It is really remarkable that the works of St Jerome have never been translated in their entirety into any modern language.
But the Italians are good on this kind of thing, and while searching for whatever exists, I learned of a project to do just that. It is being directed by the excellent Claudio Moreschini, and I see other familiar names like Angelo di Berardino and Sandra Isetti are involved.
Here is the home page, at the publisher, which lists all the works that will be included and how they will be divided up. (Use Google Translate to read this) Fifteen volumes are projected.
The volumes will be Latin and Italian on facing pages.
Some volumes have already appeared. A search on Amazon.it reveals that volume 15 (Historical and Hagiographical Works) is out; and also the Commentary on Isaiah, in 4 volumes, translated by R. Maisano. Each volume is about $70, so not cheap; but no doubt libraries can afford them.
This is a welcome initiative, and one can only wish that a similar project could be undertaken in English – and, ideally, without enriching some publisher along the way.
Fr. Hunwicke on your side of the pond had a funny/interesting note on his blog about going to the manuscripts:
“Only yesterday, I was reading a large book in the field of Papyrology, written by somebody who had needed to reexamine a large number of published papyri for his own research purposes. He repeatedly discovered that the published accounts were inaccurate. His realisation generated a large, originally unintended, part of his book, his Appendix 3, listing thousands of examples of error … which he had discovered entirely obiter! I made a similar discovery a decade ago when working on late medieval records in Devon. You can’t rely on published accounts; you just have to go back to the manuscript originals. And take them with a pinch of salt!”
There’s a bunch more which you might find entertaining. It’s a good reminder not to be too trusting, even of critical editions and such.
Hum. That is not good news. But I’ve found that papyrologists are often rather strange, quarrelsome, bitter people. I don’t know why.