St Jerome’s biblical preface beginning with the words Frater Ambrosius is the most enduring introduction to the Bible ever written. Ostensibly composed as a letter to a friend (and also known as Epistola 53), it manages to encapsulate much of Jerome’s theological and intellectual outlook while arguing for a more disciplined and faithful approach to Scripture. For over a millennium, it was included in almost every Latin Bible produced, from the handwritten codices of the medieval scriptoria to the early printed bibles of the Renaissance (including the Gutenberg Bible). Its ubiquity, and its eventual abandonment, offer a fascinating lens through which to examine the shifting tides of Christian theology, scholarship, and culture.
❧ Historical Context
Epistola 53 was likely written in the late fourth century, during Jerome’s time in Bethlehem, where he was engaged in translating the Scriptures into Latin. Like many of Jerome’s letters, it is as much a public treatise as private correspondence, reflecting his intellectual milieu and his role as a teacher within the Church. Ambrosius, who served as the messenger for the letter, is thought to have been a fellow monk at Bethlehem who encouraged Jerome in his monumental task of translation. Paulinus of Nola, the letter’s addressee, was a former Roman senator who renounced his wealth and status to embrace a life of Christian devotion. As Bishop of Nola, he became known for his ascetic lifestyle, his theological correspondence, and his promotion of monasticism. His deep friendship with Jerome reflects their shared commitment and highlights Jerome’s connections within the broader intellectual and monastic networks of his time.
The historical context of the letter is important. Jerome lived during a period of significant transition for Christianity. The Church had recently gained imperial favour under Constantine, and theological debates about the relationship between the Bible and Christian doctrine were fierce. Jerome’s work on the Bible was groundbreaking, as he sought to produce a standard Latin text that could unify Christian worship and teaching. His efforts were also deeply controversial because they challenged the authority of earlier Latin translations as well as the traditional interpretations tied to those texts.
❧ Theological Content
Jerome begins his letter with a warm personal note to Paulinus, acknowledging their shared devotion to the Scriptures and affirming their Christian friendship. Paulinus, who corresponded with many prominent figures of the Church, was both a spiritual peer and an intellectual ally for Jerome. Jerome then moves seamlessly into broader reflections on the nature of learning, wisdom, and divine inspiration.
One of the most striking aspects of the letter is its interplay of seeming contradictions. Jerome insists on the necessity of a guide for interpreting Scripture, emphasising the importance of training, discipline, and humility. Yet, he also celebrates independent pursuit of wisdom, such as the efforts of Plato or Pythagoras, and acknowledges the role of the Holy Spirit in granting understanding to even the unlearned. Similarly, Jerome condemns those who presume to teach Scripture without adequate preparation, particularly those who twist its meaning or force classical literature into an allegorical framework to align with Christian doctrine. Yet, he himself draws extensively on Greco-Roman sources to illustrate his points, navigating a delicate tension between admiration for classical knowledge and a firm conviction that it must remain subordinate to Scripture. These contradictions underscore Jerome’s struggle to balance the intellectual heritage of antiquity with the transformative demands of Christian theology.
At its heart, the letter reveals Jerome’s insistence on the sacredness of Scripture and the reverence required to approach it. This dual emphasis on rigorous study and divine inspiration became a cornerstone of the Church’s theology for centuries. However, Jerome’s critique of unprepared teachers and his sharp dismissal of women as sources of instruction highlight his more patriarchal and hierarchical assumptions. While such views undoubtedly reflect the cultural norms of his time, they are complicated by the important role that women like St Paula of Rome and her daughter St Eustochium played in his life. These women not only supported Jerome’s monastic and scholarly efforts but also actively contributed to his work, embodying the very intellectual and spiritual qualities Jerome admired in his closest collaborators.
❧ Legacy and Influence
The popularity of the Frater Ambrosius preface in medieval and Renaissance bibles is directly tied to its association with Jerome — generally regarded as the Church’s greatest biblical scholar. Bibles that began with this preface, regardless of the individual scriptorium from which they may have emerged, were invested with an air of authority connected to Jerome’s own erudition. By the time manuscript bibles were being produced in large numbers the thirteenth century, the Frater Ambrosius was ubiquitous, reflecting its established role in shaping how the Scriptures were introduced and understood. It also didn’t hurt that the letter’s emphasis on proper training and divine inspiration aligned well with the monastic and scholastic cultures of the medieval Church.
The eventual abandonment of Jerome’s preface reflects a shift in Europe’s broader cultural and theological landscape. After the Reformation, a growing demand for vernacular translations led to a relatively sharp decline in the need for a Latin introduction. Reformers like Martin Luther prioritised accessibility over traditional authority, and Jerome’s scholarly preface, steeped as it was in classical references and insisting on the need for external guidance, no longer suited the times. Additionally, the Catholic Church’s post-Tridentine emphasis on uniformity led to the adoption of new standardised prefaces, such as those found in seventeenth-century editions of in the Clementine Vulgate.
The Latin text below (I-VI) is taken from Biblia in Breves in Eadem Annotationes printed in Paris by Robert Estienne in 1532.
Latin Text
I
Frater Ambrosius tua mihi munuscula perferens, detulit simul & suavissimas literas, quae a principio amicitiarum, fidem probatae iam fidei & veteris amicitiae praeferebant. Vera enim illa necessitudo est, et Christi glutino copulata: quam non utilitas rei familiaris, non praesentia tantum corporum, non subdola & palpans adulatio: sed Dei timor, & divinarum scripturarum studia conciliant. Legimus in veteribus historiis quosdam lustrasse provincias, novos adisse populos, maria transisse: ut eos quos ex libris noverant, coram quoque viderent. Sic Pythagoras Memphiticos vates, sic Plato Aegyptum & Architam Tarentinum, eamque oram Italiae, quae quondam magna Graecia dicebatur, laboriosissime peragravit: ut qui Athenis magister erat, & potens, cuiusque doctrinae academiae gymnasia personabant, fieret peregrinus atque discipulus: malens aliena verecunde discere, quam sua impudenter ingerere. Denique cum literas quasi toto fugientes orbe persequitur, captus a piratis & venundatus, etiam tyranno crudelissimo paruit, captivus, vinctus & servus, tamen quia Philosophus, maior emente se fuit. Ad Titum Livium lacteo eloquentiae fonte manantem, de ultimis Hispaniae Galliarumque finibus quosdam venisse nobiles legimus: & quos ad contemplationem sui Roma non traxerat, unius hominis fama perduxit. Habuit illa aetas inauditum omnibus saeculis, celebrandumque miraculum, ut urbem tantam ingressi, aliud extra urbem quaererent. Apollonius, sive ille magus (ut vulgus loquitur) sive philosophus, ut Pythagorici tradunt, intravit Persas, pertransivit Caucasum, Albanos, Scythas, Massagetas, opulentissima Indiae regna penetravit, & ad extremum, latissimo Phison amne transmisso, pervenit ad Brachmanas, ut Hiarcham in throno sedentem aureo, & de Tantali fonte potantem, inter paucos discipulos de natura, de motibus siderum, ac dierum cursu audiret docentem. Inde per Aelamitas, Babylonios, Chaldaeos, Medos, Assyrios, Parthos, Syros, Phoenices, Arabes, Palaestinos, reversus Alexandriam, perrexit Aethiopiam, ut Gymnosophistas, & famosissimam solis mensam videret in fabulis. Invenit ille vir ubique quod disceret, & semper proficiens, semper se melior fieret. Scripsit super hoc plenissime octo voluminibus Philostratus.
