Augustine's masterwork The City of God is the first major text in the history of Western thought to give humility and pride pivotal roles in its analysis. Written for Augustine's own tumultuous age, the book transcends its time as an enduring classic engaging our human condition in ways that prompt readers to return to it in every era and amid a great variety of political societies and cultures. The City of God has exerted a profound influence on medieval, renaissance, modern, and contemporary thought, especially concerning politics, religion, and philosophy"--