The City of God [Paperback]

St Augustine (Author), Marcus Dods (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2009

Saint Augustine of Hippo is one of the central figures in the history of Christianity, and this book is one of his greatest theological works. Written as an eloquent defense of the faith at a time when the Roman Empire was on the brink of collapse, it examines the ancient pagan religions of Rome, the arguments of the Greek philosophers and the revelations of the Bible. Pointing the way forward to a citizenship that transcends worldly politics and will last for eternity, this book is one of the most influential documents in the development of Christianity.

One of the great cornerstones in the history of Christian thought, The City of God is vital to an understanding of modern Western society and how it came into being. Begun in A.D. 413, the book's initial purpose was to refute the charge that Christianity was to blame for the fall of Rome (which had occurred just three years earlier). Indeed, Augustine produced a wealth of evidence to prove that paganism bore within itself the seeds of its own destruction. However, over the next thirteen years that it took to complete the work, the brilliant ecclesiastic proceeded to his larger theme: a cosmic interpretation of history in terms of the struggle between good and evil. By means of his contrast of the earthly and heavenly cities--the one pagan, self-centered, and contemptuous of God and the other devout, God-centered, and in search of grace--Augustine explored and interpreted human history in relation to eternity.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Saint Augustine (A.D. 354-430) Bishop of Hippo, in Algeria, was a philosopher and theologian. Augustine, a Latin Father and Doctor of the Church, is one of the most important figures in the development of Western Christianity. Augustine was radically influenced by Platonic doctrines. He framed the concepts of original sin and just war. When the Roman Empire in the West was starting to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Church as a spiritual City of God, distinct from the material City of Man. His thought profoundly influenced the medieval worldview.

Product Details

• Paperback: 804 pages
• Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers (March 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598563378
• ISBN-13: 978-1598563375
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Catholicism > Saints

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read Book, October 27, 2009

By 

Nathan A. Edwards (Jacksonville, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The City of God (Paperback)

The City of God was completed 13 years after Augustine began to write it in 413 A.D. It was written slowly and became a much different work than that which Augustine set out to create. Three years after the fall of the Roman Empire, Augustine set out to prove that Christianity was not to blame for Rome's collapse as some had charged. Almost half of The City of God was dedicated to this original purpose. Luckily for readers today, as well as then, by book eleven he turns his attention to the two cities and almost entirely dropped his original theme which has been a dead issue for some time. The two cities Augustine applies his brilliant mind to for the remainder of the work is that of The World and of God. Beginning in book eleven, Augustine traces the history of each city from a Christian perspective in a highly contemplative and truly beautiful manner. However, he seems to never miss an opportunity to correct any contrary philosophies along the way. He eventually makes his way to his ideas, based primarily on the writings of the apostles Paul and John, about the final realities of each city, as well as the consequences for their respective citizens.

The City of God would probably not be considered light reading by most, but if one can complete it while trying to digest as much as they can, it is certainly worth it. This is one of those works which is probably understood a little differently each time it is read. One helpful disclaimer offered by Thomas Merton is that if one is unfamiliar with Augustine and his writing, they would be best served to first read Augustine's Confessions (Penguin Classics) prior to tackling The City of God. It really is good advice.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heavenly City, September 4, 2011

By 

Dr. Bojan Tunguz (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The City of God (Kindle Edition)

In about three centuries since its inception Christianity had grown from a marginal Jewish sect on the eastern coast of Mediterranean to the official religion of the Roman Empire, thus eclipsing a millennium of unbroken pagan religion and culture. However, the paganism didn't disappear and continued to exert important influence on the public and intellectual life. Christianity, on the other hand, found itself facing new challenges as a dominant social force and it was unaccustomed to such status. The uneasy relation between the Christian authorities and the secular imperial authorities further complicated the matters. In today's language, the issues of separation of "church and stare" were coming into focus. Furthermore, the empire was in a decline and within two centuries the western part of it would finally dissolve. All of these developments forced Christian thinkers to rethink the place of Christianity within the world history, and come up with a coherent and meaningful view on these matters. By far the most influential of such attempts was St. Augustine's "City of God", an extensive and detailed treatise.

"City of God" is broadly divided into two parts. The first ten chapters are polemical and they address various pagan intellectual and religious issues. The second part of the book consists of twelve chapters that broadly deal with what St. Augustine perceived to be the origins of the City of God and its contrast and comparison with the Earthly City. One of the main points that St. Augustine promulgated was that the two cities, although they may overlap and sometimes reinforce each other, remain distinct and will likely be so until the final Parousia.

"City of God" is a monumental work of theology and philosophy that took St. Augustine many years to complete. This is not a book that can be read over a weekend, or even over the course of a week or two. Its intricate arguments and ideas that might be unfamiliar to modern readers require a careful and methodical perusal. The first part of the book was very interesting to me for several reasons. The pagan theological and cultural practices that it addressed are largely alien and unfamiliar to the modern readers, at least on the surface. This part of the book gave me a fresh insight into the external forces that had shaped Christianity in its early stages, mostly as a foil against which to present Christian religious and ethical norms. However, despite the appearance, many of the pagan attitudes and norms have never truly gone away, but have only metamorphosed into different cultural practices. In other words - the more things change the more they remain the same. Today's Christians don't have to reinvent the wheel: many arguments in favor of the culture-defying aspects of Christianity can be directly borrowed from the early Church fathers, such as St. Augustine.

If you decide to embark on the journey of reading this theological masterpiece I would recommend doing so as a form of devotional reading. Theology can be a devotionally fulfilling activity, and reading a book like this one over a long period of time can help you appreciate and understand its main themes and messages. I would particularly recommend this book to anyone who wants to think deeply and systematically about the nature of Christian vocation in the World and its relation to our ultimate abode, the City of God.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here's What I Liked Most About it, September 20, 2011

By 

K. Ostrowski - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The City of God (Paperback)

Having already read (and loved) some of Saint Augustine's other work, I had a feeling I'd really enjoy this one. It is, after all, considered one of the most influential and famous works in the entire history of literature. Even so, I was surprised by just how much I personally enjoyed it.

It's not enough for me to say that this book is totally, faithfully Catholic from start to finish, or to say that its reasoning is ironclad and compelling. All of that is true, of course, but honestly, what I found most amazing about this book were two things.

First, Augustine chooses his terms much more carefully in this book than he did in "Confessions," which is good. It helps to avoid confusion and ambiguity. He's still not quite as precise in his wording as Saint Thomas Aquinas, but he is precise enough that almost anyone who wants to understand his words can, with a little effort. The major obstacle to english-language theology is that so many words in english have numerous definitions, and can be interpreted in far too many different ways. So, using very common words can lead people to draw false conclusions about what the theologian may be saying. Almost never does that happen with this masterpiece.

Secondly, I found that the writings of this book reveal a clarity of thought and a very healthy world view on the part of the author, which I found very encouraging. It's amazing how much you can learn about an author just from a study of their work, and it made me smile when Augustine spoke of human minds, hands, mouths, erectness of posture and so forth, describing man as the protagonist of the physical world, rather than a wretched thing that just wants to destroy everything else. We get the opposite, and far less accurate view so often in modern culture, that even a short testimony to the contrary is a breath of fresh air.

Augustine's perspective on the world was a perspective on the world that he lived in (around the year 400,) but his explanations are clear enough, and his descriptions thorough enough that I never felt lost while reading about it. In fact, if anything, I think Saint Augustine has helped me to learn a bit more about the days of ancient Rome. I'll just add that to my list of things about this book that I was absolutely thrilled by.