Institut d’Études Augustiniennes

60/1

60/2

Abstracts:

Tim DENECKER, «Heber or Abraham? Ambrosiaster and Augustine on Language History», p. 1-32

This article tries to reconstruct the model of language history elaborated by the anonymous late-fourth-century exegete nicknamed ‘Ambrosiaster’, and to gauge its influence in the intellectual environment of early Latin Christianity. It does so by means of a comparison with the model of language history subsequently proposed by Augustine. Both authors’ views on the issue appear to be intricately tied in with their conceptions of salvation history, and to center on the ethno- and glottonym ‘Hebrew’ (taken to be derived either from ‘(H)abraham’ or from ‘Heber’). By tracing the alterations of this eponymy throughout Augustine’s works, the article shows that Augustine was almost certainly acquainted with Ambrosiaster’s expositions on the issue and followed them in an early stage of his career, but wittingly departed from them later on. Accordingly, it is suggested that Ambrosiaster’s expositions on language history, like those on various other subjects, exerted considerable influence in the intellectual environment of early Latin Christianity.

Back to the table of contents

Jérôme LAGOUANÈRE, «Le schème de l’hebdomade dans les premiers écrits de saint Augustin», p. 33-65

The schema of the hebdomad often occurs in Augustine’s works. A biblical inspiration is commonly read in his latest works, but in his first ones this schema would be influenced, according to some critics, by Varro, and, according to other ones, by neo-platonism. So, after shortly studying how this schema is dealt by some contemporaries of Augustine, we analyse how this latter can be understood as a spiritual structure of the De ordine and the De quantitate animae. Finally, we conclude that a porphyrian influence must be probable.

Back to the table of contents

Lucia SAUDELLI, «“Dieu” ou “démon” de Socrate? Augustin contre Apulée», p. 67-90

This study focuses on Augustine’s polemic against Apuleius about Socrates’ daemon. At first it examines the Augustinian text in order to clarify the goal, strategy and philosophical implications of this polemic, as well as its specificity and limits: the question raised by Augustine about the nature of the Socratic daemon; the link he establishes between daemons and theatre, which, according to him, goes back to Plato; the distinction between god and daemon that he ascribes to Apuleius. Afterwards the study treats the problem of the mediation between the divine and the human from both Christian and Platonic perspectives, explaining why, in Augustine’s thought, Jesus Christ replaces the daemons as the only true Mediator. Finally it shows that Augustine separates Socrates from Platonic philosophers by attributing to him a monotheistic doctrine, and it inquires about the Socratic thought itself.

Back to the table of contents

Jeffery AUBIN, «Augustin et la rhétorique à la fin du IVe siècle: quelques liens entre le De doctrina christiana et le De rhetorica», p. 91-110

Many arguments have been put forth against the augustinian authorship of the opuscule De rhetorica. Although these objections can be challenged, no argument has been made to support the authenticity of the treatise. The important place taken by Hermagoras of Temnos in this text on rhetoric is rather a good indication that the De rhetorica shares no connection with Augustine who never mentions Hermagoras. However, the analysis of concepts presented in the text of Pseudo-Augustine and the De doctrina christiana indicates that the two authors are the only known Latin writers to use these new concepts emanating from a neo-Platonic reading of the staseis theory of Hermagoras.

Back to the table of contents

Gilbert DAHAN, «“Être avec (le) Christ ou vivre pour ses frères”. L’exégèse de Philippiens 1, 23-24 aux XIIe et XIIIe siècles», p. 111-124

Study of the commentaries on Philippians 1:23-24, of the XIIth and XIIIth centuries. First, textual problems: in his De doctrina christiana, S. Augustine noticed some hesitation in the punctuation of v. 23, which appeared also frequently in the Middle Ages. Some variae lectiones and some notes on the vocabulary are also examined. Secondly, doctrinal study: three questions are asked: Why does the Apostle hesitate, how can he have “a desire to depart”, and what is the meaning of “to be with Christ”? In the appendice are given the texts of the commentaries of Raoul of Laon, Gilbert of la Porrée, Stephan Langton, and Nicholas of Gorran.

Back to the table of contents

Antoine BRIX, «La Tabula De ciuitate Dei dite de Robert Kilwardby. Problèmes d’attribution et tradition manuscrite», p. 125-146

From the 18th century onwards, the Dominican friar Robert Kilwardby (d. 1279) has been considered the author of the anonymous alphabetical table on Augustine’s De ciuitate Dei copied in manuscripts Paris, BnF, lat. 2073, 2074, 2075, among other codices. This paper intends both to disprove such an assumption, for which there is no scientific evidence whatsoever, and to establish the manuscript tradition of the work in question, which happens to be spread in the whole of Europe. Furthermore, two other hypothetical authors are discussed: some of the manuscripts bear the name of Aymeric of Piacenza (d. 1327), master of the Dominican order, as that of the author; and Léopold Delisle once considered, although he was not followed by any scholar in this opinion of his, that the table was to be ascribed to Jean Bernier de Fayt, a very prolific Benedictine compiler (d. 1395).

