Early Church Fathers Scripture Index : Texts
Exodus 22
There are 37 footnotes for this reference.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2, page 114, footnote 4 (Image)
Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Clement of Alexandria
Theophilus (HTML)
Theophilus to Autolycus (HTML)
Book III (HTML)
Chapter X.—Of Humanity to Strangers. (HTML)
... land of Chaldæa,—for at that time, there being a famine, they were obliged to migrate to Egypt for the sake of buying food there, where also for a time they sojourned; and these things befell them in accordance with a prediction of God,—having sojourned, then, in Egypt for 430 years, when Moses was about to lead them out into the desert, God taught them by the law, saying, “Ye shall not afflict a stranger; for ye know the heart of a stranger: for yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt.”[Exodus 22:21]
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2, page 387, footnote 7 (Image)
Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Clement of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria (HTML)
The Stromata, or Miscellanies (HTML)
Book III (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2475 (In-Text, Margin)
... navigabilem, mare autem pedibus pervium, facitis, ut qui historias composuerunt, barbarum Xerxem dicunt voluisse facere? Cur vero non omnibus præceptis repugnatis? Nam cum ille dicat; “Crescite et multiplicamini,” oporteret vos, qui adversamini, nullo modo uti coitu. Et cure dixit: “Dedi vobis omnia ad vescendum” et fruendum, vos nullo frui oportuit. Quinetiam eo dicente: “Oculum pro oculo,” oportuit vos decertationem contraria non rependere decertatione. Et cure furem jusserit reddere “quadruplum,”[Exodus 22:1] oportuit vos furl aliquid etiam adhere. Rursus vero similiter, cum præcepto: “Diliges Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo,” repugnetis, oportuit nec universomm quidem Deum diligere. Et rursus, cum dixent: “Non facies sculptile neque fusile,” consequens erat ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 654, footnote 5 (Image)
Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen
Origen. (HTML)
Origen Against Celsus. (HTML)
Book VIII (HTML)
Chapter XXXVIII (HTML)
He next represents Christians as saying what he never heard from any Christian; or if he did, it must have been from one of the most ignorant and lawless of the people. “Behold,” they are made to say, “I go up to a statue of Jupiter or Apollo, or some other god: I revile it, and beat it, yet it takes no vengeance on me.” He is not aware that among the prohibitions of the divine law is this, “Thou shalt not revile the gods,”[Exodus 22:28] and this is intended to prevent the formation of the habit of reviling any one whatever; for we have been taught, “Bless, and curse not,” and it is said that “revilers shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” And who amongst us is so foolish as to speak in the way Celsus describes, and ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 343, footnote 1 (Image)
Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix
Cyprian. (HTML)
The Epistles of Cyprian. (HTML)
To Cornelius, Concerning Fortunatus and Felicissimus, or Against the Heretics. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2561 (In-Text, Margin)
... which the cause is not mine, nor man’s, but God’s, I do not think must be withheld; that from the very first day of the persecution, while the recent crimes of the guilty were still hot, and not only the devil’s altars, but the very hands and the mouths of the lapsed, were still smoking with the abominable sacrifices, they did not cease to communicate with the lapsed, and to interfere with their repentance. God cries, “He that sacrificeth unto any gods, save unto the Lord only, shall be rooted out.”[Exodus 22:20] And in the Gospel the Lord says, “Whosoever shall deny me, him will I deny.” And in another place the divine indignation and anger are not silent, saying, “To them hast thou poured out a drink-offering, and to them hast thou offered a meat-offering. ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 364, footnote 3 (Image)
Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix
Cyprian. (HTML)
The Epistles of Cyprian. (HTML)
To Epictetus and to the Congregation of Assuræ, Concerning Fortunatianus, Formerly Their Bishop. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2712 (In-Text, Margin)
... and virtue, stands forth as a teacher in perfidy, in boldness, and in temerity; and he who has not taught the brethren to stand bravely in the battle, teaches those who are conquered and prostrate not even to ask for pardon; although the Lord says, “To them have ye poured a drink-offering, and to them have ye offered a meat-offering. Shall I not be angry for these things? saith the Lord.” And in another place, “He that sacrificeth to any god, save unto the Lord only, shall be destroyed.”[Exodus 22:20] Moreover, the Lord again speaks, and says, “They have worshipped those whom their own fingers have made: and the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: and I will not forgive them.” In the Apocalypse also, we read the anger of the ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 439, footnote 4 (Image)
Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix
Cyprian. (HTML)
The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)
On the Lapsed. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3226 (In-Text, Margin)
... with a voice from heaven the servants of God, say, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve?” Does it not again show the anger of the divine indignation, and warn of the fear of punishment beforehand, when it says, “They worshipped them whom their fingers have made; and the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself, and I will forgive them not?” And again, God speaks, and says, “He that sacrifices unto any gods, save unto the Lord only, shall be destroyed.”[Exodus 22:20] In the Gospel also subsequently, the Lord, who instructs by His words and fulfils by His deeds, teaching what should be done, and doing whatever He had taught, did He not before admonish us of whatever is now done and shall be done? Did He not ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 462, footnote 2 (Image)
Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix
Cyprian. (HTML)
The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)
An Address to Demetrianus. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3426 (In-Text, Margin)
16. What, then, is that sluggishness of mind; yea, what blind and stupid madness of fools, to be unwilling to come out of darkness into light, and to be unwilling, when bound in the toils of eternal death, to receive the hope of immortality, and not to fear God when He threatens and says, “He that sacrifices unto any gods, but unto the Lord only, shall be rooted out?”[Exodus 22:20] And again: “They worshipped them whom their fingers made; and the mean man hath bowed down, and the great man hath humbled himself, and I will not forgive them.” Why do you humble and bend yourself to false gods? Why do you bow your body captive before foolish images and creations of earth? God made you upright; ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 498, footnote 14 (Image)
Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix
Cyprian. (HTML)
The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)
Exhortation to Martyrdom, Addressed to Fortunatus. (HTML)
What is God's threatening against those who sacrifice to idols? (HTML)
In Exodus: “He that sacrificeth unto any gods but the Lord only, shall be rooted out.”[Exodus 22:20] Also in Deuteronomy: “They sacrificed unto demons, and not to God.” In Isaiah also: “They worshipped those which their fingers have made; and the mean man was bowed down, and the great man was humbled: and I will not forgive them.” And again: “To them hast thou poured out drink-offerings, and to them thou hast offered sacrifices. For these, therefore, shall I not be angry, saith the Lord?” In Jeremiah also: “Walk ye not after other gods, to serve them; ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 537, footnote 3 (Image)
Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix
Cyprian. (HTML)
The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)
Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews. (HTML)
Book III. (HTML)
In Exodus: “Thou shalt not curse nor speak ill of the ruler of thy people.”[Exodus 22:28] Also in the thirty-third Psalm: “Who is the man who desires life, and loveth to see good days? Restrain thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak no guile.” Of this same thing in Leviticus: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Bring forth him who hath cursed abroad outside the camp; and all who heard him shall place their hands upon his head, and all the assembly of the children of Israel shall stone him.” Of this same thing in Paul’s Epistle to ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 556, footnote 5 (Image)
Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix
Cyprian. (HTML)
The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)
Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews. (HTML)
Book III. (HTML)
In Solomon: “Be merciful to the orphans as a father, and as a husband to their mother; and thou shalt be the son of the Highest if thou shalt obey.” Also in Exodus: “Ye shall not afflict any widow and orphan. But if ye afflict them, and they cry out and call unto me, I will hear their cryings, and will be angry in mind against you; and I will destroy you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children orphans.”[Exodus 22:22-24] Also in Isaiah: “Judge for the fatherless, and justify the widow; and come let us reason, saith the Lord.” Also in Job: “I have preserved the poor man from the hand of the mighty, and I have helped the fatherless who had no helper: the mouth of the widow hath blessed me.” Also in ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 6, page 163, footnote 3 (Image)
Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius
Anatolius and Minor Writers. (HTML)
Phileas. (HTML)
Fragments of the Epistle of Phileas to the People of Thmuis. (HTML)
Part III. (HTML)
... these alternatives, namely, either to put their hand to the unholy sacrifice and thus secure exemption from further trouble, and obtain from them their abominable sentence of absolution and liberation, or else to refuse to sacrifice, and thus expect the judgment of death to be executed on them, they never hesitated, but went cheerfully to death. For they knew the sentence declared for us of old by the Holy Scriptures: “He that sacrificeth to other gods,” it is said, “shall be utterly destroyed.”[Exodus 22:20] And again “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 342, footnote 3 (Image)
Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies
Victorinus (HTML)
On the Creation of the World (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2203 (In-Text, Margin)
... with the Jews, which Christ Himself, the Lord of the Sabbath, says by His prophets that “His soul hateth;” which Sabbath He in His body abolished, although, nevertheless, He had formerly Himself commanded Moses that circumcision should not pass over the eighth day, which day very frequently happens on the Sabbath, as we read written in the Gospel. Moses, foreseeing the hardness of that people, on the Sabbath raised up his hands, therefore, and thus figuratively fastened himself to a cross.[Exodus 22:9] And in the battle they were sought for by the foreigners on the Sabbath-day, that they might be taken captive, and, as if by the very strictness of the law, might be fashioned to the avoidance of its teaching.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 342, footnote 3 (Image)
Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies
Victorinus (HTML)
On the Creation of the World (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2203 (In-Text, Margin)
... with the Jews, which Christ Himself, the Lord of the Sabbath, says by His prophets that “His soul hateth;” which Sabbath He in His body abolished, although, nevertheless, He had formerly Himself commanded Moses that circumcision should not pass over the eighth day, which day very frequently happens on the Sabbath, as we read written in the Gospel. Moses, foreseeing the hardness of that people, on the Sabbath raised up his hands, therefore, and thus figuratively fastened himself to a cross.[Exodus 22:12] And in the battle they were sought for by the foreigners on the Sabbath-day, that they might be taken captive, and, as if by the very strictness of the law, might be fashioned to the avoidance of its teaching.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 410, footnote 3 (Image)
Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies
Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (HTML)
Book II. Of Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons (HTML)
Sec. IV.—On the Management of the Resources Collected for the Support of the Clergy, and the Relief of the Poor (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2725 (In-Text, Margin)
... several parts of your divine worship. He is the teacher of piety; and, next after God, he is your father, who has begotten you again to the adoption of sons by water and the Spirit. He is your ruler and governor; he is your king and potentate; he is, next after God, your earthly god, who has a right to be honoured by you. For concerning him, and such as he, it is that God pronounces, “I have said, Ye are gods; and ye are all children of the Most High.” And, “Ye shall not speak evil of the gods.”[Exodus 22:28] For let the bishop preside over you as one honoured with the authority of God, which he is to exercise over the clergy, and by which he is to govern all the people. But let the deacon minister to him, as Christ does to His Father; and let him serve ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 411, footnote 5 (Image)
Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies
Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (HTML)
Book II. Of Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons (HTML)
Sec. IV.—On the Management of the Resources Collected for the Support of the Clergy, and the Relief of the Poor (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2738 (In-Text, Margin)
XXXI. Let him not do anything at all without his bishop, nor give anything without his consent. For if he gives to any one as to a person in distress without the bishop’s knowledge, he gives it so that it must tend to the reproach of the bishop, and he accuses him as careless of the distressed. But he that casts reproach on his bishop, either by word or deed, opposes God, not hearkening to what He says: “Thou shalt not speak evil of the gods.”[Exodus 22:28] For He did not make that law concerning deities of wood and of stone, which are abominable, because they are falsely called gods, but concerning the priests and the judges, to whom He also said, “Ye are gods, and children of the Most High.”
