Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 9.djvu/776

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MABTIAHUS


723


ISARTIH


teztfl. and furnished with a series of references to the parallel passages. He also published the three psal- ters of St. Jerome; these anpeared in French. Lastly should be mentioned his "New Testament in French (2 vols., Paris, 1712).

ZiEOELBAUBR, Hitt. Tei. III. Ord. S. Bened. (Augsbuis, 1754); Tasmn. Hi8i. m. da laConqriq. de <SY-Afaur (Pam. 1770), 382- 97; OS Lama, Bibl. dea icnvatna de la conarig. de Saint-Maur (Paris, 1882).

Hugh Pope.

Martianas OapeUa, Roman writer of Africa who flourished in the fifth century. His work is entitled: "De nuptiis philologia) ct Mercurii". It was com- posed after the taking of Rome by Alaric (410) and be- tore the conquest of Africa by the Vandals (429). The author, a native of Madaura, Apuleius's birthplace, had settled in Carthage where he earned a precarious living as a solicitor. He proposed to write an ency- clopedia of the liberal culture of the time, dedicated to his son Martianus, and this work he planned like the ancient " Satyra ", that is a romance which was a med- ley of prose and verse. The original conception was both bizarre and entertaining. Mercurj' hixs grown weary of celibacy but has been refused by Wisdom, Divination and Soul. Apollo speaks favourably of a charming and wise young maiacn, Pliilologia. The gods give their consent to this union provided that the betrothed be made divine. Philologia agrees. Her mother Reflection, the Muses, the Cardinal Virtues, the three Graces surround her and bedeck her. Phi- lologia drinks the cup of ambrosia which makes her immortal and is introduced to the jgods. The wed- ding gifts are examined. Phœbe oners, in her hus- band's name, a number of young women who will be Philologia*s slaves. These women are the 7 libe- ral arts: Grammar, Dialectics, Rhetoric, Geometry, Arithmetic, Astronomy and Harmony. The first and second books of "De Nuptiis" contain this alle- gory. Of the remaining books each one treats of an art. Art herself gives an exposition of the principles of the science she governs. Finally night has come. Architecture and Medicine are indeed present, but as they care for nothing but earthly things, they are con- demned to remain silent. Harmony escorts the bride to the bridal chamber while nuptial songs are sung. Allegor>', as we see, predominates in this work. In it, Martianus Capella notably departs from his model Apuleius and comes nearer medieval times. While the Psyche of Apuleius is a living person and her story a charming one, the personages of Martianus Capella are cold abstractions. His style also suffers in the at- tempt to imitate Apueleius, for he exaggerates the de- fects, incongruities, and pedantry of the latter, and js wanting in his c|ualities of grace, clearness and bril- liancy. His verse is better than his prose, as is gener- ally the case among the decadent 'writers.

The subject treated belongs to a tradition which goes back to Varro's ** Disci pflnse". The allusion to Srchitecture and medicine in Martianus Capella is an idea borrowed from Varro who mentioned these arts in his book in connection ^^ith the other seven. And be- fore this, in a celebrated passage in **De OflBciis" (I, § 161) Cicero opposes medicine and architecture to the precepts which lead to the making of an honest man, while placing them amon^ the lilx>ral arts. In Mar- tianus CapeUa's day architecture and medicine were no longer taught in the schools, the curriculum of which was reduced to rhetoric and its accompanying arts. St. Augustine, broader minded, mentions archi- tecture and medicine but does not group them with the other arts. Moreover^ even in Varro, philosophy is represented only by dialectics. There again, St. Augustine attempted, but vainly, to broaden the nar- row school plan and to introduce philosophy. The encyclopedia of human knowledge n^maineii in medie- val days as it had been represented to be by the Ma- daura barrister. Each lxx)k is an extract from, or a


