ON ST. VINCENT, MARTYR,
AT ROME OR AT TIBUR.
From the Martyrologies.
CommentaryVincent, martyr, at Rome or at Tibur (St.)
J. B. S.
Of this holy Martyr we made mention cursorily on the preceding day, referring him hither from the Hieronymian Martyrologies, in which he is there marked, on the authority of the greater number of the others. We begin, therefore, with the announcements of those older codices, He is most well known in the Martyrologies, among which the most ancient Epternach reads thus on that day: At Rome, of Vincent: the Lucca codex: At Rome, on the Tiburtine way, at the 18th milestone, the birthday of St. Vincent, whom Notker plainly followed: the Corbie codex has: At Rome, on the Tiburtine way, at the nineteenth milestone, the birthday of St. Vincent the martyr, in which way the shorter Corbie also reads. And thus far those older codices, differing only in this, that some announce Rome more distinctly, others designate a more remote place. Among the abridged ones, the Rheinau agrees with the Epternach, as also the Reichenau, the Augsburg, the Labbean, and others, in which there is no great difficulty, since those things which were done in the vicinity are easily attributed to Rome itself. This I wonder at most, that the Saint is transferred to this day by the Little Roman and its whole progeny, and so also by today's Roman, as is most clearly established from what we said in the Observation on Usuard.
[2] but of his deeds nothing survives. There you have the announcements of the praised Little Roman, of Ado, and of Usuard collated with one another (for Florus or Bede, and therefore not Rabanus, nor even Wandelbert, made mention of him); then indeed is recorded the one monument that survives of the Saint, namely the Tiburtine church of St. Vincent, most probably, on Baronius's testimony, so called from his name, however much many believe otherwise; nor does Vincent of Porto, who is honored on May 24, seem able to be drawn back to it, much less the most celebrated martyr in Spain; nor any of the so many other of the same name, Italian or foreign, put to death by martyrdom so far off at Tibur; nor, finally, the other Roman Vincent, who with Eusebius, Pontianus, and Peregrinus was crowned on August 25. To heap up here the announcements of the more recent Martyrologists I did not think worth the trouble, where the sources are evident, from which it is most certain that the rest drew their own. Furthermore, whether he suffered beyond or short of Tibur, you would now seek in vain, since the Acts themselves, if any ever existed, have plainly perished, so that who that Martyr was, or under what tyrant he obtained the palm, must be confessed to be buried in deep oblivion.