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 463, footnote 3 (Image)
Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies
Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (HTML)
Book VI (HTML)
Sec. V.—The Teaching of the Apostles in Opposition to Jewish and Gentile Superstitions, Especially in Regard to Marriage and Funerals (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3318 (In-Text, Margin)
... the destruction of one’s own flesh, not being made use of for the procreation of children, but entirely for the sake of pleasure, which is a mark of incontinency, and not a sign of virtue. All these things are forbidden by the laws; for thus say the oracles: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind.” “For such a one is accursed, and ye shall stone them with stones: they have wrought abomination.” “Every one that lieth with a beast, slay ye him: he has wrought wickedness in his people.”[Exodus 22:19] “And if any one defile a married woman, slay ye them both: they have wrought wickedness; they are guilty; let them die.” And afterwards: “There shall not be a fornicator among the children of Israel, and there shall not be an whore among the ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 466, footnote 15 (Image)
Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies
Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (HTML)
Book VII. Concerning the Christian Life, and the Eucharist, and the Initiation into Christ (HTML)
Sec. I.—On the Two Ways,—The Way of Life and the Way of Death (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3382 (In-Text, Margin)
III. Thou shalt not use magic. Thou shalt not use witchcraft; for He says, “Ye shall not suffer a witch to live.”[Exodus 22:18] Thou shall not slay thy child by causing abortion, nor kill that which is begotten; for “everything that is shaped, and has received a soul from God, if it be slain, shall be avenged, as being unjustly destroyed.” “Thou shalt not covet the things that belong to thy neighbour, as his wife, or his servant, or his ox, or his field.” “Thou shalt not forswear thyself; for it is said, “Thou shalt not swear at all.” But if that ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 503, footnote 11 (Image)
Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies
Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (HTML)
Book VIII. Concerning Gifts, and Ordinations, and the Ecclesiastical Canons (HTML)
The Ecclesiastical Canons of the Same Holy Apostles (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3798 (In-Text, Margin)
55. If any one of the clergy abuses his bishop unjustly, let him be deprived; for says the Scripture, “Thou shall not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.”[Exodus 22:28]
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 8, page 108, footnote 6 (Image)
Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts and Epistles, The Clementina, Apocryphal Gospels and Acts, Syriac Documents
Pseudo-Clementine Literature. (HTML)
The Recognitions of Clement. (HTML)
Book II. (HTML)
Argument for Polytheism. (HTML)
... the rest of the gods, ‘Behold, Adam is become as one of us;’ thus, therefore, it is manifest that there were many gods engaged in the making of man. Also, whereas at the first God said to the other gods, ‘Let us make man after our image and likeness;’ also His saying, ‘Let us drive him out;’ and again, ‘Come, let us go down, and confound their language;’ all these things indicate that there are many gods. But this also is written, ‘Thou shalt not curse the gods, nor curse the chief of thy people;’[Exodus 22:28] and again this writing, ‘God alone led them, and there was no strange god with them,’ shows that there are many gods. There are also many other testimonies which might be adduced from the law, not only obscure, but plain, by which it is taught that ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 8, page 109, footnote 1 (Image)
Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts and Epistles, The Clementina, Apocryphal Gospels and Acts, Syriac Documents
Pseudo-Clementine Literature. (HTML)
The Recognitions of Clement. (HTML)
Book II. (HTML)
Guardian Angels. (HTML)
