The Use of the Stoic Concept of Phronēsis by Irenaeus and Lactantius

The Stoic concept of practical wisdom and the stoic Idea of the necessary conjunction of good and evil implicitly combined by Stoics themselves can be found in the works of early Christian thinkers like Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons and Lactantius, the African apologist. Both authors tried to recon...

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Main Author: Gábor Kendeffy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Eötvös Loránd University 2018-10-01
Series:Elpis
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs.elte.hu/elpis/article/view/7660
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author Gábor Kendeffy
author_facet Gábor Kendeffy
author_sort Gábor Kendeffy
collection DOAJ
description The Stoic concept of practical wisdom and the stoic Idea of the necessary conjunction of good and evil implicitly combined by Stoics themselves can be found in the works of early Christian thinkers like Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons and Lactantius, the African apologist. Both authors tried to reconcile the Stoic and the biblical concepts of wisdom, and both located this hybrid concept in the history of salvation. Irenaeus did this in a somewhat isolated section of his anti-heretic work, Against Heretics. As for Lactantius, he combined them in the Divine Institutes and in the Epitome, with the doctrine expounded by Seneca on the providential training of virtue by the adversaries. These conceptions were incorporated by the African theologian into his dualistic theological system in a very substantial way, serving to give account for why Satan was produced and allowed to operate by God. These are integrated into Lactantius’ idea of divine deception, which is inherent to his doctrine of the two ways.
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spelling doaj-art-4b28fcb5b5c14ebebccf5df87a372c592025-01-25T17:58:17ZengEötvös Loránd UniversityElpis1788-82982732-36842018-10-0111210.54310/Elpis.2018.2.47367The Use of the Stoic Concept of Phronēsis by Irenaeus and LactantiusGábor Kendeffy0Károli Gáspár University The Stoic concept of practical wisdom and the stoic Idea of the necessary conjunction of good and evil implicitly combined by Stoics themselves can be found in the works of early Christian thinkers like Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons and Lactantius, the African apologist. Both authors tried to reconcile the Stoic and the biblical concepts of wisdom, and both located this hybrid concept in the history of salvation. Irenaeus did this in a somewhat isolated section of his anti-heretic work, Against Heretics. As for Lactantius, he combined them in the Divine Institutes and in the Epitome, with the doctrine expounded by Seneca on the providential training of virtue by the adversaries. These conceptions were incorporated by the African theologian into his dualistic theological system in a very substantial way, serving to give account for why Satan was produced and allowed to operate by God. These are integrated into Lactantius’ idea of divine deception, which is inherent to his doctrine of the two ways. https://ojs.elte.hu/elpis/article/view/7660IrenaeusLactantiusStoicismPractical Wisdom
spellingShingle Gábor Kendeffy
The Use of the Stoic Concept of Phronēsis by Irenaeus and Lactantius
Elpis
Irenaeus
Lactantius
Stoicism
Practical Wisdom
title The Use of the Stoic Concept of Phronēsis by Irenaeus and Lactantius
title_full The Use of the Stoic Concept of Phronēsis by Irenaeus and Lactantius
title_fullStr The Use of the Stoic Concept of Phronēsis by Irenaeus and Lactantius
title_full_unstemmed The Use of the Stoic Concept of Phronēsis by Irenaeus and Lactantius
title_short The Use of the Stoic Concept of Phronēsis by Irenaeus and Lactantius
title_sort use of the stoic concept of phronesis by irenaeus and lactantius
topic Irenaeus
Lactantius
Stoicism
Practical Wisdom
url https://ojs.elte.hu/elpis/article/view/7660
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