Book 59

St. Augustine (354-430), greatest of the Church Fathers, continues to exercise a unique and profound influence upon the intellectual history of the West after more than fifteen hundred years. Pioneer in the theology of Grace and in a psychological understanding of the Trinity, his impact upon subsequent theological speculation, Protestant as well as Catholic, has been unrivaled. The timeless and timely character of his teaching is perhaps nowhere more apparent than in the documents of the Second Vatican Council where the African Bishop is cited more frequently than any other Father or Doctor of the Church. "Founder of Christian philosophy", his principles and method have largely inspired the rise of such diversified currents of contemporary thought as existentialism, philosophic spiritualism, and personalism. The three works included in the present volume range over a period of some forty years, from Augustine's days as a neo-convert and priest to the closing years of his life as Bishop, and offer representative examples of his rich and versatile genius as Christian pedagogue, philosopher, and theologian.

Confessions

by Augustine

Published 29 December 1998
"Williams's masterful translation satisfies (at last!) a long-standing need. There are lots of good translations of Augustine's great work, but until now we have been forced to choose between those that strive to replicate in English something of the majesty and beauty of Augustine's Latin style and those that opt instead to convey the careful precision of his philosophical terminology and argumentation. Finally, Williams has succeeded in capturing both sides of Augustine's mind in a richly evocative, impeccably reliable, elegantly readable presentation of one of the most impressive achievements in Western thought—Augustine's Confessions." —Scott MacDonald, Professor of Philosophy and Norma K. Regan Professor in Christian Studies, Cornell University

Of the 124 tractates that St. Augustine delivered to his congregation at Hippo Regius, the first fifty-four form a distinct group. They differ in length and character from the remaining tractates, contain many chronological references, and consist of bitter attacks on the Donatists and other heresies. The remaining tractates (55-124) are brief and contain no chronological references to prior tractates. Scholars maintain that the latter were dictated for later reading to the people rather than extemporaneously delivered.

This volume contains tractates 11-27. In 11-16 Augustine continues the attack, begun in tractates 1-10, on the heresies of Manichaeism, Donatism, and Pelagianism. Beginning with the seventeenth tractate, however, he focuses greater attention on Arianism, a Trinitarian heresy whose major tenet was that divine being was uncreated, unbegotten, and unique and that Christ was not true God but a creature who had a beginning. Augustine also attacks lesser Christological heresies: the Apollinarists, who assert that Christ did not assume the complete human nature but only the body, and Photinus of Sirmium, who held that Christ did not except for his miraculous birth and acquired a plenitude of grace through moral perfection.

In these tractates Augustine combines scriptural exegesis, the refutation of false teachings, and theological reflections with the spiritual and moral instruction of his congregation. "Look for separation in the Father and Son, you do not find it; even if you have soared high, then you do not find it; if you have touched something beyond your intellect, then you do not find it. For if you busy yourself in these things which the erring mind makes for itself, you speak with your own images, not with the Word of God; your images deceive you. Transcend the body and savor the mind. Transcend the mind also and savor God."


The City of God, Books XVII-XXII

by Augustine

Published 26 August 2008
This volume contains the translation of the six concluding books of The City of God. Book 17 briefly reviews significant events in the history of the chosen people down to the birth of Christ and calls attention to the prophecies that are fulfilled in Christ In summarizing the contents of the first 17 books Augustine shows in book 18 that there is a unifying theme running through the voluminous work: a comparison in the origin, development and progress of the earthly city and the city of God. A synchronizing of events in Jewish history with those in secular history brings this book to a close. Book 19 begins with a discussion of philosophical questions, e.g., the definition of the supreme good and the conditions for a just war, and concludes with an explanation of the differences between the earthly city and God's city and refutation of Porphyry's attacks on Christianity. Augustine himself says that he plans to discuss in book 20 the day of final judgment and to defend its reality against those who deliberately disbelieve in it. This purpose involves a consideration of Antichrist, the coming of Elias before the great and dreadful day of the Lord, the millennium mentioned in the book of Revelations, the new heaven and the new earth. The second last book discusses in some detail the kind of punishment that the Devil and those belonging to the earthly city are to endure. Reflections on hell, the nature of eternal torments and the unquenchable fire where the worm does not die bring this book to a close. The last book, book 22, treats the eternal blessedness of the city of God

This volume contains translations of four of Augustine's earliest works: De beata vita, Contra Academicos, De ordine, and Soliloquia. His embrace of Platonic certitude regarding the primacy of the unseen world of perfection and eternal truth is at the forefront of these philosophical works, which were composed in the genre of the dialogue. Writing at Cassiciacum in the year 386, the young Augustine grapples with questions of epistemology, theodicy, morality, and the soul's quest for God.

