Common use of De Opificio Mundi: Structure of argumentation Clause in Contracts

De Opificio Mundi: Structure of argumentation. The treatise De Opificio Mundi is the first in a larger body of treatises, commonly known as the Exposition of the Laws.172 In De Opificio Mundi, Xxxxx presents an interpretation of elements of Gn. 1:1–3:19, the biblical account of the creation of the world, the lives of the first human beings and their succumbing to vice. Xxxxx’x main aim in this treatise is to show that Xxxxx’ laws and the laws of nature are interconnected.173 As Philo saw it, God did not only provide a law for the behaviour of people. Xxxxx believed that God is the source of order and structure in the whole of creation. He also held that to perceive God as the source of order in creation is essential for living a life of virtue. Xxxxx’x argumentation in De Opificio Mundi is structured as follows. Introduction: Xxxxx provided the best account of the world’s creation. 1–12: Xxxxx introduces the topic of the treatise, the creation of the world as described by Xxxxx in Genesis, with two preliminary considerations. The first is a remark that he will only present the highlights of Xxxxx’ all-embracing