SEDULIUS. — The birthplace and period of S. (Caelius or Coelius Sedulius) are uncertain.
From the "subscriptiones" to the ancient Pitean and Lirensian manuscripts, the most authoritative document of Sedulian biography, it is learned that he lived during the reign of the emperors Theodosius II and Valentinian III; he was born in Italy but spent part of his life in Greece. He was a priest and perhaps even a bishop. He died, most likely, around 449-50 A.D.
Sedulius' major work is the *Paschale carmen*, or *Mirabilium divinorum libri* (a subtitle that sometimes, in later manuscripts, serves as the title) in 5 books (ancient scholars also speak of four and three, but these are likely mere oversights), a rather free reworking (much more so than in Juvencus) of the four Gospels (II-V II.), prefaced by the first book of an apologetic-educational character with extensive exemplification of miraculous episodes drawn from the Old Testament. Allegories, symbolisms, and an abundance of rhetorical ornamentation often stifle poetic inspiration, yet there are episodes and passages of some interest (Invocation to Mary, II, 63-69; Calming of the Storm, III, 46-69; Miraculous Draught of Fishes, IV, 109-24). The *Paschale Carmen* is in hexameters, except for vv. 1-16 of Bk. I, the *Praefatio* to the work, rich in all the "topoi" of Christian rhetoric. Of little poetic merit is the *Collatio Veteris et Novi Testamenti*, in 55 epanaleptic distichs; ancient scholars and editors were indeed reluctant to attribute it to Sedulius; moderns, though judging it very poor, have nonetheless opted for the attribution. The Ambrosian hymn *A solis ortus cardine*, however, is, despite its brevity, Sedulius' 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 Sedulius of a *Carmen de Verbi Incarnatione*, attempted on rather shaky historical grounds, clashes decidedly with glaring discrepancies in language and style. The only prose work of Sedulius, the *Paschale opus*, arose from the need to defend the orthodoxy of the poet, which had been severely challenged by detractors of his poetic work. Artistically, it is quite poor, replete as it is with all the defects and few of the author's virtues.
Sedulius, as a "scholasticus," drew extensively from the classical world: Virgil was his favorite model; Lucan and Persius were much imitated, the former for his taste for the horrific, the latter for his didactic interests; followed in order by Ovid, Horace, Tibullus; among Christians, only Prudentius and Juvencus left a distinct echo in Sedulian poetry.
The *Paschale Carmen* met with scant approval at its first appearance. But time reversed the initial critical judgment. In this now favorable climate, Sedulius was preparing to republish his work when death overtook him. The *Paschale Carmen* was nonetheless published, in this second edition, edited by the consul Asterius. Sedulius' reputation grew over the centuries, and today he is often judged the most representative of the Gospel paraphrasts of the 5th century.