Augustine: The City of God Books VIII and IX

This edition of St Augustine’s The City of God (De Civitate Dei) is the only one in English to provide a text and translation as well as a detailed commentary of this most influential document in the history of western Christianity. In these books, written in the aftermath of the sack of Rome in AD 410 by the Goths, Augustine replies to the pagans, who attributed the fall of Rome to the Christian religion and its prohibition of the worship of the pagan gods.

Before his conversion to Christianity in 386, Augustine had devoted himself to the study of Platonism. In books VIII and IX of De Civitate Dei, Augustine renews his acquaintance with this philosophy, which had played such a fundamental role in his conversion.

The main topic of these books is demonology, with Augustine using the De Deo Socratis of Apuleius, which places demons as the intermediaries between gods and men, as the foundation of his exploration into this theme. Augustine is keen to point out the similarities between Platonism and Christianity and therefore puts forward the theory that the ideal mediator between God and man is Christ - he who shares temporary mortality with humans and permanent blessedness with God and can therefore lead men from wretchedness to eternal bliss. Latin text with facing-page English translation, introduction and commentary.