City of God (Books 11-22) - De Civitate Dei

Along with his Confessions, The City of God is undoubtedly St. Augustine's most influential work. 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. But his major concern is the difference between the City of God and the City of Man - one built on love of God, the other on love of self. One cannot but be moved and impressed by the author's breadth of interest and penetrating intelligence. For all those who are interested in the greatest classics of Christian antiquity, The City of God is indispensable.

List of contents

CONTENTS BOOK XI page 1 Faith, the Mediator, and the Authority of Scripture - 3; Creation, Time, and the Immutability of God - 4; The Days of Creation and the Forms of Knowledge - 7; The Creation of the Angels - 9; The Divine Simplicity - 11; The Angelic Fall - 12; The Case of the Devil - 15; The Separation of the Holy Angels from the Fallen Angels - 18; The Goodness of God and the Goodness of Creation - 19; Traces of the Trinity in Creation - 24; The Holy Angels and Their Knowledge - 30; Alternative Views of the Creation of the Angels - 32; Conclusion - 35 BOOK XII page 36 The Difference between the Good and the Evil Angels: not Nature but Fault - 37; The Cause of the First Evil Will - 41; The Cause of the Good Will of the Good Angels - 45; The Origin of Humankind - 46; The "Date" of Man's Creation - 48; Against Theories of World Cycles - 50; Eternity and Time - 51; Time, Infinity, and the Divine Knowledge - 55; Ultimate Happiness: the Refutation of the Theory of World Cycles - 58; God's Creation of the Human Race from One Man - 62; God the Sole Creator - 63; Humanity's Social Character - 66 BOOK XIII page 68 The Meanings of Death - 69; Death as Punishment - 70; The Death of the Saints - 73; "Before Death," "after Death," and "in Death" - 74; The Threat of Death - 78; The Body and Ultimate Blessedness - 80; The Issue of the Eternity of the Body - 82; Happiness and the Body - 83; Against the View that the Earthly Body Cannot Be in Heaven - 83; Self-Contradictions in the Platonic View of the Body - 85; The Body in Paradise - 87; Spiritual Interpretations of Paradise - 88; The Resurrected Body - 89; The Animal Body and the Spiritual Body - 90; The Breath Breathed into Man's Face - 93; The Greek Terms Pneuma and Pnoe - 94; The Question of Human Sexuality before the Fall - 97 BOOK XIV page 98 Living according to the Flesh and Living according to the Spirit - 100; The Meaning of "Flesh" - 101; Living according to Man, or Self, and Living according to God - 103; The Flesh, or the Body, Is not Evil - 104; The Will, the Passions, and Love - 105; The Passions in the City of God - 110; The Emotions and the Future Life - 112; Emotion in the First Human Beings - 115; The First Evil Will - 116; The Human Fall - 117; The Evil Will Precedes the Evil Act - 119; Humility and Pride - 120; The Punishment of Sin - 121; Lust, Human Sexuality, and the Sense of Shame - 123; Human Procreation Prior to the Fall - 128; Sexuality before the Fall - 130; The Happiness of Paradise - 133; Man's Sin and God's Foreknowledge - 135; Two Loves Have Made Two Cities - 136 BOOK XV page 138 Cain and Abel, the Earthly City and the Heavenly City - 139; Israel: the Earthly Image of the Heavenly City - 140; The Earthly City and the Heavenly City, Born of Nature and Born of Grace - 141; The Goods of the Earthly City and the Conflicts to Which They Give Rise - 142; Conflict between the Two Cities: the Flesh and the Spirit - 143; Cain's Sacrifice and its Rejection - 145; The Presentation of the Two Cities in the Lines of Descent from Cain and Seth - 148; The Long Lives of the Ancients - 150; The Numerical Discrepancies between the Greek and Hebrew Versions - 151; The Issue of Sexual Maturity and the Lines of Descent - 159; The Issue of Polygamy and Kinship Relations - 162; The Lines of Descent from Cain and Seth down to the Flood - 164; The Two Cities as Represented in the Two Lines of Descent - 171; The Intermingling of the Two Cities: the Sons of God and the Daughters of Men - 172; The Flood, Noah, and the Ark - 177; The Flood: History and Allegory - 180 BOOK XVI page 184 The Prophetic Significance of Noah and His Sons - 184; The Generations of the Sons of Noah - 188; The Tower of Confusion and the Diversity of Human Languages - 191; Are Monstrous Races Descended from Noah and thus from Adam? - 195; The Line of Descent from Shem - 198; The City of God among the Peoples of Earth - 199; Heber and the Hebrew Language - 200; Peleg, Nimrod, and the Number of Peoples - 201; A Turning Point: Abraham - 203; Abraham's Departure from Haran - 205; The First of God's Promises to Abraham - 207; The Second Promise to Abraham - 208; The Third Promise to Abraham - 209; Abraham's Vision at Mamre - 211; Abraham's Sons: the Birth of Ishmael and the Promise of Isaac - 215; God's Appearance to Abra- ham at Mamre - 220; The Birth and the Sacrifice of Isaac - 221; Abraham's Marriage to Keturah - 224; The Twins Born to Isaac - 225; God's Promise to Isaac - 226; The Blessing of Jacob - 227; Jacob and Joseph - 228; From Moses to David - 234 BOOK XVII page 237 The Age of the Prophets - 237; The Types of Prophecy - 240; The Prophecy of Hannah, Mother of Samuel - 241; The Transformation of the Priesthood: the Prophecy to Eli - 248; The Transformation of the Kingship: Saul and Samuel - 253; David, Solomon, and the Prophetic Anticipation of Christ - 256; David's Prophecies of Christ and the Church: the Psalms - 264; Solomon's Prophecies of Christ and the Church - 272; Prophecy after Solomon - 275 BOOK XVIII page 279 The Divisions in Human Society - 280; Assyria as the "First Rome" and Rome as the "Second Babylon" - 281; The Earthly Kingdoms and Their Gods from Abraham to the Exodus - 282; The Earthly Kingdoms and Their Gods at the Time of Moses - 286; The Naming of Athens - 287; From the Exodus to the Death of Joshua - 289; The Earthly Kingdoms and Their Gods in the Period of the