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wrote out for the use of his friend Rufinus the Commentaries of Hilary of Poictiers upon the Psalms, and his long treatise of Synods, composed in 358. He afterwards returned into Italy; and now, whilst he was in the western part of the empire, he seems to have collected a good library; to which, undoubtedly, additions were made afterwards. From Italy he went into the east, where he spent several years, partly in the deserts of Syria, partly at Antioch, partly at Constantinople. In 382 he came to Roine, and was made secretary to Pope Damasus. Near the end of 385 he returned into the cast: I place below the description of his voyage, in his own words. In the year 386 he settled at Bethlehem, where he resided the remaining part of his life; excepting, perhaps, an excursion into Egypt, and some journies in Palestine.

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As Jerom owes a large part of his reputation to his acquaintance with Hebrew, an uncommon thing among Christians at that time, some particular notice may be fitly taken of it. He seems to have begun his acquaintance with that language in his younger days, which he afterwards improved by great application and diligence. He had at least two Hebrew masters, of great note for skill in their own tongue; one an unbeliever, another a Christian. To these, or other learned rabbins, he often refers in his Commentaries upon the scriptures of the Old Testament; mentioning some of their observations, or interpretations of texts which he had received from them. In his preface to the book of Job, translated by him from Hebrew, he says that at a great expence he had procured the instructions of a very learned Jew, to lead him into the right interpretation of that difficult book. He speaks to the like purpose in the preface to his translation of the book of Chronicles, from the Seventy; and says that he had travelled over the land of Judea in the company of some Jews, in great reputation for learning; supposing that a distinct knowledge of the situation and names of places in that country might contribute more than a Fittle to the understanding of the scriptures, especially the historical books. In his Comment upon the book of Nahum he says, that in his perambulation over the land of Judea, he had been shewn by his learned Jewish conductor the place of the nativity of that prophet, which was then a small village in Galilee, almost in ruins.

prolixum valde de Synodis librum sancti Hilarii, quem ei apud Treviros manu meâ ipse descripseram, ut mihi transferas, peto. Ad Flor. ep. 4. al. 6. T. iv. p. 6.

..... Bibliothecâ, quam mihi Romæ summo studio et la bore confeceram, carere non poteram. Ad Eustoch. ep. 18, al. 22. T. iv. P. ii. p. 42. Conf. et Ep. ad Florent. ubi supra.

Mense Augusto, flantibus Etesiis, cum sancto Vincentio presbytero, et adolescente fratre, et aliis monachis...navim in Romano portu securus ascendi... Veni Rhegium... Malui per Maleas et Cycladas Cypriam pergere. Ubi susceptus a venerabili episcopo Epiphanio, cujus testimonio gloriaris, veni Antiochiam, ubi fruitus sum communione pontificis confessorisque Paulini, et deductus ab eo mediâ hieme, et frigore gravissimo, intravi Ierosolymam... Inde contendi Ægyptum, lustravi monasteria Nistriæ... Protinus concito gradu Bethleem meam reversus sum. Adv. Ruf. 1. iii. p. 459, F.

Hebræam linguam, quam ego ab adolescentiâ multo labore ac sudore ex parte didici, et indefatigabili meditatione non desero, ne ipse ab eâ deserar, &c. Ad Eustoch. ep. 86, al 27. T. iv. p. 686.

Veni rursum lerosolymam et Bethleem. Quo labore, quo pretio, Baraninam nocturnem habui præceptorem! Timebat enim Judæos. et mihi alterum exhibebat Nicodemum. Horum omnium frequenter in opusculis meis facio mentionem. Ad Pamm. et Ocean. ep. 41,.al. 65. ib. p. 342. Conf. adv. Ruf. 1. i. ib. p. 363. et 369, in.

Ad quam edomandain cuidam fratri, qui ex Hebræis crediderat, me in disciplinam dedi: ut post Quintiliani acumina, Ciceronis fluvios, gravitatemque Frontonis, et lenitatem Plinii, alphabetum discerem, et stridentia anhelantiaque verba meditarer. Ad Rustic. ep. 95. al. 4. p. 774.

