Second edition of Erasmus Vita (The life of the excellent doctor Jerome of Stridon), this work introduced the monumental edition of Saint Jeromes Opera omnia. It was Erasmus attempt to present Jerome as a relevant historical and intellectual figure, instead of him remaining a remote saint cloaked in legend.
Rather than relying on apocryphal sources or pious legend, Erasmus built this work almost exclusively from Jeromes authentic correspondence. This method marked a clear break with traditional hagiography. He rejected fictitious episodes attributed to figures like Cyril of Jerusalem (ca. 315-386 CE), Eusebius of Cremona (5th century CE), and pseudo-Augustine, which had long coloured the popular image of Jerome. Instead, Erasmus offered a critical and philologically grounded portrait, both admiring and analytical, aligning Jerome with the ideals of Christian humanism.
Erasmus fascination with Jerome had deep roots. As a young man in the monastery at Steyn, near Gouda in the Netherlands, where he studied under the Hieronymite order, he was seen copying Jeromes letters. His early reverence developed into critical engagement: at Cambridge, Erasmus worked meticulously to identify and eliminate inauthentic letters attributed to Jerome, and he was profoundly inspired by Jeromes linguistic rigour and exegetical method. It was during his time in England that Erasmus also undertook his pioneering revision of the New Testament.
All of these efforts culminated in Basel in 1516, where Frobens press published not only the first edition of Erasmus Novum Instrumentum (a new Latin translation of the New Testament alongside the Greek text), but also his complete edition of Jeromes works, prefaced by the Vita.
With a small wormhole affecting all leaves, though without significant impact on the text, a small hole in the outer margin of pp. 45-46, not affecting the text, light marginal water-staining and some browning throughout. Overall in good condition. Béné, "Maruliæ et Erasme, lecteurs de saint Jérôme," Colloquia Maruliana, Vol. 10, (2001), pp. 29-45, see p. 31; Bezzel 1058; BM STC German p. 282; De Reuck 362; Julián, "Erasmo, biógrafo de san Jerónimo: Hieronymi Stridonensis Vita (1516),", Mirabilia: electronic journal of antiquity and middle ages, (31), (2020), pp. 411-443, see pp. 412-3; USTC: 655432; Vander Haeghen I, 182; VD 16, E 2968; not in Adams.