The City of God · Chapter
On the City of God Against the Pagans explained
Augustine begins his monumental work defending the Christian faith against pagan accusations that the sack of Rome by the Goths was due to the abandonment of the old gods.
What happens
Augustine begins his monumental work defending the Christian faith against pagan accusations that the sack of Rome by the Goths was due to the abandonment of the old gods. He introduces the concept of two cities—the earthly city and the heavenly city—and sets the stage for a comprehensive critique of pagan religion and history.
Themes in this chapter
The Two Cities
Augustine introduces the foundational theme of two cities—the earthly city of self-love and the heavenly city of love of God.
Critique of Pagan Religion
The chapter launches a sustained critique of pagan gods and their moral failures, contrasting them with the true God.
Characters to notice
- Augustine
Author and defender of the City of God, responding to pagan criticisms.
- Romulus
Founder of Rome, whose fratricide is cited as an example of the earthly city's origins.
- Jupiter
Chief pagan god, criticized for the moral corruption of Roman religion.
- Plato
Philosopher whose ideas on the soul and the ideal state are engaged with in the critique of pagan thought.
- Marcus Varro
Roman scholar whose works on pagan religion are used as a source for critique.
Key passages
“For the city of God is a glorious city, built by the King of kings, and its foundation is the love of God.”
The heavenly city is a glorious community founded on divine love, ruled by Christ.
Augustine sets the tone for the entire work by defining the heavenly city's foundation.
“The earthly city was founded by Romulus on the crime of fratricide, a shadow of the first city founded by Cain.”
Rome's origin, like the first earthly city, was marked by brother murder, reflecting its flawed nature.
Augustine draws a parallel between Romulus and Cain to illustrate the earthly city's sinful origins.