Aurelius Ambrose (340-397 AD)
• Aurelius Ambrosius[a] (c. 340-397), better known in English as Ambrose (/aembrouz/), was an Archbishop of Milan who
became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century. He was the Roman governor of Liguria and
Emilia, headquartered in Milan, before being made bishop of Milan by popular acclamation in 374. Ambrose was a
staunch opponent of Arianism. Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family about 340 and was raised in Gallia
Belgica, the capital of which was Augusta Treverorum.[4] His father is sometimes identified with Aurelius Ambrosius,[5)[6]
a praetorian prefect of Gaul;[1] but some scholars identify his father as an official named Uranius who received an
imperial constitution dated 3 February 339 (addressed in a brief extract from one of the three emperors ruling in 339,
Constantine II, Constantius II, or Constans, in the Codex Theodosianus, book Xl.5).[7][8][9] His mother was a woman of
intellect and piety[10] and a member of the Roman family Aurelii Symmachi,[11] and thus Ambrose was cousin of the
orator Quintus Aurelius Symmachus. He was the youngest of three children, who included Marcellina and Satyrus (who is
the subject of Ambrose’s De excessu fratris Satyri), also venerated as saints.[12] There is a legend that as an infant, a
swarm of bees settled on his face while he lay in his cradle, leaving behind a drop of honey. His father considered this a
sign of his future eloquence and honeyed tongue. For this reason, bees and beehives often appear in the saint's
symbology. After the early death of his father, Ambrose went to Rome where he studied literature, law, and rhetoric. He
then followed in his father's footsteps and entered public service. Praetorian Prefect Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus
first gave him a place in the council and then in about 372 made him governor of Liguria and Emilia, with headquarters at
Milan.[1] In 286 Diocletian had moved the capital of the Western Roman Empire from Rome to Mediolanum (Milan).
Ambrose was the Governor of Aemilia-Liguria in northern Italy until 374, when he became the Bishop of Milan. He was a
very popular political figure, and since he was the Governor in the effective capital in the Roman West, he was a
recognizable figure in the court of Valentinian I. Ambrose was one of the four original Doctors of the Church, and is
the patron saint of Milan. He is notable for his influence on Augustine of Hippo. Ambrose studied theology with
Simplician, a presbyter of Rome.[10] Using to his advantage his excellent knowledge of Greek, which was then
rare in the West, he studied the Old Testament and Greek authors like Philo, Origen, Athanasius, and Basil of
Caesarea, with whom he was also exchanging letters.[15] He applied this knowledge as preacher, concentrating
especially on exegesis of the Old Testament, and his rhetorical abilities impressed Augustine of Hippo, who
hitherto had thought poorly of Christian preachers. Traditionally, Ambrose is credited with promoting”antiphonal
chant”, a style of chanting in which one side of the choir responds alternately to the other, as well as with
composing Veni redemptor gentium, an Advent hymn. (Ambrose. Wikipedia. <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose>)
• [Translator] Hincmar is explaining the Scriptural numbers of Solomon's temple. In the number ten he finds the
Decalogue. It has always been a tradition of some to assign the first three commandments to the first table, because they
relate to serving God, and the seven other commandments to the second table, because they relate to loving men.
Anyone who owns Calvin's Institutes can read his discussion of this matter as he even points back to Augustine, whereas
it is clear that this opinion is very old. Three commandments about serving God on One table should be a type of the
Trinity. This leads Hincmar to some thoughts on the number three in 1 John 5:8 which is where he records a song of
Ambrose. In this song it is evident that the first several "threes” are coming straight from Scripture. The first is a reference
to 1 John 5:7. The second is a reference to 1 John 5:8, referring to the three types (Latin species) of material that were at
the cross Spirit, water and blood yet being one redemption (Ambrose like many others compared 1 John 5:6-8 with John
19:30, 34). This is the phrase Hincmar refers to. The third is a reference to Jonah 1:17. The fourth is a reference to Daniel
3. The fifth is a reference to Isaiah 6:1. From then on the references begin to be more general or no longer related to
Scripture. (Jeroen Beekhuizen, correspondence, February 2020)
Ambrose Hymn : Christian Latin Hymns
• [Carl Weyman] 3. About the Pseudo-Ambrosian verses on the number three. R. Ehwald has delivered to us in his
splendid edition of the works of Aldhelm (Monum. Germ. auct. ant. XV p. 381) fifteen”verses of the holy Ambrose
about the Trinity,’’which were inserted in the cod. Petropolitanus F XIV 1 (R) s. VIII-IX between v. 676 and 677 of the
poem De virginitate - so after the section that treats of Ambrose. It concerns - with one exception - the already known
verses of the number three which Alcuin cites in epist. 137 (Mon. Germ, epist. IV p. 213) and later Hincmar of Rheims in
his Explanatio in ferculum Salomonis (Migne, Patrol. Lat. CXXV 821 f.) both under the name of Ambrose. Verses which G.
Mercati, Studi e Testi XII (1904) p. 17ff. is inclined to effectively hold for a poem of the great Milanese bishop, while F.
Diekamp, Theol. Revue 1904 Sp. 464 - and I think correctly - expresses his objections to this view. The Aldhelm-
manuscript includes one extra verse compared to those handed down by Alcuin and Hincmar (v. 8’ trina Petro et Johanni
in monte refulsit imago’’about the transfiguration of Christ) and also contributes to an improved text, as for instance v.
11”terno mense suis (here divided incorrectly:"ter nomen sesuis”) redeunt stata (so thinks Ehwald, who's conjectures
have repeatedly been confirmed by the Hincmar/Alcuin version, and is evidently correct compared to the ugly’statuta”)
tempora membris”- where’ stata "certainly deserves precedence over the”sua"of Alcuin and Hincmar. Besides,"stata”is
also found in the so far neglected citation of Julian of Toledo (see below). This concoction is unworthy of Ambrose in my
opinion. It is rather a later (compare below note to v. 6) playing with the type of the griphus ternarii numeri of Ausonius (p.
200ff. Peiper) and received perhaps the name of this illustrious author from one of Ambrose’s readers that was attentive
to the role of the”mysticus numerus”(Expos. in evan. Luc. II 29 p. 56,14 Schenkl; compare Mercati a.a. O. p. 21; J. B.
Kellner, Der hi. Ambrosius, Bischof von Mailand, als Erklarer des Alten Testamentes, Regensburg 1893 S. 51 f.) in his
exegesis. (Weyman, Beitrage Zur Geschichte Der Christlich-Lateinischen Poesie, 1975, p. 43; Translated by Jeroen
Beekhuizen, correspondence, February 2020)
