The City of God, opening text, created c. 1470

Augustine wrote the treatise to explain Christianity's relationship with competing religions and philosophies, and to the Roman government with which it was increasingly intertwined. It was written soon after Rome was sacked by the Visigoths in 410. This event left Romans in a deep state of shock, and many saw it as punishment for abandoning their Roman religion. It was in this atmosphere that Augustine set out to provide a consolation of Christianity, writing that, even if the earthly rule of the empire was imperilled, it was the City of God that would ultimately triumph — symbolically, Augustine's eyes were fixed on heaven, a theme repeated in 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 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 forgo earthly pleasure and dedicate themselves to the promotion of Christian values. The City of Man, on the other hand, consists of people who have strayed from the City of God. The two cities are not meant to represent any actual places or organizations, though Augustine clearly thought that the Christian Church was at the heart of the City of God.

While the book is framed by discussion of these themes, it is largely made up of various digressions on philosophical subjects and presentations of flaws in pagan religions upon which Augustine wished to comment.

See also

• Conflict thesis

External links

Text of The City of God

• Full text
• Full text, translated by Marcus Dods — Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
• Full text from NewAdvent.org
• Original full text — The Latin Library.

Texts about The City of God

• An introduction to The City of God by James J. O'Donnell

bn:?? ???????? ??? bs:O dr?avi bo?ijoj (Augustin) cs:O Bo?í obci de:De civitate Dei es:La ciudad de Dios fr:La Cité de Dieu id:Kota Tuhan it:La città di Dio he:??? ??????? la:De civitate Dei nl:De Civitate Dei ja:??? no:Om Gudsstaten pt:De Civitate Dei sl:O Bo?ji dr?avi fi:Jumalan valtio zh:???? tr:Tanr?'n?n ?ehri