Saint Patric

Saint Patrick's Journey into the Desert: Confessio 16-28 as Ascetic Discourse
Author(s): Stephanie Hayes-Healy

Source: Archivium Hibernicum, Vol. 59 (2005), pp. 237-259
Published by: Catholic Historical Society of Ireland
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Stephanie
Hayes-Healy
SaintPatrick'sjourneyintothedesert:
Confessio16-28 as asceticdiscourse*
withuncertainties.
Patricianscholarshipis fraught Historicalproblemsbegin
withthemostbasicinformation - thedatesof St Patrick's
lifeand his mission
- and range,forinstance,to whereand in whatmannerhe might
to Ireland1
have been trained,2how educatedhe was,3what sources he mighthave
*I would like expressmy gratitudeto Dr KatharineSimms and ProfessorI. S. Robinsonfortheirhelpful

commentson an earlyversionof thiswork,as well as to TrinityCollege Dublin,whose fundinghas made
thisresearchpossible.
1 The range of proposed dates forPatrick'sthirty-year mission in Ireland spans a centuryor more,from
c. 390 to the 490s. On the earlyend of the range,Mario Esposito,'The Patricianproblemand a possible
solution',in IrishHistoricalStudiesx, no 38 (1956),pp 131-55,suggestedthatthe saint's lifetimefellc. 350-
430. This date range has been endorsed on linguisticgroundsby JohnT. Koch, '*Cothairche,Esposito's
theory,and Neo-Celticlenition' in AlfredBammesbergerand AlfredWollman (eds), Britain400-600:
languageand history(Heidelberg,1990), pp 179-202, esp. p. 197; and Kim McCone, Towardsa relative
chronology ofancientand medievalCelticsoundchange(Maynooth,1996), p. 92. Cf. PâdraigÓ Riain,'When
and whyCothraige was firstequatedwithPatricius',in ZeitschriftfürceltischePhilologiexlix-1(1997),pp 698-
view of c. 431/2-461is based largelyupon the traditionthatSt Patrickand
711.The so-called'traditionalist'
one bishop Palladius sent to Ireland by Pope Celestine- mentionedin Prosperof Aquitaine's Chronicon
and again,withoutbeing named as Palladius,in his ContraCollatorem - were eitherone and the same, or
thatPatrickimmediatelyfollowedPalladius's failedmission. Articulationsof the latterviewbegin as early
as the seventhcentury, e.g. Muirchu,VitaPatricii1.8-9. I*1tmscentury, among the proponentsofthisdate
rangeare HeinrichZimmer,TheearlyCelticchurchin Britainand Ireland(London,1902), p. 38; J.B. Bury,
The lifeofSt Patrickand hisplace in history (London,1905, repr.1971),pp 331-4;Eoin MacNeill,St Patrick,
apostleofIreland(London,1934); R. P. C. Hanson, St Patrick, a Britishmissionary bishop(Nottingham, 1966),
esp. pp 18-19.Moderneditionsof Prosper's textsare as follows:Prosperof Aquitaine,Chronicon, Theodor
Mommsen (ed.), ChronicaMinora,Vol. I: saec. IV-VII. MGH (Berlin,1892, repr.1961); idem, Contra
Collatorem, PL 45: 1801-1834.Initiallya quite radical thesis,a late-fifth-century date forPatrick'smission
(whichis also supportedbyannal evidence)was firstproposedbyT. F. O'Rahilly,ThetwoPatricks. A lecture
on thehistory ofChristianityinfifth-centuryIreland(Dublin, 1942),whose rangeofc. 462-492 was endorsed
- with some modifications- by JamesCarney,The problemof St Patrick(Dublin, 1961),pp 14-17.Most
recently,the documentaryevidenceof the disciples of Patrick,particularly St Mochteus,has been read by
historiansto supportthis later date range; see Richard Sharpe, 'Saint Mauchteus,discipulusPatricii'in
Bammesbergerand Wollman(eds), Britain400-600, pp 85-93, whose workhas been endorsedby Michael
Herrenand ShirleyAnn Brown,Christin CelticChristianity: Britainand Irelandfromthefifthto thetenth
century(Woodbridge,2002), p. 31; David Dumville, 'St Patrickand fifth-century Irish chronology:the
saints',in David Dumvilleet al. (eds), St Patrick:a.d. 493-1993 (Woodbridge,1993), pp 51-7,esp. 55-7.Also
see Carney,ProblemofSt Patrick, pp 14-15. 2 E.g. ChristineMohrmann,The LatinofSt Patrick: fourlectures
(Dublin, 1961),p. 50, rejectsthe possibilityof a monasticbackgroundforthe saint,thoughshe assumes
significantcontactwithGaul (but not Lérins).Cf. JohnRyan,Irishmonasticism (Dublin, 1931),pp 60-67;
MichaelHerren,'Mission and monasticismin the Confessio of Patrick',in DonnchadhÓ Corrâinetal. (eds),
Sages, saints and storytellers(Maynooth,1989), pp 76-85, esp. 77; Herren and Brown, Christin Celtic
Christianity,pp 26-7, 33; Dumville,'The Floruitof St Patrick',pp 16-17;Hanson, Saint Patrick, pp 140-58;T.
M. Charles-Edwards,EarlyChristianIreland(Cambridge,2000), pp 223-5; Carney,Problemof St Patrick,
pp 72-3. 3 On Patrick's'latinity',see e.g. LudwigBieler,'The place of Saint Patrickin Latinlanguage and
in VigiliaeChristianaewi
literature', (1952),pp 65-98, esp. 73-96; Mohrmann,LatinofSt Patrick, esp. pp 21,
53-4; Hanson, St Patrick,a Britishmissionary bishop,pp 14-15.
237

ARCHIVIUM HIBERNICUM
known,4and how the chronology of his lifemighthave unfolded.5 Verifiable

evidenceforthesaintis meagre:onlytwodocuments - theConfessio and Epistola
ad Coroticum - havebeensafelyidentified as Patrick's,andhe providesverylittle
biographical detailin theseworks.6Othercontemporary documentsthatmight
relateto Patrick havenotbeenlinkedtohimconclusively;7 and thebiographical
datafoundin laterhagiography aredifficulttocorroborate.8Compounding these
problemsis thesaint'sLatin,whichis difficult in styleand vocabulary. To date,
scholarshiphas thusyieldedvigorousdebateand widelyvaryingconclusions
regarding thesaint'slifeandworks.9
The goal of the presentstudyis to increaseour knowledgeabout this
enigmaticfigureby examininghis writingsfroma thematicperspective. The
premise here is that the the
imagery, story-lines, and sometimes even the
idiosyncratic concepts and vocabulary that the saint employs, can help to
reconstruct theculturaland religiousmediumof his place and time.To date,
Patrick'sLatinhas proveddifficult tolinkdecisively toanysourcebuttheBible;10
however, the saint addressed an audience in his works- bothof whichare
written in theformof'openletters'11 - and he wouldhaveemployeda common
vocabulary and a sharedrangeofsymbols.Thusa closereadingofPatrick's texts
can helpto giveus cluesto thetraditions in whichhe was immersed, and those
that he expectedto reverberate with his readers.This discussionexplores
conceptual similarities between Patrick's Confessioand otherworksthatwould
have been widelyavailablein the ChristianWestin the fourthand fifth cen-
turies.In particular, a shortsectionof the Confessio lends itselfto thissortof
analysis.In this passage - Confessio 16-28 - both thematicand conceptual
affinitiesemerge: in short, Patrickinvokes imagesand themesthatrecallthe
monasticliterature ofthelateantiqueperiod.
4 On one end of the spectrumare Esposito,'The Patricianproblem',pp 149-50, Mohrmann,Latinof St
Patrick,p. 44, and Hanson, St Patrick,A Britishmissionary bishop,p. 14, among others,who adamantly
declarethatPatrickknewonlythe Bible; on the otheris Daniel Conneely,Theletters ofSaint Patrick:a study
of theirtheologicaldimension(Maynooth,1993), pp 25-57, whose apparatus criticusincludes numerous
comparanda. 5 There are too manytheoriesto list representative examples - virtuallyeveryone of the
workscitedabove has its own unique chronology.6 Editionsused: Patrick,Confessio. N. J.D. While (ed. &
trans.), 'LibriSancti Patricii:the Latinwritingsof St Patrick',in PRIA xxv,Sec. C (1905), pp 201-326 at
pp 235-53. Ludwig Bieler (ed.), LibriEpistolarumSancti PatriciiEpiscopi(2 vols, Dublin, 1952), I, 56-91.
English translations:White (ed. & trans.),'Libri Sancti Patricii',pp 260-74; Ludwig Bieler (trans.),The
worksofSt Patrick,St Secundinus,hymnon St Patrick(Westminster, MD, 1953),pp 21-40. Patrick,Epistolaad
Coroticum.White (ed. & trans.), 'Libri Sancti Patricii',pp 201-326 at pp 254-9. Bieler (ed.), Libri
Epistolarum, I, 91-102. English translations:White (ed. & trans.),'Libri Sancti Patricii',pp 275-9; Bieler
(trans.),WorksofSt Patrick,pp 41-7.Unless otherwisenoted,all Latinand Englishquotes are fromWhite's
editions. 7 See e.g. above n. 1 regardingProsperof Aquitaine's Chroniconand ContraCollatorem. 8 The
earliestextanthagiographicaltextsare seventh-century works:Muirchu,Vita Patricii,printedin Ludwig
Bieler (ed. and trans.),The Patriciantextsin theBookofArmagh(Dublin, 1979), pp 67-123; and Tirechân,
Collectanea,in ibid.,pp 127-67. Details such as his sojournin Auxerre(recordedin Muirchu'sVita Patricii
1.6) and/orin theislands oftheTyrrhenian Sea (fromTirechân'sCollectanea1.6,thoughtbysome to referto
Lérins)have been endorsedby some scholars,e.g. Bury,LifeofSt Patrick,p. 33-8; Ryan,Irishmonasticism,
pp 60-66; Carney,ProblemofSt Patrick,p. 72; Bieler,WorksofSt Patrick,p. 6. These facts,however,have
proveddifficult see e.g. Esposito,'The Patricianproblem',pp 149-50. 9 A shortsurveyofmodern
to verify;
Patricianscholarshipup to thelate 1940s is in LudwigBieler,Thelifeand legendofSt Patrick(Dublin,1949),
pp 11-21;more recent summaries divided by topic appear in the collectionof essays edited by David
Dumvilleetal., St Patrick:a.d. 493-1993. 10 See note4 above. 11Bieler,LibriEpistolarum II, p. 86.
238

