Editing Augustine of Hippo (section)

==== Original sin ====
{{See also|Original sin}}

[[File:Saint Augustine - Tomas Giner.JPG|thumb|Painting of Augustine (1458) by Tomás Giner, tempera on panel, Diocesan Museum of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain]]
Augustine taught that the sin of Adam and Eve was either an act of foolishness (''insipientia'') followed by pride and disobedience to God or that pride came first.<ref group=lower-alpha>He explained to Julian of Eclanum that it was a most subtle job to discern what came first: ''Sed si disputatione subtilissima et elimatissima opus est, ut sciamus utrum primos homines insipientia superbos, an insipientes superbia fecerit''. (''Contra Julianum'', V, 4.18; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 44, 795)</ref> The first couple disobeyed God, who had told them not to eat of the [[Tree of the knowledge of good and evil]] (Gen 2:17).<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''On the Literal Meaning of Genesis'' (''[[De Genesi ad litteram']]'), VIII, 6:12, vol. 1, pp. 192–93 and 12:28, vol. 2, pp. 219–220, trans. John Hammond Taylor SJ; [[Bibliothèque Augustinniene|BA]] 49,28 and 50–52; PL 34, 377; cf. idem, ''De Trinitate'', XII, 12.17; [[Corpus Christianorum|CCL]] 50, 371–372 [v. 26–31; 1–36]; ''De natura boni'' 34–35; CSEL 25, 872; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 42, 551–572''</ref> The tree was a symbol of the order of creation.<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''On the Literal Meaning of Genesis'' (''De Genesi ad litteram''), VIII, 4.8; [[Bibliothèque Augustinniene|BA]] 49, 20</ref> Self-centeredness made Adam and Eve eat of it, thus failing to acknowledge and respect the world as it was created by God, with its hierarchy of beings and values.<ref group=lower-alpha>Augustine explained it in this way: "Why therefore is it enjoined upon mind, that it should know itself? I suppose, in order that, it may consider itself, and live according to its own nature; that is, seek to be regulated according to its own nature, viz., under Him to whom it ought to be subject, and above those things to which it is to be preferred; under Him by whom it ought to be ruled, above those things which it ought to rule. For it does many things through vicious desire, as though in forgetfulness of itself. For it sees some things intrinsically excellent, in that more excellent nature which is God: and whereas it ought to remain steadfast that it may enjoy them, it is turned away from Him, by wishing to appropriate those things to itself, and not to be like to Him by His gift, but to be what He is by its own, and it begins to move and slip gradually down into less and less, which it thinks to be more and more." ("[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130105.htm On the Trinity]" (''De Trinitate''), 5:7; [[Corpus Christianorum|CCL]] 50, 320 [1–12])</ref>

Augustine wrote that Adam and Eve would not have fallen into pride and lack of wisdom if [[Satan]] had not sown into their senses "the root of evil" (''radix Mali'').<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''Nisi radicem mali humanus tunc reciperet sensus'' ("Contra Julianum", I, 9.42; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 44, 670)</ref> Their nature was wounded, according to Augustine, by [[concupiscence]] or [[libido]], which affected human intelligence and will, as well as affections and desires, including sexual desire.<ref group="lower-alpha">In one of Augustine's late works, ''[[Retractationes]]'', he made a significant remark indicating the way he understood the difference between spiritual, moral libido and the sexual desire: "Libido is not good and righteous use of the libido" ("libido non-est bonus et rectus usus libidinis"). See the whole passage: ''Dixi etiam quodam loco: «Quod enim est cibus ad salutem hominis, hoc est concubitus ad salutem generis, et utrumque non-est sine delectatione carnali, quae tamen modificata et temperantia refrenante in usum naturalem redacta, libido esse non-potest». Quod ideo dictum est, quoniam "libido non-est bonus et rectus usus libidinis". Sicut enim malum est male uti bonis, ita bonum bene uti malis. De qua re alias, maxime contra novos haereticos Pelagianos, diligentius disputavi''. Cf. ''De bono coniugali'', 16.18; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 40, 385; ''De nuptiis et concupiscentia'', II, 21.36; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 44, 443; ''Contra Iulianum'', III, 7.16; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 44, 710; ibid., V, 16.60; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 44, 817. See also {{Cite book |author=Idem |title=Le mariage chrétien dans l'oeuvre de Saint Augustin. Une théologie baptismale de la vie conjugale |publisher=Études Augustiniennes |year=1983 |location=Paris |page=97}}</ref> In terms of [[metaphysics]], Augustine found concupiscence to be not a state of being but a bad quality, the privation of good or a wound.<ref>''Non substantialiter manere concupiscentiam, sicut corpus aliquod aut spiritum; sed esse affectionem quamdam malae qualitatis, sicut est languor''. (''De nuptiis et concupiscentia''), I, 25. 28; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 44, 430; cf. ''Contra Julianum'', VI, 18.53; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 44, 854; ibid. VI, 19.58; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 44, 857; ibid., II, 10.33; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 44, 697; ''Contra Secundinum Manichaeum'', 15; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 42, 590.</ref>

