JEROME'S VITA HlLARIONIS

A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF ITS STRUCTURE

Eastern ascetICIsm in the second half of the fourth century

penetrated the mentality of the Christian West in many ways. The
circulation of monastic literature largely accounts for this
widespread cultural transmission, especially the earliest lives of
saints. The key position among literary works propagating Egyptian
monasticism was held by the Vita Antoniil written by the leading
enthusiast of this way of life, St. Athanasius (295-373).2 Because of
the uncompromising opinions this Alexandrian bishop was
sentenced to banishment five times, and exiled twice to the West.
His first banishment (335-337) was spent in Trier, and the second
(339-346), in Rome. There were many such eastern exiles in fourth-
century western Europe; such exiles were the natural carriers of
ideas, which found in the West fertile ground. Athanasius is the
best-known among them and we can be certain that he actively
propagated Egyptian monasticism in the place of his exile.
The Vita Antonii, written between 357 and 362,3 had a strong
cultural influence and the modus vivendi described in it became a
standard for many people undertaking an eremitic way of life. The

1 Athanase D' Alexandrie, VieD' Antoine, ed. G.]. M. Bartelink, SCh 400,
Paris 1994.
2 I adopt here the traditional opinion about Athanasius' authorship of
Vita Antonii although I am conscious of the serious argumentation to the
contrary which has persisted these past twenty years. For the subject matter
of this research, however, this question is of secondary importance.
3 The date of the Vita Antonii has been the subject of two articles: L. W.
Barnard, The date of S. Athanasius'Vita Antonii, in Vigiliae Christianae, 28
(1974), pp. 169-175 and the answer given to this paper by B. Brennan, Dating
Athanasius' Vita Antonii, in Vigiliae Christianae 30 (1976), pp. 52-54. Although
both scholars tried to determine the precise date, their attempts have been
less than satisfactory.
418 P. NEHRING

Prologue of the Vita Antonii indicates that Athanasius had sent the
Life to monks living overseas. There is no identification of a
particular place. We are given to understand that he had in mind
people who were taking their first steps in asceticism, individuals
whom the bishop of Alexandria had met during his enforced travels
in the West. The work would become popular, what we might
anachronistically call "a best seller", because of its Latin versions
which appeared very soon. About ten years after the Greek original
had been written, two distinct translations into Latin were in
circulation. 4 The Latin version of Evagrius of Antioch quickly
surpassed and virtually eclipsed its Greek original in the West to
such an extent that the Life now widely known as the Vita Antonii
won pride of place as the canon for the nascent corpus of early
Christian hagiography, both Greek and Latin.
The propaganda aims realized in the Vita Antonii and the
author's wish to write a kind of panegyric on Antony strongly
influenced its rhetorical character. The purposes Athanasius in-
tended - praise of the ascetic way of life, encouragement to imitate
Antony, but also the condemnation of schismatics and the exhi-
bition of Christian domination over pagan culture and religion -
could be largely reinforced by the employment of rhetorical devices.
Analysis of the composition of the Vita Antonii in the light of
classical rhetoric permits us to conclude that each part of the text,
because of its function and conscious use of rhetorical devices,
corresponds for various reasons to the classical parts of an oration.
Its Prooimion was constructed in the manner of the best technique of
ancient rhetorical theory. That part of the work which describes the
life of the saint in a chronological pattern constitutes the narratio.
The wonders and miracles attributed to Antony confirm the main
thesis of the work - the sanctity of the hermit - and as such they
correspond to the function of the classical argumentatio. The Life
concludes with an elenchus of virtues attesting to Antony's sanctity.

4 The first of these translations appeared almost immediately after its

Greek original. We know this rendering as an anonymous version: Vita di
Antonio, introduzione di Ch. Mohrmann, testo critico e commento a cura di
GJ.M. Bartelink, Fondazione Lorenzo Valla, Vite dei Santi I, Milano 1974.
The second Latin version made by Evagrius of Antioch was edited with
facing Greek text in Migne PG 26, cols. 837-976.
 JEROME'S VITA HlLAIUONISA RHETORICAL ANAL\'SIS OF ITS STRUCTURE 419

