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| Church Fathers | DEMONSTRATIONS BY SYLLOGISMS THAT GOD THE WORD IS IMMUTABLE — Church Fathers |
DEMONSTRATIONS BY SYLLOGISMS THAT GOD THE WORD IS IMMUTABLE “2. If God the Word was made flesh by undergoing mutation into flesh, then He is not immutable. For no one in his senses would call that which undergoes alteration immutable. And if…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers | THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY — Church Fathers |
THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY “This is the version by SOCRATES SCHOLASTICUS, considered the more accurate.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers | COUNTER-STATEMENTS TO CYRIL'S 12 ANATHEMAS AGAINST NESTORIUS — Church Fathers |
COUNTER-STATEMENTS TO CYRIL'S 12 ANATHEMAS AGAINST NESTORIUS “Against III. -- The sense of the terms used is misty and obscure. Who needs to be told that there is no difference between conjunction and concurrence? The concurrence is a concurr…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers | ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY — Church Fathers |
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY “This is the version by Theodoret.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers | PROOF THAT THE DIVINITY OF THE SAVIOUR IS IMPASSIBLE — Church Fathers |
PROOF THAT THE DIVINITY OF THE SAVIOUR IS IMPASSIBLE “4. The nature of men is compounded of body and soul. But it sinned and stood in need of a sacrifice free from every spot. So if the Creator took a body and a soul, and keeping them…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers | PROOFS THAT THE UNION WAS WITHOUT CONFUSION — Church Fathers |
PROOFS THAT THE UNION WAS WITHOUT CONFUSION “2. We too assert the union, and ourselves confess that it took place at the conception; if then by the union the natures were mixed and confounded, how was the flesh after the birt…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers | Ecclesiastical History — Church Fathers |
Ecclesiastical History “This is the version by Hermias Sozomen, translated I believe by Chester D. Hartranft (not sure).…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE EPISTLE OF BARNABAS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THE EPISTLE OF BARNABAS “Understand, then, ye children of gladness, that the good Lord has foreshown all things to us, that we might know to whom we ought for everything to render thanksgiving and praise. …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | CONCERNING THE MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY POLYCARP — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
CONCERNING THE MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY POLYCARP “Full title: THE ENCYCLICAL EPISTLE OF THE CHURCH AT SMYRNA CONCERNING THE MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY POLYCARP…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | Dialogue of Justin Philosopher and Martyr, with Trypho, a Jew — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
Dialogue of Justin Philosopher and Martyr, with Trypho, a Jew “if you remain in that mode of philosophy, and live blamelessly, a hope of a better destiny were left to you; but when you have forsaken God, and reposed confidence in man, what saf…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | EXHORTATION TO THE HEATHEN — CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA |
EXHORTATION TO THE HEATHEN “But though you perceive and understand demons to be deadly and wicked, plotters, haters of the human race, and destroyers, why do you not turn out of their way, or turn them out of…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | FRAGMENTS OF CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
FRAGMENTS OF CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS “Flattery is the bane of friendship. Most men are accustomed to pay court to the good fortune of princes, rather than to the princes themselves.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | FRAGMENTS OF THE LOST WORK OF JUSTIN ON THE RESURRECTION — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
FRAGMENTS OF THE LOST WORK OF JUSTIN ON THE RESURRECTION “I mean, of course, from physical reasons. For if by such arguments we prove to them that the resurrection of the flesh is possible, they are certainly worthy of great contempt if t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE FIRST APOLOGY OF JUSTIN — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THE FIRST APOLOGY OF JUSTIN “For we forewarn you to be on your guard, lest those demons whom we have been accusing should deceive you, and quite diver you from reading and understanding what we say. For they s…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE DISCOURSE TO THE GREEKS — JUSTIN |
THE DISCOURSE TO THE GREEKS “And your public assemblies I have come to hate. For there are excessive banquetings, and subtle flutes which provoke to lustful movements, and useless and luxurious anointings, and…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | JUSTIN ON THE SOLE GOVERNMENT OF GOD — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
JUSTIN ON THE SOLE GOVERNMENT OF GOD “But forgetfulness having taken possession of the minds of men, through the long-suffering of God, has acted recklessly in transferring to mortals the name which is applicable to th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | JUSTIN'S HORTATORY ADDRESS TO THE GREEKS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
JUSTIN'S HORTATORY ADDRESS TO THE GREEKS “What does he mean by "I adjure thee by the Father's voice, which first He uttered?" It is the Word of God which he here names "the voice," by whom heaven and earth and the whole cr…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | The Second Apology of Justin For the Christians — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
The Second Apology of Justin For the Christians “For I myself, when I discovered tile wicked keel disguise which tile evil spirits had thrown around the divine doctrines of the Christians, to turn aside others from joining them l…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | AGAINST MARCION, v4 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
AGAINST MARCION, v4 “We must follow, then, the clue(20) of our discussion, meeting every effort of our opponents with reciprocal vigor. I say that my Gospel is the true one; Marcion, that his is. I aff…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY MARTYRS — JUSTIN |
THE MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY MARTYRS “Then said the prefect Rusticus to Chariton, "Tell me further, Chariton, are you also a Christian?" Chariton said, "I am a Christian by the command of God." Rusticus the prefect ask…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE EPISTLE OF MATHETES TO DIOGNETUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THE EPISTLE OF MATHETES TO DIOGNETUS “For, who of men at all understood before His coming what God is? Do you accept of the vain and silly doctrines of those who are deemed trustworthy philosophers? of whom some said t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | BOOK THIRD. SIMILITUDES — The Pastor of Hermas |
BOOK THIRD. SIMILITUDES “While fasting and sitting on a certain mountain, and giving thanks to the Lord for all His dealings with me, I see the Shepherd sitting down beside me, and saying, "Why have you co…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | BOOK SECOND. COMMANDMENTS — The Pastor of Hermas |
BOOK SECOND. COMMANDMENTS “And I said to him, "I should like to continue my questions." "Speak on," said he. And I said, "I heard, sir, some teachers maintain that there is no other repentance than that whic…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | A PLEA FOR THE CHRISTIANS BY ATHENAGORAS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
A PLEA FOR THE CHRISTIANS BY ATHENAGORAS “Three things are alleged against us: atheism, Thyestean feasts,[3] OEdipodean intercourse. But if these charges are true, spare no class: proceed at once against our crimes; destro…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE EPISTLE OF POLYCARP TO THE PHILIPPIANS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THE EPISTLE OF POLYCARP TO THE PHILIPPIANS “I am greatly grieved for Valens, who was once a presbyter among you, because he so little understands the place that was given him [in the Church]. I exhort you, therefore, that ye…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | TATIAN'S ADDRESS TO THE GREEKS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
TATIAN'S ADDRESS TO THE GREEKS “But further, it becomes us now to seek for what we once had, but have lost, to unite the soul with the Holy Spirit, and to strive after union with God. The human soul consists of m…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THEOPHILUS TO AUTOLYCUS, v1 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THEOPHILUS TO AUTOLYCUS, v1 “But you do not believe that the dead are raised. When the resurrection shall take place, then you will believe, whether you will or no; and your faith shah be reckoned for unbelief…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THEOPHILUS TO AUTOLYCUS, v3 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THEOPHILUS TO AUTOLYCUS, v3 “And concerning chastity, the holy word teaches us not only not to sin in act, but not even in thought, not even in the heart to think of any evil, nor look on another man's wife wi…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THEOPHILUS TO AUTOLYCUS, v2 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THEOPHILUS TO AUTOLYCUS, v2 “And without meaning to do so, they acknowledge that they know not the truth; but being inspired by demons and puffed up by them, they spoke at their instance whatever they said. Fo…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | BOOK FIRST. VISIONS — Pastor of Hermas |
BOOK FIRST. VISIONS “On showing me these visions, she wished to retire. I said to her, "What is the use of my having seen all this, while I do not know what it means?" She said to me, "You are a cunnin…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE TREATISE OF ATHENAGORAS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THE TREATISE OF ATHENAGORAS “For either death is the entire extinction of life, the soul being dissolved and corrupted along with the body, or the soul remains by itself, incapable of dissolution, of dispersio…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | APPENDIX — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
APPENDIX “1. I OBSERVE that it has been asked among the brethren what course ought specially to be adopted towards the persons of those who, although baptized in heresy, have yet been baptiz…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE EXTANT WORKS AND FRAGMENTS OF HIPPOLYTUS. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THE EXTANT WORKS AND FRAGMENTS OF HIPPOLYTUS. “And, moreover, the ark made of imperishable wood was the Saviour Himself. For by this was signified the imperishable and incorruptible tabernacle of (the Lord) Himself, which gende…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | FRAGMENTS OF CAIUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
FRAGMENTS OF CAIUS “For they say that all those of the first age, and the apostles themselves, both received and taught those things which these men now maintain; and that the truth of Gospel preachin…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE INSTRUCTIONS OF COMMODIANUS — Minucius Felix |
THE INSTRUCTIONS OF COMMODIANUS “Full title: THE INSTRUCTIONS OF COMMODIANUS IN FAVOUR OF CHRISTIAN DISCIPLINE…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE OCTAVIUS OF MINUCIUS FELIX — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THE OCTAVIUS OF MINUCIUS FELIX “"Although to you, Marcus my brother, the subject on which especially we are inquiring is not in doubt, inasmuch as, being carefully informed in both kinds of life, you have rejecte…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | ON THE JEWISH MEATS — NOVATIAN |
ON THE JEWISH MEATS “Moreover, what does the law mean when it says, "Thou shalt not eat the camel?"(5)--except that by the example of that animal it condemns a life nerveless(6) and crooked with crimes…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | A TREATISE OF NOVATIAN CONCERNING THE TRINITY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
A TREATISE OF NOVATIAN CONCERNING THE TRINITY “And over all these things He Himself, containing all things, having nothing vacant beyond Himself, has left room for no superior God, such as some people conceive. Since, indeed, H…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | OF THE MANICHAEANS. — Alexander |
OF THE MANICHAEANS. “Is matter, in respect of alteration, an evil cause? It is thus proved that it is not more evil than good. For let the beginning of the, change be from evil. Thus the change is from…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE CANONICAL EPISTLE — Peter, Bishop of Alexandria |
THE CANONICAL EPISTLE “But to those who have been delivered up, and have fallen, who also of their own accord have approached the contest, confessing themselves to be Christians, and have been tormented …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | EPISTLES ON THE ARIAN HERESY — Alexander |
EPISTLES ON THE ARIAN HERESY “Full title: EPISTLES ON THE ARIAN HERESY AND THE DEPOSITION OF ARIUS--by Alexander of Constantinople.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | FRAGMENTS FROM THE WRITINGS OF PETER — Peter, Bishop of Alexandria |
FRAGMENTS FROM THE WRITINGS OF PETER “Since the mercy of God is everywhere great, let us bless Him, and also because He has sent unto us the Spirit of truth to guide us into all truth. For for this cause the month Abib…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE GENUINE ACTS OF PETER — Peter, Bishop of Alexandria |
THE GENUINE ACTS OF PETER “Oh, the horrible wickedness! So great was their impiety that they even upturned from their foundations the sanctuaries of divine worship, and burned the sacred books in the fire. D…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE ACTS OF THE DISPUTATION WITH THE HERESIARCH MANES — Archelaus |
THE ACTS OF THE DISPUTATION WITH THE HERESIARCH MANES “This letter he sealed and handed to Turbo, with instructions to deliver it to the person from whom he had already conveyed a similar document. The messenger, however, was extremely…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | Epistles — ALEXANDER OF CAPPADOCIA |
Epistles “that the friendship subsisting between us from our forefathers should be maintained unbroken, yea rather, that it should increase in fervency and strength. For we are well acquaint…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | FRAGMENTS OF THE BOOKS ON ARITHMETIC — Anatolius of Alexandria |
FRAGMENTS OF THE BOOKS ON ARITHMETIC “Of the more notable and the earliest mathematics there are two principal divisions, viz., arithmetic and geometry. And of the mathematics which deals with things sensible there are…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | Fragments — PIERIUS OF ALEXANDRIA |
Fragments “Origen, Dionysius, Pierius, Eusebius of Caesareia, Didymus, and Apollinaris, have interpreted this epistle most copiously;[2] of whom Pierius, when he was expounding and unfolding …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | Fragments — THEOGNOSTUS OF ALEXANDRIA |
Fragments “Theognostus, moreover, himself adds words to this effect: He who has offended against the first term[18] and the second, may be judged to deserve smaller punishment; but he who has…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | Epistles — MALCHION |
Epistles “4. And on account of these things all are groaning and lamenting with themselves; yet they have such a dread of his tyranny and power that they cannot venture on accusing him. And …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | AN EXPOSITION OF THE CHAPTERS OF THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES — PAMPHILUS |
AN EXPOSITION OF THE CHAPTERS OF THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES “Having had ourselves the advantage of the method and model received from our fathers and teachers, we attempt, in a modest way, to give these in this exposition of the chapters, en…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE PASCHAL CANON — ANATOLIUS OF ALEXANDRIA |
THE PASCHAL CANON “But this again is held by other wise and most acute men to be an impossibility, because within that narrow and most contracted limit of a cycle of nineteen years, a thoroughly genu…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | Epistles — PHILEAS |
Epistles “And there were also some who, after the tortures, were placed upon the stocks and had both their feet stretched through all the four holes, so that they were compelled to lie on th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE EPISTLE OF THEONAS, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, TO LUCIANUS, THE CHIEF CHAMBERLAIN. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THE EPISTLE OF THEONAS, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, TO LUCIANUS, THE CHIEF CHAMBERLAIN. “Nor will the diligence and care of that servant be less who has the custody of the robes and imperial ornaments. All these he should enter in a most exact catalogue, and he should …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | CONTAINING EPISTLES, OR FRAGMENTS OF EPISTLES — DIONYSIUS |
CONTAINING EPISTLES, OR FRAGMENTS OF EPISTLES “1. Now I speak also before God, and He knoweth that I lie not: it was not by my own choice? neither was it without divine instruction, that I took to flight. But at an earlier peri…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | CONTAINING VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE WORKS — DIONYSIUS |
CONTAINING VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE WORKS “Hence we shall only run over in a summary way, at present, some few of the works of an all-wise Providence; and after a little we shall, if God grant it, go over them more minutely…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS “This prayer He also offered up Himself, falling repeatedly on His face; and on both occasions He urged His request for not entering into temptation: both when He prayed, "If it be …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | AGAINST THE SABELLIANS — Dionysius |
AGAINST THE SABELLIANS “For it is essential that the Divine Word should be united to the God of all, and that the Holy Spirit should abide and dwell in God; and thus that the Divine Trinity should be redu…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE EXTANT WRITINGS OF ASTERIUS URBANUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THE EXTANT WRITINGS OF ASTERIUS URBANUS “And those few who were thus deluded were Phrygians. But the same arrogant spirit taught them to revile the Church universal under heaven, because that false spirit of prophecy foun…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE OF THE BLESSED JOHN — Victorinus |
COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE OF THE BLESSED JOHN “The seven thunders uttering their voices signify, the Holy Spirit of sevenfold power, who through the prophets announced all things to come, and by His voice John gave his testimon…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | CONFESSION OF OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
CONFESSION OF OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH “Note: COMMONLY CALLED THE CREED OF ST. ATHANASIUS…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE DIVINE LITURGY OF JAMES — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THE DIVINE LITURGY OF JAMES “Full title: THE DIVINE LITURGY OF JAMES, THE HOLY APOSTLE AND BROTHER OF THE LORD…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | LITURGY OF MARK — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
LITURGY OF MARK “Full title: THE DIVINE LITURGY OF THE HOLY APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST MARK, THE DISCIPLE OF THE HOLY PETER…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE LITURGY OF THE BLESSED APOSTLES — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THE LITURGY OF THE BLESSED APOSTLES “Note: COMPOSED BY ST. ADAEUS AND ST. MARIS, TEACHERS OF THE EASTERNS…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | THE NICENE CREED — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
THE NICENE CREED “Note: As set forth at Nicoea, A.D. 325.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | ON EASTER — VENANTIUS HONORIUS CLEMENTIANUS FORTUNATUS |
ON EASTER “The seasons blush varied with the flowery, fair weather,[2] and the gate of the pole lies open with greater light. His path in the heaven raises the fire-breathing[3] sun higher, w…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene | SECOND EPISTLE OF CLEMENT — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene |
SECOND EPISTLE OF CLEMENT “Note: AN ANCIENT HOMILY COMMONLY STYLED, THE SECOND EPISTLE OF CLEMENT…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | ACTS OF ANDREW AND MATTHIAS IN THE CITY OF THE MAN-EATERS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
ACTS OF ANDREW AND MATTHIAS IN THE CITY OF THE MAN-EATERS “And the chief priests having come, went with us; and when we had gone into the temple of the Gentiles, Jesus showed us the heaven,(6) that we might know whether the things were tru…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLE THOMAS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLE THOMAS “And all seeing were terror-struck, inquiring which of them had been taken off. And when it was clear that it was the hand of the wine-pourer who had struck the apostle, the flute-g…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLE THOMAS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLE THOMAS “Full title: ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLE THOMAS, WHEN HE CAME INTO INDIA, AND BUILT THE PALACE IN THE HEAVENS…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | ACTS AND MARTYRDOM OF ST. MATTHEW THE APOSTLE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