II
Quid loquar de saeculi hominibus? cum apostolus Paulus, vas electionis & magister gentium, qui de conscientia tanti in se hospitis loquebatur, An experimentum quaeritis eius, qui in me loquitur Christus? post Damascum Arabiamque lustratam ascenderit Ierusalem, ut videret Petrum, & manserit apud eum diebus quindecim. Hoc enim mysterio hebdomadis & ogdoadis futurus gentium praedicator instruendus erat. Rursumque post annos quatuordecim, assumpto Barnaba & Tito, exposuerit apostolis evangelium, ne forte in vacuum curreret, aut cucurrisset. Habet enim nescio quid latentis ἐνέργειας viva vox, & in aures discipuli de auctoris ore transfusa, fortius sonat. Unde et Aeschynes, cum Rhodi exularet, & legeretur illa Demosthenis oratio, quam adversus eum habuerat, mirantibus cunctis atque laudantibus, suspirans ait: Quid si ipsam audissetis bestiam, sua verba resonantem?
III
Haec non dico, quod sit in me aliquid tale, quod vel possis a me audire, vel velis discere: sed quod ardor tuus & discendi studium etiam absque nobis per se probari debeat. Ingenium docile, & sine doctore, laudabile est. Non quid invenias, sed quid quaeras consideramus. Mollis cera, & ad formandum facilis, etiam si artificis & plastae cessent manus: tamen virtute totum est quicquid esse potest. Paulus apostolus ad pedes Gamalielis legem Moysi, & prophetas didicisse se gloriatur, ut armatus spiritalibus telis, postea diceret confidenter, Arma nostra militiae non carnalia sunt: sed potentia Deo, ad destructionem munitionum consilia destruentes, & omnem altitudinem extollentem se adversus scientiam Dei, & captivantem omnem intellectum ad obediendum Christo, & et parati subjugare omnem inobedientiam. Ad Timotheum scribit ab infantia sacris literis eruditum, & hortatur ad studium lectionis, ne negligat gratiam quae data sit ei per impositionem manus presbyterii. Tito praecipit ut inter ceteras virtutes episcopi, quem brevi sermone depinxit, scientiam quoque in eo eligat scripturarum, obtinentem (inquit) cum, qui secundum doctrinam est, fidelem sermonem: ut potens sit exhortari in doctrina sana, & contradicentes revincere.
IV
Sancta quippe rusticitas solum sibi prodest: & quantum aedificat ex vitae merito ecclesiam Christi, tantum nocet si destruentibus non resistat. Malachias propheta, imo per Malachiam Dominus, interrogavit sacerdotes legem: intantum sacerdotis officium est interrogatum respondere de lege. Et in Deuteronomio legimus, Interroga patrem tuum, & annuntiabit tibi: seniores tuos, & dicent tibi. In psalmo quoque 118, Cantabiles mihi erant iustificationes tuae in loco peregrinationis meae. Et in descriptione iusti viri, cum eum David arbori vitae, quae est in paradiso, compararet, inter caeteras virtutes & hoc intulit, In lege Domini voluntas eius, & in lege eius meditabitur die ac nocte. Daniel in fine sacratissimae visionis ait iustos fulgere sicut stellas: & intelligentes, id est doctos, quasi firmamentum. Vides quantum inter se distent iusta rusticitas, & docta iustitia? Alia stellis, alia caelo comparantur. Quanquam iuxta Hebraicam veritatem utrunque de eruditis posit intelligi. Ita enim apud eos legimus, Qui autem docti fuerint, fulgebunt quasi splendor firmamenti: & qui ad iustitiam erudiunt multos, quasi stellae in perpetuas aeternitates. Cur dicitur Paulus apostolus vas electionis? Nempe quia legis, & scripturarum sanctarum erat armarium. Pharisaei stupent in doctrina Domini: & mirantur in Petro & Ioanne, quomodo legem scitant, cum literas non didicerint. Quicquid enim aliis exercitatio, & quotidiana in lege meditation tribuere solet, illis hoc Spiritus Sanctus suggerebat, & erant iuxta quod scriptum est, θεόπνευστοι. Duodecim annos saluator impleverat, & in templo senes de quaestionibus legis interrogans, magis docet dum prudenter interogat. Nisi forte rusticum Petrus, rusticum dicimus Ioannem: quorum uterque dicere poterat, Est imperitus sermone, non tamen scientia. Iohannes rusticus piscator: indoctus & unde illa vox obsecro, In principio erat verbum, & verbum erat apud Deum, & Deus erat verbum: λόγος enim Graece, multa significat. Nam & verbum est, & ratio, & supputatio, & causa uniuscuiusque rei, per quam sunt singula quae subsistunt: quae universa, recte intelligimus in Christo.
V
Hoc doctus Plato nescivit, hoc Demosthenes eloquens ignoravit. Perdam, inquit, sapientiam sapientium, & prudentiam prudentium reprobabo. Vera sapientia perdet falsam sapientiam. & quamquam stultitia praedicationis in cruce sit: tamen Paulus sapientiam loquitur inter perfectos: sapientiam autem non saeculi huius, nec principum saeculi istius, quae destruitur, sed loquitur Dei sapientia in mysterio absconditam, quam praedestinavit Deus ante saecula. Dei sapientia, Christus est. Christus enim, Dei virtus, & Dei sapientia. Haec sapientia, in mysterio abscondita est: de qua & noni psalmi titulus praenotatur. Pro occultis filii. in quo sunt omnes thesauri sapientiae & scientiae Dei absconditi. Et qui in mysterio absconditus erat, praedestinatus est ante saecula: praedestinatus autem & praefiguratus in lege & prophetis. Unde & prophetae appellabantur videntes: quia videbant eum, quem caeteri non videbant. Abraham vidit diem eius, & laetatus est. Aperiebantur caeli Ezechieli, qui populo peccatori clausi erant. Revela (inquit David) oculos meos, & considerabo mirabilia de lege tua. Lex enim spiritualis est, & revelatione opus est ut intelligatur, ac revelata facie Dei gloriam contemplemur. Liber in Apocalypsi septem sigillis signatus ostenditur: quem si dederis homini scienti literas ut legat, respondebit tibi, Non possum: signatus est enim. Quanti hodie putant se nosse literas, & tenent signatum librum, nec aperire possunt, nisi ille reseraverit qui habet clavem David: qui aperit, & nemo claudit: claudit, & nemo aperit? In Actibus apostolorum sanctus Eunuchus, imo vir (sic enim eum scriptura cognominat) cum legeret Isaiam prophetam, interrogatus a Philippo, Putasne intelligis, quae legis? respondit, Quomodo possum, nisi aliquis me docuerit? Ego (ut de me loquar interim) nec sanctior sum hoc Eunucho, nec studiosior, qui de Aethiopia, id est de extremis mundi finibus venit ad templum, reliquit aulam regiam & tantus amator legis divinaeque scientiae fuit, ut etiam in vehiculo legeret literas sacras. Et tamen cum librum teneret, & verba domini cogitatione conciperet, lingua volveret, labiis personaret, ignorabat eum, quem in libro nescientis venerabatur. Venit Philippus, ostendit ei Iesum, qui clausus latebat in litera. O mira doctoris virtus. Eadem hora credit Eunuchus, baptizatur, & fidelis & sanctus factus est, ac magister de discipulo, plus in deserto fonte ecclesiae, quam in aurato synagogae templo reperit.