The final sumr-nation of the more important features the author had
included in his work has much in common with the character of the
rhetorical epilogus. The persuasive power and credibility of the story
about Antony, narrated according to the traditional rhetorical
format of an classical oratio noted above, is a conspicuous feature of
the Vita. Only deliberate self-conscious efforts on the part of the
author could have succeeded in bringing this about. 5
An important role in the implantation and circulation of ideas
characteristic of Egyptian monasticism into western thought was
played by one of the most eminent Christian writers from the late-
fourth and early-fifth-centuries - St. Jerome and his Lives of the
Hermits (Vita Pauli; Vita Hilarionis; Vita Malchi). He was superbly well-
educated and one of the more erudite people of his time with roots
in both the West and the East where he encountered distinctive
theological and literary cultures. Jerome's published legacy often
reveals a rich amalgam of eastern and western intellectual and
spiritual inspiration.
The Vita Hilarionis,6 written between 390 and 396, was in western
literature the first original example of a literary type - a life of a
monk. 7 With this work the author transferred on to the ground of
Latin a literary genre which had been created by Athanasius.Jerome
referred to the book of Athanasius in his previous romance Vita
Pauli8 (ca. 377), but its obvious dependence on the Vita A ntonii
derives from the subject (the quest of primate among Egyptian
monks), not the formal literary structure. Vita Hilarionis with its
biographical design could be treated as a proper Vita of a saint, that
is to say, an attempt to show the entire life of the protagonist in

5 I have examined other rhetorical aspects of the Vita Antonii in two

articles, written in Polish: Interpretacja kompozycji "tywota sw. Antoniego ", in
Meander 5-6(1995), pp. 257-270 and: Prooimion Vitae Antonii. Jego funkcja i
struktura, in VoxPatrum, 11-12 (1995), z. 20-23, pp. 305-315.
6 Vita di Ilarione [in:] Vita di Marlino, Vita di Ilarione, In memoria di Paola,
testo e commento A.A.R. Bastiaensen, a cura di C. Mohrmann, Fondazione
Lorenzo Valla, Vite dei Santi IV, Milano 1975. I have also used an earlier
edition published in Migne PL 23, cols. 29-54.
7 Both translations of Vita Antonii into Latin are of an earlier date.
8 Edizione critica della Vita Sancti Pauli primi Eremitae di Girolamo, ed. R.
Deg6rski, Roma 1987.
420 P. NEHRING

chronological sequence. The Vita Antonii furnished for the Vita

Hilarionis a linear model in the arrangement of material as well as
particular literary details. The third of the lives of monks by Jerome,
Vita Malchi,9 written approximately at the same tin1e as the Vita
Hilarionis, completed that monastic trilogy, but this minor work,
because of its forrn, can not be interpreted as a biographical
composition. All three works are strictly connected to the
immediate experiences of their author. The Vita Pauli was
composed during its author's sojourn in the Syriac desert of Chalcis
as an expression of his personal attraction towards monasticism; the
other two Vitae relate to his cenobitic way of life in Jerusalem. IO
Their common ground and goal was Jerome's ardent wish to
propagate the ascetic way of life in its eremitic form. He employed
all his rhetorical skills to persuade his readers of the protagonist's
sanctity and the worth of following an ascetic way of life. With these
reflections as background, I offer the following observations about
the rhetorical structure of Vita Hilarionis.
The arrangement of the contents of this work of Jerome has
been the object of previous research several times. E. Coieiro I1
suggested the following division:

1. cc. 1-3 Introduction, a brief account of Hilarion's birth,

parentage and education, visit to Antony and his
decision to settle in the desert
II. c.4 Hilarion's fasting
III. cc. 5-8 His temptations
N. cc.9-11 Various stages of his long life as characterised by
a continuous intensification of austerities
\l. c. 12 Introduction to the next twelve chapters which
deal with Hilarion s miracles
I

VI. cc. 13-22 His miracles relating to human beings, one in

each paragraph
VII. c. 23 Miracles relating to animals
VIII. cc.24-28 The rise of monasticism in Palestine and the
visitation of many monasteries

9 Migne PL 23, cols. 54-60.

10 Cf. C. Mohrmann [in:] Introduction, Vite dei Santi IV, p. XL.
II E. Coleiro,St. Jerome"s Lives of the Hermits, in Vigiliae Christianae, 11
(1957), pp.161-178, see pp. 162-163.
 JEROME'S VITA IIIlAIUONIS A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF ITS STRUCTURE 421

IX. cc. 29-43 Hilarion's peregrinations

X. cc. 44-45 His death
XI. cc. 46-47 Idealisation of the protagonist

M. Fuhrmann12 proposed the following structure: 13

PL ed. Bastiaensen
I. Prologue 1 I
II. Beginnings of Hilarion' s life till his 2-3 11,1-11,8
undertalking of ascetism
III. Ascetisim of the protagonist 4-12 II,9-VI
IV. Miracles effected by Hilarion 13-23 VII-XIV
V. Hilarion as monastic founder and 24-28 XV-XVIII
spiritual master in Syria and Palestine
VI. His asceticism, wonder-working power 29-43 XIX-XXXI
and, linked to it, his fame
VII. Last will, death and funeral of Hilarion 44-47 XXXII-XXXIII

