dedicated with affection to Galiciius and Manny.

Ladies and gentlemen this review is written after a long time, though not as much as my most recent review"Most Picante Murder" https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... by Karina Lumbert Fabian https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... . I finished reading this book on March 25, and started it in February, instigated by my friend Galicius, as the group that presides over Manny with which I am joined by a great friendship, even though my presence is much greater in Catholic Book Club, than in Catholic Thought. However, as you know, Catholic groups do not compete between us and Manny and John are joined by a deep friendship and mutual admiration. But returning to the matter before Manny Catholic Thought's group, I had chosen the monumental work of the Bishop of Hippo, as a reading of the group, and Galicius strongly asked me to read it. I must admit that I had bought "The City of God" and that I had a magnificent edition made by bibliotheca Homolegens (which as you know came back to life) https://homolegens.com/ and it was a book to which I had great respect. Just like a colossal, mythical magical creature. It was a book, which I planned to read someday, being honest later than soon, but Galicius asked me to do so and I said yes not being aware of the great challenge it posed. As people can see it took me more than a month to finish it, and the work was so magnificent, and so great that I overwhelm. It will most likely be not only this year's most important reading, but one of the most crucial readings of my life. You know I try to write reviews of all the books I read, but two factors influenced this year, which prevented me from reviewing certain books. One was the CoVid, which made me un comment on certain books, and the other factor was that I was far behind in my challenge this year, most likely, that even by far I reached 200 books, and forget about last year's 231 books, however, yesterday I received a post from Galicius reminding me and encouraging me to write a review of this cyclopea work, and the truth is that I had posted in goodreads some comments saying that I was going to write a review of"The City of God" and that I was going to dedicate it to Galicius and Manny, and I am hostage to my words. It's true, I can't always keep my promises. For example, due to the up and down trend of twitter We will burn the Clergy (this topic I will discuss when writing the reviews of Baldur's Gates I and Baldur's Gates Shadows of Amn, being in the first especially revindicative due to the turn that Dungeons and Dragons has taken on certain issues of political character and which I do not wholely approve of https://www.goodreads.com/series/4190... , and I will have a great impact on this point. However, I would like to ask Twitter a question if it had been the homophobic, racist, or sexist tendency I would have allowed it? Twitter does not realize that attacking a religion and its faithful is as reprehensible and is as great an act of intolerance as those acts it reported earlier. If Twitter were to let go and protect any kind of freedom of expression, it would understand their conduct, but I would find it hard to censor accounts that differed from their political opinions and tweets they didn't like, so they haven't been neutral or without freedom of expression. So he accused Twitter of intolerance and of promoting catholicism and intolerance against a population sector and the disrespect of other identity lobbyists to this day, the most persecuted group is Christians, so action must be taken against those who promote acts of fanaticism and intolerance against our faith, because it violates those human rights in which I do not believe , but that these progress they claim to defend and take on them. Burning the Clergy was trending on twitter in Spain I swore I was getting out, because I was already planning to make an account of Parler, but in the end, although I tried I was unable to do it and I was also horrified by the influence of Ayn Rand https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... thinking (which for me because of the atheism of his doctrine, his philosophy is totally incompatible with Christianity, without the communism fighting being much better, in fact it is very much worse) on this social network, so for the time being I am still on twitter. I also told Galicius in Goodreads that his plea caught me at a bad time, because my father is working on the thesis of one of his doctorandos and because of my father's advanced age I have to help him, and at this moment I could not occupy a review of"The City of God",however, I was thinking at night about many questions, especially when I was going to write it? Because I'm sorry, but what's immovable is that my last reviews were going to be those of Baldur's Gates, and I couldn't say my word, but I was bound by this promise, so I've decided to take advantage of the downtime (something that shouldn't be despised, because you usually get a lot out of them) to write this review, which I dedicate with affection if they accept Galicius and Manny. Manny. The first thing about "The City of God" is that it is a very densed work, which, although its most important purpose is to be an apologetic work and evangelization. This work is written by St. Augustine to replicate and respond to the Gentiles, who accused Christianity of bringing it to its decline and extinction, and of being responsible for the taking of Rome by the Barbarians in this case the Visigoths of Alarico. This is a thesis taken up by Gibbon https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... (Jack Reacher would say he was angry with the Catholic Church, because he didn't buy her poney who always kept an ignited hatred against Catholicism, because he wanted to be Catholic and Dad did not leave him and out of spite he became a Freezer and is responsible for making the authoritative opinion that Christianity produced the fall of the Roman Empire, when it had been brewing for a long time, even when Rome was at its peak. My friend Professor Alfonseca in his novel The Seal of Eolo" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... in this novel my friend comes to a conclusion that after the plague suffered in the time of Marcus Aurelius in the second century Rome never lost its zenith again, and from there it was cost below gradually and staggered, being the key year 235 in my opinion, because the murder of Alexander Severus (that emperor that everyone asks for and proclaims , but as it implements its principles of tolerance, included with the hated Christians everyone ends up abhorring it, but in my opinion it is a key piece, to understand the Roman Empire and its final evolution). The death of this great emperor, who is about to wipe out the Parths produces a power vacuum that leads Rome to a time of civil wars, and which devalues the untouchable figure of the emperor, who had been reinforced by the Flavian and Antonine dynasties, and that his figure is discredited. Rome embarks on a series of internal, and external wars, purchasing power falls, and the middle classes are becoming scarcer, suffering from acculturation, and a distrust of administration, and due to the increasingly decaying of demographic collapse to those barbarians to which it fights, it also does not achieve a religion that brings together the empire definitively. . So when Christianity came to be the official religion it was already wounded. But not because of external attacks, but because like every living being it perishes as my teacher Santos Crespo Ortiz de Zarate said of exhaustion. I believe that the right thesis and that We Catholics accept is that of Will Durant https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...