The City of God (book)

De Civitate Dei (full title: De Civitate Dei contra

Paganos, translated in English as The City of God
Against the Pagans) or The City of God is a book of
Christian philosophy written in Latin by Augustine of
Hippo in the early 5th century AD. The book was in response to allegations that Christianity brought about the
decline of Rome and is considered one of Augustines
most important works, standing alongside The Confessions, The Enchiridion, On Christian Doctrine, and On the
Trinity. As a work of one of the most inuential Church
Fathers, The City of God is a cornerstone of Western
thought, expounding on many profound questions of theology, such as the suering of the righteous, the existence
of evil, the conict between free will and divine omniscience, and the doctrine of original sin.

physical war is not limited by time but only by geography

on Earth. In this war, God moves (by divine intervention/ Providence) those governments, political /ideological movements and military forces aligned (or aligned the
most) with the Catholic Church (the City of God) in order to oppose by all meansincluding militarythose
governments, political/ideological movements and military forces aligned (or aligned the most) with the Devil
(the City of Devil).
Many Catholics consider Jacques-Bnigne Bossuet's Discours sur l'histoire universelle or Speech of Universal History (1681) to be a second edition or continuation of The
City of God. This book updates universal history according to Augustines thesis of universal war between those
humans that follow God and those who follow the Devil.
This concept of world history guided by Divine Providence in a universal war between God and Devil is part
of the ocial doctrine of the Catholic Church as most recently stated in the Second Vatican Councils Gaudium et
Spes document: The Church . . . holds that in her most
benign Lord and Master can be found the key, the focal
point and the goal of man, as well as of all human history...all of human life, whether individual or collective,
shows itself to be a dramatic struggle between good and
evil, between light and darkness...The Lord is the goal of
human history the focal point of the longings of history
and of civilization, the center of the human race, the joy
of every heart and the answer to all its yearnings.

Background

The sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 left Romans in

a deep state of shock, and many Romans saw it as punishment for abandoning traditional Roman religion for
Christianity. In response to these accusations, and in order to console Christians, Augustine wrote The City of
God, arguing for the truth of Christianity over competing religions and philosophies and that Christianity is not
only not responsible for the Sack of Rome, but also was
responsible for the success of Rome. He attempted to
console Christians, writing that, even if the earthly rule
of the Empire was imperiled, it was the City of God that
would ultimately triumph. Augustines eyes were xed on
Heaven, a theme of many Christian works of Late Antiquity, and despite Christianitys designation as the ocial
religion of the Empire, Augustine declared its message to
be spiritual rather than political. Christianity, he argued,
should be concerned with the mystical, heavenly city, the
New Jerusalemrather than with earthly politics.

The book presents human history as a conict between

what Augustine calls the Earthly City (often colloquially
referred to as the City of Man) and the City of God, a conict that is destined to end in victory for the latter. The
City of God is marked by people who forgot earthly plea- Woodcut depicting Augustine writing The City of God
sure to dedicate themselves to the eternal truths of God,
now revealed fully in the Christian faith. The Earthly
City, on the other hand, consists of people who have
immersed themselves in the cares and pleasures of the 2 Structure
present, passing world.
Augustines thesis depicts the history of the world as uni- Augustine provides a brief description of the contents of
versal warfare between God and the Devil. This meta- the work:
1

2 STRUCTURE
However, this great undertaking was at
last completed in twenty-two books. Of these,
the rst ve refute those who fancy that the
polytheistic worship is necessary in order to
secure worldly prosperity, and that all these
overwhelming calamities have befallen us
in consequence of its prohibition. In the
following ve books I address myself to those
who admit that such calamities have at all
times attended, and will at all times attend, the
human race, and that they constantly recur in
forms more or less disastrous, varying only in
the scenes, occasions, and persons on whom
they light, but, while admitting this, maintain
that the worship of the gods is advantageous
for the life to come. But that no one might
have occasion to say, that though I had refuted
the tenets of other men, I had omitted to
establish my own, I devote to this object the
second part of this work, which comprises
twelve books, although I have not scrupled, as
occasion oered, either to advance my own
opinions in the rst ten books, or to demolish
the arguments of my opponents in the last
twelve. Of these twelve books, the rst four
contain an account of the origin of these two
citiesthe city of God, and the city of the
world. The second four treat of their history
or progress; the third and last four, of their
deserved destinies.
Augustine, Retractions[1]

