Executive Briefing: The Two Loves That Built Two Cities
Following Alaric’s Visigothic sack of Rome in 410 CE, Augustine of Hippo dismantled pagan accusations that Christianity caused the empire’s fall, articulating a dual-city philosophy of world history.
1. Civitas Dei vs. Civitas Terrena
The Earthly City is driven by the love of self unto contempt of God (*amor sui*); the Heavenly City is driven by the love of God unto contempt of self (*amor Dei*). Worldly political empires rise and fall, but the pilgrim city of God endures through eternity.
2. References
- Augustine of Hippo. (426 CE). De Civitate Dei (The City of God).
- Brown, P. (2000). Augustine of Hippo: A Biography. University of California Press.