! Verbum Hebraïcum...lxx. transtulerunt... Hebræus, quo ego præceptore usus sum, Arcturum interpretatus est. In Is. cap. xiii.T. iii. p. 109.-Referebat mihi Hebræus, præsentem visionem non pertinere ad illud tempus quo Nabuchodonosor Jerusalem cepit... sed ad Sennacherib tempora. In Is.

cap. xxii. p. 139.-Hebræus autem, qui nos in Veteris Testamenti lectione erudivit, &c. Ib. p. 200.-Est vir quidam, a quo ego plura didicisse me gaudeo, et qui Hebrææum sermonem ita elimârit, ut inter scribas eorum Chaldæus existimetur. Is longe aliâ viâ ingressus est. Ad Damas. de Seraphim et Calculo. T. iii. p. 220. Vid. ib. p. 222. Vid. et in Naum. cap. ii. T. iii. p. 156s, M.

Memini me ob intelligentiam hujus voluminis Lyddæum. quemdam præceptorem, qui apud Hebræos primus haberi putabatur non parvis redemisse nummis; cujus doctrinâ an aliquid profecerim, nescio. Hoc unum scio, non potuisse me interpretari nisi quod ante intekexeram. Pr. in Job. T. i. p. 795.

Quomodo Græcorum historias magis intelligunt, qui Athenas viderint... ita sanctam scripturam lucidius intuebitur, qui Judæam oculis contemplatus est. Unde et nobis cura fuit, cum eruditissimis Hebræorum hunc laborem subire, ut circumiremus provinciam, quam universæ Christi ecclesiæ sonaut. Fateor enim, mi Domnion, et Rogatiane carissimi, nunquam me in divinis voluminibus propriis viribus credidisse, nec habuisse magistrum opinionem meam; sed ea etiam, de quibus scire me arbitrabar, interrogare solitum. Quanto magis de his, super quibus anceps eram? Denique, quum a me nuper.literis flagitâssetis, ut vobis Paralipomenon librum Latino sermone transferrem, de Tiberiade legis quondam doctorem, qui apud Hebræos admirationi habebatur, assumpsi; et contuli cum eo a vertice, ut aiunt, usque ad extremum unguem. Et sic confirmatus, ausus sum facere quod jubebatis. Pr. in Paral. T. i. p. 1418.

i Porro, quod additur: Naüm Elcesæi :' [cap. i. 1.] quidam putant, Elcesæum patrem esse Naüm... quum Elcesi usque hodie in Galilæa viculus sit; parvus quidem, et vix ruinis veterum ædificiorum indicans vestigia; sed tamen notus Judæis, et mihi quoque a circumducente monstratus. Pr. in Naum, T. iii. p. 1559.

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It is pleasant to observe how Jerom represents the harshness which the study of the Hebrew language, and the reading of their authors, had brought upon his Latin style and pronunciation. He speaks after this manner in a letter supposed to be written so early as the year 384.

I may not give any account of his controversial writings against Helvidius, Jovinian, Vigilan tius, and others; I am obliged to decline it for avoiding too great prolixity: besides, the history of those controversies. is well known, and may be seen in many authors. Nor may I remark here upon his difference with his friend Rufinus: though I fear it cannot be quite passed over, and will come in our way hereafter. And in shewing his testimony to the scriptures, I shall be led to take notice of many of his works relating to them, for explaining and illustrating them. Great commendations of Jerom may be seen in divers ancient writers who were his contemporaries, or who lived not long after him: particularly Sulpicius Severus, Augustine, and Prosper, who fail not to mention his skill in three languages, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew; and extol his learning, diligence, zeal for the catholic faith, and freedom in reproving the vices of the clergy, and other Christians of his time.

