Augustin: City of God
Augustine of Hippo, (November 13, 354 A.D. – August 28, 430 AD), written henceforth as Augustin; is a monumental figure in history who is responsible for influencing contemporary knowledge of history, politics, philosophy, and psychology. Augustin first presented history to be chronologically linear; unlike man’s previous understanding of history, namely Ancient Greek’s cyclical nonlinear perspective. It is said that history often repeats itself; yet the truth is that it remains dialectical in the Hegelian sense—Augustin’s City of God represented the antithesis simultaneously of both Ancient Greek society, and Christendom. The combination of Ancient Greek (thesis) and West-Gothic Christendom (antithesis) would birth the Reformation (a new thesis), thereby permeating dialectic theory—namely Hegelian in the contemporary age—as merited political theory and concept of history. Augustin is credited with initiating this convergence of history and an introspective view of human nature. Augustin bore a similar curiosity to Socrates’ inquest of the introspective nature of justice and authority, encouraging all willing to consider his position to liberate themselves from established preconceptions and seek truth. Augustin strived to gain a greater understanding of human nature, without revocation of his faith in the Christian doctrine; thereby denoting that religion and philosophy could be considered simultaneously—declaring “virtue and vice are not the same thing,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., Loc. 647).
Augustin dismissed union as a means to securing salvation, concluding that any attempt as polis was futile, thus unachievable on Earth; writing of Babylon, “the fact of all using one language did not secure the absence of sin-infected men from the race… because the multiplication and change of languages was introduced as a punishment, and it is fit to ascribe to the people of God an immunity from this punishment,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., Loc. 14036, 14046). Augustin believed that even during Babylon, there existed a City of God, hidden within the union of language—its “indistinctness is intended to stimulate research rather than to elude it,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., Loc. 14046). Mediæval political theory and philosophy presupposed itself on Christian doctrine; yet spurred from a desire beyond salvation to learn more of the nature of God’s creation, (Magee, B.; Kenny, A., YouTube). Anthony Kenny believes Augustin represented the continuation of the typical Ancient philosophy, whereby the philosopher focused on ontology, the nature of being, Kenny contends that philosophy following René Descartes (March 31, 1596 – February 11, 1650) placed epistemology before ontology, noting to host Bryan Magee of its recent shift in the contemporary age back to consider ontology, (Magee, B.; Kenny, A., YouTube). Conversely, Historian Ernest L. Fortin (December 17th, 1923 – October 22, 2002) asserted that “Augustine writes first and foremost as a theologian and not as a philosopher, (Fortin, E.; Strauss, L., p. 262). Fortin argued that, “[Augustine’s] highest principles are drawn not from reason but from Sacred Scripture,” yet in concurrence Fortin opined “whose authority he never questions and which he regards as the final source of truth concerning man in general and political man in particular,” (Fortin, E.; Strauss L., p. 262).
Augustin believed the City of God (thesis) when combined with the perishing kingdoms of this world, (antithesis) would in a dialectic manner, create a new thesis preparing Earth and its inhabitants for the afterlife. Augustin assumed this third form to be polis, a state believed to be unachievable on Earth. The City of God was Augustin’s solution to live in accordance with Scripture in order to enter Heaven, enumerating instructions on preparation for the afterlife. Augustin believed he held a duty to break down the nature of predestination and free will. Augustin proposed the Christian doctrine, namely the City of God as his thesis, whereby presenting pluralistic paganism as his antithesis; when combined allowed humans to remain in an honorable state of humility until the end of their lives. Augustin wrote from a solitary introspective position, yet diligently disputed the depraved interpretation of Christianity; unlike other religions, the Christian doctrine allows for philosophy. Ryan adds that “Augustine articulated what is implicit in [the Apostle] Paul; we sin against the light because we have the will to do evil,” and “trying to build an eternal polity [was] futile,” (Ryan, A., p. 68). Historian Ernest Fortin wrote that “Augustine acknowledges in man a capacity to know which precedes the faith. This knowledge, obtained without the help of Revelation, is the invention and the proper preserve of the pagan philosophers…God, the author of Revelation, not only does not forbid but positively enjoins the use of reason to acquire human knowledge,” (Fortin, E.; Strauss L., p.263). Augustin was among the first Christians to inquire into the nature of the evident burning conflict within every man present today—the battle between free will and determinism.
