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The present article endeavours to show that Jerome imitates Horace's Ode 2.17.5-6 in Letter 3.3.1. This Jeromian fine-tuning of Horace is then imitated in turn by Jerome himself on two later occasions (epist. 17.3.2 and chron. epist. p. 2.17 H.). Jerome's original imitation of this Horatian text in Letter 3.3.1 is also combined with a hitherto unidentified imitation of Quintilian (inst. 6 prooem. 6 and 9). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay is a study of how Jerome reads Jeremiah (Jer) 20:7-18. It presents the exegetical practice of Jerome within his Christian theological frame of reference and examines how he approaches a difficult text of the Old Testament (OT) as Christian Scripture. This essay is in five parts. The first briefly introduces the reader to Jer 20:7-18, sets the context for the importance of hearing premodern interpreters in contemporary biblical and theological scholarship, and presents a caveat to the reader with methodological issues. The second part focuses briefly on situating Jerome as a reader of Scripture within the general patristic exegesis, its interfaces between literal and allegorical modes of reading Scripture and how Jerome receives and modifies the exegetical tradition inherited from the patristics. The third part presents quite extensively Jerome's exposition of Jer 20:7-18 and engages with his reading in order to hear his own voice as a distinctive Christian interpreter of this text. The fourth part provides some hermeneutical reflections on Jerome's reading of Jer 20:7-18 which may illustrate his theological usage of the OT. The final part evaluates Jerome's interpretation and concludes the essay by saying that his mode of reading the OT engages with the concerns of a life of faith and represents well the Christian usage of the OT in respect to issues of the church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I offer three brief notes on Ambrosiaster's Q. 101, De iactantia Romanorum leuitarum. First, I discuss its relation to Letter 146 of Jerome, which also deals with the rivalry between presbyters and deacons and which bears a close resemblance to Q. 101; second, I examine the peculiar features of the church hierarchy at Rome that led the anonymous deacon to claim a superior status to presbyters and third, I explore some indications in Q. 101 and in Jerome, Letter 146, which point to the activity of deacons in elite households at Rome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epistula (Letter) 108, one of the longest of Jerome’s letters, was written in 404 AD to console Eustochium for the loss of her mother Paula. Scholars have referred to this letter as a lengthy epitaphium with hagiographic features, a eulogistic tribute, a biographical eulogy of Paula, a laudatio funebris, a travelogue, a memoir, a metaphorical account of Paula’s pilgrimage through life, a piece of ascetic propaganda and a textual basis for a Bethlehem-centred cult of Paula the ascetic martyr-saint. The aim of this article is to analyse and comment on Jerome’s letter as an example of the genre of Graeco-Roman biography, containing various features of ancient βίοι. While Jerome cast the letter ostensibly as a consolatio for Eustochium, it turned out to be a commemoration of Paula, his patron, devoted disciple and monastic companion. The article will ultimately investigate whether this letter was written to sub-serve a higher motive of Jerome, the chief architect of 4th-century asceticism.

The reception of the ethics of the Letter to Philemon in three early Latin commentaries. According to Jan van der Watt, the study of the ethics of New Testament writings should not be limited to the study of categories directly related to prescribing specific deeds. One should rather follow a broader approach by also investigating, among others, the ‘implicit ethics’ of a writing. In this article on the reception of the ethics of the Letter to Philemon in the commentaries of Ambrosiaster, Jerome and Pelagius, the benefit of such a broader approach to the ethics of the letter is demonstrated. The way in which each of these commentators interprets the implicit ethics of the letter, quite often by creating an ‘implicit ethics’ on their own part, is investigated systematically. The approach followed by each of these interpreters and the results reached by them are described in depth.

Because of the paucity of purely philosophical texts produced during the early Middle Ages, the history of philosophy is forced to look for philosophy in texts actually belonging to other branches of thought. One example is that of Isidore of Seville (560636). Isidore was one of the foremost compilers of encyclopedia-like knowledge of his time. The author analyses Isidore's De Differentiis Verborum, a work which is known usually as a contribution to the history of philology. Its encyclopedia-like content was continued and perfected in Isidore's later Etymologiae. In this way, the author's discussion of the De Differentiis has bearing also on the study of the Etymologiae, Isidore's most influential work. The author discusses isidore's work from a philosophical point of view and his intention is to show which philosophical ideas were present in Isidore's work. On the one hand, it would seem that the philosophemes of the Stoics indirectly influenced Isidore's content and method. On the other hand it is possible to differentiate several ways in which various philosophical ideas were actually present: 1) the rudiments of philosophical ideas in the lemmas which refer to the domain of grammar; 2) isolated philosophemes in the framework of single lemmas which have usually been lifted from patristic texts but which were not further developed by Isidore; 3) philosophemes which were further creatively developed within the framework of thematic groups of lemmas.

