Augustine: Political Writings

Collection containing thirty-five letters and sermons of St Augustine on politics, addressing essential themes in Augustine's thought.

Augustine (Author), E. M. Atkins (Edited by), R. J. Dodaro (Edited by)

9780521441728, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 11 January 2001

358 pages, 1 map
21.6 x 14 x 2.4 cm, 0.59 kg

'The translations are new and lucid, the texts crucial, judiciously chosen by editors with an extraordinarily wide knowledge both of the immense corpus and of the scholarship. We are well served by an introduction which deals with the genres into which the texts fall, their contexts and Augustine's methods.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History

This collection brings together thirty-five letters and sermons of Augustine, Bishop of Hippo from 396 to 430 AD, that deal with political matters. The letters and sermons are both practical and principled and treat many essential themes in Augustine's thought, including the responsibilities of citizenship, the relationship between the church and secular authority, religious coercion, and war and peace. These texts complement Augustine's classic The City of God against the Pagans (also available in the Cambridge Texts series), and give students direct insight into the political and social world of late antiquity with which Augustine was immediately involved. The slave trade, tax collection, clerical harassment and murder are amongst the topics with which he deals. The volume contains clear, accurate modern translations, together with a concise introduction and informative notes designed to aid the student encountering Augustine's life and thought for the first time.

Introduction
Bibliography
Texts: 1. Christianity and citizenship
Letter 90
Letter 91
Letter 103
Letter 104
Letter 95
Letter 136
Letter 138
Letter 10*
Letter 250
Letter 1*
Sermon 335C
2. Bishops and civil authorities
Letter 133
Letter 134
Letter 139
Letter 152
Letter 153
Letter 154
Letter 155
3. Judicial authority
Commentary on the Gospel of John, 33
Sermon 302
Sermon 13
4. The Donatist controversy
Letter 51
Letter 66
Letter 86
Letter 100
Letter 87
Letter 88
Letter 173
Letter 204
Letter 105
Letter 185
5. War and peace
The sacking of the city of Rome
Letter 189
Letter 220
Letter 229
Bibliographical notes
Maps
Index of persons and places
Index of topics.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], History of religion [HRAX], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], European history [HBJD]