The first ten of the twenty-two Books (or "chapters") of the City of God contain a declamation against the classical pagans and their gods, and are not included within the synopsis that is provided on this page. The points below are not very encouraging reading for any but the highly virtuous! This is because the message that Augustine gives is, for the most part, a disturbing and sombre one. It is helpful to be aware that the Roman Catholic Church never formally adopted the opinion of Augustine about the very restricted number who will attain eternal life, nor his reference to a so-called “double predestination” that John Calvin repeated at the time of the Reformation. The Catholic Church has always regarded Augustine as the Professor of Grace (in Latin, gratia), rather than as an example of the Church's position on predestination.
An overview is presented below:
By means of a grace that we could never merit, from this mass of people God has chosen a small minority who will be saved.
The material on this page is a precis from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/augustine/#6 (Continued on the next page.)
Links
The City of God. This includes a synopsis of every chapter. From the Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1201.htm
A Reading Plan for Augustine’s City of God. One of the reasons that Augustine’s work remains unread today is because of its length and digressions. In lieu of an abridged version, Michael Haykin of Southern Seminary USA offers a selective reading guide to the book, which I’ve included below for those who want to take up one of the great classics of the Christian tradition.http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2013/11/05/a-reading-plan-for-augustines-the-city-of-god AN2124