Simon Harrison
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198269847
- eISBN:
- 9780191713385
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269847.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
Augustine is a pivotal figure in the history of the concept of will, but what is his ‘theory of will’? This book investigates Augustine’s use of ‘will’ in one particular context, his dialogue On Free ...
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Augustine is a pivotal figure in the history of the concept of will, but what is his ‘theory of will’? This book investigates Augustine’s use of ‘will’ in one particular context, his dialogue On Free Choice of the Will, taking seriously its historical and philosophical form. First, it finds that the dialogical nature of On Free Choice of the Will has been missed, as exemplified by the unhistorical and misleading modern attributions of names to the speakers. Secondly, the commonplace that Augustine changed his mind in the course of its composition is shown to be unfounded, and a case is made for its argumentative coherence. Thirdly, it is shown that it is the form and structure of On Free Choice of the Will that give philosophical content to Augustine’s theory of will. The dialogue constitutes a ‘way in to the will’ that itself instantiates a concept of will. At the heart of this structure is a particular argument that depends on an appeal to a first-person perspective, which ties the vocabulary of will to a concept of freedom and responsibility. This appeal is significantly similar to other arguments deployed by Augustine which are significantly similar to Descartes’ ‘cogito ergo sum’, ‘I think therefore I am’. The book goes on to investigate how Augustine’s ‘way in’ relates to these cogito-like arguments as they occur in Augustine’s major and most read works, the Confessions, the City of God, and On the Trinity. The relationship of Augustine’s to Descartes’ ‘cogito’ is also discussed. Augustine elucidates, within a particular Platonic theory of knowledge, a ‘theory of will’ that is grounded in a ‘way in’, which takes the conditions and limits of knowledge seriously.Less
Augustine is a pivotal figure in the history of the concept of will, but what is his ‘theory of will’? This book investigates Augustine’s use of ‘will’ in one particular context, his dialogue On Free Choice of the Will, taking seriously its historical and philosophical form. First, it finds that the dialogical nature of On Free Choice of the Will has been missed, as exemplified by the unhistorical and misleading modern attributions of names to the speakers. Secondly, the commonplace that Augustine changed his mind in the course of its composition is shown to be unfounded, and a case is made for its argumentative coherence. Thirdly, it is shown that it is the form and structure of On Free Choice of the Will that give philosophical content to Augustine’s theory of will. The dialogue constitutes a ‘way in to the will’ that itself instantiates a concept of will. At the heart of this structure is a particular argument that depends on an appeal to a first-person perspective, which ties the vocabulary of will to a concept of freedom and responsibility. This appeal is significantly similar to other arguments deployed by Augustine which are significantly similar to Descartes’ ‘cogito ergo sum’, ‘I think therefore I am’. The book goes on to investigate how Augustine’s ‘way in’ relates to these cogito-like arguments as they occur in Augustine’s major and most read works, the Confessions, the City of God, and On the Trinity. The relationship of Augustine’s to Descartes’ ‘cogito’ is also discussed. Augustine elucidates, within a particular Platonic theory of knowledge, a ‘theory of will’ that is grounded in a ‘way in’, which takes the conditions and limits of knowledge seriously.
Karla Pollmann and Mark Vessey (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199230044
- eISBN:
- 9780191696381
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230044.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This book takes its cue from Augustine's theory of the liberal arts to explore the larger question of how the Bible became the focus of medieval culture in the West. Augustine himself became ...
