The Library
1693 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
Jewish core, Christian recension c. AD 100–200
Greek
Anonymous
Each of Jacob's sons gathers his children and confesses the sin that defined him — Reuben lust, Simeon envy, Judah greed and drink — then warns against it and foretells what will come. Passages about a saviour from Levi and Judah sit in the text as it stands.
301–400
1 work
c. 390
Greek
Evagrius Ponticus · 345–399
A hundred short chapters analysing the eight thoughts that assail a monk — gluttony, lust, avarice, sadness, anger, listlessness, vainglory, pride — and the discipline that answers each.
401–500
1 work
c. 420–425
Latin
De Institutis Coenobiorum
John Cassian · c. 360–435
The customs of Egyptian monasteries adapted for Gaul — dress, the night office, the reception of newcomers — followed by books on each of the eight principal faults.
501–600
1 work
c. 579–591
Latin
Moralia in Iob
Gregory the Great · c. 540–604
Thirty-five books begun as conferences for fellow monks in Constantinople, reading Job at three levels — historical, allegorical, and moral — and using it to map the interior life.
601–700
1 work
c. 650
Latin
Cummean
A tariff of penances arranged under the eight principal vices taken from Cassian, prescribing a measured remedy for each sin by kind, duration, and the offender's rank — with contraries applied to contraries as a physician treats disease.
1101–1200
1 work
1158–1163
Latin
Liber Vitae Meritorum
Hildegard of Bingen · 1098–1179
Thirty-five vices appear and speak in their own defence, each answered by the corresponding virtue, followed by a description of the punishments awaiting each.
1301–1400
1 work
c. 1375
Middle English
Anonymous
An English version of a French treatise on the commandments, the creed, the seven sins, and the gifts of the Spirit, written for lay readers.
7 of 1693 works