Jerome

Jerome (AD 347-420) brought the traditions of classical rhetoric and Christian exegesis more closely together than any other early Christian writer, many of whom saw classical culture as an enemy to be rejected. As a scholar and commentator on the Bible and an indefatigable translator from Hebrew, Jerome was a major intellectual force in the early church. His novelistic lives of the saints encapsulated Christian aspirations in an attractive literary form. As an ascetic and (often irascible) mentor to many young Christian men and women, he shaped the ideals of Christian chastity and poverty for generations to come. This book assembles a representative selection of his voluminous output, and will help readers to a balanced portrait of a complex and brilliant, but not always likeable man.

Stefan Rebenich is Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Mannheim.