32 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, 
originates in sin.^ In reality he assigns no such origin to the 
state. The state, for Augustine, is an entity quite neutral in 
character, belonging to the sphere of things temporal to be sure, 
but practically adherent to the City of God or to the Earthly City 
as its rulers yield their conduct’s allegiance to the one or to the 
other. Only when justice is disregarded do kingdoms become 
great robberies.”^ The state qua state is the handiwork of 
Providence: Prorsus divina providentia regna constituuntur 
humana.^ No political theory of the state, therefore, prejudices 
Augustine against his country. 
Nor is his affection cooled by that country’s idolatrous past. 
He finds in its pagan heroes models for the citizenry of the King¬ 
dom of God and yearns for the eventual merging of the Common¬ 
wealth itself with the Civitas Dei, The great Komans of the past, 
he relates, “despised their own private affairs for the sake of 
the republic, and for its treasury resisted avarice, consulted for 
the good of their country with a spirit of freedom, addicted neither 
to what their laws pronounced to be crime nor to lust. By all 
these acts, as by the true way, they pressed forward to honors, 
power and glory; they were honored among almost all nations; 
. . . and at this day, both in literature and history, they are 
glorious among almost all nations.”® Naturally Augustine does 
not forget that his country’s ancient worthies were “overcome 
by love of fatherland and ardent desire for praise.” 
Vincit amor patriae laudumque immensa cupido. 
Haec sunt duo ilia, lihertas et cupiditas laudis humanae, quae 
ad facta compulit miranda Romanos:^ and of course for the saint 
of Hippo at the opening of the Middle Ages cupiditas laudis 
humanae is a motive even more despicable than it was still felt 
to be at the close of the medigeval period by his vacillating fol- 
2 Cf. Harnack, History of Dogma (tr.), V, 153. 
2 De Civitate Dei (ed. B. Dombart, 1863), IV, 4. 
^ Ibid., V, 1. In general, cf. Mausbach, Die Ethik des Heiligen Augustinus, 1909, I, 
332-333: “Verkorperung des Weltreiches ist der heidnische, auf Vergdtterung des 
Kreatiirlichen ruhende Staat, nicht der Staat als soleher. Der letztere gehort wie die 
Giiter der Menschennatur und der Familie zu einem Mittelbezirke zwischen den beiden 
Gegensatzen, dessen sich beide bedienen und bemachtigen miissen.” 
° De Civ. Dei, V, 15 (tr. Dods). 
^ Ibid., V, 18. Cf. ibid.. Preface: “. . . iam . . . videamus, qua causa Deus, qut 
potest et ilia bona dare, quae habere possunt etiam non boni ac per hoc etiam non felices, 
Romanum Imperium tarn magnum tamque diuturnum esse voluerit.” The utility of the 
temporal to the celestial peace is set forth in De Civ. Dei, XIX, 13, 14, 16, 17. It is 
worth noting that Augustine mentions a befitting synchronism between the founding: 
of Rome and the beginning of Israelitish prophecy {ibid., XVIII, 27). 
