Among his contemporaries the reputation of Meropius Pontius Paulinus (ca. 352-431 CE) was founded upon two qualities: first, the particular spiritual convictions that spurred him to renounce his secular lifestyle and political opportunities in favor of an ascetic regimen lived out in proximity to the tomb of a venerated third-century confessor (Felix of Nola); and, second, a facility with Latin prose and verse composition that made him a significant voice in the cultural reformation that accompanied the conversion to Christianity of a sizeable portion of the western Roman aristocracy in the later fourth century. It was no liability that Paulinus’ social and epistolary network included such leading literary and intellectual figures as Ausonius of Bordeaux, Ambrose of Milan, Jerome, and…
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Citation: Trout, Dennis. "Paulinus of Nola". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 December 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13000, accessed 13 December 2024.]