Cur Deus Homo? (Why God Became Man): Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Cur Deus Homo? (Why God Became Man), credited to Anselm of Canterbury, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Cur Deus Homo? (Why God Became Man) by Anselm of Canterbury. (Translated by Edward S. Prout.) Read in English by InTheDesert and Larry Wilson. Begun in England “in great tribulation of heart,” finished in the serene atmosphere and restful solitude of Schiavi, it is unquestionably, from a literary point of view, Anselm’s masterpiece, and even at the present day can be read with pleasure by those least versed in the mysteries of Catholic theology. Cur Deus Homo? such is its title; but its scope is not, as might be inferred, the determination of the final cause of the Incarnation. Anselm seeks in this treatise to vindicate its propriety if such an expression be allowable, as the economy of redemption. Was the Incarnation derogatory to the majesty of God? What was the nature of the obstacle which the Fall opposed to the Divine forgiveness? Could not that obstacle have been removed in some other way than by the Incarnation? How, as a matter of fact, was it removed by the life, suffering, death, and resurrection of the Incarnate God? Such are the questions with which Anselm deals, working the subject out dialectically in the shape of a dialogue between himself and his friend Boso, the latter playing the part of Advocatus Diaboli against the entire providential scheme. - Summary by James Macmullen Rigg (1855-1926)

Recording facts

• Recording title: Cur Deus Homo? (Why God Became Man)
• Author credits: Anselm of Canterbury
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 11
• Listed recording duration: 3:05:21

Catalogue topics

• medieval
• theology
• atonement
• incarnation

Track guide

1. 01 - Preface — 2:16
2. 02 - Book 1 Chapters 1-5 — 11:10
3. 03 - Book 1 Chapters 6-10 — 28:09
4. 04 - Book 1 Chapters 11-15 — 13:26
5. 05 - Book 1 Chapters 16-20 — 28:30
6. 06 - Book 1 Chapters 21-25 — 18:16
7. 07 - Book 2 Chapters 1-5 — 7:57
8. 08 - Book 2 Chapters 6-10 — 18:28
9. 09 - Book 2 Chapters 11-15 — 15:43
10. 10 - Book 2 Chapters 16-18 (Part 1) — 25:36
11. 11 - Book 2 Chapters 18 (Part 2)-22 — 15:50

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.