On Christian Doctrine, in Four Books, by St. Augustine



Introductory Note by the Editor

  The four books of St. Augustine On Christian Doctrine (De Doctrina
Christiana, iv libri) are a commend of exegetical theology to guide the
reader in the understanding and interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures,
according to the analogy of faith. The first three books were written A.
D. 397; the fourth was added 426.
  He speaks of it in his Retractations, Bk. 2, chap. 4, as follows:
  "Finding that the books on Christian Doctrine were not finished, I
thought it better to complete them before passing on to the revision of
others. Accordingly, I completed the third book, which had been written
as far as the place where a quotation is made from the Gospel about the
woman who took leaven and hid it in three measures of meal till the whole
was leavened.' I added also the last book, and finished the whole work in
four books [in the year 426]: the first three affording aids to the
interpretation of Scripture, the last giving directions as to the mode of
making known our interpretation. In the second book, I made a mistake as
to the authorship of the book commonly called the Wisdom of Solomon. For
I have since learnt that it is not a well-established fact, as I said it
was, that Jesus the son of Sirach, who wrote the book of Ecclesiasticus,
wrote this book also: on the contrary, I have ascertained that it is
altogether more probable that he was not the author of this book. Again,
when I said, 'The authority of the Old Testament is contained within the
limits of these forty-four books,' I used the phrase 'Old Testament' in
accordance with ecclesiastical usage. But the apostle seems to restrict
the application of the name 'Old Testament' to the law which was given on
Mount Sinai. And in what I said as to St. Ambrose having, by his
knowledge of chronology, solved a great difficulty, when he showed that
Plato and Jeremiah were contemporaries, my memory betrayed me. What that
great bishop really did say upon this subject may be seen in the book
which he wrote, 'On Sacraments or Philosophy.'"




Contents of Christian Doctrine


Preface, showing the utility of the treatise on Christian doctrine

Book I. Containing a general view of the subjects treated in Holy

Scripture.

The author divides his work into two parts, one relating to the
discovery, the other to the expression, of the true sense of Scripture.
He shows that to discover the meaning we must attend both to things and
to signs, as it is necessary to know what things we ought to teach to the
Christian people, and also the signs of these things, that is, where the
knowledge of these things is to be sought. In this first book he treats
of things, which he divides into three classes,--things to be enjoyed,
things to be used, and things which use and enjoy. The only object which
ought to be enjoyed is the Triune God, who is our highest good and our
true happiness. We are prevented by our sins from enjoying God; and that
our sins might be taken away, "The Word was made Flesh," our Lord
suffered, and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, taking to
Himself as his bride the Church, in which we receive remission of our
sins. And if our sins are remitted and our souls renewed by grace, we may
await with hope the resurrection of the body to eternal glory; if not, we
shall be raised to everlasting punishment. These matters relating to
faith having been expounded, the author goes on to show that all objects,
except God, are for use; for, though some of them may be loved, yet our
love is not to rest in them, but to have reference to God. And we
ourselves are not objects of enjoyment to God: he uses us, but for our
own advantage. He then goes on to show that love--the love of God for His
own sake and the love of our neighbour for God's sake--is the fulfilment
and the end of all Scripture. After adding a few words about hope, he
shows, in conclusion, that faith, hope, and love are graces essentially
necessary for him who would understand and explain aright the Holy
Scriptures.

BOOK II. 

Having completed his exposition of things, the author now proceeds to
discuss the subject of signs. He first defines what a sign is, and shows
that there are two classes of signs, the natural and the conventional. Of
conventional signs (which are the only class here noticed), words are the
most numerous and important, and are those with which the interpreter of
Scripture is chiefly concerned. The difficulties and obscurities of
Scripture spring chiefly from two sources, unknown and ambiguous signs.
The present book deals only with unknown signs, the ambiguities of
language being reserved for treatment in the next book. The difficulty
arising from ignorance of signs is to be removed by learning the Greek
and Hebrew languages, in which Scripture is written, by comparing the
various translations, and by attending to the context. In the
interpretation of figurative expressions, knowledge of things is as

necessary as knowledge of words; and the various sciences and arts of the
heathen, so far as they are true and useful, may be turned to account in
removing our ignorance of signs, whether these be direct or figurative.
Whilst exposing the folly and futility of many heathen superstitions and
practices, the author points out how all that is sound and useful in
their science and philosophy may be turned to a Christian use. And in
conclusion, he shows the spirit in which it behoves us to address
ourselves to the study and interpretation of the sacred books.

