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

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

. 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 u ...

'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 between ...

'' 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, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...

's historically dubious claims to have been established at

Hippo The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant ...

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 original sin did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius ( – AD), an ascetic and philosopher from th ...

and

Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

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 North African Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Ruspe, in modern-day Tunisia, during the 5th and 6th century. He has been ca ...

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

Vergilius of Thapso Vigilius of Thapsus (before 484) also known as Vigilius Tapsensis, Vigilius Afer, or Vergil of Tapso, was a 5th-century Bishop of Thapsus in the province Byzacium, in what is now Tunisia, and as well as a theological writer and polemicist. After t ...

), ''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. This commentary was erroneously attributed for a long time to St. Ambrose, hence the na ...

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

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...

'' actually by

Caesarius of Arles Caesarius of Arles ( la, Caesarius Arelatensis; 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 Merovingian ...

. There are also spurious philosophical works attributed to Augustine, such as ''Categoriae x ex Aristotele decerptae''. The 5th-century pseudo-Augustinian letter ''

Gravi de pugna ''Gravi de pugna'' is a forged letter written 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. The letter wa ...

'' was often cited to justify war.

References

Latin pseudepigrapha Augustine of Hippo {{Christianity-studies-stub