16-28 as ascetic discourse
st Patrick's Confessio
The comparando, used in thisdiscussionarethehagiographical texts,wisdom

literature,travelogues and prescriptive texts of the late antiqueperiod.The
major sources of comparison are as follows:perhaps most importantly the Vita
Antonii,whichfromthemid-fourth century onwardservedas thequintessential
modelformonasticbehaviour;12 Jerome'sVitaMalchinand to a lesserextent,
SulpiciusSeverus'sVitaMartini.14 Threetravelogues thatrecordsojournsamong
the desertfathersalso appearfrequently here: Rufinusof Aquileia'sHistoria
Monachorum in Aegypto'^JohnCassian's Conlationes;16 and Palladius's Historia
LausiacaP In addition,essentialto thisstudyare theApophthegmata Patrum, a
collectionofthewisdomofthedesertfathers ofthefourth and fifth
centuries;18
and lastly,one of the earliestattemptsat a monasticrule in the West,John
Thesetextsrangein datefromthemid-fourth
Cassian'sInstitutes.19 century on-
ward,and reflect a movement thatwas wellunderway bySt Anthony's lifetime
(c. 250-c. 356). Atanypointupon thespectrumofproposeddatesforPatrick's
asceticismwouldhavebeena powerful
floruit, forcein theChristian world.20
12 Athanasiuswrotethe VitaAntonii(in Greek) shortlyafterthe saint's death c. 356. The survivingLatin

translationby Evagriuswas writtenc. 370; therewas an even earlierversionthatis no longerextant.For a
discussionofthetextualdates ofthe VitaAntonii,see PhilipRousseau,Ascetics, and theChurch:in
authority
theage ofJeromeand Cassian (Oxford,1978), pp 14-15,esp. n. 19. For a modern edition of the text,see
Athanasius,VitaAntonii,PG 26: 837-976 (whichalso includes Evagrius'sLatintranslationwiththe Greek
text).The Englishversionused here is, CarolinneWhite(trans.),EarlyChristianlives(London,1998), pp 3-
70, which was translatedfrom Evagrius's version (but includes chapter numbering from the PG).
13Jerome,VitaMalchiMonachiCaptivi,PL 23:53-60. This textwas writtenc. 391. 14 SulpiciusSeverus,Vita
Martini,PL 20:159-76; ed. JacquesFontaine,SulpiceSevere:viede SaintMartin,SC 133(Paris,1967), written
in c. 397. 15 Rufinus,HistoriaMonachorumin Aegypto, PL 21:387-462. This textwas based upon a Greek
originalwrittenc. 400. For the Greektextand its relationshipto Rufinus'saccount,see NormanRussell
(trans.),Thelivesofthedesert fathers:theHistoriaMonachorum in Aegypto
(Londonand Oxford,1980), pp. 6-
8, 139-55.This textwas writtenbetween400 and 410. 16 JohnCassian, Conlationes, PL 49:477-1328. This
workwas writtenbetween426 and 428. 17 Palladius, HistoriaLausiaca, ed. Dom CuthbertButler,The
Lausiac HistoryofPalladius(2 vols, Cambridge,1898 and 1904); trans.R. T. Meyer,Palladius:theLausiac
History(Westminster, MD, 1965). For the date of the text,written(in Greek) in 419/420, see ibid., p. 3;
Meyer'sintroduction, p. 7. Forthe Latinversions,see Butler,Lausiac History, I, pp 58-69. Chapterdivisions
are fromthe Englishedition;theyoriginatefromthe editionbyA. Lucot,Palladius:HistoireLausiaque (Vies
d'ascèteset des pèresdu desert).Textegrec,introduction, et traduction française,Textes et documents pour
l'étudehistoriquede Christianisme15(Paris,1912). 18 It is difficult to date the Apophthegmata. Theywere
probablywrittendown at a relatively late date - the late fifthor earlysixthcentury- but werepassed down
in oral traditionbeforethat. Editionused: Apophthegmata Patrum:alphabeticaledition,trans. Benedicta
Ward,The sayingsofthedesert fathers(London,1975). For the purposes of this study,onlythe alphabetical
collectionwas used. 19 JohnCassian, Institutes, PL 49:53-476, writtenbetween419 and 426. 20 Essential
accountsof Late Antiqueasceticmonasticismare: Derwas J.Chitty,Thedeserta city:an introduction to the
studyof Egyptianand Palestinianmonasticism underthe Christianempire(Oxford:Blackwell,1966); Philip
Rousseau, Ascetics,authority and the Church:in theage ofJeromeand Cassian (Oxford:OxfordUniversity
Press 1978); idem, Pachomius:themakingofa community infourth-century Egypt(Berkeley:Universityof
CaliforniaPress, 1985); Susanna Elm, Virginsof God: the makingof asceticismin late antiquity(Oxford:
OxfordUniversityPress, 1994); PeterBrown,The bodyand society: men,womenand sexual renunciation in
earlyChristianity (New York:Columbia University Press,1988), esp. 210-447 More concise accountscan be
foundin R. A. Markus,TheendofancientChristianity (Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity Press,1990, repr.
1998), pp 157-211;PeterBrown,Theworldoflateantiquity a.d. 150-750(London:Thames and Hudson, 1971,
repr.1997), pp 96-112.On the cult of Christian'holymen', see PeterBrown,'The rise and functionof the
Holy Man in late antiquity',Journalof Roman Studies61 (1971),pp 80-101,re-publishedin PeterBrown,
Societyand theholyin late antiquity(London,1982), pp. 103-152;also see Brown'supdate of this topic in
'The saintas exemplarin late antiquity',Representations 2 (1983),pp 1-25.
239

WhyPatrickmighthave used thesethemesis a subjectaddressedin the

conclusionof this essay,but it is important to considerthe contextof the
imagerythatthe saintemploysbeforeembarkingupon this discussion.The
is primarily
Confessio a defensivedocument:in thecourseofthework,Patrick
contendswithhis elders- his seniores
- and defendshimselfagainstaccusations
thatare now unknown,perhapsagainsthis missionor his episcopacy.21 This
shouldbe keptin mindthroughout thisessay,as itprovidesa crucialcontext
for
thesaint'sclaimstovirtue,
monasticandotherwise.
***
Confessio 16-28 containsthe most coherentnarrative passage withthe most

autobiographical detailof Patrick'sextantworks,and thus appearsto be an
important pointofemphasisin his text.This sectionbeginsabouta quarterof
thewaythrough theConfessio. Itcomprises a shortsequenceofnarrative chapters,
in whichPatrickdescribeshis lifeas a slave in Ireland,his escape,and the
eventsthatoccurredon his wayhometo Britain(Conf16-20);thentheseriesof
visionsthatledtohismission(Conf23-25);andfinally hisreturn to Irelandas a
missionary (Conf28). This segmentoftextis quitenoticeablein thecontext of
theentirework.Withtheexceptionoftheintroductory paragraphin Confessio 1
(in whichthe saintidentifies himselfand briefly refersto his enslavement),
mostof Patrick's proseup to thispointis disjointedand abstract, and includes
verylittlebiographical detail.It is thusan abruptshiftwhenhis prosebecomes
clearand descriptive,as he turnsto thetaleofhis lifeas a slaveand his escape
fromIreland.Theselinesareunlikethepreceding textbothin thelevelofdetail
Patrickgives,and also in thesequential,narrative flowofhis story.
1. Confessio
16-17:A shepherdconverted
The passagebeginswitha description of Patrick'slifeas a slave.In Confessio
1
Patrickhad alreadyrelatedlaconicdetailsofhis enslavement: he sufferedexile
fromhislandbecausehe had 'departed awayfromGod'.22Confessio 16elaborates
furtherupon this theme. Patrick
recounts thatin his captivity servedas a
he
shepherd;and in the solitudeofhis lifeas a herdsman, he foundhis lostfaith.
This passage - in its broaderstoryline as well as its details- has numerous
affinities
withlateantiquetexts.Itreads:
Patrick, 16-17:
Confessio
Now, I
after arrived
in Ireland,tendingflockswas mydailyoccupation;and
I
constantly used to prayin thedaytime.Love of God and thefearof Him
21 There are manyhypothesesof whatthe accusationsmighthave been. See forexample Bieler,Lifeand

legend,pp 67-71; idem, Worksof St Patrick,p. 86 n. 68; Carney,Problemof St Patrick,pp 95-102; D. S.
Nerney,'A studyof St Patrick'ssources',in IrishEcclesiastical
Record,Ser.bori(1949), pp 497-507 at pp 504-
5; David Dumville, 'Britishmissionaryactivityin Ireland', in Saint Patrick,ed. Dumville,pp 133-46 at
136-7; Herren and Brown,Christin CelticChristianity, pp 82-84. 22 Patrick,Conf 1-2: et Hiberionein
captiuitateadductussum,cumtotmilia hominum,secundummeritanostra,quia a Deo recessimus etpraecepta
eius noncustodiuimus.
240

increasedmoreandmore,and faithgrewandthespiritwas roused,so that

in one dayI wouldsayas manyas a hundredprayers, andatnightnearlyas
many, while I was outin thewoods and on themountain. Beforedaybreak
I used to be rousedto prayer,and I feltno hurt,whether thereweresnow,
frostorrain;norwas thereanysluggishness in me - as I nowsee,because
thenthespiritwas fervent in me.Andthereverily one nightI heardin my
sleep a voice sayingto me, 'Thou fastestwell;who artsoon to go to thy
fatherland'.2'
1.1 A shepherd's
life
The storyofPatrick's captureand his returnto God is remarkably similartothe
hagiographical account of Malchus, an asceticmonk, writtenin the latefourth
century St
by Jerome.24 Malchus, likePatrick,was a Christian,but his faithwas
flawed.Because of his lack of faith,Malchuswas capturedand enslavedby
Ishmaeliteraiders25- muchlikePatrick's enslavement as recountedin Confessio
1,
a resultofhis merita.Bothsaintsfoundtheirwaybackto Godin thesolitudeofa
herdsman'sexistence. Malchus'svitarecounts,
I was assignedthetaskoflookingafterthesheepas theygrazed,and in
comparison withmyothermisfortunes I foundthisoccupationa comfort
sawmymastersandmyfellowslaves.I feltthatI was rather
forI rarely like
theholyJacoband I remindedmyselfof Moses,bothofwhomhad once
been shepherdsin thedesert.I livedon freshcheeseand milk;I prayed
withoutceasingand sang the psalms I had learnedin the monastery.
I enjoyedmycaptivity and gavethanksto God forhis judgementbecause
I had discoveredin thedesertthemonkwhomI had beenabouttolose in
myowncountry.26
Malchus'sstoryincludesmanyofthesamebasicelementsofPatrick's tale,from
his faithlessnessand resultingenslavement,to his constantprayerin his
solitude,to his returnto faithand virtue.Bothsaintswould also escape and
sufferhungerin the desert,and were miraculouslysaved by the Lord's
providence. Perhapsthemoststriking however,
similarity, is thatforbothsaints,
theircaptivityand theirdutiesas shepherdswerethe vehiclesby whichthey
regainedtheirChristian faith.
23 Patrick,Conf.16: Sed postquamHiberionedeueneram,cotidieitaquepecorapascebam,etfrequensin die

orabam;magisac magisaccedebatamorDei ettimoripsius,etfidesaugebaturetspiritusagabatur,ut in die una
usque ad centumorationeset in noctepropesimiliter, ut etiam in siluis et montemanebam,et ante lucem
excitabarad orationem per niuempergeluperpluuiam;et nihilmali sentiebamncqueulla pigritiaeratin me,
sicutmodovideo,quia tunespiritusin meferuebat.Et ibi scilicetquadam noctein somnoaudiui uocemdicentem
mihi,Beneieiunas,citoiturusad patriamtuam. 24 Jerome,Vita Malchi,PL 23:53-60; trans.White,Early
Christianlives,pp 119-28. 25 Jerome,VitaMalchi3-4. 26 Jerome,VitaMalchi5: Traduntur mihipascendae
oves,et in malorumcomparatione hoefruorsolatio,quod dominosmeos,et conservos rariusvideo.Videbarmihi
aliquidhaberesanctiJacob,recordabarMoysi,qui et ipsiin eremoquondamfitere pastures.Vescebarrecenti
caseo
et lacté: orabamjugiter,canebam psalmos,quos in monasteriodidiceram.Delectabatme captivitasmea;
agebamqueDei judicio gratias,quod monachum,quernin patria fiieramperditurus,in eremoinveneram.
Translation
adjustedslightly.
241

Shepherdshavehelda specialplacein literature throughout theages and are

oftenimbuedwithdeep symbolism.27 Atthe mostbasic level,the shepherd's
existenceis solitaryby nature;the necessitiesof tendingflockspositionthe
shepherdat the edges of society.Giventhe shepherd'sliminalstatus,the
frequentmotifofChristianconversion and heavenly visitation
to sheep-herders
is hardlysurprising:the traditionstretchesfromthe nascence of the Old
Testament and liveson throughout theliterature ofthemiddleages. Storiesof
shepherdsalso appearfrequently in ascetictexts,foralongwiththe implicit
solitude,therigoursofa shepherd'sexistencefitwellintothepatterns ofascetic
monasticism.Some asceticliterature expressesquiteclearlythata shepherd's
lifemimickedthelifeofa solitary desertmonk.28
WhereasJeromedescribesMalchus'sisolationdirectly('I rarelysaw my
mastersand fellowslaves'),Patrick'sdescriptionof his environment in his
is moresubtle,butultimately
captivity deliversthesamemessage.Patrick writes
thathe workedandprayedinsiluisetmonte, 'in thewoodsand on themountain'.
Mountainsin Christiantexts are emblematicof solitude,29and feature
frequentlyin accountsoferemitic life.StAnthony, forexample,retreated to the
seclusionofa mountain,30 as did Jerome's Paulus,31 and fora time,St Martinof
Tours.32Many of the monks of the Historic* Monachorum and the Historia
Lausiaca inhabitedthe desertmountains;33 in the Apophthegmata Patrum-
collections -
ofasceticwisdomtexts being'on themountain'was oftenvirtually
synonymous withbeinga monk.34
Patrick'sdescriptionin siluisis slightlymore ambiguousat firstglance;
woodlandsoccurinfrequently in earlyasceticalworks,as would be expected
considering thatthemajority ofthesetextsare set in thedesertsof Egyptand
Syria.35But woodlandssignifiedsolitudein the West,where impenetrable
forestsofferedthesame sortofuninhabited landscapethatthedesertsofEgypt
providedto easternmonks.In latercenturies, westernmonastictradition would
commandeerforestsand woodlandas the characteristic 'deserts'of the West.
(This processwas completeby the timeof the foundationof Cìteaux.)John
Cassianwrotethatthewoodsnearhis homewerea placethatwould'delightthe
27 See E. R. Curtius,Europeanliterature and theLatinMiddleAges,trans.W. Trask(Princeton,1983),p. 187.

