Classics
The City of God, Volume II
Augustine of Hippo, translated by Marcus Dods · AD 413–426 (Dods’ translation 1871)
Books XIV–XXII: the course of the earthly and the heavenly city through history to their ends, in judgment and in eternal peace.
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Contents
Book XIV28 pages
- Argument
- 1. That the disobedience of the first man would have plunged all men into the endless misery of the second death, had not the grace of God rescued many
- 2. Of carnal life, which is to be understood not only of living in bodily indulgence, but also of living in the vices of the inner man
- 3. That sin is caused not by the flesh, but by the soul, and that the corruption contracted from sin is not sin, but sin's punishment
- 4. What it is to live according to man, and what to live according to God
- 6. Of the character of the human will which makes the affections of the soul right or wrong
- 7. That the words love and regard (amor and dilectio) are in Scripture used indifferently of good and evil affection
- 8. Of the three perturbations, which the Stoics admitted in the soul of the wise man to the exclusion of grief or sadness, which the manly mind ought not to experience
- 9. Of the perturbations of the soul which appear as right affections in the life of the righteous
- 10. Whether it is to be believed that our first parents in Paradise, before they sinned, were free from all perturbation
- 11. Of the fall of the first man, in whom nature was created good, and can be restored only by its Author
- 12. Of the nature of man's first sin
- 13. That in Adam's sin an evil will preceded the evil act
- 14. Of the pride in the sin, which was worse than the sin itself
- 15. Of the justice of the punishment with which our first parents were visited for their disobedience
- 16. Of the evil of lust,--a word which, though applicable to many vices, is specially appropriated to sexual uncleanness
- 17. Of the nakedness of our first parents, which they saw after their base and shameful sin
- 18. Of the shame which attends all sexual intercourse
- 19. That it is now necessary, as it was not before man sinned, to bridle anger and lust by the restraining influence of wisdom
- 20. Of the foolish beastliness of the Cynics
- 21. That man's transgression did not annul the blessing of fecundity pronounced upon man before he sinned, but infected it with the disease of lust
- 22. Of the conjugal union as it was originally instituted and blessed by God
- 23. Whether generation should have taken place even in Paradise had man not sinned, or whether there should have been any contention there between chastity and lust
- 24. That if men had remained innocent and obedient in Paradise, the generative organs should have been in subjection to the will as the other members are
- 25. Of true blessedness, which this present life cannot enjoy
- 26. That we are to believe that in Paradise our first parents begat offspring without blushing
- 27. Of the angels and men who sinned, and that their wickedness did not disturb the order of God's providence
- 28. Of the nature of the two cities, the earthly and the heavenly
Book XV28 pages
- Argument
- 1. Of the two lines of the human race which from first to last divide it
- 2. Of the children of the flesh and the children of the promise
- 3. That Sarah's barrenness was made productive by God's grace
- 4. Of the conflict and peace of the earthly city
- 5. Of the fratricidal act of the founder of the earthly city, and the corresponding crime of the founder of Rome
- 6. Of the weaknesses which even the citizens of the city of God suffer during this earthly pilgrimage in punishment of sin, and of which they are healed by God's care
- 7. Of the cause of Cain's crime and his obstinacy, which not even the word of God could subdue
- 8. What Cain's reason was for building a city so early in the history of the human race
- 9. Of the long life and greater stature of the antediluvians
- 10. Of the different computation of the ages of the antediluvians, given by the Hebrew manuscripts and by our own.[166]
- 11. Of Methuselah's age, which seems to extend fourteen years beyond the deluge
- 12. Of the opinion of those who do not believe that in these primitive times men lived so long as is stated
- 13. Whether, in computing years, we ought to follow the Hebrew or the Septuagint
- 14. That the years in those ancient times were of the same length as our own
- 15. Whether it is credible that the men of the primitive age abstained from sexual intercourse until that date at which it is recorded that they begat children
- 16. Of marriage between blood-relations, in regard to which the present law could not bind the men of the earliest ages
- 17. Of the two fathers and leaders who sprang from one progenitor
- 18. The significance of Abel, Seth, and Enos to Christ and His body the Church
- 19. The significance of Enoch's translation
- 20. How it is that Cain's line terminates in the eighth generation, while Noah, though descended from the same father, Adam, is found to be the tenth from him
- 21. Why it is that, as soon as Cain's son Enoch has been named, the genealogy is forthwith continued as far as the deluge, while after the mention of Enos, Seth's son, the narrative returns again to the creation of man
- 22. Of the fall of the sons of God who were captivated by the daughters of men, whereby all, with the exception of eight persons, deservedly perished in the deluge
- 23. Whether we are to believe that angels, who are of a spiritual substance, fell in love with the beauty of women, and sought them in marriage, and that from this connection giants were born
- 24. How we are to understand this which the Lord said to those who were to perish in the flood: "Their days shall be 120 years."
