Reflections on Augustine's Spirituality by   Donald X. Burt, OSA

Chapter 2

PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY

A. Introduction

It is reasonable to ask why one should begin an examination of practical philosophy with philosophy of history. The answer is that one's philosophy of history sets the context for all activity within that person's individual history. A good context can be the basis for hope; a bad context can cause despair. A bad context may not change moral rules or the rules governing our interaction with others but it can have a serious effect on our willingness to put out the effort to follow those rules. It is difficult the act rationally in a universe which is itself irrational. What is happening in even a rational universe can have a major effect on what we must do here and now, what we need to do for each other. For example, it would not make sense to worry about long range prospects in a world that is likely to end soon. It would be too much to demand that we bring a little light and order into a world that is dark chaos. It is for reasons such as these that Augustine placed his philosophy of history, his tale of "Two Cities," at the very center of his ethics and his social/political philosophy. Since it is the center, Augustine's philosophy of history is a good place to begin this examination of his practical philosophy.

The proper object of any philosophy of history is the story of the human race, the position of individuals in that story, and the history of the universe in which that story is lived out.¹ As philosophy it tries to take this phenomenon and make sense of it, to describe its workings in some reasonable fashion. It can go about this task in two very different ways. Critical philosophy of history seeks to validate or invalidate the presuppositions of a particular theory. Do the claims of objectivity for our historical knowledge have merit or are such claims confused by the limits on our means of communication? Can we really get the intended meaning of a historical description written at a time and place so different from our own in an idiom which has meaning only to those who have had the historical experience? Speculative philosophy of history, while not ignoring such epistemological issues, concentrates on trying to discover some pattern in the history of the human race. It asks whether history is chaotic or does it develop in accord with some pattern. If there is a pattern, is it cyclic, ever repeating itself like a cosmic pin-wheel spinning in time never truly moving from any "here" to a "there." Or is the pattern linear such that our time moves from a defined never to be repeated past towards and equally defined future that is unique and as yet never before experienced. Is the story of the human race something like an arrow impelled straight and true towards a future goal?

It should be noted that a linear philosophy of history does not necessarily imply a beginning or an end. Time may extend back beyond the present universe and may reach far into a future beyond its demise. For example in the Manichean world-view there is an eternity both before and after the present moment and the conflict between the powers of good and evil always was, is, and will be forever, though perhaps in different forms.

Finally, a philosophy of history may be a combination of the cyclic and linear approaches. It would admit that we are indeed moving in circles, that history does indeed repeat itself, but we are moving in a determined direction, perhaps towards a point of extinction or some Nirvana. In this view the story of human history is something like the Palmer writing exercises some of us endured as children, ceaselessly making spirals across the page until finally we filled up our allotted space and were done. Or, better still, it is like a snowball whirling its way down a slope becoming larger and more dominating as it goes along, only to end in the valley below where it ceases to be anything more than a damp memory. If history is in any sense linear, if it is "going somewhere," one must then determine whether this direction is progressive of retrogressive, whether it is moving towards a state that is more perfect or less perfect.

One thing is certain: history is not static. It is constantly moving. But what is the explanation of this motion? Is there a transcendent power that controls its movement or is its movement simply the result of chance? Perhaps history is indeed driven by a force but it is the blind force like fate which determines that every motion is fixed and unchangeable, rooted in the nature of reality and completely beyond the possibility of modification by any choice on the part of god or human. Is the energy that drives history from within some sort of material principle (for example, the economic forces of Marx), or is it some sort of spiritual principle like Kant's autonomous reason or Hegel's absolute spirit or Nietzsche's will to power or Sartre's personal freedom or (as we shall see) Augustine's power of love?

Putting the answers to all such questions together, one can then ask whether there is some value in the picture of history presented. Is human existence worthwhile? Does it have any importance, any meaning? If the answer is "No" then perhaps Camus' analogy for life in the myth of Sisyphus is correct. Life is absurd and the only meaningful question is whether suicide is the best option.

B. Augustine's Philosophy of History

Augustine derives his philosophy of history from two sources: biblical narratives and his own experience. The most important source is the Bible.² He accepts the story of the human race therein described as true history, an account of how we once were, how we are now, and how we someday can be. The facts learned there were supported by his own personal experience of the continuing turmoil and confusion in human life, a situation which seemed to prove the assertion of scripture that something terribly wrong happened to human beings in the distant past: they began to love badly.

