Major Works

• City of God Against the Pagans (427)

  - Augustine. The City of God Against the Pagans. Translated by R. W. Dyson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
  Excerpt: For to this earthly city belong the enemies against whom I have to defend the city of God. Many of them, indeed, being reclaimed from their ungodly error, have become sufficiently creditable citizens of this city; but many are so inflamed with hatred… More

Commentary

• The Political Aspects of Saint Augustine’s City of God

  - Figgis, John Neville. The Political Aspects of Saint Augustine’s City of God. London: Longmans,   Green and Co., 1921.  
  From the Publisher: “A series of lectures on the political aspects of St. Augustine’s “City of God” by John Neville Figgis. Excerpts: …There are those who are for treating S. Augustine as the typical example of the medieval… More

• “St. Augustine’s City of God: Its Plan and Development”

  - Deferrari, Roy & Jerome Keeler. “St. Augustine’s City of God: Its Plan and Development.” American Journal of Philology, Vol. 50 (1929), pp. 109-37.  
  Excerpt:   “Many statements have been made by scholars regarding the plan and development of St. Augustine’s City of God, and while they may be said to agree in the main, yet they are sometimes contradictory in details, they are frequently… More

• “The Political Ideas of St. Augustine’s De Civitate Dei”

  - Baynes, Norman. “The Political Ideas of St. Augustine’s De Civitate Dei” in Byzantine Studies and Other Essays. London: Athlone Press, 1955, pp. 288-306.  

• Christian Attitudes Toward War and Peace

  - Bainton, R. Christian Attitudes Toward War and Peace. New York: Abingdon Press, 1960.  
  About the Author from the Publisher: “Roland H. Bainton (1894–1984) was born in England and came to the United States in 1902. A recipient of many degrees, Dr. Bainton was a specialist in Reformation history. For many years he was Titus Street… More

• The Political and Social Ideas of St. Augustine

  - Deane, Herbert. The Political and Social Ideas of St. Augustine. New York: Columbia University Press, 1963.  
  From the Publisher: “A critical essay on St. Augustine’s social and political thought. In describing Augustine, the author captures the essence of the man in these words: ‘Genius he had in full measure… he is the master of the phrase… More

• “St Augustine’s Attitude to Religious Coercion”

  - Brown, Peter. “St Augustine’s Attitude to Religious Coercion.” Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 54 (1964), pp. 107-16.  
  Excerpt: “Augustine had to face the issue of religious coercion throughout his episocpate, and especially in his dealings with the Donatist schism. As far as I know, he is the only writer in the Early Church to discuss the subject at length. He even… More

• Saeculum: History and Society in the Theology of Saint Augustine

  - Markus, Robert. Saeculum: History and Society in the Theology of Saint Augustine. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970.  
  From the Publisher: “In this book Professor Markus’s main concern is with those aspects of Augustine’s thought which help to answer questions about the purpose of human society, and particularly with his reflections on history, society and… More

• Religion and Society in the Age of Saint Augustine

  - Brown, Peter. Religion and Society in the Age of Saint Augustine. London: Faber & Faber Ltd., 1972.  
  From the Publisher: “Peter Brown, author of the celebrated ‘Augustine of Hippo’, has here gathered together his seminal articles and papers on the rapidly changing world of Saint Augustine. The collection is wide-ranging, dealing with… More

• Political Idealism and Christianity in the Thought of St. Augustine by Ernest Fortin

  - Fortin, Ernest L. Political Idealism and Christianity in the Thought of St. Augustine. Villanova: Villanova University Press, 1972.  
  The late Ernest Fortin discusses the political dimension of Augustine’s thought, and compares it to modern conceptions of politics. Watch Harvey Mansfield of Harvard University discuss the work of Ernest Fortin (and some other contemporaries) here, on… More

• “The Origins and Dynamics of Society and the State According to St. Augustine”

  - MacQueen, D.J. “The Origins and Dynamics of Society and the State According to St. Augustine.” Augustinian Studies, Vol. 4 (1973), pp. 73-101.  

• “Augustine and Roman Civil Religion: Some Critical Reflections”

  - Fortin, Ernest L. “Augustine and Roman Civil Religion: Some Critical Reflections.” Revue des Etudes Augustiniennes, Vol. 25 (1980), pp. 238-56.