- 25. Of the anger of God, which does not inflame His mind, nor disturb His unchangeable tranquillity
- 26. That the ark which Noah was ordered to make figures in every respect Christ and the church
- 27. Of the ark and the deluge, and that we cannot agree with those who receive the bare history, but reject the allegorical interpretation, nor with those who maintain the figurative and not the historical meaning
Book XVI43 pages
- Argument
- 1. Whether, after the deluge, from Noah to Abraham, any families can be found who lived according to God
- 2. What was prophetically prefigured in the sons of Noah
- 3. Of the generations of the three sons of Noah
- 4. Of the diversity of languages, and of the founding of Babylon
- 5. Of God's coming down to confound the languages of the builders of the city
- 6. What we are to understand by God's speaking to the angels
- 7. Whether even the remotest islands received their FAUNA from the animals which were preserved, through the deluge, in the ark
- 8. Whether certain monstrous races of men are derived from the stock of Adam or Noah's sons
- 9. Whether we are to believe in the Antipodes
- 10. Of the genealogy of Shem, in whose line the city of God is preserved till the time of Abraham
- 11. That the original language in use among men was that which was afterwards called Hebrew, from Heber, in whose family it was preserved when the confusion of tongues occurred
- 12. Of the era in Abraham's life from which a new period in the holy succession begins
- 13. Why, in the account of Terah's emigration, on his forsaking the Chaldeans and passing over into Mesopotamia, no mention is made of his son Nahor
- 14. Of the years of Terah, who completed his lifetime in Haran
- 15. Of the time of the migration of Abraham, when, according to the commandment of God, he went out from Haran
- 16. Of the order and nature of the promises of God which were made to Abraham
- 17. Of the three most famous kingdoms of the nations, of which one, that is, the Assyrian, was already very eminent when Abraham was born
- 18. Of the repeated address of God to Abraham, in which He promised the land of Canaan to him and to his seed
- 19. Of the divine preservation of Sarah's chastity in Egypt, when Abraham had called her not his wife but his sister
- 20. Of the parting of Lot and Abraham, which they agreed to without breach of charity
- 21. Of the third promise of God, by which He assured the land of Canaan to Abraham and his seed in perpetuity
- 22. Of Abraham's overcoming the enemies of Sodom, when he delivered Lot from captivity and was blessed by Melchizedek the priest
- 24. Of the meaning of the sacrifice Abraham was commanded to offer when he supplicated to be taught about those things he had believed
- 25. Of Sarah's handmaid, Hagar, whom she herself wished to be Abraham's concubine
- 26. Of God's attestation to Abraham, by which He assures him, when now old, of a son by the barren Sarah, and appoints him the father of the nations, and seals his faith in the promise by the sacrament of circumcision
- 27. Of the male, who was to lose his soul if he was not circumcised on the eighth day, because he had broken God's covenant
- 28. Of the change of name in Abraham and Sarah, who received the gift of fecundity when they were incapable of regeneration owing to the barrenness of one, and the old age of both
- 29. Of the three men or angels, in whom the Lord is related to have appeared to Abraham at the oak of Mamre
- 30. Of Lot's deliverance from Sodom, and its consumption by fire from heaven; and of Abimelech, whose lust could not harm Sarah's chastity
- 31. Of Isaac, who was born according to the promise, whose name was given on account of the laughter of both parents
- 32. Of Abraham's obedience and faith, which were proved by the offering up of his son in sacrifice; and of Sarah's death
- 33. Of Rebecca, the grand-daughter of Nahor, whom Isaac took to wife
- 34. What is meant by Abraham's marrying Keturah after Sarah's death
- 35. What was indicated by the divine answer about the twins still shut up in the womb of Rebecca their mother
- 36. Of the oracle and blessing which Isaac received, just as his father did, being beloved for his sake
- 37. Of the things mystically prefigured in Esau and Jacob
- 38. Of Jacob's mission to Mesopotamia to get a wife, and of the vision which he saw in a dream by the way, and of his getting four women when he sought one wife
- 39. The reason why Jacob was also called Israel
