ee Caxton's translation, in the _Temple Classics_, vol. v.,
page 199. Mrs. Jameson gives a condensed account of the same in
_Sacred and Legendary Art_, page 280.]

He came of a rich family, and received at Rome the best education
afforded by his times. Like his contemporary, St. Augustine, he
devoted all his scholarship to the service of the Christian faith.
While St. Augustine's tastes were more philosophical, St. Jerome's
were perhaps more for pure learning and the study of the classics. He
made himself master of Hebrew and Greek, and his most valuable work
was his translations. He rendered into Latin, which was the literary
language of his day, the various books of the Old and New Testament,
and this version became the authorized Bible or Vulgate.

[Illustration: ST. MATTHEW AND ST. JEROME
_Church of S. Giovanni Evangelista, Parma_]

St. Jerome was a Dalmatian by birth, but in the course of his life
he journeyed to many countries. Soon after his baptism, he visited
Syria, to retrace the scenes of the life of Christ. He then retired to
a desert, where he passed four years in penance and fasting, living in
the companionship of wild beasts. Clothed in sackcloth, he spent his
days in torture, struggling with temptation, and haunted by visions of
demons.

At a later period of his life he was in Rome, where he gained an
immense influence over fashionable women. Two of his converts here
were Paula and Marcella, whose names are historical. Finally he
returned to Palestine, and passed the remainder of his days in a
monastery which he had founded in Bethlehem. He was a man of vehement
nature, a violent partisan, and an untiring student.

Something of his character may be seen in the face of the old man of
our picture, bending over his writing. He seems so absorbed in his
task that he is entirely unconscious of his surroundings. The deep-set
eyes, overhung by shaggy brows, are fixed intently on his scroll. From
his association with St. Matthew, we may fancy that he is translating
the first Gospel. The Evangelist, with his own volume before him, is
supervising the work. He turns to the translator with an encouraging
smile, and seems to dictate the words. St. Matthew's face is gentle
and amiable, though not so strong as we are wont to imagine it. He is
here represented in middle life, at about the age when called to
discipleship.

As in the pendentive of St. John and St. Augustine, the angel figures
add an element of beau