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This is the first scholarly book in English for thirty years to consider Augustine's political thought and ethics in relation to his theology of grace and the Bible. It will be essential reading for scholars of Christian theology, late Roman antiquity, the history of western political thought, and political ethics

Augustine's approach to politics and, hence, to political ethics, begins with consideration of the human being or "soul" and reaches its highpoint in the ideal of a Christian statesman, not in an ideal political order. Augustine offers no theory concerning the relationship between the church and the political order. On the other hand, the paper contends that his concept of the ideal statesman provides the elusive bridge in his thought between ecclesia and res publica. Augustine's ideal of the Christian statesman is framed against the background of his reflections concerning Christ, because, in his view, Christ alone mediates true virtue to the soul, and therefore to the statesman. Augustine thus takes up the task in the City of God and in his letters to public officials to deconstruct all other accounts of political virtue – philosophical and religious – on the grounds that real virtue is to be understood exclusively as Christ's virtue acting through the human soul. This principle is what characterizes the radical originality of Augustine's approach to political ethics.

This collection brings together thirty-five letters and sermons of Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, that deal with political matters. These texts complement Augustine's classic City of God, and treat many essential themes, including the responsibilities of citizenship, the relationship between the church and secular authority, religious coercion, and war and peace