... angels as princes. But to the one among the archangels who is greatest, was committed the government of those who, before all others, received the worship and knowledge of the Most High God. But holy men also, as we have said, are made gods to the wicked, as having received the power of life and death over them, as we mentioned above with respect to Moses and the judges. Wherefore it is also written concerning them, ‘Thou shalt not curse the gods, and thou shalt not curse the prince of thy people.’[Exodus 22:28] Thus the princes of the several nations are called gods. But Christ is God of princes, who is Judge of all. Therefore neither angels, nor men, nor any creature, can be truly gods, forasmuch as they are placed under authority, being created and ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 8, page 313, footnote 7 (Image)
Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts and Epistles, The Clementina, Apocryphal Gospels and Acts, Syriac Documents
Pseudo-Clementine Literature. (HTML)
The Clementine Homilies. (HTML)
Homily XVI. (HTML)
Simon Appeals to the Old Testament to Prove that There are Many Gods. (HTML)
... serpent having persuaded them by means of the woman, through the promise that they would become gods, made them look up; and then, when they had thus looked up, God said, ‘Behold, Adam is become as one of us.’ When, then, the serpent said, ‘Ye shall be as gods,’ he plainly speaks in the belief that gods exist; all the more as God also added His testimony, saying, ‘Behold, Adam is become as one of us.’ The serpent, then, who said that there are many gods, did not speak falsely. Again, the scripture,[Exodus 22:28] ‘Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the rulers of thy people,’ points out many gods whom it does not wish even to be cursed. But it is also somewhere else written, ‘Did another god dare to enter and take him a nation from the midst of another ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 8, page 314, footnote 9 (Image)
Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts and Epistles, The Clementina, Apocryphal Gospels and Acts, Syriac Documents
Pseudo-Clementine Literature. (HTML)
The Clementine Homilies. (HTML)
Homily XVI. (HTML)
Simon and Peter Continue the Discussion. (HTML)
... maintaining that we ought not to speak of many gods.” Accordingly I adduced many written passages to show that the divine Scriptures themselves speak of many gods.” And Peter said: “Those very Scriptures which speak of many gods, also exhorted us, saying, ‘The names of other gods shall not ascend upon thy lips.’ Thus, Simon, I did not speak contrary to what was written.” And Simon said: “Do you, Peter, listen to what I have to say. You seem to me to sin in speaking against them, when the Scripture says,[Exodus 22:28] ‘Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the rulers of thy people.’” And Peter said: “I am not sinning, Simon, in pointing out their destruction according to the Scriptures; for thus it is written: ‘Let the gods who did not make the heavens ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 298, footnote 5 (Image)
Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen
Epistle to Gregory and Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John. (HTML)
Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John. (HTML)
Book I. (HTML)
The Study of the Gospels is the First Fruits Offered by These Priests of Christianity. (HTML)
... mistaken in this view, in what must our first fruits consist, after the bodily separation we have undergone from each other, but in the study of the Gospel? For we may venture to say that the Gospel is the first fruits of all the Scriptures. Where, then, could be the first fruits of our activity, since the time when we came to Alexandria, but in the first fruits of the Scriptures? It must not be forgotten, however, that the first fruits are not the same as the first growth. For the first fruits[Exodus 22:29] are offered after all the fruits (are ripe), but the first growth before them all. Now of the Scriptures which are current and are believed to be divine in all the churches, one would not be wrong in saying that the first growth is the law of Moses, ...