ACTS AND MARTYRDOM OF ST. MATTHEW THE APOSTLE “The king says to him: And who art thou? And he says: I am the demon who dwelt in thy wife, and in thy son, and in thy daughter-in-law; and my name is Asmodaeus; and this Matthew dr…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | ACTS OF PAUL AND THECLA — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
ACTS OF PAUL AND THECLA “And Thecla by night having taken off her bracelets, gave them to the gatekeeper; and the door having been opened to her, she went into the prison; and having given the jailor a sil…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | ACTS OF PETER AND ANDREW — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
ACTS OF PETER AND ANDREW “And many of the multitude believed in Christ, because of the saying of the woman;(2) and they fell at the feet of the apostles, and adored them. And they laid their hands upon them…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | ACTS OF SAINT PHILIP THE APOSTLE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
ACTS OF SAINT PHILIP THE APOSTLE “Full title: ACTS OF SAINT PHILIP THE APOSTLE WHEN HE WENT TO UPPER HELLAS…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | THE ACTS OF BARNABAS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
THE ACTS OF BARNABAS “And Paul said to him: The Lord stood by me also this night, saying, Do not force Barnabas not to go to Cyprus, for there it has been prepared for him to enlighten many; and do thou…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST JOHN — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST JOHN “At all this the king, being affected with rage. ordered the senate to publish a decree that they should put to death all who confessed themselves to be Christians. Those, then, who…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL “And the letter having been read, Nero said: Tell me, Peter, were all these things thus done by him? Peter said: They were, with your permission, O good emperor. For this Simon is f…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLE THADDAEUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
ACTS OF THE HOLY APOSTLE THADDAEUS “And Thaddaeus along with Abgarus destroyed idol-temples and built churches; ordained as bishop one of his disciples, and presbyters, and deacons, and gave them the rule of the psal…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | THE AVENGING OF THE SAVIOUR — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
THE AVENGING OF THE SAVIOUR “Then Velosianus immediately went forth, and went on board the ship, and hoisted the sail in the vessel, and went on sailing through the sea. And he sailed a year and seven days, af…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | THE DEATH OF PILATE, WHO CONDEMNED JESUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
THE DEATH OF PILATE, WHO CONDEMNED JESUS “Pontius Pilate, therefore, by the command of Caesar, is taken and brought through to Rome. Caesar. hearing that Pilate had arrived at Rome, was filled with exceeding fury against h…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | The Descent of Christ Into Hell — Greek Form. |
The Descent of Christ Into Hell “The forefathers having heard this, began all to revile him, saying: O all-devouring and insatiable! open, that the King of glory may come in. David the prophet says: Dost thou not …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | Descent of Christ into Hell — LATIN. SECOND VERSION |
Descent of Christ into Hell “And, behold, suddenly Hades trembled, and the gates of death and the bolts were shattered, and the iron bars were broken and fell to the ground, and everything was laid open. And S…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | THE GIVING UP OF PONTIUS PILATE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
THE GIVING UP OF PONTIUS PILATE “And when he was brought to the city of the Romans, the Caesar, hearing that Pilate had arrived, sat in the temple of the gods, in the presence of all the senate, and with all the a…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | THE BOOK OF JOHN CONCERNING THE FALLING ASLEEP OF MARY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
THE BOOK OF JOHN CONCERNING THE FALLING ASLEEP OF MARY “The apostles said all these things to the holy mother of God, why they had come, and in what way; and she stretched her hands to heaven and prayed, saying: I adore, and praise, and…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | OF THE JOURNEYINGS OF PHILIP THE APOSTLE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
OF THE JOURNEYINGS OF PHILIP THE APOSTLE “And the proconsul seeing them, gnashed his teeth, saying: Torture these deceivers that have deceived many women, and young men and girls, saying that they are worshippers of God, w…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | THE LETTER OF PONTIUS PILATE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
THE LETTER OF PONTIUS PILATE “Upon Jesus Christ, whose case I had dearly set forth to thee in my last, at length by the will of the people a bitter punishment has been inflicted, myself being in a sort unwillin…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | ACTS AND MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY APOSTLE ANDREW — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
ACTS AND MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY APOSTLE ANDREW “The blessed Andrew answered: This it is which I desired time to learn, which also I shall teach and make manifest, that though the souls of men are destroyed, they shall be renewed…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY AND GLORIOUS APOSTLE BARTHOLOMEW — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY AND GLORIOUS APOSTLE BARTHOLOMEW “And it happened, when the night had passed, and the following day was dawning, the sun having risen, the apostle appeared alone with the king in his bed-chamber, and said to him: W…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | THE PASSING OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY — FIRST LATIN FORM |
THE PASSING OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY “Then she called Joseph of the city of Arimathaea, and the other(7) disciples of the Lord; and when they, both relations and acquaintances, were assembled, she announced her departu…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | THE PASSING OF THE BLESSED MARY — SECOND LATIN FORM |
THE PASSING OF THE BLESSED MARY “And the three virgins, who were in the same place, and were watching, took up the body of the blessed Mary, that they might wash it after the manner of funeral rites. And when they…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | NARRATIVE OF JOSEPH OF ARIMATHAEA — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
NARRATIVE OF JOSEPH OF ARIMATHAEA “And in the middle of the feast of unleavened bread, His disciple John comes, and we no longer beheld the robber as to what took place. And John asked Jesus: Who is this, that Thou …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | ACTS OF PILATE — LATIN FORM |
ACTS OF PILATE “Pilate said to Him: Art thou then a king? Jesus said to him: Thou sayest that I am a king. For I for this was born, and for this have I come, that I should bear witness to the trut…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | PILATE THE PROCURATOR — FIRST GREEK FORM |
PILATE THE PROCURATOR “Full title: THE REPORT OF PILATE THE PROCURATOR CONCERNING OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST SENT TO THE AUGUST(1) CAESAR IN ROME…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | PONTIUS PILATE, PROCURATOR OF JUDAEA — SECOND GREEK FORM |
PONTIUS PILATE, PROCURATOR OF JUDAEA “Full title: THE REPORT OF PONTIUS PILATE, PROCURATOR OF JUDAEA SENT TO ROME TO TIBERIUS CAESAR…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | REVELATION OF ESDRAS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
REVELATION OF ESDRAS “Lord, it is good for man not to have been born. Woe to the human race then, when Thou shall come to judgment! And I said to the Lord: Lord, why hast Thou created man, and delivered…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | REVELATION OF JOHN — ST. JOHN THE THEOLOGIAN |
REVELATION OF JOHN “And again I said: Lord, and after that what wilt Thou do? And I heard a voice saying to me: Hear, righteous John. Then shall I uncover the four parts of the east, and there shall c…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | REVELATION OF MOSES — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
REVELATION OF MOSES “And the angel, having said this, went away from them. And Seth and Eve came to the tent where Adam was lying. And Adam says to Eve: Why didst thou work mischief against us, and bri…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | REVELATION OF PAUL — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
REVELATION OF PAUL “And the angel says to me: Hast thou seen all these things? And I answered: Yes my lord. And again he said to me: Come, follow me, and I shall show thee the place of the righteous. …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | THE STORY OF PERPETUA — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
THE STORY OF PERPETUA “We too are the slaves of Paul's master. Perpetua therefore having gone away, reported in the palace of the Emperor Nero that the soldiers who had beheaded Paul said: We shall no lo…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha | THE TEACHING OF SIMON CEPHAS IN THE CITY OF ROME — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apocrypha |
THE TEACHING OF SIMON CEPHAS IN THE CITY OF ROME “But ye see the wonderful works which accompany and follow these words. One would not credit it: the time lo! is short since He ascended to His Father, and see how His Gospel has wi…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions | THE ECCLESIASTICAL CANONS OF THE SAME HOLY APOSTLES — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions |
THE ECCLESIASTICAL CANONS OF THE SAME HOLY APOSTLES “40. Let not the presbyters and deacons do anything without the consent of the bishop, for it is he who is entrusted with the people of the Lord, and will be required to give an acc…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions | BOOK VIII. CONCERNING GIFTS, AND ORDINATIONS, AND THE ECCLESIASTICAL CANONS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions |
BOOK VIII. CONCERNING GIFTS, AND ORDINATIONS, AND THE ECCLESIASTICAL CANONS “Those eulogies which remain at the mysteries, let the deacons distribute them among the clergy, according to the mind of the bishop or the presbyters: to a bishop; four parts; to a…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions | BOOK V. CONCERNING THE MARTYRS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions |
BOOK V. CONCERNING THE MARTYRS “For the Almighty God Himself will raise us up through our Lord Jesus Christ, according to His infallible promise, and grant us a resurrection with all those that have slept from th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions | BOOK IV. ON HELPING THE POOR — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions |
BOOK IV. ON HELPING THE POOR “V. We exhort, therefore, the widows and orphans to partake of those things that are bestowed upon them with all fear, and all pious reverence, and to return thanks to God who gives…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions | BOOK I. CONCERNING THE LAITY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions |
BOOK I. CONCERNING THE LAITY “Let the husband not be insolent nor arrogant towards his wife; but compassionate, bountiful, willing to please his own wife alone,(5) and treat her honourably and obligingly, endea…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions | BOOK VII. CONCERNING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions |
BOOK VII. CONCERNING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE “Full title: CONCERNING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, AND THE EUCHARIST, AND THE INITIATION INTO CHRIST…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions | BOOK VI. ON HERESIES. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions |
BOOK VI. ON HERESIES. “But we do not say so of that mixture that is contrary to nature, or of any unlawful practice; for such are enmity to God. For the sin of Sodom is contrary to nature, as is also tha…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions | THE LORD'S TEACHING THROUGH THE TWELVE APOSTLES TO THE NATIONS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions |
THE LORD'S TEACHING THROUGH THE TWELVE APOSTLES TO THE NATIONS “And the way of death(2) is this: First of all it is evil and full of curse:(3) murders,(4) adulteries, lusts, fornications, thefts, idolatries, magic arts, witchcrafts, rapines, fa…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions | BOOK III. CONCERNING WIDOWS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions |
BOOK III. CONCERNING WIDOWS “Thou therefore, O bishop, according to that type, shalt anoint the head of those that are to be baptized, whether they be men or women, with the holy oil, for a type of the spiritu…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions | BOOK II. OF BISHOPS, PRESBYTERS, AND DEACONS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions |
BOOK II. OF BISHOPS, PRESBYTERS, AND DEACONS “But be thou, O bishop, holy, unblameable, no striker, not soon angry, not cruel; but a builder up, a converter, apt to teach, forbear-ing of evil, of a gentle mind, meek, long-suff…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria | The Instructor, V1 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria |
The Instructor, V1 “Further release from evils is the beginning of salvation. We then alone, who first have touched the confines of life, are already perfect; and we already live who are separated fro…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria | The Instructor, V3 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria |
The Instructor, V3 “And of what sort are their baths? Houses skilfully constructed, compact, portable, transparent, covered with fine linen. And gold-plated chairs, and silver ones, too, and ten thous…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria | The Instructor, V2 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria |
The Instructor, V2 “But if any necessity arises, commanding the presence of married women, let them be well clothed--without by raiment, within by modesty. But as for such as are unmarried, it is the …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria | THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V8 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria |
THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V8 “Now, on the man who proposes the question denying that plants are animals, we shall show that he affirms what contradicts himself. For, having defined the animal by the fact of its…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria | THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V5 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria |
THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V5 “So very mystically the five loaves are broken by the Saviour, and fill the crowd of the listeners. For great is the crowd that keep to the things of sense, as if they were the only…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria | THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V4 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria |
THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V4 “These things, then, are to be abstained from, not for their own sakes, but for the sake of the body; and care for the body is exercised for the sake of the Soul, to which it has re…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria | THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V1 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria |
THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V1 “This, then, "the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God," and of those who are "the wise the Lord knoweth their thoughts that they are vain."(10) Let no man therefore glory on…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria | THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V7 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria |
THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V7 “But those who have not seen the self-determination of the human soul, and its incapability of being treated as a slave in what respects the choice of life, being disgusted at what …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria | THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V6 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria |
THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V6 “Nor will he, therefore, eagerly desire to be assimilated to what is beautiful, possessing, as he does, beauty by love. What more need of courage and of desire to him, who has obtai…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria | THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V3 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria |
THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V3 “Qui autem Dei creaturae resistunt per speciosam illam continentiam, illa quoque dicunt, quae ad Salomen dicta sunt, quorum prius meminimus: habentur autem, ut existimo, in Evangeli…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria | THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V2 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Arnobius ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V5 And because these sprang from red blood, is their colour therefore bright purple, with a dash of yellow? Say further that they are juicy also, that they have the taste of wine, because they spring from the blood of one filled with it, and you have finished your story consistently. O Abdera, Abdera, what occasions for mocking you would give(9) to men, if such a tale had been devised by you! All fathers relate it, and haughty states peruse it; and you are considered foolish, and utterly dull and stupid.( ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V4 15. And lest it should seem tedious and prolix to wish to consider each person singly, the same theologians say that there are four Vulcans and three Dianas, as many Aesculapii and five Dionysi, six Hercules and four Venuses, three sets of Castors and the same number of Muses, three winged Cupids, and four named Apollo;(12) whose fathers they mention in like manner, in like manner their mothers, and the places where they were born, and point out the origin and family of each. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V1 17. And yet, O ye great worshippers and priests of the deities, why, as you assert that those most holy gods are enraged at Christian communities, do you not likewise perceive, do you not see what base feelings, what unseemly frenzies, you attribute to your deities? For, to be angry, what else is it than to be insane, to rave, to be urged to the lust of vengeance, and to revel in the troubles of another's grief, through the madness of a savage disposition? Your great gods, then, know, are subject to and feel that which wild beasts, which monstrous brutes experience, which the deadly plant natrix contains in its poisoned roots. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V7 13. We have shown sufficiently, as I suppose, that victims, and the things which go along with them, are offered in vain to the immortal gods, because they are neither nourished by them, nor feel any pleasure, nor lay aside their anger and resentment, so as either to give good fortune, or to drive away anti avert the opposite. We have now to examine that point also which has been usually asserted by some, and applied to forms of ceremony. For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V6 16. And so unmindful and forgetful of what the substance and origin of the images are, you, men, rational beings(6) and endowed with the gift of wisdom and discretion, sink down before pieces of baked earthenware, adore plates of copper, beg from the teeth of elephants good health, magistracies, sovereignties, power, victories, acquisitions, gains, very good harvests, and very rich vintages; and while it is plain and clear that you are speaking to senseless things, you think that you are heard, and bring yourselves into disgrace of your own accord, by vainly and credulously deceiving yourselves. ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V3 19. If you are willing to hear our conclusions, then learn that we are so far from attributing bodily shape to the Deity, that we fear to ascribe to so great a being even mental graces, and the very excellences by which a few have been allowed with difficulty to distinguish themselves. For who will say that God is brave, firm, good, wise? who will say that He has integrity, is temperate, even that He has knowledge, understanding, forethought? that He directs towards fixed moral ends the actions on which He determines? ARNOBIUS AGAINST THE HEATHEN, V2 13. Meantime, however, O you who wonder and are astonished at the doctrines of the learned, and of philosophy, do you not then think it most unjust to scoff, to jeer at us as though we say foolish and senseless things, when you too are found to say either these or just such things which you laugh at when said and uttered by us? Nor do I address those who, scattered through various bypaths of the schools, have formed this and that insignificant party through diversity of opinion. You, you I address, who zealously follow Mercury,(1) Plato, and Pythagoras, and the rest of you who are of one mind, and walk in unity in the same paths of doctrine. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Alexandria |