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This book takes its cue from Augustine's theory of the liberal arts to explore the larger question of how the Bible became the focus of medieval culture in the West. Augustine himself became increasingly aware that an ambivalent attitude towards knowledge and learning was inherent in Christianity. By facing the intellectual challenge posed by this tension he arrived at a new theory of how to interpret the Bible correctly. One of the topics investigated here is Augustine's changing relationship with the ‘disciplines’ as he moved from an attempt at their Christianisation (in the philosophical dialogues of Cassiciacum) to a radical reshaping of them within a Christian world-view (in the De Doctrina Christiana and Confessions). The book also considers the factors that prompted and facilitated his change of perspective and the ways in which Augustine's evolving theory reflected contemporary trends in Christian pedagogy.Less
This book takes its cue from Augustine's theory of the liberal arts to explore the larger question of how the Bible became the focus of medieval culture in the West. Augustine himself became increasingly aware that an ambivalent attitude towards knowledge and learning was inherent in Christianity. By facing the intellectual challenge posed by this tension he arrived at a new theory of how to interpret the Bible correctly. One of the topics investigated here is Augustine's changing relationship with the ‘disciplines’ as he moved from an attempt at their Christianisation (in the philosophical dialogues of Cassiciacum) to a radical reshaping of them within a Christian world-view (in the De Doctrina Christiana and Confessions). The book also considers the factors that prompted and facilitated his change of perspective and the ways in which Augustine's evolving theory reflected contemporary trends in Christian pedagogy.
Simon Harrison
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198269847
- eISBN:
- 9780191713385
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269847.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter sets out the argument (or ‘way in’) that is fundamental to On Free Choice. Augustine’s ‘way in’ to the will is to call the concept itself into question: ‘Do we have a will?’, and the ...
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This chapter sets out the argument (or ‘way in’) that is fundamental to On Free Choice. Augustine’s ‘way in’ to the will is to call the concept itself into question: ‘Do we have a will?’, and the possibility of denying that we do is explored. The way ‘will’ is called into question instantiates a concept of freedom and responsibility. Moreover, it acts as a ‘starting point’ for the rest of the enquiry. Augustine’s argument is further explored by comparing it with similar arguments in the Confessions (7.3) and On the Trinity (10.10.14).Less
This chapter sets out the argument (or ‘way in’) that is fundamental to On Free Choice. Augustine’s ‘way in’ to the will is to call the concept itself into question: ‘Do we have a will?’, and the possibility of denying that we do is explored. The way ‘will’ is called into question instantiates a concept of freedom and responsibility. Moreover, it acts as a ‘starting point’ for the rest of the enquiry. Augustine’s argument is further explored by comparing it with similar arguments in the Confessions (7.3) and On the Trinity (10.10.14).
Simon Harrison
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198269847
- eISBN:
- 9780191713385
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269847.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter sets out Augustine’s theory of knowledge that is manifested and deployed in On Free Choice of the Will. Augustine’s epistemology provides the philosophical context for his ‘way in’, and ...
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This chapter sets out Augustine’s theory of knowledge that is manifested and deployed in On Free Choice of the Will. Augustine’s epistemology provides the philosophical context for his ‘way in’, and the rationale for the structure of the dialogue. Its understanding and acquisition require the ability to see logical connections and attain a synoptic overview by proceeding in the right order from foundational starting points. The ‘way in’ argument is itself one of these starting points in the dialogue. The ideas of freedom and responsibility are illustrated and instantiated in the acquisition of knowledge: one is free not to know, not to want to know, and no one else can do your learning for you. Other texts where Augustine sets out, discusses, and uses this epistemology are discussed: the dialogue De Magistro and the Confessions.Less
This chapter sets out Augustine’s theory of knowledge that is manifested and deployed in On Free Choice of the Will. Augustine’s epistemology provides the philosophical context for his ‘way in’, and the rationale for the structure of the dialogue. Its understanding and acquisition require the ability to see logical connections and attain a synoptic overview by proceeding in the right order from foundational starting points. The ‘way in’ argument is itself one of these starting points in the dialogue. The ideas of freedom and responsibility are illustrated and instantiated in the acquisition of knowledge: one is free not to know, not to want to know, and no one else can do your learning for you. Other texts where Augustine sets out, discusses, and uses this epistemology are discussed: the dialogue De Magistro and the Confessions.
Andrew Louth
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199291403
- eISBN:
- 9780191710674
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291403.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter discusses the thought of a Latin writer, Augustine. Augustine’s importance lies in the fact that his writings and interests stamp subsequent Western theology with a distinctive ...
