In Books I-V of De Civitate Dei , Augustine rejects the claim that worship of the pagan gods had brought success in this life, and in Books VI-X, the prospect of a happy afterlife. In Books XI-XII, the seventh volume in Peter Walsh's series, Augustine turns from attack to defence, for at this point he initiates his apology for the Christian faith. Books XI and XII document the initial phase of the rise of the two cities, the city of God and the city of this world, beginning with the creation of the world and the human race. In Book XI, Augustine rejects the theories of Aristotle, Plato and the Epicureans on the creation of the universe and addresses the creation of angels, Satan, the role of the holy Trinity and the importance of numberology in the Genesis account. In Book XII Augustine is chiefly concerned with refuting standard objections to the Christian tradition, returning to discussion of the Creation, including his calculation, based on the scriptures, that the world was created less than 6,000 years ago. This is the only edition of these books in English that provides not only a text but also a detailed commentary on one of the most influential documents in the history of western Christianity.
"As the psalms are a microcosm of the Old Testament, so the Expositions of the Psalms can be seen as a microcosm of Augustinian thought. In the Book of Psalms are to be found the history of the people of Israel, the theology and spirituality of the Old Covenant, and a treasury of human experience expressed in prayer and poetry. So too does the work of expounding the psalms recapitulate and focus the experiences of Augustine's personal life, his theological reflections and his pastoral concerns as Bishop of Hippo."--Publisher's website.
The book presents human history as being a conflict between what Augustine calls the City of Man and the City of God, a conflict that is destined to end in victory of the latter. The City of God is marked by people who forgot earthly pleasure to dedicate themselves to the eternal truths of God, now revealed fully in the Christian faith. The City of Man, on the other hand, consists of people who have immersed themselves in the cares and pleasures of the present, passing world. Though The City of God follows Christian theology, the main idea of a conflict between good and evil follows from Augustine's former beliefs in Manichaeanism. A philosophy based on the idea of primordial conflict between light and darkness or goodness and evil. In the case of City of God, it is the City of God (representing light) and the City of Man (representing darkness). Though his book follows an ideology of Manichaeanism, he still distances himself from them by calling them heretics: ..". I say, so just and fit, which, when piously and carefully weighed, terminates all the controversies of those who inquire into the origin of the world, has not been recognized by some heretics ..." Later, when Augustine converted to Christianity he at one point accepted Neo-Platonism. He ends up adding an idea of Neo-Platonism with a Christian idea in The City of God when he says: "As for those who own, indeed, that it was made by God, and yet ascribe to it not a temporal but only a creational beginning ..."
In the context of what begins as a lengthy critique of classic Roman religion and a defense of Christianity, Augustine touches upon numerous topics, including the role of grace, the original state of humanity, the possibility of waging a just war, the ideal form of government, and the nature of heaven and hell.
LARGE PRINT EDITION, easy to read layout, complete footnotes (>1000). "The City of God, for those who can understand it, contains the secret of death and life, war and peace, hell and heaven."-Thomas Merton "Of all the saints, Augustine is possibly the one who, as the Quakers phrase it, 'speaks most clearly to our condition.' Today as fifteen hundred years ago."-Anne Fremantle, Saints Alive! The philosopher Saint Augustine wrote The City of God (De civitate Dei contra paganos), a philosophical treatise vindicating Christianity, about 413-426 CE. With designs to solidify the Christianization of the Roman world, Saint Augustine has led one of the biggest battles against heresy. His love of rhetoric combined with his relentless philosophical search paved the way for his historic legacy-to this day. He influenced the work of Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin and many other theologians throughout the centuries. The first part (Books I-X) is a polemical critique of Roman religion and philosophy, corresponding to the Earthly City. The second half of The City of God (Books XI-XXII) turns to Augustine's defense of Christianity in the context of his philosophy and theology of history. BOOKS I-XII- also available The City of God-BOOKS XIII-XXII Excerpts: "The glorious city of God is my theme in this work, which you, my dearest son Marcellinus, suggested, and which is due to you by my promise. I have undertaken its defense against those who prefer their own gods to the Founder of this city-a city surpassingly glorious, whether we view it as it still lives by faith in this fleeting course of time, and sojourns as a stranger in the midst of the ungodly, or as it shall dwell in the fixed stability of its eternal seat, which it now with patience waits for, expecting until "righteousness shall return unto judgment,"1 and it obtain, by virtue of its excellence, final victory and perfect peace. A great work this, and an arduous; but God is my helper. For I am aware what ability is requisite to persuade the proud how great is the virtue of humility, which raises us, not by a quite human arrogance, but by a divine grace, above all earthly dignities that totter on this shifting scene. For the King and Founder of this city of which we speak, has in Scripture uttered to His people a dictum of the divine law in these words: "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."2 But this, which is God's prerogative, the inflated ambition of a proud spirit also affects, and dearly loves that this be numbered among its attributes, to Show pity to the humbled soul, And crush the sons of pride.3 And therefore, as the plan of this work we have undertaken requires, and as occasion offers, we must speak also of the earthly city, which, though it be mistress of the nations, is itself ruled by its lust of rule." (1 Ps. 94:15, rendered otherwise in English versions. 2 Jas. 4:6 and 1 Pet. 5:5. 3 Virgil Æneid 6.854.)
After completing the first ten books of De Civitate Dei, in which Augustine sought to refute the claim that pagan deities had ensured that Rome enjoyed unbroken success and prosperity in this life and guaranteed its citizens a blessed life after death, Augustine devoted the remaining twelve books to discuss the origins, development and destiny of the two cities of Babylon and Jerusalem, with the predominant emphasis on the city of God. In this volume, the seventh in Peter Walsh's series, Augustine turns to the problem of death as punishment for the sin of disobedience, resumes his attack on the Platonists and pursues a range of topics which emerge from consideration of Adam's sin. This is the only edition of these books in English which provides not only a text but also a detailed commentary on one of the most influential documents in the history of western Christianity.
Although many studies have been devoted to Augustine's City of God and its most important theme, viz. the antithesis between the civitas Dei and the terrena civitas,until now no consensus has been reached concerning the sources of this doctrine. Was Augustine decisively influenced by Manichaeism, by (Neo)Platonism, the Stoa or Philo, by the Donatist Tyconius? Or should we look in another direction and refer to preceding Christian, Jewish, and especially to archaic Jewish-Christian traditions? This lucidly written books opens with a survey of the research carried out so far on the aim, structure and central theme of the City of God. Chapter 2 analyzes the essentials of Augustine's life, of his City of God, and of his doctrine of the two cities. Making use of one of the recently discovered letters of Augustine in Chapter 3 the author describes the City of God as an apology and as a catechetical work. Chapter 4 provides an investigation into the possible sources of Augustine's doctrine of the two cities in Manichaeism, in (Neo)Platonism, the Stoa and Philo, and in the works of Tyconius. The idea of two antithetical cities proves to be present most clearly in writings in which, closely related to Jewish thinking, archaic Christian concepts occupy an important place. In a final chapter some pertinent remarks are made on Jewish and Jewish-Christian influences on pre-Augustinian Christianity in Africa.
