# On the City of God Against the Pagans explained — The City of God

> Chapter companion for The City of God by Augustine of Hippo.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/on-the-city-of-god-against-the-pagans
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_city_of_god_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters