After the Visigoths sacked Rome in 410 CE, some prominent voices in Roman society began asking whether the empire should return to its pagan roots, under which it was thought to have been stronger. It reflects upon questions of good and evil, divine sovereignty and human free will, and the nature of true religion, all set against the backdrop of the Roman Empire’s transition from polytheistic paganism to Christianity. The complete manuscript was first distributed in 426 CE, just four years before Augustine’s death, and it was quickly recognized as a seminal work in the Christian theological tradition. Its original title is De civitate Dei contra paganos (“On the City of God Against the Pagans”), but it is conventionally referred to in English as City of God. City of God is a major fifth-century work of philosophy and theology by Augustine of Hippo, written in response to political and religious developments in the Roman Empire.
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