Between Presumption and Despair 1574;1998a,19.4).Augustine often ascribes this vice In another sermon,Augustine describes temptations to those with a false self-estimation.distorted vision toward presumption and despair as "two siren voices or deficient faith (1991a.8710:1997b,352A.6-8).The each opposed to the other,but both dangerous,which despairing fail to see themselves and the world rightly lure people to destruction"(1997b,352A.6).The fact which causes them to withdraw from future goods that that Augustine uses maritime metaphors to describe are actually within reach.The despairing either sink each of these vices as a"whirlpool"(uoraginem)is sig- into a slothful lethargy where they have no motivation nificant,especially in Hippo,a Roman port city where to act rightly,or they recklessly pursue other vices,be- many in his audience were merchants or sailors familiar lieving that the certainty of eternal punishment licenses with the dangers of the sea (1991a,8710-11).19 Vices, at least some form of "temporal enjoyment"(1991a, like whirlpools,are self-consuming,warping a person's 8710;1997b,352A.6-9).Either way,the despairing en- character and creating bonds of habit that are hard to ter a"deep and dizzy whirlpool"where they"turn their alter or escape.Moreover,if virtues aid the ascent to backs"on God and fall"into various sins and vicious wisdom,vices,like whirlpools,cause human beings to forms of behavior"(1991a.8710). curve in on themselves,plunging them into a downward If despair constitutes the vice of deficiency,pre- spiral and pulling them farther away from God and sumption constitutes the vice of excess,the perver- the Good.20 For Augustine,"the right sort of hope"- sion of hope.Those who escape despair,Augustine "good hope"-avoids the whirlpools of both presump- preaches,must "be careful they don't tumble into an- tion and despair(1991a,8710).21 other whirlpool,and find that having been unable to Most often,Augustine discusses hope,presumption, die from despair,they now die from perverse hope," and despair in relation to eternal goods (1991a.8710- which is "equally pernicious"(1991a,8711;cf.1997b, 11:1992a,105.7-8:1997b,352A.6-9:2000,31(2)),but 352A.6).By "perverse hope,"Augustine means a kind since he commends hope for temporal goods,his order of presumption,which characterizes those who "hope of hope can be extended to include proximate objects in the wrong way,"hoping"too much"for certain goods By applying the same distinctions to both hope and 4号元 that are not possible or appropriate,or"too much"in love,Augustine implies that hope for temporal goods God's assistance to achieve them without any effort on can be permissible as long as that hope is properly or- their own part(1997b,352A.7-9).In one sermon,for dered and avoids the vices of presumption and despair & example,he notes that hope can become perverse if it The question is whether Augustine believes distinctly is a "hope for something unworthy,even if you hope political goods can be among hope's proper objects. for it from God"(2000,31(2).6).The implication is that "unworthy"objects are not genuine goods:they can- not be ordered or referred to God.Elsewhere,Augus- HOPE FOR THE COMMONWEALTH tine suggests that hope can also become perverse or In City of God,Augustine famously rejects Cicero's “false”(spem falsam)if it suggests or assumes“more definition of a commonwealth(res publica)as the prop- than the facts warranted"(1997a,3.30.43).Here pre- erty of a people "united in fellowship by common sumption entails an excessive epistemic confidence in agreement as to what is right and by a community of the possibility of realizing a certain good,which af- interest'”(1998a,2.21:19.21:cf.Cicero1999.1.39).In fects one's motivation to pursue it.Thus,presumption. its place,Augustine offers a "more practicable defini- like despair,can entail apathy or recklessness:the pre- tion"that recognizes a"commonwealth"even if a "peo- sumptuous either assume they have already attained ple"has not achieved true justice (1998a,2.21,19.24). 8 their object of hope and thus do not need to do any- For Augustine,a commonwealth is the property of an thing more to achieve it,or they rush headlong into "assembled multitude of rational creatures bound to- its pursuit without a proper estimation of the risks and gether by a common agreement as to the objects of difficulties involved (2000,31(2).1:1991a.8711:1997b their love”(1998a,19.24).