VI
Haec a me perstricta sunt breviter (neque enim epistolaris angustia evagari longius patiebatur) ut intelligeres te in Scripturis Sacris sine praevio, & monstrante semitam non posse ingredi. Taceo de grammaticis, rhetoricis, philosophis, geometricis, dialecticis, musicis, astronomis, astrologis, medicis, quorum scientia mortalibus vel utilissima est, & in tres partes scinditur, τὸ δόγμα, τὴν μέθοδον, τὴν ἐμπειρίαν. Ad minores artes veniam, & quae non tam lingua, quam manu administrantur. Agricolae, caementarii, fabri metallorum, lignorumque caefores, lanarii quoque, & fullones, & caeteri qui variam supellectilem, & vilia opuscula fabricantur, absque doctore esse non possunt quod cupiunt. Quod medicorum est, promittunt medici: tractant fabrilia fabri. Sola scripturarum ars est, quam sibi passim omnes vendicant. Scribimus indocti, doctique doemata passim. Hanc garrula anus, hanc delirus senex, hanc sophista verbosus, hanc universi praesumunt, lacerant, docent ante quam discant. Alii adducto supercilio, grandia verba trutinantes inter mulierculas de sacris literis philosophantur. Alii discunt, proh pudor, a foeminis, quod viros doceant. & ne parum hoc sit, quadam facilitate verborum, imo audacia edisserunt aliis, quod ipsi non intelligent. Taceo de mei similibus, qui si forte ad Scripturas Sanctas post saeculares literas venerint, & sermone composito aures populi mulserint, quicquid dixerint, hoc legem Dei putant. Nec scire dignantur quid prophetae, quid apostoli senserint, sed ad sensum suum incongrua aptant testimonia, quasi grande sit, & non vitiosissimum docendi genus, depravare sententias, & ad voluntatem suam scripturam trahere repugnantem. Quasi non legerimus Homero centonas, & Virgilio centonas: ac non sic etiam Maronem sine Christo possimus dicere Christianum, quia scripserit, Iam redit & virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna, Iam nova progenies caelo demittitur alto. Et patrem loquentem ad filium, Nate, meae vires, mea magna potentia solus. Et post verba salvatoris in cruce, Talia perstabat memorans, fixisque manebat. Puerilia sunt haec, & circulatorum ludo similia docere quod ignores: imo, vt cum stomacho loquar, ne hoc quidem scire quod nescias.
VII
Genesis
Videlicet manifestissima est Genesis, in qua de creatura mundi, de exordio generis humani, de divisione terræ, de confusione linguarum et gentium, usque ad exitum scribitur Hebræorum.
Exodus
Patet Exodus cum decem plagis, cum decalogo, cum mysticis divinisque præceptis.
Leviticus
In promptu est Leviticus liber, in quo singula sacrificia, immo singulæ pene syllabæ, et vestes Aaron, et totus ordo Leviticus spirant cælestia sacramenta.
Numeri
Numeri vero nonne totius arithmeticæ et prophetiæ Balaam, et quadraginta duarum per eremum mansionum mysteria continent?
Deuteronomium
Deuteronomium quoque secunda lex, et Evangelicæ legis præfiguratio, nonne sic ea habet quæ priora sunt, ut tamen nova sint omnia de veteribus? Hucusque Moyses, hucusque Pentateuchus, quibus quinque verbis loqui se velle Apostolus in Ecclesia gloriatur.
Job
Job exemplar patientiæ, quæ non mysteria suo sermone complectitur? Prosa incipit, versu labitur, pedestri sermone finitur: omnesque leges dialecticæ, propositione, assumptione, confirmatione, conclusione determinat. Singula in eo verba plena sunt sensibus. Et (ut de ceteris sileam) resurrectionem corporum sic prophetat, ut nullus de ea vel manifestius, vel cautius scripserit. Scio, inquit, quod redemptor meus vivit, et in novissimo die de terra resurrecturus sum: et rursum circumdabor pelle mea; et in carne mea videbo Deum, quem visurus sum ego ipse, et oculi mei conspecturi sunt, et non alius. Reposita est hæc spes mea in sinu meo.
Josue, sive Jesus Nave
Veniam ad Jesum Nave, qui typum Domini non solum gestis, verum etiam nomine præfert, transit Jordanem, hostium regna subvertit, dividit terram victori populo, et per singulas urbes, viculos, montes, flumina, torrentes atque confinia, Ecclesiæ cælestisque Jerusalem spiritualia regna describit.
Liber Judicum
In Judicum libro, quot principes populi, tot figuræ sunt.
Ruth
Ruth Moabitis, Isaiæ explet vaticinium dicentis, Emitte agnum Domine Dominatorem terræ, de petra deserti ad montem filiæ Sion.
Regum I & II
Samuel in Heli mortuo, et in occiso Saul, veterem legem abolitam monstrat. Porro in Sadoc atque David, novi sacerdotii, novique imperii sacramenta testatur.
Regum III & IV
Melachim, id est tertius et quartus Regum liber, a Salomone usque ad Jechoniam, et a Jeroboam filio Nabat usque ad Osee, qui ductus est in Assyrios, regnum Juda et regnum describit Israël. Si historiam respicias, verba simplicia sunt: si in litteris sensum latentem inspexeris, Ecclesiæ paucitas, et hæreticorum contra Ecclesiam bella narrantur.
Duodecim Prophetæ in unius voluminis angustias coartati, multo aliud, quam sonant in littera, præfigurant.
Osee
Osee crebro nominat Ephraim, Samariam, Joseph, Jezrahel, et uxorem fornicariam, et fornicationis filios, et adulteram cubiculo clausam mariti, multo tempore sedere viduam, et sub veste lugubri, viri ad se reditum præstolari.
Joël
Joël filius Phathuel, describit terram duodecim tribuum, eruca, brucho, locusta, rubigine vastante corruptam: et post eversionem prioris populi, effusum iri Spiritum sanctum super servos Dei et ancillas, id est super centum viginti credentium nomina, qui effusum iri in cenaculo Sion; qui centum viginti ab uno usque ad quindecim paulatim, et per incrementa surgentes, quindecim graduum numerum efficiunt, qui in psalterio mystice continentur.
Amos
Amos pastor, et rusticus, et ruborum mora distringens, paucis verbis explicari non potest. Quis enim digne exprimat tria aut quattuor scelera Damasci, et Gazæ, et Tyri, et Idumææ, et filiorum Ammon et Moab, et in septimo et octavo gradu Judæ et Israël? Hic loquitur ad vaccas pingues, quæ sunt in Samariæ monte, et ruituram domum majorem minoremque testatur. Ipse cernit fictorem locustæ, et stantem Dominum super murum litum vel adamantinum, et uncinum pomorum, attrahentem supplicia peccatoribus, et famem in terram; non famem panis, nec sitim aquæ, sed audiendi verbum Dei.