The City of God, Books I-VII

by Augustine

Published 26 August 2008
Written during the time when the Roman Empire was crumbling, Augustine's De civitate Dei tackles the questions raised by the decline of the political and social order. Here, in Books One through Seven (of the total of twenty-two books in this monumental work), Augustine examines the history of the Roman Republic and Empire. Though based on a false religion and a lust for domination, the rise of Rome was nevertheless ordained by God's providence.

The City of God, Books VIII-XVI

by Augustine

Published 26 August 2008
This volume continues the translation of St. Augustine's monumental work The City of God, a product of his vast erudition. Three books in particular, viz. 8, 9, and 10, reveal Augustine's grasp of the tenets of the Platonists, Peripatetics and Cynics. The greater part of this continuation, however, is concerned with Augustine's treatment of theological and scriptural topics. There is no strictly logical sequence, however, and numerous digressions intervene. In the course of books 11 and 16, he finds occasion to discuss, among many other topics, the creation of angels and their nature, demons and evils, the age of the earth and of the human race, death and dying, and the purpose of marriage. From the discussion of such topics, he passes easily to comments on the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible, the accuracy of the Septuagint and Latin translations, the discrepancies among various texts. As a product of his times, Augustine shares the opinion that Hebrew may be the oldest, and perhaps most common, language before the Tower of Babel incident recorded in Scripture. Most of Augustine's treatment of scriptural passages is concerned with allegorical interpretation. In book 14, however, the former professor of rhetoric at milan comes through again in his discussion of the semantics of the words caritas, amor, dilago, and amo

Letters, Volume 2 (83-130)

by Augustine

Published 26 August 2008
Augustine's Letters 83-130 were written between 408 and 412, during a time when North Africa was in an uproar over the necessity to resolve the Donatist schism and the imperial government's role in this process. Augustine exchanged correspondence with clergymen and laity, both Catholic and Donatist; in addition, he responded to requests for pastoral advice from ascetically minded men and women, as well as pleas for social justice.

This volume brings together writings from early and late stages of Augustine's involvement in the Pelagian controversy. On Nature and Grace and On the Proceedings of Pelagius both date from A.D. 415-16 and constitute two of Augustine's most extensive treatments of the actual words of Pelagius. On the Predestination of the Saints and On the Gift of Perseverance were probably written in A.D. 428, near the end of Augustine's life. Augustine's opponents in his writings, he admits, are not really Pelagains at all. They were monks of Provence, led by John Cassian, who were disturbed by the more extreme consequences of the theology of grace and predestination that Augustine had worked out in his controversy with the Pelagians. Since the sixteenth century, they have been labeled "semi-Pelagians."



Taken together, these writings provide an occasion to examine the continuity and development of Augustine's theology of grace. They also afford much insight into the fifth-century status of many theological questions that are alive today, such as the extent of the damage done to human nature by sin, the theology of original sin, the effects of baptism, and the true meaning and scope of God's salvific will.

These treatises include some of Augustine's most significant statements on grace. Intended for scholars and students of theology and philosophy, this edition includes three treatises translated for the first time from modern critical texts. William Collinge's trenchant introductions offer detailed accounts of the historical and critical work done over the hundred years since the last publication.


On Genesis

by Augustine and Roland J Teske

Published December 1990
No other part of the Hebrew Scriptures, aside from the Psalter and sections of the prophet Isaiah, captured the interest and aroused the attention of the early Church as did the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis. Augustine of Hippo, the early Latin Church's profoundest scholar, devoted three treatises to these chapters. The first two - On Genesis: A Refutation of the Manichees and his Unfinished Literal Commentary on Genesis - are early works. The third and longest - The Literal Meaning of Genesis - was produced at the height of Augustine's maturity and has been ranked with his Confessions, The Trinity, and The City of God. The range, depth and genius of Augustine's thought, which begin to appear in the two earlier writings, are on full display in the third. This volume brings these three works together for the first time in English and provides a valuable and comprehensive introduction to each one.

