Article on Augustne

[truthstalker]

Jonathan, in his kindness, furnished the following link:

 http://www.stmaryscopticorthodox.ca/content/articles/fathers/1007.pdf

This thread is to discuss the article, which I read with my mouth open, and not because of a stuffed up nose (which I don't have, thank you for asking).  I would like someone to rise to Augustine's defense. I tend to think the author was too kind to Augustine in discussing some of his works.  The same assertions regarding lust, for example, are present in his writings on virginity, the good of marriage, and widowhood. He gets an "F" on his understanding of marriage in my book.  This tears a huge hole in any possible acceptance of Catholicism for me, one reason I am looking at Orthodoxy.

Why didn't A. know about the Councils of Nicea and Constantinople, or about the writings on the Holy Spirit? He did read some Greek, and there were people running around translating things.  That he didn't bother looking into the eastern works on the Trinity, when spending most of his life working on that work, is worse than embarrassing.

[Αριστοκλής]

He read Greek? I do not think so. In fact he nearly loathed it reading what little he did of earlier fathers in Latin translation only.

[scamandrius]

He read Greek? I do not think so. In fact he nearly loathed it reading what little he did of earlier fathers in Latin translation only.

He did study it in school a little bit, but had a lot of difficulty with it (cf. Confessions, Book II). 

We must keep in mind that there was no instant translation machine back then.  Augustine worked with what he had.  However, I do believe that there were Latin translations of the canons of Nicaea  circulating at the time of his writing period (c. 390-430 A.D.).

[Αριστοκλής]

Yeah, my instant translation machine involved a few years of real effort without any machine...and still continues.

He didn't work very hard.

[truthstalker]

He read Greek? I do not think so. In fact he nearly loathed it reading what little he did of earlier fathers in Latin translation only.

He did study it in school a little bit, but had a lot of difficulty with it (cf. Confessions, Book II). 

We must keep in mind that there was no instant translation machine back then.  Augustine worked with what he had.  However, I do believe that there were Latin translations of the canons of Nicaea  circulating at the time of his writing period (c. 390-430 A.D.).

There must have been. Absolutely. And for a premier scholar and bishop to miss this...."shudder."

I think he had some competence in Greek, but also realized he was not competent enough to read Greek theological works.  But he seems to have done little research, as it either unaware of the Eastern work or bypassing it in favor of his own cogitations. Distances were much greater back then, and news traveled slowly, but still...

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