Jerusalem and Babylon : a study of Augustine’s City of God and the sources of his doctrine of the two cities

441 Pages·2013·31.108 MB·English, Dutch

by  Augustinus, Aurelius, Oort, Johannes

Jerusalem and Babylon
Woodcut from: Augustinus De Civitate Dei cum commento [Thomae Valois et
Nicolai Trivet], Basel, Johann Amerbach, 1489.
Jerusalem and Babylon
A Study of Augustine’s City of God and the
Sources of his Doctrine of the Two Cities
By
Johannes van Oort
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2013
Cover illustration: Augustinus De Ciuitate Dei. (Plut. 12.19, c.1) Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana
Piazza di San Lorenzo, 9, I-50123 Firenze. Photo made by Donato Pineider, Firenze.
This paperback was originally published in hardback under ISBN 978-90-40-09323-2.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Oort, J. van (Johannes)
Jerusalem and Babylon: a study into Augustine’s City God and the sources of his doctrine
of the two cities / by Johannes van Oort.
p. cm. -- (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, ISSN 0920-623X; v. 14)
Originally presented in Dutch as the author’s thesis (doctoral) -- University of Utrecht,
1986.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 90-04-09323-0
1. Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo. De civitate Dei. 2. Kingdom of God.
3. Apologetics--Early church, ca. 30-600. 3. Apologetics--Early church, ca. 30-600.I. Title.
II. Series.
BR65.A65052 1990
239’.3--dc20
90-24319
ISBN 978-90-04-24628-7 (paperback)
Copyright 1991 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke
Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright
Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
Fees are subject to change.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
To Ineke
To Gerdiene and Hans-Willem

PREFACE TO THE PAPERBACK EDITION
Writing a preface to the paperback edition of my very first book is a
special experience. The time of its first edition seems to lie far back
in the past and the year of its first appearance in Dutch as a disserta-
tion to obtain the degree of Doctor (in Theology) at the University
of Utrecht even more so. The Dutch edition was reprinted four
times, and – apart from a brief addition to the Preface – remained
unchanged. This does not mean that I did not find some (albeit
small) corrigenda or remained unaware of possible addenda. The
nature of Augustinian scholarship, with continuous intense activity
worldwide, makes addenda possible almost immediately after the first
appearance of any publication.
In accordance with the principle of Brill’s paperback editions, but
also because supplementation would have been endless, this English
reprint remains unchanged as well. I do not find it difficult to consent
to this modus operandi, because in the course of the years my view
on the subject has not changed and, were I to write on the same
subject today, my conclusions would be essentially the same. One
element that I would have given a more prominent place in the over-
all argument would have been the occurrence of the idea of two
‘cities’ in early Jewish-Christian baptismal tradition. The original sec-
tion I wrote on this subject was eventually omitted from the book
because it appeared to me to interrupt the flow of the argument.
(Besides, the original Dutch version in its printed form was a disserta-
tion that had to be defended publicly, so it seemed wise to avoid
additional ‘theses’!) If it is true that ‘on revient toujours a ses premiers
amours’, I will return to this theme sometime in the future.
Looking back at the reception of the book in international scholar-
ship, I have much cause for gratitude. The faithful translation of a
book is a challenging enterprise and I thankfully remember the work
done by those who endeavoured with me to perform this task. For
myself it meant hard work over many months, months I could (and,
in my opinion then, should) have devoted to other work at hand.
Translating and retranslating difficult passages from Latin, Greek,
Hebrew, Coptic and other sources was time-consuming. Any English
translation simply based on my Dutch translations turned out to be
preface to the paperback edition
inadequate, while the several English translations available in print
proved inappropriate for illustrating my argument. I still feel very
grateful for the training received from my Utrecht University profes-
sors, and also for the wide-ranging education once available at its
flourishing Faculty of Theology. It enabled me not only to study
Augustine from the best Latin editions, but also to read and interpret
him within the broad context of Late Antiquity and the varieties of
its emerging Christianity. Internationally this approach was well
received, but its first impetus came from those masters in that intel-
lectual environment.
* * *
For several years Jerusalem and Babylon was also used as a course book,
first for my students at Utrecht University and later also at Radboud
University Nijmegen. For easy reference it was frequently called
‘J&B’, but it was only during my first lectures in South Africa that
I learned that this abbreviation stood for some well-known brand
of whisky as well. There and then, however, we cheerfully kept the
short form. It is hoped that its contents, newly bottled so to say, will
serve a useful purpose for both my international students and many
a colleague as well.
Last but not least, I am deeply grateful to be able to retain and
even to underline the original dedication of this book. Meantime for
over forty happy years, Ineke espoused my daily activities in her own
and very special way, as did our beloved daughter and son. I’m glad
to include here the names of our much-loved son-in-law Henri and
grandchildren Lucas Johannes and Sophie.
Pretoria, South Africa
January 2, 2013 Johannes van Oort