The division of the text made by Fuhrman generally corresponds

to Coleiro's proposal. In his dissertation, D. Hoster also views the
structure of Vita Hilarionis in a similar way.14 Consensus among
researchers on this question confirms the cornpositional perspicuity
of Jerome's work. It is worth noting that, despite few differences,
each of them emphasizes turning points after chapters VI, XIV, and
XXI. With respect to the status quaestionis presented above, I present
my interpretation of the Vita Hilarionis's structure. In my opinion
the above three caesuras in the text could be viewed as markers
dividing the work into four parts, which are very interesting from
the rhetorical point of view. The chief aim of my proposal is not,
however, to offer one more set of divisions of the Vita Hilarionis, but

12 M. Fuhrmann, Die Monschsgeschichten des Hieronymus. Formexperimente in

erziihlender Literatur, in Christianisme et formes litteraires de l "antiquite tardive en
Occident, . [Fondation Hardt], Geneve 1977, pp. 41-99; see pp. 42-45.
13 Since the Migne edition of Vita Hilarionis, which has been employed
by Fuhrmann differs from the Bastiaensen edition, I compared both
versions, using Arabic numerals, the numeration from Migne and Roman
numerals from Bastiaensen's critical text.
14 Cf. D. Hoster, Die Form der friihesten leteinischen Heiligenviten von der Vita
Cypriani his zur Vita Ambrosii und ihr Heiligenideal, Kaln 1963, pp. 70-83.
422 P. NEHRING

to analyse its structure as the product of its persuasive tasks and

rhetorical devices employed in the work as a whole.

1. Prologue

The prologue begins with an apostrophe to the Holy Spirit,

which often replaced in early Christian literature an invocation to
the Muses. Immediately afteIWards Jerome quotes verbatim a
sentence from Sallust in the following context:

Eorum enim, qui jecere, virtus, ut ait Crispus, tanta habetur quantum eam
verbis potuere extollere praeclara ingenia. Alexander Magnus Macedo, quem
vel aes vel pardum vel hircum caprarum Daniel vocat, cum ad Achillis
tumulum pervenisset: Felicem te, ait, 0 iuvenis, qui magno frueris
praecone meritorum, Homerum videlicet significans. (Vita Hilarionis 1,2-3;
cf. Sallust, De coniuratione Catilinae 8,4) .

This sentence gives in its gnomic form the reasons for the
necessity of describing the acts of outstanding persons. The source
of this quotation was probably secondary rather than primary. We
find the same thought in other prologues of literary works dating
from this epoch. Especially interesting is the passage from the
prologue to the Vita Probi in Scriptores Historiae Augustae:

Certum est, quod Sallustius Crispus quo<d>que Marcus Cato et Gellius

historici sententiae modo in litteras rettulerunt, omnes omnium virtutes
tantas esse. <q>ua<n>tas videri eas volue'rint eorum ingenia. qui unius
cuius<que> facta descripserint. inde est quod Alexander Magnus Mac[hledo,
cum ad Achillis sepulchrum venisset, graviter ingemescens 'felicem te',
inquit, 'iuvenis, qui talem praeconem tuarum virtutum repperisti',
Homerum intellegi volens, qui Achillem tantum in virtutum studio j<ec>it,
quantum i<p>se valebat ingenio.

The author of this biography employed, as did Jerome, an

example of Alexander the Great, who standing before the tomb of
Achilles had invoked the name of Homer, glorifier of the Greek
hero's achievements. 15 The figure of Alexander appearing in Vita
Hilarionis together with the biblical figure of the prophet Daniel

15 Cf. also Arrian, Anabasis 1,12.

 JEROME'S VITA HlLARJONIS A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF ITS STRUCTURE 423

enabled Jerome to justify the presence of a pagan hero in a

Christian context. The hagiographer affirms that even Homer
would not be able to describe adequately the life of Hilarion. Such a
rhetorical comparison lends dignity to Jerome's work when aligned
with the genius of Greece's greatest epic poet. 16 The hagiographer
assured the readers of his own literary inability to overcome a
difficulty of the Vita's subject, but at the same time he felt obliged to
describe the life of Hilarion (Porro mihi tanti ac talis viri conversatio
vitaque dicenda est... : 1,4). Such an argument has often been
employed in early Christian lives of saints;17 its main task was to
capture the favour of the reading public, the standard preliminary
captatio benevolentiae. From the rhetorical point of view it constitutes
one of the three principal aims of the prooemium. 18
According to the prologue, Jerome's work has been written to
supplement the panegyric devoted to Hilarion by Epiphanius,
bishop of Salamis on Cyprus. 19 In his earlier Vita Pauli the author
endeavoured also to correct historical information, which contained
in another literary work, the Vita Antonii by Athanasius. 20 Jerome
wished to be esteemed as a historian, not a panegyrist. He
characterized the method of Epiphanius with a strictly rhetorical
term locis communibus laudare (Vita Hilarionis 1,5) contrary to his own
historical interests. Such repudiation of the rhetorical devices was
common for all Christian literature of this epoch. In the last
sentences of the Vita Hila,rionis's prologue, J erorne recalls the
objections which had been raised by some people who had rejected
the historicity of Saint Paul the Hermit, the protagonist of his
earlier Vita Pauli and he likewise anticipates possible objections to
the authenticity of Hilarion's story. He employed arguments which
resist 0 bjections from the Christian point of view. Jerome compared

