A letter from Jerome (399)

Translated letter:

1. Because I was overcome by the sad news of the passing of Lucinus, a holy and venerable man to me, I was hardly able to dictate this brief letter. Not because I grieve the fate of this man, who I know has passed on to better things, saying, “Crossing over I shall see this great vision”; but it is because I am tortured with a feeling of regret that I did not get to see the face of the man who I believed would come here soon. That prophetic statement about the inevitability of death is true, that it divides brothers, and, being cruel and harsh, separates from one another the names that are most precious. But we have this consolation—that death is slain by the word of the Lord, and it is said, “I shall be your end, O death, I shall be your anguish, infernal one”, and in the following verses, “the Lord will bring a burning wind, rising up from the desert, which will dry all of his springs and will empty his fountain”. For a branch from the root of Jesse came forth and the flower from the maiden shoot sprouted; He says in the Song of Songs, “I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valley”. Our flower is the destruction of death. For that reason He died, so that death might die through His death. But, moreover, when it is said that He must be brought out from the desert, the virgin womb is indicated, which, without intercourse or man’s seed, produced for us the Lord as an infant, who dried up the springs of desire with the warmth of the Holy Spirit and sang in Psalms, “In a deserted, impassable, and waterless land, so did I appear to you in this holy place”. Thus, against the insensibility of death and its most dire necessity, we are uplifted by this solace—that we will soon see those whose absence we feel most sharply. For it is not death per se, but rather slumbering and sleeping. On account of which, the blessed Apostle forbids grieving over those who are sleeping; we should believe that those whom we know to be asleep can be revived; and once they're roused from their sleep, they stay awake with saints and speak with angels. Glory on high to God, and peace to men of good will on earth! In heaven, where there is no sin, there is glory and perpetual praise and tireless celebration. On earth, however, where there is strife, wars, and discord, we must pray for peace—not among all, but among all of good will. They hear the apostolic greeting. Let grace and peace be multiplied for you by God, the father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, so that His place may be in peace, His dwelling in Zion, that is, in a tower, at the height of doctrines and virtues, in the soul of a believer whose angel daily looks upon the face of God, and ponders the glory of God after his face is revealed. 2. Thus I ask you, and, as they say, I urge you (although you are running), while you long for your Lucinus as a brother, to rejoice that he is reigning with Christ. He was taken so that malice might not alter his mind; for his soul was pleasing to God, and in a brief period of time, he lived a great deal. We, who contend daily in a battle with our sins, are to be grieved more, as we are stained with faults, receive wounds, and are to render an account concerning any and every idle word. That man, now free from care, victorious, looks upon you from on high and supports your struggle: and he prepares a place for you next to him with the same love and affection with which he, having let go of his duty as a husband, began to consider you even as a sister on earth, even as a brother—since a pure union does not have regard for gender. And even if up to this point we have been placed in the flesh and reborn in Christ, we are not Greek and barbarian, servile and free, masculine and feminine; but all of us together are as one in him--isn’t it all the more true when the corruptible has put on incorruptibility and the mortal has put on immortality, when they do not marry nor are they married off, but they will be as angels in heaven? When he says, “They do not marry nor are they married off, but they will be as angels in heaven”, the nature and substance of their bodies is not removed, but the greatness of glory is demonstrated. For it was not written, “They will be angels”, but, “as angels”, where similarity is promised, and actuality is denied. He said, “They will be as angels”, that is, similar to angels: therefore they do not stop from being human. The illustrious, even though they have been decorated in angelic splendor, are still human, so that the Apostle is still the Apostle, Mary still Mary; and the heresy which promises great and uncertain things may be thrown into confusion, so that it may remove what is certain and in moderation. 3. And seeing as how I have just made mention of heresy, what trumpet can I use to properly pronounce the eloquence of our Lucinus? When the most corrupt heresy of Basilides was raging throughout Spain and, like a curse or a disease, laid low all the provinces between the Pyrenees and the ocean, Lucinus was the one who maintained purity with his faith in the church, in no way receiving the likes of Amargel, Barbelo, Abraxas, Balsamus, the ridiculous Leusibora, and other more portentous names which they draw out as if from Hebrew sources to agitate the minds of ignorant men and weak women, terrifying each of the simple folk with a foreign sound so that they admire more what they do not understand. Irenaeus, a man from Apostolic times who was a student of Papias, the ear of John the evangelist, and who was bishop of the Church of Lyons tells us that a certain Marcus, descended from the line of the Gnostic Basilides, came first to Gaul and with his doctrine polluted the areas through which the Rhone and Garonne flow. And he especially led noble women astray with his error by promising certain occult mysteries, procuring their love for him with magic arts and illicit physical pleasures. From that place, having crossed the Pyrenees, he occupied Spain with the following agenda: to seek out the homes of the wealthy and, in particular, the women dwelling therein who are led by diverse desires, always learning but never coming to the knowledge of truth. This Irenaeus wrote before the years around 300. And he wrote it in the books against all heresies which he composed with the utmost learning and eloquence. 4. From this may your prudence assess how much our Lucinus was worthy of praise, who blocked his ear so that he would not hear the judgment of blood. He dispensed of his entire substance and gave to the poor, so that his righteousness might remain eternal. And not content with the bounty of his land, he sent to Jerusalem and the church of Alexandria as much gold as could be of help to those who were very much in need of it. Although many admire and praise him, I will praise him more for his passion and enthusiasm for Scripture. With what longing he asked for my little works—he even sent six secretaries (for in this province there is a lack of writers who know Latin) to write out for him whatever I have dictated from my youth up to the present moment! He did not show respect for me, being of all Christians but a child and of little consequence, and dwelling in the rocks around Bethlehem because of the knowledge of my own sins; but he showed respect for Christ, for He is honored in his servants and makes a promise to his Apostles, saying, “Those who receive you, receive me. And those who receive me, receive the one who sent me.” 5. And so, dearest daughter, consider this letter an epitaph of my love for him: and whatever you believe I am able to do in spiritual matters, boldly command me so that future ages may know that the one who says in Isaiah, “He has set me as a chosen arrow, he conceals me in his quiver”, has wounded with the point of his arrow two men who were separated from each other by such a great distance of land and sea that, although they do not recognize each other in the flesh, they are joined by the love of the Spirit. May you be kept holy in body and spirit by the Samaritan, that is, the savior and guardian, of whom it is written in the Psalms, “He will not slumber, nor will he sleep—the one who guards Israel”; and may the one who came down to Daniel, come to you as well, and may you be able to say, “I sleep, yet my heart is awake”.