Abdias
Abdias, qui interpretatur “servus Dei,” pertonat contra Edom sanguineum, terrenumque hominem, fratris quoque Jacob semper æmulum, hasta percutit spirituali.
Jonas
Jonas “columba” pulcherrima naufragio suo passionem Domini præfigurans, mundum ad pœnitentiam revocat: et sub nomine Ninive, Gentibus salutem nuntiat.
Michæas
Michæas de Morasthi, “cohæres” Christi, vastationem annuntiat filiæ latronis, et obsidionem ponit contra eam: quia maxillam percusserit judicis Israël.
Nahum
Nahum “consolator” orbis increpat civitatem sanguinum, et post eversionem illius loquitur: Ecce super montes pedes evangelizantis, et annuntiantis pacem.
Habacuc
Habacuc, luctator fortis et rigidus, stat super custodiam suam, et figit gradum super munitionem, ut Christum in cruce contempletur, et dicat: Operuit cælos gloria ejus, et laudis ejus plena est terra. Splendor ejus ut lux erit: cornua in manibus ejus: ibi abscondita est fortitudo ejus.
Sophonias
Sophonias, speculator et arcanorum Dei cognitor, audit clamorem a Porta Piscium, et ejulatum a Secunda, et contritionem a collibus. Indicit quoque ululatum habitatoribus Pilæ: quia conticuit omnis populus Chanaan, disperierunt universi, qui involuti erant argento.
Aggæus
Aggæus, festivus et lætus, qui seminavit in lacrymis, ut in gaudio meteret, destructum templum ædificat, Deumque Patrem inducit loquentem: Adhuc unum modicum, et ego commovebo cælum et terram, et mare, et aridam, et movebo omnes gentes, et veniet desideratus cunctis gentibus.
Zacharias
Zacharias, memor Domini sui, multiplex in prophetia, Jesum vestibus sordidis indutum, et lapidem oculorum septem; candelabrumque aureum cum totidem lucernis quot oculis; duas quoque olivas a sinistris lampadis cernit, et dextris: ut post equos nigros, rufos, albos, et varios, et dissipatas quadrigas ex Ephraim, et equum de Jerusalem, pauperem regem vaticinetur et prædicet, sedentem super pullum filium asinæ subjugalis.
Malachias
Malachias aperte, et in fine omnium prophetarum, de abiectione Israël, et vocatione Gentium loquitur: Non est mihi, ait, voluntas in vobis, dicit Dominus exercituum, et munus non suscipiam de manu vestra. Ab ortu enim solis usque ad occasum, magnum est nomen meum in Gentibus, et in omni loco sacrificatur, et offertur nomini meo oblatio munda.
Isaias
Isaiam, Jeremiam, Ezechielem, et Danielem quis possit vel intelligere, vel exponere? Quorum primus non Prophetiam mihi videtur texere, sed Evangelium.
Jeremias
Secundus virgam nuceam, et ollam succensam a facie Aquilonis, et quadruplex diversis metris nectit alphabetum.
Ezechiel
Tertius principia et finem tantis habet obscuritatibus involuta, ut apud Hebræos istæ partes cum exordio Geneseos ante annos triginta non legantur.
Daniel
Quartus vero qui et extremus inter quattuor prophetas, temporum conscius, et totius mundi φιλοΐστωρ, lapidem præcisum de monte sine manibus, et regna omnia subvertentem, claro sermone pronuntiat.
David [Liber Psalmorum]
David, Simonides noster, Pindarus et Alcæus, Flaccus quoque, Catullus, atque Serenus, Christum lyra personat, et in decachordo psalterio, ab inferis suscitat resurgentem.
Proverbia, Ecclesiastes, Canticum Canticorum
Salomon, pacificus, et amabilis Domini, mores corrigit, naturam docet, Ecclesiam jungit, et Christum, sanctarumque nuptiarum dulce canit epithalamium.
Esther
Esther in Ecclesiæ typo populum liberat de periculo, et interfecto Aman, qui interpretatur “iniquitas,” partes convivii, et diem celebrem mittit in posteros.
Paralipomenon
Paralipomenon liber, id est instrumenti veteris ἑπιτομὴ, tantus ac talis est, ut absque illo, siquis scientiam Scripturarum sibi voluerit arrogare, seipsum irrideat. Per singula quippe nomina, juncturasque verborum, et prætermissæ in Regum libris tanguntur historiæ, et innumerabiles explicantur Evangelii quæstiones.
Esdras et Nehemias
Esdras et Neemias, “adiutor” videlicet et “consolator a Domino,” in unum volumen coarctantur, instaurant templum, muros extruunt civitatis: omnisque illa turba populi redeuntis in patriam, et descriptio sacerdotum, levitarum, Israëlis, proselytorum, ac per singulas familias murorum ac turrium opera divisa, aliud in cortice præferunt, aliud retinent in medulla.
Cernis me Scripturarum amore raptum, excessisse modum epistulæ, et tamen non implesse quod volui. Audivimus tantum quid nosse, quid cupere debeamus, ut et nos quoque possimus dicere, Concupivit anima mea desiderare justificationes tuas in omni tempore [Psal. 118. c.]. Ceterum illud Socraticum impletur in nobis, Hoc tantum scio, quod nescio.
Tangam et novum breviter testamentum.
Matthæus, Marcus, Lucas, Joannes
Matthæus, Marcus, Lucas, et Joannes, quadriga Domini, et verum Cherubim, quod interpretatur scientiæ multitudo, per totum corpus oculati sunt, scintillæ emicant, discurrunt fulgura, pedes habent rectos, et in sublime tendentes, terga pennata et ubique volitantia, tenent se mutuo, sibique perplexi sunt, et quasi rota in rota volvuntur, et pergunt quocumque eos flatus Spiritus sancti perduxerit.
Paulus Apostolus
Paulus Apostolus ad septem scribit ecclesias, octava enim ad Hebræos, a plerisque extra numerum ponitur. Timotheum instruit, ac Titum, Philemonem pro fugitivo famulo deprecatur. Super quo tacere melius puto, quam pauca scribere.
Actus Apostolorum
Actus Apostolorum nudam quidem sonare videntur historiam, et nascentis Ecclesiæ infantiam texere: sed si noverimus scriptorem eorum Lucam esse medicum, cujus laus est in Evangelio, animadvertemus pariter omnia verba illius, animæ languentis esse medicinam.
Jacobus, Petrus, Joannes, Judas
Jacobus, Petrus, Joannes, Judas, septem epistulas ediderunt tam mysticas quam succinctas, et breves pariter ac longas: breves in verbis, longas in sententiis: ut rarus sit, qui non in earum lectione cæcutiat.
