ABSTRACT
It is necessary to examine Saint Augustine's arguments for the coercion of heretics because the arguments appear to undermine his general understanding of love of God and of neighbor as virtue. Greater attention is instead given to Augustine's nuanced justification of the coercion of violent heretics and their leaders. Augustine understood heresy as a species of moral corruption that accompanied other kinds of moral pollution, particularly violence, of which the Donatists were guilty. Donatist principles expressed themselves in violence, and contributed to the disintegration of the Western Roman Empire. Until 408, Augustine rejected imperial laws compelling Donatists to become Catholic, but he changed his mind once he appreciated the efficacy of the laws. Augustine thought that the Donatists had separated themselves from the worldwide Christian communion and believed, therefore, that the most appropriate punishment would be exile rather than corporal punishment.
