Sept 30 - Jerome

Cantankerous, opinionated, and of great wit, Jerome made many friends but probably as many enemies. For all he did, he is best known as the translator of the Vulgate for Damascus I (Dec 10th). Because of his long work on the translation, Jerome is the patron saint of archaeologists, translators, Biblical scholars, and librarians.

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The proud sin greatly who, after studying secular literature and having turned to the Holy Scriptures, consider all that they say to be the Law of God, and do not endeavor to come to know the thoughts of the prophets and apostles, but seek out from the scriptures inappropriate texts for their own thoughts, as if this were a good work, and not the most defiled kind of study: to distort the thoughts of Scripture and submit them to their own intentions, in spite of obvious contradictions… It is proper to children and charlatans to try to teach that which they do not know.

-- Letter to St. Paulinus