- 40. How it is said that Jacob went into Egypt with seventy-five souls, when most of those who are mentioned were born at a later period
- 41. Of the blessing which Jacob promised in Judah his son
- 42. Of the sons of Joseph, whom Jacob blessed, prophetically changing his hands
- 43. Of the times of Moses and Joshua the son of Nun, of the judges, and thereafter of the kings, of whom Saul was the first, but David is to be regarded as the chief, both by the oath and by merit
Book XVII24 pages
- Argument
- 1. Of the prophetic age
- 2. At what time the promise of God was fulfilled concerning the land of Canaan, which even carnal Israel got in possession
- 3. Of the threefold meaning of the prophecies, which are to be referred now to the earthly, now to the heavenly Jerusalem, and now again to both
- 4. About the prefigured change of the Israelitic kingdom and priesthood, and about the things Hannah the mother of Samuel prophesied, personating the Church
- 5. Of those things which a man of God spake by the Spirit to Eli the priest, signifying that the priesthood which had been appointed according to Aaron was to be taken away
- 6. Of the Jewish priesthood and kingdom, which, although promised to be established for ever, did not continue; so that other things are to be understood to which eternity is assured
- 7. Of the disruption of the kingdom of Israel, by which the perpetual division of the spiritual from the carnal Israel was prefigured
- 8. Of the promises made to David in his son, which are in no wise fulfilled in Solomon, but most fully in Christ
- 9. How like the prophecy about Christ in the 89th Psalm is to the things promised in Nathan's prophecy in the Books of Samuel
- 10. How different the acts in the kingdom of the earthly Jerusalem are from those which God had promised, so that the truth of the promise should be understood to pertain to the glory of the other King and kingdom
- 11. Of the substance of the people of God, which through His assumption of flesh is in Christ, who alone had power to deliver His own soul from hell
- 12. To whose person the entreaty for the promises is to be understood to belong, when he says in the psalm, "Where are Thine ancient compassions, Lord?" etc
- 13. Whether the truth of this promised peace can be ascribed to those times passed away under Solomon
- 14. Of David's concern in the writing of the Psalms
- 15. Whether all the things prophesied in the Psalms concerning Christ and His Church should be taken up in the text of this work
- 16. Of the things pertaining to Christ and the Church, said either openly or tropically in the 45th Psalm
- 17. Of those things in the 110th Psalm which relate to the priesthood of Christ, and in the 22d to His passion
- 18. Of the 3d, 41st, 15th, and 68th Psalms, in which the death and resurrection of the Lord are prophesied
- 19. Of the 69th Psalm, in which the obstinate unbelief of the Jews is declared
- 20. Of David's reign and merit; and of his son Solomon, and that prophecy relating to Christ which is found either in those books which are joined to those written by him, or in those which are indubitably his
- 21. Of the kings after Solomon, both in Judah and Israel
- 22. Of Jeroboam, who profaned the people put under him by the impiety of idolatry, amid which, however, God did not cease to inspire the prophets, and to guard many from the crime of idolatry
- 24. Of the prophets, who either were the last among the Jews, or whom the gospel history reports about the time of Christ's nativity
Book XVIII54 pages
- Argument
- 1. Of those things down to the times of the Saviour which have been discussed in the seventeen books
- 2. Of the kings and times of the earthly city which were synchronous with the times of the saints, reckoning from the rise of Abraham
- 3. What kings reigned in Assyria and Sicyon when, according to the promise, Isaac was born to Abraham in his hundredth year, and when the twins Esau and Jacob were born of Rebecca to Isaac in his sixtieth year
- 4. Of the times of Jacob and his son Joseph
- 5. Of Apis king of Argos, whom the Egyptians called Serapis, and worshipped with divine honours
- 6. Who were kings of Argos, and of Assyria, when Jacob died in Egypt
- 7. Who were kings when Joseph died in Egypt
- 8. Who were kings when Moses was born, and what gods began to be worshipped then
- 9. When the city of Athens was founded, and what reason Varro assigns for its name
- 10. What Varro reports about the term Areopagus, and about Deucalion's flood
