On Christian Doctrine
by Augustine · De Doctrina Christiana
Assigned by 3 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 397-426
- Form
- Theology
- Language
- Latin
- Length
- Medium · 170 pp120 to 300 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendOn Christian Teaching, translated by R. P. H. GreenOxford World's Classics, 2008A modern, accurate translation by the editor of the Latin text, with concise notes.
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Augustine's handbook for interpreting and teaching Scripture. Book I distinguishes things from signs and things to be enjoyed from things to be used, placing love of God and neighbour at the centre of all reading. Books II and III treat the Bible's unknown and ambiguous signs, the liberal arts a reader needs, and figurative language. Book IV, finished thirty years later, adapts Cicero's rhetoric to Christian preaching.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns On Christian Doctrine are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
