Does anyone know the source literature of this quote from St. Augustine:
“There are very many in our day, while not denying the scriptures, do not believe in endless torments”?
Hmm… so I found that it was from his book Enchiridion ad Laur. 29 page 683 but I’m unsure of what the abbreviations mean. Can anyone enlighten me on this?
Perhaps - " Augustine also arranged the consecration of his successor, Laurence of Canterbury. The archbishop probably died in 604 and was soon revered as a saint."
Dedicated to his successor?
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The Enchiridion (which means ‘Handbook’ or ‘Instruction Book’ in Latin) is a compact treatise on Christian piety, written by St, Augustine of Hippo in response to a request by an otherwise unknown person, named Laurentius in 420 A.D. (hence ‘ad Laur’ is an abbreviation of ‘ad Laurentius’ which is ‘to Laurentius’ in Enlgish). The quotation is from Chapter xxix (29) which is titled ‘The Last Things’ and it is paragraph 112 of the treatise. You can find it online here J
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/augustine_enchiridion_02_trans.htm
Hiya Dave - that’s a really good hypothesis, and there is a pattern in the evidence. But it was Augustine of Hippo who wrote the Echiridion rather than Augustine of Canterbury. The reason that I learnt the difference between these two redoubtable ecclesiastical geezers is that Augustine of Canterbury is as much part of my national story as the fouding Fathers are to yours; we were taught about him in primary school.
He was the man who saw English/Anglish slaves being sold in Rome and remarked ‘They are not Angles - they are angels!!!’. He then took ship England to evangelise the pagans. He landed in Kent and converted the King of Kent (whose name was Ethel something or another, and was aa ‘king’ at the time when there were seven ‘kingdoms’ in England). Don’t quote me on him being the one who commented ‘They are not Angles, they are Angels’ - it might have been the Pope who sent him rather than Augustine himself. But the gist is sound.
And then I heared about a St Augustine who said ‘O Lord give me chastity but not yet’. I thought this surely could not be our English St Augustine on the grounds of his words showing a contrary spirit that is ’ different, and very different from the home life of our own dear Queen’. So I looked him up and indeed he was a different St Augustine - the one who gave us original sin, double predestination etc. The grim chap from North Africa rather than our proto-Englishman 
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