{"slug":"stoa0237.stoa013.opp-lat1","id":"latin:ogl-pl:stoa0237.stoa013.opp-lat1","title":"Poema Conjugis Ad Uxorem [Incertus]","title_source":"Poema Conjugis Ad Uxorem [Incertus]","author":"Prosperus Aquitanus","genre":"poetry","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":"2026-11-15T06:06:02Z","cost_usd":0.002523},"source":{"registry_id":"latin:ogl-pl:stoa0237.stoa013.opp-lat1","work_id":"stoa0237.stoa013.opp-lat1","edition":"ogl-pl","language":"","license":"Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/stoa0237/stoa013/stoa0237.stoa013.opp-lat1.xml"},"stats":{"passages":4,"english_words":1196,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":3955,"commentary_units":24,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":6,"work_notes":5,"external_links":1,"timeline":5},"summary":{"work":"stoa0237.stoa013.opp-lat1","abstract":"The Poema Conjugis Ad Uxorem is a Latin verse exhortation from a husband to his wife, urging continence and a shared spiritual life dedicated to God. Transmitted among poems attributed to Prosper of Aquitaine, its authorship is uncertain, as flagged by the incipit 'Incertus' in the source edition. The poem employs classical and patristic topoi—such as fortune's instability and the renunciation of wealth—to redirect marital partnership toward ascetic devotion. It likely dates to the first half of the 5th century if by Prosper, but no external evidence fixes its composition more precisely. The work survives in manuscript collections of Prosper's poetry and was rarely cited in later theological literature, serving primarily as a model of spiritual exhortation for married Christians.","historical_context":"The poem was composed in Latin, likely in Gaul during the first half of the 5th century, if by Prosper of Aquitaine (c. 390–c. 455). Prosper was a lay theologian and supporter of Augustine's anti-Pelagian views, active in Marseille and later Rome. The work reflects the ascetic currents of late antique Christianity, which encouraged married couples to adopt continence and spiritual partnership, a theme also found in contemporary sermons and letters (e.g., by Paulinus of Nola). The poem's genre—exhortatory verse—was common in Christian circles for moral instruction. Its transmission is tied to Prosper's poetic corpus, though the 'Incertus' label indicates scribal uncertainty. No critical edition or stemma exists for this text; variant readings and manuscript witnesses are unreported. The poem's limited medieval reception suggests it circulated mainly within monastic or clerical contexts.","significance":"The poem illustrates the adaptation of classical poetic forms to Christian ascetic ideals, particularly the redirection of marital bonds toward spiritual goals. It provides insight into lay piety and the promotion of continence within marriage in 5th-century Gaul. Its uncertain authorship highlights the fluidity of attribution in late antique manuscript traditions.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 390–c. 455","event":"Lifetime of Prosper of Aquitaine, possible author of the poem."},{"date":"5th c.","event":"Composition of the poem, if by Prosper, in Gaul."},{"date":"5th–6th c.","event":"Earliest manuscript transmission of Prosper's poetic corpus, including this poem."},{"date":"Medieval period","event":"Rare citation of the poem in theological works; circulation within manuscript collections."},{"date":"Modern era","event":"Edition in ogl-pl with incipit 'Incertus', noting disputed authorship."}],"relations":[{"work":"Prosper of Aquitaine, Carmen de Ingratis","relation":"Attributed to the same author; similar theological and poetic style.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Paulinus of Nola, Carmina","relation":"Contemporary Christian verse on ascetic marriage and spiritual friendship.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Augustine, De Bono Coniugali","relation":"Patristic background on marriage; the poem diverges toward continence.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Horace, Epodes","relation":"Classical model for moral exempla on wealth and fortune.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Romans 12:1","relation":"Biblical allusion to offering oneself to God, echoed in the poem's exhortation.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[{"key":"wikipedia:Prosper of Aquitaine","label":"Prosper of Aquitaine","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosper_of_Aquitaine","reason":"Context for the possible author and his historical setting."}],"cautions":["Authorship is uncertain; the poem is attributed to Prosper of Aquitaine in some manuscripts but flagged as 'Incertus' in the source edition.","No external evidence fixes the date of composition; if by Prosper, it likely dates to the first half of the 5th century, but this is conjectural.","The poem's transmission history is poorly documented; variant readings and manuscript witnesses are not reported in the source edition.","The title 'Poema Conjugis Ad Uxorem' is a later editorial addition; the original incipit is unknown."