Augustin’s Life and Times
Augustin was born in North Africa, and gained inspiration for what would become his political theory for the City of God long before he found faith in religion. Augustin was born to a religious mother named Saint Monica; and a Patrician pagan father, (Ryan, A, pp. 14, 55). Augustin theorized with duality throughout his life, later finding interest in Manichaeism and Neoplatonism; rejecting each yet advancing his dualist theory in a dialectic manner (Ryan, A., pp. 52-54, 59). Augustin finally abdicated his authority over his own pursuit of the duality, finally resolving his theory of duality to an embroiled battle between the City of God and “the perishing kingdoms of this world,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., p. 1). Augustin arrived at this resolution in the final decades of his life, and was urged to write City of God by his friend Marcellinus, who in 411A.D. “fell victim to [the schismatic Donatists] revenge, and was honored by a place among the martyrs,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., p. 1). Augustin did not speak Greek, but read translations of Plato, Aristotle, and the Vulgate Bible translated to Latin between 382 A.D.–384 A.D (Vulgate; Augustin; Schaff, P., p. 1). Augustin relied on these translations to gain an understanding to his own conflict of duality, evident in his autobiography Confessions.
Augustin first published The City of God in the year 426 A.D., in response to allegations that Christianity was responsible for the downfall of Rome. Rome was destroyed just sixteen years earlier, in 410A.D.; falling under the rule of West-Gothic King Alaric, (Augustin; Schaff, P., p. 1). Augustin believed he held a distinct obligation to profess moral truths from the City of God, in an effort to sway constituency from the earthly city; writing “[i]t is the duty, then, of the interpreter and teacher of Holy Scripture, the defender of the true faith and the opponent of error, both to teach what is right and to refute what is wrong,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., Loc. 13994).
Augustin’s Book I begins with an opening argument; Christianity should not be attributed to the downfall of Rome; writing “[f]or to this Earthly city belong the enemies against whom I have to defend the city of God,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., p. 1). Augustin presented the Christian doctrine as an objective truth, whereby pagans and the depraved Earthly city of man functioned as a materialized projection of our fallen state. Philip Schaff’s commentary reveals that “Augustin uses the term civitas Dei of the church universal as a commonwealth and community founded and governed by God. It is applied in the Bible to Jerusalem or the church perfect.” (Augustin; Schaff, P., p. 1). Schaff denotes that Augustin’s comprehension of the Kingdom of God is contrasted with “the perishing kingdoms of this world,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., p. 1).
Augustin’s City of God stands as a remarkable achievement, and displays both his commitment to God, and his depraved human state. Augustin wrote, in the same wrote “[all]—are enjoined to endure this earthly republic, wicked and dissolute as it is, that so they may by this endurance win for themselves an eminent place in that most holy and august assembly of angels and republic of heaven, in which the will of God is the law;” also proclaimed, “[l]et there be a plentiful supply of public prostitutes for every one who wishes to use them, but specially for those who are too poor to keep one for their private use,” (Augustin, Loc. 1864, 1866). It is evident that Augustin was conflicted between his own state and that of Scripture, writing the City of God to illustrate this conflict and present this inner conflict of darkness into the public light, (Luk 8:16,17). Augustin notes in Chapter 3 of the Romans’s shortcomings, namely their trust in their gods who had been unable to defend Troy against the sack of Rome. Alan Ryan explains the significance of the city of God and the earthly city, writing that, “Augustine’s answer is that the citizens of the city of God are those whom God by his grace has admitted to the company of the saved. The earthly city is defined by exclusion as the company of all the rest,” (Ryan, A., p. 71).