THE STROMATA, OR MISCELLANIES, V2 “Philanthropy, in order to which also, is natural affection, being a loving treatment of men, and natural affection, which is a congenial habit exercised in the love of friends or d…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Rome | THE FIRST EPISTLE OF CLEMENT TO THE CORINTHIANS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Clement of Rome |
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF CLEMENT TO THE CORINTHIANS “To these men who spent their lives in the practice of holiness, there is to be added a great multitude of the elect, who, having through envy endured many indignities and tortures,…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | CANONICAL EPISTLE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
CANONICAL EPISTLE “But others deceive themselves by fancying that they can retain the property of others which they may have found as an equivalent for their own property which they have lost. In thi…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | THE FIRST HOMILY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
THE FIRST HOMILY “by reason that God the Word from above took His abode in thee, and formed the new Adam in thy holy womb, and inasmuch as the Holy Ghost gave the power of conception to the holy vir…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | THE FOURTH HOMILY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
THE FOURTH HOMILY “When I baptize others, I baptize into Thy name, in order that they may believe on Thee, who comest with glory; but when I baptize Thee, of whom shall I make mention? and into whose…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW “THE single eye is the love unfeigned; for when the body is enlightened by it, it sets forth through the medium of the outer members only things which are perfectly correspondent wi…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | ON ALL THE SAINTS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
ON ALL THE SAINTS “For these have inspired aged men to accomplish with much love a long course, and constrained them to support their failing steps by the staff of the word;(6) and they have stimulat…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | A METAPHRASE OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
A METAPHRASE OF THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES. “Moreover, wisdom, when it is found in a man, shows itself also in its possessor's face, and makes his countenance to shine; as, on the other hand, effrontery convicts the man in wh…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | ON THE TRINITY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
ON THE TRINITY “I see in all three essentials--substance, genus, name. We speak of man, servant, curator (curatorem),--man, by reason of substance; servant, by reason of genus or condition; curato…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | THE ORATION AND PANEGYRIC ADDRESSED TO ORIGEN — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
THE ORATION AND PANEGYRIC ADDRESSED TO ORIGEN “But we, like any of the poor, unfurnished with these varied specifics[1]--whether as never having been possessed of them, or, it may be, as having lost them--are under the necessit…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | A Sectional Confession of Faith — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
A Sectional Confession of Faith “The same position we hold respecting the Spirit, who has that unity with the Son which the Son has with the Father. Wherefore let the hypostasis of the Father be discriminated by t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | A Sectional Confession of Faith — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
A Sectional Confession of Faith “Subtitled: A FRAGMENT OF THE SAME DECLARATION OF FAITH, ACCOMPANIED BY GLOSSES…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | THE SECOND HOMILY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
THE SECOND HOMILY “It brings us the glad tidings of this economy of the Saviour altogether to be praised, to wit, that to them who had wandered astray the way of salvation was shown, and that to the …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | ON THE SUBJECT OF THE SOUL — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
ON THE SUBJECT OF THE SOUL “Our body, when it is put in action, is put in action either from without or from within. And that it is not put in action from without, is manifest from the circumstance that it is…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | THE THIRD HOMILY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
THE THIRD HOMILY “Again have we the glad tidings of joy, again the announcements of liberty, again the restoration, again the return, again the promise of gladness, again the release from slavery. A…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus | TWELVE TOPICS ON THE FAITH — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Cyprian TREATISE XII. THREE BOOKS OF TESTIMONIES AGAINST THE JEWS That the Gentiles rather than the Jews attain to the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel the Lord says: "Many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall go out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."[18] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP AND MARTYR Note: BY PONTIUS THE DEACON TREATISE VIII. ON WORKS AND ALMS. 10. You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. TREATISE XI. EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM, ADDRESSED TO FORTUNATUS. 4. That God does not easily pardon idolaters. Moses in Exodus prays for the people, and does not obtain his prayer, saying: "I pray, O Lord, this people hath sinned a great sin. They have made them gods of gold. And now, if Thou forgivest them their sin, forgive it; but if not, blot me out of the book which Thou hast written. TREATISES ATTRIBUTED TO CYPRIAN ON QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY 9. The Christian has nobler exhibitions, if he wishes for them. He has true and profitable pleasures, if he will recollect himself. And to say nothing of those which he cannot yet contemplate, he has that beauty of the world to look upon and admire.[3] He may gaze upon the sun's rising, and again on its setting, as it brings round in their mutual changes days and nights; the moon's orb, designating in its waxings and warnings the courses of the seasons; the troops of shining stars, and those which glitter from on high with extreme mobility,--their members divided through the changes of the entire year TREATISE V. AN ADDRESS TO DEMETRIANUS And therefore by the mouth of the prophet the truth of the matter is put forth with the divine spirit and instinct: it is shown in a certain and obvious way that God can prevent adverse things, but that the evil deserts of sinners prevent His bringing aid. "Is the Lord's hand," says he, "not strong to save you; or has He made heavy His ear, that He cannot hear you? But your sins separate between you and God; and because of your sins He hath hid His face from you, that He may not have mercy." (2) Therefore let your sins and of-fences be reckoned up; let the wounds of your conscience be considered; and let each one cease complaining about God, or about us, if he should perceive that himself deserves what he suffers. TREATISE IV. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. 18. As the prayer goes forward, we ask and say, "Give us this day our daily bread." And this may be understood both spiritually and literally, because either way of understanding it is rich in divine usefulness to our salvation. For Christ is the bread of life; and this bread does not belong to all men, but it is ours. And according as we say, "Our Father," because He is the Father of those who understand and believe; so also we call it "our bread," because Christ is the bread of those who are in union with His body. TREATISE IX. ON THE ADVANTAGE OF PATIENCE. 13. It is the wholesome precept of our Lord and Master: "He that endureth," saith He, "unto the end, the same shall be saved;"(4) and again, "If ye continue," saith He, "in my word, ye shall be truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."(5) We must endure and persevere, beloved brethren, in order that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to the truth and liberty itself; for that very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But that hope and faith may attain to their result, there is need of patience. TREATISE I. ON THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH. 11. Against people of this kind the Lord cries; from these He restrains and recalls His erring people, saying, "Hearken not unto the words of the false prophets; for the visions of their hearts deceive them. They speak, but not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say to those who cast away the word of God, Ye shall have peace, and every one that walketh after his own will. Every one who walketh in the error of his heart, no evil shall come upon him. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. TREATISE VII. ON THE MORTALITY. And Tobias, after his excellent works, after the many and glorious illustrations of his merciful spirit, having suffered the loss of his sight, fearing and blessing God in his adversity, by his very bodily affliction increased in praise; and even him also his wife tried to pervert, saying, "Where are thy righteousnesses? Behold what thou sufferest!"(8) But he, stedfast and firm in respect of the fear of God, and armed by the faith of his religion to all endurance of suffering, yielded not to the temptation of his weak wife in his trouble, but rather deserved better from God by his greater patience; and afterwards Raphael the angel praises him TREATISE VI. ON THE VANITY OF IDOLS 5. Kingdoms do not rise to supremacy through merit, but are varied by chance. Empire was formerly held by both Assyrians and Medes and Persians; and we know, too, that both Greeks and Egyptians have had dominion. Thus, in the varying vicissitudes of power, the period of empire has also come to the Romans as to the others. But if you recur to its origin, you must needs blush. A people is collected together from profligates and criminals, and by founding an asylum, impunity for crimes makes the number great; and that their king himself may have a superiority in crime, Romulus becomes a fratricide TREATISE X. ON JEALOUSY AND ENVY. 11. Why do you rush into the darkness of jealousy? why do you enfold yourself in the cloud of malice? why do you quench all the light of peace and charity in the blindness of envy? why do you return to the devil, whom you had renounced? why do you stand like Cain? For that he who is jealous of his brother, and has him in hatred, is bound by the guilt of homicide, the Apostle John declares in his epistle, saying, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath life abiding in him."(2) TREATISE III. ON THE LAPSED. 14. But now, what wounds can those who are overcome show? what gashes of gaping entrails, what tortures of the limbs, in cases where it was not faith that fell in the encounter, but faithlessness that anticipated the struggle? Nor does the necessity of the crime excuse the person compelled, where the crime is committed of free will. Nor do I say this in such a way as that I would burden the cases of the brethren, but that I may rather instigate the brethren to a prayer of atonement. TREATISE II. ON THE DRESS OF VIRGINS. 10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, "What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow."(1) And the apostle again warns us, and says, "And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away." III. ON THE VEILING OF VIRGINS Let us now see whether the apostle withal observes the norm of this name in accordance with Genesis, attributing it to the sex; calling the virgin Mary a woman, just as Genesis (does) Eve. For, writing to the Galatians, "God," he says, "sent His own Son, made of a woman,"(3) who, of course, is admitted to have been a virgin, albeit Hebion(4) resist (that doctrine). I recognise, too, the angel Gabriel as having been sent to "a virgin."(5) But when he is blessing her, it is "among women," not among virgins, that he ranks her: "Blessed (be) thou among women." The angel withal knew that even a virgin is called a woman. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Gregory Thaumaturgus |
TWELVE TOPICS ON THE FAITH “If any one affirms that He who suffered is one, and that He who suffered not is another, and refuses to acknowledge that the Word, who is Himself the impassibie and unchangeable Go…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus | The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 8 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus |
The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 8 “After, then, he had formed the firmament over the nether world, "he both divided the darkness from the light, and called the light which was above the firmament day, and the darkne…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus | The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 5 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus |
The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 5 “In order, therefore, that finally the Great Man from above may be overpowered, "from whom," as they say, "the whole family named on earth and in the heavens has been formed, to him…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus | The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 4 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus |
The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 4 “For it is incredible that all, distant from one another by a long interval of duration, should have been born under the urn of Aquarius. For it is not reasonable to say, that frequ…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus | The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 9 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus |
The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 9 “Now Callistus brought forward Zephyrinus himself, and induced him publicly to avow the following sentiments: "I know that there is one God, Jesus Christ; nor except Him do I know a…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus | The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 1 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus |
The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 1 “And he admits natures (such as those) of demons, and says that some of them are good, but others worthless. And some affirm that he states the soul to be uncreated and immortal, wh…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus | The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 7 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus |
The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 7 “But concerning Substance, the statements now made will suffice. But not only is Substance denominated genus, species, (and) individual, but also matter, and form, and privation. Th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus | The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 6 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus |
The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 6 “For, he says, he is in the habit of considering that all these portions of the fire, both visible and invisible, are possessed of perception and a share of intelligence.(5) The wor…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus | The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 10 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Hippolytus |
The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 10 “Now the Docetae advance assertions of this description: that the primal Deity is as a seed of the fig-tree; and that from this proceeded three AEons as the stem, and the leaves and…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE ANTIOCHIANS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE ANTIOCHIANS “Whosoever, therefore, declares that there is but one God, only so as to take away the divinity of Christ, is a devil,(3) and an enemy of all righteousness. He also that confesseth …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE EPHESIANS SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE EPHESIANS SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS “Let not then any one deceive you, as indeed ye are not deceived, inasmuch as ye are wholly devoted to God. For since there is no strife raging among you which might distress you, y…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE THIRD EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE EPHESIANS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE THIRD EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE EPHESIANS “And my love is crucified, and there is no fire in me for another love. I do not desire the food of corruption, neither the lusts of this world. I seek the bread of God, which is th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST. IGNATIUS TO THE EPHESIANS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST. IGNATIUS TO THE EPHESIANS “Pray for all men; for there is hope of repentance for them, that they may be counted worthy of God. By your works especially let them be instructed. Against their harsh words be ye…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO HERO, A DEACON OF ANTIOCH — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO HERO, A DEACON OF ANTIOCH “Flee from haughtiness, "for the Lord resisteth the proud."(4) Abhor falsehood, for says [the Scripture], "Thou shalt destroy all them that speak lies."(5) Guard against envy, for i…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE MAGNESIANS SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE MAGNESIANS SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS “If, then, those who were conversant with the ancient Scriptures came to newness of hope, expecting the coming of Christ, as the Lord teaches us when He says, "If ye had believed Mo…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO MARY AT NEAPOLIS, NEAR ZARBUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO MARY AT NEAPOLIS, NEAR ZARBUS “Now it occurs to me to mention, that the report is true which I heard of thee whilst thou wast at Rome with the blessed father(8) Linus, whom the deservedly-blessed Clement, a hear…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE PHILADELPHIANS SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE PHILADELPHIANS SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS “Wherefore, as children of light and truth, avoid the dividing of your unity, and the wicked doctrine of the doctrines; but where the shepherd is, there do ye as sheep follow. For t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE PHILIPPIANS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE PHILIPPIANS “For if the Lord were a mere man, possessed of a soul and body only, why dost thou mutilate and explain away His being born with the common nature of humanity? Why dost thou call th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO POLYCARP — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO POLYCARP “Flee wicked arts; but all the more discourse regarding them. Speak to my sisters, that they love in our Lord, and that their husbands be sufficient for them in the flesh and spirit…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO POLYCARP SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO POLYCARP SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS “Seeing that the Church which is at Antioch in Syria is, as report has informed me, at peace, through your prayers, I also am the more encouraged, resting without anxiety in God,(1)…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE ROMANS SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE ROMANS SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS “I write to all the Churches, and impress on them all, that I shall willingly die for God, unless ye hinder me. I beseech of you not to show an unseasonable goodwill towards me. Suf…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE SMYRAEANS SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE SMYRAEANS SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS “Let no man deceive himself. Unless he believes that Christ Jesus has lived in the flesh, and shall confess His cross and passion, and the blood which He shed for the salvation of t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE TARSIANS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE TARSIANS “Nor is He a mere man, by whom and in whom all things were made; for "all things were made by Him."(6) "When He made the heaven, I was present with Him; and I was there with Him, fo…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE TRALLIANS SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE TRALLIANS SHORTER AND LONGER VERSIONS “Not that I Know there is anything of this kind among you; but I put you on your guard, inasmuch as I love you greatly, and foresee the snares of the devil. Wherefore, clothing(11) …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch | MARY OF CASSOBELAE TO IGNATIUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Ignatius of Antioch |
MARY OF CASSOBELAE TO IGNATIUS “But as to those whom we have named being young men, do not, thou blessed one, have any apprehension. For I would have you know that they are wise about the flesh, and are insensibl…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Irenaeus | Irenaeus Against Heresies, v5 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Irenaeus |
Irenaeus Against Heresies, v5 “2. If, again, they refer to any cause on account of which their Father does not impart life to bodies, then that cause must necessarily appear superior to the Father, since it rest…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Irenaeus | FRAGMENTS FROM THE LOST WRITINGS OF IRENAEUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Irenaeus |
