Early Letters: Asceticism, Scripture, and Rome
Letter I. To Innocent. Not only the first of the letters but probably the earliest extant composition of Jerome (c. 370 a.d.). Innocent, to whom it is addressed, was one of the little band of enthusiasts whom Jerome…
Ep. I–III — Letter I. To Innocent. (¶1)
Letter IV. To Florentius. Sent to Florentius along with the preceding letter, which Jerome requests him to deliver to Rufinus. This Florentius was a rich Italian who had retired to Jerusalem to pursue the monastic life.
Ep. IV–VI — Letter IV. To Florentius. (¶2)
Letter VII. To Chromatius, Jovinus, and Eusebius. This letter (written like the preceding in 374 a.d.) is addressed by Jerome to three of his former companions in the religious life.
Ep. VII–IX — Letter VII. To Chromatius, Jovinus, and <span class="jl-fn-t (¶3)
Letter X. To Paul, an Old Man of Concordia. Cic. Lælius, 76. See introd. to Letter XIV. Jerome writes to Paul of Concordia, a centenarian (§2), and the owner of a good theological library (§3), to lend him some…
Ep. X–XII — Letter X. To Paul, an Old Man of Concordia. (¶4)
Letter XIII. To Castorina, His Maternal Aunt. An interesting letter, as throwing some light on Jerome’s family relations. Castorina, his maternal aunt, had, for some reason, become estranged from him, and he now writes…
Ep. XIII–XV — Letter XIII. To Castorina, His Maternal Aunt. (¶5)
Letter XVI. To Pope Damasus. This letter, written a few months after the preceding, is another appeal to Damasus to solve the writer’s doubts.
Ep. XVI–XVIII — Letter XVI. To Pope Damasus. (¶6)
Letter XIX. From Pope Damasus. A letter from Damasus to Jerome, in which he asks for an explanation of the word “Hosanna” (a.d. 383). Letter XX. To Pope Damasus. Jerome’s reply to the foregoing.
Ep. XIX–XXI — Letter XIX. From Pope Damasus. (¶7)
Letter XXII. To Eustochium. Perhaps the most famous of all the letters. In it Jerome lays down at great length (1) the motives which ought to actuate those who devote themselves to a life of virginity, and (2) the rules…
Ep. XXII–XXIV — Letter XXII. To Eustochium. (¶8)
Letter XXV. To Marcella. An explanation of the ten names given to God in the Hebrew Scriptures. The ten names are El, Elohim, Sabaôth, Eliôn, Asher yeheyeh (Ex. iii. 14), Adonai, Jah, the tetragram JHVH, and Shaddai.
Ep. XXV–XXVII — Letter XXV. To Marcella. (¶9)
Letter XXVIII. To Marcella. An explanation of the Hebrew word Selah. This word, rendered by the LXX. διάψαλμα and by Aquila ἀεί, was as much a crux in Jerome’s day as it is in ours.
Ep. XXVIII–XXX — Letter XXVIII. To Marcella. (¶10)
Letter XXXI. To Eustochium. Jerome writes to thank Eustochium for some presents sent to him by her on the festival of St. Peter. He also moralizes on the mystical meaning of the articles sent.
Ep. XXXI–XXXIII — Letter XXXI. To Eustochium. (¶11)
Letter XXXIV. To Marcella. In reply to a request from Marcella for information concerning two phrases in Ps. cxxvii. (“bread of sorrow,” v. 2, and “children of the shaken off,” A.V. “of the youth,” v. 4).
Ep. XXXIV–XXXVI — Letter XXXIV. To Marcella. (¶12)
Letter XXXVII. To Marcella. Marcella had asked Jerome to lend her a copy of a commentary by Rhetitius, bishop of Augustodunum (Autun), on the Song of Songs.
Ep. XXXVII–XXXIX — Letter XXXVII. To Marcella. (¶13)
Letter XL. To Marcella. Onasus, of Segesta, the subject of this letter, was among Jerome’s Roman opponents. He is here held up to ridicule in a manner which reflects little credit on the writer’s urbanity.
Ep. XL–XLII — Letter XL. To Marcella. (¶14)
Letter XLIII. To Marcella. Jerome draws a contrast between his daily life and that of Origen, and sorrowfully admits his own shortcomings.
Ep. XLIII–XLV — Letter XLIII. To Marcella. (¶15)
Letter XLVI. Paula and Eustochium to Marcella. Jerome writes to Marcella in the name of Paula and Eustochium, describing the charms of the Holy Land, and urging her to leave Rome and to join her old companions at…
Ep. XLVI–XLVIII — Letter XLVI. Paula and Eustochium to Marcella. (¶16)
Letter XLIX. To Pammachius. Jerome encloses the preceding letter, thanks Pammachius for his efforts to suppress his treatise “against Jovinian,” but declares these to be useless, and exhorts him, if he still has any…
Ep. XLIX–LI — Letter XLIX. To Pammachius. (¶17)