Apocalypsis
Apocalypsis Joannis tot habet sacramenta, quot verba. Parum dixi, et pro merito voluminis laus omnis inferior est. In verbis singulis multiplices latent intelligentiæ. Oro te frater carissime, inter hæc vivere, ista meditari, nihil aliud nosse, nihil quærere. Nonne tibi videtur jam hic in terris regni cælestis habitaculum? Nolo offendaris in Scripturis sanctis simplicitate, et quasi vilitate verborum, quæ vel vitio interpretum, vel de industria sic prolata sunt, ut rusticam concionem facilius instruerent, et in una eademque sententia, aliter doctus, aliter audiret indoctus. Non sum tam petulans et hebes, ut hæc me nosse pollicear, et eorum fructus capere, quorum radices in cælo fixæ sunt: sed velle fateor. Sedenti me præfero, magistrum renuens, comitem spondeo. Petenti datur, pulsanti aperitur, quærens invenit. Discamus in terris, quorum scientia nobis perseveret in cælo. Obviis te manibus excipiam, et, ut inepte aliquid ac de Hermagoræ tumiditate effutiam, quidquid quæsieris, tecum scire conabor. Habes hic amantissimum tui fratrem Eusebium, qui litterarum tuarum mihi gratiam duplicavit, referens honestatem morum tuorum, contemptum sæculi, fidem amicitiæ, amorem Christi. Nam prudentiam et eloquii venustatem, etiam absque illo ipsa Epistula præferebat. Festina, quæso te, et hærentis in salo naviculæ funem magis præcide quam solve.
VIII
Nemo renunciaturus sæculo bene potest vendere, quæ contempsit ut venderet. Quidquid in sumptus de tuo tuleris, pro lucro computa. Antiquum dictum est: Avaro tam deest quod habet, quam quod non habet. Credenti totus mundus divitiarum est, infidelis autem etiam obolo indiget. Sic vivamus tanquam nihil habentes, et omnia possidentes. Victus et vestitus divitiæ Christianorum sunt. Si habes in potestate rem tuam, vende; si non habes, projice. Tollenti tunicam, et pallium relinquendum est. Scilicet nisi tu, semper recrastinans, et diem de die trahens, caute et pedetentim tuas possessiunculas vendideris, non habet Christus unde alat pauperes suos. Totum Deo dedit, qui seipsum obtulit. Apostoli navem tantum et retia reliquerunt, vidua duo æra misit in gazophylacium, et præfertur Crœsi divitiis. Facile contemnit omnia, qui se semper cogitat esse moriturum.
English Translation
I
Brother Ambrosius brought me your thoughtful gifts, along with a truly delightful letter — a letter that spoke of a friendship that has been faithful and true from the very beginning. True friendship, bound by the love of Christ, isn’t built on material gain, the convenience of being nearby, or shallow flattery. Its foundation is the fear of God and a shared devotion to His Word.
We’ve read in the old histories of men who journeyed through distant lands, visited foreign peoples, and even crossed seas just to meet face-to-face those they had only ever read about in books. Pythagoras, for example, travelled to meet the priests of Memphis, and Plato went to Egypt and then to that place in Italy called Magna Graecia to see Archytas of Tarentum. Even though Plato was a celebrated teacher in Athens, whose ideas filled the halls of the Academy, he became a pilgrim and a student who would rather learn humbly from others than arrogantly press his own ideas. In his pursuit of wisdom, he was even captured by pirates and sold into slavery. And though he obeyed a cruel master when he was bound and enslaved, he always remained greater than his captors — for he was a philosopher.
We also read of noblemen from the farthest corners of Spain and Gaul who travelled to hear Titus Livius speak, drawn not by the gamour of Rome but by the fame of this man’s eloquence, which flowed like milk from a fountain. It was an age of miracles unheard of in any other time, when men who entered the greatest city on earth, Rome itself, did so seeking something beyond it. And then there was Apollonius, whether you call him a magician (like most people), or a philosopher (like the Pythagoreans). He travelled all over, passing through Persia, crossing the Caucasus, and visiting the Albanians, Scythians, and Massagetae, until he reached the rich kingdoms of India. Finally he crossed the broad river Phison and came to the Brahmans, where he listened to Hiarchas — seated on a golden throne, drinking from the mythical Fountain of Tantalus — teaching his disciples about nature, the stars, and the passage of time. From there, Apollonius journeyed through the lands of the Elamites, Babylonians, Chaldaeans, Medes, Assyrians, Parthians, Syrians, Phoenicians, Arabs, and Palestinians. After returning to Alexandria, he pressed on to Ethiopia, where he met the Gymnosophists and, as the legends tell, saw the famous Table of the Sun. And wherever he went, he found something to learn. He was always growing, always improving himself. Philostratus wrote eight volumes about him and his extraordinary life.
II
But why focus on worldly men when we can turn to the Apostle Paul, God’s chosen instrument and teacher of the nations? Paul spoke with the full weight of his conscience, asking, Do you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me? After travelling through Damascus and Arabia, he went to Jerusalem to meet Peter, staying with him for fifteen days. This was no ordinary visit: no, it was part of God’s mysterious design and a symbolic period of preparation during which time Paul was trained to preach to the Gentiles. Fourteen years later, he returned to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus, presenting the Gospel to the Apostles to ensure that his mission had not been, nor would be, in vain.
There’s something really powerful about the spoken word. When a teacher speaks directly, his voice carries a vitality and a force that no written text can match. Aeschines, the Greek orator, understood this well. While in exile on Rhodes, he heard someone reading aloud a speech by Demosthenes—a speech delivered against him. The audience marvelled at its brilliance, but Aeschines, with a sigh, remarked, If only you had heard the man himself roaring out his own words!
III
I’m not writing this because I think I have anything to teach you. No, I say it because your passion and eagerness for learning deserve recognition on their own. A teachable mind is wonderful thing, even without a teacher. What matters isn’t so much what you find, but what you’re looking for. Soft wax, even without the hands of a sculptor, holds the potential to be shaped into something wonderful.
Paul the Apostle proudly recalled how he learned the Law of Moses and the Prophets at the feet of Gamaliel. Armed with that knowledge, he could later declare with confidence: Our weapons are not of the flesh, but mighty through God to demolish strongholds, destroy arguments, and tear down every proud thing raised against the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive to obey Christ and are ready to punish all disobedience. Paul also wrote to Timothy, who had been taught the sacred Scriptures from childhood, encouraging him to keep studying and not to neglect the gift he received when the elders laid their hands on him. Similarly, he instructed Titus that a bishop, along with his other virtues, must have knowledge of the Scriptures because this knowledge would enable him to inspire others with sound teaching while refuting those who opposed it.
IV
Living a simple spiritual life can be a good thing — it may even strengthen the Church of Christ. But it can also cause harm if it lacks the foundation needed to stand firm against those who would exploit or undermine it. Malachi the prophet — I mean the Lord speaking through Malachi — challenged the priests with questions about the law because it was their duty to provide answers. As Deuteronomy says: Ask your father, and he will show you; ask the elders, and they will explain. Psalm 118 says the same thing: Your statutes were my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. When David described the righteous man and likened him to the tree of life in paradise, he included among his virtues this crucial quality: His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. At the end of his vision, Daniel says the righteous will shine like stars, and the wise like the heavens themselves. Do you see the difference between simple righteousness and learned wisdom? One is compared to stars; the other to the heavens.
