medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
The WikiQuote page for Augustine of Hippo cites a quotation famously
attributed to the Church Father but does not supply a source text for the
attribution: "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a
page." (A quick Google search will attest to ubiquity of the attribution
to Augustine.) A recent thread on another website
(http://ask.metafilter.com/152177/Source-of-supposed-Augustine-quote) has
offered, finally, the conclusion that the quotation is not from Augustine
at all, but a false attribution originating in Feltham's English
Enchiridion (1799)adapted by "Thomas Fielding" (John Wade) in 1824, for
his "Select Proverbs from all Nations," where he writes: "The world is a
great book, of which they that never stir from home read only a page."
The Augustinian attribution is interesting to me, in my current project.
I am trying to trace the development of the idea of pilgrimage as penance,
as a transformative/transforming element of penitence. I am considering
the notion of pilgrim travel narrative as a particularly useful means
(because it evokes embodied, spatial experience) of precipitating
conceptual change, a change in mindset or habit of mind--a key aspect of
the "change of heart" trope in conversion narratives. The quotation from
Augustine reveals a similar clustering of ideas--"book/narrative,"
"travel," "experience," "conversion," and "confession/penitence"--in the
late-medieval literary texts I'm examining, and illustrates the
now-axiomatic relationship between this clustering of ideas in the
"Augustinian" quotation.
Any suggestions listserv members might have for further reading on
Augustine and pilgrimage/penitence, or comments on the quote attributed to
Augustine (above) would be greatly appreciated!
Best,
Jose "Joel" Nebres
University of Connecticut, English
PhD candidate
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