Augustine Of Hippo Influence

of the people in his city and he becomes loved. He did a great deed for his people, and he felt very gratifying about it. Although this played a role in his personality

Augustine's parents, Monica and Patricius, talk about sending their son away. While talking, they realize that Augustine has become a man. Monica then asks for Patricius to be baptized, and convert to Christianity. He says he can not because he would make a poor follower of Christ, and does not want to upset his local gentry. At the end of this chapter, the conversation ends

His growth of power made him an admirable figure, but was noted for his arrogance. Being under the favour of the king allowed him to grow from the position of bishop of Tournai in 1513, to the Archbishop of York in 1514, till he became a papal legate in 1518. His steady growth of power made him influential in the running of the government and made him an effective advisor to

Because of his beliefs, he wanted to do what was best and helped people whenever he had the chance. His speaking and teachings opened up the eyes of many, and that is why he was one of the best leaders in the novel. Without his strength and morals, none of that would be possible.

He was a very good emperor that, took care of everyone equally. He had many friends that helped him become a very good emperor/ruler. He helped many people out and seemed to be a very good person.

…. He became one of the best speakers in Rome, and by care and application, was able to surpass those who were more highly gifted by nature. …. often when Pompey and Cicero and Caesar were reluctant to speak, he undertook the whole management of the case himself, thereby gaining an advantage over them in popularity, since people thought of him as a man willing to take trouble to help others.

         Peter Brown’s Augustine of Hippo is a dense, scholarly work outlining the entire life of the Catholic bishop.  The University of California Press in Berkeley, California published the work in 1967.  My version was the 1973 second paperback printing, found in the University library.  Its smallish, scholarly, serifed, typewritten font allows for a instant respect for the subject matter:  the words are at first imposing, but then revealing as their serious tone complements the complexity of the text.  The pages are studded with footnotes, filling out this work with evidence of Brown’s exhaustive research.  There is a three-page preface before the work, and, after the work, a

Later when Augustine left for Rome, his mother followed with the hope and goal to convert Augustine to Christianity (“Saint Augustine”). She also remarked later on in Augustine’s life, “One thing there was, for which I desired to linger a little while in this life, that I might see you a Catholic Christian before I died. God has granted this to me in more than abundance, for I see you his servant” (Ryan 165). Even though he had been raised in a Christian setting and sat in on Saint Ambrose’s sermons, Augustine still wasn’t fully convinced enough to change his life and convert.

In St. Augustine’s Confessions, Augustine explains how his parents give up a lot for him and his education. Although his father was acknowledged for his financial attribution to Augustine’s education, he never cared if his sons character would mature through the educational system. St. Augustine’s dad paid more than a richer man would pay for their son’s education because he wanted to provide Augustine with the proper education. (Confessions, II, 5). St. Augustine showed very little respect toward his father but had a great deal of respect to his mother, Monica, since she was a practicing Christian (II,60). In spite of his respect for her as a Christian, Augustine criticized his mother for getting in the way of his sexual desire (II,8). But his father arranged his marriage and encouraged him to have children (II,6). Unlike Confucius’s teachings of remaining reverent to your parent, Augustine openly criticized his family’s wrong doings because God was his heart and only truth (II,5).

The first major milestone of St. Augustine’s conversion to the Christian faith was his realization during his adolescent years that his behavior was pointlessly reckless and rebellious and far from God’s design for his life. Born to St. Monica, St. Augustine was raised in a faith filled home. He was integrated into the church from a young age and was raised in Christian institutions during his

He was liked by many people due to his great gift of friendship (Hammond 5), allowing him to become admired and respected as a leader.

Before submitting himself to God, Augustine lived a life controlled by various sinful tendencies such as theft and lust. Surrounded by strong believers of Catholicism, such as his mother, St. Monica, Augustine grew up questioning Christ and the faith and rather explored other religions. Two religions that Augustine devoted himself to were Manichaeism and Neoplatonism. While both religions had strengths and flaws, neither truly satisfied Augustine’s spiritual emptiness. Before devoting himself fully to the Catholic faith, Augustine is seen as an honorable saint because of the significance of his works and teachings. Augustine’s conversion from Manichaeism to Neoplatonism to Catholicism as noted through Confessions, transformed his life from being powered by sin and immortality to a life dominated by rectitude and devotion.

The “City of God” is an eloquently written challenge, from Saint Augustine, for human society to choose which city it wishes to be a part of, the city of God or the city of man. As described by Augustine, the city of God is a metaphorical place where the citizens love, glorify, worship, and praise God. They find their strength and authority through mutual servitude with Yahweh. This city is then compared to the earthly city where the people love themselves, glorify themselves, find strength in themselves, and worship themselves or created things. The earthly city seeks praise from people and strives for domination. These two cities are the crux of Augustine’s novel which entails people to be worthy citizens of the City of Heaven, despite the devastating fall of Rome. Many people questioned whether Christianity was at fault for Rome’s demise, claiming that the pagan gods were angry that Christianity became the dominant religion in Rome, thus the pagan gods were thought to have left, leaving Rome vulnerable to attack. Thereby, Augustine sets out to dispute these beliefs by stating that God initiated all of creation, and in such a grand plan, the fall of Rome is rather insignificant. The more important issue is to choose a life in the city of man or the city of God, of which Augustine marks the parameters with compelling metaphors that beg the reader to choose the everlasting city because it provides the achievement of peace, the achievement of a purposeful ending, and the

In 383 Augustine left Carthage for Rome where he found refuge with Bishop Ambrose of Milan. A year later he became a teacher of rhetoric. Having visited Bishop Ambrose, the fascination of that saint's kindness induced him to become a regular attendant at his preaching’s. Augustine presently was attracted again to Christianity. At last one day, according to his own account, he seemed to

Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, was one of the greatest philosophers of the roman period. He was raised in a religiously divided home, but through time he found his own truth. He was always an excellent student. He fully mastered the Latin language, however, he never did well with Greek. Saint Augustine was also a man who had a way with words. After his teenage rebellious stage, he found an unorthodox religious group that he decided to become involved with for a while. He traveled the area and ended up staying in Milan for a while. This is where he met Bishop Ambrose and began to listen to his teachings. This caused for Augustine think about his life and ultimately converted him to Christianity. After converting, he wrote books such as: Confessions, The City of God, and De Doctrinia (On Christian Doctrine), along with many others. Saint Augustine was and still is a great Christian influence in the world today.