Himns, Homilies and Exegesis.

Most of the literature with which we have thus far been concerned consists of writings like those in the New Testament or those intended for particular occasions. From this literature it is difficult to get much of an impression about the life of the early Christian communities, although the Didache (see chap. 2) offers a notable exception. We are fortunate, therefore, in possessing a few scattered examples of other kinds of materials such as hymns, homilies, and fragments of a book containing what seems to be biblical exegesis.