3

3.1. “Ego,” inquit, “mī nāte, Nisibēnī agellī colōnus, sōlus parentibus fuī. Quī, cum mē (quasi stirpem generis suī et hērēdem familiae) ad nūptiās cōgerent, monachum potius velle esse respondī. Quantīs pater minīs, quantīs māter blanditiīs persecūtī sunt, ut pudīcitiam prōderem, haec rēs sōla indiciō est, quod et domum et parentēs fūgī. 3.2 Et quia ad orientem īre nōn poteram, propter vīcīnam Persidem et Rōmānōrum mīlitum cūstōdiam, ad occidentem vertī pedēs, pauxillum nesciō quid portāns viāticī, quod mē ab inopiā tantum dēfenderet. 3.3 Quid multa? Pervēnī tandem ad erēmum Calchidos, quae inter Immās et Beroeam magis ad austrum sita est. 3.4 Ibi, repertīs monachīs, eōrum mē magisteriō trādidī, manū et labōre victum quaeritāns, lascīviamque carnis refrēnāns iēiūniīs. 3.5 Post multōs annōs incīdit mihi cōgitātiō, ut ad patriam pergerem, et, dum advīveret māter—iam enim patrem mortuum audieram—sōlārer viduitātem eius, et exinde, vēnumdatā possessiunculā, partem ērogārem pauperibus, ex parte monastērium cōnstruerem, —quid ērubēscō cōnfitērī īnfidēlitātem meam?—partem in sūmptuum meōrum sōlācia reservārem. 3.6 Clāmāre hoc coepit abbās meus diabolī esse temptātiōnem, et sub honestae reī occāsiōne antīquī hostis āstūtiās. Hoc esse: revertī canem ad vomitum suum; sīc multōs monachōrum esse dēceptōs, numquam diabolum apertā fronte sē prōdere. Prōpōnēbat mihi exempla dē scrīptūrīs plūrima, inter quae illud, ab initiō quod Adam quoque et Ēvam spē dīvīnitātis supplantāverit. Et cum persuādēre nōn posset, prōvolūtus genibus obsecrābat, nē sē dēsererem, nē mē perderem, nē, arātrum tenēns, post tergum respicerem. 3.7 Vae miserō mihi! Vīcī pessimam victōriam, reputāns illum nōn meam ūtilitātem, sed suum sōlācium quaerere. 3.8 Prōsecūtus ergō mē dē monastēriō, quasi fūnus efferret, et ad extrēmum valē dīcēns ‘Videō tē,’ ait, ‘fīlī, Satānae notātum cautēriō. Nōn quaerō causās, excūsātiōnēs nōn recipiō. Ovis, quae dē ovīlī ēgreditur, lupī statim morsibus patet.’

Malchus’ story: When I was young and an only child my parents wanted me to get married. I preferred the celibate religious life and left to join a monastery at Chalcis on the edge of the Syrian desert. Years later I decided leave the monastery and go back home to Nisibis, athough the abbot of my monastery begged me not to, and warned that I was falling under the tempting spell of Satan.

Nisibēnī < Nisibēnus -a -um, “of Nisibis” (LL); Nisibis is now Nusaybin, Turkey. In the fourth century control of this strategic and heavily fortified border city passed back and forth between the Roman and Sassanid Persian empires. The Persians ceded it to the Romans in 299. From 360 to 363, Nisibis was the camp of Legio I Parthica. In 363 Nisibis went back to the Persians after the defeat of Emperor Julian. See Ammianus Marcellinus, Roman History Book 25 and Encyclopedia Iranica, “Nisibis.”

colōnus: colōnus -ī m., “farmer”; in the later empire colōnus could also be a technical term for a “tied” tenant, legally prevented from leaving the land.

Quī = Et parentēs. The relative pronoun is regularly used to continue a thought from one sentence to the next (AG 308.f).

cum me ... cōgerent: imperf. subj. in a circumstantial cum clause (AG 546).

quasi: “on that grounds (that I was)”; see OLD 6.

et hērēdem: et is best understood as epexigetic: ‘the representative of the line, and therefore the heir of the house’ (Gray).