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Nor can it, in my opinion, be improper to take notice of what Jerom upon divers occasions says of himself, and of his laborious, studious course of life: that he had been from the beginning diligent and inquisitive, that all his days he had been employed in the schools of rhetori cians and philosophers, or in reading the scriptures of the Old and New Testament; that, beside Latin and Greek, he had endeavoured to make himself master of Hebrew; that he did not rely upon his own judgment and understanding in interpreting the scriptures, but consulted other commentators, and was willing to improve by their labours; that he never thought himself too

Nos, ut scis, Hebræorum lectione detenti, in Latinâ linguâ rubiginem obduximus, in tantum ut loquentibus quoque nobis stridor quidam non Latinus interstrepat. Ad Marcell. de Ephod et Teraphim, T. ii. p. 616, al. ep: 130. Scripta Romæ, 384.-Loquar? Sed omnem sermonis elegantiam, et Latini eloquii venustatem, stridor lectionis Hebraïcæ sordidavit. Nôstis enim et ipsæ, quod plus quam quindecim anni sunt, ex quo in manus meas nunquam Tullius, nunquam Maro, nunquam Gentilium literarum quilibet auctor ascendit. Pr. iii. in Galat. T. iv. p. 287. Scr. A. C. 388, vel circiter.— Obsecro te, lector, ut ignoscas celeri sermone dictanti; nec requiras eloquii venustatem, quam multo tempore Hebreæ linguæ studio perdidi. In Agg. cap. ii. T. iii. p. 1704, F.

Accounts of those controversies may be seen in all eccle siastical historians, and in the writers of Jerom's life. The history of Jovinian may be read in Mr. Bower's Lives of the Popes, vol. i. p 253...257. And the affair of Vigilantius is largely treated by Ja. Basnage, Hist. de l'Eglise, 1. xix. ch. 13. sect. 5... 13. For Jovinian see also, by all means, S. Basnag. Annal. 382. n. xii. xiii.

c... Hieronymus, vir maxime catholicus, et sacræ legis peritissimus: S. Sever. Dial. i. cap. 3, al. c. 7.-Igitur inde digressus, Bethleem oppidum petii... Ecclesiam loci illius Hieronymus presbyter regit... Mihi jam pridem Hieronymus superiore illâ meâ peregrinatione compertus, facile obtinuerat, ut nullum mihi expetendum rectius arbitrarer. Vir enim, præter fidei meritum, dotemque virtutum, non solum Latinis atque Græcis, sed et Hebræis ita literis institutus est, ut se illi in omni scientiâ nemo audeat comparare. Miror autem, si non et vobis per multa quæ scripsit opera compertus est, cum per totum orbem legatur. Nobis vero, inquit Gallus, nimium nimiumque compertus est... Ego, ut dicere institue ram, apud Hieronymum sex mensibus fui; cui jugis adversus malos pugna perpetuumque certamen. Concivit odia perditorum: oderunt eum hæretici, quia eos impugnare non desi→ nit; oderunt clerici, quia vitam eorum insectatur et crimina. Sed plane eum boni omnes admirantur et diligunt; nam qui eum hæreticum esse arbitrantur, insaniunt. Vere dixerim, catholica hominis sententia sana doctrina est. Totus semper in lectione, totus in libris est; non die, non nocte, requiescit ; aut legit aliquid semper, aut scribit. Id. ib. cap. 8. 9. al. c. 4.

Quamvis non defuerit temporibus nostris presbyter Hieronymus, homo doctissimus, et omnium trium linguarum peritus, qui non ex Græco, sed ex Hebræo, in Latinum elo

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quium easdem scripturas converteret. Aug. de Civ. Dei, I.
xviii. c. 43. T. vii.-Illud tamen scio, quod etiam sanctus
Hieronymus, qui hodieque in literis ecclesiasticis tam excel-
lentis doctrinæ famâ ac labore versatur. Aug. de Peccat!
Merit. 1. iii. c. 6. n. xii. T. x.—Nec sanctum Hieronymum,
quia presbyter fuit, contemnendum arbitreris, qui Græco et
Latino, insuper et Hebræo, eruditus eloquio, et occidentali ad
orientalem transiens ecclesiam, in locis sanctis atque in literis
sacris usque ad decrepitam vixit ætatem: omnesque vel pene
omnes, qui ante illum aliquid ex utrâque parte orbis de doc
trinâ ecclesiasticâ scripserant, legit. Contr. Julian. Pelag. I. i,
c. 7. n. xxxiv. T. x. et alibi passim.

