The City of God · Chapter
Endnotes explained
This chapter provides extensive endnotes and references for the main text of Augustine's City of God, including citations from classical authors, scripture, and later commentators.
What happens
This chapter provides extensive endnotes and references for the main text of Augustine's City of God, including citations from classical authors, scripture, and later commentators. It contextualizes Augustine's arguments, offers scholarly commentary, and traces the reception of the work.
Themes in this chapter
The Two Cities
The endnotes support Augustine's contrast between the earthly city and the heavenly city, drawing on classical and biblical sources.
Sin, Grace, and Redemption
References to original sin, the fall, and redemption through Christ are prominent in the scriptural citations.
Morality and Virtue vs. Pagan Corruption
Classical authors like Sallust and Virgil are used to illustrate pagan moral failings and the need for Christian virtue.
Characters to notice
- Augustine
Author of the City of God; his works and letters are cited throughout the endnotes.
- Jerome
Quoted regarding the sack of Rome and the fall of the empire.
- Virgil
His Aeneid is frequently cited for classical parallels and moral examples.
- Cicero
Referenced for philosophical and rhetorical works, including Tusculanae Disputationes and De Amicitia.
- Plato
Mentioned in relation to the Timaeus and the threefold division of the soul.
- Sallust
Quoted on Roman history and morality.
- Lactantius
Referenced for his Institutiones Divinae and views on the end times.
- Paul
Scriptural citations from his epistles are used to support theological arguments.
Key passages
“Haeret vox et singultus intercipiunt verba dictantis. Capitur urbs quae totum cepit orbem.”
My voice sticks and sobs interrupt my words. The city that conquered the whole world is itself conquered.
Jerome's lament on the sack of Rome, capturing the shock and grief of the event.
“Plus on examine la Cité de Dieu, plus on reste convaincu que cet ouvrage dût exercer tres-peu d’influence sur l’esprit des païens”
The more one examines the City of God, the more one is convinced that this work must have had very little influence on the minds of pagans.
A modern scholarly assessment of the limited immediate impact of Augustine's work on pagan contemporaries.