Caesarius
(Καισάρειος), a physician who is however better known as having been the brother of St. Gregory Theologus.
He was born of Christian parents, his father (whose name was Gregory) being bishop of Nazianzus. He was carefully and religiously educated, and studied at Alexandria, where he made great progress in geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, and medicine. He afterwards embraced the medical profession, and settled at Constantinople, where he enjoyed a great reputation, and became the friend and physician of the emperor Constantius, A. D. 337-360. Upon the accession of Julian, Caesarius was tempted by the emperor to apostatize to paganism; but he refused, and chose rather to leave the court and return to his native country. After the death of Julian, he was recalled to court, and held in high esteem by the emperors Jovian, Valens, and Valentinian, by one of whom he was appointed quaestor of Bithynia. At the time of the earthquake at Nicaea, he was preserved in a very remarkable manner, upon which his brother St. Gregory took occasion to write a letter (which is still extant, Ep. 20, vol. ii. p. 19, ed. Paris, 1840), urging upon him the duty of abandoning all worldly cares, and giving himself up entirely to the service of God. This he had long wished to do, but was now prevented from putting his design into execution by his death, which took place A. D. 369, shortly after his baptism. His brother pronounced a funeral oration on the occasion, which is still extant (Orat. 7, vol. i. p. 198), and from which the preceding particulars of his life are taken; and also wrote several short poems, or epitaphs, lamenting his death. (Opera, vol. ii. p. 1110, &c.)
The memory of St. Caesarius is celebrated in the Romish Church on Feb. 25. Works Πεύσεις, Quaestiones Theologicae et Philosophicae
There is extant, under the name of Caesarius, a short Greek work, with the title Πεύσεις, Quaestiones Theologicae et Philosophicae, which, though apparently considered, in the time of Photius (Biblioth. Cod. 210), to belong to the brother of St. Gregory, is now generally believed to be the work of some other person. The contents of the book are sufficiently indicated by the title. Editions
It has been several times published with the works of his brother, St. Gregory, and in collections of the Fathers; and also separately, in Greek and Latin, August. Vindel. 1626, 4to. ed. Elias Ehinger. Further Information
Acta Sanctorum, Feb. 25, vol. v. p. 496, &c.; Lambec. Biblioth. Vindob. vol. iv. p. 66, &c., ed. Kollar; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. viii. pp. 435, 436. [W.A.G]
a distinguished ecclesiastic of the fifth and sixth centuries.
He was born at Chalons in 468, devoted his youth to the discipline of a monastic life, and was elected bishop of Arles in 502. He presided over this see for forty years. during which period he was twice accused of treason, first against Alaric, and afterwards against Theodoric, but upon both occasions was honourably acquitted. He took an active share in the deliberations of several councils of the church, and gained peculiar celebrity by his strenuous exertions for the suppression of the Semipelagian doctrines, which had been promulgated about a century before by Cassianus, and had spread widely in southern Gaul.
A life of Caesarius, which however must be considered rather in the light of a panegyric than of a sober biography, was composed by his friend and pupil, Cyprian, bishop of Toulon. Works Treatises
Caesarius is the author of two treatises, one entitled Regula ad Monachos, and another Regula ad Virgines. Editions
Together with three Exhortationes and some opuscula, will be found in the 8th volume of the Bibliotheca Patrum, Leyden, 1677; and were printed in a separate volume, with the notes of Meynardus, at Poitiers (Petavium), 1621, 8vo. Sermons
His chief works, however, consist of sermons or homilies. Editions
Forty of these were published by Cognatus, at Basle, 1558, 4to., and 1569, fol., and are included in the Monumenta SS. Patrum Orthodoxographa of Grynaeus, Cologne, 1618, fol. p. 1861; a collection of forty-six, together with some smaller tracts, are in the 8th volume of the Bibliotheca Patrum referred to above; and the 11th volume of the Bibliotheca Patrum of Galland (Venice, 1776) contains fourteen more, first brought to light by Baluze (Paris, 1699, 8vo.).
Besides these, upwards of a hundred out of the 317 discourses falsely attributed to Augustin are commonly assigned to Caesarius. Further Information
Vita S. Caesarii, Episc. Arelatensis, a Cypriano, ejus Discipulo, et Messiano Presb. et Stephano Diac. conscripta duobus libris, in the Vitae SS. of Surius, 27 August. p. 284. See also Dissertatio de Vita ct Scriptis S. Caesarii, Arelatensis Archiep., by Oudin in his Comment. de Scriptt. Eccles. vol. i. p. 1339; in addition to which, Funceius, De Inerti et Decrepita Senectute Linguae Latinae, cap. 6. § viii.; and Baehr, Geschichte der Römischen Literatur, Suppl. vol. ii. p. 425. [W.R]