Judges - 292; The Fall of Troy and Tales of Human Beings Transformed into Animals - 295; The Earthly Kingdoms in the Period of the Israelite Kings - 299; The End of Assyria and the Founding of Rome - 299; Sibyline Prophecies of Christ - 301; The Rulers of Rome: from Romulus to the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews - 304; The Hebrew Prophets: Hosea, Amos, Isaiah, Micah, Jonah, and Joel - 306; The Hebrew Prophets: Obadiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk - 310; The Hebrew Prophets: Jeremiah and Zephaniah - 314; The Hebrew Prophets: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and Esdras - 316; The Antiquity of Prophetic Wisdom - 319; The Superiority of Divine Wisdom over Human Philosophy - 323; The Translation of Hebrew Scripture into Greek: the Septuagint - 325; Jewish History after the End of Prophecy - 329; The Com- ing of Christ in Fulfillment of Prophecy - 332; The Spreading of the Church: Persecutions and Consolations - 336; The Persecutions of the Church - 338; Peter's Supposed Act of Sorcery - 341 BOOK XIX page 346 The Ends of the Two Cities: the Supreme Good and the Supreme Evil - 346; Varro: Possible Positions on the Supreme Good - 347; Varro's Position on the Supreme Good and the Life of Happiness - 349; The Supreme Good and the Supreme Evil according to the City of God: Eternal Life and Eternal Death - 354; Happiness, the Supreme Good, Cannot Be Found in This Life - 354; The Struggle of the Virtues against the Vices: Temperance, Prudence, and Justice - 355; Fortitude and the Question of Suicide - 356; The Miseries of Social Life: the Household and the City - 359; The Miseries of Social Life: the World - 361; The Miseries of Social Life: the Angels and the Demons - 363; The Meanings of Peace - 364; The Universal Desire for Peace - 365; Peace and Order - 368; Earthly Peace and Eternal Peace - 370; Sin and Slavery - 372; Earthly Peace and the Two Cities - 374; The Issues of Certainty and Style of Life - 376; The Definition of a Republic - 377; Justice and the True God: against Porphyry - 379; An Alternate Definition of a People - 385; Earthly Peace and the City of God - 386; The Supreme Evil: Eternal Misery - 388 BOOK XX page 389 The Day of Judgment - 390; God's Inscrutable Justice - 391; Testimonies to the Last Judgment from Scripture - 393; Testimonies from the Gospel of Matthew: Judgment and Resurrection - 393; Testimonies from the Gospel of John: the First and the Second Resurrection - 396; Testimonies from the Book of Revelation: the Binding of the Devil for a Thousand Years - 398; The Releasing of the Devil - 403; The Thousand-Year Reign of the Saints - 405; The Last Persecution and the Reign of the Saints with Christ - 409; The Last Judgment, the Second Resurrection, and the Book of Life - 413; The New Jerusalem - 416; Testimony from the Apostle Peter: the Destruction of this World - 418; Testimonies from the Apostle Paul: the Coming of Antichrist - 419; Paul on the Resurrection of the Dead - 422; Testimonies from the Prophet Isaiah: the Separate Ends of the Good and the Evil - 424; Testimonies from Daniel: Antichrist, the Resurrection, and the Eternal Reign of the Saints - 430; Testimonies from the Psalms: the Perishing of the World and Christ's Coming as Judge - 432; Testimonies from Malachi: the Purification of the Saints and Their Pure Offering to God - 435; The Manifest Justice of God, the Spiritual Sense of the Law, and the Return of Elijah - 439; How the Old Testament Points to Christ as Judge - 441; The Events of the Last Judgment - 445 BOOK XXI page 447 The Body and Eternal Fire - 448; The Issue of Eternal Pain - 449; The Issue of Survival in Eternal Fire: Natural Wonders and the Power of God - 451; The Issue of the Nature and Properties of Human Flesh - 459; The Worm and the Fire: Eternal Punishment of Both Body and Soul - 463; Material Fire as Punishment for Evil Spirits - 464; The Issue of the Just Correlation of Tempo- ral Sin and Eternal Punishment - 466; The Issue of Remedial or Purgatorial Punishment - 467; All Human Life on Earth is a Trial - 469; The Warfare of Flesh against Spirit and of Spirit against Flesh - 470; The Question of Divine Mercy and Eternal Punishment: Erroneous Views - 472; Reply to Error: the Devil and His Angels Will Suffer Eternal Punishment - 477; Reply to Error: Eternal Punishment is Eternal - 477; Reply to Error: the Intercession of the Saints and the Prayers of the Church - 478; Reply to Error: the Sense in Which God Does not Hold Back His Mercies in Anger - 480; Reply to Error: the Sense in Which God's Sweetness is Hidden, and from Whom - 481; Reply to Error: the All to Whom God Is Merciful - 482; Reply to Error: neither Participation in the Sacraments nor Perseverance in the Church Outweighs Immorality of Life - 483; Reply to Error: Who It Is That Is Saved as through Fire - 485; Reply to Error: the Issue of Works of Mercy - 488 BOOK XXII page 495 The Will of God and the Fulfillment of the Divine Promise - 497; The Resurrection of the Body: Reply to Objections - 499; The Miracle of the World's Belief in the Resurrection - 500; Miracles of the Present - 505; The Witness of the Martyrs - 518; The Issue of the Order of the Elements - 520; Questions about the Character of the Resurrected Body - 522; Response to the Questions - 524; The Resurrection of Women's Bodies - 526; The Meaning of Complete Manhood - 527; Further Responses to Questions about the Resurrected Body - 528; The Gift of the Life to Come - 532; The Evils of this Life - 533; The Struggles of the Righteous: the Battle against the Vices - 536; The Goods of this Life - 537; The Goods of the Life to Come - 541; Against Philosophical Objections to the Resurrection of the Body - 542; The Eternal Life of the Saints: the Vision of God - 546; Will the Saints See God with the Eyes of the Spiritual Body? - 547; The Felicity of the Saints: Seeing, Loving, and Praising God - 551 Index of Scripture page 555 Index page 569

