E07122: In his Letter 8.15, written in Latin, Sidonius Apollinaris replies to a request from Prosper, bishop of Orléans, to write the Life of his predecessor *Anianus/Annianus (bishop of Orléans, ob. 454, S01206). The letter includes a reference to *Germanus (bishop of Auxerre, ob. 448, S00455) and Lupus (bishop of Troyes, ob. 479, S00418). Written in Clermont (central Gaul), c. 477/480.

Sidonius Apollinaris, Letters 8.15.1-2

Dum laudibus summis sanctum Annianum, maximum consummatissimumque pontificem, Lupo parem Germanoque non imparem, vis celebrari fideliumque desideras pectoribus infigi viri talis ac tanti mores merita virtutes, cui etiam illud non absque iustitia gloriae datur, quod te successore decessit, exegeras mihi, ut promitterem tibi Attilae bellum stilo me posteris intimaturum, quo videlicet Aurelianensis urbis obsidio oppugnatio, inruptio nec direptio et illa vulgata exauditi caelitus sacerdotis vaticinatio continebatur. Coeperam scribere; sed operis arrepti fasce perspecto taeduit inchoasse; propter hoc nullis auribus credidi quod primum me censore damnaveram. Dabitur, ut spero, precatui tuo et meritis antistitis summi, quatenus praeconio suo sub quacumque et quidem celeri occasione famulemur.

'You were anxious that the holy Annianus, that great and consummate prelate, the equal of Lupus and no whit inferior to Germanus, should be glorified with the highest praises, and that there should be implanted in the hearts of the faithful for ever the character, merits, and virtues of that great and good man (a man to whom is most rightly given the crowning glory of having handed on his office to such a successor as you). Accordingly, you have urged me to promise to ply my pen in narrating for posterity the story of the war with Attila, which included, of course, the investment and the attack on Orleans, when the city was invaded but never plundered (inruptio nec direptio), and the far-famed prophesy of the priest who won the ear of heaven. I began the story; but when I realised the immensity of the work I had undertaken I regretted having ever started it. Hence I have never submitted to the ears of any critic a work which I had myself already judged and condemned. But I hope to satisfy both your request and the merits of the great bishop by devoting myself to a panegyric on him at the first, and indeed a very early, opportunity.'

Text and translation: Anderson 1965, 490-493.