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Banquet of the Ten Virgins

Methodius of Olympus

Chapter 6

About this work

A literary symposium in which ten women offer speeches on virginity, creation, Scripture, virtue, and Christian perfection, consciously adapting the form of a classical philosophical banquet.

Author: Methodius of Olympus
Date: Late 3rd century
Origin: Eastern Mediterranean
Genre: Dialogue

Chapter VI.—The Eighty Concubines, What; The Knowledge of the Incarnation Communicated to the Prophets.

It still remains to speak concerning the concubines.

‹ Chapter 5 Chapter 7 ›

To

those

who

lived

after

the

deluge

the

knowledge

of

God

was

henceforth

more

remote

,

and

they

needed

other

instruction

to

ward

off

the

evil

,

and

to

be

their

helper

,

since

idolatry

was

already

creeping

in

.

Therefore

God

,

that

the

race

of

man

might

not

be

wholly

destroyed

,

through

forgetfulness

of

the

things

which

were

good

,

commanded

His

own

Son

to

reveal

to

the

prophets

His

own

future

appearance

in

the

world

by

the

flesh

,

in

which

the

joy

and

knowledge

of

the

spiritual

eighth

day

shall

be

proclaimed

,

which

would

bring

the

remission

of

sins

and

the

resurrection

,

and

that

thereby

the

passions

and

corruptions

of

men

would

be

circumcised

.

And

,

therefore

,

He

called

by

the

name

of

the

eighty

virgins

the

list

of

the

prophets

from

Abraham

,

on

account

of

the

dignity

of

circumcision

,

which

embraces

the

number

eight

,

in

accordance

with

which

also

the

law

is

framed

;

because

they

first

,

before

the

Church

was

espoused

to

the

Word

,

received

the

divine

seed

,

and

foretold

the

circumcision

of

the

spiritual

eighth

day

.

Notes

1
Here, and in many other places, the prevalent millenarian belief of the first centuries is expressed by Methodius.—Tr. [See Barnabas, vol. i. p. 147, this series; also Irenæus (same vol.), p. 562, at note 11.]