The City of God · Chapter
The Moral Decay of Rome and the Fear of Security explained
Augustine argues that complaints against Christianity stem from a desire for unrestrained luxury and moral license.
What happens
Augustine argues that complaints against Christianity stem from a desire for unrestrained luxury and moral license. He invokes Scipio Nasica, who opposed the destruction of Carthage out of fear that peace would lead to moral decay. Augustine illustrates how Rome's prosperity after Carthage's fall led to internal discord, civil wars, and the loss of virtue.
Themes in this chapter
Morality and Virtue vs. Pagan Corruption
Augustine contrasts the virtue of Scipio Nasica with the moral corruption that followed Rome's prosperity, linking the loss of virtue to internal strife.
Peace, Justice, and the Order of Love
The chapter explores how peace and prosperity, when not governed by virtue, lead to moral pestilence and disorder.
Characters to notice
- Scipio Nasica
Cited as the best citizen and pontiff who opposed the destruction of Carthage, fearing that security would corrupt Roman morals.
- Marcus Cato
Mentioned as the senator who advised the destruction of Carthage, in contrast to Scipio Nasica's caution.
Key passages
“For why in your calamities do you complain of Christianity, unless because you desire to enjoy your luxurious licence unrestrained, and to lead an abandoned and profligate life without the interruption of any uneasiness or disaster?”
Your complaints against Christianity are merely a cover for your wish to indulge in shameless luxury without any moral restraint or fear of consequences.
Augustine directly accuses critics of Christianity of using the sack of Rome as a pretext for their own moral laxity.
“He feared security, that enemy of weak minds, and he perceived that a wholesome fear would be a fit guardian for the citizens.”
Scipio Nasica understood that peace and security can corrupt weak minds, and that a healthy fear of danger is necessary to maintain civic virtue.
Augustine uses Scipio's foresight to argue that adversity can be morally beneficial.