Philip Rousseau

Cassian, Contemplation and the Coenobitic Life

Cassian was not a systematic writer; or, perhaps to be more just, he was not afraid to allow his ideas to develop, and even change. He suffers, therefore, more than some at the hands of historians of spirituality. It is temptingly easy to present him as the instigator of a twotier system: of an asceticism that distinguished contemplation from the ‘practical’ eradication of vice, or the regime of the hermit from that of the coenobite; and that distinguished them as activities of greater and lesser merit, raising the contemplation of the hermit above the more preoccupied discipline of community life. Those who think of Cassian in these terms have also to face the fact that most western ascetics, in the centuries that followed, came together in groups to conquer sin; and yet they thought Cassian (as did Benedict) in some sense their master. Indeed, there are signs that Cassian himself witnessed the growing popularity of the coenobitic life. Given this apparent contrast, therefore, between his supposed interpretation of the spiritual life and the relentless development of communal asceticism, many feel impelled to regard him as a remote perfectionist, or at best—where signs of resignation to community life appear—as a weary and reluctant realist.

Jerome's Epitaph on Paula: A Commentary on the Epitaphium Sanctae Paulae by Andrew Cain (review)

byproduct of creation, the unintended sawdust in the carpenter’s workshop. In order to explain how evil originated, Origen introduces the idea of pre-existence and ascribes present evil to misused freedom in this pre-existence. Evil came into being with the fall of the Devil and with the concomitant fall of other pre-existent rational minds. Humans have such rational minds and have willingly fallen away from God into materiality. However, material existence is not evil, but constitutes the starting point of the journey back to God, that is “the soul’s spiritual odyssey to recover its lost union with God” (x). The world is under God’s providential care and is a “school or hospital” where people can learn from their mistakes (100). According to Origen, moral and spiritual progress is possible, and souls are on a lengthy quest to overcome evil. Scott convincingly shows that Origen cannot easily be characterized; he is neither exclusively a Platonic philosopher nor exclusively a churchman. In general, Scott presents Origen as reconciling classic contradictions. Scott thus repositions Origen and presents a rather harmonized and occasionally debatable picture of Origen’s person and theology. He uses both Origen’s philosophical and pastoral texts, as he unites Origen’s ideas and systematizes them to explain Origen’s understanding of evil. However, it remains a question in Origen scholarship, if Origen’s texts can be summed up into a coherent system in this manner. This ambiguity could have been further addressed by Scott. In his conclusion, Scott points to the fact that part of Origen’s theology was condemned after his death, and thereby his theodicy lost its vigor. Nonetheless, Scott suggests that some ideas from Origen’s theodicy can be preserved in Christian theology. For instance, modern theologians can find inspiration in Origen’s pedagogy and method. Scott’s volume makes a contribution to both Origen studies in particular and to theological studies in general. A critical engagement with Origen’s thought and a lucid style make the book a good introduction. Origen’s theology can seem extraordinarily speculative, but Scott shows us how Origen’s thoughts can be united into a coherent, theological cosmology in which the justice of God “underwrites the world as a ‘secret.’” (79). Maria Munkholt Christensen, Georg-August–Universität Göttingen

Early Christian Books in Egypt (review)

may refl ect extra-linguistic, not linguistic, realities” (723), although experience has shown that the words “may refl ect” there could be replaced by “always refl ects.” In all, this book marks a turning point in the examination of the topic. In terms of both ease of reference and inclusiveness of material it will not replace József Herman’s Vulgar Latin (University Park, PA, 2000) as the book for late antique and early medieval historians to consult for enlightenment about spoken Latin, and the consequent vagaries of the written Latin found in the data, but it will need to be referred to in addition. As Danuta Shanzer says in her review, “Adams is one of the world’s leading Latinists (and arguably its most interesting one!),” and we can all be grateful that he has been extending his fi eld of vision chronologically into Late Antiquity.

The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies (review)

In books of this kind, two features count for the most: coverage and structure. The structure here, clearly, has been the object of great care. After three chapters headed “Prolegomena”and a splendidly practical section on material and textual evidence (archaeology, epigraphy, codicology, and so on), there are six sections devoted to (1) identities; (2) regions; (3) structure and authority; (4) cultural expressions; (5) rituals, piety, and practice; and (6) theological themes. However, it is not a handbook about early Christianity, with “cogent summary introductions” as the editors put it (p. 2), but about the study of early Christianity. The content of each section consists for the most part in an account of how the modern view of early Christianity has been determined by the methods and preoccupations of those who have studied it: “Contributors were asked to reflect on the main questions or issues that have animated research, to provide an introduction to the relevant primary sources, and to offer some guidance on the directions in which future research might be profitably pursued” (p. 2).