This paper argues that St Augustine's presentation of Varro's "Antiquitates rerum divinarum" in "City of God" was pivotal to the latter text's disappearance. It shows how Augustine used the Antiquitates' tripartite theology (poetic, civil, and natural) to destroy Varro's authority on traditional Roman religion. In Augustine's reading, Varro's open criticism of the gods of myth and poetry implied an equal rejection of the civil cult. This left the natural gods of the philosophers, but Augustine derided Varro's attempts at philosophical theology. The result was that, to readers of the "City of God", the "Antiquitates rerum divinarum" appeared as a failure: Varro had been incapable of justifying traditional Roman religion, while lacking the courage to attack it openly. Readers could then turn to the "City of God" itself as a better guide to the Roman gods, and there was no further need to read or copy the "Antiquitates"

中文翻译：

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圣奥斯丁和瓦罗的消失

本文认为，圣奥古斯丁在《上帝的城市》中对瓦罗的《上古时代的叛逆》的介绍对后者文本的消失至关重要。它显示了奥古斯丁如何利用古代的三方神学（诗性的，民间的和自然的）来摧毁瓦罗对传统罗马宗教的权威。在奥古斯丁的阅读中，瓦罗（Varro）对神话和诗歌之神的公开批评暗示了对民间信仰的同等排斥。这留下了哲学家的天神，但奥古斯丁嘲笑了瓦罗对哲学神学的尝试。结果是，对“上帝之城”的读者来说，“上古时代的叛逆”似乎是一个失败：瓦罗（Varro）无法为传统的罗马宗教辩护，但缺乏勇气公开对其进行攻击。