A rich and immersive reinterpretation of the history of Western thought, this volume – the first in a major trilogy – explores the transmission and development of philosophical ideas from Plato and Aristotle to Jesus, Paul, Augustine and Gregory the Great. Christopher Celenza recalibrates philosophy's story not as abstract argumentation but rather as lived practice: one aimed at excavating wisdom and shaping life. Emphasizing the importance of textual tradition and elucidation across diverse contexts, the author shows how philosophical and religious ideas were transformed and readjusted over time. By focusing on the centrality of Christianity to Western thought, he reveals how ancient ideas were alchemized within religious frameworks, and how – across the centuries – ethical and intellectual traditions intersected to shape culture, memory, and the pursuit of sagacity. Ever attentive to ongoing conversations between past and present, this expansive intellectual history brings perspectives to the subject that are both nuanced and fresh.

‘Christopher Celenza’s latest book, by his own account, is ‘attuned to the porous boundaries between philosophy, literature, and religion, and attentive to the lived dimensions of thought.’ That is to say, it is humanist – focused on the human person in a sense that is at once perennial and urgently necessary in the here and now. Its two chapters on Augustine convey the thought of that figure so dear to the new Pope with clarity, vitality, and gusto.’

Paul Elie - Georgetown University, author of The Last Supper

‘This book will be a new, significant approach for readers to appreciate the philosophical tradition, and more generally intellectual history. There is urgent need for a new approach and Celenza provides one that is learned, accessible, and relevant.’

Pamela Long - Independent Scholar

‘This book represents a timely contribution to a broad-based and vibrant movement, within academia and beyond, dedicated to defending the humanities’ enduring relevance to our contemporary world. It does so both by documenting philosophers’ sustained commitment to asking questions about people’s day-to-day existence – its meaning, purpose, how to live the good life – and by presenting those thinkers’ rich, complex, and interconnected answers in a clear, digestible, and engaging form.’

Emily O’Brien - Simon Fraser University