The statement that, in the Middle Ages, "Life was but a precursor to salvation," is true. The Germanic invasions initially made the quality of life worse for people in the former Roman Empire, but St. Augustine, through his statements in The City of God, rationalized this poor state of being. He made people believe that there was no hope of advancement, that the misery suffered on Earth was deserved, that temporal concerns were unimportant and should be abandoned, and that the whole of one's life should be committed to advancement of the soul. Therefore all attempts at betterment of any kind were ordered by the church, to which the state was subservient, to be abandoned, and life became "but a precursor to salvation."

The evidence that this is true comes in two parts. Firstly, there is Augustine's The City of God. Secondly, there is proof that the condition of life in the overall area formerly controlled by the Roman Empire declined in correlation with the creation and distribution of the Bishop of Hippo's work. Since the general state of existence became much more difficult and worse at about the same time that The City of God was written, it is safe to assume that this manuscript did play a major role in this difficulty, as it called for the difficulty to exist and not to be tampered with. Therefore, salvation of the soul was the ultimate goal in one's life during the Middle Ages, since St. Augustine called for the abandonment of the temporal in favor of the spiritual.

Life was indeed worse for all people in the Middle Ages, and the technology and trade of the past era was forgotten and shunned. "Trade on the Mediterranean, once a Roman lake, was perilous… Agriculture and transport were inefficient; the population was never fed adequately." (15) writes William Manchester in his book, A World Lit Only by Fire. Because any technology that was accepted and used was very primitive, work was much harder as well. Manchester states that "peasants labored harder, sweated more, and collapsed from exhaustion more often than their animals" (6). This was all due to the enforced acceptance of the ideals expressed by St. Augustine in The City of God.

After the 410 sack of Rome, people attempted to place the blame for their great city being destroyed. Those who had never completely accepted the beliefs of Christianity argued that by officially abandoning worship of the Pagan gods, the Roman Empire had angered them and brought their wrath upon the destroyed cities. St. Augustine, over thirteen years, composed The City of God as a counter-argument for Christianity. He said that the true reason for the fall of Rome was the wrath of the Christian god, because the converted Pagans had continued their old rituals, considered sinful in the eyes of the new and official church. His influence in the church, especially at such an unstable time, led to the widespread use by the church of his writing as the major argument for its supremacy. But Augustine's sway in the church was not the only reason. In A World Lit Only by Fire, Manchester explains that "Because he had identified the Church with his civitas Dei, Augustine clearly implied the need for a theocracy" (10). Obviously, the adoption of his ideas appealed to the church, because through this they could gain further dominion over the state and its functions. Augustine gained the backing of the church, and it enforced the ideals Augustine set forth. He also contrasted his "city of man" and "city of God," implying that the city of man be abandoned:

"…two societies have issued from two kinds of love. Worldly society has flowered from a selfish love which dared to despise even God, whereas the communion of saints is rooted in a love of God that is ready to trample on self." (5)

With those last words, "trample on self," Augustine set up the suffering that was to come to all of the area under the power of the church. The temporal world was meant to be full of suffering because of original sin, there was no hope for advancement, and there was no reason to complain about one's situation because of this. All the time anyone was given on Earth was to be focused on bettering the soul. William Manchester illuminates one incredible example: "Each of the soaring medieval cathedrals… required three or four centuries to complete… Yet we know nothing of the architects or builders. They were glorifying God… their identity was irrelevant." (21)

Since St. Augustine's call to the abandonment of the temporal coincides with the extreme depreciation of life under the church's influence, it is true that his words were followed. It is also true that his reasoning was followed, and that the purpose for contempt of worldly things and in fact all of life on Earth is to better the chances of one's soul getting into the Heaven. In other words, "Life was but a precursor to salvation."