BOOK III.

The author, having discussed in the preceding book the method of dealing
with unknown signs, goes on in this third book to treat of ambiguous
signs. Such signs may be either direct or figurative. In the case of
direct signs ambiguity may arise from the punctuation, the pronunciation,
or the doubtful signification of the words, and is to be resolved by
attention to the context, a comparison of translations, or a reference to
the original tongue. In the case of figurative signs we need to guard
against two mistakes:--1. the interpreting literal expressions
figuratively; 2. the interpreting figurative expressions literally. The
author lays down rules by which we may decide whether an expression is
literal or figurative; the general rule being, that whatever can be shown
to be in its literal sense inconsistent either with purity of life or
correctness of doctrine must be taken figuratively. He then goes on to
lay down rules for the interpretation of expressions which have been
proved to be figurative; the general principle being, that no
interpretation can be true which does not promote the love of God and the
love of man. The author then proceeds to expound and illustrate the seven
rules of Tichonius the Donatist, which he commends to the attention of
the student of Holy Scripture.

BOOK IV.

Passing to the second part of his work, that which treats of expression,
the author premises that it is no part of his intention to write a
treatise on the laws of rhetoric. These can be learned elsewhere, and
ought not to be neglected, being indeed specially necessary for the
Christian teacher, whom it behoves to excel in eloquence and power of
speech. After detailing with much care and minuteness the various
qualities of an orator, he recommends the authors of the Holy Scriptures
as the best models of eloquence, far excelling all others in the
combination of eloquence with wisdom. He points out that perspicuity is
the most essential quality of style, and ought to be cultivated with
especial care by the teacher, as it is the main requisite for
instruction, although other qualities are required for delighting and
persuading the hearer. All these gifts are to be sought in earnest prayer

from God, though we are not to forget to be zealous and diligent in
study. He shows that there are three species of style,--the subdued, the
elegant, and the majestic; the first serving for instruction, the second
for praise, and the third for exhortation: and of each of these he gives
examples, selected both from Scripture and from early teachers of the
Church, Cyprian and Ambrose. He shows that these various styles may be
mingled, and when and for what purposes they are mingled; and that they
all have the same end in view, to bring home the truth to the hearer, so
that he may understand it, hear it with gladness, and practice it in his
life. Finally, he exhorts the Christian teacher himself, pointing out the
dignity and responsibility of the office he holds, to lead a life in
harmony with his own teaching, and to show a good example to all.




On Christian Doctrine



Preface

Showing that to teach rules for the interpretation of Scripture is not a
superfluous task

  1. There are certain rules for the interpretation of Scripture which I
think might with great advantage be taught to earnest students of the
word, that they may profit not only from reading the works of others who
have laid open the secrets of the sacred writings, but also from
themselves opening such secrets to others. These rules I propose to teach
to those who are able and willing to learn, if God our Lord do not
withhold from me, while I write, the thoughts He is wont to vouchsafe to
me in my meditations on this subject. But before I enter upon this
undertaking, I think it well to meet the objections of those who are
likely to take exception to the work, or who would do so, did I not
conciliate them beforehand. And if, after all, men should still be found
to make objections, yet at least they will not prevail with others (over
whom they might have influence, did they not find them forearmed against
their assaults), to turn them back from a useful study to the dull sloth
of ignorance.
  2. There are some, then, likely to object to this work of mine, because
they have failed to understand the rules here laid down. Others, again,
will think that I have spent my labour to no purpose, because, though
they understand the rules, yet in their attempts to apply them and to
interpret Scripture by them, they have failed to clear up the point they
wish cleared up; and these, because they have received no assistance from

