I am really quite busy today but Jiri I wouldn't give up on this discovery. There are certain anomalies in the Augustinian text which I can explain later. We should at least consider the possibility that the discussion involving the LE might have been a later interpolation given the context. For if you look carefully Augustine may well originally have been commenting from his preferred text - the Diatessaron. Compare the Commentary with the Diatessaron in this section:
Arabic Diatessaron - And Mary hastened, and came to Simon Cephas, and to that other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said unto them, They have taken our Lord from the sepulchre, and I 10 know not where they have laid him. John 20:3 And Simon went out, and that other disciple, 11 and came to the sepulchre. John 20:4 And they hastened both together: and that disciple 12 outran Simon, and came first to the sepulchre; John 20:5 and he looked down, and saw the 13 linen laid; but he went not in. John 20:6 And Simon came after him, and entered into the sepulchre, and saw the linen laid; John 20:7 and the scarf with which his head was bound was not with the linen, but wrapped and laid aside in a certain place. 15 John 20:8 Then entered that disciple which came first to the sepulchre, and saw, and believed. 16 John 20:9 And they knew not yet from the scriptures that the Messiah was to rise from among 17 the dead. John 20:10 And those two disciples went to their place.18 John 20:11 But Mary remained at the tomb weeping: and while she wept, she looked 19 down into the tomb; John 20:12 and she saw two angels sitting in white raiment, one of them toward his pillow, and the other toward his feet, where the body of Jesus had been 20 laid. John 20:13 And they said unto her, Woman, why do you weep? She said unto them, 21 They have taken my Lord, and I know not where they have left him. John 20:14 She said that, and turned behind her, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was 22 Jesus. John 20:15 Jesus said unto her, Woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek? And she supposed him to be the gardener, and said, My lord, if you have taken him, 23 tell me where you have laid him, that I may go and take him. John 20:16 Jesus said unto her, Mary. She turned, and said unto him in Hebrew, Rabboni; which is, being 24 interpreted, Teacher. John 20:17 Jesus said unto her, Touch me not; for I have not ascended yet unto my Father: go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God. 25 Mark 16:9 And on the First-day on which he rose, he appeared first unto Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
Keep in mind that the early Latin Harmonies differed here and there from the surviving Arabic text. Now look at the Commentary:
This being the case, therefore, let us, so far as the Lord may help us, take all these incidents, which took place about the time of the Lord’s resurrection, as they are brought before us in the statements of all the evangelists together, and let us arrange them in one connected narrative, which will exhibit them precisely as they may have actually occurred. It was in the early morning of the first day of the week, as all the evangelists are at one in attesting, that the women came to the sepulchre. By that time, all that is recorded by Matthew alone had already taken place; that is to say, in regard to the quaking of the earth, and the rolling away of the stone, and the terror of the guards, with which they were so stricken, that in some part they lay like dead men. Then, as John informs us, came Mary Magdalene, who unquestionably was surpassingly more ardent in her love than these other women1505 who had ministered to the Lord; so that it was not unreasonable in John to make mention of her alone, leaving those others unnamed, who, however, were along with her, as we gather from the reports given by others of the evangelists. She came accordingly; and when she saw the stone taken away from the sepulchre, without pausing to make any more minute investigation, and never doubting but that the body of Jesus had been removed from the tomb, she ran, as the same John states, and told the state of matters to Peter and to John himself. For John is himself that disciple whom Jesus loved. They then set out running to the sepulchre; and John, reaching the spot first, stooped down and saw the linen clothes lying, but he did not go within. But Peter followed up, and went into the sepulchre, and saw the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, which had been about His head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then John entered also, and saw in like manner, and believed what Mary had told him, namely, that the Lord had been taken away from the sepulchre. “For as yet they knew not the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping,”1506—that is to say, before the place in the rock in which the sepulchre was constructed, but at the same time within that space into which they had now entered; for there was a garden there, as the same John mentions.1507 Then they saw the angel sitting on the right side, upon the stone which was rolled away from the sepulchre; of which angel both Matthew and Mark discourse. “Then he said unto them, Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay: and go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and, behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him: lo, I have told you.”1508 In Mark we also find a passage similar in tenor to the above. At these words, Mary, still weeping, bent down and looked forwards into the sepulchre, and beheld the two angels, who are introduced to us in John’s narrative, sitting in