Jerome, Augustin, Fulgentius, Cassianus and Gregory the Great. A summary of each chapter of the
books mentioned is given. The exposition is allegorical.
II. Dogmatic. 1. The Catholic Faith defended against the Jews.^1015 A treatise in two books,
dedicated to his sister Florentina, the nun. In the first book he marshals the Scripture prophecies
and statements relative to Christ, and shows how they have been verified. In the second book in
like manner he treats of the call of the Gentiles, the unbelief of the Jews and their consequent
rejection, the destruction of Jerusalem, the abolition of the ceremonial law, and closes with a brief
statement of Christian doctrine. The work was doubtless an honest attempt to win the Jews over to
Christianity, and Spain in the 7th century was full of Jews. Whatever may have been its success as
an apology, it was very popular in the Middle Age among Christians, and was translated into several
languages.^1016 2. Three books of Sentences,^1017 compiled from Augustin and Gregory the Great’s
Moralia. This work is a compend of theology, and is Isidore’s most important production in this
class. Its influence has been incalculable. Innumerable copies were made of it during the Middle
Age, and it led to the preparation of similar works, e.g., Peter Lombard’s Sentences.^1018 3. Synonyms,
in two books;^1019 the first is a dialogue between sinful and despairing Man and Reason (or the
Logos), who consoles him, rescues him from despair, shows him that sin is the cause of his misery,
and sets him on the heavenly way. The second is a discourse by Reason upon vices and their opposite
virtues.^1020
- The Order of Creation.^1021 It treats of the Trinity, the creation, the devil and demons,
paradise, fallen man, purgatory, and the future life.
III. Ecclesiastic and monastic. 1. The Ecclesiastical Offices, i.e., the old Spanish liturgy.^1022
It is dedicated to his brother Fulgentius, and is in two books, for the most part original. The first is
called "the origin of the offices," and treats of choirs, psalms, hymns and other topics in ecclesiastical
archaeology. Under the head "sacrifice"^1023 Isidore expresses his view of the Lord’s Supper, which
is substantially that "Body and Blood" denote the consecrated elements, but not that these are
identical with the Body and Blood of our Lord. The second book, "the origin of the ministry," treats
of the different clerical grades; also of monks, penitents, virgins, widows, the married, catechumens,
the rule of faith, baptism, chrism, laying on of hands and confirmation. 2. A Monastic Rule.^1024 It
was designed for Spanish monasteries, drawn from old sources, and resembles the Benedictine,
with which, however, it is not identical. It throws much light upon the contemporary Spanish
monasticism, as it discusses the situation of the monastery, the choice of the abbot, the monks, their
(^1015) De fide catholica ex V. et N. T. contra Judaeos, ibid. col. 449-538.
(^1016) Fragments of an old High German translation have been published by A, Holtzmann, Karlsruhe, 1836, and by Weinhold,
Paderborn, 1874.
(^1017) Sententiarum libri tres, Migne, LXXXIII. col. 537-738.
(^1018) It was probably itself suggested by Prosper’s Sentences from Augustin.
(^1019) Synonyma de lamentatione animae peccatricis, Migne, ibid. col. 825-868.
(^1020) The term "synonyms" was apparently given to it because there are so many ideas repeated in slightly different words.
(^1021) De ordine creaturarum liber, ibid. 913-954.
(^1022) De ecclesiasticis officiis, ibid. col. 737-826.
(^1023) I. 18, ibid. col. 754-757.
(^1024) Regula monachorum, ibid. col. 867-894.