Monachum potius velle esse respondī = respondī (me) potius velle esse monachum. potius (adverb) can mean “instead” (OLD 3).

Quantīs ... quantīs ... persecūtī sunt: indirect question after haec rēs sōla indiciō est (with the verb unusually in the indicative): “With what threats ...." For the indicative (in CL, early Latin, and poetry) see AG 575.c.

ut ... prōderem: imperf. subj. in purpose clause.

quod ... fūgī: substantive clause of result (consecutive clause) using quod, i.e. “the fact that I fled” (AG 572).

haec rēs sōla indiciō est: “this thing alone is (as an) indication”; indiciō is dative of purpose (predicative dative, AG 382).

3.2

propter vīcīnam Persidem < Persis -idos or -idis f., “Persia,” meaning at this period the Sassanian Empire, ruled by the long-reigning and illustrious king Shapur II. Nisibis lay in a border area hotly contested in the fourth century by the Roman and Sassanian empires.

et Rōmānōrum mīlitum cūstōdiam < cūstōdia -ae f., “garrison”; the Roman soldiers defending the border would have prevented their escape.

pauxillum nesciō quid … viāticī: “a very little something for the journey”; nesciō quid = nesciōquid, “something or other”; < viāticum -ī n., “provision for a journey” (either money or food); partitive genitive (AG 346).

quod mē ad inopiā tantum dēfenderet: quod is the relative pronoun, with pauxillum nescio quid viatici as antecedent; dēfenderet is imperf. subj. in a relative clause of purpose (or characteristic). tantum the adverb (not tantus -a -um), “only, just, merely” (LS tantus II.B; a very common usage in CL).

3.3

Quid multa? “Why (should I say) many things?” An effort to cut short what could be a long story.

erēmum < erēmus -ī m. or f., “desert, waste land” (LL).

Chalcidos: Chalcis -idis or -idos f., Chalcis ad Belum, in N. Syria (mod. Qinnasrin). An important caravan stop on the frontier zone with the Syrian desert, Chalcis had a fine Roman road leading to Antioch, and was in late antiquity an important center of Syriac Christianity.

Immās: Imma, about 20 miles due east of Antioch.

Beroeam < Beroea -ae f., Beroia, the modern Aleppo.

ad austrum: “to the south”; < auster austrī m., “the south wind, the south.”

3.4

repertīs monachīs: ablative absolute.

eōrum mē magisteriō trādidī = trādidī mē magisteriō eōrum. < magisterium -(i)ī n., “teaching, instruction.”

manū et labōre = labōre manūs (hendiadys).

victum < victus -ūs m., “sustenance, food.”

lascīviamque carnis: “(sexual) wantonness of the flesh.” Repression of sexual desire is part of monasticism.

iēiūniīs < iēiūnium -(i)ī n., “fast, fasting.”

3.5

cōgitātiō: in monastic rules the word cogitatio is used in the technical sense of ‘spiritual/internal temptation’ (Gray).

ut ... pergerem ... sōlārer ... ērogārem ... cōnstruerem .... reservārem: imperf. subj. in substantive clauses of purpose (AG 563)

dum ... advīveret: dum = “as long as” would normally take the indicative (AG 555); advīveret is imperf. subj. in a subordinate clause depending on a subjunctive clause and thus attracted into the subjunctive (AG 593).

vēnumdatā possesiunculā: ablative absolute; < vēnumdō -āre (also written as two words), “to put up for sale”; < possessiuncula -ae f., “small estate, little farm.”

ērogārem < ērogō (1), “to pay out, disburse.”

ex parte: “with (another) part”; ex + abl. can mean “with, by means of” (OLD 19).

quid ērubēscō cōnfitērī īnfidēlitātem meam?: Malchus confesses that the third thing he spent money on was selfish, as explained in what follows. Note the asyndeton.

in sūmptuum meōrum sōlācia: “for my recreational expenses.” < sōlācium (sōlātium) -(i)ī n., “recreation, pastime” (DMLBS solacium 2).

