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Fathers of the Church: Saint Augustine : The Retractions

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Rarely do we have the chance to enter the mind of a great man at the end of his life, but Augustine in The Retractions, better translated as The Revisions, provides us just that. The three chief controversies and disputes within which Augustine was engaged over his lifetime were the Manichean, the Donatist and the Pelagian. Having been forced to speak in a certain way against the Manicheans earlier in his career as a Christian and bishop he was later to speak somewhat differently while engaging the Pelagians. The Revisions offer us a clear view as to what Augustine thought in light of both those controversies. Not only that but Augustine reviews his many works, starting with his earliest and then going through to the latest making comments and slight corrections or qualifications. Regarding the fanatical branch of Donatism that repeatedly sought to assasinate him, for instance, he regrets later in life that he did not do more earlier to see them crushed for their lawlessnes. This is a necessary read for anyone who is serious about Augustine as he reveals himself in his later years.