Translation of: De civitate Dei

"The original City of God contains twenty-two books and fills three regular-sized volumes. This edition has been skillfully abridged to make the heart of Augustine's monumental work widely available."--Back cover

Includes bibliographical references and index

The pagan gods and earthly happiness -- The pagan gods and future happiness -- The origin of two cities -- The development of the two cities -- The ends of the two cities

"This synthesis of religious and secular knowledge begins as a reply to the charge that Christianity caused the decline of the Roman Empire, with Augustine showing paganism to contain within itself the seeds of its own destruction. He then proceeds to larger themes, ultimately presenting a cosmic interpretation of history in terms of the struggle between good and evil: the City of God in conflict with the Earthly City. This, the first serious attempt at a philosophy of history, was to have incalculable influence in forming European understanding of the relations of church and state and the Christian's place in the temporal order. No book except the Bible itself had a greater influence on the Middle Ages, and even today City of God provides vital insight for understanding our world and the ideas that have shaped Western civilization"-- Provided by publisher

Text in English