Source edition
Augustine. Sancti Aureli Augustini Opera, Sectio VI, Pars I (Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, Volume 25, Pars I). Zycha, Joseph editor. Prague; Vienna; Leipzig: F. Tempsky; G. Freytag, 1891.
Source data
Open Greek and Latin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a record of a public debate between the Christian thinker Augustine and the Manichaean priest Fortunatus concerning the nature of God and the origin of evil. The debate unfolds around the essence of God, the fate of the soul, and the source of evil in the world. Augustine argues that if God is immutable and inviolable, the Manichaean conflict between light and darkness is meaningless, and there is no reason for the soul to suffer. He locates the origin of evil not in God, but in the abuse of human "free will" (liberum arbitrium) and the subsequent necessity born of habit. In response, Fortunatus defends his dualistic doctrine by citing Scripture, asserting that evil is a force exerted by an external hostile substance upon the soul. However, when pressed by Augustine to explain why an inviolable God would send the soul into earthly suffering, Fortunatus fails to provide a consistent answer. Ultimately, Fortunatus is unable to counter Augustine's arguments and promises to reconsider the matter, bringing the debate to a close.