On Illustrious Men

103. Damasus the bishop

CIII. DAMASUS THE BISHOP amasus, bishop of the city of Rome,1 had a splendid talent for composing verses2 and published many short compositions in hexameters.3 He was close to eighty years old when he died, during the reign of the emperor Theodosius.4 notes 1. A rather frigid entry from his one-time secretary and confidante. Damasus was Pope from Oct. 1, 366, until Dec. 11, 384; see Chron., a.d. 365, ed. Helm, 244e, trans. Donalson, 52. 2. What did Jerome really think about Damasus? Is ep. 22.28 (auriscalpium matronarum, “an ear-pick of matrons”) a thinly veiled attack by a disgruntled former secretary? Praising his poetic talent in the circumstances sounds like a variant on Nero fiddling as Rome was burning. See P. Nautin, “Le premier échange epistolaire entre Jérôme et Damase,” Freiburger Zeitschrift für Philosophie und Theologie 30 (1983): 331–34. On epp. 15 and 16, see J. E. Merdinger, Rome and the African Church, 92–93, 366–84. 3. Epigrammata: CPL 1635; A. Ferrua, Epigrammata Damasiana (Rome, 1942); G. Bernt, Das lateinische Epigramm im Übergang von der Spätantike zum frühen Mittelalter (Munich, 1968). 4. He died on Dec. 11, 384, almost eighty. Jerome had entertained hopes of succeeding him, but had slipped considerably in the polls since the heady days described in ep. 45.3: “Before I became acquainted with the family of the saintly Paula, all Rome resounded with my praises. Almost everyone concurred in judging me worthy of the episcopate [omnium paene iudicio dignus summo sacerdotio decernebar]; Damasus, of blessed memory, spoke no words but mine” (CSEL 54, 325; trans. in NPNF 6, ser. 2, 59). There appears not a word about Damasus’s liturgical reforms, on which cf. M. H. Shepherd, Jr., “The liturgical reform of Damasus I,” Kyriakon, FS J. Quasten, Vol. 2, 847–63. references Q 3, 206 — Q 4, 273–78 — CPL 1632–1636 — Cath 3, 429–31, G. Bardy — DHGE 14, 48–53, A. Van Roey — EEC 12 , 316–17, M. P. McHugh — EECh 1, 218–20, C. Pietri — LThK 3, 136–37, O. Perler — LThK 23 , 1385, J. Speigl — NCE 4, 624–25, M. R. P. McGuire — ODP, 32–34 — PL 13, 375–414 — PLS 1, 314–423 — Kelly, Jerome, 80–90 — C. Pietri, Roma Christiana (311–440) (Rome, 1976), chap. 6–10 ON ILLUSTRIOUS MEN 137 ...