Français       Italiano       Español     Deutsch
Patron of Computer
Technicians (Proposed)

Saint Isidore of Seville

(Born at Cartagena, Spain, about 560; died 4 April, 636)
                     Isidore was the son of Severianus and Theodora. His elder brother Leander was
                     his immediate predecessor in the Metropolitan See of Seville; whilst a younger
                     brother St. Fulgentius presided over the Bishopric of Astigi. His sister Florentina
                     was a nun, and is said to have ruled over forty convents and one thousand
                     religious.

Church of Saint Isidore (XIV - XVI century)                                                                          (Enciclopedia Cattolica- Vatican)

                     Isidore received his elementary education in the Cathedral school of Seville. In
                     this institution, which was the first of its kind in Spain, the trivium and quadrivium
                     were taught by a body of learned men, among whom was the archbishop,
                     Leander. With such diligence did he apply himself to study that in a remarkably
                     short time mastered Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Whether Isidore ever embraced
                     monastic life or not is still an open question, but though he himself may never
                     have been affiliated with any of the religious orders, he esteemed them highly. On
                     his elevation to the episcopate he immediately constituted himself protector of
                     the monks. In 619 he pronounced anathema against any ecclesiastic who should
                     in any way molest the monasteries.

                     On the death of Leander, Isidore succeeded to the See of Seville. His long
                     incumbency to this office was spent in a period of disintegration and transition.
                     The ancient institutions and classic learning of the Roman Empire were fast
                     disappearing. In Spain a new civilization was beginning to evolve itself from the
                     blending racial elements that made up its population. For almost two centuries
                     the Goths had been in full control of Spain, and their barbarous manners and
                     contempt of learning threatened greatly to put back her progress in civilization.
                     Realizing that the spiritual as well as the material well-being of the nation
                     depended on the full assimilation of the foreign elements, St. Isidore set himself
                     to the task of welding into a homogeneous nation the various peoples who made
                     up the Hispano-Gothic kingdom. To this end he availed himself of all the
                     resources of religion and education. His efforts were attended with complete
                     success. Arianism, which had taken deep root among the Visigoths, was
                     eradicated, and the new heresy of Acephales was completely stifled at the very
                     outset; religious discipline was everywhere strengthened. Like Leander, he took a
                     most prominent part in the Councils of Toledo and Seville. In all justice it may be
                     said that it was in a great measure due to the enlightened statecraft of these two
                     illustrious brothers the Visigothic legislation, which emanated from these
                     councils, is regarded by modern historians as exercising a most important
                     influence on the beginnings of representative government. Isidore presided over
                     the Second Council of Seville, begun 13 November, 619, in the reign of Sisebut.
                     But it was the Fourth National Council of Toledo that afforded him the opportunity
                     of being of the greatest service to his county. At this council, begun 5 December,
                     633, all the bishops of Spain were in attendance. St. Isidore, though far advanced
                     in years, presided over its deliberations, and was the originator of most of its
                     enactments. It was at this council and through his influence that a decree was
                     promulgated commanding all bishops to establish seminaries in their Cathedral
                     Cities, along the lines of the school already existing at Seville. Within his own
                     jurisdiction he had availed himself of the resources of education to counteract the
                     growing influence of Gothic barbarism. His was the quickening spirit that
                     animated the educational movement of which Seville was the centre. The study of
                     Greek and Hebrew as well as the liberal arts, was prescribed. Interest in law and
                     medicine was also encouraged. Through the authority of the fourth council this
                     policy of education was made obligatory upon all the bishops of the kingdom.
                     Long before the Arabs had awakened to an appreciation of Greek Philosophy, he
                     had introduced Aristotle to his countrymen. He was the first Christian writer to
                     essay the task of compiling for his co-religionists a summa of universal
                     knowledge. This encyclopedia epitomized all learning, ancient as well as
                     modern. In it many fragments of classical learning are preserved which otherwise
                     had been hopelessly lost. The fame of this work imparted a new impetus to
                     encyclopedic writing, which bore abundant fruit in the subsequent centuries of
                     the Middle Ages. His style, though simple and lucid, cannot be said to be
                     classical. It discloses most of the imperfections peculiar to all ages of transition.
                     It particularly reveals a growing Visigothic influence. Arevalo counts in all Isidore's
                     writing 1640 Spanish words.


