Primary sourceBookc. 900
The Soliloquies
Alfred the Great · c. 900
Alfred's free adaptation of Augustine of Hippo's Soliloquies, including his image of gathering timber from the forest of learning.
Alfred's own adaptation of Augustine, revealing his personal philosophy of learning through the forest-timber image.
About this source
What it is
This is an Old English adaptation of St. Augustine's Soliloquies, attributed to King Alfred, made around the end of the ninth century. Alfred reworks Augustine's philosophical dialogue, adding his own reflections.
Why it matters
The text is famous for an image in which Alfred compares the gathering of knowledge from old books to collecting timber in a forest to build something new. It reveals how Alfred thought about learning: not simply copying old authorities but using them to construct new understanding, in keeping with his project of translating key works into English.
Look closer
- What does the forest-timber image suggest about how Alfred saw his own role as a translator?
- Why translate a philosophical, religious work like this into English rather than leave it in Latin?
- How free is Alfred's version compared to Augustine's original ideas?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Alfred the Great on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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