Reading Questions

M 25 Oct
Augustine, City of God, XI.1; XII.6-8, 23; XIII.1-8, 13-15, 19; XIV.1-4, 8, 10-19, 22-28; XVIII.1, 54 [last para.]; XIX.13-17, 21, 24, 26-28; XXII.6, 28-30(pp. 429-30, 477-81, 503, 510-17, 522-24, 531-33, 547-54, 558-61, 566-81, 584-94, 761-62, 842, 870-79, 881-83, 890-94, 1029-32, 1080-91)

Can you divine the overall structure of the work? (What is the subject of part I? of part II? Are there large subdivisions within the two parts?)

What are the two cities? Is the "city of man" Rome? Is the "city of God" the Church? Is the "city of God" a Platonic "republic"? What is the relationship between the two cities? What are the political consequences of this formulation?

How does Augustine understand original sin and its consequences? Are there specifically political consequences of the Fall?

Is man political by nature? What is the status of human law? What is justice? Do these arguments correspond in any way to earlier readings?