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Jerome on the Attack: Constructing a Polemical Persona Nicole Cleary Doctor of Philosophy The University of Edinburgh 2015 i DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is of my own composition, and that it contains no material previously submitted for the award of any other degree or professional qualification. Nicole Cleary Signed: ii CONTENTS Abstract ........................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................ vii Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... viii PART 1 CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 1. SURVEY OF MODERN SCHOLARSHIP ................................................................ 4 1.1 Late Antiquity and the cultural and linguistic turn ................. 5 1.2 Hieronymian legend ...................................................................... 8 1.3 Historiographical trends ............................................................. 12 2. SCHOLARSHIP ON JEROME THE MAN ............................................................. 14 2.1 Jerome’s life ................................................................................... 16 2.2 Jerome’s social circle .................................................................... 17 2.3 Jerome’s roles ................................................................................ 19 2.4 Jerome in the Origenist Controversy ........................................ 20 2.5 Jerome in Constantinople .......................................................... 23 2.6 Jerome’s persona ......................................................................... 24 2.7 Jerome and rhetoric ..................................................................... 27 3. SCHOLARSHIP ON JEROME’S DISPUTES: HELVIDIUS, JOVINIAN, AND VIGILANTIUS ..................................................... 34 3.1 Adversus Helvidium ....................................................................... 35 3.2 Adversus Iovinianum ..................................................................... 36 3.3 Contra Vigilantium ........................................................................ 39 4. SCHOLARSHIP ON JEROME’S POLEMICS AND SATIRE ..................................... 40 CHAPTER 2 - ABUSIVE RHETORIC AND JEROME 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 45 2. ANCIENT AND MODERN RHETORIC 2.1 Ancient rhetoric ............................................................................ 47 2.2 Modern views of late antique rhetoric ...................................... 49 2.3 Modern definitions of rhetoric ................................................... 57 3. RHETORIC AND HIERARCHY 3.1 The function of a Roman education .......................................... 59 3.2 Rhetoric’s uses in the ancient world: reinforcing the hierarchy ............................................................. 64 3.3 The necessary qualities of an orator .......................................... 67 3.4 Abusive rhetoric: defining and reshaping the hierarchy ....... 72 3.5 Abuse and social mobility ........................................................... 77 3.6 Asceticism and social mobility .................................................. 84 3.7 Why abuse? .................................................................................. 90 4. SUCCESSFUL RHETORIC 4.1 The goodwill of the audience ..................................................... 94 4.2 Audience and identification ....................................................... 99 4.3 Abuse and identification: the vertical dimension of abuse .. 100 iii 5. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 103 CHAPTER 3 – JEROME’S CONTEMPORARIES 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 106 2. JEROME’S INTERACTIONS WITH RUFINUS AND AUGUSTINE 2.1 Jerome and Rufinus ................................................................... 111 2.2 Jerome and Augustine .............................................................. 112 3. FRIENDSHIP FRAMEWORK 3.1 Augustine’s epistolary friendship with Jerome .................... 114 3.2 Epistolary conventions ............................................................. 115 3.3 Authority through letters ......................................................... 117 3.4 Augustine’s motive and method ............................................ 118 3.5 Rufinus’ friendship with Jerome ............................................. 120 4. A LITERARY SLIPSTREAM 4.1 Augustine’s ambition ................................................................ 122 4.2 Augustine and the palinode ..................................................... 124 4.3 Rufinus and Jerome’s literary slipstream ............................... 125 4.4 Avoidance of rivalry ................................................................ 126 5. AUGUSTINE’S CRITICISM 5.1 A complicated correspondence ............................................... 127 5.2 Ep. 56: Augustine on Jerome’s scholarship ............................ 133 5.3 A scriptural precedent ............................................................. 135 5.4 Ep. 67 and 104: Augustine’s continuing criticisms ............... 136 6. RUFINUS’ CRITICISM 6.1 Similarities to Augustine’s critiques ........................................ 139 6.2 Rufinus on Jerome’s use of Hebrew ........................................ 139 6.3 Rufinus on Jerome’s inconsistency ......................................... 142 6.4 Rufinus on Jerome’s competitive nature .............................. 143 6.5 Rufinus on corrective correspondences .................................. 144 6.6 Rufinus on Jerome’s abuse ....................................................... 145 6.7 A similar approach .................................................................... 146 7. JEROME’S REPLY TO AUGUSTINE 7.1 Jerome’s view of the social map .............................................. 147 7.2 Jerome’s qualifications ............................................................. 149 7.3 Jerome on fame, rank, and reputation ................................... 151 7.4 Established hierarchies .............................................................. 152 7.5. Jerome’s solution part 1: an elderly persona ........................ 153 7.6 Jerome’s age ................................................................................ 156 7.7 Jerome solution part 2: monasticism ...................................... 158 7.8 Jerome and Rome ...................................................................... 160 8. JEROME’S REPLY TO RUFINUS 8.1 Context ........................................................................................ 162 8.2 Jerome’s reputation and Pammachius’ interference ............ 165 8.3 Letters made public ................................................................... 167 8.4 Similarities to Augustine’s interactions with Jerome ........... 168 iv 8.5 Jerome on Rufinus’ style and education ................................ 169 8.6 Jerome on Rufinus’ desire for publicity ................................. 170 8.7 Maintaining an old friendship ................................................ 171 8.8 Influence of status on Jerome’s replies .................................... 173 9. JEROME’S INTERACTIONS WITH AMBROSE 9.1 Jerome’s relationship with Ambrose ...................................... 175 9.2 Jerome’s veiled attacks against Ambrose .............................. 176 9.3 Jerome’s avoidance of names ................................................ 178 9.4 A possible reply .......................................................................... 179 9.5 Jerome’s direct references to Ambrose .................................. 180 10. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 181 PART 2 CHAPTER 4 – ADVERSUS HELVIDIUM: JEROME THE TEACHER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 183 2. HELVIDIUS .................................................................................................... 185 3. STRUCTURE OF ADVERSUS HELVIDIUM ........................................................ 187 3.1 Positioning of abuse ..................................................................