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1. Saint Augustine and the bona of Marriage
The greatest of Augustine's legacies in this field is his doctrine of the matrimonial bona. He sees marriage as essentially characterized by three principal elements or properties each of which shows the goodness and greatness of the marital relationship.[18] So convinced is he that each of these characteristics underpins the goodness of marriage that he refers to each not just as a "property" or "characteristic" but as a bonum, as something good, as a uniquely positive value: "Let these nuptial goods be the objects of our love: offspring, fidelity, the unbreakable bond... Let these nuptial goods be praised in marriage by him who wishes to extol the nuptial institution."[19]
This doctrine of the bona is without a doubt Augustine's main contribution to the analysis of marriage in its divinely instituted beauty. And it has come down to us over 1500 years of unbroken tradition.[20]
Another important legacy of Augustine has colored ecclesial reflection on sexuality and marriage: his teaching about the presence and effect of concupiscence in all sexual activity, including marital intercourse between spouses themselves. It is this aspect of his thought that interests us here.