Augustine continues to hammer pagan religious ideas, in particular those of Varro, concerning the relationship between the religion of natural philosophy and the civil religion of the Roman state.
Trial translation: In reality, just what these secrets of [their] doctrine [mysteria doctrinae] are, and what they are worth, the following (paragraphs) will show.Verum ista mysteria doctrinae qualia sint quantique pendenda, quae sequuntur ostendent.
I'm interested in quanti pendenda. Dictionary work suggests that this phrase might also mean just what we mean when we say "how much should that bring on the market (in cash money)?" Of course, Augustine surely wants to assess worth not by market value, but by value in relation to the truth Augustine professes.
I recalled the famous phrase "cash value", used by William James in a philosophical essay. James speaks of "the cash value" of an idea, although the standard for assessing value is different. Sometimes in reading Augustine, I get that feeling, "It's deja vu all over again" (attrib. Yogi Berra).