Books by and about the saint. also see CONFESSIONS

Augustine and Politics As Longing in the World by John von Heyking (University Missouri Press) Saint Augustine's political thought has usually been interpreted by modern readers as suggesting that politics is based on sin. In Augustine and Politics as Longing in the World, John von Heyking shows that Augustine actually considered political life a substantive good that fulfills a human longing for a kind of wholeness.

Rather than showing Augustine as supporting the Christian church's domination of politics, von Heyking argues that he held a subtler view of the relationship between religion and politics, one that preserves the independence of political life. And while many see his politics as based on a natural-law ethic or on one in which authority is conferred by direct revelation, von Heyking shows how Augustine held to an understanding of political ethics that emphasizes practical wisdom and judgment in a mode that resembles Aristotle rather than Machiavelli.

Augustine and Politics as Longing in the World demonstrates some of the deficiencies in the way Augustine's political thought has been interpreted. It also explains why a rereading of his thought illuminates the current debates between "secularists" and proponents of "orthodoxy" and shows why these debates are miscast. By examining Augustine's political thought, von Heyking provides a way of resolving this controversy and shows how we can move beyond conflicting claims and thus moderate yet elevate political life.

Behind Augustine's apparent anti-political rhetoric lies his substantial agreement with his Roman philosophical interlocutors on virtue and politics. This allegedly anti-political rhetoric is meant to tame the lust for domination of Roman patriots by showing that lust can never be satisfied by political goods. By opposing extreme "worldliness" with extreme "otherworldliness," Augustine appears to reject politics as a natural good. On the contrary, he affirmed politics as a natural good.

Augustine and Politics as Longing in the World shows how Augustine's belief that politics was a way for humans to fulfill their longings for a kind of wholeness discloses a deeper affirmation of a more meaningful, pluralistic, and robust political life than his interpreters have previously appreciated.

 

Excerpt:

Arendt, Oakeshott, Voegelin, and even Camus, to an extent, rediscovered Augustine so as to articulate a nonreductive anthropology open to the heights and depths of human longings that are otherwise perverted by scientistic Enlightenment accounts of human beings. As thinkers who were not especially committed to the Christian religion, their reflections were intended not to "bring religion into politics," as such reflections are often accused of, but to provide an account of politics that both is robust and allows human longings to flourish and to be expressed constructively. In this sense, they looked to this religious figure to help them articulate a moderate, yet elevated, politics.

This study examines how Augustine affirmed political life as a positive good. Chapter I demonstrates that Augustine's apparent anti-political rhetoric is not as extreme as it is usually taken to be. Behind Augustine's rhetoric lies his substantial agreement with his Roman philosophical interlocutors on virtue and politics. His anti-political rhetoric is meant to tame the lust for domination of Roman patriots by showing that lust can never be satisfied by political goods. By opposing extreme "worldliness" with extreme "otherworldliness;" Augustine appears to reject politics as a natural good. The rest of the book attempts to show that this is not the case, and that Augustine affirms politics as a natural good.

The second and third chapters demonstrate Augustine's affirmation that politics is a natural good. It will be shown that he recognized political life as the mode by which human beings satisfy their longings for a kind of wholeness, that political society serves as a kind of microcosm of the way its citizens perceive reality. The cosmion or political city constitutes a conceptual space between Augustine's well-known categories of the city of God and the earthly city. Neither the city of God, which is governed by the love of God, nor the earthly city motivated by the lust for domination, the political city is the best practical regime as understood and governed by natural reason. Like the Church, the political city experiences what Augustine refers to as the intermingling of the cities of God and of man. That is, it experiences both the best and the most vicious passions of human beings, and serves a different purpose from that of the Church. Chapter 2 also demonstrates that Augustine considered the basis and origins of political authority as natural. It shows that political life exists even in Eden, which indicates that its origins are separate from the origin of sin. Chapter 3 examines Augustine's statement that better passions make for a better regime. It shows how his reformulation of Cicero's definition of a republic remains consistent with the original in maintaining that politics plays a role in securing the good life. The chapter concludes by examining Augustine's understanding of the hierarchy of different regimes and their loves, such as the loves of virtue, honor, wealth, and freedom, and the love of domination that rules the tyrant.

