The Sentences of Sextus and the Origins of Christian Ascetiscism

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Cover Preface Table of Contents Introduction: The golden cup of Babylon Chapter 1: The Sentences of Sextus: Reception and Interpretation A. Introduction B. The Testimony of Origen I. Sextus in Contra Celsum II. The Sentences among radical ascetics C. Controversies over the Sentences in Latin Christianity I. Rufinus’ Latin Sextus: a manual of asceticism II. Jerome: the Sentences and moral perfectionism III. The Sentences and the Pelagian understanding of sin D. The Later Ascetic Tradition up to the Modern Era I. Evagrius of Pontus and the Armenian Sextus II. The Sentences in Egypt and Syria III. Sextus in the monastic tradition of the West IV. From the monastic scriptorium to the printing press E. Sextus in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries I. The first critical studies II. Sextus in nineteenth-century German scholarship III. The beginning of the twentieth century F. The Sentences of Sextus in the Modern Scholarly Debate I. Sextus between Hellenistic and Christian morality II. Sextus between early Christian wisdom and Gnostic asceticism III. Sextus in recent scholarship G. Conclusion H. Looking Forward Chapter 2: Sextus and Sexual Morality: Castration, Celibacy and Procreation A. Introduction B. Sext. 12–13 and 273: the Problem of Castration I. Self-castration in the Sentences II. Literal and allegorical castration III. From suicide to castration C. Sext. 230a: Celibacy in the Sentences of Sextus I. Companions of God? Variations on Paul II. The special bond between God and the ascetic continent D. Sextus, Procreation and the Pythagorean Tradition I. Marriage in Sextus and Clitarchus II. The ἀκόλαστος husband in Sext. 231 III. Aborting procreationism IV. The diet of love E. Conclusion F. Looking Forward Chapter 3: Sages without Property: the Example of Sext. 15–21 A. Introduction B. The Σοφὸς Ἀκτήμων in Sextus I. Dispossession and freedom II. Poverty as godlike self-sufficiency III. Self-sufficiency as an ascetic practice in the Sentences C. From the Σοφὸς Ἀκτήμων to the Ἀκτήμων Μοναχός I. Ascetic Christians in a Cynic’s Rags? II. Poor sages and poor monks D. Sextus and Caesar’s Denarius I. “To the world the things of the world” (Sext. 20) II. The rule of necessity III. Sextus’ interpretation and Alexandrian Christianity IV. Sextus and wealth: further pagan and Christian interactions E. Conclusion F. Looking Forward Chapter 4: Wordiness, Brevity and Silence in Sextus A. Introduction B. The Dangers of Wordiness I. Idle, thoughtless talking II. Prov 10:19 LXX in Sext. 155 C. Sextus and Brevity I. The words and the Word: brevity as a theological and moral problem II. “Wisdom accompanies brevity of speech” (Sext. 156) D. Sextus’ Laconic Sage I. Concise Socrates, concise Moses, concise Jesus II. From brevity to silence III. The austerity of the Christian sage E. Conclusion F. Looking Forward Chapter 5: The Social Life of the Ascetic Sage A. Introduction B. A Sage in the World: Philanthropy, Purity and Separation I. The sage as a philanthropist II. Wisdom as an act of purification III. The world as a separate entity in Sextus C. The Sage’s Solitude I. From cosmopolitism to political disengagement II. Seclusion and the quest for wisdom D. Contemplation and Imitation I. The soul’s journey towards God II. Contemplation and imitation of God E. Conclusion Conclusion Bibliography 1. Principal Sources Sentences of Sextus Jewish Greco-Roman Patristic 2. Secondary Literature Index of References Old Testament New Testament Ancient Authors Index of Authors Index of Subjects