To what extent is the theodicy of St. Augustine successful?

(DEFINE) The theodicy of Augustine aims to provide a resolution to the 'inconsistent triad': God cannot be omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and benevolent (all good) while evil exists in the world.(EXPLAIN) Augustine starts his argument in line with Genesis 1 with the idea of mankind’s original perfection; God made everything good. In his Enchiridion, he explains ‘for the almighty God […] would never permit the existence of evil among what he has made’. However, Augustine is not here denying the existence of evil. He instead sees evil as a ‘privation’ of the good - that is, a lack or, in human terms, of what it means to be good. God, for Augustine, didn’t create evil. Rather, he left room for more good, which, by our own flaws, has not even fulfilled.But why would God let us be flawed and bring in horrors such as murder? Augustine attributes this to the Fall, with a very literal account of again of Genesis. The first humans, Adam and Eve, ate the fruit in the Garden of Eden, and, in doing so, defied God. God allowed this due to his gift of free will. To be truly good, we need the choice to do wrong, or our good actions would mean nothing. Since Adam and Eve did wrong, by their own volition, they failed to be good humans, and in their ‘privation’ to the good God made, let evil into the world.(CRITICISM) There are, however, many problems with Augustine’s theodicy. Perhaps the most damning is the idea that, if God had really made creation perfectly good, it wouldn’t go wrong. This is a criticism of his omnipotence.In a criticism of God’s benevolence, does it seem just for a good God to punish all of humanity for the actions of the first two? Of course, this relies on a very literal reading of Genesis, a reading most modern Christians don’t tend to take.Further, the idea of free will and God’s omniscience are not necessarily easily reconcilable ideas in themselves. If the future is not set and we can truly choose to do anything, good or ‘evil’, how can God know the future? (IF U6, REFER TO BOETHIUS)(CONCLUSION) Although Augustine’s argument raises important issues of free will and the necessity of creation being totally good if we are to attribute it to God, it seems to fail in its aims of preserving the classic triad commonly associated with God in the face of evil.