Catholic Treasures
ANCIENT CHRISTIAN WRITER'S
LIBRARY
01. Epistles of St. Clement of Rome and St.
Ignatius of Antioch, The
St. Clement's epistle, written c. 96, is called the first epistle, and
is a model of a pastoral letter. The epistles of St. Ignatius, Bishop
of Smyrna at the beginning of the second century, are addressed to six
Christian communities. ITEM #60001 $24.95
02. St. Augustine: The First Catechetical
Instruction
Written about the year 405, this treatise is unique in that it embodies
both a manual for the catechist and a catechesis for the prospective
catechumen. ITEM #60002 $24.95
03. St. Augustine: Faith, Hope and Charity
Augustine has given us here a fairly complete compendium of his whole
theology and the system on which it rests. ITEM #60003 $21.95
04. Julianus Pomerius: The Contemplative Life
Written around the end of the fifth century or the beginning of the
sixth, this work, composed at the urgent request of a bishop, is an
expression of the ideals of the contemplative and the active life,
supplemented by a
discussion of the vices and the virtues. ITEM #60004 $16.95
05. St. Augustine: The Lord's Sermon on the Mount
This work was written between the years 393 to 396, when Augustine
served as a priest at Hippo. In the first book he answers the question
of the true meaning of The Sermon on the Mount: Is it humanely possible
to put The
Sermon into practice? The second book deals with the sixth and seventh
chapters of this Gospel, and offers a condensed theology of
prayer. ITEM #60005
$22.95
06. Didache, The: The Epistle of Barnabas, The
Epistles and the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, The Fragments of Papias,
The Epistle
The Didache or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, probably written
before the end of the first century, purports to be an instruction
based
on sayings of the Lord and given by the Twelve Apostles to pagans who
wished
to become Christians.The Epistle of Barnabas is a homily on the
mistaken
Judaistic conception of the Old Testament.The Epistles consist of a
covering
note and a letter, which is an exhortation to the Philippians on
Christian
life in general. The Martyrdom of St. Polycarp is the story of this
bishop
of Smyrna's death at the hand of the Roman authorities in Asia for the
defense of the Christian faith.The Fragments of Papias. Papias, bishop
of Hierapolis in Asia Minor, was the author of five books, entitled
Exegesis of the Lord’s Gospel.The Epistle to Diognetus is an apology
for Christianity, presented by an unknown writer to a pagan of high
social or political rank. ITEM #60006 $21.95
07. Arnobius of Sicca: The Case Against the
Pagans, Vol. 1
This is in many ways the most remarkable patristic document now extant,
the last surviving apology composed before the end of the
persecutions. ITEM #60007 $22.95
08. Arnobius of Sicca: The Case Against the
Pagans, Vol. 2
This is in many ways the most remarkable patristic document now extant,
the last surviving apology composed before the end of the
persecutions. ITEM #60008 $19.95
09. St. Augustine: The Greatness of the Soul, The
Teacher
Among the earlier writings of Augustine, the first work treats the
nature of the human soul, its dignity and grandeur. The second
discusses the fundamental question of how man acquires knowledge. Each
is in the form of a dialogue. ITEM #60009 $29.95
10. St. Athanasius: The Life of St. Antony
The most important document of early monasticism, written in 357, this
is a biography of the recognized founder and father of
monasticism. ITEM #60010 $24.95
11. St. Gregory the Great, Pastoral Care
St. Gregory deals with the great responsibility of the episcopal office
and its onerous nature. ITEM #60011 $29.95
12. St. Augustine: Against the Academics
Made up of three books that are the earliest extant works of St.
Augustine, these works claim to give a reliable picture of the mind and
way of life of one of the greatest figures of the West, precisely at
the moment that was for him most critical and vital. ITEM #60012
$16.95
13. Tertullian: Treatises on Marriage and
Remarriage: To His Wife, An Exhortation to Chastity, Monogamy
These three treatises on marriage, though not generally classified
among Tertullian's major compositions, are works of considerable
interest and importance. ITEM
#60013 $14.95
14. St. Prosper of Aquitaine: The Call of All
Nations
This is the first treatise in ancient Christian literature on the
problem of the salvation of infidels. It is a controversial work
written against the Semi-Pelagians about the year 450, probably at
Rome. ITEM #60014 $16.95
15. St. Augustine: Sermons for Christmas and
Epiphany
Of all his works, it is Augustine's sermons that give us the best
portrayal of this brilliant and profoundly spiritual man presenting and
interpreting the divine mysteries to his own people. ITEM #60015
$16.95
16. St. Irenaeus: Proof of the Apostolic Preaching
Written in the form of a letter, the Proof is a manual of theology
designed to serve as a guide to salvation and a way to refute heretics.
