This seminar will be led by Natalie Runkle (Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh).

St. Augustine has become notorious for the (perhaps falsely attributed) claim that non-Christian, "pagan" virtues are no more than "splendid vices." Falsely attributed or not, this seminar considers whether such a claim holds water. We will examine Augustine's own view of pagan virtue, as presented in his City of God, and take a look at virtue from the point of view of some pagans -- namely Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics.

Reading: Augustine, 354-430. 1950. The City of God. XIX.4, XIX.25, V.15-17.