Time and History by St. Augustine

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to present how a theological model of the philosophy of history was constituted in St. Augustine which has Divine Providence as its principle of determination, successive linear time as its form of development and salvation as its goal. For the purpose, we focus our analysis on The City of God, especially in the books of XI to XXII and the Confessions in Book XI, about time. We present the following expository strategy in our interpretation: 1st., we analyze Agostinho's understanding of the concept of time, as an internal sense in the soul and successive in its relation to eternity, set forth in Book XI of Confessions, to better understand the idea progressive linear time projected in The City of God as the guiding thread of human history; 2nd., we interpret the distinction established by the author at the origin, between two cities, that of God and the earthly one, emphasizing that there is a tension between the two, between good and evil, as a result of human free will, which may history unfold. 3rd., we consider the process of development and the ends of the two cities, narrated in the biblical perspective of the action of the great patriarchs in their relations of obedience and disobedience to God, linking to the progressive history of salvation.