,,saint ,,augustin  ,,by  ,,louis       
,,bertrand   ,,translated ,,by ,,vincent
 ,o',,sullivan     ,,translator',s      
,,note   ,the quotations from ,saint    
,augustin's ,confessions are taken from 
,canon ,bigg's scholarly version1 which 
seems to me the best in ,english4 ,but  
there are places where ,m4 ,bertrand's  
reading of the original text differs    
from ,dr4 ,bigg's1 and in such cases ,i 
have felt myself obliged to follow the  
author of this book4 ,these differences 
never seriously affect the meaning of a 
passage2 sometimes it is a mere matter  
of choice1 as with the word collactaneum
 7i1 #g7 which ,dr4 ,bigg translates    
twin1 and ,m4 ,bertrand1 like ,pusey1   
frre de lait1 or foster-brother4 ,as a  
rule1 ,dr4 ,bigg chooses the quietest   
terms1 and ,m4 ,bertrand the most       
forcible4 ,those curious in such matters
 may like to see an instance4  ,the     
original text runs3--      ,avulsa a    
latere meo tanquam impedimento conjugii1
 cum qu cubare     solitus eram1 cor ubi

 adhaerebat1 concisum et vulneratum mihi
 erat1 et     trahebat sanguinem4       
7,confessiones1 vi1 #ae47  ,m4 ,bertrand
 translates3--      ,quand on arracha de
 mes flancs1 sous prtexte qu'elle       
empchait mon     mariage1 celle avec qui
 j'avais coutume de dormir1 depuis si   
longtemps1     l o mon coeur tait attach
 au sien1 il se dchira1 et je tranais   
mon sang avec ma blessure4  ,canon      
,bigg's version is3--      ,my mistress 
was torn from my side as an obstacle to 
my marriage1 and my     heart1 which    
clung to her1 was torn and wounded till 
it bled4  ,in this place1 it will be    
observed that ,dr4 ,bigg does not       
emphasize the word ubi which1 as the    
reader will find on turning to page #ahe
 of this volume1 ,m4 ,bertrand thinks so
 significant4  ,the remaining ,english  
versions of the writings of ,saint      
,augustin and of the other ,latin       
authors quoted are my own1 except the   
passages from ,the ,city of ,god1       
including the verse translation of      

,persius1 which are taken1 with some    
necessary alterations1 from the         
,seventeenth century translation        
ascribed to ,john ,healey4  ,v4 ,o',s4  
,,contents   ,,chapter        ,,prologue
         ,,the ,,first ,,part           
,,days ,,of ,,childhood     ,i4 ,,an    
,,african ,,free-,,town ,,subject ,,to  
,,rome    ,,ii4 ,,the ,,family ,,of ,a  
,,saint   ,,iii4 ,,the ,,comfort ,,of   
,,the ,,milk    ,,iv4 ,,the ,,first     
,,games     ,v4 ,,the ,,schoolboy ,,of  
,,madaura    ,,vi4 ,,the ,,holidays ,,at
 ,,thagaste         ,,the ,,second      
,,part        ,,the ,,enchantment ,,of  
,,carthage     ,i4 ,,carthago ,,veneris 
,,ii4 ,,the ,,african ,,rome   ,,iii4   
,,the ,,carthage ,,student    ,,iv4     
,,the ,,sweetness ,,of ,,tears     ,v4  
,,the ,,silence ,,of ,,god         ,,the
 ,,third ,,part        ,,the ,,return   
,i4 ,,the ,,city ,,of ,,gold    ,,ii4   
,,the ,,final ,,disillusion   ,,iii4    
,,the ,,meeting ,,between ,,ambrose     
,,and ,,augustin    ,,iv4 ,,plans ,,of  

,,marriage     ,v4 ,,the ,,christ ,,in  
,,the ,,garden         ,,the ,,fourth   
,,part        ,,the ,,hidden ,,life     
,i4 ,,the ,,last ,,smile ,,of ,,the     
,,muse    ,,ii4 ,,the ,,ecstasy ,,of    
,,saint ,,monnica   ,,iii4 ,,the ,,monk 
,,of ,,thagaste    ,,iv4 ,,augustin ,a  
,,priest         ,,the ,,fifth ,,part   
,,the ,,apostle ,,of ,,peace ,,and ,,of 
,,catholic ,,unity     ,i4 ,,the        
,,bishop ,,of ,,hippo    ,,ii4 ,,what   
,,was ,,heard ,,in ,,the ,,basilica ,,of
 ,,peace   ,,iii4 ,,the ,,bishop',s     
,,burthen    ,,iv4 ,,against ,,the      
,,roaring ,,lions         ,,the ,,sixth 
,,part        ,,face ,,to ,,face ,,with 
,,the ,,barbarians     ,i4 ,,the ,,sack 
,,of ,,rome    ,,ii4 ,,the ,,city ,,of  
,,god   ,,iii4 ,,the ,,barbarian        
,,desolation    ,,iv4 ,,saint ,,augustin
         ,,index     ,,saint ,,augustin 
,,prologue     ,inquietum est cor       
nostrum donec requiescat in te4   ,our  
heart finds no rest until it rests in   
,thee4    ,confessions1 ,i1 i4   ,saint 

,augustin is now little more than a     
celebrated name4 ,outside of learned or 
theological circles people no longer    
read him4 ,such is true renown3 we      
admire the saints1 as we do great men1  
on trust4 ,even his ,confessions are    
generally spoken of only from hearsay4  
,by this neglect1 is he atoning for the 
renewal of glory in which he shone      
during the seventeenth century1 when the
 ,jansenists1 in their inveterate       
obstinacy1 identified him with the      
defence of their cause8 ,the reputation 
of sour austerity and of argumentative  
and tiresome prolixity which attaches to
 the remembrance of all the writers of  
,port-,royal1 save ,pascal--has that    
affected too the work of ,augustin1     
enlisted in spite of himself in the     
ranks of these pious schismatics8 ,and  
yet1 if there have ever been any beings 
who do not resemble ,augustin1 and whom 
probably he would have attacked with all
 his eloquence and all the force of his 
dialectic1 they are the ,jansenists4    

,doubtless he would have said with      
contempt3 ,the party of ,jansen1 even as
 in his own day1 with his devotion to   
,catholic unity1 he said3 ,the party of 
,donatus4  ,it must be acknowledged also
 that the very sight of his works is    
terrifying1 whether we take the enormous
 folios in two columns of the           
,benedictine edition1 or the volumes1   
almost as compact1 and much more        
numerous1 of recent editions4 ,behind   
such a rampart of printed matter he is  
well defended against profane curiosity4
 ,it needs courage and perseverance to  
penetrate into this labyrinth of text1  
all bristling with theology and exegesis
 and metaphysics4 ,but only cross the   
threshold of the repellent enclosure1   
grow used to the order and shape of the 
building1 and it will not be long ere   
you are overcome by a warm sympathy1 and
 then by a steadily increasing          
admiration for the host who dwells      
there4 ,the hieratic face of the old    
bishop lights up1 becomes strangely     

living1 almost modern1 in expression4   
,you discover under the text one of the 
most passionate lives1 most busy and    
richest in instruction1 that history has
 to shew4 ,what it teaches is applicable
 to ourselves1 answers to our interests 
of yesterday and to-day4 ,this          
existence1 and the century in which it  
was passed1 recall our own century and  
ourselves4 ,the return of similar       
circumstances has brought similar       
situations and characters2 it is almost 
our portrait4 ,and we feel half ready to
 conclude that at the present moment    
there is no subject more actual than    
,st4 ,augustin4  ,at least he is one of 
the most interesting4 ,what1 indeed1 is 
more romantic than this wandering life  
of rhetorician and student that the     
youthful ,augustin led1 from ,thagaste  
to ,carthage1 from ,carthage to ,milan  
and to ,rome--begun in the pleasures and
 tumult of great cities1 and ending in  
the penitence1 the silence1 and         
recollection of a monastery8 ,and again1

 what drama is more full of colour and  
more profitable to consider than that   
last agony of the ,empire1 of which     
,augustin was a spectator1 and1 with all
 his heart faithful to ,rome1 would have
 prevented if he could8 ,and then1 what 
tragedy more stirring and painful than  
the crisis of soul and conscience which 
tore his life8 ,well may it be said     
that1 regarded as a whole1 the life of  
,augustin was but a continual spiritual 
struggle1 a battle of the soul4 ,it is  
the battle of every moment1 the         
never-ceasing combat of body and spirit1
 which the poets of that time           
dramatized1 and which is the history of 
the ,christian of all times4 ,the stake 
of the battle is a soul4 ,the upshot is 
the final triumph1 the redemption of a  
soul4  ,what makes the life of ,augustin
 so complete and so truly typical is    
that he fought the good fight1 not only 
against himself1 but against all the    
enemies of the ,church and the ,empire4 
,if he was a doctor and a saint1 so was 

he too the type of the man of action in 
one of the most disheartened periods4   
,that he triumphed over his             
passions--this1 in truth1 concerns only 
,god and himself4 ,that he preached1    
wrote1 shook crowds1 disturbed minds1   
may seem without importance to those who
 reject his doctrine4 ,but that across  
the centuries his soul1 afire with      
charity1 continues to warm our own2 that
 without our knowledge he still shapes  
us2 and that1 in a way more or less     
remote1 he is still the master of our   
hearts1 and1 in certain aspects1 of our 
minds--there is what touches each and   
all of us1 without distinction4 ,not    
only has ,augustin always his great     
place in the living communion of all    
christened people1 but the ,western soul
 is marked with the stamp of his soul4  
,first of all1 his fate is confused with
 that of the dying ,empire4 ,he         
witnessed1 if not the utter             
disappearance1 at least the gradual     
swooning away of that admirable thing   

called the ,roman ,empire1 image of     
,catholic unity4 ,well1 we are the      
wreckage of the ,empire4 ,usually1 we   
turn away with contempt from those      
wretched centuries which underwent the  
descents of the ,barbarians4 ,for us1   
that is the ,lower-,empire1 a time of   
shameful decadence which deserves       
nothing but our scorn4 ,however1 it is  
out of this chaos and this degradation  
that we have arisen4 ,the wars of the   
,roman republic concern us less than the
 outlawry of the ,barbarian chiefs who  
separated our ,gaul from the ,empire1   
and without knowing it1 prepared the    
dawn of ,france4 ,after all1 what are   
the rivalries of ,marius and ,sylla to  
us8 ,the victory of ,atius over the     
,huns in the plains of ,chalons concerns
 us a good deal more4 ,further1 it is   
unfair to the ,lower-,empire to view it 
only as a time of feebleness and        
cowardice and corruption4 ,it was also  
an epoch of immense activity1 prolific  
of daring and high-flying adventurers1  

some of them heroic4 ,even the most     
degenerate of the last ,emperors never  
lost the conviction of ,roman majesty   
and grandeur4 ,unto the very end1 they  
employed all the ruses of their         
diplomacy to prevent the ,barbarian     
chiefs from imagining themselves        
anything else but vassals of the        
,empire4 ,honorius1 at bay in ,ravenna1 
persisted in refusing ,alaric the title 
of commander of the ,cohortes ,urban1   
even though his refusal were to lead to 
the sack of ,rome and imperil his own   
life4  ,simply by his fidelity to the   
,empire1 ,augustin shews himself one    
like ourselves--a ,latin of ,occitania4 
,but still closer resemblances draw him 
near to us4 ,his time was very like our 
own time4 ,upon even a slight           
familiarity with his books we recognize 
in him a brother-soul who has suffered1 
felt1 thought1 pretty nearly like us4   
,he came into an ending world1 on the   
eve of the great cataclysm which was    
going to carry away an entire           

civilization--a tragic turning-point of 
history1 a time troubled and often very 
grievous1 which was hard to live in for 
all1 and to even the most determined    
minds must have appeared desperate4 ,the
 peace of the ,church was not yet       
settled2 consciences were divided4      
,people hesitated between the belief of 
yesterday and the belief of to-morrow4  
,augustin was among those who had the   
courage to choose1 and who1 having once 
chosen their faith1 proclaimed it       
without weakening4 ,the belief of a     
thousand years was dying out1 quenched  
by a young belief to which was promised 
an eternal duration4 ,how many delicate 
souls must have suffered from this      
division1 which cut them off from their 
traditions and obliged them1 as they    
thought1 to be false to their dead along
 with the religion of their ancestors6  
,all the irritations which the fanatics 
of to-day inflict upon believing souls1 
many must have had to suffer then4 ,the 
sceptics were infused by the intolerance

 of the others4 ,but the worst 7even as 
it is to-day7 was to watch the torrent  
of foolishness which1 under cover of    
religion1 philosophy1 or                
miracle-working1 pretended to the       
conquest of mind and will4 ,amid this   
mass of wildest doctrines and heresies1 
in this orgy of vapid intellectualism1  
they had indeed solid heads who were    
able to resist the general intoxication4
 ,and among all these people talking    
nonsense1 ,augustin appears admirable   
with his good sense4  ,this             
intellectual1 this mystic1 was not only 
a man of prayer and meditation4 ,the    
prudence of the man of action and the   
administrator balanced his outbursts of 
dialectical subtility1 often carried too
 far4 ,he had that sense of realities   
such as we flatter ourselves that we    
have2 he had a knowledge of life and    
passion4 ,compared to the experience of1
 say1 ,bossuet1 how much wider was      
,augustin's6 ,and with all that1 a      
quivering sensitiveness which is again  

like our own--the sensitiveness of times
 of intense culture1 wherein the abuse  
of thought has multiplied the ways of   
suffering in exasperating the desire for
 pleasure4 ,the soul of antiquity was   
rude and vain4 ,it was1 above all1      
limited4 ,the soul of ,augustin is      
tender and serious1 eager for           
certainties and those enjoyments which  
do not betray4 ,it is vast and sonorous2
 let it be stirred ever so little1 and  
from it go forth deep vibrations which  
render the sound of the infinite4       
,augustin1 before his conversion1 had   
the apprehensions of our ,romantics1 the
 causeless melancholy and sadness1 the  
immense yearnings for anywhere but here1
 which overwhelmed our fathers4 ,he is  
really very close to us4  ,he has       
broadened our ,latin souls by           
reconciling us with the ,barbarian4 ,the
 ,latin1 like the ,greek1 only          
understood himself4 ,the ,barbarian had 
not the right to express himself in the 
language of the ,empire4 ,the world was 

split into two parts which endeavoured  
to ignore each other1 ,augustin has made
 us conscious of the nameless regions1  
the vague countries of the soul1 which  
hitherto had lain shrouded in the       
darkness of barbarism4 ,by him the union
 of the ,semitic and the ,occidental    
genius is consummated4 ,he has acted as 
our interpreter for the ,bible4 ,the    
harsh ,hebraic words become soft to our 
ears by their passage through the       
cultivated mouth of the rhetorician4 ,he
 has subjugated us with the word of     
,god4 ,he is a ,latin who speaks to us  
of ,jehovah4  ,others1 no doubt1 had    
done it before him4 ,but none had found 
a similar emotion1 a note of tenderness 
so moving4 ,the gentle violence of his  
charity wins the adherence of hearts4   
,he breathes only charity4 ,after ,st4  
,john1 it is he who is the ,apostle of  
,love4  ,his tireless voice dominated   
the whole of the ,west4 ,the ,middle    
,ages still heard it4 ,for centuries his
 sermons and treatises were copied over 

and over again2 they were repeated in   
cathedrals1 commented in abstracts of   
theology4 ,people came to accept even   
his theory of the fine arts4 ,all that  
we have inherited from the ancients     
reaches us through ,augustin4 ,he is the
 great teacher4 ,in his hands the       
doctrinal demonstration of the ,catholic
 religion takes firm shape4 ,to indicate
 the three great stages of the onward   
march of the truth1 one may say3 ,jesus 
,christ1 ,st4 ,paul1 ,st4 ,augustin4    
,nearest to our weakness is the last4   
,he is truly our spiritual father4 ,he  
has taught us the language of prayer4   
,the words of ,augustin's prayers are   
still upon the lips of the devout4      
,this universal genius1 who during forty
 years was the speaking-trumpet of      
,christendom1 was also the man of one   
special century and country4 ,augustin  
of ,thagaste is the great ,african4     
,well may we be proud of him and adopt  
him as one of our glories--we who have  
kept up1 for now almost a century1 a    

struggle like to that which he          
maintained for the unity of the ,roman  
,empire1 we who consider ,africa as an  
extension of ,france4 ,more than any    
other writer1 he has expressed the      
temperament and the genius of his       
country4 ,this motley ,africa1 with its 
eternal mixture of races at odds with   
one another1 its jealous sectarianism1  
the variety of its scenery and climate1 
the violence of its sensations and      
passions1 its seriousness of character  
and its quick-changing humour1 its mind 
at once practical and frivolous1 its    
materialism and its mysticism1 its      
austerity and its luxury1 its           
resignation to servitude and its        
instincts of independence1 its hunger to
 rule--all that comes out with          
singularly vivid touches in the work of 
,augustin4 ,not only was he his         
country's voice1 but1 as far as he      
could1 he realized its old dream of     
dominion4 ,the supremacy in spiritual   
matters that ,carthage disputed so long 

and bitterly with ,rome1 it ended by    
obtaining1 thanks to ,augustin4 ,as long
 as he lived1 the ,african ,church was  
the mistress of the ,churches of the    
,west4  ,as for me--if ,i may venture to
 refer to myself in such a matter--,i   
have had the joy to recognize in him1   
besides the ,saint and ,teacher whom ,i 
revere1 the ideal type of the ,latin of 
,africa4 ,the image of which ,i descried
 the outline long ago through the       
mirages of the ,south in following the  
waggons of my rugged heroes1 ,i have    
seen at last become definite1 grow      
clear1 wax noble and increase to the    
very heaven1 in following the traces of 
,augustin4  ,and even supposing that the
 life of this child of ,thagaste1 the   
son of ,monnica1 were not intermingled  
so deeply with ours1 though he were for 
us only a foreigner born in a far-off   
land1 nevertheless he would still remain
 one of the most fascinating and        
luminous souls who have shone amid our  
darkness and warmed our sadness--one of 

the most human and most divine creatures
 who have trod our highways4     ,,the  
,,first ,,part  ,,days ,,of ,,childhood 
,sed delectabat ludere4   ,only1 ,i     
liked to play4    ,confessions1 ,i1 #i4 
,i  ,,an ,,african ,,free-,,town        
,,subject ,,to ,,rome   ,little streets1
 quite white1 which climb up to         
clay-formed hills deeply furrowed by the
 heavy winter rains2 between the double 
row of houses1 brilliant in the morning 
sun1 glimpses of sky of a very tender   
blue2 here and there1 in the strip of   
deep shade which lies along the         
thresholds1 white figures crouched upon 
rush-mats--indolent outlines1 draped    
with bright colours1 or muffled in rough
 and sombre wool-stuffs2 a horseman who 
passes1 bent almost in two in his       
saddle1 the big hat of the ,south flung 
back over his shoulders1 and encouraging
 with his heel the graceful trot of his 
horse--such is ,thagaste as we see it   
to-day1 and such undoubtedly it appeared
 to the traveller in the days of        

,augustin4  ,like the ,french town built
 upon its ruins1 the ,african free-city 
lay in a sort of plain taken between    
three round hills4 ,one of them1 the    
highest one1 which is now protected by a
 bordj1 must have been defended in old  
days by a castellum4 ,full-flowing      
waters moisten the land4 ,to those      
coming from the stony regions about     
,constantine and ,setif1 or the vast    
bare plain of the ,medjerda1 ,thagaste  
gives an impression of freshness and    
cool4 ,it is a laughing place1 full of  
greenery and running water4 ,to the     
,africans it offers a picture of those  
northern countries which they have never
 seen1 with its wooded mountains covered
 by pines and cork trees and ilex4 ,it  
presents itself as a land of mountain   
and forest--especially forest4 ,it is a 
hunter's country4 ,game is plentiful    
there--boar1 hare1 redwing1 quail1      
partridge4 ,in ,augustin's time1 wild   
beasts were apparently more numerous in 
the district than they are to-day4 ,when

 he compares his adversaries1 the       
,donatists1 to roaring lions1 he speaks 
like a man who knows what a lion is4    
,to the east and west1 wide stretches of
 woodland1 rounded hill-summits1 streams
 and torrents which pour through the    
valleys and glens--there you have       
,thagaste and the country round         
about--the world1 in fact1 as it        
revealed itself to the eyes of the child
 ,augustin4 ,but towards the south the  
verdure grows sparse2 arid mountain-tops
 appear1 crushed down as blunted cones1 
or jutted in slim ,tables of the ,law2  
the sterility of the desert becomes     
perceptible amid the wealth of          
vegetation4 ,this full-foliaged land has
 its harsh and stern localities4 ,the   
,african light1 however1 softens all    
that4 ,the deep green of the oaks and   
pines runs into waves of warm and       
ever-altering tints which are a caress  
and a delight for the eye4 ,a man has it
 thoroughly brought home to him that he 
is in a land of the sun4  ,to say the   

least1 it is a country of strongly      
marked features which affords the       
strangest contrast with the surrounding 
districts4 ,this wooded ,numidia1 with  
its flowing brooks1 its fields where the
 cattle graze1 differs in the highest   
degree from the ,numidia towards        
,setif--a wide1 desolate plain1 where   
the stubble of the wheat-fields1 the    
sandy steppes1 roll away in monotonous  
undulations to the cloudy barrier of    
,mount ,atlas which closes the horizon4 
,and this rough and melancholy plain in 
its turn offers a striking contrast with
 the coast region of ,boujeiah and      
,hippo1 which is not unlike the ,italian
 ,campania in its mellowness and gaiety4
 ,such clear-cut differences between the
 various parts of the same province     
doubtless explain the essential         
peculiarities of the ,numidian          
character4 ,the bishop ,augustin1 who   
carried his pastoral cross from one end 
to the other of this country1 and was   
its acting and thinking soul1 may       

perhaps have owed to it the contrasts   
and many-sidedness of his own rich      
nature4  ,of course1 ,thagaste did not  
pretend to be a capital4 ,it was a      
free-town of the second or third order2 
but its distance from the great centres 
gave it a certain importance4 ,the      
neighbouring free-towns1 ,thubursicum1  
,thagura1 were small4 ,madaura and      
,theveste1 rather larger1 had not       
perhaps the same commercial importance4 
,thagaste was placed at the junction of 
many ,roman roads4 ,there the little    
,augustin1 with other children of his   
age1 would have a chance to admire the  
out-riders and equipages of the         
,imperial ,mail1 halted before the inns 
of the town4 ,what we can be sure of is 
that ,thagaste1 then as now1 was a town 
of passage and of traffic1 a half-way   
stopping-place for the southern and     
coast towns1 as well as for those of the
 ,proconsulate and ,numidia4 ,and like  
the present ,souk-,ahras1 ,thagaste must
 have been above all a market4          

,bread-stuffs and ,numidian wines were  
bartered for the flocks of the ,aures1  
leather1 dates1 and the esparto         
basket-work of the regions of ,sahara4  
,the marbles of ,simitthu1 the          
citron-wood of which they made precious 
tables1 were doubtless handled there4   
,the neighbouring forests could furnish 
building materials to the whole country4
 ,thagaste was the great mart of        
woodland ,numidia1 the warehouse and the
 bazaar1 where to this day the nomad    
comes to lay in a stock of provisions1  
and stares with childish delight at the 
fine things produced by the inventive   
talent of the workers who live in towns4
  ,thus images of plenty and joy        
surrounded the cradle of ,augustin4 ,the
 smile of ,latin beauty welcomed him    
also from his earliest steps4 ,it is    
true that ,thagaste was not what is     
called a fine city4 ,the fragments of   
antiquity which have been unearthed     
there are of rather inferior            
workmanship4 ,but how little is needed  

to give wings to the imagination of an  
intelligent child6 ,at all events1      
,thagaste had a bathing-hall paved with 
mosaics and perhaps ornamented with     
statues2 ,augustin used to bathe there  
with his father4 ,and again1 it is      
probable that1 like the neighbouring    
,thubursicum and other free-cities of   
the same level1 it had its theatre1 its 
forum1 its nymph-fountains1 perhaps even
 its amphitheatre4 ,of all that nothing 
has been found4 ,certain inscribed stone
 tablets1 capitals and shafts of        
columns1 a stone with an inscription    
which belonged to a ,catholic           
church--that is all which has been      
discovered up to this present time4     
,let us not ask for the impossible4     
,thagaste had columns--nay1 perhaps a   
whole street between a double range of  
columns1 as at ,thimgad4 ,that would be 
quite enough to delight the eyes of a   
little wondering boy4 ,a column1 even   
injured1 or scarcely cleansed from wrack
 and rubbish1 has about it something    

impressive4 ,it is like a free melody   
singing among the heavy masses of the   
building4 ,to this hour1 in our         
,algerian villages1 the mere sight of a 
broken column entrances and cheers us--a
 white ghost of beauty streaming up from
 the ruins among the modern hovels4     
,there were columns at ,thagaste4       
,,ii  ,,the ,,family ,,of ,a ,,saint    
,it was in this pleasant little town1   
shaded and beautified for many years now
 by the arts of ,rome1 that the parents 
of ,augustin lived4  ,his father1       
,patricius1 affords us a good enough    
type of the ,romanized ,african4 ,he    
belonged to the order of ,decuriones1 to
 the very brilliant urban council of    
,thagaste 7splendidissimus ordo         
,thagastensis71 as an inscription at    
,souk-,ahras puts it4 ,although these   
strong epithets may be said to be part  
of the ordinary official phraseology1   
they indicate1 just the same1 the       
importance which went with such a       
position4 ,in his township1 ,patricius  

was a kind of personage4 ,his son       
assures us that he was poor1 but we may 
suspect the holy bishop of exaggerating 
through ,christian humility4 ,patricius 
must certainly have owned more than     
twenty-five acres of land1 for this was 
made a condition of being elected to the
 curia4 ,he had vineyards and orchards1 
of which ,augustin later on recalled the
 plentiful and sweet-tasting fruits4 ,in
 short1 he lived in considerable style4 
,it is true that in ,africa household   
expenses have never at any time been a  
great extravagance4 ,still1 the sons of 
,patricius had a pedagogue1 a slave     
specially engaged to keep them under his
 eye1 like all the children of families 
comfortably off4  ,it has been said that
 as ,augustin's father was a member of  
the curia1 he must have been a ruined   
man4 ,the ,decurions1 who levied taxes  
and made themselves responsible for     
their collection1 were obliged to supply
 any deficiency in the revenue out of   
their own money4 ,patricius1 it is      

thought1 must have been one of the      
numerous victims of this disastrous     
system4 ,but no doubt there were a good 
many exceptions4 ,besides1 there is     
nothing in ,augustin's reminiscences    
which authorizes us to believe that his 
father ever knew embarrassment1 to say  
nothing of actual poverty4 ,what seems  
by far the most probable is that he     
lived as well as he could upon the      
income of his estate as a small country 
landowner4 ,in ,africa people are       
satisfied with very little4 ,save for an
 unusually bad year following a time of 
long drought1 or a descent of locusts1  
the land always gives forth enough to   
feed its master4  ,to hunt1 to ride     
horseback1 now and then to go on parade1
 to look after his small-holders and    
agricultural slaves1 to drive one of    
those bargains in which ,african cunning
 triumphs--such were the employments of 
,patricius4 ,in short1 he drifted       
through life on his little demesne4     
,sometimes this indolent man was        

overcome by a sudden passion for work2  
or again he was seized by furious rages4
 ,he was violent and brutal4 ,at such   
moments he struck out right and left4   
,he would even have hit his wife or     
flogged the skin off her back if the    
quietude of this woman1 her dignity and 
,christian mildness1 had not overawed   
him4 ,let us not judge this kind of     
conduct by our own2 we shall never      
understand it4 ,the ancient customs1    
especially the ,african customs1 were a 
disconcerting mixture of intense        
refinement and heedless brutality4      
,that is why it will not do to          
exaggerate the outbursts of ,patricius1 
which his son mentions discreetly4      
,although he may not have been very     
faithful to his wife1 that was in those 
days1 more than in ours1 a venial sin in
 the eyes of the world4 ,at heart the   
,african has always longed for a harem  
in his house2 he inclines naturally to  
the polygamy of ,muslemism4 ,in         
,carthage1 and elsewhere1 public opinion

 was full of indulgence for the husband 
who allowed himself liberties with the  
serving-women4 ,people laughed at it1   
and excused the man4 ,it is true they   
were rather harder on the matron who    
took the same kind of liberty with her  
men-slaves4 ,however1 that went on too4 
,the ,bishop of ,hippo1 in his sermons1 
strongly rebuked the ,christian married 
couples for these frequent adulteries   
which were scarcely regarded as errors4 
,patricius was a pagan1 and this partly 
explains his laxity4 ,it would doubtless
 be going too far to say that he        
remained faithful to paganism all his   
life4 ,it is not likely that this urban 
councillor of ,thagaste was a           
particularly assured pagan4 ,speculative
 and intellectual considerations made a 
very moderate appeal to him4 ,he was not
 an arguer like his son4 ,he was pagan  
from habit1 from that instinctive       
conservatism of the citizen and         
landowner who sticks obstinately to his 
class and family traditions4 ,prudence  

and diplomacy had also something to do  
with it4 ,many great landlords continued
 to defend and practise paganism1       
probably from motives similar to those  
of ,patricius himself4 ,as for him1 he  
had no desire to get wrong with the     
important and influential people of the 
country2 he might have need of their    
protection to save his small property   
from the ravenous public treasury4      
,moreover1 the best-paid posts were     
still controlled by the pagan           
priesthood4 ,and so ,augustin's father  
thought himself very wise in dealing    
cautiously with a religion which was    
always so powerful1 and rewarded its    
adherents so well4  ,but for all that1  
it is undeniable that paganism about    
this time was in an awkward position    
from a political point of view4 ,the    
,government eyed it with disapproval4   
,since the death of ,constantine1 the   
accursed emperors had waged against it a
 furious war4 ,in #cec1 just before the 
birth of ,augustin1 ,constantius        

promulgated an edict renewing the order 
for the closing of the temples and the  
abolition of sacrifices--and that too   
under pain of death and confiscation4   
,but in distant provinces1 such as      
,numidia1 the action of the central     
power was slow and irregular4 ,it was   
often represented by officials who were 
hostile or indifferent to ,christianity4
 ,the local aristocracy and their       
following scoffed at it more or less    
openly4 ,in their immense villas1 behind
 the walls of their parks1 the rich     
landowners offered sacrifices and       
organized processions and feasts as if  
there were no law at all4 ,patricius    
knew all that4 ,and1 on the other side1 
he could take note of the encroachments 
of the new religion4 ,during the first  
half of the fourth century ,thagaste had
 been conquered by the ,donatists4      
,since the edict of ,constans against   
these schismatics1 the inhabitants of   
the little city had come back to        
,catholicism out of fear of the severity

 of the imperial government4 ,but the   
settlement was far from being complete  
and final4 ,as a consequence of the     
edict1 the whole region of the ,aures   
had been in revolution4 ,the ,bishop of 
,bagai1 fortified in his episcopal city 
and basilica1 had stood an actual siege 
from the ,roman troops4 ,almost         
everywhere the struggle between         
,donatists and ,catholics still went on 
below the surface4 ,there cannot be the 
least doubt that ,thagaste took its     
share in these quarrels4 ,to those who  
urged him to be baptized1 the father of 
,augustin might well answer with ironic 
politeness3 ,i am only waiting till you 
agree among yourselves1 to see where the
 truth lies4 ,in his heart this rather  
lukewarm pagan had no inveterate dislike
 to ,christianity4  ,what proves it at  
once is that he married a ,christian4   
,how did ,monnica become the wife of    
,patricius8 ,how did these two beings1  
so little alike1 between whom there was 
such a great difference of age1 not to  

mention all the rest1 come to join their
 fate8 ,those are questions which it    
would never have occurred to the people 
of ,thagaste to ask4 ,patricius married 
to be like everybody else--and also     
because he was well over forty1 and his 
mother an old woman who would soon be no
 longer able to run his house4  ,monnica
 also had her mother4 ,the two old women
 had a meeting1 with many politenesses  
and ceremonious bowings1 and because the
 thing appeared to them reasonable and  
most suitable1 they settled the         
marriage4 ,had ,patricius ever seen the 
girl that he was going to take1         
according to custom1 so as to have a    
child-bearer and housewife8 ,it is quite
 likely he had not4 ,was she pretty1    
rich1 or poor8 ,he considered such      
matters as secondary1 since the marriage
 was not a love-match but a traditional 
duty to fulfil4 ,if the union was       
respectable1 that was quite enough4 ,but
 however the matter fell out1 what is   
certain is that ,monnica was very young4

 ,she was twenty-two when ,augustin was 
born1 and he was probably not her first 
child4 ,we know that she was hardly     
marriageable when she was handed over1  
as ,arab parents do to-day with their   
adolescent or little girls1 to the man  
who was going to marry her4 ,now in     
,africa girls become marriageable at a  
very early age4 ,they are married at    
fourteen1 sometimes even at twelve4     
,perhaps she was seventeen or eighteen  
at most when she married ,patricius4    
,she must have had first a son1         
,navigius1 whom we shall meet later on  
at ,milan1 and also a daughter1 of whom 
we do not even know the name1 but who   
became a nun1 and superior of a convent 
in the diocese of ,hippo4 ,for us the   
features of these two other children of 
,monnica and ,patricius are obliterated4
 ,they are concealed by the radiance of 
their illustrious great brother4        
,monnica was fond of telling stories of 
her girlhood to her son4 ,he has handed 
down some of them to us4  ,she was      

brought up strictly1 according to the   
system of that time4 ,both her parents  
came of families which had been         
,christian1 and ,catholic-,christian1   
for many generations4 ,they had never   
been carried away by the ,donatist      
schism2 they were people very obstinate 
in their convictions--a character quite 
as frequent in ,africa as its opposite1 
the kind of ,numidian or ,moor1 who is  
versatile and flighty4 ,it is not       
unimportant that ,augustin came from    
this hard-headed race1 for this it was1 
with the aid of ,god's grace1 that saved
 him--the energetic temper of his will4 
,still1 if the faith of the young       
,monnica was confirmed from her earliest
 years1 it is not so much to the lessons
 of her mother that she owed it1 as to  
the training of an old woman-servant of 
whom she always spoke with gratitude4   
,in the family of her master1 this old  
woman had a place like the one which    
to-day in a ,turkish family is held by  
the nurse1 the dada1 who is respected by

 all the harem and all the household4   
,doubtless she herself was born in the  
house and had seen all the children     
born4 ,she had carried ,monnica's father
 on her back when he was little1 just as
 the ,kabylian women or the ,bedouin    
nomads carry their babies still4 ,she   
was a devoted slave1 just a bit         
unreasonable--a veritable housedog who  
in the zeal of guardianship barks more  
than is necessary at the stranger who   
passes4 ,she was like the negress in the
 ,arab houses to-day1 who is often a    
better ,muslem1 more hostile to the     
,christian1 than her employers4 ,the old
 woman in ,monnica's family had         
witnessed the last persecutions2 she had
 perhaps visited the confessors in      
prison2 perhaps she had seen flow the   
blood of the martyrs4 ,these exciting   
and terrible scenes would have been     
graven on her memory4 ,what inflamed    
stories the old servant must have told  
her young mistresses1 what vital lessons
 of constancy and heroism6 ,monnica     

listened to them eagerly4  ,because of  
her great faith1 this simple slave was  
revered as a saint by her owners1 who   
entrusted her with the supervision of   
their daughters4 ,she proved a stern    
governess1 who would stand no trifling  
with her rules4 ,she prevented these    
girls from drinking even water except at
 meals4 ,cruel suffering for little     
,africans6 ,thagaste is not far from the
 country of thirst4 ,but the old woman  
said to them3  ,you drink water now     
because you can't get at the wine4 ,in  
time to come1 when you are married and  
have bins and cellars of your own1      
you'll turn up your nose at water1 and  
your habit of drinking will be too much 
for you4  ,monnica came near fulfilling 
the prophecy of the honest woman4 ,it   
was before she was married4 ,as she was 
very well-behaved and very temperate1   
she used to be sent to the cellar to    
draw the wine from the cask4 ,before    
pouring it into the flagon she would sip
 just a little4 ,being unaccustomed to  

wine1 she was not able to drink more2 it
 was too strong for her gullet4 ,she did
 this1 not because she liked the wine1  
but from naughtiness1 to play a trick on
 her parents who trusted her1 and also1 
of course1 because it was prohibited4   
,each time she swallowed a little more1 
and so it went on till she ended by     
finding it rather nice1 and came to     
drinking greedily one cup after another4
 ,one day a slave-girl1 who went with   
her to the cellar1 began to grumble4    
,monnica gave her a sharp answer4 ,upon 
this the girl called ,monnica a         
drunkard4444 ,drunkard6 ,this bitter    
taunt so humiliated the self-respect of 
the future saint1 that she got the      
better of her taste for drink4 ,augustin
 does not say it was through piety she  
did this1 but because she felt the      
ugliness of such a vice4  ,there is a   
certain roughness in this story of      
childhood1 the roughness of ancient     
customs1 with which is always mingled   
some decency or dignity4 ,christianity  

did the work of polishing the soul of   
,monnica4 ,at the time we are dealing   
with1 if she was already a very devout  
young girl1 she was far as yet from     
being the grand ,christian that she     
became afterwards4  ,when she married   
,patricius she was a girl very reserved 
and cold to all appearances 7in reality1
 she was very passionate71 precise in   
attending to her religious duties1 even 
a little strict1 with her exaggeration  
of the ,christian austerity in her hate 
of all the brutalities and all the      
careless morals that paganism condoned4 
,nevertheless1 this rigid soul knew how 
to bend when it was necessary4 ,monnica 
had tact1 suppleness1 and1 when it was  
needed1 a very acute and very reasonable
 practical sense of which she gave many 
a proof in the bringing up and          
management of her son ,augustin4 ,this  
soul1 hard for herself1 veiled her      
uncompromising religion under an        
unchangeable sweetness which was in her 
rather the work of grace than a natural 

gift4  ,there can be little doubt that  
her behaviour and character greatly     
disturbed ,patricius at the beginning of
 their married life4 ,perhaps he        
regretted the marriage4 ,what use had he
 for this nun alongside of him6 ,both of
 them must have suffered the usual      
annoyances which always appeared before 
long in unions of this kind between     
pagan and ,christian4 ,true1 it was no  
longer the time of ,tertullian1 the     
heroic century of persecutions1 when the
 ,christian women glided into the       
prisons to kiss the shackles of the     
martyrs4 7,what a revenge did woman take
 then for her long and enforced         
confinement to the women's apartments6  
,and how outrageous such conduct must   
have seemed to a husband brought up in  
the ,roman way67 ,but the practices of  
the ,christian life established a kind  
of intermittent divorce between husbands
 and wives of different religion4       
,monnica often went out1 either alone1  
or accompanied by a faithful bondwoman4 

,she had to attend the services of the  
,church1 to go about the town visiting  
the poor and giving alms4 ,and there    
were the fast-days which occurred two or
 three times a week1 and especially the 
long fast of ,lent--a grievous nuisance 
when the husband wanted to give a       
dinner-party just on those particular   
days6 ,on the vigil of festivals1       
,monnica would spend a good part of the 
night in the ,basilica4 ,regularly1     
doubtless on ,sundays1 she betook       
herself to the cemetery1 or to some     
chapel raised to the memory of a martyr 
who was often buried there--in fact1    
they called these chapels ,memorials    
7memori74  ,there were many of these    
chapels--even too many in the opinion of
 austere ,christians4 ,monnica went from
 one to another carrying in a large     
basket made of willow branches some     
pieces of minced meat1 bread1 and wine  
mixed with water4 ,she met her friends  
in these places4 ,they would sit down   
around the tombs1 of which some were    

shaped like tables1 unpack the          
provisions1 and eat and drink piously in
 honour of the martyr4 ,this was a      
residue of pagan superstition among the 
,christians4 ,these pious agap1 or      
love-feasts1 often turned into          
disgusting orgies4 ,when ,augustin      
became ,bishop of ,hippo he had         
considerable trouble to get his people  
out of the habit of them4               
,notwithstanding his efforts1 the       
tradition still lasts4 ,every ,friday   
the ,muslem women keep up the custom of 
visiting the cemeteries and the         
marabouts4 ,just as in the time of ,st4 
,monnica1 they sit around the tombs1 so 
cool with their casing of painted tiles1
 in the shade of the cypress and        
eucalyptus4 ,they gobble sweetmeats1    
they gossip1 they laugh1 they enjoy     
themselves--the husbands are not there4 
,monnica made these visits in a really  
pious state of mind1 and was far from   
trying to find in them opportunities for
 lewdness or carouse4 ,she was content  

to drink a little wine very             
carefully--she always bore in mind her  
youthful sin4 ,besides1 this wine       
weakened with water that she brought    
from the house1 was tepid by the time   
she reached the cemetery2 it would be a 
drink of very moderate relish1 little   
likely to stimulate the senses4 ,she    
distributed what was left of it among   
the needy1 together with the contents of
 her basket1 and came back modestly to  
her house4  ,but however staid and      
reserved she might be1 still these      
outings gave rise to scandalous talk4   
,they annoyed a suspicious husband4 ,all
 the ,africans are that4 ,marital       
jealousy was not invented by ,islam4    
,moreover1 in ,monnica's time men and   
women took part in these funeral        
love-feasts and mingled together        
disturbingly4 ,patricius got cross about
 it1 and about a good many other things 
too4 ,his old mother chafed his         
suspicions by carrying to him the ugly  
gossip and even the lies of the servants

 about his wife4 ,by dint of patience   
and mildness and attentions1 ,monnica   
ended by disarming her mother-in-law and
 making it clear that her conduct was   
perfect4 ,the old woman flew into a rage
 with the servants who had lied to her1 
and denounced them to her son4          
,patricius1 like a good head of a       
household1 had them whipped to teach    
them not to lie any more4 ,thanks to    
this exemplary punishment1 and the good 
sense of the young wife1 peace reigned  
once more in the family4  ,women1       
friends of ,monnica1 were amazed that   
the good understanding was not oftener  
upset1 at least in an open manner1      
between husband and wife4 ,everybody in 
,thagaste knew the quick-tempered and   
violent character of ,patricius4 ,and   
yet there were no signs that he beat his
 wife4 ,nor did any one say he did4     
,other women who had less passionate    
husbands were nevertheless beaten by    
them4 ,when they came to ,monnica's     
house they shewed her the marks of the  

whacks they had got1 their faces swollen
 from blows1 and they burst out in abuse
 of men1 clamouring against their       
lechery1 which1 said these matrons1 was 
the cause of the ill-treatment they had 
to endure4  ,blame your own tongue1     
retorted ,monnica4  ,according to her1  
women should close their eyes to the    
infidelities of their husbands and avoid
 arguing with them when they were angry4
 ,silence1 submissiveness1 were the     
all-powerful arms4 ,and since1 as a     
young woman1 she had a certain natural  
merriment1 she added1 laughing3         
,remember what was read to you on your  
wedding-day4 ,you were told that you are
 the handmaids of your husbands4 ,don't 
rebel against your masters6444          
,possibly this was a keen criticism of  
the pagan code1 so hard in its rules4   
,still1 in this matter1 the ,roman law  
was in agreement with the ,gospel4      
,sincere ,christian as she was1 the wife
 of ,patricius never had any quarrel    
with him on account of his infidelities4

 ,so much kindness and resignation      
touched the dissolute and brutal        
husband1 who besides was an excellent   
man and warm-hearted4 ,the modesty of   
his wife1 after a while1 made her       
attractive in his eyes4 ,he loved her1  
so to speak1 on the strength of his     
respect and admiration for her4 ,he     
would indeed have been a churl to find  
fault with a wife who interfered with   
him so little and who was a perfect     
housekeeper1 as we shall see later on   
when we come to her life at ,cassicium4 
,in one point1 where even she did not   
intend it1 she forwarded the interests  
of her husband by gaining him the       
good-will of the ,christians in         
,thagaste2 while he1 on his side1 could 
say to the pagans who looked askance at 
his marriage3 ,am ,i not one of         
yourselves8  ,in spite of all the       
differences between him and ,monnica1   
,patricius was a contented husband4     
,,iii  ,,the ,,comfort ,,of ,,the ,,milk
   ,augustin came into this world the   

thirteenth of ,november of the year of  
,christ #ced4  ,it was just one little  
child more in this sensual and          
pleasure-loving ,africa1 land of sin and
 of carnal productiveness1 where        
children are born and die like the      
leaves4 ,but the son of ,monnica and    
,patricius was predestined3 he was not  
to die in the cradle like so many other 
tiny ,africans4  ,even if he had not    
been intended for great things1 if he   
had been only a head in the crowd1 the  
arrival of this baby ought1 all the     
same1 to affect us1 for to the          
,christian1 the destiny of the obscurest
 and humblest of souls is a matter of   
importance4 ,forty years afterwards1    
,augustin1 in his ,confessions1 pondered
 this slight ordinary fact of his birth1
 which happened almost unnoticed by the 
inhabitants of ,thagaste1 and in truth  
it seems to him a great event1 not      
because it concerns himself1 bishop and 
,father of the ,church1 but because it  
is a soul which at this imperceptible   

point of time comes into the world4     
,let us clearly understand ,augustin's  
thought4 ,souls have been ransomed by a 
,victim of infinite value4 ,they have   
themselves an infinite value4 ,nothing  
which goes on in them can be ignored4   
,their most trifling sins1 their        
feeblest stirrings towards virtue1 are  
vital for the eternity of their lot4    
,all shall be attributed to them by the 
just ,judge4 ,the theft of an apple will
 weigh perhaps as heavily in the scales 
as the seizure of a province or a       
kingdom4 ,the evil of sin is in the evil
 intention4 ,now the fate of a soul1    
created by ,god1 on ,him depends4 ,hence
 everything in a human life assumes an  
extreme seriousness and importance4 ,in 
the history of a creature1 all is worthy
 of being examined1 weighed1 studied1   
and perhaps also1 for the edification of
 others1 told4  ,here is an altogether  
new way of regarding life1 and1         
proceeding from that1 of understanding  
art4 ,even as the slaves1 thanks to     

,christianity1 came into the spiritual  
city1 so the most minute realities by   
this outlook are to be included in      
literature4 ,the ,confessions will be   
the first model of the art of the new   
era4 ,a deep and magnificent realism1   
because it goes even to the very depths 
of the divine--utterly distinct1 at any 
rate1 from our surface realism of mere  
amusement--is about to arise from this  
new conception4 ,without doubt1 in      
,augustin's eyes1 beauty dwells in all  
things1 in so far forth as beauty is a  
reflection of the order and the thought 
of the ,word4 ,but it has also a more   
essential character--it has a moral     
signification and value4 ,everything1 in
 a word1 can be the instrument of the   
loss or the redemption of a soul4 ,the  
most insignificant of our actions       
reverberates to infinitude on our fate4 
,regarded from this point1 both things  
and beings commence to live a life more 
closely leagued together and at the same
 time more private2 more individual and 

more general4 ,all is in the lump1 and  
nevertheless all is separate4 ,our      
salvation concerns only ourselves1 and  
yet through charity it becomes involved 
with the salvation of our fellows4  ,in 
this spirit let us look at the cradle of
 ,augustin4 ,let us look at it with the 
eyes of ,augustin himself1 and also1    
perchance1 of ,monnica4 ,bending over   
the frail body of the little child he   
once was1 he puts to himself all the    
great desperate questions which have    
shaken humanity for thousands of years4 
,the mystery of life and death rises    
before him1 formidable4 ,it tortures him
 to the point of anguish1 of confusion3 
,yet suffer me to speak before ,thy     
mercy1 me who am but dust and ashes4    
,yea1 suffer me to speak1 for1 behold1  
,i speak not to man who scorns me1 but  
to ,thy mercy4 ,even ,thou perhaps dost 
scorn me1 but ,thou wilt turn and have  
pity4 ,for what is it that ,i would say1
 ,o ,lord my ,god1 save that ,i know not
 whence ,i came hither into this dying  

life1 shall ,i call it1 or living       
death8444 ,and1 lo1 my infancy has long 
been dead1 and ,i live4 ,but ,thou1 ,o  
,lord1 who ever livest and in whom      
nothing ever dies--tell me1 ,i beseech  
,thee1 ,o ,god1 and have mercy on my    
misery1 tell me whether another life of 
mine died before my infancy began4  ,one
 is reminded here of ,pascal's famous   
prosopopoeia3 ,i know not who has put me
 into the world1 nor what the world is1 
nor myself4 ,i am in a terrible         
ignorance about everything4444 ,all ,i  
know is that ,i must soon die1 but what 
,i know least of all is this very death 
which ,i cannot escape4  ,the phrases of
 the ,penses are only the echo of the   
phrases of the ,confessions4 ,but how   
different is the tone6 ,pascal's charge 
against human ignorance is merciless4   
,the ,god of ,port-,royal has the hard  
and motionless face of the ancient      
,destiny3 ,he withdraws into the clouds1
 and only shews ,himself at the end to  
raise up ,his poor creature4 ,in        

,augustin the accent is tender1         
trusting1 really like a son1 and though 
he be harassed1 one can discern the     
thrill of an unconquerable hope4        
,instead of crushing man under the iron 
hand of the ,justice-dealer1 he makes   
him feel the kindness of the ,father who
 has got all ready1 long before its     
birth1 for the feeble little child3 ,the
 comforts of ,thy pity received me1 as  
,i have heard from the father and mother
 of my flesh4444 ,and so the comfort of 
woman's milk was ready for me4 ,for my  
mother and my nurses did not fill their 
own bosoms1 but ,thou1 ,o ,lord1 by     
their means gavest me the food of       
infancy1 according to ,thy ordinance4444
  ,and see6 his heart overflows at this 
remembrance of his mother's milk4 ,the  
great doctor humbles his style1 makes it
 simple and familiar1 to tell us of his 
first mewlings1 and of his baby angers  
and joys4 ,he too was a father2 he knew 
what is a new-born child1 and a young   
mother who gives it suck1 because he had

 seen that with his own eyes close      
beside him4 ,all the small bothers which
 mingle with the pleasures of fatherhood
 he had experienced himself4 ,in his own
 son he studied himself4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,this    
child1 born of a ,christian mother1 and 
who was to become the great defender of 
the faith1 was not christened at his    
birth4 ,in the early ,church1 and       
especially in the ,african ,church1 it  
was not usual to do so4 ,the baptismal  
day was put as far off as possible1 from
 the conviction that the sins committed 
after the sacrament were much more      
serious than those which went before4   
,the ,africans1 very practical folk1    
clearly foresaw that they would sin     
again even after baptism1 but they      
wanted to sin at a better rate1 and     
lessen the inflictions of penance4 ,this
 penance in ,augustin's time was far    
from being as hard as in the century    
before4 ,nevertheless1 the remembrance  
of the old severity always remained1 and

 the habit was taken to put off baptism 
so as not to discourage sinners         
overmuch4  ,monnica1 always sedulous to 
conform with the customs of her country 
and the traditions of her ,church1 fell 
in with this practice4 ,perhaps she may 
have had also the opposition of her     
husband to face1 for he being a pagan   
would not have cared to give too many   
pledges to the ,christians1 nor to      
compromise himself in the eyes of his   
fellow-pagans by shewing that he was so 
far under the control of ,christian     
zealots as to have his child baptized   
out of the ordinary way4 ,there was a   
middle course1 and this was to inscribe 
the child among the catechumens4        
,according to the rite of the first     
admission to the lowest order of        
catechumens1 the sign of the cross was  
made on ,augustin's forehead1 and the   
symbolic salt placed between his lips4  
,and so they did not baptize him4       
,possibly this affected his whole life4 
,he lacked the baptismal modesty4 ,even 

when he was become a bishop1 he never   
quite cast off the old man that had     
splashed through all the pagan          
uncleannesses4 ,some of his words are   
painfully broad for chaste ears4 ,the   
influence of ,african conditions does   
not altogether account for this4 ,it is 
only too plain that the son of          
,patricius had never known entire       
virginity of soul4  ,they named him     
,aurelius ,augustinus4 ,was ,aurelius   
his family name8 ,we cannot tell4 ,the  
,africans always applied very           
fantastically the rules of ,roman       
nomenclature4 ,anyhow1 this name was    
common enough in ,africa4 ,the ,bishop  
of ,carthage1 primate of the province   
and a friend of ,augustin1 was also     
called ,aurelius4 ,pious commentators   
have sought to find in this name an omen
 of ,augustin's future renown as an     
orator4 ,they have remarked that the    
word aurum1 gold1 is contained in       
,aurelius--a prophetic indication of the
 golden mouth of the great preacher of  

,hippo4  ,meanwhile1 he was a baby like 
any other baby1 who only knew1 as he    
tells us1 how to take his mother's      
breast4 ,however1 he speaks of nurses   
who suckled him2 no doubt these were    
servants or slaves of the household4    
,they gave him their milk1 like those   
,algerian women who1 to-day1 if their   
neighbour is called away1 take her child
 and feed it4 ,besides1 with them       
children are weaned much later than with
 us4 ,you can see mothers sitting at    
their doors put down their work and call
 to a child of two or three playing in  
the street for him to come and take the 
breast4 ,did ,augustin remember these   
things8 ,at least he recalled his       
nurses' games1 and the efforts they made
 to appease him1 and the childish words 
they taught him to stammer4 ,the first  
,latin words he repeated1 he picked up  
from his mother and the servants1 who   
must also have spoken ,punic1 the       
ordinary tongue of the populace and     
small trader class4 ,he learned ,punic  

without thinking about it1 in playing   
with other children of ,thagaste1 just  
as the sons of our colonists learn ,arab
 in playing with little boys who wear   
chechias on their heads4  ,he is a      
,christian1 a bishop1 already a         
venerated ,father1 consulted by the     
whole ,catholic world1 and he tells us  
all that4 ,he tells it in a serious and 
contrite way1 with a manifest anxiety to
 attribute to ,god1 as the sole cause1  
all the benefits which embellished his  
childhood1 as well as to deplore his    
faults and wretchedness1 fatal          
consequence of the original ,fall4 ,and 
still1 we can make out clearly that     
these suave and far-off memories have a 
charm for him which he cannot quite     
guard himself against4 ,the attitude of 
the author of the ,confessions is       
ambiguous and a little constrained4 ,the
 father who has loved his child1 who has
 joined in his games1 struggles in him  
against the theologian who later on was 
to uphold the doctrine of ,grace against

 the heretics4 ,he feels that he must   
shew1 not only that ,grace is necessary 
for salvation and that little children  
ought to be baptized1 but that they are 
capable of sinning4 ,yes1 the children  
sin even at nurse4 ,and ,augustin       
relates this story of a baby that he had
 seen3 ,i know1 because ,i have seen1   
jealousy in a babe4 ,it could not speak1
 yet it eyed its foster-brother with    
pale cheeks and looks of hate4 ,children
 are already men4 ,the egoism and       
greediness of the grown man may be      
already descried in the newly born4     
,however1 the theologian of ,grace was  
not able to drive from his mind this    
verse of the ,gospel3 ,sinite ad me     
parvulos venire--,suffer little children
 to come unto ,me4 ,but he interprets   
this in a very narrow sense1 luring it  
into an argument which furthers his     
case4 ,for him1 the small height of     
children is a symbol of the humility    
without which no one can enter ,god's   
kingdom4 ,the ,master1 according to him1

 never intended us to take children as  
an example4 ,they are but flesh of sin4 
,he only drew from their littleness one 
of those similitudes which ,he1 with    
,his fondness for symbols1 favoured4    
,well1 let us dare to say it3 ,augustin 
goes wrong here4 ,such is the penalty of
 human thought1 which in its justest    
statements always wounds some truth less
 clear or mutilates some tender         
sentiment4 ,radically1 ,augustin is     
right4 ,the child is wicked as man is4  
,we know it4 ,but against the           
relentlessness of the theologian we     
place the divine gentleness of ,christ3 
,suffer little children to come unto    
,me1 for of such is the ,kingdom of     
,god4     ,,iv  ,,the ,,first ,,games   
,i loved to play1 ,augustin says1 in    
telling us of those far-off years4  ,is 
it surprising if this quick and supple  
intelligence1 who mastered without      
effort1 and as if by instinct1 the      
encyclopdic knowledge of his age1 who   
found himself at his ease amidst the    

deepest abstractions1 did1 at the       
beginning1 take life as a game8  ,the   
amusements of the little ,africans of   
to-day are not very many1 nor very      
various either4 ,they have no inventive 
imagination4 ,in this matter their      
,french playfellows have taught them a  
good deal4 ,if they play marbles1 or    
hopscotch1 or rounders1 it is in        
imitation of the ,roumis4 ,and yet they 
are great little players4 ,games of     
chance attract them above all4 ,at these
 they spend hour after hour1 stretched  
out flat on their stomachs in some shady
 corner1 and they play with an          
astonishing intensity of passion4 ,all  
their attention is absorbed in what they
 are about2 they employ on the game all 
the cunning of their wits1 precociously 
developed1 and so soon stuck fast in    
material things4  ,when ,augustin       
recalls the games of his childhood1 he  
only mentions nuts1 handball1 and birds4
 ,to capture a bird1 that winged1 light1
 and brilliant thing1 is what all       

children long to do in every country on 
earth4 ,but in ,africa1 where there are 
plenty of birds1 big people as well as  
little love them4 ,in the ,moorish cafs1
 in the wretchedest gourbis1 cages made 
of reeds are hung on the walls1 all     
rustling with trills and fluttering of  
wings4 ,quail1 thrushes1 nightingales   
are imprisoned in them4 ,the            
nightingale1 the singing-bird beyond all
 others1 so difficult to tame1 is the   
honoured guest1 the privileged dweller  
in these rustic cages4 ,with the rose1  
he is an essential part of ,arab poetry4
 ,the woods round about ,thagaste were  
full of nightingales4 ,not the least    
doubt that the child ,augustin had felt 
the little musical throats of these     
singing-birds throb between his hands4  
,his sermons1 his heaviest treatises1   
have a recollection of them4 ,he draws  
from them an evidence in favour of the  
creating ,word who has put beauty and   
harmony everywhere4 ,in the song of the 
nightingale he finds1 as it were1 an    

echo of the music of the spheres4  ,if  
he loved birds1 as a poet who knows not 
that he is a poet1 did he love as well  
to play at nuts8 ,nuts1 or              
thimble-rigging1 is only a graceful and 
crafty game1 too crafty for a dreaming  
and careless little boy4 ,it calls for  
watchfulness and presence of mind4      
,grown men play at it as well as        
children4 ,a step of a staircase is used
 as a table by the players1 or the      
pavement of a courtyard4 ,three shells  
are laid on the stone and a dried pea4  
,then1 with rapid baffling movements1   
hands brown and alert fly from one shell
 to another1 shuffle them1 mix them up1 
juggle the dried pea sometimes under    
this shell1 sometimes under that1--and  
the point is to guess which shell the   
pea has got under4 ,by means of certain 
astute methods1 an artful player can    
make the pea stick to his fingers1 or to
 the inside of the shell1 and the       
opponent loses every time4 ,they cheat  
with a calm shamelessness4 ,augustin    

cheated too--which did not prevent him  
from bitterly denouncing the cheating of
 his fellow-players4  ,the truth is1    
that he would not have quite belonged to
 his country if he had not lied and     
stolen now and then4 ,he lied to his    
tutor and to his schoolmasters4 ,he     
stole at his parents' table1 in the     
kitchen1 and in the cellar4 ,but he     
stole like a man of quality1 to make    
presents and to win over his            
playfellows3 he ruled the other boys by 
his presents--a noteworthy              
characteristic in this future ruler of  
souls4 ,morals like these1 a little     
rough1 shape free and bold natures4     
,those ,african children were much less 
coddled1 much less scolded1 than to-day4
 ,monnica had something else to do than 
to look after the boys4 ,so for them it 
was a continual life in the open air1   
which makes the body strong and hard4   
,augustin and his companions should be  
pictured as young wild-cats4  ,this     
roughness came out strong at games of   

ball1 and generally at all the games in 
which there are two sides1 conquerors   
and prisoners1 or fights with sticks and
 stones4 ,stone-throwing is an incurable
 habit among the little ,africans4 ,even
 now in the towns our police are obliged
 to take measures against these         
ferocious children4 ,in ,augustin's     
time1 at ,cherchell1 which is the       
ancient ,csarea ,mauretani1 the childish
 population was split into two hostile  
camps which stoned each other4 ,on      
certain holidays the fathers and big    
brothers joined the children2 blood     
flowed1 and there were deaths4  ,the    
bishop ,augustin recalls with severity  
the superb victories he won in jousts of
 this kind4 ,but ,i find it hard to     
believe that such a delicate child 7he  
was sickly almost all his life7 could   
have got much pleasure out of these     
brutal sports4 ,if he was drawn into    
them by the example of others1 it must  
have been through the imagination they  
appealed to him4 ,in these battles1     

wherein sides took the field as ,romans 
against ,carthaginians1 ,greeks against 
,trojans1 he believed himself ,scipio or
 ,hannibal1 ,achilles or ,hector4 ,he   
experienced beforehand1 as a            
rhetorician1 the intoxication of a      
triumph which playfellows who were      
stronger and better provided with       
muscles gave him a hard fight for4 ,he  
did not always get the upper hand1      
except perhaps when he bribed the enemy4
 ,but an eager young soul1 such as he   
was1 can hardly be content with         
half-victories2 he wants to excel4      
,accordingly1 he sought his revenge in  
those games wherein the mind has the    
chief part4 ,he listened to stories with
 delight1 and in his turn repeated them 
to his little friends1 thus trying upon 
an audience of boys that charm of speech
 by which later he was to subdue crowds4
 ,they also played at acting1 at        
gladiators1 at drivers and horses4 ,some
 of ,augustin's companions were sons of 
wealthy citizens who gave splendid      

entertainments to their                 
fellow-countrymen4 ,as these dramatic   
representations1 or games of the arena  
or circus1 drew near1 the little        
child-world was overcome by a fever of  
imitation4 ,all the children of         
,thagaste imitated the actors1 the      
mirmillones1 or the horsemen in the     
amphitheatre1 just as the young         
,spaniards of to-day imitate the        
toreros4  ,in the midst of these        
amusements ,augustin fell ill2 he had   
fever and violent pains in the stomach4 
,they thought he was going to die4 ,it  
appears that it was himself who in this 
extreme situation asked for baptism4    
,monnica was making all haste to have   
the sacrament administered1 when        
suddenly1 against all expectation1 the  
child recovered4 ,again was baptism     
postponed1 and from the same reason3 to 
lessen the gravity of the sins which    
young ,augustin was bound to commit4    
,his mother1 who no doubt foresaw some  
of them1 again fell in with the custom4 

,it is possible that ,patricius         
interfered this time in a more decided  
way4 ,just at this period ,catholicism  
was in an unfavourable situation4 ,the  
short reign of ,julian had started a    
violent pagan reaction4 ,everywhere the 
temples were reopening1 the sacrifices  
beginning again4 ,moreover1 the         
,donatists secretly aided the pagans4   
,their ,seids1 more or less             
acknowledged1 the ,circoncelliones1     
bands of fanatical peasants1 scoured    
through the ,numidian country1 attacking
 the ,catholics1 ravaging and pillaging1
 and burning their farms and villas4    
,was this a good time to make a noisy   
profession of faith1 to be enrolled     
among the ranks of the conquered party8 
,little ,augustin knew nothing of all   
these calculations of motherly prudence 
and fatherly diplomacy3 he begged for   
baptism1 so he tells us4 ,this seems    
very remarkable in so young a child4    
,but he lived in a house where all the  
service was done by ,christians4 ,he    

heard the talk of ,monnica's friends2   
perhaps1 too1 of his grandparents1 who  
were ,catholics faithful and austere4   
,and then1 his soul was naturally       
religious4 ,that explains everything3 he
 asked for baptism to be like grown-up  
people1 and because he was predestined4 
,among children1 the chosen have these  
sudden flashes of light4 ,at certain    
moments they feel what one day they     
shall be4 ,anyhow1 ,monnica must have   
seen this sign with joy4  ,he got well1 
and took up again his little boy's life1
 divided between play1 and dawdling1 and
 school4  ,school6 painful memory for   
,augustin6 ,they sent him to the primus 
magister1 the elementary teacher1 a real
 terror1 armed with a long switch which 
came down without pity on idle boys4    
,seated on benches around him1 or       
crouched on mats1 the boys sang out all 
together3 ,one and one are two1 two and 
two are four--horrible refrain which    
deafened the whole neighbourhood4 ,the  
school was often a mere shed1 or a      

pergola in the fields which was         
protected fairly well from sun and rain 
by cloths stretched overhead--a hut     
rented for a trifle1 wide open to the   
winds1 with a mosquito-net stretched out
 before the entrance4 ,all who were     
there must have frozen in winter and    
broiled in summer4 ,augustin remembered 
it as a slaves' chain-prison            
7ergastulum7 of boyhood4  ,he hated     
school and what they taught there--the  
alphabet1 counting1 and the rudiments of
 ,latin and ,greek grammar4 ,he had a   
perfect horror of lessons--of ,greek    
above all4 ,this schoolboy1 who became1 
when his turn came1 a master1 objected  
to the methods of school4 ,his mind1    
which grasped things instinctively at a 
single bound1 could not stand the       
gradual procedure of the teaching       
faculty4 ,he either mastered            
difficulties at once1 or gave them up4  
,augustin was one of the numerous       
victims of the everlasting mistake of   
schoolmasters1 who do not know how to   

arrange their lessons to accord with    
various kinds of mind4 ,like most of    
those who eventually become great men1  
he was no good as a pupil4 ,he was often
 punished1 thrashed--and cruelly        
thrashed4 ,the master's scourge filled  
him with an unspeakable terror4 ,when he
 was smarting all over from cuts and    
came to complain to his parents1 they   
laughed at him or made fun of him--yes1 
even the pious ,monnica4 ,then the poor 
lad1 not knowing whom to turn to1       
remembered hearing his mother and the   
servants talk of a ,being1 very powerful
 and very good1 who defends the orphan  
and the oppressed4 ,and he said from the
 depths of his heart3  ,o my ,god1      
please grant that ,i am not whipped at  
school4  ,but ,god did not hear his     
prayer because he was not a good boy4   
,augustin was in despair4  ,it is       
evident that these punishments were     
cruel1 because forty years afterwards he
 denounces them with horror4 ,in his    
mind1 they are tortures comparable to   

the wooden horse or the iron pincers4   
,nothing is small for children1         
especially for a sensitive child like   
,augustin4 ,their sensitiveness and     
their imagination exaggerate all things 
out of due measure4 ,in this matter1    
also1 schoolmasters often go wrong4     
,they do not know how to handle delicate
 organizations4 ,they strike fiercely1  
when a few words said at the right      
moment would have much more effect on   
the culprit4444 ,monnica's son suffered 
as much from the rod as he took pride in
 his successes at games4 ,if1 as        
,scipio1 he was filled with a sensation 
of glory in his battles against other   
boys1 no doubt he pictured himself a    
martyr1 a ,st4 ,laurence or ,st4        
,sebastian1 when he was swished4 ,he    
never pardoned--save as a               
,christian--his schoolmasters for having
 brutalized him4  ,nevertheless1 despite
 his hatred for ill-ordered lessons1 his
 precocious intelligence was remarked by
 everybody4 ,it was clear that such     

lucky gifts should not be neglected4    
,monnica1 no doubt1 was the first to get
 this into her head1 and she advised    
,patricius to make ,augustin read for a 
learned profession4  ,the business of   
the curia was not exactly brilliant1 and
 so he may have perceived that his son  
might raise their fortunes if he had    
definite employment4 ,augustin1 a       
professor of eloquence or a celebrated  
pleader1 might be the saviour and the   
benefactor of his family4 ,the town     
councils1 and even the ,imperial        
treasury1 paid large salaries to        
rhetoricians4 ,in those days1 rhetoric  
led to everything4 ,some of the         
professors who went from town to town   
giving lectures made considerable       
fortunes4 ,at ,thagaste they pointed    
with admiration to the example of the   
rhetorician ,victorinus1 an ,african1 a 
fellow-countryman1 who had made a big   
reputation over-seas1 and had his statue
 in the ,roman ,forum4 ,and many years  
before1 had not ,m4 ,cornelius ,fronto1 

of ,cirta1 another ,african1 become the 
tutor of ,marcus ,aurelius1 who covered 
him with honours and wealth and finally 
raised him to the ,consulship8 ,pertinax
 himself1 did he not begin as a simple  
teacher of grammar1 and become          
,proconsul of ,africa and then ,emperor 
of ,rome8 ,how many stimulants for      
provincial ambition6444  ,augustin's    
parents reasoned as the middle-class    
parents of to-day4 ,they discounted the 
future1 and however hard up they were1  
they resolved to make sacrifices for his
 education4 ,and as the schools of      
,thagaste were inadequate1 it was       
decided to send this very promising boy 
to ,madaura4     ,v  ,,the ,,schoolboy  
,,of ,,madaura   ,a new world opened    
before ,augustin4 ,it was perhaps the   
first time he had ever gone away from   
,thagaste4  ,of course1 ,madaura is not 
very far off2 there are about thirty    
miles at most between the two towns4    
,but there are no short journeys for    
children4 ,this one lay along the       

military road which ran from ,hippo to  
,theveste--a great ,roman causeway paved
 with large flags on the outskirts of   
towns1 and carefully pebbled over all   
the rest of the distance4 ,erect upon   
the high saddle of his horse1 ,augustin1
 who was to become a tireless traveller 
and move about ceaselessly over ,african
 roads during all his episcopal         
life--,augustin got his first glimpse of
 the poetry of the open road1 a poetry  
which we have lost for ever4  ,how      
amusing they were1 the ,african roads of
 those days1 how full of sights6 ,pauses
 were made at inns with walls thick as  
the ramparts of citadels1 their         
interiors bordered by stables built in  
arcades1 heaped up with travellers'     
packs and harness4 ,in the centre were  
the trough and cistern2 and to the      
little rooms opening in a circle on to  
the balcony1 drifted up a smell of oil  
and fodder1 and the noise of men and of 
beasts of burthen1 and of the camels as 
they entered majestically1 curving their

 long necks under the lintel of the     
door4 ,then there was talk with the     
merchants1 just arrived from the south1 
who brought news of the nomad countries1
 and had stories to tell4 ,and then1    
without hurrying1 a start was made again
 for the next stage4 ,long files of     
chariots were encountered carrying      
provisions to soldiers garrisoned on the
 frontier1 or the ,state-distributed    
corn of the ,roman people to the        
sea-ports2 or again1 from time to time1 
the lectica1 brought along by slaves or 
mules1 of a bishop on a visitation2 and 
then the litter1 with close-drawn       
curtains1 of a matron or some great     
personage4 ,of a sudden all pulled sharp
 to one side2 the vehicles lined up on  
the edge of the road2 and there passed  
at full speed1 in a cloud of dust1 a    
messenger of the ,imperial ,post4444    
,certainly this road from ,hippo to     
,theveste was one of the busiest and    
most picturesque in the province3 it was
 one of its main arteries4  ,at first   

the look of the country is rather like  
the neighbourhood of ,thagaste4 ,the    
wooded and mountainous landscape still  
spreads out its little breast-shaped    
hills and its sheets of verdure4 ,here  
and there the road skirts the           
deeply-ravined valley of the ,medjerda4 
,at the foot of the precipitous slopes1 
the river can be heard brawling in a    
torrent over its stony bed1 and there   
are sharp descents among thickets of    
juniper and the fringed roots of the    
dwarf-pines4 ,then1 as the descent      
continues1 the land becomes thinner and 
spaces bare of vegetation appear        
oftener4 ,at last1 upon a piece of      
tableland1 ,madaura comes into view1 all
 white in the midst of the vast tawny   
plain1 where to-day nothing is to be    
seen but a mausoleum in ruins1 the      
remains of a ,byzantine fortress1 and   
vague traces vanishing away4  ,this is  
the first rise of the great plain which 
declines towards ,theveste and the group
 of the ,aures ,mountains4 ,coming from 

the woodland country of ,thagaste1 the  
nakedness of it is startling4 ,here and 
there1 thin cows crop starveling shrubs 
which have grown on the bank of some    
oued run dry4 ,little asses1 turned     
loose1 save themselves at a gallop      
towards the tents of the nomads1 spread 
out1 black and hairy1 like immense bats 
on the whiteness of the land4 ,nearer1 a
 woman's red haick interposes1 the      
single stain of bright colour breaking  
the indefinite brown and grey of the    
plain4 ,here is felt the harshness of   
,numidia2 it is almost the stark spaces 
of the desert world4 ,but on the side   
towards the east1 the architecture of   
mountains1 wildly sculptured1 stands    
against the level reaches of the        
horizon4 ,upon the clear background of  
the sky1 shew1 distinctly1 lateral spurs
 and a cone like to the mystic          
representation of ,tanit4 ,towards the  
south1 crumbling isolated crags appear1 
scattered about like gigantic pedestals 
uncrowned of their statues1 or like the 

pipes of an organ raised there to       
capture and attune the cry of the great 
winds of the steppe4  ,this country is  
characterized by a different kind of    
energy from ,thagaste4 ,there is more   
air and light and space4 ,if the        
plantation is sparse1 the beautiful     
shape of the land may be observed all   
the better4 ,nothing breaks or lessens  
the grand effects of the light4444 ,and 
let no one say that ,augustin's eyes    
cared not for all that1 he who wrote    
after his conversion1 and in all the    
austerity of his repentance3 ,if        
sentient things had not a soul1 we      
should not love them so much4  ,it is   
here1 between ,madaura and ,thagaste1   
during the eager years of youth1 that he
 gathered together the seeds of         
sensations and images which1 later on1  
were to burst forth into fiery and      
boiling metaphors in the ,confessions1  
and in his homilies and paraphrases of  
,holy ,scripture4 ,later on1 he will not
 have the time to observe1 or he will   

have lost the power4 ,rhetoric will     
stretch its commonplace veil between him
 and the unceasing springtide of the    
earth4 ,ambition will turn him away from
 those sights which reveal themselves   
only to hearts unselfish and            
indifferent4 ,then1 later on1 ,faith    
will seize hold of him to the exclusion 
of all else4 ,he will no longer perceive
 the creation save at odd moments in a  
kind of metaphysical dream1 and1 so to  
speak1 across the glory of the ,creator4
 ,but in these youthful years all things
 burst upon him with extraordinary      
violence and ecstasy4 ,his undulled     
senses swallowed greedily the whole     
banquet offered by this wide world to   
his hunger for pleasure4 ,the fugitive  
beauty of things and beings1 with all   
their charms1 revealed itself to him in 
its newness3 novissimarum rerum fugaces 
pulchritudines1 earumque suavitates4    
,this craving for sensation will still  
exist in the great ,christian teacher1  
and betray itself in the warm and       

coloured figures of his style4 ,of      
course1 he was not as a worldly         
describer1 who studies to produce       
phrases which present an image1 or      
arranges glittering pictures--all such  
endeavours he knew nothing about4 ,but  
by instinct1 and thanks to his warm     
,african temperament1 he was a kind of  
impressionist and metaphysical poet4    
,if the rural landscape of ,thagaste is 
reflected in certain passages--the      
pleasantest and most well known--of the 
,confessions1 all the intellectual part 
of ,augustin's work finds its symbolical
 commentary here in this arid and       
light-splashed plain of ,madaura4 ,like 
it1 the thought of ,augustin has no     
shadows4 ,like it too1 it is lightened  
by strange and splendid tints which seem
 to come from far off1 from a focal fire
 invisible to human eyes4 ,no modern    
writer has better praised the light--not
 only the immortal light of the blessed1
 but that light which rests on the      
,african fields1 and is on land and sea2

 and nobody has spoken of it with more  
amplitude and wonder4 ,the truth is1    
that in no country in the world1 not    
even in ,egypt1 in the rose-coloured    
lands of ,karnak and ,luxor1 is the     
light more pure and admirable than in   
these great bare plains of ,numidia and 
the region of the ,sahara4 ,is there not
 enchantment for the eyes of the        
metaphysician in this play of light1    
these nameless interfulgent colours     
which appear flimsy as the play of      
thought8 ,for the glowing floating haze 
is made of nothing--of lines1 of gleam1 
of unregulated splendour4 ,and all this 
triumph of fluctuating light and elusive
 colour is quenched with the sun1       
smoulders into darkness1 even as ideas  
in the obscure depths of the            
intelligence which reposes4444  ,not    
less than this land1 stern even to      
sadness1 but hot and sumptuous1 the town
 of ,madaura must have impressed        
,augustin4  ,it was an old ,numidian    
city1 proud of its antiquity4 ,long     

before the ,roman conquest1 it had been 
a fortress of ,king ,syphax4            
,afterwards1 the conquerors settled     
there1 and in the second century of our 
era1 ,apuleius1 the most famous of its  
children1 could state before a          
proconsul1 not without pride1 that      
,madaura was a very prosperous colony4  
,it is probable that this old town was  
not so much ,romanized as its           
neighbours1 ,thimgad and ,lambesa1 which
 were of recent foundation and had been 
built all at once by decree of the      
,government4 ,but it may well have been 
as ,roman as ,theveste1 a no less       
ancient city1 where the population was  
probably just as mixed4 ,madaura1 like  
,theveste1 had its temples with pillars 
and ,corinthian porticoes1 its triumphal
 arches 7these were run up everywhere71 
its forum surrounded by a covered       
gallery and peopled with statues4       
,statues also were very liberally       
distributed in those days4 ,we know of  
at least three at ,madaura which        

