Augustine speaks about the justification of a rape victim's innocence prior to Chapter 19 and continues to that of suicide shortly following it. In Chapter 19, he uses Lucretia as an example of a suicide because of the shame she felt caused by rape, also serving as a bridge between these two heavy topics.
Augustine had already established that in the case of rape, in definition, "involves no blame to the sufferer"(Bk.1, Ch. 16). However in the case of Lucretia's rape, it is commonly contested among literary scholars of antiquity whether it provided her some degree of pleasure to which she submitted to her perpetrator's actions or was a genuine act of resistance on her part, and thus considered rape through and through. This then leads to the question of the justification of her suicide. Was the shame that drove her to suicide derived from her submission, and even perhaps, enjoyment of her "rape", or from the humiliation of being raped? Had she submitted, being overwhelmed by sensual experiences and therefore found a degree of pleasure in it, her suicide would have been a self-inflicted capital punishment. This might seem like a good justification, however, Augustine argues that capital punishment in solely reserved for a position of governmental authority. If it were of only humiliation, her suicide would be considered murder of one's self, and biblically considered a sin. As far as the innocence of her rape, Augustine once again cites this to her deepest and genuine intentions and motives. Was she raped due to submission of the senses, or was it due to her body being physically unable to resist? Augustine finds no guilt in the act of being raped, assuming it was true rape and no physical nor mental submission was given, only God can determine this. But suicide on the other hand, is no morally correct answer to anything.
As this relates to the City of God, Augustine is making the direct connection between Lucretia's body and the city of Rome. He notes that it is not fault of Rome that it was invaded, nor was it a divine punishment. Rome was simply a victim of man's greed and lust for domination, as Lucretia was for King Tarquin's son's lust.
The connection you draw between the figure of Lucretia and the city of Rome in the context of defilement and moral culpability is very creative and insightful. I think the other connection one can draw between this chapter and the larger scheme of the work is that ultimately only God can determine the moral correctness of a person's actions in any given situation, and therefore it is God alone who determines who are the authentic citizens of The City of God.
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