Saturday, June 10, 2006

More on Augustine

Augustine, a man of late classical Roman antiquity, is so basic to the shaping of the Middle Ages that a few more sources are in order.

Here's a quote from The City of God:
Accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories in itself, the latter in the Lord. For the one seeks glory from men; but the greatest glory of the other is God, the witness of conscience. The one lifts up its head in its own glory; the other says to its God, "Thou art my glory, and the lifter up of mine head."
The link above is to excerpts from the book. The entire City of God is online here. A wikipedia article on the book is here. Here's another on Augustine himself. The standard bio of Augustine is a classic, Augustine of Hippo, by Peter Brown. Be sure to get the 2000 edition which has two new essays at the back.

The Latin originals of some of Augustine's major works can be found here.