ON SS. QUARTUS AND MARCELLINUS, AT CAPUA IN CAMPANIA IN ITALY,
FROM THE HIERONYMIAN AND OTHER MARTYROLOGIES.
CommentaryQuartus, at Capua in Campania in Italy. (S.) Marcellinus, at Capua in Campania in Italy. (S.)
J. B.
Michael Monachus records SS. Quartus and Marcellinus among the Saints of the church of Capua, from Ferrarius in his Topography, from the Addition to the Martyrology of Ado, from the Manuscript which belonged to Caracciolo, and finally on the faith of the Martyrology of the monastery of St. John. The Appendix to the Martyrology of Ado in Domenico Giorgi has this: At Capua of Campania, of Quartus and Marcellinus: the Manuscript Martyrology of the monastery of St. John records Quartus alone, but adds to him the title of Priest, in these words in the praised Monachus: On the Nones of October, at Capua, of St. Quartus, priest. Ferrarius in his Topography on the Roman Martyrology lists their bare names, although he passes them over altogether in the Catalogues of Saints written by him: is it because, as he noted in the Topography, he found no mention of them in the Tables of the church of Capua? Nor did Michael Monachus, canon of Capua, have more to say of these Saints; so that they seem to be known even to the Capuans themselves by name alone: yet that they were once venerated with sacred honours at Capua the old martyrologies distinguished with the name of St. Jerome, in which they are seen inserted on this day, bear witness. The Lucca codex of Florentinius has this: At Capua of Campania, of Quartus and Marcellinus: so too the Corbie one in the same Florentinius; so too the Corbie one of d'Achery, volume 4 of the Spicilegium. There is confusion in that of Gellone in d'Achery, volume 13 of the Spicilegium, in which Quartus is joined with Sergius in this way: And elsewhere, of Sirgius, of Quartus. But that of Echternach, besides Quartus and Marcellinus, lists Marcellus as well: And at Capua, of Marcellus, Quartus, Marcellinus; but that this Marcellus is the companion of Apuleius, likewise commemorated today in the other Hieronymian ones, and is thus recorded here out of his proper place, appears probable to me at least. Just as much seems to be said of the Reichenau codex, given by us in volume VI of June, which agrees plainly with that of Echternach. Marcellinus, added here to Quartus, distinguishes this Quartus both from the Quartus who is usually joined with Quintus (see volume 2 of May, page 555 and following) and from Quartus, priest of Capua, who, as Bede says in his Martyrology on the 5th day of November, buried the bodies of SS. Felix and Eusebius, martyrs of Terracina, beside St. Caesarius. Florentinius, because he had read in his codex: At Capua of Campania, and had noticed that mention is made of a synod of Capua in the letter written to the Illyrians, which Holstenius published under the name of Pope Siricius, suspected that besides Capua in Italy there existed another Capua in Illyricum, where that synod was held; although he had found no such place recorded among the Geographers: but he could have spared himself both this labour and this conjecture, since it can be gathered sufficiently from Theodoret and Sozomen that the Synod of Capua was convoked in Italy; for for that reason Flavian, who had a dispute concerning the bishopric of Antioch, being summoned to Constantinople, was ordered by the emperor to go to Rome, as Theodoret writes in book 5 of his History, chapter 23, that is, into Italy: and Sozomen says in book 7, chapter XI: Therefore, that these matters might be examined, both they themselves and Gratian (others say Theodosius or Valentinian) wrote, summoning the Eastern bishops to the West. There, therefore, it was held. But from the fact that Siricius, writing to the Illyrian bishops, makes mention of the synod of Capua, it by no means follows that it was held in Illyricum.