Tyrannius Rufinus

345 (age 66)

Concordia, Italy

Rufinus first settled in Egypt, hearing the lectures of Didymus, the Origenistic head of the catechetical school at Alexandria, and also cultivating friendly relations with Macarius the elder and other ascetics in the desert. In Egypt, if not even before leaving Italy, he had become intimately acquainted with Melania, a wealthy and devout Roman widow; and when she removed to Palestine, taking with her a number of clergy and monks on whom the persecutions of the Arian Valens had borne heavily, Rufinus (about 378) followed her. While his patroness lived in a convent of her own in Jerusalem, Rufinus, at her expense, gathered together a number of monks in a monastery on the Mount of Olives, devoting himself at the same time to the study of Greek theology. This combination of the contemplative life and the life of learning had already developed in the Egyptian monasteries. When Jerome came to Bethlehem in 386, the friendship formed at Aquileia was renewed. Another of the intimates of Rufinus was John, bishop of Jerusalem, and formerly a Nitrian monk, by whom he was ordained to the priesthood in 390. In 394, in consequence of the attack upon the doctrines of Origen made by Epiphanius of Salamis during a visit to Jerusalem, a fierce quarrel broke out, which found Rufinus and Jerome on different sides; and, though three years afterwards a formal reconciliation was brought about between Jerome and John, the breach between Jerome and Rufinus remained unhealed. In the autumn of 397 Rufinus embarked for Rome, where, finding that the theological controversies of the East were exciting much interest and curiosity, he published a Latin translation of the Apology of Pamphilus for Origen, and also (398-99) a somewhat free rendering of the De Principiis of that author himself. In the preface to the latter work he referred to Jerome as an admirer of Origen, and as having already translated some of his works with modifications of ambiguous doctrinal expressions. This allusion annoyed Jerome, who was exceedingly sensitive as to his reputation for orthodoxy, and the consequence was a bitter pamphlet war, very wonderful to the modern onlooker, who finds it difficult to see anything discreditable in the accusation against a biblical scholar that he had once thought well of Origen, or in the countercharge against a translator that he had avowedly exercised editorial functions as well. At the instigation of Theophilus of Alexandria, Anastasius (pope 398-402) summoned Rufinus from Aquileia to Rome to vindicate his orthodoxy; but he excused himself from personal attendance in a written Apologia pro fide sua. The pope in his reply expressly condemned Origen but left the question of Rufinus's orthodoxy to his own conscience. He was, however, regarded with suspicion in orthodox circles in spite of his services to Christian literature. In 408 we find Rufinus at the monastery of Pinetum. Thence he was driven by the arrival of Alaric to Sicily, being accompanied by Melania in his flight. In Sicily, he was engaged in translating the Homilies of Origen when he died in 410.

Tyrannius Rufinus Edit Profile

also known as Rufinus of Aquileia, Rufinus Aquileiensis, Rufinus of Concordia

Botanist historian theologian writer

Background

Tyrannius Rufinus was born circa 345 in the Roman city of Julia Concordia (now Concordia Sagittaria), near Aquileia (in modern-day Italy) at the head of the Adriatic Sea. It appears that both of his parents were Christians.

Education

After study at Rome, where he met Jerome (later a saint and one of the doctors of the Western Church), Rufinus entered a monastery at Aquileia.

Career

Rufinus first settled in Egypt, hearing the lectures of Didymus, the Origenistic head of the catechetical school at Alexandria, and also cultivating friendly relations with Macarius the elder and other ascetics in the desert. In Egypt, if not even before leaving Italy, he had become intimately acquainted with Melania, a wealthy and devout Roman widow; and when she removed to Palestine, taking with her a number of clergy and monks on whom the persecutions of the Arian Valens had borne heavily, Rufinus (about 378) followed her. While his patroness lived in a convent of her own in Jerusalem, Rufinus, at her expense, gathered together a number of monks in a monastery on the Mount of Olives, devoting himself at the same time to the study of Greek theology.

This combination of the contemplative life and the life of learning had already developed in the Egyptian monasteries. When Jerome came to Bethlehem in 386, the friendship formed at Aquileia was renewed. Another of the intimates of Rufinus was John, bishop of Jerusalem, and formerly a Nitrian monk, by whom he was ordained to the priesthood in 390. In 394, in consequence of the attack upon the doctrines of Origen made by Epiphanius of Salamis during a visit to Jerusalem, a fierce quarrel broke out, which found Rufinus and Jerome on different sides; and, though three years afterwards a formal reconciliation was brought about between Jerome and John, the breach between Jerome and Rufinus remained unhealed.

In the autumn of 397 Rufinus embarked for Rome, where, finding that the theological controversies of the East were exciting much interest and curiosity, he published a Latin translation of the Apology of Pamphilus for Origen, and also (398-99) a somewhat free rendering of the De Principiis of that author himself. In the preface to the latter work he referred to Jerome as an admirer of Origen, and as having already translated some of his works with modifications of ambiguous doctrinal expressions.

This allusion annoyed Jerome, who was exceedingly sensitive as to his reputation for orthodoxy, and the consequence was a bitter pamphlet war, very wonderful to the modern onlooker, who finds it difficult to see anything discreditable in the accusation against a biblical scholar that he had once thought well of Origen, or in the countercharge against a translator that he had avowedly exercised editorial functions as well.

At the instigation of Theophilus of Alexandria, Anastasius (pope 398-402) summoned Rufinus from Aquileia to Rome to vindicate his orthodoxy; but he excused himself from personal attendance in a written Apologia pro fide sua. The pope in his reply expressly condemned Origen but left the question of Rufinus's orthodoxy to his own conscience. He was, however, regarded with suspicion in orthodox circles in spite of his services to Christian literature. In 408 we find Rufinus at the monastery of Pinetum. Thence he was driven by the arrival of Alaric to Sicily, being accompanied by Melania in his flight. In Sicily, he was engaged in translating the Homilies of Origen when he died in 410.

Achievements

Rufinus achieved tremendous influence on Western theologians by putting the great Greek fathers into the Latin tongue. He was instrumental in studying astronomy among the liberal arts at Naples and Bologna and turned to examine “the lower realm" of herbs: the De virtutibus herbarutn, which was finished after 1287. This impressive work lists nearly a thousand medicinal materials, mostly vegetable simples, presenting for each a brief summary of its description by earlier authorities (most commonly Macer Floridus, Dioscorides, and the early medieval herbal called Circa installs).

Fully one-fifth of the text consists of Rufinus’ own contributions, which are outstanding for including a great many careful botanical descriptions of detail quite unknown to earlier medical writers. He regularly describes the stem, flower, and leaves of a plant under consideration and contrasts it with similar plants. Much of his knowledge comes from direct acquaintance with these plants or from the lore of the practicing herbalists of Naples, Bologna, and Genoa: Rufinus often supplies vernacular names as well as Latin synonyms for the plants he discusses.