Chapter 4 shows how Augustine's understanding of political ethics emphasizes practical wisdom and judgment in right-by-nature, and virtue as ordinate loving (ordo amoris), rather than either natural law or grace. It examines three cases of moral reasoning in extreme circumstances (lying, adultery, and tyrannicide and rebellion) and shows that Augustine adopts a right-by-nature style of practical reasoning in each case. In extreme circumstances, according to Augustine, the purpose of what appears as a universal rule or commandment can be better fulfilled by breaking the prohibition. The chapter shows how his emphasis on practical wisdom preserves the moral life while maintaining the flexibility necessary for a robust political life and avoiding the pitfalls of a Machiavellian ends-justify-the-means political calculus.

Chapter 5 takes a closer look at Augustine's understanding of the love of glory the preeminent political love. Contrary to the way he is usually understood, the chapter shows how he affirms the ordinate love of glory, which he sees as a necessary means of forming civic virtue and community.

The final two chapters show how Augustine relates religion to politics. Chapter G demonstrates that, for Augustine, the love of God is a virtue and is not reducible to adherence to a code. This suggests that non-Christians are capable of worship in a manner equivalent to Christians and can cultivate equivalent political virtues. Chapter 7 examines his justification of the coercion of heretics, because this is usually taken as the place where his virtue teaching collapses and where he appears to rely on law-abidingness to preserve order. It shows instead that Augustine's justification of coercion must attend to the particular circumstance and that he justifies the coercion for those whose beliefs manifest themselves in violence (as did those of the Donatists).

This rereading of Augustine's political thought shows how his affirmation of politics as the way for humans to fulfill their longings for a kind of wholeness discloses a deeper affirmation of a more meaningful, pluralistic, and robust political life than his interpreters have hitherto appreciated.

This study examines Augustine's political thought and asks the types of questions about human beings and political order that events in the twentieth century forced scholars of political philosophy to ask with added urgency. This approach is slightly unusual because most people who study his thought tend to be classicists, historians, and theologians; the interest of Augustine to their fields is obvious. Studying Augustine's political thought is challenging because one cannot examine it as a topic separate from his theology. This is especially true since he never actually wrote separate political treatises. For him, God, man, world, and society form an intimate community of being, so it is simply impossible to speak of politics as an autonomous entity outside of God's providence. This intimate relationship necessitates not an anti-political attitude that has often been ascribed to him, but quite the reverse. The community of being necessitates a view of politics as natural because politics entails building a little world for human beings within that community, in which political society is, in the words of John Milbank, "nothing but a sequence of mediations between individuals, households, and cities," and that such a "finite series," embedded as it is within the community of being, "continues indefinitely towards an infinite and unfathomable God. Thus, to view all of politics essentially as propter peccatum and as alienated from this community of being, as exemplified by the sins of the Romans that Augustine gleefully recounts, would entail the removal of an essential partner in that community, which contradicts Augustine's view of reality. This study focuses on political life as a partner of that community by treating political topics as interconnected with his explications of theological topics, but it does so without entering into elaborate discussion of theological points. As such, this study takes a position similar to that which Peter Brown, his modem biographer, found himself, "led along the side of a mountain-face: I found myself, for instance, above the plains of Augustine's routine duties as a bishop, and far below the heights of his speculations on the Trinity."  This study focuses on the mountain face of Augustine's thought, in between concern over the day-to-day situations of contemporary political life and the highest points of theological speculation, which, while ever present in lived experience, recede indefinitely "towards an infinite and unfathomable God." Or, to repeat the point made in the Preface, this study considers the results of his meditations without providing the details of those meditations.

The study concentrates on the City of God but draws from other works as well. This focus is somewhat unorthodox because it runs the risk of overlooking the ways that Augustine changed his mind from one period of his career to the next. For instance, he is generally seen to change his mind regarding the naturalness of politics between his so-called Neoplatonic period before 400 and later in his career, when he wrote the last twelve books of the City of God. Although his affirmation of politics appears diminished in the City of God, I attempt to show that his later views are consistent with the earlier ones. Also, the anti-Pelagian polemics that he wrote late in his life, and from which he gained his reputation as the dour "doctor of grace," are referred to sparingly. Some have argued that this period reflects his growing pessimism and that he rules out any basis for seeing political rule as natural. He is called the "doctor of grace" because he argues virtue exists only by grace and not by nature. Space constraints prevent incorporating these writings into the work. Attempting to do so would overburden the study with the task of distinguishing Augustine's rhetoric in these works from his theological position, which is problematic because these arguments are in the form of polemics and letters to his Pelagian interlocutors. They believed that human nature could secure complete human happiness; Augustine objected by arguing that the will cannot heal itself and by emphasizing human beings' radical dependence on God's grace. Therefore, I shall speak of Augustine's position as the one he held until he completed the City of God around 426. However, it should be noted that in the anti-Pelagian writings he distinguishes redemptive or subsequent grace from preceding grace, which one might also symbolize as "nature.

