chapter

Book I

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vi.iv256 words

the harmony of the gospels.

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Book I.

The treatise opens with a short statement on the subject of the authority of the evangelists, their number, their order, and the different plans of their narratives. Augustin then prepares for the discussion of the questions relating to their harmony, by joining issue in this book with those who raise a difficulty in the circumstance that Christ has left no writing of His own, or who falsely allege that certain books were composed by Him on the arts of magic. He also meets the objections of those who, in opposition to the evangelical teaching, assert that the disciples of Christ at once ascribed more to their Master than He really was, when they affirmed that He was God, and inculcated what they had not been instructed in by Him, when they interdicted the worship of the gods. Against these antagonists he vindicates the teaching of the apostles, by appealing to the utterances of the prophets, and by showing that the God of Israel was to be the sole object of worship, who also, although He was the only Deity to whom acceptance was denied in former times by the Romans, and that for the very reason that He prohibited them from worshipping other gods along with Himself, has now in the end made the empire of Rome subject to His name, and among all nations has broken their idols in pieces through the preaching of the gospel, as He had promised by His prophets that the event should be.

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On the Authority of the Gospels.

vi.iv.i

On the Order of the Evangelists, and the Principles on Which They Wrote.

vi.iv.ii

Of the Fact that Matthew, Together with Mark, Had Specially in View the Kingly Character of Christ, Whereas Luke Dealt with the Priestly.

vi.iv.iii

Of the Fact that John Undertook the Exposition of Christ’s Divinity.

vi.iv.iv

Concerning the Two Virtues, of Which John is Conversant with the Contemplative, the Other Evangelists with the Active.

vi.iv.v

Of the Four Living Creatures in the Apocalypse, Which Have Been Taken by Some in One Application, and by Others in Another, as Apt Figures of the Four Evangelists.

vi.iv.vi

A Statement of Augustin’s Reason for Undertaking This Work on the Harmony of the Evangelists, and an Example of the Method in Which He Meets Those Who Allege that Christ Wrote Nothing Himself, and that His Disciples Made an Unwarranted Affirmation in Proclaiming Him to Be God.

vi.iv.vii

Of the Question Why, If Christ is Believed to Have Been the Wisest of Men on the Testimony of Common Narrative Report, He Should Not Be Believed to Be God on the Testimony of the Superior Report of Preaching.

vi.iv.viii

Of Certain Persons Who Pretend that Christ Wrote Books on the Arts of Magic.

vi.iv.ix

Of Some Who are Mad Enough to Suppose that the Books Were Inscribed with the Names of Peter and Paul.

vi.iv.x

In Opposition to Those Who Foolishly Imagine that Christ Converted the People to Himself by Magical Arts.

vi.iv.xi

Of the Fact that the God of the Jews, After the Subjugation of that People, Was Still Not Accepted by the Romans, Because His Commandment Was that He Alone Should Be Worshipped, and Images Destroyed.

vi.iv.xii

Of the Question Why God Suffered the Jews to Be Reduced to Subjection.

vi.iv.xiii

Of the Fact that the God of the Hebrews, Although the People Were Conquered, Proved Himself to Be Unconquered, by Overthrowing the Idols, and by Turning All the Gentiles to His Own Service.

vi.iv.xiv

Of the Fact that the Pagans, When Constrained to Laud Christ, Have Launched Their Insults Against His Disciples.

vi.iv.xv

Of the Fact That, on the Subject of the Destruction of Idols, the Apostles Taught Nothing Different from What Was Taught by Christ or by the Prophets.

vi.iv.xvi

In Opposition to the Romans Who Rejected the God of Israel Alone.

vi.iv.xvii

Of the Fact that the God of the Hebrews is Not Received by the Romans, Because His Will is that He Alone Should Be Worshipped.

vi.iv.xviii

The Proof that This God is the True God.

vi.iv.xix

Of the Fact that Nothing is Discovered to Have Been Predicted by the Prophets of the Pagans in Opposition to the God of the Hebrews.

vi.iv.xx

An Argument for the Exclusive Worship of This God, Who, While He Prohibits Other Deities from Being Worshipped, is Not Himself Interdicted by Other Divinities from Being Worshipped.

vi.iv.xxi

Of the Opinion Entertained by the Gentiles Regarding Our God.

vi.iv.xxii

Of the Follies Which the Pagans Have Indulged in Regarding Jupiter and Saturn.

vi.iv.xxiii

Of the Fact that Those Persons Who Reject the God of Israel, in Consequence Fail to Worship All the Gods; And, on the Other Hand, that Those Who Worship Other Gods, Fail to Worship Him.

vi.iv.xxiv

Of the Fact that the False Gods Do Not Forbid Others to Be Worshipped Along with Themselves. That the God of Israel is the True God, is Proved by His Works, Both in Prophecy and in Fulfilment.

vi.iv.xxv

Of the Fact that Idolatry Has Been Subverted by the Name of Christ, and by the Faith of Christians According to the Prophecies.

vi.iv.xxvi

An Argument Urging It Upon the Remnant of Idolaters that They Should at Length Become Servants of This True God, Who Everywhere is Subverting Idols.

vi.iv.xxvii

Of the Predicted Rejection of Idols.

vi.iv.xxviii

Of the Question Why the Heathen Should Refuse to Worship the God of Israel; Even Although They Deem Him to Be Only the Presiding Divinity of the Elements?

vi.iv.xxix

Of the Fact That, as the Prophecies Have Been Fulfilled, the God of Israel Has Now Been Made Known Everywhere.

vi.iv.xxx

The Fulfilment of the Prophecies Concerning Christ.

vi.iv.xxxi

A Statement in Vindication of the Doctrine of the Apostles as Opposed to Idolatry, in the Words of the Prophecies.

vi.iv.xxxii

A Statement in Opposition to Those Who Make the Complaint that the Bliss of Human Life Has Been Impaired by the Entrance of Christian Times.

vi.iv.xxxiii

Epilogue to the Preceding.

vi.iv.xxxiv

Of the Fact that the Mystery of a Mediator Was Made Known to Those Who Lived in Ancient Times by the Agency of Prophecy, as It is Now Declared to Us in the Gospel.

vi.iv.xxxv