Jerome’s letter 108 to Eustochium: Contemporary biography in service of ascetic ideology?

Johanna C Lamprecht

doi:10.4102/hts.v73i3.4503

Abstract

Epistula (Letter) 108, one of the longest of Jerome’s letters, was written in 404 AD to console Eustochium for the loss of her mother Paula. Scholars have referred to this letter as a lengthy epitaphium with hagiographic features, a eulogistic tribute, a biographical eulogy of Paula, a laudatio funebris, a travelogue, a memoir, a metaphorical account of Paula’s pilgrimage through life, a piece of ascetic propaganda and a textual basis for a Bethlehem-centred cult of Paula the ascetic martyr-saint. The aim of this article is to analyse and comment on Jerome’s letter as an example of the genre of Graeco-Roman biography, containing various features of ancient βίοι. While Jerome cast the letter ostensibly as a consolatio for Eustochium, it turned out to be a commemoration of Paula, his patron, devoted disciple and monastic companion. The article will ultimately investigate whether this letter was written to sub-serve a higher motive of Jerome, the chief architect of 4th-century asceticism.

Highlights

Epistula 108 by Jerome is a complex and fascinating piece of literature and one of his longest extant works classed as letters
It is a fine example of multilayered Hieronymian writing.2. It was written in 404 CE ostensibly3 to console Eustochium for the loss of her mother Paula
The aim of this paper is to identify and briefly discuss the different layers contained in the letter, and in particular to analyse and comment on it as an example of the genre of Graeco-Roman biography, containing various generic conventions of ancient βίοι

Summary

Introduction

Epistula 108 by Jerome is a complex and fascinating piece of literature and one of his longest extant works classed as letters. It is a fine example of multilayered Hieronymian writing. It was written in 404 CE ostensibly to console Eustochium for the loss of her mother Paula. Epistula 108 by Jerome is a complex and fascinating piece of literature and one of his longest extant works classed as letters.. Epistula 108 by Jerome is a complex and fascinating piece of literature and one of his longest extant works classed as letters.1 It is a fine example of multilayered Hieronymian writing.. It is a fine example of multilayered Hieronymian writing.2 It was written in 404 CE ostensibly to console Eustochium for the loss of her mother Paula. When the historical Paula was ‘refracted by the lens of his narrative’ (Cain 2010:137), she seems to become the female personification of Jerome’s ascetic ideology, and an embodied attestation of his spiritual mentoring. Most of what is known about Paula is derived from Jerome’s letters to and about her, and in the prologues of many of his works of translation and exegesis.. The letter, with its obvious rhetorical and tributary elements, could raise questions about the correctness of the historical information (indicated and alluded to in several instances of this research report) and the authenticity of the male voice, especially in view of the fact that Paula’s wealth contributed significantly to Jerome’s literary endeavours (Clark 1986:23–27, 53 n.2)

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