CASSIODORUS

£2,850 · Offered by Sokol Books

A handsome copy of this fundamental commentary on the Psalms by Cassiodorus, the only formal commentary on the entire Psalter surviving from the patristic era (O Donnell). A Roman statesman and scholar, Cassiodorus served in various high offices under Theodoric the Great and his successors, rulers of the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy, from c. 505 to c. 538. In his retirement, he turned to a religious life and founded the monastery of Vivarium at Scylletium, a centre for biblical studies and for the preservation of the classical literature. Mainly composed in Constantinople during the 540s and then revised in the Vivarium until AD 570, the Psalterii Davidici Expositio also referred to as Expositio Psalmorum is an extended commentary to the biblical Book of Psalms. Cassiodorus main source for this work are the .Enarrationes of Augustine, a collection of sermons he delivered on all psalms. However, Augustine s writings were composed for a listening audience and organised in a quite irregular manner, not to mention their enormous length. For this reason, Cassiodorus was inspired to write a more systematic commentary which could be useful especially for students. The author devoted the second part of his life to composing theological and educational writings, in which he stressed the importance of classical pagan literature as a necessary foundation for Christian education. In his view, the Psalms were the necessary starting point for the study of the Sacre Scriptures. Thus, his co

• Binding: Hardcover

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