Clement of Alexandria : "Since, when we were children," says the same apostle, "we were kept in bondage under the rudiments of the world. And the child, though heir, differeth nothing from a servant, till the time appointed of the father." Philosophers, then, are children, unless they have been made men by Christ. "For if the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with the son of the free," at least he is the seed of Abraham, though not of promise, receiving what belongs to him by free gift. — The Stromata Book 1 Jerome : (Chapter IV - 1, 2) However, I say that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, even though he is the Lord of all, but he is under guardians and managers until the appointed time by the father. This little heir, who is no different from a slave even though he is the Lord of all, is under guardians and managers until the appointed time by the father, represents the whole human race until the coming of Christ, and, to say more, until the end of the world. For just as all die in the first Adam, not yet born, so also all those who were born before the coming of Christ are made alive in the second Adam. And so it happens that we too served the Law in the fathers, and they are saved by grace in their children. This understanding is in agreement with the Catholic Church, which affirms the one providence of the Old and New Testament and does not distinguish in time those whom it has joined together in condition. We are all built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ himself as the chief cornerstone. In him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. Through him, we are also being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:20-22) Truly, in Christ, we are all one bread, and we have come together in unity on the earth. And just as we are founded upon the prophets, so too did the patriarchs stand upon the foundation of the apostles. Moreover, the prophets can also be understood as tutors and actors, whose words we were daily instructed by in anticipation of the coming of the Savior, just as the Law was expounded by the pedagogue Moses; and the angels of the little ones who daily behold the face of the Father and intercede for them. Concerning whom it is said: 'The angels of the Lord will encamp around those who fear Him, and will deliver them' (Ps. 34:7). Both priests and rulers can be understood, who were once seen as dominating the people, now providing a form. And rightly are they called under tutors and actors, who, having the spirit of fear, have not yet deserved the spirit of liberty and adoption. For the age of infancy fears sins, fears the tutor, does not trust that it is free, even though by nature it is a mistress. And according to both interpretations, whether we called tutors and actors or prophets or angels, this child is under actors and tutors until the appointed time of the perfect man is fulfilled. But the legitimate time, as in Roman law, is terminated by a period of twenty-five years, so it is considered the coming of Christ to the perfection of the human race. As soon as he comes, and we all grow into perfect men, the pedagogue and tutor depart from us. Then we will enjoy the authority of the Lord and the possession of the inheritance, in which before we were considered somewhat estranged. — Commentary on Galatians Jerome : The infant heir … signifies the whole human race up to the advent of Christ, and, to speak more largely, right up to the end of the world. For, just as all die in Adam the first man, though they are not yet born, so all those who were born before Christ's advent are now made alive in the second Adam. And so it is that we served the law in the fathers and are saved by grace in the sons. This understanding fits the catholic church, which asserts a single providence in the Old and New Testaments and does not distinguish in time those whom it makes equal in condition. — EPISTLE TO THE Galatians 2.4.1-2 John Chrysostom : The word "child" in this place denotes not age but understanding; meaning that God had from the beginning designed for us these gifts, but, as we yet continued childish, He let us be under the elements of the world, that is, new moons and sabbaths, for these days are regulated by the course of sun and moon. If then also now they bring you under law they do nothing else but lead you backward now in the time of your perfect age and maturity. And see what is the consequence of observing days; the Lord, the Master of the house, the Sovereign Ruler, is thereby reduced to the rank of a servant. — Homily on Galatians 4 Oecumenius : For what reason? Because it was decided by the father that he should manage nothing until the lawful age. And he rightly produced the example of the infant. For just as that child, though master of all things, is prevented by his infancy from exercising control over his possessions, so we too, because our mind has long been youthful, are hindered from being deemed worthy of adoption as children of God. "when we were children." He says "children" not in respect of age but of knowledge of God, indicating that God had willed to grant these things from the beginning, that is, adoption as sons, but that we are responsible for the delay, being children in our minds. Having then been permitted, by God's patience, to be enslaved to the elements, that is, to the course of the sun and the moon. For being enslaved to Sabbaths and new moons and observances of days, which were prescribed by the law, he says that for the most part we were subject to the sun and the moon, from which come the days and the months and the Sabbaths. Very desirous indeed to reduce those things in the law, he stops and says, "Under the law we were in bondage," he said "under the elemental principles." — [THEODORET] When, he says, we were infants and immature, the law acted as a sort of guardian and steward over us. (For he spoke of the basic elements of the world, judicial observations.) Since night and day are named after the sun and moon, and from days weeks and months and years are formed, the law ordered that Sabbaths and new moons and annual festivals and the weeks of years be observed; for this reason he said: "under the elemental principles," since time is also constituted from these. [end of the excerpt by Theodoret] — — [GENNADIUS] "under the elemental principles of the world." With the oversight of guardians and managers who, for the benefit of the young, guide those not yet mature, he received the elements of the world, with which we were enslaved because our knowledge was incomplete. Therefore, I do not think he took the sun and the moon as part of the order of guardians, because submission to those would be harmful; rather he calls them the elements of the world, or the elementary and introductory law. (For he was also writing to those faithful from the Jews, and here indicates the slightly aforementioned things, and that if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.) He calls them elements: day, water, fire, which were observations of the law that brought into slavery. Days, namely Sabbaths and new moons and circumcisions. Water, in bodily purifications and baptisms. Fire, in not kindling fire on the Sabbaths, but in eating unseasoned food. See what Eusebius said about this as a foreigner in the fourth discourse of the Proof of the Gospel. [end of the excerpt by Gennadius] — — Commentary on Galatians