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| To Exuperantius.
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Letter
CXLV. To Exuperantius.
Jerome advises Exuperantius, a Roman soldier, to come to
Bethlehem and with his brother Quintilian to become a monk. According
to Palladius (H. L. c. lxxx.) Exuperantius came to Jerome but went away
again ‘unable to endure his violence and ill-will.’ The
date of the letter is unknown.
Among all the favours that my friendship with the
reverend brother Quintilian has conferred upon me the greatest is this
that he has introduced me in the spirit to you whom I do not know
personally. Who can fail to love a man who, while he wears the cloak
and uniform of a soldier does the work of a prophet, and while his
outer man gives promise of quite a different character, overcomes this
by the inner man which is formed after the image of the creator. I come
forward therefore to challenge you to an interchange of letters and beg
that you will often give me occasion to reply to you that I may for the
future feel less constraint in writing.
For the present I will content myself by suggesting to
your discretion that you should bear in mind the apostle’s words:
“Art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou
loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife;”3917
that is, seek not that binding which is
contrary to loosing. He who has contracted the obligations of marriage,
is bound, and he who is bound is a slave; on the other hand he who is
loosed is free. Since therefore you rejoice in the freedom of Christ,
since your life is better than your profession, since you are all but
on the housetop of which the Saviour speaks; you ought not to come down
to take your clothes,3918
you ought not
to look behind you, you ought not having put your hand to the plough,
then to let it go.3919
Rather, if you
can, imitate Joseph and leave your garment in the hand of your Egyptian
mistress,3920
that naked you may follow your Lord
and Saviour. For in the gospel He says: “Whosoever doth not leave
all that he hath and bear his cross and come after me cannot be my
disciple.”3921
Cast from you
the burthen of the things of this world, and seek not those riches
which in the gospel are compared to the humps3922
of camels.
Naked and unencumbered fly up to heaven; masses of gold will but impede
the wings of your virtue. I do not speak thus because I know you to be
covetous, but because I have a notion that your object in remaining so
long in the army is to fill that purse which the Lord has commanded you
to empty. For they who have possessions and riches are bidden to sell
all that they have and to give to the poor and then to follow the
Saviour.3923
Thus if your worship is rich
already you ought to fulfil the command and sell your riches; or if you
are still poor you ought not to amass what you will have to pay away.
Christ accepts the sacrifices made for him3924
according as he who makes them has a
willing mind. Never were any men poorer than the apostles; yet never
any left more for the Lord than they. The poor widow in the gospel who
cast but two mites into the treasury was set before all the men of
wealth because she gave all that she had.3925
So it should be with you. Seek not for
wealth which you will have to pay away; but rather give up that which
you have already acquired that Christ may know his new recruit to be
brave and resolute, and then when you are a great way off His Father
will run with joy to meet you. He will give you a robe, will put a ring
upon your finger, and will kill for you the fatted calf.3926
Then when you are freed from all
encumbrances God will soon make a way for you to cross the sea to me
with your reverend brother Quintilian. I have now knocked at the door
of friendship: if you open it to me you will find me a frequent
visitor.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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