Confessions, Augustine, 1638
THE CONFESSIONS OF S. AVGVSTINE BISHOPE OF HIPPON and D. of the Church. Translated into English by S. T. M. The second Edition. Printed at Paris. M. DC. XXXVIII.
Original full brown leather over boards with gold details. Old restorations with original spine laid down. Some scuffing and chipping of leather. Corners bumped and chipped. Marbled paste downs. Ffep and Rfep wanting. Penciled dealer notes and 18th century ink owner’s notes on front blanks. Ex libris copy with book plate on front paste down. Engraved title page followed by full title (with early notes written on it). Internal hinges cracking. Mild toning and foxing. Otherwise, clean, bright, and tight throughout.
(12) 613 (5).
Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) was considered by Roman Catholics and Reformers alike as among the greatest of the Early Church Fathers. Indeed, Calvin quotes Augustine over 100 times in his Institutes.
In the Confessions, Augustine relates that his father, Patricius, seemed pleased that Augustine was committing adultery in the bath houses (Augustine speculates his father was enthusiastic that it might produce an heir), but he details that his mother, Monica, was deeply troubled by it, though she was temperate in her response (particularly cautioning him not to get involved with another man’s wife). Immediately following this Augustine relates the famous narrative of the incident in which he and some friends stole some pears. Both of these examples of sin are retold in Book II chapters 3 and 4; pages 43 – 48 in this copy. (See also vol 1 of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, pages 56 and 57). It is interesting to follow the author’s logic here after, as it seems the theft of pears weighs on his conscience more heavily than committing adultery.
“Ambrose (37/339-397) was Augustine’s first instructor in the Scriptures and taught the allegorical interpretive methodology to Augustine. Augustine, in turn interpreted Scripture in both a literal and allegorical fashion” (Hall, Christopher, Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers, pg 102).
“Augustine’s personal pilgrimage to faith, recorded in an intensely personal form in his Confessions, mirrors for may modern Christians their own personal struggles: How can one live a sexually sane life in a sexually insane culture? How is love different from lust? How has sin affected the human personality? If God is infinitely powerful and infinitely loving, why is the world filled with such evil and suffering? Exactly what is evil?” (Hall, pg 116)
Sir Tobie Matthew (1577-1655) was a member of English Parliament who converted to Roman Catholicism and begam a priest. His translation of Augustine was apparently banned in England.
5 x 3 1/8 x 1 ¼ inches