• “The Elements of St. Augustine’s Just War Theory” by John Langan

  - Langan, John. “The Elements of St. Augustine’s Just War Theory.” The Journal of Religious Ethics, Vol. 12 (1984), pp. 19-38.  
  Abstract: “St. Augustine’s just war theory involves eight principal elements: a) a punitive conception of war, b) assessment of the evil of war in terms of the moral evil of attitudes and desires, c) a search for authorization for the use of… More

• “St. Augustine and Christian Political Theory” by James Schall

  - Schall, James. “St. Augustine and Christian Political Theory” in The Politics of Heaven and Hell: Christian Themes from Classical, Medieval, and Modern Political Philosophy. Lanhan: University of America Press, 1984, pp. 39-66.  

• “Augustine’s Political Realism”

  - Niebuhr, Reinhold. “Augustine’s Political Realism” in The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr. Ed., Robert McAfee Brown. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986.  
  From the Publisher: “Theologians, ethicist, and political analyst, Reinhold Neiburh, was a towering figure of twentieth-century religious thought. In this important book, the best of Neiburh’s essays have been brought together for the first time.… More

• “St. Augustine” in History of Political Philosophy

  - Fortin, Ernest L. . “St. Augustine” in History of Political Philosophy. 3rd ed. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1987, pp. 176-205.  
  In his essay “St. Augustine,” featured in History of Political Philosophy (3rd ed., 1987), Ernest L. Fortin explores the political dimensions of Augustine’s thought, emphasizing the transformative influence of Christian doctrine on classical… More

• Christian Love and Just War: Moral Paradox and Political Life in St. Augustine and his Modern Interpreters

  - Stevenson, William. Christian Love and Just War: Moral Paradox and Political Life in St. Augustine and his Modern Interpreters. Macon: Mercer University Press, 1987.  
  Excerpt: “Politics will, to the end of history, be an area where conscience and power meet, where the ethical and coercive factors of human life will interpenetrate and work out their tentative and uneasy compromises.‎”

• “The Just War Theory in the Work of Saint Augustine”

  - Lenihan, David. “The Just War Theory in the Work of Saint Augustine.” Augustinian Studies, Vol. 19 (1988), pp. 37-70.  
  Abstract: “While accepting the morality of military service, per se, Augustine condems private violence of any sort and forbids libidinous violence while in military service. Augustine’s approach to the morality of military service is subjective,… More

• Grace, Politics, and Desire: Essays on Augustine

  - Meynell, H.A, ed. Grace, Politics, and Desire: Essays on Augustine. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1990.  
  From the Publisher: “Augustine makes his mark in many fields: as political philosopher, biblical exegete, theorist of culture and spiritual autobiographer. His phenomenal range is reflected in this collection of papers. Three essays deal with… More

• Moral Foundations of Constitutional Thought: Current Problems, Augustinian Prospects

  - Walker, Graham. Moral Foundations of Constitutional Thought: Current Problems, Augustinian Prospects. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990.  
  From the Publisher: “Graham Walker boldly recasts the debate over issues like constitutional interpretation and judicial review, and challenges contemporary thinking not only about specifically constitutional questions but also about liberalism, law,… More

• “Towards an Augustinian Politics”

  - TeSelle, Eugene. “Towards an Augustinian Politics” in The Ethics of St. Augustine. Ed. William Babcock. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1991, pp. 147-68.  

• “Toward an Augustinian Liberalism”

  - Weithman, P.J. “Toward an Augustinian Liberalism.” Faith and Philosophy, Vol. 8 (1991), pp. 461-80.  
  Abstract: “Concern with the vice of pride is often thought contrary to the spirit of liberalism. Among the virtues often ascribed to liberal political institutions is their encouragement of self-assertion and a sense of self-esteem. Moreover Judith… More

• “The Status of Politics in St. Augustine’s City of God”

  - Burnell, Peter. “The Status of Politics in St. Augustine’s City of God.” History of Political Thought, Vol. 13 (1992), 13-29.  
  Excerpt: “St. Augustine regarded perfect happiness as social in nature1 but far from attainable by any society in this world:2 a combination of facts that brings into question the place of civil life in his thought. This was, indeed, a question… More

• “Augustine and Aquinas on Original Sin and the Function of Political Authority”

  - Weithman, P.J. “Augustine and Aquinas on Original Sin and the Function of Political Authority.” Journal of the History of Philosophy, Vol. 30 (1992), pp. 353-76.  
  Excerpt:   “THE REDISCOVERY OF Aristotelian moral thought in the thirteenth century influenced medieval political theory profoundly. Recovery of Aristotle’s Politics,’ for example, made available to political theorists of the period… More

