Letter XXX. To Paula.

Some account of the so-called alphabetical psalms (XXXVII., CXI., CXII., CXIX., CXLV.). After explaining the mystical meaning of the alphabet, Jerome goes on thus: “What honey is sweeter than to know the wisdom of God? others, if they will, may possess riches, drink from a jewelled cup, shine in silks, and try in vain to exhaust their wealth in the most varied pleasures. Our riches are to meditate in the law of the Lord day and night,⁷²⁴⁷²⁴    Ps. i. 2. to knock at the closed door,⁷²⁵⁷²⁵    Matt. vii. 7. to receive the ‘three loaves’ of the Trinity,⁷²⁶⁷²⁶    Luke xi. 5–8. and, when the Lord goes before us, to walk upon the water of the world.”⁷²⁷⁷²⁷    Matt. xiv. 25–33. Written at Rome a.d. 384.