ETHICS just war at least one side is acting sinfully (DCD XIX 7) And only a state in which justice prevails has the right to order its soldiers to kill ‘Remove justice, and what are kingdoms but criminal gangs writ large’? (DCD IV 4) Nonetheless, he is willing to give historical examples of wars that he considers divinely sanctioned: for instance, the defence of northern Italy against the Ostrogoths, which ended with the spectacular victory of the imperial general Stilicho at Fiesole in 405 (DCD V 23) What of killing by private citizens, in self-defence or in defence of the life of a third party? Augustine does not seem to have made up his mind whether this was legitimate, and passages in his letters can be quoted in both senses But on one topic much contested in Hellenistic philosophy Augustine is quite Wrm: suicide is unlawful The command ‘Thou shalt not kill’ applies to oneself as much as to other human beings (DCD I 20) The issue was topical when Augustine began writing The City of God because during the sack of Rome in 410 many Christian men and women killed themselves to avoid rape or enslavement Augustine maintains that no reason can ever justify suicide Suicide in the face of material deprivation is a mark of weakness, not greatness of soul Suicide to avoid dishonour—such as that of the Roman Cato, unwilling to bow to the tyranny of Julius Caesar—brings only greater dishonour (DCD I 23–4) Suicide to escape temptation to sin, though the least reprehensible form of suicide, is nonetheless unworthy of a Christian who trusts in God Suicide to escape rape—an action which some other Christians, such as Ambrose, regarded as heroic—falls even more Wrmly under Augustine’s condemnation, because to be raped is no sin and should bring no shame on an unconsenting victim (DCD I 19) Augustine is less forthright in defence of human rights other than the right to life He asks whether a magistrate does well to torture witnesses in order to extract evidence He spells out eloquently the evils inherent in the practice: a third-party witness suVers, though not himself a wrongdoer; an innocent accused may plead guilty to avoid torture, and even when the victim of torture is actually guilty, he may lie nonetheless and escape punishment Overall, the pain of torture is certain while its evidential value is dubious Nonetheless, Augustine says Wnally, a wise man cannot refuse to carry out the duties of a magistrate, however unsavoury He was perhaps unaware that torture had been condemned by a synod of bishops at Rome in 384 256