I found the style of Chadwick’s writing in this introduction to the philosophy of Saint Augustine easy to understand. (Readability is incredibly important to me, especially when reading an aide to a text that’s innately hard to understand.) His structure never became fully clear to me, but the chapters nevertheless avoided rambling. In tracing the classical and non-Christian influences of Augustine, Chadwick details the tenets of the movements (namely Manichaeism and Neo-Platonism, among others) and their short-term and long-term effects on Augustine. He also studies with clarity how he came to internalize and reconcile them in one succinct system of faith. Chadwick does not over-glorify Augustine; even toward the end of the book when relating Augustine’s responses to various controversies, Chadwick doesn’t emphasize that those very works of Augustine’s later years become THE principal writings that shape the formal Christian religion of medieval times. Chadwick balances detailed theology and dense philosophy with more tangible historical events; thus, the reader learns how Augustine developed his thoughts and why he wrote them with such passion. ( )

Exactly what the title says: short (150 pages) but comprehensive. Recommended as an easy-to-understand summary of his life and beliefs. ( )

Basically, what it says on the tin. I've read the Confessions and started but did not finish The City of God, so it was interesting to read about some of his other work. ( )

I like this series, but it does strike me that the supposedly succinct introductions can become a deceptively long read. In this case, the author made up for space with big vocabulary, which actually results in a nice challenging piece of work. I still advocate my principle of reading the source before the commentary (in this case, especially the Confessions. This author shows the diversity of Augustine's thoughts, as they apply to philosophy, religion, and literature. He also brings out Augustine's life and personality. And he shows the way Augustine's writings affected future doctrine. In particular, Augustine believed in the force of government (he was a Roman citizen), but he would have opposed the severe practices adopted later by the Catholic and Byzantine church. The author also explains Augustine's thoughts about prayer (not to change God's will but to conform to it - mostly silent and and then OK to pray in hope for the basics of health and food). Chadwick also discusses briefly that Augustine believed that Peter as "the rock" reflected the first of many redemptions Christ would make, rather than positioning Peter as the one leader (though he later left open that possibility). With respect to religion and state, Augustine believed in the power of the latter, but also felt a government without justice was the equivalent of a very powerful thug. He believed the redistribution of resources through taxation was necessary as the church's charitable efforts would not be sufficient. ( )