The Prescription Against Heretics.

 Chapter I.—Introductory. Heresies Must Exist, and Even Abound They are a Probation to Faith.

 Chapter II.—Analogy Between Fevers and Heresies. Heresies Not to Be Wondered At: Their Strength Derived from Weakness of Men’s Faith. They Have Not th

 Chapter III.—Weak People Fall an Easy Prey to Heresy, Which Derives Strength from the General Frailty of Mankind. Eminent Men Have Fallen from Faith

 Chapter IV.—Warnings Against Heresy Given Us in the New Testament. Sundry Passages Adduced. These Imply the Possibility of Falling into Heresy.

 Chapter V.—Heresy, as Well as Schism and Dissension, Disapproved by St. Paul, Who Speaks of the Necessity of Heresies, Not as a Good, But, by the Will

 Chapter VI.—Heretics are Self-Condemned. Heresy is Self-Will, Whilst Faith is Submission of Our Will to the Divine Authority.  The Heresy of Apelles.

 Chapter VII.—Pagan Philosophy the Parent of Heresies. The Connection Between Deflections from Christian Faith and the Old Systems of Pagan Philosophy.

 Chapter VIII.—Christ’s Word, Seek, and Ye Shall Find, No Warrant for Heretical Deviations from the Faith. All Christ’s Words to the Jews are for Us, N

 Chapter IX.—The Research After Definite Truth Enjoined on Us. When We Have Discovered This, We Should Be Content.

 Chapter X.—One Has Succeeded in Finding Definite Truth, When He Believes. Heretical Wits are Always Offering Many Things for Vain Discussion, But We a

 Chapter XI.—After We Have Believed, Search Should Cease Otherwise It Must End in a Denial of What We Have Believed. No Other Object Proposed for Our

 Chapter XII.—A Proper Seeking After Divine Knowledge, Which Will Never Be Out of Place or Excessive, is Always Within the Rule of Faith.

 Chapter XIII.—Summary of the Creed, or Rule of Faith. No Questions Ever Raised About It by Believers.  Heretics Encourage and Perpetuate Thought Indep

 Chapter XIV.—Curiosity Ought Not Range Beyond the Rule of Faith. Restless Curiosity, the Feature of Heresy.

 We are therefore come to (the gist of) our position for at this point we were aiming, and for this we were preparing in the preamble of our address (

 Chapter XVI.—Apostolic Sanction to This Exclusion of Heretics from the Use of the Scriptures. Heretics, According to the Apostle, are Not to Be Disput

 Chapter XVII.—Heretics, in Fact, Do Not Use, But Only Abuse, Scripture. No Common Ground Between Them and You.

 Chapter XVIII.—Great Evil Ensues to the Weak in Faith, from Any Discussion Out of the Scriptures. Conviction Never Comes to the Heretic from Such a Pr

 Chapter XIX.—Appeal, in Discussion of Heresy, Lies Not to the Scriptures. The Scriptures Belong Only to Those Who Have the Rule of Faith.

 Chapter XX.—Christ First Delivered the Faith. The Apostles Spread It They Founded Churches as the Depositories Thereof. That Faith, Therefore, is Apo

 Chapter XXI.—All Doctrine True Which Comes Through the Church from the Apostles, Who Were Taught by God Through Christ. All Opinion Which Has No Such

 Chapter XXII.—Attempt to Invalidate This Rule of Faith Rebutted. The Apostles Safe Transmitters of the Truth. Sufficiently Taught at First, and Faithf

 Chapter XXIII.—The Apostles Not Ignorant. The Heretical Pretence of St. Peter’s Imperfection Because He Was Rebuked by St. Paul. St. Peter Not Rebuked

 Chapter XXIV.—St. Peter’s Further Vindication. St. Paul Not Superior to St. Peter in Teaching. Nothing Imparted to the Former in the Third Heaven Enab

 Chapter XXV.—The Apostles Did Not Keep Back Any of the Deposit of Doctrine Which Christ Had Entrusted to Them. St. Paul Openly Committed His Whole Doc

 Chapter XXVI.—The Apostles Did in All Cases Teach the Whole Truth to the Whole Church. No Reservation, Nor Partial Communication to Favourite Friends.

