# Of the end of this life, whether it is material that it be long delayed explained — The City of God

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

## What happens

Augustine argues that the manner and timing of death are unimportant for the righteous, since death ends all lives equally and what matters is the state of the soul after death. He contrasts the fear of many deaths with the single death that ends all fear, and asserts that a good life renders death not evil, but merely a transition to judgment.

## Themes in this chapter

### Sin, Grace, and Redemption

Death is not an evil for those who have lived well; its evil lies in the retribution that follows, not in the event itself.

### Eschatology and the Last Things

The end of life is a transition to judgment; the righteous need not fear the manner of death but should consider what follows.

## Character check-ins

### Augustine

Author and speaker, arguing that the length and manner of death are irrelevant for the righteous.

### Jesus Christ

Implied as the source of Christian hope and the standard for a good life.

## Key lines

> Now the end of life puts the longest life on a par with the shortest. For of two things which have alike ceased to be, the one is not better, the other worse⁠—the one greater, the other less.

Death equalizes all lives, regardless of their length; once both have ended, there is no comparison of better or worse.

_Augustine emphasizes the irrelevance of lifespan duration in the face of death._

> That death is not to be judged an evil which is the end of a good life; for death becomes evil only by the retribution which follows it.

Death is not evil if it concludes a virtuous life; its evil comes solely from the punishment that may follow after death.

_Key distinction between death itself and its consequences for the soul._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xi
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_city_of_god_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters