Three Epigrams by Bede

Recognizing two epigrams, 'Eloquium domini quaecunque uolumina pandunt' and 'Hieronymus reserat dum mystica claustra uidentum', as a pair strengthens the connection of the first to Bede and changes our understanding of his reason for writing the second. While one emphasizes the o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Notes and queries 2015-12, Vol.62 (4), p.493-497
Main Author: Biggs, Frederick M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Inscriptions
New Testament
Old Testament
Writing
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:Recognizing two epigrams, 'Eloquium domini quaecunque uolumina pandunt' and 'Hieronymus reserat dum mystica claustra uidentum', as a pair strengthens the connection of the first to Bede and changes our understanding of his reason for writing the second. While one emphasizes the original writer, Isaiah, and the other his commentator, Jerome, both equate the Old Testament book to New Testament truth. This similarity also allows us to see the second as less likely to have been composed as an epitaph for one of Bede's works than as an independent reflection in verse on this religious theme. Moreover, the eschatological perspective indicated in their shared, final word, 'tubis', points toward two controversies in Bede's career about the end times, one that centred on Isaiah and another earlier one that concerned Jerome: the possibility of relief for the damned after judgment and the number of years until the second coming.
ISSN:0029-3970
1471-6941
DOI:10.1093/notesj/gjv180