Slaves of God - by Toni Alimi (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Slaves of God provides the first philosophical explanation of Augustine's reasons for justifying slavery. It shows that once we understand why Augustine judged slavery permissible, we can appreciate the central role it plays in his broader religious, ethical, and political thought. It demonstrates this by examining the role slavery played in his conceptions of religion/worship, law, and citizenship. This monograph also situates Augustine in the Roman intellectual landscape of late antiquity, placing him in relation to Cicero, Seneca, Varro, and Lactantius"--

Book Synopsis

A provocative look at the central role of slavery in Augustine's religious, ethical, and political thought

Augustine believed that slavery is permissible, but to understand why, we must situate him in his late antique Roman intellectual context. Slaves of God provides a major reassessment of this monumental figure in the Western religious and political tradition, tracing the remarkably close connections between Augustine's understanding of slavery and his broader thought.

Augustine is most often read through the lens of Greek philosophy and the theology of Christian writers such as Paul and Ambrose, yet his debt to Roman thought is seldom appreciated. Toni Alimi reminds us that the author of Confessions and City of God was also a Roman citizen and argues that some of the thinkers who most significantly shaped his intellectual development were Romans such as Cicero, Seneca, Lactantius, and Varro--Romans who had much to say about slavery and its relationship to civic life. Alimi shows how Augustine, a keen and influential student of these figures, related chattel slavery and slavery to God, and sheds light on Augustinianism's complicity in Christianity's long entanglement with slavery.

An illuminating work of scholarship, Slaves of God reveals how slavery was integral to Augustine's views about law, rule, accountability, and citizenship, and breaks new ground on the topic of slavery in late antique and medieval political thought.

Review Quotes

"Game-changing. . . . [Slaves of God] should occasion a reckoning."---James K. A. Smith, The Christian Century

"Slaves of God is a stimulating read about the role of slavery for Augustine. . . . Toni Alimi contributes to a much more nuanced understanding of the mind of the most important Western church father. Greek and Roman slavery, its persistence and especially its role in the history of ideas in Late Antiquity has not been sufficiently studied--Slaves of God is therefore an important, a necessary book."---Michael Hahn, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"An expansive and engaging analysis of what Augustine thought about slavery and--of equal interest--how he thought with slavery."---James Robert Burns, Journal of Medieval History

About the Author

Toni Alimi is assistant professor in the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University.