“In this case,”he concludes, 352A.7-9).For Augustine,perverse hope is as danger- "if we are to discover the character of any people,we ous as despair (1991a,8710-11). have only to examine what it loves...no matter what That the virtue of hope is surrounded by vices on the objects of its loves may be"(1998a,19.24). both sides reflects Augustine's dialectic of love and sin Importantly,Augustine does not cast these common where virtue will always be accompanied by tempta- objects of love simply as ultimate,otherworldly ends tions toward vice.The "human mind,"Augustine ar- Rather,he includes proximate,this-worldly goods,the gues,"dithers between opposite dangers,wavering be- good things appropriate to this life"(1998a,19.13). 四 tween confession of its weakness and rash presump- tion,and for the most part it is tossed between these two and battered on either side,and whichever way it is driven there is a ruinous fall awaiting"(2000,31(2).1).18 sumptuous person still has a hope of salvation.whereas the despair- ing person has abandoned this hope,deeming salvation impossible. 19That Augustine identifies vices as"whirlpools"also fits with his pilgrimage motif:vices,like whirlpools,are obstacles on one's journey 1 Here.Augustine is actually describing two kinds of presumption to the heavenly city.For more on Augustine's pilgrimage motif,see that of someone who confesses weakness but believes God will offer Stewart-Kroeker (2017). salvation no matter what,and the "rash presumption"of another who 20 Jenson(2006.6-46)identifies Augustine as a source of the idea of assumes that she can achieve salvation by her own efforts.What dis- tinguishes the "presumption"of one who confesses weakness from On the role of prudence in ordering hope and avoiding presump- the "despair"of another who professes weakness is that the pre- tion and despair,see Lamb (forthcoming). 1043Between Presumption and Despair 157.4; 1998a, 19.4). Augustine often ascribes this vice to those with a false self-estimation, distorted vision, or deficient faith (1991a, 87.10; 1997b, 352A.6–8). The despairing fail to see themselves and the world rightly, which causes them to withdraw from future goods that are actually within reach. The despairing either sink into a slothful lethargy where they have no motivation to act rightly, or they recklessly pursue other vices, be￾lieving that the certainty of eternal punishment licenses at least some form of “temporal enjoyment” (1991a, 87.10; 1997b, 352A.6–9). Either way, the despairing en￾ter a “deep and dizzy whirlpool” where they “turn their backs” on God and fall “into various sins and vicious forms of behavior” (1991a, 87.10). If despair constitutes the vice of deficiency, pre￾sumption constitutes the vice of excess, the perver￾sion of hope. Those who escape despair, Augustine preaches, must “be careful they don’t tumble into an￾other whirlpool, and find that having been unable to die from despair, they now die from perverse hope,” which is “equally pernicious” (1991a, 87.11; cf. 1997b, 352A.6). By “perverse hope,” Augustine means a kind of presumption, which characterizes those who “hope in the wrong way,” hoping “too much” for certain goods that are not possible or appropriate, or “too much” in God’s assistance to achieve them without any effort on their own part (1997b, 352A.7–9). In one sermon, for example, he notes that hope can become perverse if it is a “hope for something unworthy, even if you hope for it from God” (2000, 31(2).6). The implication is that “unworthy” objects are not genuine goods: they can￾not be ordered or referred to God. Elsewhere, Augus￾tine suggests that hope can also become perverse or “false” (spem falsam) if it suggests or assumes “more than the facts warranted” (1997a, 3.30.43). Here pre￾sumption entails an excessive epistemic confidence in the possibility of realizing a certain good, which af￾fects one’s motivation to pursue it. Thus, presumption, like despair, can entail apathy or recklessness: the pre￾sumptuous either assume they have already attained their object of hope and thus do not need to do any￾thing more to achieve it, or they rush headlong into its pursuit without a proper estimation of the risks and difficulties involved (2000, 31(2).1; 