The City of God stands as Augustine's masterwork of theological defense and construction, written over thirteen years in response to accusations that Christianity brought ruin upon Rome. This first volume contains the first ten books of sustained refutation—demolishing pagan claims that traditional worship secured either temporal prosperity or eternal happiness—followed by the beginning of his positive vision in Books Eleven through Thirteen, where he traces the origin of two societal orders to the primordial division among the angels. What emerges is not merely an apology for Christianity but a philosophy of history that subordinate the fate of empires to the hidden providence of the one true God, whose sovereignty extends from creation through the fall to the final judgment.
Augustine then introduces the testimony of Hermes Trismegistus, the Egyptian, who held a different view. Hermes distinguished between gods made by the supreme God and gods made by men. He described the latter as visible and tangible images—statues—into which invisible spirits, invited by a certain art, have entered to dwell. These spirits have power to inflict harm or fulfill desires in exchange for honors. Hermes calls this the art of making gods, stating that just as the Lord and Father made the celestial gods, so man makes the gods who dwell in temples. He claims these statues are animated, full of sensation, prescient of the future, and capable of curing or causing diseases. However, Hermes also predicts a time when Egyptian worship will come to nought, and all their holy service will be found to be in vain. Augustine identifies this prophecy with the rise of Christianity, which is overthrowing these lying figments. He notes that Hermes speaks of this future with sorrow, whereas the prophets of God spoke of the destruction of idols with joy. Augustine argues that Hermes was compelled by a spirit to confess the error of his forefathers—who invented this art through incredulity and aversion to true divine worship—while simultaneously being influenced by a demon to bewail the destruction of that error. He contrasts Hermes’ mournful prophecy with the rejoicing of the prophets and the apostles, who recognized the true God in Christ.
Augustine emphasizes that Hermes explicitly confessed that his forefathers “erred very far” in the knowledge of the gods and invented the art of making gods through incredulity and lack of attention to divine service. If error and incredulity instituted these practices, then truth, faith, and conversion are rightly abolishing them. Augustine argues that it is impious to grieve over the destruction of a religion which one confesses to be error. He points out that this captivity to demons is being broken in all the earth, not just Egypt, as the true religion builds the house of the Lord. He cites the Psalms which declare that all the gods of the nations are demons, contrasting the “new song” of the Church with the old superstitions.
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