RUFINUS
222
RUPUS
IUfinus of Aquileia.
From a woodcut in Thevet's book '
Vrais Pourtraits," Paris, 1584
under 4 September (ed. cit., 1 16). (9) On 9 September,
Rufinus and Rufinianus, with no further particulars.
(10) On 16 November, Rufinus, a martyr in Africa with
several companions in martjTdom; nothing is kno^\Ti
concerning this saint. (11) Besides the saints al-
ready given mention should also be made of a martyr
Rufinus of Alexandria whose name is given under
22 June in the "MartjTol. Hieronym.^' (ed. cit., 81).
J. P. KiRSCH.
Rufinus Tyrannius, better known as Rufinus of Aquileia. b. about 345, probably at Concordia in Italy (Jerome, Ep. ii, 2); d. in Sicily about 410. Though both his parents were of the Christian Faith, he was not baptized till he was about twenty-five years old at Aqui- leia, where he lived for a short time as a monk. During this period he prob- ably composed his " Exposition of the Creed". Soon af- ter his baptism he went to Egypt, ]irobably in the company of Me- lania ; he there spent six years among the her- mits, and from them imbibed his love of Origen. Afterwards he scut- tled in Palestine, and lived in a monastery on the Mount of Olives with companions who dwelled in cells built at his expense, for he was a wealthy man. He later paid a second visit to Egypt which lasted about two years. His friendship with St. Jerome, begun at Aquileia if not earlier, was broken by the Origenist controversy in Palestine stirred up by St. Epipha- nius (see Origenis.m), but the two were subse- quently reconciled. In 397 he returned to Italy in the company of Melania. On his arrival there he composed a commentary on the "Benedictions of the Patriarchs", and began his labours as a translator of Origen with a Latin version of Pamphilus's "Apology for (Jrigen" (see Pamphilus of C^sarea, Saint), to which he affixed by way of epilogue a short but his- torically valuable treatise "The Adulteration of the Works of Origen by Heretics". This was followed by a traiLslation of Origen's "De principiis". As the original is no longer extant, Rufinus's concept of his office as a translator, though prudent at the time, is aggravating to po.sterity. Assuming extensive falsi- fication by heretics, he omitted and rcc^tificd, endeav- ouring however to make his rectifications from what Origen haxi said elsewhere. He als(j indiscreetly, if not with malicious intent, lauded St. Jerome's earlier zeal for Origen. This led to a fresh outbreak of the Origenist controversy and a final estrangement from St. Jerome. St. Jerome atta/iked Rufinus, who replied with an "Apology" in two books. It was in con- nexion with this controvrTsy that he wrote his short "Apology to Pope Anastasius". Rufinus translated other writings of Origrm besides those already named : Hfinie treatises of St. Basil and of Gregory of Nazian- ziiH, the "R^jcognitions of Clement", the "Sayings" or "Ring of Xystus", some short tracts of EvagriuH Ponticus, and Eusf-bius's "Church History"; to this hist he abided two books, bringing the narrative down to his own times. For the question whether the "Historia mona/!horum" was an original work or a translation see Monaktk'ikm. II. Enjit/rn MnnoHti- cism Before Chalcedan (A, D. 451). The beat edition
of the works of Rufinus is that of Vallarsi (Verona,
1745). It contains Fontanini's "Vita Rufini", which
is still a great authority. This edition has been re-
printed by jMignc in P. L., XXI. Unfortunately, it
does not contain the translations, and what is of more
importance, the prefaces to the translations: these
must be sought in the works of Origen, St. Basil etc.
The translation of Eusebius's "Church History",
together with the continuation, has been recently
published in the Berlin edition of the Greek Christian
writers of the first three centuries. The most im-
portant of Rufinus's writings, including the aforesaid
prefaces, have been translated in the third volume of
Wace and Schaflf's "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers".
For further information concerning Rufinus and his writings consult the Prolegomena to the above-mentioned translations. See also Fremantle in Did. Christ. Biog., s. v. Rufinus (3). For the Origenist controversy see Duchesne, Hist, ancienne de Veglise, III, ii; Thierry," Sauii Jerome, I (Paris, 1867), 1. VII. For Rufinus as a translator of Origen see Armitage Robinson's edition of the Philocaha (Cambridge, 1893), pp. xxxi-xxxix; this writer says: "His [Rufinus's] translation is in fact what we should now call a paraphrase. He gives as a rule sense; and for the most part it is Origen's sense, if we have regard to the general thought rather than to the individual sentence."
F. J. Bacchus.
Rufus, Saints. — The present Roman Martyrology records ten saints of this name. Historical mention is made of the following: (1) On 19 April, a grou]) of martyrs in Melitene in Armenia, one of whom bears the name of Rufus. These martyrs are mentioncnl al- ready in the "Mart>Tologium Hieronymianum" (ed. De Rossi-Duchesne, 46). (2) On 1 August, Rufus, with several comi)anions who, according to the most reliable manus<'ri])ts of the "Martyrol. Hieronym." died at Tomi, the jilace b(>ing afterwards by mistake changed to Philadeli)hia (cf. Quentin, "Les martyr- ologes historiques", 337). (3) On 27 August, two martjTs named Rufus at Capua — one, whose name also appears as Rufinus in the "Martyrol. Hieronj^m." (ed. cit.. 111). The other is said to have suffered with a companion, Carponius, in the Diocletian i)erse(m- tion (cf. "Bibliothecahagiographicalatina", II, 1070; Acta SS., VI August, 18-19). (4) On 25 S(>ptember, several martjTs at Damas(;us, among them one named Rufus. (5) On 7 Nov(>mber, a St. Rufus, who is said to have been Bishoj) of Metz; his history, however, is legendary. His name was inserted at a later date in an old manuscrijjtof the "Martyrol. Hieronym." (ed. cit., 140). In the ninth century his relicts were trans- ferred to Gau-Odernheim in Ilesse, Diocese of Mainz. (6) On 12 November, Rufus, a sup])Osed Bishop of Avignon, who is perhaps identical with Rufus, the disciple of Paul (21 November). Legend, without any historical proof, has made him the first Bishop of Avignon [cf. Duchesne, "Pastes episcopaux do I'ancienne Gaulc", I, 258; Duprat in "Memoires do r Academic de Vaucluse" (1889), 373 sqq.; (1890), 1 sqq., 105 sqq.]. (7) On 21 November, Rufus the discii)le of th(> Ai)Ostles, who lived at Rome and to whom St. I'aul sent a greeting, as well as he did also to the mother of Rufus ( Rom., xvi, 13). St. Marksays in his Gospel (xv, 21) that Simon of C>Tene was the father of Rufus, and as Mark wrote his (losi)el for the Roman Christians, this Rufus is jjrobably the same jis th(! one to whom Paul .sent a salulat ion [cf. Cornely, "Commentar. in Ei)ist. ad Romanos" (Paris, 1896), 778 sq.]. (8) On 28 November, a Roman martyr Rufus, probably ideni i(;al with the Rufinianus who was buried in the Catacomb of (Jenerosa on th(! Via Portuensis, and who is introduc^ed in the legendary Acts of the martyrdom of St. Chry.sogonus (cf. Allanl, "Histoire des pers<!cutions", IV, 371 sq.). (9) On 18 December, the holy martyrs R>ifus and Zosimus, who were taken to Rome with St. Ignatius of Antioch .md were put to death therefor their unwavering confession of Christianity during the persecution of Tr.ijiin. St . Polycarp sptiaks of them in his letter to the Philii)- piane (c. ix). J. P. Kiubcu.
