Jerome’s absurdity — counting gnats and fleas
Do not spare small/vile things from His knowledge.
Jerome (Hab 1) called gnat-counting absurd.
Le Blanc will refute that limit.
Latin
XVIII. Neque putandum est Deum res quidem magnas, & alicujus momenti, ut stellas, sigillatim nosse, scientiam vero illius fugere multitudinem & numerum rerum parvarum & vilium: quasi non deceret intellectum divinum ad earum singulas seorsim advertere. Id existimasse videtur Hieronymus scribens in Prophetiae Abacuc caput primum, Absurdum est, inquit, ad hoc Dei deducere majestatem, ut sciat per momenta singula quot nascantur culices, quotve moriantur: quae cimicum, & pulicum, & muscarum sit in terra multitudo: quanti pisces in aqua natent, & qui de minoribus majorum praedae cedere debeant.
About this text
Louis Le Blanc de Beaulieu - Sedan Theological Theses, newly rendered from the 1675 London Latin. Covers De Theologia through Angelorum & Hominum Sanctorum Cultu Romana I-LXXVII and Pars Secunda (Reformata) I-XL. Not the collected folio.
English follows locked Pitt Latin through Imaginum CLOSED + Sanctorum Cultu Romana CLOSED + Pars Secunda Reformata I-XL. 1675 PDF ~384-390 (book ~370-376); Vision OCR + pdftotext + tess. No modern English. This slice densifies Sanctorum Pars Secunda I-XL. Next: Pars Secunda XLI–fin (~CI). Claim stays claimed (book densify not done).
Catalogue & scope
ESTC R17887; Wing L802. IA bub_gb_eOkHAW4G0-wC (+ EEBO 1675 for gap leaves). Densify through Sanctorum Cultu Romana I-LXXVII + Pars Secunda Reformata I-XL (Pars Secunda not closed; not whole folio).
Witnesses
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Theologia I-XLIII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Checked print Internet Archive PDF of the 1675 Pitt folio (Latin)
- Checked print pdftotext of De Theologia pages (Latin)
- Checked print Internet Archive DjVu OCR of the 1675 Pitt folio (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Fide I-XXII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Authoritate Scripturae Pars I I-XLVII + Pars II I-XXXV + Pars III I-VIII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Scripturae plenitudine densify (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.