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The City of God
By St Augustine of Hippo
Session 16, Review of The City of God
in the Context of St Augustine’s Other Writings
The gods of the nations are demons. (Ps 95)
Glorious things are said of thee, o City of God! (Ps
86)
Note on
schedule: Last session! Hope you enjoyed our course!
I. Review
of Introduction
A. Why
read The City of God? It is arguably the most important book for the
medieval period outside of the Bible – it has shaped civilization.
B.
Who was St Augustine? AD 354-430, convert after a sinful youth, Bishop of
Hippo.
C. The
Fall of Rome, AD 410 - to the outwardly Christian Visigoth King Aleric. The
sack of Rome is the historical event which inspired St Augustine to write of
the city of men which will pass away and the City of God which endures forever.
II. Notes
and suggestions on reading The City of God
A. Size
of the work: The work is made up of 22 books, each consisting of about 30
chapters (up to even 54 chapters) which are generally about one or two pages
long. Thus, the total work (in our “Modern Library” edition) is nearly 900
pages.
B.
Historical timeline: St Augustine started writing in 413 (three years after the
fall of Rome) and continued for about fourteen years until 426, ages 59 to 72!
Many interruptions as he worked on the project, some of which are noted in the
text itself. Also, it was published in stages, as is sometimes evident from the
writing.
C.
General Outline:
We can
approach these two parts (Books I-X and XI-XXII) almost as two distinct works,
one in which he shows the falsity of paganism and a second in which he defends
the true Faith. We will focus much more intensely upon the second part of the
work, in which St Augustine presents the Catholic view of Scripture and of
human history.
D. The
five part division of City of God (from St Augustine himself)
1. The
Pagan gods and Earthly Happiness (Books I-V) – ancient history
2. The
Pagan gods and Eternal Happiness (Books VI-X) – paganism and philosophy
3. The
Origin of the Two Cities (Books XI-XIV) – angels/demons, Original Sin, death
4. The
Development of the Two Cities (Books XV-XVIII) – Old Testament to Christ
5. The
Ends of the Two Cities (Books XIX-XII) – the End of the World and Judgment
III.
Other Great Works of St Augustine that bear on City of God
Confessions
(about 400): The story of his life not only the historical details, but most
especially as a moral, intellectual, and spiritual journey. Concludes with four
books of philosophical and theological reflection (including an extended
commentary on creation, time, good and evil, and Genesis 1 and 2).
Enchiridion
(410): On Faith, Hope and Love. On living the Faith, and on the central beliefs
of the Catholic Church.
Literal
Commentary on Genesis (401-415): St. Augustine had attempted many commentaries
on Genesis, but in this, he finally comes to his masterful understanding of the
Creation!
Commentary
on the Psalms (finish 418): A line by line commentary on each of the Psalms.
Warm and masterful – very helpful for the priest/monk/nun and even the laity
who pray the psalms daily.
On
Christian Doctrine (397-426): A careful
discussion of theories of biblical exegesis. St Augustine explains how a
Catholic ought to read the Scriptures and proper methods of interpretation.
IV. Other
important works of St Augustine
A. On the
Harmony of the Gospels (410): An attempt to reconcile the various passages of
the four Gospels to set all the events of our Lord’s life in proper order. This
is especially important for understanding St John’s Gospel which relates many
different things than the other three.
B. Commentary
on the Gospel of John (416): The greatest work of speculative theology and
biblical interpretation excepting only St Thomas’ commentary on the same.
C. On the
Trinity (400-416): Sometimes considered the most profound work of St Augustine,
in which he especially develops the image of the Trinity in man (being/memory,
knowledge, will).
D. The
Letters of St Augustine – most especially his letters with St Jerome, which
show so clearly his personality, charm, intellectual honesty and brilliance,
and especially his great love of God and of man.
E. Many,
many others! On the Freedom of the Will.
On Galatians. Over 300 Sermons. Etc.
Excerpt
from Confessions on the Creation (an Allegorical Interpretation)
Confessions,
Book XIII, c.37:
“be
fruitful and multiply” ... But if we treat those words as taken figuratively
(the which I rather suppose the Scripture intended, which does not, verily,
superfluously attribute this benediction to the offspring of marine animals and
man only), then do we find that multitude belongs also to creatures both
spiritual and corporeal, as in heaven and in earth; and to souls both righteous
and unrighteous, as in light and darkness; and to holy authors, through whom
the law has been furnished unto us, as in the firmament which has been firmly
placed between waters and waters; and to the society of people yet endued with
bitterness, as in the sea; and to the desire of holy souls, as in the dry land;
and to works of mercy pertaining to this present life, as in the seed-bearing
herbs and fruit-bearing trees; and to spiritual gifts shining forth for
edification, as in the lights of heaven; and to affections formed unto
temperance, as in the living soul.
You will
notice, if you read Confessions, that many of the pagan falsities St Augustine
attacks in City of God books I-X are ones that either he or his friends had
fallen to before he became a Christian.
Quotes
from On Christian Doctrine
“Whoever,
then, thinks that he understands the Holy Scriptures, or any part of them, but
puts such an interpretation upon them as does not tend to build up this twofold
love of God and our neighbor, does not yet understand them as he ought.”
