Letter 43: Jerome draws a contrast between his daily life and that of Origen, and sorrowfully admits his own shortcomings. He then suggests to Marcella the advantages which life in the country offers over life in town, and hints that he is himself disposed to make trial of it. Written at Rome in 385 A.D.

Letter 43: To Marcella, On Worldly Distractions (385 AD) [Jerome contrasts his own slack daily routine with the heroic disciplines of Origen, and uses the comparison as a springboard to propose that both he and Marcella should escape Rome for the peace of the countryside.] 1. Ambrose — who supplied Origen, that true man of adamant and bronze, with the money, the materials, and the copyists needed to produce his innumerable books — states in a letter to a friend from Athens that they never took a meal together without something being read aloud, and never went to bed until some passage of Scripture had been brought home to them by a brother's voice. Night and day were organized so that prayer gave way only to reading and reading to prayer. 2. Have we, dull beasts that we are, ever done anything like that? We yawn after reading for an hour. We rub our foreheads and try vainly to suppress our boredom. Then, having completed this heroic effort, we plunge right back into worldly business. I won't dwell on the meals with which we numb our faculties, and I'd rather not calculate the time we spend paying and receiving social calls. Then we fall into conversation — we waste our words, tear people apart behind their backs, dissect their way of life. We are devoured by gossip and devour others in turn. Such is the fare at dinner and after dinner. Then, once the guests have left, we go over our accounts — which inevitably produce either rage or anxiety. Rage turns us into roaring lions; anxiety drives us to make futile provision for years to come, forgetting the words of the Gospel: "Fool! This very night your soul is required of you. Then whose will all this be?" [Luke 12:20]. The clothes we buy are designed not for use but for display. When there's money to be saved we quicken our step, sharpen our speech, prick up our ears. If we hear of financial losses — as is common — our faces darken with gloom. A penny's profit fills us with joy; a half-penny's loss plunges us into despair. One man puts on so many different faces that the prophet's prayer applies to him: "Lord, scatter their images in your city." Created as we are in the image and likeness of God [Genesis 1:26], it is our own wickedness that forces us to wear masks. Like an actor on the stage — now playing a burly Hercules, now melting into a tender Venus, now shivering in the role of Cybele — so we have a different mask for every sin. 3. Since, then, we have sailed so long through stormy waters, and our vessel has been battered by gale and torn open on hidden reefs, let us make for the haven of rural quiet as soon as we can. There, country fare — milk, homemade bread, and garden greens, watered with our own hands — plain food but free from sin — will fill us up without taxing our brains. Living this way, we won't fall asleep over our reading or be crushed under the weight of an overstuffed belly. In summer, a tree will give us shade. In autumn, the mild air and the carpet of fallen leaves will offer us a place of rest. In spring, the fields will be painted with flowers and our psalms will sound sweeter accompanied by the singing of birds. When winter comes with its snow and cold, I won't have to buy firewood: I'll be warmer for being awake, or at any rate spend less on fuel. Let Rome keep its crowds. Let the arena rage with cruelty, the circus with madness, the theaters with sensuality. We won't speak of the gatherings of our friends — for it would be wrong to criticize the company that Christians keep. Let us seek instead the quiet of a hut, and the Lord will provide for us both bread and raiment.

To Marcella Jerome draws a contrast between his daily life and that of Origen, and sorrowfully admits his own shortcomings. He then suggests to Marcella the advantages which life in the country offers over life in town, and hints that he is himself disposed to make trial of it. Written at Rome in 385 A.D. 1. Ambrose who supplied Origen, true man of adamant and of brass, with money, materials and amanuenses to bring out his countless books — Ambrose, in a letter to his friend from Athens, states that they never took a meal together without something being read, and never went to bed till some portion of Scripture had been brought home to them by a brother's voice. Night and day, in fact, were so ordered that prayer only gave place to reading and reading to prayer. 2. Have we, brute beasts that we are, ever done the like? Why, we yawn if we read for over an hour; we rub our foreheads and vainly try to suppress our languor. And then, after this great feat, we plunge for relief into worldly business once more. I say nothing of the meals with which we dull our faculties, and I would rather not estimate the time that we spend in paying and receiving visits. Next we fall into conversation; we waste our words, we attack people behind their backs, we detail their way of living, we carp at them and are carped at by them in turn. Such is the fare that engages our attention at dinner and afterwards. Then, when our guests have retired, we make up our accounts, and these are sure to cause us either anger or anxiety. The first makes us like raging lions, and the second seeks vainly to make provision for years to come. We do not recollect the words of the Gospel: You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you: then whose shall those things be which you have provided? Luke 12:20 The clothing which we buy is designed not merely for use but for display. Where there is a chance of saving money we quicken our pace, speak promptly, and keep our ears open. If we hear of household losses — such as often occur — our looks become dejected and gloomy. The gain of a penny fills us with joy; the loss of a half-penny plunges us into sorrow. One man is of so many minds that the prophet's prayer is: Lord, in your city scatter their image. For created as we are in the image of God and after His likeness, Genesis 1:26 it is our own wickedness which makes us assume masks. Just as on the stage the same actor now figures as a brawny Hercules, now softens into a tender Venus, now shivers in the role of Cybele; so we — who, if we were not of the world, would be hated by the world John 15:19 — for every sin that we commit have a corresponding mask. 3. Wherefore, seeing that we have journeyed for much of our life through a troubled sea, and that our vessel has been in turn shaken by raging blasts and shattered upon treacherous reefs, let us, as soon as may be, make for the haven of rural quietude. There such country dainties as milk and household bread, and greens watered by our own hands, will supply us with coarse but harmless fare. So living, sleep will not call us away from prayer, nor satiety from reading. In summer the shade of a tree will afford us privacy. In autumn the quality of the air and the leaves strewn under foot will invite us to stop and rest. In springtime the fields will be bright with flowers, and our psalms will sound the sweeter for the twittering of the birds. When winter comes with its frost and snow, I shall not have to buy fuel, and, whether I sleep or keep vigil, shall be warmer than in town. At least, so far as I know, I shall keep off the cold at less expense. Let Rome keep to itself its noise and bustle, let the cruel shows of the arena go on, let the crowd rave at the circus, let the playgoers revel in the theatres and — for I must not altogether pass over our Christian friends — let the House of Ladies hold its daily sittings. It is good for us to cleave to the Lord, and to put our hope in the Lord God, so that when we have exchanged our present poverty for the kingdom of heaven, we may be able to exclaim: Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside you. Surely if we can find such blessedness in heaven we may well grieve to have sought after pleasures poor and passing here upon earth. Farewell. About this page Source. Translated by W.H. Fremantle, G. Lewis and W.G. Martley. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 6. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1893.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001043.htm>. Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.