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The Library

Forty Centuries of Christian Writing

1780 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.

301–400

The Fourth Century

2 works

c. 386

Latin

The Hymns

Ambrose of Milan · c. 339–397

Short hymns in a plain marching metre, written to be sung by a congregation occupying a basilica against imperial troops.

Western · HymnsFull text

c. 386–390

Latin

The Hexaemeron

Ambrose of Milan · c. 339 – 397

Nine sermons on the six days, preached in Holy Week and following Basil closely while filling the natural history with Ambrose's own enthusiasms — the habits of bees, the cunning of the crab that drops a pebble into the oyster's shell, the pelican, and the phoenix as a figure of the resurrection.

Western · HomiliesGenesisPsalmsJob1 CorinthiansRead elsewhere

1501–1600

The Sixteenth Century

1 work

1582

Latin

The Acts of the Church of Milan

Charles Borromeo · 1538–1584

The synodal decrees, visitation records, and instructions of an archbishop applying Trent in detail — seminaries, catechism schools, confessionals, and church architecture.

Western · Church orderRead elsewhere