The City of God

On the City of God Against the Pagans (Latin: De civitate Dei contra paganos), often called The City of God, is a book of Christian philosophy written in Latin by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century AD. Augustine wrote the book to refute allegations that Christianity initiated the decline of Rome and is considered one of his seminal works, standing alongside the Confessions, the Enchiridion, On Christian Doctrine, and On the Trinity.^[1] As a work of one of the most influential Church Fathers, The City of God is a cornerstone of Western thought, expounding on many questions of theology, such as the suffering of the righteous, the existence of evil, the conflict between free will and divine omniscience, and the doctrine of original sin.^[2][3]

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 in favor of Christianity. In response to these accusations, and in order to console Christians, Augustine wrote The City of God as an argument for the truth of Christianity over competing religions and philosophies. He argues that Christianity was not responsible for the sack of Rome but instead responsible for Rome's success. Even if the earthly rule of the Empire was imperiled, it was the City of God that would ultimately triumph. Augustine's focus was Heaven, a theme of many Christian works of Late Antiquity. Despite Christianity's designation as the official 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 Jerusalem, rather than with earthly politics.

The book presents human history as a conflict between what Augustine calls the Earthly City (often colloquially referred to as the City of Man, and mentioned once on chapter 1 of book 15) and the City of God, a conflict that is destined to end in victory for the latter. The City of God is marked by people who forgo earthly pleasure 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 present, passing world.^[4]

Augustine's thesis depicts the history of the world as universal warfare between God and the Devil. This metaphysical 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 Church (the City of God) in order to oppose by all means—including military—those sociopolitical regimes and movements of the Devil (the City of the World).

Structure

• Part I (Books I–X): a polemical critique of Roman religion and philosophy, corresponding to the Earthly City
• Part II (Books XI–XXII): discussion on the City of God and its relationship to the Earthly City 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 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 Adam's sin, the fall of man.; 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 flood.; 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 Jews received prophecy predicting Jesus, and that Jews are dispersed among the nations to provide independent testimony of the Hebrew Scriptures.; Books XIX–XXII: the deserved destinies of the two cities. 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.

Legacy

Pope John XXIII used Augustine's distinction between two cities as a summary of his assessment of the position of the Catholic Church in the late 1950s as he assumed papal office: on the one hand, "the grace of Christ" continues to bear fruit; on the other, many people are entirely concerned with securing earthly goods.^[5]

Augustine's concept of world history guided by Divine Providence in a universal war between God and the Devil forms part of the official doctrine of the Catholic Church, as stated in the Second Vatican Council's Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes:

"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."^[6]

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: Volumes XVI–XVIII Translation by Eva Matthews Sanford with William M. Green. Loeb Classical Library 415, 1965.
• City of God. Translation by William M. Green. Cambridge University Press, 1963
• The City of God. Translation by Gerald G. Walsh, S. J., et al. Introduction by Étienne 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. First published: 1871.
• The City of God. Translation by John Healey. Introduction by Ernest Barker. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1945.
• Of the Citie of God. Translation by John Healey. Notes by Juan Luis Vives. London: George Eld, 1610.