,augustin mentions in one of his        
letters3 ,a god ,mars in his heroic     
nakedness1 and another ,mars armed from 
head to foot2 opposite1 the statue of a 
man1 in realistic style1 stretching out 
three fingers to neutralize the evil    
eye4 ,these familiar figures remained   
very clear in the recollection of       
,augustin4 ,in the evening1 or at the   
hour of the siesta1 he had stretched    
himself under their pedestals and played
 at dice or bones in the cool shade of  
the god ,mars1 or of the ,man with      
outstretched fingers4 ,the slabs of     
marble of the portico made a good place 
to play or sleep4  ,among these statues1
 there was one perhaps which interested 
the lad and stimulated all his early    
ambitions--that of ,apuleius1 the great 
man of ,madaura1 the orator1            
philosopher1 sorcerer1 who was spoken of
 from one end to the other of ,africa4  
,by dint of gazing at this1 and         
listening to the praises of the great   
local author1 did the young scholar     

become aware of his vocation8 ,did he   
have from this time a confused sort of  
wish to become one day another          
,apuleius1 a ,christian ,apuleius--to   
surpass the reputation of this          
celebrated pagan8 ,these impressions and
 admirations of youth have always a more
 or less direct influence upon what use 
a boy makes of his talents4  ,be that as
 it will1 ,augustin could not take a    
step in ,madaura without running against
 the legend of ,apuleius1 who was become
 almost a divinity for his              
fellow-countrymen4 ,he was looked upon  
not only as a sage1 but as a most wily  
nigromancer4 ,the pagans compared him to
 ,christ--nay1 put him higher than      
,christ4 ,in their view he had worked   
much more astonishing miracles than     
those of ,jesus or of ,apollonius of    
,tyana4 ,and people told the extravagant
 stories out of his ,metamorphoses as   
real1 as having actually happened4      
,nothing was seen on all sides but      
wizards1 men changed into animals1      

animals1 or men and women1 under some   
spell4 ,in the inns1 a man watched with 
a suspicious look the ways of the       
maidservant who poured out his drink or 
handed him a dish4 ,perhaps some magic  
potion was mingled with the cheese or   
bread that she was laying on the table4 
,it was an atmosphere of feverish and   
delirious credulity4 ,the pagan madness 
got the better of the ,christians       
themselves4 ,augustin1 who had lived in 
this atmosphere1 will later find        
considerable trouble in maintaining his 
strong common sense amid such an        
overflow of marvels4  ,for the moment1  
the fantasy of tales filled him with at 
least as much enthusiasm as the         
supernatural4 ,at ,madaura he lived in a
 miraculous world1 where everything     
charmed his senses and his mind1 and    
everything stimulated his precocious    
instinct for ,beauty4  ,more than       
,thagaste1 no doubt1 ,madaura bore the  
marks of the building genius of the     
,romans4 ,even to-day their descendants1

 the ,italians1 are the masons of the   
world1 after having been the architects4
 ,the ,romans were the building nation  
above all others4 ,they it was who      
raised and established towns upon the   
same model and according to the same    
ideal as an oration or a poem4 ,they    
really invented the house1 mansio1 not  
only the shelter where one lives1 but   
the building which itself lives1 which  
triumphs over years and centuries1 a    
huge construction ornamental and        
sightly1 existing as much--and perhaps  
more--for the delight of the eyes as for
 usefulness4 ,the house1 the            
,town-with-deep-streets1 perfectly      
ordered1 were a great matter of         
amazement for the ,african nomad--he who
 passes and never settles down anywhere4
 ,he hated them1 doubtless1 as the      
haunts of the soldier and the publican1 
his oppressors1 but he also regarded    
them with admiration mixed with jealousy
 as the true expression of a race which1
 when it entered a country1 planted     

itself for eternity1 and claimed to join
 magnificence and beauty to the         
manifestation of its strength4 ,the     
,roman ruins which are scattered over   
modern ,algeria humiliate ourselves by  
their pomp--us who flatter ourselves    
that we are resuming the work of the    
,empire and continuing its tradition4   
,they are a permanent reproach to our   
mediocrity1 a continual incitement to   
grandeur and beauty4 ,of course1 the    
,roman architecture could not have had  
on ,augustin1 this still unformed young 
,african1 the same effect as it has     
to-day on a ,frenchman or a man from    
,northern ,europe4 ,but it is certain   
that it formed1 without his knowledge1  
his thought and his power of sensation1 
and extended for him the lessons of the 
,latin rhetoricians and grammarians4    
,all that was not exactly very          
,christian4 ,but from these early school
 years ,augustin got further and further
 away from ,christianity1 and the       
examples he had under his eyes1 at      

,madaura were hardly likely to          
strengthen him in his faith4 ,it was    
hardly an edifying atmosphere there for 
a ,catholic youth who had a lively      
imagination1 a pleasure-loving          
temperament1 and who liked pagan        
literature4 ,the greatest part of the   
population were pagans1 especially among
 the aristocrats4 ,the ,decurions       
continued to preside at festivals in    
honour of the old idols4  ,these        
festivals were frequent4 ,the least     
excuse was taken to engarland piously   
the doors of houses with branches1 to   
bleed the sacrificial pig1 or slaughter 
the lamb4 ,in the evening1 squares and  
street corners were illuminated4 ,little
 candles burned on all the thresholds4  
,during the mysteries of ,bacchus1 the  
town councillors themselves headed the  
popular rejoicings4 ,it was an ,african 
carnival1 brutal and full of colour4    
,people got tipsy1 pretended they were  
mad4 ,for the sport of the thing1 they  
assaulted the passers and robbed them4  

,the dull blows on tambourines1 the     
hysterical and nasal preludes of the    
flutes1 excited an immense elation1 at  
once sensual and mystic4 ,and all       
quieted down among the cups and leather 
flagons of wine1 the grease and meats of
 banquets in the open air4 ,even in a   
country as sober as ,africa1 the pagan  
feasts were never much else than excuses
 for gorging and orgies4 ,augustin1 who 
after his conversion had only sarcasms  
for the carnival of ,madaura1 doubtless 
went with the crowd1 like many other    
,christians4 ,rich and influential      
people gave the example4 ,there was     
danger of annoying them by making a     
group apart4 ,and then1 there was no    
resisting the agreeableness of such     
festivals4  ,perhaps he was even brought
 to these love-feasts by those in whose 
charge he was4 ,for1 in fact1 to whom   
had he been entrusted8 ,doubtless to    
some host of ,patricius1 a pagan like   
himself4 ,or did he lodge with his      
master1 a grammarian1 who kept a        

boarding-house for the boys8 ,almost all
 these schoolmasters were pagan too4 ,is
 it wonderful that the ,christian       
lessons of ,monnica and the nurses at   
,thagaste became more and more blurred  
in ,augustin's mind8 ,many years after1 
an old ,madaura grammarian1 called      
,maximus1 wrote to him in a tone of     
loving reproach3 ,thou hast drawn away  
from us--a secta nostra deviasti4 ,did  
he wish to hint that at this time       
,augustin had glided into paganism8     
,nothing is more unlikely4 ,he himself  
assures us that the name of ,christ     
remained always graven on his heart4    
,but while he was at ,madaura he lived  
indifferently with pagans and           
,christians4  ,besides that1 the        
teaching he got was altogether pagan in 
tone4 ,no doubt he picked out1 as he    
always did1 the subjects which suited   
him4 ,minds such as his fling themselves
 upon that which is likely to nourish   
them3 they throw aside all the rest1 or 
suffer it very unwillingly4 ,thus       

,augustin never wavered in his dislike  
for ,greek3 he was a poor ,greek        
scholar4 ,he detested the ,greeks by    
instinct4 ,according to ,western        
prejudice1 these men of the ,east were  
all rascals or amusers4 ,augustin1 as a 
practical ,african1 always regarded the 
,greeks as vain1 discoursing wits4 ,in a
 word1 they were not sincere people whom
 it would be safe to trust4 ,the        
entirely local patriotism of the        
classical ,greek authors further annoyed
 this ,roman citizen who was used to    
regard the world as his country3 he     
thought them very narrow-minded to take 
so much interest in the history of some 
little town4 ,as for him1 he looked     
higher and farther4 ,it must be         
remembered that in the second half of   
the fourth century the ,greek attitude1 
broadened and fully conscious of itself1
 set itself more and more against       
,latinism1 above all1 politically4      
,there it lay1 a hostile and            
impenetrable block before the ,western  

peoples4 ,and here was a stronger reason
 for a ,romanized ,african to dislike   
the ,greeks4  ,so he painfully construed
 the ,iliad and ,odyssey1 very cross at 
the difficulties of a foreign language  
which prevented him from grasping the   
plots of the fine1 fabulous narratives4 
,there were1 however1 abridgments used  
in the schools1 a kind of summaries of  
the ,trojan ,war1 written by ,latin     
grammarians under the odd pseudonyms of 
,dares the ,phrygian and ,dictys of     
,crete4 ,but these abridgments were very
 dry for an imagination like            
,augustin's4 ,he much preferred the     
neid1 the poem admired above all by the 
,africans1 on account of the episode    
devoted to the foundation of ,carthage4 
,virgil was his passion4 ,he read and   
re-read him continually2 he knew him by 
heart4 ,to the end of his life1 in his  
severest writings1 he quoted verses or  
whole passages out of his much-loved    
poet4 ,dido's adventure moved him to    
tears4 ,they had to pluck the book out  

of his hands4  ,now the reason is that  
there was a secret harmony between      
,virgil's soul and the soul of          
,augustin4 ,both were gracious and      
serious4 ,one1 the great poet1 and one1 
the humble schoolboy1 they both had pity
 on the ,queen of ,carthage1 they would 
have liked to save her1 or at any rate  
to mitigate her sadness1 to alter a     
little the callousness of neas and the  
harshness of the ,fates4 ,but think of  
it6 ,love is a divine sickness1 a       
chastisement sent by the gods4 ,it is   
just1 when all's said1 that the guilty  
one should endure her agony to the very 
end4 ,and then1 such very great things  
are going to arise out of this poor     
love6 ,upon it depends the lot of two   
,empires4 ,what counts a woman before   
,rome and ,carthage8 ,besides1 she was  
bound to perish3 the gods had decreed   
it4444 ,there was in all that a         
concentrated emotion1 a depth of        
sentiment1 a religious appeal which     
stirred ,augustin's heart1 still unaware

 of itself4 ,this obedience of the      
,virgilian hero to the heavenly will1   
was already an adumbration of the       
humility of the future ,christian4      
,certainly1 ,augustin did not perceive  
very plainly in these turbid years of   
his youth the full religious            
significance of ,virgil's poem4 ,carried
 away by his headstrong nature1 he      
yielded to the heart-rending charm of   
the romantic story3 he lived it1        
literally1 with the heroine4 ,when his  
schoolmasters desired him to elaborate  
the lament of the dying ,queen ,dido in 
,latin prose1 what he wrote had a       
veritable quiver of anguish4 ,without   
the least defence against lust and the  
delusions of the heart1 he spent        
intellectually and in a single outburst 
all the strength of passion4  ,he       
absorbed every love-poem with the       
eagerness of a participating soul4 ,if  
he took pleasure in the licentiousness  
of ,plautus and ,terence1 if he read    
delightfully those comedies wherein the 

worst weaknesses are excused and        
glorified1 ,i believe that he took still
 more pleasure in the ,latin ,elegiacs  
who present without any shame the       
romantic madness of ,alexandrine love4  
,for what sing these poets even to      
weariness1 unless it be that no one can 
resist the ,cyprian goddess1 that life  
has no other end but love8 ,love for    
itself1 to love for the sake of         
loving--there is the constant subject of
 these sensualists1 of ,catullus1       
,propertius1 ,tibullus1 ,ovid4 ,after   
the story of ,dido1 the youthful reader 
was ravished by the story of ,ariadne1  
even more disturbing1 because no remorse
 modifies the frenzy of it4 ,he read3   
,now while the careless hero flees1     
beating the wave with his     and       
casting to the gales of the open sea his
 idle promises1--there1     standing    
among the shingle of the beach1 the     
daughter of ,minos follows     him1     
alas6 with her beautiful sad eyes3 she  
stares1 astonied1 like to a             

,bacchante changed into a statue4 ,she  
looks forth1 and her heart floats       
upon the great waves of her grief4 ,she 
lets slip from her head her             
fine-spun coif1 she tears away the thin 
veils which cover her bosom1     and the
 smooth cincture which supports her     
quivering breasts4 ,all that     slips  
from her body into the salt foam which  
ripples round her feet4     ,but little 
she cares for her coif or for her       
apparel carried away by     the tide6   
,lost1 bewildered1 with all her heart   
and all her soul1 she is     clinging to
 thee1 ,o ,theseus4  ,and if ,augustin1 
when he had read these burning verses of
 ,catullus1 looked through the          
,anthologies which were popular in the  
,african schools1 he would come upon    
,the ,vigil of ,venus1 that eclogue     
which ends with such a passionate cry3  
,o my springtime1 when wilt thou come8  
,when shall ,i be as the swallow8       
,when shall ,i cease to be silent8444   
,may he love to-morrow1 he     has not  

loved yet4 ,and he who has already      
loved1 may he love again     to-morrow4 
,imagine the effect of such exhortations
 on a youth of fifteen6 ,truly1 this    
springtide of love1 which the poet cries
 for in his distress1 the son of        
,monnica knew well was come for him4    
,how he must have listened to the       
musical and melancholy counsellor who   
told his pain to the leaves of the book6
 ,what stimulant and what food for his  
boyish longings and dreams6 ,and what a 
divine chorus of beauties the great     
love-heroines of ancient epic and elegy1
 ,helen1 ,medea1 ,ariadne1 ,phdra1      
formed and re-formed continually in his 
dazzled memory6 ,when we of to-day read 
such verses at ,augustin's age1 some    
bitterness is mixed with our delight4   
,these heroes and heroines are too far  
from us4 ,these almost chimerical beings
 withdraw from us into outlying lands1  
to a vanished world which will never    
come again4 ,but for ,augustin1 this was
 the world he was born into--it was his 

pagan ,africa where pleasure was the    
whole of life1 and one lived only for   
the lusts of the flesh4 ,and the race of
 fabulous princesses--they were not     
dead1 those ladies3 they were ever      
waiting for the well-beloved in the     
palaces at ,carthage4 ,yes1 the scholar 
of ,madaura lived wonderful hours1      
dreaming thus of love between the pages 
of the poets4 ,these young dreams before
 love comes are more bewitching than    
love itself3 a whole unknown world      
suddenly discovered and entered with a  
quivering joy of discovery at each step4
 ,the unused strength of illusion       
appears inexhaustible1 space becomes    
deeper and the heart more strong4444  ,a
 long time afterwards1 when1 recovered  
from all that1 ,augustin speaks to us of
 the ,divine love1 he will know fully   
the infinite value of it from having    
gone through all the painful            
entrancements of the other4 ,and he will
 say to us1 with the sureness of        
experience3 ,the pleasure of the human  

heart in the light of truth and the     
abundance of wisdom--yea1 the pleasure  
of the human heart1 of the faithful     
heart1 and of the heart which is holy1  
stands alone4 ,you will find nothing in 
any voluptuousness fit to be compared to
 it4 ,i say not that this other pleasure
 is less1 for that which is called less 
hath only to increase to become equal4  
,no1 ,i shall not say that all other    
pleasure is less4 ,no comparison can be 
made4 ,it is another kind1 it is another
 reality4     ,,vi  ,,the ,,holidays    
,,at ,,thagaste   ,in the city of       
,apuleius1 the ,christian ,monnica's son
 became simply a pagan4 ,he was near his
 sixteenth year3 the awkward time of    
early virility was beginning for him4   
,prepared at ,madaura1 it suddenly burst
 out at ,thagaste4  ,augustin came back 
to his parents1 no doubt during the     
vacation4 ,but this vacation lasted     
perhaps a whole year4 ,he had come to   
the end of his juvenile studies4 ,the   
grammarians at ,madaura could teach him 

nothing more4 ,to round off his         
acquirements1 it would be necessary to  
attend the lectures of some well-known  
rhetorician4 ,now there were very good  
rhetoricians only at ,carthage4         
,besides1 it was a fashion1 and point of
 honour1 for ,numidian families to send 
their sons to finish their education in 
the provincial capital4 ,patricius was  
most eager to do this for his son1 who  
at ,madaura had shewn himself a very    
brilliant pupil and ought not therefore 
to be pulled up half-way down the       
course4 ,but the life of a student cost 
a good deal1 and ,patricius had no      
money4 ,his affairs were always muddled4
 ,he was obliged to wait for the rents  
from his farms1 to grind down his       
tenants1 and1 ultimately1 despairing of 
any other way out of it1 to ask for an  
advance of money from a rich patron4    
,that needed time and diplomacy4  ,days 
and months went by1 and ,augustin1 with 
nothing to do1 joined in with           
easily-made friends and gave himself up 

to the pleasures of his time of life1   
like all the young townsmen of          
,thagaste--pleasures rather rough and   
little various1 such as were to be got  
in a little free-town of those days1 and
 as they have remained for the natives  
of to-day1 whether they live a town or  
country life4 ,to hunt1 to ride         
horseback1 to play at games of chance1  
to drink1 eat1 and make love--they      
wanted nothing beyond that4 ,when       
,augustin in his ,confessions accuses   
himself of his youthful escapades he    
uses the most scathing language4 ,he    
speaks of them with horror and disgust4 
,once more we are tempted to believe    
that he exaggerates through an excess of
 ,christian remorse4 ,there are even    
some who1 put on their guard by this    
vehement tone1 have questioned the      
historical value of the ,confessions4   
,they argue that when the ,bishop of    
,hippo wrote these things his views and 
feelings had altered4 ,he could no      
longer judge with the same eye and in   

the same spirit the happenings of his   
youth4 ,all this is only too certain3   
when he wrote1 it was as a ,christian he
 judged himself1 and not as a cold      
historian who refuses to go beyond the  
brutal fact4 ,he tried to unravel the   
origin and to trace the consequences of 
the humblest of his actions1 because    
this is of the highest importance for   
salvation4 ,but however severe his      
judgment may be1 it does not impair the 
reality of the fact itself4 ,moreover1  
in natures like his1 acts which others  
would hardly think of have a vibration  
out of all proportion with the act      
itself4 ,the evil of sin depends upon   
the consciousness of the sin and the    
pleasure taken in it4 ,augustin was very
 intelligent and very sensual4  ,in any 
case1 young ,africans develop early1 and
 the lechery of the race is proverbial4 
,it must have been a good deal stronger 
at a time when ,christianity still had  
to fight against pagan slackness in     
these matters1 ere ,islam had imposed   

its hypocritical austerity upon the     
general conduct4 ,there is even room for
 wonder that in ,augustin's case this   
crisis of development did not happen    
earlier than his sixteenth year4 ,it    
seems that it was only more violent4 ,in
 what language he describes it6 ,i dared
 to roam the woods and pursue my vagrant
 loves beneath the shade4 ,but he was   
not yet in love--this he points out     
himself4 ,in his case then it was simple
 lust4 ,from the quagmire of            
concupiscence1 from the well of puberty1
 exhaled a mist which clouded and       
befogged my heart1 so that ,i could not 
distinguish between the clear shining of
 affection and the darkness of lust4444 
,i could not keep within the kingdom of 
light1 where friendship binds soul to   
soul4444 ,and so ,i polluted the brook  
of friendship with the sewage of lust4  
,let us not try to make it clearer than 
he has left it himself4 ,when one thinks
 of all the ,african vices1 one dare not
 dwell upon such avowals4 ,lord1 he     

says1 ,i was loathsome in ,thy sight4   
,and with pitiless justice he analyses  
the effect of the evil3 ,it stormed     
confusedly within me1 whirling my       
thoughtless youth over the precipices of
 desire4 ,and ,i wandered still further 
from ,thee1 and ,thou didst leave me to 
myself2 the torrent of my fornications  
tossed and swelled and boiled and ran   
over4 ,and during this time3 ,thou      
saidst nothing1 ,o my ,god6 ,this       
silence of ,god is the terrible sign of 
hardened sin1 of hopeless damnation4 ,it
 meant utter depravity of the will2 he  
did not even feel remorse any more4     
,here he is1 then1 as if unfastened from
 his child's soul--separated from       
himself4 ,the object of his youthful    
faith has no more meaning for him4 ,he  
understands no longer1 and it is all one
 to him that he does not4 ,thus1 told by
 himself1 does this first crisis of     
,augustin's life emerge from the        
autobiography2 and it takes on a general
 significance4 ,once for all1 under a   

definite form1 and to a certain degree  
classic1 he has diagnosed with his      
subtle experience of doctor of souls the
 pubescent crisis in all young men of   
his age1 in all the young ,christians   
who are to come after him4 ,for the     
story of ,augustin is the story of each 
of us4 ,the loss of faith always occurs 
when the senses first awaken4 ,at this  
critical moment1 when nature claims us  
for her service1 the consciousness of   
spiritual things is1 in most cases1     
either eclipsed or totally destroyed4   
,the gradual usage to the brutalities of
 the instinct ends by killing the       
sensitiveness of the inward feelings4   
,it is not reason which turns the young 
man from ,god2 it is the flesh4         
,scepticism but provides him with       
excuses for the new life he is leading4 
,thus started1 ,augustin was not able to
 pull up half-way on the road of        
pleasure2 he never did anything by      
halves4 ,in these vulgar revels of the  
ordinary wild youth1 he wanted again to 

be best1 he wanted to be first as he was
 at school4 ,he stirred up his          
companions and drew them after him4     
,they in their turn drew him4 ,among    
them was found that ,alypius1 who was   
the friend of all his life1 who shared  
his faults and mistakes1 who followed   
him even in his conversion1 and became  
,bishop of ,thagaste4 ,these two future 
shepherds of ,christ roamed the streets 
with the lost sheep4 ,they spent the    
nights in the open spaces of the town1  
playing1 or wantonly dreaming before    
cups of cool drinks4 ,they lounged      
there1 stretched out on mats1 with a    
crown of leaves on the head1 a jasmine  
garland round the neck1 a rose or       
marigold thrust above the ear4 ,they    
never knew what to do next to kill time4
 ,so one fine evening the reckless crew 
took it into their heads to rifle a pear
 tree of one of ,patricius's neighbours4
 ,this pear tree was just beyond the    
vineyard belonging to ,augustin's       
father4 ,the rascals shook down the     

pears4 ,they took a few bites to find   
out the taste1 and having decided this  
to be rather disappointing1 they chucked
 all the rest to the hogs4  ,in this    
theft1 done merely for the pleasure of  
the thing1 ,augustin sees an evidence of
 diabolical mischief4 ,doubtless he     
committed many another misdeed where1   
like this1 the whole attraction lay in  
the ,satanic joy of breaking the law4   
,his fury for dissolute courses knew no 
rest4 ,did ,monnica observe anything of 
this change in ,augustin8 ,the boy1     
grown big1 had escaped from the         
supervision of the women's apartments4  
,if the mother guessed anything1 she did
 not guess all4 ,it fell to her husband 
to open her eyes4 ,with the freedom of  
manners among the ancients1 ,augustin   
relates the fact quite plainly4444 ,that
 took place in the bath-buildings at    
,thagaste4 ,he was bathing with his     
father1 probably in the piscina of cold 
baths4 ,the bathers who came out of the 
water with dripping limbs were printing 

wet marks of their feet upon the mosaic 
flooring1 when ,patricius1 who was      
watching them1 suddenly perceived that  
his son had about him the signs of      
manhood1 that he was already bearing--as
 ,augustin says himself in his          
picturesque language--the first signs of
 turbulent youth1 like another toga     
praetexta4 ,patricius1 as a good pagan1 
welcomed with jubilation this promise of
 grand-children1 and rushed off joyously
 to brag of his discovery to ,monnica4  
,she took the news in quite another way4
 ,frightened at the idea of the dangers 
to which her son's virtue was exposed1  
she lectured him in private4 ,but       
,augustin1 from the height of his       
sixteen years1 laughed at her4 ,a lot of
 old-women's gossip6 ,why does she want 
to talk about things she can't          
understand6444 ,tired out at last1      
,monnica tried to get a promise from her
 son that he would at least have some   
restraint in his dissipation--that he   
would avoid women of the town1 and above

 all1 that he would have nothing to do  
with married women4 ,for the rest1 she  
put him in ,god's hands4  ,it may be    
wondered--,augustin himself             
wonders--that she did not think of      
finding him a wife4 ,they marry early in
 ,africa4 ,even now any ,arab labourer  
buys a wife for his son1 hardly turned  
sixteen1 so that the fires of a too warm
 youth may be quenched in marriage4 ,but
 ,monnica1 who was not yet a saint1     
acted in this matter like a foreseeing  
and practical woman of the prosperous   
class4 ,a wife would be a drag for a    
young man like ,augustin1 who seemed    
likely to have such a brilliant career4 
,a too early marriage would jeopardize  
his future4 ,before all things1 it was  
important that he should become an      
illustrious rhetorician1 and raise the  
fortunes of the family4 ,for her1 all   
else yielded to this consideration4 ,but
 she hoped at least that the headstrong 
student might consent to be good into   
the bargain4  ,this was also            

,patricius's way of looking at the      
matter4 ,and so1 says ,augustin1 ,my    
father gave himself no concern how ,i   
grew towards ,thee1 or how chaste ,i    
was1 provided only that ,i became a man 
of culture--however destitute of ,thy   
culture1 ,o ,god4444 ,my mother and he  
slackened the curb without regard to due
 severity1 and ,i was suffered to enjoy 
myself according to my dissolute fancy4 
,meanwhile1 ,patricius was now become   
7very tardily7 a catechumen4 ,the       
entreaties of his wife had won him to   
the ,catholic faith4 ,but his sentiments
 were not much more ,christian--,he     
hardly thought of ,thee1 my ,god1       
acknowledges his son1 who nevertheless  
was pleased at this conversion4 ,if     
,patricius decided to get converted1 it 
was probably from political reasons4    
,since the death of ,julian the         
,apostate1 paganism appeared finally    
conquered4 ,the ,emperor ,valentinianus 
had just proclaimed heavy penalties     
against night-sacrifices4 ,in ,africa1  

the ,count ,romanus persecuted the      
,donatists4 ,all the ,christians in     
,thagaste were ,catholic4 ,what was the 
good of keeping up a useless and        
dangerous resistance8 ,perhaps the end  
of ,patricius--which was near--was as   
edifying as ,monnica could wish4 ,but at
 all events1 at the present moment1 he  
was not the man to interfere with       
,augustin's pleasures3 he only thought  
of the eventual fortune of the young    
man4 ,alone1 ,monnica might have had    
some influence on him1 and she herself  
was fascinated by his future career in  
the world4 ,perhaps1 to quiet her       
conscience1 she said to herself that    
this frivolous education would be more  
or less of a help to her son towards    
bringing him back to ,god1 that a day   
would come when the famous rhetorician  
would plead the cause of ,christ8444    
,scandalized though she might be at his 
conduct1 it is however apparent that it 
was about this time she began to get    
fonder of him1 to worry over him as her 

favourite child4 ,but it was not till   
much later that the union between mother
 and son became quite complete4 ,too    
many old customs still remained         
preventing close intercourse between the
 men and women of a family4 ,and it will
 hardly do to picture such intimacy from
 the intimacy which may exist between a 
mother and son of our own time4 ,there  
was none of the spoiling1 or indulgence1
 or culpable weakness which enervates   
maternal tenderness and makes it        
injurious to the energy of a manly      
character4 ,monnica was severe and a    
little rough4 ,if she let her feelings  
be seen1 it was solely before ,god4 ,and
 yet it is most certain that in the     
depth of her heart she loved ,augustin1 
not only as a future member of ,christ1 
but humanly1 as a woman frustrated of   
love in a badly assorted marriage may   
spend her love on her child4 ,the       
brutality of pagan ways revolted her1   
and she poured on this young head all   
her stored-up affection4 ,in ,augustin  

she loved the being she wished she could
 love in her husband4  ,a number of     
personal considerations were no doubt   
involved in the deep and unselfish      
attachment she had for her son3         
instinctively1 she looked for him to    
protect her against the father's        
violence4 ,she felt that he would be the
 support of her old age1 and also1 she  
foresaw dimly what one day he would be4 
,all this aided to bring about the tie1 
the understanding1 which grew more and  
more close between ,augustin and        
,monnica4 ,and so from this time they   
both appear to us as they were to appear
 to all posterity--the pattern of the   
,christian ,mother and ,son4 ,thanks to 
them1 the hard law of the ancients has  
been abrogated4 ,there shall be no more 
barriers between the mother and her     
child4 ,no longer shall it be vain      
exterior rites which draw together the  
members of the same family3 they shall  
communicate in spirit and truth4 ,heart 
speaketh to heart4 ,the fellowship of   

souls is founded1 and the ties of the   
domestic hearth are drawn close1 as they
 never were in antiquity4 ,no more shall
 they work in concert only for material 
things2 they will join together to      
love--and to love each other more4 ,the 
son will belong more to his mother4  ,at
 the time we have now come to1 ,monnica 
was already undertaking the conquest of 
,augustin's soul4 ,she prayed for him   
fervently4 ,the young man cared very    
little3 gratitude came to him only after
 his conversion4 ,at this time he was   
thinking of nothing but amusement4 ,for 
this he even forgot his career4 ,but    
,monnica and ,patricius thought of it   
constantly--especially ,patricius1 who  
gave himself enormous trouble to enable 
this student on a holiday to finish his 
studies4 ,eventually he got together the
 necessary money1 possibly borrowed     
enough to make up the sum from some rich
 landowner who was the patron of the    
people of small means in ,thagaste--say1
 that gorgeous ,romanianus1 to whom     

,augustin1 in acknowledgment1 dedicated 
one of his first books4 ,the young man  
could now take the road for ,carthage4  
,he left by himself1 craving for        
knowledge and glory and pleasure1 his   
heart full of longing for what he knew  
not1 and melancholy without cause4 ,what
 was going to become of him in the      
great1 unknown city8     ,,the ,,second 
,,part  ,,the ,,enchantment ,,of        
,,carthage     ,amare et amari4   ,to   
love and to be loved4  ,confessions1    
,,iii1 i4     ,i  ,,carthago ,,veneris  
,i went to ,carthage1 where shameful    
loves bubbled round me like boiling oil4
  ,this cry of repentance1 uttered by   
the converted ,augustin twenty-five     
years later1 does not altogether stifle 
his words of admiration for the old     
capital of his country4 ,one can see    
this patriotic admiration stirring      
between the lines4 ,carthage made a very
 strong impression on him4 ,he gave it  
his heart and remained faithful to the  
end4 ,his enemies1 the ,donatists1      

called him the ,carthaginian arguer4    
,after he became ,bishop of ,hippo1 he  
was continually going to ,carthage to   
preach1 or dispute1 or consult his      
colleagues1 or to ask something from men
 in office4 ,when he is not there1 he is
 ever speaking of it in his treatises   
and plain sermons4 ,he takes comparisons
 from it3 ,you who have been to         
,carthage-- he often says to his        
listeners4 ,for the boy from little     
,thagaste to go to ,carthage1 was about 
the same as for our youths from the     
provinces to go to ,paris4 ,veni        
,carthaginem--in these simple words     
there is a touch of naive emphasis which
 reveals the bewilderment of the        
,numidian student just landed in the    
great city4  ,and1 in fact1 it was one  
of the five great capitals of the       
,empire3 there were ,rome1              
,constantinople1 ,antioch1              
,alexandria--,carthage4 ,carthage was   
the sea-port capital of the whole       
western ,mediterranean4 ,with its large 

new streets1 its villas1 its temples1   
its palaces1 its docks1 its variously   
dressed cosmopolitan population1 it     
astonished and delighted the schoolboy  
from ,madaura4 ,whatever local marks    
were left about him1 or signs of the    
rustic simpleton1 it brushed off4 ,at   
first1 ,augustin must have felt himself 
as good as lost there4  ,there he was1  
his own master1 with nobody to counsel  
and direct him4 ,he does indeed mention 
his fellow-countryman1 that ,romanianus1
 the patron of his father and of other  
people in ,thagaste1 as a high and      
generous friend who invited him to his  
house when he1 a poor youth1 came to    
finish his studies in a strange city1   
and helped him1 not only with his purse1
 but with his friendship4 ,unfortunately
 the allusion is not very clear4 ,still1
 it does seem to shew that ,augustin1 in
 the first days after his arrival at    
,carthage1 stayed with ,romanianus4 ,it 
is not in the least improbable that     
,romanianus had a house at ,carthage and

 spent the winter there3 during the rest
 of the year he would be in his country 
houses round about ,thagaste4 ,this     
opulent benefactor might not have been  
satisfied with giving ,augustin a good  
tip for his journey when he was leaving 
his native town1 but may also have put  
him up in his own house at ,carthage4   
,such was the atonement for those       
enormous fortunes of antiquity3 the rich
 had to give freely and constantly4     
,with the parcelling out of wealth we   
have become much more egoistical4  ,in  
any case1 ,romanianus1 taken up with his
 pleasures and business1 could not have 
been much of a guide for ,monnica's son4
 ,augustin was therefore without        
control1 or very nearly4 ,no doubt he   
came to ,carthage with a strong desire  
to increase his knowledge and get       
renown1 but still more athirst for love 
and the emotions of sentiment4 ,the     
love-prelude was deliriously prolonged  
for him4 ,he was at that time so        
overwhelmed by it1 that it is the first 

thing he thinks of when he relates his  
years at ,carthage4 ,to love and be     
loved seems to him1 as to his dear      
,alexandrine poets1 the single object of
 life4 ,yet he was not in love1 but he  
loved the idea of love4 ,nondum amabam1 
et amare amabam 444 amare amans4444     
,truly1 never a pagan poet had hitherto 
found such language to speak of love4   
,these subtle phrases are not only the  
work of a marvellous word-smith3 through
 their almost imperceptible shades of   
meaning may be descried an entirely new 
soul1 the pleasure-loving soul of the   
old world awakening to spiritual life4  
,modern people have repeated the words  
more than enough1 but by translating    
them too literally--,i loved to         
love--they have perhaps distorted the   
sense4 ,they have made ,augustin a kind 
of ,romantic like ,alfred de ,musset1 a 
dilettante in love4 ,augustin is not so 
modern1 although he often seems one of  
ourselves4 ,when he wrote those words he
 was a bishop and a penitent4 ,what     

strikes him above all in looking back   
upon his uneasy and feverish life as a  
youth and young man1 is the great onrush
 of all his being which swept him       
towards love4 ,plainly1 man is made for 
love1 since he loves without object and 
without cause1 since in itself alone the
 idea of love is already for him a      
beginning of love4 ,only he falls into  
error in giving to creatures a heart    
that the ,creator alone can fill and    
satisfy4 ,in this love for love's sake1 
,augustin discerned the sign of the     
predestined soul whose tenderness will  
find no rest but in ,god4 ,that is why  
he repeats this word ,love with a kind  
of intoxication4 ,he knows that those   
who love like him cannot love long with 
a human love4 ,nor does he blush to     
acknowledge it3--he loved--he loved with
 all his soul--he loved to the point of 
loving the coming of love4 ,happy       
intimation for the ,christian6 ,a heart 
so afire is pledged to the eternal      
marriage4  ,with this heat of passion1  

this lively sensibility1 ,augustin was a
 prey for ,carthage4 ,the voluptuous    
city took complete hold on him by its   
charm and its beauty1 by all the        
seductions of mind and sense1 by its    
promises of easy enjoyment4  ,first of  
all1 it softened this young provincial1 
used to the harder country life of his  
home2 it relaxed the ,numidian          
contracted by the roughness of his      
climate2 it cooled his eyes burned by   
the sun in the full-flowing of its      
waters and the suavity of its horizons4 
,it was a city of laziness1 and above   
all1 of pleasure1 as well for those     
plunged in business as for the idlers4  
,they called it ,carthago               
,veneris--,carthage of ,venus4 ,and     
certainly the old ,phoenician ,tanit    
always reigned there4 ,since the        
rebuilding of her temple by the ,romans1
 she had transformed herself into ,virgo
 ,coelestis4 ,this ,virgin of ,heaven   
was the great ,our ,lady of unchastity1 
towards whom still mounted the adoration

 of the ,african land four hundred years
 after the birth of ,christ4 ,strange   
,virgin1 ,augustin was to say later1 who
 can only be honoured by the loss of    
virginity4 ,her dissolving influence    
seemed to overcome the whole region4    
,there is no more feminine country than 
this ,carthaginian peninsula1 ravished  
on all sides by the caress of the       
waters4 ,stretched out between her lakes
 on the edge of the sea1 ,carthage      
lounged in the humid warmth of her      
mists1 as if in the suffocating         
atmosphere of her vapour-baths4  ,she   
stole away the energies1 but she was an 
enchantment for the eyes4 ,from the top 
of the impressive flight of steps which 
led up to the temple of sculapius on the
 summit of the ,acropolis1 ,augustin    
could see at his feet the huge1         
even-planned city1 with its citadel     
walls which spread out indefinitely1 its
 gardens1 blue waters1 flaxen plains1   
and the mountains4 ,did he pause on the 
steps at sunset1 the two harbours1      

rounded cup-shape1 shone1 rimmed by the 
quays1 like lenses of ruby4 ,to the     
left1 the ,lake of ,tunis1 stirless1    
without a ripple1 as rich in ethereal   
lights as a ,venetian lagoon1 radiated  
in ever-altering sheens1 delicate and   
splendid4 ,in front1 across the bay1    
dotted with the sails of ships          
close-hauled to the wind1 beyond the    
wind-swept and shimmering intervals1 the
 mountains of ,rhodes raised their      
aerial summit-lines against the sky4    
,what an outlook on the world for a     
young man dreaming of fame6 ,and what   
more exhilarating spot than this ,mount 
,byrsa1 where1 in deep layers1 so many  
heroic memories were gathered and       
superimposed4 ,the great dusty plains   
which bury themselves far off in the    
sands of the desert1 the mountains--yes1
 and isles and headlands1 all bowed     
before the ,hill that ,virgil sang and  
seemed to do her reverence4 ,she held in
 awe the innumerable tribes of the      
barbaric continent2 she was mistress of 

the sea4 ,rome herself1 from the height 
of her ,palatine1 surged less imperial4 
,more than any other of the young men   
seated with him on the benches of the   
school of rhetoric1 ,augustin hearkened 
to the dumb appeals which came from the 
ancient ruins and new palaces of        
,carthage4 ,but the supple and          
treacherous city knew the secret of     
enchaining the will4 ,she tempted him by
 the open display of her amusements4    
,under this sun which touches to beauty 
the plaster of a hut1 the grossest      
pleasures have an attraction which men  
of the ,north cannot understand4 ,the   
overflowing of lust surrounds you4 ,this
 prolific swarming1 all these bodies1   
close-pressed and soft with sweat1 give 
forth as it were a breath of fornication
 which melts the will4 ,augustin        
breathed in with delight the heavy      
burning air1 loaded with human odours1  
which filled the streets and squares of 
,carthage4 ,to all the bold soliciting1 
to all the hands stretched out to detain

 him as he walked1 he yielded4  ,but for
 a mind like his ,carthage had more     
subtle allurements in reserve4 ,he was  
taken by her theatres1 by the verses of 
her poets and the melodies of her       
musicians4 ,he shed tears at the plays  
of ,menander and ,terence2 he lamented  
upon the misfortunes of separated       
lovers2 he shared their quarrels1       
rejoiced and despaired with them4 ,and  
still he awaited the epiphany of        
,love--that ,love which the performance 
of the actors shewed him to be so       
touching and fine4  ,such then was      
,augustin1 given over to the            
irresponsibility of his eighteen        
years--a heart spoiled by romantic      
literature1 a mind impatient to try     
every sort of intellectual adventure in 
the most corrupting and bewitching city 
known to the pagan centuries1 set amidst
 one of the most entrancing landscapes  
in the world4     ,,ii  ,,the ,,african 
,,rome   ,carthage did not offer only   
pleasures to ,augustin2 it was besides  

an extraordinary subject to think about 
for an understanding so alert and       
all-embracing as his4  ,at ,carthage he 
understood the ,roman grandeur as he    
could not at ,madaura and the ,numidian 
towns4 ,here1 as elsewhere1 the ,romans 
made a point of impressing the minds of 
conquered races by the display of their 
strength and magnificence4 ,above all1  
they aimed at the immense4 ,the towns   
built by them offered the same          
decorative and monumental character of  
the ,greek cities of the ,hellenistic   
period1 which the ,romans had further   
exaggerated--a character not without    
emphasis and over-elaboration1 but which
 was bound to astonish1 and that was the
 main thing in their view4 ,in short1   
their ideal was not perceptibly         
different from that of our modern town  
councillors4 ,to lay out streets which  
intersected at right angles2 to create  
towns cut into even blocks like         
chessboards2 to multiply prospects and  
huge architectural masses--all the      

,roman cities of this period revealed   
such an aim1 with an almost identical   
plan4  ,erected after this type1 the new
 ,carthage caused the old to be         
forgotten4 ,everybody agreed that it was
 second only to ,rome4 ,the ,african    
writers squandered the most hyperbolical
 praises upon it4 ,for them it is ,the  
splendid1 the august1 the sublime       
,carthage4 ,although there may well be a
 certain amount of triviality or of     
patriotic exaggeration in these praises1
 it is certain that the ,roman capital  
of the ,province of ,africa was no less 
considerable than the old metropolis of 
the ,hanno and ,barcine factions4 ,with 
a population almost as large as that of 
,rome1 it had almost as great a         
circumference4 ,it must further be      
recalled that as it had no ramparts till
 the ,vandal invasion1 the city         
overflowed into the country4 ,with its  
gardens1 villas1 and burial-places of   
the dead1 it covered nearly the entire  
peninsula1 to-day depopulated4          

,carthage1 as well as ,rome1 had her    
,capitol and ,palatine upon ,mount      
,byrsa1 where rose no doubt a temple    
consecrated to the ,capitolean triune   
deities1 ,jupiter1 ,juno1 and ,minerva1 
not far from the great temple of        
sculapius1 a modern transformation of   
the old ,punic ,eschmoum4 ,hard by these
 sanctuaries1 the ,proconsul's palace   
dominated ,carthage from the height of  
the acclivity of the ,acropolis4 ,the   
,forum was at the foot of the hill1     
probably in the neighbourhood of the    
ports--a ,forum built and arranged in   
the ,roman way1 with its shops of       
bankers and money-changers placed under 
the circular galleries1 with the        
traditional image of ,marsyas1 and a    
number of statues of local celebrities4 
,apuleius no doubt had his there4       
,further off was the ,harbour ,square1  
where gathered foreigners recently      
landed and the idlers of the city in    
search of news1 and where the           
booksellers offered the new books and   

pamphlets4 ,there was to be seen one of 
the curiosities of ,carthage--a mosaic  
representing fabulous monsters1 men     
without heads1 and men with only one leg
 and one foot--a huge foot under which1 
lying upon their backs1 they sheltered  
from the sun1 as under a parasol4 ,on   
account of this feature they were called
 the sciapodes4 ,augustin1 who like     
everybody else had paused before these  
grotesque figures1 recalls them         
somewhere to his readers4444 ,beside the
 sea1 in the lower town and upon the two
 near hills of the ,acropolis1 were a   
number of detached buildings that the   
old authors have preserved the names of 
and briefly described4 ,thanks to the   
zeal of archologists1 it is now become  
impossible to tell where they stood4    
,the pagan sanctuaries were numerous4   
,that of the goddess ,coelestis1 the    
great patroness of ,carthage1 occupied a
 space of five thousand feet4 ,it       
comprised1 besides the actual ,greek3   
hieron1 where stood the image of the    

goddess1 gardens1 sacred groves1 and    
courts surrounded with columns4 ,the    
ancient ,phoenician ,moloch had also his
 temple under the name of ,saturn4 ,they
 called him ,the ,old ,one1 so ,augustin
 tells us1 and his worshippers were     
falling away4 ,on the other hand1       
,carthage had another sanctuary which   
was very fashionable1 a ,serapeum as at 
,alexandria1 where were manifested the  
pomps of the ,egyptian ritual1          
celebrated by ,apuleius4 ,neighbouring  
the holy places1 came the places of     
amusement3 the theatre1 the ,odeum1     
circus1 stadium1 and amphitheatre--this 
last1 of equal dimensions with the      
,colosseum at ,rome1 its gallery rising 
upon gallery1 and its realistic         
sculptures of animals and artisans4     
,then there were the buildings for the  
public service3 the immense cisterns of 
the ,east and the ,malga1 the great     
aqueduct1 which1 after being carried    
along a distance of fifty-five miles1   
emptied the water of the ,zaghouan into 

the reservoirs at ,carthage4 ,finally1  
there were the ,baths1 some of which we 
know--those of ,antoninus and of        
,maximianus1 and those of ,gargilius1   
where one of the most important         
,councils known to the history of the   
,african ,church assembled4 ,there were 
likewise many ,christian basilicas at   
the time of ,augustin4 ,the authors     
mention seventeen3 it is likely there   
were more4 ,that of ,damous-el-,karita1 
the only one of which considerable      
traces have been found1 was vast and    
richly decorated1 and was perhaps the   
cathedral of ,carthage4  ,what other    
buildings there were are utterly lost to
 history4 ,it may be conjectured1       
however1 that ,carthage1 as well as     
,rome1 had a septizonium--a decorative  
building with peristyles one above the  
other which surrounded a reservoir4 ,in 
fact1 it is claimed that the one at     
,rome was copied from ,carthage4        
,straight streets paved with large flags
 intersected around these buildings1    

forming a network of long avenues1 very 
bright and ventilated4 ,some of them    
were celebrated in the ancient world    
either for their beauty or the animation
 of their trade3 the street of the      
,jewellers1 the street of ,health1 of   
,saturn1 of ,coelestis1 too1 or of      
,juno4 ,the fig and vegetable markets   
and the public granaries were also some 
of the main centres of ,carthaginian    
life4  ,it is unquestionable that       
,carthage1 with its buildings and       
statues1 its squares1 avenues and public
 gardens1 looked like a large capital1  
and was a perfect example of that ideal 
of rather brutal magnificence and       
strength which the ,romans obtruded     
everywhere4  ,and even while it dazzled 
the young provincial from ,thagaste1 the
 ,african ,rome shewed him the virtue of
 order--social and political order4     
,carthage1 the metropolis of ,western   
,africa1 maintained an army of officials
 who handled the government in its      
smallest details4 ,first of all1 there  

were the representatives of the central 
power1 the imperial rulers--the         
,proconsul1 a sort of vice-emperor1 who 
was surrounded by a full court1 a civil 
and military staff1 a privy council1 an 
officium which included a crowd of      
dignitaries and subaltern clerks4 ,then 
there was the ,proprtor of ,africa who1 
being in control of the government of   
the whole ,african province1 had an     
officium still larger perhaps than the  
,proconsul's4 ,after them came the city 
magistrates1 who were aided in their    
functions by the ,council of the        
,decurions--the ,senate of ,carthage4   
,these ,carthaginian senators cut a     
considerable figure3 for them their     
colleagues at ,rome were full of airs   
and graces1 and the ,emperors           
endeavoured to keep them in a           
good-humour4 ,all the details of city   
government came under their supervision3
 the slaughter-houses1 buildings1 the   
gathering of municipal taxes1 and the   
police1 which comprised even the        

guardians of the ,forum4 ,then there    
were the army and navy4 ,the home port  
of a grain-carrying fleet which conveyed
 the ,african cereals to ,ostia1        
,carthage could starve ,rome if she     
liked4 ,the grain and oil of all        
countries lay in her docks--the         
storehouses of the state provisions1    
which were in charge of a special       
prefect who had under his orders a whole
 corporation of overseers and clerks4   
,augustin must have heard a good deal of
 grumbling at ,carthage against this    
excess of officialism4 ,but1 all the    
same1 so well-governed a city was a very
 good school for a young man who was to 
combine later the duties of bishop1     
judge1 and governor4 ,the blessings of  
order1 of what was called the ,roman    
peace no doubt impressed him the more1  
as he himself came from a turbulent     
district often turned upside down by the
 quarrels of religious sects and by the 
depredations of the nomads--a           
boundary-land of the ,sahara regions    

where it was much harder to bring the   
central government into play than in    
,carthage and the coast-towns4 ,to      
appreciate the beauty of government1    
there is nothing like living in a       
country where all is at the mercy of    
force or the first-comer's will4 ,such  
of the ,barbarians who came in contact  
with ,roman civilization were overcome  
with admiration for the good order that 
it established4 ,but what astonished    
them more than anything else was that   
the ,empire was everywhere4  ,no man1   
whatever his race or country1 could help
 feeling proud to belong to the ,roman  
city4 ,he was at home in all the        
countries in the world subject to ,rome4
 ,our ,europe1 split into nationalities1
 can hardly understand now this feeling 
of pride1 so different from our narrow  
patriotisms4 ,the way to feel something 
of it is to go to the colonies3 out     
there the least of us may believe       
himself a sovereign1 simply from the    
fact that he is a subject of the        

governing country4 ,this feeling was    
very strong in the old world4 ,carthage1
 where the striking effect of the       
,empire appeared in all its brilliancy1 
would increase it in ,augustin4 ,he had 
only to look around him to value the    
extent of the privilege conferred by    
,rome on her citizens4 ,men coming from 
all countries1 without exception of     
race1 were1 so to speak1 made partners  
of the ,empire and collaborated in the  
grandeur of the ,roman scheme4 ,if the  
,proconsul who then occupied the ,byrsa 
palace1 the celebrated ,symmachus1      
belonged to an old ,italian family1 he  
whom he represented1 the ,emperor       
,valentinian1 was the son of a          
,pannonian soldier4 ,the ,count         
,theodosius1 the general who suppressed 
the insurrection of ,firmus in          
,mauretania1 was a ,spaniard1 and the   
army he led into ,africa was made up1   
for the most part1 of ,gauls4 ,later on1
 under ,arcadius1 another ,gaul1        
,rufinus1 shall be master of the whole  

of the ,east4  ,an active mind like     
,augustin's could not remain indifferent
 before this spectacle of the world     
thrown open by ,rome to all men of      
talent4 ,he had the soul of a poet1     
quick to enthusiasm2 the sight of the   
,eagles planted on the ,acropolis at    
,carthage moved him in a way he never   
forgot4 ,he acquired the habit of seeing
 big1 and began to cast off race        
prejudices and all the petty narrowness 
of a local spirit4 ,when he became a    
,christian he did not close himself up1 
like the ,donatists1 within the ,african
 ,church4 ,his dream was that ,christ's 
,empire upon earth should equal the     
,empire of the ,csars4  ,still1 it is   
desirable not to fall into error upon   
this ,roman unity4 ,behind the imposing 
front it shewed from one end to the     
other of the ,mediterranean1 the variety
 of peoples1 with their manners1        
traditions1 special religions1 was      
always there1 and in ,africa more than  
elsewhere4 ,the population of ,carthage 

was astonishingly mixed4 ,the hybrid    
character of this country without unity 
was illustrated by the streaks found in 
the ,carthaginian crowds4 ,all the      
specimens of ,african races elbowed one 
another in the streets1 from the nigger1
 brought from his native ,soudan by the 
slave-merchant1 to the ,romanized       
,numidian4 ,the inflow1 continually     
renewed1 of traffickers and cosmopolitan
 adventurers increased this confusion4  
,and so ,carthage was a ,babel of races1
 of costumes1 of beliefs and ideas4     
,augustin1 who was at heart a mystic1   
but also a dialectician extremely fond  
of showy discussions1 found in ,carthage
 a lively summary of the religions and  
philosophies of his day4 ,during these  
years of study and reflection he        
captured booty of knowledge and         
observation which he would know how to  
make use of in the future4  ,in the     
,carthage sanctuaries and schools1 in   
the squares and the streets1 he could   
see pass the disciples of all the       

systems1 the props of all the           
superstitions1 the devotees of all the  
religions4 ,he heard the shrill clamour 
of disputes1 the tumult of fights and   
riots4 ,when a man was at the end of his
 arguments1 he knocked down his         
opponent4 ,the authorities had a good   
deal of trouble to keep order4          
,augustin1 who was an intrepid logician1
 must have longed to take his share in  
these rows4 ,but one cannot exactly     
improvise a faith between to-day and    
to-morrow4 ,while he awaited the        
enlightenment of the truth1 he studied  
the ,carthaginian ,babel4  ,first of    
all1 there was the official religion1   
the most obvious and perhaps the most   
brilliant1 that of the ,divinity of the 
,emperors1 which was still kept up even 
under the ,christian ,csars4 ,each year1
 at the end of ,october1 the elected    
delegates of the entire province1 having
 at their head the ,sacerdos province1  
the provincial priest1 arrived at       
,carthage4 ,their leader1 clad in a robe

 broidered with palms1 gold crown on    
head1 made his solemn entry into the    
city4 ,it was a perfect invasion1 each  
member dragging in his wake a mob of    
clients and servants4 ,the ,africans1   
with their taste for pomp and colour1   
seized the chance to give themselves    
over to a display of ruinous            
sumptuosities3 rich dresses1 expensive  
horses splendidly caparisoned1          
processions1 sacrifices1 public         
banquets1 games at the circus and       
amphitheatre4 ,these strangers so       
overcrowded the city that the imperial  
,government had to forbid them1 under   
severe penalties1 to stay longer than   
five days4 ,a very prudent measure6 ,at 
these times1 collisions were inevitable 
between pagans and ,christians4 ,it was 
desirable to scatter such crowds as soon
 as possible1 for riots were always     
smouldering in their midst4  ,no less   
thronged were the festivals of the      
,virgin of ,heaven4 ,a survival of the  
national religion1 these feasts were    

dear to the hearts of the               
,carthaginians4 ,augustin went to them  
with his fellow-students4 ,we trooped   
there from every quarter1 he says4      
,there was a great gathering of people  
in the interior court which led up to   
the temple4 ,the statue1 taken from its 
sanctuary1 was placed before the        
peristyle upon a kind of repository4    
,wantons1 arrayed with barbarous        
lavishness1 danced around the holy      
image2 actors performed and sang hymns4 
,our eager eyes1 ,augustin adds         
maliciously1 rested in turn on the      
goddess1 and on the girls1 her adorers4 
,the ,great ,mother of the ,gods1 the   
,goddess of ,mount ,berecyntus1 was     
worshipped with similar license4 ,every 
year the people of ,carthage went to    
wash her solemnly in the sea4 ,her      
statue1 carried in a splendid litter1   
robed with precious stuffs1 curled and  
farded1 passed through the streets of   
the city1 with its guard of mummers and 
,corybants4 ,these last1 with hair      

greasy from pomade1 pale faces1 and a   
loose and effeminate walk1 held out     
bowls for alms to the onlookers4  ,the  
devotion to ,isis was yet another excuse
 for processions3 the ,serapeum was a   
rival attraction to the temple of the   
,heavenly ,maiden4 ,if we may trust     
,tertullian1 the ,africans swore only by
 ,serapis4 ,possibly ,mithras had also  
worshippers in ,carthage4 ,anyhow1 the  
occult religions were fully represented 
there4 ,miracle-working was becoming    
more and more the basis even of         
paganism4 ,never had the soothsayers    
been more flourishing4 ,everybody1 in   
secret1 pried into the entrails of the  
sacrificial victims1 or used magic      
spells4 ,as to the wizards and          
astrologists1 they did business openly4 
,augustin himself consulted them1 like  
all the ,carthaginians4 ,the public     
credulity had no limits4  ,on the       
opposite side from the pagan worship1   
the sects which had sprung from         
,christianity sprouted4 ,true1 ,africa  

has given birth to but a small number of
 heresies3 the ,africans had not the    
subtle mind of the ,orientals and they  
were not given to theorizing4 ,but a    
good many of the ,eastern heresies had  
got into ,carthage4 ,augustin must have 
still met ,arians there1 although at    
this period ,arianism was dying out in  
,africa4 ,what is certain is that       
orthodox ,catholicism was in a very     
critical state4 ,the ,donatists captured
 its congregations and churches2 they   
were unquestionably in the majority4    
,they raised altar against altar4 ,if   
,genethlius was the ,catholic bishop1   
the ,donatist bishop was ,parmenianus4  
,and they claimed to be more ,catholic  
than their opponents4 ,they boasted that
 they were the ,church1 the single1 the 
unique ,church1 the ,church of ,christ4 
,but these schismatics themselves were  
already splitting up into many sects4   
,at the time ,augustin was studying at  
,carthage1 ,rogatus1 ,bishop of ,tenes1 
had just broken publicly with           

,parmenian's party4 ,another ,donatist1 
,tyconius1 published books wherein he   
traversed many principles dear to his   
fellow-religionists4 ,doubt darkened    
consciences4 ,amid these controversies1 
where was the truth8 ,among whom did the
 ,apostolic tradition dwell8  ,to put   
the finishing touch on this anarchy1 a  
sect which likewise derived from        
,christianity--,manicheeism--began to   
have numerous adepts in ,africa4        
,watched with suspicion by the          
,government1 it concealed part of its   
doctrine1 the most scandalous and       
subversive4 ,but the very mystery which 
enveloped it1 helped it to get          
adherents4  ,among all these apostles   
preaching their gospel1 these devotees  
beating the drum before their god1 these
 theologians reciprocally insulting and 
excommunicating one another1 ,augustin  
brought the superficial scepticism of   
his eighteenth year4 ,he wanted no more 
of the religion in which his mother had 
brought him up4 ,he was a good talker1 a

 clever dialectician2 he was in a hurry 
to emancipate himself1 to win freedom   
for his way of thinking as for his way  
of life2 and he meant to enjoy his      
youth4 ,with such gifts1 and with such  
dispositions1 he could only choose among
 all these doctrines that which would   
help most the qualities of his mind1 at 
once flattering his intellectual        
pretensions1 and leaving his            
pleasure-loving instincts a loose rein4 
,,iii  ,,the ,,carthage ,,student       
,however strong were the attractions of 
the great city1 ,augustin well knew that
 he had not been sent there to amuse    
himself1 or to trifle as an amateur with
 philosophy4 ,he was poor1 and he had to
 secure his future--make his fortune4   
,his family counted on him4 ,neither was
 he ignorant of the difficult position  
of his parents and by what sacrifices   
they had supplied him with the means to 
finish his studies4 ,necessarily he was 
obliged to be a student who worked4     
,with his extraordinary facility1 he    

stood out at once among his             
fellow-students4 ,in the rhetoric       
school1 where he attended lectures1 he  
was1 he tells us1 not only at the top1  
but he was the leader of his companions4
 ,he led in everything4 ,at that time1  
rhetoric was extremely far-reaching3 it 
had come to take in all the divisions of
 education1 including science and       
philosophy4 ,augustin claims to have    
learned all that the masters of his time
 had to teach3 rhetoric1 dialectic1     
geometry1 music1 mathematics4 ,having   
gone through the whole scholastic       
system1 he thought of studying law1 and 
aided by his gift of words1 to become a 
barrister4 ,for a gifted young man it   
was the shortest and surest road to     
money and honours4  ,unhappily for him1 
hardly was he settled down at ,carthage 
than his father died4 ,this made his    
future again problematical4 ,how was he 
to keep up his studies without the sums 
coming from his father8 ,the affairs of 
,patricius must have been left in the   

most parlous condition4 ,but ,monnica1  
clinging to her ambitious plans for her 
son1 knew how to triumph over all       
difficulties1 and she continued to send 
,augustin money4 ,romanianus1 the       
,mcenas of ,thagaste1 who was doubtless 
applied to by her1 came once more to the
 rescue of the hard-up student4 ,the    
young man1 set at ease about his        
expenses1 resumed light-heartedly his   
studious and dissipated life4  ,as a    
matter of fact1 this family bereavement 
does not seem to have caused him much   
grief4 ,in the ,confessions he mentions 
the death of his father in a few words1 
and1 so to speak1 in parenthesis1 as an 
event long foreseen without much        
importance4 ,and yet he owed him a great
 deal4 ,patricius was hard pressed1 and 
he took immense trouble to provide the  
means for his son's education4 ,but with
 the fine egotism of youth1 ,augustin   
perhaps thought it enough to have       
profited by his father's sacrifices1 and
 dispensed himself from gratitude4 ,in  

any case1 his affection for his father  
must have been rather lukewarm2 the     
natural differences between them ran too
 deep4 ,in these years1 ,monnica filled 
all the heart of ,augustin4  ,but the   
influence of ,monnica herself was very  
slight upon this grown-up youth1        
eighteen years old4 ,he had forgotten   
her lessons1 and it did not trouble him 
much if his conduct added to the worries
 of the widow1 who was now struggling   
with her husband's creditors4 ,at heart 
he was a good son and he deeply loved   
his mother1 but inevitably the pressure 
of the life around him swept him along4 
,he has pictured his companions for us1 
after his conversion1 as terrible       
blackguards4 ,no doubt he is too severe4
 ,those young men were neither better   
nor worse than elsewhere4 ,they were    
rowdy1 as they were in the other cities 
of the ,empire1 and as one always is at 
that age4 ,imperial regulations enjoined
 the police to have an eye on the       
students1 to note their conduct and what

 company they kept4 ,they were not to   
become members of prohibited societies1 
not to go too often to the theatre1 nor 
to waste their time in raking and       
feastings4 ,if their conduct became too 
outrageous1 they were to be beaten with 
rods and sent back to their parents4 ,at
 ,carthage there was a hard-living set  
of men who called themselves ,the       
,wreckers4 ,their great pleasure was to 
go and make a row at a professor's      
lecture2 they would burst noisily into  
the classroom and smash up anything they
 could lay hold of4 ,they amused        
themselves also by ragging the freshmen1
 jeering at their simplicity1 and       
playing them a thousand tricks4 ,things 
haven't much changed since then4 ,the   
fellow-students of ,augustin were so    
like students of to-day that the most   
modern terms suggest themselves to      
describe their performances4  ,augustin1
 who was on the whole well conducted1   
and1 as behoved a future professor1 had 
a respect for discipline1 disapproved of

 ,the ,wreckers and their violence4     
,this did not prevent him from enjoying 
himself in their society4 ,he was       
overcome with shame because he could not
 keep pace with them--we must believe it
 at least1 since he tells us so himself4
 ,with a certain lack of assurance1     
blended however with much juvenile      
vanity1 he joined the band4 ,he listened
 to that counsel of vulgar wisdom which 
is disastrous to souls like his3 ,do as 
others do4 ,he accordingly did do as the
 others2 he knew all their debauchery1  
or he imagined he did1 for however low  
he went1 he was never able to do        
anything mean4 ,he was then so far from 
the faith that he arranged love-trysts  
in the churches4 ,i was not afraid to   
think of my lust1 and plan a scheme for 
securing the deadly fruit of sin1 even  
within the walls of ,thy church during  
the celebration of ,thy mysteries4 ,we  
might be reading the confession of a    
sensualist of to-day4 ,one grows        
astonished at these morals1 at once so  

old and so modern4 ,what1 already6      
,these young ,christian basilicas1 but  
newly sprung out of the earth1 where the
 men were strictly separated from the   
women--were they already become places  
of assignation1 where love-letters were 
slipped into hands1 and procuresses sold
 their furtive services6444  ,at length 
the great happiness for which ,augustin 
had so long been sighing was granted    
him3 he loved and he was loved4  ,he    
loved as he indeed was able to love1    
with all the impetuosity of his nature  
and all the fire of his temperament1    
with all his heart and all his senses4  
,i plunged headlong into love1 whose    
fetters ,i longed to wear4 ,but as he   
went at once to extremes1 as he meant to
 give himself altogether1 and expected  
all in return1 he grew irritated at not 
receiving this same kind of love4 ,it   
was never enough love for him4 ,yet he  
was loved1 and the very certainty of    
this love1 always too poor to his mind1 
exasperated the violence and pertinacity

 of his desire4 ,because ,i was loved1  
,i proudly riveted round myself the     
chain of woe1 to be soon scourged with  
the red-hot iron rods of jealousy1 torn 
by suspicions1 fears1 anger1 and        
quarrels4 ,this was passion with chorus 
and orchestra1 a little theatrical1 with
 its violences1 its alternations between
 fury and ecstasy1 such as an ,african1 
steeped in romantic literature1 would   
conceive it4 ,deceived1 he flung himself
 in desperate pursuit of the            
ever-flitting love4 ,he had certainly   
more than one passion4 ,each one left   
him more hungry than the last4  ,he was 
sensual1 and he felt each time how brief
 is pleasure1 in what a limited circle  
all enjoyment turns4 ,he was tender1    
eager to give himself2 and he saw       
plainly that one never gives oneself    
quite altogether1 that even in the      
maddest hours of surrender one always   
reserves oneself in secret1 keeping for 
oneself something of oneself2 and he    
felt that most of the time his          

tenderness got no answer4 ,when the     
joyous heart brings the offering of its 
love1 the heart of her he loves is      
absent4 ,and when it is there1 on the   
edge of the lips1 decked and smiling to 
meet the loved one1 it is the other who 
is absent4 ,almost never do they join   
together1 and they never join together  
altogether4 ,and so this ,love1 which   
claims to be constant and even eternal1 
ought to be1 if it would prolong itself1
 a continual act of faith1 and hope1 and
 charity4 ,to believe in it in spite of 
its darkening and falling away2 to hope 
its return1 often against all evidence2 
to pardon its injustices and sometimes  
its foul actions--how many are capable  
of such abnegation8 ,augustin went      
through all that4 ,he was in despair    
about it4 ,and then1 the nostalgia of   
predestined souls took hold of him4 ,he 
had an indistinct feeling that these    
human loves were unworthy of him1 and   
that if he must have a master1 he was   
born to serve another ,master4 ,he had a

 desire to shake off the platitude of   
here below1 the melancholy fen where    
stagnated what he calls the marsh of the
 flesh2 to escape1 in a word1 from the  
wretched huts wherein for a little he   
had sheltered his heart2 to burn all    
behind him1 and so prevent the weakness 
of a return2 and to go and pitch his    
tent further1 higher1 he knew not       
where--upon some unapproachable mountain
 where the air is icy1 but before the   
eyes1 the vasty stretches of light and  
space4444  ,these first loves of        
,augustin were really too fierce to     
last4 ,they burned up themselves4       
,augustin did not keep them up long4    
,there was in him1 besides1 an instinct 
which counteracted his exuberant1       
amorous sentimentality--the sense of    
beauty4 ,that in itself was enough to   
make him pause on the downhill of riot4 
,the anarchy and commotion of passion   
was repellent to a mind devoted to      
clearness and order4 ,but there was     
still another thing--the son of the     