• “The Problem of Service to Unjust Regimes in Augustine’s City of God”

  - Burnell, Peter. “The Problem of Service to Unjust Regimes in Augustine’s City of God.” Journal of the History of Ideals, Vol. 54 (1993), pp. 177-88.  
  Excerpt: “The ethical principles of civil life were matters of great concern to Augustine, but his opinions (actual or supposed) in this area, and two in particular, have tended to be unattractive to the contemporary mind: his undoubted support of… More

• The Augustinian Imperative: A Reflection on the Politics of Morality

  - Connolly, William. The Augustinian Imperative: A Reflection on the Politics of Morality. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1993.  
  From the Publisher: “An entirely new interpretation of one of the most seminal and widely read figures in the history of political thought, The Augustinian Imperative is also ‘an archaeological investigation into the intellectual foundation of… More

• “Eloquent Lies, Just War and the Politics of Persuasion: Reading Augustine’s City of God in a ‘Postmodern’ World”

  - Dodaro, Robert. “Eloquent Lies, Just War and the Politics of Persuasion: Reading Augustine’s City of God in a ‘Postmodern’ World.” Augustinian Studies, Vol. 25 (1994), pp. 77-137.  

• “Pluralism and Secularism in the Political Order: St. Augustine and Theoretical Liberalism”

  - White, M. “Pluralism and Secularism in the Political Order: St. Augustine and Theoretical Liberalism.” The University of Dayton Review, Vol. 22 (1994), pp. 137-53.  
  Abstract (from FindingAugustine.org): “White examined the nature of Augustine’s pragmatic political philosophy in light of contemporary discussions of theoretical pluralism, secularism, liberalism and church-state separation.”

• Augustine and the Limits of Politics

  - Elshtain, Jean Bethke. Augustine and the Limits of Politics. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1995.  
  From the Publisher: “Jean Bethke Elshtain brings Augustine’s thought into the contemporary political arena and presents an Augustine who created a complex moral map that offers space for loyalty, love, and care, as well as a chastened form of civic… More

• The Path of St. Augustine

  - Banner, William. The Path of St. Augustine. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996.  
  From the Publisher: “The Path of Saint Augustine explains and defends St. Augustine’s moral philosophy and examines his view of good and evil in human life. Avoiding the partisan debates on Augustinism, Banner gives his full attention to the… More

• Ernest L. Fortin: Collected Essays

  - Fortin, Ernest L. Collected Essays. Ed. J. Brian Benestad. 3 vols. Lantham: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996. Introduction, Theology, Politics, Morality and Ethics, Philosophy
  From the Publisher: “This three volume set of collected essays by Ernest Fortin discusses a variety of Catholic Christianity related topics, ranging from its encounter with Greek philosophy up to current issues amidst the rapid changes within the 20th… More

• “Augustine on Justifying Coercion”

  - Bowlin, John. “Augustine on Justifying Coercion.” Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics, Vol. 17 (1997), pp. 49-70.  

• The City of Man

  - Manent, Pierre. The City of Man. Trans. Marc LePain. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998.  
  From the Publisher: “The “City of God” or the “City of Man”? This is the choice St. Augustine offered 1500 years ago–and according to Pierre Manent the modern West has decisively and irreversibly chosen the latter. In this… More

• “Augustine’s Response to the Political Critics of Christianity in the De Civitate Dei”

  - Kries, Douglas. “Augustine’s Response to the Political Critics of Christianity in the De Civitate Dei.” American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 74 (2000), pp. 77-93.  

• The Pilgrim City: Social and Political Ideas in the Writings of St. Augustine of Hippo

  - Dyson, R.W. The Pilgrim City: Social and Political Ideas in the Writings of St. Augustine of Hippo. Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer, 2001.  
  From the Publisher: “The political and social ideas of St Augustine of Hippo are of central importance to the historian of late classical and medieval political thought: Augustine offers a penetrating critique of the moral and political claims of… More

• “Unjust Lies, Just Wars? A Christian Pacifist Conversation with Augustine”