28 See forexample,Apophthegmata Patrum:alphabeticaledition,trans.BenedictaWard,The sayingsofthe
desertfathers(London,1975),An Abba of Rome 1; note the similaritiesto VitaAntonii7. 29 For a detailed
descriptionof the salubrious solitude of the mountain,see Cassian, Conlationes10.6. 30 Vita Antonii:
mentionsof Anthony'smountains,the Inner Mountainwherehe would retreatforsolitudeand the Outer
Mountainwherehe lived among othermonks as receivedvisitors,are too numerousto list. 31 Jerome,
VitaPauli 5, PL 23: 17-28,trans.White,EarlyChristianlives,pp 73-84. 32 Sulpicius Severus,VitaMartini
10.4, PL 20:159-76. 33 Rufinus,HistoriaMonachorum in Aegypto:John1;Appollonius7; Pithyrion 13.There
are even moreinstancesin the predecessorof Rufinus'swork,the anonymousGreekHistoriaMonachorum
in Aegypto:John1.6; Elias 7.1,7.3; Appollonius8.2, 8.5, 8.8; Paphnutius14.15,14.22; Pithyrion, 15.1.The
mentions of mountains in the Historia Lausiaca are too many to list. 34 Apophthegmata Patrum:
alphabetical:Arsenius 32; Macarius the Great4, 34; Sisoes 7-9, 15,28, 48, 50; Silvanus 5; Syndetica19;
Tithoes5. 35 It shouldbe notedthatthe 'desert'(Gk. eremos;Lat.eremus)in ancienttextswas nota climatic
or topographicaldesignationas it is today,but ratherreferredto uninhabitedlands. See Russell,Livesofthe
desertfathers,p. 124 n. 13,125n. 12.
242

heartof a monk'.36Isidoreof Sevillewould laterdefinethe 'desert'in his

Etymologies as an uninhabitedland, using exactlythe same wordingin
successionas does Patrick:'[Theyare] called deserts,because theyare not
cultivated,andtherefore theyarealmostdeserted, inasmuchas theyareplacesof
woods and mountains(loca silvarumet montium), the oppositesof the most
bountiful landswhichhavethemostfertile soil/37Thus Patrickdepictshimself
in a desert-like wheresolitudeis implicit,
setting, andwherehe couldfindpeace
and closenessto God.
Patrick'sdescription ofhis sixyearsas a shepherd,38livinga solitary
existence
ofprayerand work,is themostdetailedaccounthe givesofhis everyday lifein
thewholeoftheConfessio. Sincehe omitsso manydetailsregarding his history
and careerup tothepointofhis mission,one mustaskwhyhis occupationas a
shepherdandhislocationinsiluisetmonte wereconsequential enoughtorecord.
The answerlies in the resonancethattheseimageswouldhave had withhis
audience,and themostlikelysourcesforcommonimagessuchas thesearethe
storiesofasceticmonks.WhilePatrick's unique Latinstylemakesitdifficult to
prove that he had directknowledge of the storyof Malchus,he certainlyevokes
an image and a symbolicunderstanding of the shepherd'slifethatis found
frequently in asceticdiscourse.
1.2 Unceasingprayer
In describinghis lifeas a shepherdon his lonelymountaintop, Patrickrenders
thebackdrop forhis return to thefaith.
His vividdescriptionofhis prayerin the
solitudeof the wilderness not onlyparallelsthat of Malchus - who 'prayed
withoutceasing and sang the psalms[he]had learned in themonastery'39 - but
also correspondsto stories ofthe fathers.
desert Patrickwrites,
. . . constantlyI used to prayin thedaytime in one dayI wouldsayas
many as a hundred prayers,andatnightnearlyas many,whileI was outin
thewoodsand on themountainside.40
36 Cassian, Conlationes24.1;trans.E. C. S. Gibson, TheworksofJohnCassian,in Philip SchaffandHenry

Wace (eds), Nicene and post-Nicenefathers11:SulpitiusSeverus,VincentofLerins,JohnCassian (Peabody,
MA, 1894, repr.1999), pp 163-621 at pp 293-545. 37 Isidore of Seville, Etymologiae, bk 14: De terraet
partihus,ch 8: De montibus, caeterisqueterraevocabulis,sec 31;PL 82: 73-728, at 524A: Desertavocata,quia
nonseruntur, etideoquasi deseruntur,ut suntloca silvarumet montium, contrariauberrimarum terrarum, quae
suntuberrimae glebae. 38 The 'six years'are in Conf.17.This numbercorrespondswithPatrick'stendencyto
use multiplesofthreein his text,i.e., Patrickfollowsconventionin his tendencyto use multiplesofthree(3
days,6 years,30 years,12 perils),seven (28 days,fourteenth day) or ten (10 days,100 prayers,200 miles,
thousands of men). See Susanna Elm, Virginsof God: the makingof asceticismin late antiquity(Oxford,
1994), p. 315n. 8, on Palladius's HistoriaLausiaca; P. Devos, 'Les nombresdans YHistoriaMonachorumin
Aegypto', in AnalectaBollandianaxcii (1974),pp 97-108. However,it also mayhave had more significance,
especiallyin an asceticmilieu. Accordingto the book of Deuteronomy,Moses livedas a slave in Egyptfor
six years (Deut 15.12-15).It followsthat Patrick'ssix yearsof slaverymightbe an oblique comparisonto
Moses as well as a referenceto Egypt,the home of so many of the desertfathers.Rufinusof Aquileia,
Apologiaein sanctumHieronymum 2.12, PL 21:541-624,sojourned in Egyptforsix years; one wondersif,
because ofthe Mosaic paradigm,sixyearsmighthave been a standardperiodforan asceticwithdrawalinto
the desert. 39 Jerome,Vita Malchi 5: orabamjugiter,canebampsalmos,quos in monasteriodidiceram.
40 Patrick,Conf 16: Jrequensin die orabam. . . ut in die una usque ad centumorationeset in node prope
ut etiamin siluiset montenebam.
similiter,
243

In the HistoriaMonachorum, a storyofthemonkAppolloniusoffers

a vignette
verysimilarin itsdetailto Patrick's
account:
In thisplace therewas a certaincave nearthedesertwherehe beganto
live,offeringhis prayerson bendedkneedayand nightwithout a
ceasing,
hundredofthembyday (so theysaid) and thesame numberat night.. . . 41
Patrick'sdepiction ofhisconstant a hundredbydayandnearlythesame

prayers,
bynight,impliessomesortofmonasticdiscipline:unceasing,solitary prayeris a
frequenttoposin ascetictexts.42As JohnCassian testifies, ceaseless prayer
counteracts vice;constantsupplications
bothsilentand spokenprotectthemonk
fromthedevil'sattacks, and cleansehimofpastsins.43
EventhetimingofPatrick's providesa compelling
prayers congruence. In his
emphasisof his pre-dawnprayers- 'beforedaybreakI used to be rousedto
prayer'44 - he portraysa practiceverymuchlikethatof the asceticmonksof
Egypt.Cassiandescribesthatpre-dawn prayerswerea regularcustomin Egypt,
and relatesthispracticeto theearnestzeal ofthedesertmonks.45 According to
Cassian these morningdevotionswere a means to avoid the vices of
sluggishness or torpor, - twomoreconcepts
and to encouragespiritualfervour
thatalso appearin Patrick's ofhis growing
expression virtue.46
Patrick'sinclusionof unceasingprayerand pre-dawndevotionshere both
pointto a familiaritywithmonasticpractices,and potentially with
a familiarity
thewritings ofCassianor othersimilarsources.In thelateantiqueWestthere
was in intensefascination withthe monksof Egypt,and textsthatdescribed
theirlives were immenselypopular fromthe late fourthcenturyonward.
Cassianprovidedjust one such account,buttherewerenumerousothersthat
thesaintcouldhaveknown.
1.3 Subjugationoftheflesh
Patrickalso depictshis increasingdetachment fromthesensesofhis body;his
regime of constantprayer had subdued his flesh thathe did not
so completely
evensense his immediateenvironment - again,a frequentascetictheme,and
an important goalforan asceticmonk.
I used to be rousedto prayer,
Beforedaybreak and I feltno hurt,whether
thereweresnow,frostorrain 47
41 Myitalics.Rufinus,HistoriaMonachorum 7: Fuitautemin locisUlisspeluncaquaedameremovicina,in qua

habitarecoepit,indesinenterdie ac node orationibusvacans,easque centum(ut aiebant)per diem,totidemque
noctistemporecurvansgenua consignabatDeo. 42 Vita Antonii3, 5, 7; Palladius, HistoriaLausiaca 20;
Cassian, Conlationes10.10,11;Apophthegmata Patrum:Alphabetical: Arsenius 2, 28, Apollo 2, Benjamin 4,
Epiphanius 7, Theodora 3, Isidore 4, Isaac the Theban 2, Lucius 1, Macarius of Alexandria 3. See
discussions in M. J. Marx, 'Incessant prayerin the Vita Antonii',in Studia Anselmianaxxxviii(1956),
pp 108-35;KallistosWare,'"Praywithoutceasing":theideal ofcontinualprayerin Easternmonasticism',in
EasternChurchesReviewii, no 3 (1969), pp 253-61. 43 Cassian, Conlationes10.10. 44 Patrick,Conf.16: ante
lucemexcitabarad orationem. 45 JohnCassian, Institutes 3.5, PL 49:129-35; cf. ibid. 2.12-13. 46 Patrick,
Conf.16: ncqueulla pigritiaerat in me,sicutmodovideo,quia tunespiritusin meferuebat.See discussion in
section1.4 below. 47 Patrick,Conf.16: antelucemexcitabarad orationem per niuempergeluperpluuiamet
nihilmalisentiebam.
244

In theApophthegmataPatrum and theHistoriaLausiaca,descriptions

ofvirtuous
monksdepicta similardetachment fromthe effectsof extremeweather.The
second of these examplesis remarkablysimilarin its wordingto Patrick's
account.In the Apophthegmata,the Abba Macariusthe Greatquestionstwo
whomhe meetsin thedeepdesert:
asceticfathers
I asked[themonks],'Whenwintercomesare younotfrozen?Andwhen
theheatcomesdo notyourbodiesburn?'Theysaid, 'It is God who has
madethislifeforus. We do notfreezein winter,
and thesummerdoes us
no harm.'48
Palladiusdescribesa virtuousasceticwhomhe had meton his travels
Similarly,
through HolyLand:
the
Therehe wouldstand,singingpsalmsandpraying,
andevenifitsnowed
or
or
rained, there
was a he
frost, remainedunshaken.49
These monkswere exemplarsof the suppressionof the flesh,theirsuccess
gaugedbythefactthattheweatherhadno effect uponthem.50 Thiswas a signof
great virtuein an ascetic. The depiction of Patrick'sconstant devotion,
undauntedbyharshconditions, casthis growing virtuein theascetictermsofa
physicaltoleranceoffleshly
suffering,and an imperviousness to theharshness
oftheworldaroundhim.Patrick had triumphed overtheflesh.
Patrum:alphabetical,Macarius 2. 49 Palladius,HistoriaLausiaca, Adolius 43.2 (Butler,

