Bishops in the see, one in
connexion with the East, and the other with Egypt and the West,--with
which, then, was Catholic Communion? St. Jerome has no doubt upon the
subject. Writing to St. Damasus, he says: 'Since the East tears into pieces
the Lord's coat, _and foxes lay waste the vineyard of Christ, so that among
broken cisterns, which hold no water, it is difficult to understand where
the sealed fountain and the garden inclosed is_, therefore by me is the
chair of St. Peter to be consulted, and that faith which is praised by the
Apostle's mouth, _thence now seeking food for my soul where of old I
received the robe of Christ. Whilst the bad children have wasted their
goods, the inheritance of the Fathers is preserved uncorrupt among you
alone. There the earth from its fertile bosom returns the pure seed of the
Lord a hundred fold: here the grain buried in the furrows degenerates into
darnell and tares. At present the Sun of Righteousness rises in the West;
but in the East that fallen Lucifer hath placed his throne. You are the
light of the world: you the salt of the earth: you the vessels of gold and
silver: but here the vessels of earth or wood await the iron rod and the
eternal flame.' Therefore_, though your greatness terrifies me, yet your
kindness invites me. From the Priest the sacrifice claims salvation; from
the Shepherd the sheep claims protection. Let us speak without offence: I
court not the Roman height: I speak with the successor of the Fisherman,
and the disciple of the Cross. I, who follow none as my chief but Christ,
am associated in communion with thy blessedness; that is, with the See of
Peter. On that rock the Church is built I know. Whoso shall eat the Lamb
outside that house is profane.... I know not Vitalis (the Apollinarian);
Meletius I reject; I am ignorant of Paulinus. Whoso gathereth not with
thee, scattereth; that is, he who is not of Christ is of Antichrist."[13]

Considering all the circumstances of the case, no one can wonder at St.
Jerome's application. When it is remembered that the Roman See, up to that
time, had been free from all suspicion of heresy, and that the Arian
controversy was the one in question, and that he himself, of full manhood,
had been baptized, and had lived at Rome, the force of his language is
hardly surprising. His words certainly prove, what, I suppose, no student
of antiquity can doubt, the Primacy of the Roman See: but could there be a
greater unfairness than t