Saint Augustine is one of the foremost philosopher-theologians of early western Christianity and, while serving (396-430) as bishop of Hippo Regius, the leading figure in the church of North Africa. He had a profound influence on the subsequent development of Western thought and culture and, more than any other person, has shaped the themes and defined the problems that have characterized the Western tradition of Christian theology.

Augustine by Mary T. Clark (Outstanding Christian Thinkers: Continuum) Introduces general readers and students to the main teachings of Augustine of Hippo in the context of the intellectual and religious milieu of third-century Roman Africa. Emphasizes his enormous influence on Christians during the ages that followed him and the relevance of his ideas today. Clark has a thorough grasp and keen appreciation for this period and for this thinker and man, so this little book is likely to become the preferred introduction to the life and theology of the saint.

Augustine’s career as priest and bishop was to be dominated by controversy and debate. Especially important were his struggles with the Donatists and with Pelagianism. The Donatists promoted a Christian separatist movement, maintaining that only they were the true church and that, as a result, only their sacraments were valid. Augustine's counterattack emphasized unity, not division, as the mark of true Christianity and insisted that the validity of the sacraments depended on Christ himself, not on any human group or institution. Pelagianism, an early 5th-century Christian reform movement, held that no person could be excused from meeting the full demand of God's law. In doing so, it stressed the freedom of the human will and its ability to control motives and regulate behavior. In contrast, Augustine argued that because of original sin no one can entirely govern his own motivation and that only the help of God's grace makes it possible for persons to will and to do good. In both of these controversies, Augustine opposed forces that set some Christians apart from others on grounds either of religious exclusivism or of moral worth.

Augustine must be reckoned as one of the chief architects of the unified western Christianity that survived the barbarian invasions of the 5th century and emerged as the religion of medieval Europe. He succeeded in bringing together the philosophic Christianity of his youth and the popular Christianity of his congregation in Hippo. In doing so, he created a theology that has remained basic to Western Christianity, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, ever since.

It was through Augustine’s voluminous writings that his wide influence was exerted as a revolutionary force in the Church and the world. They helped sustain an epoch in the history of the Church that determined the course of its history in the West up to the present day. THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE: A translation for the 21st Century, sponsored by the Augustinian Heritage Institute in amny ways helps us to understand this important phase of Christianity in many aspects, social, essclastical, doctrinal, and spiritual. The WORKS is in three parts. Part I: Books includes the vast corpus of Augustine’s published works, his world renouned CONFESSIONS, his contoversal works where he attempts to clarify the bedrock of Christian doctrine. In Part II: Letters, we will be given a chance to see the actvist bishop attempting to respond to the daily problems of the Church in North Africa but also looking farther afield. Part III: Sermons is the most completed part to date. It is also reviewed below.

Augustine was already an author when he became a Christian, having published (about 380) an esthetical study (now lost), on De pulchro et apto. What remains of his amazing literary poductivity began with his conversion. His first Christian writings were a series of religio-philosophical treatises, in which he sought to lay the foundations of a specifically Christian philosophy. These were followed by a great number of controversial works against the Manichaeans, Donatists, Peliagians, interspersed with Biblical expositions and dogmatic and ethical studies. The work was crowned by four or five great books in which his genius finds perhaps its fullest expression. These are his his semiautobiographical CONFESSIONS (397-400), in which he gives an analysis of his religious experience that contains elements of mysticism and creates a new genre in literary form; the THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE (397-426), in which the principles of his Biblical exposition are expounded; THE ENCHIRIDION on Faith, Hope, and Charity (421), which contains his most serious attempt to systematize his thought; the THE TRINITY (395-420), in which its final formulation was given to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity ; and the THE CITY OF GOD (413-426), in which are laid the foundations of a rational philosophy of history.

He seems to have been himself aware of the significance of the writings into which he had so unstintedly poured himself, and he devoted some of his last years to a careful survey and revision of them in his unique RETRACTIONS (426-428), in which he seeks to compact them into an ultimate whole. The influence these writing have exerted from the beginning is shown by the way they have been foundational to the western Church as a leaven that has ever since wrought powerfully towards leavening the whole mass of Christian doctrine, practice and belief.

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

sponsored by the Augustinian Heritage Institute

In three parts. Part I: Books; Part II: Letters; Part III: Sermons

The reviews of this series is a work in progress. Check back now and then for analyses of individual volumes.