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This chapter discusses the thought of a Latin writer, Augustine. Augustine’s importance lies in the fact that his writings and interests stamp subsequent Western theology with a distinctive character. The West becomes Augustinian, either directly, when it seeks to develop the insights of the ‘Doctor of Grace’, or indirectly, when, trying to free itself from a dominant Augustinianism, it none the less concerns itself with the problems that engaged Augustine.Less
This chapter discusses the thought of a Latin writer, Augustine. Augustine’s importance lies in the fact that his writings and interests stamp subsequent Western theology with a distinctive character. The West becomes Augustinian, either directly, when it seeks to develop the insights of the ‘Doctor of Grace’, or indirectly, when, trying to free itself from a dominant Augustinianism, it none the less concerns itself with the problems that engaged Augustine.
Luigi Gioia
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199553464
- eISBN:
- 9780191720796
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199553464.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Early Christian Studies
This chapter makes explicit the doctrine of creation which underlies the doctrine of the image of God through the analysis of the De uera religione, the Confessions, and the De Genesi ad litteram and ...
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This chapter makes explicit the doctrine of creation which underlies the doctrine of the image of God through the analysis of the De uera religione, the Confessions, and the De Genesi ad litteram and of its difference from the doctrines of Plato, Plotinus, and Marius Victorinus. It follows a description of the doctrine of the image of God in the De Trinitate. Knowledge through love constitutes the inner dynamism of the image of God. The drive inscribed in us by creation is based on the incommensurable gap existing between the teleological character of our created nature and the absolutely transcendent, gracious, and in the end eschatological nature of this same God‐given goal. The image of God corresponds to our dependence on God not only for our existence, but for the possibility of our knowing and loving and reaching the fulfilment of that for which we were created. We reach our fulfilment when this dependence in being, knowledge, and love becomes conscious and is converted into worship, i.e. ac‐knowledged, thankful dependence.Less
This chapter makes explicit the doctrine of creation which underlies the doctrine of the image of God through the analysis of the De uera religione, the Confessions, and the De Genesi ad litteram and of its difference from the doctrines of Plato, Plotinus, and Marius Victorinus. It follows a description of the doctrine of the image of God in the De Trinitate. Knowledge through love constitutes the inner dynamism of the image of God. The drive inscribed in us by creation is based on the incommensurable gap existing between the teleological character of our created nature and the absolutely transcendent, gracious, and in the end eschatological nature of this same God‐given goal. The image of God corresponds to our dependence on God not only for our existence, but for the possibility of our knowing and loving and reaching the fulfilment of that for which we were created. We reach our fulfilment when this dependence in being, knowledge, and love becomes conscious and is converted into worship, i.e. ac‐knowledged, thankful dependence.
France Peter
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263181
- eISBN:
- 9780191734595
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263181.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
Jean Sartre's fictional hero Roquentin believes that one cannot seriously take the task of writing one's life. For him, biography is an impossibility, a work of ‘pure imagination’ subjected to the ...
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Jean Sartre's fictional hero Roquentin believes that one cannot seriously take the task of writing one's life. For him, biography is an impossibility, a work of ‘pure imagination’ subjected to the biases of the writer and devoid of resemblance to the subject. In the early days, biographies served as testimony to the greatness a person. They served as models from which people could emulate the exemplary individual. Then, the essential thing was to tell a story based on external facts and on psychological plausibility. However, in the age of Rousseau's Confessions, it was argued that biographies were accounts of inner truths, and that self-revelation was only achieved by the person himself: ‘No man can write a man's life but himself’. Even in the days when new methods of understanding the life of a man were increasingly becoming available, biographies were often seen as suspect enterprises. They were often seen as approaches that obscure the proper comprehension of the literary process and as illusions of profound knowledge of the inner truth, when in fact biographers continue to approach biographies with misgivings. In spite of all the criticisms against biographies, they have remained of great interest. They reach out to a broad public as a literature in its own right and have played a vital role in the history of European culture. Biographies have served as an inspiration, as a celebration of the great personages of the nation, as an insight to the gender roles of the society, and so on.Less
Jean Sartre's fictional hero Roquentin believes that one cannot seriously take the task of writing one's life. For him, biography is an impossibility, a work of ‘pure imagination’ subjected to the biases of the writer and devoid of resemblance to the subject. In the early days, biographies served as testimony to the greatness a person. They served as models from which people could emulate the exemplary individual. Then, the essential thing was to tell a story based on external facts and on psychological plausibility. However, in the age of Rousseau's Confessions, it was argued that biographies were accounts of inner truths, and that self-revelation was only achieved by the person himself: ‘No man can write a man's life but himself’. Even in the days when new methods of understanding the life of a man were increasingly becoming available, biographies were often seen as suspect enterprises. They were often seen as approaches that obscure the proper comprehension of the literary process and as illusions of profound knowledge of the inner truth, when in fact biographers continue to approach biographies with misgivings. In spite of all the criticisms against biographies, they have remained of great interest. They reach out to a broad public as a literature in its own right and have played a vital role in the history of European culture. Biographies have served as an inspiration, as a celebration of the great personages of the nation, as an insight to the gender roles of the society, and so on.