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 447, footnote 1 (Image)
Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen
Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. (HTML)
Origen's Commentary on Matthew. (HTML)
Book XI. (HTML)
Exposition of the Details in the Narrative. (HTML)
... because of her base birth in Canaanitish land was a little dog, He gave as to a child the bread of the children. And perhaps, also, of the words of Jesus there are some loaves which it is possible to give to the more rational, as to children only; and other words, as it were, crumbs from the great house and table of the well born and the masters, which may be used by some souls, like the dogs. And according to the law of Moses it is written about certain things, “Ye shall cast them to the dogs,”[Exodus 22:31] and it was a matter of care to the Holy Spirit to give instruction about certain foods that they should be left to the dogs. Let others, then, who are strangers to the doctrine of the Church, assume that souls pass from the bodies of men into the ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 2, page 182, footnote 6 (Image)
Augustine: The City of God, Christian Doctrine
City of God (HTML)
Porphyry’s doctrine of redemption. (HTML)
That the Platonists, Though Knowing Something of the Creator of the Universe, Have Misunderstood the True Worship of God, by Giving Divine Honor to Angels, Good or Bad. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 381 (In-Text, Margin)
... with what virtue endowed, loves us as himself, he must desire that we find our happiness by submitting ourselves to Him, in submission to whom he himself finds happiness. If he does not worship God, he is wretched, because deprived of God; if he worships God, he cannot wish to be worshipped in God’s stead. On the contrary, these higher powers acquiesce heartily in the divine sentence in which it is written, “He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.”[Exodus 22:20]
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 2, page 184, footnote 9 (Image)
Augustine: The City of God, Christian Doctrine
City of God (HTML)
Porphyry’s doctrine of redemption. (HTML)
Of the Love of the Holy Angels, Which Prompts Them to Desire that We Worship the One True God, and Not Themselves. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 399 (In-Text, Margin)
... to which it is said in the psalm, “Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God;” the human part sojourning here below, the angelic aiding from above. For from that heavenly city, in which God’s will is the intelligible and unchangeable law, from that heavenly council-chamber,—for they sit in counsel regarding us,—that holy Scripture, descended to us by the ministry of angels, in which it is written, “He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed,”[Exodus 22:20] —this Scripture, this law, these precepts, have been confirmed by such miracles, that it is sufficiently evident to whom these immortal and blessed spirits, who desire us to be like themselves, wish us to sacrifice.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 2, page 415, footnote 1 (Image)
Augustine: The City of God, Christian Doctrine
City of God (HTML)
A review of the philosophical opinions regarding the Supreme Good, and a comparison of these opinions with the Christian belief regarding happiness. (HTML)
Whether There Ever Was a Roman Republic Answering to the Definitions of Scipio in Cicero’s Dialogue. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1297 (In-Text, Margin)
... holy gods, must we therefore again reply to this evasion, though already we have said enough, and more than enough, to expose it? He must be an uncommonly stupid, or a shamelessly contentious person, who has read through the foregoing books to this point, and can yet question whether the Romans served wicked and impure demons. But, not to speak of their character, it is written in the law of the true God, “He that sacrificeth unto any god save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.”[Exodus 22:20] He, therefore, who uttered so menacing a commandment decreed that no worship should be given either to good or bad gods.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 2, page 417, footnote 1 (Image)
Augustine: The City of God, Christian Doctrine
City of God (HTML)
A review of the philosophical opinions regarding the Supreme Good, and a comparison of these opinions with the Christian belief regarding happiness. (HTML)
Porphyry’s Account of the Responses Given by the Oracles of the gods Concerning Christ. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1299 (In-Text, Margin)
... Christians reverenced rather than hated the demons, whose worship the Hebrews prohibited? But that God, whom the Hebrew sages worshipped, forbids sacrifice to be offered even to the holy angels of heaven and divine powers, whom we, in this our pilgrimage, venerate and love as our most blessed fellow-citizens. For in the law which God gave to His Hebrew people He utters this menace, as in a voice of thunder: “He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.”[Exodus 22:20] And that no one might suppose that this prohibition extends only to the very wicked demons and earthly spirits, whom this philosopher calls very small and inferior,—for even these are in the Scripture called gods, not of the Hebrews, but of the ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 4, page 336, footnote 3 (Image)
