Jerome was to medieval biblical & historical scholarship what his contemporary Augustine was to medieval theology: a founding father whose works were revered for centuries. His knowledge of Greek & Hebrew equipped him to produce the Vulgate, the Latin version that was the official Bible of the Catholic Church until recent decades. Jerome's biblical commentaries blended the insights of earlier writers with his own contributions. His translations & expansions of some of the works of Eusebius put all subsequent church historians in his debt.
"A beautifully written book, its text marked by clarity of thought & elegance of expression, wide-ranging in its learning, yet delicately worked & immensely readable."--E.D. Hunt, Journal of Roman Studies
"A superb biography...so readable that it is easy to forget that practically every sentence is the fruit of research."--W.H.C. Frend, New York Review of Books
"A masterpiece of scholarship."--Sunday Telegraph