Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series • VOLUME 6
Jerome — Principal Works
SECTION 121
24. And now do you in your turn answer me these questions. How do you explain the fact that Thomas felt the hands of the risen Lord and behe
24. And now do you in your turn answer me these questions. How do you explain the fact that Thomas felt the hands of the risen Lord and beheld His side pierced by the spear? [2978] And the fact that Peter saw the Lord standing on the shore [2979] and eating a piece of a roasted fish and a honeycomb. [2980] If He stood, He must c…
2,219 wordsSECTION 12230. No weeping or lamentation followed her death, such as are the custom of the world; but all present united in chanting the psalms in thei
30. No weeping or lamentation followed her death, such as are the custom of the world; but all present united in chanting the psalms in their several tongues. The bishops lifted up the dead woman with their own hands, placed her upon a bier, and carrying her on their shoulders to the church in the cave of the Saviour, laid her d…
2,204 wordsSECTION 123Letter CIX. To Riparius.
[2890] Matt. xxiii. 27. [2891] Hor. C. ii. x. ii. [2892] Wisd. ii. 24. [2893] The enemy of Solomon--1 Kings xi. 14. Who Paula's enemy may have been we do not know. [2894] 2 Cor. xii. 7. [2895] Gen. xxvii. 41-46; xxviii. 1-5. [2896] 1 Sam. xxi. 10. [2897] Matt. v. 39. [2898] Rom. xii. 21. [2899] Phil. ii. 7, 8. [2900] J…
2,270 wordsSECTION 124Letter CX. From Augustine.
[3018] 2 Cor. iii. 6. [3019] Eph. i. 21. [3020] Rom. i. 25. [3021] Matt. x. 40. [3022] Deut. xxxiv. 6. [3023] Probably Exuperius of Toulouse. [3024] Ps. ii. 9. [3025] 1 Cor. v. 5. [3026] Ps. l. 18. [3027] Ps. ci. 8. [3028] Ps. cxxxix. 21, 22. [3029] Ps. cxvi. 15. [3030] Cic. Cat. ii. 1, of Catiline. [3031] A contemp…
768 wordsSECTION 125Letter CXIV. To Theophilus.
Letter CXIV. To Theophilus. Jerome writes to Theophilus to apologize for his delay in sending Latin versions of the latter's letter (CXIII.) and invective against John Chrysostom. Possibly, however, the allusion may be not to these but to some other work of Theophilus (e.g. a paschal letter.) This delay he attributes to the dis…
705 wordsSECTION 126Letter CXVI. From Augustine.
Letter CXVI. From Augustine. A long letter in which Augustine for the third time (see Letters LVI., LXVII.) restates his opinion about Jerome's theory of the dispute between Peter and Paul at Antioch. In doing so, however, he disclaims all desire to hurt Jerome's feelings, apologizes for the tone of his previous letters, and ag…
2,306 wordsSECTION 1276. I am told, moreover, that you frequent suburban villas and their pleasant gardens in the company of relatives and intimate friends. I hav
6. I am told, moreover, that you frequent suburban villas and their pleasant gardens in the company of relatives and intimate friends. I have no doubt that it is some female cousin or connexion who for her own satisfaction carries you about with her as a novel kind of attendant. Far be it from me to suspect that you would desire…
2,317 wordsSECTION 128Letter CXVIII. To Julian.
[3056] Hor. Sat. I. x. 3, 4. [3057] Ps. lxix. 12. [3058] Ps. cxli. 3, 4. [3059] Luke ii. 51. [3060] Joh. xix. 26, 27. [3061] Viz. men's society. [3062] Prov. x. 9. [3063] Rom. xii. 17. [3064] Luke xiv. 26. [3065] Lineatos juvenes. The linea appears to have been a close-fitting jerkin. [3066] To ingratiate himself with …
2,441 wordsSECTION 1295. Nor may you excuse yourself on the score of your noble station and the responsibilities of wealth. Look at Pammachius and at Paulinus tha
5. Nor may you excuse yourself on the score of your noble station and the responsibilities of wealth. Look at Pammachius and at Paulinus that presbyter of glowing faith both of whom have offered to the Lord not only their riches but themselves. In spite of the devil and his shuffling they have by no means given skin for skin, bu…
1,905 wordsSECTION 130Letter CXIX. To Minervius and Alexander.
