Paulinus of Pella

Christian poet of the fifth century; b. at Pella in Macedonia, but of a Bordelaise family. He was the son of an official, which explains his birth in Macedonia and his sojourn at Carthage while he was a child. He soon returned to Bordeaux. He was probably the grandson of the poet Ausonius. At the age of eighty-three he composed an account of his life: “Eucharisticon Deo sub ephemeridis meae textu”. His autobiography is a thanksgiving, although illness, loss of property, and dangers from invasion occupy more space in it than do days of happiness. The account is interesting, for it presents a sincere picture of the period, and the expression of exalted sentiments. Unfortunately the style and versification do not always correspond to the sincerity and the height of inspiration. The date is uncertain. The passage which apparently gives it (474 sqq.) is altered but may be between 459 and 465. The very name of the author has not been preserved by the single manuscript of the poem. We know it only through Margarin de La Bigne, the author of the “Bibliotheca Patrum” (Paris, 1579, appendix, VIII), who had handled another manuscript giving the name of Paulinus. The “Eucharisticon” was published by W. Brandes in vol. I of “Poetae Christiani minores” (1888).