# This has generated a great debate, why there are even people, who say that the empire does not fall, or that it is continued, by those German tribes, which are more Roman, than the Romans themselves. This is defended by the great Hilaire Belloc https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... in his wonderful Essay, also of obligatory reading "Europe and faith" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7... why, in spite of all, a half of the empire is saved, and let us be aware no one learned of the deposition of the last emperor of the West Romulus Augústulo in 476, since nominally the Roman Emperor was that of the East. However, we have to go to dates after the year 409. At the beginning of the text it is more or less historical and St. Augustine wonderfully sums up the history of the entire Roman Republic, and shows the great disasters suffered by the Republic, which were not small, for this it resorts to the great Latin historians. This line will be brilliantly continued by his disciple Orosio https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... historically coded, but this work is much more. We do not see a folded Saint Augustine defending himself from the criticisms of the heathen, but we see St Augustine attack, who holds the gods of Rome accountable not only for not existing, but for being demons who subdue men and take them away from the true God and that when Rome suffers setbacks of not coming to his aid. It is very interesting that it alludes to the time of Numa Pompilius, and that it refutes Varro. Another of the great virtues of the book is that St. Augustine is the son of his time does not reject the knowledge of his time, but loves him and reveres him and uses him. At the same time, it purifies him from his mistakes. He has no qualms about correcting Plato with affection, and Cicero for example https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show.... . However, St. Augustine does not stop by doing an analysis of the Republic, but uses this book to explain to Christians, and non-Christians the doctrine by refuting many of the trends in vogue at that time I think of the stoics (with which it is very hard), the epicureans (being softer with these) and the neoplatonics I think of Porfirio, and Jamblico, also refutes Apuleyo https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... It makes it crystal clear St. Augustine and opposes the transmigration of souls, which Plato defended, and his followers, and also affectionately corrects his colleague Origins without animosity https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... This work is not only a compendium of History, nor of Philosophy, and although the purpose is apologetic, and evangelizer encompasses all the knowledge of his time. I believe that the book's most positive quality, in addition to its erudition and the diversity of subjects it deals with, is common sense. Of course, this book contains biological, scientific, errors. Many by the way are not the fault of St. Augustine, but of the Latin authors he employs. Among them Pliny https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... I actually passed extracts while I read this book to Alfonseca because he was hallucinated from St. Augustine's answers to time, creation. According to this work will be compatible a creation of the world of millions of years. It is true that according to St. Augustine the comienzxo of human life would be between 5000-6000 BC, but it is not very wrong, and you will tell me. How dare you, Fonch write that? Are you a denier of Darwin's theories? Well, yes, they're not very wrong, I believe in Darwin's Evolution theories, but I don't believe in Darwinism, which has brought us down many of the aberrations present perpetrated by himself, Galton, his son Leonard and Haeckel. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... It is incontestable that the origin of humanity comes from millions of years ago, and that life began in Asia, and we will continue to find older remains than Homo Toumai, Lucy, and Homo Afarensis. But, even if it sounds nonsense, it is not very wrong St. Augustine it is true that there are civilizations before the year 6000 BC I think Chatal Huyuk, Obeid, and civilizations in Asia, but the first great Summer civilization already enters the stipulations of St. Augustine (in fact what it does is define the Bronze Age, which is when the great summer, Babylon, Akadia, Assyria civilizations begin, in fact he is very insistent with King Nino), and certainly corrects the Egyptian priest Manethon. Egypt is not more than 5000 years old. It is very curious, that he also defends the philosopher Evemero https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ev%C3%A... https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evemerismo indeed if Lightfoot and Ussher had read St. Augustine more closely, they would not have made the mistakes they made https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... and freed Anglicanism from public shame in the 19th century with Darwin. Not to mention the great knowledge, which St. Augustine has of philosophy and one thing, which has surprised me very pleasantly is that he does not reject Aristotle and praises him even https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... but clearly believes that Plato is closer to Christianity, and that is why he focuses more on Plato so according to this book he does not reject the Tomism or conversion made by St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Albert the Great of Aristotle many of translations and misinterpretations interested by the Arabs as the case of Averroes https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... In fact until the 5th century St. Augustine incorporates the philosophy of his time, and if he reads Jostein Gaardner's "The World of Sofia" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... he can spend the 6th century reading St. Augustine. There are great moments in reading "The City of God," like his rebuttal of astrology, stoicism with the theme of twins. I was surprised by St. Augustine's mastery and his notions of hippocratic and Galénic medicine. Of course nonsense is dismantled, such as the Earth being flat, although it is agnostic, (continue)

