Saint Augustin

Bertrand, Louis, 1866-1941Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 589K words
Chapters: 59

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Saint Augustin by Louis BertrandAuthor: Bertrand, Louis, 1866-1941,Language: English, Class: BR: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity, Release Date: Oct 1, 2005

Editor's review

This is a biography of Augustine written in English by the French author Louis Bertrand, in the public domain as an e-book. It places the theologian Augustine back in the historical setting of the late Roman Empire, tracing a line of intellectual and spiritual transformation from his boyhood studies, his detour into Manichaeism, and his conversion at Milan to his career as bishop of Hippo. As a literary author, Bertrand emphasizes character and the atmosphere of the age rather than analyzing theological propositions one by one, which gives the book the coherence of a biography. For Chinese readers it can serve as an introduction to Augustine's world: first gain an overall impression of the man and his era, then decide whether to go deeper into the Confessions, The City of God, and other primary texts. The e-book is a public-domain English text, suitable as supplementary reading in Western intellectual history and patristics, and also for readers interested in late Roman society. When reading, note the author's literary and apologetic perspective; it is safer to use alongside academic historical scholarship.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who want to learn about Augustine's life before reading the primary texts
Students of Western intellectual history and patristics using it as supplementary reading
Readers interested in late Roman society and religious atmosphere
Readers who want to encounter Christian history through biography

Not a good fit for

Researchers seeking systematic analysis of theological concepts and scholarly annotation
Readers who read only simplified Chinese and are unused to public-domain English texts
Readers expecting rigorous historical criticism and modern scholarly citations

Reading tips

Read through the whole book first to establish a timeline, then go back and mark the key points of the conversion and the episcopate.
Read it alongside the Confessions, comparing the biographical narrative with Augustine's own account.
Note the author's evaluative statements as you read, and watch for his literary and apologetic leanings.
After each chapter, summarize the intellectual changes of that stage in two or three sentences for easier overall review.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book an original work by Augustine?

No. It is an English biography by Louis Bertrand, telling the story of Augustine's life and intellectual transformation; it is not the Confessions or any other work by Augustine himself. It is suitable as an introduction to the man, on which basis you can then choose primary texts to study in depth.

How difficult is the English? Is it suitable for beginners?

The text is a public-domain English biography with a连贯 narrative focused on the person and his era; it does not pile up theological terminology, so readers with university-level English reading ability can attempt it. When you encounter names of people or places, you can skip them at first and focus on the main thread of events and intellectual change.

Do I need to understand Christian theology first to read this book?

Not necessarily. The book is mainly a life narrative, and the basic background is brought out in the telling. If you know nothing about Manichaeism, Donatism, and similar background, you can look up brief entries first, and the reading will go more smoothly.

Is there anything to note about reading the e-book edition?

This is a public-domain electronic text from Project Gutenberg; the layout and notes may be plain, and there is no introduction such as a modern translation would have. It is advisable to have note-taking tools ready, record the timeline and relationships between people, and be aware of the author's subjective evaluations in the narrative.

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About the author

Bertrand, Louis, 1866-1941 Author · French · 1866–1941

Louis Bertrand (1866–1941) was a French novelist and biographer. Only one of his works is held in this collection, the biography Saint Augustin, and publicly available information on his life in Chinese is limited. On the basis of the available information, his writing spanned both fiction and biography; his biographical works include Louis XIV and Napoléon, among others. These works generally take major historical figures as their subjects and use historical sources to trace their lives and the spirit of their times, combining narrative drive with readability. His subjects center on French history and religious figures, and his style emphasizes the presentation of historical facts and the portrayal of character, giving his work a certain influence in popular historical biography.