The Political Writings of St. Augustine

Saint Augustine

Gateway Editions, 1962 - Religion - 358 pages

Anyone with a better than cursory knowledge of politics knows that a people's deepest values - their religious values - are what determine whether a society will prosper or fail. And anyone with a more than cursory knowledge of history knows that there was once an entity called Christendom - a political society self-consciously in obeisance to a total Christian view of life.

Here in one concise volume is St. Augustine's brilliant analysis of where faith and politics meet - casting a penetrating light on Roman civilization, the coming Middle Ages, ecclesiastical politics, and some of the most powerful ideas in the Western tradition, including Augustine's famous "just war theory" and his timeless ideas of how men should live in society.

With the classic introduction by Henry Paolucci and an analysis by Dino Bigongiari.

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User Review  - mattries37315 - LibraryThing

The most important voice in political thought throughout the Middle Ages, influencing even St. Aquinas, was that of St. Augustine. Through excerpts of sermons, letters, and selections from City of God ...

Contents

• THE RISE AND FALL OF NATIONS: 44
• Gods Governance and Roman: 88
• SECURING THE PEACE OF BABYLON: 118

About the author

Saint Augustine was born to a Catholic mother and a pagan father on November 13, 354, at Thagaste, near Algiers. He studied Latin literature and later taught rhetoric in Rome and Milan. He originally joined the Manicheans, a religious sect, but grew unhappy with some of their philosophies. After his conversion to Christianity and his baptism in 387, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, and he framed the concepts of original sin and just war. His thoughts greatly influenced the medieval worldview. One of Augustine's major goals was a single, unified church. He was ordained a priest in 391 and appointed Bishop of Hippo, in Roman Africa, in 396. Augustine was one of the most prolific Latin authors in terms of surviving works, and the list of his works consists of more than one hundred separate titles. His writings and arguments with other sects include the Donatists and the Pelagians. On the Trinity, The City of God, and On Nature and Grace are some of his important writings. Confessions, which is considered his masterpiece, is an autobiographical work that recounts his restless youth and details the spiritual experiences that led him to Christianity. Many of Augustine's ideas, such as those concerning sin and predestination, became integral to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. In the Catholic Church he is a saint and pre-eminent Doctor of the Church, and the patron of the Augustinians. He is the patron saint of brewers, printers, and theologians. Augustine died on August 28, 430.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Political Writings of St. Augustine
• Author: Saint Augustine
• Editor: Henry Paolucci
• Contributor: Dino Bigongiari
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Gateway Editions, 1962
• ISBN: 0895267047, 9780895267047
• Length: 358 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Christian Church / History