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Latin · Letters ·

Epistola ad Desiderium de duodecim doctoribus

Hieronymus · ogl-pl

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machine-draft · no human review 2 passages · 386 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Epistola ad Desiderium de duodecim doctoribus is a prefatory letter by Jerome to Desiderius, introducing his Latin translations of twelve homilies, likely by Origen. The letter defends the utility of translation and responds to criticisms of Jerome's method. It survives in many medieval manuscripts, often attached to collections of Origen's homilies, and its transmission is tied to the reception of Origen in the Latin West. The letter is frequently cited in later patristic and medieval discussions of translation theory, influencing biblical and patristic translation practice. The 'twelve doctors' refer to the homilies, not a group of authors. This edition does not include the homilies themselves.

The letter is a key text in the history of translation theory, frequently cited by later patristic and medieval authors. It influenced the practice of biblical and patristic translation and was used in debates between Jerome and his contemporaries, such as Rufinus and Augustine. Its survival in numerous manuscripts attests to its enduring importance in the Latin West.

Historical context

The letter is usually dated to the late 390s or early 400s, during Jerome's stay in Bethlehem, when he was actively translating Origen's works. The exact year is uncertain. The letter is addressed to Desiderius, a figure otherwise unknown, and serves as a preface to a collection of twelve homilies (likely by Origen) that Jerome translated into Latin. The letter's content focuses on translation principles, defending Jerome's approach against critics. The transmission of the letter is closely tied to the reception of Origen in the Latin West, as it often appears in manuscripts alongside Origen's homilies. The letter was cited by Rufinus and Augustine, indicating its influence in early Christian debates on translation. The 'twelve doctors' of the title are not named in the letter; the phrase refers to the twelve homilies translated, not a group of authors.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

11 commentary units 3 reception2 background2 transmission2 structure1 dating1 term 0 derived notes 4 open questions 2 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed.
  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: letter in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 2 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
tmp430.tmp430.opp-lat1:1 · narrativehigh
Source
II. EPISTOLA Edita jam sub S. HIERONYMI nomine,. DE DUODECIM DOCTORIBUS AD DESIDERIUM1 Jam sub nomine BEDAE, DE LUMINARIBUS ECCLESIAE 2.· CENSURA. Otio abutatur, qui probare multis argumentis non esse hunc Hieronymi, sed male feriati auctoris fetum, contenderit. Tot verborum salebroe, putidoe circumlocutiones, temporum atque ordinis immama, et ne quid deterius dicam, perversa de scriptoribus judicia, stomachum continuo movent Hieronymianoe glorioe studiosis indigne ferentibus hujusmodi blateramenta in maximi Doctoris nomen conferri. At non ideo Erasmus illud jure accusarit stultitioe, quod ubi auctor professus esset se de Luminaribus toto mundi firmamento lucentibus dicturum, Pelagium, Jovinianum, et consimiles inculcarit tenebriones. Non enim eos inter lumina Ecclesioe collocat, quorum scripta reprehendit, et veneno ac felle infecta non diffitetur. Et pauca, inquit, de Scriptoribus manifestissime dicam. Verius illud vitio vertendum fuisset, quod Hilarium Romanum Pontificem cap. secundo memoret, S. Leoni successit, et diu post mortem Hieronymi inclaruit. hominem usque adeo bardum ac stupidum, qui hoec ignoraret, hunc fuisse non puto; factum vero librariorum culpa, ut episcopi nomen irreperet quod ipse non scripsit. Certe Hilarium Romanum diaconum Luciferianoe sectoe assertorem ferme proecipuum, quod et Hieronymus notat cap.
English
A letter already published under the name of St. Jerome, "On the Twelve Doctors," to Desiderius; now under the name of Bede, "On the Luminaries of the Church." Censure. One who would attempt to prove by many arguments that this is not a work of Jerome, but the offspring of an ill-occupied author, would be abusing his leisure. Such verbal roughnesses, such foul circumlocutions, such confusion of time and order, and—to say nothing worse—such perverse judgments about writers, immediately turn the stomach of those devoted to Jerome's glory, who are indignant that such drivel should be attributed to the name of the greatest Doctor. Yet Erasmus was not right to accuse it of stupidity on the ground that, where the author had professed that he would speak of the Luminaries shining throughout the whole firmament of the world, he thrust in Pelagius, Jovinian, and similar men of darkness. For he does not place them among the lights of the Church, since he censures their writings and does not deny that they are infected with poison and gall. "And," he says, "I will speak very plainly about a few writers." It would have been more just to find fault with the fact that in the second chapter he mentions Hilarus, a Roman Pontiff, who succeeded St. Leo and flourished long after Jerome's death. I do not think that a man so dull and stupid as to be ignorant of this could have been the author; rather, it was due to the fault of copyists that the name of a bishop crept in which he himself did not write. Certainly, Hilarus the Roman deacon, a principal champion of the Luciferian sect, is noted by Jerome himself in the chapter.
tmp430.tmp430.opp-lat1:2 · narrativehigh
Source
95, et cui in Epistolam ad Romanos Commentarii tribuuntur, laudari ipsa mihi persuadent priora verba quibus Lucifer ipse Calaritanus alluditur: Hilarius, inquit, Lucifer Romanorum. Hoec dixerim, ne supra quam videtur promereri, censuris auctor pseudonymus vexaretur. Coeterum hac una fere dc causa hocce ejus opusculum adjungo, et ad mss. quoque fidem subinde exigo, ne quid quod ad Hieronymum pertineat, lector aut eruditus aut ineruditus desideret.
English
95, and to whom a Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans is attributed, persuade me that the earlier words in which Lucifer himself of Cagliari is alluded to are to be praised: "Hilary," he says, "the Lucifer of the Romans." I have said this lest the pseudonymous author be harassed by censures beyond what he seems to deserve. For the rest, I append this little work of his for almost this one reason, and I also from time to time demand fidelity to the manuscripts, lest the reader, whether learned or unlearned, miss anything that pertains to Jerome.
Citation. Tergwame, “Epistola ad Desiderium de duodecim doctoribus”, tmp430.tmp430.opp-lat1:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/tmp430.tmp430.opp-lat1#s1
Colophon. Source: ogl-pl · licence: Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0016 · generated 2026-11-15.