48 Apophthegmata
LausiacHistoryII, p. 130);cf.Cassian,Conlationes 1.2. 50 ThisEnglishversionis translated from
directly
theGreek; itcomesfrom theso-called G textoftheHistoria first
Lausiaca, published ina modern editionby
Butler.According to scholars, G is theoldesttext,andwastranslated intoLatinat a veryearlydate.(The
quotealsoappearsin shortened formin therecension printedin Migne'sPG,whichButler givessiglum
B). Fora detailedanalysisofthework'stextual see Butler,
tradition, LausiacHistory, I. A survivingLatin
translationofthispassage(Butler's 'LatinI', printed
underthetitleParadisus
Heradidisin PL74:243-342,
at 316) reads, ille. . . startsin eo loco. . . psallendoet orandopernoctare et sivesub nimbis,sivesub
consueverat,
seupruinis;
pluviis immobilis
permanebat.Theexactwordsin thisLatinversion aredifferent fromPatrick's;
indeed,therewerenumerous termsin Latinas in Greekforevery manner ofweather condition. Butthese
trioofwordsaresimilarenough- particularly whenthenearly identical contexts ofconstant prayerand
overnightvigilsaretakenintoaccount - thattheymayindicate somecommon ground, whether thatmeans
Patrickhadaccesstoan alternate translation
oftheHistoria Lausiacathatreadnix(similar in itsgenitive
stemniv-totheGreekcognate geluandpluviarather
vtcpcc), thannimbus, pruinisandpluviabutis nolonger
extant,or if 'rain,snowand frost'was simplya commonly used phraseto expressintolerable cold.
However, becauseofthecomplexities ofthiswork'stextual tradition
itis difficult
toascertainwhether this
Latintranslation is original.
A numberoflacunaein theoriginalLatinwerefilledin to complete this
andthusthisquotation
edition, couldpossiblybe a modern interpolationfroma Greektext.Moreresearch
on theextantLatinMSs wouldneedto be doneto fullyinvestigate this.Another intriguing similarity
appearsin theLatinrendition byCassiodorus (c. 490-c. 583)ofTheodoret's (c. 393-c.457) Ecclesiastical
whichrecounts
history, theemperor Valens'spersecution ofCatholicChristians thus:Mistantummodo tune
princeps[i.e. Valens] eratinimicusqui apostolicamdoctrinam et eos primumquidema
praedicarevidebantur;
hymnislaudantesDeum, et divinisMie
sacrisbasilicisfecitexpelli.. . . Cumque in montesacra celebrarent,
eloquiis perfruentes; licet aeris adversitatemsaepius sustinerent,
aliquando pluviis, aliquando nivibus,
aliquando gelu,frequenter ignisardoremacerati,nequein hujusmodilocislaudibusdiviniseosfruipermisit,
sed
missismilitibuseflugavit.Cassiodorus, Historia Ecclesiastica8.3, PL 69:1112,from Theodoret, Historia
4.21/2,PG 82:881-1280at 1183-4.
Ecclesiastica
245

1.4 Thebattleagainstpigritia
Withhis constantdevotionsenumerated and his growingdetachment fromthe
senses of the bodythus described,Patrickthendeclares,'nor was thereany
sluggishnessin me' - in Latin,nequeullapigritiaeratin me}1The conceptof
pigritiais of interesthere. In late antiqueand earlymedievaltexts,theword
pigritiadenotes'sloth',or'laziness',oras Whitehas translatedit,'sluggishness'.52
Its placementin Patrick'sstreamoflogic,however, showsits significancein a
monasticand asceticmilieu.
Monks,especiallysolitaries,were thoughtto be afflictedby theirown
particularvice: in modern Englishwe mightbest translateit as 'torpor',
'laziness',or perhaps'boredom';in Greekit was called a^nSicc.53This vice
attacksthemonkand turnshis attention awayfromGod.The bilingualCassian
calls theviceaccedia- a phoneticLatinversionoftheoriginalGreek- and he
listsit in the Institutes, his guideformonasticbehaviour, as one of the eight
principalvices.54He describestheviceas follows:
Oursixthcombatis withwhattheGreekscallannota,whichwe mayterm
wearinessor distressof the heart.This is akin to dejection,and is
especially
trying to solitaries,
and a dangerousandfrequent foetodwellers
in thedesert.. . .55
When the Institutes were reproducedby otherwesternauthors,Cassian's
grecismswereoftenreplacedwithmorefamiliarLatinterms.Forexample,in
one of the earliestextantparaphrasesof the work,by Eucheriusof Lyons(a
monkassociatedwiththe asceticcentreof Lérins,d. 449), the list of vices
followsCassian'sorderbutuses different
wording:
English Transi. John Cassian, Institutes5.156 Eucherius of Lyons, Epitome
ofthe Worksof Cassian 2.1s7
1) Gluttony 1) gastrimargia,quae interpretatur 1) edacitate
gulaeconcupiscentia
2) Fornication 2) fornicatone 2) fornicatione
3) Avarice 3) philargyria,quodintellegitur 3) avaritia
avaritia,velutproprius
exprimatur, amorpecuniae
4) Anger 4) ira 4) ira
5) Dejection 5) tristitia 5) tristitia
6) Torpor 6) accedia, quodestanxietas 6) pigritia
sivetaediumcordis
7) Vainglory 7) cenodoxia,quodsonat 7) vana gloria
vana seu inanisGloria
8) Pride 8) superbia 8) superbia
51 Patrick,Conf.16. 52 CharltonT. Lewis and Charles Short,A Latindictionary (Oxford,1879,repr.1998),

p. 1376. Similarwords given by Lewis and Shortare: desidia,socordia,intertia,segnities. 53 Defined in
G. W. H. Lampe etal. (eds), Patristic
Greeklexicon(Oxford,1962-), 62, as 'listlessness,torpor,boredom'.For
briefnotes on the termsee Meyer,Lausiac History, p. 170 n. 37; p. 174 n. 72. 54 Cassian introducedto the
Westthedoctrineofeightvices (laterto be pareddownto the sevencapitalsins). EvagriusPonticuswas the
first'literarywitnessto the eightlogismoiin his Antirrheticae, but even he was probablyrepeatinga pre-
existingidea, possiblyfromthewritingsofOrigen.See Meyer,Lausiac History, p. 201 n. 351.Fora summary
246

Whereas Cassian uses Greek loan-words(gastrimargia, philargyria,accedia,

cenodoxia)in his version,and thenexplainstheirmeanings,Eucheriusin his
shortenedtextreplacesthe Greekloan-wordswith Latinterms.Eucherius's
LatinatetermforCassian's accediais pigritia.
In thecontextof Patrick'sConfessio, therefore,pigritiadenotesmorethana
simplestateof 'sluggishness'or 'boredom'.We mayreasonably inferfromthe
saint'sclaimof 'neitherwas thereanypigritia in me' placedimmediately after
his descriptionofhis isolation,thatlikeEucherius,he uses thetermto denote
thetorporthatimperilled thesolitarymonk.Patrick positionstheseconceptsin
sequentialorderto illustratea cause-and-effect relationship:firsthe listshis
dailylabourand constantprayer, and shortlythereafter statesnequeultapigritia
in me.This sequence of conceptsrevealsPatrick'sawarenessof pigritiaas a
dangerto himin his seclusion,and his graspoftheappropriate remedyforthe
vice.He thusdeclareshisvictory overtheperilsthatthreatened himas a solitary.58
Furthermore, Patrick'scharacterisationof his dailyregimereconcileswith
therecognised remedyforaccedia/ The curewas simple.Idlenessexacer-
pigritia.
batedaccedia;constant prayerandmanuallabouralleviated it.Manyascetictexts
testifyto thisbelief.In the HistoriaLausiaca,forexample,recountsthatwhen
the hermitessAlexandrawas asked, 'How do you persevere,never seeing
anyone,butbattling againstweariness(accedia)?* she answered,
FromearlydawntotheninthhourI prayfromhourtohourwhilespinning
flax.TherestofthetimeI go overin mymindtheholypatriarchs, prophets,
apostlesand martyrs.Then I eat mycrustsand waitpatiently the other
hoursformyendwithgoodhope.59
Similarly,in theApophthegmataPatrum, whenthearchetypal asceticStAnthony
is besetby accediain the desert,God sends an angelto help him. The angel
prescribes a programme ofprayerand manuallabour,saying,'Do thisand you
willbe saved.'60JohnCassian'sextensive aboutaccediaalso dictatea
reflections
similarregimeofworkand prayer.61
54 (cont'd) of the evolutionof this concept,see Aimé Solignac, 'Péchés capitaux',in Marcel Villeret al.
(eds), Dictionairede spiritualité
(17vols, Paris,1932-1995),xii,pp 853-62. Forthe connectionto Origen,see
Irénée Hausherr,Torignie de la théorieorientaledes huitpéchés capitaux',in OrientaliaChristianaxxx,no
86 (1933),pp 164-75. 55 Cassian, Institutes 10.1Sextumnobiscertamen est,quad Graecia-rcäßavocant,quam
nos taediumsiveanxietatemcordispossumusnuncupare.Affinis haec tristitiae
est,et vagismaximeac solitariis
magis experta,et in eremo commorantibus infestiorhostisac frequens Cf. Apophthegmata Patrum:
Alphabetical,Theodora 3. 56 Cassian, Institutes 5.1: '. . . . first,Gluttonyor the pleasures of the palate;
secondly,Fornication;thirdly, Covetousness,whichmeans Avarice,or as it maymoreproperlybe called,the
love ofmoney;fourthly, Anger;fifthly,Dejection;sixthly, 'Accidie',whichis heavinessor wearinessofheart,
seventhly, cenodoxiawhich means foolishor vain glory;eighthly,pride.' . . . primumgastrimargiae, quae
interpretaturgulae concupiscentia,secundum fornicationis, tertium philargyriae, avaritia,velut
quod intellegitur
propriusexprimatur, amorpecuniae,quartumirae, quintumtristitiae, sextumacediae, quod est anxietassive
taediumcordis,septimumcenodoxiae,quod sonatvana seu inanis Gloria,octavumsuperbiae. 57 Eucherius,
EpitomesOperumCassianiad CastoremAptensem 2.1,PL 50:867-893 at 877. 58 AnotherhintthatPatrick
mighthave knownthe list of eightvices comes in Epistola9, wherehe declaims,Auaritiamortalecrimen.
Cf. Salvianus of Marseilles,Ad ecclesiamadversusavaritiam2.11,PL 53:173-238at 201A. Salvianus was a
fifth-century ascetic who studied under Honoratus of Lérins. 59 Palladius, Historia Lausiaca 5.2.
60 Apophthegmata Patrum:alphabetical, Anthony1. 61 Cassian, Institutes 2.12,2.13,2.14 (on the benefitsof
prayercombinedwithmanual labour);10.10(on accedia,causes, effects, remedies,etc.).
247

threatto Patrickin his solitude

As definedin asceticdiscourse,thegreatest
on his mountainwouldhavebeenaccedia.Buthis imitation ofa rigorousascetic
regime- prayerbydayandbynight,combinedwithmanualworkas a shepherd
- helped him to remain immune to the harmfuleffectsof this vice.
Furthermore,byreferencetothisvicethatplaguessolitary
monks,Patrick cloaks
himselfin thetradition
ofthedevoutanchorite- themostperfect ofmonks.62
1.5 Fastingand prophecy

To completePatrick'sportraitof virtuousdevotion,Patrickadds two more
hallmarks ofasceticdiscipline- fastingandvisions.In Confessio 17,Patrickcon-
tinueshis story witha voicethatspeakstohimas he sleeps,saying,'Thoufastest
well,whoartsoontogo tothyfatherland.'63
Fastingwas inextricably linkedto asceticlife:it was one of theemblematic
practicesof the desert monks. As theApophthegmata Patrumexpress,'Fastingis
a checkagainstsin forthemonk.'64Different degreesofausterity areendorsed
in the variousascetictexts,but fasting,followingthe examplesof biblical
exemplarssuch as Moses and Elijah in the desert,was a constantin ascetic
discourse.65
Thevoice'sdeclaration, beneieiunas- 'youfastwell',or'itis wellthatyoufast'
- expressesdivineapprovalofPatrick's devotions. Thispraiseis mademanifest
immediately thereafter,as the voice continues, '[you]who artsoon to go to thy
fatherland.'This demonstratesyet anotheraspect of desert wisdom: the
connectionbetweenfastingand prophecy. The arrangement of this sentence
well',
('fasting and then an accurate revelation of futureevents by a divine
source) emphasises the connection. Patrickis told that he will reach his
homeland, and is givendirections ofhow he willget there.
Christian traditionfollowed ancientphilosophical precepts- as wellas Judaic
customs- in advocating to
fasting promotespiritual clarity:
fastingwas believed
to purifythe mind to the extentthatit could receivevisionsfromGod.66
Accordingly, in ascetic literaturefastingand bodilyausteritiesfrequently
resultedin visions,whichveryoftenforetold thefuture.67 In ascetictexts,the
of and
gift prophecy clairvoyance was bestowed upon monks ofgreatfaithand
virtue.Thissequenceofeventsin theConfessio, therefore, confirms thepurityof
62 Cassian, Conlationes,Preface,PL 49:4798; Preface to part III, PL 49H089A; 18.4, PL 49:io94A.

