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Chapter 4 - The Eternal City

Augustine, De civitate Dei

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2022

Michèle Lowrie
Affiliation:
University of Chicago
Barbara Vinken
Affiliation:
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen
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Summary

Alternative cities structure Augustine’s City of God. The divide between the earthly and the heavenly city returns in his two Romes, a violent city of civil war and a violent city of virtue, in his two Jerusalems, a violent city of civil war and a city prefiguring God’s city, and even among Christians, divided between love of self and love of God. Although the heavenly city’s full realization is deferred to after the end of history, in this life, the heavenly city exists, mixed with the earthly city, on a pilgrimage toward realization. Rome, a dark shadow (umbra) that sets the light of the divine city in relief, instantiates the earthly city’s violence in both its horrific and virtuous manifestations. In its better form, Jerusalem advances toward the heavenly city’s realization as the prefiguration (figura) of what the divine city will realize (implementum).

Type
Chapter
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Civil War and the Collapse of the Social Bond
The Roman Tradition at the Heart of the Modern
, pp. 144 - 192
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • The Eternal City
  • Michèle Lowrie, University of Chicago, Barbara Vinken, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen
  • Book: Civil War and the Collapse of the Social Bond
  • Online publication: 06 October 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009029995.006
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  • The Eternal City
  • Michèle Lowrie, University of Chicago, Barbara Vinken, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen
  • Book: Civil War and the Collapse of the Social Bond
  • Online publication: 06 October 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009029995.006
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Eternal City
  • Michèle Lowrie, University of Chicago, Barbara Vinken, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen
  • Book: Civil War and the Collapse of the Social Bond
  • Online publication: 06 October 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009029995.006
Available formats
×