In 404 CE, St. Jerome (translator of the Latin Vulgate—which was the only Bible of Western Christendom for almost a millennium) wrote a letter to a presbyter named Riparius, regarding the preaching of a certain clergyman:
Now that I have received a letter from you, if I do not answer it I shall be guilty of pride, and if I do I shall be guilty of rashness. For the matters concerning which you ask my opinion are such that they cannot either be spoken of or listened to without profanity.… You tell me that Vigilantius (whose very name Wakeful is a contradiction: he ought rather to be described as Sleepy) has again opened his fetid lips and is pouring forth a torrent of filthy venom … I am surprised that the reverend bishop in whose diocese he is said to be a presbyter acquiesces in this his mad preaching, and that he does not rather with apostolic rod, nay with a rod of iron, shatter this useless vessel and deliver him for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved.… The wretch’s tongue should be cut out, or he should be put under treatment for insanity. As he does not know how to speak, he should learn to be silent.
This was clearly not the sweetest of men. He must have translated the Sermon on the Mount a lot quicker than he did other portions of scripture…
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment