{"slug":"stoa0224b.stoa002.opp-lat1","id":"latin:ogl-csel:stoa0224b.stoa002.opp-lat1","title":"De Visitatione Nepotuli Sui","title_source":"De Visitatione Nepotuli Sui","author":"Paulinus Petricordiae","genre":"treatise","date":"","tradition":"latin","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T05:29:08Z","cost_usd":0.002107},"source":{"registry_id":"latin:ogl-csel:stoa0224b.stoa002.opp-lat1","work_id":"stoa0224b.stoa002.opp-lat1","edition":"ogl-csel","language":"","license":"Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/csel-dev/blob/master/data/data/stoa0224b/stoa002/stoa0224b.stoa002.opp-lat1.xml"},"stats":{"passages":3,"english_words":820,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":3035,"commentary_units":18,"commentary_kinds":7,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":6,"work_notes":6,"external_links":2,"timeline":4},"summary":{"work":"stoa0224b.stoa002.opp-lat1","abstract":"De Visitatione Nepotuli Sui is a treatise by Paulinus of Périgueux (Paulinus Petricordiae), a Gallo-Roman poet and hagiographer active ca. 470–520 CE. Addressed to his nephew, the work explores the theme of visitation, likely in a pastoral or epistolary context. It survives in a single manuscript tradition, preserved in the CSEL edition, with no known early medieval copies outside this lineage. The text has had limited circulation and is not cited in major medieval florilegia or canon law collections. Its modern interest lies in late antique pastoral care and epistolary form. Attribution to Paulinus of Périgueux is secure, though confusion with Paulinus of Nola occurs in older scholarship.","historical_context":"Paulinus of Périgueux flourished in the late 5th to early 6th century in Gaul, a period of political transition under Visigothic and Frankish rule. He is best known as a continuator of Sulpicius Severus's Vita Martini, writing in Latin verse. The treatise De Visitatione Nepotuli Sui likely dates to this period, reflecting the concerns of a Gallo-Roman Christian community facing epidemic illness and seeking saintly intercession. The work survives in a single manuscript tradition, preserved in the CSEL edition, with no evidence of wider medieval circulation. Its limited transmission suggests it was not widely copied or cited in later centuries. The text's genre as a treatise on visitation, possibly combining pastoral advice with poetic narrative, aligns with late antique epistolary and hagiographic traditions.","significance":"De Visitatione Nepotuli Sui provides a rare glimpse into late antique pastoral care and the personal concerns of a Gallo-Roman bishop or poet. It complements Paulinus's hagiographic works and offers insight into the role of visitation in Christian community life. The treatise's limited transmission highlights the fragility of late antique texts and the challenges of reconstructing their historical context.","timeline":[{"date":"ca. 470–520 CE","event":"Flourishing of Paulinus of Périgueux, author of De Visitatione Nepotuli Sui."},{"date":"Late 5th–early 6th c.","event":"Probable composition of the treatise, based on Paulinus's known activity."},{"date":"6th–9th c.","event":"Limited manuscript transmission; no known early medieval copies outside the CSEL lineage."},{"date":"19th–20th c.","event":"Modern edition in CSEL (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum)."}],"relations":[{"work":"Vita Martini (Sulpicius Severus)","relation":"Paulinus continued this hagiographic work; De Visitatione Nepotuli Sui shares thematic concerns with saintly intercession and healing.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Epistulae (Paulinus of Nola)","relation":"Older scholarship confused Paulinus of Périgueux with Paulinus of Nola; the works are distinct in style and content.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Psalm 72:6 (Vulgate)","relation":"The phrase 'guttula roris' echoes biblical imagery of divine blessing as dew, though not a direct quotation.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[{"key":"wikipedia:Sulpicius Severus","label":"Sulpicius Severus","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulpicius_Severus","reason":"Paulinus continued his Vita Martini, relevant to the author's hagiographic work."},{"key":"wikipedia:Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum","label":"CSEL","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Scriptorum_Ecclesiasticorum_Latinorum","reason":"The edition preserving the treatise."}],"cautions":["The exact date of composition is unknown; it is placed in the late 5th–early 6th century based on Paulinus's known activity.","The treatise survives in a single manuscript tradition, limiting textual criticism and stemmatic analysis.","Attribution to Paulinus of Périgueux is secure, but confusion with Paulinus of Nola occurs in older scholarship."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.00044,"generated":"2026-11-15T05:29:07Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Open Greek and Latin CSEL","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/csel-dev/blob/master/data/data/stoa0224b/stoa002/stoa0224b.stoa002.opp-lat1.xml"}],"checks":{"work":"stoa0224b.stoa002.opp-lat1","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":3,"translated":3,"commentary_passages":3,"commentary_units":18,"english_words":820,"source_letters":3035,"commentary_kinds":7},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work is a treatise by Paulinus of Périgueux (Paulinus Petricordiae), a 5th–6th century Gallo-Roman poet and hagiographer, addressed to his nephew on the subject of visitation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Paulinus flourished ca. 470–520 CE. The treatise likely dates to the late 5th or early 6th century, based on his known activity as a continuator of Sulpicius Severus’s Vita Martini.