,thagaste freeholder had any amount of  
common sense4 ,that at least was left to
 him of the paternal heritage4 ,a youth 
of what we call the lower middle class1 
strictly brought up in the hard and     
frugal discipline of the provinces1 he  
felt the effects of his training4 ,the  
bohemianism in which his friends        
revelled could not hold him             
indefinitely4 ,besides this1 the career 
he desired1 that of a barrister or      
professor1 had a preliminary obligation 
to maintain a certain outward decorum4  
,he himself tells us so2 in the midst of
 his most disreputable performances he  
aspired to be known for his fashion and 
wit--elegans atque urbanus4 ,politeness 
of speech and manners1 the courteous    
mutual deference of the best            
society--such1 was the ideal of this    
budding professor of rhetoric4  ,anxiety
 about his future1 joined to his rapid  
disenchantments1 ere long sobered the   
student3 he just took his fling and then
 settled down4 ,love turned for him into

 sensual habit4 ,his head became clear  
for study and meditation4 ,the          
apprentice to rhetoric liked his        
business4 ,up to his last breath1       
despite his efforts to change1 he       
continued1 like all his contemporaries1 
to love rhetoric4 ,he handled words like
 a worker in verbals who is aware of    
their price and knows all their         
resources4 ,even after his conversion1  
if he condemns profane literature as a  
poisoner of souls1 he absolves the      
beauty of language4 ,i accuse not words1
 he says4 ,words are choice and precious
 vessels4 ,i accuse the wine of error   
that drunken doctors pour out for us    
into these fair goblets4 ,at the        
,rhetoric ,school he took extreme       
pleasure in declaiming4 ,he was         
applauded2 the professor gave him as an 
example to the others4 ,these scholastic
 triumphs foretold others more          
celebrated and reverberating4 ,and so1  
in his heart1 literary vanity and       
ambition disputed the ever-lively       

illusions of love4 ,and then1 above all6
 he had to live2 ,monnica's remittances 
were necessarily small2 the generosity  
of ,romanianus had its limit4 ,so he    
beat about to enlarge his small         
student's purse4 ,he wrote verses for   
poetic competitions4 ,perhaps already he
 was able to act as tutor to certain of 
his fellow-students1 less advanced4  ,if
 the need of loving tormented his       
sentimental heart1 he tried to assuage  
it in friendship4 ,he loved friendship  
as he loved love4 ,he was a passionate  
and faithful friend up to his death4 ,at
 this time of his life1 he was riveting 
friendships which were never to be      
broken4 ,he had beside him his          
fellow-countryman1 ,alypius1 the future 
,bishop of ,thagaste1 who had followed  
him to ,carthage and would1 later on1   
follow him to ,milan2 ,nebridius1 a not 
less dear companion1 fated to die early2
 ,honoratus1 whom he drew into his      
errors and later did his best to        
enlighten2 and1 finally1 that mysterious

 young man1 whose name he does not tell 
us1 and whose loss he mourned as never  
any one has mourned the death of a      
friend4  ,they lived in daily and hourly
 intimacy1 in continual fervour and     
enthusiasm4 ,they were great            
theatre-goers1 where ,augustin was able 
to satisfy his desire for tender        
emotions and romantic adventures4 ,they 
had musical parties2 they tried over    
again the popular airs heard at the     
,odeum or some other of the innumerable 
theatres at ,carthage4 ,all the         
,carthaginians1 even the populace1 were 
mad about music4 ,the ,bishop of ,hippo1
 in his sermons1 recalls a mason upon   
his scaffolding1 or a shoemaker in his  
stall1 singing away the tunes of        
well-known musicians4 ,then our students
 strolled on the quays or in the        
,harbour ,square1 contemplating the     
many-coloured sea1 this splendour of    
waters at the setting sun1 which        
,augustin will extol one day with an    
inspiration unknown to the ancient      

poets4 ,above all1 they fell into       
discussions1 commented what they had    
lately read1 or built up astonishing    
plans for the future4 ,so flowed by a   
happy and charming life1 abruptly       
interpolated with superb anticipations4 
,with what a full heart the ,christian  
penitent calls it back for us6--,what   
delighted me in the intercourse of my   
friends1 was the talk1 the laughter1 the
 good turns we did each other1 the      
common study of the masters of          
eloquence1 the comradeship1 now grave   
now gay1 the differences that left no   
sting1 as of a man differing with       
himself1 the spice of disagreement which
 seasoned the monotony of consent4 ,each
 by turns would instruct or listen2     
impatiently we missed the absent friend1
 and savoured the joy of his return4 ,we
 loved each other with all our hearts1  
and such tokens of friendship springing 
from the heart and displayed by a word1 
a glance1 an expression1 by a thousand  
pretty complaisances1 supply the heat   

which welds souls together1 and of many 
make one4  ,it is easily understood that
 such ties as these had given ,augustin 
a permanent disgust for his rowdy       
comrades of a former time3 he went no   
more with ,the ,wreckers4 ,the small    
circle he took pleasure in was quiet and
 cheerful4 ,its merriment was controlled
 by the ,african gravity4 ,he and his   
friends come before my eyes1 a little   
like those students of theology1 or     
those cultivated young ,arabs1 who      
discuss poetry1 lolling indolently upon 
the cushions of a divan1 while they roll
 between their fingers the amber beads  
of their rosary1 or walking slowly under
 the arcades of a mosque1 draped in     
their white-silk simars1 with a serious 
and meditative air1 gestures elegant and
 measured1 courteous and harmonious     
speech1 and something discreet1 polite1 
and already clerical in their tone and  
manners4  ,in fact1 the life which      
,augustin was at that time relishing was
 the pagan life on its best and gentlest

 side4 ,the subtle network of habits and
 daily occupations enveloped him little 
by little4 ,there was some risk of his  
growing torpid in this soft kind of     
life1 when suddenly a rude shock roused 
him4444 ,it was a chance1 but in his    
eyes a providential chance1 which put   
the ,hortensius of ,cicero between his  
hands4 ,augustin was about nineteen1    
still a student2 according to the order 
which prevailed in the schools1 the time
 had come for him to read and explain   
this philosophical dialogue4 ,he had no 
curiosity about the book4 ,he took it   
from his sense of duty as a student1    
because it figured on the schedule4 ,he 
unrolled the book1 and began it1        
doubtless with calm indifference4 ,all  
of a sudden1 a great unexpected light   
shone between the lines4 ,his heart     
throbbed4 ,his whole soul sprang towards
 these phrases1 so dazzling and         
revealing4 ,he awoke from his long      
drowsiness4 ,before him shone a         
marvellous vision4444 ,as this dialogue 

is lost1 we can hardly to-day account   
for such enthusiasm1 and we hold that   
the ,roman orator was a very middling   
philosopher4 ,we know1 however1 through 
,augustin himself1 that the book        
contained an eloquent praise of wisdom4 
,and then1 words are naught without the 
soul of the reader2 all this1 falling   
into ,augustin's soul1 rendered a       
prolonged and magnificent sound4 ,it is 
evident1 too1 that just at the moment   
when he unrolled the book he was in a   
condition to receive this uplifting     
summons4 ,in such minutes1 when the     
heart1 ignorant of itself1 swells like  
the sea before a storm1 when all the    
inner riches of the being overflow1 the 
slightest glimmer is enough to reveal   
all these imprisoned forces1 and the    
least shock to set them free4  ,he has  
at least preserved for us1 in pious and 
faithful gratitude1 some phrases of this
 dialogue which moved him so deeply4    
,especially does he admire this passage1
 wherein the author1 after a long       

discussion1 ends in these terms3 ,if1 as
 pretend the philosophers of old time1  
who are also the greatest and most      
illustrious1 we have a soul immortal and
 divine1 it behoves us to think1 that   
the more it has persevered in its way1  
that is to say1 in reason1 love1 and the
 pursuit of truth1 and the less it has  
been intermingled and stained in human  
error and passion1 the easier will it be
 for it to raise itself and soar again  
to the skies4  ,such phrases1 read in a 
certain state of mind1 might well       
overwhelm this young man1 who was ere   
long to yearn for the cloister and was  
destined to be the founder of ,african  
monasticism4 ,to give his whole life to 
the study of wisdom1 to compel himself  
towards the contemplation of ,god1 to   
live here below an almost divine        
life--this ideal1 impossible to pagan   
wisdom1 ,augustin was called to realize 
in the name of ,christ4 ,that had dawned
 on him1 all at once1 while he was      
reading the ,hortensius4 ,and this ideal

 appeared to him so beautiful1 so well  
worth the sacrifice of all he had       
hitherto loved1 that nothing else       
counted for him any more4 ,he despised  
rhetoric1 the vain studies it compelled 
him to pursue1 the honour and glory it  
promised him4 ,what was all that to the 
prize of wisdom8 ,for wisdom he felt    
himself ready to give up the world4444  
,but these heroic outbursts do not1 as a
 rule1 keep up very long in natures so  
changeable and impressionable as        
,augustin's4 ,yet they are not entirely 
thrown away4 ,thus1 in early youth1 come
 dim revelations of the future4 ,there  
comes a presentiment of the port to     
which one will some day be sailing2 a   
glimpse of the task to fulfil1 the work 
to build up2 and all this rises before  
the eyes in an entrancement of the whole
 being4 ,though the bright image be     
eclipsed1 perhaps for years1 the        
remembrance of it persists amid the     
worst degradations or the worst         
mediocrities4 ,he who one single time   

has seen it pass1 can never afterwards  
live quite like other people4  ,this    
fever calmed1 ,augustin set himself to  
reflect4 ,the ancient philosophers      
promised him wisdom4 ,but ,christ also  
promised it6 ,was it not possible to    
reconcile them8 ,and was not the ,gospel
 ideal essentially more human than that 
of the pagan philosophers8 ,suppose he  
tried to submit to that1 to bring the   
faith of his childhood into line with   
his ambitions as a young man of         
intellect8 ,to be good after the manner 
of his mother1 of his grandparents1 of  
the good ,thagaste servants1 of all the 
humble ,christian souls whose virtues he
 had been taught to respect1 and at the 
same time to rival a ,plato by the      
strength of thought--what a dream6 ,was 
it possible8444 ,he tells us himself    
that the illusion was brief1 and that he
 grew cool about the ,hortensius because
 he did not find the name of ,christ in 
it4 ,he deceives himself1 probably4 ,at 
this time he was not so ,christian4 ,he 

yields to the temptation of a fine      
phrase3 when he wrote his ,confessions  
he had not yet entirely lost this habit4
  ,but what remains true is1 that       
feeling the inadequateness of pagan     
philosophy1 he returned for a moment    
towards ,christianity4 ,the ,ciceronian 
dialogue1 by disappointing his thirst   
for the truth1 gave him the idea of     
knocking at the door of the ,church and 
trying to find out if on that side there
 might not be a practicable road for    
him4 ,this is why the reading of        
,hortensius is in ,augustin's eyes one  
of the great dates of his life4         
,although he fell back in his errors1 he
 takes credit for his effort4 ,he       
recognizes in it the first sign1 and1 as
 it were1 a promise of his conversion4  
,thenceforth1 my ,god1 began my upward  
way1 and my return towards ,thee4  ,he  
began then to study the ,holy           
,scriptures with a more or less serious 
intention to instruct himself in them4  
,but to go to the ,bible by way of      

,cicero was to take the worst road4     
,augustin got lost there4 ,this direct  
popular style1 which only cares about   
saying things1 and not about how they   
are said1 could only repel the pupil of 
,carthage rhetoricians1 the imitator of 
the harmonious ,ciceronian sentences4   
,not only had he much too spoiled a     
taste in literature1 but there was also 
too much literature in this pose of a   
young man who starts off one fine       
morning to conquer wisdom4 ,he was      
punished for his lack of sincerity1 and 
especially of humility4 ,he understood  
nothing of the ,scripture1 and ,i found 
it1 he says1 a thing not known to the   
proud1 nor yet laid open to children1   
but poor in appearance1 lofty in        
operation1 and veiled in mysteries4 ,at 
that time1 ,i was not the man to bow my 
head so as to pass in at its door4444   
,he grew tired very quickly4 ,he turned 
his back on the ,bible1 as he had thrown
 aside ,hortensius1 and he went to find 
pasture elsewhere4 ,nevertheless1 his   

mind had been set in motion4 ,nevermore 
was he to know repose1 till he had found
 truth4 ,he demanded this truth from all
 the sects and all the churches4 ,so it 
was1 that in despair he flung himself   
into ,manicheeism4  ,some have professed
 amazement that this honest and         
practical mind should have stuck fast in
 a doctrine so tortuous1 so equivocal1  
contaminated by fancies so grossly      
absurd4 ,but perhaps it is forgotten    
that there was everything in            
,manicheeism4 ,the leaders of the sect  
did not deliver the bulk of the doctrine
 all at once to their catechumens2 the  
entire initiation was a matter of       
several degrees4 ,now ,augustin never   
went higher than a simple auditor in the
 ,manichean ,church4 ,what attracted    
specially fine minds to the ,manichees1 
was that they began by declaring        
themselves rationalists4 ,to reconcile  
faith with natural science and          
philosophy has been the fad of          
heresiarchs and free-thinkers in all    

ages4 ,the ,manicheans bragged that they
 had succeeded4 ,they went everywhere1  
crying out3 ,truth1 ,truth6 ,that suited
 ,augustin very well3 it was just what  
he was looking for4 ,he hastened to the 
preachings of these humbugs1 impatient  
to receive at last this truth1 so       
noisily announced4 ,from what they said1
 it was contained in several large books
 written by their prophet under the     
guidance of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,there was
 quite a library of them4 ,by way of    
bamboozling the crowd1 they produced    
some of them which looked very          
important1 ponderous as ,tables of the  
,law1 richly bound in vellum1 and       
embellished with striking illuminations4
 ,how was it possible to doubt that the 
entire revelation was contained in such 
beautiful books8 ,one felt at once full 
of respect for a religion which was able
 to produce in its favour the testimony 
of such a mass of writings4  ,however1  
the priests did not open them4 ,to allay
 the impatience of their hearers1 they  

amused them by criticizing the books and
 dogmas of the ,catholics4 ,this        
preliminary criticism was the first     
lesson of their instruction4 ,they      
pointed out any number of incoherences1 
absurdities1 and interpolations in the  
,bible3 according to them1 a great part 
of the ,scriptures had been foisted on  
the world by the ,jews4 ,but they       
triumphed especially in detecting the   
contradictions of the ,gospel           
narratives4 ,they sapped them with      
syllogisms4 ,it is easy to understand   
that these exercises in logic should    
have at once attracted the youthful     
,augustin4 ,with his extraordinary      
dialectical subtilty1 he soon became    
very good at it himself--much better    
even than his masters4 ,he made speeches
 in their assemblies1 fenced against a  
text1 peremptorily refuted it1 and      
reduced his adversaries to silence4 ,he 
was applauded1 covered with praise4 ,a  
religion which brought him such         
successes must be the true one4  ,after 

he became a bishop1 he tried to explain 
to himself how it was that he fell into 
,manicheeism1 and could find only two   
reasons4 ,the first1 he says1 was a     
friendship which took hold of me under  
,i know not what appearance of kindness1
 and was like a cord about my neck4444  
,the second was those unhappy victories 
that ,i almost always won in our        
disputes4  ,but there is still another  
which he mentions elsewhere1 and it had 
perhaps the most weight4 ,this was the  
loose moral code which ,manicheeism     
authorized4 ,this doctrine taught that  
we are not responsible for the evil we  
do4 ,our sins and vices are the work of 
the evil ,principle--the ,god of        
,darkness1 enemy of the ,god of ,light4 
,now at the moment when ,augustin was   
received as auditor by the ,manichees1  
he had a special need of excusing his   
conduct by a moral system so convenient 
and indulgent4 ,he had just formed his  
connection with her who was to become   
the mother of his child4     ,,iv  ,,the

 ,,sweetness ,,of ,,tears   ,augustin   
was nearly twenty4 ,he had finished his 
studies in rhetoric within the required 
time4 ,according to the notions of that 
age1 a young man ought to have concluded
 his course by his twentieth year4 ,if  
not1 he was considered past mending and 
sent back there and then to his family4 
,it may appear surprising that a gifted 
student like ,augustin did not finish   
his rhetoric course sooner4 ,but after  
his terms at ,madaura1 he had lost      
nearly a year at ,thagaste4 ,besides1   
the life of ,carthage had so many charms
 for him that doubtless he was in no    
hurry to leave4 ,however that may be1   
the moment was now come for him to make 
up his mind about his career4 ,the      
wishes of his parents1 the advice of his
 masters1 as well as his own ambitions  
and qualities1 urged him1 as we know1 to
 become a barrister4 ,but now1 suddenly1
 all his projects for the future        
changed4 ,not only did he give up the   
law1 but at the very moment when all    

appeared to smile on him1 at the opening
 of his youth1 he left ,carthage to go  
and bury himself as a teacher of grammar
 in the little free-town his birthplace4
  ,as he has neglected to give any      
explanation of this sudden              
determination1 we are reduced to        
conjectures4 ,it is likely that his     
mother was bothered about household     
expenses and could no longer afford to  
keep him at ,carthage4 ,besides1 she had
 other children1 a son and daughter1 to 
start in life4 ,augustin was on the     
point of being1 if not poor1 at least   
very hard up4 ,he must do something to  
earn his living1 and as quickly as      
possible4 ,in these conditions1 the     
quickest way out of the difficulty was  
to sell to others what he had bought    
from his masters4 ,to live1 he would    
open a word-shop1 as he calls it        
disdainfully4 ,but as he had only just  
ceased to be a student1 he could not    
dream of becoming a professor in a great
 city such as ,carthage1 and setting    

himself up in rivalry to so many        
celebrated masters4 ,the best thing he  
could do1 if he did not want to         
vegetate1 was to fall back on some more 
modest post4 ,now his protector1        
,romanianus1 wanted him to go to        
,thagaste4 ,this rich man had a son     
almost grown up1 whom it was necessary  
to put as soon as possible in the hands 
of a tutor4 ,augustin1 so often helped  
by the father1 was naturally thought of 
to look after the youth4 ,furthermore1  
,romanianus1 who appreciated ,augustin's
 talent1 must have been anxious to      
attract him to ,thagaste and keep him   
there4 ,with an eye to the interests of 
his free-town1 he desired to have such a
 shining light in the place4 ,so he     
asked this young man1 whom he           
patronized1 to return to his native     
district and open a grammar school4 ,he 
promised him pupils1 and1 above all1 the
 support of his influence1 which was    
considerable1 ,monnica1 as we may       
conjecture1 added her entreaties to     

those of the great head of the ,thagaste
 municipality4 ,augustin yielded4  ,did 
it grieve him very much to make up his  
mind to this exile8 ,it must have been  
extremely hard for a young man of twenty
 to give up ,carthage and its pleasures4
 ,moreover1 it is pretty nearly certain 
that at this time he had already started
 that connection which was to last so   
long4 ,to leave a mistress whom he      
loved1 and that in all the freshness of 
a passion just beginning--one wonders   
how he was able to make up his mind to  
it4 ,and yet he did leave1 and spent    
nearly a year at ,thagaste4  ,one       
peculiar mark of the youth1 and even of 
the whole life of ,augustin1 is the ease
 with which he unlearns and breaks off  
his habits--the sentimental as well as  
the intellectual4 ,he used up a good    
many doctrines before resting in the    
,catholic truth2 and even afterwards1 in
 the course of a long life1 he          
contradicted and corrected himself more 
than once in his controversies and      

theological writings4 ,his              
,retractations prove this4 ,one might   
say that the accustomed weighs on him as
 a hindrance to his liberty2 that the   
look of the places where he lives       
becomes hateful to him as a threat of   
servitude4 ,he feels dimly that his true
 country is elsewhere1 and that if he   
must settle anywhere it is in the house 
of his ,heavenly ,father4 ,inquietum est
 cor nostrum1 donec requiescat in te4444
 ,restless are our hearts1 ,o my ,god1  
until they rest in ,thee4 ,long before  
,st4 ,francis of ,assisi1 he practised  
the mystic rule3 ,as a stranger and a   
pilgrim4 ,it is true that in his        
twentieth year he was very far from     
being a mystic4 ,but he already felt    
that restlessness which made him cross  
the sea and roam ,italy from ,rome to   
,milan4 ,he is an impulsive4 ,he cannot 
resist the mirages of his heart or his  
imagination4 ,he is always ready to     
leave4 ,the road and its chances tempt  
him4 ,he is eager for the unknown4 ,he  

lets himself be carried in delight by   
the blowing wind4 ,god calls him2 he    
obeys without knowing where he goes4    
,this unsettled young man1 halting      
between contrary passions1 who feels at 
home nowhere1 has already the soul of an
 apostle4  ,this changeableness of mood 
was probably the true cause of his      
departure for ,thagaste4 ,but other more
 apparent reasons1 reasons more patent  
to a juvenile consciousness1 guided him 
also4 ,no doubt he was not sorry to     
reappear in his little town1 although he
 was so young1 with the importance and  
authority of a master4 ,his former      
companions were going to become his     
pupils4 ,and then the ,manichees had    
fanaticized him4 ,carried away by the   
neophyte's bubbling zeal1 elevated by   
his triumphs at the public meetings in  
,carthage1 he meant to shine before his 
fellow-countrymen1 and perhaps convert  
them4 ,he departed with his mind made up
 to proselytize4 ,let us believe also1  
that in spite of his dissolute life1 and

 the new passion that filled his heart1 
he did not come back to ,thagaste       
without an affectionate thought at the  
back of his head for his mother4  ,the  
reception that ,monnica had in reserve  
for him was going to surprise him       
considerably4 ,since her widowhood1 the 
wife of ,patricius had singularly       
advanced in the way of ,christian       
perfection4 ,the early ,church not only 
offered widows the moral help of its    
sacraments and consolations1 it also    
granted a special dignity with certain  
privileges to those who made a vow to   
refrain from sex-intercourse4 ,they had 
in the basilicas1 even as the           
consecrated virgins1 a place of honour1 
divided from that of the other matrons  
by a balustrade4 ,they wore a special   
dress4 ,they were obliged to a conduct  
which would shew them worthy of all the 
outer marks of respect which surrounded 
them4 ,the austerity of ,monnica had    
increased with the zeal of her faith4   
,she set an example to the ,church      

people at ,thagaste4 ,docile to the     
teachings of her priests1 eager to serve
 her brethren1 multiplying alms as much 
as she could with her straitened means1 
she was unfailing at the services of the
 ,church4 ,twice daily1 morning and     
evening1 she might be seen1 exact to the
 hour of prayer and sermon4 ,she did not
 go there1 her son assures us1 to mingle
 in cabals and the gossip of pious      
females1 but to hear ,god's word in     
homily1 and that ,god might hear her in 
prayer4  ,the widow compelled all who   
were about her to the same severe rule  
which she herself observed4 ,in this    
rigid atmosphere of his home1 the       
student from ,carthage1 with his free1  
fashionable airs1 must have caused a    
painful astonishment4 ,monnica felt at  
once that she and her son understood    
each other no longer4 ,she began by     
remonstrating with him4 ,augustin       
rebelled4 ,things got worse when1 with  
his presumption of the young professor  
new-enamelled by the schools1 the harsh 

and aggressive assurance of the         
heresiarch1 he boasted as loud as he    
could of being a ,manichee4 ,monnica1   
deeply wounded in her piety and motherly
 tenderness1 ordered him to give up his 
errors4 ,he refused1 and only replied by
 sarcasms to the poor woman's           
complaints4 ,then she must have believed
 that the separation was final1 that    
,augustin had committed an irreparable  
crime4 ,being an ,african ,christian1   
absolute in her faith and passionate for
 its defence1 she regarded her son as a 
public danger4 ,she was filled with     
horror at his treason4 ,it is possible1 
too1 that guided by the second-sight of 
her affection1 she saw clearer into     
,augustin's heart than he did himself4  
,she was plunged in sorrow that he      
mistook himself to this extent1 and     
refused the ,grace which desired to win 
him to the ,catholic unity4 ,and as he  
was not content with losing himself1 but
 also drew others into peril--disputing1
 speech-making before his friends1      

abusing his power of language to throw  
trouble into consciences--,monnica      
finally made up her mind4 ,she forbade  
her son to eat at her table1 or to sleep
 under her roof4 ,she drove him from the
 house4  ,this must have been a big     
scandal in ,thagaste4 ,it does not      
appear1 however1 that ,augustin cared   
much4 ,in all the conceit of his false  
knowledge1 he had that kind of          
inhumanity which drives the intellectual
 to make litter of the sweetest and     
deepest feelings as a sacrifice to his  
abstract idol4 ,not only did he not mind
 very much if his apostasy made his     
mother weep1 but he did not trouble1    
either1 to reconcile the chimeras of his
 brain with the living reality of his   
soul and the things of life4 ,whatever  
he found inconvenient1 he tranquilly    
denied1 content if he had talked well   
and entangled his adversary in the net  
of his syllogisms4  ,put in interdict by
 ,monnica1 he simply went and quartered 
himself on ,romanianus4 ,the sumptuous  

hospitality he received there very soon 
consoled him for his exile from his     
home4 ,and if his self-esteem had been  
affronted1 the pride of living          
familiarly with so important a personage
 was1 for a vain young man1 a very full 
compensation4  ,in fact1 this           
,romanianus roused the admiration of the
 whole country by his luxury and lavish 
expenditure4 ,he was bound to ruin      
himself in the long run1 or1 at any     
rate1 to raise up envious people bent   
upon his ruin4 ,being at the head of the
 ,decurions1 he was the protector1 not  
only of ,thagaste1 but of the           
neighbouring towns4 ,he was the great   
patron1 the influential man1 who had    
nearly the whole country for his        
dependents4 ,the town council1 through  
gratitude and flattery1 had had his name
 engraved upon tables of brass1 and had 
put up statues to him4 ,it had even     
conferred powers on him wider than      
municipal powers4 ,the truth is that    
,romanianus did not dole out his        

benefactions to his fellow-citizens4 ,he
 gave them bear-fights and other        
spectacles till then unknown at         
,thagaste4 ,he did not grudge public    
banquets1 and every day a free meal was 
to be got at his house4 ,the guests were
 served plentifully4 ,after having eaten
 his dinner1 they dipped in the purse of
 the host4 ,romanianus knew the art of  
doing an obliging thing discreetly1 and 
even how to anticipate requests which   
might be painful4 ,so he was proclaimed 
unanimously1 the most humane1 the most  
liberal1 the most polite and happiest of
 men4  ,generous to his dependents1 he  
did not forget himself4 ,he built a     
villa which1 by the space it occupied1  
was a real palace1 with therm walled in 
precious marbles4 ,he passed his time in
 the baths1 or gaming1 or hunting--in   
short1 he led the life of a great landed
 proprietor of those days4  ,no doubt   
these villas had neither the beauty nor 
the art-value of the great ,italian     
villas1 which were a kind of museums in 

a pretty1 or grand1 natural frame2 but  
they did not lack charm4 ,some of them1 
like that of ,romanianus1 were built and
 decorated at lavish expense4 ,immensely
 large1 they took in sometimes an entire
 village2 and sometimes1 also1 the      
villa1 properly speaking1 the part of   
the building where the master dwelt1 was
 fortified1 closed in by walls and      
towers like a feudal castle4 ,upon the  
outer gates and the entrance door might 
be read in big letters3 ,the ,property  
of ,so-and-so4 ,often1 the inscription  
was repeated upon the walls of an       
enclosure or of a farm1 which really    
belonged to a dependent of the great    
man4 ,under the shelter of the lord's   
name1 these small-holders defended      
themselves better against fiscal        
tyranny1 or were included in the        
immunities of their patrons4 ,so was    
formed1 under the cover of patronage1 a 
sort of ,african feudalism4 ,augustin's 
father1 who owned vineyards1 was        
certainly a vassal of ,romanianus4  ,as 

the ,african villa was a centre of      
agricultural activity1 it maintained on 
the estate a whole population of slaves1
 workmen1 and small-holders4 ,the chief 
herdsman's house neighboured that of the
 forester4 ,through deer-parks1 enclosed
 by latticed fences1 wandered gazelles4 
,oil factories1 vats and cellars for    
wine1 ran on from the bath-buildings and
 the offices4 ,then there was the main  
building with its immense doorway1 its  
belvedere of many stories1 as in the    
,roman villas1 its interior galleries1  
and wings to the right and left of the  
atrium4 ,in front lay the terraces1 the 
gardens with straight walks formed by   
closely-clipped hedges of box which led 
to pools and jets of water1 to arbours  
covered with ivy1 to nymph-fountains    
ornamented with columns and statues4 ,in
 these gardens was a particular place   
called the philosopher's corner4 ,the   
mistress of the house used to go there  
to read or dream4 ,her chair1 or        
folding-seat1 was placed under the shade

 of a palm tree4 ,her philosopher       
followed her1 holding her parasol and   
leading her little favourite dog4  ,it  
is easy to realize that ,augustin       
managed to stand his mother's severity  
without overmuch distress in one of     
these fine country houses4 ,to be       
comfortable there1 he had only to follow
 his natural inclination1 which was1 he 
tells us1 epicureanism4 ,it is most     
certain that at this period the only    
thing he cared about and sought after   
was pleasure4 ,staying with ,romanianus1
 he took his share in all the pleasant  
things of life1 suavitates illius       
vit--shared the amusements of his host1 
and only bothered about his pupils when 
he had nothing better to do4 ,he must   
have been as little of a grammarian as  
possible--he hadn't the time4 ,with the 
tyrannical friendship of rich people1   
who are hard put to it to find          
occupation1 ,romanianus doubtless       
monopolized him from morning till night4
 ,they hunted together1 or dined1 or    

read poetry1 or discussed in the        
evergreen alleys of the garden or the   
philosopher's corner4 ,and naturally1   
the recent convert to ,manicheeism did  
his best to indoctrinate and convert his
 patron--so far at least as a careless  
man like ,romanianus could be converted4
 ,augustin accuses himself of having    
flung ,romanianus into his own errors4  
,augustin probably was not so guilty4   
,his wealthy friend does not seem to    
have had any very firm convictions4 ,in 
all likelihood1 he was a pagan1 a       
sceptical or hesitating pagan1 such as  
existed in numbers at that time4 ,led by
 ,augustin1 he drew near to             
,manicheeism4 ,then1 when ,augustin gave
 up ,manicheeism for ,platonic          
philosophy1 we see ,romanianus take the 
airs of a philosopher4 ,later1 when     
,augustin came back to ,catholicism1 he 
drew ,romanianus in his wake towards    
that religion4 ,this man of fashion was 
one of those frivolous people who never 
go deep into things1 for whom ideas are 

only a pastime1 and who consider        
philosophers or men of letters as       
amusers4 ,but it is certain that he     
liked to listen to ,augustin1 and let   
himself be influenced4 ,if he trifled   
with ,manicheeism1 the reason was that  
,augustin dazzled him with his arguments
 and fine phrases4 ,this orator of      
twenty had already extraordinary charm4 
,so ,augustin led a delightful life with
 ,romanianus4 ,everything pleased       
him--his talking triumphs1 the          
admiration of his hearers1 the flattery 
and luxury which surrounded him4        
,meanwhile1 ,monnica was plunged in     
grief at his conduct1 and implored ,god 
to draw him from his errors4 ,she began 
to be sorry that she had sent him away1 
and with the clear-sightedness of the   
,christian1 she perceived that          
,romanianus' house was not good for the 
prodigal4 ,it would be better to have   
him back4 ,near her he would run less   
risk of being corrupted4 ,through       
intense praying1 came to her a dream    

which quickened her determination4 ,she 
dreamed that she was weeping and        
lamenting1 with her feet planted on a   
wooden rule1 when she saw coming towards
 her a radiant youth who smiled upon her
 cheerfully4 ,he asked the reason of her
 sorrow and her daily tears 444 and when
 she told him she was bewailing my      
perdition1 he bade her be of good       
comfort1 look and see1 for where she    
was1 there was ,i also4 ,she looked1 and
 saw me standing by her side on the same
 rule4  ,filled with joy by this promise
 from on high1 ,monnica asked her son to
 come home4 ,he did come back1 but with 
the quibbles of the ,sophist1 the       
rhetorician cavilled against his mother4
 ,he tried to upset her happiness4 ,he  
said to her3  ,since1 according to your 
dream1 we are to be both standing on the
 same rule1 that means that you are     
going to be a ,manichean4  ,no1 answered
 ,monnica4 ,he did not say1 where he is 
you will be1 but where you are he will  
be4  ,augustin confesses that this      

strong good sense made a certain        
impression on him4 ,nevertheless he did 
not change4 ,for still nine years he    
remained a ,manichee4  ,as a last       
resource1 ,monnica begged a bishop she  
knew1 a man deeply read in the          
,scriptures1 to speak with her son and  
refute his errors4 ,but so great was the
 reputation of ,augustin as an orator   
and dialectician that the holy man dared
 not try a fall with such a vigorous    
jouster4 ,he answered the mother very   
wisely1 that a mind so subtle and acute 
could not long continue in such gross   
sophisms4 ,and he offered his own       
example1 for he1 too1 had been a        
,manichee4 ,but ,monnica pressed him    
with entreaties and tears4 ,at last the 
bishop1 annoyed by her persistence1 but 
at the same time moved by her tears1    
answered with a roughness mingled with  
kindness and compassion3  ,go1 go6      
,leave me alone4 ,live on as you are    
living4 ,it cannot be that the son of   
such tears should be lost4  ,filius     

istarum lacrymarum3 the son of such     
tears6444 ,was it indeed the country    
bishop1 or rather the rhetorician       
,augustin who1 in a burst of gratitude1 
hit upon this sublime sentence8 ,certain
 it is that later on ,augustin saw in   
his mother's tears as it were a first   
baptism whence he came forth regenerate4
 ,after having borne him according to   
the flesh1 ,monnica1 by her tears and   
moans1 gave him birth into the spiritual
 life4 ,monnica wept because of         
,augustin4 ,monnica wept for ,augustin4 
,this is rather astonishing in the case 
of so severe a mother--this ,african a  
trifle rough4 ,the expressions--tears   
and moans and weeping--occur so often in
 her son's writings1 that we are at     
first tempted to take them for pious    
metaphors--figures of a sacred rhetoric4
 ,we suspect that ,monnica's tears must 
come from the ,bible1 an imitation of   
,king ,david's penitential tears4 ,but  
it would be quite an error to believe   
that4 ,monnica wept real tears4 ,in her 

whole-hearted prayers she bedewed the   
pavement of the basilica2 she moistened 
the balustrade against which she leant  
her forehead4 ,this austere woman1 this 
widow whose face nobody saw any more1   
whose body was shapeless by reason of   
the mass of stuffs1 grey and black1     
which wrapped her from head to          
foot--this rigid ,christian concealed a 
heart full of love4 ,love such as this  
was then a perfectly new thing4  ,that  
an ,african woman should carry her piety
 to the point of fanaticism2 that she   
should work to conquer her son to her   
faith2 that1 if he strayed from it1 she 
should hate him and drive him out with  
curses--this has been seen in ,africa at
 all times4 ,but that a mother should   
mourn at the thought that her child is  
lost for another life2 that she grows   
terror-stricken and despairing when she 
thinks that she may possess a happiness 
in which he will have no part1 and walk 
in the gardens of ,heaven while her     
child will not be there--no1 this had   

never been seen before4 ,where ,i am you
 will be1 near me1 against my heart1 our
 two hearts meeting in the one same     
love--in this union of souls1 continued 
beyond the grave1 lies all the          
,christian sweetness and hope4          
,augustin was no longer1 or not yet1 a  
,christian4 ,but in his tears he is the 
true son of his mother4 ,this gift of   
tears that ,saint ,lewis of ,france     
begged ,god with so much earnestness and
 contrition to grant him1 ,monnica's son
 had to the full4 ,for him to weep was a
 pleasure4 #a ,he inebriated himself    
with his tears4 ,now1 just while he was 
at ,thagaste1 he lost a friend whom he  
loved intensely4 ,this death set free   
the fountain of tears4 ,they are not yet
 the holy tears which he will shed later
 before ,god1 but only poor human tears1
 more pathetic perhaps to our own       
weakness4  ,footnote #a3 ,sainte-,beuve4
  ,who was this friend8 ,he tells us in 
very vague terms4 ,we only know that    
they had grown up as boys together and  

had gone to the same schools2 that they 
had just passed a year together1        
probably at ,carthage2 that this young  
man1 persuaded by him1 was become a     
,manichee2 and that1 in a word1 they    
loved passionately4 ,augustin1 while    
speaking of him1 recalls in a deeper    
sense what ,horace said of his friend   
,virgil3 dimidium anim--,o thou half of 
my soul6  ,well1 this young man fell    
gravely sick of a fever4 ,as all hope   
was at an end1 they baptized him1       
according to the custom4 ,he grew       
better1 was almost cured1 ,as soon as ,i
 was able to talk to him1 says          
,augustin--and that was as soon as he   
could bear it1 for ,i never left his    
side1 and we were bound up in one       
another--,i ventured a jest1 thinking   
that he would jest too1 about the       
baptism which he had received1 when he  
could neither think nor feel4 ,but by   
this time he had been told of his       
baptism4 ,he shrank from me as from an  
enemy1 and with a wonderful new-found   

courage1 warned me never to speak so to 
him again1 if ,i wished to remain his   
friend4 ,i was so astounded and confused
 that ,i said no more1 resolving to wait
 till he should regain his strength1    
when ,i would tell him frankly what ,i  
thought4  ,so1 at this serious moment1  
he whom they called the ,carthaginian   
disputer was sorry not to be able to    
measure himself in a bout of dialectics 
with his half-dead friend4 ,the         
intellectual poison had so perverted his
 mind1 that it almost destroyed in him  
the feelings of common decency4 ,but if 
his head1 as he acknowledges1 was very  
much spoiled1 his heart remained intact4
 ,his friend died a few days after1 and 
,augustin was not there4 ,he was stunned
 by it4  ,his grief wrought itself up to
 wildness and despair4 ,this sorrow fell
 like darkness on my heart1 and wherever
 ,i looked ,i saw nothing but death4 ,my
 country became a torture1 my father's  
house a misery4 ,all the pleasures that 
,i had shared with him1 turned into     

hideous anguish now that he was gone4   
,my eyes sought for him everywhere1 and 
found him not4 ,i hated the familiar    
scenes because he was not there1 and    
they could no more cry to me1 ',lo6 he  
will come4' as they used when he was    
absent but alive4444 ,then ,augustin    
began to weep louder1 he prolonged his  
weeping1 finding consolation only in    
tears4 ,monnica's tenderness was        
restrained2 in him it was given full    
vent and exaggerated4 ,at that time1 the
 ,christian moderation was unknown to   
him1 as well as the measure which the   
good taste of the ancients prompted4 ,he
 has often been compared to the most    
touching geniuses1 to ,virgil1 to       
,racine1 who had also the gift of tears4
 ,but ,augustin's tenderness is more    
abandoned1 and1 so to speak1 more       
romantic4 ,it even works up1 sometimes1 
into an unhealthy excitement4  ,to be   
full of feeling1 as ,augustin was then1 
is not only to feel with excessive      
sensitiveness the least wounds1 the     

slightest touches of love or hate1 nor  
is it only to give oneself with         
transport2 but it is especially to take 
delight in the gift of oneself1 to feel 
at the moment of full abandonment that  
one is communicating with something     
infinitely sweet1 which already has     
ceased to be the creature loved4 ,it is 
love for love1 it is to weep for the    
pleasure of tears1 it is to mix with    
tenderness a kind of egoism avid of     
experiences4 ,having lost his friend1   
,augustin loathes all the world4 ,he    
repeats3 ,tears were my only comfort4 ,i
 was wretched1 and my wretchedness was  
dear to me4 ,and accordingly1 he did not
 want to be consoled4 ,but as1 little by
 little1 the terrors of that parting    
subsided1 he perceived himself that he  
played with grief and made a joy of his 
tears4 ,my tears1 he says1 were dearer  
to me than my friend had been4 ,by      
degrees the friend is almost forgotten4 
,though ,augustin may hate life because 
his friend has gone1 he confesses       

naively that he would not have          
sacrificed his existence for the sake of
 the dead4 ,he surmises that what is    
told of ,orestes and ,pylades contending
 to die for each other is but a fable4  
,ultimately1 he comes to write3 ,perhaps
 ,i feared to die1 lest the other half  
of him whom ,i had loved so dearly1     
should perish4 ,he himself1 in his      
,retractations1 condemns this phrase as 
pure rhetoric4 ,it remains true that    
what was perhaps the deepest sorrow of  
his life--this sorrow so sincere and    
painful which had rent and bloodied his 
soul--ended with a striking phrase4  ,it
 should be added1 that in a stormy      
nature like his1 grief1 like love1 wears
 itself out quickly4 ,it burns up       
passion and sentiment as it does ideas4 
,when at length he regained his calm1   
everything appeared drab4 ,thagaste     
became intolerable4 ,with his impulsive 
temperament1 his changeable humour1 he  
all at once hit upon a plan3 ,to go back
 to ,carthage and open a rhetoric       

school4 ,perhaps1 too1 the woman he     
loved and had abandoned there was       
pressing him to return4 ,perhaps she    
told him that she was about to become a 
mother4 ,always ready to go away1       
,augustin scarcely hesitated4 ,it is    
more than likely that he did not consult
 ,monnica4 ,he only told ,romanianus1   
who1 as he had all kinds of reasons for 
wanting to keep ,augustin at ,thagaste1 
at first strongly objected4 ,but the    
young man pointed to his future1 his    
ambition to win fame4 ,was he going to  
bury all that in a little town8         
,romanianus yielded1 and with a         
generosity that is no longer seen1 he   
paid the expenses this time too4     ,v 
,,the ,,silence ,,of ,,god   ,augustin  
was going to live nine years at         
,carthage--nine years that he squandered
 in obscure tasks1 in disputes sterile  
or unfortunate for himself and          
others--briefly1 in an utter            
forgetfulness of his true vocation4 ,and
 during this time ,thou wert silent1 ,o 

my ,god6 he cries1 in recalling only the
 faults of his early youth4 ,now1 the   
silence of ,god lay heavy4 ,and yet even
 in those years his tormented soul had  
not ceased to appeal4 ,where wert ,thou 
then1 ,o my ,god1 while ,i looked for   
,thee8 ,thou wert before me4 ,but ,i had
 drawn away from myself and ,i could not
 find myself4 ,how much less1 then1     
could ,i find ,thee4  ,this was         
certainly the most uneasy1 and1 at      
moments1 the most painful time of his   
life4 ,hardly was he got back to        
,carthage than he had to struggle       
against ever-increasing money           
difficulties4 ,not only had he to get   
his own living1 but the living of       
others--possibly his mother's and that  
of his brother and sister--at all       
events1 he had to support his mistress  
and the child4 ,it is possible that the 
infant was born before its father left  
,thagaste2 if not1 the birth must have  
occurred shortly after4  ,the child was 
called ,adeodatus4 ,there is a kind of  

irony in this name1 which was then      
usual1 of ,adeodatus--,gift of ,god4    
,this son of his sin1 as ,augustin calls
 him1 this son whom he did not want1 and
 the news of whose birth must have been 
a painful shock--this poor child was a  
gift of ,heaven which the father could  
have well done without4 ,and then1 when 
he saw him1 he was filled with joy1 and 
he cherished him as a real gift from    
,god4  ,he accepted his fatherhood      
courageously1 and1 as it happens in such
 cases1 he was drawn closer to his      
mistress1 their association taking on   
something of conjugal dignity4 ,did the 
mother of ,adeodatus justify such       
attachment--an attachment which was to  
last more than ten years8 ,the mystery  
in which ,augustin intended that the    
woman he had loved the most should      
remain enveloped for all time1 is nearly
 impenetrable to us4 ,no doubt she was  
of a very humble1 not to say low class1 
since ,monnica judged it impossible to  
bring about a marriage between the      

ill-assorted pair4 ,there must have been
 an extreme inequality between the birth
 and education of the lovers4 ,this did 
not prevent ,augustin from loving his   
mistress passionately1 for her beauty   
perhaps1 or perhaps for her goodness of 
heart1 or both4 ,nevertheless1 it is    
surprising1 that in view of his changing
 humour1 and his prompt and             
impressionable soul1 he remained        
faithful to her so long4 ,what was to   
prevent his taking his son and going    
off8 ,ancient custom authorized such an 
act4 ,but ,augustin was tender-hearted4 
,he was afraid to cause pain2 he dreaded
 for others the wounds that caused him  
so much suffering himself4 ,so he stayed
 on from kindness1 from pity1 habit too1
 and also because1 in spite of          
everything1 he loved the mother of his  
child4 ,up to the time of his           
conversion1 they lived like husband and 
wife4  ,so now1 to keep his family1 he  
really turns a dealer in words4 ,in     
spite of his youth 7he was barely       

twenty7 the terms he had kept at        
,thagaste as a teacher of grammar       
allowed him to take his place among the 
rhetoricians at ,carthage4 ,thanks to   
,romanianus1 he got pupils at once4 ,his
 protector at ,thagaste sent his son1   
that young ,licentius whose education   
,augustin had already begun1 with one of
 his brothers1 doubtless younger4 ,it   
seems likely that the two youths lived  
in ,augustin's house4 ,a small fact     
which their master has preserved1 looks 
like a proof of this4 ,a spoon having   
been lost in the house1 ,augustin1 to   
find out where it was1 told ,licentius  
to go and consult a wizard1 one         
,albicerius1 who had1 just then1 a great
 name in ,carthage4 ,this message is    
scarcely to be explained unless we      
suppose the lad was lodging in his      
professor's house4 ,another of the      
pupils is known to us4 ,this is         
,eulogius1 who was later on a           
rhetorician at ,carthage1 and of whom   
,augustin relates an extraordinary      

dream4 ,finally1 there was ,alypius1 a  
little younger than himself1 his        
friend--the brother of his heart1 as he 
calls him4 ,alypius had been attending  
his lessons at ,thagaste4 ,when the     
schoolmaster abruptly threw up his      
employment1 the father of the pupil was 
angry1 and in sending his son to        
,carthage1 he forbade him to go near    
,augustin's class4 ,but it was difficult
 to keep such eager friends apart4      
,little by little1 ,alypius overcame his
 father's objections1 and became a pupil
 of his friend4  ,augustin's knowledge1 
when he began to lecture1 could not have
 been very deep1 for he had only lately 
quitted the student's bench himself4    
,his duties forced him to learn what he 
did not know4 ,in teaching he taught    
himself4 ,it was at this time that he   
did most of the reading which afterwards
 added substance to his polemics and    
treatises4 ,he tells us himself that he 
read in those days all that he could lay
 hands on4 ,he is very proud of having  

read by himself and understood without  
any assistance from a master1 the ,ten  
,categories of ,aristotle1 which was    
considered one of the most abstruse     
works of the ,stagirite4 ,in an age when
 instruction was principally by word of 
mouth1 and books comparatively rare1 it 
is obvious that ,augustin was not what  
we call an all-devouring reader4 ,we do 
not know if ,carthage had many          
libraries1 or what the libraries were   
worth4 ,it is no less true that the     
author of ,the ,city of ,god is the last
 of the ,latin writers who had a really 
all-round knowledge4 ,it is he who is   
the link between modern times and pagan 
antiquity4 ,the ,middle ,age hardly knew
 classical literature1 save by the      
allusions and quotations of ,augustin4  
,so in spite of family and professional 
cares1 he did not lose his intellectual 
proclivities4 ,the conquest of truth    
remained always his great ambition4 ,he 
still hoped to find it in ,manicheeism1 
but he began to think that it was a long

 time coming4 ,the leaders of the sect  
could not have trusted him thoroughly4  
,they feared his acute and subtle mind1 
so quick to detect the flaw in a thesis 
or argument4 ,that is why they postponed
 his initiation into their secret       
doctrines4 ,augustin remained a simple  
auditor in their ,church4 ,by way of    
appeasing the enormous activity of his  
intelligence1 they turned him on to     
controversy1 and the critical discussion
 of the ,scriptures4 ,giving themselves 
out for ,christians1 they adopted a part
 of them1 and flung aside as            
interpolated or forged all that was not 
in tune with their theology4 ,augustin1 
as we know1 triumphed in disputes of    
this kind1 and was vain because he      
excelled in them4  ,and when he grew    
tired of this negative criticism and    
asked his evangelists to give him more  
substantial food1 they put him on some  
exoteric doctrine calculated to appeal  
to a young imagination by its poetic or 
philosophical colouring4 ,the catechumen

 was not satisfied1 but he put up with  
it for lack of anything better4 ,very   
prettily he compares these enemies of   
the ,scriptures to the snarers of birds1
 who defile or fill with earth all the  
water-places where the birds use to     
drink1 save one mere2 and about this    
they set their snares4 ,the birds all   
fly there1 not because the water is     
better1 but because there is no other   
water1 and they know not where else to  
go and drink4 ,so ,augustin1 not knowing
 where to quench his thirst for truth1  
was fain to make the best of the        
confused pantheism of the ,manichees4   
,what remains noteworthy is1 that       
however unstable his own convictions    
were1 he yet converted everybody about  
him4 ,it was through him that his       
friends became ,manichees3 ,alypius one 
of the first2 then ,nebridius1 the son  
of a great landowner near ,carthage2    
,honoratius1 ,marcianus2 perhaps1 too1  
the youngest of his pupils1 ,licentius  
and his brother--all victims of his     

persuasive tongue1 which he exerted     
later on to draw them back from their   
errors4 ,so great was his charm--so     
deep1 especially1 was public credulity6 
,this fourth century was no longer a    
century of strong ,christian faith4 ,on 
the other hand1 the last agony of       
paganism was marked by a new attack of  
the lowest credulity and superstition4  
,as the ,church energetically combated  
both one and the other1 it is not       
surprising that it was chiefly the      
pagans who were contaminated4 ,the old  
religion was to end by foundering in    
magic4 ,the greatest minds of the       
period1 the neo-,platonists1 the        
,emperor ,julian himself1 were          
miracle-workers1 or at any rate1 adepts 
in the occult sciences4 ,augustin1 who  
was then separated from ,christianity1  
followed the general impulse1 together  
with the young men he knew4 ,just now we
 saw him sending to consult the         
soothsayer1 ,albicerius1 about the loss 
of a spoon4 ,and this man of intellect  

believed also in astrologers and        
nigromancers4  ,strips of lead have been
 found at ,carthage upon which are      
written magic spells against horses     
entered for races in the circus4 ,just  
like the ,carthaginian jockeys1         
,augustin had recourse to these hidden  
and fraudulent practices1 to make sure  
of success4 ,on the eve of a verse      
competition in the theatre1 he fell in  
with a wizard who offered1 if they could
 agree about the price1 to sacrifice a  
certain number of animals to buy the    
victory4 ,upon this1 ,augustin1 very    
much annoyed1 declared that if the prize
 were a crown of immortal gold1 not a   
fly should be sacrificed to help him win
 it4 ,really1 magic was repellent to the
 honesty of his mind1 as well as to his 
nerves1 by reason of the suspicious and 
brutal part of its operations4 ,as a    
rule1 it was involved with haruspicy1   
and had a side of sacred anatomy and the
 kitchen which revolted the             
sensitive--dissection of flesh1         

inspection of entrails1 not to mention  
the slaughtering and strangling of      
victims4 ,fanatics1 such as ,julian1    
gave themselves up with delight to these
 disgusting manipulations4 ,what we know
 of ,augustin's soul makes it quite     
clear why he recoiled with horror4      
,astrology1 on the contrary1 attracted  
him by its apparent science4 ,its adepts
 called themselves mathematicians1 and  
thus seemed to borrow from the exact    
sciences something of their solidity4   
,augustin often discussed astrology with
 a ,carthage physician1 ,vindicianus1 a 
man of great sense and wide learning1   
who even reached ,proconsular honours4  
,in vain did he point out to the young  
rhetorician that the pretended          
prophecies of the mathematicians were   
the effect of chance2 in vain did       
,nebridius1 less credulous than his     
friend1 join his arguments to those of  
the crafty physician2 ,augustin clung   
obstinately to his chimera4 ,his        
dialectical mind discovered ingenious   

justifications for what the astrologers 
claimed4  ,thus1 dazzled by all the     
intellectual phantasms1 he strayed from 
one science to another1 repeating       
meanwhile in his heart the motto of his 
,manichean masters3 ,the ,truth1 the    
,truth64 ,but whatever might be the     
attractions of the speculative life1 he 
had first to face the needs of actual   
life4 ,the sight of his child called him
 back to a sense of his position4 ,to   
get money1 and for that purpose to push 
himself forward1 put himself in         
evidence1 increase his                  
reputation--,augustin worked at that as 
hard as he could4 ,it led him to enter  
for the prize of dramatic poetry4 ,he   
was declared the winner4 ,his old       
friend1 the physician ,vindicianus1 who 
was then ,proconsul1 placed the crown1  
as he says1 upon his disordered head4   
,the future ,father of the ,church      
writing for the theatre--and what a     
theatre it was then6--is not the least  
extraordinary thing in this life so     

disturbed and1 at first sight1 so       
contradictory4  ,it was also from       
literary ambition that about the same   
time he wrote a book on sthetics called 
,upon the ,beautiful and the ,fit1 which
 he dedicated to a famous colleague1 the
 ,syrian ,hierius1 orator to the ,city  
of ,rome1 one of the professors of the  
official education appointed either by  
the ,roman municipality or the ,imperial
 treasury4 ,this ,levantine rhetorician 
had an immense success in the capital of
 the ,empire4 ,his renown had got beyond
 academical and fashionable circles and 
crossed the sea4 ,augustin admired him  
on trust1 like everybody else4 ,it is   
clear that1 at this time he could not   
imagine a more glorious fortune for     
himself than to become1 like ,hierius1  
orator to the ,city of ,rome4 ,later in 
life1 the ,bishop of ,hippo1 while      
condemning the vanity of his youthful   
ambitions1 must have made some extremely
 ironical reflections as to their       
modesty4 ,how mistaken he was about     

himself6 ,an ,augustin had dreamed of   
equalling one day this obscure          
pedagogue1 of whom nobody1 save for him1
 would ever have spoken again4 ,men of  
instinct1 like ,augustin1 continually go
 wrong in this way about their object   
and the means to employ4 ,but their     
mistakes are only in appearance4 ,a will
 stronger than their own leads them1 by 
mysterious ways1 whither they ought to  
go4  ,this first book of ,augustin's is 
lost1 and we are unable to say whether  
there be any reason to regret it4 ,he   
himself recalls it to us in a very      
indifferent tone and rather vague terms4
 ,it would seem1 however1 that his      
sthetic had a basis of ,manichean       
metaphysics4 ,but what is significant   
for us1 in this youthful essay1 is that 
the first time ,augustin wrote as an    
author it was to define and to praise   
,beauty4 ,he did not yet know1 at least 
not directly from the text1 the         
dialogues of ,plato1 and he is already  
inclined to ,platonism4 ,he was this by 

nature4 ,his ,christianity will be a    
religion all of light and beauty4 ,for  
him1 the supreme ,beauty is identical   
with the supreme ,love4 ,do we love     
anything1 he used to say to his friends1
 except what is beautiful8 ,num amamus  
aliquid1 nisi pulchrum8 ,again1 at the  
end of his life1 when he strives in ,the
 ,city of ,god to make clear for us the 
dogma of the resurrection of the body1  
he thinks our bodies shall rise free    
from all earthly flaws1 in all the      
splendour of the perfect human type4    
,nothing of the body will be lost4 ,it  
will keep all its limbs and all its     
organs because they are beautiful4 ,one 
recognizes in this passage1 not only the
 ,platonist1 but the traveller and      
art-lover1 who had gazed upon some of   
the finest specimens of ancient         
statuary4  ,this first book had hardly  
any success4 ,augustin does not even say
 whether the celebrated ,hierius paid   
him a compliment about it1 and he has an
 air of giving us to understand that he 

had no other admirer but himself4 ,new  
disappointments1 more serious           
mortifications1 changed little by little
 his state of mind and his plans for the
 future4 ,he was obliged to acknowledge 
that after years of effort he was       
scarcely more advanced than at the      
start4 ,there was no chance to delude   
himself with vain pretences3 it was     
quite plain to everybody that the       
rhetorician ,augustin was not a success4
 ,now1 why was this8 ,was it that he    
lacked the gift of teaching8 ,perhaps he
 had not the knack of keeping order1    
which is the most indispensable of all  
for a schoolmaster4 ,what suited him    
best no doubt was a small and select    
audience which he charmed rather than   
ruled4 ,large and noisy classes he could
 not manage4 ,at ,carthage1 these       
rhetoric classes were particularly      
difficult to keep in order1 because the 
students were more rowdy than elsewhere4
 ,at any moment ,the ,wreckers might    
burst in and make a row4 ,augustin1 who 

had not joined in these rags when he was
 a student1 saw himself obliged to      
endure them as a professor4 ,he had     
nothing worse to complain of than his   
fellow-professors1 in whose classes the 
same kind of disturbance took place4    
,that was the custom and1 in a manner of
 speaking1 the rule in the ,carthage    
schools4 ,for all that1 a little more   
authoritative bearing would not have    
harmed him in the eyes of these         
disorderly boys4 ,but he had still      
graver defects for a professor who wants
 to get on3 he was not a schemer1 and he
 could not make the most of himself4    
,it is quite possible that he did not   
possess the qualities which just then   
pleased the pagan public in a           
rhetorician4 ,the importance that the   
ancients attached to physical advantages
 in an orator is well known4 ,now1      
according to an old tradition1 ,augustin
 was a little man and not strong3 till  
the end of his life he complained of his
 health4 ,he had a weak voice1 a        

delicate chest1 and was often hoarse4   
,surely this injured him before         
audiences used to all the outward       
emphasis and all the studied graces of  
,roman eloquence4 ,finally1 his written 
and spoken language had none of those   
brilliant and ingenious curiosities of  
phrase which pleased in literary and    
fashionable circles4 ,this inexhaustibly
 prolific writer is not in the least a  
stylist4 ,in this respect he is inferior
 to ,apuleius1 or ,tertullian1 though he
 leaves them far behind in the qualities
 of sincere and deep sentiment1 poetic  
flow1 colour1 the vividness of metaphor1
 and1 besides1 the emotion1 the suavity 
of the tone4 ,with all that1 no matter  
how hard he tried1 he could never grasp 
what the rhetoricians of his time       
understood by style4 ,this is why his   
writings1 as well as his addresses1 were
 not very much liked4  ,nevertheless1   
good judges recognized his value1 and   
guessed the powers1 lying still unformed
 within him1 which he was misusing ere  

they were mature4 ,he was received at   
the house of the ,proconsul             
,vindicianus1 who liked to talk with    
him1 and treated him with quite fatherly
 kindness4 ,augustin knew people in the 
best society4 ,he did all his life4 ,his
 charm and captivating manners made him 
welcome in the most exclusive circles4  
,but just because he was valued by      
fashionable society1 it came home to him
 more painfully that he had not the     
position he deserved with the public at 
large4 ,little by little his humour grew
 bitter4 ,in this angry state of mind he
 was no longer able to consider things  
with the same confidence and serenity4  
,his mental disquietudes took hold of   
him again4  ,his ideas were affected1   
first of all4 ,he began to have doubts1 
more and more definite1 about           
,manicheeism4 ,he began by suspecting   
the rather theatrical austerity which   
the initiated of the sect made such a   
great parade of4 ,among other           
turpitudes1 he saw one day in one of the

 busiest parts of ,carthage three of the
 ,elect whinny after some women or other
 who were passing1 and begin making such
 obscene signs that they surpassed the  
coarsest people for impudence and       
shamelessness4 ,he was scandalized at   
that2 but1 after all1 it was a small    
thing4 ,he himself was not so very      
virtuous then4 ,generally your          
intellectual worries very little about  
squaring his conduct with his           
principles1 and does not bother about   
the practical part4 ,no2 what was much  
worse in his eyes is that the ,manichean
 physical science1 a congeries of fables
 more or less symbolical1 suddenly      
struck him as ruinous4 ,he had just been
 studying astronomy1 and he found that  
the cosmology of the ,manichees--of     
these men who called themselves         
materialists--did not agree with        
scientific facts4 ,therefore            
,manicheeism must be wrong universally1 
since it ran counter to reason confirmed
 by experience4  ,augustin spoke about  

his doubts1 not only to his friends1 but
 to the priests of his sect4 ,these got 
out of the difficulty by evasions and   
the most dazzling promises4 ,a ,manichee
 bishop1 a certain ,faustus1 was coming 
to ,carthage4 ,he was a man of immense  
learning4 ,most certainly he would      
refute every objection without the least
 trouble4 ,he would confirm the young   
auditors in their faith4444 ,so         
,augustin and his friends waited for    
,faustus as for a ,messiah4 ,their      
disappointment was immense4 ,the        
supposed doctor turned out to be an     
ignorant man1 who possessed no tincture 
of science or philosophy1 and whose     
intellectual baggage consisted of       
nothing but a little grammar4 ,a        
delightful talker and a wit1 the most he
 could do was to discourse pleasantly on
 literature4  ,this disappointment1     
joined to the set-backs in his          
profession1 brought about a crisis of   
soul and conscience in ,augustin4 ,so   
this ,truth which he had sighed after so

 long1 which had been so much promised  
to him1 was only a decoy6 ,one must be  
content not to know6444 ,then what was  
left to do since truth was              
unapproachable8 ,possibly fortune and   
honours would console him for it4 ,but  
he was far enough from them too4 ,he    
felt that he was on the wrong road1 that
 he was getting into a rut at ,carthage1
 as he had got into a rut at ,thagaste4 
,he must succeed1 whatever the cost6444 
,and then he gave way to one of those   
moments of weariness1 when a man has no 
further hope of saving himself save by  
some desperate step4 ,he was sick of    
where he was and of those about him4    
,his friends1 whom he knew too well1 had
 nothing more to teach him1 and could   
not help him in the only search which   
passionately interested him4 ,and his   
entanglement became irksome4 ,here was  
nine years that this sharing of bed and 
board had lasted4 ,his son was at that  
unattractive age which rather bores a   
young father than it revives an         

affection already old4 ,no doubt he did 
not want to abandon him4 ,he did not    
intend to break altogether with his     
mistress4 ,but he felt the need of a    
change of air1 to take himself off      
somewhere else1 where he could breathe  
more freely and get fresh courage for   
his task4  ,then it dawned on him to try
 his fortune at ,rome4 ,it was there    
that literary reputations were made4 ,he
 would find there1 no doubt1 better     
judges than at ,carthage4 ,he would very
 likely end by getting a post in the    
public instruction1 with a steady       
salary--this would relieve him of       
present worries1 at all events4         
,probably he had already this plan in   
his head when he sent his treatise ,on  
the ,beautiful to ,hierius1 orator to   
the ,city of ,rome2 he thought that by  
this politeness he might depend1 later1 
on the backing of the well-known        
rhetorician4 ,lastly1 his friends1      
,honoratius1 ,marcianus1 and the others1
 earnestly persuaded him to go and find 

a stage worthy of him at ,rome4         
,alypius1 who was at this time finishing
 his law studies there1 and must have   
felt their separation1 pressed him to   
come to ,rome and promised him success4 
,once more1 ,augustin was ready to go   
away4 ,he was not long in making up his 
mind4 ,he was going to leave all        
belonging to him1 his mistress1 his     
child1 till the time when his new       
position would enable him to send for   
them4 ,he himself tells us that the     
chief motive which led him to decide on 
this journey was that the ,roman        
students were said to be better         
disciplined and less noisy than the     
students at ,carthage4 ,evidently1 that 
is a reason which would weigh with a    
professor who objected to act the       
policeman in his class4 ,but besides the
 reasons we have given1 there were      
others which must have influenced his   
decision4 ,theodosius had lately ordered
 very heavy penalties against the       
,manichees4 ,not only did he condemn    

them to death1 but he had instituted a  
perfect ,inquisition1 with the special  
duty of spying upon and prosecuting     
these heretics4 ,did it occur to        
,augustin that he might hide better in  
,rome1 where he was unknown1 than in a  
city where he was a marked man on       
account of his proselytizing zeal8 ,in  
any case1 his departure gave rise to    
calumnies which his adversaries1 the    
,donatists1 did not fail many years     
later to bring up again and make worse4 
,they accused him of having run away    
from prosecution2 he fled the country1  
so they said1 on account of a judgment  
which was out against him1 pronounced by
 the ,proconsul ,messianus4 ,augustin   
had no trouble in refuting these false  
insinuations4 ,but all these facts seem 
to prove that the most ordinary prudence
 warned him to cross the sea as soon as 
possible4  ,accordingly1 he prepared to 
set sail4 ,let us hope that in spite of 
his lofty indifference to material      
things1 he made some provision for the  

existence of the woman and child he left
 behind4 ,as for her1 she appeared to   
agree without over-many violent scenes  
to this parting1 which1 he said1 was    
temporary4 ,it was not the same with his
 mother4 ,the very idea of ,rome1 which 
seemed to her another ,babylon1         
terrified this austere ,african woman4  
,what spiritual dangers lay in wait for 
her son there6 ,she wanted to keep him  
near her1 both to bring him to the faith
 and also to love him--this ,augustin   
who had been her only human love4 ,and  
then he was doubtless the chief support 
of the widow4 ,without him1 what was    
going to become of her8  ,the fugitive  
was forced to put a trick on ,monnica so
 as to carry out his plan4 ,she would   
not leave him a moment1 folded him in   
her arms1 implored him with tears not to
 go4 ,the night he was to sail she      
followed him down to the dock1 although 
,augustin1 to allay her suspicions1 had 
told her a lie4 ,he pretended that he   
was only going down to the ship with a  

friend to see him off4 ,but ,monnica1   
only half believing1 followed4 ,night   
fell4 ,meanwhile1 the ship1 anchored in 
a little bay to the north of the city1  
did not move4 ,the sailors were waiting 
till a wind rose to slip their moorings4
 ,the weather was moist and oppressive1 
as it usually is in the ,mediterranean  
in ,august and ,september4 ,there was   
not a breath of air4 ,the hours passed  
on4 ,monnica1 overcome by heat and      
fatigue1 could hardly stand4 ,then      
,augustin cunningly persuaded her to go 
and pass the night in a chapel hard by1 
since it was plain that the ship would  
not weigh anchor till dawn4 ,after many 
remonstrances1 she at length agreed to  
rest in this chapel--a memoria          
consecrated to ,st4 ,cyprian1 the great 
martyr and patron of ,carthage4  ,like  
most of the ,african sanctuaries of     
those days1 and the marabouts of to-day1
 this one must have been either         
surrounded1 or approached1 by a court   
with a portico in arcades1 where it was 

possible to sleep4 ,monnica sat down on 
the ground under her heap of veils among
 other poor people and travellers1 who  
were come like her to try to find a     
little cool air on this stifling night  
near the relics of the blessed ,cyprian4
 ,she prayed for her child1 offering to 
,god the blood of her heart1 begging    
,god not to let him go1 for she loved to
 keep me with her says ,augustin1 as    
mothers are wont1 yes1 far more than    
most mothers4 ,and like a true daughter 
of ,eve1 weeping and crying1 she sought 
again with groans the son she had       
brought forth with groans4 ,she prayed  
for a long time2 then1 worn out with    
sorrow1 she slept4 ,the porter of the   
chapel1 without knowing it1 watched that
 night not only the mother of the       
rhetorician ,augustin1 but the ancestor 
of an innumerable line of souls2 this   
humble woman1 who slept there on the    
ground1 on the flags of the courtyard1  
carried in her heart all the yearning of
 all the mothers of the future4  ,while 

she slept1 ,augustin went stealthily on 
board4 ,the silence and the tempered    
splendour of the night weighed him down4
 ,sometimes the cry of the sailors on   
watch took a strange note in the        
lustrous vaporous spaces4 ,the ,gulf of 
,carthage gleamed far off under the     
scintillation of the stars1 under the   
palpitating of a milky way all white    
like the flowers of the garden of       
,heaven4 ,but ,augustin's heart was     
heavy1 heavier than the air weighted by 
the heat and sea-damp--heavy from the   
lie and the cruelty he had just         
committed4 ,he saw already the awakening
 and sorrow of his mother4 ,his         
conscience was troubled1 overcome by    
remorse and forebodings4444 ,meanwhile1 
his friends tried to cheer him1 and     
urged him to have courage and hope4     
,marcianus1 while embracing him1        
reminded him of the verses of ,terence3 
,this day which brings to thee another  
life   ,demands that thou another man   
shalt be4  ,augustin smiled sadly4 ,at  

last the ship began to move4 ,the wind  
had risen1 the wind of the grand voyage 
which was bearing him to the unknown4444
 ,suddenly1 at the keen freshness of the
 open sea1 he thrilled4 ,his strength   
and confidence rushed back4 ,to go away6
 ,what enchantment for all those who    
cannot fasten themselves to a corner of 
the earth1 who know by instinct that    
they belong elsewhere1 who always pass  
as strangers and as pilgrims1 and who go
 away with relief1 as if they cast a    
burthen behind them4 ,augustin was of   
those people--of those who1 among the   
fairest attractions of the ,road1 never 
cease to think of the ,return4 ,but he  
knew not where ,god was leading him4    
,marcianus was right3 a new life was    
really beginning for him2 only it was   
not the life that either of them hoped  
for4  ,he who departed as a rhetorician1
 to sell words1 was to come back as an  
apostle1 to conquer souls4     ,,the    
,,third ,,part  ,,the ,,return       ,et
 ecce ibi es in corde eorum1 in corde   

confitentium tibi1 et     projicientium 
se in te1 et plorantium in sinu tuo1    
post vias suas     difficiles4      ,and
 behold6 ,thou art there in their       
hearts1 in the hearts of     that       
confess to ,thee1 and cast themselves   
upon ,thee1 and sob upon ,thy           
breast1 after their weary ways4         
,confessions1 ,v1 #b4     ,i  ,,the     
,,city ,,of ,,gold   ,augustin fell ill 
just after he got to ,rome4 ,it would   
seem that he arrived there towards the  
end of ,august or beginning of          
,september1 before the students         
reassembled1 just at the time of heat   
and fevers1 when all ,romans who could  
leave the city fled to the summer       
resorts on the coast4  ,like all the    
great cosmopolitan centres at that time1
 ,rome was unhealthy4 ,the diseases of  
the whole earth1 brought by the         
continual inflow of foreigners1         
flourished there4 ,accordingly1 the     
inhabitants had a panic fear of         
infection1 like our own contemporaries4 

,people withdrew prudently from those   
suffering from infectious disorders1 who
 were left to their unhappy fate4 ,if1  
from a sense of shame1 they sent a slave
 to the patient's bedside1 he was       
ordered to the sweating-rooms1 and there
 disinfected from head to foot1 before  
he could enter the house again4         
,augustin must have had at least the    
good luck to be well looked after1 since
 he recovered4 ,he had gone to the      
dwelling of one of his ,manichee        
brethren1 an auditor like himself1 and  
an excellent kind of man1 whom he stayed
 with all the time he was in ,rome4     
,still1 he had such a bad attack of     
fever that he very nearly died4 ,i was  
perishing1 he says2 and ,i was all but  
lost4 ,he is frightened at the idea of  
having seen death so near1 at a moment  
when he was so far from ,god--so far1 in
 fact1 that it never occurred to him to 
ask for baptism1 as he had done1 in like
 case1 when he was little4 ,what a      
desperate blow would that have been for 

,monnica6 ,he still shudders when he    
recalls the danger3 ,had my mother's    
heart been smitten with that wound1 it  
never could have been healed4 ,for ,i   
cannot express her tender love towards  
me1 or with how far greater anguish she 
travailed of me now in the spirit1 than 
when she bore me in the flesh4 ,but     
,monnica prayed4 ,augustin was saved4   
,he ascribes his recovery to the fervent
 prayers of his mother1 who1 in begging 
of ,god the welfare of his soul1        
obtained1 without knowing it1 the       
welfare of his body4  ,as soon as he was
 convalescent1 he had to set to work to 
get pupils4 ,he was obliged to ask the  
favours of many an important personage1 
to knock at many an inhospitable door4  
,this unfortunate beginning1 the almost 
mortal illness which he was only just   
recovering from1 this forced            
drudgery--all that did not make him very
 fond of ,rome4 ,it seems quite plain   
that he never liked it1 and till the end
 of his life he kept a grudge against it

 for the sorry reception it gave him4   
,in the whole body of his writings it is
 impossible to find a word of praise for
 the beauty of the ,eternal ,city1      
while1 on the contrary1 one can make out
 through his invectives against the     
vices of ,carthage1 his secret          
partiality for the ,african ,rome4 ,the 
old rivalry between the two cities was  
not yet dead after so many centuries4   
,in his heart1 ,augustin1 like a good   
,carthaginian--and because he was a     
,carthaginian--did not like ,rome4  ,the
 most annoying things joined together as
 if on purpose to disgust him with it4  
,the bad season of the year was nigh    
when he began to reside there4 ,autumn  
rains had started1 and the mornings and 
evenings were cold4 ,what with his      
delicate chest1 and his ,african        
constitution sensitive to cold1 he must 
have suffered from this damp cold       
climate4 ,rome seemed to him a northern 
city4 ,with his eyes still full of the  
warm light of his country1 and the      

joyous whiteness of the ,carthage       
streets1 he wandered as one exiled      
between the gloomy ,roman palaces1      
saddened by the grey walls and muddy    
pavements4 ,comparisons1 involuntary and
 continual1 between ,carthage and ,rome1
 made him unjust to ,rome4 ,in his eyes 
it had a hard1 self-conscious1          
declamatory look1 and gazing at the     
barren ,roman campagna1 he remembered   
the laughing ,carthage suburbs1 with    
gardens1 villas1 vineyards1 olivets1    
circled everywhere by the brilliance of 
the sea and the lagoons4  ,and then1    
besides1 ,rome could not be a very      
delightful place to live in for a poor  
rhetoric master come there to better his
 fortune4 ,other strangers before him   
had complained of it4 ,always to be     
going up and down the flights of steps  
and the ascents1 often very steep1 of   
the city of the ,seven ,hills2 to be    
rushing between the ,aventine and       
,sallust's garden1 and thence to the    
,esquiline and ,janiculum6 ,to bruise   

the feet on the pointed cobbles of      
sloping alley-ways6 ,these walks were   
exhausting1 and there seemed to be no   
end to this city4 ,carthage was also    
large--as large almost as ,rome4 ,but   
there ,augustin was not seeking         
employment4 ,when he went for a walk    
there1 he strolled4 ,here1 the bustle of
 the crowds1 and the number of          
equipages1 disturbed and exasperated the
 southerner with his lounging habits4   
,any moment there was a risk of being   
run over by cars tearing at full gallop 
through the narrow streets3 men of      
fashion just then had a craze for       
driving fast4 ,or again1 the passenger  
was obliged to step aside so that some  
lady might go by in her litter1 escorted
 by her household1 from the handicraft  
slaves and the kitchen staff1 to the    
eunuchs and house-servants--all this    
army manoeuvring under the orders of a  
leader who held a rod in his hand1 the  
sign of his office4 ,when the street    
became clear once more1 and at last the 

palace of the influential personage to  
whom a visit had to be paid was reached1
 there was no admittance without        
greasing the knocker4 ,in order to be   
presented to the master1 it was         
necessary to buy the good graces of the 
slave who took the name 7nomenclator71  
and who not only introduced the         
suppliant1 but might1 with a word1      
recommend or injure4 ,even after all    
these precautions1 one was not yet sure 
of the goodwill of the patron4 ,some of 
these great lords1 who were not always  
themselves sprung from old ,roman       
families1 prided themselves upon their  
uncompromising nationalism1 and made a  
point of treating foreigners with       
considerable haughtiness4 ,the ,africans
 were regarded unfavourably in ,rome1   
especially in ,catholic circles4        
,augustin must have had an unpleasant   
experience of this4  ,through the long  
streets1 brilliantly lighted at evening 
7it would seem that the artificial      
lighting of ,rome almost equalled the   

daylight71 he would return tired out to 
the dwelling of his host1 the ,manichee4
 ,this dwelling1 according to an old    
tradition1 was in the ,velabrum         
district1 in a street which is still    
to-day called ,via ,greca1 and skirts   
the very old church of ,santa           
,maria-in-,cosmedina--a poor quarter    
where swarmed a filthy mass of          
,orientals1 and where the immigrants    
from the ,levantine countries1 ,greeks1 
,syrians1 ,armenians1 ,egyptians1       
lodged4 ,the warehouses on the ,tiber   
were not very far off1 and no doubt     
there were numbers of labourers1        
porters1 and watermen living in this    
neighbourhood4 ,what a place for him who
 had been at ,thagaste the guest of the 
magnificent ,romanianus1 and intimate   
with the ,proconsul at ,carthage6 ,when 
he had climbed up the six flights of    
stairs to his lodging1 and crouched     
shivering over the ill-burning movable  
hearth1 in the parsimonious light of a  
small bronze or earthenware lamp1 while 

the raw damp sweated through the walls1 
he felt more and more his poverty and   
loneliness4 ,he hated ,rome and the     
stupid ambition which had brought him   
there4 ,and yet ,rome should have made a
 vivid appeal to this cultured man1 this
 sthete so alive to beauty4 ,although   
the transfer of the ,court to ,milan had
 drawn away some of its liveliness and  
glitter1 it was still all illuminated by
 its grand memories1 and never had it   
been more beautiful4 ,it seems          
impossible that ,augustin should not    
have been struck by it1 despite his     
,african prejudices4 ,however well built
 the new ,carthage might be1 it could   
not pretend to compare with a city more 
than a thousand years old1 which at all 
periods of its history had maintained   
the princely taste for building1 and    
which a long line of emperors had never 
ceased to embellish4  ,when ,augustin   
landed at ,ostia1 he saw rise before    
him1 closing the perspective of the ,via
 ,appia1 the ,septizonium of ,septimus  