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part I: BOOKS

1 THE CONFESSIONS

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

introduction translation and notes by Maria Boulding, O.S. B.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

416 pages, notes, index of scripture, index

$29.95, cloth, 1-56548-083-X

$19.95, paper, 1-56548-084-8

Series: 1-56548-055-4

With complete and authoritative notes by the translator, this intensely personal narrative tells of St. Augustine's rise from a humble Algerian farm to the edge of the corridors of power at the imperial court in Milan. The lucid, modern language of this new translation makes this classic of Western literature accessible to today's audience.

This book may not seem very ground-breaking to modern readers who have grown up within a western culture influenced by these ideas, however it is one of the foundational works of western thought. Whether or not you agree with Augustine's conclusions and ideals, no argument can be made about early western thought without confronting the influence and presence of this work. If read on an allegorical as well as a surface level, his original combination of christian symbolism and classical philosophy is clearly that of a genius. This melding of ideas began with earlier scholars, but was completely realized in this work. By all means give this work a chance, and be patient through what seems like difficult prose to the modern reader. The effort is well worth it as one can begin to see deeply into the hidden foundations of western religious thought.

For more editions and translations of the CONFESSIONS.

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part I: BOOKS

5 THE TRINITY

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

introduction, translation and notes by Edmund Hill, O.P.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

472 pages, notes, index of scripture, index

$39.00, cloth, 0-911782-89-3

$24.95, paper, 0-911782-96-6

Series: 1-56548-055-4

(NOT YET REVIEWED)

Edmund Hill presents a fresh translation of Saint Augustine's masterpiece This translation offers an opportunity to observe in action one of the foremost ancient students of the Bible using both Testaments to reflect on the doctrine of the Trinity. Philosophy and theology always with a close reliance on the Bible and a rootedness in God blend into a single enterprise that to this day is one of the greatest expositions of this distinctive Chriastian doctrine.

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE: A translation for the 21st Century

Part I: BOOKS

9 MARRIAGE AND VIRGINITY: The Excellence of Marriage; Holy Virginity; The Excellence of Widowhood; Adulterous Marriages; Continence

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, translation by Ray Kearney, edited with introductions and notes by David G. Hunter, editor, John E. Rotelle, O.S.A. ($35.00, cloth, 251 pages, notes, index of scripture, index, New City Press,  ISBN: 1565481046)

This volume contains treatises that range in date from 401 to 418-420. As is usual in this series, there is a general introduction, and then each of the works has its own introduction and notes. In the back is an index to scripture for each work, as well as individual indices.

The general introduction in the present volume treats of Augustine's developing views on marriage and sexuality, dividing his thought into three periods: the early writings up to the Confessions (384 - 400), the writings occasioned by the Jovinianist controversy (400 - 410), and the writings concerned with the Pelagian controversy (410 - 430).

There are a number of topics that Augustine is adamant on. One of these is lying. Another is the idea that marriage is for the sake of procreation. But as a reading of these treatises makes clear, to say simply that is to make Augustine seem shallow, whereas there are a number of nuances that color his discussion. Augustine did not forbid the marriage of those beyond the years of procreation, but saw that the desire for companionship in old age could produce a true marriage.

In The Excellence of Marriage, while Augustine emphasizes procreation, he lists two other goods also: mutual fidelity (fides), and the sacramental bond (sacramentum) which was a prophetic aspect of marriage. Far from being the male chauvinist that he is often portrayed as, Augustine was fully aware of the needs of both partners in the marriage. Thus, while abstractly he would consider celibacy to be a higher calling, once a marriage has taken place, he says that neither partner should refrain from sexual relations without the consent of the other

After writing on marriage, Augustine wrote on virginity. With his usual emphasis on the importance of proper attitude, Augustine regards a chaste and humble wedded person to be much superior to a proud virgin. In fact, the entire second part of Holy Virginity, written about 410, is a warning about the dangers of pride.

In the treatise On Adulterous Marriages, addressed to one Pollentius, who had written to him, troubled by Augustine's limiting of divorce to the case of adultery, Augustine reminds men that they must observe the same standards of chastity to which they hold the women. And at the end of the first book, in treating of the baptism of adulterers who are in danger of death, Augustine argues for giving them the benefit of the doubt, and baptizing them despite their adulterous relationship.

The other two works included, The Excellence of Widowhood and Continence, are brief treatises that show Augustine at his best in counseling those who are seeking to live good Christian lives. They show Augustine the pastor at work, admonishing and encouraging those under his care. In Continence, one sees Augustine's ever-present emphasis on intention, which must always be taken into account when judging someone's actions.

