An overview and synthesis of St Augustine’s influential educational thought in one volume, including coverage of the reception and influence of his work and its relevance today.

After setting Augustine’s thought firmly within the context of his life and times, Ryan Topping examines in turn the causes of education (the purposes, pedagogy, curriculum, and limits of learning) as Augustine understood them. Augustine’s towering influence over Medieval and Renaissance theorists – from Hugh of St Victor, to Aquinas, to Erasmus – is traced. The book concludes by drawing Augustine into dialogue with contemporary philosophers, exploring the influence of his meditations on higher education and suggesting how his ideas can reinvigorate for our generation the project of liberal learning.

"Ryan Topping's new book on St. Augustine is not so much a book about this famous saint as it is a treasury of insightful meditations on the state of higher education, especially Catholic higher education, and what the future of Catholic studies may be." - B. C. Catholic