st. john of damascus (676-749 - Cristo Raul

64 ST. JOHN OF DAMASCUS.
PART II.
WRITINGS.
CHAPTER VII.
THE
"
FONS SCIENTLE."
IT is not easy to keep separate the life and works of
an author, when he is known to us only by a collec
tion of writings, admitting no settled order of chro
nology ;
and by vague traditions, suggested in many
cases (as
it is
probable) by those writings. Of such a
one it
might almost be said that his written works
constitute his life. So it is in a great measure with this
Doctor of the Eastern Church. Had we possessed
any complete or trustworthy account of him from in
dependent sources,
it would have been natural to
relate the story of his life first, and then enter upon
an investigation of his writings. But the events in
which we can trace any active part taken by him are
so few, and among those the controversy on image -
worship holds so prominent a place, that it seemed
most fitting to notice his three letters or discourses on
that subject, in the account of the controversy just
given. If we are to trust the accredited biography of
John of Jerusalem, these letters also differ from all
the rest of his writings in having been composed
before his retirement to a monastery. There may