Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series • VOLUME 1
Augustine — Confessions & Letters
SECTION 1
editorship of a Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. It is to embrace in about twenty-five large vo
editorship of a Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. It is to embrace in about twenty-five large volumes the most important works of the Greek Fathers from Eusebius to Photius, and of the Latin Fathers from Ambrose to Gregory the Great. The series opens with St. Augustin, the greatest an…
1,090 wordsSECTION 2Chapter I.--Literature
Chapter I.--Literature Chapter II.--Sketch of the Life of St. Augustin Chapter III.--Estimate of St. Augustin Chapter IV.--Writings of St. Augustin Chapter V.--The Influence of St. Augustin upon Posterity and his Relation to Catholicism and Protestantism Chief Events in the Life of St. Augustin II. The Confessions of St. A…
983 wordsSECTION 3II. BIOGRAPHIES.
II. BIOGRAPHIES. Possidius (Calamensis episcopus, a pupil and friend of Aug.): Vita Augustini (brief, but authentic, written 432, two years after his death, in tom. x. Append. 257-280, ed. Bened., and in nearly all other editions). Benedictini Editores: Vita Augustini ex ejus potissimum scriptis concinnata, in 8 books (very el…
815 wordsSECTION 4CHAPTER II.--A Sketch of the Life of St. Augustin.
CHAPTER II.--A Sketch of the Life of St. Augustin. It is a venturesome and delicate undertaking to write one's own life, even though that life be a masterpiece of nature and the grace of God, and therefore most worthy to be described. Of all autobiographies none has so happily avoided the reef of vanity and self-praise, and non…
2,212 wordsSECTION 5[1] Augustin himself says of his Confessions: "Confessionum mearum libri tredecim et de malis et de bonis meis Deum laudant justum et bonum,
[1] Augustin himself says of his Confessions: "Confessionum mearum libri tredecim et de malis et de bonis meis Deum laudant justum et bonum, atque in eum excitant humanum intellectum et affectum." Retract. 1. ii. c. 6. He refers to his Confessions also in his Epistola ad Darium, Ep. CCXXXI. cap. 5; and in his De dono perseverant…
1,055 wordsSECTION 6CHAPTER III.--Estimate of St. Augustin.
CHAPTER III.--Estimate of St. Augustin. Augustin, the man with upturned eye, with pen in the left hand, and a burning heart in the right (as he is usually represented), is a philosophical and theological genius of the first order, towering like a pyramid above his age, and looking down commandingly upon succeeding centuries. He…
2,529 wordsSECTION 7[17] Or, as he wrote to a friend about the year 410, Epist. 120, C. 1, § 2 (tom. ii. p. 347, ed. Bened. Venet.; in older ed., Ep. 122): "Ut
[17] Or, as he wrote to a friend about the year 410, Epist. 120, C. 1, § 2 (tom. ii. p. 347, ed. Bened. Venet.; in older ed., Ep. 122): "Ut quod credis intelligas...non ut fidem resinas, sed ea quæ fidei firmitate jam tenes, etiam rationis luce conspicias." He continues, ibid. c. 3: "Absit namque, ut hoc in nobis Deus oderit, in…
1,063 wordsSECTION 8CHAPTER IV.--The Writings of St. Augustin.
CHAPTER IV.--The Writings of St. Augustin. The numerous writings of Augustin, the composition of which extended through four and forty years, are a mine of Christian knowledge, and experience. They abound in lofty ideas, noble sentiments, devout effusions, clear statements of truth, strong arguments against error, and passages …
2,403 wordsSECTION 9III. Apologetic works against Pagans and Jews. Among these the twenty-two books, De Civitate Dei, are still well worth reading. They form th
III. Apologetic works against Pagans and Jews. Among these the twenty-two books, De Civitate Dei, are still well worth reading. They form the deepest and richest apologetic work of antiquity; begun in 413, after the occupation of Rome by the Gothic king Alaric, finished in 426, and often separately published. They condense his e…
2,259 wordsSECTION 10As we survey this enormous literary labor, augmented by many other treatises and letters now lost, and as we consider his episcopal labors,
As we survey this enormous literary labor, augmented by many other treatises and letters now lost, and as we consider his episcopal labors, his many journeys, and his adjudications of controversies among the faithful, which often robbed him of whole days, we must be really astounded at the fidelity, exuberance, energy, and perse…
2,088 wordsSECTION 11CHAPTER V.--The Influence of St. Augustin upon Posterity, and his Relation to Catholicism and Protestantism.