Letter CXIX. To Minervius and Alexander. Minervius and Alexander two monks of Toulouse had written to Jerome asking him to explain for them a large number of passages in scripture. Jerome in his reply postpones most of these to a future time but deals with two in detail viz. (1) "we shall not all sleep but we shall all be chang…
2,426 wordsSECTION 1312. How hard hearted we are and how merciful God is! who even after our many sins urges us to seek salvation. Yet not even so are we willing
2. How hard hearted we are and how merciful God is! who even after our many sins urges us to seek salvation. Yet not even so are we willing to turn to better things. Hear the words of the Lord: "If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's and shall afterwards desire to return to him, will he at all …
2,503 wordsSECTION 132A woman leadeth in the high emprise;^ [3212]
A woman leadeth in the high emprise;^ [3212] and yet you will not follow her when her salvation leads you to the threshold of the faith! Perhaps, however, you desire to save the remnants of your property and to see the last of your friends and fellow-citizens and of their cities and villas. If so, amid the horrors of captivity,…
898 wordsSECTION 133Letter CXXIII. To Ageruchia.
Letter CXXIII. To Ageruchia. An appeal to the widow Ageruchia, highborn lady of Gaul, not to marry again. It should be compared with the letters to Furia (LIV.) and to Salvina (LXXIX.) The allusion to Stilicho's treaty with Alaric fixes the date to 409 a.d. 1. I must look for a new track on the old road and devise a natural tr…
2,586 wordsSECTION 1348. These restraints on marriage are observed even among the heathen; and it is our condemnation if the true faith cannot do for Christ what
8. These restraints on marriage are observed even among the heathen; and it is our condemnation if the true faith cannot do for Christ what false ones do for the devil, who has substituted for the saving chastity of the gospel a damning chastity of his own. [3249] The Athenian hierophant disowns his manhood and weakens his passi…
2,462 wordsSECTION 13514. I have tried to compress a great deal into a limited space as a draughtsman does when he delineates a large country in a small map. For
14. I have tried to compress a great deal into a limited space as a draughtsman does when he delineates a large country in a small map. For I wish to deal with other questions, the first of which I shall give in Anna's words to her sister Dido: Why waste your youth alone in ceaseless grief Unblest with offspring, sweetest gift…
2,453 wordsSECTION 136[3218] Cf. Letter LX. § 6.
[3218] Cf. Letter LX. § 6. [3219] Letters LIV., LXXV., LXXIX., and others. [3220] Ageruchia = Greatheart. [3221] Luke ii. 36, 37. [3222] See Letter XLVIII., § 2; also § 9 infra. [3223] Cf. Letter LXXVII. § 3. [3224] 1 Tim. v. 14, 15. [3225] 1 Tim. v. 9, 10. [3226] 1 Tim. v. 5. [3227] 1 Tim. v. 11, 12. [3228] 1 Tim. v. …
865 wordsSECTION 137Letter CXXIV. To Avitus.
Letter CXXIV. To Avitus. Avitus to whom this letter is addressed is probably the same person who induced Jerome to write to Salvina (see Letter LXXIX., §I, ante). The occasion of writing is as follows. Ten years previously (that is to say in a.d. 399 or 400) Pammachius had asked Jerome to supply him with a correct version of Or…
2,278 wordsSECTION 1386. In speaking thus does he not most clearly follow the error of the heathen and foist upon the simple faith of Christians the ravings of ph
6. In speaking thus does he not most clearly follow the error of the heathen and foist upon the simple faith of Christians the ravings of philosophy? In the same book he writes: "it remains that God is invisible. But if He is by nature invisible, He must be so even to the Saviour." And lower down: "no soul which has descended in…
2,442 wordsSECTION 13912. In the fourth and last book of his work the following passages deserve the church's condemnation. "It may be that as, when men die in th
12. In the fourth and last book of his work the following passages deserve the church's condemnation. "It may be that as, when men die in this world by the separation of soul and body, they are allotted different positions in hell according to the difference in their works; so when angels die, out of the system of the heavenly J…
1,580 wordsSECTION 140Letter CXXV. To Rusticus.