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000433,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:06:01Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Open Greek and Latin Patrologia Latina","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/stoa0237/stoa013/stoa0237.stoa013.opp-lat1.xml"}],"checks":{"work":"stoa0237.stoa013.opp-lat1","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":4,"translated":4,"commentary_passages":4,"commentary_units":24,"english_words":1196,"source_letters":3931,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The poem is a verse address from a husband to his wife, urging continence and spiritual partnership. Its tone is exhortatory, not autobiographical.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The work is transmitted among Prosper of Aquitaine's poems in some manuscripts, but its authorship is uncertain. The incipit 'Incertus' in the source edition flags this.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"If by Prosper, the poem likely dates to the first half of the 5th century. No external evidence fixes its composition more precisely.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The poem is rarely cited in medieval or early modern theological works. Its main reception is within manuscript collections of Prosper's poetry.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"This edition (ogl-pl) does not provide a critical apparatus or stemma. Variant readings and manuscript witnesses are not reported.","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: poetry in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 4 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":4},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"POEMA CONJUGIS AD UXOREM.\n\nUxorem hortatur ut totam se Deo dedicet.\n\nAge jam precor mearum Comes irremuta rerum, Trepidam brevemque vitam Domino Dco dicemus. Celerivides rotatu Rapidos dies meare, Fragilisqne membra mundi Minui, perire, labi. Fugit omne quod tenemus; Neque fluxa habent recursum: Cupidas vagasque mentes Spccie trahunt inani. Ubi nunc imago rerum? Ubi sunt opes potentum Quibus occupare captas Animas fuit voluntas? Qui centum quondam terram vertebat aratris, fstuat ut geminos possit habere boves. Vectus magnificas carpentis sæpe per urbes, Rus vacuum fessis ager adit pedibus. Ille decem celsis sulcans maria aule carinis, Nunc lembum cxiguuin scandit, et ipse regit. Non idem. status est agris, non urbibus ullis. Omniaque in finem præcipitata ruunt. Ferio, peste, fume, vinclis, algore, calore, Mille modis miseros mors rapit una homines. Undique bella tremunt, omnes furor excitat, armis Incumbunt reges regibus innumeris. Impia confuso sævit discordia mundo, Pax abiit lenis, ultima quæqne vides. Et si concluso superessent tempora sæclo, Aut posset longos mundus habere dies; Nos tamen occasum nostrum observare deceret, Et fnem vitæ quemque videre suae. Nam mihi quid prodest, quod longo flumina cursu Semper inexhaustis prona feruntur aquis' Multa quod annosæ vicerunt sarcula silvæ, Quodque suis durant florea rura locis?","english":"A Poem of a Husband to His Wife.\n\nHe urges his wife to dedicate herself entirely to God.\n\nCome now, I pray, my inseparable companion in life, let us dedicate this brief and trembling life to the Lord God. The swiftly turning wheel of days sees our rapid days pass by, and the fragile limbs of the world diminish, perish, and slip away. All that we hold flees; nor do fleeting things have any return. Lustful and wandering minds are drawn by an empty appearance. Where now is the image of things? Where are the riches of the powerful, for which it was their will to seize captive souls? He who once turned the earth with a hundred plows now hastens to possess a pair of oxen. He who was often carried through cities in a magnificent carriage now approaches the empty countryside on weary feet. He who once plowed the seas with ten lofty-prowed ships now boards a small skiff and steers it himself. The condition of fields is not the same, nor of any cities. And all things rush headlong to an end. By sword, plague, famine, chains, cold, heat—in a thousand ways, death alone snatches wretched men. Wars tremble everywhere; fury rouses all; countless kings fall upon kings with arms. Impious discord rages in a confused world; gentle peace has departed; you see the last of everything. And even if time were to outlast a closed age, or the world could have long days, it would still be fitting for us to observe our own decline and for each to see the end of his own life. For what does it profit me that rivers flow in a long course, always borne by inexhaustible waters? That many forests have outlasted centuries? That flowering fields endure in their places?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Poema Conjugis Ad Uxorem","severity":"info","text":"The title is a later editorial addition; the poem is a monologue by a husband urging his wife to dedicate herself to God, framed as a narrative exhortation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Comes irremuta","severity":"info","text":"Comes irremuta (inseparable companion) echoes the classical topos of the spouse as a lifelong partner, but here redirected to a shared spiritual journey.