«L’empio prevale sul giusto» (Ab. 1, 4)

Teodicea e attesa umana della pace

Abstract

This article examines Jerome’s responses to injustice and war through his readings of Habakkuk, the fall of Rome, and Isaiah 32:17. The Commentary on Habakkuk frames the prophet’s protest as a question of theodicy and preserves the logical coherence of the biblical book: God permits oppressive powers to act as a call to conversion, but ultimately judges them. Jerome’s reactions to the sack of Rome combine grief, silence, Scripture, and classical literature. Rome is read through the figures of Babylon, Jerusalem, and Troy, while monastic quiet becomes a criterion for evaluating the city. The final section analyzes opus iustitiae pax and Jerome’s interpretation of cultus iustitiae silentium. Silence is understood not as passivity but as faithful waiting for divine justice, modeled on the incarnate Word and opposed to the clamor of violence. The comparison with Eusebius and Cyril of Alexandria situates this interpretation within the Greek exegetical tradition. The study concludes that, for Jerome, peace arises from justice and the righteous person answers injustice through trustful, non-retaliatory silence.