The Proper Aim of Political Life
Augustin thought the proper aims of political life ought to originate from Christian faith, yet sought to endeavor his own inquisition into the nature of life. Augustin claims that no pagan state is capable of practicing Ciceronian justice, nor can any pagan state have a true common good,” (Ryan, A., p. 65). Ryan writes that “Augustine created a Christian political theology by turning Cicero inside out,” adding that “Augustine is unflinching in associating politics and the state with our sinful, fallen natures,” (Ryan, A., pp. 63, 225). Augustin’s belief that no pagan nation was capable of common justice, parallels the ongoing debate in America between justice and judicial activism. The pagans’ attribution to the fall of Rome inspired a revolution in human history. Unlike Plato, Augustin contended that Christendom was the best regime; utilizing this as the foundation for his political theory, (Ryan, A., p. 31). Augustin believed that any government could rule virtuously, so long as they remained under the authority of God, (Ryan, A., p. 31). While Ancient Athenian and Italian political theorists built an ideal network of governments using pre-established constructs; Augustin advocated for a tangible government based on Christian doctrine. Alan Ryan writes, “[l]ife in the polis cannot be the good life of man, since fulfillment lies hereafter; here below we must prepare for eternity,” (Ryan, A., p. 31).
Augustin wrote that “since all individuals quickly die; nor is sovereign power to be reckoned a benefit, because in a little time in every man, and thus in all of them one by one, it vanishes like a vapor. For what does it matter to those who worshipped the gods under Romulus, and are long since dead, that after their death the Roman empire has grown so great, while they plead their causes before the powers beneath? Whether those causes are good or bad, it matters not to the question before us,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., Loc. 3166). Augustin’s conquest of inquiry did not limit himself to the Christian doctrine but instead sought to inquire of the deeper obligation in man to self-regulate his behavior in a manner that invoked a unifying sense of common good.
Augustin on Free Will
Augustin questioned the nature of man’s free will, writing, “[i]f there is free will, all things do not happen according to fate; if all things do not happen according to fate, there is not a certain order of causes; and if there is not a certain order of causes, neither is there a certain order of things foreknown by God,—for things cannot come to pass except they are preceded by efficient causes,—but, if there is no fixed and certain order of causes foreknown by God, all things cannot be said to happen according as He foreknew that they would happen,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., Loc, 4107). Historian Alan Ryan writes that “[s]ince the Fall we have only limited free will, but Augustine does not underestimate the possibility that with appropriate aids we can avoid choosing the more obvious and antisocial evils,” (Ryan, A., p. 82).
Free will begets the discussion of punishment, whereby Augustin “hoped for the reformation of the criminal, he was hostile to the death penalty… successful punishment will train the criminal into better behavior… [t]o kill a man deprives him of the possibility of repentance…Augustine was passionate that nobody should be condemned unjustly,” (Ryan, A., p. 82). Augustin believed there must be free will in the City of God “Are we to say that God Himself is not free because He cannot sin? In that city, then, [the City of God] there shall be free will, one in all the citizens, and indivisible in each, delivered from all ill, filled with all good, enjoying indefeasibly the delights of eternal joys, oblivious of sins, oblivious of sufferings, and yet not so oblivious of its deliverance as to be ungrateful to its Deliverer.” (Augustin; Schaff, P., Loc. 23170).
As Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (August 27, 1770–November 14, 1831) denoted of free will and morality, “[i]t appears to me superfluous to verify all this by describing and criticising every hitherto existing foundation of morality; not only because I share Augustine's opinion, non est pro magno habendum quid homines senserint, sed quae sit rei veritas (It is the truth about a thing, not men's opinions thereon, that is of importance); but also because it would be like γλαύκας εἰς 'Aθήνας κομίζειν (i.e., carrying coals to Newcastle); for previous attempts to give a foundation to Ethics are sufficiently well-known to the Royal Society, and the very question proposed shows that it is also convinced of their inadequateness,” (Hegel, G., p. 6238). Hegel held reverence for Augustin’s teachings, calling him the “holy rhetorician,” (Hegel, G., p. 6545). Hegel believed that “Augustin possessed “a proper mastery and subtlety for carrying on the conflict with themselves (that is to say, the faculty of self-control and self-deception),” acknowledging to the conflictive notion of predestination, (Hegel, G., Loc. 6545). Augustin believed in a strong national government that would reveal truth and bring commonwealth.