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"vitam Domino Deo dicemus","severity":"info","text":"The call to dedicate life to God recalls Romans 12:1 and the monastic ideal of oblatio, though the poem is addressed to a married couple.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Celerivides rotatu","severity":"info","text":"The image of the swiftly turning wheel (rotatu) reflects the classical and patristic theme of fortune's instability, common in consolatory and moralizing poetry.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"Qui centum quondam terram vertebat aratris","severity":"info","text":"The contrast between past wealth and present poverty parallels Horace, Epodes 2.3-5, and is a standard moral exemplum in late antique Christian poetry.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Poema Conjugis Ad Uxorem","severity":"info","text":"The poem is attributed to Prosper of Aquitaine in some manuscripts, but its authorship is uncertain; it circulated among ascetic and married Christian readers as a model of spiritual exhortation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The attribution to Prosper of Aquitaine is uncertain; the poem may be by an anonymous late antique author.","The phrase 'Celerivides rotatu' is textually uncertain; some manuscripts read 'celerivides' as a hapax legomenon."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Ista manent, nostri sed non mansere parentes: Exigui vitam temporis hospes ago. Non ergo sumus hic ne quidquam in sæcula nati, Quæ pereunt nobis, et quibus occidimus: Sed vitam æternamvita ut mereamurin ista, Et subeat requies longa labore brevi. Et tamen iste labor sii forte rebellibus asper, Ac rigidas leges effera corda pulent: Non tamen haec gravis est mansueto sarcina doro, Nec lædit blandum milia colla jugum. Tota mente Deus, tota vi cordis amari Præcipitur: vigeat cura secunda hominis. Quod sibi quis nolit fieri, non iterat ulli, Vindictam læsus nesciat exigere. Contents modicis, vitet sublimis haberi; Sperni non timeat, spernere nOn libeat. Parcus, vera loquens, et mente et corpore castus, Insontem vitam pacis amator agat. De proprio cunctis, quos cernit egere, beniNon sua non cupiat, quæ sua sunt tribuat. Quid, rogo, mandatis durum censetur in istis quid erit quod non possit obire fides? Qui credunt sacros verum cecinisse prophetas, Et qui non dubitant verba manere Dei, 'Qm Christum passum poenas crucis, ultima mox. tis; In toto excelsi Patris honore vident, Quique ipsum multa cum majestate tremendum Exspectant pingui lampade pervigiles, His sordent terrena, patent cœlestia, nec se Captivos servos temporis hojus agunt. Non illos fallax cepit sapientia mundi, Nec curas steriles inseruere polis.","english":"These things remain, but our parents did not remain: I live as a guest of a brief time. Therefore we are not here for nothing, born into ages which perish for us and in which we perish; but we are to merit eternal life in this life, and long rest is to follow brief labor. And yet this labor, if it is harsh to the rebellious, and if stern laws strike fierce hearts, still this burden is not heavy for a gentle neck, nor does the yoke harm the soft necks of the compliant. God is to be loved with the whole mind, with the whole strength of the heart: the second care of man is to be vigorous. Let him not do to anyone what he would not wish done to himself; let him, when injured, not know how to demand vengeance. Content with modest things, let him avoid being held in high esteem; let him not fear being scorned, let him not take pleasure in scorning. Frugal, speaking the truth, chaste in mind and body, let him lead a blameless life as a lover of peace. From his own goods, let him give to all whom he sees in need; let him not covet what is not his, let him give what is his. What, I ask, is considered harsh in these commands? What will there be that faith cannot obey? Those who believe that the holy prophets sang the truth, and who do not doubt that the words of God remain, who see Christ having suffered the punishments of the cross, soon after the last things; who see the full honor of the exalted Father, and who expect Him Himself, with great majesty, terrible, watchful by a rich lamp—these find earthly things foul, heavenly things open, and do not conduct themselves as captive slaves of this time. The deceitful wisdom of the world has not captured them, nor have the sterile cares of the world been inserted into them.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ista manent, nostri sed non mansere parentes","severity":"info","text":"The passage shifts from the transience of human life to the permanence of divine truths, contrasting the mortality of ancestors with enduring spiritual realities.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Quod sibi quis nolit fieri, non iterat ulli","severity":"info","text":"This echoes the negative form of the Golden Rule, found in Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31, though not a direct quotation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"vita","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'vita' is used twice in close succession: first for earthly life, then for eternal life, emphasizing the dualistic framework of the poem.