St. Augustine: References & Edit History
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Additional Reading
Texts and translations
No complete printed edition of Augustineās works exists in Latin. The most recent attempt is the edition published by the Benedictines of Saint-Maur of France, Sancti Aurelii Augustini Hipponensis Episcopi Operum, 12 vol. (1679ā1703); also available in J.-P. Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 32ā47 (1841ā42); but many works, particularly sermons and letters, have been discovered since. A work-by-work index of editions is available in Eligius Dekkers and Emil Gaar, Clavis Patrum Latinorum, 3rd ed. augmented and corrected (1995). Translations of most of the important works appear in the series A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, ed. by Philip Schaff, vol. 1ā8 (1887ā94, reprinted 1989).
Augustineās two most important works, Confessions and The City of God, are available in numerous editions. Both James J. OāDonnell, Confessions, 3 vol. (1992), and Jacques Fontaine (ed.), Confessioni, 5 vol. (1992ā97), presume knowledge of Latin and contain substantial commentaries. The best English versions are The Confessions of St. Augustine, trans. by John K. Ryan (1960) ; Confessions, trans. by Henry Chadwick (1991, reissued 2008) ; and The Confessions, trans. by Maria Boulding (1997) . Although no comprehensive commentary on The City of God exists, the best translation is Concerning the City of God Against the Pagans, trans. by Henry Bettenson (1972, reissued 1984) .
Scholarly literature
An indispensable and justly acclaimed biography is Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo: A Biography (1967, reissued 2000) . Also of value are Gerald Bonner, St. Augustine of Hippo: Life and Controversies (1963); and Miles Hollingworth, Saint Augustine of Hippo: An Intellectual Biography (2013) . Several concise introductions to Augustineās life and thought exist: James J. OāDonnell, Augustine, Sinner and Saint: A New Biography (2005) ; Henry Chadwick, Augustine of Hippo: A Life (2009) ; John M. Rist, Augustine: Ancient Thought Baptised (1994) ; and Garry Wills, Saint Augustine (1999) .
Good studies of Confessions include John J. OāMeara, The Young Augustine: The Growth of St. Augustineās Mind Up to His Conversion (1954, reissued 2001) ; Robert J. OāConnell, St. Augustineās Confessions: The Odyssey of Soul (1969, reissued 1989) ; and especially Gillian Clark, Augustine: The Confessions (1993, reissued 2005) . A good collection of current essays on The City of God by scholars in several languages is Elena Cavalcanti (ed.), Il De civitate Dei: lāopera, le interpretazioni, lāinflusso (1996).
The best one-volume study of Augustineās thought is Eugene TeSelle, Augustine the Theologian (1970, reissued 2002) . For Augustine in his cultural context, there is still nothing better than Henri IrĆ©nĆ©e Marrou, Saint Augustin et la fin de la culture antique, 4th ed., 2 vol. in 1 (1958; reissued in 1 vol., 1983). Other useful studies are Brian Stock, Augustine the Reader: Meditation, Self-Knowledge, and the Ethics of Interpretation (1996) ; and Sabine MacCormack, The Shadows of Poetry: Vergil in the Mind of Augustine (1998) . Augustineās political views are addressed in R.A. Markus, Saeculum: History and Society in the Theology of St. Augustine, rev. ed. (1988). Augustineās views on sexuality have come under scrutiny in recent years, the most comprehensive study being Kim Power, Veiled Desire: Augustine on Women (1996) ; but Peter Brown, The Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity (1988), is also important.
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Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Links added. | Nov 05, 2026 | ||
| Anniversary information added. | Aug 24, 2026 | ||
| Top question added. | Aug 19, 2026 | ||
| Modified link of Web site: Heritage History - Augustine. | Aug 01, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: Villanova University - St. Augustine. | May 26, 2026 | ||
| Anniversary information added. | Nov 09, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: UPSpace - Augustine and manichaeism: new discoveries, new perspectives (PDF). | Oct 18, 2025 | ||
| Added a link to Pope Leo XIV's biography and revised spellings. | May 09, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Heritage History - Augustine. | Mar 25, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers added. | Feb 18, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Villanova University - St. Augustine. | Dec 17, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Academia - Lecture on the Life and Works of Augustine. | Aug 20, 2024 | ||
| First paragraph modernization. | Apr 23, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Ancient Origins - Saint Augustine of Hippo and His Detours on the Long and Winding Path to Christianity. | Oct 17, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Eternal Word Television Network - St. Augustine. | Aug 08, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Augustine. | May 17, 2023 | ||
| Media added. | Apr 12, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Christianity Today - Augustine of Hippo. | Mar 29, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: World History Encyclopedia - Augustine of Hippo. | Jan 04, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Catholic Online - St. Augustine of Hippo. | Nov 09, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Great Thinkers - Augustine. | Aug 22, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Learn Religions - Biography of St. Augustine. | Apr 18, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Franciscan Media - Saint Augustine of Hippo. | Feb 14, 2021 | ||
| Media added. | Feb 19, 2020 | ||
| Revised the description of his conflict with Pelagius and the effects of the siege of Hippo. | Feb 04, 2020 | ||
| Media added. | Mar 22, 2018 | ||
| Bibliography revised. | Oct 24, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | Oct 19, 2017 | ||
| Added images of St. Augustine. | Oct 10, 2017 | ||
| Mentioned his feast date and added cross-references. | Oct 10, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: ReligionFacts - Biography of St. Augustine of Hippo. | Jan 02, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: Eternal Word Television Network - Biography of St. Augustine of Hippo. | Jan 02, 2017 | ||
| Image added. | Jun 24, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Spartacus Educational - Biography of Augustine of Hippo. | Mar 26, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: North Atlantic Treaty Organization - Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. | Nov 23, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: Olga's Gallery - Biography of St. Augustine of Hippo. | Nov 23, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Basic First Aid. | Nov 18, 2011 | ||
| Changed "Augustine's impact on the Middle Ages cannot be underestimated" to "Augustine's impact on the Middle Ages cannot be overestimated." | Oct 20, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Academy of American Poets - Biography of Federico Garcļæ½a Lorca. | Jun 24, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: The Catholic Encyclopedia - Life of St. Augustine of Hippo. | Nov 06, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Biography of Saint Augustine. | Nov 01, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Augustine of Hippo. | Jun 15, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Augustine: Political and Social Philosophy. | Jun 14, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | Feb 16, 2000 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 20, 1998 |