FRAGMENTS FROM THE LOST WRITINGS OF IRENAEUS “The(7) will and the energy of God is the effective and foreseeing cause of every time and place and age, and of every nature. The will is the reason ( logos ) of the intellectual s…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Irenaeus | Irenaeus Against Heresies, v4 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Irenaeus |
Irenaeus Against Heresies, v4 “3. And teaching this very thing, He said to the Jews: "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he should see my day; and he saw it, and was glad"(5) What is intended? "Abraham believed G…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Irenaeus | Irenaeus Against Heresies, v1 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Irenaeus |
Irenaeus Against Heresies, v1 “3. They further maintain that the passion which took place in the case of the twelfth AEon is pointed at by the apostasy of Judas, who was the twelfth apostle, and also by the fact…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Irenaeus | Irenaeus Against Heresies, v3 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Irenaeus |
Irenaeus Against Heresies, v3 “4. It follows then, as of course, that these men must either receive the rest of his narrative, or else reject these parts also. For no persons of common sense can permit them to r…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Irenaeus | Irenaeus Against Heresies, v2 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Irenaeus |
Irenaeus Against Heresies, v2 “3. These arguments may, in like manner, be adapted to meet the case of all those who, in any way, maintain that the world was formed either by angels or by any other one than the t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: JULIUS AFRICANUS | THE EPISTLE TO ARISTIDES — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: JULIUS AFRICANUS |
THE EPISTLE TO ARISTIDES “But in order that what I have said may be made evident, I shall explain the interchange(3) of the generations. If we reckon the generations from David through Solomon, Matthan is f…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: JULIUS AFRICANUS | THE EXTANT FRAGMENTS OF THE FIVE BOOKS OF THE CHRONOGRAPHY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: JULIUS AFRICANUS |
THE EXTANT FRAGMENTS OF THE FIVE BOOKS OF THE CHRONOGRAPHY “2. The most famous exile that befell the Hebrews, then--to wit, when they were led captive by Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon--lasted 70 years, as Jeremias had prophesied. Berosus t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: JULIUS AFRICANUS | THE PASSION OF ST. SYMPHOROSA AND HER SEVEN SONS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: JULIUS AFRICANUS |
THE PASSION OF ST. SYMPHOROSA AND HER SEVEN SONS “Then, on another day, the Emperor Adrian ordered all her seven sons to be brought before him in company; and when he had challenged them to sacrifice to idols, and perceived that t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: JULIUS AFRICANUS | NARRATIVE OF EVENTS HAPPENING IN PERSIA ON THE BIRTH OF CHRIST — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: JULIUS AFRICANUS |
NARRATIVE OF EVENTS HAPPENING IN PERSIA ON THE BIRTH OF CHRIST “And the king forthwith gave orders to bring in all the interpreters of prodigies, and the sages who were under his dominion. And when all the heralds sped with their proclamations,…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius | A TREATISE ON THE ANGER OF GOD — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius |
A TREATISE ON THE ANGER OF GOD “In the next place, if the things which are not seen are formed from invisible seeds, it follows that those which are seen are from visible seeds. Why, then, does no one see them? B…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius | THE EPITOME OF THE DIVINE INSTITUTES — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius |
THE EPITOME OF THE DIVINE INSTITUTES “But respecting the king and father of all these, Jupiter, whom they believe to possess the chief power in heaven,--what power [3] had he, who banished his father Saturnus from his …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius | BOOK V. OF JUSTICE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius |
BOOK V. OF JUSTICE “He could not therefore after death be believed to be a god, because it was evident that he was both a man and a magician; and for this reason he affected(1) divinity under the titl…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius | BOOK IV. OF TRUE WISDOM AND RELIGION — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius |
BOOK IV. OF TRUE WISDOM AND RELIGION “But before I begin to speak of God and His works, I must first speak a few things concerning the prophets, whose testimony I must now use, which I have refrained from doing in the …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius | BOOK I. OF THE FALSE WORSHIP OF THE GODS. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius |
BOOK I. OF THE FALSE WORSHIP OF THE GODS. “The prophets, who were very many, proclaim and declare the one God; for, being filled with the inspiration of the one God, they predicted things to come, with agreeing and harmonio…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius | OF THE MANNER IN WHICH THE PERSECUTORS DIED — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius |
OF THE MANNER IN WHICH THE PERSECUTORS DIED “But that which gave rise to public and universal calamity, was the tax imposed at once on each province and city. Surveyors having been spread abroad, and occupied in a general and…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius | THE PHOENIX — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius |
THE PHOENIX “Then with her mouth she scatters juices around and upon her limbs, about to die with her own funeral rites. Then amidst various odours she yields up(13) her life, nor fears the fai…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius | A POEM ON THE PASSION OF THE LORD — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius |
A POEM ON THE PASSION OF THE LORD “I passed my earliest years in the Pharian[7] regions, being an exile in the reign of Herod; and after my return to Judaea I spent the rest of my years, always engaged[8] in fasting…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius | BOOK VII. OF A HAPPY LIFE. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius |
BOOK VII. OF A HAPPY LIFE. “But, test any one should think this incredible, I will show how it will come to pass. First, the kingdom will be enlarged, and the chief power, dispersed among many and divided,[8]…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius | BOOK VI. OF TRUE WORSHIP. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius |
BOOK VI. OF TRUE WORSHIP. “I have said that which was the first thing, that the knowledge of good is not virtue; and secondly, I have shown what virtue is, and in what it consists. It follows that I should s…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius | BOOK III. OF THE FALSE WISDOM OF PHILOSOPHERS. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius |
BOOK III. OF THE FALSE WISDOM OF PHILOSOPHERS. “Does wisdom therefore nowhere exist? Yes, indeed, it was amongst them, but no one saw it. Some thought that all things could be known: these were manifestly not wise. Others though…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius | BOOK II. OF THE ORIGIN OF ERROR. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius |
BOOK II. OF THE ORIGIN OF ERROR. “Nor are the poets to be listened to, who say that in the beginning was a chaos, that is, a confusion of matter and the elements; but that God afterwards divided all that mass, and …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius | ON THE WORKMANSHIP OF GOD, OR THE FORMATION OF MAN — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Lactantius |
ON THE WORKMANSHIP OF GOD, OR THE FORMATION OF MAN “For the parts of the intestines which receive the food and drink from the belly are more open than the other coils, and much more delicate. These entwine themselves around and enco…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | THE BANQUET OF THE TEN VIRGINS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus |
THE BANQUET OF THE TEN VIRGINS “EUBOULIOS. Be comforted, my excellent friend, for we have had no precise information respecting anything which happened; since the person who brought us the intelligence had nothin…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | DISCOURSE VI. — AGATHE. |
DISCOURSE VI. “So long, then, as this people treasured up nourishment for the light, supplying oil by their works, the light of continence was not extinguished among them, but was ever shining an…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | DISCOURSE X. — DOMNINA. |
DISCOURSE X. “And this is the cause why the fig-tree may be said not to have obtained the kingdom over trees, which, in a spiritual sense, mean men; and the fig-tree the command, because man des…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | DISCOURSE XI. — ARETE. |
DISCOURSE XI. “For many who thought that to repress vehement lascivious desires constituted chastity, neglecting other duties connected with it, failed also in this, and have brought blame(2) upo…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | DISCOURSE I. — MARCELLA. |
DISCOURSE I. “What then did the Lord, who is the Truth and the Light, take in hand when He came down from heaven? He preserved the flesh which He had taken upon Him incorrupt in virginity, so th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | DISCOURSE VII. — PROCILLA. |
DISCOURSE VII. “Now he calls by the name of virgins, who belong to a countless assembly, those who, being inferior to the better ones, have practised righteousness, and have striven against sin wi…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | DISCOURSE III. — THALEIA. |
DISCOURSE III. “And now we seem to have said almost enough on the fact that man has become the organ and clothing of the Only-begotten, and what He was who came to dwell in him. But the fact that …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | DISCOURSE V. — THALLOUSA. |
DISCOURSE V. “Moreover, it has been handed down that the unbloody altar of God signifies the assembly of the chaste; thus virginity appears to be something great and glorious. Therefore it ought…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | DISCOURSE VIII. — THEKLA. |
DISCOURSE VIII. “Now the statement that she stands upon the moon, as I consider, denotes the faith of those who are cleansed from corruption in the laver of regeneration, because the light of the m…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | DISCOURSE IV. — THEOPATRA |
DISCOURSE IV. “If, then, the rivers of Babylon are the streams of voluptuousness, as wise men say, which confuse and disturb the soul, then the willows must be chastity, to which we may suspend a…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | DISCOURSE II. — THEOPHILA. |
DISCOURSE II. “And perhaps there will be room for some to argue plausibly among those who are wanting in discrimination and judgment, that this fleshly garment of the soul, being planted by men, …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | DISCOURSE IX. — TUSIANE. |
DISCOURSE IX. “Such fruit it is necessary that we bring when we come to the judgment-seat of Christ, on the first day of the feast; for if we are without it we shall not be able to feast with God…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | THREE FRAGMENTS FROM THE HOMILY ON THE CROSS AND PASSION OF CHRIST — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus |
THREE FRAGMENTS FROM THE HOMILY ON THE CROSS AND PASSION OF CHRIST “Some think that God also, whom they measure with the measure of their own feelings, judges the same thing that wicked and foolish men judge to be subjects of praise and blame, and …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | FROM THE DISCOURSE ON THE RESURRECTION — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus |
FROM THE DISCOURSE ON THE RESURRECTION “VII. He says, as was said also by Athenagoras,(1) that the devil is a spirit, made by God, in the neighbourhood of matter, as of course the rest of the angels are, and that he was …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | SOME OTHER FRAGMENTS OF THE SAME METHODIUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus |
SOME OTHER FRAGMENTS OF THE SAME METHODIUS “Thou contendest with Me, and settest thyself against Me, and opposest those who combat for Me. But where weft thou when I made the world? What wert thou then? Hadst thou yet, says …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | ORATION ON THE PALMS. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus |
ORATION ON THE PALMS. “III. But while these things were doing, and the disciples were rejoicing and praising God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, Blessed be the King…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus | ORATION CONCERNING SIMEON AND ANNA — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Methodius of Olympus |
ORATION CONCERNING SIMEON AND ANNA “VI. Hence the aged Simeon, putting off the weakness of the flesh, and putting on the strength of hope, in the face of the law hastened to receive the Minister of the law, the Teach…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | AMBROSE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
AMBROSE “Kronos, again, who is a god, who devoured all those children of his, was not even brought before a court of justice. They further tell us that the sovereign of the gods, his son, w…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | ARISTO OF PELLA — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
ARISTO OF PELLA “And when the man himself(1) who had instigated them(2) to this folly had paid the just penalty (says Eusebius, Hist, iv. 6), "the whole nation from that time was strictly forbidden…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | THE BOOK OF THE LAWS OF DIVERS COUNTRIES — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
THE BOOK OF THE LAWS OF DIVERS COUNTRIES “"If all men," said Bardesan, "acted alike,[4] and followed one bias,[5] it would then be manifest that it was their nature that guided them, and that they had not that freedom of w…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | CLAUDIUS APOLLINARIS, BISHOP OF HIERAPOLIS, AND APOLOGIST — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
CLAUDIUS APOLLINARIS, BISHOP OF HIERAPOLIS, AND APOLOGIST “Apollinaris was bishop of Hierapolis on the Maeander, and, Lightfoot thinks, was probably with Melito and Polycrates, known to Polycarp, and influenced by his example and doctrine.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | CONCERNING MONTANISM — APOLLONIUS |
CONCERNING MONTANISM “But, not to dwell further on these matters, let the prophetess tell us concerning Alexander, who calls himself a martyr, with whom she joins in banqueting; who himself also is wors…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | DIONYSIUS, BISHOP OF CORINTH — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
DIONYSIUS, BISHOP OF CORINTH “For the old man Apelles entered into conversation with us, and was convicted of uttering many false opinions. For example, he asserted that men should on no account examine into th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | HEGESIPPUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
HEGESIPPUS “And, when many were fully convinced by these words, and offered praise for the testimony of James, and said, "Hosanna to the son of David," then again the said Pharisees and scribe…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | MAXIMUS, BISHOP OF JERUSALEM — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
MAXIMUS, BISHOP OF JERUSALEM “"If you had stated that your suspicion that matter was uncreated arose from the nature of created things as we find them,[3] I should have employed abundant argument in proof that …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | MELITO, THE PHILOSOPHER — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
MELITO, THE PHILOSOPHER “In place of Isaac the just, a ram appeared for slaughter, in order that Isaac might be liberated from his bonds. The slaughter of this animal redeemed Isaac from death. In like man…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | PANTAENUS, THE ALEXANDRIAN PHILOSOPHER — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
PANTAENUS, THE ALEXANDRIAN PHILOSOPHER “From this mission he seems to have returned about A.D. 192. Possibly he was master of the Alexandrian school before he went to India, and came back to his chair when that mission w…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | POLYCRATES, BISHOP OF EPHESUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
POLYCRATES, BISHOP OF EPHESUS “As for us, then, we scrupulously observe the exact day,[8] neither adding nor taking away. For in Asia great luminaries[9] have gone to their rest, who shall rise again in the day …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | PSEUD-IRENAEUS. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
PSEUD-IRENAEUS. “To forbear threatenings, to revile not again, to conquer through patient suffering, to persevere, "looking unto Jesus," and to be silent, like Him, before their murderers, was ther…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | QUADRATUS, BISHOP OF ATHENS. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
QUADRATUS, BISHOP OF ATHENS. “OUR Saviour's works, moreover, were always present: for they were real, consisting of those who had been healed of their diseases, those who had been raised from the dead; who were…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | SERAPION, BISHOP OF ANTIOCH — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
SERAPION, BISHOP OF ANTIOCH “THAT ye may see also that the proceedings of this lying confederacy,[2] to which is given the name of New Prophecy, is abominated among the whole brotherhood throughout the world, …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | THEOPHILUS, BISHOP OF CAESAREA IN PALESTINE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
THEOPHILUS, BISHOP OF CAESAREA IN PALESTINE “ENDEAVOUR also to send abroad copies of our epistle among all the churches, so that those who easily deceive their own Souls may not be able to lay the blame on us. We would have y…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | THE TRENTINE CREED, OR THE CREED OF PIUS IV., A.D. 1564. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
THE TRENTINE CREED, OR THE CREED OF PIUS IV., A.D. 1564. “8. I most firmly assert that the images of Christ, of the mother of God, ever virgin, and also of the saints, ought to be had and retained, and that due honour and veneration is to…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries | LETTER OF THE CHURCHES OF VIENNA AND LUGDUNUM — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Origen ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v8 Whilst there are thus many gods and lords, whereof some are such in reality, and others are such only in name, we strive to rise not only above those whom the nations of the earth worship as gods, but also beyond those spoken of as gods in Scripture, of whom they are wholly ignorant who are strangers to the covenants of God given by Moses and by our Saviour Jesus, and who have no part in the promises which He has made to us through them. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v5 As we allege, however, that he has fallen into confusion in consequence of false notions which he has imbibed, come and let us point them out to the best of our ability, and show that although Celsus considers it to be a Jewish custom to bow down to the heaven and the angels in it, such a practice is not at all Jewish, but is in violation of Judaism, as it also is to do obeisance to sun, moon, and stars, as well as images. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v4 For there are different appearances, as it were, of the Word, according as He shows Himself to each one of those who come to His doctrine; and this in a manner corresponding to the condition of him who is just becoming a disciple, or of him who has made a little progress, or of him who has advanced further, or of him who has already nearly attained to virtue, or who has even already attained it. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v1 Now, with regard to his statement that he "is acquainted with all our doctrines," we have to say that this is a boastful and daring assertion; for if he had read the prophets in particular, which are full of acknowledged difficulties, and of declarations that are obscure to the multitude, and if he had perused the parables of the Gospels, and the other writings of the law and of the Jewish history, and the utterances of the apostles, and had read them candidly ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v7 But if he were dealing honestly in his accusations, he ought to have given the exact terms of the prophecies, whether those in which the speaker is introduced as claiming to be God Almighty, or those in which the Son of God speaks, or finally those under the name of the Holy Spirit. For thus he might have endeavoured to overthrow these assertions, and have shown that there was no divine inspiration in those words which urged men to forsake their sins, which condemned the past and foretold the future. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v6 Now the "human" wisdom is that which is termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with God;" whereas the "divine"--being different from the "human," because it is "divine"--comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v3 But observe what he alleges as a proof of his statement: "Christians at first were few in number, and held the same opinions; but when they grew to be a great multitude, they were divided and separated, each wishing to have his own individual party:[4] for this was their object from the beginning." That Christians at first were few in number, in comparison with the multitudes who subsequently became Christian, is undoubted; and yet, all things considered, they were not so very few. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS, v2 Celsus, however, accepting or granting that Jesus foreknew what would befall Him, might think to make light of the admission, as he did in the case of the miracles, when he alleged that they were wrought by means of sorcery; for he might say that many persons by means of divination, either by auspices, or auguries, or sacrifices, or nativities, have come to the knowledge of what was to happen. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v4 2. And we may see, moreover, how that religion itself grew up in a short time, making progress by the punishment and death of its worshippers, by the plundering of their goods, and by the tortures of every kind which they endured; and this result is the more surprising, that even the teachers of it themselves neither were men of skill,[1] nor very numerous; and yet these words are preached throughout the whole world, so that Greeks and Barbarians, wise and foolish, adopt the doctrines of the Christian religion.[3] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. Then, in the next place, we must know that every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice. Every rational creature, therefore, is capable of earning praise and censure: of praise, if, in conformity to that reason which he possesses, he advance to better things; of censure, if he fall away from the plan and course of rectitude, for which reason he is justly liable to pains and penalties. ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v3 2. But now, since we are treating of the manner in which the opposing powers stir up those contests, by means of which false knowledge is introduced into the minds of men, and human souls led astray, while they imagine that they have discovered wisdom, I think it necessary to name and distinguish the wisdom of this world, and of the princes of this world, that by so doing we may discover who are the fathers of this wisdom, nay, even of these kinds of wisdom ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS, v2 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Second and Third Centuries |