                     Isidore was the last of the ancient Christian Philosophers, as he was the last of
                     the great Latin Fathers. He was undoubtedly the most learned man of his age
                     and exercised a far-reaching and immeasurable influence on the educational life
                     of the Middle Ages. His contemporary and friend, Braulio, Bishop of Saragossa,
                     regarded him as a man raised up by God to save the Spanish people from the
                     tidal wave of barbarism that threatened to inundate the ancient civilization of
                     Spain, The Eighth Council of Toledo (653) recorded its admiration of his character
                     in these glowing terms: "The extraordinary doctor, the latest ornament of the
                     Catholic Church, the most learned man of the latter ages, always to be named
                     with reverence, Isidore". This tribute was endorsed by the Fifteenth Council of
                     Toledo, held in 688.




                     As a writer, Isidore was prolific and versatile to an extraordinary degree. His
                     voluminous writings may be truly said to constitute the first chapter of Spanish
                     literature. It is not, however, in the capacity of an original and independent writer,
                     but as an indefatigable compiler of all existing knowledge, that literature is most
                     deeply indebted to him. The most important and by far the best-known of all his
                     writings is the "Etymologiae", or "Origines", as it is sometimes called. This work
                     takes its name from the subject-matter of one of its constituent books. It was
                     written shortly before his death, in the full maturity of his wonderful scholarship,
                     at the request. of his friend Braulio, Bishop of Saragossa. It is a vast storehouse
                     in which is gathered, systematized, and condensed, all the learning possessed
                     by his time. Throughout the greater part of the Middle Ages it was the textbook
                     most in use in educational institutions. So highly was it regarded as a depository
                     of classical learning that in a great measure, it superseded the use of the
                     individual works of the classics themselves. Not even the Renaissance seemed
                     to diminish the high esteem in which it was held, and according to Arevalo, it
                     was printed ten times between 1470 and 1529. Besides these numerous reprints,
                     the popularity of the "Etymologiae" gave rise to many inferior imitations. It
                     furnishes, abundant evidence that the writer possessed a most intimate
                     knowledge of the Greek and Latin poets. In all, he quotes from one hundred and
                     fifty-four authors, Christian and pagan. Many of these he had read in the originals
                     and the others he consulted in current compilations. In style this encyclopedic
                     work is concise and clear and in order, admirable. Braulio, to whom Isidore sent
                     it for correction, and to whom he dedicated it, divided it into twenty books.

                          The first three of these books are taken up with the trivium and quadrivium.
                          The entire first book is devoted to grammar, including metre. Imitating the
                          example of Cassiodorus and Boethius he preserves the logical tradition of
                          the schools by reserving the second book for rhetoric and dialectic.
                          Book four, treats of medicine and libraries;
                          book five, of law and chronology;
                          book six, of ecclesiastical books and offices;
                          book seven, of God and of the heavenly and earthly hierarchies;
                          book eight, of the Church and of the sects, of which latter he numbers no
                          less than sixty-eight;
                          book nine, of languages, peoples, kingdoms, and official titles;
                          book ten, of etymology:
                          book eleven, of man;
                          book twelve, of beasts and birds;
                          book thirteen, of the world and its parts;
                          book fourteen, of physical geography;
                          book fifteen, of public buildings and roadmaking;
                          book sixteen, of stones and metals;
                          book seventeen, of agriculture;
                          book eighteen, of the terminology of war, of jurisprudence, and public
                          games;
                          book nineteen, of ships, houses, and clothes;
                          book twenty, of victuals, domestic and agricultural tools, and furniture.