Augustine was convinced that human history has been characterized by an opposition between two sorts of love. These different loves drove humans into two societies which both were in time but yet extended beyond time. He describes them as follows:

Two cities have been formed by two loves; the earthly city formed by the love of self even to the contempt of God; the heavenly city formed by the love of God even to the contempt of self.³

There are many accidental differences to be found among human beings but from God's viewpoint there are essentially only two kinds of people differentiated by two kinds of love. One love is holy; the other is selfish. One is subject to God; the other attempts to equal him or even surpass him.⁴

The story of this conflict of loves began before time in that eternity where only God existed, the first and most perfect citizen of that city that bore his name. For some reason (and Augustine puzzled over what that reason might be) God decided to create beings necessarily radically different from himself. These obviously did not have to exist; indeed they hung precariously in a contingent existence that depended upon the support of divine power. Where God was immutable, they were subject to change and destined by their nature to eventually corrupt and fade away. These fragile beings were pure spirits (angels), composites of spirit and body (human beings), and other beings some living and some non-living who were completely material. Each of them reflected in some way the perfection of God (the only pre-existing model for their perfection), the most perfect reflection being the angelic spirits and the souls of humans.

Both angels and humans received the gift of freedom. They were meant someday to be permanent residents in the city of God, but to do so they had to claim citizenship by a free decision whereby they loved God more than anything else. The angels received the first challenge to choose God above all and there were some who passed the test and others who failed. One who failed was Lucifer, the brightest star in the angelic constellation, and others followed him. Their decision was final and forever and it made them the first citizens of the earthly city, that hell where lived the community of those who would be separated everlastingly from their creator.

Like the angels, humans at first walked in innocence with God as their companion, but they too had to confirm that friendship by a free decision. Not yet members of either the city of God or the earthly city, they were faced with the challenge of choosing their citizenship by loving God more than anything else or some non-God more than God. They of all the humans who would ever exist were the couple most likely to make the right decision. They were as perfect as they could be as human beings, untarnished by any history of vice, clear of mind with a will not yet warped by evil tendencies. Moreover, they had experienced God, not in his fullness to be sure, but intense enough to recognize him as a friend. They had felt the happiness that came from "walking and talking" with Infinite Goodness in a pleasant place where there were no past failures to regret, no need to labor for present necessities, and no worry about future tragic possibilities. Apparently the only real temptation they had was the growing conviction that they could make Eden even better if they were in charge. They came to see themselves as a good greater than God and by an act of pride expressed through disobedience they chose themselves rather than God as the most important being in the universe. Their bad decision made it impossible for them to regain permanent membership in God's heavenly city there and then; but, unlike the fallen angels, they were not irrevocably blocked from someday becoming citizens. Salvation was still a possibility but only through the intervention of a power greater than themselves. They could choose hell on their own but they had to be supported by God if ever they were to reach heaven. There situation was sad but not beyond redemption.

Redemption came through the incarnation and death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who became human in order to save the race. This for Augustine was the most important event in human history, indeed more important than creation itself. The act of love that was creation was performed for beings who had never existed and hence could be described as innocent in their nothingness. Salvation was an act of love whereby those who had turned away from God, who had become aliens if not indeed enemies, were created once again as children of God. To be sure, humans were still wounded by their past experience, sometimes confused in mind and weak in will, but at least now they had the chance of making the right choice of God above all. They needed continuous divine support to do so, but at least they had the chance and also the assurance that God wanted to give the necessary help.

The rest of human history in time would be the story of the continuing conflict in each individual human heart between the love of God and the love of non-God. Augustine believed that some would make the correct decision and that unfortunately some would not. Change of allegiance was possible up to the moment of death, but at that moment each individual's fate would be sealed. Those who chose to turn away from God would at death become permanent citizens in the earthly city, a hell that would last forever. Those who chose God by a saintly life or at least by a life that ended with repentance, became forever after citizens of the heavenly city, that one place where they could find perfect happiness and have the permanent vision of the God who created them. Time now would be finished, but the two cities would go on forever with no increase or decrease in membership.

Augustine's philosophy of history is obviously linear. The first humans had a chance to maintain their original innocence and once they failed there was no going back. Sin could always be forgiven but it could never be forgotten or erased and the woundedness that it caused in the species could be healed but not eliminated in future generations. The coming of Christ was also a historical event never to be repeated. Once his redemptive death occurred, humans had again the possibility of heaven, but whether they would confirm themselves as members of the city of God or the earthly city was up to them. Their final decision for heaven or hell could not be reviewed. Once made, the judgment on their lives was irrevocable.⁵

Augustine sees the history of any individual as being progressive in that each one has (with the help of God) at least a chance to achieve a perfectly happy life. It is also progressive in accomplishing God's plan for creation. At the end of time human history will achieve the providential purpose set for it by God, to reflect in a finite way the infinite perfection of God. But he did not consider the history of the human race in time to be similarly progressive. There is no earthly utopia towards which the race is inevitably moving. Humans will be "cracked" until the end of time and the presence of those cracks means that sin, selfishness, and silliness will always be a part of the human experience this side of death.

