Jerome, Letter 94 – online in English

Like the last letter, this is not a letter composed by St Jerome, but an official letter translated by him into Latin and included among his correspondence.

And that’s the lot!  All the letters of Jerome now exist in English.  I will do another post with PDF and .docx versions of these extra letters, and update the spreadsheet with a link to it.  There is also the curious case of the spurious letter 149, for which a translation does exist, and about which I will write next.

Here is letter 94:

94.  Letter of Dionysius, bishop of Lydda, to Theophilus

Dionysius, Bishop of Lydda, to the most blessed Lord Theophilus.

1. Our good God, who is glorified in the councils of the saints, [Ps.88:2] and prepares for Himself friends and prophets in every age, if you look at the state of our generation, has also raised up , O most blessed lord and brother, as a champion for the right faith, that you might both overthrow with apostolic rigor the heretical superstition flowing from the fountain of the pagans, and that you might bring back the human race, which is drawn away by many errors, and the scattered flock of Christ to its shepherd; to He who gave his life for all at the time of his passion, so that we who believe can now say, “Truly God is among us.”[1 Cor.14:25] For who is so foolish or impious as not to confess that you have given the greatest gift to the world, by casting out the most wicked disciples of the blasphemous Origen, lest the Church of Christ be polluted by these? The cancer and incurable leprosy of these have so pervaded the hearts of many that even those who pretend to repent are joining perjury to heresy, and they do not cease to hate us because they are forced to be silent.

2. So be strong and act manfully,[1 Chron. 22:13] O servant of God, and hunt down the fictions of Origen to the very end, so that unwary minds cannot be taken in under the shadow of knowledge by his seductive charms, and a schism made in the body of Christ. For all who understand the things above eagerly proclaim you as Father, a hope, and a crown of the faith, because you have skewered with the sword of the gospel both the teacher of Arius and his disciple. The brothers of my cell in the town greet and the brothers who are with you.

Here’s the Latin:

XCIV. (EPISTULA DIONYSII, LIDDENSIS EPISCOPI, AD THEOPHILUM.)

Domino beatissimo Theophilo Dionysius, Liddensis episcopus.

1. Bonus Deus noster, qui in conciliis sanctorum glorificatur, [Ps. 88:2] et amicos sibi, ac prophetas singulis temporibus praeparat, si ordinem nostrae generationis aspicis, et , Domine frater beatissime, aemulatorem rectae fidei suscitavit, ut et superstitionem haereticam de gentilium fonte manantem apostolico rigore everteres, et humanum genus, quod multis trahitur erroribus, ac dispersum gregem Christi ad suum pastorem reduceres; qui tempore passionis idcirco pro cunctis dedit animam suam, ut nunc possimus credentes dicere: “Vere Deus in nobis est.”[1 Cor. 14:”5] Quis enim ita aut stultus, aut impius est, ut non confiteatur, te maximum orbi dedisse munus, ejectis sceleratissimis blasphemi Origenis discipulis, ne ecclesia Christi ab his polluatur, quorum cancer, et insanabilis lepra sic multorum corda pervasit, ut etiam, qui simulant paenitentiam, haeresi jungant perjurium; et nos, quia tacere coguntur, odire non desinant?

2. Confortare igitur et viriliter age,[1 Paral. 22:13] Dei famule, et usque in finem Origenis figmenta persequere, ne simplicum mentes sub umbra scientiae blandis eius capiantur illecebris, et fiat in corpore Christi scissurae divisio. Omnes enim qui sapiunt, quae sursum sunt, te Patrem, et spem, et coronam fidei alacres profitentur, quod Arii magistrum, et discipulum eius evangelico mucrone confoderis. Fratres cellulae meae oppido et salutant, et fratres qui tecum sunt.

Grim stuff, really.

Update: the letters translated here are now collected into a PDF and Word file here.