Book contents
- Augustine on the Nature of Virtue and Sin
- Augustine on the Nature of Virtue and Sin
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on Translations and Abbreviations
- 1 Introducing the Issues
- 2 Political Virtues?
- 3 Political Vices?
- 4 Augustine’s Definitions of Virtue
- 5 Augustine’s Place within the Eudaimonist Tradition
- 6 The Life in Accordance with Nature
- 7 Self-Love and Neighbour-Love
- 8 The Nature of Sin
- 9 Weakness, Ignorance, and Pride
- Bibliography
- Index
9 - Weakness, Ignorance, and Pride
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2024
- Augustine on the Nature of Virtue and Sin
- Augustine on the Nature of Virtue and Sin
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on Translations and Abbreviations
- 1 Introducing the Issues
- 2 Political Virtues?
- 3 Political Vices?
- 4 Augustine’s Definitions of Virtue
- 5 Augustine’s Place within the Eudaimonist Tradition
- 6 The Life in Accordance with Nature
- 7 Self-Love and Neighbour-Love
- 8 The Nature of Sin
- 9 Weakness, Ignorance, and Pride
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter establishes that Augustine held that the sins of Christians were venial sins and that these sins were always committed through weakness or ignorance, with the result that Christians remained virtuous while they committed these sins. In contrast, the sins of non-Christians were always damnable sins and these were committed through pride. Through a study of Augustine’s account of the theft of the pears, and of Adam and Eve’s Fall, this chapter shows that Augustine thought that sinning through pride could take two different forms, and that this supported his view that anti-social, other-harming actions (like theft or murder) were not inevitable in the earthly city.
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- Augustine on the Nature of Virtue and Sin , pp. 309 - 344Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023