Ludwig Feuerbach (July 28, 1804 – September 13, 1872) declared of Mediæval philosophy that, “the C[hristian] philosophy deserves the merit that at a time when the Christian faith still exercised a despotic power, it instilled in man again the confidence in himself, the confidence in his reason,” (Feuerbach, L., p. 216). Feuerbach’s work was demonstrative of the Earthly city, that attempted to warp Augustin’s political theory to fit his own interpretations. Feuerbach wrote that, “[w]hen Augustine says ‘If an incorruptible body is something good (desirable, bonum), why do we want to doubt that God will make such a body for us?" the same thing is said - that God is the affirmation of human desires and thoughts,’” (Feuerbach, L., p. 216).
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (June 28, 1712 – July 2, 1778) paid homage to Augustin, titling his own works Confessions, yet in his work admitted he had never read Augustin’s work in full; instead Rousseau relied on his retention of “a number of passages taken from my Le Sueur,” (Rousseau, J., p. 86). Rousseau wrote of further inquiry and discussion rooted in Christian doctrine—the nature of introspection; first displayed by Augustin, whereby Rousseau wrote that; “Protestants, in general, are better instructed in the principles of their religion than Catholics; the reason is obvious; the doctrine of the former requires discussion, of the latter a blind submission; the Catholic must content himself with the decisions of others, the Protestant must learn to decide for himself,” (Rousseau, J., p. 84). Although Augustin questioned the network of reality, he was baptized “[d]uring the Easter Vigil, on the night between April 24 and 25, 387[A.D.], Augustine was baptized by Bishop Ambrose in the Cathedral of Milan together with his son, Adeodatus, and a small group of friends,” whereby Augustin accepted the Catholic doctrine,” (Augustinian). Catholicism served as Augustin’s foundation, later bringing him to question the nature of his own inner conflict; and the futile endeavors of striving to achieve polis on Earth as it is in Heaven. Augustin denied this to be possible, supporting his assertion with Scripture.
François-Marie “Voltaire” Arouet, (November 21, 1694 – May 30, 1778); opined of Augustin’s thirty-third sermon, wrote that; “Augustine and Jerome then spoke ‘with economy’; [sic] they augmented the works of creation to raise greater admiration of the works of God. They sought to astonish men by fables, to render them more submissive to the yoke of faith,” (Voltaire, F., Loc. 69759). Augustin’s City of God bears evidence of his fallen state of humanity, while striving to achieve his own internalized polis, a declared impossibility externally, until death and entrance into Heaven. Voltaire denoted the depravity found in the Earthly city; writing that “[t]he inclinations and characters of men differ as much as their climates and governments, (Voltaire, F., Loc. 69770).
Augustin on Scripture
As Saul was converted to Paul by personal experience, (Acts 9:1-19); Augustin was converted to Christianity upon reading Paul’s scribe of the Lord in the New Testament. Alan Ryan writes, [o]nly when [Augustin] found inspiration in Saint Paul, who had a similar sensibility to his own, did he find a more satisfying answer than Manichaeanism provided, (Ryan, A., p. 57). Augustin believed God’s grace was given by virtuous citizens, yet some were predestined to remain in the earthly city; while others were chosen by God to enter His city. Augustin’s political theory was based on man’s depraved and fallen state, that relied on government to punish the citizens to correct their behavior; yet ascribed to the belief that all men were equal. Augustin’s government exists to realign man, as he awaits true justice through Christ.
