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Book/Printed Material City of God. De civitate dei

About this Item

Title

  • City of God.

Other Title

  • De civitate dei

Summary

  • Saint Augustine of Hippo (354--430) is generally considered one of the greatest Christian thinkers of all time. He was born in Thagaste (present-day Souq Ahras, Algeria) in Roman-ruled Africa, the son of a pagan father and a Christian mother (Saint Monica). After studying in Carthage and teaching rhetoric in his native city, he moved to Rome in 383 and to Milan in 384. Under the influence of his mother and Ambrose, bishop of Milan, he converted to Christianity in 387. He was ordained a priest in 391 and rose to become Bishop of Hippo (present-day Annaba, Algeria). He wrote more than 100 works, of which his Confessiones (Confessions) and De civitate dei (City of God) are the best known. In De civitate dei, Augustine set out to refute the pagan claim that the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths in 410, an event that profoundly shook the Roman world, was caused by the rise of Christianity. The fundamental problem that Augustine grappled with is the spiritual church in a secular world: the city of God in the city of this world. Enormously influential in the Middle Ages, De civitate dei continues to be read and studied by theologians and philosophers. Shown here is the 1475 printing by Nicolas Jenson. A native of France, Jenson was one of the most important printers in 15th-century Venice. Between about 1470 and 1480, he produced approximately 150 books. The quality of his work greatly influenced the revival of fine printing in Britain in the 19th century. This copy is the oldest volume in the John M. Kelly Library at Saint Michael's College, University of Toronto.

Names

  • Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo, 354--430 Author.
  • Jenson, Nicolas, circa 1420-1480 Printer.

Created / Published

  • Venice, Italy : [publisher not identified], 1475.

Headings

  • -  Italy
  • -  410 to 430

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 302 leaves, lacking title page.
  • -  Original resource at: John M. Kelly Library, University of St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto.
  • -  Content in Latin.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021666883

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Augustine, Saint, Bishop Of Hippo, 354, and Nicolas Jenson. City of God. [Venice, Italy: publisher not identified, 1475] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666883/.

APA citation style:

Augustine, S. & Jenson, N. (1475) City of God. [Venice, Italy: publisher not identified] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666883/.

MLA citation style:

Augustine, Saint, Bishop Of Hippo, 354, and Nicolas Jenson. City of God. [Venice, Italy: publisher not identified, 1475] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021666883/>.