Back to the table of contents

Martine DULAEY, «L’histoire de David lue par les écrivains des premiers siècles chrétiens. (I) Le roi caché», p. 175-212

David is generally considered as a prefigurement of Christ, and early Christian scholars endeavoured to bring this out in the many accounts about him in the two Books of Kings. This first article examines the beginning of David’s story. His anointment by the prophet Samuel shows he is the one whom God has chosen. His heroic combat against Goliath foreshadows the Passion of Christ and the Resurrection. The harp he plays to expel the evil spirit tormenting Saul symbolises the cross and the songs of the Scriptures.

Back to the table of contents

Sébastien MORLET, «Mentions et interprétations du tétragramme chez Eusèbe de Césarée», p. 213-252

Eusebius of Caesarea appears to be the ancient Christian writer who most often alludes to the tetragrammaton. This paper offers all the texts in Greek with translation. Eusebius attests to a few Jewish traditions about the divine name. It also informs us about witnesses of the biblical text – which cannot always be identified easily – where the tetragrammaton was written in Hebrew. Eusebius has a specific way of interpreting the tetragrammaton: either as an indication of the Father as opposed to the Son, or of the Son’s divinity as opposed to the angels. Eusebius here breaks with the Jewish interpretation but also with Origen, though the latter seems to be his main source. The Alexandrian indeed appears to hold the tetragrammaton above all, if not exclusively, as a name of God as such, that is to say, of the Father.

Back to the table of contents

Olga NESTEROVA, «La figure de la corbeille de Moïse chez Origène et chez Grégoire d’Elvire», p. 253-268

The paper deals with a lacunal passage in the treatise of Gregory of Elvira († after 404) on the birth of Moses (Ex. 2), where the author is unexpectedly skipping from the image of the infant Moses’ basket to the theme of two kinds of fire, a tormenting one and a salutary one. The examination of a number of echoing and concurrent typological motives involved by Gregory in his other treatises, as well as of corresponding texts of Origen, permits to propose a reconstruction of the missing logical link between two above-mentioned subjects.

Back to the table of contents

Sébastien GRIGNON, «L’apport des recueils de testimonia à une édition critique: l’exemple des Catéchèses baptismales de Cyrille de Jérusalem», p. 269-289

Cyril of Jerusalem’s Baptismal Catecheses provide a fairly wide range of biblical testimonia, the study of which can be of some philological interest, as can be seen from the example of Micah 5:1. A thorough examination of the printed editions and a survey of the manuscript tradition, together with a brief study of the indirect tradition of the verse, has permitted us to draw two conlusions: first, that the modern editors have proved exceedingly dependent on the editio princeps and have wrongly reproduced the reading of a late and overcorrected manuscript; second, that the textual variant provided by that manuscript and those editions is part of an Antiochian testimonial tradition which is probably fairly remote from that in use in fourth century Jerusalem. That critical approach of the testimonial tradition therefore seems to permit us not only to draw attention to the modern editors’ choices, but also to amend the text. We have thus applied it to a larger corpus, namely that of the testimonia concerning the Incarnation (Cat. 12) and the Passion (Cat. 13), in order to check more consistently its relevance. This study, which of course doesn’t solve all the issues of the Catecheses’ critical edition, sheds a interesting light on a work in which the biblical quotations and allusions are uncommonly frequent, even for Patristic litterature.

Back to the table of contents

Josef ESKHULT, «The primeval language and Hebrew ethnicity in ancient Jewish and Christian thought until Augustine», p. 291-347

This article deals with the topics of the primeval language and Hebrew ethnicity in ancient Jewish and Christian thought. After a survey of these topics in the Old Testament (chapter 2), I proceed to explore the historical development of the same topics in ancient Judaism (chapter 3) and in ancient patristic exegesis and apologetics (chapter 4 and 5). I demonstrate how and, to some extent, why the primordial language was identified with Hebrew in Hellenistic Judaism and describe how this idea was adopted by Greek and Latin patristic authors until the end of late antiquity with main emphasis on Augustine’s views. The article also charts the development of the accompanying concept of Hebrew ethnicity in ancient thought, primarily with regard to the question how the term Hebrew was etymologized as an ethnic term and how it was utilized as a religious term in Christian apologetics of late antiquity. This article is based on a wide range of primary sources in antiquity.

Back to the table of contents

Pierre CHAMBERT-PROTAT, «Les centons augustiniens de Florus de Lyon: minutie, érudition et vulgarisation», p. 349-379

Lyon’s Carolingian exemplar of Augustine’s sermo 46 de pastoribus shows a very clear series of the signs Florus of Lyon is known to have used, when he was preparing excerpts for his patristic compilations on Paul’s epistles. The case is quite different here, though: the cento he’s preparing comments the Song of songs, 1,6-7. When extracting and analyzing it, one sees how Florus draws, from a very polemical passage, a spiritual exegesis fully detached from historical contingences: and the same conclusion can be reached when considering some others of his Augustinian centones. And yet the very same Florus shows himself, in other circumstances, very inquiring in historical facts and aware of contexts: he records such details carefully in his marginal notes on the Fathers. Thus there are two sides of Florus of Lyon’s activity as a theologian: the scholar at work, increasing and improving his knowledge; and the popularizing writer trying to give the simplices an easier access to Augustine.

Back to the table of contents