16 Cf. Sulpicius Severus, Vita Martini 26.

17 See e.g. Vita Antonii, prol.; Vita Martini 1.
18 Aristoteles, Ars rhetorica 1415a; Quintilianus, Inst. orate IV, 1,5.
19 This panegyric has not survived and, other than Jerome, no other
ancient author quotes it.
20 Jerome tried in the Vita Pauli to convince his readers that, contrary to
common opinion attributing the primacy to Antonius, saint Paul was the
first Egyptian hermit.
424 P. NEHRING

Hilarion to Jesus Christ himself, and Paul the Hermit to John the
Baptist. We detect in these instances a literary convention, whereby
the author compares the protagonists of the Lives, written by
himself, to principal figures from the New Testament, thus adding
biblical verisimilitude to his work. Such comparisons were common
for this literary genre. Monks were often identified with Elijah, their
Old Testament ideal, or his successor, Elisha. Sometimes the virtue
of the saint has been amplified by comparison to Christ himself.
Jerome, terminates the prologue to the Vita Hilarionis with such a
syncrisis, also adds there the "topos of the truth". Although the
protagonists of the early Vitae of saints had had their real
archetypes, they were, of course, consciously createclliterary figures.
So the author was obliged to declare in the prologue to the Vita,
that the account of the saint depicted by the ,vriter in a
hagiographical genre was \vholly wortllY ofbclief.
A well-constructed prologue, therefore, to J. literalY ,york in
which the author declared his rnodesty, thus revealed the dignity of
the subject of the task at hand. rrhis further confirlned the overall
credibility of the story, which could then becoDlc decisive in gaining
favour of the readers and helpful to,vards effectively influencing
them.

2. Narratio (Vita Hilarionis, II - VI) - A

Chapters II to VI, constitute that part of the Vita which describes

the life of Hilarion in a chronological manner. It begins with his
birth and comes to an end with his achievement of ascetic
perfection notably demonstrated by his powers as a wonder-worker
(thaumaturgus). The author introduced the narration with identi-
fication of Hilarion's parentage: the reader learned about the
protagonist's origins and a few details about his parents. Jerome
afterwards gave an account of the saint's education and portrayed
his character as having been already cOlnpletely shaped in his early
youth. Hilarion's genos has been featured according to the rubrics
\vhich are proper to the topic ofenkomion. 21

21 CE. Aphtonius, Progymnasmata [Rhetores Graeci], (Spengel), p. 36.

 JEROME'S VITA llILAR10NlSA RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF ITS STRUCTURE 425

Hilarion's eventual decision to follow an ascetic way of life was

not linked to any spiritual crisis. Jerome explains it as a matter in
the ordinary course of events. The protagonist visited Antony fired
up with eagerness to see him (incensus visendi studio) and to take a
serious look (conternplans) at his way of life. For Hilarion, the
Egyptian hermit was esteemed solely as an example (paradeigma)
rather than a teacher. The saint, Jerome tells us, spent nvo months
in the company of (iuxta) Antony. From the first page of the Life its
author endeavoured to present Hilarion as equal in virtue to
Antony. This motif of syncrisis, which is characteristic of the double
enkomion, in which both saints are praised simultaneously, recurs in
the Vita Hilarionis rather often. Jerome intertwined the destiny of
Hilarion with Antony, who was the most famous Egyptian hermit
and commonly acknowledged to be the "father of monasticism."
Hilarion had been orphaned at the age of fifteen. He disposed
of his entire inheritance by giving part of it to the brethren and its
remainder to the poor. The early orphaning of a saint and disposal
of the family estate is "a hagiographic topos" .22 Jerome appositely
cites the Lukan counsel: Qui non renuntiaverit omnibus quae habet non
potest meus esse diseipulus (Le. 14,33), as a justification for Hilarion's
intention to live such a life. From the rhetorical point of view an
authoritative citation of this sort was needed to explain in the
narrative why a protagonist behaved in one manner or another. 23
Describing fifteen-year-old l-lilarion, who had arrived at the
decision to live a solitary life with all its risks and inevitably
surrounded by brigands, Jerome employed the rhetorical adnomita-
tio (paronomasia): eontempsit mortent, ut mortem evaderet (Vita Hilarionis
11,8). This figure of speech juxtaposes two silnilar sounding words
which convey a totally dissimilar meaning. Its aim was to
demonstrate emphatically a causal connection bet\veen the ascetic
attraction towards a life that dies (morteln eontempsit) and the quest
for a life that never dies (mortem evadere), eternity.
The description of Hilarion's physical appearance and his
clothes marks an end to the section which offers a general
representation of his personality. The reader then learns that

