Modern, Updated English · Complete Edition
The City of God
De Civitate Dei
Prefer print? The paperback edition is split into two volumes.
About This Work
The City of God is Augustine's magnum opus: a 22-book defense of Christianity written in response to the catastrophic sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 AD. Pagan critics blamed Rome's fall on the abandonment of the old gods in favor of Christianity. Augustine's reply transformed into something far greater than a rebuttal — it became the foundational text of Western political theology and philosophy of history.
Books 1–10 dismantle the pagan case. Augustine shows that Rome's own gods never protected it from disaster, that Roman history is a catalog of calamities predating Christianity, and that the philosophers — especially the Platonists — understood much about God but could not find the way to Him without Christ. Books 11–14 trace the origin and nature of the two cities: one built on love of God, the other on love of self. Augustine explores the creation of angels, the fall, the nature of evil, and how sin entered human nature through Adam.
Books 15–18 trace the two cities through human history, from Cain and Abel through the patriarchs, Israel, and the Roman Empire to the coming of Christ. Books 19–22 culminate the work with Augustine's vision of the eternal destinies of both cities: the nature of peace, the last judgment, the punishment of the wicked, and the resurrection and glory of the saints. His account of the heavenly city's final rest is among the most exalted passages in all of Christian literature.
What makes the City of God extraordinary is its scope. Augustine moves effortlessly from historical argument to philosophical analysis to biblical exegesis, weaving together Roman history, Greek philosophy, and Christian theology into a unified vision. This modernized edition makes Augustine's prose accessible to contemporary readers while preserving the force and precision of his arguments. Whether you come to it as theology, philosophy, or history, the City of God rewards deep reading like few other books in existence.
Table of Contents
Book 1
After Rome's sack by the Goths, Augustine shows that Christians suffered no worse than pagans — and that the mercy shown at Christian shrines was unprecedented in the history of war.
Book 2
The pagan gods never gave Rome moral guidance. Augustine reviews Roman history to show the gods presided over a civilization sinking into corruption and vice.
Book 3
A catalog of disasters that struck Rome while the gods were still worshipped — proving Christianity cannot be blamed for calamities that long predate it.
Book 4
Without justice, kingdoms are just large-scale robbery. Augustine dismantles the claim that Jupiter or any pagan deity was responsible for Rome's imperial growth.
Book 5
Against fate and astrology: Rome's greatness came from the character of its people and the providence of God, not the stars. What true happiness looks like for a Christian ruler.
Book 6
Varro's theology examined: the pagan gods cannot deliver eternal life any more than they delivered earthly protection. The whole system collapses under scrutiny.
Book 7
The 'select gods' — Jupiter, Juno, Saturn, and the rest — are no more rational than the minor deities. Varro himself admitted uncertainty about his own theological system.
Book 8
The Platonists came closest to Christian truth, but even they fell short. Augustine engages Plato, Apuleius, and the question of whether demons can mediate between gods and men.
Book 9
Demons cannot be mediators between God and humanity: they share our misery but not God's blessedness. Only Christ, both God and man, can bridge that gap.
Book 10
Against theurgy and pagan ritual: the holy angels want us to worship God alone. The true sacrifice is the offering of ourselves, and Christ is the one Mediator.
Volume break
Books 1–10 above are Volume 1. Books 11–22 below are Volume 2. Each is a separate paperback.
Book 11
The origin of the two cities traced to the creation of angels. Augustine explores time, creation, the nature of evil, and the Trinity as revealed in the works of God.
Book 12
The cause of the angels' fall was pride, not nature. Augustine refutes cyclical theories of history and defends the creation of humanity in time from a single first man.
Book 13
Death entered the world through Adam's sin. Augustine explores what death means for body and soul, defends bodily resurrection, and explains the promise of spiritual bodies.
Book 14
The two cities defined by two loves: love of God vs. love of self. Augustine analyzes the passions, the will, and the original sin in Eden that fractured human nature.
Book 15
Cain and Abel as archetypes of the two cities. Augustine traces the earthly and heavenly lineages through Genesis, from the first murder to the flood.
Book 16
From Noah to Abraham: the two cities woven through the history of the patriarchs. Augustine traces God's promises through the line that leads to Israel and ultimately to Christ.
Book 17
The prophets and kings of Israel as witnesses to the City of God. Augustine reads the Psalms, the promises to David, and the prophetic books as pointing to Christ and His Church.
Book 18
A parallel history of the two cities from Abraham to Christ, set against the backdrop of Assyria, Greece, and Rome. Augustine shows how pagan and sacred history intertwine.
Book 19
Augustine's vision of peace: every creature seeks it, but true peace belongs only to the City of God. The most systematic treatment of justice, politics, and the common good in the work.
Book 20
The Last Judgment: Augustine interprets the prophecies of the end times, the resurrection of the dead, the separation of the righteous and the wicked, and the reign of the saints.
Book 21
The eternal punishment of the damned. Augustine answers objections about how physical fire can torment spirits and how unending punishment can be just.
Book 22
The resurrection of the body and the eternal happiness of the City of God. Augustine's triumphant conclusion: the saints will see God face to face, and there will be no more death.
About the Author
354 – 430 AD
Augustine of Hippo was a theologian and philosopher whose writings shaped Western Christianity more than those of any other post-apostolic figure. Born in Roman North Africa, he spent his early years pursuing rhetoric and philosophy before his dramatic conversion in 386 AD. As Bishop of Hippo for over thirty years, he produced an extraordinary body of work — including "Confessions," "City of God," and "On Christian Doctrine" — that defined orthodox theology on grace, sin, the sacraments, and the interpretation of Scripture for centuries to come.
Reading 22 books on a screen is rough. The paperback edition keeps your place, lets you mark it up, and reads better in a chair.