JEROME
343
JEROME
wrote his "Dialogue", scathing in sarcasm, but not
always accurate in doctrine, particularly as to the
Sacrament of Confirmation. The book " Adversus
Helvidium" belongs to about the same period. Hel-
vidius held the two following tenets: (1) Mary bore
children to Joseph after the virginal birth of Jesus
Christ; (2) from a religious view-point, the married
state is not inferior to continency. Earnest entreaty
decided Jerome to answer. In doing so he discusses
the various texts of the Gospel which, it was claimed,
contained the objections to the perpetual virginity
of Mary. If he did not find positive answers on all
points, his work, nevertheless, holds a very creditable
place in the history of Catholic exegesis upon these
questions. The relative dignity of virginity and
marriage, discussed in the book against Helvidius,
was taken up again in the book " Adversus Jovin-
ianum " written aljout ten years later. Jerome rec-
ognizes the legitimacy of marriage, but he uses con-
cerning it certain disparaging expressions which were
criticized by contemporaries and for which he has
given no satisfactory explanation. Jovinian was
more dangerous than Helvidius. Although he did
not exactly teach salvation by faith alone, and the
uselessness of good works, he made far too easy the
road to salvation and slighted a life of asceticism.
Every one of these points St. Jerome took up.
The " Apologetici adversus Rufinum" dealt with the Origenistic controversies. St. Jerome was involved in one of the most violent episodes of that struggle, which agitated the Church from Origen's lifetime until the Fifth (Ecumenical Council (553). The question at issue was to determine if certain doctrines professed by Origen and others taught by certain pagan followers of Origen could be accepted. In the present case the doctrinal difficulties were embittered by personalities between St. Jerome and his former friend, Rufinus. To understand St. Jerome's position we must remember that the works of Origen were by far the most complete exegetical collection then in ex- istence, and the one most accessible to students. Hence a very natural tendency to make use of them, and it is evident that St. Jerome did so, as well as many others. But we must carefully distinguish between writers who made use of Origen and those who ad- hered to his doctrines. This distinction is particu- larly necessary with St. Jerome, whose method of work was very rapid, and consisted in transcribing the inter- pretations of former exegetes without passing criti- cism on them. Nevertheless, it is certain that St. Jerome greatly praised and made use of Origen, that he even transcribed some erroneous passages without due reservation. But it is also evident that he never adhered thinkingly and systematically to the Origenis- tic doctrines. Under these circumstances it came about that when Rufinus, who was a genuine Origen- ist, called on him to justify his use of Origen, the ex- planations he gave were not free from embarrassment. At this distance of time it would require a very subtle and detailed study of the question to decide the real basis of the quarrel. However that may be, Jerome may be accused of imprutlence of language and blamed for a too hasty method of work. With a temperament such as his, and confident of his undoubted orthodoxy in the matter of Origenism, he must naturally have been tempted to justify anything. This brought about a most bitter controversy with his wily adver- sary, Rufinus. But on the whole Jerome's position is by far the stronger of the two, even in the eyes of his contemporaries. It is generally conceded that in tliis controversy Rufinus was to blame. It was he who brought about the conflict in which he proved him- self to be narrow-minded, perplexed, ambitious, even timorous. St. Jerome, whose attitude is not always above reproach, is far superior to him.
Vigilantius, the Gascon priest against whom Jerome wrote a treatise, quarrelled with ecclesiastical usages
rather than matters of doctrine. What he principally
rejectetl was the monastic life and the veneration of
saints and of relics. In short, Helvidius, Jovinian, and
Vigilantius were the mouthpieces of a reaction against
asceticism which had developed so largely in the fourth
century. Perhaps the influence of that same reaction
is to be seen in the doctrine of the monk Pelagius, who
gave his name to the principal heresy on grace: Pela-
gianism. On this subject Jerome wrote his "Dialogi
contra Pelagianos". Accurate as to the doctrine of
original sin, the author is much less so when he deter-
mines the part of God and of man in the act of justifi-
cation. In the main his ideas are Semipelagian:
man merits first grace : a formula which endangers the
absolute freedom of the gift of grace. The book " De
situ et nominibus locorum hebraicorum " is a trans-
lation of the " Onomasticon" of Eusebius, to which the
translator has joined additions and corrections. The
translations of the "Homilies" of Origen vary in
character according to the time in which they were
written. As time went on, Jerome became more
expert in the art of translating, and he outgrew the
tendency to palliate, as he came across them, certain
errors of Origen. We must make special mention of
the translation of the homilies " In Canticum Cantico-
rum", the Greek original of which has been lost.
The most accessible edition of St. Jerome's com- plete works is in P. L., XXII-XXX. Within recent years several treatises have been published as a result of special critical study. Of special merit are the " Ser- mons of St. Jerome", pubhshed by Morin in "Anec- dota Maredsolana ", III (Oxford, 1897, 1903), 2 and 3.
For historical documents concerning the life of St. Jerome, see the article Hieronymus, in Bibliotheca hagiograpkica lalina (Brussels, 1898-1899). 576. For literature on the subject consult Chevalier, Bio-bibliographie (Paris, 1905), 2563. The best and most up-to-date work on St. Jerome is GrCtz- MACHER, Hieronymus, eine biographische Studie zur atten Kirchen- geschichte (.3 vols., Berlin, 1901, 1906, 1908). Other valuable works are Brochet, S. Jerome et ses enni^mis (Paris, 1905); Sanders, Etudes sur S. Jerome (Paris and Brussels, 1903); U.KRTlN, The Life of St. Jerome (London, 1889). OnSt. Jerome's theology, cf. Tixeront, Histoire des dogmcs, II (Paris, 1909). Concerning the discussion that arose through the translation of the Bible from the Hebrew, see I agrange. L'esprit tradi- tionnel et Vesprit critique in Bulletin de litterature eeclesiastique (1899), 37 sqq. Critics are not agreed as to the dates they attribute to some of St. Jerome's works.
Louis Saltet.
Jerome Emiliani, Saint, founder of the Order of Somascha; b. at Venice, 1481; d. at Somascha, 8 Feb., 1537; feast, 20 July; son of Angelo Emiliani (popularly called Miani) and of Eleonore Mauroceni, joined the army, and in 1508 defended Castelnuovo against the League of Cambray. Taken prisoner and miracu- lously liberated, he made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady at Treviso, in fulfilment of a vow. He was then appointed podesta of Castelnuovo, but after a short time returned to Venice to supervise the educa- tion of his nephews. All his spare time was devoted to the study of theology and to works of charity. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1518, the hospitals and the hovels of the poor were his favourite resorts. In the year of plague and famine (1528), he seemed to be everywhere, and showed his zeal espe- cially for the orphans, whose number had so greatly in- creased. He rented a house for them near the church of St. Rose and, with the assistance of some pious lay- men, ministered to their wants. To his charge was also committed the hospital for incurables, foimded by St. Cajetan. In 1531 he went to Verona and induced the citizens to build a hospital; at Brescia he erected an orphanage, at Bergamo one for boys and another for girls. Here also he founded the first home for fallen women who wished to do penance. Two priests, .\lessandro Besuzio and Agostino Bariso, now joined him in his labours of charity, and in 1532 .Je- rome founded a religious society, placing the mother- hou.se at Somascha, a secluded hamlet between Milan and Bergamo. In the rule, Jerome puts down as the
