If St. Jerome could have had it his way, nothing of Classical
literature would have come down to us.
Jerome (347-420) studied rhetoric and philosophy at Rome and had a deep
reverence and love for Roman writers. It was after these studies that he
converted to Christianity. Jerome was a gifted man: singlehandedly he
translated the Bible. For the Old Testament he learned Hebrew, but modern
scholars suspect that he had more than one eye on the Greek text of the
Septuagint. As if I am making a translation from a Loeb edition into Dutch, but
in reality from the English translation of the facing page… He had a complex
character and one of his greatest gifts was making trouble wherever he came.
Nowadays we would call him a religious zealot. Many letters by him have been
preserved and among this mass of letters his correspondence with St. Augustine.
Initially it started friendly, but later on Jerome accused St. Augustine of all
kinds of faults. St. Augustine had the greatest trouble to stay polite. They
had a different position in the church: St. Augustine was bishop, having to
deal with everyday worries of his flock. Jerome was a hermit and founder of
monasteries, having problems dealing with people not completely agreeing with
him. Despite being a great misogynist (or because of?) he collected a circle of
mainly rich women around him. To this circle belonged Paula and her daughter
Eustochium. Paula was a rich widow, who supported Jerome financially. She and
her daughter followed him like true devotees follow a guru.
In a letter to Eustochium, Jerome tells about an experience he had
by which he completely abandoned reading classics. The problem was that the
reading of classics distracted him from reading and appreciating the Scriptures.
At a certain time during Lent Jerome was fasting and while fasting he fell ill
and had severe fevers. In one of his fevers he experienced that his soul was
taken away and put before God. Asked what he was, Jerome answered that he was a
Christian. `You are a liar! You are not a Christian, but a Ciceronian!’ God answered
and then for the sake of his eternal life, Jerome does away with his classical
library.
Let us be glad that all those monks – Roman and Orthodox –, who
faithfully copied classical texts, have not followed his advice….
{30] Cum ante annos plurimos domo, parentibus, sorore, cognatis et,
quod his difficilius est, consuetudine lautioris cibi propter caelorum me regna
castrassem et Hierosolymam militaturus pergerem, bybliotheca, quam mihi Romae
summo studio ac labore confeceram, carere non poteram. Itaque miser ego
lecturus Tullium ieiunabam; post noctium crebras vigilias, post lacrimas, quas
mihi praeteritorum recordatio peccatorum ex imis visceribus eruebat, Plautus
sumebatur in manibus. Si quando in memet reversus prophetam legere coepissem,
sermo horrebat incultus, et quia lumen caecis oculis non videbam, non oculorum
putabam culpam esse, sed solis. Dum ita me antiquus serpens inluderet, in media
ferme quadragesima medullis infusa febris corpus invasit exhaustum et sine ulla
requie—quod dictu quoque incredibile sit—sic infelicia membra depasta est, ut
ossibus vix haererem. Interim parabantur exsequiae et vitalis animae calor toto
frigente iam corpore in solo tam tepente pectusculo palpitabat, cum subito
raptus in spiritu ad tribunal iudicis pertrahor, ubi tantum luminis et tantum
erat ex circumstantium claritate fulgoris, ut proiectus in terram sursum
aspicere non auderem. Interrogatus condicionem Christianum me esse respondi: et
ille, qui residebat, ‘Mentiris,’ ait, ‘Ciceronianus es, non Christianus; ‘ubi
thesaurus tuus, ibi et cor tuum.’’ Ilico obmutui et inter verbera—nam caedi me
iusserat—conscientiae magis igne torquebar illum mecum versiculum reputans: ‘In
inferno autem quis confitebitur tibi? ’ Clamare tamen coepi et heiulans dicere:
‘Miserere mei, domine, miserere mei’ Haec vox inter flagella resonabat. Tandem
ad praesidentibus genua provoluti, qui adstiterant, precabantur, ut veniam
tribueret adulescentiae, ut errori locum patientiae commodaret, exacturus deinde
cruciatum, si gentilium litterarum libros aliquando legissem. Ego, qui tanto
constrictus articulo, vellem etiam maiora promittere, deiurare coepi et nomen
eius obtestans dicere: ‘Domine, si umquam habuero codices saeculares, si
legero, te negavi.’ In haec sacramenti verba dimissus revertor ad superos et
mirantibus omnibus oculos aperio tanto lacrimarum imbre perfusos, ut etiam
incredulis fidem facerent ex dolore. Nec vero sopor ille fuerat aut vana
somnia, quibus saepe deludimur. Teste est tribunal, ante quod iacui, iudicium
teste est, quod timui—ita mihi numquam contingat talem incidere
quaestionem!—liventes habuisse me scapulas, plagas sensisse post somnum et
tanto dehinc studio divina legisse, quanto mortalia ante non legeram.
