THEOSISJerome of Stridon
Cursed be the day of my birth, the day my mother brought me into this world; may it be unblessed! Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, proclaiming, “A son has been born to you,” and brought him joy as if it were a cause for celebration. Let him be like the cities that the Lord laid waste and did not spare, let him hear distress in the morning and lamentation at noon—he who did not end my life in the womb, that my mother might serve as my tomb and carry me forever within her. Why did I emerge from the womb to witness toil and anguish, with my days spent in turmoil?
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Those who argue that souls fell from a higher realm down to a lesser condition cite this and similar assertions—that it was better for them to dwell in heaven than to endure earthly life encased in a body of humiliation—as evidence for their misguided beliefs. In light of this lament from blessed Job, “Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night when it was said, ‘A male child has been conceived’” (Job 3:3), we can align this with his other words: “Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, saying, ‘A son has been born to you’; that is, it is preferable to not live than to live in misery,” as it is written: “Death is a blessing for the man whom God has guided” and “Why is light given to the miserable, and life to those who are in despair?” (Job 3:20). The Gospel also observes directly: it would have been better for him not to have been born (Matthew 26:24)—not in the sense that non-existence is preferable to existence in any form, but that it is better not to exist than to lead a poor life. To not exist at all is different from existing while remaining in a state of poverty; thus, we may value a peaceful death over a wretched life. This is why Amos refers to a day of darkness and calamity (Am. 5), and Jacob, who experienced toil and sorrow, describes his days as short and filled with evil (Gen. 47). The Apostle Paul writes of being delivered from this present evil age (Gal. 1:4) and encourages making the most of our time, acknowledging that the days are filled with evil (Eph. 5:16). The Hebrews, through elaborate and intricate calculations, associate the day of Jeremiah’s birth with the fifth month when Jerusalem fell and the temple was destroyed. Should they be able to substantiate this, it remains unclear how they would reconcile it with Job’s testimony; or perhaps they might assert that he was born on the same day the temple was destroyed as a sign and prophecy of what was to come. The mention of a fate akin to that suffered by the fallen cities likely alludes to Sodom and Gomorrah, where tribulation endures—crying in the morning and weeping at noon. Regarding the phrase, “who has not killed me in the womb,” it is believed to refer to God. The expression that his mother’s womb might be eternally burdened with him is certainly a hyperbole. Ultimately, it reveals his reasons for preferring death over life and his belief that it is better to not exist at all than to live in misery—questioning why he was brought forth from the womb only to witness toil and sorrow, as his days then pass in confusion.