In the original Hebrew, both are interpreted as referring to the wise: The wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who bring many to righteousness like the stars forever. So why is Paul called a chosen vessel? Because he was a kind of repository of the law and the Scriptures. The Pharisees were astonished at the Lord’s teaching, just as we marvel at Peter and John, wondering how these untrained men could speak with such authority on the law. So what others gained through years of study and meditation, the Holy Spirit gave to them directly. They were, as Scripture says, θεόπνευστοι — inspired by God. When the Saviour was twelve years old, He sat in the temple questioning the elders about the law. Though His questions were prudent, they taught more than any answers could. Should we call Peter uneducated, or say the same of John? Either could say, I am unskilled in speech but not in knowledge. After all, how else could John — a rustic and unlearned fisherman! — speak the words: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God? For λόγος in Greek carries many meanings. It can mean word, reason, calculation, or the principle by which all things exist—all of which we understand fully in Christ.
V
Plato didn’t know this. And Demosthenes, for all his eloquence, didn’t understand it. I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the prudence of the prudent I will reject. True wisdom triumphs over false wisdom. And though the preaching of the Cross might seem like foolishness, Paul speaks of a higher wisdom — a wisdom meant for those who are mature in faith. This is not the wisdom of the world or its rulers, who are doomed to perish, but the wisdom of God, hidden in mystery and predestined before time began. God’s wisdom is Christ. Christ is both the power and the wisdom of God. This hidden wisdom is what the title of the ninth psalm hints at: For the hidden things of the Son. In Christ are stored all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He, hidden in mystery, was predestined before the ages, revealed in the law and the prophets. That’s why the prophets were called seers — they saw what others could not. Abraham saw Christ’s day and rejoiced. Ezekiel saw the heavens opened, though they had been closed to a sinful people. David prayed, Unveil my eyes, so that I may see the wonders of your law. For the law is spiritual and requires revelation to understand it, so that, with unveiled faces, we can see God’s glory.
In the Apocalypse of John, there is a book sealed with seven seals that only the Lamb can open. Hand that book to a scholar and they would say: I can’t read it because it’s sealed. How many today believe they know the Scriptures, and yet hold the book sealed, unable to open it unless Christ — the one with the key of David — unlocks it? He opens, and no one shuts; He shuts, and no one opens. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read about the holy eunuch — whom Scripture even calls a “man” — reading Isaiah the prophet. Philip asked him, Do you understand what you are reading? And the Eunuch replied, How can I, unless someone guides me?
I don’t pretend to be holier or more devoted than this eunuch. After all, he left his royal court and came all the way from Ethiopia — from the very ends of the earth — to worship in the Temple. In fact, he was so thirsty for knowledge, and his love for God’s Law was so strong, that he even read the sacred Scriptures in his carriage. But despite holding the book in his hand, and pondering its words in his mind, and even saying them out loud, he still could not see the One he worshipped (but did not understand) in that book. Then Philip came and revealed Jesus to him — the One hidden in the text. What a marvellous teacher’s gift! That very hour, the eunuch believed, was baptised, became faithful and holy — no more just a disciple, but a teacher in his own right. And so in the wilderness spring of the Church, he found far more than in the gilded temple of the synagogue!
VI
I’ve kept this brief (one can’t go on forever in a letter) to make one thing clear: you can’t really engage with the Holy Scriptures without a guide. I won’t dwell on the grammarians, rhetoricians, philosophers, geometers, dialecticians, musicians, astronomers, astrologers, and physicians — all of whom practise disciplines that are immensely useful to humanity and carefully divided into doctrine, method, and practice. Instead, let’s look at the simpler trades, where skill is learned not through words but through hands. Farmers, stonemasons, blacksmiths, carpenters, weavers, fullers, and everyone else who crafts objects or performs humble tasks all need instruction to succeed. Doctors deal with medicine, artisans with their crafts. But the Scriptures? Somehow, everyone claims to be an expert in those.
People — whether they’re learned or completely uneducated — boldly take it upon themselves to teach. A chattering old woman, a doting old man, a blowhard scholar — each assumes the right to lecture, tearing apart the Scriptures and teaching others before they’ve learned anything themselves. Some, with furrowed brows and pretentious words, philosophise about sacred texts in the company of women. Others, shamefully, learn from women only to turn around and then teach it to men. Worst of all, some, with a certain ease — or really, a shocking arrogance—explain things to others that they don’t understand themselves.
And then there are people like me, who come to the Scriptures after a secular education. With polished words, we please the crowd, and whatever we say is accepted as though it were God’s law. We don’t bother to understand what the prophets or apostles actually meant. Instead, we twist the Scriptures to suit our own ideas, as though it were some grand achievement — though it’s really the worst way to teach — to distort their meaning and force them to say what we want them to say. Haven’t we seen hacks piecing together fragments of Homer or Virgil? And isn’t it the same when people try to turn Virgil into a Christian without Christ? They quote lines like, Now the Virgin returns, now the Saturnian reigns return, now a new progeny is sent down from heaven, and claim it’s a prophecy. Or they take, You, my strength, my great power alone, and say it’s the Father speaking to the Son. Some even suggest Virgil foresaw the Saviour on the Cross with lines like, He paused over the memory of all this and remained quiet forever. These are childish games — the antics of circus performers — pretending to teach what they themselves don’t know. And, let’s be honest, they don’t even realise how much they don’t know.
VII
Genesis
Genesis is, of course, the clearest of all, recounting the creation of the world, the origin of humankind, the division of the earth, the confusion of languages and nations, and, finally, the descent of the Hebrews into Egypt.
Exodus
Exodus stands open before us, with its ten plagues, the giving of the Decalogue, and its mystical and divine precepts.
Leviticus
The book of Leviticus is close at hand, in which every sacrifice—indeed, nearly every syllable—together with Aaron’s vestments and the whole Levitical order, breathes forth heavenly mysteries.
Numbers
And do not the book of Numbers contain the mysteries of all sacred arithmetic, the prophecy of Balaam, and the forty-two encampments made through the wilderness?
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy, too—the second law and a foreshadowing of the Gospel law—presents what was found in the former books, yet all things appear new, drawn from the old. Thus far goes Moses; thus far the Pentateuch, those five books of which the Apostle boasts to speak in the Church.
Job
Job is the very model of patience—and what mysteries does he not embrace in his speech? The book begins in prose, flows into verse, and ends in plain speech once again. It follows all the rules of dialectic: with proposition, assumption, confirmation, and conclusion. Every word is rich with meaning. And—to say nothing of the rest—he prophesies the resurrection of the body with such clarity and precision that no one has written on the subject more plainly or more wisely: I know that my Redeemer lives, and that on the last day I shall rise from the earth; and once more I shall be clothed with my skin, and in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. This hope is laid up in my bosom.
Joshua (Jesus Nave)
Let us come to Joshua, son of Nun, who bears the figure of the Lord not only in his deeds but even in his name. He crosses the Jordan, overthrows the kingdoms of the enemy, and divides the land among the victorious people. Through every city, village, mountain, river, stream, and border, he sketches the spiritual inheritance of the Church and the heavenly Jerusalem.
The Book of Judges
In the Book of Judges, as many rulers as there are, so many types and figures do we find.
Ruth
Ruth the Moabitess fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah, who says, Send forth, O Lord, the lamb, the ruler of the earth, from the rock of the desert to the mount of the daughter of Zion.
