To his most beloved son Jerome, Damasus, bishop, sends
greeting in the Lord.

As I was reading in Greek and in Latin what has been
written both heretofore and recently by men of our persua-
sion, that is, the orthodox, on the interpretation of the
Gospels, I found that they put forth not only differing but
mutually conflicting explanations of the saying Hosanna to
the son of David. ²

I wish you would write, with the ardent impulse of your
affectionate zeal--doing away with mere opinions and ex-
ploding ambiguities--stating what the meaning is in the
Hebrew, in actual terms, so that our solicitude may render
you thanks in Christ Jesus concerning this, as in many other
instances.

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