5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book, Bad Translation, August 6, 2011
This review is from: Confessions, Vol. 1: Books 1-8 (Loeb Classical Library, No. 26) (v. 1) (Hardcover)
Since there are so many of these darn things the review shall be divided into three sections. First, a brief description of the Loeb series of books and their advantages/disadvantages. Second shall be my thoughts on the author himself, his accuracy, as well as his style and the style of his translator. This is of course only my opinion and should be treated as such. The final part shall review what this particular book actually covers.
The Loeb series date back to the turn of the last century. They are designed for people with at least some knowledge of Greek or Latin. They are a sort of compromise between a straight English translation and an annotated copy of the original text. On the left page is printed the text in Greek or Latin depending on the language of the writer and on the right side is the text in English. For somebody who knows even a little Greek or Latin these texts are invaluable. You can try to read the text in the original language knowing that you can correct yourself by looking on the next page or you can read the text in translation and check the translation with the original for more detail. While some of the translations are excellent mostly they are merely serviceable since they are designed more as an aid to translation rather than a translation in themselves. Most of them follow the Greek or Latin very closely. These books are also very small, maybe just over a quarter the size of your average hardcover book. This means that you'll need to buy more than just one book to read a complete work. They are also somewhat pricey considering their size. The Loeb Collection is very large but most of the more famous works can be found in better (and cheaper) translations elsewhere. If you want to read a rarer book or read one in the original language then you can't do better than the Loeb Editions.
There are more books surviving from St. Augustine than any other Roman writer. The Loeb series has a collection of some of his [letters] as well as two books covering his Confessions and seven of the City of God. Augustine was an African bishop who spent every free minute of his days writing. He was a highly learned man having made a study in rhetoric and even advancing through government posts until he abandoned that career to become a monk in his hometown. He is recognized as one of the penultimate theologians of the early church. His writings are written for the common man unlike earlier writers who desired to impress with their style and elegance. This makes his sentences direct and easy to understand. Both are pluses for a modern audience. While he is quite dismissive of other religions he doesn't exhibit any of the vitriol often found in these early churchmen. He always tries to appear the logical and superior man, even when fighting men he finds despicable. The bad news is that these are all religious tracts. Long-winded and dull for the majority of people. Still, they are filled with information and serve very well in understanding how the early Christians saw the world.
This is the first part of Augustine's Confessions. This is by far his most accessible work. It is basically the world's first autobiography. In it he details his early life to chart his conversion to Christianity. It is filled with personal details available nowhere else as he tells of his transformation from a cocky youth to a devote monk. Well worth a read for anyone interested in everyday Roman life. The bad news is that this edition isn't a new translation but merely a reprint of an old 17th Century translation by William Watts. As the compiler put it "I am very much mistaken if readers will not enjoy the leisurely flow of Watt's rhythms, and forgive him heartily for using more words than he need have used." He is indeed much mistaken. It is hard enough trying the Latin without having to translate the English as well. While Augustine writes brief snippets and is logical and concise in manner, Watts, as was the style in his day, is overly flowery and overblown. The English text is over twice as long as the Latin text. His text is a very loose translation which captures the basic ideas but none of the style of Augustine. That this kind of translation should be reproduced as late as 1912 is irritating. The Latin is fortunately quite easy to follow even with only basic Latin fluency. I was able to read large sections of it after only a single year's study. But if you want this work in translation then you had best search elsewhere.
I'd also recommend another author to get the other point of view. By good fortune a similar autobiography has been preserved from the pagan orator Libanius in Antioch. Although written 30-40 years earlier it contains a similar outline of a man's life, in this case a bitter, pretentious old pagan rhetorician. His autobiography is available
here and sets of his letters
here and
here. He also has several orations that can be found
here and
here.
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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good condition and on time, August 9, 2011
This review is from: Confessions, Vol. 1: Books 1-8 (Loeb Classical Library, No. 26) (v. 1) (Hardcover)
I confess that I am enjoying this book - not as sinfully as St Augustine in his youth, but I do enjoy it.
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