ok, this is my one brag book. anybody who gets through this (unabridged only), gets to go to heaven, no questions asked.

I have not updated Goodreads in ages, but I finished my second reading of The City of God in the meantime. The thesis of Augustine's book is simple (the city of God is spiritual and eternal, while the city of man is temporal and perishable). Still, his explanation of the thesis is very far-ranging.

This is one of my favorite works. Yeah, I know you're skeptical, but here me out. I've begun my quest to read the basic works of western man beginning with Gilgamesh and in sequence reading through to the present. It's a lifelong ambition. I've read most of the ancient works of some repute, including Roman histories from Greek and Roman historians. When I arrived at 411 AD, I picked up The City of God. Shortly after the first sack of Rome, Augustine wrote it not as an apology for the claim that Christianity was responsible for the decay of Rome, but as a defense against that allegation. He then summarizes the histories as recorded to show internal corruption, incompetence, immorality and the quest for wealth caused the decay - not Christianity. I read the same material he did! That's way cool! I knew exactly what he was saying and with what facts he prosecuted his claim. Then he projected that even if the City of Rome were to fall, Christians can look forward ultimately to their City of God. A great book.

This book weighs in at over 1,000 pages - 22 books in the original. Fortunately for the reader, St. Augustine frequently wanders from his main theme, for many pages at a time, providing fascinating explorations of why the number 11 symbolises sin (short answer: it transgresses the perfect 10 of the Decalogue); of how the Ark of Noah is an allegory of Christ; of the creation and fall of the angels, and of much, much more.

These questions are digressions, but they do help to make the book palatable to the modern reader. Perhaps the best way to read is to plunge into the book a few hundred pages in; beginning at the beginning is like beginning the Bible at Genesis 1: one is likely to get bogged down part way through. St. Augustine wrote the book during the years 413-426: if he could take 13 years writing his baggy but entertaining monster, the reader can hardly be expected to digest it in a single gulp.

The "City of God" should on no account be confused with the "Mystical City of God", an even more voluminous work by a 17th-century Spanish nun named Maria of Agreda.

Very polemic text exegesis. Particularly in the first part, Augustine recollects the themes from his "Confessions", but more prominent. As in that book this contains sometimes ingenious insights (eg relationship God-time), but sometimes also the most stupid arguments (eg speculation about resurrection in the flesh and how that will go). The thesis of the city of God is not really systematically worked out; however, the main insight prevails that this city is already active on earth, and that was a really revolutionary view! Interesting, but a really tough read.

Stunning. Not just a theologically good book, but also an enjoyable one.

I don't really know how to review something like this in a format that I've used primarily for rating fiction, but I'll give it a shot.

