The Pursuit Of Happiness In St. Augustine's The City Of God

In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle asserts that happiness signifies man’s ultimate purpose in life. He believed happiness was a natural purpose obtained in this life by living with moral and intellectual virtue. In The City of God, St. Augustine contrasts Aristotle by asserting humans have a supernatural purpose and therefore people can’t obtain happiness in this life. True happiness, as an unchanging state of eudaimonia, is everlasting and obtained by establishing peace of the soul and body. Humans are created with a supernatural purpose because they are inclined to suffering on earth, can’t be eternally happy on earth, and therefore can only achieve eternal happiness through supernatural means in heaven.

Humans are inclined to suffering on earth. Suffering has been unavoidable for humans since Adam and Eve’s original sin. Evil, as an unwavering opponent to the supreme good, constantly creates misfortune for mankind. Augustine wisely notes that, “There is no pain of body, driving out pleasure, that may not befall the wise man, no anxiety that may not banish calm,” (139). Every human on earth is exposed to the cruelties of this world

and therefore must endure the suffering that results. Furthermore, as mankind continues to grow and develop, so does the amount of chaos that occurs. Augustine notes, “The bigger the community, the fuller it is of misfortunes,” (142). As earth’s population increases exponentially, it is vulnerable to an increasing number of wrongdoings, and therefore will continue to provide a platform for human suffering.
It is impossible for an individual to be eternally happy if he is constantly surrounded by evil. The inevitable suffering that occurs on earth clearly has a negative effect on mankind. Man is created with the natural instinct to love himself, and cherish life. However, a plethora of humans tragically commit suicide each year. When regarding the effects of suffering, it is clear that, “These ills must be very real indeed if they can subdue the very instinct of nature that struggles in every possible way to put death off; overwhelm it so utterly that death, once shunned, is now desired, sought, and, when all else fails, is self inflicted,” (142). Because man is born with the natural tendency to cherish life, something must occur that changes his state of mind to hating life to the point where he desires death. Although the suffering that humans experience does not always result in suicide, suffering clearly has the capacity to negatively affect humans. Because humans are constantly vulnerable to suffering, and therefore its harmful effects, everlasting happiness in this life remains impossible for them to obtain.
Heaven, unlike earth, can provide eternal happiness for humans. As Aristotle asserted, humans have an end purpose of happiness. Therefore, if the happiness is not attainable on earth, then it must be obtained in the afterlife. In order to obtain permanent happiness, an atmosphere of peace is essential, as evil and its harmful effects are absent. Fortunately, the heavenly city has this atmosphere of peace that comes as a result of “a perfectly ordered and harmonious communion of those who find their joy in God and in one another in God,” (152). The heavenly city has constant peace, rather than pain and suffering, which allows humans to achieve their ultimate purpose of permanent happiness.
One might argue that humans have a purely natural purpose and happiness is obtainable in this life. Aristotle, in particular, asserted that humans obtained happiness by living virtuously and that after obtaining virtue and therefore happiness, an individual maintains both of those entities for eternity. Thomas Aquinas, as a median between Aristotle and Augustine, asserted in his Summa Theologiae that there was imperfect happiness that is achievable on earth and perfect happiness that is obtainable by supernatural means. Although Aristotle correctly states that humans can obtain happiness in this life, the happiness he discusses is temporary. Humans are susceptible to the atrocities of the world and therefore can’t constantly maintain happiness. An individual loses his physical integrity when he needs an amputation and his beauty can be ruined by sickness. As humans undergo change, so do their emotional states. Inevitably, humans will suffer on earth, and therefore they will not maintain a sustainable, permanent state of happiness. Aquinas is incorrect because if happiness represents the ultimate purpose for humans, it must be eternal. Humans often experience brief moments of joy and exhilaration, but that does not mean they are fulfilling their ultimate purpose of existence. The “temporary happiness” that Aquinas describes does not embody a fulfillment of human’s ultimate purpose and therefore signifies an inadequate objection to Augustine’s assertions that humans have a supernatural purpose.
Humans are created with a supernatural purpose because they are naturally inclined to suffering on earth, can’t be eternally happy on earth, and therefore can only achieve eternal happiness through supernatural means in heaven.

Evil endures as a never-ending force in opposition of humans, and causes humans immense suffering. This suffering makes it impossible to truly be happy in this life. Although humans can experience brief moments of happiness on earth, they are not truly happy because their happiness will always be temporary. Rather, people attain true happiness in heaven, where the presence of evil is nonexistent and the atmosphere of peace reigns supreme. Happiness, as the ultimate purpose of man’s existence, is attainable only for individuals in heaven who have earned it from an entire life of living under the word of the

Lord.