Garry L. Hagberg
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199234226
- eISBN:
- 9780191715440
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199234226.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language
This chapter talks about philosophical pictures of thinking. It details dualistic presuppositions and the metaphysically-motivated search for inner processes. Augustine's Confessions and their ...
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This chapter talks about philosophical pictures of thinking. It details dualistic presuppositions and the metaphysically-motivated search for inner processes. Augustine's Confessions and their philosophical significance are discussed. The distinction between Augustine actually reflecting on his past versus the philosophical picture of Augustine introspecting/reflecting on his past is examined. Augustine in practice, being neither a proto-behaviourist nor a dualist, is talked about and the philosophical significance of Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground and on knowing one is e.g., in pain from one's own case, is discussed. It is argued that with regard to the constitution of the self, language is anything but an afterthought.Less
This chapter talks about philosophical pictures of thinking. It details dualistic presuppositions and the metaphysically-motivated search for inner processes. Augustine's Confessions and their philosophical significance are discussed. The distinction between Augustine actually reflecting on his past versus the philosophical picture of Augustine introspecting/reflecting on his past is examined. Augustine in practice, being neither a proto-behaviourist nor a dualist, is talked about and the philosophical significance of Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground and on knowing one is e.g., in pain from one's own case, is discussed. It is argued that with regard to the constitution of the self, language is anything but an afterthought.
Eric Plumer
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199244393
- eISBN:
- 9780191601194
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199244391.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
Compares Augustine's Commentary with the other Latin commentaries on Galatians from this period, chiefly with a view to tracing lines of influence, and uncovers a complex network of interconnections ...
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Compares Augustine's Commentary with the other Latin commentaries on Galatians from this period, chiefly with a view to tracing lines of influence, and uncovers a complex network of interconnections among them. An argument based largely on Augustine's Confessions and De Doctrina Christiana is put forward to show the strong likelihood that Augustine made use of Marius Victorinus’ Commentary when composing his own. Augustine's rejection of Jerome's interpretation of Galatians 2: 11–14 is explained, as is Jerome's rejection of Marius Victorinus’ interpretation of the same passage. Augustine's use of Ambrosiaster's Commentary is deemed highly probable but not demonstrable, as is Pelagius’ use of Augustine's Commentary. Parallels between Augustine's Commentary and that of the anonymous commentator discovered by H. J. Frede are judged insignificant.Less
Compares Augustine's Commentary with the other Latin commentaries on Galatians from this period, chiefly with a view to tracing lines of influence, and uncovers a complex network of interconnections among them. An argument based largely on Augustine's Confessions and De Doctrina Christiana is put forward to show the strong likelihood that Augustine made use of Marius Victorinus’ Commentary when composing his own. Augustine's rejection of Jerome's interpretation of Galatians 2: 11–14 is explained, as is Jerome's rejection of Marius Victorinus’ interpretation of the same passage. Augustine's use of Ambrosiaster's Commentary is deemed highly probable but not demonstrable, as is Pelagius’ use of Augustine's Commentary. Parallels between Augustine's Commentary and that of the anonymous commentator discovered by H. J. Frede are judged insignificant.
Kathleen Lynch
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199643936
- eISBN:
- 9780191738876
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199643936.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature
This chapter examines the contests between Protestants and Catholics over the filial claims to Saint Augustine’s religious authority, as they played out in the competing translations of the ...