Except for one or two works, Augustine's works are polemical, that is, they are addressed to particular audiences in response to particular situations. And so they must be read with the context in mind. Augustine's thought on sexuality, marriage and celibacy developed as a result of these controversies. Reading the works collated in this volume give the reader an insight into how Augustine's mind worked, and how his thought developed, especially with regard to these topics concerning which he is so often misinterpreted.

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part I: BOOKS

11 TEACHING CHRISTIANITY (De Doctrina Christiana)

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

introduction translation and notes by Edmund Hill, O.P.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

259 pages, notes, index of scripture, index

$29.95, cloth, 1-56548-048-1

$16.95, paper, 1-56548-049-X

Series: 1-56548-055-4

The most original book Augustine ever wrote is not so much a treatise or scholarly work but an instruction manual on how to teach Christianity. He wrote this how to book for those who would be preaching and explaining Christianity. It is entirely based on the Bible and helps the reader express its truths of faith with soundproof methodology so that they can communicate their message in a clear and effective way. St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) was possibly the greatest Christian writer ever a Master of Rhetoric who was educated under the influence of Neoplatonism and Christianity. With over 113 books 200 letters and 500 sermons he has left a lasting impact on Western philosophy and culture. His most well-known works are still best-selling titles today.

Edmund Hill's new translation of Augustine's treatise is superb. Augustine's early and mature thought on how to understand scripture and how to communicate that understanding to others is set forth clearly and attractively. the translator has shown great discernment in his choice of words and in their placement. This makes for a smooth reading.

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part I: BOOKS

18 ARIANISM AND OTHER HERESIES:

Heresies, Memorandum to Augustine, To Orosius in Refutation of the Priscillianists and Origenists, Arian Sermon, Answer to an Arian Sermon, Debate with Maximinus, Answer to Maximinus, Answer to an Enemy of the Law and the Prophets

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

introduction, translation and notes by Roland J. Teske, S.J.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

486 pages, notes, index of scripture, index

$39.00, cloth, 1-56548-038-4

Series: 1-56548-055-4

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part I: BOOKS

23: ANSWER TO THE PELAGIANS

introduction, translation and notes by Roland J. Teske, S.J.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

pages, notes, index of scripture, index

$39.99, cloth, 1-56548-092-9

Series: 1-56548-055-4

(NOT YET REVIEWED)

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE: A translation for the 21st Century
Part I: BOOKS
25 ANSWER TO THE PELAGIANS III: Unfinished Work in Answer to Julian
by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Introduction, translation and noted by Roland J. Teske, S.J., editor, John E. Rotelle, O.S.A. ($69.00, cloth, 773 pages, notes, index of scripture, index, New City Press, ISBN: 1-56548-129-1)

The Julian of the title is Julian of Eclanum, fifth century bishop and a disciple of Pelagius, the British monk who championed the idea of a radically free will, one which had no need of grace in order to do good. Augustine had responded before to Julian, in his Answer to the Two Letters of the Pelagians and his Marriage and Desire, and in this work Augustine responds once again, this time to Julian's To Florus, addressed to a Pelagian Bishop. In that work, Julian had defended the Pelagian theology, and attacked that of Augustine. In the Unfinished Work against Julian, begun in 427 and left unfinished at Augustine's death in 430, Augustine offers a paragraph by paragraph reply. The text alternates quotations from Julian's work with Augustine's commentary thereon. It is one of Augustine's largest works and has not previously been translated into English. Reading it, it is easy to understand why.

Augustine is not at his best here. He often comes across as a tired, cranky old man. Even the most dedicated of Augustinians would find it hard to slog though this interminable work. Much of the time Julian and Augustine are two old men sniping at each other, with Julian accusing Augustine of being a Manichee, and Augustine reminding Julian that his teacher, Pelagius, had already been condemned by the church. The number of names by which they ridicule each other, and the invectives they toss around, do not show either one in the best light.

But this is not to say that there is nothing worthwhile in the work. Because Augustine quotes Julian's work before replying, it offers the most extensive exposition of the Pelagian doctrine from a Pelagian's point of view. At the same time it offers a detailed exposition of Augustine's view of the effects of the Fall, a view he is forced to refine because of the nature of this work. One of the most interesting controversies is that concerning unbaptized babies. Julian argues that the doctrine of original sin makes marriage the work of the devil and brings into disrepute human nature itself. Augustine continues his traditional defense of marriage, and reiterates his position, seen especially in book fourteen of the City of God, that had Adam and Eve not sinned, the flesh, and hence sexual desire, would have been subject to the will.