But even with all of its negative features, every moment of human history has an infinite value. At every moment of time the individual is able to strive for the ultimate perfection that can come after death. At every moment of time the created universe reflects the glory of the God who made it after his own image and who continues to support its existence and guide its destiny. Despite the pessimist's lament, it is indeed better for a human to exist than not. Despite all of the tribulations and failures of human beings, none of them are useless and each remains one of the greatest wonders of the world.⁶

There are both external and internal forces that move human history. The external force is neither chance nor fate; it is the providential care of God for his creation. The internal energies that drives history are the desires and the loves of the individuals who make it up. That love which Augustine declares is the weight which has drawn him through the various phases of his life, is also the driving force impelling communities of humans towards the city of God or the earthly city.⁷ It determines the good or bad events of time and also the final membership of the eternal cities that exist now outside of time and will exist after time is no more.

The complete lists of citizens in the city of God and the earthly city will be fixed only at the end of time. Only the fallen and saved angels have permanently determined their citizenship. The challenge offered to the angels at the beginning of time was given only once and those who failed and those who passed that test were irrevocably bound by the effects of their decision. The case is quite different for humans still living this side of death. No final judgment has been made. Everyone has a chance for a change of heart as long as there is life.

This being said, it is true that sometimes one can make an educated guess about the direction of a life from the characteristics of day by day activities. Those who are moving towards full citizenship in the city of God live this life as pilgrims. This world is for them a place they must pass through in order to reach their true home in heaven. They do not become attached to the true goods they experience in this life. They rejoice in love, friendship, good health, the feeling of accomplishment in a work well-done, the beauty of the world around them; but they rejoice in these goods as something to be used on the way, not the goal of their life. They are able to recognize that there is only one good that can be enjoyed for its own sake: the goodness that is God. All other goods are good only because they reflect some aspect of this infinite goodness and because when appropriately loved as useful goods, they can be an aid in finally coming to possess the infinite good.⁸ On the other hand, those who reflect the values of the earthly city are perfectly happy making their home here. Those moving towards the eternal "Jerusalem" (Augustine's symbolic name for God's city) are constantly looking to the future for their final happiness; the lovers of the earthly city (the symbolic "Babylon") seek only the peace and happiness that this life can give and direct all their efforts to achieving that peace.⁹

On a day by day basis, there are many differences between those living in accord with the ideals of the city of God and those who seem dedicated only to the earthly city. Those aiming at the city of God glory only in God and seek personal glory only from God. They rejoice in the power of God rather than in their own power. In their earthly societies they seek a community in which ruler and ruled serve each other in love. Citizens of the earthly city act in a quite different fashion. They glory in themselves and seek an affirmation of their glorious state through the approval of other human beings. Gathered together in political society, they respect only the power that they can achieve on earth and seek to enhance that power by subjugating other nations. Their societies are characterized more by domination of the weak by the strong than by a loving relationship among friends.¹⁰

Although the perfection of the city of God and the earthly city are never realized here on earth, their "shadows" can sometimes be detected in individuals and societies throughout history. Augustine traces the march of the two cities throughout history in books 11-18 his The City of God. There are some events that have special importance:

1. Cain's murder of his brother and the building of the first city;

2. the attempt to construct the tower of Babel;

3. the founding of Babylon and the ascendancy of Assyria as a world-power;

4. the rise of Rome;

5. the coming of Christ and the beginning of the christian church, a mystical body in which Christ is the head and the community of believers is the body.

The story of the two cities on earth begins in Eden with the formation of the first humans. In those idyllic days before human sin Adam and Eve lived as family with a true "oneness of heart" with each other and with God. Unfortunately this did not last. Those first humans used their great gift of freedom to destroy their paradise by disobeying the one and only rule that God imposed. As a result those who at first had been "shadows" of the City of God on earth, now became reflections of the values of the earthly city. In their pride-filled disobedience they imitated the perversity that had caused the fall of Lucifer: they preferred a "non-God" (themselves) to the true God. By free choice they had descended from the heavens to create their own paradise on earth and every human born thereafter was destined to share their desperate condition of being separated from God. They would be born as "strangers" rather than as friends of God, incapable on their own of ever climbing back to the heights where God had meant them to be. Born as members of the earthly city, they could become members of the heavenly city now only by special divine intervention.¹¹

This was the condition in which the first children born of human intercourse began their lives. From the first moment of their conception Cain and Abel shared the woundedness and weakness of their fallen parents. They were unable to see beyond the good that this earth could provide, seeking their happiness in the respect given them by humans rather than in the love bestowed by God. But soon the paths of the two sons diverged. For reasons known to God alone, Abel was rescued and predestined to become the first person "born of man" to be a citizen of the heavenly city. He became a shepherd wandering across the earth, owning none of it, living off the good things provided in passing pastures, testifying by his pilgrim life to his status as a citizen of heaven. The unfortunate Cain was left to his own devices. He was not called to the heavens and could only try to make a home for himself on earth. He became a tiller of the soil seeking his fortune and honor in whatever fruits the land could yield.

