Category Archives: Patristica

This is a translation of Jerome’s well-known “helmeted introduction” (galeatum principium) to Kings (that is 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings) which is usually considered the most useful of his Old Testament introductions. It’s certainly the longest. Along with the usual defense against critics, Jerome includes an interesting arrangement of what he considers the canonical books of the Old Testament, which are 22 in number, just like the Hebrew alphabet. He mentions the tripartite arrangement of books in the Hebrew Bible as current among the Jews of his day, the earliest unambiguous description of this arrangement, including the actual names of the books in each category.

I’ll revisit this one later and include some notes on the Hebrew words mentioned here and how the pronunciation, preserved perhaps imperfectly through the Latin manuscript tradition, differs from today’s typical Hebrew pronunciation. For now, though, I’m focusing on just getting all the prefaces translated in at least a first draft.

Enjoy!

[See also the final draft version of this translation, on this page]

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BEGINNING OF THE PROLOGUE OF SAINT JEROME TO THE BOOK OF KINGS

There are twenty-two letters among the Hebrews, as is also witnessed by the language of the Syrians and Chaldeans, which is for the most part similar to the Hebrew; for these twenty-two elements also have the same sound, but different characters. The Samaritans still write the Pentateuch of Moses in the same number of letters, only they differ in shapes and points (or “endings” apicibus). And Ezra, the scribe and doctor of the Law, after the capture of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple under Zerubbabel, is certain to have found (or “invented” repperisse) other letters, which we now use, when up to that time the characters of the Samaritans and the Hebrews were the same. In the book of Numbers this same total is also mystically shown by the census of the Levites and the priests. And we find in certain Greek scrolls to this day the four-lettered Name of God written in the ancient letters. But also the thirty-sixth Psalm, and the one hundred tenth, and the one hundred eleventh, and the one hundred eighteenth, and the one hundred forty-fourth, although written in different meter, are nevertheless woven with an alphabet of the same number. And in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and his prayer, also at the end of the Proverbs of Solomon from that place in which he says “Who can find a strong woman?” are counted the same alphabet or sections. Furthermore, five of the letters among them are double: chaph, mem, nun, phe, sade. For they write with these one way at the beginning and in the middle of words, another at the end. From which also five are considered double books by most: Samuel, Malachim, Dabreiamin, Ezra, Jeremiah with Cinoth, that is, his Lamentantion. Therefore, just as there are twenty-two elements, by which we write in Hebrew all that we say, and the human voice is understood by their beginnings (or “parts” initiis), thus twenty-two scrolls are counted, by which letters and writings a just man is instructed in the doctrine of God, as though in tender infancy and still nursing.

Continue reading “Jerome’s “Helmeted Introduction” to Kings”

This one was tough because of some quite peculiar sentences, which I think I’ve pretty much figured out now. I don’t think there’s any English translation of this one around, certainly not one in my possession, so I didn’t have one as a “cheat sheet” when I got stuck, which is good for my Latin, but not for my schedule…. Many thanks especially to Michael Gilleland (of Laudator Temporis Acti fame!) for puzzling over a certain ambiguous scriptura with me!

UPDATE: I’ve changed a couple of sentences with Michael Gilleland’s input. Several formerly questionable renderings are now resolved. Huzzah!

[See also the final draft version of this translation, on this page]

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BEGINNING OF THE PREFACE OF SAINT JEROME TO THE BOOK OF JOSHUA

Having finally finished with the Pentateuch of Moses, as though freed for a great advantage, we set (our) hand to Jesus son of Nave, who the Hebrews call Joshua ben Nun, that is, Joshua son of Nun, and to the book of Judges, which they call Sopthim, to Ruth also and Esther, which they extol by the same names. And I admonish the reader, that he, being careful with Scripture, might preserve the forest of Hebrew names and (their) separations divided into parts, so that our work and his effort might not be wasted. And that in the first place, which I often testify, let him know me not to coin the new in rebuke of the old, as though my friends are accused, but rather to offer, for my part, to men of my language, those things of ours which still delight, like the copies of the Hexapla for the Greeks, which require great expense and work, so they might have our edition, and anywhere the readings of the ancient scrolls are doubtful, comparing this this to them, they might find what they seek, especially when among the Latins there are as many versions as there are books, and everyone has, according to his own judgment, either added or subtracted whatever seemed right to him, and he indeed may not have been able to be certain what differed. From which may scorpion cease to rise against me with bow-like wound, and poisoned tongue desist from slandering a holy work, either accepting, if it has pleased, or condemning, if it has displeased, and remember these verses: “Your mouth has abounded in malice, and your tongue constructed deceits; sitting, you have spoken against your brother, and against the son of your mother imposed a scandal. These things you have done and I was quiet; you wrongly thought that I might be like you: I will accuse you and stand before your face” [Psalm 49.19-21]. For what advantage is it to the listener for us to sweat at work and to work at criticizing others, for Jews to lament that the opportunity has been taken away from them for falsely accusing and insulting Christians, and for men of the Church to despise, indeed to tear apart, that from which enemies are tortured. If only what is old in the interpretation pleases them, which things are also not displeasing to me, and they think of receiving nothing further, why are they reading or not reading those things which are either added or cut out by the asterisks and obeli? For what reason have the churches accepted the translation of Daniel by Theodotion? Why are Origen and Eusebius Pamphilou admired for having treated entire editions similarly? Or what foolishness was it, after they had spoken true things, to set forth things which are false? And from where in the New Testament are they able to prove the received testimonies, which are not supported in the books of the Old (Testament)? Thus, we say, I may be seen to be not altogether quiet to accusers.

