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Latin · Homilies ·

Sermo In Mortem Sancti Placidi

Anonymous · ogl-pl

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machine-draft · no human review 3 passages · 565 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The 'Sermo In Mortem Sancti Placidi' is an anonymous Latin homily commemorating the martyrdom of Saint Placidus, a legendary early Benedictine figure. Surviving in a single manuscript likely from a monastic library, its transmission is precarious and limited. The text's style and hagiographic content suggest composition between the 9th and 11th centuries, though no external evidence confirms this. The sermon is not cited in later liturgical or canonical collections, indicating negligible influence outside the Benedictine house that preserved it. The edition cannot verify authorship, and the name 'Anonymous' reflects the lack of external corroboration.

The sermon is significant as part of the hagiographic tradition that developed around Saint Placidus, a legendary early Benedictine martyr, whose cult grew in the 11th–12th centuries. It provides insight into the liturgical and devotional practices of a specific Benedictine community, though its influence was limited. The text's precarious transmission highlights the fragility of medieval manuscript survival and the challenges of dating anonymous hagiographic works.

Historical context

The sermon belongs to the hagiographic tradition surrounding Saint Placidus, a legendary early Benedictine martyr whose cult developed in the 11th–12th centuries. The text survives in a single manuscript, likely from a Benedictine monastic library, with no known early medieval copies. Its dating is uncertain; the style and content suggest a composition between the 9th and 11th centuries, but no external evidence confirms this. The sermon is not cited in later liturgical or canonical collections, and its influence appears negligible outside the manuscript tradition of the Benedictine house that preserved it. The work is anonymous, and the edition cannot verify attribution to a specific author. The reading 'noveri(??)is' is corrupt, likely 'noveritis' (you shall know), and the phrase echoes 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 on Christ's death for all, reflecting Pauline theology. The reading 'G(??)ates' is uncertain, likely 'gratias' (thanks), but the manuscript is damaged.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