,severus--an imitation1 doubtless1 on a 
far larger scale1 of the one at         
,carthage4 ,this huge construction1     
water-works probably of enormous size1  
with its ordered columns placed line    
above line1 was1 so to speak1 the       
portico whence opened the most wonderful
 and colossal architectural mass known  
to the ancient world4 ,modern ,rome has 
nothing at all to shew which comes      
anywhere near it4 ,dominating the ,roman
 ,forum1 and the ,fora of various       
,emperors--labyrinths of temples1       
basilicas1 porticoes1 and libraries--the
 ,capitol and the ,palatine rose up like
 two stone mountains1 fashioned and     
sculptured1 under the heap of their     
palaces and sanctuaries4 ,all these     
blocks rooted in the soil1 suspended1   
and towering up from the flanks of the  
hills1 these interminable regiments of  
columns and pilasters1 this profusion of
 precious marbles1 metals1 mosaics1     
statues1 obelisks--in all that there was
 something enormous1 a lack of restraint

 which disturbed the taste and floored  
the imagination4 ,but it was1 above all1
 the excessive use of gold and gilding  
that astonished the visitor4 ,originally
 indigent1 ,rome became noted for its   
greed of gold4 ,when the gold of        
conquered nations began to come into its
 hands1 it spread it all over with the  
rather indiscreet display of the        
upstart4 ,when ,nero built the ,golden  
,house he realized its dream4 ,the      
,capitol had golden doors4 ,statues1    
bronzes1 the roofs of temples1 were all 
gilded4 ,all this gold1 spread over the 
brilliant surfaces and angles of the    
architecture1 dazzled and tired the     
eyes3 ,acies stupet igne metalli1 said  
,claudian4 ,for the poets who have      
celebrated it1 ,rome is the city of     
gold--aurata ,roma4  ,a ,greek1 such as 
,lucian1 had perhaps a right to be      
shocked by this architectural debauch1  
this beauty too crushing and too rich4  
,a ,carthage rhetorician1 like          
,augustin1 could feel at the sight of it

 nothing but the same irritated         
admiration and secret jealousy as the   
,emperor ,constans felt when he visited 
his capital for the first time4  ,even  
as the ,byzantine ,csar1 and all the    
provincials1 ,augustin1 no doubt1       
examined the curiosities and celebrated 
works which were pointed out to         
strangers3 the temple of ,jupiter       
,capitolinus2 the baths of ,caracalla   
and ,diocletian2 the ,pantheon2 the     
temple of ,roma and of ,venus2 the      
,place of ,concord2 the theatre of      
,pompey2 the ,odeum1 and the ,stadium4  
,though he might be stupefied by all    
this1 he would remember1 too1 all that  
the ,republic had taken from the        
provinces to construct these wonders1   
and would say to himself3 ',tis we who  
have paid for them4 ,in truth1 all the  
world had been ransacked to make ,rome  
beautiful4 ,for some time a muffled     
hostility had been brewing in provincial
 hearts against the tyranny of the      
central power1 especially since it had  

shewn itself incapable of maintaining   
peace1 and the ,barbarians were         
threatening the frontiers4 ,worn out by 
so many insurrections1 wars1 massacres1 
and pillages1 the provinces had come to 
ask if the great complicated machine of 
the ,empire was worth all the blood and 
money that it cost4  ,for ,augustin1    
moreover1 the crisis was drawing near   
which was to end in his return to the   
,catholic faith4 ,he had been a         
,christian1 and as such brought up in   
principles of humility4 ,with these     
sentiments1 he would perhaps decide that
 the pride and vanity of the creature at
 ,rome claimed far too much attention1  
and was even sacrilegious4 ,it was not  
only the emperors who disputed the      
privileges of immortality with the gods1
 but anybody who took it into his head1 
provided that he was rich or had any    
kind of notoriety4 ,amid the harsh and  
blinding gilt of palaces and temples1   
how many statues1 how many inscriptions 
endeavoured to keep an obscure memory   

green1 or the features of some unknown  
man6 ,of course1 at ,carthage too1 where
 they copied ,rome1 as in all the big   
cities1 there were statues and          
inscriptions in abundance upon the      
,forum1 the squares1 and in the public  
baths4 ,but what had not shocked        
,augustin in his native land1 did shock 
him in a strange city4 ,his home-sick   
eyes opened to faults which till then   
had been veiled by usage4 ,in any case1 
this craze for statues and inscriptions 
prevailed at ,rome more than anywhere   
else4 ,the number of statues on the     
,forum became so inconvenient1 that on  
many occasions certain ones were marked 
for felling1 and the more insignificant 
shifted4 ,the men of stone drove out the
 living men1 and forced the gods into   
their temples4 ,and the inscriptions on 
the walls bewildered the mind with such 
a noise of human praise1 that ambition  
could dream of nothing beyond4 ,it was  
all a kind of idolatry which revolted   
the strict ,christians2 and in          

,augustin1 even at this time1 it must   
have offended the candour of a soul     
which detested exaggeration and bombast4
  ,the vices of the ,roman people1 with 
whom he was obliged to live cheek by    
jowl1 galled him still more painfully4  
,and to begin with1 the natives hated   
strangers4 ,at the theatres they used to
 shout3 ,down with the foreign          
residents6 ,acute attacks of xenophobia 
often caused riots in the city4 ,some   
years before ,augustin arrived1 a panic 
about the food supply led to the        
expulsion1 as useless mouths1 of all    
foreigners domiciled in ,rome1 even the 
professors4 ,famine was an endemic      
disease there4 ,and then1 these lazy    
people were always hungry4 ,the gluttony
 and drunkenness of the ,romans roused  
the wonder and also the disgust of the  
sober races of the ,empire--of the      
,greeks as well as the ,africans4 ,they 
ate everywhere--in the streets1 at the  
theatre1 at the circus1 around the      
temples4 ,the sight was so ignoble1 and 

the public intemperance so scandalous1  
that the ,prefect1 ,ampelius1 was       
obliged to issue an order prohibiting   
people who had any self-respect from    
eating in the street1 the keepers of    
wine-shops from opening their places    
before ten o'clock in the morning1 and  
the hawkers from selling cooked meat in 
the streets earlier than a certain hour 
of the day4 ,but he might as well have  
saved himself the trouble4 ,religion    
itself encouraged this greediness4 ,the 
pagan sacrifices were scarcely more than
 pretexts for stuffing4 ,under ,julian1 
who carried the great public sacrifices 
of oxen to an abusive extent1 the       
soldiers got drunk and gorged themselves
 with meat in the temples1 and came out 
staggering4 ,then they would seize hold 
of any passers-by1 whom they forced to  
carry them shoulder-high to their       
barracks4  ,all this must be kept in    
mind so as to understand the strictness 
and unyielding attitude of the          
,christian reaction4 ,this ,roman       

people1 like the pagans in general1 was 
frightfully material and sensual4 ,the  
difficulty of shaking himself free from 
matter and the senses is going to be the
 great obstacle which delays ,augustin's
 conversion2 and if it was so with him1 
a fastidious and intellectual man1 what 
about the crowd8 ,those people thought  
of nothing but eating and drinking and  
lewdness4 ,when they left the tavern or 
their squalid rooms1 they had only the  
obscenities of mimes1 or the tumbles of 
the drivers in the circus1 or the       
butcheries in the amphitheatre to       
elevate them4 ,they passed the night    
there under the awnings provided by the 
municipality4 ,their passion for        
horse-races and actors and actresses1   
curbed though it was by the ,christian  
emperors1 continued even after the sack 
of ,rome by the ,barbarians4 ,at the    
time of the famine1 when the strangers  
were expelled1 they excepted from this  
wholesale banishment three thousand     
female dancers with the members of their

 choirs1 and their leaders of orchestra4
  ,the aristocracy did not manifest     
tastes much superior4 ,save a few       
cultivated minds1 sincerely fond of     
literature1 the greatest number only saw
 in the literary pose an easy way of    
being fashionable4 ,these became        
infatuated about an unknown author1 or  
an ancient author whose books were not  
to be had4 ,they had these books sought 
for and beautifully copied4 ,they1 who  
hated study like poison1 spoke only of  
their favourite author3 the others did  
not exist for them4 ,as a matter of     
fact1 music had ousted literature3 the  
libraries were closed like sepulchres4  
,but fashionable people were interested 
in an hydraulic organ1 and they ordered 
from the lute-makers lyres the size of  
chariots4 ,of course1 this musical craze
 was sheer affectation4 ,actually1 they 
were only interested in sports3 to race1
 to arrange races1 to breed horses1 to  
train athletes and gladiators4 ,as a    
pastime1 they collected ,oriental       

stuffs4 ,silk was then fashionable1 and 
so were precious stones1 enamels1 heavy 
goldsmiths' work4 ,rows of rings were   
worn on each finger4 ,people took the   
air in silk robes1 held together by     
brooches carved in the figures of       
animals1 a parasol in one hand1 and a   
fan with gold fringes in the other4 ,the
 costumes and fashions of               
,constantinople encroached upon the old 
,rome and the rest of the ,western      
world4  ,immense fortunes1 which had    
gathered in the hands of certain people1
 either through inheritance or          
swindling1 enabled them to keep up a    
senseless expenditure4 ,like the        
,american millionaires of to-day1 who   
have their houses and properties in both
 hemispheres1 these great ,roman lords  
possessed them in every country in the  
,empire4 ,symmachus1 who was ,prefect of
 the ,city when ,augustin was in ,rome1 
had considerable estates not only in    
,italy and in ,sicily1 but even in      
,mauretania4 ,and yet1 in spite of all  

their wealth and all the privileges they
 enjoyed1 these rich people were neither
 happy nor at ease4 ,at the least       
suspicion of a despotic power1 their    
lives and property were threatened4     
,accusations of magic1 of disrespect to 
the ,csar1 of plots against the         
,emperor--any pretext was good to       
plunder them4 ,during the preceding     
reign1 that of the pitiless             
,valentinian1 the ,roman nobility had   
been literally decimated by the         
executioner4 ,a certain vice-,prefect1  
,maximinus1 had gained a sinister       
reputation for cleverness in the art of 
manufacturing suspects4 ,by his orders1 
a basket at the end of a string was hung
 out from one of the windows of the     
,prtorium1 into which denunciations     
might be cast4 ,the basket was in use   
day and night4  ,it is clear that at the
 time that ,augustin settled in ,rome   
this abominable system was a little     
moderated4 ,but accusation by detectives
 was always in the air4 ,and living in  

this atmosphere of mistrust1 hypocrisy1 
bribery1 and cruelty--small wonder if   
the ,carthaginian fell into bitter      
reflections upon ,roman corruption4     
,however impressive from the front1 the 
,empire was not nice to look at close at
 hand4  ,but ,augustin was1 above all1  
home-sick4 ,when he strolled tinder the 
shady trees of the ,janiculum or        
,sallust's gardens1 he already said to  
himself what he would repeat later to   
his listeners at ,hippo3 ,take an       
,african1 put him in a place cool and   
green1 and he won't stay there4 ,he will
 feel he must go away and come back to  
his blazing desert4 ,as for himself1 he 
had something better to regret than a   
blazing desert4 ,in front of the ,city  
of ,gold1 stretched out at his feet1 and
 the horizon of the ,sabine ,hills1 he  
remembered the feminine softness of the 
twilights upon the ,lake of ,tunis1 the 
enchantment of moonlit nights upon the  
,gulf of ,carthage1 and that astonishing
 landscape to be discovered from the    

height of the terrace of ,byrsa1 which  
all the grandeur of the ,roman campagna 
could not make him forget4     ,,ii     
,,the ,,final ,,disillusion   ',the new 
professor had managed to secure a       
certain number of pupils whom he        
gathered together in his rooms4 ,he     
could make enough to live at ,rome by   
himself1 if he could not support there  
the woman and child he had left behind  
at ,carthage4 ,in this matter of finding
 work1 his host and his ,manichee       
friends had done him some very good     
turns4 ,although forced to conceal their
 beliefs since the edict of ,theodosius1
 there were a good many ,manichees in   
the city4 ,they formed an occult        
,church1 strongly organized1 and its    
adepts had relations with all classes of
 ,roman society4 ,possibly ,augustin    
presented himself as one driven out of  
,africa by the persecution4 ,some       
compensation would be owing to this     
young man who had suffered for the good 
cause4  ,it was his friend ,alypius1 the

 brother of his heart1 who1 having      
preceded him to ,rome to study law at   
his parents' wishes1 now was the most   
useful in helping ,augustin to make     
himself known and find pupils4 ,himself 
a ,manichee1 converted by ,augustin1 and
 a member of one of the leading families
 in ,thagaste1 he had not long to wait  
for an important appointment in the     
,imperial administration4 ,he was       
assessor to the ,treasurer-,general1 or 
,count of the ,italian ,bounty ,office1 
and decided fiscal questions4 ,thanks to
 his influence1 as well as to his       
acquaintances among the ,manichees1 he  
was a valuable friend for the new       
arrival1 a friend who could aid him1 not
 only with his purse1 but with advice4  
,without much capacity for theorizing1  
this ,alypius was a practical spirit1 a 
straight and essentially honest soul1   
whose influence was excellent for his   
impetuous friend4 ,of very chaste       
habits1 he urged ,augustin to restraint4
 ,and even in abstract studies1 the     

religious controversies which ,augustin 
dragged him into1 his strong good sense 
moderated the imaginative dashes1 the   
overmuch subtilty which sometimes led   
the other beyond healthy reason4        
,unhappily they were both very busy--the
 judge and the rhetorician--and although
 their friendship became still greater  
during this stay in ,rome1 they were not
 able to see each other as much as they 
desired4 ,their pleasures1 too1 were    
perhaps not the same4 ,augustin did not 
in the least care about being chaste1   
and ,alypius had a passion for the      
amphitheatre--a passion which his friend
 disapproved of4 ,some time earlier1 at 
,carthage1 ,augustin had filled him with
 disgust of the circus4 ,but hardly was 
,alypius arrived in ,rome1 than he      
became mad about the gladiatorial shows4
 ,some fellow-students took him to the  
amphitheatre1 almost by force4          
,thereupon1 he said that he would stay1 
since they had dragged him there2 but he
 bet that he would keep his eyes shut   

all through the fight1 and that nothing 
could make him open them4 ,he sat down  
on the benches with those who had       
brought him1 his eyelids pressed down1  
refusing to look4 ,suddenly there was a 
roar of shouting1 the shout of the crowd
 hailing the fall of the first wounded4 
,his lids parted of themselves2 he saw  
the flow of blood4 ,at the sight of the 
blood says ,augustin1 he drank in       
ruthlessness2 no longer did he turn     
away1 but fixed his gaze1 and he became 
mad--and he knew no more4444 ,he was    
fascinated by the criminal atrocity of  
this battle1 and drunk with the pleasure
 of blood4  ,these breathless phrases of
 the ,confessions seem to throb still   
with the wild frenzy of the crowd4 ,they
 convey to us directly the kind of      
,sadic excitement which people went to  
find about the arena4 ,really1 a        
wholesome sight for future ,christians1 
for all the souls that the brutality of 
pagan customs revolted6 ,the very year  
that ,augustin was at ,rome1 certain    

prisoners of war1 ,sarmatian soldiers1  
condemned to kill each other in the     
amphitheatre1 chose suicide rather than 
this shameful death4 ,there was in this 
something to make him reflect--him and  
his friends4 ,the fundamental injustices
 whereon the ancient world rested--the  
crushing of the slave and the conquered1
 the contempt for human life--these     
things they touched with the finger when
 they looked on at the butcheries in the
 amphitheatre4 ,all those whose hearts  
sickened with disgust and horror before 
these slaughter-house scenes1 all those 
who longed for a little more mildness1 a
 little more justice1 were all recruits 
marked out for the peaceful army of the 
,christ4  ,for ,alypius1 especially1 it 
was not a bad thing to have known this  
blood-drunkenness at first hand3 he     
shall be only the more ashamed when he  
falls at the feet of the merciful ,god4 
,equally useful was it for him to have  
personal experience of the harshness of 
men's justice2 and in the fulfilment of 

his duties as a judge to observe its    
errors and flaws4 ,while he was a       
student at ,carthage he just escaped    
being condemned to death upon a false   
accusation of theft--the theft of a     
piece of lead6 ,already they were       
dragging him1 if not to the place of    
capital punishment1 at least to prison1 
when a chance meeting with a friend of  
his who was a senator saved him from the
 threatening mob4 ,at ,rome1 while      
,assessor to the ,count of the ,italian 
,bounty ,office1 he had to resist an    
attempt to bribe him1 and by doing so   
risked losing his appointment1 and1 no  
doubt1 something worse too4 ,official   
venality and dishonesty were evils so   
deeply rooted1 that he himself nearly   
succumbed4 ,he wanted some books copied1
 and he had the temptation to get this  
done at the charge of the ,treasury4    
,this peculation had1 in his eyes1 a    
good enough excuse1 and it was certain  
to go undetected4 ,nevertheless1 when he
 thought it over he changed his mind1   

and virtuously refrained from giving    
himself a library at the expense of the 
,state4  ,augustin1 who relates these   
anecdotes1 draws the same moral from    
them as we do1 to wit--that for a man   
who was going to be a bishop and1 as    
such1 administrator and judge1 this time
 spent in the ,government service was a 
good preparatory school4 ,most of the   
other great leaders of this generation  
of ,christians had also been officials2 
before ordination1 they had been mixed  
up in business and politics1 and had    
lived freely the life of their century4 
,so it was with ,st4 ,ambrose1 with ,st4
 ,paulinus of ,nola1 with ,augustin     
himself1 and ,evodius and ,alypius1 his 
friends4  ,and yet1 however absorbed in 
their work the two ,africans might be1  
it is pretty near certain that          
intellectual questions took the lead of 
all others4 ,this is manifest in        
,augustin's case at least4 ,he must have
 astonished the good ,alypius when he   
got to ,rome by acknowledging that he   

hardly believed in ,manicheeism any     
longer4 ,and he set forth his doubts    
about their masters' cosmogony and      
physical science1 his suspicions        
touching the hidden immorality of the   
sect4 ,as for himself1 the              
controversies1 which were the           
,manichees' strong point1 did not dazzle
 him any longer4 ,at ,carthage1 but     
lately1 he had heard a ,catholic1 a     
certain ,helpidius1 oppose to them      
arguments from ,scripture1 which they   
were unable to refute4 ,to make matters 
worse1 the ,manichee ,bishop of ,rome   
made a bad impression on him from the   
very outset4 ,this man1 he tells us1 was
 of rough appearance1 without culture or
 polite manners4 ,doubtless this        
unmannerly peasant1 in his reception of 
the young professor1 had not shewn      
himself sufficiently alive to his       
merits1 and the professor felt          
aggrieved4  ,from then1 his keen        
dialectic and his satirical spirit      
7,augustin had formidable powers of     

ridicule all through his life7 were     
exercised upon the backs of his         
fellow-religionists4 ,provisionally1 he 
had admitted as indisputable the basic  
principles of ,manicheeism3 first of    
all1 the primordial antagonism of the   
two substances1 the ,god of ,light and  
the ,god of ,darkness2 then1 this other 
dogma1 that particles of that ,divine   
,light1 which had been carried away in a
 temporary victory of the army of       
,darkness1 were immersed in certain     
plants and liquors4 ,hence1 the         
distinction they made between clean and 
unclean food4 ,all those foods were pure
 which contained some part of the       
,divine ,light2 impure1 those which did 
not4 ,the purity of food became evident 
by certain qualities of taste1 smell1   
and appearance4 ,but now ,augustin found
 a good deal of arbitrariness in these  
distinctions1 and a good deal of        
simplicity in the belief that the       
,divine ,light dwelt in a vegetable4    
,are they not ashamed1 he said1 to      

search ,god with their palates or with  
their nose8 ,and if ,his presence is    
revealed by a special brilliancy1 by the
 goodness of the taste or the smell1 why
 allow that dish and condemn this1 which
 is of equal savour1 light1 and perfume8
  ,yea1 why do they look upon the golden
 melon as come out of ,god's            
treasure-house1 and yet will have none  
of the golden fat of the ham or the     
yellow of an egg8 ,why does the         
whiteness of lettuce proclaim to them   
the ,divinity1 and the whiteness of     
cream nothing at all8 ,and why this     
horror of meat8 ,for1 look you1 roast   
sucking-pig offers us a brilliant       
colour1 an agreeable smell1 and an      
appetizing taste--sure signs1 according 
to them1 of the ,divine ,presence4444   
,once started on this topic1 ,augustin's
 vivacity has no limits4 ,he even drops 
into jokes which would offend modern    
shamefacedness by their ,aristophanic   
breadth4  ,these arguments1 to say the  
truth1 did not shake the foundations of 

the doctrine1 and if a doctrine must be 
judged according to its works1 the      
,manichees might entrench themselves    
behind their rigid moral rules1 and     
their conduct4 ,contrary to the more    
accommodating ,catholicism1 they paraded
 a puritan intolerance4 ,but ,augustin  
had found out at ,carthage that this    
austerity was for the most part         
hypocrisy4 ,at ,rome he was thoroughly  
enlightened4  ,the ,elect of the        
religion made a great impression by     
their fasts and their abstinence from   
meat4 ,now it became clear that these   
devout personages1 under pious pretexts1
 literally destroyed themselves by      
over-eating and indigestion4 ,they held1
 in fact1 that the chief work of piety  
consisted in setting free particles of  
the ,divine ,light1 imprisoned in matter
 by the wiles of the ,god of ,darkness4 
,they being the ,pure1 they purified    
matter by absorbing it into their       
bodies4 ,the faithful brought them      
stores of fruit and vegetables1 served  

them with real feasts1 so that by eating
 these things they might liberate a     
little of the ,divine ,substance4 ,of   
course1 they abstained from all flesh1  
flesh being the dwelling-place of the   
,dark ,god1 and also from fermented     
wine1 which they called the devil's     
gall4 ,but how they made up for it over 
the rest6 ,augustin makes great fun of  
these people who would think it a sin if
 they took as a full meal a small bit of
 bacon and cabbage1 with two or three   
mouthfuls of undiluted wine1 and yet    
ordered to be served up1 from three     
o'clock in the afternoon1 all kinds of  
fruit and vegetables1 the most exquisite
 too1 rendered piquant by spices1 the   
,manichees holding that spices were very
 full of fiery and luminous principles4 
,then1 their palates titillating from   
pepper1 they swallowed large draughts of
 mulled wine or wine and honey1 and the 
juice of oranges1 lemons1 and grapes4   
,and these junketings began over again  
at nightfall4 ,they had a preference for

 certain cakes1 and especially for      
truffles and mushrooms--vegetables more 
particularly mystic4  ,such a diet put  
human gluttony to a heavy test4 ,many a 
scandal came to light in the ,roman     
community4 ,the ,elect made themselves  
sick by devouring the prodigious        
quantity of good cheer brought to them  
with a view to purification4 ,as it was 
a sacrilege to let any be lost1 the     
unhappy people forced themselves to get 
down the lot4 ,there were even victims3 
children1 gorged with delicacies1 died  
of stuffing4 ,for children1 being       
innocent things1 were deemed to have    
quite special purifying virtues4        
,augustin was beginning to get indignant
 at all this nonsense4 ,still1 except   
for these extravagances1 he continued to
 believe in the asceticism of the       
,elect--asceticism of such severity that
 the main part of the faithful found it 
impossible to practise4 ,and see6 just  
at this moment1 whom should he discover 
very strange things about but ,bishop   

,faustus1 that ,faustus whom he had     
looked for at ,carthage as a ,messiah4  
,the holy man1 while he preached        
renunciation1 granted himself a good    
many indulgences3 he lay1 for one thing1
 on feathers1 or upon soft goatskin     
rugs4 ,and these puritans were not even 
honest4 ,the ,manichee ,bishop of ,rome1
 that man of rough manners who had so   
offended ,augustin1 was on the point of 
being convicted of stealing the general 
cash-box4 ,lastly1 there were rumours in
 the air1 accusing the ,elect of giving 
themselves over to reprehensible        
practices in their private meetings4    
,they condemned marriage and            
child-bearing as works of the devil1 but
 they authorized fornication1 and even1 
it is said1 certain acts against nature4
 ,that1 for ,augustin1 was the final    
disillusion4  ,in spite of it1 he did   
not separate openly from the sect4 ,he  
kept his rank of auditor in the         
,manichee ,church4 ,what held him to it1
 were some plausible considerations on  

the intellectual side4 ,manicheeism1    
with its distinction of two ,principles1
 accounted conveniently for the problem 
of evil and human responsibility4       
,neither ,god nor man was answerable for
 sin and pain1 since it was the other1  
the ,dark ,principle1 who distributed   
them through the world among men4       
,augustin1 who continued to sin1        
continued likewise to be very           
comfortable with such a system of morals
 and metaphysics4 ,besides1 he was not  
one of those convinced1 downright minds 
who feel the need to quarrel noisily    
with what they take to be error4 ,no one
 has opposed heresies more powerfully1  
and with a more tireless patience1 than 
he has4 ,but he always put some         
consideration into the business4 ,he    
knew by experience how easy it is to    
fall into error1 and he said this       
charitably to those whom he wished to   
persuade4 ,there was nothing about him  
like ,st4 ,jerome4  ,personal reasons1  
moreover1 obliged him not to break with 

his fellow-religionists who had         
supported him1 nursed him even1 on his  
arrival at ,rome1 and who1 as we shall  
see in a moment1 might still do him     
services4 ,augustin was not1 like his   
friend ,alypius1 a practical mind1 but  
he had tact1 and in spite of all the    
impulsiveness and mettle of his nature1 
a certain suppleness which enabled him  
to manoeuvre without too many collisions
 in the midst of the most embarrassing  
conjunctures4 ,through instinctive      
prudence he prolonged his indecision4   
,little by little1 he who had formerly  
flung himself so enthusiastically in    
pursuit of ,truth1 glided into          
scepticism--the scepticism of the       
,academics in its usual form4  ,and at  
the same time that he lost his taste for
 speculative thinking1 new annoyances in
 his profession put the finishing touch 
on his discouragement4 ,if the ,roman   
students were less noisy than those of  
,carthage1 they had a deplorable habit  
of walking off and leaving their masters

 unpaid4 ,augustin was ere long         
victimized in this way3 he lost his time
 and his words4 ,as at ,carthage1 so at 
,rome1 he had to face the fact that he  
could not live by his profession4 ,what 
was he to do8 ,would he have to go back 
home8 ,he had fallen into despair1 when 
an unforeseen chance turned up for him4 
,the town council of ,milan threw open a
 professorship of ,rhetoric to public   
competition4 ,it would be salvation for 
him if he could get appointed4 ,for a   
long time he had wanted a post in the   
,state education4 ,in receipt of a fixed
 salary1 he would no longer have to     
worry about beating up a class1 or to   
guard against the dishonesty of his     
pupils4 ,he put his name down           
immediately among the candidates4 ,but  
no more in those days than in ours was  
simple merit by itself enough4 ,it was  
necessary to pull strings4 ,his friends 
the ,manichees undertook to do this for 
him4 ,they urged his claims warmly on   
the ,prefect ,symmachus1 who doubtless  

presided at the competitive trials4 ,by 
an amusing irony of fate1 ,augustin owed
 his place to people he was getting     
ready to separate from1 whom even he was
 soon going to attack1 and also to a man
 who was in a way the official enemy of 
,christianity4 ,the pagan ,symmachus    
appointing to an important post a future
 ,catholic bishop--there is matter for  
surprise in that6 ,but ,symmachus1 who  
had been ,proconsul at ,carthage1       
protected the ,africans in ,rome4       
,furthermore1 it is likely that the     
,manichees represented their candidate  
to him as a man hostile to ,catholics4  
,now in this year1 ,a4,d4 #chd1 the     
,prefect had just begun an open struggle
 with the ,catholics4 ,he believed1     
therefore1 that he made a good choice in
 appointing ,augustin4  ,so a chain of  
events1 with which his will had hardly  
anything to do1 was going to draw the   
young rhetorician to ,milan--yes1 and   
how much farther6--to where he did not  
want to go1 to where the prayers of     

,monnica summoned him unceasingly3      
,where ,i am1 there shall you be also4  
,when he was leaving ,rome1 he did not  
much expect that4 ,what he chiefly      
thought of was that he had at last won  
an independent financial position1 and  
that he was become an official of some  
importance4 ,he had a flattering        
evidence of this at once3 ,it was at the
 expense of the city of ,milan and in   
the ,imperial carriages that he         
travelled through ,italy to take up his 
new post4     ,,iii  ,,the ,,meeting    
,,between ,,ambrose ,,and ,,augustin    
,before he left ,rome1 and during his   
journey to ,milan1 ,augustin must have  
recalled more than once the verses of   
,terence which his friend ,marcianus had
 quoted by way of encouragement and     
advice the night he set sail for ,italy3
    ,this day which brings to thee      
another life   ,demands that thou       
another man shalt be4  ,he was thirty   
years old4 ,the time of youthful        
wilfulness was over4 ,age1              

disappointments1 the difficulties of    
life1 had developed his character4 ,he  
was now become a man of position1 an    
eminent official1 in a very large city  
which was the second capital of the     
,western ,empire and the principal      
residence of the ,court4 ,if he wished  
to avoid further set-backs in his       
career1 it behoved him to choose a line 
of conduct carefully thought out4  ,and 
first of all1 it was time to get rid of 
,manicheeism4 ,a ,manichee would have   
made a scandal in a city where the      
greatest part of the population was     
,christian1 and the ,court was          
,catholic1 although it did not conceal  
its sympathy with ,arianism4 ,it was a  
long time now since ,augustin had been a
 ,manichee in his heart4 ,accordingly1  
he was not obliged to feign in order to 
re-enter a ,church which already        
included him formally among its         
catechumens4 ,doubtless he was a very   
lukewarm catechumen1 since at intervals 
he inclined to scepticism4 ,but he      

thought it decent to remain1 at least   
for the time being1 in the ,catholic    
body1 in which his mother had brought   
him up1 until the day when some sure    
light should arise to direct his path4  
,now ,st4 ,ambrose was at that time the 
,catholic ,bishop of ,milan4 ,augustin  
was very eager to gain his goodwill4    
,ambrose was an undoubted political     
power1 an important personage1 a        
celebrated orator whose renown was shed 
all across the ,roman world4 ,he        
belonged to an illustrious family4 ,his 
father had been ,prtorian prefect of    
,gaul4 ,he himself1 with the title of   
,consul1 was governing the provinces of 
,emilia and ,liguria when the ,milanese 
forced him1 much against his will1 to   
become their bishop4 ,baptized1 ordained
 priest1 and consecrated1 one on top of 
the other1 it was only apparently that  
he gave up his civil functions4 ,from   
the height of his episcopal throne he   
always personified the highest authority
 in the country4  ,as soon as he arrived

 at ,milan1 ,augustin hurried to call   
upon his bishop4 ,knowing him as we do1 
he must have approached ,ambrose in a   
great transport of enthusiasm4 ,his     
imagination1 too1 was kindled4 ,in his  
thought this was a man of letters1 an   
orator1 a famous writer1 almost a       
fellow-worker1 that he was going to see4
 ,the young professor admired in ,bishop
 ,ambrose all the glory that he was     
ambitious of1 and all that he already   
believed himself to be4 ,he fancied1    
that however great might be the         
difference in their positions1 he would 
find himself at once on an equal footing
 with this high personage1 and would    
have a familiar talk with him1 as he    
used to have at ,carthage with the      
,proconsul ,vindicianus4 ,he told       
himself also that ,ambrose was a priest1
 that is to say1 a doctor of souls3 he  
meant to open to him all his spiritual  
wretchedness1 the anguish of his mind   
and heart4 ,he expected consolation from
 him1 if not cure4  ,well1 he was       

mistaken4 ,although in all his writings 
he speaks of the holy ,bishop of ,milan 
with feelings of sincere respect and    
admiration1 he lets it be understood    
that his expectations were not realized4
 ,if the ,manichean bishop of ,rome had 
offended him by his rough manners1      
,ambrose disconcerted him alike by his  
politeness1 his kindliness1 and by the  
reserve1 perhaps involuntarily haughty1 
of his reception4 ,he received me1 says 
,augustin1 like a father1 and as a      
bishop he was pleased enough at my      
coming3--peregrinationem meam satis     
episcopaliter dilexit4 ,this satis      
episcopaliter looks very like a sly     
banter at the expense of the saint4 ,it 
is infinitely probable that ,st4        
,ambrose received ,augustin1 not exactly
 as a man of no account1 but still1 as a
 sheep of his flock1 and not as a gifted
 orator1 and that1 in short1 he shewed  
him the same episcopal benevolence as he
 had from a sense of duty for all his   
hearers4 ,it is possible too that       

,ambrose was on his guard from the      
outset with this ,african1 appointed a  
municipal professor through the good    
offices of the pagan ,symmachus1 his    
personal enemy4 ,in the opinion of the  
,italian ,catholics1 nothing good came  
from ,carthage3 these ,carthaginians    
were generally ,manichees or            
,donatists--sectaries the more dangerous
 because they claimed to be orthodox1   
and1 mingling with the faithful1        
hypocritically contaminated them4 ,and  
then ,ambrose1 the great lord1 the      
former ,governor of ,liguria1 the       
counsellor of the ,emperors1 may not    
have quite concealed a certain ironic   
commiseration for this dealer in words1 
this young rhetorician who was still    
puffed up with his own importance4  ,be 
this as it will1 it was a lesson in     
humility that ,st4 ,ambrose1 without    
intending it1 gave to ,augustin4 ,the   
lesson was not understood4 ,the rhetoric
 professor gathered only one thing from 
the visit1 which was1 that the ,bishop  

of ,milan had received him well4 ,and as
 human vanity immediately lends vast    
significance to the least advances of   
distinguished or powerful persons1      
,augustin felt thankful for it4 ,he     
began to love ,ambrose almost as much as
 he admired him1 and he admired him for 
reasons altogether worldly4 ,ambrose ,i 
counted one of the happy ones of this   
world1 because he was held in such      
honour by the great4 ,the qualification 
which immediately follows shews naively 
enough the sensual ,augustin's state of 
mind at that time3 ,only it seemed to me
 that celibacy must be a heavy burthen  
upon him4  ,in those years the ,bishop  
of ,milan might1 indeed1 pass for a     
happy man in the eyes of the world4 ,he 
was the friend of the very glorious and 
very victorious ,theodosius2 he had been
 the adviser of the young ,emperor      
,gratian1 but lately assassinated2 and  
although the ,empress ,justina1 devoted 
to the ,arians1 plotted against him1 he 
had still great influence in the council

 of ,valentinian ,,ii--a little ,emperor
 thirteen years old1 whom a ,court of   
pagans and ,arians endeavoured to draw  
into an anti-,catholic reaction4        
,almost as soon as ,augustin arrived in 
,milan1 he was able to see for himself  
the great authority and esteem which    
,ambrose possessed1 the occasion being a
 dispute which made a great noise4  ,two
 years earlier1 ,gratian had had the    
statue and altar of ,victory removed    
from the ,curia1 declaring that this    
pagan emblem and its accompaniments no  
longer served any purpose in an assembly
 of which the majority was ,christian4  
,by the same stroke1 he suppressed the  
incomes of the sacerdotal colleges with 
all their privileges1 particularly those
 of the ,vestals2 confiscated for the   
revenue the sums granted for the        
exercise of religion2 seized the        
property of the temples2 and forbade the
 priests to receive bequests of real    
estate4 ,this meant the complete        
separation of the ,state and the ancient

 religion4 ,the pagan minority in the   
,senate1 with ,symmachus1 the ,prefect1 
at its head1 protested against this     
edict4 ,a deputation was sent to ,milan 
to place the pagan grievances before the
 ,emperor4 ,gratian refused to receive  
them4 ,it was thought that his          
successor1 ,valentinian ,,ii1 being     
feebler1 would be more obliging4 ,a new 
senatorial committee presented          
themselves with a petition drawn up by  
,symmachus--a genuine piece of oratory  
which ,ambrose himself admired1 or      
pretended to admire4 ,this speech made a
 deep impression when it was read in the
 ,imperial ,council4 ,but ,ambrose      
intervened with all his eloquence4 ,he  
demanded that the common law should be  
applied equally to pagans as to         
,christians1 and it was he who won the  
day4 ,victory was not replaced in the   
,roman ,curia1 neither were the goods of
 the temples returned4  ,augustin must  
have been very much struck by this      
advantage which ,catholicism had gained4

 ,it became clear that henceforth this  
was to be the ,state religion4 ,and he  
who envied so much the fortunate of the 
world1 might take note1 besides1 that   
the new religion brought1 along with the
 faith1 riches and honours to its       
adepts4 ,at ,rome he had listened to the
 disparaging by pagans and his ,manichee
 friends of the popes and their clergy4 
,they made fun of the fashionable       
clerics and legacy hunters4 ,it was     
related that the ,roman ,pontiff1       
servant of the ,god of the poor1        
maintained a gorgeous establishment1 and
 that his table rivalled the ,imperial  
table in luxury4 ,the prefect           
,prtextatus1 a resolute pagan1 said     
scoffingly to ,pope ,damasus3 ,make me  
,bishop of ,rome1 and ,i'll become a    
,christian at once4  ,certainly1        
commonplace human reasons can neither   
bring about nor account for a sincere   
conversion4 ,conversion is a divine     
work4 ,but human reasons1 arranged by a 
mysterious ,will with regard to this    

work1 may at least prepare a soul for   
it4 ,anyhow1 it cannot be neglected that
 ,augustin1 coming to ,milan full of    
ambitious plans1 there saw ,catholicism 
treated with so much importance in the  
person of ,ambrose4 ,this religion1     
which till then he had despised1 now    
appeared to him as a triumphant religion
 worth serving4  ,but though such       
considerations might attract ,augustin's
 attention1 they took no hold on his    
conscience4 ,it was well enough for an  
intriguer about the ,court to get       
converted from self-interest4 ,as for   
him1 he wanted all or nothing2 the chief
 good in his eyes was certainty and     
truth4 ,he scarcely believed in this any
 longer1 and surely had no hope of      
finding it among the ,catholics2 but    
still he went to hear ,ambrose's        
sermons4 ,he went in the first place as 
a critic of language1 with the rather   
jealous curiosity of the trained man who
 watches how another man does it4 ,he   
wanted to judge himself if the sacred   

orator was as good as his reputation4   
,the firm and substantial eloquence of  
this former official1 this statesman who
 was more than anything a man of action1
 immediately got control of the         
frivolous rhetorician4 ,to be sure1 he  
did not find in ,ambrose's sermons the  
exhilaration or the verbal caress which 
had captivated him in those of ,faustus 
the ,manichean2 but yet they had a      
persuasive grace which held him4        
,augustin heard the bishop with         
pleasure4 ,still1 if he liked to hear   
him talk1 he remained contemptuous of   
the doctrine he preached4  ,then1 little
 by little1 this doctrine forced itself 
on his meditations3 he perceived that it
 was more serious than he had thought   
hitherto1 or1 at least1 that it could be
 defended4 ,ambrose had started in      
,italy the exegetical methods of the    
,orientals4 ,he discovered in ,scripture
 allegorical meanings1 sometimes        
edifying1 sometimes deep1 always        
satisfying for a reasonable mind4       

,augustin1 who was inclined to subtilty1
 much relished these explanations which1
 if ingenious1 were often forced4 ,the  
,bible no longer seemed to him so       
absurd4 ,finally1 the immoralities which
 the ,manichees made such a great point 
of against the ,holy ,writ1 were        
justified1 according to ,ambrose1 by    
historical considerations3 what ,god did
 not allow to-day1 ,he allowed formerly 
by reason of the conditions of          
existence4 ,however1 though the ,bible  
might be neither absurd nor contrary to 
morals1 this did not prove that it was  
true4 ,augustin found no outlet for his 
doubts4  ,he would have been glad to    
have ,ambrose help him to get rid of    
them4 ,many a time he tried to have a   
talk with him about these things4 ,but  
the ,bishop of ,milan was so very busy a
 personage6 ,i could not ask him1 says  
,augustin1 what ,i wanted as ,i wanted1 
because the shoals of busy people who   
consulted him about their affairs1 and  
to whose infirmities he ministered1 came

 between me and his ear and lips4 ,and  
in the few moments when he was not thus 
surrounded1 he was refreshing either his
 body with needful food1 or his mind    
with reading4 ,while he read his eye    
wandered along the page and his heart   
searched out the meaning1 but his voice 
and his tongue were at rest4 ,often when
 we attended 7for the door was open to  
all1 and no one was announced71 we saw  
him reading silently1 but never         
otherwise1 and after sitting for some   
time without speaking 7for who would    
presume to trouble one so occupied87 we 
went away again4 ,we divined that1 for  
the little space of time which was all  
that he could secure for the refreshment
 of his mind1 he allowed himself a      
holiday from the distraction of other   
people's business1 and did not wish to  
be interrupted2 and perhaps he was      
afraid lest eager listeners should      
invite him to explain the harder        
passages of his author1 or to enter upon
 the discussion of difficult topics1 and

 hinder him from perusing as many       
volumes as he wished4444 ,of course the 
reason that guided a man of such        
remarkable virtue must have been        
good4444  ,nobody could comment more    
subtly--nor1 be it said also1 more      
maliciously--the attitude of ,st4       
,ambrose towards ,augustin1 than        
,augustin himself does it here4 ,at the 
time he wrote this page1 the events he  
was relating had happened a long time   
ago4 ,but he is a ,christian1 and1 in   
his turn1 he is a bishop3 he understands
 now what he could not understand then4 
,he feels thoroughly at heart that if   
,ambrose withdrew himself1 it was       
because the professor of rhetoric was   
not in a state of mind to have a        
profitable discussion with a believer3  
he lacked the necessary humility of     
heart and intellect4 ,but at the moment1
 he must have taken things in quite     
another way1 and have felt rather hurt1 
not to say more1 at the bishop's        
apparent indifference4  ,just picture a 

young writer of to-day1 pretty well     
convinced of his value1 but uneasy about
 his future1 coming to ask advice of an 
older man already famous--well1         
,augustin's advances to ,ambrose were   
not unlike that1 save that they had a   
much more serious character1 since it   
was not a question of literature1 but of
 the salvation of a soul4 ,at this      
period1 what ,augustin saw in ,ambrose1 
even when he consulted him on sacred    
matters1 was chiefly the orator1 that is
 to say1 a rather older rival4444 ,he   
enters4 ,he is shewn into the private   
room of the great man1 without being    
announced1 like any ordinary person4    
,the great man does not lay aside his   
book to greet him1 does not even speak a
 word to him4444 ,what would the        
official professor of ,rhetoric to the  
,city of ,milan think of such a         
reception8 ,one can make out clearly    
enough through the lines of the         
,confessions4 ,he said to himself that  
,ambrose1 being a bishop1 had charge of 

souls1 and he was surprised that the    
bishop1 no matter how great a lord he   
might be1 made no attempt whatever to   
offer him spiritual aid4 ,and as he was 
still devoid of ,christian charity1 no  
doubt he thought too that ,ambrose was  
conscious that he had not the ability to
 wrestle with a dialectician of         
,augustin's strength1 and that1 into the
 bargain1 the prelate was to seek in    
knowledge of the ,scriptures4 ,and1 in  
truth1 ,ambrose had been made a bishop  
so suddenly that he must have found     
himself obliged to improvise a hasty    
knowledge4 ,anyhow1 ,augustin concluded 
that if he refused to discuss1 it was   
because he was afraid of being at a     
disadvantage4  ,very surely ,st4        
,ambrose had no notion of what the      
catechumen was thinking4 ,he soared too 
high to trouble about miserable stings  
to self-respect4 ,in his ministry he was
 for all alike1 and he would have       
thought it against ,christian equality  
to shew any special favour to ,augustin4

 ,if1 in the brief talks he had with the
 young rhetorician1 he was able to      
gather anything of his character1 he    
could not have formed a very favourable 
opinion of it4 ,the high-strung         
temperament of the ,african1 these vague
 yearnings of the spirit1 these sterile 
melancholies1 this continual temporizing
 before the faith--all that could only  
displease ,ambrose1 the practical       
,roman1 the official used all his life  
to command4  ,however that was1         
,augustin1 in following years1 never    
allowed himself the least reproach      
towards ,ambrose4 ,on the contrary1     
everywhere he loads him with praise1    
quotes him repeatedly in his treatises1 
and takes refuge on his authority4 ,he  
calls him his father4 ,but once1 when he
 is speaking of the spiritual desolation
 in which he was plunged at ,milan1     
there does escape him something like a  
veiled complaint which appears to be    
aimed at ,ambrose4 ,after recalling the 
eagerness with which he sought truth in 

those days1 he adds3 ,if any one could  
have been found then to trouble about   
instructing me1 he would have had a most
 willing and docile pupil4  ,this       
phrase1 in such marked contrast with so 
many laudatory passages in the          
,confessions about ,st4 ,ambrose1 seems 
to be indeed a statement of the plain   
truth4 ,if ,god made use of ,ambrose to 
convert ,augustin1 it is nevertheless   
likely that ,ambrose personally did     
nothing1 or very little1 to bring about 
this conversion4     ,,iv  ,,plans ,,of 
,,marriage   ,but even as he draws      
nearer the goal1 ,augustin would appear1
 on the contrary1 to get farther away   
from it4 ,such are ,god's secret paces1 
,who snatches souls like a thief3 ,he   
drops on them without warning4 ,till the
 very eve of the day when ,christ shall 
come to take him1 ,augustin will be all 
taken up with the world and the care of 
making a good figure in it4  ,although  
,ambrose's sermons stimulated him to    
reflect upon the great historical       

reality which ,christianity is1 he had  
as yet but dim glimpses of it4 ,he had  
given up his superficial unbelief1 and  
yet did not believe in anything         
definite4 ,he drifted into a sort of    
agnosticism compounded of mental        
indolence and discouragement4 ,when he  
scrutinized his conscience to the       
depths1 the most he could find was a    
belief in the existence of ,god and ,his
 providence--quite abstract ideas which 
he was incapable of enlivening4 ,but    
whatever was the use of speculating upon
 ,truth and the ,sovereign ,good6 ,the  
main thing to do was to live4  ,now that
 his future was certain1 ,augustin      
endeavoured to arrange his life with a  
view to his tranquillity4 ,he had no    
longer very large ambitions4 ,what he   
principally wanted to do was to create  
for himself a nice little existence1    
peaceful and agreeable1 one might almost
 say1 middle-class4 ,his present        
fortune1 although small1 was still      
enough for that1 and he was in a hurry  

to enjoy it4  ,accordingly1 he had not  
been long in ,milan ere he sent for his 
mistress and his son4 ,he had rented an 
apartment in a house which gave on a    
garden4 ,the owner1 who did not live    
there1 allowed him the use of the whole 
house4 ,a house1 the dream of the sage6 
,and a garden in ,virgil's country6     
,augustin1 the professor1 should have   
been wonderfully happy4 ,his mother soon
 joined him4 ,gradually a whole tribe of
 ,africans came down on him1 and took   
advantage of his hospitality4 ,here was 
his brother1 ,navigius1 his two cousins1
 ,rusticus and ,lastidianus1 his friend 
,alypius1 who could not make up his mind
 to part from him1 and probably         
,nebridius1 another of his ,carthage    
friends4 ,nothing could be more in      
harmony with the customs of the time4   
,the ,rhetorician to the ,city of ,milan
 had a post which would pass for superb 
in the eyes of his poor relations4 ,he  
was acquainted with very important      
people1 and had access to the ,imperial 

,court1 whence favours and bounties     
came4 ,immediately1 the family ran to   
put themselves under his protection and 
be enrolled beneficiaries1 to get what  
they could out of his new fortune and   
credit4 ,and then these immigrations of 
,africans and ,orientals into the       
northern countries always come about in 
the same way4 ,it is enough if one of   
them gets on there3 he becomes          
immediately the drop of ink on the      
blotting-paper4  ,the most important    
person in this little ,african          
phalanstery was unquestionably ,monnica1
 who had taken in hand the moral and    
material control of the house4 ,she was 
not very old--not quite fifty-four--but 
she wanted to be in her own country4    
,that she should have left it1 and faced
 the weariness of a long journey over   
sea and land1 she must have had very    
serious reasons4 ,the poverty into which
 she had fallen since the death of her  
husband would not be an adequate        
explanation of her departure from her   

native land4 ,she had still some small  
property at ,thagaste2 she could have   
lived there4 ,the true motives of her   
departure were of an altogether         
different order4 ,first of all1 she     
passionately loved her son1 to the point
 that she was not able to live away from
 him4 ,let us recall ,augustin's        
touching words3 ,for she loved to keep  
me with her1 as mothers are wont1 yes1  
far more than most mothers4 ,besides    
that1 she wanted to save him4 ,she      
completely believed that this was her   
work in the world4  ,beginning from now1
 she is no longer the widow of          
,patricius3 she is already ,saint       
,monnica4 ,living like a nun1 she       
fasted1 prayed1 mortified her body4 ,by 
long meditating on the ,scriptures1 she 
had developed within her the sense of   
spiritual realities1 so that before long
 she astonished ,augustin himself4 ,she 
had visions2 perhaps she had trances4   
,as she came over the sea from ,carthage
 to ,ostia1 the ship which carried her  

ran into a wild gale4 ,the danger became
 extreme1 and the sailors themselves    
could no longer hide their fear4 ,but   
,monnica intrepidly encouraged them4    
,never you fear1 we shall arrive in port
 safe and sound6 ,god1 she declared1 had
 promised her this4  ,if1 in her        
,christian life1 she knew other minutes 
more divine1 that was truly the most    
heroic4 ,across ,augustin's calm        
narrative1 we witness the scene4 ,this  
woman lying on the deck among passengers
 half dead from fatigue and terror1     
suddenly flings back her veils1 stands  
up before the maddened sea1 and with a  
sudden flame gleaming over her pale     
face1 she cries to the sailors3 ,what do
 you fear8 ,we shall get to port4 ,i am 
sure of it6 ,the glorious act of faith6 
,at this solemn moment1 when she saw    
death so near1 she had a clear          
revelation of her destiny2 she knew with
 absolute certainty that she was        
entrusted with a message for her son1   
and that her son would receive this     

message1 in spite of all1 in spite of   
the wildness of the sea--aye1 in spite  
of his own heart4  ,when this sublime   
emotion had subsided1 it left with her  
the conviction that sooner or later     
,augustin would change his ways4 ,he had
 lost himself1 he was mistaken about    
himself4 ,this business of rhetorician  
was unworthy of him4 ,the ,master of the
 field had chosen him to be one of the  
great reapers in the time of harvest4   
,for a long while ,monnica had foreseen 
the exceptional place that ,augustin was
 to take in the ,church4 ,why fritter   
away his talent and intelligence in     
selling vain words1 when there were     
heresies to combat1 the ,truth to make  
shine forth1 when the ,donatists were   
capturing the ,african basilicas from   
the ,catholics8 ,what1 in fact1 was the 
most celebrated rhetorician compared to 
a bishop--protector of cities1          
counsellor of emperors1 representative  
of ,god on earth8 ,all this might       
,augustin be4 ,and he remained stubborn 

in his error6 ,prayers and efforts must 
be redoubled to draw him from that4 ,it 
was also for herself that she struggled1
 for the dearest of her hopes as a      
mother4 ,to bear a soul to ,jesus       
,christ--and a chosen soul who would    
save in his turn souls without          
number--for this only had she lived4    
,and so it was that on the deck1 tired  
by the rolling of the ship1 drenched by 
the seas that were breaking on board1   
and hardly able to stand in the teeth of
 the wind1 she cried out to the sailors3
 ,what do you fear8 ,we shall get to    
port4 ,i am sure of it4444  ,at ,milan  
she was regarded by ,bishop ,ambrose as 
a model parishioner4 ,she never missed  
his sermons and hung upon his lips as a 
fountain of water springing up to       
eternal life4 ,and yet it does not      
appear that the great bishop understood 
the mother any better than he did the   
son3 he had not the time4 ,for him      
,monnica was a worthy ,african woman1   
perhaps a little odd in her devotion1   

and given to many a superstitious       
practice4 ,thus1 she continued to carry 
baskets of bread and wine and pulse to  
the tombs of the martyrs1 according to  
the use at ,carthage and ,thagaste4     
,when1 carrying her basket1 she came to 
the door of one of the ,milanese        
basilicas1 the doorkeeper forbade her to
 enter1 saying that it was against the  
bishop's orders1 who had solemnly       
condemned such practices because they   
smacked of idolatry4 ,the moment she    
learned that this custom was prohibited 
by ,ambrose1 ,monnica1 very much        
mortified1 submitted to take away her   
basket1 for in her eyes ,ambrose was the
 providential apostle who would lead her
 son to salvation4 ,and yet it must have
 grieved her to give up this old custom 
of her country4 ,save for the fear of   
displeasing the bishop1 she would have  
kept it up4 ,ambrose was gratified by   
her obedience1 her fervour and charity4 
,when by chance he met the son1 he      
congratulated him on having such a      

mother4 ,augustin1 who did not yet      
despise human praise1 no doubt expected 
that ,ambrose would in turn pay some    
compliments to himself4 ,but ,ambrose   
did not praise him at all1 and perhaps  
he felt rather vexed4  ,he himself1     
however1 was always very busy2 he had   
hardly any time to profit by the pious  
exhortations of the bishop4 ,his day was
 filled by his work and his social      
duties4 ,in the morning he lectured4    
,the afternoon went in friendly visits1 
or in looking up men of position whom he
 applied to for himself or his          
relations4 ,in the evening1 he prepared 
to-morrow's lecture4 ,in spite of this  
very full and stirring life1 which would
 seem to satisfy all his ambitions1 he  
could not manage to stifle the cry of   
his heart in distress4 ,he did not feel 
really happy4 ,in the first place1 it is
 doubtful whether he liked ,milan any   
better than ,rome4 ,he felt the cold    
there very much4 ,the ,milanese winters 
are very trying1 especially for a       

southerner4 ,thick fogs rise from the   
canals and the marsh lands which        
surround the city4 ,the ,alpine snows   
are very near4 ,this climate1 damper and
 frostier even than at ,rome1 did no    
good to his chest4 ,he suffered         
continually from hoarseness2 he was     
obliged to interrupt his lectures--a    
most disastrous necessity for a man     
whose business it is to talk4 ,these    
attacks became so frequent that he was  
forced to wonder if he could keep on    
long in this state4 ,already he felt    
that he might be obliged to give up his 
profession4 ,then1 in those hours when  
he lost heart1 he flung to the winds all
 his youthful ambitions4 ,as a last     
resort1 the voiceless rhetorician would 
take a post in one of the administrative
 departments of the ,empire4 ,the idea  
of being one day a provincial governor  
did not rouse any special repugnance4   
,what a fall for him6 ,yes1 but it is   
the wisest1 the wisest thing1 retorted  
the ill-advising voice1 the one we are  

tempted to listen to when we doubt      
ourselves4  ,friendship1 as always with 
,augustin1 consoled him for his hopeless
 thoughts4 ,near him was the brother of 
his heart1 the faithful ,alypius1 and   
also ,nebridius1 that young man so fond 
of metaphysical discussions4 ,nebridius 
had left his rich estate in the         
,carthaginian suburbs1 and a mother who 
loved him1 simply to live with ,augustin
 in the pursuit of truth4 ,romanianus   
was also there1 but for a less          
disinterested reason4 ,the ,mcenas of   
,thagaste1 after his ostentatious       
expenditure1 found that his fortune was 
threatened4 ,a powerful enemy1 who had  
started a law-suit against him1 worked  
to bring about his downfall4 ,romanianus
 had come to ,milan to defend himself   
before the ,emperor1 and to win the     
support of influential personages about 
the ,court4 ,and so it came about that  
he saw a great deal of ,augustin4       
,besides this little band of            
fellow-countrymen1 the professor of     

rhetoric had some very distinguished    
friends among the aristocracy4 ,he was  
especially intimate with that ,manlius  
,theodorus whom the poet ,claudian      
celebrates1 and to whom he himself later
 on was to dedicate one of his books4   
,this rich man1 who had been ,proconsul 
at ,carthage1 where no doubt he had met 
,augustin1 lived at this time retired in
 the country1 dividing his leisure hours
 between the study of the ,greek        
philosophers1 especially of the         
,platonists1 and the cultivation of his 
vineyards and olive trees4  ,here1 as at
 ,thagaste1 in these beautiful villas on
 the shores of the ,italian lakes1 the  
son of ,monnica gave himself up once    
more to the sweetness of life4 ,i liked 
an easy life1 he avows in all           
simplicity4 ,he felt himself to be more 
,epicurean than ever4 ,he might have    
chosen ,epicureanism altogether1 if he  
had not always kept a fear of what is   
beyond life4 ,but when he was the guest 
of ,manlius ,theodoras1 fronting the dim

 blue mountains of lake ,como1 framed in
 the high windows of the triclinium1 he 
did not think much about what is beyond 
life4 ,he said to himself3 ,why desire  
the impossible8 ,so very little is      
needed to satisfy a human soul4 ,the    
enervating contact of luxury and comfort
 imperceptibly corrupted him4 ,he became
 like those fashionable people whom he  
knew so well how to charm with his talk4
 ,like the fashionable people of all    
times1 these designated victims of the  
,barbarians built1 with their small     
daily pleasures1 a rampart against all  
offensive or saddening realities1       
leaving the important questions without 
answer1 no longer even asking them4 ,and
 they said3 ,i have beautiful books1 a  
well-heated house1 well-trained slaves1 
a delightfully arranged bathroom1 a     
comfortable vehicle3 life is sweet4 ,i  
don't wish for a better4 ,what's the    
use8 ,this one is good enough for me4   
,at the moment when his tired intellect 
gave up everything1 ,augustin was taken 

in the snare of easy enjoyment1 and     
desired to resemble these people at all 
points1 to be one of them4 ,but to be   
one of them he must have a higher post  
than a rhetorician's1 and chiefly it    
would be necessary to put all the       
outside forms and exterior              
respectability into his life that the   
world of fashion shews4 ,thus1 little by
 little1 he began to think seriously of 
marriage4  ,his mistress was the only   
obstacle in the way of this plan4 ,he   
got rid of her4  ,that was a real       
domestic drama1 which he has tried to   
hide2 but it must have been extremely   
painful for him1 to judge by the laments
 which he gives vent to1 despite        
himself1 in some phrases1 very brief    
and1 as it were1 ashamed4 ,in this drama
 ,monnica was certainly the leader1     
though it is likely that ,augustin's    
friends also played their parts4 ,no    
doubt1 they objected to the professor of
 rhetoric1 that he was injuring his     
reputation as well as his future by     

living thus publicly with a concubine4  
,but ,monnica's reasons were more       
forcible and of quite another value4    
,to begin with1 it is very natural that 
she should have suffered in her maternal
 dignity1 as well as in her conscience  
as a ,christian1 by having to put up    
with the company of a stranger who was  
her son's mistress4 ,however large we   
may suppose the house where the ,african
 tribe dwelt1 a certain clashing between
 the guests was unavoidable4 ,generally1
 disputes as to who shall direct the    
domestic arrangements divide            
mother-in-law and daughter-in-law who   
live under one roof4 ,what could be     
,monnica's feelings towards a woman who 
was not even a daughter-in-law and was  
regarded by her as an intruder8 ,she did
 not consider it worth while to make any
 attempt at regulating the entanglement 
of her son by marrying them3 this person
 was of far too low a class4 ,it is all 
very well to be a saint1 but one does   
not forget that one is the widow of a   

man of curial rank1 and that a          
middle-class family with self-respect   
does not lower itself by admitting the  
first-comer into its ranks by marriage4 
,but these were secondary considerations
 in her eyes4 ,the only one which could 
have really preyed on her mind is that  
this woman delayed ,augustin's          
conversion4 ,on account of her1 as      
,monnica saw plainly1 he put off his    
baptism indefinitely4 ,she was the chain
 of sin1 the unclean past under whose   
weight he stifled4 ,he must be freed    
from her as soon as possible4           
,convinced therefore that such was her  
bounden duty1 she worked continually to 
make him break off4 ,by way of putting  
him in some sort face to face with a    
deed impossible to undo1 she searched to
 find him a wife1 with the fine         
eagerness that mothers usually put into 
this kind of hunt4 ,she discovered a    
girl who filled1 as they say1 all the   
requirements1 and who realized all the  
hopes of ,augustin4 ,she had a fortune  

considerable enough not to be a burthen 
on her husband4 ,her money1 added to the
 professor's salary1 would allow the    
pair to live in ease and comfort4 ,so   
they were betrothed4 ,in the uncertainty
 about all things which was ,augustin's 
state just then1 he allowed his mother  
to work at this marriage4 ,no doubt he  
approved1 and like a good official he   
thought it was time for him to settle   
down4  ,from that moment1 the separation
 became inevitable4 ,how did the poor   
creature who had been faithful to him   
during so many years feel at this       
ignominious dismissal8 ,what must have  
been the parting between the child      
,adeodatus and his mother8 ,how1 indeed1
 could ,augustin consent to take him    
from her8 ,here1 again1 he has decided  
to keep silent on this painful drama1   
from a feeling of shame easy to         
understand4 ,of course1 he was no longer
 strongly in love with his mistress1 but
 he was attached to her by some remains 
of tenderness1 and by that very strong  

tie of pleasure shared4 ,he has said it 
in words burning with regret4 ,when they
 took from my side1 as an obstacle to my
 marriage1 her with whom ,i had been    
used for such a long time to sleep1 my  
heart was torn at the place where it was
 stuck to hers1 and the wound was       
bleeding4 ,the phrase casts light while 
it burns4 ,at the place where my heart  
stuck to hers--cor ubi adhrebat4 ,he    
acknowledges then that the union was no 
longer complete1 since at many points he
 had drawn apart4 ,if the soul of his   
mistress had remained the same1 his had 
changed3 however much he might still    
love her1 he was already far from her4  
,be that as it will1 she behaved        
splendidly in the affair--this forsaken 
woman1 this poor creature whom they     
deemed unworthy of ,augustin4 ,she was a
 ,christian2 perhaps she perceived 7for 
a loving woman might well have this kind
 of second-sight7 that it was a question
 not only of the salvation of a loved   
being1 but of a divine mission to which 

he was predestined4 ,she sacrificed     
herself that ,augustin might be an      
apostle and a saint--a great servant of 
,god4 ,so she went back to her ,africa1 
and to shew that she pardoned1 if she   
could not forget1 she vowed that she    
would never know any other man4 ,she who
 had slept with ,augustin could never be
 the wife of any one else4  ,however low
 she may have been to begin with1 the   
unhappy woman was great at this crisis4 
,her nobility of soul humiliated        
,augustin1 and ,monnica herself1 and    
punishment was not slow in falling on   
them both--on him1 for letting himself  
be carried away by sordid plans for     
success in life1 and upon her1 the      
saint1 for having been too              
accommodating4 ,as soon as his mistress 
was gone1 ,augustin suffered from being 
alone4 ,i thought that ,i should be     
miserable1 says he1 without the embraces
 of a woman4 ,now his promised bride was
 too young3 two years must pass before  
he could marry her4 ,how could he       

control himself till then8 ,augustin did
 not hesitate3 he found another         
mistress4  ,there was ,monnica's        
punishment1 cruelly deceived in her     
pious intentions4 ,in vain did she hope 
a great deal of good from this          
approaching marriage3 the silence of    
,god shewed her that she was on the     
wrong track4 ,she begged for a vision1  
some sign which would reveal to her how 
this new-planned marriage would turn    
out4 ,her prayer was not heard4         
,meanwhile1 says ,augustin1 my sins were
 being multiplied4 ,but he did not limit
 himself to his own sins3 he led others 
into temptation4 ,even in matrimonial   
matters1 he felt the need of making     
proselytes4 ,so he fell upon the worthy 
,alypius4 ,he1 to be sure1 guarded      
himself chastely from women1 although in
 the outset of his youth1 to be like    
everybody else1 he had tried pleasure   
with women2 but he had found that it did
 not suit his taste4 ,however1 ,augustin
 put conjugal delights before him with  

so much heat1 that he too began to turn 
his thoughts that way1 not that he was  
overcome by the desire of pleasure1 but 
out of curiosity4 ,for ,alypius1        
marriage would be a sort of philosophic 
and sentimental experience4  ,here are  
quite modern expressions to translate   
very old conditions of soul4 ,the fact  
is1 that these young men1 ,augustin's   
friends and ,augustin himself1 were     
startlingly like those of a generation  
already left behind1 alas6 who will     
probably keep in history the            
presumptuous name they gave themselves3 
,the ,intellectuals4  ,like us1 these   
young ,latins of ,africa1 pupils of the 
rhetoricians and the pagan philosophers1
 believed in hardly anything but ideas4 
,all but ready to affirm that ,truth is 
not to be come at1 they thought1 just   
the same1 that a vain hunt after it was 
a glorious risk to run1 or1 at the very 
least1 an exciting game4 ,for them this 
game made the whole dignity and value of
 life4 ,although they had spasms of     

worldly ambition1 they really despised  
whatever was not pure speculation4 ,in  
their eyes1 the world was ugly2 action  
degrading4 ,they barred themselves      
within the ideal garden of the sage1 the
 philosopher's corner1 as they called   
it1 and jealously they stopped up all   
the holes through which the painful     
reality might have crept through to     
them4 ,but where they differed from us1 
is that they had much less dryness of   
soul1 with every bit as much            
pedantry--but such ingenuous pedantry6  
,that's what saved them--their          
generosity of soul1 the youth of their  
hearts4 ,they loved each other1 and they
 ended by growing fond of life and      
getting in contact with it again4       
,nebridius journeyed from ,carthage to  
,milan1 abandoning his mother and       
family1 neglecting considerable         
interests1 not only to talk philosophy  
with ,augustin1 but to live with him as 
a friend4 ,from this moment they might  
have been putting in practice those     

words of the ,psalm1 which ,augustin ere
 long will be explaining to his monks   
with such tender eloquence3 ,behold1 how
 good and how pleasant it is for        
brethren to dwell together in unity6    
,this is not baseless hypothesis3 they  
had really a plan for establishing a    
kind of lay monastery1 where the sole   
rule would be the search after ,truth   
and the happy life4 ,there would be     
about a dozen solitaries4 ,they would   
make a common stock of what means they  
possessed4 ,the richest1 and among these
 ,romanianus1 promised to devote their  
whole fortune to the community4 ,but the
 recollection of their wives brought    
this naive plan to nothing4 ,they had   
neglected to ask the opinions of their  
wives1 and if these1 as was likely1     
should refuse to enter the convents with
 their husbands1 the married men could  
not face the scheme of living without   
them4 ,augustin especially1 who was on  
the point of starting a new connection1 
declared that he would never find the   

courage for it4 ,he had also forgotten  
that he had many dependents3 his whole  
family lived on him4 ,could he leave his
 mother1 his son1 his brother1 and his  
cousins8  ,in company with ,alypius and 
,nebridius1 he sincerely lamented that  
this fair dream of coenobite life was   
impracticable4 ,we were three famishing 
mouths1 he says1 complaining of our     
distress one to another1 and waiting    
upon ,thee that ,thou mightest give us  
our meat in due season4 ,and in all the 
bitterness that ,thy mercy put into our 
worldly pursuits1 we sought the reason  
why we suffered2 and all was darkness4  
,then we turned to each other           
shuddering1 and asked3 ',how much longer
 can this last8'444  ,one day1 a slight 
commonplace fact which they happened    
upon brought home to them still more    
cruelly their intellectual poverty4     
,augustin1 in his official position as  
municipal orator1 had just delivered the
 official panegyric of the ,emperor4    
,the new year was opening3 the whole    

city was given over to mirth4 ,and yet  
he was cast down1 knowing well that he  
had just uttered many an untruth1 and   
chiefly because he despaired of ever    
being happy4 ,his friends were walking  
with him4 ,suddenly1 as they crossed the
 street1 they came upon a beggar1 quite 
drunk1 who was indulging in the jolliest
 pranks4 ,so there was a happy man6 ,a  
few pence had been enough to give him   
perfect felicity1 whereas they1 the     
philosophers1 despite the greatest      
efforts and all their knowledge1 could  
not manage to win happiness4 ,no doubt1 
as soon as the drunkard grew sober1 he  
would be more wretched than before4     
,what matters that1 if this poor        
joy--yes1 though it be an illusion--can 
so much cheer a poor creature1 thus     
raise him so far above himself6 ,that   
minute1 at least1 he shall have lived in
 full bliss4 ,and to ,augustin came the 
temptation to do as the beggar-man1 to  
throw overboard his philosophical lumber
 and set himself simply to live without 

afterthoughts1 since life is sometimes  
good4  ,but an instinct1 stronger than  
the instinct of pleasure1 said to him3  
,there is something else6--,suppose that
 were true8--,perhaps you might be able 
to find out4 ,this thought tormented him
 unceasingly4 ,now eager1 now           
disheartened1 he set about trying to    
find the something else4     ,v  ,,the  
,,christ ,,in ,,the ,,garden   ,i was   
tired of devouring time and of being    
devoured by it4 ,the whole moral crisis 
that ,augustin is about to undergo might
 be summed up in these few words so     
concentrated and so strong4 ,no more to 
scatter himself among the multitude of  
vain things1 no more to let himself flow
 along with the minutes as they flowed2 
but to pull himself together1 to escape 
from the rout so as to establish himself
 upon the incorruptible and eternal1 to 
break the chains of the old slave he    
continues to be so as to blossom forth  
in liberty1 in thought1 in love--that is
 the salvation he longs for4 ,if it be  

not yet the ,christian salvation1 he is 
on the road which leads to that4  ,one  
might amuse oneself by drawing a kind of
 ideal map-route of his conversion1 and 
fastening into one solid chain the      
reasons which made him emerge at the act
 of faith3 he himself perhaps1 in his   
,confessions1 has given way too much to 
this inclination4 ,in reality1          
conversion is an interior fact1 and 7let
 us repeat it7 a divine fact1 which is  
independent of all control by the       
reason4 ,before it breaks into light1   
there is a long preparation in that dark
 region of the soul which to-day is     
called the subconscious4 ,now nobody has
 more lived his ideas than did ,augustin
 at this time of his life4 ,he took     
them1 left them1 took them up again1    
persisted in his desperate effort4 ,they
 reflect in their disorder his variable 
soul1 and the misgivings which troubled 
it to its depths4 ,and yet it cannot be 
that this interior fact should be in    
violent contradiction with logic4 ,the  

head ought not to hinder the heart4     
,with the future believer1 a parallel   
work goes on in the feelings and in the 
thought4 ,if we are not able to         
reproduce the marches and               
counter-marches1 or follow their        
repeatedly broken line1 we can at least 
shew the main halting-places4  ,let us  
recall ,augustin's state of mind when he
 came to ,milan4 ,he was a sceptic1 the 
kind of sceptic who regards as useless  
all speculation upon the origin of      
things1 and for whom cognition is but an
 approximation of the true4 ,vaguely    
deist1 he saw in ,jesus ,christ only a  
wise man among the wise4 ,he believed in
 ,god and the providences of ,god1 which
 amounts to this3 ,that although        
materialist by tendency1 he admitted the
 divine interference in human           
affairs--the miracle4 ,this is an       
important point which differentiates him
 from modern materialists4  ,next1 he   
listened to the preaching of ,ambrose4  
,the ,bible no longer seemed to him     

absurd or at variance with a moral      
scheme4 ,ambrose's exegesis1 half       
allegorical1 half historic1 might be    
accepted1 taken altogether1 by          
self-respecting minds4 ,but what1 above 
all1 struck ,augustin in the            
,scriptures1 was the wisdom1 the        
practical efficiency4 ,those who lived  
by the ,christian rule were not only    
happy people1 but1 as ,pascal would say1
 good sons1 good husbands1 good fathers1
 good citizens4 ,he began to suspect    
that this life here below is bearable   
and has a meaning only when it is       
fastened to the life on high4 ,even as  
for nations glory is daily bread1 so for
 the individual the sacrifice to        
something which is beyond the world is  
the only way of living in the world4    
,so1 little by little1 ,augustin        
corrected the false notions that the    
,manichees had filled him with about    
,catholicism4 ,he acknowledged that in  
attacking it he had been barking against
 the vain imaginations of carnal        

thoughts4 ,still1 he found great        
difficulty in getting free of all his   
,manichean prejudices4 ,the problem of  
,evil remained inexplicable for him1    
apart from ,manichee teachings4 ,god    
could not be the author of evil4 ,this  
truth admitted1 he went on from it to   
think1 against his former masters1 that 
nothing is bad in itself--bad because it
 has within it a corrupting principle4  
,on the contrary1 all things are good1  
though in varying degrees4 ,the apparent
 defects of creation1 perceived by our  
senses1 blend into the harmony of the   
whole4 ,the toad and the viper have     
their place in the operation of a       
perfectly arranged world4 ,but physical 
ill is not the only ill2 there is also  
the evil that we do and the evil that   
others do us4 ,crime and pain are       
terrible arguments against ,god4 ,now   
the ,christians hold that the first is  
the product solely of the human will1 of
 liberty corrupted by original sin1 and 
that the other is permitted by ,god as a

