Augustine's Use of Didymus the Blind on John 5.19

Abstract

Abstract:Augustine cites the beginning of Didymus's De Spiritu sancto in his Quaestiones in Heptateuchum, which he began in 419. Some scholars think that Augustine read no more than the beginning of Didymus's work; others think that he read and made use of Didymus but have identified no textual correspondence between the two. I argue that Augustine's use of Didymus's De Spiritu sancto may be seen in his citation and interpretation of John 5.19. Augustine uses an unusual scriptural variant for the ending of John 5.19 twelve times. Nine of these occur in trinitarian works produced around 419–20. The variant also appears in Jerome's translation of Didymus's De Spiritu sancto. There is further evidence linking Augustine to Didymus's discussion of John 5.19. I argue that Augustine found the variant in Jerome's translation and that he made creative use of Didymus's construal of John 16.13 and 5.19 in several trinitarian writings produced around 419–20.