St. Jerome, Scholar and Crabapple

A favorite poem about a favorite saint on his feast day:The Thunderer by Phyllis McGinleyGod’s angry man, His crotchety scholar, Was Saint Jerome, The great name-caller, Who cared not a dime For the laws of libel And in his spare time Translated the Bible.Quick to disparage All joys but learning, Jerome thought marriage Better than burning; But didn’t like woman’s Painted cheeks; Didn’t like Romans, Didn’t like Greeks, Hated Pagans For their Pagan ways, Yet doted on Cicero all his days.A born reformer, cross and gifted He scolded mankind Sterner than Swift did; Worked to save The world from the Heathen; Fled to a cave For peace to breathe in, Promptly wherewith For miles around He filled the air with Fury and sound.In mighty prose For almighty ends, He thrust at his foes, Quarreled with his friends, And served his Master, Though with complaint. He wasn’t a plaster Sort of saint.But he swelled men’s minds With a Christian leaven. It takes all kinds To make a heaven.