Derek Spears examines classical quotations and allusions in early Christian texts up to the late 2nd century CE. From the New Testament to Clement of Alexandria, he traces a growing confidence in engaging with the classical tradition among Christian writers.
Derek Spears examines classical quotations and allusions in early Christian writings up to the end of the 2nd century CE. His starting point is Paul's use of an iambic trimeter in 1 Corinthians. From there, the author takes a linear approach, beginning with the New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers. He questions in the NT interpretations of quotes and allusions that are too often seen in the light of the literature historically most studied in schools and universities (i.e. that from Homer to the end of the 3rd century BCE) and argues it may not reflect the background socially and educationally of early Christian writers.
The author then discusses Christian apologists, especially Justin Martyr and Clement of Alexandria and notes a growing confidence in engaging with classical authors: Justin is the first to name them explicitly, while Clement quotes them extensively. Instead of listing all of Clement's 1,700 references, the author compares his literary approach to that of contemporary miscellanists like Aulus Gellius and Athenaeus. He suggests that Christian authors created their own collections rather than relying on hypothetical florilegia. Their effective quotation practice indicates a familiarity with original sources.
By tracing this development, Derek Spears shows how the growing number of classically educated individuals in the Christian community influenced the way the classical tradition was adopted and reinterpreted for Christian purposes.
Table of contents:
Chapter 1 - Introduction
1.1 Principles - Biblical Matters
1.2 Principles - Quotation, Allusion and Limits of the Study
1.3 Principles - Perceptions of the Classics
1.4 The Practice of Quotation in Antiquity
Chapter 2 - The New Testament
2.1 Johann Jakob Wettstein
2.2 Echoes of Wettstein in the Twentieth Century
Chapter 3 - Perceived Classical Allusions in the New Testament
3.1 2 Peter 2:22
3.2 Acts 12:7ff.
3.3 Acts 26:14
Chapter 4 - Three Quotations in the New Testament
4.1 1 Corinthians 15:33
4.1.1 The Pre-Pauline History of the Line
4.1.2 The Patristic Period to the Fifth Century
4.1.3 Thais or not Thais?
4.1.4 Euripides or Menander?
4.1.5 A Line Among the Proverbs?
4.1.6 In the School Room
4.1.7 Further Traces of the Sententiae Menandri?
4.2 Acts 17:28
4.3 Titus 1:12
4.4 Coda - Paul's Schooling and Knowledge of the Septuagint (LXX)
Chapter 5 - The Apostolic Fathers
5.1 Δαναΐδες καὶ Δίρκαι?
5.2 The Phoenix
5.3 The New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers Compared with Philo and Josephus
Chapter 6 - Justin - A New Beginning?
6.1 Justin's Predecessors
6.2 Justin's Quotations and Allusions
6.3 For Whom Was Justin Writing?
6.4 The Nature of Justin's »School«
6.5 Dissemination of Justin's Works
6.6 Conclusion to Justin
6.7 Schooling in Second Century
Chapter 7 - Writers Between Justin and Clement
7.1 Tatian
7.2 Athenagoras
7.3 Theophilus
7.4 Tertullian
7.5 Irenaeus
7.6 Coda
Chapter 8 - Clement
8.1 Clement of Alexandria
8.2 Use of Quotations - Aulus Gellius and Athenaeus
8.3 Clement - Consideration of His Surviving Works
8.4 The Background to Assembling Works Employing Quotations
8.5 Florilegia
8.6 Stobaeus as a Florilegist
8.7 Plutarch and His Use of Quotations
8.8 Second-Century Authors as Note Takers
8.9 The Place and Role of Libraries
8.10 Clement as Quoter
8.10.1 Examples of Clement's Interweaving of Classical and Biblical Texts
8.10.2 Quotations in the Paedagogus
8.11 Clement - Coda
Chapter 9 - Conclusion
Appendix - A Later Christian Florilegium?