Otherwise, after the falling asleep of Paula, whose life is an example of virtue, and these books, which I was not able to deny to Eustochium the virgin of Christ, we have decided “while spirit yet rules these limbs” to incline to the explanation of the Prophets, and to resume, in a kind of return home, a work long unfinished, especially when the admirable and holy man Pammachius demands the same in letters, and we, hurrying on to the homeland, need to pass by the deadly songs of the sirens with deaf ear.

END OF THE PROLOGUE

I’ve decided to translate next all the prologues contained in the Vulgate, which were written by Jerome except for the Prologue to Paul’s Letters, apparently. I have previously translated Jerome’s Prologue to the Gospels, which included a discussion of the Eusebian canon table system used in the Gospels, more on which is here, in the earliest of my web pages. This translation of the Prologue to the Pentateuch is just a first draft, of course. Once I’ve finished all the prologues, I’ll probably have a better grasp on some of the peculiarities of Jerome’s language and be able to fix some of these renderings which I wasn’t so sure of here. So, this isn’t written in stone, obviously, but I also beg the reader’s indulgence, now and in the future, for any peculiarities, particularly if you’re familiar with the Latin versions.

[See also the final draft version of this translation, on this page]

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BEGINNING OF THE PROLOGUE OF SAINT JEROME THE PRESBYTER ON THE PENTATEUCH

I have received the desired letters of my Desiderius, who in a foretelling of things to happen has obtained with Daniel a certain name [see Vulgate Daniel 9.23: quia vir desideriorum es tu, “for you are a man of desires”], beseeching that I might hand over to our hearers a translation of the Pentateuch in the Latin tongue from the Hebrew words. Certainly a dangerous work, open to the barkings of detractors, who accuse me of insult to the Seventy to prepare a new interpretation from the old ones, thus approving ability (or “genius”) like wine. As has very often been testified by me, I, for my part, am able to offer a portion in the Tabernacle of God, without the riches (or “abilities”) of one being damaged by the poverties of others.

Continue reading “Jerome’s Prologue to Genesis”

For further information on St John of Damascus, particularly regarding background to his chapter from his Fountain of Knowledge on Islam as a heresy, see especially Daniel J. Sahas, John of Damascus on Islam: The “Heresy of the Ishmaelites” (Brill, 1972). Sahas provides a great deal, pretty much everything we can piece together actually, about the life of St John of Damascus, his family (his grandfather was responsible for turning over Damascus to the Muslims, for which he was hated, and his father was a high-ranking mininster as well), his profession before he left Damascus to become a monk at St Sabbas near Jerusalem (he was πρωτοσυμβουλος to the Caliph, the highest ranking position in the Muslim empire after the Caliph himself), the reaction of the iconoclasts to his writing, and so on. He includes the Greek text from Migne’s Patrologia Graecae for the chapter on the Ishmaelites (I used this text after having corrected it according to the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae text taken from P. B. Kotter, Die Schriften des Johannes von Damaskos, vol. 4. Patristische Texte und Studien 22, Berlin: De Gruyter, 1981) and that of the Disputation of the Saracen and the Christian, traditionally attributed to St John, both with translations.

St John’s Fountain of Knowledge is a vast work in three parts: The Philosophical Chapters, in which he presents various aspects of the height of secular learning of his day; On Heresies, the first 80 chapters of which are taken verbatim from summaries of the heresies in the Panarion of St Epiphanius, and the last 23 by St John; and The Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, which is essentially a catechetical manual, and is more than twice the length of the above two sections combined. The entire Fountain of Knowledge is available in a handy English translation in the Fathers of the Church series, fortunately much more affordable than the above-mentioned volume.

St John of Damascus is a very important witness to early Islam. He was born into a very privileged family in Damascus (his grandfather had been the administrator of the city at the time the Muslims took it) and he grew up and served in the court of the caliph. He was entirely familiar with Islam (a name it did not yet possess, apparently), and thus what he has to say about it, and the context in which he places it, is of great historical importance. For one thing, this is a single chapter in his work On Heresies, part of his larger work, The Fountain of Knowledge. Thus, during his lifetime, St John did not consider Islam to yet be a separate religion, but rather a Christian heresy. In any case, he mentions several suras of the Qur’an by name, and refers most interestingly to one which is no longer extant. St John, in this work, as characteristically, pulls no punches. Enjoy.

