(354-430)

(The City of God)

1-5:
6-10:
11-15:
16-18:
19-22:

(Varro)

(select gods)

(Apuleius)

(Porphyry)

St. Augustine's The City of God consists of 22 "books".

Part I (Books 1-10): a polemical critique of Roman
religion and philosophy. Bk 1-5: Critique of pagan religion
1. Book I: a criticism of the pagans who attribute the sack
of Rome to Christianity.
2. Book 2: a proof that because of the worship of the pagan
gods, Rome suffered the greatest calamity of all, that is,
moral corruption.
3. Book 3: a proof that the pagan gods failed to save Rome
in the past from disasters, e.g. sack of Rome by the Gauls.
4. Book 4: a proof that the power and long duration of the
Roman empire was due not to the pagan Gods but to the
Christian God.
5. Book 5: a refutation of the fate and the Christian
doctrine of free will and its consistency with God's
omniscience. On Christian emperors.
Book 6-10: A critique of pagan philosophy
6. A refutation of the assertion that the pagan gods are to
be worshiped for eternal life.
7. A demonstration that eternal life is not granted by Janus,
Jupiter, Saturn, and other select gods.
8. An argument against the Platonists and their natural
theology, which Augustine views as the closest
approximation of Christian truth.
9. A proof that all demons are evil and that only Christ can
provide man with eternal happiness.
10. A teaching that the good angels wish that God alone is
worshiped and a proof that no sacrifice can lead to
purification except that of Christ.
Part II (Books 11-22): discussion on the City of God and
its relationship to the Earthly City. Books 11-14: the
origins of the two cities.
11. The origins of the two cities from the separation of the
good and bad angels, and a detailed analysis of Genesis 1.
12. Answers to why some angels are good and others bad,
and a close examination of the creation of man.
13. Death originated as a penalty for Adam's sin.
14. Teachings on the original sin as the cause for future
lust and shame as a just punishment for lust.
Books 15-18: the history or progress of the two cities,
including foundational theological principles about Jews
15. An analysis of the events in Genesis between the time
of Cain and Abel to the time of the flood.
16. The progress of the two cities from Noah to Abraham,
and the progress of the heavenly city from Abraham to the
kings of Israel.
17. The history of the city of God from Samuel to David
and to Christ, and the prophecies in Kings and Psalms.
18. The parallel history of the earthly and heavenly cities
from Abraham to the end. Doctrine of Witness, that Jews
received prophecy predicting Jesus.
Books 19-22: the deserved destinies of the two cities.
** Book 19: The end of the two cities, and the
happiness of the people of Christ.
20. The prophecies of the Last Judgment in the Old and
New Testaments.
21. The eternal punishment for the city of the devil.
22. The eternal happiness for the saints and explanations of
the resurrection of the body.
Source: WIKI

(354-430)

(The City

of God)

Book XIX (Ends: peace):

A. Introduction: the 288 sects of Varro (1-4)
B. Misery of human condition (5-9)

21

Res publica

--

supreme good
124
-- Varro

naturae

C. Peace (10-26)
1. the peace that is longed-for (10-13)
2. the possibility of authentic peace in this
world
(14-20)
3. Cicero and Porphyry refuted (21-26)
D. Peace the goal of the city of God, war of
the city of
man (27-28)
Augustine, City of God by James J.
O'Donnell.

virtue,
pirma
Notes on Ch.19 of De Civitate Dei.
Varro Book XIX
p846 ch 1 Varro works out that there are 288
possible philosophical systems, then he refutes
all except the one he holds to. (key differentiator
is in terms of what is the supreme good and
supreme evil)
129
p850 ch 3 Varro argues that we are soul and
body in combination (not a soul merely
contained by a body) and thus the ultimate good
is what brings happiness to both soul and body
p852 ch 4 Augustine gets onto the Christian view
of Supreme good and evil
p852 ch 4 Q: eternal life is the Supreme Good
and eternal death the Supreme Evil, and that to
achieve the one and escape the other, we must
live rightly.
p855 ch 4 argues that it is obvious that true
happiness cannot be attained in this life
p860 ch 6 discusses the miscarriages of justice
from torturing witnesses to gain a confession
p862 ch 7 discusses the misery the wise feel in
the necessity of waging just wars.
p863 ch 8 q: how can it be that a mans death
should not be bitter if his life is sweet to us?
p868 ch 12 pride is a perverted imitation of God.
p871 ch 13 q: not even the nature of the Devil
himself is evil, in so far as it is a nature; it is
perversion that makes it evil.
p873 ch 14 q: a man who loves God is not

wrong in loving himself.

p875 ch 15 argues that man is naturally free, and
slavery is caused by sin.
p880 ch 19 q: a bishop who has set his heart
on a position of eminence rather than an
opportunity for service should realise that he is
no bishop.
p884 ch 22 willy nilly
p890 ch 23 a slightly hard to follow explanation
of Rome was never a commonwealth.
28 chapters discussing supreme good and evil,
and various other topics.
[wordandspirit.co.uk]

112

Western Canon Library

Th e Clty cf 3.: