The City of God (11-22) (Vol. I/7) (The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century) - Softcover

Saint Augustine; William Babcock (Translator)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1565484819 ISBN 13: 9781565484818

Publisher: New City Press, 2013

Synopsis

Along with his Confessions, The City of God is undoubtedly St. Augustine's most influential work. Following Augustine's critique of the Roman religious, political, and intellectual tradition in Books 1-10, Books 11-22 set out his great vision of the origins, the histories, and the ultimate destinies of the two cities: the earthly city, rooted in love of self as expressed in the pride and lust for domination that shatter human society, and the heavenly city, rooted in love of God as expressed in the humility and yearning for the supreme good that unite humanity in a just social order. For all those who are interested in the greatest classics of Christian antiquity, The City of God is indispensable.

This long-awaited translation by William Babcock is published in two volumes, with an introduction and annotation that make Augustine's monumental work approachable. The INDEX for Books 1-22 (both volumes of The City of God) is contained in this volume.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"This is a magnificent new translation, sure to be welcomed by readers of Augustine old and new. It is certainly worthy of a place among the great translations of this work, offering an eminently readable and accurate rendition. One forgets one is reading a translation -- isn't that the goal of all great translating? Highly recommended."
John Cavadini, Professor of Theology and Director of the Institute for Church Life, University of Notre Dame

"This lucid translation of Augustine's complicated Latin text, complemented by an expert introduction and helpful notes, is a remarkable achievement indeed. A new jewel in the crown of an already famous series that is highly appreciated worldwide."
Johannes van Oort, Editor of Vigiliae Christianae; Author of Jerusalem and Babylon (1991; paperback: Leiden-Boston 2012)

"All will be grateful for Babcock's new subheadings and summaries, which trace the articulations of Augustine's carefully connected argument. His long reflection and deep understanding, expressed in his outstanding Introduction, shape every sentence of this clear and thoughtful translation."
Gillian Clark, Professor Emerita, University of Bristol; Co-editor, Oxford Early Christian Studies

"William Babcock's City of God is likely to become the new standard thanks to a first-rate introduction, helpful scholarly aids, a substantial index, and a translation into a contemporary English that is clear enough for students to understand yet reliably close to the original."
Paul R. Kolbet, Lecturer in Early Christianity, Yale University; Author of Augustine and the Cure of Souls (Notre Dame 2010)

"The monumental City of God has astonishingly relevant things to say to an age of postmodernism, secularism, multiculturalism and globalisation. This affordable new translation with useful notes will make this masterpiece accessible to the 21st century reader."
Karla Pollmann, Professor of Classics, University of St. Andrews

From the Inside Flap:

"[T]his translation fully justifies the praise that has already been heaped on it. Lyrical without any sacrifice of sense, it compares consistently well with both Dyson and Bettenson and is certainly the most beautiful and up-to-date of the existing versions ... Augustine used multiple Latin versions of the Bible besides Jerome's, including his own, and one great advantage of the edition under review is that, where past translators have used pre-existent English versions of the Vulgate for scriptural citations, Babcock renders each scriptural quotation directly and individually ... Babcock takes the unique step of removing the titular headings which have formed an integral part of the work since the first printed edition, but which are in all probability non-authorial ... Its absence has a clarifying effect ... The notes are comprehensive enough to suffice for any level of reader and are given as footnotes for ease of reference (neatly including the kind of material on key people and events that is glossarial in the Cambridge University Press edition) ... [A] truly new, elegant and intelligent translation well worth both the committed Augustinian's and the neophyte's while.
Arabella Milbank in Marginalia (the Journal of the Medieval Reading Group at the University of Cambridge

About this edition

• Publisher: New City Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1565484819
• ISBN 13: 9781565484818
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 640
• Editor: Boniface Ramsey