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Acknowledgments A project of this scope is only possible because many people have been exceedingly generous with their time, energy, and expertise. Its best insights have their source in more conversations and readings than I can acknowledge adequately either here or in notes. It was the late Jaroslav Pelikan who first brought to my attention the intriguingly complex relationship between Christianity and the classical world. The personal and scholarly influence of John Cavadini is evident throughout the work. He encouraged me at each point never to lose sight of either Augustine’s rhetoric or his theology. Others whose help has been indispensable at critical stages of the work include Brian Daley, S.J., Allan Fitzgerald, Stephen Gersh, Rowan Greer, Carol Harrison, Marina McCoy, Gretchen Reydams-Schils, Gregory Sterling, James Wetzel, and Randall Zachman . Thanks are also due to my colleagues both in the Department of Theology at Boston College—especially Stephen Brown, Boyd Taylor Coolman, Robert Daly, S.J., Charles Hefling, Pheme Perkins, and Stephen Pope—and those in the Boston Area Patristics Group for their collegiality and support. John Slotemaker kindly helped me compile the index.The research and writing were partially funded by a fellowship provided by the J.M. Ormond Center of Duke University and subsequently by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Notre Dame. Witnessing the failure of his best efforts, Augustine ultimately concluded that divine love was the only true source of resiliency for the human spirit in difficult times. When he was most disheartened by the limitations of his own strength, he admonished himself to be more receptive to the love that penetrated every dark corner of the human heart xi and was capable of turning even the worst into something with a beauty all its own. In this regard, I am especially grateful for the sustaining love of my wife, Amy Egloff, the wonder of our daughter, Chloe, and for my parents, Robert and Diana Kolbet. xii Acknowledgments ...

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