Augustine of Hippo

Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis

354–430

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) was a bishop, theologian, and philosopher from Roman North Africa, widely considered one of the most influential figures in the history of Christianity and Western philosophy. Born in Thagaste (modern Algeria) and educated in rhetoric at Carthage, he converted to Christianity in 386 after years of intellectual searching, an experience recounted in his Confessions. As bishop of Hippo Regius from 396 until his death, he wrote prolifically on theology, scripture, ethics, and church discipline; his major works — including the Confessions, The City of God, On the Trinity, and numerous treatises and letters — shaped Latin theology throughout the medieval and Reformation periods.

Complete Course of Patrology, Latin Series, Volume 38: The Complete Works of Saint Augustine of Hippo, Volume Five, First Part

Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Latina, Tomus XXXVIII: Sancti Aurelii Augustini Hipponensis Episcopi Opera Omnia, Tomus Quintus, Pars Prior

1845·754 pages

Sermon 117, Chapter 1

Sermo CXVII, Caput I

The opening chapter of Augustine's Sermo CXVII, a sermon on John 1:1–5 ("In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum") preached against the Arians. §1 ("Verbum Dei ut intelligatur, quo pretio comparandum") opens with an argument about the incalculable worth of the divine Word: every saleable thing is either equal to, subject to, or exceeds its price, but to the Word of God nothing can be made equal, nothing can be subjected to it, and nothing can be set above it — an argument of immediate relevance to the theology of simony, which treats spiritual goods as though they could be priced. §2 ("Pretium Verbi ipse homo") turns this into a soteriology: the price the Word demands is the self, offered not as a loss but as a gain, since Christ's humanity was made through the Word and is restored to it. §3 ("Verbum Dei forma quædam non formata") concludes with a meditation on the Word as the uncreated form of all forms — immutable, without time or place, the ground and summit of all created things.

Sermo CXVII, §§1–3·fol. 661–662

Complete Course of Patrology, Latin Series, Volume 34: The Complete Works of Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Volume Three

Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Latina, Tomus XXXIV: Sancti Aurelii Augustini Hipponensis Episcopi Opera Omnia, Tomus Tertius

1861·664 pages

On the Sermon on the Mount, Book II, Chapter XVI

De Sermone Domini in Monte, Liber II, Caput XVI

Chapter XVI of Book II of Augustine's De Sermone Domini in Monte, comprising sections 53–55. Augustine comments on Matthew 6:25–34 ("nolite esse solliciti animae vestrae"), arguing that Christ's prohibition on anxiety about food and clothing rests on the argument from the greater to the lesser: since God has already given the soul — the greater good — he will surely provide for the body's lesser needs as well. The chapter turns on the distinction between seeking temporal necessities as an ultimate end and seeking them as means subordinated to the kingdom of God, closing with the exhortation to seek first the kingdom and its justice, trusting that all else will be added.

Liber II, Caput XVI, §§53–55·fol. 1292–1293

Works of Saint Aurelius Augustine (CSEL Vol. 41)

Sancti Aureli Augustini Opera (CSEL XLI)

1900·767 pages

On the Work of Monks

De opere monachorum

Augustine's De opere monachorum (c. 401) was written at the request of Aurelius, bishop of Carthage, in response to a controversy among North African monks who refused manual labor, citing Matthew 6:25–34 ("consider the lilies of the field") as grounds for living solely on alms. Augustine argues systematically from Paul's letters — especially 1 and 2 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians — that the apostolic example obliges monks to work with their hands, and that the gospel precepts concern trust in providence, not exemption from labor.

De opere monachorum·fol. 531–594