3.6

Clāmāre hoc coepit abbās meus diabolī esse temptātiōnem = abbās meus coepit clāmāre hoc esse temptātiōnem diabolī. Indirect statement. The hostis antiquus is the Devil. et sub ... occāsiōne < occāsiō -ōnis f., “pretext”; in CL it means “opportunity, chance.”

Hoc esse ... deceptōs (esse) ... sē prōdere: the indirect statement continues.

revertī canem ad vomitum suum: a quotation from the Book of Proverbs (26:11), meant to criticize the incorrigible nature of fools. The Latin version reads in full, Sicut canis quī revertitur ad vomitum suum, sīc imprūdēns quī iterat stultitiam suam. (“As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.”). revertitur in the original quotation has been changed to the infinitive in indirect statement. The dog and his vomit are invoked at 2 Peter 2:22 to describe converted Christians who return to their original non-Christian faith. The image thus becomes common for anyone returning to an earlier mistake.

sīc: “(he said that) in this way.”

multōs monachōrum = multōs monachōs (sc. esse); another indirect statement depending on coepit clāmāre; monachōrum is a partitive genitive.

apertā fronte: frons frontis f., “forehead”; “a person’s brow considered as masking his true feelings or character” (OLD 4); we would say “face.”

inter quae illud: “among which (was) that (famous) one”; illud looks forward to quod (“the fact that”).

ab initiō quod ... supplantāverit = quod (diabolus) ab initiō supplantāverit Adam quoque et Ēvam spē dīvīnitātis. < supplantō (1), “to trip up, cause to stumble”; supplantāverit is perf. subj. in informal indirect discourse, where an explanatory fact is introduced by a relative pronoun (AG 592.3). Adam: indeclinable (the first A can be long or short); accusative. spē is ablative of means.

cum ... non posset: imperf. subj. in a circumstantial cum clause (AG 546).

prōvolūtus genibus obsecrābat < prōvolvō prōvolvere prōvoluī prōvolūtum ,“to prostrate oneself” (at someone’s feet or knees); with the dative. The abbot fell down at Malchusknees, in the traditional gesture of supplication (see OLD prōvolvō 3a).

nē ... dēsererem ... perderem ... respicerem: imperf. subj. in substantive clauses of purpose (AG 563), depending of obsecrabat.

nē, arātrum tenēns, post tergum respicerem: An allusion to a remark of Jesus emphasizing the cost of discipleship. When a man says he wants to follow Jesus but must go back and say goodbye to his family, Jesus tells him, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”) (Luke 9:62). The full quote in the Latin version is Ait ad illum Iēsus: Nēmō mittēns manum suum ad arātrum, et respicieēns retrō, aptus est rēgnō Deī.

3.7

Vīcī pessimam victōriam: victōriam is an internal cognate accusative (AG 390), and a wordplay indicating etymology (Gray).

3.8

quasi fūnus efferet: “as if he were carrying out a (my) dead body for burial.” funus efferre means “carry out for burial” (OLD fūnus 1c); imperf. subj. in a clause of comparison (AG 524). “Malchus’ greed and disobedience are viewed by the abbot as a sign or cause of his spiritual death” (Gray).

ad extrēmum: “finally” (DMLBS extrēmus 2.b).

te ... notātum: sc. esse, acc. + inf. in indirect statement.

cautēriō < cautērium, iī, n. “branding iron,” indicating possession.

Nōn quaerō causās, excūsātiōnēs nōn recipiō: chiasmus.

