PREFATORY NOTE.

The Syndics of the Cambridge University Press have arranged for the publication of a series of Patristic texts writings of the Church Fathers for theology students, of which this volume is the first installment. Other volumes are currently being prepared.

The series will include not only complete treatises but also parts of larger works, which will be treated as self-contained, as well as selections of letters and sermons. This book serves as a sample of the size these volumes will be.

Our objective is to provide theology students with the same kind of assistance in reading Patristic works that is so abundantly provided to students of classical authors. We have kept in mind the needs of those who do not have many reference books at hand.

The main part of the work in each volume will consist of the actual text, based on the best available editions, with a collation comparison of manuscripts where possible, along with a digest of important variant readings and explanatory notes. Brief introductions will address the place of the work