                     In the second book, dealing with dialectic and rhetoric, Isidore is heavily indebted
                     to translations from the Greek by Boethius. Caelius Aurelianus contributes
                     generously to that part of the fourth book which deals with medicine. Lactantius
                     is the author most extensively quoted in the eleventh book, concerning man. The
                     twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth books are largely based on the writings of Pliny
                     and Solinus; whilst the lost "Prata" of Suetonius seems to have inspired the
                     general plan of the "Etymologiae", as well as many of its details.

                     Similar in its general character to the "Etymologiae" is a work entitled "Libri duo
                     differentiarum". The two books of which it is composed are entitled respectively,
                     "De differentiis verborum" and "De differentiis rerum". The former is a dictionary of
                     synonyms, treating of the differences of words with considerable erudition, and
                     not a little ingenuity; the latter an exposition of theological and ascetical ideas,
                     dealing in particular with the, Trinity and with the Divine and human nature of
                     Christ. It suggests, and probably was inspired by, a similar work of Cato's, It is
                     supplementary to the first two books of the "Etymologiae". The "Synonyma", or,
                     as it is sometimes called on account of its peculiar treatment, "Liber
                     lamentationum", is in a manner illustrative of the first book of the "Differentiae". It
                     is cast in the form of a dialogue between Man and Reason. The general burden of
                     the dialogue is that Man mourns the condition to which he has been reduced
                     through sin, and Reason comforts him with the knowledge of how he may still
                     realize eternal happiness. The second part of this work consists of a dissertation
                     on vice and virtue. The "De natura rerum" a manual of elementary physics, was
                     composed at the request of King Sisebut, to whom it is dedicated. It treats of
                     astronomy, geography, and miscellanea. It is one of Isidore's best known books
                     and enjoyed a wide popularity during the Middle Ages. The authenticity of "De
                     ordine creaturarum" has been questioned by some critics, though apparently
                     without good reason. Arevalo unhesitatingly attributes it to Isidore. It deals with
                     various spiritual and physical questions, such as the Trinity, the consequences
                     of sin, eternity, the ocean, the heavens, and the celestial bodies.

                     The subjects of history and biography are represented by three important works.
                     Of these the first, "Chronicon", is a universal chronicle. In its preface Isidore
                     acknowledges, his indebtedness to Julius Africanus; to St. Jerome's rendering of
                     Eusebius; and to Victor of Tunnuna. The "Historia de regibus Gothorum,
                     Wandalorum, et Suevorum" concerns itself chiefly with the Gothic kings whose
                     conquests and government deeply influenced the civilization of Spain. The history
                     of the Vandals and the Suevi is treated in two short appendixes. This work is
                     regarded as the chief authority on Gothic history in the West. It contains the
                     interesting statement that the Goths descended from Gog and Magog. Like the
                     other Historical writings of Isidore, it is largely based on earlier works of history,
                     of which it is a compendium- It has come down to us in two recensions, one of
                     which ends at the death of Sisebut (621), and the other continues to the fifth year
                     of the reign of Swintila, his successor. "De viris illustribus" is a work of Christian
                     biography and constitutes a most interesting chapter in the literature of
                     patrology. To the number of illustrious writers mentioned therein Braulio added
                     the name of Isidore himself. A short appendix containing a list of Spanish
                     theologians was added by Braulio's disciple, Ildephonsus of Toledo. It is the
                     continuation of the work of Gennadius, a Semipelagian priest of Marseilles, who
                     wrote between 467 and 480. This work of Gennadius was in turn, but the
                     continuation of the work of St. Jerome.

                     Among the scriptural and theological works of St. Isidore the following are
                     especially worthy of note:

