The City of God · Chapter
Book XIX: The Ends of the Two Cities explained
Augustine discusses the ultimate ends of the earthly and heavenly cities, contrasting the vain attempts of philosophers to achieve happiness in this life with the Christian hope of eternal blessedness.
What happens
Augustine discusses the ultimate ends of the earthly and heavenly cities, contrasting the vain attempts of philosophers to achieve happiness in this life with the Christian hope of eternal blessedness. He reviews Varro's classification of 288 possible philosophical sects regarding the supreme good, refutes their errors, and explains that the true supreme good is eternal life, while the supreme evil is eternal death. The heavenly city, while on pilgrimage, uses earthly peace but directs all toward the peace of heaven, living by faith and not by sight.
Themes in this chapter
The Two Cities
The chapter explicitly discusses the destinies of the earthly and heavenly cities, contrasting their ends.
Peace, Justice, and the Order of Love
Augustine defines the peace of the heavenly city as the perfectly ordered enjoyment of God and one another in God, and describes how the pilgrim city uses earthly peace.
Sin, Grace, and Redemption
The chapter emphasizes that eternal life is the supreme good, obtained through faith and grace, not by human effort or philosophical virtue.
Characters to notice
- Augustine
Author of the work; discusses the ends of the two cities and refutes philosophical opinions on the supreme good.
- Marcus Varro
His book De Philosophia is cited for distinguishing 288 possible sects based on opinions about the supreme good.
- Cicero
Mentioned for his Consolation on the death of his daughter, lamenting the miseries of life.
- Paul
Quoted regarding the verse 'The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise that they are vain' and the statement 'We know in part.'
- Jesus Christ
Implied as the source of the faith by which the just lives and the hope of eternal life.
Key passages
“life eternal is the supreme good, death eternal the supreme evil, and that to obtain the one and escape the other we must live rightly.”
Augustine asserts that the ultimate good is everlasting life, the ultimate evil is everlasting death, and right living is necessary to gain the one and avoid the other.
This summarizes the Christian position on the supreme good and evil, contrasting with philosophical views.
“The corruptible body weigheth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle presseth down the mind that museth upon many things.”
The physical body, being subject to decay, burdens the soul and hinders the mind from contemplating truth.
Augustine cites Wisdom 9:15 to illustrate the limitations of human knowledge in this life.
“It is a matter of no moment in the city of God whether he who adopts the faith that brings men to God adopts it in one dress and manner of life or another, so long only as he lives in conformity with the commandments of God.”
External habits and lifestyle choices are irrelevant to the heavenly city as long as one obeys God's commandments.
Augustine dismisses Varro's distinctions based on dress and mode of life, emphasizing inner faith and obedience.