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Work #1708 · Mature

Vulgate (Latin Bible translation)

Jerome
c. 382–405 CE · Latin (translation from Hebrew and Greek)
Complete biblical translation · Latin Christianity / Biblical scholarship

The hebraica veritas in Latin — Jerome's translation shaped Western theology, liturgy, and literature for a thousand years

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Vulgate (Latin Bible translation) (Mature)
Time · Extent Both
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Finite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature not engaged
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Finite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Multiple
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Immediate
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Passive
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Scripture
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Finite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Vulgate (Latin Bible translation)

The Vulgate narrates the entire biblical time-line: creation, patriarchs, exodus, monarchy, exile, return, incarnation, church, apocalypse. Time is linear, eschatological, and centred on the Christ-event.

Space

Vulgate (Latin Bible translation)

The biblical landscape — Eden, Canaan, Egypt, Babylon, Jerusalem, Rome — is rendered into Latin with geographical specificity. Space is finite, created, and the stage of salvation history.

Matter

Vulgate (Latin Bible translation)

The Vulgate begins with creatio ex nihilo ("In principio creavit Deus") and ends with the new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21). Matter is created, good, finite, conserved, and destined for eschatological transformation.

Observer

Vulgate (Latin Bible translation)

The Vulgate presents multiple observers: the biblical authors, the prophets, the apostles, and (implicitly) every reader. The observer is passive before divine revelation and active in interpreting and living the text.

Energy

Vulgate (Latin Bible translation)

God's creative power animates all things ("Let there be light, and there was light"). Energy is finite within creation and sustained by divine command.

Information

Vulgate (Latin Bible translation)

The Vulgate is the supreme act of informational transfer in Western Christian history: rendering the Hebrew and Greek originals into Latin with maximum fidelity. Scripture is the conserved informational deposit of divine revelation.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Vulgate (Latin Bible translation)

Jerome's decision to translate from the Hebrew rather than the Septuagint was revolutionary and controversial: it challenged the authority of the Greek Bible used by the Eastern churches and by the New Testament authors themselves. Every translation is an interpretation, and Jerome's Latin inevitably shaped — and sometimes distorted — the theology built on it (e.g., "poenitentiam agite" for metanoeite, "do penance" for "repent").