Confessions, Vol. 2: Books 9-13 (Loeb Classical Library, No. 27)

f

'41 'A.'

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY A WORD ABOUT

AND

THE

ITS

PURPOSE

SCOPE

ITS

this idea of arranging for the issue of friend my was suggested to me by

Library

It

Mr. Salomon Reinach, the French savant. was appealed to me at once, and my imagination be might stirred by the thought that here

deeply

revive found a practical and attractive way to which literature ancient lagging interest in

the

a matter has for more than a generation been In an age of so much concern to educators.

when the Humanities are bein^ neglected more Ages, perhaps than at any time since the Middle than and when men's minds are turning more it material, the and practical ever before to the does not

suffice

to

make

pleas,

however eloquent

and convincing, for the safeguarding and further enjoyment of our greatest heritage from the past. 1

Means must bo things

of

who

all

The

life.

place these treasures

to

foniirl

within the reach of

care for the finer

and

mechanical

social

achievements of our day must not blind our eyes to the fact that, in all that relates to man, his

nature and aspirations, we have added

nothing to what has been so great

men

little

finely said

or

by the

of old.

It has always

seemed to me a pity that the

young people of our generation should grow up with such scant knowledge of Greek and Latin wealth and variety,

literature, its

and

its

imperishable quality.

its

The day

is

freshness

past

when

schools could afford to give sufficient time and

attention to the teaching of the ancient languas^cs to enable the student to get that enjoyment out

made the lives of our The demand for something

of classical literature that

grandfathers so rich.

" more practical," the large variety of subjects that mtbst be taught, are crowding hard upon the

Humanities.

To make

the beauty and learning,

the philosophy and wit of the great writers of ancient Greece and

Rome

once more accessible by

means of translations that are in themselves

real

pieces of literature, a thing to be read for the

pure joy of

it,

and not dull transcripts of ideas

that suggest in every line the existence of a finer ii

original out,

from which the average reader

and to place

side

by

is

shut

side with these transla-

tions the best critical texts of the original works, is

the task I have set myself.

In France more than in any country the need has been

felt

of supplying readers

who

are net in

a technical sense "scholars" with editions of the classics,

giving text and translation, either in

Almost

Latin or French, on opposite pages. the I^atin authors and

all

many Greek authors have

been published in this way by the well-known firms,

Panckoucke, Firmin-Didot, Hachette, and

Garnier.

Germany only a handful

In

authors were first

issued

this

in

form

of Greek

during

the

No

col-

half of the nineteenth century.

lection of this kind exists

in English-speaking

countries.

Before venturing on so large an undertaking as is

involved in the task I had set myself I consulted

a number of distinguished scholars as to the desirability of such a series.

ranged from

St.

the replies to

My

correspondence

Petersburg to San Francisco, and

my

inquiry conveyed an almost

unanimous and unqualified approval.

I

was also

encouraged by the opinion of several experienced publishei-s,

who agreed

that the time

the execution of such a project. ill

is

ripe for

I therefore set

:

to work,

and

after

two and a half years of not

inconsiderable labour I

now have the

and the

accompanying the early

satisfaction of

volumes of the

The

series

following

privilege

with this preface.

eminent

scholars,

represent-

ing Great Britain, the United States, Germany,

and France, kindly consented to serve on the Advisory Board

Edward

Capps,

Ph.D., of Princeton Uni-

versity.

Maijkice Croiset,

Member

of the Institut de

France.

OiTO Crusius, Ph.D., Litt.D., of the University of

Munich, Member of the Royal

Bavarian Academy of Science.

Hermann

Diels, Ph.D., of the University of

Berlin, Secretary of the

Royal Academy

of Science, Berlin. J.

G. FiiAZER, D.C.L., LL.D., Litt.D., of

Cambridge University. A. D. GoDLEY, M.A., Public Orator of the University of Oxford.

William

G.

Hale,

Ph.D.,

of

Chicago

University.

