Seeker

You'd need to pay careful attention to detail to remove a thorn from the paw of a lion. St Jerome certainly had that ability in his scholarship and diligent work of Biblical translation and commentary.  It is probably not true that he applied this skill to befriending a lion and removing the thorn from its paw. The lion story is a rather charming legend and this 15th century painting by Colantonio of Jerome in his study is fascinating. I love the expression on the face of a lion - almost like that of a worried little boy. "Is this going to hurt? Better not look. Hope he doesn't take too long." Looking at Jerome's face and that of the lion, I am reminded of Jerome's words, "The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart." The painting is part of an altarpiece and all around Jerome are the tools of his trade as a scholar, linguist, theologian, translator and interpreter of Scripture. There is...

Some years ago in a conversation with someone I thought was well educated I was astonished to discover his belief that the Holy Bible was originally written in English (Shakespearean English at that.) Having spent a while helping him untangle that one I then found myself telling him that Jesus of Nazareth was a Jewish man and not an Englishman as he thought. That is the first thing that came to mind as I thought about St Jerome. Jerome is the one shown in this image busily working on a translation of scripture, or perhaps one of his many Biblical commentaries or letters. When the Christian church began the common language of the Roman Empire was Greek. That is why the books of the New Testament were originally written in Greek. As Jewish people were dispersed widely, many no longer understood Hebrew, so the books of the Old Testament were translated from their original Hebrew into Greek.  What is widely understandable in one generation soon becomes incomprehensible in another...