De moribus ecclesiae catholicae et de moribus Manichaeorum. De quantitate animae di Agostino d'Ippona (review)

Two works of Augustine, frequently neglected by scholars, De moribus ecclesiae catholicae et de moribus Manichaeorum and De quantitate animae, dating from his final stay in Rome and his return to Africa in 388, are given careful consideration in this fine volume. Three essays are dedicated to De moribus ecclesiae and four to De quantitate animae.

In an essay entitled "Augustin chrétien à Rome", J. Kevin Coyle (St. Paul, Ottawa) summarizes the past fifteen years of literature concerning the date, place, and circumstances of the composition of the double essay De moribus ecclesiae catholicae et de moribus Manichaeorum, which was Augustine's first work after his baptism in April of 387. Written in the winter of 387-388, it is also his first response to Manichaeism. In the first thirty chapters of the work, Augustine deals exclusively with a comparison between the Old and the New Testament with regard to asceticism. In chapter 31 Augustine introduces a complementary section, De moribus Manichaeorum. Despite Retractationes 1.8.1, Coyle argues convincingly that De moribus ecclesiae catholicae was only partially written in Rome and was completed in Thagaste, where Augustine added De moribus Manichaeorum. Initially, De moribus ecclesiae catholicae, the first part of the double essay, was envisaged as an integral piece even if Augustine later refused to publish it separately from De moribus Manichaeorum (but the manuscript evidence is instructive: of the 94 extant manuscripts, only 57 include De moribus Manichaeorum). After dealing with the questions of dating and provenance, Coyle examines the main themes in both writings: the meaning of mores and the nature of virtue. Since the term mores concerns "practical application of beliefs" rather than "ethical behavior," Augustine focuses attention on the notion of God, especially in rejecting the Manichaean exegesis of the Bible. Two long sections (15.25-16.26 and 19.35-25.47) are devoted to a discussion of the nature of virtue in focusing on charity. This leads Augustine to celebrate ecclesia catholica as the nurturer of virtue as well as of the various forms of true asceticism. Coyle's vivid and accurate analysis of the data spotlights the significant elements of this work, especially in drawing attention to the situation in Rome under Pope Siricius, (384/5-398) the successor of Damascus. Siricius was not only a zealous ascetic, but also noted for his vigilance against heresy, especially Manichaeism.

François Décret, (University of Antilles-Guyane) a noted expert on Manichaeism, treats Book II, De moribus Manichaeorum, in magisterial style. Describing this section as "a precious contribution" that "can be considered as the richest treatise in the whole anti-Manichaean enterprise of the former Auditor" (p.79), Décret underlines the properly historical value of that treatise "for a better understanding of the Manichaean church in Africa and Rome" (p. 108), thanks to the information about liturgical gatherings, life-style, solidarity in time of persecution, as well as the inner hierarchy and discipline of the community. In suggesting that a more accurate title of the work would be: De moribus electorum sanctorumque Manichaeorum (p.119), Décret argues that Augustine's denunciations of Manichaeism were written primarily for the benefit of the laity, the "auditors" of the sect, a number of whom he had himself drawn to Manichaeism.

In a short essay on the De moribus ecclesiae catholicae, Agostino Clerici explores the Augustinian notion of "church discipline" as "healing of the soul," "La disciplina come medicina anima."

Ernest L. Fortin (Boston College) offers a substantial and illuminating study of De quantitate animae, which he renders as "The Spiritual Dimension of Human Existence". Together with the Soliloquies and their unfinished complement, the short essay On the Immortality of the Soul, it represents the longest writing of Augustine on the soul. Although somewhat neglected by modern critics, it was prized by Augustine in Retractationes for its "great care and subtlety" (1.8...