Ovis ... ovīlī ... lupī: < ovīle, is, n. “sheepfold, pen.” For the Christian image of the sheep and wolf see esp. John 10:11–12.

morsibus < morsus, ūs, m. “bite.”

core vocabulary

Nisibēnus -a -um: of Nisibis (city on the border between Parthia and the Roman Empire; now Nusaybin, Turkey)

agellus -ī m.: a small piece of ground, a little field

colōnus colōnī m.: farmer, colonist

stirps stirps f.: stalk, stem, family tree, stock

hērēs hērēdis m. or f.: heir

nuptiae -ārum f. pl.: marriage, nuptials

monachus -ī m.: a monk

potius: rather, more

minae -ārum f. pl.: threats, menaces; projecting points, pinnacles

blanditia -ae f.: flattery, endearment, often pl. with sg. meaning

persequor persequī persecūtus sum: to follow up, pursue; overtake; attack; take vengeance on; accomplish

pudīcitia -ae f.: chastity, modesty, virtue

indicium indici(ī) n.: evidence (before a court); information, proof; indication

oriēns -entis m.: the land of the rising sun, the east

Persis -idis f.: the country of Persia, between Caramania, Media, and Susiana,

Rōmānus -a -um: belonging to Rome; Roman; subst., Romanus, i, m., a Roman (> Roma)

custōdia custōdiae f.: custody, protection; prisoner

occidēns -entis: the land of the setting sun, the west

pauxillum -ī n.: small quantity, a little

nescioquis -qua -quid (also written as two words): someone or other other; I know not who/what; to some degree, a little bit

viāticum -ī n.: travelling money, food for a journey

inopia inopiae f.: lack, need; poverty, destitution, dearth, want, scarcity

erēmus -ī m. or f.: desert, waste land (late Latin)

Chalcis -idis (-idios) f.: Chalcis; name of several cities, including Chalcis ad Bellum, in N. Syria (mod. Qinnasrin)

Immae -ārum f.pl.: Imma, a city 20 miles east of Antioch

Beroea -ae f.: Beroea (modern Aleppo)

auster -trī m.: auster, the southerly or south wind; the south

situs -a -um: situated, located

monachus -ī m.: a monk

magisterium -ī n.: a directorship; teaching, guardianship

vīctus vīctūs m.: food, nourishment

quaeritō -āre -āvī -ātum: to ask, ask for, seek

lascīvia -ae f.: playfulness; wantonness, licentiousness

carō carnis f.: meat, flesh

refrēnō refrēnāre: to bridle, check, curb

ieiūnium -ī n.: a fasting, fast-day, fast; hunger, leanness

cōgitātiō cōgitātiōnis f.: thinking, meditation, reflection; thought; intention; plan; opinion, reasoning

advīvō advīvere advīxī advictum: to live with; survive, be alive

mortuus -a -um: dead

sōlor -ātus sum: to solace, console; assuage, comfort, aid, relieve; console one's self for

viduitās -ātis f.: beravement, widowhood

exinde (abbrev. exin): from that place; thence, of place; of time, thereafter; thereupon, then

vēnum dō (vēnumdō) or vēnun dō (vēnundō) : to put up for sale

possessiuncula -ae f.: small estate, little farm

ērogō -āre: to entreat, prevail on by entreaties; to expend, pay out from the public treasury

monastērium -ī n.: a monastery

cōnstruō -ere -strūxī -strūctus: to pile together, heap, gather, build up

quid: what; why

ērubescō ērubescere ērubuī: to grow red, blush

īnfidēlitās -ātis f.: unfaithfulness, faithlessness, infidelity

sūmptus sūmptūs m.: cost, charge, expense; outlay

sōlācium sōlāci(ī) n.: comfort, consolation

reservō reservāre reservāvī reservātus: to reserve, conserve

clāmō clāmāre clāmāvī clāmātus: to proclaim, declare; cry/shout out; shout/call name of; accompany with shouts

