by Peter Martyr Vermigli
in ePub, .mobi & .pdf formats
Translated by Anthony Marten
This version has been updated with all the Greek included, marginal scripture references included, and the Latin Italicized.
In an age drowning in novelty and theological shallowness, The Common Places, Part I by Peter Martyr Vermigli stands as a mighty bulwark of classical Reformed orthodoxy and spiritual clarity. This first volume, The Knowledge of God by Nature and Scripture, is not merely a historical artifact—it is a call to arms for those who would know God rightly and worship Him with reverence and awe. Drawing richly from natural revelation and the light of Scripture, Vermigli unfolds the first principles of theology with a precision and depth that challenge the heart and mind alike.
Here, the reader is led by a master theologian—trained in the best of Renaissance humanism yet aflame with the truths of the Reformation. Vermigli dissects topics ranging from general revelation in creation, prophecy, visions, and dreams, to the majesty and sufficiency of Holy Scripture. With pastoral warmth and polemical clarity, he confronts superstition, rebukes Roman errors, and lays down a thorough foundation for sound doctrine rooted in the Word of God. Few works demonstrate such a robust synthesis of biblical exposition, philosophical engagement, and polemical precision.
Translated and edited with painstaking care, this edition allows the modern reader to encounter Vermigli not through a dim academic lens but as a living voice—speaking to the soul, the church, and the age. Ministers, students, and all serious-minded Christians will find here an indispensable guide to rightly ordering their thoughts about God and His self-disclosure. This is a book to study, to pray through, and to return to again and again.
If you hunger for the meat of the Word, if you desire to stand on the shoulders of Reformers who feared God and bowed before His revelation, then this work is for you. It is not entertainment—it is edification. It is not a trending title—it is timeless truth.
Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499–1562) was a renowned Italian Reformer and theologian who played a pivotal role in the Protestant Reformation. Originally a Catholic priest and an esteemed scholar of Augustinian theology, Vermigli experienced a spiritual awakening that led him to embrace Reformed theology. This change compelled him to leave Italy and eventually serve as a professor and preacher in various European cities, including Strasbourg, Oxford, and Zurich.
Vermigli was known for his deep understanding of Scripture, mastery of languages, and his ability to engage with the greatest theological minds of his time. His most famous work, "The Common Places," is a profound exploration of Christian doctrine, addressing topics such as the knowledge of God, justification by faith, sacraments, and the relationship between church and state.
Vermigli's contributions to theology, particularly in his writings and teachings, significantly shaped Reformed thought and left an enduring legacy that continues to inspire theologians and scholars today. His works are a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone interested in understanding the richness of Reformed theology.
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Table of Contents
TO THE MOST EXCELLENT, MIGHTY, AND RELIGIOUS PRINCESS
TO THE CHRISTIAN READER.
A BRIEF WAY HOW MINISTERS SHOULD ORDER THEIR STUDIOUS EXERCISES
Ch. 1 - Of the ends of good and evil among the Christians
Ch. 2 - Of the natural knowledge of God by his creatures
- Whether there be any yet that know not God, and after what sort they be inexcusable
Ch. 3 - Of prophecy, and of the name, causes, definition, and effects thereof
- Of prophets, and the difference of them; and of the means to discern the true from the false; and whether and how far forth there be prophets at this day
Ch. 4 - Of visions, and how, and how much, God may be known of men as well in this life as in the life to come
- What manner of visions the fathers had; and whether God or only angels appeared unto them
Ch. 5 - Of dreams, and of the causes and effects of them
Ch. 6 - Of the Holy Scriptures, and of the dignity and profit of them, and of the means how to understand them
- An exhortation to the reading of the Holy Scriptures
- Of history
Ch. 7 - Whether young and incontinent men, etc. should be excluded from hearing of the Word of God
Ch. 8 - Of lots, and of Urim and Thumim
Ch. 9 - Of miracles, and the definition and difference of them
- Whether it be lawful for the godly to desire miracles, and why there be none in this our age
Ch. 10 - Whether it was Samuel or the devil that appeared unto Saul
- Of the nature, knowledge, power, apparitions and answers of devils
- Whether, and how far, devils do know things to come
- Whether they know men’s thoughts
- Of the power of devils, and of their strength in doing of things
- What bodies they assume to themselves
- Of the illusions called Lamiae, Empusae, and such like
- Whether it be lawful to take counsel of the devil, and to use his help
- Whether we may use enchantments to take away mischiefs
Ch. 11 - Of a good intent, zeal, prescription, and custom
- The means to know which is a good zeal, and which is a bad
Ch. 12 - Of the name of Jehovah, and of sundry attributes of God
- Of the Holy Trinity
- That Christ, being God, is eternal
- That the Holy Ghost is one God with the Father and the Son
- How much the remembrance of wrath, and the affect of repentance is attributed unto God
Ch. 13 - Of the creation of all things
- Of the creation of angels, their sundry names, visions, assuming of bodies, office, dignity, order and degrees
- Of man
- Of the soul
- Wherein consists the image of God
- Of paradise
- The long life of the fathers
- Of giants
Ch. 14 - Of felicity in general
- Of pleasure, and wherein it may concur with the chiefest good
- Of honor
- Of riches, beauty, nobility and such like
- Of contemplation
- That virtue is not the chief good
Ch. 15 - Whether any Man can be Counted Happy, while he liveth in this world.
Ch. 16 - Of the Providence of God
Ch. 17 - Whether God be the author of sin
Ch. 18 - How it may be said that God does repent, and does tempt