After completing the first ten books of De Civitate Dei , in which Augustine sought to refute the claim that pagan deities had ensured that Rome enjoyed unbroken success and prosperity in this life and guaranteed its citizens a blessed life after death, Augustine devoted the remaining twelve books to discuss the origins, development and destiny of the two cities of Babylon and Jerusalem, with the predominant emphasis on the city of God. In this volume, the seventh in Peter Walsh's series, Augustine turns to the problem of death as punishment for the sin of disobedience, resumes his attack on the Platonists and pursues a range of topics which emerge from consideration of Adam's sin. This is the only edition of these books in English which provides not only a text but also a detailed commentary on one of the most influential documents in the history of western Christianity.