The Young Augustine

by John Joseph O'Meara

Subtitle: The Growth of St. Augustine's Mind Up Until the Time of His Conversion.
Professor O'Meara, with his vast knowledge of the man and his times, has presented a readable and balanced portrait of Augustine as a young man; and his work gives us a clearer understanding of one of the towering figures in the history of Christendom.

215 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1954

Reviews

[Jack Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gives some useful background information relevant to Augustine's life, such as beliefs of the Manichees or the teaching of Rhetoric which Augustine had been professor. Otherwise it's an overview of the first 9 books of Confessions dealing with the conversion of Augustine; books 10-13 with their deeper philosophical reflections aren't touched upon.

It goes into some detail about the Neo-Platonic background of Augustine but, in my opinion, delves too deeply into the scholarly questions of O'Meara's day such as 'which exact works had Augustine read?' which doesn't really interest me whether it should be considered more Porphyry or Plotinus. The scholarship itself is probably very dated by now so not even of great use.

[Erik Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for Father David Hassel's course "The Philosophy of St. Augustine" during the first semester of 1981/82 at Loyola University Chicago. Compared to Brown's biography, it wasn't very impressive.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skillful writing, an intimate knowledge of Augustine, and just enough creativity to make things interesting combine to make this both enjoyable and informative. A bit dated now.