First and Second Kings (I & II Regum)
Samuel, in the death of Eli and the slaying of Saul, shows the passing away of the old law. And in Zadok and David he bears witness to the sacraments of a new priesthood and a new kingdom.
Third and Fourth Kings (III & IV Regum)
Melachim—that is, the third and fourth books of Kings—describe the kingdoms of Judah and Israel from Solomon to Jechoniah, and from Jeroboam the son of Nebat to Hoshea, who was led away into Assyria. If one looks only at the history, the words are simple; but if one reads with an eye to their hidden sense, one finds told the smallness of the Church and the wars waged by heretics against her.
The Twelve Prophets, compressed into the narrow compass of a single volume, prefigure far more than the letter of the text might suggest.
Hosea
Hosea names again and again Ephraim, Samaria, Joseph, Jezreel, the unfaithful wife, her children of harlotry, and the adulteress shut up in her husband’s chamber—sitting long as a widow in mourning, awaiting the return of her spouse.
Joel
Joel, the son of Pethuel, describes the land of the twelve tribes laid waste—by the cankerworm, the locust, the grasshopper, and the mildew. And after the downfall of the former people, he prophesies that the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon God’s servants and handmaids—that is, upon the hundred and twenty names of the faithful, on whom the Spirit descended in the upper room of Zion; these hundred and twenty, rising one by one until they reached fifteen, mystically fulfil the number of the fifteen Gradual Psalms.
Amos
Amos, a shepherd, a rustic, a dresser of sycamore trees, cannot be captured in a few words. Who could worthily recount the three or four transgressions of Damascus, and Gaza, and Tyre, and Edom, and the sons of Ammon and Moab, and in the seventh and eighth place, those of Judah and Israel? He addresses the “fat cows” of Mount Samaria, and foretells the ruin of the great house and the lesser alike. He sees the fashioner of the locust, and the Lord standing upon a wall made of tin or adamant; he sees the basket of summer fruit, the hook that draws down punishment upon sinners, and a famine in the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the Lord.
Obadiah
Obadiah—whose name means “the servant of God”—thunders against Edom, that bloodstained man of the earth, ever the rival of his brother Jacob. He strikes him with a spiritual spear.
Jonah
Jonah, whose name means “dove,” beautifully foreshadows the Lord’s passion in his shipwreck. He calls the world to repentance, and under the name of Nineveh proclaims salvation to the Gentiles.
Micah
Micah of Moresheth, a coheir of Christ, announces destruction upon the daughter of robbers, and lays siege to her—for she has struck the cheek of the judge of Israel.
Nahum
Nahum, the “consoler,” rebukes the city of blood. And after its overthrow he declares: Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that brings good tidings and announces peace.
Habakkuk
Habakkuk, the wrestler—strong and unyielding—takes his stand on the watchtower, planting his steps upon the rampart, that he might gaze upon Christ upon the cross and cry: The heavens were covered with his glory, and the earth was full of his praise. His brightness was as the light: rays flashed from his hands, and there his power lay hidden.
Zephaniah
Zephaniah, the watchman and knower of God’s secrets, hears the clamour from the Fish Gate, the wailing from the Second Quarter, and the crashing from the hills. He calls for lamentation from the inhabitants of the Hollow, for all the people of Canaan are silenced, and all who were wrapped in silver have perished.
Haggai
Haggai, festive and joyful, sowed in tears that he might reap in joy. He rebuilds the ruined Temple and introduces God the Father speaking: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land; I will shake all nations, and the Desired of all nations shall come.
Zechariah
Zechariah, mindful of his Lord, is rich in visions. He sees Jesus clothed in filthy garments, and the stone with seven eyes. He beholds the golden lampstand with as many lamps as eyes, and two olive trees—one on either side of the flame. And after the black, red, white, and dappled horses, and the chariots scattered from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, he foretells and proclaims a humble king, riding upon the colt, the foal of a beast of burden.
Malachi
Malachi, openly and at the close of all the prophets, speaks of the rejection of Israel and the calling of the Gentiles: I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of Hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place sacrifice is offered and a pure offering is brought to my name.
Isaiah
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel—who can truly understand or explain them? The first, to my mind, does not so much weave prophecy as proclaim the Gospel.
Jeremiah
The second sees an almond rod and a boiling cauldron facing north; and he composes a fourfold alphabet, wrought in various metres.
Ezekiel
The third wraps both beginning and end in such dense obscurity that among the Hebrews these parts, along with the opening of Genesis, are not read before the age of thirty.
Daniel
The fourth—and last among the four great prophets—is conscious of times and seasons and is the lover of the world’s whole history. He speaks clearly of the stone cut from the mountain without hands, that will shatter all kingdoms.
David (The Book of Psalms)
David—our own Simonides, our Pindar and Alcaeus, our Horace, our Catullus, our Serenus—sings Christ to the lyre, and in the ten-stringed psaltery calls forth the rising one from the depths.
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs
Solomon, the peaceful and the beloved of the Lord, corrects conduct, teaches the nature of things, joins the Church to her Bridegroom, and sings a sweet epithalamium of Christ and the holy nuptials.
Esther
Esther, in the figure of the Church, delivers the people from peril. Once Haman—whose name means “iniquity”—has been destroyed, she divides the banquet and ordains a festival to be remembered by generations to come.
Paralipomenon (Chronicles)
The book of Paralipomenon, that is, the epitome of the Old Testament record, is of such breadth and depth that anyone who would claim knowledge of Scripture without it only mocks himself. For in its every name and phrase, it touches on histories left out in the books of Kings, and brings to light countless questions of the Gospel.
Ezra and Nehemiah
Ezra and Nehemiah—whose names mean respectively “helper” and “comforter from the Lord”—are bound together in a single volume. They rebuild the Temple and raise the walls of the city; and in the great throng of people returning to their homeland, in the lists of priests, Levites, Israelites, and proselytes, and in the division of labour among the families who repair the walls and towers, we glimpse one meaning on the surface and quite another hidden within.
You see how, carried away by love of the Scriptures, I have overstepped the bounds of a letter—and yet have still not said all I wished. We have only heard what we ought to know, and what we ought to desire, so that we too may one day be able to say: My soul has longed to desire your justifications.
Let me now briefly touch upon the New Testament.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the Lord’s four-horse chariot, the true Cherubim—which means “fullness of knowledge.” Their bodies are filled with eyes, sparks leap from them, lightning flashes forth. Their feet are straight and lifted upward; their backs are winged, flying in all directions. They hold to one another, interwoven among themselves, rolling like wheels within wheels, and they go wherever the breath of the Holy Spirit leads them.
The Apostle Paul
The Apostle Paul writes to seven churches—though the letter to the Hebrews, which many place outside the number, would make eight. He instructs Timothy and Titus, and pleads on behalf of a runaway slave in his letter to Philemon. Of him, it is better to remain silent than to say too little.
The Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles may at first seem to offer a plain narrative—a chronicle of the Church’s infancy. But once we remember that their author was Luke the physician, whose praise is in the Gospel itself, we shall perceive that every word he writes is a remedy for the ailing soul.
