Reconsidering the Vita Augustini by Possidius of Calama: Towards a Meth-od for the Study of Free Speech in the Thought of Augustine

By applying tools of the history of emotions to study the Vita Augustini by Possidius of Calama—a friend, episcopal colleague, and the first biographer of Augustine of Hippo—the present article analyzes parrhesia or fearless speech as an exercise in the regulation of fear, of which authentic martyr...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Pablo Irizar
Format: Article
Language:Spanish
Published: Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana 2022-10-01
Series:Cuestiones Teológicas
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.upb.edu.co/index.php/cuestiones/article/view/7891
Description
Summary:By applying tools of the history of emotions to study the Vita Augustini by Possidius of Calama—a friend, episcopal colleague, and the first biographer of Augustine of Hippo—the present article analyzes parrhesia or fearless speech as an exercise in the regulation of fear, of which authentic martyrdom is the ideal expression in early Christian North Africa. The study accentuates the centrality of parrhesia in Augustine’s life and reflection and challenges current scholarly assumptions about the parameters of parrhesia as a social construct and about the nature of its Christianizing transformations in late Antiquity.
ISSN:0120-131X
2389-9980