  - Epp Weaver, Alain. “Unjust Lies, Just Wars? A Christian Pacifist Conversation with Augustine.” Journal of Religious Ethics, Vol. 29 (2001), pp. 51-78.  
  Abstract: “Pacifism is routinely criticized as sectarian, incoherent, and preoccupied with moral purity at the expense of responsibility. The author contends that the pacifism of John Howard Yoder is vulnerable to none of these charges and defends this… More

• Augustine and Politics as Longing in the World

  - Heyking, John von. Augustine and Politics as Longing in the World. Columbia: University of  Missouri Press, 2001.  
  From the Publisher: “Saint Augustine’s political thought has usually been interpreted by modern readers as suggesting that politics is based on sin. In Augustine and Politics as Longing in the World, John von Heyking shows that Augustine… More

• Augustine and Modernity

  - Hanby, Michael. Augustine and Modernity. New York: Routledge, 2003.  
  From the Publisher: “Augustine and Modernity is a fresh and challenging addition to current debates about the Augustinian origins of modern subjectivity and the Christian genesis of Western nihilism. It firmly rejects the dominant modern view that the… More

• Augustine and Postmodernism: Confessions and Circumfession

  - Caputo, John & Michael Scanlon, eds. Augustine and Postmodernism: Confessions and Circumfession. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005.  
  From the Publisher: “At the heart of the current surge of interest in religion among contemporary Continental philosophers stands Augustine’s Confessions. With Derrida’s Circumfession constantly in the background, this volume takes up the… More

• St. Augustine and the Theory of Just War

  - Mattox, John Mark. St. Augustine and the Theory of Just War. New York: Continuum, 2006.  
  From the Publisher: “The decline of the Roman Empire gave rise to two problems, which combined to form one of the most perplexing philosophical questions of late antiquity. <br/>On the one hand, Rome found itself under constant military… More

• Politics and the Order of Love: An Augustinian Ethic of Democratic Citizenship

  - Gregory, Eric. Politics and the Order of Love: An Augustinian Ethic of Democratic Citizenship. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.  
  From the Publisher: “Augustine—for all of his influence on Western culture and politics—was hardly a liberal. Drawing from theology, feminist theory, and political philosophy, Eric Gregory offers here a liberal ethics of citizenship, one less… More

• “Augustine’s Contribution to the Republican Tradition”

  - Cornish, Paul. “Augustine’s Contribution to the Republican Tradition.” European Journal of Political Theory, Vol. 9 (2010), pp. 133-148.  
  Abstract: “The present argument focuses on part of Augustine’s defense of Christianity in The City of God. There Augustine argues that the Christian religion did not cause the sack of Rome by the Goths in 410 CE. Augustine revised the definitions of… More

• Pilgrim City: St. Augustine of Hippo and his Innovation in Political Thought

  - Hollingworth, Miles. Pilgrim City: St. Augustine of Hippo and his Innovation in Political Thought. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010.  
  From the Publisher: “In this book Miles Hollingworth investigates how Augustine’s understanding of discipleship causes him to resist the normal tendencies of Western political thinkers. On the one hand, he does not attempt to delineate an ideal… More

• “Augustine’s Glorious City of God as Principle of the Political”

  - Trainor, Brian. “Augustine’s Glorious City of God as Principle of the Political.” Heythrop Journal, Vol. 51 (2010), pp. 543-53.  
  Abstract: “In this article I take the view that Augustine presents a perceptive account of the conditions of political legitimacy, one of such depth and complexity that it deserves to be regarded as a classic of Christian political thought. I hold that… More

• Disciplining Christians: Correction and Community in Augustine’s Letters

  - Ebbeler, Jennifer. Disciplining Christians: Correction and Community in Augustine’s Letters. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.  
  From the Publisher: “Disciplining Christians reconsiders several of Augustine’s most well-known letter exchanges, including his famously controversial correspondence with Jerome and his efforts to engage his Donatist rivals in a letter exchange.… More

• “Selective Memory: Augustine and Contemporary Just War Discourse”

  - Lee, Peter. “Selective Memory: Augustine and Contemporary Just War Discourse.” Scottish Journal of Theology, Vol. 65 (2012), pp. 309-22.  
  Abstract: “Recent moral justifications of military intervention in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq have drawn upon just war concepts set out by Augustine of Hippo in the early fifth century. Augustine, writing as the political hegemony of the Roman Empire… More

Multimedia

• “A Tangle of Two Cities”

  - Wetzel, James. “A Tangle of Two Cities.” Lecture delivered to Villanova University, The Saint Augustine Lecture, 2012.