Augustine

September 1, 2015
A comprehensive literary biography of the great Christian thinker Augustine (354-430). Fox (Ancient History/New Coll., Oxford Univ.; Travelling Heroes: In the Epic Age of Homer, 2009, etc.) adds a hefty tome to the library of works on St. Augustine of Hippo, focusing mostly on his famous Confessions. Written in the late fourth century, Confessions remains a foundational work of Christian thought. Fox guides readers on an epic journey through the book and the life that inspired it. Presuming a familiarity from his audience with Confessions and with Augustine, Fox systematically explores his subject's well-documented life and provides in-depth background and commentary capable of assisting even seasoned scholars in a deeper understanding of the great autobiography. For instance, Fox presents a lengthy, detailed, and nuanced explanation of the Manichaean heresy that Augustine fervently followed for a time. Thorough background on topics such as this, obscure today but foundational to a full reading of Confessions, provides a true service to readers. Fox sees Augustine's early life as a series of conversions, either toward ways of thinking or away from certain lifestyles. Once he had thoroughly accepted orthodox Christianity, however, in the famous garden scene described in Confessions, the focus changed. Augustine ceased to undergo conversions and instead began a period of confession in his life, a grappling with his past that culminated in his writing (or dictating, as Fox theorizes) his great prayer, the Confessions. As Fox notes, "books and people alternate importantly in Augustine's intellectual journey," and he explores the many ancient texts that influenced the young Augustine as well as the many people who helped shape him. Fox's writing is coherent and approachable, but the book is not for casual readers of Augustine. It represents a close analysis of both Confessions and of Augustine himself, leaving few stones unturned. An erudite and ordered reading of Augustine's Confessions and a worthy addition to any library on early Christianity.

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October 15, 2015

Fox (classics, Oxford Univ.; The Classical World; Alexander the Great) adds another weighty tome to his long list of impressive works on ancient history. This volume follows the life of the North African saint Augustine (354-430), beginning, as the author's previous work Confessions does, with his childhood. His complicated youth follows, in which the young man takes a concubine, fathers a son, and accepts a heretical Manichaean gospel. Augustine is then transformed many times, undergoing several conversions. Fox presents the various contexts and many philosophies that influenced his subjects, including a substantial discussion of Manichaean and Platonic philosophy; all the while comparing Augustine to his contemporaries, especially the rhetorician Libanius. Highly intriguing is the exposition on the role of Platonic philosophy in Augustine's metamorphosis, his allegorical biblical exegesis, and his mystical ascent toward divine union. VERDICT Fox presents a complex, ever-changing, articulate, introspective, and idealistic philosopher sinner, revealing elements from Confessions and the author's many other titles. The volume would be best for readers to have some familiarity with the ancient Mediterranean or early church history. While this mountain of a book requires dedication and discipline, knowledge awaits those who reach the summit.--Jeffrey Meyer, Mt. Pleasant P.L., IA

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Starred review from October 15, 2015
Perhaps only Newton's apple tree has attracted more attention than the fig tree that shaded Augustine when he heard a child's voice prompting him to read the scriptural passage summoning him to a new life as a Christian saint. By transporting readers to that tree, Fox places them in that pivotal moment when a philosophically sophisticated rhetorician decisively repudiates the worldly ambitions and carnal lusts that have long delayed his baptism into Christianity. The richly detailed narrative indeed guides readers beyond this decisive moment through 11 years of further transformations before Augustine records his life in his inimitable Confessions. Carefully unfolding the structure and themes of this masterpiece, Fox establishes its character as an extended prayer often misread as a protomodern autobiography. To clarify the origins of this singular prayer, Fox contrasts the life of its author with the lives of two prominent contemporariesthe gifted pagan orator Libanius and the devout Christian bishop Synesiusmen whose life trajectories provide illuminating context for Augustine's account of his life's pilgrimage. Readers whounlike Foxshare Augustine's faith may resist the psychologizing glosses for key spiritual experiences. But readers pious and skeptical alike will recognize Fox as an exceptionally insightful and probing biographer.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)