Faith, Hope, Love [Paperback]

Josef Pieper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997

This volume, three separate books in one edition, is a collection of Josef Pieper's famous treatises on the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love. Pieper is perhaps the most popular Thomist philosopher of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Paperback: 298 pages
• Publisher: Ignatius Press (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898706238
• ISBN-13: 978-0898706239
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #148,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Really Need Both Books, December 21, 2003

By 

R. Kirkham "jrkirkham" (Rushville, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Faith, Hope, Love (Paperback)

I first came into contact with this work because it was a required text for my seminary class on ethics. Pieper was a first rate German philosopher and expert on the works of St. Thomas Aquinas.

If you study this book, Faith, Hope, Love (the three theological virtues), along with his other book, The Four Cardinal Virtues (fortitude, temperance, justice, prudence), you will have a wonderful primer on ethics from a classical perspective. I especially enjoyed his section on love. It is one of the best treatments of the subject I have read.

One word of warning is in order. Philosophy is not light reading. I know, it was one of my majors. Philosophy written in German and translated into English produces a book that is not for the timid. If you are willing to take on the challenge, more power to you. It is worth the effort, but you should know what you are getting into before you put down your money. This is a book for those who want to think and wrestle with ethics. It is not for everyone.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, challenging, and wonderful, October 18, 2001

By 

Lawrence J. King "the chronologist" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Faith, Hope, Love (Paperback)

This book really cannot be praised too highly. Pieper's discussion is more deep and insightful than any psychology text I've seen, and he's not even trying to do psychology.

He uses traditional and technical words (like "sloth"), but this is necessary to distinguish shades of moods, emotions, and actions. I used to think of "slothful" as synonymous with "laziness" -- but this book made me realize what a huge difference there was. You could work hard every day, but if deep inside you know you could do great things, and you simply don't bother to do them, then you are guilty of sloth. Many Christians (and non-Christians) that I know, including myself, will recognize this as a part of their lives.

And that's just from one paragraph of "Hope", the least powerful of these three essays!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These Three Things Abide, March 19, 2001

By 

wvano "wvano" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faith, Hope, Love (Paperback)

This book is a compilation of three essays by the popular Thomist, the late Josef Pieper, on the theological virtues. Though Pieper writes from a Christian perspective, he is doing philosophy not theology. (The theological virtues are so called not because they are for theologians only, but because they depend directly on God's grace.)

The richness of these essays derives from their thoroughgoing personalism. Pieper defines each virtue in terms of interpersonal relationships. In faith, "the will of the believer is directed toward the person of the witness, toward the warrantor." "Hope says: it will turn out well....It will turn out well for us." And "to love means to rejoice in the happiness of another."

As always, Pieper writes clearly, logically, at times movingly. This book reminds us that while the source of these virtues is beyond human reason, the practical understanding and practice of them is not.