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text survives in a single manuscript tradition, preserved in the CSEL edition (ogl-csel). No early medieval copies are known outside this lineage.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The treatise had limited circulation; it is not cited in major medieval florilegia or canon law collections. Its modern interest lies in late antique pastoral care and epistolary form.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The edition does not provide a critical apparatus for variant readings; the single surviving manuscript limits textual criticism. No stemma is possible.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"Attribution to Paulinus of Périgueux is secure, but confusion with Paulinus of Nola (4th c.) occurs in older scholarship. The work is distinct in style and content.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: treatise in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 3 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: ogl-csel — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":3},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"UERSUS PAULINI DE UISITATIONE NEPOTULI SUI.\n\nQuam modicam stillam quanto torrente rependis,\nsancte deus, licet ipsa huius uel guttula roris\na te tam sterili data sit uel praestita cordi..\n\nnon his obsequiis tam largum flumen egebat,\nut tenuis leuibus foliis qui decidit humor\ntam profluo augmentum faceret dum labitur amni,\ncum magis ad ramos de ripis surgeret humor,\ndum uitreus fundit nebularum stamina gurges\ncontiguumque rapit sitiens uicinia frigus. inde haec gutta meas tetigit tam prodiga fauces,\ntangeret ut murmur solidi crystalla fluenti. quantum haec sola mihi ferret patientia donum,\nut nullam incideret felix audacia culpam:\nnunc uero his etiam duplicatur gratia signis,\nut nullo te fine canam, uenerande sacerdos. non finitur opus quo susciter. addita crescunt,\nquae meminisse iuuet. uirtus dum proditur, adstat. tune meas uisis lacrimas? tu fletibus illis\nfers miseratus opem? te uitae altissimus auctor\nexorante grauis cohibet lamenta senectae? ipsa salus uitam reuehit. deiecerat aegrum\net paene exanimem morbi uis tanta nepotem\nconiunctamque eidem nubendi lege puellam,\nut uix iam tenui spirarent corpora flatu,\nnec posset sollers tactus deprendere uenas\nsubtracto pulsu filo languente latentes. me quoque submotum pietas arcebat ab omni\nofficio. exosam uitabant lumina lucem,\ndum poena est. quodcumque uident. spes una pauentis","english":"The Verses of Paulinus on the Visitation of His Nephew.\n\nWith how great a torrent do you repay so small a drop, holy God, although this very droplet of dew, or even less, was given by you to so barren a heart or granted to it. This so abundant river had no need of such services, that the thin moisture which falls with light leaves should make an increase for so flowing a stream as it glides along, when rather moisture would rise from the banks to the branches, while the glassy whirlpool pours forth the threads of mists and the neighboring thirst seizes the contiguous cold. Hence this drop touched my throat so prodigally, that it would touch the murmur of the solid crystal of a flowing stream. How great a gift this patience alone would bring me, that no happy audacity would incur any fault: but now grace is even doubled by these signs, so that I may sing of you without end, venerable priest. The work by which I am roused is not finished. Added things grow, which it is helpful to remember. Virtue stands by while it is revealed. Did you then see my tears? Do you, pitying, bring help to those tears? Do you, with the highest author of life entreating, restrain the heavy laments of old age? Health itself brings back life. So great a force of disease had cast down the sick and nearly lifeless nephew, and the girl joined to him by the law of marriage, so that their bodies barely breathed with a thin breath, nor could a skilled touch detect the veins, hidden with the pulse withdrawn and the thread languishing. Piety also kept me, removed, from every duty. My eyes shunned hateful light, since whatever they see is punishment. The one hope of the fearful","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"UERSUS PAULINI DE UISITATIONE NEPOTULI SUI","severity":"info","text":"The title identifies the work as a set of verses (uersus) by Paulinus on the visitation of his nephew, marking the passage as a poetic narrative within a treatise.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Quam modicam stillam quanto torrente rependis","severity":"info","text":"The opening exclamation contrasts a small drop with a great torrent, establishing a rhetorical figure of reciprocity between the human and divine.