- 11. When Moses led the people out of Egypt; and who were kings when his successor Joshua the son of Nun died
- 12. Of the rituals of false gods instituted by the kings of Greece in the period from Israel's exodus from Egypt down to the death of Joshua the son of Nun
- 13. What fables were invented at the time when judges began to rule the Hebrews
- 14. Of the theological poets
- 15. Of the fall of the kingdom of Argos, when Picus the son of Saturn first received his father's kingdom of Laurentum
- 16. Of Diomede, who after the destruction of Troy was placed among the gods, while his companions are said to have been changed into birds
- 17. What Varro says of the incredible transformations of men
- 18. What we should believe concerning the transformations which seem to happen to men through the art of demons
- 19. That Æneas came into Italy when Abdon the judge ruled over the Hebrews
- 20. Of the succession of the line of kings among the Israelites after the times of the judges
- 21. Of the kings of Latium, the first and twelfth of whom, Æneas and Aventinus, were made gods
- 22. That Rome was founded when the Assyrian kingdom perished, at which time Hezekiah reigned in Judah
- 23. Of the Erythræan sibyl, who is known to have sung many things about Christ more plainly than the other sibyls
- 24. That the seven sages flourished in the reign of Romulus, when the ten tribes which were called Israel were led into captivity by the Chaldeans, and Romulus, when dead, had divine honours conferred on him
- 25. What philosophers were famous when Tarquinius Priscus reigned over the Romans, and Zedekiah over the Hebrews, when Jerusalem was taken and the temple overthrown
- 26. That at the time when the captivity of the Jews was brought to an end, on the completion of seventy years, the Romans also were freed from kingly rule
- 27. Of the times of the prophets whose oracles are contained in books, and who sang many things about the call of the Gentiles at the time when the Roman kingdom began and the Assyrian came to an end
- 28. Of the things pertaining to the gospel of Christ which Hosea and Amos prophesied
- 29. What things are predicted by Isaiah concerning Christ and the Church
- 30. What Micah, Jonah, and Joel prophesied in accordance with the New Testament
- 31. Of the predictions concerning the salvation of the world in Christ, in Obadiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk
- 32. Of the prophecy that is contained in the prayer and song of Habakkuk
- 33. What Jeremiah and Zephaniah have, by the prophetic Spirit, spoken before concerning Christ and the calling of the nations
- 34. Of the prophecy of Daniel and Ezekiel, other two of the greater prophets
- 35. Of the prophecy of the three prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi
- 36. About Esdras and the books of the Maccabees
- 37. That prophetic records are found which are more ancient than any fountain of the Gentile philosophy
- 38. That the ecclesiastical canon has not admitted certain writings on account of their too great antiquity, lest through them false things should be inserted instead of true
- 39. About the Hebrew written characters which that language always possessed
- 40. About the most mendacious vanity of the Egyptians, in which they ascribe to their science an antiquity of a hundred thousand years
- 41. About the discord of philosophic opinion, and the concord of the Scriptures that are held as canonical by the Church
- 42. By what dispensation of God's providence the sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament were translated out of Hebrew into Greek, that they might be made known to all the nations
- 43. Of the authority of the Septuagint translation, which, saving the honour of the Hebrew original, is to be preferred to all translations
- 44. How the threat of the destruction of the Ninevites is to be understood, which in the Hebrew extends to forty days, while in the Septuagint it is contracted to three
- 46. Of the birth of our Saviour, whereby the Word was made flesh; and of the dispersion of the Jews among all nations, as had been prophesied
- 47. Whether before Christian times there were any outside of the Israelite race who belonged to the fellowship of the heavenly city
- 48. That Haggai's prophecy, in which he said that the glory of the house of God would be greater than that of the first had been,[590] was really fulfilled, not in the rebuilding of the temple, but in the Church of Christ
- 49. Of the indiscriminate increase of the Church, wherein many reprobate are in this world mixed with the elect