The primary aim of this article is to present Jerome's view of the origins of Pelagianism, and to describe the way in which he fought against this heresy characterizing it as the "offspring of Origenism" in his Epistula ad Ctestiphontem (Ep. 133: "Doctrina tua Origenis ramusculus est.”) We should not be surprised by this characterization. For the Fathers of the Church, connecting dubious teaching with already condemned heresies had the function of accelerating the condemnation of such teaching. In this case, Jerome after the first Origenist controversy, intended to connect Pelagianism to the already condemned Origensim. For greater clarity, the introduction explains what Jerome is referring to when he equates Pelagianism with the Origenism ofEvagrius Ponticus. There is a brief survey of Pelagianism, focusing on the term impeccantia, the contention that man, if he wishes, can be without sin. This is followed by a brief presentation of the Origenism ofEvagrius Ponticus, focusing on the first Origenist controversy. There is a definition of the terms impeccantia and ccnaBeia, the possibility of man achieving a complete separation from the passion and pleasures that surround him. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and especially Evagrius Ponticus studied this term, which is why it is necessary to return to the first Origenist controversy in order to identify the relationship between Pelagianism and Origenism. Relating Origenism and Pelagianism, the article introduces some writings that had a significant impact on Pelagius's thought, and examines the term anaBeia in a way that may provide a clear answer to the question: Was Jerome correct when he equated the terms impeccantia and anadcia? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses two problems of interpretation in the entry on Dexter in Jerome's De viris illustribus (Hier. vir. ill.). In particular, it offers the first detailed discussion of the information we possess on Dexter's omnimoda historia, and suggests that it may have been a Latin translation and/or adaptation of the first part of the chronicle of Eusebius, the so-called chronography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on the textual tradition of Latin versions of the Testimonium Flavianum prompts another enquiry into the original text and the transmission of the famous passage. It is suggested here that the Greek/Latin versions highlight a western/eastern early history of the Testimonium and that in turn directs our attention back to the original circumstances of its composition and publication in the city of Rome in the later years of the first century. Restored to its original historical context, the Testimonium emerges as a carefully crafted attack upon the post-Pauline community of Christ-followers in the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origins of Pelagianism are not clear, especially according to the anti-Pelagian theologians, such as Augustine, Jerome, Orosius and Marius Mercator, who proposed different hypotheses concerning the origins of this heresy. This article examines one of these hypotheses, namely the reliability of Jerome's charge against Pelagius of being a follower of Origen. It is known that Jerome attacks Pelagius and his followers of being the heirs of several previous heretical movements, including Origenism. In this regard, it will be shown the possibility that Jerome's attack is based upon a probable influence of Origen's exegesis of Luke 1,6 on Pelagius, through Ambrose of Milan. Thus, Jerome's rhetorical construction of Pelagianism as the heir of ancient heresies has, at least partially, exegetical basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This issue of Church History and Religious Culture celebrates the five hundred years of influence to both religious life and piety and to scholarship that the publication of the Novum Instrumentum engendered. Truly, littera scripta manet. The essays gathered here challenge presently held notions of what Erasmus was doing in creating a critical Greek New Testament, his status as a theologian, his relationship to Jerome and the fashioning of a biblical eleoquence, his relationship to Martin Luther, and even the influence of Erasmus’s work itself. By challenging presently held notions, these essays pay tribute to the example that Erasmus set, and offer a fitting remembrance to the 500th anniversary of his Novum Instrumentum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migrating from Greek mythology to scripture and ecclesiastical writing, sirens are best known for the perils they put on the road of Odysseus, and conversely, on that of the crucified Christ and on that of the pilgrim, two significations that Odysseus, the eternal voyageur tied to the mast, came to symbolize in the Middle Ages. Long acknowledged in past scholarship, the siren motif was perceived of as a multi-layered image, whose negative Homeric connotations suited an even vaster range of destructive meanings, moral, social and political. More than sheer misogyny, the hybrid sirens represent violation of social order, mainly that of the manly world. It is therefore no coincidence to find them dwelling in the biblical debauched town of Babylon, and in the land of Edom, destined to be destroyed, alongside hybrid centaurs, both in the Septuagint and in the Vulgate. These beasts gained much popularity throughout the Middle Ages, and embody the ultimate significance of evil in the medieval bestiary, as well as in a wide-ranging exegetical literature. This development may stand for the immense dispersion of the siren motif in Romanesque sculpture. Meant