In Vita nova 16 [xxv] Dante seems to imply that poets like Vergil, Lucan, Horace, Homer, and Ovid regarded the gods of their own religion (Aeolus, Juno, Apollo, the Muses and Cupid) as personifications of natural elements and abstract ideas. This fact raises the question about the sources that allowed the author of the libello to interpret the religiosity of the classical poets in such a particular way. The present essay argues that Dante drew his convictions on the religiosity of Vergil from Varro’s account on pagan religion summarized by Augustine in the De civitate Dei. The study also attempts to contextualize the Vita nova within the exegetical tradition of Augustine’s magnum opus, arguing that a thematic table traditionally attributed to Robert Kilwardby could have influenced Dante’s reading of the De civitate Dei. The analysis of the sources available to Dante leads to the conclusion that the author of the Vita nova might have conceived Vergil as a pagan monotheist.