Scripture bears a consistent theme describing two cities: the first, a city of God; the second, an Earthly city of man. Augustin wrote, “[w]hen these two cities began to run their course by a series of deaths and births, the citizen of this world was the first-born, and after him the stranger in this world, the citizen of the city of God, predestinated by grace, elected by grace, by grace a stranger below, and by grace a citizen above,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., Loc. 12560). In Genesis, Cain kills Able (Gen. 4:8) and is exiled by God; he then flees in shame to found a city that he names after his son, Enoch (Genesis 4:16,17). Jumping back to the Biblical timeline, Scripture proceeds to tell the story of Adam, as the Lord writes “[t]his is the written account of Adam’s family line,” (Gen 5:1a). Augustin wrote “[a]ccordingly, it is recorded of Cain that he built a city, but Abel, being a sojourner, built none,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., p. 12560). Genesis 11:19 reveals that “[t]he Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you,’” (Genesis 12:1) God promises to Abram that He would make him into a great nation, indicating the next stage in the evolution of the City of God; on Earth as it is in Heaven. God’s promise to Abram remains evident in contemporary times. Every contribution to His Kingdom is an investment deposited in faith placed unto the City of God. Every moral obligation upheld ushers us closer to a state of Biblically prophesized polis; whereby the streets of depravity are thereby cleansed, merging with the Heavens; Genesis reveals that when faced with a moral dichotomy, Abraham made the decision to leave the earthly city to pursue to city of God. Augustin writes of the earthly city of Babylon, (Gen 10:10); adding “[a]nd they said, Come, and let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top shall reach the sky; and let us make us a name, before we be scattered abroad on the face of all the earth,” (Augustin, Loc. 13835). In Psalms, it is noted that “[t]here is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High,” (Psalms 46:4; ESV).
God then sent the flood to eradicate his creations, sparing Noah. Augustin contends that there may have been survivors following the flood, writing “[c]ertainly neither race was ever obliterated from earth,” (Augustin, Loc. 28715). Augustin added “[f]or it had been previously said, ‘God looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if any understood and sought after God;’ and then followed the words which demonstrate that all the sons of men, that is, all who belong to the city which lives according to man, not according to God, are reprobate,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., Loc. 14026). In Titus, His Holy Spirit writes, “[r]emind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good…all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.” (Titus 3:1, 8b; NLT).
In Matthew, Jesus discerned between the City of God and the earthly city “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” The earthly city stands distinct from the divine path to the Lord. In modern polity, Caesar’s spirit remains as the encroachment of government strives to revocation inherent rights from the citizen, invoking their own laws, and claiming objectivity over their own evident biases. In Acts, Augustin’s political theory is supported, whereby we are reminded that, “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist,” (Acts 17:27-28; NLT).
In Revelation, the final book of The New Testament God speaks of His City through John of Patmos; writing, “[b]ecause you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon.” (Revelation 3:10-11a; (ESV) He adds “[h]old fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:11b-13; ESV)
Augustin on Contemporary Government
If Augustin could witness contemporary America today; he would likely proclaim “Dixi vobisbegin”—Latin for “I told you;” implying his conclusion that polis is a state reserved for Heaven, one that could not be achieved. Augustin would opine that the U.S. government should increase its regulations to induce temporary punishment to correct the behavior of the majority; no matter their predestination. Augustin would then proceed to write another compendium at once, reinforcing his points. Augustin’s defense of Christianity relied on the distinction of two cities: one, an Earthly city; and the other, a city of God. Augustin asserted, “[f]or Scripture, which proves the truth of its historical statements by the accomplishment of its prophecies, gives no false information…Wherefore let us seek if we can find the city of God that sojourns on earth among those human races who are cataloged as having been divided into seventy-two nations and as many languages,” (Augustin; Schaff, P., Loc. 13981). While it remains debatable if polis can be achieved in the Earthly city; individuals must strive to achieve consensus and union.
