Funeral Orations

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION UHE ORATION ON THE DEATH of Theodosius was delivered by the Bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose, on . February 25, 395, the fortieth day after the death of the emperor. The date of February 26, often given in handbooks , is an error created by a failure to include the day of his death in this reckoning. The occasion of the eulogy was the memorial service, held before the departure of the funeral cortege for Constantinople. A loyal and manly friendship had existed between the emperor and the bishop, who, as they worked for a common cause, found their mutual aims and desires to be quite compatible. The man who did so much to make the empire a Christian state was Theodosius, but the chief impulse behind him came from Ambrose. The task of the eulogist was not merely the preparation of a discourse polished and made perfect according to rhetorical canons. Officially, the task of St. Ambrose was the presentation of a panegyric on the dead emperor; personally it was much more. He had, of course, to give to the dead the tribute customary to his rank, but he had also to reach out to the living and to offer to each group of the varied throng comfort and salutary spiritual advice. The audience which 303 304 ST. AMBROSE gathered in the basilica was varied and interesting. It consisted of the newly appointed Emperor Honorius, a child of ten; Stilicho, his guardian and regent of the West; the army corps which had come out of the Orient for the last campaign of Theodosius; the Milanese; and that conglomerate array of court officials and visitors that an imperial capital always attracts. On this occasion, however, the threatening possibilities of the future cast additional gloom over the funeral ceremonies and complicated the orator's emotions still more. The fate of the Roman Empire become a Christian State was now hanging in the balance. The empire as now established was only a century removed from the times of Diocletian and only a generation older than the paganism of Julian. Idolatry was still widespread and constantly trying to recuperate its failing strength. Even more dangerous foes, since they were passing under the name of Christians, threatened the Church from within. Barbarian hordes, which formed a definite part of the Empire, threatened Church and State. Theodosius, by his strength and courage, had been able to sustain the great burden and preserve both. But Theodosius was now dead. The unity of the Empire had been disrupted. To Arcadius, a youth of eighteen, had passed the Empire of the East, to Honorius, a boy of ten, the Empire of the West. Would these young rulers rise to the occasion? It was a solemn moment when Ambrose rose to speak. Ambrose's anxiety is shown by his repeated appeals to the army, reminding them of the victories of their chief, and exhorting them to show gratitude to their dead ruler by being faithful to his sons. It appears again in the examples chosen from the Bible of the long and prosperous reigns of two youthful kings of Israel. ON THEODOSIUS 305 Then, desiring to impart a moral lesson, Ambrose develops at length an exposition of the virtues of Theodosius, choosing such as are profitable for imitation by the prince and his guardian, in whose hands the reins of the government may well prove the deciding factor either for good or for evil. In this exposition Theodosius stands forth as the exemplar of all Christian rulers. He is shown as the guardian of the Church, distinguished for piety and zeal; as the refuge and father of the poor and erring, magnanimous toward his enemies, faithful to his friends; and, finally, as the sinner, humbled, repentant, and forgiven. ...