Series:

Fathers of the Church

17 primary works • 19 total works

Book 2

Cover of Christian Instruction, Admonition and Grace, Christian Combat, Faith, Hope and Charity

Book 4

Cover of Immortality of the Soul, etc.

Book 5

Cover of The Happy Life, Answer to Skeptics, Divine Providence and the Problem of Evil, Soliloquies

Book 11

Cover of Commentary on the Lord's Sermon on the Mount with Seventeen Related Sermons

Book 14

Cover of City of God

City of God

by Edmund Augustine

Published 1 January 1950

Augustinus (354 430 CE), son of a pagan, Patricius of Tagaste in North Africa, and his Christian wife Monica, while studying in Africa to become a rhetorician, plunged into a turmoil of philosophical and psychological doubts in search of truth, joining for a time the Manichaean society. He became a teacher of grammar at Tagaste, and lived much under the influence of his mother and his friend Alypius. About 383 he went to Rome and soon after to Milan as a teacher of rhetoric, being now attracted by the philosophy of the Sceptics and of the Neo-Platonists. His studies of Paul's letters with Alypius and the preaching of Bishop Ambrose led in 386 to his rejection of all sensual habits and to his famous conversion from mixed beliefs to Christianity. He returned to Tagaste and there founded a religious community. In 395 or 396 he became Bishop of Hippo, and was henceforth engrossed with duties, writing and controversy. He died at Hippo during the successful siege by the Vandals.

From Augustine's large output the Loeb Classical Library offers that great autobiography the Confessions (in two volumes); On the City of God (seven volumes), which unfolds God's action in the progress of the world's history, and propounds the superiority of Christian beliefs over pagan in adversity; and a selection of Letters which are important for the study of ecclesiastical history and Augustine's relations with other theologians.

Book 16

Cover of Treatises on Various Subjects

Book 27

Cover of Treatises on Marriage and Other Subjects

Book 35

Cover of Against Julian

Against Julian

by Edmund Augustine

Published 1 July 2003

Book 38

Cover of Sermons on the Liturgical Seasons

Book 56

Cover of Catholic and Manichaean Ways of Life

Book 60

Cover of Retractations

Retractations

by Edmund Augustine

Published 1 January 1968

Book 70

Cover of Eighty Three Different Questions

Book 78

Cover of Tractates on the Gospel of John
In his preaching, St Augustine developed an oratorical style based on the classical rhetoric he had learned prior to his conversion which he adapted to the unique demands of Christian preaching. He still recognised the classical ends of rhetoric: to teach, to please and to persuade. He gave, however, the place of most importance to content: what was said was more important than how it was said. The result is a method of preaching that is clear, lively and well-suited to its purpose. Just as Augustine's oratorical style was subordinated to the demands of preaching the gospel of Christ, so also his method of commentary was influenced by his duty as pastor at Hippo to instruct his flock in matters of faith and morals. His commentary, then, contains more than exegesis. His reflections on scripture lead him to discussions of both moral action and dogma. Augustine's extemporaneous style and broad range of interests are evident in the tractates included in this volume, in which he comments on chapters 7-12 of St John's Gospel.
These chapters contain some of the best-known episodes from the life of Christ: the encounter with the woman caught in adultery; the healing of the man born blind; the raising of Lazarus from the dead; Mary's anointing of Christ's feet; and Christ's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. The passages also contain some of Christ's most explicit teaching of his divinity. In unfolding the mysteries contained in these chapters of St John, Augustine moves easily from exegesis to reflections on moral virtue and doctrine, especially the Trinity and the Incarnation. But he never loses sight of his audience. Even in his comments on the loftiest of ideas, he strives to make his teaching accessible to everyone. Augustine's preaching shows us not only his brilliant mind and rhetorical skill as he expounds upon the scriptures, but also the great love he had for Christ and for the faithful entrusted to his care.

Book 79

Cover of Tractates on the Gospel of John, 11-27

Book 81

Cover of Letters

Letters

by Edmund Augustine, Sister Parsons, and Robert Eno

Published 1 January 1951

Book 84

Cover of On Genesis

On Genesis

by Edmund Augustine

Published 1 January 1998
Augustine's On Genesis against the Manichees and On Genesis Literally Interpreted: An Unfinished Book represents the first two of five explanations of the beginning of the Book of Genesis that he undertook between 388 and 418. This translation includes an introduction and notes to the text.

Book 92

Cover of Tractates on the Gospel of John, 112-124, Tractates on the First Epistle of John
In this volume, Augustine applies his insight and rhetoric to John's Gospel, drawing the reader into a contemplation of Jesus through the course of his Passion, Death and Resurrection. He also develops an outline of his theology of love and its implications in the tractates on the Epistle.

v. 86

Cover of Four Anti-Pelagian Writings
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 Perserverence" were probably written in A.D. 428 near the end of Augustine's life. 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 5th-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.

Cover of The Teacher

The Teacher

by Edmund Augustine

Published 15 January 1968