28. Ep. 174 (CSEL 44:650–51); trans. Parsons, FOTC 30:83–84.
On the Trinity 287 finished it or revised and corrected it as I had planned. I had intended to publish it as a whole, not in separate books, for the reason that the subsequent books are linked to the preceding ones by a continuous development of the argument. Since my intention could not be carried out because of the persons who had secured access to the books before I wished it, I left off my interrupted dictation, thinking to make a formal complaint of this in some of my other writings, so that those who could might know that the said books had not been published by me but filched from me before I deemed them worthy of publication under my name. Now, however, under the insistent demands of many brethren and the compulsion of your bidding, I have devoted myself, with the Lord's help, to the laborious task of finishing them. They are not corrected as I should wish, but as best I could, so that the whole work might not differ too much from the parts which have for some time been circulating surreptitiously. I send it now to your Reverence by my son and very dear fellow deacon, and I give you my permission for it to be read, heard, and copied by any who wish. If I had been able to carry out my original plan, it would have been much smoother and clearer, though the statements would have been the same; always, of course, as far as my ability and the difficulty of explaining such matters would allow. There are some persons who have the first four or, rather, five books without the introduction, and the twelfth without most of the last part. If they come to know of this edition they will make the corrections, provided they have the good will and the ability. I ask earnestly that you order this letter to be used as a preface, separated from but at the head of those same books. Pray for me.28
A Covenant with the Reader
Augustine opens On the Trinity with a careful statement of what he is trying to do. He stresses the orthodox formulation: that God is Trinity: three Persons, one Essence. He also stresses that his quest is a faith seeking understanding—but it is more than that. Augustine warns of unnecessary polemics, and he sets out his stance vis-à-vis the reader, namely, a covenant of a mutual correction and of necessary tentativeness. Note the way he quotes Ps 104:4—"Seek his face always"—a phrase that reappears at key moments in the work. From On the Trinity, Book 1:
(2.4) With the help of the Lord our God and as far as lies in our power, we shall try to give an explanation of that very thing [believers] demand, namely, that the Trinity is the one and only and true God and that one rightly pro-
28. Ep. 174 (CSEL 44:650–51); trans. Parsons, FOTC 30:83–84.