On Christian Doctrine
Classic translationLatin original
5th c. · Dogmatic & Doctrinal · English translation, 1890
Source edition: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I (ed. Philip Schaff, 1886–90)
Cover art: Sobor of Russian Patriarchs — Viktor Vasnetsov (Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Free to read onlineDownload free:EPUBKindle (AZW3)Kobo (KEPUB)
Contents
- On Christian Doctrine
- Introductory Note by the Editor
- Contents of Christian Doctrine
- Preface
- Containing a General View of the Subjects Treated in Holy Scripture
- Introduction
- 1. The Interpretation of Scripture Depends on the Discovery and Enunciation of…
- 2. What a Thing Is, and What A Sign
- 3. Some Things are for Use, Some for Enjoyment
- 4. Difference of Use and Enjoyment
- 5. The Trinity the True Object of Enjoyment
- 6. In What Sense God is Ineffable
- 7. What All Men Understand by the Term God
- 8. God to Be Esteemed Above All Else, Because He is Unchangeable Wisdom
- 9. All Acknowledge the Superiority of Unchangeable Wisdom to that Which is…
- 10. To See God, the Soul Must Be Purified
- 11. Wisdom Becoming Incarnate, a Pattern to Us of Purification
- 12. In What Sense the Wisdom of God Came to Us
- 13. The Word Was Made Flesh
- 14. How the Wisdom of God Healed Man
- 15. Faith is Buttressed by the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, and is…
- Christ Purges His Church by Medicinal Afflictions
- Christ, by Forgiving Our Sins, Opened the Way to Our Home
- 18. The Keys Given to the Church
- 19. Bodily and Spiritual Death and Resurrection
- Chapter 20.—The Resurrection to Damnation
- 21. Neither Body Nor Soul Extinguished at Death
- 22. God Alone to Be Enjoyed
- 23. Man Needs No Injunction to Love Himself and His Own Body
- 24. No Man Hates His Own Flesh, Not Even Those Who Abuse It
- 25. A Man May Love Something More Than His Body, But Does Not Therefore Hate…
- 26. The Command to Love God and Our Neighbor Includes a Command to Love…
- Chapter 27.—The Order of Love
- 28. How We are to Decide Whom to Aid
- 29. We are to Desire and Endeavor that All Men May Love God
- 30. Whether Angels are to Be Reckoned Our Neighbors
- 31. God Uses Rather Than Enjoys Us
- 32. In What Way God Uses Man
- 33. In What Way Man Should Be Enjoyed
- Christ the First Way to God
- 35. The Fulfillment and End of Scripture is the Love of God and Our Neighbor
- 36. That Interpretation of Scripture Which Builds Us Up in Love is Not…
- Chapter 37.—Dangers of Mistaken Interpretation
- Chapter 38.—Love Never Faileth
- 39. He Who is Mature in Faith, Hope and Love, Needs Scripture No Longer
- 40. What Manner of Reader Scripture Demands
- Book 2
- Introduction
- 1. Signs, Their Nature and Variety
- 2. Of the Kind of Signs We are Now Concerned with
- 3. Among Signs, Words Hold the Chief Place
- Chapter 4.—Origin of Writing
- 5. Scripture Translated into Various Languages
- 6. Use of the Obscurities in Scripture Which Arise from Its Figurative Language
- 7. Steps to Wisdom: First, Fear; Second, Piety; Third, Knowledge; Fourth…
- Chapter 8.—The Canonical Books
- 9. How We Should Proceed in Studying Scripture
- 10. Unknown or Ambiguous Signs Prevent Scripture from Being Understood
- 11. Knowledge of Languages, Especially of Greek and Hebrew, Necessary to Remove…
- 12. A Diversity of Interpretations is Useful. Errors Arising from Ambiguous…
- 13. How Faulty Interpretations Can Be Emended
- 14. How the Meaning of Unknown Words and Idioms is to Be Discovered
- 15. Among Versions a Preference is Given to the Septuagint and the Itala
- 16. The Knowledge Both of Language and Things is Helpful for the Understanding…
- 17. Origin of the Legend of the Nine Muses
- 18. No Help is to Be Despised, Even Though It Come from a Profane Source
- 19. Two Kinds Of Heathen Knowledge
- 20. The Superstitious Nature of Human Institutions
- Chapter 21.—Superstition of Astrologers
- 22. The Folly of Observing the Stars in Order to Predict the Events of a Life
- 23. Why We Repudiate Arts of Divination
- 24. The Intercourse and Agreement with Demons Which Superstitious Observances…
- 25. In Human Institutions Which are Not Superstitious, There are Some Things…
- 26. What Human Contrivances We are to Adopt, and What We are to Avoid
- 27. Some Departments of Knowledge, Not of Mere Human Invention, Aid Us in…
- 28. To What Extent History is an Aid
- 29. To What Extent Natural Science is an Exegetical Aid
- 30. What the Mechanical Arts Contribute to Exegetics
- 31. Use of Dialectics. Of Fallacies
- 32. Valid Logical Sequence is Not Devised But Only Observed by Man
- 33. False Inferences May Be Drawn from Valid Reasonings, and Vice Versa
