St. Augustine’s Press was founded in December 1996 with the mission of publishing outstanding scholarly works, principally in the fields of philosophy, theology, and cultural and intellectual history. There was, and is, no university or foundation behind us, no endowment for financial comfort. We do not want to give the impression that that state of affairs is cause for joy or pride. In fact, it has but one positive aspect: it forces us to be true to our mission, to fix our plans on constant improvement, and to listen to our authors and readers. If we fail in this responsibility, we will fail indeed.