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Authorised Lives in Early Christian Biography
Michael Williams
其他書名
Between Eusebius and Augustine
出版
Cambridge University Press
, 2008-07-10
主題
Biography & Autobiography / Religious
History / Ancient / General
Literary Criticism / Ancient & Classical
Religion / General
Religion / Christianity / History
ISBN
0521894905
9780521894906
URL
http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=0A6MhdnvuOsC&hl=&source=gbs_api
註釋
What was distinctive about Christian biography in late antiquity? In this book, Dr Williams examines a range of biographies of prominent Christians written in the fourth and fifth centuries, and suggests that they share a purpose and function which sets them apart from their non-Christian equivalents. This was an age in which the lives of saints first emerged as a literary phenomenon, and a broad perspective on this developing genre is complemented by close readings of more problematic works such as Eusebius of Caesarea's Life of Constantine and the Confessions of Augustine of Hippo. In including such idiosyncratic examples, the aim is to provide a definition of Christian biography which extends beyond mere hagiography, and which expresses an understanding of the world and the place of individuals within it. It was a world in which lives might be authored by Christians, but could be authorised only by God.