Letters of St. Augustine

by Augustine of Hippo

These letters, written by Saint Augustine give insight into his life, thoughts and theology.

Genres: Theology, History, Religion, Spirituality

255 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 430

About the author

Early church father and philosopher Saint Augustine served from 396 as the bishop of Hippo in present-day Algeria and through such writings as the autobiographical Confessions in 397 and the voluminous City of God from 413 to 426 profoundly influenced Christianity, argued against Manichaeism and Donatism, and helped to establish the doctrine of original sin.

An Augustinian follows the principles and doctrines of Saint Augustine.

People also know Aurelius Augustinus in English of Regius (Annaba). From the Africa province of the Roman Empire, people generally consider this Latin theologian of the greatest thinkers of all times. He very developed the west. According to Jerome, a contemporary, Augustine renewed "the ancient Faith."

The Neo-Platonism of Plotinus afterward heavily weighed his years. After conversion and his baptism in 387, Augustine developed his own approach to theology and accommodated a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed in the indispensable grace to human freedom and framed the concept of just war. When the Western Roman Empire started to disintegrate from the material earth, Augustine developed the concept of the distinct Catholic spirituality in a book of the same name. He thought the medieval worldview. Augustine closely identified with the community that worshiped the Trinity. The Catholics and the Anglican communion revere this preeminent doctor. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider his due teaching on salvation and divine grace of the theology of the Reformation. The Eastern Orthodox also consider him. He carries the additional title of blessed. The Orthodox call him "Blessed Augustine" or "Saint Augustine the Blessed."

Santo Agostinho

Reviews

[Brian Eshleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Augustine's correspondence is definitely edifying. As with the rest of my time with the Church fathers, I don't always know the contemporary issues they are addressing. It's a blessing to swim along and relatively high speed until I hit on a phrase I can keep. With Augustine's letters, that happens fairly often. There is nothing new under the sun, and the same Spirit which ennobles Augustine's counsel is still at work today in the same endeavors.

[Nemo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of St. Augustine's letters in which he instructs the young, comforts the widowed, corrects those who have gone astray, shares intimate feelings with his friends and debates Biblical issues with St. Jerome and others.

On Discernment

It's not in the book or in the writer that readers discern the truth of what they read; they see it in themselves, if the light of truth has penetrated their minds.

On the Excellency of Christian Love

[Note: The following quote is the seed of the ideas St. Augustine later developed in his masterpiece [book:City of God|25673] ]

Are there any arguments, any philosophers' writings, any legal codes, worth comparing to the two precepts on which Christ says the whole law and the prophets depend: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and all your mind"; and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself"? Here we find physical science, since the causes of all existing things are in God the creator. Here we find ethics, since life is only good and honorable when we love the thing we are to love, namely God and our neighbor, in the right way. Here we find logic, since God alone is the truth and the light of a rational soul. Here, too, we find the welfare and renown of a nation, since no state can be perfectly established and preserved unless it is founded and bound together by faith and a stable union of hearts. This occurs when God, who is the highest and truest common good, is loved; and when all the people love one another sincerely in Him, since they love themselves for the sake of Him from Whom they cannot hide the true character of their love.

[Frédéric Bey]

"Lettres croisées de Jérôme et Augustin" est un ouvrage passionnant sur le fond comme sur la forme. Il permet en effet d'appréhender l'activité quotidienne de deux des plus brillants intellectuels de leur temps : leurs lectures, leur culture, leur rapport au monde et aux débats de l'époque. Ce qui est également fascinant, en comparaison avec notre monde contemporain, c'est la lenteur des échanges épistolaires : il faut parfois deux ans à une lettre pour arriver à destination ! Les lettres à l'époques sont copiées, se perdent parfois... une des lettres d'Augustin à Jérôme termine chez un mauvais destinataire dans une île illyrienne (sic).

Enfin, leur correspondance croisée met en lumière les caractères très différents des deux Saints : "Si, par leur engagement dans les querelles de leur époque, Jérôme et augustin sont pleinement de leur temps, il est de fait que le premier est du passé et le second du futur. Leur attitude scientifique en témoigne pleinement. En face du même problème, Augustin raisonne et existe, alors que Jérôme cite, compare et s'efface." (Introduction, page 27).

[Kasey Mazak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am fascinated by the life of Saint Augustine whose life had turned from a rebel to a saint.

HIs letter to Sapida, a consecrated virgin whose brother, Timothy, had recently died, touches me. Here is a part of it:

"You do indeed have a reason for tears. You no longer see your beloved brother, who had such respect for your life and your profession of holy virginity; he is no longer going about and energetically carrying out his deities as deacon of the church of Carthage; you no longer hear the respectful words he bestowed on the holiness of his dear sister with kind and loyal and becoming affection. When you recollect these things, and look for them with the impetuousness of habit, your heart is pierced, and your tears spring forth as if they are your heart's blood. But lift up your heart, and your eyes will be dry. Those things whose loss you mourn have passed away in the way temporal things do. But that does not mean that the love Timothy had for Sapida, and still has for you, has perished."

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The letters of Augustine are well worth reading if for no other reason than to know how to encourage others, even and especially those it whom you disagree. Augustine demonstrates grace and compassion toward others, never lording his rank and authority nor talking down to those who are less well versed. Beyond that, there is a wide range of topics covered here, and it is helpful to read his understanding of so many topics.