498 Early Church History 16: Jerome and Augustine

This is part 16 of the Early Church History class.

Jerome and Augustine are two of the most influential Latin Christians of the first millennium of Christianity. This episode will introduce you to their lives, personalities, and some of their most important ideas. You'll see how significantly asceticism affected their lifestyles as well as how their particular take on Christianity came to set the norm for Roman Catholic Christianity.

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtNF5-rvmwU&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&index=16&pp=iAQB

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—— Notes ——

Jerome’s Life (347-419)

• Actual name: Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus
• Excellent Latin education, highly intelligent
• Learned Greek and Hebrew
• Lived as a hermit in the Syrian desert
• 382-385 - served as secretary to Pope Damasus I, bishop of Rome

Jerome’s Asceticism

• Believed everyone should be celibate
• Worked a lot with wealthy widows from the senatorial class and their daughters
• Thought the only benefit from marriage was the production of more virgins
• After Paula’s daughter Blaesilla died, he moved to Bethlehem.
• Spent his time engaging in controversies by letter, translating the Bible and other literature into Latin, and writing commentaries on scripture

Jerome’s Writings

• Though deeply influenced by classical literature, especially Cicero, he advocated reading only the Bible and Christian literature.
• Worked on the Vulgate (382-405)
  • Became the dominant Latin Bible for the Roman Catholic Church from 600 onwards; though in Jerome’s day, many still preferred a translation of the Septuagint (including Augustine)
• Translated Origen’s On First Principles, Pachomius’ Rule, and Eusebius’ Historical Chronicle into Latin
• Lives of Illustrious Men provides short biographies of many early Christians.
• Commentaries on many books of the Bible

Augustine’s Early Life (354-430)

• Grew up in North Africa with a Christian mother, Monica, and a pagan father, Patrick
• Had an excellent education in Carthage
• Particularly influenced by Cicero’s dialogues, especially his Hortensius
• Became a teacher of rhetoric in Rome, then Milan

Augustine’s Sexual Life

• Stealing pears as a teenager
• “I was burning t