Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights Preface, 12-13

“But I did not have the same plan when I was making selections and notes as those many others. For all of them—and especially the Greeks—by reading many varied things in which they would underline certain matters “with a white line”—as the saying goes—they used to just mass everything together without concern for judgment, because they were only in pursuit of quantity.

The mind will tire quickly in reading these because before it finds one thing or another which might be a pleasure to read or nurturing to have heard or useful to remember. For this reason, because I have taken to heart that smartest word of the Ephesian that “knowing much doesn’t teaching you to think”, I wore myself out in rolling and returning many scrolls at every moment free from my regular business when I might be able to spare the time.

But I still selected very few portions from each which were ready and easy examples to provide quick and ready erudition or the study of the useful arts or to preserve people who are super busy with the obligations of life from a base and unsophisticated ignorance of words and things.”

Sed ne consilium quidem in excerpendis notandisque rebus idem mihi, quod plerisque illis, fuit. Namque illi omnes et eorum maxime Graeci, multa et varia lectitantes, in quas res cumque inciderant, “alba,” ut dicitur, “linea” sine cura discriminis solam copiam sectati converrebant, quibus in legendis ante animus senio ac taedio languebit quam unum alterumve reppererit quod sit aut voluptati legere aut cultui legisse aut usui meminisse. Ego vero, cum illud Ephesii viri summe nobilis verbum cordi haberem, quod profecto ita est πολυμαθίη νόον οὐ διδάσκει, ipse quidem volvendis transeundisque multis admodum voluminibus per omnia semper negotiorum intervalla in quibus furari otium potui exercitus defessusque sum, sed modica ex his eaque sola accepi quae aut ingenia prompta expeditaque ad honestae eruditionis cupidinem utiliumque artium contemplationem celeri facilique compendio ducerent aut homines aliis iam vitae negotiis occupatos a turpi certe agrestique rerum atque verborum imperitia vindicarent.

Sulpicius Severus, Dialogues 1.8:

“’Jerome was, in addition to the merit of his faith and the gift of his virtues, educated not just in Latin and Greek, but even in Hebraic literature, to such an extent that no one would dare to compare themselves to him in any field of knowledge. I would be surprised if he is not known to you through the many works which he has written, since he is read all around the world.’

The Gaul responded to me, ‘Oh, he is all too well known to us. About five years ago I read a certain little book of his, in which the whole nation of our monks is hassled and reproved by him. And a Belgian friend of mine often gets angry because Jerome said that we are accustomed to feed until we vomit. I would give him a pass on it, however, and I think that he was talking more about eastern monks than those in the west, since a fondness for eating is considered gluttony among the Greeks, but among us Gauls it is just nature.’”

uir enim praeter fidei meritum dotemque uirtutum non solum Latinis atque Graecis, sed et Hebraeis litteris ita institutus est, ut se illi in omni scientia nemo audeat conparare. Miror autem, si non et uobis per multa quae scripsit opera conpertus est, cum per totum orbem legatur.

Nobis uero, Gallus inquit,nimium nimiumque conpertus est. nam ante hoc quinquennium quendam illius libellum legi, in quo tota nostrorum natio monachorum ab eo uehementissime uexatur et carpitur. unde interdum  Belgicus noster ualde irasci solet, quod dixerit, nos usque ad uomitum solere satiari. ego autem illi uiro ignosco, adque ita sentio, de orientalibus illum potius monachis quam de occidentalibus disputasse. nam edacitas in Graecis gula est, in Gallis natura.