, and was descended from a long line of
illustrious senators. One of the several estates he owned near the
city still bears the name of _Le Puy Paulin_, puy being a word from
the _langue Romaine_, perhaps synonymous with the Latin word podium.
One of the public squares of Bordeaux also bears the same name.
Paulinus possessed great elevation of mind and a poetical genius,
which he cultivated under Ausonius, for whose care he expresses
his gratitude in verse. But Ausonius was magnanimous enough to
acknowledge that Paulinus excelled him as a poet and that no modern
Roman could vie with him.
In his early life Paulinus held dignified offices under government,
but his intercourse with St. Delphinus, bishop of Bordeaux, inspired
him with a love for retirement, in which his wife, a Spanish lady of
wealth, participated. They passed over into Spain, and spent four
years there in the retirement of the country, but not as anchorites.
He seemed to have given up all of life but its sweetness when he
composed the following prayer: "O Supreme Master of all things,
grant my wishes, if they are righteous. Let none of my days be sad,
and no anxiety trouble the repose of my nights. Let the good things
of another never tempt me, and may my own suffice to those who ask
my aid. Let joy dwell in my house. Let the slave born on my hearth
enjoy the abundance of my stores. May I live surrounded by faithful
servants, a cherished wife, and the children she will bring me."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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