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And there is also the up until now strong and people-deceiving superstition of the Ishmaelites, being the forerunner of Antichrist. And it is born from Ishmael, who was born from Hagar to Abraham, from which they are called Hagarenes and Ishmaelites. And they call them Saracens, as from Σαρρας κενοι (those empty of Sarah), because of what was said by Hagar to the angel: “Sarah has sent me away empty.” So then, these were idolaters and reverenced the morning star and Aphrodite, who they indeed named Khabar in their own language, which means great. Therefore, until the time of Heraclius, they were plainly idolaters. From that time and until now came up among them a false prophet called Mamed, who, having encountered the Old and New Testament, as it seems, having conversed with an Arian monk, he put together his own heresy. And under the pretext of seeming pious, attracting (?) people, he reported that a book was sent down to him from heaven by God. Therefore some of the compositions written by him in a book, worthy of laughter, which he handed down to them as an object of reverence.

Continue reading “St John of Damascus on Islam”

I’ve only just learned that there’s an online/electronic edition of Migne’s Patrologia Graecae. Wow! It’s only images of the pages, which is fine by me, but the metadata (authors, etc) are searchable. The best part is that anyone who buys this image-only edition will receive the planned XML version, fully searchable, at a reduced price once it is completed. Fantastic!

This makes an excellent companion to the online edition of Migne’s Patrologia Latina, which I’ve often dipped into.

While many of the texts in both of these supernumerously-volumed series have of course been published in critical editions since Migne’s collections were made, there are many, many texts, indeed most, within each which have never been further edited, much less translated.

It is a noble dream of mine to somehow arrange to have all the Patrologia Graecae volumes translated into English. The wealth of theological insight of the Eastern Fathers is something that really needs to have greater exposure, particularly these days when interest in them is growing. The work involved to produce translations of all the volumes in anything approaching a useful timeframe would require the project to involve quite a number of people, of course. It’s something I think of now and again. Of course, having all the texts available in a format in which they could be easily distributed to participating translators is key, with the above-mentioned forthcoming XML edition of the PG being perfect for that. I certainly don’t find it practical to photocopy 161 volumes! We’ll see what the future holds.

Well, that was fun!

I’ve created a page to hold the complete translation of Victorinus. I’ll be adding a short introduction and notes which will include Biblical references, the translation variants that are currently in the text, and perhaps commentary on a few tricky passages. I’ve also kept a short list of renderings that I’ve been unhappy with, so even the translation itself will likely change in a few places over the course of the next few days.

The web page is now to be considered the “official” version, and I won’t be updating the individually posted chapters unless I find some errors. I will, however, be adding to each of those posts a link to the web page, which is the most efficient way of making sure that folks find their way there to the complete work. Enjoy!

[1] For I have not considered the kingdom of the thousand years to be earthly: for, if it is being perceived thus, at the completion of the thousand years they cease to reign. But I will offer as my capacity for understanding has perceived. The number ten signifies the Decalogue, and one hundred shows the crown of virginity. For he who has preserved entire his resolution for virginity, and faithfully fulfilled the precepts of the Decalogue, and has overcome impure actions and impure thoughts among the chambers of the heart so that they do not rule him, this is truly a priest of Christ and entirely completes the millenary number, believed to rule with Christ, and rightly with Him the devil is bound. He who has been ensnared in the errors and dogmas of the heretics, in him the devil is released. But because he says he will be released at the completion of the thousand years, at the completion of the number of the perfect saints, in the bodies and hearts of whom virginity reigns, with the arrival of the coming of the hating one, many will be overthrown by him, seduced by earthly loves, and will likewise enter the lake with him. And after a little while, the ground returns the bodies of the saints which shortly before were resting: he shows that those receiving, with the eternal King, the immortal kingdom, which is not by virginity of the body alone, but also of language and thought, will rejoice with the Lamb.

Continue reading “Victorinus: In Apocalypsin (Ending of Jerome)”

Those crossing over the perilous seas find different dangers. If a storm of winds has become violent, it is a terror; if the moderate air has calmed the back of the elements, lying calm, they fear traps. Thus is seen in this book which you have sent to me, which is seen to contain the explanation of the Apocalypse by Victorinus. Also, it is dangerous, and opens to the barkings of detractors, to judge the short works of eminent men. For even earlier Papias, the bishop of Hierapolis, and Nepos, the bishop of parts of Egypt, perceived of the kingdom of the thousand years just as Victorinus. And because you are in your letters entreating me, I do not want to delay, but nor do I want to scorn praying. I immediately unwound the books of the greats, and what I found in their commentaries about the kingdom of the thousand years, I added to the little work of Victorinus, erasing from there those things which he perceived according to the letter.

From the beginning of the book to the sign of the cross, we have corrected things which are the corruptions of inexperience of scribes. Know that from there to the end of the book is added. Now it is yours to judge, and to confirm what pleases. If our life will be made longer and the Lord will give health, for you, our most capable genius will sweat over this book, dearest Anatolius.