Da legitimidade da posse das riquezas à luz de dois Sermões agostinianos (15/A e 50)

This study manifests Saint Augustine’s position, in the form of texts that are moments of preaching (Sermons 15/A and 50), concerning the right to the human ownership of riches, that is to say, of goods in general: this possession just finds its whole justification in its relation to its good use, to its use as a contribution to the universal good. This is not an extrinsic but an intrinsic finality of the use of riches. Thus, the right to the use of riches depends on the good use there are destined to. Possession of riches is therefore not an absolute right, perhaps destitute of founding reason, but constitutes a relative right, that derives its rightness from the goodness of that to what it proposes itself to achieve. This applies to the possession of any riches, so it applies also to the possession of one´s own being, possession that is justified only if it is used in the service of the universal good.