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This chapter examines the contests between Protestants and Catholics over the filial claims to Saint Augustine’s religious authority, as they played out in the competing translations of the Confessions into English in the 1620s. This was a constituent part of the battle that raged near the end of James I’s reign to establish religious orthodoxy and to maintain state control over it. The Confessions was not a useful polemical tool, but the chapter details the responsive confessional statements of one of its expert readers, John Donne. The two publications that framed his public life were Pseudo‐Martyr (1610) and Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624). In them, Donne challenged Augustine’s resolution of a spiritual crisis with a change of church. Donne complied, but only in respect of the body politic. He became an improbable literary spokesperson for the Protestant nation.Less
This chapter examines the contests between Protestants and Catholics over the filial claims to Saint Augustine’s religious authority, as they played out in the competing translations of the Confessions into English in the 1620s. This was a constituent part of the battle that raged near the end of James I’s reign to establish religious orthodoxy and to maintain state control over it. The Confessions was not a useful polemical tool, but the chapter details the responsive confessional statements of one of its expert readers, John Donne. The two publications that framed his public life were Pseudo‐Martyr (1610) and Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624). In them, Donne challenged Augustine’s resolution of a spiritual crisis with a change of church. Donne complied, but only in respect of the body politic. He became an improbable literary spokesperson for the Protestant nation.
Kathleen Lynch
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199643936
- eISBN:
- 9780191738876
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199643936.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature
This chapter examines the contests between Protestants and Catholics over the filial claims to Saint Augustine’s religious authority, as they played out in the competing translations of the ...
More
This chapter examines the contests between Protestants and Catholics over the filial claims to Saint Augustine’s religious authority, as they played out in the competing translations of the Confessions into English in the 1620s. This was a constituent part of the battle that raged near the end of James I’s reign to establish religious orthodoxy and to maintain state control over it. The Confessions was not a useful polemical tool, but the chapter details the responsive confessional statements of one of its expert readers, John Donne. The two publications that framed his public life were Pseudo-Martyr (1610) and Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624). In them, Donne challenged Augustine’s resolution of a spiritual crisis with a change of church. Donne complied, but only in respect of the body politic. He became an improbable literary spokesperson for the Protestant nation.Less
This chapter examines the contests between Protestants and Catholics over the filial claims to Saint Augustine’s religious authority, as they played out in the competing translations of the Confessions into English in the 1620s. This was a constituent part of the battle that raged near the end of James I’s reign to establish religious orthodoxy and to maintain state control over it. The Confessions was not a useful polemical tool, but the chapter details the responsive confessional statements of one of its expert readers, John Donne. The two publications that framed his public life were Pseudo-Martyr (1610) and Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624). In them, Donne challenged Augustine’s resolution of a spiritual crisis with a change of church. Donne complied, but only in respect of the body politic. He became an improbable literary spokesperson for the Protestant nation.
Paul Helm
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199590391
- eISBN:
- 9780191595516
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199590391.003.0014
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Metaphysics/Epistemology
Granted creation, there are two standpoints, that of God the creator, and the standpoint of the intelligent creation. The two standpoints, the eternal and the temporal standpoints, God's eternal ...
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Granted creation, there are two standpoints, that of God the creator, and the standpoint of the intelligent creation. The two standpoints, the eternal and the temporal standpoints, God's eternal immediate perspective, and our own, need to be kept in mind., and to be carefully distinguished. From our standpoint there was a time when God was not incarnate in Jesus Christ, but not from God's own standpoint. The distinction is illustrated from Augustine's treatment of time in Book XI of the Confessions. For him, from God's standpoint the universe is a B-series in the sense that no times are earlier than or later than any others for God. For the creature time is like an A-series, since indexicality is required to enable to us to found our ways through time and space.Less
Granted creation, there are two standpoints, that of God the creator, and the standpoint of the intelligent creation. The two standpoints, the eternal and the temporal standpoints, God's eternal immediate perspective, and our own, need to be kept in mind., and to be carefully distinguished. From our standpoint there was a time when God was not incarnate in Jesus Christ, but not from God's own standpoint. The distinction is illustrated from Augustine's treatment of time in Book XI of the Confessions. For him, from God's standpoint the universe is a B-series in the sense that no times are earlier than or later than any others for God. For the creature time is like an A-series, since indexicality is required to enable to us to found our ways through time and space.
