St. Augustine: The First Catechetical Instruction (De Catechizandis Rudibus)

• Title: St. Augustine: The First Catechetical Instruction (De Catechizandis Rudibus)

• Series: Ancient Christian Writers: The Works of the Fathers in Translation (Volume No. 2)

• Author: St. Augustine of Hippo

• Translator & Annotator: The Rev. Joseph P. Christopher, Ph.D. (Professor of Latin, Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, NJ)

• General Editors: Johannes Quasten, S.T.D., and Joseph C. Plumpe, Ph.D. (The Catholic University of America)

• Publisher: Paulist Press (originally published in cooperation with The Newman Press)

• Printing / Date: Original translation copyrighted 1946; this is the matching late-1970s / 1980s cloth reprint edition (ISBN 0-8091-0047-9, Library of Congress Card No. 78-62449).

• Binding: Two-tone blue buckram cloth with crisp gilt titling and the Greek IC XC NIKA Christogram cross seal stamped on the front board.

Interesting Facts

• The Manual for "Reluctant" Teachers: Around 400–405 AD, a deacon named Deogratias in Carthage wrote to Augustine expressing frustration and discouragement with teaching adult converts—complaining that his lessons felt boring, repetitive, and uninspired. Augustine wrote this treatise specifically as an encouraging pastoral handbook for Deogratias, making it the very first dedicated guide to catechetical pedagogy in Christian history.

• Pedagogical Psychology Ahead of Its Time: Augustine’s practical advice was remarkably modern. He instructed teachers not to drown students in dry dogma, but to weave doctrine into salvation history (narratio). He also advised teachers on psychological tactics: watch the student's body language, let tired candidates sit down, adjust the message if the candidate is educated vs. illiterate, and meet learners with warmth and joy rather than pedantic fatigue.

• The Companion to Volume 1: This is the immediate companion volume to the Epistles of St. Clement and St. Ignatius (Volume No. 1) shown previously. Having Volumes 1 and 2 together in identical bindings and pristine condition is a major selling point for collectors of early church history and patristics.

Condition & Value Assessment

• Condition Notes:

  • Fine / Near Fine: Like Volume 1, this copy is exceptionally clean. Sharp board corners, pristine two-tone cloth, bright, unblemished gilt stamping, and tight, unmarked pages.