But Cain still retained faith in God and joined with his brother in offering sacrifice. To his dismay (and consequent anger) his brother's sacrifice was accepted with praise while his was rejected. We can only speculate on the reasons for God's rejection. It was not because of Cain's lack of faith. He believed in God and valued God's opinion. When he brought his offering to God, he hoped that he would receive some recognition, but he did not. Could it be that Abel's offering was more precious? It is true that Abel's sacrifice is said to have been from the "best" of his herd and no similar statement was made about the quality of the "fruits of the soil" offered by Cain. Perhaps Cain's problem was that he saw his gift as a representation of himself, as being the fruits of his labors in the fields, his wise planning, and for this he expected some reward for what he alone had accomplished. His ego was so entangled in the goods he offered that their rejection seemed to him to be a rejection of himself, a symbolic assertion that he was less than his brother. His hurt became anger and then envy, demonstrating the truth of Augustine's aphorism that "anger grown stale becomes hatred."¹² Whatever the reasons for Cain's rejection, it caused him to become crestfallen and resentful. Soon after he killed his brother in a fit of envious rage and was condemned by God to become a restless wanderer on earth. He then joined with others of like mind in establishing the first civil society, a city-state named after his son Henoch.¹³

Augustine interpreted the story of Cain and Abel as being the symbolic beginning of the history of the "two cities" here on earth. The wandering shepherd Abel was the spiritual father of all those faithful souls who thereafter would live as pilgrims on earth and be frequently persecuted for their dedication to God, those good souls who would live "in bondage" because they were separated from the only home they could ever know, the heavenly city that awaited them beyond death. Those who gathered around Cain in the first city were quite different. Cain formed his community from humans dominated by the vices of the earthly city. It was created by a murderer as a home for all those who sought a permanent place here on earth, a society of those who sought only earthly goods and this for selfish reasons. Considering the character of the citizens of that first city, Augustine thought it quite appropriate to name it after its first king, Henoch the son of Cain. "Henoch" means "dedicated" and the city that he ruled was truly a society of those who were "dedicated" to and at home in this world. They did not consider themselves to be pilgrims on earth, much less exiles. They were home and were quite satisfied with whatever passing peace and happiness this world could provide.¹⁴

The passions that dominated the citizens of the city of Henoch were very different from the ideals of those were living on earth as "shadow-citizens" of the city of God. These traced their spiritual roots to Seth, Cain's second brother. As was the case with Cain's son Henoch, Seth's very name reflected the community that would follow his example. "Seth" means "resurrection" and it symbolized all those throughout history who would seek their ultimate good in the land beyond death where the souls of the just would be reunited with their bodies in the heavenly city. Thus Enos, the son of Seth, was literally a "son of resurrection" and he is described in sacred scripture as one who "hoped to call on the name of the Lord". He along with Abel and Seth pointed towards all those descendants of Adam and Eve who would look to the future for their salvation and would hope here and now for the divine assistance to achieve it. The communities formed by the sons and daughters of Seth would be quite different from Henoch, the city of Cain. Henoch was a city of "belongings", filled with those who belonged to this world, whose main concern was to gather for themselves as many "belongings" as possible. The descendants of Seth gathered in earthly cities of "longings", longings for heaven and final union with God.¹⁵

With the coming of Noah, a descendant of Seth, there was a new beginning. The earth was covered by a great flood. Of the humans alive at that time only Noah, his wife, and his three sons with their wives survived. One would think that after such a catastrophe those who had come through safely would be absolutely dedicated to God since all of the objects of their earthly desires had been literally washed away. Moreover, remembering those humans who had literally "missed the boat" and perished should suggest to any thinking person that life indeed was contingent, that life was as Augustine later described it: a rushing river plummeting towards the great falls of Death.¹⁶ The pious Noah and his wife were faithful followers of God's commands, but it would seem that they had no more luck with their children than had Adam and Eve.

The line of citizens of the heavenly city was continued through Noah in the families of his sons Shem and Japheth, but the earthy city began again in the line of the third son, Ham. The line of Shem produced such spiritual heroes as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and finally produced Mary who was destined to be the mother of Jesus Christ. Augustine was of the opinion that the holy Shem and Japheth symbolized the jews and gentiles who would later come to be members of the mystical body of Christ, the church.¹⁷ Quite different was the destiny of the children of Ham, a lineage that was cursed because of Ham's disrespect for his father. In two generations it produced Nemrod, the architect of the tower of Babel and the founder of Babylon, the city that was for Augustine the symbol of the earthly city existing in time.¹⁸