Tunc etiam Bethleï præclari nominis hospes,
Hebræo simul, et Graio, Latioque venustus
Eloquio, morum exemplum, mundique magister,
Hieronymus, libris valde excellentibus hostein
Dissecuit.....

Prosper de Ingratis, cap. 3.

Dum essem juvenis, miro discendi ferebar ardore, nee juxta quorumdam præsumptionem ipse me docui. Ad Pamm. et Ocean. ep. 41, al. 65. T. iv. p. 342, M.-Nos autem, qui Hebreæ linguæ saltem parvam habemus scientiam, et Latinus nobis utcumque sermo non deest, et de aliis magis possumus judicare, et ea, quæ ipsi intelligimus, in nostrâ linguâ exprimere. Adv. Ruf. 1. ii. T. iv. P. ii. p. 427, fin.

8 Qui et Hebræum sermonem ex parte didicimus, et in Latino, pene ab ipsis incunabulis, inter grammaticos et rhétores et philosophos detriti sumus. Pr. in Job. T. i. p. 798, al. ep. 113. Vid. et adv. Ruf. 1. ii. p. 429, M. et l. iii. p. 443, init.

...

h si nihil mihi profuit Hebræorum eruditio, et ab adolescentiâ usque ad hanc ætatem quotidianâ in lege, prophetis, evangeliisque meditatio. Ad Domn. ep. 32, al. 51. T. iv. p. 245. Scr. Ann. 395.

i Non quo ab adolescentiâ aut legere unquam, aut doctos viros ea quæ nesciebam interrogare, cessaverim; et meipsum tantum, ut plerique, habuerim magistrum. Denique nuper ob hanc maxime causam Alexandriam perrexi, ut viderem Didymum, et ab eo in scripturis omnibus quæ habebam dubia sciscitarer. Ad Eph. Pr. i. T. iv. p. 319.

* Jam canis spargebatur caput, et magistrum potius quam discipulum decebat. Perrexi tamen Alexandriam, audivi Didymum, &c. Ad Pamm. et Ocean, ep. 41. al. 65. T. iv. p. 342.

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old to learn, but embraced all opportunities of increasing in knowledge; that he was not employed, as many monks were, in making baskets of rushes, and skreens of palm-leaves, to get a livelihood, but in studying the scriptures, and putting out correct editions of them.

And though some may apprehend that hereby Jerom incurs the imputation of vanity, I rather think that he does not exceed the bounds of modesty; for he had many enemies, as appears from his writings. His most laborious and beneficial performances, correcting the ancient, and making new versions of the scriptures, were all suspected to be of a dangerous tendency, and were opposed and censured by many.

However, we are not to imagine that Jerom was in all things exempt from just reprehension. Some reflections upon him may be found in ancient writers. I forbear to take any thing from Rufinus: but as I have transcribed commendations of our author, I know not how to excuse myself in passing over the censures of Palladius, another contemporary writer, bishop of Helenopolis in Bithynia, author of the Lausiac History; so called from Lausus, a great man in the imperial court at Constantinople, to whom it is inscribed; containing the lives of those who about this time were remarkable for great austerities in Palestine and Egypt.

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Palladius is placed by Cave as flourishing about the year 401, though his History was not written till about 421, in the fifty-third year of his age. Whether he is the same as Palladius who wrote a Dialogue of the Life of St. Chrysostom, in 408, is not certain.

