Augustine Critique

            Augustine begins his work by describing the fundamental flaws of Romans and why its civilization is crumbling. He then goes on to describe the holy city, the City of God. He compares the holy city to the earthly city, Rome. Augustine illuminates the major differences between the two cities and their citizens. Augustine then goes on to describe the Socratic school of thought, analyzing it and scrutinizing it. He then examines Plato’s philosophy in a very similar manner.

            Augustine blatantly states that the Romans are at fault for the downfall of the empire. Idolatry has captured their hearts, and they began to hold themselves and the world above the King of the universe, and even above their own pagan gods. This selfishness originates from Adam. His analysis of Plato and Socrates is not shy to point out their failure to identify the origin of the eternal struggle between good and evil. While they came close to the reality, they ultimately ended just as far away as the rest of humanity.

            The earthly city, Rome, as described by Augustine mirrors Israel throughout the Old Testament. The abandonment of truth for other gods and idols always has selfishness at its heart. This temporal longing can produce only misery because our hopes will always fade away. Humans are born into the bondage of sin, as described by Luther, and therefore are born into the selfishness that presents us from seeking God. Augustine said that “it takes faith to believe that we need His help.” Without noticing our need for a savior, without admitting our ignorance, we, as Augustine says, will only end up with misery. Augustine echoes the sentiments of Paul that everything is “rubbish” if it is not for God. Augustine and Socrates both recognized the natural state of man as selfish and ignorant. Herodotus and Aesop both agree in that the fundamental evil of man is selfishness or pride which brings about greed and all other sins. Man is born sinful and is ignorant of its own sinfulness. As the movie Seven vividly illustrates, “only in a world this screwed up can you call people innocent.” Justice, as seen by humanity, begins with the Aristotelian assumption that the nature of man is good, and is therefore innocent until proven guilty.

            Augustine describes God as the “cause of all being, reason of all thinking, the rule of all living.” He nearly paraphrases John 1 in saying that God is at the heart of all existence, and nothing could exist without him. God is the heart of all existence, and our service to him, we must, as instructed by Jerome, cast our worldly possessions aside and solely seek God, for “no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62) Augustine encourages people to seek God to find the Truth since it cannot be found elsewhere. Socrates recognized that an Infinite being was the source of all perfection and truth and should be sought. We, as Socrates realized, discover our own ignorance and sin, but are powerless against it unless God saves us and wipes away all our iniquities.