Alexander Roberts (1) (1826–1901)

A compilation of preserved works both authentic and likely pseudepigraphal of Hippolytus of Rome and Cyprian of Carthage.

Hippolytus of Rome: not a lot is known definitively about Hippolytus. There are a lot of legends, a lot of possibilities, but even the early church historians of the Roman era did not have a lot of hard and fast information about him.

His major work is the Refutation of All Heresies, of which most has been preserved and translated in this edition. The work definitely is a Description of All Heresies: Hippolytus describes the various Greek philosophical schools in detail as well as explaining the origins of a lot of the heresies and heretics and detailed a lot of what the heretics believed. The work is much lighter on the "Refutation" part, although he did set forth a defense of the faith in contrast to the perspectives of the heretics.

This edition also includes fragments of commentary on Scripture attributed to Hippolytus, some other works of describing various beliefs, his material on the last days, and some texts which were believed to be pseudepigraphal regarding the antichrist and the apostles.

Of note in Hippolytus is a fairly robust premillennialism which is not dispensational but who will anticipate a lot of what would become dispensational premillennialism 1600 years later: the antichrist in the OT prophets and in Revelation, etc. The pseudepigraphal works, at least, maintain a robust understanding of and confidence in the resurrection and the new heavens and new earth.… (plus d'informations)

The fourth part of Tertullian's works, a tractate by Minucius Felix, Commodian, and a couple of the works of Origen - Against Celsus and De Principiis.

It took me a long time to finish the whole edition; nothing to do with the edition itself, per se, but more about how I would read short amounts over long periods of time...so memory is a bit hazy.

This part of Tertullian's works are definitely in his later, more cantankerous, Montanist-esque stage. He will not go down in history as a feminist...but it is a portrait of Christianity in North Africa in the early third century.

Minucius Felix wrote some good stuff.

Origen can be a challenge anyway, but especially in De Principiis, since it's mostly preserved only in Rufinus' Latin translation, and there's always the question of how much Rufinus would have "adapted" in order to make Origen seem less heretical. Against Celsus has short chapters but many, many of them; Origen's apologetic game is strong.

A good exploration into patristic literature.… (plus d'informations)