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Says Palladius, In those parts lived Jerom, a presbyter, remarkable for his great capacity, and Roman eloquence; but his envious disposition obscured the merit of all his services. Posidonius, who was there a good while, said to me, "The liberal Paula, who takes care of him, I believe will die without reproach; but such is the envy of this person, that no good man will be • able to live there, not even his own brother." And so it has come pass.' This Palladius calls the prophecy of the excellent Posidonius: who, as Tillemont thinks, was at Bethlehem in 387: and Palladius must have been there about the same time.

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In another place, the same writer, speaking of Paula, who lived at Bethlehem under Jerom's direction, says, She was well disposed for the spiritual life, if she had not been hindered by a • certain man, named Jerom, from Dalmatia. She had so many good qualities, that she might ⚫ have excelled most, if not all of her sex ; but his envy obstructed her, that he might serve his ⚫own purposes.'

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Tillemont supposes that these reflections may have been occasioned by Jerom's moderating Paula's alms and austerities, which he owns he often endeavoured to do; and likewise by diverting her from seeking after allegorical interpretations of scripture: and indeed Jerom speaks particularly of an attempt to lead her into the Origenist scheme. Nevertheless, perhaps, that is not the whole which is here intended: and the farther consideration of the character of this writer, and of Jerom's conduct and writings, may afford us some elucidations.

Palladius was an Origenist, or at least a favourer of Origen, and a friend to his memory. He commends Rufinus and Melania. He says that Rufinus was the meekest as well as the most ⚫ learned man he ever knew. When he and Melania lived at Jerusalem, as they did many years, they honoured and relieved the clergy, he says, and gave offence to none, and were useful to almost all the world.' Melania, with whom Jerom was offended after the difference between

a Si aut fiscellam junco texerem, aut palmarum folia complicarem, ut in sudore vultûs mei comederem panem, et ventris opus solicitâ mente tractarem; nullus morderet, nemo reprehenderet. Nunc autem, quia juxta sententiamn Salvatoris volo operari cibum qui non peṛit, et antiquam divinorum voJuminum viam sentibus virgultisque purgare; mihi genuinus infigitur, corrector vitiorum falsarius vocor, et errores non auferre, sed serere. Tanta est enim vetustatis consuetudo, ut etiam confessa plerisque vitia placeant; dum magis pulchros habere malunt codices, quam emendatos. Quapropter, O Paula, et Eustochium, unicum nobilitatis et humilitatis exemplar, pro flabello, calathis, sportulisque, munusculo monachorum, spiritualia hæc et mansura dona suscipite; ac beatum Job, qui adhuc apud Latinos jacebat in stercore, et vermibus scatebat errorum, integrum immaculatumque gaudete. Prol. in Job e Græco in Latin. sermonem a se conversum. T. i. p. 1187.

bH. L. T. i. p. 376.

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Ιερώνυμος γαρ τις πρεσβύτερος ώκει εις τόπες εκείνες αρείη λόγων Ρωμαϊκων πολλή κεκοσμημένος, και ίκανη ευφυία τοσαυτην δε εσχεν βασκανίαν, ώς από ταυλης καλυπίεσθαι των λoywv Tyy agεlyv. x. λ. Hist. Laus. c. 78. p. 1005. Bib. PP. Morell. Par. 1644.

d See T. xii. S. Jerome, art. 45.
Hist. Laus. c. 124. p. 1037.

f See S. Jerome, art. 51. Mem. Ec. T. xii.
Vid. ep. 86, al. 27. p. 678. F. 679, init.

"Tangam ergo breviter, quomodo hæreticorum cœnosos devitaverit lacus. ... Quidam veterator callidus, atque, ut sibi videbatur, doctus et sciolus, me nesciente, cœpit ei proponere quæstiones, et dicere, &c. Ep. 86. ib. p. 684, init.

