The City of God (Librovox)
Written by Saint Augustine
Narrated by LibriVox Community
5/5
()
About this audiobook
Rome having been stormed and sacked by the Goths under Alaric their king, the worshippers 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. It was this which kindled my zeal for the house of God, and prompted me to undertake the defence of the city of God against the charges and misrepresentations of its assailants. This work was in my hands for several years, owing to the interruptions occasioned by many other affairs which had a prior claim on my attention, and which I could not defer.
However, this great undertaking was at last completed in twenty-two books. Of these, the first five refute those who fancy that the polytheistic worship is necessary in order to secure worldly prosperity, and that all these overwhelming calamities have befallen us in consequence of its prohibition. In the following five books I address myself to those who admit that such calamities have at all times attended, and will at all times attend, the human race, and that they constantly recur in forms more or less disastrous, varying only in the scenes, occasions, and persons on whom they light, but, while admitting this, maintain that the worship of the gods is advantageous for the life to come. In these ten books, then, I refute these two opinions, which are as groundless as they are antagonistic to the Christian religion.
But that no one might have occasion to say, that though I had refuted the tenets of other men, I had omitted to establish my own, I devote to this object the second part of this work, which comprises twelve books, although I have not scrupled, as occasion offered, either to advance my own opinions in the first ten books, or to demolish the arguments of my opponents in the last twelve. Of these twelve books, the first four contain an account of the origin of these two cities-the city of God, and the city of the world. The second four treat of their history or progress; the third and last four, of their deserved destinies. And so, though all these twenty-two books refer to both cities, yet I have named them after the better city, and called them The City of God. (Summary by the author in his Retractationes (ii. 43) as translated by Marcus Dods)
Saint Augustine
Saint Augustine (354-430) was a Catholic theologian, philosopher, and writer. Born to a Catholic mother and pagan father—Berbers living in Numidia, Roman North Africa (modern day Algeria)—Augustine’s lifelong commitment to faith and deeply personal writings make him an important figure for religion, literature, and Western philosophy. He is considered influential for developing the Catholic doctrines of original sin and predestination, though he also made contributions to philosophy that extend beyond religion, including general ethics, just war theory, and the concept of free will. Augustine is also recognized today as an early and significant memoirist and autobiographer, adapting these literary forms in order to blend religious teaching with personal stories and anecdotes.
More audiobooks from Saint Augustine
The Confessions of Saint Augustine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Christian Doctrine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Confessions of Saint Augustine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHomilies on the Gospel According to St. John Volume 1: Homilies 1-17: John 1:1-5:18 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Homilies on the Gospel According to St. John Volume 4: Homilies 78-124: John 14:27-21:25 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Confessions of Saint Augustine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Enchiridion of Augustine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Smaller Treatises of St. Augustine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHomilies on the Gospel According to St. John Volume 2: Homilies 18-40: John 5:19-8:32 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The City of God (Librovox)
Related audiobooks
The First Apology of Justin Martyr Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Commentary on Galatians Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mortification of Sin in Believers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Birth, Baptism, Temptation, and Early Ministry of Jesus Chr Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sovereignty of God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lives of the Saints: With Reflections for Every Day in the Year Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBest of Jonathan Edwards Sermons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wars of the Jews Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Confessions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summa Theologica - 01 Pars Prima, Initial Questions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Against Heresies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Orthodoxy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Eusebius History of the Christian Church Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Didache Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sermon on the Mount - Commentary Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Contra Gentes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Orthodoxy (Version 2) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEpistles of Ignatius Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Enchiridion of Augustine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heretics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On the Incarnation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bondage of the Will Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summa Theologica - 02 Pars Prima, Trinity and Creation Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Consolation of Philosophy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Pilgrim's Progress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The First Apology of Justin Martyr: Unabridged Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rule of St. Benedict Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life of Anthony Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Religion & Spirituality For You
Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Counting the Cost Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spritual Growth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Enoch the Prophet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was, and Who God Has Always Been Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Weight of Glory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Problem of Pain Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Awe of God: The Astounding Way a Healthy Fear of God Transforms Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Letter to a Christian Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Power to Change: Mastering the Habits That Matter Most Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue, Book 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Naked Now: Learning To See As the Mystics See Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wake Up With Purpose!: What I’ve Learned in my First Hundred Years Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gift of Rumi: Experiencing the Wisdom of the Sufi Master Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Like a River: Finding the Faith and Strength to Move Forward after Loss and Heartache Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for The City of God (Librovox)
6 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5St Augustine's intellect is amazing! Every Christian should read this work.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Augustine is brilliant. His arguments against pagan dismissal of Christianity , for the most part still obtain. His vision of providence in God’s ordering of history gives muscular hope to believers.