Contraception in the early church

Preventing conception, and the purpose of intercourse in marriage. Part of Marriage.

The Instructor 2.10.83Clement of Alexandria · ca. 190–200 · The aim of marital intercourse is children, and in begetting a human being cooperates with God; seed must not be wasted in unnatural acts. Moses's prohibition of the hare and the hyena was read as a symbolic ban on pederasty and adultery.
The Instructor 2.10.92Clement of Alexandria · ca. 190–200 · Seed must not be wasted; Moses forbade intercourse during menstruation, and Clement holds that intercourse during pregnancy is also wrong, since pleasure alone, even in marriage, is not a lawful aim.
Refutation of All Heresies 9.12.25Hippolytus of Rome · ca. 222–235 · Hippolytus says that as a result some Christian women used contraceptives and procured abortions, and he calls Callistus's teaching adultery and murder.
Divine Institutes 6.20.25Lactantius · ca. 303–311 · Those too poor for children should abstain from intercourse.
Titus of Bostra, Against the Manichees 2.56Titus of Bostra · ca. 360s · Titus defends rain and the fruits of the earth against Manichaean slander and accuses the Manichees of cursing their bread, rejecting childbearing, and using means to prevent or end pregnancy.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 26.5.2Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · They forbid procreation and seek only pleasure.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 26.5.3Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · They consume the semen rather than conceive.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 26.11.10Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Their “virgins” avoid conception by withdrawal.
Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 26.11.11Epiphanius of Salamis · 374-377 · Their practice is compared to Onan's sin.
Homilies on Matthew 28.4John Chrysostom · ca. 390 · The licentious and the covetous are worse than the demoniacs among the tombs; the covetous man, a monster in his desires, can be freed only by seeing how his greed brings him loss even in money.
On the Catholic Way of Life and the Manichaean Way of Life 2.18Augustine of Hippo · ca. 387–389 · Augustine argues that by treating procreation as worse than intercourse and urging the avoidance of conception, the Manichaeans in effect forbid marriage, as 1 Tim 4:3 foretold, and their doctrine of freeing souls from seeds through eating invites grave suspicion.
Letter 4.129 (to Strategius)Isidore of Pelusium · ca. 393-ca. 435 · Ten explanations of 1 Cor 6:18; the tenth: married partners are one body, so adultery alone is a sin against the spouse, which is why Christ allowed a wife to be put away for fornication only.
Against Faustus the Manichaean 15.7Augustine of Hippo · ca. 398–400 · Augustine goes through the Ten Commandments to show how Manichaean teaching, on Christ, the Sabbath, parents, marriage, food, theft and oaths, contradicts each of them.
Against Faustus the Manichaean 22.30Augustine of Hippo · ca. 398–400 · Augustine answers that Abraham's union with Hagar aimed only at offspring, in keeping with the natural law of marriage, whereas Manichaean teaching commands the avoidance of offspring.
On the Good of Marriage 5Augustine of Hippo · 401 · Augustine asks whether a faithful sexual union without intention of marriage or openness to children is a marriage, and distinguishes the faults of spouses from marriage itself.
On Adulterous Marriages 2.12Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–421 · Paul allowed marriage as a remedy for incontinence, not for the sake of children; so neither motive can excuse adultery, and one who must avoid adultery must keep continence.
On Marriage and Concupiscence 1.17Augustine of Hippo · ca. 419–421 · Intercourse for pleasure within marriage is a venial fault, but those who prevent conception, expose children, or procure abortion are not truly married.