Augustine of Hippo, Selected Writings

Front Cover
"The very imposing and very welcome Classics of Western Spirituality(TM)series...should be in every theological collection of any depth." Ardin Newsletter In one series, the original writings of the universally acknowledged teachers of the Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish, Islamic and Native American traditions have been critically selected, translated and introduced by internationally recognized scholars and spiritual leaders. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO-SELECTED WRITINGS translated and introduced by Mary T. Clark preface by Goulven Madec "You have made us to be toward you, and our heart is restless until it rests in you" Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Augustine of Hippo (354-430), bishop, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church whose thought molded the Western theological tradition, is clearly one of the most influential figures in the history of the Church. At the heart of his brilliant philosophical and theological speculation is his spirituality-a spirituality founded on the reality of the soul's experience of the Trinity in the depths of its interiority. This book is a collection of his writings, which in every sense must be considered true classics of spirituality in the West. Included are excerpts from Confessions, On the Trinity, The City of God, and Homilies on the Psalms along with the complete texts of the Rule of St. Augustine, On Seeing God, and On the Presence of God. In speaking of Augustine's relevance for our time, Paul VI said: "If St. Augustine were alive today, he would speak as he spoke a thousand and more years ago. Why? Because he really personifies a humanity that believes, that loves Christ and our beloved God." +

From inside the book

Selected pages

Contents

CONFESSIONS
55
Book Seven
59
Book Eight
80
Book Nine
100
Book Ten
122
THE HAPPY LIFE
163
HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS
195
The Ascents of the Christian
199
Treatise Seven
299
ON THE TRINITY
309
Book Eight
313
Book Fourteen
331
ON SEEING GOD ON THE PRESENCE OF GOD
361
Augustine to the Noble Lady Pauline greeting
365
On the Presence of God
403
THE CITY OF GOD
427

Our Confidence in the Lord
213
The Ecstasy of Love
231
God Is True Wealth
248
HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF ST JOHN
263
First Homily
267
Twelfth Homily
281
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN
295
Book Nineteen
433
THE RULE OF ST AUGUSTINE
479
Selected Bibliography
495
Indexes
501
Index to Texts
505
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 125 - God is faithful, who will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able ; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it.
Page 252 - Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
Page 27 - Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name ; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Page 73 - Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
Page 73 - Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons and all deeps: Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours: stormy wind fulfilling his word: Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl...
Page 29 - If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you.
Page 318 - ... in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Page 352 - He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit,

References to this book

About the author (1984)

Saint Augustine was born to a Catholic mother and a pagan father on November 13, 354, at Thagaste, near Algiers. He studied Latin literature and later taught rhetoric in Rome and Milan. He originally joined the Manicheans, a religious sect, but grew unhappy with some of their philosophies. After his conversion to Christianity and his baptism in 387, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, and he framed the concepts of original sin and just war. His thoughts greatly influenced the medieval worldview. One of Augustine's major goals was a single, unified church. He was ordained a priest in 391 and appointed Bishop of Hippo, in Roman Africa, in 396. Augustine was one of the most prolific Latin authors in terms of surviving works, and the list of his works consists of more than one hundred separate titles. His writings and arguments with other sects include the Donatists and the Pelagians. On the Trinity, The City of God, and On Nature and Grace are some of his important writings. Confessions, which is considered his masterpiece, is an autobiographical work that recounts his restless youth and details the spiritual experiences that led him to Christianity. Many of Augustine's ideas, such as those concerning sin and predestination, became integral to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. In the Catholic Church he is a saint and pre-eminent Doctor of the Church, and the patron of the Augustinians. He is the patron saint of brewers, printers, and theologians. Augustine died on August 28, 430.

Bibliographic information