22 Cf. Vita Antonii 2; Vita Pauli 4.

23 Cf. Aristoteteles, Ars rhetorica 1417a.
426 P. NEHRING

Hilarion had received the gift of an overcoat from Antony. Here we

have a conscious allusion on the part of the author to the gesture of
Elijah, who gave a coat to Elisha, making him his succe~sor. Jerome
had employed this motif previously in Vita Pauli, where Paul the
hermit, while dying, gave his tunic to Antony.24
Chapter III consists entirely of a story about Hilarion's tempta-
tions. In Vita Hilarionis, just as in Vita Antonii, battle against the
demons is consciously construed by its author as a kind of "testing
ground of sanctity." We recognize the fact that in both literary works
the protagonist obtained wonder-,vorking powers after he had won
that struggle, almost as though these powers were a reward for his
victory. jerome's account of Hilarion's temptations portrays the
devil, at the height of his power and pride, as having been defeated
by a boy. In a similar way, Satan had to recognize the superiority of
the young Antony in the work by Athanasius (Vita Antonii 5).
Terrifying noises accompanied the appearance of the demons along
with their physical assault on Hilarion also recall similar vividly-
depicted scenes from the Vita Antonii.
The next chapter of Vita Hilarionis concerns itself with the vita
privata of its hero. Here Jerome describes the modest habitation of
Hilarion and his lack of concern for cleanliness and physical
hygiene, a characteristic feature of an eastern monk. Information
regarding his recitation of Scripture is then presented in a similar
manner.
In this section of the Vita the author reveals special care for the
chronology of the narration and similar sensitivity to rules of
composition characteristic of historical biography. In chapter V,
however, Jerome abruptly interrupted the ordo narrandi, by descry-
bing there an intensification of the austerity of Hilarion's ascetic
exercises (ascensus). This technique of composition was familiar to
the ancients from the biographical genre and artistry of Suetonius,
who frequently accentuated a singular feature of the hero's
character as convincing evidence of personal virtue. 25

24 Cf. A. Dihle, Das Gewand des Einsiedlers Antonius, in jahrbuch fur Antike
und Christentum 22 (1979), pp. 22-29.
25 For the relationship between Suetonian genre of biography and early
Christian lives of the saints, cf. G. Luck, Die Form der Suetonischen Biographie
 JEROME'S VITA HILARIONIS A RHETORICAL ANAL)SIS OF ITS STRUCTURE 427

Chapter VI, because of its form, is connected with the two

following parts of Vita Hilarionis. It belongs to the chronological
narration describing Hilarion's ascetic way of life. At the beginning
of this chapter the author indicated that he was returning to the
usual mode of narration (ad ordinem narrandi) and he detailed
precisely in temporal sequence all the events recorded here. On the
other hand, however, the matter, as well as its form connects
chapter VI with the next section of Vita Hilarionis. Here Jerome tells
the story about the strategy of an attack on Hilarion, a plan
conceived by brigands, which in the long run was transformed for
the would-be predators into an edifying encounter with the saint.
The form of this story recalls the apophthegmata, or "sayings of the
fathers," a genre which was as peculiar as it was popular at that time.
The author described circumstances of the situation and reported
Hilarion's words: ... et ideo latrones non timeo, quia mori paratus sum
(Vita Hilarionis VI,3) , which eventuated in the conversion of the
brigands. In this same chapter we meet for the first time the active
participation of the protagonist. Although he does not effect any
miracles here, the great power of words related by Jerome
anticipates the next section ofVH, dedicated to the regular wonder-
working power of the saint.

3. Argumentatio (Vita Hilarionis VII - XlV)

This part of Vita Hilarionis contains a series of literary pictures

representing the wonders worked by Hilarion. Jerome does not
attach great importance to their chronological sequence. We can
obseIVe in this series of very briefly narrated tales (a single story
about a singular miracle is very often told in one chapter), which
have much in common with the form of a progymnasmatic exercise,
labelled in ancient rhetorical textbooks: diegema. 26 Such a method of
narration has been employed to depict the event as it was, or at least
as it might have been. The essential components of this form were:
1) the acting person, 2) the act itself, 3) the time of the act, 4) the
place of the act, 5) the manner of performing the act, 6) the reason