Augustine: The Anti-Manichaean Writings, The Anti-Donatist Writings
Writings in Connection with the Manichæan Controversy. (HTML)
Reply to Faustus the Manichæan. (HTML)
Faustus fails to understand why he should be required either to accept or reject the New Testament as a whole, while the Catholics accept or reject the various parts of the Old Testament at pleasure. Augustin denies that the Catholics treat the Old Testament arbitrarily, and explains their attitude towards it. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1050 (In-Text, Margin)
12. The Pentecost, too, we observe, that is, the fiftieth day from the passion and resurrection of the Lord, for on that day He sent to us the Holy Paraclete whom He had promised; as was prefigured in the Jewish passover, for on the fiftieth day after the slaying of the lamb, Moses on the mount received the law written with the finger of God.[Exodus 19-31] If you read the Gospel, you will see that the Spirit is there called the finger of God. Remarkable events which happened on certain days are annually commemorated in the Church, that the recurrence of this festival may preserve the recollection of things so important and salutary. If you ask, then, why we keep the passover, ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 1, page 331, footnote 6 (Image)
Eusebius: Church History from A.D. 1-324, Life of Constantine the Great, Oration in Praise of Constantine
The Church History of Eusebius. (HTML)
Book VIII (HTML)
The Writings of Phileas the Martyr describing the Occurrences at Alexandria. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2545 (In-Text, Margin)
10. When therefore they were ordered to choose whether they would be released from molestation by touching the polluted sacrifice, and would receive from them the accursed freedom, or refusing to sacrifice, should be condemned to death, they did not hesitate, but went to death cheerfully. For they knew what had been declared before by the Sacred Scriptures. For it is said, ‘He that sacrificeth to other gods shall be utterly destroyed,’[Exodus 22:20] and, ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’”
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 430, footnote 5 (Image)
Jerome: Letters and Select Works
Treatises. (HTML)
To Pammachius against John of Jerusalem. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 5020 (In-Text, Margin)
12. What, I ask, is the meaning of this effrontery and bombast? All philosophers and orators attack Gorgias of Leontini for daring openly to pledge himself to answer any question which any person might choose to put to him. If the honour of the priesthood and respect for your title did not restrain me, and if I did not know what the Apostle says,[Exodus 22:28] “I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people,” how loudly and indignantly might I complain of what you relate! You, on the contrary, disparage the dignity of your title by the contempt which you throw, both in word and deed, on one who is almost ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 70, footnote 7 (Image)
Ambrose: Select Works and Letters
Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)
On the Duties of the Clergy. (HTML)
Book III. (HTML)
Chapter III. The rule given about not seeking one's own gain is established, first by the examples of Christ, next by the meaning of the word, and lastly by the very form and uses of our limbs. Wherefore the writer shows what a crime it is to deprive another of what is useful, since the law of nature as well as the divine law is broken by such wickedness. Further, by its means we also lose that gift which makes us superior to other living creatures; and lastly, through it civil laws are abused and treated with the greatest contempt. (HTML)
20. Why, the very law of the Lord teaches us that this rule must be observed, so that we may never deprive another of anything for the sake of our own advantage. For it says: “Remove not the bounds which thy fathers have set.” It bids a neighbour’s ox to be brought back if found wandering. It orders a thief to be put to death.[Exodus 22:2] It forbids the labourer to be deprived of his hire, and orders money to be returned without usury. It is a mark of kindly feeling to help him who has nothing, but it is a sign of a hard nature to extort more than one has given. If a man has need of thy assistance because he has not enough of his own wherewith to repay a debt, is it ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 11, page 398, footnote 8 (Image)
Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian
The Works of John Cassian. (HTML)
The Conferences of John Cassian. Part I. Containing Conferences I-X. (HTML)
Conference IX. The First Conference of Abbot Isaac. On Prayer. (HTML)
Chapter XXXIV. Answer on the different reasons for prayer being heard. (HTML)