abbās -ātis m.: the head of an ecclesiastical community, an abbot

diabolus -ī m.: a devil, The Devil

temptātiō -ōnis f.: an attack; attempt, trial

occāsiō occāsiōnis f.: opportunity; chance; pretext, occasion

astūtia -ae f.: adroitness, shrewdness, craft, cunning

vomitus -ūs m.: a throwing up, vomiting

monachus -ī m.: a monk

dēcipiō dēcipere dēcēpī dēceptus: to deceive, cheat

apertus aperta apertum: without covering, uncovered; open, frank, outspoken

scrīptūra -ae f.: a writing, written characters; Biblical Scripture

Adam (indecl.) m.: Adam

Ēva (Hēva) -ae f.: Eve (name), esp. the first woman

dīvīnitās -tātis f.: divinity

sup-plantō -āre: to trip up the heels of, throw down

persuādeō persuādēre persuāsī persuāsus: to persuade, convince (+ dat.)

prōvolvō -ere -volvī -volūtus: to roll forward or along; roll, whirl over or along

genū genūs n.: knee

obsecrō obsecrāre obsecrāvī obsecrātus: to beseech, beg for

arātrum -ī n: plough

vae: alas, woe to

pessimus -a -um: worst

reputō reputāre reputāvī reputātus: to think, consider

ūtilitās ūtilitātis f.: usefulness, advantage

sōlācium sōlāci(ī) n.: comfort, consolation

prōsequor prōsequī prōsecūtus sum: to accompany, follow

monastērium -ī n.: a monastery

efferō efferre extulī ēlātus: to carry out; bring out; carry out for burial; raise; transport (emotionally)

extrēmum: at last, finally

Satanas (Satana) -ae m.: Satan

notō notāre notāvī notātus: to mark, sign, censure

cautērium -iī n.: branding iron; cauterizing iron (used in medicine for burning off unwanted tissue)

excūsātiō excūsātiōnis f.: excusing, excuse

ovis -is n.: sheep

ovīle -is n.: a sheepcote, sheepfold (> ovis)

lupus lupī m.: wolf

morsus morsūs m.: a biting, bite

Podcast

Jerome Vita Malchi 3 read aloud (CF)

3.1. “Ego,” inquit, “mī nāte, Nisibēnī agellī colōnus, sōlus parentibus fuī. Quī, cum mē (quasi stirpem generis suī et hērēdem familiae) ad nūptiās cōgerent, monachum potius velle esse respondī. Quantīs pater minīs, quantīs māter blanditiīs persecūtī sunt, ut pudīcitiam prōderem, haec rēs sōla indiciō est, quod et domum et parentēs fūgī. 3.2 Et quia ad orientem īre nōn poteram, propter vīcīnam Persidem et Rōmānōrum mīlitum cūstōdiam, ad occidentem vertī pedēs, pauxillum nesciō quid portāns viāticī, quod mē ab inopiā tantum dēfenderet. 3.3 Quid multa? Pervēnī tandem ad erēmum Calchidos, quae inter Immās et Beroeam magis ad austrum sita est. 3.4 Ibi, repertīs monachīs, eōrum mē magisteriō trādidī, manū et labōre victum quaeritāns, lascīviamque carnis refrēnāns iēiūniīs. 3.5 Post multōs annōs incīdit mihi cōgitātiō, ut ad patriam pergerem, et, dum advīveret māter—iam enim patrem mortuum audieram—sōlārer viduitātem eius, et exinde, vēnumdatā possessiunculā, partem ērogārem pauperibus, ex parte monastērium cōnstruerem, —quid ērubēscō cōnfitērī īnfidēlitātem meam?—partem in sūmptuum meōrum sōlātia reservārem. 3.6 Clāmāre hoc coepit abbās meus diabolī esse temptātiōnem, et sub honestae reī occāsiōne antīquī hostis āstūtiās. Hoc esse: revertī canem ad vomitum suum; sīc multōs monachōrum dēceptōs, numquam diabolum apertā fronte sē prōdere. Prōpōnēbat mihi exempla dē scrīptūrīs plūrima, inter quae illud, ab initiō quod Adam quoque et Ēvam spē dīvīnitātis supplantāverit. Et cum persuādēre nōn posset, prōvolūtus genibus obsecrābat, nē sē dēsererem, nē mē perderem, nē, arātrum tenēns, post tergum respicerem. 3.7 Vae miserō mihi! Vīcī pessimam victōriam, reputāns illum nōn meam ūtilitātem, sed suum sōlātium quaerere. 3.8 Prōsecūtus ergō mē dē monastēriō, quasi fūnus efferret, et ad extrēmum valē dīcēns ‘Videō tē,’ ait, ‘fīlī, Satānae notātum cautēriō. Nōn quaerō causās, excūsātiōnēs nōn recipiō. Ovis, quae dē ovīlī ēgreditur, lupī statim morsibus patet.’