this work themselves, will give it as their opinion that it can be of no
use to anybody. There is a third class of objectors who either really do
understand Scripture well, or think they do, and who, because they know
(or imagine) that they have attained a certain power of interpreting the
sacred books without reading any directions of the kind that I propose to
lay down here, will cry out that such rules are not necessary for any
one, but that everything rightly done towards clearing up the obscurities
of Scripture could be better done by the unassisted grace of God.
  3. To reply briefly to all these. To those who do not understand what
is here set down, my answer is, that I am not to be blamed for their want
of understanding. It is just as if they were anxious to see the new or
the old moon, or some very obscure star, and I should point it out with
my finger: if they had not sight enough to see even my finger, they would
surely have no right to fly into a passion with me on that account. As
for those who, even though they know and understand my directions, fail
to penetrate the meaning of obscure passages in Scripture, they may stand
for those who, in the case I have imagined, are just able to see my
finger, but cannot see the stars at which it is pointed. And so both
these classes had better give up blaming me, and pray instead that God
would grant them the sight of their eyes. For though I can move my finger
to point out an object, it is out of my power to open men's eyes that
they may see either the fact that I am pointing, or the object at which I
point.
  4. But now as to those who talk vauntingly of Divine Grace, and boast
that they understand and can explain Scripture without the aid of such
directions as those I now propose to lay down, and who think, therefore,
that what I have undertaken to write is entirely superfluous. I would
such persons could calm themselves so far as to remember that, however
justly they may rejoice in God's great gift, yet it was from human
teachers they themselves learnt to read. Now, they would hardly think it
right that they should for that reason be held in contempt by the
Egyptian monk Antony, a just and holy man, who, not being able to read
himself, is said to have committed the Scriptures to memory through
hearing them read by others, and by dint of wise meditation to have
arrived at a thorough understanding of them; or by that barbarian slave
Christianus, of whom I have lately heard from very respectable and
trustworthy witnesses, who, without any teaching from man, attained a
full knowledge of the art of reading simply through prayer that it might
be revealed to him; after three days' supplication obtaining his request
that he might read through a book presented to him on the spot by the
astonished bystanders.
  5. But if any one thinks that these stories are false, I do not
strongly insist on them. For, as I am dealing with Christians who profess
to understand the Scriptures without any directions from man (and if the
fact be so, they boast of a real advantage, and one of no ordinary kind),

they must surely grant that every one of us learnt his own language by
hearing it constantly from childhood, and that any other language we have
learnt,--Greek, or Hebrew, or any of the rest,--we have learnt either in
the same way, by hearing it spoken, or from a human teacher. Now, then,
suppose we advise all our brethren not to teach their children any of
these things, because on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit the apostles
immediately began to speak the language of every race; and warn every one
who has not had a like experience that he need not consider himself a
Christian, or may at least doubt whether he has yet received the Holy
Spirit? No, no; rather let us put away false pride and learn whatever can
be learnt from man; and let him who teaches another communicate what he
has himself received without arrogance and without jealousy. And do not
let us tempt Him in whom we have believed, lest, being ensnared by such
wiles of the enemy and by our own perversity, we may even refuse to go to
the churches to hear the gospel itself, or to read a book, or to listen
to another reading or preaching, in the hope that we shall be carried up
to the third heaven, "whether in the body or out of the body," as the
apostle says,and there hear unspeakable words, such as it is not lawful
for man to utter, or see the Lord Jesus Christ and hear the gospel from
His own lips rather than from those of men.
  6. Let us beware of such dangerous temptations of pride, and let us
rather consider the fact that the Apostle Paul himself, although stricken
down and admonished by the voice of God from heaven, was yet sent to a
man to receive the sacraments and be admitted into the Church; and that
Cornelius the centurion, although an angel announced to him that his
prayers were heard and his alms had in remembrance, was yet handed over
to Peter for instruction, and not only received the sacraments from the
apostle's hands, but was also instructed by him as to the proper objects
of faith, hope, and love. And without doubt it was possible to have done
everything through the instrumentality of angels, but the condition of
our race would have been much more degraded if God had not chosen to make
use of men as the ministers of His word to their fellow-men. For how
could that be true which is written, "The temple of God is holy, which
temple ye are," if God gave forth no oracles from His human temple, but
communicated everything that He wished to be taught to men by voices from
heaven, or through the ministration of angels? Moreover, love itself,
which binds men together in the bond of unity, would have no means of
pouring soul into soul, and, as it were, mingling them one with another,
if men never learnt anything from their fellow-men.
  7. And we know that the eunuch who was reading Isaiah the prophet, and
did not understand what he read, was not sent by the apostle to an angel,
nor was it an angel who explained to him what he did not understand, nor
was he inwardly illuminated by the grace of God without the interposition
of man; on the contrary, at the suggestion of God, Philip, who did