at an edifying purpose, sirens associated with urban destruction, lust, and avarice, signify the menace of sin they seduce humanity to fall into. The virtuous Christian, recognizing the long-enduring classical motif in its new Christian context should take the paradigm of Odysseus in his Christological typology, and restrain from evil. Though constituting a rather popular motif of Romanesque sculpture in general, sirens seem to inhabit many of the churches of the Auvergne and the Velay regions of France, along pilgrimage shrines, located lengthwise the Via Podiensis and crosswise routes, thus forming a marked feature of the local imagery. More than sheer enthusiasm for the antique, as past scholarship would have it, sirens seem to have chanted a very specific local chant in Auvergne-Velay. Constituting a major motif, which testifies to a profound understanding of their contextual implications, they represent a multifaceted image, denoting didactic, apotropaic, liturgical, social, and political messages. The context of pilgrimage and pilgrimage roads seems to have constituted a perfect setting for this multitude of sirens. The Via Podiensis was known as particularly uninviting. The mountainous topography, infested with thieves and brigands, provided lucrative opportunities of ambushing pilgrims on their way. It is the purpose of this paper to uncover the versatile imports of the siren antique motif in Romanesque Auvergne-Velay, by pointing out their meticulous perplexing delineation in the context of actual hardships pilgrims and congregants endured within pilgrimage shrines and roads. The first part of this paper will survey the range of allegorical significances of sirens from Homer to Jerome and to medieval exegeses, followed by a description of sirens in Auvergne-Velay. Then, I would like to suggest a new reading of the particular rendering of sirens in the small church of Pont-du-Château and in the pilgrimage church of Notre-Dame of Orcival, which may bear a local historical significance, resulting from the conflicting situations of pilgrims, on their way to worship the celestial realm.

A su llegada a Roma en el año 382, Jerónimo se convirtió en el guía espiritual de un grupo de mujeres aristocráticas que, influidas por el emergente espíritu del monacato oriental, llevaban una vida ascética en el interior de sus mansiones. Siguiendo la estela de la tradición intelectual que había caracterizado al otium aristocrático, aunque en este caso reorientado hacia el universo cultural cristiano, el estudio y la exégesis de las Sagradas Escrituras a través de la lectio divina se convirtió en el rasgo distintivo del propositum sanctitatis.On his arrival at Rome (382), Jerome did become the spiritual leader of an aristocratic women’s group that, influenced by the emergent spirit from the eastern monastic life, did lead an ascetic life inside their palaces. Following the trail of the intellectual tradition that had characterized the aristocratic otium, although reorientated in this case to the Christian cultural universe, the study and exegesis of the Holy Scriptures throughout the lectio divina did become into the distintive feature of the propositum sanctitatis.

From Jerome to Ildephonse, the purpose and intention of the biographies about illustrious men have changed according to the interests of the respective moments in which these biographies are written: in the fourth century, when the contrast between the Christian culture and the Pagan Culture is ardent, Jerome insists chiefly on writers; he lets the literary criterion prevail. In the fifth century, when monastic life flourishes and heresies centring the christologic problems arise, Gennadius insists particularly on monks who write monastic texts and authors of heresiological writings. In the beginning of the seventh century, when, on the one hand, the memory of Arianism is still vivid in Visigothic Hispania and, on the other hand, the consciousness of an Hispania important for the concordance of the Roman and Latin Western world already emerges, Isidore still insists on authors of heresiological writings. But he already adds the theme of the bishops and authors of Visigothic Spain. And in the middle of the seventh century, finally, when the power of the Visigothic Monarchy in Spain has been consolidated, with seat in Toledo, Ildephonse is only interested in the bishops with seat in Spain and especially in Toledo.

From Jerome to Ildephonse, the purpose and intention of thebiographies about illustrious men have changed according to the interests of therespective moments in which these biographies are written: in the fourth century,when the contrast between the Christian culture and the Pagan Culture is ardent,Jerome insists chiefly on writers; he lets the literary criterion prevail. In the fifthcentury, when monastic life flourishes and heresies centring the christologicproblems arise, Gennadius insists particularly on monks who write monastic textsand authors of heresiological writings. In the beginning of the seventh century,when, on the one hand, the memory of Arianism is still vivid in VisigothicHispania and, on the other hand, the consciousness of an Hispania important forthe concordance of the Roman and Latin Western world already emerges, Isidorestill insists on authors of heresiological writings. But he already adds the theme ofthe bishops and authors of Visigothic Spain. And in the middle of the seventhcentury, finally, when the power of the Visigothic Monarchy in Spain has beenconsolidated, with seat in Toledo, Ildephonse is only interested in the bishops withseat in Spain and especially in Toledo.

