TY - BOOK AU - Augustine, AU - Walsh,Gerald Groveland AU - Bourke,Vernon J. TI - City of God: an abridged version from the translation by Gerald G. Walsh [and 3 others] SN - 9780385029100 AV - AU923C E5 1958 U1 - AU923C PY - 1958///] CY - Garden City, N.Y. PB - Image Books KW - Kingdom of God KW - Good and evil KW - Apologetics KW - History KW - Early church, ca. 30-600 N1 - 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 N2 - "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"-- ER -