'Populares' and 'circumcelliones'

The vocabulary of 'fallen man' in Cicero and St. Augustine

Augustine's attacks on the circumcelliones, bands of dispossessed Dontist peasants who were ravaging North Africa, compare closely with those of Cicero against the populares in the Pro Sestio, particulary in the use of such words as furor, audax, and perditus. Augustine's use of Cicero's political t...

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Bibliographic Details
Author:Neal West
Volume:VII
Pages:33-51
Notes:Exeter
Periodical:History of political thought
Format:Article
Topic:- Biography > Background > Northern Africa > Church, Liturgy, African Monachism > Circoncellions
- Biography > Relations and Sources > Donatism. Tyconius > Donatists
- Biography > Relations and Sources > Platonism - Neo-platonism > Platonism of Varro, Cicero and Virgil > Cicero
Status:Needs Review
Description
Summary:Augustine's attacks on the circumcelliones, bands of dispossessed Dontist peasants who were ravaging North Africa, compare closely with those of Cicero against the populares in the Pro Sestio, particulary in the use of such words as furor, audax, and perditus. Augustine's use of Cicero's political terminology may indicate that Augustine viewed the Donatist as an essentially political movement.