Prudentius' Psychomachia is generally known to be one of the top reference points of the western medieval tradition. One can't help running into Prudentius' name in the wide range of fields from iconography to the religious anthropology and literary research on allegoric treatises. This book gives any medieval scholar an opportunity to throw a close look into Prudentius' literary heritage and compare the legendary source with numerous later interpretations and adaptations. A good chance of general aquaintance, it will be no less handy for scholars making a research directly on Prudentius, as they get a compact reference edition at hand easy to carry and with both Latin and English texts ready to quote.

The edition is a sheer delight from exquisite appearance and format to sophisticated style of the English translation. H.J. Thomson makes the English Psychomachia sound in the same vein as the rich fancyful latin of the original. Moreover, his translation is close enough to the text to clear up the doubts of an unexperienced latin student - before I set my eyes on this volume, for a certain time I had been desperately longing to get a coherent interpretation of difficult or ambiguous spots.

So, if you need an elaborated analysis of Prudentius' works, you'd better check for some monographic research on the topic, but if you are in the same boat with me, it will be a good addition to your library.

Aurelius Prudentius Clemens, like many of the great Latin poets, was born in Spain(348 A.D.), and it was there that he lived and worked most of his life. He did, however, visit Rome; and judging from his writings he new the Eternal City well. Among the classic poets, Prudentius, as a Catholic Christian from the Later Roman Empire, may certainly be placed in a class with the greatest of his predecessors. Like Virgil, Prudentius understood in great detail the Divine mission of Rome; instead of Virgil's Aeneas, Prudentius upholds Christ as the figure-head of Rome, and sees the empire's shift from paganism to Christianity as the ultimate fulfillment of the City's calling. Prudentius is a poet, rather than a theologian, but this is quite difficult to tell, for the reason that he seems well informed of the theological maxims of his day, and for the fact that he incorporates them into his work in so much depth. Prudentius uses his knowledge and eloquent verse to teach the Catholic faith, thwart heresy, and tell the many stories of the traditional figures in the Bible. The first volume is comprised of the following: "The Daily Round"(a collection of pleasant hymns), "The Divinity of Christ," "The Origin of Sin," "The Fight fo Mansoul," and "A Reply to Address of Symmachus."