Ariane Magny - How Important were Porphyry’s Anti-Christian Ideas to Augustine?

Augustine mentions Porphyry’s ideas against the Christians in the City of God, Letter 102, and On the Harmony of the Gospels, but says that Porphyry was a most wise man. Furthermore, Augustine does not distinguish clearly between Porphyry’s arguments and those of contemporary or late commentators. This paper will argue that to Augustine, Porphyry was a name for the anti-Christian argument, rather than a specific opponent, in contradiction with current studies on Porphyry and Augustine.