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The Six Ages of the World (Latin: ''sex aetates mundi''), also Seven Ages of the World (Latin: ''septem aetates mundi''), is a Christian historical periodization first written about by Saint Augustine ''circa'' 400 AD.〔David C. Alexander Augustine's Early Theology of the Church 2008 Page 219 "Augustine discussed the seven days of the creation narrative figuratively in terms of seven ages of the world."〕 It is based upon Christian religious events, from the creation of Adam to the events of Revelation. The six ages of history, with each age (Latin: ''aetas'') lasting approximately 1,000 years, were widely believed and in use throughout the Middle Ages, and until the Enlightenment, the writing of history was mostly the filling out of all or some part of this outline. The outline accounts for Seven Ages, just as there are seven days of the week, with the Seventh Age being eternal rest after the Final Judgement and End Times, just as the seventh day of the week is reserved for rest.〔G. Williams, P. Bibire Sagas, saints and settlements 2004 - Page 3 "As the Creation took six days, so the world will pass through six ages before reaching the seventh age, the sabbath. According to Augustine the first age extends from Adam to Noah,. 5 On aetates mundi before Augustine see R. Schmidt, ... "〕 It was normally called the Six Ages of the World because in Augustine's schema they were the ages of the world, of history, while the Seventh Age was not of this world but, as Bede later elaborated, ran parallel to the six ages of the world. Augustine's presentation deliberately counters chiliastic and millennial ideas that the Seventh Age, World to Come, would come after the sixth.〔G. Williams, P. Bibire Sagas, saints and settlements - Page 4 - 2004 "... years of earthly history before the eternal heavenly kingdom.10 Augustine was keen to counter such millennarianism. ... The seventh age of the Augustinian scheme could be seen, and indeed Bede formulates it thus, as running parallel to ...〕 ==Six Ages== The Six Ages, as formulated by Saint Augustine, are defined in ''De catechizandis rudibus'' (''On the catechizing of the uninstructed''), Chapter 22: * The First Age "is from the beginning of the human race, that is, from Adam, who was the first man that was made, down to Noah, who constructed the ark at the time of the flood," i.e. the Antediluvian period. * The Second Age "extends from that period on to Abraham, who was called the father indeed of all nations.." * The Third Age "extends from Abraham on to David the king." * The Fourth Age is "from David on to that captivity whereby the people of God passed over into Babylonia." * The Fifth Age is "from that transmigration down to the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ." * The Sixth Age: "With His The Ages reflect the seven days of creation, of which the last day is the rest of Sabbath, illustrating the human journey to find eternal rest with God, a common Christian narrative. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Six Ages of the World」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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