und die friihen Heiligenviten, in Mullus, Festschrift Th. Klauser UahrlYuch fur
Antike und Christentum, Erganzungsbd.1], Munster Wt. 1964, pp. 231-241.
26 Cf. Aphtonius, Progymnasmata, 11,22.
428 P. NEHRING

for the act. Four features were required for its articulation: a)
perspicuity, b) brevity, c) conviction and d) clarity of language.
The narration of such miracles performed by Hilarion,
patterned according the above schema, were hallmarks of its
veracity. To strengthen the case as much as possible, the author was
expected to insert descriptions of supernatural events and historical
details, such as: names of individuals healed by the saint (Vita
Hilarionis VIII; XIII), topographical details which had helped to
situate the act in existing places (id., IX; XI; XII) or other
circumstances, for instance the horse-race in Gaza, which provided
the probable context for the story which had been told (id., XI).
Jerome fulfilled all these requirements.
The first wonders worked by Hilarion - the healing of a barren
woman, the healing of the children of Aristenete - can be
interpreted as rhetorical diegemata, but the best illustration of this
form seems to be a story about the horse-race in Gaza ( Vita
Hilarionis XI). Hilarion (the acting person) helped the Christian
owner of racehorses to win a race against a pagan competitor,
believer of Marnas (the act) .The saint offered water to the horse-
breeder to enable him to sprinkle the horses, stable and charioteers
(the manner of acting). This event happened in Gaza, the town where
many believers of Marnas lived (the place). Mter long hesitation
Hilarion decided to go through with this act. Personal motivation
prompted him to demonstrate the superiority of Christ over the
superstitious power of Marnas, the god of a rival pagan in the race
( the reason for the act) .
The sequence of the wondrous deeds narrated in Jerome's work
furnish evidence of some regularity. First, we observe a series of
healings of bodily diseases, then assaults upon diseases of the soul in
the fornl of exorcisms and, in the end, the acts worked by Hilarion
against pagan magic. Descriptions of Hilarion's supernatural activity
very often mirrored the pictures of wonders from the Gospel, such
individuals performing healings as well as exorcisms. The biblical
archetype of such tales reminds the reader of the wonders worked
by Jesus himself and invites comparison between the two
protagonists - a rhetorical device - which as a result heightens the
virtue of Hilarion. The best instance seems to be a story about the
healing worked by Hilarion on the blind woman. The saint
performed this miracle after the example ofJesus even to the point
 JEROME'S VITA HILA RlONIS' A RHETORlCt\L ANALYSIS OF ITS STRUCTURE 429

of moistening her eyes with human spittle (Vita Hilarionis X). The
only difference in the conflation of the two episodes is that the
Johannine account (10.9) tells the story of a male.
The first sentence of chapter XV: Tempus me deJiciet, si voluero
universa signa, quae ab eo perpetrata sunt, dicere, concludes the section
on Hilarion as a thaumaturgus. Although we meet the protagonist as
a wonder-worker in later chapters of Vita Hilarionis, there is no other
place where one finds such an acculllulation of miraculous stories.
Their great number here is accounted for by its argumentative
function in the biography. Their main purpose was to confirm the
holiness of the protagonist by exhibiting his supernatural power and
God's unusual protection of hiln. This seems, therefore, to fulfil the
argunlentative function for the main proposition, submitted usually
at the beginning of the Life, on the perfection of the saint who is
presented to Christian readers as a model for inlitation. In Vita
Hilarionis, as well as in Vita Antonii and other lives of the sain ls, we
are entitled to interpret that part of the 'York, which contains the
collection of nliraculous stories, as a hagiographic argumentatio.
Because of the subject and literary genre, the descriptions of
wonders in this instance replaced classical rhetorical arguments in
the form of enthymemes and paradigms. Hagiographers adduce the
truth confirmed by God's authority and, therefore, have no need of
dialectical approval. Such theological argumentation, because of its
own peculiar and persuasive efficacy, became popular in Christian
rhetoric.

4. Narratio hagiographica (Vita Hilarionis XV - XXXI) - B

With chapter XV Jerome returned to the chronological pattern

of narration in previous chapters. The section of Vita Hilarionis
between chapters XV and XXXI divides into two sections. l'he first
was focussed on the phenomenon of nl0nasticisn1 in Palestine and
its popular vogue there, thanks to the activity of Hilarion its first
monk. The hagiographer narrated his tours of inspection of the
abodes of monks. The "toposofprimate," applied to Hilarion alI10ng
430 P. NEII1~NG

