The city of God

According to Augustine, the people of the city of God can be happy and just through practicing the moral virtues. This is because he believes that happiness of the city comes from the same place as individuals. He explains that this happens when many individuals associate harmoniously. He states that virtue is responsible for the good life from the depth of the soul making the body holy by actions of will. He also explains that when the will does not yield crimes, the things that people carry out on the body does not put down guilt to the soul. He gives an example of a woman raped showing that she does not lose her chastity as she has not lost her virtue.

He also made it clear that suicide should not be committed as a way of protecting chastity. He was against murder and suggested that killing oneself another person is a crime and one cannot gain happiness. He suggested that the prize for Christians who are good is not acquiring earthly things as the both the good and the bad have them. The people who have pure soul and are irritated by the soldiers are free from guilt. He clarifies that the fables of the Pagans made the early Romans to lose their virtues and that the Gods never taught good laws or the good codes of morals. The decline of the Romans morals raised their cravings for the power of the world and embracing of obscene ceremonies. He believed that the gods of the pagans were not clean and were not leading them in the right direction. He therefore believed the rule by the people who do good to be a blessing from humanity.

 

 

References

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.iv.XIX.14.html

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.iv.XIX.21.html

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.iv.XIX.26.html

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf102.iv.XIX.27.html