- 50. Of the preaching of the gospel, which is made more famous and powerful by the sufferings of its preachers
- 51. That the catholic faith may be confirmed even by the dissensions of the heretics
- 52. Whether we should believe what some think, that, as the ten persecutions which are past have been fulfilled, there remains no other beyond the eleventh, which must happen in the very time of Antichrist
- 53. Of the hidden time of the final persecution
- 54. Of the very foolish lie of the pagans, in feigning that the Christian religion was not to last beyond three hundred and sixty-five years
Book XIX29 pages
- Argument
- 1. That Varro has made out that two hundred and eighty-eight different sects of philosophy might be formed by the various opinions regarding the supreme good
- 2. How Varro, by removing all the differences which do not form sects, but are merely secondary questions, reaches three definitions of the chief good, of which we must choose one
- 3. Which of the three leading opinions regarding the chief good should be preferred, according to Varro, who follows Antiochus and the Old Academy
- 4. What the Christians believe regarding the supreme good and evil, in opposition to the philosophers, who have maintained that the supreme good is in themselves
- 5. Of the social life, which, though most desirable, is frequently disturbed by many distresses
- 6. Of the error of human judgments when the truth is hidden
- 7. Of the diversity of languages, by which the intercourse of men is prevented; and of the misery of wars, even of those called just
- 8. That the friendship of good men cannot be securely rested in, so long as the dangers of this life force us to be anxious
- 9. Of the friendship of the holy angels, which men cannot be sure of in this life, owing to the deceit of the demons who hold in bondage the worshippers of a plurality of gods
- 10. The reward prepared for the saints after they have endured the trial of this life
- 11. Of the happiness of the eternal peace, which constitutes the end or true perfection of the saints
- 12. That even the fierceness of war and all the disquietude of men make towards this one end of peace, which every nature desires
- 13. Of the universal peace which the law of nature preserves through all disturbances, and by which every one reaches his desert in a way regulated by the just Judge
- 14. Of the order and law which obtain in heaven and earth, whereby it comes to pass that human society is served by those who rule it
- 15. Of the liberty proper to man's nature, and the servitude introduced by sin,--a servitude in which the man whose will is wicked is the slave of his own lust, though he is free so far as regards other men
- 16. Of equitable rule
- 17. What produces peace, and what discord, between the heavenly and earthly cities
- 18. How different the uncertainty of the New Academy is from the certainty of the Christian faith
- 19. Of the dress and habits of the Christian people
- 20. That the saints are in this life blessed in hope
- 21. Whether there ever was a Roman republic answering to the definitions of Scipio in Cicero's dialogue
- 22. Whether the God whom the Christians serve is the true God to whom alone sacrifice ought to be paid
- 23. Porphyry's account of the responses given by the oracles of the gods concerning Christ
- 24. The definition which must be given of a people and a republic, in order to vindicate the assumption of these titles by the Romans and by other kingdoms
- 25. That where there is no true religion there are no true virtues
- 26. Of the peace which is enjoyed by the people that are alienated from God, and the use made of it by the people of God in the time of its pilgrimage
- 27. That the peace of those who serve God cannot in this mortal life be apprehended in its perfection
- 28. The end of the wicked
Book XX30 pages
- Argument
- 1. That although God is always judging, it is nevertheless reasonable to confine our attention in this book to His last judgment
- 2. That in the mingled web of human affairs God's judgment is present, though it cannot be discerned
- 3. What Solomon, in the book of Ecclesiastes, says regarding the things which happen alike to good and wicked men
- 4. That proofs of the last judgment will be adduced, first from the New Testament, and then from the Old
- 5. The passages in which the Saviour declares that there shall be a divine judgment in the end of the world
- 6. What is the first resurrection, and what the second
