{
  "id": 10382578,
  "title": "Was silent reading unusual during Augustine's time?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/was-silent-reading-unusual-during-augustines-time",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-28T01:22:28.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hacker News",
    "slug": "hacker-news",
    "url": "https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?entryid=4341"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Was silent reading an uncommon practice during Augustine's time? According to William A. Johnson's research in Toward a Sociology of Reading in Classical Antiquity, the inference can be drawn from Augustine's own account of his mentor, Aurelius Ambrosius, the archbishop of Milan. In Augustine's Confessions, the author describes Ambrosius reading silently, with his eyes scanning the text while his voice and tongue remained still. Johnson points out that Ambrosius's silent reading was not an isolated occurrence, as Augustine himself observed it often during his visits to Ambrosius, who never closed his door to guests. Augustine contemplated the reasons behind Ambrosius's silent reading, considering possibilities such as a desire to avoid interruptions, fear of having to explain the text to listeners, and concerns about losing valuable reading time. However, Johnson suggests that the preservation of Ambrosius's hoarse voice might have been the true cause of his silent reading habit. The concept of silent reading as an unusual practice during Augustine's era is further supported by Alberto Manguel's examination of silent readers in his book The Silent Readers, which highlights the prevalence of reading aloud as the norm since the beginning of written communication.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}