understand the prophet, came to him, and sat with him, and in human
words, and with a human tongue, opened to him the Scriptures. Did not God
talk with Moses, and yet he, with great wisdom and entire absence of
jealous pride, accepted the plan of his father-in-law, a man of an alien
race, for ruling and administering the affairs of the great nation
entrusted to him? For Moses knew that a wise plan, in whatever mind it
might originate, was to be ascribed not to the man who devised it, but to
Him who is the Truth, the unchangeable God.
  8. In the last place, every one who boasts that he, through divine
illumination, understands the obscurities of Scripture, though not
instructed in any rules of interpretation, at the same time believes, and
rightly believes, that this power is not his own, in the sense of
originating with himself, but is the gift of God. For so he seeks God's
glory, not his own. But reading and understanding, as he does, without
the aid of any human interpreter, why does he himself undertake to
interpret for others? Why does he not rather send them direct to God,
that they too may learn by the inward teaching of the Spirit without the
help of man? The truth is, he fears to incur the reproach: "Thou wicked
and slothful servant, thou oughtest to have put my money to the
exchangers." Seeing, then, that these men teach others, either through
speech or writing, what they understand, surely they cannot blame me if I
likewise teach not only what they understand, but also the rules of
interpretation they follow. For no one ought to consider anything as his
own, except perhaps what is false. All truth is of Him who says, "I am
the truth." For what have we that we did not receive? And if we have
received it, why do we glory, as if we had not received it?
  9. He who reads to an audience pronounces aloud the words he sees
before him: he who teaches reading, does it that others may be able to
read for themselves. Each, however, communicates to others what he has
learnt himself. Just so, the man who explains to an audience the passages
of Scripture he understands is like one who reads aloud the words before
him. On the other hand, the man who lays down rules for interpretation is
like one who teaches reading, that is, shows others how to read for
themselves. So that, just as he who knows how to read is not dependent on
some one else, when he finds a book, to tell him what is written in it,
so the man who is in possession of the rules which I here attempt to lay
down, if he meet with an obscure passage in the books which he reads,
will not need an interpreter to lay open the secret to him, but, holding
fast by certain rules, and following up certain indications, will arrive
at the hidden sense without any error, or at least without falling into
any gross absurdity. And so although it will sufficiently appear in the
course of the work itself that no one can justly object to this
undertaking of mine, which has no other object than to be of service, yet
as it seemed convenient to reply at the outset to any who might make
preliminary objections, such is the start I have thought good to make on
the road I am about to traverse in this book.




BOOK I.

Containing a General View of the Subjects Treated in Holy Scripture


Argument

The author divides his work into two parts, one relating to the
discovery, the other to the expression, of the true sense of Scripture.
He shows that to discover the meaning we must attend both to things and
to signs, as it is necessary to know what things we ought to teach to the
Christian people, and also the signs of these things, that is, where the
knowledge of these things is to be sought. In this first book he treats
of things, which he divides into three classes,--things to be enjoyed,
things to be used, and things which use and enjoy. The only object which
ought to be enjoyed is the Triune God, who is our highest good and our
true happiness. We are prevented by our sins from enjoying God; and that
our sins might be taken away, "The Word was made Flesh," our Lord
suffered, and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, taking to
Himself as his bride the Church, in which we receive remission of our
sins. And if our sins are remitted and our souls renewed by grace, we may
await with hope the resurrection of the body to eternal glory; if not, we
shall be raised to everlasting punishment. These matters relating to
faith having been expounded, the author goes on to show that all objects,
except God, are for use; for, though some of them may be loved, yet our
love is not to rest in them, but to have reference to God. And we
ourselves are not objects of enjoyment to God: he uses us, but for our
own advantage. He then goes on to show that love--the love of God for His
own sake and the love of our neighbour for God's sake--is the fulfilment
and the end of all Scripture. After adding a few words about hope, he
shows, in conclusion, that faith, hope, and love are graces essentially
necessary for him who would understand and explain aright the Holy
Scriptures.

Chap. 1.--The interpretation of Scripture depends on the discovery and
enunciation of the meaning, and is to be undertaken in dependence on
God's aid.

