Coach Sankhavaram ®#Neoplatonism gave #Augustine the philosophical vocabulary and metaphysical framework he needed, but Christianity (especially Paul) gave him the drama of sin, grace, and redemption that #Plotinus never could.
GeePawHill@paninid Have you read any of James J. O'Donnell? His Augustine is excellent. Also, his _Pagans_, and his _The Ruin of the Roman Empire_.
From this distance, it's hard to understand how it all fits together, but O'Donnell does a very good job of it.
I have not!
@paninid I had a prior (minor) connection to Mary Beard, and after I read _The Road to Roman Ruin_, I wrote her asking if he was a crank.
She told me it wasn't really her period, but that she had colleagues who took him very seriously.
An excellent writer.
I wrote him an email, and he replied quickly and graciously and humorously.
I’m literally listening to SPQR by Mary Beard during my commute
@paninid Tho so much of her work amounts to "we don't really know", she's one of my favorites on Rome.