James, Peter, John, and Jude
James, Peter, John, and Jude wrote seven epistles, mystical and compact—brief in wording, vast in meaning—so much so that few can read them without a kind of blindness.
Revelation
The Revelation of John contains as many mysteries as it does words. Indeed, that is saying too little, for all praise falls short of the dignity of this book. In each word lie multiple hidden meanings. I beg you, dearest brother, live within these things, meditate on them; know nothing else, seek nothing else. Does it not seem to you that already, here on earth, we dwell within the kingdom of heaven?
Do not be offended by the simplicity or seeming plainness of Holy Scripture—this may be due to the fault of the translators, or to deliberate choice, so that rustic minds might more easily be instructed. In the same sentence, the learned will hear one thing, the unlearned another.
I am not so bold or dull-witted as to claim full knowledge of these things, or to gather their fruits—whose roots are fixed in heaven—but I do confess the desire. I take the place of one who sits beside you, not above you; I decline the role of teacher, and offer instead the fellowship of a companion. For to the one who asks, it shall be given; to the one who knocks, the door shall be opened; to the one who seeks, it shall be found.
Let us learn on earth what will remain with us in heaven. With outstretched arms I welcome you, and—if I may utter something inept and inflated in the style of Hermagoras—I shall try to know with you whatever you may wish to know.
You have here your most loving brother Eusebius, whose regard for your letter has doubled my own affection. He has praised your good conduct, your scorn of worldly things, your steadfast friendship, and your love of Christ. As for your prudence and the charm of your speech, even had he not said so, your letter itself revealed them.
Make haste, I implore you: better to cut the mooring line of the little boat stranded on the waves than to linger in slowly untying it.
VIII
No one preparing to renounce the world can rightly sell what he has already scorned in his heart. Whatever you spend of your own resources—count it as gain. There is an old saying: The miser lacks not only what he does not have, but even what he does. To the believer, the whole world is wealth; to the unbeliever, even a penny is lacking.
Let us live, then, as though having nothing, yet possessing all things. Food and clothing—these are the treasures of Christians. If you have authority over your possessions, sell them; if not, cast them away. To the one who takes your tunic, your cloak also must be yielded.
Unless you, forever postponing and dragging out the days, cautiously and bit by bit sell off your little holdings, Christ will have nothing from which to feed his poor. He has given everything to God, who gave himself. The apostles left behind only a boat and their nets. The widow cast two small coins into the treasury—and is preferred above the riches of Croesus.
He finds it easy to despise all things, who constantly remembers that he must die.
❧ Some Historical Fiction
The abbey courtyard lay quiet beneath the pale light of dawn, frost glinting on the flagstones as Brother Hildemar pulled his heavy wool cloak tighter against the chill. The bell for Prime had just rung, its deep, resonant note echoing through the still air. As the other monks filed into the chapel for the morning office, Hildemar hesitated, his thoughts elsewhere. Today, he had been granted rare permission to spend the morning in the library, studying a Bible that had recently been acquired by the abbey. The abbot himself had directed him to the great volume the evening before, gesturing at its thick wooden boards bound in leather and clasped with cold iron. He knew that within its binding lay Jerome’s introduction to the Holy Scriptures—the Frater Ambrosius. He had read it before, of course. Every monk in the abbey knew its words. But today, as he approached the library, he resolved to study it anew.
Crossing the courtyard, Hildemar entered the long cloister, his sandals moving softly on the stone. He passed under arches carved with images of saints and prophets, their stern faces seeming to watch him as he walked. The library was tucked away in a corner of the monastery, its windows barely admitting the morning light. When he pushed open the door, the smell of parchment and beeswax met him, as comforting as the familiar rhythm of the Psalms.
Inside his eyes moved over the collection of carefully copied volumes, each resting on its side to protect its binding. A fire crackled faintly in the corner, warding off the cold. Hildemar made his way to a large table near the centre of the room, where the Bible had been waiting for him since last night. Its metalwork gleamed faintly in the dim light, and he traced the raised sewn bands on the spine before lifting the heavy volume and settling it on his own desk. The chain attached to its binding, now unlocked, rattled softly.
Opening the book, Hildemar’s eyes settled on Jerome’s letter. The words, densely written in neat black ink, seemed to leap from the parchment, alive with the force of the saint’s personality. He read slowly, lips moving silently as he absorbed the text.
“True friendship is this, united in the bond of Christ: not born of material advantage, nor mere physical presence, nor sly and flattering adulation, but of the fear of God and a shared love of the Divine Scriptures.” Hildemar paused, struck by the clarity of Jerome’s opening statement. He thought of his own brothers in the abbey, men he had prayed and worked alongside for years. Their shared labour — chanting the offices, copying the sacred texts, tilling the fields — seemed to mirror the friendship Jerome described. It was a bond forged not of convenience but of shared devotion.
As he read further, Jerome’s words challenged him. “You cannot enter the path of the Holy Scriptures without a guide.” Hildemar felt a prickle of discomfort. Like most monks, he had learned the Scriptures from elder brothers, their lessons a mix of rigorous instruction and practical application. Yet Jerome’s insistence on the necessity of guidance seemed to warn against complacency. Hildemar resolved to deepen his study, recognising the danger of presumption. He glanced at the margins, where an earlier hand had scribbled notes in a cramped and angular script. A reminder, perhaps, from a long-dead monk: Humilitas est initium sapientiae—humility is the beginning of wisdom.
Turning the page, he came to Jerome’s critique of those who misused the Scriptures. “The art of Scripture alone is claimed by all indiscriminately,” he read. “We write, and the unlearned, as well as the learned, proclaim themselves experts.” The description was painfully familiar. Hildemar thought of itinerant preachers he had encountered during his travels, their fiery rhetoric often veering into heresy. They would stand in the square, their voices rising over the crowd as they twisted Scripture into fanciful interpretations. Jerome’s frustration became his own, and he found himself nodding in agreement with the saint’s scathing words.
But it was the passage about Virgil that truly caught Hildemar’s imagination. “Should we not think the same of those who, without Christ, attempt to make Virgil a Christian?” The poet’s lines echoed in his memory—“Now returns the virgin; now Saturnian reigns return.” Hildemar had once marvelled at how these words seemed to prefigure the coming of Christ, but Jerome’s critique gave him pause. Perhaps, he realised, it was not the role of a monk to seek hidden Christological meanings in pagan poetry, but to immerse himself entirely in the clarity of Scripture alone.
As he continued reading, the words drew him deeper into the mysteries of the Bible. Jerome’s insistence on both divine inspiration and diligent study resonated profoundly. The monk paused often to reflect, the weight of the saint’s words settling over him like a heavy but welcome mantle. When the abbey bell rang again, Hildemar closed the Bible with a quiet sense of awe. The room had grown warmer with the light of the fire, and his fingers trembled slightly as he rose from the desk.
Walking back to the chapel, Hildemar felt changed. Poring over Jerome’s letter had not only deepened his understanding, but also reminded him of the sacred responsibility he bore as a monk. To study the Scriptures was not merely an intellectual exercise—it was a true act of worship, a journey toward God. As the chant of the office swelled around him, he resolved to carry Jerome’s exhortations with him, letting them shape not just his reading of the Bible but his very life in Christ.
Bibliographia Bibliorum Latinorum 