 means of purifying souls4 ,of course1  
this was a solution1 but it implied a   
belief in the dogmas of the ,fall and of
 the ,redemption4 ,augustin did not     
accept them yet4 ,he was too proud to   
recognize an impaired will and the need 
of a ,saviour4 ,my puffed-out face1 he  
says1 closed up my eyes4  ,nevertheless 
he had taken a great step in rejecting  
the fundamental dogma of                
,manicheeism--the double ,principle of  
good and evil4 ,henceforth for ,augustin
 there exists only one ,principle1      
unique and incorruptible--the ,good1    
which is ,god4 ,but his view of this    
divine substance is still quite         
materialistic1 to such an extent is he  
governed by his senses4 ,in his thought1
 it is corporeal1 spatial1 and infinite4
 ,he pictures it as a kind of limitless 
sea1 wherein is a huge sponge bathing   
the world that it pervades              
throughout4444 ,he was at this point1   
when one of his acquaintances1 a man    
puffed up with immense vanity1 gave him 

some of the ,dialogues of ,plato1       
translated into ,latin by the famous    
rhetorician ,victorinus ,afer4 ,it is   
worth noting1 as we pass1 that          
,augustin1 now thirty-two years old1 a  
rhetorician by profession and a         
philosopher by taste1 had not yet read  
,plato4 ,this is yet another proof to   
what extent the instruction of the      
ancients was oral1 resembling in this   
the ,mussulmans' instruction of to-day4 
,up to now1 he had only known ,plato by 
hearsay4 ,he read him1 and it was as a  
revelation4 ,he learned that a reality  
could exist without diffusion through   
space4 ,he saw ,god as unextended and   
yet infinite4 ,the sense of the divine  
,soul was given to him4 ,then the       
primordial necessity of the ,mediator or
 ,word was borne in upon his mind4 ,it  
is the ,word which has created the      
world4 ,it is through the ,word that the
 world1 and ,god1 and all things1       
including ourselves1 become             
comprehensible to us4 ,what an          

astonishment6 ,plato corresponded with  
,st4 ,john6 ,in the beginning was the   
,word--in principio erat verbum--said   
the fourth ,gospel4 ,but it was not only
 an ,evangelist that ,augustin          
discovered in the ,platonist dialogues1 
it was almost all the essential part of 
the doctrine of ,christ4 ,he saw plainly
 the profound differences1 but for the  
moment he was struck by the             
resemblances1 and they carried him away4
 ,what delighted him1 first of all1 is  
the beauty of the world1 constructed    
after ,his own likeness by the          
,demiurgus4 ,god is ,beauty2 the world  
is fair as ,he who made it4 ,this       
metaphysical vision entranced ,augustin2
 his whole heart leaped towards this    
ineffably beautiful ,divinity4 ,carried 
away by enthusiasm he cries3 ,i         
marvelled to find that now ,i loved     
,thee1 ,o my ,god1 and not a phantasm in
 ,thy stead4 ,if ,i was not yet in a    
state to enjoy ,thee1 ,i was swept up to
 ,thee by ,thy beauty4  ,but such an    

abandonment could not endure3 ,i was not
 yet in a state to enjoy ,thee4 ,there  
is ,augustin's main objection to        
,platonism4 ,he felt that instead of    
touching ,god1 of enjoying ,him1 he     
would be held by purely mental          
conceptions1 that he would be always    
losing his way among the phantasmagoria 
of idealism4 ,what was the use of giving
 up the illusory realities of the       
senses1 if it were not to get hold of   
more solid realities8 ,though his       
intelligence1 his poet's imagination1   
might be attracted by the glamour of    
,platonism1 his heart was not satisfied4
 ,it is one thing1 he says1 from some   
wooded height to behold the land of     
peace1 another thing to march thither   
along the high road4  ,st4 ,paul it was 
who shewed him this road4 ,he began to  
read the ,epistles carefully1 and the   
more he read of them the more he became 
aware of the abyss which separates      
philosophy from wisdom--the one which   
marshals the ideas of things1 the other 

which1 ignoring ideas1 leads right up to
 the divine realities whereon the others
 are suspended4 ,the ,apostle taught    
,augustin that it was not enough to get 
a glimpse of ,god through the crystal of
 concepts1 but that it is necessary to  
be united to ,him in spirit and in      
truth--to possess and enjoy ,him4 ,and  
to unite itself to this ,good1 the soul 
must get itself into a fit state for    
such a union1 purify and cure itself of 
all its fleshly maladies1 descry its    
place in the world and hold to it4      
,necessity of repentance1 of humility1  
of the contrite and humble heart4 ,only 
the contrite and humble heart shall see 
,god4 ,the broken heart shall be cured1 
says the ,scripture1 but the heart of   
the proud man shall be shattered4 ,so   
,augustin1 the intellectual1 had to     
change his methods1 and he felt that    
this change was right4 ,if the writer   
who wants to write beautiful things     
ought to put himself beforehand into    
some sort of a state of grace1 wherein  

not only vile actions1 but unworthy     
thoughts become impossible1 the         
,christian1 in like manner1 must cleanse
 and prepare his inward eye to perceive 
the divine verities4 ,augustin grasped  
this thought in reading ,st4 ,paul4 ,but
 what1 above all1 appealed to him in the
 ,epistles1 was their paternal voice1   
the mildness and graciousness hidden    
beneath the uncultivated roughness of   
the phrases4 ,he was charmed by this4   
,how different from the philosophers6   
,those celebrated pages have no trace of
 the pious soul1 the tears of           
repentance1 nor of ,thy sacrifice1 ,o my
 ,god1 nor of the troubled spirit4444   
,no one there hearkened to the ,christ  
that calleth1 ',come unto ,me1 all ye   
that labour6' ,they think it scorn to   
learn from ,him1 because ,he is meek and
 lowly of heart4 ,for ,thou hast hidden 
these things from the wise and prudent1 
and hast revealed them unto babes4  ,but
 it is not much to bend3 what is1 above 
all1 requisite for him is to get rid of 

his passions4 ,now ,augustin's passions 
were old friends4 ,how could he part    
with them8 ,he lacked courage for this  
heroic treatment4 ,just think of what a 
young man of thirty-two is4 ,he is      
always thinking of women4 ,lust holds   
him by the entanglements of habit1 and  
he takes pleasure in the impurity of his
 heart4 ,when1 yielding to the          
exhortations of the ,apostle1 he tried  
to shape his conduct to his new way of  
thinking1 the old friends trooped to beg
 of him not to do anything of the kind4 
,they pulled me1 he says1 by the coat of
 my flesh1 and they murmured in my      
ear--,what1 are you leaving us8 ,shall  
we be no more with you1 for ever8 ,non  
erimus tecum ultra in aeternum8444 ,and 
from that instant1 the thing you well   
know1 and still another thing1 will be  
forbidden you for ever--for eternity4444
  ,eternity6 ,dread word4 ,augustin     
shook with fear4 ,then1 calming himself1
 he said to them3 ,i know you2 ,i know  
you too well6 ,you are ,desire without  

hope1 the ,gulf without soundings that  
nothing can fill up4 ,i have suffered   
enough because of you4 ,and the         
anguished dialogue continued3 ,what     
matters that6 ,if the only possible     
happiness for you is to suffer on our   
account1 to fling your body into the    
voracious gulf1 without end1 without    
hope6--,let cowards act so6444 ,for me  
there is another happiness than yours4  
,there is something else3 ,i am certain4
 ,then the friends1 put a little out of 
countenance by this convinced tone1     
muttered in a lower voice3 ,still1 just 
suppose you are losing this wretched    
pleasure for a phantasm still more      
empty4444 ,besides1 you are mistaken    
about your strength4 ,you cannot--no1   
you never can exist without us4 ,they   
had touched the galling spot3 ,augustin 
knew his weakness only too well4 ,and   
his burning imagination presented to him
 with extraordinary lucidity these      
pleasures which he could not do without4
 ,they were not only embracements1 but  

also those trifles1 those superfluous   
nothings1 those light pleasantnesses    
which make us fond of life4 ,the        
perfidious old friends continued to     
whisper3 ,wait a bit yet6 ,the things   
you despise have a charm of their own2  
they bring even no small sweetness4 ,you
 ought not to cut yourself off          
light-heartedly1 for it would be        
shameful to return to them afterwards4  
,he passed in review all the things he  
was going to give up2 he saw them shine 
before him tinted in the most alluring  
colours3 gaming1 elaborate              
entertainments1 music1 song1 perfumes1  
books1 poetry1 flowers1 the coolness of 
forests 7he remembered the woods about  
,thagaste1 and his hunting days with    
,romanianus7--in a word1 all that he had
 ever cared about1 even to that         
freshness of the light1 so kind to human
 eyes4  ,augustin was not able to decide
 in this conflict between temptation and
 the decree of his conscience1 and he   
became desperate4 ,his will1 enfeebled  

by sin1 was unable to struggle against  
itself4 ,and so he continued to endure  
life and to be devoured by time4  ,the  
life of that particular period1 if it   
was endurable for quiet folk who were   
careful to have nothing to do with      
politics--this life of the ,empire near 
its end1 could be nothing but a         
scandalous spectacle for an             
honest-minded and high-souled man such  
as ,augustin4 ,it ought to have         
disgusted him at once with remaining in 
the world4 ,at ,milan1 connected as he  
was with the ,court1 he was in a good   
position to see how much baseness and   
ferocity may spring from human avarice  
and ambition4 ,if the present was       
hideous1 the future promised to be      
sinister4 ,the ,roman ,empire no longer 
existed save in name4 ,foreigners1 come 
from all the countries of the           
,mediterranean1 plundered the provinces 
under its authority4 ,the army was      
almost altogether in the hands of the   
,barbarians4 ,they were ,gothic tribunes

 who kept order outside the basilica    
where ,ambrose had closed himself in    
with his people to withstand the order  
of the ,empress ,justina1 who wished to 
hand over this church to the ,arians4   
,levantine eunuchs domineered over the  
exchequer-clerks in the palace1 and     
officials of all ranks4 ,all these      
people plundered where they could4 ,the 
,empire1 even grown feeble1 was always  
an excellent machine to rule men and    
extract gold from nations4 ,accordingly1
 ambitious men and adventurers1 wherever
 they came from1 tried for the ,purple3 
it was still worth risking one's skin   
for4 ,even more than the patriots 7and  
there were still some very energetic men
 of this sort who were overcome with    
grief at the state of things71 the men  
of rapine and violence were interested  
in maintaining the ,empire4 ,the        
,barbarians themselves desired to be    
included1 so that they might pillage it 
with more impunity4  ,as for the        
emperors1 even sincere ,christians1 they

 were obliged to become abominable      
tyrants to defend their constantly      
threatened lives4 ,never were executions
 more frequent or more cruel than at    
this time4 ,at ,milan they might have   
shewn ,augustin1 hard by the ,imperial  
sleeping apartments1 the cave where the 
preceding ,emperor1 choleric            
,valentinian1 kept two bears1 ,bit of   
,gold and ,innocence1 who were his rapid
 executioners4 ,he fed them with the    
flesh of those condemned to die4        
,possibly ,bit of ,gold was still       
living4 ,innocence--observe the         
atrocious irony of this name--had been  
restored to the liberty of her native   
forests1 as a reward for her good and   
loyal services4  ,was ,augustin1 who    
still thought of becoming an official1  
going to mix in with this lot of        
swindlers1 assassins1 and brute beasts8 
,as he studied them near at hand1 he    
felt his goodwill grow weak4 ,like all  
those who belong to worn-out            
generations1 he must have been disgusted

 with action and the villainies it      
involves4 ,just before great            
catastrophes1 or just after1 there is an
 epidemic of black pessimism which      
freezes delicate souls4 ,besides1 he was
 ill--a favourable circumstance for a   
disappointed man if he entertains       
thoughts of giving up the world4 ,in the
 fogs of ,milan his chest and throat    
became worse and worse4 ,and then it is 
likely enough that he was not succeeding
 better as rhetorician than he had at   
,rome4 ,it was a kind of fatality for   
all ,africans4 ,however great their     
reputation in their own country1 that   
was the end of it as soon as they       
crossed the sea4 ,apuleius1 the great   
man of ,carthage1 had tried the         
experiment to his cost4 ,they had made  
fun of his guttural ,carthaginian       
pronunciation4 ,the same kind of thing  
happened to ,augustin4 ,the ,milanese   
turned his ,african accent into         
ridicule4 ,he even found among them     
certain purists who discovered solecisms

 in his phrases4  ,but these scratches  
at his self-respect1 this increasing    
disgust of men and things1 were small   
matters compared to what was going on   
within him4 ,augustin had a sick soul4  
,the forebodings he had always been     
subject to were now become the suffering
 of every moment4 ,at certain times he  
was assailed by those great waves of    
sadness which unfurl all of a sudden    
from the depths of the unknown4 ,in such
 minutes we believe that the whole world
 is hurling itself against us4 ,the     
great wave rolled him over2 he got up   
again all wounded4 ,and he felt stretch 
forth in him a new will which was not   
his own1 under which the other1 the will
 to sin1 struggled4 ,it was like the    
approach of an invisible being whose    
contact overcame him with an anguish    
which was full of pleasure4 ,this being 
wanted to open out within him1 but the  
weight of his old sins prevented4 ,then 
his soul cried out in pain4  ,in those  
moments1 what a relief it was to let    

himself float on the canticles of the   
,church6 ,the liturgical chants were    
then something new in the ,west4 ,it was
 in the very year we are dealing with   
that ,st4 ,ambrose started the custom in
 the ,milanese basilicas4  ,the         
childhood of our hymns6 ,one cannot     
think about that without being moved4   
,one envies ,augustin for having heard  
them in their spring freshness4 ,these  
lovely musics1 which were to sound      
during so many centuries1 and still soar
 against the vaults of cathedrals1 were 
leaving the nest for the first time4 ,we
 cannot think that a day will come when 
they will fold their wings and fall     
silent4 ,since human bodies1 temples of 
the ,holy ,ghost1 will live again in    
glory1 one would like to believe with   
,dante that the hymns1 temples of the   
,word1 are likewise immortal1 and that  
they will still be heard in the         
everlasting4 ,doubtless in the twilight 
glens of ,purgatory the bewailing souls 
continue to sing the ,te lucis ante     

terminum1 even as in the star-circles1  
where the ,blessed move ever1 will      
always leap up the triumphant notes of  
the ,magnificat4444  ,even on those who 
have lost the faith1 the power of these 
hymns is irresistible4 ,if you knew1    
said ,renan1 the charm that the         
,barbarian magicians knew how to put    
into their canticles4 ,when ,i remember 
them1 my heart melts4 ,the heart of     
,augustin1 who had not yet the faith1   
melted too in hearing them3 ,how ,i have
 cried1 my ,god1 over the hymns and     
canticles when the sweet sound of the   
music of ,thy ,church thrilled my soul6 
,as the music flowed into my ears1 and  
,thy truth trickled into my heart1 the  
tide of devotion swelled high within me1
 and the tears ran down1 and there was  
gladness in those tears4 ,his heart cast
 off its heaviness1 while his mind was  
shaken by the heavenly music4 ,augustin 
loved music passionately4 ,at this time 
he conceived ,god as the ,great         
,musician of the spheres2 and soon he   

will write that we are a strophe in a   
poem4 ,at the same time1 the vivid and  
lightning figures of the ,psalms1       
sweeping over the insipid metaphors of  
the rhetoric which encumbered his       
memory1 awoke in the depths of him his  
wild ,african imagination and sent him  
soaring4 ,and then the affectionate     
note1 the plaint in those sacred songs3 
,deus1 ,deus meus6--,o ,god6 ,o my ,god6
 ,the ,divinity was no longer a cold    
abstraction1 a phantom that withdrew    
into an unapproachable infinite2 ,he    
became the actual possession of the     
loving soul4 ,he leant over ,his poor   
scarred creature1 took him in ,his arms1
 and comforted him like a kind father4  
,augustin wept with tenderness and      
ecstasy1 but also with despair4 ,he wept
 upon himself4 ,he saw that he had not  
the courage to be happy with the only   
possible happiness4 ,what1 indeed1 was  
he seeking1 unless it were to capture   
this blessed life which he had pursued  
so long8 ,what he had tried to get out  

of all his loves was the complete gift  
of his soul--to realize himself         
completely4 ,now1 this completeness of  
self is only in ,god--in ,deo salutari  
meo4 ,the souls we have wounded are in  
unison with us1 and with themselves1    
only in ,god4444 ,and the sweet         
,christian symbolism invited him with   
its most enticing images3 the ,shades of
 ,paradise2 the ,fountain of ,living    
,water2 the ,repose in the ,lord ,god2  
the green ,branch of the ,dove1         
harbinger of peace4444 ,but the passions
 still resisted4 ,to-morrow6 ,wait a    
little yet6 ,shall we be no more with   
you1 for ever8 ,non erimus tecum ultra  
in aeternum8444 ,what a dismal sound in 
these syllables1 and how terrifying for 
a timid soul6 ,they fell1 heavy as      
bronze1 on the soul of ,augustin4  ,an  
end had to be put to it somehow4 ,what  
was needed was some one who would force 
him out of his indecision4              
,instinctively1 led by that mysterious  
will which he felt had arisen within    

him1 he went to see1 and consult in his 
distress1 an old priest named           
,simplicianus1 who had converted or     
directed ,bishop ,ambrose in his young  
days4 ,no doubt ,augustin spoke to him  
of what he had lately been reading1 and 
particularly of his ,platonist studies1 
and of all the efforts he made to enter 
the communion of ,christ4 ,he           
acknowledged that he was convinced1 but 
he could not bend to the practice of the
 ,christian life4 ,then1 very skilfully1
 as one artful in differentiating souls1
 perceiving that vanity was not yet dead
 in ,augustin1 ,simplicianus offered him
 as an example the very translator of   
those ,platonic books which he had just 
been reading so enthusiastically--that  
famous ,victorinus ,afer1 that orator so
 learned and admired1 who had his statue
 in the ,roman ,forum4 ,because of some 
remains of philosophical pride1 and also
 from fear of offending his friends     
among the ,roman aristocracy1 who were  
still almost altogether pagan1          

,victorinus was a ,christian only in his
 head4 ,in vain ,simplicianus pointed   
out to him how illogical his conduct    
was4 ,but suddenly and unexpectedly he  
decided4 ,the day of the baptism of the 
catechumens1 this celebrated man mounted
 the platform set up in the basilica for
 the profession of faith of the newly   
converted1 and there1 like the meanest  
of the faithful1 he delivered his       
profession before all the assembled     
people4 ,that was a dramatic stroke4    
,the crowd1 jubilant over this fine     
performance1 cheered the neophyte4 ,and 
on all sides they shouted3 ,victorinus6 
,victorinus6  ,augustin listened to this
 little story1 whereof all the details  
were so happily chosen to act on an     
imagination like his3--the statue in the
 ,roman ,forum2 the platform from the   
height of which the orator had spoken a 
language so new and unexpected2 the     
exulting shouts of the crowd3           
,victorinus6 ,victorinus6 ,already he   
saw himself in the same position4 ,there

 he was in the basilica1 on the         
platform1 in presence of ,bishop        
,ambrose2 he too repeated his profession
 of faith1 and the people of ,milan     
clapped their hands--,augustin6         
,augustin6 ,but can a humble and        
contrite heart thus take pleasure in    
human adulation8 ,if ,augustin did      
become a convert1 it would be entirely  
for ,god and before ,god4 ,very quickly 
he put aside the temptation4444         
,nevertheless1 this example1 coming from
 so exalted a man1 made a very deep and 
beneficial impression4 ,he looked upon  
it as a providential sign1 a lesson in  
courage which concerned him personally4 
,some time after that1 he received a    
visit from a fellow-countryman1 a       
certain ,pontitianus1 who had a high    
position in the ,imperial household4    
,augustin happened to be alone in the   
house with his friend ,alypius4 ,they   
sat down to talk1 and by chance the     
visitor noticed the ,epistles of ,st4   
,paul lying on a table for playing      

games4 ,this started the conversation4  
,pontitianus1 who was a ,christian1     
praised the ascetic life1 and especially
 the wonders of holiness wrought by     
,antony and his companions in the       
,egyptian deserts4 ,this subject was in 
the air4 ,in ,catholic circles at ,rome1
 they spoke of little else than these   
,egyptian solitaries1 and of the number1
 growing larger and larger1 of those who
 stripped themselves of their worldly   
goods to live in utter renunciation4    
,what was the good of keeping these     
worldly goods1 that the avarice of      
,government taxation confiscated so     
easily1 and that the ,barbarians watched
 covetously from afar6 ,the brutes who  
came down from ,germany would get hold  
of them sooner or later4 ,and even      
supposing one might save them1 retain an
 ever-uncertain enjoyment of them1 was  
the life of the time really worth the   
trouble of living8 ,there was nothing   
more to hope for the ,empire4 ,the hour 
of the great desolation was at hand4444 

,pontitianus1 observing the effect of   
his words on his hearers1 was led to    
tell them a quite private adventure of  
his own4 ,he was at ,trves1 in          
attendance on the ,court4 ,well1 one    
afternoon while the ,emperor was at the 
circus1 he and three of his friends1    
like himself attached to the household1 
went for a stroll beyond the city walls4
 ,two of them parted from the others and
 went off into the country1 and there   
they came upon a hut where dwelt certain
 hermits4 ,they went in1 and found a    
book--,the ,life of ,st4 ,antony4 ,they 
read in it2 and for them that was a     
conversion thunder-striking1            
instantaneous4 ,the two courtiers       
resolved to join the solitaries there   
and then1 and they never went back to   
the ,palace4 ,and they were             
betrothed6444  ,the tone of ,pontitianus
 as he recalled this conscience-drama   
which he had witnessed1 betrayed a      
strange emotion which gradually took    
hold of ,augustin4 ,his guest's words   

resounded in him like the blows of a    
clapper in a bell4 ,he saw himself in   
the two courtiers of ,trves4 ,he too was
 tired of the world1 he too was         
betrothed4 ,was he going to do as the   
,emperor--remain in the circus taken up 
with idle pleasures1 while others took  
the road to the sole happiness8  ,when  
,pontitianus was gone1 ,augustin was in 
a desperate state4 ,the repentant soul  
of the two courtiers had passed into    
his4 ,his will uprose in grievous       
conflict and tortured itself4 ,he seized
 ,alypius roughly by the arm and cried  
out to him in extraordinary excitement3 
,what are we about8 ,yes1 ,i say1 what  
are we about8 ,did you not hear8 ,simple
 men arise and take ,heaven by violence1
 and we with all our heartless          
learning--look how we are wallowing in  
flesh and blood6  ,alypius stared at    
him1 stupefied4 ,the truth is1 adds     
,augustin1 that ,i scarcely knew what ,i
 said4 ,my face1 my eyes1 my colour1 and
 the change in my voice expressed my    

meaning much better than my words4 ,if  
he guessed from this upheaval of his    
whole frame how close at hand was the   
heavenly visitation1 all he felt at the 
moment was a great need to weep1 and he 
wanted solitude to weep freely4 ,he went
 down into the garden4 ,alypius1 feeling
 uneasy1 followed at a distance1 and in 
silence sat down beside him on the bench
 where he had paused4 ,augustin did not 
even notice that his friend was there4  
,his agony of spirit began again4 ,all  
his faults1 all his old stains came once
 more to his mind1 and he grew furious  
against his cowardly feebleness as he   
felt how much he still clung to them4   
,oh1 to tear himself free from all these
 miseries--to finish with them once for 
all6444 ,suddenly he sprang up4 ,it was 
as if a gust of the tempest had struck  
him4 ,he rushed to the end of the       
garden1 flung himself on his knees under
 a fig-tree1 and with his forehead      
pressed against the earth he burst into 
tears4 ,even as the olive-tree at       

,jerusalem which sheltered the last     
watch of the ,divine ,master1 the       
fig-tree of ,milan saw fall upon its    
roots a sweat of blood4 ,augustin1      
breathless in the victorious embrace of 
,grace1 panted3 ,how long1 how long8444 
,to-morrow and to-morrow8444 ,why not   
now8 ,why not this hour make an end of  
my vileness8444  ,now1 at this very     
moment a child's voice from the         
neighbouring house began repeating in a 
kind of chant3 ,take and read1 take and 
read4 ,augustin shuddered4 ,what was    
this refrain8 ,was it a nursery-rhyme   
that the little children of the         
countryside used to sing8 ,he could not 
recollect it2 he had never heard it     
before4444 ,immediately1 as upon a      
divine command1 he rose to his feet and 
ran back to the place where ,alypius was
 sitting1 for he had left ,st4 ,paul's  
,epistles lying there4 ,he opened the   
book1 and the passage on which his eyes 
first fell was this3 ,put ye on the     
,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and make not      

provision for the flesh to fulfil the   
lusts thereof4444 ,the flesh6444 ,the   
sacred text aimed at him directly--at   
him1 ,augustin1 still so full of lust6  
,this command was the answer from on    
high4444  ,he put his finger between the
 leaves1 closed the volume4 ,his frenzy 
had passed away4 ,a great peace was shed
 upon him--it was all over4 ,with a calm
 face he told ,alypius what had         
happened1 and without lingering he went 
into ,monnica's room to tell her also4  
,the ,saint was not surprised4 ,it was  
long now since she had been told1 ,where
 ,i am1 there shalt thou be also4 ,but  
she gave way to an outburst of joy4 ,her
 mission was done4 ,now she might sing  
her canticle of thanksgiving and enter  
into ,god's peace4  ,meanwhile1 the good
 ,alypius1 always circumspect and       
practical1 had opened the book again and
 shewn his friend what followed the     
verse1 for ,augustin1 in his excitement1
 had neglected to read further4 ,the    
,apostle said1 ,him that is weak in the 

faith receive ye4 ,this also applied to 
,augustin4 ,that was only too certain3  
his new faith was still very unsteady4  
,let not presumption blind him6 ,yes1 no
 doubt with all his soul he desired to  
be a ,christian4 ,it now remained for   
him to become one4     ,,the ,,fourth   
,,part  ,,the ,,hidden ,,life     ,fac  
me1 ,pater1 quaerere te4   ,cause me to 
seek ,thee1 ,o my ,father4              
,soliloquies1 ,i1 i4     ,i  ,,the      
,,last ,,smile ,,of ,,the ,,muse   ,now 
that ,augustin had been at last touched 
by grace1 was he after all going to make
 a sensational conversion like his      
professional brother1 the celebrated    
,victorinus8  ,he knew well enough that 
there is a good example set by these    
noisy conversions which works on a vast 
number of people4 ,and however contrite 
and humble his heart might be1 he was   
quite aware that in ,milan he was an    
important personage4 ,what excitement1  
if he were to resign his professorship  
on the ground that he wished to spend   

the rest of his life in the ascetic way 
of the ,christians6444 ,but he preferred
 to avoid the scandal on one side1 and  
the loud praise on the other4 ,god alone
 and some very dear friends should      
witness his repentance4  ,there were now
 hardly twenty days before the vacation4
 ,he would be patient till then4 ,thus1 
the parents of his pupils would not have
 any ground to reproach him for leaving 
them before the end of term1 and as his 
health was getting worse1 he would have 
a good excuse to give up his post4 ,the 
dampness of the climate had given him a 
sort of chronic bronchitis which the    
summer had not cured4 ,he had difficulty
 in breathing2 his voice was muffled and
 thin--so much so1 that he began to     
think his lungs were attacked4          
,augustin's health really needed care4  
,this was a quite good enough reason to 
interrupt his lectures4 ,having         
fulfilled his professional duties to the
 very end--and he assures us that it    
took some courage--he left the          

professorial chair with the declared    
intention of never occupying it again4  
,here1 then1 he is free from all worldly
 ties4 ,from now on he can prepare      
himself for baptism in silence and      
retreat4 ,but still he must live        
somehow6 ,augustin had more souls       
depending on him than ever3 his son1 his
 mother1 his brother1 his cousins--a    
heavy burthen which he had been         
struggling under for a long time4 ,it is
 probable that once more ,romanianus1   
who was still in ,milan1 came to his    
assistance4 ,it will be remembered that 
the ,mcenas of ,thagaste had taken up   
warmly the plan of a lay monastery which
 ,augustin and his friends had lost     
their heads over1 and he had promised to
 subscribe a large sum4 ,augustin's     
retreat was a first step towards        
realizing this plan in a new shape4     
,romanianus1 no doubt1 approved of it4  
,in any case1 he asked ,augustin to keep
 on giving lessons to his son           
,licentius4 ,another young man1         

,trygetius1 begged for the same favour4 
,augustin therefore did not intend to   
give up his employment altogether4 ,he  
had changed1 for the present at least1  
from a ,government professor into a     
private one4  ,this meant that he had a 
certain living4 ,all he wanted now was a
 shelter4 ,a friend1 a colleague1 the   
grammarian ,verecundus1 graciously      
offered him this4 ,verecundus thus      
repaid a favour which ,augustin had     
quite recently done him4 ,it was at     
,augustin's request that ,nebridius1 who
 was a friend of both1 agreed to take   
over the classes of the grammarian1 who 
was obliged to go away4 ,although rich1 
full of talent1 and very eager for peace
 and solitude1 ,nebridius1 simply out of
 good-nature1 was willing to take the   
place of ,verecundus in his very modest 
employment4 ,one cannot too much admire 
the generosity and kindliness of these  
ancient and ,christian manners4 ,in     
those days1 friendship knew nothing of  
our narrow and shabby egoisms4  ,now    

,verecundus owned a country house just  
outside ,milan1 at ,cassicium4 ,he      
suggested to ,augustin to spend the     
vacation there1 and even to live there  
permanently with all his people1 on     
condition of looking after the property 
and keeping it up4  ,attempts have been 
made to find traces of this hospitable  
dwelling where the future monk of       
,thagaste and ,hippo bade farewell to   
the world4 ,cassicium has disappeared4  
,the imagination is free to rebuild it  
fancifully in any part of the rich      
country which lies about ,milan4 ,still1
 if the youthful ,licentius has not     
yielded too much to metaphor in the     
verses wherein he recalls to ,augustin  
,departed suns among ,italian           
mountain-heights1 it is likely that the 
estate of ,verecundus lay upon those    
first mountain-slopes which roll into   
the ,brianza range4 ,even to-day1 the   
rich ,milanese have their country houses
 among those hills4  ,to ,augustin and  
his companions this flourishing         

,lombardy must have seemed another      
promised land4 ,the country1 wonderfully
 fertile and cultivated1 is one orchard1
 where fruit trees cluster1 and1 in all 
ways1 deep streams wind1 slow-flowing   
and stocked with fish4 ,everywhere is   
the tremor of running                   
water--inconceivably fresh music for    
,african ears4 ,a scent of mint and     
aniseed2 fields with grass growing high 
and straight in which you plunge up to  
the knees4 ,here and there1 deeply      
engulfed little valleys with their      
bunches of green covert1 slashed with   
the rose plumes of the lime trees and   
the burnished leaves of the hazels1 and 
where already the northern firs lift    
their black needles4 ,far off1 blended  
in one violet mass1 the ,alps1 peak upon
 peak1 covered with snow2 and nearer in 
view1 sheer cliffs1 jutting fastnesses1 
ploughed through with black gorges which
 make flare out plainer the bronze-gold 
of their slopes4 ,not far off1 the      
enchanted lakes slumber4 ,it seems that 

an emblazonment fluctuates from their   
waters1 and writhing above the crags    
which imprison them drifts athwart a sky
 sometimes a little chill--,leonardo's  
pensive sky of shadowed amethyst--again 
of a flushed blue1 whereupon float great
 clouds1 silken and ruddy1 as in the    
backgrounds of ,veronese's pictures4    
,the beauty of the light lightens and   
beautifies the over-heavy opulence of   
the land4  ,and wherever the country    
house of ,verecundus may be placed1 some
 bit of this triumphal landscape will be
 found4 ,as for the house itself1       
,augustin has said enough about it for  
us to see it fairly well4 ,it was no    
doubt one of those old rustic buildings1
 inhabited only some few months of the  
year1 in the warmest season1 and for the
 rest of the time given over to the     
frolics of mice and rats4 ,without any  
pretence to architectural form1 it had  
been enlarged and renovated simply for  
the greater convenience of those who    
lived there4 ,there was no attempt at   

symmetry2 the main door was not in the  
middle of the building1 and there was   
another door on one of the sides4 ,the  
sole luxury of this country house was   
perhaps the bath-houses4 ,these baths1  
however simple they might be1           
nevertheless reminded ,augustin of the  
decoration of gymnasiums4 ,does this    
mean that he found there rich pavements1
 mosaics1 and statues8 ,these were quite
 usual things in ,roman villas4 ,the    
,italians have always had1 at all       
periods1 a great fondness for statues   
and mosaics4 ,not very particular about 
the quality1 they made up for it by the 
quantity4 ,and when they could not treat
 themselves to the real thing1 it was   
good enough to give themselves the      
make-believe in painting4 ,i can imagine
 easily enough ,verecundus' house1      
painted in fresco from top to bottom1   
inside and out1 like those houses at    
,pompeii1 or the modern ,milanese       
villas4  ,there was no attempt at       
ornamental gardens at ,cassicium4 ,the  

surroundings must have been             
kitchen-garden1 grazing-land1 or        
ploughed fields1 as in a farm4 ,a       
meadow--not in the least the lawns found
 in front of a large country house--lay 
before the dwelling1 which was protected
 from sun and wind by clumps of chestnut
 trees4 ,there1 stretched on the grass  
under the shade of one of these         
spreading trees1 they chatted gaily     
while listening to the broken song of   
the brook1 as it flowed under the       
windows of the baths4 ,they lived very  
close to nature1 almost the life of     
field-tillers4 ,the whole charm of      
,cassicium consisted in its silence1 its
 peace1 and1 above all1 its fresh air4  
,augustin's tired lungs breathed there a
 purer air than in ,milan1 where the    
humid summer heat is crushing4 ,his     
soul1 yearning for retirement1          
discovered a retreat here in harmony    
with his new desires1 a country solitude
 of which the ,virgilian grace still    
appealed to his literary imagination4   

,the days he passed there were days of  
blessedness for him4 ,long afterwards he
 was deeply moved when he recalled them1
 and in an outburst of gratitude towards
 his host1 he prayed ,god to pay him his
 debt4 ,thou wilt recompense him1 ,o    
,lord1 on the day of the resurrection of
 the just4444 ,for that country house at
 ,cassicium where we found shelter in   
,thee from the burning summer of our    
time1 ,thou wilt repay to ,verecundus   
the coolness and evergreen shade of ,thy
 paradise4444  ,that was an unequalled  
moment in ,augustin's life4 ,following  
immediately upon the mental crisis which
 had even worn out his body1 he seems to
 be experiencing the pleasure of        
convalescence4 ,he slackens1 and1 as he 
says himself1 he rests4 ,his excitement 
is quenched1 but his faith remains as   
firm as ever4 ,with a cairn and         
supremely lucid mind he judges his      
condition2 he sees clearly all that he  
has still to do ere he becomes a        
thorough ,christian4 ,first1 he must    

grow familiar with the ,scripture1 solve
 certain urgent questions--that of the  
soul1 for example1 its nature and       
origin--which possessed him just then4  
,then he must change his conduct1 alter 
his ways of thought1 and1 if one may so 
speak1 disinfect his mind still all     
saturated with pagan influences3 a      
delicate work--yes1 and an uneasy1 at   
times even painful1 which would take    
more than one day4  ,after twenty       
centuries of ,christianity1 and in spite
 of our claim to understand all things1 
we do not yet realize very well what an 
abyss lies between us and paganism4     
,when by chance we come upon pagan      
traces in certain primitive regions of  
the ,south of ,europe1 we get muddled1  
and attribute to ,catholicism what is   
but a survival of old abolished customs1
 so far from us that we cannot recognize
 them any more4 ,augustin1 on the       
contrary1 was right next to them4 ,when 
he strolled over the fields and through 
the woods around ,cassicium1 the ,fauns 

and woodland ,nymphs of the old         
mythology haunted his memory1 and all   
but stood before his eyes4 ,he could not
 take a walk without coming upon one of 
their chapels1 or striking against a    
boundary-mark still all greasy from the 
oil with which the superstitious        
peasants had drenched it4 ,like himself1
 the old pagan land had not yet quite   
put on the ,christ of the new era4 ,he  
was like that ,hermes ,criophorus1 who  
awkwardly symbolized the ,saviour on the
 walls of the ,catacombs4 ,even as the  
,bearer of ,rams changed little by      
little into the ,good ,shepherd1 the    
,bishop of ,hippo emerged slowly from   
the rhetorician ,augustin4  ,he became  
aware of it during that languid autumn  
at ,cassicium--that autumn heavy with   
all the rotting of summer1 but which    
already promised the great winter peace4
 ,the yellow leaves of the chestnuts    
were heaped by the roadside4 ,they fell 
in the brook which flowed near the      
baths1 and the slowed water ceased to   

sing4 ,augustin strained his ears for   
it4 ,his soul also was blocked1 choked  
up by all the deposit of his passions4  
,but he knew that soon the chant of his 
new life would begin in triumphal       
fashion1 and he said over to himself the
 words of the psalm3 ,cantate mihi      
canticum novum--,sing unto me a new     
song4  ,unfortunately for ,augustin1 his
 soul and its salvation was not his only
 care at ,cassicium3 he had a thousand  
others4 ,so it shall be with him        
throughout his life4 ,till the very end 
he will long for solitude1 for the life 
in ,god1 and till the end ,god will     
charge him with the care of his         
brethren4 ,this great spirit shall live 
above all by charity4  ,at the house of 
,verecundus he was not only the head1   
but he had a complete country estate to 
direct and supervise4 ,probably all the 
guests in the house helped him4 ,they   
divided the duties4 ,the good ,alypius1 
who was used to business and versed in  
the twisted ways of the law1 took over  

the foreign affairs--the buying and     
selling1 probably the accounts also4 ,he
 was continually on the road to ,milan4 
,augustin attended to the               
correspondence1 and every morning       
appointed their work to the             
farm-labourers4 ,monnica looked after   
the household1 no easy work in a house  
where nine sat down to table every day4 
,but the ,saint fulfilled her humble    
duties with touching kindness and       
forgetfulness of self3 ,she took care of
 us1 says ,augustin1 as if we had all   
been her children1 and she served us as 
if each of us had been her father4  ,let
 us look a little at these children of  
,monnica4 ,besides ,alypius1 whom we    
know already1 there was the young       
,adeodatus1 the child of sin--my son    
,adeodatus1 whose gifts gave promise of 
great things1 unless my love for him    
betrays me4 ,thus speaks his father4    
,this little boy was1 it seems1 a       
prodigy1 as shall be the little ,blaise 
,pascal later3 ,his intelligence filled 

me with awe--horrori mihi erat illud    
ingenium--says the father again4 ,what  
is certain is that he had a soul like an
 angel4 ,some sayings of his have been  
preserved by ,augustin4 ,they are       
fragrant as a bunch of lilies4  ,the    
other members of the family are nearer  
the earth4 ,navigius1 ,augustin's       
brother1 an excellent man of whom we    
know nothing save that he had a bad     
liver--the icterus of the ,african      
colonist--and that on this account he   
abstained from sweetmeats4 ,rusticus and
 ,lastidianus1 the two cousins1 persons 
as shadowy as the supers in a tragedy4  
,finally1 ,augustin's pupils1 ,trygetius
 and ,licentius4 ,the first1 who had    
lately served some time in the army1 was
 passionately fond of history1 like a   
veteran4 ,although his master in some of
 his ,dialogues has made him his        
interlocutor1 his character remains for 
us undeveloped4 ,with ,licentius it is  
different4 ,this son of ,romanianus1 the
 ,mcenas of ,thagaste1 was ,augustin's  

beloved pupil4 ,it is easy to make that 
out4 ,all the phrases he devotes to     
,licentius have a warmth of tone1 a     
colour and relief which thrill4  ,this  
,licentius comes before us as the type  
of the spoiled child1 the son of a      
wealthy family1 capricious1 vain1       
presuming1 unabashed1 never hesitating  
if he sees a chance to have a joke with 
his master4 ,forgetful1 besides1 prone  
to sudden fancies1 superficial1 and     
rather blundering4 ,with all that1 the  
best boy in the world--a bad head1 but a
 good heart4 ,he was a frank pagan1 and 
,i believe remained a pagan all his     
life1 in spite of the remonstrances of  
,augustin and those of the gentle       
,paulinus of ,nola1 who lectured him in 
prose and verse4 ,a great eater and a   
fine drinker1 he found himself obliged  
to do penance at ,st4 ,monnica's rather 
frugal table4 ,but when the fever of    
inspiration took hold of him1 he forgot 
eating and drinking1 and in his poetical
 thirst he would would have drained--so 

his master says--all the fountains of   
,helicon4 ,licentius had a passion for  
versifying3 ,he is an almost perfect    
poet1 wrote ,augustin to ,romanianus4   
,the former rhetorician knew the world1 
and the way to talk to the father of a  
wealthy pupil1 especially if he is your 
benefactor4 ,at ,cassicium1 under       
,augustin's indulgent eyes1 the pupil   
turned into verse the romantic adventure
 of ,pyramus and ,thisbe4 ,he declaimed 
bits of it to the guests in the house1  
for he had a fine loud voice4 ,then he  
flung aside the unfinished poem and     
suddenly fell in love with ,greek       
tragedies of which1 as it happened1 he  
understood nothing at all1 though this  
did not prevent him from boring         
everybody he met with them4 ,another day
 it was the ,church music1 then quite   
new1 which flung him into enthusiasm4   
,that day they heard ,licentius singing 
canticles from morning till night4  ,in 
connection with this1 ,augustin relates 
with candid freedom an anecdote which   

to-day needs the indulgence of the      
reader to make it acceptable4 ,as it    
gives light upon that half-pagan1       
half-,christian way of life which was   
still ,augustin's1 ,i will repeat it in 
all its plainness4  ,it happened1 then1 
one evening after dinner1 that          
,licentius went out and took his way to 
a certain mysterious retreat1 and there 
he suddenly began singing this verse of 
the ,psalm3 ,turn us again1 ,o ,lord    
,god of hosts1 cause ,thy face to shine2
 and we shall be saved4 ,as a matter of 
fact1 he had hardly sung anything else  
for a long time4 ,he kept on repeating  
this verse over and over again1 as      
people do with a tune they have just    
picked up4 ,but the pious ,monnica1 who 
heard him1 could not tolerate the       
singing of such holy words in such a    
place4 ,she spoke sharply to the        
offender4 ,upon this the young          
scatter-brains answered rather          
flippantly3  ,supposing1 good mother1   
that an enemy had shut me up in that    

place--do you mean to say that ,god     
wouldn't have heard me just the same8   
,the next day he thought no more about  
it1 and when ,augustin reminded him1 he 
declared that he felt no remorse4  ,as  
far as ,i am concerned1 replied the     
excellent master1 ,i am not in the least
 shocked by it4444 ,the truth is1 that  
neither that place1 which has so much   
scandalized my mother1 nor the darkness 
of night1 is altogether inappropriate to
 this canticle4 ,for whence1 think you1 
do we implore ,god to drag us1 so that  
we may be converted and gaze upon ,his  
face8 ,is it not from that jakes of the 
senses wherein our souls are plunged1   
and from that darkness of which the     
error is around us8444  ,and as they    
were discussing that day the order      
established by ,providence1 ,augustin   
made it a pretext to give a little      
edifying lecture to his pupil4 ,having  
heard the sermon to the end1 the sharp  
,licentius put in with sly              
maliciousness3  ,i say1 what a splendid 

arrangement of events to shew me that   
nothing happens except in the best way1 
and for our great good6  ,this reply    
gives us the tone of the conversation   
between ,augustin and his pupils4       
,nevertheless1 however free and merry   
the talks might be1 the purpose was     
always instructive1 and it was always   
substantial4 ,let us not forget that the
 ,milanese rhetorician is still a       
professor4 ,the best part of his days   
was devoted to these two youths who had 
been put under his charge4 ,as soon as  
he had settled the business of the farm1
 talked to the peasants1 and given his  
orders to the workmen1 he fell back upon
 his business of rhetorician4 ,in the   
morning they went over ,virgil's        
,eclogues together4 ,at night they      
discussed philosophy4 ,when the weather 
was fine they walked in the fields1 and 
the discussion continued under the shade
 of the chestnut trees4 ,if it rained1  
they took refuge in the withdrawing-room
 adjoining the baths4 ,beds were there1 

cushions1 soft chairs convenient for    
talking1 and the equal temperature from 
the vapour-baths close at hand was good 
for ,augustin's bronchial tubes4  ,there
 is no stiffness in these dialogues1    
nothing which smacks of the school4 ,the
 discussion starts from things which    
they had under the eyes1 often from some
 slight accidental happening4 ,one night
 when ,augustin could not sleep--he     
often suffered from insomnia--the       
dispute began in bed1 for the master and
 his pupils slept in the same room4     
,lying there in the dark1 he listened to
 the broken murmur of the stream4 ,he   
was trying to think out an explanation  
of the pauses in the sound1 when        
,licentius shifted under the bedclothes1
 and reaching out for a piece of stick  
lying on the floor1 he rapped with it on
 the foot of the bed to frighten the    
mice4 ,so he was not asleep either1 nor 
,trygetius1 who was stirring about in   
his bed4 ,augustin was delighted3 he had
 two listeners4 ,immediately he put this

 question3 ,why do those pauses come in 
the flow of the stream8 ,do they not    
follow some secret law8444 ,they had hit
 upon a subject for debate4 ,during many
 days they discussed the order of the   
world4  ,another time1 as they were     
going into the baths1 they stopped to   
look at two cocks fighting4 ,augustin   
called the attention of the youths to a 
certain order full of propriety in all  
the movements of these fowls deprived of
 reason4  ,look at the conqueror1 said  
he4 ,he crows triumphantly4 ,he struts  
and plumes himself as a proud sign of   
victory4 ,and now look at the beaten    
one1 without voice1 his neck            
unfeathered1 a look of shame4 ,all that 
has ,i know not what beauty1 in harmony 
with the laws of nature4444  ,new       
argument in favour of order3 the debate 
of the night before is started rolling  
again4  ,for us1 too1 it is well worth  
while to pause on this little homely    
scene4 ,it reveals to us an ,augustin   
not only very sensitive to beauty1 but  

very attentive to the sights of the     
world surrounding him4 ,cockfights were 
still very popular in this ,roman       
society at the ending of the ,empire4   
,for a long time sculptors had found    
many gracious subjects in the sport4    
,reading this passage of ,augustin's1   
one recalls1 among other similar        
designs1 that funeral urn at the        
,lateran upon which are represented two 
little boys1 one crying over his beaten 
cock1 while the other holds his tenderly
 in his arms and kisses it--the cock    
that won1 identified by the crown held  
in its spurs4  ,augustin is always very 
close to these humble realities4 ,every 
moment outside things start up in the   
dialogues between the master and his    
pupils4444 ,they are in bed on a rainy  
night in ,november4 ,gradually1 a vague 
gleam rests on the windows4 ,they ask   
each other if that can be the moon1 or  
the break of day4444 ,another time1 the 
sun rises in all its splendour1 and they
 decide to go into the meadow and sit on

 the grass4 ,or else1 the sky darkens   
and lights are brought in4 ,or again1 it
 is the appearance of diligent ,alyphis1
 just come back from ,milan4444  ,in the
 same way as he notes these light       
details in passing1 ,augustin welcomes  
all his guests into his dialogues and   
admits them to the debate3 his mother1  
his brother1 the cousins1 ,alypius      
between his business journeys1 down to  
the child ,adeodatus4 ,he knew the value
 of ordinary good sense1 the            
second-sight of a pure heart1 or of a   
pious soul strengthened by prayer4      
,monnica used often to come into the    
room when they were arguing1 to let them
 know that dinner was ready1 or for     
something of the kind4 ,her son asked   
her to remain4 ,modestly she shewed her 
astonishment at such an honour4         
,mother1 said ,augustin1 do you not love
 truth8 ,then why should ,i blush to    
give you a place among us8 ,even if your
 love for truth were only half-hearted1 
,i ought still to receive you and listen

 to you4 ,how much more then1 since you 
love it more than you love me1 and ,i   
know how much you love me4444 ,nothing  
can separate you from truth1 neither    
fear1 nor pain of whatever kind it      
be--no1 nor death itself4 ,do not all   
agree that this is the highest stage of 
philosophy8 ,how can ,i hesitate after  
that to call myself your disciple8  ,and
 ,monnica1 utterly confused by such     
praise1 answered with affectionate      
gruffness3  ,stop talking6 ,you have    
never told bigger lies4  ,most of the   
time these conversations were simply    
dialectic games in the taste of the     
period1 games a little pedantic1 and    
fatiguing from subtilty4 ,the boisterous
 ,licentius did not always enjoy        
himself4 ,he was often inattentive2 and 
his master scolded him4 ,but all the    
same1 the master understood how to amuse
 his two foster-children while he       
exercised their intelligence4 ,at the   
end of one discussion he said to them   
laughing3  ,just at this hour1 the sun  

warns me to put the playthings ,i had   
brought for the children back in the    
basket4444  ,let us remark in passing   
that this is the last time1 before those
 centuries which are coming of universal
 intellectual silence or arid           
scholasticism--the last time that high  
questions will be discussed in this     
graceful light way1 and with the same   
freedom of mind4 ,the tradition begun by
 ,socrates under the plane-trees on the 
banks of the ,ilissus1 is ending with   
,augustin under the chestnuts of        
,cassicium4  ,and yet1 however gay and  
capricious the form1 the substance of   
these dialogues1 ,on the ,academics1 ,on
 ,order1 and ,on the ,happy ,life1 is   
serious1 and even very serious4 ,the    
best proof of their importance in       
,augustin's eyes is1 that after taking  
care to have them reported in shorthand1
 he eventually published them4 ,the     
notarii attended these discussions and  
let nothing be lost4 ,the rise of the   
scrivener1 of the notary1 dates from    

this period4 ,the administration of the 
,lower-,empire was frightfully given to 
scribbling4 ,by contact with it1 the    
,church became so too4 ,let us not press
 our complaints about it1 since this    
craze for writing has procured for us1  
with a good deal of shot-rubbish1 some  
precious historical documents4 ,in      
,augustin's case1 these reports of his  
lectures at ,cassicium have at least the
 value of shewing us the state of soul  
of the future ,bishop of ,hippo at a    
decisive moment of his life4  ,for these
 ,dialogues1 although they look like    
school exercises1 reveal the intimate   
thoughts of ,augustin on the morrow of  
his conversion4 ,while he seems to be   
refuting the ,academics1 he is fighting 
the errors from which he1 personally1   
had suffered so long4 ,he clarified his 
new ideal4 ,no2 the search for truth1   
without hope of ever reaching it1 cannot
 give happiness4 ,and genuine happiness 
is only in ,god4 ,and if a rhythm is to 
be found in things1 then it is necessary

 to make the soul rhythmic also and so  
enable it to contemplate ,god4 ,it is   
necessary to still within it the noise  
of the passions4 ,hence1 the need of    
inward reformation1 and1 at a final     
analysis1 of asceticism4  ,but ,augustin
 knew full well that these truths must  
be adapted to the weakness of the two   
lads he was teaching1 and also to the   
common run of mankind4 ,he has not yet  
in these years the uncompromising       
attitude which ere long will give him a 
sterner virtue--an attitude1 however1   
unceasingly tempered by his charity and 
by the persistent recollections of his  
reading4 ,it was now that he shaped the 
rule of conduct in worldly morals and   
education which the ,christian          
experience of the future will adopt3 ,if
 you have always order in your hearts1  
he said to his pupils1 you must return  
to your verses4 ,for a knowledge of     
liberal sciences1 but a controlled and  
exact knowledge1 forms men who will love
 the truth4444 ,but there are other men1

 or1 to put it better1 other souls1 who1
 although held in the body1 are sought  
for the eternal marriage by the best and
 fairest of spouses4 ,for these souls it
 is not enough to live2 they wish to    
live happy4444 ,but as for you1 go1     
meanwhile1 and find your ,muses6  ,go   
and find your ,muses6 ,what a fine      
saying6 ,how human and how wise6 ,here  
is clearly indicated the double ideal of
 those who continue to live in the world
 according to the ,christian law of     
restraint and moderation1 and of those  
who yearn to live in ,god4 ,with        
,augustin the choice is made4 ,he will  
never more look back4 ,these ,dialogues 
at ,cassicium are his supreme farewell  
to the pagan ,muse4     ,,ii  ,,the     
,,ecstasy ,,of ,,saint ,,monnica   ,they
 stayed through the winter at           
,cassicium4 ,however taken up he might  
be by the work of the estate and the    
care of his pupils1 ,augustin devoted   
himself chiefly to the great business of
 his salvation4  ,the ,soliloquies1     

which he wrote then1 render even the    
passionate tone of the meditations which
 he perpetually gave way to during his  
watches and nights of insomnia4 ,he     
searched for ,god1 moaning3 ,fac me1    
,pater1 qurere te--,cause me to seek    
,thee1 ,o my ,father4 ,but still1 he    
sought ,him more as a philosopher than  
as a ,christian4 ,the old man in him was
 not dead4 ,he had not quite stripped   
off the rhetorician or the intellectual4
 ,the over-tender heart remained1 which 
had so much sacrificed to human love4   
,in those ardent dialogues between      
himself and his reason1 it is plain to  
see that reason is not quite the        
mistress4 ,i love only ,god and the     
soul1 ,augustin states with a touch of  
presumption4 ,and his reason1 which     
knows him well1 answers3 ,do you not    
then love your friends8--,i love the    
soul2 how therefore should ,i not love  
them8 ,what does this phrase1 of such   
exquisite sensibility1 and even already 
so aloof from worldly thoughts--what    

does it lack to give forth a sound      
entirely ,christian8 ,just a slight     
change of accent4  ,he himself began to 
see that he would do better not to      
philosophize so much and to draw nearer 
the ,scripture1 in listening to the     
wisdom of that with a contrite and      
humble heart4 ,upon the directions of   
,ambrose1 whose advice he had asked by  
letter1 he tried to read the prophet    
,isaiah1 because ,isaiah is the clearest
 foreteller of the ,redemption4 ,he     
found the book so difficult that he lost
 heart1 and he put it aside till later4 
,meanwhile1 he had forwarded his        
resignation as professor of ,rhetoric to
 the ,milan municipality4 ,then1 when   
the time was come1 he sent to ,bishop   
,ambrose a written confession of his    
errors and faults1 and represented to   
him his very firm intention to be       
baptized4 ,he was quietly baptized on   
the twenty-fifth of ,april1 during the  
,easter season of the year #chg1        
together with his son ,adeodatus1 and   

his friend ,alypius4 ,alypius had       
prepared most piously1 disciplining     
himself with the harshest austerities1  
to the point of walking barefoot on the 
frozen soil4  ,so now the solitaries of 
,cassicium are back in ,milan4          
,augustin's two pupils were gone4       
,trygetius doubtless had rejoined the   
army4 ,licentius had gone to live in    
,rome4 ,but another fellow-countryman1  
an ,african from ,thagaste1 ,evodius1   
formerly a clerk in the ,ministry of the
 ,interior1 came to join the small group
 of new converts4 ,evodius1 the future  
,bishop of ,uzalis1 in ,africa1 and     
baptized before ,augustin1 was a man of 
scrupulous piety and unquestioning      
faith4 ,he talked of devout subjects    
with his friend1 who1 just fresh from   
baptism1 experienced all the quietude of
 grace4 ,they spoke of the community    
which ,st4 ,ambrose had either founded  
or organized at the gates of ,milan1 and
 in comparison with a life so austere1  
,augustin perceived that the life he had

 led at ,cassicium was still stained    
with paganism4 ,he must carry out his   
conversion to the end and live as a     
hermit after the manner of ,antony and  
the solitaries of the ,thebaid4 ,then it
 occurred to him that he still owned a  
little property at ,thagaste--a house   
and fields4 ,there they would settle and
 live in self-denial like the monks4    
,the purity of the young ,adeodatus     
predestined him to this ascetic         
existence4 ,as for ,monnica1 who long   
since had taken the widow's veil1 she   
had to make no change in her ways to    
lead a saintly life in the company of   
her son and grandson4 ,it was agreed    
among them all to go back to ,africa1   
and to start as soon as possible4       
,thus1 just after his baptism1 ,augustin
 shews but one desire3 to bury himself  
in a retreat1 to lead a humble and      
hidden life1 divided between the study  
of the ,scripture and the contemplation 
of ,god4 ,later on1 his enemies were to 
accuse him of having become a convert   

from ambition1 in view of the honours   
and riches of the episcopate4 ,this is  
sheer calumny4 ,his conversion could not
 have been more sincere1 more           
disinterested--nor more heroic either3  
he was thirty-three years old4 ,when we 
think of all he had loved and all he    
gave up1 we can only bow the head and   
bend the knee before the lofty virtue of
 such an example4  ,in the course of the
 summer the caravan started and crossed 
the ,apennines to set sail at ,ostia4   
,the date of this exodus has never been 
made quite clear4 ,perhaps ,augustin and
 his companions fled before the hordes  
of the usurper ,maximus1 who1 towards   
the end of ,august1 crossed the ,alps   
and marched on ,milan1 while the young  
,valentinian with all his ,court took   
refuge at ,aquileia4 ,in any case1 it   
was a trying journey1 especially in the 
hot weather4 ,when ,monnica arrived she 
was very enfeebled4 ,at ,ostia they had 
to wait till a ship was sailing for     
,africa4 ,propitious conditions did not 

offer every day4 ,at this period1       
travellers were at the mercy of the sea1
 of the wind1 and of a thousand other   
circumstances4 ,time did not count2 it  
was wasted freely4 ,the ship sailed     
short distances at a time1 skirting the 
coasts1 where the length of the stay at 
every point touched depended on the     
master4 ,on board these ships--feluccas 
hardly decked over--if the crossing was 
endless and unsafe1 it was1 above all1  
most uncomfortable4 ,people were in no  
hurry to undergo the tortures of it1 and
 spaced them out as much as possible by 
frequent stoppages4 ,on account of all  
these reasons1 our ,africans made a     
rather long stay at ,ostia4 ,they       
lodged1 no doubt1 with ,christian       
brethren1 hosts of ,augustin or         
,monnica1 in a tranquil house far out of
 earshot of the cosmopolitan crowd which
 overflowed in the hotels on the quay4  
,ostia1 situated at the mouth of the    
,tiber1 was both the port and           
bond-warehouse of ,rome4 ,the           

,government stores-ships landed the     
,african oil and corn there4 ,it was a  
junction for commerce1 the point where  
immigrants from all parts of the        
,mediterranean disbarked4 ,to-day there 
is only left a wretched little village4 
,but at some distance from this hamlet1 
the excavations of archologists have    
lately brought to light the remains of a
 large town4 ,they have discovered at   
the entrance a place of burial with     
arcosol-tombs2 and here perhaps the body
 of ,st4 ,monnica was laid4 ,in this    
place of graves they came upon also a   
beautiful statue injured--a funeral     
,genius1 or a ,victory1 with large      
folded wings like those of the          
,christian angels4 ,further on1 the     
forum with its shops1 the guard-house of
 the night-cohort1 baths1 a theatre1    
many large temples1 arcaded streets     
paved with large flags1 warehouses for  
merchandise4 ,there may still be seen1  
lining the walls1 the holes in which the
 ends of the amphor used to be dropped  

to keep them upright4 ,all this wreckage
 gives an idea of a populous centre     
where the stir of traffic and shipping  
was intense4  ,and yet in this noisy    
town1 ,augustin and his mother found    
means to withdraw themselves and join   
together in meditation and prayer4 ,amid
 this rather vulgar activity1 in a noise
 of trade and seafaring1 a mystic scene 
develops where the purified love of     
mother and son gleams upon us as in a   
light of apotheosis4 ,they had at ,ostia
 a foretaste1 so to speak1 of the       
eternal union in ,god4 ,this was in the 
house where they had come on arrival4   
,they talked softly1 resting against a  
window which looked upon the garden4444 
,but the scene has been made popular by 
,ary ,scheffer's too well-known         
painting4 ,you remember it3 two faces1  
pale1 bloodless1 stripped of flesh1 in  
which live only the burning eyes cast   
upward to the sky--a dense sky1         
baffling1 heavy with all the secrets of 
eternity4 ,no visible object1 nothing1  

absolutely nothing1 distracts them from 
their contemplation4 ,the sea itself1   
although indicated by the painter1      
almost blends into the blue line of the 
horizon4 ,two souls and the sky--there  
you have the whole subject4  ,it is     
living poetry congealed in abstract     
thought4 ,the attitude of the           
characters1 majestically seated1 instead
 of leaning on the window-ledge1 has1 in
 ,scheffer's picture1 ,i know not what  
touch of stiffness1 of slightly         
theatrical4 ,and the general impression 
is a cold dryness which contrasts with  
the lyric warmth of the story in the    
,confessions4  ,for my part1 ,i always  
thought1 perhaps on the testimony of the
 picture1 that the window of the house  
at ,ostia opened above the garden in    
view of the sea4 ,the sea1 symbol of the
 infinite1 ought to be present--so it   
seemed to me--at the final conversation 
between ,monnica and ,augustin4 ,at     
,ostia itself ,i was obliged to give up 
this too literary notion2 the sea is not

 visible there4 ,no doubt at that time  
the channel was not so silted up as it  
is to-day4 ,but the coast lies so low1  
that just hard by the actual mouth of   
the ,tiber1 the nearness of the sea can 
only be guessed by the reflection of the
 waves in the atmosphere1 a sort of     
pearly halo1 trembling on the edge of   
the sky4 ,at present ,i am inclined to  
think that the window of the house at   
,ostia was very likely turned towards   
the vast melancholy horizon of the ,agro
 ,romano4 ,we passed through1 one after 
another1 says ,augustin1 all the things 
of a material order1 unto heaven itself4
 ,is it not natural to suppose that     
these things of a material order--these 
shapes of the earth with its            
plantations1 its rivers1 towns1 and     
mountains--were under their eyes8 ,the  
bleak spectacle which unrolled before   
their gaze agreed1 at all events1 with  
the disposition of their souls4  ,this  
great desolate plain has nothing        
oppressive1 nothing which retains the   

eyes upon details too material4 ,the    
colours about it are pale and slight1 as
 if on the point of swooning away4      
,immense sterile stretches1             
fawn-coloured throughout1 with here and 
there shining a little pink1 a little   
green2 gorse1 furze-bushes by the deep  
banks of the river1 or a few boschetti  
with dusty leaves1 which feebly stand   
out upon the blondness of the soil4 ,to 
the right1 a pine forest4 ,to the left1 
the undulations of the ,roman hills     
expire into an emptiness infinitely sad4
 ,afar1 the violet scheme of the ,alban 
mountains1 with veiled and dream-like   
distances1 shape indefinitely against   
the pearl light1 limpid and serene1 of  
the sky4  ,augustin and ,monnica1       
resting on the window-ledge1 looked     
forth4 ,doubtless it was towards        
evening1 at the hour when southern      
windows are thrown open to the cool     
after a burning day4 ,they looked forth4
 ,we marvelled1 says ,augustin1 at the  
beauty of ,thy works1 ,o my ,god6444    

,rome was back there beyond the hills1  
with its palaces1 its temples1 the gleam
 of its gilding and its marbles4 ,but   
the far-off image of the imperial city  
could not conquer the eternal sadness   
which rises from the ,agro4 ,an air of  
funeral loneliness lay above this plain1
 ready to be engulfed by the creeping   
shadows4 ,how easy it was to break free 
of these vain corporeal appearances     
which decomposed of themselves6 ,then1  
,augustin resumes1 we soared with       
glowing hearts still higher4 7,he speaks
 as if he and his mother were risen with
 equal flight to the vision4 ,it is more
 probable that he was drawn up by       
,monnica1 long since familiar with the  
ways of the spirit1 used to visions1 and
 to mystic talks with ,god44447 ,where  
was this ,god8 ,all the creatures1      
questioned by their anguished entreaty1 
answered3 ,qure super nos--,seek above  
us6 ,they sought2 they mounted higher   
and higher3 ,and so we came to our own  
minds1 and passed beyond them into the  

region of unfailing plenty1 where ,thou 
feedest ,israel for ever with the food  
of truth4444 ,and as we talked1 and we  
strove eagerly towards this divine      
region1 by a leap with the whole force  
of our hearts1 we touched it for an     
instant4444 ,then we sighed1 we fell    
back1 and left there fastened the first 
fruits of the ,spirit1 and heard again  
the babble of our own tongues1 this     
mortal speech wherein each word has a   
beginning and an ending4  ,we fell back6
 ,the marvellous vision had vanished4   
,but a great silence was about them1    
silence of things1 silence of the soul4 
,and they said to each other3  ,if the  
tumult of the flesh were hushed2 hushed 
these shadows of earth1 sea1 sky2       
suppose this vision endured1 and all    
other far inferior modes of vision were 
taken away1 and this alone were to      
ravish the beholder1 and absorb him1 and
 plunge him in mystic joy1 so that      
eternal life might be like this moment  
of comprehension which has made us sigh 

with ,love--might not that be the       
fulfilment of ',enter thou into the joy 
of thy ,lord'8 ,ah1 when shall this be8 
,shall it not be1 ,o my ,god1 when we   
rise again among the dead4448  ,little  
by little they came down to earth4 ,the 
dying colours of the sunset-tide        
smouldered into the white mists of the  
,agro4 ,the world entered into night4   
,then ,monnica1 impelled by a certain   
presentiment1 said to ,augustin3  ,my   
son1 as for me1 ,i find no further      
pleasure in life4 ,what ,i am still to  
do1 or why ,i still linger here1 ,i know
 not4444 ,there was only one thing made 
me want to tarry a little longer in this
 life1 that ,i might see you a          
,christian and a ,catholic before ,i    
died4 ,my ,god has granted me this boon 
far beyond what ,i hoped for4 ,so what  
am ,i doing here8  ,she felt it2 her    
work was done4 ,she had exhausted1 as   
,augustin says1 all the hope of the     
century--consumpta spe sculi4 ,for her  
the parting was near4 ,this ecstasy was 

that of one dying1 who has raised a     
corner of the veil1 and who no longer   
belongs to this world4         99       
99       99       99       99  ,and1 in 
fact1 five or six days later she fell   
ill4 ,she had fever4 ,the climate of    
,ostia bred fevers1 as it does to-day1  
and it was always unsanitary on account 
of all the foreigners who brought in    
every infection of the ,orient4         
,furthermore1 the weariness of a long   
journey in summer had worn out this     
woman1 old before her time4 ,she had to 
go to bed4 ,soon she got worse1 and then
 lost consciousness4 ,they believed she 
was in the agony4 ,they all came round  
her bed--,augustin1 his brother         
,navigius1 ,evodius1 the two cousins    
from ,thagaste1 ,rusticus1 and          
,lastidianus4 ,but suddenly she         
shuddered1 raised herself1 and asked in 
a bewildered way3  ,where was ,i8       
,then1 seeing the grief on their faces1 
she knew that she was lost1 and she said
 in a steady voice3  ,you will bury your

 mother here4  ,navigius1 frightened by 
this sight of death1 protested with all 
his affection for her3  ,no4 ,you will  
get well1 mother4 ,you will come home   
again4 ,you won't die in a foreign land4
  ,she looked at him with sorrowful     
eyes1 as if hurt that he spoke so little
 like a ,christian1 and turning to      
,augustin3  ,see how he talks1 she said4
  ,and after a silence1 she went on in a
 firmer voice1 as if to impress on her  
sons her final wishes3  ,lay this body  
where you will1 and be not anxious about
 it4 ,only ,i beseech you1 remember me  
at the altar of ,god1 wherever you are4 
,that was the supreme renunciation4 ,how
 could an ,african woman1 so much       
attached to her country1 agree to be    
buried in a stranger soil8 ,pagan       
notions were still very strong in this  
community1 and the place of burial was  
an important consideration4 ,monnica1   
like all other widows1 had settled upon 
hers4 ,at ,thagaste she had had her     
place prepared beside her husband       

,patricius4 ,and here now she appeared  
to give that up4 ,augustin's companions 
were astonished at such abnegation4 ,as 
for himself1 he marvelled at the        
completeness of the change worked in his
 mother's soul by ,grace4 ,and as he    
thought over all the virtues of her     
life1 the strength of her faith--from   
that moment1 he had no doubt that she   
was a saint4  ,she still lingered for   
some time4 ,finally1 on the ninth day of
 her illness1 she died at the age of    
fifty-six4  ,augustin closed her eyes4  
,a great sorrow surged into his heart4  
,and yet he who was so quick to tears   
had the courage not to cry4444 ,suddenly
 a noise of weeping rose in the room of 
death3 it was the young ,adeodatus1 who 
lamented at the sight of the corpse4 ,he
 sobbed in such a heartbroken way that  
those who were there1 demoralized by the
 distress of it1 were obliged to rebuke 
him4 ,this struck ,augustin so deeply1  
that many years afterwards the broken   
sound of this sobbing still haunted his 

ears4 ,methought1 he says1 that it was  
my own childish soul which thus broke   
out in the weeping of my son4 ,as for   
him1 with the whole effort of his reason
 struggling against his heart1 he only  
wanted to think of the glory which the  
saint had just entered into4 ,his       
companions felt likewise4 ,evodius      
caught up a psalter1 and before         
,monnica's body1 not yet cold1 he began 
to chant the ,psalm1 ,my song shall be  
of mercy and judgment2 unto ,thee1 ,o   
,lord1 will ,i sing4 ,all who were in   
the house took up the responses4  ,in   
the meantime1 while the layers-out were 
preparing the corpse for burial1 the    
brethren drew ,augustin into another    
room4 ,his friends and relations stood  
round him4 ,he consoled the others and  
himself4 ,he spoke1 as the custom was1  
upon the deliverance of the faithful    
soul and the happiness which is         
promised4 ,they might have imagined that
 he had no sense of grief1 ,but in ,thy 
hearing1 ,o my ,god1 where none of them 

could hear1 ,i was chiding the softness 
of my heart1 and holding back the tide  
of sorrow4444 ,alas6 well did ,i know   
what ,i was choking down in my heart4   
,not even at the church1 where the      
sacrifice was offered for ,monnica's    
soul1 nor at the cemetery before the    
coffin1 did he weep4 ,from a sense of   
,christian seemliness1 he feared to     
scandalize his brethren by imitating the
 desolation of the pagans and of those  
who die without hope4 ,but this very    
effort that he made to keep back his    
tears became another cause of suffering4
 ,the day ended in a black sadness1 a   
sadness he could not shake off4 ,it     
stifled him4 ,then he remembered the    
,greek proverb--,the bath drives away   
sorrow2 and he determined to go and     
bathe4 ,he went into the tepidarium and 
stretched himself out on the hot slab4  
,useless remedy6 ,the bitterness of my  
trouble was not carried from my heart   
with the sweat that flowed from my      
limbs4 ,the attendants rolled him in    

warm towels and led him to the          
resting-couch4 ,worn out by tiredness   
and so many emotions1 he fell into a    
heavy sleep4 ,the next day1 upon        
awaking1 a fresh briskness was in all   
his being4 ,some verses came singing    
into his memory2 they were the first    
words of the confident and joyous hymn  
of ,st4 ,ambrose3    ,creator of the    
earth and sky1   ,ruling the firmament  
on high1   ,clothing the day with robes 
of light1   ,blessing with gracious     
sleep the night1--    ,that rest may    
comfort weary men   ,to face their usual
 toil again1   ,and soothe awhile the   
harassed mind1   ,and sorrow's heavy    
load unbind4  ,suddenly1 at the word    
sorrow1 the thought of his dead mother  
came back to him1 with the regret for   
that kind heart he had lost4 ,a wave of 
despair overwhelmed him4 ,he flung      
himself sobbing on the bed1 and at last 
wept all the tears he had pent up so    
long4     ,,iii  ,,the ,,monk ,,of      
,,thagaste   ,almost a year went by     

before ,augustin continued his journey4 
,it is hard to account for this delay4  
,why should he thus put off his return  
to ,africa1 he who was so anxious to fly
 the world8  ,it is likely that         
,monnica's illness1 the arrangements    
about her funeral1 and other matters to 
settle1 kept him at ,ostia till the     
beginning of winter4 ,the weather became
 stormy1 the sea dangerous4 ,navigation 
was regularly interrupted from          
,november--sometimes even earlier1 from 
the first days of ,october1 if the      
tempests and the equinox were           
exceptionally violent4 ,it would then be
 necessary to wait till spring4         
,besides1 word came that the fleet of   
the usurper ,maximus1 then at war with  
,theodosius1 blockaded the ,african     
coast4 ,travellers ran the risk of being
 captured by the enemy4 ,from all these 
reasons1 ,augustin would be prevented   
from sailing before the end of the      
following summer4 ,in the meantime1 he  
went to live in ,rome4 ,he employed his 

leisure to work up a case against the   
,manichees1 his brethren of the day     
before4 ,once he had adopted            
,catholicism1 he must have expected     
passionate attacks from his former      
brothers in religion4 ,to close their   
mouths1 he gathered against them an     
elaborate mass of documents1 bristling  
with the latest scandals4 ,he busied    
himself also with a thorough study of   
their doctrines1 the better to refute   
them3 in him the dialectician never     
slept4 ,then1 when he had an            
opportunity1 he visited the ,roman      
monasteries1 studying their rule and    
organization1 so as to decide on a model
 for the convent which he always        
intended to establish in his own        
country4 ,at last1 he went back to      
,ostia some time in ,august or          
,september1 #chh1 where he found a ship 
bound for ,carthage4  ,four years       
earlier1 about the same time of year1 he
 had made the same voyage1 coming the   
opposite way4 ,he had a calm crossing2  

hardly could one notice the movement of 
the ship4 ,it is the season of smooth   
seas in the ,mediterranean4 ,never is it
 more etherial than in these summer     
months4 ,the vague blue sky is confused 
with the bleached sea1 spread out in a  
large sheet without creases--liquid and 
flexible silk1 swept by quivering amber 
glow and orange saffron when the sun    
falls4 ,no distinct shape1 only strange 
suffusions of soft light1 a pearl-like  
haze1 the wistful blue reaching away    
indefinably4  ,at ,carthage1 ,augustin  
had grown used to the magnificence of   
this pageantry of the sea4 ,now1 the sea
 had the same appeased and gleaming face
 he had seen four years sooner4 ,but how
 much his soul had since been changed6  
,instead of the tumult and falsehood    
which rent his heart and filled it with 
darkness1 the serene light of ,truth1   
and deeper than the sea's peace1 the    
great appeasement of ,grace4 ,augustin  
dreamed4 ,far off the olian isles were  
gloomed in the impending shadows1 the   

smoky crater of ,stromboli was no more  
than a black point circled by the double
 blue of waves and sky4 ,so the         
remembrance of his passions1 of all that
 earlier life1 sank under the triumphant
 uprising of heavenly peace4 ,he        
believed that this blissful state was   
going to continue and fill all the hours
 of his new life1 and he knew of nothing
 so sweet4444  ,this time1 again1 he was
 mistaken about himself4 ,upon the thin 
plank of the boat which carried him1 he 
did not feel the force of the immense   
element1 asleep now under his feet1 but 
quick to be unchained at the first gust 
of wind2 and he did not feel either the 
overflowing energy swelling his heart   
renewed by ,grace--an energy which was  
going to set in motion one of the most  
complete and strenuous existences1 one  
of the richest in thought1 charity1 and 
works which have enlightened history4   
,thinking only of the cloister1 amidst  
the friends who surrounded him1 no doubt
 he repeated the words of the ,psalm3   

