After my recent “Give the People Bread and Circuses” post, many asked for a summary of Augustine’s classic work, The City of God, and where to read it.
Below is my summary. To read the unabridged classic, go here.
A Summary of The City of God
Introduction: The Two Cities
Augustine of Hippo's "The City of God" is a monumental work of Christian theology, philosophy, and political thought, written between 413 and 426 AD.
It was composed as a response to the Visigoths' sack of Rome in 410 AD, an event that shocked the Roman world and led many to question the role of Christianity in the fall of the Roman Empire.
Augustine's treatise is far more than a mere apologetic work; it is an ambitious synthesis of Christian doctrine with a vision of history and human society that contrasts the secular and the sacred.
At the heart of Augustine's work is the concept of the two cities: the City of God and the City of Man.
The City of God represents the community of the faithful, those who live according to God's will and seek eternal peace in the divine. In contrast, the City of Man represents the earthly society that pursues temporal power, pleasure, and glory.
These two cities, Augustine argues, are intertwined in the world but ultimately destined for different ends.
"Two loves have made two cities. Love of self, even to the contempt of God, the earthly city; love of God, even to the contempt of self, the heavenly city." (Book XIV, Chapter 28).
Books I-X: A Critique of Paganism and Defense of Christianity
In the first ten books of "The City of God," Augustine rigorously critiques paganism and Roman religious traditions, arguing that Rome's decline was not due to the abandonment of the old gods but to the moral decay that had long afflicted the empire.
Augustine begins by addressing the immediate concerns of his time, responding to the charge that the rise of Christianity had weakened the Roman state.
He dismisses these accusations, arguing that the calamities that befell Rome were not unprecedented and that the pagan gods had never provided true protection or moral guidance.
Augustine systematically refutes the pagan belief in the efficacy of their gods, pointing out the moral and philosophical inconsistencies in their traditions.
He critiques the Roman worship of false gods, stating:
"The gods did not protect Rome from her enemies because they could not protect themselves from the shameful acts of men" (Book II, Chapter 22).
He further argues that the supposed virtues of the Roman state were in fact vices when pursued for the sake of human glory rather than divine justice.
In Books VI to X, Augustine turns his attention to the Platonic philosophers, particularly the Neoplatonists, who had attempted to reconcile paganism with a more sophisticated spiritual philosophy. While Augustine acknowledges their insights, he ultimately argues that their understanding of God and the cosmos is incomplete without the revelation provided by Christianity.
He critiques their notion of a purely intellectual ascent to the divine, emphasizing instead the necessity of divine grace for salvation.
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