The City of God, Volume IIAugustine, of Hippo, Saint
ReligionChristian
The City of God, Volume II
Augustine, of Hippo, Saint
Apologetics -- Early works to 1800; Kingdom of God -- Early works to 1800
the flesh of dead animals be eaten by others, no matter where it be
carried, nor what it be brought into contact with, nor what it be
converted and changed into, it still is ruled by the same laws which
pervade all things for the conservation of every mortal race, and
which bring things that fit one another into harmony.
13. _Of the universal peace which the law of nature preserves
through all disturbances, and by which every one reaches his
desert in a way regulated by the just Judge._
The peace of the body then consists in the duly proportioned
arrangement of its parts. The peace of the irrational soul is the
harmonious repose of the appetites, and that of the rational soul the
harmony of knowledge and action. The peace of body and soul is the
well-ordered and harmonious life and health of the living creature.
Peace between man and God is the well-ordered obedience of faith
to eternal law. Peace between man and man is well-ordered concord.
Domestic peace is the well-ordered concord between those of the
family who rule and those who obey. Civil peace is a similar concord
among the citizens. The peace of the celestial city is the perfectly
ordered and harmonious enjoyment of God, and of one another in God.
The peace of all things is the tranquillity of order. Order is the
distribution which allots things equal and unequal, each to its own
place. And hence, though the miserable, in so far as they are such,
do certainly not enjoy peace, but are severed from that tranquillity
of order in which there is no disturbance, nevertheless, inasmuch
as they are deservedly and justly miserable, they are by their very
misery connected with order. They are not, indeed, conjoined with the
blessed, but they are disjoined from them by the law of order. And
though they are disquieted, their circumstances are notwithstanding
adjusted to them, and consequently they have some tranquillity of
order, and therefore some peace. But they are wretched because,
although not wholly miserable, they are not in that place where
any mixture of misery is impossible. They would, however, be more
wretched if they had not that peace which arises from being in
harmony with the natural order of things. When they suffer, their
peace is in so far disturbed; but their peace continues in so far as
they do not suffer, and in so far as their nature continues to exist.
As, then, there may be life without pain, while there cannot be pain
without some kind of life, so there may be peace without war, but
there cannot be war without some kind of peace, because war supposes
the existence of some natures to wage it, and these natures cannot
exist without peace of one kind or other.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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