The Essential Augustine
ours took its origin, nor how it will be brought to an end, since they cannot penetrate the inscrutable wisdom of God. For, though Himself eternal and without beginning, yet He caused time to have a beginning; and man whom He had not previously made He made in time, not from a new and sudden resolution but by His unchangeable and eternal design. Who can search out the unsearchable depth of this purpose, who can scrutinize the inscrutable wisdom wherewith God, without change of will, created man who had never before been, and gave him an existence in time, and increased the human race from one individual? For the Psalmist himself, when he had first said, "Thou shalt keep us, O Lord, Thou shalt preserve us from this generation forever," and had then rebuked those whose foolish and impious doctrine preserves for the soul no eternal deliverance and blessedness, adds immediately, "The wicked walk in a circle." Then, as if it were said to him, "What then do you believe, feel, know? Are we to believe that it suddenly occurred to God to create man, whom He had never before made in a past eternity— God, to whom nothing new can occur and in whom is no changeableness?" The Psalmist goes on to reply, as if addressing God Himself, "According to the depth of Thy wisdom Thou hast multiplied the children of men." Let men, he seems to say, fancy what they please, let them conjecture and dispute as seems good to them, but Thou hast multiplied the children of men according to the depth of thy wisdom, which no man can comprehend. For this is a depth, indeed, that God always has been, and that man, whom He had never made before He willed to make in time, and this without changing His design and will.
For my own part, indeed, as I dare not say that 15. there ever was a time when the Lord God was not Lord, so I ought not to doubt that man had no existence before time, and was first created in time. But when I consider what God could be the Lord of, if there was not always some creature; I shrink from making any assertion, remembering my own insignificance, and that it is written, "What man is he that can know the counsel of God? or who can think what the will of the Lord is? For the thoughts of mortal men are timid, and our devices are but uncertain. For the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind that museth upon many things." [Wisd. 9:13-15] Many things certainly do I muse upon in this earthly tabernacle, because the one thing
PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY 245 which is true among the many, or beyond the many, I cannot find. If then among these many thoughts I say that there have always been creatures for Him to be Lord of, who is always and ever has been Lord, but that these creatures have not always been the same but succeeded one another (for we would not seem to say that any is coeternal with the Creator, an assertion condemned equally by faith and sound reason), I must take care lest I fall into the absurd and ignorant error of maintaining that by these successions and changes mortal creatures have always existed, whereas the immortal creatures had not begun to exist until the date of our own world, when the angels were created; if at least the angels are intended by that light which was first made, or rather by that heaven of which it is said, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." [Gen. 1:1] The angels at least did not exist before they were created; for if we say that they have always existed, we shall seem to make them coeternal with the Creator. Again, if I say that the angels were not created in time but existed before all times, as those over whom God, who has ever been Sovereign, exercised His sovereignty, then I shall be asked whether, if they were created before all time, they, being creatures, could possibly always exist. It may perhaps be replied, Why not always, since that which is in all time may very properly be said to be "always"? Now so true is it that these angels have existed in all time that, even before time was, they were created; if, at least, time began with the heavens, and the angels existed before the heavens. And if time was even before the heavenly bodies, not indeed marked by hours, days, months, and years—for these measures of time's periods which are commonly and properly called times, did manifestly begin with the motion of the heavenly bodies, and so God said, when He appointed them, "Let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years" [Gen. 1:14] —if, I say, time was before these heavenly bodies by some changing movement, whose parts succeeded one another and could not exist simultaneously, and if there was some such movement among the angels which necessitated the existence of time, and that they from their very creation should be subject to those temporal changes, then they have existed in all time, for time came into being along with them.
SELECTED ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Battenhouse, R. (ed.), Companion to the Study of St. Augustine. New York: Oxford University Press, 1955.
A collection of studies illustrating the importance of Augustine in contemporary Protestant scholarship.
Bavel, T. van, Répertoire Bibliographique de saint Augustin, 1950-1960. The Hague: Nijhoff, 1963. The best bibliography; evaluates thousands of works in all languages. Berlinger, R., Augustins dialogische Metaphysik. Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann, 1962.
Suggestive comparison of Augustine's thought with contemporary German phenomenology, especially that of Heidegger. Bourke, V. J., Augustine's Quest of Wisdom. Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company, 1945.
A standard introduction to the reading of St. Augustine.
, Augustine's View of Reality. Villanova, Pa.: Villanova University Press, 1964. ~ Brief study of the general metaphysics of Augustine. Capanaga, V., La teologia agustiniana de la gracia. Madrid: Difusora de Libro, 1933.
A thorough survey of Augustine's theology of grace. Cayré, F., La contemplation Augustinienne. Paris: Blot, 1927.
A key exposition of the religious views of Augustine. Clark, Mary T., Augustine: Philosopher of Freedom. New York: Desclée Co., Inc., 1959.
Studies the notion of free choice and its applications in the historical, social, and cultural spheres. D'Arcy, M., et al.,.A Monument to St. Augustine. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1930; reprinted as St. Augustine, New York: Meridian Books, 1957.
A collection of essays by outstanding Catholic scholars: Gilson, Dawson, Roland-Gosselin, Watkin, and others.
Gilson, E., The Christian Philosophy of St. Augustine, trans. by L. Lynch. New York: Random House, Inc., 1960.
Generally regarded as the best-exposition of Augustine's philosophy.
Grabowski, S. J., The All-Present God. St. Louis: B. Herder Book Company, 1954.
God's presence throughout creation is studied as the central theme of Augustinianism; annotations cite extensive literature on the subject.
Green, W. M., Augustine on the Teaching of History. BerkeleyLos Angeles: University of California Press, 1944.
Useful introduction to Augustine's philosophy of history.
Marrou, H. I., St. Augustine and His Influence Through the Ages. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1957.
Standard interpretation of the educational, cultural, and historical aspects of Augustinianism.
Mausbach, J., Die Ethik des hl. Augustinus. Freiburg i. B.: Herder, 1909; reprinted 1929.
The outstanding account of Augustine's moral views.
Meer, F. G. L. van der, Augustine the Bishop. London—New York: Sheed & Ward, 1960.
Remarkable among recent biographies for its wealth of information on Augustine's later life and on the archaeological remains in North Africa.
O'Meara, J. J.. The Young Augustine. Paris: Etudes Augustiniennes, 1954.
A good study of the conversion and early philosophical interests of St. Augustine. ; O'Toole, C. J., The Philosophy of Creation in the Writings of St. Augustine. Washington: Cathoiic University Press, 1944.
Treats the "seminal reasons" and the problem of evolution.
Pope, H., The Teaching of St. Augustine on Prayer and the fone Gee Life. London: Burns, Oates & Washbourne,
38) Basic for Augustine's spiritual views.
E., A Guide to the Thought of St. Augustine, trans. by R. J. Bastian. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1960.
An excellent general introduction to St. Augustine.
Schmaus, M., Die psychologische Trinitatslehre des hl. Augustinus. Munster: Aschendorff, 1927.
The best account of Augustine's trinitarian psychouogy.