CTI 302 — Oct 7 | Augustine | 12 Quick Cards

October 7, 2026: 12 quick cards covering all three CTI 302 study prompts. Study interpretations, not an instructor answer key. SOURCES: Canvas questions and Confessions I.1–5 handout: https://utexas.instructure.com/courses/1458104/discussion_topics/5849300 | City of God I, Preface: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/120101.htm | II.20: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/120102.htm | IV.4–5, 15: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/120104.htm | Plato, Republic I.351c–352c: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0168%3Abook%3D1 | REFERENCE NOTE: The prompt names IV.5; the reading list assigns IV.4. The robber/pirate comparison is in IV.4, and IV.5 discusses escaped gladiators. Both are covered.

Why is the human heart restless? (Confessions I.1)

God made humans for himself, so created things cannot provide their final fulfillment. The heart finds lasting rest in God.

Why do weak, sinful humans still long to praise God? (Confessions I.1)

They are God's creatures, and God himself awakens their delight in praising him. Their longing depends on his initiative, not human self-sufficiency.

How can someone seek a God they do not yet know? (Confessions I.1)

Augustine asks how knowing, seeking, and calling on God fit together. Faith received through Christ and preaching enables him to call on God while seeking deeper knowledge.

What does Augustine ask God to do within him? (Confessions I.5)

Enter his heart, give him rest, and become his saving joy. His soul is too cramped, damaged, and impure: he asks God to enlarge, repair, and cleanse it, and forgive his sins.

What is the theme of City of God? (I, Preface)

A defense of God's city: now a pilgrim community living by faith among the ungodly, ultimately awaiting eternal stability, victory, and perfect peace.

What corrupt motive rules the earthly city? (I, Preface)

Pride and the lust to dominate. The city rules other nations but is itself enslaved to its desire to rule; Augustine contrasts this with humility and God's grace.

What do corrupt citizens want from politics? (II.20)

Wealth, pleasure, security, and power over others rather than moral goodness. Discussion test: this exposes selfish politics, but does it explain every case of public service?

Why compare unjust kingdoms to robber bands? (IV.4)

Both can have leaders, agreements, and rules for sharing spoils. Organization alone does not make a community just; a successful gang may gain territory and immunity without losing its greed.

What is the pirate's point to Alexander? (IV.4)

The pirate and emperor both seize what belongs to others. The emperor's larger fleet gives him prestige and impunity, not proof of justice.

How does Augustine's robber example differ from Socrates'? (Republic I, 351c–352c)

Socrates argues that even robbers need some internal justice to cooperate. Augustine stresses that internal order and political success can coexist with injustice. Cooperation does not establish that a group's ends are just.

What happens in IV.5, the chapter named in the study prompt?

Escaped gladiators build an army powerful enough to frighten Rome. Their success challenges the claim that imperial power proves divine favor. Note: the robber/pirate comparison is in IV.4; the prompt names IV.5.

Should good people desire a larger empire? (IV.15)

They should prefer peaceful, just neighbors. A just war may be necessary against aggression, but wishing for others' wrongdoing so one can conquer them is itself wrong.