Augustine’s “City of God” Book XII

OVERVIEW

Augustine begins in Chapter 1 of Book XII, discussing the dispositions of angels. He states that there are both good and bad angels, and gives his reasoning. The good angels are faithful to God, while the bad angels are selfish are not faithful to God. Augustine says of happiness, that the good angels are happy because they are in union with God, and the bad angels are unhappy because they are not in union with God. He then begins discussing that all things made by God are good because God is supremely good. However, because the things were made out of nothing, they are subject to change. He then goes back to talking about angels, and says that angels are naturally made to be good, and if they do not adhere to God, then that is a perversion of their nature. He then says again that the supreme Good, is God. Augustine discusses the perversion of the angelic nature in more detail, and provides and example. He says that blindness is a defect of the eyes, because it is the nature of the eye to see. This holds true for the angels who’s nature was to be one with God, unite with him, and in not doing so, is a defect, or a failure.

In Chapter 2, Augustine discusses God a little more, saying that he is the supreme being. Then he discusses the word “being” by saying that “being” means “to be” and God gave “being” by creating out of nothing. In Chapter 3, Augustine begins by talking about God’s enemies, or those who oppose God’s rule, not by nature, but by sin. These enemies can not do harm to God, but by opposing Him, they do harm to themselves. Augustine then states again that God is supremely good, and thus to lack goodness, is opposed to God as evil is opposed to good.

In Chapter 4, Augustine discusses our inability to see and appreciate the beauty and masterpiece of the Creator. He discusses the law of transitory things, how some are born while others die, and the weak give way to the strong. He says we fail to see the beauty of this. Augustine then begins talking about natures again, and brings up the example of fire. Fire can cook our food, warm up, and heal us. However, it can also burn us. Augustine says we should pay no attention to those who praise fire for its light but condemn its heat.

Chapter 5 is very short, and discusses natures again. Augustine comes to the conclusion here, that all natures are good because they exist. Therefore, he says, each nature has its own measure of being, its own beauty, and its own peace. In conclusion he says that God is not to be blamed for defects, but should be praised for all the perfections pertaining to natures.

In Chapter 6, Augustine talks about will. He discusses the subject, and then provides an example, asking why did the will in one case become evil and not the other. The example he gives is of two men, each of the same mental and physical make-up. In short, these two men are exactly the same. They are both tempted by a beautiful woman, and she gives them both the same suggestion for temptation, however, one man remains chaste while the other does not. One is able to abstain from temptation, while the other man gives into it. Augustine says finally that the nature was made out of nothing, and so evil arises from that fact.

In Chapter 7, Augustine says that no one need seek for an efficient cause of an evil will. Then he goes on to say that although we have knowledge of both darkness and silence, we can not see darkness, nor hear silence. In Chapter 8, Augustine begins by saying that God is perfect, and is not deficient of anything. Then he gives an example of gold and greed. He says that greed is not a defect in the gold that is desires but in the man who desires it perversely. He gives a similar example for lust as well.

In Chapter 9, Augustine says again that there is no natural efficient cause of an evil will. Then he talks about angels once again, and their either goodness or badness, and how this comes to be. He concludes that the holy angels never existed without a good will, or in other words, without the love of God. The angels that were created good, became bad because of their evil will. Augustine ends his discussion by repeating that they who share this common good are in a holy communion both with Him to whom they adhere and one with another, and they form a single community, one City of God, which is also His living sacrifice, and His living temple.

Saint Augustine and Saint Monica

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