Salus in the Roman Missal: What It Means and Why

Salus in the Roman Missal: What It Means and Why Thomas Buffer Pre-Christian History of the Word Salus The origins of the word salus go back to the very beginnings of the Latin language. At first a religious word, it later became a political one as well. In the vocabulary of Roman religion and politics, salus was synonymous with safety, protection, physical health, and deliverance. In the sphere of religion, the word could also be the name of a divinity – which one is not always clear. Individuals invoked the goddess Salus for personal protection and health. Sometimes they used the name Salus to invoke Hygeia-Valetudo, the goddess of health. Individuals or groups called on the goddess Salus publica to beg for the welfare of the Roman republic. When Romans made sacrificial offerings, or vota, to beg for both public and personal salus, what exactly were they asking for? Not the otherworldly “salvation” offered by the mystery cults of the time, nor the eternal life for which we Christians beg. They were asking   This is a modified version of a paper delivered at the annual conference of the Society for Catholic Liturgy, held at St Cecilia’s Cathedral, Omaha, 29 January to 1 February 2009. I am grateful for the suggestions, comments, and especially the questions of the auditors.   See René Braun, Deus Christianorum. Recherches sur le vocabulaire doctrinal de Tertullien (Paris: Etudes augustiniennes, 1962) 478.   Consider, for example, how the poet Martial (Marcus Valerius Martialis ) addressed Caesar: “seu placet Aeneae nutrix seu filia Solis / sive salutiferis candidus Anxur aquis, / mittimus, o rerum felix tutela salusque, / sospite quo gratum credimus esse Iovem” [whether Aeneas’ nurse delights thee, or the daughter of the Sun, or gleaming Anxur with its healthful waters, this book I send, O thou blessed guardian and saviour of the state, whose safety assures us that Jove is grateful]. Epigrams 5.1, trans. Walter C. A. Ker, Martial : Epigrams, vol. 1 (Spectacles; Books 1-7), Loeb Classical Library (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1919) 294-95.   See Lorenz Winkler, Salus. Vom Staatskult zur politischen Idee (Heidelberg : Verlag Archäologie und Geschichte, 1995) 16-30. Antiphon 14.1 (2010): 30-44 31 Salus in the Roman Missal: What It Means and Why for something needed in the here and now, not something to be fully obtained only after death. Moving from religion to politics, we will briefly consider prayers on behalf of the public welfare, then look at prayers for personal salus. One of the foremost political concerns of republican Rome was the general well-being of the whole Roman people, the salus publica. Cicero affirmed that the salus of every individual of every rank in society depended on the salus of the republic. In republican Rome, an augurium salutis was offered each year to beg for the salus publica; because the sacrifice could be offered only in times of peace, the practice fell into desuetude but was later revived by Augustus. By this time, republican Rome had given way to imperial Rome, and the meaning of salus publica likewise evolved. Earlier, Cicero had promoted the idea that the general welfare of the republic depended on the leadership of statesmen who looked out for the salus publica. Now that the emperor was the leading statesman, the salus publica was thought to depend, not only on his actions, but on his safety. To beg for the emperor’s salus was to beg for the salus publica, on which the well-being of individual Romans depended. Thus, the emperor’s personal safety became the common concern of all. By A.D. 38, vota (public sacrifices) for the salus of state and emperor were fixed on certain dates of the official calendar of the Roman state. Willingness to offer vota for the salus of the Emperor was a test of political loyalty; to fail the test could lead to the loss of one’s own salus through death. With the geographical expansion of the Roman Empire came a corresponding broadening of the salus-concept.10 In the well-being of   See Hans U. Instinsky, Die alte Kirche und das Heil des Staates (Munich : Kösel, 1963) 22; Jason Moralee...