  1. There are two things on which all interpretation of Scripture
depends: the mode of ascertaining the proper meaning, and the mode of
making known the meaning when it is ascertained. We shall treat first of
the mode of ascertaining, next of the mode of making known, the
meaning;--a great and arduous undertaking, and one that, if difficult to

carry out, it is, I fear, presumptuous to enter upon. And presumptuous it
would undoubtedly be, if I were counting on my own strength; but since my
hope of accomplishing the work rests on Him who has already supplied me
with many thoughts on this subject, I do not fear but that He will go on
to supply what is yet wanting when once I have begun to use what He has
already given. For a possession which is not diminished by being shared
with others, if it is possessed and not shared, is not yet possessed as
it ought to be possessed. The Lord saith, "Whosoever has, to him shall be
given." I He will give, then, to those who have; that is to say, if they
use freely and cheerfully what they have received, He will add to and
perfect His gifts. The loaves in the miracle were only five and seven in
number before the disciples began to divide them among the hungry people.
But when once they began to distribute them, though the wants of so many
thousands were satisfied, they filled baskets with the fragments that
were left. Now, just as that bread increased in the very act of breaking
it, so those thoughts which the Lord has already vouchsafed to me with a
view to undertaking this work will, as soon as I begin to impart them to
others, be multiplied by His grace, so that, in this very work of
distribution in which I have engaged, so far from incurring loss and
poverty, I shall be made to rejoice in a marvellous increase of wealth.

Chap. 2.--What a thing is, and what a sign

  2. All instruction is either about things or about signs; but things
are learnt by means of signs. I now use the word "thing" in a strict
sense, to signify that which is never employed as a sign of anything
else: for example, wood, stone, cattle, and other things of that kind.
Not, however, the wood which we read Moses cast into the bitter waters to
make them sweet, nor the stone which Jacob used as a pillow, nor the ram
which Abraham offered up instead of his son; for these, though they are
things, are also signs of other things. There are signs of another kind,
those which are never employed except as signs: for example, words. No
one uses words except as signs of something else; and hence may be
understood what I call signs: those things, to wit, which are used to
indicate something else. Accordingly, every sign is also a thing; for
what is not a thing is nothing at all. Every thing, however, is not also
a sign. And so, in regard to this distinction between things and signs, I
shall, when I speak of things, speak in such a way that even if some of
them may be used as signs also, that will not interfere with the division
of the subject according to which I am to discuss things first and signs
afterwards. But we must carefully remember that what we have now to
consider about things is what they are in themselves, not what other
things they are signs of.


Chap. 3.--Some things are for use, some for enjoyment

  3. There are some things, then, which are to be enjoyed, others which
are to be used, others still which enjoy and use. Those things which are
objects of enjoyment make us happy. Those things which are objects of use
assist, and (so to speak) support us in our efforts after happiness, so
that we can attain the things that make us happy and rest in them. We
ourselves, again, who enjoy and use these things, being placed among both
kinds of objects, if we set ourselves to enjoy those which we ought to
use, are hindered in our course, and sometimes even led away from it; so
that, getting entangled in the love of lower gratifications, we lag
behind in, or even altogether turn back from, the pursuit of the real and
proper objects of enjoyment.

Chap. 4.--Difference of use and enjoyment

  4. For to enjoy a thing is to rest with satisfaction in it for its own
sake. To use, on the other hand, is to employ whatever means are at one's
disposal to obtain what one desires, if it is a proper object of desire;
for an unlawful use ought rather to be called an abuse. Suppose, then, we
were wanderers in a strange country, and could not live happily away from
our fatherland, and that we felt wretched in our wandering, and wishing
to put an end to our misery, determined to return home. We find, however,
that we must make use of some mode of conveyance, either by land or
water, in order to reach that fatherland where our enjoyment is to
commence. But the beauty of the country through which we pass, and the
very pleasure of the motion, charm our hearts, and turning these things
which we ought to use into objects of enjoyment, we become unwilling to
hasten the end of our journey; and becoming engrossed in a factitious
delight, our thoughts are diverted from that home whose delights would
make us truly happy. Such is a picture of our condition in this life of
mortality. We have wandered far from God; and if we wish to return to our
Father's home, this world must be used, not enjoyed, that so the
invisible things of God may be clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made,--that is, that by means of what is material and
temporary we may lay hold upon that which is spiritual and eternal.