H. L. cap. 117. p. 1037.

*Vid. ib. Cap. 117. p. 1031. et c. 119. p. 1033. &c.

b

him and Rufinus,' is here greatly extolled: nor indeed is she to be blamed for her continued. friendship for Rufinus, the guide and companion of her spiritual life, as he is called by Paulinus. I mention these things only for shewing the character of Palladius.

Now let us observe some things in Jerom. In the former part of his life he translated many works of Origen into Latin, and frequently commended him, calling him the greatest doctor of the churches since the times of the apostles. Afterwards his esteem for Origen abated very much. It may be perceived that in 393 or 394 began the difference between him and Rufinus, who appeared to be more favourable to Origen than Jerom then was.

In 397 Rufinus came from the east to Rome, and in that year, or in 398, published there a Latin version of Origen's books Of Principles. From that time Jerom's enmity against Origen became more manifest and violent. He said that when he commended him, he never intended to declare his approbation of any of his peculiar opinions. He admired his great capacity, learning, critical skill in the style and idioms of the scripture; but he never approved his doctrine. If men would not believe him, but would have it that once he was an Origenist, he was now so no longer.

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Rufinus staid at Rome above a year, and was well received by pope Siricius; who also, when he went from thence to Aquileia in 398, gave him letters of communion. Siricius died before the end of that year; and was succeeded by Anastasius, who condemned Origen and his followers.

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About this time Theophilus, bishop of Alexandria, (whose true character may be seen in Isidore of Pelusium, a witness beyond exception, and in other ancient as well as " modern writers) out of private spite and envy began to persecute Dioscurus and his brothers (called 'tall on account of their stature) whom before he had greatly favoured, and other monks of the best understanding in Egypt, under a pretence that they were Origenists. In 401, * Theophilus held a synod at Alexandria, in which Origen and his followers were condemned, and the reading his books was prohibited. Soon after, in this very year, as it seems, and at the request · of Theophilus, Epiphanius held a council in Cyprus for the same purpose: and with the assistance of the Roman governor, and an armed force, Theophilus drove many monks from their monasteries in the desert of Nitria, and expelled them out of Egypt: Palladius, writer of the Life of St. Chrysostom, says, they were in number three hundred. They fled therefore for

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a Vid. Hieron. ep. 33, al. 101. T. iv. p. 256. Ad Ctesiph. ep. 43. p. 475. M. et Rufin. Invect. 1. ii. ib. p. 436, M.

....

b sanctæ Melaniæ spiritali in vitâ comitem. Paulin. ep. 28, al. ep. 9. p. 178.

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Objiciunt mihi, quare Origenem aliquando laudaverim. Ni fallor, duo loca sunt in quibus eum laudavi.... Quid ibi de dogmatibus ecclesiæ dicitur? Quid de Patre, Filio, et Spiritu Sancto? Quid de carnis resurrectione? Quid de animæ statu atque substantiâ ?.... Laudavi interpretem, non dogmatisten; ingenium, non fidem; philosophum, non apostolum

Arguite potius ubi hæresim defenderim, ubi pravum Origenis dogma laudaverim.... Si mihi creditis, Origenista nunquam fui; si non creditis, nunc esse cessavi. Ad Pamm. et Ocean. ep. 41, al. 65. T. iv. p. 342, 343.-Sicut enim interpretationem et idiomata scripturarum Origeni semper tribui, ita dogmatum constantissime abstuli veritatem. Ad Theoph. ep. 39, al. 62. p. 337, M.-In Origene miramur scientiam scripturarum; et tamen dogmatum non recipimus falsitatem. Adv. Ruf. 1. iii. p. 463, F.

d Cernentes hæretici de parvâ scintillâ maxima incendia concitari, et suppositam dudum flammam jam ad culmina pervenisse; nec posse latere quod multos deceperat, petunt et impetrant ecclesiasticas epistolas, ut communicantes ecclesiæ discessisse viderentur. Non multum tempus in medio. Succedit in pontifcatum vir ignis Anastasius. Ad Princip. Virg. ep. 96, al. 16. p. 728, M.-Siricii jam in Domino dormientis profers epistolam, et viventis Anastasii dicta contemnis. Adv. Ruf. 1. iii. p. 459, init. Vid. et p. 455, I.