- 7. What is written in the Revelation of John regarding the two resurrections, and the thousand years, and what may reasonably be held on these points
- 8. Of the binding and loosing of the devil
- 9. What the reign of the saints with Christ for a thousand years is, and how it differs from the eternal kingdom
- 10. What is to be replied to those who think that resurrection pertains only to bodies and not to souls
- 11. Of Gog and Magog, who are to be roused by the devil to persecute the Church, when he is loosed in the end of the world
- 12. Whether the fire that came down out of heaven and devoured them refers to the last punishment of the wicked
- 13. Whether the time of the persecution of Antichrist should be reckoned in the thousand years
- 14. Of the damnation of the devil and his adherents; and a sketch of the bodily resurrection of all the dead, and of the final retributive judgment
- 15. Who the dead are who are given up to judgment by the sea, and by death and hell
- 16. Of the new heaven and the new earth
- 17. Of the endless glory of the Church
- 18. What the Apostle Peter predicted regarding the last judgment
- 19. What the Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about the manifestation of Antichrist which shall precede the day of the Lord
- 20. What the same apostle taught in the first Epistle to the Thessalonians regarding the resurrection of the dead
- 21. Utterances of the prophet Isaiah regarding the resurrection of the dead and the retributive judgment
- 22. What is meant by the good going out to see the punishment of the wicked
- 23. What Daniel predicted regarding the persecution of Antichrist, the judgment of God, and the kingdom of the saints
- 24. Passages from the Psalms of David which predict the end of the world and the last judgment
- 25. Of Malachi's prophecy, in which he speaks of the last judgment, and of a cleansing which some are to undergo by purifying punishments
- 26. Of the sacrifices offered to God by the saints, which are to be pleasing to Him, as in the primitive days and former years
- 27. Of the separation of the good and the bad, which proclaim the discriminating influence of the last judgment
- 28. That the law of Moses must be spiritually understood to preclude the damnable murmurs of a carnal interpretation
- 29. Of the coming of Elias before the judgment, that the Jews may be converted to Christ by his preaching and explanation of Scripture
Book XXI27 pages
- Argument
- 1. Of the order of the discussion, which requires that we first speak of the eternal punishment of the lost in company with the devil, and then of the eternal happiness of the saints
- 2. Whether it is possible for bodies to last for ever in burning fire
- 3. Whether bodily suffering necessarily terminates in the destruction of the flesh
- 4. Examples from nature proving that bodies may remain unconsumed and alive in fire
- 5. That there are many things which reason cannot account for, and which are nevertheless true
- 6. That all marvels are not of nature's production, but that some are due to human ingenuity and others to diabolic contrivance
- 7. That the ultimate reason for believing miracles is the omnipotence of the Creator
- 8. That it is not contrary to nature that, in an object whose nature is known, there should be discovered an alteration of the properties which have been known as its natural properties
- 9. Of hell, and the nature of eternal punishments
- 10. Whether the fire of hell, if it be material fire, can burn the wicked spirits, that is to say, devils, who are immaterial
- 11. Whether it is just that the punishments of sins last longer than the sins themselves lasted
- 12. Of the greatness of the first transgression, on account of which eternal punishment is due to all who are not within the pale of the Saviour's grace
- 13. Against the opinion of those who think that the punishments of the wicked after death are purgatorial
- 14. Of the temporary punishments of this life to which the human condition is subject
- 15. That everything which the grace of God does in the way of rescuing us from the inveterate evils in which we are sunk, pertains to the future world, in which all things are made new
- 16. The laws of grace, which extend to all the epochs of the life of the regenerate
- 17. Of those who fancy that no men shall be punished eternally
- 18. Of those who fancy that, on account of the saints' intercession, no man shall be damned in the last judgment
