I am reading the complete works of Augustine of Hippo

[Kurt]

Its not exactly tuned to 21st century attention spans but it is interesting as Augustine does have a logic that seems a bit beyond most people in Late Antiquity. One can see the shaping of the coming Medieval world and the vanishing of the pagan world and how he blended Christianity to be like the dying Rome while phrasing it in a way that pagan Romans could related to. He talked about "signs" often but does not yet mention The Book of Signs, but signs were an important part of Roman religion, especially for the common folk.

The most stunning this is that Augustine predicted the fall of Rome and the make up of Medieval Europe. He resigned himself to the loss of Rome but predicted that the powerful Latin language would survive and that Germanic people would become Christian and keep the Latin language with their own tongue. He essentially predicted the Merovingians and Carolingians. This was not divination on his part but logic (he would have opposed divination, even Christian divination).

Charlamagne went to bed every night reading City of God, so Augustine had quite a lot to do in the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages and the Middle Ages and the systems formed then have quite a lot to do with us today.

Plus he theorised an area of the Universe outside the universe where there was no timeline....Essentially Augustine of Hippo predicted The Tardis.

[Rapier09]

I have a copy of his book right by my laptop,on edit the confessions.

Only time I've heard astrology being called a Manichee science.

[coldharvest]

I may start reading City of God myself.
I'm grooving on Diogenes of Sinope again but it's always good to be reminded of past genius and how they figured out what we struggle with today.

[RAH]

Interesting that, always wanted to have a go at Civitas Dei especially since he (and Boethius) were like an intellectual farewell to the ancient world aside from important guys and philosophical underpinnings in the medieval one. There are a bunch far more minor figures, though worth a quick look, writing a little later. Hydatius wrote a chronicle about 20 years after Augustine died (might be downloadable in English) from his backwater in Gallaecia, Hispania, which was under the Sueves. He kinda thought the whole of society was falling apart, pretty dark volume. Victor of Vita (History of the Persecution) wrote in Carthage about Vandal cruelties (somewhat a clerical bias thing since the average Joe was likely no better or no worse under the Vandal kings) and Gildas wrote On The Conquest and Ruin of Britain, which, aside from a lot of pastoral stuff in full of over the top, sometimes funny, invective. On local king is described as the "Vulgar whelp of a [Cornish] lioness" and I think there was a line "Kings Britain has but they are tyrants, priests Britain has but they are fools, leaders Britain has but they are thieves." This was the only record written by a Briton for 200 years or so. Common theme seemed to be that sins had brought about the turn of events and let the barbarians take hold, though this reflects elite anger rather than massive population displacement. Still, 100 years later when some level of accommodation or assimilation had happened in many places like Spain and Gaul (except Italy) the writers tended to sing praises of their new bosses and how they "walked with God"). Very interesting period for me and I try to check anything that looks good.

Below is a good book, mostly complete and free, on Google books called Late Roman Warlords

http://books.google.com/books?id=7iNqpYo9Qd0C&dq=late+roman+warlords&source=bl&ots=m6NtkE5DwX&sig=pc9Zfflj7FcxKS916K_EDLW_kvs&hl=en&ei=V9TCTL6YOoq8cPKW1cwN&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAg

[Kurt]

I may start reading City of God myself.
I'm grooving on Diogenes of Sinope again but it's always good to be reminded of past genius and how they figured out what we struggle with today.

Mycroft Holmes belongs to the Diogenes Club. A comfortable place. With good food and drink where the members refuse to socialize with one another.

[Texas Carnie Roadshow]

I'd just started working on The Republic yesterday.
Unfortunately, I haven't been that bored since Anabasis.

[Kurt]

I'd just started working on The Republic yesterday.
Unfortunately, I haven't been that bored since Anabasis.

Do you have a Kindle? Tons of Classics are either free or are .99 cents on there.

[Texas Carnie Roadshow]

That's how I've been reading it. At least, Kindle for PC.
I seem to have misplaced my kindle somewhere.

At least Republic, and Hesiod's Theogeny are less boring than Nietschze's Jenseits von Gut und Bos.
That one is horrible.

[russlits]

What a coincidence. I was going to start a thread asking the very same question. Here is what I

[Ozymandias]

I think Augustine of Hippo also visited Bulla Regia in modern day Tunisia in 399 CE, and lectured the citizens of the town in their amphitheater about their love of prostitutes and salacious plays by mimes:

O fratres Bullenses, circumaquaque prope in omnibus civitatibus vicinis vestris lascivia impietatis obmutuit. Non erubescitis, quia apud vos solos remansit turpitudo venalis? An delectat vos, inter frumentum, vinum, oleum, animalia, pecora et quaecumque in romanis, vel nundinis venundantur, etiam turpitudinem emere et vendere? Et fortassis ad talia commercia huc veniant peregrini, et dicitur: Quid quaeris? Mimos, meretrices? Bulla habes.

Brethren of Bulla, impious behaviours have disappeared in almost all the towns surrounding yours. Are not you ashamed that only at Bulla these behaviours are allowed? Or perhaps are you proud to sell them together with wheat, wine, oil, sheep and all the other commodities you supply to Rome and markets? Having heard about them foreigners come to Bulla and you ask them: "What are you looking for? Mimes, prostitutes? Bulla has them.

[I love the irony of lecturing them about their love of theatre in a theatre]

[Kurt]

I have to check to see if Kindle has a better formatted version. The original was multi volume for $1 but it had no chapter views, you had to power through from page 1 to the end.

I do admire Augustine though, his lessons on flawed acceptance (avoidance of puritanism) are good lessons for today in any field or movement.