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

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?2 ST. JOHN OF DAMASCUS.
an arbitrary one,
not contemplated by the author, we
are at liberty to classify the chapters in larger or
Down to
smaller groups, according to the subjects.
the seventy-fifth chapter we can trace a fairly con
sistent plan; but in the remaining chapters
it is
difficult to distinguish any method or sequence of
.
subject. The following may serve as an imperfect
outline of the groundplan of the work :
(a) The impossibility of our knowing or compre
hending God, who far transcends all human knowlege.
The proof of God s existence; His essence,
and unity (Chs. i.-v.).
(I))
On the Trinity
: the distinct personality of the
Word and Holy Spirit (vi.-xiv.).
(c)
On the creation :
angels, demons ; physical
phenomena, such as light, fire, winds, &c. (xv.-xxiv.).
(d) On man : his creation in Paradise ;
his facul
ties and passions, anger, fear, and the like : man s
free will and God s predestination (xxv.-xliv.).
v (e) On God s scheme for man s redemption (xlv.).
v (/) On the Incarnation : the double nature of
Christ : various topics in connection with that, such
as Peter the Fuller s addition to the
l
Ter Sanctus,"
the meaning of the Dionysian phrase, theandric opera
tion, and the like (xlvi.-lxiii.).
(g) Excursus on passions or affections to which
human nature is subject (Lxiv.-lxix.), apparently intro
ductory to
1
Some use has been made, in this arrangement, of an article
on John of Damascus M in Clintock and Strong s Cyclopaedia
(New York, 1868, vol. iv.), in which an abstract of the De
Fide forms the most prominent part.