CHAPTER V.--The Influence of St. Augustin upon Posterity, and his Relation to Catholicism and Protestantism. In conclusion we must add some observations respecting the influence of Augustin on the Church and the world since his time, and his position with reference to the great antagonism of Catholicism and Protestantism. All t…
2,283 wordsSECTION 12In this process of training, next to the Holy Scriptures, the scholarship of Jerome and the theology and fertile ideas of Augustin were the
In this process of training, next to the Holy Scriptures, the scholarship of Jerome and the theology and fertile ideas of Augustin were the most important intellectual agents. Augustin was held in so universal esteem that he could exert influence in all directions, and even in his excesses gave no offence. He was sufficiently c…
2,473 wordsSECTION 13[71] It is well known that Luther, as late as 1526, in his work, De servo arbitrio, against Erasmus, which he never retracted, proceeded upo
[71] It is well known that Luther, as late as 1526, in his work, De servo arbitrio, against Erasmus, which he never retracted, proceeded upon the most rigorous notion of the divine omnipotence, wholly denied the freedom of will, declared it a mere lie (merum mendacium), pronounced the calls of the Scriptures to repentance a divi…
2,216 wordsSECTION 14It is right to point out, in connection with this part of our subject, that in regard to some at least of Augustin's self-accusations, [91]
It is right to point out, in connection with this part of our subject, that in regard to some at least of Augustin's self-accusations, [91] there may be a little of that pious exaggeration of his sinfulness which, as Lord Macaulay points out in his essays on Bunyan, [92] frequently characterises deep penitence. But however this …
2,397 wordsSECTION 15J. G. P.
J. G. P. St. Mark's Vicarage, West Hackney, 1876. [74] Philosophie de St. Augustin, Preface. [75] Essai sur les Conf. de St. Aug. p. 5. [76] Confessions, x. sec. 4. [77] See the passage quoted immediately after this Preface. [78] Ep. ccxxxi. sec. 6. [79] Enarr. in Ps. cxli. sec. 19: see also in Ps. cxvii. sec. 1, xxix. se…
1,193 wordsSECTION 16Book I.
Book I. ------------------------ Commencing with the invocation of God, Augustin relates in detail the beginning of his life, his infancy and boyhood, up to his fifteenth year; at which age he acknowledges that he was more inclined to all youthful pleasures and vices than to the study of letters. ------------------------ Cha…
895 wordsSECTION 17Chapter III.--Everywhere God Wholly Filleth All Things, But Neither Heaven Nor Earth Containeth Him.
Chapter III.--Everywhere God Wholly Filleth All Things, But Neither Heaven Nor Earth Containeth Him. 3. Since, then, Thou fillest heaven and earth, do they contain Thee? Or, as they contain Thee not, dost Thou fill them, and yet there remains something over? And where dost Thou pour forth that which remaineth of Thee when the h…
1,120 wordsSECTION 18Chapter VI.--He Describes His Infancy, and Lauds the Protection and Eternal Providence of God.
Chapter VI.--He Describes His Infancy, and Lauds the Protection and Eternal Providence of God. 7. Still suffer me to speak before Thy mercy--me, "dust and ashes." [146] Suffer me to speak, for, behold, it is Thy mercy I address, and not derisive man. Yet perhaps even Thou deridest me; but when Thou art turned to me Thou wilt ha…
1,211 wordsSECTION 19Chapter VII.--He Shows by Example that Even Infancy is Prone to Sin.
Chapter VII.--He Shows by Example that Even Infancy is Prone to Sin. 11. Hearken, O God! Alas for the sins of men! Man saith this, and Thou dost compassionate him; for Thou didst create him, but didst not create the sin that is in him. Who bringeth to my remembrance the sin of my infancy? For before Thee none is free from sin, …
1,020 wordsSECTION 20Chapter IX.--Concerning the Hatred of Learning, the Love of Play, and the Fear of Being Whipped Noticeable in Boys: and of the Folly of Our Elders and Masters.
Chapter IX.--Concerning the Hatred of Learning, the Love of Play, and the Fear of Being Whipped Noticeable in Boys: and of the Folly of Our Elders and Masters. 14. O my God! what miseries and mockeries did I then experience, when obedience to my teachers was set before me as proper to my boyhood, that I might flourish in this w…
809 wordsSECTION 21Chapter XI.--Seized by Disease, His Mother Being Troubled, He Earnestly Demands Baptism, Which on Recovery is Postponed--His Father Not as Yet Believing in Christ.