The problem with Augustin’s political theory is that historically Christendom ultimately proved itself to be tyrannical to the minority—the doctrine itself eventually departed from Scripture; leading to the Reformation a millennium later. Augustin would recognize the Earthly city, citing that America and other contemporary nations have taken a pluralist approach; acknowledging the importance of polis, lest succumbing to delusion and apathy. As historian Alan Ryan declares, “[t]he modern idea of a separation of church and state was unknown to the ancient world,” (Ryan, A., p. 16). Augustin would be unlikely to accept modern regimes and factions; thereby rejecting Hegelian Dialecticism. Augustin’s City of God stands opposed to Hegelian theory—Augustin believed when both a thesis and antithesis combined, the third stage was polis, per entrance into Heaven, the City promised through Scripture. Augustin’s political theory expected the thesis, Scripture; and antithesis, the earthly city of sin; to conclude with a final thesis, the Kingdom of Heaven, not a continuous evolution. No matter the citizen’s choice of city, a select chosen would inherit citizenship in the City of God. Thus, there existed no need to detail a utopian polis, as this construct was reserved for Heaven—not earthly government. Augustin believed that by redefining the thesis of Christianity, he could offer his own contributions to counteract the antithesis of our depraved and fallen state; thus, progressing man to the third stage—a restatement of the original thesis: positioning one’s life to reflect the Christian doctrine. Augustin did not believe in a pluralistic world; he would have likely been horrified to discover the current state of affairs. The contemporary political scholar remains sharpened to defend Aristotle’s mixed constitution and prospect of some form of attainable polis, over its omission.
In the modern age, pluralism is now recognized as Biblically supported—God has commissioned His believers to go and make disciples of all nations, (Mat 28:19, Mar 16:15); for a government to ratify faith by policy defeats the entire purpose of the Christian doctrine and the Great Commission itself. Legislated morality is self-defeating, and must come from within; Augustin’s City of God offers an introspective insight into the inner thoughts of a man willing to make such a sacrifice. The American Civil Rights movement supported the government’s ratification of invented rights to prevent racist laws and legislation, deterring the installment of tyrannical classism and racist doctrine; and furthermore control the will of the individual to believe they are equal because of government, and not because all were crafted in the image of God, (Gen 1:27; Acts, 17:26; 2 Cor 3:18). The U.S. Constitution’s Establishment Clause ensures that the government will not create a national religion; preserving our pluralistic nation and the Christian obligation to evangelize His Great Commission to all God’s creatures that inhabit this planet. National religions, as witnessed with the Roman Catholic Church, themselves become the editors of doctrine, contorting the sacrifice made by Christ to suit their needs.
Augustin would likely implore Americans to focus on ontological thought, rather than epistemological considerations; for to inquire about what we are is greater than to omit creation and question why things are. Augustin would revel in enthusiasm to find his work still existent—whose attitude would soon decline in dismay that after over witnessing one and a half millennia humanity still suffers from the same persistent disease of conflict. Augustin would declare that “The safe and true way to heaven is made by humility, which lifts up the heart to the Lord, not against Him; as this giant is said to have been a ‘hunter against the Lord,’” (Augustin, Loc., 13845).
Conclusion
Augustine of Hippo [Augustin] remains a pivotal figure in history, whereby invoking introspective ontological consideration into theology—the politics of the Mediæval age. Augustin’s inquiry inspired Christians to reconsider their own actions, take a closer look at their decisions. Augustin proposed salvation, yet acknowledged our depraved and fallen state was decreed by God; a contingency that precluded polis, instead offering a dichotomy between the regulation of one’s behavior in accordance with Scripture; the other, succumbing to our fallen and depraved state. Augustin did not reject the sovereignty of man, and his free will; instead he proposed that self-conformity to the Christian doctrine would enable one to live with contentment, knowing they would enter Heaven upon the end of their life. Man should not strive for his own independence, not defend his own life; but instead seek refuge in the word of the Lord, live by Scripture, and position himself for the glory of Heaven. Conversely, Augustin did not predict that humanity would perpetuate itself to its current state; dismissing the importance of technology and culture. Augustin’s political theory reveals that despite his desire to achieve a state of sinless perfection, he was ultimately fallen; thereby human. We are depraved in our fallen state, yet must consistently work to improve ourselves without judgment of others.. Augustin’s City of God remains a call to the self-inquiry of the individual, his sovereignty, and the Scriptural obligation he bears to invest himself into temporal commonwealth under God, as we await our entrance to Heaven. Augustin eventually entered the Kingdom of God in 430 A.D., four years after releasing his masterpiece the City of God; yet his influential political theory remained—setting forth a contemporary wave of introspective ontological inquest that would permanently alter the nature politics; enumerating man’s persistent conquest of truth
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