"The Book of St. Augustine" in the Russian translation of the XVI century - the first "selected collection of works" in Russia of the most prominent Western European theologian, Aurelius Augustine (13. XI. 354-28 or 30.VIII. 430). This is a vivid example of the Latin influence on Russian literature in the era of Ivan the Terrible, as well as the connection of literary traditions of the XVI-XVII centuries. The history of the monument, which has remained unclear until now, is associated with such famous names as Maxim Grek, his student Prince Andrey Kurbsky, Karion Istomin, Evfimiy Chudovsky, boyar I. K. Naryshkin, Tsarevna Sofia Alekseevna and others. page 68 The Book of St. Augustine was translated in Russia in the literary environment of the Athos monk Maxim the Greek, possibly by the famous scribe Dmitry Gerasimov in 1518-1524. By May 1564, there were at least three lists of it. This is, firstly, the archetype of translation, secondly, the manuscript of the elder of the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery Vassian Muromtsev, created no later than 1563, and, thirdly, the collection of Prince Kurbsky from 1563-1564 dating back to it. After Kurbsky's flight to Lithuanian Russia on the night of April 30, 1564, and the execution of Vassian Muromtsev by order of Ivan the Terrible in 1570, the history of the monument was virtually interrupted. Currently, only one complete list of the "Book of St. Augustine" is known, which was made around 1692 by the monk Euthymius Chudovsky, a great lover of book rarities (State Historical Museum, collection of the Chudov Monastery. N 216). The manuscript is entitled: "The Book of St. Augustine, Western teacher, Bishop of Hippo". At the beginning of it is placed a kind of introduction - "The Life of St. Augustine", consisting of 31 chapters. The author of Augustine's life is his disciple Possidius, bishop of Kalama in North Africa. This is followed by the "Table of Contents of the book of Sei" - the content of its two parts. The first part of the c ... Read more