Renowned for his homiletic virtuosity, Augustine has been credited with hundreds of sermons. This collection of eighty-two sermons on the holy days and seasons of the Christian calendar includes specimens of Augustine's preaching on Christmas, New Year, Epiphany, Lent, the Easter Vigil, Easter Sunday, the Easter season, and Ascension, as well as exhortations to Christians who were newly baptized (at the Easter Vigil). His conversational tone and his penchant for images and symbolism are outstanding features of this collection.

Letters, Volume 6 (1*-29*)

by Augustine

Published 26 July 2005

Most of the works of St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) have been extant and studied for centuries by Christians throughout the world. Since this Doctor of the Western Church has long been the best known and most widely read of the Latin Fathers, it is so much more unexpected that a previously unknown work should be found. Johannes Divjak found not only a single work but in fact a whole collection of letters, which he published in a critical Latin edition in 1980.

This volume contains the first English translation of these newly discovered letters. The letters range in size from short memoranda to long treatises on various subjects. In addition, there are three other previously unknown letters: two written to Augustine by Consentius, a North African rhetorician, and one written by Saint Jerome to Aurelius of Carthage.

These letters, taken as a whole, present a vivid and fascinating view of life in North Africa at the beginning of the fifth century. In addition to the comments about ecclesiastical and episcopal affairs, there are also letters on various threats to peace and security common in this period of the late empire, on slavery and the growth of the slave trade, and on Roman involvement in African affairs, both ecclesiastical and civil.

There are letters dealing with moral questions and pastoral problems, in both marriage and the family, as well as in larger areas of doctrine and discipline in the Church. The conflict resulting from the end of the Donatist schism becomes clearer, as does the refrain of desperation stemming from an inadequate supply of clergy for parishes needing to be served. A large number of these letters illustrate the day-to-day worries of a fifth century North African bishop: clerical scandals, Church finances, people seeking sanctuary in a church (and the ensuing problems with the civil authorities), and disputed episcopal succession.

Until the time as scholars agree on a numbering system that will integrate these letters into a previously known corpus of Augustinian letters, they are numbered 1*-29*, with the asterick added to distinguish them from letters 1-29 of the traditional body of letters.


Letters, Volume 3 (131-164)

by Augustine

Published 26 August 2008
During the brief period between 412 and 414, Augustine's many theological and pastoral concerns produced an abundant correspondence (Letters 131-164) on issues ranging from the Pelagian views of grace and the soul's origin to the need for assimilating former Donatists into Catholic society with compassion and a conciliatory spirit, as well as questions of theology, social mores, and physical versus spiritual knowledge.

The Catholic and Manichaean Ways of Life is, like the Contra academicos (386) and the works of St. Augustine's later life against the Donatists and other heretics, the refutation of a redoubtable adversary whom he is determined to overthrow for the protection of his fellow Christians. Even a rapid glance at its contents is sufficient to show its character as a polemical work in which he contrasts one religious view of God, man and the world with another. In the first book, we are provided with a treatise on Christian morality, written, we must always bear in mind, by one received into the Church not two years before. It establishes that God is the Supreme Good. It shows the meaning of unions with him in charity. It explains the four cardinal virtues in terms of love, and particularly in terms of the love of God. Finally, it holds up for our admiration and emulation the Christian virtues of the religious, clergy, and laity. The way of life of the Catholic Church thus portrayed by Augustine embodies in his view a lofty ideal, but one that is livable by individuals in all states of life and in various stages of progress in virtue. The second book describes and refutes the teaching of the Manichaeans on the nature and origin of evil, their false ascetical practices, and their doctrines concerning the three symbols of the mouth, the hands, and the breast. In conclusion, Augustine denounces, on the basis of personal knowledge of first-hand reports, the scandalous conduct of the members of the Manichaean elect. Throughout this book, he is concerned, nor merely to expose the errors and excesses of the sect, including the shameful behavior and hypocrisy of certain of its leaders, but the absurdities and even depravity to which men are led by a way of life that is essentially unlivable. Whatever may be claimed for the austerities of the more sincere and ascetic members of the Manichaean sect, a religion that corrodes human nature and castigates its natural functioning as evil, cannot be good. Such is St. Augustine's ultimate judgment upon Manichaeanism, and he expresses it with eloquence and invective.

