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| To Desiderius.
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Letter
XLVII. To Desiderius.
Jerome invites two of his old friends at Rome,
Desiderius and his sister (or wife) Serenilla, to join him at
Bethlehem. It is possible but not probable that this Desiderius is the
same with Desiderius of Aquitaine, who afterwards induced Jerome to
write against Vigilantius.
An interval of seven years separates this letter (of
which the date is 393 a.d.) from the
preceding, and all the letters written during this period have wholly
perished.
1. Surprised as I have been, my excellent friend, to
read the language which your kindness has prompted you to hold
concerning me, I have rejoiced that I possess the testimony of one both
eloquent and sincere; but when I turn from you to myself I feel vexed
that, owing to my unworthiness, your words of praise and eulogy rather
weigh me down than lift me up. You know, of course, that I make it a
principle to raise the standard of humility, and to prepare for scaling
the heights by walking for the present in the lowest places. For what
am I or what is my significance that I should have the voice of
learning raised to bear witness of me, or that the palm of eloquence
should be laid at my feet by one whose style is so charming that it has
almost deterred me from writing a letter at all? I must, however, make
the attempt in order that charity which seeks not her own1027
but always
her neighbor’s good, may at least return a compliment, since it
cannot convey a lesson.
2. I offer my congratulations to you and to your holy
and revered sister,1028
Serenilla, who,
true to her name,1029
has trodden down
the troubled waves of the world, and has passed to Christ’s calm
haven: a happiness which—if we may trust the augury of your
name—is in store for you also. For we read that the holy Daniel
was called “a man of desires,”1030
| 1030 Dan. ix. 23, A.V. marg. Desiderius means “one
who is an object of desire.” |
and the friend of God, because he desired to know His mysteries.
Therefore, I do with pleasure what the revered Paula has asked of me. I
urge and implore you both by the charity of the Lord that you will give
your presence to us, and that a visit to the holy places may induce you
to enrich us with this great gift. Even supposing that you do not care
for our society, it is still your duty as believers to worship on the
spot where the Lord’s feet once stood and to see for yourselves
the still fresh traces of His birth, His cross, and His passion.
3. Several of my little pieces have flown away out of
their nest, and have rashly sought for themselves the honor of
publication. I have not sent you any lest I should send works which you
already have. But if you care to borrow copies of them, you can do so
either from our holy sister, Marcella, who has her abode upon the
Aventine, or from that holy man, Domnio, who is the Lot of our times.1031
Meantime, I look for your arrival, and will
give you all I have when you once come; or, if any hindrances prevent
you from joining us, I will gladly send you such treatises as you shall
desire. Following the example of Tranquillus1032
| 1032 I.e. the
historian Suetonius. |
and of Apollonius the Greek,1033
| 1033 Probably Apollonius
of Tyre, who appears to have written an account of the principal
philosophers who followed Zeno. | I have written a
book concerning illustrious men1034
| 1034 See this work in
Vol. III. of this series. | from the
apostles’ time to our own; and after enumerating a great number I
have put myself down on the last page as one born out of due time, and
the least of all Christians.1035
Here I have found
it necessary to give a short account of my writings down to the
fourteenth year1036
of the Emperor
Theodosius. If you find, on procuring this treatise from the persons
mentioned above, that there are any pieces mentioned which you have not
already got, I will have them copied for you by degrees, if you wish
it.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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