Joshua Papsdorf: More than Just a Foil? Julian of Eclanum on Marriage, Sexuality, and Concupiscence

Julian of Eclanum’s clash with Augustine has been the subject of numerous works, and recent years have seen several efforts to reassess Julian and his side of the debate. Still, while Augustine’s views on marriage, sexuality, and concupiscence have been explored in great depth, there is very little scholarly work regarding Julian’s understanding of those issues. This paper will attempt to fill that gap and offer a systematic account of Julian’s views on sexuality, marriage, and concupiscence to the extent that they can be reconstructed from the polemical material we possess.The paper will draw primarily from Augustine’s works, which contain many references to Julian’s views as well as extensive quotations from Julian. Augustine’s On Marriage and Concupiscence and Answer to Julian will be referenced, while the primary source will be Augustine’s Unfinished Work in Answer to Julian, which contains extensive quotations from Julian’s To Florus on those topics. In addition to those primary sources, the paper will reference the work of contemporary scholars. David Hunter’s work on Christian views of marriage and sexuality in the fourth and fifth centuries should be particularly useful along with Josef Lössl’s works on Julian.Ultimately this study should provide a fuller understanding of an important early Christian figure and insights into the development of Christian thinking about marriage and sexuality.