Riassunto
Trama e riassunto di Ptolemy's Letter to Flora
A chi è rivolto
For readers who love early Christian history, Gnostic and Valentinian thought, and the arguments of the first Christians about the Old Testament.
Che cos’è questo libro
This is a letter written in Greek around the middle of the second century, usually dated to about 160 by scholars. Its author is Ptolemy, a teacher in the school of Valentinus, one of the best-known Christian thinkers of Rome and Alexandria in that age. He writes to a woman named Flora, who is probably a pupil. Nothing more is known about her. The letter survives whole because a later opponent, the bishop Epiphanius of Salamis, copied it into his large work against heresies, the Panarion, in the fourth century.
The question is a practical one. Where does the Law of Moses come from, and should a Christian still keep it? Ptolemy sets out two opposing answers. Some say the Law comes from God the Father. Others say it comes from the devil. Ptolemy says both are wrong, and he builds his case from the words of Jesus. You will hear how he splits the Law into three kinds, how he judges each kind, and how he places its giver between the perfect Father and the adversary. Let us begin with how Ptolemy frames the problem.
In questo riassunto
- 1A teacher writes to a womanFree
- 2Two common answers are both mistaken
- 3The words of Jesus are the test
- 4Three sources within the Law
- 5The Law of God has three kinds of command
- 6The just God between Father and adversary
Punto chiave 1 di 6
A teacher writes to a woman
The letter is addressed to my sister Flora, and its opening is courteous and careful. Ptolemy says that the Law given through Moses has not been understood by many people. They do not know who gave it, or what its commands are for. He says the quarrels over it are plain to see, and he wants to help Flora see her way through them.
We know Ptolemy mainly from this letter and from the bishop Irenaeus, who attacked Valentinian teaching in the later second century. Irenaeus names Ptolemy as a leading follower of Valentinus. Some scholars think this is the same Ptolemy who is also named in Roman records of martyrs, but that link is uncertain. What matters here is that the letter is written in a calm teaching voice, not a harsh one.
Ptolemy also tells Flora how she should read his answer. He says that what she learns now will help her in the future if she receives it well. The tone is that of a patient tutor to a student he respects.
It matters that a woman is the recipient. Early Christian groups included women who studied, asked hard questions and were taught in writing. The letter assumes Flora can follow an argument about scripture and judge it for herself, and that gives it a gentle and serious air.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Questions about Ptolemy's Letter to Flora
What is Ptolemy's Letter to Flora about?
It answers the question of who gave the Law of Moses. Ptolemy argues it came neither from the perfect Father nor from the devil, but from a just maker, and he divides the Law into parts.
Who was Ptolemy and who was Flora?
Ptolemy was a teacher of the Valentinian school of Christianity in the second century. Flora was the woman he wrote to, apparently a believing student. Nothing else is firmly known about her.
Where does the Letter to Flora survive?
It survives in Greek because Epiphanius of Salamis quoted it in full in his fourth century work, the Panarion, where he argues against Valentinian teaching. No other copy is known.
When was the Letter to Flora written?
Scholars usually date it to around 160, in the middle of the second century. The exact year is not known, and the date rests on what is known of Ptolemy and his school.
Is the Letter to Flora hard to read?
It is short and orderly, so the argument is easy to follow.