ABSTRACT
The voice of Gregory the Great is a strange one, which speaks in accents alien to the modern West. Yet his works reveal great intellectual ambition, his Moralia in Iob being among the longest books to have been written in Latin at the time of its composition; the response to them was extraordinarily immediate, widespread and enthusiastic; and the sustained interest taken in them during the centuries which followed Gregory’s life has made him one of the most influential authors ever to have written in the West. Moreover, his books were not the products of an idle mind but written during the exercise of very demanding duties. Such considerations suggest that it may be worthwhile coming to terms with his achievement. Even in his strangeness, Gregory may speak to modern readers.
