M. (11th-century witness) — translation preserving punctuation
Since I am to dispute henceforth concerning the twofold city. — the earthly, namely, and the heavenly, with their due limits, I see that I must first lay out how far the nature of this work permits its completion, the arguments of mortals. By these they strove to make beatitude for themselves in the unhappiness of this life, so that, from their vain things, our hope may be distinguished what differs from what God has given us. & the very thing itself is that true beatitude which he will give not only by divine authority. but also, when reason is applied, of the sort which, on account of the unbelieving, we can (apply), may be made clear. (Okay — wow. Long sentence. Breathe. This is classic Augustine: periodic, piling clauses up like a sandwich. — Ally scribbles a little worried face → )
Marginalia doodle: (•_•)
<) ) ~~~
/ \ < tiny thought-bubble: "beatitude?"
Editorial decisions (M.): I preserved the manuscript's sentence breaks and major pauses (notably the period after "civitatis utriusque") because the 11th‑c. witness places weight there and that spacing shapes Augustine's periodic rhythm. I rendered "civitatis utriusque" as "the twofold city" (keeping the classical translation) and kept "beatitude" rather than a more modern synonym because the theological resonance is important. The ampersand (&) is kept where the manuscript uses it, as a small visual cue of continuity. I supplied implied words in English (e.g., "which he will give") when the Latin elides them, but kept parentheses where an English reader needs a small insertion to follow the syntax. I kept the sense of the nested subordinate clauses (per Oberhelman) to preserve the rising, then resolving cadence typical of Augustine.
N. (14th-century witness) — translation preserving manuscript punctuation (slashes, dots)
Since I shall argue henceforth about the twofold city, earthly indeed and heavenly. — with due limits I see next that I must dispute / first must be set forth how much of the work of finishing this is permitted by its nature . the arguments of mortals • by which they endeavored to make bliss for themselves in the misery of this life • so that from their vain goods our hope be distinguished / what differs / than what God has given us and the thing itself / this is true beatitude / which he will give / not only by divine authority • but also, reason being applied / of what sort because of the unbelieving we can (apply) may become clear (Okay, slashes everywhere. Deeply medieval punctuation. I'm typing like a lawyer with lipstick. — Ally draws a tiny pair of shoes in the margin and a question mark.)
Marginalia doodle: <3 \(^_^)/
/|\ ~ scribble: "Which sort of reason?"
|
/ \
Editorial decisions (N.): I strictly reproduced the manuscript's punctuation choices: slashes (/) are retained as short caesural cuts between clauses, and the interpunct/dot (•) is rendered as a sentence-divider where the scribe places extra weight. These marks are important for the 14th‑c. witness: they fragment the periodic motion into sharper stops, and I preserved that effect in English by keeping the slashes and dots in the translation rather than normalizing to modern punctuation. Where the manuscript encloses "(adhibere)" in parentheses I kept an equivalent parenthesis in English to show the scribe/editor's supplied reading; where the text compresses or omits endings (typical late‑medieval scribal economy), I supplied minimal words in parentheses to keep rhythm but not to overinterpret. Choice of "bliss/beatitude" leans toward the older theological lexicon to echo Augustine's register; where the Latin leaves relational particles terse, I retained terse English (e.g., "which he will give / not only by divine authority • but also"). Finally, I followed Oberhelman's guidance by echoing Augustine's balanced periods but allowed the manuscript's punctuation to modulate the cadence into measured fragments.
Final note (Ally's study asides)
(Ally closes her notebook: "Ugh — ancient punctuation is like trying to do yoga in a phone booth.") — She taps her pen and draws one last tiny crown near "true beatitude" because, she whispers, "kingdom stuff." — page corner fold doodle: a tiny ladder climbing to a cloud.