St. Augustine

by Aloysius Bertrand

The Christian Church has no shortage of revered figures and saints, but it is difficult to find one that had a more decisive impact on the course of the Church's history than Augustine of Hippo. Augustine was a bishop of Hippo Regius in Africa, but his works, sermons and writings helped hold the Church together even as the Western Roman Empire was in its death throes, to the extent that every major branch of Christianity recognizes him today. The Catholic Church has venerated him as a saint and a Doctor of the Church, Orthodox Christians also consider him a saint, and Protestants and Calvinists cite him as one of the fathers and inspirations of the Protestant Reformation. In many respects, Augustine has provided the theological bedrock for Christians for nearly 1600 years, and as theologian John Leith noted in 1990, "Augustine, the North African of Berber descent, is today the spiritual father of multitudes who are remote indeed from him racially, politically, and culturally." Augustine's voluminous writings also had the effect of making him one of antiquity's most influential philosophers. Though he will always be remembered within the context of Christianity, Augustine studied the works of Virgil, Cicero, and the ancient Greek philosophers, providing a critical bridge between religious and secular philosophy that would in turn inspire St. Thomas Aquinas and similar thinkers. In addition to framing the concept of original sin, it was Augustine who first wrote at length on the theory of just war. Paul Henry, S.J. noted, "In the history of thought and civilization, Saint Augustine appears to me to be the first thinker who brought into prominence and undertook an analysis of the philosophical and psychological concepts of person and personality. These ideas, so vital to contemporary man, shape not only Augustine's own doctrine on God but also his philosophy of man..." Augustine's legacy would have been impressive for anybody to accomplish, but it was made all the more amazing by the fact that he spent most of his early years living irreverently. Though raised a Christian, he abandoned his faith until he was in his early 30s, and one of his prayers would become notorious: "Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet" He was teaching rhetoric in Africa before a series of experiences led to his conversion back to Christianity in 386, thus spending the last 45 years of his life in the service of God.

Genres: Nonfiction

245 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 20, 2015

About the author

Louis Jacques Napoléon Bertrand, better known by his pen name Aloysius Bertrand (20 April 1807 — 29 April 1841), was a French Romantic poet, playwright and journalist. He is famous for having introduced prose poetry in French literature, and is considered a forerunner of the Symbolist movement. His masterpiece is the collection of prose poems Gaspard de la Nuit published posthumously in 1842 (but probably mostly written already in 1827); though relatively ignored at the time, the book later had a huge influence on Charles Baudelaire's Spleen de Paris, the Symbolists and on the Surrealist movement. Three of its poems were adapted to an eponymous piano suite by Maurice Ravel in 1908.

Reviews

[Tech Nossomy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A serious biography of the bishop of Hippo, Augustine, mostly factual and with a few exaggerations.

Available on Project Gutenberg.

[Sandeep Ellawala · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of those books you would read half way through and get so bored to even drop it. Well... for me this book was not leading anywhere interesting. This may very much likely be due to the fact that I am not from a Christian background. So I could not basically relate to this Saint Augustin in any significant manner. So... I am just going to drop this and be done with it. I do not know how I made it till 20% of this book.