Written as an eloquent defence of the faith at a time when the roman empire was on the brink of collapse, this great theological and philosophical work by st augustine, bishop of hippo, examines the ancient pagan religions of rome, the arguments of the greek. Next to it his bestknown work is the city of god after 412a mammoth defense of christianity against its pagan critics, and famous especially for the uniquely christian view of history elaborated in its pages. Augustins city of god and christian doctrine by philip schaff. Aurelius augustinus hipponensis, in english augustine of hippo, also known as st. Since medieval europe was the cradle of todays western civilization, this work by consequence is vital for understanding our world and how it came into being. Augustine published by faber and faber limited, london 1950. The book was in response to allegations that christianity brought about the decline of rome and is considered one of augustines most important works, standing alongside the confessions, the. Written as an eloquent defence of the faith at a time when the roman empire was on the brink of collapse, it examines the ancient pagan religions of. The original city of god contained twentytwo books and filles three regularsized volumes. Pagans at the time blamed christians for the destruction of romes empire. Reading the city of god has been a lifelong hope of mine, ever since i learned of augustines work from my early church history professor at perkins school of theology smu, william s. City of god is an enduringly significant work in the history of christian thought, by one of its central figures.
But as augustine contemplates the ruins of romes greatness, and feels, in common with all the world at this crisis, the instability of the strongest governments, the insufficiency of the most authoritative statesmanship, there hovers over these ruins the splendid vision of the city of god coming down out of heaven, adorned as a bride for her. This document has been generated from xsl extensible stylesheet language source with renderx xep formatter, version 3. History was, augustine explained, a tale of two cities, the city of god and the earthly city, which two states are intimately connected and promiscuously blended with one another in this life until they are separated by the final judgement. Market st, nailsworth stroud, united kingdom gl6 0bx. Augustine originally intended it to be an apology for christianity against the accusation that the church was responsible for the decline of the roman empire, which had occurred just three. Saint augustine defends christianity in this composition about the fall of rome. This edition has been skillfully abridged for the intelligent general reader by vernon j. In medieval europe, gods calling was a grounding force. He was a latin philosopher and theologian from the africa province of the roman empire and is generally considered as one of the greatest christian thinkers of all times.
This affordable new translation with useful notes will make this masterpiece accessible to the 21st century reader. The city of god against the pagans, books 1, saint augustine bishop of hippo. The book presents human history as a conflict between what augustine calls the earthly city often colloquially referred to as the city of man, but never by augustine and the city of god, a conflict that is destined to end in victory for the latter. Nov 27, 2003 city of god is an enduringly significant work in the history of christian thought, by one of its central figures. St augustine puts the intellectual sword to the pagan, hedonistic history of ancient rome. His numerous written works, including confessions and city of god, laid the foundation for much of. Confessiones is the name of an autobiographical work, consisting of books, by saint augustine of hippo, written in latin between 397 and 400 ad. The monumental city of god has astonishingly relevant things to say to an age of postmodernism, secularism, multiculturalism and globalisation. Rome having been stormed and sacked by the goths under alaric their king, the worshipers of false gods, or pagans, as we commonly call them, made an attempt to attribute this calamity to the christian religion, and began to blaspheme the true god with even more than their wonted bitterness and acerbity. San francisco more than 450 antiquarian book dealers in at least 26. Augustines famous theory that people need government because they are sinful served as a model for churchstate relations in medieval times.
Augustines life, is a beautifully written apology for the christian convert. He uncovers a wideranging explanation of history that begins with creation itself, moves through the turmoil and upheaval of manmade states the city of the world, and continues to the realization of the kingdom of god the city of god. Christian philosophy, christian theology, neoplatonism. Nov 27, 2003 st augustine, bishop of hippo, was one of the central figures in the history of christianity, and city of god is one of his greatest theological works. The city of god by saint augustine of hippo loyal books. He is the preeminent doctor of the church according to roman catholicism, and is considered by evangelical protestants to be in the tradition of the. The city of god by saint augustine and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at abebooks. Aurelius augustinus 354430 is often simply referred to as st.
The work outlines saint augustine s sinful youth and his conversion to christianity. Covering everything from christianitys relationship to rome, to the nature of idolatry and the real reasons for romes downfall, books ix form a critical section in this magisterial work by the first truly great nonapostolic theologian. A flash strike against abebooks, which began monday, is a rare. The city of god saint augustine by saint augustine, st. City of god translators preface augustin censures the pagans, who attributed the calamities of the world, and especially the recent sack of rome by the goths, to the christian religion, and its prohibition of the worship of the gods. Augustine to be included in the series are in addition to the city of god. Lutherans, and martin luther in particular, have held augustine in preeminence after the bible and st. He is the preeminent doctor of the church according to roman catholicism, and is considered by evangelical protestants to be in the tradition of the apostle paul as the.
