Augustine Through the Ages: An Encyclopedia [Hardcover]

Allan D. Fitzgerald (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

Expert and accessible, Fitzgeralds work is the first encyclopedic treatment of the life and thought of Augustine of Hippo. More than 140 leading international scholars have contributed over 400 articles (many of which have never been published in English) on nearly every aspect of Augustines life. Indexes, cross-references, and up-to-date bibliographies make this volume comprehensively useful.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Providing the first full encyclopedic handling of the thought and influence of St. Augustine of Hippo, editor Fitzgerald (Augustinian Patristic Inst., Rome; editor of Augustinian Studies for Villanova Univ.) and four associate editors supply a much-needed reference for this major patristic figure in the development of Western religious thought. Over 140 scholars have supplied more than 400 articles ranging generally from 200 to 2000 words on double-column pages. Each article is signed, and most contain bibliographies citing both older and more recent scholarship. Topics range from the general ("Anthropology," "Archaeology," "Love," "Time") to the specific (personal names, places, and Latin titles). A foreword by Jaroslav Pelikan was not seen by this reviewer; nor were the subject and name indexes. Because Augustine's own life appears not under his name but under "Life, Cultures and Controversies of Augustine," the index quality will be especially important for mining content. The inclusion of maps and illustrations would have been a plus. Recommended for academic and seminary libraries and public library collections where there is demand.AAnna M. Donnelly, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This inexpensive volume is a fine achievement. Few figures in history are so great in their own time and so lastingly influential that they can stand being made the subject of an encyclopedia of over 900 pages. If not every article is a masterpiece, the majority are admirably done by a distinguished team of well-informed scholars. Lucid articles summarize Augustine's numerous extant works and the major themes of his writing..... Notable is the decision to survey Augustine's subsequent influences on, for instance Boethius, Gregory the Great, Carolingian debates, Peter Lombard, Luther and Reformation, Seripando and Trent, Renaissance humanism, Jansenius, Blondel, Harnack and Heidegger..... The bibliographies are valuable. All in all, a desirable, well-produced volume. -- Henry Chadwick in Times Literary Supplement, February 4, 2000

Product Details

• Hardcover: 951 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080283843X
• ISBN-13: 979-0895552869
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.9 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #652,113 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An August Achievement, April 22, 2003

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Augustine Through the Ages: An Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

`Augustine through the Ages' is one of those big, thick, $100 books that one longs to have in a private library (particularly the private library of someone with a catholic-leaning theological interest). I debated about the book for nearly a year until a friend of mine finally put the issue to rest by getting it for me for my birthday a few years ago.

I've now had sufficient time and use of the volume to warrant giving an opinion. I am sorry that I waited so long to add this book to my collection!

` "Augustine through the Ages" presents anew the life, work, and influence of Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430), one of the greatest figures in the history of the Christian church. Best known to modern readers for his "Confessions" and "City of God," Augustine has had a profound theological and philosophical impact on the Christian faith, and his legacy is also reflected in the development of Western thought as a whole.'

This book is organised and functions as an encyclopedia. Over 150 scholars in fields such as history, classics, theology, philosophy and political science have contributed to making this a very comprehensive and in-depth reference work. The contents include nearly 500 articles with appropriate bibliographic references for further research.

Entries involve his life, his work, and his influence. A few samples will illustrate:

His life: Life, Culture and Controversies
In this entry, a brief biography of Augustine is present, from birth in Thagaste in 354, in the province of Numidia, to his death in 430 in Hippo, as it was under siege from Vandal invaders. It details the major events and influences in his life, as well as the general cultural milieu of the time - education under the Roman system, the relationship of church and empire, and the influence of philosophy, particularly Neoplatonism. The controversies of his time, in which Augustine energetically participated, included the Arian, Donatist, Pelagian and Manichean trends.

His work: Confessions
This entry gives an overview of the `Confessions', the most popular and widely-read of Augustine for twentieth-century audiences. As a result of this autobiographical work, the youth of Augustine is far better known than almost any other person in antiquity. The article includes translation and publication issues (the question about oral or written primacy is explored), as are the differing purposes of sections (autobiographical, polemical, exegetical). This work covers conversion and growth in faith and work.

His influence
Articles are included on those who influenced Augustine himself, such as Origen, Tertullian, Plotinus, and Plato, as well as upon those he influenced, from early figures such as Jerome and Ambrose, to later theologians like Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin, up to more modern figures such as Adolf von Harnack, Ernst Troeltsch, and Martin Heidegger. Similarly, Augustine's contributions toward topics that are of current (and recurring) interest such as social justice, war, suicide, contraception, etc. are explored.

The book also includes tables Augustine's works which show Latin titles, English translations, common abbreviations (very necessary for scholarship) and dates. Articles are cross-references, particularly with a view toward shared bibliographic information.

The editor, Allan D. Fitzgerald is professor of patristics at the Augustinian Patristic Institute of Rome. He also is editor of Augustinian Studies published by Villanova University. Jaroslav Pelikan offers a word at the front, which is an interesting choice, given Pelikan's Eastern Orthodox leanings, and the strained love-hate relationship Eastern Orthodoxy has traditionally had with Augustine.

This is a truly monumental work that will find an honoured place in the library of any scholar.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Necessary Scholarly Reference Tool for the Life and Thought of Augustine, September 7, 2005

By 

Kenneth Samples (Southern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Augustine Through the Ages: An Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

AUGUSTINE THROUGH THE AGES is an enormously informative work on the life and thought of Augustine of Hippo. Every serious student of Augustine would benefit from having this volume. Allow me to enumerate three reasons why this encyclopedia is so valuable in helping people to understand Augustine and his extraordinary contribution both to the history of Christianity and to the intellectual development of the Western world:

1. This work contains hundreds of articles by the best Augustine scholars from both the Catholic and Protestant ranks. The result is that you can fairly evaluate Augustine's contribution to the history of Western Christianity. For example, this volume contains insightful articles on how Augustine's thought influenced the development of the Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed theological traditions in particular.

2. Because Augustine wrote more than five million words, it is often difficult to pull together his various treatments of issues and to attempt to summarize his overall position. This encyclopedia is quite helpful in systematizing the various categories of Augustine's thought.

3. This work includes articles which address all areas of Augustine's thought, including biblical, theological, philosophical, ethical, historical, and his many literary works.

AUGUSTINE THROUGH THE AGES contains more than 900 pages that attempt to capture the life, thought, controversies, and literary output of one of Christianity's greatest thinkers. This is indeed an extremely valuable volume.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding edition. . ., March 18, 2002

By 

David Zampino "21st Century Hobbit" (Delavan, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Augustine Through the Ages: An Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

. . .which will be of value to Augustine scholars for many years to come.

The purpose of the encyclopedia is to provide a one-volume reference to Augustine, his life, his thought, his teachings, and his books. What did he believe about a particular doctrine? Look up the doctrine, get a synopsis of his thought, and find the appropriate reference(s) in his writings.

Wonderful for both Catholics and Protestants, esp. those branches of Protestantism which revere Augustine. Applicable for the layman or the cleric; for the serious student as well as for someone who simply wishes to be informed.

I highly recommend this volume.