One of the main controversies concerns how original sin is passed on. Augustine claims it is by generation, Julian that it is by imitation. They each offer their own interpretations of Paul's Epistle to the Romans and of Genesis. Julian argues that a just God could not punish individuals for a sin they did not commit., as is the case with original sin. Augustine upholds the traditional teaching about the gravity of the sin of Adam and Eve, and its dire effects on the human race, and argues on behalf of the grace of God. Questions of grace and free will come up, and are debated, with appeals to Scripture and the nature of God. And the question of evil is treated at length.

Unlike the other volumes that Teske has translated for this series, this one does not contain a detailed summary. The table of contents, however, offers a detailed list of topics. And in the general introduction Teske offers an exposition of the key topics. At the back of the book is the usual index of Scripture citations and a general index.

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part III: SERMONS

1 (1-19) ON THE OLD TESTAMENT

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

introduction by Cardinal Michele Pellegrino

translation, and notes by Edmund Hill, O.P.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

$39.00, cloth, 399 pages, notes, bibliography, index of scripture, index

Series: 1-56548-055-4

0-911782-75-3

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part III: SERMONS

2 (20-50) ON THE OLD TESTAMENT

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

translation and notes by Edmund Hill, O.P.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

$39.00, cloth, 383 pages, notes, index of scripture, index

Series: 1-56548-055-4

0-9117782-78-8

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part III: SERMONS

3 (50-94) ON THE NEW TESTAMENT

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

translation and notes by Edmund Hill, O.P.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

$39.00, cloth, 520 pages, notes, index of scripture, index

Series: 1-56548-055-4

0-9117782-85-0

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part III: SERMONS

4 (92A-147A) ON THE NEW TESTAMENT

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

translation and notes by Edmund Hill, O.P.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

$39.00, cloth, 488 pages, notes, index of scripture, index

Series: 1-56548-055-4

1-56548-000-7

AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part III: SERMONS

15 EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 1-32 by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo; Introduction by Michael Fiedrowicz. Translation and notes by Maria Boulding, O.S.B.; editor, John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.; (462 pages, notes, index of scripture, index New City Press) PAPERBACK  

Expositions of the Psalms, 51-72 by St. Augustine, edited by John Rotelle, translated by Maria Boulding (New City Press) Maria Boulding's translation of the Confessions has been justly praised for its balance of literary style, non-sexist language, and clarity of expression. She now has turned her efforts to the translation of the Ennarationes in Psalmos, a collection of preached sermons and written commentary on all one-hundred fifty psalms. This first volume includes commentaries on the first thirty-two psalms, with two expositions of six psalms, three of Psalm 32, and four of Psalm 30.

These expositions show Augustine at prayer, albeit public prayer in front of a congregation, and addressing a mixed audience, i.e. one composed of more learned and less learned hearers, a distinction he sometimes make reference to as determining the nature of his discourse on a particular day. And thus they show Augustine to be the great preacher and teacher he is. Some of the expositions show Augustine thinking aloud, as when he considers verse six of the first psalm, "I rested and fell asleep," which he variously interprets. He notes that different translations interpret the original Greek differently, and he offers his own thoughts on possible interpretations.

 For one not used to patristic interpretation of scripture, Augustine's commentary can be jarring, since he does not just deal with the text on the level of literal interpretation, but he also includes what have come to be known, since the middle ages, as the analogical and anagogical interpretations, i.e. interpretations of what the psalm means in terms of Christianity and what it says to us about moral behavior, all part of Augustine's sensus plenior.

 Some of his well-known themes appear, also, and the commentary offers another light on them. In the exposition of Psalm 5, Augustine treats of lying, commenting on the verse, "You hate all those who work iniquity." He gives a  brief summary of the discussion on lying and concealing the truth that are found in more expansive forms in his treatises on that subject. The footnotes often are helpful in noting echoes of other works, although here, strangely, there is no reference to his other discussions of lying. He also offers a reflection on God as father and mother in Exposition 2 of Psalm 26, a discussion that might be surprising to some readers.

Overall, the Expositions of the Psalms offers what amounts to a mini-course in Augustinian theology, since all of his keys themes are treated in an abbreviated manner at some point in the exposition. And Augustine offers his advice to the people on praying the psalms in his fourth exposition of Psalm 30: "If the psalm is praying, pray yourselves; if it is groaning, you groan too; if it is happy, rejoice; if it is crying out in hope, you hope as well; if it expresses fear, be afraid." 

Michael Fiedrowicz's introduction offers a good exposition on how to read this work, placing it in historical and literary context, with an especially good explanation of Augustine's method of interpretation.  At the back of the book is an index of Scripture citations and a general index.