the Palestinian monks, was often employed in the classical rhetorical

laudationes and adapted to the canons of hagiography. 27
When writing on the exchange of letters between Hilarion and
Antony and the esteem directed by the father of Egyptian monas-
ticism towards Palestine's first monk, Jerome made allies of the two
great protagonists. Here Antony called Hilarion his own son: Quare
vos tam longe vexare voluistis, cum habeatis ibi [ilium meum Hilarionem?
(Vita Hilarionis XV,2). While attributing these sentiments to a holy
man of such repute, Jerome could not expose hinlself to the
reproach of subjectivity, and yet convincingly esteem his hero. This
figure of speech - ethopoia - was recommended in Aristotle's Ars
Rhetorica and its presence in progYlnnastic exercises confirms its
continuous popularity also in later ages.
The tale of the abstemious (monachus parcus) and the generous
monk (monachus largitus) , narrated by the au thor in the chapter
XVII of Vita Hilarionis has the character of a progymnastic m)lthos. 28
Jerome crowns this episode with a lesson (epi'1nythion - a moral
guideline at the end of the story): the frugal monk lost his harvest
and the generous one reaped far ll10re than he had expected.
In the next chapter the hagiographer introduced another type
of monk - the monk too cautious (monachus cautus). Such an
attitude is also condemned by Hilarion. The story about the monk
who had over-tended his garden presented Jerome with a good
reason for praising another virtue of Hilarion, common with the
picture of Antony from the work by Athanasius. I-filarion was
therefore able, as well as Antony, t.o recognise demons by the odour
they diffused. 29
The main subject of the second section in the second
chronological sequence of Vita Hilarionis (XIX - XXXI) is the hero's
continuous escape from his personal fame. This ceaseless peregrination,
each stage of it motivated by like inspiration, begins in Egypt with
Hilarion's visit to two orthodox bishops banished by the emperor
Constantius, who sympathised with the Arians. Unequivocal
evidence of both the author's doctrinal position and that of the

27 Cf. Aristoteles, Ars rhetorica 13G8a; see Vita Antonii 14; Vita Pauli 2-6.
28 Cf. Aphtonius, PTogymnasmata II, 21.
29 Cf. Vita Antonii 63.
 JEROME'S VITA HlLARIONISA RHETORICALANAL\'SIS OF ITS STRUCTURE 431

protagonist constituted the basic raw materials of the anti-Arian

propaganda of those days. The next stage of Hilarion's journey leads
him, on the anniversary of Antony's death, to the final abode of the
father of Egyptian monasticism. The place of the Antony's burial fits
the picturesque, though predictable rhetorical locus amoenus with its
principal components - a mountain, a tree, and a spring of fresh
water. 30
Since Hilarion could not find the solitude he earnestly sought in
the Egyptian desert, he decided to leave the East and search for an
island which would provide him with perfect seclusion. With that
quest in mind, the heir of Antony travelled \vestward carrying there
his firsthand experiences of eremitic monasticism. The first port of
entry was Sicily - the island of course inhabited. Hilarion made
efforts, according to Jerome, to remain there in total anonymity, but
the demon that he had exorcised from a possessed soldier revealed
his hidden retreat (Vita Hilarionis XXII,6). \Vhile working there, the
saint effected healings and had come into such prominence that he
was compared to the ancient prophets, and his fame spread far from
Sicily. Comparison with Old Testament prophets as well the fame
which accrued to the saint as a consequence of his marvellous deeds
furnished the stuff of hagiographical motifs and rhetorical
amplification. 31
Hilarion's escape from personal fame lead him from Sicily to
Dalmatian Epidauros and then on to Cyprus. On each stage of this
journey the protagonist worked miracles. In Epidauros, for instance,
he preserved the town from the flood which had been provoked by
an earthquake (Vita Hilarionis XXIX). All the wonders accompanying his
wanderings throughout the western world produced the same
result: he could escape neither crowds nor fame. Finally, he found
longed-for solitude in the barely penetrable mountains and
intensified the austerity of his ascetic habits, terminating his life
there in such inhospitable surroundings. Like Antony of Egypt,
Hilarion's last abode was portrayed as a locus amoenus. The last

30 Cf. E. R. Curtius, Literatuta europejska i lacinskie sredniowiecze, tlum. A.

Bobrowski, Krakow 1997, pp. 202-206 (E. R., Curtius, Europiiische Literatur und
leteinisches Mittelalter, Bern 1954).
31 Cf. Vita Antonii 93; Vita Ambrosii 25; 30.
432 P. NEHRING

