([S.])—Saint Jerome, a famous doctor of the church, and the most learned of all the Latin fathers, was the son of Eusebius; and was born at Stridon, a city of ancient Pannonia, about A. D. 340. He studied at Rome under Donatus the learned grammarian. After embracing the Christian religion, and being baptized, he went into Gaul. In 372, he retired into a desart in Syria, where he was persecuted for being a Sabellian, because he made use of the word Hypostasis, as used by the council of Rome in 369. This obliged him to go to Jerusalem, where he studied the Hebrew language, to acquire a more perfect knowledge of the Holy Scriptures; and consented to be ordained, provided he should not be confined to any particular church. In 381, he went to Constantinople to hear Gregory of Nazianzen; and in 382 returned to Rome, where he was made secretary to Pope Damasus. He then instructed many Roman ladies in piety and the sciences, which exposed him to the calumnies of those whom he zealously reproved for their irregularities; and Pope Siricius, not having all the esteem for him, which his learning and virtue justly entitled him to, he returned to Bethlehem, where he wrote against heretics. He had a contest with John of Jerusalem and Rufinius about the Origenists; and was the first who wrote against Pelagius. He died on the 30th of September, 420, about 80 years of age. His works are voluminous, in eleven volumes folio. His style is lively and animated, and sometimes sublime.
([T.])—Julian, a famous Roman Emperor, styled The Apostate, because he professed the Christian religion before he ascended the throne, but afterwards openly embraced Paganism, and endeavoured to abolish Christianity. He made no use of violence, however, for this purpose; but behaved with a politic mildness to the Christians; recalled all who had been banished on account of religion under Constantius; and endeavoured to pervert them by caresses, and by temporal advantages, covered over by artful pretences: but he prohibited Christians to plead before courts of justice, or to enjoy any public employments. He even prohibited their teaching polite literature, well knowing the great advantages they drew from profane authors, in their attacks upon Paganism and irreligion. Though he on all occasions shewed a sovereign contempt for the Christians whom he stiled Galileans, yet he was sensible of the advantage they obtained by their virtue and the purity of their manners; and therefore incessantly proposed their example to the Pagan priests. At last, however, when he found that all other methods failed, he gave public employments to the most cruel enemies of the Christians, when the cities in most of the provinces were filled with tumults and seditions, and many of them were put to death. Historians mention that Julian attempted to prove the falsehood of our Lord’s prediction with respect to the temple at Jerusalem, by rebuilding it; but that all his endeavours served only the more perfectly to verify it. Julian being mortally wounded in a battle with the Persians, is said, to have catched in his hand some of the blood which flowed from his wound, and throwing it towards heaven, cried, Oh Galilean thou hast conquered. Theodoret relates, that Julian discovered a different disposition, and employed his last moments in conversing with Maximus the philosopher, on the dignity of the soul. He died, however, the following night in the 32d year of his age.
([U.])—Sozomen, an ecclesiastical historian of the 5th century. He was born in Bethulia, a town of Palestine; he was educated for the law, and became a pleader at Constantinople. He wrote an abridgement of ecclesiastical history, in two books, from the ascension of our Saviour to the year 323. This compendium is lost, but a continuation in nine books is still extant. He seems to have copied Socrates, who wrote a history of the same period. The style of Sozomen is more elegant; but in other respects he falls short of that writer, displaying through the whole book an amazing credulity, and a superstitious attachment to monks and a monastic life. The best edition of Sozomen is that of Robert Stephens in 1544. He has been translated and published by Valesius, and republished with additional notes by Reading, at London, 1720, in 3 volumes folio.
([V.])—Chrysostom St. John, a celebrated patriarch[patriarch] of Constantinople, and one of the most admired fathers of the Christian Church, was born of a noble family at Antioch about A. D. 347. He studied rhetoric under Libavius, and philosophy under Andragathus: after which he spent some time in solitude in the mountains near Antioch, but the austerities he endured having impaired his health he returned to Antioch where he was ordained deacon by Meletius. Flavian Meletius’ successor, raised him to the office of presbyter five years after; when he distinguished himself so greatly by his eloquence, that he obtained the surname of Chrysostom or Golden mouth. Nectarius, patriarch of Constantinople, dying in 397, St. Chrysostom, whose fame was spread throughout the whole empire, was unanimously elected by both clergy and laity. The Emperor Arcadius confirmed his election, and caused him to leave Antioch privately, where the people were very unwilling to part with him. He was ordained bishop on the 26th of February, 398. He differed with Theophilus of Alexandria, who got him deposed and banished; but he was soon recalled. After this, declaiming against the dedication of a statue erected to the empress, she banished him to Cucusus in Armenia, a most barren and inhospitable place; afterwards as they were removing him from Petyus, the Soldiers treated him so roughly that he died by the way, A. D. 407. The best edition of his works, is that published at Paris in 1718, by Montfaucon.
([W.])—Dominic de Guzman, the founder of the religious order called Dominicans. He was born at Calaroga in old Castile, in 1170. He preached with great fury against the Albigenses, when Pope Innocent 3d made a croisade against that unhappy people, and was inquisitor at Languedoc, where he founded his order in 1215. He died in 1221, at Bologna and was canonized.
J. Perkins, Printer, Bowlalley-Lane, Hull.
Transcriber’s Note
The system of footnotes is sometimes complicated. Several longer footnotes are themselves supplied with footnotes. On occasion, the traditional placement after the annotated text is reversed, and the note precedes.