History Of Dogmas in Ancient Theology - Volume I

FOREWORD The imperious need of a History of Dogmas, written in English from a Catholic and scientific standpoint, is the motive that has prompted the translator to render this work into English. He offers his thanks to all those, among his associates or among his pupils, who have contributed, in some way or other, by encouragement or active cooperation, to lessen the difficulties of his task. The translation of quotations from the Greek or Latin Fathers is substantially that of the Ante Nicene Fathers. H. L. B. THE AUTHORS PREFACE This volume is the first of a History of Dogmas in Ancient Theology, which at first was intended to be complete in one volume its importance, however, is so great, and the material for its composition so abundant, as to have obliged me to divide it into two parts. The eagerness with which this first volume has been called for, has decided me not to delay the printing of it, until the second is ready. Besides, it treats of a well defined epoch and, strictly speaking, constitutes by itself an independent whole. The method adopted in its composition is the method which, later on, I call synthetic, viz., I have generally followed the chronological order, setting forth at the same time all the doctrine of each author or document, and following up, so to speak, the history of all the dogmas. Any other method was scarcely practical, because of the character of the epoch to be described an epoch when great controversies had not yet arisen and strictly so called definitions on the part of the Church had not yet been made. I am fully aware that such a method may put Theologians to some inconvenience for, while they are anxious to have, grouped together, all the textsreferring to a certain subject, in the present work, they are obliged, in order to find those texts, to go through the whole book. But, although such an inconvenience can scarcely be avoided, I have tried to remove it, as much as I could, by placing, at the end of the volume, an analytical table by means of which it will be easy to make out, in a short time, the series of testimonies and teachings of the first three centuries, on this or that point of doctrine. iv THE AUTHORS PREFACE v There are some, perhaps, who would prefer to see the texts quoted exclusively from Mignes Greek and Latin Patrology, with the indication of the page and column, where they are to be found. Such a constraint I did not think it wise to impose on myself. For, in the first place, however useful and valu able Mignes editions are, they are not always faultless nor even sufficiently complete. Secondly, there are instances in which the works I referred to are divided into rather short sections, and then, the indication of the pages was thought superfluous. Still, such an indication is sometimes really use ful or even necessary, and when that is so, it will be given. Notes, placed at the beginning of chapters or of paragraphs, give lists of the principal works referring to the author or subject in question which lists it will be easy to complete by consulting U. Chevaliers Repertoire des Sources Histor iques du Moyen Age, Bio-bibliographie, a second edition of which is now being published, and 0. Bardenhewers Geschichte der altkirchlichen Litteratur. Generally I have omitted works somewhat old and mere review articles, as well as articles of those dictionaries which of course are always to be consulted, such asthe Dictionnaire de ThSologie Catholique, the Kirchen lexicon, the Realencyklopadie far protestantische Theologie und Kirche, the Dictionary of Christian Biography, etc. As to histories of dogma, strictly so called, the most important and the best known are mentioned at 3 of the Introduction...