Chapter XI.--Seized by Disease, His Mother Being Troubled, He Earnestly Demands Baptism, Which on Recovery is Postponed--His Father Not as Yet Believing in Christ. 17. Even as a boy I had heard of eternal life promised to us through the humility of the Lord our God condescending to our pride, and I was signed with the sign of t…
952 wordsSECTION 22Chapter XIII.--He Delighted in Latin Studies and the Empty Fables of the Poets, But Hated the Elements of Literature and the Greek Language.
Chapter XIII.--He Delighted in Latin Studies and the Empty Fables of the Poets, But Hated the Elements of Literature and the Greek Language. 20. But what was the cause of my dislike of Greek literature, which I studied from my boyhood, I cannot even now understand. For the Latin I loved exceedingly--not what our first masters, …
814 wordsSECTION 23Chapter XIV.--Why He Despised Greek Literature, and Easily Learned Latin.
Chapter XIV.--Why He Despised Greek Literature, and Easily Learned Latin. 23. But why, then, did I dislike Greek learning which was full of like tales? [171] For Homer also was skilled in inventing similar stories, and is most sweetly vain, yet was he disagreeable to me as a boy. I believe Virgil, indeed, would be the same to G…
1,255 wordsSECTION 24Chapter XVII.--He Continues on the Unhappy Method of Training Youth in Literary Subjects.
Chapter XVII.--He Continues on the Unhappy Method of Training Youth in Literary Subjects. 27. Bear with me, my God, while I speak a little of those talents Thou hast bestowed upon me, and on what follies I wasted them. For a lesson sufficiently disquieting to my soul was given me, in hope of praise, and fear of shame or stripes…
1,528 wordsSECTION 25Book II.
Book II. ------------------------ He advances to puberty, and indeed to the early part of the sixteenth year of his age, in which, having abandoned his studies, he indulged in lustful pleasures, and, with his companions, committed theft. ------------------------ Chapter I.--He Deplores the Wickedness of His Youth. 1. I Will…
910 wordsSECTION 26Chapter III.--Concerning His Father, a Freeman of Thagaste, the Assister of His Son's Studies, and on the Admonitions of His Mother on the Preservation of Chastity.
Chapter III.--Concerning His Father, a Freeman of Thagaste, the Assister of His Son's Studies, and on the Admonitions of His Mother on the Preservation of Chastity. 5. And for that year my studies were intermitted, while after my return from Madaura [196] (a neighbouring city, whither I had begun to go in order to learn grammar…
1,114 wordsSECTION 27Chapter IV.--He Commits Theft with His Companions, Not Urged on by Poverty, But from a Certain Distaste of Well-Doing.
Chapter IV.--He Commits Theft with His Companions, Not Urged on by Poverty, But from a Certain Distaste of Well-Doing. 9. Theft is punished by Thy law, O Lord, and by the law written in men's hearts, which iniquity itself cannot blot out. For what thief will suffer a thief? Even a rich thief will not suffer him who is driven to…
762 wordsSECTION 28Chapter VI.--Why He Delighted in that Theft, When All Things Which Under the Appearance of Good Invite to Vice are True and Perfect in God Alone.
Chapter VI.--Why He Delighted in that Theft, When All Things Which Under the Appearance of Good Invite to Vice are True and Perfect in God Alone. 12. What was it, then, that I, miserable one, so doted on in thee, thou theft of mine, thou deed of darkness, in that sixteenth year of my age? Beautiful thou wert not, since thou wer…
868 wordsSECTION 29Chapter VII.--He Gives Thanks to God for the Remission of His Sins, and Reminds Every One that the Supreme God May Have Preserved Us from Greater Sins.
Chapter VII.--He Gives Thanks to God for the Remission of His Sins, and Reminds Every One that the Supreme God May Have Preserved Us from Greater Sins. 15. "What shall I render unto the Lord," [212] that whilst my memory recalls these things my soul is not appalled at them? I will love Thee, O Lord, and thank Thee, and confess …
809 wordsSECTION 30Chapter X.--With God There is True Rest and Life Unchanging.
Chapter X.--With God There is True Rest and Life Unchanging. 18. Who can unravel that twisted and tangled knottiness? It is foul. I hate to reflect on it. I hate to look on it. But thee do I long for, O righteousness and innocency, fair and comely to all virtuous eyes, and of a satisfaction that never palls! With thee is perfec…
1,304 wordsSECTION 31Chapter III.--Not Even When at Church Does He Suppress His Desires. In the School of Rhetoric He Abhors the Acts of the Subverters.