Letter CXXV. To Rusticus. Rusticus, a young monk of Toulouse, (to be carefully distinguished from the recipient of Letter CXXII.) is advised by Jerome not to become an anchorite but to continue in a community. Rules are suggested for the monastic life and a vivid picture is drawn of the difference between a good monk and a bad.…
2,285 wordsSECTION 141The sons of Jonadab, we are told, drank neither wine nor strong drink and dwelt in tents pitched wherever night overtook them. [3433] Accord
The sons of Jonadab, we are told, drank neither wine nor strong drink and dwelt in tents pitched wherever night overtook them. [3433] According to the psalter they were the first to undergo captivity; for, when the Chaldæans began to ravage Judah they were compelled to take refuge in cities. [3434] 8. Others may think what they…
2,427 wordsSECTION 14216. But I myself have seen monks of quite a different stamp from this, men whose renunciation of the world has consisted in a change of clot
16. But I myself have seen monks of quite a different stamp from this, men whose renunciation of the world has consisted in a change of clothes and a verbal profession, while their real life and their former habits have remained unchanged. Their property has increased rather than diminished. They still have the same servants and…
2,305 wordsSECTION 143[3397] Luke xxiii. 43.
[3397] Luke xxiii. 43. [3398] Joh. xiii. 26. [3399] Matt. xxvi. 49. [3400] Joh. iv. [3401] Lev. ii. 13. [3402] Col. iv. 6. [3403] Matt. v. 13. [3404] Luke xiv. 35. [3405] Luke ix. 62. [3406] Acts x. 3-16. [3407] Matt. v. 8. [3408] 1 Tim. vi. 10. [3409] Gal. v. 15. [3410] Lybicæ Syrtes. [3411] An important city of A…
796 wordsSECTION 144Letter CXXVI. To Marcellinus and Anapsychia.
Letter CXXVI. To Marcellinus and Anapsychia. Marcellinus, a Roman official of high rank, and Anapsychia his wife had written to Jerome from Africa to ask him his opinion on the vexed question of the origin of the soul. Jerome in his reply briefly enumerates the several views that have been held on the subject. For fuller inform…
1,085 wordsSECTION 145Letter CXXVII. To Principia.
Letter CXXVII. To Principia. This letter is really a memoir of Marcella (for whom see note on Letter XXIII.) addressed to her greatest friend. After describing her history, character, and favourite studies, Jerome goes on to recount her eminent services in the cause of orthodoxy at a time when, through the efforts of Rufinus, i…
2,206 wordsSECTION 1467. When the needs of the Church at length brought me to Rome [3550] in company with the reverend pontiffs, Paulinus and Epiphanius--the firs
7. When the needs of the Church at length brought me to Rome [3550] in company with the reverend pontiffs, Paulinus and Epiphanius--the first of whom ruled the church of the Syrian Antioch while the second presided over that of Salamis in Cyprus,--I in my modesty was for avoiding the eyes of highborn ladies, yet she pleaded so e…
2,210 wordsSECTION 147Letter CXXVIII. To Gaudentius.
[3522] This Roman lady, like her friend Marcella, took a great interest in the study of scripture. In Letter LXV. Jerome gives her an explanation of the 45th Psalm. [3523] See Letter XXIII. [3524] Luke ii. 36, 37. [3525] Ps. cxix. 1. [3526] Matt. v. 25. [3527] i.e. the Indian Ocean. [3528] Eph. v. 22. [3529] Cf. Letter LX…
2,493 wordsSECTION 148Letter CXXIX. To Dardanus.
4. The world sinks into ruin: yes! but shameful to say our sins still live and flourish. The renowned city, the capital of the Roman Empire, is swallowed up in one tremendous fire; and there is no part of the earth where Romans are not in exile. Churches once held sacred are now but heaps of dust and ashes; and yet we have our m…
758 wordsSECTION 149Letter CXXX. To Demetrias.
