This passage from St. Augustine is a clear, unambiguous reference to his belief in a spherical earth. It requires no special knowledge of the original language or the historical context. All that one needs to do is read a couple of paragraphs of immediate context and it ought to unmistakable what he is talking about.
And yet happenby managed to see it as a "debunking" of globe earth. She is apparently so blinded by her attachment to her opinion that she is not even capable of understanding what she reads. And unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. She has been shown other quotes from Fathers in which they teach or show their belief in globe earth and she consistently falls back on denying that they say what they say. She dismisses the correct understanding as "spin" and goes on as if she had never seen it.
She frequently claims that she is basing her view on the Fathers and "globalists" have no support from Catholic sources. She and others here constantly pretend that they have never been shown quotes from the Fathers demonstrating spherical earth. Their claims are meaningless. Their view, rather than being based on the Fathers, is based on a refusal or inability to understand what they read.
The truth, which they will never admit, is that there were mixed opinions among the Fathers regarding the shape of the earth. There was nothing approaching a consensus on the topic. If one goes through the list of flatist proof quotes one sees that a large proportion do not even show support for flat earth and just one actually suggests that Christians are obliged to believe it. St. John Damascene accurately summarized the views of the Fathers when he said that some said it was flat and some said it was a globe, but what is important is to know that God is is the creator.
Those of us who believe the earth is a sphere have just as much a right to claim support from the Fathers. Unlike the flatists, whose Catholic support ends with the patristic period, we hold the belief which persisted throughout history as the consensus among Catholics, including Doctors and Saints. While there is no magisterial teaching on the shape of the earth, there is a long strong tradition of Catholics believing in spherical earth.
There is no historical basis for claims that spherical earth was forced on Catholics by Freemasons or NASA. It is a legitimate part of our heritage as Catholics that goes back to the Fathers.