Table Of ContentAUGUSTINE AND THE TRINITY
A ugustine of Hippo (–), whose accounts of the Trinity have
heavily infl uenced much subsequent Western theology, has often
been accused of over-emphasizing the unity of God and thus been
maligned as a source of persistent problems in contemporary reli-
gious thought. In Augustine and the Trinity , Lewis Ayres off ers a new
treatment of this important fi gure, demonstrating how Augustine’s
writings off er one of the most sophisticated early theologies of the
Trinity developed after the Council of Nicaea (). Building on
recent research, Ayres argues that Augustine was infl uenced by a
wide variety of earlier Latin Christian traditions which stressed the
irreducibility of the Father, Son and Spirit. Augustine combines
these traditions with material from non-Christian Neoplatonists in
a very personal synthesis. Ayres also argues that Augustine shaped a
powerful account of Christian ascent towards understanding of, as
well as participation in, the divine life, one that begins in faith and
models itself on Christ’s humility.
is Bede Professor of Catholic Th eology at the
University of Durham. He is co-editor with Frances Young and
Andrew Louth of Th e Cambridge History of Early Christian Literature
().
AUGUSTINE AND THE
TRINITY
Bede Professor of Catholic Th eology
University of Durham
Associate Professor of Historical Th eology
Emory University
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore,
São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo, Mexico City
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© Lewis Ayres
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Ayres, Lewis.
Augustine and the Trinity / Lewis Ayres.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
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. Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo. . Trinity. I. Title.
.
′.–dc
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… cui trinitati pie sobrieque intellegendae omnis excubat vigilantia
christiana et omnis eius provectus intenditur
Th e goal of all Christian watchfulness and all Christian progress is a
pious and sober understanding of the Trinity
De libero arbitrio . .
Contents
Acknowledgements page x
List of abbreviations xiii
Introduction
Giving wings to Nicaea
On being and not being a ‘Platonist’
Olivier Du Roy’s thesis
A bridge too far: Du Roy’s method
Th e tripotent Father, Son and Spirit
De beata vita
Augustine’s engagements
From Him, through Him and in Him
Latin pro-Nicene theology
An anti-Manichaean Trinitarianism I: De moribus ecclesiae catholicae
An anti-Manichaean Trinitarianism II: Epistula
Faith of our fathers: D e fi de et symbolo
Augustine and Latin anti-Monarchianism
Persona , natura , substantia
‘Most fi ttingly called his Word’
Spiritus , deitas , communio
Taking stock
Th e unadorned Trinity
Trinitas quae Deus est
Th e unadorned Trinity
vii
viii Contents
Towards understanding
Excursus : Th e dating of the D e trinitate
Per corporalia … ad incorporalia
Ascent and the liberal arts
Changing attitudes to the artes
Analogy in the C onfessiones
A Christological epistemology
Augustine fi nds his Panzer
Faith and contemplation
Faith, desire and Christ
Interlude: Augustine’s Panzer and the Latin tradition
Correspondence and mystery: the example of Moses
Faith and grace
Excursus : Polemical targets in the De trinitate
Recommending the source
A second rule
Th e meaning of sending
Revealing and saving
Augustine’s novelty?
Creator, creation and the angels
‘You have made all things in Wisdom’ (Ps. .)
Essence from essence
Th e self-same, the identical
Th e simplicity of God
Predicating relation ( trin . . .–.)
Person and nature ( trin . . .–. and . .–.)
Wisdom from Wisdom (t rin . . .–. .)
Appropriation ( trin . . .)
Showing and seeing
subsistentia personarum (‘the existence of the persons’)
Father and Son: showing and seeing
Loving and being
Th e Spirit as agent of unity
Acts .
Th e Spirit and the life of the Divine Th ree
And ‘from’ the Son?
Subsisting relations?
Contents ix
,
‘But it’s not fur eatin’ …’
Introduction
De civitate Dei
De trinitate : the exordium
De trinitate . .–.: the paradox of self-knowing
De trinitate . .–.: verbum interior
Conclusion: the ghost at the banquet?
‘… It’s just fur lookin’ through’
Setting up D e trinitate : se nosse – se cogitare
De trinitate . .–.: m emoria , intellegentia and v oluntas
Reprise: De trinitate
A Ciceronian triad
Conclusion
Epilogue: catching all three
Bibliography
Scripture index
General index
Description:Augustine of Hippo (354-430) strongly influenced western theology, but he has often been accused of over-emphasizing the unity of God to the detriment of the Trinity. In Augustine and the Trinity, Lewis Ayres offers a new treatment of this important figure, demonstrating how Augustine's writings off