LETTER OF THE CHURCHES OF VIENNA AND LUGDUNUM “Full title: THE LETTER OF THE CHURCHES OF VIENNA AND LUGDUNUM TO THE CHURCHES OF ASIA AND PHRYGIA…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents | ACTS OF SHARBIL — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents |
ACTS OF SHARBIL “Sharbil said: Why should it be requisite for thee to ask me many questions, after that which I have said to thee: "I will not sacrifice"? Thou hast called me a self-despiser? But w…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents | THE TEACHING OF ADDAEUS THE APOSTLE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents |
THE TEACHING OF ADDAEUS THE APOSTLE “If, therefore, while Jesus our Lord was on earth ye would have believed in Him that He is the Son of God, and before ye had heard the word of His preaching would have confessed Him…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents | THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents |
THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES “The apostles further appointed: Let any priest who accidentally puts another in bonds s contrary to justice receive the punishment that is right; and let him that has been bound re…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents | A CANTICLE OF MAR JACOB THE TEACHER ON EDESSA — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents |
A CANTICLE OF MAR JACOB THE TEACHER ON EDESSA “She despatched a messenger to Him, and begged of Him to enter into friendship with her. By the righteous king she made intercession to Him, that He would depart from the Jewish peo…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents | CONCERNING ABGAR THE KING AND ADDAEUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents |
CONCERNING ABGAR THE KING AND ADDAEUS “Full title: EXTRACTS FROM VARIOUS BOOKS CONCERNING ABGAR THE KING AND ADDAEUS THE APOSTLE…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents | A HOMILY ON GURIA AND SHAMUNA — COMPOSED BY MAR JACOB |
A HOMILY ON GURIA AND SHAMUNA “Denying a man dies, confessing he lives, and the mouth hath power over it. Denial is death, and in confession is the soul's life; And power hath the mouth over them both, like a ju…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents | HOMILY ON HABIB THE MARTYR — COMPOSED BY MAR JACOB |
HOMILY ON HABIB THE MARTYR “Then errour grew envious, became furious, and was maddened, because of him; And she pursued after him, that she might shed upon the earth innocent blood. The Defamer, who hates the…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents | HISTORY OF ARMENIA. — MOSES OF CHORENE. |
HISTORY OF ARMENIA. “Thenceforth Thaddaeus began to preach the Gospel to the king and his town; laying his hands upon Abgar, he cured him; he cured also a man with gout, Abdu, a prince of the town, muc…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents | A LETTER OF MARA, SON OF SERAPION — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents |
A LETTER OF MARA, SON OF SERAPION “Let a man, therefore, rejoice in his empire, like Darius; or in his good fortune, like Polycrates; or in his bravery, like Achilles; or in his wife, like Agamemnon; or in his offsp…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents | THE MARTYRDOM OF BARSAMYA — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents |
THE MARTYRDOM OF BARSAMYA “Full title: THE MARTYRDOM OF BARSAMYA, THE BISHOP OF THE BLESSED CITY EDESSA…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents | MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY CONFESSORS SHAMUNA, GURIA, AND HABIB — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents |
MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY CONFESSORS SHAMUNA, GURIA, AND HABIB “By this time two hours of the day had passed since Shamuna had been hung up; and the fifth hour had now arrived, and he was still suspended on high--when the soldiers who stood aro…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents | MARTYRDOM OF HABIB THE DEACON — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents |
MARTYRDOM OF HABIB THE DEACON “And, when Habib heard what had taken place, he considered in his mind and pondered anxiously in his thoughts: It is expedient for me, said he, that I should go and appear before th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents | EARLIEST ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRISTIANITY IN EDESSA — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Syriac Documents |
EARLIEST ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRISTIANITY IN EDESSA “Full title: RELATING TO THE EARLIEST ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRISTIANITY IN EDESSA AND THE NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | AD MARTYRAS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
AD MARTYRAS “I leave out of account now the motive of glory. All these same cruel and painful conflicts, a mere vanity you find among men--in fact, a sort of mental disease--as trampled under f…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | AD NATIONES. BOOK I — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
AD NATIONES. BOOK I “We are indeed said to be the "third race" of men. What, a dog-faced race?(16) Or broadly shadow-footed?(17) Or some subterranean(18) Antipodes? If you attach any meaning to these n…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | AD NATIONES. BOOK II — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
AD NATIONES. BOOK II “If I must touch on their nuptial duties, there is Afterenda whose appointed function is to see to the offering of the dower; but fie on you! you have your Mutunus(2) and Tutunus an…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | AGAINST HERMOGENES — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
AGAINST HERMOGENES “He cannot say that it was as its Lord that God employed Matter for His creative works, for He could not have been the Lord of a substance which was co-equal with Himself. Well, but…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | AGAINST THE VALENTINIANS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
AGAINST THE VALENTINIANS “Now it is held amongst them, that, for the purpose of honouring the celestial marriages,(1) it is necessary to contemplate and celebrate the mystery always by cleaving to a compani…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | AGAINST ALL HERESIES — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
AGAINST ALL HERESIES “Carpocrates, futhermore, introduced the following sect. He affirms that there is one Virtue, the chief among the upper (regions): that out of this were produced angels and Virtues,…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | AN ANSWER TO THE JEWS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
AN ANSWER TO THE JEWS “For why should God, the founder of the universe, the Governor of the whole world,(4) the Fashioner of humanity,the Sower(5) of universal nations be believed to have given a law thr…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | APOLOGY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
APOLOGY “It bears witness, too, that God is judge, exclaiming, "God sees," and, "I commend myself to God," and, "God will repay me." O noble testimony of the soul by nature(1) Christian! Th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | THE CHAPLET, OR DE CORONA — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
THE CHAPLET, OR DE CORONA “And how long shall we draw the saw to and fro through this line, when we have an ancient practice, which by anticipation has made for us the state, i.e., of the question? If no pas…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | THE SHOWS, OR DE SPECTACULIS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
THE SHOWS, OR DE SPECTACULIS “Having sufficiently established the charge of idolatry, which alone ought to be reason enough for our giving up the shows, let us now ex abundanti look at the subject in another wa…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | ON THE FLESH OF CHRIST — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
ON THE FLESH OF CHRIST “Since(24) you think that this lay within the competency of your own arbitrary choice, you must needs have supposed that being born(25) was either impossible for God, or unbecoming …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | AGAINST MARCION, v5 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
AGAINST MARCION, v5 “The very "stumbling-block" which he declares Christ to be "to the Jews,"(16) points unmistakeably(17) to the Creator's prophecy respecting Him, when by Isaiah He says: "Behold I la…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | AGAINST MARCION, v1 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
AGAINST MARCION, v1 “The principal, and indeed(3) the whole, contention lies in the point of number: whether two Gods may be admitted, by poetic licence (if they must be),(4) or pictorial fancy, or by …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | AGAINST MARCION, v3 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
AGAINST MARCION, v3 “Our heretic must now cease to borrow poison from the Jew--"the asp," as the adage runs, "from the viper"(15)--and henceforth vomit forth the virulence of his own disposition, as wh…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | AGAINST MARCION, v2 — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
AGAINST MARCION, v2 “Furthermore, with respect to the repentance which occurs in His conduct?(9) you interpret it with similar perverseness just as if it were with fickleness and improvidence that He r…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | THE MARTYRDOM OF IGNATIUS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
THE MARTYRDOM OF IGNATIUS “Being then brought to him, and having communicated to him some spiritual gifts, and glorying in his bonds, he entreated of him to labour(5) along with him for the fulfilment of his…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | ON BAPTISM — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
ON BAPTISM “I know not whether any further point is mooted to bring baptism into controversy. Permit me to call to mind what I have omitted above, lest I seem to break off the train of impendi…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | ON IDOLATRY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
ON IDOLATRY “If we think over the rest of faults, tracing them from their generations, let us begin with covetousness, "a root of all evils,"(5) wherewith, indeed, some having been ensnared, "h…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | ON PRAYER. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
ON PRAYER. “Albeit Israel washed daily all his limbs over, yet is he never clean. His hands, at all events, are ever unclean, eternally dyed with the blood of the prophets, and of the Lord Him…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | ON REPENTANCE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
ON REPENTANCE “To reckon up the good, of repentance, the subject-matter is copious, and therefore should be committed to great eloquence. Let us, however, in proportion to our narrow abilities, i…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | THE PASSION OF THE HOLY MARTYRS PERPETUA AND FELICITAS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
THE PASSION OF THE HOLY MARTYRS PERPETUA AND FELICITAS “3. Since then the Holy Spirit permitted, and by permitting willed, that the proceedings of that exhibition should be committed to writing, although we are unworthy to complete the …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | OF PATIENCE. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
OF PATIENCE. “Not even that species of impatience under the loss of our dear ones is excused, where some assertion of a right to grief acts the patron to it. For the consideration of the apostle…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | AGAINST PRAXEAS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
AGAINST PRAXEAS “He existed before the creation of the world, up to the generation of the Son. For before all things God was alone--being in Himself and for Himself universe, and space, and all thi…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | THE PRESCRIPTION AGAINST HERETICS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
THE PRESCRIPTION AGAINST HERETICS “We, however, are not permitted to cherish any object(1) after our own will, nor yet to make choice of that which another has introduced of his private fancy. In the Lord's apostles…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE FLESH — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE FLESH “Hence it is that heretics start at once from this point,(1) from which they sketch the first draft of their dogmas, and afterwards add the details, being well aware how easily men'…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | TO SCAPULA — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
TO SCAPULA “We have no master but God. He is before you, and cannot be hidden from you, but to Him you can do no injury. But those whom you regard as masters are only men, and one day they the…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | SCORPIACE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
SCORPIACE “THE earth brings forth, as if by suppuration, great evil from the diminutive scorpion. The poisons are as many as are the kinds of it, the disasters as many as are also the species…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | THE SOUL'S TESTIMONY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
THE SOUL'S TESTIMONY “Well, in the first place, when thou speakest of one who is dead, thou sayest of him, "Poor man"--poor, surely, not because he has been taken from the good of life, but because he h…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | A TREATISE ON THE SOUL — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
A TREATISE ON THE SOUL “Besides, it would be a harsh and absurd proceeding to exempt anything from the class cf corporeal beings, on the ground that it is not exactly like the other constituents of that c…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | ON THE APPAREL OF WOMEN — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
ON THE APPAREL OF WOMEN “You must know that in the eye of perfect, that is, Christian, modesty, (carnal) desire of one's self (on the part of others) is not only not to be desired, but even execrated, by y…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | DE FUGA IN PERSECUTIONE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
DE FUGA IN PERSECUTIONE “It beseems us better to retain our position in submission to the will of God, than to flee at our own will. Rutilius, a saintly martyr, after having ofttimes fled from persecution …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | THE EPISTLES OF CYPRIAN — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
THE EPISTLES OF CYPRIAN “We have received your letter, beloved brother, which is abundantly sensible, and full of honesty and faith. Nor do we wonder that, skilled and exercised as you are in the Scripture…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | ON EXHORTATION TO CHASTITY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
ON EXHORTATION TO CHASTITY “, therefore, second marriage finds the source of its allowance in that "will of God" which is called indulgence, we shall deny that that which has indulgence for its cause is volit…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | ON FASTING — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
ON FASTING “For even by this very fact, that He exempts from eating that flesh only the 'soul' of which is not out-shed through 'blood,' it is manifest that He has conceded the use of all othe…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | ON MODESTY — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
ON MODESTY “For before her doors it stands, and by the example of its own stigma admonishes all others, and calls at the same time to its own aid the brethren's tears, and returns with an even…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | ON MONOGAMY. — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
ON MONOGAMY. “But grant that these argumentations may be thought to be forced and founded on con- jectures, if no dogmatic teachings have stood parallel with them which the Lord uttered in treat…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | ON THE PALLIUM — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
ON THE PALLIUM “But, albeit utterance be mute--impeded by infancy or else checked by bashfulness, for life is content with an even tongueless philosophy--my very cut is eloquent. A philosopher, in…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian | TO HIS WIFE — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: Tertullian |
TO HIS WIFE “To us continence has been pointed out by the Lord of salvation as an instrument for attaining eternity,(1) and as a testimony of (our) faith; as a commendation of this flesh of our…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: The Decretals | EPISTLE ON THE TRANSLATION OF BISHOPS AND OF EPISCOPAL SEATS — POPE ANTERUS |
EPISTLE ON THE TRANSLATION OF BISHOPS AND OF EPISCOPAL SEATS “For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever is made manifest (…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: The Decretals | DECREES OF FABIAN — TAKEN FROM THE DECRETAL OF GRATIAN |
DECREES OF FABIAN “Concerning relations who enter affinity by the connection of husband and wife, these, on the decease of wife or husband, may form a union in the fifth generation; and in the fourth…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: The Decretals | THE THIRD EPISTLE — POPE FABIAN |
THE THIRD EPISTLE “Wherefore, if any one of the bishops is accused on precise charges, he ought to be heard by all the bishops who are in the province; for it is not right that an accused person shou…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: The Decretals | THE FIRST EPISTLE — POPE FABIAN |
THE FIRST EPISTLE “These men, and all else who do not teach the true doctrine, and hold not the true faith, cannot act as accusers of any true believer, because they are branded with infamy, and are …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: The Decretals | THE SECOND EPISTLE — POPE FABIAN |
THE SECOND EPISTLE “"For a just man will fall seven times in a day, and will rise again; but the wicked shall fall into mischief. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth," saith Solomon, "and let not thi…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: The Decretals | THE FIRST EPISTLE. TO BISHOP BENEDICTUS — Pope Callistus |
THE FIRST EPISTLE. TO BISHOP BENEDICTUS “Fasting, which ye have learned to hold three times in the year among us, we decree now to take place, as more suitable, in four seasons; so that even as the year revolves through f…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: The Decretals | THE SECOND EPISTLE. TO ALL THE BISHOPS OF GAUL. — Pope Callistus |
THE SECOND EPISTLE. TO ALL THE BISHOPS OF GAUL. “For it is but equitable that those who despise the divine mandates, and prove themselves disobedient to the ordinances of the fathers, should be chastised with severer penalties, i…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: The Decretals | THE SECOND EPISTLE — Pope Pontianus |
THE SECOND EPISTLE “Full title: THE SECOND EPISTLE. TO ALL BISHOPS. ON BROTHERLY LOVE, AND ON AVOIDING THE EVIL.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: The Decretals | THE FIRST EPISTLE — Pope Pontianus |
