This book collects nine treatises, all thought at one time to have been written by the venerable St. Augustine. Even at the time, one of these, The Christian Life, was pretty dubious and it’s basically been decided by most scholars that it isn’t by Augustine. Another one, The Excellence of Widowhood, is a little up in the air, though most think it is the genuine article and it sounds like him to me. I already posted reviews of a few of the more significant treatises from this book (On Patience, Treatise on the Work of Monks, On Continence), but just as a quick round up on the book as a whole, I really enjoyed it. The quality is pretty variable, ranging from the downright great to the downright bad. On Lying is both the earliest and the worst inclusion here; it’s Augustine trying to really get into the weeds on whether or not lying is a good thing and this leads to him spinning ever more ludicrous hypotheticals only to ultimately end each one by saying, “Well, no, not even in this case is it okay,” and, man, does it get tedious. But, by and large, the old saint remains compelling and pleasant company. Yes, he occasionally says something problematic, but less than you’d expect for someone from over 1,500 years ago; hell, people who were popular in the 1980s are super-problematic these days, so nobody from the 400s is going to stand up perfectly. The translations here are by various people, most affiliated in some official capacity with the Catholic Church. In fact, this book has a seal at the front indicating that it has been deemed free of doctrinal error by the Church, so that’s a first for me. The translations are brisk and very readable, making the book entertaining for most of its length and each selection has helpful notes at the front. In short, there are a few dull bits, but, by and large, the old saint remains compelling and pleasant company. Yes, he occasionally says something problematic, but less than you’d expect for someone from over 1,500 years ago; hell, people who were popular in the 1980s are super-problematic these days, so nobody from the 400s is going to stand up perfectly. 3 stars.
tl;dr – collection of short essays by St. Augustine runs the gamut from bad to great, but most of them are compelling, interesting and pleasant. 3 stars.
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Je n'aime pas dans les vieux films américains quand les conducteurs ne regardent pas la route. Et de ratage en ratage, on s'habitue à ne jamais dépasser le stade du brouillon. La vie n'est que l'interminable répétition d'une représentation qui n'aura jamais lieu.