2018/07/26 by Daniel F. Caner · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · #Medieval Literature and History #Historical and Religious Studies of Rome #Biblical Studies and Interpretation #Generosity #Kindness #Scholarship #Promotion (chess) #Natural (archaeology) #Literature #Christianity #Philosophy #Sociology #History #Religious studies #Theology #Political science #Law #Art
paper · pdf · doi:10.3390/rel9080229
openalex publication_date 2018/07/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
In classical and early Christian usage the concept of philanthropia (philanthropy) rarely just meant “love for one’s fellow human beings” or generosity towards people whom one did not personally know. Classicists have pointed out that in both of these ancient traditions it was most synonymous with the Latin term clementia. As such, it had a concessive facet and a universalizing force: showing kindness to humans, even if doing so went against one’s natural or justified reluctance; being merciful, despite the fact that beneficiaries might not seem worthy of it. These observations have not informed prior scholarship on early Christian philanthropy. Based on a comprehensive survey of how the word philanthropia is used in church histories, hagiographies, monastic literature and church sermons written in the Greek language from the fourth to seventh centuries, this paper argues that the classical notion of philanthropy as clemency prevailed among Christian authors throughout late antiquity, and was fundamentally important in the early Christian promotion of universal almsgiving.