ABSTRACT
The Greek metaphor of genesis and decay is an integral part of the Christian philosophy of mankind. It exists, however, within the rigorous limits set by the Hebrew record of man's relation to God. Philosophy of human history and development: one that sprang from a Christian premise that is a blend of Greek and Hebrew intellectual elements. The epitome of the Augustinian vision of the history and development of mankind is to be found in the following brief passage: "The education of the human race", he begins in a phrasing that would continue virtually unchanged to the twentieth century, "represented by the people of God. Even the specific form in which Augustine uses the analogy—that is, the human individual, rather than plant or organic life in general#8212;was a familiar one to Romans. For although the Hebrew idea of a sovereign deity is Augustine's basic premise, what follows conceptually from this is not without strong elements of the Greek.
