Pseudo-Augustine is the name given by scholars to the authors, collectively, of works falsely attributed to

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

. Augustine himself in his ''Retractiones'' lists many of his works, while his disciple

Possidius Possidius (5th century) was a friend of Augustine of Hippo who wrote a reliable biography and an ''indiculus'' or list of his works. He was bishop of Calama in the Roman province of Numidia. Biography The dates of his birth and death are unk ...

tried to provide a complete list in his ''Indiculus''. Despite this check, false attributions to Augustine abound.Allan D. Fitzgerald (ed.), ''Augustine Through the Ages: An Encyclopedia'' (William B. Eerdmans, 1999), p. 530. The ''Sermones ad fratres in eremo'' is a collection of pseudo-Augustinian sermons.The Latin text is found in

Migne Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a ...

's ''

Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published betwe ...

'' 40:1233–1358. It is by far the most prominent. It was printed along with Augustine's other sermons at Basel in 1494 by

Johann Amerbach Johann Amerbach (1444 in Amorbach, Germany; 25 December 1514 in Basel, Switzerland) was a celebrated printer in Basel in the 15th century. He was the first printer in Basel to use the Roman type instead of Gothic and Italian and spared no expense ...

. Their authenticity was rejected by the Maurists in the 17th century. Once thought to be the work of Geoffroy Babion in the 12th century, it is now accepted that the ''Sermones'' were composed by an anonymous Belgian in the 14th century. They were forged with an apparent intention of strengthening the mendicant

Order of Saint Augustine The Order of Saint Augustine (), abbreviated OSA, is a mendicant order, mendicant catholic religious order, religious order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who ...

's historically dubious claims to have been established at

Hippo The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic Mammal, mammal native to su ...

by Augustine himself. Among pseudo-Augustinian works on spirituality are the ''Manuale'' and ''Meditationes''. Among the pseudonymous polemical works relating to the

Pelagian Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the fall did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius (), an ascetic and philosopher from the British Isles, ta ...

and

Arian Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered he ...

conflicts are ''De fide ad Petrum'' (actually by

Fulgentius of Ruspe Fabius Claudius Gordianus Fulgentius, also known as Fulgentius of Ruspe (462 or 467 – 1 January 527 or 533), was a North African Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Ruspe in what is now Tunisia, during the 5th and 6th century. He is vene ...

), ''De unitate Trinitatis contra Felicianum'' (actually by

Vergilius of Thapso Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the ''Eclogues'' ( ...

), ''Altercatio cum Pascentio Ariano'', ''Hypomnesticon contra Pelagianos et Caelestianos'' and ''De praedestinatione et gratia''. On biblical exegesis there are ''Quaestiones Veteris et Novi Testamenti'' (probably by

Ambrosiaster Ambrosiaster or Pseudo-Ambrose is the name given to the unknown author of a commentary on the epistles of Saint Paul, written some time between 366 and 384AD. The name "Ambrosiaster" in Latin means "would-be Ambrose". Various conjectures have b ...

), ''Testimonia divinae scripturae et patrum'', ''Liber de divinis scripturis sive Speculum'' and a commentary on the ''

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

'' actually by

Caesarius of Arles Caesarius of Arles (; 468/470 27 August 542 AD), sometimes called "of Chalon" (''Cabillonensis'' or ''Cabellinensis'') from his birthplace Chalon-sur-Saône, was the foremost ecclesiastic of his generation in Christianity in Merovingian Gaul, Mer ...

. There are also spurious philosophical works traditionally and erroneously attributed to Augustine, such as the '' Categoriae decem ex Aristotele decerptae'', a Latin paraphrase of the ''

Categories Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy *Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) *Categories (Peirce) *Category (Vais ...

'' of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

. ''De igne purgatorio'' by Caesarius of Arles has at times been misattributed to Augustine. The 5th-century pseudo-Augustinian letter ''

Gravi de pugna is a pseudepigrapha, forged letter written Pseudo-Augustine, in the name of Augustine of Hippo which asserts that the morally superior side is always superior in battle and therefore that wars are proven to be just wars by their military success. ...

'' was often cited to justify war. Other Pseudo-Augustinian works are: *''De ratione fidei''Durham Cathedral Library MS B.II.20
/ref> *''De ordine creaturarum'' *''De cognitione verae vitae'' *''Sermo de symbolo contra Iudaeos, paganos et Arianos'' *''De quatuor virtutibus caritatis'' *''De vita christiana'', possibly by Pelagius or Fastidius *''De quatuor virtutibus caritatis'' *''Sermo de penitentia animae'' *''Sermo de tempore barbarico'' *''De tribus habitaculis animae'' *''Sermo de humilitate et obedientia''

References

{{authority control Latin pseudepigrapha Augustine of Hippo