奧古斯丁 Aurelius Augustin

奧裏留·奧古斯丁生於羅馬帝國北非努米底亞省的塔加斯特鎮（現位於阿爾及利亞）。幼年時曾從母親加入基督教，但19歲在修辭學校讀書時成為摩尼教追隨者。從修辭學校畢業後，先在迦太基城，後到羅馬和米蘭教授修辭和演講術。其時受米蘭主教安布羅斯影響，脫離摩尼教，一度醉心於柏拉圖主義和懷疑派的著作。他最後皈依基督教的契機是“花園裏的奇跡”。據他的自傳《懺悔錄》記述，某日正當他在住所花園裏為信仰而彷徨之際，耳邊響起清脆的童聲：“拿起，讀吧！拿起，讀吧！”他急忙翻開手邊的《聖經》，恰是聖保羅的教誨赫然在目：“不可荒宴醉酒，不可好色邪蕩，不可爭競嫉妒，總要披戴主耶穌基督，不要為肉體安排，去放縱私欲。”奧古斯丁年輕時生活放蕩，他感到這段話擊中要害，“頓覺有一道恬靜的光射到中心，驅散瞭陰霾籠罩的疑雲”。387年復活節，他接受安布羅斯洗禮，正式加入基督教。此後迴到北非的傢鄉，隱居三年之後被教徒推選為省城希波教會執事，395年升任主教。在任職期間，他以極大的精力從事著述、講經布道、組織修會、反駁異端異教。他在晚年目睹瞭汪達爾人的入侵，死於希波城淪陷之前。他去世之後，汪達爾人控製的北非脫離瞭羅馬帝國，從此不再受羅馬教會的管轄。但奧古斯丁的著作流傳到西方，成為公教會和16世紀之後的新教的精神財富。

奧古斯丁是教父思想的集大成者。他的著作堪稱神學百科全書。在這些捲帙浩繁的著作中，《懺悔錄》、《論三位一體》、《上帝之城》可算作代錶作，包含不少哲學論述。

在他寫得這本書中還包含著一種完整的曆史觀，一種後來對歐洲發展有巨大影響的曆史觀。

This is the first new renddition for a generation of The City of God.the first major intelectual achievement of Latin Christianity and one of the classic texts of Western civilisation.When he began to write The City of God in 413,St Augustine`s intention was to defendthe Christian Church against the charge of having brought about the Sack of Rome in 410.Ourgrowing this initial purpose,the word evolved into a detailed critique of the political and moral tradition of Rome and a synthesis of Platonism and Christianity which musy stand as one of the most significant achievements in Western intellectual history.Apart from its intrinsic interest ,the Christian account of social and political relations which Augustine gives was to furnish one of the most fertile sources of material for the controversial literanture in the Middle Ages.R.W.Dyson has produced a complete,accurate,authoritative and fluent translation of The City of God,edited together with full biographical notes,a concise introduction, bibliographical note and chronogy of Augustine`s life.The result is one of the most important single contributions to the Cambridge Texts series yet published,of interest to students of ecclesiastical history,the history of political thought,theology,philosophy and late antiquity.

Preface

Introduction

A brief chronology of Augustine`s life

Bibliographical note

THE CITY OF GOD against the Pagans

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Biographical notes

Index