{"author":null,"backreferences":[{"context_html":"<p>As I see that I have still to discuss the fit destinies of the\r\ntwo cities, the earthly and the heavenly, I must first\r\nexplain, so far as the limits of this work allow me, the reasonings\r\nby which men have attempted to make for themselves a\r\nhappiness in this unhappy life, in order that it may be evident,\r\nnot only from divine authority, but also from such reasons\r\nas can be adduced to unbelievers, how the empty dreams of\r\nthe philosophers differ from the hope which God gives to us,\r\nand from the substantial fulfilment of it which He will give\r\nus as our blessedness. Philosophers have expressed a great\r\nvariety of diverse opinions regarding the ends of goods and of\r\nevils, and this question they have eagerly canvassed, that they\r\nmight, if possible, discover what makes a man happy. For\r\nthe end of our good is that for the sake of which other things\r\nare to be desired, while it is to be desired for its own sake;\r\nand the end of evil is that on account of which other things\r\nare to be shunned, while it is avoided on its own account.\r\nThus, by the <i>end of good</i>, we at present mean, not that by\r\nwhich good is destroyed, so that it no longer exists, but that\r\nby which it is finished, so that it becomes complete; and by\r\nthe <i>end of evil</i> we mean, not that which abolishes it, but that\r\nwhich completes its development. These two ends, therefore,\r\nare the supreme good and the supreme evil; and, as I have<span class=\"pagenum\"><a id=\"Page_294\">[Pg 294]</a></span>\r\nsaid, those who have in this vain life professed the study of\r\nwisdom have been at great pains to discover these ends, and\r\nto obtain the supreme good and avoid the supreme evil in\r\nthis life. And although they erred in a variety of ways, yet\r\nnatural insight has prevented them from wandering from the\r\ntruth so far that they have not placed the supreme good and\r\nevil, some in the soul, some in the body, and some in both.\r\nFrom this tripartite distribution of the sects of philosophy,\r\nMarcus Varro, in his book <i>De Philosophia</i>,<a id=\"FNanchor_619_619\"></a><a class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote_619_619\">[619]</a> has drawn so large\r\na variety of opinions, that, by a subtle and minute analysis of\r\ndistinctions, he numbers without difficulty as many as 288\r\nsects,—not that these have actually existed, but sects which\r\nare possible.</p>","headings":["THE CITY OF GOD.","BOOK NINETEENTH.","ARGUMENT."],"marker_anchor":null,"paragraph_id":"pg45305-paragraph-487"}],"canonical_references":[],"date_end":null,"date_start":null,"deduplication_fingerprint":"8215fb0aa43dad5af20683ec2223d7e7f2a9f44ed9eca74a0da78aa378deaae1","edition_title":"The City of God, Volume II","edition_translators":["Marcus Dods","George Wilson (Books XVII-XVIII)"],"edition_year":1871,"explicit_reference_candidates":[],"headings":[],"id":"pg45305-Footnote_619_619","license_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html","public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"original-editor-translator-note","review_required":["work and recension attribution","original-work chronology","Bible reference numbering and citation kind","English edition rights and attribution"],"review_status":"needs_review","rights_evidence":"Provider catalog reports public domain in the USA. Original transcription title leaves state T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1871; printed translator allocation retained. Gutenberg credits Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries without an exact scan identifier. Full provider license preserved with acquired original; republication and per-work metadata remain unreviewed.","source_anchor":"Footnote_619_619","source_ebook":45305,"source_html":"<div class=\"footnote\">\n<p><a id=\"Footnote_619_619\"></a><a class=\"pginternal\" href=\"#FNanchor_619_619\"><span class=\"label\">[619]</span></a> Not extant.</p></div>","source_sha256":"7e0ced9e70512f3cf050b53c9d548e36b70d468d875153869f95d8aff5bbb530","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45305/pg45305-images.html#Footnote_619_619","text_sha256":"5127a9327541d86ea190bf1e15b148647c6b35f48c8e76d0e2bcd97934185cff","verified":false,"work_id":null}