Augustine's understanding of the consequences of original sin and the necessity of redeeming grace was developed in the struggle against [[Pelagius]] and his [[Pelagianism|Pelagian]] disciples, [[Caelestius]] and [[Julian of Eclanum]],{{sfn|González|1987|p=}} who had been inspired by [[Rufinus of Syria]], a disciple of [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]].<ref>[[Marius Mercator]] ''Lib. subnot.in verb. Iul. Praef.'',2,3; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 48,111 /v.5–13/</ref>{{sfn|Bonner|1987|p=35}} They refused to agree original sin wounded human will and mind, insisting human nature was given the power to act, to speak, and to think when God created it. Human nature cannot lose its moral capacity for doing good, but a person is free to act or not act in a righteous way. Pelagius gave an example of eyes: they have capacity for seeing, but a person can make either good or bad use of it.{{sfn|Bonner|1986|pp=355–356}}<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''[http://www.augustinus.it/latino/grazia_cristo/grazia_cristo_1_libro.htm De gratia Christi et de peccato originali]'', I, 15.16; CSEL 42, 138 [v. 24–29]; Ibid., I,4.5; CSEL 42, 128 [v.15–23].</ref>

Pelagians insisted human affections and desires were not touched by the fall either. In the Pelagian view, immorality, e.g. [[fornication]], is exclusively a matter of will, i.e. a person does not use natural desires in a proper way. In opposition, Augustine pointed out the apparent disobedience of the flesh to the spirit, and explained it as one of the results of original sin, punishment of Adam and Eve's disobedience to God.<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''Against Two Letters of the Pelagians'' 1.31–32</ref>

Augustine had served as a "Hearer" for the Manichaeans for about nine years,{{sfn|Brown|2000|p=35}} who taught that the original sin was [[carnal knowledge]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.religiousstudies.uncc.edu/jcreeves/manichaean_version_of_genesis_2-4.htm |title=The Manichaean Version of Genesis 2–4 |access-date=25 March 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051029144459/http://www.religiousstudies.uncc.edu/jcreeves/manichaean_version_of_genesis_2-4.htm |archive-date=29 October 2005 }}. Translated from the Arabic text of Ibn al-Nadīm, Fihrist, as reproduced by G. Flügel in ''Mani: Seine Lehre und seine Schriften'' (Leipzig, 1862; reprinted, [[Osnabrück]]: Biblio Verlag, 1969) 58.11–61.13.</ref> But his struggle to understand the cause of evil in the world started before that, at the age of nineteen.<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''De libero arbitrio'' 1,9,1.</ref> By ''malum'' (evil) he understood most of all concupiscence, which he interpreted as a vice dominating people and causing in men and women moral disorder. Agostino Trapè insists Augustine's personal experience cannot be credited for his doctrine about concupiscence. He considers Augustine's marital experience to be quite normal, and even exemplary, aside from the absence of Christian wedding rites.{{sfn|Trapè|1987|pp=113–114}} As J. Brachtendorf showed, Augustine used Ciceronian [[Stoicism|Stoic]] concept of passions, to interpret [[Paul the Apostle|Paul's]] doctrine of universal sin and redemption.{{sfn|Brachtendorf|1997|p=307}}

