ON ST. PRIMUS, IDONEUS AND COMPANIONS.
From the Martyrology of St. Jerome.
CommentaryPrimus, Martyr (S.) Idoneus, Martyr (S.) Others, perhaps sons, Martyrs.
J. B. S.
Whether these are Martyrs, the appended particle "deposition" bids us doubt. The time, fatherland, wrestling-place are nowhere made known. Whether they were companions, or whether both, or one or the other, had sons, is no more certain. This is certain, that they are unknown to all our other Martyrologies, both manuscript and printed. What for the rest could be drawn from the Hieronymian codices with any likelihood, the following will teach. The most ancient Epternach codex simply reads: The deposition of Idoneus with his sons; with which the Blume codex almost agrees. But it was already permitted to suspect a mutilation of the former in the present-day Fasti, says Florentinius, alleging two Lucca codices, from which he drew his text, which distinctly mark: And the deposition of Primus, of Idoneus with others, which is also the announcement of the Corbie codex, and which as most likely we have preferred. The note of Florentinius must be corrected, where he says that in the most ancient Antwerp codex only Primus is commemorated with sons; since in that codex neither does the name of Primus recur, in which we said it was suspected of mutilation. But how much his conjecture may avail, of blending Primus and Idoneus into the name Primidonius, we leave to others to weigh: he himself dared to change nothing, neither do we dare.