Ambrose: De Officiis
Edited with an Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (Two Volume Set)
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Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199245789
Number of Pages: 1014
Published: 28/02/2002
Width: 14.7 cm
Height: 22.5 cm
The De officiis of Ambrose of Milan (c. 339-397) is one of the most important texts of Latin Patristic literature. Modelled on the De Officiis of Cicero, it sets out Ambrose's ethical vision for his clergy, synthesizing ancient Stoic assumptions on virtue and expediency with Biblical patterns of humility, charity, and self-denial to present a paradigm of a church hierarchy capable of making the right impact on its social world. Ambrose aspires to demonstrate that the age of profound principles is now available.
This new edition constitutes the first Modern English translation of Ambrose's Latin. The Text and Translation in Volume 1 are accompanied by a detailed Commentary (Volume 2) that concentrates on Ambrose's debts to Cicero and his attempts to renovate his philosophical inheritance. An extensive Introduction analyses his ethical ideals and sets them in their social context.
it has always been recognized as a highly important work and one of unique interest because of its link with its famous literary predecessor...based uncompromisingly on the Bible and on the working of God in the spirit of man, which brought about so decisive a shift in the direction of European thought... It may at once be said that this is altogether an outstanding work, which is likely to hold its own for many years. * Andrew Lenox-Conyngham, The Journal of Theological Studies *