THE FIRST EPISTLE “Full title: THE FIRST EPISTLE. TO FELIX SUBSCRIBONIUS ON THE HONOUR TO BE BESTOWED ON PRIESTS…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: The Decretals | THE FIRST EPISTLE. TO ALL THE BISHOPS OF SICILY. — Zephyrinus |
THE FIRST EPISTLE. TO ALL THE BISHOPS OF SICILY. “Now patriarchs and primates, in investigating the case of an accused bishop, should not pronounce a final decision until, supported by the authority of the apostles, they find that…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: The Decretals | THE SECOND EPISTLE. TO THE BISHOPS OF THE PROVINCE OF EGYPT. — Zephyrinus |
THE SECOND EPISTLE. TO THE BISHOPS OF THE PROVINCE OF EGYPT. “But we pray that a door of enclosure be placed upon their mouths, as we desire that no one perish or be defiled by their lips, and that they think or publish with their mouth no hu…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: The Decretals | THE EPISTLE OF POPE URBAN FIRST TO ALL CHRISTIANS — Church Fathers: Ante-Nicene: The Decretals |
THE EPISTLE OF POPE URBAN FIRST TO ALL CHRISTIANS “By the increase, therefore, and the mode of life which have been mentioned, the churches over which the bishops preside have grown so greatly with the help of the Lord, and the gre…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church History | HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME VIII. THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION — Church History |
HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME VIII. THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION “This volume concludes the history of the productive period of the Reformation, in which Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin were the chief actors. It follows the Protestant movement in Ger…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church History | HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME V. THE MIDDLE AGES — Church History |
HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME V. THE MIDDLE AGES “His aged and feeble successor, Lucius III., was elected, Sept. 1, 1181, by the cardinals alone. The Romans, deprived of their former share in the election, treated him with barbaro…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church History | HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME IV. MEDIAEVAL CHRISTIAINITY — Church History |
HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME IV. MEDIAEVAL CHRISTIAINITY “The conversion of the new and savage races which enter the theatre of history at the threshold of the middle ages, was the great work of the Christian church from the sixth to the …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church History | HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME I. APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAINITY — Church History |
HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME I. APOSTOLIC CHRISTIAINITY “Begins the eight-volume series by PHILIP SCHAFF…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church History | HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME VII. THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION — Church History |
HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME VII. THE HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION “The signs of the times point to a new era in the ever onward March of Christ's kingdom. God alone foreknows the future, and sees the end from the beginning. We poor mortals know on…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church History | HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME VI. THE MIDDLE AGES — Church History |
HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME VI. THE MIDDLE AGES “In England, Boniface met with sharp resistance. Edward I., 1272--1307, was on the throne. The pope attempted to prevent him from holding the crown of Scotland, claiming it as a pap…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church History | HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME III. NICENE AND POST-NICENE CHRISTIAINITY — Church History |
HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME III. NICENE AND POST-NICENE CHRISTIAINITY “The internal conflict between heathenism and Christianity presents the same spectacle of dissolution on the one hand and conscious power on the other. And here the Nicene age reape…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Church History | HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME II. ANTE-NICENE CHRISTIAINITY — Church History |
HISTORY of the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, VOLUME II. ANTE-NICENE CHRISTIAINITY “Thus Tertullian tells of a company of Christians in Ephesus, who begged martyrdom from the heathen governor, but after a few had been executed, the rest were sent away by him with …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Forbidden Gospels | Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v1 — Archbishop Wake |
Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v1 “6 For being a just man, he was not willing to expose her, nor defame her by the suspicion of being a harlot, since he was a pious man:…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Forbidden Gospels | Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v2 — Forbidden Gospels |
Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v2 “THE GOSPEL CALLED THE PROTEVANGELION;…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Forbidden Gospels | Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v3 — Forbidden Gospels |
Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v3 “THE FIRST GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY OF JESUS CHRIST.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Forbidden Gospels | Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v4 — Forbidden Gospels |
Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v4 “THE GOSPEL OF NICODEMUS, FORMERLY CALLED THE ACTS OF PONTIUS PILATE.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Forbidden Gospels | Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v5 — Forbidden Gospels |
Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v5 “THE EPISTLES OF JESUS CHRIST &ABGARUS KING OF EDESSA.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Forbidden Gospels | Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v6 — Forbidden Gospels |
Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v6 “THE FIRST EPISTLE OF CLEMENT TO THE CORINTHIANS.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Forbidden Gospels | Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v7 — Forbidden Gospels |
Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v7 “THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF BARNABAS.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Forbidden Gospels | Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v8 — Forbidden Gospels |
Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v8 “THE EPISTLE OF IGNATIUS TO THE EPHESIANS.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Forbidden Gospels | Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v9 — Forbidden Gospels |
Forbidden Gospels and Epistles, v9 “10 And now have they added lewdness to their other sins, and the pollutions of their naughtiness: thus have they filled up the measure of their iniquities. But do thou upbraid thy …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Martin Luther | Concerning Christian Liberty — Martin Luther |
Concerning Christian Liberty “Among those monstrous evils of this age with which I have now for three years been waging war, I am sometimes compelled to look to you and to call you to mind, most blessed father …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Martin Luther | A Treatise on Good Works — Martin Luther |
A Treatise on Good Works “II. The first and highest, the most precious of all good works is faith in Christ, as He says, John vi. When the Jews asked Him: "What shall we do that we may work the works of God…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Martin Luther | The Large Catechism — Martin Luther |
The Large Catechism “In the same manner as we have heard regarding Holy Baptism, we must speak also concerning the other Sacrament, namely, these three points: What is it? What are its benefits? and, W…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Martin Luther | Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians — Martin Luther |
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians “This accounts for the many new battles we have to wage nowadays. But the attacks of the old Serpent are not without profit to us, for they confirm our doctrine and strengthen our f…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Martin Luther | Martin Luther's Small Catechism — Translation by Robert E. Smith |
Martin Luther's Small Catechism “Q. How can water do such great things? A. Water doesn't make these things happen, of course. It is God's Word, which is with and in the water. Because, without God's Word, the wate…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | First Book of Adam and Eve — Pseudepigrapha |
First Book of Adam and Eve “And when they came to the opening of the gate of the garden, and saw the broad earth spread before them, covered with stones large and small, and with sand, they feared and tremble…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | THE SECOND BOOK OF Adam and Eve — Pseudepigrapha |
THE SECOND BOOK OF Adam and Eve “11 Then Lamech shot at Cain with his arrow and hit him in his side. And Lamech struck him with a stone from his sling, that fell upon his face, and knocked out both his eyes; then …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | The GOSPEL of NICODEMUS, formerly called the ACTS of PONTIUS PILATE. — Pseudepigrapha |
The GOSPEL of NICODEMUS, formerly called the ACTS of PONTIUS PILATE. “6 The Jews say to him, His blood be upon us and our children. Then Pilate calling together the elders and scribes, priests and Levites, saith to them privately, Do not act thus; I …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | BOOK OF JAMES, OR PROTEVANGELIUM — Pseudepigrapha |
BOOK OF JAMES, OR PROTEVANGELIUM “1 And behold an angel of the Lord appeared, saying unto her: Anna, Anna, the Lord hath hearkened unto thy prayer, and thou shalt conceive and bear, and thy seed shall be spoken of …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | The Book of the Secrets of Enoch — Pseudepigrapha |
The Book of the Secrets of Enoch “1 And those men took me and led me up on to the second heaven, and showed me darkness, greater than earthly darkness, and there I saw prisoners hanging, watched, awaiting the great…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | THE GOSPEL OF PSEUDO-MATTHEW — Pseudepigrapha |
THE GOSPEL OF PSEUDO-MATTHEW “After these things, her nine months being fulfilled, Anna brought forth a daughter, and called her Mary. And having weaned her in her third year, Joachim, and Anna his wife, went t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | GOSPEL (QUESTIONS) OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW — Pseudepigrapha |
GOSPEL (QUESTIONS) OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW “Mary saith: Thou art the image of Adam: was not he first formed and then Eve? Look upon the sun, that according to the likeness of Adam it is bright. and upon the moon, that becaus…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | The Gospel of Phillip — Pseudepigrapha |
The Gospel of Phillip “Some are afraid lest they rise naked. Because of this they wish to rise in the flesh, and they do not know that it is those who wear the flesh who are naked. It is those who [...] …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | GOSPEL OF THOMAS, GREEK TEXT A - infancy II — Pseudepigrapha |
GOSPEL OF THOMAS, GREEK TEXT A - infancy II “After that again he went through the village, and a child ran and dashed against his shoulder. And Jesus was provoked and said unto him: Thou shalt not finish thy course (lit. go a…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | THE ARABIC GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY OF THE SAVIOUR - 1 — Pseudepigrapha |
THE ARABIC GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY OF THE SAVIOUR - 1 “9. And when Herod saw that the magi had left him, and not come back to him, he summoned the priests and the wise men, and said to them: Show me where Christ is to be born. And when…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | THE BOOK OF JUBILEES — Pseudepigrapha |
THE BOOK OF JUBILEES “And it came to pass when the children of men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, that the angels of God saw them on a certain year of this…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | LETTERS OF HEROD AND PILATE — Pseudepigrapha |
LETTERS OF HEROD AND PILATE “And he did another yet more mighty work, which had been strange even among our gods, he raised from the dead one Lazarus, who had been dead four days,commanding by a word alone tha…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | THE LOST GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PETER — Pseudepigrapha |
THE LOST GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PETER “But the scribes and Pharisees and elders being gathered together one with another, when they heard that all the people murmured and beat their breasts saying, If by his death these…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | THE GOSPEL OF THE NATIVITY OF MARY -1 — Pseudepigrapha |
THE GOSPEL OF THE NATIVITY OF MARY -1 “Therefore, as the angel had commanded, both of them setting out from the place where they were, went up to Jerusalem; and when they had come to the place pointed out by the angel's…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | THE GOSPEL OF NICODEMUS, OR ACTS OF PILATE — Pseudepigrapha |
THE GOSPEL OF NICODEMUS, OR ACTS OF PILATE “Another version of this one.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | GOSPEL OF PETER - LAST — Pseudepigrapha |
GOSPEL OF PETER - LAST “43 Those men therefore took counsel one with another to go and report these things unto Pilate. And while they yet thought thereabout, again the heavens were opened and a 45 man de…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | The Secret Gospel of Mark — Pseudepigrapha |
The Secret Gospel of Mark “But since the foul demons are always devising destruction for the race of men, Carpocrates, instructed by them and using deceitful arts, so enslaved a certain presbyter of the chur…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | The "Scholars' Translation" of the Gospel of Thomas — Pseudepigrapha |
The "Scholars' Translation" of the Gospel of Thomas “Jesus said, "I am not your teacher. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring that I have tended." And he took him, and withdrew, and spoke three…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | GOSPEL OF THOMAS, GREEK TEXT B (Infancy 3) — Pseudepigrapha |
GOSPEL OF THOMAS, GREEK TEXT B (Infancy 3) “And on the morrow he took him by the hand and led him to a certain teacher, Zacchaeus by name, and said unto him: Take this child, O master, and teach him letters. And the other sa…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | THOMAS'S GOSPEL of the INFANCY of JESUS CHRIST (Jesus at 5 years) — Pseudepigrapha |
THOMAS'S GOSPEL of the INFANCY of JESUS CHRIST (Jesus at 5 years) “5 But Jesus pronounced the second letter Mpeth (Beth) Cghimel (Gimel), and said over all the letters to him to the end. 6 Then opening a book, he taught his master the prophets: bu…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Pseudepigrapha | GOSPEL OF THOMAS, LATIN TEXT (Infancy 4) — Pseudepigrapha |
GOSPEL OF THOMAS, LATIN TEXT (Infancy 4) “And after some days as Jesus walked with Joseph through the city, there ran one of the children and smote Jesus on the arms: but Jesus said unto him: So finish thou thy course. And…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| William Penn | A Key — William Penn |
A Key “This unexperienced and lifeless ministry is the only ministry that the people called Quakers cannot own and receive, and therefore cannot maintain. For the ministry and the ministe…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| William Penn | True Spiritual Liberty — William Penn |
True Spiritual Liberty “But if thou pleadest thy freedom against good and requisite things, thy freedom is out of the truth and against the perfect law of liberty. (Unfortunately a "condensed version," bu…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Zoroastrianism | Avesta: Visperad — Zoroastrianism |
Avesta: Visperad “And in this Zaothra with this Baresman I desire to approach the man who recites the ritual rites with my praise, who is maintaining thus the thought well thought, and the word well…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Zoroastrianism | AVESTA: Vendidad — Zoroastrianism |
AVESTA: Vendidad “Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathushtra, saying: I have made every land dear (to its people), even though it had no charms whatever in it: had I not made every land dear (to it…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Zoroastrianism | ADAPA AND THE FOOD OF LIFE — Zoroastrianism |
ADAPA AND THE FOOD OF LIFE “When thou comest up, and when thou approachest the door of Anu,/ At the door of Anu, Tammuz and Gishzida are standing,/"they will see thee, they will ask thee; 'Sir,'/For whose sak…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Zoroastrianism | HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA — Zoroastrianism |
HYMNS OF THE ATHARVA-VEDA “1. When Agni, having entered the waters, burned, where the (gods) who uphold the order (of the universe) rendered homage (to Agni), there, they say, is thy origin on high: do thou …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Zoroastrianism | AVESTA: FRAGMENTS — Zoroastrianism |
AVESTA: FRAGMENTS “'He who recites the praise of Holiness, in the fullness of faith and with a devoted heart, praises me, Ahura Mazda; he praises the waters, he praises the earth, he praises the catt…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Zoroastrianism | The Bundahishn ("Creation"), or Knowledge from the Zand — Zoroastrianism |
The Bundahishn ("Creation"), or Knowledge from the Zand “And, afterwards, the wind spirit, so that it may not be contaminated (gumikht), stirs up the wind and atmosphere as the life stirs in the body; and the water was all swept away by …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Zoroastrianism | Dadestan-i Denig ('Religious Decisions') — Zoroastrianism |
Dadestan-i Denig ('Religious Decisions') “The reply is this, that the decrease of sin and increase of good works, owing to good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, arise really from the effort and disquietude which come …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Zoroastrianism | AVESTA: KHORDA AVESTA (Book of Common Prayer) part 2 — Zoroastrianism |
AVESTA: KHORDA AVESTA (Book of Common Prayer) part 2 “28. 'Offer up a sacrifice, O Spitama Zarathushtra! unto this spring of mine, Ardvi Sura Anahita.... 29. 'To her did Azi Dahaka, the three-mouthed, offer up a sacrifice in the land …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Zoroastrianism | AVESTA: KHORDA AVESTA (Book of Common Prayer) — Zoroastrianism |
AVESTA: KHORDA AVESTA (Book of Common Prayer) “73. 'They begged of her a boon, saying: "Grant us this, O good, most beneficent Ardvi Sura Anahita! that we may overcome the assemblers of the Turanian Danus, Kara Asabana, and Var…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Zoroastrianism | Menog-i Khrad ('The Spirit of Wisdom') — Zoroastrianism |
Menog-i Khrad ('The Spirit of Wisdom') “'And, for the same reason, he made many devotions and improper creeds current in the world. 12. And, on account of men's not knowing of duty and good works, every one believes that…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Zoroastrianism | Sad Dar — Zoroastrianism |
Sad Dar “The sixteenth subject is this, that, when a woman becomes pregnant in a house, it is necessary to make an endeavor so that there may be a continual fire in that house, and to maint…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Zoroastrianism | Shayest Na-Shayest (Proper and Improper) — Zoroastrianism |
Shayest Na-Shayest (Proper and Improper) “It is not to be carried all covered up, for that is burying the corpse; to carry it in the rain is worthy of death. 10. When clouds have been around, it is allowable to carry it aw…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Zoroastrianism | Zand-i Vohuman Yasht — Zoroastrianism |
Zand-i Vohuman Yasht “And that which was golden is the reign of King Vishtasp, when I and thou converse about religion, and Vishtasp shall accept that religion and shall demolish the figures of the demo…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Religion of the Samurai |
The Religion of the Samurai “3. Buddha is Unnamable.--Give a definite name to Deity, He would be no more than what the name implies. The Deity under the name of Brahman necessarily differs from the Being under…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Pagan &Christian Creeds |
Pagan &Christian Creeds “Indeed the common notion is that Christianity was really a miraculous interposition into and dislocation of the old order of the world; and that the pagan gods (as in Milton's Hymn…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Book of Mormon |
The Book of Mormon “Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites--Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | King James Bible: Old Testament |
King James Bible: Old Testament “Written by many.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi |
The Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi “"I command thee," said St Francis, "under holy obedience, in order to punish my presumption and the evil thought of my heart, when I lie down on the ground to place one of thy feet…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | King James Bible |