The city of god is one of the great cornerstones in the history of christian thought, a book which is vital to the understanding of modern western society. Written as an eloquent defence of the faith at a time when the roman empire was on the brink of collapse, this great theological and philosophical work by st augustine, bishop of hippo, examines the ancient pagan religions of rome, the arguments of the greek philosophers and the. But the reward of the saints is far different, who even here endured reproaches for that city of god which is hateful to the lovers of this world. Booksellers protest amazon sites move to drop stores from. St augustine, bishop of hippo, was one of the central figures in the history of christianity, and city of god is one of his greatest theological works. Reading the city of god has been a lifelong hope of mine, ever since i learned of augustine s work from my early church history professor at perkins school of theology smu, william s. Karla pollmann, professor of classics, university of st. The city of god modern library classics dods, marcus, augustine, saint, merton, thomas. Augustine s city of god was closely identified with the church, and was the community which worshipped god. Saint augustine of hippo 354420 rome having been stormed and sacked by the goths under alaric their king, the worshipers of false gods, or pagans, as we commonly call them, made an attempt to attribute this calamity to the christian religion, and began to blaspheme the true god with even more than their wonted bitterness and acerbity.
Shop philosophy of religion books and collectibles abebooks. Jul 21, 2010 it is the first attempt at a philosophy of history, under the aspect of two rival cities or communities,the eternal city of god and the perishing city of the world. The city of god by saint augustine of hippo free at. The philosopher and theologian, saint augustine, one of the latin fathers of the church, created a theological system of great power and lasting influence.
City of god by augustine and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at abebooks. City of god by saint augustine and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at abebooks. Saint augustine of hippo 354420 rome having been stormed and sacked by the goths under alaric their king, the worshipers of false gods, or pagans, as we commonly call them, made an attempt to attribute this calamity to the christian religion, and began to blaspheme the true god with even more than their wonted bitterness. Augustine comes now to the third kind of theology, that is, the natural, and takes up the question, whether the worship of the gods of the natural theology is of any avail towards securing. Christian monotheism, as articulated by the apostle paul and saint augustine, inaugurated the west. Written as an eloquent defence of the faith at a time when the roman empire was on the brink of collapse, it examines the ancient pagan religions of rome, the arguments of the greek philosophers and the revelations of the bible. Augustines city of god was closely identified with the church, and was the community which worshipped god. Written as an eloquent defence of the faith at a time when the roman empire was on the brink of collapse, it examines the ancient pagan religions of rome, the arguments of the greek philosophers and the. The city of god is a classic with very detailed theological thoughts and developments throughout the very long book. The book was in response to allegations that christianity brought about the decline of rome and is considered one of augustines most important works, standing. Rome having been stormed and sacked by the goths under alaric their king, the worshipers of false gods, or pagans, as we commonly call them, made an attempt to attribute this calamity to the christian religion, and began to blaspheme the true god with even more than their wonted. It is the first attempt at a philosophy of history, under the aspect of two rival cities or communities,the eternal city of god and the perishing city of the world.
The city of god was one of the most influential works of the middle ages. Austin, was bishop of hippo regius presentday annaba, algeria. The city of god by st augustine, first edition abebooks. Augustine was born in the city of thagaste, the present day souk ahras, algeria, to a pagan father named patricius and a catholic mother named monica. All the treatises in the pelagian, and the four leading treatises in the donatist controversy. Aug 17, 2015 history was, augustine explained, a tale of two cities, the city of god and the earthly city, which two states are intimately connected and promiscuously blended with one another in this life until they are separated by the final judgement. Whilst he addresses issues that are in some ways remote to our era, his assessment and summnation of roman history is an object lesson for us today of how history morths into something romantic, ignoring the true and brutal reality of that time. Saint augustine is often regardarded as the most influential christian thinker after saint paul, and city of god is his materpiece, a cast. There is true and full felicity,not a goddess, but a gift of god. No book except the bible itself had a greater influence on the middle ages than city of god.
Modern english translations of it are sometimes published under the title the confessions of saint augustine in order to. He wrote the book in response to the charge by the romans that the sack of rome by the visigoth alaric in ad 410 was due to the citys. Augustine the city of god is a book of christian philosophy written in latin by st. The city of god is marked by people who forego earthly pleasure to dedicate themselves to the eternal truths of god, now revealed fully in the christian faith. He also influenced the work of thomas aquinas and john calvin and many other theologians throughout the centuries. City of god is an enduringly significant work in the history of christian thought, by one of its central figures written as an eloquent defence of the faith at a time when the roman empire was on the brink of collapse, this great theological and philosophical work by st augustine, bishop of hippo, examines the ancient pagan religions of rome, the arguments of the greek philosophers and the. City of god is an enduringly significant work in the history of christian thought, by one of its central figures written as an eloquent defence of the faith at a time when the roman empire was on the brink of collapse, this great theological and philosophical work by st augustine, bishop of hippo, examines the ancient pagan religions of rome, the arguments of the greek.
Bourke, author of augustine s quest for wisdom, making the heart of this monumental work available to a wide audience. Augustine or augustine bishop of hippo the ancient name of the modern city of annaba in algeria. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. He wrote the book in response to the charge by the romans that the sack of rome by the visigoth alaric in ad 410 was due to the citys inhabitants. City of god image classics paperback abridged, january 19, 1958. Burleigh, 1949, christian literature, early, 226 pages.
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