Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, Vol. LVI: Augustini Epistulae Pars III

PREFACE.

My son Apodemius, who marked the interpretation of his own name by a long voyage coming to us, and seeking Bethlehem from the shore of the ocean and the farthest ends of Gaul, having passed through Rome, in order to find in it the heavenly bread, and being satisfied, he might belch forth in the Lord and say: "My heart has brought forth a good word; I speak my works to the king." He brought to me on a small slip the greatest questions, which he said were given by you and were to be handed to me. Upon reading them, I understood that the zeal of the Queen of Sheba was fulfilled in you, who came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. I am not, indeed, a Solomon, who is preferred in wisdom to all men both before and after him, but you are the queen to be called Sheba, in whose mortal body sin does not reign, and who, turned to the Lord with all your mind, will hear from Him: "Turn, turn, O Shulamite." For indeed, Sheba in our language signifies 'conversion.' At the same time, I noticed that your little questions, posed only concerning the Gospel and the Apostle, indicate that you either do not read the Old Scripture enough or do not sufficiently understand it, which is involved in such great obscurities and types of future things that it needs interpretation for everything. The eastern gate, from which the true light arises and through which the high priest enters and exits, is always closed and lies open only to Christ, "who has the key of David, he opens and no one shuts, he shuts and no one opens," so that with Him unlocking it, you may enter His chamber and say: "The king brought me into his chamber." Furthermore, I was sufficiently surprised why you sought the streams of our river from so far away, while the waters of Siloam, which go with silence, were omitted, and you desired the waters of Sior the Nile, which are muddied by the turbulent vices of this age.

Jerome uses the image of the Queen of Sheba to praise the wisdom of Algasia. He references the Song of Songs Canticles and the prophecy of Ezekiel regarding the eastern gate to emphasize the difficulty of interpreting Scripture.