Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Vol. 6 (Jerome: Letters)

Melania (6, 7). Jerome and his companions traveled through Thrace, Pontus, Bithynia, and Galatia—staying for a time at the capital, Ancyra (497)—and then through Cappadocia and Cilicia to Antioch, their haven of rest (5). However, they did not long remain together. Heliodorus made a journey to Jerusalem, where he was the guest of Florentius (6).

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Jerome was in poor health and, in the middle of Lent (36), fell into a fever from which he nearly died. To this illness belongs his famous anti-Ciceronian dream (36, Apology ii. 6, Vol. III, 462), which finally determined him to abandon secular learning and devote himself to sacred studies. The subsequent deaths of Innocentius and Hylas left Jerome alone with Evagrius; at Evagrius’s country house, he encountered the ancient hermit Malchus (315) and was encouraged by him in his ascetic path. He hoped to see Rufinus and wrote to him through Florentius (4, 6), but Rufinus did not come. Jerome determined to embrace the life of a hermit. Heliodorus had considered joining him, but to Jerome's great disappointment, he felt the call to pastoral work was stronger and returned to Italy (8, 13, 123).

The Desert. Jerome spent the next five years in the Desert of Chalcis, to the east of Antioch (7). It was populated by hermits who, while living apart for most purposes, were under a form of collective authority (4, 21). Jerome wrote to their leader, Theodosius,
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begging to be admitted to their company (4). His life in the desert was one of rigorous penance—tears and groans alternating with spiritual ecstasy—and temptations from haunting memories of his Roman life (24, 25). He lived in a cell or cavern, earned his daily bread, and wore sackcloth (21, 24), but he was not entirely cut off from human contact. He saw Evagrius frequently (7, 8); he wrote and received letters and books (7, 11); he learned Hebrew from a converted Jew (Epistola xviii. 10); he copied and translated the Gospel according to the Hebrews (On Illustrious Men, 2, 3, Vol. III, 362); and he found his brother hermits to be all too available for conversation (Epistola xvii. 3). Towards the end of his stay, he became involved in the controversies agitating the Church at Antioch, where Vitalis (an Arian), Meletius (orthodox but ordained by Arians), and Paulinus (the Western choice) disputed the bishopric (20). Jerome felt besieged by demands for a confession of faith that used terms strange to his Western education (19, 20). He appealed to Pope Damasus for advice (19, 20), but he and his friends found their position intolerable. He remarked that they would rather live among wild beasts than among the Christians who surrounded them. In the autumn of 378, he wrote to Marcus, head of the hermitage community, to say that he requested the "hospitality of the desert" for only a few more months; by spring, he would be gone (21).

Accordingly, in the spring of 379, he went to Antioch and attached himself to the party of Paulinus, the Western and orthodox bishop, who ordained him as a presbyter—
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though he then, and always afterward, declined to engage in active ministry (446). He pursued his studies under the celebrated Apollinarius of Laodicea, though he did not accept his views (176), and wrote his Dialogue against the Luciferians (319–334).

Constantinople. The following year, Jerome went to Constantinople with his bishop, Paulinus, and was present during the Second General Council, at which the views of his
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former teacher, Apollinarius, were condemned and a decision was reached regarding his bishop’s case. He studied under Gregory Nazianzen (80, 93, 357; On Illustrious Men, 117) and became acquainted with Gregory of Nyssa (On Illustrious Men, 128). He translated the Chronicle of Eusebius and dedicated it to Vincentius and Gallienus, the former of whom became his constant companion thereafter (483, 444–446). He also developed his admiration for Origen, translating his Homilies on Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and writing to Damasus regarding Origen’s interpretation of the Seraphim in Isaiah 6 (22). These literary labors
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were carried out despite his failing eyesight, which troubled him for the rest of his life. Curiously, there is not a single mention in his writings of the Council of Constantinople, and only fleeting references to the Council held the following year at Rome, in which he certainly took part (233; Rufinus, Epilogue to Pamphilus, Vol. III, 426, 513).

Rome. He traveled to Rome with Paulinus and Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis in Cyprus. He attended the council there as a learned consultant whose expertise the Pope required. There is no evidence for the claim that he served as the Pope's official secretary. However, his stay in Rome provided great opportunities for the two main objects of his life. Damasus deeply valued his eminence as a biblical scholar. The Pope constantly sent him questions, the replies to which formed short scholarly treatises, such as those included in Jerome's letters regarding the word "Hosanna" and the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It was also at the request of Pope Damasus that he undertook a revision of the Scriptures.