Orient

Orient ST., a Roman Catholic prelate, was born at Huesca, on the frontier of Aragon, near the middle of the 4th century. After the death of his parents, who were wealthy, he gave all his goods to the poor, and lived a time as a hermit in the valley of Lavedan. His reputation caused him, however, to be appointed bishop of Auch about 410. He at once applied himself to uprooting heathenism in his diocese: he destroyed a temple of Apollo at Atch, and erected a church over the ruins. Theodoric I, king of the Goths, and an Arian, sent him as ambasador to the Roman general Aetius, and to his lieutenant Littorius. Orient died soon after his return at Auch, May 1, 439. One of the parishes of Amch bears his name. Part of his remains was transferred as relics to Huesca, Sept. 16, 1609. He wrote a Latin poem in elegiac verses, entitled Commonitorium, which is mentioned by Fortunatus of Poitiers. Although not equal to some of the poetry of the early part of the 5th century, it is forcible and fluent, and the language is good. The work is divided into two books. The first was published at Antwerp in 1599 or 1600 (12mo), with notes by the Jesuit Martin Delrio, who had discovered it in a MS. of the abbey of Auchin. It was afterwards republished at Salamanca in 1604 and 1664 (4to); at Leipsic in 1651 (8vo), with notes by Andrew Rivinus; at Cologne in 1618 in the Bibl. Pair., and afterwards at Paris and Lyons in similar collections. Dom Martene having discovered a MS. of the whole work, some 800 years old, in the convent of St. Martin, at Tours, had it published in the new collection of ancient writers (Rouen, 1700, 4to) in his Thesaurus Anecdotorum (1717, fl., vol. v), together with some. small pieces of Orient found in the same MS. The Memoires de Trevoaux, July and September, 1701, contain remarks and corrections by Commire. A new edition was published by Schurtzfleisch (Wittemberg, 1706, 4to), and a supplement, containing variations derived from a MS. in the Oxford library, at Weimar, in 1716. An edition in Latin and French, preceded by a life of the author according to the Bollandists, was published under the title of Commonitoire by Z. Collombet (Lyons, 1839, 8vo). Some writers, deceived by the resemblance of the name, have attributed this work to Orese, bishop of Urgel, known for his correspondence with Sidoniuis Apollinaris. See Bollandists, Acta Sanct. May 1; La Vie du glorieux Saint Orens, eveque d'Auch, composee sur les memoires tirez des anciennes legendes et des plus fideles historiens (Toulouse, no date); Gallia Christiana, 1:973; Hist. litter. de la France, 2:251-256.