Augustine of Hippo's On Free Choice is a philosophical dialogue whose twists and turns have often puzzled its interpreters. Here, Augustine defends the limited but necessary function of human or “temporal” law in an argument that would profoundly influence Western political thought for centuries. In this volume, Daniel E. Burns offers the first detailed commentary on Book One of On Free Choice. Contrary to what is often assumed about Augustine, Burns show that his philosophy of law is intended to guide a wide range of readers into a deeper understanding of their own political convictions. Burns also explores the moral importance of experiences that Augustine and other Christians share with their non-Christian fellow citizens. Notably, his study provides the full philosophical context for Augustine's most important statements on the nature and essential limitations of human law.

‘Daniel Burns's learned text demonstrates in clear terms how Augustine's account of human law in the important but relatively ignored first book of On Free Choice remains relevant and engaging for both Christian and non-Christian readers today. It is a must read for students of Augustine's political thought as well as for those interested in the history of western philosophy of law.'

Robert Dodaro - former President of the Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum

‘My interest in Augustine has always been avid and twofold, focusing on his ministry as a model bishop, and his Christian witness in an era of anxiety and cultural turmoil. In Augustine's Philosophy of Law, Professor Burns has brilliantly added another dimension to my list.  His reflections on law, Church and state, and religious tolerance as found in Augustine's cornerstone text ‘On Free Choice,' are fresh, articulate, and-most importantly-persuasive.'

Charles J. Chaput - Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia

‘Reading Augustine's Philosophy of Law is like sitting in on a seminar led by a master teacher guiding students line by line through Augustine's ‘On Free Choice' This eminently readable and deeply insightful book establishes Daniel Burns as the preeminent scholar of his generation on Augustine's legal thought.'

Ryan T. Anderson - President of The Ethics and Public Policy Center

‘Augustine's Philosophy of Law: A Commentary on Book One of On Free Choice enables readers to appreciate deeply the humane, dramatic dimensions of the Ciceronian dialogue form employed and developed by Augustine in this seminal early work. Augustine's characters, Socratic questioning, and rhetorical subtleties come to light marvelously in Daniel Burns' narrative retelling. Readers engage in Socratic-Augustinian philosophizing simply by following Augustine's Philosophy of Law closely and entering into the conversation and drama, considering Burns' and Augustine's arguments and responding to them, as it were, as another character in the dialogue.'

Mary Keys - Professor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame