The Patrologia Latina · Volume IX
The Athanasius of the West
Volume 9 opens Hilary of Poitiers, the bishop exiled to Phrygia for defying an Arian emperor: his Homilies on the Psalms — nearly 300,000 words of verse-by-verse exposition — the earliest surviving Latin commentary on Matthew, and the lives later ages wrote of him, from Jerome’s notice to Venantius Fortunatus’ Life. We are translating every one into English.
About this volume
The exile who out-argued an empire
Hilary became bishop of Poitiers around 350 AD, when the courts of Constantius II were pressing the Arian settlement on the West. For refusing it he was exiled to Phrygia in 356 AD — and used the exile to master the Greek theology of the East. He returned around 360 AD with the learning that earned him the later epithet “Athanasius of the West.” This volume gathers his exegesis: the Commentary on Matthew, written before the exile and the earliest complete Latin commentary on the Gospel to survive, and the vast Homilies on the Psalms from his last years, which brought Origen’s way of reading scripture into Latin.
Around the saint stand the witnesses: Jerome’s notice from On Illustrious Men, the Life written by the poet Venantius Fortunatus in the sixth century, Peter Damian’s sermon on the translation of his relics, and the testimonies of the ancients the editors gathered. His treatise On the Trinity follows in the next volume.
As across the whole project, we translate the original works only, in fresh English, and give them away free to read.
Where to start
Three to begin with
The mountain
Homilies on the Psalms
Tractatus super Psalmos
Nearly 300,000 words of psalm-by-psalm preaching from the bishop’s last years — Origen’s exegesis speaking Latin for the first time.
Read →The first
Commentary on Matthew
In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius
The earliest complete Latin commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, written before the exile that made Hilary famous.
Read →The legend
The Life of Saint Hilary
Vita Sancti Hilarii
How the sixth century remembered him: the poet Venantius Fortunatus’ life of the saint, miracles and all.
Read →The contents
7 works
Each is a fresh English translation from the Latin, free to read online, in the order Migne printed them.
- 01
Jerome's Notice of Hilary, from On Illustrious Men Vita Sancti Hilarii
Jerome's brief entry on Hilary of Poitiers, cataloguing his exile and his writings against the Arians, on the Psalms, and on Matthew.
1 min Read free → - 02
The Life of Saint Hilary, by Venantius Fortunatus Vita Sancti Hilarii
Venantius Fortunatus's sixth-century biography of Hilary of Poitiers, recounting his exile for opposing Arianism and the miracles worked at his tomb.
30 ch. Read free → - 03
Peter Damian's Sermon on the Translation of Saint Hilary De translatione Sancti Hilarii sermo
An eleventh-century sermon on the translation of Saint Hilary's relics, recounting angels bearing his body and the miracles of his life.
7 ch. Read free → - 04
Selected Testimonies of the Ancients Concerning Saint Hilary Selecta veterum testimonia de Sancto Hilario
An editorial dossier gathering fifteen centuries of praise for Hilary of Poitiers, from Jerome and Augustine to medieval missals and epitaphs.
17 ch. Read free → - 05
Homilies on the Psalms Tractatus super Psalmos
Hilary of Poitiers unlocks the Psalms verse by verse, reading David's poetry as prophecy of Christ's incarnation, passion, and coming kingdom.
939 ch. Read free → - 06
Homilies on Psalms 15, 31, and 41 Psalmorum XV, XXXI et XLI interpretatio
Three homilies reading Psalms 15, 31, and 41 as prophecies of Christ's passion and lessons in hope under trial.
34 ch. Read free → - 07
Commentary on Matthew In Evangelium Matthaei commentarius
The earliest surviving complete Latin commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, reading Christ's nativity, teaching, and Passion as figures of the Church to come.
351 ch. Read free →
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