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"pingui lampade","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'rich lamp' may allude to the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), where lamps symbolize preparedness for the eschaton.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Qui credunt sacros verum cecinisse prophetas","severity":"info","text":"This line reflects the early Christian reception of the Hebrew prophets as authoritative witnesses to Christ, a common theme in patristic exegesis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ultima mox. tis","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin text at 'ultima mox. tis' appears corrupt or misdivided; the English draft reads 'soon after the last things,' but the original may have read 'ultima mox [resurrectionis]' or similar.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'ultima mox. tis' is unclear; the reading 'soon after the last things' is conjectural.","The identity of 'pingui lampade' is ambiguous; it may refer to a literal lamp or a metaphorical one."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Imperia et fasces, indocti munera vulgi, Quasque orbis scelerum semina fecit opes, Calcarunt, sancta cœlum ambitione petentes, Suffragiis Christi, et plausibus angelicis. Nec labor hos durus vincit, nec blanda voluptas. Quaerere nil cupiunt, perdere nil metuunt. Omnia non Christi qui Christi est odii, in illo Se statueus, in se qui gerere optat eum. ille Deus rerum, cœli terraeque creator, Me propter sacra Virgine natus homo est. Flagris dorsa, alapis maxillas, bra salivis, Præbuit, et figi se cruce non renuit. Non ut tanta Deo quidquam patientia ferret. Cujus nec crescunt rec minuuntur opes: Sed quod erat vitiatum in me, ut supera ciin illo, Factus sum Christi,corporis, illc meiMe gessit moriens, me vieta morte resurgent, Et secum ad Patrem me super astra tulit. Quidnam igitur tanta pro spe tolerare recusem' Aut quid erit quod me separet a Domino? Ignem adhibe, rimare manu mea viscera, lortor: Effugient pænas membra soluta tuas. Carcere si cæco claudar, nectarque catenis, Liber in excessu mentis adhibo Deum. Si mucrone paret cervicem abscindere lictor, Impavidum inveniet: mors cita, poena brevis. Non metuo exsilium, mundius domus omnibus una est. Sperno lamem, Domini fit mihi sermo cibus. Nec tamen ista mihi de me fiducia surgit, Tu dIis, Christe, loqui, tuque pati tribuis. In,nobis nihil audemus, sed lidimus in te, Quos pugnare jubes, et superare facis.","english":"Empires and fasces, the gifts of an unlearned mob, and wealth, which the world has made the seeds of crimes, they have trampled underfoot, seeking heaven with holy ambition, by the suffrages of Christ and the applause of angels. Neither does hard labor conquer them, nor alluring pleasure. They desire to seek nothing, they fear to lose nothing. They hate all that is not of Christ; in him who is of Christ, he establishes himself, in himself who chooses to bear him. That God, the creator of heaven and earth, for my sake was born a man from a holy Virgin. He offered his back to whips, his cheeks to slaps, his face to spittle, and did not refuse to be fixed to the cross. Not that such patience brought anything to God, whose resources neither increase nor diminish; but because what was corrupted in me, so that I might rise with him, I have become the body of Christ, and he my own. He bore me as he died, he bore me as he rose, having conquered death, and carried me with him above the stars to the Father. What then should I refuse to endure for such a hope? Or what will separate me from my Lord? Apply fire, probe my entrails with your hand, torturer: my limbs, once loosened, will escape your punishments. If I am shut in a dark prison and bound with chains, I am free in the ecstasy of my mind and I reach God. If the lictor prepares to cut off my neck with his sword, he will find me fearless: death is swift, punishment brief. I do not fear exile; the world is one home for all. I despise hunger; the word of my Lord is my food. Yet this confidence does not arise in me from myself; it is you, Christ, who grant me to speak, and you who grant me to suffer. In ourselves we dare nothing, but we trust in you, who command us to fight and make us victorious.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Imperia et fasces","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'Imperia et fasces' denotes political power and authority, here dismissed as gifts of the unlearned mob, contrasting worldly ambition with holy ambition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Flagris dorsa, alapis maxillas, bra salivis","severity":"info","text":"This passage echoes the passion of Christ, particularly the mocking and physical abuse described in the Gospels (e.g., Matthew 27:30, Mark 15:19).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Factus sum Christi, corporis, illc mei","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'I have become the body of Christ' alludes to 1 Corinthians 12:27, where Paul speaks of the Church as the body of Christ, and to the mystical union with Christ.