Book of Rules of Tyconius, The

[Bright] . . . puts Tyconius in the context of his own time and carefully describes his seven rules of scriptural interpretation, clearly analyzing and affirming their unity. . . . Though at times painstaking to read . . . the effort is rewarding as it discloses Tyconius's intention to give the sincere reader an understanding of the obscurities in what he calls the 'immense forest of prophecy.' Bright lets Tyconius be Tyconius, a man clearly intent on orienting his biblical hermeneutics to his pastoral situation. His exegetical method is not the method of our times, which is the result of nineteen hundred years of exploring and explaining the scriptures. But his overall conviction that the scriptures derive from the Holy Spirit has a relevance for all seasons, maybe particularly today when biblical criticism has been coming under attack for its seeming lack of spiritual nourishment. --Patristics Bright displays the chiastic structure of the Rules as the clue to deciphering [Tyconius's] interpretative theory. Here she is most convincing. She interprets the Rules as an extended typological interpretation of the Bible revealing the 'mystery of inquiry' at work in the church and calling sinners to repentence. . . . Bright's work is most valuable. . . . [It] is an enticing invitation to the reading of Tyconius for his own sake. --Journal of Religion While lamenting the fact that the world knows the Liber regularum Tyconii primarily through Augustine's biased comments in De doctrina christiana and other interpreters, Bright attempts to set the record straight by allowing Tyconius to stand on his own. Even though generations of scholars have considered the Book of Rules confusing and disordered, Bright advances and successfully defends the novel hypothesis that Tyconius's Book of Rules does have an organization and plan, which manifests an inherent logic and order. --The Catholic Historical Review