The Neurosis of Jerome

In the ancient world, books were luxury items, in every sense, expensive to buy and properly appreciated only by those who had an expensive education. This helps explain why so many ancient Christian heroes started out wealthy, but voluntarily gave up their riches. They pursued a life of poverty, study, and seclusion after they had been educated to an elite level. Usually, the better-known Christian ascetics had their cake before they started refusing to eat it.