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The City of God: Selections and Introduction by Hans Urs von Balthasar
Few books have impacted the West as deeply as St. Augustine's The City of God, not only in politics and philosophy, but in the spirit, with its exploration of the relationship between a loving God and a shattered world. Thomas Aquinas, Charlemagne, John Calvin, Hannah Arendt, and Pope Benedict XVI all drew from the text's deep and varied wells.
Yet few of us will ever read the gargantuan work which stretches past one thousand pages. This volume, however, edited by Hans Urs von Balthasar, offers a simple road through Augustine's masterpiece. It contains selections from The City of God, culled for their beauty and spiritual power, bolstered with notes, and arranged by theme, from creation to Rome to happiness to the end of time. In Augustine, the heart is as crucial as the mind.
This edition is intended above all for prayer and meditation. Still, for readers who wish to engage Augustine on a critical level, the introduction by Balthasar—recipient of the 1984 International Paul VI Prize under Pope John Paul II—provides a rigorous analysis of the City, with an eye on the philosophical and theological discourse of the twentieth century.
Yet few of us will ever read the gargantuan work which stretches past one thousand pages. This volume, however, edited by Hans Urs von Balthasar, offers a simple road through Augustine's masterpiece. It contains selections from The City of God, culled for their beauty and spiritual power, bolstered with notes, and arranged by theme, from creation to Rome to happiness to the end of time. In Augustine, the heart is as crucial as the mind.
This edition is intended above all for prayer and meditation. Still, for readers who wish to engage Augustine on a critical level, the introduction by Balthasar—recipient of the 1984 International Paul VI Prize under Pope John Paul II—provides a rigorous analysis of the City, with an eye on the philosophical and theological discourse of the twentieth century.
350 pages, Paperback
First published December 9, 2021
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About the author
Augustine of Hippo
3,339 books2,009 followersEarly church father and philosopher Saint Augustine served from 396 as the bishop of Hippo in present-day Algeria and through such writings as the autobiographical
Confessions
in 397 and the voluminous
City of God
from 413 to 426 profoundly influenced Christianity, argued against Manichaeism and Donatism, and helped to establish the doctrine of original sin.
An Augustinian follows the principles and doctrines of Saint Augustine.
People also know Aurelius Augustinus in English of Regius (Annaba). From the Africa province of the Roman Empire, people generally consider this Latin theologian of the greatest thinkers of all times. He very developed the west. According to Jerome, a contemporary, Augustine renewed "the ancient Faith."
The Neo-Platonism of Plotinus afterward heavily weighed his years. After conversion and his baptism in 387, Augustine developed his own approach to theology and accommodated a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed in the indispensable grace to human freedom and framed the concept of just war. When the Western Roman Empire started to disintegrate from the material earth, Augustine developed the concept of the distinct Catholic spirituality in a book of the same name. He thought the medieval worldview. Augustine closely identified with the community that worshiped the Trinity. The Catholics and the Anglican communion revere this preeminent doctor. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider his due teaching on salvation and divine grace of the theology of the Reformation. The Eastern Orthodox also consider him. He carries the additional title of blessed. The Orthodox call him "Blessed Augustine" or "Saint Augustine the Blessed."
Santo Agostinho
An Augustinian follows the principles and doctrines of Saint Augustine.
People also know Aurelius Augustinus in English of Regius (Annaba). From the Africa province of the Roman Empire, people generally consider this Latin theologian of the greatest thinkers of all times. He very developed the west. According to Jerome, a contemporary, Augustine renewed "the ancient Faith."
The Neo-Platonism of Plotinus afterward heavily weighed his years. After conversion and his baptism in 387, Augustine developed his own approach to theology and accommodated a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed in the indispensable grace to human freedom and framed the concept of just war. When the Western Roman Empire started to disintegrate from the material earth, Augustine developed the concept of the distinct Catholic spirituality in a book of the same name. He thought the medieval worldview. Augustine closely identified with the community that worshiped the Trinity. The Catholics and the Anglican communion revere this preeminent doctor. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider his due teaching on salvation and divine grace of the theology of the Reformation. The Eastern Orthodox also consider him. He carries the additional title of blessed. The Orthodox call him "Blessed Augustine" or "Saint Augustine the Blessed."
Santo Agostinho
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 25, 2024
This version of City of God arranges things topically, but by doing so you miss the main flow of Augustine's Argument. I think it would be far more useful to read several chapters in their entirety from the main work. Something like reading Book 1, then skipping to Book 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, and 22. (the first 10 books are basically a long review of Roman thought and history which will be less relevant apologetically to modern readers). This approach would be better than the skipping around in the arrangement from Balthasar.
I will also say, that while this work reads kind of like a topical devotional, the content doesn't lend itself to that. I also think that for a layman, Balthasar's introduction is hopelessly verbose. If it is meant for scholars, they are far more likely to read the full work. This leaves the awkward question, who is this version of City of God for?
I will also say, that while this work reads kind of like a topical devotional, the content doesn't lend itself to that. I also think that for a layman, Balthasar's introduction is hopelessly verbose. If it is meant for scholars, they are far more likely to read the full work. This leaves the awkward question, who is this version of City of God for?
July 18, 2022
The book jacket says it all, "Most of us will never read the entire work..." St. Augustine's City of God is of course a mammoth work of classical philosophy combined with Christian theology. It is dense, long and can seem overwhelming.
Hans Urs von Balthasar's selections helps the reader get the 'greatest hits' of St. Augustine's classic work. This may be the alternative that many of us use to get through the book. Balthasar's selections help the reader grasp the great themes in the book, even if they read more like a devotional than the actual work.
The book utilizes the New City Translation of the City of God (considered to be the best modern translation by many). The translation is easily accessible and readable. However there are a lack of notes that may help the reader understand the context in which St. Augustine is writing.
St. Augustine continues to be a major influence in the Christian world, and so I would encourage anyone who is curious about St. Augustine or who might shy away from the larger work to consider picking up this volume and engage with one of the greatest thinkers of the Christian West.
Grade: A
Hans Urs von Balthasar's selections helps the reader get the 'greatest hits' of St. Augustine's classic work. This may be the alternative that many of us use to get through the book. Balthasar's selections help the reader grasp the great themes in the book, even if they read more like a devotional than the actual work.
The book utilizes the New City Translation of the City of God (considered to be the best modern translation by many). The translation is easily accessible and readable. However there are a lack of notes that may help the reader understand the context in which St. Augustine is writing.
St. Augustine continues to be a major influence in the Christian world, and so I would encourage anyone who is curious about St. Augustine or who might shy away from the larger work to consider picking up this volume and engage with one of the greatest thinkers of the Christian West.
Grade: A
January 2, 2023
Just excellent - took this book as the text for a course on "The Catholic Thing" with Robert Royal, and it truly was amazing. Along with the book "Our Restless Heart" by Thomas Martin OSA, this shed light on the united nature of Augustinian thought - it cannot be parsed out or dissected, but rather is meant to be taken as a whole, and this is the nature of The City of God.
We must take the History of Israel, with the History of Rome, with biblical interpretation, wisdom/knowledge, etc etc and consider all of these dualities and their implications simultaneously, and that is the profundity of The City of God.
It is akin to the parable of the weeds being sown within the wheat - they must be taken together, only to be sorted out on Judgment Day.
Just amazing.
We must take the History of Israel, with the History of Rome, with biblical interpretation, wisdom/knowledge, etc etc and consider all of these dualities and their implications simultaneously, and that is the profundity of The City of God.
It is akin to the parable of the weeds being sown within the wheat - they must be taken together, only to be sorted out on Judgment Day.
Just amazing.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews