Jerome, Illustrious Men 54.32-51
created: This entry is taken from Illustrious Men 54.32-51 written by Jerome in 392-393 C
edition published: 2023-06-30-05:00
language: la; la
availability: Except for materials quoted from other sources, this entry is copyright 2023 by the contributors (Joseph L. Rife, et al.) and the Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project. It is licensed under the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Some texts quoted in this entry may be in the public domain in the United States. No copyright is asserted for these quotations. Some texts quoted in this entry may have copyright restrictions and are reused under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/289

Caesarea Maritima is indirectly attested at Jerome, Illustrious Men 54.32-51. This passage was written ca. 392-393 C.E. possibly in Bethlehem. Among his many works, St. Jerome wrote a catalog of renowned thinkers of the Roman world during the first years after his move from Rome to Bethlehem. In mostly brief sketches he describes the intellectual achievements, particularly writings, of 135 men, many leaders in the early Church. In his life of Origen, he portrays Origen’s scholarship and teaching, including his critical edition of the Hebrew Bible (the Hexapla with its supplements), produced at the ecclesiastical library in Caesarea.

Quis autem ignorat, quod tantum habuerit in scripturis sanctis studii, ut etiam Hebream linguam contra aetatis gentisque suae naturam edisceret et exceptis Septuaginta interpraetibus alias quoque editiones in unum congregaret? Aquilae scilicet Pontici proselyti et Theodotionis Hebionei et Symmachi eiusdem dogmatis, qui in evangelium quoque cata Mattheum scripsit commentarios, de quo et suum dogma confirmare conatur. Praeterea quintam et sextam et septimam editionem, quas etiam nos de eius bibliotheca habemus, miro labore repperit et cum ceteris editionibus conparavit. Et quia indicem operum eius, in voluminibus epistularum quas ad Paulam scripsimus in quadam epistula, contra Varronis opera conferens posui, nunc omitto, illud de inmortali ingenio eius non tacens, quod dialecticam quoque et geometriam et arithmeticam, musicam, grammaticam et rhetoricam omniumque philosophorum sectas ita didicit, ut studiosos quoque saecularium litterarum sectatores haberet et interpraetaretur eis cottidie, concursusque ad eum miri fierent. Quos ille propterea recipiebat, ut sub occasione saecularis litteraturae in fide eos Christi institueret.

[Ed. Bernoulli 1895] [Minor corr.]

Who does not also know that he was so assiduous in the study of the Holy Scriptures that, contrary to the spirit of his era and his people, he learned the Hebrew language, and, after he had collected the Septuagint translations, he gathered into a single work the other translations also? I am referring to those by Aquila, the proselyte of Pontus, by Theodotion the Ebionite, and by Symmachus, an adherent of the same teaching who also wrote Commentaries on the Gospel according to Matthew, from which he tried to establish his doctrine. Besides these, with astonishing effort he discovered a fifth, sixth, and seventh translation, which we also have from his library, and he compared (them) with the other translations. And since I have given a list of his works in the collection of letters I wrote to Paula, in a letter where I drew a comparison with the works of Varro, I leave it out now. I will not, however, leave this out about his immortal genius: that he taught dialectics and geometry, arithmetic, music, grammar, rhetoric, and all schools of philosophy so well that he had also had diligent students of secular literature, he gave instruction daily, and incredible crowds flocked to him. These he received with the goal that, under the pretext of an opportunity (to learn) about secular literature, he might establish them in the faith of Christ.

[Adapted from Schaff 1892 and Halton 1999]

Works Cited

[...] 33-34 32-51
[...] 78-79 54.6-8

[Eusebius, Church History 6.16-17

Jerome, Against Rufinus 2.32

John Zonaras, Epitome of History 12.17=p. 3.129

Origen, Hexapla

Septuaginta

Suda ω 182.52-75

Suda ω 182.75-100

Symmachus, Commentaries on Matthew]

[Rome]

[Aquila of Sinope

Ebionites

Jesus Christ

Paula

Symmachus

Theodotion

Varro]

[Christian Bible

Christianity

Education (Sacred)

Education (Secular)

Greek Language

Hebrew Bible

Hebrew Language

Judaism

Literature

Paganism

Philosophy

Roman History

Society and Culture

Urban Topography]