It was composed in Lyons and dates from the end of the second to the
beginning of the third century. ITEM #60016 $26.95
17. Works of St. Patrick, St. Secundinus, The:
Hymn on St. Patrick
St. Patrick did not consider himself a man of letters; the short texts
that survive reflect, however, his powerful personality.A contemporary
and fellow missionary of St. Patrick, Secundinus is an enthusiastic
admirer
and defender of St. Patrick in this hymn. ITEM #60017 $15.95
18. St. Gregory of Nyssa: The Lord's Prayer, The
Beatitudes
The two series of homilies presented here are intensely practical, full
of examples from the moral, social, medical and scientific life of
Gregory's time. They paint a picture of a man thoroughly conversant
with human nature in general, and in the needs of his
contemporaries. ITEM #60018 $22.95
19. Origen: Prayer, Exhortation to Martyrdom
Composed c. 233, the treatise on Prayer is not merely a treatise, but a
prayer itself. The Exhortation was composed c. 235 to provide solace
for Origen's great friend and patron, Ambrose, and the presbyter,
Protoctetus, both of whom had been imprisoned. ITEM #60019 $29.95
20. Rufinus: A Commentary on the Apostles' Creed
His most important work, aimed at persons under instruction for the
sacraments, the Commentary offers a guide to elucidating and justifying
the Creed. It offers a glimpse of popular Christian propaganda at the
beginning of the fifth century. ITEM #60020 $14.95
21. St. Maximus the Confessor: The Ascetic Life,
The Four Centuries on Charity
The Ascetic Life is a dialogue between a young novice and an old monk
on how to achieve the Christian life. The Four Centuries is a
collection of aphorisms. ITEM #60021 $31.95
22. St. Augustine: The Problem of Free Choice
One of Augustine's most important works, written between 388 and 395,
this dialogue has as its objective not so much to discuss free will for
its own sake as to discuss the problem of evil in reference to the
existence of God, who is almighty and all-good. ITEM #60022 $31.95
23. Athenagoras: Embassy for the Christians, The
Resurrection of the
Dead
These treatises date from the last third of the second century.
