SOURCE: "The Influence of Vergil on St. Jerome and on St. Augustine," The Classical Weekly, Vol. 17, No. 22, April 7, 1924, pp. 170-75.

In the following essay, originally delivered as a lecture in 1923, Coffin explores the deep influence of Vergil on Jerome's writings and claims that, through his knowledge of Vergil, "Jerome really constitutes a link between the classical times and the Middle Ages. "

It is impossible to read the works of the Christian Latin writers Without being impressed by the extent to which they were influenced, both in language and in ideas, by the works of Vergil. This influence is shown through all periods of the Christian Church; indeed, a convenient index of the classicism of any Church writer is the use which he makes of Vergil. Since Jerome and Augustine represent the best in ecclesiastical prose of the first five centuries, it will be convenient to indicate the extent...