domo….cibi: the ablatives are depending on castrassem:
I cut myself off from
lautioris cibi: of very lavish food (lautus
is the ppp of lavo: `to wash, bath’,
The fact that the ppp has developed to that meaning – like lavish from the other ppp lavatus
denotes the importance of bathing in Roman social customs!)
propter caelorum regna
castrassem: allusion to Matth 19:12: sunt enim
eunuchi qui de matris utero sic nati sunt et sunt eunuchi qui facti sunt ab
hominibus et sunt eunuchi qui se ipsos castraverunt propter regnum caelorum qui
potest capere capiat (For there are eunuchs, who were born so from their
mothers womb: and there are eunuchs, who were made so by men: and there are
eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. He that
can take, let him take it.)
Hierosolym: Jerusalem (many writers don’t decline Hebrew names, but Jerome
does)
militaturus: becoming a sodier for Christ is a metaphore coined by S. Paul, but
at the time Jerome is writing it is a technical term for becoming a hermit)
studium: zeal
careo (+ abl.): to miss, do without
Tullium: Cicero
ieiuno: to fast (I fasted in order to read Cicero afterwards)
creber: numerous
vigilia: watch
praeteritorum recordatio
peccatorum: the remembrance of the previous sins
(i.e. the having read classics, while trying to abstain from them)
ex imis visceribus: from my inner deep
eruo erui erutum: to throw out
Plautus: Roman writer of comedies
in memet reversus: coming back to myself
prophetam: the prophets, but also as pars
pro toto for the Bible
sermo incultus: uncultivated language (St. Augustine had the same experience when
he read the Bible for the first time)
caecus: blind
antiquus serpens: the Devil
dum… inluderet: In classical Latin dum
never takes the subjunctive, but in late Latin the subjunctive was seen as the
mood indicating a sub clause.
quadragesima: In eccl. Lat., the Christian fast of forty days, Lent
medulla: marrow (medullis = in medullis, so: deep inside)
sine ulla requie with depasta
depascor depastus sum: to eat away, consume
ossibus vix haererem: I hardly stuck to my bones
exsequiae: funeral
vitalis animae calor: the heat of the life giving soul
toto frigente iam corpore: abl. abs.
tepens, entis: luke-warm
in pectusculo: in my poor little breast
palpito: to tremble
ad tribunal iudicis: the judge is of course God
pertraho –traxi –tractus: to draw forcibly (There is no need to think of this experience as
made up by Jerome. Fasting and fever can induce hallucinations and having apparently
a spiritual crisis, it is no wonder his hallucinations went into this
direction.)
tantum (+gen.): so much of
circumstantium: the Angels
fulgor oris (m): brightness
sursum: upwards
Interrogatus condicionem
Christianum me esse respondi: asked about my
background, I answered that I was a Christian.
mentior: to lie
ubi thesaurus tuus, ibi et
cor tuum: Matt. 6:2
ilico: on that very spot
obmutesco obmutui: to become dumb
verber verberis (n): lash, scourge
caedo cecidi caesum: to beat
torqueo torsi tortus: to twist, torture
reputo: to reflect upon
In inferno autem quis
confitebitur tibi? Psalm 6:6 quoniam non est in
morte recordatio tui in inferno quis confitebitur tibi (For there is no one in
death, that is mindful of thee: and who shall confess to thee in hell?)
heiulo: to wail
flagellum: whip
genua provoluti: bending their knees towards i.e. kneeling towards
precor: to beg, pray
veniam tribuo (+dat.): to give forgiveness for
adulescentiae: Jerome was still a young man when he had this experience,
ut errori locum patientiae
commodaret: to give room for patience for my fault,
i.e. forgiveness,
gentilis: pagan
exigo cruciatum: to endure torture
tanto constrictus articulo: stressed by such a moment
deiuro: to swear, take an oath
obtestor: to call as witness
In haec sacramenti verba
dimissus: `released because of the words of this
promise”
superos: the people above
aperio oculos perfusos tanto imbre lacrimarum.
Not the use of the present tense `I open’ to give a lively touch to this
narrative
imber imbris (m): shower, heavy rain
sopor, soporis (m): sleep
liveo: to be black and blue
scapulae: schoulders
dehinc: there after
About Jerome:
Translation (scroll down to section 30):
Orazio Borgianni - The Vision of St Jerome (ca. 1600)
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