Athenagoras of Athens belonged to that select group of Christian laymen
know as the Apologists, who supported the successors of the Apostles in
the ministry of the faith by defending that faith and pleading for a
just hearing before the pagan majority and pagan overlords. ITEM
#60023 $14.95
24. Tertullian: The Treatise against Hermogenes
Hermogenes was still living when Carthage's native son took up his pen
to oppose him; but that did not make Tertullian’s polemic more
considerate, or his satire less passionate and biting. Hermogenes
taught a form of materialism. Tertullian brilliantly convicts him of
contradiction. ITEM #60024 $14.95
25. St. Cyprian: The Lapsed, The Unity of the
Catholic Church
St. Cyprian's writings portray vividly the life of the Christian Church
in the middle of the third century. The two pastoral addresses of this
intensely devout bishop reveal the aftermath of the persecution by the
Emperor Decius. ITEM #60025 $24.95
26. Origen: The Song of Songs, Commentary and
Homilies
Origen's Commentary, the first great work of Christian mysticism, is
characterized by extraordinary richness of thought and depth of
mystical
conception. The Homilies seem to have been written only a few years
after
the Commentary—probably before 244. ITEM #60026 $34.95
27. St. Methodius: The Symposium: A Treatise on
Chastity
The Symposium, or Banquet, is a dialogue in imitation of Plato, written
by Methodius, a teacher and probably a bishop, who flourished in Lycia
during the period known as the Little Peace of the Church. It is
perhaps the
most beautiful symbolic prose-poem of the early patristic
period. ITEM #60027 $16.95
28. Tertullian: Treatises on Penance: On Penitence
and On Purity
The judgment that one forms of the theory and practice of penance in
Christian antiquity will be largely determined by the interpretation
which
one puts upon these two treatises. On Penitence dates from Tertullian's
Catholic period, and is a sermon addressed to the faithful on the
subject
of repentance and forgiveness. On Purity is one of his most violent
Montanist
treatises. In it he criticizes the policy the Church follows in
granting
pardon to serious sins. ITEM #60028 $21.95
29. St. Augustine on the Psalms, Vol. 1
This volume covers Augustine's notes and commentaries on Psalms 1
through 29. Augustine’s theme is the Church, less as an external
institution than as the very focus and center of God and
Christ. ITEM #60029 $34.95
30. St. Augustine on the Psalms, Vol. 2
“Saint Augustine shows in simple, forceful language that the
psalms...are also part of the first phase of Christ's revelation,
pointing toward the future. Since the saint was talking to his
parishioners, his approach is concrete and leisurely.” —JubileePsalms
30-37 are treated here. ITEM #60030 $34.95
31. St. John Chrysostom: Baptismal Instruction
This series of eight instructions on baptism were given by St. John
Chrysostom, probably at Antioch about 390. Their interest lies in
Chrysostom's activity as a mystagogue for the baptismal candidates and
as their instructor in Christian doctrine and morality immediately
after their initiation. ITEM #60031 $34.95
32. St. Prosper of Aquitaine: Defense of St.
Augustine
The first document of the Semi-Pelagian controversy, the Defense
involves several mutually connected points of doctrine, all of them
centered on the gratuity of grace or on the very idea of grace as an
undeserved gift of
God. A layman connected with the monasteries of Marseilles, Prosper
left
Gaul for Rome and lived there until after 455. ITEM #60032 $16.95
33. Letters of St. Jerome, Vol. 1
No other source gives such an intimate portrait of this brilliant
and strong minded individual, one of the four great Doctors of the West
and generally regarded as the most learned of the Latin Fathers. ITEM
#60033 $31.95
34. Palladius: The Lausiac History
Palladius has written an important history of early monasticism in
Egypt with these biographic sketches or notes on some sixty holy men
and women he had met or heard of. The work, dating from 419 or 420, is
dedicated to
Lausus, the royal chamberlain at the court of Emperor Theodosius
II. ITEM #60034 $34.95
35. Letters of St. Paulinus of Nola, Vol. 1
Twenty-two prose letters that serve as a spiritual autobiography and
intimate view of monastic life in Gaul and Nola, near Naples, in the
fifth
century. ITEM #60035 $18.95
36. Letters of St. Paulinus of Nola, Vol. 2
Volume 2 contains letters 23-51. ITEM #60036 $24.95
37. Firmicus Maternus: The Error of the
Pagan
Religions
A distinguished and literate convert, as well as a former astrologer,
Firmicus Maternus called for the ferocious and brutal destruction of
paganism by the state. Addressing the brothers, emperors Constantius
and Constans, this work was written no later than 350. ITEM #60037
$18.95
38. Egeria: Diary of a Pilgrimage
Written in the first part of the fifth century, this work is a charming
record of the observations of Christian woman on a lengthy pilgrimage
to the Holy Lands. Her firsthand account is a work of major
significance for the fields of archaeology, church history, philology
and comparative liturgy. ITEM
#60038 $24.95
39. Octavius of Marcus Minucius Felix, The
This work is a defense of Christianity composed in clear and direct
imitation of Cicero, by a practicing advocate at Rome of African
background, writing within the first third of the third
century. ITEM #60039 $26.95
40. Poems of St. Paulinus of Nola, The
In general, the corpus of Paulinus’ poetry has as its purpose to
encourage Christians to persevere in a life of Christian commitment and
to demonstrate to nominal Christians and to benevolent non-Christians
the nature of that commitment. None of the extant poems were written
after 409. ITEM #60040 $29.95
41. St. Augustine: The Literal Meaning of Genesis,
Vol. 1
A thorough and conscientious commentary on the first three chapters
from the Book of Genesis, completed in 415. Augustine's purpose is to
explain, to the best of his ability, what the author intended to say
about what God did when he made heaven and earth. ITEM #60041
$29.95
42. St. Augustine, The Literal Meaning of Genesis,
Vol. 2
A thorough and conscientious commentary on the first three chapters
from the Book of Genesis, completed in 415. Augustine's purpose is to
explain, to the best of his ability, what the author intended to say
