Name of a treatise highly esteemed in early times and once ranking next to the Holy Scriptures. It is an ethical rather than a theological work, preaching repentance, and consisting of five visions, twelve mandates, and two parables; particularly valuable as a contemporary record of 2century Christianity in Rome. The authorship has been attributed to Hermas, mentioned by Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans 14; but with more likelihood, to a brother of Pope Saint Pius I.