On Augustine

In On Augustine, Rowan Williams offers the fruits of his study of St Augustine over 25 years of scholarly reflection.

St Augustine not only shaped the development of Western theology, he also made a major contribution to political theory (City of God) and through his Confessions to the understanding of human psychology. Though the literature on Augustine can seem endless, here Williams shows his own exceptional insight and the product is a book that is a major contribution to modern thought on this great philosopher and theologian.

This is not a comprehensive examination of Augustine’s work – but rather a series of soundings in key topics such as Augustine’s Trinitarian theology, Christology, evil, love, self-awareness and memory, as well as the restlessness of the human heart.

Augustine stands head and shoulders above his contemporaries and other fathers of the Early Church for the quality of his mind, the depth of his spiritual insights and the effect of his subsequent influence on the history of Christianity. In his preface Dr Williams explains that these essays were first written in order to explain and share the work of Augustine with his students and other interested readers. The result is an exposition of great clarity and insight.