founded by Dorotheus and Lucius towards the end of the third
Bible, they were of the opinion that only the allegorical interpretation contributed to real knowledge.
Clement of Alexandria was the first one to apply the allegorical method to the interpretation of the New Testament as well as to that of the Old. He propounded the principle that all Scripture must be understood allegorically. This was a step in advance of other Christian interpreters, and constitutes the chief characteristic of Clement's position. According to him, the literal sense could only furnish an elementary faith, while the allegorical sense led on to true knowledge.
His disciple, Origen, surpassed him in both learning and influence. He was, no doubt, the greatest theologian of his age. But his abiding merit lies in his work in textual criticism rather than in biblical interpretation. "As an interpreter, he illustrated the Alexandrian type of exegesis most systematically and extensively" (Gilbert). In one of his works, he furnished a detailed theory of interpretation. The fundamental principle of this work is, that the meaning of the Holy Spirit is always simple and clear and worthy of God. All that seems dark and immoral and unbecoming in the Bible simply serves as an incentive to transcend or pass beyond the literal sense. Origen regarded the Bible as a means for the salvation of man; and because, according to Plato, man consists of three parts—body, soul, and spirit —he accepted a threefold sense, namely the literal, the moral, and the mystical or allegorical sense. In his exegetical praxis, he rather disparaged the literal sense of Scripture, referred but seldom to the moral sense, and constantly employed allegory—since only it yielded true knowledge.
2. THE SCHOOL OF ANTIOCH. The school of Antioch was probably founded by Dorotheus and Lucius towards the end of the third century, though Farrar regards Diodorus, first presbyter of Antioch, and after 378 A.D. bishop of Tarsus, as the real founder of the school. The latter wrote a treatise on principles of interpretation. But his