Table Of ContentChrISTIANITy ANd JUdAISm IN ANTIqUITy • Gregory Sterling, Series Editor K
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Augustine E
And the Cure of souls
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Revising a Classical Ideal
Paul R. Kolbet
“ For someone who does not know augustine well this book will be an A
excellent introduction to his thought from an absolutely crucial viewpoint.
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augustine’s preaching, teaching, and attempts to reach the minds and
hearts of his congregation have been largely overlooked. this book has G
the great virtue of demonstrating why these were important.”
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—Carol harrison, Durham university
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“ In this insightful and lucid study Kolbet leads his readers across the
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boundaries of ancient philosophy, psychology, rhetoric, and theology.
He examines the ancient practice of the ‘cure of the soul’ and charts its I
Christian appropriation by augustine. the volume offers its own medicinal N
promise—the reordering of our contemporary understanding of early
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Christianity and its complex association with classical culture.”
—John Peter Kenney, St. Michael’s College
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A N
ugustine and the Cure of Souls situates augustine within the ancient
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philosophical tradition of using words to order emotions. Paul Kolbet uncovers
a profound continuity in augustine’s thought, from his earliest pre-baptismal T
h
writings to his final acts as bishop, revealing a man deeply indebted to the
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Roman past and yet distinctly Christian. Rather than supplanting his classical
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learning, augustine’s Christianity reinvigorated precisely those elements of
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Roman wisdom that he believed were slipping into decadence. In particular,
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Kolbet addresses the manner in which augustine not only used classical
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rhetorical theory to express his theological vision, but also infused it with
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theological content.
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this book offers a fresh reading of augustine’s writings—particularly his
numerous, though often neglected, sermons—and provides an illuminating S
point of entry into the great North african bishop’s life and thought. o
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PAUl r. KolBET is assistant professor of theology at boston College. l
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university of notre dame Press
Notre Dame, IN 46556
ISBN-13:978-0-268-03321-7
undpress.nd.edu
ISBN-10:0-268-03321-8
9 0 0 0 0
Cover art: louis de boullogne, the Younger, St. Augustin
Priester Preaching at Hippone in Front of Bishop Valere,
c. 1705. Gift of Dr. Hans Rosenwald. Courtesy of
the Snite Museum of art, university of Notre Dame. 9 78026 8 033217
Cover design: Gore Studio, Inc.
Kolbet CVR MECH.indd 1 10/13/09 10:18:26 AM
Kolbet-000FM_Layout 1 10/6/09 11:27 PM Page i
AUGUSTINE AND THE CURE OF SOULS
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CHRISTIANITY AND JUDAISM IN ANTIQUITY SERIES
Gregory E. Sterling, Series Editor
Volume 17
The University of Notre Dame Press gratefully acknowledges the
generous support of Jack and Joan Conroy of Naples, Florida,
in the publication of titles in this series.
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AUGUSTINE
and the
Cure of SoulS
Revising a Classical Ideal
PAUL R. KOLBET
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana
Kolbet-000FM:Layout 1 10/14/09 11:58 AM Page iv
Copyright © 2010 by University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
www.undpress.nd.edu
All Rights Reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kolbet, Paul R.
Augustine and the cure of souls : revising a classical ideal / Paul R. Kolbet
p. cm. — (Christianity and Judaism in antiquity)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-268-03321-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-268-03321-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo. I. Title.
BR65.A9K59 2010
253.0937—dc22
2009042050
This book is printed on recycled paper.
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For Amy Egloff
with love and gratitude
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Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity Series (CJAS)
The Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity Program at the University of
Notre Dame came into existence during the afterglow of the Second Vati -
can Council. The doctoral program combines the distinct academic dis ci -
plines of the Hebrew Bible, Judaism, the New Testament, and the Early
Church in an effort to explore the religion of the ancient Hebrews, the di-
verse forms of Second Temple Judaism, and its offspring into religions of
Rabbinic Judaism and the multiple incarnations of early Christianity. While
the scope of the program thus extends from the late Bronze and Early Iron
Ages to the late antique world, the fulcrum lies in the Second Temple and
Early Christian periods. Each religion is explored in its own right, although
the program cultivates a History-of-Religions approach that examines their
reciprocally illuminating interrelationships and their place in the larger con-
text of the ancient world. During the 1970s a monograph series was launched
to reflect and promote the orientation of the program. Initially known as
Studies in Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity, the series was published
under the auspices of the Center of the Study of Judaism and Christianity in
Antiquity. Six volumes appeared from 1975 to 1986. In 1988 the series name
became Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity as the editorship passed to
Charles Kannengiesser, who oversaw the release of nine volumes. Professor
Kannengiesser’s departure from Notre Dame necessitated the appointment
of a new editor. At the same time, the historic connection between the series
and the CJA doctoral program was strengthened by the appointment of all
CJA faculty to the editorial board. Throughout these institutional permuta-
tions, the purpose of the series has continued to be the promotion of research
into the origins of Judaism and Christianity with the hope that a better grasp
of the common ancestry and relationship of the two world’s religions will
illuminate not only the ancient world but the modern world as well.
Gregory E. Sterling, Series Editor
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Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
Rhetoric and Christian Identity in the Roman Empire
Sources and Method
Part One. A Classical Ideal
Chapter One. Classical Therapy: Its Origins, Tasks, and Methods 19
Psychagogy as a Cultural Ideal
Psychagogy in Its Classical Form
Chapter Two. Hellenistic Refinements 41
Cures for the Roman Soul
The Psychagogic Value of Ancient Texts
Part Two. Revising and Recontextualizing Classical Therapy
Chapter Three. Augustine’s Early Formation 65
An Ambitious Young Orator
Being Healed by Beautiful Words
