---
title: "City of God | Intro to Humanities"
description: "City of God is Augustine’s vision of the eternal community of faith, contrasted with the flawed earthly city in Intro to Humanities and medieval thought."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/introduction-humanities/key-terms/city-of-god"
type: "key-term"
subject: "Intro to Humanities"
unit: "Unit 2"
---

# City of God | Intro to Humanities

## Definition

City of God is Augustine’s idea of the eternal community united by God, contrasted with the temporary, flawed earthly city. In Intro to Humanities, it shows how medieval thinkers linked religion, ethics, and social life.

## What It Is

City of God is Augustine’s name for the spiritual community ordered toward God, not toward power, status, or temporary success. In Intro to Humanities, the term usually points to Augustine’s argument in De Civitate Dei, written after the sack of Rome in 410 CE, when many people wondered whether Christianity had failed the empire.

Augustine’s answer was that Rome was never the final source of meaning anyway. He separates two “cities” based on what they love most: the earthly city loves human control, pride, and political security, while the City of God loves God and seeks truth, justice, and peace that do not disappear when a state falls.

That does not mean Augustine thinks Christians should ignore public life. He is not saying the material world is worthless or that believers should withdraw from society. Instead, he argues that earthly institutions are limited and unstable, so they should not be treated as ultimate. Human governments can keep order, but they cannot deliver lasting salvation.

This idea matters because Augustine is blending philosophy and theology in a very medieval way. He uses classical ideas about virtue, duty, and the good life, then reshapes them through Christian beliefs about grace, sin, and eternity. That makes City of God a bridge text between ancient philosophy and medieval Christian thought.

A common way to see the idea is through contrast. If an empire is built on conquest, fear, and reputation, it belongs to the earthly city. If a community is shaped by humility, charity, and worship, it points toward the City of God. Augustine is less interested in drawing a map of heaven than in showing how to judge human society without confusing it with ultimate truth.

## Why It Matters

City of God shows how medieval philosophy handled one of its biggest questions, how faith and public life fit together. Augustine is not just writing about Rome. He is building a framework for thinking about history, politics, morality, and human desire.

In Intro to Humanities, this term helps you read medieval texts with the right lens. A lot of later Christian writing assumes Augustine’s basic split between the transient world and the eternal order. That means when you see themes like sin, grace, humility, or the limits of political power, you are looking at ideas that trace back to this work.

It also gives you a model for comparing worldviews. Augustine’s City of God is not the same thing as a modern nation, religion, or utopia. It is a way of measuring human institutions against a higher standard. That makes it useful when your class discusses how cultures explain suffering, purpose, and authority.

If you are analyzing a passage, this term often signals a tension between the visible world and spiritual truth. If you are writing about medieval philosophy, it is one of the clearest examples of a thinker trying to answer history’s chaos with a moral and theological interpretation.

## Connections

### St. Augustine

Augustine is the thinker behind City of God, so the term is tied directly to his view of human nature, sin, and divine grace. When a humanities class mentions Augustine, it is usually pointing to his idea that earthly life is limited and that humans need God for true order and meaning.

### Earthly City

The earthly city is the contrast term Augustine uses for communities shaped by pride, power, and temporary goods. You can think of it as the side of human society that builds empires, laws, and institutions, but still cannot create lasting peace on its own.

### Original Sin

Original Sin explains why Augustine thinks human societies are flawed from the start. If people are marked by sin, then politics, law, and culture can improve behavior, but they cannot fully cure human selfishness. That theological assumption sits underneath the whole City of God argument.

### [divine revelation](/introduction-humanities/key-terms/divine-revelation)

Divine revelation is the source Augustine trusts for truths that reason alone cannot supply. In City of God, this matters because he is not trying to prove the good life through politics or philosophy alone. He relies on Christian revelation to explain history, salvation, and the final purpose of human life.

## On the AP Exam

A short-answer question or discussion prompt might ask you to explain Augustine’s response to the fall of Rome, and City of God is the term you would use to do it. You would identify the contrast between the eternal City of God and the temporary earthly city, then explain what each one values.

In an essay, you might use it to show how medieval thinkers mixed theology with social criticism. A strong answer does more than define the term. It connects Augustine’s idea to human sin, the limits of government, and the belief that history has a spiritual meaning beyond political success.

## City of God vs Earthly City

These are often confused because Augustine talks about them together, but they are opposites. The City of God is the eternal community shaped by love of God, while the earthly city is the temporary community shaped by pride and worldly desire. If you mix them up, you lose the whole point of Augustine’s argument.

## Key Takeaways

- City of God is Augustine’s name for the eternal spiritual community ordered toward God, not toward political power or fame.
- The term comes from Augustine’s response to the fall of Rome, when he argued that earthly empires are temporary and unstable.
- Augustine uses the idea of two cities to compare two kinds of love, love of God and love of self, and two kinds of society.
- In Intro to Humanities, the term shows how medieval philosophy blends Christian theology with questions about history, ethics, and government.
- If you see City of God in a passage, look for a contrast between worldly success and a higher spiritual standard.

## FAQs

### What is City of God in Intro to Humanities?

City of God is Augustine’s idea of the eternal community of believers united by love of God. In Intro to Humanities, it comes up as a major medieval text that contrasts spiritual truth with the short life of political power.

### How is City of God different from the earthly city?

The City of God is defined by faith, humility, and eternal purpose, while the earthly city is defined by pride, power, and temporary goods. Augustine uses the contrast to show that governments can create order, but they cannot give lasting salvation.

### Why did Augustine write City of God?

He wrote it after the sack of Rome in 410 CE, when many people blamed Christianity for the empire’s decline. Augustine responds by arguing that Rome was never the final source of truth, peace, or human fulfillment.

### How do you use City of God in a humanities essay?

Use it to explain Augustine’s view of history, politics, or morality. It works well when you want to show how a text judges worldly success against a spiritual standard, especially in medieval philosophy or Christian thought.

## Related Study Guides

- [2.3 Medieval philosophy](/introduction-humanities/unit-2/medieval-philosophy/study-guide/FBtft1E3BfMyIu1m)

## About This Document

Canonical Fiveable pages are available as Markdown at the same path plus `.md`.

- [llms.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms.txt): index of Fiveable's sections and URL patterns
- [llms-full.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms-full.txt): complete subject and unit listing
- [MCP server](https://fiveable.me/mcp): call Fiveable as tools instead of fetching pages (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp`)
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