e Ergo beati episcopi, Astasius, et Theophilus, et Venerius, et Chromatius, et omnis tam orientalis quam occidentalis catholicorum synodus, qui pari sententiâ et pari spiritu illum

m

n

[Origenem] hæreticum denuntiant populis. Adv. Ruf. l. ii. p. 417, M.-Tale quid et contra papam Anastasium disputas;" ut quia Siricii episcopi habes epistolam, iste contra se scribere non potuerit. Ib. 1. iii. p. 462, init.

f Isid. 1. i. ep. 152.

Socr. 1. vi. c. 7. Soz. 1. viii. c. 19.

h See Cave's Life of St. Chrysostom, in the Lives of the Fathers of the Fourth Century; and Tillem. T. xi. Theophile, art. 6.

i

* Ισως δ' αν και ήδε ή ζήτησις παντελως τοτε διελύθη, ει μη πεπαυμενην ηδη δι' εχθραν ιδιαν εκίνηση Θεόφιλος, επιβελεύων Aupa xai Alooxoew, Evosti Te nai Eutopiw, TOIS ETTIKATY Μακροις κ. λ. Soz. 1. viii. c. 12, init.

* Vid. Pagi, in Baron. A. 401. n. ii. iii.

Prosperoque cursu septimo die Alexandriam pervenimus, ubi fœda inter episcopos atque monachos certamina gerebantur, ex eâ occasione, quia congregati in unum sæpius sacerdotes frequentibus decrevisse synodis videbantur, ne quis Origenis libros legeret aut haberet. Sulp. Sev. Dial: i. c. 3. Vid. et Socr. 1. vi. c. 10.

TM Vid. Pagi, ann. 401. n. xx. et Theophil. ad Epiphan. Ep. ap. Hieron. T. iv. P. ii. p. 829, 830. Et Conf. Cav. H. L. T. i. p. 370. de Concil. Cypr.

"... . εισερχεται προς τον Αύγουςαλιον.... και αξιοι σφα 1ιωτικη βοηθεια ρίφηναι τες άνδρας από πάσης Αιγυπία. Pallad. De V. S. Chr. c. 7.-Quæ cum reprimi sacerdotum auctoritate non posset, scævo exemplo ad regendam ecclesiæ discipli-" nam præfectus assumitur, cujus terrore dispersi fratres, ac per diversas oras monachi sunt fugati, ita ut propositis edictis in nullâ consistere sede sinerentur. S. Sever. ubi supra. • Pallad. Ib.

shelter to Palestine, where he pursued them: from thence they went to Constantinople; but he would not let them enjoy rest there: he still prosecuted them with accusations and complaints

d

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All these things Jerom approved of. He translated into Latin the Synodical Epistle of Theophilus, and two other of his epistles, filled with invectives against Origen. He triumphs in his victory over the monks in Egypt, who were called Origenists; and says, Whom Demetrius 'formerly expelled from Alexandria, Theophilus was now driving out of the whole world.' Theophilus sent two men into Palestine to hinder people from giving a reception to the tall brothers, and their companions, who had fled thither from Egypt. Jerom calls them holy men, and applauds their zeal in travelling over Palestine to find them out, and pursuing the basilisks into their holes and coverts. In the same letter, which is written to Theophilus, he encourages and animates him to proceed as he had begun in extirpating heresy: which brings to my mind. the account of his journey into Egypt in 386, where, he says, he also visited the monasteries of Nitria, and perceived some asps lying hid among the saints; meaning, I suppose, Origenists. Moreover, describing the hospitality at Bethlehem, he says, We receive and entertain all strangers, without regard to merit; none are excepted but heretics.' And he concludes his books against Rufinus, saying, Let us but have the same faith, and we are reconciled.'