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"guttula roris","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'guttula roris' (little drop of dew) echoes biblical imagery of divine blessing as dew, e.g., in Psalm 72:6 (Vulgate), but is not a direct quotation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"nepotem ... puellam nubendi lege","severity":"info","text":"The nephew and his wife are described as near death from disease, reflecting the late antique context of epidemic illness and the role of saintly intercession in healing.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"uitreus fundit nebularum stamina gurges","severity":"info","text":"The image of a glassy whirlpool pouring threads of mist is reminiscent of Lucretian and Virgilian descriptions of natural phenomena, though no direct source is cited.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"tune meas uisis lacrimas?","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin 'tune meas uisis lacrimas?' is grammatically ambiguous: 'uisis' could be a verb (you saw) or a noun (visions). The translation takes it as a verb, but the sense of visionary experience is possible.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'uisis lacrimas' could be read as 'you saw tears' (verb) or 'tears at the visions' (noun), affecting whether the tears are seen by the addressee or caused by visions.","The identity of the 'uenerande sacerdos' (venerable priest) is not specified; it may refer to a saint or a clerical figure, possibly Martin of Tours, but the text does not confirm."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"cor tetigit iuuenis, causam mandare patrono\nindulti et totiens propius meminisse fauoris. nuper contigerat perlatam euoluere chartam,\nquae tanti ad nosmet meriti peruenerat, inde\ninnumera ut miris fulgeret gratia signis,\nquis dominus ueri meritum testatus amici\nornabat sanctum per dona inmensa sepulchrum. haec signa antistes dextra signauerat alma\nPerpetuus, tanti gauisus laude magistri. hanc igitur chartam uix linguae murmure paruo\nincunctante fide spes non incerta poposcit. exanimi iuueni uires fiducia fandi\npraestitit et fessam laxauit gratia linguam. - ergo inter medios quos febris mouerat ignes\nuirtutum palmas stomacho coniunxit anhelo\net rapuit, recolendo fidem quae scripsit, in ipsis\ncondita uisceribus quidquid conclusa tegebat\npagina, et ad uotum uelox medicina cucurrit. exiluit iussus tanta ad miracula sudor,\ncreuit et ad numerum tanti quoque muneris ordo,\nut scribenda fidem faciant, quam scripta retentant. non tam pernici suspendunt sucina saltu\nfistucam faeni uicini glute uaporis,\nquam citus ad chartam madefacti corporis humor\nmandato celerante redit. spe uita reuertens\naffectu quaesiuit auum quasi nuntia tanti\nmuneris, et reliquis iussit me iungere signis\nquam persensit opem. tali mandanda patrono est","english":"the heart of the youth was touched; he entrusted the cause to the patron of the indulgence granted, and so often to remember the favor more closely. It had recently happened that a document was brought and unrolled, which had reached us with such great merit, from which innumerable graces shone forth with wondrous signs, by which the Lord, having testified to the merit of a true friend, adorned the holy tomb with immense gifts. The bishop Perpetuus, rejoicing in the praise of so great a master, had sealed these signs with his kindly right hand. This document, then, with but a small murmur of the tongue, with unwavering faith, a hope not uncertain demanded. To the lifeless youth, the power of confidence in speaking granted strength, and grace loosened the weary tongue. Therefore, amid the fires which the fever had stirred, he joined the palms of the virtues to his panting stomach and snatched them up, recalling the faith which had written them, in the very entrails whatever the closed page concealed, and swift medicine ran to the vow. The sweat, commanded, leaped forth at such great miracles, and the order of so great a gift also grew to the number, so that the things to be written make faith, which the written things retain. Not so swiftly do amber beads suspend a stalk of hay by the glue of nearby vapor in a leap, as the moisture of the moistened body, with the command hastening, returns to the paper. Hope, returning life, sought the grandfather as if announcing so great a gift, and ordered me to join the remaining signs which I had perceived as help. Such a thing is to be entrusted to a patron.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"cor tetigit iuuenis","severity":"info","text":"The narrative shifts from the author's direct address to God (previous passage) to a third-person account of the youth's recovery, marked by the phrase 'cor tetigit iuuenis'.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"antistes","severity":"info","text":"'Antistes' (bishop) here refers to Perpetuus, bishop of Tours (c. 460–490), a known figure in Gallic hagiography.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Perpetuus","severity":"info","text":"Bishop Perpetuus of Tours was a patron of Martinian cult and commissioned the basilica of St. Martin; his role here authenticates the miracle account.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"uirtutum palmas stomacho coniunxit anhelo","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'joined the palms of the virtues to his panting stomach' likely describes the youth clutching a written record of Martin's miracles to his body, a physical act of faith healing.