Some said Rome's strength and longevity was due to the active intervention of the Roman gods. Augustine was not disposed toward believing such notions, and the third and fourth books of his masterpiece assert said gods were merely popular and pernicious fiction. Walsh (humanities emeritus, U. of Glasgow) provides precise, detailed commentary with his elegant and able translation. He fully explains Augustine's assertions about the dark underside of Roman governance, which reads like a modern exposé of bad politics and pernicious policies, and the very silly doings of the Roman gods that inspired popular imagination rather than decent governance. The result is a full experience of all the books of De Civitate Dei that provides first-time readers and those who have walked the streets of the city before with valuable insights. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)