King James Bible “The straight HTML of this text is approximately 8 megabytes in size, so we have a new record-holder for this site.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Six Enneads |
The Six Enneads “But does not Likeness by way of Virtue imply Likeness to some being that has Virtue? To what Divine Being, then, would our Likeness be? To the Being- must we not think?- in Which, …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Ninety-Five Theses of Martin Luther |
The Ninety-Five Theses of Martin Luther “It is certain that when money clinks in the money chest, greed and avarice can be increased; but when the church intercedes, the result is in the hands of God alone.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | YUNMEN'S BRIGHT LIGHT |
YUNMEN'S BRIGHT LIGHT “At last every vestige of self-awareness will disappear and you will feel like a cloudless sky. Within yourself you will find no "I", nor will you discover anyone who hears. This Mi…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Smalcald Articles |
The Smalcald Articles “This hereditary sin is so deep and [horrible] a corruption of nature that no reason can understand it, but it must be [learned and] believed from the revelation of Scriptures, Ps. …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Confutatio Pontificia |
The Confutatio Pontificia “As in the Confessions of the princes and cities they enumerate among the abuses that laymen commune only under one form, and as, therefore, in their dominions both forms are admini…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | An Open Letter on Translating |
An Open Letter on Translating “First, you know that under the papacy it is not only taught that the saints in heaven intercede for us - even though we cannot know this as the Scripture does not tell us such - bu…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | BUDDHA, THE GOSPEL |
BUDDHA, THE GOSPEL “There by the wayside they met an old man with bent frame, wrinkled face and sorrowful brow, and the prince asked the charioteer: "Who is this? His head is white, his eyes are blear…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | BUDDHA, THE WORD (The Eightfold Path) |
BUDDHA, THE WORD (The Eightfold Path) “WHAT, now, is Right Understanding? It is understanding the Four Truths. To understand suffering; to understand the origin of suffering; to understand the extinction of suffering; t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | ENUMA ELISH: THE EPIC OF CREATION |
ENUMA ELISH: THE EPIC OF CREATION “When in the height heaven was not named,/And the earth beneath did not yet bear a name,/And the primeval Apsu, who begat them,/And chaos, Tiamut, the mother of them both/Their wate…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Kojiki (excerpts) |
The Kojiki (excerpts) “When they had finished giving birth to countries, they began afresh giving birth to deities. So the name of the deity they gave birth to was the deity Great-Male-of-the-Great-Thing…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Nihongi (excerpts) |
The Nihongi (excerpts) “In one writing it is said: "Of old, when the land was Young and the earth young, it floated about, as it were floating oil. At this time a thing was produced within the land, in sh…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Deuterocanonical Books of the Bible, known as the Apocrypha |
The Deuterocanonical Books of the Bible, known as the Apocrypha “Not a complete Apocrypha, but I'm working on it.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Legends of Maui |
Legends of Maui “According to some legends, the skies pressed so closely and so heavily upon the earth that when the plants began to grow, all the leaves were necessarily flat. According to other l…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Manual of Zen Buddhism |
Manual of Zen Buddhism “However innumerable beings are, I vow to save them;/However inexhaustible the passions are, I vow to extinguish them;/ However immeasurable the Dharmas are, I vow to master them;/H…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Polynesian Mythology |
Polynesian Mythology “When Ngatoro-i-rangi's people saw this, one of them ran off with all speed to tell his master, who was then at work with some of his servants on his farm, and having found him be s…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | THE YENGISHIKI |
THE YENGISHIKI “Oho-Nakatomi, who-having abundantly piled up like a range of hills the tribute thread and sanctified liquor and food presented as of usage by the people of the deity's houses attri…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali |
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali “2.34 Improper thoughts and emotions such as those of violence- whether done, caused to be done, or even approved of- indeed, any thought originating in desire, anger or delusion, w…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | SPECTACLES |
SPECTACLES “Afterwards, they preferred to disguise this ungodly usage by making it a pleasure. So, after the persons thus procured had been trained--for the sole purpose of learning how to be …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | THE APPAREL OF WOMEN |
THE APPAREL OF WOMEN “But why are we a source of danger to others? Why do we excite concupiscence in others? If the Lord in amplifying the Law does not make a distinction in penalty between the actual c…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Foxe's Book of Martyrs |
Foxe's Book of Martyrs “Under the Roman emperors, commonly called the Era of the Martyrs, was occasioned partly by the increasing number and luxury of the Christians, and the hatred of Galerius, the adopt…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | King James Bible: New Testament |
King James Bible: New Testament “By request, a much smaller download than the complete version.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Pharisee And Publican |
The Pharisee And Publican “Men must not be judged, or justified, according to what themselves do think, but according to the verdict and sentence that cometh out of the mouth of God about them. Now, the sent…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | An Exhortation to Peace and Unity |
An Exhortation to Peace and Unity “These words contain a counsel and a caution: the counsel is, That we endeavour the unity of the Spirit; the caution is, That we do it in the bond of peace; as if I should say, I wo…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Miscellaneous Pieces |
Miscellaneous Pieces “The death of Christ giveth us the best discovery of ourselves; in what condition we were, so that nothing could help us but that; and the most clear discovery of the dreadful natur…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Examination of the Prophecies — Thomas Paine |
The Examination of the Prophecies “I pass over the absurdity of seeing and following a star in the day time, as a man would a 'Will with the whip,' or a candle and lantern at night; and also that of seeing it in the…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The History of Bel — Anonymous |
The History of Bel “So the king was wroth, and called for his priests and said unto them: "If ye tell me not who this is that devoureth these expences, ye shall die. But if ye can certify me that Bel …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Koran |
The Koran “This is the translation by E.H. Palmer. Although I have read this work, I'm not as familiar with the issues surrounding its various renderings into English as I should be. If Mr. P…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Preface to Androcles and the Lion — George Bernard Shaw |
Preface to Androcles and the Lion “All this will become clear if we read the gospels without prejudice. When I was young it was impossible to read them without fantastic confusion of thought. The confusion was so ut…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | ON THE HIGH SEAT OF "THE TREASURE OF THE LAW" |
ON THE HIGH SEAT OF "THE TREASURE OF THE LAW" “More than eight months after, the Patriarch saw me one day and said, "I know your knowledge of Buddhism is very sound, but I have to refrain from speaking to you lest evil doers sh…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Life of St. Declan of Ardmore |
The Life of St. Declan of Ardmore “On the night of Declan's birth a wondrous sign was revealed to all, that is to the people who were in the neighbourhood of the birthplace; this was a ball of fire which was seen bl…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Angel in the House — Coventry Patmore |
The Angel in the House “Once more I came to Sarum Close,/ With joy half memory, half desire,/ And breathed the sunny wind that rose/ And blew the shadows o'er the Spire,/ And toss'd the lilac's scented pl…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Cloud of Unknowing — Anonymous |
The Cloud of Unknowing “And therefore take good heed unto time, how that thou dispendest it: for nothing is more precious than time. In one little time, as little as it is, may heaven be won and lost. A t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Heart-Cry of Jesus — Byron J. Rees |
The Heart-Cry of Jesus “There is a place in experience where Christ's voice sets the whole being vibrating. The soul is so in tune with Him that the cadences of His tones fill the soul with a tremor of gl…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | In His Steps — Charles M. Sheldon |
In His Steps “"There's no great virtue in saying 'No' to this offer when I have the other one," Rachel went on thoughtfully. "That's harder to decide. But I've about made up my mind. To tell the…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Cell of Self-Knowledge — Henry Pepwell |
The Cell of Self-Knowledge “And therefore, what so thou be that covetest to come to contemplation of God, that is to say, to bring forth such a child that men clepen in the story Benjamin (that is to say, sig…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Kingdom of God is Within You — Tolstoy |
The Kingdom of God is Within You “The Christian religion is not a legal system which, being imposed by violence, may transform men's lives. Christianity is a new and higher conception of life. A new conception of l…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Story of Creation as told by Theology and by Science — T. S. Ackland |
The Story of Creation as told by Theology and by Science “It is, then, by no means impossible that changes, which now only become discernible with the lapse of centuries, might, at some past period of our globe's history, have been the wo…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Altar Fire — Arthur Christopher Benson |
The Altar Fire “Of course such a thing deepens the mystery of the world; but such an act as this is not to me half as mysterious as the action of an omnipotent Power which allowed so bright and gr…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Light, Life, and Love — W. R. Inge |
Light, Life, and Love “Full title: LIGHT, LIFE, AND LOVE Selections from the German Mystics of the Middle Ages…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Prolegomena to the History of Israel — Julius Wellhausen |
Prolegomena to the History of Israel “Of the offerings, it was the custom in the earlier time to dedicate a portion to the deity but to use the greater part in sacred feasts, at which a priest, if present, was of cours…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | DEATH'S DUEL — John Donne |
DEATH'S DUEL “First, then, we consider this exitus mortis to be liberatio à morte, that with God the Lord are the issues of death; and therefore in all our death, and deadly calamities of this l…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | THE TRINITY IS ONE GOD — BOETHIUS |
THE TRINITY IS ONE GOD “Theology does not deal with motion and is abstract and separable, for time Divine Substance is without either matter or motion. In Physics, then, we are bound to use scientific, in…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Preached to the Lords upon Easter-day, at the Communion — John Donne |
Preached to the Lords upon Easter-day, at the Communion “In these words, we shall first, for our generall humiliation, consider the unanswerablenesse of this question, There is no man that lives, and shall not see death. Secondly, we sha…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Laicus — Lyman Abbott |
Laicus “WE are in a sorry condition here at Wheathedge. The prospects are, that it will be worse before it is better. For weeks now (it seems like a year or two) we have been without the G…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | THE LOWELL LECTURES ON THE ASCENT OF MAN — HENRY DRUMMOND |
THE LOWELL LECTURES ON THE ASCENT OF MAN “One seldom-raised yet not merely curious question of Evolution is, why the process should be an evolution at all? If Evolution is simply a method of Creation, why was this very ext…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | A TREATISE ON GOD AS FIRST PRINCIPLE — John Duns Scotus |
A TREATISE ON GOD AS FIRST PRINCIPLE “1.7 In the first, what is eminent is said to be prior whereas what is exceeded in perfection is posterior. Put briefly, whatever in essence is more perfect and noble would be prior…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Celestial Hierarchy — Dionysius the Areopagite |
The Celestial Hierarchy “Wherefore all things share in that Providence which streams forth from the superessential Deific Source of all; for they would not be unless they had come into existence through pa…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Bunyan Characters: First Series — Alexander Whyte D.D. |
Bunyan Characters: First Series “Passion and Patience, like Esau and Jacob, are twin-brothers. And their names, like their natures, spring up from the same root. 'Patience,' says Crabb in his English Synonyms, 'co…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Bunyan Characters: Second Series — Alexander Whyte |
Bunyan Characters: Second Series “Having begun to tell us about Atheist, why did Bunyan not tell us more? We would have thanked him warmly to-night for a little more about this unhappy man. Why did the dreamer not …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Dore Lectures on Mental Science — Thomas Troward |
The Dore Lectures on Mental Science “But if we grasp the truth that the thing is already existent in the thought, do we not see that this transcendent Omega must be already existent in the Divine ideal of every one of…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution, V 2 — Rev. James MacCaf |
History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution, V 2 “The king met the demands for the maintenance of the old faith, the restoration of the liberties of the Church, and the dismissal of ministers like Cromwell by a long explanation an…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Augsburg Confession — Philip Melanchthon |
The Augsburg Confession “However, as regards the rest of the Electors, Princes, and Estates, who constitute the other part, if no progress should be made, nor some result be attained by this treatment of t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | LEGENDS OF BABYLON AND EGYPT — Leonard W. King |
LEGENDS OF BABYLON AND EGYPT “On the other hand, traces of myth, scattered in the religious literature of Egypt, may perhaps in some measure betray their relative age by the conceptions of the universe which un…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Confessio Amantis, or Tales of the Seven Deadly Sins — John Gower |
Confessio Amantis, or Tales of the Seven Deadly Sins “Upon the vices to procede/ After the cause of mannes dede,/ The ferste point of Slowthe I calle/ Lachesce, and is the chief of alle,/ And hath this propreliche of kinde,/ To leven …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | God the Known and God the Unknown — Samuel Butler |
God the Known and God the Unknown “Let him think of the vastness of the earth, and of the activity by day and night through countless ages of such countless forms of animal and vegetable life as that no human mind c…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution, V1 — Rev. James MacCaff |
History of the Catholic Church from the Renaissance to the French Revolution, V1 “To further their propaganda without at the same time attracting the notice of the civil authorities the rationalist party had recourse to various devices. Pamphlets and books were …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | History of the Moravian Church — J. E. Hutton |
History of the Moravian Church “"That," replied Schöneich, "is quite impossible. I cannot give any security whatever. The whole business must be perfectly secret. Not a soul must be present but Augusta and myself…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom — Andrew Dickson White |
History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom “Here, too, the change from the old theological view based upon the letter of our sacred books to the modern scientific view based upon evidence absolutely irrefragable is complete.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Life of St. Declan of Ardmore |
The Life of St. Declan of Ardmore “3. On the night of Declan's birth a wondrous sign was revealed to all, that is to the people who were in the neighbourhood of the birthplace; this was a ball of fire which was seen…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Imitation of Christ — Thomas A Kempis |
Imitation of Christ “I will speak unto my Lord who am but dust and ashes. If I count myself more, behold Thou standest against me, and my iniquities bear true testimony, and I cannot gainsay it. But if…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria — Theophilus G. Pinches |
The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria “Though there is no proof that ancestor-worship in general prevailed at any time in Babylonia, it would seem that the worship of heroes and prominent men was common, at least in ear…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | God The Invisible King — H. G. Wells |
God The Invisible King “What can this "religion of the future" be but that devotion to the racial adventure under the captaincy of God which we have already found, like gold in the bottom of the vessel, w…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Crown of Thorns — E. H. Chapin |
The Crown of Thorns “But change the order of circumstances. Remove these external helps,--substitute therefor sorrow, duty, the revelations of our own inner being,--and all this gayety vanishes like th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Vailima Prayers — Robert Louis Stevenson |
Vailima Prayers “FOR our absent loved ones we implore thy loving-kindness. Keep them in life, keep them in growing honour; and for us, grant that we remain worthy of their love. For Christ's sake, …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | A TREATISE CONCERNING RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS — JONATHAN EDWARDS |
A TREATISE CONCERNING RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS “And again, another benefit that such trials are of to true religion, is, that they purify and increase it. They not only manifest it to be true, but also tend to refine it, and del…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Kneeling Christian — AN UNKNOWN CHRISTIAN |
The Kneeling Christian “And we may approach His glory with boldness. Did not our Lord pray that His disciples might behold His glory? (John xvii. 24). Why? And why is "the whole earth full of His glory"? …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Unseen World and Other Essays — John Fiske |
The Unseen World and Other Essays “Yet whatever effect these teachings might have produced, if unaided by further doctrinal elaboration, was enhanced myriadfold by the elaboration which they received at the hands of…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The First Blast of the Trumpet — John Knox |
The First Blast of the Trumpet “And as concerning the danger which may hereof ensue, I am not altogether so brutish and insensible, but that I have laid my account, what the finishing of the work may cost me for …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | How Superior Powers Ought To Be Obeyed — Christopher Goodman |
How Superior Powers Ought To Be Obeyed “Full title: How Superior Powers Ought To Be Obeyed By Their Subjects: And Wherein They May Lawfully By God's Word Be Disobeyed And Resisted. Wherein also is declared the cause of a…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Three Sermons, Three Prayers — Jonathan Swift |
Three Sermons, Three Prayers “Almighty and most gracious Lord God, extend, we beseech Thee, Thy pity and compassion toward this Thy languishing servant; teach her to place her hope and confidence entirely in Th…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | AT THE WHITE GATE — Michael Fairless |
AT THE WHITE GATE “Then as Brother Ambrose stretched out his arms because of his great longing, a little grey cloud came out of the north and hung between the walls of light, so that he no longer beh…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | OUT OF THE SHADOW — Michael Fairless |
OUT OF THE SHADOW “There is but one necessary condition of this finding; we must follow the particular manifestation of light given us, never resting until it rests--over the place of the Child. And …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Roadmender — Michael Fairless |
The Roadmender “For the most part mystery has ceased for this working Western world, and with it reverence. Coventry Patmore says: "God clothes Himself actually and literally with His whole creati…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MADAME GUYON |
