4.5
The Confessions
In his own day the dominant personality of the Western Church, Augustine of Hippo today stands as perhaps the greatest thinker of Christian antiquity, and his Confessions is one of the great works of Western literature. In this intensely personal narrative, Augustine relates his rare ascent from a humble Algerian farm to the edge of the corridors of power at the imperial court in Milan, his struggle against the domination of his sexual nature, his renunciation of secular ambition and marriage, and the recovery of the faith his mother Monica had taught him during his childhood.
Now, Henry Chadwick, an eminent scholar of early Christianity, has given us the first new English translation in thirty years of this classic spiritual journey. Chadwick renders the details of Augustine's conversion in clear, modern English. We witness the future saint's fascination with astrology and with the Manichees, and then follow him through scepticism and disillusion with pagan myths until he finally reaches Christian faith. There are brilliant philosophical musings about Platonism and the nature of God, and touching portraits of Augustine's beloved mother, of St. Ambrose of Milan, and of other early Christians like Victorinus, who gave up a distinguished career as a rhetorician to adopt the orthodox faith. Augustine's concerns are often strikingly contemporary, yet his work contains many references and allusions that are easily understood only with background information about the ancient social and intellectual setting. To make The Confessions accessible to contemporary readers, Chadwick provides the most complete and informative notes of any recent translation, and includes an introduction to establish the context.
The religious and philosophical value of The Confessions is unquestionable--now modern readers will have easier access to St. Augustine's deeply personal meditations. Chadwick's lucid translation and helpful introduction clear the way for a new experience of this classic.
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Now, Henry Chadwick, an eminent scholar of early Christianity, has given us the first new English translation in thirty years of this classic spiritual journey. Chadwick renders the details of Augustine's conversion in clear, modern English. We witness the future saint's fascination with astrology and with the Manichees, and then follow him through scepticism and disillusion with pagan myths until he finally reaches Christian faith. There are brilliant philosophical musings about Platonism and the nature of God, and touching portraits of Augustine's beloved mother, of St. Ambrose of Milan, and of other early Christians like Victorinus, who gave up a distinguished career as a rhetorician to adopt the orthodox faith. Augustine's concerns are often strikingly contemporary, yet his work contains many references and allusions that are easily understood only with background information about the ancient social and intellectual setting. To make The Confessions accessible to contemporary readers, Chadwick provides the most complete and informative notes of any recent translation, and includes an introduction to establish the context.
The religious and philosophical value of The Confessions is unquestionable--now modern readers will have easier access to St. Augustine's deeply personal meditations. Chadwick's lucid translation and helpful introduction clear the way for a new experience of this classic.
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Biography & AutobiographyReligiousLiterary CollectionsEssaysReligionChristianity
RELEASED2008
PUBLISHEROUP Oxford
LENGTH311
LANGUAGEEN
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Augustine was born in Thagaste (present-day Souk Ahras, Algeria), a provincial Roman city in North Africa, the son of a Catholic mother and pagan father. He was raised a Catholic, and at age of 11, he went to school at Madaurus, about 19 miles south of Thagaste. There he learned both Latin literature and pagan beliefs and practices. He returned home in 369 and stayed for about two yeras, reading Cicero's dialogue Hortensius. At age 17 he went to Carthage to continue his education in rhetoric. He decided to follow the Manichaean religion, lived a hedonistic lifestyle for a time, and took a lover who stayed with him for over thirteen years and gave birth to his son. In 373-374, Augustine taught grammar at Tagaste. In 375 he moved to Carthage to conduct a school of rhetoric. In 383 he moved to Rome to establish another school. However, he was disappointed with the Roman schools, and instead of paying their fees, his students fled. Through his friends he obtained a professorship teaching rhetoric at the imperial court at Milan in 384. The young provincial won the job and headed north to take up his position in late 384. While in Rome, he turned away from Manichaeanism in favour of the skepticism of the New Academy movement. He became engaged and left his lover, but never married the girl to whom he had been engaged. In 386, converted to Catholic Christianity, left his career in rhetoric, devoted himself to serving God. He returned to north Africa, sold his patrimony and gave the money to the poor, and converted his family house into a monastic foundation. In 391 he was ordained a priest in Hippo Regius (now Annaba, Algeria). He became a famous preacher, and in 396 he was made assistant bishop and then full bishop shortly after. He left his monastery, but continued to lead a monastic life in the episcopal residence, and he remained Bishop of Hippo until his death in 430. Augustine was one of the most prolific authors of his time in surviving works, which number more than a hundred. Of these, the most well known is his Confessiones, written in 397-398.