Original letter:

Ad Theodoram Spanam de morte Lucini. 1.Lugubri nuntio consternatus super sancti et venerabilis mihi dormitione Lucini vix brevem epistulam dictare potui, non quo eius vicem doleam, quem scio ad meliora transisse dicentem: transiens videbo visionem hanc magnam, sed quo torquear desiderio non meruisse me eius viri videre faciem, quem in brevi tempore huc venturum esse credebam. verum est illud super necessitate mortis prophetale vaticinium, quo fratres dividat et carissima inter se nomina crudelis et dura dissociet, sed habemus consolationem, quod domini sermone iugulatur et dicitur ad eam: ero mors tua, o mors; ero morsus tuus, inferne [Os.13:14]; et in consequentibus: adducet urentem ventum dominus de deserto ascendentem, qui siccabit omnes venas eius et desolabit fontem illius [Os.13:15]. exivit enim virga de radice Iesse et flos de virginali frutice pullulavit, qui loqueretur in Cantico canticorum: ego flos campi et lilium convallium [Cant.2:1]. flos noster mortis interitus; ideoque et mortuus est, ut mors illius morte moreretur. quod autem de deserto dicitur adducendus, virginalis uterus demonstratur, qui absque coitu et semine viri deum nobis fudit infantem, qui calore spiritus sancti exsiccaret fontes libidinum et caneret in psalmo: in terra deserta et invia et sine aqua, sic in sancto apparui tibi [Ps.62:3]. adversum mortis ergo duritiam et crudelissimam necessitatem hoc solacio erigimur, quod brevi visuri sumus eos, quos dolemus absentes. neque enim mors, sed dormitio et somnus appellatur. unde et beatus apostolus vetat de dormientibus contristari, ut, quos dormire novimus, suscitari posse credamus et post digestum soporem vigilare cum sanctis et cum angelis dicere: gloria in excelsis deo et super terram pax hominibus bonae voluntatis [Luke2:14]. in caelo, ubi non est peccatum gloria est et perpetua laus et indefessa praeconia; in terra autem, ubi seditio, bella atque discordiae, pax inprecanda est et pax non in omnibus, sed in his, qui bonae sunt voluntatis et salutationem audiunt apostolicam: gratia vobis et pax a deo patre et domino nostro Iesu Christo multiplicetur [Rom.1:7], un in pace sit locus eius et habitatio illius in Sion, in ‘specula,’ in sublimitate dogmatum atque virtutum, in anima credentis, cuius cotidie angelus videt faciem dei et revelato vultu gloriam domini contemplatur. 2.Unde obsecro te et currentem, ut aiunt, inpello, ut Lucinum tuum desideres quidem ut fratrem, sed gaudeas regnare cum Christo, quia raptus est, ne malitia mutaret mentem eius [Sap.4:11]. placita enim erat deo anima illius et in brevi spatio tempora multa conplevit [Sap.14:13]. nos dolendi magis, qui cotidie stamus in proelio peccatorum, vitiis sordidamur, accipimus vulnera et de otioso verbo reddituri sumus rationem. ille iam securus et victor te aspicit de excelso et favet laboranti et iuxta se locum praeparat eodem amore et eadem caritate, qua oblitus officii coniugalis in terra quoque sororem te habere coeperat, immo fratrem, quia casta coniunctio sexum non habet nuptialem. et si adhuc in carne positi et renati in Christo non sumus Graecus et barbarus, servus et liber, masculus et femina, sed omnes in eo unum sumus,quanto magis, cum corruptivum hoc induerit incorruptionem et mortale induerit inmortalitatem, non nubent neque nubentur, sed erunt sicut angeli in caelis [Matth.22:30; Mark12:25]. quando dicitur: non nubent neque nubentur, sed erunt sicut angeli in caelis, non natura et substantia corporum tollitur, sed gloriae magnitudo monstratur. neque enim scriptum est: erunt angeli, sed: sicut angeli, ubi similitudo promittitur, veritas denegatur. erunt, inquit, sicut angeli, id est similes angelorum: ergo homines esse non desinunt, incliti quidem et angelico splendore decorati, sed tamen homines, ut et apostolus apostolus sit et Maria Maria et confundatur heresis, quae ideo incerta et magna promittit, ut, quae certa et moderata sunt, auferat. 