Ann Jefferson
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199270842
- eISBN:
- 9780191710292
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199270842.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This chapter examines Rousseau's Confessions as one of the first texts to use the story of a life as part of an attempt to establish a form of writing that sets itself up against an existing, largely ...
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This chapter examines Rousseau's Confessions as one of the first texts to use the story of a life as part of an attempt to establish a form of writing that sets itself up against an existing, largely social definition of literature, with the aim of proposing an alternative one. He opposes both the social world of letters (littérature) and a poetry in thrall to the rules of versification, to the elaboration of a language of sensation and experience that takes place in time. The mapping of literature onto an evolving life means also that the literary is involved in a constant process of revision.Less
This chapter examines Rousseau's Confessions as one of the first texts to use the story of a life as part of an attempt to establish a form of writing that sets itself up against an existing, largely social definition of literature, with the aim of proposing an alternative one. He opposes both the social world of letters (littérature) and a poetry in thrall to the rules of versification, to the elaboration of a language of sensation and experience that takes place in time. The mapping of literature onto an evolving life means also that the literary is involved in a constant process of revision.
James Treadwell
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199262977
- eISBN:
- 9780191718724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199262977.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism
The 1783 publication of Rousseau's Confessions in English translation crystallizes contemporary debates about the nature and value of autobiographical writing. Reactions to the book oscillated ...
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The 1783 publication of Rousseau's Confessions in English translation crystallizes contemporary debates about the nature and value of autobiographical writing. Reactions to the book oscillated between outrage and fascination, testifying to the strangeness of self-writing in this mode. In the terms of reception theory, the Confessions ruptured a ‘horizon of expectation’. It is argued that the (new) idea of ‘autobiography’ formed itself along this fault line, both as a set of expectations about the limits of self-writing and as a persistent transgression of those limits. Studying responses to Rousseau, the central issue is shown to be the problematic relationship between intimacy and publication.Less
The 1783 publication of Rousseau's Confessions in English translation crystallizes contemporary debates about the nature and value of autobiographical writing. Reactions to the book oscillated between outrage and fascination, testifying to the strangeness of self-writing in this mode. In the terms of reception theory, the Confessions ruptured a ‘horizon of expectation’. It is argued that the (new) idea of ‘autobiography’ formed itself along this fault line, both as a set of expectations about the limits of self-writing and as a persistent transgression of those limits. Studying responses to Rousseau, the central issue is shown to be the problematic relationship between intimacy and publication.
James Treadwell
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199262977
- eISBN:
- 9780191718724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199262977.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism
This chapter explores how the theme of the ‘self’ as an autonomous and expressive agent — the ‘Romantic’ self — is produced in texts. A case study of sets of works by Elizabeth Gooch and William ...
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This chapter explores how the theme of the ‘self’ as an autonomous and expressive agent — the ‘Romantic’ self — is produced in texts. A case study of sets of works by Elizabeth Gooch and William Henry Ireland demonstrates that autobiography invokes a self which resists or transcends the transactions in which it is enmeshed. In courtesan autobiographies and slave autobiographies, the rhetorical effects of expressive subjectivity are also set in opposition to the transactions that determine the self and its text. This idea is developed in readings of two of the master-texts of ‘Romantic’ subjectivity, De Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium Eater, and Hazlitt's Liber Amoris.Less
This chapter explores how the theme of the ‘self’ as an autonomous and expressive agent — the ‘Romantic’ self — is produced in texts. A case study of sets of works by Elizabeth Gooch and William Henry Ireland demonstrates that autobiography invokes a self which resists or transcends the transactions in which it is enmeshed. In courtesan autobiographies and slave autobiographies, the rhetorical effects of expressive subjectivity are also set in opposition to the transactions that determine the self and its text. This idea is developed in readings of two of the master-texts of ‘Romantic’ subjectivity, De Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium Eater, and Hazlitt's Liber Amoris.
Gillian Clark
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781904675402
- eISBN:
- 9781781385371
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781904675402.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This short book sets the Confessions of Augustine in the social and intellectual context of late antiquity in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. Part 1 explores the world in which Augustine ...