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For certain this is very strange-that a man of the first rank in the learned world, and a master of the Christian philosophy, should be able to think it allowable, and even commendable, to drive men out of their native country, and pursue them as venomous serpents, barely because of some difference of opinion, when they lived peaceably, and gave no disturbance to any; and that he should withhold relief from such upon that account only, er hinder those who would relieve them. Said Palladius, His envious disposition obscured the merit of all his services.' A man needed not to be an Origenist, to speak in that manner: many of Jerom's friends must have been grieved and offended at his conduct. Posthumian, the chief speaker in the Dialogue of Sulpicius Severus, from which I some while ago transcribed a commendation of Jerom, who likewise was in Egypt and Palestine in the year 401, expresses his surprise that i ke, who formerly had been esteemed a follower of Origen, should now be remarkably forward in condemning all his writings: and though Posthumian is reserved and modest, he cannot forbear declaring his dislike and concern that men professing Christianity should have been so hardly treated by bishops.

The erroneous opinions ascribed to Origen about this time, as reckoned up by Epiphanius * in a letter written to John, bishop of Jerusalem, which we still have in Jerom's Latin translation, are in number eight. They are enumerated after the like manner by Jerom in a letter of his own, to which 'I refer. As those passages are too long to be transcribed, I place below some others," somewhat shorter, but sufficient: in which Origen is charged with heterodox

• Ός αναβρασθεις ύπο της οργής, χαράσσει γραμματα προς της της Παλαισινής επίσκοπος, λεγων. Ουκ εδει παρά γνώμην μB ɛy Tais woλsolv úπodeţaolai Tel8s. Fallad. De V. Chr. eod. cap.

Duas, Synodicam et Paschalem, ejus epistolas contra Origenem illiusque discipulos, et alias adversus Apollinarium et eumdem Origenem, per hoc ferme biennium interpretatus sum; et in ædificationem ecclesiæ legendas nostræ linguæ hominibus dedi. Aliud operum ejus nescio me traustulisse. Adv. Ruf. 1. iii. p. 453, M.

Quem Demetrius Alexandri urbe pepulit, toto orbe fugat Theophilus. Ad Pamm. et Marcell. ep. 87, al. 78. p.. 689, M.

Unde licet per sanctos fratres, Priscum et Eubulum, tuus ad nos sermo cessaverit; tamen quia vidimus illos zelo fidei concitatos, raptim Palæstinæ regiones, et dispersos regulos usque ad suas latebras persequatos, breviter scribimus, quod totus mundus exultet, et in tuis victoriis glorietur.... Macte virtute, macte zelo fidei.... Ad Theoph. ep. 59, al. 70. p. 597.

Inde contendi Ægyptum, lustravi monasteria Nitriæ, et inter sanctorum choros aspides latere perspexi. Adv. Ruf. 1. ii. p. 459.

Nobis in monasterio hospitalitas cordi est, omnesque ad nos venientes lætâ humanitatis fronte suscipimus. Veremur esim ne Maria cum Josepho locum non inveniat in diversorio VOL. II.

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k Apud Hieron. ep. 110, al. 60. T. iv. P. ii. p. 822, &c. et ap. Epiphan. Opp. T. ii. p. 312.

Ad Pamm, ep. 38, al. 61. T. iv. p. 309, 310.

In Confitemini et vos in quibusdam errare Origenem, et mu non faciam. Dicite eum male sensisse de Filio, pejus de Spiritu Sancto; animarum de cœlo ruinas impie protulisse; resurrectionem carnis verbo tantum confiteri, cæterum assertione destruere; et post multa secula, atque unam omnium restitutionem, id ipsum fore Gabrielem quod Diabolum, Paulum quod Caïapham, virgines quod prostibulas. Ad Pamm. et Ocean. ep. 41. al. 65. T. iv. p. 345, init.-Quæ quum legissem, contulissemque cum Græco, illico animadverti quæ Origenes de Patre, 3 z

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