Augustine considered Nemrod's attempt to build the tower of Babel as the most a dramatic manifestation of the values of the earthly city since Cain's city of Henoch.¹⁹ The godless pride of its builders was evident in their planning:

They said to one another, "Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire. Let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky and so make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth."²⁰

The reaction of God was quick and effective:

The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men had built. Then the Lord said: "If now, while they are one people, all speaking the same language, they have started to do this, nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do. Let us then go down and there confuse their language, so that one will not understand what another says." Thus the Lord scattered them from there all over the earth, and they stopped building the city.²¹

Augustine saw the whole project as an example of humanity's sometime unholy pride in itself. Humans took earth and using only their own tools and their own abilities attempted to build something that would be much more than a permanent home for themselves on earth. Their dream was to build a city which indeed would reach to the sky, a city were they would be able to touch heaven through their own powers. The reason for such a venture was not a pious desire to be with God; rather it was to make a name for themselves. They all spoke the same language in that they shared a common desire to make a personal home for themselves as individuals in a "safe" place on earth, a place which would dominate the rest of the world and thereby win the honor that comes with being feared.²² The whole venture had a tragic ending because it was based on a misconception that one can reach heaven on one's own, that one can touch God by climbing over others. Nemrod's terrible mistake was that he did not realize that the only way to build a highway to heaven is by a humility which lifts up the heart towards the Lord, not taking the place of the Lord.

Considering the tower-builder's drive to dominate others, Augustine considered the punishment inflicted on Nemrod to be quite fitting:

Since it is the tongue that is the usual way a person expresses a domineering command, such pride was punished in such a way that the man who refused to understand and obey the commands of God should not be understood by men when he tried to command them. Thus was the plot foiled. Since no one could understand him, they abandoned him and he could associate only with those who come to understand him. Thus were nations divided by language barriers and scattered over the earth.²³

The confusion that resulted is not surprising. It is difficult if not impossible for humans to form a common bond with each other if they cannot understand each other's language. Two humans of differing language are worse off than two dumb animals, even of different kinds. Even though their social nature may naturally drive them together, they cannot tell each other what they think. They are alienated because they know the other is thinking and perhaps is even thinking about them, but it is impossible to open the gates to understanding and this inability is disturbing. Of course we humans cannot open up channels of communication with dumb animals either; but we do no expect to. It is the frustrated expectation of learning hidden truths that makes us somewhat upset when we find ourselves in the presence of another human being who speaks a different language. As Augustine remarks: "That is why a man is more at home with his dog than with a foreigner."²⁴

The desire for personal glory that motivated the builders of Babel separated them from the rest of the world and even from each other. Glorification of self shuts out even fellow citizens and coworkers. Such selfishness destroys all possibility of a "oneness of heart" that is the mark of membership in the heavenly city. Love of self and one's own security and honor separates. Shared love of God even among humans who are radically diverse is a door that opens to love of the other. They can love each other in and through their love for the same God. The punishment of confusion of language was a fitting conclusion to a venture of those already separated from God and each other by their personal earthly ambitions. They could no longer be friends since friendship implies understanding and how can one understand another when one cannot even understand the words that are used? These who were seeking a permanent home on earth found themselves in a true Babylon (a land of confusion) and very soon went their separate ways.²⁵ These were not "children of God" but "children of the earth" and in their efforts to become permanent residents in some secure place in the world they became instead wanderers, aliens on their own chosen earth.²⁶

The names of the two actual cities of Babylon and Jerusalem became for Augustine the symbolic representations of the two supratemporal cities making their way through time. There was a certain fittingness in his choice. Jerusalem was the holy city of the chosen people, the capital of the nation promised to the jews as they made their long trek out of Egypt. It was for them that place on earth where God was most powerfully manifested, the place of the Ark of Covenant which symbolized the special relationship between God and his people. In Jerusalem Solomon built a great temple as a permanent home for the sacred Ark and as center of religious worship for the jewish people. In Jerusalem, and especially in its great Temple, the wandering jew could find a home away from home and be reminded of the heavenly home where finally there would be eternal rest.²⁷ Although this earthly Jerusalem was sometimes conquered and even destroyed by the pagan forces of non-God, it always stood as the object of desire for those pre-Christian "children of God," a place that reminded them of God's graciousness to them on earth and, even more, reminded them of that other city which was meant to be their eternal resting place.