white raiment, one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been deposited. “They say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him.”1509 Here we are to suppose the angels to have risen up, so that they could be seen standing, as Luke states that they were seen, and then, according to the narrative of the same Luke, to have addressed the women, as they were afraid and bowed down their faces to the earth. The terms were these: “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise. And they remembered His words.”1510 It was after this that, as we learn from John, “Mary turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing Him to be the gardener, saith unto Him, Sir, if thou have borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto Him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”1511 Then she departed from the sepulchre, that is to say, from the ground where there was space for the garden in front of the stone which had been dug out. Along with her there were also those other women, who, as Mark tells us, were surprised with fear and trembling. And they told nothing to any one. At this point we next take up what Matthew has recorded in the following passage: “Behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail! And they came and held Him by the feet, and worshipped Him.”1512 For thus we gather that, on coming to the sepulchre, they were twice addressed by the angels; and, again, that they were also twice addressed by the Lord Himself, namely, at the point at which Mary took Him to be the gardener, and a second time at present, when He meets them on the way, with a view to strengthen them by such a repetition, and to bring them out of their state of fear. “Then, accordingly, said He unto them, Be not afraid: go, tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.”1513 “Then came Mary Magdalene, and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things unto her;”1514—not herself alone, however, but with her also those other women to whom Luke alludes when he says, “Which told these things unto the eleven disciples, and all the rest. And their words seemed to them like madness, and they believed them not.”1515 Mark also attests these facts; for, after telling us how the women went out from the sepulchre, trembling and amazed, and said nothing to any man, he subjoins the statement, that the Lord rose early the first day of the week, and appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils, and that she went and told them who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept, and that they, when they heard that He was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 1516 It is further to be observed, that Matthew has also introduced a notice to the effect that, as the women who had seen and heard all these things were going away, there came likewise into the city some of the guards who had been lying like dead men, and that these persons reported to the chief priests all the things that were done, that is to say, those of them which they were themselves also in a position to observe. He tells us, moreover, that when they were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, and bade them say that His disciples came and stole Him away while they slept, promising at the same time to secure them against the governor, who had given those guards. Finally, he adds that they took the money, and did as they had been taught, and that this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.1517 Matthew 28:11b And some of those guards came to the city, and informed the chief priests of 27 [Arabic, p. 202] all that had happened. Matthew 28:12 And they assembled with the elders, and took 28 counsel; Matthew 28:13 and they gave money, not a little, to the guards, and said unto them, Say ye, His disciples came and stole him by night, while we were sleeping. 29 Matthew 28:14 And if the judge hear that, we will make a plea with him, and free you of blame. 30 Matthew 28:15 And they, when they took the money, did according to what they taught them. And this word spread among the Jews unto this day.
The list goes on and on. I have always said that New Testament scholars are often demonstrated to be complete numbskulls because they ignore the Diatessaron. The Commentary here IS NOT a step by step account about how 'Matthew, Mark, Luke and John' agree or something fucking moronic like that. It is a manipulated and reconstituted Commentary on the Diatessaron disguised as a systematic exposition to 'Matthew, Mark, Luke and John' and how they agree.
How does this help your thesis? Well the argument may not be what you want it to be but there can be absolutely no doubt that Augustine's original text was manipulated. In other words, where he originally had a Diatessaron before him (undoubtedly related to his Manichaean background) and commented on a specific one volume text, someone - perhaps Augustine in a later period or a student - systematically changed direct assumptions about a Diatessaron text to 'Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.' Perhaps this process took place over many stages but the bottom line is that someone assumed that Mark ended at 16:8 perhaps Augustine in that first draft and then later when the text was completely purged of its Diatessaron provenance assumed the Diatessaron references to the longer ending went back to Mark. But originally it is possible if not likely that Augustine used a Diatessaron and assumed that Mark as such had no LE.
If you are interested in Augustine's use of the Diatessaron see Petersen's excellent article on the subject as well as Baarda's reference to the flying Jesus in Augustine.