“The wisdom
of what a person says is in direct proportion to his progress in learning the
holy scriptures--and I am not speaking of intensive reading or memorization,
but real understanding and careful investigation of their meaning. Some people
read them but neglect them; by their reading they profit in knowledge, by their
neglect they forfeit understanding.”
“Faith
will falter if the authority of holy scripture is shaken; and if faith falters,
love itself decays. For if someone lapses in his faith, he inevitably lapses in
his love as well, since he cannot love what he does not believe to be true.”
“I say to
those who fail to understand what I write that it is not my fault they do not
understand. Suppose they wanted to see the new moon, or not the old one, or a star
that was very faint, and I pointed it out with my finger but their eyesight was
too weak to see even my finger - surely it would be wrong from the to be
annoyed with me for that reason? As for those who manage to learn and
assimilate these rules but are still unable to see into the obscure passages of
divine scripture, they should consider themselves capable of seeing my finger
but not the star to which it points. Both types of objector should stop blaming
me and pray for insight to be given to them by God. Although I can move a part
of my body as to point to something, I cannot improve their eyesight to make
them see even my pointing finger, let alone what I want to point out.”
“It is
the duty, therefore, of the eloquent churchman, when he is trying to persuade
the people about something that has to be done, not only to teach, in order to
instruct them; not only to delight, in order to hold them; but also to sway, in
order to conquer and win them.”
Commentary
on Psalm 3
A psalm of David,
when he fled from the face of Absalom his son.
1. The words, I
slept, and took rest; and rose, for the Lord will take me up, lead us
to believe that this Psalm is to
be understood as in the Person of Christ; for they sound more applicable to the
Passion and Resurrection of our Lord, than to that history in which David's
flight is described from the face of his rebellious son. And, since it is
written of Christ's disciples, The sons of the bridegroom
fast not as long as the bridegroom is with them; Matthew 9:15 it is no
wonder if by his undutiful son be here meant that undutiful disciple who betrayed Him. From whose face
although it may be understood historically that He fled, when on his departure
He withdrew with the rest to the mountain; yet in a spiritual sense, when
the Son of God, that is the Power and
Wisdom of God, abandoned the mind of
Judas; when the Devil wholly
occupied him; as it is written, The Devil entered into his heart, John 13:27 may it be
well understood that Christ fled from his face; not that Christ gave place to
the Devil, but that on Christ's
departure the Devil took
possession. Which departure, I suppose, is called a flight in this Psalm,
because of its quickness; which is indicated also by the word of our Lord,
saying, That you do, do quickly. John 13:27 So even in common conversation we
say of anything that does not come to mind,
it has fled from me; and of a man of much learning we say, nothing flies from
him. Wherefore truth fled from
the mind of Judas, when it ceased to enlighten him. But Absalom, as some
interpret, in the Latin tongue signifies, Patris pax, a father's
peace. And it may seem strange, whether in the history of the kings, when
Absalom carried on war against
his father; or in the history of the New
Testament, when Judas was the betrayer of our Lord; how father's
peace can be understood. But both in the former place they who read
carefully, see that David in that war was
at peace with his son, who even with sore grief lamented his death,
saying, O Absalom, my son, would God I had died for you! 2 Samuel 18:33 And
in the history of the New Testament by
that so great and so wonderful forbearance of our Lord; in that He bore so long
with him as if good, when He was not ignorant of
his thoughts; in that He admitted him to the Supper in which He committed and
delivered to His disciples the
figure of His Body and Blood; finally, in that He received the kiss of peace at the very time of His
betrayal; it is easily understood how Christ showed peace to His betrayer,
although he was laid waste by the intestine war of
so abominable a device. And therefore is Absalom called father's
peace, because his father had the peace, which he had not.
2. O Lord,
how are they multiplied that trouble me! Psalm 3:1. So multiplied indeed were they, that one
even from the number of His disciples was
not wanting, who was added to the number of His persecutors. Many rise
up against me; many say unto my soul,
There is no salvation for him in his
God Psalm 3:2. It is clear that if
they had had any idea that He would rise again, assuredly they would not have
slain Him. To this end are those speeches, Let Him come down from
the cross, if He be the Son of God; and again, He saved
others, Himself He cannot save. Matthew 27:42 Therefore, neither would Judas
have betrayed Him, if he had not been of the number of those who despised
Christ, saying, There is no salvation for
Him in His God.
3. But You, O
Lord, art my taker. It is said to God in
the nature of man, for the taking of man is, the Word made
Flesh. My glory. Even
He calls God his glory, whom the Word of God so took, that God became one
with Him. Let the proud learn, who
unwillingly hear, when it is said to them, For what have you that you
did not receive? Now if you received it, why do you glory as if you had not received it? 1 Corinthians 4:7 And
the lifter up of my head Psalm
3:3. I think that this should be here taken of the human mind,
which is not unreasonably called the head of the soul;
which so inhered in, and in a sort coalesced with, the supereminent excellency
of the Word taking man, that it was not laid aside by so great humiliation of
the Passion.
[…] 5. I
slept, and took rest Psalm
3:5. It may be not unsuitably remarked, that it is expressly
said, I, to signify that of His own Will He underwent death,
according to that, Therefore does My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I
might take it again. No man takes it from Me; I have power to lay it down, and
I have power to take it again. John 10:17-18 Therefore, says He, you have not taken Me
as though against My will, and slain Me; but I slept, and took rest;
and rose, for the Lord will take me up. […]
