ST. LUCIAN, surnamed of Antioch, was born at Samosata, in Syria. He lost
his parents while very young; and being come to the possession of his
estate, which was very considerable, he distributed all among the poor.
He became a great proficient in rhetoric and philosophy, and applied
himself to the study of the holy scriptures under one Macarius at
Edessa. Convinced of the obligation annexed to the character of
priesthood, which was that of devoting himself entirely to the service
of God and the good of his neighbor, he did not content himself with
inculcating the practice of virtue both by word and example; he also
undertook to purge the scriptures, that is, both the Old and New
Testament, from the several faults that had crept into them, either by
reason of the inaccuracy of transcribers, or the malice of heretics.
Some are of opinion, that as to the Old Testament, he only revised it,
by comparing different editions of the Septuagint: others contend, that
he corrected it upon the Hebrew text, being well versed in that
language. Certain, however, it is that St. Lucian's edition of the
scriptures was much esteemed, and was of great use to St. Jerom.[1][2]
{102}
S. Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, says that Lucian remained some years
separated from the catholic communion,[3] at Antioch, under three
successive bishops, namely, Domnus, Timaeus, and Cyril. If it was for too
much favoring Paul of Samosata, condemned at Antioch in the year 269, he
must have been deceived, for want of a sufficient penetration into the
impiety of that dissembling heretic. It is certain, at least, that he
died in the catholic communion; which also appears from a fragment of a
letter written by him to the church of Antioch, and still extant in the
Alexandrian Chronicle. Though a priest of Antioch, we find him at
Nicomedia, in the year 303, when Dioclesian first published his edicts
against the Christians. He there suffered a long imprisonment for the
faith; for the Paschal Chronicle quotes these words from a letter which
he wrote out of his dungeon to Antioch, "All the martyrs salute you. I
inform you that the pope Anthimus (bishop of Nicomedia) has finished his
course by martyrdom." This happened in 303. Yet Eusebius informs us,
that St. Lucian did not arrive himself at the crown of martyrdom till
after the death of St. Peter of Alexandria, in 311, so that he seems to
have continued nine years in prison. At length he was brought before
the governor, or, as the acts intimate, the emperor himself, for the
word[4] which Eusebius uses may imply either. On his trial, he presented
to the judge an excellent apology for the Christian faith. Being
remanded to prison, an order was given that no food should be allowed
him; but, when almost dead with hunger, dainty meats that had been
offered to idols were set before him, which he would not touch. It was
not in itself unlawful to eat of such meats, as St. Paul teaches, except
where it would give scandal to the weak, or when it was exacted as an
action of idolatrous superstition, as was the case here. Being brought a
second time before the tribunal, he would give no other answer to all
the questions put to him, but this: "I am a Christian." He repeated the
same while on the rack, and he finished his glorious course in prison,
either by famine, or, according to St. Chrysostom, by the sword. His
acts relate many of his miracles, with other particulars; as that, when
bound and chained down on his back in prison, he consecrated the divine
mysteries upon his own breast, and communicated the faithful that were
present: this we also read in Philostorgius,[5] the Arian historian. St.
Lucian suffered at Nicomedia, where Maximinus II. resided.
His body was interred at Drepanum, in Bithynia, which, in honor of him,
Constantine the Great soon after made a large city, which he exempted
from all taxes, and honored with the name of Helenopolis, from his
mother. St. Lucian was crowned in 312, on the 7th of January, on which
day his festival was kept at Antioch immediately after his death, as
appears from St. Chrysostom.[6] It is the tradition of the church of
Arles, that the body of St. {103} Lucian was sent out of the East to
Charlemagne, who built a church under his invocation at Arles, in which
his relics are preserved.[7]
* * * * *
The first thing that is necessary in the service of God, is earnestly to
search his holy will, by devoutly reading, listening to, and meditating
on his eternal truths. This will set the divine law in a clear and full
light, and conduct us, by unerring rules, to discover and accomplish
every duty. It will awake and continually increase a necessary
tenderness of conscience, which will add light and life to its
convictions, oblige us to a more careful trial and examination of all
our actions, keep us not only from evil, but from every appearance of
it, render us steadfast and immoveable in every virtuous practice, and
always preserve a quick and nice sense of good and evil. For this
reason, the word of God is called in holy scripture, _Light_, because it
distinguisheth between good and evil, and, like a lamp, manifesteth the
path which we are to choose, and disperseth that mist with which the
subtilty of our enemy and the lusts of our heart have covered it. At the
same time, a daily repetition of contrition and compunction washes off
the stains which we discover in our souls, and strongly incites us, by
the fervor and fruitfulness of our following life, to repair the sloth
and barrenness of the past. Prayer must be made our main assistant in
every step of this spiritual progress. We must pray that God would
enable us to search out and discover our own hearts, and reform whatever
is amiss in them. If we do this sincerely, God will undoubtedly grant
our requests; will lay open to us all our defects and infirmities, and,
showing us how far short we come of the perfection of true holiness of
life, will not suffer any latent corruptions in our affections to
continue undiscovered, nor permit us to forget the stains and ruins
which the sins of our life past have left behind them.
Footnotes:
1. St. Hier. Catal. Vir. illustr. c. 77, Ep. 107, et Praef. in Paralip.
Item Synopsis ap. St. Athan. ad fin.