... it is said: “Loose the bands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress;” and after a few words in which the barrenness of an unfruitful fast is rebuked, “then,” he says, “thou shalt call and the Lord shall hear thee; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here am I.” Sometimes also excess of trouble causes it to be heard, as it is said: “When I was in trouble I called unto the Lord, and He heard me;” and again: “Afflict not the stranger for if he crieth unto Me, I will hear him, for I am merciful.”[Exodus 22:21] You see then in how many ways the gift of an answer may be obtained, so that no one need be crushed by the despair of his conscience for securing those things which are salutary and eternal. For if in contemplating our wretchedness I admit that we ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 11, page 398, footnote 8 (Image)
Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian
The Works of John Cassian. (HTML)
The Conferences of John Cassian. Part I. Containing Conferences I-X. (HTML)
Conference IX. The First Conference of Abbot Isaac. On Prayer. (HTML)
Chapter XXXIV. Answer on the different reasons for prayer being heard. (HTML)
... it is said: “Loose the bands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress;” and after a few words in which the barrenness of an unfruitful fast is rebuked, “then,” he says, “thou shalt call and the Lord shall hear thee; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here am I.” Sometimes also excess of trouble causes it to be heard, as it is said: “When I was in trouble I called unto the Lord, and He heard me;” and again: “Afflict not the stranger for if he crieth unto Me, I will hear him, for I am merciful.”[Exodus 22:27] You see then in how many ways the gift of an answer may be obtained, so that no one need be crushed by the despair of his conscience for securing those things which are salutary and eternal. For if in contemplating our wretchedness I admit that we ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 11, page 505, footnote 5 (Image)
Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian
The Works of John Cassian. (HTML)
The Conferences of John Cassian. Part III. Containing Conferences XVIII.-XXIV. (HTML)
Conference XXI. The First Conference of Abbot Theonas. On the Relaxation During the Fifty Days. (HTML)
Chapter VII. How it lies in our own power to choose whether to remain under the grace of the gospel or under the terror of the law. (HTML)
... boasts that he is a Christian and freed by the Lord’s grace: for we must not only regard as still under the law the man who refuses to fulfil what the law enjoins, but the man as well who is satisfied with the mere observance of what the law commands, and who never brings forth fruits worthy of his vocation and the grace of Christ, where it is not said: “Thou shalt offer to the Lord thy God thy tithes and firstfruits;” but: “Go and sell all that thou hast and give to the poor, and come follow Me;”[Exodus 22:29] where, owing to the grandeur of perfection, to the request of the disciple there is not granted even the very short space of an hour in which to bury his father, as the offices of human charity are outweighed by the virtue of Divine love.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 11, page 513, footnote 4 (Image)
Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian
The Works of John Cassian. (HTML)
The Conferences of John Cassian. Part III. Containing Conferences XVIII.-XXIV. (HTML)
Conference XXI. The First Conference of Abbot Theonas. On the Relaxation During the Fifty Days. (HTML)
Chapter XXV. The answer to the effect that the fast of Lent has reference to the tithe of the year. (HTML)
... because you are more scrupulous in your examination of those things which another would consider unworthy to be asked about, and want to know the whole truth of this observance of ours and the secret of it, you shall have a very clear reason for this also, that you may still more plainly be convinced that our predecessors taught nothing unreasonable. By the law of Moses the command propounded to all the people generally was this: “Thou shalt offer to the Lord thy God thy tithes and firstfruits.”[Exodus 22:29] And so, while we are commanded to offer tithes of our substance and all our fruits, it is much more needful for us to offer tithes of our life and ordinary employments and actions, which certainly is clearly arranged for in the calculation of Lent. ...
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 11, page 516, footnote 6 (Image)
Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins, John Cassian
The Works of John Cassian. (HTML)
The Conferences of John Cassian. Part III. Containing Conferences XVIII.-XXIV. (HTML)
Conference XXI. The First Conference of Abbot Theonas. On the Relaxation During the Fifty Days. (HTML)
Chapter XXXII. The answer on the difference between grace and the commands of the law. (HTML)
... to the purity of perpetual chastity, and the undefiled state of blessed virginity, saying: “Blessed are the barren, and the breasts which have not given suck;” and: “he that hateth not father and mother and wife cannot be my disciple;” and this of the Apostle: “It remaineth that they that have wives be as though they had them not.” The law says: “Thou shalt not delay to offer thy tithes and firstfruits;” grace says: “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all that thou hast and give to the poor:”[Exodus 22:29] The law forbids not retaliation for wrongs and vengeance for injuries, saying “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Grace would have our patience proved by the injuries and blows offered to us being redoubled, and bids us be ready to endure ...