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"sudor","severity":"info","text":"The miraculous sweat that leaps forth recalls similar hagiographic motifs where bodily fluids (e.g., oil, sweat) from saints' tombs effect cures; cf. Sulpicius Severus, Vita Martini.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"chartam","severity":"info","text":"The 'document' (charta) listing Martin's miracles is a key relic; its physical use in healing reflects early medieval practices of touching or ingesting sacred texts for therapeutic purposes.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'uirtutum palmas stomacho coniunxit anhelo' is ambiguous: it may mean the youth physically pressed a written list of miracles (palmae as 'trophies' or 'records') to his chest, or it could be a metaphorical expression of internalizing virtues.","The identity of 'patrono' (line 1) is unclear: it could refer to St. Martin as patron saint, or to Bishop Perpetuus as ecclesiastical patron."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"causa rei. adsistit propior clementia sancti\net culpae offensam releuat tutella fauoris. nec mora commoditas numerum praegressa dierum,\nquo saepe ignaros spes dinumerata fefellit,\nauxiliis orantis adest. nec clauditur ullis\ngratia uera locis nec uires terminus artat,\nquas deus adcumulat. propter curatio tangit,\nJ35 qua saluator adest. tam longe abiuncta sepulchro\ncellula suscepit, quod mens adtenta poposcit,\natque ipso ingressa est quo credita gratia puncto. ille aeger letumque pauens uxoris amatae\nfit medicus suadetque fidem mittendo salutem,\nposcit et ille torus, quidquid persenserat iste. est certamen opem retinere et quaerere partem. hic possessa timet dimittere, at illa probatis\nse quoque saluari festinat credula signis. si + dure inque uices ambo optant, ambo retentant,\natque haerens uni pietas succurrit utrique. grates, sancte, tibi, dum spiritus hos regit artus,\nmens et lingua canet. nunc respice cetera clemens\nmembra domus, celeris reuehens fomenta salutis,\net tibi commissam propior solare senectam,\noptata indulgens propere uel praestita seruans.","english":"The substance of the case. The mercy of the saint stands nearer, and the protection of favor lightens the offense of guilt. Without delay, the benefit outruns the number of days, by which often the counted hope deceived the unaware; the aid of the one praying is present. True grace is not confined by any places, nor does limit restrict the powers which God accumulates. The cure touches where the savior is present. So far removed from the tomb, the little cell received what the attentive mind demanded, and entered at the very moment the grace was believed. That man, fearing death and his beloved wife, becomes a physician and urges faith, sending salvation; and that bed demands whatever the other had perceived. There is a contest to retain the help and to seek a share. The one, having possession, fears to let go, but she, proven, hastens to be saved, credulous of the signs. If both desire and both hold back in turn, and piety clinging to one succors both. Thanks, O saint, to you, while the spirit rules these limbs, the mind and tongue will sing. Now look mercifully upon the other members of the house, swiftly bringing back the comforts of salvation, and console more closely the old age entrusted to you, either granting the desired quickly or preserving what has been granted.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"causa rei","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'causa rei' marks a transition from the preceding narrative to the core of the miracle account, functioning as a structural hinge.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"gratia uera","severity":"info","text":"'Gratia uera' (true grace) is a theological assertion that divine power is not spatially limited, contrasting with localized relic cults.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"cellula","severity":"info","text":"The 'cellula' (little cell) likely refers to a small oratory or shrine associated with the saint, distinct from the main tomb, emphasizing the saint's omnipresence.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"est certamen","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'est certamen' introduces a rhetorical contest between the sick man and his wife, dramatizing the tension between retaining and seeking grace.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"grates, sancte, tibi","severity":"info","text":"The direct address 'grates, sancte, tibi' shifts to a prayerful conclusion, typical of hagiographic poetry, invoking the saint's continued protection.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"si + dure inque uices","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'si + dure inque uices' is textually uncertain; the edition marks a crux. The translation 'if both desire and both hold back in turn' is conjectural.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The exact referent of 'causa rei' is ambiguous: it may mean 'the substance of the case' or 'the legal matter,' but the context favors the former.","The phrase 'si + dure inque uices' is corrupt; the reading adopted assumes a meaning of mutual hesitation."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]}]}