The three stars are not meant as some kind of snobbish modern judgment on The City of God but my attempt to balance its theological and historical significance with the difficulty and not infrequent irrelevancy of the material. Augustine was adept at philosophy and rhetoric, keen in his exegetical analysis, and thorough in his argumentation, but many of the topics discussed and many of the frequent digressions, excurses, and flights of fancy are tedious to the modern reader, even a sympathetic one.

A suggestion: If you're interested in the theology of the work, skip the first ten chapters. Seriously. I hate skipping stuff, especially when I'm trying to get through classic works. I plowed through every word of this thing and I assure you -- you don't need to. You won't miss anything. Augustine's arguments against the Roman gods and the ancient Roman worldview(s) are really tough to get into. He spends a great deal of time explaining and then arguing against theories about the world that we would never dream of countenancing, with disproportionate amounts of time devoted to refuting very minor sub-points of philosophical systems.

Things pick up a bit at ch. 11, where some of Augustine's famous emphases emerge, such as the nature of evil as privation of good and the doctrine of original sin. We also get his take on biblical history with a hearty dose of typological interpretation that treads on and across the border with the allegorical not infrequently.

The book is full of intriguing observations and theological insights. The last three chapters deal with final judgment and the eternal state in ways that continue to be influential in contemporary theology. Augustine's eschatology is, I think, a major piece in the development of amillennialism. Perhaps sometime I'll come back here and put in a few of my notes.

Let me conclude for now with a quote that had me laughing out loud. It comes from the section describing the surprising operations of the human body in special cases that hint at how we shall live once our resurrected bodies submit entirely to our redeemed wills.

Some have such command of their bowels, that they can break wind continuously at pleasure, so as to produce the effect of singing (XIV.24).

I mean, it's very long.

It gives an incisive, highly perceptive critique on the prevailing ways of the world, which have not changed as much as we like to believe. But in advocating an ideal alternative, he makes the ancient case for theocracy, be it formal or informal. If our fallen minds are so inherently prone to inhumanity, then we should submit ourselves to guidance by higher minds.

Reading this along with a Facebook group. Just through book One now and really enjoying the book and the experience with the reading circle. The group's organizer posts a reading schedule and regular comments with the readings, and other commenters have been so valuable to read. I'm getting so much out of it because of the group. If you're reading it now or want to read it, check out the Reading the City of God group on Facebook.

I finally finished it!

This one held me back a bit on my reading goal for the year.

Upon finishing this audiobook my first thought was that I needed to listen to it again. It can be a bit dense at times. Augustine exhausts all possibilities in his analytics. He is both thorough and profound, both logical and filled with faith and wonder at the great mysteries of God, and in this work he tackles a number of theological questions, from what day of creation the angels were created to whether or not an aborted baby attains salvation or not. I'm convinced that this work is one of the pillars that make up the theological foundation of the church.
The book is loosely formulated as an examination of the city of God as compared to the earthly city of the time, Rome. Rome being a corrupted reflection of the perfect and incorruptible city of God. This framing of the book works beautifully to expound on Augustine's platonic dualism between material and spiritual, earthly and heavenly, imperfect and perfect.

I particularly enjoyed his exegesis of the first several chapters of Genesis, and I think I will be re-visiting those sooner than the entire work. It seemed to me that his interpretation of creation was open to long stretches of time rather than 24 hour days. His view of God's creation on earth I found to be inspiring. He pointed out that God works and creates within a natural structure that he created. We often think of God in creation pointing a finger and 'BOOM' a tree pops out of nothing and God created the tree, but Augustine sees every blade of grass that grows from seed to blade, every tree from its seed, and every child in the womb growing within his mother as an active form of God's creation. This perspective changes certain verse meanings like in Genesis 1:11-12,

"11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Augustine interprets this to be happening within God's natural framework. Rather than a sort of human-like creator who might paint these things into existence or bring them into existence from nothing. Augustine argues that God created natural systems that brought forth these creations over time, and that these natural systems are God's active creation. That every growing thing on the earth is an active creation of God.

To me, this interpretation is quite advanced for it's time and seems to be open to the idea of an evolutionary process being a possible form of God's creation in Genesis 1.

I only regret that I skipped so many things on my reading list between Plato and Augustine because he references any and every important work between them.

I plan on revisiting this work when I reach it again on the timeline.