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A review by scottacorbin
Augustine of Hippo: A Biography by Peter R.L. Brown
3.0
The past is a foreign country. When we read history, we shouldn't seek to necessarily read moral tales and place ourselves at the helm. Instead, we must seek to have humility and strive to understand the characters in their place and time.
I had to constantly remind myself of this when reading Peter Brown's magisterial biography of Augustine of Hippo, or known affectionately by most as St. Augustine. Brown's prose and integration of source material in this biography is remarkable. At times, even beautiful. Yet, all that being said, this was an incredibly difficult book to read. Augustine is one of the most brilliant - if not *the* most brilliant - minds in the history of the Christian church, compiling a massive amount of intellectual material over the course of his life. The reader of Augustine needs to proceed with caution. Thus, doing justice to Augustine's legacy in under 500 pages is an accomplishment in and of itself. But within these 500 or so pages is not loose musings or thoughts but sentences loaded with thoughtfulness. Peter Brown writes with heavy prose. Readers beware.
All in all, this is an incredible book, but in attempting to traverse the mountain of Augustine's thought, by way of Peter Brown's leading, don't be surprised if you get altitude sickness - I know I did. The views are stunning but only if you can handle the headaches.
I had to constantly remind myself of this when reading Peter Brown's magisterial biography of Augustine of Hippo, or known affectionately by most as St. Augustine. Brown's prose and integration of source material in this biography is remarkable. At times, even beautiful. Yet, all that being said, this was an incredibly difficult book to read. Augustine is one of the most brilliant - if not *the* most brilliant - minds in the history of the Christian church, compiling a massive amount of intellectual material over the course of his life. The reader of Augustine needs to proceed with caution. Thus, doing justice to Augustine's legacy in under 500 pages is an accomplishment in and of itself. But within these 500 or so pages is not loose musings or thoughts but sentences loaded with thoughtfulness. Peter Brown writes with heavy prose. Readers beware.
All in all, this is an incredible book, but in attempting to traverse the mountain of Augustine's thought, by way of Peter Brown's leading, don't be surprised if you get altitude sickness - I know I did. The views are stunning but only if you can handle the headaches.