Babylon was likewise used by Augustine as a symbol of a supra-terrestrial society. It stood for that earthly city that was made up of all those who loved some non-god more than God. The real Babylon had its beginning in those humans who attempted to build a tower to heaven so that they might become like gods. Their goal was personal glory but their project failed when they fell into a confusion of speech. The city that they thereafter formed memorialized that confusion by its very name: Babylon. For a time it was the capital of the Assyria, the most powerful kingdom of the ancient world and (according to Augustine) the society "in which the domination of the godless city was at its height."²⁸ It was for a time a place of exile for the chosen people just as existence on earth is a time of exile for those who belong in the city of God. The exiled jews in their yearning for their homeland represented all children of God who are for a time forced to live in a world dominated by the ideals of the earthly city. They were faced with the challenge of living in the midst of a worldly city without being suffocated by it and losing their desire for their true home. In order to live on earth they had to participate in the earthly life of the secular city. In order to eventually live in the heavenly city they had to avoid being consumed by the earthly goods and earthly ambitions and earthly values that formed their present environment. To live as true citizens of the heavenly city on earth they were challenged to bring their own values into the life of the secular city, to carry Jerusalem to Babylon and perhaps save it.

To some extent this is what had happened to the Rome of Augustine's day. Christianity had moved from persecution through tolerance to dominance, from hiding from secular power to using secular power to promote religious interests. At the same time Rome remained a "secular" society driven by values far different from those of the city of God. In his book The City of God Augustine argued that it was the continuation of Rome's pagan values that was the cause of its downfall, not its support of christianity. Even after more than a hundred years of christian emperors, Augustine still felt justified in saying that Babylon had been the first Rome and that Rome was closer to being a second Babylon than an earthly anticipation of the city of God.²⁹

At the same time, though Rome was not an essential instrument in accomplishing God's providential plan for his pilgrim people, neither was it "a satanic obstacle to its realization."³⁰ Like every other political society, Rome came into existence under God's providence either to test his chosen people by creating an environment of secularism, greed, immorality, and turbulence antithetical to heavenly values; or to sometimes support those values by tolerating their existence and by providing that temporal peace and order which were conducive to a pleasant, fruitful existence on earth.³¹

Rome was a second Babylon as much by its dedication to earthly values as it was by its vices, and only in this sense can it be said to be closer to a personification of the "earthly city" than the city of God on earth. In the same way a church (and specifically the Catholic church) dedicated to the service of God can be said to be that temporal society which comes closest to being the earthly representation of the heavenly city.³² But it was not a particular social structure, be it state or church, which made its members citizens of either supratemporal "city." It was the love of the individuals who made it up. And though the secular orientation of the state, seeking temporal peace and prosperity, and the religious orientation of church, seeking eternal salvation of its members, made it easier for one dedicated to the former to be consumed by earthly affairs and for one dedicated to the latter to be primarily interested in the affairs of heaven, it did not follow that particular individuals would reflect the dedication of their particular society. As Augustine observed, "There are few human beings who are totally irreligious, just as there are few who are deeply religious."³³ As a result, he was not embarrassed in the least to praise the virtues of those noble Romans who (though for the less than noble motive of personal honor) sacrificed personal gain for the good of the commonwealth,³⁴ nor did he hesitate to note that in his day the church was filled with "christians" who had their own personal agendas for seeking Christ, so many indeed that Jesus was scarcely ever sought for his own sake.³⁵ The virtues of the noble pagan Romans and the vices of the self-serving christians were worth mentioning because they seemed so contradictory to the ideals of their respective societies. The heavenly city may be held up as a goal of the Catholic church, but the future citizens of the city of God are those who belong to the spiritual society of the "people of God, and that community is not necessarily coextensive with the Church. Indeed, as Augustine observes, the two cities were mixed together from the very beginning of time and will be so even till its end.³⁶ At any moment in time if one is looking for those who are destined for permanent membership in the city of God (or, for that matter, membership in the earthly city in hell), it is important to realize that: "Many who seem outside are really inside and many who seem inside are really outside."³⁷

For those aspiring to be saints in heaven, the reality of living on this earth will always be a tale of two cities. As we shall examine in later chapters, these future saints may "dream of Jerusalem" but they must first deal with "Babylon." While they can and should long for the life that is to come, they must live each day in the midst of the secular city. Against those who would demand separation from any taint of earthly matters, Augustine took the very reasonable stance that the pilgrim people should take advantage of the "good things" provided by the "Babylon's" and "Rome's" of the day and even, where possible, should participate in their governance with a view to making even the most earth-bound society closer to that ideal human community where humans are joined together with God in a friendship that causes a true oneness of heart.

The citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, while continuing their exile on earth, should follow the directions that God gave to the chosen people exiled in the real Babylon:

They were commanded to pray for those by whom they were held captive and in the midst of the peace provided to hope for continuing peace so that they might beget children, build houses and plant gardens and vineyards.³⁸

The church of Christ (the people of God) is in a similar exile now under the rule of earthly kings. As long as the laws of the land do not contravene what is owed to God, they should be given due respect. Christians should serve their temporal rulers with patience and fidelity and pray for them that they themselves may be converted to service of God. Through such pious kings peace is given to the church, a temporal peace to be sure but a peace nonetheless that gives the quiet necessary for building the spiritual temples of God in the human heart, planting the gardens and vineyards which produce fruit for eternity.³⁹ In Augustine's view, there never will be a truly christian empire even though there may be from time to time christian emperors and kings. There is nothing wrong in enjoying the advantages of such enlightened rulers and, indeed, there is nothing wrong in taking advantage of whatever peace even the worst "Babylon" provides. But one must not come to depend on such earthly peace. Even in the most tolerant societies the people of God suffer persecution within from being in an alien land constantly tempted to relish the pleasures of the here and now and to forget about their destiny and true home.⁴⁰

The membership of neither supratemporal city is fixed as long as time continues. Therefore the task for everyone is to discover how they can win citizenship in the city of God, how they can avoid eternal condemnation in the earthly city. But to accomplish the task one must know what to do and recognize the obstacles along the way. The discipline that guides humans in their continuing struggle is the science of ethics, the subject to be examined in the next chapter.

NOTES

1. For a good introduction outlining the development and issues in a philosophy of history, see W.H. Dray, "Philosophy of History," in The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Paul Edwards (New York, N.Y.: Macmillan, 1967), vol. 6, pp. 247-54.

2. See John O'Meara, Charter of Christendom: The Significance of the City of God (New York: Macmillan, 1961). For a helpful bibliography on Augustine's City of God see Dorothy F. Donnelly & Mark A. Sherman, Augustine's De Civitate Dei: An Annotated Bibliography (New York: Peter Lang, 1991).

3. The City of God, 14.28. James O'Donnell has suggested that part of Augustine's inspiration in writing The City of God was from his experience of the new pilgrim people, the refugees fleeing from the fallen Rome to a foreign land (North Africa) and pining for that distant homeland. James J. O'Donnell, "The Inspiration for Augustine's De Civitate Dei," Augustinian Studies, vol. 10 (1979). See also chapter 3 in O'Donnell's book Augustine (Boston: G.K. Hall, 1985).

4. A Literal Commentary on Genesis, 11.15.

5. Augustine does not mince words in rejecting the ancient cyclic theories of history, calling them a "mockery of the truth." The City of God, 12.14.

6. Free Choice, 3.23.66; The City of God, 10.12.

7. Confessions, 13.9.19; The City of God, 14.28,

8. On the distinction between "goods meant to be used" and goods to be enjoyed for themselves" see Christian Doctrine, 1.3.3 -> 1.7.7; 1.22.20 -> 1.22.21.

9. Commentary on Psalm 136, 2 & 3.

10. The City of God, 14.28. For a comparison of the two cities as they exist in time, see Johannes van Oort, Jerusalem and Babylon: A Study into Augustine's City of God (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1991) pp. 129 ff.

11. The City of God, 15.1. Augustine seems to suggest that while the city of God exists on earth only in shadow form, the earthly city exists more concretely in those individuals and societies which dominate others and who are in turn dominated by their thirst for power. The City of God, 15.2; 1.preface.

12. Sermon 114a, 6. Augustine gives his own interpretation of the reason for the rejection of Cain's sacrifice. Simply put, "there was no love." Commentary on the Letter of John to the Parthians, 5.8.

13. The City of God, 15.5.

14. The City of God, 15.17. See Peter Brown, The Body and Society (New York: Columbia University Press, 1988), p. 405.

15. The City of God, 15.18; 15.21. The descendants of Cain and Seth were not long to exist as separate clans. They intermarried and soon each became affected by the spirit of the other. Augustine writes that some of the "shadow-citizens" of the heavenly city became infected with the earthly passions of their spouses. On the other hand, it is not unlikely that at least some of the earthy "Cainites" were turned towards higher things by the gentle example of the "Sethites" that they had come to love. See The City of God, 15.22.

16. Commentary on Psalm 109, 20.

17. The City of God, 16.2.

18. Ibid., 16.3.

19. Ibid., 16.10.

20. Genesis, 1:3-4.

21. Genesis, 1:5-8. An interesting comparison may be made between the scene at Babel and the story of Peter's first sermon after the resurrection of Jesus (Acts, 2.14-41). At Babel all the builders were seeking their own glory and the result was the breakdown of the one common language they had previously shared. At Peter's first sermon many people of many nations with many different languages shared a common focus on God and thus were able to understand Peter's words even though they were not spoken in their native tongues. The difference suggests the truth of Augustine's axiom that pride divides but charity brings together. See Sermon 46, 18.

22. The City of God, 16.4.

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid., 19.7.

25. Augustine sees a continuation of confusion in the excessive tolerance of any and all opinions in those societies that have turned away from God. Speaking about the various opinions of ancient philosophers on the nature of the universe, he says: "Tell me! Has any people or senate or any person with some authority in the godless society ever bothered to look closely at the results of such philosophical wrangling with the intention of accepting certain unchanging principles and condemning any opinion to the contrary? Has it not rather been the case that such godless societies have given up all critical analysis and have simply accepted all contrary ideas from whatever source and clutched them frantically to its heart. No wonder, then, that the earthly city (wherever it appears) has been given that name which symbolizes confusion: Babylon." The City of God, 18.42.