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This short book sets the Confessions of Augustine in the social and intellectual context of late antiquity in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. Part 1 explores the world in which Augustine lived, where Roman control of western Europe was under threat from non-Roman peoples, and Roman literary and philosophical culture was challenged by educated Christians expounding their scriptures. This chapter discusses the choices Augustine made in his education in literature and rhetoric, in his career as a teacher of rhetoric and then as a bishop, and in his search for understanding of himself and of God. Part 2 considers the interpretation of a life, by the person who lives it and by people who accept or challenge that person's account. It discusses literary questions of style, models and audience, and philosophical questions of what matters in a human life, in comparison with some classical and some later examples of writing about oneself. This chapter argues that Augustine knew how differently texts can be interpreted, but that he cannot be used to support theories that there is no canon of texts and no authoritative reading. He believed that classical literature may offer some wisdom, but canonical scripture is authoritative; that interpretations may differ, but must accord with the Christian principles of love of God and neighbour; and that there is an authoritative reading of every life, known to God though not to us.Less
This short book sets the Confessions of Augustine in the social and intellectual context of late antiquity in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. Part 1 explores the world in which Augustine lived, where Roman control of western Europe was under threat from non-Roman peoples, and Roman literary and philosophical culture was challenged by educated Christians expounding their scriptures. This chapter discusses the choices Augustine made in his education in literature and rhetoric, in his career as a teacher of rhetoric and then as a bishop, and in his search for understanding of himself and of God. Part 2 considers the interpretation of a life, by the person who lives it and by people who accept or challenge that person's account. It discusses literary questions of style, models and audience, and philosophical questions of what matters in a human life, in comparison with some classical and some later examples of writing about oneself. This chapter argues that Augustine knew how differently texts can be interpreted, but that he cannot be used to support theories that there is no canon of texts and no authoritative reading. He believed that classical literature may offer some wisdom, but canonical scripture is authoritative; that interpretations may differ, but must accord with the Christian principles of love of God and neighbour; and that there is an authoritative reading of every life, known to God though not to us.
Thomas McFarland
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198182870
- eISBN:
- 9780191673894
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198182870.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism
This chapter discusses how Rosseau may possibly be the most important figure in intellectual history, for he figured at the very center of the profound shift of sensibility that eventuated in the ...
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This chapter discusses how Rosseau may possibly be the most important figure in intellectual history, for he figured at the very center of the profound shift of sensibility that eventuated in the world as we know it today. It notes that the unprecedented individualism brought into being by the Confessions stands — and it is a bemusing thought — as the very antipode of submission to the general will as espoused by the Social Contract. It evaluates Montaigne's Essais and compares his literary contributions to Rosseau's. It discusses the experience of Rosseau when he plainly encourages homosexual advances by a vagabond and then explodes into hysterical frenzies of denunciation.Less
This chapter discusses how Rosseau may possibly be the most important figure in intellectual history, for he figured at the very center of the profound shift of sensibility that eventuated in the world as we know it today. It notes that the unprecedented individualism brought into being by the Confessions stands — and it is a bemusing thought — as the very antipode of submission to the general will as espoused by the Social Contract. It evaluates Montaigne's Essais and compares his literary contributions to Rosseau's. It discusses the experience of Rosseau when he plainly encourages homosexual advances by a vagabond and then explodes into hysterical frenzies of denunciation.
Nicola J. Watson
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198112976
- eISBN:
- 9780191670893
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198112976.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
This chapter shifts ground to consider the after-life of the letter as it modulates, under the aegis of Rousseau's Confessions, into the quintessentially Romantic narratives of the early 19th ...