63 Patrick,Conf.17: Bene ieiunas cito iturusad patriamtuam. 64 Apophthegmata Patrum:alphabetical,
Hyperachios2. 65 See, e.g., VitaAntonii5, 7, fora representative example.Instancesof fastingin ascetic
discourseare too numerousto list.Fordiscussionssee HerbertMusurillo,'The problemofasceticalfasting
in theGreekpatristicwriters',in Traditioxii (1956),pp 1-64; RudolphArbesmann,'Fastingand prophecyin
pagan and Christianantiquity',in Traditiovii (1949-1951),pp 1-71. 66 For the classical and neoclassical
influencesin patristicwritings,see Musurillo,'The problemof asceticalfasting7, pp 11-17;c^-Arbesmann,
'Fasting and prophecy',pp 6-32, esp. 29-32. For Judaic background see Arbesmann, 'Fasting and
prophecy',pp 41-2. 67 Fora shortdiscussionofclairvoyancein tales ofdesertmonks,see BenedictaWard,
'Introduction'in Russell, Livesofthedesertfathers,p. 40. For a generalintroductionto the topic of ascetic
visions, especiallyas the West took on the monastictraditionsof the East, see Isabel Moreira,Dreams,
visionsand spiritualauthorityin Merovingian Gaul (Cornell,2000), pp 39-75.
248

ST PATRICK S ConfeSSlO IO-2Ö AS ASCETIC DISCOURSE
Patrick's as he is rewarded
devotions, withknowledge
forhis virtuousfasting of
hisfuture.68
1.6 Asceticconversion
Patrick'sstoryof his returnto God in his captivity includessolitude,manual
labour,unceasingprayer, detachment fromthesenses,triumphovertheviceof
accedia/pigritia,
fasting,and prophecy. His turnto Godmightwellbe considered
an asceticconversion. Patrickdid not simplyfindGod and becomea Christian;
he depictsa rigorousdisciplineand a wayof lifethatmimicsthe modelsof
asceticmonks.A shorttimethereafter, thesaintrefersbackto his captivity,
and
in
describes,'I remained deathand unbeliefin until I had been chastened
exceedingly, and humbledin truthbyhungerand nakedness,and thatdaily.'69
Againhis vocabulary - castigatus
sum,humiliatus sum- in itselfsuggestsascetic
tenets.His emphasis that his hunger and nakedness weresuffered on a daily
- -
basis cotidie also impliesa monasticregime.
Patrick'sdailyfamesetnuditasarealso reminiscent ofthesecondlettertothe
Corinthians, in whichSt Paulrendershis great trials
'in labourandtoil,in many
vigils,in hungerand thirst, in
in manyfasts, coldand nakedness.'70 This exact
passagewas oftenused to describeasceticdevotions in bothEastandWest;71 the
quotidiansuffering of hungerand exposureto the elements,as we have seen
above,was a commonplace in deserttales.72
Patrick bothimplicitly and explicitlydescribeshis experiencein captivity
as a
conversion;73 all ofthequintessentially monasticthemeshe has employedmay
reasonablysuggestthathe wishedto depicthis fatefulexperiencesin siluiset
monte afterthemodelofasceticmonks.
19-20: The journeyintothedesert

2. Confessio
narrative
Patrick's thesaintescaped,ranforthecoast
continues:as instructed,
and,as thevoicehad promised,securedtransportationawayfromIreland.He
sailedawaywitha groupof pagansand landedafterthreedays.74Whenthey
whichwereministered
45:'I shallnotbe silentnorconcealthesignsandwonders
68 Alsocf.Conf. tome
bythe Lordmanyyearsbeforetheycame to pass', egononsilebonequeabscondosignaetmirabiliaquae minia
Dominoministrata suntante multosannos quamfuerunt. 69 Patrick,Conf.27: in morteet in incredulitate
mansidoneeualdecastigatussum,etin ueritatehumiliates suma fameetnuditateetcotidie. 70 2 Cor 11.27:in
laboreet aerumna/ in vigilismultis/ infame et siti/ in ieiuniismultis/ infrigoreet nuditate 71 See e.g.
Eucherius,EpitomesOperumCassiani 3.3; Sulpicius Severus,Epistola2, PL 20:178-180; Cassian, Institutes
7.16; Cassian, Conlationes24.23; Hilary of Aries, Sermode Vita Honorati2.10, 4.18, ed. Marie-Denise
Valentin,Hilaire d'Arles:vie de Saint Honorât,SC 235 (Paris, 1977); Apophthegmata Patrum:alphabetical,
AnthonytheGreat33,Bessarion 12,John theDwarf34. 72 References tonudityindeserttexts,whilethey
sometimes toa shameful
refer condition,alsoexpress a monk'shumility andrenunciation oftheworld.On
as a shameful
nudity condition,see VitaAntonii47,Apophthegmata Patrum:alphabetical,Dioscuros
3,John
theDwarf15.On nudity as renunciation,see Cassian,Institutes
7.28,4.36,4.43;Apophthegmata Patrum:
MacariustheGreat2. 73 E.g.,Patrick,
alphabetical, Conf1,27; also,ifwe followEsposito'stranslation,
Conf28 (seeEsposito,'Thepatricianproblem', Conf18.Thescenein thissectiondoes
p. 151).74 Patrick,
tothisargument
notaddsubstantially andso hasonlybeenparaphrased here.However, itshouldbe noted
thatthispassageis reminiscent
briefly ofa chapter in Rufinus'
HistoriaMonachorum 10.
249

- thedesert- wherehe would

reachedland,Patrickventuredintothedisertus
journeyfortwenty-eight
days.75
2.1 Ajourney intothedesert
The saint'sreference to a deserthas caused muchcommentamongscholars,
some ofwhomhaveinterpreted thetermas a geographicdescriptor and have
used it to postulatethe itinerary of Patrick'sjourney.76 Giventhe narrative
framework thatPatrickbuiltin theforegoing passage,I thinkitmoreplausible
to considerhis desertjourneyas thewithdrawal ofan ascetic,in thetraditionof
StAnthony or St Martin,orthemanydesertfathers introduced to theChristian
Westbythetravelogues of Cassian,Rufinus,Palladiusand others.Forin this
two
desert, plot lines emergewhichare again staplesof asceticliterature: God
provides miraculous food, and Patrick is attacked
by the devil.In thispassage
thesaint'sfaithand spiritualstrength aretested:and foran ascetictherecould
be no moreappropriate settingforthesetrials.The desertwas wheredemons
livedand thedevilranfree;itwas theplacewherethevirtueoftheasceticmonk
was tried.
2.2 Miraculous food
Patrickfirst recountsthatthetravellingbandrunsoutoffood;theycalluponthe
saintto help them.He urgesthemto prayto the ChristianGod; thereupona
herdofpigsmiraculously appearforthemtoeat.He laterrecountsthatGodhad
provided'foodand fireand dryquarterseveryday'.77Miraclesoffoodandwater
appearingin the desertoccurfrequently in the storiesof the desertfathers.78
This is, however, a strangepassagein one respect- a majorpointof scholarly
contention is overthefactthatPatrickdoes notdepicthimselfeating,and he
seemstoemphasisethatthey - his companions- did.79He also does noteatany
ofthewildhoneythathis companionshad found,and so fromwhatwe can tell
fromhiswords,his fasting, as alreadyestablished 16,has continued.
in Confessio
Thisfitswithinan ascetictheme,as thissegmentis immediately followedbythe
saint'sbattlewiththedevil.
Patrick had enteredthetraditionalsetting wheremonksweretestedbydevils
and demons;itwouldhavebeenhighlyirregular forhimto discontinue fasting
75 Patrick,Conf.19; ibid. 22. Some doubthas been cast upon the authenticity ofthe passages addressedin
this section. R. Weijenborg,'Deux sources grecques de la «Confession de Patrice»',in Revued'Histoire
Ecclésiastiquebrii(1967), pp 361-78, argued thatthe desertpassages have been added by a laterredactor.
To date Weijenborg'sopinion has been largelyignored. I do not findthe argumentcompellingthatan
affinitywithGreeksources indicatesan interpolatedtext;however,Weijenborg'sidentification of potential
Greekinfluencesin Patrick'sworkis indeed interestingin the contextof the presentstudy. 76 See for
exampleP. Grosjean,'Reviewof Patriciana', in AnalectaBollandianaliv (1936),pp 196-9; Bury,ThelifeofSt
Patrick,p. 32; E. A. Thompson,'A note on St Patrickin Gaul', in Hennathenaborix(1952),pp 22-9; Bieler,
WorksofSt Patrick, pp 20-22. See in contrast,Carney,ProblemofSt Patrick,
p. 83 n. 48; MacNeill,St Patrick,
pp 65-83; Thompson, Whowas St Patrick?,pp 30-4. 77 Patrick,Conf.22. 78 e.g. Jerome,Vita Pauli 10;
Sulpicius Severus,Dialogues1.11;Palladius,HistoriaLausiaca 51,71; Rufinus,HistoriaMonachorum 1,2, 7, 11;
Russell,Livesofthedesert fathers1.47-53,2-9»8.5-6, 39-41,44-47, 10.8,11.5,12.4,14,15. 79 Patrick,Conf19.
'Etiam in itinerepraeuiditnobiscibumet ignemet siccitatemcotidiedoneedecimodie pervenimus homines.'
Carney,Problemof St Patrick,p. 79, makes note of Patrick'sshiftingidentifications of 'we' versus 'they',
thoughhe thinksit implicitthatPatrickate themeat.
250

at this pointin his narrative.Fastingwas believedto strengthen the monk

againstdemonicattacks.80 Cassianrecounts, forexample,thatSt Peterfastedin
preparationforhis battlewith Simon Magus.81The consumptionof food,
particularlymeat,was thoughtto pollutethe body and mind and to cause
unwholesomedreams, or even to make one more prone to demonic
possession.82Breakinghis fastwouldhaveweakenedPatrickin his encounter
withSatan.His exclamation ofhisgoodfortune atnothavingeaten- Deogratias,
exindenihilgustaui'ThankGod,I tastednoneofit'- couldbe relatedmoretohis
upcomingbattlewiththedevil,thantohis rejection ofa sacrilegious
offering,as
has beensuggestedbysomescholars.83
In this passage, if we continuewithan asceticreadingPatrick'stheme
remainsconsistentin spite of some problematicelements:God provided
miraculousfoodin thedesertin answertoprayer. ButPatrickhimselfcontinues
his fastas he preparesforhis battlewithSatan.
2.} Thebattlewiththedevil
The asceticcorrelationis at itsstrongest
as thesaint'snexttrialbegins.After his
companions were sated with food,Patrick fellasleep; and in the night,Satan
attacked.This dénouementof Patrick'sshortbiographical narrativeis perhaps
the most convincingevidenceof an underlying ascetic theme. Even more
commonthanmiraculousfoodin thedesert,monksgrappling withdevilsin the
desertis a ubiquitoustoposin desertliterature.Furthermore, demons and devils
mostoftenattackatnight.
Nowon thatsamenightwhenI was sleeping,Satantemptedme mightily,
in such sortas I shallrememberas longas I am in thisbody.Andthere
fellupon me as itwerea huge rock,and I had no powerovermylimbs.
Butwhencedid it comeintomymindto call upon Helias?Andon thisI
saw thesun risein theheaven,and whileI was shouting'Helias,Helias',
with all my might,lo the splendourof that sun fell upon me, and
straightaway shookall weightfromoffme.AndI believethatI was helped
byChristmyLord,and thatHis Spiritwas eventhencallingaloudon my
behalf.8«
PatrickdescribesSatan'sattackas a physicalassaultuponhisbody.Thisphysical
battlewiththedevilcan be compared,forexample,an episodefromtheLifeofSt
8o Consider,forexample,VitaAntonii5: when the Devil attackedAnthonywithvarioustemptations,the

