The Library
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.
1–100
1 work
c. 50–70; reconstructed, no manuscript survives
Greek
Reconstructed
A collection of sayings of Jesus — beatitudes, woes, the Lord's Prayer, the mission charge, the coming judgement — with almost no narrative and no passion account. It exists only as a reconstruction from the material Matthew and Luke share against Mark.
101–200
2 works
c. 100–150; date disputed
Greek
Anonymous
A hundred and fourteen sayings of Jesus with no narrative, no passion, and no resurrection, some close to the canonical gospels and others enigmatic in a way that invites an inner, secret reading.
c. 150
Greek, surviving in Coptic
Anonymous
A badly damaged conversation between the Lord and Judas, Matthew, and Mary, on the crossing place, the garment of life, and what the disciples should pray. Mary asks the sharpest questions and is praised as one who understood completely.
301–400
1 work
collected c. 350–500
Greek
Apophthegmata Patrum
Anonymous
Short exchanges between monks and their visitors, usually beginning with a request for a word, and answered in one or two sentences that rarely explain themselves.
601–700
1 work
c. 615–619
Greek
Pratum Spirituale
John Moschus · c. 550–619
Over two hundred short anecdotes collected on a lifetime of travel between the monasteries of Palestine, Sinai, and Egypt, gathered as the Persian invasion destroyed them.
5 of 1774 works