In the Vineyard of the Text

With Augustine as his principal authority, and drawing on a range of classical and medieval writers, Hugh of Saint Victor wrote his magnum opus, Didascalicon, (On the Study of Reading) as an introduction to rhetoric, philosophy and Christian exegesis as taught at the "Parisian Schools" in the 12th-Century.

Illich's In the Vineyard of the Text is a study of the earlier work with an emphasis on the what it reveals about the history of the book and reading, in particular the revolution bought about by the transition of reading from being a vocal and communal activity (clare legere) to one practiced alone and in silence that had been the norm since antiquity.

Illich also argues that reading and studying are synonymous with a spiritual lifestyle (not exclusively Christian). He explores how a meditative state of mind is conducive to world peace and harmony, and how this can come about if we listen to those who follow a ‘bookish’ lifestyle.