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MADAME GUYON “No mortal could die in a more Christian disposition, or with more courage than he did, after having received the sacrament in a manner truly edifying. I was not present when he exp…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | THE SCALE (or LADDER) of PERFECTION — WALTER HILTON |
THE SCALE (or LADDER) of PERFECTION “This was the dignity and worth of man's soul by nature at his first creation, which thou hadst in Adam before the first sin. But when Adam sinned, choosing love and delight in hims…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Song of Angels — WALTER HILTON |
The Song of Angels “Some souls, by virtue of the love that God gives them, are so cleansed that all creatures and everything they hear, or see, or feel by any of the senses, turns them to comfort and …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | TREATISE WRITTEN TO A DEVOUT MAN — WALTER HILTON |
TREATISE WRITTEN TO A DEVOUT MAN “By the corporal working that I speak of, thou must understand that I mean all manner of good works or deeds that thy soul doth by the senses or the members of thy body, either upon…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | A Test of the Truth — Felicia Skene |
A Test of the Truth “It may not be doubted, therefore, that if He, as the Perfect Love, the Source and Centre of life does exist at this very hour, a strong personal appeal, sent forth from the very he…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | JESUS OF NAZARETH |
JESUS OF NAZARETH “Note: Adapted from the French of Paul Demasy by Frank Morlock…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Abandonment TO Divine Providence — Father de Caussade |
Abandonment TO Divine Providence “God continues to speak to-day as He spoke in former times to our fathers when there were no directors as at present, nor any regular method of direction. Then all spirituality was …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Recreations of A Country Parson — A. K. H. Boyd |
The Recreations of A Country Parson “In such a life, indeed, these Essays, which never would have been begun had my duty been always such, must be written in little snatches of time: and perhaps a sharp critic could t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Trial of the Witnessses of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ — Thomas Sherlock |
The Trial of the Witnessses of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ “I was afraid, when I suffered myself to be drawn into this argument, that I should be led into matters fitter to be decided by men of another profession, than by lawyers. But since…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | THE JUDGMENT OF Martin Bucer CONCERNING DIVORCE |
THE JUDGMENT OF Martin Bucer CONCERNING DIVORCE “Some will say perhaps, Wherfore all this concerning Marriage after vow of single life, whenas the question was of Marriage after Divorce? For this reason, that they whom it so much…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Paul and Virginia — Bernardin de Saint Pierre |
Paul and Virginia “To this scene I loved to resort, as I could here enjoy at once the richness of an unbounded landscape, and the charm of uninterrupted solitude. One day, when I was seated at the fo…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Gospel of John for Readers — Lightheart |
The Gospel of John for Readers “Six days before the passover, Jesus came to Bethany where He had raised Lazarus from the dead. There they made Him a supper. Martha served. Lazarus was one of those who sat at the …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Visions of the Sleeping Bard — Ellis Wynne |
The Visions of the Sleeping Bard “Then away we went over hills and through forests, across seas and valleys, over castles and towers, rivers and rocks, and where should we alight but at one of the gates of the daug…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Water of Life and Other Sermons — Charles Kingsley |
The Water of Life and Other Sermons “But the text speaks not of earthly water. No doubt the words 'Water of Life' have a spiritual and mystic meaning. Yet that alone does not prove the inspiration of the text. They ha…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | THE EVERLASTING MAN — G.K. Chesterton |
THE EVERLASTING MAN “Men are moved in these things by something far higher and holier than policy; by hatred. When men hung on in the darkest days of the Great War, suffering either in their bodies or …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Roadmender — Michael Fairless |
The Roadmender “Improved text, supersedes earlier version.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | HEBRAIC LITERATURE — Anonymous |
HEBRAIC LITERATURE “Full title: HEBRAIC LITERATURE: TRANSLATIONS FROM THE TALMUD MIDRASHIM AND KABBALA…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | MIDRASH TANHUMA |
MIDRASH TANHUMA “The meaning of the phrase, "God made man in his own image," is that, like his Maker, a man is to be righteous and upright. Do not argue that evil inclination is innate in you; such…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Babylonian Talmud: Tract Sanhedrin |
The Babylonian Talmud: Tract Sanhedrin “GEMARA: How is to be understood the expression of the Mishna: One party selects one, etc.? Does it mean one party may select one court of three judges, and likewise the other; and …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | BABYLONIAN TALMUD: SECTION MOED |
BABYLONIAN TALMUD: SECTION MOED “GEMARA: Shall we assume, that our Mishna is not according to Hananiah, as we have learned in a Boraitha, viz.: "Boards may be put up at a well and ropes for a fence of a caravan, b…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | KABBALA DENUDATA: THE KABBALAH UNVEILED |
KABBALA DENUDATA: THE KABBALAH UNVEILED “426. "Therefore do not then all things depend from the influx? Also we have learned that the Book of the Law must be holy, and its covering holy, and the Temple holy. 427. "Also it…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Gathering of Brother Hilarius — Michael Fairless |
The Gathering of Brother Hilarius “Improved text, supersedes earlier version.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Religious Reality — A.E.J. Rawlinson |
Religious Reality “In Jesus, they felt, GOD was expressed: His relationship to GOD was unique. They found the Divine in Him as in no other. They knew that GOD was in that life because He had spoken a…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Practice of the Presence of God — Brother Lawrence, edited by Lightheart |
The Practice of the Presence of God “I pity you much. It will be a great relief if you can leave the care of your affairs to M-- and spend the remainder of your life only in worshipping God. He requires no great matte…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Great Doctrines of the Bible — Rev. William Evans |
The Great Doctrines of the Bible “Reconciliation has two sides; active and passive. In the active sense we may look upon Christ's death as removing the enmity existing between God and man, and which had hitherto be…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Truth About Jesus — Mangasar Magurditch Mangasarian |
The Truth About Jesus “Full title: The Truth About Jesus--Is He a Myth?…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | When the Holy Ghost is Come — Col. S. L. Bringle |
When the Holy Ghost is Come “Study and research have their place, and an important place; but in spiritual things they will be no avail unless prosecuted by spiritual men. As well might men blind from birth at…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Life and Legends of Saint Francis of Assisi — Father Candide Chalippe |
The Life and Legends of Saint Francis of Assisi “After a contest of humility between the two patriarchs, as to who should speak first, Dominic, urged by Francis to take the lead, said to him:--"You excel me in humility, and I wil…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Gospel of Matthew for Readers — Lightheart |
The Gospel of Matthew for Readers “As they departed, Jesus spoke to the crowds concerning John saying, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? What went ye out to see? A man clothed…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Life of the Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation — A Religious of the Ursuline Community |
The Life of the Venerable Mother Mary of the Incarnation “Much about the same time, she had the remarkable vision of her vocation for Canada, which she thus describes. "One night, after conversing familiarly with our Lord; as usual, befor…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Mr. World and Miss Church-Member — W. S. Harris |
Mr. World and Miss Church-Member “Subtitled: A TWENTIETH CENTURY ALLEGORY. I'm including it in Scifi for passages like "The Wizard City."…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Coming of the Friars — Augustus Jessopp |
The Coming of the Friars “Full title: THE COMING OF THE FRIARS AND OTHER HISTORIC ESSAYS…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | DEVOTIONS UPON EMERGENT OCCASIONS — John Donne |
DEVOTIONS UPON EMERGENT OCCASIONS “WHAT will not kill a man if a vapour will? How great an elephant, how small a mouse destroys! To die by a bullet is the soldier's daily bread; but few men die by hail-shot. A man i…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | A Model of Christian Charity — Gov. John Winthrop |
A Model of Christian Charity “2nd Reason. Secondly, that He might have the more occasion to manifest the work of his Spirit: first upon the wicked in moderating and restraining them, so that the rich and mighty…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Theology of Holiness — Dr. Dougan Clark |
The Theology of Holiness “How wondrous, for instance, is the scheme of redemption as unfolded to us in the Epistle to the Romans! How profound and how exalted is the spirituality of the Ephesians and Coloss…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Godliness — Catherine Booth |
Godliness “That is, it always manifests itself in harmony with the great moral law of the universe--it never does evil that good may come! You never hear it saying--"I cannot say that this is…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Memoir — Fr. Vincent de Paul |
Memoir “Mr. Bourke having gone to Ireland, we were only two priests for the town of Halifax and its suburbs, where there were many Catholics, without counting the Mic-macs, who are the Ind…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Apology of the Augsburg Confession — Philip Melanchthon |
The Apology of the Augsburg Confession “But it is easy for a Christian to judge concerning both modes, because both modes exclude Christ, and are therefore to be rejected. In the former, which teaches that our works are …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | God's Answers — Clara M. S. Lowe |
God's Answers “"BELOVED HELPERS,--To-night how your hearts would have rejoiced to have seen me and my happy hundreds of little toiling children in our new schoolroom in the Refuge. How varied the…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Wentworth Letter — Joseph Smith |
The Wentworth Letter “These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance of gold, each plate was six inches wide and eight inches long and not quite so thick as common tin. They were filled …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Life of Venerable Sister Margaret Bourgeois |
The Life of Venerable Sister Margaret Bourgeois “In a proceeding chapter we have spoken of M. de Maisonneuve, who was a native of Champenois, and consequently a fellow-countryman of Margaret Bourgeois--so favorably does divine Pr…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The History of Thomas Ellwood Written by Himself |
The History of Thomas Ellwood Written by Himself “I, who knew how it stood with me better than he did, felt a weight come over me as soon as he had spoken the word; for I presently saw it would bring a very great exercise upon me.…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Who Wrote the Bible? — Washington Gladden |
Who Wrote the Bible? “These last sentences of Canon Farrar give the probable clew to the interpretation of the book. It is a dramatic poem, celebrating the story of a beautiful peasant girl, a native of…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | How to Live a Holy Life — C. E. Orr |
How to Live a Holy Life “I want to remind you again that the mission of this little volume is to teach you how to live. The life beyond depends on the life here. Let me emphasize what I have repeatedly sai…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Touching Incidents and Remarkable Answers — S. B. Shaw |
Touching Incidents and Remarkable Answers “Full title: Children's Edition of Touching Incidents and Remarkable Answers to Prayer…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Adventures in the Land of Canaan — Robert Lee Berry |
Adventures in the Land of Canaan “"Blessed be Immanuel forever! For a long time old Despair has had me in his dungeon. I've been nearly killed. Giant Discourager encountered me first and got me off into that ravine…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Wisdom of the East — Shinran Shonin |
Wisdom of the East “201. Though the way into the Land that is in the West hath been made plain before us, yet the age-long Kalpas have rolled away without good fruit thereof, for we have hindered ours…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Angel Adjutant of "Twice Born Men" — Minnie L. Carpenter |
The Angel Adjutant of "Twice Born Men" “This life was not spasmodic. She did not pass in and out of the holy place, or step on and off the highway of holiness. She dwelt there. That does not imply that never during those…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Discipline and Other Sermons — Charles Kingsley |
Discipline and Other Sermons “We hold that because we are not under the law, but under grace, there is no condemnation for sin--at least for the special sort of sin which happens to be in fashion, which is now-…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Poorhouse Waif and His Divine Teacher — Isabel C. Byrum |
The Poorhouse Waif and His Divine Teacher “The evening's discourse was given in the English language, but it was no more enlightening to Edwin than the afternoon's sermon had been; still, by his expression of reverence and …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Good News of God — Charles Kingsley |
The Good News of God “You will break both of the golden rules which St. Anthony, the famous hermit, used to give to his scholars.--'Regret not that which is past; and trust not in thine own righteousnes…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Expositions of Holy Scripture — Alexander Maclaren |
Expositions of Holy Scripture “We stand here at the well-head of a great river--a narrow channel, across which a child can step, but which is to open out a broad bosom that will reflect the sky and refresh conti…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Giant Hours With Poet Preachers — William L. Stidger |
Giant Hours With Poet Preachers “He finds God. There is no uncertainty about it. From childhood to Godhood has the poet come, and we have come with him. It has been a triumphant journey upward. But we have not bee…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Introduction to the Old Testament — John Edgar McFadyen |
Introduction to the Old Testament “If Amos is the St. James of the Old Testament, Hosea is the St. John. It is indeed possible to draw the contrast too sharply between Amos and Hosea, as is done when it is asserted …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Siksha-Patri of the Swami-Narayana Sect |
The Siksha-Patri of the Swami-Narayana Sect “87. When the eclipse has passed off, they should bathe with their clothes on, and those who are householders should distribute gifts according to their ability. Other persons (who …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Tattva-Muktavali |
The Tattva-Muktavali “107. Thou canst not say that the visible world is only like the transitory enjoyment of one who smells a wreath of flowers; however closely it is scanned, there is no overpowering …” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Within You is the Power — Henry Thomas Hamblin |
Within You is the Power “It is a metaphysical truth that the outward life is a reflection of the thought life. Our life is affected by our habit of thinking and attitude of mind, in two ways: first, all ou…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Ramanuja |
The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Ramanuja “For common observation shows that the consciousness of one person may become the object of the cognition of another, viz. of an inference founded on the person's friendly or unfrie…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Church and the Empire — D. J. Medley |
The Church and the Empire “Hadrian IV is interesting to us as the only Englishman who has ever sat upon the throne of St. Peter. As Nicholas Brakespeare he had led the life of a wandering scholar, chiefly in…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | JOHN WESLEY'S NOTES: THE NEW TESTAMENT |
JOHN WESLEY'S NOTES: THE NEW TESTAMENT “3. Unless the falling away--From the pure faith of the gospel, come first. This began even in the apostolic age. But the man of sin, the son of perdition--Eminently so called, is n…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | JOHN WESLEY'S NOTES: THE OLD TESTAMENT |
JOHN WESLEY'S NOTES: THE OLD TESTAMENT “10. Blood--This refers to Deut. xvii, 8, between the blood of the person slain, and the blood of the man-slayer. All the cities of refuge, except Hebron, now belonged to the kingdo…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Expositions of Holy Scripture — Alexander Maclaren |
Expositions of Holy Scripture “Full title: Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Matthew Chaps. IX to XXVIII…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Letters of Catherine Benincasa |
Letters of Catherine Benincasa “Full title: SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA AS SEEN IN HER LETTERS TRANSLATED &EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION BY VIDA D. SCUDDER…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Reincarnation — Swami Abhedananda |
Reincarnation “The explanation of the theologians, that the spiritual nature has been superadded to the animal nature by some extra-cosmic spiritual agency is not scientific, nor does it appeal t…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Autobiography of a Yogi — Paramhansa Yogananda |
Autobiography of a Yogi “Descending the long stairway, I was overwhelmed by memories. This house at 50 Amherst Street, now the residence of Master Mahasaya, had once been my family home, scene of my mother…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | To Infidelity and Back — Henry F. Lutz |
To Infidelity and Back “Full title: To Infidelity and Back A Truth-seeker's Religious Autobiography How I Found Christ and His Church…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Jewish History — S. M. Dubnow |
Jewish History “Full title: JEWISH HISTORY. AN ESSAY IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut — Louise Greene |
Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut “Toleration Act and proviso notwithstanding, no rival church was desired at this time in Connecticut. No rival creed was recognized. True, there were a few handfuls of dissenters sc…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Twenty-Five Village Sermons — Charles Kingsley |
Twenty-Five Village Sermons “Believe me, my friends, it takes long years, too, and much training from God and from Christ, the King of kings, to make a nation. Everything which is most precious and great is al…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Life of Luther — Julius Koestlin |
Life of Luther “Luther had now become possessed with a burning desire to refute, by means of the truth he had newly learned, the teaching and system of that School-theology on which he himself had…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Purgatory — Mary Anne Madden Sadlier |
Purgatory “Full title: PURGATORY: Doctrinal, Historical and Poetical,…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Reconciliation of Races and Religions — Thomas Kelly Cheyne |
The Reconciliation of Races and Religions “The crisis in the Christian Church is now so acute that we may well seek for some mode of escape from its pressure. The Old Broad Church position is no longer adequate to English c…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Expositions of Holy Scripture — Alexander Maclaren |
Expositions of Holy Scripture “St. Mark…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Expositions of Holy Scripture — Alexander Maclaren |
Expositions of Holy Scripture “Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and First Book of Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings, and Second Kings chapters I to VII…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Expositions of Holy Scripture |
Expositions of Holy Scripture “Isaiah and Jeremiah…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Expositions of Holy Scripture — Alexander Maclaren |
Expositions of Holy Scripture “St. John Chapters I to XIV…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | The Allis Family — American Sunday School Union |
The Allis Family “Full title: The Allis Family; or, Scenes of Western Life…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |
| Various authors | Baptists, The Only Thorough Religious Reformers — John Quincy Adams |
Baptists, The Only Thorough Religious Reformers “It is evident, then, that the Baptists suffered merely because they maintained that they ought "to obey God rather than man." They found no direction in the Bible for the baptism o…” Read it free at Project Gutenberg Find old printed copies at the Internet Archive | |