[[File:Peter Paul Rubens - St Augustine.JPG|thumb|''St. Augustine'' by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]]]
The view that not only human [[soul]] but also senses were influenced by the fall of Adam and Eve was prevalent in Augustine's time among the [[Fathers of the Church]].{{sfn|Sfameni Gasparro|2001|pp=250–251}}{{sfn|Somers|1961|p=115}}<ref>Cf. [[John Chrysostom]], ''Περι παρθενίας'' (''De Sancta Virginitate''), XIV, 6; SCh 125, 142–145; [[Gregory of Nyssa]], ''[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/130105.htm On the Making of Man]'', 17; SCh 6, 164–165; and ''[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2907.htm On Virginity]'', 12.2; SCh 119, 402 [17–20]. Cf. Augustine of Hippo, ''[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1309.htm On the Good of Marriage]'', 2.2; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 40, 374.</ref> It is clear the reason for Augustine's distancing from the affairs of the flesh was different from that of [[Plotinus]], a [[Neoplatonist]]{{efn|Although Augustine praises him in the ''Confessions'', 8.2., it is widely acknowledged that Augustine's attitude towards that pagan philosophy was very much of a Christian apostle, as {{harvnb|Clarke|1958|p=151}} writes: ''Towards Neoplatonism there was throughout his life a decidedly ambivalent attitude; one must expect both agreement and sharp dissent, derivation but also repudiation. In the matter which concerns us here, the agreement with Neoplatonism (and with the Platonic tradition in general) centres on two related notions: immutability as the primary characteristic of divinity, and likeness to divinity as the primary vocation of the soul. The disagreement chiefly concerned, as we have said, two related and central Christian dogmas: the Incarnation of the Son of God and the resurrection of the flesh''. Cf. É. Schmitt's chapter 2: ''L'idéologie hellénique et la conception augustinienne de réalités charnelles'' in: {{Cite book |title= Le mariage chrétien dans l'oeuvre de Saint Augustin. Une théologie baptismale de la vie conjugale |author= Idem |year= 1983 |publisher= Études Augustiniennes| location=Paris |pages=108–123}} {{Cite book |title= The Young Augustine: The Growth of St. Augustine's Mind up to His Conversion |last=O'Meara |first=J.J. |year= 1954 |location=London |pages=143–151 and 195f}} {{Cite book |title= Le 'platonisme' des Pères |last= Madec |first=G. |page= 42}} in {{Cite book |title=Petites Études Augustiniennes |author= Idem |year= 1994|series=«Antiquité» 142| location=Paris |pages= 27–50|publisher= Collection d'Études Augustiniennes}} Thomas Aq. STh I q84 a5; Augustine of Hippo, ''[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/120108.htm City of God]'' (''De Civitate Dei''), VIII, 5; CCL 47, 221 [3–4].}} who taught that only through disdain for fleshly desire could one reach the ultimate state of mankind.{{sfn|Gerson|1999|p=203}} Augustine taught the redemption, i.e. transformation and purification, of the body in the resurrection.<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''"Enarrations on the Psalms"'' (''Enarrationes in psalmos''), 143:6; [[Corpus Christianorum|CCL]] 40, 2077 [46] – 2078 [74]; ''On the Literal Meaning of Genesis'' (''De Genesi ad Litteram''), 9:6:11, trans. John Hammond Taylor SJ, vol. 2, pp. 76–77; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 34, 397.</ref>

