The work of St Augustine of Hippo, in which he incorporated platonism (as interpreted by Plotinus) into Christianity, is one of the milestones in the history of Western thought. "City of God", as notable for its digressions as for its central theme, was inspired by Alaric's sacking of Rome in AD 410, an event which he regarded as retribution for the worship of false gods by "educated pagans". God's real purpose in creating the world, Ausgustine maintains, was the building of the heavenly city and the events of history are mere moments on the implementation of the grand plan. Retaining the existing translation by Henry Bettenson, this revised edition contains an introduction to St Augustine and his world and an analysis of the content and influence of the book.

Author Biography

St Augustine of Hippo was the great Doctor of the Latin Church. Born in North Africa in AD 354, he was brought up as a Christian and at 16 went to Carthage to finish his education. Until 387, Augustine followed the Manichean religion and founded his own school of rhetoric in Rome. After his baptism, he returned to Africa and lived in the community he formed there until his death in 430. His written output there includes Confessions and City of God, among over 113 books. Henry Bettenson (1908-1979) (translator) was educated at Bristol University and Oriel College, Oxford. He taught Classics for 25 years at Charterhouse 'Documents of the Christian Church' and 'Early Christian Fathers'. Dr Gill Evans (introducer) teaches medieval intellectual history, medieval theology and ecumenical theology in the Faculty of History at Cambridge. She has published widely in this area.