26. Ibid., 16.5.

27. Augustine remarks that God gave the actual city of Jerusalem to his chosen people "as a type and symbol with a special meaning to an earthbound, materially minded community who, even though they worshipped the one God, still desired from him little more than earthly prosperity" (Sermon 346B, 1). Cranz writes that as a historical nation Israel remained closer to the earthly city than the city of God. Only in its prophetic character as a pilgrim people now held in bondage could it be called a "shadow" of the heavenly city. F. Edward Cranz, "De Civitate Dei 15.2 and Augustine's Idea of the Christian Society," in Augustine: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Robert A. Markus (New York: Doubleday, 1972), p. 407.

28. The City of God, 16.17; Commentary on Psalm 64, 2. In his City of God Augustine spends much time tracing the history of Assyria and Rome because in his opinion there were the two kingdoms on earth most representative of the values of the earthly city. See The City of God, 18.2.

29. Ibid., 16.17; 18.2; 18.22; 18.27.

30. Markus points out that Augustine disagreed both with those who maintained that the state as represented by Rome was antithetical to christianity and also with those who saw Rome as God's instrument for the christianization of the world. He writes "He (Augustine) could accept neither the hostility and opposition to Rome inculcated by the apocalyptic view (for example, the Donatists) nor the near identification of Christianity and the Roman Empire involved in the Eusebian view." R.A. Markus, Saeculum (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970), p. 56. Some have suggested that in fact Augustine proposed a "third city" somewhere between the city of God and the earthly city, a secular state which was concerned only about temporal peace and which took no stand either for or against God. For a summary of this debate see van Oort, op. cit., pp. 151-53. See also Peter Hawkins, "Polemical Counterpoint in De Civitate Dei," Augustinian Studies, vol. 6 (1975), pp. 97-106. See also C. Journet, "Les trois cités: celle de Dieu, celle de l'homme, celle du diable," Nova et Vetera, vol. 33 (1958), pp. 25-48; Henri-Irenée Marrou, "Civitas Dei, Civitas Terrena: num tertium quid?" Studia Patristica, vol. 2 (1957), pp. 342-5. Goar maintains that Augustine had little respect for the pagan virtues of the noble Romans and indeed had little respect for Rome itself. Robert J. Goar, "Reflections on some Anti-Roman Elements in De Civitate Dei, Books 1-5," Augustinian Studies, vol. 19 (1988), pp. 71-84. See also Commentary on Psalm 98, 4; Commentary on Psalm 121, 4.

32. Barrow sums up Augustine's views on church and state as follows: "He treats the church in its best aspects and in its best moments, not as identical with, but as representative of the city of God. But under other aspects (for example its many unrighteous members) he treats it as sharply divided from the city of God. In the same way he occasionally speaks of political societies (the state) as the earthly city. But this is only because, speaking generally, states historically have shown little interest in the city of God. It is not because states by their very nature are parts of the earthly city. See R.H Barrow, Introduction to St. Augustine: The City of God (London: Faber & Faber, 1950), pp. 157-58. See James Dougherty, "The Sacred City and the City of God," Augustinian Studies, vol. 10 (1979), pp. 82-90.

33. Sermon 69, 3.

34. The City of God, 5.15; Letter 138, 3.17. See Eugene TeSelle, Augustine the Theologian (New York: Herder, 1970), pp. 272 ff.

35. Commentary on the Gospel of John, 25.10.2.

36. Commentary on Psalm 64, 2; The City of God, 16.11.

37. Commentary on Psalm 106, 14. Speaking about members of the church, Augustine remarks that some are motivated by true love for God and others are not and it is impossible for anyone other than God and the person to determine what is the predominant motive. Commentary on the Letter of John to the Parthians, 5.7. See Herbert Deane, The Political and Social Ideas of St. Augustine (New York: Columbia University Press, 1963), pp. 36-7.

38. Catechizing the Uninstructed, 21.37. See The City of God, 19.26; 19.17.

39. TeSelle disagrees with those who hold that Augustine believed that political life has no positive value. See Eugene TeSelle, "Toward an Augustinian Politics," Journal of Religious Ethics, 16 (1988), 87-108; "Civic Vision in Augustine's City of God," Thought, 62 (1987), pp. 268-80.

40. See Richard Dougherty, "Christian and Citizen: the Tension in St. Augustine's De Civitate Dei," in Collectanea Augustiniana, edited by Joseph Schnaubelt and Frederick VanFleteren (New York: Peter Lang, 1990), pp. 205-224.