About the author

Aurelius Augustinus (354-430) was born and raised in Roman North Africa. His mother Monica provided a Catholic upbringing in his modest home town of Thagaste. However, Augustine preferred the liberties available to young men of his time and place. He also excelled at school. As a student at Carthage he joined the Manichean religious sect. After teaching rhetoric at Carthage and then Rome, he rose to become the official spokesperson for the Roman Emperor in Milan.

Amidst a crisis of faith and doubt, Augustine read the writings of Neo-Platonic philosophers and listened to the preaching of Bishop Ambrose of Milan. Resigning from imperial service, the 32 year old Augustine began an intensive study of scripture. He was baptized by Ambrose at the Easter Vigil in April of 387. A year later he returned to Africa and within several years was ordained to serve the diocese of Hippo (present day Annaba, Algeria), as priest and then bishop.

Charged with the pastoral care of his people, and confronted by the major doctrinal controversies in the early Church, Augustine employed his significant rhetorical skills and his genius for writing to compose some of the foundational texts of Christian theology in the Latin West. These include his Confessions, Teaching Christianity, The City of God, The Trinity, Expositions of the Psalms-to name just a few of his many books. We also have almost 300 of his letters to a wide variety of correspondents, and 400 of his sermons.

Product details

• Authors: Saint Augustine
• Publisher: New City Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.08.2013
• EAN: 9781565484818
• ISBN: 978-1-56548-481-8
• No. of pages: 624
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 37 mm
• Weight: 999 g
• Series: Works of Saint Augustine; Works of Saint Augustine
• Subject: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Christianity