Chap. 5.--The Trinity the true object of enjoyment

  5. The true objects of enjoyment, then, are the Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit, who are at the same time the Trinity, one Being, supreme
above all, and common to all who enjoy Him, if He is an object, and not
rather the cause of all objects, or indeed even if He is the cause of

all. For it is not easy to find a name that will suitably express so
great excellence, unless it is better to speak in this way: The Trinity,
one God, of whom are all things, through whom are all things, in whom are
all things. Thus the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and each of
these by Himself, is God, and at the same time they are all one God; and
each of them by Himself is a complete substance, and yet they are all one
substance. The Father is not the Son nor the Holy Spirit; the Son is not
the Father nor the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is not the Father nor the
Son: but the Father is only Father, the Son is only Son, and the Holy
Spirit is only Holy Spirit. To all three belong the same eternity, the
same unchangeableness, the same majesty, the same power. In the Father is
unity, in the Son equality, in the Holy Spirit the harmony of unity and
equality; and these three attributes are all one because of the Father,
all equal because of the Son, and all harmonious because of the Holy
Spirit.

Chap. 6.--In what sense God is ineffable

  6. Have I spoken of God, or uttered His praise, in any worthy way? Nay,
I feel that I have done nothing more than desire to speak; and if I have
said anything, it is not what I desired to say. How do I know this,
except from the fact that God is unspeakable? But what I have said, if it
had been unspeakable, could not have been spoken. And so God is not even
to be called "unspeakable," because to say even this is to speak of Him.
Thus there arises a curious contradiction of words, because if the
unspeakable is what cannot be spoken of, it is not unspeakable if it can
be called unspeakable. And this opposition of words is rather to be
avoided by silence than to be explained away by speech. And yet God,
although nothing worthy of His greatness can be said of Him, has
condescended to accept the worship of men's mouths, and has desired us
through the medium of our own words to rejoice in His praise. For on this
principle it is that He is called Deus (God). For the sound of those two
syllables in itself conveys no true knowledge of His nature; but yet all
who know the Latin tongue are led, when that sound reaches their ears, to
think of a nature supreme in excellence and eternal in existence.

Chap. 7.--What all men understand by the term God

  7. For when the one supreme God of gods is thought of, even by those
who believe that there are other gods, and who call them by that name,
and worship them as gods, their thought takes the form of an endeavour to
reach the conception of a nature, than which nothing more excellent or
more exalted exists. And since men are moved by different kinds of
pleasures, partly by those which pertain to the bodily senses, partly by
those which pertain to the intellect and soul, those of them who are in
bondage to sense think that either the heavens, or what appears to be

most brilliant in the heavens, or the universe itself, is God of gods: or
if they try to get beyond the universe, they picture to themselves
something of dazzling brightness, and think of it vaguely as infinite, or
of the most beautiful form conceivable; or they represent it in the form
of the human body, if they think that superior to all others. Or if they
think that there is no one God supreme above the rest, but that there are
many or even innumerable gods of equal rank, still these too they
conceive as possessed of shape and form, according to what each man
thinks the pattern of excellence. Those, on the other hand, who endeavour
by an effort of the intelligence to reach a conception of God, place Him
above all visible and bodily natures, and even above all intelligent and
spiritual natures that are subject to change. All, however, strive
emulously to exalt the excellence of God: nor could any one be found to
believe that any being to whom there exists a superior is God. And so all
concur in believing that God is that which excels in dignity all other
objects.

Chap. 8.--God to be esteemed above all else because He is unchangeable
Wisdom

  8. And since all who think about God think of Him as living, they only
can form any conception of Him that is not absurd and unworthy who think
of Him as life itself; and, whatever may be the bodily form that has
suggested itself to them, recognize that it is by life it lives or does
not live, and prefer what is living to what is dead; who understand that
the living bodily form itself, however it may outshine all others in
splendour, overtop them in size, and excel them in beauty, is quite a
distinct thing from the life by which it is quickened; and who look upon
the life as incomparably superior in dignity and worth to the mass which
is quickened and animated by it. Then, when they go on to look into the
nature of the life itself, if they find it mere nutritive life, without
sensibility, such as that of plants, they consider it inferior to
sentient life, such as that of cattle; and above this, again, they place

(continued in part 2...)


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file: /pub/resources/text/ipb-e/epl-01/agdoc-01.txt

.