In this paper, I would like to focus on one of the issues raised in the correspondence between Saints Augustine of Hippo and Jerome, with respect to the questioning by the first of the necessity or even the validity of translating the Old Testament into Latin from the Hebrew, as advocated by the latter, instead of continuing to give credit to the Greek translation of the Septuagint as the only textual authority for the Christians in both East and West. I shall discuss below the motives and the style of Augustine' criticism, as well as those of Jerome's refutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the fourth century A.D., crowds of Christian pilgrims began to stream into Palestine in order to visit the sites where biblical events had taken place. Among them was also a rich Roman widow, Paula, whose travels around the Holy Land are described in Jerome’s Letter 108, written after the death of this noblewoman in 404 A.D. The aim of this letter is primarily encomiastic and hagiographic, and the account of the pilgrimage to holy places incorporated in it aids to create a picture of Paula as a devout woman shrouded in an aura of sanctity. This article is focussed both on the concept of pilgrimage to the Holy Land and the meaning of this phenomenon in the life of a devout Christian woman, as expressed by Jerome in his letter. First of all. for Jerome, Palestine represents a textual land where the traces of the biblical past are still visible, and first-hand experience with it therefore enhances one’s understanding of the Scripture. At the same time, it is a region where biblical history unfolds before the eyes of the pilgrims, so long as they are gifted with the ability of oculi fidei. Thus, according to Jerome, journeying to the Holy Land has great importance for the Christian believer and benefits him extraordinarily both on the intellectual and the spiritual level. Peregrinatio ad loca sancta, for Jerome, is essential to those who consider themselves to be serious about their faith, especially in the case of women. In this light, Paula appears as an exemplary pilgrim illustrating Jerome’s concept, and demonstrating what it is like to experience the holy places first-hand. Jerome was the first Latin Christian thinker who presented the concept of the Holy Land as a spiritual centre of the Christian world and made an attempt to establish a new religious practice: pilgrimage to the Holy Land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to elucidate the prophecies of Ezekiel, especially those against Egypt in Book 29, Jerome reconstructed the siege of Tyre by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. He seems to have done this not so much on the basis of the predictions recorded in the Bible (to say nothing of accurate records), as by comparison with accounts of Alexander the Great's siege of the same city more than two hundred years later. Jerome seems particularly dependent on the account of Alexander's siege of Tyre given by Quintus Curtius Rufus. The following investigation broadens our understanding of the authors known and used by Jerome, the uses to which he put his historical reading, and the methods of his Biblical exegesis, especially historical reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fine commentary which Andrew Cain has recently devoted to Jerome's influential Epitaphium S. Paulae endeavours to improve Hilberg's canonical text. The present note endeavours to show that many of Cain's Verbesserungen are Schlimmbesserungen. The resultant discussion would appear to throw interesting light on Jerome's compositional method in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last forty years the figure of Gregory of Neocaesarea has been the subject of a complicated debate, in particular after Pierre Nautin raised serious doubts about the ascription of the In Origenem Oratio Panegyrica and supposed it the result of a mistake made by Eusebius of Caesarea. In this article we will first re-evaluate the main hypotheses put forward by Nautin and other scholars which go against Gregory's traditional figure. Then we will take into consideration the information about Gregory of Neocaesarea from later authors, such as Gregory of Nvssa, Jerome and Socrates of Constantinople, who have been generally overlooked by scholars. In fact, a more careful survey of all the main accounts on Gregory suggests a different perspective of investigation into some aspects of the dispute and provides further arguments in confirmation of the reliability of Gregory's traditional biography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Im Fokus stehen zwei verderbte Textstellen, die sich als höchst problematisch erweisen. Sie betreffen einerseits Tertullian, Von der Taufe und andererseits den Kommentar des Hieronymus zum Buch Ezechiel. Tert. Bapt. 5,4 wird sprachlich und textkritisch untersucht. Anhand zahlreicher literarischer Belege wird die übliche Erläuterung der Stelle überprüft: Sie erweist sich als unhaltbar. Demgegenüber wird vermutet, dass hinter der crux ‚esietos’ die griechische Lesart CEICTOC bzw. CEICTOYC stand: Sie dürfte von einem Schreiber, der kein Griechisch konnte, missverstanden, und deswegen falsch transkribiert worden sein. Eine teilweise neue Interpretation der gesamten Stelle wird vorgeschlagen. Hier. In Ezech 1,1,6-8 wird mit der entsprechenden Origenes-Exegese sowie mit den gnostischen Quellen verglichen. Anhand der sprachlichen Untersuchung der Textüberlieferung wird eine neue Konjektur vorgeschlagen, um den Ursprung des Wortes synderesis zu klären: Das Rätsel des locus corruptus kann durch das griechische Wort σπινθήρ entschlüsselt werden. Neben den zwei genannten Konjekturvorschlägen bezweckt der vorliegende Beitrag, eine komparatistische Analyse zur Sprache patristischer Texte auf der Basis solider Editionen als noch immer dringendes Desiderat hervorzuheben. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors argue that the second cave episode in Jerome’s Vita Malchi Monachi Captivi should, in view of the similarities with the first cave episode and the high incidence of literary devices employed in it, be recognised for its value in the interpretation of this vita. The book was intended as a defence of, and an exhortation to a life of celibacy and this dual purpose is clearly demonstrated in both episodes in which a cave is used as the setting. The second cave episode has been neglected in the scholarly debate about the purpose of the book and this article attempts to set the record straight.