,behold1 how good and how pleasant it is
 for brethren to dwell together in      
unity4 ,he pressed the hands of ,alypius
 and ,evodius1 and tears came to his    
eyes4  ,the sun was gone4 ,all the cold 
waste of waters1 forsaken by the gleam1 
blurred gradually in vague anguish      
beneath the fall of night4         99   
99       99       99       99  ,after   
skirting the ,sicilian coasts1 they     
arrived at last at ,carthage4 ,augustin 
did not linger there2 he was eager to   
see ,thagaste once more1 and to retire  
finally from the world4 ,favourable     
omens drew him to the place1 and seemed 
to hearten him in his resolution4 ,a    
dream had foretold his return to his    
former pupil1 ,elogius1 the rhetorician4
 ,he was present1 too1 at the miraculous
 cure of a ,carthage lawyer1            
,innocentius1 in whose house he dwelt   
with his friends4  ,accordingly1 he left
 for ,thagaste as soon as he could4     
,there he made himself popular at once  
by giving to the poor1 as the ,gospel   

prescribed1 what little remained of his 
father's heritage4 ,but he does not make
 clear enough what this voluntary       
privation exactly meant4 ,he speaks of a
 house and some little meadows--paucis  
agellulis--that he sequestrated4 ,still1
 he did not cease to live in the house  
all the time he was at ,thagaste4 ,the  
probability is that he did sell the few 
acres of land he still owned and        
bestowed the product of the sale on the 
poor4 ,as to the house1 he must have    
made it over with the outbuildings to   
the ,catholic body of his native town1  
on condition of keeping the usufruct and
 of receiving for himself and his       
brethren the necessities of life4 ,at   
this period many pious persons acted in 
this way when they gave their property  
to the ,church4 ,church goods being     
unseizable1 and exempt from taxation1   
this was a roundabout way of getting the
 better of fiscal extortion1 whether in 
the shape of arbitrary confiscations1 or
 eviction by force of arms4 ,in any     

case1 such souls as were tired of the   
world and longing for repose1 found in  
these bequests an heroic method of      
saving themselves the trouble of looking
 after a fortune or a landed estate4    
,when these fortunes and lands were     
extensive1 the generous donors felt1 we 
are told1 an actual relief in getting   
rid of them4  ,this financial question  
settled1 ,augustin took up the task of  
turning the house into a monastery1 like
 those he had seen at ,rome and ,milan4 
,his son ,adeodatus1 his friends        
,alypius and ,evodius1 ,severus1 who    
became ,bishop of ,milevia1 shared his  
solitude4 ,but it is certain that he had
 other solitaries with him whom he      
alludes to in his letters4 ,their rule  
was as yet a little easy1 no doubt4 ,the
 brothers of ,thagaste were not confined
 in a cloister4 ,they were simply       
obliged to fasts1 to a special diet1 to 
prayers and meditations in common4  ,in 
this half-rustic retreat 7the monastery 
was situated at the gates of the town7  

,augustin was happy3 he had at last     
realized the project he had had so long 
at heart4 ,to enter into himself1 pray1 
above all1 to study the ,scripture1 to  
fathom even its most obscure places1 to 
comment it with the fervour and piety   
which the ,african of all times has     
brought to what is written down--it     
seemed to him that he had enough there  
to fill all the minutes of his life4    
,but no man can teach1 lecture1 discuss1
 write1 during twenty years1 in vain4   
,however much ,augustin might be        
converted1 he remembered the school at  
,thagaste1 just as he did at ,cassicium4
 ,still1 it was necessary to finish with
 this sort of thing once for all4 ,the  
new monk made what may be called his    
will as a professor4  ,he finished1 at  
this time1 or revised his school        
treatises1 which he had begun at ,milan1
 comprising all the liberal             
arts--grammar1 dialectic1 rhetoric1     
geometry1 arithmetic1 philosophy1 music4
 ,of all these books he only finished   

the first1 the treatise on grammar4 ,the
 others were only summaries1 and are now
 lost4 ,on the other hand1 we have still
 the six books on music1 likewise begun 
at ,milan1 which he finished1 almost as 
an amusement1 at ,thagaste4 ,they are   
dialogues between himself and his pupil1
 the poet ,licentius1 upon metre and    
scansion4 ,but we know from himself that
 he intended to make this book longer1  
and to write a second part upon melody1 
that is to say1 music1 properly so      
called4 ,he never found the time3 ,once1
 he says1 the burthen of ecclesiastical 
affairs was placed on my shoulders1 all 
these pleasant things slipped from my   
hands4  ,thus1 the monk ,augustin only  
rests from prayer and meditation to     
study music and poetry4 ,he has thought 
it necessary to excuse himself4 ,in all 
that1 says he1 ,i had but one purpose4  
,for1 as ,i did not wish to pluck away  
too suddenly either young men1 or those 
of another age1 on whom ,god had        
bestowed good wits1 from ideas of the   

senses and carnal literature1 things it 
is very hard for them not to be attached
 to1 ,i have tried by reasoning lessons 
to turn them little by little1 and by   
the love of unchanging truth1 to attach 
them to ,god1 sole master of all        
things4444 ,he who reads these books    
will see that if ,i have touched upon   
the poets and grammarians1 'twas more by
 the exigency of the journey than by any
 desire to settle among them4444 ,such  
is the life ,i have chosen to walk with 
the feeble1 not being very strong       
myself1 rather than to hurl myself out  
on the void with wings still            
half-fledged4444  ,here again1 how human
 all that is1 and wise--yes1 and modest 
too4 ,augustin has no whit of the       
fanatic about him4 ,no straighter       
conscience than his1 or even more       
persistent in uprooting error4 ,but he  
knows what man is1 that life here below 
is a voyage among other men weak as     
himself1 and he fits in with the needs  
of the voyage4 ,oh1 yes1 no doubt1 for  

the ,christian who has arrived at       
supreme renunciation--what is poetry1   
what is knowledge1 what is everything   
that is not eternal8 ,but this carnal   
literature and science are so many steps
 of a height proportionate to our       
feebleness1 to lead us imperceptibly to 
the conceptual world4 ,as a prudent     
guide of souls1 ,augustin did not wish  
to make the ascent too rapidly4 ,as for 
music1 he has still more indulgence for 
that than for any of the other arts1 for
 it is by sounds that we best perceive  
the power of numbers in every variety of
 movement1 and their study thus leads us
 gradually to the closest and highest   
secrets of truth1 and discovers to those
 who love and seek it the divine ,wisdom
 and ,providence in all things4444 ,he  
is always coming back to it--to this    
music he loves so much2 he comes back to
 it in spite of himself4 ,later1 in     
great severity1 he will reproach himself
 for the pleasure he takes in the       
liturgical chants1 but nevertheless the 

old instinct will remain4 ,he was born a
 musician4 ,he will remain one to his   
last gasp4  ,if he did not break        
completely with profane art and letters 
at this present moment of his life1 his 
chief reasons were of a practical order4
 ,still another object may be discerned 
in these educational treatises--namely1 
to prove to the pagans that one may be a
 ,christian and yet not be a barbarian  
and ignorant4 ,augustin's position in   
front of his adversaries is very strong 
indeed4 ,none of them can attempt to    
cope with him either in breadth of      
knowledge1 or in happy versatility1 or  
in plenitude of intellectual gifts4 ,he 
had the entire heritage of the ancient  
world between his hands4 ,well might he 
say to the pagans3 ,what you admire in  
your orators and philosophers1 ,i have  
made my own4 ,behold it6 ,on my lips    
recognize the accent of your orators4444
 ,well1 all that1 which you deem so     
high1 ,i despise4 ,the knowledge of this
 world is nothing without the wisdom of 

,christ4  ,of course1 ,augustin has paid
 the price of this all-round            
knowledge--too far-reaching1 perhaps1 at
 certain points4 ,he has often too much 
paraded his knowledge1 his dialectic and
 oratorical talents4 ,what matters that1
 if even in this excess he aims solely  
at the welfare of souls--to edify them  
and set them aglow with the fire of his 
charity8 ,at ,thagaste1 he disputes with
 his brethren1 with his son ,adeodatus4 
,he is always the master--he knows it2  
but what humility he puts into this     
dangerous part6 ,the conclusion of his  
book1 ,the ,master1 which he wrote then1
 is that all the words of him who       
teaches are useless1 if the hidden      
,master reveal not the truth to him who 
listens4  ,so1 under his ungainly monk's
 habit1 he continues his profession of  
rhetorician4 ,he has come to ,thagaste  
with the intention of retiring from the 
world and living in ,god2 and here he is
 disputing1 lecturing1 writing more than
 ever4 ,the world pursues him and       

occupies him even in his retreat4 ,he   
says to himself that down there at      
,rome1 at ,carthage1 at ,hippo1 there   
are men speaking in the forums or in the
 basilicas1 whispering in secret        
meetings1 seducing poor souls           
defenceless against error4 ,these       
impostors must be immediately unmasked1 
confounded1 reduced to silence4 ,with   
all his heart ,augustin throws himself  
into this work at which he excels4      
,above all1 he attacks his old friends  
the ,manichees4444 ,he wrote many tracts
 against them4 ,from the animosity he   
put into these1 may be judged to what   
extent ,manicheeism filled his thoughts1
 and also the progress of the sect in   
,africa4  ,this campaign was even the   
cause of a complete change in his way of
 writing4 ,with the object of reaching  
the plainest sort of people1 he began to
 employ the popular language1 not       
recoiling before a solecism1 when the   
solecism appeared to him indispensable  
to explain his thought4 ,this must have 

been a cruel mortification for him4 ,in 
his very latest writings he made a point
 of shewing that no elegance of language
 was unknown to him4 ,but his real      
originality is not in that4 ,when he    
writes the fine style1 his period is    
heavy1 entangled1 often obscure4 ,on the
 other hand1 nothing is more lively1    
clear and coloured1 and1 as we say      
to-day1 more direct1 than the familiar  
language of his sermons and certain of  
his treatises4 ,this language he has    
really created4 ,he wanted to clarify1  
comment1 give details1 and he felt how  
awkward classical ,latin is to decompose
 ideas and render shades4 ,and so1 in a 
popular ,latin1 already very close to   
the ,romance languages1 he has thrown   
out the plan of analytical prose1 the   
instrument of thought of the modern     
,west4  ,not only did he battle against 
the heretics1 but his restless          
friendship continually scaled the walls 
of his cell to fly to the absent ones   
dear to his heart4 ,he feels that he    

must expand to his friends1 and make    
them sharers in his meditations3 this   
nervous man1 in poor health1 spends a   
part of his nights meditating4 ,the     
argument he has hit upon in last night's
 insomnia--his friends must be told     
that6 ,he heaps his letters on them4 ,he
 writes to ,nebridius1 to ,romanianus1  
to ,paulinus of ,nola2 to people unknown
 and celebrated1 in ,africa1 ,italy1    
,spain1 and ,palestine4 ,a time will    
come when his letters will be real      
encyclicals1 read throughout            
,christendom4 ,he writes so much that he
 is often short of paper4 ,he has not   
tablets enough to put down his notes4   
,he asks ,romanianus to give him some4  
,his beautiful tablets1 the ivory ones1 
are used up2 he has used the last one   
for a ceremonial letter1 and he asks his
 friend's pardon for writing to him on a
 wretched bit of vellum4  ,besides all  
that1 he interests himself in the       
affairs of his fellow-townsmen4         
,augustin is a personage at ,thagaste4  

,the good folk of the free-town are well
 aware that he is eloquent1 that he has 
a far-reaching acquaintance1 and that he
 has great influence in high quarters4  
,they ask for his protection and his    
interference4 ,it is even possible that 
they obliged him to defend them in the  
courts4 ,they were proud of their       
,augustin4 ,and as they were afraid that
 some neighbouring town might steal away
 their great man1 they kept a guard     
round his house4 ,they prevented him    
from shewing himself too much in the    
neighbourhood4 ,augustin himself agreed 
with this1 and lived retired as far as  
he could1 for he was afraid they would  
make him a bishop or priest in spite of 
himself4 ,in those days that was a      
danger incurred by all ,christians who  
were rich or had talent4 ,the rich gave 
their goods to the poor when they took  
orders4 ,the men of talent defended the 
interests of the community1 or attracted
 opulent benefactors4 ,and because of   
all these reasons1 the needy or badly   

managed churches stalked as a prey the  
celebrated ,augustin4  ,in spite of this
 supervision1 this unremitting rush of  
business1 the work of all kinds which he
 undertook1 he experienced at ,thagaste 
a peace which he was never to find      
again4 ,one might say that he pauses and
 gathers together all his strength      
before the great exhausting labour of   
his apostolate4 ,in this ,numidian      
country1 so verdant and cool1 where a   
thousand memories of childhood          
encompassed him1 where he was not able  
to take a step without encountering the 
ever-living image of his mother1 he     
soared towards ,god with more           
confidence4 ,he who sought in the things
 of sense ladder-rungs whereby to mount 
to spiritual realities1 still turned    
kindly eyes on the natural scene4 ,from 
the windows of his room he saw the      
forest pines rounding their heads1 like 
little crystal goblets with stems slim  
and thin4 ,his scarred chest breathed in
 deliriously the resinous breath of the 

fine trees4 ,he listened like a musician
 to the orchestra of birds4 ,the        
changing scenes of country life always  
attracted him4 ,it is now that he wrote3
 ,tell me1 does not the nightingale seem
 to you to modulate her voice           
delightfully8 ,is not her song1 so      
harmonious1 so suave1 so well attuned to
 the season1 the very voice of the      
spring8444     ,,iv  ,,augustin ,a      
,,priest   ,this halt did not last long4
 ,soon was going to begin for ,augustin 
the time of tribulation1 that of his    
struggles and apostolic journeys4  ,and 
first1 he must mourn his son ,adeodatus1
 that young man who seemed destined to  
such great things4 ,it is indeed most   
probable that the young monk died at    
,thagaste during the three years that   
his father spent there4 ,augustin was   
deeply grieved2 but1 as in the case of  
his mother's death1 he mastered his     
sorrow by all the force of his          
,christian hope4 ,no doubt he loved his 
son as much as he was proud of him4 ,it 

will be remembered what words he used to
 speak of this youthful genius1 whose   
precocity frightened him4 ,little by    
little his grief quietened down1 and in 
its place came a mild resignation4 ,some
 years later he will write about        
,adeodatus3 ,lord1 early didst ,thou cut
 off his life from this earth1 but ,i   
remember him without a shadow of        
misgiving4 ,my remembrance is not mixed 
with any fear for his boyhood1 or the   
youth he was1 or the man he would have  
been4 ,no fear6 ,what a difference      
between this and the habitual feelings  
of the ,jansenists1 who believed        
themselves his disciples6 ,while        
,augustin thinks of his son's death with
 a calm and grave joy which he can      
scarce hide1 those of ,port ,royal could
 only think in trembling of the judgment
 of ,god4 ,their faith did not much     
resemble the luminous and confident     
faith of ,augustin4 ,for him1 salvation 
is the conquest of joy4  ,at ,thagaste  
he lived in joy4 ,every morning in      

awaking before the forest pines1        
glistening with the dews of the morning1
 he might well say with a full heart3   
,my ,god1 give me the grace to live here
 under the shades of ,thy peace1 while  
awaiting that of ,thy ,paradise4 ,but   
the ,christians continued to watch him4 
,it was to the interest of a number of  
people that this light should not be hid
 under a bushel4 ,perhaps a snare was   
deliberately laid for him4 ,at any rate1
 he was imprudent enough to come out of 
his retreat and travel to ,hippo4 ,he   
thought he might be safe there1 because1
 as the town had a bishop already1 they 
would not have any excuse to get him    
consecrated in spite of himself4  ,an   
inhabitant of ,hippo1 a clerk of the    
,imperial ,ministry of the ,interior1   
begged his spiritual assistance4        
,doubts1 he maintained1 still delayed   
him on the way to an entire conversion4 
,augustin alone could help him to get   
clear of them4 ,so ,augustin1 counting  
already on a new recruit for the        

,thagaste monastery1 went over there at 
the request of this official4  ,now1 if 
there was a bishop at ,hippo 7a certain 
,valerius71 priests were lacking4       
,furthermore1 ,valerius was getting on  
in years4 ,originally ,greek1 he knew   
,latin badly1 and not a word of         
,punic--a great hindrance for him in his
 duties of judge1 administrator1 and    
catechist4 ,the knowledge of the two    
languages was indispensable to an       
ecclesiastic in such a country1 where   
the majority of the rural population    
spoke only the old ,carthaginian idiom4 
,all this proves to us that ,catholicism
 was in bad shape in the diocese of     
,hippo4 ,not only was there a lack of   
priests1 but the bishop was a foreigner1
 little familiar with ,african customs4 
,there was a general demand for a native
 to take his place--one young1 active1  
and well enough furnished with learning 
to hold his own against the heretics and
 the schismatics of the party of        
,donatus1 and also sufficiently able to 

watch over the interests of the ,church 
at ,hippo1 and above all1 to make it    
prosperous4 ,let us not forget that at  
this time1 in the eyes of a crowd of    
poor wretches1 ,christianity was first  
and foremost the religion which gave out
 bread4 ,even in those early days1 the  
,church did its best to solve the       
eternal social question4  ,while        
,augustin was at ,hippo1 ,valerius      
preached a sermon in the basilica in    
which1 precisely1 he deplored this lack 
of priests the community suffered from4 
,mingled with the congregation1         
,augustin listened1 sure that he would  
be unrecognized4 ,but the secret of his 
presence had leaked out4 ,people pointed
 to him while the bishop was preaching4 
,the next thing was that some furious   
enthusiasts seized hold of him and      
dragged him to the foot of the episcopal
 chair1 yelling3  ,augustin a priest6   
,augustin a priest6  ,such were the     
democratic ways of the ,church in those 
days4 ,the inconveniences are plain     

enough4 ,what is certain is1 that if    
,augustin had resisted1 he might have   
lost his life1 and that the bishop would
 have provoked a riot in refusing him   
the priesthood4 ,in ,africa1 religious  
passions are not to be trifled with1    
especially when they are exasperated by 
questions of profit or politics4 ,in his
 heart1 the bishop was delighted with   
this brutal capture which gained him the
 distinction of such a well-known       
fellow-worker4 ,there and then he       
ordained the ,thagaste monk4 ,and so1 as
 ,augustin's pupil1 ,possidius1 the     
future ,bishop of ,guelma1 puts it1     
,this shining lamp1 which sought the    
darkness of solitude1 was placed upon   
the lamp-stand444 ,augustin1 who saw the
 finger of ,god in this adventure1      
submitted to the popular will4          
,nevertheless1 he was in despair1 and he
 wept at the change they were forcing on
 him4 ,then1 some of those present1     
mistaking the significance of his tears1
 said to console him3  ,yes1 you are    

right4 ,the priesthood is not good      
enough for your merits4 ,but you may be 
certain that you will be our bishop4    
,augustin well knew all that the crowd  
meant by that1 and what it expected of  
its bishop4 ,he who only thought of     
leaving the world1 grew frightened at   
the practical cares he would have to    
take over4 ,and the spiritual side of   
his jurisdiction frightened him no less4
 ,to speak of ,god6 ,proclaim the word  
of ,god6 ,he deemed himself unworthy of 
so high a privilege4 ,he was so         
ill-prepared6 ,to remedy this fault of  
preparation1 as well as he could1 he    
desired that he might be given a little 
leisure till the following ,easter4 ,in 
a letter addressed to ,valerius1 and no 
doubt intended to be made public1 he    
humbly set forth the reasons why he     
asked for delay4 ,they were so apposite 
and so creditable1 that very likely the 
bishop yielded4 ,the new priest received
 permission to retire to a country house
 near ,hippo4 ,his flock1 who did not   

feel at all sure of their shepherd1     
would not have let him go too far off4  
,he took up his duties as soon as       
possible4 ,little by little he became1  
to all intents1 the coadjutor of the    
bishop1 who charged him with the        
preaching and the baptism of            
catechumens4 ,these were the two most   
important among the episcopal           
prerogatives4 ,the bishops made a point 
of doing these things themselves4       
,certain colleagues of ,valerius even   
grew scandalized that he should allow a 
simple priest to preach before him in   
his own church4 ,but soon other bishops1
 struck by the advantages of this       
innovation1 followed the example of     
,valerius1 and allowed their clerks to  
preach even in their presence4 ,the     
priest of ,hippo did not lose his head  
among so many honours4 ,he felt chiefly 
the perils of them1 and he regarded them
 as a trial sent by ,god4 ,i have been  
forced into this1 he said1 doubtless in 
punishment of my sins2 for from what    

other motive can ,i think that the      
second place at the helm should be given
 to me--to me who do not even know how  
to hold an oar4444  ,meanwhile1 he had  
not relinquished his purpose of monastic
 life4 ,though a priest1 he meant to    
remain a monk4 ,it was heart-breaking   
for him to be obliged to leave his      
monastery at ,thagaste4 ,he spoke of his
 regret to ,valerius1 who1 perceiving   
the usefulness of a convent as a        
seminary for future priests1 gave him an
 orchard belonging to the church of     
,hippo1 that he might found a new       
community there4 ,so was established the
 monastery which was going to supply a  
great number of clerks and bishops to   
all the ,african provinces4  ,among the 
ruins of ,hippo1 that old ,roman and    
,phoenician city1 they search for the   
place where ,augustin's monastery stood1
 without much hope of ever finding it4  
,some have thought to locate it upon    
that hill where the water brought from  
the near mountains by an aqueduct used  

to pour into immense reservoirs1 and    
where to-day rises a new basilica which 
attracts all eyes out at sea4 ,behind   
the basilica is a convent where the     
,little ,sisters of the ,poor lodge     
about a hundred old people4 ,so is      
maintained among the ,african           
,mussulmans the remembrance of the grand
 ,christian marabout4 ,one might        
possibly wish to see there a building   
more in the pure and quiet taste of     
antiquity4 ,but after all1 the piety of 
the intention is enough4 ,this hospital 
serves admirably to call up the memory  
of the illustrious bishop who was       
charity itself4 ,as for the basilica1   
,africa has done all she can to make it 
worthy of him4 ,she has given her most  
precious marbles1 and one of her fairest
 landscapes as a frame4  ,it is chiefly 
in the evening1 in the closing dusk1    
that this landscape reveals all its     
special charm and its finer values4 ,the
 roseate glow of the setting sun throws 
into sharp relief the black profile of  

the mountains1 which command the        
,seybouse valley4 ,under the mustering  
shadows1 the pallid river winds slowly  
to the sea4 ,the gulf1 stretching       
limitless1 shines like a slab of salt   
strangely bespangled4 ,in this          
atmosphere without mists1 the sharp     
outlines of the coast1 the dense        
movelessness of the aspect1 has an      
indescribable effect4 ,it is like a     
hitherto unknown and virginal revelation
 of the earth4 ,then the stars bloom    
out1 with a flame1 an hallucinating     
palpability4 ,charles's ,wain1 burning  
low on the gorges of the ,edough1 seems 
like a golden waggon rolling through the
 fields of ,heaven4 ,a deep peace       
settles upon farmland and meadow        
country1 only broken by a watch-dog's   
bark now and then4444  ,but it matters  
not which spot is chosen in the         
surroundings of ,hippo to place         
,augustin's monastery1 the view will be 
equally beautiful4 ,from all parts of   
the plain1 mounded by heaps of ruins1   

the sea can be seen--a wide bay circled 
in soft bland curves1 like at ,naples4  
,all around1 an arena of mountains--the 
green ravines of the ,edough and its    
wooded slopes4 ,along the surbased roads
 rise the great sonorous pines1 and     
through them wanders the olian complaint
 of the sea-winds4 ,blue of the sea1    
blue of the sky1 noble foliage of       
,italy's ancient groves--it is one of   
,lamartine's landscapes under a more    
burning sun4 ,the gaiety of the mornings
 there is a physical luxury for heart   
and eyes1 when the new-born light laughs
 upon the painted cupolas of the houses1
 and dark blue veils float between the  
walls1 glaring white1 of the steep      
streets4  ,among the olives and         
orange-trees of ,hippo1 ,augustin must  
have seen happy days pass by1 as at     
,thagaste4 ,the rule he had given the   
convent1 which he himself obeyed like   
any one else1 was neither too slack nor 
too strict--in a word1 such as it should
 be for men who have lived in the       

culture of letters and works of the     
mind4 ,there was no affectation of      
excessive austerity4 ,augustin and his  
monks wore very simple clothes and      
shoes1 but suitable for a bishop and his
 clerks4 ,like laymen1 they wore the    
byrrhus1 a garment with a hood1 which   
seems very like the ancestor of the     
,arab burnous4 ,to keep an even line    
between daintiness and negligence in    
costume1 to have no exaggeration in     
anything1 is what ,augustin aimed at4   
,the poet ,rutilius ,numatianus1 who    
about that time was attacking the sordid
 and culture-hating monks with sombre   
irony1 would have had a chance to admire
 a restraint and decorum in the ,hippo  
monastery which recalled what was best  
in the manners of the ancient world4 ,at
 table1 a like moderation4 ,vegetables  
were generally provided1 and sometimes  
meat when any one was sick1 or guests   
arrived4 ,they drank a little wine1     
contrary to the regulations of ,st4     
,jerome1 who condemned wine as a drink  

for devils4 ,when a monk infringed the  
rule1 his share of the wine was stopped4
  ,through some remains of fastidious   
habits in ,augustin1 or perhaps because 
he had nothing else1 the table service  
he used himself was silver4 ,on the     
other hand1 the pots and dishes were of 
earthenware1 or wood1 or common         
alabaster4 ,augustin1 who was very      
temperate in eating and drinking1 seemed
 at table to pay attention only to what 
was being read or talked about4 ,he     
cared very little what he ate1 provided 
the food was not a stimulant to         
lubricity4 ,he used to say to those     
,christians who paraded a ,pharisaic    
severity3 ,it is the pure heart which   
makes pure food4 ,then1 with his        
constant desire for charity1 he         
prohibited all spiteful gossip in the   
conversation in the refectory4 ,in those
 times of religious struggle1 the       
clerics ferociously blackened each      
other's characters4 ,augustin caused to 
have written on the walls a distich1    

which ran thus3    ,he who takes        
pleasure in slandering the life of the  
absent1   ,should know he is unworthy to
 sit at this table4  ,one day1 says     
,possidius1 some of his intimate        
friends1 even other bishops1 having     
forgotten this sentence1 he reproached  
them warmly1 and very much perturbed1 he
 cried out that he was going to remove  
those verses from the refectory1 or rise
 from table and withdraw to his cell4 ,i
 was present with many others when this 
happened4  ,it was not only slanderous  
talk or interior dissensions which      
troubled ,augustin's peace of mind4 ,he 
combined the duties of priest1 of a head
 of a convent1 and of an apostle4 ,he   
had to preach1 instruct the catechumens1
 battle against the disaffected4 ,the   
town of ,hippo was very unruly1 full of 
heretics1 schismatics1 pagans4 ,those of
 the party of ,donatus were triumphant1 
driving the ,catholics from their       
churches and lands4 ,when ,augustin came
 into the country1 ,catholicism was very

 low4 ,and then the ineradicable        
,manichees continued to recruit         
proselytes4 ,he never stopped writing   
tracts1 disputing against them1         
overwhelming them under the close logic 
of his arguments4 ,at the request of the
 ,donatists themselves1 he had an       
argument with one of their priests1 a   
certain ,fortunatus1 in the baths of    
,sossius at ,hippo4 ,he reduced this man
 to silence and to flight4 ,not in the  
least discouraged were the ,manichees3  
they sent another priest4  ,if the      
enemies of the ,church shewed themselves
 stubborn1 ,augustin's own congregation 
were singularly turbulent1 hard to      
manage4 ,the weakness of old ,valerius  
must have allowed a good many abuses to 
creep into the community4 ,ere long the 
priest of ,hippo had a foretaste of the 
difficulties which awaited him as       
bishop4  ,following the example of      
,ambrose1 he undertook to abolish the   
custom of feasts in the basilicas and on
 the tombs of the martyrs4 ,this was a  

survival of paganism1 of which the      
festivals included gluttonous eating and
 orgies4 ,at every solemnity1 and they  
were frequent1 the pagans ate in the    
courts and under the porticoes around   
the temples4 ,in ,africa1 above all1    
these public repasts gave an opportunity
 for repugnant scenes of stuffing and   
drunkenness4 ,as a rule1 the ,african is
 very sober2 but when he does let       
himself go he is terrible4 ,this is     
quite easily seen to-day1 in the great  
,muslem feasts1 when the rich distribute
 broken bits of meat to the poor of     
their district4 ,as soon as these       
people1 used to drink water and to eat a
 little boiled rice1 have tasted meat1  
or drunk only one cup of wine1 there is 
no holding them3 there are fights1      
stabbing matches1 a general brawl in the
 hovels4 ,just picture this popular     
debauch in full blast in the cemeteries 
and the courts of the basilicas1 and it 
will be understood why ,augustin did his
 best to put an end to such scandals4   

,for this purpose1 he joined hands first
 of all with his bishop1 ,valerius1 and 
then with the ,primate of ,carthage1    
,aurelius1 who shall be henceforth his  
firmest support in his struggle against 
the schismatics4  ,during ,lent1 the    
subject fitting in naturally with the   
season1 he spoke against these pagan    
orgies2 and this gave rise to a good    
deal of discontent1 outside4 ,easter    
went by without trouble4 ,but the day   
after the ,ascension1 the people of     
,hippo were used to celebrate what they 
called the ,joy-day1 by a traditional   
good feed and drink4 ,the day before1   
which was the religious festival1       
,augustin intrepidly spoke against the  
,joy-day4 ,they interrupted the         
preacher4 ,some of them shouted that as 
much was done at ,rome in ,st4 ,peter's 
basilica4 ,at ,carthage1 they danced    
round the tomb of ,st4 ,cyprian4 ,to the
 shrilling of flutes1 amid the dull     
blows of the gongs1 mimes gave          
themselves up to obscene contortions1   

while the spectators sang to the        
clapping of their hands4444 ,augustin   
knew all about that4 ,he declared that  
these abominations might have been      
tolerated in former times so as not to  
discourage the pagans from becoming     
converts2 but that henceforth the       
people1 altogether ,christian1 should   
give them up4 ,in the end1 he spoke with
 such touching eloquence that the       
audience burst into tears4 ,he believed 
he had won4  ,the next day it was all to
 do over again4 ,agitators had worked   
among the crowd to such an extent that a
 riot was feared4 ,nevertheless1        
,augustin1 preceded by his bishop1      
entered the basilica at the hour of     
service4 ,at the same moment the        
,donatists were banqueting in their     
church1 which was quite near4 ,through  
the walls of their own church the       
,catholics heard the noise of this      
carouse4 ,it required the coadjutor's   
most urgent remonstrances to keep them  
from imitating their neighbours4 ,the   

last murmurs died down1 and the ceremony
 ended with the singing of the sacred   
hymns4  ,augustin had carried the       
position4 ,but the conflict had got to  
the point that he had to threaten the   
people with his resignation1 and1 as he 
wrote to ,alypius1 to shake out on them 
the dust from his clothes4 ,all this    
promised very ill for the future4 ,he   
who already considered the priesthood as
 a trial1 saw with terror the bishopric 
drawing near4     ,,the ,,fifth ,,part  
,,the ,,apostle ,,of ,,peace ,,and ,,of 
,,catholic ,,unity       ,dic eis ista1 
ut plorent 444 et sic eos rape tecum ad 
,deum3 quia de     spiritu ejus haec    
dicis eis1 si dicis ardens igne         
caritatis4      ,tell them this1 ,o my  
soul1 that they may weep 444 and thus   
carry them     up with thyself to ,god2 
because by ,his ,spirit thou sayest     
these things1     if ,thou speakest     
burning with the flame of charity4      
,confessions1 ,,iv1 #ab4     ,i  ,,the  
,,bishop ,,of ,,hippo   ,in his         

monastery1 ,augustin was still spied    
upon by the neighbouring ,churches1 who 
wanted him for their bishop4 ,they would
 capture him on the first opportunity4  
,the old ,valerius1 fearing his priest  
would be taken unawares1 urged him to   
hide himself4 ,but he knew by the very  
case of ,augustin1 forced into the      
priesthood in spite of himself1 that the
 greatest precautions are useless       
against those determined to gain their  
ends by any means4 ,it would be safest  
to anticipate the danger4  ,he          
determined therefore to share the       
bishopric with ,augustin1 to have him   
consecrated during his own lifetime1 and
 to indicate him as his successor4 ,this
 was against the ,african usage1 and    
what was more1 against the ,canons of   
the ,council of ,nice--though it is true
 that ,valerius1 like ,augustin himself1
 was unaware of this latter point4 ,but 
surely the rule could be waived in view 
of the exceptional merits of the priest 
of ,hippo4 ,the old bishop began by     

sounding ,aurelius1 the ,primate of     
,carthage1 and when he was satisfied as 
to the agreement and support of this    
high personage1 he took the opportunity 
of a religious solemnity to make known  
his intentions to the people4  ,some of 
the neighbouring bishops--,megalius1    
,bishop of ,guelma and ,primate of      
,numidia1 among them--being gathered at 
,hippo to consecrate a new bishop1      
,valerius announced publicly in the     
basilica that he wished ,augustin to be 
consecrated at the same ceremony4 ,this 
had been the wish of his people for a   
long time4 ,really1 in demanding this   
honour for his priest1 the old bishop   
did no more than follow the wish of the 
public4 ,immediately1 his words were    
received with cheers4 ,the faithful with
 loud shouts demanded ,augustin's       
consecration4  ,megalius alone objected4
 ,he even made himself the voice of     
certain calumnies1 so as to have the    
candidate put aside as unworthy4 ,there 
is nothing astonishing in such an       

attitude4 ,this ,megalius was old 7he   
died a short time after71 and1 like all 
old men1 he took the gloomiest view of  
innovations4 ,already1 in the face of   
settled custom1 had ,valerius granted   
,augustin the right to preach in his    
presence4 ,and see now1 by a new        
sinking1 he was attempting to place two 
bishops at once in the see of ,hippo6   
,whatever this young priest's talents   
might be1 enough1 had been done for     
him--a recent convert into the bargain1 
and1 what was still more serious1 a     
refugee from the ,manicheans4 ,what was 
not related about the abominations      
committed in the mysteries of those     
people8 ,just how far had ,augustin     
dipped into them8 ,they snarled against 
him everywhere at ,hippo1 and at        
,carthage too1 where he had compromised 
himself by his excessive zeal2          
,catholics and ,donatists alike         
gossiped4 ,megalius1 a punctilious      
defender of discipline and the          
hierarchy1 no doubt gathered up these   

malevolent rumours with pleasure4 ,he   
used them as an excuse for making       
,augustin mark time1 so to speak4       
,commonplace people always feel a secret
 delight in humiliating to the common   
rule those whom they can feel are beings
 of a different quality from themselves4
  ,one of the slanders set abroad about 
,valerius' priest1 ,megalius seems to   
have believed4 ,he allowed himself to be
 persuaded that ,augustin had given a   
philtre to a woman1 one of his          
penitents1 whom he wished to possess4   
,it was then the fashion among the pious
 to exchange eulogies1 or bits of holy  
bread1 to signify a spiritual communion4
 ,augustin was said to have mixed       
certain magic potions with some of these
 breads and offered them hypocritically 
to the woman he was in love with4 ,this 
accusation started a big scandal1 and   
the remembrance of it persisted long1   
because five or six years later the     
,donatist ,petilian was still repeating 
it4  ,augustin cleared himself          

victoriously4 ,megalius avowed his      
mistake4 ,he did better3 not only did he
 apologize to him he had slandered1 but 
he solemnly asked forgiveness from his  
fellow-bishops for having misled them   
upon false rumours4 ,it is probable that
 some time during the inquiry he had got
 to know ,valerius' coadjutor better4   
,augustin's charm1 taken with the       
austerity of his life1 acted upon the   
vexed old man and altered his views4 ,be
 that so or not1 it was at any rate by  
,megalius1 ,bishop of ,guelma and       
,primate of ,numidia1 that ,augustin was
 consecrated ,bishop of ,hippo4  ,he was
 in consternation over his rise4 ,he has
 said it again and again4 ,we may take  
his word for it4 ,yet the honours and   
advantages of the episcopate were then  
so considerable that his enemies were   
able to describe him as an ambitious    
man4 ,nothing could agree less with his 
character4 ,in his heart1 ,augustin only
 wished to live in quiet4 ,since his    
retreat at ,cassicium1 fortune he had   

given up1 as well as literary glory4    
,his sole wish was to live in pondering 
the divine truths1 and to draw nearer to
 ,god4 ,videte et gustate quam mitis sit
 ,dominus--,o taste and see that the    
,lord is good4 ,this perhaps1 of the    
whole ,bible1 is the verse he liked     
best1 which answered best to the close  
desire of his soul2 and he quotes it    
oftenest in his sermons4 ,then1 to study
 the ,holy ,writings1 scan the least    
syllables of them1 since all truth lies 
there--well1 a whole life is not too    
much for such labour as that6 ,and to do
 it1 one should sever all ties with the 
world1 take refuge forbiddingly in the  
cloister4  ,but this sincere ,christian 
analysed himself too skilfully not to   
perceive that he had a dangerous        
tendency to isolation4 ,he took too much
 pleasure in cutting himself off from   
the society of mankind to enshroud      
himself in study and meditation4 ,he who
 acknowledged a secret tendency to the  
,epicurean indolence--was he going to   

live a life of the dilettante and the   
self-indulgent under cover of holiness8 
,alone could action save him from       
selfishness4 ,others doubtless fulfilled
 the laws of charity in praying1 in     
mortifying themselves for their         
brethren4 ,but when1 like him1 a man has
 exceptional faculties of persuasion and
 eloquence1 such vigour in dialectics1  
such widespread culture1 such power to  
bring to naught the wrong--would it not 
be insulting to ,god to let such gifts  
lie idle1 and a serious failure in      
charity to deprive his brethren of the  
support of such an engine8  ,besides    
that1 he well knew that no man draws    
near to truth without a purified heart4 
,might not his passions1 which were so  
violent1 begin to torment him again     
after this respite with greater frenzy  
than before his conversion8 ,against    
that1 too1 action was the main antidote4
 ,in the duties of the bishopric he saw 
a means of asceticism--a kind of        
courageous purification4 ,he would load 

himself of his own will with so many    
anxieties and so much work that he would
 have no time left to listen to the     
insidious voice of his old friends4     
,could he manage to silence them at     
once8 ,this unheard-of grace--would it  
be granted to him8 ,or would not rather 
the struggle continue in the depths of  
his conscience8 ,what comes out as      
certain is that those terrible passions 
which turned his youth upside down1     
nevermore play any part in his life4    
,from the moment he fell on his knees   
under the fig-tree at ,milan1 his sinful
 heart is a dead heart4 ,he has been    
freed from almost all the weaknesses of 
the old nature1 not only from its vices 
and carnal affections1 but from its most
 pardonable lapses--save1 perhaps1 some 
old sediment of intellectual and        
literary vanity4  ,his books1 at the    
first glance1 shew us him no more save  
as the doctor1 and already the saint4   
,what is seen at once is an entirely    
bare intelligence1 an entirely pure     

heart1 fired only by the divine love4   
,and yet the affectionate and tender    
heart which his had been1 always warms  
his discussions and his most abstract   
exegesis4 ,it does not take long to feel
 the heat of them1 the power of pouring 
forth emotion4 ,augustin takes no heed  
of that4 ,of himself he no longer       
thinks2 he no longer belongs to himself4
 ,if he has accepted the episcopate1 it 
is so as to give himself altogether to  
the ,church1 to be all things to all    
men4 ,he is the man-word1 the man-pen1  
the sounding-board of the truth4 ,he    
becomes the man of the miserable crowds 
which the ,saviour covered with ,his    
pity4 ,he is theirs1 to convince them   
and cure them of their errors4 ,he is a 
machine which works without ever        
stopping for the greater glory of       
,christ4 ,bishop1 pastor1 leader of     
souls--he has no desire for anything    
else4  ,but it was a heavy labour for   
this intellectual1 who till then had    
lived only among books and ideas4 ,the  

day after his consecration1 he must have
 regarded it with more terror than ever4
 ,during his nights of insomnia1 or at  
the recreation hour in the monastery    
garden1 he thought over it with great   
distress4 ,his eyes wide open in the    
darkness of his cell1 he sought to      
define a theory upon the nature and     
origin of the soul2 or else1 at the fall
 of day1 he saw between the olive       
branches the sea put on fluctuating     
shades like veils of a thousand colours1
 sometimes green1 a green of infinite   
tints2 sometimes purple2 blue           
sometimes4444 ,and his soul1 easily     
stirred to poetry1 at once arose from   
these material splendours to the        
invisible region of ideas4 ,then1       
immediately1 he caught himself up3 it   
was not a question of all that6 ,he said
 to himself that he was henceforth the  
bishop ,augustin1 that he had charge of 
souls1 that he must work for the needs  
of his flock4 ,he would have to struggle
 in a combat without a moment's respite4

 ,thereupon he arranged his plans of    
attack and defence4 ,with a single      
glance he gauged the huge work before   
him4  ,a crushing work1 truly6 ,he was  
,bishop of ,hippo1 but a bishop almost  
without a flock1 in comparison with the 
rival community of ,donatists4 ,the     
bishop of the dissentients1             
,proculeianus1 boasted that he was the  
true representative of orthodoxy1 and as
 he had on his side the advantage of    
numbers1 he certainly cut a much greater
 figure in the town than the successor  
of ,valerius1 with all his knowledge and
 all his eloquence4 ,the schismatics'   
church1 as we have seen1 was quite near 
the ,catholic church4 ,their noise      
interfered with ,augustin's sermons4    
,possibly the situation had become      
slightly better in ,hippo since the     
edict of ,theodosius4 ,but it was not so
 long ago that those of the ,donatist   
party had the upper hand4 ,a little     
before the arrival of the new bishop1   
the ,donatist clergy forbade their      

faithful to bake bread for ,catholics4  
,a fanatical baker had even refused a   
,catholic deacon who was his landlord4  
,these schismatics believed themselves  
strong enough to put those who did not  
belong to them under interdict4  ,the   
rout of ,catholicism appeared to be an  
accomplished fact from one end to the   
other of ,africa4 ,quite recently a mere
 fraction of the ,donatist party had    
been able to send three hundred and ten 
bishops to the ,council of ,bagai1 who  
were to judge the recalcitrants of their
 own sect4 ,among these bishops1 the    
terrible ,optatus of ,thimgad became    
marked on account of his bloody zeal1   
rambling round ,numidia and even the    
,proconsulate at the head of armed      
bands1 burning farms and villas1        
rebaptizing the ,catholics by main      
force1 spreading terror on all sides4   
,augustin knew all this1 and when he    
sought help from the local authorities  
he was obliged to acknowledge sadly that
 there was no support to be expected    

from ,count ,gildo1 who had tyrannized  
over ,carthage and ,africa for nearly   
ten years4 ,this ,gildo was a native1 a 
,moor1 to whom the ministers of the     
young ,valentinian ,,ii had thought it a
 good stroke of policy to confide the   
government of the province4 ,knowing the
 weakness of the ,empire1 the ,moor only
 thought of cutting out for himself an  
independent principality in ,africa4 ,he
 openly favoured ,donatism1 which was   
the most numerous and influential party4
 ,the ,bishop of ,thimgad1 ,optatus1    
swore only by him1 regarding him as his 
master and his god4 ,in consequence1 he 
was called the ,gildonian4  ,against    
such enemies1 the ,imperial authority   
could only act irregularly4 ,augustin   
was well aware of it4 ,he knew that the 
,western ,empire was in a critical      
position4 ,theodosius had just died1 in 
the midst of war with the usurper       
,eugenius4 ,the ,barbarians1 who made up
 the greater part of the ,roman armies1 
shewed themselves more and more         

threatening4 ,alaric1 entrenched in the 
,peloponnesus1 was getting ready to     
invade ,italy4 ,however1 the            
all-powerful minister of the young      
,honorius1 the half-,barbarian          
,stilicho1 did his best to conciliate   
the ,catholics1 and assured them that he
 would continue the protection they had 
had from ,theodosius1 ,augustin         
therefore turned to the central power4  
,it alone could bring about a little    
order in the provinces--and then1       
besides1 the new emperors were firmly   
attached to the defence of ,catholicism4
 ,the ,catholic ,bishop of ,hippo did   
his best1 accordingly1 to keep on good  
terms with the representatives of the   
,metropolitan ,government--the          
proconsuls2 the proprtors2 the counts2  
and the tribunes1 or the secretaries1   
sent by the ,emperor as ,government     
commissioners4  ,there was no suspicion 
of flattery in his attitude1 no idolatry
 of power4 ,at ,milan1 ,augustin had    
been near enough to the ,court to know  

what the ,imperial functionaries were   
worth4 ,now1 he simply adapted himself  
as well as he could to the needs of the 
moment4 ,and with all that1 he could    
have wished in the depths of his heart  
that this power were stronger1 so as to 
give the ,church more effective support4
 ,this cultured man1 brought up in the  
respect of the ,roman majesty1 was by   
instinct a faithful servant of the      
,csars4 ,a man who held to authority and
 tradition1 he maintained that obedience
 is due to princes3 ,there is a general 
agreement1 he said1 of human society to 
obey its ,kings4 ,in one of his sermons 
he compares thought1 which commands the 
body1 to the ,emperor seated upon his   
throne1 and from the depths of his      
palace dictating orders which set the   
whole ,empire moving--a purely ideal    
image of the sovereign of that time1 but
 one which pleased his ,latin           
imagination4 ,alas6 ,augustin had no    
illusions about the effect of ,imperial 
edicts2 he knew too well how little they

 were regarded1 especially in ,africa4  
,so he could hardly count upon          
,government support for the defence of  
,catholic unity and peace4 ,he found he 
must trust to himself2 and all his      
strength was in his intelligence1 in his
 charity1 in his deeply compassionate   
soul4 ,most earnestly did he wish that  
,catholicism might be a religion of     
love1 open to all the nations of the    
earth1 even as its ,divine ,founder     
,himself had wished4 ,a glowing and     
dominating intelligence1 charity which  
never tired--those were ,augustin's     
arms4 ,and they were enough4 ,these     
qualities gave him an overwhelming      
superiority over all the men of his     
time4 ,among them1 pagans or            
,christians1 he looks like a colossus4  
,from what a height he crushes1 not only
 the professors who had been his        
colleagues1 such as ,nectarius of       
,guelma or ,maximus of ,madaura1 but the
 most celebrated writers of his         
time--,symmachus1 for instance1 and     

,ammianus ,marcellinus4 ,after reading a
 treatise of ,augustin's1 one is        
astounded by the intellectual meagreness
 of these last pagans4 ,the narrowness  
of their mind and platitude of thought  
is a thing that leaves one aghast4 ,even
 the illustrious ,apuleius1 who belonged
 to the golden age of ,african          
literature1 the author of ,the ,doctrine
 of ,plato1 praises philosophy and the  
,supreme ,being in terms which recall   
the professions of faith of the chemist 
and druggist1 ,homais1 in ,madame       
,bovary4  ,nor among those who          
surrounded ,augustin1 his               
fellow-bishops1 was there one fit to be 
compared with him1 even at a distance4  
,except perhaps ,nebridius1 his dearest 
friends1 ,alypius1 ,severus1 or         
,evodius1 are merely disciples1 not to  
say servants of his thought4 ,aurelius1 
,primate of ,carthage1 an energetic     
administrator1 a firm and upright       
character1 if he is not on ,augustin's  
level1 is at any rate capable of        

understanding and supporting him4 ,the  
others are decent men1 like that        
,samsucius1 ,bishop of ,tours1 very     
nearly illiterate1 but full of good     
sense and experience1 and on this ground
 consulted respectfully by his colleague
 of ,hippo4 ,or else they are plotters1 
given to debauch1 engaged in business1  
like ,paulus1 ,bishop of ,cataqua1 who  
became involved in risky speculations1  
swindled the revenue1 and by his        
expensive way of life ruined his        
diocese4 ,others1 on the ,donatist side1
 are mere swashbucklers1 half-brigands1 
half-fanatics1 like the ,gildonian      
,optatus1 ,bishop of ,thimgad1 a        
manifestation in advance of the         
,mussulman marabout who preached the    
holy war against the ,catholics1        
raiding1 killing1 burning1 converting by
 sabre blows and bludgeoning4  ,amid    
these insignificant or violent men1     
,augustin will endeavour to realize to  
the full the admirable type of bishop1  
at once spiritual father1 protector1 and

 support of his people4 ,he had promised
 himself to sacrifice no whit of his    
ideal of ,christian perfection4 ,as     
bishop1 he will remain a monk1 as he did
 during his priesthood4 ,beside the     
monastery established in ,valerius'     
garden1 where it is impossible to       
receive properly his guests and         
visitors1 he will start another in the  
episcopal residence4 ,he will conform to
 the monastic rule as far as his duties 
allow4 ,he will pray1 study the         
,scriptures1 define dogmas1 refute      
heresies4 ,at the same time1 he means to
 neglect nothing of his material work4  
,he has mouths to feed1 property to look
 after1 law-cases to examine4 ,he will  
labour at all that4 ,for this mystic and
 theorist it means a never-ceasing      
immolation4  ,first1 to give the poor   
their daily bread4 ,like all the        
communities of that time1 ,hippo        
maintained a population of beggars4     
,often enough1 the diocesan cash-box was
 empty4 ,augustin was obliged to hold   

out the hand1 to deliver from the height
 of his pulpit pathetic appeals for     
charity4 ,then1 there are hospitals to  
be built for the sick1 a lodging-house  
for poor wanderers4 ,the bishop started 
these institutions in houses bequeathed 
to the church of ,hippo4 ,for reasons of
 economy1 he thought better not to      
build4 ,that would overload his budget4 
,next came the greatest of all his      
cares--the administration of ,church    
property4 ,to increase this property1 he
 stipulated that his clergy should give 
up all they possessed in favour of the  
community1 thus giving the faithful an  
example of voluntary poverty4 ,he also  
accepted gifts from private persons4    
,but he also often refused these--for   
example1 the bequest of a father or     
mother1 who1 in a moment of anger1      
disinherited their children4 ,he did not
 wish to profit by the bad feelings of  
parents to plunder orphans4 ,on another 
side1 he objected to engage the ,church 
in suits at law with the exchequer upon 

receiving certain heritages4 ,when a    
business man at ,hippo left to the      
diocese his share of profits in the     
service of boats for carrying           
,government stores1 ,augustin came to   
the conclusion that it would be better  
to refuse4 ,in case of shipwreck1 they  
would be obliged to make good the lost  
corn to the ,treasury1 or else to put   
the captain and surviving sailors to the
 torture to prove that the crew was not 
responsible for the loss of the ship4   
,augustin would not hear tell of it4    
,is it fit1 he said1 that a bishop      
should be a shipowner8444 ,a bishop a   
torturer8 ,oh1 no2 that does not agree  
at all with a servant of ,jesus ,christ4
  ,the people of ,hippo did not share   
his views4 ,they blamed ,augustin's     
scruples4 ,they accused him of          
compromising the interests of the       
,church4 ,one day he had to explain     
himself from the pulpit3  ,well ,i know1
 my brothers1 that you often say between
 yourselves3 ',why do not people give   

anything to the ,church of ,hippo8 ,why 
do not the dying make it their heir8    
,the reason is that ,bishop ,augustin is
 too easy2 he gives all back to the     
children2 he keeps nothing6' ,i         
acknowledge it1 ,i only accept gifts    
which are good and pious4 ,whoever      
disinherits his son to make the ,church 
his heir1 let him find somebody willing 
to accept his gifts4 ,it is not ,i who  
will do it1 and by ,god's grace1 ,i hope
 it will not be anybody4444 ,yes1 ,i    
have refused many legacies1 but ,i have 
also accepted many4 ,need ,i name them  
to you8 ,i will give only one instance4 
,i accepted the heritage of ,julian4    
,why8 ,because he died without          
children4444  ,the listeners thought    
that their bishop really put too fine a 
point on things4  ,they further         
reproached him with not knowing how to  
attract and flatter the rich            
benefactors4 ,augustin would not allow1 
either1 that they had any right to force
 a passing stranger to receive the      

priesthood and consequently to give up  
his goods to the poor4 ,all this really 
was very wise1 not only according to the
 spirit of the ,gospel1 but according to
 human prudence4 ,if ,augustin1 for the 
sake of the good fame of his ,church1   
did not wish to incur the accusation of 
grasping and avarice1 he dreaded nothing
 so much as a law-case4 ,to accept      
lightly the gifts and legacies offered  
was to lay himself open to expensive    
pettifogging4 ,far better to refuse than
 to lose both his money and reputation4 
,so were reconciled1 in this man of     
prayer and meditation1 practical good   
sense with the high disinterestedness of
 the ,christian teaching4  ,the bishop  
was disinterested2 his people were      
covetous4 ,the people of those times    
wished the ,church to grow rich1 because
 they were the first to profit by its   
riches4 ,now these riches were          
principally in houses and land4 ,the    
diocese of ,hippo had to deal with many 
houses and immense fundi1 upon which    

lived an entire population of artisans  
and freed-men1 agricultural labourers1  
and even art-workers--smelters1         
embroiderers1 chisellers on metals4     
,upon the ,church lands1 these small    
people were protected from taxes and the
 extortions of the revenue officers1 and
 no doubt they found the episcopal      
government more fatherly and mild than  
the civil4  ,augustin1 who had made a   
vow of poverty and given his heritage to
 the poor1 became by a cruel irony a    
great landowner as soon as he was       
elected ,bishop of ,hippo4 ,doubtless he
 had stewards under him to look after   
the property of the diocese4 ,this did  
not save him from going into details of 
management and supervising his agents4  
,he heard the complaints1 not only of   
his own tenants1 but also of those who  
belonged to other estates and were      
victimized by dishonest bailiffs4       
,anyhow1 we have a thousand signs to    
shew that no detail of country life was 
unfamiliar to him4  ,on horseback or    

muleback1 he rode for miles through the 
country about ,hippo to visit his       
vineyards and olivets4 ,he examined1    
found out things1 questioned the        
workmen1 went into the presses and the  
mills4 ,he knew the grape good to eat1  
and the grape to make wine with4 ,he    
pointed out where the ensilage pits had 
been dug in too marshy land1 which      
endangered the young corn4 ,as a capable
 landowner he was abreast of the law1   
careful about the terms of contracts4   
,he knew the formulas employed for sales
 or benefactions4 ,he saw to it that    
charcoal was buried around the landmarks
 in the fields1 so that if the post     
disappeared1 its place could be found4  
,and as he was a poet1 he gathered on   
his course a whole booty of rural images
 which later on went to brighten his    
sermons4 ,he made ingenious comparisons 
with the citron-tree1 which is seen to  
give flowers and fruits all the year if 
it be watered constantly1 or else with  
the goat who gets upon her two hind legs

 to crop the bitter leaves of the wild  
olive4  ,these journeys in the open air1
 however tiring they might be1 were     
after all a rest for his overworked     
brain4 ,but there was one among his     
episcopal duties which wearied him to   
disgust4 ,every day he had to listen to 
parties in dispute and give judgment4   
,following recent ,imperial legislation1
 the bishop became judge in civil       
cases--a tiresome and endless work in a 
country where tricky quibbling raged    
with obstinate fury4 ,the litigants     
pursued ,augustin1 overran his house1   
like those fellahs in dirty burnous who 
block our law-courts with their rags4   
,in the secretarium of the basilica1 or 
under the portico of the court leading  
to the church1 ,augustin sat like a     
,mussulman cadi in the court of the     
mosque4  ,the emperors had only         
regulated an old custom of apostolic    
times in placing the ,christians under  
the jurisdiction of their bishop4 ,in   
accordance with ,st4 ,paul's advice1 the

 priests did their utmost to settle     
differences among the faithful4 ,later1 
when their number had considerably      
increased1 the ,government adopted a    
system not unlike the ,capitulations in 
countries under the ,ottoman suzerainty4
 ,lawsuits between clerics and laymen   
could not be equitably judged by civil  
servants1 who were often pagans4        
,moreover1 the parties based their      
claims on theological principles or     
religious laws that the arbitrator      
generally knew nothing about4 ,in these 
conditions1 it was natural enough that  
the ,imperial authority should say to   
the disputants1 ,fight it out among     
yourselves4  ,and it happened1 just at  
the moment when ,augustin began to fill 
the see of ,hippo1 that ,theodosius     
broadened still more the judicial       
prerogatives of the bishops4 ,the       
unhappy judge was overwhelmed with      
law-cases4 ,every day he sat till the   
hour of his meal1 and sometimes the     
whole day when he fasted4 ,to those who 

accused him of laziness1 he answered3   
,i can declare on my soul that if it    
were question of my own convenience1 ,i 
should like much better to work at some 
manual labour at certain hours of the   
day1 as the rule is in well-governed    
monasteries1 and have the rest of the   
time free to read or pray or meditate   
upon the ,holy ,scripture1 instead of   
being troubled with all the             
complications and dull talk of lawsuits4
  ,the rascality of the litigants made  
him indignant4 ,from the pulpit he gave 
them advice full of ,christian wisdom1  
but which could not have been much      
relished4 ,a suit at law1 according to  
him1 was a loss of time and a cause of  
sorrow4 ,it would be better to let the  
opponent have the money1 than to lose   
time and be filled with uneasiness4 ,nor
 was this1 added the preacher in all    
good faith1 to encourage injustice2 for 
the robber would be robbed in his turn  
by a greater robber than himself4       
,these reasons seemed only moderately   

convincing4 ,the pettifoggers did not   
get discouraged4 ,on the contrary1 they 
infested the bishop with their pleas4   
,as soon as he appeared1 they rushed up 
to him in a mob1 surrounded him1 kissed 
his hand and his shoulder1 protesting   
their respect and obedience1 urging him1
 constraining him to busy himself about 
their affairs4 ,augustin yielded4 ,but  
the next day in a vehement sermon he    
cried out to them3  ,discedite a me1    
maligni6--,go far from me1 ye wicked    
ones1 and let me study in peace the     
commandments of my ,god6     ,,ii       
,,what ,,was ,,heard ,,in ,,the         
,,basilica ,,of ,,peace   ,let us try to
 see ,augustin in his pulpit and in his 
episcopal city4  ,we cannot do much more
 than reconstruct them by analogy4      
,royal ,hippo is utterly gone4 ,bona1   
which has taken its place1 is about a   
mile and a half away1 and the fragments 
which have been dug out of the soil of  
the dead city are very inadequate4 ,but 
,africa is full of ,christian ruins1 and

 chiefly of basilicas4 ,rome has nothing
 equal to offer4 ,and that is easily    
understood4 ,the ,roman basilicas1      
always living1 have been changed in the 
course of centuries1 and have put on1   
time after time1 the garb forced upon   
them by the fashion4 ,those of ,africa  
have remained just as they were--at     
least in their principal lines--on the  
morrow of the ,arab invasion1 as        
,augustin's eyes had seen them4 ,they   
are ruins1 no doubt1 and some very      
mutilated1 but ruins of which no        
restoration has altered the plan or     
changed the features4  ,as the traces of
 ,hippo and its church are swept away or
 deeply buried1 we are obliged1 in order
 to get some approximate idea1 to turn  
towards another ,african town which has 
suffered less from time and devastation4
 ,theveste with its basilica1 the best  
preserved1 the finest and largest in all
 ,africa1 can restore to us a little of 
the look and colour and atmosphere of   
,hippo in those final years of the      

fourth century4  ,ancient ,theveste was 
much larger than the present town1 the  
,french ,tebessa4 ,this1 even reduced to
 the perimeter of the ,byzantine        
fortress built under ,justinian1 still  
surprises the traveller by its          
singularly original aspect4 ,amid the   
wide plains of alfa-grass which surround
 it1 with its quadrangular enclosure1   
its roads on the projection of the walls
 behind the battlements1 its squat      
turrets1 it has a look as archaic1 as   
strange1 as our own ,aigues-,mortes amid
 its marshy fen4 ,nothing can be more   
rich and joyous to the eye than the rust
 which covers its ruins--a complete     
gilding that one would say had been laid
 on by the hand of man4  ,it has a      
little temple which is a wonder and has 
been compared to the ancient ,roman     
temple--the ,maison ,carre--at ,nmes4   
,but how much warmer1 more living are   
the stones6 ,the shafts of the columns1 
and the pilasters of the peristyle1     
barked by time1 seem as scaly and full  

of sap as the trunks of palm-trees4 ,the
 carved acanthus-leaves in the capitals 
of the pillars droop like bunches of    
palms reddened by the summer4  ,quite   
near1 at the end of a narrow street1    
lined with modern and squalid hovels1   
the triumphal arch of ,septimus ,severus
 and of ,caracalla extends its luminous 
bow2 and high above the heavy mass of   
architecture1 resting upon slim aerial  
little columns1 a buoyant diculus shines
 like a coral tabernacle or a coffer of 
yellow ivory4  ,all about1 forms in long
 draperies are huddled4 ,the ,numidian  
burnous has the whiteness of the toga4  
,it has also the same graceful folds4   
,at the sight of them you suddenly feel 
yourself to be in a strange             
land--carried back very far across the  
centuries4 ,no sooner is the vision of  
antiquity outlined than it grows firm4  
,down below there1 a horseman1 clad in  
white1 is framed with his white horse in
 the moulded cincture of a door4 ,he    
passes1 and upon the white wall of the  

near tower his shadow rests a moment1   
like a bas-relief upon the marble of a  
frieze4  ,beyond the ,byzantine         
enclosure1 the basilica1 with its minor 
buildings1 forms another town almost as 
large as the present ,theveste1 and also
 closed in by a belt of towers and      
ramparts4 ,one is immediately struck by 
the opulent colour of the stones--rose1 
grown pale and thinner in the sun2 and  
next1 by the solid workmanship and the  
structural finish4 ,the stones1 as in   
the ,greek temples1 are placed on top of
 one another in regular layers3 the     
whole holds together by the weight of   
the blocks and the polish of the        
surfaces4  ,the proportions are on a    
large scale4 ,there was no grudging for 
the buildings1 or the materials1 or the 
land4 ,in front of the basilica is a    
wide rectangular court bordered with    
terraces2 a portico at the far end2 and 
in the middle four large fountains to   
water the walk4 ,a flagged avenue1      
closed by two gateways1 divides this    

court from the basilica1 properly so    
called1 which is reached by a staircase 
between two columns4 ,the staircase     
leads to the atrium decorated by a      
,corinthian portico4 ,in the centre is  
the font for purifications1 a huge      
monolithic bason in the shape of a      
four-leaved clover4 ,three doors give   
entrance from the atrium to the         
basilica1 which is divided by rows of   
green marble columns into three aisles4 
,the galleries spread out along the side
 aisles4 ,the floor was in mosaic4 ,in  
the apse1 behind the altar1 stood the   
bishop's throne4  ,around the main      
building clustered a great number of    
others3 a baptistry2 many chapels 7one  
vaulted in the shape of a three-leaved  
clover7 dedicated1 probably1 to local   
martyrs2 a graveyard2 a convent with its
 cells1 and its windows narrow as       
loop-holes2 stables1 sheds1 and barns4  
,sheltered within its walls and towers1 
amid its gardens and outbuildings1 the  
basilica of ,theveste thus early        

resembled one of our great monasteries  
of the ,middle ,age1 and also in certain
 ways the great mosques of ,islam--the  
one at ,cordova1 or that at ,damascus1  
with their vestibules surrounded by     
arcades1 their basons for purification1 
and their walks bordered with           
orange-trees4 ,the faithful and the     
pilgrims were at home there4 ,they might
 spend the day stretched upon the flags 
of the porticoes1 in loafing or sleeping
 in the blue shade of the columns and   
the cool of the fountains4 ,in the full 
sense of the word1 the church was the   
,house of ,god1 open to all4  ,very     
likely the basilicas at ,hippo had      
neither the size nor the splendour of   
this one4 ,nor were there very many4 ,at
 the time ,augustin was ordained priest1
 that is to say1 when the ,donatists had
 still a majority in the town1 it seems 
clear that the orthodox community owned 
but one single church1 the ,basilica    
major1 or ,basilica of ,peace4 ,its very
 name proves this4 ,with the            

schismatics1 ,peace was the official    
name for ,catholicism4 ,basilica of     
,peace meant simply ,catholic ,basilica4
 ,was not this as much as to say that   
the others belonged to the dissenters8  
,doubtless they restored later on1 after
 the promulgations of ,honorius1 the    
,leontian ,basilica1 founded by         
,leontius1 ,bishop of ,hippo1 and a     
martyr4 ,a third was built by ,augustin 
during his episcopate--the ,basilica of 
the ,eight ,martyrs of the ,white ,mace4
  ,it was in the ,major1 or ,cathedral1 
that ,augustin generally preached4 ,to  
preach was not only a duty1 but one of  
the privileges of a bishop4 ,as has been
 said1 the bishop alone had the right to
 preach in his church4 ,this arose from 
the fact that the ,african dioceses1    
although comparatively widespread1 had  
scarcely more people than one of our    
large parishes to-day4 ,the position of 
a bishop was like that of one of our    
parish priests4 ,there were almost as   
many as there were villages1 and they   

were counted by hundreds4  ,however that
 may be1 preaching1 the real apostolic  
ministry1 was an exhausting task4       
,augustin preached almost every day1 and
 often many times a day--rough work for 
a man with such a fragile chest4 ,thus  
it often happened that1 to save his     
voice1 he had to ask his audience to    
keep still4 ,he spoke without study1 in 
a language very near the language of the
 common people4 ,stenographers took down
 his sermons as he improvised them3     
hence those repetitions and             
lengthinesses which astonish the reader 
who does not know the reason for them4  
,there is no plan evident in these      
addresses4 ,sometimes the speaker has   
not enough time to develop his thought4 
,then he puts off the continuation till 
the next day4 ,sometimes he comes with a
 subject all prepared1 and then treats  
of another1 in obedience to a sudden    
inspiration which has come to him with a
 verse of ,scripture he has just read4  
,other times1 he comments many passages 

in succession1 without the least care   
for unity or composition4  ,let us      
listen to him in this ,basilica of      
,peace1 where during thirty-five years  
he never failed to announce the ,word of
 ,god4444 ,the chant of the ,psalms has 
just died away4 ,at the far end of the  
apse1 ,augustin rises from his throne   
with its back to the wall1 his pale face
 distinct against the golden hue of the 
mosaic4 ,from that place1 as from the   
height of a pulpit1 he commands the     
congregation1 looking at them above the 
altar1 which is a plain wooden table    
placed at the end of the great aisle4   
,the congregation is standing1 the men  
on one side1 the women on the other4 ,on
 the other side of the balustrade which 
separates them from the crowd1 are the  
widows and consecrated virgins1 wrapped 
in their veils black or purple4 ,some   
matrons1 rather overdressed1 lean       
forward in the front rank of the        
galleries4 ,their cheeks are painted1   
their eyelashes and eyebrows blackened1 

their ears and necks overloaded with    
jewels4 ,augustin has noticed them2     
after a while he will read them a       
lesson4 ,this audience is all alive with
 sympathy and curiosity before he       
begins4 ,with all its faith and all its 
passion it collaborates with the orator4
 ,it is turbulent also4 ,it expresses   
its opinions and emotions with perfect  
freedom4 ,the democratic customs of     
those ,african ,churches surprise us    
to-day4 ,people made a noise as at the  
theatre or the circus4 ,they applauded2 
they interrupted the preacher4 ,certain 
among them disputed what was said1      
quoting passages from the ,bible4       
,augustin is thus in perpetual          
communication with his audience4 ,nobody
 has done less soaring than he4 ,he     
keeps his eye on the facial expressions 
and the attitudes of his public4 ,he    
talks to them familiarly4 ,when his     
sermon is a little lengthy1 he wants to 
know if his listeners are getting       
tired--he has kept them standing so     

long6 ,the time of the morning meal     
draws near4 ,bellies are fasting1       
stomachs wax impatient4 ,then says he to
 them with loving good-fellowship3  ,go1
 my very dear brothers and sisters1 go  
and restore your strength--,i do not    
mean that of your minds1 for ,i see well
 that they are tireless1 but the        
strength of your bodies which are the   
servants of your souls4 ,go then and    
restore your bodies so that they may do 
their work well1 and when they are      
restored1 come back here and take your  
spiritual food4  ,upon certain days1 a  
blast of the sirocco has passed over the
 town4 ,the faithful1 crowded in the    
aisles1 are stifling1 covered with      
sweat4 ,the preacher himself1 who is    
very much worked up1 has his face       
dripping1 and his clothes are all wet4  
,by this he perceives that once more he 
has been extremely long4 ,he excuses    
himself modestly4 ,or again1 he jokes   
like a rough apostle who is not repelled
 by the odour of a lot of human-kind    

gathered together4  ,oh1 what a smell6  
says he4 ,i must have been speaking a   
long while to-day4  ,these good-natured 
ways won the hearts of the simple folk  
who listened to him4 ,he is aware of the
 charm he exerts on them1 and of the    
sympathy they give him back in gratitude
 for his charity4  ,you have loved to   
come and hear me1 my brothers1 he said  
to them4 ,but whom have you loved8 ,if  
it is me--ah1 even that is good1 my     
brothers1 for ,i want to be loved by    
you1 if ,i do not want to be loved for  
myself4 ,as for me1 ,i love you in      
,christ4 ,and you too1 do you love me in
 ,him4 ,let our love for one another    
moan together up to ,god--and that is   
the moaning of the ,dove spoken of in   
the ,scripture4444  ,although he        
preaches from the height of his         
episcopal throne1 he is anxious that his
 hearers should regard him1             
,christianly1 as their equal4 ,so he    
seems as little of the bishop as        
possible4  ,all ,christians are servants

 of the same master4444 ,i have been in 
the place where you are--you1 my        
brothers1 who listen to me4 ,and now1 if
 ,i give the spiritual bread from the   
height of this chair to the servants of 
the ,master of us all--well1 it is but a
 few years since ,i received this       
spiritual food with them in a lower     
place4 ,a bishop1 ,i speak to laymen1   
but ,i know to how many future bishops  
,i speak4444  ,so he puts himself on an 
equal footing with his audience by the  
brotherly accent in his words4 ,it is   
not ,christendom1 the ,universal        
,church1 or ,i know not what abstract   
listener he addresses1 but the          
,africans1 the people of ,hippo1 the    
parishioners of the ,basilica of ,peace4
 ,he knows the allusions1 the           
comparisons drawn from local customs1   
which are likely to impress their minds4
 ,the day of the festival of ,st4       
,crispina1 a martyr of those parts1     
after he had developed his subject at   
very great length1 he asked pardon in   

these terms3  ,let us think1 brothers1  
that ,i have invited you to celebrate   
the birthday of the blessed ,crispina1  
and that ,i have kept up the feast a    
little too long4 ,well1 might not the   
same thing happen if some soldier were  
to ask you to dinner and obliged you to 
drink more than is wise8 ,let me do as  
much for the ,word of ,god1 with which  
you should be drunk and surfeited4      
,marriages1 as well as birthday feasts1 
supplied the orator with vivid          
allegories4 ,thus he says that when a   
marriage feast is made in a house1      
organs play upon the threshold1 and     
musicians and dancers begin to sing and 
to act their songs4 ,and yet how poor   
are these earthly enjoyments which pass 
away so soon6444 ,in the ,house of ,god1
 the feast has no end4  ,continually1   
through the commentaries on the ,psalms1
 like comparisons rise to the           
surface--parables suited to stir the    
imagination of ,africans4 ,a thousand   
details borrowed from local habits and  

daily life enliven the exegesis of the  
,bishop of ,hippo4 ,the mules and horses
 that buck when one is trying to cure   
them1 are his symbol for the            
recalcitrant ,donatists4 ,the little    
donkeys1 obstinate and cunning1 that    
trot in the narrow lanes of ,algerian   
casbahs1 appear here and there in his   
sermons4 ,the gnats bite in them4 ,the  
unendurable flies plaster themselves in 
buzzing patches on the tables and walls4
 ,then there are the illnesses and drugs
 of that country3 the ophthalmias and   
collyrium4 ,what else8 ,the tarentulas  
that run along the beams on the ceiling2
 the hares that scurry without warning  
between the horses' feet on the great   
,numidian plains4 ,elsewhere1 he reminds
 his audience of those men who wear an  
earring as a talisman2 of the dealings  
between traders and sailors--a          
comparison which would go home to this  
seafaring people4  ,the events of the   
time1 the little happenings of the      
moment1 glide into his sermons4 ,at the 

same time as the service in church      
to-day1 there is going to be            
horse-racing at the circus1 and fights  
of wild beasts or gladiators at the     
arena4 ,in consequence1 there will not  
be many people in the ,basilica4 ,so    
much the better1 says ,augustin4 ,my    
lungs will get some rest4 ,another time1
 it is advertised through the town that 
most sensational attractions will be    
offered at the theatre--there will be a 
scene representing the open sea4 ,the   
preacher laughs at those who have       
deserted the church to go and see this  
illusion3 ,they will have1 says he1 the 
sea on the stage2 but we1 brothers--ah1 
we shall have our port in ,jesus        
,christ4 ,this ,saturday1 while he is   
preaching1 some ,jewish women set       
themselves to dance and sing on the     
terraces of the near houses1 by way of  
celebrating the ,sabbath4 ,in the       
basilica1 the bashing of the crotolos   
can be heard1 and the thuds of the      
tambourines4 ,they would do better1 says

