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At least two well-developed bodies of literature have emerged on practical questions relating to death, one the concern of psychology, the other the concern of ethics. These flow from two basic questions: how can we live well in the face of death? and when, if ever, is it legitimate deliberately to bring human life to an end? The perspective of faith can help to assess and evaluate the many, sometimes conflicting, responses to these questions of different schools of psychology and of philosophy. The method adopted by this book is to consider the distinct theological approaches to death shown by four outstanding Christian thinkers: Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, and Karl Rahner.

This chapter provides a rich exegetical context for Thomas's exegesis of Luke 2:52. Only in this context can the distinctiveness and originality of Thomas's position be appreciated. It is argued that although Thomas borrows elements from the interpretations of Ambrose of Milan and John of Damascus, the figures with whom Thomas begins his mature discussion, he differs from both in significant ways. Having outlined the major patristic interpretations of the verse, the positions of four major thinkers from the high-scholastic period (Peter Lombard, Albertus Magnus, Bonaventure, and the early Thomas himself) are then analyzed. It is shown that all four thinkers denied that Jesus progressed in knowledge, at least in the sense that he passed from ignorance of something to knowledge of it. Thomas's disagreement with his patristic predecessors and his scholastic contemporaries is also considered.

The Arian writers made much of the blunt admission by Jesus that he was ignorant of the Day of Judgment. This chapter examines orthodox responses to the charge that this was proof of the inferiority of the Incarnate Word's nature.

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the nature of knowledge in organizations, based on an essay by Czech writer Milan Kundera, which examined a novel written at the beginning of the century by Jaromir John. The frustration of the character depicted in the story is linked to the present book. The purpose and scope of the book, reasons for focusing on the automotive sector, and structure and content of the book are presented.

The subsequent four cycles of sermons showed the refinement and development of Leo's thought as he sought to coordinate the divine and human natures of Christ into a coherent soteriology. The influence of Ambrose and Hilary of Poitiers were apparent in addition to Augustine. He was engaged in conflict with Manichaeism, which led him to stress the humanity of Christ. Sermons on the Transfiguration and the Ascension are of particular interest in showing his mature understanding of soteriology grounded in Christology.

This chapter discusses the place of Photinus of Sirmium in the fourth-century Trinitarian debates and examines the historical and theological situation in the West at the synods of Arles (353), Milan (355), and Béziers (356).

Although a few important elements remain shrouded in mystery, the history of the filioque in the West is a relatively well documented phenomenon. Although there are a few scattered references to the relationship of Son and Spirit in the writings of the apologists, the story of filioque begins with Tertullian, as Latin theology began to link the understanding of God’s very nature (i.e., the theology) and the biblical revelation that the Holy Spirit is given to the Church by both the Father and the Son. Although the Latin fathers (e.g., Ambrose) increasingly used language that could be thought to support the filioque, it was Augustine of Hippo who first explicitly spoke of the Spirit proceeding from both the Father and the Son, and who later became the patristic authority for the orthodoxy of the filioque. By the seventh century not only was the filioque part of the creed in many parts of the West, but also considered part of the apostolic faith.

This chapter begins by discussing the factors that caused the reforms that occurred in Lombardy. It then narrates that most of the reforms were decided upon in Vienna or by the imperial officers in Milan. It explains that the Lombard elite held important positions in the state of Milan from which the influence could be exerted. It shows how the new rulers first drew upon the old to participate with their traditional training in jurisprudence. By demonstrating the case of Pietro Verri and his father, Gabriele, this chapter explains that the newcomers had to fight against the old ones in order to establish themselves, and the struggle was as much a discontinuity in government participation as a break between generations. It also discusses that the Il Caffè became the voice of enlightenment. It describes Lombardy's optimism regarding agricultural economy and the ruralisation of industry and manufacture.

This chapter examines the relationship between Castile and the non-Castilian territories (Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia), and that between the Spanish and non-Spanish territories of the Monarchy, with particular emphasis on Italy (Naples, Sicily and Milan). Whereas some historians have emphasised the extent to which the non-Castilian territories were becoming more important, and in the case of Spanish America, more independent, the chapter suggests that Castile remained pre-eminent and that commitment and loyalty to Spain remained strong.

In all other respects the operas are complementary, contrasted versions of the semiseria genre, with its unpredictable mix of comedy, drama, melodrama, and incipient tragedy. The orderliness which the Milan judges had noted in Giovanni Gherardini’s work was a particular virtue in the case of La gazza ladra. The story centers on a country community, subject to the king but dominated by its bustling, sadistic mayor, a kind of rustic Scarpia. There are times when, by recognizing its roots in French melodrame, La gazza ladra ends up anticipating the Italian verismo style. In most other respects La gazza ladra is an opera formulated on classical lines. There are no flights of musico-ornithological fancy for the eponymous magpie, nor are Gioachino Rossini’s own forms—duets, trios, set-piece finales, and the like—sacrificed to short-term considerations of realism.

This chapter looks at how Christian and classical patterns of benefaction interacted in the moral authority and writings of three major Christian thinkers: Basil of Caesarea, civic patron, bishop, and founder of a famous hostel for the destitute, the Basileiados; Ambrose of Milan, who adapted many of Basil's themes and diatribes on almsgiving for a Latin audience; and Jerome, the fierce advocate of a radical asceticism. Old and new patterns generated controversy over the proper form of Christian generosity towards the poor on the part of bishops, virgins, and lay patrons. Partly in response to such controversy, leading churchmen revised an older moral philosophy to stress the cooperative nature of Christian almsgiving and its superiority over pagan ethics.

Begins with a discussion of Gregory Nazianzen’s preaching in Constantinople and the theology of the Theological Orations. Considers the imperial definition of Nicaea ‘orthodoxy’ in the early 380s. These definitions attempt to embody the pro-Nicene logic or grammar that had become the understood context for interpreting Nicaea. A discussion of the Council of Constantinople in 381 is followed by a discussion of Latin theology during the 365–400 period. In this discussion, the author focuses on Ambrose of Milan. Ends by arguing that the story of these controversies and of the non-Nicene theology should not be seen as ending in 381. By the early 380s the pro-Nicene ‘solution’ that endured had emerged, but argument and controversy continued.

The council held at Serdica (modern Sofia) in the 340s on the initiative of the emperors Constans and Constantius II was meant to be an ecumenical gathering, but split into an eastern synod and a western synod, meeting separately. The emperors' plans for reconciliation were destroyed by western intransigence and the eastern refusal to hold communion with Athanasius and Marcellus. The western statement of faith exacerbated disagreement on the nature of the Trinity and the authority of Rome. A synod at Milan in 345 confirmed that for Rome and the west the Nicene Creed had become the crucial test of orthodoxy.

The Cappadocian texts on poverty include an economic construct of the poor as fiscal body, defining themselves according to their penury and being defined as currency and inflationary debt. This chapter considers Basil of Caesarea's homilies 6 and 7, appealing to those with wealth, Gregory of Nazianzus's poem “Adversus opem amantes,” Basil's two sermons on Psalm 14 concerning justice, usury, and debt, Gregory of Nyssa's sermon “Against Usury,” Ambrose of Milan's dependence on Basil in his sermon on Tobit, and the exegetical use of texts on the biblical patriarch Joseph's grain policy in Egypt. These texts illustrate Basil's dominant concern for civic justice and social economic reform to solve the problem of poverty in the community.