saint,'defendedhis whole bodybyfaith,byprayingat nightand byfasting*.81 Cassian, Institutes 3.10.Cf.
GregoryNazianzus, Def.MinusExactae1.2.34(PG 37.960) 'Fastingis theanointingforour wrestling-match
withthe enemy.'Cited by Musurillo,'The problemof ascetical fasting*, p. 51;translationis Musurillo's.
82 E.g. JohnChrysostom,Homily14 on 1 Tim. 3-4 (PG 62.575) on foodand nightmares.See Arbesmann,
'Fasting and prophecy',p. 6 and Musurillo,'The problem of ascetical fasting',pp 19-23 on food and
demons. 83 E.g. Bieler,LibriEpistolarum, II, p. 143;MacNeill,St Patrick,p. 28. Cf. Carney,ProblemofSt
Patrick,pp 77-9. 84 Patrick,Conf.20. Eademueronode eramdormiens, etfortitertemtauit
me Satanas,quod
memoreroquandiufueroin hoccorpore.Et ciciditsuperme uelutisaxum ingens,et nihilmembrorum meorum
praeualui.Sed unde mihiuenitin spiritumut Heliam uocarem?Et in hoc uidi in caelumsolemoriti,et dum
clamaremHeliam,Heliam,uiribusmeiseccesplendor solisilliusdeciditsuperme,etstatimdiscussita meomnem
grauitudinem. Et credoquod a ChristoDominomeosubuentus sum,et Spirituseius iam tuneclamabatprome.
251

Anthony. Anthony withdrawsintosolitudeawayfromhis townin orderto be

tested;andtherethedevilandhis minionssavagelyattackthemonk.
The devil. . . gatheredtogetherhis minions and torturedAntonyby
beatinghim all over.The intensity of the pain deprivedAntonyof his
to
ability move and to speak,and laterhe himselfwouldoftentellhowhis
injurieshad been so seriousthat theywereworsethanall the tortures
devisedbymen Jesus did not failto noticehis servant'sstrugglebut
cameto protecthim.Whenat lastAntony raisedhis eyes,he saw theroof
openingabove him and, as the darknesswas dispelled,a rayof light
pouredin on him.As soon as thisbrightlightappeared,all thedemons
vanishedand the pain in Antony'sbody suddenlyceased.. . . Antony
immediately understood thatthelordwas present.85
Both saints were renderedimmobileby the devil's assault.86Both would
remember thetorment formanyyearsto come.Bothwererescuedbythepower
of Jesus,who arrivedaccompaniedbybrilliant Withthefirstbeams of
light.87
sunlightthedevilswerebanished.
Patrick's
desertpassageas a wholecan be convincingly
labelleda trialin the
tradition
ofthedesertfathers. A journeyintothedesertwherethesaintbattles
the devil, placed immediatelyafteran ascetic conversion,can hardlybe
consideredanythingotherthan allusion to desertliterature.In these lines
Patrick's
storyresonateswiththelongandenduringtradition ofheroicmonastic
tales.
3. Confessio23-28:VisionsandthemissiontoIreland
While Confessio 16-20 containthe clearestand most overtreferences to late
antiqueasceticdiscourse,Patrick's
invocationsofmonastictopoido notendthere.
In Confessio23-28,embeddedthemesofthesaint'swell-developed faithand his
statusas a chosenvesselof God underliehis accountofthedream-visions that
directhimtoreturn to Ireland.Shortly sequence,the
afterhis conversion-desert
saintjumpsquiddyintothestoryofhowhis missionto Irelandwas conceived.
leap,becausemanyyearshadpassedin between,
(Thisis a noticeable butPatrick
makeslittlementionofthem.)He thusrelateshisdeserttrialstohismission,and
85 Vita Antonii8: diabolus. . . eum aggregatis suis,varia caede lacerami,ut dolorismagnitudoet

satellitibus
motumauferret et vocem.Nam et ipstposteasaepe referebat, vulnerafuissetarngravia,ut universahominum
tormenta superarent.. . . NonoblitusJesuscolluctationis
servisui,eidemprotectorfoetusest.Deniquecumelevaret
oculos,viditdesuperculmenaperiri,et, deduetistenebris,radiumad se lucis influere.Post cujus splendoris
adventumnec daemonumaliquis apparuit,et corporisdolorextemplodeletusest.. . . IllicopraesentiamDomini
Antonius. 86 Also cf. Rufinus,HistoriaMonachorum32: Hunc etiamquodamtempore
intellexit ferebanta
daemonibusita verberatum, ut stare,aut moveriomninolocononposset;Apophthegmata Patrum:alphabetical,
Poemen 145. 87 It is significantin the contextofthispassage thatPatricklaterrefersto Christas the 'true
sun'. Conf 60, cf. Cassian, Institutes 8.9-10. That Christwas expectedto appear bathed in lightis also
attestedby Sulpicius Severus, Vita Martini24.4, in which the devil actuallyimpersonatesChrist by
simulatinghis radiance. The invocationof Christ to banish demons is also a frequenttheme, e.g.
Apophthegmata Patrum:alphabetical,Elias 7; Russell,Livesofthedesert fathers,Or 9-10.
252

ST PATRICK'S ConfeSSlO 16-28 AS ASCETIC DISCOURSE
establishesa sequence of eventsthat begins with his conversionon the

mountaintop, and endswithhis departureforIreland.Patrickstatesbriefly
that
he hadreturned andlivedamonghis ownpeople.88
to Britain The sainthas three
visions,whichintroducetwocrucialthemes- compuntilo and discernment -
finally
proceedsto Irelandin with
accordance God'swill.
yi Compunctio cordis
In his firstdream-vision,
Patrickis calledbackto Irelandbythevoicesof the
Irish.89Attheend ofthevision,Patrickwritesthatualdeconpunctus sumcorde.
Whitetranslatesthis phraseas 'I was exceedingly brokenin heart',as does
Bieler.9° has a moreprecisesignificance:
Thisphrase,however, a less literalbut
possiblymore appropriatetranslationwould be 'my heartwas piercedby
compunction'.Here Patrickhas introduceda technicalterm common in
monasticliterature: cordis,
compunctio or 'compunction ofheart'(in theGreek,
penthos).
Compunction is a complexconcept,heavilyladenwiththeological meaning:91
putverysimply, itis a 'piercingoftheheartbysorrow'thatspursa Christian to
The GreekfatherSt Basilrefersto compunction
virtue.92 as a 'gift'thatawakens
the soul's desireforGod.93Instancesof individualspiercedby compunction
aboundin thestoriesofthedesert.94 Compunction mostoftenstrikesone who
has somehowturnedawayfromGod; in thesetales the intensesorrowand
repentance thatcompunction arousesin theheartincitestheindividual tomake
life-changing decisions,to live a virtuouslife and to do God's will. Patrick's
depictionofthisvision,whichpiercedhis heartwithcompunction whenhe had
becomecomfortable and presumably complacentaftermanyyearsspentin his
homeland,followsthepatterns ofthesestories.
JohnCassiandescribesthatfromcompunction arisestherenunciation ofthe
world;95Patrick's placementofcompunctio cordisin his story,leadingdirectly to
his finalrenunciation of his worldlyties,conveysan understanding of this
conceptalong theselines. The salutarycompunction thatGod stirredin the
saint'sheartis thefirst ofhis return
catalyst to Ireland.
88 Patrick,Conf.23. 89 Ibid. 90 White, 'LibriSancti Patriciï,p. 265; Bieler,Worksof St Patrick,p. 28.

91 'Compunction' or the Latin compunctiotranslatesthe Greek penthosor the roughlysynonymous
catanyxis.See more detaileddefinitionsofpenthos /compunctioand the concept'splace withinthe ideals of
asceticismin Douglas Burton-Christie, The wordin thedesert:scripture and thequestfor holinessin early
Christianmonasticism (Oxford,1993), pp 185-92; forpenthosand catanyxis,Irénée Hausherr,Penthos:the
doctrineofcompunction in the ChristianEast,trans.Anselm Hufstader(Kalamazoo, 1982), pp 3-26. 92
Quoted fromRussell,Livesofthedesert p. 32. 93 Basil, Shortrules16. 'Compunction... is a giftof
fathers,
God, eitherto awakendesire,so thatthe soul havingonce tastedthewetnessofthissorrowshould striveto
maintainit,or forshowingthatthe soul withmore serious applicationcan remainin compunctionat all
timesand places, and so renderinexcusableall who lose it throughindolence.'TranslationfromHausherr,
Penthos,p. 24. 94 Russell, The livesof the desertfathers,1.37,1.57,19.3, 19.10,23.4; Rufinus,Hisioria
Monachorum 1,8, 11,19, 29. There are too manyexamplesfromthe Apophthegmata Patrum:alphabeticalto
listhere. 95 Cassian, Institutes Hausherr,Penthos,
4.43. Interestingly, p. 5, notesthat'penqoj (compunction)
does not flourishin a feeblesoul or a cowardlyheart.Stillless can it prosperamong the lazy.The direct
oppositeofpenthosis accedia,'and he cites Evagrius,Ad monachos56; De oratione12.5.
253

3.2 Discernment
ofspirits
Patrickthenhas a seconddream-vision in whichChristspeaksto him,and he
wakesup 'fullofjoy';andthena third, in whichhe is visitedbytheHolySpirit.96
HerePatrick introduces anotherimportant virtue.In thesevisionsPatrick
knows
withoutdoubtthathe is visitedby Jesusand the Holy Spirit.97 This maynot
seem surprising;however,the abilityto differentiate betweendivine and
demonicwas consideredto be rare.98Discernmentof spiritswas especially
valuedin thedesert,wheredevilsfrequently disguisedthemselves as humansor
angelsto trickunsuspecting monks.99This giftis one of themain themesof
Athanasius'sVitaAntonii,100 and is oftenpresentedas thehighestrewardfor
pietyand ascetic discipline.101But discernmentof spirits,particularly as it
evolvedin the West,involvedmore than the quasi-mythical differentiation
betweengoodand evilapparitions: itimplieda senseofwisdomand confidence
in judgingthesourceofone's impulses,knowingwhether theycamefromGod
orfromSatan.102 (Patrickfurtherreinforces in
his claimstothevirtueofdiscretio
different formsthroughoutthe Confessio, when he declares God's direct
participationin his lifeand his mission.103)Whilethe moreovertmessageof
Patrick'svisionswas the divineimpetusbehindhis mission,the underlying
theme is the saint's abilityto distinguishGod's commandsfromthe evil
impulsesofthedevil.
$.$ Thefinal renunciation:
Patrick'sdeparture
fromhishomeland
Compelledbythevisionssentby God, Patrickdecidedto leavehis home and
neverto return.104
family, passage thus culminatesin Patrick's
The narrative
attainment
of truerenunciation
of theworld.In his abandonment ofpatriaet
96 Patrick,Conf.24. 97 This can be contrastedwiththevoice thattellshim to escape fromIrelandin Conf.

