The most influential of Augustine's works, City of God played a decisive role in the formation of the Christian West.
Augustine wrote City of God in the aftermath of the Gothic sack of Rome in AD 410, at a time of rapid Christianization across the Roman Empire. Gerard O'Daly's book remains the most comprehensive modern guide in any language to this seminal work of European literature.
In this new and extensively revised edition, O'Daly takes into account the abundant scholarship on Augustine in the twenty years since its first publication, while retaining the book's focus on Augustine as a writer in the Latin tradition. He explores the many themes of City of God, which include cosmology, political thought, anti-pagan polemic, Christian apologetic, theory of history, and biblical interpretation. This guide, therefore, is about a single literary masterpiece, yet at the same time it surveys Augustine's developing views through the whole range of his thought. As well as a running commentary on each part of the work, O'Daly provides chapters on the themes of the work, a bibliographical guide to research on its reception, translations of any Greek and Latin texts discussed, and detailed suggestions for further reading.
By:
Gerard O'Daly (Emeritus Professor of Latin University College London)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: 2nd Revised edition
Dimensions:
Height: 19mm,
Width: 135mm,
Spine: 215mm
Weight: 462g
ISBN: 9780198841241
ISBN 10: 0198841248
Pages: 380
Publication Date: 05 November 2020
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Abbreviated Titles: General Abbreviated Titles of Augustine's and Other Writings 1: Cities Real and Desired 2: The Making of the Book 3: The Apologetic Tradition 4: The Theme of the Two Cities 5: The Structure of the City of God, and a Summary of its Contents 6: `Where Were the Gods?': Books 1-5 7: Varro, Platonists, and Demons: Books 6-10 8: Creation, the Fall, and the Regime of the Passions: Books 11-14 9: The History of the Two Cities: Books 15-18 10: Final Destinations: Books 19-22 11: Influences and Sources 12: The Place of the City of God in Augustine's Writings Appendix A: The Title De Civitate Dei Appendix B: Manuscripts, Editions, and Reception Appendix C: 'Breviculus', 'Capitula', and 'Canon' Appendix D: The Chronology in City 18. 54 Bibliography Index of Selected Passages Cited General Index
Gerard O'Daly read Classics at University College Dublin and has a doctorate in Plotinus from Berne University, Switzerland. Now retired, Gerard O'Daly has taught at the Universities of Lancaster, Würzburg, and Nottingham. He is a former Professor of Latin at University College London and former Dean of its Faculty of Arts and Humanities. His research focuses on philosophy and literature in the Roman Empire between AD 200 and 500.
Reviews for Augustine's City of God: A Reader's Guide
Review from previous edition An expert and well-judged study, and one long needed * Journal of Roman Studies * O'Daly's knowledge of Augustine bibliography is stunningly wide-ranging, always well-judged, and immensely helpful in guiding the reader to informed further research in any one of the multitude of themes and ideas which cluster together in the City of God. * Journal of Theological Studies * O'Daly intends to provide a detailed yet accessible reading of Augstine's vast and complex masterpiece, directed at a wide group of readers who are not necessarily specialists. By taking up this task O'Daly fills indeed a gap in scholarship that was long overdue, and he is a scholar most apt for this task. * Church History *