                          "De ortu et obitu patrum qui in Scriptura laudibus efferuntur" is a work that
                          treats of the more notable Scriptural characters. It contains more than one
                          passage that, in the light of modern scholarship, is naive or fantastic. The
                          question of authenticity has been raised, though quite unreasonably,
                          concerning it.
                          "Allegoriae quaedam Sacrae Scripturae" treats of the allegorical
                          significance that attaches to the more conspicuous characters of
                          Scripture. In all some two hundred and fifty personalities of the Old and
                          New Testament are thus treated.
                          "Liber numerorum qui in Sanctis Scripturis occurrunt" is a curious
                          dissertation on the mystical significance of Scriptural numbers.
                          "In libros Veteris et Novi Testamenti prooemia", as its name implies, is a
                          general introduction to the Scriptures, with special introductions for
                          particular books in the Old and New Testament.
                          "De Veteri et Novo Testamento quastiones" consists of a series of
                          questions concerning the Scriptures.
                          "Secretorum expositiones sacramentorum, seu quaestiones in Vetus
                          Testamentum" is a mystical rendering of the Old Testament books, of
                          Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Josue, Judges,
                          Kings, Esdras, and Machabees. It is based on the writings of the early
                          Fathers of the Church.
                          "De fide catholica ex Veteri et Novo Testamento, contra Judaeos" is one
                          of the best known and most meritorious of Isidore's works. It is of an
                          apologetico-polemical character and is dedicated to Florentina, his sister,
                          at whose request it is said to have been written. Its popularity was
                          unbounded in the Middle Ages, and it was translated into many of the
                          vernaculars of the period. It treats of the Messianic prophecies, the
                          passing of the Old Law, and of the Christian Dispensation. The first part
                          deals with the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, and His return for the
                          final judgment. The second part is taken up with the unbelief of the Jews,
                          the calling of the Gentiles, and the passing of the Sabbath. In all, it is an
                          appeal to the Jews to accept Christianity.
                          "Sententiarum libri tres" is a compendium of moral and dogmatic
                          theology. Gregory the Great and St. Augustine are the most generous
                          contributors to its contents. The Divine attributes, creation, evil, and
                          miscellanea are the subjects treated in the first book. The second is of a
                          miscellaneous character; whilst the third deals with ecclesiastical orders,
                          the judgment and the chastisement of God. It is believed that this work
                          greatly influenced Peter Lombard in his famous "Book of Sentences",
                          "De ecclesiasticis officiis" is divided into two books, "De origine
                          officiorum" and "De origine ministrorum". In the first Isidore treats of Divine
                          worship and particularly the old Spanish Liturgy. It also Contains a lucid
                          explanation of the Holy, Eucharist. The second treats of the hierarchy of
                          the Church and the various states of life. In it much interesting information
                          is to be found concerning the development of music in general and its
                          adaptation to the needs of the Ritual.
                          "Regula monachorum" is a manner of life prescribed for monks, and also
                          deals in a general way with the monastic state. The writer furnishes
                          abundant proof of the true Christian democracy of the religious life by
                          providing for the admission of men of every rank and station of life. Not
                          even slaves were debarred. "God", he said, "has made no difference
                          between the soul of the slave and that of the freedman." He insists that in
                          the monastery all are equal in the sight of God and of the Church.

                     The first edition of the works of Isidore was published in folio by Michael Somnius
                     (Paris, 1580). Another edition that is quite complete is based upon the
                     manuscripts of Gomez, with notes by Perez and Grial (Madrid, 1599). Based
                     largely upon the Madrid edition is that published by Du Breul (Paris, 1601;
                     Cologne, 1617). The last edition of all the works of Isidore, which is also regarded
                     as the best, is that of Arevalo (7 vols., Rome, 1797-1803). It is found in P. L.,
                     LXXXI-LXXXIV. The "De natura rerum was edited by G. Becker (Berlin, 1857). Th.
                     Mommsen edited the historical writings of St. Isidore ("Mon. Germ. Hist.: Auct.
                     antiquiss.", Berlin, 1894). Coste produced a German translation of the "Historia
                     de regibus Gothorum, Wandalorum et Suevorum" (Leipzig, 1887).