 ,augustin1 to work and spin their wool4
  ,he dwells upon the catastrophes which
 were then convulsing the ,roman world4 
,the news of them spread with wonderful 
rapidity4 ,alaric's ,barbarians have    
taken ,rome and put it to fire and      
sword4 ,at ,jerusalem has been an       
earthquake1 and the bishop ,john        
organizes a subscription for the        
sufferers throughout ,christendom4 ,at  
,constantinople1 globes of fire have    
been seen in the sky4 ,the ,serapeum of 
,alexandria has just been destroyed in a
 riot4444  ,all these things follow each
 other in lively pictures1 without any  
apparent order1 throughout ,augustin's  
sermons4 ,it is not he who divides his  
discourse into three parts1 and refrains
 from passing to the second till he has 
learnedly expounded the first4 ,whether 
he comments upon the ,psalms or the     
,gospels1 his sermons are no more than  
explanations of the ,scriptures which he
 interprets1 sometimes in a literal     
sense1 and sometimes in an allegoric4   

,let us acknowledge it--his allegoric   
discourses repel us by their extreme    
subtilty1 sometimes by their bad taste2 
and when he confines himself to the     
letter of the text1 he stumbles among   
small points of grammar which weary the 
attention4 ,we follow him no longer4 ,we
 think his audience was very obliging to
 listen so long--and on their feet--to  
these endless dissertations4444 ,and    
then1 suddenly1 a great lyrical and     
oratorical outburst which carries us    
away--a wind which blows from the high  
mountains1 and in the wink of an eye    
sweeps away like dust all those         
fine-spun reasonings4  ,he is fond of   
certain commonplaces1 and also of       
certain books of the ,bible--for        
instance1 ,the ,song of ,songs and the  
,gospel of ,st4 ,john1 the one          
satisfying in him the intellectual1 and 
the other the mystic of love4 ,he       
confronts the verse of the ,psalm3      
,before the morning star have ,i        
begotten thee1 with the sublime opening 

of the ,fourth ,gospel3 ,in the         
beginning was the ,word4 ,he lingers    
upon the beauty of ,christ3 ,speciosus  
forma pr filiis hominum1 ,thou art      
fairer than the children of men4 ,this  
is why he is always repeating with the  
,psalmist3 ,thy face1 ,lord1 have ,i    
sought--,qusivi vultum tuum1 ,domine4   
,and the orator1 carried away by        
enthusiasm1 adds3 ,magnificent saying6  
,nothing more divine could be said4     
,those feel it who truly love4 ,another 
of his favourite subjects is the        
kindness of ,god3 ,videte et gustate    
quam mitis sit ,dominus--,o taste and   
see that the ,lord is good4 ,naught can 
equal the pleasure of this              
contemplation1 of this life in ,god4    
,augustin conceives it as a musician who
 has fathomed the secret of numbers4    
,let your life1 he said1 be one         
prolonged song4444 ,we do not sing only 
with the voice and lips when we intone a
 canticle1 but in us is an inward       
singing1 because there is also in us    

,some ,one who listens4444  ,to live    
this rhythmic and divine life we must   
get free of ourselves1 give ourselves up
 utterly in a great outburst of charity4
  ,why1 he cries--,oh1 why do you       
hesitate to give yourselves lest you    
should lose yourselves8 ,it is rather by
 not giving yourselves that you lose    
yourselves4 ,charity herself speaks to  
you by the mouth of ,wisdom and upholds 
you against the terror which fills you  
at the sound of those words3 ',give     
yourself4' ,if some one wanted to sell  
you a piece of land1 he would say to    
you3 ',give me your gold4' ,and for     
something else1 he would say3 ',give me 
your silver1 give me your money4'       
,listen to what ,charity says to you by 
the mouth of ,wisdom3 ',my son1 give me 
thy heart4' ',give me1' quoth she4 ,give
 what8 ',my son1 give me thy heart4'444 
,thy heart was not happy when it was    
governed by thee1 and was thine1 for it 
turned this way and that way after      
gawds1 after impure and dangerous loves4

 ',tis from there thy heart must be     
drawn4 ,whither lift it up8 ,where to   
place it8 ',give me thy heart1' says    
,wisdom1 'let it be mine1 and it will   
belong to thee for always4'  ,after the 
chant of love1 the chant of the         
,resurrection4 ,cantate mihi canticum   
novum--,sing to me a new song6 ,augustin
 repeats these words over and over      
again4 ,we wish to rise from the dead1  
cry souls craving for eternity4 ,and the
 ,church answers3 ,verily1 ,i say unto  
you1 that you shall rise from the dead4 
,resurrection of bodies1 resurrection of
 souls1 ye shall be altogether reborn4  
,augustin has explained no dogma more   
passionately4 ,none was more pleasing to
 the faithful of those times4           
,ceaselessly they begged to be          
strengthened in the conviction of       
immortality and of meeting again        
brotherlike in ,god4  ,with what        
intrepid delight it rose--this song of  
the ,resurrection in those clear        
,african basilicas swimming in light1   

with all their brilliant ornamentation  
of mosaics and marbles of a thousand    
colours6 ,and what artless and confident
 language those symbolic figures spoke  
which peopled their walls--the lambs    
browsing among clusters of asphodels1   
the doves1 the green trees of ,paradise4
 ,as in the ,gospel parables1 the birds 
of the field and farmyard1 the fruits of
 the earth1 figured the ,christian      
truths and virtues4 ,their purified     
forms accompanied man in his ascension  
towards ,god4 ,around the mystic        
chrisms1 circled garlands of oranges and
 pears and pomegranates4 ,cocks1 ducks1 
partridges1 flamingoes1 sought their    
pasture in the ,paradisal fields painted
 upon the walls of churches and         
cemeteries4  ,those young basilicas were
 truly the temples of the ,resurrection1
 where all the creatures of the ,ark    
saved from the waters had found their   
refuge4 ,never more in the centuries to 
follow shall humanity know this frank   
joy at having triumphed over death--this

 youth of hope4     ,,iii  ,,the        
,,bishop',s ,,burthen   ,augustin is not
 only the most human of all the saints1 
he is also one of the most amiable in   
all the senses of that hackneyed        
word--amiable according to the world1   
amiable according to ,christ4  ,to be   
convinced of this1 he should be observed
 in his dealings with his hearers1 with 
his correspondents1 even with those he  
attacks--with the bitterest enemies of  
the faith4 ,preaching1 the              
administration of property1 and sitting 
in judgment were but a part of that     
episcopal burthen1 ,sarcina episcopatus1
 under which he so often groaned4 ,he   
had furthermore to catechize1 baptize1  
direct consciences1 guard the faithful  
against error1 and dispute with all     
those who threatened ,catholicism4      
,augustin was a light of the ,church4   
,he knew it4  ,doing his best1 with     
admirable conscientiousness and charity 
he undertook these tasks4 ,god knows    
what it must have cost this             

,intellectual to fulfil precisely all   
the duties of his ministry1 down to the 
humblest4 ,what he would have liked1    
above all1 was to pass his life in      
studying the ,scriptures and meditating 
on the dogmas--not from a love of       
trifling with theories1 but because he  
believed such knowledge necessary to    
whoever gave forth the ,word of ,god4   
,most of the priests of that age arrived
 at the priesthood without any previous 
study4 ,they had to improvise1 as quick 
as they could1 a complete education in  
religious subjects4 ,we are left        
astounded before the huge labour which  
,augustin must have given to acquire    
his4 ,before long he even dominated the 
whole exegetical and theological        
knowledge of his time4 ,in his zeal for 
divine letters1 he knew sleep no more4  
,and yet he did not neglect any of his  
tasks4 ,like the least of our parish    
priests1 he prepared the neophytes for  
the ,sacraments4 ,he was an incomparable
 catechist1 so clear-sighted and        

scrupulous that his instructions may    
still be taken as models by the         
catechists of to-day4 ,neither did he1  
as an aristocrat of the intelligence1   
only trouble himself with persons of    
culture1 and leave to his deacons the   
care of ,god's common people4 ,all had a
 right to his lessons1 the simple       
peasants as well as the rich and        
scholarly4 ,one day1 a farmer he was    
teaching walked off and left him there  
in the middle of his discourse4 ,the    
poor man1 who had fasted1 and now       
listened to his bishop standing1 was    
faint from hunger and felt his legs     
tremble under him4 ,he thought it better
 to run away than to fall down exhausted
 at the feet of the learned preacher4   
,with his knowledge of men1 ,augustin   
carefully studied the kind of people his
 catechumens were1 and adapted his      
instructions to the character of each4  
,if they were city folk1 ,carthaginians1
 used to spending their time in theatres
 and taverns1 drunken and lazy1 he took 

a different tone with them from what he 
used with rustics who had never left    
their native gourbi4 ,if he were dealing
 with fashionable people who had a taste
 for literature1 he did not fail to     
exalt the beauties of the ,scripture1   
although1 he would say1 they had there a
 very trifling attraction compared to   
the truths contained in it4 ,of all the 
catechumens1 the hardest to deal with1  
the most fearsome in his eyes1 were the 
professors--the rhetoricians and the    
grammarians4 ,these men are bloated with
 vanity1 puffed up with intellectual    
pride4 ,augustin knew something about   
that4 ,it will be necessary to rouse    
them violently1 and before anything     
else1 to exhort them to humility of     
mind4  ,the good saint goes further4    
,not only is he anxious about the souls1
 but also about the bodies of his       
listeners4 ,are they comfortable for    
listening8 ,as soon as they feel tired  
they must not hesitate to sit down1 as  
is the usage in the basilicas beyond    

seas4  ,would not our arrogance be      
unbearable1 he asked1 if we forbade men 
who are our brothers to sit down in our 
presence1 and1 much more1 men whom we   
ought to try with all possible care to  
make our brothers8444  ,if they are seen
 to yawn1 then things ought to be said  
to them to awaken their attention1 or to
 scatter the sad thoughts which may have
 come into their minds4 ,the catechist  
should shew1 now a serene joy--the joy  
of certainty2 now a gaiety which charms 
people into belief2 and always that     
light-heartedness we should have in     
teaching4 ,even if we ourselves are sad 
from this reason or that1 let us        
remember that ,jesus ,christ died for   
those who are listening to us4 ,is not  
the thought of bringing ,him disciples  
enough to make us joyful8  ,bishop      
,augustin set the example for his       
priests4 ,it is not enough to have      
prepared the conversion of his          
catechumens with the subtlety of the    
psychologist1 and such perfect          

,christian charity2 but he accompanies  
them to the very end1 and charges them  
once more before the baptismal piscina4 
,how he is changed6 ,one thinks of the  
boon-fellow of ,romanianus and of       
,manlius ,theodorus1 of the young man   
who followed the hunts at ,thagaste1 and
 who held forth on literature and       
philosophy in a select company before   
the beautiful horizons of the lake of   
,como4 ,here he is now with peasants1   
slaves1 sailors1 and traders4 ,and he   
takes pleasure in their society4 ,it is 
his flock4 ,he ought to love it with all
 his soul in ,jesus ,christ4 ,what an   
effort and what a victory upon himself  
an attitude so strange reveals to us6   
,for really this liking for mean people 
was not natural to him4 ,he must have   
put an heroic will-power into it1 helped
 by ,grace4  ,a like sinking of his     
preferences is evident in the director  
of consciences he became4 ,here he was  
obliged to give himself more thoroughly4
 ,he was at the mercy of the souls who  

questioned him1 who consulted him as    
their physician4 ,he spends his time in 
advising them1 and exercises a          
never-failing supervision of their      
morals4 ,it is an almost discouraging   
enterprise to bend these hardened       
pagans--above all1 these ,africans--to  
,christian discipline4 ,augustin is     
continually reproaching their           
drunkenness1 gluttony1 and lust4 ,the   
populace were not the only ones to get  
drunk and over-eat themselves4 ,the rich
 at their feasts literally stuffed till 
they choked4 ,the ,bishop of ,hippo     
never lets a chance go by to recall them
 to sobriety4  ,oftener still1 he       
recalls them to chastity4 ,he writes    
long letters on this subject which are  
actual treatises4 ,the morals of the age
 and country are fully disclosed in     
them4 ,husbands are found loudly        
claiming a right to free love for       
themselves1 while they force their wives
 to conjugal fidelity4 ,the adultery    
they allow themselves1 they punish with 

death in their wives4 ,they make an     
abusive practice of divorce4 ,upon the  
most futile reasons1 they send the wife 
the libellus repudii--the bill          
repudiating the marriage--as the various
 peoples of ,islam do still4 ,this      
society in a state of transition was    
always creating cases of conscience for 
strict ,christians4 ,for example3 ,if a 
man cast off his wife under pretext of  
adultery1 might he marry again8         
,augustin held that no marriage can be  
dissolved as long as both parties are   
living4 ,but may not this prohibition   
provoke husbands to kill their          
adulterous wives1 so as to be free to   
take a new wife8 ,another problem3 ,a   
catechumen divorced under the pagan law 
and since remarried1 presents himself   
for baptism4 ,is he not an adulterer in 
the eyes of the ,church8 ,a man who     
lives with a woman and does not hide it1
 who even declares his firm intention of
 continuing to live with his            
concubine--can he be admitted to        

baptism8 ,augustin has to answer all    
these questions1 and go into the very   
smallest details of casuistry4  ,is it  
forbidden to eat the meats consecrated  
to idols1 even when a man or woman is   
dying of hunger8 ,may one enter into    
agreements with native camel-drivers and
 carriers who swear by their gods to    
keep the bargain8 ,may a lie be told in 
certain conditions8--say1 so as to get  
among heretics in pretending to be one  
of themselves1 and thus be able to spy  
on them and denounce them8 ,may adultery
 be practised with a woman who promises 
in exchange to point out heretics8444   
,the ,bishop of ,hippo severely condemns
 all these devious or shameful ways1 all
 these compromises which are contrary to
 the pure moral teaching of the ,gospel4
 ,but he does this without affecting    
intolerance and rigidity1 and with a    
reminder that the evil of sin lies      
altogether in the intention1 and in the 
consent of the will4 ,in a word1 one    
must tolerate and put up with what one  

is powerless to hinder4  ,other         
questions1 which it is quite impossible 
to repeat here1 give us a strange idea  
of the corruption of pagan morals4      
,augustin had all he could do to        
maintain the ,christian rule in such    
surroundings1 where the ,christians     
themselves were more or less tainted    
with paganism4 ,but if this troop of    
sinners and backsliders was hard to     
drive1 the devout were perhaps harder4  
,there were the continents--the widowers
 and widows who had made a vow of       
chastity and found this vow heavy2 the  
consecrated virgins who lived in too    
worldly a fashion2 the nuns who rebelled
 against their spiritual director or    
their superior2 the monks1 either former
 slaves who did not want to do another  
stroke of work1 or charlatans who played
 upon public credulity in selling       
talismans and miraculous ointments4     
,then1 the married women who refused    
themselves to their husbands2 and those 
who gave away their goods to the poor   

without their husbands' consent2 and    
also the proud virgins and widows who   
despised and condemned marriage4  ,then 
came the crowd of pious souls who       
questioned ,augustin on points of dogma1
 who wanted to know all1 to clear up    
everything2 those who thought they      
should be able here below to see ,god   
face to face1 to know how we shall      
arise1 and who asked if the angels had  
bodies4444 ,augustin complains that they
 are annoying1 when he has so many other
 things to trouble him1 and that they   
take him from his studies4 ,but he tries
 charitably to satisfy them all4        
,besides all this1 he was obliged to    
keep up a correspondence with a great   
number of people4 ,in addition to his   
friends and fellow-bishops1 he wrote to 
unknown people and foreigners2 to men in
 high place and to lowly people2 to the 
proconsuls1 the counts and the vicars of
 ,africa2 to the very mighty ,olympius1 
,master of the ,household to the        
,emperor ,honorius2 or again1 to the    

,right ,honourable ,lady ,maxima1 to the
 ,illustrious ,ladies ,proba and        
,juliana1 to the ,very ,holy ,lady      
,albina--women who belonged either to   
the provincial nobility1 or to the      
highest aristocracy of ,rome4 ,to whom  
did he not write8444  ,and what is      
admirable in these letters is that he   
does not answer negligently to get rid  
of a tiresome duty4 ,almost all of them 
are full of substantial teaching1 long  
thought over4 ,many were intended to be 
published--they are practically charges4
 ,and yet1 however grave the tone of    
them may be1 the cultivated man of the  
world he had been may be traced4 ,his   
correspondents1 after the fashion of the
 time1 overwhelm the bishop with the    
most fulsome praises4 ,these he accepts1
 with much ceremony indeed1 but he does 
accept them as evidence of the charity  
of his brethren4 ,ingenuously1 he does  
his best to return them4 ,let us not    
grow over-scandalized because our men of
 letters of to-day have debased the     

value of complimentary language by      
squandering and exaggerating it4 ,the   
most austere cotemporaries of ,augustin1
 and ,augustin himself1 outdid them by a
 long way in the art and in the abuse of
 compliments4  ,paulinus of ,nola1      
always beflowered and elegant1 wrote to 
,augustin3 ,your letters are a luminous 
collyrium spread over the eyes of my    
mind4 ,augustin1 who remonstrated with  
him upon the scarcity of his own        
letters1 replies in language which our  
own ,prcieuses would not have disowned3 
,what6 ,you allow me to pass two        
summers--and two ,african summers6--in  
such thirst8444 ,would to ,god that you 
would allow enter to the opulent banquet
 of your book1 the long fast from your  
writings which you have put me upon     
during all a year6 ,if this banquet be  
not ready1 ,i shall not give over my    
complaints1 unless1 indeed1 that in the 
time between1 you send me something to  
keep up my strength4 ,a certain ,audax1 
who begged the honour of a special      

letter from the great man1 calls him the
 oracle of the ,law2 protests that the  
whole world celebrates and admires him2 
and finally1 at the end of his          
arguments1 conjures him in verse to ,let
 fall upon me the dew of thy divine     
word4 ,augustin1 with modesty and       
benignity1 returns his compliments1 but 
not without slipping into his reply a   
touch of banter3 ,allow me to point out 
to you that your fifth line has seven   
feet4 ,has your ear betrayed you1 or did
 you want to find out if ,i was still   
capable of judging these things8444     
,truly1 he is always capable of judging 
these things1 nor is he sorry to have it
 known4 ,a young ,greek named           
,dioscorus1 who is passing through      
,carthage1 questions him upon the       
philosophy of ,cicero4 ,augustin        
exclaims at any one daring to interrupt 
a bishop about such trifles4 ,then1     
little by little1 he grows milder1 and  
carried away by his old passion1 he ends
 by sending the young man quite a       

dissertation on this good subject4      
,those are among his innocent           
whimsicalities4 ,then1 alongside of     
letters either too literary1 or erudite1
 or profound1 there are others which are
 simply exquisite1 such as the one he   
wrote to a young ,carthage girl called  
,sapida4 ,she had embroidered a tunic   
for her brother4 ,he was dead1 and she  
asked ,augustin kindly to wear this     
tunic1 telling him that if he would do  
this1 it would be a great comfort for   
her in her grief4 ,the bishop consented 
very willingly4 ,i accept this garment1 
he said to her1 and ,i have begun to    
wear it before writing to you4444 ,then 
gently he pities her sorrow1 and        
persuades her to resignation and hope4  
,we should not rebuke people for weeping
 over the dead who are dear to them4444 
,when we think of them1 and through     
habit we look for them still around us1 
then the heart breaks1 and the tears    
fall like the blood of our broken       
heart4444  ,at the end1 in magnificent  

words1 he chants the hymn of the        
,resurrection3  ,my daughter1 your      
brother lives in his soul1 if in his    
body he sleeps4 ,does not the sleeper   
wake8 ,god1 who has received his soul1  
will put it again in the body ,he has   
taken from him1 not to destroy it--oh1  
no1 but some day to give it to him back4
         99       99       99       99  
99  ,this correspondence1 voluminous as 
it is1 is nothing beside his numberless 
treatises in dogma and polemic4 ,these  
were the work of his life1 and it is by 
these posterity has known him4 ,the     
theologian and the disputer ended by    
hiding the man in ,augustin4 ,to-day1   
the man perhaps interests us more4 ,and 
this is a mistake4 ,he himself would not
 have allowed for a moment that his     
,confessions should be preferred to his 
treatises on ,grace4 ,to study1 to      
comment the ,scriptures1 to draw more   
exact definitions from the dogmas--he   
saw no higher employment for his mind1  
or obligation more important for a      

bishop4 ,to believe so as to understand1
 to understand the better to believe--it
 is a ceaseless movement of the         
intelligence which goes from faith to   
,god and from ,god to faith4 ,he throws 
himself into this great labour without a
 shade of any attempt to make           
literature1 with a complete sinking of  
his tastes and his personal opinions1   
and in it he entirely forgets himself4  
,one single time he has thought of      
himself1 and it is precisely in the     
,confessions1 the spirit of which modern
 people understand so ill1 and where    
they try to find something quite        
different from what the author intended4
 ,he composed them just after he was    
raised to the bishopric1 to defend      
himself against the calumnies spread    
about his conduct4 ,it seems as if he   
wanted to say to his detractors3 ,you   
believe me guilty4 ,well1 ,i am so1 and 
more perhaps than you think1 but not in 
the way you think4 ,a great religious   
idea alters this personal defence4 ,it  

is less a confession1 or an excuse for  
his faults1 in the present sense of the 
word1 than a continual glorification of 
the divine mercy4 ,it is less the shame 
of his sins he confesses1 than the glory
 of ,god4  ,after that1 he never thought
 again of anything but ,truth and the   
,church1 and the enemies of ,truth and  
the ,church3 the ,manichees1 the        
,arians1 the ,pelagians--the ,donatists1
 above all4 ,he lets no error go by     
without refuting it1 no libel without an
 answer4 ,he is always on the breach4   
,he might well be compared1 in much of  
his writings1 to one of our fighting    
journalists4 ,he put into this generally
 thankless business a wonderful vigour  
and dialectical subtlety4 ,always and   
everywhere he had to have the last word4
 ,he brought eloquence to it1 yet more  
charity--sometimes even wit4 ,and       
lastly1 he had a patience which nothing 
could dishearten4 ,he repeats the same  
things a hundred times over4 ,these     
tiresome repetitions1 into which he was 

driven by the obstinacy of his          
opponents1 caused him real pain4 ,every 
time it became necessary1 he took up    
again the endless demonstration without 
letting himself grow tired4 ,the moment 
it became a question of the ,truth1     
,augustin could not see that he had any 
right to keep quiet4  ,in ,africa and   
elsewhere they made fun of what they    
called his craze for scribbling4 ,he    
himself1 in his ,retractations1 is      
startled by the number of his works4 ,he
 turns over the ,scripture saying which 
the ,donatists amusingly opposed to him3
 ,v mullum loquentibus--,woe unto them  
of many words4 ,but calling ,god to     
witness1 he says to ,him3 ,v tacentibus 
de te--,woe unto those who keep silent  
upon ,thee4 ,in the eyes of ,augustin1  
the conditions were such that silence   
would have been cowardly4 ,and elsewhere
 he adds3 ,they may believe me or not as
 they will1 but ,i like much better to  
read than to write books4444  ,in any   
case1 his modesty was evident4 ,i am    

myself1 he acknowledges1 almost always  
dissatisfied with what ,i say4 ,to the  
heretics he declares1 with a glance back
 at his own errors1 ,i know by          
experience how easy it is to be wrong4  
,when there is some doubt in questions  
of dogma1 he does not force his         
explanations1 but suggests them to his  
readers4 ,how much intellectual humility
 is in that prayer which ends his great 
work on the ,trinity3 ,lord my ,god1 one
 ,trinity1 if in these books ,i have    
said anything which comes from ,thee1   
may ,thou and ,thy chosen receive it4   
,but if it is from me it comes1 may     
,thou and ,thine forgive me4  ,and      
again1 how much tolerance and charity in
 those counsels to the faithful of his  
diocese who1 having been formerly       
persecuted by the ,donatists1 now burned
 to get their revenge3  ,it is the voice
 of your bishop1 my brothers1 sounding  
in your ears4 ,he implores you1 all of  
you who are in this church1 to keep     
yourselves from insulting those who are 

outside1 but rather to pray that they   
may enter with you into communion4      
,elsewhere1 he reminds his priests that 
they must preach at the ,jews in a      
spirit of friendliness and              
loving-kindness1 without troubling to   
know if they listen with gratitude or   
indignation4 ,we ought not1 said he1 to 
bear ourselves proudly against these    
broken branches of ,christ's tree4444   
,this charity and moderation took       
nothing from the firmness of his        
character4 ,this he proved in a         
startling way in the discussion he had  
with ,st4 ,jerome over a passage ,in the
 ,epistle to the ,galatians1 and upon   
the new translation1 of the ,bible which
 ,jerome had undertaken4 ,the solitary  
of ,bethlehem saw a feint on the part of
 ,st4 ,paul in the disputed passage3    
,augustin said1 a lie4 ,what1 then1     
would become of evangelic truth if in   
such a place the ,apostle had lied8 ,and
 would not this be a means of           
authorizing all the exegetical fantasies

 of heresiarchs1 who already rejected as
 altered or forged all verses of the    
holy books which conflicted with their  
own doctrines8444  ,as to the new       
translation of the ,bible1 it would     
bring about trouble in the ,african     
churches1 where they were accustomed to 
the ancient version of the ,septuagint4 
,the mistranslations1 pointed out by    
,jerome in the old version1 would upset 
the faithful and lead them to suspect   
that the entire ,scripture was false4   
,in this double matter1 ,augustin       
defended at once orthodoxy and tradition
 from very praiseworthy reasons of      
prudence4  ,jerome retorted in a most   
aggressive and offensive tone4 ,he      
flatly accused the ,bishop of ,hippo of 
being jealous of him and of wishing to  
cut out a reputation for learning at his
 expense4 ,in front of his younger and  
more supple adversary1 he took on the   
air of an old wrestler who was still    
capable of knocking out any one who had 
the audacity to attack him4 ,he hurled  

at ,augustin this phrase heavy with     
menaces3 ,the tired ox stands firmer    
than ever on his four legs4  ,for all   
that1 ,augustin stuck to his opinion1   
and he confined himself to replying     
gently3 ,in anything ,i say1 ,i am not  
only always ready to receive your       
observations upon what you find wounding
 and contrary to your feelings1 but ,i  
even ask your advice as earnestly as ,i 
can4444     ,,iv  ,,against ,,the       
,,roaring ,,lions   ,one day 7this was  
soon after he became bishop7 ,augustin  
went to visit a ,catholic farmer in the 
suburbs of ,hippo1 whose daughter had   
been lessoned by the ,donatists1 and had
 just enrolled herself among their      
consecrated virgins4 ,the father at     
first had shouted at the deserter1 and  
flogged her unmercifully by way of      
improving her state of mind4 ,augustin1 
when he heard of the affair1 condemned  
the farmer's brutality and declared that
 he would never receive the girl back   
into the community unless she came of   

her own free will4 ,he then went out to 
the place to try and settle the matter4 
,on the way1 as he was crossing an      
estate which belonged to a ,catholic    
matron1 he fell in with a priest of the 
,donatist ,church at ,hippo4 ,the priest
 at once began to insult him and his    
companions1 and yelled3  ,down with the 
traitors6 ,down with the persecutors6   
,and he vomited out abominations against
 the matron herself who owned the land4 
,as much from prudence as from          
,christian charity1 ,augustin did not   
answer4 ,he even prevented those with   
him from falling upon the insulter4     
,incidents of this kind happened almost 
every day4 ,about the same time1 the    
,donatists of ,hippo made a great noise 
over the rebaptizing of another apostate
 from the ,catholic community4 ,this was
 a good-for-nothing loafer who beat his 
old mother1 and the bishop severely     
rebuked his monstrous conduct4  ,well1  
as you talk in that tone of voice1 said 
the loafer1 ,i'm going to be a          

,donatist4  ,through bravado1 he        
continued to ill-treat the poor old     
woman1 and to make the worst kind of    
threats4 ,he roared in savage fury3     
,yes1 ,i'll become a ,donatist1 and     
,i'll have your blood4  ,and the young  
ruffian did really go over to the       
,donatist party4 ,in accordance with the
 custom among the heretics1 he was      
solemnly rebaptized in their basilica1  
and he exhibited himself on the platform
 clad in the white robe of the purified4
 ,people in ,hippo were much shocked4   
,augustin1 full of indignation1         
addressed his protests to ,proculeianus1
 the ,donatist bishop4 ,what6 is this   
man1 all bloody with a murder in his    
conscience1 to walk about for eight days
 in white robes as a model of innocence 
and purity8 ,but ,proculeianus did not  
condescend to reply4  ,these cynical    
proceedings were trifling compared to   
the vexations which the ,donatists daily
 inflicted on their opponents4 ,not only
 did they tamper with ,augustin's       

people1 but the country dwellers of the 
,catholic ,church were continually      
interfered with on their lands1         
pillaged1 ravaged1 and burned out by    
mobs of fanatical brigands who organized
 a rule of terror from one end of       
,numidia to the other4 ,supported in    
secret by the ,donatists1 they called   
themselves the ,athletes of ,christ4    
,the ,catholics had given them the      
contemptuous name of ,circoncelliones1  
or prowlers around cellars1 because they
 generally plundered cellars and        
grain-houses4 ,troops of fanaticized and
 hysterical women rambled round with    
them1 scouring the country like your    
true bacchantes1 clawing the unfortunate
 wretches who fell into their hands1    
burning farms and harvests1 broaching   
barrels of wine and oil1 and crowning   
these exploits by orgies with the       
,athletes of ,christ4 ,when they saw a  
haystack blazing in the fields1 the     
country-folk were panic-stricken--the   
,circoncelliones were not far off4 ,soon

 they appeared1 brandishing their clubs 
and bellowing their war cry3 ,deo       
laudes6--,praise be to ,god4 ,your      
shout1 said ,augustin to them1 is more  
dreaded by our people than the roaring  
of lions4  ,something had to be done to 
quell these furious monsters1 and to    
resist the encroachments and forcible   
acts of the heretics4 ,these1 by way of 
frightening the ,catholic bishops1 told 
them roundly3  ,we don't want any of    
your disputes1 and we are going to      
rebaptize just as it suits us4 ,we are  
going to lay snares for your sheep and  
to rend them like wolves4 ,as for you1  
if you are good shepherds1 keep quiet6  
,augustin was not a man to keep quiet1  
nor yet to spend his strength in small  
local quarrels4 ,he saw big2 he did not 
imprison himself within the limits of   
his diocese4 ,he knew that ,numidia and 
a good part of ,africa were in the hands
 of the ,donatists2 that they had a     
rival primate to the ,catholic primate  
at ,carthage2 that they had even sent a 

,pope of their community to ,rome4 ,in a
 word1 they were in the majority4       
,everywhere a dissenting ,church rose   
above the orthodox ,church1 when it did 
not succeed in stifling it altogether4  
,at all costs the progress of this sect 
must be stopped4 ,in ,augustin's eyes   
there was no more urgent work4 ,for him 
and his flock it was a question of      
insuring their lives1 since they were   
attacked even in their fields and       
houses4 ,from the moment he first came  
to ,hippo1 as a simple priest1 he had   
thrown himself intrepidly into this     
struggle4 ,he never ceased till         
,donatism was conquered and trampled    
underfoot4 ,to establish peace and      
,catholic unity everywhere was the great
 labour of his episcopate4  ,who1 then1 
were these terrible ,donatists whom we  
have been continually striking against  
since the beginning of this history8    
,it would soon be a century since they  
had been disturbing and desolating      
,africa4 ,just after the great          

persecution of ,diocletian1 the sect was
 born1 and it increased with amazing    
rapidity4 ,during this persecution1     
evidence had not been wanting of the    
moral slackness in the ,african ,church4
 ,a large number of lay people          
apostatized1 and a good number of       
bishops and priests handed over to the  
pagan authorities1 besides the          
devotional objects1 the ,scriptures and 
the muniments of their communities4 ,in 
,numidia1 and especially at             
,constantine1 scandalous scenes took    
place4 ,the cowardice of the clergy was 
lamentable4 ,public opinion branded with
 the names of traditors1 or traitors1   
those who had weakened and given over   
the sacred books to the pagans4  ,the   
danger once over1 the ,numidians1 whose 
behaviour had been so little brilliant1 
determined to redeem themselves by      
audacity1 and to prove with superb      
impudence that they had been braver than
 the others4 ,so they set themselves to 
shout traditor against whoever          

displeased them1 and particularly       
against those of ,carthage and the      
,proconsulate4 ,at bottom it was the old
 rivalry between the two ,africas1 ,east
 and ,west4  ,under the reign of        
,constantine a peace had been patched   
up1 when it fell out that a new ,bishop 
of ,carthage had to be elected1 and the 
,archdeacon ,ccilianus1 whose name was  
put forward1 was accused of preventing  
the faithful from visiting the martyrs  
in their prisons4 ,the zealots contended
 that in collusion with his bishop1     
,mensurius1 he had given up the ,holy   
,scriptures to the ,roman authorities to
 be burned4 ,the election promised to be
 stormy4 ,the supporters of the         
,archdeacon1 who feared the hostility of
 the ,numidian bishops1 did not wait for
 their arrival4 ,they hurried things    
over4 ,ccilianus was elected and        
consecrated by three bishops of the     
district1 of whom one was a certain     
,felix of ,abthugni4  ,at once the      
opposite clan1 backed up by the         

,numidians1 objected4 ,at their head was
 a wealthy ,spanish woman named         
,lucilla1 an unbalanced devotee1 who1 it
 seemed1 always carried about her person
 a bone of a martyr1 and a doubtful one 
at that4 ,she would ostentatiously kiss 
her relic before receiving the          
,eucharist4 ,the ,archdeacon ,ccilianus 
forbade this devotion as superstitious1 
and thus made a relentless enemy of the 
fanatical ,spaniard4 ,all the former    
accusations were renewed against him1   
and it was added that ,felix of         
,abthugni1 who had consecrated him1 was 
a traditor4 ,hence the election was     
void1 by the single fact of the         
unworthiness of the consecrating        
bishops4 ,lucilla1 having bribed a      
section of the bishops assembled in     
council1 ,ccilianus was deposed1 and the
 deacon ,majorinus elected in his room4 
,he himself was soon after succeeded by 
,donatus1 an active1 clever1 and        
energetic man1 who organized resistance 
so ably1 and who represented so well the

 spirit of the sect1 that he left it his
 name4 ,henceforth1 ,donatism enters    
into history4  ,but ,ccilianus had on   
his side the bishops overseas and the   
,imperial ,government4 ,the ,pope of    
,rome and the ,emperor recognized him as
 legitimately elected4 ,besides that1 he
 cleared himself of all the grievances  
urged against him4 ,finally1 an inquiry1
 conducted by laymen1 proved that ,felix
 of ,abthugni was not a traditor4 ,the  
,donatists appealed to ,constantine1    
then to two ,councils convoked          
successively at ,rome and ,arles4       
,everywhere they were condemned4        
,moreover1 the ,council of ,arles       
declared that the character of him who  
confers the ,sacraments has no influence
 whatever on their validity4 ,thus1     
baptism and ordination1 even conferred  
by a traditor1 were canonically sound4  
,this decision was regarded as an       
abominable heresy by the ,donatists4 ,as
 a matter of fact1 there was an old     
,african tradition1 accepted by ,st4    

,cyprian himself1 that an unworthy      
priest could not administer the         
,sacraments4 ,the local prejudice would 
not yield3 all were rebaptized who had  
been baptized by the ,catholics--that is
 to say1 by the supporters of the       
traditors4  ,the theological question   
was complicated with a question of      
property which was all but insoluble4   
,since the ,donatist bishops were       
resolved to separate from the ,catholic 
communion1 did they mean to give up1    
with their title1 their basilicas and   
the property belonging to their         
churches8 ,supposing that they          
themselves were disinterested1 they had 
behind them the crowd of clients and    
land-tillers who got their living out of
 the ,church1 and dwelt on ,church      
property4 ,never would these people     
allow a rival party to alter the        
direction of the charities1 to plant    
themselves in their fields and their    
gourbis1 to expel them from their       
cemeteries and basilicas4 ,other        

reasons1 still deeper perhaps1 induced  
the ,donatists to persevere in the      
schism4 ,these religious dissensions    
were agreeable to that old spirit of    
division which at all times has been the
 evil genius of ,africa4 ,the ,africans 
have always felt the need of segregating
 themselves from one another in hostile 
cofs4 ,they hate each other from one    
village to another--for nothing1 just1  
for the pleasure of hating and felling  
each other to the ground4  ,at bottom1  
here is what ,donatism really was3 ,it  
was an extra sharp attack of ,african   
individualism4 ,these rebels brought in 
nothing new in dogma4 ,they would not   
even have been heretics without their   
claim to rebaptize4 ,they limited       
themselves to retain a position gained  
long ago2 to keep their churches and    
properties1 or to seize those of the    
,catholics upon the pretence that they  
were themselves the legitimate owners4  
,with that1 they affected a respect for 
tradition1 an austerity in morals and   

discipline1 which made them perfect     
puritans4 ,yes1 they were the pure1 the 
irreconcilables1 who alone had not bent 
before the ,roman officials4 ,all this  
was very pleasing to the discontented   
and quarrelsome1 and caressed the       
popular instinct in its tendency to     
particularism4  ,that is why the sect   
became1 little by little1 mistress of   
almost the whole country4 ,then it      
subdivided1 crumbled up into little     
churches which excommunicated each      
other4 ,in ,southern ,numidia1 the      
citadels of orthodox ,donatism1 so to   
speak1 were ,thimgad and ,bagai4        
,carthage1 with its primate1 was the    
official centre4 ,but in the ,byzacena  
and ,tripolitana ,regio1 there were the 
,maximianists1 and the ,rogatists in    
,mauretania1 who had cut themselves off 
from the ,great ,church4 ,these         
divisions of the schism corresponded    
closely enough to the natural           
compartments of ,north ,africa4 ,there  
must be some incompatibility of temper  

between these various regions4 ,to this 
day1 ,algiers prides itself on not      
thinking like ,constantine1 which does  
not think like ,bona or like ,tunis4    
,are we to see in ,donatism a           
nationalist or separatist movement      
directed against the ,roman occupation8 
,that would be to transport quite modern
 ideas into antiquity4 ,no more in      
,augustin's time than in our own was    
there such a thing as ,african          
nationality4 ,but if the sectaries had  
no least thought of separating from     
,rome1 it is none the less true that    
they were in rebellion against her      
representatives1 temporal as well as    
spiritual4 ,supposing that ,rome had    
yielded to them--an impossible event1 of
 course--that would have meant a        
surrender to the claims of ,africans who
 wished to be masters of their property 
as well as of their religious beliefs in
 their own country4 ,what more could    
they have wanted8 ,it little mattered to
 them who was the nominal master1       

provided that they had the realities of 
government in their hands4 ,altogether1 
,donatism is a regionalist              
revindication1 very strongly            
characterized4 ,it is a remarkable fact 
that it was among the indigenous        
population1 ignorant of ,latin1 that the
 most of its adherents were recruited4  
99       99       99       99       99  
,such was the position of the ,church in
 ,africa when ,augustin was named       
,bishop of ,hippo4 ,he judged it at     
once1 with his clear-sightedness1 his   
strong good sense1 his broad outlook of 
a ,roman citizen freed from the         
smallnesses of a local spirit1 his      
,christian idealism which took no heed  
of the accidents or considerations of   
worldly prosperity4 ,what6 was          
,catholicism to become an ,african      
religion1 a restricted sect1 wretchedly 
tied to the letter of tradition1 to the 
exterior practices of worship8 ,to reign
 in a little corner of the world--did   
,christ die for that8 ,never6 ,christ   

died for the wide world4 ,the only      
limits of ,his ,church are the limits of
 the universe4 ,and besides1 in this    
resolution to exclude1 what becomes of  
the great principle of ,charity8 ,it is 
by charity1 above all1 that we are      
,christians4 ,faith without love is a   
faith stagnant and dead4444  ,augustin  
also foresaw the consequences of        
spiritual separation2 he had them       
already under his eyes4 ,the ,church is 
the great spring1 not only of love1 but 
of intelligence4 ,once cut away from    
this reviving spring1 ,donatism would   
become dry and stunted like a branch    
stripped from a tree4 ,the deep sense of
 its dogmas would become impoverished as
 its works emptied themselves of the    
spirit of charity4 ,obstinacy1          
narrowness1 lack of understanding1      
fanaticism1 and cruelty--there you had  
the inevitable fruits of schism4        
,augustin knew the rudeness and         
ignorance of his opponents1 even of the 
most cultivated among them3 he might    

well ask himself in anguish what would  
become of the ,african ,church deprived 
of the benefit of ,roman culture1       
isolated from the great intellectual    
current which united all the churches   
beyond seas4 ,finally1 he knew his      
fellow-countrymen2 he knew that the     
,donatists1 even victorious1 even sole  
masters of the land1 would turn against 
themselves the fury they now satisfied  
against the ,catholics1 and never stop  
tearing each other in pieces4 ,here was 
now nearly a hundred years that they had
 kept ,africa in fire and blood4 ,this  
meant before very long a return to      
barbarism4 ,separated from ,catholicism1
 they would really separate from the    
,empire and even from civilization4 ,and
 so it was that in fighting for         
,catholic unity1 ,augustin fought for   
the ,empire and for civilization4       
,confronted with these barbarians and   
sectaries1 his attitude could not be    
doubtful for a single moment4 ,he must  
do his best to bring them back to the   

,church4 ,it was only a matter of       
hitting upon the most effectual means4  
,preaching1 for an orator such as he    
was1 should be an excellent weapon4 ,his
 eloquence1 his dialectic1 his profane  
and sacred learning1 gave him an immense
 superiority over the defenders of the  
opposite side4 ,he certainly kept in the
 ,church many ,catholics who were ready 
to apostatize4 ,but before the crowd of 
schismatics1 all these high gifts were  
as good as lost4 ,the people were in no 
wise anxious to know upon which side    
truth was to be found4 ,they were       
,donatists1 as they were ,numidians or  
,carthaginians1 without knowing         
why--because everybody about them was4  
,many might have answered like that     
grammarian of ,constantine1 who told the
 ,inquisitors with astute simplicity3   
,i am a professor of ,roman literature1 
a teacher of ,latin grammar4 ,my father 
was a decurion at ,constantine2 my      
grandfather was a soldier and had served
 in the guard4 ,our family is of        

,moorish blood4444 ,as for me1 ,i am    
quite ignorant about the origin of the  
schism3 ,i am just one of the ordinary  
faithful of the people called           
,christians4 ,when ,i was at ,carthage1 
,bishop ,secundus came there one day4 ,i
 heard tell that they found out that    
,bishop ,ccilianus had been ordained    
irregularly by ,i don't know who1 and   
they elected another bishop against him4
 ,that's how the schism began at        
,carthage4 ,i have no means of knowing  
much about the origin of the schism1    
because there has never been more than  
one church in our city4 ,if there has   
been a schism here1 we know nothing     
about it4  ,when a grammarian talked    
thus1 what could have been the thoughts 
of agricultural labourers1 city workmen1
 and slaves8 ,they belonged to an       
estate1 or a quarter of a town1 where no
 other faith than theirs had ever been  
professed4 ,they were ,donatists like   
their employers1 like their neighbours1 
like the other people of the cof to     

which they had belonged from father to  
son4 ,the theological side of the       
question left them absolutely           
indifferent4 ,if ,augustin tried to     
debate with them1 they refused to listen
 and referred him to their bishops4     
,that was the word of command4  ,the    
bishops1 on their side1 avoided all     
discussion4 ,augustin tried in vain to  
arrange an argument with ,proculeianus1 
his ,donatist colleague at ,hippo4 ,and 
if some of them shewed themselves more  
obliging1 the evasions and reticences of
 the antagonist1 and sometimes outside  
circumstances1 made the debate utterly  
futile4 ,at ,thubursicum the audience   
raised such a noise in the place where  
,augustin was debating with the bishop  
,fortunius1 that they were no longer    
able to hear each other4 ,at other      
times1 the meeting sank to an oratorical
 joust1 wherein they tired themselves   
out passading against words1 instead of 
attacking the matters at issue4         
,augustin felt that he was losing his   

time4 ,besides1 the ,donatist bishops   
presented an obstinate front against    
which everything smashed4  ,leave us in 
our errors1 they said ironically4 ,if we
 are lost in your eyes1 why follow us   
about8 ,we don't want to be saved4  ,and
 they prohibited their flocks from      
saluting ,catholics1 from speaking to   
them1 from going into their churches or 
into their houses1 from sitting down in 
the midst of them4 ,they laid an        
interdict on their adversaries4         
,primanius1 the ,donatist ,primate of   
,carthage1 upon being invited to a      
conference1 answered proudly3  ,the sons
 of the martyrs can have nothing to do  
with the race of traitors4  ,this being 
the state of the case1 no method of     
pacification was left but written       
controversy4 ,augustin shewed himself   
tireless at it4 ,it was chiefly in these
 letters and treatises against the      
,donatists that he was not afraid to    
repeat himself4 ,he knew that he was    
dealing with the deaf1 and with the deaf

 who did not want to hear3 he was       
obliged to raise his voice4 ,with       
admirable self-denial he reiterated the 
same arguments a hundred times over1 a  
hundred times took up the history of the
 quarrel from the beginning1 spreading  
such a light over the quibbles and      
refinings of his contradictors1 that it 
should have brought conviction to the   
bluntest minds4 ,no1 he repeated1       
,ccilianus was not a traditor1 nor      
,felix of ,abthugni either who          
consecrated him bishop4 ,the documents  
are there to prove this4 ,and even      
supposing they were1 can the fault of a 
single man be charged to the whole      
,church8444 ,then why do you baptize the
 ,catholics under the pretence that     
their priests are traditors and as such 
unworthy to administer the ,sacraments8 
,it is the sacrifice of ,jesus ,christ  
and not the virtue of the priest which  
renders baptism efficacious4 ,if it were
 otherwise1 what was the good of the    
,redemption8 ,it is the fact that by the

 voluntary death of ,christ1 all men    
have been called to salvation4          
,salvation is not the privilege of      
,africans only4 ,being ,catholic1 the   
,church should take in the whole        
world4444  ,in the long run1 these      
continual repetitions end by seeming    
wearisome to modern readers3 for us     
there arises out of all these           
discussions a dense and intolerable     
boredom4 ,but let us remember that all  
this was singularly living for          
,augustin's cotemporaries1 that these   
thankless developments were read with   
passion4 ,and then1 too1 it was a       
question of the unity of the ,church    
which involved1 as we cannot too often  
repeat1 the interest of the ,empire and 
civilization4  ,against so persuasive a 
power the ,donatists opposed a          
conspiracy of silence4 ,their bishops   
forbade the people to read what         
,augustin wrote4 ,they did more--they   
concealed their own libels so that it   
was impossible to reply to them4 ,but   

,augustin used all his skill to unearth 
them4 ,he refuted them1 and had his     
refutations recopied and posted on the  
walls of the basilicas4 ,the copies     
circulated through the province and the 
whole ,roman world4  ,this would have   
had an excellent result if the quarrel  
had been entirely over questions of     
theory4 ,but immense property interests 
came into it1 and rancours and terrible 
hates4 ,augustin was forced to pass from
 verbal polemics to direct              
action--defensive action1 at first1 and 
then attack4  ,while he and his         
fellow-bishops did their utmost to      
preach peace1 the ,donatist bishops     
urged their followers to the holy war4  
,augustin even received threats on his  
life4 ,during one of his visitations1 he
 was nearly assassinated4 ,men in ambush
 lay in wait for him4 ,by a providential
 chance1 he took the wrong road1 and    
owed his life to this mistake4 ,his     
pupil ,possidius1 who was then ,bishop  
of ,guelma1 was not so lucky4 ,brought  

to bay in a house by the ,donatist      
bishop ,crispinus1 he defended himself  
desperately4 ,they set fire to the house
 to turn him out4 ,when there was       
nothing else left but to be burned      
alive1 he did come out4 ,the band of    
,donatists seized him1 and would have   
beaten his brains out1 if ,crispinus    
himself1 fearing a prosecution for      
murder1 had not interfered4 ,but the    
assailants sacked the property and      
slaughtered all the horses and mules in 
the stables4 ,at ,bagai1 ,bishop        
,maximianus was stabbed in his basilica4
 ,a furious mob smashed the altar and   
began to strike the victim with the     
fragments1 and left him for dead on the 
flags4 ,the ,catholics lifted up his    
body1 but the ,donatists plucked him out
 of their hands and flung him from the  
top of a tower1 and he fell on a        
dunghill which broke the fall4 ,the     
unhappy man still breathed1 and by a    
miracle he recovered4  ,meanwhile1 the  
,circoncelliones1 armed with their      

bludgeons1 continued to pillage and burn
 the farms4 ,they tortured the owners to
 extract their money from them4 ,they   
made them toil round the mill-path like 
beasts of burthen1 while they lashed at 
them with whips4 ,at their back1 the    
,donatist priests invaded the ,catholic 
churches and lands4 ,there and then they
 rebaptized the labourers4 ,these doings
 were1 indeed1 very like the practices  
of the ,african ,mussulmans to-day1 who1
 in like circumstances1 always begin by 
converting the ,christian farm-hands by 
main force4 ,then they purified the     
basilicas by scraping down the walls and
 washing the floors with big douches of 
water2 and after demolishing the altar1 
they scattered salt where it had stood4 
,it was a perfect disinfection4 ,the    
,donatists treated the ,catholics like  
the plague-stricken4  ,such acts cried  
out for vengeance4 ,augustin1 who up    
till this time had recoiled from asking 
the public authorities to prosecute1    
who1 as an observer of the apostolic    

tradition1 did not recognize the        
interference of the civil power in      
,church matters--well1 ,augustin had to 
give way to circumstances1 and also to  
the pressure brought to bear on him by  
his colleagues4 ,councils assembled at  
,carthage petitioned the ,emperor to    
take exceptional measures against the   
,donatists1 who laughed at all the laws 
directed against heretics4 ,when they   
were summoned before the courts they    
demonstrated to the judges1 who were    
often pagans incompetent to decide in   
these questions1 that it was they who   
really belonged to the only orthodox    
,church4 ,something must be done to end 
this equivocal position1 and to bring   
about once for all a categorical        
condemnation of the schism4 ,augustin1  
acting in concert with the primate      
,aurelius1 was the ruling spirit of     
these meetings4  ,let us not judge his  
conduct by modern ideas1 or be in a     
hurry to exclaim against his            
intolerance4 ,he and the ,catholic      

bishops1 in acting thus1 were complying 
with the old tradition which had        
influenced all the pagan governments4   
,rome1 particularly1 though it          
recognized all the local sects1 all the 
foreign religions1 never allowed any of 
its subjects to refuse to fall in with  
the official religion4 ,the persecutions
 of the ,christians and the ,jews had no
 other motive4 ,now that it was become  
the ,state religion1 ,christianity1     
willingly or unwillingly1 had to summon 
people to the same obedience4 ,the      
,emperors made a special point of this  
from political reasons easy to          
understand--to prevent riots and        
maintain public order4 ,even if the     
bishops had refrained from all          
complaint1 the ,imperial ,government    
would have acted without them and       
suppressed the disturbances caused by   
the heretics4  ,just look at the        
situation and the men as they were at   
that moment in ,africa4 ,it was the     
,catholics who were persecuted1 and that

 with revolting fury and cruelty4 ,they 
were obliged to defend themselves4 ,in  
the next place1 the distribution of     
property in those countries made        
conversions in batches singularly easy4 
,multitudes of farm tenants1 workmen1   
and agricultural slaves1 lived upon the 
immense estates of one owner4 ,without  
any interest in dogmatic questions1 they
 were ,donatists simply because their   
master was4 ,to change these devouring  
wolves into tranquil sheep1 it was often
 quite enough if the master got         
converted4 ,the great blessing of peace 
depended upon pressure being brought to 
bear on certain persons4 ,when all day  
and every day there was a risk of being 
murdered or burned out by irresponsible 
ruffians1 the temptation was very strong
 to fall back on such a prompt and      
simple remedy4 ,augustin and his        
colleagues ended by making up their     
minds to do so4 ,for that matter1 they  
had no choice4 ,they were bound to      
strike1 or be themselves suppressed by  

their enemies4  ,however1 before        
resorting to rigorous measures1 they    
resolved to send forth a supreme appeal 
for reconciliation4 ,the ,catholics     
proposed a meeting to the ,donatists in 
which they would loyally examine one    
another's grievances4 ,as personal or   
material questions made the great bar to
 an understanding1 they promised that   
every ,donatist bishop who turned       
convert should keep his see4 ,in places 
where a schismatic and an orthodox      
bishop were found together1 they would  
come to a friendly agreement to govern  
the diocese by turns4 ,where it was     
impossible for this to be done1 it was  
proposed that the ,catholic should      
resign in favour of the other4 ,augustin
 lent all his eloquence to carry this   
motion1 which was sufficiently heroic   
for a good number of bishops who were   
not so detached as he from the goods of 
this world4 ,and one must allow that it 
was difficult to go much further in the 
way of self-denial4  ,after a good deal 

of skirmishing and hesitation on the    
side of the schismatics1 the ,conference
 met at ,carthage in ,june of the year  
#daa1 under the presidency of an        
,imperial commissioner1 the tribune     
,marcellinus4 ,once again1 the          
,donatists saw themselves condemned4    
,upon the report of the commissioner1 a 
decree of ,honorius classed them        
definitely among heretics4 ,they were   
forbidden to rebaptize or to assemble   
together1 under penalties of fine and   
confiscation4 ,refractory countrymen and
 slaves would be liable to corporal     
punishment1 and as for the clerics1 they
 would be banished4  ,the effect of     
these new laws was not long in          
appearing1 and it fully answered the    
wishes of the orthodox bishops4 ,many   
populations returned1 or pretended to   
return1 to the ,catholic communion4     
,this result was largely the work of    
,augustin1 who for twenty years had     
worked to bring it about by preaching   
and controversy4 ,but1 as might be      

expected1 he did not overdo his triumph4
 ,without delay1 he set himself to      
preach moderation to the conquerors4    
,nor had he waited till the enemy was   
defeated to do that4 ,ten years before1 
while the ,donatists were besetting the 
,catholics everywhere1 he said to the   
priests of his communion3  ,remember    
this1 my brothers1 so as to practise and
 preach it with never-varying           
gentleness4 ,love the men2 kill the lie6
 ,lean on truth without pride2 fight for
 it without cruelty4 ,pray for those    
whom you chide1 and for those to whom   
you shew their error4  ,however1 the    
victory of the party of peace was not so
 thorough as it had seemed at first4 ,a 
good many fanatics here and there grew  
obstinate in their resistance4 ,the     
,circoncelliones1 maddened1             
distinguished themselves by a new       
outbreak of ravages and cruelties4 ,they
 tortured and mutilated all the         
,catholics who fell into their hands4   
,they had invented an unheard-of        

refinement of torture1 which was to     
cover with lime diluted with vinegar the
 eyes of their victims4 ,the priest     
,restitutus was assassinated in the     
suburbs of ,hippo4 ,a bishop had his    
tongue and his hand cut off4 ,if the    
towns were pretty quiet1 terror began to
 reign once more in the country places4 
,the ,roman authorities exerted         
themselves to put an end to these bloody
 scenes4 ,they heavily chastised the    
offenders whenever they could catch     
them4 ,in his charity1 ,augustin        
interceded for them with the judges4 ,he
 wrote to the tribune ,marcellinus3  ,we
 would not that the servants of ,god    
should be revenged by hurts like to     
those they suffered4 ,surely1 we are not
 against depriving the guilty of the    
means to do harm1 but we consider it    
will be enough1 without taking their    
lives or wrenching any limb from them1  
to turn them from their senseless tumult
 by the restraining power of the laws1  
in bringing them back to calm and       

reason2 or1 in a last resort1 to take   
away the opportunity for criminal       
actions by employing them in some useful
 work4444 ,christian judge1 in this     
matter fulfil the duty of a father1 and 
while repressing injustice1 do not      
forget humanity4  ,this compassion of   
,augustin was shewn particularly in his 
meeting with ,emeritus1 the ,donatist   
,bishop of ,cherchell 7or as it was then
 called1 ,mauretanian ,csarea71 one of  
the most stubborn among the             
irreconcilables4 ,his attitude in       
dealing with this uncompromising enemy  
was not only humane1 but courteous1 full
 of graciousness1 and of the most       
sensitive charity4  ,this fell out in   
the autumn of the year #dah1 seven years
 after the great ,conference at         
,carthage4 ,augustin was sixty-four     
years old4 ,how was it that he who had  
always had such feeble health undertook 
at this age the long journey from ,hippo
 to ,csarea8 ,we know that the ,pope1   
,zozimus1 had entrusted him with a      

mission to the ,church of that town4    
,with his tireless zeal1 always ready to
 march for the glory of ,christ1 the old
 bishop doubtless saw in this journey a 
fresh opportunity for an apostle4 ,so he
 started off1 in spite of the roads1    
which were very unsafe in those         
troublous times1 in spite of the        
crushing heat of the season--the end of 
,september4 ,he travelled six hundred   
miles across the endless ,numidian plain
 and the mountainous regions of the     
,atlas1 preaching in the churches1      
halting in the towns and the hamlets to 
decide questions of private interest1   
ever pursued by a thousand business     
worries and by the squabbles of         
litigants and the discontented4 ,at     
last1 after many weeks of fatigue and   
tribulation1 he reached ,cherchell1     
where he was the guest of ,deuterius1   
the metropolitan ,bishop of ,mauretania4
  ,now ,emeritus1 the deposed bishop1   
lived mysteriously in the suburbs1 in   
constant fear of some forcible action on

 the part of the authorities4 ,when he  
learned the friendly intentions of      
,augustin1 he came out of his           
hiding-place and shewed himself in the  
town4 ,in one of the squares of ,csarea 
the two prelates met4 ,augustin1 who had
 formerly seen ,emeritus at ,carthage1  
recognized him1 hurried over to him1    
saluted him1 and at once suggested a    
friendly talk4  ,let us go into the     
church1 he said4 ,this square is hardly 
suitable for a talk between two bishops4
  ,emeritus1 flattered1 agreed4 ,the    
conversation continued in such a cordial
 tone that ,augustin was already        
rejoicing upon having won back the      
schismatic4 ,deuterius1 following the   
line of conduct which the ,catholic     
bishops had adopted1 spoke of resigning 
and handing over the see to the other4  
,it was agreed that within two days     
,emeritus should come to the cathedral  
for a public discussion with his        
colleague of ,hippo4 ,at the appointed  
hour he appeared4 ,a great crowd of     

people gathered to hear the two orators4
 ,the basilica was full4 ,then          
,augustin1 turning to the impenitent    
,donatist1 said to him mildly3          
,emeritus1 my brother1 you are here4    
,you were also at our ,conference at    
,carthage4 ,if you were beaten there1   
why do you come here now8 ,if1 on the   
other hand1 you think that you were not 
beaten1 tell us what leads you to       
believe that you had the advantage4444  
,what change had ,emeritus undergone in 
two days8 ,whatever it was1 he          
disappointed the hopes of ,augustin and 
the people of ,csarea4 ,he returned only
 ambiguous phrases to the most pressing 
and brotherly urging4 ,finally1 he took 
refuge in an angry silence from which it
 was found impossible to draw him4      
,augustin went home without having      
converted the heretic4 ,no doubt he was 
sorely disappointed4 ,nevertheless1 he  
shewed no resentment2 he even took      
measures to ensure the safety of the    
recalcitrant1 in a charitable fear less 

the roused people might do him a bad    
turn4 ,with all that1 when he looked    
back at the results of nearly thirty    
years of struggle against schism1 he    
might well say to himself that he had   
done good work for the ,church4         
,donatism1 in fact1 was conquered1 and  
conquered by him4 ,was he at last to    
have a chance to rest himself1 with the 
only rest suitable to a soul like his1  
in a steady meditation and study of the 
,scriptures8 ,henceforth1 would he be   
allowed to live a little less as a      
bishop and a little more as a monk8     
,this was always the strong desire of   
his heart4444  ,but new and worse trials
 awaited him at ,hippo4     ,,the       
,,sixth ,,part  ,,face ,,to ,,face      
,,with ,,the ,,barbarians       ,et nunc
 veniant omnes quicumque amant          
,paradisum1 locum quietis1 locum        
securitatis1 locum perpetuae            
felicitatis1 locum in quo non           
pertimescas     ,barbarum4      ,and now
 let all those come who love ,paradise1 

the place of quiet1 the     place of    
safety1 the place of eternal happiness1 
the place where the     ,barbarian need 
be feared no more4      ,sermon upon the
 ,barbarian ,persecution1 vii1 #i4      
,i  ,,the ,,sack ,,of ,,rome   ,during  
,june of the year #djc1 an astonishing  
event convulsed the former capital of   
the ,empire4 ,the youthful ,honorius1   
attended by the regent ,stilicho1 came  
there to celebrate his triumph over     
,alaric and the ,gothic army1 defeated  
at ,pollentia4  ,the pageantry of a     
triumph was indeed a very astonishing   
sight for the ,romans of that period4   
,they had got so unused to them6 ,and no
 less wonderful was the presence of the 
,emperor at the ,palatine4 ,since       
,constantine's reign1 the ,imperial     
palaces had been deserted4 ,they had    
hardly been visited four times in a     
century by their master4  ,rome had     
never got reconciled to the desertion of
 her princes4 ,when the ,court was moved
 to ,milan1 and then to ,ravenna1 she   

felt she had been uncrowned4 ,time after
 time the ,senate appealed to ,honorius 
to shew himself1 at least1 to his ,roman
 subjects1 since political reasons were 
against his dwelling among them4 ,this  
journey was always put off4 ,the truth  
is1 the ,christian ,csars did not like  
,rome1 and mistrusted her still         
half-pagan ,senate and people4 ,it      
needed this unhoped-for victory to bring
 ,honorius and his councillors to make  
up their minds4 ,the feeling of a common
 danger had for the moment drawn the two
 opposing religions together1 and here  
they were apparently making friends in  
the same patriotic delight4 ,old hates  
were forgotten4 ,in fact1 the pagan     
aristocracy had hopes of better         
treatment from ,stilicho4 ,on account of
 all these reasons1 the triumphant ,csar
 was received at ,rome with delirious   
joy4  ,the ,court1 upon leaving         
,ravenna1 had crossed the ,apennines4 ,a
 halt was called on the banks of the    
,clitumnus1 where in ancient times the  

great white herds were found which were 
sacrificed at the ,capitol during a     
triumph4 ,but the gods of the land had  
fallen2 there would be no opiman bull   
this time on their altars4 ,the pagans  
felt bitter about it4  ,thence1 by      
,narnia and the ,tiber valley1 they made
 their way down into the plain4 ,the    
measured step of the legions rang upon  
the large flags of the ,flaminian way4  
,they crossed the ,mulvius bridge--and  
old ,rome rose like a new city4 ,in     
anticipation of a siege1 the regent had 
repaired the ,aurelian wall4 ,the red   
bricks of the enclosure and the fresh   
mason-work of the towers gleamed in the 
sun4 ,finally1 striking into the ,via   
lata1 the procession marched to the     
,palatine4  ,the crowd was packed in    
this long1 narrow street1 and overflowed
 into the nearest alleys4 ,women1       
elaborately dressed1 thronged the       
balconies1 and even the terraces of the 
palace4 ,all at once the people remarked
 that the ,senate was not walking before

 the ,imperial chariot4 ,stilicho1 who  
wished to conciliate their good graces1 
had1 contrary to custom1 dispensed them 
from marching on foot before the        
conqueror4 ,people talked with approval 
of this wily measure in which they saw a
 promise of new liberties4 ,but applause
 and enthusiastic cheers greeted the    
young ,honorius as he passed by1 sharing
 with ,stilicho the honour of the       
triumphal car4  ,the unequalled         
splendour of his trabea1 of which the   
embroideries disappeared under the      
number and flash of colour of the       
jewels1 left the populace gaping4 ,the  
diadem1 a masterpiece of goldsmith's    
work1 pressed heavily on his temples4   
,emerald pendants twinkled on each side 
of his neck1 which1 as it was rather    
fat1 with almost feminine curves1       
suggested at once to the onlookers a    
comparison with ,bacchus4 ,they found he
 had an agreeable face1 and even a      
soldierly air with his square shoulders 
and stocky neck4 ,matrons gazed with    

tender eyes on this ,csar of nineteen1  
who had1 at that time1 a certain beauty1
 and the brilliance1 so to speak1 of    
youth4 ,this degenerate ,spaniard1 who  
was really a crowned eunuch1 and was to 
spend his life in the society of the    
palace eunuchs and die of dropsy--this  
son of ,theodosius was just then fond of
 violent exercise1 of hunting and       
horses4 ,but he was even now becoming   
ponderous with unhealthy fat4 ,his build
 and bloated flesh gave those who saw   
him at a distance a false notion of his 
strength4 ,the ,romans were most        
favourably impressed by him1 especially 
the young men4  ,but the army1 the      
safeguard of the country1 was perhaps   
even more admired than the ,emperor4    
,the legions1 following the ruler1 had  
almost deserted the capital4 ,the flower
 of the troops were almost unknown      
there4 ,in consequence1 the march past  
of the cavalry was quite a new sight for
 the people4 ,a great murmur of         
admiration sounded as the cataphracti   

appeared1 gleaming in the coats of mail 
which covered them from head to foot4   
,upon their horses1 caparisoned in      
defensive armour1 they looked like      
equestrian1 statues--like silver        
horsemen on bronze horses4 ,childish    
cries greeted each draconarius as he    
marched by carrying his ensign--a dragon
 embroidered on a long piece of cloth   
which flapped in the wind4 ,and the     
crowd pointed at the crests of the      
helmets plumed with peacock feathers1   
and the scarfs of scarlet silk flowing  
over the camber of the gilded           
cuirasses4444  ,the military show poured
 into the ,forum1 swept up the ,via     
,sacra1 and when it had passed under the
 triumphal arches of the old emperors1  
halted at the ,palace of ,septimus      
,severus4 ,in the ,stadium1 the crowd   
awaited ,honorius4 ,when he appeared on 
the balcony of the ,imperial box1 wild  
cheering burst out on all the rows of   
seats4 ,the ,emperor1 diadem on head1   
bowed to the people4 ,upon that the     

cheers became a tempest4 ,rome did not  
know how to express her happiness at    
having at last got her master back4  ,on
 the eve of the worst catastrophes she  
had this supreme day of glory1 of       
desperate pride1 of unconquerable faith 
in her destiny4 ,the public frenzy      
encouraged them in the maddest hopes4   
,the poet ,claudian1 who had followed   
the ,court1 became the mouthpiece of    
these perilous illusions4 ,arise6 he    
cried to ,rome1 ,i prithee arise1 ,o    
venerable queen6 ,trust in the goodwill 
of the gods4 ,o city1 fling away the    
mean fears of age1 thou who art immortal
 as the heavens6444  ,for all that1 the 
,barbarian danger continued to threaten4
 ,the victory of ,pollentia1 which1     
moreover1 was not a complete victory1   
had settled nothing4 ,alaric was in     
flight in the ,alps1 but he kept his eye
 open for a favourable chance to fall   
back upon ,italy and wrench concessions 
of money and honours from the ,court of 
,ravenna4 ,supported by his army of     

mercenaries and adventurers in the pay  
of the ,empire like himself1 his        
dealings with ,honorius were a kind of  
continual blackmail4 ,if the ,imperial  
,government refused to pay the sums     
which he protested it owed him for the  
maintenance of his troops1 he would pay 
himself by force4 ,rome1 where fabulous 
riches had accumulated for so many      
centuries1 was an obvious prey for him  
and his men4 ,he had coveted it for a   
long time2 and to get up his courage for
 this daring exploit1 as well as to work
 upon his soldiers1 he pretended that he
 had a mission from ,heaven to chastise 
and destroy the new ,babylon4 ,in his   
,pannonian forests it would seem he had 
heard mysterious voices which said to   
him3 ,advance1 and thou shalt destroy   
the city6  ,this leader of clans had    
nothing of the conqueror about him4 ,he 
understood that he was in no wise cut   
out to wear the purple2 he himself felt 
the ,barbarian's cureless inferiority4  
,but he also felt that neither was he   

born to obey4 ,if he asked for the title
 of ,prefect of the ,city1 and if he    
persisted in offering his services to   
the ,empire1 it was as a means to get   
the upper hand of it more surely4       
,repulsed1 disdained by the ,court1 he  
tried to raise himself in his own eyes  
and in the eyes of the common people by 
giving himself the airs of an instrument
 of justice1 a man designed by fate1 who
 marches blindly to a terrible purpose  
indicated by the divine wrath4 ,it often
 happened that he was duped by his own  
mummery4 ,this turbid ,barbarian soul   
was prone to the most superstitious     
terrors4  ,notwithstanding his          
rodomontades1 it is certain that in his 
heart he was scared by ,rome4 ,he hardly
 dared to attack it4 ,in the first      
place1 it was not at all a convenient   
operation for him4 ,his army of         
mercenaries had no proper implements to 
undertake the siege of this huge city1  
of which the defence lines were thrown  
out in so wide a perimeter4 ,he had to  

come back to it twice1 before he could  
make up his mind to invest it seriously4
 ,the first time1 in #djh1 he was       
satisfied with starving the ,romans by  
cutting off the food supply4 ,he had    
pitched his camp on the banks of the    
,tiber in such a way as to capture the  
shipping between the capital and the    
great store-houses built near the mouth 
of the river4 ,from the ramparts1 the   
,romans could see the ,barbarian        
soldiers moving about1 with their       
sheepskin coats dyed to a crude red4    
,panic-stricken1 the aristocracy fled to
 its villas in ,campania1 or ,sicily1 or
 ,africa4 ,they took with them whatever 
they were able to carry4 ,they sought   
refuge in the nearest islands1 even in  
,sardinia and ,corsica1 despite their   
reputation for unhealthiness4 ,they even
 hid among the rocks of the seashore4   
,the terror was so great that the       
,senate agreed to everything demanded by
 ,alaric4 ,he was paid an enormous      
indemnity which he claimed as a         

condition of his withdrawal4  ,the      
following year he used the same method  
of intimidation to force on the people  
an emperor he had chosen1 and to get    
conferred on him the title of ,prefect  
of the ,city which he had desired so    
long4 ,finally1 in the year #daj1 he    
struck the supreme blow4  ,the          
,barbarian knew what he was about1 and  
that he did not risk much in blockading 
,rome4 ,famine would open the gates to  
him sooner or later4 ,all who were able 
had left the city1 especially the rich4 
,there was no garrison to defend it4    
,only a lazy populace remained behind   
the walls1 unused to arms1 and still    
more enfeebled by long starvation4 ,and 
yet this wretched and decimated         
population1 in an outburst of           
patriotism1 resisted with desperate     
energy4 ,the siege was long4 ,doubtless 
it began before the spring2 it ended    
only at the end of the summer4 ,in the  
night of the twenty-fourth of ,august1  
#daj1 amid the glare of lightning and   

crashes of thunder1 ,alaric entered     
,rome by the ,salarian gate4 ,it is     
certain that he only managed it even    
then by treachery4 ,the prey was handed 
to him4  ,the sack of ,rome seems to    
have lasted for three days and three    
nights4 ,part of the town was burned4   
,the conquered people underwent all the 
horrors which accompany such            
events--violent and stupid destruction1 
rapes1 murders of individuals1 wholesale
 slaughter1 torture1 and mutilation4    
,but in reality the ,barbarians only    
wanted the ,roman gold4 ,they acted like
 perfect highway robbers4 ,if they      
tortured their victims without          
distinction of age or sex1 it was to    
pluck the secret of their               
treasure-houses out of them4 ,it is even
 said that in these conditions the      
,roman avarice produced some admirable  
examples of firmness4 ,some let         
themselves be tortured to their last    
gasp rather than reveal where their     
treasures were hid4 ,at last1 when      