1991a, 87.11; 1997b, 352A.7–9). For Augustine, perverse hope is as danger￾ous as despair (1991a, 87.10–11). That the virtue of hope is surrounded by vices on both sides reflects Augustine’s dialectic of love and sin, where virtue will always be accompanied by tempta￾tions toward vice. The “human mind,” Augustine ar￾gues, “dithers between opposite dangers, wavering be￾tween confession of its weakness and rash presump￾tion, and for the most part it is tossed between these two and battered on either side, and whichever way it is driven there is a ruinous fall awaiting” (2000, 31(2).1).18 18 Here, Augustine is actually describing two kinds of presumption, that of someone who confesses weakness but believes God will offer salvation no matter what, and the “rash presumption” of another who assumes that she can achieve salvation by her own efforts. What dis￾tinguishes the “presumption” of one who confesses weakness from the “despair” of another who professes weakness is that the pre￾In another sermon, Augustine describes temptations toward presumption and despair as “two siren voices, each opposed to the other, but both dangerous, which lure people to destruction” (1997b, 352A.6). The fact that Augustine uses maritime metaphors to describe each of these vices as a “whirlpool” (uoraginem) is sig￾nificant, especially in Hippo, a Roman port city where many in his audience were merchants or sailors familiar with the dangers of the sea (1991a, 87.10–11).19 Vices, like whirlpools, are self-consuming, warping a person’s character and creating bonds of habit that are hard to alter or escape. Moreover, if virtues aid the ascent to wisdom, vices, like whirlpools, cause human beings to curve in on themselves, plunging them into a downward spiral and pulling them farther away from God and the Good.20 For Augustine, “the right sort of hope”— “good hope”—avoids the whirlpools of both presump￾tion and despair (1991a, 87.10).21 Most often, Augustine discusses hope, presumption, and despair in relation to eternal goods (1991a, 87.10– 11; 1992a, 105.7–8; 1997b, 352A.6–9; 2000, 31(2)), but since he commends hope for temporal goods, his order of hope can be extended to include proximate objects. By applying the same distinctions to both hope and love, Augustine implies that hope for temporal goods can be permissible as long as that hope is properly or￾dered and avoids the vices of presumption and despair. The question is whether Augustine believes distinctly political goods can be among hope’s proper objects. HOPE FOR THE COMMONWEALTH In City of God, Augustine famously rejects Cicero’s definition of a commonwealth (res publica) as the prop￾erty of a people “united in fellowship by common agreement as to what is right and by a community of interest” (1998a, 2.21; 19.21; cf. Cicero 1999, 1.39). In its place, Augustine offers a “more practicable defini￾tion” that recognizes a “commonwealth” even if a “peo￾ple” has not achieved true justice (1998a, 2.21, 19.24). For Augustine, a commonwealth is the property of an “assembled multitude of rational creatures bound to￾gether by a common agreement as to the objects of their love” (1998a, 19.24). “In this case,” he concludes, “if we are to discover the character of any people, we have only to examine what it loves … no matter what the objects of its loves may be” (1998a, 19.24). Importantly, Augustine does not cast these common objects of love simply as ultimate, otherworldly ends. Rather, he includes proximate, this-worldly goods, the “good things appropriate to this life” (1998a, 19.13). sumptuous person still has a hope of salvation, whereas the despair￾ing person has abandoned this hope, deeming salvation impossible. 19 That Augustine identifies vices as “whirlpools” also fits with his pilgrimage motif: vices,like whirlpools, are obstacles on one’s journey to the heavenly city. For more on Augustine’s pilgrimage motif, see Stewart-Kroeker (2017). 20 Jenson (2006, 6–46) identifies Augustine as a source of the idea of sin as being “curved in on oneself” (incurvatus in se). 21 On the role of prudence in ordering hope and avoiding presump￾tion and despair, see Lamb (forthcoming). 1043 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. Shanghai JiaoTong University, on 26 Oct 2018 at 03:53:05, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055418000345