Jerome at Bethlehem

“So I left that place and made for the town of Bethlehem, which is six miles from Jerusalem but sixteen stages away for anyone traveling from Alexandria. The presbyter Jerome rules the church there, for it is a parish belonging to the bishop who holds Jerusalem. I had already come to know Jerome on my earlier journey, and he had easily brought it about that I rightly thought no one more worthy of my respect and love. For besides the merit due to him for his faith and his many virtues, he is learned not only in Latin and Greek but also in Hebrew, to such a degree that no one would dare compare himself with him in any branch of knowledge. I will be surprised indeed if he is not well known to you too through the works he has written, since he is read all over the world.” [a]

At this point the Gaul said: “Well, he is all too well known to us. About five years ago I read a book of his in which the whole tribe of our monks is fiercely attacked and abused. That is why our Belgian friend is regularly very angry, because Jerome said that we are in the habit of stuffing ourselves until we are full to bursting. But for my part I forgive the great man, and I think he meant the remark for Eastern monks rather than Western ones. For among the Greeks the love of eating is gluttony, whereas among the Gauls it comes from their nature.” [c]

Then I exclaimed: “You defend your nation with rhetoric, my Gallic friend. But tell me, does that book condemn only this vice in the monks?” He replied: “No indeed. The writer passed over nothing that he did not blame, lash, and expose. In particular he attacked greed, and arrogance no less. He said a great deal about pride and not a little about superstition, and I will freely admit that he seemed to me to paint a true picture of the vices of a great many people.”