Page:The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages.djvu/241

 vra] CHRISTIAN PROSE 223 and its abundance of miracle fell in with mediaeval taste. It is a typical example of the Legenda or Vita Sand If the number of which becomes legion from the fourth century onward.^ Not unallied with apologetic literature were the writings directed against heretics, or intended to con- firm Catholics in their orthodoxy as against heretical arguments. Even in the time of the apostles, there was call for argumentative protests against imperfect acceptations of Christianity, as appears from Paul's epistles. Thereafter came tracts contra Jicdaeos which served as arguments to show that Judaism had been superseded by Christianity. These took the form of dialogues.* The anti-heretical treatises proper begin with those against the Gnostics of the second century, who were quite as much latter-day pagans as Chris- tians. Hereunder came the anti-gnostic writings of Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, and the Contra Marcionem of Tertullian. This kind of early Christian literature may be regarded as closing with Augustine's anti- Manichaean treatises. Besides writings directed against those whom all the Church might deem without the Christian pale, there were dogmatic controversies within the large and loose circle of men who made claim to orthodoxy. This mass of theological writing, which was hardly literature, represented Christian controversies ; yet much of the thought and terminology came from Greek philosophy, in the terms of which and in the Greek tongue the dogmas of orthodox Christianity 1 Cf. Ebert, op. cit., I, 3.31 et seq., 612 et seq. 1 Joitln's Dialogue with Trypho ia an example.