The Letters of Jerome Asceticism, Biblical Exegesis, and the Construction of Christian Authority in Late Antiquity |
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| Author:
| Cain, Andrew |
| Series title: | Oxford Early Christian Studies |
| ISBN: | 978-0-19-956355-5 |
| Publication Date: | Mar 2009 |
| Publisher: | Oxford University Press
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| Book Format: | Hardback |
| List Price: | AUD $253.64AUD $318.00 |
Book Description:
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In view of the extremely problematic nature of his profile, how did Jerome seek to bring credibility to himself and his various causes? In this book, the first of its kind in any language, Andrew Cain answers this crucial question through a systematic examination of Jerome's idealized self-presentation across the whole range of his extant epistolary corpus. Modern scholars overwhelmingly either access the letters as historical sources or appreciate their aesthetic properties. Cain...
More DescriptionIn view of the extremely problematic nature of his profile, how did Jerome seek to bring credibility to himself and his various causes? In this book, the first of its kind in any language, Andrew Cain answers this crucial question through a systematic examination of Jerome's idealized self-presentation across the whole range of his extant epistolary corpus. Modern scholars overwhelmingly either access the letters as historical sources or appreciate their aesthetic properties. Cain offers a new approach and explores the largely neglected but nonetheless fundamental propagandistic dimension of the correspondence. In particular, he proposes theories about how, and above all why, Jerome used individual letters and letter-collections to bid for status as an expert on the Bible and ascetic spirituality.