Auspicius of Toul

His rare talents and virtues gained him the esteem of distinguished person of his time. He was a friend of the poet Sidonius Apollinaris, bishop of Clermont, and of Count Arbogast, the governor of Trier for Childeric I, and the three exchanged correspondence. Arbogast wrote to Sidonius asking him to instruct him in his duties and to give some explanation of the sacred books but Sidonius apologized and referred him to Saint Loup, Bishop of Troyes, or to Auspicius, bishop of Toul, both distinguished by their deep knowledge and high rank. The Count approached Auspicius, who sent him a highly complimentary reply in verse. The letter was written sometime created between 460 and 475. In it Auspicius praised Arbogast because of his Latin language skills. He also hinted at the end of Roman rule. "... as long as you live and speak, though the Latin rule has fallen on the frontier, the (Latin) words do not waver. " He praised the high descent and noble disposition of the prince. He was greater than his ancestor of the same name, because he died as a pagan, but Arbogast was Christian. He also warns him against greed. Confident that Arbogast takes this to heart, Auspicius saw him as a future bishop. In fact, he may have possibly later become Bishop of Chartres. Finally, he exhorts him to meet Bishop Jamblichus of Trier. The text is written in poem form of 164 iambic dimeters. He is considered an early example of rhythmic anthemstrophy, in the word accent prevails. As a poet, he was the first Westerner to adopt the iambic rhythm derived from the Saturnian metre, the preferred metre of Roman folk and secular poetry. The poem is preserved in a collection of various writings written or sent in Austrasia, which was compiled in 585. The only surviving manuscript is Cod. Vaticano-Palatinus 869 s.IX