Some authors perceive Augustine's doctrine as directed against [[human sexuality]] and attribute his insistence on continence and devotion to God as coming from his need to reject his own highly sensual nature as described in the ''Confessions''.{{Efn|"It is, of course, always easier to oppose and denounce than to understand."{{sfn|Bonner|1986|p=312}}}} Augustine taught that human sexuality has been wounded, together with the whole of human nature, and requires [[Redemption (theology)|redemption]] of Christ. That healing is a process realized in conjugal acts. The virtue of continence is achieved thanks to the grace of the sacrament of Christian marriage, which becomes therefore a ''remedium concupiscentiae'' – remedy of concupiscence.<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''De continentia'', 12.27; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 40, 368; Ibid., 13.28; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 40, 369; ''Contra Julianum'', III, 15.29, <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 44, 717; Ibid., III, 21.42, <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 44, 724.</ref>{{sfn|Burke|2006|pp= 481–536}} The redemption of human sexuality will be, however, fully accomplished only in the resurrection of the body.<ref>''[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1501.htm Merits and Remission of Sin, and Infant Baptism]'' (''De peccatorum meritis et remissione et de baptismo parvulorum''), I, 6.6; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 44, 112–113; cf. ''On the Literal Meaning of Genesis'' (''De Genesi ad litteram'') 9:6:11, trans. John Hammond Taylor SJ, vol. 2, pp. 76–77; <abbr title="Patrologia Latina">PL</abbr> 34, 397.</ref>

Augustine also taught that the sin of Adam is inherited by all human beings. Already in his pre-Pelagian writings, Augustine taught that Original Sin is transmitted to his descendants by concupiscence,<ref>Augustine of Hippo, ''Imperfectum Opus contra Iulianum'', II, 218</ref> which he regarded as the passion of both soul and body,{{efn|In 393 or 394 he commented: ''Moreover, if unbelief is fornication, and [[idolatry]] unbelief, and [[covetousness]] idolatry, it is not to be doubted that covetousness also is fornication. Who, then, in that case can rightly separate any unlawful lust whatever from the category of fornication, if covetousness is fornication? And from this we perceive, that because of unlawful lusts, not only those of which one is guilty in acts of uncleanness with another's husband or wife, but any unlawful lusts whatever, which cause the soul to make a bad use of the body to wander from the law of God, and to be ruinously and basely corrupted, a man may, without crime, put away his wife, and a wife her husband, because the Lord makes the cause of fornication an exception; which fornication, in accordance with the above considerations, we are compelled to understand as being general and universal.'' ("[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/16011.htm On the Sermon on the Mount]", ''De sermone Domini in monte'', 1:16:46; [[Corpus Christianorum|CCL]] 35, 52).}} making humanity a ''massa damnata'' (mass of perdition, condemned crowd) and much enfeebling, though not destroying, the freedom of the will.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|pp=1200–1204}} Although earlier Christian authors taught the elements of physical death, moral weakness, and a sin propensity within original sin, Augustine was the first to add the concept of inherited guilt (''reatus'') from Adam whereby an infant was eternally damned at birth.{{sfn|Wilson|2018|pp=93, 127, 140, 146, 231–233, 279–280}}

Although Augustine's anti-Pelagian defence of original sin was confirmed at numerous councils, i.e. [[Council of Carthage (418)|Carthage (418)]], [[First Council of Ephesus|Ephesus]] (431), [[Council of Orange (529)|Orange]] (529), [[Council of Trent|Trent]] (1546) and by popes, i.e. [[Pope Innocent I]] (401–417) and [[Pope Zosimus]] (417–418), his inherited guilt eternally damning infants was omitted by these councils and popes.{{sfn|Wilson|2018|pp=221, 231, 267, 296}} [[Anselm of Canterbury]] established in his ''[[Cur Deus Homo]]'' the definition that was followed by the great 13th-century Schoolmen, namely that Original Sin is the "privation of the righteousness which every man ought to possess," thus separating it from ''concupiscence,'' with which some of Augustine's disciples had identified it,{{sfn|Bonner|1986|p=371}}{{sfn|Southern|1953|pp=234–237}} as later did Luther and Calvin.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|pp=1200–1204}} In 1567, [[Pope Pius V]] condemned the identification of Original Sin with concupiscence.{{sfn|Cross|Livingstone|2005|pp=1200–1204}}