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The Library

Forty Centuries of Christian Writing

1774 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.

1400–1301 BC

The Fourteenth Century BC

1 work

c. 1400 BC

Akkadian

The Myth of Adapa

Anonymous

Adapa, the first of the seven sages, breaks the wing of the south wind and is summoned before Anu. His god Ea warns him not to eat the food offered in heaven, since it will be the food of death. It is the food of life, and by obeying he loses immortality for himself and for humankind.

Mesopotamian · MythGenesisRead elsewhere

100–1 BC

The First Century BC

1 work

c. 50 BC – AD 20

Greek

The Wisdom of Solomon

Anonymous

Written in Alexandria in the voice of Solomon. The ungodly reason that life is short and set a trap for the righteous man who calls himself a child of God; Wisdom is described as a breath of the power of God and a spotless mirror; and idolatry is traced to a grieving father who made an image of his dead child.

Hellenistic Jewish · WisdomProverbsRomansHebrewsMatthewRead elsewhere

1401–1500

The Fifteenth Century

1 work

1469–1482

Latin

Platonic Theology

Marsilio Ficino · 1433–1499

Eighteen books arguing the immortality of the soul from Platonic principles, placing the human soul at the centre of a hierarchy binding matter to God.

Western · PhilosophyRead elsewhere