The City of God · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for The City of God by Augustine of Hippo.

Read with companions Book page

Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.

Chapter 1
Editor's Preface
The editor introduces Augustine's City of God, explaining its occasion (the sack of Rome by the Goths and pagan accusations against Christianity), its plan (twenty-two books refuting pagan worship and establishing the two cities), and its historical and theological significance. The preface also discusses the work's popularity, its encyclopedic value, and Augustine's learning and style.
Chapter 2
On the City of God Against the Pagans
Augustine begins his monumental work defending the Christian faith against pagan accusations that the sack of Rome by the Goths was due to the abandonment of the old gods. He introduces the concept of two cities—the earthly city and the heavenly city—and sets the stage for a comprehensive critique of pagan religion and history.
Chapter 3
Book I
Augustine defends the Christian religion against pagan accusations that the sack of Rome by the Goths was due to the abandonment of the old gods. He argues that the calamities of life befall both good and bad alike, and that the barbarians spared many pagans out of respect for Christ. He rebukes the ungrateful pagans who reproach Christianity while owing their lives to it, and reflects on the true wealth of Christians, which is spiritual and cannot be lost. He contrasts the earthly city, ruled by lust for power, with the City of God, which sojourns by faith and awaits eternal peace. He also notes that the two cities are intermingled until the last judgment.
Chapter 4
Chapter I
Augustine examines the precise nature of worship due to God alone, distinguishing the unique service (λατρεία) owed to the Creator from the general honors paid to creatures, and argues that even the Platonists, who rightly identify God as the source of happiness, must reject the worship of any lesser spirits or demons.
Chapter 5
The Opinion of Plotinus the Platonist Regarding Enlightenment from Above
Augustine discusses the Platonist philosopher Plotinus, who agrees with Christian teaching that all rational souls, including those of heavenly spirits, derive their blessedness and light from a single divine source—God, the intelligible Light. Augustine cites Plotinus's comparison of God to the sun and the soul to the moon, and supports this with the Gospel of John, which distinguishes John the Baptist as a witness to the true Light, not the Light itself.

Free preview

681 more chapter companions sit beside the text in BetterReads — open a free preview to unlock the rest.

681 more companions → free preview

Editor's Preface

On the City of God Against the Pagans

Book I

Chapter I

The Opinion of Plotinus the Platonist Regarding Enlightenment from Above