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This chapter focuses on Augustine's Book VI and VII of The City of God, which refutes the pagans' claims that the Roman deities had ensured unbroken success in the acquisition and growth of empire. It adverts to the topic of life after death and devotes close attention to Marcus Terentius Varro's distinguished research on Roman religion. It also provides a description of Terentius Varro, who was born at Reate in Sabine territory and became a praetor who fought on Pompey's side in the Civil War. The chapter mentions Julius Caesar, who commissioned Terentius Varro to establish the first public library at Rome. It looks at Terentius Varro's writings that covered virtually all disciplines — philosophy, religion, language, law, social history, geography, and agriculture.

This chapter provides the text and translation for Book VII of St. Augustine's The City of God, which resumes his analysis of Terentius Varro's Res Diuinae with a systematic scrutiny of his choice of the select gods, since worship of them occupies the preponderant part of the Roman religion. It records the catalogue of the twenty most important deities and challenges the appropriateness of the selection, suggesting that Vitumnus (life-giver) and Sentinus (sensation-giver) play more important roles than many of the twenty. Statues of the gods in human form, Varro argues, indicate the close relationship between the human and the divine mind. Augustine argues strongly against this view, claiming that such portrayals in human shape convey an unworthy notion of the gods. It also offers further detail of Varro's theology, in which the world is composed of mind and body, and the mind is God.

This chapter includes the commentary on Book VII of St. Augustine's The City of God. It mentions superiores libri...sufficient, in which Augustine argues that the Roman gods can afford no help in the attainment of happiness in the future life and reverts to their inadequacy in aiding the present existence. It also discusses the identification of the select gods and clarifies whether they are to be regarded as exempted from the duties of the lesser deities. Since the gods of lower rank incur no disgrace through any scandals, they have fared better than the select gods, whose monstrous indecencies are widely publicised. The chapter looks at Terentius Varro's belief, which made him regard the world-soul as God, though it contains within its different parts many souls whose nature is divine.

This chapter provides the text and translation for Book VI of St. Augustine's The City of God, which adverts to the topic of life after death and changes tack to devote close attention to Terentius Varro's distinguished research on Roman religion. Augustine pays lip-service to his proclaimed theme of the pentad, the rebuttal of the claim that the Roman religion had been efficacious for the conferment of eternal happiness after death. It talks about Augustine's discussion with Varro and praise of his learning, appending Cicero's celebrated tribute in the Academica. It also gives a resumé of the content of Varro's Antiquitates, with the subdivisions of Res Humanae and Res Diuinae. Augustine exploits Varro's learning to condemn the illogicalities of the religious system in general and in particular of worship of the select deities.