CHAPTER 16
Augustine and Aquinas: Platonist and
Aristotelian
St. Augustine (A.D. 354-430)
St. Augustine was born in Tagaste, North Africa in 354. He
lived in that part of the Roman Empire founded by Constantine
and called the Byzantine Empire, during the time that Rome was
sacked by the Goths. Persecution of Christians by Rome ended
around 305, and it was under the rule of Constantine (323-337)
that Christianity became the official religion of the Roman
Empire. The rapid spread of Christianity set the scene for
philosophical inquiry into the relationship between the theology
of the Church and the philosophy of the ancients. Augustine is
considered a Platonist who reconciled the pagan philosophy of
Plato with Christian theology.
In his youth Augustine was was a pagan who lived the life of
an insatiable hedonist. He studied at Carthage and was consid
ered a brilliant student. In 387 he converted to Christianity, in
391 he became a priest, and in 395 he was named Bishop of
Hippo. His search for truth, his acceptance of Neo-Platonic
philosophy, his rejection of his youthful excesses, and his
conversion to Christianity are all documented in his autobiogra
phy, Confessions.
Augustine was a prolific writer, but his most important work
is The City o f God. He began the writing of this series of
statements three years after the fall of Rome. The impact of
Christianity was so great within the Roman Empire, that when
Rome fell Christianity was blamed for its fall. The City o f God
was written as a defense of Christianity, but covered a multiplic
ity of other topics. For our purposes we will be most interested
in his views on the nature of man, his Neo-Platonism, and his
views on the relationship between the Church and the state, and
the relationship between the Christian and the state. His doctrine
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