Expositions of the Psalms, 51-72 by St. Augustine, edited by John Rotelle, translated by Maria Boulding (New City Press)

This new translation of Augustine's magnificent Expositions of the Psalms well wrought in making accessible one of. Augustine's least known major works in a style that is graceful and becoming to Augustine's expression of his own spirituality and fulsome theological insights.

 

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part III: SERMONS

5 (148-183) ON THE NEW TESTAMENT

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

translation and notes by Edmund Hill, O.P.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

$39.00, cloth, pages, notes, index of scripture, index

Series: 1-56548-055-4

1-56548-007-4

(NOT YET REVIEWED)

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part III: SERMONS

6 (184-229Z) ON THE LITURGICAL SEASONS

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

translation and notes by Edmund Hill, O.P.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

$39.00, cloth, 376 pages, notes, bibliography, index of scripture, index

Series: 1-56548-055-4

1-56548-050-3

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part III: SERMONS

7 (230-272B) ON THE LITURGICAL SEASONS

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

translation and notes by Edmund Hill, O.P.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

$39.00, cloth, 000 pages, notes, index of scripture, index

Series: 1-56548-055-4

1-56548-059-7

(NOT YET REVIEWED)

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part III: SERMONS

8 (273-305a ) ON THE SAINTS

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

translation and notes by Edmund Hill, O.P.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

$39.00, cloth, 368 pages, notes, index of scripture, index

Series: 1-56548-055-4

1-56548-060-0

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part III: SERMONS

9 (306-340a) ON THE SAINTS

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

translation and notes by Edmund Hill, O.P.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

$39.00, cloth, 340 pages, notes, index of scripture, index

Series: 1-56548-055-4

1-56548-068-6

THE WORKS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE:

A translation for the 21st Century

Part III: SERMONS

10 (341-400)

by Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

translation and notes by Edmund Hill, O.P.

edited by John E. Rotelle, O.S.A.

New City Press

$39.00, cloth, 000 pages, notes, index of scripture, index

Series: 1-56548-055-4

1-56548-028-7

(NOT YET REVIEWED)

LOVE AND SAINT AUGUSTINE

by Hannah Arendt

edited by Joanna Vecchiarelli Scott and Judith Stark

University of Chicago Press

$22.50, hardcover

0-226-02596-9

AUGUSTINE AND THE LIMITS OF POLITICS

by Jean Bethke Elshtain

University of Notre Dame press

$21.95, hardcover; 143 pages

0-268-00645-8

What is our business "within this common mortal life?" Augustine asks and bids us to ask ourselves. What can Augustine possibly have to say about the conditions that characterize our contemporary society and appear to put democracy in crisis? Who is Augustine for us now and what do his words have to do with political theory? These are the underlying questions that animate Jean Bethke Elshtain's fascinating engagement with the thought and work of Augustine, the ancient thinker who gave no political theory per se and refused to offer up a positive utopia. In exploring the questions, Why Augustine? Why now? Elshtain brings Augustine's thought into the contemporary political arena and presents an Augustine who created a complex moral map that offers space for loyalty, love, and care, as well as a chastened form of civic virtue. The result is a controversial book about one of the world's greatest and more complex thinkers, one whose thought continues to haunt all of Western political philosophy.

Contents:
Preface: A Village of the Mind
1. Why Augustine? Why Now?
2. The Earthly City and Its Discontents
3. Against the Pridefulness of Philosophy
4. Augustine's Evil; Arendt's Eichmann
5. "Our business within this common mortal life": Augustine and a Politics of Limits
Epilogue: Loving Crazy Horse and Augustine
Notes
Bibliographical Note
Index

AUGUSTINE

Ancient Thought Baptized

by John M. Rist

Cambridge University Press

notes, index of modern authors, general index

$19.95, paper 0-521-58952-5

$49.95, hardcover, 0-521-46084-0

This major study by one of the foremost interpreters of late antique thought is a significant attempt to provide a detailed and accurate account of the character and effects of Augustine’s thought as a whole. It describes the transformation of Greco-Roman philosophy into the version that was to become the most influential in the history of Western thought. Augustine weighed some of the major themes of classical philosophy and ancient culture against the truth he found in the Bible and Catholic tradition, and reformulated these in Christian dress. The Rist identifies the fundamental themes in Augustine’s theology and philosophy (such as belief and knowledge; soul, body and the person; love and the will; marriage and sexuality in a fallen world; the virtues; the nature of moral acts; and God’s providence, predestination and omnipotence), and puts a fresh perspective on Augustine’s chief concerns, so that those concerns may speak to us more intelligibly. This work is likely to become the best starting point to grasp the entirety of Augustine’s world view.

