SEDULIO. — Of S. (Caelius or Coelius Sedulius), the place of birth and the period in which he lived are uncertain.
From the “subscriptiones” in the ancient Pithaean and Lirensian codices, the most reliable document for Sedulius’ biography, it is learned that he lived during the time of the emperors Theodosius II and Valentinian III; he is said to have been born in Italy, but to have spent part of his life in Greece. He was a presbyter and perhaps also a bishop. In all probability he died around A.D. 440–50.
S.’s major work is the Paschale carmen, or Mirabilium divinorum libri (a subtitle that sometimes serves as the title in later codices), in 5 books (the ancient scholars also speak of four and of three, but these must be simple oversights), a rather free reworking (much more so than in Juvencus) of the four Gospels (books II–V), introduced by the first book, which is apologetic and formative in character and contains numerous examples of miraculous episodes drawn from the Old Testament. Allegories, symbolism, and an excess of rhetorical ornament often stifle poetic inspiration, but there are also episodes and passages of some interest (Invocation to Mary, II, 63–69; The Calmed Storm, III, 46–69; The Miraculous Catch of Fish, IV, 109–24). The Paschale Carmen is in hexameters, except for vv. 1–16 of book I, the Praefatio to the work, rich in all the “topoi” of Christian rhetoric. The Collatio Veteris et Novi Testamenti, in 55 diatri of epanaleptic structure, is of little poetic significance; indeed, the ancient scholars and editors were reluctant to attribute it to S.; modern scholars, on the other hand, while judging it a very poor work, have nevertheless opted for its attribution. The Ambrosian hymn A solis ortus cardine is instead, despite its brevity, S.’s masterpiece. The Church has recognized its merits by introducing two significant passages into the liturgy (strophes I–VII and strophes VIII, IX, XI, XIII). The attribution to S. of a Carmen de Verbi Incarnatione, attempted on the basis of historical evidence that is in fact rather weak, is decisively contradicted by striking divergences in language and style. S.’s only prose work, the Paschale opus, arose from the need to defend the poet’s orthodoxy, which had been seriously challenged by the detractors of his poetic work. Artistically, it is a very poor production, rich as it is in all the author’s defects and in very few of his merits.
S., being a “scholasticus,” drew extensively on the classical world: Virgil was his preferred model; Lucan and Persius were much imitated, the former for his taste for the horrific, the latter for his didactic interests; Ovid, Horace, and Tibullus follow in that order; among Christian writers, only Prudentius and Juvencus left a distinct echo in Sedulian poetry.
The Paschale Carmen received little acclaim when it first appeared. But time reversed the criticism’s initial judgment. In this now favorable climate, S. was preparing to republish his work when he was overtaken by death. The Paschale Carmen nevertheless appeared, with the consul Asterius overseeing this second edition. S.’s reputation then continued to grow over the centuries, and today he tends to be judged the most representative of the fifth century’s Gospel paraphrasts.