Early Christianity and Greek Paidea

This small book, the last work of a world-renowned scholar, has established itself as a classic. It provides a superb overview of the vast historical process by which Christianity was Hellenized and Hellenic civilization became Christianized. Jaeger shows that without the large postclassical expansion of Greek culture the rise of a Christian world religion would have been imp...

This small book, the last work of a world-renowned scholar, has established itself as a classic. It provides a superb overview of the vast historical process by which Christianity was Hellenized and Hellenic civilization became Christianized. Jaeger shows that without the large postclassical expansion of Greek culture the rise of a Christian world religion would have been impossible. He explains why the Hellenization of Christianity was necessary in apostolic and postapostalic times; points out similarities between Greek philosophy and Christian belief; discuss such key figures as Clement, Origen, and Gregory of Nyssa; and touches on the controversies that led to the ultimate complex synthesis of Greek and Christian thought.

瓦尔纳·耶格尔(Werner Jaeger)，1888年出生在德国一个新教家庭，但早年接受的却是天主教教育，这种背景使他接触到不同的文化传统，开阔了他的视野，激发了他的想象力。1914年他被任命为巴塞尔的古典语文教授(尼采曾任这一教席)，1921年在柏林，他继承了老师维拉莫维兹-莫伦道夫(Wilamovitz-Moellendorff，1848-1931)享有声誉的教席。在随后的15年间，他 非常多产，不仅写了好几本书，校注了不少古典著作，而且积极从事复兴德国19世纪人文主义传统的事业。他组织会议，创办杂志(《古代》、《戈劳曼》)，承办公众演讲，并开始撰写划时代的宏篇巨著《教化》（Paideia）。由于妻子是位犹太人，1936年他不得不移民美国。首先到达芝加哥，一年后来到哈佛大学，此后一直呆在哈佛直到1960年退休，并于次年去世。