compilation of, earlier authors: book V (rhetorie). from Aquila Romanus and Fortunatianus; book Vl (geometr}', including geograplw), from Solinus and. in an ^brid^ed form, from Pliny the Elder; ana book X (music) , from Aristide's * * Quintilian ". Varro must also have been largely drawn upon, and, possibly , through Varro, Nigidius Figulus, for data of a religious and astrological order. This encyclopedic work of Martianus Capella is one of the books which exercised a lasting influence. As early as the end of the fifth century, another African, Fulgentius, composed a work modelled on it. In the sixth century Gregory of Tours tells us that it became, in a way, a school man- ual C* Hist. Franc", X, 449, 14 Amdt). It was com- mented upon by Scotus Erigena, Hadoard, Alexander Neckam, Remy of Auxerre. Copies of '* De Nuptiis" increased in number; as early as the middle of the sixth century Securus Memor Felix, a professor of rhetoric, received the text in Rome. The" book, which is 'thoroughly pagan and in which one vainly seeks any allusion to Christianity, was the mentor of teachers and su^ested the figures of the seven arte which adorn the m^ades of the cathedrals of the time. A critical e<lition was published at Leipzig in 1866.

Sandys, A hiMoryofclasncnl scholarship, T (Cftmbridfre, 1903), 228; Th u i jn , Die ff fitter dca Martian us Capella und der Brontelah her von Piaccnza (Giesaen. 1906); Nordkn, Die arUike KunM^ proa, (Leipzig 1898), 11, 670; Luedecke, De Af . C. libra sexlo (Gottingen, 1862).

Paul Lejay.

Martigny, Jobeph-Alexandre, canon of Belley, archa&ologist; b. at Sauvemy, Ain, in 1808; d. at Bel- ley, 19 August, 1880. He studied at the petit s&mv' yiaire of Belley and became a professor there in 1832. He was curate later at Cressy and afterwards parish priest of Arl)ignieu. Encouraged by his bishop and the learned Ahh6 Greppo, who was distinguished for his lalx)urs in promoting a revival of religious archeeol- ogy in France, he devoted his leisure hours to the pur- suit of that science. He was appointed cur6 of Bag^le- Chiitel and made an honorary canon in 1849. From that time dates his acquaintance with J. B. de Rossi, to whom he became closely attached by reason of his work in the domain of Christian archseology. Thourfi living in a retire<l locality he collected the matter lor his " Dictionnaire des antiquit^s chr6tiennes", which appeared in 1865, the first work of its kind, giving evidence of vast enidition, too vast perhaps, for the articles, so varied in matter and character, are all from the pen of this learned country priest. This work was soon taken up again by Smith in England and Kraus in Germany. Martigny published a cor- rected edition of his dictionary in 1877. The pub- lisher, Hachette, had intended the work to be a part of the '* Dictionnaire des antiquit<5s grecques et romainea" of Daremberg and Saglio, out its importance made it an independent work. Mgr. Martigny published also a French edition of the " Bullettino di archteologia cria- tiana" of de Rossi. His writings include beside his "Dictionnaire des antiquit^s chr^tiennes" (Paris, 1865; 2nd edition, 1877) various articles in *' Annales de I'Acad^mie de Macon", 1851, sqq., etc.

Polybiblion, XXIX, 1880, p. 376-76.

R. Maere.

Martin I, Saint, Pope, martyr, h. at Todi on the Tiber, son of one Fabricius; elected pope at Rome, 21 July, 649, to succeed Theodore I: a. at Cherson in the present peninsula of Krym, 16 Sept., 655, after a reign of six years, one month and twenty-six days, hav- ing ordained eleven priests, five deacons, and thuly- three bishops. 5 July is the date commonly given for his election, but 21 July (given by Lobkowits, "Statistik der Papste". Freiburg, 1905) seems to correspond better with the date of death and term of reign (Duchesne, "T.ib. Pont.", I, 386): his feast is on 12 Nov. The Greeks honour him on 13 April and I^