Language in the Confessions of Augustine

by Philip Burton

Overview

Philip Burton explores Augustine's treatment of language in his Confessions - a major work of Western philosophy and literature, with continuing intellectual importance. One of Augustine's key concerns is the story of his own encounters with language: from his acquisition of language as a child, through his career as schoolboy orator then star student at Carthage, to professor of rhetoric at Carthage and Rome. Having worked his way up to the eminence of Court Orator to the Roman Emperor at Milan, Augustine rediscovered the catholic Christianity of his childhood - and decided that this was incompatible with his rhetorical profession. Over the next ten years, he gradually reinvents himself as a different sort of language professional: a Christian intellectual, commentating on Scripture and preaching to his flock.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199554454
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/15/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Philip Burton is Lecturer in New Testament Studies and Biblical Languages at the University of Birmingham.

Table of Contents

1. Sermo2. Alternative Comedy: The Language of the Theatre3. The Vocabulary of the Liberal Arts4. Talking Books5. Biblical Idioms in the Confessions6. The Paralinguistics7. Epilogue