 Chapter XXVII.—Granted that the Apostles Transmitted the Whole Doctrine of Truth, May Not the Churches Have Been Unfaithful in Handing It On? Inconcei

 Chapter XXVIII.—The One Tradition of the Faith, Which is Substantially Alike in the Churches Everywhere, a Good Proof that the Transmission Has Been T

 Chapter XXIX.—The Truth Not Indebted to the Care of the Heretics It Had Free Course Before They Appeared. Priority of the Church’s Doctrine a Mark of

 Chapter XXX.—Comparative Lateness of Heresies. Marcion’s Heresy. Some Personal Facts About Him. The Heresy of Apelles. Character of This Man Philumen

 Chapter XXXI.—Truth First, Falsehood Afterwards, as Its Perversion. Christ’s Parable Puts the Sowing of the Good Seed Before the Useless Tares.

 Chapter XXXII.—None of the Heretics Claim Succession from the Apostles. New Churches Still Apostolic, Because Their Faith is that Which the Apostles T

 Chapter XXXIII.—Present Heresies (Seedlings of the Tares Noted by the Sacred Writers) Already Condemned in Scripture.  This Descent of Later Heresy fr

 Chapter XXXIV.—No Early Controversy Respecting the Divine Creator No Second God Introduced at First. Heresies Condemned Alike by the Sentence and the

 Chapter XXXV.—Let Heretics Maintain Their Claims by a Definite and Intelligible Evidence. This the Only Method of Solving Their Questions. Catholics A

 Chapter XXXVI.—The Apostolic Churches the Voice of the Apostles. Let the Heretics Examine Their Apostolic Claims, in Each Case, Indisputable. The Chur

 Chapter XXXVII.—Heretics Not Being Christians, But Rather Perverters of Christ’s Teaching, May Not Claim the Christian Scriptures. These are a Deposit

 Chapter XXXVIII.—Harmony of the Church and the Scriptures. Heretics Have Tampered with the Scriptures, and Mutilated, and Altered Them.  Catholics Nev

 Chapter XXXIX.—What St. Paul Calls Spiritual Wickednesses Displayed by Pagan Authors, and by Heretics, in No Dissimilar Manner. Holy Scripture Especia

 Chapter XL.—No Difference in the Spirit of Idolatry and of Heresy. In the Rites of Idolatry, Satan Imitated and Distorted the Divine Institutions of t

 Chapter XLI.—The Conduct of Heretics: Its Frivolity, Worldliness, and Irregularity. The Notorious Wantonness of Their Women.

 Chapter XLII.—Heretics Work to Pull Down and to Destroy, Not to Edify and Elevate. Heretics Do Not Adhere Even to Their Own Traditions, But Harbour Di

 Chapter XLIII.—Loose Company Preferred by Heretics. Ungodliness the Effect of Their Teaching the Very Opposite of Catholic Truth, Which Promotes the F

 Chapter XLIV.—Heresy Lowers Respect for Christ, and Destroys All Fear of His Great Judgment. The Tendency of Heretical Teaching on This Solemn Article

 [Chapter XLV.] On the present occasion, indeed, our treatise has rather taken up a general position against heresies, (showing that they must) all be

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Chapter I.—Introductory. Heresies Must Exist, and Even Abound; They are a Probation to Faith.

The character of the times in which we live is such as to call forth from us even this admonition, that we ought not to be astonished at the heresies (which abound)1    Istas. neither ought their existence to surprise us, for it was foretold that they should come to pass;2    Matt. vii. 15; xxiv. 4, 11, 24; 1 Tim. iv. 1–3; 2 Pet. ii. 1. nor the fact that they subvert the faith of some, for their final cause is, by affording a trial to faith, to give it also the opportunity of being “approved.”3    1 Cor. xi. 19. Groundless, therefore, and inconsiderate is the offence of the many4    Plerique, “the majority.” who are scandalized by the very fact that heresies prevail to such a degree. How great (might their offence have been) if they had not existed.5    The Holy Ghost having foretold that they should exist.  (Rigalt.) When it has been determined that a thing must by all means be, it receives the (final) cause for which it has its being. This secures the power through which it exists, in such a way that it is impossible for it not to have existence.

CAPUT PRIMUM.

Priusquam autem ad propositum veniat, docet non oportere nos admirari super haereses, eo quod praenuntiatae fuerint.

Conditio praesentium temporum etiam hanc admonitionem provocat nostram: non oportere nos 0012D mirari super haereses istas, sive quia sunt, futurae enim praenuntiabantur, sive quia fidem quorumdam subvertunt, ad hoc enim sunt, ut fides, habendo tentationem, habeat etiam probationem. Vane ergo et inconsiderate plerique hoc ipso scandalizantur, 0013A quod tantum haereses valeant. Quantum , si non fuissent ! Cum quod sortitum est, ut omnimodo sit, sicut caussam accipit ob quam sit, sic vim consequitur per quam sit, nec esse non possit .