Salomon Reixach, Member of the de France. iv

Institut

Sir J. E. Saxdys, Lltt.D., Public Orator of

Cambridge University.

John

Williams AVhite, Ph.D.,

Professor

Emeritus of Harvard University. I

was also fortunate in securing as Editors

Mr. T. E. Page, M.A., until recently a Master at

W. H.

D. Rouse,

of the Perse

Grammar

the Charterhouse School, and. Dr.

Head Master

Litt.D.,

School, in Cambridge, England.

Their

critical

judgment, their thorough scholarship and wide acquaintance with ancient and. modern literature, are the best guarantee that the translations will

combine accuracy with sound English idiom.

Wherever modern were

cellence

translations of

already in

existence

marked exefforts

were

made to secure them for the Library, but in a number of instances copyright could not be obtained.

that we

I

mention this because I anticipate

may be

new translations in certain cases where they might perhaps not seem to be required. But as the Series is to include all that is of value and of interest in criticised for issuing

Greek and Latin

Homer

literature,

from the time of

to the Fall of Constantinople, no other

course was possible.

On

the other hand,

many

readers will be glad to see that v/e have included

V

several of those stately

made

and inimitable translations

in the sixteenth, seventeenth,

centuries,

of the English language. Avill,

and eighteenth

which are counted among the

classics

Most of the translations many of the best

however, be wholly new, and

scholars in Great Britain, the

United States, and

Canada have already promised

their assistance

are

now engaged upon the work.

and

As a general rule,

the best available critical texts will be used, but in quite a

number of

cases the texts will be especially

prepared for this Library.

The announcement of this new Series has been many cordial expressions of goodwill from so many (juarters that I am led to

greeted with so

believe

that

that

it will

it

will

fill

a long-felt want, and

prove acceptable to a wide

circle of

readers, not only to-day, but also in the future.

These books

who

will

appeal not only to scholars

care for a uniform series of the best texts,

and to college graduates who wish to renew and enlarge their knowledge with the help of text and translation, but also to those

who know

neither

Greek nor Latin, and yet desire to reap the of ancient genius and wisdom.

may be

Some

fruits

readers, too,

enticed by the text printed opposite the

translation to gather an

elementary knowledge

of Greek and Latin, thus greatly enhancing the

:

interest of their

modem

reading

;

while the teacher of

literature will, I trust, find these books

useful in the effort to

make his students acquainted

with the prototypes of practically every style of

modern It

literary composition.

my

is

thanks to

my

pleasant duty to express

sincere

those on both sides of the Atlantic

all

whose hearty co-operation and help have made task at once easy and agreeable.

Nor can

my

I find

a happier way of commending this new Classical Series to the public

than by quoting Goethe's

words "

Man studiere

nicht die Mitgeborenen

und

Mitstrebenden, sondern grosse Menschen der deren

Vorzeit,

Jahrhunderten

seit

Wert und gleiches Ansehen

gleichen

haben.

Werke

.

.

.

Man

studiere

behalten

Moliere,

man

studiere Shakespeare, aber vor alien Dingen, die

alten

Griechen,

und immer

die

alten

Griechen."

JAMES LOEB Munich September

1.

1912

Vll

THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY EDITED BY T. E.

PAGE,

M.A.,

ST.

AND W.

H. D.

ROUSE, Litt.D.

AUGUSTINE'S

CONFESSIONS II

ST.

AUGUSTINE'S

CONFESSIONS WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY

WILLIAM WATTS 1631

IN

TWO VOLUMES II

LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN CO. :

MCMSIl

PREFACE In finishing this volume the Editor offers his sincere

thanks to the Reverend W. Emery Barnes, D.D.,

Hulsean Professor of Divinity Cambridge, for valualle help points clear.

in the in

University of

making doubtful

:

BIBLIOGRAPHY Editio Princeps

:

Collected Works: Amerbach, Basle, 1506; printed Paris, 1515. Confessions; Mediolani, 1475. Latest Cntical Edition

Confessions:

P.

re-

:

Knoll, Teubner, 19