Mature Letters: Ministry, Controversy, and Bethlehem
Letter LIII. To Paulinus. Jerome urges Paulinus, bishop of Nola, (for whom see Letter LVIII.) to make a diligent study of the Scriptures and to this end reminds him of the zeal for learning displayed not only by the…
Ep. LIII–LV — Letter LIII. To Paulinus. (¶1)
Letter LVI. From Augustine. Augustine’s first letter to Jerome (printed in his correspondence in this Library as Letter XXVIII.): through a series of accidents it was not delivered until nine years after it had been…
Ep. LVI–LVIII — Letter LVI. From Augustine. (¶2)
Letter LIX. To Marcella. An answer to five questions put to Jerome by Marcella in a letter not preserved. The questions are as follows. Cf. Letter LXX. 5. Cf. Luke xii. 3. Horace, Sat. I. ix. 59, 60. Virgil, Georg. iii.
Ep. LIX–LXI — Letter LIX. To Marcella. (¶3)
Letter LXII. To Tranquillinus. Tranquillinus, one of Jerome’s Roman friends, had written (1) to tell him of the stand that Oceanus was making against the Origenists at Rome, and (2) to ask whether any parts of Origen’s…
Ep. LXII–LXIV — Letter LXII. To Tranquillinus. (¶4)
Letter LXV. To Principia. A commentary on Ps. XLV. addressed to Marcella’s friend and companion Principia (see Letter CXXVII.). Jerome prefaces what he has to say by a defence of his practice of writing for women, a…
Ep. LXV–LXVII — Letter LXV. To Principia. (¶5)
Letter LXVIII. To Castrutius. Castrutius, a blind man of Pannonia, had set out for Bethlehem to visit Jerome. However, on reaching Cissa (whether that in Thrace or that on the Adriatic is uncertain) he was induced by…
Ep. LXVIII–LXX — Letter LXVIII. To Castrutius. (¶6)
Letter LXXI. To Lucinius. Lucinius was a wealthy Spaniard of Bætica who in conformity with the ascetic ideas of his time had made a vow of continence with his wife Theodora.
Ep. LXXI–LXXIII — Letter LXXI. To Lucinius. (¶7)
Letter LXXIV. To Rufinus of Rome. Rufinus, a Roman Presbyter (to be carefully distinguished from Rufinus of Aquileia and Rufinus the Syrian), had written to Jerome for an explanation of the judgment of Solomon (1 Kings…
Ep. LXXIV–LXXVI — Letter LXXIV. To Rufinus of Rome. (¶8)
Letter LXXVII. To Oceanus. The eulogy of Fabiola whose restless life had come to an end in 399 a.d. Jerome tells the story of her sin and of her penitence (for which see Letter LV.), of the hospital established by her…
Ep. LXXVII–LXXIX — Letter LXXVII. To Oceanus. (¶9)
Letter LXXX. From Rufinus to Macarius. 2475 Ezek. xvi. 25. Ezek. xxiii. 3. Exod. xxxii. 4. Ezek. xx. 25. Phil. iii. 13. As Judith cut off the head of Holofernes (Judith xiii.). Luke ii. 36–38.
Ep. LXXX–LXXXII — Letter LXXX. From Rufinus to Macarius. (¶10)
Letter LXXXIII. From Pammachius and Oceanus. Cf. 1 Cor. ix. 19. 1 Cor. xiii. 13. Eccl. iv. 12. Cf. Col. iii. 14. Cf. Joh. xiii. 20. Gal. v. 15.
Ep. LXXXIII–LXXXV — Letter LXXXIII. From Pammachius and Oceanus. (¶11)
Letter LXXXVI. To Theophilus. Jerome congratulates Theophilus on the success of his crusade against Origenism, and speaks of the good work done in Palestine by his emissaries Priscus and Eubulus.
Ep. LXXXVI–LXXXVIII — Letter LXXXVI. To Theophilus. (¶12)
Letter LXXXIX. From Theophilus to Jerome. This letter (probably earlier in date than the three preceding) commends to Jerome the monk Theodore, who, having come from Rome to declare the condemnation of Origenism by the…
Ep. LXXXIX–XCI — Letter LXXXIX. From Theophilus to Jerome. (¶13)
Letter XCIII. From the Bishops of Palestine to Theophilus. The synodical letter of the council of Jerusalem sent to Theophilus in reply to the preceding. The translation as before is due to Jerome.
Ep. XCIII–XCV — Letter XCIII. From the Bishops of Palestine to Theophilus. (¶14)
Letter XCVI. From Theophilus. A translation by Jerome of Theophilus’s paschal letter for the year 401 a.d. In it Theophilus refutes at length the heresies of Apollinaris and Origen. Letter XCVII.
Ep. XCVI–XCVIII — Letter XCVI. From Theophilus. (¶15)
Letter XCIX. To Theophilus. Jerome forwards to Theophilus a translation of the latter’s paschal letter for 404 a.d. and apologizes for his delay in sending it, on the ground that ill-health and grief for the death of…
Ep. XCIX — Letter XCIX. To Theophilus. (¶16)