Antoninus

ON ST. ANTONINUS, MARTYR,

AT PIACENZA IN ITALY.

Antoninus or Antonius, M., at Piacenza in Italy. (S.)

BY J. C.

The holy Martyr known from the Martyrologies While treating at the XXII day of this

month the Martyrdom of the holy

Theban Martyrs, I collected in the Posthumous

Glory certain particular matters

which concern the Martyrs believed to be

of the Theban Legion, and not to be met with by name in the Roman Martyrology.

There, in the Addenda, page 915, §9, in order

to give timely warning, I said that nothing special had come to us

about St. Antoninus, patron of Piacenza, after

our Sollerius had opened his mind, volume

2 of July, page 7 and following. There, in the Commentary as a forerunner

to the days II, III and XXX of September, §2, he treats particularly

of St. Antoninus of Piacenza and inquires

who, of what sort, and of what country he was, when and where he suffered;

and he establishes this above all, that a certain St. Antoninus

or Antonius, more probably a martyr, is to be granted to the men of Piacenza. Sollerius's arguments

for this matter are beyond doubt, for he alleges most ancient

Martyrologies, in which both the Saint's name and his arena,

or the place where he was chiefly honoured, Piacenza, are inscribed

at this XXX day of September. The most ancient Hieronymian

codex of Echternach announces there: At Piacenza,

the birthday of Antonius. The Lucca codex is added: In the city

of Piacenza, of saint Anthonius. A little more distinctly the Corbie codex has

it in this manner: In the city of Piacenza, the birthday

of saint Antoninus the martyr; with which the Blume codex agrees.

[2] The Acts are unknown. To these four venerable monuments of antiquity

there are added, from the more abridged Hieronymian

Fasti, the Augsburg, Labbe and Corbie Martyrologies,

where the same holy Martyr is read announced, yet not without errors.

Usuard, who received St. Antoninus

from the Hieronymian sources, makes him a Confessor —

I know not from what cause of error. And these are the indubitable

monuments which assert St. Antoninus or Antonius

a martyr belonging to the men of Piacenza. Baronius

celebrates the Saint in these words: At Piacenza, St. Antoninus

the martyr, of the same Legion — the Theban, namely,

of which there is mention just before in the announcement of SS. Victor

and Ursus. Whence the most eminent writer received what

he adds beyond the primitive Martyrologies, Sollerius adds:

namely from the bishop of Equilio and from Maurolyco,

before whom he found it nowhere asserted that St. Antoninus was a martyr

of the Theban Legion and of St. Maurice's company;

nor do I find it either. He therefore banishes

among the fables of a more recent age both these things and whatever

very lengthy matters the modern writers of Piacenza report from monuments that are not

ancient, whom he refutes in §§5 and 6. Since I do not see

that the men of Piacenza have opposed anything to Sollerius's

arguments, having been amicably and often invited to do so, I refer the reader

thither, lest by sifting the same things again I should do

what is done.