recorded miracle effected by the saint - the healing of a paralysed

nlan who was instructed by Hilarion with the words ofJesus: 32 Stand
up and walk - brought it about that here too, in this ren10te and
inaccessible mountainous region, numerous people in need of
healing-power had found him.
This motif of anachoresis or withdrawal from the multitude which
threatens the longed-for solitude of a holy man or hermit is likewise
central to an understanding of Athanasius' Life of Antony (49). In
marked contrast, however, Jerome directed more attention to this
motif than Athanasius. He likewise indicated that contempt for
fame was the virtue proper to the life a "holy man," which had most
inlpressed him in the activities of Hilarion (Vita Hilarionis XX). It is
worth noting thatJerome did not isolate "contempt for fame" as the
principal subject of this part of the Life, but rather fame itself and
then there follows its contempt. The healings, the exorcisms and
the command over nature had resulted in a situation that
paradoxically caused Hilarion to became more and more famous.
We observed that the description of Hilarion's death (Vita
Hilarionis XXXII - XXXIII) reminds us of a parallel account from
the Life ofAntony. The protagonist of Vita Hilarionis foretold the end
of his life on earth and did not object to death in the same way as
Antony had done (Vita Antonii 89). Hilarion transferred by
testament his meager possessions, which consisted of a shabby coat
and a copy of the Gospel, to one of his disciples. In Vita Hilarionis,
unlike the Vita Antonii 89-90, there is no final counselor precept
given by the dying saint to the monks who were expected to imitate
him. Jerome was not interested in writing a manual for future
ascetics. His chief concern was to demonstrate how a monk living in
total solitude could become famous throughout the whole world.
The stories about the wondrous phenomena which occurred in
the locale where the saints were buried are motifs commonly
employed in ancient hagiography. The outstanding powers of the
protagonist, present even after his death, had undoubtedly served to
confirm his sanctity. The singularity of Hilarion \vas approved also
by the fact that his corpse did not putrefy after months following the
funeral; moreover it diffused a pleasant fragrance.

32 Cf. Mt. 9,5-6; Me. 2,9-11; 5,41-42; Le. 7,14; 10. 5,8; Acts. 3,6.
 JEROME'S Vni-\ HlLARIONISA RHETORICAL ANAL\SIS OF ITS STRUCTURE 433

5. Epilogus

The last chapter of the work (Vita Hilarionis XXXIII) constitutes

a proper epilogue; it was dedicated exclusively to Hilarion's
posthumous glory. The first example of this honour was the
instance of Constantia, who died after she learned that the saint's
corpse had been stolen and transferred from Cyprus to Palestine.
Jerome cited the former behaviour of this pious woman who kept
vigil by the tomb of Hilarion in order to obtain his support for her
prayers.
The name Constantia appeared in Vita Hilarionis for the first
time in its penultimate chapter. Here we are told that Hilarion
healed her daughter and son-in-law; this is our only information
about her. While describing her devotion to Hilarion, Jerome
exemplified by name in a convincing manner the praise of the holy
man by the people who had likewise been the beneficiaries of his
wondrous works.
In the second part of the epilogue Jerome informs his readers of
the controversy between the Palestinians and Cyprians, who argued
about the question, which burial place sanctified by Hilarion's
presence was the more important, a garden on Cyprus which he
himself chose as the site of his burial, or Palestine where his mortal
remains were surreptitiously translated. Various wonders,
undoubtedly construed as signs of his holiness, ,vere attested to in
both places, but more in the garden on Cyprus which, as Jerome
related, Hilarion had loved more. 33

Conclusion

I have demonstrated that the Vita Hilarionis is a well-constructed

rhetorical discourse. Its principal purpose was to persuade its
readers of Hilarion's holiness and to praise and commend his
manner of life to others. Such an analysis with no reference to its
literary predecessor, the Vita Antonii by Athanasius, would have

33 Jerome when writing Vita Hilarionis lived in the monastery in

Bethlehem and in this manner conceivably expressed nostalgia for his own
eremitic experience, cf. A. de Vogue, Histoire litteraire du mouvement monas-
tique dans l'antiquite, Paris, 1993, pp. 227-228.
434 P. NEHRING

betrayed the Greco-Roman canon of laudatio as a subset of the genus

demonstrativum and the artistry of the knowledgeable Jerome. The
structure of both works reveals many similarities. Both Vitae have
their prologues and in chronological sequence their narrative
descriptions of a holy man, argumentative parts, where the sanctity
of their protagonist was demonstrated by the wonders worked by the
saint and, finally, similar descriptions of a monk's death.
It is difficult to say whether Athanasius consciollsly chose such an
architectonic scheme to augment the persuasive power of Antony's
works, or whether the main purposes intended by hilTI - praise and
encouragement - had determined his style of writing. He composed
the only way he was familiar ,-vith from his readings. In the case of
Jerome, however, we are sure that he was superbly trained in the
classical curriculum and ~ras undoubtedly skilful in rhetorical
composition. There is no doubt that the structure of Vita l-lilarionis
mirrored this education as well as its relationship of genre to the
Vita Antonii. Both these factors strongly influenced the final shape
ofJerome's writings in this particular instance and in others as well.

PRZEMYSLAwNEHRING
Nicholas Copernicus University,
Torun, Poland