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C HAPTER 1. T HE Q UESTION OF THE E TERNITY OF THE W ORLD
Historical background. 3 The topic of the origin of the world was not a matter of
discussion among the Fathers of the Church. This is surprising due to an obvious opposition
between the opening words of the Book of Genesis and the Neo-Platonic philosophy current in
the Mediterranean world at that time. The words “In the beginning, when God created the
heavens and the earth” (Gn 1:1) strongly suggest the temporal beginning of the world while the
Neo-Platonic philosophy presumed an eternal and necessary emergence of the world from God.
The three principal ancient authors who touched upon the topic of the eternity of the world and
to whom Medieval Latin philosophers were indebted for their knowledge of the treatment on this
topic in antiquity were Plato, Augustine and Boethius. 4 Plato’s treatment of the eternity of the
3
For a detailed overview of the questions of the eternity of the world which is beyond the scope of this thesis see
Kovach, “The Question” and Richard C. Dales, Medieval Discussions of the Eternity of the World (Leiden: E. J. Brill,
1990).
4
Dales, Medieval Discussions, 3.
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