about what God did when he made heaven and earth. ITEM #60042
$32.95
43. Letters of St. Cyprian of Carthage, The, Vol. 1
Written from Roman North Africa, primarily between 250 and 258, and
meant to be circulated and copied, the four volumes of letters provide
an entrée into Cyprian's social and mental world and a glimpse
of some of the spiritual horizons of an articulate mid-third century
provincial Roman. The first volume contains letters from the year
250. ITEM #60043 $24.95
44. Letters of St. Cyprian of Carthage, The, Vol. 2
The correspondence in this volume covers the period from approximately
high summer of 250 to mid-251.ITEM #60044 $22.95
45. Palladius: Dialogue on the Life of St. John
Chrysostom
Probably written in 406-408, this dialogue between an unidentified
bishop and Theodore, a deacon of the Church of Rome, has as its aim to
point out Chrysostom as a model of what a true Christian bishop should
be. ITEM #60045 $16.95
46. Letters of St. Cyprian of Carthage, The, Vol. 3
The letters in this volume cover the period from mid-251 to 254, and
reveal details of the persecution under Gallus, and the African Council
meetings over the years 251-253. ITEM #60046 $24.95
47. Letters of St. Cyprian of Carthage, The, Vol. 4
The letters in this volume were composed over the years 254-258, when
Cyprian was martyred. ITEM #60047 $24.95
48. St. Augustine on Faith and Works
Composed in 413, this work refutes certain writings that taught that
good works were not necessary to obtain eternal life, that faith alone
was sufficient for salvation. ITEM #60048 $19.95
49. Theodoret of Cyrus: On Divine Providence
Theodoret can be called the last great torchbearer of Christian
rhetoric in Asia and De providentia is regarded by many as exhibiting
his literary power in its highest form. Written c. 437. ITEM #60049
$19.95
50. Sermons of St. Maximus of Turin
Maximus’ sermons are models of a good, popular homiletic style that
must have been widespread. Short, characterized by a love of imagery,
and with passages of great beauty, they are direct and easy to
understand, and in them Maximus manifests his engagement with his
rural, superstitious and devout congregation. Maximus’ ministry in
Turin dates to the years between c. 390 and 408/423. ITEM #60050
$22.95
51. Cassiodorus: Explanation of the Psalms, Vol. 1
The composition of this work can be allotted to the period of the 540s
and 550s. Cassiodorus deploys the psalms not only for the purposes of
instruction in theology and hermeneutics, but also to inculcate a
general
education in eloquence. ITEM #60051 $36.95
52. Cassiodorus: Explanation of the Psalms, Vol. 2
The composition of this work can be allotted to the period of the 540s
and 550s. Cassiodorus deploys the psalms not only for the purposes of
instruction in theology and hermeneutics, but also to inculcate a
general
education in eloquence. ITEM #60052 $34.95
53. Cassiodorus: Explanation of the Psalms, Vol. 3
The composition of this work can be allotted to the period of the 540s
and 550s. Cassiodorus deploys the psalms not only for the purposes of
instruction in theology and hermeneutics, but also to inculcate a
general
education in eloquence. ITEM #60053 $34.95
54. Origen: Treatise on the Passover and Dialogue
with Heraclides
The Treatise on the Passover dates from around 245. Its central insight
is that the passover is not a figure or type of the passion of Christ,
but a figure of Christ himself, of Christ's passing over to the Father.
The Dialogue with Heraclides probably comes from between the years 244
and 249. It seems to be the record of a synod-like meeting of bishops,
in the presence of lay people, called to discuss matters of belief and
worship. Both pieces seem to come from the last decade of Origen’s
activity, when he was at the height of his powers. ITEM #60054 $16.95
55. St. Irenaeus of Lyons: Against the Heresies
This work, which establishes Irenaeus as the most important of the
theologians of the second century, is a detailed and effective
refutation of Gnosticism, and a major source of information on the
various Gnostic sects and doctrines. ITEM #60055 $31.95
56. St. Justin Martyr: The First and Second
Apologies
An English translation from Greek of Justin Martyr's two major
apologetic works, which are recognized as a formative influence on the
development of Christian theology in the early church. ITEM #60056
$29.95
57. John Cassian: The Conferences
The first complete English translation of John Cassian's (c. 360-430)
Conferences, which record dialogues between Cassian and his traveling
companion, Germanus, and the great desert masters on the recurring
theme of purity of heart, which is the goal of the spiritual
life. ITEM #60057 $44.95
58. John Cassian: The Institutes
A companion to John Cassian's well-received Conferences in the Ancient
Christian Writers series, the Institutes, known also as The Institutes
of the Cenobia and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Vices, is the
first written work of John Cassian, who had an immense influence on
Western monasticism, and, by extension, on Western civilization.The
Institutes is made up of
two sections. In the first, Cassian deals with the institutes and rules
of Egyptian monasteries, including monastic garb and prayer. The second
part, in eight books, treats the eight principal vices and describes
how
to counter them, infused with the metaphor of the monk as athlete,
competing
in a contest.Taken together, the Conferences and the Institutes
constitute
a whole, a set, that knows no parallel in ancient Christian literature.
This superior translation is an invaluable addition to academic,
theological
and historical studies, and will enrich anyone interested in the
history
of spirituality and asceticism. ITEM #60058 $34.95
59. Evagrius Ponticus: Ad Monachos
Proverbs from this Desert Father, translated for the first time into
English. ITEM #60059 $39.95
60. Quodvultdeus of Carthage: The Creedal
Homilies
The Creedal Homilies is a translation and commentary on the recently
recovered and critically edited homilies on the Nicene Creed, delivered
by Quodvultdeus, the last pre-Vandal archbishop of Carthage and young
contemporary of St. Augustine. ITEM #60060 $22.95
61. Isidore of
Seville. ITEM #60061 $24.95
Full Set ITEM #60062 $1,670.00
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