AUGUSTINE’S CRITIQUE OF SKEPTICISM

A Study of Contra Academicos

by Augustine J. Curley

Peter Lang Publishing

$44.95, hardcover, 167 pages, bibliography, index

0-8204-2379-3

Augustine of Hippo (354 430) composed his Contra Academicos while preparing for baptism he would receive from Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, in 387. In it he critiques the arguments of the Academic philosophers, who taught that nothing could be known. This study argues that Augustine’s critique is based not so much on the epistemological aspects of skepticism, which has been the view of most modern studies of the dialogue, but rather on the effect that skepticism can have on society. Modern interpreters emphasize the theory of knowledge, and concentrate on Augustine’s philosophical arguments against skepticism. This concern is with the ‘epistemological’ question is really a modern question. The concern with it obscures the real meaning of the dialogue, and treats Augustine as a modern thinker and writer. Augustine’s writings are almost all the work of a controversialist. They grow from arguments with his earlier self and with views current among his contemporaries, both within North Africa and throughout the wider world of the late Roman Empire. They have a setting; they depend on assumptions known but not always explained by the parties involved, and these assumptions may be either religious or secular. They may be philosophical, about the nature of knowledge, or historical, about the world-historical role of Rome or of the patriarchs and people of Israel.

There are the elements that can easily be overlooked in the dialogue if one is merely searching the dialogue for a strict syllogistic presentation of the argument. They are elements of action rather than just strict argument, as was present in the work of Leo Strauss in his studies of the Platonic dialogues.

A close examination of the action of the Contra Academicos shows certain dramatic elements that could easily be overlooked. Often there is a mention that one interlocutor or another remains silent for a time. This usually, if not always, indicates that a position that had been accepted by the interlocutors will be abandoned. The basic argument of Contra Academicos according to Curley is that, in and of itself, skepticism is to a great extent valid. There are in fact many things we cannot know with certainty. Yet, at the same time, Augustine recognizes that political life is impossible without choices that result in action. He is on the brink of accepting baptism, and is seeking not so much justification, but rather a degree of comfort in making his decision to accept baptism.

In the first book, Licentius and Trygetius are shown trying to come to a conclusion concerning whether, on the one hand, we can be happy in the mere search for wisdom, or whether, on the other, we need to possess wisdom in order to find happiness. At the end of the book, no conclusion has been reached, and the interlocutors—and the reader—are frustrated. The second and third books—the unity of which is demonstrated by the fact that book two begins with an introductory epistle, while book three does not—proceed through an examination of the Academic philosophy, with the purpose of freeing Augustine, and any who would follow, from the restraints that an adherence to Academic philosophy puts on action, and allowing him to receive baptism at the hands of Ambrose.

Curley’s consideration of the nature of esoteric texts is useful. Augustine himself raises the issue with regard to Cicero. If Augustine points out Cicero’s careful method of writing, whereby his full teaching can only be understood by a close reading of the work, and by paying particular attention to the choice of words, it would not be unseemly to read Augustine in the same way.

AUGUSTINE THE READER

Meditation, Self-Knowledge, and the Ethics of Interpretation

by Brian Stock

Harvard University Press

$44.50, cloth; 463 pages, notes, bibliography, index

0-674-05276-5

Stock provides a sustained study of Augustine’s theory of the text and meaning that is applied systematically to the study of Augustine’s own texts. By so doing we are treated to a new version of how to understand Augustine and his Christian project. Though none of his works are devoted solely to a theory of meaning, Augustine the topic is constantly touched upon in many of his writings. Stock approaches Augustine’s theory through an examination of what Augustine read, through his methods of teaching reflected in his own works for students and through subjects like authority, reason, silence and the nature of signs to which he gave special attention. We are given a unique and provocative interpretation of the Saint in Stock’s work, one that will generate much discussion and may even significantly reshape the future of Augustinian studies.

OTHER RECOMMENDED STUDIES:

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO (1967) by Peter Brown (University of California Press)

AMOR DEI: A Study of the Religion of St. Augustine (1938; repr. 1960) by Peter John Burnaby

AUGUSTINE (1986) by Henry Chadwick ( Oxford University Press)

THE MYSTERY OF CONTINUITY: Time and History, Memory and Eternity in the Thought of St. Augustine (1986) by Jaroslav Pelikan (University of Virginia Press)

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Last modified: January 24, 2016

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