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What ideas did St. Ambrose explore in On Isaac and the Soul?
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St. Ambrose
Image of St. Ambrose, detail from a stained-glass window in a Roman Catholic church in Antwerp, Belgium.
In his work De Isaac et anima ("On Isaac and the Soul"), St. Ambrose explores the Old Testament through the lens of erudite philosophical allegory.1
The text is notable for its deep acquaintance with Neoplatonic mystical language. By utilizing this philosophical framework, Ambrose sought to defend the "spiritual" meaning of the scriptures, a method he frequently employed in his sermons to provide educated Latins with a classical version of Christianity.1