Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. -Commentary on Isaiah
This is his most famous quote and we read it in the Divine Office every year on his feast day.
Being over seventy is like being engaged in a war. All our friends are going or gone and we survive amongst the dead and the dying as on a battlefield. St. Jerome has many comments like this. Sobering picture of reality. I am not sure of the origin of this quote, I found it on another site.
Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best.
Such a positive motivational statement is rare among St. Jerome's quotes. He usually comes across as something of a grouch. I suspect that his perfectionism made him more miserable than happy, however he is the saint and I am not. So what do I know? In his later years he was involved in a letter dispute with a younger man by the name of St. Augustine.
The friendship that can cease has never been real.
A rather sad note for St. Jerome, who was often prone to offense and seems to have left Rome under duress. I suspect he lost a number of friends throughout life. While this statement may indeed be true, there is very little consolation in this kind of truth. I guess it is warning not to call people friends prematurely. Real friends are a profound blessing.
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