Saint Augustine's Analysis Of Lucretia, Cato, And Regulus

As time passes by people, society, the word is evolving. Whether it is our mindsets, rules, or ideologies they are constantly changing. At one point in time people believed that homosexuality was unnatural and a sin. Fast-forward to modern times and society has most definitely widen their mindset and religion has also changed their stance on the gay community. Thus if religion can change and evolve isn’t it plausible what was once viewed in the past as right can be wrong today? Could this be the case for Saint Augustine and his analysis of Lucretia, Cato, and Regulus? It is plausible that understandings can change and what was considered “right” back then is now wrong or vise-versa. Certainly it is arguable that their can be certain exceptions

After failing to seduce Lucretia the prince chooses to rape her and threatens her family if she refuses to sleep with him. In roman culture it was believed that, “Women should fight to the death, and if they don’t it means they are complicit”(Presentation 22). With having no choice Lucretia in the end decides that she must kill herself in his book Augustine covers this kind of thinking he states, “There is no possible way out if she is adulterous, why is she praised….if chaste why was she murdered?”(Book 1,Chapter 19). In this instance Augustine realizes what Roman culture will say about Lucretia yet he still says that suicide was the wrong choice and was not needed. I don’t agree of his analysis because in the end it is Lucretia Suicide that gives way to the overthrow of the Tarquin family. In a way Lucretia could be considered a martyr. Isn’t the definition for martyr is someone dying for their beliefs whether they are religious or not? She in a way knew that this was the only way she could prove that Tarquin raped her and it gave her family a reason to fight back. In this instance because there was a greater net benefit for Lucretia to die in this instance her suicide is justifiable, but in the case of Cato, Augustine, truly hit the nail on the

In today’s time I believe people can see where Augustine was coming from but as I have said before ideologies change as time passes and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Who knows maybe in time Augustine’s original analysis of the Roman heroes might become favorable