Chapter III.--Not Even When at Church Does He Suppress His Desires. In the School of Rhetoric He Abhors the Acts of the Subverters. 5. And Thy faithful mercy hovered over me afar. Upon what unseemly iniquities did I wear myself out, following a sacrilegious curiosity, that, having deserted Thee, it might drag me into the treach…
1,021 wordsSECTION 32Chapter V.--He Rejects the Sacred Scriptures as Too Simple, and as Not to Be Compared with the Dignity of Tully.
Chapter V.--He Rejects the Sacred Scriptures as Too Simple, and as Not to Be Compared with the Dignity of Tully. 9. I resolved, therefore, to direct my mind to the Holy Scriptures, that I might see what they were. And behold, I perceive something not comprehended by the proud, not disclosed to children, but lowly as you approac…
1,840 wordsSECTION 33Chapter VII.--He Attacks the Doctrine of the Manichæans Concerning Evil, God, and the Righteousness of the Patriarchs.
Chapter VII.--He Attacks the Doctrine of the Manichæans Concerning Evil, God, and the Righteousness of the Patriarchs. 12. For I was ignorant as to that which really is, and was, as it were, violently moved to give my support to foolish deceivers, when they asked me, "Whence is evil?" [241] --and, "Is God limited by a bodily sh…
1,483 wordsSECTION 34Chapter VIII.--He Argues Against the Same as to the Reason of Offences.
Chapter VIII.--He Argues Against the Same as to the Reason of Offences. 15. Can it at any time or place be an unrighteous thing for a man to love God with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his mind, and his neighbour as himself? [250] Therefore those offences which be contrary to nature are everywhere and at all ti…
936 wordsSECTION 35Chapter IX.--That the Judgment of God and Men as to Human Acts of Violence, is Different.
Chapter IX.--That the Judgment of God and Men as to Human Acts of Violence, is Different. 17. But amidst these offences of infamy and violence, and so many iniquities, are the sins of men who are, on the whole, making progress; which, by those who judge rightly, and after the rule of perfection, are censured, yet commended with…
921 wordsSECTION 36Chapter XI.--He Refers to the Tears, and the Memorable Dream Concerning Her Son, Granted by God to His Mother.
Chapter XI.--He Refers to the Tears, and the Memorable Dream Concerning Her Son, Granted by God to His Mother. 19. And Thou sendedst Thine hand from above, [261] and drewest my soul out of that profound darkness, when my mother, Thy faithful one, wept to thee on my behalf more than mothers are wont to weep the bodily death of t…
1,027 wordsSECTION 37Book IV.
Book IV. ------------------------ Then follows a period of nine years from the nineteenth year of his age, during which having lost a friend, he followed the Manichæans--and wrote books on the fair and fit, and published a work on the liberal arts, and the categories of Aristotle. ------------------------ Chapter I.--Concern…
1,225 wordsSECTION 38Chapter III.--Not Even the Most Experienced Men Could Persuade Him of the Vanity of Astrology to Which He Was Devoted.
Chapter III.--Not Even the Most Experienced Men Could Persuade Him of the Vanity of Astrology to Which He Was Devoted. 4. Those impostors, then, whom they designate Mathematicians, I consulted without hesitation, because they used no sacrifices, and invoked the aid of no spirit for their divinations, which art Christian and tru…
1,323 wordsSECTION 39Chapter IV.--Sorely Distressed by Weeping at the Death of His Friend, He Provides Consolation for Himself.
Chapter IV.--Sorely Distressed by Weeping at the Death of His Friend, He Provides Consolation for Himself. 7. In those years, when I first began to teach rhetoric in my native town, I had acquired a very dear friend, from association in our studies, of mine own age, and, like myself, just rising up into the flower of youth. He …
943 wordsSECTION 40Chapter V.--Why Weeping is Pleasant to the Wretched.
Chapter V.--Why Weeping is Pleasant to the Wretched. 10. And now, O Lord, these things are passed away, and time hath healed my wound. May I learn from Thee, who art Truth, and apply the ear of my heart unto Thy mouth, that Thou mayest tell me why weeping should be so sweet to the unhappy. [292] Hast Thou--although present ever…
709 wordsPage 1 of 10Next →
Source & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.