The Philosophy of St. Augustine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Philosophy of St. Augustine - Es learn ExampleAs such, St. Augustine himself brought the City of graven image to proposition, synthesizing conception of justice and state under Platos theory or that it occurs rather disposed to resemble it. Since justice is an entity on which the state must be founded, its presence is essential in determining how a good kingdom is like or should be. For St. Augustine, the applicability of justice in this sense may be extended to the measure of happiness for the ruler within a state or kingdom. He concretizes moreover For neither do we say that certain Christian emperors were therefore happy because they ruled a long time, or dying a peaceful death ... or subdued the enemies of the republic ... But we say that they argon happy if they rule justly. On a biblical context, St. Augustine claimed that rulers can satisfy being just if they are capable of delaying punishment yet are ready to pardon and if they necessitate having to employ such punishing act upon the government in favor of defending the republic. In The Republic, this well coincides with Platos argument explicating that the elements namely reason, appetite, and spirit must consist in justice just as they must in state (Ebenstein & Ebenstein, 1990). According to St. Augustine, ii cities come to the fore out of love of self or the earthly love and love of God or the heavenly love. While the love of self is sought found on the approval of men, regardless of Gods judgment, the love of God exists in an individual who primarily seeks Gods glory despite unsmooth criticisms by other men. As a consequence, the earthly city is composed of nobilities and subjects that are governed by the exercise of authority where pleasing the state seems to form the sole basis and cause either of anxiety or of contentment among people. In the heavenly city, however, it is the Lords command that matters most for the people who fear or delight in following his will. The truth behind div ine forces or the ways by which God communicates to men in the city of God may, to a certain extent, raise doubts requiring support via evidences that are less abstract than intangible conviction, Nevertheless, St. Augustines proposition quite matches the remarkable portion of world history when kingdoms thusly found triumph over all others because they, rulers and subjects alike, had hopes that rested highly on Gods power to vanquish the enemies. When St. Augustine further elaborates that the absence of human information enables godliness and genuine worship of God in the heavenly city, such idea may be perceived to bear consistent thought and treaty with the conception of justice in state. A godly nation with a just king or emperor discerns justice that places no distinction surrounded by the rich and the poor or the strong and the weak, only between right and wrong by sensible law, for by the fundamental meaning of the term, it is intended to be carried out at times unjust si tuations transpire. With the city of God, this condition especially holds for the Lord is considered the supreme being so that all else under him are do equal with each other in view of justice and its righteous function as God himself exhibits no partiality in rendering right justice on anyone through Christian faith. Much as St. Augustine distinguished between the two cities with opposing characteristics he more so argued about the two types of man