17,when he does not statethe source ofthevoice; and Conf.20, when he is saved fromthe devil'sattackby
the risingsun, and says thathe believesthathe was helped by Christ. 98 Patrickalso maybe describing
thisvirtueearlyin the Conf.,whenhe writesin Conf.2, '[God]preservedme beforeI knewHim, and before
I had wisdomor could distinguishbetweengood and evil,and protectedme and comfortedme as a father
does his son.' . . . et custodititi
me antequamsciremeum et antequamsaperemuel distinguèrent interbonumet
malumet muiuitme et consulatusestme utpaterfilium.Cf. Cassian, Institutes 7.3. 99 For examplesof the
trickeryofdemons: VitaAntonii25, 35; Russell,Livesofthedesert fathers2.9-10, 13.6;SulpiciusSeverus,Vita
Martini22.1,24.4; Palladius,HistoriaLausiaca 16; Apophthegmata Patrum,Anthonythe Great13. 100 Vita
Antonii22, 28, 35, 44, 88; it is the subject of Anthony'slong speech to his brethrenin chs 16-43. See
discussion in R. M. Peterson,"Thegiftof "discernmentof spirits"in the VitaAntonii',in Studia Patristica
XVII, Papersof the EighthInternationalConference on PatristicStudies,Oxford,3-8 Septemberi$7$, ed.
ElizabethA. Livingstone(3 vols, Oxford,1982), 2: 523-7, esp. 525-6. 101 For the giftof discernmentof
spirits(Gk. diakrisis see e.g. VitaAntonii35; Palladius,HistoriaLausiaca
pneumaton;in Lat.usuallydiscretio)
24.1, 38.10; Rufinus,Historia Monachorum13, 27; Vita Pachomii87, éd. Armand Veilleux, Pachomian
KoinoniaI (Kalamazoo, MI, 1980), pp 297-407; Cassian, Conlationes 2. 102 See e.g. Cassian, Conlationes
2;
Apophthegmata Patrum:alphabetical, Macarius2. Discussed in JosephT. Lienhard,'"Discernmentofspirits"
in the earlyChurch',in Studia PatristicaXVII, ed. Livingstone,vol. 2, pp 519-22. 103 There are many
instances:e.g. Patrick,Conf 13,14,15,17,30, 33, 34, 36, 38, 43, 45. 104 For the permanentnatureof his
renunciationof his homeland, see Patrick,Conf 43; cf. Cassian, Conlationes24.2; Palladius, Historia
Lausiaca 35.9. The saint's renunciationof his homeland is an importantpointof emphasis in his works.
Four times in his ratherlimitedcorpus Patrickstresseshis renunciationof his home and family:Patrick,
Conf 36, 43; Epistola1,10.
254

Patrickperforms
parentes,105 an actthatis essentialto monasticpractice.106 The
withdrawal fromhomelandand kinsprangfrombiblicalprescriptions, suchas
God'swordstoAbrahamin Genesis12.1:'Gettheeoutfromthycountry, andthy
kinsfolk,andthyfather's house'orJesus'wordstotherichyoungman- 'Ifthou
wiltbe perfect,go sellwhatthouhast,and giveto thepoor,and thoushalthave
treasurein heaven:and comefollowme.'107
Patrick'saccountofhis departure also followshagiographical models:often
whena sainttriesto leavehis ownland,his peopletryto deterhim.Laterin the
textthe saintdescribesthathis had attempted to dissuadehim fromleaving,
withgiftsandwithtears.108 Patrick'ssenioresalso trytothwarthis plans,buttheir
tacticsare more sinister.They'tempt'the saint,who is onlysaved by God's
intervention, so thathe 'did not fallbadlyintodisgraceand reproach.'He is
'struck'and 'trampledon', so 'that[he]mightfallhereand in eternity'.109 This
can be consideredPatrick'ssecondbattle,as thislanguagesubtlyequateshis
senioreswiththe devil in the desert.But Patrickwithstoodthe draw of his
family'stears,and thetemptations castuponhimbyhis elders,steadfast in his
resolvetofollowthecommandsofGod.So thesaintbecomesa peregrinus propter
nomensuum110 - a stranger
livingin a foreign land,whohas renouncedtheties
offamily andthecomforts ofhomelandforthesakeofGod.111
3.4 Obedience
leads to a finalmonastic
Finally,Patrick'sdefeatof thesecarnaltemptations
parallel:Patrickrenounceshis homelandonlyafterhe had been 'wornout' by
God'sgrace.He writes,
I didnotproceedto IrelandofmyownaccorduntilI was nearlywornout.
wellforme,forin thiswayI was corrected
Butthiswas rather bytheLord.
AndHe fittedme,so thatI shouldtodaybe somethingwhichwas oncefar
fromme,thatI shouldcareforand be busyaboutthesalvationofothers,
whereasthenI didnoteventhinkaboutmyself.112
IO5 Patrick,Conf.36. 106 See, e.g., Vita Pachomii34-7; Vita Antonii2; Jerome,Vita Malchi 3; idem,
Epistola22.30 ad Eustochium;idem, Epistola39.5 ad Paulam; idem, Epistola108.32 ad Eustochium; idem,
Epistola125.20 ad Rusticum;Cassian, Conlationes3.4, 3.7; RegulaMagistri90.65, ed. and trans.Adalbertdu
Vogué, La règledu maître,3 vols, SC 105-107(Paris: Cerf,1965-7). 107 Matt19.21;also Mark10.21,Luke
18.22. 108 Patrick,Conf.37. For the familyof a saint to tryto dissuade him/herfromdepartingis a very
common themein hagiography, and perhapshas its source in the passionesof the martyrs;fora notably
similar account, see Hilary of Aries, Sermode Vita Honorati2.12. 109 Patrick,Conf.26: Et quando
temptatus sumab aliquantissenioribus meisqui uenerunt etpeccatamea contralaboriosum episcopatummeum-
inpulsussumutcaderemhicetin aeternum;
utiquein iliodiefortiter sed Dominus. . . ualdeminisubuenitin hac
conculcatione.. . . no Patrick,Conf 26. in Cf. Cassian, Institutes4.14: ad retinendam nihilominus
arreptae
nuditatisvirtutem, quam studetadfinemusqueperfecte atque inviolabiliter ita semetipsum
custodire, a cunctis
extraneum,et ex omnibusjudicat alienum, ut tamquam peregrinumse great,et incolam istius mundi,
alumnumquese potiusmonasterii ac ministrum.
reputet, ... 112 Patrick,Confessio28: Hiberionenon sponte
pergebamdoneepropedeficiebam. Sed haec potiusbene minifuit,quia ex hoc emendatussum a Domino;et
aptauit me ut hodieessemquod aliquando longea me erat,ut ego curas haberemout satagerempro salute
aliorum,quandoautemtuneetiamde me ipsononcogitabam.Cf. Carney'sreadingofthispassage, Problemof
St Patrick,pp 107-8, which followsBieler's translation{Worksof St Patrick,p. 29) of deficere. Given the
context,doneedeficiebam is probablya referenceto Hos 7.15,wherethe Lordtellsthe exiledJudeans:vadens
revertarad locummeumdoneedeficiatis et quaeratisfaciemmeam'I will go and returnto myplace, untilyou
255

Monasticrenunciations - whetherof property, of homelandand family, or of

otherworldly -
ties arephysicalmanifestations oftheabandonment ofself-will.
The strippingof the will (uoluntas)translatesinto the most fundamental
monasticvirtue:obedience.113 Worldly attachments captivate attention and desire,
divertthemindandheartfromGod,and so foster self-will.114
Cassian'sInstitutes,
forexample,dictatethatthemajority ofa youngmonk'sinstruction consistsof
'teaching him firstto conquer his own wishes... for they saythat a monk, and
especiallytheyounger ones,cannotbridlethedesireofhisconcupiscence unless
he has firstlearntby obedienceto mortify his wishes'.115 The latertextof the
RegulaMagistri gives this idea clarity: ...
'self-will is the enemy ofGod'swill'.116
The will leaves humans open to the temptations of the devil,and onlysup-
pressionof one's own desiresallowsone to becomea vesselof God's power.117
In thesemonastictextstheauthorities to whicha monksubmitsare abbotsor
eldermonks;in contrast, PatrickobeysGodhimself.This statement ofPatrick's
subjugation of his own will harmonises with the immediatelypreceding
depictionofhis discernment. Godbestoweduponthesainttheability to discern
His will;thesaintunderstands and obeys.
** *
Each aspect of Confessio 23-28 reinforcesPatrick'sportraitof himselfas a
recipientof God's grace and an unquestioningservantof God's will.
Compunction, discernment, renunciation,obedience:theyare all interrelated.
Patrickis piercedbycompunction, whichurgeshis returnto Ireland.He knows
unequivocally thatthiscompulsionand his dream-visions comefromGod. His
own will wornaway,he renounceshis homelandand becomes a peregrinus
propternomensuum.Whileeach of theseelementsindividually mightsimply
indicatea detailedknowledge oftheBible,in combination theystrongly suggest
thesaint'sfamiliarity
withmonasticideology. Comingshortlyafterhis rendition
ofhis conversion and deserttrials,Patrick's
invocation
ofthesemonastictropes
represents culmination of his developingvirtue,which has been tried,tested,
andrewarded byGod.
112 (con'td) are consumed and seek my face.' Also, Cassiodurus, Variât7.51.1,ed. Theodor Mommsen,
MGH Auct.Antiq.12uses theparticipledefectus in a waythatcorrespondsto White'stranslation,thoughhe
employs'worndown,dilapidated'in a moral sense. While the exactmeaningof this phrase is a matterof
debate,the sense remains that Patrickresistedhis mission until God's will overcamehis own. Also cf.
Conf.43. 113Forthe connectionbetweenrenunciationsand obedience,see e.g. Cassian, Institutes 2.3, 4.3,
12.25,12.31;Cassian, Collationes3.1; Rufinus,HistoriaMonachorum31, PL 2K458C-459A;Apophthegmata
Patrum:alphabetical,Rufus 2; esp. pertainingto the renunciationof family,Apophthegmata Patrum:
4.27-8. For the importanceof obedience in monasticdiscipline,
alphabetical,Sisoes 10; Cassian, Institutes
see, e.g., Cassian, Institutes4.12, 4.23-8, 4.41; Rufinus,HistoriaMonachorum31, PL 2K458B-C; Regula
Benedicti5.1-2, 68.5, ed. Timothy Fry, RB 1980: The Rule of St Benedict(Collegeville,MI, 1980);
Apophthegmata Patrum:alphabetical,Johnthe Dwarf1; John,Disciple of Abba Paul 1; Mark 2; Mius 2;
Poemen 103; Pistus 1; Syncletica16; Hyperechius8. 114Apophthegmata Anthony20.
Patrum:alphabetical,
115Cassian, Institutes 4.8. 116 RegulaMagistri82.19; also see 3.10; 3.66; 7.47-59; 90.9-12. trans. Luke
Eberle, The rule of the master,Cistercian Studies 6 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications,1977):
uoluntas. . . uonluntatiDei estinimica.Cf. esp. Patrick,Conf.60, also 43. 117 Cassian, Conlationes12.14;
Institutes4.23.
256