- 19. Of those who promise impunity from all sins even to heretics, through virtue of their participation of the body of Christ
- 20. Of those who promise this indulgence not to all, but only to those who have been baptized as catholics, though afterwards they have broken out into many crimes and heresies
- 21. Of those who assert that all catholics who continue in the faith, even though by the depravity of their lives they have merited hell fire, shall be saved on account of the "foundation" of their faith
- 22. Of those who fancy that the sins which are intermingled with alms-deeds shall not be charged at the day of judgment
- 23. Against those who are of opinion that the punishment neither of the devil nor of wicked men shall be eternal
- 24. Against those who fancy that in the judgment of God all the accused will be spared in virtue of the prayers of the saints
- 26. What it is to have Christ for a foundation, and who they are to whom salvation as by fire is promised
- 27. Against the belief of those who think that the sins which have been accompanied with almsgiving will do them no harm
Book XXII30 pages
- Argument
- 1. Of the creation of angels and men
- 2. Of the eternal and unchangeable will of God
- 3. Of the promise of eternal blessedness to the saints, and everlasting punishment to the wicked
- 4. Against the wise men of the world, who fancy that the earthly bodies of men cannot be transferred to a heavenly habitation
- 5. Of the resurrection of the flesh, which some refuse to believe, though the world at large believes it
- 6. That Rome made its founder Romulus a god because it loved him; but the Church loved Christ because it believed Him to be God
- 7. That the world's belief in Christ is the result of divine power, not of human persuasion
- 8. Of miracles which were wrought that the world might believe in Christ, and which have not ceased since the world believed
- 9. That all the miracles which are done by means of the martyrs in the name of Christ testify to that faith which the martyrs had in Christ
- 10. That the martyrs who obtain many miracles in order that the true God may be worshipped, are worthy of much greater honour than the demons, who do some marvels that they themselves may be supposed to be God
- 11. Against the Platonists, who argue from the physical weight of the elements that an earthly body cannot inhabit heaven
- 12. Against the calumnies with which unbelievers throw ridicule upon the Christian faith in the resurrection of the flesh
- 13. Whether abortions, if they are numbered among the dead, shall not also have a part in the resurrection
- 14. Whether infants shall rise in that body which they would have had had they grown up
- 15. Whether the bodies of all the dead shall rise the same size as the Lord's body
- 16. What is meant by the conforming of the saints to the image of the Son of God
- 17. Whether the bodies of women shall retain their own sex in the resurrection
- 18. Of the perfect Man, that is, Christ; and of His body, that is, the Church, which is His fulness
- 19. That all bodily blemishes which mar human beauty in this life shall be removed in the resurrection, the natural substance of the body remaining, but the quality and quantity of it being altered so as to produce beauty
- 20. That, in the resurrection, the substance of our bodies, however disintegrated, shall be entirely reunited
- 21. Of the new spiritual body into which the flesh of the saints shall be transformed
- 22. Of the miseries and ills to which the human race is justly exposed through the first sin, and from which none can be delivered save by Christ's grace
- 23. Of the miseries of this life which attach peculiarly to the toil of good men, irrespective of those which are common to the good and bad
- 24. Of the blessings with which the Creator has filled this life, obnoxious though it be to the curse
- 25. Of the obstinacy of those individuals who impugn the resurrection of the body, though, as was predicted, the whole world believes it
- 27. Of the apparently conflicting opinions of Plato and Porphyry, which would have conducted them both to the truth if they could have yielded to one another
- 28. What Plato or Labeo, or even Varro, might have contributed to the true faith of the resurrection, if they had adopted one another's opinions into one scheme
- 29. Of the beatific vision
- 30. Of the eternal felicity of the city of God, and of the perpetual Sabbath
Augustine of Hippo, The City of God, Volume II, trans. Marcus Dods (1871). Public domain. Text from Project Gutenberg (eBook #45305).