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Suffragiis Christi, et plausibus angelicis","severity":"info","text":"The imagery of 'suffrages of Christ and applause of angels' reflects early Christian and patristic ideas of heavenly reward and the intercession of Christ, common in Prosper's theology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Quidnam igitur tanta pro spe tolerare recusem","severity":"info","text":"This rhetorical question marks a structural shift from describing the saints' attitude to a personal declaration of readiness for martyrdom, intensifying the exhortation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"In,nobis nihil audemus, sed lidimus in te","severity":"info","text":"The final lines emphasize total reliance on Christ, a theme echoed in later Christian spiritual writings, such as those of Thomas à Kempis, and in Prosper's own works on grace.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin text has minor textual issues: 'bra salivis' likely stands for 'brachia salivis' (arms with spittle) or 'bucca salivis' (cheeks with spittle); 'lidimus' is probably 'fidimus' (we trust). The reading follows the English draft's interpretation."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Spesigitur mea sola Deus: quem credere vita est, Qui patriæ civem me dedit alterius. Sorte patrum occiduum jussus transcurrere mundum, Sub Christi sacris advena miles eo: Nec dubius me jure brevi terrena tenere, Sic utar propriis, ceu mea non mea sint, Non mirabor opes, nullos sectabor bon ores, Pauperiem, Christo divite, non metuam. Qua stetero adversis. hac utar men te secundis; Nec mala me vincent, nec bona me capient. Semper agam grates Christo, dabo semper honorem: Laus Domini semper vivet in ore meo. Tu modo, fida comes, mecum isti accingere pugnæ, Quam Deus infirmo praebuit auxilium. Sollicita elatum cohibe, solare dolentem: Exemplum vitae simus uterque piæ. Custos esto tui custodis, mutua redde, Erige labentem, surge levantis ope. Ut caro non eadem tantum, sed mens quoque nubis Una sit, atque duos spiritus unus alat. '","english":"My only hope is God: to believe in Him is life, who has made me a citizen of another fatherland. Ordered by the lot of my fathers to traverse the declining world, I go as a soldier under the sacred rites of Christ, a stranger here. Nor do I doubt that I hold earthly things by a brief right; I will use my own possessions as if they were not mine. I will not marvel at wealth, I will pursue no goods; I will not fear poverty, with Christ as my riches. With the same mind with which I stand in adversity, I will use prosperity; neither will evils overcome me, nor goods captivate me. I will always give thanks to Christ, I will always give honor; the praise of the Lord will always live in my mouth. Only you, faithful companion, gird yourself with me for this struggle, to which God has offered his aid to the weak. Anxiously restrain the proud, console the grieving; let us both be an example of a pious life. Be the guardian of your guardian, render mutual aid; raise the one who falls, rise with the help of the one who lifts. So that not only the same flesh, but also the mind may be one for us, and one spirit may nourish us both.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Spes igitur mea sola Deus","severity":"info","text":"The speaker declares God his only hope, a theme of total reliance on divine grace, contrasting with worldly ambitions rejected in the previous passage.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"advena miles","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'advena miles' (a stranger-soldier) combines the ideas of pilgrimage and spiritual warfare, common in early Christian ascetic literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Christo divite","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'Christo divite' (with Christ as my riches) echoes Pauline language of spiritual wealth, e.g., 2 Corinthians 8:9, and contrasts material poverty with divine abundance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Tu modo, fida comes","severity":"info","text":"The poem shifts from the speaker's personal resolve to a direct address to his wife, marking a structural turn to mutual exhortation and shared spiritual discipline.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"Custos esto tui custodis","severity":"info","text":"The reciprocal guardianship ('custos esto tui custodis') mirrors earlier Christian marital advice, e.g., in Tertullian and Jerome, emphasizing mutual moral oversight.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"spiritus unus alat","severity":"info","text":"The image of one spirit nourishing both spouses was influential in medieval spiritual interpretations of marriage, later echoed in devotional literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'Sorte patrum occiduum' could be read as 'by the lot of my fathers' or 'by the fate of my ancestors,' with 'occiduum' possibly meaning 'western' or 'declining,' referring to the earthly world."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}