The City of God, Volume II

What It's About

This volume continues Augustine's sprawling defence of Christianity, picking up at Book 14. Written in response to accusations that Rome's sack by the Visigoths in 410 AD was punishment for abandoning the old pagan gods, Augustine argues instead for a providential view of history divided between two "cities" - the City of God, made up of those oriented toward eternal truth, and the earthly city, driven by self-love and worldly ambition. This section moves from the origins of these two cities in the fall of the angels and of Adam, through their unfolding history, toward Augustine's teaching on the resurrection and final judgement.

Key Concepts

Central themes include the doctrine of original sin and inherited human corruption, the nature of free will in relation to divine grace, and Augustine's account of concupiscence. The two-cities framework runs throughout as an interpretive lens for all of human history, culminating in his eschatology - the resurrection of the body and the eternal separation of the redeemed from the damned.

About the Author

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) was a bishop, theologian, and philosopher from Roman North Africa. Following a restless early life recounted in his Confessions, he converted to Christianity and went on to become Bishop of Hippo Regius, producing a body of theological writing that shaped Western Christian thought for centuries afterward.

About This Edition

This is an 1871 translation by Marcus Dods.