奥古斯丁论奴隶制

围绕着奴隶制的起源、奴隶的社会地位、奴隶主和奴隶的关系等问题,著名的古代基督教思想家奥古斯丁作了较多的论述,他的奴隶制观在西方古代思想史上占有相当重要的地位。本文立足于对其拉丁文本的分析,分个人态度、社会秩序观与基督教伦理三方面,系统地探讨了奥古斯丁对奴隶和奴隶制的认识,指出其奴隶制观既在一定程度上体现了基督教的人道主义精神,又具有明显的历史局限性。

Augustine on Slavery

As the most accomplished social thinker in the Christian patristic era,Augustine of Hippe presents detailed discussions on slavery in his writings,dealing with the origin of slavery,the social status of slaves,the mastery-slave relationship and so on.Based on a close reading of his texts,this paper examines his ideas on slavery from three perspectives:his personal attitudes,his notion of social order and the influence of Christian ethics.The author argues that Augustine's view evinces to some degree the spirit of Christian humanism,albeit with their historical limits.