                     John B. O'Connor
                     Transcribed by Darl J. Dumont

                                       The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII
                                    Copyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton Company
                                    Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight
                                 Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor
                                 Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

The Catholic Encyclopedia:  NewAdvent.org
*          *          *          *          *          *          *
Saint Isidore's doctrine and an evaluation:

    Since the XVIIIth century, Saint Isidore has been honoured as a Doctor of the universal Church.   And rightly so, for even outside Spain his intellectual influence was outstandingly predominant in the Middle Ages.  It is important however to underline its exact nature.  Saint Isidore's genius was not personal, original and creative as was Augustine's  He sifted very little to the bottom, yet he treated of everything.  We might say that the wide field of his studies was indeed due to their very nature.  Saint Isidore was a compiler and an erudite.  All his learning came from the past; he added nothing.  He borrowed his theological and ascetic doctrine from Saint Augustine and Saint Gregory, just as he drew so largely on the treasures of ancient literature.  He was, moreover, extraordinarily gifted as a compiler and possibly there has never been a greater.  Together with quick understanding and unfailing memory, he possessed a great facility for clear and rapid explanation.  And in spite of the fact that  he used a language corrupted by an enormous incidence of foreign words, he was often able to give astonishingly exact definitions.  Saint Isidore was providentially designed for his age and the following centuries.  With Cassiodorus, Boethius and Saint Gregory, he was an educator of the Middle Ages.  His encyclopedic knowledge won him especial fame at this period.

    It is useless and perhaps impossible to give any methodical account of Saint Isidore's doctrine; his works contain too much and too little.  He was a faithful echo of tradition and summarized all the learning of his time.  From this point of view his writings are extremely precious; but it would be impossible to extract from them the guiding ideas which are nowhere set out methodically in this vast encyclopedia of human learning, nor in any more specialized work.  Nevertheless we will endeavor to class various useful data concerning his dogmatic and moral teaching.  These will be found useful both for a better understanding  of the blessed Doctor's ideas (which have at times been misinterpreted) and also as a guide to the state of tradition at this period with regard to matters of importance, and subjects that are little known from other sources.  

    The eternal verities form the object of wisdom and thus distinguish it from knowledge which treats of temporal things and which guides the active life much more than it aids the contemplative.  In this, knowledge is similar to prudence; yet because knowledge also must seek after God, it leads to wisdom.  Nevertheless, even wisdom has its limits in this world, and there is no real knowledge of God without the realization that He cannot be known perfectly.

    Isidore gives very wise counsel on prayer and study.  In particular he recommends the study of the Scriptures, to which grace affords a true understanding.

F. Cayré; MANUAL OF PATROLOGY and History of Theology; Desclée & Co; 1940

*     *     *     *     *     *     *
Butler's Lives of the Saints:
(Edition 1844)

Saint  Isidore

Bishop of Seville
A.D. 636

             (From his works and those of SS. Braulio and Ildefonse, his disciples. His life, compiled by
             Luke, Bishop of Tuy, in Galicia, in 1236, extant in Mabillon, Saec. Ben. ii., shows not that
             accuracy and judgment which we admire in the books of that author against the
             Albigenses: nor is it here made use of.)

Saint Isidore is honored in Spain as the most illustrious doctor of that church, in
which God raised him, says St. Braulio,* to stem the torrent of barbarism and ferocity
which every where followed the arms of the Goths, who had settled themselves in
that kingdom, in 412.  The eighth great council of Toledo, fourteen years after his death,
styles him "the excellent doctor, the late ornament of the Catholic church, the most
learned man, given to enlighten the latter ages, always to be named with reverence."  
The city Carthagena was the place of his birth, which his parents, Severian and
Theodora, persons of the first quality in the kingdom, edified by the example of their extraordinary piety.  His two brothers, Leander and Fulgentius, bishops,** and his sister Florentina are also honored among the saints.  Isidore having qualified himself in his
youth for the service of the church by an uncommon stock of virtue and learning,
assisted his brother, Leander, Archbishop of Seville, in the conversion of the Visigoths
from the Arian heresy.  This great work he had the happiness to see perfectly
accomplished by his indefatigable zeal and labors, which he continued during the
successive reigns of the kings Reccared, Liuba, Witeric, Gundemar, Sisebut, and
Sisemund. Upon the decease of St. Leander, in 600 or 601, he succeeded him in the see
of Seville.***  He restored and settled the discipline of the church of Spain in several
councils, of all of which he was the oracle and the soul.  The purity of their doctrine, and
the severity of the canons enacted in them, drawn up chiefly by him, are incontestable monuments of his great learning and zeal.+  In the council of Seville, in 619, in which he presided, he, in a public disputation, convinced Gregory (a bishop of the Acephali) of his
error, who was come over from Syria; and so evidently did he confute the Eutychian
heresy that Gregory upon the spot embraced the Catholic faith.  In 610, the bishops, in a
council held at Toledo, agreed to declare the archbishop of that city primate of all Spain,
as, they say, he had always been acknowledged; which decree King Gundemar
confirmed by a law the same year, and Saint Isidore subscribed the same.  Yet we find
that in the fourth council of Toledo, in 633, the most famous of all the synods of Spain,
though Justus, the Archbishop of Toledo, was present, Saint Isidore presided, not by the privilege of his see, but on the bare consideration of his extraordinary merit; for he was regarded as the eminent doctor of the churches of Spain.  The city of Toledo was
honored with the residence of the Visigoth kings.