3.Et quia hereseos semel fecimus mentionem qua Lucinus noster dignae tuba eloquentiae praedicari potest, qui spurcissima per Spanias Basilidis heresi saeviente et instar pestis et morbi totas intra Pireneum et Oceanum vastante provincias fidei ecclesiasticae tenuit puritatem nequaquam suscipiens Armazel, Barbelon, Abraxan, Balsamum et ridiculum Leusiboram ceteraque magis portenta quam nomina, quae ad inperitorum et muliercularum animos concitandos quasi de Hebraicis fontibus hauriunt barbaro simplices quosque terrentes sono, ut, quod non intellegunt, plus mirentur? refert Irenaeus, vir apostolicorum temporum et Papiae, auditoris evangelistae Iohannis, discipulus episcopusque ecclesiae Lugdunensis, quod Marcus quidam de Basilidis Gnostici stirpe descendens primum ad Gallias venerit et eas partes, per quas Rodanus et Garunna fluunt, sua doctrina maculaverit maximeque nobiles feminas quaedam in occulto mysteria repromittens hoc errore seduxerit magicis artibus et secreta corporum voluptate amorem sui concilians, inde Pireneum transiens Spanias occuparit et hoc studii habuerit, ut divitum domus et in ipsis feminas maxime adpeteret, quae ducuntur variis desideriis semper discentes et numquam ad scientiam veritatis pervenientes [2Tim.3:6-7]. hoc ille scribit ante annos circiter trecentos et scribit in his libris, quos adversus omnes hereses doctissimo et eloquentissimo sermone conposuit. 4.Ex quo perpendit prudentia tua, qua Lucinus noster laude sit dignus, qui clausit aurem, ne audiret iudicium sanguinis, et omnem substantiam suam dispersit, dedit pauperibus, iustitia eius manet in aeternum [Ps.111:9]. nec patriae suae largitate contentus misit Hierosolymarum et Alexandrinae ecclesiae tantum auri, quantum multorum possit inopiae subvenire. quod cum multi mirentur et praedicent, ego in illo magis laudabo fervorem et studium scripturarum. quo ille desiderio nostra opuscula flagitavit, ut missis sex notariis, quia in hac provincia Latini sermonis scriptorumque penuria est, describi sibi fecerit, quaecumque ab adulescentia usque in praesens tempus dictavimus, non nos honorans, qui parvuli et minimi Christianorum omnium sumus et ob conscientiam peccatorum Bethlemitici ruris saxa incolimus, sed Christum, qui honoratur in servis suis et apostolis repromittit dicens: qui nos recipiunt, me recipiunt; et qui me recipiunt, recipiunt eum, qui me misit [Matth.10:40]. 5.Itaque, carissima filia, hanc epistulam amoris mei in illum habeto epitaphium et, quicquid posse me scieris in opere spiritali, audaciter impera, ut sciant saecula post futura eum, qui dicit in Esaia: posuit me ut sagittam electam, in pharetra sua abscondit me [Esai.49:2], duos viros tantis maris atque terrarum inter se spatiis separatos suo acumine vulnerasse, ut, cum mutuo in carne se nesciant, amore spiritus copulentur. Subscriptio. Sanctam te et corpore et spiritu servet ille Samarita, id est servator et custos, de quo in psalmo scribitur: non dormitabit neque obdormiet, qui custodit Israhel [Ps.120:4], ut Hir, qui interpretatur ‘vigil,’ qui descendit ad Danihel, ad te quoque veniat et possis dicere: ego dormio et cor meum vigilat [Cant.5:2].

Historical context:

Jerome writes a letter of condolence to the widow of Lucinus, who had died shortly before husband and wife, now living as brother and sister, were to travel to Jerome in Bethlehem.

Scholarly notes:

(1)This translation was provided by Amy Oh.

Printed source:

Sancti Eusebii Hieronymi Epistulae, 3 v. ed. Isidorus Hilberg (CSEL, Vienna: Tempsky, 1910-18, repr. NY: Johnson, 1970) , ep.75, 29-34.

Date:

399