Letters, Volume 1 (1-82)

by Augustine

Published 26 August 2008
Although the eighty-two Letters in this volume do not themselves specifically state when they were written, the research of modern scholars leads to a fairly firm conclusion that they were composed over a span of approximately ten years, 386-405. On a basis of internal evidence, it seems that the first twenty letters date from a period prior to Augustine's priestly ordination. The addressees represent a fair cross section of society in the late fourth and early fifth centuries of our era. Bishops and priests, however, outnumber other contemporaries. Widely varied in subject matter, some of the letters deal with theological, polemical, exegetical and ecclesiastical topics, other offer moral and spiritual guidance, while still others discuss philosophical questions and touch on historical events. A surprising amount of information pertains to the life, customs, and abuses in the Church in northern Africa at this period. As one would suspect at this period in Augustine's life, the errors of the Pelagians and Donatists do not escape notice. In these Letters the modern reader can acquaint himself with some of the interests and thoughts of two towering figures that have influenced western civilization: St. Jerome and St. Augustine.

The translated works in this volume have been dated variously either to the beginning or to the final decade of Augustine's career as Bishop of Hippo. De agone Christiano, a treatise on the challenges of the Christian life in simple Latin for unschooled believers, was composed in the late 390s, as was more than half of the De doctrina Christiana. The latter work, which was finally completed near the end of Augustine's life, includes his views on the canon of Scripture, the proper approach to biblical exegesis, and how to preach effectively, as well as his famous distinction between "use" and "enjoyment." Later works included in this volume are the Enchiridion de fide, spe, et caritate, which is a compendium of Augustine's doctrines, and the anti-Pelagian work De correptione et gratia. The latter asserts the necessity of divine grace while affirming the benefit of firm human guidance, including rebuke, in monastic formation.

The Trinity

by Augustine

Published 27 November 2002
Augustine's long exposition of the doctrine of theTrinity was written after the Council of Constantinople (381) had settled the matter of the consubstantiality of the three Persons of the Trinity. Augustine began this work around the year 400 and completed it in 416. Taking the image of God in the human being (Genesis 1:26-27) as his starting-point, Augustine reasons that since God is triune, the image must be so, too. There ensues a laborious quest for three aspects of every individual human being that serve as a mirror of the Trinity. En route to the successful outcome of his quest, Augustine explores a variety of theological and anthropological concepts.


Treatises on Various Subjects

by Augustine

Published 13 June 2002
The present volume consists of a collection of minor writings of St. Augustine often classified under the general title of 'Works of Moral and Practical Theology.' While St. Augustine is well known for his great masterpieces such as the Confessions and City of God, too little is known about him as a writer of short treatises intended for the general spiritual welfare of the people. These little essays still have an unending appeal for people of all times who are concerned about the salvation of their immortal souls.

The treatises included are: The Christian Life (De vita christiana), Lying (De medacio), Against Lying (Contra mendacium), Continence (De continentia), Patience (De patientia), The Excellence of Widowhood (De bono viduitatis), The Work of Monks (De opere monachorum), The Usefulness of Fasting (De utilitate ieiunii), and the Eight Questions of Dulcitius (De octo Dulcitii quaestionibus). Other works of moral and practical theology are not included, notably the De catechizandis rudibus, and the De doctrina christiana, but arrangements have been made to present these in other volumes. Indeed, these two cannot very well be called 'minor' works.

The essay, The Christian Life, is Pelagian in tone and is definitely not St. Augustine's, but it is included here because it comes from the same general period as the other essays and treats of a similar subject. Moreover, it has special interest in that it probably was written by a close follower of Pelagius, one of St. Augustine's celebrated opponents.

Each treatise in this volume has its own introduction, giving pertinent information for an intelligent understanding of the essay and other matters of general interest.


The five works of Augustine translated in this volume (De immortalitate animae, De quantitate animae, De musica, De utilitate credendi, and De fide rerum quae non videntur) are focused on the nature of the soul, its ability to find knowledge, and its relationships with the body, with the cosmos, and with God. All written within the first dozen years after Augustine's conversion, they display themes that are consistent with each other and that, when viewed in combination, add up to a belief in an incorporeal, immeasurable, and immortal soul in every human being that is in harmony with the universe and has access to the knowledge of unseen realities.