It is important work that merits attention since its main trajectory is theological and contextual... The study id therefore a welcome addition to the study of sexuality and asceticism in late antiquity.

Chris de Wet, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae

Hunter's excellent book will doubtless remain a standard work for years to come; although the topic is specialized, Hunter's fine style makes the book accessible to a wider audience than scholars of late ancient Christianity.

Elizabeth A. Clark, Journal of Early Christian Studies

In the end it is impossible not to be convinced by Hunter's central contention, that Jovinian is to be understood not as a 'laxist' advocate of unrestrained immortality but as a sincere and serious thinker. These same questions would be asked and answered again, from Pelagius to Martin Luther and beyond; and Hunter is right to restore them to a central place in the history of Christian ideas.

Michael Stuart Williams, Journal of Ecclesiastical History