What is morality according to Saint Augustine of Hippo?

A:

Augustine's version of morality was a form of unqualified absolutism. For him, not all falsifications are lies, but only those falsifications with intention to deceive qualify as lies. A person is to be judged as lying or not lying according to his intention, not by the truth or falsity of his expressions.

Lying to ward off rape, or even to save a life, is strictly forbidden by Augustine's unqualified absolutism, for one's choice is really between the permission of another's sin or the commission of his own sin. Augustine was aware of passages in The Bible that seem to record many cases of justified lying, and attempted to explain them in terms of unqualified absolutism.

Finally, Augustine admitted that not all acts are intrinsically good or evil, so perhaps acts such as lying are not intrinsically evil either. Augustine struggled with these issues while trying to maintain his teaching of unqualified absolutism. He also found the need, for the good of the Church, to express what might otherwise be called a lie and once again had to be creative in his ethical philosophy. Like graded absolutists (as opposed to unqualified absolutists), Augustine believes there is a hierarchy of sins, some being worse than others. In harmony with graded absolutists, Augustine believes that it is the greater good, not the lesser evil, to follow the higher moral duty in conflicting situations.

Augustine at first opposed the persecution of schismatics such as Donatists, and the use of coercion, saying he preferred to bring them to the Catholic Church by persuasion. Augustine eventually reversed his position and decided to endorse coercion. He claimed there are two kinds of persecution, "an unjust persecution which the wicked inflict on the Church of Christ [Catholic Church], and ... a just persecution which the Church of Christ inflicts on the wicked [non-Catholics]."