Augustine and the injustice of the law and legal forms regarding the rape of women

Abstract

This article presents an approach to the issue of rape in the philosophy of Augustine of Hippo that focuses on the philosopher's criticism of the laws and judges of his time, notably in The City of God, I,19,2. For this treatment of the topic, references from Roman law and studies developed by Romanists were considered, to highlight the legal-philosophical character of Augustinian argumentation. My exposition covers four phases: brief contextualization of the analyzed excerpt, translation, division of Augustine's text into four parts and respective analyses, and conclusion.

Keywords
Augustine of Hippo; Roman Law; Rape; Adultery.