- 34. It is One Thing to Know the Laws of Inference, Another to Know the Truth of…
- 35. The Science of Definition is Not False, Though It May Be Applied to…
- 36. The Rules of Eloquence are True, Though Sometimes Used to Persuade Men of…
- 37. Use of Rhetoric and Dialectic
- 38. The Science of Numbers Not Created, But Only Discovered, by Man
- 39. To Which of the Above-Mentioned Studies Attention Should Be Given, and in…
- 40. Whatever Has Been Rightly Said by the Heathen, We Must Appropriate to Our…
- 41. What Kind of Spirit is Required for the Study of Holy Scripture
- 42. Sacred Scripture Compared with Profane Authors
- Book 3
- Introduction
- 1. Summary of the Foregoing Books, and Scope of that Which Follows
- 2. Rule for Removing Ambiguity by Attending to Punctuation
- 3. How Pronunciation Serves to Remove Ambiguity. Different Kinds of…
- 4. How Ambiguities May Be Solved
- 5. It is a Wretched Slavery Which Takes the Figurative Expressions of Scripture…
- 6. Utility of the Bondage of the Jews
- 7. The Useless Bondage of the Gentiles
- 8. The Jews Liberated from Their Bondage in One Way, the Gentiles in Another
- 9. Who is in Bondage to Signs, and Who Not
- 10. How We are to Discern Whether a Phrase is Figurative
- 11. Rule for Interpreting Phrases Which Seem to Ascribe Severity to God and the…
- 12. Rule for Interpreting Those Sayings and Actions Which are Ascribed to God…
- Chapter 13.—Same Subject, Continued
- 14. Error of Those Who Think that There is No Absolute Right and Wrong
- 15. Rule for Interpreting Figurative Expressions
- 16. Rule for Interpreting Commands and Prohibitions
- 17. Some Commands are Given to All in Common, Others to Particular Classes
- 18. We Must Take into Consideration the Time at Which Anything Was Enjoyed or…
- 19. Wicked Men Judge Others by Themselves
- 20. Consistency of Good Men in All Outward Circumstances
- 21. David Not Lustful, Though He Fell into Adultery
- 22. Rule Regarding Passages of Scripture in Which Approval is Expressed of…
- 23. Rule Regarding the Narrative of Sins of Great Men
- 24. The Character of the Expressions Used is Above All to Have Weight
- 25. The Same Word Does Not Always Signify the Same Thing
- 26. Obscure Passages are to Be Interpreted by Those Which are Clearer
- 27. One Passage Susceptible of Various Interpretations
- 28. It is Safer to Explain a Doubtful Passage by Other Passages of Scripture…
- 29. The Knowledge of Tropes is Necessary
- 30. The Rules of Tichonius the Donatist Examined
- 31. The First Rule of Tichonius
- 32. The Second Rule of Tichonius
- 33. The Third Rule of Tichonius
- 34. The Fourth Rule of Tichonius
- 35. The Fifth Rule of Tichonius
- 36. The Sixth Rule of Tichonius
- 37. The Seventh Rule of Tichonius
- Book 4
- Introduction
- 1. This Work Not Intended as a Treatise on Rhetoric
- 2. It is Lawful for a Christian Teacher to Use the Art of Rhetoric
- 3. The Proper Age and the Proper Means for Acquiring Rhetorical Skill
- 4. The Duty of the Christian Teacher
- 5. Wisdom of More Importance Than Eloquence to the Christian Teacher
- 6. The Sacred Writers Unite Eloquence with Wisdom
- 7. Examples of True Eloquence Drawn from the Epistles of Paul and the…
- 8. The Obscurity of the Sacred Writers, Though Compatible with Eloquence, Not…
- 9. How, and with Whom, Difficult Passages are to Be Discussed
- 10. The Necessity for Perspicuity of Style
- 11. The Christian Teacher Must Speak Clearly, But Not Inelegantly
- 12. The Aim of the Orator, According to Cicero, is to Teach, to Delight, and to…
- 13. The Hearer Must Be Moved as Well as Instructed
- 14. Beauty of Diction to Be in Keeping with the Matter
- 15. The Christian Teacher Should Pray Before Preaching
- 16. Human Directions Not to Be Despised, Though God Makes the True Teacher
- 17. Threefold Division of The Various Styles of Speech
- 18. The Christian Orator is Constantly Dealing with Great Matters
- 19. The Christian Teacher Must Use Different Styles on Different Occasions
- 20. Examples of the Various Styles Drawn from Scripture
- 21. Examples of the Various Styles, Drawn from the Teachers of the Church…
- 22. The Necessity of Variety in Style
- 23. How the Various Styles Should Be Mingled
- 24. The Effects Produced by the Majestic Style
- 25. How the Temperate Style is to Be Used
- 26. In Every Style the Orator Should Aim at Perspicuity, Beauty, and…
- 27. The Man Whose Life is in Harmony with His Teaching Will Teach with Greater…
- 28. Truth is More Important Than Expression. What is Meant by Strife About Words
- 29. It is Permissible for a Preacher to Deliver to the People What Has Been…
- 30. The Preacher Should Commence His Discourse with Prayer to God
- 31. Apology for the Length of the Work