Augustine 2 Essay Research Paper Saint Augustine — страница 3

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must learn to lead their wife in virtue and must never fall to sin and lust, for if this happens, you can not expect your wife, or women to follow when “you yourself lie there, conquered”. The most important thing though is the man must lead by example; everything they do must reaffirm their authoritative role in society and in life for “the husband is the head of the wife”. From this paragraph, and the previous one, it is possible to conclude that Saint Augustine believes that women are subordinate and inferior to males, but at the same time they should be protected, cared for and treated with respect. Many images of women appear throughout The City Of God and The Confessions, but one of the key images of women in The City Of God is the idea of women as victims. During

Augustine’s time, the rape of women was a very controversial topic for it brought about many ill feelings. First and foremost, the most famous victim of rape was that of Lucretia, who committed suicide in front of the Roman senate to help avenge her. It was during this time period, that many Romans were against Christianity, for they would constantly question God’s power during the rape of many Roman women. Augustine though, reminds his fellow Romans of how Rome came to be (through the rape of the Sabine women). Augustine is disgusted and horrified when he recounts the history of how Rome was created through the raping of the Sabine women to have the first children of Rome. “If the Sabines were wrong to deny their daughters when the Romans asked for them, was it not a

greater wrong in the Romans to carry them off after that denial?” (The City Of God Book II). As Augustine tells the Romans in his persuasive speech that God is not to blame, he reminds them about how the Romans carried off the Sabine women and raped them. “If one would find fault with the results of this act, it must rather be on the ground that the Romans made Romulus a god in spite of his perpetrating this iniquity; for one cannot reproach them with making this deed any kind of precedent for the rape of women” (The City Of God Book II). Augustine tells the Roman people that if they can blame God for the raping of numerous Roman women, then they should not forget to blame themselves; for the Romans placed Romulus on a pedestal, worshipping him as a god despite his sinful

deed of the raping of many women. Augustine has a very conservative and submissive view of women, and his ideals of feminine virtue are also very closely related. Firstly and most importantly, the most important virtue of a woman is that she should be a submissive Christian, totally willing to devote her life to God. The most important virtue for any women is to be Christian, simply because as most people during that time period believed, Christianity is not only a religion, but a form of guidance. Besides being a Christian, one of the most important virtues of being a Christian woman is that they understand that life is full of hardships, and that they are ready to endure any tests from God; it is most important that any true Christian woman never commits suicide and remains

faithful. Faith is the most key feminine virtue, for without faith, women will be forever lost. By being faithful to God, women are learning to accept God’s power and authority and that is the only way women are to live life in Augustine’s view (The Confessions Book VI). Life is a gift from God, and if a woman takes her own life she is refuting the authority of God Himself by assuming her role as God, for this women believes that she has the right to take her own life. The most important virtue that Augustine mentions for women (other then accepting men and God’s authority) is the ability to live through whatever hardships they are given and be faithful to god no matter what. “Not such was the decision of the Christian women who suffered as she did, and yet survive. They

declined to avenge upon themselves the guilt of others, and so add crimes of their own to those crimes in which they had no share” (The City Of God Book I). As Augustine writes, he importantly shows the difference between Christian women, and normal women. During the fall of Rome, many Roman women were taken captive and ruthlessly raped. Yet Augustine clearly emphasizes the importance of continuing to live, and accepting what has happened to your life. Rape “involves two, but is the crime of only one”, but if you involve others, it becomes a crime that involves everyone. Lucretia committed a great sin when she committed suicide in the Roman senate because she involved other people in a crime that did not involve them. This is by far one of the most important feminine