    Saint Isidore, to extend to posterity the advantages which his labors had procured to
the church, compiled many useful works: in which he takes in the whole circle of the
sciences, and discovers a most extensive reading, and a general acquaintance with the
ancient writers, both sacred and profane.  In the moral parts his style is pathetic and
moving, being the language of a heart overflowing with sentiments of religion and piety:
and though elegance and politeness of style were not the advantage of that age, the
diction of this father is agreeable and clear. The saint was well versed in the Latin,
Greek, and Hebrew languages.

    St. Ildefonse says that this saint governed his church near forty years, but cannot mean
above thirty-six or thirty-seven.  When he was almost fourscore years old, though age and fatigues had undermined and broken into his health, he never interrupted his usual
exercises and labours. During the last six months of his life, he increased his charities
with such profusion, that the poor of the whole country crowded his house from morning
till night.  Perceiving his end to draw near, he entreated two bishops to come to see him.  
With them he went to the church, where one of them covered him with sack-cloth, the
other put ashes on his head.  Clothed with the habit of penance, he stretched his hands
towards heaven, prayed with great earnestness, and begged aloud the pardon of his sins.  
He then received from the hands of the bishops the body and blood of our Lord,
recommended himself to the prayers of all that were present, remitted the bonds of all his debtors, exhorted the people to charity, and caused all the money which he had not as yet disposed of to be distributed among the poor.  This done, he returned to his own house,
and calmly departed this life on the fourth day after, which was the fourth of April, in the
year 636, as is expressly testified by Aedemptus, his disciple, who was present at his
death.  His body was interred  in his cathedral, between those of his brother, Saint
Leander, and his sister, Saint Florentina.  Ferdinand, King of Castile and Leon, recovered
his relics from the Moors, and placed them in the church of Saint John Baptist, at Leon,
where they still remain.

    All who are employed in the functions of Martha, or of an exterior active life, must
always remember that action and contemplation ought to be so constantly intermingled, that the former be always animated and directed by the latter, and amidst the exterior labors of the    active life, we constantly enjoy the interior repose of the contemplative, and that no employments entirely interrupt the union of our souls to God; but those that are most  
distracting serve to make us more closely, more eagerly, and more amorously plunge
our hearts in Him, embracing him in himself by contemplation, and in our neighbor by our actions.

* Praenot. lib Isidor
** F. Flores proves this St. Fulgentius, bishop of Eciija, suffragan of Serville, to have never been
translated to the see of Carthagena as Card. Belluga and some others have advanced upon
incompetent modern authorities.  Flores, España Sagrada, t. 5. p. 97. Disertacion Critica sobre
S. Fulgencio, Obispo de Carthagena.
*** Not in595, as Cave, &c. say; for Saint Gregory wrote to Saint Leader in 599, l. 9, ep. 60, 61.
+ See  on the councils the dissertations of the learned cardinal d'Aguirre.


  Saint Isidore De Séville

Tiré de ses écrits, ainsi que de ceux de saint Braulion et de
saint IIdefonse ses disciples. On trouve dans Mabillon, sect. 2,