Book IX
Book IX
This chapter provides the text and translation of Book IX of St. Augustine's The City of God, which continues with Augustine's preoccupation with demons. His fundamental concern is with the problem of God's relations with men, citing the scriptural evidence for the existence and nature of the demons. It begins by reasserting the Platonist thesis that all gods are good and asks if there can be good demons. It also cites Apuleius' definition of the demons, which his depiction of them allows for no differentiation between good and bad. The chapter discusses the Platonist belief that souls after death become demons and that those who have lived good lives become genial lares, while villains in life become malevolent lemures or laruae.
Keywords: St. Augustine, The City of God, Book IX, scriptural evidence, good demons, Apuleius, Platonist belief
Liverpool Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