2. The Greek translation of the Old Testament, commonly called of the
seventy, was made by the Jews living at Alexandria, and used by all
the Hellenist Jews. This version of the Pentateuch appeared about
two hundred and eighty-five years before Christ, according to Dr.
Hody, (_de Bibliorum Textibus, Original. et Versionibus_, p. 570,
&c.) that of the other parts somewhat later, and at different times,
as the style seems to prove. The Jews even of Palestine at first
gloried in this translation, as Philo testifies; but it being
employed by the Christians against them, they began, soon after the
beginning of the second century, to condemn it, alleging that it was
not always conformable to the Hebrew original. This text had then
suffered several alterations by the blunders, and, according to
Kennicott, some few by the wilful malice of transcribers; though
these differences are chiefly ascribed by Origen to alterations of
the Hebrew text, introduced after the version was made. The seventy
being exploded by the Jews, three new versions were set on foot
among them. The first was formed in 129, by Aquila, of Sinope, in
Pontus, whom the emperor Adrian, when he built Jerusalem, under the
name of AElia, appointed overseer of that undertaking. He had been
baptized, but for his conduct being expelled from among the
Christians, became a Jew, and gave his new translation out of hatred
to the Christians. A second was published about the year 175, by
Theodotion, a native of Ephesus, some time a Christian, but a
disciple first of the heretic Tatian, then of Marcion. At length he
fell into Judaism, or at least connected obedience to the Ritual Law
of Moses with a certain belief in Christ. His translation, which
made its appearance in the reign of Commodus, was bolder than that
of Aquila. The third version was formed about the year 200, by
Symmachus, who having been first a Samaritan, afterwards, upon some
disgust turned Jew. In this translation he had a double view of
thwarting both the Jews and Christians. St. Jerom extols the
elegance of his style, but says he walked in the steps of
Theodotion; with the two former translators he substituted [Greek:
neanis] for [Greek: parthenos] in the famous prophecy of Isaiah, (c.
vii. v. 14,) and in that of Jacob, (Gen. xlix. 10,) [Greek: ta
apokeimena autoi] for [Greek: oi apokeitai] Both which
falsifications St. Justin Martyr charges upon Aquila, (Dial. cum
Tryphon. p. 224, 395, 284, ed. Thirlbii.) and St. Irenaeus reproaches
Aquila and Theodotion with the former, (p. 253, ed. Grebe.) Many
additions from these versions, and several various readings daily
creeping into the copies of the seventy, which were transcribed, to
apply a remedy to this danger, Origen compiled his Hexapla, &c., of
which see some account in the appendix to April 21. Before the year
300 three other corrected editions of the old Greek version were
published, the first by Lucian, the second by Hesychius, and the
third by Pamphilus the martyr. The first was made use of in the
churches, from Constantinople to Antioch; that of Hesychius was
received at Alexandria, and in the rest of Egypt; and the third in
the intermediate country of Palestine, as we are informed by St
Jerom, (_Praef. in Paralip. et Praef. in Explic. Daniel_.) The edition
of Lucian came nearest to the [Greek: koine] or common edition of
the seventy, and was the purest as St. Jerom (ep. ad Suniam et
Fretel. T. 2, col. 627,) and Euthymius affirm, and is generally
allowed by modern critics, says Mr. Kennicott, (diss. 2, p. 397.)
The excellent Vatican MS. of the seventy, published (though with
some amendments from other MSS.) by Cardinal Carafa, at the command
of Sixtus V., in 1587, is said in the preface to have been written
before the year 390; but Blanchini (Vindiciae vet. Cod. p. 34)
supposes it somewhat later. It is proved from St. Jerom's letter to
Sunia and Fretela, and several instances, that this Vatican MS.
comes nearest to the [Greek: koine], and to Lucian's edition, as
Grabe, (See Annot. in ep. ad Sun. et Fretel. T. 2, col. 671,)
Blanchini, (Vindiciae, p. 256) and Kennicott (diss. 2, p. 416) take
notice: the old Alexandrian MS. kept in the British Museum at
London, is thought by Grabe to have been written about the year 396;
by Mills and Wetstein, (in their _Prolegom. in Nov. Test. Gr._) about
one hundred years later. It was published by Grabe, though not pure;
for in some places he gives the reading of this MS. in the margin,
and prefers some other in the text. Though none of Origen's Asterics
are retained, it comes nearest to his edition in the Hexapla, as
Grabe, Montfaucon, and Kennicott agree: in some places it is
conformable to Theodotion, or Symmachus, and seems mostly the
Hesychian edition. See Montfaucon, Praelim. in Hexapla; Kennicott,
diss. 2.
3. [Greek: Aposunagwgos emo ne.]
4. [Greek: Arxontos]
5. 2 B. 2, c. 12, 13.
6. The Arians boasted that Arius had received his impious doctrine from
St. Lucian: but he is justified with regard to that calumny by the
silence of Saint Athanasius; the panegyrics of St. Chrysostom and
St. Jerom; the express testimony of the ancient book, On the
Trinity, among the works of St. Athanasius, Dial. 3, tom. 2, p. 179;
his orthodox confession of faith in Sozomen, l. 3, c. 5, p. 502; and
the authority of the church, which from his death has always ranked
him among her illustrious martyrs.
7. Saussaye Mart. Gallic. t. 1, p. 17. Chatelain, p. 114.