4.5
The Confessions
by Saint Augustine (of Hippo), Saint Augustine
In his own day the dominant personality of the Western Church, Augustine of Hippo today stands as perhaps the greatest thinker of Christian antiquity, and his Confessions is one of the great works of Western literature. In this intensely personal narrative, Augustine relates his rare ascent from a humble Algerian farm to the edge of the corridors of power at the imperial court in Milan, his struggle against the domination of his sexual nature, his renunciation of secular ambition and marriage, and the recovery of the faith his mother Monica had taught him during his childhood.
Now, Henry Chadwick, an eminent scholar of early Christianity, has given us the first new English translation in thirty years of this classic spiritual journey. Chadwick renders the details of Augustine's conversion in clear, modern English. We witness the future saint's fascination with astrology and with the Manichees, and then follow him through scepticism and disillusion with pagan myths until he finally reaches Christian faith. There are brilliant philosophical musings about Platonism and the nature of God, and touching portraits of Augustine's beloved mother, of St. Ambrose of Milan, and of other early Christians like Victorinus, who gave up a distinguished career as a rhetorician to adopt the orthodox faith. Augustine's concerns are often strikingly contemporary, yet his work contains many references and allusions that are easily understood only with background information about the ancient social and intellectual setting. To make The Confessions accessible to contemporary readers, Chadwick provides the most complete and informative notes of any recent translation, and includes an introduction to establish the context.
The religious and philosophical value of The Confessions is unquestionable--now modern readers will have easier access to St. Augustine's deeply personal meditations. Chadwick's lucid translation and helpful introduction clear the way for a new experience of this classic.
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Now, Henry Chadwick, an eminent scholar of early Christianity, has given us the first new English translation in thirty years of this classic spiritual journey. Chadwick renders the details of Augustine's conversion in clear, modern English. We witness the future saint's fascination with astrology and with the Manichees, and then follow him through scepticism and disillusion with pagan myths until he finally reaches Christian faith. There are brilliant philosophical musings about Platonism and the nature of God, and touching portraits of Augustine's beloved mother, of St. Ambrose of Milan, and of other early Christians like Victorinus, who gave up a distinguished career as a rhetorician to adopt the orthodox faith. Augustine's concerns are often strikingly contemporary, yet his work contains many references and allusions that are easily understood only with background information about the ancient social and intellectual setting. To make The Confessions accessible to contemporary readers, Chadwick provides the most complete and informative notes of any recent translation, and includes an introduction to establish the context.
The religious and philosophical value of The Confessions is unquestionable--now modern readers will have easier access to St. Augustine's deeply personal meditations. Chadwick's lucid translation and helpful introduction clear the way for a new experience of this classic.
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Biography & AutobiographyReligiousLiterary CollectionsEssaysReligionChristianityLiterature & the ArtsSpirituality
RELEASED2008
PUBLISHEROUP Oxford
LENGTH311
LANGUAGEEN
Augustine was born in Thagaste (present-day Souk Ahras, Algeria), a provincial Roman city in North Africa, the son of a Catholic mother and pagan father. He was raised a Catholic, and at age of 11, he went to school at Madaurus, about 19 miles south of Thagaste. There he learned both Latin literature and pagan beliefs and practices. He returned home in 369 and stayed for about two yeras, reading Cicero's dialogue Hortensius. At age 17 he went to Carthage to continue his education in rhetoric. He decided to follow the Manichaean religion, lived a hedonistic lifestyle for a time, and took a lover who stayed with him for over thirteen years and gave birth to his son. In 373-374, Augustine taught grammar at Tagaste. In 375 he moved to Carthage to conduct a school of rhetoric. In 383 he moved to Rome to establish another school. However, he was disappointed with the Roman schools, and instead of paying their fees, his students fled. Through his friends he obtained a professorship teaching rhetoric at the imperial court at Milan in 384. The young provincial won the job and headed north to take up his position in late 384. While in Rome, he turned away from Manichaeanism in favour of the skepticism of the New Academy movement. He became engaged and left his lover, but never married the girl to whom he had been engaged. In 386, converted to Catholic Christianity, left his career in rhetoric, devoted himself to serving God. He returned to north Africa, sold his patrimony and gave the money to the poor, and converted his family house into a monastic foundation. In 391 he was ordained a priest in Hippo Regius (now Annaba, Algeria). He became a famous preacher, and in 396 he was made assistant bishop and then full bishop shortly after. He left his monastery, but continued to lead a monastic life in the episcopal residence, and he remained Bishop of Hippo until his death in 430. Augustine was one of the most prolific authors of his time in surviving works, which number more than a hundred. Of these, the most well known is his Confessiones, written in 397-398.
