The life and works of Augustine of Hippo (354-430) have shaped the development of the Christian Church, sparking controversy and influencing the ideas of theologians through subsequent centuries. Augustine's journey from schoolboy and student to Bishop and champion of Western Christendom in a period of intense political upheaval, is recounted with clarity and warmth by the acclaimed church historian, the late Professor Henry Chadwick.
Chadwick infuses Augustine's thought processes with a fresh immediacy, enabling the reader to understand why a particular philosophical problem mattered to him or why an intellectual position was persuasive. Skilfully crafted, this engaging life is accessible yet nuanced, an ideal introduction to Augustine and an essential addition to existing biographies.
With a foreword by Peter Brown reflecting on Chadwick's distinctive approach to Augustine.
This classic biography was first published thirty years ago and has since established itself as the standard account of Saint Augustine's life and teaching. The remarkable discovery recently of a considerable number of letters and sermons by Augustine has thrown fresh light on the first and last decades of his experience as a bishop. These circumstantial texts have led Peter Brown to reconsider some of his judgments on Augustine, both as the author of the Confessions and as the elderly bishop preaching and writing in the last years of Roman rule in north Africa. Brown's reflections on the significance of these exciting new documents are contained in two chapters of a substantial Epilogue to his biography (the text of which is unaltered). He also reviews the changes in scholarship about Augustine since the 1960s. A personal as well as a scholarly fascination infuse the book-length epilogue and notes that Brown has added to his acclaimed portrait of the bishop of Hippo.
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