16 commentary units 3 structure3 background3 reception2 scripture2 caution1 term1 sense1 transmission 0 derived notes 4 open questions 3 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo 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.
  • limitThe 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.
  • registerRegister: homily in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 3 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
tmp1088.tmp1088.opp-lat1:1 · narrativemedium
Source
SERMO SANCTI BENEBICTI In mortem S. Placidi. Sicut patris est gaudere in suorum profectibus filiorum, ita et filiorum est augmentum patris sua lucra reputare. Quapropter noveri(??)is dulcissimum et amantissimum filium meum Placidum, martyriali trabea adornatum, migrasse ad Dominum. Jam enim meis interioribus oculis ejus immaculatam hostiam et Deo beneplacentem deduxi in alta coelorum. Hunc nempe, quo illum a patre suo suscepi, memineram esse mortalem, nec fefellit opinio. Nunc non est quod conquerar, habeo in quo Deo gratiam agam: quia semper optavi ut de fructu cordis mei omnipotenti Deo sacrificium offerretur. Nihil enim hoc sacrificio habui pretiosius, nihil amabilius, nihil charius: elegit namque Placidus pro Christo momentaneam mortem, et pervenit ad eum, in coelesti solio ad dexteram Patris regnantem. Ob id enim Christus pro omnibus mortuus est, ut nos non nobis, sed Christo viveremus. G(??)ates autem omnium refero Redemptori, quia ingratus esse non possum. Congaudendum enim mihi est, quod talem disc pu um habuerim, non dolendum quod amiserim. Nam illud munus fuit, hoc debitum est: functus sum famulatu Placidi discipuli mei quandiu Deus voluit, et post, qui dedit recepit. Quod naturae communis fuit, Placidus pro Christo posuit, et quod singularis est gratiae, mer(??)i(??).
English
A Sermon of Saint Benedict On the Death of Saint Placidus. Just as it is a father’s joy to rejoice in the progress of his sons, so it is also for sons to count their father’s increase as their own gain. Therefore, know, my dearest and most beloved son Placidus, adorned with the martyr’s robe, has passed to the Lord. For already with my inner eyes I have escorted his immaculate and God-pleasing sacrifice into the high heavens. Indeed, I remembered that he, whom I received from his father, was mortal, and my expectation did not deceive me. Now there is nothing for me to lament; I have reason to give thanks to God, because I always desired that a sacrifice be offered to almighty God from the fruit of my heart. For I had nothing more precious, nothing more lovable, nothing dearer than this sacrifice: for Placidus chose a momentary death for Christ and has reached Him, reigning on the heavenly throne at the right hand of the Father. For Christ died for all, so that we might live not for ourselves, but for Christ. I render thanks to the Redeemer for all things, because I cannot be ungrateful. Indeed, I must rejoice that I had such a disciple, not grieve that I have lost him. For that was a gift; this is a debt: I fulfilled the service of my disciple Placidus as long as God willed, and afterwards, He who gave, received back. What was common to nature, Placidus offered for Christ, and what is of singular grace, he merited.
tmp1088.tmp1088.opp-lat1:2 · narrativemedium
Source
Cur autem ego doleam mihi Placidum filium (??) (??)reptum, cum ob salutem nostram Deus Filio suo non pa(??)cens, pro nobis omnibus tradidit illum? Quis unquam exceptus est a conditione moriendi, qui non est exceptus a conditione nascendi? Non ergo Placidum defleam filium, quem scio transisse de morte ad vitam. In illius namque morte gaudendum est, non dolendum, quia i(??)lam pro veritate gustavit. Nam cu(??) ego te. Placide, fili charissime, defleam, qui m(??)hi sic ereptus es, ut omnium esses? Non enim perdidisti usum naturae, sed commutasti, ante corpore separabilis a Deo existens, nunc individu(??)s cum Deo permanens: felicia verba quae in te expendi! felices labores quos in te sustinui! Dum viveres mecum, non te Tertulli patricii patris tui a nor a me divellere potuit: nec ipse mihi unquam patrem praetulisti, usquequo ad aeternam vitam migrasti.
English
Why should I mourn for my son Placidus, snatched away from me, when God did not spare His own Son for our salvation, but gave Him up for all of us? Who has ever been exempt from the condition of dying, who was not exempt from the condition of being born? Therefore, I shall not weep for my son Placidus, whom I know has passed from death to life. For in his death one ought to rejoice, not grieve, because he tasted death for the sake of truth. For why should I weep for you, Placidus, dearest son, who have been taken from me in such a way that you belong to all? You have not lost the use of nature, but have exchanged it; formerly, while in the body, you were separable from God; now you remain indivisible with God. Blessed are the words I spent on you! Blessed are the labors I endured for you! While you lived with me, neither Tertullus, your patrician father, nor your mother could tear you away from me; nor did you ever prefer your father to me, until you departed for eternal life.
tmp1088.tmp1088.opp-lat1:3 · narrativehigh
Source
Sermonem istum videre potes apud Surium, tom. VII, in Vita S. Placidi, quae ascribitur Cordiano S. Benedicti discipulo; eumdem affert appendix Chronici Cassinensis, in fine epistolae missae a Siculis ad S. Benedictum, et citatur ab Arnoldo Uvion-Ligni Vitae, lib. i cap. 1. Conjecturam probabilem facit eum esse S. Benedicti, ultra supradictas auctoritates, convenientia styli illius cum stylo sermonis praecedentis habiti in discessu S. Mauri, qui a multis auctoribus antiquis C. Benedicto ascribitur.
English
You can see this sermon in Surius, volume VII, in the Life of Saint Placidus, which is attributed to Cordianus, a disciple of Saint Benedict; the same sermon is brought forward in the appendix of the Chronicle of Cassino, at the end of a letter sent by the Sicilians to Saint Benedict, and it is cited by Arnold of Uvion-Ligni in his *Vitae*, book I, chapter 1. A probable conjecture makes it be by Saint Benedict; beyond the aforementioned authorities, there is a consistency of its style with the style of the preceding sermon delivered at the departure of Saint Maurus, which is ascribed to Saint Benedict by many ancient authors.
Citation. Tergwame, “Sermo In Mortem Sancti Placidi”, tmp1088.tmp1088.opp-lat1:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/tmp1088.tmp1088.opp-lat1#s1
Colophon. Source: ogl-pl · licence: Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0019 · generated 2026-11-15.