History of the Christian Church, Volume IV: Mediaeval Christianity. A.D. 590-1073.

Besides the treatise upon Predestination and the translation of Dionysius, already

discussed,^1423 Scotus Erigena wrote:

1. A translation of the Obscurities of Gregory Nazianzen, by Maximus Confessor.^1424 This
   was made at the instance of Charles the Bald, in 864.


2. Expositions of the Heavenly Hierarchy, the, Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, and the Mystical

Theology of Dionysius.^1425

3. Homily upon the prologue to John’s Gospel.^1426


4. A commentary upon John’s Gospel.^1427 Only four fragments of it have as yet been found.


5. A commentary upon the Dialectic of Martianus Capella. This has been published by

Hauréau.^1428

6. The outgoing and in-coming of a soul to God.^1429 Of this only a small fragment has as
   yet been found.
   7 The vision of God. This is in MS. at St. Omer and not yet printed.


7. Verses.^1430 Among them are some Greek verses, with a self- made Latin interlinear
   translation. He introduces both single Greek words and verses similarly interlineated into his other
   poems.


8. The great work of Scotus Erigena is The Division of Nature.^1431 It consists of five books
   in the form of a dialogue between a teacher and a disciple. The latter, generally speaking, represents
   the ecclesiastical conscience, but always in the end echoes his teacher. The style is lively and the
   range of topics embraces the most important theological cosmological and anthropological questions.
   The work was the first practical attempt made in the West to unite philosophy and theology. As in
   the dedication to Wulfad, the well-known opponent of Hincmar, John calls him simply "brother,"
   the work must have been written prior to 865, the Year of Wulfad’s elevation to the archiepiscopate

of Bourges.^1432
His Theological Teaching.
In the Division of Nature Scotus Erigena has embodied his theology and philosophy. By

the term "Nature" he means all that is and is not.^1433 The latter expression he further interprets as
including, 1st, that which is above the reach of our senses or our reason; 2d, that which though
known to those higher in the scale of being is not known to those lower; 3d, that which is yet only
potentially existent, like the human race in Adam, the plant in the seed, etc.; 4th, the material which
comes and goes and therefore is not truly existent like the intelligible; 5th, sin as being the loss of

(^1423) These works are in Migne, CXXII. col. 355-440, and col. 1029-1194.
(^1424) Versio Ambiguorum S. Maximi. Migne, CXXII. col. 1193-1222.
(^1425) Expositiones super ierarchiam coelestem S. Dionysii, etc. Ibid. col. 125-284.
(^1426) Homilia in prologum S. Evangelii secundum Joannem. Ibid. col. 283-296.
(^1427) Commentarius in S. Evangelium secundum Joannem. Ibid. col. 297-548.
(^1428) See Lit., p. 762.
(^1429) Liber de egressu et regressu animae ad Deum. Migne, CXXII. co.,1023, 1024.
(^1430) Ibid.Verses, col. 1221-1240.
1431
Περὶφύσεωςμερισμου̑.Id est, de divisione naturae. Ibid.col. 411-1022.
(^1432) V. 40, ibid. col. 1022, I. 13.
(^1433) Est igitur natura generale nomen ut diximus, omnium quae sunt et quae non sunt."De Div. Nat. I. Ibid. col. 441, l.
10.