La utilización de san Pablo en los In Epistulam Iohannis ad Parthos Tractatus de san Agustín (II)

Abstract

It is well known that St. John and St. Paul are the two authors of the New Testament preferred by the bishop of Hippo, if preference is measured by dedication to his writings and recourse to them. However, of the two hagiographers who exerts more weight in the saint’s thought? Which one occupies the first place? Read from this perspective his Treatise on the letter of St. John to the Parthians (1 John), the answer is clear: The Apostle has won the game to the evangelist. The present study examines, first various aspects of the use of the Apostle in the Treatise (his frequency, modes of quotation, technique of quotation, syntactic functions of the quotation...) and, then, the various objectives the texts of Saint Paul fulfil in the commentary on the Johannine letter (confirmation, addition, solution of questions, development of parallel themes, understanding of other biblical texts, controversy, etc.). The analysis of the texts reveals how the preacher prefers Saint Paul to Saint John; how Pauline theology overcomes the Johannine; how the saint does not waste any resources to make the leap from Saint John to Saint Paul. Saint Paul seems to be for Saint Augustine, de facto, a good interpreter of Saint John. Distinct however is if what the Bishop of Hippo thinks is consistent with the truth.