Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Latin Church Father, Bible scholar, and saint. His English name was Jerome. He was born in Stridon near Dalmatia. He went to Rome at the age of 12, where he studied grammar and rhetoric, and was baptized at the age of 19. He later traveled to Gaul, where he decided to live a monastic life. He began an ascetic life with a friend in Aquileia, but in 372 he suddenly set out on a journey and stayed in Antioch. While seriously ill in bed, he heard a voice saying, "You are a Ciceronian and not a Christian," which awakened him and he retreated to the desert. During that time he learned Greek and Hebrew. He served as secretary to Pope Damasus I (reigned 366-384) for a time, and later settled in Bethlehem, where he devoted himself to learning and worked to introduce Eastern theology into the Western Church, exerting a great influence on the Latin world. His greatest and immortal achievement was the translation of the Bible into Latin (the Burgator). With his vast knowledge of languages, his mastery of the classics, his thorough research trips, and his friendships with many scholars, he pioneered the way to monastic life in Western Europe, and became one of the leading writers of the Latin Church, devoting himself to translation and writing.

[Fumiichi Asakura, December 12, 2017]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ラテン教父、聖書学者、聖人。英名ジェロームJerome。ダルマチア近くのストリドンに生まれる。12歳でローマへ赴き、文法・修辞学を学び、19歳で受洗。のちガリアを旅行し、同地で修道院生活を決意した。アクィレイアで友人とともに禁欲生活を始めたが、372年突如旅に出て、アンティオキアにとどまり、重病の床で「汝(なんじ)はキケロ主義者にてキリスト者にあらず」という声を聞き覚醒(かくせい)し、砂漠に退いた。そのころギリシア語とヘブライ語を学ぶ。一時教皇ダマスス1世Damasus Ⅰ（在位366～384）の秘書となり、のちベスレヘムに定住し、学問に没頭して東方神学の西方教会への移入に努め、ラテン世界に多大の影響を与えた。その最大にして不滅の功績は、聖書のラテン語訳（『ブルガーター』）である。該博な言語知識、古典への精通、綿密な研究旅行と多数の学者との交友の成果をもって西欧における修道生活への道を開拓し、翻訳、著述に専念したラテン教会の代表的著述家の一人となった。

［朝倉文市　2017年12月12日］

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