The real meaning of the expression iuris consensus, in the definition of the people quoted by
Augustine in Civ. II, 21 and XIX, 21, can be understood only on the background of Roman
legal thought. It refers to the subjective rights of the person (ius). However Augustine reverses
the traditional relationship between these rights and the State: the acknowledgment of
the former is the foundation of the latter, not vice versa. Consensus is the covenant according
to which the State binds itself to respect the rights of the individuals and thus legitimates its
power. From this point of view, Augustine paves the way to modern constitutionalism.