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This chapter shifts ground to consider the after-life of the letter as it modulates, under the aegis of Rousseau's Confessions, into the quintessentially Romantic narratives of the early 19th century. Such texts as Charles Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer (1820), William Hazlitt's Liber Amoris (1823), and James Hogg's Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) — displaying in their convoluted and destabilized structures the residue of a revolutionary subjectivity premised upon self-authorizing discourse — sharply question the achieved if delicate certainties of the more conservative forms of the novel which form the topic of the two central chapters, by rendering the letter and its analogues, and thus the intricacies of revolutionary desire, effectively unreadable and thus immune from certain sorts of narrative discipline. The chapter concludes with an analysis of Lady Caroline Lamb's affair with Lord Byron, pursuing it through their consciously sentimental correspondence to the publication of Lamb's novel Glenarvon, and culminating with a reading of Byron's ‘novel in verse’, Don Juan, to show how this literary correspondence recapitulates the generic negotiations and mutations detailed in the bulk of this book.Less
This chapter shifts ground to consider the after-life of the letter as it modulates, under the aegis of Rousseau's Confessions, into the quintessentially Romantic narratives of the early 19th century. Such texts as Charles Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer (1820), William Hazlitt's Liber Amoris (1823), and James Hogg's Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) — displaying in their convoluted and destabilized structures the residue of a revolutionary subjectivity premised upon self-authorizing discourse — sharply question the achieved if delicate certainties of the more conservative forms of the novel which form the topic of the two central chapters, by rendering the letter and its analogues, and thus the intricacies of revolutionary desire, effectively unreadable and thus immune from certain sorts of narrative discipline. The chapter concludes with an analysis of Lady Caroline Lamb's affair with Lord Byron, pursuing it through their consciously sentimental correspondence to the publication of Lamb's novel Glenarvon, and culminating with a reading of Byron's ‘novel in verse’, Don Juan, to show how this literary correspondence recapitulates the generic negotiations and mutations detailed in the bulk of this book.
Josephine Mcdonagh
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198112853
- eISBN:
- 9780191670862
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198112853.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism
The fan letter that the seventeen-year-old De Quincey sent to Wordsworth in 1803 exhibited a certain worldliness which De Quincey obtained from his various adventures and wanderings which he would ...
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The fan letter that the seventeen-year-old De Quincey sent to Wordsworth in 1803 exhibited a certain worldliness which De Quincey obtained from his various adventures and wanderings which he would soon recall in Confessions. In this letter, we are able to recognize the start of an ‘attachment’ which is seen throughout his literary career. As De Quincey moved into the former home of the Wordsworths, he was largely exposed to those whom he shared the same literary interests with, as they all surrounded Wordsworth. Although Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads is often recognized as containing serious political involvement, De Quincey chose to view these works for how they had portrayed feeling and landscape. In this chapter, we see how De Quincey's work bears several ideological compromises and how these were included in various writings during the 1830s.Less
The fan letter that the seventeen-year-old De Quincey sent to Wordsworth in 1803 exhibited a certain worldliness which De Quincey obtained from his various adventures and wanderings which he would soon recall in Confessions. In this letter, we are able to recognize the start of an ‘attachment’ which is seen throughout his literary career. As De Quincey moved into the former home of the Wordsworths, he was largely exposed to those whom he shared the same literary interests with, as they all surrounded Wordsworth. Although Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads is often recognized as containing serious political involvement, De Quincey chose to view these works for how they had portrayed feeling and landscape. In this chapter, we see how De Quincey's work bears several ideological compromises and how these were included in various writings during the 1830s.
Michael Sheringham
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198158431
- eISBN:
- 9780191673306
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198158431.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
An autobiography is a narrative that presents connections, patterns, and linkages between past, present, and future experiences. It is a chain that links a single event, emotion, or experience to all ...
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An autobiography is a narrative that presents connections, patterns, and linkages between past, present, and future experiences. It is a chain that links a single event, emotion, or experience to all other future occurrences, in a way that one action may lead to several actions. This idea is well identified in the work of Rousseau in his Confessions. This chapter focuses on the work of Rousseau in Confessions and emphasizes the difficulties of narrating using causality, i.e., presentation of cause and effect.Less
An autobiography is a narrative that presents connections, patterns, and linkages between past, present, and future experiences. It is a chain that links a single event, emotion, or experience to all other future occurrences, in a way that one action may lead to several actions. This idea is well identified in the work of Rousseau in his Confessions. This chapter focuses on the work of Rousseau in Confessions and emphasizes the difficulties of narrating using causality, i.e., presentation of cause and effect.