4. Condusion
Withimageryand storylines thatecho the topoiof late antiquemonasticism,
Confessio16-20 traces Patrick'sdevelopmentfromconversionthroughhis
testingby the devil.The saintrecountshis spiritualefflorescence througha
natural- orindeed,inspired- inclination tointensedevotion, whichblossomed
in the divinelyorchestrated rigorsof slaveryand solitude.His dailyactivities
mimickedthoseofthehermitsin thedesertof Egypt;and forsixyearshis life
was an unceasingregimeoffasting, ofrigorousprayerthatbeganbeforedawn
and continuedintothe night,and of his manual labouras a herdsman.He
expresseshis spiritualdevelopment in termsoftheabnegationofthebody,and
in his triumphoverpigritia, the despondencywhichwas the specialvice of
ascetichermits.Whenhe had completed his spiritual
evolutionfromunbeliefto
the'fearofGod'and 'fervency ofspirit',Patricklikemanyoftheearlyfathers we
findin asceticliteraturewas giventhegiftofprophecy. His visionsled himto
enterthedesert,fortheemblematictestof thedesertmonk:a battlewiththe
devil.Againtrueto form,Patrickis physically assaultedby Satan,and thenis
savedbyChristwhosesalvificpowerarriveswiththelightofthesun. Withthe
underpinnings ofhis intensedevotionassiduouslydetailed,in Confessio 23-28
Patrickmoves on to the circumstances thatled to his mission.God again
bestowsvisions upon him, which pierce his heartwith compunctionand
demonstrate his attainment ofthevaluedvirtueofdiscernment. The saintthen
takesthefinalstepofa truerenunciation byleavinghis homeand kinforever,
thus demonstrating his unquestioningobedience to God's commands.A
schematicrendering ofthethemesand plot-lines fromConfessio 16-28 further
emphasisesthenarrative flowofthesepassages,fromconversion to complete
obedience:
Conf16 Isolation
Manuallabouras a shepherd
Unceasingprayer and pre-dawn devotions
Detachment fromthebody/imperviousness topainandtothe
weather
Victoryoverpigritia/accedia,
thevicethatafflicts monks
solitary
Conf17 Fasting
Visions
Conf19 Journey intothedesert
Godprovidesmiraculousfood
Conf20 BattlewithSatanin thenight
The devildefeatedbyChrist,whoarriveswiththesun
Conf23 Vision1fromGod/compunctio cordis
Conf24-5 Visions2-3 fromGod/discernment ofspirits
Conf26 Victoryoverthetemptationto stayin his homeland
Conf28 Self-will
wornaway(= obedience)
Missionto Ireland
257

These elementscomprisea complexpasticheofimages,whichin combination

forma completeportraitof St Patrick'sdailyimmolationfor Christ- his
martyrdom afteran asceticpattern.
The saintthusinvokesresonantparadigmsof Christianvirtue,and places
himselfin a tradition ofpowerful charismaticfigures- thosechosenbyGodfor
theirfaithand piety.That Patrickchose to definehis lifeexperiencesand his
missionwithinan asceticframework has manyimplications. He maywellhave
consideredhimselfan ascetic,but perhaps more importantly, he used a
languagethatwouldhavebeen familiarto his audience.In thecontextofthis
documentas a defenceagainstaccusationsmade bythe eldersof his church,
Patrick strengthens his defenceagainstaccusationsofsinbysetting himselfand
his missionagainsta familiarand acceptedbackdropthatimpliedzealousfaith
andunassailablepiety.
On the most basic level, Patrickmay have used the ascetic patternto
demonstrate thathe had cleansedhimselfof sin priorto his returnfromhis
captivity in Ireland.This maybe in responseto thedisclosureofa boyhoodsin
to Patrick'schurcheldersbya friendand confidante.118 We can gleanfromthe
meagredetailshe providesthatthis sin occurredpriorto his captivity in
Ireland.119It is perhapstellingthattheonlytworeferences to his age in thetext
establishveryfirmly thissequenceofevents,especiallyas Patrickdidnotfeelit
necessaryto includehis age at anyotherstageof his narrative.120 Numerous
ascetictextsconveythatan asceticrenunciation expiateda sinnerof his past
deeds. Thoughthe penitential natureof asceticismis unformulated in these
thereis also a sensethata conversion
texts, toasceticpracticesrenewedthesoul.
Jerome, forexample,describedthatRufinushad been washedcleanand made
whiteas snowbyhis sojournin thedesert.121 Hence in depictinghis rigorous
devotional practicesfollowedbytheirobviousvalidation byGod'sgrace,Patrick
presentsa vividdefenceto accusationsofyouthful sin.
In a less directway,Patrick's ofhis missionin ascetictermsalso
justification
artfully subverts theauthority ofhis accusers.In his depictionofhis asceticism
Patricksubscribesto a higherauthority than thatof his seniores. The saint
emphasisesthegrowthofhis faith,independent offormaltraining and guided
directly byGod. Patrick'swas a naturalasceticism.Desertmonks,thoughthey
were alwaysadmonishedto be obedient,had at theirhighestlevelsa direct
relationshipwith God. Those who were investedwithdivinegiftssuch as
foreknowledge and visions- as was Patrick- circumvented theusual hierarchy
ofauthority. ThoughPatrick repeatedly emphasiseshis obedience,thesaintalso
rendersunambiguously thathe tookhis ordersdirectly fromGod,and thathis
actionshadbeenguidedbyGod'shad.Overandoveragain,Patrick describesthe
graceof God, the giftsof God, the knowledgeof God - and, ultimately, the
greatly prizedgiftofdiscernment - thattheLordshowereduponhim.He thus
118 Patrick,Conf.32. 119 Patrick'sage at the timeofhis sin was fifteen(Conf.27), and his age at the time
he was takencaptivewas eitherfifteen or sixteen(Conf.1). See White,'LibriSancii Patricii',pp 282-3; Bieler,
LibriEpistolarumII, p. 89. 120 Patrick,Conf.1,27. 121Jerome,Epistola4.2, PL 22:335-6.
258

maintainshisvirtuenotas an obedientunderling ofthechurchhierarchy, butas

a strident servantfulfillingthecommandsofhis Lord.It is a masterful defence
to almostanyaccusationthatcouldbe levelledat himbecauseofhis missionor
his episcopacy.
One obviousquestionarisesfromthisanalysis:was Patrick himselfa monk?
It is a temptingconclusion.The answer,however,may be more complex.
Certainly therangeofhis references suggeststhesaint's knowledge ofmonastic
traditions. Butin thecontextoflateantiquemonastictradition, one mustalso
considera shortclausein Confessio 44. The saintwrites,uitamperfectam egonon
egi sicutet caeteri
credentes,'I have not led a [the?]perfectlife,as have other
believers.'122IfPatrick didindeedknowa numberofwesternmonasticsources,
he almostcertainly wouldhave been familiarwiththe use of the phrasevita
perfectato denote the monasticvocation, whichwas commonplace fromthelate
antiqueperiod onward.123While the meaning of thisphrase in the contextof
Patrick'stextis notentirely clear- itis one ofthosedifficultpoints of the saint's
Latinstyle- itmaywellindicatethatthesaintdidnotconsiderhimselfa monk.
PerhapsPatrick abandoneda monasticvocationwhenhe undertook his mission
to Ireland,andthiswas a cause ofhis elders'accusationsagainsthim.Maybehe
simplywrotewithan audienceofmonksin mind,and triedto communicate in
their'language'.Eitherconclusionsuggestsa suitablecontextforthe ascetic
references in Patrick'sConfessio.
Patrickmaywellhavebeen a homouniuslibrioncehe reachedIreland,butit
seems extremeto presumethathe would not have come across a broader
spectrumof Christianstoriesand textsin the manyyearsthatprecededhis
mission.This analysishas demonstrated thesaint'sfamiliaritywitha tradition
thatwas topicaland current in his lifetime:therearesimplytoomanycommon-
alitiesbetweenPatrick'stextsand asceticdiscourseto be mere coincidence.
Fromthisconceptualapproachithas alsobeenpossibleidentify a groupoflikely
sourcesforthe saint'sthematicconcerns;withmoredetailedstudyit maybe
possibleto narrowthisgroup,and perhapseven add new information to the
debateswhichstillrageon Patrick's dates,training and background. It is hoped
thatthis discussionhas shown that,thoughthese textshave alreadybeen
examinedand analysedbycountlessgiftedscholarsof Irishhistory, language,
philology and religion,new anglesof analysisand different approachesto this
enigmatic saintandhiswritings havenotyetbeenexhausted.
122 Patrick,Conf.44. 123 See e.g. Rufinus,HistoriaMonachorum, Appollonius,PL 2K413A:egeratvitam

perfectam; Preface,PL 4Ç):59A;ibid.,4.23, PL 49:1838; ibid.,
ibid., Prologue,PL 21:390; Cassian, Institutes,
4.40, PL 49:199c; Cassian, Conlationes18.1,PL 49:1091^; Palladius, HistoriaLausiaca 62. For monks as
exemplarsof the vita perfecta,see Jerome,Epistola14.6; idem, Epistola24.1 ad Marcellam,PL 22:427;
Paulinus,Epistola32.3 ad Severum, whichintriguingly describesSt. Martinin wordsthatare echoed in the
hymnon St Patrickby Ps.-Secundinus,Auditeomnesamantes,PL 53:8370, trans.Bieler,WorksofSt Patrick,
. . . vita) is
p. 61: 'For his good ways he is likenedto the angels, and because of his perfectlife {perfecta
deemed equal to the apostles.' Some laterexamples are Caesarius of Aries,Epistola1, PL 67:11250;idem,
EpistolaHortatoriaad Virginem Deo, PL 67:1138c.Cf. Augustine,who uses the phrase to indicatelife in
heaven;however,thisusage would notfitwithPatrick'suse ofthe phrase.
259


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Saint Patrick's Journey into the Desert: Confessio 16-28 as Ascetic Discourse

Author(s): Stephanie Hayes-Healy

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*I would like expressmy gratitudeto Dr KatharineSimms and ProfessorI. S. Robinsonfortheirhelpful

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known,4and how the chronology of his lifemighthave unfolded.5 Verifiable

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The comparando, used in thisdiscussionarethehagiographical texts,wisdom

12 Athanasiuswrotethe VitaAntonii(in Greek) shortlyafterthe saint's death c. 356. The survivingLatin

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WhyPatrickmighthave used thesethemesis a subjectaddressedin the

Confessio 16-28 containsthe most coherentnarrative passage withthe most

21 There are manyhypothesesof whatthe accusationsmighthave been. See forexample Bieler,Lifeand

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increasedmoreandmore,and faithgrewandthespiritwas roused,so that

23 Patrick,Conf.16: Sed postquamHiberionedeueneram,cotidieitaquepecorapascebam,etfrequensin die

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Shepherdshavehelda specialplacein literature throughout theages and are

27 See E. R. Curtius,Europeanliterature and theLatinMiddleAges,trans.W. Trask(Princeton,1983),p. 187.

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heartof a monk'.36Isidoreof Sevillewould laterdefinethe 'desert'in his

36 Cassian, Conlationes24.1;trans.E. C. S. Gibson, TheworksofJohnCassian,in Philip SchaffandHenry

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In the HistoriaMonachorum, a storyofthemonkAppolloniusoffers

Patrick'sdepiction ofhisconstant a hundredbydayandnearlythesame

41 Myitalics.Rufinus,HistoriaMonachorum 7: Fuitautemin locisUlisspeluncaquaedameremovicina,in qua

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In theApophthegmataPatrum and theHistoriaLausiaca,descriptions

Patrum:alphabetical,Macarius 2. 49 Palladius,HistoriaLausiaca, Adolius 43.2 (Butler,

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51 Patrick,Conf.16. 52 CharltonT. Lewis and Charles Short,A Latindictionary (Oxford,1879,repr.1998),

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Whereas Cassian uses Greek loan-words(gastrimargia, philargyria,accedia,

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threatto Patrickin his solitude

1.5 Fastingand prophecy

62 Cassian, Conlationes,Preface,PL 49:4798; Preface to part III, PL 49H089A; 18.4, PL 49:io94A.

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19-20: The journeyintothedesert

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- thedesert- wherehe would

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at this pointin his narrative.Fastingwas believedto strengthen the monk

8o Consider,forexample,VitaAntonii5: when the Devil attackedAnthonywithvarioustemptations,the

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Anthony. Anthony withdrawsintosolitudeawayfromhis townin orderto be

85 Vita Antonii8: diabolus. . . eum aggregatis suis,varia caede lacerami,ut dolorismagnitudoet

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establishesa sequence of eventsthat begins with his conversionon the

88 Patrick,Conf.23. 89 Ibid. 90 White, 'LibriSancti Patriciï,p. 265; Bieler,Worksof St Patrick,p. 28.

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96 Patrick,Conf.24. 97 This can be contrastedwiththevoice thattellshim to escape fromIrelandin Conf.

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Monasticrenunciations - whetherof property, of homelandand family, or of

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These elementscomprisea complexpasticheofimages,whichin combination

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maintainshisvirtuenotas an obedientunderling ofthechurchhierarchy, butas

122 Patrick,Conf.44. 123 See e.g. Rufinus,HistoriaMonachorum, Appollonius,PL 2K413A:egeratvitam

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