JbAC 61 (2018) Seiten: 54-70

In his letter 53, Jerome invites Paulinus to come to Bethlehem and to dedicate his future life to the ars scripturarum, under his personal guidance. Jerome describes his relationship with Paulinus, whom he had not previously met, as a Christian amicitia vera, extensively using what the ancient philosophers Cicero and Seneca had written about friendship (especially in the Laelius and the Letters to Lucilius). At the same time, Jerome calls to mind the amicitia which Paulinus and the famous poet Ausonius of Bordeaux, his former teacher, cultivated for a long time, but which came to an end when Paulinus converted to Christian faith and life (see Auson. ep. 18. 19. 21/4 Green).