Letter CXXX. To Demetrias. Jerome writes to Demetrias, a highborn lady of Rome who had recently embraced the vocation of a virgin. After narrating her life's history first at Rome and then in Africa, he goes on to lay down rules and principles to guide her in her new life. These which cover the whole field of ascetic practice a…
2,749 wordsSECTION 1507. All Christians are loud in their praises of Christ's holy yokefellows, [3644] because they gave to Demetrias when she professed herself a
7. All Christians are loud in their praises of Christ's holy yokefellows, [3644] because they gave to Demetrias when she professed herself a virgin the money which had been set apart as a dowry for her marriage. They would not wrong her heavenly bridegroom; in fact they wished her to come to Him with all her previous riches, tha…
2,511 wordsSECTION 15110. After you have paid the most careful attention to your thoughts, you must then put on the armour of fasting and sing with David: "I chas
10. After you have paid the most careful attention to your thoughts, you must then put on the armour of fasting and sing with David: "I chastened my soul with fasting," [3701] and "I have eaten ashes like bread," [3702] and "as for me when they troubled me my clothing was sackcloth." [3703] Eve was expelled from paradise because…
2,278 wordsSECTION 152The preceding counsels have been addressed to a virgin who is wealthy and a lady of rank.
The preceding counsels have been addressed to a virgin who is wealthy and a lady of rank. 15. But what I am now going to say will be addressed to the virgin alone. I shall take into consideration, that is, not your circumstances but yourself. In addition to the rule of psalmody and prayer which you must always observe at the th…
2,359 wordsSECTION 153Happy is the soul, happy is the virgin in whose heart there is room for no other love than the love of Christ. For in Himself He is wisdom a
Happy is the soul, happy is the virgin in whose heart there is room for no other love than the love of Christ. For in Himself He is wisdom and chastity, patience and justice and every other virtue. Happy too is she who can recall a man's face without the least sigh of regret, and who has no desire to set eyes on one whom, after …
1,326 wordsSECTION 154Letter CXXXI. From Augustine.
Letter CXXXI. From Augustine. At the suggestion of Jerome, Marcellinus (for whom see Letter CXXVI.) had consulted Augustine on the difficult question of the origin of the soul but had failed to get any definite opinion from this latter. Augustine now writes to Jerome confessing his inability to decide the question and asking fo…
2,320 wordsSECTION 155Would you have me name another of your masters in heresy? Much of your teaching is traceable to Origen. For, to give one instance only, when
Would you have me name another of your masters in heresy? Much of your teaching is traceable to Origen. For, to give one instance only, when he comments on the psalmist's words: "My reins also instruct me in the night season," [3809] he maintains that when a holy man like yourself has reached perfection, he is free even at night…
2,219 wordsSECTION 156You assert that a man may be without sin if he will; and then, as though awakening from a deep sleep, you try to deceive the unwary by addin
You assert that a man may be without sin if he will; and then, as though awakening from a deep sleep, you try to deceive the unwary by adding the saving clause "yet not without the grace of God." For if by his own efforts a man can keep himself without sin, what need has he of God's grace? If on the other hand he can do nothing …
2,236 wordsSECTION 15712. From my youth up until now I have spent many years in writing various works and have always tried to teach my hearers the doctrine that
12. From my youth up until now I have spent many years in writing various works and have always tried to teach my hearers the doctrine that I have been taught publicly in church. I have not followed the philosophers in their discussions but have preferred to acquiesce in the plain words of the apostles. For I have known that it …
2,048 wordsSECTION 158Letter CXXXIV. To Augustine.
Letter CXXXIV. To Augustine. Jerome acknowledges the receipt of Letters CXXXI. and CXXXII. and excuses himself from answering the questions raised in them on the twofold ground (1) that the times are evil and (2) that it is inexpedient that he should be supposed to differ from Augustine. He prays for the speedy extinction of Pe…
1,093 wordsSECTION 159Letter CXXXVIII. To Riparius.
Letter CXXXVIII. To Riparius. Jerome praises Riparius for his zeal on behalf of the Catholic faith and for his efforts to put down the Pelagians. He then describes the attack made by these heretics upon the monasteries of Bethlehem. Now, he is glad to say, they have at last been driven from Palestine. Most of them, that is, for…
931 wordsSECTION 160Letter CXL. To Cyprian the Presbyter.
Letter CXL. To Cyprian the Presbyter. Cyprian had visited Jerome at Bethlehem and had asked him to write an exposition of Psalm XC. in simple language such as might be readily understood. With this request Jerome now complies, giving a very full account of the psalm, verse by verse, and bringing the treasures of his learning an…
2,578 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.