In order to elucidate the prophecies of Ezekiel, especially those against Egypt in Book 29, Jerome reconstructed the siege of Tyre by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. He seems to have done this not so much on the basis of the predictions recorded in the Bible (to say nothing of accurate records), as by comparison with accounts of Alexander the Great's siege of the same city more than two hundred years later. Jerome seems particularly dependent on the account of Alexander's siege of Tyre given by Quintus Curtius Rufus. The following investigation broadens our understanding of the authors known and used by Jerome, the uses to which he put his historical reading, and the methods of his Biblical exegesis, especially historical reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jerome of Stridon and Sidonius Apollinaris, two authors particularly sensitive to languages and linguistic differences, frequently evaluate the correctness, adequacy, and aesthetic qualities of 'classical' Latin on the one hand, and of 'foreign' or 'barbarian' languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, or 'Germanic') on the other. They also evaluate variation within the Latin language, mostly in a negative way. In this paper, I look at Jerome's and Sidonius' evaluative statements about languages and language varieties from the socio linguistic perspective of language attitude research. I start by defining the concepts of 'language attitude' and 'social connotations hypothesis', and then proceed to the analysis of linguistic evaluations in Jerome's and Sidonius' works. In accordance with the social connotations hypothesis, I argue that these evaluations about languages or language varieties are strongly biased by the socio-cultural stereotypes the authors hold about the speakers of these languages or language varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jerome's 40th letter opens by comparing the moralist to a surgeon. Here the phrase clementi secare ferro has been found problematical: recently Palla has maintained that clementi should be altered to inclementi. The present note endeavours to defend clementi on grounds of linguistic usage and of rhetorical technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to present the role and contribution of St. Jerome in refuting some elements of Pelagianism, such as those connected to the grace of God, free will, infant baptism, and, in particular, human capacity to be without sin (impeccantia). Jerome was among the first to refute the heretical theses of Pelagius, which he came to know through the works of St. Augustine that were available to him at that time [Ðe peccatorum meritis et remisione et baptismo parvulorum and Epistula ad HilariumJ. After briefly reviewing the attitudes of Christians in this period when they had just been emancipated within the Roman Empire, the article deals with the historical events surrounding the beginnings of the Pelagian controversy, as well as with the main theses taught by Pelagius, which were notin accordance with the deposit of faith of that time, as Jerome noted. Therefore, on the basis of his works Epistula ad Ctestiphontem and Dialogus adversus Pelagianos the article presents his response to the Pelagian theses. The controversy greatly confused people at that time and continued to baffle many after the death of the main actors in the dispute. In any case, Jerome's contribution was crucial in the sense that by his actions he helped to preserve the purity of our faith regarding Christ's redemptive role on the cross. There is no doubt that the popes had in mind the commitment of this great Dalmatian when, ex cathedra, they condemned this heretical teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Historia scholastica of Peter Comestor (d. 1178) was for centuries the main work of reference for the study in the Latin West of Biblical history, just as Peter Lombard’s Four Books of Sentences were for the study of systematic theology and the Decretum of Gratian of Bologna for the study of canon law. Hundreds of manuscript copies of each of these manuals survive, and the Historia scholastica was conspicuous for the attention it gave to the details of the historical events narrated in the Bible, to such matters as places, names, and dates. The work does not offer moral or spiritual interpretation of the Bible. Some examples of Peter’s presentation of biblical chronology are presented in this essay. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]