As indicated in the above passage from the Retractions,

the City of God can be further subdivided into the following parts:
Part I (Books IX): a polemical critique of Roman religion and philosophy, corresponding to
the Earthly City
Book IV: A critique of pagan religion
Book I: a criticism of
the pagans who attribute
the sack of Rome to
Christianity despite being
saved by taking refuge in
Christian churches. The
book also explains good
and bad things happen
to righteous and wicked
people alike, and it consoles the women violated
in the recent calamity.
Book II: a proof that
because of the worship
of the pagan gods, Rome

suered the greatest

calamity of all, that is,
moral corruption.
Book III: a proof that the
pagan gods failed to save
Rome numerous times in
the past from worldly disasters, such as the sack of
Rome by the Gauls.
Book IV: a proof that the
power and long duration
of the Roman empire was
due not to the pagan Gods
but to the Christian God.
Book V: a refutation of
the doctrine of fate and an
explanation of the Christian doctrine of free will
and its consistency with
Gods omniscience. The
book proves that Romes
dominion was due to the
virtue of the Romans and
explains the true happiness of the Christian emperors.
Book VIX: A critique of pagan
philosophy
Book VI: a refutation
of the assertion that the
pagan gods are to be
worshiped for eternal
life (rather than temporal
benets).
Augustine
claimed that even the esteemed pagan theologist
Varro held the gods in
contempt.
Book VII: a demonstration that eternal life is not
granted by Janus, Jupiter,
Saturn, and other select
gods.
Book VIII: an argument
against the Platonists and
their natural theology,
which Augustine views as
the closest approximation
of Christian truth, and a
refutation of Apuleius'
insistence of the worship
of demons as mediators
between God and man.
Book IX: a proof that all
demons are evil and that
only Christ can provide
man with eternal happiness.

3
Book X: a teaching that
the good angels wish that
God alone is worshiped
and a proof that no sacrice can lead to purication except that of Christ.

Jews received prophecy

predicting Jesus, and that
Jews are dispersed among
the nations to provide
independent testimony of
the Hebrew Scriptures.

Part II (Books XI-XXII): discussion on the City

of God and its relationship to the Earthly City

Books XIX-XXII: the deserved

destinies of the two cities.

Books XI-XIV: the origins of the

two cities
Book XI: the origins of
the two cities from the
separation of the good
and bad angels, and a detailed analysis of Genesis
1.
Book XII: answers to why
some angels are good and
others bad, and a close examination of the creation
of man.
Book XIII: teaching that
death originated as a
penalty for Adams sin.
Book XIV: teachings on
the original sin as the
cause for future lust and
shame as a just punishment for lust.
Books XV-XVIII: the history or
progress of the two cities, including
foundational theological principles
about Jews.
Book XV: an analysis of
the events in Genesis between the time of Cain
and Abel to the time of
the ood.
Book XVI: the progress
of the two cities from
Noah to Abraham, and
the progress of the heavenly city from Abraham
to the kings of Israel.
Book XVII: the history
of the city of God from
Samuel to David and to
Christ, and Christological interpretations of the
prophecies in Kings and
Psalms.
Book XVIII: the parallel
history of the earthly
and heavenly cities from
Abraham to the end.
Doctrine of Witness, that

Book XIX: the end of the

two cities, and the happiness of the people of
Christ.
Book XX: the prophecies
of the Last Judgment in
the Old and New Testaments.
Book XXI: the eternal
punishment for the city of
the devil.
Book XXII: the eternal
happiness for the saints
and explanations of the
resurrection of the body.

3 English translations
The City of God. Translation by William Babcock,
notes by Boniface Ramsey. Hyde Park, NY: New
City Press, 2012.
The City of God against the Pagans. Translation by
R. W. Dyson. New York : Cambridge University
Press, 1998. ISBN 0-521-46475-7
The City of God. Translation by Henry Bettenson.
Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books, 1972.
The City of God. Translation by Gerald G. Walsh, S.
J., et al. Introduction by tienne Gilson. New York:
Doubleday, Image Books, 1958.
The City of God. Translation by Marcus Dods. Introduction by Thomas Merton. New York: The
Modern Library, a division of Random House, Inc.,
1950. Actual translation: 18721876.
The City of God. Translation by John Healey. Introduction by Ernest Barker. New York: E. P. Dutton
& Co., 1945.

4 References
[1] Augustine, Retractions, excerpt drawn from https://
archive.org/details/city_of_god_ds_librivox

External links
Media related to De Civitate Dei at Wikimedia Commons
Works related to The City of God at Wikisource
Latin Wikisource has original text related to this article: De civitate Dei
De civitate dei (Latin) The Latin Library.
The City of God Dods translation, New Advent.
Excerpts only.
The City of God public domain audiobook at
LibriVox (Dods translation)
The City of God - Scha translation, CCEL

Texts about The City of God

An introduction to The City of God by James J.
O'Donnell
Excerpts from The City of God
Excerpts from The City of God

EXTERNAL LINKS

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