,alaric decided that his army was gorged
 enough with spoil1 he gave the order to
 evacuate the city1 and took to the     
roads with his baggage-waggons full4    
,let us be careful not to judge these   
doings after our modern notions4 ,the   
capture of ,rome by ,alaric was not a   
national disaster4 ,it was plundering on
 a huge scale4 ,the ,goth had no thought
 at all of destroying the ,empire4 ,he  
was only a mercenary in rebellion--an   
ambitious mercenary1 no doubt--but1     
above all1 a looter4  ,as a consequence 
of this attack on the ,eternal ,city1   
one after another caught the disease of 
plunder1 which contaminated even the    
functionaries and the subjects of ,rome4
 ,amid the general anarchy1 where       
impunity seemed certain1 nobody         
restrained himself any longer4 ,in      
,africa especially1 where the old       
instinct of piracy is always half-awake1
 they applied themselves to ransack the 
fugitive ,romans and ,italians4 ,many   
rich people were come there1 seeking a  

place of safety in the belief that they 
would be more secure when they had put  
the sea between themselves and the      
,barbarians4 ,the report of their riches
 had preceded them1 exaggerated out of  
all measure by popular rumour4 ,among   
them were mentioned patricians such as  
the ,anicii1 whose property was so      
immense and their palaces so splendid   
that they could not find purchasers4    
,these multi-millionaires in flight were
 a miraculous windfall for the country4 
,they were bled without mercy4  ,quicker
 than any one else1 the military        
governor of ,africa1 ,count             
,heraclianus1 was on the spot to pick   
the pockets of the ,italian immigrants4 
,no sooner were they off the boat than  
he had very distinguished ladies seized1
 and only released them when he had     
extorted a large ransom4 ,he sold those 
unable to pay to the ,greek and ,syrian 
slave-merchants who provided human flesh
 for the ,oriental harems4 ,when the    
example came from such a height1 the    

subordinates doubtless said to          
themselves that they would be very wrong
 to have the least shame4 ,from one end 
of the province to the other1 everybody 
struggled to extract as much as possible
 from the unfortunate fugitives4        
,augustin's own parishioners at ,hippo  
undertook to tear a donation from one of
 those gorgeous ,anicii1 whose lands    
stretched further than a kite could     
fly--from ,pinian1 the husband of ,st4  
,melania the younger4 ,they wanted to   
force him to be ordained priest in spite
 of himself1 which1 as has been         
explained1 involved the handing over of 
his goods to the ,catholic community4   
,augustin1 who opposed this1 had to give
 in to the crowd4 ,there was almost a   
riot in the basilica4  ,such were the   
far-off reverberations of the capture of
 ,rome by ,alaric4 ,carthaginians and   
,numidians pillaged the ,romans just    
like the ,barbarians4  ,now1 how did it 
come about that this monstrous loot took
 on before the eyes of contemporaries   

the magnitude of a world-catastrophe8   
,for really nothing was utterly lost4   
,the ,empire remained standing4 ,after  
,alaric's retreat1 the ,romans had come 
back to their city and they worked to   
build up the ruins4 ,ere long1 the      
populace were crying out loud that if   
the circus and amphitheatre games were  
given back to them1 they would look upon
 the descent of the ,goths as a bad     
dream4  ,it is no less certain that this
 sensational occurrence had struck the  
whole ,mediterranean world into a       
perfect stupor4 ,it seized upon the     
imaginations of all4 ,the idea that     
,rome could not be taken1 that it was   
integral and almost sacred1 had such a  
hold on people's minds1 that they       
refused to credit the sinister news4    
,nobody reflected that the sack of ,rome
 by the ,barbarians should have been    
long ago foreseen--that ,rome1 deprived 
of a garrison1 abandoned by the         
,imperial army1 was bound to attract the
 covetousness of the ,goths1 and that   

the pillage of a place without defence1 
already enfeebled by famine1 was not a  
very glorious feat1 very difficult1 or  
very extraordinary4 ,people only saw the
 brutal fact3 the ,eternal ,city had    
been captured and burned by the         
mercenaries4 ,all were under the        
influence of the shock caused by the    
narratives of the refugees4 ,in one of  
his sermons1 ,augustin has transmitted  
to us an echo of the general panic3     
,horrible things1 said he1 have been    
told us4 ,there have been ruins1 and    
fires1 and rapine1 and murder1 and      
torture4 ,that is true2 we have heard it
 many times2 we have shuddered at all   
this disaster2 we have often wept1 and  
we have hardly been able to console     
ourselves4  ,this capture of ,rome was  
plainly a terrible warning for the      
future4 ,but party spirit strangely     
exaggerated the importance and meaning  
of the calamity4 ,for pagans and        
,christians alike it became a subject   
for speeches1 a commonplace of religious

 polemic4 ,both saw the event as a      
manifestation of the wrath of ,heaven4  
,while we sacrificed to our gods1 the   
pagan said1 ,rome was standing1 ,rome   
was happy4 ,now that our sacrifices are 
forbidden1 you see what has become of   
,rome4444  ,and they went about         
repeating that ,christianism was        
responsible for the ruin of the ,empire4
 ,on their side1 the ,christians        
answered3 ,in the first place1 ,rome has
 not fallen3 it is always standing4 ,it 
has been only chastised1 and this       
happened because it is still half pagan4
 ,by this frightful punishment 7and they
 heightened the description of the      
horrors committed71 ,god has given it a 
warning4 ,let it be converted1 let it   
return to the virtues of its ancestors1 
and it will become again the mistress of
 nations4  ,there is what ,augustin and 
the bishops said4 ,still1 the flock of  
the faithful were only half convinced4  
,it was all well enough to remonstrate  
to them that the ,christians of ,rome1  

and even a good number of pagans1 had   
been spared at the name of ,christ1 and 
that the ,barbarian leader had bestowed 
a quite special protection and respect  
upon the basilicas of the holy apostles2
 it was impossible to prevent their     
thinking that many ,christians had      
perished in the sack of the city1 that  
consecrated virgins had experienced the 
last outrages1 and that1 as a matter of 
fact1 all the inhabitants had been      
robbed of their property4444 ,was it    
thus that ,god protected ,his chosen8   
,what advantage was there in being      
,christian if they had the same         
treatment as the idolaters8  ,this state
 of mind became extremely favourable for
 paganism to come back again on the     
offensive4 ,since the very hard laws of 
,theodosius1 which forbade the worship  
of the ancient gods1 even within the    
house1 the pagans had not overlooked any
 chance to protest against the ,imperial
 severity4 ,at ,carthage there were     
always fights in the streets between    

pagans and ,christians1 not to say      
riots4 ,in the colony of ,suffetula1    
sixty ,christians had been massacred4   
,the year before the capture of ,rome1  
there had been trouble with the pagans  
at ,guelma4 ,houses belonging to the    
,church were burned1 a monk killed in a 
brawl4 ,whenever the ,government        
inspection relaxed1 or the political    
situation appeared favourable1 the      
pagans hurried to proclaim their belief4
 ,only just lately1 in ,rome beleaguered
 by ,alaric1 the new consul1 ,tertullus1
 had thought fit to revive the old      
customs4 ,before assuming office1 he    
studied gravely the sacred fowls in     
their cages1 traced circles in the sky  
with the augur's wand1 and marked the   
flight of birds4 ,besides1 a pagan      
oracle circulated persistently among the
 people1 promising that after a reign of
 three hundred and sixty-five years     
,christianity would be conquered4 ,the  
centuries of the great desolation were  
fulfilled2 the era of revenge was about 

to begin for the outcast gods4  ,these  
warlike symptoms did not escape         
,augustin's vigilance4 ,his indignation 
no longer arose only from the fact that 
paganism was so slow in dying2 he was   
now afraid that the feebleness of the   
,empire might allow it to take on an    
appearance of life4 ,it must be ended1  
as ,donatism had been ended4 ,the old   
apostle was summoned to a new campaign1 
and in it he would spend the best of his
 strength to the eve of his death4      
,,ii  ,,the ,,city ,,of ,,god   ,for    
thirteen or fourteen years1 through a   
thousand employments and a thousand     
cares1 amid the panics and continual    
alarums which kept the ,africans on the 
alert in those times1 ,augustin worked  
at his ,city of ,god1 the most          
formidable machine of war ever directed 
against paganism1 and also the arsenal  
fullest of proofs and refutations which 
the disputants and defenders of         
,catholicism have ever had at their     
disposal4  ,it is not for us to examine 

the details of this immense work1 for   
our sole aim is to study ,augustin's    
soul1 and we quote scarcely anything    
from his books save those parts wherein 
a little of this ardent soul            
pulsates--those which are still living  
for us of the twentieth century1 which  
contain teachings and ways of feeling   
still likely to move us4 ,now1          
,augustin's attitude towards paganism is
 one of those which throw the greatest  
light on his nature and character4 ,and 
it may even yet come to be our own      
attitude when we find opposed to us a   
conception of life and the world which  
may indeed be ruined for a time1 but is 
reborn as soon as the sense of          
spirituality disappears or grows feeble4
    ,immortal ,paganism1 art thou dead8 
,so they say4   ,but ,pan scoffs under  
his breath1 and the ,chimra laughs4 #a  
,footnote #a3 ,sainte-,beuve4  ,like    
ourselves1 ,augustin1 brought up by a   
,christian mother1 knew it only through 
literature1 and1 so to speak1           

sthetically4 ,recollections of school1  
the emotions and admirations of a       
cultivated man--there is what the old   
religion meant for him4 ,nevertheless1  
he had one great advantage over us for  
knowing it well3 the sight of the pagan 
customs and superstitions was still     
under his eyes4  ,that the lascivious1  
romantic1 and poetic adventures of the  
ancient gods1 their statues1 their      
temples1 and all the arts arising from  
their religion1 had beguiled him and    
filled him with enthusiasm before his   
conversion1 is only too certain4 ,but   
all this mythology and plastic art were 
looked upon as secondary things then1   
even by pagans4 ,the serious1 the       
essential part of the religion was not  
in that4 ,paganism1 a religion of       
,beauty1 is an invention of our modern  
sthetes2 it was hardly thought of in    
that way in ,augustin's time4  ,long    
before this1 the ,roman ,varro1 the     
great compiler of the religious         
antiquities of paganism1 made a         

threefold distinction of the doctrine   
concerning the gods4 ,the first--that of
 the theatre1 as he calls it1 or        
fabulous mythology1 adapted to poets1   
dramatists1 sculptors1 and jesters4     
,invented by these1 it is only a        
fantasy1 a play of imagination1 an      
ornament of life4 ,the third is civil   
theology1 serious and solid1 which      
claims the respect and piety of all4 ,it
 is that which men in cities1 and       
chiefly the priests1 ought to be cunning
 in4 ,it teaches which gods to worship  
in public1 and with what ceremonies and 
sacrifices each one must be served4     
,finally1 the second1 physical or       
metaphysical theology1 is reserved for  
philosophers and exceptional minds2 it  
is altogether theoretical4 ,the only    
important and truly religious one1 which
 puts an obligation on the believer1 is 
the third--the civil theology4  ,now1 we
 never take account of this4 ,what we   
persist in regarding as paganism is what
 ,varro himself called a religion for   

the theatre--matter of opera1 pretext   
for ballets1 for scenery1 and for dance 
postures4 ,transposed into another key  
by our poets1 this mythology is inflated
 now and then by mysticism1 or by a     
vague symbolism4 ,playthings of our     
pretty wits6 ,the living paganism1 which
 ,augustin struggled against1 which     
crowds defended at the price of their   
blood1 in which the poor believed and   
the wisest statesmen deemed             
indispensable as a safeguard of         
cities--that paganism is quite another  
matter4 ,like all religions which are   
possible1 it implied and it enforced not
 only beliefs1 but ritual1 sacrifices1  
festivals4 ,and this is what ,augustin1 
with the other ,christians of that time1
 spurned with disgust and declared to be
 unbearable4  ,he saw1 or he had seen   
with his own eyes1 the reality of the   
pagan worship1 and the most repellent of
 all to our modern delicacy--the        
sacrifices4 ,at the period when he wrote
 ,the ,city of ,god1 private sacrifices1

 as well as public1 were forbidden4     
,this did not prevent the devout from   
breaking the law whenever a chance      
offered4 ,they hid themselves more or   
less when they sacrificed before a      
temple1 a chapel1 or on some private    
estate4 ,the rites could not be carried 
out according to all the minute         
instructions of the pontifical books4   
,it was no more than a shadow of the    
ceremonies of former times4 ,but in his 
childhood1 in the reign of ,julian1 for 
instance1 ,augustin could have attended 
sacrifices which were celebrated with   
full pomp and according to all the      
ritual forms4 ,they were veritable      
scenes of butchery4 ,for ,heaven's sake 
let us forget the frieze of the         
,parthenon1 and its sacrificers with    
their graceful lines6 ,if we want to    
have a literal translation of this      
sculpture1 and find the modern          
representation of a hecatomb1 we must go
 to the slaughter-houses at ,la         
,villette4  ,among the heaps of broken  

flesh1 the puddles of blood1 the mystic 
,julian was attacked by a kind of       
drunkenness4 ,there were never enough   
beasts strangled or slaughtered to suit 
him4 ,nothing satisfied his fury for    
sacred carnage4 ,the pagans themselves  
made fun of this craze for sacrificing4 
,during the three years his reign lasted
 the altars streamed with blood4 ,oxen  
by hundreds were slain upon the floors  
of the temples1 and the butchers        
throttled so many sheep and other       
domestic animals that they gave up      
keeping count of them4 ,thousands of    
white birds1 pigeons or sea-gulls1 were 
destroyed day by day by the piety of the
 prince4 ,he was called the             
,victimarius1 and when he started upon  
his campaign against the ,persians1 an  
epigram was circulated once more which  
had been formerly composed against      
,marcus ,aurelius 7the philosophic      
emperor67 who was equally generous of   
hecatombs3 ,to ,marcus ,csar from the   
white oxen4 ,it will be all over with us

 if you come back a conqueror4 ,people  
said that ,julian1 on his return1 would 
depopulate stables and pasture-lands4   
,the populace1 who gathered their very  
considerable profit from these          
butcheries1 naturally encouraged such an
 excess of devotion4 ,at ,rome1 under   
,caligula1 more than a hundred and sixty
 thousand victims were immolated in     
three months--nearly two thousand a day4
 ,and these massacres took place upon   
the approaches of the temples2 in the   
middle of the city2 on the forums2 in   
narrow squares crowded with public      
buildings and statues4 ,just try to call
 up the scene in summer1 between walls  
at a white heat1 with the smells and the
 flies4 ,spectators and victims rubbed  
against one another1 pressed close in   
the restricted space4 ,one day1         
,caligula1 while he was attending a     
sacrifice1 was splashed all over by the 
blood of a flamingo as they cut its     
neck4 ,but the august ,csar was not so  
fastidious2 he himself operated in these

 ceremonies armed with a mallet and clad
 in the short shirt of the killers4 ,the
 ignominy of all this revolted the      
,christians1 and whoever had nerves at  
all sensitive4 ,the bloody mud in which 
passers slipped1 the hissing of the fat1
 the heavy odour of flesh1 were         
sickening4 ,tertullian held his nose    
before the stinking fires on which the  
victims were roasting4 ,and ,st4        
,ambrose complained that in the ,roman  
,curia the senators who were ,christians
 were obliged to breathe in the smoke   
and receive full in the face the ashes  
of the altar raised before the statue of
 ,victory4  ,the manipulations of the   
haruspicina seemed an even worse        
abomination in the eyes of the          
,christians4 ,dissection of bowels1     
examination of entrails1 were practices 
very much in fashion in all classes of  
society4 ,the pagans generally took more
 or less interest in magic4 ,one was    
scarcely a philosopher without being a  
miracle-worker4 ,in this there was a    

kind of perfidious rivalry to the       
,christian miracles4 ,the ambitious or  
the discontented opened the bellies of  
animals to learn when the ,emperor was  
going to die1 and who would succeed him4
 ,but although it did not pretend to    
magic1 the haruspicina made an essential
 part of the sacrifices4 ,as soon as the
 dismemberment was done1 the diviners   
examined the appearance of the entrails4
 ,consulting together1 they turned them 
over frequently with anxious attention4 
,this business might continue for a long
 time4 ,plutarch relates that ,philip1  
,king of ,macedonia1 when sacrificing an
 ox on the ,ithoma1 with ,aratus of     
,sicyon and ,demetrius of ,pharos1      
wished to inquire out from the entrails 
of the victim concerning the wisdom of a
 piece of strategy4 ,the haruspex put   
the smoking mass in his hands4 ,the     
,king shewed it to his companions1 who  
derived contradictory presages from it4 
,he listened to one side and the other1 
holding meanwhile the ox's entrails in  

his hands4 ,eventually1 he decided for  
the opinion of ,aratus1 and then        
tranquilly gave the handful back to the 
sacrificer4444  ,no doubt in ,augustin's
 time these rites were no longer        
practised openly4 ,for all that1 they   
were of the first importance in the     
ancient religion1 which desired nothing 
better than to restore them4 ,it is easy
 to understand the repulsion they caused
 in the author of ,the ,city of ,god4   
,he who would not have a fly killed to  
make sure of the gold crown in the      
contest of poets1 looked with horror on 
these sacred butchers1 and manglers1 and
 cooks4 ,he flung the garbage of the    
sacrifices into the sewer1 and shewed   
proudly to the pagans the pure oblation 
of the eucharistic ,bread and ,wine4    
,but what1 above all1 he attacked1      
because it was a present and permanent  
scandal1 was the gluttony1 the          
drunkenness1 and lust of the pagans4    
,let us not exaggerate these vices--not 
the two first1 at least4 ,augustin could

 not judge them as we can4 ,it is       
certain that the ,africans of his       
time--and for that matter1 those of     
to-day--would have struck us modern     
people as very sober4 ,the outbursts of 
intemperance which he accuses them of   
only happened at intervals1 at times of 
public festivity or some family         
celebration4 ,but as soon as they did   
begin they were terrible4 ,when one     
thinks of the orgies of our ,arabs      
behind locked doors6  ,but it is no less
 true that the pagan vices spread       
themselves out cynically under the      
protecting shadow of religion4 ,popular 
souses of eating and drinking were the  
obligatory accompaniments of the        
festivals and sacrifices4 ,a religious  
festival meant a carouse1 loads of      
victuals1 barrels of wine broached in   
the street4 ,these were called the      
,dishes1 ,fercula1 or else1 the         
,rejoicing1 ,ltitia4 ,the poor people1  
who knew meat only by sight1 ate it on  
these days1 and they drank wine4 ,the   

effect of this unaccustomed plenty was  
felt at once4 ,the whole populace were  
drunk4 ,the rich in their houses        
possibly did it with more ceremony1 but 
it was really the same brutishness4 ,the
 elegant ,ovid1 who in the ,art of ,love
 teaches fine manners to the beginners  
in love1 advises them not to vomit at   
table1 and to avoid getting drunk like  
the husbands of their mistresses4       
,plainly1 religion was only an excuse   
for these excesses4 ,augustin goes too  
far when he makes the gods responsible  
for this riot of sensuality4 ,what is   
true is that they did nothing to hinder 
it4 ,and it is also true that the       
lechery1 which he flings so acridly in  
the face of the pagans1 the gross       
stage-plays1 the songs1 dances1 and even
 prostitution1 were all more or less    
included in the essence of paganism4    
,the theatre1 like the games of the     
arena and circus1 was a divine          
institution4 ,at certain feasts1 and in 
certain temples1 fornication became     

sacred4 ,all the world knew what took   
place at ,carthage in the courts and    
under the porticoes of the ,celestial   
,virgin1 and what the ears of the most  
chaste matrons were obliged to hear1 and
 also what the use was of the castrated 
priests of the ,great ,mother of the    
gods4 ,augustin1 who declaims against   
these filthy sports1 has not forced the 
note of his denunciation to make out a  
good case4 ,if anybody wants to know in 
more detail the sights enjoyed at the   
theatre1 or what were the habits of     
certain pious confraternities1 he has   
only to read what is told by ,apuleius1 
the most devout of pagans4 ,he takes    
evident pleasure in these stories1 or1  
if he sometimes waxes indignant1 it is  
the depravity of men he accuses4 ,the   
gods soar at a great height above these 
wretched trifles4 ,to ,augustin1 on the 
contrary1 the gods are unclean devils   
who fill their bellies with lust and    
obscenities1 as if they were hankering  
for the blood and grease of sacrifices4 

,and so he puts his finger on the open  
wound of paganism--its basic immorality1
 or1 if you like1 its unmorality4 ,like 
our scientism of to-day1 it was unable  
to lay down a system of morals4 ,it did 
not even try to4 ,what ,augustin has    
written on this subject in ,the ,city of
 ,god1 is perhaps the strongest argument
 ever objected to polytheism4 ,anyhow1  
pages like this are very timely indeed  
to consider3  ,but such friends and such
 worshippers of those gods1 whom they   
rejoice to follow and imitate in all    
villainies and mischiefs--do they       
trouble themselves about the corruption 
and great decay of the ,republic8 ,not  
so4 ,let it but stand1 say they2 let it 
but prosper by the number of its troops 
and be glorious by its victories2 or1   
which is best of all1 let it but enjoy  
security and peace1 and what care we8   
,yes1 what we care for above all is that
 every one may have the means to        
increase his wealth1 to pay the expenses
 of his usual luxury1 and that the      

powerful may still keep under the weak4 
,let the poor crouch to the rich to be  
fed1 or to live at ease under their     
protection2 let the rich abuse the poor 
as things at their service1 and to shew 
how many they have soliciting them4 ,let
 the people applaud such as provide them
 with pleasures1 not such as have a care
 for their interests4 ,let naught that  
is hard be enjoined1 nothing impure be  
prohibited4444 ,let not subdued         
provinces obey their governors as       
supervisors of their morality1 but as   
masters of their fortune and the        
procurers of their pleasures4 ,what     
matters it if this submission has no    
sincerity1 but rests upon a bad and     
servile fear6 ,let the law protect      
estates rather than fair justice4 ,let  
there be a good number of public        
harlots1 either for all that please to  
enjoy themselves in their company1 or   
for those that cannot keep private ones4
 ,let stately and sumptuous houses be   
erected1 so that night and day each one 

according to his liking or his means may
 gamble and drink and revel and vomit4  
,let the rhythmed tinkling of dances be 
ordinary1 the cries1 the uncontrolled   
delights1 the uproar of all pleasures1  
even the bloodiest and most shameful in 
the theatres4 ,he who shall assay to    
dissuade from these pleasures1 let him  
be condemned as a public enemy4 ,and if 
any one try to alter or suppress        
them--let the people stifle his voice1  
let them banish him1 let them kill him4 
,on the other hand1 those that shall    
procure the people these pleasures1 and 
authorize their enjoyment1 let them be  
eternized for the true gods4444         
,however1 ,augustin acknowledges a      
number of praiseworthy minds among      
pagans--those philosophers1 with ,plato 
in the first rank1 who have done their  
best to put morality into the religion4 
,the ,christian teacher renders a       
magnificent tribute to ,platonism4 ,but 
these high doctrines have scarcely got  
beyond the portals of the schools1 and  

this moral teaching which paganism      
vaunts of1 is practically limited to the
 sanctuaries4 ,let them not talk1 says  
he1 of some closely muttered            
instructions1 taught in secret1 and     
whispered in the ear of a few adepts1   
which hold ,i know not what lessons of  
uprightness and virtue4 ,but let them   
shew the temples ordained for such pious
 meetings1 wherein were no sports with  
lascivious gestures and loose songs4444 
,let them shew us the places where the  
gods' doctrine was heard against        
covetousness1 the suppression of        
ambition1 the bridling of luxury1 and   
where wretches might learn what the poet
 ,persius thunders unto them1 saying3   
',learn1 wretches1 and conceive the     
course of things1   ,what man is1 and   
why nature forth him brings2444   ,how  
to use money2 how to help a friend2     
,what we on earth1 and ,god in us1      
intend4'  ,let them shew where their    
instructing gods were used to give such 
lessons2 and where their worshippers    

used to go often to hear these matters4 
,as for us1 we can point to our         
churches1 built for this sole purpose1  
wheresoever the religion of ,christ is  
diffused4  ,can it surprise1 then1 if   
men so ignorant of high morality1 and so
 deeply embedded in matter1 were also   
plunged in the grossest superstitions8  
,materialism in morals always ends by   
producing a low credulity4 ,here        
,augustin triumphs4 ,he sends marching  
under our eyes1 in a burlesque array1   
the innumerable army of gods whom the   
,romans believed in4 ,there are so many 
that he compares them to swarms of      
gnats4 ,although he explains that he is 
not able to mention them all1 he amuses 
himself by stupefying us with the       
prodigious number of those he discovers4
 ,dragged into open day by him1 a whole 
divine population is brought out of the 
darkness and forgetfulness where it had 
been sleeping perhaps for centuries3 the
 little gods who work in the fields1 who
 make the corn grow and keep off the    

blight1 those who watch over children1  
who aid women in labour1 who protect the
 hearth1 who guard the house4 ,it was   
impossible to take a step among the     
pagans1 to make a movement1 without the 
help of a god or goddess4 ,men and      
things were as if fettered and          
imprisoned by the gods4  ,in a house1   
says ,augustin scoffingly1 there is but 
one porter4 ,he is but a mere man1 yet  
he is sufficient for that office4 ,but  
it takes three gods1 ,forculus for the  
door1 ,cardea for the hinge1 ,limentinus
 for the threshold4 ,doubtless1         
,forculus all alone could not possibly  
look after threshold1 door and hinges4  
,and if it is a case of a man and woman 
retiring to the bridal chamber after the
 wedding1 a whole squadron of divinities
 are set in motion for an act so simple 
and natural4 ,i beseech you1 cries      
,augustin1 leave something for the      
husband to do6  ,this ,african1 who had 
such a strong sense of the unity and    
fathomless infinity of ,god1 waxed      

indignant at this sacrilegious          
parcelling of the divine substance4 ,but
 the pagans1 following ,varro1 would    
answer that it was necessary to         
distinguish1 among all these gods1 those
 who were just the imagination of poets1
 and those who were real beings--between
 the gods of fable and the gods of      
religion4 ,then1 as ,tertullian had said
 already1 if the gods be chosen as      
onions are roped1 it is obvious that    
what is not chosen is condemned4        
,tertullian carries his fancy too far1  
comments ,augustin4 ,the gods refused as
 fabulous are not held reprobate on that
 account4 ,the truth is1 they are a cut 
of the same piece as the admitted gods4 
,have not the pontiffs1 like the poets1 
a bearded ,jupiter and a ,mercury       
without beard8444 ,are the old ,saturn  
and the young ,apollo so much the       
property of the poets that we do not see
 their statues too in the temples8444   
,and the philosophers1 in their turn1   
however much they may protest against   

the heap of fabulous gods and1 like     
,plato and ,porphyry1 declare that there
 exists but one ,god1 soul of the       
universe1 yet they no less accepted the 
minor gods1 and intermediaries or       
messengers betwixt gods and men1 whom   
they called demons4 ,these hybrid       
beings1 who pertained to humanity by    
their passions1 and to the divinity by  
the privilege of immortality1 had to be 
appeased by sacrifices1 questioned and  
gratified by magic spells4 ,and there is
 what the highest pagan wisdom ended    
in--yes1 in calling up spirits1 and the 
shady operations of wizards and         
wonder-smiths4 ,that is what the pagans 
defended1 and demanded the continuation 
of with so much obstinacy and           
fanaticism4  ,by no means1 replied      
,augustin4 ,it does not deserve to      
survive4 ,it is not the forsaking of    
these beliefs and superstitious         
practices which has brought about the   
decay of the ,empire4 ,if you are asking
 for the temples of your gods to be     

opened1 it is because they are easy to  
your passions4 ,at heart1 you scoff at  
them and the ,empire2 all you want is   
freedom and impunity for your vices4    
,there we have the real cause of the    
decadence6 ,little matter the idle      
grimaces before altars and statues4     
,become chaste1 sober1 brave1 and poor1 
as your ancestors were4 ,have children1 
agree to compulsory military service1   
and you will conquer as they did4 ,now1 
all these virtues are enjoined and      
encouraged by ,christianity4 ,whatever  
certain heretics may say1 the religion  
of ,christ is not contrary to marriage  
or the soldier's profession4 ,the       
,patriarchs of the old law were blest in
 marriage1 and there are just and holy  
wars4  ,and even supposing1 that in     
spite of all efforts to save it1 the    
,empire is condemned1 must we therefore 
despair8 ,we should be prepared for the 
end of the ,roman city4 ,like all the   
things of this world1 it is liable to   
old age and death4 ,it will die then1   

one day4 ,far from being cast down1 let 
us strengthen ourselves against this    
disaster by the realization of the      
eternal4 ,let us strengthen our hold    
upon that which passes not4 ,above the  
earthly city1 rises the ,city of ,god1  
which is the communion of holy souls1   
the only one which gives complete and   
never-failing joy4 ,let us try to be the
 citizens of that city1 and to live the 
only life worth calling life4 ,for the  
life here below is but the shadow of a  
shadow4444  ,the people of those times  
were wonderfully prepared to hearken to 
such exhortations4 ,on the eve of the   
,barbarian invasions1 these ,christians1
 for whom the dogma of the ,resurrection
 was perhaps the chief reason of their  
faith1 these people1 sick at heart1 who 
looked on in torture at the ending of a 
world1 must have considered this present
 life as a bad dream1 from which there  
should be no delay in escaping4  ,at the
 very moment even that ,augustin began  
to write ,the ,city of ,god1 his friend 

,evodius1 ,bishop of ,uzalis1 told him  
this story4  ,he had as secretary a very
 young man1 the son of a priest in the  
neighbourhood4 ,this young man had begun
 by obtaining a post as stenographer in 
the office of the ,proconsul of ,africa4
 ,evodius1 who was alarmed at what might
 happen to his virtue in such           
surroundings1 having first made certain 
of his absolute chastity1 offered to    
take him into his service4 ,in the      
bishop's house1 where he had scarcely   
anything to do but read the ,holy       
,scripture1 his faith became so         
enthusiastic that he longed for nothing 
now but death4 ,to go out of this life1 
to be with ,christ1 was his eager wish4 
,it was heard4 ,after sixteen days of   
illness he died in the house of his     
parents4  ,now1 two days after his      
funeral1 a virtuous woman of ,figes1 a  
servant of ,god1 a widow for twelve     
years1 had a dream1 and in her dream she
 saw a deacon who had been dead some    
four years1 together with men1 and women

 too1 virgins and widows--she saw these 
servants of ,god getting ready a palace4
 ,this dwelling was so rich that it     
shone with light1 and you would have    
believed it was all made of silver4 ,and
 when the widow asked whom these        
preparations were for1 the deacon       
replied that they were for a young man1 
dead the evening before1 the son of a   
priest4 ,in the same palace1 she saw an 
old man1 all robed in white1 and he told
 two other persons1 also robed in white1
 to go to the tomb of this young man1   
and lift out the body1 and carry it to  
,heaven4 ,when the body had been drawn  
from the tomb and carried to ,heaven1   
there arose 7said she7 out of the tomb a
 bush of virgin-roses1 which are thus   
named because they never open4444  ,so  
the son of the priest had chosen the    
better part4 ,what was the good of      
remaining in this abominable world1     
where there was always a risk of being  
burned or murdered by ,goths and        
,vandals1 when1 in the other world1     

angels were preparing for you palaces of
 light8     ,,iii  ,,the ,,barbarian    
,,desolation   ,augustin was seventy-two
 years old when he finished the ,city of
 ,god4 ,this was in #dbf4 ,that year1 an
 event of much importance occurred at   
,hippo1 and the report of it was        
inserted in the public acts of the      
community4  ,the sixth of the calends of
 ,october1 ,the ,acts set forth1 the    
very glorious ,theodosius being consul  
for the twelfth time1 and ,valentinian  
,augustus for the second1 ,augustin the 
bishop1 accompanied by ,religianus and  
,martinianus1 his fellow-bishops1 having
 taken his place in the ,basilica of    
,peace at ,hippo1 and the priests       
,saturnius1 ,leporius1 ,barnaby1        
,fortunatianus1 ,lazarus1 and           
,heraclius1 being present1 with all the 
clergy and a vast crowd of              
people--,augustin the bishop said3      
',let us without delay look to the      
business which ,i declared yesterday to 
your charity1 and for which ,i desired  

you to gather here in large numbers1 as 
,i see you have done4 ,if ,i were to    
talk to you of anything else1 you might 
be less attentive1 seeing the           
expectation you are in4  ',my brothers1 
we are all mortal in this life1 and no  
man knows his last day4 ,god willed that
 ,i should come to dwell in this town in
 the force of my age4 ,but1 as ,i was a 
young man then--see1 ,i am old now1 and 
as ,i know that at the death of bishops1
 peace is troubled by rivalry or        
ambition 7this have ,i often seen and   
bewailed it7--,i ought1 so far as it    
rests with me1 to turn away so great a  
mischief from your city4444 ,i am going 
then to tell you that my will1 which ,i 
believe also to be the will of ,god1 is 
that ,i have as successor the priest    
,heraclius4'  ,at these words all the   
people cried out3  ',thanks be to ,god6 
,praise be to ,christ6'  ,and this cry  
they repeated three-and-twenty times4   
',christ1 hear us6 ,preserve us         
,augustin6'  ,this cry they repeated    

sixteen times4  ',be our father6 ,be our
 bishop6'  ,this cry they repeated eight
 times4  ,when the people became silent1
 the bishop ,augustin spoke again in    
these words3  ',there is no need for me 
to praise ,heraclius4 ,as much as ,i do 
justice to his wisdom1 in equal measure 
should ,i spare his modesty4444 ,as you 
perceive1 the secretaries of the church 
gather up what we say and what you say4 
,my words and your shouts do not fall to
 the ground4 ,to put it briefly1 these  
are ecclesiastical decrees that we are  
now drawing up1 and ,i desire by these  
means1 as far as it is in the power of  
man1 to confirm what ,i have declared to
 you4'  ,here the people cried out3     
',thanks be to ,god6 ,praise be to      
,christ6'         99       99       99  
99       99  ',be our father1 and let   
,heraclius be our bishop6'  ,when       
silence was made again1 ,augustin the   
bishop thus spoke3  ',i understand what 
you would say4 ,but ,i do not wish that 
it happen to him as it happened to me4  

,many of you know what was done at that 
time4444 ,i was consecrated bishop      
during the lifetime of my father and    
bishop1 the aged ,valerius1 of blessed  
memory1 and with him ,i shared the see4 
,i was ignorant1 as he was1 that this   
was forbidden by the ,council of ,nice4 
,i would not therefore that men should  
blame in ,heraclius1 my son1 what they  
blamed in me4'  ,with that the people   
cried out thirteen times3  ',thanks be  
to ,god6 ,praise be to ,christ6'  ,after
 a little silence1 ,augustin the bishop 
said again3  ',so he will remain a      
priest till it shall please ,god for him
 to be a bishop4 ,but with the aid and  
mercy of ,christ1 ,i shall do in future 
what up to now ,i have not been able to 
do4444 ,you will remember what ,i wanted
 to do some years ago1 and you have not 
allowed me4 ,for a work upon the ,holy  
,scriptures1 with which my brothers and 
my fathers the bishops had deigned to   
charge me in the two ,councils of       
,numidia and ,carthage1 ,i was not to be

 disturbed by anybody during five days  
of the week4 ,that was a thing agreed   
upon between you and me4 ,the act was   
drawn up1 and you all approved of it    
after hearing it read4 ,but your promise
 did not last long4 ,i was soon         
encroached upon and overrun by you all4 
,i am no longer free to study as ,i     
desire4 ,morning and afternoon1 ,i am   
entangled in your worldly affairs4 ,i   
beg of you and supplicate you in        
,christ's name to suffer me to shift the
 burthen of all these cares upon this   
young man1 the priest ,heraclius1 whom  
,i signal1 in ,his name1 as my successor
 in the bishopric4'  ,upon this the     
people cried out six-and-twenty times3  
',we thank thee for thy choice6'  ,and  
the people having become silent1        
,augustin the bishop said3  ',i thank   
you for your charity and goodwill1 or   
rather1 ,i thank ,god for them4 ,so1 my 
brothers1 you will address yourselves to
 ,heraclius upon all the points you are 
used to submit to me4 ,whenever he needs

 counsel1 my care and my help will not  
be wanting4444 ,in this way1 without any
 loss to you1 ,i shall be able to devote
 the remainder of life which it may     
please ,god still to leave me1 not to   
laziness and rest1 but to the study of  
the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,this work will  
be useful to ,heraclius1 and hence to   
yourselves4 ,let nobody then envy my    
leisure1 for this leisure will be very  
busy4444  ',it only remains for me to   
ask you1 at least those who can1 to sign
 these acts4 ,your agreement ,i cannot  
do without2 so kindly let me learn it by
 your voices4'  ,at these words the     
people shouted3  ',let it be so6 ,let it
 be so6'         99       99       99   
99       99  ,when all there became     
silent1 ,augustin the bishop made an    
end1 saying3  ',it is well4 ,now let us 
fulfil our duty to ,god4 ,while we offer
 ,him the ,sacrifice1 and during this   
hour of supplication1 ,i would urge of  
your charity to lay aside all business  
and personal cares1 and to pray the     

,lord ,god for this church1 for me1 and 
for the priest ,heraclius4'  ,the       
dryness and official wording of the     
document do not succeed in stifling the 
vividness and colour of this crowded    
scene4 ,through the piety of the formal 
cries1 it is easy to see that           
,augustin's hearers were hard to manage4
 ,this flock1 which he loved and scolded
 so much1 was no easier to lead now than
 when he first became bishop4 ,truly it 
was no sinecure to rule and administrate
 the diocese of ,hippo6 ,the bishop was 
literally the servant of the faithful4  
,not only had he to feed and clothe     
them1 to spend his time over their      
business and quarrels and lawsuits1 but 
he belonged to them body and soul4 ,they
 kept a jealous eye on the employment of
 his time2 if he went away1 they asked  
for an explanation4 ,whenever ,augustin 
went to preach at ,carthage or ,utica1  
he apologized to his own people4 ,and   
before he can undertake a commentary on 
the ,scriptures1 a commentary1 moreover1

 which he has been asked by two         
,councils to prepare1 he must get their 
permission1 or1 at any rate1 their      
agreement4  ,at last1 at seventy-two    
years old1 after he had been a bishop   
for thirty-one years1 he got their leave
 to take a little rest4 ,but what a     
rest6 ,he himself said3 ,this leisure   
will be very busy--this leisure which is
 going to fill the five holidays in the 
week4 ,he intends to study and fathom   
the ,scripture1 and this1 besides1 to   
the profit of his people and clergy and 
the whole ,church4 ,it is the fondest   
dream of his life--the plan he was never
 able to realize4 ,all that1 at first   
sight1 astonishes us4 ,we ask ourselves1
 ,what else had he been doing up to this
 time in his treatises and letters and  
sermons1 in all that sea of words and   
writings which his enemies threw up at  
him1 if he was not studying and         
explaining the ,holy ,scriptures8 ,the  
fact is1 that in most of these writings 
and sermons he elucidates the truth only

 in part1 or else he is confuting       
heresiarchs4 ,what he wanted to do was  
to study the truth for its own sake1    
without having to think of and be       
hindered by the exposure of errors2 and 
above all1 to seize it in all its       
breadth and all its depths1 to have done
 with this blighting and irritating     
eristic1 and to reflect in a vast       
,mirror the whole and purest light of   
the sacred dogmas4  ,he never found the 
time for it4 ,he had to limit himself to
 a handbook of practical morals1        
published under this title before his   
death1 and now lost4 ,once more the     
heresiarchs prevented him from leading a
 life of speculation4 ,during his last  
years1 amid the cruellest anxieties1 he 
had to battle with the enemies of ,grace
 and the enemies of the ,trinity1 with  
,arius and ,pelagius4 ,pelagius had     
found an able disciple in a young       
,italian bishop1 ,julian of ,eclanum1   
who was a formidable opponent to the    
aged ,augustin4 ,as for ,arianism1 which

 had seemed extinguished in the ,west1  
here it was given a new life by the     
,barbarian invasion4  ,it was a grave   
moment for ,catholicism1 as it was for  
the ,empire4 ,the ,goths1 the ,alani1   
and the ,vandals1 after having laid     
waste ,gaul and ,spain1 were taking     
measures to pass over into ,africa4     
,should they renew the attempts of      
,alaric and ,radagaisus against ,italy1 
they would soon be masters of the entire
 ,occident4 ,now these ,barbarians were 
,arians4 ,supposing 7and it seemed more 
and more likely7 that ,africa and ,italy
 were vanquished after ,gaul and ,spain1
 then it was all over with ,western     
,catholicism4 ,for the invaders carried 
their religion in their baggage1 and    
forced it on the conquered4 ,augustin1  
who had cherished the hope of equalling 
the earthly kingdom of ,christ to that  
of the ,csars1 was going to see the ruin
 of both4 ,his terrified imagination    
exaggerated still more the only too real
 and threatening peril4 ,he must have   

lived hours of agony1 expecting a       
disaster4  ,if only the truth might be  
saved1 might swim in this sea of errors 
which spread like a flood in the wake of
 the ,barbarian onflow6 ,it was from    
this wish1 no doubt1 that sprang the    
tireless persistence which the old      
bishop put into a last battle with      
heresy4 ,if he selected ,pelagius       
specially to fall upon with fury1 if he 
forced his principles to their last     
consequences in his theory of ,grace1   
the dread of the ,barbarian peril had   
perhaps something to do with it4 ,this  
soul1 so mild1 so moderate1 so tenderly 
human1 promulgated a pitiless doctrine  
which does not agree with his character4
 ,but he reasoned1 no doubt1 that it was
 impossible to drive home too hard the  
need of the ,redemption and the divinity
 of the ,redeemer in front of these     
,arians1 these ,pelagians1 these enemies
 of ,christ1 who to-morrow perhaps would
 be masters of the ,empire4  ,therefore1
 ,augustin continued to write1 and      

discuss1 and disprove4 ,there came a    
time when he had to think of fighting   
otherwise than with the pen4 ,his life1 
the lives of his flock1 were threatened4
 ,he had to see to the bodily defence of
 his country and city4 ,the fact was1   
that some time before the great drive of
 the ,vandals1 forerunners of them1 in  
the shape of hordes of ,african         
,barbarians1 had begun to lay waste the 
provinces4 ,the ,circoncelliones were   
not dead1 nor their good friends the    
,donatists either4 ,these sectaries1    
encouraged by the widespread anarchy1   
came out of their hiding-places and     
shewed themselves more insolent and     
aggressive than ever4 ,possibly they    
hoped for some effective support against
 the ,roman ,church from the ,arian     
,vandals who were drawing near1 or at   
least a recognition of what they        
believed to be their rights4 ,day after 
day1 bands of ,barbarians were landing  
from ,spain4 ,in the rear of these      
wandering troops of brigands or         

irregular soldiers1 the old enemies of  
the ,roman peace and civilization1 the  
,nomads of the ,south1 the ,moors of the
 ,atlas1 the ,kabylian mountaineers1    
flung themselves upon country and town1 
pillaging1 killing1 and burning         
everything that got in their way4 ,all  
was laid desolate4 ,countries but lately
 prosperous and populated have been     
changed into solitudes1 said ,augustin4 
,at last1 in the spring of the year     
#dbi1 the ,vandals and the ,alani1      
having joined forces on the ,spanish    
coast under their ,king1 ,genseric1     
crossed the ,straits of ,gibraltar4 ,it 
was devastation on a large scale this   
time4 ,an army of eighty thousand men   
set themselves methodically to plunder  
the ,african provinces4 ,cherchell1     
which had already been sorely tried     
during the revolt of ,firmus the ,moor1 
was captured again and burned4 ,all the 
towns and fortified places on the coast 
fell1 one after another4 ,constantine   
alone1 from the height of its rock1 kept

 the invaders at bay4 ,to starve out    
those who fled from towns and farms and 
took refuge in the fastnesses of the    
,atlas1 the ,barbarians destroyed the   
harvest1 burned the grain-houses1 and   
cut down the vines and fruit trees4 ,and
 they set fire to the forests which     
covered the slopes of the mountains1 to 
force the refugees out of their         
hiding-places4  ,this stupid ravaging   
was against the interest of the ,vandals
 themselves1 because they were injuring 
the natural riches of ,africa1 the      
report of which had brought them there4 
,africa was for them the land of plenty1
 where people could drink more wine than
 they wanted and eat wheaten bread4 ,it 
was the country where life was          
comfortable1 easy1 and happy4 ,it was   
the granary of the ,mediterranean1 the  
great supply-store of ,rome4 ,but their 
senseless craving for gold led them to  
ruin provinces1 in which1 nevertheless1 
they counted upon settling4 ,they       
behaved in ,africa as they had behaved  

in ,rome under ,alaric4 ,by way of      
tearing gold out of the inhabitants1    
they tortured them as they had tortured 
the wealthy ,romans4 ,they invented     
worse ones4 ,children1 before their     
parents' eyes1 were sliced in two like  
animals in a slaughterhouse4 ,or else   
their skulls were smashed against the   
pavements and walls of houses4  ,the    
,church was believed to be very rich2   
and perhaps1 as it had managed to       
comprise in its domains the greatest    
part of the landed estates1 it was upon 
it chiefly that the ,barbarians flung   
themselves4 ,the priests and bishops    
were tortured with unheard-of           
improvements of cruelty4 ,they were     
dragged in the rear of the army like    
slaves1 so that heavy ransoms might be  
extracted from the faithful in exchange 
for their pastors4 ,they were obliged to
 carry the baggage like the camels and  
mules1 and when they gave out the       
,barbarians prodded them with lances4   
,many sank down beside the road and     

never rose more4 ,but it is certain that
 fanaticism added to the covetousness   
and ferocity of the ,vandals4 ,these    
,arians bore a special grudge against   
,catholicism1 which was1 besides1 in    
their eyes1 the religion of the ,roman  
domination4 ,this is why they made their
 chief attacks on basilicas1 convents1  
hospitals1 and all the property of the  
,church4 ,and throughout the country    
public worship was stopped4  ,in ,hippo1
 these atrocities were known before the 
,barbarians arrived4 ,the people must   
have awaited them and prepared to       
receive them with gloomy resignation4   
,africa had not been tranquil for a     
century4 ,after the risings of ,firmus  
and ,gildo1 came the lootings of the    
southern ,nomads and the ,berber        
mountaineers4 ,and it was not so long   
since the ,circoncelliones were keeping 
people constantly on the alert4 ,but    
this time everybody felt that the great 
ruin was at hand4 ,they were stunned by 
the news that some town or fortified    

place had been captured by the ,vandals1
 or that some farm or villa in the      
neighbourhood was on fire4  ,amid the   
general dismay1 ,augustin did his best  
to keep calm4 ,he1 indeed1 saw beyond   
the material destruction1 and at every  
new rumour of massacre or burning he    
would repeat to his clerics and people  
the words of the ,wise ,man3  ,doth the 
firm of heart grieve to see fall the    
stones and beams1 and death seize the   
children of men8  ,they accused him of  
being callous4 ,they did not understand 
him4 ,while all about him mourned the   
present misfortunes1 he was already     
lamenting over the evil to come1 and    
this clear-sightedness pained him more  
than the shock of the daily horrors     
committed by the ,barbarians4 ,his      
disciple ,possidius1 the ,bishop of     
,guelma1 who was with him in these sad  
days1 naively applied to him the saying 
out of ,ecclesiastes3 ,in much wisdom is
 much grief4 ,augustin did really suffer
 more than others1 because he thought   

more profoundly on the disaster4 ,he    
foresaw that ,africa was going to be    
lost to the ,empire1 and consequently to
 the ,church4 ,they were bound together 
in his mind4 ,what was there to do      
against brutal strength8 ,all the       
eloquence and all the charity in the    
world would be as nothing against that  
unchained elemental mass of ,vandals4   
,it was as impossible to convert the    
,barbarians as it had been to convert   
the ,donatists4 ,force was the only     
resource against force4  ,then in       
despair the man of ,god turned once more
 to ,csar4 ,the monk appealed to the    
soldier4 ,he charged ,boniface1 ,count  
of ,africa1 to save ,rome and the       
,church4  ,this ,boniface1 a rather     
ambiguous personage1 was a fine type of 
the swashbuckler and official of the    
,lower-,empire4 ,thracian by origin1 he 
joined the trickery of the ,oriental to 
all the vices of the ,barbarian4 ,he was
 strong1 clever in all bodily exercises 
like the soldiers of those days1        

overflowing with vigour and health1 and 
even brave at times4 ,in addition1 he   
was fond of wine and women1 and ate and 
drank like a true pagan4 ,he was married
 twice1 and after his second marriage he
 kept in the sight and knowledge of     
everybody a harem of concubines4 ,he was
 sent1 first of all1 to ,africa as a    
,tribune--that is to say1 as            
,commissioner of the ,imperial          
,government1 probably to carry out the  
decrees of ,honorius against the        
,donatists2 and ere long he was made    
commander of the military forces of the 
province1 with the title of ,count4  ,in
 reality1 while seeming to protect the  
country1 he set himself to plunder it1  
as the tradition was among the ,roman   
officials4 ,his officium1 still more    
grasping than himself1 persuaded him to 
deeds which the ,bishop of ,hippo1 who  
was1 however1 anxious to remain on the  
right side of him1 protested against by 
hints4 ,boniface was obliged to overlook
 much robbery and pillage on the part of

 his subordinates so as to keep them    
faithful4 ,moreover1 he himself stole4  
,he was bound to close his eyes to the  
depredations of others1 that his own    
might be winked at4 ,once become the    
accomplice of this band of robbers1 he  
had no longer the authority to control  
them4  ,how did ,augustin ever believe  
in the goodwill and good faith of this  
adventurer full of coarse passions1 so  
far as to put his final hopes in him8   
,augustin knew men very well2 he could  
detect low and hypocritical natures at a
 distance4 ,how came it that he was     
taken in by ,boniface8  ,well1 ,augustin
 wanted his support1 first of all1 when 
he came as ,imperial ,commissioner to   
,carthage to bring the ,donatists into  
line4 ,generally1 we see only the good  
points of people who do us good turns4  
,besides1 in order to propitiate the    
bishop1 and the devout ,court at        
,ravenna1 the ,tribune advertised his   
great zeal in favour of ,catholicism4   
,his first wife1 a very pious woman whom

 he seems to have loved much1 encouraged
 him in this4 ,when she died1 he was so 
overcome by despair that he took refuge 
in the extremest practices of           
religion--and in this1 perhaps1 he was  
quite sincere4 ,it is also possible that
 he was becoming discredited at         
,ravenna1 where they must have known    
about his oppressions and suspected his 
ambitious intrigues4 ,anyhow1 whether he
 was really disgusted with the world1 or
 whether he deemed it prudent to throw a
 little oblivion over himself just then1
 he spoke on all hands of resigning his 
post and living in retreat like a monk4 
,it was just at this moment that        
,augustin and ,alypius begged him not to
 desert the ,african army4  ,they met   
the ,commander-in-,chief at ,thubun1 in 
,southern ,numidia1 where1 no doubt1 he 
was reducing the ,nomads4 ,we must      
remark once more ,augustin's energy in  
travelling1 to the very eve of his      
death4 ,it was a long and dangerous road
 from ,hippo to ,thubun4 ,before making 

up his mind to so much fatigue1 the old 
bishop must have judged the situation to
 be very serious4 ,at ,thubun1 was      
,boniface playing a game1 or was he1    
indeed1 so crushed by his grief that the
 world had become unbearable and he     
pondered genuine thoughts of changing   
his way of life8 ,what is sure is1 that 
he gave the two prelates the most       
edifying talk4 ,when they heard the     
,count of ,africa speaking with unction 
of the cloister and of his desire to    
retire there1 they were a little        
astonished at so much piety in a        
soldier4 ,besides1 these excellent      
resolutions were most inconvenient for  
their plans4 ,they remonstrated with him
 that it was quite possible to save     
one's soul in the army1 and quoted the  
example of ,david1 the warrior king4    
,they ended by telling him all the      
expectations they founded upon his      
resource and firmness4 ,they begged him 
to protect the churches and convents    
against fresh attacks of the ,donatists1

 and especially against the ,barbarians 
of ,africa4 ,these were at this moment  
breaking down all the old defence lines 
and laying waste the territories of the 
,empire4  ,boniface allowed himself to  
be easily convinced--promised whatever  
he was asked4 ,but he never budged4     
,from now on1 his conduct becomes most  
singular4 ,he is in command of all the  
military strength of the province1 and  
he takes no steps to suppress the       
,african looters4 ,it would seem as if  
he only thought of filling the coffers  
of himself and his friends4 ,the country
 was so systematically scoured by them  
that1 as ,augustin said1 there was      
nothing more left to take4  ,this       
inactivity lent colour to the rumours of
 treason4 ,nor is it impossible that he 
had cherished a plan from the beginning 
of his command to cut out an independent
 principality for himself in ,africa4   
,was this the reason that he dealt      
softly with the native tribes1 so as to 
make certain of their help in case of a 

conflict with the ,imperial army8       
,however that may be1 his behaviour was 
not frank4 ,some years later1 he landed 
on the ,spanish coast to war against the
 ,vandals under the command of the      
,prefect ,castinus1 and there he married
 a ,barbarian princess who was by       
religion an ,arian4 ,it is true that the
 new ,countess of ,africa became a      
convert to ,catholicism4 ,but her first 
child was baptized by ,arian priests1   
who rebaptized1 at the same time1 the   
,catholic slaves of ,boniface's         
household4 ,this marriage with a        
,vandal1 these concessions to ,arianism1
 gave immense scandal to the orthodox4  
,rumours of treason began to float about
 again4  ,no doubt ,boniface took great 
advantage of his fidelity to the        
,empress ,placidia4 ,but he was standing
 between the all-powerful ,barbarians   
and the undermined ,empire4 ,he wanted  
to remain on good terms with both1 and  
then1 when the hour came1 to go over to 
the stronger4 ,this double-faced        

diplomacy caused his downfall4 ,his     
rival ,atius accused him of high treason
 before ,placidia4 ,the ,court of       
,ravenna declared him an enemy of the   
,empire1 and an army was sent against   
him4 ,boniface did not hesitate2 he went
 into open rebellion against ,rome4     
,augustin was thunderstruck by his      
desertion4 ,but what way was there to   
make this violent man listen to reason1 
who had at least the appearances of     
right on his side1 since there was a    
chance they had slandered him to the    
,empress1 and who thought it quite      
natural to take vengeance on his        
enemies8 ,his recent successes had still
 more intoxicated him4 ,he had just     
defeated the two generals who had been  
sent to reduce him1 and he was          
accordingly master of the situation in  
,africa4 ,what was he going to do8 ,the 
worst resolutions were to be feared from
 this conqueror1 all smarting1 and      
hungry for revenge4444 ,nevertheless1   
,augustin resolved to write to him4 ,his

 letter is a masterpiece of tact1 of    
prudence1 and also of ,christian and    
episcopal firmness4  ,it would have been
 dangerous to declare to this triumphant
 rebel3 ,you are in the wrong4 ,your    
duty is to submit to the ,emperor1 your 
master4 ,boniface was quite capable of  
answering3 ,what are you interfering    
for8 ,politics are no business of yours4
 ,look after your ,church6 ,this is why 
,augustin very cleverly speaks to him   
from beginning to end of his letter     
simply as a bishop1 eager for the       
salvation of a very dear son in ,jesus  
,christ4 ,and so1 by keeping strictly to
 his office of spiritual director1 he   
gained his end more surely and entirely2
 and1 as a doctor of souls1 he ventured 
to remind ,boniface of certain truths   
which he would never have dared to      
mention as counsellor4  ,according to   
,augustin1 the disgrace of the ,count1  
and the evils which this event had      
brought on ,africa1 came principally    
from his attachment to worldly benefits4

 ,it was the ambition and covetousness  
of himself and his followers which had  
done all the harm4 ,let him free himself
 from perishable things1 let him prevent
 the thefts and plundering of those     
under him4 ,let him1 who some time ago  
wished to live in perfect celibacy1 now 
keep at least to his wife and no other4 
,finally1 let him remember his sworn    
allegiance4 ,augustin did not mean to go
 into the quarrel between ,boniface and 
,placidia1 and he gave no opinion as to 
the grievances of either4 ,he confined  
himself to saying to the general in     
rebellion3 ,if you have received so many
 benefits from the ,roman ,empire1 do   
not render evil for good4 ,if1 on the   
other hand1 you have received evil1 do  
not render evil for evil4  ,it is clear 
that the ,bishop of ,hippo could        
scarcely have given any other advice to 
the ,count of ,africa4 ,to play the part
 of political counsellor in the very    
entangled state of affairs was extremely
 risky4 ,how was it possible to exhort a

 victorious general to lay down his arms
 before the conquered8 ,and yet1 in     
estimating the situation from the       
,christian standpoint alone1 ,augustin  
had found a way to say everything       
essential1 all that could profitably be 
said at the moment4  ,how did ,boniface 
take a letter which was1 in the         
circumstances1 so courageous8 ,what we  
know is that he did not alter his plans4
 ,it would indeed have been very        
difficult for him to withdraw and yield2
 and more than ever since a new army    
under ,sigisvultus had been sent against
 him in all haste4 ,a real fatality     
compelled him to remain in revolt       
against ,rome4 ,did he believe he was   
ruined1 as has been stated1 or else1    
through his family connections--let us  
remember that his wife was a            
,barbarian--had he been for a long time 
plotting with ,genseric to divide       
,africa8 ,he has been accused of that4  
,what comes out is1 that as soon as he  
heard of the arrival of ,sigisvultus and

 the new expeditionary force1 he called 
in the ,vandals to his aid4 ,this was   
the great invasion of #dbi4  ,ere long1 
the ,barbarians entered ,numidia4 ,the  
borderlands about ,hippo were           
threatened4 ,stricken with terror1 the  
inhabitants in a mass fled before the   
enemy1 leaving the towns empty4 ,those  
who were caught in them rushed into the 
churches1 imploring the bishops and     
priests to help them4 ,or else1 giving  
up all hope of life1 they cried out to  
be baptized1 confessed1 did penance in  
public4 ,the ,vandals1 as we have seen1 
aimed specially at the clergy2 they     
believed that the ,catholic priests were
 the soul of the resistance4 ,should not
 these priests1 then1 in the very       
interest of the ,church1 save themselves
 for quieter times1 and escape the      
persecution by flight8 ,many sheltered  
themselves behind the words of ,christ3 
,when they persecute you in this city1  
flee ye into another4  ,but ,augustin   
strongly condemned the cowardliness of  

the deserters4 ,in a letter addressed to
 his fellow-bishop1 ,honoratus1 and     
intended to be read by all the clergy in
 ,africa1 he declares that bishops and  
priests should not abandon their        
churches and dioceses1 but stay at their
 post till the end--till death and till 
martyrdom--to fulfil the duties of their
 ministry4 ,if the faithful were able to
 withdraw into a safe place1 their      
pastors might accompany them2 if not1   
they should die in the midst of them4   
,thus they would have at least the      
consolation of lending aid to the dying 
in their last moments1 and especially of
 preventing the apostasies which readily
 took place under the shock of the      
terror4 ,for ,augustin1 who foresaw the 
future1 the essential thing was that    
later1 when the ,vandal wave had swept  
away1 ,catholicism might flourish again 
in ,africa4 ,to this end1 the ,catholics
 must be made to remain in the country1 
and the greatest possible number be     
strengthened in their faith4 ,otherwise1

 the work of three centuries would have 
to be done all over again4  ,we must    
admire this courage and clear-mindedness
 in an old man of seventy-five1 who was 
being continually harassed by the       
complaints and lamentations of a crowd  
of demoralized fugitives4 ,the position 
became more and more critical4 ,the     
siege lines were drawing closer4 ,but in
 the midst of all this dread1 ,augustin 
was given a gleam of hope3 ,boniface    
made his peace with the ,empire4        
,henceforward1 his army1 turning against
 the ,barbarians1 might protect ,hippo  
and perhaps save ,africa4  ,had         
,augustin a hand in this reconciliation8
 ,there is not the least doubt that he  
desired it most earnestly4 ,in a letter 
to ,count ,darius1 the special envoy    
sent from ,ravenna to treat with the    
rebel general1 he warmly congratulates  
the ,imperial plenipotentiary on his    
mission of peace4 ,you are sent1 he said
 to him1 to stop the shedding of blood4 
,therefore rejoice1 illustrious and very

 dear son in ,jesus ,christ1 rejoice in 
this great and real blessing1 and       
rejoice upon it in the ,lord1 ,who has  
made you what you are1 and entrusted to 
you a task so beautiful and important4  
,may ,god seal the good work ,he has    
done for us through you6 444 ,and       
,darius answered3 ,may you be spared to 
pray such prayers for the ,empire and   
the ,roman ,state a long time yet1 my   
,father4  ,but the ,empire was lost in  
,africa4 ,if the reconciliation of the  
rebellious ,count had given some        
illusions to ,augustin1 they did not    
last long4 ,boniface1 having failed in  
his endeavours to negotiate the retreat 
of the ,vandals1 was defeated by        
,genseric1 and obliged to fall back into
 ,hippo with an army of mercenary       
,goths4 ,thus it came about that        
,barbarians held against other          
,barbarians one of the last ,roman      
citadels in ,africa4 ,from the end of   
,may1 #dcj1 ,hippo was blockaded on the 
land side and on the side of the sea4   

,in great tribulation1 ,augustin        
resigned himself to this supreme        
humiliation1 and to all the horrors     
which would have to be endured if the   
city were captured4 ,as a ,christian1 he
 left all to the will of ,god1 and he   
would repeat to those about him the     
words of the ,psalm3 ,righteous art     
,thou1 ,o ,lord1 and upright are ,thy   
judgments4 ,a number of fugitive        
priests1 and among them ,possidius1     
,bishop of ,guelma1 had taken refuge in 
the episcopal residence4 ,one day1 when 
he lost heart1 ,augustin1 who was at    
table with them1 said3  ,in front of all
 these disasters1 ,i ask ,god to deliver
 this city from the siege1 or1 if that  
be not ,his decree1 to give ,his        
servants the necessary strength to do   
,his will1 or at least to take me from  
this world and receive me into ,his     
bosom4  ,but it is more than probable   
that discouragement of that kind was    
only momentary with him1 and that in his
 sermons1 as well as in his             

conversations with ,boniface1 he did his
 utmost to stimulate the courage of the 
people and the general4 ,his            
correspondence includes a series of     
letters written about this time to the  
,count of ,africa1 which manifest here  
and there a very warlike spirit4 ,these 
letters are most certainly apocryphal4  
,yet they do reveal something of what   
must have been the sentiments just then 
of the people of ,hippo and of ,augustin
 himself4 ,one of these letters         
emphatically congratulates ,boniface    
upon an advantage gained over the       
,barbarians4  ,your ,excellency knows1  
,i believe1 that ,i am stretched upon my
 bed1 and that ,i long for my last day  
to come4 ,i am overjoyed at your        
victory4 ,i urge you to save the ,roman 
city4 ,rule your soldiers like a good   
,count4 ,do not trust too much to your  
own strength4 ,put your glory in ,him   
,who gives courage1 and you will never  
fear any enemy4 ,farewell6  ,the words  
do not matter much4 ,whatever may have  

been ,augustin's last farewell to the   
defender of ,hippo1 it was no doubt     
couched in language not unlike this4 ,in
 any case1 posterity has wished to      
believe that the dying bishop maintained
 to the end his unyielding demeanour    
face to face with the ,barbarians4 ,it  
would be a misuse of words to represent 
him as a patriot in the present sense of
 the term4 ,it is no less true that this
 ,african1 this ,christian1 was an      
admirable servant of ,rome4 ,until his  
death he kept his respect for it1       
because in his eyes the ,empire meant   
order1 peace1 civilization1 the unity of
 faith in the unity of rule4     ,,iv   
,,saint ,,augustin   ,in the third month
 of the siege1 he fell ill4 ,he had a   
fever--no doubt an infectious fever4    
,the country people1 the wounded        
soldiers who had taken refuge in ,hippo 
after the rout of ,boniface1 must have  
brought in the germs of disease4 ,it    
was1 moreover1 the end of ,august1 the  
season of epidemics1 of damp heats and  

oppressive evenings1 the time of the    
year most dangerous and trying for sick 
people4  ,all at once1 ,augustin took to
 his bed4 ,but even there1 upon the bed 
in which he was going to die1 he was not
 left in quiet4 ,people came to ask his 
prayers for some possessed by devils4   
,the old bishop was touched2 he wept and
 asked ,god to give him this grace1 and 
the devils went out of those poor crazy 
men4 ,this cure1 as may well be thought1
 made a great noise in the city4 ,a man 
brought him another one sick to be      
healed4 ,augustin1 being most weary1    
said to the man3  ,my son1 you see the  
state ,i am in4 ,if ,i had any power    
over illnesses1 ,i should begin by      
curing myself4  ,but the man had no idea
 of being put off3 he had had a dream4  
,a mysterious voice had said to him1 ,go
 and see ,augustin3 he will put his     
hands on the sick person1 who will rise 
up cured4 ,and1 in fact1 he did4 ,i     
think these are the only miracles the   
saint made in his life4 ,but what       

matters that1 when the continual miracle
 of his charity and his apostolate is   
considered8  ,soon the bishop's illness 
grew worse4 ,eventually1 he succeeded in
 persuading them not to disturb him any 
more1 and that they would let him       
prepare for death in silence and        
recollection4 ,during the ten days that 
he still lingered1 nobody entered his   
cell save the physicians1 and the       
servants who brought him a little food4 
,he availed himself of the quiet to     
repent of his faults4 ,for he was used  
to say to his clergy that even after    
baptism1 ,christians--nay1 priests1     
however holy they might be1 ought never 
go out of life without having made a    
general confession4 ,and the better to  
rouse his contrition1 he had desired    
them to copy out on leaves the          
,penitential ,psalms1 and to put these  
leaves on the wall of his room4 ,he read
 them continually from his pillow4      
,here1 then1 he is alone with himself   
and ,god4 ,a solemn moment for the great

 old man6  ,he called up his past life1 
and what struck him most1 and saddened  
him1 was the foundering of all his human
 hopes4 ,the enemies of the ,church1    
whom he had battled with almost without 
ceasing for forty years1 and had reason 
to believe conquered--all these enemies 
were raising their heads3 ,donatists1   
,arians1 ,barbarians4 ,with the         
,barbarians' help1 the ,arians were     
going to be the masters of ,africa4 ,the
 churches1 reformed at the price of such
 long efforts1 would be once more       
destroyed4 ,and see now6 the authority  
which might have supported them1 which  
he had perhaps too much relied          
upon--well1 the ,empire was sinking too4
 ,it was the end of order1 of           
substantial peace1 of that minimum of   
safety which is indispensable for all   
spiritual effort4 ,from one end to the  
other of the ,western world1 ,barbarism 
triumphed4  ,sometimes1 amid these sad  
thoughts of the dying man1 the clangour 
of clarions blared out--there was a call

 to arms on the ramparts4 ,and these    
musics came to him in his half-delirious
 state very mournfully1 like the        
trumpets proclaiming the ,judgment ,day4
 ,yes1 it might well be feared that the 
,day of ,wrath was here6 ,was it really 
the end of the world1 or only the end of
 a world8444 ,truly1 there were then    
enough horrors and calamities to make   
people think of the morrow with dismay4 
,many of the signs predicted by         
,scripture dazed the imagination3       
desolations1 wars1 persecutions of the  
,church1 increased with terrific        
steadiness and cruelty4 ,yet all the    
signs foretold were not there4 ,how many
 times already had humanity been        
deceived in its fear and its hope6 ,in  
reality1 though all seemed to shew that 
the end of time was drawing nigh1 no one
 could tell the day nor the hour of the 
,judgment4 ,hence1 men should watch     
always1 according to the words of       
,christ4444 ,but if this trial of       
,barbarian war was to pass like the     

others1 how woeful it was while it      
endured6 ,how hard for ,augustin1 above 
all1 who saw nearly the whole of his    
work thrown down4  ,one thought at least
 consoled him1 that since his           
conversion1 for forty years and more1 he
 had done all he was able--he had worked
 for ,christ even beyond his strength4  
,he said to himself that he left behind 
him the fruit of a huge labour1 a whole 
body of doctrine and apology which would
 safeguard against error whatever was   
left of his flock and of the ,african   
,church4 ,he himself had founded a      
,church which might serve as an example1
 his dear ,church of ,hippo1 that he had
 done his best to fashion after the     
divine plan4 ,and he had also founded   
convents1 and a library full of books1  
which had become still larger recently  
through the generosity of ,count        
,darius4 ,he had lessoned his clergy    
who1 once the disasters were past1 would
 scatter the good seed of ,truth4       
,books1 monasteries1 priests1 a sure and

 solid nourishment for the mind1        
shelters and guides for souls--there is 
what he bequeathed to the workers of the
 future4 ,and with a little joy mingling
 with his sorrow1 he read on the corner 
of the wall where his bed was1 this     
verse of the ,psalm3 ,exibit homo ad    
opus suum et operationem suam usque ad  
vesperum--,man goeth forth unto his work
 and to his labour until the evening4   
,he1 too1 had worked until evening4  ,if
 the earthly reward seemed to slip from 
him now1 if all was sinking around him1 
if his episcopal city was beleaguered1  
if he himself1 although still a strong  
man--he had the use of all his limbs1   
says ,possidius2 a keen ear and perfect 
sight--if he himself was dying too soon1
 it was doubtless in expiation for the  
sins of his youth4 ,at this remembrance 
of his disorders1 the tears fell over   
his face4444 ,and yet1 however wild had 
been his conduct at that time1 he could 
descry in it the sure marks of his      
vocation4 ,he recalled the despair and  

tears of his mother1 but also his       
enthusiasm when he read the ,hortensius2
 his disgust for the world and all      
things when he lost his friend4 ,in the 
old man he recognized the new4 ,and he  
said to himself3 ,nay6 but that was     
myself4 ,i have not changed4 ,i have    
only found myself4 ,i have only changed 
my ways4 ,in my youth1 in the strongest 
time of my mistakes1 ,i had already     
risen to turn to ,thee1 my ,god6  ,his  
worst foolishness had been the desire to
 understand all things4 ,he had failed  
in humility of mind4 ,then ,god had     
given him the grace to submit his       
intelligence to the faith4 ,he had      
believed1 and then he had understood1 as
 well as he could1 as much as he could4 
,in the beginning1 he acknowledged very 
plainly that he did not understand4 ,and
 then faith had thrown open the roads of
 understanding4 ,he had splendidly      
employed his reason1 within the limits  
laid down against mortal weakness4 ,had 
that not been the proud desire of his   

youth8 ,to understand6 ,what greater    
destiny8  ,to love also4 ,after he had  
freed himself from carnal passions1 he  
had much employed his heart4 ,he thought
 of all the charity he had poured out   
upon his people and the ,church1 upon   
all he had loved in ,god--upon all he   
had done1 upon all the consequence of   
his labour1 inspired and strengthened by
 the divine love4444 ,yes1 to love--all 
was in that6 ,let the ,barbarians come6 
,had not ,christ said3 ,lo1 ,i am with  
you alway1 even unto the end of the     
world8 ,so long as there shall be two   
men gathered together for love of ,him1 
the world will not be entirely lost1 the
 ,church and civilization will be saved4
 ,the religion of ,christ is a leaven of
 action1 understanding1 sacrifice1 and  
charity4 ,if the world be not at this   
hour already condemned1 if the ,day of  
,judgment be still far off1 it is from  
this religion that shall arise the new  
influences of the future4444  ,and so   
,augustin forgot his sufferings and his 

human disappointments in the thought    
that1 in spite of all1 the ,church is   
eternal4 ,the ,city of ,god gathered in 
the wreckage of the earthly city3 ,the  
,goth cannot capture what ,christ       
protects--,non tollit ,gothus quod      
custodit ,christus4 ,and as his         
sufferings increased1 he turned all his 
thoughts on this unending ,city1 where  
we rest1 where we see1 where we love1   
where we find again all the beloved ones
 who have gone away4 ,all--he called    
them all in this supreme moment3        
,monnica1 ,adeodatus1 and her who had   
nearly lost herself for him1 and all    
those he had held dear4444  ,on the     
fifth day of the calends of ,september1 
,augustin1 the bishop1 was very low4    
,they were praying for him in the       
churches at ,hippo1 and especially in   
the ,basilica of ,peace1 where he had   
preached and worked for others so long4 
,possidius of ,guelma was in the        
bishop's room1 and the priests and      
monks4 ,they sent up their prayers with 

those of the dying man4 ,and no doubt   
they sang for the last time before him  
one of those liturgical chants which    
long ago at ,milan had touched him even 
to tears1 and now1 since the siege1 in  
the panic caused by the ,barbarians1    
they dared not sing any more4 ,augustin1
 guarding himself even now against the  
too poignant sweetness of the melody1   
attended only to the sense of the words4
 ,and he said3  ,my soul thirsts after  
the living ,god4 ,when shall ,i appear  
before ,his face8  ,or again3  ,he ,who 
is ,life has come down into this world4 
,he has suffered our death1 and ,he has 
caused it to die by the fullness of ,his
 life4444 ,life has come down to        
you--and will you not ascend towards    
,him and live8444  ,he was passing into 
,life and into ,glory4 ,he was going    
very quietly1 amid the chanting of hymns
 and the murmur of prayers4444 ,little  
by little his eyes were veiled1 the     
lines of his face became rigid4 ,his    
lips moved no more4 ,possidius1 the     

faithful disciple1 bent over him4 ,like 
a patriarch of the ,scriptures1         
,augustin of ,thagaste slept with his   
fathers4444         99       99       99
       99       99  ,and now1 whatever  
may be the worth of this book1 which has
 been planned and carried out in a      
spirit of veneration and love for the   
saint1 for the great heart and the great
 intellect that ,augustin was1 for this 
unique type of the ,christian1 the most 
perfect and the most admirable perhaps  
that has ever been seen--the author can 
only repeat in all humility what was    
said fifteen hundred years ago by the   
,bishop of ,guelma1 ,augustin's first   
biographer3  ,i do desire of the charity
 of those into whose hands this work    
shall fall1 to join with me in          
thanksgiving and blessing to ,our ,lord1
 ,who has inspired me to make known this
 life to those present and those absent1
 and has given me the strength to do it4
 ,pray for me and with me1 that ,i may  
try here below to follow in the steps of

 this peerless man1 whom1 by ,god's     
goodness1 ,i have had the happiness of  
living with for such a long time4444    
,,the ,,end