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 JEROME

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JEROME

from error, lie holds the traditional doctrine. Pos- silily he has insisted more than others on the share which belongs to the sacred writer in his collaboration in the inspired work. His criticism is not without originality. The controversy with the Jews and with the Pagans had long since called the attention of the Christians to certain difficulties in the Bible. St. Jerome answers in various ways. Not to mention his answers to this or that difficulty, he appeals above all to the principle, that the original text of the Scrip- tures is the only one inspired and free from error. Therefore one must de- termine if the text, in which the difficulties arise, has not been altered liy the copjast. More- over, when writers of the New Testament quoted the Old Testament, they did so not according to the letter but according to the spirit. There are many subtilties anil even contradictions in the ex- planations Jerome offers, but we must bear in mind his evident sincerity. He tloes not try to cloak over his ignorance; he admits that there are many difficulties in the Bible; at times he seems quite em- barrassed. Finally, he proclaims a principle, which, if recognized as legitimate, might serve to adjust the insufficiencies of his criticism. He asserts that in the Bible there is no material error due to the ignorance or the heedlessness of the sacred writer, but he adds: " It is usual for the sacred historian to conform him- self to the generally ac- cepted opinion of the masses in his time " (P. L., XXVI, 98; XXIV, 855).

ilies or short treatises, and in these the Solitary of Bethlehem appears in a new light. He is a monk addressing monks, not without making very obvious allusions to contemporary events. The orator is lengthy and apologizes for it. He displays a won- derful knowlpilge of the versions and contents of the Bible. His allegory is excessive at times, and his teaching on grace is Semipelagian. A censorious s]iirit against authority, sympathy for the poor which reaches the point of hostility against the rich, lack of good taste, inferiority of style, and misquotation, such are the most glaring defects of these sermons. I'A-idently they are notes taken down by his 1 earers, and it is a i|uestion whether they were reviewed by the I ■ r e a c h e r. The corre- s|iondence of St. Jerome is one of the best known parts of his literary out^ I)ut. It comprises about one hundred and twenty letters from him, and several from his corre- spondents. Many of these Utters were written with \ \ lew to publication, and some of them the author e\ tn edited himself ; hence the\ show evidence of gieit care and skill in their composition, and in them St Jerome reveals himself a master of style. These letters, which had already met with great success with his con- temporaries, have been, with the ' Confes.sions " of St Augustine, one of the w orks most appreciated b\ the humanists of the Renaissance. Aside from their literary interest they have great historical value. Relating to a period covering half a century

Among the historical works of St. Jerome must be they touch upon most varied subjects; hence their noted the translation and the continuation of the division into letters dealing with theology, polemics.

"Chronicon Eusebii Csesariensis", as the continua- tion written by him, which extends from 325 to 378, served as a model for the annals of the chroniclers of the Middle Ages; hence the defects in such works: dryness, superabundance of data of every description, lack of proportion and of liistorical sense. The " Vita S. Pauli Eremita* " is not a very reliable docu-

criticism, conduct, and liiography. In spite of their turgid diction they are full of the man's personality. It is in this correspondence that the temperament of St. Jerome is most clearly seen: his waywardness, his love of extremes, his exceeding sensitiveness; how he was in turn exquisitely dainty and bitterly satir- ical, unsparingly outspoken concerning others and

ment. The "Vita Malchi, monachi" is a eulogy of equally frank about himself, chastity woven through a number of legendary The theological writings of St. Jerome are mainly

episodes. As to the "Vita S. Hilarionis", it has controversial works, one might almost say composed

suffered from contact with the preceding ones. It for the occasion. He missed being a theologian, by

has iDeen asserted that the journeys of St. Hilarion not applying himself in a consecutive and personal

are a plagiarism of some old tales of travel. But manner to doctrinal questions. _ In .his controversies

these objections are altogether misplaced, as it is really a reliable work. The treatise "De Viris illus- tribus" is a very excellent literary history. It was written as an apologetic work to prove that the Church had produced learned men. Contemporary criticism has shown that for the first three centuries

he was simply the interpreter of the accepted eccle- siastical doctrine. Compared with St. Augustine his inferiority in breadth and originality of view is most evident. His " Dialogue " against the Luciferians deals with a schismatic sect whose founder was Luci- fer, Bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia. The Luciferians

Jerome depends to a great extent on Eusebius, whose refused to approve of the measure of clemency by

statements he borrows, often distorting them, owing to the rapidity with which he worked. His accounts of the authors of the fourth century however are of great value. Thanks to Dom G. Morin, the ora- torical works of St. Jerome have recently become

which the Church, since the Council of Alexandria, in 362, had allowed bishops, who had adhered to Arianism, to continue to discharge their duties on condition of professing the Nicene Creed. This rig- orist sect had adherents almost everywhere, and even

known. They consist of about one hundred hom- in Rome it was very troublesome. Against it Jerome