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The World of Jerome's Malchus

Latin name description
Antiochia Capital city of the province of Syria and the residence of Jerome intermittently in the 370s. He was ordained there in the late 370s by Bishop Paulinus. Founded near the end of the fourth century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, it eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the Near East. After the founding of Constantinople, it ceased to be the principal city of the East. At the same time, it began to be prominent as a Christian city, ranking as a Patriarchal see with Constantinople and Alexandria. With the former of these cities it was connected by the great road through Asia Minor, and with the latter, by the coast road through Caesarea. Ten councils were held at Antioch between the years 252 and 380.
Nisibis Birthplace of Malchus. Situated on the Roman-Persian frontier in very rich and fruitful country, Nisibis was long the center of a very extensive trade, and the great northern emporium for the merchandise of the East and West. In the fourth century control of this strategic and heavily fortified border city passed back and forth between the Roman and Sassanid Persian empires. The Persians ceded it to the Romans in 299. From 360 to 363, Nisibis was the camp of Legio I Parthica. In 363 Nisibis went back to the Persians after the defeat of Emperor Julian. 
Persis Persis or “Persia” refers at this period to the Sassanian Empire, the last kingdom of the Persian Empire before the rise of Islam, and a major strategic rival of the Roman Empire. When Malchus leaves home to become a monk he cannot go east from Nisibis, “because of the proximity of Persia and the Roman military guard” on the militarized frontier (3.2). Named after the House of Sasan, the Sassanid dynasty ruled from 224 to 651 AD, and was at this time under the control of the long-reigning and dynamic Shapur II (AD 309–379).
Chalcis Site of Malchus’ monastery, mod. Qinnasrin. An important caravan stop on the frontier zone with the Syrian desert, Chaclis had a fine Roman road leading to Antioch, and was in late antiquity an important center of Syriac Christianity.
Immas a small settlement about 20 miles due east of Antioch
Beroea The second largest Syrian city after Antioch, modern Aleppo. 
Edessa modern Şanliurfa in Turkey, also known as Urfa, about 200 miles NE of Beroea (modern Aleppo). The public highway from Antioch via Beroea and Edessa to Nisibis was a major travel and trade route connecting the Mediterranean with Mesopotamia. The emperor Septimius Severus had a road built along this route in AD 197 when he prepared a campaign against the Persians (Gray).
fluvius Gray identifies this as the river Jhagjhaga (Greek: Mydgonius or Hirmus), which flows past Nisibis, now in in SE Turkey
Road from Antioch to Nisibis via Beroea and Edessa The public highway from Antioch via Beroea and Edessa to Nisibis was a major travel and trade route connecting the Mediterranean with Mesopotamia. The emperor Septimius Severus had a road built along this route in AD 197 when he prepared a campaign against the Persians (Gray).
Comments

This map was created using Antiquity À-la-carte, a web-based GIS interface and interactive digital atlas for creating custom maps of the ancient world using accurate ancient geographical features, an initiative at the Ancient World Mapping center. Placemarkes come from the Pleiades Project.  It is meant to accompany William Turpin's DCC edition of Jerome's Life of Malchus the Captive Monk (2019). Annotations are based on various sources, inlcuding the edition of the Life of Malchus by Christa Gray (2015), and Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854).

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Date
2019
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